《The Garden》


 Prologue

    <u>Prologue</u>


    The day of the takeover started as any other. It was a warm day in June, at first indistinguishable from its fellows. The sun rose with a beautiful precession of pink clouds, an easy invitation for anyone over the age of sixty to mention ¡°sailor¡¯s warning¡±.


    John had never understood the eye rolling expression when he heard it repeated throughout his childhood. He supposed it might make more sense if he lived near the ocean. But probably not.


    He was fifteen years old. Summer was just beginning to infect the world with serotonin. But a few hours after the sun graced North America, it disappeared.


    It would be more accurate to say that it was instantly and entirely eclipsed by something large which lacked a similar source of light or heat. The planet went completely black.


    This lasted for a few tense moments, wherein the world¡¯s leading scientists wracked their brains in an attempt to explain an eclipse so complete that not even an outline of the sun¡¯s radiance made it around the foreign object. Nowhere near enough time to make conclusions passed before light returned to Earth in spectacular fashion. The surface brightened so completely that it seemed like the sun had returned.


    Those who were outside looking up to the sky where the sun had been were temporarily blinded as the light returned. It was as if nothing had happened. The same scientists were even more confused as what appeared to be the sun returned to its original position and role. Then the voice spoke.


    It was heard in the mind of every living thing on Earth. Different cultures heard different translations of the same information, right down to the insects in the air. For John, it was a monotonous English voice, neither deep nor high in pitch. What it said begged belief in the minds of all who heard it.


    ¡°Retrieval Complete. Initiating simulated standards. Integrating gravitational influence. Supplementing gravitational influence of home star. Transitioning to artificial heating conditions. Activating all dormant transitional nodes. Error; no dormant transitional nodes found. Implanting active transitional nodes.¡±


    While the voice spoke, subtle but noticeable tremors wracked the planet¡¯s surface. John felt them even indoors. He was too transfixed by the ludicrous words in his head to pay much attention.


    ¡°Removing all orbital debris. Scanning for natural satellites. One natural satellite found. Preserving satellite.¡±


    All around the planet, cell phones, televisions, and computers instantly became useless as every single satellite in earth¡¯s orbit disappeared. Communications were down. Densely populated areas quickly descended into pandemonium. All the while, the invasive voice continued to pass information to the various life forms of earth.


    ¡°All combustion based technology has been confiscated. All atomic weapons have been confiscated. All nuclear technology has been confiscated. Error; societal shift necessary. Converting element 261 into electricity. Exchanging power source from combustion to element 261. Stabilizing, please wait.¡±


    All around the world, every appliance reliant on electricity flickered for the slightest moment. It was like a planetary power shortage. But in an instant, it was as if nothing happened.


    ¡°Scanning native implants. Standard implant found. Running diagnostics. Diagnosis complete. Implant is present and active. Initiating surveillance mode. Error, surveillance mode unresponsive. Please present implant at nearest Kumani Service Center. A note has been made of this error. Failure to report malfunction will be met with punitive action by Kumani Compliance Corps.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! Planet number 4289 of Galaxy number 1,848,265,497,391 has been successfully transitioned. Please await further instructions.¡±


    After that, John didn¡¯t hear anything. The confusion of the situation was made much worse a moment later. From his place in his bedroom, he heard hysteric exclamations out his window.


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    Going over to the closed blinds, he quickly pulled them out of the way. A lawn away, his neighbor Susan was standing in her driveway staring so hard at the sky that John¡¯s own eyes were drawn upward. When they settled on the cosmos, he gasped.


    John stared disbelievingly at what he saw. The normally blue sky had been replaced entirely by a massive planet that had to have been at least the size of Jupiter, but maybe much larger. Having no idea what he was actually seeing, John¡¯s breath caught in his throat.


    He hadn¡¯t made sense of the words that had been spoken in his mind. Only when staring up at an unfathomable mass above him did his mind return to the message with any comprehension. It said earth had been ¡°successfully transitioned¡±.


    John had no way of being sure, but he supposed the entire planet had somehow been moved to a new spot in the universe. Despite having a moon of its own, earth was now effectively a moon for this much larger planet. What that meant, who could say?


    John¡¯s fifteen year old mind was boggled by the turn of events. He sat back on his bed and started breathing hard. Earth had been stolen by aliens.


    His next thought was of his parents. He hoped they were safe. His dad had left before dawn as he always did. His mother was probably just about to take her lunch break a few blocks away where she was supervising summer school.


    John wouldn¡¯t normally expect either of them to be home before that evening. But this was no ordinary day. True to that fact, his mother burst through the front door a few minutes later.


    ¡°John! Where are you?¡± She yelled through the house immediately upon entrance.


    ¡°I¡¯m here mom,¡± he called down to her from the upstairs hallway.


    ¡°Oh, thank God you¡¯re safe. Have you heard from your father?¡± She asked as she looked at him from the bottom of the stairs.


    ¡°Not yet. It will probably take him another hour to get here if he¡¯s already on his way.¡±


    His mom nodded in agreement. Jack worked construction outside the city. He wouldn¡¯t have beat her home when the school was as close as it was.


    ¡°What about Emma?¡± John asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s coming. Miranda left right when I did. She¡¯s going to bring her back.¡±


    Miranda was Amy¡¯s mother. Emma stayed there a lot. Or at least she had. John didn¡¯t think anyone would be having sleep overs any time soon after this.


    His thirteen year old sister arrived within the hour, followed soon after by his father, Jack. They all relieved themselves of the worry that one of them was in danger. But before they could discuss the insanity of the giant planet in the sky or the monotonous voice they had all heard, there was a knock at the door.


    No one moved. No one spoke. They all stood rooted in place staring at the disturbance like it was a wild animal that might attack.


    Then an electronic voice spoke from the other side. It was clearly automated and had none of the emotional tones of sentient life. It did speak clear and perfect English, like a text to voice app.


    ¡°Greetings residents. Sensors show that all occupants are present and conscious. Please allow a brief survey to occur. There is no need to open the door.¡±


    John and his family just stood silently, waiting for the bizarre voice to continue. They had no idea how these mysterious alien planet thieves knew their house had four people living in it, or that they were all present, but stealing entire planets made it easy to imagine that they could get the relative information on a dwelling and it¡¯s inhabitants.


    ¡°Scanners show two adults and two adolescents. Your home has been deemed a one eligible worker home. One adult is required to present themselves at a transfer station no less than one time per month. One adult is permitted to remain as guardian for adolescents. Roles are interchangeable. Your home has one standard earth day to present one such adult to the transfer registrations office to be properly registered for transfer. Failure to comply will result in full disintegration of dwelling as well as all of its inhabitants. Reevaluation scheduled for ninety three earth days from now. Have a great day.¡±


    With a mechanical beep and some retreating propeller sounds, the house grew quiet. John was frozen in place, trying to make sense of everything he had heard. His heart pounded in his chest like a hammer.


    It wasn¡¯t only because the robotic voice had threatened the house with disintegration if one of his parents didn¡¯t go to whatever a transfer registrations office was. Not even at the idea that aliens were effectively enslaving earth. It was the last message the voice had spoken that had him shaking in his skin.


    ¡°Reevaluation scheduled for ninety three earth days from now.¡±


    His mother looked at him in alarm as she too felt the enormity of the statement. John was fifteen. He was a sophomore in high school. He would have been a junior in the fall. Normally that would mean he was sixteen. But John¡¯s birthday always happened shortly after returning to school, making him consistently the youngest person in his grade.


    What it also meant, and what his mother had realized a few seconds later than him was that whatever these aliens were, they considered humans to be ¡°adult¡± at the young age of sixteen. Unfortunately, it also meant that in ninety three days, John would be officially enslaved.

 The Father, the Fool, and the Fucking Nightmare

    <u>The Father, the Fool, and the Fucking Nightmare</u>


    <u>1</u>


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, John. You are just going to register. That doesn¡¯t mean you will be sent to The Garden. Mom says dad will have most of that responsibility.¡±


    John tuned his sister¡¯s words out as they rode with their mom to the library. It wasn¡¯t actually a library anymore.


    The establishments deemed ¡°mandatory for survival¡± such as grocery stores, clothing stores, and certain other commodity based businesses had been inexplicably taken over overnight. The aliens had almost seamlessly replaced humans as vendors. Their extremely advanced technology apparently made them capable of replicating and mass producing anything humans had ever imagined.


    From vegan and gluten free foods to high grade fabrics whose comfort levels far exceeded any designer clothing ever conceived. They didn¡¯t even charge anything for the services.


    The Kumani took over everything humans ¡°needed¡± to thrive in The Garden. It was all free of charge provided that the household remained up to date with their quotas. The rest of society, like libraries, schools, and government buildings, was repurposed.


    This particular library was the building the Kumani chose as the Office of Transfer Registrations. It was where his parents had gone three months ago in compliance with the Kumani¡¯s demands.


    According to them, the whole ordeal was a simple and expedient one. They had been given a chip in their arm which supposedly regulated and compiled all data collected by the implant all humans had. Mankind had not accepted the existence of the undesired implants calmly.


    It wasn¡¯t as if they had a choice though. The implants had been there, inactive from birth. Whether they were some ingrained part of each individual¡¯s DNA or if they were otherwise some kind of high tech life form that grew unnoticed by humans was unknown. How either speculation was possible was a subject of much discussion in many circles.


    John was uninterested in such talk. He had the implant wether he wanted to or not. The question of how it existed seemed like useless contemplation.


    The three of them drove on in silence for the next few minutes. John¡¯s dad had been gone for a week. The first time this happened, they had all been worried.


    His first venture into The Garden had only lasted a day. He had returned with the meat from several rodents. Apparently they had attacked him almost as soon as he left the safety of the base he had been assigned to.


    That was the nature of The Garden. In gardens, things grew. Some were plants, some were animals. All were dangerous.


    Even the rodents his father had managed to kill had taken bites of his flesh. He had needed to receive flesh replacements from the Kumani rehabilitation center. After that time, the three of them had a deep sense of unease every time Jack disappeared from the teleport pad.


    Still, he had always returned so far. This time would hopefully be no different. Even so, he was approaching his record for longest time in The Garden.


    John shook his head to clear the uneasy thoughts. His mind turned as it invariably did to the question of why. The Kumani had subjugated the entire human race, as well as many other planets¡¯ top species if the accounts his father and others gave were true.


    What was so confusing was that they did not give direct instructions when it came to The Garden. There was no goal; there were no labor quotas to meet apart from the minimum required trips each adult was forced to take. It was only the data their implants compiled that the Kumani deemed important to have.


    Each returning human had the sensor in their arm scanned to save the memories experienced while in The Garden to the Kumani database. Why they needed other races to enter for them was the question most humans had. Would it not be easier to enter themselves?


    John didn¡¯t know. But when Jack came back with what The Garden called ¡°Primitive genes¡± from his kills, the nature of their servitude changed. John¡¯s father said that a voice spoke within his mind, telling him he could absorb them.


    When John and Emma attempted this, nothing happened apart from their hands becoming cold while holding the genes. But when their parents concentrated on them, they began to dissolve.


    A voice, somehow different from the one they had all heard during the takeover, spoke to them as the genes melted into their skin.


    ¡°Primitive Razor Rat genes absorbed. You have gained three Primitive Genes.¡±


    The idea that humans would grow stronger based on how often they hunted and harvested genes from the beasts of The Garden was met with great excitement. After all, the Kumani did not require the genes, so it was a neutral gain for the mandatory trips they were made to take.


    There was already great speculation as to what the Kumani were actually after. There were ideas ranging from fossil fuels to rare nuclear isotopes. Nothing proposed was ever proven though. The Kumani just kept sending them there and scanning their minds. The object of their desire remained a mystery.


    Hopefully they wouldn¡¯t find what they sought. John didn¡¯t know anything about them as a race, but as far as he was concerned they were just planetary bullies. Fuck them. Fuck them all.


    ¡°John? Are you listening?¡± His mother¡¯s voice cut in.


    ¡°Huh? I¡¯m sorry. What?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re here. It¡¯s time to go.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he responded calmly.


    The world spun around him as he opened the car door and stepped into the fresh air. The world was a very different place than it had been before the takeover. Far fewer cars were to be seen, while numerous flying Kumani vessels could be seen at any given time.


    It wasn¡¯t that less cars existed now. It was simply that after the forced conversion from combustion based transportation to whatever miracle the proclaimed ¡°Element 261¡± was, many refused to continue using their cars.


    John could understand the suspicion, but even without being the driver he could tell how much more efficient the forced makeover had made their car. It didn¡¯t start or stall. The car was in a perpetual state of potential that was unrivaled by even the greatest of electric cars.


    Said electric cars were one of the few forms of transportation surprisingly untouched by the integration. Those and the few willing people like John¡¯s family were the only cars now driving. Most people got around by calling for their oppressors to send a complimentary Kumani Shuttle, also contingent upon minimum time spent in The Garden.


    John watched one fly by over head, quick and nearly silent. He stared at it as it receded into the distance. His mind was a jumble of anxiety and excitement.


    ¡°This way,¡± his mom said as she led him towards the library.


    The three of them entered the building along with a few others coming for similar reasons. He caught the eye of a cocky looking boy who appeared to be coming of age just as John was. The boy sneered at the apprehension that was obvious on John¡¯s face.


    John looked away, uninterested. People like that had always perplexed him. The world was so large and unpredictable, anyone who approached it with blind confidence was a moron or worse.


    As he and his two female relatives approached the desk, John studied the Kumani behind it. They were a frail race. Small in both stature and height.


    Little of the creature¡¯s actual body was visible. Various wires and lights were interwoven and connected to various places on the alien¡¯s body, making it look like some kind of machine. A chrome helmet reflected John¡¯s face back to him as he stared.


    John knew that somewhere under all the technology there was a life form of some sort. Its chest moved subtly, only a minor indication of any lung activity, but it did exist. That and the garbled noise that always preceded the speech translation of Kumani were the only indicators that the race weren¡¯t all machines, despite appearances to the contrary.


    ¡°Please present your arm,¡± the alien said.


    John¡¯s mom stepped forward and held her arm out. A red light like the scanner at a grocery store painted her arm crimson briefly before giving a soft beep of confirmation. The Kumani immediately began studying the information given by the analysis.


    ¡°One child, male, is coming of age tomorrow. Have you come to do a preregistration?¡±


    ¡°We have,¡± his mom answered calmly.


    ¡°Step forward,¡± the Kumani said.


    John took a few seconds to realize the command was aimed at him. He took a tentative step forward. His heart was pounding in his chest.


    ¡°Present your right arm,¡± the alien commanded.


    John did so, placing it wrist up on the counter. The Kumani made no move, but a mechanical arm first grabbed his own and then quickly jabbed something sharp into it.


    John jumped back with a shout of surprise. The Kumani let his arm go almost immediately, throwing him off balance. The pain was sharp, but as quickly as it had come, it faded away.


    ¡°You are now registered to enter The Garden starting tomorrow. Records show that your implants have a defect. Please wait here while this issue is resolved.¡±


    John just looked at the alien in confusion as a blue light shone across his forehead. He squinted at the brightness, but just as the pain had, the light disappeared quickly. He was left blinking the spots away from his vision as the Kumani spoke again.


    ¡°Surveillance mode has been restored to your implants. Thank you for your patience. A reevaluation agent will visit your home within one standard earth day to update your contract. Next in line please step forward.¡±


    John and the two women left the former library as the line continued in bureaucratic fashion. The drive home was a silent one wherein John worried about what the future would bring. When they got there, the reevaluation agent was already present. It greeted them with a mechanical wave and immediately began its duties.


    ¡°Your residence has been updated to reflect the following: three adults, one adolescent. As such, your contract has hereby been updated to reflect this change. Your residence is henceforth required to have two of the three adults make trips to The Garden no less than two times per month. One adult is permitted to remain as guardian for the remaining adolescent. Roles are interchangeable. Failure to meet this quota will result in disintegration of the residence as well as termination of all occupants within. Reevaluation is scheduled for two years, four months, and twenty six standard earth days from now. Thank you for your cooperation.¡±


    Then the bot zoomed back into the sky like an unmanned drone. John looked at Emma before a sly grin split his face. She rolled her eyes before he could even get the words out.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only kid in the house now. Us adults will keep you safe while you grow into your servitude.¡±


    <u>2</u>


    ¡°Happy Birthday!¡±


    John was awakened the next day by his dad¡¯s exuberant voice. He immediately jumped out of bed and ran to greet the man. His excitement was so great that he almost missed the wrapped gift his dad was holding.


    ¡°You¡¯re back!¡± John said ecstatically.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m back. It¡¯s my son¡¯s birthday. Where else would I be?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long. We thought something happened to you.¡±


    ¡°Something did happen. The team came upon an Awakened fox. It was a lot tougher than Primitive prey. Nothing your old man couldn¡¯t handle though. I sold my portion of the meat to get you this. Open it.¡±


    John took the present. It was shallow and not very wide, though it was over a foot long. It looked like a box that would contain a necklace. When he opened it up though; jewelry was not what he found.


    ¡°Woah,¡± he said, slightly awed.


    Sitting in the velvet lined container was a sleek and polished dagger. The blade was almost a foot long, while the handle would fit his hand perfectly.


    ¡°Where did you get this?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Downtown. Cost me a few Awakened points, but I imagine the two of us can make that up pretty quickly. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I love it. Thanks dad.¡±


    John¡¯s birthday was spent in luxury. Various presents were received from his mom and sister. One such gift was a small container of Kumani Field Salve.


    According to the label, which had English words printed over the tangled and scribbled lines that made the Kumani script, it was used for mending damage to the body. A bruise would heal after a day. Cuts would close much faster. It also fought all types of infection. It was a great gift for one about to enter The Garden.


    They all spent the day together, enjoying some cake and lavishing each other¡¯s company. When it came time to go to sleep, John still had a smile on his face. His family was the best. And he would cherish them forever.


    The next day, Jack returned to The Garden. John¡¯s mom had asked him repeatedly the day before to take a few days off before returning, but unlike her, Jack had killed and claimed genes from many primitive creatures and had already began to see the difference in his physique.


    He told John to get some practice in with his new blade, saying they would take a trip together when he felt confident. John followed his dad¡¯s instructions and worked for hours each of the following days to become proficient with it. He was determined to make his father proud when they finally ventured into The Garden together.


    But after more than two weeks, Jack hadn¡¯t returned. Emily grew more worried with each passing day, and John knew something bad must have happened. What was worse was that with his new adult status, either he or his mother were obligated to go into The Garden to meet the quota of the residence.


    After three weeks, Emily had no choice but to enter The Garden herself. The quota of four total trips was lacking by half. So, leaving John in charge of Emma, she left. Promising to return in a day or two, she stepped onto the teleport pad at the station and disappeared.


    Her two children spent the next day in fearful acceptance that neither of their parents might ever return. Emma spent the day wiping away silent tears. John on the other hand was more practical.


    All that day, he practiced his cuts and jabs with the dagger his father gave him. The practice dummy made an unrealistic target, but for learning the basics, it sufficed. He also experimented with throwing the blade, but after three failed attempts, he feared damaging the blade.


    On the second day, Emily returned. The elation they both felt at seeing her drained away at the sight of her bloodstained clothes. John immediately helped her to a chair and began applying the medicine she had given him for his birthday to her various open wounds.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He asked.


    ¡°My group was attacked by an Awakened beast. It wreaked havoc on us. Luckily I was able to get away.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s horrible. Did you find anything out about dad?¡± Emma asked.


    ¡°I went to his room. The door had a label on it that said ¡®shuffle in progress¡¯. I don¡¯t know what that means. But I do know rooms aren¡¯t kept for dead people. Several faces have changed in the rooms near mine since last time I went. Wherever he is, I think your father is alive.¡±


    John made his mom rest for the day, bandaging her wounds and bringing her whatever she needed. He was so scared that he had lost both of his parents that he never wanted her to leave again. That was why he made up his mind.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go,¡± he said quietly.


    ¡°No,¡± his mother said sternly.


    ¡°Mom, think about it. You have only been in The Garden a few times. Dad has been going regularly and even he is missing now. What would we do if you never came back?¡±


    Emily looked at her son with tears in her eyes. John recognized the look. It was the sad acceptance of an outcome she did not want to acknowledge. It was the same look she had made every time Jack left for The Garden.


    ¡°You¡¯re so young,¡± she said, more in grievance than an attempt to persuade him.


    ¡°And Emma is younger still. Do you think I could take care of us both if you never returned? We have less than a week to meet our quota. It has to be this way.¡±


    His mother nodded slightly, the only agreement John would get from her. He accepted it without complaint. He knew how hard the situation was for her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go tomorrow,¡± he said before leaving the room.


    <u>3</u>


    John approached the teleport pad with apprehension. He had not felt so nervous in his entire life. Having no family member or acquaintance to accompany him on his first trip to The Garden made it seem more like an assisted suicide. The Kumani manning the pad spoke as John¡¯s arm chip was scanned.


    ¡°First time entrance. The teleport location for this transit station is defaulted to Emerald Base. Would you like to select a new location?¡±


    John knew that Emerald Base was the name of the outpost that all humans using this transit station would arrive at. His father had also told him that each person would be assigned their own room once there. It was one of the many interesting things no one had an explanation for.


    ¡°Emerald is fine.¡± He said, albeit apprehensively.


    ¡°Confirmed. Please step onto the pad. You are required to remain in The Garden for no less than one full day before returning. Failure to leave the base will increase this time until at least three hours of exploration have occurred. The teleport pad in your room will not become active until these conditions have been met. Thank you for your compliance.¡±


    John listened to the stipulations required as he took his place on the pad. He almost rolled his eyes at the polite wording. It was as if his servitude was his choice.


    Before he could form a mental retort for the alien, he felt his entire body begin to vibrate. It felt like standing on the back of a massive fan. Then, in an instant, he was no longer standing in the transit station.


    Instead, he stood in a small room. It was peculiar, because the room looked entirely ordinary. It had a bed, a nightstand, a toilet, and oddly enough, a range for cooking. An unfamiliar female voice suddenly sounded in his head.


    ¡°Welcome to The Garden: Stage One. You have been assigned room number 16,348. Henceforth, all transition to or from The Garden will take place from this room unless damaged or manually transferred to a different base. None may enter without verbally expressed permission.¡±


    That was all. No other information was provided. John stood on the inactive pad for several seconds, just taking in his surroundings.


    The room was lit from nowhere in particular. A noninvasive light just seemed to exist everywhere. It gave the room a shadowless appearance that gave John trouble determining distances and depth.


    Feeling disoriented, John moved to the door. It had no handle. It had no hinge. The only thing that denoted it as a door was the difference in color between it and the rest of the walls.


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    As he approached it, the door slid aside like a sliding glass door. No sound accompanied this and soon the entire door was buried in the wall. The seam was too small to fit a piece of paper into.


    John was impressed by the seemingly advanced architecture of The Garden. Especially considering that no technology was permitted within its borders. It begged the question of how and why such a place existed.


    Pushing the idea from his mind, John left his room behind, making special note of its number. To his surprise, he found himself standing on a busy street. People passed by in both directions.


    Not really knowing where he was going, John turned right and followed the larger crowd. He supposed eventually he would have to find the outer walls of the base. Sure enough, the road connected to a larger road soon, and once again, he had to make special note of where he had come from. Luckily, every road had a sign above it detailing which room numbers could be found there.


    Not all roads seemed to have rooms though. Some led to market centers, some led to what was labeled as an ¡°essence trade center¡±. John had no idea what that meant, but continued with the flow of people none the less.


    In due time John found the gate. There, he noticed a queue of people standing in line to sign a paper. He could tell at a glance that this was an open enrollment for anyone who wanted to join a hunt. He quickly moved to the line.


    When he got to the front, the man took his name and asked about his experience. Finding him to be green, the man directed him to the group he should join.


    He was placed in the middle of a group with four other young hunters. After some observation and careful attention to the conversation, he learned that they were all only slightly older than he was.


    The youngest, Brandon, was only two days older than John. In fact, John recognized him after a moment as the sneering kid he had met at the registry. The other two were roughly a month and three weeks older than him respectively.


    Brandon took no time at all to start bragging about how he had already killed his first dozen creatures. The others were mildly impressed by this but became downright adoring when he summoned a leafy dagger into his palm. John knew immediately what it was: a soul weapon.


    ¡°Got this from a giant primitive mantis on my first hunt. It¡¯s sharp as steel and the weight is evenly balanced. You watch, I¡¯ll kill no less than three stags on this trip.¡±


    John was unimpressed by a primitive drop and didn¡¯t react to his boasting. The other two youths¡¯ enthusiasm made John¡¯s lack of it all the more evident, and Brandon took it as an invitation to challenge him.


    ¡°Uninterested are you?¡± He asked John with a leer. A shrug was all he received in response.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bet you this very blade that I can kill more stags than you on this hunt.¡± John was about to respond when the voice of The Garden spoke in his mind.


    ¡°Brandon has extended a bet to you. Kill more stags than him on this hunting trip to win his primitive mantis dagger.¡±


    John shook his head and turned away from the trio. He was not interested in showing off or making enemies. He simply walked to the front of the group and awaited the departure.


    Before ordering the departure, men moved through the ranks, handing out small practice bows. John had never used one before, but the man insisted he have some form of distanced offense. Shrugging, John took the bow and a small quiver from the man. The call came only a couple minutes later and the group left the safety of Emerald Base.


    John traveled with the group for almost half the day before they came to the forest they sought. During that time, he saw many animals on the plains. They were all either scared away by the group or quickly hunted if they attacked. The veterans of the group worked with efficiency, never allowing the four beginners to come to harm. It was a safe journey.


    Soon after entering the forest, John started hearing sounds of creatures living there. The calls of numerous birds could be heard. Insects chittered at high volume all around.


    John and a few others took the opportunity to take a few test shots at some small creatures. Growing up, John had watched his father practicing with a bow frequently. Always the tutor, Jack had often made observations out loud about what he had done wrong on a shot.


    Listening to his father¡¯s self criticism did little to teach John how to shoot a bow. He quickly found that such a small target as the squirrel he saw perched in a tree would be near impossible to kill without immense practice time. Deciding to save his arrows, John gave up the practice.


    Nonetheless, John kept his bow ready for any beast that charged the group. Despite the alarming amount of activity around them, nothing approached the group. An hour later, they came to the herd of primitive stags they had come to hunt.


    They did not behave like the deer of earth. They showed no sign of fear at the large group. Those with bows quickly sighted in on the outer perimeter of the beasts. John took aim at one himself and when the order was given, he and the others let loose their arrows.


    John¡¯s arrow flew high and missed the beast altogether. Others tried as well but fell short or went wide, while a few sunk home, claiming lives of a few Primitive beasts in the process. John grabbed a new arrow and nocked it as fast as he could.


    At the provocation of the humans, hundreds of primitive stags lurched to their feet. In seconds, the forest was a flurry of activity as the stags ran every direction, goring a man here and there as they passed the group.


    Brandon wasted no time launching himself into the fray. He completely disregarded the bow he had been given, actually throwing it on the ground in his haste. He bounded towards a deer, but it quickly pranced in the other direction.


    He had no hope of catching the beasts on foot and with nothing but a dagger, but he ran around in any case, head whipping from side to side as he looked for a stag to kill.


    John shot arrows at as many as he could, usually missing the agile creatures. He did get a glancing blow on the antler of a fleeing stag, but no real damage was done. He sighted in on a small stag that was limping around as though it had hurt a leg on something.


    As he looked though, he heard it scream for a larger stag ahead of it. He realized the smaller one was a child. He tore his gaze from it to find a new target. He was just about to fire on a large stag only twenty yards from him when he heard a pained scream from the infant deer.


    Turning his head, he saw Brandon on top of the beast. He was stabbing it repeatedly with his mantis dagger. It let out horrendous noises as it was mutilated by the arrogant boy. John felt sadness in his heart for the poor creature, but even as he felt it well within him, he heard a new cry. This time, it was unmistakably one of rage.


    John turned his head to behold a massive stag that must have stood ten feet at the shoulder. It looked more like moose had always been described. It was a startling white, contrasted against the brown fir of its brethren.


    John beheld its massive antlers, which must have spread at least eight feet to each side and had no less than fifty prongs on each. As he watched, the massive stag raised its head and bellowed at the sky.


    The whole forest seemed to freeze. The humans stared at the massive beast with terror. As it brought the battle to a standstill, John felt a shiver run down his spine. One by one, each and every head turned to the massive stag. In unison, the herd of stags charged. No longer undisciplined, no longer aimless. Now, they had direction. And that direction was simple: kill all the humans.


    Even as he watched, more stags rose to their feet from within the tall grass. Dozens, each six feet at the shoulder rose to join the fray. Behind them, a smaller number of even bigger stags rose. These were smaller than the buck but larger than the others. John felt terror grip him as they thundered towards the humans.


    John ran as fast as he could and tossed his bow into a nearby tree. Hastily launching himself into the lowest branches of it, he scrambled after his weapon. He didn¡¯t stop climbing until he was twice as high as the giant stag was tall. At that point, he had already heard the screams begin.


    People were screaming in terror as razor sharp antlers pierced them and they were sent hurtling through the air. As he observed the ensuing carnage below, his eyes landed on Brandon, who had just finished killing the immature stag with his dagger. He looked up from his kill as he heard thundering hooves pelting towards him.


    John watched the recognition dawn on Brandon¡¯s face as his eyes locked on the buck. Over a ton of muscled fury raged towards him and he could do nothing but widen his eyes as the stag lowered its head impossibly to impale the insignificant human that had just killed one of its children. Brandon could only utter a strangled cough as nearly all of his internal organs were ruptured on the points of the massive deer¡¯s antlers.


    The deer drove Brandon into a tree and pinned him to it. Blood fountained from his mouth and nose as spasms wracked him. John stared in horror as a boy barely older than him was massacred before his eyes. The stag pinned him to a broken branch in the tree and used its massive antlers to rip his body limb from limb. Blood dyed the once pristine white coat of the stag red. All around him, similar scenes of carnage unfurled. People had retreated to the trees just as he had, but the stags had fell on them like a tide of water, their superior footing letting them outrun and outmaneuver each and every human.


    John watched over and over as his fellow humans were gored and slain before him. Tears fell from his face as slowly but surely he became the last living human in his group. John just sat in the tree, shaking as the stags took revenge upon humans for months of raids on their herd.


    One primitive stag came to the base of the tree and started peering up at him. It snorted loudly and started making grunt noises towards the other deer. John strung an arrow and drew it back. He had to kill the deer before the pack leader was alerted. He took quick aim and let loose his arrow.


    He had not had any luck with his previous shots. Learning how to shoot a bow accurately took countless hours of diligent practice. He couldn¡¯t hope to be proficient with a bow after only a few casual attempts. This time however, his aim was true.


    His arrow sunk in from above and the deer went down. John released his breath as he heard the deer hit the ground. His elation was short lived though.


    Drawn by the attention of its fellow. Another deer came to the tree. This one made even more commotion than the first had. John took another three shots to kill this one.


    He sighed in relief as he looked around to confirm that no other deer had noticed him in the tree. The commotion of the slaughter was all the cover he needed. At the same time, the voice of The Garden spoke in his head.


    You have won the bet. Brandon killed one stag. You killed two. For winning the bet, you receive Primitive Mantis Dagger.


    John was so shocked that he almost fell from the tree. He had not expected the one-sided bet to yield anything. It turned out The Garden held people to their word.


    He felt the most peculiar sensation wash over him as his mind expanded. He had heard his father¡¯s second hand account of what it felt like when one received a beast soul. But words had not adequately described the icy sensation settling over his mind as the previously empty repository for beast souls expanded to hold his new prize.


    Without even trying, John could feel it there, ready to be called upon. He wasted no time and summoned the dagger from the spot it had appeared in his mind. An oversized praying mantis materialized in his palm before quickly shifting into the blade Brandon had flaunted.


    It was green and resembled a sharp leaf. The blade was thin and razor sharp. John could see how useful it would be against primitive creatures. Unfortunately, it would probably only get him killed in this scenario.


    The forest grew quiet, and John leaned against the tree. He was breathing heavily from the adrenaline pumping in his veins. After a few seconds of this, he began to realize that the scene wasn¡¯t just quiet. It was unnatural silence.


    It reminded John of the moment between an insult and a fist fight. It was the calm before the storm. It was the order before the chaos. And John knew instinctively that he was going to be the center of that chaos.


    Looking down, he saw the herd leader across the clearing. It had stopped moving. It was grunting and snorting in anger. And worse, it was staring directly at him. As he watched, stag after stag formed ranks around it.


    Numerous stags lined up at its urging. John threw his bow over his shoulder and started climbing. He climbed to a height of almost a hundred feet. The limbs of the tree bent heavily under his weight and the trunk itself swayed from one side to the other.


    John hoped in vain that he would be safe from the onslaught. As the massive stag lowered its head and lumbered towards him, silently shepherding all of its smaller brethren to charge, John simply grabbed the tree tight and braced for what he feared might knock him from the tree.


    The entire stag herd charged him. Only the pack leader slammed into the tree, but it was enough to cause devastation. John held on as tight as he could as the entire tree lurched.


    His grip was almost lost with the impact but he was able to hold on by locking his legs in place. The force of the impact sent a massive vibrating tremor up the trunk of the tree and John struggled again not to fall.


    Just as the vibration started to wane, John heard a loud crack. His world tilted backward as the tree snapped. John could only look back and scream as his tree barreled toward another series of trees. He wailed openly as the collision sent him wrenching into the tangled arms of another tree.


    He felt branches break and leaves slapped him as he fell through the limbs. He grasped at every branch that came into reach, but the ones that didn¡¯t snap instantly slipped through his desperate fingers. Branch after branch broke on various parts of his body as he fell. His bow was flung from his shoulder and lost to the pull of gravity.


    Just as he feared he would either fall to his death or break his neck on a passing branch, he hit a large tree limb with his left shoulder. This sent him spinning as he passed it. He flipped what felt like three times or more before his stomach was smashed by a thick limb below him.


    Without even a second of difference, the contents of John¡¯s stomach were thrust from him to rain down on the forest floor below. His entire body hurt from the fall. He could do nothing to help himself. He just lay across the branch that had assaulted him and gasped for breath. He couldn¡¯t draw so much as a puff of air around the tree limb in his guts.


    John struggled for several seconds before leaning his body back to let his legs dangle. They quickly found a branch below him and he took the pressure from his bruised stomach. He struggled for a couple more seconds before gasping in great lungfuls of air. For several seconds he just sat panting against the trunk of the second tree. It was several minutes before he heard the steady breath of another.


    Looking down, he beheld the massive stag only twenty feet below him. It¡¯s red eyes stared directly at him. The tree he had fallen into was much larger than the first and they both understood that it could not break this second tree as easily. Instead, all of the stags it commanded lurked beneath the tree. They all stared up at him as if to say, ¡°you gotta come down sometime.¡± John was alarmed to realize that they were absolutely right.


    <u>4</u>


    John sat quietly in the tree for three days as the stags prowled below him. They proved capable of holding a grudge. The giant one never left the base of the tree. It slept only a couple hours a day, and John was getting tired of its steady gaze peering into his soul, promising death.


    John had blown through all of the rations he brought with him. He had only packed enough for two days. Thus, he was becoming both ravenous and desperate on the fourth day. He was beginning to think he would have to jump out of the tree and hope he could stab the king stag to death before being mauled to death by all the others. Before desperation became determination, something unexpected happened.


    A cry broke the silence of the forest. Then another. John¡¯s skin crawled as he recognized the call from his childhood. His family owned property outside the city, on the edge of national forest land.


    There was a cow field owned by a neighbor near their house. And every now and again the very same cry could be heard from the forest at night. It was the cry of a large cat.


    John shivered at the idea that more than one panther was nearby. Cats could climb very well. John was worse than dead in the tree.


    Before he had time to worry about himself, chaos once again erupted around him. Panthers, more than a dozen darted from the limbs of nearby trees and launched themselves at the massive stag.


    It let out a cry of alarm and began stumbling around as the cats attempted to maul it. The other stags reacted as deer are apt to when faced with predators. They freaked the fuck out and scattered in all directions.


    Smaller panthers detached from trees and fell on the lesser stags as they fled. Drawn by the scent of so much spilled blood, an entire pack of Awakened Jaguars came to see what the fuss was. They were led by a dozen Enhanced Jaguars.


    The Enhanced Jaguars worked systematically to incapacitate the king stag. Despite its handicap, the stag was not outmatched. It swung its head to gore two panthers as they pounced at it. Three more landed on its back and sunk into it. They bit it on its back and neck, ripping bloody chunks from the beast.


    It immediately dropped to the ground and rolled, crushing the cats beneath its immense weight. It returned to its feet shakily and swung its antlers to meet another pouncing cat. It knocked the panther into a tree, breaking its back.


    The six remaining panthers didn¡¯t waste the opportunity. Three jumped on the stag from behind, tearing large bloody gashes in its hide. It screamed a horrible scream but managed to roll once again and crush the three panthers beneath it. Now down to three, the cats dove at the throat of the beast. All three of them latched on with their strong jaws and drew blood from the beast. It tossed its head from side to side, but the three were firmly rooted.


    The stag king barreled at the tree John still hid in and slammed into it hard enough to almost dislodge him from his perch. Two of the cats were knocked loose and promptly trampled. The last was disoriented but managed to sink its fangs deeper even as the stag swung its mighty head once more. The panther was torn free of its throat but not without bringing a mouthful of flesh with it. It slammed into a nearby tree and fell limp to the ground.


    The stag king was mortally wounded, but it had killed each and every Enhanced Jaguar that sought it. The lesser stags had all ran into the forest to escape the Awakened Jaguars, and so John was alone with the massive Stag as it fell to its stomach, and thence to its side. John stared with shock as the breathing of the beast slowed. Beneath it, blood began to pool on the ground. An idea, unbidden and impossible to ignore occurred to John.


    Quickly, he descended the thirty feet or so that separated him from the stag. He kept a close eye on it as he descended. It simply lay there breathing gently. Its massive lungs struggled to fill with air a bit harder with each breath it took. John touched down on solid ground again for the first time in over three days just as it¡¯s breathing stilled.


    John summoned his Primitive Mantis Dagger and walked to the beast. It¡¯s massive antlers made it precarious to approach. The way it held its head on the ground left them free to swing if it turned its head. But as John approached, he knew that was not going to be an issue.


    He rounded the beast and walked to the massive hole in its neck. Looking from it to his dagger, he took a breath and plunged his blade into the open wound repeatedly. Blood sprayed all over him and splashed the trees and ground with a smattering of gore. As the beast¡¯s heart ceased to beat, John heard an amazing voice in his head.


    Advanced Lunar Stag killed. Soul weapon acquired: Lunar Stag Bow. Lunar Stag Essence available. Consume to receive Advanced genes.


    John was flabbergasted. In the months since his world had been transported to The Garden, he had heard tales of different ranks of creatures. The highest rank of beast he had heard tell of anyone killing was an Enhanced beast. That had cost Emerald Base nearly one hundred good fighters. Looking at the body of the Advanced Lunar Stag before him, John understood why everyone else had died. In truth, he was alive only because of the scent of the many humans the stags had slain.


    He never imagined he would find an Advanced beast on this trip. He couldn¡¯t fathom absorbing Advanced genes before even Primitive ones. And the Soul weapon. His bow had been destroyed after falling from the tree and being trampled by the stags.


    He had mourned it from his forced perch, but now, only days later, he had received an Advanced Lunar Stag Bow. He shivered as he felt the Advanced Soul squeeze into his expanding mind. He wasted no time summoning it from his mind.


    It appeared in his hands in an instant. It was an ivory bow, seemingly made from the antlers of the slain stag before him. It was sleek. Solid white, with velvet grips in the middle. It was only three feet from end to end. The string was taught, and when John tried to draw it, he quickly realized that it was beyond his ability.


    ¡°What good is a bow I can¡¯t draw?¡± He asked the sky.


    Walking to the head of the stag, John inspected it. He knew from secondhand tales that the genes of creatures were usually something prominent and important to the creature¡¯s identity. Sure enough, when he inspected the antlers of the beast, a three foot length of antler began to glow under his gaze. It was chilled to the touch.


    John found where it ended and began sawing it off with the mantis dagger. He had to work for several minutes before the gene snapped free of the rest of the antlers. When it did, the voice in his head spoke again.


    Advanced Lunar Stag Essence harvested. Absorb now?


    John immediately thought his acquiescence and the cold gene began to dissolve in his hands. The freezing cold seemed to seep into his arms and chest, invigorating him like nothing he had ever experienced. It continued to seep into him until nothing was left.


    Advanced Lunar Stag genes acquired. Advanced Genes: 8 of 100


    Maximize at least one type of gene to be eligible for evolution


    John gasped as energy flooded his body. He dropped to his knees and panted. He had no idea it would be so intense to absorb genes. After he caught his breath, he surveyed the area. Looking back in the direction of Emerald Base, he saw a path of carnage. Stags, panthers, and most prominently, humans littered the entire forest. John shuddered. He was the only survivor of his first hunting trip. What would he tell the guards at the gate? Would they suspect him of treachery?


    He supposed it didn¡¯t matter. He had to go back. Certain death awaited him in the wild. He took a step forward before a gleam caught his eye. Looking down, the fangs of an Enhanced Jaguar twinkled at him. John¡¯s eyes widened.


    There had been twelve Enhanced Jaguars. The Stag had killed them all. Along the path back home, numerous lesser stags and jaguars littered the ground.


    John set to his task with haste. He didn¡¯t know when or if any of the stags or jaguars would return. He had to be fast.


    Taking the provision pack from his back, he quickly ripped the fangs of every jaguar he found out and stowed them in the pack. He only found ten of the twelve Enhanced beasts, but moving on, he quickly found that the genes on lesser beasts were all fangs and antlers as well. With steadily increasing proficiency, John harvested them all.


    Soon, his bag was filled with the much smaller Awakened and Primitive genes of both stags and jaguars alike. Unlike the Advanced gene, none of them took up much room. Despite the traumatizing manner in which he had acquired the surprise windfall, John smiled at the prospect of having so much potential in his bag.


    Though much smaller than the Advanced gene had been, his bag quickly filled to capacity with the smaller variants. When he could hold no more, he began absorbing the genes directly. He absorbed four Primitive stags and two Awakened Jaguars before leaving the proximity of bodies on his journey back.


    The trail of bodies didn¡¯t stop, but it did waiver from his course. He had no desire to end up lost in the forest when night fell. So instead of scavenging more, he let the genes go. All in all, he had gained more than anything anyone could have hoped to.


    Primitive genes: 21 of 100


    Awakened genes: 13 of 100


    Advanced genes: 8 of 100


    With a heavy bag and shoulders newly strengthened to carry it, John left the forest behind. He traipsed across the fields for the next several hours, miraculously avoiding any further trouble. When the sun began to sink, Emerald Base finally came into view. John nearly wept at the sight. Bruised and weary, he stumbled up to the gate. The doors opened of their own accord to welcome him, and he walked into the base.


    <u>5</u>


    ¡°Name?¡± The guard asked when the gate was safely closed behind him.


    ¡°John Greene,¡± he said numbly.


    ¡°Says here your group left four days ago. Are you returning early?¡±


    John didn¡¯t know how returning after four days could be considered early, but he shook his head to indicate that he was not the first of a larger group to arrive. Seeing the trauma in John¡¯s eyes, the guard¡¯s own eyes widened.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one who survived?¡± He asked. His eyes seemed to only then notice the stained blood on him that was only partially covered by a layer of dust and dirt.


    ¡°Climbed a tree,¡± John said absently.


    He just wanted to go home and never come back again. He wanted to see his mom and sister. More than that, he wished he could hear his father tell him how proud he was that John had survived. Some things were beyond the ability of an idle wish, however.


    The guard made a note of who was lost on the expedition before waving John onward. He moved through the wide street with a hollow mind. Absently, he found the side street that his room lived on and turned down it.


    Soon, John was standing on his teleport pad. He pressed the return button and felt his body vibrate once more. In another second or two, he was standing at the station on Earth. With growing exhaustion, John asked the Kumani representative to call for a public transport back to his house.


    ¡°John!¡± His mother exclaimed before he could even fully get the door open.


    ¡°You¡¯re back! I was starting to worry about you,¡± she said in a relieved tone. Her eyes didn¡¯t miss the gore that covered his clothes and face.


    John¡¯s lips lifted into a small smile despite himself. His mother was an overly anxious person. So, if she said she was ¡°starting to worry¡± it probably meant she had spent the last three days biting her nails and staring out the window.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I worried you,¡± he responded distantly.


    Emily noticed the look in his eye and became worried. She immediately grabbed him by the shoulders and made him meet her eye. She spoke softly but firmly.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Joined a hunting party,¡± he said weakly.


    ¡°Stags? His mother asked.


    He nodded. He wasn¡¯t surprised that she had guessed. She too had joined an excursion to hunt the beasts on her first trip. She was familiar with the group.


    ¡°What happened?¡± She asked again.


    ¡°They¡¯re all dead mom,¡± said John shakily.


    ¡°The team killed all of the stags? That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°No. Not the stags,¡± John said in a whisper.


    Emily widened her eyes as she processed what he was saying. John could see the realization flood her face as it turned from confusion to horror. She looked back at John with wide eyes, unwilling to ask for a third time what had happened.


    ¡°It was horrible. They all ran wild until this massive deer with giant antlers came along.¡±


    So John told his mom and sister what had happened. They listened in rapt horror at what he had witnessed. When he finished talking they both held him tight and wept.


    John himself did not cry. He knew it would happen soon. For now however, he was still in shock. So, he gently pushed away from his family and pulled his bag from his back.


    ¡°Here,¡± he said, handing the bag to his mother.


    ¡°What is this?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s for you. I was able to collect a few things on my way back. Take them and become stronger. What you can¡¯t make use of can be stored for Emma when she turns sixteen.¡±


    ¡°John what are you talking¡­¡± his mother trailed off as she unzipped the bag to find all the mixed genes he collected from the dead beasts. Her eyes widened once more.


    ¡°John how did you¡­¡± she trailed off again.


    ¡°Like I said, it was terrible.¡±


    Then John went up to his room and shut the door.

 The Offer, the Ooze, and the Opportunity

    <u>The Offer, the Ooze, and the Opportunity</u>


    <u> </u>


    <u>1</u>


    ¡°What is it?¡± Emma asked.


    John held the mantis dagger he gained from his unwilling bet with the dead idiot. He still wondered how the rules of The Garden worked. It seemed that one¡¯s word was unbreakable given the right terminology was used.


    ¡°It¡¯s a soul weapon. I got for killing more stags than another kid.¡± John left out the part about Brandon being impaled against a tree and ripped into pieces, just for brevity.


    ¡°It looks sharp,¡± his mother said.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t bad for a primitive soul. But I¡¯m going to need a lot better than a dagger to protect myself in that place.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going back?¡± His mother asked, sounding concerned.


    ¡°It¡¯s that or ask you to do it. I would rather my sister have the comfort of at least one parent. I¡¯ll go back. But first I need to make a trip into the city to find something. Where did you put my bag?¡±


    John set out a few minutes later with his bag of genes. He drove the car to the nearest transition station. Since he was within two days of his last trip, he would not have any return restrictions on him this time.


    Mostly that just meant he could come back within twenty four hours. But more importantly it meant that he could return without having to leave the base. That was convenient for him because his goal was within the safety of the base.


    John entered the transition pad and found himself in his room at Emerald base. He quickly left his room and made his way into the widening streets toward the busiest part of the base.


    He came to a courtyard he remembered passing the last time. It had numerous stands and lanes to walk, all haphazardly strewn through the area with no discernible method. This was his target: the market.


    John moved silently from stand to stand. Some sold genes of primitive or awakened creatures. Most sold goods from Earth that would otherwise be difficult to acquire in the collapse of society. A rare few boasted soul weapons.


    John stopped in the disorderly section dedicated to weaponry and looked around. Some vendors noticed him browsing. One asked him what he was looking for.


    ¡°I need arrows,¡± John said simply.


    Immediately, John regretted speaking. People were all around him talking over one another to get his attention. He had to eventually call for quiet.


    ¡°Stop!¡± he shouted.


    Everyone froze, all eyes were on John. He looked around at everyone deliberately before turning to the first person who spoke.


    ¡°Arrows.¡±


    ¡°Uhh, yeah I have some basic arrows. Aluminum shaft with broad head tips.¡±


    ¡°You,¡± John said, moving to the next man, ¡°can you beat that?¡±


    ¡°I have the same aluminum shafts as everyone else here, but my tips are fish point.¡±


    And so the procession continued. John asked each person who had approached him to name his merchandise before moving on to the next. When everyone had spoken their piece, John stepped back and looked between the men, trying to keep their respective offerings straight.


    ¡°Take my arrows, a whole bundle for just three primitive genes.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to Tom, bullet point tips are better for both stopping power and tissue damage. Two primitive genes.¡±


    John listened as the cacophony rose once again. He was trying to settle on who he would buy from when another young person caught his eye.


    The man was probably twenty or so, old enough to live alone, but probably didn¡¯t command much respect around a crowd such as this. He stood out so completely that John¡¯s gaze lingered on him long enough to see him subtly shake his head.


    John questioned the man with his eyes, but was careful not to draw attention. The man answered with his gaze and a tilt of his head. He indicated the archway out of the courtyard.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll have to think on it a while and do some research. I¡¯ll return when I make a decision,¡± John said before turning to leave without hesitation.


    He didn¡¯t know why, but the man gave him a feeling in his gut. He had to find out what he wanted. If all else failed, he would come back to the market.


    ¡°Smart, kid,¡± the man said as soon as John walked out of the market and into the street.


    He overtook John from behind, coming to walk beside him. John took the opportunity to examine the man as they walked.


    He had brown hair, close cropped to his head. He had a shining earring in his left ear, which was visible as he walked on John¡¯s right side. His teeth were white and on full display. He wore cargo pants and a baggy hoody from which an arm extended in greeting.


    ¡°I¡¯m Jules.¡±


    ¡°John,¡± John replied.


    ¡°Well John, I hear you need arrows.¡±


    ¡°Heard that did you?¡± John asked sarcastically.


    ¡°Follow me, I might just have what you need.¡±


    ¡°Follow you where?¡± John asked, wary.


    ¡°Back to my room. You look like you¡¯re carrying a pile of genes in that bag and I¡¯ve seen people get mugged over just a couple. You should really travel more lightly.¡±


    ¡°How do you know I don¡¯t just have water and rations in here?¡±


    Jules smiled knowingly before giving the bag a hard elbow. John tried to edge away but was too slow. The bag gave off a crystalline clinking as the genes knocked together.


    ¡°I heard them when you first walked into the courtyard.¡±


    ¡°And this is your way of helping me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more than you think. You walked into that place like a rich sucker into a casino. If you would have settled with someone and opened that bag around all of those greedy eyes, it¡¯s a fair bet that you wouldn¡¯t have made it back to your room.¡±


    ¡°And how do I know that you¡¯re not taking me somewhere shady to make me disappear?¡± John asked.


    ¡°A fair question but I assume someone as young as you carrying all of those genes must be some kind of badass.¡±


    John didn¡¯t respond, but his blank look seemed to confirm Jules¡¯ suspicion. They walked in silence for a few minutes until Jules stopped at a door.


    John looked at the room number, but it and every other door near it was blank. He was certain that every door they had passed had a number. So why were they all blank now?


    ¡°Built in security measure,¡± Jules explained after seeing his confusion.


    He placed a hand on the number plaque and the figures were briefly revealed before he pushed on the door. It opened at his touch and the two quickly went inside. As soon as his hand left the door, the number faded from view again.


    ¡°So what do you have?¡± John asked impatiently once the door was closed behind him.


    ¡°Back in my first month, I went out with a group to a nearby lake. There were plenty of things to kill around the lake. We started out picking off the primitives.¡±


    John listened to Jules with annoyed impatience. It really wasn¡¯t necessary to make a story out of it. Since he still didn¡¯t know what the man was offering, he kept his eye rolling to a minimum.


    ¡°After a while, all the dead creatures started to drain into the lake. I guess all the blood attracted the marine predators.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± John asked by way of hurrying the story along.


    ¡°It was chaos. A bunch of beasts burst from the water and started attacking everything in sight. I was a safe distance from the water, but then this massive beast splashed out of the water. It was so big that it actually lowered the water level when it emerged. I don¡¯t know what it was, but while everyone was distracted by it, I noticed something had been washed up on the shore with the receding tide.¡±


    ¡°What was it?¡±


    ¡°Ever heard of Steve Irwin?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°No. Who is that?¡± John said.


    ¡°Never mind. The beast was a sting ray. It was huge and flat, probably as big as a dinner table. But it was stuck on the beach. I saw it flopping around and decided to take my shot. I don¡¯t really use a bow, but they gave us all gear to use, and I had no other option. Anyway, my shot must have been a lucky one because I pinned it to the ground with my arrow. It took about a minute to thrash itself to death on the blade. When it died, I got this,¡± Jules finally summoned a soul weapon in his hand.


    It was about two feet long, thin and rigid. It was solid black and looked deadly. The last three inches of it were riddled with miniature backward facing barbs. It would both devastate anything shot by it and be extremely difficult to remove.


    ¡°Is it poisonous?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Venomous, and yes, very. Take care that you don¡¯t shoot the genes you wish to harvest, or they will be corrupted by the venom and cause damage to you upon absorption.¡±


    ¡°How much do you want for it?¡±


    ¡°This is an enhanced soul weapon. As such I want five enhanced genes for it.¡±


    ¡°Five is too many.¡±


    ¡°I disagree. This arrow might even be able to pierce the hide of advanced creatures. You don¡¯t think that¡¯s worth five lesser genes?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t a matter of value. I only have one Enhanced gene. And without that arrow it isn¡¯t likely I can gain any more.¡±


    ¡°Shame really,¡± said Jules with a sympathetic smile.


    John resisted the urge to grit his teeth. He knew the man was right about its value. He was equally sure that he wasn¡¯t leaving without it though.


    ¡°A deal then. You give me the arrow, and I will use it to hunt enhanced creatures. For every two I successfully kill, one gene will come to you until your asking price is met. How does that sound?¡±


    Jules looked ready to brush the offer off, but as he began to speak, he zoned out, as if hearing something only he could. Then he smiled.


    John heard no indication that he had just made a binding deal with the man, but Jules must have been notified. John was surprised. He realized that Brandon may have not known he entered a binding contract simply through his boast. And since he died for his hubris, he likely never found out.


    ¡°A contract? Interesting. You tempt me sorely. But what if you¡¯re not as badass as I think you are. What if I give you this and you die before killing anything?¡±


    ¡°Then you can have this for your trouble.¡±


    John summoned the Lunar Stag Bow into his hands. The second he did, Jules widened his eyes. John knew he had never seen an advanced weapon before. In fact, John may have been the only person in all of Emerald base to attain one.


    ¡°Is that¡­ Advanced?¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± John said, returning it to its place in his mind, ¡°so what do you say?¡±


    ¡°Six genes instead of five, strictly for the purpose of interest. So the one you have will be a down payment. The original asking price of five will be the debt. I¡¯ll give you a year before the number goes up again.¡±


    ¡°These are acceptable terms,¡± John said, reaching out a hand to shake.


    Jules mirrored his pose and the two closed the deal. As John let go of Jules¡¯s hand, he heard the familiar voice in his mind. This time, it did confirm the terms he had just settled.


    ¡°You have received Enhanced Murkray Arrow. You have agreed to provide six enhanced genes in exchange for this. You have one year to complete this task before additional tariffs apply. Failure to complete your obligations will result in the loss of Advanced Lunar Stag Bow.¡±


    John handed Jules the fangs of an enhanced jaguar. The only gene of that level he had taken from his mother. He was almost certain she wouldn¡¯t be able to use all nine of the ones he left her anyway.


    When his parents had absorbed the genes of the rodents, they got a message after the fifth one that no more genes from the same level and type of creature could be absorbed. If that was the case, she could take the remaining four and bargain with them for something nice. John was more than impressed with what he had accomplished with just one.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a pleasure doing business with you.¡±


    John nodded in turn and then pulled out a small piece of paper from his bag along with a pen. He wrote his own room number down on the sheet before handing it to Jules. The other man took it and gave John a questioning look.


    ¡°If you come across any enhanced creatures and don¡¯t want to wait, leave a message at my room. We can both benefit from working together in the future.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I might be able to find something,¡± Jules replied with some thought.


    ¡°Just¡­ no snakes okay?¡±


    ¡°Are you afraid of snakes?¡± Jules asked with a tease in his voice.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± John said defensively.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°No. I just hate them and wish they would all stay the fuck away from me and also die,¡± John said matter of factly.


    Jules nodded, seeming to completely understand the sentiment. He agreed to send word and John bid him farewell.


    <u>2</u>


    John stood still and quiet. He stared determinedly at the target that rested fifty feet away. It was an easy distance.


    He calmly pulled the string of the training bow to its full extent. He noted how much easier it was to pull than his first bow had been, though it was miles from the tension of his Lunar Stag Bow.


    John released his breath slowly, releasing the string as he did so. He had found a basic string release. It was even magnetic, so he could attach it to the string with no effort or delay.


    His new soul arrow flew in an instant to the target. It buried itself in the third ring of the target with a satisfying thump. John smiled at his progress. His first shot had almost missed the target, only catching the edge. His second was in the second ring from the edge.


    He recalled his arrow to his mind and then quickly summoned it to the string once more. The process was a smooth one, taking no more than a second to complete. It was like having a refilling quiver of arrows.


    John fired a few more times, each time coming close to his third shot. He was satisfied with the arrow. He found it even more convenient than any traditional arrow.


    When he was getting tired, John put the practice bow down and started to walk back inside. Before he did, curiosity got the best of him and he summoned the Lunar Stag Bow.


    He couldn¡¯t even pull the string back before, but after absorbing several primitive and awakened genes, as well as the gene from the stag in question, John was curious to know what had changed. He had to manually attach the string release, as nothing on the bow was magnetic.


    He summoned the Muckray Arrow to the string. With a groan of strain, John pulled the string with everything he had. Slowly, shakily, the string extended.


    John¡¯s breathing was strained as he tried to contain the tension of the bow. He quickly sighted the target. To his surprise, the neck of the bow split open and a red lens protruded. It was the same red of the Lunar Stag¡¯s glowing eyes.


    To John¡¯s further shock, he found that it had several lines on it to indicate distances. As John looked through it, the top line began to glow.


    He wasn¡¯t familiar with a bow¡¯s scope, but he supposed the target must be in line with the shortest distance the bow offered. John could feel the string shaking within his grip. He knew he couldn¡¯t hold it much longer.


    At just half extension, the string refused to budge and John was forced to accept defeat. He took final aim at the target. With as steady an exhale as he could manage, John pressed the button in the release.


    Boom!


    No sooner than the arrow left the string, it was already thumping into the target with a loud percussion. Only the arrow had no intention of stopping with the target. It plowed straight through the entire thing before continuing on to the tree line at the edge of his property.


    A second percussion rode the heels of the first as the arrow seemed to obliterate most of the large tree it buried itself in. Wood chips and splinters went everywhere. The burn in John¡¯s arms was immediately forgotten as his eyes went wide.


    The target had an apple sized hole punched through the very top of it. The target was entirely gone at the very top, making a crescent moon shape with its absence. The arrow hadn¡¯t even slowed down.


    Before John could reach the tree, it began to creak under its own weight. He couldn¡¯t tell why until he got closer. When he did, John saw that the arrow sticking out of the tree had blasted away a huge section of the tree.


    Coupled with the fact that the tree already leaned toward the house and therefore, leaned into the shot, it was now struggling to survive its own weight. John carefully tried to remove the arrow, but he couldn¡¯t make it budge so much as a millimeter. With a sigh, he returned it to his mind.


    Without the improbably small wedge in it, the tree quickly gave a loud protest. It buckled under its own weight and toppled toward the ground. John swore and jumped away from the scene.


    Dirt, sticks, and a couple larger branches of the tree broke in a shower of debris as the massive trunk slammed into the ground. John¡¯s caution was well founded, as several smaller branches came close to his face in the chaos. When it was over, he looked at the remaining stump.


    One thing was clear. His new weapon was insanely powerful. He would have to gain more strength to use it properly. That was the next step in the plan.


    John went back inside after that, figuring he could hardly keep shooting at a target that had a bite taken out of it. He would have to take care exactly what he chose to shoot at in the future. Still, he was well pleased with the results of his experiments.


    Inside, he found some food to ease his famine after such exertions. His mind was abuzz with the thought of hunting powerful creatures with his new soul combo. The amount of damage done to the tree made it clear that anything below advanced level wouldn¡¯t stand a chance if he could take the time to draw.


    That didn¡¯t mean he was safe in The Garden, no one was. But at least he could survive most encounters if he could just find a tree to climb.


    John went to sleep that night a few genes closer to his goal. He had collected several primitive and awakened genes from the aftermath of the stag slaughter. Including what he had absorbed on his way back from the hunt, he was able to use five primitive and five awakened genes from both stags and jaguars.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    It seemed to John that smaller and lower leveled genes gave less returns than the single advanced gene had. All of the stags combined gave a total of twenty four primitive genes and twenty six awakened genes. The jaguars added another twenty three and twenty four genes respectively.


    Evolution status: 50 of 100


    Primitive genes: 47 of 100


    Awakened genes: 50 of 100


    Enhanced genes: 0 of 100


    Advanced genes 8 of 100


    Maximize at least one type of gene to be eligible for evolution.


    John was shocked that in just one traumatic venture, he had come closer than most other people to maximizing his genes. He didn¡¯t know what evolution meant for him, but he could guess that it would be beneficial.


    The thought of becoming powerful enough to fight back against the robotic overlords that had enslaved his planet became an overwhelming desire in John¡¯s mind. He could think of little else the rest of the night. Only his exhaustion allowed his mind to calm enough for him to fall asleep.


    <u>3</u>


    John returned to The Garden the next day. He was hoping to keep ahead of his residence quota, so his mother didn¡¯t have to risk herself. When he got to his room, he found the slot on the door for mail had already been used.


    Picking up the folded paper, John found that it was from Jules. Apparently he had already found an enhanced creature. John thought it was more likely that he had already known of one before John made the offer.


    The letter did not mention Jules coming along, it was simply a detailed description of how to reach the area and what the creature looked like. John assumed by the description that Jules was probably afraid of the beast. That was fine.


    John only had a training bow with him, as he couldn¡¯t confidently shoot the Lunar Stag Bow. His further increase of genes steadied his hand slightly when pulling the string, but he still could barely pull it halfway before it would stop moving.


    John decided to check out the creature. According to Jules, it was a few hours from the base. This time, John would be exiting from the opposite side of Emerald Base and traveling to a small grove of trees on the other side of a large creek.


    The hours traveling were beneficial to John. Since he didn¡¯t join a group of people, his safety was both increased and diminished. He knew it was better to have people watch your back, but the Advanced Lunar Stag proved that safety in numbers only existed when facing inferior creatures.


    John¡¯s isolation lured many lesser beasts to him. His inexperience with a bow caused him to miss some of the shots at beasts. Others he could hit, but the shot was never fatal.


    All of the creatures he shot at ran away. The venom from his Muckray Arrow did cause the death of two primitive beasts eventually. The problem was that he could not track them down for fear of losing his direction.


    Only two shots that John took were immediately fatal. One on the chest of a large rodent similar to the ones his father had faced on his first excursion. The other was a rabbit almost twice the size of a normal earth rabbit which John managed to shoot in the eye between its jumps.


    The rodent was a primitive creature. The rabbit on the other hand, was awakened. John smiled to himself as he heard the voice announce his victory.


    Awakened Field Hare killed. Soul Apparel gained. Gene available for harvest.


    ¡°Fuck yeah!¡± John said exuberantly as he went to the hare.


    He had killed a few creatures since coming to The Garden, but except for the Advanced Stag, John had not gained any soul weapons. This soul came in the form of apparel, but John was still pleased.


    He broke off one of the rabbit¡¯s large teeth, the gene he was seeking. He wasted no time absorbing it, just as he had when he killed the rodent. The two gains gave him five more primitive genes and four more awakened.


    The rest of the journey followed a similar theme. He wasn¡¯t able to kill anything else, but he did take shots at half a dozen more creatures that ventured too close. In each case, his missed shot discouraged them from coming closer.


    When he reached the stream, John found that his course had indeed wavered throughout the day. He spotted the grove of trees Jules mentioned a fair distance to his right down stream.


    John found the water shallow enough in this spot that he thought he should cross now in case it became more deep or perilous closer to the grove. He stepped from protruding rock to rock, finding the task to be a familiar and pleasant experience. He had often explored the wood land behind his home in a similar manner.


    Halfway over the water though, John stepped on a rock that looked stable enough. When his foot touched it, one side dipped into the water precariously. The next seconds happened too fast to truly appreciate.


    On all sides of him rose what looked like a fleshy tarp. The rock he had stepped on was perfectly positioned in the center of the mass. Other rocks tumbled down at John as they were displaced.


    John lost his balance and fell into the water as large rocks jarred his shoulders, legs, and in one case his toes. Before he knew what was happening, the fleshy membrane had closed around him.


    He pushed his hands against it, trying to resist the constriction he was feeling. Everywhere his skin touched the flesh though, it began to sting and sizzle. He had his hood pulled up, which was the only reason he hadn¡¯t already been screaming.


    His hands stung like nettle, but also a cold wet corrosion that felt like his skin was melting off. John quickly bowed his head and crossed his arms into his pits. He had to think.


    With a burst of inspiration, he summoned the Muckray Arrow into his hand and began stabbing out at the flesh all around him in any place he could reach. The beast that swallowed him made a strange hissing noise each time his arrow pierced it.


    Dark brown spots spread across the opaque membrane wherever his arrow prodded. After a full minute of this, John felt the whole creature shudder as it¡¯s nervous system began to shut down. Then the membrane seemed to sag and melt down around him, revealing the sun again.


    Advanced Flesh Ooze killed. Advanced Gene available.


    ¡°Holy shit,¡± John said in astonishment as the world revealed itself to him once more.


    It hadn¡¯t been long enough for him to consider anything besides his own survival. Now that he had a moment to consider it, he realized that it made sense. Only something sufficiently evolved would have the intelligence to lay in wait as a trap.


    Looking down at the mostly dissolved ooze beneath his feet, John found something. It was the rock he had stepped on which had triggered the attack. The rock itself was the gene.


    No wonder it had been able to react so quickly. He had stepped on a piece of its body. John grabbed the stone, this beast¡¯s version of a pearl though it was neither symmetrical nor shiny.


    As he was pulling his legs out of the water and onto dry land once more, John looked at the innumerable stones that protruded from the wide creek. How many of them could be similar creatures? He shuddered at the idea, but supposed there could be worse things to deal with.


    John put the gene in his bag, increasing his load considerably, but not enough to slow him. He soon made it to the grove of trees he had come for. He didn¡¯t enter, but waited at The edge, peering inside.


    The stand of trees was too small to be called a forest, but John could still not see the other side through its expanse. He supposed it made up a few dozen acres. According to Jules, his target could reliably be expected to leave the stand of trees each day before sun down to drink from the creek.


    That was why John stood sentinel against a tree. He peered into the grove, hoping his wooden resting post would hide his presence from anything within. After almost two hours of quiet waiting, he saw it.


    Slowly walking from the woods was a hairy brown warthog. Huge tusks protruded from its mouth like stalagmites ready to gore someone. John held his breath as it approached the creek.


    He pulled his practice bow and nocked the Muckray Arrow to its string. He pulled it as quietly as he could, but he quickly stopped. He could see that the hide of the boar was probably too rough to guarantee a kill unless he hit something vital.


    Shaking his head at the potential risk of the next decision, John dropped his practice bow and summoned his Lunar Stag Bow. If anything could guarantee a kill, it was that. He took a steadying breath and pulled on the string.


    Nerves, not the tension caused the shaking in his arms this time. He knew a misfire could land him in a dangerous situation. He slowly worked the string to the fullest extension he could manage before looking through the red eye lens of the bow.


    To his surprise, not only could he see the correct distance to the boar, the lens also provided a glowing indication of any weak spots the boar had. The biggest of which was just behind the front shoulder, almost at the bottom of the hog.


    John worked against the tremble of his arms to steady his shot. Just as the boar lowered its head to drink from the water, John released.


    The boar let out an awful shriek of pain as it quickly toppled to the ground. Water splashed into the air as its head fell into the stream. John whooped and ran to his prize even before the voice told him what he wanted to hear.


    ¡°Enhanced Tusk Boar killed. Gene available for absorption.¡±


    John returned his bow and arrow and dropped down to begin prying the shining tusk loose. He worked at it with a smile on his face until the tooth snapped free. As he swung his bag from his shoulder to store it, he felt his scalp prickle in the most peculiar way.


    John¡¯s breath caught. Standing as slowly and deliberately as possible, he turned toward the trees. Standing there, staring at him like he had just killed their mother, and he had, were more than a dozen smaller but still extremely dangerous pigs. Each had tusks, and each could charge faster than a human could run.


    John didn¡¯t consider, he turned and sprinted straight into the creek. His feet had been wet for hours anyway by this point, and trying to jump across the few rocks that protruded would have been too time consuming.


    Instead, he plowed straight through, the charging squeals of a mob of pigs motivated him better than any shot of energy drink ever could. Soon he was across the water and looked back to see the mob already on the edge of the water.


    They didn¡¯t intend to let a little water stop them from killing him though. They all charged through the water as determined as he had been. John cursed and took off running. He knew for certain that there would be no outrunning them.


    But he had been raised to never give up even when something seemed hopeless. Besides, one could hardly stand still and let themselves be mauled by a pack of pork chops. So, he ran in desperation with everything he was worth.


    He wracked his mind to think of something that could save him. He knew the bow and arrow trick would be useless, but thinking of them, he remembered his newest soul addition. He was so excited to extract the genes of the kill that he had forgotten to examine what his soul apparel was.


    The icon in his mind made him smile. The Field Hare soul icon was a pair of furry boots. John summoned them without a second¡¯s hesitation.


    They popped onto his feet with no delay. Instantly, John felt like he was jogging, where before he had been sprinting. The boots were clearly made for speed.


    John picked up the pace as the boar pack squealed onto the shore of the creek. He was pleased to see them receding behind him. The boots were amazing.


    John ran for several minutes without feeling fatigued. The pigs had long since been lost in the distance. John stopped and caught his breath for several seconds.


    He smiled at his excellent fortune. It almost seemed like each soul took the form of what he needed most. Even if he didn¡¯t need it at the time. If he hadn¡¯t received the boots, he probably would have been trampled or gored by the wild hogs.


    While he was thinking of it, receiving the bow had happened after he lost his first one. It wasn¡¯t as if he specifically needed a new bow. Yet, the Lunar Stag just happened to take that form. It seemed too big a coincidence.


    John contemplated the nature of things as he walked back to Emerald base. He was pleased with his excursion. It made him happy to think that on his second time leaving the base, he solo killed an enhanced creature.


    That wasn¡¯t even counting the ambush from the advanced flesh ooze. John felt giddy when he thought of the large gene weighing down his bag. He wanted to use it immediately.


    Something had stopped him though. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but he had the feeling waiting to use it would be better. That was why it still clanked around on his back.


    John returned to Emerald Base just before sunset. The orange sky spanned the entire horizon. John checked in at the gate and using the number left for him on the note, made his way to Jules¡¯s room.


    Finally finding the right place, John knocked three times on the door. There was no answer. He didn¡¯t want to wait around, and he had no other means of contacting the man.


    Instead, John wrote a short note thanking Jules for his information. Then he wrapped the paper around the boat tusk and pushed it through the mail slot. It fell to the floor with a loud clink.


    Satisfied, John turned to go back to his own room. He walked along the streets until he came to the main channel. As he walked down the street, he started to read the different signs. Just as before, he could tell the signs weren¡¯t marked in English, but just like his room number, he was able to decipher them easily.


    One pointed to the market courtyard. The next he passed told of housing units. There was one for exchanging genes for different soul weapons and apparel. That intrigued John, but he was fairly certain he wouldn¡¯t have the genes to trade for anything good.


    He did have the Advanced gene, but he doubted he could get a soul for a 1:1 ratio. It would be better to hold onto it until he had more if he planned on trading. He decided to walk on.


    The next sign he read though, made him stop and think. It was similar to the last sign. But this one read ¡°Genes for Cultivation Scrolls¡±.


    John had never heard of the concept before, and he doubted the sign was referring to agriculture when it said cultivation. His curiosity drove him to walk down the road following the sign. When he reached the end, he became confused.


    There was a single transition pad, similar to the one in each room of the base. This one was much larger though and it was accompanied by a chest high pedestal. John warily approached the setup.


    At his touch, the pedestal lit up with all kinds of information. There were lists, categories, info boxes, and so much that John couldn¡¯t process before it was swept away in the scrolling boxes of data. John was overwhelmed and started speculating to himself.


    ¡°How the hell do I understand this thing. Is there no menu?¡±


    At that, the text all disappeared, replaced by exactly what John had asked for. A detailed menu of text appeared in front of him. John sighed with relief as he began reading the text.


    Welcome to the Exchange Station. Here, you can offer genes for cultivation scrolls. All offerings are random and might never come again. Please select the level of gene you would like to trade.


    John selected Advanced. The menu disappeared, replaced by innumerable boxes of text describing what Oliver could only interpret as martial arts. As it turned out, the categories were Mind, Body, and Soul. They were divided by difficulty. One gene was good for anything at the Advanced level.


    That seemed immensely better than exchanging multiple genes for a single soul. John perused the list. He certainly wasn¡¯t interested in anything simple. It wouldn¡¯t be worth it if the exchange wasn¡¯t top of the line.


    Going to the bottom of the list, he selected an entry that intrigued him. It was called Blast. The details told John that learning it would train his body to expel massive amounts of energy through his attacks.


    It sounded cool enough, but John wanted something more practically useful. The next one he inspected was another body cultivation called Frost Bones. The details explained that it developed an immunity to cold weather and ice-based attacks. John could see how that would be effective, but it still wasn¡¯t what he sought.


    Then he saw the one at the very bottom of the list. It was called Lunar Radiance. According to the text, this was a soul cultivation meant to balance all aspects of the user. It could maximize endurance, increase pain tolerance, elasticity the skin, and so many minute things that sounded exactly like what John wanted.


    Considering it wasn¡¯t even meant as a body cultivation, he could take his time looking for one that complimented Lunar Radiance in the future. If he found a powerful cultivation for his mind, body, and soul, well¡­ he didn¡¯t know what would happen. But he knew he wanted to find out.


    John selected Lunar Radiance and the pedestal opened. It was hollow; the stand functioned as a large tube. He knew what it was expecting of him.


    Despite his determination, John hesitated. If he threw his gene away, he could have been sacrificing months or years of progress.


    The stag horn had given him eight genes. Another eight could make it possible to fully wield his bow. If he gave that up now, who knew when he would make up the difference?


    The flesh ooze had been a deadly opponent, but it had no defense and no ability to run. John was certain he would not have such an easy time with any other creature of the same level.


    He wrestled with the dilemma for a few moments before making his decision. He pulled the gene from his backpack. Sighing in resignation, he dropped it into the tube.


    He knew he could eventually kill another advanced creature. He might even be able to find more flesh oozes in the stream if he was careful. But he would never be able to learn this specific cultivation again.


    Perhaps he could find a similar one or even a better one. That wasn¡¯t a sure thing though. And in any case, John really liked the sound of Lunar Radiance.


    So he tried not to moan as the gene disappeared down the tube. It made a satisfied chime noise before speaking to him.


    ¡°Please proceed to the transition pad.¡±


    John stepped to the center of the pad and waited for whatever would happen. Soon he felt the familiar tugging on his body that signified a transition. In the next second, John was gone.


    <u>4</u>


    John gasped as the new world materialized around him. He was in a strange artificial space. In front of him was a sunny landscape with numerous pedestals protruding from various angles. There was a pressure switch on each one, and John supposed he was expected to reach each switch through strength or agility.


    At the far end of the field was an open doorway. It stood roughly thirty feet up on a rock cliff. The world ended there.


    Behind John was a seemingly identical landscape from the first. The only difference was that where there was a sun in front of him, it had been replaced by a moon behind him. He was interrupted in his inspection by the monotonous voice all around him.


    ¡°Welcome to the Trial of Lunar Radiance. This is a nonlethal trial, but your safety is not guaranteed. To earn the knowledge of Lunar Radiance, you must first pass all obstacles in the sun district and reach the Hall of Knowledge. Failure of this trial will return you to this location. You may leave at any time and return to this space later. This space will become unavailable if you choose another Trial. Good luck.¡±


    Then there was silence. John felt he was being watched. He took a tentative step onto the first platform in the sun section.


    As his feet left the transition pad, John immediately felt that his body was much too heavy. His knees shook under his weight.


    More than that, John felt the sun was much hotter than it should have been. Sweat immediately started to coat his face and arms. He felt like he was standing in a sauna.


    ¡°What the hell is this?¡±


    John stepped back onto the pad as his knees threatened to buckle. He gasped a breath of relief as the heat subsided. He looked around in confusion.


    He stuck his arm out. As it passed the threshold of the transition pad, he felt his hand get heavy. The temperature difference was also immediately apparent compared to the rest of his body.


    ¡°Very strange.¡±


    John took a breath and stepped off the pad again. He tried to support himself as the weight pulled at him. It was like walking with sandbags tied to him.


    There was no way he could reach the other side. Some of the obstacles were more than ten feet apart, with nothing but open space between them. Shaking his head, John nevertheless jumped for the first ledge.


    He underestimated how heavy his body was though. As he jumped, his legs buckled just before he got the leverage he needed. The result was that John looked like one of those cats on the internet that forgot how to jump.


    He flopped forward, falling at an alarming rate. His fingertips brushed the bottom of the ledge he was reaching for. Then he was falling like a rock.


    Before he smashed ruinously into the ground, a near transparent net appeared under him. It flexed beneath his increased weight before evening out. John took a moment to breathe after realizing he wasn¡¯t about to break anything.


    As he panted from the minimal strain, John felt the net moving beneath him. It was raising him back up. When he reached the level of the transport pad, the far end of the net raised even higher.


    It served as a pseudo slide. John rolled down to the starting point like a kid on a jungle gym. When he came to a stop, he felt slightly humiliated, but none the worse for wear.


    Sure that he could account for the difficulty this time, John tried again. He leapt for the platform, trying his hardest not to mess up his spring. He met with more success, but only marginally.


    His entire hand wrapped around the metal bar that served as a last chance to reach the platform before falling. He felt his fingers wrap around it, but almost as soon as his weight settled on his wrist, he fell to the net once more.


    John sat panting in the net, frustrated as it returned him to the start. This was turning out to be much more difficult than he could have expected. It was like trying to juggle one handed while also blindfolded.


    ¡°What did you expect when you chose the hardest course available. Idiot,¡± John berated himself.


    He knew he had overestimated his own ability. What hurt his pride more was the fact that he was stuck with his choice. That was, unless he wanted to waste the gene he paid to receive it.


    John tried a third time, and a fourth, but he was no more successful. The sun was oppressive. The weight even more so. How could he possibly learn Lunar Radiance if he didn¡¯t have what it took to reach even the first platform?


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± John said to himself upon that thought.


    He turned to the darkened segment of the course. Again, it looked to be identical to the sunny section in every way. He had more trouble seeing everything, but the moon in the sky was full, so a fair amount of light was put off.


    The moon. That was it. That had to be the secret. John had been so focused on the literal passing conditions of the test that he hadn¡¯t taken the time to think about why he was here in the first place.


    The skill was called Lunar Radiance. If he had a couple dozen more brain cells, he might have made the connection between the challenge before him and the seemingly unnecessary mirror effect behind him.


    John took a step forward, this time entering the dark segment. The moment he stepped to the platform, he felt the difference.


    John felt the chill of night air. He felt the cool breeze wash over his body like a tide. It soothed the sweaty fatigue he had accumulated over the last few minutes.


    There was no increase in his weight. He felt himself. The differences between the two challenges were as clear as the difference between day and night. Perhaps that was the point, John thought.


    With a steadying breath, John leapt for the first platform. Unfortunately, his attempts with increased weight had conditioned his brain to exert himself more. The result was that his jump propelled him further than he could have thought.


    John cleared the distance easily, but he had been expecting to grasp the bar to stop his fall. Instead, he bashed his shins across the bar and face-planted onto the pressure plate that indicated his success. It pressed into the ground gently beneath his face.


    John rolled over and grabbed his shins with both hands, cradling into the fetal position. He laid there blinking the tears from his eyes for several seconds. That was going to bruise for sure.


    When he could stand to... well, stand, John got up and surveyed the next platform. This one was diagonally to the left of his own platform if he was looking from the starting point. That made it impossible to reach from the beginning.


    John assumed that most of the challenges would prove the same. It would hardly be called a challenge if he could skip parts of it. Looking at the several platforms he had to reach and surpass, John got an idea of just how difficult a situation he had chosen for himself.


    Still, he was no quitter. John took a breath, enjoying the cool air on his lungs. It felt like he was chewing mint gum. His chest seemed to hold onto the cool sensation long after he released the breath.


    Focusing back on the task at hand, John saw that the next platform was higher in elevation than his current resting place. This time, he knew he would have to use the bar, no matter how hard he jumped.


    His execution proved to be spot on. John reached the bar easily and was able to support his weight as it caught up to his jump. As he dangled from the platform though, the fatigue of his previous attempts in the bright section seemed to catch up with him as well.


    He found it hard to pull himself to the top. Having spent no small amount of time on monkey bars as a child though, John knew how to hook a leg in the bar. From there it was a simple, if time consuming process to make it to solid ground.


    There, John did his customary pant for breath. The trial was proving much more taxing than he could have possibly imagined. And this wasn¡¯t even the course he needed to pass in order to attain what he came for.


    John stood in due time and surveyed what lay ahead. His mouth almost dropped open when he realized what was expected of him.


    Connected to this platform was a wall. This was already dissimilar from the first, which had simply been a floating floor. More than that, the wall extended for five feet past the edge of the floor. Another ten feet beyond that was the next island.


    His target was, mercifully, lower than the platform he found himself standing on. That was the only thing that gave him any hope of reaching it. Nevertheless, doing so would not be easy.


    John could tell at a glance that he was meant to run along the wall before jumping as far as he could to reach the next platform. John had seen people run on walls in movies and video games, but he assumed most of that was imaginative. Here was an opportunity to learn how correct his assumption was.


    As it turned out, his assumption was extremely correct, at least for inexperienced teenagers who understood physics as well as a fish understands electricity. John¡¯s feet slid down the wall faster than he could place them. Before he even made it to the end, he was falling.


    The faithful net appeared under him just as it had on the other times he had fallen. That did little to reassure him. Especially when he noticed that the net was not raising him to return to where he fell.


    The net continued to raise up well above the whole course. Then it tipped him forward. The obstacles he had conquered passed by underneath him as he tumbled back to the start of the course.


    ¡°God damnit!¡± John shouted as he realized he would have to restart the whole course with every failed attempt.


    John just laid on the ground for several seconds, feeling his fatigue. He knew he was at his limit for the day. With resignation, John walked back to the transition pad.


    ¡°Would you like to abandon this trial?¡±


    The voice spoke to John emotionlessly. Despite that, he felt the sting of the words that sounded oddly jagged in his ears. It was a self admonition that he had failed.


    ¡°No,¡± John said with some heat.


    ¡°Do you wish to save this trial for later practice?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± John said.


    ¡°Progress saved. You may return at any time by verifying your identity. Beginning transition now.¡±


    John returned to Emerald base defeated. He felt like he should have accomplished something. But the task he unknowingly assigned himself was something no one could have mastered in an hour¡¯s work.


    John sighed and sulked his way back to his assigned room. Upon entering, he found another note from Jules. It thanked him for the expedited delivery of the Enhanced gene and even mentioned the location of another creature.


    John suspected that like the first, Jules had already known of the beast beforehand. His first letter had been a test of sorts. He expected to have more business than he could handle in the coming weeks.


    John supposed that was all for the better. Assuming he didn¡¯t die along the way, he figured it would be great for his development. It also didn¡¯t hurt to have an ally in such an unforgiving world.


    John tucked the note away and went straight to the transition pad. His body melted away as he exhaled the stress of the day. When John made it back to his house, he barely had the energy to greet his family before finding his bed and collapsing into it.

 Genes, Jumps, and Jane

    <u>Chapter 3</u>


    <u>1</u>


    John returned to The Garden the next day. It was partially because the more time he spent there, the less his mother would be obligated to go. But the other reason was because he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Lunar Radiance.


    He had woke up thinking of how good it felt to breathe in the chilly air of the darkened course. He felt like there was something to that. He figured he would try to hunt that creature first and end the day with practice.


    John took the note Jules had left and read over the contents again. There was supposedly a large pond about two hours from the base. In Jules¡¯ words, an enhanced creature lived on the pond.


    John thought it was a grammatical error. On the pond? Didn¡¯t he mean in the pond?


    Shrugging, John took off. Jules had turned out to be an invaluable asset. If he could keep providing the locations of beasts, John could keep making progress along his evolution.


    The walk to the pond was uneventful. John had the opportunity to shoot at a few beasts along the way, but he chose to save his strength. He approached the pond just as the sun reached its zenith.


    As he did, John understood what Jules had meant by ¡°on the pond¡±. Sitting glistening in the sun was a giant frog. It had bulbous yellow eyes, and a bulging throat.


    No sooner than John saw it, the frog let out a ground shaking croak and leapt toward him. John quickly summoned his Field Hare boots and zipped to the side. The frog landed heavily where he had been and croaked again.


    As he ran, John felt like he took a punch to the back. He was knocked to the ground by something heavy before he could turn to see what it was. He rolled aside before scrambling back to his feet.


    The Mantis dagger was in his hand as he rolled out of the attack. He swung it at the incoming tongue as it punched at him again. John underestimated the speed of the appendage though, and instead of slicing though it, the tongue wrapped around his arm and pulled hard.


    This time, John felt himself fly through the air. At some point, the tongue let him go. He had just enough time to rejoice before his whole body slammed into the ground with enough force to break his ribs.


    Luckily, the area around the pond was wet ground. Instead of ruinously crashing into it, John felt his left arm sink several inches into the muck. He found himself unable to extricate from the mud.


    Then the frog croaked again. John struggled to turn his head to see the beast. He was in time to see the giant bulging throat of the toad constrict.


    A strange vapor seemed to pour from the frog like steam. John knew that he was probably about to die. He did the only thing he could think of.


    Just as the mist washed over him, he summoned his Muckray arrow into his hand. The frog spray coated his skin with a sour smelling film. John immediately began to feel drowsy.


    Colorful pigments danced in his eyes as he began to understand that whatever the frog ejected was some kind of hallucinogenic sedative. John pressed his eyes closed as hard as he could, and the arrow in his hand was gripped even harder. A few seconds later, the exhausted feeling overtook John and he was still.


    <u>2</u>


    John¡¯s body exploded in pain as his back slammed into the ground once more. This time he was unlucky enough to fall on a large rock. He could distantly hear a hacking sound from somewhere above his head.


    John tried to open his eyes, but he saw three shining suns in the sky, and nothing made sense. He stayed in his rocky bed for several more seconds while his adversary seemed to hack up something sharp and painful.


    John immediately sat up, causing his head, neck, back, ribs, and knees to scream in pain. He screamed along with them, but his realization called for quick action. Looking to where he knew the frog was, John confirmed his suspicion.


    The beast sat hacking around the Muckray arrow that was sticking clear through its throat and out the back of its neck. The frog was actively choking on its blood and the shaft of the arrow. John immediately returned the arrow to its place in his mind.


    The frog immediately looked to John, somehow knowing that he was responsible for removing the bolt. It gave him no forgiveness however, and immediately punched out with its tongue again.


    John couldn¡¯t have avoided it if he tried. His vision was blurry, he had a massive headache, and everything was sore; by the time he realized there was an attack coming at him, he was getting punched in the stomach by it.


    He stumbled backward, tripping on a rock. He was able to brace himself for the fall, but couldn¡¯t avoid going down. The world continued to spin around him as his back pressed into the soft ground.


    John just closed his eyes again as he heard the frog continue to croak in his ears. John had done no damage. He spent the entire fight getting knocked around and dazed by a frog. He was sure that he would die as an insect for this oversized amphibian¡¯s stomach.


    But the longer he laid there, the more confused he became. Surely he should have been eaten by now. What was happening? Then he heard it.


    ¡°Enhanced Toad King killed. Gene available for harvest.¡±


    John sat up in surprise. There, only a few yards from him was the frog. It had died in its regular sitting position, eyes forever fixed on a point just past John. He was sure it was dead, but that didn¡¯t change how creepy it was, just gazing in his direction.


    John hesitantly limped closer to the beast. He tried not to think about the possibility of its tongue darting out to grab him one more time. When he got close enough, he inspected the frog for its gene.


    He found nothing exterior that would have indicated a gene¡¯s presence. That meant he had to do some digging. John cursed the dead amphibian as he pried it¡¯s mouth open.


    Turned out, a frog¡¯s mouth was pretty fucking terrifying when it was as large as a bull. John couldn¡¯t even tell what he was looking at most of the time. After some inspection however, he was able to locate a glowing organ that dangled from the frog¡¯s throat.


    If he had to guess, this was the organ responsible for spitting out all the drowsy mist. John grabbed it firmly in his hand and began to work it free. After a few minutes, it tore from the frog with a loud rip.


    The frog leapt backward immediately. John wasn¡¯t sure frogs were able to do that, but clearly this one didn¡¯t care since it was supposed to be dead and all. It landed uncoordinatedly in the pond it coveted.


    John was cursing and pulling his dagger from his mind while scrambling backward before he saw that the beast was sinking into the murky water. Confused, John watched. The frog made no other motion. It just sank into the water with a lifeless abandon.


    John thought he understood. Snakes, Gods damn them, had been known to bite even after death. Many people had died while cleaning a dead rattlesnake. Apparently the nerves of reptiles were so sensitive that they maintained some reflex after death.


    John hadn¡¯t heard of the same applying to frogs, but it seemed the only explanation for what had happened. As he watched it sink, John noticed a disturbance in the water.


    He hadn¡¯t come close to the pond since arriving. The frog had attacked him immediately. What he saw now made him wonder just how powerful the frog must have been to live here.


    Stalking its way to the corpse through the murky water was a long reptilian form that John had never seen in life but was nevertheless familiar with. A crocodile.


    John watched in fascination as the beast sprung on the corpse of the frog. It grabbed a piece of the frog¡¯s flesh and pulled it under the surface with no more effort than John took to tie his shoes. Clearly this crocodile had been waiting a long time to claim the frog as a meal.


    John summoned his bow and drew it as far as he could. The scope popped out automatically, ready to assist. Despite the water between them, John could clearly see the body and vitals of the beast.


    John had always heard that a shot to the perfect spot on the head was the only thing sufficient to kill a crocodile. Apparently though, the bow disagreed. There were numerous areas that were highlighted.


    Granted, there was a definite weak point between the beast¡¯s eyes. But that was by no means the largest or the easiest to hit in the situation. That caused John to aim for a larger spot highlighted on the crocodile¡¯s back.


    Supposedly the hide of such beasts was so thick that a small round of ammo was hardly sufficient to blast through it and continue into something vital. The Lunar Stag bow seemed not to worry about such distinctions as ¡°armor¡±. John let the arrow fly with a prayer for success.


    Using the scope, he was able to watch his arrow impact the beast. As a result, he knew immediately that it wasn¡¯t on target. It pierced the beast all right, causing convulsions under the water.


    What it did not do was hit whatever organ he had been aiming for. John quickly resummoned his arrow and tried again. Three more times he tried and three more times he missed.


    Fortunately, the accumulated stabs from the arrow eventually accomplished what his lack of skill couldn¡¯t. He once again heard the voice in his head. As he listened, the body of the beast floated slowly to the surface.


    ¡°Enhanced Stillwater Crocodile killed Soul weapon gained. Gene available for harvest.¡±


    ¡°Holy shit!¡±


    John was ecstatic. Not only did he gain a second gene for his efforts, he was also able to attain a soul weapon. He would trade almost dying for that every day of the week. Almost was of course the key word.


    He checked the slot that had expanded his mind with its appearance. The icon that denoted the new soul looked like a blunt weapon of some sort. Upon summoning it into his hand, John found that it was an extremely lackluster club. It had no defining features apart from the length of the club sort of looking like the scales on a crocodile.


    ¡°Oh,¡± John said, disappointed.


    John spent a few minutes fishing the dead crocodile to the shore, not wishing to step in the deadly waters. He didn¡¯t know if there were any more critters in there, but he wasn¡¯t risking it. When it was safely ashore, John went to work extracting the beast¡¯s right eye.


    It was clearly the gene, as it sparkled with an inner light while the other was just a dull black. In time, he was able to pry the eye from its socket. He wasted no time absorbing it.


    His first enhanced gene. He let it melt into his skin with a calm equilibrium. In the end, he gained seven genes.


    John returned to Emerald base feeling like he couldn¡¯t possibly attempt the trail for Lunar Radiance. He walked all the way to Jules¡¯s room and deposited the gene with another note. As he was walking away though, John heard the door open.


    ¡°Dude,¡± said Jules as he stepped out of the room.


    ¡°Hey. What¡¯s up?¡± John asked casually.


    ¡°Two genes in two days? When I put that note in your box, I didn¡¯t expect to get a gene for it so soon.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong,¡± John said.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°It was four genes. Thanks for the info.¡± John said, already turning to leave again.


    ¡°Wait up. Let¡¯s talk.¡±


    John didn¡¯t wait, but Jules easily caught up to his leisurely pace. The latter looked at John as they walked like he was the coolest person he had ever seen. John raised a quizzical eyebrow at the man.


    ¡°Clearly, you know what you¡¯re doing. I didn¡¯t realize when we made the deal how quickly you could make good on it. Seeing how talented you are though, I thought we could make a more lasting agreement.¡±


    ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I know some people in the base. There is an information network. If we can advertise an ability to hunt strong creatures, there is a chance you will see a lot more action.¡±


    ¡°No thanks,¡± John said.


    ¡°What? You¡¯re not even going to consider it?¡±


    ¡°More attention is not what I want. If you can locate strong creatures, I¡¯ll hunt them. It doesn¡¯t matter to me how you get the information. What I don¡¯t want is everyone knowing who I am, nor how I¡¯m able to hunt such creatures in the first place. I respect you for your integrity. But my father taught me never to flaunt power, lest the jealous try to take it from you.¡±


    Jules didn¡¯t respond for several seconds. He seemed to be digesting what John had said. When he replied, it was not with resignation.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°So if no one knew who was hunting the beasts, you would be happy to receive the intel?¡±


    ¡°I suppose. But I would caution you against putting your own name out there as well.¡±


    ¡°I can handle myself. Come back to my room and we can get started coordinating the information I¡¯ve already gathered.¡±


    ¡°Proactive are you? Well I would love to, but unfortunately I¡¯m busy with something at the moment.¡±


    Jules had not paid attention to the route they were taking. That was why he was confused when John stopped walking and turned to him. He patted the man on the shoulder.


    ¡°I trust that you¡¯ll do an excellent job. You can leave any new information in my box. Well, see you later I guess.¡±


    Then John stepped onto the transition pad that would take him to his Lunar Radiance trial. Jules looked around at where they were, bewildered. He had never come here before.


    ¡°Beginning transition to Advanced Trial: Lunar Radiance.¡±


    John disappeared in a few seconds, leaving Jules to parse the words the voice had spoken. A trial? An advanced one at that. He had no idea what the words meant, but upon studying the podium, his eyes grew wide.


    <u>3</u>


    John stayed in the trial area for the next few hours. He had prepared this time, bringing a bag of food and water to sustain himself when he got tired. Those preparations in place, he could set himself to the task with abandon.


    Despite his forward thinking, John was soon panting from his exertions. He tried again and again but couldn¡¯t seem to make it to the third platform. He just couldn¡¯t make it to the end of the wall run with enough inertia to propel him onward.


    After his dozenth failed attempt, John sat down on the first platform to have some food. He studied the course intently as he munched on some trail mix. There had to have been something he was missing.


    The moon shone down on him, painting him in a white light. The air was cool on his skin, but not unpleasantly so. Again, when he breathed it felt like he was drawing the cool air into his pores.


    ¡°Wait, is that it?¡± John asked himself.


    He put his food down and stood. Staring at the glowing orb in the sky, he tried to feel something from it. After many seconds of this, he gave up the idea as hopeless.


    Instead, he went back to the task at hand. He had to make it to the other side, but so far every obstacle was more difficult than the last. If he couldn¡¯t even pass the second floating island, how would he ever be able to traverse the sunny side?


    John continued to work at it for the next couple of hours. He took many breaks, but was always back on the course as soon as he caught his breath. Despite his persistence, he couldn¡¯t make it to the third platform.


    When he couldn¡¯t hold himself up properly, John was forced to admit defeat once more. Cursing his own incompetence, John returned to the transition pad.


    As he was confirming his break in training, John noticed something. Looking down at his hands, he could see miniscule tendrils of silvery mist were separating from John. It was like the mist the giant frog had put off, but this was obviously something much different.


    Before he could inspect it further, the phenomenon stopped. John stared at his hands for several seconds, wondering what it could have meant. In the end, he transferred back to Emerald base with no answer.


    ¡°There you are. I was about to give up.¡±


    Jules was ready and smiling when John appeared. He had been sitting there for hours waiting for him. John started walking back to his room without greeting him.


    ¡°What kind of trial were you in? The machine said it was advanced. Did you really hunt an advanced creature and then sacrifice its gene?¡±


    ¡°Lunar Radiance.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The trial is called Lunar Radiance.¡±


    ¡°Woah. That sounds bad ass. What does it do?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t passed the test yet.¡±


    ¡°I have the enhanced gene you gave me. Can I do some kind of trial too?¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking me? The gene is yours to do with as you please.¡±


    ¡°Do I just¡­¡±


    ¡°Touch the thing there. It¡¯s pretty straight forward. I gotta go. Catch you later okay?¡±


    John left Jules standing there looking at the podium shaped machine. He looked like he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. John went straight to his room and transitioned back to earth.


    <u>4</u>


    Over the next few days, John made little progress on Lunar Radiance. The trial seemed determined to keep him down. He did begin to notice the expulsion of silvery mist more often though.


    On the other hand, John made exemplary progress with his gene count. Every day he ventured into the wilderness to hunt whatever he could find. Jules had not given him any new information, so he operated on chance instead.


    The results were surprising. His first day, he killed a primitive skunk, the gene of which had caused his hand to stink for the entire day. The next day he got a primitive squirrel and an awakened badger.


    The latter had charged at him like a roided out psycho. He had to use his Hare boots to escape it before he was able to take aim at it and fire a lucky shot to its shoulder. The third day was even better.


    John was exploring in a nearby forest when a group of hairy little rodent creatures swarmed around him. John panicked at first, but soon he found that the little critters weren¡¯t trying to eat him, but running from something else.


    Hiding behind a large tree, John waited while the tribe of fur balls scurried away. Soon, it was quiet again, and John began to wonder if he was wrong about the cause of their distress.


    But just before he turned to follow them, he saw the white and red pelt of a large fox round a tree. It looked vicious. It had piercing yellow eyes and it¡¯s coat was reminiscent of blood.


    John watched in silence as it stuck its nose down and began sniffing at the ground. It caught the scent of its prey in only a moment. John silently drew his bow and summoned his arrow to the string.


    John took a steadying breath as the fox lifted its head to find the direction it¡¯s prey had gone. John tried not to shake as a gentle breeze brushed him from behind. He sighted in on the fox just as it seemed to catch the scent of something.


    Before John could fire though, the fox¡¯s yellow eyes suddenly zeroed in on him. It growled deep in its chest the instant before John let his arrow go. It flew at the fox like a hornet.


    But the fox was enhanced. And as cunning as foxes were said to be, this one was smarter still. It leapt to the side, letting the tree protect it from his shot.


    John returned the arrow to his string using the summon method again and prepared for the retaliation of the beast. He was ready for it, but it came from the wrong direction. The fox had somehow used the tree to retreat far enough that it could move closer unseen.


    Before he could react, the fox was leaping at him from his right. John turned instinctively and loosed his half-drawn arrow. He was bowled over by the large beast as his arrow sunk victoriously into the roof of its open mouth.


    It was dead before the two of them slammed into the ground. John was unaware of the outcome at first and immediately summoned his mantis blade. He stabbed the fox several times in the side before he registered the voice in his mind.


    ¡°Enhanced Blood Fox killed. Soul pet gained. Gene available.¡±


    John stopped his struggling as he digested the news. A soul pet? He had never heard of anyone gaining an animal companion from a kill before. The prospect made him giddy.


    Pushing the beast off of him, John heaved a sigh of relief and began searching for its gene. It took a while, but eventually he found that the pads in its feet glowed a special color. He had never seen a gene split into four areas before.


    As he worked on separating the crystallized gene from the fox, he speculated if that was the reason it had been able to sneak around him. That made him wonder if all genes related to the animal¡¯s abilities.


    He supposed it might make sense for the most unique abilities of a creature to come from the mutated genes they possessed. After all, everything in The Garden seemed to thrive on the obsession to evolve as far as possible.


    In the end, his three-day haul gained him nine primitive genes, six awakened genes, and eight enhanced genes. Each paw of the fox had provided an even two. John was impressed.


    Primitive genes: 61


    Awakened Genes: 60


    Enhanced genes: 15


    Advanced genes: 8


    John ended every day by attempting his trial for Lunar Radiance. And every day, he slid down the hanging wall and was caught by the net again and again. No matter what he tried, he couldn¡¯t seem to make the jump.


    On his fourth day, John stopped taking trips to the wilderness and instead focused his entire day on Lunar Radiance. It was only then that the answer began to present itself.


    After an entire day of falling off the wall run, John was covered in sweat. He stood on the island stubbornly refusing to fall again. That¡¯s when it happened.


    John felt that the cold air he had been breathing all day had done something to his body. It was like the flick of a switch, one second, he was standing there sweating and unwilling to be humiliated by the trial again. And the next, John¡¯s body began to subtly glow.


    He had been slowly taking in the rays of moonlight all day. It was a slow process, as none of the other attempts he had made had given him the same feeling. It had taken six or seven entire hours to reach this point.


    Now that he felt it, John began to understand everything. The moon had given him something amazing. His body felt like it was half the weight it had always been. His skin radiated the moon¡¯s power, causing the glow. John knew before he tried that this attempt would be different.


    He took a breath. He had fallen down the wall at least a hundred times in recent days. He had grown sick of the trial long ago. His only reason for staying had been his own stubborn refusal to admit to his own hubris.


    Now though, John knew what he was supposed to do. It seemed so obvious in hindsight. Lunar Radiance meant that he would absorb light from the moon in order to strengthen his soul.


    John wondered how the moon¡¯s light helped him when the sun¡¯s light was so oppressive. After all, the moon was only bright because of the sun¡¯s light. It was strange.


    John pushed the thought from his head as he prepared to run. The wall would not best him this time. John exhaled his deep breath and ran along the wall.


    The second his first foot touched the wall, John felt the difference. His foot didn¡¯t slide down the wall as it always had. It stuck fast in the spot it was placed until John¡¯s weight carried him past it.


    He smiled as he planted his other foot on the wall. It felt like he could run straight up a building. When his third step carried him to the edge of the wall, John knew he had to be perfect.


    He planted it firmly against the wall and pushed as hard as he could. His body sailed over the ten feet separating him from his victory against the third obstacle in the course. John grabbed the bar marking the bottom of the island just before it rose out of his reach.


    The reduced weight he felt helped his hand not to release the bar under his entire body¡¯s coercion. He did strain, but it helped that his hand seemed incapable of removing itself from the bar he clung too.


    In a few awkward seconds, John was on the platform. This was the culmination of several days¡¯ work. He had never felt so alive before.


    It wasn¡¯t just that he had passed the obstacle. He finally understood the reason why he was failing. The obstacles were never meant to be possible.


    John smiled as he studied the next platform. Like its predecessor, this platform seemed almost guaranteed to drop him onto the net. But John could already see how his heightened bodily ability could cope with it.


    The obstacle consisted of a wall run like the last, but at the end of it was an opposite facing wall. The goal was to run along the wall before jumping to another wall. Then there was a second wall run before leaping to the next platform.


    John built his confidence in a few stout breaths before taking off. He pushed his feet along the wall perfectly before leaping across the space to the next platform. His momentum carried him too far down though.


    His feet touched the bottom of the wall and slipped off the edge. John cursed as he fell helplessly to the net below. He continued to curse as he was babied all the way back to the starting point.


    He waited for his anger to subside before he tried again. He successfully made it back to the same platform with less effort than his last attempt. When he tried again though, his body once again carried him too far along the second wall.


    He pushed off the wall with one leg but was unable to place his second foot properly. It brushed the far side of the wall before slipping off the edge. The result was a graceless midair tumble.


    Three more times John attempted the wall before he finally leveraged himself properly to make both jumps. He was starting to realize that it wasn¡¯t the addition of Lunar Radiance that would conquer the obstacle. It was the correct application of the energy he now had.


    As he stood victorious for the second time that day, John felt a little discouraged. His next challenge was a wall run followed by a hanging bar several feet past the end of the wall. It sat at eye level to where he stood.


    John knew that was going to be difficult. He would have to keep as much height in his run as he could in order to reach the bar. After that, he had to swing on the bar and jump to the island.


    John was too exhausted to even try the obstacle that day. Instead. He fixed the problem firmly in his mind, determined to think of the best way around it before he returned. When he could recall what he saw perfectly with his eyes closed, he allowed himself to fall from the platform and into the net.


    John went home that day invigorated. The effects of Lunar Radiance were amazing. As saturated as he was, John felt the energy seeping slowly from his body for hours afterward.


    He went to sleep with a smile on his face. He decided that he would hunt as many genes as he could the next day. Then he would dedicate another entire day to Lunar Radiance.


    John was convinced of two things. He needed to become stronger in order to protect his family. And Lunar Radiance was the key to that strength.


    <u>5</u>


    The next day, John followed his plan precisely. He spent the day hunting and gaining genes. He managed to hunt two primitive creatures and an awakened creature before lunch. Then he was attacked by an enhanced weasel on his way back to Emerald base.


    The weasel was a tough contender. It was fast and agile. It crawled up his leg and bit his thigh hard enough to draw blood.


    John had screamed from the pain but his reflex allowed him to pin it to his leg by the neck. From there, it was a simple if brutal matter to break the creature¡¯s neck in his grip.


    The teeth were the gene of the beast, and John gladly took them, wincing at his sore and bleeding leg. He was so bitter in fact that he decided to summon his newest soul. A small and adorable fox popped into existence next to him.


    John was about to order the little pup to eat the weasel when the fox leapt at the body. It tore into it viciously. John was surprised to see the cunning and decisive killer that he had fought displayed in the miniature animal.


    The fox ate the entire weasel corpse, bones and all. When it was finished, it looked expectantly at John. He thought it looked a little larger, but perhaps it was only the thing¡¯s bloated stomach.


    ¡°I¡¯m John, I think I¡¯ll call you Jane. Simple, easy to remember.¡±


    John returned the beast to its place in his mind. He supposed he would have to feed the beast more from his kills in the future. For now though, John was immensely satisfied with himself.


    His archery had improved a great deal with regular practice. His shoulders were sore much more frequently, but the genes he regularly absorbed made it a much smoother recovery.


    The genes he had gained that day increased his primitive genes by twelve, his awakened by six, and his enhanced by six as well. John swelled with power as he let the enhanced gene sink into him. Then he reviewed his progress.


    Primitive genes: 73


    Awakened genes: 66


    Enhanced genes: 21


    Advanced genes: 8


    John was ecstatic at his enhanced genes. But more than those, he was almost three quarters of the way to one hundred primitive genes. He wasn¡¯t sure, but he didn¡¯t think anyone at Emerald base had yet reached that point.


    John returned home that day with the knowledge that he was even better suited to attempt the Lunar Radiance trial. He had spent the day imagining different scenarios and how likely they were to succeed. He thought he knew exactly where to place his feet in order to get the best jump possible.


    When John checked in with his mother upon his return home, she stopped him in the kitchen. John was so distracted by thoughts of his future that he took a moment to shift his attention to her.


    ¡°-and you¡¯ve been gone a lot these past weeks. I know you worry about me, but you¡¯re just a kid. Please take a break. I¡¯ll go into The Garden for myself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary mom. I know what I¡¯m doing. I don¡¯t take risks. I leave for the minimum time required and I spend the rest of the time training in the base.¡±


    ¡°I know you¡¯re a smart kid, but you¡¯re still my son. I don¡¯t need you to take my slack. I have almost fifty primitive genes now. The ones you brought back from your first hunting trip gave me quite a bit of progression. And the enhanced genes got me to thirty before I couldn¡¯t absorb another. There are still two left by the way. You should have them.¡±


    ¡°You keep them trade for things in the base. You never know when an enhanced gene will come in handy. I¡¯ll be fine on my own.¡±


    ¡°I did trade one of them. But to be honest, having the gene on my person is more of a risk than any trade would be worth. People look at a lone and frail woman very differently than they look at a young and confident teenager.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll take them. If you need anything that Emerald base can supply just tell me and I will go get it. I know a guy who is good at finding things.¡±


    John took the remaining enhanced genes and went to his room. He decided that it would benefit him most if he just used them. He could have used them to gain a lower ranked skill in The Garden, but now that he was finally making progress with Lunar Radiance, he knew he would never choose to give up.


    He gained another thirteen enhanced genes, bringing his total to thirty two. John couldn¡¯t believe it. It turned out to be the perfect cherry on top of his day. As the medical salve his mom gave him seeped into the wounds on his leg, John sunk into an exhausted sleep.

 Ledges, Limits, and Lessons Learned

    <u>Named Chapter # 4</u>


    <u>1</u>


    John could smell the cinnamon from his mom¡¯s breakfast long before he stepped into the kitchen where she stood by the sink, staring silently out the window. The bowl of food in question sat forgotten and unappreciated next to the sink. Its presence was just an obligatory nod toward the ritual that was breakfast.


    He could see the dark rings around her eyes even though she faced almost entirely away from him. John knew before she spoke the reason for her discontent. The subject was coming up more and more often. Despite his reluctance, he let his mother speak her piece.


    ¡°It¡¯s been almost a month. I don¡¯t want to give up hope, but it¡¯s starting to seem like¡­¡±


    John was at his mom¡¯s side before she could finish the thought. He pulled her into a hug. She wanted to stay strong in the faces of her kids, but John could feel her trembling under his touch.


    ¡°I¡¯ll find him. I haven¡¯t given up. I didn¡¯t want to raise any questions before gaining some prestige. But I¡¯m getting stronger every day. Soon I can investigate without fear of jumping off the deep end.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know what else to say to her. He knew no words would ease the loss and pain she was feeling. John felt it too, but the ache was dulled. It was like his drive to progress himself had placed a numbing ointment over the wound that was his father¡¯s unknown fate.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of finding him John. I know your father is more capable than most. If he¡¯s alive, he will eventually come back. My worry, and the thought that keeps me up at night, is-¡±


    ¡°Is me,¡± John finished for her.


    She looked into his eyes, her own filled to the brim with tears. He knew he was right. And he knew his mother had good reason to worry.


    But what could he do? The situation was impossible. Either he went to the garden, or she did. Since his mom spent her life as a middle school teacher, her adaptability in a dangerous situation was naturally lower than average.


    ¡°I will come home. I promise you. No risks, no surprises. This is how it has to be.¡±


    He left his mother standing there, quivering with suppressed emotion. The ache in his chest at causing his mother such distress threatened to debilitate John. His fists clenched so tightly that they ached as he passed the many Kumani on his way to the transition station.


    It was a good thing that both his parents had taught him self control. Otherwise, he would have found the nearest sharp object and attempted to force it as uncomfortably as possible into the alien manning the transition pad. He was sure he would quickly die, but the urge almost convinced him it was worth it as he thought of the state his mother was undoubtedly in back home.


    With eyes cast down, John moved through the line. He shook in fury the whole time. When it was his turn to step onto the pad, he had to force his gaze to remain fixed on his feet, lest his restraint crumble.


    <u>2</u>


    John went straight to the transition station for Lunar Radiance. As he was approaching the pad though, something strange happened. The pad denied his access.


    John furrowed his brow and looked to the pedestal. It started to blink. Before John could wonder what was happening, the whole pad flashed, and Jules stood there.


    The man looked haggard. He had scruffy facial hair, and his eyes had bags under them, like he hadn¡¯t slept in days. John looked at him in surprise.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I just finished. Took me five days. But I finally passed the trial. Look,¡± Jules pulled a small, rolled parchment from his pocket.


    The edges were lined in gold trim. The scroll appeared more decorative than practical. When he took it though, John¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    It wasn¡¯t just some rolled up words. It was a detailed method to learn something called Grass Dance. From the depictions, John could tell it was an enhanced level body cultivation focused on the feet. It was meant to outlast an opponent through evasion.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed. Have you been in there testing for all this time?¡±


    ¡°I had to finish it. Thank you for showing me this place. I¡¯ll bring more genes here when you have them. There is so much to learn. Have you finished your trial yet?¡±


    ¡°Mine is advanced. It¡¯s proving more difficult than I would have guessed. But I¡¯m making progress.¡±


    ¡°It must be really tough if a guy like you is having trouble.¡±


    ¡°What do you know about me?¡± John asked with a smile.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re more talented than me.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s with the scroll? I thought passing the trial meant you learned the skill?¡±


    ¡°Sadly not. It just means you¡¯ve earned the right to learn the skill. Should have guessed since the sign says, ¡°Cultivation Scrolls¡±. But I don¡¯t see any reason why someone else couldn¡¯t study the scroll and learn it too¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that a proposition I¡¯m sensing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you study mine if you let me look at yours when you get it.¡±


    ¡°No way. Lunar Radiance is much more valuable than Grass Dance.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ well then I¡¯ll trade it for an advanced gene.¡±


    ¡°How is that any different?¡± John laughed.


    ¡°Because by the time you finish your trial, an advanced gene should be as easy as passing the trial of Grass Dance.¡±


    ¡°You have a very strange mind Jules. I will think about it. But you should consider that after learning Grass Dance, you might be better equipped to fight more evolved creatures yourself. You should never rely on others to gain strength.¡±


    ¡°I will consider that. I have to go now. I probably have a dozen letters to read. Your gene scheme is starting to gain some traction. I¡¯ll send you the details when I have them sorted out.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    John nodded a farewell to Jules before turning to the transport pad. His trial materialized around him in seconds. John knew the secret now, but he was still determined to try the test without the lunar boost he would receive after hours.


    Previous attempts made the first two obstacles child¡¯s play. John paled at the third obstacle, but he still decided to give it a try. He tried to feel the energy of Lunar Radiance in his legs.


    There was a cold chill in every breath that he took. For the first time, John tried to consciously feel the energy moving from his core to his legs. Slowly, he felt the tingle move to his feet.


    John knew he was probably imagining the results, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling some confidence in what he was about to attempt. As he ran toward the wall, he could feel himself grip it unnaturally. His grip only lasted for the first two steps though, and as his third step slipped down the wall, he made a clumsy jump over the gap.


    John just barely reached the bar at the base of the platform. He worked his fingers for everything they were worth to wrap around the bar. His right hand slipped off, but his left hand held tight.


    John took a triumphant breath as he dangled from the bar. Then he repositioned his right hand on it with a swinging motion. From there it was a simple process to climb to the top.


    As successful as that maneuver had been, John knew he could never pass the next obstacle without allowing the lunar energy to amass within him. So, he sat down and focused on his breathing.


    Like before, John focused on feeling the energy enter his legs and arms. He imagined the chilled air bursting from those places like it was overflowing. After ten minutes, he decided to give it a try.


    <u>3</u>


    John backed to the edge of the platform and focused on his legs. Then he sprinted at the wall run and pushed off it perfectly with every step. He successfully leapt to the second wall, but he could feel the energy he had absorbed quickly running out.


    John was able to place two feet on the wall, but he was forced to jump immediately lest he lose his height and momentum. The result was that he fell short of the bar he was reaching for by about three feet.


    As John was returned to the start, he sighed in resignation. He would have to wait for the effects of Lunar Radiance to fill him. That wasn¡¯t the worst outcome. He could use the time to study the course.


    Indeed, by the time John felt the energy suffusing his whole body, he had a decent understanding of the course. More than just passing the obstacles, the trial was meant to teach him exactly how and where to channel the energy his soul was soaking in. It was becoming apparent that he would need fluency in all his limbs to pass some of the obstacles.


    His inspection served him well. He was able to make it back to the wall run that was followed by the hanging bar in just two attempts. That was the obstacle he had thought most about in the last two days.


    He had spent hours mindlessly walking though the wilderness looking for sport. In that time, he had worked through the obstacle a thousand times or more. He had a very good idea of how to conquer it.


    His execution was flawless. John ran at the wall, already reaching with his arms as he neared its edge. A stout thrust from the wall took him just far enough to grasp the bar with both hands. This was the part he knew would be most difficult to pull off.


    If he hung to the bar and swung back and forth before attempting to continue, all his momentum would be gone. That was the result of his mental analysis. There was only one way he could do it.


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    John grabbed the bar as loosely as he could without letting go. He let his body swing forward, adding his weight to the swing the best he could. Then, just before the apex of his swing, John thrust himself from the bar.


    He sailed through the air like a javelin, feet first. John was just barely able to curl his legs to his chest as he flew. At the same time, he leaned forward to correct his course.


    A single arm stretched out to grab the bar. He knew he¡¯d never make it if he tried with both arms. He needed to reach further than his equilibrium.


    With a loud protestation, the bar rang out upon his contact. His desperate fingers wrapped the cylinder like a drowning man reaching for a life raft. His weight settled under him with finality.


    John panted for a few seconds before wailing his success to the false sky. Never before had he been so happy to hang. With slow, sure movements, John climbed to the island.


    Despite his success, John felt a twinge of sorrow upon seeing his next challenge. The course seemed determined to break his spirit. Without even considering trying it, John sat down to study what he was up against.


    The course had been steadily increasing in difficulty, but this was ridiculous. The next challenge was a wall run followed by a swinging bar followed by another wall run. John laughed bitterly as he beheld it.


    Having barely passed the last challenge, John was less than confident when facing this one. It would be extremely difficult to focus first on his feet, then his hands, then his feet again. He supposed part of the reason for the course was to force him to be precise.


    The silver lining was that so long as John could reach the second wall run, he could probably succeed. There was no second jump. The wall connected to the platform he was trying to reach.


    That gave John confidence. He could do that. Wasn¡¯t he already defying gravity? The course seemed to be steadily increasing the amazing shit he would need to learn.


    Provided that John could actually pass the test, he would learn to use all of this in a practical setting. The thought made him giddy with anticipation. That was enough to try his next challenge.


    To his surprise, the obstacle proved just as he had thought. He was able to place a foot on the second wall run, but lost much of his momentum. Despite that, he was able to slide diagonally along most of it before grabbing the ever-present bar at the edge of the island on his way down.


    John spent most of the day studying and then conquering the course. His method of dissecting his next challenge based on the previous challenges seemed to be working. Over the hours, he passed dozens of obstacles.


    He stood before the final obstacle, out of breath and ready to collapse. He had come so far, the shining moon was almost within his reach. It hung low in the sky, just above the final platform.


    If he could just make it there, John would have the ability to pass every obstacle in the course. That meant he would be ready to attempt the sunny side and claim Lunar Radiance. It was easier said than done though.


    As the course went on, John had been unsurprised to see the challenges becoming more and more difficult. There were fake walls, falling bars, walls he had to go over, walls he had to swing under, spiked footholds, inverted pieces of the course that he needed to push off of in order for his reduced weight to properly activate floor switches that would open the closed wall in the middle of an obstacle.


    The versatility had grown more and more impressive, turning tasks John would never have even considered into difficult and at times course restarting problems when he was unable to accurately assess the challenge. Too many times to count, he fell to the net below and was forced to restart. He had fought through the aggravation and stress of the course to reach this point. Now was his time.


    He looked at the quarter of a mile long obstacle in doubt. He had struggled all the way here, but here was a challenge meant to be every bit as taxing as all of the previous challenges combined. John¡¯s confidence had long since fled.


    In front of him was a bar. He would start with no momentum. After grabbing the bar he had to swing only once before launching off. He had to clear the transparent glass wall beyond it, meaning his jump would need to resemble the Olympic pole jump.


    When he came down on the other side, he would land on an extremely slanted wall. Before he slipped off the bottom he would need to jump again. Opposite that wall was an entirely vertical wall that he would need to run across before making another jump.


    He would have to fit his body between two walls that sat close together. Once through, his feet would inevitably land on the false floor that waited there. Its darker shade had been hard to discern at first, but after so many failed attempts at previous obstacles, John had learned to watch for them.


    He would have less than a second to jump from the platform before it fell away. Beyond that was a near impossible test of judgement. If John jumped too high he would hit the wall he was meant to go under. If he didn¡¯t jump in time, he would fall to the net and be forced to restart the entire course again.


    It was a test of both timing and precision. John had to do it just right or he would fail. What was worse was that this wasn¡¯t even the end of the course.


    After the wall was another bar for him to grab. He would then need to swing out and land on yet another wall run. After a few steps along the wall he would need to jump to the slanted wall ahead before leaping at the inverted wall above.


    His momentum was key, as he needed to both reach the height of the wall and retain enough excess force to push straight down. If executed properly, John would drop like a hunk of lead and impress the switch that marked the only resting area of the entire obstacle.


    There at the halfway point, John would need to run along the correct wall as it opened up. One of the sides would be a false wall as indicated by the discolored nature of the pair of walls. He had no way of knowing which one it was, and he had been forced to restart the course more than once on previous challenges such as this. The only way to learn was to try.


    That almost guaranteed that he would need to make it to that point at least twice. Supposing he made it past that, the wall run was followed by a springboard like platform that would hopefully propel him high enough to reach the third swinging bar of the obstacle. That was where the familiarity with the challenges ended.


    Beyond that bar, John strained to see his next challenge. It looked like it was a downward sloping handrail. Like one would see outside a library or courthouse. It was far from straight, however.


    John could see the bar sway left and right several times before it ended in a large pit ten feet across separating it from the final platform. As he studied the course, John grew increasingly more apprehensive. He knew without trying that this obstacle would break him.


    He was tired. He was sore. He was hungry. He knew this was as far as he could go that day. Despite his certainty, John refused to leave the trial.


    Instead, he pulled his pack from his back. It had been an arduous decision to perform the trial while burdened by his pack. But now, John smiled at his forethought.


    Removing a pillow, a blanket, and a meager meal from his pack, John set about making himself comfortable on the island. He was resigned. He would not leave the course until he stood under the moon on the last platform.


    John laid down and closed his eyes after eating. He was so exhausted that the hard ground of the platform he rested on felt like the softest bed in his opinion. He fell asleep in minutes, ready to wake and finally conquer the trial.


    <u>4</u>


    The next day. John woke much less comfortable than he had fallen asleep. He was sore all over, but as he stretched and felt the effects of Lunar Radiance still coursing through him, his sore muscles seemed to ease. This once more convinced John that passing the trial would be the most beneficial experience his body had ever gone through.


    John ate a small meal, not wishing to over fill his stomach. Leaving his pack on the island, John got started on the challenge. With a heavy breath, he ran forward.


    His first attempt was admirable. There was a moment just after he leapt from the first bar where he thought ¡°this will be easy¡±. That was right before he cleared the obstacle and came down on the slanted wall behind it.


    As his foot touched the wall, he felt like it was coated in grease. His foot slid down it in milliseconds. He was just in time to grasp the top of the wall with his arms before he fell.


    Unfortunately, the course seemed completely prepared for this last ditch effort. The wall held his weight for all of one second before the whole wall spun one hundred and eighty degrees, neutralizing his handhold, and more importantly, unceremoniously dumping John into the waiting net below.


    Over the course of the next hour, John mindlessly passed each obstacle again to reach the final point once more. As he did, his brain was locked onto the problem of the slanted wall. This was his method.


    He would obsessively dissect the problem that plagued him until he reached that point again. Then he would use his deductions to try to overcome what hindered him. So far, nothing he faced could stand before this method.


    After a tiring return wherein John nearly lost his place several times due to a hasty or careless motion, John stood once more ready to face the last obstacle. This time, he knew he had what it took.


    John swung from the bar and leapt over the wall. His feet were fully saturated with the power of Lunar Radiance. When they collided with the slanted wall, they slid only halfway down before John was able to brace and leap to the next wall.


    His feet touched the wall like it was the ground under him. They gripped perfectly as he treaded along its length. When he was at the other side, John leapt with everything he was worth.


    He tucked his shoulders in, trying to avoid hitting the walls that he was leaping between. He wasn¡¯t entirely successful though, and his left shoulder clipped the wall as it passed. He was spun sideways as he landed on the false floor.


    John didn¡¯t even have time to correct his position before the floor caved beneath him and he was dropped to the net. Cursing loudly, John let himself tumble all the way back down the net to the beginning of the course. He was getting tired of repeating the same thing.


    After another aggravated hour of work, John had returned himself to the obstacle. This time, when John ran across the wall, he was already channeling the chilled feeling into both of his hands. He leapt from the wall with his hands outstretched to intercept the two incoming walls.


    He grabbed them both simultaneously as he approached. Angling his body slightly sideways, John slipped through the thin gap before pushing himself back to a straight position using the walls as he passed.


    When his feet touched the platform, John was already channeling the energy through them again. That was something the rest of the course had been requiring more as it progressed: fluency. So when he landed on the false platform in a severely crouched position, he was already forcing another jump.


    Just as his feet left the floor, it tumbled away beneath him. John sailed through the air almost perfectly horizontal. His head missed the wall above by less than a foot. With sure fingers, he gripped the bar beyond it.


    John let a twinge of pride course through him at his first real attempted jump being a success. He swung on the bar until just before the zenith of his arc and then leapt from it once more. Now used to switching his focus, his legs swelled with the power of Lunar Radiance once more.


    John hit the wall run like a professional. He tapped across it with four easy steps before leaping at the next slanted wall. Using the last slanted wall as a reference, John assumed that this one would also be greased.


    He was correct, and as his foot started to slide down it, he felt the unnatural grip of Lunar Radiance stop his momentum. He took as long as he dared to set himself before thrusting upward with all his might.


    John easily reached the hanging wall above him. His arms bent against it before gravity stopped him fully. Before it could reverse his course back down, John pushed as hard as he could against the rocky protrusion above him.


    He shot down like a javelin hurled by a fisherman. His feet slammed into the platform below him with just enough force to coax the switch therein to depress. John whooped in excitement as he caught his breath.


    This was where chance factored in. Now he had to choose which wall to run on. Hopefully he wouldn¡¯t be forced to try the course again. The spring board on the other side was perfectly centered between the two walls. There was no indication which wall would fall away.


    Deciding that these were still the best odds he had seen all day, John caught his breath and ran at the left wall. His feet plotted a course over the wall without issue. His guess had been correct.


    When he reached the end of the wall, John tried to jump up rather than out. He needed as much height for the spring board as possible to reach the bar. John had never been in gymnastics, but when he bounced up in the air, he felt he had missed his calling.


    John was launched higher than he thought possible from the board. He easily grabbed the last bar and swung forward. He didn¡¯t let go though.


    Instead, he took a moment to study the obstacle he was thinking of as the library handrail. It was a bar no wider than the one he was holding. He could tell from his position that parts of it were similarly greased as the walls had been.


    There was no doubt that this would be the ultimate test of his ability to adapt using Lunar Radiance. He wouldn¡¯t just need to feel it in his feet. Perfect balance would be required to make it down the entire rail.


    Before John¡¯s arms gave out, he swung forward and placed a foot on the rail. His training gave him exactly two seconds of grind time before his balance failed him and he slipped off the pole at a particularly greasy spot. That was the first time that John understood the phrase ¡°your safety is not guaranteed¡±.


    He had wondered how he could possibly get hurt on a course that caught him with every fall. As his body fell forward and his head rattled off the rail, John understood. He blacked out for a few seconds.


    When he could see straight again, the net was already lifting him above the course. It took him several seconds after returning to the start to convince himself to continue. His head ached.


    But he wasn¡¯t a quitter. John struggled back through the course. He made it back to the final obstacle with less effort than his previous attempts. But on his next attempt, he proved no more capable.


    Miraculously, he made it all the way to the library handrail. But yet again, his foot slipped only ten feet or so down the rail. John managed to avoid bashing his skull against the rail as he fell this time though.


    Over the course of the day, John tried every variation in his analysis that he could think of. No matter what he tried though, his legs were incapable of staying on the rail. He fell again and again, making no more than a few feet¡¯s progress down the rail.


    In the end, John was forced to forgo the last obstacle and return home. He reassured his mother that his absence wasn¡¯t born from danger. Then he went to sleep with the problem of Lunar Radiance in his head.

 Gains, Grains, and the Gory Gorilla

    <u>Named chapter #5 </u>


    <u> </u>


    <u>1</u>


    John ventured back to The Garden only after spending some time recuperating. Before he could leave his room, he noticed an abnormally long letter from Jules. It was several pages all folded together.


    At closer inspection, John found it to be several detailed reports of powerful creatures. Some were labeled as enhanced. A few had the mark of advanced. But many of the reports were listed as unknown.


    Reading through a few of them, John was surprised. Each of the unknown beasts were described as powerful enough to be advanced creatures. In John¡¯s opinion, some of them seemed a bit too powerful.


    The Garden was still an unknown place to humans. Advanced creatures were the most powerful creatures anyone had identified. That didn¡¯t mean they were the most powerful creatures out there.


    The more that he thought about it, the more convinced John was. He resolved to investigate the hypothesis later. For now though, he couldn¡¯t resist taking the opportunity to hunt down some of the enhanced items on the list.


    Each creature was listed along with a location to find it. John knew he owed Jules big time when he found a hand drawn map of Emerald base and the numerous dangerous areas surrounding it. Despite the obvious hand work, it was clearly the work of a talented artist.


    In any case, it made John¡¯s job of locating the creatures much more plausible. He made a note to send Jules an extra gene if he could manage. Looking at the nearly dozen targets on the enhanced list alone, he didn¡¯t think it would be an issue.


    John spent the morning in his room making a comprehensive plan. Many of the entries on the list were close to each other on the map. It seemed like several closed ecosystems all worked in conjunction with one another, even if they didn¡¯t mix.


    Using that as a basis, John plotted a course that would take him two days to complete, so long as there was nothing unexpected to delay him. His plan consisted of hunting six enhanced creatures, two advanced creatures, and if he had time, he wanted to inspect one of the unknown entries on his way back.


    Not wanting his family to worry, John decided to return home and explain his plan. As expected, his mother worried anyway. He did his best to assure her in the most effective way a child knew how. In other words, he lied.


    ¡°I¡¯m just scouting new areas around the base. I¡¯ll have protection. Lots of people are going. I can earn some genes too.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± she insisted.


    It took John the better part of an hour to assuage her fears. But eventually John prevailed. The next day, he left at dawn.


    The Garden was still coming to life as John strolled the street toward the gate. He kept his hood drawn. Jules suggested that if their business was to work it would be best if none of his contacts knew of John.


    Since he hasn¡¯t exactly coordinated with Jules, the other man was unaware that John would be calling on him. If he wasn¡¯t in his room, that would be fine too. He would leave a prepared note telling Jules of his exact route and plan.


    He figured someone should know where to find him, or in the worst case, recover his remains. This all proved to be unnecessary forethought though. Jules opened the door seconds after John knocked.


    ¡°You¡¯re here early,¡± John said by way of greeting as Jules pulled the door open.


    ¡°Not as early as you it seems. I just got here. What¡¯s up? Did you get my mail?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. Going on a marathon of sorts. I thought your new skill might be of some use. Wanna tag along?¡±


    Jules looked uneasy. It was clear to John that he never planned to actually go hunting. John had a plan to coax him though.


    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to kill anything. I know Grass Dance is based on evasion. If you help me distract some of these creatures, I¡¯ll add some genes, paid upon possession to my debt.¡±


    ¡°You mean by offering myself as bait, you¡¯ll give me an equal share of the spoils on the spot?¡±


    ¡°Maybe not equal. I am doing all of the killing after all. But I promise you¡¯ll be paid handsomely for your part. Besides, you haven¡¯t seen my bow in action. I¡¯m willing to bet that¡¯s worth the risk to you all on it¡¯s own.¡±


    John smiled at the sheepish look on Jules¡¯s face. John remembered the awe in his eyes at seeing an advanced soul. Jules was as intrigued by its ability as John had been.


    ¡°You son of a bitch, I¡¯m in.¡±


    An hour later, they set out. Most of that time had been explaining the plan to Jules. After hearing it, the other man insisted on making some logistical changes.


    John had only considered the creatures and their vicinity to each other. Jules chimed in to explain that in some cases his plan would lead them through rough or dangerous areas. In two cases he pointed out that John¡¯s route would take them over a stream similar to the one John had faced the flesh ooze in. And one time he noted that the creature he planned to hunt was part of a large pack.


    Each of these revisions was eagerly accepted by John. He encouraged Jules to look more carefully at the plan to spot any other weakness it might hold. He also made a note to ask Jules to curate the plan next time he wanted to do this.


    New plan in hand, the duo made their silent way out of the base. Both kept hoods up. As previously, Jules wished John¡¯s existence to remain a mystery to his associates.


    John appreciated the man for his caution. All things considered, he was glad Jules had found him that day in the market. Unbeknownst to him, Jules frequently thought the same about him.


    The first stop on their list was in the very same forest John had come to on his first hunt. Instead of a stag though, their target was a rodent of some sort. Jules seemed less than eager to test himself as a decoy against a furry gerbil with abnormal agility.


    John told him that the first one was on him. Jules could stay back and watch his bow in action while John took on the rodent. He seemed a lot more enthusiastic about this approach.


    The nest was blatantly obvious when they drew near. Sticks and rocks as well as the sinister sight of tattered clothing was bunched up at the base of a large tree stump. John recognized it from the file.


    According to accounts, the stump was discovered by a group of people while exploring. The gerbil living inside the hole had smelled the blood from one man¡¯s wounds. It had been so fast that the explorer had no time to react before the giant rat was climbing his leg.


    Apparently, of the five men in the party, only two had escaped. The dog sized rodent effectively incapacitated the other three with devastating bites to vital areas. Their clothes now made up much of the camouflage for the rodent¡¯s nest.


    John approached the tree stump cautiously. More than fifty feet from the hole, he stopped. He pulled a vacuum sealed pouch of raw meat from his bag and put it down on the ground.


    John slowly retreated to a safe distance from the meat. Then he carefully took aim. His arrow flew true and pierced the package despite its relatively small size.


    With a thought, John returned the Muckray arrow. He drew it again while staring at the meat. Then, he let loose the bolt just as he noticed a flash of movement from the nest.


    A loud shriek issued forth from the area of the raw meat. John was unable to even catch sight of the beast before it snatched the whole parcel of meat and retreated into its nest. John wasn¡¯t worried. He simply returned the arrow and waited to hear the words.


    ¡°Enhanced rabid gerbil killed. Gene available¡±


    ¡°Holy shit that thing is fast.¡± Jules said, coming up from behind.


    ¡°It was.¡±


    ¡°Was? You mean you actually hit that thing?¡±


    ¡°Hit and killed. Do you want this gene or the next one?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible! I didn¡¯t even see where your shot went. I thought you missed.¡±


    The two of them approached the nest cautiously in case there was another rodent living down there. All proved quiet though and John removed the rodent¡¯s teeth without issue. He gave them to Jules without hesitation.


    Jules surprised him by consuming the gene on the spot. He smiled at John like his reasoning was obvious. John supposed it was.


    ¡°Have to gain some genes in order to confidently use Grass Dance. I passed the test with eighty percent proficiency. But it would still be better if I had better fitness before going against anything dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Good plan,¡± John nodded.


    <u>2</u>


    Next in the line of fire was a mile further into the forest. John and Jules crept quietly through brambles that grew increasingly burdened by silky webbing. Jules grew apprehensive the further they walked.


    John had never been afraid of spiders like his mom and sister. He always had to kill them when one was found in the house. Jules didn¡¯t seem to share his indifference.


    That was why he opted to wait back from the web a safe distance. John shrugged and asked him to hold his pack. Then he continued on alone.


    When he had gone another few hundred feet through the trees, he saw the spider. It¡¯s large frame sat lazily in the web it had spun. John took aim at the arachnid before it noticed him.


    That was the best part about the list of beasts he was hunting that day: they were all easiest to kill at a distance. The gerbil was the only thing that John expected to have any trouble hitting. Since he already killed it, his confidence in the rest of the creatures was greatly increased.


    John took aim right where the Lunar Stag bow advised him to. The space between the head and thorax. That was the biggest weakness in the spider¡¯s defense.


    He let his arrow fly, silent as the wind. It shot straight through the spider¡¯s head and continued into the tree behind it. The announcement rang in his head before he could even return the arrow.


    ¡°Enhanced spider queen killed. Gene available for harvest.¡±


    John returned to Jules a few moments later, spider pincers in hand. He offered those to the man as well, saying he would need help with the next beast. Jules smiled nervously before allowing the gene to soak into his skin.


    Two hours later, the pair approached a small stream that ran along the far end of the forest they had been traversing for the majority of the day. Jules had been careful to pick a spot where water was a trickle and there were plenty of rocks to traverse.


    Still suspicious, John frequently threw small rocks at stepping stones to make sure they weren¡¯t sentient. Fortunately, all remained still, and the duo crossed without issue. The plains beyond stretched endlessly into the distance.


    The next animal they came to hunt was actually a plant of sorts. That was the first plant of note that John had heard about. It was said to have sedative pollen that knocked out any who came near it.


    The plant in question was marked as being only a short walk from the stream. The two companions traveled cautiously, coming across two primitive creatures that both ran at their approach. They soon made it to the field where numerous flowers matching the description they had received were growing.


    ¡°Which one is it?¡± Jules asked.


    John pointed. He was sure of himself. The flower they had come for wasn¡¯t enhanced. The reports said there were some enhanced flowers nearby it, but the flower they came for was advanced.


    That was one reason John had been so willing to share the genes he had already procured. The enhanced flowers weren¡¯t even on his list, they were a bonus.


    What was on his list, and the reason John had asked Jules to come was the supposed enhanced gopher that lived in a hole near the flower. According to the file, it preyed on those caught by the pollen of the flowers. John guessed it had immunity to the effects.


    The reason John was confident in Jules was because the file specified that the gopher never attacked a conscious human. That meant John could have Jules approach the flower after he hunted it and the gopher would either stay in hiding or attack when Jules got too close.


    If it stayed in hiding, Jules would collect the gene and leave. If it attacked, John would see if Grass Dance was worth learning. He wouldn¡¯t let the other man come to harm though.


    As they studied the field of flowers from afar, John counted three flowers larger than the others situated around an even larger flower that towered over the heads of men. They looked like sunflowers.


    John studied each flower through the scope of his bow. The report said only the pollen of the enhanced flowers and up were potent to humans. The numerous primitive and awakened level flowers would do no more than cause a mild fatigue after prolonged contact.


    John also located the heat signature of the gopher. He could have taken the shot, but no other beast on the list would provide such an easy opponent for Jules. John didn¡¯t feel safe asking him to face anything else.


    Instead of the gopher, John took aim and fired once at each of the larger sunflowers. The weak point of each was located just beneath the head of the flower. Each one remained still as it was decapitated.


    John successfully killed all four of the flowers. He received an announcement for each, but the most exciting came last.


    ¡°Advanced Sleepy Sunflower killed. Advanced soul augmentation received. Gene available for harvest.¡±


    <u>3</u>


    A soul augmentation? John had no idea what that could mean, but his mind expanded to receive it. It was represented by a shining sunflower in his mind.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    John attempted to summon it, but nothing happened. Puzzled, he tried again but to no avail. He didn¡¯t want to waste time on the mystery just then, so he nudged Jules.


    ¡°Wait for the pollen to settle before going in for the genes. The sunflower heads themselves are the genes. When you get close to the advanced one, the gopher might attack you. Are you ready to test your skills out?¡±


    Jules looked anxious but to his credit, he nodded and stepped forward. He did a few stretches that looked like a series of exotic sways. John just watched him in silence.


    ¡°Cover me. I¡¯m trusting you,¡± he said.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let it hurt you. Just be on your guard. And try not to breathe too deeply. The pollen might be more effective than we realize. If you pass out I¡¯ll kill the gopher immediately. You have my word,¡± John said.


    Jules nodded. He slowly made his way forward as the pollen settled. He looked tense, but his feet never faltered as he approached the fallen flowers.


    John kept the gopher in his sights as Jules approached. He grabbed two of the enhanced genes before the gopher started to move.


    When it did, John was surprised at its speed. Jules looked in its direction just in time to see it leap for his chest. John almost took the shot but he was worried he would hit Jules by mistake.


    When the gopher was about to land on him, Jules bent and twisted his body. Taking a single step back, he bent almost in half. The gopher sailed over him impotently.


    John widened his eyes as Jules spun to face the beast again. With another leap, the creature tried once more. But again, Jules bent out of the way, making the attack look oddly like a pet show performance.


    John let Jules practice his new skills for a few more attacks before taking aim. He let the beast jump one last time and released his arrow. It skewered the gopher through the body just as it landed.


    ¡°Enhanced black spine gopher killed. Gene available for harvest.¡±


    John smiled triumphantly as Jules continued to collect the genes. When he returned it was obvious that he was reluctant to give up the advanced gene, but he faithfully relinquished it all the same. As a reward, John gave him two of the four enhanced genes.


    John stored his own spoils in his bag before the two set off again. Jules let both of his genes soak into his skin immediately. Then they were off in relative silence once more.


    The next leg of the trip would take a great deal longer, though hopefully taking them only until dusk to reach. It was an outcropping of trees against a cliff face. The one other advanced beast on the hunt was located there.


    John planned to take it out before heading in a wide arc back to Emerald base. Along the way he would stop at key spots to clean up the remaining enhanced beasts. There was also an unknown tiered creature to investigate.


    No creature disturbed them on their voyage. It was like a peaceful walk throughdangerous monster infested wilderness. Eventually, Jules addressed his confusion.


    ¡°Why am I here?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love the free genes, and this has been fun, but clearly you don¡¯t need me. I mean, you¡¯ve killed how many creatures so far?¡±


    ¡°Seven,¡± John responded.


    ¡°Exactly. And you haven¡¯t even broke a sweat. Why ask me to come when you¡¯re so badass? You¡¯ve given me four genes and haven¡¯t even considered absorbing that advanced gene. What gives?¡±


    ¡°A chess master plays by the future, not the present. If all I wanted were the genes, I wouldn¡¯t have invited you at all. Genes are necessary to grow stronger. But without direction strength is nothing.¡±


    Seeing the incomprehension on his face, John smiled at Jules winningly. The other man just stared unamused back at him.


    ¡°It means you have potential. That skill will mean your life in the future. Better to get a grasp of it now while you have competent backup.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I still don¡¯t understand why you aren¡¯t absorbing the genes you collected.¡±


    ¡°As I said, genes are great. But we still don¡¯t know how many secrets The Garden holds. Better to have something in reserve just in case.¡±


    Jules just looked at him for several seconds before speaking.


    ¡°Dude, how many genes have you gained anyway?¡±


    ¡°A few, still room to grow.¡±


    They camped that night in a large tree on the edge of the copse. John spent some time making sure it was unoccupied before they climbed up. They slept in hammocks, a step above John¡¯s last experience sleeping in a tree.


    When they woke next, it was not to the morning light. Instead, the sounds of death greeted them. Jules motioned to him, but John waved him still. He could hear his fabric hammock creaking under him every time he tried to adjust himself.


    As slowly as he could, John grabbed the nearest branch above him and slowly hoisted himself from the fabric. When he was free, he found another branch with his legs and steadied himself into a crouch. Then he leaned against the trunk of the tree and summoned his bow.


    He couldn¡¯t see in the dark, but deer could. The scope lens glowed a soft red in the darkness. As he began scanning the ground below, the source of the commotion became evident.


    Through the lens John could see a massive grizzly bear. It had blood in its face though from itself or its victims John couldn¡¯t tell. All around it were a pack of ape-like creatures.


    They looked like chimps, but they were more hairy and less human. They also appeared as tall as people. They looked like a tribe of early hominids.


    Despite their size and clear advantage in numbers, John could see plenty of them already down. It was difficult to count the rapidly cooling bodies using the mostly heat sensitive scope, but it looked like the bear had killed at least a dozen of the primates. Many more surrounded it, making loud shrieks anytime it made a move.


    John didn¡¯t know why but the vital areas on the bear appeared much smaller than most creatures he looked at through the scope. He supposed it was because the bear was clearly advanced. As he watched, an enhanced chimp moved too close, and a great clawed paw slashed its entire body.


    John realized as the chimp fell that all of the apes were of the same level. An entire pack of enhanced beasts. John shook his head and looked back to Jules.


    The man looked absolutely terrified. John shook his head slowly before whispering as quietly as he could.


    ¡°Just stay quiet. They don¡¯t know we¡¯re here. If we can wait this out, we might come out of this with a lot more than we came for.¡±


    Jules looked confused, but remained silent as instructed. It wasn¡¯t easy to sit still and calm though. The chimps were making an awful noise and the bear continued to scream back.


    John watched the fight for several minutes before the moment he predicted came. Through the trees came a challenging bellow. The forest grew silent in an instant.


    The chimps as an organized group scattered into the trees. John was nervous some would come for them, but they all seemed to stop only a dozen feet up the branches and turn to face the bear.


    Then a terrible crashing through the trees broke the silence. Limbs snapped in the distance but quickly growing nearer. John kept his sight on the bear as a massive form crashed down on it from above.


    The bear was brought to the ground in an instant. The massive gorilla that pinned it began slamming its hands into the bear¡¯s head and sides. John studied the new foe with his bow and was flabbergasted.


    The gorilla was too big to be enhanced. Indeed, as John looked at it, he began to doubt that it could even be advanced.


    The vitals of the bear were small in his sights. Those of this new beast were all but nonexistent. Only small openings the size of golf balls appeared on its incredibly muscled hide.


    More than that though, the gene was much larger and more obvious than the claws of the bear. It¡¯s entire back glowed a silver brilliance. It all stemmed from the spinal cord.


    Despite being under a thick layer of muscle and fur, the bones were almost blinding in the sight of the scope. It looked like the gene had begun spreading over the whole gorilla.


    The bear looked helpless under this seemingly superior enemy. But as John watched, the bear suddenly raised its head and snapped at the incoming hands.


    The gorilla bellowed in pain as the bear clamped down on its forearm. It lashed out with its other arm, trying to pound the skull of the bear. The bear ripped its head free of the arm, bringing its fleshy prize with it.


    John¡¯s spine was chilled as he watched the bear stand once more. No longer dominated as the gorilla retreated a few paces, the bear roared to the sky. Standing on two legs, it rose over twelve feet high as it prepared to unleash all its fury on the large primate.


    The gorilla¡¯s arm hung limp to its side, but it looked unafraid to face the beast. With a roar of its own, it leapt back at the grizzly like a savage. The two exchanged blows for several brutal seconds.


    After watching the entire fight play out, John thought for sure that the gorilla would win. It was more mobile and had a greater strength. But no matter what it did, the bear¡¯s thick hide protected it from fatal injury.


    Meanwhile, the gorilla lost first the use of it¡¯s arm. Next, one of its eyes was savaged. Numerous bites and scratches later and the gorilla, though seemingly of a higher tier than the bear looked ready to fall.


    It lunged for its foe in a final attempt to bite the bear¡¯s neck. The grizzly just batted the head down before taking a bite of its own. The teeth sunk into the neck of the gorilla and pulled a fatal chunk from the flesh.


    <u>4</u>


    In an instant, the forest grew silent. Then it erupted in noise as the tribe of chimps in the trees howled in fear as they fled through the branches. Within a minute, the only sound was the teeth of the beast continuing to rip apart prey.


    John leaned back against the trunk before looking at Jules. His eyes were wide and fearful. John calmed him with a reassuring nod.


    ¡°We just have to wait for it to leave and then we can scavenge something on our way to the cliffs. Hopefully it finishes by dawn. Until then we wait.¡±


    John kept watch through his scope for the remainder of the night. The giant bear made no move to leave. It spent all night noisily ripping apart its meal. When morning came, it showed no sign of leaving.


    Nothing dared come near it. John and Jules were no exception. They stayed in the tree for most of the morning.


    Sometime near midday, the beast finally abandoned its meal. John waited an extra hour before signaling to Jules to climb down. Then they went to inspect the spoils.


    The forest floor was riddled with gore. Numerous bodies from the chimp clan were left to rot. John quickly began removing genes.


    He started with the gene of the gorilla. Oddly enough, its hide separated from the rest of it fairly easily. When it was free, the spine was easily pulled out. He couldn¡¯t spend the time to absorb it with all the other genes about, so he swiftly tucked it away in his bag.


    John walked the battlefield, counting and collecting genes as Jules did the same. In the end, John found seven while Jules found another six. Both numbers were more than either of them could consume.


    John let the genes soak into him until he couldn¡¯t anymore. Jules followed suit. Five genes were absorbed in total, leaving two to go into storage. He gained an amazing thirty-two enhanced genes from the experience.


    John¡¯s enhanced progress surpassed the halfway point, bringing him to fifty-nine. Jules didn¡¯t share his own progress, but by the look on his face, his own gain was exemplary as well.


    ¡°We¡¯ve lost a lot of time here,¡± John said.


    ¡°Yeah. What are you thinking?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s head back. Nothing else we are seeking will bring such spoils. Better to take the lucky break and go,¡± John said.


    Jules agreed easily. The two began preparing to leave. As they did, a thought occurred to John.


    He summoned his fox companion and let it have its fill of the meat on display. The beast tore into the chimps with gusto for several minutes. Just before John recalled it, it found what remained of the gorilla.


    John had never seen anything so savage in his life. The fox buried its head in the flesh of the dead animal. It¡¯s snapping tendons didn¡¯t dissuade the fox in the slightest.


    Soon John lost sight of the animal altogether as it burrowed more and more of itself into the corpse. It seemed insatiable. After they were both ready, John recalled the fox.


    ROAR!!


    John heard the exclamation just as his soul fox returned to his mind. A terrible crash permeated the forest as he turned away instinctively and sprinted for the plains. Jules was slower, but he was closer to the end of the forest, so John remained closest to the commotion.


    ¡°Soul companion has consumed higher tier flesh. Evolution of soul companion underway.¡±


    John heard the words as he ran for his life. He knew what was after them without even looking behind him. The grizzly bear roared in fury again as it crashed through everything in its way in pursuit of the ones who thought to take its meal.


    He glanced behind him as he ran. The bear was only fifty feet behind him. John was no fool; he knew there was no chance he could run faster than the beast.


    Even with his hare boots he wouldn¡¯t have what it took. They would only ensure that he heard Jules die before he did. John frantically tried to find a solution.


    As they ran, in the back of John¡¯s mind he heard a strange ticking sound. It was like sitting in a quiet room with a clock on the wall. Slowly it ticked at first, but it soon sped up until it more closely resembled a stopwatch.


    As the bear grew closer, John became more frantic. He was on the verge of summoning his bow and taking a shot. Before he could, the voice spoke in his mind once more.


    ¡°Soul companion evolution complete. Soul companion has evolved to Advanced Silver Fox.¡±


    John summoned the new companion without hesitation. He mentally shouted for it to distract the beast as he sprinted ever faster. The fox burst into existence just behind him and charged at the bear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop running, I¡¯ll catch up,¡± John shouted to Jules.


    Without waiting for a response, John turned to see his foe. The grizzly had stopped chasing him only thirty feet away. Instead, it was taking swipes at the glistening silver fox that pranced around it, nipping at the thick hide of the bear.


    John continued to backtrack from the fight as he pulled his bow. He settled at around sixty feet away before summoning his arrow. Then he waited for an opening.


    His scope showed him something odd. Last night the vulnerable spots on the beast had been small. Now though, they were almost nonexistent. John was puzzled.


    He couldn¡¯t understand why the bear was so much tougher. It shouldn¡¯t have a better defense during day light. Unless¡­


    John looked closely as it swiped a paw at the fox. Last night, the bear¡¯s claws had glistened, indicating the gene. Now though, the sheen had started to creep up its paws.


    ¡°It evolved into a wizened beast after eating the gorilla. Is that how creatures evolve? Instead of genes, they consume the flesh itself.¡±


    John thought that made sense. Animals on earth grew stronger by eating too. It seemed like the existence of genes in The Garden were to give humans and other humanoid races the same opportunity.


    Pushing this from his mind, John drew his arrow back and took aim for the largest of the small openings. The fox gave him his opportunity a moment later.


    As it leapt away from the bear, the latter snapped with its massive jaws. In doing so, it had to stretch its neck out, exposing it. John let loose.


    His arrow flew true. It sped directly to the bears neck¡­ and bounced off. It didn¡¯t even lodge itself in the skin.


    John was flabbergasted. He hadn¡¯t expected to kill it, but he was at least hoping for a poisoned status. No such luck. In fact, as John looked, he couldn¡¯t see any sign that it had even been in a fight the day before.


    The bear looked toward him furiously. It tried to run at him, but the fox successfully snared its attention once more. John returned his arrow to his hands and looked at it.


    Its tip was bent like it had hit a rock instead of the bear he shot at. John cursed as he realized he didn¡¯t have anything to fight the bear. He needed his arrow to be stronger.


    Just then, he remembered the newest soul he received. It hadn¡¯t done anything the last time he tried to use it, but he thought he understood why now. With the arrow still in hand, he once again attempted to summon the Sleepy Sunflower soul.


    ¡°Would you like to augment your Muckray arrow?¡±


    John mentally answered in the affirmative.


    As if through his fingertips, a change spread over the arrow. It spread across the arrow like frost, coating it in an almost icy sheen. When it reached the tip the arrowhead unbent and smoothed itself out.


    ¡°Augmentation successful. Enhanced Muckray arrow has become Advanced Drowsy Muckray arrow.¡±


    John pulled the arrow back on the string once more. Looking down the sights, he found that the vulnerable places on the bear had miraculously grown. It seemed that the strength of the ammo he used had an impact on it.


    John launched his arrow at the beast. It flew through the air like a hornet. It impacted the neck of the beast and sunk satisfyingly in.


    The grizzly immediately forgot about the fox. John saw it roar and start barreling for him. He turned and ran for his life.


    The sounds of heavy paws in pursuit of him made him forget everything else. He summoned his hare boots, hoping Jules made enough progress by then. He could almost feel each stomping step the beast took behind him.


    Even with the increased speed John knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Even his companion failed to slow the frenzied bear. John couldn¡¯t keep it up. He would trip and fall soon, or he¡¯d become too winded and slow enough to be caught.


    The moment he feared drew nearer as his breath slowly grew louder in his ears until it drowned out first his own loud steps and then those of the bear behind him. John¡¯s side ached painfully, threatening to lock him in place. He struggled forward another few seconds, but as distracted as he was, his foot caught on a rock, sending him tumbling forward.


    There was nothing he could do. John knew he would never get to his feet in time. He could only wait for his impending end.


    He stared at the ground beneath him for so long the anticipation became unbearable. He just wanted it to be over already. Then it occurred to him that it should have been over already.


    John raised himself from the ground, looking behind him. Twenty feet away and lying unmoving on the ground was the bear. John could see the steady rising and falling of its stomach.


    Confused, John returned his arrow to his hand and inspected it. The arrow had been coated in a glistening cold substance, but now it only had a small portion of the substance left along it¡¯s fletching.


    John watched as the frost slowly crept back along the arrow. It¡¯s progress was extremely slow, barely noticeable. It would take a while before it covered the bolt fully once more.


    John was exuberant. The arrow had become much more useful. Not only was it a sedative, but it also gained piercing damage if it was able to take down the massive bear.


    John approached the animal cautiously. He wasn¡¯t sure how well or how long the arrow would keep the beast down. His fox companion sniffed at the great beast interestedly.


    John sat ready to loose another arrow into the bear should it regain its whits. He sat there for the better part of an hour before something changed. The bear¡¯s breathing further slowed, and its exhale became quieter. A moment later, it ceased altogether.


    ¡°Wizened Iron Grizzly killed. Transfiguration Soul gained. Gene available for harvest.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± John leapt into the air ecstatically.


    He hadn¡¯t dreamed he could kill the beast, especially after watching it kill the seemingly higher tiered gorilla. The divine intervention that allowed his arrow to be upgraded in the last possible moment was something he never would have expected. Even with it, he had been extremely lucky.


    John removed the paws of the bear as he summoned Jane again. When he was finished, he couldn¡¯t resist taking them into him immediately.


    Wizened Iron Grizzly gene absorbed. You have gained eight wizened genes.¡±


    John couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. As far as he knew, no one had even heard of wizened genes before. It was an amazing discovery.


    Jules had much better information within the base, which was how John knew how limited humans¡¯ knowledge on The Garden was. A few lucky people had stumbled onto advanced genes, just as John had. Until now though, that was as much as anyone knew.


    Now John not only had proof of the next stage but had actually gained wizened genes for himself through sheer luck. The only question was, should he share his findings with Jules? Or was it smarter to keep the secret.


    He liked Jules. The man had helped him a lot. In fact, it was him that made this whole journey possible. But in the end, he was just an acquaintance. In any case, he would have to look more closely at any report of advanced prey.


    John pondered the discovery with fond anticipation for a long moment. He rested while the fox ate its fill. Then he set out for Emerald base.

 Radiance, Radiation, and Rehabilitation

    <u>Named Chapter #6</u>


    <u>1</u>


    ¡°Holy shit! You¡¯re alive!¡± Jules said in astonishment as John walked into the base.


    He was sitting on a bench watching the traffic in and out of the base. He jumped up and ran over to John without hesitation. He surprised John by embracing him tightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for leaving you. I thought you were dead. But there was nothing I could do. I¡¯m so sorry-¡± Jules stopped talking as John removed himself and held up a hand.


    ¡°You did well. Nothing good could have come from your presence. I had everything under control.¡±


    ¡°But how did you escape? I saw how close the bear was to you. I thought you were dead for sure.¡±


    ¡°It was easy,¡± John shrugged, refusing to provide more.


    ¡°You¡¯re one seriously scary guy,¡± Jules said after seeing the totally unperturbed fa?ade John wore.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± John shrugged again.


    He quickly bid Jules farewell as he walked toward the trial for Lunar Radiance. All his gains over the last day gave him confidence. He entered the transition pad and appeared in the trial with no delay.


    Instead of attempting the course, John laid down, exhausted from the day¡¯s events. It was after dark already, so sleep came easy. In minutes, he was out.


    When John woke, he felt the invigorating power of moonlight suffusing his body. He stood and began stretching for his first attempt. When he felt loose, he began.


    As John eased his way through the first obstacles, he realized things seemed a lot easier than they had the last time he was there. He passed across the wall running obstacles with near ease. Whether the reason was the many enhanced genes he had received or the addition of the wizened genes to his tally was unclear.


    John suspected the wizened genes accounted for much more growth than the lower tiers would. Even a few would make a massive difference. That made the gene in his bag all the more valuable.


    John progressed through the course much more easily than he ever had. Before he knew it, he was standing at the last obstacle. The final platform stood challengingly in the distance.


    John felt the Lunar Radiance swirling inside him. For the first time, John understood that true mastery of the skill meant spreading the feeling equally through him. To concentrate on one area was to neglect another.


    So, without directing the ability at all, John began the obstacle. Instead of pushing the feeling to his arms or legs he concentrated on letting it go where it would. The feeling began to circulate through him like a second bloodstream.


    He grabbed bars and ran on walls more fluently than he ever had before. He landed on the fake floor and dove expertly under the wall. His fingers locked on the bar and he swung past.


    John ran along the wall and leapt to the slanted wall. He felt the cold vigor of Lunar Radiance swell in his feet without his input and he launched from the wall. John¡¯s hands felt the swell next as he pressed against the wall above him.


    With unreal force John dropped down onto the pressure plate. It pressed easily and the wall in his way fell. John ran for the left wall run and was over it in a second.


    He pounced on the springboard and leapt up to the last bar. Without hesitation John swung from the bar and landed in a crouch on the library rail. A slick patch threatened his feet immediately.


    There was a split second where John felt his balance fail, but before he could attempt to correct himself, his body tilted the opposite direction like a counterweight. With some effort, he was able to right himself without falling.


    As he slid down the rail in a crouch, John leaned to each side, maintaining a clumsy surfer pose. His balance had never been so perfect. He praised the addition of the wizened points.


    John held strong with each curve all the way to the end of the rail. John knew by this point which parts of the rail were greased by the coloration. As such he knew he needed to jump a few feet before the end of the rail.


    As his feet pushed from the bar, John swelled with pride. He knew without even checking that he would succeed. His body launched through the air and his hands closed solidly around the bar on the final platform.


    John dangled for a moment as he resisted the urge to bellow his success to the empty trial. Instead, he caught his breath and slowly pulled himself up. Then he confidently stepped on the pressure plate that would signify his success.


    ¡°You have achieved understanding of Lunar Radiance. Application:12%


    Return to this spot to reach maximum Lunar Radiance in one hour.¡±


    <u>2</u>


    The pressure plate opened to reveal a transition pad. John knew without looking that it would take him to the start of the course. He still had to conquer the sun section to pass the test.


    John sat down under the moon and allowed his cells to receive its power. There was a direction to the energy. When he let it go where it would, it seemed to circulate from his stomach all the way up to his throat. He could almost taste the coldness on the back of his tongue.


    The feeling pulsated to his limbs with each turn passed his heart. John had never felt so invigorated. He sat there breathing for several minutes.


    Feeling ready to get some sleep but still wishing to try the course, John returned to the start. With great purpose, he turned to face the sun. John took a step into the area and immediately felt the increase in weight take hold.


    Like pushing against two magnets with the same pole, John could feel the resistance wearing on his body. He knew that this course was a test not only of skill, but also of how efficiently he used his energy. He couldn¡¯t waste any time because every second would consume some of the Lunar Radiance he had to spare.


    John took a deep breath and shook his hands out. He ran through everything he had learned. Every simple trick, every enhancement needed to pass each obstacle.


    When he was sure he couldn¡¯t be more prepared, John stepped from the platform. The drain was immediately evident, as was the heat imposed on John¡¯s refreshed cells. He moved with sure steps to the first obstacle.


    His knees shook from the gravity he was under. The weight was greater than the ability Lunar Radiance had to neutralize it without directed circulation. John felt the cool sensation pouring from him at an alarming rate.


    It was much more difficult to properly circulate the energy without a steady stream of it flowing in through his breathing. He had to take precious time to change the method of delivery he used to control Lunar Radiance.


    It was a difficult task, and John supposed it was this difference among others that would teach him greater than 12% control over the skill. After all, while in the moon section, his body felt like it couldn¡¯t possibly have taken more energy. But if he was going to master Lunar Radiance, he would need to be able to tap into the energy even in sunlight.


    John sighed at the lost potential as he finally found a suitable alternative. The act of circulation turned out to be mainly a function of his imagination. The energy only followed his lungs because he had imagined the energy flowing into him through the air.


    In truth though, Lunar Radiance soaked in through every available avenue. When John made that connection, his mind solved his issue for him like a key fitting in a lock. He visualized the energy that came through his skin, imagining it returning to where it came in.


    The result was actually a much more efficient method of directing the skill. Instead of having the energy travel where he needed it as the need arose, a smaller but steadier amount of energy was diffused all across his cells. Circulation issues solved; John stepped up to the edge with determination.


    Feeling the invigoration coursing through every cell in his body was encouragement for John to take the jump. His feet kicked off the ledge with enough inertia to propel him to his goal. The force of gravity was inexorable, but with his channeling, his hands made it comfortably to the bar.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    He braced himself against the pull his body had on his arms as the weight settled below him. He found it extremely hard to pull one of his legs up to the bar. With more time than he could afford, John slowly struggled up to the floating island.


    Panting slightly and sweating more so, John pushed himself to his feet. The second platform hung waiting for him to reach it. He rolled his shoulders before jogging to the edge and leaping.


    His execution was flawless. He was adapting to the increase in weight really well. His hands met the bar with no problem. Indeed, the problem was what happened after they had.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± John screamed in surprised pain as the scorching hot bar of the platform he gripped threatened to immediately blister his hands.


    He let go out of equal parts reflex and intelligence. The pain was immediately excruciating. John fell screaming into the net below.


    He could almost hear his skin bubbling in second degree burns. His agony lasted for far longer than it took for the net to reset his position. During that time, John began to realize just how much he had underestimated the sheer versatility of the challenges against him.


    Not only was the trial a race against the clock and the heat. Not only did his increased weight add exponential difficulty. The obstacles themselves were affected by the unnatural environment.


    The sideways progression of the second platform had been unworthy of thought in the lunar section. Almost definitely by design, he was able to pass it without any issue. That was the trap.


    The second platform faced the first at a ninety degree angle to the sun. That meant the unnatural ball of fire had conducted massive heat into the grip bar. Without even thinking about it, John had squeezed the bar with both hands, knowing he needed more than just one arm to counter the effects of gravity.


    To put it simply, the course was devious. As he tumbled onto the starting platform, John used his wrists and forearms to help himself to his feet. A survey of his hands told him he wouldn¡¯t be gripping any other bars any time soon.


    With frustrated resignation, John moved back to the transport pad. The heat radiating from his skin was palpable. He swore at the pain.


    John confirmed his return and sighed as the teleportation began to vibrate his body. He had completely forgotten caution in his excitement to pass the test. As a result, it would be days before he could attempt the course again.


    ¡°Well at least I didn¡¯t hit my face on this one,¡± he said to the descending darkness.


    <u>3</u>


    John didn¡¯t immediately transport back to Earth upon entering his room. He gingerly opened his pack with sore fingers and retrieved the salve he got from his mother. Unfortunately there was just no way to open the container without gripping it tightly in both hands.


    The pained exclamation that escaped him was spine chilling, but with tears in his eyes and a ragged throat he got the cap off. Without knowing how to properly proceed, John just took three fingers and dipped them generously into the thick paste. His application resembled watching a toddler play in a bottle of lotion unsupervised.


    After several seconds excessive lathering, John finally felt he had saturated his damaged tissue. He didn¡¯t know what the stuff was made with, but the pain in his aching hands slightly eased almost immediately. John leaned back on the small and unadorned bed, holding his hands up in the air on his elbows.


    He sighed at the damage to his body. After all the danger and likely opportunity to injure himself that he and Jules had been through. He was out of commission not because he got mauled by a bear, but because he got mauled by a bar.


    Rolling his eyes, he let yet another sigh escape at his own foolishness. Then he got up and began the transition back to Earth. Though his time in The Garden had been lucrative, he knew it wouldn¡¯t make up for the loss of time while healing.


    As expected, his mother was already worried sick over the time he had been gone. The condition of his hands did nothing to comfort her. The heat they gave off was palpable.


    He could feel the alien ointment hard at work soothing him, but he also knew he would have to do more than rub some salve on burns that bad. Luckily, his mom was, well, a mother. She immediately started filling the kitchen sink with some cool water.


    ¡°Come here,¡± she said gently.


    He watched in apprehension as she poured a generous amount of vinegar into the sink as it filled. The scent quickly permeated the whole room. John looked at her with reluctance.


    ¡°This is gonna hurt, huh?¡±


    ¡°Vinegar will help neutralize the surface burns and take some of the heat out of your skin. It might hurt because of the blistering, but I have something to help that too.¡±


    When he eased them in, John could feel the cool water and vinegar mingling with his hands. It did sting quite a bit, but it was nothing to receiving the burns. He exhaled in relief as his skin got used to the liquid.


    ¡°I have some genes for you,¡± he said to his mom to fill the silence as she prepared something else for him.


    ¡°Keep them for yourself. You are the one spending all your time hurting yourself. I don¡¯t need them.¡±


    ¡°I disagree. I¡¯m spending all this time getting hurt so that you have the strength you need to survive if you have to go back. More than that, we should start a stockpile of them for Emma. I¡¯m getting close to one hundred in a couple of them. If you can max out too, everything I collect will be for her. Think about it. She can enter The Garden stronger than almost anyone else.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty thought, but what if you get yourself killed trying to accomplish it?¡±


    ¡°Bring me that,¡± John said, nodding toward his bag where he dropped it.


    His mom did, but it was clear in her eyes that she didn¡¯t want to drop the issue. That was fine. She was his mom. It was her job to be worried. He understood that.


    She placed the bag on the counter next to the sink. At John¡¯s request, she unzipped it. At just a glance, her eyes grew wide.


    ¡°John! Are you absolutely insane? Where did you get all of this?¡±


    John winced as his hands left the liquid in the sink. He gingerly rooted through the contents, careful not to scrape his hands across any sharp edges. When his hands emerged, he was holding three different genes.


    ¡°This is the gene of an enhanced ape. I¡¯m not sure how many there are, but it¡¯s more than I can make use of. This one came from a flower. Look at them both closely and tell me what you see,¡± he instructed his mom.


    Her eyes had widened at his categorization of the tooth. They narrowed again at his words, but when asked, she did inspect them both. She felt them like they were loaves of bread at the store.


    Her hands pressed and squeezed and rubbed across every inch of the genes before she put them down and looked up at John. There was a question in her eyes. When she spoke though, it was in a certain tone.


    ¡°The flower gene is harder than the tooth.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    John said nothing else. He only looked at his mom and she at him. Then the significance creeped into her face.


    ¡°Is this¡­ an advanced gene?¡±


    ¡°It is. And it¡¯s yours. I won¡¯t hear any arguments. It¡¯s my decision and I say absorb it.¡±


    ¡°John, do you know what this could do for you? You¡¯re the one risking yourself. Why not take the boost?¡±


    ¡°Because I have a list of similar targets to help my progression.¡±


    ¡°Targets? I thought you said you were scouting?¡± John didn¡¯t miss the tone of warning in her voice.


    ¡°It¡­ involved some scouting. It also involved some hunting. Things got out of hand but in the end I was able to capitalize on some chaos, just like last time.¡±


    ¡°John, it¡¯s too dangerous for you to go out hunting things when you¡¯ve never even owned a knife before a month ago.¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s dangerous. What¡¯s more dangerous is being the last person to take that risk. You know how people can be. The second anyone thinks they have an advantage over another, things get messy.¡±


    ¡°And what part of that is supposed to convince me that you shouldn¡¯t take this gene? I will never be able to fight like you or your father. I don¡¯t have it in me. You need every advantage you can get. If you insist on giving me something, don¡¯t make it your best gene.¡±


    John smiled at his mother.


    ¡°It¡¯s funny you should say that.¡±


    <u>4</u>


    ¡°John, what the fuck is that?¡± His mom exclaimed when he brought the third gene out from behind his back.


    It wasn¡¯t surprise at the existence of another gene. It certainly wasn¡¯t her recognition of its tier. No, her reaction was based solely on the fact that she had never seen anyone brandish the spinal cord of a dead animal before.


    John took a few minutes to explain the situation he had witnessed between the bear and the gorilla. He left out the finer details but made it clear he had not been in danger. He remarked on his observation that beasts didn¡¯t use genes to evolve.


    ¡°So you just took this advanced gene from a bear¡¯s kill? Don¡¯t you know how territorial bears are?¡± You¡¯re lucky it didn¡¯t come back.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ actually,¡± John reluctantly admitted how right his mom was.


    She listened in disapproving silence as he recounted the several lucky breaks that accounted for his continued existence. When he finished speaking, she opened her mouth to lecture him again.


    ¡°Mom, this isn¡¯t the point of what I¡¯m trying to tell you. Look at this,¡± John handed her the gene of the gorilla.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pretty gruesome way to advance yourself. I would rather take a tooth any day than to have to rip all of this out.¡±


    ¡°Mom, focus. Study it like you studied the others.¡±


    That caught his mom¡¯s attention. She looked at him questioningly before doing as he said. This time, it only took her a few seconds to understand what her son was showing her.


    ¡°Is this thing greater than an Advanced gene? John what is this?¡±


    He nodded slowly.


    ¡°You are the only other person who knows about this. The bear killed the gorilla and ate its flesh to advance to the next tier. I know because when I killed the bear, the system said I gained Wizened genes.¡±


    ¡°Wizened? There are truly beasts more powerful than Advanced out there? Wait, what do you mean you killed it? How is that possible?¡±


    So, for the first time, John summoned the Lunar Stag Bow and let his mother see it. Her eyes were as wide as saucers at the resplendent weapon. They grew larger when he showed her his newly improved Drowsy Muckray Arrow.


    What followed was a long conversation about what exactly John had been doing with his time in The Garden. The revelation that he had not been as careful as he had been promising was not met with equanimity. He had to sit through an hour long lecture about how he had been raised better.


    ¡°Mom,¡± he finally cut in.


    She was in the middle of reminding him that ¡°some dumbass aliens don¡¯t get to decide when you¡¯re an adult,¡± and that ¡°irresponsible behavior like that will get you killed¡±. It was at least her fifth repetition of the subject. John knew she would have circled back a few more times too if he didn¡¯t interject.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the point. You¡¯re going to keep the Advanced gene because I¡¯ve already showed you it isn¡¯t the best prize I got from the hunt. I know I wasn¡¯t smart about it, but even the cautious die in that place. I¡¯m going to do what I have to do to get stronger. You¡¯re going to accept what I give you and trust that I¡¯m doing everything I can to stay alive.¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond. He knew by the tight clench of her jaw that his words made her cry. He also knew that the tears wouldn¡¯t fall while he or anyone else was around. She had always been that way, never showing her weakness in front of others.


    ¡°Mom,¡± he began more gently.


    But she wasn¡¯t listening. She turned away, perhaps to get out of the room before the tears fell, and perhaps because she knew no amount of talking could change either of their minds. She went upstairs and into her room without another word.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± John said to the sink.

 The Dependency, the Damsel, and the Deficiency

    <u>Named chapter #7</u>


    <u> </u>


    <u>1</u>


    <u> </u>


    <u> </u>


    John¡¯s hands took three weeks to heal. They would have taken longer, but on the third day, when all of the scabbing began to itch and John almost lost his mind, he went to a Kumani rehabilitation center for cellular repair. He might have despised them, but he had to admit that they had much better medicine and technology than humans.


    As a result of his rehabilitation, his hands wouldn¡¯t scar. That was good, because he had just got the hang of shooting his bow. At least, he thought he had.


    After weeks without practice, he felt like he had never shot a single arrow. His aim was horrible. While using a training bow, he couldn¡¯t even hit the target half the time. The calculating nature of the Lunar Stag bow made it a lot easier to hit his mark, but he didn¡¯t want to rely on such a crutch when he might not always have the bow.


    Consequently, he spent an additional three days practicing with a standard bow before he felt he had made up his lost progress. It was necessary, but John felt immense aggravation, nonetheless.


    The reason was that their residential quota was threatening to overwhelm them. His extra trips to The Garden weren¡¯t counted towards the next month, so by that time, they were more than two weeks into October. Despite his reluctance, he had sent his mom to meet with Jules.


    He had her write a note given his incapacitated hands. It basically explained that John was recovering from a training mishap and that his mom needed an escort outside Emerald Base. He attached an enhanced gene to the note and told his mom the room number.


    She had returned several hours later with a note in return. She explained that Jules had gladly agreed to take her on a tame adventure to fulfill The Garden¡¯s requirements after he had been given the enhanced gene. John took the note and studied the message.


    Basically, Jules said that he had nearly maxed out on his enhanced genes due to their last adventure. He also said that the people providing the information were happy to hear of their success. Apparently, a major reason for sharing the information, in addition to receiving two enhanced genes from Jules, was in hopes someone could deal with a few of the tough creatures that had been keeping them from further exploration.


    John was happy Jules was so willing to help his mom. It was more proof that he had chosen his one and only contact in The Garden well. What he did wonder about was how he could entice the man after he could no longer absorb enhanced ones.


    ¡°Might have to throw him a bone.¡±


    John had patiently waited out his healing process, but now it was time to get back to work. Not only were there more high level beasts to hunt, but John had devoted hours each day to going over the course for Lunar Radiance in his mind.


    He thought of every obstacle and its position in relativity to the sun. He had tried the course so many times that his mind could summon the imagery almost perfectly. As a result, he knew that after the second obstacle, the sun would touch almost every part of the course that he would need his hands for.


    That had led to a lot of speculation about what other unforeseen setbacks might find him as the course progressed. He had obsessed over the specifics until his mind shut down some nights. He recognized the habit for what it was.


    His entire life, both of his parents had stressed to him the peril of addiction. Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, he was warned away from all of it. Not just substance addiction though, his mom in particular had stressed that addiction could take almost any form.


    He had seen the truth of the words in gamblers, hoarders, and morbidly obese people he observed throughout his childhood. But the full scope of her words hadn¡¯t become apparent until about a week into his recovery. That was the day that he understood that an addiction could truly be formed on anything.


    The reason for his clarity was simple. After being unable to hunt creatures or even work on Lunar Radiance, he understood. It was already too late for him.


    He was restless. He was antsy. He was impatient. The only thing on his mind was the day he could return to The Garden. Wether it was hunting for genes or cultivating his soul, John was irrevocably addicted to progression.


    <u>2</u>


    <u> </u>


    John¡¯s impatience to return was almost unmanageable but manage it he had. And now was his time. He said goodbye to his mom and stepped onto the shuttle he had arranged.


    He found his way through the transition station without issue, though an acceptable amount of bureaucracy was needed. John allowed his wrist its usual scan and when all things were in order, he stepped onto the transition pad. A smile graced his lips at the anticipatory tingle of his body passing into The Garden.


    His smile only grew more at home on his face as his view changed to that of his private room. It wasn¡¯t that he had missed the place. Rather, the pile of letters on the floor in front of the door that had been both expected and nervously anticipated.


    It was the feeling of serotonin that preceded the gifts he received on Christmas morning. It was the love letter written back to him by his first elementary school crush. It was biting into the Cinnabon and feeling it burst with flavor.


    All of those experiences combined into one might have described the ecstatic feeling coursing through John the moment his eyes beheld the pile on his floor. And the reason was simple. Opportunity.


    No doubt some curious inquiries had come during the time John was recovering, but he had sent his mom to explain the situation long before a pile of this magnitude would have accrued. That meant that the majority of the mound of mail he now beheld came in the time since Jules sent the letter through his mom. And that could mean only one thing.


    John moved to the pile and inspected one at random. His eyes lit up as his suspicions were confirmed. Another and another he scanned before laughing out loud.


    Each piece of paper had the location and description of at least one plant or animal suspected to be advanced in evolution. Many had multiple beasts to share. In fact, there were so many letters that John was sure Jules had become inundated with requests following their spectacular results.


    Instead of going through each one individually, Jules had just dumped them all through his mail slot and called it moot. Yes, the credit he gave to his acquaintance was both minimal and fitting. At least, that was until he found the most substantial parcel of them all.


    It was almost a book in size. When John opened it, he found that it did contain what could be generously be called a breadth of knowledge housed between two covers. When he finished looking it over, only then John could truly appreciate the mess on his floor.


    In truth, Jules had gone through each individual note and absorbed the salient points before commissioning what was deemed by the aforementioned covers, ¡°God¡¯s Grand Guide to Great Gains¡±. John was absolutely flabbergasted.


    The book was over a hundred pages thick. Each page, front and back was filled with the most comprehensive information about every creature and plant that had been sent their way. There were categories based on location, time of day, closed ecosystems, and so many more detailed and obsessive little tidbits that had been sent at their request.


    It was completely insane to imagine how the man could have possibly accomplished the book in less than a month. But never mind his accomplishments. As John looked from the book to the pile of paper on his floor, the joke really gained it¡¯s second wind.


    ¡°You¡¯re an absolute riot,¡± John said by way of greeting when the man excitedly pulled his door open at the knock.


    ¡°John! Holy shit dude, your mom is hot!¡± Jules said by way of response.


    The two came together in a mutual hug before Jules smiled like the little bastard he was, both for the prank and the comment about John¡¯s mom. John smiled in turn like a man home to his friend after a long absence.


    ¡°How did you finish that book so quickly?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Quickly? I had that thing commissioned the day the first gene fell through my mail slot. See, I already had a pretty amazing in on the information network. The second I knew you could deliver I put the word out to compile everything.¡±


    ¡°You had that much faith in me after just one gene?¡±


    ¡°John, I knew from the second that you walked into the trade market that day that you were destined for higher places than us ordinary folk. I just gave your competence the benefit of the doubt long enough to test you. I don¡¯t know if you know this, but before you, there were only two people who could reliably kill an enhanced beast in all of emerald base. And don¡¯t get me wrong, they¡¯re talented and capable warriors, but neither one of them would have dared approach me or anyone else and make a deal of five enhanced genes for a measly arrow. Your eyes see far beyond us John. You will set the stones of evolution in place, and humanity will follow.¡±


    John didn¡¯t know what to say. It was clear by his words that he held John in a higher regard than John himself held most deities. Yet, it was simultaneously alarming to be disillusioned to the reality and extent which Jules had played him.


    John didn¡¯t get upset with the man. Rather, he appreciated that while John himself had approached his role in their partnership as a distant and unreadable prodigy there to provide one service for another, Jules had taken a far more beneficial approach. His eyes saw the diamonds that John had tried to hide.


    Jules had not only just admitted to shafting him on the value of the arrow, but then subsequently using John to grow his reputation as a man who knew a guy. It was planning and manipulating on a level John had never known possible. And again, he wasn¡¯t mad. Contrarily, he was ecstatic.


    By telling John all of this, he was effectively lowering the barrier of distrust and dishonesty he had built between them. Before now, neither of them needed more than a surface friendship where services were exchanged and both parties benefited. In admitting his past scheming, John knew that Jules was effectively asking for permanence.


    Both of them recognized the potential for growth in sticking together. In fact, John had come to ask the very same question of Jules. He even brought the genes in his bag as a way to sweeten the pot. Instead, he clasped the man by his wrist and met his eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re a definite bastard. But I have to admit, you¡¯d kick my ass in chess if nothing else.¡±


    <u>3</u>


    John and Jules spent some time catching up on what John had missed. Much of it was the same information gathering that Jules conducted all the time. But there were two new categories of note.


    ¡°What do you mean I got hired as an escort? Dude, I¡¯m not selling my body. I don¡¯t care how pretty you say he is,¡± John joked.


    ¡°Suit yourself. The other job offer you got was something similar to our last venture in The Garden. This guy, Shen, he¡¯s from Asia somewhere, anyway, he is one of the people I owed an enhanced gene to. When I gave it to him, I also told him about the gene exchange.¡±


    John¡¯s eyebrows rose. He was starting to see where this was going. He inclined his head for Jules to continue.


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t hear from the guy for two weeks. Then he comes banging on my door and demanding I get him in contact with the guy that killed the enhanced beast. I didn¡¯t know what to say to him. I know you don¡¯t want anyone to have contact with you, so I told him you were indisposed at the moment.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± John said.


    An escort request was something he had expected eventually. Plenty of people would want someone reliable to protect them while they tried to hunt lesser creatures. The prices for such a task would vary depending on exactly what was expected of him.


    What was less expected was the second job. John hadn¡¯t expected anyone besides himself to seek out enhanced beasts. It was only due to his even stronger bow that John dared attempting the feat. If someone had asked Jules to proposition John, they must have been confident. The only question was, should they be?


    ¡°You can tell him I¡¯ll meet him in one week. Apologize for the delay but make it clear that I do intend to take the job. I just have some final preparations to make first.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure you want to give up anonymity?¡±


    ¡°What makes you think that? I haven¡¯t come this far without a plan,¡± John lied.


    ¡°I¡¯ll trust your judgement then,¡± Jules said.


    ¡°Good. In the meantime, I¡¯m going to go hunt something. It¡¯s been a while. I need to meet my quota.¡±


    ¡°Understood. What about the escort requests?¡±


    ¡°Start a queue. I assume the majority of the clients are new entries to the base. As such, no one with less than one hundred primitive genes may request an awakened hunt. The price for protection will be one gene corresponding to the level of the targets they wish to hunt. The first gene of the hunt will be mine, as well as ten percent of the genes after the deposit.¡±


    John wouldn¡¯t have considered the idea, but he was all too aware of the eventual date his sister would enter The Garden. Even if his own tally was nearly complete, the genes would always be welcome, especially when clients began asking for higher tiered protection. Jules made a quick note of these specifics, but he made certain concerns known as he did so.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how people will react to those terms. I know better than anyone how fair you are. But some people might think you¡¯re extorting them.¡±


    ¡°If they do, thank them for their time and tell them you hope they¡¯ll reconsider. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t be worth my time for less than ten percent commission. I mean, I won¡¯t even get anything unless they collect ten genes. I think it¡¯s only fair to charge a commission. And the deposit is just to scare off anyone too greedy to see reason.¡±


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    ¡°I see the wisdom, but who knows how it¡¯ll turn out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll handle it well.¡±


    John had to depart before the day got too late. Not only did he have hopes to hunt a few lower beasts for his lesser gene count, but he also wanted to take some time reintroducing himself to the rigors of Lunar Radiance.


    He was on his way back to his room to empty his bag of genes when there was a disturbance. A group of men were crowded around something John couldn¡¯t see. He wouldn¡¯t have bothered to stop until he heard the unhappy voice of a young woman lash out from within.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have an enhanced gene to give you. Get out of my way!¡±


    ¡°Now now, pretty girl. I¡¯m trying to help you. You won¡¯t get far out there without people like us to protect you. I understand if you can¡¯t come up with the gene. You can pay me another way,¡± a man said.


    He had some kind of English accent that John didn¡¯t recognize, something European maybe. His underlying message stopped John in his tracks. He clenched his fists at the group of men before his indecision was gone.


    The crowd of men were tightly packed around the girl, so much that John couldn¡¯t even tell how many of them there were. That didn¡¯t make a difference though. A thousand turds in the punch bowl or just a few, it made no difference.


    A bestial roar clattered the teeth of many of the men, and in an instant chaos ensued. Many faces turned to the source of the commotion. Screams of alarm followed as they witnessed the massive grizzly bear that continued to roar as it moved threateningly in their direction.


    People lost all dignity in their haste to flee. Pushing and thrown elbows were common as the gang of thugs forgot the thin veil of loyalty they had been showing each other. Within just a few dozen seconds, the street was empty.


    The girl was down on the ground, having been all but trampled by numerous people. She had curled in a ball to minimize the damage stray feet could do to her. Despite her defense, John could see that she had been kicked in several places.


    ¡°Well that was lame,¡± he said as he proffered his hand to help the girl stand, ¡°none of them even tried to fight. Guess that proves they¡¯re all just a bunch of taints.¡±


    ¡°Where did the bear go?¡± The girl asked.


    There was a fading alarm in her voice after seeing the calm and unthreatening face John wore. She took his hand, and he gently helped her to her feet, so she didn¡¯t stress her sore body. He let go when she was stable, making sure she had plenty of personal space.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± John asked, not answering her question.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said.


    She sounded defensive, like she hadn¡¯t needed the help. Still, her face softened after seeing John¡¯s kind face. He reached his hand out anew, this time to introduce himself.


    ¡°I¡¯m John,¡± he said.


    ¡°Liz,¡± the girl said after a second.


    She took his hand and they shook. Her skin was cold and soft to the touch. She wasn¡¯t someone who had spent a lot of time working.


    ¡°It¡¯s your first time here isn¡¯t it?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yes. How can you tell?¡± She replied.


    ¡°Because your eyes aren¡¯t the same as everyone else. You haven¡¯t seen what¡¯s out there yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s all going to change in a minute. I can¡¯t go home until I leave the base.¡±


    John nodded. He knew the anxiety she must have felt coming here alone. It was the same as he had felt all those weeks ago.


    ¡°Do you want to come with me? I was just about to go on a hunt,¡± he offered.


    ¡°No, I shouldn¡¯t. I don¡¯t have anything to protect myself. I would be in your way. Probably wouldn¡¯t last an hour before I got myself killed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility, but what if you did have a way to protect yourself? Thugs or beasts, you¡¯re going to run into trouble again sooner or later. Let me help you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s in it for you?¡± She asked with suspicion.


    ¡°You¡¯re older, but you remind me of my sister. The reason I come here is so that my mom doesn¡¯t have to leave her alone. If you¡¯re here by yourself, you must have a similar predicament. I just want to help. But I won¡¯t twist your arm. If you come with me though, I promise you¡¯ll be safe against anything we see.¡±


    ¡°How can you promise that?¡±


    John had debated this next part. He knew it would be the height of folly to some, but she really did remind him of his sister. He couldn¡¯t just let her struggle alone in a place like this.


    ¡°Can you keep a secret?¡± He asked with a smile.


    <u>4</u>


    <u> </u>


    <u> </u>


    You have agreed to lend the Transfiguration Soul, Wizened Grizzly Body to Liz. She will retain possession of it until attaining at least one offensive and one defensive Soul Mod of Advanced Tier or higher.


    Liz felt the Soul mod pass from John into her before her eyes widened. The terms of the loan had been spoken to her as well as him, and upon hearing the gift, she was speechless. She had given her word not to speak of it, but that didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t be dumbstruck.


    ¡°So, what do you say? Wanna come with me?¡± John asked with a smile.


    ¡°What choice do I have?¡± Liz responded.


    ¡°You could go alone,¡± John shrugged, ¡°but it¡¯s more fun with a friend.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said, shrugging in turn.


    John lead her toward the gates of Emerald Base, since she didn¡¯t know her way yet. In his distraction at the new acquaintance, he completely forgot to stop by his room to empty his bag. Figuring he would be safe enough from theft once they got into the wild, John decided it was okay.


    The two of them moved to the gate and prepared to leave. Since it was her first time, the men on duty there had her answer the same questions John had on his first hunt. Then they were noted on the list of departures and waved through.


    The pair walked north from the base and made pretty good time through the plains. Nothing came close, and Liz was able to accustom herself to the environment of The Garden without danger. Their first foe of the day came after nearly an hour of peaceful travel.


    A shriek of rage broke their solitude just before a weasel similar to those John had seen before leapt for his head. His reflexes had increased a good deal since his first time in The Garden. He ducked under it and summoned the Mantis dagger before it had even hit the ground.


    ¡°Bear up,¡± he said to Liz while turning to face the direction the weasel had landed.


    There was a roar as she acquiesced. He didn¡¯t watch her transform though. Instead, he raised the blade to parry another attack from the weasel. It bit down at him just before the blade entered its mouth.


    The result was that the beast¡¯s teeth collided with the blade and it bounced away. John didn¡¯t know if it was intentional, but it certainly made the thing look clever. John turned his gaze to Liz just in time to see the weasel jump at her throat.


    Her reflexes were a great deal worse than John¡¯s. She had yet to gain a single gene advancement. As a result, she barely noticed the attack before the critter was latched onto her bare neck.


    Luckily, her bare neck was a bear neck. Moreover, the hide of the bear was at wizened tier. The product was that the weasel¡¯s teeth latched onto fur, but couldn¡¯t hope to break the skin.


    Slow reflex or not, Liz swiped a great taloned paw at the foe. It stubbornly held on to the unrelenting hide between its teeth. The weasel wailed in pain as Liz ribboned it with her claws.


    It fell to the ground and didn¡¯t move again. Liz raised her ursine head to the sky and roared in victory. John laughed at her exuberance.


    A moment later, she was Liz again. She looked confused at the change. Her eyes unfocused for a few seconds before she turned to John.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me there was a time limit on using this thing,¡± she said with apparent aggravation.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was,¡± John replied.


    It had never forced him back to human in the middle of using it. He didn¡¯t know why it would do so for her. The only thing he could think of was her low advancement.


    ¡°Take the teeth and absorb them,¡± he said.


    She did as instructed and he watched the tranquil look wash over her as she took in her first gene. Her skin smoothed and a smile spread wide across her face. John smiled too, knowing just how good that must have felt.


    ¡°What about now? Can you retake the bear form?¡±


    She concentrated for a minute before shaking her head. John wasn¡¯t discouraged. He took his bag from his back and handed her another primitive gene.


    She looked surprised that he was carrying it, but she took it all the same. She repeated the process, but still looked to him apologetically.


    ¡°It won¡¯t let me,¡± she said.


    ¡°No matter,¡± John said as he pulled out gene after gene of varying quality, ending with two enhanced genes he got from the many dead simians.


    If Liz was surprised at the first gene, she became speechless at the pile of genes John placed at her feet next. Her jaw dropped open and her eyes boggled. She looked up at him in wonder.


    The expense was substantial, but neither he nor his mom could gain anything from the genes he had intended on trading them for things they might need later, but investing in a potential ally was also a worthwhile investment. Besides, there was no point having her along if she couldn¡¯t be of use.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell,¡± he smiled.


    ¡°Who would believe me? John, who are you? How did you get all of this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just a kid who was in the wrong place at the right time.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean the right place?¡±


    ¡°No I do not,¡± John said, looking down at the primitive stag gene leftover from the first hunt he went on.


    The other genes were the same; left over from beasts he could no longer benefit from. After he and Jules¡¯ last excursion, he had entirely maxed out on his enhanced genes. His primitive genes were sitting at eighty four and his awakened genes were at seventy nine. As for the others, John hadn¡¯t absorbed his wizened gene yet, and he gave his mom the awakened one.


    In total, Liz took in six primitive genes, four awakened, and three enhanced genes. John had already set aside the appropriate number of remaining genes for his sister when she gained the ability to use them. The rest he planned to use bargaining for things. He supposed loyalty could count.


    After her extended absorption, Liz confirmed that she could change again. John asked her to do so and they timed how long she was able to remain in that state. The first time it had been no longer than one minute before she was returned to human. Now though, the time ticked by as she stood furry and intimidating.


    Ten minutes later, she became human again. John told her to keep trying to return to animal form again until it worked. The process was delayed for roughly twice as long as she had been a bear.


    ¡°It seems like the cool down is pretty heavy no matter how many genes you have. You¡¯ll have to be careful staying a bear too long.¡±


    ¡°I think it would be much less time between shifts if I didn¡¯t run the clock out all the way.¡±


    ¡°Either way, that¡¯s better than you did have. Most fights should be over long before ten minutes is up. Keep gaining genes as fast as you can and hopefully you¡¯ll have hours in bear form eventually.¡±


    The two of them continued to hunt along the plains for the next few hours until they had both met their time restrictions. John didn¡¯t gain much, preferring to let Liz go wild in her beast mode. She was quickly getting the hang of being thick and powerful.


    John did gain a single awakened gene when a bird swooped low to claw at him. He didn¡¯t shoot it with his bow. Instead, he held his arrow and poked at the bird as if dove a few times.


    Eventually the arrow pricked the bird. It quickly fell from the sky, first asleep and then dead. The sedative nature of the arrow allowed the poison of the Muckray to permeate the body unregulated by metabolism.


    Even a wizened grizzly bear had been unable to fight off the dual action of the new arrow. It quickly proved itself against far lesser foes.


    John loved coming back to The Garden. His lust for power was almost uncontainable. He wanted to fill his genes as quickly as possible to make it to the next stage.


    At the end of the day, John and Liz returned to Emerald base with satisfaction. John had climbed a bit higher in gene count, while Liz had leapt up the ladder.


    She ended up killing no less than a dozen primitive beasts and five awakened. Her totals were above fifty in those two tiers after just one day. John was no slouch either, but next time he vowed to try harder.


    Primitive: 89


    Awakened: 85


    Enhanced: 100


    Advanced: 8


    Wizened: 8


    <u>5</u>


    John told Liz to meet him at the gate in three days if she wanted to go with him again. She agreed, and the two parted ways. John made a direct route to the cultivation trials.


    In no time at all, John was standing on the transition pad, staring at the course that had cost him so much time. He was no fool. He knew from his bow training that nearly a month with no practice would have stunted his ability.


    So, he turned away from the sun and decided to practice on the moon course. First though, he took the shortcut pad to sit under the radiance of the moon for an hour to reach maximum saturation. He didn¡¯t have the patience to gain the energy the slow way.


    When he was ready to start, he proceeded back to the beginning and gave it a go. As expected, both his fitness and his control had declined noticeably since his injury. However, he was still able to pass through the first several obstacles with concentration and muscle memory.


    When he came to a particularly difficult series of wall runs and bar grabs, his concentration failed him, and his feet slipped from the wall. As he waited for the safety net to return him, he pondered the mistake. It was taking longer than he had thought to bring himself back to perfect balance with the skill.


    He knew he needed to let the energy go how and where it would. He was also trying to incorporate the manipulation without the medium of his breathing. But while a steady stream of the cooling sensation passed into him with every breath, it was extremely difficult to ignore.


    John took several attempts, even more than he expected, to make it back to the final obstacle. His lost potential made his confidence drop considerably. He doubted very seriously that he could pass the course his first or even third try.


    Instead, he sat down and meditated on everything he knew of Lunar Radiance and the trial. He remembered the equality of the skill when he had used it to finish the course the first time. He could imagine it perfectly moving with his body¡¯s needs.


    The problem was, when his hands had touched the scorching hot bar, the amount of lunar energy that had been circulating through his hands had not been nearly enough. He knew that to pass the course, especially the last obstacle, he would need to keep the energy steadily moving through every part of him. But the heat of the sun made it so that certain parts of his body would need a greater concentration than others, even while keeping the minimal flow to every other part of him.


    John could see the steps he had been through in learning the skill that led to this point. Slowly, he had learned more and more about how to use Lunar Radiance. This was simply the next lesson. How could he channel more energy to his hands without stealing the baseline energy from the rest of him?


    That wasn¡¯t the last lesson either. He was forward thinking enough to know that a hot bar wasn¡¯t the only obstacle he would need to overcome. Namely, the many areas his feet would have to traverse were likely to be much slicker than they were in the moonlight course.


    That made John think that he would have to greatly increase his baseline energy flow to accommodate the increased need. That was the only way he would be able to succeed. Otherwise, he would fail to sufficiently direct the energy where it needed to go.


    He would end up burnt again or worse if he didn¡¯t think ahead to find a solution. His mind turned over the problem again and again as he sat staring forward to the final obstacle. No matter what he thought of though, he wasn¡¯t able to direct a high enough concentration of energy to more than his two hands at one time. Even that was taking every scrap of Lunar Radiance from the rest of his body.


    He hated that he couldn¡¯t see a way forward, but he finally decided there was no way around it. He stood and attempted the last obstacle. After all of his introspection and meditation, he did considerably well. Unfortunately, he still fell after reaching the library pole as he thought of it.


    He calmly worked his way back through the course while holding his failure in mind. Two more times he was forced to restart on the last obstacle before he once again completed the course.


    ¡°You have achieved understanding of Lunar Radiance. Application: 20%


    Return to this spot to reach maximum Lunar Radiance in one hour.¡±


    That puzzled John. He felt like he hadn¡¯t achieved any progress at all with the skill. In fact, it had taken him more tries to reach the end than his last victory.


    Yet his application had slightly increased. How exactly was his progress being calculated? John thought about it, and with execution aside, his only difference was the number of genes he had now compared to before.


    If that was really the difference, then that meant all of his previous gene totals had added up to give him twelve percent efficiency with his understanding. That also meant that the few genes he had gained since, including maximizing his enhanced genes, had given him almost nothing towards his application. While the eight wizened genes had almost given him a single percent each.


    The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. After all, few people would waste an Advanced gene before reaching 100. Perhaps he was meant to have a full count of advanced genes to fully take control of Lunar Radiance. The wizened gene in his bag would surely help greatly towards increasing that number.


    ¡°Only one way to find out,¡± John said to himself.


    He took the gene from his bag and unhesitatingly began soaking it in. As with the grizzly bear, his body felt unable to cope with the flood of energy. It sped into him like a tidal wave crashing onto an unsuspecting beach.


    John gasped helplessly as the energy saturated his every cell. All he could do was breathe as steadily as he could. Soon enough, the event was over.


    Wizened gene of silverback ape absorbed. You have gained six wizened genes.


    John stood up and walked to the pad that would return him to the beginning. The only way he could be sure of his guess was to complete the course again. If his guess was right, he would have all the information he needed.


    John moved back through the course with a determined mind. He attempted to increase the output of Lunar Radiance to every part of his body while he moved. Despite his concentration, he still fell on the last obstacle once more before making it back to the lunar platform.


    ¡°You have achieved understanding of Lunar Radiance. Application: 25%


    Return to this spot to achieve maximum Lunar Radiance in one hour.¡±


    John smiled. He was right. He wasn¡¯t lacking understanding. He was lacking the ability to apply his understanding completely. And now he knew exactly what to do to increase that ability.


    John returned to the transport pad and confirmed his exit. He couldn¡¯t make any progress on the course until he had gained enough genes to bring his application up to or at least close to one hundred percent. That meant one thing: it was time to hunt.

 The Milestone, the Monarch, and the Mixer

    <u>The Milestone, the Monarch, and the Mixer</u>


    <u> </u>


    <u>1</u>


    <u> </u>


    ¡°You¡¯re late,¡± Liz said to John when he approached the gate a few days later.


    ¡°What? No, I¡¯m not. It¡¯s today. Today is when I said to be here. If anything, you¡¯re early.¡±


    John smiled after his tease, just to let Liz know the consequences of trying to chastise him. She took it well enough, but she was not to be dissuaded so easily.


    ¡°Do you always make pretty girls wait this long?¡±


    ¡°If one ever agrees to meet me, I¡¯ll let you know,¡± John shot back with a crinkled nose.


    ¡°Bitch, I¡¯ll turn into a bear and eat your ass,¡± Liz said challengingly.


    Despite her words, John could tell she was in good humor. It was refreshing to find someone that wouldn¡¯t hesitate to threaten violence during a friendly bout of verbal sparring. John smiled even wider before responding.


    ¡°You can always try, but it didn¡¯t work out so well for the real bear,¡± he shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe you¡¯ll get lucky.¡±


    That stopped Liz for a moment. She seemed for the first time to consider just how John and therefore she had come to possess the wizened soul in the first place. She looked at John with an inscrutable expression.


    ¡°Thinking better of it?¡± He asked, smiling all the wider.


    ¡°Fuck off,¡± she smiled back.


    The two of them gave their names and left the base in a hurry. John had a very particular goal in mind. He was going to gain advanced genes today.


    The day started off uneventful. The pair made their way east from the base. The found little to hunt in the grasslands. It wasn¡¯t until they came into a valley two hours into the journey that anything interesting happened.


    As they were climbing across an area of large rocks, the worst came to pass. John lifted his foot to top over a particularly large rock when he heard the sound. John¡¯s instincts took over.


    Liz would later recount to him that his feet reached an entire four feet into the air in his attempt to get away from the certain death he knew awaited him. If he had the presence to pay attention to his own body, he would have probably agreed with her. As it was, he was entirely occupied by the source of the noise that triggered him.


    There, on the rock he had been about to drop onto, was a fucking snake. John hated all snakes equally, and in almost any situation, if asked, he could tell you the species of any snake he saw. They were easy to categorize for him. It couldn¡¯t have been simpler.


    This snake, like all other snakes, was the well-known and often avoided Nope-Snake. Never mind that his ears gave away the true species before he ever spotted it. Never mind that he had heard it a thousand times exploring the untamed wilderness with his dad.


    Wether it was a black snake, a garter snake, a big snake, a small snake, a dead snake, and alive snake, or even the rattlesnake in front of him now, if asked, they were all Nope to him. That was his one and only phobia in this world. In any world, he guessed, given his current location.


    ¡°Wow. The big bad hunter reduced to a twentieth century housewife that just seen a mouse. This sure is doing wonders for my heroic image of you. It¡¯s just a snake.¡±


    ¡°Feel free to lay down and have a cuddle. I¡¯m gonna go this way,¡± John said, pointing well away from the waiting snake.


    ¡°Okay but watch your step. These rocks are warm. There are probably a dozen or more snakes trying to get some heat before going off to hunt. This might even be where they sleep at night,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Now why would you tell me that?¡± John asked.


    Looking around, John could see that they had made their way almost to the very center of the rock outcropping. No matter which way he decided to walk, he would have to cross several minutes of rocks to make it away from the area. John sighed in anxious resignation.


    Twenty minutes and four snake encounters later, John and Liz had made their way past the rocks. John vowed to take another way out of the valley, no matter how long a detour it proved to be. Liz only shook her head at his proclamation.


    Snakes and detours aside, John was happy to keep moving toward the goal of the day. They were looking for a large dirt mound somewhere in the valley. It was supposedly home to a colony of ants.


    The report he had based the adventure on said that the area was excellent for gaining low level genes. However, that wasn¡¯t the reason John chose it. Liz could benefit from those, John was in it for the queen.


    The report said that after hunting a dozen or so lower-level ants, a really big one had come out. It moved insanely fast, and some had died trying to retreat from it. The survivors estimated it to be the advanced queen. John had his doubts.


    If he knew anything about ants, the queen wouldn¡¯t have come out in person¡­ in insect? right away. It would have sent out some henchmen to take care of things. Only a last resort would bring the mama out.


    If the ant the group had seen was advanced, chances were, it was just a lieutenant. That meant that if all assumptions about the hive were accurate, there was probably a wizened ant queen somewhere inside. John planned to find out.


    After another hour of travel, a mysterious mountain came into view. John didn¡¯t remember reading about it, so he was confused. He thought they had missed the anthill somehow.


    ¡°Should we go back?¡± Liz asked.


    She hadn¡¯t read the report, but John described their goal in enough detail that she knew what they sought. She had obviously came to the same conclusion that he had. John was about to agree, but his eyes drifted back to the giant landmass ahead of them.


    He stopped in his tracks when he saw a flash of movement going up the mountain. It was the strangest thing, because the mountain seemed to be extremely far away, but the creatures moving up it were perfectly definable.


    They were ants. Either he was perceiving the mountain incorrectly, or the ants were way more massive than the largest dog that had ever lived. John couldn¡¯t make sense of it.


    Clearly, the anthill was extremely understated in the report. John knew from his deviant childhood that digging up an anthill the size of his palm produced millions of ants. It was the proverbial iceberg, only showing a tiny piece of their complexity on the surface.


    If this gigantic anthill was anything like a normal sized one back home, the real breadth of it probably reached all the way to where they stood, stretching underground. The thought made him start to seriously reconsider his decision to come.


    He had expected the ants to be bigger than usual. The report called them large dog sized ants. But the report made it sound like the anthill itself was marked by a mound. This was undoubtedly something altogether more dangerous.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. This thing has to have millions of ants in it. If those ones running up the hill are the weak ones, I¡¯m not surprised that something stronger could threaten a group of humans. We should go before they take offense at our presence,¡± John said to Liz.


    ¡°Hold on. I¡¯ve got my bear body. And my gene count has increased enough that I can use it for almost half an hour before I get pushed out. Let me practice on these things. We can always run if they start getting too numerous,¡± Liz replied.


    John had his doubts about that claim, but he would have been lying if he said he wasn¡¯t curious how well the ants stacked up in a fight. He wouldn¡¯t risk Liz¡¯s safety, but he also wasn¡¯t there to boss her around. Part of the reason he had leant her the bear soul was so that she would have the ability to protect herself and make her own decisions in a world that would take advantage of any weakness.


    So, John stood ready to act while Liz ventured carefully forward. She didn¡¯t take her bear form while she walked, wanting to save it for combat. As a result, after a few dozen yards, she stopped and looked back at John with a peculiar face.


    ¡°Come look at this,¡± she said.


    John was intrigued if nothing else. He walked slowly forward, trying to see what Liz was distracted by. Try though he might, he couldn¡¯t see anything interesting.


    There were no tracks that he could find. Nor was there anything big or noticeable between her and the giant hill. He stopped a step behind her and concluded that he was obviously blind.


    ¡°What is it?¡± He asked in bemusement.


    Liz grabbed his shirt and pulled him slowly forward. She pointed to the anthill while she did. John¡¯s eyes fixed on it while Liz brought him level with her.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s weird,¡± John said.


    <u>2</u>


    As John moved into relative position with Liz, he realized that his vision was shifting. Even as he watched it, the massive anthill shrunk. It contracted to a much more manageable, though still massive size.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± John asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s an illusion,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Yeah, no shit. But to what extent?¡±


    John took another step forward and his vision continued to rein in the home of the ants. With each new step he took, the anthill shrunk more. Perhaps of more importance, was the fact that the ants themselves did not shrink with the hill.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± John said.


    The ants didn¡¯t seem to be a part of the illusion. The phenomenon was limited to affecting the landscape. Just what caused said phenomenon was, though reasonably suspected by John, unknown.


    Liz joined him and the two continued to approach the hill. It shrunk steadily all the way down to a size much more fittingly deemed a mound, as the report had said. When the two were only twenty yards away, the illusion was completely dispelled.


    What was left was an anthill protruding from the ground roughly at the height of an average human. The ants that were constantly coming in and out of the colony now looked perfectly proportional to the nest. John was glad that Liz had decided to venture forward or he would have taken the threat at face value.


    ¡°Wait, take this,¡± John said.


    He transferred the crocodile club soul to her. She summoned it and looked at it with some interest. Nonetheless, she wore a puzzled expression when she looked back at him.


    ¡°Insects have exoskeletons. I think our best bet is stabbing and smashing attacks. Also, you should save your transformation for as late as possible. And one more thing,¡± John said.


    He got out a pen and a small piece of paper and wrote down Jules¡¯ room number. He handed it to her and once again her eyes held a question.


    ¡°If things get out of hand here, I¡¯ll distract them while you get away. Go find Jules at that room number and tell him that if he doesn¡¯t hear from me in three days, cancel the meeting. He will know what you mean.¡±


    Liz just looked at him for a second, but she didn¡¯t question him. With a shrug, she put the paper away and hefted the club. Then she advanced with steady movements toward the anthill.


    Her approach didn¡¯t go unnoticed, and as the report had seemed to imply, the ants began to offer themselves as targets to Liz. The smallest of the ants were about the size of a really big rat. She made short work of any that got near her.


    The next size of ants were less plentiful, but still impressive in numbers. They were more of a lapdog in size. Massive for ants, but John expected much bigger foes to show themselves.


    Liz began whacking the bugs left and right. She took a few tries to actually kill one of the smallest ants. When she did, she looked up in surprise.


    ¡°Awakened! The small ones are awakened!¡± She exclaimed.


    John¡¯s eyebrows rose in shock as well. The report had made no specification on the level of each ant. That led him to believe that the larger ants hadn¡¯t shown themselves.


    At the very least, none of them had been killed by the information source. If they had, the report would surely have noted the existence of so many enhanced beasts. Perhaps their last human encounter had driven the colony to better protect the lower drones.


    Liz was able to stem the tide of small ants easily. Several died relatively quickly. Liz had to take more time and care to evade the enhanced variants, but still only a few smacks per insect were needed.


    John moved carefully while Liz worked. He kept his bow out and prepared himself to enter the fight. But his main focus was moving wherever Liz dropped an ant after she moved on to collect the genes.


    She hadn¡¯t been lying, and soon John had more awakened genes than he would ever need. A few enhanced genes went to the bag as well, but Liz they were fewer in number and harder to kill. The smaller bugs seemed almost predisposed to die by comparison.


    After twenty minutes of relentless kiting by Liz, John told her to get ready. He took a few steps away from the nest himself and readied his bow. The ants continued to berserk towards Liz, who was happy to keep smashing them with her club.


    John felt the disturbance before it came. Like a tremor beneath his feet, a chittering shriek vibrated his whole body, from the soles of his feet to the top of his scalp. He knew the time had come.


    ¡°Liz! Lead them this way,¡± John called to her.


    To her credit, she didn¡¯t hesitate to follow his instructions. She immediately started making a roundabout path toward John. The various ants in her wake furiously swarmed after her.


    John raised his bow but didn¡¯t draw. He kept his eyes trained on the top of the mound. After almost a minute of anticipation, a single ant emerged.


    It was black like all the rest, but much larger. Moreover, the pincers that were the collectible gene on the smaller ants were razor sharp and when it clicked them together John could feel the vibration from his position. The gene was also much larger, the entire head appeared to be shining in the evening light.


    Before John had finished taking all of this in, the ant was down the mound and in quick pursuit of Liz. She continued to retreat, but it was clear which of the two was faster. She noticed it advancing on her and called out with a note of panic.


    ¡°Uhh, John?¡±


    ¡°Im on it. Don¡¯t stop moving.¡±


    John drew back his bow and took aim at the ant. He didn¡¯t spend a lot of time on his aim, hoping to break through the exoskeleton with the sheer force of the arrow. As a result, his shot glanced off the abdomen of the ant and went spinning away.


    John cursed, the chitin of the insect was seriously tough stuff. This was the first time his bow had failed to penetrate a target. John¡¯s confidence would have wavered, but he clenched down on his doubts and returned the arrow to his string.


    The ant didn¡¯t miss the attempt on its life, however. It turned its bug eyes on him and chittered angrily at him. Surprisingly though, it continued to pursue Liz.


    John drew the string once more and this time allowed the scope of the bow to extend. He sighted the ant down the lens, having no trouble at the extremely close range. The ant continued to chitter and clamp its mandibles as it chased Liz.


    John studied the bug and found that there were only two parts of the whole ant that shone as a weakness to his sight. The point where the head met the abdomen and the point where the abdomen met the thorax.


    Of the two spots, the head and abdomen was undoubtedly the more fatal. One shot there might decapitate the bug. But John decided against aiming there for two reasons.


    First of all, John was a good shot, but a moving target that small was not within his level of confidence. Secondly, John¡¯s arrow was venomous. The gene itself seemed to be the head of the ant. If his arrow infected the gene, it would be dangerous to consume and therefore worthless.


    So instead, John quickly took aim at the proverbial ass crack. He took an extra couple of seconds to track the movement of the ant. Liz shot another frantic request for aid his way as he calculated his shot.


    John released the string with his next exhale. Before the twang could even reverberate in the air, the ant was bisected at its midsection. It chittered louder than ever, though the unmistakable urgency of agony was now present in the sound.


    Though it had been halved, all six of the ant¡¯s legs remained attached to the insect. It had no problem continuing to chase Liz. At least, not for about two seconds.


    The potent sedative properties of the Drowsy Muckray arrow quickly slowed the scuttle of the ant to a crawl. Within another dozen seconds, it stopped moving altogether. The insides of the ant poured out onto the ground as it lied there impotently.


    Advanced Ant Drone killed. Gene available for harvest.


    ¡°Get the gene!¡± John yelled as soon as he got the message.


    ¡°On it,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Be quick, we¡¯re not done here,¡± John warned.


    Sure enough, while Liz was still trying to separate the head from the tough exoskeleton, John felt the very same tremor course through him as he had preceding the advanced ant. This time though, it lasted for several seconds, and Liz looked over at him with an ounce of trepidation on her face. John gestured at her to wrap it up.


    He took aim at the mound while he waited for what was to come. He was ready for the worst. Or at least, he thought he was.


    But when over a dozen advanced ants spilled down the hill at the same time, John¡¯s stomach almost fell out of his ass. He immediately prepared to launch an arrow, but waited for the leading ant to make some distance from the dome before shooting. It only took about two seconds.


    By that time, the rest of the ants had already spread out in a scatter pattern. John let loose his arrow and returned it to the string almost as soon as he heard the crunch of the ant¡¯s chitin. Liz screamed in surprise and fell backward as the bug all but drug itself into her lap.


    It slowed to a stop just before it¡¯s pincers could snap around her ankle. It chittered for a few more seconds before sleep, and shortly after, death took it. Liz looked to him with blatant panic on her face.


    ¡°On your feet! It¡¯s time to transform,¡± he shouted to her.


    Liz scrambled backward and rose messily to standing position. She hastily stowed the advanced gene she had been prying loose into her travel bag. She was halfway into a bear by the time she finished.


    Two more ants were on her seconds later, but one of them immediately received its own arrow to the butt. The other managed to make an attack on Liz, but she was already swinging a taloned paw at the insect by then.


    John watched as the bug latched its razor-sharp mandibles into the leg of the bulky bear just as its devastating paw raked across the ant¡¯s back. An ursine scream left Liz¡¯s grizzly mouth as the pincers locked themselves in place in her leg. Unfortunately for the bug, she also inadvertently ripped the head of the ant clean off in her reflexive jerk backward.


    Her claws had raked most effectively across its back. One of them had made a lucky incision almost perfectly across the crack between its head and abdomen. The result was that by locking its bite on her leg, the ant provided both the means and motivation for Liz to decapitate it.


    Counting the one in her bag, that made two advanced genes she had. John watched as her bear hands seemed to struggle to open the sharp pincers in her leg. It didn¡¯t appear that she had enough dexterity to accomplish the task.


    A moment later, the entire head of the ant began to dissolve as Liz found a solution. She stood tall and screamed her victory to the sky as the advanced gene sunk into her bear flesh. John turned away from her in time to fire an arrow out of reflex into the face of yet another Advanced ant.


    Three others were advancing on him from different angles, while Liz had five coming for her. John mourned the contamination of an advanced gene by his arrow, but had no time to dwell on the fact. He would just have to do better.


    Liz was pummeling the ants left and right but unwilling to let them get close enough to sink their jaws into her again. As a result, she wasn¡¯t able to make any easy kills. The chitin of the creatures was really something special.


    John took his shot at the next closest ant while doing a good impression of a backward unicycle ride. He missed the sweet spot, but his arrow did cleave through a single leg in its way. The ant slowed visibly, but John was unsurprised that it took almost half a minute to stop altogether. Another minute after that would pass before it finally succumbed to the arrow¡¯s venom.


    By that time, John had taken a half dozen similarly unsuccessful shots at its fellows. None of them hit their mark, and to make things worse, he didn¡¯t get another lucky limb severance either. The two remaining ants on his tail were too nimble to be easily beaten.


    At such close range, John had little hope of beating them with his bow. Luckily, he hadn¡¯t used all his cards yet. A flash of light signaled a new entrance to the battle.


    Jane burst from John¡¯s chest, taking solid form in less than a second. It had taken a surprising amount of time for her most recent food coma to run its course, but only a few days ago, it finally happened. Jane was a new and improved soul once more.


    The ants chittered in anger as the majestic fox leapt into the fray. It wasn¡¯t the little baby soul it had been when he gained it. Two back-to-back fortuitous encounters had led to it first becoming Advanced and now Wizened.


    Jane leapt at the nearest ant and bit down on its entire head as it tried to fix its mandibles on the fox. A loud crunch could be heard before the canine-like soul companion moved on to the next.


    The ant it left behind collapsed instantly to the ground, unmoving. Before Jane had even pounced on the other, John was hearing the voice ring out in his head. He smiled at his little killer.


    Advanced Ant Drone killed. Advanced gene available for harvest.


    The voice hadn¡¯t even finished speaking before it started again, overlapping with the first as Jane crunched another ant head. John unleashed Jane on the four advanced ants Liz had yet to kill next. I¡¯m a matter of seconds, only one was left.


    Before Jane could make a chew toy out of it, the bug had skittered back into the anthill. John ignored its retreat and quickly set to work removing all the genes he could from the dead ant bodies. Liz didn¡¯t hesitate to join him.


    They both put a few genes each away while Jane stood guard. John left the gene he had ruined with venom, but still managed to pry loose four of the ant heads and Liz three before the most infuriated rumbling yet shook the ground beneath them.


    John knew what this meant. The queen was finally ready to come out and play herself. John signaled to Liz to abandon her attempts at another gene.


    ¡°Jane can kite the queen when it comes out. Just try to stay out of its reach the best you can. If one of us gets all the attention the other will draw it back away. Are you ready?¡±


    Liz nodded her bear head, having transformed back from human after getting John¡¯s warning. John nodded back and raised his bow. He took aim on the anthill just before the largest ant yet popped out of the hole.


    John was ready to let loose the second Jane gained the insect¡¯s ire. But the rumbling beneath his feet hadn¡¯t yet subsided, and John began to feel the nagging sensation of anxiety that always preceded disaster. A second later, the mound of the anthill exploded with activity.


    John turned to Liz in a heartbeat and shouted new instructions. He quickly grabbed a gene from his bag and pushed it into her clumsy bear paws. She tilted her head in question, but a John was already yelling his orders to her.


    ¡°Take this gene and go. Find Jules and give it to him. Tell him what I told you before but also tell him that this is advance payment for any babysitting he might have to do if I don¡¯t come back. Got it? Now go! Don¡¯t stop running and don¡¯t leave your bear form until you¡¯re forced to,¡± John turned away from her without another thought.


    Her lumbering gallop was all he needed to hear to know she had followed his instructions. John sent a command to Jane as well. The fox obediently bounded off after Liz to protect her retreat. John himself took aim down the sight and prepared for his last stand.


    He knew he wouldn¡¯t get out of this one. There would be no tree to climb. There would be no last minute upgrade that gave him the advantage he needed. This would be it for him.


    That wasn¡¯t lack of confidence. It wasn¡¯t giving up. It was acceptance of a fate he couldn¡¯t possibly escape.


    He knew that, because the ants that stormed out of the hill now were not awakened. They weren¡¯t enhanced. No, not even an army of advanced ants stampeded his way. The ants the swarmed out of the nest by the dozens, by the hundreds even, were all of the wizened tier.


    John knew he was going to die. He knew that without the shadow of a doubt. And even if these innumerable and undeniably superior insects couldn¡¯t kill him, John now knew the truth.


    Even if he could kill them all with impunity, not a single one of them was the queen. And John¡¯s critical thinking skills were sufficient to piece together what that meant. The queen, the ant in charge of all of this and undoubtedly the same ant that had been shaking the very ground with its fury, was something a step above even this army of wizened drones.


    That was the reality of it. John had tested his luck and pulled the short straw. With no other option available to him, he took aim at the face of the closest ant and closed his eyes as he let the string go.


    <u>3</u>


    Crack!


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    John heard the arrow impact the skull of the ant immediately after it left his string. He didn¡¯t open his eyes, but he knew by the way he wasn¡¯t pincered in the guts that his arrow killed the bug. But a second later, John¡¯s eyes opened in shock when the system voice spoke in his mind.


    Wizened Ant Guard killed. Soul armor gained. Wizened gene available for harvest.


    John couldn¡¯t believe the words. He immediately summoned the soul around him. With the defense of the armor, he might just be able to survive the attacks of the ants long enough to get away.


    But when he looked up and saw the literal army of insects surrounding him on all sides, his hopes were dashed. He dialed back his hopes to ¡°play dead and hope they eventually leave¡±. John felt the armor encase his entire body as he fell to the ground and curled up in a tight ball, doing what he could to protect his vital organs.


    John waited to feel the sharp attacks pierce his flesh. At the very least he figured he would get some serious bruises from the force of the attack. But after about ten seconds, John hadn¡¯t felt so much as a nudge.


    Even as he had the thought, he did get a nudge. It came from behind him. It wasn¡¯t so much a shove as it was a poke. John pretended he was already dead and tried not to react to the push.


    He heard a lot of chittering all around him, and to his astonishment, he began to understand it. He felt, almost like thoughts channeled into his brain, feelings and sensations from various ants around him. He would later learn that the suit of ant armor he wore was more anatomical than he had thought to consider.


    On his helmet, so to speak, we¡¯re two extremely thin feeler like projections that seemed to catch and translate the vibrations of the chittering creatures into recognizable concepts. The miniscule antennae were so sensitive that John couldn¡¯t hope to process all the sensations it picked up. Words and emotions slammed into his mind like a tidal wave.


    ¡°Eat!¡± ¡°Trick!¡±


    ¡°Dead!¡± ¡°Return!¡± ¡°Anger!¡±


    ¡°Revenge!¡± ¡°Eat!¡± ¡°Gather!¡±


    ¡°Bring!¡± ¡°Save!¡± ¡°Mother!¡±


    ¡°Mother?¡± ¡°Mother!¡±


    ¡°Bring Mother!¡± ¡°Lift!¡± ¡°Come!¡± ¡°Return!¡± ¡°Mother.¡±


    John had no idea how to make sense of the tide of information he was being blasted with. His head was spinning like a top as he remained motionless while the torrent or ant debate washed over his mind. Before he knew what was happening, John was being lifted into the air by innumerable insect arms and ferried toward the nest.


    He opened his eyes, finding that the ant armor he wore almost perfectly took the shape of an ant from the head to the waist. From there down it was less accurate, having no thorax of his own. But for the helmet, his head was inside a passable representation of an ant head. As such, the eyes of the ant were black and allowed no perception within to John¡¯s face.


    With that being said, he didn¡¯t have to worry about actually playing dead, he just had to be still. His eyes were constantly roaming over the army of ants that escorted him to the nest. As he had thought, each of them were wizened.


    Their size wasn¡¯t much bigger than the human sized advanced ones they had fought, but the spreading of the gene was much more pronounced. It was the same as it had been after the bear had eaten the gorilla. Each of them had a differing level of gene progression across their abdomen.


    Some genes had barely spread further than the head of the insect. Others were approaching their thorax in gene completion. More than a few had one or more of their legs included in the hardening process. John wondered just what the queen would look like.


    His speculation was much longer lived than he hoped. He was brought into the hole at the peak of the anthill and carried down a steep decline before moving impossibly through tunnel after tunnel in a manner that made it hopeless to remember his way back. That worry was still secondary to the very real fact that John was being brought before the leader of the hive herself.


    An hour-long passage through the hive made John less anxious and more impatient. His legs and arms were cramping from the forced stillness. It made John wonder just how large and powerful the queen must have been to shake the ground from so deep within it.


    John¡¯s mental image was a gargantuan carapace with limbs as long and thick as telephone poles. Mandibles that could cleave thick oak trees would fill its mouth in his mind. The truth, when it finally came, was something far more incredible.


    John was led deep into the heart of the nest. The amount of smaller, less evolved ants grew fewer and fewer as the bugs carried him. Soon only advanced and wizened ants could be seen, but their numbers were nothing short of astonishing.


    Hundreds, thousands of ants the size of Great Danes scurried back and forth through the various tunnels that crossed with the one his procession used. John¡¯s guts were in an uproar trying to remain calm. Then again, he had thought we would have been dead an hour ago, so he didn¡¯t give up hope.


    After endless turns and constant descent for longer than John could possibly have calculated, the tunnel suddenly opened up. He couldn¡¯t move his head, lest his game of play dead would end in disaster. As a result, he only beheld his destination after the group of ants dumped him messily on the tunnel floor.


    John looked out the ant eyes on his helmet and was unable to understand what he saw. Well, that wasn¡¯t entirely true. He understood perfectly well that the ants had brought him to the queen.


    It moved with more certainty than any other. Admittedly, the movement it did was very minute. It mostly consisted of a strangely ritualistic looking shake of its thorax that would produce a seemingly random number of what John guessed were eggs.


    Numerous wizened ants came and went behind the queen, appearing to sort the many eggs by criteria unknown to John. They then sped off through various other passageways leading to what might have been different egg nurseries. The queen didn¡¯t interrupt her reproduction, and the ants that brought John to her waited without approaching further.


    All of these observations gave John the certainty he needed that this was indeed the queen. But all of that made John¡¯s confusion even more profound. He expected to see a nightmare made reality; a monstrosity, a terror to behold.


    But the queen of all these millions of ants, from awakened to wizened, from rat sized to human length, was an ant barely the length of his foot. John couldn¡¯t understand what he was seeing. Smaller even than the smallest of awakened bugs, the queen could have been the weakest of any ant he had yet seen.


    He couldn¡¯t inspect it very well given the position he was thrown down in. His peripheral vision was also constricted by the helmet. What he could see of the relatively small ant was that its whole body glowed with the brilliance of a gene. But how did such a small ant reach such evolutionary heights?


    ¡°Mother!¡± ¡°Killer!¡± ¡°Retrieved!¡±


    ¡°Killed!¡± ¡°Dangerous!¡± ¡°Protected!¡±


    ¡°Brought back!¡± ¡°Saved body!¡±


    John could again hear the confusing babble of thought forced into his brain by the many chitters of the ants that had brought him. He tried not to twitch in discomfort. Before it became too much to handle, a new voice cut in. This one was clear and concise, but it had much more cohesion than even the greatest of the wizened ants that spoke into his antennae.


    ¡°Stop. Speak only when directed. What is this?¡±


    ¡°Killer!¡± ¡°Human!¡±


    ¡°This is no human. It looks like one of the mutated ones.¡±


    ¡°Human!¡± ¡°Changed shape!¡±


    ¡°Is it dead? I care not what it is so long as the hive is safe.¡±


    ¡°Dead!¡± ¡°Still for long!¡±


    ¡°Good. Take it with the other gatherings to the pile. Good child.¡±


    That was all the conversation John heard before he was being lifted again. His head lolled to the side as the ants moving him positioned him between them. From the new position, he got his first clear look at the queen.


    It was still busying itself with the many eggs it produced per minute. Even as he watched, the ant shook its butt in a particularly rigorous egg dump. But when the single egg came out, everything changed.


    The ants in charge of transporting the eggs approached to move it to wherever they took the eggs, the queen moved in a terrifyingly fast manner. Before John understood what was happening, three wizened ants were sliced into pieces.


    As he was carried further from the queen, John¡¯s mouth dried like the desert. He hadn¡¯t even seen the attack, only the single swiping motion the queen had made in the direction of the other ants. Yet not one of them was left in less than a dozen pieces. The queen chittered angrily at the other ants still moving nearby to collect the eggs.


    With alacrity, every ant moved away from the small monarch. When she was standing solitary, the queen turned to her single egg and lifted it gingerly with two of her six appendages. Then she walked alone to a tunnel John had not seen any other ant enter.


    ¡°The egg must be special, even among all the high level bugs around here. Could the queen have produced another ant like her? What was the evolution of the queen anyway? Clearly it was far stronger than the wizened ants it just ribboned. But could it have made another as strong as it?¡±


    John¡¯s mind was a jumble of thoughts as he was carried out of sight. He knew something special was up with the egg, and he thought about any way he would be able to get to it. Unfortunately, he had no hope of finding his way out, much less down a secret tunnel that no other ants seemed to be allowed to enter.


    So, when the ants carrying him began to climb a giant mound of leaves, berries, and other oddities he supposed were meant for food, John finally started to relax. He was dumped on the top of the mound and left without a further glance. John waited for several minutes to be sure the ants were gone before daring to move his head slightly.


    He turned his head down the pile of food and could see innumerable smaller ants than the ones that brought him all dropping food off at the base of the mound. The sheer amount of food collected by the ant colony each minute was something approaching impossible by human standards. Nevertheless, the pile grew constantly.


    The good news was that none of the ants were climbing to the top of the pile to throw down their gains. They all just chucked their stuff at the bottom and took off to find more. Not one ant bothered to look up the mound to his supposedly deceased form. John watched uncomfortably for several minutes just trying to be sure of his assumption.


    After almost half an hour of this, John began to make minute changes to his position. He always moved a single part of him at a time, and never more than a few inches. After each adjustment he would obsessively study the ants below for signs of alarm. Never did they look up to him and not once did he draw any attention. The ants seemed almost vulnerably oblivious to him.


    John couldn¡¯t believe the situation he was in. He was stuck far underground, alone and completely unable to find his way out even if he could escape. He did have one thing to help though.


    Jane had been automatically returned to his mind some time ago when the distance from John had become too great to sustain. He was sure that would mean the difference between living and becoming true food for the colony of hungry mouths. He stayed on top of the mound of food for several hours, until what he supposed was late into the night.


    Ants kept bringing food the entire time. Only long after John had felt the need to sleep himself did the colony of ants seem to slumber. John made sure that no other bugs would be coming before summoning Jane to his side.


    ¡°Sit here. Don¡¯t move. And wake me if anything comes.¡±


    John gave his orders and tried to nestle himself comfortably into the pile of food. He closed his eyes drifted into an extremely uncomfortable sleep. But uncomfortable or not, John was exhausted, and he slept like the ants really had killed him.


    That was necessary, because tomorrow he would begin his plans to escape. Yes, escape was the number one priority. But he knew that the opportunity for growth was also just out of reach. So, tomorrow would also begin the suicidal plan to take and consume as many genes as he could. Hopefully, it wouldn¡¯t turn into actual suicide.


    <u>4</u>


    <u> </u>


    ¡°Alright Jane. You know what to do,¡± John said two days later.


    He had been nested on top of the pile of food observing the mannerisms of the colony. He learned that the hive was at rest for no more than a few hours a night. Jane had woken him all too soon the first night, and though John had no frame of reference, he assumed it was sometime around dawn.


    The day had passed excruciatingly slowly for John. He was forced to sit as still as possible for hours on end as ants piled morsel after leafy morsel around the base of his mound. John had long since found the least popular side of the food pile and nestled himself as comfortably as possible while he waited.


    He had nothing to do all day but to watch the ants. Sometimes throughout the day, a larger morsel would be carried up the mound before being dropped off. Very few things were as big as he was, but he did see a few animals the size of large dogs added to the pile.


    John also noticed that some of the ants brought eggs the size of his palm to be added to the food store. He was curious why they would throw away, much less eat their own young. After some cautious digging through the pile, he was able to find a few of the eggs.


    He inspected it, but as he thought, it was simply an ant egg. There was no reason that he could find that it would be discarded with the food. Shrugging his shoulders, he had went to put the egg back, but accidentally squeezed it too hard.


    Primitive ant larva gene absorbed, you have gained three primitive genes.


    John¡¯s eyes had widened at the voice in his head. The egg in his hand seeped into his skin like a regular gene. When it was finished, only the shell remained.


    John had quickly found four more eggs after that to bring his primitive gene total to 100. It was easier than he had ever thought it could be. He was starting to think being taken as food wasn¡¯t such a bad thing. He had been reveling in his accomplishment when he heard the voice of The Garden speak again.


    Congratulations. You have gained 100 genes in one or more genetic tiers. You may now use your transport pad to proceed to the evolution pool. This is optional and will have to be manually selected before stepping onto the pad. Evolution is a one-time affair and may not be undone once commenced. Procedure to Stage Two of The Garden will immediately follow successful evolution. Choose your evolution wisely.


    John couldn¡¯t believe that after only two months in The Garden he had the opportunity to evolve into a higher grade of being. Of course, he would never dream of doing such a thing yet. There were three other tiers to max out at least. Perhaps four, he had thought when remembering how far above the other ants the queen was.


    John¡¯s next thought was that he hadn¡¯t received the message from maxing out his enhanced genes. He wondered why that was, but he supposed it probably had something to do with him finishing his progression while on earth. He supposed it didn¡¯t really matter in any case.


    John had spent the rest of that day scheming and formulating a plan to make the most of his captivity as it were. He searched the pile some more, but he found nothing else that would progress him in gene tally. But when the ants had called it a night, John had once again summoned Jane.


    She was as silent as a hunting cat, and he had planned to make use of it. He let her sniff one of the primitive eggs. Being a wizened soul companion, Jane turned her nose up at the low-grade egg. John smiled at the stuck-up beast but gave his orders all the same.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like the quality, find us some better ones.¡±


    John had waited patiently as Jane foraged the hive silently for a couple hours. She had orders to simply return to his mind if discovered. But that had never happened. Only twenty minutes or so before the hive would stir to life, Jane returned, bloated and waddling.


    The fox had struggled up the mound of food and settled into John¡¯s waiting lap. He patted her on the side and gave her a good scratch on the chin. She chirped softly in a contented manner before John returned her to his mind.


    An entire hoard of eggs popped into existence on John¡¯s lap. There were about two dozen in total. John knew they were of different tiers because of the difference in durability he could feel in the many eggs.


    He started with the weakest feeling eggs, of which there were two. Upon crushing them he received a de awakened genes. Bringing his total to ninety. The vast majority of eggs unfortunately were enhanced, which he could gain nothing from.


    There had been a few advanced eggs as well and a single wizened egg. John doubted the scarcity of the latter as much as the inability by his soul companion not to crunch the wizened eggs herself. In any case, John received a total of five advanced genes and another two wizened genes.


    That brought both of them over ten, a milestone which the advanced tier had been lacking even behind the wizened. John wasn¡¯t disheartened to find that he gained much less from eggs than regular beasts. It would have been entirely too easy for everyone to become insanely strong.


    So, John had sat through yet another day of playing dead with slightly more gusto than your average corpse. He had formed a plan much better than the last day¡¯s. This time, Jane would take him to the exit.


    His faithful foxy companion did indeed know what to do at his previous command. And so, John slid carefully down the pile of food, passingly careful not to disturb or smash the mound too badly on his way. He didn¡¯t know how deductive these ants truly were, but there was no reason to test their attention spans unduly.


    Jane trod down the pile as agile as a cat. She loyally took up position in front of John. After making certain that he would leave no trail, they set off.


    The dark attuned vision of the ant helmet made it easy to see where he was going in the lightless passageways. Jane led him by smell through tunnel after tunnel, but John felt certain that it would still take them hours to find the exit. They moved with surety, at least John hoped Jane was as confident as she seemed with every turn and choice she made.


    After only a few minutes though, Jane stopped short. John almost bumped into her before noticing she had paused. She looked back at him with a very doglike expression and let out an almost silent whine.


    ¡°What is it? Which way is the surface?¡± He asked.


    Jane whined again before pointing her head in the same direction they had been moving. John didn¡¯t understand what her problem was if she wasn¡¯t lost. After a second or two, she turned to another passageway and dug her feet lightly into the dirt like she was trying to indicate something.


    ¡°What¡¯s down there?¡± He asked.


    Jane whined again but didn¡¯t give any obvious response otherwise.


    ¡°What is it? We don¡¯t have time for this!¡± John urgently whisper screamed at the fox.


    Jane was obstinate though. She trotted down the tunnel she had indicated for a few feet before turning around and staring at John once more.


    ¡°Why are you being so stubborn? Are there eggs down that tunnel?¡±


    Jane immediately hopped several times excitedly. She ran to John¡¯s legs and pushed on the back of his knees. An excited series of whines came forth from her as she tried to force him down the tunnel.


    John¡¯s reluctance diminished greatly as he confirmed that there was something to be gained from the detour. Still though, he knew they had no time for lolligagging. So, he turned to Jane and spoke to her seriously.


    ¡°Ten minutes and we are gone. Do you understand? We can¡¯t be caught here when the ants wake up.¡±


    Jane yipped quietly and trotted forward. John followed as quietly as he could, careful not to leave footprints where possible. Soon they passed through what John recognized as the chamber where the queen had the audience with John¡¯s captors.


    Jane led him straight into the passageway John remembered the queen taking the egg down. The queen herself was nowhere to be seen, luckily, and John followed Jane down the tunnel like the ghost of a mime. It came fairly quickly to a small chamber that only had one feature.


    In the back of the small room, which John almost had to double over to pass into, was an alcove of dirt. Inside the alcove was a small pile of eggs. Truthfully, pile was being generous. Four eggs sat nestled within.


    Jane moved straight to the eggs, clearly wishing to take one for herself. John gestured for the fox to go ahead, but Jane whimpered softly. She nudged one of the eggs with her nose until it fell away from the others. Then she picked it up in her mouth and attempted to bite down on it.


    The egg shot out of her mouth like a dart and hit the side of the tunnel. It fell to the ground intact and rolled close to John¡¯s foot. He picked it up with a confused expression on his face.


    The egg as completely unharmed. Not a tooth mark could be found on the shell. John¡¯s eyebrows rose in surprise. He squeezed it himself and found that it didn¡¯t give a millimeter under his grip. Whatever class the egg was, it was far above the wizened eggs Jane had brought him the day before.


    Without hesitation, John took all four of the eggs and stored them in his bag. The bag was oddly concealed beneath the carapace of the armor until he needed it. It was extremely weird, like the bag was vacuum sealed between himself and the armor, barely needing any space at all.


    John looked to Jane, who had a disappointed look on her face. She seemed like she expected John to have cracked the egg open immediately so she could enjoy it. He rolled his eyes at the greedy fox.


    ¡°We have to go. I¡¯ll save one for when you can break it open. Come on! Go!¡±


    Jane huffed but turned to lead the way back through the maze. Her steps were much more sure than the path she took leading to the eggs. John forgot all worry of covering his trail as the fox bounded forward through the passageways.


    They moved without stopping for over an hour, twisting and turning through tunnel after tunnel. Jane didn¡¯t falter once in her pursuit of the surface. John stayed hot on her heels, knowing full well how soon the ants would begin their day.


    It turned out, the queen rose even earlier than the drones, as John discovered shortly after Jane had turned their path into the wide main tunnel that John remembered coming down during his capture. He stumbled as the familiar shriek of the queen shook the entire passageway they ran through. John fell to his knees and continued to scramble forward as the most furious wail he had felt yet vibrated his bones within his skin.


    The queen was not only awake, but she had already went to check on her precious eggs. John clutched at his chest as the tremor all around him grew to a painful degree. Jane whimpered too, clearly not immune to the effects. They had to get the hell out of the nest before the millions of ants caught up with them and finished what they thought they had before.


    Jane scrambled up the steeply inclining tunnel with John digging his hands into the dirt to follow. They both slowed considerably, but John much more so than Jane. He couldn¡¯t grip the dirt as well as her naturally suited paws.


    John frantically began jabbing his hands as far into the dirt as he could to keep pulling himself up the passageway. He was surprised at how well it worked. His armor was not only hard as steel, it also allowed him to ignore the many bothers that might have come with trying to use his bare hands as makeshift ice picks.


    In this last ditch manner, John was able to ascend ever so slowly. Ahead of him, Jane suddenly disappeared before turning back and popping her head into the hole of the anthill once more; she had made it out. Behind him, John could feel a constantly growing vibration through the soles of his ant armor boots.


    The entire hive was awake and quickly closing the distance between themselves and John. He turned back to Jane and scrabbled his way up the hole like a drowning man searching for the surface. Only ten feet separated him from his freedom, but he could feel parts of the anthill collapsing both from his barbaric efforts and from the thundering stampede of oversized insects barreling through it towards him.


    John reached for Jane as he came to the last few feet of the tunnel. The faithful fox but down on his armored wrist and pulled for everything she was worth. She couldn¡¯t hope to pull him up by herself, but John was doing a hefty majority of the lifting himself. With their combined efforts, John finally topped the mound of dirt and rolled clumsily down the outside.


    Jane was right behind him, and they both made a messy escape from the anthill as the ground beneath them began to buck like trying to run on a trampoline that five larger people were actively jumping on. John fell several times in just a few seconds, but always managed to find his feet again in his desperation for survival. Jane was better off than him, having twice as many feet.


    The two of them struggled forward as yet another furious exclamation rumbled beneath them. John didn¡¯t want to, but he had to turn back to the nest to understand how dire the situation was. When he did, the definition of the words completely fucked became suddenly clear to him.


    The anthill itself was chaos, hundreds of ants poured down the hill, all at least advanced in tier. The ground was covered in black insects swarming toward him and Jane. But that wasn¡¯t what truly drove home how dire the situation was.


    The bucking and caving dirt beneath their feet had given way several feet behind them to reveal innumerable ants of undoubtedly wizened tier forced their way from the cracks in the dirt. The entire world seemed to be demolished under the inexorable tide of insects hell bent on ripping John limb from limb. He turned back to Jane who was unceasingly running from their impending deaths.


    ¡°Fucking bugs,¡± he lamented to her.


    <u>5</u>


    John rushed past Jane who turned off to the side slightly. After a few paces, she turned back and darted under the body of one of the ants closest to John. The bug tripped as he had hoped when giving the order, but was back in pursuit too quickly to make the maneuver worth the effort.


    Jane tripped a few more bugs and chomped on the heads of a few more as she tried to widen the distance between her companion and the foes. John knew she would be okay; her agile body was much quicker than even the wizened ants, and it was really only John that was keeping her from moving even faster. Nevertheless, she took a few scrapes and close calls from a few of the more ready ants she provoked.


    Ineffective or outnumbered though she might have been, Jane¡¯s efforts gave John precious ground as he moved like a man possessed. All too soon he came to the rocky outcropping where he and Liz had encountered all of the snakes. John cursed at the quickly rising sun when he realized that all of those snakes would probably be in the vicinity again, hoping to get some morning sun before heading out to hunt.


    John recalled Jane and summoned her again. She appeared at his side, ready to take the lead again. He pointed ahead of them and gave her a simple command.


    ¡°Find all the snakes and then keep us the fuck away from them,¡± he said.


    Jane bounded forward with her nose to the ground. She sniffed almost obsessively as they progressed. Every few seconds, she sniffed sharply in a particular direction before turning well away to continue. John didn¡¯t question her or watch his footing as they moved through the rocks. Behind them, John could feel the rumbling ground of the ants catching up slowly but surely as they lost time avoiding the reptiles of the area.


    John and Jane soon made their way from the rocks and their pace once again increased. Contrariwise, the ants seemed to get held up with the rocks and the snakes that took badly to their close intrusion. Nevertheless, John knew he was far from in the clear as he and Jane sprinted openly for the first time since their flight began.


    Hoping to lose them entirely, John sent Jane back to distract the best she could. She turned immediately and ran to harass the ants once more. John sprinted as fast as he could while Jane made a more crooked path, subtly leading the ants off to one side as she continually turned back and ran among the ants.


    They weren¡¯t stupid creatures, that much they had proven by their actions to date. But strategy was something the hive lacked. Their best tactics were limited to dog pile the enemy and hope they weren¡¯t too fast. As a result, Jane was able to slowly but surely lead them off course from John.


    John himself didn¡¯t slow his pace for a moment. He ran like his heart wasn¡¯t about to explode from the adrenaline coursing through him. He made the straightest path back to Emerald Base he could, clutching desperately at the stitch in his side and praying his feet wouldn¡¯t trip on a root.


    His flight remained uninterrupted as the rumbling of the army behind him slowly calmed. He didn¡¯t know if the ruse had fully succeeded, but at the least Jane had given him time to make some distance. John didn¡¯t stop or even slow down for the next hours.


    His pace was one that few could match, as few had gained as many genes as he had. He could feel the amazing difference between his physique now and a few months ago. He was still falling over with pain and exhaustion, but his body would have given out long before then without his advancements.


    After what seemed like the entire day, but in truth wasn¡¯t even half the morning of running, John saw the beautiful sight of Emerald walls surrounding his familiar safe haven. He had long since stopped feeling the stampede behind him, but had only doubled his efforts. He had recalled Jane over an hour previously when she had moved too far from him.


    John didn¡¯t think he was free and clear, but he hoped he would be able to make it back into the base without detection by the ants. Alas. The flat plains around the base were not his friend in this regard. As he was within a mile of the gates to Emerald Base, John turned back to casually check his tail as he had been doing all day.


    There, at the top of the nearest hill in the distance was a growing hoard of insects. They didn¡¯t chase him further, but it was clear they were taking in the base for all of its strengths and weaknesses. John worried for the first time since entering the nest if his actions might lead to horrible consequences for the people of Emerald Base.


    Nothing to do for at the moment, John turned back and ran the last distance to the base. When he painted through the gates, he turned to the guards standing there. He held up a finger to let them know he had something to say, then he caught his breath loudly at their knees.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ let¡­ the ants¡­ in,¡± he wheezed between breaths.


    ¡°What?¡±


    The men at the gate were alarmed at his frenzied entrance, and they all knew all too well how dangerous the world beyond the walls could be. His words rattled more than one of them.


    ¡°There¡¯s¡­ an army¡­ of ants out there¡­ if you see a single one¡­ shut the gates.¡± John panted before stumbling past them to clear protest.


    John ignored them entirely and moved through the streets of Emerald Base until he was well away from the gates. Then he finally returned his ant armor after days of being stuck within it. Within moments of entering the base, besides the quickly regulating heavy breathing he was doing, John had become anonymous.


    He moved without stopping until he came to Jules¡¯ room. Without preamble, he banged a fist on the door. He could tell by the immediate and startled exclamation from within that Jules was already there despite the fairly early hour.


    ¡°John!¡± He shouted as soon as he saw who was standing in the doorway.


    He was ushered quickly into the man¡¯s small room without another word. John fell onto Jules¡¯ bed in an exhausted heap. He turned his head to barely face the man before addressing the Jules.


    ¡°Give me four hours.¡±


    When John opened his eyes again, Jules was sitting patiently on the counter next to his cooking area. He was looking at John with interest. Before John could excuse himself for the rude entrance, Jules spoke.


    ¡°Damn dude. Who is the hottie?¡± He said.


    ¡°Oh yeah. Liz,¡± John smiled.


    ¡°Where did you meet her?¡±


    ¡°She needed a bit of help,¡± John shrugged, not answering the question.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to give her some help, too,¡± Jules said greasily.


    ¡°For one, I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s a law against that. And for two, she would literally rip your dick off. You should know better than anyone that when I help someone, I really help them.¡±


    Jules looked like he was trying to decipher what John meant. Eventually, he shook his head and held up something in his hand. After a second, John recognized it as the gene he had sent with Liz.


    ¡°You helped her out quite a bit by the looks of this gene. Is this what I think it is?¡±


    ¡°Like I said. And yes, it¡¯s an advanced gene. And it¡¯s yours. After all the work you¡¯ve been doing on my behalf, I owe you at least this much. Also, as these past few days have proven, if I keep trying to get stronger, things are going to keep getting in the way of my residence quota. If my mom ever comes to you, do what you can to help her. I¡¯m return I will keep bringing you these when possible.¡±


    Jules had listened to John speak without interrupting. He looked completely taken aback. He shook his head lightly before laughing, exasperated.


    ¡°Do you even know how much you¡¯ve done for me? I would do you a thousand favors after the boost in genes you¡¯ve given me. But this? This is¡­¡±


    Jules shook his head, apparently unable to find words for how he was feeling. John sat up on the man¡¯s bed and looked at him squarely for the first time since waking. He was as serious as John had ever seen him.


    ¡°No worries, man. Without your arrow, I could have never made it half as far as I have. I owe you just as much as you think you owe me. And anyway, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re so willing to do me favors. Because I¡¯m ready to start taking escort missions. Can you set things up?¡±


    ¡°About that,¡± Jules said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You remember when you said to tell everyone that one gene was the price of your services?¡±


    John nodded, narrowing his eyes.


    ¡°Well it turns out, pretty much everyone was willing to pay up front. I told them that you were still preparing things, but they all insisted to put the payment in.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± John asked.


    Jules hopped down from the counter and retrieved the travel bag that hung at the door. John watched in interest as the man opened the bag and upended its contents on the bed. A very respectable pile of primitive and awakened genes fell onto the mattress beside him.


    ¡°Holy shit. How many people want to hire me?¡± John asked.


    ¡°So far? Somewhere between three and six dozen. It¡¯s hard to say, really. Plenty of them want to hire you for several jobs of differing difficulty. Some people are putting in multiple payments for future relatives coming of age in the next few months. It¡¯s hard to get it all sorted out. But it¡¯s more than enough work to keep you occupied for several weeks.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± John said, a bit overwhelmed by the number of debts in front of him.


    ¡°I can start setting you up with wards after your hunt tomorrow, if you¡¯re still up for it?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°Hunt?¡± John asked.


    ¡°You set up the meeting with Sean Ross to help him hunt the Advanced beast he¡¯s been studying. Do you not want to go anymore? I can reschedule.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I just forgot how long it had been since we last spoke. I¡¯m sorry, man.¡±


    ¡°No worries just don¡¯t work yourself to death,¡± Jules said.


    ¡°Tell him I¡¯ll be at the gate tomorrow at noon if he wants to go.¡±


    ¡°What should I tell him to look for? You¡¯re still trying to hide your identity, right?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°Yes, tell him to look for this,¡± John said before summoning his wizened and armor to his body once more.


    Jules¡¯s head rocked back in surprise at seeing the clearly amazing armor John now had. He smiled in reluctant respect before shaking his head at John.


    ¡°You just can¡¯t help but make the rest of us look bad, can you?¡±


    John bid Jules farewell after collecting the pile of genes he now had no use for apart from the two awakened genes he had quickly used to bring his tally to 100. The voice of The Garden had once again congratulated him on reaching maximum potential in one or more genetic tiers. He tucked the rest of the genes into his own bag and made for his room, unable to wait a moment longer.


    What followed was a night and morning after of John trying to convince his mom that he was both safe and sane after his three-day sabbatical in The Garden. The night he returned was much easier to convince her of his safety than dawn of the next morning when he assured her quite untruthfully that he was only returning to The Garden to practice with his trial.


    His mom had not been happy nor convinced to receive the excuse, but had tearfully held back her protestations after John made it clear he wouldn¡¯t be dissuaded. He clenched his guilt down tight at how he knew he made his mom feel, but it was only his own efforts that made it possible for her or his sister to advance.


    He had given her all of the advanced ant genes he had collected. He found that after only a couple, he couldn¡¯t gain a gene from them anymore. He had been upset, but remembered the eggs he had absorbed previously. He guessed that was the downside of taking advantage of unfinished ants.


    Even with the loss, John¡¯s advanced count finally surpassed his wizened tally, coming to twenty four. He was happy to give his mom enough advanced genes to raise her far above others. For her part, his mom seemed much less thrilled to get a pile of high-level genes from her teenage son right after being reassured that he was being safe.


    John told himself he would take some time off after today to prove to his family that he was really okay. He didn¡¯t plan on spending all of his time away from home. Time simply ran away from him the last few days.


    John stepped onto the transport pad that would take him to his room in The Garden. He felt the familiar feeling of a limb asleep wash over his body as he stood there patiently. The darkness washed over him and he felt himself shift away.


    But as the seconds passed, John began to think something was wrong. He waited for far longer than he usually had to, but nothing happened. Just when he was about to panic, he heard the voice of The Garden address him.


    ¡°Congratulations! You¡¯ve been shuffled!¡±

 The Pickle, the Pack, and the Pretty Something

    <u>The Pickle, the Pack, and the Pretty Something</u>


    <u>1</u>


    John felt himself materialize a moment later with no noticeable difference to his normal destination. What was different was that John was in the middle of a forest. The transition pad beneath his feet was as out of place as John himself felt. Before he could inspect his surroundings further, the system voice spoke again.


    ¡°Shuffle complete! You have been selected to participate in The Garden¡¯s shuffle function! Your starting location has been randomized! Your goal is to find a new shelter. The more difficult the shelter is to find or enter, the greater your prize. You and others will be unable to access your room until shuffle trial has been completed. Good luck!¡±


    And with that, the pad beneath his feet vanished. John looked around in equal parts anger and caution. Of all the things that could have happened, of all the times it could have happened, John got ¡°shuffled¡± right after telling his mom he would be perfectly safe and right before he started working with clients for Jules.


    Neither of those things would be possible now. John cursed at the repeated attempts by the universe to keep him from his goals. He swore loudly before picking a direction at random and taking off. The longer he sat still, the worse he would be when night came. He needed to get a sense of the land around him.


    He didn¡¯t know if the forest he was in stretched for a mile or a hundred. He moved cautiously, already having summoned Jane to keep her nose out for any danger. John knew one thing for sure, he wasn¡¯t going to try his luck hunting anything that wasn¡¯t actively trying to kill him until he found out more about where he was. For all he knew, he was surrounded by beasts on par with the grizzly he had almost been eaten by.


    Jane led him forward, often growling in directions adjacent to the path John chose through the forest. Far too often, in fact. It was like they were passing the homes of all the local badasses.


    The slanted terrain meant that the game trail John moved along led him slightly downward while making much more distance horizontally. John had been taught by his dad that when lost in the woods, water meant life. If he could find a stream to follow, he could make his way down and hopefully back to some kind of civilization.


    He figured whatever made the path would eventually go to water. The path was well trodden and considerably thick. It was definitely frequently used by something, but he hoped it wasn¡¯t the favorite route of some apex predator.


    The duo moved along in relative quiet as the hours wore on. Several times, John heard terrifying cries in the distance. But luckily, Jane seemed preternaturally gifted at evading danger. Only once did something come close enough to threaten them.


    It was a snake of all things. Not a small venomous one, no for the first time in his life, John found a better snake to be afraid of. Jane let him know of the danger just in time to avoid the gigantic constrictor that fell from the trees above them.


    The thing was massive. Thirty feet long at least, and by the way Jane growled, it was at least wizened in tier. The gene coloration that stretched down the snake¡¯s head and length seemed to support this.


    John had no intention of fighting such a nightmare of a snake. Instead, Jane pranced around it and kept its attention while he made tracks away from it. Luckily, such a massive snake was not suited to speed and John quickly escaped the vicinity of the reptile.


    After returning and subsequently summoning Jane again, the two made their way forward once more. The entire first day passed that way; moving around whatever danger Jane smelled while steadily moving through the descending forest. About an hour before John guessed the sun would fully set, they came to a break in the forest.


    The trees gave way to reveal a meeting of two slopes. The terrain John had been descending through connected with a similar, much steeper hill. This one had much less trees but many more thorny bushes and rock protrusions that John just knew were riddled with snakes.


    John looked up the ravine to his right and down in the other direction. Left or right, he could either climb back up the mountain, for that¡¯s what it appeared to be; two mountains intersecting, or he could continue down the pit between them and see what lay at the heart of the ravine.


    After some deliberation, he chose to descend. Unfortunately, the day was all but over by then. Reluctantly, he moved back to the trees and found a sturdy one to climb.


    After twenty minutes of finagling, John was high enough to escape the dew and situated in his travel hammock. After he was relatively comfortable, he summoned Jane once again, this time into his lap.


    Not being a flesh and blood creature, she didn¡¯t provide any real body heat, but likewise, she did not need sleep as he did. So, with his little guard dog on duty, John settled in for some rest. It took him much longer than usual, but eventually he found sleep in the trees.


    <u>2</u>


    When John woke, it was not to the glistening rays of sunlight through the trees. Rather, the rumbling warning of Jane on top of him roused him to something amiss. John patted her to quiet the fox, but needed several seconds to understand for himself what was upsetting her.


    Straining his ears, John could hear the clumsy approach of something large. No, more than one something, perhaps many somethings. There was a terrible cacophony coming through the forest, like a herd of rhinoceros trampling everything in their path.


    John cursed. It was always something. Looking at the trunk of the tree to find it shaking rather alarmingly, John understood that he would have to leave now or risk his tree being uprooted by whatever was moving his way. It was a very hasty and haphazard extrication from his nest, but he made his way down the tree without breaking anything.


    Soon he and Jane were running down the intersection between mountains as fast as they could without tripping over rock or root. The rumbling behind them was present if not consistent, seeming to die down before increasing in intensity once again. Sometime not long after they vacated the area, John heard a tremendous crash in the distance behind him.


    Without turning around. He knew whatever was breaking through the wilderness had cleared the tree line. He couldn¡¯t tell yet if the tumult would turn in his direction, but it seemed likely to happen given the terrain they were dealing with. The most likely outlet would be down the break in mountains just as John had decided.


    Cursing his eternal bad luck, John turned back to the tree line and made a shallow cut off his current path. In that way, he continued to distance himself both from the nightmare of clamor approaching from behind, and whatever might have been behind that to cause it in the first place. Soon, he and Jane were running parallel to the approaching stampede, albeit several meters inside the tree line.


    John and his companion continued through the brush as slowly but surely the tide of hoof beats grew louder behind him. When it became clear that the fracas was contained within the ravine, John slowed to a stop to see what was causing the commotion.


    He could have believed a herd of deer. After all, he had watched a herd of deer massacre his whole hunting party. He could easily believe deer capable of such an uproar.


    Another likely source would have been a pack of wild boars like the ones he ran from after killing the enhanced one. A few dozen of them could definitely have a colossal effect on an environment. But that wasn¡¯t what John saw either.


    Instead, a herd, that¡¯s right, an entire herd of wild alpacas galloped down the ravine like a wall of fur. John had never seen an alpaca before, much less a wild one, but he hadn¡¯t thought they lived on rocky mountainous terrain like this. If he remembered correctly, they lived in South America, where it was really wet and humid.


    He didn¡¯t think the ground he had covered had been too wet, but then again, it was hard to say how far the alpacas had been chased. It was clear that something had disturbed their entire habitat in the middle of the night. They might have ran for hours before John woke to their flight.


    The topic of preferred alpaca lifestyles was swept away when John caught sight of the second herd. Well, perhaps the right word was something like pack. More importantly, he recognized them a million times faster than he had the alpacas.


    John turned immediately and jumped to grab a high branch in a tree. If his adrenaline didn¡¯t propel him into the limbs at top speed, surely his recognition of the bloodthirsty predators nipping at the heels of the many alpacas big and small that fled for their lives. When he was safely twenty feet into the tree, he looked down at the bonafide dinosaurs below him.


    Fucking. Raptors. They looked different from everything he knew of them in media or fiction. Well, just fiction he supposed. But still, there was no denying what he saw happening beneath him.


    The alpacas were all pretty normal in stature, with the only appreciable difference being slight size and gene discrepancy. If he had to guess, John would have said they were all between enhanced and wizened. But the dinosaurs that pursued them made them all look like simple beasts by comparison.


    Their scales were liberally covered by colorful feathers that ranged from blues all the way to fluorescent pinks. They stood around a meter at the shoulder, but their long tails and necks gave John the bizarre impression of a running banana in the yellow one he saw. Far longer than they were tall, the raptors moved with an ease unmatched by any beast he had yet seen.


    John didn¡¯t think any of the alpacas would have still been alive, even outnumbered as the raptors were if the dinosaurs had truly wanted to attack. Even as he had the thought, John noticed something he had missed below him. Literally right below him, moving through the trees like the apex predators John knew them to be were about two dozen more raptors.


    Each of these were taller, almost as tall as a man. The gene apparent was on each raptor¡¯s feet. A differing level of gene progression traveled up the legs of each dinosaur running stealthily through the forest beside the rest. As John was studying them, a single raptor slowed to a stop beneath his tree and began to sniff the air around it.


    John¡¯s heart leapt within his chest as the beast slowly looked upward until its eyes met his. All his worst fears coming to life, John just watched as it looked to its passing fellows and released a series of guttural grunts and chittering. Without so much as a pause in their pursuit, two raptors broke away from the pack and headed off into the forest.


    The raptor at the base of the tree didn¡¯t stick around, after giving the air one last sniff in his direction, it moved on to catch up with its mates. John just watched as the pack quickly and effortlessly moved ahead of the stampede of alpacas. John watched in growing horror as the intelligence of the beasts dawned on him.


    The ones on the heels of the alpacas could easily have torn into the stragglers. In fact, not a single alpaca had gone down that John could see. Instead, the dinosaurs seemed to be herding the animals to the most advantageous spot for them.


    Even as he had the thought, the stealthy reptiles cut out of the wood line several paces ahead of the herd. John saw in an instant how clever the trap was. Not only had they sandwiched the furry beasts between their two forces, but they had waited to do so for a spot in the mountains that was entirely too rocky for the animals to quickly escape to the sides.


    John watched in horror as the two groups of raptors converged on the alpacas. It was absolute carnage. The hoofed animals split to the sides, but either side of the sloped ravine was a mess of rocks and roots. The dinosaurs had much less difficulty maneuvering the area with their excellent pedal abilities.


    The next moments were a nightmare of horrendous shrieking of a kind that John had not known llamas capable of making. He didn¡¯t dare watch the scene unfold, as he already had difficulty sleeping and needed no more reason. But even with his fingers tight in his ears, he couldn¡¯t escape the sounds.


    <u>3</u>


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    It was a long and spine-tingling time before the forest grew quiet again. It was twice again as long before John heard the pack of predators recede into the trees. Eventually though, an eerie silence blanketed the entire area.


    The light of day was quickly spreading across the land as the sun rose higher. In that light, John could see an absolutely haunting scene of carnage painted across the landscape. Fur, blood, organs, bones, and many unidentifiable tidbits liberally covered the entire ground for as far as John could see.


    There wasn¡¯t a living thing in sight, but John could see plenty of dead ones. Exclusively the alpacas, every corpse he saw was so ravaged that even if he searched for the gene, none of them were likely to have more than a few pieces scattered with the rest of offal the raptors were seemingly uninterested in. John wouldn¡¯t waste his time on the mess.


    What he would do, and in truth, had to do was get the hell out of there. The pack of dinosaurs were as intelligent as any human he had ever met, and their teamwork was far superior. A lone human in their territory was likely to end up as another unrecognizable corpse in their wake.


    It was safe to say that John was in deep shit. He had no idea where he was going. He had a few days¡¯ food but who knew how long he would be lost before he found a qualifying base to complete his trial. What he did know was that climbing down the tree and wandering through the carnage below would be foolish beyond belief.


    John instead summoned Jane to the base of the tree. The mental command he gave her with the summon was to cause a ruckus before taking off back up the mountain. Jane obediently strolled to the nearest section of the messy alpaca remains and tipped in pleasure as she tore into the flesh more out of obligation than desire for the lower tier meat.


    John watched the woods around him for the sign he feared. It didn¡¯t take long for the universe to prove him right. As Jane happily leapt from corpse to corpse, throwing intestines and bones here and there like a puppy with a chew toy, John saw them move.


    The same two raptors that he had seen break away from the pack earlier emerged from the brush like ghosts. Their angry hiss was nearly all that could be heard as they expertly advanced on Jane. John¡¯s mental order came with urgency as he switched Jane from aggravate to evade.


    Before the two dinosaurs could break out of the forest, Jane was running swift and dexterous up the mountain intersection. John waited for the raptors to pass him by and begin the open pursuit of his soul companion before quickly climbing down to the ground. Jane had expertly kited the carnivores away.


    When his foot touched the lowest branch, his weight compromised the limb, causing it to crack under him and drop him the last few feet to the ground. John rolled back to his feet and took off running into the ravine and down away from the dinosaurs. But when he broke the tree line, he looked up to see the progress of his ruse.


    That¡¯s the moment that John¡¯s heart stopped briefly in his chest. The reason was because only one of the raptors was still chasing Jane. The other had stopped the chase to turn at the sound of John¡¯s exit from the tree. It had heard him, and by the looks of its remorseless face, it didn¡¯t take kindly to his attempt to trick it.


    John spun away and sprinted down the mountains as fast as he could possibly go. He knew even before he started running that he would never make it to safety, even if there was such a thing out there. His wizened ant armor appeared around him as he heard the raptor behind him start braying like a mix between a donkey and a hyena.


    It was a very wheezy honk, almost like the sound a dog makes when something gets stuck in its throat, but with an undeniably angry tone. Moreover, the sound was unreasonably loud, like it came from right behind John and slammed into the hills all the way to the base of the mountains like a gunshot every time it exclaimed.


    John turned to face the raptor, Lunar Stag bow popping into his hands with his deadly arrow already fit to the string. The scope snapped out to aid him as he drew the string back without delay. He found the largest vital spot he could see and lunched his arrow at the beast faster than it could react.


    At least, he didn¡¯t think it could react in time. But John was flabbergasted when the raptor not only saw his attack as it happened, but cocked its head to the side like a bird as the arrow left the string and leapt surely to the side like a pouncing cat before bounding in pursuit of John. His arrow didn¡¯t come anywhere near the dinosaur, and he knew for sure that his bow would never be adequate to kill one with their speed.


    John returned the weapons to his soul wall and fled down the mountain without looking back. He even convinced himself to keep running when the sure footsteps of the raptor come close enough to feel the impacts in the soles of his feet. Unfortunately, this mind over matter mindset did him no good when he felt something at least twice as heavy as a large dog plant itself firmly on his back.


    John hit the ground like his body was a shuffleboard stick, his helmeted face scooted across the ground for a few feet before his legs slammed back down like dead weight. John felt an immediate pressure on the back of his neck, but before he could cry out, it was gone. The raptor had tried to bite through the armor but came up short. But still, the tighter fit of the armor was proof of the damage the dinosaur¡¯s jaws could do.


    John was about to roll over and defend himself when a taloned foot hooked itself under his stomach and did it for him. The terror he felt as he looked into the cold eyes of his attacker was something akin to paralysis in John. He almost froze entirely, but at the striking bite the raptor unleashed made John almost instinctively out an arm up to protect his neck.


    His arm was immediately crushed in the bite of the raptor. The armor crumpled like a can under a boot, clearly not as durable on the arms as the neck was. John screamed in pain as his wrist and forearm were mangled by the bite.


    His arrow was in his other hand in a second and he jabbed it toward the face of the raptor. Like a boxer evading a left hook, the beast popped backward before nipping at John¡¯s hood arm. Luckily, it only glanced off the ant chitin before its jaws snapped shut with a sharp click.


    John jabbed out several times with the arrow, but he couldn¡¯t match the reflexes of the wizened raptor. It dodged every attempt to poke it effortlessly before it lashed out like a snapping turtle and clamped onto his hood arm at the base of the wrist. John screamed again but he wasn¡¯t about to let the raptor have its way.


    He quickly returned and then summoned the Drowsy Muckray arrow to his mangled hand in less than a second. As he did so, he pushed his arm as far into the mouth of the raptor as he could, wedging it open a few precious millimeters. Then he yanked his arm as fast as he could away from the beast.


    He didn¡¯t get his arm free, but that hadn¡¯t really been his intention. Instead, he moved his arm until his open hand could clasp the bottom jaw of the dinosaur. Then he held on as tight as he could while the beast tried to release him.


    It shook its head violently back and forth, but his armored grip refused to be shaken. After the first barrage of spasms passed, John used his waiting arm to jam the arrow as far into the neck of the dinosaur as he could. It shrieked in rage and pain as he ripped it back out and slammed it home three more times.


    He finally let go of its jaw as it jumped backward, but by the time its feet had landed back on the ground, it stumbled sideways and fell to the side. John didn¡¯t even take the time to make sure it really fell before he was climbing painfully to his feet. He ignored the sharp pain in both his arms and one of his hands and pushed himself up.


    He took off running as fast as he had ever ran before. In an instant, Jane was recalled to his side, having successfully kept the attention of the second raptor long enough for him to deal with its fellow. They ran down the mountains like a pair of lightning bolts as John heard the enraged cry of the remaining raptor somewhere not far behind them.


    Before he could worry about their remaining foe, John heard the worst sound he could have imagined. Dozens of answering calls echoed through the forest to his right and behind him. John¡¯s heart almost stopped despite its frantic beating as he realized his worst fear had come to pass: the pack had returned.


    John marked their progress by ear as they continued to let out aggravated barking noises all throughout the trees. As long as he could hear them, he was confident in his safety. But the universe didn¡¯t share his foolish assumption.


    Out of the trees ahead of him came dozens of raptors, already angled in his direction as though they had simply been waiting for him. The seemingly predetermined landscape of the alpaca massacre came back to him as he saw the group of dinosaurs grow larger ahead of him. John he cursed at his own stupidity.


    The calls he had heard behind him had only been motivation to drive him into the ambush. A hundred pray or a single target, it seemed the beasts trapped their prey with the same tactic. And John had been no more capable of avoiding it than the alpacas were.


    In fact, John had even seen the brutal execution in action before it happened to him. How had he not known that this was going to happen? He shook his head at the hubris and stupidity he had shown.


    Wizened Mongoliensis killed. Soul Augmentation gained. Wizened gene available for harvest.


    John hadn¡¯t even heard the title of the soul before he had summoned it. When he did, instead of the soul taking form as a weapon or item, it remained in his soul field. However, unlike his first attempt at summoning his Drowsy Sunflower soul, this time, there was a reaction


    Would you like to augment Wizened Ant Guard Armor?


    ¡°Yes!¡± John shouted to the air.


    The process began in earnest just before the pack of dinosaurs converged on him from both sides. Luckily, the process was as fast and effortless as the last transformation had been. Within a couple seconds, the voice spoke again.


    Augmentation successful! Wizened Ant Guard Armor has become Wizened Chimera Armor!


    <u>4</u>


    <u> </u>


    John immediately felt his legs lurch forward at a noticeably faster pace just as two of the largest raptors leapt at him from ahead. He shifted left and right with each step, his new armor easily changing his entire trajectory every time a foot touched the ground. Not only was his speed greatly increased, but his reaction time while wearing the new armor had been magnified to something approaching precognition.


    Every raptor ahead of him seemed to move more slowly than before, and when they attacked him their movements were clearly broadcast to John. He successfully, if not easily evaded each pounce, strike, and tail swipe the approaching dinosaurs threw at him. Meanwhile, the pack members behind him were hopeless to match his newly increased speed.


    John continued to evade the beasts, but they showed their tactical prowess once more when four wizened raptors charged him on the ground while three leapt into the air to intercept any aerial maneuver he might try. John¡¯s lips curved upward at the ingenuity of the dinosaurs. It was a well-founded speculation that these would have been the apex predators of earth had they not gone extinct.


    Bt John was not to be tricked. He leapt as high as he could directly at the air bound raptor most in his path. It opened its jaws to snap at him, but before it could, Jane burst into existence right in front of him. The fox intercepted the raptor and the two crumpled in place just in time for John to place a foot on the falling dinosaur and launch himself further through the air.


    Jane was back in his Soul Field before he even hit the ground and he landed in a sprint. The latest maneuver had been the last ditch effort on the part of the raptors to bring him down. Seeing as it failed, they had little hope of catching him in another trap. John ran in at top speed, ignoring the still throbbing pain in his arms.


    He didn¡¯t know where he would go or how he would escape, all he knew was that he couldn¡¯t stop running. He sprinted on as the ground eventually leveled out at a gradual pace. If he wasn¡¯t so focused on the murderous pack behind him, he might have noticed sooner when the massive tower came into view.


    When he did notice it, he blinked his eyes in disbelief, unable to understand the magnificent building at the heart of the mountains. He didn¡¯t slow his pace, but after a few seconds, he noticed the ferocious nature of the sounds behind him had died to an almost imperceptible level. At a glance, John saw that none of the raptors were behind him anymore.


    They made a rigid line of aggression nearly fifty yards behind him. John looked to the ornate tower in relief as he understood that they wouldn¡¯t come any closer to the grand building. Whatever it was, John owed it a million favors just for existing in this desolate place. Without another thought, he zipped across the remaining distance and up the stairs three at a time.


    When he made it to the top, the entrance doors loomed over him like twin titans. There was a massive knocker attached to a velvet rope that hung down to one side. There was no way John¡¯s arms could pull a heavy rope to bang the knocker, so instead, he walked to one of the great doors and used his armored foot to kick it three times.


    The doors were made of a metal John had never seen. They were so sturdy that his kicks barely counted as a knock. It was more like a faint tapping than a true reverberation.


    Nonetheless, a few seconds after his attacks on the door, a sound like a massive lock disengaging could be heard through the metal. The sound was so sharp that John also felt the strong friction of the lock moving pass through his feet. Another second later, the doors swung open.


    John wasn¡¯t surprised to see the most ornate and decorative building he had ever stepped foot in. The walls were extravagantly adorned with paintings, carvings, and innumerable tapestries. Far above, the walls had massive slits in them that let an impressive amount of light in to reflect on golden sections of the walls.


    But what did surprise him was the complete lack of floor d¨¦cor. The massive building was entirely devoid of anything but a large transport pad in the center. John thought he had found a way to complete his trial, but when no voice spoke in his head, he assumed the building didn¡¯t count as a base. He didn¡¯t see any other option within the tower, so he went to the large pad and stood, waiting for something to happen.


    ¡°Would you like to visit the realm of the Gods?¡±


    John heard the words. They spoke clearly and directly into his mind just like every other time The Garden spoke to him. But the question was so absurd that he just stood there like an idiot, trying to comprehend what he heard.


    ¡°The realm of the Gods?¡± John asked


    ¡°Destination confirmed. Starting Transition¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? I didn¡¯t-¡±


    John was swallowed by the temporary darkness before he could finish his protestations. And in the space of a breath, the light returned. He swallowed his complaint like an unchewed bite when his eyes landed on the single occupant of the small and opulent room he was standing in.


    It appeared to be human, but no human John had ever met had such perfect skin, easy grace, or whatever the faintly glowing outline the being had illuminating it at the seams. It looked female, but there were no definite indicators of it¡¯s true gender if any. It sat in a comfortable chair and looked into John¡¯s eyes like a collector observing an interesting specimen.


    ¡°A human? Very interesting. You are the first being to enter the Crater Heart Temple in many cycles. You look hurt. Please, be at ease,¡± it spoke with a female voice just as it appeared to be.


    The woman waved her hand at him like an impatient person dismissing a fly. Without so much as a set bone, John¡¯s arms were instantly healed. One second, they were throbbing with the pain of his encounter with the raptors. The next, it was like the pain had never existed.


    John gasped in relief as he was suddenly whole and well once again. He looked at the woman across from him in wonder. He had never believed in God, but whatever this being was counted as divine in his eyes.


    ¡°What-¡± John began but the woman raised a hand to silence him.


    ¡°Please. Your questions will have a price. Allow me to explain what you are permitted to know for free before you start the tax on yourself.¡±


    John raised his eyebrows at the information, but only nodded for the woman to continue. She waved her hand again and the room changed to that of a quaint dining room with a small table and one extra chair for him. She smiled warmly at him before gesturing to the seat.


    ¡°Please, join me.¡±

 Dining Decadently with the Divine

    Interlude


    Dining Delectably with the Divine


    John hesitated to follow the request. Everything in him was screaming to escape, but even if he wanted to, he couldn¡¯t just disappear. Knowing every second he waited might be taken as more of an insult, John slowly walked forward.


    He took his seat at the table and stared at the being across from him. He wanted to ask a thousand questions, but decided to keep his silence as he had been instructed. The woman clapped her hands together once and the small table was littered with more food than John had ever seen in such a small area.


    Breads, pastas, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, sauces, desserts, and a few things John had never even seen before were piled high before them. His host gestured to the food warmly before taking a peach from the table and having a bite. Her eyes closed in succulent satisfaction as she slowly chewed the fruit, and John had to avert his gaze before things got weird.


    ¡°It has been too long since I have taken corporeal form. One forgets just how enjoyable some habits of the flesh can be. Please, enjoy whatever you like. It is clear you have been through quite an ordeal. In the Crater Heart, I am not surprised. Tell me freely, which pass did you descend?¡±


    ¡°Which pass? I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±


    The woman didn¡¯t explain, but she did look closely at John for the first time. He still wore his armor, so his face and eyes were hidden from sight. But whatever she was searching for, she obviously found it.


    ¡°The mongoliensis! You are fortunate indeed to still be alive. Very impressive, I must say. Tell me, how many did you kill?¡± The woman smiled at him like an adult congratulating a child on their drawing.


    ¡°Just one, but it was wizened,¡± John said, trying to justify the apparent lack of numbers.


    ¡°You actually killed one? I was only jesting! The pack is very capable and works extremely well as a team. To kill even an enhanced one is quite the feat. You really are something special aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Well you saw the state of my arms. I barely made it out it there.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. It is no easy task to escape a pack of mongoliensis. They are not forgetful creatures. I would not envy being in your position when your time here is done.¡±


    John¡¯s bemused expression lent his tone a little extra force as he responded.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say something about giving me information?¡±


    ¡°Ah, my apologies. As I said, I have not done this in many years. Let me start again.¡±


    The woman twisted her wrist with a finger pointing upward and the scene shifted. John was standing on the transport pad again, the room was back to the wealthy sitting room it had first been. Before John could even process that the woman had seemingly turned time backward, she waved her hand and the room became the dining room again. She smiled anew at John¡¯s flabbergasted face.


    ¡°Please, join me.¡±


    John was even more hesitant to approach the table this time. But nevertheless, he moved to his position opposite her and took his seat. This time, he had no trouble keeping quiet as the woman began speaking once more.


    ¡°Welcome to the Realm of the Gods. My name is¡­ difficult for humans to enunciate, but you may call me Mistress of the Moment, Goddess of the Grains, Alikeelifice or if you¡¯re boring, call me Ali.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been granted an audience with me due to your success in finding the temple in the Crater Heart. This room exists on my plane, but also as a room at the top of the tower.  You should know that the trial to reach this temple has a difficulty of Wizened. There is only one temple in stage one with a higher difficulty rating, though there are many other Wizened Temples throughout. At your gene total it is extremely surprising that you were able to make it to the protection of the tower. Since you have though, you are entitled to the barter system.¡±


    ¡°The barter system? Like trading one thing for another?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Correct. You can trade souls you have gained, genes, or gene progression. The cost goes up from there, but there is always something to trade.¡±


    ¡°Why would I want to trade something like that?¡±


    ¡°Good question. You can trade for answers to questions. You can trade for valuable souls using souls you don¡¯t need or genes you¡¯ve saved up. Or you can make a wish. Only one wish may be requested, and they have the highest price.¡±


    ¡°A wish? Like a genie?¡±


    ¡°The Djinn are a tricky people, and their power is limited by their age and confinement. What I speak of is truly a wish for anything you might desire.¡±


    ¡°I was always taught not to make deals with other worldly beings. Why should I trust you?¡±


    ¡°I have already healed your arms when I could have done nothing. I provided this gourmet meal which you have barely touched. I have given you three reasons to believe my divinity and none to doubt it. Were I a lowly human such as you, I might take offense at your distrust in my hospitality.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just not that easy to swallow. How do we do this?¡±


    ¡°Any question not phrased as an inquiry about the price of certain knowledge will cost you to have answered. You may always resend the question before it is answered if the price given is too high. But after the information is shared, your price is final. Any soul you wish to trade for must be paid for with a soul or souls of equal value. Genes are also acceptable, but the rate is much worse. The best exchange rate is perhaps the one that comes at the greatest detriment to the asker, gene progression. All levels of gene progression are usable as currency, and it is the easiest way to trade. So, with all of that in mind, do you wish to make a deal?¡±


    John seriously considered the proposal. He wasn¡¯t a fool to trade away his valuables for a chance to learn more. But on the other hand, John had no idea where he was going after he left the tower. The Mistress of the Moment had already confirmed the raptors wouldn¡¯t leave him alone.


    That meant that without a better idea of the surroundings, John would be sure to wander straight into another trap. And beyond the immediate threat of the dinosaurs, he still had no idea how he was going to find a base to complete his shuffle trial. The unfortunate position he found himself in all but twisted his arm into the deal.


    ¡°How do I start?¡± He asked.


    As if those were the magic words, the room changed. The table with the food was still there, but next to it on the wall was a digital counter. It had double zeros in the slots, but the word ¡°Primitive¡± was glowing over them. It looked straightforward enough, so John asked his first question.


    ¡°How far away is the nearest base?¡±


    The counter on the wall immediately ticked up to seven. John¡¯s eyebrows rose at the cost of the question. The Goddess of Grains gave him the opportunity to take the question back, but he figured it was worth the price to know.


    ¡°The nearest base is only a day¡¯s journey away. But I would caution you against taking the nearest option to return. Closest base and safest base are not necessarily the same answer.¡±


    John felt himself subtly weaken as the price of the question was taken from him.  It happened without delay upon the completion of the woman¡¯s words. John looked to the counter on the wall.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The glowing number seven remained in place. John supposed it was a convenient way to know how much his total was in case the price grew too great. After a moment, he asked his next question.


    ¡°What kind of reward is given for completing the shuffle trial?¡±


    The counter only raised by two. John was satisfied with the price. He was much less satisfied with the answer.


    ¡°That depends on the manner it is completed.¡±


    John scowled at the woman, but she was unfazed by his displeasure. He hadn¡¯t considered that his questions might be vague enough to elicit a useless answer. He would have to be smarter about his questions.


    ¡°What is the cost of knowing the reward scale of the shuffle trial?¡± John asked through partially gritted teeth.


    ¡°Fifteen genes of primitive progression.¡±


    ¡°Deal,¡± John said with only slight hesitation.


    If it weren¡¯t for the pile of primitive genes he had in his bag that he had no use for, he might find the cost to be harder to cope with. As it was, he was just trying to estimate how many genes he could gain back with what he had. He was sure it was more than the collective total of his penalty so far.


    ¡°Bases are classified by tier like everything else in The Garden. Standard bases are named after colors. They are all considered Primitive in tier. After that, there are Awakened tiered bases, which are named after gemstones. Starting at Enhanced tier, bases can be inhabited by animals as well as sentients like humans or the gurx and are named after precious metals like gold or silver. Advanced bases will almost always be inhabited by packs of creatures with an alpha at least Advanced in tier. Names of those bases correspond with different basic elements such as carbon or helium. After that is a Wizened tiered base. These bases are generally presided over by a single Wizened individual with many lower tiered creatures of several species serving under it. These bases are named after complex elements or elemental compounds such as water, fire, or even rust.¡±


    Ali paused for dramatic effect before continuing. John was extremely interested in the different levels of the bases. He was especially interested to know his own base was Awakened by her explanation.


    It seemed that the tiers of the bases had something to do with the answer to his question. If they didn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t think the supposed goddess would be sharing the information. That was why John was so interested to hear her continue.


    Ever since his meeting with the queen of the ants, John had known there was something incredibly far above even the extremely dangerous Wizened tier he had seen in a few animals. Ali¡¯s explanation was to be a complete one, it appeared that he would finally get his confirmation. After a suitably suspenseful pause, she gave him his wish.


    ¡°The final tier is not one many will ever see, wether in the form of a base, a soul, a creature, or a gene. It is extremely rare, and even more difficult to reach such a level. In order for a beast to surpass Wizened tier, they have to complete their gene progression, similar to the process of gene tally humans undergo. When their gene has spread their entire body, they must compress their power to an unimaginable degree in order to successfully create their core. If the creature is successful, they will have reached Divine tier.¡±


    ¡°Divine tier,¡± John repeated, sure not to make it into a question.


    ¡°Divine tier bases are extremely few in number. They are not named after any specific classification, but The Garden usually recognizes the leader of the base and names it after them. These bases can be inhabited by anything from Primitive to other Divine beasts and even sentient races are accepted in some so long as they prove their worth. These are the six tiers by which you may be rewarded when completing a shuffle trial. Another five genes for me to explain the rewards.¡±


    John had a lot of information to digest with what she had already told him. But he still needed to know specifically what he might expect from different level bases. He nodded his agreement and waved for Ali to explain.


    ¡°First, all forms of success will grant you something called a Title. Titles are not only accolades bestowed by The Garden, but also serve as a type of enhancement. The higher level Title, the better enhancement.¡±


    ¡°In addition to a Title, Primitive bases will grant you an Enhanced soul with your choice of defense or offensive focus. An awakened base would upgrade your Title and grant you your choice of an Advanced soul or an Advanced cultivation scroll in your choice of mind, body, or soul.


    ¡°Enhanced bases and up will start giving the truly useful Titles. In this case it would have something to do with the shuffle feature, either limited choice upon next shuffle or greater opportunity in the shuffle itself. You would also receive choice between an Advanced cultivation scroll or an Advanced soul.


    ¡°Advanced tier bases will grant you a greater Title related to the shuffle feature. Perhaps it would even give you a pass on the next time you are shuffled. A Wizened scroll or soul of your choice would also be included.


    ¡°Wizened bases upgrade the Title further and give a choice between a random Divine soul or cultivation scroll.¡±


    ¡°Divine bases, should you be unfortunate or foolish enough to wander into one would grant the highest Title prize and both a divine cultivation scroll and soul of your choice.¡±


    John was quiet for so long after she finished speaking that she plucked another peach from the table and started to enjoy it one bite at a time. There was so much information to parse that John didn¡¯t know where to begin. It sounded like no matter what, completing the trial came with a pretty great reward. There were specifics he was uncertain about, but he didn¡¯t see the need to waste another question answering them. He did have a few more questions to ask though.


    ¡°What is the price of knowing the location of the nearest base?¡±


    ¡°Four genes,¡± Ali responded


    What is the price of knowing the level of the nearest base?¡±


    ¡°Twenty Primitive genes.¡±


    ¡°Forget that one,¡± John said, not willing to waste so many genes on one question. But the price gave him an idea.


    ¡°What is the price of knowing the name of the nearest base.¡±


    ¡°Two genes,¡± the supposed deity returned.


    ¡°What is the price of knowing the location of the safest base to attempt to reach near me?¡±


    ¡°Three genes.¡±


    ¡°I accept all three prices,¡± John said.


    John was going to outright ask the level of the base, but after seeing the price, he could automatically assume the information was valuable.  His ingenious loophole to learn the tier of the base through the name it held was one he was especially proud of. He certainly liked two metaphorical dollars a lot better than twenty.


    His counter rose by another nine genes. It was starting to pain his inner Scrooge, but he had a lot more to ask, so there was no way around it. The number settled in the thirties and Ali began to speak once more.


    ¡°The nearest base is half a day¡¯s journey form the temple. If you stand on the tower steps at dawn, following the sun will lead you up the correct intersection. As for the name, the base is called Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Now, the safest base is about a week away. That¡¯s only considering the difficulty of reaching the base and not the difficulty of the base itself. Be careful how you phrase your questions.¡±


    John rolled his eyes. He had thought his question was specific enough. But perhaps it had been too specifically focused on the journey.


    He wasn¡¯t worried about the tier of the base anyway. Not after hearing the name of the closest base. Unless there was a complex elemental compound out there called the Thunder Fox, that meant the base was Divine. John had only just had the tier confirmed and now he was half a day¡¯s journey from an entire base on that level. That gave John a frown, and he found his next question


    ¡°Why the hell is The Garden so damn coincidental? It seems like things always happen in the most convenient or inconvenient way. When I lost my first bow, I got a new one. When I needed a way to disguise myself, I got this armor that just happened to have a full helmet. When I needed help, Jane finished her evolution in the nick of time. I got an augmentation for my arrow just in time to save my ass from being eaten by a bear. My dad taught me that once is a coincidence and twice is a pattern. So, what¡¯s the deal?¡±


    John¡¯s counter ticked up by a surprising margin. It moved all the way to forty-five genes. John winced, but decided it was worth knowing. Even the helpful god, Ali supplied him with the answer.


    ¡°The Garden is user friendly. The goal of everything in The Garden is to grow. Opportunities you don¡¯t recognize are constantly being offered. Those who take the chance and shoulder the risk will always be granted a path to success. To put it simply, those things happened because you needed them to in order to survive. Had you not used your augmentation on the arrow you spoke of you probably would have died.  The Garden foresaw an opportunity to test you and you rose to the challenge. Always pay attention to the signs.¡±


    ¡°I think that I just have one more set of questions.¡±


    ¡°All desires can be fulfilled for the appropriate price.¡± Ali said.


    ¡°What is the price of knowing where to find and how to reach my father?¡±


    ¡°Both answers together would be thirty genes. One or the other would half the price.


    John almost cursed at the seemingly ridiculous price. This one question was worth two thirds of everything he had already spent. Just what the hell had happened in his father¡¯s shuffle? He waved for Ali to go ahead.


    ¡°Your father shuffled to a place almost six hundred thousand miles from Emerald Base. He moved almost perfectly south following a river in the area and is currently stuck outside of an Awakened base because the local species doesn¡¯t equate well to human speech and so he has made no progress getting into the base. As for how to reach his location, there are a few ways. Obviously, you can travel on foot. You can trade raw genes to use the base transfer system in any Enhanced base or higher. Of course, the most straightforward way would be to finish your own trial with a result high enough to grant you the ¡°Shuffle Master¡± Title. It would grant you immunity from involuntary shuffling as well as the ability to enter any active shuffle from the starting point via the shuffled party¡¯s room. If you had that Title, you could simply transition and be there in seconds.¡±


    John shook his head at the bit of apparently free information he hadn¡¯t asked for. It sounded like the trap the hunter set for his prey. He didn¡¯t like the way she dangled it like a carrot over his head. So, he had to clarify.


    ¡°Let me guess, ¡°Shuffle Master¡± is the highest Title awarded for the shuffle trial, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Ali might have been a god. John didn¡¯t know for sure what she was, except weird. But what he did know was that the shit eating grin on her face was as human as it got.


    ¡°Would you like to pay for the answer?¡± She asked through the grin.

 Terrors, Tests, and Traumas

    <u>Part 2</u>


    <u>Terrors, Tests, and Traumas</u>


    <u>1</u>


    Altogether, John spent ninety-one of his primitive genes. He had spent a few more asking Ali the specifics he lacked, like exactly how many beasts were in Thunder Fox base. Asking for each individually would have taken an astounding thirty-six advanced genes. And that was in addition to all of the lower genes up to that point.


    The price was so astronomical that John had surmised that there were both plentiful and powerful foes in the base. His best alternative to specifics was an exact number. Luckily, that had only cost a couple primitive genes, apparently not that valuable to whatever price determination took place.


    The results were completely astounding. The base had over twelve million occupants. The best he could tell, the absolute most Emerald Base could have held based on its size was somewhere in the vicinity of half a million. For this base to have twenty times as many occupants meant it was not only well fortified but impossibly big.


    The remainder of his used genes had been spent on a few more questions. He had asked when the safest time for him to enter the base would be. The answer had cost only two genes and gained him the simple yet confusing answer of ¡°no time is better or worse than another¡±.


    Next, he asked if he had a better chance of reaching that base or passing back through the territory of the dinosaurs. The answer was also only cost a couple genes. The dinosaurs would undeniably kill him if he returned that way. However, he had a marginal chance of survival if he chose to take the path toward Thunder Fox shelter. That was enough for him to attempt it.


    His last question had been what if anything could he do to increase his chance of survival upon entering the base. Surprisingly, the answer was both simple and not costing many genes. All he needed to do was enter the base with Jane in full view of the occupants.


    According to Ali, this simple action gave the single greatest chance of survival. She did not specify how much better it would make his odds, nor did she guarantee safety if he chose to take the chance. Still, any increased chance of survival was worth taking in his book.


    Now, John stood on the top step of the tower he had just exited. The sun was just about to peak over the landscape. It had not been a full day since he entered, but the supposed deity had told him dawn was approaching. She freely explained upon his confusion that every deal he had made came with an underlying time debt relative to the price in genes.


    Apparently, his tally amounted to roughly a day of time. He had not been thrilled to learn that she didn¡¯t deign to tell him the whole truth of things. It only reaffirmed his belief that whoever she was, her role wasn¡¯t as benevolent and helpful as advertised. If he wasn¡¯t careful, he¡¯d find himself cheated out of more than a day.


    John pushed the resurfacing concern from his mind and looked to the sun. He had already pinpointed the exact point he needed to ascend to reach Thunder Fox Base. He had waited an extra ten minutes just to be sure of his direction, but Ali had said it would take most of the day to get there, so with an anxious sigh, John descended the stairs in the direction of the sun.


    He wore his armor as always, but his pack was hung loosely over a shoulder on the outside of it. He still had no idea how the armor could compress the pack so efficiently, but it did no such thing when it was on the outside of the soul apparel. The reason he traveled in such a state of awkwardness was simple.


    John needed to make use of his surplus of primitive genes in order to replenish the toll his questions took from him. Unfortunately, there was no good way to carry more than a couple genes at a time without having to get back in his bag for again anyway. So, he just let it dangle awkwardly off his shoulder for easy access to the contents.


    He thanked Jules silently for his role in providing so many easy replacement points. The only reason he even had the genes in his pack was also thanks to the man. He had intended to use the exchange system to buy a few mid level weapon and armor souls.


    Not for him of course, especially now that he had the upgraded Chimera Soul. But if he would be taking inexperienced youths on hunts, he would make sure they had the tools to survive. That was how a customer turned into a patron. But the more he thought about it, the less certain he was that he wanted to take the job.


    He had plenty of genes, even the twenty to twenty-five he would need to return his primitive total to the peak wouldn¡¯t exhaust the number he had in reserve. He wouldn¡¯t need to take any low-grade jobs after paying down his debt to those who had hired him in advance. And since his genes were maxed below the Advanced level, much fewer people would have anything that could cover the cost of hiring him.


    John shrugged as his fourth gene sunk into his skin. He had a plan to assimilate Liz into the position of every day escort. Not only would she have ample opportunity to advance herself, word would spread around that a girl with a powerful transfiguration soul was taking defense jobs against higher and higher tiered beasts. Eventually, the requests would reach the Advanced level.


    John decided then that those were the lowest tier requests he should waste the effort on. He would have to pay Liz back for any of the hypothetical jobs she took considering he was currently using the advance payments to replenish his gene tally. But he would shear that sheep if and when it was called for.


    John moved away from the tower and closer to the start of the ascent he would make. As he walked, he continued looking over his shoulder at the tower. Not only that, but he also studied the many apparent slopes down to it. The tower had blocked most of his perception before, but now that he was starting up the slope, he could see the landscape for what it was.


    What he had taken to be intersections between mountains creating a sort of bowl with the tower at the center was actually slightly inaccurate. The true layout of the area was something closer to a series of spines of land with shady divots between them extending so high in elevation that he couldn¡¯t actually make out the tops past the trees that grew along the ascent. What he could see was that the tower was not sitting nestled in the heart of some large mountains. It was at the base of a massive crater.


    The spines and divots all around the perimeter of the tower served not only as an easy means of access to the tower, but also as the only means of egress from the tower. The many varied terrains and inhabitants that could be found depending on which path was chosen could make the journey easier or harder. But no matter what, to leave from the divine building one would have to escape the bowl.


    The thought was intriguing. John had no idea what could have created a hole in the landscape so large. He couldn¡¯t get an accurate estimate of the diameter, but he could at least tell that it was bigger than the largest crater ever discovered on earth. Unless he was horrible at estimation, it was much, much bigger.


    ¡°Was it created by the tower itself?¡± John wondered to himself as his legs began to burn from the climb.


    He couldn¡¯t be sure that the tower was newer or older than the crater itself, as the building had seemed timeless. A structure unmoved by the passing years. The tower had shown no wear or degradation that John had noticed. As far as he knew, it had been built the week before he got there.


    Visually pristine or not, the tower was undoubtedly older than John at the very least. Abi had mentioned vast time spans without a visitor. To John that might mean weeks or months. But what would the equivalent be for an eternal being? A century? A millennium?


    Of course, that was all assuming the being he had interacted with had really been what she said she was. John still wasn¡¯t sure. For one, why would someone so powerful be bound to serve mortals in such a way?


    The supposed price of service aside, what possible benefit could such a being gain from him? Surely someone calling themselves a God would have no need of a few primitive genes. There had to be something John was missing, or otherwise something that was purposefully hidden from him.


    His contemplation was cut short when a sound like the whistle on a steam engine blasted out from the forested ridge to his right. The sheer force of the noise chattered his teeth and set the hair on his arms on end. John had no idea what the sound could have come from, but he did know nothing capable of making such a cacophony could be smaller than an elephant.


    John quickly tied his pack closed before releasing his hold on the Chimera armor for long enough to sling the bag over both shoulders once more. When it was in place, his armor instantly recovered his frame. As before, the bag on his back seemed to be vacuum sealed of any excess air and compressed to his back efficiently.


    John had his bow in hand a second later, ready for the approach of whatever had been disturbed. He continued up the slope cautiously. Jane was at his side, a low growl omnipresent in her demeanor. Neither of them could identify the threat, so they both pressed on as ready as they could be.


    The ridge had grown quiet after the terrifying cry. John even began to wonder if it might have been unrelated to his presence. But before his nerves could settle into that thought, the local wildlife responded to the call, giving John an all but debilitating case of trepidation.


    The first sound to answer the cry to his right was a deafening roar to his left. He couldn¡¯t tell how far up the ridge it had come from because the sheer force of the noise made it feel less than a dozen feet away. Since he could see that far into the tree line, John knew that was impossible.


    He had no time to dwell on the peculiarity because as soon as the roar cut off, a half dozen other calls, each unique and easily distinguishable rang out all along the ridges on either side of him. There was a screech, like a large bird, an odd croaking noise akin to the largest bull frog John could imagine. He also heard the cry of a large cat, probably the most aggravated of all the calls given the risen sun.


    Many protestations had come from further up the slope, but at least one call had come from below. Far below, almost at the very end of the decline leading to the tower. That made John¡¯s spine tingle with anxiety.


    ¡°Did I pass by a divine beast and not even realize it?¡± He wondered to himself.


    John had no idea what the best thing to do was. When he had probed about the danger of this route, the answer had seemed to indicate that most of the danger would lie in the base itself. In fact, he had used a couple extra genes just to confirm that returning the same way he had come would be much more lethal than his current path.


    Having serious doubts but no better option, he and Jane cautiously ventured up the bowl, ready for an attack at any moment. More angry exclamations pervaded the landscape all around him as he ascended the terrain. Just as John began to feel they would be unmolested, the attack he had been fearing came for them.


    <u>2</u>


    The incessant cries of various animals all died out in a single instant. The eerie silence was so sudden and complete that it gave John even worse goose bumps than the noises had. Then he felt a pressure on his ears. It felt like the opposite of his ears popping. Like air pressure was added to his ear drums instead of relieved from them.


    It happened again. And again. It wasn¡¯t painful, just persistent. Then John looked to the sky and saw the source of the pressure.


    A massive bird, green feathers shining in the light of the rising sun were flapped by massive wings to break free from the top of a large tree. Each stroke of the wing was what caused the pressure upon John¡¯s ears. He stopped dead in his tracks.


    Whatever the jade-colored bird was, it had clearly decided John was an affront to its neighborhood. With massive beats of the wing, it rose higher and higher above the trees. Even more notable was the ever-increasing gusts of wind released in John¡¯s direction.


    He was repeatedly buffeted with blasts of air that made it difficult not to stumble. Even Jane crouched low against the gale. As he tried to make himself less of a target, the bird made an extremely odd motion with a single wing.


    John surged forward as an extremely swift stream of air caught him from behind. His legs were pulled out from under him and he thought his head would crack on the ground as the gust toppled him over.


    The reality was far worse. His entire body became caught up in the stream of air. Before he could do more than flail his hands wildly about, he was aloft. When his head came back around and he could see the bird again, it looked like there was a miniature tornado spiraling into the open mouth of the bird.


    Only the thinnest stream of air protruded from the tornado. Oddly enough it didn¡¯t connect to the spiral of air but rather the center of the tornado itself. And on the other end of the thin stream was the gust of air on which John currently rode.


    He wanted to scream; wanted to struggle his way free from the grip of this terrifying bird. But he knew nothing he could do would save him from the gruesome fate that awaited. He clutched his bow like a man clinging to a hope he knew was already lost.


    His body was already more than a dozen feet in the air by this time, and he flailed impotently as he approached the tree line. He glimpsed the bird yet again on his next spin, but something much more interesting immediately caught his eye. It took only an instant, but the event was one that John couldn¡¯t have missed as he continued to turn through the air.


    A wide and unnatural streak of lightning flashed above and behind the giant bird. John was unable to see what happened next as the lightning stream ended in the light of the sun. John squinted and closed his eyes as his upward momentum spun him away from the scene once more.


    The only indication he received that something was happening behind him was the sudden and deafening crack of thunder. The world was illuminated more completely than the sun had ever achieved for a split second as the roar of thunder assaulted his ears. And when John again faced the massive bird, only a collection of ashes rained down from where it had been.


    The stream of air John was caught in cut off in the same moment, and he began to fall back to the ground. He only caught the slightest hint of the lightning bolt returning to the ground somewhere past the top of the bowl. John smashed messily into the top of the trees before he could so much as reach his hands out.


    He fell through the branches, gaining several scrapes, pokes, and bruises on his way down. John hit the bottom like a sack of bricks. His lungs thrust any semblance of breath from him in sharp protestation of their treatment.


    John just laid there for several minutes trying to regain his breathing properly. He stared up at the steady stream of ashes falling like snow between the trees. Everything had happened so suddenly that John wasn¡¯t sure exactly what had happened.


    Jane came to his side and licked his face in a very doglike manner. Despite being little more than a construct from his mind, she always had presence and personality that some humans even lacked. It was peculiar in the extreme.


    He still had no idea what the true nature of the ¡°souls¡± he collected had collected was. Were they truly the captured consciousnesses of the beasts he had killed? That didn¡¯t make sense, as only Jane had a consciousness of her own.


    The rest were tools for various means. They did not have thoughts. They didn¡¯t feel pain. Did they? He couldn¡¯t be sure. Nothing about the new reality humans found themselves in made much sense.


    After he could breathe properly again, John pulled himself to his feet and brushed the small coating of ashes from his armor. The land had grown silent. The sudden and inescapable end of the giant green bird had successfully dissuaded any further dissent.


    John picked his way back out of the trees and resumed his journey up the crevice. The eerie silence of the bowl continued for several minutes. John was as trepidatious as all the others, and unlike them, his destination was the exact direction the brutally efficient lightning strike had come from.


    Needless to say, each step he took was that of a man who clearly wanted the journey to last as long as possible. He was slow, deliberate with each foot, like he feared he might suddenly come down with a case of the ashes. Because he absolutely did.


    Whatever had killed his assailant, and he had a fairly good guess given his destination, there was no doubt in John¡¯s mind that it could do the same to him in an instant. That was more than enough reason to walk on eggshells in his opinion.


    Clearly, John had underestimated the sheer immensity of the gap in power between himself and any divine creature. Looking back, if the queen of the ants was one such beast, John was lucky to have escaped at all. Far luckier than he even realized.


    He still remembered the odd illusion that had covered the area around the ant hill. It had seemed like magic. There was a tangible feeling when passing through it. More than that, he could still remember the shockwave in his chest that he had felt every time the queen had clicked her mandibles together.


    Each time it had happened, he had still been on the surface. Yet the queen, that had been who could say how far underground, could snap her pincers together so hard that he felt it. John suppressed a major tremor in his legs as he thought of the queen herself taking up the charge against him.


    ¡°I never would have made it back,¡± he realized.


    The space between a peak Wizened beast and a baseline Divine beast was a chasm he couldn¡¯t hope to imagine. He was certain whatever the jade bird had been, it was no weaker than the queen of the ants. No beast below Divine would possibly have the ability to control wind in such a manner. At least, he hoped not, otherwise his progression was going to hit a major roadblock.


    In any case, whatever had killed the bird was clearly far more than a baseline Divine creature. If nothing else in the bowl dared to speak up, obviously it was some kind of badass. And that did little to assuage his anxiety.


    Still, he was committed. Even if he wanted to turn back, he feared that would be seen as an affront. Who would dare turn their back on such a devastating ability to incinerate them? Not John, that was sure. So, he trudged on like a man walking the green mile.


    After another hour of anxious plodding up the bowl, the ground became so steep that John needed his hands to climb in addition to his legs. He knew that meant he was almost out of the bowl. There was no way to get out without literally climbing up the almost ninety-degree incline to reach the sharp lip of the bowl.


    John had come this far, so he wasn¡¯t about to tumble back down the hill now. Torn between trepidation and determination, John slowly but surely pulled himself free of the bowl.


    It was more difficult than he expected. The trees had all conspicuously ended a dozen yards below, giving him no solid handhold to ascend. Instead, he was forced to jab his armored hands into the dirt of the hillside when he couldn¡¯t find a suitable rock to grip. As such, there were several instances where his grip on soft dirt wasn¡¯t enough and he pulled the whole handful out of the ground.


    The repeated loss of ground and threat of injury wasn¡¯t nearly as annoying as the continued showering of dirt into his face and mouth as his hand came free. By the time he swung a leg over the last few feet of cliff and rolled to flat ground, John was panting, sweating, and more aggravated than he had been in some time. He panted his exertions out until he could stand. When he did, he took a look back into the bowl.


    He wanted to appreciate it as a whole. As he studied it, it became apparent that it really was a crater. Where he stood, as well as all of the area both all the way around the bowl and for several yards beyond the edge of it, the land was dead.


    It was a dry, cracked landscape. No vegetation grew anywhere near the bowl, which was odd given how fertile the crater itself was. But the more he studied it, the more he thought he understood.


    The tops of the trees in the bowl extended only to the rim of the crater but would grow no higher. Likewise, nothing grew closer than a dozen yards from the top of the bowl. And the area immediately outside the bowl was even more desolate. That could mean only one thing.


    The tower itself was the cause of it all. It was a building of life and power. He couldn¡¯t place it, but he had felt something different about the area, especially closer to the tower. Moreover, the creatures there seemed to be more plentiful and much more powerful than anywhere near Emerald Base.


    Unless he was way off, the tower had been driven into the ground like a gigantic railroad spike. The resulting destruction had killed the land for miles around. But the existence of the tower had served as a sort of exponential growth for the area in the crater. The effects weren¡¯t powerful enough to heal the entire land, however.


    That was why John now sat on dry and hard packed ground. Looking out across the bowl, he could see all the way to the far side of the crater. He was surprised to see something familiar to him in the distance. Almost directly across from him was the unmistakeable visage of a base.


    It was hard to tell from the distance, but it looked at least as big as Emerald base. Looking around the gigantic bowl, he was further surprised to see four other bases. All were of differing sizes, with one looking like little more than a village in the distance.


    He studied the bowl leading to each base. It was interesting. Some of the bases sat at the top of fairly easy looking paths. Some were waiting at the end of more difficult paths. Some paths didn¡¯t lead to a base at all, but rather ended in wide open plains or forested land further from the crater.


    What was odd was that the smaller and ostensibly safer bases seemed to have a more difficult route to them. While the more extravagant bases seemed to be little more than a stroll up the hill. It was almost like a balance between the journey and the destination.


    Indeed, his own path seemed to be one of the very easiest to reach the top of, despite the struggle he had had gaining the last few feet. That was the thought that made him finally turn around and look at his own destination. When he saw it, his chin nearly fell from his face.


    <u>3</u>


    <u> </u>


    Extravagant. Magnificent. Monstrosity. These were the first words John could find upon seeing the gargantuan structure in the distance. It was back from the crater about a mile. In fact, it couldn¡¯t have fit any closer to the bowl, given how absolutely immense the place was.


    Looking back and forth between the two, John thought the entirety of the bowl could be covered by the base if a giant hand placed it over the crater. It was miles wide, spanning much further than John could see.


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    It looked like the horizon was simply swallowed by the never ending line of buildings that poked up from the black stone wall encompassing the base. Emerald base spanned at least a mile, but looking at Thunder Fox base, he would have been surprised if a hundred Emerald bases wouldn¡¯t fit within the walls.


    He had been using the population as a way to gauge the size of the base before seeing it. Now he realized the error of his reasoning. Even if every person and creature in the base needed their own house, the number of empty buildings would still be in the millions.


    Despite this, the entire base seemed alive with activity, even from his distance. Winged creatures spanned the skies like seagulls over a bay. Flashes of bright light pulsed in various places within the walls at random intervals. Given the full daylight of mid morning, John knew whatever made each light was powerful in the extreme.


    Beast coming and going from the base kicked up such a dust plume that he never caught sight of any grounded inhabitants. None approached the lip of the bowl, so they all lost him within seconds of leaving the base. The capability of even the lowest creature in the base was sure to rival that of his greatest adversaries so far.


    John had so many reservations about approaching the base. But if the Thunder Fox had been aware enough to kill a bird in the crater from miles away, it surely already knew John was coming. Turning away now would be not only suicidal but also a gigantic waste of both effort and gene progression.


    Jane nudged his hand with her head. She¡¯d been waiting patiently for him to come to this conclusion, and now that he had, it seemed she was trying to encourage him. Keeping the supposed benefit of her presence in mind, John slowly started forward.


    If the climb up the bowl was a slow walk, John¡¯s progress now was more of a crawl. His heart pounded in his chest like a hammer trying to break his ribs. His tongue was swollen and dry from the anticipation. And like an unenthusiastic zombie, he took one slow step after another.


    An hour later, the single mile that had separated him from the base was all but gone. A few more steps and he would enter the dust cloud that exploded from the ground at the entrance to the base. Before he could take them though, the cacophony of the traffic exiting the gates silenced like someone slammed a door between it and John.


    John watched the massive plume of dust slowly settle as the wind took what didn¡¯t quickly fall back to the ground. His heart beat at an all time high as he stood waiting for something, anything to happen. After a moment, something did, although not what John was expecting.


    ¡°You have been challenged by the leader of Thunder Fox Sanctuary.¡± The voice of The Garden spoke, breaking the silence.


    John got the idea that everyone around had heard the words, not just him. He was surprised to get a formal notification from the fox. He had expected to either be eaten or ignored entirely. To be addressed by The Garden itself was not something he had planned for.


    ¡°What¡­ are the terms?¡± John asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Prove yourself in combat against five worthy foes to gain entry to Thunder Fox Sanctuary.¡±


    ¡°I am not able to contend with Divine beasts. If that is the challenge, I will decline now rather than agree to my own death.¡±


    John didn¡¯t know why he said that. He felt sure the price of not accepting the trial would also be death. Oddly enough though, his response garnered him some information.


    ¡°Your gene progression has been classified as ¡°early Advanced tier¡±. As such, you will be required to defeat three beasts of Advanced tier and two of Wizened tier in single combat to gain entrance to Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Only the worthy may call Thunder Fox Sanctuary their home. Do you accept these terms?¡±


    John felt immense relief. Knowing he wouldn¡¯t have to kill something beyond his ability was a giant weight off his shoulders. It seemed there was a system for lower tiered inhabitants to prove themselves.


    ¡°I accept,¡± John said as he returned Jane to her place on his Soul Wall.


    The words had barely left his mouth when a lion leapt from the open gates. The dust still obscured the entrance enough that John had had no warning before it was lunging at him. John fell backward into a roll as he attempted to grip the forepaws of the beast.


    His reflexes proved up to the task as he planted his feet on the belly of the lion while he fell. When he hit the ground, he continued his momentum backward to throw the lion over him. It flipped over in midair with the canny ability all cats had to always land on their feet.


    That put John in an arguably worse position. The lion was on him again in an instant, attempting to bite down on the back of his head with its massive jaws. Luckily, John had rolled all the way over, ending up on his stomach. He quickly put both arms over the back of his neck, so instead of his head, the beast bit down on his arms. Still, the violent jerk of its head threw John¡¯s entire body to the side.


    He was flipped over onto his back, and the lion was quick to rake it¡¯s sharp claws over him. Without his armor, he would have been gutted. The lion seemed to realize that it¡¯s claws were doing nothing, and it instead pinned him down with them.


    He was free to move his arms, but they would do little to either move or hinder the lion. So he laid still, hoping to trick the beast into thinking he had perhaps lost consciousness. The giant feline made no indication that it noticed the difference as it slowly lowered its head to gnaw at the helmet of his chimera armor. John¡¯s eyes widened at the casual display of playfulness while it tried to kill him.


    They widened further when he felt and heard the helmet begin to cave in on itself. He was shocked. The bite of the lion was strong enough to compromise a Wizened helmet with sheer force alone.


    Without a moment to spare, his arrow was in his hand. He plunged it into the neck of the lion, as he couldn¡¯t accurately find anything more vital from his position inside its mouth. Nevertheless, his attack had the desired effect.


    The beast flinched back at the pinch of the dart in its flesh. It roared angrily at his weak rebellion. But John sat up and drove the arrow into the lion¡¯s eye and twisted before it could redouble its efforts to kill him. It roared again, this time in pain John thought.


    He rolled away from the cat as it drunkenly stumbled closer. The effects of the poison and the sedative were profound on the lion. It took two more uneasy steps toward him, but it fell to the ground before taking a third. In a few more minutes, he heard the voice.


    ¡°Advanced Rage Lion killed. Genes available for harvest.¡±


    John turned away from it and summoned his bow. He couldn¡¯t afford to let whatever came next get him in a position like the lion had. He didn¡¯t know how much his helmet could take, but it now sat uncomfortably on his head. He would need to let it take time to mend itself before summoning it again. Hopefully, he could get through the rest of the fights without putting his head in something¡¯s mouth.


    His nocked arrow was drawn and released in a second as a large ball of scales rolled at him from the gates. It skipped off the shell of the charging armadillo like a rock on the water. John dove to the side as the huge ball nearly bowled him over.


    It adjusted its direction without even stopping, turning back to roll at John once more. He again dove out of the way, this time trying to jab the ball with his bow as it passed. The bone of the bow simply rebounded. It did little more than change the direction of the beast by a few degrees.


    But as ineffective as it was, John got an idea. John moved off to the side of the gate. It was a massive structure, and the pillars that supported it on each side were equally enormous. So, John positioned himself just to the left of the base of one such pillar.


    When the armadillo approached, he jumped to the left and jabbed his bow into the beast. His attack once again barely affected the momentum of the ball. But it was enough.


    The armadillo collided diagonally with the square pillar much harder than anything John could hit it with. The result was enough to stop the momentum of the beast. It crashed against the pillar and rebounded, landing halfway unfurled a few steps from John.


    He raised his redrawn arrow and loosed it into the soft underside of the armadillo while it was still trying to reorient itself. A sharp shriek of pain was all it took to signify the defeat of his second foe. It tried to roll into a ball again, but the effects of the sedative arrow were too great.


    It got a smaller dose, as John had already used the arrow on the lion, but even that was enough to quickly subdue it. He remembered how the sedative was like a recharging battery, and after used it would need to spend time replenishing. Only his first couple shots had been effective at sedating the ants during his last excursion. After that it was the poison and bleeding the arrow caused that had done the job.


    ¡°Advanced Steel shell Armadillo killed. Genes available for harvest.¡±


    John knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill all five beasts before the drowsiness on the arrow was spent. After this one, it would have to be enough to poison them. He returned the arrow to his bow as he waited for the next challenge. It came as suddenly as the others, but from an entirely different direction.


    Behind him, John heard the cry of a large bird descending on him. He tucked into a sideways roll, hoping to escape the grasping talons of whatever was falling on him. He felt the pressure close on his armor, but the claws found no purchase and quickly closed on nothing instead. John rolled to his feet to shoot at the bird, but it was already swiftly climbing air currents along the wall of the base.


    John cursed as he sighted in on tue bird. Twice in one day a bird had tried to take him off the ground. The last time he had needed an assist. But this one was all him.


    The bird turned sharply to swoop down in him again. It was a brown feathered bird, like a hawk. It also had an intimidating beak like a hawk would. But this one was something more akin to the head of a pterodactyl. John had no more time to study his foe as it extended giant talons to grab him once again.


    His counter was a very fluid one. The arrow sunk into the chest of the bird like stick stabbed into loose mud. The point blank range gave the bird no chance of escaping the attack. John however, did escape as he dove forward as soon as he looked the arrow.


    He tumbled to the ground just beneath the reaching feet of the bird as it crashed ruinously to the ground behind him. Its attack was utterly ineffective as it shrieked in pain from his devastating bolt. The following several seconds reminded John of being a kid.


    He had been given a BB gun for his eighth birthday. He had been so excited to go out and look for things to practice his aim on. After only a few hours he had found a bird. He could still remember aiming down the sight and pulling the trigger.


    The result had not been what he wanted. He had hit the bird alright. But a tiny BB was less than sufficient to kill it. Instead he had watched it flap around in terror on the ground as it slowly died, unable to breathe properly, unable to fly away. The sight had haunted John, and until his first venture into The Garden, he had never even thought about killing anything else again.


    The memory returned to him now as he watched a much bigger and much more dangerous bird flop around in a similar manner. Despite himself, John felt a horrible twist in his gut at the familiarity of the scene. He turned away as the bile began to rise in him.


    To hasten the end, he returned his arrow to his Soul Wall. Like the tide had been let loose, the terrifying bird flipped around even more frantically while blood poured from the hole in it. John tried to block the sounds out. It was still several long seconds before the voice came.


    ¡°Advanced Spearhead Sparrow killed. Genes available for harvest.¡±


    John couldn¡¯t afford the time to feel relief that the horrible memory was over, as the second he got the message, another threat was on him. The roar from above was beyond his expectation. He looked to the sky and had to bemoan the universe.


    ¡°Fucking seriously? A goddamn flying lion?¡±


    A griffon, they were called, massive, beautiful, and terrifying dropped from the sky like a ballistae bolt. It came down like a meteor, slamming into the ground where John had just been like an anchor from a ship. Had he not scrambled to jump free, John would have been pinned under a gargantuan paw.


    As it was, he was little better off. The shock of the impact would have driven him from his feet even if he wasn¡¯t already on the ground from his dive. If a regular old lion had almost crushed his head in its jaws before he could retaliate, he couldn¡¯t imagine the one mixed with a bird would be any less capable.


    Sure enough, the beast was on him before he could even sit up. Its giant paw pinned him to the ground, almost bigger than his entire torso. The head giving it the orders was something like five times the size of a normal lion. It could crunch down on his whole body like he was no bigger than a rabbit.


    John froze, utterly beaten as the massive head of the lion lowered to meet his eye. He saw the look in its eye, the look of a predator upon prey. John struggled anew beneath the immense weight of the paw that held him in place. He was beaten, he knew that.


    But he wouldn¡¯t give up. He knew this was the only way to get where he was going. This was the only chance he had at finding his father again. He wouldn¡¯t just lie here and die. He would do everything he could to get back to his family. If he didn¡¯t, John refused to let himself consider the possibility. He would survive.


    Unable to free an arm, John did the only thing he could do. He summoned the Drowsy Muckray arrow into his hand. The barbed tip immediately poked the bottom of the griffon¡¯s paw. The sudden roar of pain and anger was enough to let John know it had worked.


    As soon as the beast flinched away from him in reflex, he rolled to his side and scrambled for his feet. The Wizened beast was not so easily dissuaded though, and by the time he had one leg under him, another massive paw swatted him from the opposite side.


    John was sent tumbling across the ground as the griffon batted him. Nevertheless, he scrambled to his feet from where he landed and whirled on the giant terror. To his surprise, it wasn¡¯t right on top of him like he thought it would be.


    Instead, it looked like a scene from a damn kids fable as the bird-lion limped forward. It held its paw aloft, and for an absurd moment John started to look for the mouse that it would need to remove the thorn. His arrow still stuck painfully into the bottom of the paw, and by the looks of it, the beast was unable to put weight on it.


    That was good, because any amount of the monster¡¯s weight would easily snap the arrow. But it seemed to know that breaking the arrow would mean that the barb would be stuck there forever. That was why it currently looked so pitiful to John as it whined in pain.


    Despite his animal loving instincts, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to remove the arrow. Unlike the chest of the bird, John knew the paw of a beast so large would be no danger to it if the arrow was removed. That meant the opposite would have to work.


    If he couldn¡¯t bleed the beast to death, he would have to settle for poisoning. That required the arrow to stay in the flesh longer. So, John just stood there watching the beast worry over how to get an arrow out without breaking it.


    They both found out at roughly the same time that such an extraction was simply impossible. The giant teeth of the beast were insufficient to grasp the tiny stick in its paw. So, understanding that it could do nothing to help its own situation; it went for the next best option: fucking him up.


    The griffon roared and leapt at John like a savage beast, and indeed it was. In less than a second, John was back on the ground. This time he was pinned to his stomach, and his good arm was trapped beneath him.


    He screamed as he felt the immense jaws of the beast clamp down on his right leg as the giant paw held him in place. With excruciating pressure, it started to pull. John¡¯s pain broke the scales as he realized that the beast was attempting to rip him limb from limb.


    He felt hot blood cascade down his leg inside the armor. It wouldn¡¯t last more than a few more seconds before tendons and ligaments started snapping. With blind precision, that is to say, none at all, John recalled the arrow to his free hand and swung it around wildly behind him the best he could.


    The pain was nothing he had ever experienced before. He felt something give in his leg, and he almost lost consciousness as his entire femur was dislocated. At the same time, he felt his arm collide with something solid and the arrow sunk into flesh.


    The pain didn¡¯t diminish, but the pressure on his back was suddenly gone. He heard the beast crash to the ground a second later as well as the massive breath escape it¡¯s lungs. John couldn¡¯t even think about what was happening through all of the pain he felt. He did manage to make sense of the voice that entered his head a moment later.


    ¡°Wizened Sentry Griffon killed. Soul Weapon gained. Wizened genes available for harvest.¡±


    John couldn¡¯t even muster the relief to smile at the news. His body was a mess. His leg was a mystery of pain and lack of response. All he could do was wail at the continued agony he was in. And he knew it would not be over any time soon.


    The fifth and final test had come. John heard the swift padding footsteps of something light, but something far larger than he had expected emerged from the gates. He had to blink his eyes a few times to make sure of what he was seeing.


    It looked like the little orange salamanders that lived near small streams and sources of water. The only difference was that this one was the size of a horse with a tail almost three times the length of its body. John felt like the universe just couldn¡¯t traumatize him enough as he looked into the cold eyes of the giant salamander before him.


    Despite his utter lack of ability to stop it, the salamander did not come to kill him. It made no move at all. It just sat there staring at him. If he hadn¡¯t felt the mist settle over him, John might not have known anything at all was happening. But it was cold and wet against his skin, like walking through a field of dew. And when the passive excretions of the salamander met his bare skin, the effect was instantaneous.


    Colors sprang up in his vision, which rapidly became cloudy. He shook his head to rid himself of the stupefying effect. For an instant, his vision cleared before immediately clouding over again. Then he understood.


    Hallucinations. He was being poisoned just as his arrow poisoned those he was able to stab with it. This toxin was much more profound and swift than anything that came from his arrow though. He rolled onto his side, screaming in pain as his mangled leg protested the effort.


    Then he did the only thing he could do. He closed his eyes. When he did so, it was like a shining beacon in his mind was screaming for his attention. The source of light that signified his newest soul shone through the haze of his mind, begging him to take notice.


    Without even having conscious control of his actions, John summoned his newest weapon to his hand. He rolled fully onto his back as the barbed javelin appeared in his hand. It was a deadly weapon, having come from a Wizened Griffon, but he wondered if he could even expend the effort to throw it past the pain and hallucination he felt.


    Wether he could or not, he would try. The smug lizard was just sitting there, staring at him. It knew he was tripping balls. It knew he was in more pain than any sane creature could function through. So it sat there, watching.


    Well fuck that. John was determined to prove it wrong. He might not be able to stand. He might not be able to see straight. But he would be dammed if he didn¡¯t throw this sharpened stick straight at that smug little lizard face.


    So, with vision completely obscured by hallucination, John awkwardly drew back his throwing arm. He blinked as hard and repeatedly as he could to clear his sight. Despite his effort, he was only able to catch the slightest glimpse of the salamander before its drug settled back over his vision. But that was enough.


    He put all of his effort into the attempt. He knew that he would be dead long before he got the chance to try again. So he gave it his all. With a scream of defiance, he let the javelin fly.


    John knew his own strength. He knew in the best of circumstances how hard he could have thrown his weapon. And he knew this was absolutely not that circumstance.


    That¡¯s why he was so unprepared for the sharp clang of the spear impaling itself into the wall of the base. John had no time to contemplate how the point could possibly have stuck into solid stone. He knew that with his missed attempt, he would have no hope of survival.


    He wasn¡¯t stupid. He knew very well that his time had come. So, he closed his eyes against the hallucinations once more, knowing he would never open them again.


    ¡°Wizened Glamor Salamander killed. Wizened genes available for harvest.¡±


    John¡¯s eyes shot back open in an instant at the words in his head. He still couldn¡¯t see anything, but his mind had not been affected by the mist. He had killed it. But how? He was sure his javelin had hit nothing but stone.


    It was several maddening seconds before the effects of the toxin began to diminish. Even when it did, he thought he was hallucinating. Slowly but surely his vision cleared to show what had truly become of the Glamor Salamander.


    There, imbedded several inches into the wall of Thunder Fox Sanctuary was his thrown javelin. And hanging from that wall was the impaled bulk of the giant salamander he had just skewered. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing.


    There was absolutely no way his awkward throw could have accomplished all of this. He knew that the weapon itself had done all of the work. Somehow, it had increased its own momentum in the short distance between his hand and the lizard. It was hard to fathom, but it seemed like the javelin had a mind of its own and wouldn¡¯t even let a stone wall stop it without some damage.


    John just stared in shock as the salamander twitched on the spike. His own agony came back to him with the stillness of the end of the battle. He had no more escape. He closed his eyes and screamed. He didn¡¯t even know how he would make it to his room supposing something else didn¡¯t come out to have a bite.


    But John felt an unprecedented silence settle over the area as he lay there in the throes of agony. It was so profound a silence, that it actually silenced him as well. He didn¡¯t know how, but the scream he was letting loose, died in his mouth as the hush settled over Thunder Fox Sanctuary.


    John opened his eyes once more and if he had been able, he would have jumped out of his skin. There, not five feet from him was the shining visage of a silver fox.


    <u>4</u>


    The beast was a beauty to behold. Icy blue eyes held his gaze unblinkingly. It was bigger than normal foxes, but not drastically so like some of the oversized beasts that had tried to kill him before. He would have placed it around a Doberman in size, but lower to the ground and with shaggy hair that gleamed like mercury.


    It sat calmly, just looking at him for several seconds. But it didn¡¯t look at him like a predator. It didn¡¯t even look at him like an animal. It seemed to widen a single eye questioningly at him like a beautiful woman would while watching a man make a fool of himself.


    John knew in an instant what he was looking at. This was the queen herself. This was the bitch for which Thunder Fox Sanctuary was named. And she was staring at him not like a fox stared at, well anything really. But rather like a collector would stare at the one empty spot on the shelf. John was the prize this fox had been seeking for longer than he had even been alive. And now, he was hers.


    ¡°Is there something else you want?¡± John asked.


    He tried to keep the bitterness out of his tone. He wasn¡¯t sure he succeeded, but the brilliant silver fox didn¡¯t seem to take offense. It did have a reaction to his words though.


    It cocked its head to the side, as if asking him a question. John couldn¡¯t be certain but he thought it wanted him to do something. Considering he couldn¡¯t stand and his head was still swimming from the trippy lizard he had just killed, he couldn¡¯t imagine what that could be.


    ¡°What can I do?¡± John asked cautiously.


    The fox didn¡¯t answer, but she stood and disappeared in a flash of lightning. John only had time to blink his eyes in confusion before a second streak of lightning heralded the return of the beast.


    She appeared in the same place but with a notable difference. In her mouth was a baseball sized white orb. The Fox dropped the orb to the ground and it rolled across half the distance between them before stopping.


    John¡¯s eyes widened when the orb sprouted legs and stood. His head jolted back in alarm when the ball split open like the death of Pac-Man. Before he could wonder what the thing in front of him was, a pulse emanated from it.


    It felt like little more than a tremor in the ground to John. It passed through him without a trace. At least that¡¯s what he thought. But a moment later the same pulse traveled back through him and returned to the ball.


    It felt like walking out of a warm house on a winter¡¯s day and taking a deep breath. It took something from John that he couldn¡¯t place. As he tried to understand the situation, the ball reformed itself and sealed shut. Then a soft glow started to emanate from it.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± John asked, more to himself than his company.


    But to his shock, his words caused a vibration in the steady glow of the orb. They rippled across its surface before disappearing on the other side of it. The scene added even more confusion to John¡¯s mind, and the area grew quiet once more.


    A few seconds later, another ripple passed over it, this time starting from the side the fox sat on. It came as a perfect wave, and when the ripples met at the point closest to John, they seemed to project a peculiar sound at him. It was the sound of a woman¡¯s voice, and it spoke his language.


    ¡°I greet you, human,¡± it said.


    John¡¯s head flinched away in surprise. Had the ball just become a translator for the fox? What was the little creature anyway? John decided the answer wasn¡¯t nearly as important as responding to the fox across from him.


    ¡°Hello, beautiful fox,¡± he said cautiously to the ball.


    A ripple later and John had another response.


    ¡°You have potential. Few who take the test succeed.¡±


    John took the compliment with a grain of salt given his agonized body. His leg still sat at a horribly unnatural angle. He could feel the blood that had pooled in his armor. And his head was aching from the tightness of his helmet after the lion had crushed it.


    ¡°Thank you. Nothing else is going to try to kill me, right?¡± He asked.


    ¡°You are safe,¡± was the calm and sure response.


    John gasped in half relief and half agony as his head and leg were both freed from their prison as well as the rest of him. His armor had done him legendary service, but if the fox said he was safe, he wasn¡¯t going to keep it on any longer. Besides, armor or not, if the beast wanted him dead, he would be. Of that he was sure.


    The open air was a blessing and a curse for his mangled leg. The cool air felt good on it, but the structure of the armor had been doing more than he realized to keep his pain in check. Without it, he cried out in pain once more.


    Before he could blink, the fox was at his side. She put her head down to his injuries and gently licked them. John gasped anew as the burning sensation was quickly replaced by a cooling one. He could feel the thick saliva of the fox seep into his wounds. And as he watched, the open wounds all closed.


    John looked at the fox in awe. He had never felt such relief as the abatement of his mangled leg. But that didn¡¯t fix the dislocation it suffered from. Before he could even come to that conclusion, the orb a few feet away rippled once more.


    ¡°This will hurt for an instant.¡±


    ¡°Wha-¡± John never got to finish.


    A blinding flash of silver light enveloped him before he got the word out. It surged into every cell of his being and super charged them. It traveled through his body with a destination in mind. And when it reached that destination, an impossibly brief flash of pain rocked his whole body.


    His dislocated leg twisted and popped back into place with a sickening grinding of bones. He tried to scream once again but before he had let it out, the pain was gone. All of it. Not even his headache remained.


    ¡°You can heal! That is so amazing! Thank you for helping me. I don¡¯t know what I would have had to do to fix myself without your aide.¡±


    The returning ripple took some time, but when it came, John was once again astounded by it. Free from the pain, he was more free to marvel at it.


    ¡°You are most welcome. I would like to speak at length with you soon, but for now, I can tell you are weary from your travels. Please, enter my home, and be assured that none will cross you while you are within.¡±


    Then she was gone. Without so much as a goodbye. John blinked and realized that the orb had been taken as well. Just how fast was this fox?


    John stood to his feet, baffled at his newfound ability to do so. He took a step towards the gates but stopped as he remembered something. Looking over at the javelin in the wall, John returned it to his wall of souls. The limp corpse of the giant salamander fell to the ground.


    John stepped through the gates and had no time to bask in the beauty and grandeur of the place before the voice of The Garden spoke to him.


    ¡°You have gained access to Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Would you like to complete your shuffle?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± John said in an exhausted voice.


    ¡°Congratulations! Your shuffle is complete! Your room is now linked to Thunder Fox Sanctuary! Select the location for your room and enter to collect your rewards.¡±


    John smiled as wide as his face would let him. He had done it. He made it through. And he did it like an absolute master. And all the times he nearly died to get there, those were irrelevant.


    All that mattered to him in that moment was the truth. And the truth was that nothing would stop him now. He looked around, impatient to find an empty building to claim.


    He found one without much difficulty, as he was on the very edge of the gigantic base. The building was small by local standards, but John had never needed much to be happy. Besides, he didn¡¯t think picking a bigger building would get him a bigger room, it was simply the clothing his same small room would wear.


    So, John walked straight up to the building and put his hand on the handleless door. The voice of The Garden asked him if he was sure of his selection and he answered in the affirmative. Then the door clicked and slid open.


    John¡¯s familiar but plain room was waiting for him on the other side. John looked around him in astounded disbelief. With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he walked through the doorway.

 Victory, Validation, and Voices

    Victory, Validation, and Voices


    1


    ¡°Congratulations! You have received a Title!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! You have received a Soul Token! (Divine)¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! You have received a Universal Cultivation Token! (Divine)¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! For completing your Shuffle in less than three days, you have gained a Trait!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! For becoming the first from your planet to complete a Shuffle Event, all rewards have been automatically upgraded!¡±


    ¡°Please step upon the transition pad to claim rewards.¡±


    John was bombarded with information the second he stepped inside his new residence. He couldn¡¯t make sense of most of what was said. What he did understand was that his rewards had not stopped at the ones listed by Ali.


    Titles? Traits? Upgrades? None of it made any real impact on John compared with his true desire. He shook his head and continued forward to his bed, where he gratefully fell, exhausted by the stress and challenges he had survived the last few days. He didn¡¯t bother to remove his pack, though his armor melted to nothing, letting his face sink into the soft pillow beneath it.


    When John opened his eyes again, he felt like a week had passed. His body was sore from exertion as well as the stiffness that comes with sleeping in one position for too long. His neck cracked several times as he rolled it on his shoulders.


    Gingerly sitting up, John limped to the transition pad in the corner of his room. He stepped onto it, ready to return home and see if mother and sister again. When he moved to activate it though, he received a message.


    ¡°You have unclaimed rewards! Claim rewards now?¡±


    John wiped away the sleep from his eyes as he digested the words. It hadn¡¯t even occurred to him in his mind addled state to claim the rewards. He had just been trying to go home. Still, no reason to deny a free meal.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said.


    The transition pad flashed, and John was again bombarded with information. He also felt a chilling sensation over his entire body. It felt like stepping into a deep freezer on a hot day. Before he could worry, the sensation vanished.


    ¡°You have gained a Title! ¡®Shuffle Master!¡¯All future Shuffle events are voluntary! All active Shuffle events are now unlocked!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! Your Title, ¡®Shuffle Master¡¯ has been automatically upgraded! ¡®Universal Shuffle Master!¡¯ Title has transcended The Garden Stage 1. This Title will be maintained regardless of Stage.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! As the first from your planet to receive this Title, Universal Shuffle Master gains the Pioneer Distinction!¡±


    ¡°You have gained a Trait! ¡®Speed Runner!¡¯ All future Trials of any kind give additional rewards when completed above the average time.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! Your Trait, ¡®Speed Runner¡¯ has been automatically upgraded! ¡®Prophetic Speed Runner!¡¯ Instinctive Knowledge of Speed Running has been gained. All future Trial solutions will be more obvious. All rewards for future Trials will be drastically increased when completed above the average time.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! As the first from your planet to receive this Trait, Prophetic Speed Runner gains the Pioneer Distinction!¡±


    ¡°You have unused Tokens! Would you like to use them now?¡±


    John blinked. Even more rewards he hadn¡¯t expected. What was the Pioneer Distinction? And the tokens!


    He had been so absorbed by the voice in his head that he hadn¡¯t even considered the tangible rewards he had gained. Now, however, with the gentle nudge from The Garden itself, he couldn¡¯t help himself.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said certainly.


    The pedestal next to the transition pad lit up with color as he affirmed his choice. Putting a hand on it, John found that more options were now available to him. It had evolved with his return to let him select his destination. However, in addition to ¡®Emerald Base¡¯ and ¡®Earth¡¯ there were two additional options.


    The first option simply said ¡®Soul Exchange¡¯. John assumed that would provide him with a list of Souls to choose from. The second said ¡°Scroll Selector¡±. Again, John had little question what that option would do. With a smug smile, John picked Soul Exchange.


    The smile immediately melted from his face a second later. Without so much as a tingle in his stomach, his room was gone. John was standing on a transition pad similar to any other he had seen. But instead of a room or a building, or indeed, anything at all, John was standing in a void. All around him was blackness.


    The pedestal next to him chimed and lit up. Looking at it, John found that there was a list on the screen. At closer inspection, he realized that there were literally millions of options. Everything from insects to dragons were listed. There were filter options based on size, tier, rarity, wether the soul was offensive or defensive, utility or augmentation, ranged or melee, wether the soul had an elemental acuity, wether the soul had a special effect like that of his arrow, and so many other options that made little sense to John.


    Selecting offensive, melee, and medium sized as filters, John allowed the list to repopulate. A moment later, he sighed in exasperation. Even with his exceptions, there were still over a hundred thousand options.


    John tried not to get overwhelmed, but there was no way he could make a decision among all of the choices he had. He thought by narrowing it beyond ranged weapons as well as large or small weapons the list might be a lot shorter. But as he scrolled through it seeing everything from staffs to daggers to axes to nunchucks, he realized how badly he had underestimated The Garden.


    Anything he selected would appear in front of him like a holographic image, and he spent quite some time looking through the various options. There were specific types of swords listed, variations on every type of blade or blunt weapon he could think of and even a few weapons he didn¡¯t recognize the names of.


    When he selected one such item on the list, a many tailed whip materialized out of the endless black around him. It shone with an inner light, illuminating the deadly sharp blades woven into the lengths and tips of each tail. John shuddered thinking about the devastation the whip could do to flesh.


    John¡¯s hand hovered over the pedestal for long seconds, ready to dismiss the image. But he hesitated. Of all the options he had recognized, none fit his mental picture of both attack and defense better than the whip he was looking at. Of course, he had no idea how to use a whip, but if he could learn well enough to hold his own, it would ensure the acquisition of more advanced genes.


    Then again, the same could be said of almost any of the souls on the list. What set this one apart was the defensive potential. Any beast striking at him would have to make it through the many blades first.


    The question was, did he have the patience to stand there looking through thousands of options for something better? More importantly, what did he know anyway? Would he even know a better weapon from an inferior one?


    They all undoubtedly had amazing potential as Divine tier weapons. But what was the weapon that suited him best? Not knowing the answer to that question was the reason John still hesitated.


    There was so much he needed to do, he couldn¡¯t afford to waste time sorting through the list for a better option. Hoping that he wasn¡¯t making a massive mistake, John confirmed the choice.


    ¡°You have received Divine Tail of the Kitsune!¡±


    ¡°Your Divine Tail of the Kitsune has been automatically upgraded!¡±


    ¡°Error, Divine Tier already reached. Unable to bestow upgrade. Calculating Restitution.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! One random Soul you possess has been upgraded to Divine Tier!¡±


    ¡°Wizened Silver Fox Soul has evolved to Divine Silver Fox Soul!¡±


    John¡¯s head rocked back in shock. Before his mind had even expanded to hold his first Divine Soul, he felt the Soul that represented Jane blossom into something much more vibrant. His mind almost ached from the immense expansion he felt.


    Then it was over. Looking inward, he could feel the newfound power he held in the form of the two Souls. He wanted to summon both of them immediately, but after considering the amazing rewards he had already gained and remembering there was still one reward left to claim, he decided to delay his curiosity. Placing his hand on the pedestal once again, John picked the Scroll Selector option.


    2


    As before, the world went black around him and the pedestal changed to an unimaginably long list of Cultivation methods to choose from. The options were sorted alphabetically, which struck John as odd for some reason.


    Unlike the Soul list, there were no filter options. There was however a series of tabs dividing the options into four lists. All, Mind, Body, and Spirit. That was helpful enough he supposed. He would get lost trying to narrow his choice down further than the three forms of Cultivation.


    John spent a good deal of time idly scrolling down the main list when he noticed something. The list had descended to the ¡°L¡¯s¡± and was just about to pass into ¡°M¡± when he saw it. There, between ¡°Ludicrous Speed¡± and ¡°Lunatic¡¯s Lament¡± was an option he recognized.


    Lunar Radiance. His current Trial objective. John was confused to see it here among the list of Divine Cultivations. Did that mean his version of Lunar Radiance would be incomplete? Was it somehow inferior to this version?


    His curiosity made him want to select it just to know the answer. But he resisted the temptation. The information was still worthy of his consideration, however. If he assumed the scroll he would receive upon completing his trial was the same scroll being offered in this reward, the sum of knowledge within should be at the Divine level.


    With that assumption in mind, John moved through the list some more. By his reasoning, he should find the most difficult Cultivation Scroll he could. That would be the most ideal reward.


    ¡°If only it was sorted by difficulty,¡± he said.


    As if it heard him, the list on the screen flashed. A second later, the options were shuffled from their previous order. A smile spread across his face as John began scrolling the list. Now, not only were the entries alphabetically jumbled, but they also came with a difficulty rating. It was very similar to the way the regular gene exchange system had been.


    John scrolled through the list all the way to the bottom, noting as he did so how far down Lunar Radiance was. It was well over halfway down the list, but there were hundreds of options below it. That was astounding.


    The trial for Lunar Radiance had been kicking his ass for weeks. Indeed, it was the most difficult of any of the randomized options he had been given when he chose it. But if there were so many Cultivation methods beyond it in difficulty, John began to worry that he might be getting in over his head.


    Nevertheless, John continued to the bottom. He figured that even if he took ten years to understand what he was given, it would be worth it. There was a lot that was still unclear about The Garden and the future of Earth, but John was certain that one thing was needed above all else to survive and keep his family safe. Power.


    With that in mind, John almost decided to choose a Body Cultivation. What better way to gain strength than by strengthening your body? But he stopped himself. Lunar Radiance had come with some pretty rigorous gene requirements just to gain baseline proficiency. And John had just lost a hefty sum of his lower genes.


    He had confidence that he could make up the difference and even gain more genes quickly to boost his physical capabilities, but if he chose the most difficult Body Cultivation of the Divine level, who knew if he would ever master it? It was for that reason that John selected the Mind tab instead.


    He was already well on his way to learning a Spirit Cultivation, and if any of the three were less demanding of the genes he acquired, he assumed it would be Mind Cultivation. The list shrunk considerably, and at the very bottom were three entries that caught his attention.


    The first was ¡®Mind Void¡¯. It was the first entry on the list to increase from ¡®Very Difficult¡¯ to ¡®Extremely Difficult¡¯. There was little description when selected other than a small line about blanketing your enemies with the void, which John found absurdly unhelpful.


    The one below that was, curiously, an even higher difficulty than ¡®Extremely Difficult¡¯. ¡®False Truth¡¯, an oxymoron if John had ever heard one, was listed as ¡®Nearly Impossible¡¯. The description said ¡°What is true is not. Make it true or it is false.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious with these descriptions?¡± John asked the pedestal.


    The final and lowest option surprised John again. He had expected the difficulty to be ¡®Impossible¡¯ after the last one. But that wasn¡¯t what it said.


    Third Eye of Callysta Difficulty: Unknown


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    John blinked at the words for several seconds. There was not even a word of description on the Cultivation method. And the difficulty was unknown?


    He didn¡¯t understand how The Garden could be unsure of anything. After all, it seemed like it could read his mind half the time. And didn¡¯t it have access to all the information of the Cultivation methods it offered him? How did it not know how difficult it was?


    John touched the word ¡®Unknown¡¯, wondering if anything would happen. Surprisingly, something did. More surprisingly was that it seemed to answer John¡¯s question before he asked it, reaffirming his suspicion that The Garden was a mind reader. A box of text appeared below the Cultivation method.


    Difficulty for a Cultivation method is determined for each race based on the averages of Time to Learn, Anatomical Affinity, Gene Minimums, and Failure/Mortality Rate for all previous Trial takers of that race. If no member of your race has completed the Trial, the difficulty rating will be based on the averages for the most similar race to yours that fits the criteria.


    If no Completed Trial Data exists among all catalogued races, difficulty will be left Unknown. Secondary rating system is employed. Difficulty placement based on number of abandoned Trials. Would you like to see difficulty based on this secondary system?


    John read the words several times over without understanding exactly what they meant. It looked like either way the system tried to categorize it, Third Eye of Callysta was the toughest cookie to crack. If he was deciphering it right, no one had ever completed the Trial before. That meant that no one had ever received the scroll before too, right?


    Deciding that it was worth knowing how many people had attempted the Trial, John returned his attention to the pedestal. Speaking his affirmation clearly, he answered the question.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said.


    The list repopulated a third time, but nothing changed at the bottom. The three lowest entries remained the same and in the same order. What was different was the classification used to determine difficulty. Words had become numbers. Astoundingly high numbers.


    Mind Void Difficulty: 287,436,234


    False Truth Difficulty: 832,457,976,231


    Third Eye of Callysta Difficulty: 9.82359e14


    John didn¡¯t even know what the last one meant, but he knew that when letters started getting slapped between numbers, things were serious. In any event, even if he didn¡¯t understand the number, The Garden did. And if The Garden said it was higher, John believed it.


    The sheer number of failed Trials in Mind Void alone was baffling. And False Truth was three entire decimals longer than that. So many people had given up. And more still on the final entry. Moreover, no one had ever completed it. The other two at least had some form of success stories. Third Eye of Callysta was on its own level.


    Any normal man, or teenager as the case may be, might have seen that as a very sensible deterrent from choosing such a fate. But to John, all of the intimidation, all of the discouraging statistics only served to ignite his desire. Here was a method of Cultivation that no one had ever mastered. John had the chance to become the only person in this crazy new universe to gain it.


    So, like so many before him, John confirmed his selection. But before anything happened, he heard the voice of The Garden speak to him. It¡¯s words made John¡¯s eyes widen and his jaw practically fall from his face.


    ¡°You have received Scroll: Third Eye of Callysta!¡±


    ¡°Scroll: Third Eye of Callysta automatically upgraded!¡±


    ¡°Error. Third Eye of Callysta is already Divine Tier. Unable to bestow upgrade. Calculating Restitution¡±


    ¡°Third Eye of Callysta will be learned.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! First Gate of Third Eye of Callysta has been opened!¡±


    John couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. He had known that some kind of upgrade would be attached to this reward as well after the Soul upgrade. What he hadn¡¯t expected at all was to learn the cultivation method on the spot. He didn¡¯t know what it meant by ¡°First Gate¡± but he could feel his mind rapidly expanding even as the scroll itself emerged from the pedestal and his room materialized around him once more.


    John grabbed the extravagantly designed scroll from its place, noting the fastening that kept it closed. It was a buckle styled as a demonic looking cat with deep red fur bordering on black. It had two glowing red eyes and a third on its forehead that shone with a kaleidoscope of color, always shifting and changing when he moved his eyes.


    John was fascinated by it, and as he walked back to his bed, suddenly not in a hurry to go anywhere, he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the figure. Halfway to his bed, John¡¯s head started to feel wrong. It felt like a thousand voices were trying to scream entire books worth of information into his ears all at once. He flinched dropped the scroll onto his bed as his hands flew to his head.


    John screamed in agony as his mind was split into a million pieces. He felt himself falling, but never felt the impact beneath him as the world went black around him. But John didn¡¯t lose consciousness. The pain kept him all too present.


    3


    What seemed like hours passed as John continued to hold his head and writhe around on whatever surface his body had come to rest against since the lights departed his vision. He screamed in absolute desperation for the pain to end, but it was in vain.


    The voices. The terrible, plentiful, insistent voices. What did they say? Who were they saying it to? John only knew that he was forced to receive everything they wished to give. Numbers, words, concepts, feelings, emotions, calculations, possibilities, complexities, equations, theories, conspiracies, anomalies, paradoxes; what did it all mean?


    An incalculable time later, long after John¡¯s mind had completely fractured from the information it was blasted with, the voices slowly reduced in number. Then they reduced in urgency. Then they reduced in volume until at last the final whisper of thought faded from his mind.


    The world snapped back into place as suddenly as it had gone black, and John was laying face down on his bed, still cradling his head in his hands. He groaned in agony as he tried to make any sense of what he had just experienced. Then the voice, that fucking voice spoke once more.


    ¡°Congratulations! As the first from your planet to break a Mind Gate, you have received a Title: ¡®Mental Forerunner!¡¯ All mental cultivation is now 20% easier! This Title gains the Pioneer¡¯s Distinction.¡±


    A strange heavenly music drowned out the world before the voice could continue. It swelled in intensity until chills covered every inch of John¡¯s body. He took a shaky breath, knowing somehow that this was very different from everything that had previously happened. The symphony of majesty reached a thrilling conclusion and died into silence before the voice of The Garden spoke again.


    ¡°Congratulations! You have performed a Legendary Action!¡±


    ¡°Legendary Action performed: First in Universe! You were the first in the history of the universe to accomplish a particular goal.¡±


    ¡°Calculating reward. Accomplishment Rating adjusted based on number of previous failures. Previous Failures: 982,359,485,623,835. Accomplishment Rating adjusted based on age of the Trial. Trial Age: 13,124,734,167 cycles relative to your Solar Calendar. Accomplishment Rating adjusted based on age of recipient. Age: 16. Accomplishment Rating adjusted based on completion time. Completion Time: 6 hours 24 minutes.


    ¡°Congratulations! Legendary Action has been upgraded to Godly Achievement!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! For performing a Godly Achievement, ¡°Prodigy la Premi¨¨re¡±, you have received a Soul Stamp! ¡®Eye of Callysta¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! As the first to successfully practice ¡°Third Eye of Callysta¡± you have been marked by Callysta! You now carry her Divine Signature. Allies of Callysta will instinctively follow you. Enemies of Callysta will instinctively distrust you.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! You have received a Legendary Title: ¡®Child of Callysta!¡¯ All Cultivation is 25% easier. Cultivation of ¡®Third Eye of Callysta¡¯ is 50% easier.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! Your Legendary Title, ¡®Child of Callysta¡¯ has been upgraded! ¡®Prodigal Child of Callysta!¡¯ All Cultivation is 50% easier. Cultivation of ¡®Third Eye of Callysta¡¯ is 100% easier.¡±


    As the voice finally grew silent, John closed his eyes again and rubbed his temples. The cascade of notifications was nothing compared to the reality-fracturing pain of his previous ordeal, but it did make his headache a bit worse. There was so much to comprehend.


    First and foremost was the fact that he had done the impossible. He was the first in the universe to complete Third Eye of Callysta. The entire universe. Trillions, hundreds of trillions of people had failed to learn it.


    More than that, John was absolutely astounded by the sheer age of the Trial. Unless he was stupid, he was pretty sure The Garden said that Third Eye of Callysta¡¯s Trial was over thirteen billion years old. How old did Earth¡¯s scientists say the universe was again? John couldn¡¯t remember, but he thought he remembered the number thirteen mentioned. Regardless of universal relativity, John knew that for no one to pass the Trial in over thirteen billion years, it was something beyond the means of mortal men.


    But because of a beautiful loophole, John had not only ended that undefeated streak, but also shattered the record so completely that The Garden had called it a ¡°Godly Achievement¡±. And what the hell was a Soul Stamp?


    The thought made John start to itch. It was a peculiar sensation localized to his left pectoral, right over his heart. He scrabbled at his shirt to expose the irritated skin.


    When he lifted his shirt, John was taken aback to see a small emblem tattooed on his chest. It was Callysta. John now had no doubt that the demonic looking cat on the clasp of the scroll was this Callysta figure. Not only because the same cat head was now branded to his skin, but also because, as the voice had said, he was marked by Callysta.


    As he looked at the glowing eyes emanating creepily from his chest, he could feel his connection to the cat. He knew that Callysta was the cat. Moreover, he knew something much more pertinent.


    He had been marked by Callysta. That wasn¡¯t lost on John. For the cat itself to mark him meant only one thing: Callysta was still alive.


    Somewhere out there, maybe billions of light years away, was the real Callysta. Living, breathing, and undoubtedly insanely powerful, she had been made aware of John at the same moment he was made aware of her. And for becoming the first to follow down her path, she had marked him. Again, John didn¡¯t know the full implications of that.


    Every time he turned around, John was bombarded with new information. It wouldn¡¯t be so bad if he had anyone to ask. Thinking of that, John rolled his eyes. That was probably exactly what he was meant to think so that he would return to the Tower to seek answers from Ali.


    The Garden loved nothing more than stimulation. And with all he had been given since completing his trial; John was nothing if not stimulated. And one thing he didn¡¯t need help understanding was the final title he had received.


    Alongside Mental Forerunner, which had already granted him easier Mind Cultivation, Prodigal Child of Callysta, a Legendary Title, would make it more than 100% easier to progress in his new mental cultivation method. In addition, all other types of cultivation would be half as difficult to make progress in as well. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, that alone was a greater advantage than almost anyone else could hope to receive.


    John couldn¡¯t have imagined a few days ago that he would be sitting in what was basically a metropolis of The Garden, invited by the Divine Thunder Fox. So many things had happened. He didn¡¯t know what monumental event deserved the most attention. In the end, he decided that nothing was so pressing that it couldn¡¯t wait a little longer.


    With shaky legs and a body still sore all over, John returned to the transition pad and allowed it to take him back to his own world. In seconds, he was breathing the slightly dirty air of his home. He let his data implant be scanned by the waiting Kumani and quickly called a shuttle to take him home.


    4


    ¡°John!¡± Both his sister and mother shouted as John gently opened the door to their home and stepped inside.


    They practically tackled him to the ground in their haste to reunite with him. His mom was immediately unloading all of her built up worry in a stream of never-ending words that were half relief and half grief. His sister just held him tighter than she had ever before as he felt her tears steadily stream onto his shoulder.


    ¡°I went to your room after you didn¡¯t come back and-¡± his mom was saying.


    John held them both for long moments as they both cried for his return. And though he was too mentally stunned to initiate it himself, his eyes involuntarily began leaking as well. They all just stood in the doorway, crying and embracing each other.


    ¡°-and when I saw that you had been shuffled just like your father I thought-¡±


    John let them both feel everything they needed to feel. He didn¡¯t explain what had happened to him, nor did they ask him for details. But when his mom¡¯s hysteria reached incomprehensible speech, he put a hand on her shoulder to silence her.


    ¡°I¡¯m safe now. And you don¡¯t have to worry about that again. I¡¯m safe from being shuffled against my will ever again.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter John! Don¡¯t you understand? I¡¯ll never be able to sleep easy again! There will always be another reason to worry! Every time you walk out that door you come back less. Don¡¯t think I can¡¯t see the haunted look you try to hide from me John! I¡¯ve seen what¡¯s out there. Your friend Jules told me the kind of adventures you have. Terrifying tales for a mother to hear of her son. And you always come back later than expected, with some transparent story of mediocrity. I¡¯m not a fool, John. I know what you¡¯re doing out there. And I know why you¡¯re doing it,¡± his mom¡¯s eyes flicked ever so slightly to his sister at those words, ¡°but you don¡¯t need to take it so far. We will make it through this just fine without you destroying yourself to keep us safe!¡±


    ¡°Mom,¡± John started, but it was no use.


    His mom was nothing if not a master of getting the last word. She had already turned away and was retreating to her room. He let her go, helpless to say anything to stop her.


    ¡°Thank you, John,¡± Emma whispered into his ear.


    She had not let him go since he had walked in the door. Even through his mother¡¯s rant she held him tightly, silently weeping into his shoulder. And with those words, John realized that she too understood what his mom had meant.


    ¡°I¡¯ll always be here for you. I promise,¡± he whispered back.


    She finally let him go at those words. He looked into her red rimmed eyes and held her unsteady gaze for several seconds.


    ¡°I promise,¡± he repeated.


    John stayed with his sister for the better part of an hour, telling her some of the less traumatizing adventures he had been up to. He also told her about his new Cultivation. She was so intrigued by what he said that John actually removed the scroll from his bag and showed it to her.


    Her eyes widened at the exquisite item. As they sat together at the table, John grabbed the head of Callysta and unclasped the scroll. For the first time, he unrolled the parchment to reveal its secrets.


    The scroll I was littered from top to bottom, left to right, with words, numbers, symbols, and seemingly irrelevant details. It was a jumble so incomprehensible that he couldn¡¯t make sense of it. And he supposedly already knew all of this.


    To say that John was expecting something different would be an understatement. But if he was confused by what he saw, his sister was completely baffled. She stared open mouthed at the scroll until John broke the silence.


    ¡°Well this is confusing,¡± he said.


    ¡°Confusing? It¡¯s nonsense! You said there was a Trial to pass? How did you possibly complete it before you got this scroll?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ might have wrote the answers on my hand, so to speak,¡± John smiled.


    ¡°You must write really small,¡± Emma returned, still not taking her eyes from the scroll.


    ¡°You could say that,¡± John said, thinking of the agonizing download of information he had gone through.


    ¡°What does any of it mean?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Well,¡± John began, ¡°Third Eye of Callysta is a Mind Cultivation. So very little information is based on the physical. All of these symbols here stand for different branches of mental cultivation. There is Analysis, that¡¯s this symbol here, and branching off of it are all of these concepts like Interaction, Passivity, Statistics, etc.. Each branch of the Cultivation has several branches of its own. And when you understand each limb, you can comprehend each branch. When you comprehend each branch, you have officially learned how to Cultivate Third Eye of Callysta.¡±


    John didn¡¯t know how he knew any of that, but the words spilled out of his mouth like he had said them a million times. Moreover, he knew they were correct. He understood the information on the scroll instinctively. And only focusing on it for a second was required to pass on his knowledge.


    ¡°That¡¯s really complex,¡± Emma said.


    ¡°It is,¡± John replied.


    He could tell that the already idol like mentality his sister held him in was only growing with each passing second that she studied the scroll. Her eyes lit up with a zealous fervor. He recognized the look immediately. It was the same look he often found plastered on his own face when considering the future.


    It was the look of a person possessed. It was the look of someone who had tasted the wine and could never return to the life of mediocrity before it. His sister had caught the contagion. She, like him, lusted for more.


    ¡°What does this symbol mean?¡± She asked.


    John answered her, and she repeated the response as if committing it to her memory. Then she asked another question. Again and again John answered her questions, and each time another quickly took the place of the last.


    After several minutes of this, she stood from the table and ran to her room. She returned only seconds later with an empty notebook. She furiously began scribbling down all the symbols and translations John gave her before inquiring further.


    John was shocked how adamant she had suddenly become. He knew firsthand how difficult the information was to comprehend. He wasn¡¯t even sure how he understood it himself. Nor was he sure just how much information had been given to him.


    What he did understand was that his sister had the itch. She wouldn¡¯t stop now until something made her. So, he simply continued to answer her questions until several pages of her notebook were filled front and back with detailed notes of concepts relating to other concepts and how each branch correlated to the next or the last.


    Eventually, John had to hold up a hand. She had been at it for hours; never satisfied with amount of information she was given. She had categorized everything he told her in a way that actually made a great deal of sense.


    If he hadn¡¯t already mastered all of the information, he had to admit that her method of analysis would have been extremely conducive to gaining insight. He wasn¡¯t sure how helpful that would be to someone like her who had no deeper understanding. But he was impressed by the ability she shown to decipher what he told her. He couldn¡¯t have done half so well I¡¯m her position.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough for now,¡± he said.


    ¡°Wait, there¡¯s still so much more I need to know.¡± Emma said, fanatic zealotry clear in her voice.


    ¡°Study what you have. Trust me, you don¡¯t want to overdo it with the information you try to take in. You can keep the scroll for now. I don¡¯t need it to continue my practice. Study it with what you have. I promise I¡¯ll devote some time every week to teaching you more about it. But you won¡¯t get anywhere in an afternoon. That much I know.¡±


    ¡°Come on John, please!¡± Emma pleaded.


    ¡°Trust me. You can work on what you have for now. You have nothing but time to study it. I¡¯ll give you more to think about when you show me you really understand what I¡¯ve already given you. It won¡¯t do you any good to move past the basics without understanding them properly.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said, dejected.


    ¡°Good. Now I don¡¯t know about you, but my ass is starving.¡±


    John stood and moved to the cabinets to find something to make for dinner as Emma poured over the pages of notes she had taken. The two of them worked on their respective tasks in silence as the evening turned to night. When John had finished eating and wished his sister goodnight, she was still obsessively hunched over her work. A terse ¡°goodnight¡± was all he received as he turned the corner and went to his room. As he drifted slowly into sleep that night, he wondered if he had just started a forest fire.

 Awakening, Awareness, and Agreement

    Awakening, Awareness, and Agreement


    1


    Upon his return from The Garden, John took a few days off. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to immediately return to his development. In fact, that was all that he wanted. But there were two problems.


    First, his mom. He couldn¡¯t convince her that he wasn¡¯t who she thought he was if he didn¡¯t at least take a break. Not that he wanted to deceive his mother, nor did he.


    She had made it clear how aware she was of his inclination. She was his mother, after all. He had never been able to hide things from her. And she recognized perhaps better than himself the fanatical drive he had to move forward.


    But he did feel bad. She was clearly adjusting very poorly to the forced situation that their family found themselves in. John wondered at his own inability to feel the strain. It was like after his first horrifying experience in The Garden, he had become completely numb to the worry.


    Or perhaps it was that he never stopped focusing on his goal. How could he feel stressed out when his only thought was improvement. Brushes with death were becoming commonplace. Certainly more-so than he would ever let his mother know. He couldn¡¯t let them weigh him down if he was going to keep moving forward. And that brought him to his second reason for taking some time off.


    John had absolutely no idea how to cope with the sheer amount of information his mind was subject to after opening the First Gate. Third Eye of Callysta was a Mind Cultivation unlike any other. Of that John now had no doubt.


    Even at a passive level, without actively implementing any of the multiple facets of the Cultivation, John was able to think much more clearly, comprehend information at an alarming rate, analyze situations effortlessly, make any mathematical calculation almost as if he were a computer, the number of differences he noticed continued to increase.


    It was alarming in a way to realize just how quickly and entirely his brain had been changed. He hadn¡¯t even been given the choice. He was simply thrust through a door of possibility so immense that he had trouble comprehending it even now.


    But in his heart, he knew that even if he had been given the choice, even if he had been told about the mind shattering pain of the information download he endured, the result would have been the same. He would have willingly and stupidly walked through that door. The circumstance behind the ordeal was irrelevant.


    But now that he had the information, he was finding himself completely unable to cope with it. He was constantly finding himself at a loss. Simple tasks now came with so many minute calculations. Where before he saw only the task that he was trying to complete, now he saw endless possibility.


    His mind was constantly a few steps beyond any given situation. He could calculate almost without meaning to the three most likely outcomes of any given situation he found himself in and just as easily calculate the most likely direction any of the following situations might take.


    It was like playing chess with that annoying kid who always knew exactly how to counter any kind of offensive move before you made it. Only now, he was the annoying kid. Something so mundane as chess, a game he had once thought to be the ultimate test of intelligence and forethought, John couldn¡¯t even enjoy it anymore.


    He had tried. He wanted to see the extent of his newfound ability. So he had charged his phone, now dead for months as it had no real function since the internet ceased to exist. But what it did have was a basic chess app.


    While he was unable to find a live opponent, there was still the AI setting. So he had started a match at his phone¡¯s last known skill level, somewhere near 1000.


    But as the first few moves of the match passed, John began to realize that there was no move the computer could make to best him. He was able to find a checkmate much more effortlessly than he had ever been before. It was almost too easy.


    When the game was over, he had set the difficulty of the computer as high as it went. Supposedly on the level of Grand Master in the real world. Then he began.


    But to his astonishment and soon, his exasperation, no move could be made that he didn¡¯t see through. It was literally like playing a child at the game. At first John was exhilarated to know how well his mind worked. But soon he grew to begrudge his own ability. A game he had loved since his father had first shown him when he was six was now so utterly uncomplicated that it gave him newfound appreciation for the phrase ¡°ignorance is bliss.¡±


    It didn¡¯t stop there though. Conversations, interactions, even simple events like pouring a glass of water became another mindless calculation. It never ended.


    From the time anyone started speaking to him he could already guess not only what they wanted to talk about based on body language, tone, and urgency, but also accurately predict most of their subsequent topics of conversation based on any answer he chose to give. It was like guiding the conversation away from racism when that one really crazy relative started drinking too much. Only he now had the ability to seamlessly and indeed effortlessly steer any conversation wherever he wanted it to go if he so chose.


    Interactions too. Every time another human crossed his path in any way, there were innumerable subconscious calculations taking place. The more people in any situation the more complicated the calculations became, but nonetheless, calculation was all it was.


    It began to feel like the world was moving more slowly around him. Like everyone else was constantly driving 25 and he was in a sports car. It was mind numbing after awhile to sit through every event in slow motion even though he could already see where the next five minutes of his life would go before it happened.


    No one could surprise him with anything anymore. The whole world as well as any likely futures were constantly laid bare for him to see. And in truth, John was terrified.


    His new mental ability also came with some pretty unambiguous criteria for future growth. He understood instinctively that the only way forward was to laboriously gain conscious proficiency with each aspect of Third Eye of Callysta. Therein was the source of his disquiet.


    There were twelve branches that stemmed from the Cultivation. Analysis was the first and most basic aspect. There was also Simulation, Culmination, Neutralization, Reciprocation, Falsification, Dissemination, Isolation, Contamination, Sterilization, Annihilation, and Liberation.


    As he had told Emma, understanding each of the twelve branches of the Mind Cultivation and how they all related to one another was the key to understanding Third Eye of Callysta in its entirety. The problem was that John was nowhere near able to comprehend the extent of even a single branch of the Cultivation. Analysis alone left him so full of information that he didn¡¯t know what to do with it all.


    How could he possibly tie eleven other concepts to what he was already sorting through? Especially when those concepts were things like Dissemination, or Reciprocation, or, oh yeah, fucking Annihilation! Any time he even tried to make a correlation to one of the other branches from Analysis it was like learning the Cultivation all at once again.


    Voices and equations, calculations and relationships, all slammed into his mind as a jumble and despite his best efforts to make sense of them, he was only left aching at the brain for several minutes. Whatever the full scope of the Cultivation was, it was well beyond what John could hope to comprehend.


    Just how powerful was this Callysta anyway? How formidable did one have to be to not only understand everything he was now privy to, but to be the one to invent this way of thinking? It was clear now more than ever that Callysta, whatever she truly was, was a being beyond all others.


    At least, if there was something out there short of God itself more formidable than the assumed cat creature, John knew for certain he never wanted to meet it. Which wasn¡¯t at all to say that he would like to meet Callysta either.


    Indeed, the more he understood about the Mind Cultivation he had been given, the less he wanted to ever meet the one responsible for creating it. It wasn¡¯t that he was ungrateful. If anything he felt himself unworthy.


    Better he never met the creature than to have to explain how someone so utterly incompetent became her first and only successor. He didn¡¯t need all the newfound calculative ability to see the most likely outcome of that interaction. But what could he do?


    It certainly wasn¡¯t like he could stop such an eventuality from coming to pass. The Garden has said Callysta herself had marked him with her ¡°Divine Signature¡± whatever that meant. He knew what it didn¡¯t mean. It didn¡¯t mean that he was free.


    For this unimaginably powerful cat creature to instantaneously mark him upon completing its Cultivation method was an alarmingly transparent way of saying ¡°the cat is now watching you.¡± He knew as sure as a duck''s ass was watertight that one day sooner or later, he would be called upon for answers. He just hoped that when that day came, he had even one answer to give.


    2


    John¡¯s break from The Garden to become acclimated to his new abilities lasted for more than two weeks. Time where his mother rested more easily, John slowly made sense of his larger mind, and his sister obsessed over every scrap of information he would give her concerning Third Eye of Callysta.


    Her unceasing acquisition of information was alarming to John. He had even had to take the scroll from her more than once when he found that she had been losing sleep to pour over it. It wasn¡¯t like children too young to enter The Garden had anything to do with their time except study. She didn¡¯t need to sacrifice her health.


    Only after making her promise to practice moderation did he agree to return it to her. Even so, he found himself unsure if he was right or wrong. It had become clear all too quick that Emma was not going to stop. Did he let her keep working at a goal so helplessly beyond even him that it consumed her every waking thought?


    He didn¡¯t know. On the other hand, if she could make sense of even a fraction of the analytical aspect, John would consider her time well spent. More than that, he couldn¡¯t hope for.


    But after more than two weeks of trying to piece together the multifaceted puzzle of Third Eye of Callysta, John could resist no longer. He had to get back into The Garden if for no other reason than to tell Jules everything that had happened. So with minimal hardship from his mother, he set off for the transition station.


    At the station, John received his first surprise since gaining his mental acuity. The transition pad didn¡¯t automatically take him to The Garden when he stepped on it. Instead, the voice of The Garden spoke to him.


    ¡°Select destination.¡±


    John had completely forgotten that he now had more than one base to choose from. Making a mental selection, he quickly began to feel himself shift between worlds. In moments, he was standing once again in his now quaint room within Emerald Base.


    He had to return to Thunder Fox Sanctuary soon to speak with the empress herself, but before that, he needed to catch up with his one friend in The Garden. It was clear when he looked at his room that he wasn¡¯t the only one with such thoughts. Numerous letters lay at his door, and he could tell even from the distance whose impeccable script adorned them.


    John walked to the pile, apparently a favorite pastime of his friend, and picked up a letter at random. Reading it, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. After all he had been through, all he had learned in the last weeks, he couldn¡¯t have predicted the four words he saw written on the paper.


    ¡°Call me back bitch!¡±


    Selecting another, he read its contents as well. ¡°I know you¡¯re back, fucker.¡± And a third: ¡°You can¡¯t hide forever.¡±


    It was as if Jules had had nothing to do with his time in the weeks since John completed his Shuffle but to think of new and more annoying things to write on paper and then dump through his mail slot. They were all less than a half dozen words long. And no two were the same. Truly it was like the man had spent every waking moment composing them. Even as John stood inspecting the many letters, his mail slot flipped briefly open as another paper was slid through.


    Quicker than he would have previously been able, John opened his door, grabbed the man who had just dropped the letter, pulled him inside, and shut the door again. It all happened in the span of two seconds after the letter but the floor.


    ¡°Jesus!¡± Jules shouted as he was suddenly sitting on John¡¯s bed with little recognition of how he had ended up there.


    ¡°I prefer John,¡± John smiled at the man.


    ¡°John!¡± Jules exclaimed when his brain was able to catch up to the situation. He leapt from the bed and embraced John.


    ¡°It¡¯s great to see you man,¡± John said.


    ¡°What the hell happened to you man?¡± Jules asked.


    John was certain that he was already aware of the Shuffle John had been through. His mother had come to Jules during the time he was gone if nothing else. So he assumed the man wanted details.


    John was more than happy to supply them. Here was his friend and closest confidant within The Garden. If there was anyone he could tell about all of the insanity he had experienced during his trial, it was Jules. So John told him.


    He left out no detail. He even told the man about Abi and the Tower. His eyes were like saucers at the idea that there was anything so fantastic as ¡°Gods¡± offering to grant wishes or answer any question asked of them. John supposed that if he hadn¡¯t stumbled upon the place and witnessed the unerringly accurate answers to his questions, nor if he hadn¡¯t then verified the substance of that information, he probably wouldn¡¯t have believed it either.


    But Jules never interrupted, never contradicted John. He soaked in every word he was given like the drain in a fountain. John had no doubt that Jules would spend unimaginable time ordering all of the new information he gave the man in the coming days. But for the moment, he was as a sponge, simply absorbing all he was given.


    John told him of the price of knowledge. He told him about the pack of raptors that almost killed him. He told him about the giant bird that had almost sucked him into the sky before becoming cinders. He told him about the test to gain admittance to Thunder Fox Sanctuary. He told him about each of the fights he had won in as exacting details as possible, which he discovered was extremely exact.


    In hindsight, he could recall the number of feathers that flew from the Wizened bird when his arrow slammed into its chest. He could count how many revolutions the armadillo had made on its way to flatten him. He could even recall the exact shape of the bloodstain that had been left on the wall after removing the salamander from his javelin.


    When he told Jules of the fox herself and how she had immediately healed his injuries, the man could no longer contain himself. He had simply never imagined that there were creatures in The Garden that wouldn¡¯t automatically kill him.


    ¡°A fox that can turn people to ash with lightning and heal any injury? Jesus dude. How is the supposed God you met somehow the least interesting thing that happened to you?¡±


    John laughed at his friend¡¯s feigned exasperation. In truth, John would have felt the same way. In fact, he had been of much the same mindset as the events themselves occurred. But since his First Gate breakthrough, even the Thunder Fox seemed a mundane topic.


    But he let his friend bask in the adventure as John himself had. He did refrain from telling the man about his newly gained Mind Cultivation. Some things even Jules didn¡¯t need to know about. When he was finished recounting his tale, it was Jules¡¯s turn.


    ¡°Things on this end have been insane as well. Nothing like what you¡¯re always getting up to, but when you never showed up for the meeting with Sean, he started saying I was unreliable. That I was just collecting genes in exchange for a promise that would never be kept.¡±


    John grimaced. He had known the horrible timing of his Shuffle would complicate things for his friend¡¯s business. He also knew he couldn¡¯t have prevented it, but he still felt bad.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry man, I didn¡¯t mean to make things harder for you,¡± he said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I came here the day of the meeting because I hadn¡¯t heard from you and seen that you had been Shuffled. I wasn¡¯t sure what to do, and I didn¡¯t want to tell Sean the truth. So I went to the meeting without you and told him that you were tied up with a previous contract and needed an extra day. That¡¯s when he made all the noise I told you about, but ultimately he agreed to meet us the next day.¡±


    ¡°Us?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Well I had to do something! I didn¡¯t know when or even if you would come back. No one has ever returned from a shuffle before you know.¡±


    ¡°I do know,¡± John smiled.


    ¡°Smug little shit aren¡¯t you? Anyway, I had to come up with something. I couldn¡¯t let Sean defame my business without fighting back. So I asked your girl Liz for help.¡±


    ¡°Liz? How is she doing?¡± John asked. He hadn¡¯t even thought of her newfound connection to Jules. He supposed he should have. No one came into contact with Jules without the man adding them to his network.


    ¡°She¡¯s something else, I can tell you that.¡±


    John laughed.


    ¡°I did tell you didn¡¯t I?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I suppose you did. But god damn dude I think you might have left out a few details.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Well I went to her asking if she could help me with something on your behalf.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± John asked.


    ¡°And she laughed in my face and told me to bring you to her if you needed her help.¡±


    ¡°Smart girl,¡± John laughed.


    ¡°Maybe. Maybe just a sadist. In any case, it took a lot of time explaining before she agreed to help me. And only then because I made it clear she could make a profit.¡±


    ¡°Smart girl,¡± John repeated.


    ¡°Mm, well as it turns out, asking her for help was akin to asking,¡± and here Jules paused to look John directly in the eyes before continuing in a much louder voice, ¡°a giant fucking bear to kill a fly for you.¡±


    John couldn¡¯t help himself any longer. He burst out laughing. He had specifically not told Jules about the Wizened Grizzly Soul he had received. And he certainly hadn¡¯t told him that he had lent it to Liz.


    ¡°Yeah, laugh it up asshole. She went with me to meet Sean. To her credit, she didn¡¯t back down to his intimidation and didn¡¯t take the bait when he tried to goad her. What she did do was instantly become a giant bear and roar in his face loud enough that I could see the shit fall into his pants in real time. It took everything I had not to follow suit. When you said she would rip my dick off, you really weren¡¯t kidding were you?¡±


    ¡°Have I ever been?¡± John smiled.


    ¡°Good point. But damn dude, way to save me from myself. Anyway, she made such a solid impression on Sean that he agreed to let her call the shots for the entire contract. I went with them to make sure everything was okay, but with a fucking bear ready to mail your enemies there isn¡¯t a whole lot of risk in the attempt. She did great. Kept him safe, provided adequate support, even let Sean get the last hit on the beast. Got himself an Advanced Soul for it. He was so happy that he gave Liz three Enhanced genes.¡±


    ¡°Wow, he must have been really happy then,¡± John said.


    ¡°Not as happy as Liz was after Sean left. She turned to me right then and there and asked me for a job.¡±


    John¡¯s eyebrows rose.


    ¡°A job?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. She said that she finally understood how you were so strong. Said she wanted to take every job I could give.¡±


    ¡°So? What did you do?¡±


    ¡°What do you think I did man? I put her ass to work. We¡¯ve had a never-ending stream of requests coming in. It¡¯s been almost impossible to catalogue all the data. She wanted to work for genes, so I sent her into the field with a dozen people at a time. The requests are mostly for newbies to get some relatively safe exposure to The Garden. With Liz as protector and each of them armed with basic defensive and offensive souls, it was almost child¡¯s play. We¡¯ve spent the last two weeks doing a half dozen of those babysitting missions a day. It¡¯s taken time but I¡¯m finally almost caught up with the Primitive requests. I haven¡¯t even began work on the requests beyond Primitive tier though. And more come in each day.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve really had your hands full these past weeks eh? I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t here man. I¡­ needed some time after my Shuffle. But I¡¯m back now. And even better, I can¡¯t be Shuffled again. I can help you get everything in order now. But I think it¡¯s good that you enlisted Liz. That girl has more drive than a gearshift. I think you should offer her a permanent position.¡±


    Jules shook his head.


    ¡°I would love to, but the girl has already outgrown Primitive genes. If she keeps progressing at a Johnly rate, there won¡¯t be anything I can offer her. I have to face the facts. I need to start drafting.¡±


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    John considered that for a second, his mind automatically envisioning several outcomes that could branch from that decision. After some thought, John nodded.


    ¡°I think I can help with that,¡± he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was hoping to hear. What do you have in mind though? I have a few potential candidates including Sean that I could approach.¡±


    ¡°Find as many people as you can trust. We have enough gene surplus that we can afford to bribe them with a full compliment of the lower genes. There need to be a few for each tier though. Any who outgrow the tier they are hired for can apply for higher tiered assignments. That will create the basis for employment. When each applicant is assigned to a tier based on their ability, you turn them loose. It¡¯ll take some time to build a network of experienced help for anything above Enhanced tier, but eventually we will be able to accept any task asked of us. Any high level requests that Liz doesn¡¯t want to accept, bring to me. As long as the chain of command remains fluent and no one reaches beyond their due, things should be fairly easy to keep on track.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± Jules said, ¡°you¡¯ve really put a lot of thought into this haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± John laughed, more to himself than his friend.


    3


    John and Jules spent some time ironing out the details John had outlined for the blossoming business they had started. As always, Jules was obsessive over every little point. He organized information so efficiently that he could have had a complex Mind Cultivation himself. The fact that John knew that wasn¡¯t the case made the man even more incredible.


    ¡°You know,¡± John had told him after having the thought, ¡°you have an impressive mind. You should really learn a Mind Cultivation to enhance that.¡±


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s on the list of things to do. I just need a higher-level gene to make it worth the investment.¡±


    ¡°I recommend Advanced tier. If my hunch is correct, you¡¯ll still be able to make it through the First Gate with a lot of work.¡±


    ¡°The First Gate?¡± Jules asked.


    John nodded. He took some time to explain what he knew about Cultivation after his Shuffle. He didn¡¯t explain how he knew, simply implying that he had learned the information. Then he told Jules what his mom had said.


    ¡°I¡­¡± the man started.


    John smacked him on the back of the head. It was a light reprimand, and one without any real malice. Still, the light crack that his hand made on the man¡¯s head was satisfying to John.


    ¡°What were you thinking? Telling my mom about this stuff? Come on man, don¡¯t shit in my Cheerios.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to say. She came to me after you didn¡¯t come home. Said the same thing happened to your dad¡­¡±


    John didn¡¯t respond. He hadn¡¯t told Jules about his father. He didn¡¯t see the need to change the subject now, either.


    ¡°Well¡­ she was in shambles. I didn¡¯t know what to say. I told her not to worry. That you have been in all kinds of dangerous situations. She didn¡¯t exactly take that as the reassurance I meant it to be. Started asking what kind of shit you do. It was too late to back track, and your mom has one of those bullshit detectors like the government uses. She got the truth out of me.¡±


    ¡°How much of the truth?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I just told her that I find you suitable targets and you use your bow to kill them.¡±


    ¡°Somehow, I doubt that¡¯s the whole story or she wouldn¡¯t be up my ass about how dangerous I¡¯m being.¡±


    ¡°Well, I might have mentioned the time we had to run from the bear.¡±


    ¡°Of course you did. Listen, from now on, if something happens and she comes to you, tell her everything is fine and that I swore not to take risks. I can do without the sabotage,¡± John said.


    ¡°Sorry man.¡±


    John agreed to meet Jules the next day to begin assessing the candidates for missions. Then he bid the man farewell, saying he needed to get back home before his mom worried. Jules agreed and took his leave.


    After he was gone, John returned to his transition pad and selected his destination. When he made the shift though, it wasn¡¯t to the station on Earth. It was to Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Not only because he wanted to fulfill the desire of the empress to speak with him, but also because the surrounding area had much more powerful beasts to hunt.


    When he moved to the door though, John was surprised to see that there were four genes waiting in a basket on the ground outside. It took his new brain only a second to understand. These were the genes of the four beasts he had to defeat to gain access to the base.


    Two Advanced and two Wizened genes. It was an unexpected windfall. He hadn¡¯t thought to harvest the genes after his battle. But clearly something had.


    John took the basket and placed it on his bed. Seeing no reason not to, John immediately began consuming the genes. He has long since used his surplus of genes to refill his Primitive tally. Now it was only Advanced and up that he needed.


    In the end, John gained eleven Advanced genes and twelve Widened genes. That brought his totals up to thirty five and twenty eight respectively. Having both numbers over twenty five made John feel incredibly sturdy.


    He wondered if weapons or beasts of the Primitive tier would even be a danger to him anymore. He would certainly be surprised if that wasn¡¯t the case. After all, he had no hope of killing anything of the Advanced tier with his Primitive mantis dagger.


    John pondered his physique for a few minutes, but ultimately had no way of testing his query. Having no further business in his room, John opened the door once more and stepped from the building. He took a look around the massive base and quickly became confused.


    Joe was he supposed to find the fox in such a massive place? What was worse, there were no other humans in sight. He couldn¡¯t even ask anyone for directions.


    His conundrum lasted for a few seconds only, time which he sort of placed back and forth in helplessness. He attempted to ask a few of the less intimidating creatures that passed by for directions, but as expected, none of them understood him. Just before he lost hope and returned to his room, a brilliant silver lightning bolt illuminated the entire base. When it darkened once more, the Thunder Fox stood across from him.


    John jumped back in surprise at the instantaneous change. Even his mind couldn¡¯t assess a situation that quickly. The fox snorted in amusement before dropping the weird light ball at his feet.


    It flashed its light at his head as it had the last time before settling between the two of them. John bowed his head in respect before speaking to the Fox.


    ¡°Hello again. I, uh¡­ came back to speak with you as you¡¯ve asked Ms¡­ um¡­ what should I call you?¡±


    The fox snorted in amusement. At least, John assumed it was amusement. It was hard to say for sure, but the look in the fox¡¯s eye seemed to be one of amusement.


    ¡°Names are powerful things, human. You do not wish to dominate me do you?¡±


    The question took John aback. Dominate her? That did the fox mean? He couldn¡¯t imagine even trying to get the better of something so formidable.


    ¡°No miss, I simply wish to know how I might address you. It seems oddly impersonal to call you Thunder Fox.¡±


    ¡°And yet you¡¯ve not given me a more personal title by which to call you, human.¡±


    ¡°My name is John.¡±


    ¡°John. An interesting name. Do you think it suits you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ guess it does,¡± John said, confused, ¡°I haven¡¯t really considered that.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well John, if a name you want, then you may address me as Sun¨¦. Understand that this is not my true name. As I said, names carry power.¡±


    ¡°Sun¨¦. That¡¯s a beautiful name. What does it mean?¡±


    ¡°It means fox,¡± Sun¨¦ snorted.


    John smiled despite himself. He had to admit, being pranked by a terrifying shocky fox was way better than being incinerated by it. If she wanted to fuck around and have a laugh, he would put on a jester¡¯s hat.


    ¡°Well Sun¨¦, I have come. What is it you do wish to speak with me about?¡±


    ¡°Come with me,¡± the fox said, suddenly standing.


    ¡°Come where? I¡¯m not exactly as fast as you are,¡± John said.


    ¡°No matter. Here, put your hand on my back and grab on,¡± Sun¨¦ replied.


    She was moving to scoop up the translating sphere in her mouth as she spoke. John hesitated but complied with her command. He put his hand on the fox, feeling like he was touching an electric fence.


    The second his hand touched her, he felt a current of electricity pass through his body and into the ground beneath his feet. It was like his hand was glued to the beast. The current wouldn¡¯t let him let go.


    ¡°Hold on tight,¡± was all John heard before the entire world disappeared in a flash of light.


    The next thing he knew, he was all but laying on the ground. Sun¨¦ was standing over him with an amused expression. His hand was still stuck to her.


    ¡°I said hold on tight,¡± Sun¨¦ chuffed.


    John slowly removed his hand, an action that took more effort than he liked. Then he found his legs and struggled to his feet. What the hell had just happened? He looked around himself and couldn¡¯t stop the gasp from escaping his mouth.


    He was now in what looked like a temple. The ceilings were so high that John couldn¡¯t have thrown a rock to hit them. The place was so large that it would have taken him several minutes to run from one side to the other. All along the walls were insanely ornate statues of beasts. Everything from lizards to monkeys to dragons.


    At the far end of the room was a massive set of double doors larger than any John had ever seen. They had to have been hundreds of feet tall. John turned to see that Sun¨¦ had moved to a large plush cushion at the base of yet another statue.


    It was the statue of a beautiful fox. It had ten tails and somehow gave off the feeling of electricity. It was a statue of Sun¨¦ herself, John realized.


    She had brought them to the equivalent of her thrown room. John was amazed at the scope of the place. Only then did he understand how far above Wizened tier Divine tier was. Looking at all of the statues around the place, John understood that they were statues of past leaders of the base. And he could tell that any one of them would have destroyed him in a blink.


    ¡°You see the history of this place. What do you think?¡± Sun¨¦ asked.


    John looked back to the fox and noticed that she had dropped the ball between them once more. He smiled in wonder at the question.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing. I¡¯ve never seen anything so extravagant,¡± he said.


    ¡°Is that so? Yet, you also visited the Moment Mistress, isn¡¯t that true?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ well yes. I did. But that was just a beautiful building. This is a chronicle of The Garden.¡±


    ¡°I see. You have a very interesting mind, John.¡±


    ¡°Sun¨¦, what is it you wished to speak with me about?¡± John asked.


    ¡°You waste little time, that is good. The reason I have asked you here is because you have something I need.¡±


    ¡°I do?¡±


    ¡°You do,¡± Sun¨¦ replied.


    ¡°What is it?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Do you know the difference between you and I, John?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ am a human and you are a fox?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. But what difference does that make? How do we differ in cultivation?¡±


    ¡°Because we need different things to advance?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. You require the gene of a slain beast to progress. We beasts require the flesh of our foes to move forward.¡±


    ¡°And what does that have to do with what you need from me?¡± John asked.


    ¡°The differences between us don¡¯t stop there. Let¡¯s talk, for example, about reproduction.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡±


    ¡°If you were to find a mate and create offspring with them, would they be born stronger than any other due to your advanced gene progression?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I guess it¡¯s possible. Are you saying humans will evolve because of our newfound access to The Garden?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. But alas, such things only become apparent after several generations. Your offspring might have a higher baseline health and physique, but they would not be born with a gene tally. In other words, all humans must gain genes for themselves to grow stronger.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. It would hardly be fair otherwise.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think things must be fair?¡±


    ¡°I suppose they don¡¯t. But what does this all have to do with me?¡±


    ¡°We beasts of The Garden are different. Our tier at birth is based on that of our parents. Two Divine tier beasts might give life to a Divine beast themselves. It is not guaranteed, and it takes a great deal of energy to nourish such a life.¡±


    John thought about what Sun¨¦ was saying. His mind returned to the queen of the ants. He still had a few eggs that she had laid, and he remembered how nothing he did could damage them. His heart sped up at the implications of what Sun¨¦ said.


    ¡°So, you can birth a Divine Fox like yourself?¡±


    ¡°Alas, no. That¡¯s what I need your help with.¡±


    ¡°Me? What can I do?¡±


    ¡°It is more a matter of what you have already done.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± John said.


    So much for his ability to predict the flow of a conversation. This fox was consistently stumping his predictive abilities. It proved that not even his new mind was infallible.


    ¡°Long ago, when I was much younger, before I called this place home, I was given a challenge to complete. The Garden tasked me with collecting ten Divine cores from at least two branches of Cultivation. You probably don¡¯t know what that means.¡±


    John shook his head, but stayed silent. He still couldn¡¯t predict where the fox was going with this. So, he let her continue.


    ¡°Divine cores are the compressed essence of a being¡¯s Cultivation path. The core is the basis for all that we are. When a Divine being dies, their life essence is condensed into their core. Successfully assimilating with a fallen creature¡¯s core allows one to gain insights into that beast¡¯s Cultivation path.¡±


    John nodded in comprehension. Still unwilling to break his silence, but wanting Sun¨¦ to know he was following. The fox continued speaking.


    ¡°So, I accepted the task. At the time, I was Wizened, almost to the stage of compression. I knew that I only needed one or two more victories to finish the transition into Divinity. After your essence has been successfully compressed, your Divine core will form. Few of us have an affinity to any path at that point. And I was no different. When I did finally form my core, it wasn¡¯t attuned. I had to spend years finding out what path was right for me. It took me longer than I would have liked, but eventually I was able to kill a foe attuned to the path of Regeneration. It was the first Divine core that my body didn¡¯t reject.¡±


    ¡°You started with healing and not electricity?¡± John couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Indeed. In fact, it wasn¡¯t until I had already claimed three cores of Regeneration that I found my affinity for Electricity. It was a painful experience, but my growing regenerative abilities were able to keep me alive long enough to slay my foe. They didn¡¯t cultivate speed, only destructive force. It was that shortcoming that taught me the importance of balance. In any case, after many years and many more battles, I had finally collected five Divine cores of Regeneration and five of Electricity.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I was given my reward. A reward only I would appreciate. You see, during the long journey to the peak of Divinity, I became severely injured more than once. On one such occasion, I was impaled in the side. The attack almost killed me, but I was able to stun my foe with lightning before escaping. Unfortunately, my internal organs had been severely damaged. I used my path of Regeneration to fix what I could, but some things are beyond even me. I lost my ability to reproduce that day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry to hear that,¡± John said.


    ¡°Yes, all victory comes with a price. As I said, I was rewarded for my completion of the task. And the reward was something called a Divine Embryo. I was unsure what that meant, but I quickly learned the answer.


    ¡°It was a small egg-like object. I was told that by giving it some of my blood, it could grow and be born as my offspring.¡±


    John¡¯s eyes widened. He hadn¡¯t even considered something like that to be possible. Just what exactly was The Garden anyway?


    ¡°What an amazing gift. Truly, The Garden rewards ambition,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes, but there was a catch. The embryo requires a specific series of steps to be followed in order to properly gestate.¡±


    ¡°What kind of steps?¡± John asked.


    ¡°My race is known as ¡®Ten Tailed Kitsune,¡¯ and as such, each of our ten tails carries the Cultivation we chose to follow. My tails are split evenly. Half are Electricity and half Regeneration. But that is only because I chose to strengthen two paths instead of learn ten paths. It is possible for each tail to harness the power of a different path.¡±


    ¡°Ten different cultivation paths?¡± John blurted out. He couldn¡¯t imagine trying so many. It reminded him of how hopeless he was trying to understand Third Eye of Callysta. He supposed it was the same thing.


    ¡°Indeed. Not many of us can divide ourselves so many times, however. I chose two paths because duality is very common in nature. But such a path is forbidden to the Divine Embryo. It must be given ten different Divine cores to assimilate. I have provided it with four already. Currently it follows the paths of Electricity, Regeneration, Earth, and Wind. Six more cores are needed to fulfill that requirement.¡±


    ¡°Six more Divine cores just to give birth to your child?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t end there. You see, the embryo will remain in stasis even after gaining ten paths. It isn¡¯t a living creature. One cannot simply provide some blood and provide life from it. The embryo will grow based on my genetic code. But the cells that grow will be empty. A hollow shell in the form of a Ten Tailed Kitsune. A soul is needed to complete the process.¡±


    ¡°A soul? Where are you supposed to find the soul of a f-¡± John stopped talking as his eyes grew wide.


    ¡°You are sharp, John.¡±


    ¡°You need my beast Soul?¡± He asked.


    ¡°You cannot imagine how long I have waited for you, John. We beasts cannot gain tools from our enemies. Beast Souls are a blessing of the Enlightened races. Few of your kind ever make it to my home. Those that do nearly always fail the test. And of the few who made it into Thunder Fox Sanctuary, none ever came into possession of a companion soul, much less one in the form of a fox.¡±


    ¡°You want me to give you Jane?¡±


    John didn¡¯t know how he felt about that. She had been essential to his survival many times since he gained her. Could he really give that up? Especially knowing she had just evolved into Divine tier thanks to his upgrade.


    ¡°I know what it is I ask of you. I watched you with your companion from the moment you left the Tower. I know she is important to you. I also know that nothing is without a prove in this world. I will reward you with something far beyond what I ask you to sacrifice. That is a promise,¡± Sun¨¦ said.


    John shut his mouth tight around the excuse he was going to make. It wasn¡¯t that he had been convinced. Rather, The Garden spoke up at that moment.


    ¡°Sun¨¦ the Ten Tailed Kitsune has offered you a deal. If you agree to give up your Silver Fox soul, she will reward you. This is the greatest desire of Sun¨¦ and as such, your rewards will be much more extravagant than the price. Do you agree?¡±


    ¡°I still need Jane to help me,¡± John protested weakly.


    ¡°Do not worry. I am aware of your progress. You will have plenty of time to progress. The Embryo still needs six paths before it will be ready for a soul in any case. So, what do you say? I can guarantee you will not regret having me as an ally,¡± Sun¨¦ said.


    Implicit was the opposite concept that John would certainly regret having Sun¨¦ as an enemy. He still didn¡¯t immediately answer. Ultimately it was a question of if he could willingly surrender something for the promise of something better, even though he didn¡¯t know what that was. It was a tough choice to make, but finally he made it.


    ¡°I agree to your terms. But I have to be ready before giving up Jane. She is precious to me. I won¡¯t let her go until I can handle myself without her.¡±


    ¡°That is understood, John.¡±


    ¡°You have agreed to the terms of Sun¨¦¡¯s deal. Failure to uphold your end of the bargain will make you an enemy of Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Failure by Sun¨¦ to uphold her end of the bargain will grant you dominance over Thunder Fox Sanctuary.¡±


    John¡¯s eyes widened in shock. If Sun¨¦ failed to reward him properly, she would lose control of the base to him? That was something John had never imagined possible.


    ¡°Is there anything you would like to accomplish here?¡± Sun¨¦ asked him.


    She spoke as though she hadn¡¯t just agreed to surrender her entire throne to him. John was taken aback by her casual nature. He took a second to think before responding.


    ¡°Is there a station I can use to take me to my Cultivation Trials? I need to finish my Spirit Cultivation.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I can take you there now. Or if you would rather take in the sights of the place, I can simply direct you. Though if you¡¯re in a hurry, you may want to pass on that opportunity. It can take hours for some to traverse the base.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll let you take me,¡± John said apprehensively.


    4


    Sun¨¦ deposited John roughly onto the ground near the Cultivation Trial. Try though he might, he was unable to keep from falling to the ground upon landing. The speed of the fox was simply too much.


    ¡°Here you are. Is there anything else I can do for you?¡±


    ¡°No, thank you. You¡¯ve been very accommodating.¡±


    ¡°Enjoy your trial, John.¡±


    Then she was gone. In a flash, John was alone. He turned to the transition pad that would lead him to his trial. At least he hoped it would. It would suck if he had to go all the way back to Emerald Base to practice Lunar Radiance. Especially since he had no idea where his room was from there.


    John stepped on the pad and thankfully it lit up in recognition. John gladly confirmed his decision and felt himself shift to the trial. For the first time in half a month, John found himself standing on the starting point of Lunar Radiance.


    John turned to the moon and quickly began to make his way through the course. His brain dissected the obstacles several moves ahead of his body so that when he reached each one, he was already confident in his action. To his shock, he started to see vague outlines of himself running the course a second ahead of his true body.


    Some of them moved differently from his intended path some showing more proficiency than him while others showed less. It was like having the option to select the path that would benefit him most. John was shocked at how much he could see, and he realized that he had started to actively use Third Eye of Callysta for the first time.


    It was a natural reaction to the physical exertion. His mind sprung into action, providing him with information no one else would have. He marveled at the simplicity with which he could dissect the course that had once given him so much trouble.


    John quickly moved through each obstacle with apparent ease. Even the final obstacle was no hinderance to him, as he understood better than ever how to properly distribute his weight not to fall from the rail. In what seemed like no time at all, John was meditating under the moonlight.


    After an hour of soaking in the energy, John returned to the starting point and turned his attention to the sun. As he studied the course, he became aware of each obstacle that was affected by the heat.


    Every scorching bar, every wall slick with dripping water, every single thing John would have to keep in mind in order to pass the test was held fast in his mind. When he was sure he had missed nothing, he started forward.


    The first obstacle was not illuminated by the sun, so John was easily able to grab the bar and pull himself up. The second bar he had to grab was not so benign. But John had prepared himself well.


    Lunar Radiance expelled from his palms as he grabbed the bar. He felt the drain on his reserves immediately as he began pulling himself up. He rolled to the platform and thence to his feet before continuing onward.


    The wall running, the swinging from bars, the delicate maneuvering of his body, all of it came much more easily than ever before. The drain on his essence was substantial, and John knew that if he failed for any reason, it would be the deficit of Lunar Radiance. But he didn¡¯t let such thoughts dissuade him. He moved like a man possessed through each of the obstacles until he stood upon the last threshold.


    Only the last obstacle remained. It was the only thing standing between him and his second Cultivation Scroll. But he knew he didn¡¯t have enough juice to make it through. Sweat beaded his brow, and he had to control his breathing.


    John wasn¡¯t about to give up though, energy or not. He would save as much of the few drops of Lunar Radiance he had for the last jump. That was all he could do.


    John took off at a sprint, launching at the slanted wall like a jumping spider. He calculated the most efficient way to make it past the obstacle, landing high on the wall and using only enough energy to stop his feet from completely slipping before springing to the next part of the course.


    His feet automatically pushed from the slanted wall and propelled him to the steaming wall above that he would need to push off of to successfully compress the switch below. With the slightest burst of Lunar Radiance, John avoided scalding his hands on the wall.


    He shot down like a comet. His feet slammed into the plate, pressing it into the ground. The wall in front of him opened up and he took off running for the left side. His feet slid down the wall much more than he would have liked as he scrambled to the other side, his energy reserves nearing empty.


    John leapt desperately for the springboard. His feet just barely made contact with it, but it was enough. He flew up and grabbed the bar, using the last dregs of his Lunar Radiance to keep from burning himself. Without hesitation, he swung himself forward and landed on the handrail.


    John had nothing left to give at this point. His feet gave way easily under him as the slick patches of rail passed beneath him. Only through sheer force of will did he remain on his feet. Then, the end had come.


    John leapt, reaching with everything he had for the last bar that would signify his success. It came closer and closer as he watched. Five feet. Three feet. One foot. And then, miraculously, his hands closed around the bar.


    ¡°Ahhhh!!!!¡± John screamed as his flesh sizzled around the metal.


    He wailed in agony as his hands locked in place. The heat only grew more intense the tighter he held on. Through the pain and the screaming, John began to leverage a leg onto the scorching hot bar.


    Even through his pants the heat was palpable. John continued to voice his torment as he slowly pulled himself up. There was a moment of horrified realization when he tried to pull his hands from the bar to grab the last platform only to find them completely singed to the metal.


    He had to laboriously rip his own flesh from the bar just to let go. He screamed in newfound agony as he left scraps of himself behind. Using his elbows, John weakly leveraged himself onto the island.


    ¡°Congratulations! You have completed the Trial for Lunar Radiance! Proceed through the door to claim your Cultivation Scroll!¡±


    John didn¡¯t move. He just cradled his hands to his chest delicately. Beyond the scorching pain, one thought played through his head repeatedly.


    ¡°Never again, mother fucker.¡±


    He had done it. He had passed the trial. Never again would he have to slide down the net to restart. Never again would he burn his hands on the course. He was done. He had proven himself worthy. And so what if he had mutilated his hands for a second time to do it?


    After several aching minutes, John awkwardly climbed to his feet, careful not to use his palms for support. He walked to the door while holding his hands like he had mud all over them. The doorway was glowing like the entire opening was a lightbulb.


    John couldn¡¯t see what was beyond it, but he could pass through the light with no effort. A few steps into the room, the light dispersed. John was left standing in front of a pedestal.


    There was nothing else in the room, which was about four paces wide on each side. The pedestal sat against the back wall. And upon it sat a familiar styled scroll. This one was clasped by a glowing white moon. Opening it would split the moon into a crescent and a waxing gibbous moon.


    John took the scroll with his wrists, not able or wishing to dirty the prize with his burnt and bloodied flesh. As soon as he grabbed it, the floor beneath his feet opened to reveal a transition pad. Without asking his intent, the pad began sending him from the trial.


    John materialized back in Thunder Fox Sanctuary a moment later. He looked around helplessly, not having the slightest clue which direction to go. He awkwardly put the Cultivation Scroll in his bag, wincing at the effort it took to open it.


    Then John set out at random. He had no better course of action, so he just wandered the streets of the immense complex. There was an insane number of creatures on the wide streets. John had never imagined that so many beasts could live in one place without killing each other.


    He walked among the residents for what seemed like hours, taking in the majesty of the base. Some of the attractions were familiar, like the Scroll Exchange. However, there were many areas that Emerald Base had no equivalent for.


    Immense training fields where innumerable creatures practiced all manner of Cultivation Paths. Arena style areas where combatants could choose to fight each other. Entire sections of the base left abandoned as the population demands were well under control.


    John walked until he came to a dead-end courtyard before sitting down to rest. He had no idea where he was going. He was content to drift aimlessly as the terrible ache in his ravaged hands slowly subsided.


    He knew he would need extensive tissue repair when he returned home, but for now he didn¡¯t want to think about it. As he was sitting in the courtyard not thinking about his situation, his thoughts were interrupted by a blinding flash. Blinking away the spots in his vision, John beheld Sun¨¦.


    ¡°Hello again, Sun¨¦,¡± John said, though she didn¡¯t bring the translation ball this time, so it was unclear if the fox understood him.


    She instead paced over to him and began licking his burnt hands. John immediately felt his skin start to bubble like someone had poured peroxide on it. It itched and made him shudder in discomfort, but he could feel the relief spread through his hands at the same time.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± John gasped as he scratched his palms.


    He leaned down and grasped the fox around the neck with both arms, giving her a hug. She didn¡¯t react to the gesture, except to chuff in amusement. Before John could wonder why, he felt his body lurch impossibly as Sun¨¦ bolted away.


    Quicker than he could yelp in surprise, though he still did after the fact, John was lying on the ground outside of the building he had selected as home within the base. His heart raced, as it always did after the electricity passed from him. And he began to chuckle despite himself.


    ¡°Good one,¡± he told the fox.

 Try outs, Test runs, and Ten Tails

    Try outs, Test runs, and Ten Tails


    1


    John returned home after his successful trial and was gratified to see the relieved smile on his mother¡¯s face. She thanked him for being safe, and he felt a twinge of guilt as he thought of his mutilated hands. Still, as long as she was happy.


    Emma spent about two hours grilling John about various aspects of the scroll she was studying. Her notebook was getting thicker and thicker with notes. And John was impressed at how much of the knowledge that he gave her she was able to rationalize.


    There was even a large diagram she had drawn in the back of the notebook which took up both pages. It listed the twelve branches of Third Eye of Callysta and she had drawn various arrows to and from some of the branches with small notes along each detailing some type of relationship. When he saw it, John stopped Emma¡¯s stream of questions in its tracks.


    ¡°Stop,¡± he said, prompting his sister to look up from the scroll mid sentence.


    ¡°Huh? What is it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Tell me how you came up with these notes,¡± John said.


    ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯ve been studying the scroll. The symbols for each branch show up in various groupings several times throughout the scroll, and it uses certain examples to explain the relationships. I¡¯ve just been copying them into the diagram as I get to them.¡±


    ¡°Can you make these relationships a priority? I think you¡¯re onto something. This might be the secret to learning how to master the Cultivation.¡±


    ¡°I can try, but I might have to verify a lot of things with you along the way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll answer any questions you have. Just expand this diagram as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Emma agreed.


    John spent the majority of the evening answering her questions after that. But by the time they both called it quits, Emma had already made note of a few more connections. She also had extensive notes to catalogue over the next days, which would hopefully give John the time he needed to get things done. He went to sleep hopeful for future progress, both hers and his.


    When he woke the next morning, he wasted no time returning to The Garden. Setting the transition station to Emerald Base, he quickly shifted into place. There was already a letter waiting for him on the floor.


    ¡°Meet in the courtyard near east gate.¡±


    That was all it said. John crumpled up the paper and tossed it away as he summoned his armor and left his room. The streets of Emerald Base were almost miniscule compared to his other city, and he quickly found his way to the courtyard he had been told.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you thought was happening, Sean. I already told you, we¡¯re waiting for someone. It¡¯s not up to you to decide if you meet our criteria,¡± John heard Jules saying as he entered the courtyard.


    Sean, a tall, broad man with a full beard and a scowl so deep it could lose a roll of pennies, wasn¡¯t hearing anything Jules said. He loudly protested every time the other man spoke. Even after only a few seconds John was ready to throttle the man. He had no idea how Jules stayed so calm.


    ¡°You always have an excuse Jules. Always a stipulation. Have I not proven I can handle myself?¡±


    ¡°As I¡¯ve already said many times, this isn¡¯t about you Sean. It¡¯s not yourself you will be paid to handle. It is weaker, less experienced people who will be counting on their aide to keep them alive in a tight spot, not to take every kill from them before they can get any experience.¡±


    ¡°What is that supposed to mean? Why do you decide if I¡¯m good enough?¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t,¡± John said, stepping forward, ¡°I do.¡±


    All eyes in the courtyard turned to him as John entered the conversation. John could hear whispers from almost every mouth as he paced forward. Every mouth except that of Sean, who had grown quiet at the fully armored man approaching him.


    His silence didn¡¯t last long, however. Perhaps he judged John by his average height, or perhaps the tone of his voice betrayed his youth. In any case, Sean quickly sized him up before turning his mouth on John.


    ¡°And who are you either? What is two kids instead of one? What is this? Do you really expect-¡± Sean stopped speaking as John held up a hand as though it was a wall between them.


    ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late,¡± John said to Jules.


    ¡°Not a problem,¡± the man said through a smile. He knew what John was doing.


    ¡°So, what have I missed? Have you placed the candidates in groups based on which position they are applying for as we discussed?¡±


    ¡°I have. I also have a compendium of gene tallies for each candidate. You can go over that while we get everyone up to speed if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s okay. I trust you¡¯ve handled everything as well as possible.¡±


    ¡°Very well, should we begin the introductions then?¡±


    ¡°As you will,¡± John said.


    The whole time they spoke, his hand didn¡¯t leave Sean¡¯s face. Upon his confirmation though, John dropped his hand before looking at the man. With a scathing voice, he addressed the man.


    ¡°Why are you out of rank? Go stand with your group until you¡¯re asked for.¡±


    Sean opened his mouth to respond as a vein began to bulge on his head. Before he could, Jules began speaking as though the man wasn¡¯t standing between him and everyone he wished to address. Sean glanced to Jules before turning to walk away. The slight upward twitch in Jules¡¯s mouth would have been indescribable to any but John.


    ¡°Thank you all for coming. Now that my associate is here, we can start the demonstration of your abilities in order to properly place you for future missions. Before we begin, you should know that our decisions will be final and any attempt to change our mind will be met with stony denial. I can assure you that each of you will have a fair chance to prove yourselves and that every decision will be made with unbiased reasoning. Now, if there are no objections, we can begin with the first of the applications.¡±


    Unfortunately for Jules, that sounded too much like an invitation. Sure enough, Sean was already chiming in before Jules even finished speaking. The man hadn¡¯t even walked all the way to the group he had been placed in before turning to open his mouth again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this on with! Give me your little test already so I can start getting paid!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how this works, Sean.¡±


    ¡°And why not? You¡¯re the one who insists on controlling everything. Well test me, I volunteer!¡±


    ¡°You applied for the Advanced Escort job. That means that even if you¡¯re qualified to claim that position, a claim which I highly doubt, you will need to wait for us to reach that point before testing. Right now, we¡¯re starting the Primitive applicants,¡± Jules started to let some condescension creep into his voice.


    ¡°What is the difference? No one else is stepping forward. Let me prove myself so I can get on with my day!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you-¡± Jules started to say before John held a hand up to silence him.


    ¡°Step forward!¡± John barked.


    He was sick of this guy. He didn¡¯t care how much potential the man had. An employee who couldn¡¯t follow orders had no business applying for the position. This loud mouth had wasted enough time as it was. It was time to put an end to the dissent.


    ¡°Sean Ross,¡± John said as the man stepped defiantly forward.


    John could tell that the man was taken off guard at his name being leveled at him. His eyebrows raised ever so slightly, but he stepped forward all the same. When he spoke, his derision was still plain to hear.


    ¡°You know my name. And what am I supposed to call you, Bug boy?¡± Sean sneered.


    ¡°You will address me as Sir. And if a name you must use, then you will call me Mr. Gold. Nothing is more valuable than Gold. If your value can¡¯t be quantified similarly, you are of no use to Mr. Gold. Is that understood?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Gold? Could you think of anything more ridiculous?¡± Sean sneered.


    ¡°Sean Ross! Are you ready?¡± John barked, ignoring the man.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± he rolled his eyes back.


    ¡°Would anyone like to volunteer for this exercise? I promise no harm will come to you.¡±


    No one was quick to raise a hand. It was clear that none of them wanted to have so much attention on them. After a minute passed and still no one stepped forward, John sighed.


    ¡°Jules, come here.¡±


    The man came to stand beside John. He raised his eyebrows as if even he didn¡¯t know what was expected of him. John pointed to Sean.


    ¡°Go and stand behind Mr. Ross, please. Now, Sean. Your job here is simple. No matter what you have to do, don¡¯t let me touch Jules. You have one minute. If you pass the test, you will be allowed to maintain the position you applied for. If you fail, you will accept the assessment we deem worthy without another word of protest, or we can consider your application terminated. This is not up for debate. Any of you who do not wish to accept these terms are free to leave now. If you stay, no dissent will be tolerated beyond this point. Do you accept?¡±


    John raised his voice for all to hear as he spoke, but his last words were once again leveled at Sean exclusively. The man sneered ever deeper as he stared back at John. Then he nodded his head, slowly and deliberately.


    ¡°I accep- ugh!¡±


    The man couldn¡¯t even get the words out before John closed the six feet between them and slammed a knee into the man¡¯s stomach. He choked on lack of air as John¡¯s attack forced every ounce of air from his lungs. He collapsed, gasping to the ground in a heap.


    John casually stepped over him and walked slowly to Jules. Even he was wide eyed at the display. John slowly and effortlessly touched Jules on the shoulder before shaking his head.


    ¡°Not even five seconds. That simply won¡¯t do Mr. Ross. You just aren¡¯t cut out for Advanced Escort missions. Don¡¯t beat yourself up. It¡¯s a scary world out there. I just wouldn¡¯t feel right asking you to take on such dangerous beasts. I think an Awakened contract is more your speed. In a few years, you might even make the Enhanced list!¡±


    John had turned back to the gasping man and helped him diplomatically to his feet as he spoke. The man was still unable to find his voice around the dent John had put in his stomach. John just walked him like he was a senior citizen to the appropriate spot before returning to Jules¡¯s side. That was, the area of Awakened applicants.


    ¡°Okay, now that that ridiculous display is out of the way, should we get started?¡± John asked in a light voice.


    2


    John¡¯s display did more than just put Sean in his place. It also served to discourage anyone else from volunteering for the test. He had to remind everyone that what they had witnessed was a test of the Advanced level. Even so, more than one person turned to leave before any other applicant stepped forward.


    That was all fine for John. The less serious applicants were also the ones who couldn¡¯t be relied upon when things became serious. The fewer of them that made it through the cracks the better. After the crowd thinned, the remaining applicants began to volunteer hesitantly.


    John and Jules spent the majority of the day testing each person extensively to determine where best to place them within the ranks. He didn¡¯t go anywhere near as hard on anyone else as he had with Sean, even when they had reached the more experienced applicants.


    He wanted it to be clear to the man, who was still standing off to the side, quietly watching the proceedings, that his own big mouth had landed him exactly where he deserved to be. And that if he had listened to Jules, he would have avoided all the humiliation he suffered. John was sadistically pleased at the sour look that never left his face.


    As the applicants flowed by, it became clear how accurate Jules had been when grouping them. In the end, only one applicant who applied for the position was deemed worthy to accept Advanced Escort missions.


    Her name was Elaina. John couldn¡¯t tell exactly how old she was, except that it was older than him. She was still extremely youthful, so she couldn¡¯t have been older than thirty, though even that was an outlandish guess. She had icy blue eyes and hair like fire.


    Her athletic build let her keep John in front of her, never allowing him to make it past her guard to get at Jules. Eventually, John had to employ a great deal of his cognitive ability to get past her guard. Even so, the second he dodged past her guard, she turned and swung a kick at his head.


    John was impressed. It forced him to halt his momentum in order to duck under the attack. In the time it took him to reorient, Elaina had already recovered from his maneuver.


    John was closer to Jules by that point, and ordinarily, he would have still managed to reach the man despite the interruption. But in an unexpected turn of events, his outstretched hand closed on empty air. The reason for this was simple, if unbelievable.


    Elaina had not recovered to press the attack on him. Instead, she had leveled her kick at him perfectly in such a manner to position herself close enough to Jules that she could dive at the man. Before John could land a finger on the man, she had already tackled him to the ground.


    John was so shocked at the display that he stopped where he stood, hand outstretched. Jules let out a surprised squawk as his body was bowled over by the woman. He landed on the ground with a pained grunt as she came down on top of him.


    She remained on the man, covering him with her own body the best she could. She panted from the exertion of keeping up with John. As he watched, Elaina turned to him from her prone position and spoke.


    ¡°You win. I give up,¡± she said.


    Stunned silence filled the entire courtyard as everyone stared at the woman. It was like sound had all but left the world. No one said a word, and the only noise was the continued panting of the woman as she stared unflinchingly at John.


    John stared back at her. His own surprise was no less real than any other. Out of all other applicants, this was the only person who had been willing to do whatever it took to keep Jules safe.


    Others had done what was expected of them, holding him off until he made it past their guard. But that was always the extent of the effort. Once he broke through their guard, they always accepted that they had lost.


    But not this woman. She had been the only one to truly understand what was expected of her if they chose to hire her. And after her display, there was little doubt that they would. John held his hand out to the woman.


    ¡°You pass,¡± he said.


    She stared at him for another second before accepting his hand. He pulled her easily to her feet before doing the same for Jules. Then he turned to the spectators.


    ¡°Elaina Parks, welcome to the team. You have proven that you understand what is expected of you. Your application for Advanced Escort is hereby approved. The rest of you, I hope you took notes. If you want to be given a place of honor among our ranks, only the dedication Ms. Parks showed here today will get you there. We reward our members based not on status, but on how reliable they are. As such,¡± John turned back to Elaina.


    He produced a pouch which he handed to the woman. She took it and looked at the contents. Her eyes bulged as she recognized what she was seeing.


    Taking it from the pouch, she displayed a brilliant sparkling gene for all to see. John had asked his mother if he could have the Advanced gene he had given her and she had easily agreed. She hadn¡¯t wanted the gene in the first place, and she assumed John would be taking it for his own progression.


    Elaina looked at John with shock on her face. He was able to tell based on her physique that she had little if any Advanced progression. That just made her ability that much more impressive. He had intended the gene for the most promising applicant, as a means to encourage the rest. And she had definitely earned it.


    She had been the last to take the test, perhaps by design. And no one else had remotely impressed John, all more or less landing where Jules had expected them to. As far as he was concerned, she was now employee of the month.


    ¡°Thank you all for coming and for applying. You have been classified based on ability and potential. All employment is voluntary, and you will not be made to accept missions. However, if you offer your services for a mission and are chosen, you will be contracted to complete that mission on threat of termination. I make this pact with each of you. If you accept my terms, express your verbal consent now.¡±


    There was a slight pause in the assembly before, one by one, the group voiced their agreement. With each new voice another notification chimed in John¡¯s ears. The Garden let him know each of the people who agreed to bind themselves to him.


    John¡¯s exemplary mind kept track of each name long enough to check it off the list that Jules had made the day before. When he was finished, he double checked the list for any who had not given consent. Many had already left with his terrifying display against Sean, but a few were still lingering.


    ¡°Any who do not agree to these terms can consider this the end of the application process,¡± he said.


    That was enough to fill in the blanks for anyone who had hesitated. They all either filed away or verbalized their agreement. When his list was whole, John smiled. Turning to the crowd once more, he raised his voice.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Welcome, all of you; to the Golden Guardians.¡±


    3


    John left Jules to begin organizing the new ranks for missions while he returned to his room. He set the transition pad in his room to Thunder Fox Sanctuary and stepped upon it. After he emerged from the house he had claimed for himself, he quickly moved to the nearby city gate.


    It was only mid day, so John was confident that he could make it back well before nightfall. He wasn¡¯t sure if the gates were closed at night, but he did know that he wasn¡¯t going to risk being stuck outside in such a high level area all night. He had had quite enough of that already.


    At any rate, John left the base alongside the procession of beasts who quickly diverted in every direction once through the gate. John moved off to his left, not wanting to return to the crater, but hoping to find something suitable to hunt. He brought out Jane for the first time since her upgrade, marveling at her new form.


    She was now a bright silvery color with ferocious looking red streaks through her fur. Whereas before she had been the size of a really big dog, she had seemed to lose some of that bulk with her latest improvements. She was now a few inches taller than his knee at her shoulders, and her fur was much more compact than it had been. All in all, she looked like a younger or skinnier version of herself.


    Jane pranced around contentedly for several minutes as they walked. John was happy just to watch her exuberance at her new body. He smiled as the Fox frolicked through the tall grass of the plains.


    When she settled down a bit, John got her focused on the task at hand. The fox stuck her nose in the air and began sniffing all around. After a few seconds, she perked up.


    She looked back at him with intelligent eyes, and he knew her meaning. He nodded to her and summoned his bow. Jane led him through the tall grass for several minutes before they came to an area where the weeds were much less plentiful, almost manicured.


    There was no question what was responsible for the upkeep. All through the field were countless gigantic creatures that John had no name for. They looked almost like a mix between a cow and a deer.


    They were huge, approaching the size of an elephant. Their hide looked to be extremely thick with a dense layer of coarse fur. Instead of horns, they had insanely wide racks of antlers.


    John was immediately reminded of the Lunar Stag that had provided the bow he now held. Only these beasts were much, much larger. John wasn¡¯t even sure if his arrow could pose a threat to such an immense foe.


    What was more, there were so many of them that John wondered if he could survive drawing their ire. The better part of their bodies were solidified gene material. Wizened tier, many coming close to what Sun¨¦ had called the compression stage if John understood correctly.


    That meant in order to gain wizened genes from these beasts, he would have to absorb a lot more material than that of a smaller beast. That was almost enough to turn John away right there, but he still wanted to test the beasts. He took aim at an outlier, hoping to avoid the ire of the entire herd.


    John¡¯s arrow flew like a bullet at the pachyderm. When it struck though, John thought it had simply disappeared. It had enough force to sink nearly all the way into the beast, but it might as well have been a bug bite for all the reaction it generated.


    John wondered if the poison ability of the arrow would even affect the beast if no serious injury was inflicted. Not even a miniscule spray of blood came from the animal. John returned his arrow in doubt.


    He thought about the situation for a minute before bringing out the Wizened Griffon Sentry Javelin. It popped into his hand with deadly intent. The weapon had a narrow design, with a tuft of fluff three quarters of the way up the shaft reminiscent of a lion¡¯s mane. Stylized wing patterns adorned the shaft below that, and John thought they looked too deeply carved.


    With a shrug, John hefted it over his shoulder and squared himself for a throw. He was completely inexperienced, having only thrown the thing once before, but he knew his heightened physique would lend some distance to his throw at the very least. So, with sights on the same target he had shot with his arrow, John let the javelin fly.


    John had expected the shaft to sail evenly through the air and either sink into the beast or not. He had been basically blind the first time he threw it, so he had no way of predicting how it would act after thrown. As it turned out, it acted like an angry hornet with a score to settle.


    As he watched, what he took for stylized wings seemed to come alive. They extended from the javelin like true wings and flapped hard in unison. The shaft exponentially increased in speed, fairly rabid in its pursuit of the giant beast.


    When it sunk into the cow, an immense fountain of blood exploded from the impact. The it hit between the head and shoulder of the cow, a much more precise shot that John had thought he could manage. The force of the impact unbalanced the massive animal, and it fell into its side while screaming in pain.


    John was stunned. When he had thrown the weapon before, he assumed the close range and sharpness of the spearhead has been the reason it stuck into the wall of the base. But he now realized the weapon was much more than he had suspected.


    The beast squirmed on the ground while braying in pain, but after only a few moments it grew still and quiet. Soon after that, the notification came.


    Wizened Cervid Gargantuox killed. Wizened genes available for harvest.


    John shook his head at the ridiculous sounding name of the beast, but was thrilled to know how easily he had been able to kill it with the javelin. He returned the javelin to his mind and told Jane she could eat her fill. To his surprise though, the fox turned her nose up at the fresh meat.


    John supposed with her newest enhancement, she no longer had the desire for lower tiered meat. That made sense to him, but it made him feel even worse about his kill. Essentially, it was unnecessary violence and an entire waste of a gene.


    John let the thought go as he turned away from the field. Luckily, the other Gargantuoxen had not seemed to take his kill offensively. That was a bit odd, but he assumed much worse than him probably prowled the area. Losing more than a single member of the massive herd was likely expected most days.


    John moved off in another direction, but not the direction of Thunder Fox Sanctuary. He kept the massive base in his sight lest he get lost, but he wanted to get more information about his surroundings before calling it quits. As such, John walked with the base to one side for a couple hours.


    In that time, he found several suitable prey of Advanced tier, though only one of Wizened tier. The latter of which was, of all things, a cockatiel. It was white with patterns of yellow and red in its plumage.


    It also roosted on the branch of a tree as thick as his leg. The bird was so large that the branch tilted dangerously down. It had to have been almost the size of the grizzly bear he had killed, which was absolutely insane to see in a cockatiel. John was surprised to see the oversized bird, but much more so to hear it speak.


    ¡°Is that a fucking cockatiel?¡± He asked himself.


    ¡°Is that a fucking human?¡± The bird automatically responded.


    John¡¯s head rocked back in surprise. The bird sounded less like a creature with a beak and more like a cross librarian. John was stunned into silence.


    ¡°Soft brain, tender meat. You¡¯re a bit skinny, but you¡¯ll do.¡±


    John didn¡¯t need to ask what the bird was talking about, as very few conversations he had had touched on the tenderness of his flesh. Instead, he took a step backward and readied himself to flee or fight. As he tried to decide if his bow or javelin was the better option, he spoke.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t come here as a meal. I am only seeking my personal growth. I will not fight you,¡± he said.


    ¡°That is good. Too much of a fight would ruin what little meat you have. There is nothing worse than wasting your food.¡±


    John was chilled by the sinister bird and its nonchalant dismissal of his attempt to talk. He had never imagined that a cockatiel could say such things. It would certainly do no favors for his dislike of birds going forward.


    ¡°I am not your meal,¡± John said as sternly as he could.


    Somehow, after he said that, the damn thing got creepier. It cocked its head to the side, slowly. Its one visible eye locked on him, and the bird didn¡¯t move. It did speak slowly though.


    ¡°It is very rare that my meal chooses to become such. Do you ask the grass to step on it? Should I ask the wind if I can ride on it? Truly human, what difference does it make if we agree? Only one of us will get our wish. Do you think yourself more capable than I?¡±


    ¡°I think you talk talk too much. That¡¯s why I never wanted a bird. Once they learn how to talk, you¡¯ll never have peace.¡±


    ¡°Do you speak of enslavement?¡±


    ¡°Do¡­ huh?¡± John had no idea what the bird meant.


    ¡°Vile human. Your skull shall absorb the highest branch in my tree!¡±


    And then the cockatiel spread its beautiful wings, arms that could wrap John up several times each, and it launched from the tree like a jet from the carrier. John summoned and shot his bow at the bird, already having predicted nearly the entire encounter thanks to Third Eye. The cockatiel was ready for this though.


    A gust of air from its wings both propelled it higher while pushing the trajectory of the arrow down slightly. It was the most effortless manner John had ever seen something evade his shot with. He had no time to try again before the bird was in his face.


    John returned his bow in exchange for his javelin, but before he could level it against the bird, it¡¯s massive beak was already pecking at John. His armor was as sturdy as ever, so the cockatiel couldn¡¯t pierce it, but the amount of force the bird could peck at him with was enough to drive John to a knee.


    He jabbed his blade upward at the bird as it stabbed its own weapon down at him. The only difference was the beak of the bird was actually hitting him. If it weren¡¯t for the amazing durability of his Chimera armor, he was sure the bird would have impaled him on both jaws and ripped him apart like so much confetti.


    John was getting aggravated. He quickly summoned Jane, who he had been adventuring without in an attempt to become better at locating his own prey. She burst from his chest like a spectral beast, only gaining true substance when her teeth sunk into the fattest part of the bird.


    The cockatiel shrieked; a sound only beaked creatures were capable of. It hopped back while flapping its wings, instinctively trying to distance itself from the fox. Jane let go but not before tearing a blood chunk from the bird.


    John looked at the panicking bird with surprise. It had blood nearly gushing out of it. Jane had, as always, taken the perfect bite.


    John was about to take a shot with his javelin when he had a better idea. The bird had forgotten all about him, giant leaking wounds were good for that. So John instead summoned his newest Soul.


    The Divine Tail of the Kitsune appeared in his hand like it had been there all along. The weapon started out in a series of loose coils but the second gravity touched them, the weapon quickly unraveled.


    John held the handle tightly as ten appendages snaked to the ground where they seemed to glide in different directions like the hair of Medusa. But these were no snakes.


    Each tendril looked thicker than it truly was. The reason for this was that each one had the bushy appearance of a fox¡¯s tail. But as John gently examined his weapon, he discovered that each tail not only had a barb in the top for scoring flesh but concealed a series of similar blades along the length of each.


    The sheer number of them was absolutely terrifying to think of. John knew that to be in the grip of a weapon like this was a hell unlike any other. And that was a hell he would show this bird.


    The cockatiel had managed to get its whits about it after getting out of Jane¡¯s reach. It still bled profusely, making its white plumage red with gore. But it was no longer so hysterical.


    In fact, John met its eye as it landed back on its perch in the tree. It looked more livid than John had ever seen a bird look. His whip at his side, John waited for the bird to make a move.


    But it only stared at him. John didn¡¯t know how his weapon worked, but he started to move it back and forth with small flicks of his wrist, just testing how the weight of each tail worked with the others. The whole while, his gaze never left the cockatiel.


    As they stayed locked in a contest of eyes, John continued to play with his weapon. Through the vibrations he felt in his arm as it moved, Third Eye of Callysta told him exactly how each tail was behaving without having to look. In this manner, John slowly began to understand the greater function of the weapon.


    The cockatiel suddenly dove from the tree once more. John was ready for it. He threw out his arm in front of him, flicking his wrist before lowering it once more. It wasn¡¯t a fast maneuver, except for the flick itself. But the result was so much more than even John had expected.


    With the raising of his arm, John had brought the Tail of the Kitsune up from the ground. When his arm was at eye level, he flicked his wrist with as much force as he could muster, which put a deadly wave into all ten tails. And as his arm lowered once more, the cockatiel came into range.


    Ten hungry monsters lashed into the bird like it was paper, and John¡¯s eyes widened to see each tail pass through the beast with absolutely no resistance whatsoever. Blood rained down on him as well as a hail of feathers as innumerable uneven bird chunks fell from the sky.


    ¡°Wizened Cockatiel killed. Wing Soul gained. Wizened genes available for harvest.¡±


    The voice was finished speaking before all the pieces had even fallen. John just stood there, completely flabbergasted by what he had done. Then his mind registered what the voice had said.


    John summoned his newest soul without delay. A pair of white, fluffy, almost angelic looking wings spread from his shoulders like he had been born with them. They were both as long as he was tall and wide enough to make John forget everything he knew about humans being too heavy to fly.


    He wanted to test them out, but he took a moment to break free the section of the wings on the real cockatiel that served as its wizened gene. The section of feathers was about three feet long on each wing. The two met along the bird¡¯s spine. Though still early into Wizened, the gene was still too large to take with him owing to the size of the bird. That was the second time John had taken out a creature too large to properly make use of.


    He shook his head. At least he could absorb the gene, even if he would have rather saved it. Doing so gained him a further five Wizened genes, making him only two shy of his Advanced count of 35.


    He had not consumed any of the advanced genes he had collected. The simple point of coming on this trip was to begin supplying his new employees with compensation. All in all it had been a success.


    He had also gained an advanced soul from one of the kills. It was a small but deadly blade which he already planned to give to his newest Advanced guard. He hoped the blade suited her as well as he thought it did.


    After he had absorbed the gene, John decided it was time. Feeling the wings flex and wave at his mental command, he felt like he was in a dream. Twisting them to face the ground, he spread the wings as wide as he could and gave a mighty downward thrust.


    4


    John squawked in surprise as the wings launched him a dozen feet above the ground in an instant. Another flap sent him even higher. In a few seconds. He was soaring.


    He could feel the wings grab the air beneath them. Their powerful strokes easily kept his armored body aloft. He could tell that with a little practice, the wings would work almost without his input.


    John had the time of his life flying through the sky like a bird. He wouldn¡¯t have come down at all if not for a very unmistakable invitation from Sun¨¦. Golden lightning flashed in his vision for an instant before Sun¨¦ appeared in midair before him.


    She didn¡¯t make any movement or any sound at all other than to slightly incline her head at him. With that, she streaked away in another bolt of lightning back to her palace in the base. The whole encounter took less than a second.


    John immediately veered off towards Thunder Fox Sanctuary to see what the summons was about. He found that his journey through the base was a lot better with access to the sky. He didn¡¯t have to pick his way through streets or ask for directions from something that couldn¡¯t speak. He just rose through the city until he made it to the palace.


    He landed at the entrance and the doors swung open for him. The massive hall took some time to traverse even on wing, but eventually, he had come to the dais where Sun¨¦ lounged. He dropped to the floor and released the wing soul. They melted into the air like they had never existed.


    ¡°Hello Sun¨¦. What can I do for you today?¡± John asked.


    The fox didn¡¯t respond. The glowing orb between them had certainly relayed his words. But it was as if Sun¨¦ was in a trance. She just stared at him for long moments.


    ¡°Sun¨¦? Is something wrong?¡± John asked.


    Without answering, the fox blinked. That was the only indication that she herself was not a statue like the gigantic fox behind her. John didn¡¯t know what to do, but his hairs were starting to stand on end.


    ¡°Have I offended you?¡±


    Sun¨¦ finally moved at that one. Her eyes narrowed, and her head tilted ever so slightly to one side. John just waited for her to give him something to go on.


    ¡°Where did you get that weapon?¡± She finally asked.


    John¡¯s mind immediately began working on the problem that was before him. The weapon. She could not have been talking about his bow. He had used it to gain access to the base. Not could it have been his javelin for the same reason. And the short blade he had received earlier he hadn¡¯t taken out.


    John¡¯s eyes widened in comprehension. It had only taken a second. But Sun¨¦ had been watching him so closely he could have been dinner. He focused back on her before nodding his head to show her he understood not only the question but also why it was so important he answered it.


    ¡°I do not know if such things happen to creatures, but we humans go through something called a Shuffle. I was in the middle of my shuffle when I came here. You gave me access to your base and in doing so, I completed my Shuffle with highest marks. One of my rewards was a soul weapon of my choice.¡±


    ¡°Your choice? Do you mean that you chose the weapon yourself?¡± Sun¨¦ did not sound very impressed.


    ¡°I did. I went through a massive list of weapons. And they were all good. But something told me to go with this one.¡±


    John summoned the Divine Tail of the Kitsune into his hand once more. He had not even considered it when he chose the thing, but a Kitsune, as Sun¨¦ had explained to him was a ten tailed fox. So essentially, John had chosen to offend Sun¨¦ without even realizing it.


    Sun¨¦ growled low at the sight of the weapon. John kneeled down and placed it on the ground. Then he bowed his head to the growling fox, hoping she didn¡¯t bite it off.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sun¨¦. I didn¡¯t even know what a Kitsune was until you told me of your heritage. I had already picked it by then so I couldn¡¯t have known it would offend you. Again, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°You did not murder an unaffiliated Kitsune to gain this? It was a gift?¡±


    ¡°Unaffiliated? Uh, yes. It was a gift,¡± John said, waving his own question away.


    ¡°Then you have caused no offense. But you should know how dangerous the weapon that you carry is. Have you any experience with it?¡±


    ¡°No, only the bird I just killed,¡± John admitted.


    ¡°I thought as much. You have not found the many uses for the weapon yet. The longer you use it, the more terrible it will become.¡±


    ¡°Forgive me Sun¨¦, but have you dealt with this weapon before?¡±


    Sun¨¦ began to growl again. This time, John felt some pain behind the anger. When she stopped, her explanation was slow to come.


    ¡°We beasts cannot gain Soul tools as the enlightened races do. But we are not unfamiliar with them either. When I was a pup, my mother and I traveled the world. She was already Wizened tier when I was born.


    ¡°I remember watching her stalk each prey. She was the perfect killer. I learned everything I know from her. She was so wise. She never let a meal escape.


    ¡°But The Garden does not choose favorites. One day we were enjoying the meat from some kills she had made. Suddenly, my mother heard something. I was so small, I didn¡¯t know what had happened, but as my mother grabbed me to run, I felt her jerk like she had been bitten by something. She fell, then. Without another word my mother hit the ground and did not rise.


    ¡°She released me from her grip as her mouth relaxed. I was so scared that I just took off running. I hid in a patch of brambles and watched for signs of the threat. After a few moments, a single two legged invader appeared. He did not look like you. He wasn¡¯t human. He was fur covered and taller than you by at least a head. But he stood as you do, and as such he was subject to receive Soul Tools as you do.¡±


    John didn¡¯t like where the story was going. It was becoming more apparent just how serious an effect his weapon choice had had on the Sun¨¦. He didn¡¯t know what to say, so he said nothing.


    ¡°The man produced a tailed weapon like yours. The tails of my mother. It didn¡¯t take him long before he started swinging it around. He learned of its secrets and how to make use of each tail alongside the others. And the forest wept blood.¡±


    Sun¨¦ didn¡¯t continue her tale or elaborate on what had happened. She just grew silent. John was silent too, and he felt like he was causing the fox to relive her worst memories without even meaning to.


    ¡°Sun¨¦ I¡¯m really sorry. I didn¡¯t know-¡± but the fox shook her head, easily silencing him.


    ¡°You did not choose this weapon to hurt me. It is simply the way of The Garden. It will test you in ways you will never predict. Only the strongest will survive.¡±


    John didn¡¯t know what to say, so again, he said nothing. Sun¨¦ also seemed to have nothing to say. So the two remained quiet as the minutes wore by. As before, Sun¨¦ eventually broke the silence.


    ¡°Thank you for coming so soon after my request.¡±


    John scrunched his brow in confusion at that. What an interesting time to thank him for that. Nevertheless, he accepted the praise.


    ¡°I could tell that something was up, but I didn¡¯t know what it was at the time. But of course, I am happy to have the ability to reach you so quick now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve been very fortunate in our lands so far. I do hope you¡¯ll find everything you need to reach the peak.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I hope so as well. But¡­¡±


    Sun¨¦ didn¡¯t respond, but tilted her head to one side as doglike as ever. That was as close to an inquiry as she got. Other than that, she waited for John to proceed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to ask, it¡¯s just that¡­¡±


    Again, there was nothing from the fox. John felt much more uncomfortable by the silence. He was used to humans, who couldn¡¯t wait to make noises back at him every time he gave them an opening.


    ¡°I wondered if this is the only one of these balls you have. And if you have more, I wanted to see what it would cost me to borrow one for a few days.¡±


    John waited in apprehension after he finished his request. It seemed so crass so soon after stirring up the hard feelings in the fox. And to his utter dread, Sun¨¦ still said nothing. She just continued to look at him with those never blinking eyes.


    A moment later though, a sound like a thousand mail slots opening at the same time assaulted John from every direction. Out of every wall from various crevices and chambers came an absolute mob of the glowing white orbs. In seconds, the floor was so full of the things that John couldn¡¯t take a step without bumping one.


    ¡°What is it you wish of these? They are but servants of the thrown. I can make as many as you need. They can transition between bases, but they become inert when separated from The Garden.¡±


    That made John¡¯s eyebrows raise. He hadn¡¯t considered that creatures of the Garden knew about home-worlds. He had been thinking that they all assumed him a native like them if they assumed anything at all.


    ¡°So, I can take one to my original base?¡± John asked, deciding to leave the topic alone.


    ¡°Is it truly only one that you need? Do you see the ground?¡±


    John thought about that for a moment. If he brought these back to the base, he could provide his new company with the orbs at the very least. Everyone carried a pack, and they were small enough that they could fit in a secondary compartment. The idea did intrigue him.


    ¡°I could make use of more than one, but I do not wish to take advantage of your hospitality. And in any case, I could only carry so many with me.¡±


    ¡°You do not need to think of this as a favor. I only need this one. And I can have as many as I wish. Making them is not effort that comes from me, so I see no need to withhold their service if you need them.¡±


    ¡°Is¡­ that an open offer?¡±


    ¡°I suppose it is, yes.¡± Sun¨¦ responded.


    ¡°Well then I shall take these five for now. I don¡¯t have very big pockets, so that¡¯s all I can carry. But if the need arises in the future, I shall know where to ask for more. Thank you Sun¨¦,¡± John said.


    ¡°You are as interesting as ever, human.¡±


    John thanked the fox for that, wondering if it had been a compliment at all. He supposed he didn¡¯t care, so long as the interest she found in him was enough to keep her from incinerating him. He felt lucky to be leaving at all, much less with prizes.


    John summoned his new wings and bid Sun¨¦ a good evening as he began to lift himself higher into the grand thrown room. She stared unimpressed at him as he made his way to the edge of the room where the massive door still stood slightly ajar. When he had passed through, he took the time to shut the door before continuing to his home within the base.


    John flew fast over the entire cityscape, ready to be home. He was beginning to get the feel for the massive encampment. The wings helped to see past the first layer of buildings he could see. As a result, it was much easier to find his house than the previous times he had tried.


    But when John drew close, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Laying there, lazily stretched across his doorway, was Sun¨¦. She took a single look at him as he landed in front of her before taking a great big, exasperated yawn, as though she had been bored for so long waiting for him that she had almost fallen asleep. And then, with a single chuff of amusement, she was gone in a flash of light.


    John just shook his head with his own begrudging amusement trying to overtake him. But he mustered himself in time. He turned back toward the palace and complained loudly.


    ¡°You just can¡¯t let me have anything can you?¡±

 A Friend, a Favor, and a Fallen Fa?ade

    A Friend, a Favor, and a Fallen Fa?ade


    1


    When John returned home, he was unsurprised to see Emma obsessing over Third Eye of Callysta. What he was surprised to see was the extensive progress she had made towards the twelve branches of the Cultivation. John took a moment to understand what he was looking at.


    Each of the twelve aspects was written on its own paper, and the twelve papers were arranged in a circular diagram. Emma had the glyphs that represented the different branches roughly scribed next to each. And like before, dozens of arrows connected different branches of the Cultivation to each other.


    Each of the connecting lines seemed to be a different color. Indeed, the largest box of colored pencils John had ever seen laid ruinously on the table, pencils spilling into the unused chairs and floor. As he took all of this in, his sister drew yet another line, this one a light orange color between the pages for Simulation and Culmination.


    Then she took the same pencil and moved to her notebook. John could see from several feet away that the poor book was an absolute mess of text in all different colors. Emma turned the pages a few times before seeming to find what she was looking for and writing a note that was several lines long.


    John came closer as she wrote and began reading what she was writing. His eyes were drawn first to the series of previous entries which all seemed to be notes based around Simulation. They were all similar in length to the one Emma was finishing as he watched, and none made much sense to John. When he inspected the newest entry, however, he did comprehend the words.


    Simulation is the application of understanding gleaned from Analyzation. Culmination is the peak of that application. To reach the Culmination of a Simulation, there must be nothing left to Analyze.


    John read the note and his unearned knowledge supplied an explanation for the words that simply seeing them wouldn¡¯t have provided. He knew that despite mention of Analyzation, the important information was indeed based around Simulation and its connection to Culmination. Moreover, John understood more than just what was said.


    Analyzation was the first and most basic branch of the Culmination. It was immediately followed by Simulation, which was then followed by Culmination. Though Emma had been relating the latter two concepts, John¡¯s higher understanding finally began to read between the lines.


    Through Analyzation, he would gain understanding of all things. With understanding, he would learn to Simulate. Simulation would grow and develop into Culmination. And after that, Neutralization. John felt his mind start to ache at the fourth aspect.


    He still had no idea what the end goal was for his Cultivation. The grand scheme was undeniably something much more dangerous and complicated than he could hope to fathom. Still, it was nice to have some direction for his study. With Emma¡¯s help, he had found that direction.


    ¡°This is really good. You¡¯ve made so much more progress than I thought you could so soon. Can you do me a favor and give me every note you have detailing the relationships between these three branches. Keep working on the rest, but don¡¯t kill your self over it. I¡¯m going to need the scroll back soon to really understand what I¡¯m dealing with.¡±


    Emma grumbled but complied with his wishes. She flipped to the same section of the book he had watched her write in before and handed the whole book to him. At a glance, he could see the relevant information he had asked for, much more organized than he had expected. Then she picked up the large poster board she had pinned the diagram to and moved it carefully down the hall to the stairs.


    John grabbed the scroll from the table before she came back for it. He opened it curiously, wondering how his sister could get so much information from it when he was constantly assaulted with impossible data until his mind was ready to burst. But when he looked at the symbols and calculations, his mind wasn¡¯t overwhelmed.


    Instead, the incessant strides his sister had made to understand the information had provided enough context that what he saw no longer reduced him to drooling. At least, not for the first several inches of cramped ink. When he moved beyond a certain point, however, the painful cacophony of voices returned once again.


    The text he was trying to read was one about Culmination. A moment before, he had perfectly understood the text about the application of Simulation, so it seemed as if that was the limit of his understanding at the moment. He realized that he would need to dive headfirst into the study of Simulation to progress into understanding of Culmination.


    That was the key. At least, he hoped it was. It was already going to take him months or years to reach even an amateur understanding of the Mind Cultivation. If he could even make it that far.


    Emma returned from her room a moment later, holding out a hand hopefully for the scroll John was still reading. He looked up at her with a smile before returning his gaze to the ink. After just a few more seconds, he rolled the scroll up and offered it to her, albeit with a caveat this time.


    ¡°You have three days. Get what you can from it. After that I need to start studying it myself. The amount of knowledge you¡¯ve gained from it is unreal. Study what you have as often as you can. Maybe you can develop your mental capabilities based on its teachings. And thank you for this,¡± John said, holding up the notebook.


    ¡°I hope it helps. It¡¯s not finished, but if you stick to the first three like you said, I¡¯ve made a lot more progress on those than the later branches. Things get a lot more abstract after Neutralization. I¡¯ll keep working on it.¡±


    ¡°Just relax. I know you have nothing else to do, but you shouldn¡¯t make it your only pastime either. You¡¯ve done enough, really. I can¡¯t thank you enough.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Emma smirked.


    The two of them shared a few more minutes before John went to his room, tired from the day. It had been an extremely eventful day, and he was proud of what he had accomplished. He fell asleep easily while thinking of the branch known as Simulation.


    2


    John¡¯s return to The Garden the following day provided him with an interesting opportunity. He left his room in Emerald Base to find Jules and give him the Advanced genes he collected the day before, but as soon as he left his room, he felt the strangest sensation creep up his spine.


    John leapt to the side while throwing out a hand. His fingers closed effortlessly around a thin wrist. Clutched in the adjoining hand was a thin dagger.


    John twisted the wrist reflexively, causing the blade to flick from the hand along with an involuntary cry of pain. When he heard it, John paused. The voice he heard was one he was familiar with. Since he hadn¡¯t turned or even exerted himself to stop the attack, he hadn¡¯t taken the time to identify who it was that was attacking him.


    With an overly exerted pull on the wrist he still held, John brought the owner to bear. He turned to face them and was unsurprised to see Liz looking back at him, bright eyes supporting the smirk on her face. She shook her hand free from his grasp before chucking him on the shoulder.


    ¡°One of these days,¡± she said with a smile.


    ¡°Not my favorite way to be greeted if I¡¯m being honest. What if I wasn¡¯t so paranoid?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Well then I guess you would have been stabbed,¡± she shrugged.


    ¡°Just like that huh?¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be such a baby. I wasn¡¯t even aiming for your kidney. You would have lived even if I did stab you.¡±


    ¡°Probably, but you might not have.¡±


    John turned and started walking towards Jules¡¯s room once more and Liz took up a position beside him without question. The two of them walked for a few minutes in silence before John addressed the woman.


    ¡°So, you have been making progress.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a question, John could tell the woman was much more capable than the first time they had met. He was even estimating her Advanced Gene count might be higher than his own, though he still had her beat with Wizened genes. Liz took his statement as a compliment and responded accordingly.


    ¡°I have. That¡¯s actually what I¡¯ve come to talk to you about. The Soul you lent me. I have already gained the advanced souls you mentioned in the deal. I can give the Grizzly Soul back any time you want but¡­¡±


    ¡°You would rather keep it?¡± John guessed.


    He had already assumed based on the name she had made for herself that she would have trouble returning the Soul when the time came. Luckily for her, he had already found armor more useful than the Soul, and that wasn¡¯t even considering the Divine weapon he now wielded. In truth, he had never really liked the Grizzly Soul for his own use.


    ¡°I would. And I have a proposition for you that might make it worth your while,¡± Liz said.


    John had been about to tell her to keep it outright, but he saw no need to pass the opportunity for a deal. So, he let her speak uninterrupted.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been grinding my way through the valley south of the base. The land changes vastly every couple of miles. Field, swamp, forest, rocky slopes, dry cracked earth, sandy beaches, it¡¯s like every type of terrain you can think of squashed together through the valley. Each area is home to ecosystems with Advanced and Wizened beasts at the apex. I¡¯ve taken down a couple of the outliers, but there¡¯s one I¡¯ve had my eye on for a while.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± John said.


    ¡°A few days back, I was stalking a weird looking goat thing. It seemed like the boss of a rocky sloped area. It was the size of a big dog, like a mastiff. Had a beard like a Norse God, massive horns. It had to be Wizened.¡±


    John listened with interest. He didn¡¯t know where Liz was going with her story, but something about the emphasis she was putting on the past tense made him hold his interruption. As he had hoped, she gave him the answers he sought.


    ¡°It came out of nowhere. The goat had just finished a fight with three Advanced pig things, a fight that ended with all three pigs disfigured beyond recognition by the ram¡¯s horns. Seriously, one of them was literally impaled on a branch twelve feet off the ground. Little bits of flesh and organs were everywhere. Another one was smashed so hard against a tree that only one of its legs was intact. I mean this goat was seriously sadistic with these pigs.¡±


    ¡°I feel like you were going somewhere with this,¡± John said with a smile.


    ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± Liz seemed to come back to herself then.


    ¡°This goat had just thoroughly trounced the three little pigs, wasn¡¯t even close, but when it raised its head to bleat at the sky, that¡¯s when it happened.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± John asked, though he was annoyed at being so invested because he knew that was what Liz wanted.


    ¡°The goat hit the ground, mid bleat. It happened so fast, I didn¡¯t know what happened until it started wrapping itself around the goat.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± John said, a terrible feeling rising.


    ¡°Yeah, after the venom took effect, the poor fucker was paralyzed in an instant. Completely defenseless.¡±


    ¡°Liz¡­¡± John said, a definite warning in his voice.


    ¡°After that it took its time. There was no need to rush, and boy let me tell you, it did not,¡± Liz said, clipping the last three words with entirely too much emphasis.


    ¡°Stop,¡± John said, heat rising in his voice.


    ¡°It slithered out of the bushes. I swear to God it must have been forty feet long if it was an inch. Wide enough to swallow me like one of those little white mice with the pink eyes. Well, me, you, anyone really. I mean you should have seen what it did to that goat. It was-¡±


    John put a hand on her mouth, finally cutting off the stream of nightmare inducing words the woman was no doubt intentionally aiming at him. He looked her in the eye with such intensity that her smirk actually broke for a moment beneath it. Then it returned albeit more subtly as John removed his hand.


    ¡°That was fucked up. You know that right?¡± He asked.


    Liz broke into a laugh. John watched her cackle in glee for several seconds. The whole while, he berated himself repeatedly for ever giving her the tools she needed to take him apart like she had.


    ¡°Shame on me, playing on a man¡¯s weakness like that,¡± she said, batting her long eyelashes like she was the fox in Saturday morning cartoons that made all the sleazy men¡¯s eyes pop out.


    ¡°That¡¯s the last time I share a deeply rooted phobia with a pretty lady. Give me my bear back,¡± John said, half playfully.


    ¡°Actually, all joking aside, I do have a proposition for you. No snakes involved; I promise.¡±


    John was extremely loathe to give her another window to mess with him, but he didn¡¯t see the point in fighting it. He still had a few minutes before they would reach Jules¡¯s room. And if he knew anything about the chaotic woman, it was that dissent would only encourage her.


    ¡°Go on then,¡± he said resignedly.


    ¡°I really have been combing that valley pretty extensively. I know the big bad in most of the zones. The snake I mentioned rules over one of the farthest zones. The thing has to be Wizened easily the way it took out that goat. And it¡¯s smug too. It was so sure of itself that it let one of its babies tag along with it, like there wasn¡¯t a chance in the world that something would happen to it,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Enough about the snake. You said something would interest me. So far I¡¯m considering changing my name and moving away.¡±


    ¡°Oh fine. You¡¯re so fragile. There is a zone about halfway through the valley. It¡¯s a really dry area. The ground is really hard packed, like it never rains there. The zones around it are both really lush and full of moisture. I did some research, and the only real life in the whole zone are these weird cactuses. They¡¯re everywhere. I was only able to get one before they retaliated. Turns out they¡¯re a lot more active than a normal cactus. I took a lot of needles to the hide, but luckily the Wizened tier saved me from the worst of the toxins. I managed to rip this flower off the cactus I cut down.¡±


    She held up a gene that John recognized as Enhanced. He raised his eyebrows at the bloom. His expression must have spoken the words his mouth didn¡¯t, because Liz continued.


    ¡°I was barely a dozen yards into the zone. I couldn¡¯t get an accurate estimate, but cactuses like the one I killed were everywhere. More than a couple were substantially bigger. I figured that¡­¡± Liz trailed off.


    ¡°Gene farming.¡± John finished the thought for her.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°And there are no snakes?¡±


    ¡°As far as I know, no snakes.¡±


    John didn¡¯t say anything for several steps. He wanted to let the suspense build before saying anything. In truth, Liz might have actually proposed the greatest revision to a deal he had ever heard.


    ¡°You want to keep the Soul?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± she said.


    ¡°And in exchange, you¡­ show me a bunch of cactuses? I mean, I guess some Advanced genes might be useful in some way. I can probably find someone who can still make use of them.¡± John said, completely bluffing.


    ¡°You mean¡­?¡± Liz sounded dejected at his response.


    ¡°What?¡± John asked, looking confused at the surprise on her face.


    ¡°You filled your Advanced count already?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, did you stab me a few minutes ago?¡± John asked by way of answering.


    That seemed to stop Liz in her tracks for the first time. She seemed to reconsider every boundary and limit she had placed on him from the day she met him. He saw her mind trying to grasp the true scope of his ability and was supremely satisfied when she came to the realization that she couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Something wrong?¡± He asked with the subtlest of smiles.


    ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t guarantee it, but there¡¯s still a chance you can get a Wizened gene. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re topped off there too?¡±


    John laughed. As far as he knew, Liz was the only other person in all of Emerald base who had confirmed the existence of Wizened genes. He had specifically asked her not to divulge the information. Jules had been keeping an ear to the ground on his behalf, and so far, no one had even heard of the term Wizened yet.


    There had been several reports of people killing Advanced beasts. Mostly they were tales of large groups of people facing down a single beast. In most cases, several died to secure the kill.


    There were also some cases similar to John¡¯s own tale. A single individual lucked into a situation that netted the death of an Advanced creature. These instances seemed to be a lot less common, however. What was even less common was the number of people who had received a Soul from the kill.


    John had heard about only two so far. One was a double bladed axe that a man Jules had identified as Ron Bloom got from killing an animal John had never heard of before. The second was a shield that someone named Amber Feldman got from throwing a tire sized turtle into a literal cauldron of boiling oil. John had wanted to know so many more details about the latter kill, but unfortunately Jules had had nothing else to give.


    In any case, of all the stories of success or failure he had heard about, there were no stories of beasts beyond that of Advanced. Best he could tell, no one had even considered the possibility. Every immensely powerful beast someone had come upon was still being thought of as an elite of the Advanced tier.


    That was why the incredulous look on Liz¡¯s face had been so sweet. He finished his laugh at her expense, happy to get a little back, before he waved her off. There was no way he would pass on the bone she was throwing, he just wanted to see her squirm.


    ¡°You can have the Soul. It¡¯s not my style anyway. Thumbs are more my thing. I can meet you in about three days to check out the cactuses. If things are as good as you hope they are, I¡¯ll consider it a fair trade. Besides. Jules told me you helped out with the business a lot while I was gone.¡±


    ¡°I did. And I exploited everyone I possibly could in the process,¡± she said, as if hoping John would take issue.


    ¡°I really appreciate the help,¡± John said as if she hadn¡¯t spoken at all, ¡°If you want a permanent position you¡¯re always welcome. You would join the Advanced tier. One of only two members.¡±


    ¡°Just me and you huh?¡± Liz asked with a smile.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± John scoffed with derision.


    ¡°The second member of the Advanced tier. Isn¡¯t it you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, did you stab me a few minutes ago?¡± John asked again.


    3


    John finally made it to Jules¡¯s room a few minutes later with Liz still bugging him every step of the way. Just before he buzzed for the man though, Liz fell silent. She had suspiciously positioned herself against the wall of the building, where Jules could not immediately see her.


    When the door opened, Jules smiled at John and stepped forward, grasping him by the wrist as John did the same. Unfortunately for him, he stepped just far enough to spring the trap Liz had apparently set. He jumped a foot in the air as the woman spoke, sweet and seductive.


    ¡°Hello Jules,¡± she said.


    ¡°Jesus!¡± He shouted as he whirled around on Liz.


    ¡°No, just me,¡± she said, any trace of seduction gone.


    John moved past Jules and into his room. Liz slipped in behind him while the man was still staring at her in shock. After a few seconds, he seemed to snap out of it. He took a quick glance in each direction before stepping back inside and letting the door close.


    John took a place leaning against the counter near the stove area. Liz had already thrown herself on his bed, shoes pressed flat against the clean sheet. Jules looked to Liz, then to John. He wisely chose to Join the latter.


    ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s up man?¡± He asked as his eyes continued to flick in the direction of the bed.


    ¡°Just came to drop off some supplies for the guild,¡± John said.


    He took the bag from his back and presented it to Jules. Jules took it and stepped toward his bed before hesitating at the sight of Liz staring at him. Thinking better of it perhaps, he turned instead to the empty counter space before upending the bag.


    His eyes became wide at the sight of all the genes John had brought. Even after returning his tally to 100, he had an absurd amount of leftover Primitive genes from the prepay agreement Jules had set up. John had no use for them himself, and he wasn¡¯t sure Jules could make use of them either.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    What he could make use of were the numerous Awakened, and Enhanced genes he had gathered while hunting the previous day. The half dozen Advanced genes even had Liz sitting up with interest. John yawned as if the whole ordeal was boring him.


    ¡°I assume you have a payment system in place for the ranks?¡± He asked


    ¡°I do,¡± Jules said after a moment of contemplation.


    ¡°Get that going with what is here. Ideally we will be working towards a reward system beyond just gene payment. I have some plans for that, but it¡¯s going to take some time to set up.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah okay. I can do that,¡± Jules said after another glance toward the bed.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Liz asked, sounding pouty and unconvinced.


    ¡°Good,¡± John said before Jules could respond to the woman.


    He looked at John while blinking rapidly, as if extremely disoriented. He opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to struggle with the words. Then he looked down at the genes once more.


    ¡°I have something else for you. I¡¯m not sure how helpful it¡¯ll be in the short term, but you can never have too many advantages.¡±


    Jules looked back at John once more as he pulled one of the communication orbs he got from Sun¨¦ out of a pouch on his hip. He handed it to Jules, but the man just looked at it in confusion. He held it up to the light, clearly expecting some sort of explanation from John.


    ¡°Put it down,¡± John instructed.


    Jules did as he was told, and the orb sprouted legs as it opened to scan them both. Jules swore in surprise at the development. But when the orb closed once more and nothing further happened, he looked back at John.


    ¡°Do you speak French?¡± John asked.


    ¡°What? No. What does that-¡±


    ¡°Je m''appelle John, mais tu peux m''appeler papa.¡±


    ¡°What? Are you-¡± Jules began but was cut off when the orb between them rippled in response to the words.


    Then John heard his own voice project from the orb as if he had spoken in English.


    ¡°My name is John, but you may call me daddy,¡± he said.


    ¡°What the fu-¡±


    ¡°I want one,¡± Liz said suddenly, cutting Jules off mid exclamation.


    They both looked at the woman, and for a split second, the fa?ade she spent so much effort maintaining was gone. John saw longing and possibly even desperation in her eyes before she seemed to realize what she was doing. In a blink, her cool demeanor was back, and her teasing smile had returned to her face.


    ¡°Pretty please,¡± she said with a few well-placed blinks.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ sure thing,¡± John said before turning back to Jules.


    ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m not sure how useful they will be right now, but it was given to me by a fox.¡±


    ¡°A fox?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°Yes. And that same fox used one of these to speak with me, so they aren¡¯t limited to human translation.¡±


    ¡°Dude. How do you always have another surprise? Have you ever heard of second place? It¡¯s like no one has a chance of catching up to you, no matter what we do.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll definitely not you,¡± Liz chimed in.


    Jules looked back at the smug woman. She had resumed her goal of whatever it was she had come for, which appeared to be nothing more than messing with the man. He looked at her, then to John, then back to her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, why is she here?¡± He finally asked, looking back to John once more.


    John looked back and forth between the two in a very similar manner. Then he blinked a few times, as if trying to come up with an answer. Eventually, he looked back at Jules. With a slight shake of his head, lift of his eyebrows, and shrug of his shoulders, he answered the question.


    ¡°Because I thought it would be funny,¡± he said, as if it was obvious.


    4


    John left Jules soon after that, intending to return to his room. He assumed Liz would leave to go do whatever it was that she did. But when he was approaching his room and she showed no sign of departing, he raised an eyebrow to the woman.


    ¡°Do you need something?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Liz asked as if she hadn¡¯t been listening.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± He tried again.


    ¡°Oh, do you want to help me with something?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± John reeled back, confused as ever.


    ¡°Great question. It¡¯s nothing the two of us can¡¯t handle, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Liz,¡± John said.


    His voice was calm, but serious. He wasn¡¯t trying to be mean, but his tone let her know he wasn¡¯t in the mood to play. More importantly, it told her that he wasn¡¯t fooled by the act she put on.


    ¡°Cut the jokes. You¡¯ve never asked me for anything. So, I know how hard it must be for you to do. I also know it¡¯s something important, given the way you practically salivated over this,¡± John said, pulling another of the communication orbs from his pouch.


    Liz looked at the ball in his hands and it was back. The longing in her eyes was so great that John knew he was right. Whatever she wanted had something to do with the sphere.


    He dropped it back in the pouch, which seemed to break the spell it had on Liz. She blinked several times before looking back at him. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for an explanation.


    ¡°Inside,¡± she finally said, gesturing at his room.


    John looked at her evenly for several seconds, trying to decide if he actually wanted to know. Finally, he opened the door and gestured for her to proceed. Liz moved past him and took a position on the bed as she had in Jules¡¯s room.


    This time though, she sat rigidly with both feet on the floor. She looked more nervous than John had ever seen her, including the terrible circumstances in which they met. The woman looked truly shaken about something.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± John asked.


    Liz was quiet for a span of time John wouldn¡¯t have thought possible given what he knew of her. He let her have the time she needed, not seeing a way to get her out of his room sooner.


    When she spoke, it was like the Liz he knew had never existed. Her voice was soft and unimposing. She had an air of sadness that gave John pause.


    ¡°I need your help. I thought I could take care of things myself, but¡­¡± she stopped talking before seeming to try again, ¡°you make it all look so easy, you know? The hunting, the surviving, the progression. I mean, I¡¯ve been going out almost every day to hunt. I work my ass off. I maxed on everything below Advanced in less than a month, and you still made it look easy to stop me. You just dropped enough Advanced genes on that guy¡¯s table to get me over the halfway mark, and you didn¡¯t even blink. I knew the day we met that you were different, but it¡¯s starting to feel like you¡¯re outright cheating.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t understand. You said you needed my help,¡± John said.


    ¡°Yeah. Sorry, I¡¯m just trying to create some perspective. I have¡­ a sort of complicated family life. You¡¯re familiar with the system the Kumani use to determine their ¡°quotas¡± or whatever, right?¡±


    John nodded. He could hardly be unaware of the dynamic. It was the reason he spent so much time in The Garden at all. At least, it had been at first.


    ¡°Well like I said, my house is a bit¡­ unconventional. I have three brothers. Two are younger than me, twins actually. Caleb and Jason. The other one, Darren is older. Only¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not¡­ normal. His mind is different. He¡¯s almost two years older than me, but he never developed mentally. He¡¯s like a big kid. But-¡±


    ¡°But the Kumani don¡¯t see it that way. They only make judgement based on the age of occupants,¡± John said, understanding what she meant.


    ¡°It¡¯s worse than that too. See, my¡­ father is what you might call a frequent roommate. Unemployed, alcoholic, never around if a bar is open. He doesn¡¯t spend a lot of time at home, just a place to pass out when the gutter gets too cold. Haven¡¯t even seen him since the takeover. But again, the Kumani don¡¯t care how often he¡¯s there. Whatever data they gathered told them he lives there, so he¡¯s included.¡±


    John could already see where she was going with this. It was like a much more depressing version of his own story. He let her continue without interruption.


    ¡°And then there¡¯s mom. The only parent I have that¡¯s worth the name. She¡¯s the backbone of the family. Without her, we¡¯d all be on the street. But she has to sacrifice a lot to keep the bills paid. She¡¯s out of town on business all the time. I think that¡¯s the only reason she didn¡¯t kick dad to the curb years ago; no one to look after us while she¡¯s away. Anyway, when the takeover happened and we were given our quota, she was obviously the one to come into The Garden.¡±


    John felt sympathy for Liz. He knew or could guess where she was going with the story. He wondered just how many families had been similarly affected by everything.


    ¡°Things were fine for the first couple months. But we had a really high household quota, four adults including my brother and I. So, my mom had to spend a lot of time here in The Garden. She was going on small excursions to meet the return requirements, and for those first days everything was going well.


    ¡°But one day, this group of guys came to the house. They sounded like they were from somewhere in Europe, but I¡¯m not sure. I didn¡¯t think anything of it, mom has a lot of business connections so I figured they were acquaintances from before the collapse. She didn¡¯t seem surprised or upset to see them, so I didn¡¯t pay them any mind. I heard them talking though. Did you know that you can choose which base you transition to at the stations?¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t really considered it, but I guess the aliens do ask which base before you transition,¡± John responded.


    ¡°You have to know the base by name to request it, but yeah. Apparently their connection to The Garden is extremely adjustable. You can also choose to randomize your transition.¡±


    That was all interesting news to John. It gave him options for his future plans he hadn¡¯t considered. Liz continued her story before he could speculate on the information further.


    ¡°So, these guys. They came to ask my mom to default to a new base. She was hesitant to agree, and I could tell that she was uncomfortable at the idea. But they kept asking, giving her all kinds of reasons why it was a better place to be. She eventually agreed just to get them to go away.¡±


    ¡°But it was a trap,¡± John said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know to be honest. She left for The Garden the next day and hasn¡¯t been back since. I waited for a week, but our quota started to get out of hand. I had no choice but to come myself. I was just lucky enough to meet you that first day.¡±


    ¡°I see. I assume you heard the name of the base they asked her to go to. Do you have a plan in mind? How do you want to approach this?¡± John asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s called Teal Base. I haven¡¯t come up with a plan yet, but I need to do something as soon as possible. My brothers are turning sixteen in a week.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want them to have to come here,¡± John provided.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. When they turn sixteen, there won¡¯t be any children in the home. Apparently that¡¯s an important distinction. If there aren¡¯t kids in the home, the quota changes. The aliens said at least four of us will have to make at least one trip per week. And they aren¡¯t exchangeable.¡±


    ¡°Four of you once per week? So it sounds like more than half the household has to be working to keep them happy. But if four of you have to go¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah. My brother. Honestly I think Caleb and Jason would have a blast in The Garden. Give them some direction and turn them loose, they¡¯d be fine. But Darren can¡¯t be alone. He¡¯s okay most of the time, but he has moments of struggle. He¡¯s got issues with separation. Mom is always gone, so if someone doesn¡¯t stay with him¡­ it could be bad.¡±


    ¡°But you need four people to reach the new quota.¡±


    John felt as if he was finally up to speed on the situation. And what a situation it was. He knew that the new normal for the world had caused countless families to fracture. His own family was torn by the events, but he had to admit, Liz had it much more difficult than he did.


    For the first time, John was able to understand the person he was looking at. Never before had she been so open, candid, or serious. Looking back, he could tell just how hard she had been trying to hide her stress. It was a masterful fa?ade. She had only let it slip when she learned of the communication orbs John showed to Jules. And about that¡­


    ¡°You asked me for one of these,¡± he said, producing one and handing it to her, ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°You said they can translate any type of communication, right? You said a fox spoke to you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but how does that help you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it does. But I get the feeling that wherever my mom is, she¡¯s not a captive to guys named Jeff, Steve, and Larry. The ones that came to the house were all from other countries based on their different accents. I don¡¯t know for sure, but it seemed like being able to understand them if they aren¡¯t speaking English might come in handy. Like I said, I don¡¯t know. But I¡¯d rather have the option than not.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± John said, offering the orb to her.


    ¡°How does it work?¡±


    ¡°It will take care of things itself, all you have to do is put it between you and who you want to talk to. It won¡¯t be active at all if you take it back to earth, but when you come back, the connection to The Garden will revitalize it.¡±


    ¡°So, it only works here?¡±


    ¡°Basically,¡± he said.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said.


    ¡°There is no need. I¡¯ll do anything I can to help your family.¡±


    John was expecting a span of silence, or perhaps more questions about the ball. What he didn¡¯t expect was for Liz to stand and grab him. Her arms were around his body before he knew what was happening.


    Her head leaned heavily on his shoulder as she gripped him more tightly than John would have thought possible. He was dumbfounded, just standing there with the woman firmly attached to him. And then he felt his shoulder start to become wet. Liz was crying.


    Still unable to find the words to react, John hesitantly put a hand on her back. She seemed to soften slightly at his touch, and he took that as a sign to proceed. His other hand joined the first, and soon he was holding Liz in a firm embrace while she cried onto his shoulder.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she whispered.


    It was barely audible, but his ear was close enough to catch it. He didn¡¯t respond, he just let her feel whatever she was going to feel while he held her in place. He had never been so close to a girl for so long, so his instruction manual for how to progress beyond the moment was entirely missing.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Liz. I had no idea that you carried so much for your family.¡±


    That seemed to break the spell. Liz lifted her head and pulled back from him. Her eyes were red and still full of tears. But her voice was as solid as ever.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same for you, isn¡¯t it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Not exactly.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to play it off, John.¡±


    ¡°Play what?¡±


    ¡°Jules told me you have a mom and a sister at home. He said your mom comes looking for you every time you don¡¯t come home. So, you¡¯re here for the same reason I am, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    John didn¡¯t answer immediately. He was considering how best to answer, or if he should at all. Eventually, he shook his head.


    ¡°We have similar circumstances. Not similar goals.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Jules wouldn¡¯t say much, but from what he did say, isn¡¯t someone missing from your family too?¡±


    ¡°My dad,¡± John said after a moment of indecision.


    ¡°And your goal is to get him back, right?¡±


    John waved the question away. Of course he was going to save his father. But that was no longer the goal he worked towards.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t the same. You are handling the explorative responsibility of six adults. And without you, the entire pyramid would collapse. If you never came home, what would your family do? There is at least one capable adult in my house to take my place. What about yours? You know what the Kumani threaten when quotas aren¡¯t met.¡±


    John¡¯s words hung in the air for several seconds. Liz looked back at him with newfound tears growing in her eyes. Before she could summon a response, he continued.


    ¡°I know how much pressure is on my own shoulders. I also know how much more is on your shoulders. More importantly, there¡¯s a difference between us that you¡¯re not seeing. My family is divided because of the takeover. Your mom is missing because of her fellow man. That¡¯s a whole other level of despicable.¡±


    ¡°How does that change anything?¡±


    ¡°It changes things because now, I¡¯m mad.¡±


    John spoke the words as calmly as he could. Even that was a difficult task. It was true, what he said. The level of despicable it took to manipulate a mother of four children into a captive situation or worse, well, it was a mentality that John couldn¡¯t comprehend. What he could do, however, was seethe.


    He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms. He felt his breathing unsteady itself as his mind turned over and over, replaying the story Liz had shared with him. Even Liz seemed to shrink a bit beneath his ire.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving tonight. Midnight,¡± he said.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to burn the whole base to the ground.¡±


    5


    John and Liz spent the rest of the morning going over the details that he was less clear about. When he had all he needed to proceed, John asked Liz to wait in his room while he popped over to Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Once there, he flew to the immense palace for an audience with Sun¨¦.


    He had several questions for the fox, all of which were answered in acceptable terms. Having the permission he needed, he returned to Liz. She was waiting on his bed as he had left her, and he quickly explained what he needed her to do.


    Liz listened and agreed before doing something John hadn¡¯t thought possible. She stepped on his transition pad and used it to return to earth. He didn¡¯t know why it surprised him, but he had thought for some reason that it would only work for him. In any case, he walked to the pad himself and returned to Thunder Fox Sanctuary.


    He left his house and used his wings to fly straight to the place he was needed. He landed a moment later near the main entrance to the base. He released his wings to melt into nothingness behind him just as the large community transport pad began to light up.


    A few seconds later, Liz was standing there. She caught John¡¯s eye, but he was unable to approach her. The reason was because the second she materialized, the voice of The Garden spoke.


    ¡°Thunder Fox Sanctuary has extended a challenge.¡±


    John looked steadily back at her as he nodded. There was no other way to get her access to the base. John had known she would have to fight to be admitted, but he hadn¡¯t known the extent of the fight.


    That was why he had come to confirm with Sun¨¦. The fox had told him that each challenge is based on the progression of the individual and that The Garden itself chose the opponents. According to her, each test was supposed to be more difficult than the last, with the final fight being against a foe roughly 60% stronger than the challenger.


    John had been okay with those terms, and when he explained them to Liz, she was too. John also asked where the lines would be drawn. Sun¨¦ had responded that so long as she didn¡¯t have more than ten genes of a specific level, she wouldn¡¯t be classified as that tier.


    That made John wonder how exactly he had been classified, having fought Advanced and Wizened foes in equal measure for his own challenge. He supposed his uneven and incomplete numbers had contributed to the distinction. But that did clear things up for Liz.


    It meant that her classification would probably be Advanced. In turn, that meant her challenges would likely be mostly Advanced with a potential Wizened foe as the last. When he explained that to Liz, she was confident that she could handle it.


    And so, there she stood. Still and clearly nervous, she just waited for something to happen. After a moment, something did happen, but it wasn¡¯t what anyone was expecting.


    A brilliant bolt of lightning blasted into the massive and still growing tide of creatures that were gathering around the transition pad. Those who were unfortunate enough to be within a dozen feet of the impact were thrown impossibly in every direction like a land mine had just gone off. And in the empty space left behind was Sun¨¦.


    The remainder of the crowd parted as a unit until a massive clearing was made. Sun¨¦ walked confidently to Liz and raised her head to the woman. Liz responded with wide eyes, dipping her head at the Fox in return.


    The. Sun¨¦ turned to walk from the transition station and Liz trailed behind her with a stunned look on her face. It was clear that when John had said ¡°it¡¯s a lot bigger than Emerald Base¡± she had not fully grasped the truth of the words. At the sight of thousands upon thousands of clearly elite beasts, all watching her walk behind their boss like she was the guest of honor, she was clearly rattled.


    It made John smile to see the chronically devious girl reduced to the presence of a mouse. He felt her struggle, as he had been quite the same during his trial. But he would be sure to remind her of this side of her as often as he could from then on.


    After only a moment of walking, Liz was brought to the center of a massive clearing just inside the base. The crowd closed around them until she was standing in a makeshift ring. Without further ado, a toad looking creature hopped forward until it was across from her. And then the fight was on.


    The toad¡¯s throat bulged as it took a massive breath. When it released the breath, it came with a great croak. A giant ball of air clearly visible somehow rocketed from the toad¡¯s mouth, blasting at Liz like a transparent boulder.


    John expected the woman to turn into a bear. Failing that, he thought she would at least move out of the way. Instead, something John hadn¡¯t expected to see appeared in her hand. It was a freaking fan.


    I small, hand sized fan that he had only ever seen rich people use to pretend to cool themselves popped into her hand. It was as wide as maybe a basketball when extended, and John watched in horrified fascination as Liz raised it to the ball of air. Only, she didn¡¯t just lift her arm, she actually flicked her wrist diagonally upward. It was almost dismissive, like she was trying to use it to swat away a fly or something.


    But when she had finished, the ball of air flying towards her had been blown off course. It came up and to the left of her until it flew harmlessly past over her shoulder. She didn¡¯t even flinch at the attack passing her.


    John¡¯s eyebrows climbed into his hairline as he watched. Liz hadn¡¯t even considered the action. It was as natural as taking a breath. His surprise only grew as the first fight wore on.


    The toad blasted ball after ball of air at Liz, but none were more effective than the first. She effortlessly sent each attack in a different direction with consecutive waves of her fan. John wondered if the foe had anything else to try just before he got his answer.


    A great and powerful tongue suddenly shot from its mouth and wrapped around Liz¡¯s wrist. It was the arm holding the fan, and it happened so fast that John didn¡¯t think he could have avoided it himself. He was reminded of his own encounter with a giant frog.


    But Liz proved herself even more capable than he had given her credit for. As soon as the tongue grabbed her and attempted to return, she had yet another weapon in her hand. It appeared in her grip already halfway through the stabbing motion she made.


    As her body was yanked forward, the long, thin blade in her hand sunk through the tongue and continued to pin the appendage to the ground. Its grip on her wrist was nullified in an instant, and Liz was back on her feet almost before she had lost her balance. The fluent nature of the act made John sure that she had been waiting for exactly that to happen.


    She let go of the blade, but readjusted her grip on the fan. The toad struggled and croaked past its extended tongue, but Liz ignored it as she readied her attack. It was unable to gather another air attack with its tongue in the way.


    John wasn¡¯t sure what he was expecting at all, but what he wasn¡¯t expecting was for Liz to suddenly roll her entire shoulder in a rough proximation of a soft ball pitch. It happened so fast that John almost missed what happened at all.


    With the completion of the rotation of her arm, John saw the slightest of disturbances in the air between Liz and the toad. It was barely even a ripple, but it moved so fast that John knew it could only be a deadly attack. And in the next second, the toad fell into two pieces.


    Blood sprayed in every direction, but mostly straight up as the two halves of the frog separated and fell apart. John was absolutely flabbergasted. Liz on the other hand, she looked almost bored.


    Before the mass of beasts and creatures could even finish exclaiming at the kill, the second foe was already standing across from Liz. John looked on in fascination as the Advanced doglike creature began to growl. At a glance, both he and Liz could tell that this would be a very different kind of fight.


    The beast launched itself at Liz while she was still inspecting it. To her credit, she seemed ready for the possibility, and easily evaded the pounce. It pressed the attack, however. Soon, Liz was back tracking with every step she took, pressed to keep her feet under her.


    But John knew that she was far from her limit. She hadn¡¯t used her Wizened Grizzly Soul yet, so he assumed she had a plan in mind. Realizing that he knew less about the tools and capabilities she had at her disposal, John could only wait to see what she would do.


    He didn¡¯t have to wait long, as it turned out. Liz continued to back away from the large dog as it leapt at her again and again, but John started to see the method behind her madness. She wasn¡¯t just back away, she was also leading it where she wanted to be.


    John was intrigued at the forethought she seemed to be exerting. She looked more and more confident in herself as the seconds ticked by. He wasn¡¯t sure what her plan was, but it was clear that she had one. And then it happened.


    Liz took a seemingly unimportant step to her right, closely followed by three more. It looked like she was about to turn and run. Her opponent certainly seemed to think so, as the beast quickly lunged ahead of her path to cut off her escape.


    But that was exactly what Liz had been counting on. Her feet dug into the ground, halting her progress instantly as the wolf snapped its jaws closed on empty air. Liz had taken another very deliberate step as this happened, this one a large step back.


    The beast rounded on her quick as a whip. It¡¯s red eyes stared up at her own face with menace in them as it prepared to leap at her once more. But before it could, Liz tilted her head to the side. The beast flinched and closed its eyes as the beam of sunlight Liz had been blocking with her head pierced directly into them.


    And that was it. That was all it took. By the time the great dog could recover, Liz had her thin blade back in hand. Blood erupted from the beast as her attack skewered it straight through the chest. It let out a strangled cry of pain, but in truth the beast was dead before her blade came free.


    Even more raucous eruptions of excitement peppered the clearing as Liz waited for her third foe. When it came forward, John almost rolled his eyes. The almost became a certainty when Liz looked over at him with the smuggest look he had ever seen on her face. Then she turned back to her opponent, a giant snake.


    ¡°Better you than me,¡± John shuddered.


    Liz didn¡¯t falter in the slightest at the reptile in front of her. And while John would have been pumping arrow after arrow into it from as far away as possible, Liz took the opposite route. She sprinted forward like she was going to jump on top of the damn thing.


    John¡¯s eyes widened in alarm as he watched. The snake, easily bigger than the scariest of snakes on earth, just watched Liz approach with its cold eyes. It¡¯s unfathomable length began coiling beneath it as she came closer. John knew that was how snakes prepared to strike. The more coiled they were, the further they could extend their attack.


    But before he could even think to warn Liz of the danger, she was already in range. John watched in terror as the slightest of motions on the part of the snake told him it was about to strike. Liz swung her hand to the side in a gesture John couldn¡¯t rationalize just as the snake¡¯s head darted forward faster than the eye could see.


    Then it hit the ground hard as Liz dove to the side. John couldn¡¯t comprehend what had happened, and he wanted to scream at the girl to retreat before it struck again. But his words and thoughts both died in his throat as his mind caught up to what he was seeing.


    The immense length of the snake was writhing around in great loops on the ground. It occasionally obscured Liz with its bulk. But that wasn¡¯t the confusing part. What confused him more was that the snake¡¯s head was entirely still. He didn¡¯t understand what was happening until his eyes caught the immense pool of blood spreading beneath the snake.


    He looked once more to the head and his jaw almost fell from his face when he noticed that the snake had been cleanly decapitated. The immense body only writhed around due to the insane number of nerves reptiles had. The snake was already dead.


    John¡¯s wide eyes met Liz¡¯s. Her smug smile was as big as ever, and when she stuck her tongue out at him, he knew that she had killed the snake that way just to see the look on his face. Her deadly wind fan was back in her hand, and she used it to cool her face like she was a shy little girl.


    Before he could marvel at just how far the girl had come, her final challenge was in the ring. John inspected the beast and rolled his eyes again. How did she get such an easy time of things when he had been beaten bloody in his own test? He shook his head at the injustice as Liz actually laughed from the ring.


    Coming to stand across from her was a beast most closely resembling a ground hog. It was big though, like most sufficiently advanced creatures. It was closer to the size of a small pig than a ground hog. Giant mandibles protruded from its mouth, and John knew that if they clamped on to flesh, the flesh was coming with them when they left.


    Despite that though, John knew Liz would have no trouble. The rodent might have been able to damage her, but with the body of a bear, Liz would have little to fear of death. Sure enough, she let the Soul morph around her until she stood taller, heavier, and much, much, more ferocious.


    She released an Ursine wail before barreling at the ground hog. The beast was fast though, and it scurried beneath her to bite at her legs as it passed through them. Grunts of pain followed as the sharp teeth of the rodent dug into her fatty bear leg.


    Liz was unperturbed though. She just scuffled her legs to shoo the beast away before trying again. But on her next attempt, she missed again. The oversized ground hog was too agile to be caught. It continued to take bites at her while she tried to get the thing in reach.


    But no matter what she tried, the critter was untouchable. John realized that The Garden had probably chosen this last fight based on Liz and the soul help she had. That made him wonder if this might not be the exact counter to her strategy needed to neutralize her.


    Indeed, Liz sounded more and more like an actual bear as her frustration rose. Her inability to even land a scratch on the thing was obviously more than she had expected to deal with. John thought she would abandon the form altogether, which would have opened her up for attack by the thing.


    That was certainly the point of this specific selection. And John thought that she might have been on the verge of taking the bait. But then, in typical Liz fashion, she completely derailed all his expectations.


    As she lunged at the ground hog once more, it darted between her legs as it had every other time. This time though, that seemed to be exactly what Liz wanted. Just as the critter came close enough, she abandoned her strike and did something that John never would have even considered.


    All of the thousand pounds of bear crashed to the ground in an instant as she dropped her legs out from under herself. The ground hog was as surprised as John was, and when it disappeared beneath Liz, John knew the fight was over. Half a ton of bear on one side and the hard stone of the clearing on the other, the ground hog only took a minute to succumb to the sandwich.


    As Liz sat motionless on top of the oversized rodent, a hush fell over the clearing. Her eyes seemed to pass over each spectating beast individually, missing none. Then she let out a bestial roar loud enough to rattle John¡¯s teeth. After another brief silence, the base erupted in a cacophony of answering screams.


    ¡°Show off,¡± John muttered.

 The Moons, The Means, and The Mission

    <u>The Moons, The Means, and The Mission</u>


    <u> </u>


    <u> </u>


    <u>1</u>


    <u> </u>


    <u> </u>


    When it was done, Liz rose again and returned to human. She looked back at John, but this time it was his smile that was smug. Likewise, when she saw how much satisfaction was in his face at her struggle, it was her eyes that began to roll.


    Before anything else happened, Sun¨¦ was in the clearing again. She let a familiar communication orb roll between the two of them before John heard the fox greet Liz even as she had John after his trial. The difference was that Liz looked relatively untouched by the challenge. Whereas, John was nearly dead from his own ordeal.


    John moved quietly to retrieve the genes Liz had earned from her fallen foes. None made a move to stop him; and he was sure that even if he didn¡¯t get them, they would find their way to Liz even as his own prizes had. He gathered all four genes up while he waited for the conversation to end.


    The two women spoke for several seconds before Sun¨¦ bid her farewell, telling Liz that upon picking her home, she was officially a member of Thunder Fox Sanctuary. That was something she and John did immediately afterward. She picked a building two down from his own, and with no further fanfare, she was a permanent member of the base.


    That was how it worked when entering a new base for the first time. A formally owned base would have challenges set by the owner. And until a visitor passed the challenges, they would not be considered an inhabitant. It didn¡¯t matter wether they were coming from the gate, the transition pad, or falling out of the sky, the challenge had to be passed.


    It would be the same for Teal Base. Since neither of them had been there beforehand, they would come through the community transition pad. And since neither of them could select the base yet from within The Garden, they would both have to make the transition from Earth with the help of the Kumani at the transition station.


    That was as much as he could plan, at least where the base was concerned. He could still make sure he and Liz were as prepared as they could be on all other fronts. To that end, John had devised this method.


    Now that she was a member of the base, the two of them could comb the land around the base for high level beasts. And until the sun went down, that was what he planned to do.


    First though, he had her take and absorb the advanced and Wizened genes she had claimed. Her eyes were wide at the Wizened gene he handed her. She took it and John watched the euphoria settle over her as it melted away.


    ¡°Is that your first Wizened gain?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been able to kill a couple, but something always comes along before I can get to the gene.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. Few beasts can even make it that far. When one dies, there¡¯s always competition for the spoils.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have any issues,¡± she said jealously.


    ¡°Well, not everyone can be as awesome as me, you know?¡±


    ¡°Uh huh. But I¡¯m confused.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°If there are that many powerful beasts here, how strong is Sun¨¦?¡±


    ¡°Some questions are too scary to know the answer to,¡± he laughed.


    He and Liz took off from the base soon after that, on a mission of carnage. They moved off in the direction Sun¨¦ had suggested when he asked. According to the fox, few creatures in that direction were lower than Advanced.


    That was perfect, because despite the lie he was letting Liz believe, he still needed quite a few to max the number out. So, for the next several hours, he and Liz tore through the wilderness, killing every beast foolish enough to challenge them. Alone, he was more than capable of taking out the foes. With Liz by his side, it might as well have been reaping wheat.


    Over the course of the day, the two of them hunted nearly three dozen Advanced beasts and another five that were Wizened. He gave her two of the Wizened genes and most of the Advanced ones as well. He only kept a few for himself, saying they were to pad his pockets on the guild front.


    His lie became unnecessary as Liz began refusing the genes. Apparently, they had been working so hard that she maxed the tally. After that, John started collecting the genes just for himself. He wouldn¡¯t use them all, as he was in no hurry to reach the top, and the remainder would go to Jules. The day had turned far more lucrative than he could have hoped for.


    After the fifth Wizened kill, John decided they had been at it long enough. The sun had already set, and the remaining light was increasingly coming from the glowing moon instead. John had not been in The Garden at night since his success with Lunar Radiance, so he was eager to put the Cultivation to the test.


    He let his cells begin soaking the energy through his pores. Almost at once, he felt more able, more invigorated. His skin didn¡¯t start glowing, for which he was thankful, but he did feel an immediate difference in his body, like he was already bursting with the power.


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± he said to himself more than Liz.


    He looked up at the moon with a question in his mind. Then he summoned his bow. The Lunar Stag Bow. He didn¡¯t know why he hadn¡¯t thought about it sooner.


    Without even considering the act, he drew the string. There was no arrow, but John knew he was right in his assumption. As the string stretched, a thin, barely perceptible bolt of energy began to glow on the nock. John felt the bow passively drawing the essence of the moon into itself as he held it.


    He could feel the same process happening within himself. Before he even thought to question it, he started channeling the feeling out of his hands and into his bow. The illusory arrow grew brighter and brighter on the string as his expulsion of energy grew larger still.


    Soon there was a complete and glowing arrow resting on the string. He could tell it had no actual substance. But he was equally sure of the immense power it held. Looking to a tree almost a hundred feet from him, John took aim and let the arrow fly.


    The wind released by the string, as well as the explosive crack that reverberated through the air was enough to knock Liz back. She stumbled for a couple steps before regaining her balance. By that time though, a second gust of wind was already buffeting her.


    The lunar arrow had impacted with the tree John aimed for. Instead of blasting a whole through it or getting lodged so deeply John couldn¡¯t retrieve it, the arrow literally exploded on impact, leaving nothing but a splintered mess of jagged wood shards where the tree had once been. The blasted stump only protruded around three feet from the ground before becoming something more closely resembling a crude pit spike.


    ¡°Holy fucking shit, John. What the hell was that?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s called an arrow,¡± John said with a shrug.


    <u> </u>


    <u> </u>


    <u>2</u>


    <u> </u>


    <u> </u>


    The night was well underway by the time John and Liz had returned to Thunder Fox Sanctuary. They parted ways to make their individual last-minute preparations. John spent the time first raising his gene tally. The eight Advanced genes and three Wizened genes did wonders for his progression, bringing the numbers to seventy-one and fifty-two respectively. After that was taken care of, he spent the time in relative peace.


    Having felt the effects of Lunar Radiance in full bloom, John felt invigorated in a way that had only been hinted at during the trial. Perhaps it was his steadily raising gene count, or maybe it was simply a result of his successful trial, but John felt like every ray of moonlight was being directed and harnessed straight into his body. He could remember the insane amount of power he had released from the bow string.


    Without much else to do in the way of preparation, John moved to sit on the roof of his house in Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Once there, he looked to the sky and for the first time he noticed that there wasn¡¯t just one moon, but three. He had only been in The Garden at night a few times but he was certain he hadn¡¯t seen more than one before. But he supposed with such a large world it would make sense for there to be more than just one.


    After studying the three globes for a moment, he took out the scroll for Lunar Radiance. He hadn¡¯t even opened it since getting it. With another glance at the moons above him, he cracked the seal.


    John started looking over the scroll with great interest as he felt the radiance of the moons soaking into him. He was fascinated at how much simpler the content of the scroll was to understand than his Mind Cultivation. It was practically straightforward by comparison.


    The scroll detailed what was really happening when the moon¡¯s light shone on the world. As John was well aware, the light was actually from the planet¡¯s sun hitting the moons in different amounts from different angles. That meant in turn that the moons acted as converters for sunlight.


    John was interested in how exactly the light was changed, but no mention of the actual conversion was made in the text. He did however start to understand the ability in greater detail. The effect of three moons made his acquisition of energy much simpler than it had ever been in the trial, even when sitting directly under the faux moon.


    John was becoming elated as he studied the scroll. Every word seemed to make more sense than the last. The more information he took in, the faster he was able to process what he was reading.


    It wasn¡¯t just the reading though. John felt with the help of the content that his ability to draw the spiritual energy into him was increasing at an immense rate. He guessed that more than one moon would make it a lot easier to gain energy, but he didn¡¯t think that was the whole story.


    ¡°Is this the 50% faster Cultivation bonus I got from Third Eye of Callysta?¡± John wondered.


    It would certainly have explained the insane boost to the speed of his gathering energy. It had probably also contributed to the immense power of the lunar arrow he had summoned. For the first time, John understood the gravity of the benefit his new Legendary Title gave him.


    His body quickly grew as saturated as could be, and John thought that was the extent of its practice. But as he continued to study the scroll, he found that he had taken a lot for granted. There were depictions in the scroll of the human body which hinted at a specific series of avenues the energy he harnessed should travel in order to maximize the use of the skill.


    It showed the energy swirling out from his core while making quick circuits through all four limbs in simultaneous jolts of circulation. The depictions made it look like a fast cycle, maybe three seconds or so, but as John attempted the practice, he found himself unable to properly funnel the energy out from his chest, let alone send it to and from each limb in a span so short.


    John wasn¡¯t discouraged by his lack of success. He didn¡¯t expect to make progress in the little time he had. Instead, he reveled in the new information, happy that it was so clear and concise.


    Despite being far easier than Third Eye of Callysta, John was still impressed by the Cultivation. It was clearly a very high grade. The more he studied the scroll and attempted to implement the teachings, the more he realized that Lunar Radiance had subtleties and intricacies far beyond the surface level.


    And as John continued to look through the Spirit Cultivation, he began to understand the difference between cultivating the mind and cultivating the spirit. The mind was based largely on thought and study of a subject until higher understanding was reached. At least in his case, but John knew that his Mind Cultivation was something beyond the means of most. Perhaps other Mind Paths were based around different training methods.


    A Spirit Cultivation as John was coming to quickly learn was based entirely on feeling. He could read the scroll and understand the words just fine, but his progression through the Spirit Path was contingent on his ability to properly feel a particular type of spiritual energy well enough to harness it. That was where the two Cultivations differed.


    As for Physical Cultivation, John didn¡¯t know. He assumed that it would probably focus on different aspects of his body though. Or, perhaps not. He was eager to start another trial now that he had completed Lunar Radiance.


    He thought about it, but knew there was a lot to accomplish before he would consider devoting a large amount of his time to another trial. Before he could even think of that, he had to tie up at least three loose ends. Shaking his head, he decided it was a worry for another time.


    All too soon, his practice time came to an end, and he returned inside to make the transition back to Earth. As he materialized in front of the Kumani operating the station, he took a deep breath. This would be his greatest test yet.


    He checked the clock for precision before moving to the back of the line of transfers. Sure that he would make his deadline, he waited patiently to reach the front. Once there, he spoke confidently to the Kumani running the transfer pad.


    ¡°Set the pad for Teal Base please.¡±


    ¡°Confirmed,¡± the alien said before pressing a series of buttons on its screen.


    John moved to the pad and waited for the preparations to be complete. He surreptitiously got ready to summon his Chimera armor. The moment he felt the tingle of the world shifting around him, he let the beast soul creep over his body. A moment later, he was fully in disguise and standing in a new base.


    <u>3</u>


    John immediately noticed half a dozen armed and armored men waiting near the public transport pad. He could tell at a glance that these were not Americans. Their surprised exclamations in various tongues and dialects confirmed this for him.


    John held a hand up in greeting as they all turned weapons in his direction. As calmly as he could, John retrieved the orb he had brought with him from his pouch. A gap opened in his armor to allow its egress.


    John calmly crouched and rolled the ball halfway between himself and the group. They made threatening gestures with their weapons while speaking too quickly to understand even if he had spoken their various languages. Their attention zeroed in on the orb as it suddenly sprouted legs and stood up.


    It cracked open and revealed its odd insides as they all exclaimed at it. John felt the familiar pulse as it scanned the minds of everyone around it. Then it closed back off and gave a little flash to indicate it was ready. John took a step forward and spoke clearly and confidently at the men.


    ¡°I am here to do business. Who is in charge of this place?¡±


    He waited patiently for his words to translate. He was unable to tell for sure, but it seemed like the orb translated for each different language it had detected one at a time. The six men all looked amazed at the ability of the small ball.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± One of the men sent back through the orb.


    ¡°You can call me Gold. Becoming an ally to me might make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.¡±


    ¡°Gold? What kind of a ridiculous name is that?¡± Was the first response through the translator.


    In a blink, Jane was on top of the man who had spoken, pinning him to the ground with a growl. Her newly compacted size didn¡¯t lessen her ability to dominate her enemies. In fact, after her evolution to Divine, there were very few things that could even damage the soul. The weapons of the six men weren¡¯t among them.


    Some of the men found this out in short order as their attacks rebounded harmlessly from her fur. None of them was wielding anything over an Enhanced weapon, so they couldn¡¯t hope to even trim her fur, let alone cut her skin. Jane took the attacks with impunity for a few seconds before looking up from her pinned victim and extending her menacing growl to each of the men around her.


    One by one, they backed off with haste. John let them return their attention to him before he spoke again.


    ¡°As I said, you may call me Gold. Who is in charge here?¡±


    This time, no one dared to question his choice of name. John hadn¡¯t moved a muscle since speaking the first time, and Jane¡¯s tackle of the man had happened so suddenly that it made his mystique all the greater. The men just looked at him silently for several seconds.


    ¡°Well?¡± John asked sharply. He was running out of time.


    ¡°It¡¯s Dimitri. I¡¯m sure he will be interested in whatever you want to say to him,¡± one of the men chattered.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. As I said, I have business to discuss. Which one of you will take me to him?¡± John felt a quickening in his speech as his mental time keeping reached a crucial moment.


    ¡°I can take you,¡± one of the men said, ¡° but please, what business do you wish to discuss with him?¡±


    John smiled as he felt the subtle vibration of the transition pan flaring with life. He waited just a couple seconds before responding to the man. As he did, he stepped to his side to reveal the transition pad to all the men assembled.


    ¡°This,¡± he said just as Liz fell onto the ground as though she had stumbled mid transition.


    She fell on her hands and knees, and John noticed that she was wearing a tattered and worn out pair of clothes. Her hair was matted, and she was covered in dirt. One look at her, and most people would think she was a homeless vagrant.


    That was, of course, all part of John¡¯s plan. He had asked her to give him five minutes after midnight before she transitioned to the base. Since they didn¡¯t live in the same city, they had agreed to go on the universal time of the clocks at the Kumani transition stations.


    John had been worried that if he didn¡¯t establish his presence first, there might have been some dissent at the young girl next to his side. Not that he had doubted their ability to deal with the men, but he was seeking information first. The longer he could remain in control without spilling blood, the better.


    The men exclaimed at the sight of what was clearly a human trafficking sale waiting to happen. Their casual remarks about Liz¡¯s body and youth made John clench his teeth in rage when they were sent through the translator. He thanked the gods that his face was concealed beneath his armor.


    ¡°Take me to Dimitri and don¡¯t make me ask again.¡± John said.


    He turned to Liz and grabbed her by the wrist. He made a show of being overly forceful as he pulled her to her feet. He hoped he wasn¡¯t actually hurting the girl, but he had to be sure he sold the act.


    Liz fought against him admirably as he fought to get her in a standing position. She tried to pull from his grip, and he made sure he let the men see how useless the effort was. Then he raised his other hand in a fake threatening gesture.


    ¡°Be still,¡± he said in a dark tone.


    Liz flinched at his hand in a manner so convincing that John didn¡¯t know if he should be impressed or worried. She lowered her head and stopped struggling against him, and he turned his attention back to the group in front of him. With Liz a step ahead of him, John started walking forward without another thought.


    ¡°Well?¡± He asked expectantly as he brushed passed the men, picking up the translation orb on the way.


    Two of them hurried to catch up with him. He didn¡¯t slow his pace, making it clear that he was finished waiting. The guards quickly took the lead and began steering him through Teal Base. Only when they were several streets away did Jane finally melt away from the man she had pinned down.


    It was the lowest rank of base there was, equal to the Primitive tier of beasts. That meant that it was among the smallest of all bases in The Garden. It also meant that the surrounding area would be as safe as such a term could be applied to anywhere in The Garden. John¡¯s annoyance and disgust only grew as he saw how empty and wasted the entire base was.


    It could have been used to help beginners advance through the early days of cultivation. It could have been a beacon of hope for all the people who needed a safe place to grow. Instead, this Dimitri person had turned it into a human trafficking racket.


    Despite its diminutive tier, the base was still fairly large. John was led through the place for several minutes before they brought him to a large and unassuming building somewhere near the center. One of the men knocked three times, twice fast before pausing for the third. John made note of the rhythm.


    The mail flap opened and a voice came from it, fast and seemingly angry. John¡¯s received translation told him that whoever was behind the door didn¡¯t appreciate that he was there in the middle of the night. That was fine by John.


    ¡°Dimitri. Now,¡± John said to the flap.


    His voice left no room for argument. After a stunned silence, the flap dropped shut and the door soon slid open. John didn¡¯t move a muscle as the stout man on the other side of the door looked him up and down.


    ¡°Is that a drop off? Good. Dimitri will be happy. We can take her from here,¡± the stout man said as he moved to grab Liz.


    John moved so swiftly that his hand was a blur. He intercepted the man¡¯s hand, twisting it sideways before stabbing a conjured knife through the hand and into the door frame beside him. The man was screaming even before John finished the maneuver.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch my stuff. The girl stays with me until myself and this Dimitri fellow come to an understanding.¡±


    The man gritted his teeth through the pain before yanking the knife free of the wood with all he had. He screamed again as the blade passed from his skin and fell to the ground where John promptly unsummoned it. He looked at John like he wanted to kill him, but perhaps the efficiency with which he had been impaled deterred him from such foolish action.


    ¡°This way,¡± he said, still gritting his teeth as the blood dripped from his hand.


    ¡°After you,¡± John said politely.


    He was taken into the building which was roughly the size a department store. The layout was much more complicated though, having rooms tucked everywhere for seemingly no reason at all. John was led to the back of the building where a set of double doors were manned by a pair of muscled guards.


    Luckily for them, they let John pass without needing to be stabbed like their buddy. John waited in barely suppressed rage as the doors were drawn aside and John was ushered forward. Before he took a step though, the accented English of an unknown origin met his ears.


    ¡°Well come in, since you¡¯re so determined.¡±


    <u>4</u>


    John proceeded forward with an outwardly commanding hand on Liz¡¯s shoulder. In truth, it was there for reassurance, both his own and Liz¡¯s. They both knew that what happened next would determine the outcome of the entire operation.


    John tried to keep his nerves from betraying him, but his hand trembled slightly on Liz despite his effort. His unceasing rage only continued to grow while they proceeded. As they walked forward, John took a good look at the man who had spoken.


    He was a tall man with an over average build. He was the kind of guy who probably would have played football just because of his size if he were American. His calloused hands were folded together on the desk in front of him like a man ready to do business.


    His black hair held a hint of gray, but he didn¡¯t have age lines in his face. His brown eyes bore into John, and it felt like he could see through the armor to the teenager underneath. He wore a blue business suit with a matching tie, and his professional demeanor served to anger John further.


    ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Gold?¡± Dimitri asked smoothly as John stopped a few steps from the desk he sat behind.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to do business, if we can reach an agreement.¡± John said.


    ¡°And what type of agreement do you hope to come to?¡± Dimitri asked with a slimy look at Liz.


    John took one more step forward and grabbed a chair before efficiently spinning it behind him to sit across from the man. He immediately threw his feet onto the desk and leaned back in comfort. Without looking away from Dimitri, he snapped his fingers at Liz.


    ¡°Sit,¡± he said.


    Liz took the command silently and crouched to the floor. She kept her eyes downcast, and John could tell that what she felt was so far from fear that he would have been worried for Dimitri if the man weren¡¯t such a scumbag. John put a steadying hand on her shoulder once more, though he hoped it came across as possessive to the other man.


    ¡°That depends on what you can offer me, I suppose. You see, this is my first time coming here, and I have heard plenty of rumors, most of which I¡¯m sure are untrue. What I do know is that you never enter a negotiation empty handed,¡± John said with a pat on Liz¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I appreciate your manners. I¡¯d be happy to elaborate on the operation we have. It¡¯s one of borrowed servitude, so to speak. We have a variety of subjects to choose from, all of which are kept docile and harmless. Business is done in souls or genes, with the former being twice as valuable in trade as the latter. If you pay the appropriate soul or gene cost, you can do whatever you want short of killing.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    John was having a very difficult time keeping his composure. He wanted to dive across the table at the man and choke the life from him. But that wasn¡¯t part of the plan. He had to do things the right way.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± John lied, ¡°I was simply hoping to arrange some sort of trade. I¡¯ve grown tired of the same thing. I will of course pay any sum you wish, and this one is really worth the investment in any case. What do you think?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Dimitri pondered, ¡°that¡¯s not usually how we do things around here. It¡¯s not good business to give away the merchandise.¡±


    ¡°I understand. So, what if I agree to replenish your stock? This is hardly the only worthy addition I could bring you. What say you to two new bodies a month?¡±


    ¡°If finding a new toy is so easy for you, then why come to me at all?¡± Dimitri asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard great things. And while picking your own apples is just fine, sometimes it¡¯s better to go to the store,¡± John said, loathing the words.


    ¡°Haha! That¡¯s a new one. You are very funny Mr. Gold. Well, I don¡¯t know about two per month, but I would be happy to let you select from our stock on a 1:1 trade just this once. So long as you do agree to pay the accompanying gene fee.¡±


    ¡°That is an acceptable start. Where are these specimens? Would you mind showing me around?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ do not usually involve myself in the selection process of our guests. But¡­ in the spirit of nurturing a good future relationship, please follow me Mr. Gold.¡±


    Dimitri rose from the desk and John did the same. He snapped at Liz who immediately stood as well. Then the two were led from the building by the boss himself.


    He took them down street after street until they reached a large grate in the ground. Dimitri had the two guards manning it lift it aside for them. It creaked upward like a drawbridge, stopping with a terrible grating.


    ¡°After you,¡± Dimitri said with a gesture.


    John was hesitant to walk before the man in case of a trap, but he did as he was bidden. Luckily, as he and Liz entered the dark hole, Dimitri quickly followed after them. Torches near the bottom of a long staircase told John he wouldn¡¯t be proceeding into total darkness; but it was still much darker than the moonlit sky above.


    ¡°We have two different cellars. This is the more pedestrian of the two. I wouldn¡¯t want to spoil the best prizes first.¡±


    ¡°Smart man,¡± John complimented, though he would have liked to throw him down the stairs instead.


    As they walked down the stairs into the torchlight, it struck John how out of place the whole setup was in relation to everything in Emerald Base. In fact, all of Teal base seemed much more primitive than the rest of the bases in The Garden. Then it hit him.


    ¡°Primitive,¡± John thought to himself.


    This was a Primitive base. Apparently, that meant there were primitive means within the base. That was why the rooms looked so shabby and cellars existed under metal grates. That was probably also why his room in Thunder Fox Sanctuary was a big house compared to the room he had in Emerald Base.


    When they made it to the lit bottom of the cellar, John could see a series of barred cells. He stopped walking as he took in the sight. Dimitri moved past the two of them and gestured broadly at the setup.


    ¡°We have over three dozen options to choose from here. These are the everyday selections. We also have a VIP section with another fifteen premium choices. Do you see anything you like?¡±


    John¡¯s teeth ground against each other with such force that he feared he might break one as he heard the man talk about the women in cages like they weren¡¯t even people. Each cage had a large sign on it describing the age, personality, and to John¡¯s utter revulsion a category labeled ¡°number of uses¡±. A smaller sign on each cage could only be called a price tag, listing the asking price for different amounts of time with each captive.


    Looking around, he saw mostly women his mother¡¯s age. There were a few younger girls as well, but none were younger than twenty-five. That gave John a disgusting hunch about what he might find in the other cellar.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± he was finally able to say.


    He walked forward with Liz as Dimitri walked on, seemingly in awe of his own wretched enterprise. The two of them scanned the cages with sinking hearts as they followed deeper into the dark room. As they approached one of the last rows, Liz suddenly stopped walking with an intake of breath.


    She was looking at the nearest cage to their left. Lying on the ground in the same unresponsive state the rest of the women were in was a woman that John could immediately recognize as someone related to Liz. They had they same hair, frame, and general appearance.


    John understood that she had just located her mother, but he couldn¡¯t allow her to proceed with the plan until he knew where the rest of the prisoners were being held. So, he gave her a gentle shove forward and cleared his throat. Addressing Dimitri, he raised his voice.


    ¡°These are all okay, but as you said, save the best for last. Show me to the others.¡±


    Dimitri turned and smiled at John. He had such a predatory demeanor that even John would have felt like prey if he wasn¡¯t so blinded by his boiling rage. The man led them back through the dark passageway and out into the night air once more.


    From there it was a short walk to the other cellar he had mentioned. John made special note of the route between the two. When they had reached the second location, he found it manned by three guards instead of two.


    At a word, they were led into an identical cellar to the first. This one however had much more ado as though it truly was for only the most high class of customers. As John looked around the room, his disgust reached a peak he had never experienced.


    Each prisoner was chained to a luxurious looking bed. None wore a scrap of clothing. There were signs and price tags similar to the other cellar, only much more expensive. And not a single one of the fifteen girls before him was older than twenty.


    John could tell that many of them were even younger than he was, probably having just come of age to enter The Garden. As he looked upon the naked, bruised, and unclean bodies of his peers, John fought against everything in himself to maintain control for just a few seconds longer. He had to make sure first.


    ¡°These are all of the girls? You don¡¯t have a third cellar for extra VIP¡¯s do you?¡± He asked, trying not to let the wavering emotion run into his voice.


    ¡°This is all of them. Why? Are you not satisfied with what you see?¡± Dimitri asked, sounding offended.


    John casually sidled up to the man as they traded words. His arms were at his sides in a nonthreatening manner. He moved to stand on Dimitri¡¯s left as if joining him in studying the girl on the nearest bed.


    ¡°No, Dimitri. I¡¯m not,¡± he said.


    <u>5</u>


    <u> </u>


    <u> </u>


    <u> </u>


    Before Dimitri could answer, John chopped out with his right hand like a blade. His armored hand hit the man in the throat with enough force to illicit a choked cough. He stumbled back in surprise, but John was already moving to the next attack.


    Dimitri tried impotently to scream for his men, but all that came out was a choked wheeze. John latched onto the man by the wrist and pulled him further off balance as his other hand connected in an open palm to the nose. Blood sprayed in every direction as John¡¯s reinforced hand knocked the man completely from his feet.


    John maintained hold on his arm to assure that he guided Dimitri to the ground exactly where he wanted. His head bounced off the hard ground, clearly disorienting the man. John took the opportunity to kick at his elbow while still unrelenting in his grip.


    Pain brought Dimitri back to reality as his arm snapped in a completely irreparable manner. He screamed feebly, but the recent damage to his throat still suppressed the sound to a dull croak. John dropped his wrecked arm and stepped to a standing straddle over the despicable man.


    ¡°You evil,¡± John shouted as his fist slammed into the man¡¯s face, ¡°sadistic,¡± another fist, ¡°abusive,¡± a summoned dagger in the man¡¯s working hand exploded on John¡¯s armor as he paid it no mind, ¡°predatory¡± John¡¯s vision was red as he rained yet another fist down on the man, ¡°disgusting,¡± his voice cracked with the rage he could no longer contain, ¡°pathetic,¡± John raised his hand to deliver another attack, but was interrupted.


    Dimitri¡¯s good arm suddenly shot up between the two of them in a defensive gesture that Third Eye of Callysta had no trouble deciphering. As a result, John¡¯s punch was already on the way when a medium sized shield materialized to cover Dimitri¡¯s face and torso. John was undeterred.


    Out of necessity, John¡¯s punches had been fueled by nothing more than his immeasurable rage at what the man had done here. But unfortunately for Dimitri, it was not a necessity born of having no other option. So, when the shield which was quite probably the man¡¯s last hope of survival popped between them, John only smiled.


    Before coming to Teal Base, John had spent enough time soaking in moonlight to saturate his entire body. The presence of moons in the sky once he had arrived served to keep his reserves topped off. So, without interrupting his attack, he thrust as much of the spiritual essence into his arm as his newfound understanding of the ability would allow.


    John¡¯s descending fist suddenly streaked toward the man like lightning. It crashed into the shield like a cannon ball. A blinding flash of light spread from the impact sight.


    The shield was no greater than Enhanced in tier. John¡¯s body was well beyond Enhanced with his huge count of Advanced and Wizened genes. Even so, his fist would ordinarily have broken against such an object, armor or not.


    But while Lunar Radiance coursed through him, it might as well have been made of paper. There was a blast of piercing force as his hand slammed into the shield with a thunderous retort. The entire shield immediately splintered into hundreds of pieces before melting into nothing.


    His punch did much more than break the shield though. The sheer percussive force of it had traveled through the barrier, weak as it had been, and impacted Dimitri with such force that the floor beneath him was cracked. He fountained blood from more places than one as he was ravaged by the attack.


    John watched the man fall limp beneath his latest punch. He grabbed him by the hair and slapped him hard on the ruined face. With a start, the man jolted back to awareness.


    ¡°You know, you¡¯re actually just a little bit lucky here. Because if any of these poor kids were someone I know, your punishment would be far from over. Take comfort in that.¡±


    Dimitri gurgled something incomprehensible through all the blood and swelling. John paid him no mind as he turned away from the man. Shouts of surprise met his ears from above, and he knew they were out of time.


    ¡°You¡¯re dead! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Dimitri finally managed to say, but even he couldn¡¯t have thought he sounded intimidating.


    ¡°No,¡± John said as Liz made to switch places with him, ¡°you won¡¯t.¡±


    John started up the stairs as angry voices came down to meet him. He summoned his javelin into hand while the sounds of the most pissed off bear he had ever heard spread from below. He only waited a second before hurling the weapon up the narrow passageway.


    The first guard fell back in surprise as the spear launched for his chest. That was the only reason he didn¡¯t die right then and there. The other two weren¡¯t so lucky. Having no space to spread out, the two were impaled as one.


    The wings of the javelin hadn¡¯t had time to increase the flight in the short space, but the force that the two were propelled upward with made it clear that it had happened eventually. They were pinned messily back to the grate that served as the entrance. The javelin broke the metal easily and lodged itself firmly in place with its two victims stuck like kabobs.


    They were the lucky ones. The first guard who had managed to dodge the attack stood back up and swung his summoned mace at John in an impressive display of detachment from the deaths he just witnessed. John speculated if the man had some kind of military or mercenary training before the collapse.


    In any case, his attempt to smash John¡¯s head was as pointless as drawing a circle. John stepped down the stairs by two steps and let the mace slam into the wall of the narrow corridor. Then he summoned the Tail of the Kitsune into his hand.


    With no space or time to maneuver it properly, John could neither control nor predict the damage the weapon would do. But when he flipped his wrist toward the off-balance man, he was soon given his answer. John realized what was coming only a split second before it happened.


    The man screamed in agony briefly as the multiple limbs of the weapon lashed into his flesh. However, they were so sharp that every lashing soon turned into a deep laceration. That quickly progressed into something akin to a tomato slicer.


    As the man¡¯s tortured scream cut off suddenly, he fell down the stairs in several neatly separated pieces. John stepped over the mince as no less agonized screams resounded from below. He moved to the top of the stairs, letting the men clatter down after their companion as he returned his javelin.


    John peeked out the entrance for signs of alarm. The night was calm, and nothing seemed to be out of place. No loud or excited voices met his ears. Satisfied, he moved down the stairs once more to rejoin Liz.


    What he found at the bottom was a scene of carnage that even he couldn¡¯t have expected. The same arm John had broken on Dimitri was laying entirely separate from the rest of him right at the base of the stairs. Scraps of clothing and sparse flesh littered the entire floor of the dungeon, though curiously none of the gore had tainted even a single captive or the beds they laid on.


    It was actually amazingly impressive given just how much of the man Liz had taken off him. As he watched, the still form of Dimitri pooled blood while the insatiable bear worked. Her massive ursine arms dug into the corpse like an actual bear seeking grubs in the dirt.


    Blood, flesh, entrails, chunks of bone, and so much more was torn from the man repeatedly while John watched. He quickly became something unrecognizable under the boundless fury of the girl he thought he would own. John cleared his throat after a moment, drawing the bear¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Maybe I misspoke about him taking comfort.¡±


    Liz finally rose from the dead man and returned to her original shape. John let her have a moment while he moved to the various beds and cut the bonds that held the girls in place. None of them seemed to be very aware of their surroundings, but thankfully, most were conscious if disoriented.


    John let Liz spend time with each girl, getting an idea of how they might go about transporting them all back to the transition pad. He continued to free them of their bonds until all fifteen could move freely. By then, Liz¡¯s calming presence had already drawn the attention of most.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry anymore,¡± she was saying, ¡°John and I are here to help you. Does anyone feel well enough to move on your own?¡±


    All but four hands rose in response to the question. That was more than they had hoped for. John started moving to those who had responded and distributing lower-level souls that he had no use for.


    ¡°The drugs are mostly worn off by now. They administer them at the beginning of each day,¡± one of the more coherent girls said.


    John let Liz speak to them, as the orders of a man were probably the last thing they wanted to hear. In any case, she was able to rally them much more effectively than he would have. He took a moment to listen to her speak.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to get you and all of the other prisoners out of here, but we will have to work together. The two of us can¡¯t protect all of you and also carry the unable. So, if you have been given a weapon, you¡¯re on protection. For those of you that remain, we need four people carried, that¡¯ll be your job.


    ¡°We are the only two here to help, so if you see someone who isn¡¯t one of our group approaching, don¡¯t even give them the chance. Take whatever weapon you¡¯re holding and jam it as far into their eye socket as you can get it. Protect your fellows and stick together. You¡¯re all going home tonight.¡±


    The girls each spent some time covering their bodies any way they could. Bed sheets were a favorite choice, but pillowcases were a close second. One girl, the one John had given a long dagger to, had surprised him by choosing to wear nothing at all. The distant and callous look in her eye made it clear that she would not be waiting for men to approach before she took Liz¡¯s eye socket advice.


    They took a few minutes to organize and position based on the analysis John had performed. But after only a minimal amount of prep work, they were ready to set out. John led the group up the stairs and pushed the grate open to let them all breathe the clean air once more.


    The route between cellars was short and as John had observed on the way, blessedly unmanned. As a result, the walk only took moments even with the reduced pace of the injured girls. John had the group stop just behind the last corner as he drew his bow.


    The scope detached from the bow¡¯s ivory body with a slight click. John took aim down the sights, walking slowly to one side as he attempted to line up the perfect shot. When he was in position, he drew the string back and let the moonlight shining down from above begin to gather.


    Unlike before, John didn¡¯t content himself with what he could easily channel into the weapon. Instead, John gathered as much of the essence within him as he was able and pushed it onto the drawn string as quickly and steadily as possible. The arrow that shone into existence was instantly as bright as a miniature sun.


    The Lunar Stag bow started to jerk in John¡¯s grip from the awful power he was attempting to maintain. He knew if he let the arrow grow much more powerful, it would be impossible to accurately aim.


    So, before someone noticed the change from night to day, John let loose his arrow. It wouldn¡¯t be accurate to say it sailed through the air. Nor even would a description like ¡°rocketed unstoppably¡± suit the flight of the lunar arrow.


    In truth, not even John could see what happened after he released his grip. One instant, the arrow was on the string, the two cellar guards just starting to wonder why it was so bright in that direction. The next instant, the men had completely disappeared from the area and an entire building beyond where the two had been standing exploded into kindling.


    An immense backlash of air blasted up the street in their direction. Dust was churned up from the stones like sand in a tornado. The wave washed over everyone before anyone even knew what had happened. John launched into action as they coughed and tried to clear the air.


    ¡°Go! There¡¯s no hiding what¡¯s going on now. Get everyone down the stairs and secure the rest of the prisoners. Wait there for me. Kill anyone who comes in.¡±


    John barked orders to Liz as the group moved through the street. Liz moved to carry out the instructions as efficiently as possible. But as John started pulling away from the group, someone grabbed his wrist.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡±


    It was the naked girl that John had given a dagger to. He looked at her incredulously for a moment, but then nodded his head. She fell easily into stride next to him as he cut a swift path to the transition pad.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He asked as they moved.


    ¡°Reign,¡± the girl said.


    ¡°Rain?¡± John asked, ¡°As in the weather?¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°Reign. As in from a throne, over millions of imbeciles too incompetent to govern their own lives.¡±


    John almost faltered at the casual nature of the response. The raven-haired girl seemed almost eager. It was like she had just answered the age-old question of what she wanted to do when she grew up.


    ¡°I¡­see,¡± John finally said, ¡°well Reign, I¡¯m John.¡±


    ¡°I know. Your girlfriend mentioned that already.¡±


    ¡°Who Liz? Ha! Hardly. She¡¯s more the forced castration kind of girl than the boyfriend kind of girl. Though given the circumstances, I can¡¯t exactly blame her.¡±


    ¡°Why did you bring her with you if not out of some kinship?¡±


    ¡°Kinship isn¡¯t the same thing as relationship. And in any case, I didn¡¯t bring her. She brought me.¡±


    ¡°Her? Forgive me, but you seem so much more capable than she does. You¡¯re saying this was all her idea?¡±


    ¡°More capable? Did you not see what she did to that guy? The girl turns into a bear. Between the two of us I think she actually becomes a bear in mind body and spirit. Never seen anyone so terrifyingly capable. And the plan was both of our ideas. But once again, you¡¯re confusing the issue. Me being more or less capable wouldn¡¯t have affected the reason I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°And what is the reason you¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°To save you of course,¡± John said reflectively.


    ¡°You mean to tell me you¡¯re here helping a pretty girl with a rescue mission with no ulterior motive?¡±


    ¡°Ulterior? You do not talk like most teenagers,¡± John observed, not responding to the bait.


    ¡°Most teenagers don¡¯t overthrow an underground trafficking arena in a single night either.¡± Reign countered.


    ¡°What makes you think I¡¯m so young?¡±


    ¡°For one, you¡¯re shorter than I am by an inch. For two, you don¡¯t have the voice of a smoker, so it¡¯s pretty easy to hear your age in it. There¡¯s also the way you won¡¯t look at my body, almost like you¡¯re shy. Most grown men are so openly disgusting that they never even see my eyes. Although, few boys do either, now that I think of it.¡±


    ¡°Aha! So, you admit that I¡¯m not your average teenager.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah. I was trying to say that in the first place.¡±


    ¡°So, if you agree that I¡¯m unlike my peers, as are you, is it so crazy to believe that my reasons for being here are unique as well?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but if you aren¡¯t trying to score points with the girl, what is your reason for all of this?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, after I heard what was happening, I didn¡¯t need a reason. I would have come here even if only one of you was being held down there. My parents raised me to make a difference where possible. Sometimes that means paying for someone else¡¯s lunch. Sometimes it means infiltration of an illegal human trafficking ring in order to completely dismantle it from the top down.¡±


    John could tell that this time he was the one who was being overly casual. Still, he meant what he said, every word. What was more, he could tell that she believed his words.


    ¡°Who are you, John?¡± She asked seriously.


    ¡°Maybe we can get to know each other over lunch after you put some clothes on. For now, we have some cleanup to do. Follow my lead,¡± John said as he rounded the last corner.


    The six men at the transition pad were all on high alert, having heard his exploding arrow a few moments before. Alarmed voices carried over the distance to them as they moved stealthily closer in the shadows of buildings. Several men ran off in the direction of Liz and the captives.


    John was unconcerned with the girl¡¯s ability to dispatch them. He knew that Dimitri had far from satiated her bloodlust at the men who took her mother from her. John almost pitied the poor fools as they ran by oblivious either to him and Reign or their impending deaths.


    John was relieved to see that all six of the men guarding the transition pad remained. That probably meant that they hadn¡¯t sent anyone back to earth yet. If things went right, they wouldn¡¯t get the chance to.


    John summoned Jane once more and had her stalk a long path around to the other side of the transition pad. She moved between the buildings like a ghost. She was able to get much closer than he was without being spotted. When she was in a position to help, John turned to Reign.


    ¡°Wait for them to turn their backs, it won¡¯t take long. As soon as they do, get as close as you can as fast as you can. You won¡¯t do anything with a dagger all the way back here.¡±


    Reign nodded. She seemed oddly calm for someone who had been drugged and abused for who knew how long. John wondered what it said about her that she appeared so detached. Perhaps it was shock.


    Jane moved as close to a pinch position as she could before crouching low to wait. John and Reign moved as close as they could get to the group as well. When they could go no further, John sent the signal to his companion.


    Jane leapt from hiding with a snarl that immediately drew the attention of all six men. John and Reign were sprinting out of hiding even before Jane landed on her first victim. She didn¡¯t finish him off though, instead pouncing on anyone who attempted to step onto the transition pad.


    John was soon in their midst with his Tail of the Kitsune whipping around like a serpent striking anything that came near. Reign was only slightly less deadly as she full on leapt onto a man¡¯s back and plunged her dagger repeatedly into his collar. Three of the six were dead in seconds, and the remaining trio could only wait their turn as both the transition pad and their path of escaping by foot were blocked.


    When the deed was done, John stood next to Reign with his bow in hand. The hard part was now over. From then on out, it was simply a cleanup operation.


    Teal Base was unlike Emerald Base in many ways. But chief among them was its lower tier. Something John hadn¡¯t known before coming to the base, but something that had actually aided them in their plan was that Primitive bases were truly primitive in every sense of the word.


    That meant that none of the buildings or rooms were adorned with transition pads as the rooms in Emerald Base were. In fact, there was only one transition pad in the whole base. And John was standing on it.


    That gave everyone two options. Face John¡¯s wrath or run from the base like cowards and hope they could find a new base before being claimed by The Garden. As the minutes passed, John feared they had all taken the latter option. He sent Jane through the city to kill anyone she found but also work on flushing those remaining toward the transition pad.


    After only a few minutes, he started seeing the fruit of her labor. Men came spilling through the streets in ones and twos, easily picked off by John¡¯s bow. And for the next two hours, John put an arrow through the body attached to every face that rounded a corner.


    The night wore on as the fleeing criminals became fewer and fewer. Eventually, the whole base went silent. Jane returned happily and bloodily to his side as the first signs of dawn began to spread through the base.


    He and Reign prepared to retrieve the rest of the prisoners, but he wanted to be sure no more stragglers would come after they were gone. Deciding he couldn¡¯t be sure, he had Jane guard the pad with instructions to kill anyone who came close to it until he came back. The fox yipped happily at him as if it was her pleasure.


    ¡°Alright,¡± John said, ¡°let¡¯s go see how many idiots chose the painful death.

 (Name this) Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    1


    It turned out, way too many idiots had chosen the painful death. John descended the stairs with anticipation as the many hushed voices below silenced at the sound of his approach. There was an inordinate amount of blood adorning the stairwell, and John made sure to announce himself before he got close to the bottom.


    ¡°Liz! It¡¯s me. Don¡¯t disembowel me!¡± He shouted down.


    A moment later, Liz appeared at the base of the stairs. She was in human form, but the amount of blood on her already tattered clothes made her look like the survivor of a massacre. Lucky for her, she was only the orchestrator of the slaughter.


    ¡°It took you long enough,¡± she said.


    ¡°Sorry about that. We had to flush out the cowards. I see you¡¯ve been having fun.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s done now?¡± She asked earnestly.


    ¡°It¡¯s done. All that¡¯s left now is to stake the base out for any stragglers that might have been on earth tonight. First, let¡¯s get everyone back home.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± Liz said.


    The three of them went about organizing everything for the next several minutes. This time, it was harder to find ways to cover all the women. Most of them chose to simply go without. They had all been through much more than a little public indecency.


    It took some time, but eventually they were ready to depart. Liz moved to stand next to the woman she had recognized before, and John knew by the way the woman stared blankly at the ground that it would be a while before any of these girls recovered from their ordeal, if ever they could. John¡¯s rage tried to rekindle itself at the disheartening sight.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± he said, looking away.


    The group moved up the stairs and into the street with cautious optimism. None of them had expected to be free ever again, and more than one outburst of emotion was heard. John led the women through the streets without contest until they made it to the transition pad.


    John immediately noticed the additional three bodies on the ground by the transition pad. They looked like they had come to the garden to help before Jane took care of them. Even as John watched, the transition pad flared to life.


    A man materialized on the platform already in armor. He had an axe in hand and immediately sprinted towards their group. His eyes registered the freed slaves as he approached. His urgency was replaced by anger and perhaps fear as the javelin appeared in John¡¯s hand.


    Before he could deal with the man however, a blur of motion caught John¡¯s eye. Jane leapt down from the roof of a house to land directly on top of the man as he ran. With a quick and violent shake of her head, the man¡¯s neck was snapped, and he was still.


    ¡°Good girl,¡± John said.


    They all moved past the many dead men that now littered the area. John and Liz set about getting everyone sent back to earth one at a time. It wasn¡¯t always easy to get the message across, as many of the women were from places John didn¡¯t recognize. But, with the help of his translator, they were eventually able to see the task completed.


    One by one, the abused and malnourished girls made their way back home. With every additional body that passed through the transition station, a small piece of the blinding rage John had been feeling was stripped away. It didn¡¯t subside entirely, and John knew that a part of him would never be the same after the events of the night.


    Nevertheless, he felt good about what they had accomplished there. It would still be days or weeks before the job was done. But that was a concern for later. John helped usher each of the girls to the pad and thence to wherever it was they had come from.


    ¡°What about you?¡± Liz said when it was only her, her mother, and Reign who had not gone.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to stay here for the night. You get some rest and come back when everything is settled at home. Take your time. We can talk about how to proceed when you come back.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said, but John could tell that she wanted to say something else.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± he asked.


    Liz turned to him and wrapped her arms tightly around him. John took a step back in surprise. The girl was a mess of blood, sweat and grime, but John paid it no mind.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he heard her whisper into his shoulder.


    He could feel the instability in her voice. It was finally clear to John how much stress the situation had put the girl under. She was, as she had always been, very closed off with her emotions.


    Now though, John felt all the stress melt out of her and down his shoulder as she let the tears fall. Soon great racking sobs escaped her as they remained locked to each other. John didn¡¯t know what to say, so he just held her.


    The embrace lasted for minutes, whereupon John released her to look at her face. It was a mess of tears and other fluids, her eyes red. He stared into them until she met his eye.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± he told her softly.


    ¡°I was so scared, John. I thought I would never see her again. I thought she was dead. I thought they were going to kill her before I could make it back to her. I thought-¡± she cut off abruptly as John put a finger on her lips.


    ¡°Shhh. It¡¯s all over now. You¡¯re safe. She¡¯s safe. Take her home and get some rest,¡± he said.


    With tears threatening to fall anew, Liz nodded her head. Her chin quivered with repressed emotion, and John could tell she had a lot more to expel before she could put the night behind her. He smiled reassuringly at her, and she gave a feeble smile in return.


    Then, before he could prepare himself, her lips were pressed to his. They were soft, and the abundant moisture on her face was shared with his as they let the moment extend for several seconds. John was flummoxed at the kiss, but he didn¡¯t let his surprise stop him from enjoying the moment.


    They parted seconds later, and the stunned silence they shared let John know that Liz was as surprised as he was that she had just done that. He smiled at her again before letting her hand go with a gentle squeeze. Without another word, Liz turned away.


    She and her mom moved to the transition pad, and John watched Liz fade out of existence as she was shifted back to earth. When her mom stepped up to transition next, she turned to John. He held her gaze as kindly as his turmoil of emotion would allow for his face to look.


    ¡°You are something else, John,¡± she said.


    It was the first time he had heard her speak. Her voice was rough from disuse, but John could hear the confidence in it. It was clear to him that all of the powerful personality Liz displayed had come from her mother.


    ¡°It was nothing,¡± John tried to say, but even he knew the words sounded empty.


    ¡°It was not nothing. I know my daughter. Strong, independent, and too proud for her own good. She¡¯s never asked anyone for anything. What you helped to do here tonight is more than my family can ever repay.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. Please, go and be with your family. You¡¯ve been through a lot. Tell Liz that I¡¯ll be here cleaning things up until she comes back. But don¡¯t let her come back too soon, okay? She has a lot to process. We all do,¡± John said.


    Then he bid her farewell as the transition pad stirred with life. She melted out of existence, leaving the courtyard quiet in her wake. After only a few seconds of this, Reign spoke up from behind him.


    ¡°So, you mean to tell me that you didn¡¯t do all of this just to get that kiss?¡±


    2


    John ignored the jest from Reign and moved to the bodies of everyone that had fallen in the courtyard. He found nothing of value, but many of the men had something interesting on them. They were all the same. Each carried a small stack of business cards.


    They were written in various languages, and since none of them were English, John had no way of knowing what they said. To the best of his knowledge, it was supposed to be the name of the organization. He tucked one away for later inspection.


    ¡°So, what happens now John?¡± Reign asked.


    ¡°Now I comb the entire base for anything valuable. Dimitri went down easy, but he had some fairly advanced genes. With the prices I seen, that probably means he has some kind of stash somewhere that he used to incentivize this whole mess. I intend to make it my own.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you have a lot of work to do. Aren¡¯t you tired after all of this?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep if I wanted to,¡± John said with a shake of his head.


    ¡°Well, all this excitement has me ready for a nice long bath. See you,¡± Reign said as she turned away and began walking to the transition pad.


    ¡°Wait,¡± John said.


    He instinctively reached out a hand to stop the girl. Halfway to her, however, he realized how invasive it might have been to the girl after what she had been through. So, before she noticed, he let his hand fall. She turned to him with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°You were really helpful tonight. I know you probably won¡¯t want to come back to The Garden anytime soon, but if you do, find me at Emerald Base,¡± John said, giving the girl his room number.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t ever want to come back here. Unfortunately, we don¡¯t all get that luxury do we?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± John said sadly.


    ¡°Thanks for freeing me. And everyone else, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye Reign,¡± John said.


    The girl went to the transition pad and faded away without another word. John watched her go with a contented sigh. The knot of tension in his chest had finally settled to something more manageable.


    That didn¡¯t mean he was at ease by any means. Every time he looked upon the still faces of the men they had killed; thick bile rose in his stomach until an acidic taste coated his tongue. He had murdered these men.


    It wasn¡¯t a question of if he had done the right thing. He knew every single body laying at his feet was there because they had chosen villainy. But as he beheld the sheer amount of death he had caused, he felt sick to his stomach.


    Suddenly, John doubled over, falling to his knees. With an immense heave, the contents of his stomach spilled out onto the ruined ground. His entire body shook with the regurgitation, and soon John lay on his side as dry heaves continued to torment him for several minutes.


    ¡°Am I the one that¡¯s evil?¡± He asked himself as he looked around at the untold carnage.


    He didn¡¯t want to consider the possibility, but there was no denying what had happened. His blind rage led him to sentence these men to death with no chance of redemption. Was that any better than the evil things that they did? Was he the real villain?


    His internal turmoil was interrupted at that moment by the activation of the transition pad. At first, he thought Liz or Reign had returned for some reason. But when he saw the mostly naked and terrified girl fall to the ground a second later, his fist clenched in renewed fury.


    John moved closer to the girl, but was hesitant to get too close, lest he be seen as a threat. What he did instead was summon his bow and immediately draw Lunar essence from within himself. The arrow materialized on the string even before the transition pad hummed to life again.


    John didn¡¯t put much energy into the arrow, worried to hurt the girl. That didn¡¯t lessen the deadliness of the arrow that left the string a second later. A man appeared on the pad, already reaching to grab the fallen girl.


    He didn¡¯t even see John, nor the judgement that streaked toward him. Before his fingers had even brushed the girl, his entire body was knocked back into the walls surrounding the transition pad. The shining essence arrow pinned him to the stone by his chest.


    Blood fountained from the man¡¯s mouth as he looked up at John in surprise. Before he could make a sound though, the arrow in his chest detonated. Like a bomb made of light, the man was blasted apart with a ground shaking report.


    John¡¯s earlier reservation about his actions had disappeared in an instant. He had been trying to come to terms with his own actions when the girl had appeared. The idea that there were still agents out there rounding up innocent people wiped away any doubt he had. Was he evil?


    ¡°No,¡± he told himself, ¡°They are the problem. I¡¯ll be the solution.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± John asked, moving slowly to the girl.


    She looked up at him with fear, clearly not understanding anything that had just happened. John crouched low, bringing himself to a less threatening posture. Then he held out a hand to help the girl up.


    ¡°What is happening?¡± She asked in accented English.


    ¡°The men that run this place are dead. As you can see, they won¡¯t be a problem anymore. You can go back home.¡±


    ¡°I cannot,¡± she said with disparity.


    ¡°You can. It¡¯s okay. No one is going to hurt you anymore.¡±


    ¡°No. I do not have a home. I have been a captive to these men for over a year. They move me around the different locations every few weeks. If I go back to earth, I will be living on the streets.¡±


    The information made John stop. The term ¡°other locations¡± made a giant pit sink into his stomach. With forced calm, he asked the girl about it.


    ¡°What do you mean by other locations?¡±


    ¡°They have a whole network. There are at least a dozen different places they move us between.¡±


    ¡°Do they do this with everyone?¡± John asked.


    ¡°No. Just us young girls. The older women stay put because there isn¡¯t as much demand for them. It isn¡¯t worth the bother of moving them.¡±


    ¡°So, you can¡¯t go back to earth?¡± John asked, forcing himself to stay on the task at hand.


    ¡°No. Ever since the takeover, they¡¯ve had me here moving between bases. I don¡¯t even know what country I was in before that. I would be lost in a strange land if I went back now.¡±


    ¡°How can they move between bases so efficiently? Surely not all of them are so well traveled.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The girl asked, clearly confused.


    ¡°Without using the aliens to choose a base, how did they get you here?¡± John asked.


    ¡°They do not need the aliens. If one person has access to a base, he can send others to it through his transition pad. That¡¯s how they move us.¡± She explained.


    John hadn¡¯t known such a thing was possible. He had even made Liz use the Kumani at the transition station to get to Thunder Fox Sanctuary.  If he had known there was a simpler method, it could have saved some time.


    ¡°And you have been here moving back and forth between bases for months?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said.


    The reality of her situation finally donned on John. She had been a slave long before The Garden. The men who had her clearly saw a massive opportunity after the takeover. They could move their entire business to The Garden to ensure its continued success.


    John hated everything about the situation, and more so because he had no solution to give the woman. Eventually, he resigned himself to keeping her safe while he worked through the base. He had Jane guard the pad as she had been and he and the girl, Mila he learned, began combing through every building and street.


    3


    John spent the entire day going through everything he could find in the base. Most of the houses were unused, which he discerned from the layer of dust coating everything inside. Some were clearly the dwelling of some dead or absent resident, but few if any had anything of value inside.


    There were a few notable exceptions though. One building contained various works of art, like a museum. John didn¡¯t recognize any of them, but he could tell by the artistry that they were all extremely valuable. John left them be and moved on.


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    Another building seemed to be used as a kind of mess hall. There was a horrible smell of old food throughout the building, and several abandoned dishes on a long table. John didn¡¯t know why he was so surprised to see such squalor.


    The real gem of the base was, as he had expected, the large building where Dimitri had been staying. Several of the rooms had interesting things in them, including a room full of earth weapons. John had no interest in them, as even a masterfully crafted weapon from earth couldn¡¯t match his soul weapons.


    Another room had probably the most useful find of the entire base. It was a massive swath of fabric similar to a tapestry. Instead of some trippy drug inspired mandala though, the cloth was marked by several stars in various places, with small indications of landscapes in between each.


    John had trouble figuring out what he was looking at for several seconds. It was a confused mess of scribblings and facsimiles. It wasn¡¯t until he noticed the inordinately boldened star with a small demarcation next to it that he understood what he had found. It read ¡°Teal¡±.


    ¡°This is a rudimentary map of The Garden,¡± John said to himself.


    Indeed, few if any stars had a name next to them, probably because no one had actually visited them. Nevertheless, it was helpful to learn everything he could about the surrounding area. No less than fifty bases had been found, and a helpful legend in the corner gave him a sense of scale.


    According to the key, a hand¡¯s-breadth of space was equivalent to about ten miles. With the size of the tapestry, that told John that Dimitri had people exploring more than a hundred miles in every direction. That seemed implausible to John, but he had no way of knowing the truth.


    The edges of the tapestry were still bare, with teal base being the center of geological exploration. There was a decent amount of space to expand upon. Looking over the map, John noticed something interesting.


    All of the stars were the same, save for Teal base which was dark and centered on the fabric. There were a few anomalies that John found though. More specifically, he found that a few of the stars were accompanied by a very dark and clearly emphasized skull.


    ¡°Advanced bases? Or maybe Wizened? I can¡¯t imagine they¡¯d even be marked on the map if any were Divine,¡± John speculated.


    John studied the tapestry for a while, but eventually he rolled it carefully up and placed it in the small but growing pile of spoils he had found. He was sure Jules could make excellent use of the intel later. It would be especially fruitful if he could send people to independently verify the information on the map.


    John moved through the building methodically, making note of anything useful. The most exciting find was the entire room full of lesser genes. There were only two Advanced genes sitting apart from the lower ranks. But in addition to that was hundreds of each of the smaller tiered genes.


    ¡°Blood money,¡± he thought with disgust.


    John¡¯s eyes roamed over the room with a sense of dawning horror. Each individual gene here had paid for the abuse of at least one innocent life. As he looked upon the innumerable genes, John had half a notion to destroy the whole pile.


    He wasn¡¯t even sure he could destroy a gene without simply absorbing it. But the bile in his stomach that he had fought so hard to master over the last day started to broil at the thought of how much damage the genes had done, simply by changing hands. In the end, John resigned himself to making sure they were never used for such a purpose again.


    The last room John searched was the private quarters of Dimitri, where he and Liz had first met the man. His desk was organized but full, having several important looking papers in various positions across it. John ignored it for the moment and instead moved his attention to the door behind it.


    Finding it locked, John took only a few seconds to cut the door open using the Tail of the Kitsune. Splinters and chunks fell away as John shoved the door inward. Beyond the door was exactly what John had expected to find.


    A single bed, adorned with the softest silk sheets John had ever seen sat in the corner of a small room. John had known a scumbag like Dimitri would have a special place to go when he wanted to exert himself on a woman. What he hadn¡¯t known about, or even thought to suspect, was that there would be a naked and bound dark skinned teenage girl to leap to awareness with all the terror of a wild animal as John stepped into the room.


    John was at his whit¡¯s end. He had been on the emotional edge from the start of the whole operation. He had thought he mastered the rage for what these awful men were doing. But after all he had done to end things, after everything he and Liz had gone through, seeing the exposed and underage girl trying in vain to put any kind of distance between herself and him, John knew he had failed.


    Something broke inside of John at the sight. It was the death of his innocence. It was the disillusionment of a world too horrific for any child to bear it. It was the threat of violence drawn so easily from his deepest being. It was the tiny voice of psychotic lividity in his mind that had always been so easy to deny growing louder and louder until it drowned everything in his mind with a single determined thought: ¡°they will all die for this.¡±


    Schooling his emotions to the frightened girl in front of him, John tried to present a calm energy to the girl. He could tell in an instant that he was failing, and quickly tried another approach. Since Mila was elsewhere searching through the ruins of her previous captors, he had no one to convince the girl that he wasn¡¯t one of the monsters.


    So, with his hands up, John took a step back from the girl. He wasn¡¯t sure how else to convey that he meant no harm than to keep himself as far from her as possible. He tried again to project soothing energy as he spoke calmly to the girl.


    ¡°You¡¯re okay now. I¡¯m not going to hurt you.¡±


    The girl¡¯s face changed, but not how he had hoped. Instead of relief or suspicion, he saw only confusion in her expression. John looked back at her, equally confused until it came to him.


    ¡°English?¡± He said as a question.


    The girl shook her head. John smiled reassuringly at her, now understanding her issue. It wasn¡¯t an issue of trust, at least not only. It was an issue of comprehension.


    Pulling his trusty orb from a pouch, John rolled it between them. While he waited for it to perform its function, John made the decision to dismiss his armor. He figured, it was probably better if she knew she was talking to a fellow teenager rather than some new and unfamiliar man promising her safety.


    She watched this with a mixture of fear and confusion on her face. When his armor melted away to leave a smiling teenager behind, her eyes widened in shock. It was clear that he was not who she had been expecting.


    ¡°My name is John,¡± he said calmly when the orb was ready.


    The words were projected by the orb in a language John had never even heard before. The girl looked in amazement at the ball before looking back at him. She did not respond otherwise.


    ¡°The men who have brought you here, as well as the man who tied you to this bed, are all dead.¡±


    This drew an even more surprised expression from the girl. She still didn¡¯t speak, but her eyes darted to the door behind John as if she were skeptical. John stepped aside to give the girl a glimpse of the empty desk beyond.


    ¡°Would you like to go home?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± the girl said, finally speaking.


    ¡°I would like to help you with that. I don¡¯t want to scare you, but I¡¯ll need to come closer to untie you.¡±


    The girl looked at him with renewed suspicion. She tried impotently to preserve some modesty by curling up. Unfortunately, her limbs were tied too far apart to allow such an action.


    ¡°What should I call you?¡± John asked, averting his gaze.


    ¡°Claudia,¡± she said.


    John was able to hear something in the syllables that he couldn¡¯t place. It was a dialect that he was wholly unfamiliar with, yet, it seemed oddly similar to an accent he had heard before, but it was unique in ways he couldn¡¯t comprehend. He decided it wasn¡¯t important for the moment.


    ¡°Please hold still Claudia. I¡¯m going to get you untied.¡±


    John approached with caution, making it clear he wasn¡¯t trying to ogle her naked form. He kept his eyes on her closest bound wrist, which he went directly to and quickly cut it loose with a summoned knife.


    Claudia flinched at his use of a weapon, but before she could begin to fear his intention, her hand was freed. Then John turned the blade around in his hand and presented it to Claudia handle first.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you do the rest, unless you can¡¯t manage. Just let me know if you need some help. Oh and uh¡­¡±


    John made only a cursory glance around the room without seeing anything before impulsively taking off his shirt and pants. He folded them neatly, ignoring the venomous gaze of Claudia as a man took his clothes off in front of her. Then he put them on the bed before turning for the door.


    ¡°You can have my clothes until you find something better to wear.¡±


    John waited beyond the ruined door for several minutes while Claudia made noises of agitation and vindication in equal measure. It was almost ten minutes before she came out. When she did, she was dressed in men¡¯s clothes far nicer than those that John had been wearing. He looked incredulously at his shirt and pants that were being presented to him like he was the one in need.


    ¡°Where did you find clothes?¡± John demanded, suddenly conscious of his exposure.


    A thumb jabbed over her shoulder was the only response from Claudia. John stormed past her, furious at his own embarrassed stupidity. There. In the corner opposite the bed was a large wardrobe which Claudia had clearly ransacked to find clothes to wear.


    John had been so occupied with the girl that he hadn¡¯t even looked at anything else in the room. Besides the wardrobe, there was also a dresser, a shoe rack, and a chest at the foot of the bed.


    ¡°Well shit,¡± John said.


    4


    After shamefully reclothing himself, John moved back into the private quarters to do a more thorough inspection. He was surprised at how much personal accouterment there was. It looked like the man had lived in The Garden. John supposed that if your entire organization took place away from earth, there would be little reason to return.


    There wasn¡¯t anything of interest, though many of disgust. John tried to pay as little attention to the specifics as possible in those cases. In the end, the whole room was left alone until such a time as John could incinerate the place.


    Returning to the outer room, John found that Dimitri¡¯s desk was the real prize. In and on it was all of the information John had been hoping and also dreading to find. With no small amount of confusion, as the information was largely written in one or more foreign languages, John gathered everything useful.


    In truth, he just took everything. He couldn¡¯t make sense of it; so, until someone could it was all valuable as far as he was concerned. Claudia, who had stood awkwardly staring at him since his reemergence, told him that one of the languages used was Polish.


    ¡°Polish? Is that where you¡¯re from? Poland?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Why do you sound so surprised?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s just that¡­ gosh this is going to sound so racist, but are there a lot of black people in Poland? I thought it was mostly pale vampire looking people with white hair.¡±


    Claudia was quiet for several seconds following John¡¯s words. The silence grew so long that John actually looked up from the pile of information to check on her. She looked at him like he was the most insane person she had ever met.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked defensively.


    ¡°Are there black people in Poland? Why wouldn¡¯t there be black people?¡± Claudia asked not in offense but sheer exasperation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I guess I¡¯ve never thought about other countries like that before. So..?¡± John said, trying not to sound too eager.


    ¡°No,¡± Claudia said with clear annoyance, ¡°there aren¡¯t a lot of black people in Poland. I mean there are plenty of us, but your preconceptions are not entirely wrong.¡±


    ¡°Aha! So then you can understand my surprise?¡±


    ¡°I guess so,¡± she begrudgingly admitted.


    With the subject of average Polish complexion taken care of, John finished gathering all of the documents to have them translated later. Once that was finished, he and Claudia moved out of the building and into the streets.


    As they walked, John casually leading her to the transition pad, Claudia started looking around as if she were expecting to see something. Her eyes widened the closer they came to the transition pad, especially as they passed the bloody remains of several men. She stopped walking and John was forced to get his translation orb back out to hear her question.


    ¡°Where is everyone?¡± She asked


    ¡°I told you, their all dead. You don¡¯t have to worry about it anymore.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean where are all of your men? Where are all of the people that did this?¡±


    ¡°Right here, honey,¡± John said with a smile.


    Claudia narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Clearly, she wasn¡¯t inclined to believe a kid had taken down the entire base. But as she looked in John¡¯s eyes for the joke he was telling and found none, her own eyes widened anew.


    ¡°You did all of this yourself?¡± She said in utter disbelief.


    ¡°Not all of it. And not alone. A friend of mine asked me to help, so here I am.¡±


    ¡°A friend? One friend? You just came here with a friend and dismantled the entire base?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, pretty much. Should have seen the shit she was doing to these guys,¡± John said, shaking his head in detached pity.


    ¡°Forgive me for being skeptical, but how is that even possible?¡± Claudia asked in exasperation.


    ¡°Simple. These aren¡¯t men. They aren¡¯t even worms. Preying upon defenseless girls because it made them feel powerful. Not a single one of them would risk themselves to grow stronger. They¡¯ve been here for how long? Just comfortable and confident in the knowledge that no one would ever stand up to them. Well, look around Claudia.¡±


    She did so, and as she beheld the carnage that had taken place for her freedom, her face transformed once more. It was a constant motion of thought, like she had suddenly dared to ask a question she was scared to know the answer to. When she finally spoke again though, it was not with challenge or question.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she simply said.


    ¡°Thank my friend Liz,¡± John said.


    ¡°No, John. I¡¯m thanking you.¡±


    John¡¯s head rocked back in surprise. He wasn¡¯t expecting the conviction he heard in her voice. It made him stop walking again and look at the girl.


    ¡°I am sure that your friend, whoever they are, did plenty to help. But I¡¯m not thanking her. Because she¡¯s not here. Because she¡¯s not the one who broke into the back room to find me. If it wasn¡¯t for you, how long would have passed before someone found me? Would I even be alive by then?¡±


    John considered the words. He hadn¡¯t thought of himself as the direct savior to any of these people. He was simply hired help, or a useful tool to accomplish the goal. Liz surely would have accomplished the same without him, albeit much less cleanly.


    But after Claudia¡¯s words, he was unable to obfuscate his importance. The truth was, he had found her there. The truth was, he had no idea how long Liz would be home with her reunited family before even considering returning to the base if ever she wanted to. If it hadn¡¯t been for John¡­


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± he finally said.


    ¡°Why do I feel like that apology was harder for you to accept than it was for me to give you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡± John said.


    ¡°I have been a sexual slave to more men than I can count since I got here a month ago. Yet to a man is who I owe my freedom. Do you think I have no reservations with those facts?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I get what you¡¯re trying to say,¡± John said.


    ¡°I¡¯m saying if I can thank a man despite what men have done to me then why is it so hard for you to receive praise? Surely you believe you¡¯ve done something good here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t recognize my own contribution, I just wasn¡¯t raised to seek validation and praise for my accomplishments. I mean, if you spend too much time on what others think you should be, how will you ever learn what you want to be for yourself?¡±


    ¡°Is the gratitude of another really the same as praise for your accomplishments?¡±


    ¡°I guess not,¡± he relented.


    ¡°So then next time just accept my gratitude without trying to prove you haven¡¯t earned it,¡± Claudia said.


    John opened his mouth to respond, but then he shut it again. He hadn¡¯t expected the girl to present such a logical and emotionless rebuttal. He recognized that he had just been verbally bested. Whatever else the girl was, she had a sharp mind.


    John wasn¡¯t the only one who knew she had beaten him though. A challenging eyebrow and a half smile met his gaze when he looked at her. With a failed attempt at suppression, John smiled too.


    ¡°Checkmate,¡± he said.


    5


    John saw that Claudia was returned safely to Earth, giving her the same invitation as Reign to find him at Emerald base if she needed anything. She thanked him again, and this time John accepted it graciously. When she had disappeared, and it was just John and Jane, with a distant Mila still combing over the buildings, he finally collapsed to the ground.


    He was so exhausted from the events of the last day and night that he would have been asleep on his feet if he went much further. So, like an oddly well adorned homeless man, John resummoned his armor to himself and fell asleep right there in the street. The hard cobblestones were as soft as silk to his overtaxed system.


    When John woke up, it was to someone¡¯s foot tapping him lightly but persistently on his armored head. They were standing over him, but not helpfully blocking out the blaring sun above. He was so disoriented that it took him a few seconds to hear the words the person was saying.


    ¡°How long have you just been laying there? I know I¡¯ve only been gone for two days but I thought you would have down something with all the corpses by now.¡± Liz was saying.


    ¡°What day is it?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know dude; we don¡¯t really have days of the week anymore.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± John said.


    He sat up like a man returned from the dead. That is to say, a lot of groaning and a cramp in his shoulder that made him look like a zombie until he eased it. Apparently, the cobblestone hadn¡¯t been as silky to his body has his exhausted mind.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± John said, still mostly asleep.


    ¡°What do you mean what¡¯s going on? Hello? You told me to come back and I¡¯m back.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stay with your family? You deserve to rest after everything.¡±


    ¡°No, my mom deserves to rest. And that¡¯s what she¡¯s doing. You think I¡¯m going to leave this mess for you to cleanup? Clearly that would have been a mistake.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been really busy,¡± John tried to say in defense.


    ¡°Oh yeah, busy squirming around on the ground like a starving fish for the last hour.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been here for an hour? And you only tried to wake me now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been here for six hours. I didn¡¯t know when you got down on the ground to sleep, but I figured you couldn¡¯t take that long to wake up. Boy was I wrong!¡±


    ¡°You should have woken me sooner. We have a lot to take care of still,¡± John chastised her.


    ¡°Cool your jets, John. I told you I¡¯ve been here for six hours. First of all, I met Mila. Cool girl, she¡¯s got good taste in music. Also, I¡¯ve been working on cleaning the whole place up. I¡¯ve got most of the bodies piled up near the gate, but I wasn¡¯t sure if you wanted to burn them or just throw them out for the scavengers.¡±


    ¡°Woah woah, back up.¡± John said.


    ¡°What?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°How do you know about Mika¡¯s taste in music?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Because I asked her, John. You should try actually interacting with the people around you. You might learn something.¡±


    ¡°Okay, asshole.¡±


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get this over with,¡± Liz said.


    John got to his feet with some additional groaning, but a good stretch served to loosen the stiffness. With a good look around, John saw that Liz had indeed cleaned up the majority of the corpses. John could tell by a few bloodstains that were newer than the rest that Jane had continued to carry out justice in his absence.


    The fox trotted up to John at that very moment, and the soul companion was so exuberant that he would have believed she was a real animal. He gave her a grateful pat on the head and turned to the matter at hand. Jane bounded away once more to guard the transition pad.


    ¡°What do you think? Take them outside the gates or burn them?¡± Liz asked again.


    ¡°I think we should do both. The more of this mess that gets burned up, the better.¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re going to burn everything like you said, why bother moving them?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t know if burning the whole base is possible. If it is, we burn it. Let no record of this place exist. And if not, at least we disposed of the trash.¡±


    ¡°Well, okay,¡± Liz said, unconvinced.


    So, the two of them set about the gruesome task of removing the filth from the base. It was a much more hands on and time-consuming process than either of them would have wanted. Still, neither of them hesitated to do what needed to be done.


    Over an hour later, a time which two more bodies were added to the number by Jane, they had the base clean. The next problem became what they would use to burn the pyre. All sources of combustion such as gasoline and oil had been replaced with an alternative power source, and John wasn¡¯t sure how he would even get ahold of any at that point.


    In the end, it was Liz who came up with a solution. She led him to the cellar where the youngest girls had been held. Once there, John saw that the three men he had taken out had been removed, but Dimitri¡¯s dismembered body remained. It had been neatly collected and piled on top of a broken and rough stacked bed frame.


    ¡°Conducting your own ritual, are you?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Let this place where so many innocent girls suffered be his coffin.¡± Liz said, nodding.


    ¡°So be it,¡± John agreed.


    The two of them spent an inordinate amount of time dismantling as many of the wooden bed frames as possible before moving them to the streets above. When they had a pile too large to easily transport, they stopped. Before leaving the cellar behind, Liz pulled a box of matches from her pocket.


    They were one of the few rare ways to easily start a fire that was still available to humans. Since lighting matches was a simple chemical reaction with a small piece of wood to sustain it, matches had not been considered in the acquisition of combustion materials. At least, that¡¯s what John assumed, as he hadn¡¯t known they still existed until that moment.


    Liz also pulled a tea candle from another pocket and moved to place it under the thickest part of the pyre she had made. John watched her with confused fascination. He had never seen a candle used to light a fire before.


    ¡°Is that going to work?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Is what going to work?¡±


    ¡°The candle,¡± John said.


    ¡°Is the candle going to work? Yeah, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll light just fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. Can you really start a whole fire with a small candle like that?¡±


    ¡°Are you asking me if a candle will work better than a tiny little match that will burn my fingers before it ever catches anything on fire? Yes, I¡¯d imagine so.¡± Liz said as condescendingly as possible.


    ¡°Oh. I guess that¡¯s a good point,¡± he conceded.


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m smarter than you? Shocker,¡± Liz said.


    Then she took out a match and struck it on the box. It flared with life before mellowing out into a small flame. Liz expertly shared the flame with the tiny candle under the tinder. Once it was alight, she quickly started moving the smallest of the splinters over the flame.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the first piece caught fire. More quickly followed, and Liz continued to feed the flames until they were big enough to start licking the underside of the larger pieces. Smoke quickly spread through the chamber, searching along the ceiling for the path upward.


    Liz continued rearranging the pieces of wood until the flames grew big enough that she was sure they would continue to burn. They took their leave before the heat and flames began cooking more than the wood. Without a backward glance, Liz and John left the man on the pyre to burn or just rot as fate wished.


    Once back to the much larger pile of wood in the street, they once again set about the laborious task of transporting materials. Another half an hour later, they had all the scavenged wood collected next to the pile of dead men. With a sigh of inevitability, they set about rearranging the two piles once more.


    When they had finished, the wood and the bodies had merged into one massive pile of trash. Liz set about repeating the same process she had before, pulling a series of additional tea candles from her pockets before positioning them at numerous places around the stack. John had watched the process and was able to help get all the candles lit and stoked.


    Soon their second bonfire was well lit and rolling with smoke. The pungent stench of death made them both gag. The bountiful plant life beneath the large inferno served as even more impressive tinder. It wasn¡¯t long before they had to step back from the heat.


    ¡°And good riddance,¡± John said.


    ¡°Glad it¡¯s finally done,¡± Liz agreed.


    ¡°No. Not quite,¡± John said, turning his gaze back to the base.

 (Name this) Chapter 17

    Named Chapter 17


    1


    John turned away from the last house as the flames grew to encompass the building. He looked back at it with dispassion as smoke churned from the quickly growing fire. With an easy toss, the burning stick he had been using was added to the mess.  As John stood watching the inferno grow, he heard an unexpected message.


    ¡°You have emptied and razed Teal Base. Outside access to Teal Base has been revoked. Renewal of Teal Base will begin immediately. As the leader of the conquering force, would you like to formally assume control of Teal Base?¡±


    John was surprised. His only plan had been to destroy any remnants of the horrible things that had happened there. Learning that destroying a base was not only possible, but also a means of assuming control was extremely valuable information. John quickly accepted the invitation.


    Like a massive wave, a gust of wind burst from John in all directions. All through the base, any fire that still burned was instantly extinguished. The next second, every scrap of remaining material from the burned buildings melted away like ice on a hot day.


    Wood, stone, metal, and anything else that the base was made of appeared no more substantial than smoke dissipating. The entire base melted into the ground or dissolved into the air as John watched in amazement. This was yet more proof just how sophisticated a place The Garden was.


    When the process was complete, John was standing in a large empty space enclosed by stone walls. Only the distant transition pad remained. John suspected that even a creature like Sun¨¦ couldn¡¯t destroy one of those.


    Liz and Mila stood close to the transition pad, looking around in shock at the sudden lack of furnishing. John made his way toward the two of them as the ground started to rumble ever so slightly. Before he had made it to them, a new message prompted him.


    ¡°Deconstruction complete. Would you like to customize reconstruction?


    John responded in the negative. He didn¡¯t have time to obsess over the layout of his new base. As soon as he made his choice, new buildings started rising out of the ground. They were in the exact shape and placement of the previous buildings.


    John eventually rejoined the two ladies at the transition pad. Before burning anything, they had spent a few hours moving everything of value to their rooms within Thunder Fox Sanctuary. Mila had stood by unspeaking in all that time.


    John looked at her now, and the frail girl looked back with a nervous question in her eyes. John understood why. Her unique position made it difficult to decide what to do. John have a reassuring smile before turning to the transition pad.


    ¡°Would you like to control the restriction of transition to and from Teal base?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± John said.


    ¡°Please specify parameters.¡±


    John didn¡¯t know how to follow the command, but he started by concentrating on the idea that no one but himself should be able to enter the base, as was already the case. To his surprise, a small chime seemed to confirm the concept. With more confidence, John continued.


    He quickly imagined himself, Liz, and Mila having permission to transition out. Again, a chime confirmed the change, and the transition pad flared with renewed life. Satisfied for the moment, John ended his alterations.


    ¡°Wait here,¡± he said to the two girls.


    Then John hopped to Thunder Fox Sanctuary for a quick chat with Sun¨¦. His wings brought him before the massive palace in short order, and soon enough, he was standing before the fox. Sun¨¦ waited patiently through John¡¯s greeting, as well as the subsequent request before responding.


    ¡°If what you say is true, there will be no issue. Proceed with your plans, and I shall await your return.¡±


    John quickly yet profusely thanked the fox before hurrying from the palace. He returned to his room with all haste, zipping back to Teal Base. The two girls startled at his sudden reemergence.


    ¡°All right,¡± he said, ignoring their surprise, ¡°it¡¯s all settled.¡±


    ¡°What is settled?¡± Mila asked nervously.


    ¡°You are,¡± he said happily.


    John held out a hand reassuringly to the woman. He could recognize her anxiety at the gesture, but Mila did only hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and grasping it. John directed her to stand next to him before turning his attention to Liz.


    ¡°I have a few things to take care of, so I¡¯ll be busy for the next couple days. It shouldn¡¯t take me too long, but I have a habit of underestimating these things. I¡¯ll drop word at your room in Thunder Fox Sanctuary when I¡¯m done.¡±


    Liz gave a nod of affirmation as John and Mila began to dissipate into nothing. Fresh with the knowledge that he could take others through is access, John had quickly come up with a semi solution to Mila¡¯s conundrum. That was why the two of them rematerialized on a transition pad more ornate than any he had ever seen.


    ¡°Oh my,¡± Mila said with wide eyes the second they came through.


    Her expression grew into one of absolute astonishment at the sight of the ridiculously opulent room they now stood in. She looked upon the room with wide, slow eyes starting with the high ceiling, which depicted such magnificent scenes of love and hardship that Michelangelo would have envied them. She gazed in disbelief at the amazing change of scenery.


    John too was a bit taken aback at the magnificence. He had only seen the room rivaled by one other in terms of excellence. Since the other room was supposedly attached to the realm of gods, he had to admit he was impressed.


    Mila continued to ogle the room, and John gave her time to do so. He knew there would be plenty more fantastic things for the girl to accept before they were done. He didn¡¯t begrudge her this moment of peaceful observance.


    He did take the time to inspect the rest of the room while Mila continued to ogle the ceiling. The walls were similarly decorated, with thick gold trim outlining much of the more fantastic scenes. Terrific battles, harrowing adventures, and discoveries so unbelievable that John found himself wanting to know more scored every wall, of which there were five.


    The transition pad sat in the center of the room, and John had to physically turn his head to see all of the walls. Each one seemed to follow a different yet similar theme to the others. John was fascinated by what higher ideas the room might have been attempting to impart.


    One wall, the one facing their position, was little more than a great archway, however. And John took much too long not just to notice it, but also to notice the figure lurking beneath it. Still, he was not as surprised as Mila was when the figure spoke.


    ¡°Hello, human. Welcome to Thunder Fox Sanctuary,¡± Sun¨¦ said.


    2


    When John had gone to speak with Sun¨¦ about Liz, she had told him about the policies for being granted access to Thunder Fox Sanctuary. As it turned out, Sun¨¦ had two different sets of criteria for gaining admission. The first was to prove yourself against challenging foes in single combat.


    That was the method both John and Liz had used. By proving their worth, Sun¨¦ formally accepted them into the ranks of her military force. Not that John thought the fox would ever truly have need of any of her subjects. Still, the concept remained in theory, and there wasn¡¯t a single occupant who would deny Sun¨¦ if she came calling.


    The second method, as John had then learned, had a lot different criteria. Just as Sun¨¦ offered a place for the powerful to grow stronger, so too was it a place for the defenseless to find sanctuary. John had been fascinated to find out that a large section of her palace was set aside to shelter such needy souls.


    According to the fox, if one¡¯s need was truly dire, and they lacked certain basic necessities to survive in the world, they would be harbored in Thunder Fox Sanctuary as refugees until such a time that they could more adequately fend for themselves. Apparently, Sun¨¦ had entire ranks of servants dedicated to rehabilitation and training of such residents. As a Fox with healing powers, it was actually a core doctrine of her governance for residents to bring the injured or impaired to her for care.


    Mila, who had still been staring at the ceiling, jumped at the greeting of the fox. Her eyes locked on the beast, and John found confusion in her eyes. She couldn¡¯t figure out who had spoken to her. Only when her eyes found the orb in front of the fox did she begin to understand.


    She had seen John use the orb to communicate more than once, so she knew the basic function. She also understood that there was nothing but the fox in the room. Simple process of elimination finally gave the obvious answer to her question.


    ¡°You can talk?¡± She asked the fox nervously.


    ¡°I can. But my language is both much more simple and infinitely more complex than that of humans. This does serve as an acceptable medium, however,¡± Sun¨¦ said.


    ¡°Where am I? What is happening?¡±


    ¡°Be at ease, child. John has told me of your ordeal. You have suffered much and lost even more. I am here to assure you that your hardships are at an end, at least for the immediate future.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say,¡± Mila said.


    ¡°Do not worry. I understand the vulnerability you carry. It is something I can help you to ease with time. For now, however,¡± Sun¨¦ said as she stepped forward.


    The fox moved slowly and reassuringly toward Mila. The girl only stood on the transition pad and waited as Sun¨¦ approached. John watched on in fascination.


    Sun¨¦ came right before the girl and extended her nose gently in Mila¡¯s direction. The girl seemed to instinctively reach out a hand to connect with the fox. With an exchange of sparks, the two met.


    John watched as a gentle electric current slowly spread through the girl. Hairs stood up, first on her arms, but quickly spreading to her head as well. As he observed, the many scrapes and bruises Mila had sported faded gently into nothingness.


    ¡°Hey,¡± John said in protest, you healed me by shocking the shit out of me! Why doesn¡¯t she get the live battery treatment?¡±


    ¡°You were more injured than she. Also, stop being a pup,¡± Sun¨¦ replied.


    ¡°Did you just call me a baby?¡± He asked incredulously.


    Instead of answering, Sun¨¦ expertly guided Mila from the transition pad and toward the exit. Mila followed with distant eyes, as if numb wether from literal or metaphorical shock. Before they left the room, Sun¨¦ spoke to him again.


    ¡°Your job is done here. See yourself out,¡± she said dismissively.


    And with that, the fox and the girl turned the corner and disappeared from sight. John stood there indignantly for several seconds before shaking his head. He supposed he should expect no different from the mischievous fox. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the extravagant room.


    He had been given a one time pass by Sun¨¦ to access her personal transition pad within the palace. Once he left, he wouldn¡¯t be able to return to the amazing room without another invitation. With that in mind, he took some time to really appreciate what he was seeing.


    He gave another sigh, this one much more content as he considered all he had been able to accomplish. It had not all been pleasant, but it had all been necessary. With a nod of self satisfaction, he selected his location and let himself fade away.


    In a few short seconds, John was finally back in his room in Emerald Base. He smiled in slight annoyance at the small pile of letters on the floor from Jules. After only a couple days of absence, the man had already man a nuisance of his floor.


    John shook his head, unwilling to be baited just then. His entire intention had been to return to the base and inform the man on everything he had learned. He especially wanted to get whoever Jules knew in the topography community to look at the gigantic map he had found.


    But when he looked upon the recurring nightmare that was piled up on his floor, the will fled John. Without even stepping free of the transition pad, John primed the pad for another jump. Without another thought, John began the shift back to earth.


    He had only been gone a couple days, but he anticipated the lashing from his mother would be enough to leave scars. Surprisingly though, it was with a tired smile and plenty of relief that she met him at the door upon his return. To his further surprise, she didn¡¯t look upset at all.


    ¡°Hi mom,¡± John said, letting his confusion bleed through.


    ¡°Welcome home,¡± she said.


    ¡°Uhhh¡­ Thanks. Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± His mom asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been gone for days and you haven¡¯t demanded to know why yet,¡± he said.


    ¡°I know why,¡± she said gently.


    ¡°I can exp-¡± John started before he understood the words his mom had spoken.


    ¡°You know why? How?¡±


    ¡°Because of this,¡± she said.


    John watched as she retrieved what looked like a letter from the table by the door. John looked at it in confusion as he tried to understand what she was talking about. When she handed it to him and John started reading, however, it all became clear.


    3


    Dear Mrs. Greene,


    Thank you. You don¡¯t know it, but I owe you everything. You see, if it wasn¡¯t for you, I never would have met your son. John came into my life at its lowest point. He gave me the help and the strength to stand up for myself when the world sought to use me.


    I have tried to repay the service. I¡¯ve worked obsessively to grow strong enough to one day offer him help in a time of need. But the stronger I get, the more I fear that your son might truly be one of a kind.


    No challenge is too great for him to conquer. He is always willing to help, and he never asks for anything in return. Not really, anyway. I suspect any concession he accepts for himself is simply to ease my guilt. He is kind, compassionate, and more willing to help a stranger than anyone I have ever met.


    I know that you worry about him. He worries about you too, you know. He hasn¡¯t admitted it, but I can tell. It¡¯s the same worry I feel for my family. He does a good job of keeping his true feelings hidden, but I can still see it.


    It was the same impotent terror I was feeling yesterday. I tried to hide it, but John saw through me like I was made of glass. It was my mom. She was taken from me by some terrible people. I didn¡¯t want to ask John for help, but he¡¯s so damn persistent.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Once he found out the truth, it was like a fire had been ignited inside of him. Nothing would have convinced him not to help me. And before I knew it, we were infiltrating a criminal organization.


    I know, that sounds really dangerous. I guess it was really dangerous. But again, John didn¡¯t even hesitate. He threw himself behind enemy lines without a second thought. He single-handedly located my mom, as well as over fifty other women, many younger even than we are.


    It would have been enough for me if he had simply set my mom free, but that would never have been enough for your son. He made sure all of the prisoners were accounted for before dismantling the entire organization by himself. Not only did he save my mom, but every single captive was returned home safely.


    When I asked him to help me, I had no idea just how thoroughly he would do so. But I should have. He has never given any less. I asked him once why he was so willing to help me, and his answer was that it was the way he was raised.


    I don¡¯t know how much of what he says is true and how much is fiction. But I strongly suspect he was telling the truth about that. And so, I want to thank you again Mrs. Greene. I don¡¯t think you will ever know how much my family owes you for the son you raised.


    This morning, my family ate breakfast together for the first time in weeks. Tonight, my mother will sleep in her own home for the first time in as long. You gave us these blessings by giving the world someone like John.


    I know that you do not want anything to happen to him. I know that you will never rest easy as long as he is away. But if it eases your mind just a little bit, I have never seen a situation John couldn¡¯t find his way out of. He never hesitates, and he never falters. I believe your son will do things the rest of us only dream of.


    I write this now as I look upon my family reunited. The joy your family has brought to mine cannot be put into words. John told me your husband has also been taken from you. I¡¯m sorry. I know the pain your family is going through.


    What I also know is what a determined and capable son you have raised.  No matter the odds, no matter who stands in his way, nothing will stop him from reuniting your family. Just as he let nothing stand in his way of reuniting mine.


    I do not think I will meet anyone like John for as long as I live. I consider myself lucky to have met just one. So, again, thank you.


    Trust in your son. He is much more than you know.


    Sending all of my love to your family,


    -Liz


    4


    John looked at the letter with shock. He had not known that Liz was capable of getting a letter to his mom. As he thought about it though, it made more sense.


    Liz had probably given the letter to Jules, knowing the dynamic he had with John¡¯s mom in the case of his absence. It had probably been a simple matter to wait for Emily to come worrying over her son and pass along the letter. He was both embarrassed and grateful to Liz for the gesture.


    He looked at his mom, who was smiling at him proudly. Feeling his cheeks redden, he quickly looked back down. He cleared his throat uncomfortably before trying to speak.


    ¡°I uh¡­¡±


    John struggled to find the words but couldn¡¯t think of anything useful to say.  His mom didn¡¯t need him to speak, however. She just embraced him like she did every time he came home from a long absence.


    ¡°You have grown into such a wonderful person. I couldn¡¯t be prouder of the man you are John.¡±


    ¡°You raised me. It would be hard to grow into anything else.¡±


    His mom silently held him for several seconds. John could feel the unease she tried to hide. After a few more seconds, she spoke again.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ really going to get him back?¡± Her voice trembled with the question.


    John pulled her away from him so he could look her in the eye. Her own were unsurprisingly filled with tears. He stared hard into those eyes and made sure his words were understood.


    ¡°I am,¡± he said, full of conviction.


    After his return home, John spent some time trying to reach a state of balance once more. But when he thought back upon them, recent experiences left him feeling hollow. He had thought he would be left with residual anger or disgust knowing that he had only scratched the surface of the horrible organization.


    Instead, he felt completely empty. Like his experiences had burned along with Teal Base, and only a void was left.  Despite the implications, John was relieved at the absence. When he had let loose his anger, it had felt bottomless, like he could have burned the entire world with rage as his fuel.


    The thought had terrified John. He knew that if he didn¡¯t do something about it, eventually it would overcome him. The problem was, John had no idea how to address it, much less conquer it.


    Finding that he had become numb to the experience was a relief that John was ashamed to feel. He should have been seeking resolution, but just then, John was content to put that off for another time. Instead, he focused all of his attention on his Cultivation Scrolls.


    Third Eye of Callysta was a stubborn and unyielding wall as it had ever been. He teased grains of salt from the unfathomable ocean of information. Unfortunately, a grain here and there would never be enough to make any progress unless his understanding profoundly evolved.


    It wasn¡¯t as if he made no progress at all, but with each new insight gained, he only became more uncertain of what he was actually learning. Most of the time, discovering something new only served to unbalance everything he thought he had learned already. It was a maddening pursuit made all the harder by his own stubborn arrogance.


    But where Mind Cultivation was an impassable obstacle, Spiritual Cultivation made leaps and bounds. John spent each evening sitting at the apex of his house, soaking in moonlight as he studied the scroll. He quickly progressed through the knowledge contained there, and every new concept clicked into place to perfectly expand his understanding.


    It was like his brain was extra ready to learn each night after failing at mental cultivation throughout each day. It was infuriating in the extreme to know that he understood his Spiritual Cultivation much more thoroughly than the Cultivation he had already made a Gate Breakthrough with. It was a valuable lesson that reaching a goal was not as important as the struggle up to it.


    Still, John knew that no matter how little he seemed to know, he still had a universe more insight than anyone else who had ever attempted to learn the Cultivation method. He struggled on through the ocean of confusion, even when each new attempt left him further from the shore of understanding. Unfortunately, no matter how he looked at it, how hard he studied, or how long he lasted before losing his temper, there was just no way of simplifying the material.


    Even with all the time and effort Emma had been putting into understanding even a small part of the scroll, John still couldn¡¯t properly bridge the gap between what he knew and what he thought he knew. Small advances in understanding came after hours of toil and often undermined many of his previous advancements. All in all, it was impossible to say if he ever actually made any advancement.


    But as the days and nights scrolled by in more ways than one, John felt a substantial leap in his understanding of Lunar Radiance. The gaps in his comprehension lessened more with each night. In addition, he finally got the hang of the exact circulation process described in the scroll.


    Mastering the proper methodology gave John a sense of accomplishment that had otherwise been missing from his training. It also gave him the sense of what was actually possible using the Lunar Essence. His progress was becoming so formidable that John was able to retain spiritual saturation well into the next morning each day.


    He found that exerting himself, even small exertions would slowly drain his reserves. By the end of his workout each morning, the lunar essence would be completely spent. The addition of direct sunlight also hastened the depletion.


    If John stayed indoors and refrained from exerting himself, he could make the essence last until the hottest part of the day. He preferred to place himself in the heat, however. Since passing the trial, he had wanted to find a way to lessen the deleterious effect of sunlight.


    His attempts weren¡¯t without merit or results, but even with all of his effort, he could do little more than slow the drain. When the sun was on him, he felt like the essence was a sink turned on full blast, and John¡¯s attempts to stop the escape were like putting a thumb over the spout. Any leakage he could actually contain was forced out with even greater tenacity somewhere else. In the end, he was forced to admit that his Spiritual Cultivation had its limitations.


    Still, the pros far outweighed the cons in John¡¯s opinion. For starters, with the Spiritual Essence circulating along the proper pathways, he felt his limbs loosen and his skin became almost elastic in its makeup. His flexibility and grace saw a major leap in potential.


    As John had already experienced to a much lesser extent, Lunar Radiance provided both energy and renewal of cells. He found that so long as some Lunar Essence remained within him, he could not be tired out nearly as easy. John used this to great effect each night, pushing the limits of his acrobatics, stamina, and adaptation by moving through the tops of the trees behind his house as dangerously as possible.


    It served as an obstacle course in the absence of anything better. John quickly saw the benefits of regularly pushing himself this way. Soon his body was not only leaner than it had ever been, but also seemingly sculpted to perfection. He had never been a very big person, and with his new lifestyle, it was becoming clear that he never would.


    ¡°Damn,¡± he said one night as he noticed the tone of his arms, ¡°I got ripped.¡±


    5


    John¡¯s return to The Garden was, for once, not an issue he had to justify with his mom. She had seemed to take a different mentality towards the entire situation since reading the letter from Liz. Instead of the worrying frown and nervous words to come home safe, she just hugged him and told him to be careful with a trusting smile.


    John returned first to Thunder Fox Sanctuary to retrieve at least part of the plethora of things he pillaged from Teal Base before setting his destination for Emerald Base. The obnoxious pile of mail on his floor was exponentially larger than it had been on his last visit. John didn¡¯t bother to look at any of it and grabbed one of the crates he had filled with goods from Teal Base before stepping from his room.


    He found Jules hard at work in his own room a few minutes later. At his knock, the man let him in with words of welcome and questions of where he had been. John spent over an hour detailing exactly what he and Liz had been up prior to his hiatus.


    Jules listened without interruption, only raising his eyebrows in shock at the gruesome and outlandish events described. He was excited to hear of the crates of genes John now had at his disposal. His true excitement, as John had known it would, came from the existence of the rudimentary map he had found.


    ¡°Oh man, this is huge! It could change everything. It might be the biggest wealth of knowledge about The Garden that humans have been able to gather. You said it¡¯s centered on the base you found it in? Can I take some people to investigate the accuracy?¡±


    John had hesitated, unsure if he wanted anyone to go there so soon. But he trusted Jules, and the man¡¯s network of contacts was much larger than anything John would be able to muster. So, with some consideration, he agreed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you permission to connect to it. Anyone you want to take will need to enter from your room¡¯s transition pad,¡± John said, explaining what he had learned about sharing access.


    ¡°Thank you. This is going to change everything. You¡¯ll see.¡±


    John spent a few hours after that laboriously transporting crate after crate of genes to Jules¡¯s room for use as payment in their growing guild. The number of Advanced genes was small, but luckily all but the most difficult of assignments would be paid in quantities of lower ranked genes.


    The numbers of Enhanced, Awakened, and Primitive genes on the other hand were almost enough to consume all the free space in Jules¡¯s room after six crates of the goods were delivered. John had no doubt that the man would make perfect use of the materials, and he was again reminded how lucky he was to have made a friend like him so early on.


    They discussed the future of their growing guild like two nerds discussing comic books. Jules was excited to tell John about how well the ranks were doing as a whole. Dozens of contracts were carried out each day, and so far every mission had been an absolute success, with zero fatalities though a few clients had been injured.


    Such was the nature of things though. No safety was absolutely guaranteed, especially on jobs involving anything over an Awakened target. But the training and discipline Jules expected of his employees kept the mishaps to non serious injury on the few occasions they happened.


    John was more than content with how things were going. He couldn¡¯t have imagined two months ago that he would be standing at the top of an entire guild. He definitely couldn¡¯t have imagined he would be operating under a pseudonym, nor that he would choose to name his guild after the same. It had been an unbelievable series of events since his first tragic venture into The Garden.


    He had taken catastrophe and turned it into fortune again and again. He almost wondered if he didn¡¯t have some kind of magic power. He reasoned that if he did, it was a pretty horrible power to have. Nevertheless, he thanked whatever fortuitous event set him on the path of prosperity he now walked.


    After settling everything with Jules, John started to make his way back to his room to prepare for his next order of business. Before he had gone more than a few blocks though, he felt the unease that came with a sketchy situation settle over him like a blanket. He stopped walking and turned around.


    ¡°No need to be cowards about it, you may as well come out,¡± he said.


    From around various corners of buildings, John watched nearly a dozen veiled men step into the street, weapons already in hand. John had felt the men trailing him all the way back at Jules¡¯s room. He hoped the other man had not been a target as well.


    Looking over the covered faces of the men, John found that he didn¡¯t recognize any of them. Not that he had expected to, but he would have liked to know who or what was behind such a maneuver. With no better option, John spoke again.


    ¡°Which one of you is in charge?¡±


    None spoke. As he waited for a response, John was constantly taking in details about the men. He noted the type of weapon each person carried. He paid special attention to the body language of each, making predictions of how they might act should things come to a head.


    For each man he made note of positioning, disposition, nervousness, stance, apparent proficiency with the weapon they held, apparent synergy they had with their fellows, and so many more seemingly unimportant and unrelated details.


    By the time he received an answer, John had made predictions based on the three most likely courses of action each person could take. He had no doubt he wasn¡¯t entirely correct about these predictions, but Third Eye of Callysta gave him more certainty than he otherwise would have possessed in making them. As John mentally continued forward in his planning, one of the masked men spoke up.


    ¡°I am in charge here. And it¡¯s time you started answering for your actions, Gold.¡±


    ¡°Ahhh,¡± John said, ¡°so you¡¯re a worthless layabout and you think I owe you something.¡±


    Silence met his words as he felt them lash into the man¡¯s already angry mood. He couldn¡¯t see behind the veil, but he thought he might have made the man snarl. His response was cold and measured.


    ¡°You will soon discover how worthless I am.¡±


    ¡°Oh I already know, buddy. Besides your borderline offensive body odor, your ability to lead is subpar at best. In addition, you don¡¯t even know how to hold that big ass sword correctly. You know that even if you have the strength to one hand it, you¡¯re actually supposed to hold it with two hands to get the proper leverage right? It doesn¡¯t even look cool to hold it one handed. It looks like you wanted to become a bad anime character. Well congrats, man. You did it.¡±


    ¡°Your tongue is sharp for a man behind his armor,¡± the leader shot back.


    John was of course wearing his armor as he did every time he went to see Jules. It was a precaution that had until now seen no results. Still, his current situation proved he had been wise to take the caution. He smiled at the man¡¯s easy goading.


    ¡°Not as sharp as the cheese coming off of you, good god man. I take it back, it¡¯s way past borderline. You, my man, are offensive.¡±


    ¡°And you are one man. There are ten of us. Do you really think you should be so smug?¡±


    ¡°Smug? I prefer arrogant, actually. And I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re wrong, Cheese. Can I call you Cheese? I¡¯m gonna a call you Cheese. You see Cheese, it¡¯s not ten on one.¡±


    ¡°So, you admit that all of us at once would easily overwhelm you?¡±


    No, it¡¯s not that. You misunderstand, Cheese. It isn¡¯t that I can¡¯t handle all of you. It¡¯s that I won¡¯t have to. Once your pals see what happens to you, I imagine they¡¯ll have better things to do.¡±


    ¡°My name is-¡°


    ¡°Quiet down, Cheese. I¡¯m not done. Now you¡¯ve clearly got an issue, but as far as I can tell, that issue is nothing more than my ability to maintain a healthy hygiene. So, let¡¯s hear it, what did you come here hoping to solve?¡±


    ¡°We came here to put an end to this monopoly you¡¯ve created.¡±


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m more of a Candy Land guy.¡±


    ¡°Enough jokes, Gold. You are the reason hunting around the base has become so sparse. Your little group is making it harder for the rest of us to advance. It stops today,¡± Cheese said.


    ¡°Oh. So, what you¡¯re saying is, the land around Emerald Base is safer now, and you¡¯re upset because any easy chance at progression is gone. I bet you think it¡¯s my fault you can¡¯t bully newbies into following you with such an upstanding organization promising them safe and amicable terms huh? A shame, really. You have my sympathy, Cheese. It must be hard, being so mediocre.¡±


    ¡°I am tired of your mouth, Gold. The time for talk is over. Draw your weapon or die like a coward!¡±


    ¡°No thanks,¡± John said, turning and walking away.


    ¡°Hey! Where are you going? I said draw your weapon!¡±


    ¡°Take a bath, Cheese. I¡¯m not going to kill a man just for being an idiot. But if you make the decision to cross me, there will be blood.¡±


    John continued walking as he spoke. The ten men assembled didn¡¯t move as he casually meandered away. Unfortunately, the group was only as wise as their dumbest member. Seeing as that seemed to be their leader, they had no hope of redemption.


    ¡°Shoot him!¡± John heard Cheese about at the only man holding a bow.


    His senses were so sharp that John could feel the moment that the man¡¯s bowstring drew taut. He finally stopped walking and turned deliberately around just as the man loosed his shot. Neither the bow nor the arrow were soul weapons. As a result, the common materials stood no chance against John¡¯s armor.


    He expected the arrow to skip off his armor harmlessly. But even he had underestimated how hard the material was. The arrow impacted his chest in an explosion of splinters. No damage was done, and John barely had to adjust his stance afterward.


    The men all looked at John with shock. At least he assumed they were shocked. It was hard to tell under the veils. They all watched in horror as the whip unfurled at John¡¯s side.


    ¡°Now now, Cheese. If you¡¯re going to do something stupid, you should at least take the risk yourself. Are you afraid that you¡¯ll die instead of one of your pets?¡±


    For the first time, Cheese did not respond. Even he was shaken by the lack of effect the arrow had had. Clearly, not one of them truly knew anything about who they had been sent to harass.


    ¡°I warned you once, Cheese. Now you pay in blood.¡±


    John flicked his wrist, sending the Tail of the Kitsune hungrily forward. Cheese had already turned to run, as had nearly every member of the group. John caught him by the leg, three of the tails wrapping around it and anchoring themselves with barbs.


    With another flick of the wrist, the whip pulled the man from his feet and brought him tumbling down in front of John. He screamed in pain at the barbs in his leg, but it cut off quickly as he looked up into the face of John¡¯s Chimera armor. What he seen there chilled his blood


    ¡°Who told you to kill me?¡± He asked quietly.


    ¡°It w-was Connor. C-Connor McLeary. He lost a lot of business when you came around. I was just doing what I was told, please.¡±


    ¡°Ah cool it with the blubbering. I already told you I wasn¡¯t going to kill you just for being an idiot. Where can I find this Connor fellow?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! He came to me. I don¡¯t know anything about the guy. I swear.¡±


    ¡°Well then, Cheese. When he finds you again, make sure you give him this message for me.¡±


    ¡°What message?¡± Cheese asked hopefully.


    He was looking up into John¡¯s face with tears in his eyes. The idea that John was not about to kill him had given him the hope he needed. He didn¡¯t see the Advanced dagger that had appeared in John¡¯s hand.


    With a flash of motion, John struck. The man looked belatedly down at the stump where his right hand had been before the pain of what had just happened registered. As blood spurted out of the stump, Cheese screamed in renewed pain.


    He clutched at the stump as blood pooled under him. John wasn¡¯t concerned that the man would die. Anyone who had taken in more than a handful of genes would have enough vitality to survive long enough to make it to the Kumani for medical help. The public transition pad was only a block away in the worst case. John grabbed the man by the chin as he screamed to deliver his message.


    ¡°Tell him to mind his own business. Killing monsters, that¡¯s my business.¡±


    Then John dropped the man from his grip, letting him scrabble to his feet and hurry away. Thick globs of blood trailed behind him. When he was gone, John just sighed. Then he turned away once more and continued on his way.


    Unpleasant business handled; John moved on to the true reason he had come to The Garden. There was an unresolved conundrum that had plagued his mind and his home for months. It was finally time for John to find and return his father.

 (Name this) Chapter 18

    Chapter 18


    1


    John stood solemnly outside the room that he had come to find. He had been to it only once before that, having come to confirm his mother¡¯s words with his own eyes. Now he stood there with a new purpose. Placing a hand on the sealed door, John waited for the system message.


    ¡°The owner of this room has been Shuffled. Notice, you are eligible for this Shuffle through your Universal Shuffle Master Title. Would you like to join the Shuffle event?¡±


    John didn¡¯t hesitate to agree. He had waited months for this opportunity. There was nothing in the world he wanted more in that moment. At his affirmation, he heard a strange chime in his mind. A moment later, a new system message came.


    ¡°Congratulations! This Shuffle Event has been added to your Destinations! You can now access it through any available transition pad! Warning! If you choose to participate, you will be subject to the same trial as the owner of this room, and you will be unable to return until you complete the Shuffle!¡±


    John nodded to himself. It made sense that he couldn¡¯t just enter anyone¡¯s room while they were off on a Shuffle. That made him feel more secure about peoples¡¯ ability to access his own room. Or better yet, Jules¡¯ room, which now held a ridiculous stash of genes.


    The Garden was an insane and dangerous place, but it was nice to know that there was at least one place everyone could feel safe. John moved back through the streets impatiently. He had never been so anxious before. Even the operation he and Liz had pulled did not fill him with such anxiety.


    He knew it was the personal stake he had in the matter. He would have one chance to find and return his father, and if he failed too, that was two members of the family lost to the same trap. It was almost enough to shake his determination.


    If there was one thing John knew though, it was that he wouldn¡¯t and didn¡¯t rest easy at night knowing he hadn¡¯t tried. Ever since gaining the Universal Shuffle Master title, there had been a nagging voice in his head reminding him that Jack was still lost. It plagued his thoughts when he tried to sleep at night. It shouted at him that he was being a coward.


    But John had not rushed his decision. He had intended to attempt the rescue weeks earlier. Liz¡¯s cry for help had given him a sense of obligation to help her first though, and he knew it had been the right choice. Now that he had only one mental occupation, he was done procrastinating the task.


    John finally stepped back into his room a few minutes later, still full of nerves. His hands shook with anticipation of his actions. As his door slid closed behind him, he moved to the transition pad without further ado.


    John picked the ¡°Shuffle¡± option from his list of destinations and confirmed his choice. Like most every other time he used a transition pad, he felt the sensation in his stomach first. Quickly it spread through his whole body and the darkness took him once more.


    As with his own shuffle, John took longer than usual to return to the light. When he did, there was only him and his transition pad surrounded by wilderness. There were trees all around him, but that wasn¡¯t what caught John¡¯s attention.


    He immediately heard a rush of water off to his right. Remembering what Ali had said about his father¡¯s location, John immediately rushed for the river. He found it only a few seconds from his starting position.


    Once he had though, he was unsure which way he should follow it. Ali had said south, but John looked at the sun high in the sky before confirming that he had no idea which direction was north and which was south. Ali had also said it was six hundred thousand miles away from his own base.


    John had noticed the change in time when going from base to base before. His recent excursion into Teal Base had taught him that dawn came nearly four hours sooner than in Emerald Base. He hadn¡¯t had the wherewithal to notice in the moment, but reflection had filled in the information.


    Similarly, Thunder Fox Sanctuary had a vast several-hour difference to both Emerald Base and Teal Base. He was interested to know just how immense The Garden was. But as for the moment, he found himself wishing it was the beginning or end of the day where he had come out.


    It had been only a couple hours after sunrise when he left Emerald Base. The scorching globe was now near its apex, but John had no idea from which direction it was moving. He wondered briefly if his father had known which way he was going or if he just followed the river without considering such things.


    As John pondered the situation, a flash of movement caught his attention. He ducked out of reflex as an immense brown hawk dove at his head. He rolled to the side to avoid its clutching talons.


    John already had his bow in hand as he regained his feet. He turned to find the massive bird already high in the trees, circling to line up another dive. Such speed was nothing John could match.


    Nevertheless, he aimed his bow at the winged predator as it tilted on a current of air and dropped like a bullet through the trees. His hastily fired shot was far from accurate, and his foe easily leaned to one side to avoid it.


    John dove aside once more as the hawk¡¯s talons scraped against his armor. He wasn¡¯t as hasty in his attempts to rise as the first time, but luckily, the extra time he took didn¡¯t hinder him. The gargantuan bird was once more circling high above.


    The sheer speed with which the bird could move was unbelievable. As he watched it stalk him from above, he understood that he could neither best nor escape the beast through any feat of speed. He would need another tactic to tip the scales.


    ¡°Must be Advanced, maybe Wizened,¡± he thought.


    John returned his bow, knowing it would do him no good. Instead, he stood apparently defenseless as the hawk began another dive in his direction. John watched the swift approach of the bird with nervous anticipation.


    He looked on in suppressed terror as it stretched its razor sharps talons in his direction. He wasn¡¯t sure if his armor was up to the task or not, and he didn¡¯t like the idea of experimenting in the middle of a fight. Luckily, that wasn¡¯t his plan.


    As the hawk came close enough to feel the wind from it¡¯s great wings, John fell backward in what appeared to be an extremely urgent trust fall. The avian screeched angrily as John fell away from its grasp. It dove even lower to clutch at him before he hit the ground.


    Unfortunately for the oversized beast, falling was not the extent of John¡¯s plan. As his equilibrium tipped beyond what he could recover from before hitting the ground, John summoned a weapon into his hands. It wasn¡¯t his bow, nor was it the Tail of the Kitsune.


    The griffon winged javelin suddenly popped into existence in his hands. He held it leveled at the diving bird even as he continued to fall towards the ground. Almost as soon as it entered his hands, the butt of the weapon pressed into the ground.


    John let his grip slide across the shaft of the javelin as he continued to fall. The sudden appearance of the weapon went almost unnoticed by the attacking bird. And as it dove ever lower to grasp at its falling target, it unknowingly impaled itself on the suddenly stationary weapon.


    The momentum of the great bird carried it over John¡¯s head in an arc to slam into the ground like a failed catapult. The javelin acted as an anchor for the mortally wounded beast. It flapped impotently around, oozing blood from the spike in its chest.


    ¡°God, I wish birds would stop attacking me. I hate this part,¡± John lamented to himself.


    Then, without approaching, he returned the javelin to its place in his mind. The tide of blood grew exponentially as the dam was removed. John turned away from the sight with revulsion. After an excruciating amount of time, the bird grew still.


    2


    ¡°You have killed Advanced Gale Hawk. Soul of Gale Hawk gained. Advanced gene available for harvest.¡±


    John blinked at the message. He had not been expecting to get the soul, but he would take it. When he saw what it was though, he had to admit he was disappointed.


    ¡°Another pair of wings?¡± He asked.


    It wasn¡¯t that they wouldn¡¯t be useful, but his first set of wings were Wizened. He couldn¡¯t imagine the Advanced pair would be better. That made him think back to his conversation with Alikeelifice.


    If the granted souls based on what John needed most, why would he get a second pair of wings? It almost seemed like a waste of a soul. He didn¡¯t want to complain, but it was hard not to feel shafted.


    After removing and absorbing the Advanced gene, his tally had reached seventy-eight. That was at least a suitable consolation prize for the lackluster soul. Thinking of the wings, John considered the river he had been about to follow.


    ¡°Or maybe,¡± he hypothesized, ¡°it¡¯s just meant to be a hint.¡±


    John summoned his Cockatiel wings and soared out over the water before gaining altitude. He quickly rose to the level of the treetops, but he knew he would need to reach far loftier heights if he hoped to find his answer. With the roaring river below as a guide, John began scanning the land both up and downstream from his vantage.


    For several minutes, John saw nothing. He simply continued to rise and analyze the landscape for any sign of civilization. It wasn¡¯t until the river was a small line below him and the chilled air seemed to invade his armor with icy tendrils that John found what he was looking for.


    So far in the distance that John hoped he wasn¡¯t imagining it was a collection of shapes that could have been what he came to find. Giving a final scan in the opposite direction, John set out toward the mass. He gradually lowered his altitude as he went, unable to stand the chill any longer.


    The trip to the mysterious conglomerate in the distance was a peaceful if not relaxing one. John could make out the forms of many types of creatures below. He was happy that few could reach him in the air.


    As he soared over the rolling landscape and often treacherous terrain, he felt bad for his father. If John had struggled through all of the challenges provided by the land alone only to be so thoroughly hassled upon finding civilization again, he might have lost all composure. But he knew Jack was no weak willed individual.


    He had inherited only a fraction of the perseverance his father possessed. No matter what the problem was, Jack would tackle it from any angle he could find until he beat it into submission. John had seen it happen again and again growing up.


    Anything that someone else had told Jack was impossible only encouraged him to prove them wrong. One such expression of doubt was the impetus for his father building their entire house several years previously. If John knew anything, it was that Jack would have already calmly assessed his options, and furthermore, that his father would not have been cowed by what seemed to be a hopeless situation.


    It was that optimism that John held firmly in place as he approached the rapidly enlarging base. It was still too far to make out specifics, but he could tell even from there that it was larger than Emerald Base. He suspected it was at the rank of Advanced, as there was still an unfathomable gap between it and that of Thunder Fox Sanctuary.


    John squinted his eyes to make out the shapes that were moving about near the base. He couldn¡¯t have been sure based on his eyes alone, but with the addition of information given by Alikeelifice, it was easy to tell they weren¡¯t humans. They maintained the same general shape, but they all looked bulky to John.


    He couldn¡¯t make sense of it from so far out, so he just continued to approach, wary of what he was flying into. It wasn¡¯t long before John was noticed approaching the base from on high. He watched in anticipation as a single form dispatched from the base to intercept him.


    There would have been nothing remarkable about the individual at all if not for the wings sprouting from his back. He, like John, had the ability to fly. Judging by his solitary presence, it was probably granted by a soul like John¡¯s flight. Furthermore, it told John that wings were so rare that the second set of wings he now possessed may have been worth far more than he had realized.


    John watched the figure ascend to meet him, but John quickly lowered himself to the ground as he glided into range of the base. It was a seemingly foolish choice to make, giving his potential adversary the advantage of height. But John¡¯s greatest weapon was his ability to deceive. If he thought John weak or foolish based on who looked down at the other, that would only serve his purposes.


    They were still a great distance from the base, so John had still not had a good look at the species he was about to confront. But as the one who flew out to meet him glided down to hover above as expected, John squinted his eyes in disbelief.


    What floated disdainfully above him was indeed humanoid in form. But the similarities stopped there. Indeed, to call it a similarity at all would have been generous. But that wasn¡¯t to say the anatomy of the one in front of him was unfamiliar either.


    Standing or rather floating on two legs instead of the four John was used to seeing was an unarmored and unambiguous possum girl. The wings sprouting from her back looked even more out of place than the ones John had coming from his. The possum girl brandished a summoned spear, hissing and leveling it at John.


    Holding both hands up in innocence, John presented the least imposing target he could. He tried to make it clear that he meant no harm to her. She continued to make angry hissing noises at him as he looked back.


    John stepped back submissively while he slowly reached for the orb in his hip pouch. The hissing reached a new tenor as he revealed the sphere to the possum. When he dropped it harmlessly to the ground though, she stopped to see what would happen.


    After the usual preparation period, the orb flared into action. He was always shocked by the versatility of the translation. Even with that expectation, John was surprised at the youthful and clearly female voice that was projected.


    ¡°-in the world is this thing? Suspicious bug creature! Why does it walk on two legs? I have never seen such¡­¡±


    The hairy marsupial stopped talking as it heard the translated sounds escape from the sphere between them. For several seconds, she just looked at the object.  It tilted its head to the side and hissed once more, but again it was transformed into recognizable speech.


    ¡°This thing changes my words. Why does it do that?¡±


    ¡°So that I can speak with you,¡± John replied.


    At the sound of his voice, the suspicious possum startled back. She looked at him like she hadn¡¯t expected him to make a peep. When she heard his speech converted to her own tongue, her beady little eyes went wide.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± He asked before she had regained her composure.


    ¡°Name? We are not given a distinction until our deeds have earned us one.¡±


    ¡°Then what should I call you?¡± John asked


    ¡°Why do you presume to call me anything?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I only want to be polite. I don¡¯t want to refer to you as possum girl forever.¡±


    The hissing that followed that statement was never converted to speech, yet John understood perfectly the message she was attempting to convey. Apparently, she didn¡¯t appreciate being called a possum. She eventually got around to forming an understandable response.


    ¡°I said our distinctions are given based on deeds. I did not say that my deeds had yet to garner such a distinction.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ you do have a name?¡±


    ¡°Those of status among my people call me Wind Striker.¡±


    ¡°Wind Striker? Is it because of the wings? Say, how many people have wings like that? It can¡¯t be too many if your name is based around having them.¡±


    ¡°Wings are¡­ not common. I am not the only one who possesses a set, but they are rare enough that only I was dispatched to assess the threat.¡±


    ¡°The threat? You mean me?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said directly.


    ¡°I am not here for trouble,¡± John said.


    ¡°Yet you come quite suitably prepared for it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Windy. Do you venture into The Garden without being prepared for trouble? That¡¯s a poor characterization,¡± John admonished.


    ¡°Windy? It¡¯s Wind Striker. And you make an acceptable point.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to call you Windy. It¡¯s more suitable to my brain.¡±


    ¡°It seems rather rude to demand a name from someone and then refuse to use it properly,¡± Windy hissed.


    ¡°No more than brandishing a blade in my face the second we met.¡±


    ¡°I take your point once again. I assume you also have a name. Or should I keep thinking of you as a creepy talking bug person?¡±


    ¡°I suppose I deserve that after the possum thing. My name is John,¡± he said.


    3


    Windy continued to hover over John as they exchanged words. It was becoming clear that she was someone of status within the base, but John couldn¡¯t tell if that was based on merit, nepotism, or some combination of both. What he could tell was that he was running out of time to speak with her one on one.


    There was a procession of figures dispatching from the base that gave John the impression that their conversation was drawing to a close. He wanted to make enough progress with Windy before that happened that she might vouch for his intentions. He gestured at the group, which Windy did not have to see in order to understand his meaning.


    ¡°What happens when they get here? I take it that mob contains at least one person that can tell you what to do?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ is an accurate assessment. I imagine when they get here, you will need to convince them not to attack.¡±


    ¡°Do your people attack everyone who comes knocking?¡±


    ¡°Only the ones that scare them,¡± Windy replied.


    ¡°Again with that? How am I scary?¡± John asked, almost offended.


    ¡°My people are very cautious. We evolved from one of the most skittish species on our world. Fierce we may be, but we cannot cast aside our nature.¡±


    ¡°So you¡­ did evolve from possums? You know, on my planet, we don¡¯t even know if they¡¯re called possums or opossums. Myself included. Wait, there¡¯s not a difference is there? I bet it¡¯s like calling a Chinese man Korean. Oh man, my people are so racist, we¡¯ve even started segregating the damn animals. I swear, you spend a few million years thinking your some miracle of creation and suddenly everything else is inferior.¡±


    ¡°Am I supposed to know what you¡¯re talking about? Because I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. John was it? Well John, if you didn¡¯t come here to kill or be killed, please explain what it is that you did come for. Perhaps I can delay the inevitable violence my people seek to bring you.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s inevitable, why try to delay it? I find its best to get it all over with as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you would rather fight my people than give an explanation?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, not at all. I only wonder why I should answer your questions if violence is unavoidable. Wouldn¡¯t I be giving something for nothing if that was the case? Less than nothing, really. I tell you what you want to know and I still probably get my ass kicked for it, if it¡¯s all the same to you, I¡¯ll just accept the ass kicking.¡±


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Ass kicked? My people are not unsophisticated apes.¡±


    ¡°And yet, you try to coerce me using brutish and unsophisticated means. Tell me, have you ever spoken to another sentient race before? I don¡¯t get the feeling that your people are the foreign diplomacy sort.¡±


    ¡°¡­No. I have not,¡± Windy admitted.


    ¡°Has anyone of your race spoken to another race before?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of,¡± she admitted again


    ¡°And it didn¡¯t occur to you that what you¡¯re doing right now is making history for your people? Can your distinction change? If so, you may want to be careful. One wrong move and you might end up known as Bug Talker for the rest of your life.¡±


    Windy¡¯s following silence suggested to John that he might have touched upon a grain of truth, perhaps even insecurity or fear. He raised his hands in surrender once more. He didn¡¯t have time to suitably chastise the possum girl before her people reached them.


    ¡°Look, as I said, I didn¡¯t come here to fight. And while I don¡¯t appreciate that you demand answers as compensation for not immediately trying to kill me, I can respect that this is not my civilization. I¡¯ll bend to your suspicions if only so that I don¡¯t have to kill any of your people.¡±


    ¡°You must have great self confidence to think yourself capable of such a mercy, let alone punishment.¡±


    ¡°I think myself capable of patience, but only to a point.¡±


    ¡°And where does that point lie, John?¡±


    ¡°Somewhere around five minutes ago,¡± John said, gesturing over his shoulder.


    ¡°If it is answers you wish to give, then give them. I do not fear your bravado.¡±


    ¡°Scaring you isn¡¯t what I am here for. I suspect my purpose here is as clear to you as it is to your superiors. I¡¯ve come for the human.¡±


    Windy¡¯s possum like eyes widened for a second before she attempted to school her expression. It was more than enough for John to notice, but he let the admission of guilt go. Instead, he took a different approach. With a dismissive gesture, John¡¯s armor melted from him and disappeared.


    ¡°See? I¡¯m a human myself. Doesn¡¯t it make sense now that I would want to save one of my own?¡±


    ¡°It does. What it doesn¡¯t explain is how you know there are humans here,¡± Windy countered.


    ¡°So, it isn¡¯t just the one? Well, that does complicate things a bit. How many humans do you have locked up in there?¡±


    ¡°I am not in charge of the captured ones. But I do know that it isn¡¯t only humans that we detain. Before now, we have never had the means to understand another species. As I said, it is easier for my people to be suspicious than trusting.¡±


    ¡°And it would be easier if I didn¡¯t care about diplomacy, but I¡¯m trying to avoid making more enemies.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t told me how you knew there were humans here. None who have come near have been permitted to leave.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second. Did you just say your people imprisoned every non¡­ what are your people called?¡±


    ¡°We are the Drizk.¡±


    ¡°Drizk? Okay, so your people imprisoned every non Drizk that has ever come near the place?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ yes. As I said, we are a suspicious people.¡±


    ¡°No, Windy. You watch your neighbors through the blinds if you have suspicion. You don¡¯t throw a bag on their heads and toss them into prison. Your people are tyrants. Plain and simple.¡±


    Windy hissed again, incomprehensible to the translator between them. John held her gaze with steel in his own as the noise from the approaching group grew louder. When her words were translatable again, John was not surprised to hear the change in her tone.


    ¡°You are quick to give offense, human. I would watch to whom I chose to give it.¡±


    ¡°There you go again, playing victim. I came here as politely as possible, ready to negotiate until we found a common ground. But your people would rather soak in their fear than to overcome it. Tell me, is it also an inherited trait that you¡¯re all such spineless cowards?¡±


    ¡°I will not-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough out of you. Bring me all of the humans you have captive. Until then, I have nothing to say to you.¡±


    John¡¯s armor returned to him just as the troupe of possum people came into sight. Windy turned around at their approach, but was reluctant to leave John with the last word. Unfortunately for her, she had no choice as he collected the translation sphere in her distraction.


    Then John summoned his wings once more and retreated to a safe distance while Wind Striker spoke with her people. Even without translation, he could tell that the leader of the group was angry with Windy. She hissed back at him in what John interpreted as an urgent tone.


    4


    John took a moment while they conversed to look over the group in detail. There were around a dozen of the Drizk, with sizes and body shapes extremely similar to that of humans. Some were large and and more hairy while others were skinny or diminutive with hair less thick.


    All were armed, a few with spears or some kind of blunt instrument, but much of the weaponry was unfamiliar to John. Apparently the Drizk had developed tools and weapons very different from that of humans. The Garden seemed indiscriminate of the resources it could provide. John was intrigued at the idea.


    Few of the Drizk had any form of armor, but one of them held a shield that John could recognize the rank of just by looking at it. It was pristine and radiated durability. The sight of it made John take the group more seriously.


    ¡°They have Wizened equipment,¡± he thought in surprise.


    He could tell even without inspecting the shield with the scope of his bow that it was Wizened. Much like the javelin he gained from the Wizened griffon, the aura around the shield was palpable. With cautious eyes, John returned his attention to Windy and the possum she still conversed with.


    The larger male Drizk hissed loudly at Windy, causing the smaller possum to shrink. She hissed back in turn, still trying earnestly to explain something to the other. All she got for her effort was a careless shove as the male turned towards John.


    It hissed up at him like a dog barking at a stray cat beyond the reach of its chain. John watched, unconcerned as the Drizk gesticulated at him impotently. At least, he thought it was impotence until two contraptions appeared on the possum¡¯s wrists.


    John barely had time to identify them as some kind of leather slings when the Drizk began twirling each sling vertically. Before he could wonder what was happening, the slings began to glow at the ends. John¡¯s eyes widened as he recognized what he was seeing.


    He darted to the side with a swift flap of his wings as fist sized balls of energy shot toward him. They were extraordinarily fast, and only John¡¯s precognition allowed him to dodge the shots. He cursed aloud as the possum man continued to twirl his slings, producing a new glowing projectile in each every few seconds.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Dual wielding semiautomatic spirit slingshots? Well thanks for the bow!¡± John shouted at the sky.


    John could tell by the speed and power of each projectile that the slings were Wizened tier. Moreover, the Drizk was using ammo far beyond that of his Muckray arrow. True, even the spirit arrows he had recently learned to create were inferior to the condensed power of the projectiles.


    That told John exactly how dangerous the Drizk man was. His control and power could have meant only one thing. Whoever the possum man was, he had broken open his first Spiritual Gate.


    John could feel from his own progress with Spiritual Cultivation that he was still a fair distance from that point. That more than anything gave him the caution he needed to assess the threat with accuracy. Unfortunately, the speed and regularity of the attacks gave John very little time to study.


    He was forced to constantly change direction in an attempt to keep the other guessing. Even so, his opponent was nothing if not formidable. Despite John¡¯s evasion, the Drizk managed to tip the scales.


    Just as John fell into the speed and rhythm of his opponent¡¯s attacks, the tempo changed on a dime. John dodged erratically to the side as the shot he expected never came. His eyes widened in recognition of his mistake as the Drizk made the motion to release a shot once more.


    John stopped dead in midair with the aid of his wings, again thinking he was avoiding an attack at the last possible second. But once more, the shot didn¡¯t come. Instead, the shot John had not been watching for came.


    As soon as John had noticed the motion the possum man made to launch a spirit attack, he had come to a dead halt. What he hadn¡¯t paid attention to was the second sling the Drizk had also been spinning. The second John came to a halt to avoid the faux attack, the true attack struck.


    Even as outmatched as he was, John¡¯s extensive analytical ability told him his mistake just as the attack left the sling. It was not soon enough for him to avoid the blow, but he was able to twist his body through the air so that the horrifying energy meant for his chest blasted into his right shoulder. Even so, the sheer destructive effect of the attack left John devastated.


    In an instant, an immense chunk of John¡¯s armor was blasted into pieces. His clothes were incinerated. His entire right arm, shoulder, and much of his torso on that side was exposed. Worse still, much of his exposed skin had blackened centered around a fist sized circle of charred flesh between his shoulder and pectoral.


    The immense power behind the attack left John unable to do much more than scream in sublime torment. He fell from the sky, already all but blind to the world around him as the pain overtook his every sense. His one sane action as he did so was all that saved him from certain death.


    Unbeknownst to John although extremely expected, the Drizk leader was already readying another projectile as he fell from the sky. Just before he sent it to finish off the defenseless human, an unexpected forced slammed into his knees from behind, toppling the possum man.


    The attack meant for John sailed high into the sky as Jane bowled him over from behind. John couldn¡¯t see much of anything beyond his pain, but he trusted his Divine Soul companion to keep attention from him while he tried to find a way to combat the torment. Startled hissing from more than one source told him she was performing admirably.


    John turned his attention back to his situation. He was barely able to focus beyond the pain, but something significant managed to catch his attention. Something about the energy that had ravaged his body was familiar to John.


    It was reminiscent of Lunar Radiance, yet also entirely different from it. Only the core of the energy seemed to share commonality. But no, through the pain and the smell of his own charred flesh, the real answer came to him.


    It wasn¡¯t the Spirit attack itself that he was finding familiar. It was the source from which the power had been drawn. From that source, John made a connection that he had been dancing around for months. John groaned in agony as he began the steps to circulate Lunar Radiance through his body.


    In the absence of any actual moonlight, nothing should have happened. But the pain and familiarity of the energy coursing into his skin through the severe burns he had suffered provided a clarity of thought he had never considered before. And in that clarity, he found salvation.


    Lunar Radiance was a skill to harness the spiritual essence of moonlight as it fell upon the user. Until then, John had thought of the Cultivation as just that; using moonlight to enhance his spirit.


    But when he recognized the attack of the Drizk for what it was, John¡¯s eyes were suddenly opened to the truth. The possum man had practiced some form of Spiritual Cultivation that, like Lunar Radiance, was based on light. Unlike his own, however, his adversary cultivated through sunlight, not moonlight.


    Ordinarily, someone struck by such a devastating energy would be done for. Indeed, even the glancing blow John had received left him as near to death as he had ever been. But the recognition of sunlight had unlocked the door behind which all the answers John had been missing resided.


    Lunar Radiance was not truly a skill to harness moonlight. John understood that now because in truth, there was no such thing as moonlight. Any light a moon gave off was simply a product of the sunlight that was shining upon it. Making that connection was all John had been missing to truly understand what he was attempting to do with Lunar Radiance.


    His Spiritual Cultivation path was not meant to harness moonlight. His task was not to draw from the presence of a moon. Instead, he was meant to become the moon. Looking back on the trial he had suffered through, especially the severe burns he had received attempting it, John felt he understood what he had been missing.


    Sunlight coursed through his body, and the heat continued to produce pangs of agony. John took a deep breath and redoubled his efforts to practice the circulation of Lunar Radiance. With no moonlight to speak of, the cultivation method sought out an alternative.


    As fresh waves of pain coursed through John with each beat of his heart, the residual solar energy slowly found its way to the pathways that Lunar Radiance demanded John follow. At first, the only change was that the heat he felt at the injury sight began coursing through his entire body instead. John controlled his breathing despite all the distraction his mind was dealing with and focused on trying to push the heat along the proper route.


    As the seconds passed by, John prayed he wasn¡¯t about to be immolated by the formidable possum man. Forcing his mind to recenter, John began a four second repetitive process of collecting the solar energy to his core before sending it along the circuit meant for Lunar Radiance and back to his center. The heat was so immense that John felt his blood was boiling.


    Through gritted teeth, he forced breaths out. The agony seemed to only grow worse as each second passed. But just before he lost all hope, John felt a critical shift in the energy he was circulating.


    The heat of the solar energy he felt scouring his entire body fizzled out as suddenly as the pain had come. What remained was an overwhelming plethora of neutral energy circulating in a four second loop throughout his body. The absence of heat made it feel like a tidal wave of soothing energy washing over him.


    The immense pain from his injury had not subsided, but with the acquisition of Spiritual Essence, John was much more capable of dealing with it. Moreover, the siphoned energy circulating through him was far greater than anything he had ever gathered through moonlight.


    That spoke to the sheer volume of essence contained in the attack. John shuddered at the ability the Drizk man had at his disposal. He had entirely underestimated the force he was confronting.


    John focused his new plethora of Spiritual Essence on the charred and blackened area on his body. Like pouring alcohol on an open wound, the area stung and sizzled anew. John gritted his teeth through the pain as he felt the traumatized area cool.


    For the first time in what felt like several minutes, John opened his eyes. He looked at his brunt flesh as the blackened area began to flake away from him. Layer after layer of skin and flesh fell away as Lunar Radiance continued to make rounds through his pathways.


    Slowly, his burnt skin fell away to reveal supple pink flesh. The bone searing pain did not fully subside, and John suspected he would feel the effects of the attack for weeks to come. But the positive change in his mental equilibrium was enough to grant John his feet once more.


    5


    As his miraculous recovery continued, John finally surveyed the battlefield. He was both surprised and impressed by what he saw there. Following the simple instruction she had been sent out with, Jane had become the worlds most effective distraction.


    Even now, the wily fox spirit was darting between the increasingly agitated possums while whipping them with her tail to keep their attention. The leader of the possums was no exemption to the order, and every time he attempted to get his slings moving again, Jane dashed out with Divine speed and interrupted his efforts. John looked down at his demolished armor with disdain.


    He knew instinctively that it would eventually repair the damage to itself even as John himself was currently doing. That didn¡¯t change the fact that he was now much more vulnerable. John cursed silently to himself as he returned his attention to the conflict.


    Jane¡¯s demeanor suddenly changed as she moved through the men expertly, responding to a new mental command from John. Now instead of only garnering attention, the fox began actively harassing the men. She clawed at the legs of the Drizk and nipped at their arms when one took a swing.


    John¡¯s first order had been given as an attempt to avoid great bloodshed. Despite the blatant hostility and serious injury he had suffered, he still hadn¡¯t wanted to descend into conflict. Now, John had similar intentions, but his command held more purpose than simple survival.


    As Jane provoked the gang of Drizk into taking shots at her, John watched and analyzed the movements and abilities of each. He paid special attention to the various weapons he was unfamiliar with, and soon John began to understand how each enemy, weapon, body, and mind worked.


    John was especially focused on the apparent leader of the Drizk. Like John, his eyes tracked Jane with purpose. The way his dark possum eyes seemed to dissect what they were seeing was familiar to John. His respect and apprehension for the Drizk man rose even higher as he realized the possum had also made exemplary progress on some kind of analytical Mind Cultivation.


    It only made sense after the Drizk¡¯s ability to track, predict and outplay John. Once more he was forced to acknowledge that he might have been in far over his head. The primitive and clueless speed at which his own people had been advancing since entering The Garden was so far below the rate John had been progressing that he completely underestimated the heights that others might have reached.


    It was an important lesson for him. Despite being repeatedly thrown into situations he shouldn¡¯t have been able to handle, John had always found his way through them. He had quickly become jaded by his apparent success.


    As he watched the Drizk leader hiss out commands to his men, John started to craft a plan forward based on his analysis. He was impressed at the group¡¯s ability to adapt and follow orders. He immediately noticed a decrease in Jane¡¯s effectiveness.


    John skipped to the side as a glowing sphere of light suddenly shot towards him. He cursed at the close call and once more paid grudging respect to the Drizk leader. Even while commanding his men and orchestrating the fight, the man had not forgot his main objective.


    John flexed the muscles in his right arm as the function was slowly restored. He stretched it wide to make sure no deep tissue damage remained. As he did so, he held the black stare of the Drizk leader.


    A stillness fell over the field as the two respective bosses locked eyes. Jane took the opportunity to extricate herself from the rest of the Drizk and return to John¡¯s side. The possum boss hissed a short command and his men likewise fell into line behind him.


    John shook his head at his own stupidity. It had been his own foolish decision to demand release of the human captives and then remove any form of communication. He had been blind with anger at the cowardice of the Drizk and had thought he could avoid getting into a huge conflict by removing himself from the situation.


    As he had already learned, that had been a foolish assumption. John watched as the leader hissed new orders to his men. As they moved into formation to carry out the command, John held a hand up in a halting gesture.


    With the other, he once more dropped the communication orb on the ground between them. With a glance at the still grounded and clearly shaken Wind Striker, John focused his attention back on the leader. Before it could hiss a command in his direction, John started speaking.


    ¡°My name is John. What do your people call you?¡±


    Nervous looks and hushed hissing followed the translation that was expelled from the orb between the two parties. None of the speech was loud or directed enough to be picked up by the orbs so John had no way of knowing what they said. When the leader responded though, it came through clear.


    ¡°I am known as Light Thrower. Why have you come here?¡±


    ¡°You really are a simple people,¡± John said with a sad shake of his head.


    John could tell by the nervous agitation in his voice that Light Thrower was unsure of John. He had likely met few enough enemies that got back to their feet after one of his attacks. That John had at all was enough to make the Drizk doubt his own ability.


    ¡°You know why I am here. As Windy no doubt told you before you rudely pushed her aside, I want my people to be released.¡±


    ¡°What do you offer my people in return?¡± Light Thrower asked arrogantly.


    ¡°I offer your people peace. I am here only to return my people safely.¡±


    ¡°And why should my people not simply kill you?¡±


    ¡°Because you aren¡¯t sure if they can, are you?¡±


    Light Thrower narrowed his eyes in apparent anger, but John could tell it was an act designed to hide the nerve John had struck with his words. John smiled behind his Chimera helmet. Finally, a foothold with which he could climb.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Lighty Boy. I know how you feel. I wasn¡¯t sure I could handle all of your men before seeing what they could do. Now though, I have to admit, I¡¯m a little disappointed.¡±


    ¡°Disappointed?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Average marks at best, across the board. All except that one,¡± John said.


    He pointed a finger to the Drizk who still held the pristine Wizened shield. The burly looking possum appeared surprised to be singled out. His boss, however, was not.


    ¡°You are not entirely without sense, then. Mirror Wall is a natural talent. But why do you consider the rest of my men to be so inadequate?¡±


    ¡°Because Lighty Boy, they are. I bet when you were preparing this expedition to confront me, you underestimated me just like I did you. You gathered one or two men with actual skill and a handful more just to look intimidating. I¡¯ll bet some of them haven¡¯t even been given a distinction yet have they?¡±


    ¡°Your mind is as sharp as your tongue. But your whit does not explain why I shouldn¡¯t burn you to cinders.¡±


    John gestured to the still gaping hole in his armor. The Drizk seemed to only notice the wound at that moment. Light Thrower¡¯s eyes widened as he took in the continually replenishing skin where his attack had landed.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try again, but you should know before you do that I¡¯ve taken your measure.¡±


    ¡°You have eh? And what is my measure exactly?¡± Light Thrower asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re a capable adversary with excellent control of both Mental and Spiritual Cultivation. I have no doubt that your Physical Cultivation has reached a similar level.¡±


    ¡°Then you should know exactly how dangerous your situation is,¡± Light Thrower said.


    ¡°Oh I do. But it isn¡¯t nearly as dangerous as the situation your men are in.¡±


    More than one Drizk hissed in a non communicative manner, as Windy had a few times. John let the threat spread through the ranks as he continued to stare back at Light Thrower. Then the other spoke again, sealing his fate as he swallowed the bait John had dangled in front of him.


    ¡°Do explain how they are in danger,¡± he said.


    ¡°Well if you don¡¯t see it, there¡¯s no point trying to point it out to you. Some lessons have to be learned through the mistakes that teach them. It is a shame though, I thought you were sharper than that.¡±


    Light Thrower just looked at John with open anger as he pondered the words. John watched as the gears slowly turned in his head. After a moment, he had the answer.


    ¡°They¡¯re all close range,¡± Light Thrower admitted.


    ¡°Wow! Look at you! You got that one quick!¡± John mocked.


    John laughed at the snarl that curled Light Thrower¡¯s face. He raised his hands in a resigned shrug. Then he twisted the knife of insult by mansplaining the whole situation.


    ¡°See, except for Windy over there, I¡¯m guessing none of your men have the ability to fly, including you. Since your only capable ally specializes in defense, I don¡¯t see your men doing much damage. If you want me dead, it¡¯ll have to be you who attempts it.¡±


    ¡°I am happy to oblige!¡± Light Thrower shouted as his slings appeared in hand once more.


    Before he could get a full rotation in with either, he was on the ground, Jane pressing a heavy paw into his chest. She snarled at him, giving the Drizk his first real taste of fear since the confrontation had begun. No one moved as Jane continued to snarl at Light Thrower.


    ¡°Enough,¡± John said.


    Jane immediately returned to his side, ever obedient. Light Thrower was visibly shaken by the swift dismantling. As he warily climbed to his feet, John spoke again.


    ¡°We both have our strengths Light, but we also both have weaknesses. The question is, how many of mine have you been able to uncover?¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Light Thrower eventually asked.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve gotta be kidding me,¡± John said in exasperation.


    ¡°I. Want. My. People. Back,¡± he said, clipping each word as though spoken to a simpleton.


    ¡°What makes you think we have your people?¡± Light asked.


    John didn¡¯t respond, but the savage look on Jane¡¯s face spoke volumes as she released a low and violent growl. Light Thrower visibly gulped. John commanded Jane to stop as he summoned his javelin to hand.


    ¡°Now why would you want to ask me a stupid question like that, Lighty Boy?¡±


    All the eyes assembled focused on the exquisite weapon as John stared daggers back at his foe. As quickly as it had come, the weapon disappeared. The casual threat of the weapon did more to convince the group of his conviction than trading barbed words ever could.


    ¡°As I have been saying, I didn¡¯t come here to fight. I want my people. I¡¯ll forgive that you thought me worth trying to deceive. But one way or another, I¡¯ll have what I came for.¡±


    ¡°You imagine that there are multiple ways of getting what you want? Even if there were, are you truly enough to force my hand?¡± Light asked.


    ¡°The way I see it, you can either hand over my people willingly, or I¡¯ll be forced to start compromising.¡±


    ¡°Forced to compromise?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. See this,¡± John brandished the javelin anew, ¡°it isn¡¯t my only formidable tool of death.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the significance.¡±


    ¡°Yes you do,¡± John insisted.


    ¡°You know better than anyone how ineffective those slings are at close range. Even this long ass javelin would be superior. And as I said, it isn¡¯t the only weapon I have to offer,¡± John said.


    ¡°Offer? Are you trying to trade your souls for the lives of your people?¡±


    ¡°Hell no. Maybe I would have been amenable to such a course if you hadn¡¯t immediately started lobbing magic at me. Still, I¡¯m a fair guy. And I spoke of compromise.¡±


    ¡°Go on, then,¡± Light demanded.


    ¡°I have gathered that your people, or maybe it¡¯s just meatheads like you, respect nothing more than capability. As such, I propose a contest.¡±


    ¡°You want to play games for the lives of your people?¡±


    ¡°No games. A fight. Plain and simple. Winner by unconsciousness, death, or surrender. If I win, you release all of the humans. All of them. And for good measure, I want those slings too. If I lose, in addition to my life I¡¯m sure, you can have every soul I have accumulated thus far. All except Jane here, I¡¯ve promised her to another. What do you say?¡±


    Light Thrower looked about to respond when John saw his eyes lose focus. The Garden was speaking to him, asking him to confirm or deny the bargain. After several seconds or scanning, the Drizk could barely believe his eyes.


    John smiled as he was sure soul after soul was listed for the Drizk to see. He was sure the extensive list was causing the man to reconsider his options. John held out a hand for the possum to shake.


    ¡°Do we have a deal?¡± He asked.


    ¡°We¡­ do not,¡± Light said uneasily.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s a shame to hear. I really thought I could entice you with that one. Oh well, I guess there¡¯s always-¡±


    John stopped talking as Light Thrower slowly and deliberately bowed to him. His eyebrows shot up in shock. The last thing he had expected had been reasonable action.


    ¡°I apologize for my disrespect. If you truly do possess all of those tools, let alone the Tail-¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep that one between the two of us huh?¡± John asked, though his tone was anything but open for interpretation.


    ¡°Very well¡­ I suppose if there is nothing else you wish of me, I shall return to the base now to fulfill your request.¡±


    ¡°See that you do, I will wait here. And if I think you¡¯re attempting to deceive me, Jane here will do more than pin you down.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Please, forgive me.¡±


    ¡°You already asked me for that. If I see some haste in returning my people, I might consider it.¡±


    Without another word, Light Thrower turned and began moving swiftly back toward the base. One of his men hissed a question at the leader, but a violent hiss in response shut down any further thoughts of interrogation. With many a glance cast in his direction, the group left John to await their return.


    When they were gone, Windy approached John cautiously. The orb on the ground still served to pass messages between them, and the girl quickly took advantage.


    ¡°John?¡± She asked nervously.


    ¡°Hm?¡± John asked politely.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± She asked with a finger pointing at the hole in his armor where his skin had all but returned to normal.


    ¡°Lighty Boy isn¡¯t the only one who has tricks.¡±


    ¡°Even so, why did he decide to listen to you? How did you make him agree to your terms?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, you have to put all the cards on the table,¡± John replied.

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19


    1


    John waited with Windy for the better part of an hour while the base was aswarm with activity. Both having wings, they meandered casually through the air while watching the base. John wanted to be close enough to see what was happening, but far enough away that he wasn¡¯t in danger of a sneak attack if Light Thrower felt inclined.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s up with Light?¡± John asked Windy as they waited, an orb floating between them.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s pretty impressive. Is he someone important?¡±


    ¡°He is. Light Thrower holds one of the four seats.¡±


    ¡°Four seats?¡± John asked.


    ¡°They are positions of power. The four of them govern and protect the base.¡±


    ¡°Are all of the leaders so powerful?¡±


    ¡°Yes, though perhaps not as dedicated as Light Thrower.¡±


    John felt Analyzation activate with an uneasy stir. His mind ran through the most likely scenario given the new variables. He stopped moving, hovering for a moment while he processed the situation.


    ¡°What is wrong?¡± Wind Striker asked, turning back to face him.


    John didn¡¯t answer. He only had until Light Thrower returned to come up with a plan. A task made all the more impossible by how much information he lacked. It was going to be an improvised performance.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± he finally said.


    The two continued forward like awkward birds, lazily observing the base. As he watched, a lone figure, nearly overlooked amid all the relentless activity within the base, nonchalantly exited through the furthest gate from John¡¯s position. The figure quickly ducked out of sight in the tall weeds as it began moving in a roundabout manner toward him in what John could only guess was an attempt to get behind him.


    Instead of indicating that he had seen the figure, John silently resummoned Jane to the field below. With a mental command to stalk, she was off on an intercept course with the alleged assassin. John continued to watch the base, now more closely as Jane got to work.


    ¡°So, tell me about these four seats.¡± John said.


    ¡°You are trying to get me to give you critical information about my people?¡± Windy asked.


    ¡°No, nothing sensitive like that. I mean, do all four of your leaders act like Light Thrower? You know, commanding, aggressive?¡±


    ¡°No, they are all quite different. Calming Word is the most levelheaded of the four, usually challenging the rasher ideals of Light Thrower and Molten Ash. She-¡±


    ¡°Whoa whoa whoa. Molten Ash?¡± John interrupted.


    ¡°Yes? What is wrong?¡±


    ¡°What kind of a name is Molten Ash? Did he get to choose it, or did you guys just start calling him that? I mean, all of your names are kind of cringe, maybe I¡¯m just prejudiced as a different species and all, but Molten Ash? You know that¡¯s kind of a contradiction, right? Ash is what you get after all the burning is done.¡±


    Wind Striker just looked at John for a long moment, unsure of how to answer. His tirade had left her uncertain if she should respond at all. Finally, she managed a feeble sentence.


    ¡°I think he chose it himself,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°I knew it! He sounds like a meat head.¡±


    ¡°Meat head?¡± Windy asked.


    ¡°Never mind, you were telling me about the four seats.¡±


    ¡°¡­right. So¡­Molten Ash,¡± Windy began in an embarrassed voice, ¡°he is very loud, quick to anger, always ready to defend any position he takes with loud words or louder conflict. The others spend a lot of time talking him down from extremes. Light Thrower is like that too. Extreme, I mean, not loud and angry. Though his ideas seem to center more on the progression of our people as a whole. Mandatory excursions, monthly quotas, expansion through strife.¡±


    John thought of Earth. How the Kumani had enslaved the human race on basically the same principles. He shook his head.


    ¡°What about the fourth seat?¡±


    ¡°Shadow Bite. She¡¯s quiet. Very content to allow the others to make all of the noise. Most of the time you wouldn¡¯t know there was a fourth seat. It is a rare occasion that she proposes anything.¡±


    ¡°I see, thank you for the insight,¡± John said.


    His eyes flicked to the tall weeds below as he felt Jane move further away. If his analysis was correct, it was Shadow Bite. He was interested to see who the better assassin was, her or Jane.


    John didn¡¯t have to wait much longer before his demands were met. Once they were though, John started to regret making them. He had no idea what he was asking for.


    A long procession of human prisoners, easily a hundred strong were being led out of the base in his direction. They all looked pretty rough, even from the distance, but most still wore clothes at least. John was unable to pick out his father among the throng.


    John swore as he watched the crowd grow larger as the moments passed. He donned his chimera armor once more, marveling at the thin layer of chitin that had grown to replace what was burned away. The armor wasn¡¯t fully repaired, but it had made excellent progress.


    ¡°Go down there and tell your people to return to the base. I will see to the humans from here,¡± John told Windy.


    ¡°I do not govern my people,¡± she said.


    ¡°Then ask them really nicely. Tell them I said pretty please,¡± he replied in all seriousness.


    ¡°What is a pretty please?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Just go. But tell Light I want to talk to him, so he can stay.¡±


    Wind Striker flew to intercept the group as John continued to survey the area for signs of deceit. He felt the readiness to pounce from Jane that meant she had successfully tracked the mysterious figure and was just waiting for permission.


    Was that it? Was that the only trap the Drizk had tried to lay for him? If so, perhaps he had overestimated them. As Wind Striker intercepted the group and began talking to who John could only assume was Light Thrower, John scanned the scene for anything that might prove him wrong.


    There was nothing obvious out of place, but John had been fooled by subtlety more than once. He was ready for all of the Drizk to start attacking at any moment. That was why he was so surprised when one of them gave an obvious command and the rest turned away from the procession.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­ suspicious,¡± John told himself.


    The entire reason he told Windy to go down there was to see what their plans were. He had expected them to make a move when he provoked them, but they had done the opposite. It was extremely peculiar.


    ¡°They want me to lower my guard for whatever they actually have planned,¡± he realized.


    John immediately resumed his analysis of the field and everyone on it. He was certain he hadn¡¯t missed anyone else leaving the base under cover. So where was the other shoe, and when would it drop?


    Light Thrower did not continue forward with the freed prisoners. Instead, he stood and waited for the humans to reach John. John also waited, content to let the space grow.


    Soon enough, the massive herd of freed humans were upon him. John floated down to hover only a few feet above the ground as he scanned the faces. He let the translation orb hover in front of him as he spoke to them.


    ¡°I have come to see you all freed. I know this is a crazy situation, but I¡¯ll make sure you all get home. Please make your way up the river to the tree line. Wait for me there. I have to settle things with the possums and then I¡¯ll join you.¡±


    The pile of people all looked confused at the directions they had been given, but the group slowly started to move in the direction of the tree line. John continued to scan the faces as they started moving past him. He pointed to a man and stopped him with a word.


    ¡°You.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± The man asked, not afraid but not understanding.


    ¡°I would like a word with you about the quality of your treatment here. Your captors had better hope I like what you have to say.¡± John said before drifting away from the group. The man he singled out hesitantly followed.


    When they were a short distance from the group, John landed and turned to face the confused man. He had short but messy brown hair, the upkeep having been ruined by his imprisonment. His eyes were also a comforting shade of brown. He carried himself with certainty, even through John knew he was anything but. It was one of the many things he had always admired about the man.


    ¡°Hello, dad.¡±


    2


    Jack Greene stared in open bewilderment at his son upon hearing those two words. He tried to speak several times, but words never formed. John let the face plate of his armor melt away to reveal his face.


    Jack¡¯s eyes grew even wider at seeing his son¡¯s face. His jaw wavered in overwhelming emotion. He tried to rush in and embrace John, but he held up a hand.


    ¡°We¡¯re being watched. I don¡¯t want them to target you because of the connection. Were strangers, okay? I need you to go with the others and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. I don¡¯t like how compliant they¡¯re being.¡±


    ¡°John how did you even find me? What have you been doing since I¡¯ve been here?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy,¡± John said, letting that be his answer for both questions.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, John.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for being sorry right now. Go with the others. Start trying to set up some kind of defense against stray beasts. And don¡¯t forget to keep your eyes open for Drizk.¡±


    ¡°Drizk?¡±


    ¡°The possum people. I have a bad feeling. I¡¯ll join you soon. Take this, just in case you need to protect yourself.¡±


    John loaned his Griffon Javelin to his father, whose eyes bulged from his head upon reading what he had received.


    ¡°It works best with at least ten feet between you and your target if you want to throw it. But it¡¯s pretty good at regular stabbing too if they get close to you. If you see a Drizk, don¡¯t hesitate. Now go.¡±


    ¡°John-¡±


    ¡°Go, dad. Please.¡±


    Jack didn¡¯t argue further, but John could tell that seeing his son so assertive was startling in a way he wasn¡¯t prepared for. The revelation of Wizened weapons was also a heavy first for him. But he didn¡¯t have the time to process the implications of either. He nodded solemnly before turning away and rejoining the others.


    John turned from his father and flew steadily in the direction of the lone figure awaiting his attendance. Light Thrower was unarmed, though John knew that could be fixed in an instant if the Drizk had the notion. When he came into speaking range, he let the translation orb pass between them.


    ¡°You¡¯ve asked to speak with me,¡± Light Thrower said in an even tone.


    ¡°And I thank you for accepting. I just wanted to extend my regards for the safe return of my people. After all it was only ever a lack of communication that brought you to imprison them in the first place. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes. That¡¯s right,¡± Light responded unconvincingly.


    ¡°And now that we¡¯ve reached an accord, no one else has to get hurt. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes of course,¡± Light said, now clearly nervous.


    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t want to have to summon my friend Jane again. You don¡¯t want that either, do you?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± Light managed to say.


    ¡°Then I guess we¡¯re in agreement. Take this translator for any future encounters with races you can¡¯t understand. Maybe then you won¡¯t have to blindly imprison a bunch of innocent people because of your own people¡¯s cowardice.¡±


    ¡°Please, I didn¡¯t want them to,¡± Light pleaded, as if something horrible had just happened.


    John¡¯s eyes widened and he turned in time to see a fist sized flaming chunk of something clear the tree line before exploding in a shower of golden sparks that quickly ignited anything they touched. As he watched in horror, the entire wood was quickly set ablaze. John cursed and turned back to Light Thrower.


    Before he could say or do anything, a dark figure launched itself at him from the cover of the grass. John barely got a look at the figure before a second form bowled it over. The sounds that followed were a horrendous mixture of shrieking hisses so clearly agonized that John almost felt bad.


    ¡°Please, I didn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Quiet. Go back to your base Light Thrower. And pray that enough of my people survive that I don¡¯t come after yours,¡± John said as he turned away from both Light and the death throes of his fellow Drizk.


    John flew as fast as his wings could carry him toward the rapidly spreading inferno of the forest. His gut was twisted in worry over his father and all the other humans in danger because of his actions. Had he just doomed them all to die rather than remain prisoners?


    John flew on in anxious rage as his mind tormented him. He burst through the heat of the tree line to survey the area. What he saw was both better and worse than he had hoped.


    At least a dozen bodies lay burnt and unmoving amid the inferno. The sight of them filled John¡¯s mouth with bile. Each form was a recrimination. He cursed himself as his eyes refused to look away.


    What he was finally able to see when he did look away was a lone form pinned to an aggressively burning tree. He recognized the javelin he had lent his dad impaling the form. John flew closer to confirm what he hoped was true.


    If he wasn¡¯t completely crazy, Molten Ash was now dead. And unless he was a horrible guesser, Jane was just about finished ravaging Shadow Bite as well. It wasn¡¯t how he had wanted things to go.


    Had he been too hostile? Had his insults caused the deaths of more than a dozen people? Was there even a way to have avoided the conflict? He didn¡¯t know. But the weight of his decisions hung over him.


    A golden spark touched his armor and the chitin immediately began to bubble and melt. It left a crater the size of a quarter in his arm and nearly went deep enough to expose the skin. John was amazed at the destructive ability of the sparks.


    ¡°Hm. I guess ash really can be molten.¡± He thought as he flew toward the river.


    3


    ¡°John! You¡¯re okay!¡± Jack¡¯s excited voice shouted as John approached.


    His father broke away from the crowd of scared people to finally embrace his son, who landed and dismissed his armor to return the gesture. The two remained locked together for several seconds before John pulled away.


    ¡°What happened up here?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Like you said. There was trickery involved. One of the possums had blended into our group. Kept his face covered. They¡¯re shorter than us, so he was able to stay more or less hidden behind one person or another until we got to the trees.¡±


    ¡°And then he did all of that?¡± John asked, booking a thumb over his shoulder at the blaze of trees.


    ¡°Yeah. I was watching him when it happened. He grabbed a rock from the ground and held it in his hand until it started to glow really bright red. Then he just hurled it into the air. It went higher than I thought the guy could throw. Way higher. When it blew, the whole forest lit up. Anyone who got touched by the embers were goners.¡±


    ¡°How did you take the Drizk out?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Like I said, I watched him throw the rock. You said not to hesitate if I saw one. My own confusion led to enough hesitation that people died. Still, as soon as he threw it, I knew. He was pinned to that tree before it even exploded.¡±


    ¡°Good job. You did good, dad.¡±


    ¡°Not good enough. If I had been faster¡­¡±


    ¡°No. It wouldn¡¯t have changed anything. There¡¯s no way you could have stopped him before he started doing whatever he did to the rock. And what if you got him before he could throw it. It probably wouldn¡¯t have stopped the rock from exploding. Meaning-¡±


    ¡°Meaning that I would have caused it to go off in the middle of everyone if I had acted sooner,¡± Jack finished for him.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You did as well as you could have. Those deaths aren¡¯t on you. They¡¯re on me,¡± John said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t put that on yourself, son. All of these people owe you their freedom. Your father owes you his freedom. You have done a great deed for us all.¡±


    ¡°What about for them?¡± John asked quietly as he nodded his head at the blazing inferno and the bodies within.


    ¡°John, I¡­¡± his father stopped talking as he noticed the haunted expression on his son¡¯s face.


    He paused and took in all of the trauma and hardship that had been written there since his disappearance. He glimpsed the hollow and solemn visage that had replaced the face he knew. No trace of the innocence his son had once possessed lingered there.


    ¡°Son? What has this place done to you?¡± He asked as the tears streamed down his face.


    John didn¡¯t have an answer. His silence only served to unbalance his father more. Soon the two were locked in another embrace as John too began to cry.


    As much as he wanted to enjoy the reunion unhurriedly, John didn¡¯t trust that the danger from the Drizk had passed. So, with a final pat on the back, he parted from his father and took command once more. With another translator, John began directing the released prisoners.


    ¡°Okay, listen up. We¡¯re not safe yet, and I want to be as far from that base as possible by the end of the day. We¡¯re going to move as a unit along the river until we¡¯ve put some distance in. Then we can start gathering materials to make a rough camp before night fall. I¡¯m going to scout the area while we do to see if I can find a base for us to use. It might take some time, but I¡¯ll make sure we all get back to Earth.¡±


    ¡°What is Earth?¡± One person asked.


    John was confused by the question. He didn¡¯t know if the man was making a joke or simply misunderstood because of the translation. He looked at the man in suspicion.


    ¡°Earth, like the planet?¡± He said inquiringly.


    ¡°My planet is called Huros,¡± the man responded.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    That was enough to render John speechless. Assuming the man was telling the truth, he was talking to a human from another planet. The implications were so baffling that he looked at his dad for confirmation. Jack just shook his head clearly as surprised as his son.


    ¡°You come from a different planet?¡± He finally asked.


    ¡°It would appear so.¡±


    ¡°That is some next level shit that I don¡¯t have time to address right now but I have so many questions for you.¡±


    ¡°John!¡± Jack scolded at hearing his son curse.


    ¡°Is anyone else an alien?¡± John asked the group. They were all quiet for a long moment before one person spoke.


    ¡°Forgive me. But are we not all aliens now?¡±


    John looked at the man in surprise. He hadn¡¯t even stopped to consider the situation they all found themselves in. They were all foreign in The Garden. It was a different planet, if it could be called that, full of unique life.


    ¡°Huh. That¡¯s actually a really good point,¡± John said speculatively.


    ¡°John, I get that we need to move, but I don¡¯t like the idea of you going off to scout alone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the kid I was, dad.¡±


    ¡°I can see that. But a father will always worry about his child.¡±


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why you¡¯re coming with me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m what?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m not a kid anymore. I¡¯ve been on some adventures and seen some pretty crazy things. Managed to acquire a few treasures in the process,¡± he said with a smirk.


    For a moment. Jack just looked at his son. The haunted youth was gone, replaced by the proud and quietly confident boy he had raised. But all too soon, the fa?ade melted from John¡¯s face, and they both resumed their sullen demeanor.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, John.¡±


    ¡°You got shuffled, dad. It isn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    ¡°I could have fought. I should have fought. But I was weak.¡±


    ¡°No, dad. If you fought, you would have died. You saw what some of them could do,¡± he gestured at the still burning forest a hundred yards away, ¡°there was no way to fight them.¡±


    ¡°But you did,¡± Jack said quietly.


    ¡°Like I said, I¡¯ve had some adventures. I¡¯m slowly learning how this place works. But it has a lot of secrets. Like this one,¡± John said.


    He summoned the griffon javelin to his hand, finally freeing whatever was left of the Drizk it was holding to fall or blow away. Though in his father¡¯s possession, The Garden still recognized John as the owner of the weapon, so it responded to his summons. Jack¡¯s face showed surprise once more as he remembered the formidable weapon his son had loaned him. He looked back to John with a question on his lips.


    ¡°Not here,¡± John told him.


    He returned the weapon to its place within him and held out his hand for his father to take. At the contact, he permanently transferred the javelin, an enhanced round shield that looked like a tortoise shell that Liz had given him to provide for his blossoming guild, and the new pair of Advanced wings he had received.


    As he was doing this, the alarm bell went off in his mind. He had left Jane to scout the situation of the base after his departure, not truly believing Light would let things go. His instructions had been to return to his mind the moment anyone left the base in pursuit. As the empty slot of Jane¡¯s soul refilled with her return, John grew serious.


    ¡°We have to go,¡± he said to his dad. Then he turned to the group that were less than casually observing the conversation they had been having.


    ¡°Time to move. The Drizk are about to flood through that forest like ants on a picnic. No time to waste, everyone get moving. Follow the river. Don¡¯t stop no matter what you hear behind you. Now, go!¡± He turned back to his dad.


    ¡°You¡¯re with me,¡± he said.


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Jack asked.


    ¡°Whatever we can,¡± John said as Jane reappeared next to him.


    4


    ¡°Go, cause a distraction,¡± John told Jane.


    Jack reeled at the appearance of a glistening fox next to his son, but he recovered quickly as John turned away from him. He hurried to follow along, but his son was already flying away, wings sprouting from his armored back as they had before.


    ¡°The wings, dad,¡± his son called over his shoulder.


    Only then did Jack finish processing the souls his son had given him. He had gained precious few of his own in the time he had spent in The Garden. And none since his capture. He still had all of his acquired souls, but when he saw the quality and tier of each soul he had been given, he wondered again how much John had been through to get them.


    Jack¡¯s eyes bulged at the gear that appeared as he summoned each in turn. He didn¡¯t have time to think about the situation as John gained more distance with each passing second. So he launched from the ground, the wings feeling like extensions of his own body. In a few frenzied seconds, he caught up with his son.


    ¡°Do you have a plan?¡± He asked as he flew alongside John.


    ¡°No,¡± John responded confidently.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve found that these things happen too fast to plan ahead. I¡¯ll have a better idea when I can analyze the battlefield.¡±


    John suddenly had an exquisite bow in hand as he flew higher over the field that Jack could see beginning to flood with activity. What looked like hundreds of armed possum men were spreading from the base in pursuit of their group. He watched in shock as his son drew back a wicked looking arrow and let it fly. Without hesitation the string was drawn back again.


    No sooner than the cry of agony was heard below, the arrow had magically returned to the string and John let loose again. More shots were fired, and more cries of pain were heard. Jack was astonished at the efficiency his son showed, with barely a second passing between each shot.


    ¡°Dad, get ready.¡± John called back at a dumbfounded Jack.


    ¡°Ready for what?¡±


    ¡°Jane and I are closing the ranks. When they¡¯re piled up, use the javelin.¡±


    Jack looked back at the battlefield below. Only then did he notice that every shot John had taken had been at the outskirts of the raiding party. Just as he had said, the scattered possum people were quickly closing their formation.


    Jack continued to watch his son orchestrate the moves of his enemies like a master chess player. As the space closed below, Jack prepared himself for the perfect moment. After another minute, John called out again.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    Jack didn¡¯t waste time. Though he had only thrown the weapon once before, he launched it like a professional into the crowd of enemies below. Just like the first time, when he had killed the fire wielding possum, the weapon seemed to come alive and leap from his hand with a mind of its own.


    The crowd below seemed to explode apart like a grenade was thrown in their midst. Several of the furry creatures were tossed from their feet, which was nothing compared with the one who took the point of the javelin. Jack was astounded at his effect on the battle with just one throw.


    He was equally shocked at the efficiency with which John and the fox below capitalized on his attack. Arrows and teeth quickly finished many of the attackers that had been thrown from their feet. He was so infatuated by the scene that the blade that came for his chest almost found its mark.


    Jack barely managed to raise the shield on his arm in time to deflect it. The force of the attack unbalanced his midair hover, and he spun out of control as his wings frantically adjusted to the difference. His attacker was already on him again as he righted himself.


    For a few frantic seconds, Jack was overwhelmed by the assailant. It was all he could do to keep from losing his head as the possum furiously attacked him. It wasn¡¯t until he remembered the javelin and it suddenly appeared back in his hands that he was able to put up a reasonable defense.


    ¡°John!¡± He called, hoping for some support.


    ¡°Shit. I¡¯m a little busy. Keep her at a distance. You have the reach. I¡¯ll try to finish this up soon,¡± John called back.


    ¡°Her?¡± Jack wondered to himself as the possum continued to attack him.


    He soon found that John was right. If he didn¡¯t let his opponent get close, he had the advantage. From there, it wasn¡¯t difficult to grab the flow of battle for himself. As he started to fight back in earnest, his enemy began to hiss in frustration.


    Jack had never fought anyone in a duel to the death before. In truth, he wasn¡¯t trying to kill the possum. He simply wanted to discourage it from the same.


    Unfortunately for the persistent marsupial, Jack¡¯s weapon soon found purchase in its shoulder. Before he could pull it back or even react to what had happened, the javelin leapt from his hand. The startled possum hissed in pain as the javelin burst from her back.


    That turned to a hiss of surprise as the weapon dragged her inexorably toward the ground like an anchor dropped from on high. The descent increased in speed dramatically before landing amidst another pile up of the enemy. This impact was more devastating by orders of magnitude, and bodies flew for dozens of feet in every direction.


    Jack spared a glance for his son, and found him busy firing arrows at several forms that were attempting to enter the still burning forest. Their position was starting to lose its potency.


    ¡°We have to go,¡± John said in confirmation.


    The two of them retreated over the tops of the burnt trees. The group of humans had taken his marching orders seriously, as John could barely see the fleeing party from his vantage. They had made considerable progress up the river, but it wouldn¡¯t be enough. In minutes, the pursuers would catch them.


    ¡°We have to ditch the wings,¡± John said, ¡°they won¡¯t be as easy to use in the thick of the forest.¡±


    Jack followed his son as they moved ahead of the rabidly aggressive possum people below. They flew well ahead before touching down to prepare their attack. Jane reappeared next to her master as John turned to Jack.


    ¡°We have to buy as much time as we can. The plan is to draw their attention and make them chase us away from the river and deeper into the forest.¡±


    ¡°Start with the ones following the river then?¡± Jack asked.


    ¡°Yeah. We have to make them think everyone is in the trees before they catch up to the group.¡±


    The two of them plus Jane began harassing the Drizk in any way possible as they swarmed over the land. John continued picking them off with his bow while his father took slower and less accurate attacks with his javelin. As for Jane, she was a blur of motion between the legs of any Drizk that made too much progress toward the fleeing humans.


    She darted through legs, knocking her targets from their feet before playfully tugging at legs or arms to provoke them into chasing. With surprising efficiency, she gathered more and more Drizk to the cause. Soon a dozen or more of the angry possum men were chasing her toward the burnt trees.


    It wasn¡¯t a perfect method, and there were some notable outliers, but the three of them slowly began herding the pursuers away from the river. John was diligent in aiming for any who refused to take the bait. At ground level, the bends of the river made it impossible to tell how far the fleeing group had made it, so all they could do was buy as much time as possible.


    As the tide of angry Drizk slowly redirected their ire toward the burning trees, John sent Jane ahead to scout and protect for the freed prisoners. He and his father moved into the trees like a pair of guerrilla warriors. Each attack they made caused some combination of confusion, fear, and rage in their enemies.


    John was always mindful of their position, often signaling to Jack when they needed to retreat. The latter was increasingly amazed at his son¡¯s ability to keep moving and planning, as though he had the whole engagement mapped out in his head. Again and again, they moved just a few steps ahead of the Drizk, making attacks of opportunity as often as possible and fleeing before the nearest pursuer got close enough to retaliate.


    ¡°How are you doing this?¡± Jack found himself asking as they fled yet another engagement successfully.


    ¡°No time to explain now, we¡¯re almost to the choke point,¡± John replied.


    ¡°Choke point?¡±


    Jack¡¯s question was answered a second later as the two of them came upon a wide creek that flowed through the forest and eventually connected to the river they were trying to avoid. John sprouted his wings and motioned for Jack to do the same as they followed the water further upstream. In just a few moments they came upon a massive rock that sat like a hulking monolith in the midst of the stream, splitting its flow briefly in two as the water was forced to either side.


    ¡°Here,¡± John said simply.


    ¡°How did you know this was here?¡± Jack asked, seeing the plan his son had concocted.


    ¡°Strictly speaking, I didn¡¯t. Call it a guess. Call it intuition. I just had a feeling that if we went far enough, we would come across something we could use,¡± John pseudo explained.


    ¡°Intuition?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re getting close again. Let¡¯s go,¡± John said without explaining further.


    They flew to the top of the massive rock, which had only enough purchase for them both to stand comfortably, not for them to move freely. Bow and javelin at the ready, they waited for the first Drizk to come into view. John was quicker, loosing an arrow that pinned the possum warrior to a tree briefly before the arrow disappeared from its body with a pop, returning to his string.


    Then they surged from the trees like a nest of hornets. Projectiles familiar and foreign flew through the air at them while more close-range fighters leapt into the water and began climbing the massive boulder like determined ninjas. Jack began aiming for those while John continued the ranged offense.


    ¡°Keep your shield up,¡± John warned as Jack nearly failed to intercept a spiked ball hurled in his direction.


    He looked to his son, clad in the most unusual armor he had ever seen and wondered how he seemed so unaffected at the various projectiles that had impacted it. Sharp or blunt, whatever hit John¡¯s armor was knocked away with little more than a grunt from the man inside it. It seemed that maintaining his balance was the only true challenge the projectiles posed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them past!¡± John shouted, a little louder than Jack thought necessary.


    ¡°We can¡¯t let them catch up to the others!¡± He continued.


    He noticed the floating orb John had used upon first contact with the freed humans pulsing with light as it translated his words for every sentient creature nearby. Then realization dawned on Jack. His son was making a show of things. He was hamming up the necessity of their stand, as if it were much more than the time buying diversion that it was.


    ¡°We will hold them here for as long as it takes for our people to reach the mountains!¡± John concluded in a similar tone.


    Jack didn¡¯t know what mountains his son was talking about, but he trusted in the mastermind that had led them so successfully thus far. Having finished the charade of chivalry, the two worked on in silence as Drizk continued to assail them from near and far.


    John claimed the lives of any who passed the rock by in an attempt to surge past them. Jack continued to pick at the ones climbing the rock. After their position became unsafe to keep, John again signaled for the retreat. He noticed that his son allowed his instructions to be translated one last time before stowing the orb safely away once more.


    ¡°Fall back to the mountain!¡± He shouted.


    Then they both rose into the air, using the break in branches that the creek provided to quickly clear the treetops. The two made a show of moving in the same direction they had been heading as the trees quickly obscured them from view. When they were safely out of sight, John signaled a silent halt.


    ¡°This should be good.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s our next move?¡± Jack asked his son.


    ¡°Now we go back to our people and hope this bought us enough time,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Do you really think they¡¯ll believe what you said? Even if they heard your words over the noise of battle, an enemy¡¯s words are seldom to be trusted.¡±


    ¡°Alone it isn¡¯t enough. That¡¯s why they have to be baited to keep following.¡±


    ¡°Baited how? I thought we were going back to the others?¡±


    ¡°We are. My fox companion has been playing rear guard for our people this whole time. It seems that our ruse has drawn nearly all of the Drizk away from the river. Now that we¡¯ve gone as far off course as is safe, we will switch jobs. Jane can continue leading the Drizk towards the mountains while we make as much progress as we can in the other direction.¡±


    Jack looked over his son¡¯s shoulder, noticing for the first time the presence of a mountain range in the distance. When had John seen it? When had he planned to send the Drizk so far off course as to make it impossible to correct in time if they discovered the ruse?


    It had been an expert tactic, manipulating not just one but two large groups of people in opposite directions. The execution of the maneuver was nothing short of perfect, and Jack couldn¡¯t help but ask himself again who his son had to become in his absence. Whatever the answer, it was astoundingly clear how in control John was.


    ¡°I¡¯ve set Jane on the Drizk below. We should get back before we¡¯re noticed up here.¡±


    ¡°What if your animal friend is caught or killed?¡± Jack asked.


    ¡°Haha!¡± Was his son¡¯s only response as they moved back along the creek to rejoin the river company.


    5


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± John¡¯s dad asked him that night as their group settled amongst the trees.


    The large group had continued up the river until the sun sunk low in the sky. Then John had the most able of the company gather as many small trees or downed logs as could be found. As quickly as they could, John set about enclosing their group on three sides by having the procured timber stacked waste high in lines long enough to encamp their whole group. He hoped that would protect from the chill night air as well.


    The side facing the river he left open. It would be the quickest means of egress should they need to break camp in a hurry. John sat apart from the group, joined near the shoreline by his father.


    ¡°After you got shuffled, mom tried to keep me safe from the danger of this place. She got hurt though. There was a lot of blood. You know mom, she¡¯s never hunted a thing in her life. She¡¯s not made for this place,¡± John explained.


    ¡°No, she shouldn¡¯t have had to come here alone. If I hadn¡¯t been so weak, I could have¡­¡± but the words died in his father¡¯s throat.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t your fault dad. But as you can probably imagine, one look at her in that state was enough to get me in here. I didn¡¯t want Emma to lose another parent after¡­¡± John stopped talking, his meaning clear.


    ¡°After that, I came here myself. The early days were pretty terrible, but I¡¯ve come a long way. Even got shuffled myself.¡±


    ¡°You were shuffled too?¡± Is that how you¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°In a sense, yes.¡±


    John spent some time explaining his experiences in The Garden. He began by telling Jack about the six tiers of monster, of which his father had only known the first three. He explained that humanity at large was unaware of Divine genes and perhaps Wizened genes as well.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done well to keep what you¡¯ve learned a secret. If people knew you had come so far, they¡¯d surely covet your good fortune.¡±


    John spoke of the spiritual trial he had spent so much time completing. He demonstrated his ability to call upon the moonlight. His father stared in amazement at the luminescence he permeated when fully saturated.


    They also spoke of John¡¯s shuffle. He left out some of the more unbelievable details, like meeting a supposed God and befriending a sadistic lightning fox. What he did do was explain the rewards for completing his shuffle.


    ¡°Shuffle Master? So that¡¯s how you found me.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Completing the trial was also how I gained the mental capability that I have now. Though if I¡¯m being honest, the practice is too complicated for me to fully grasp. I¡¯ve been working on it for a while now, but I¡¯ve only managed to get a handle on the first of twelve branches. Even that much takes insane concentration in the application.¡±


    ¡°This place is far more absurd than any of us could have imagined.¡± Jack said in a subdued voice.


    ¡°I suspect its true absurdity won¡¯t become apparent for quite some time.¡± John responded.


    ¡°John¡­ you¡¯ve accomplished far more these past months than anyone could have expected of you. You protected the  family from retribution and danger alike. You were thrown into horrible situations in my absence, and you weathered the hardships like a man. Instead of breaking, you used adversity to grow stronger. I couldn¡¯t ask for a better son. And I couldn¡¯t be prouder of you.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t taught to shy away from challenges. I admit, when you always said life would be full of challenges, I never quite imagined this. But I guess the idea stuck with me either way. It hasn¡¯t been easy, but I¡¯ve come a long way.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get the cool ass bow?¡± his father suddenly asked, sounding quite childlike.


    ¡°I knew you would be jealous,¡± John laughed.


    ¡°No kidding! I¡¯m a little upset you only gave me the spear. I¡¯ve never spear hunted before.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to keep it from you. It has an insane weight behind the string. I couldn¡¯t pull it back reliably until I had a few Advanced genes.¡±


    His father was quiet for a moment.


    ¡°Are you calling me weak, John?¡± He asked in a serious tone.


    John laughed again, which caused his father to lose his composure as well. They both laughed easily, losing themselves in the comfort of their reunion. It had been too long since either of them enjoyed a moment so much.


    They soon made their way back to the main group, finding soft places to lay upon the mossy ground on the edge of the tree line. It wasn¡¯t comfortable, but it was better than the rocky shoreline of the river.  John set Jane on guard duty as the group settled in for an uneasy rest.


    The next morning the group rose as unhappy as you would expect a large group of people to be after sleeping in the cold with no beds or even blankets. At their protestations, John felt another twinge of guilt at his actions. None of them had asked to be freed, they had been forced into it. And now they were forced to follow him or die in the wilderness like helpless animals.


    ¡°Am I the good guy?¡± John doubted silently.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Jack told him, catching the unhappy look in his son¡¯s eye.


    ¡°We have to get to a base today or I¡¯ll have to start hunting for everyone.¡± John said.


    ¡°We have wings, why don¡¯t we take two different directions and search for a few hours. Meet back here by noon?¡±


    ¡°Okay, we should probably let the others know.¡±


    So, they gained the attention of the group at large and explained the situation as well as their hope for a resolution. No one spoke out, but there were a few unhappy grumblings from some of the group. John paid them no mind. Leaving Jane on guard duty once more, he and Jack took to the sky.


    ¡°You follow this side of the river and scan ahead. I¡¯ll follow the other side. There has to be another base somewhere. Shuffles are all about options, at least I hope they are.¡± John said.


    The two split up and began the search. Traveling by wing was much more efficient than searching on the ground. The ground seemed to scroll by beneath them as they searched their respective areas.


    John found what he was looking for relatively early in the search. It was a pretty decent sized base nestled between two large hills a distance from the river. He deemed it at least a possibility, but without going to check the base itself for hostile behavior, he couldn¡¯t be sure of its integrity.


    Still, it was a base, so he began trying to solve the issue of getting the group across the water. He spent the next few hours searching up and down the river for suitable crossing zones. His success was frustratingly limited.


    When they regrouped at noon, Jack explained that he had also found a base, only it was a much greater distance away. He also claimed to have entered the base and found it completely abandoned. That peaked John¡¯s interest.


    ¡°How big was it?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Pretty damn big,¡± his father replied.


    ¡°Bigger than Emerald?¡±


    ¡°Hard to tell by memory, but I think so, yes. It certainly wouldn¡¯t be any smaller than Emerald base.¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± John said, deep in thought.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I think we should ask the people which base they want to go for. Both have advantages and drawbacks. I¡¯m sick of making difficult decisions. Let democracy decide.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t argue the point,¡± Jack said.


    So, they explained what they had each found. They laid out the differences in distance and approach and asked the group to pick as a whole. This took more time and deliberation than John had expected of them.


    Eventually, it was decided that if they could find a way to fjord the river, they would go to John¡¯s base since it was a great deal closer than the other. If they could not figure a way across, the group would resign themselves to a substantially longer walk to reach Jack¡¯s base. And with that, the group was at work.


    John loaned a couple of the translation orbs out to keep communication flowing amongst the people splitting up to test different ideas to cross the river. One group used green fibrous plant material to tie some of the thicker trees together in a long walkway over the water. This was quickly proven impossible, as the river was far too wide for even a half dozen trees to breadth. Attempting to tie more than that together became near impossible to maneuver without losing it to the current.


    Another group tried to throw summoned spears with lengths of grapevine tied to them across the water. Unfortunately, even the mightiest throw fell short of the far shore. The group returned defeated.


    It was a third group of minds that devised a working strategy. Instead of lashing downed trees together in a long plank, they tied them into a series of twenty-foot barges that could be steered with long poles fashioned from the tallest saplings that could be found. After John witnessed the success of the group¡¯s test voyage, he left the group excitedly constructing enough of them to carry everyone while he returned upriver to make contact with the base.


    As he approached the base, he noticed a lot more ordinary activity around it compared to the almost military nature of the Drizk base. The base itself was smaller than emerald base, marking it as very low rank. The inhabitants were humanoid, though something alien as were the Drizk. When he was close enough, he noticed they had insect-like heads, and six limbs to match, though they walked upright like humans.


    They had pale green exoskeletons, and each of their arms had a sharp blade like protrusion. Their bulbous eyes were black and seemed to take in the world around them one jerking head turn at a time. They all scurried around like any human civilization John had ever seen.


    Even more surprising was the lack of surprise or hostility at his approach. He intercepted one of the bug people and introduced himself using his last remaining translator. The bug looked at him and the sphere with general interest before chittering a response.


    ¡°Hello, human. What do you need? Kahlkix is very busy.¡±


    ¡°Kahlkix? Is that your name?¡±


    ¡°Kahlkix is me, yes. State your business, human. Patience grows short.¡±


    ¡°I need to know who is in charge here.¡±


    ¡°In charge? There is no charge. Kahlkix is in charge of Kahlkix. No ruler is needed.¡±


    ¡°Then who do I speak to about not attacking a large group of humans that seek shelter here?¡±


    ¡°Chinitza are familiar with humans. Will not attack. But if you wish to be polite, speak with Chinitza at the gate and tell them of this human group before it arrives. They will make arrangements.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I will take no more of your time. Thank you Kahlkix.¡±


    John moved off to find the gate attendants as instructed. He found them in due course, doing little more than stand around somehow looking bored in very human ways. He approached them with translator at the ready.


    ¡°Greetings human. How might we assist you?¡± One of them said much more politely than Kahlkix had been.


    ¡°I come to ask for safe transition of many humans who have been imprisoned by the Drizk. Some are in the middle of shuffle trials. They just need admittance to the base to finish their trials or return to their bases. Will there be any issue with that?¡±


    ¡°Your request is acceptable. Many humans live here already, as do plenty of Drizk who find their people too extremist. We guard the walls from monsters, not allies. Bring your people, they will be safe.¡±


    John was hesitant to believe the words of the bug person in front of him. Upon looking around, he noticed a plethora of different species meandering around the base. True to the word of the guard, none of its people seemed to mind others in their midst.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he finally said before flying off to meet the group.


    Upon returning to the river, John found the freed prisoners already on the proper shore. They were working their way towards him in the early evening light, making considerable progress. He flew down to meet them, quickly finding his father.


    ¡°That was quick,¡± John said.


    ¡°I think the idea of another day without food was an excellent motivator,¡± his dad replied.


    ¡°The base is small, but they shouldn¡¯t give us any problems.¡±


    John addressed the group then, explaining the insect people they would soon be seeing. No one seemed to have an issue with the information, so he let the matter rest. With gusto that only extended captivity can engender, the group seemed to sail across the space and through the hilly grasslands wherein the base could be found.


    As with the night before, either the area was free of dangerous beasts, or their group was simply too large to entice predators. They moved unmolested through the hills and fields. John was relieved that at least one thing seemed to be going well.


    Despite their haste, it was still a much longer journey on foot. Hours passed them by, the sun scrolling across the sky to begin its descent. When the modest base did finally come into view, John was more than ready to be done with the task.


    As the Chinitza had promised, no trouble was to be had for the beleaguered humans. John watched with satisfaction as each person was led where they needed to go. When most of the humans were safely within the base, John turned to his father.


    ¡°Take me to the other base,¡± he said.

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20


    1


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s definitely bigger than Emerald base,¡± John said as they looked up at the massive walls encompassing the place.


    The base his father found had been situated on the side of a mountain. It had taken hours of hasty flight to reach the mountain range, and another half hour to reach the right mountain. The area was overgrown and flora rich, making it easy to hide a substantial base. The shelter was built into the mountain like it was wearing an enormous pointy hat.


    The amount of life in the area was something to behold. It was rich with beasts and exotic plants alike. John hoped to explore the area extensively soon, but his first priority was getting his father home safely.


    The two of them flew cautiously into the base, on guard for any type of danger. By that point, the day had long since waned, the sun having already hidden behind the horizon. Dusk brought the onset of moonlight, which John gratefully welcomed to loosen his stiff muscles from the last couple days.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange,¡± John said as they explored from above.


    ¡°What is?¡± His father asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a base completely empty. I wonder what happened here?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t any sign of fighting or struggle. Maybe everyone packed up and left?¡± Jack postulated.


    ¡°Unlikely. Bases can hold thousands, maybe millions of people for the bigger ones like this. What are the odds that everyone would choose to leave?¡±


    ¡°Hm. Good point. Any ideas?¡±


    John surveyed the place with suspicion for several minutes. He tried to dissect the secrets it held using analysis. Based on his incomplete knowledge, and an absence of anyone to fill in those gaps, John couldn¡¯t be certain of anything. He had one suspicion though.


    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s always been empty. There is no sign of anyone ever living here in the first place. And the dust. Very interesting.¡±


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡±


    ¡°My eyes have improved more than yours, so I can see from here that nothing looks like it¡¯s been neglected for long enough to gather dust or dirt.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible? Clearly people lived here pretty recently then, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t see any claimed rooms. They don¡¯t even have numbers or defining marks.¡±


    ¡°Which means-¡°


    ¡°Which means that the base hasn¡¯t been here for that long. We have no idea how this place works. Maybe bases are born, just like monsters.¡±


    ¡°A new base? So, what do we do?¡±


    ¡°Only one thing we can do. Let¡¯s head down for a chat.¡±


    The two of them descended into the heart of the base, landing near a temple similar in design but much smaller than the one Sun¨¦ claimed. It was opulent, but not in great excess. The moment their feet touched the ground, the notifications started spilling in.


    ¡°You have discovered Obsidian Base!¡±


    ¡°Would you like to select this base to complete your shuffle?¡±


    ¡°Warning, this base is not claimed!¡±


    ¡°Warning, this base is restricted!¡±


    ¡°Warning, this base may not be inhabited until claimed!¡±


    ¡°Warning! Remaining in this base for longer than five minutes will trigger the Trail of Possession!¡±


    ¡°What the hell?¡± John asked as his father rocked back in surprise at the plethora of information.


    ¡°What is all this?¡± Jack asked.


    ¡°This is very bad,¡± John said, realizing.


    ¡°What is it?¡± His father asked.


    ¡°We have to go now. You have to go now.¡±


    ¡°John, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a test. Nothing is free or easy in The Garden. You have to get out now or you¡¯ll be stuck in here when the fighting begins.¡±


    ¡°The fighting? What fighting?¡±


    ¡°Dad, we don¡¯t have time! You have to get out of here!¡±


    Without waiting for a response, John sprouted wings and sailed off. He flew with great haste toward the edge of the base, knowing his father would follow. Sure enough, Jack¡¯s figure rose above the buildings only a moment later.


    John cursed as he realized they had flown to the very center of the base before initiating the system. His own wings could very likely carry him far from Obsidian Base with time to spare. The one tier lower wings his father possessed were slower by a considerable margin. John didn¡¯t fly ahead, preferring to stay close to his dad.


    As they sped toward the edge of the enclosure, John started to hear signs of trouble. The aggravated cries of more beasts than John could count or recognize filled the air. Moving his gaze upward, he also noticed a plethora of winged foes filling the air much more literally.


    ¡°You have to get out now! Our time is up! Go!¡± John shouted to his dad.


    ¡°No, John. It¡¯s too late. Look,¡± he said, pointing.


    Many of the aerial opponents winging their way toward the base were already taking shots at each other as they flew. More than one bird fell from the sky as others brutally savaged them. Watching the scene, John knew his dad was right. They were stuck.


    ¡°There¡¯s no flying through that tide,¡± he conceded.


    ¡°Not without getting pecked and taloned into ribbons like those,¡± Jack said, indicating the falling avians, ¡°I¡¯m not conceited enough to think I¡¯m better at flying than a bunch of birds.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± John began, ¡°Shit! I shouldn¡¯t have had you bring me here. You don¡¯t have the skills or tools for this. Damnit! Why did I think it would be as easy as walking in and claiming the place?¡±


    ¡°Hey, calm down. We can do this. I might not have all the traumatizing experience you do in this place, but don¡¯t count me out yet, son.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not going to be enough. Even if we were both prepared, it wouldn¡¯t be a sure thing. We should have-¡±


    ¡°John,¡± Jack said.


    He wasn¡¯t loud or assertive. He didn¡¯t speak with a tone that would have normally silenced anyone, let alone a teenager on the verge of a breakdown. But it was a tone John had heard a million times before. The calm certainty in his father¡¯s voice choked the words in his throat like putting a kink in a water hose.


    ¡°Look at me,¡± he said, still in the same tone, ¡°what is impossible?¡±


    John looked into his father¡¯s eyes. There, he saw the determination he had inherited as directly as the eyes themselves. He also recognized the expectation of John¡¯s response. It was a question he had been asked innumerable times in his life.


    ¡°Impossible,¡± he began without confidence.


    ¡°Say it with conviction!¡± Jack demanded, as assertive as he had ever been with his son.


    John flinched. He knew what was expected of him. After coming so close to bringing his father home safe, only to be strong armed into another dangerous situation at the last minute, John had started to lose his nerve. He couldn¡¯t bear being the reason his father never made it home. With tears threatening to spill from his eyes, he clamped his mouth shut, shaking his head.


    ¡°What, is, impossible?¡± Jack asked again, his calm and reassuring voice once more on display.


    ¡°Impossible,¡± John started again with as much certainty as he could find, ¡°is an excuse not to try.¡±


    ¡°And what happens when you don¡¯t try?¡± Jack continued.


    ¡°You fail,¡± John answered.


    ¡°Do you want to fail?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± John said weakly.


    ¡°Then lose the excuses! There¡¯s work to do.¡±


    John nodded, unwilling to speak further. He knew his dad was right. He had always been right when this conversation came up. Every single time. And every time it was his oversimplification that pushed John to be or do something he would have never had the courage for otherwise.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m guessing we have less than a minute before it all goes south. What¡¯s the plan?¡± Jack asked.


    2


    John retracted the wings from his back and settled himself on a substantial rooftop. Jack touched down next to him. They had decided on staying together rather than spreading out. Jack was much less prepared for a large confrontation than John, and neither was confident in his ability.


    ¡°Your job,¡± John began, ¡°is to collect and absorb as many higher tier genes as you can. Preferably, your Advanced tally should reach at least thirty as soon as possible. Until then, you can¡¯t provide the ranged support I¡¯m going to need from you.¡±


    ¡°Ranged support?¡±


    The Lunar Stag bow appeared in John¡¯s hands, and he quickly offered it to his dad. Jack took the weapon with reverence that only a true bow hunter could muster. His eyes traveled over its length as if he were inspecting an ancient artifact that might fall apart if he so much as breathed on it.


    ¡°Pull the string,¡± John commanded.


    Jack did as he was instructed, finding it near impossible to budge. He handed the bow back to John, who let it dissolve back into him. The two shared a moment of understanding before John continued the explanation.


    ¡°Until you¡¯re beefed up, it¡¯s going to be ground game and close quarters for you. Since we have no idea exactly what we¡¯re going to face, the best we can do is play to your strengths.¡±


    ¡°And what-¡± Jack¡¯s response was cut off as the system spoke once more.


    ¡°Grace period has ended.¡±


    ¡°Trial of Possession beginning.¡±


    ¡°Participants summoned based on the tier of Obsidian Base.¡±


    ¡°Base Tier: Wizened.¡±


    ¡°Participants summoned range in tier from Enhanced to Wizened.¡±


    ¡°1000/1000 participants remain.¡±


    ¡°All other participants must be eliminated or yield their position to claim possession of Obsidian Base.¡±


    ¡°You may yield your position at any time, either verbally, or by physically exiting the base.¡±


    ¡°If you choose to yield, you may not participate in any future Trial of Possession for one year.¡±


    ¡°Trial of Possession will commence in exactly ten seconds.¡±


    ¡°Good Luck!¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± John cursed.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We can do this. And if I get overwhelmed, I can fly out of the base. All the danger will be inside by then.¡±


    ¡°Three seconds,¡± John said.


    Then the pair went to work. The birds that had been circling at the borders of the base suddenly surged forward. The cacophony of hooves also grew to a fevered pitch as dozens of beasts streamed in through the gates. Other, more thumb possessed beasts swarmed up the walls to spill into the once deserted streets below.


    From their vantage near one of the three gates, the two humans were surprised to see so few adversaries. The birds alone seemed to blot out the stars in the darkening sky. Even with two other gates to divide between, they had expected a thicker tide.


    Not that either of them complained at the dozens of foes now spreading through the streets. That number alone was more than enough to prove fatal. John began launching Lunar arrows at any target he could hit, which proved to be a lot less than he had hoped.


    The immense base gave ample opportunity for cover. Undeterred, the bow launched arrow after arrow, fueled by the abundance of moonlight spilling down from above as well as some of John¡¯s own stores. Beasts soon cried out in pain from scrapes with each other and John¡¯s attacks alike.


    Below, Jane ran amongst the fracas, finishing any foes she could find. A surprising number of beasts fell to each other, leaving genes free and unclaimed. John was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the beasts spread out. Instead of a horde of assailants converging on them all at once, they only had sparse fights while each creature attempted to gain distance from its many jealous peers.


    ¡°Wait here. If fliers start to box you in, pick a new roof before they can get too close. I¡¯ll be right back,¡± John said.


    Then he flew off on a circuit to collect the genes he and Jane had left laying. Working as fast as he could, John freed and stored each abandoned gene before moving on to the next. It was mostly Enhanced beasts, but two had been Advanced. As of yet, no Wizened creatures had been killed or even identified.


    John returned to his father in decent time, landing next to him just as Jack skewered an ape of some sort that had been climbing the building. With impossible dexterity, he lifted the beast over the edge and threw it from his javelin onto the roof next to them. John was impressed by his father¡¯s capability.


    ¡°Here,¡± he said, throwing the small sack of genes down for his father to take.


    ¡°Thanks. Cover me while I get through them. And break those fangs loose while you¡¯re at it,¡± Jack said, indicating the dead ape.


    ¡°On it.¡±


    John quickly harvested the fangs and added them to the pile, switching back to his bow just in time to shoot a diving bird from the sky. That too was added to the pile. For the next several seconds after that, John took out any threat that ventured too close. As he let the two Advanced genes flow into him, Jack gained the same euphoric look on his face that John had experienced upon claiming his first high tier gene.


    ¡°What¡¯s your total?¡± John asked when he had finished.


    ¡°Thirty-seven Enhanced.  Eleven Advanced,¡± Jack responded, sounding dazed.


    ¡°Alright. Not enough yet. We need to relocate. The fighting is already too far into the city to do any damage from here. We¡¯re only getting stragglers.¡±


    ¡°Lead the way,¡± Jack said.


    The two flew from rooftop to rooftop, not wishing to draw the concerted attention of the many birds still circling higher in the sky. In this way, the slowly delved deeper into the base as Jane continued to mop up any easy targets along the way. As such, by the time they had picked a new position, Jack was already loaded down with fresh genes, John having collected them as they moved.


    While Jack absorbed the newest batch, John was already scouting for the best spot to get ahead of the crowd. When his father had finished, John once again urged them to move on. This time, the tide was much more aggressive, and John made no attempt to collect any genes.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°The temple,¡± he told Jack.


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°We need to get there before all these guys do. If we land at the top of the stairs near the entrance, it¡¯ll have better defense from above. Plus everything on the ground will need to come up to get at us.¡±


    ¡°We probably should have stayed there in the first place,¡± Jack bemoaned.


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    They made their way back through the city, John taking shots at whatever he could while Jack just focused on flying safely. When the two finally touched down back at the temple, they had already heard an update from the system.


    ¡°500/1000 participants remain.¡±


    ¡°Here,¡± John said.


    He foisted the bow into his father¡¯s hands along with the Drowsy Muckray arrow. Jack took them both with an awe and excitement that John smiled at seeing it on the man¡¯s face. Without another word, Jack drew the string.


    Having claimed three more Advanced genes had given him a total of twenty-three. It was less than John had hoped for, but more than he feared. His father wouldn¡¯t be unable to use the bow, but it would tire him out much more quickly than the javelin could.


    A screech of pain marked his first successful shot. Much more experienced than John, his father¡¯s relationship with a bow was much like that of riding a bike. The sheer number of hours he had watched his father practice with the bow became all too evident as a massive bird fell from the sky, an arrow through its neck.


    ¡°Awe man this thing is awesome!¡± He shouted in clear glee.


    John watched for a moment as Jack drew the bow three more times. With each release, a new foe fell from the sky. He set Jane to defend Jack against anything that came to close as he focused on ranged foes.


    Satisfied that his father would be okay, John turned and launched himself from on high to land amidst the crowd of beasts. They had just started to gather at the base of the steps when he arrived like a mortar. With a little help from Lunar Radiance, an Enhanced blade he had picked up was honed far beyond its limitations to impale an Advanced elk-like creature that reminded John of his first hunting trip into The Garden.


    The beast was pinned to the ground by its neck, though not for long given its size and musculature. It didn¡¯t matter, by then John had moved on to the group at large. With his Tail of the Kitsune, John quickly wove a stream of death through the gather crowd of berserk monsters. Kill notifications spammed through his mind quicker than he could process them as his ten tailed whip carved destruction in every direction.


    3


    ¡°250/1000 participants remain.¡±


    John grunted in acknowledgement as he leapt back into the air. He had carved an absolute mess of carnage through the rampaging beasts. His father had dutifully thinned the many flying mobs above them.


    Even with all of the damage they had been doing, John knew only a fraction of the deaths could be claimed by one of them. Most of the dead were from the beasts fighting each other. He had also witnessed several of the lesser foes fleeing for the gates.


    That number rose steadily in the later stages of the Trial. With many Enhanced foes and even a couple less sturdy Advanced variants choosing life over the certain death handed out by John, his father, and more than a few of the more capable creatures. John was happy to let them go. The less he had to overcome, the better.


    ¡°John!¡± Jack suddenly shouted.


    John turned just in time to see a massive, scaled bird descending on him with outstretched talons, poised to pluck him from the ground. An arrow already protruded from its neck, seeming to cause no discomfort for the bird. John flicked his wrist to put slack in his Tail of the Kitsune before turning it on the diving foe.


    All ten segments of the bladed whip converged to make a thick, barbed cord. It rippled through the air at the bird, but just before impact, the sly creature did a barrel roll to one side. John¡¯s attack sunk only into cobblestone as the bird veered off. Luckily, that also stopped its attempt to grapple with John.


    He turned to reengage the beast, but it was already gaining altitude, seeming to rethink John¡¯s threat level. He let it go, well aware that he was in plenty of danger besides the bird. As if on cue, an ape, this one Advanced leapt at him.


    Before John could bring his weapon to bear, an arrow sunk firmly into the beast¡¯s head. It crashed to the ground, already dead as John turned to see his father reloading the string. They shared a quick smile as he refocused his attention on the ground fighting.


    John¡¯s use of Third Eye of Callysta proved to be something akin to cheating. Never before had his brain been so capable of categorizing and manipulating the many facets and variables of a fight. It was almost like seeing the future.


    When one beast moved to attack him, John¡¯s positioning caused another to take the strike. When his attacks appeared to be aimless, one of the many warring monsters would inexplicably step into it at the last minute. It was like an expertly choreographed routine where the steps could never be predicted. Except by John.


    His legs carried him in unconventional patterns and directions. Often, he would stop moving just in time to miss an incoming swipe from a paw or tusk or antler. Others, he would sprint forward into certain death only to pass through the fracas unscathed. He felt alive and unstoppable as enemy after enemy fell to him or his manipulations.


    By this point, John could tell that only the capable and determined remained. His efforts at Analyzation were still imperfect, gaining him more than one bruised rib or dazed head as one thing or another impacted his armor. It was quickly becoming clear that those that still fought were not so easily maneuvered.


    John didn¡¯t let the shift in effectiveness cloud his enthusiasm. Instead, it was the fire he needed to push himself forward. Only with superior adversaries would he be able to truly advance his abilities. A smile spread across his face as he successfully evaded the prodding tusk of a mountain boar.


    ¡°100/1000 participants remain.¡±


    John spun in a circle, letting his ten-pronged whip spread out around him like a flower opening in spring. This gave him space as the remaining grounded creatures fled to escape its biting attacks. With the space to breathe, John pulled in the Tail of the Kitsune, but he didn¡¯t stop the continuous motion.


    Few remaining beasts wished to confront him directly, but more than a few were willing to try deception. He had effectively made himself the center of the remaining foes, with every land-based assailant circling him in an uneasy stalemate.


    The furious monsters would only take shots at him when his back was to them; when they thought he was oblivious. More than one learned differently when his barbed whip came bending around him to bite into their flesh. This caused the beasts to grow ever more restless in their desire to maim him.


    Occasionally two of the creatures would come close enough to attack each other, but John had earned the attention of them all, and none were willing to disregard him to fight another. That didn¡¯t stop Jack from dropping them steadily with well placed arrows to their vitals. John was incredibly impressed to see how well his father had acquitted himself.


    Sparing a glance at the sky, John found that only a few avians remained. That meant his father had been hard at work while John indulged his mental cultivation. It was astounding to see how quickly the numbers had withered.


    Soon there was less of an effort to kill and more of a desperate attempt to escape the true elites of the Trial. As one of those elites, John was happy to let any beast throw in the towel. He didn¡¯t have the stamina to keep the fight going indefinitely.


    With almost no pressure on Jack, Jane had happily leapt into the larger fracas. Not that her presence had been needed, being a full tier above the greatest of foes they would face. But the little soul construct was as bloodthirsty as her red speckled fur seemed to imply.


    The three of them worked steadily through the last century of participants as the late evening gave way to full darkness. With the base still unclaimed, there wasn¡¯t a light in sight. Only the rays of moonlight that John so readily utilized provided any visibility.


    John had never felt more alive. He reveled in the near-death experience that he was immersed in, feeling for all the world like he had never been more at ease. As he flung an Advanced ape by the stomach with his barbed whip, his father¡¯s voice reached his ears.


    ¡°John! I need you!¡± he shouted over the clamor.


    His wings were launching him into the air before the phrase finished leaving his father¡¯s mouth. In less than three seconds, John was falling upon a Wizened Saber Cat that had correctly picked Jack as the easiest target. Having no leverage in the air to use his Tail of the Kitsune, John did the one thing he could think of.


    Letting the whip return to him, John tucked his wings to his sides. He may as well have been a missile launched from on high. He crashed down on the massive cat, disrupting it just before it leapt for his father¡¯s throat.


    John and the saber cat tumbled into a pile of flesh and fur. They rolled back down the expansive stairs as the cat screamed in surprise. Clearly it was unused to being the one ambushed in the dark.


    John locked his right arm around its neck from behind to stop it from rolling into the dominant position. They came to a stop on the nearest landing, stopping their momentum just before plummeting down the next set of stairs.  With the beast effectively locked in a sleeper hold, he groaned in desperation for Jack to intervene.


    No sooner than he thought to ask, an arrow buried itself into the exposed chest of the beast. A strangled yowl was all the protestation it was able to give before it grew very still. It wasn¡¯t an instant kill, but the sedative nature of the arrow, as spent as it no doubt was by then, still had enough potency to drop the cat when lodged so near to its heart. The brown fur of the beast quickly darkened with blood.


    John rolled the cat from on top of him and stood to face his father. There, he saw how utterly spent the man was. He had nowhere near the fitness John had acquired in the course of his many gene enhancements. He had held out for much longer than most could have in his position. Nevertheless, he was at his limit.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done well,¡± John said as he approached.


    ¡°Me? Have you seen the pile of carnage you left down there?¡±


    John chuckled as the two shared an embrace. It had been such a long day. More than a day, John conceded. They had overcome more adversity than either could have expected or hoped for. But this was as far as Jack could go.


    ¡°Jane,¡± John said.


    The fox was at his side in an instant. Her muzzle was painted in gore. She tilted her head expectantly at John, reminding him of nothing so much as a curious dog.


    ¡°Protect,¡± he said.


    Jane gave a happy yip of confirmation before positioning herself defensively beside Jack. The man let out a tired sigh before sitting himself down on the top step of the temple. Then he fell back to pant in exhaustion, staring up at the dark sky.


    10/1000 participants remain.¡±


    4


    ¡°Congratulations participants!¡±


    ¡°Top 1% has been determined!¡±


    ¡°All surviving participants will be rewarded at the conclusion of the Trial!¡±


    ¡°Any participant may now choose to yield in order to collect rewards!¡±


    ¡°Exact positioning will be determined by the order in which remaining participants die or yield.¡±


    ¡°Final Brawl begins now!¡±


    Jack shared a grateful glance with his son as they digested the information. John sighed in relief at the idea that the ordeal was soon to end. Even before he returned his attention to the fight, more notifications streamed in.


    ¡°Gurin has yielded and will be given the final position of ¡®10¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Callax has yielded and will be given the final position of ¡®9¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Tyrasami has yielded and will be given the final position of ¡®8¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Alimar has yielded and will be given the final position of ¡®7¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Dargizt has yielded and will be given the final position of ¡®6¡¯!¡±


    ¡°5/1000 participants remain.¡±


    John was surprised at the number of participants that chose to quit while they were ahead. He hadn¡¯t expected humility from any of the beasts powerful or skilled enough to reach the top one percent. But just as he hoped they would all yield, the notifications stopped coming.


    ¡°Well shit,¡± he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Jane has my back. There¡¯s only three left. You can do this,¡± Jack said.


    John nodded acknowledgment for his father¡¯s confidence in him. He hadn¡¯t expected to be embroiled in the free for all, but he couldn¡¯t deny that they had both done exceptionally well. Now it was the last leg of the race, and John would be damned if he lost it now.


    ¡°Here,¡± Jack said, holding out a hand.


    John took it and was surprised to receive all the souls he had given his father save for the wings he didn¡¯t need. John started to protest, but his father cut him off.


    ¡°I¡¯m dead on my¡­ well not my feet, clearly. I¡¯m dead on my back. If one of those things gets past Jane, I¡¯m dead anyway. It¡¯s better that you have every tool possible than for me to hold on to them.¡±


    John grudgingly nodded his acceptance. He still turned a pleading eye on Jane. With intelligent fox soul licked at his hand comfortingly, as if to reassure him. With a nod, John turned away.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this,¡± he said as he descended the stairs.


    His biggest weakness was the low visibility. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but none of the beasts they had been fighting seemed at all hindered by the lack of light. That meant they all had that advantage over him. What they didn¡¯t have was his critical thinking skills.


    John descended the stairs cautiously, watching for trouble with strained eyes. With every step he took, John used the scant moonlight to inspect for his remaining foes. Near the middle of the great incline, he spotted the first.


    It was another ape. This one was clearly the alpha of whatever pack The Garden had summoned to take part in the Trial. It wasn¡¯t overly large, in fact appearing smaller than its Advanced counterparts. That only told John how close it must have been to Divine. It had already greatly condensed its essence, possibly on the very cusp of Divinity. It¡¯s determined eyes met John¡¯s, glistening in the moonlight.


    The second remaining foe made itself known with a high-pitched shriek from above. It was all but impossible to see by then, but John knew it came from the huge, scaled bird that had dove for him before. Without a way to properly see it, the bird would have to wait.


    John couldn¡¯t find the last of his foes, but as he returned his attention to the simian, he caught the last second indication that something was wrong from its eyes. They were not focused on him, but rather behind and above him. John thought it had caught sight of the massive, winged beast, but the prickle of danger than ran up his spine disillusioned him.


    Working on equal parts instinct and panic, John ducked forward. At the same time, the newly returned javelin popped into his hands, pointing back over his shoulder. John felt the massive weight of something larger than a human impacting the spear.


    The momentum of the attack naturally carried the panicked beast over his now crouched body. With a cursory effort to assist the trajectory, John flung the Javelin forward like a massive paintbrush, as if to fling gobs of paint on his canvas. What he flung instead was yet another massive cat.


    This one was solid black, what Americans would call a panther. John knew there was actually a fair amount of debate surrounding the term, with experts insisting that panthers were simply cougars with black fur.


    Whatever the truth may have been, the black cat tumbled off the point of his javelin like it had never been airborne in its life. It crashed to the ground and rolled almost perfectly to the feet of the ape. John met the eyes of the beast once more as it stepped forward and mercilessly crushed the head of the great cat.


    ¡°Moritar has succumbed and will be given the final position of ¡®5¡¯!¡±


    ¡°4/1000 participants remain.¡±


    ¡°Jesus,¡± John said as he watched the blood press from under the ape¡¯s foot.


    Before he could compartmentalize the scene, his spine began tingling again. John ditched the javelin for his Tail of the Kitsune and once more began waving it around to build momentum. It was only a second before the instinct he had for danger told him he had to act.


    Spinning around, he launched all ten tails of the weapon back over his left shoulder. He felt the barbs sink into flesh even as the diving bird screamed in alarm and pain. With the leverage of his continued spin, John pulled hard on the tether, forcing the great avian to crash down between himself and the formidable ape.


    Not even a second passed before the simian was on the bird. This time it used disgustingly dirty clawed hands to gouge at the flesh of the bird. Before the aerial expert could defend itself, great gobs of flesh were being torn away. It flapped its wings meekly, but John refused to release it from the barbed tails of his weapon. In seconds, it grew still.


    ¡°Yaris has succumbed and will be given the final position of ¡®4¡¯!¡±


    John shared another glare with the intelligent ape. After delivering it the only other combatants on the field, he was unsure what the next move should be. It was glaringly obvious that the beast was above him in terms of power. Only John¡¯s many formidable tools could allow him to match it. And only his ability to fly gave him the confidence to continue.


    As John took a hesitant step forward, the ape held up a hand. It was a halting gesture, like any human would use. John narrowed his eyes at the beast. With cautious hands, John tossed a communication orb between them.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± He asked when the orb was ready.


    The ape didn¡¯t seem surprised or concerned with John¡¯s ability to speak with it. Moreover, it had a response prepared. John was startled to hear how normal, if bass toned, the simian¡¯s words came across.


    ¡°You are strong. I am strong. Neither of us will win without great loss. I know that you will also not yield to me. My terms as as follows. I will yield to you, but only after the other human does.¡±


    John considered the ape¡¯s words, glancing at his dad, where he still laid, exhausted but aware. He had hoped to win the second spot for his father. But now it was between Jack accepting the third space, and potentially having to kill the ape.


    It wasn¡¯t that John doubted he could do it. If nothing else, he could fly into the sky and pepper the beast with arrows until it died. But John got the same feeling from talking to it as he did from talking to Sun¨¦. It felt wrong, and a little insane to consider killing it.


    ¡°Very well,¡± he finally said, ¡°wait here.¡±


    John turned and walked back up the many steps to reunite with his father. He was as weary as the other man, only able to continue at all through use of Lunar Radiance. Without the stamina boost it gave, he probably would have fallen sooner than Jack had.


    ¡°Hey,¡± he said when he had reached the man.


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Jack asked in a longing voice.


    ¡°Almost. I need you to yield to me. If you accept the third position, the monkey says he will accept the second one.¡±


    ¡°The monkey talked to you?¡± Jack asked incredulously.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got my ways. What do you think? I can probably take him down if you really want the second position.¡±


    Jack waved his hand dismissively. His arm fell to his side with no resistance. Clearly the man was tired beyond words.


    ¡°Jack Greene has yielded and will be given the final position of ¡®3¡¯!¡±


    Before John could even approach the ape again, the whole Trial was over. True to its word, it stepped down for the second position. John just smiled and sat down next to his father as the notifications streamed in.


    ¡°Gogojira has yielded and will be given the final position of ¡®2¡¯!¡±


    Congratulations! You have been given the final position of ¡®1¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! You have been named the victor in Trial of Possession!¡±


    ¡°Trial of Possession has ended!¡±


    ¡±Positioning Rewards for all surviving participants will be available to claim in one week!¡±


    ¡°Enter Obsidian Temple to claim Obsidian Base!¡±


    John looked back down at the form of the ape, Gogojira, he supposed. The great beast pounded a fist to its chest before turning away. It quickly faded into the dark night.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see what owning a Wizened Base feels like. Come on, up ya get,¡± he said, hoisting his father to his feet.


    5


    ¡°Congratulations! You have claimed Obsidian Base!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! Your triumph has added Obsidian Base to the list of accessible Bases!¡±


    ¡°As claimant of this base, you may restrict or limit access by others via the transition pad.¡±


    ¡°Attention! There are unclaimed spoils within your base!¡±


    ¡°Would you like to set Obsidian Base to auto collect?¡±


    ¡°This base is no longer restricted!¡±


    ¡°Would you like to complete your Shuffle?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± John and Jack said simultaneously, both answering the last question.


    John also confirmed ¡®auto collect¡¯, suspecting it had something to do with the many dead beasts strewn throughout the place. Upon his confirmation of the shuffle completion, John was bombarded with even more notifications.


    ¡°Congratulations! You have completed your Shuffle!¡±


    ¡°Calculating rewards!¡±


    Congratulations! For completing your Shuffle using a Wizened Base, you may choose one of the following: Divine Soul or Divine Cultivation!¡±


    John had been thinking about which option he would pick ever since learning that Obsidian Base was Wizened. Part of him really wanted to get another Divine Soul. Jane was unmatched in the field, and his Tail of the Kitsune could cut even the toughest hide.


    But what he had really been looking forward to was his third cultivation. He had the chance to select another Divine Tier Cultivation. He didn¡¯t know when or if he would get the chance again. He knew he was leagues away from besting a Divine foe in combat.


    ¡°Cultivation Scroll,¡± John said to the air.


    ¡°Congratulations! You have received Divine Cultivation Token!¡±


    ¡°Attention! All Tokens are redeemable only from your Personal Transition Pad!¡±


    ¡°Claim a house?¡± Jack was saying, ¡°We already claimed this big ass temple! Why can¡¯t I choose it as my residence?¡±


    ¡°Attention! Jack Greene has asked for residence within Obsidian Temple. Grant/Deny?¡±


    ¡°Granted,¡± John said with a laugh.


    ¡°It still says I have to pick a room,¡± Jack complained after a few seconds.


    ¡°Well then let¡¯s get to it,¡± John said, stepping forward.


    The two of them had barely walked through the front doors. They hadn¡¯t even passed through the second set of doors to the temple proper. Neither had any idea of the opulence they had been in store for.


    Upon thrusting the interior doors wide, both men grew speechless. The temple was a wonder of architecture and splendor. Equal parts extravagance and genius were on display. The most notable feature of the place, however, was the thick obsidian walls and ceiling, sparsely decorated with what appeared to be slowly running magma. Each indication of lava gave a dull red glow, casting the entire place in a dim crimson light.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dark to even appreciate it. I wish there was more light,¡± John complained.


    As if his contentment was paramount, the walls and ceiling immediately sprouted hundreds of brighter lights. They emerged from every side and segment of the place, immediately bathing the dark walls in an illumination so complete that the black material glistened brilliantly.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about!¡± John shouted excitedly.


    The two of them continued to admire what was ostensibly their new home within The Garden as they moved through the place to find private quarters for themselves. Jack settled for a large room not far from the entrance, wanting nothing more than to bring his journey to an end. John got a different message.


    ¡°Attention! As leader of Obsidian Base, you may treat all vacant rooms within the base as your private quarters without claiming them!¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s pretty sick,¡± John said.


    John came out of his room a moment after entering with a token in his hand. John saw by the token that he had chosen Divine Soul as his reward. He nodded his approval.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good choice. You probably wouldn¡¯t have the means to soak in a Divine Cultivation. I¡¯m still not sure I can either.¡±


    ¡°That was my thought. I don¡¯t even know what ¡®Divine Cultivation¡¯ means. Figured this would be a better choice.¡±


    ¡°Good thinking. I¡¯m just glad it¡¯s finally over.¡±


    ¡°Me too. So, what do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Now,¡± John said with a smile, ¡°you gotta get your ass home. You¡¯re a couple months late for dinner.¡±

 Chapter 21

    Chapter 21


    1


    ¡°Wait here,¡± John said as he and his dad approached their home.


    ¡°Wait here? John, I haven¡¯t seen your mom or your sister in months. And you want me to stand here on the sidewalk, like some kind of bad eighties movie?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh¡­ yes?¡±


    ¡°Why would I do that?¡±


    ¡°To give me a chance to properly set the scene. If you just waltz in there like you¡¯ve been out for a stroll, they¡¯re going to think they¡¯ve gone insane.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re not just coming up with all of this because you want to make a huge point of appreciation for your effort?¡±


    ¡°Well of course that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing,¡± John said as he moved to open the door.


    Jack just rolled his eyes. He supposed after all the strife his son had been through; he deserved a triumphant return. A grudging smile spread across his face as John disappeared into their house.


    ¡°Mom, Em, I¡¯m home! Come here. I have something for both of you!¡±


    The two women dutifully came to his summons. Emma from upstairs in her room, and his mother from the back of the house where she had been cleaning. They both approached with different attitudes.


    ¡°John, I¡¯ve told you a thousand times, I don¡¯t want you giving me genes,¡± his mom was saying as she rounded the corner.


    ¡°You¡¯re back! I¡¯ve got some big news about the scroll!¡± Emma said excitedly as she thundered down the stairs.


    John held a hand up to silence both women at once. He smiled at the obliviousness they both had. After a moment, he started talking.


    ¡°Sorry I was gone for so long. I promise it was time well spent though. You¡¯ll never guess what I found!¡± He said with a mischievous grin.


    ¡°A girlfriend?¡± Emma immediately guessed, unable to resist the easy opportunity.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good one, Em. But no. I didn¡¯t find a girlfriend,¡± John started.


    ¡°There there, brother. One day you¡¯ll figure out where they¡¯re all hiding. Of course, then they¡¯ll all run away, but hey, one problem at a time, right?¡± Emma said sympathetically.


    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t think I want you studying that scroll anymore. You¡¯re turning into a real smart ass.¡±


    ¡°John!¡± His mother admonished.


    ¡°Sorry, mom. But as it turns out, while I didn¡¯t find a girlfriend,¡± he said with a mock scathing look at his sister, ¡°I found something even better.¡±


    ¡°Even better than a girlfriend? John, how would you know if it¡¯s better? You¡¯ve never had a girlfriend to compare, have you?¡±


    ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s better,¡± John said grumpily.


    ¡°Well, what is it?¡± His mom asked before Emma could fire back.


    ¡°This,¡± he said as he pulled the door wide open to reveal Jack standing in the doorway.


    Neither woman moved for several seconds. John couldn¡¯t even see them breathing. They may as well have been statues for all the animation they showed. It was like both were trying to convince themselves that what they were seeing was real. Then Jack spoke, and the spell was broken.


    ¡°Hello, ladies,¡± he said with a smile.


    Like someone fired her from a cannon, Emma was crashing into the man a second later. Their mom was only a step behind, and the two women nearly toppled Jack over. He took a step back to maintain his feet, wrapping his arms tightly around them both as he did so.


    ¡°You¡¯re back! You¡¯re alive! You¡¯re safe!¡±


    It was impossible to tell who was saying what, as the two overcome women inevitably repeated variations on the same phrases. Jack let them both bury themselves into his disgustingly worn and dirtied clothes, neither one even noticing as tears of stress and relief flooded from their eyes. He just held them close and breathed deeply of their respective scents.


    John came in behind the ladies and wrapped his arms around the gang as well. Pretty soon everyone was crying, a decent recreation of one of those ¡°veteran returning from the war¡± commercials. After assuring herself that he wouldn¡¯t disappear if she let him go, John¡¯s mom turned within the family hug to face him.


    ¡°Oh John, thank you!¡± She sputtered as tears continued to fall.


    ¡°I told you I was going to bring him home, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she conceded as she devolved into sobs.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay now, mom. It¡¯s all okay. We¡¯re all safe now, okay?¡±


    She nodded her acknowledgment before turning back to her husband. Emma pulled herself free of the tangle as John too backed off. They let the couple bask in the embrace of one another for as long as they needed, which was long indeed.


    ¡°You seem like you¡¯re taking this pretty well,¡± John said to Emma as they watched their parents.


    She shrugged.


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d bring him back.¡±


    ¡°You did?¡± John asked, surprised.


    ¡°Of course. Never had a doubt.¡±


    ¡°Well, that makes one of us.¡±


    The Greene family shared a blissful few days while they all accustomed themselves to being whole once more. It was more than any of them had dared to hope for. More than once, John¡¯s mom pulled him into an impromptu hug that needed no explanation.


    John refrained from spending any real time in The Garden after his father¡¯s return. He did, however, pay Jules a visit to check up on things within the guild. During his time in Emerald base, John also ran into Liz, whom he suspected had been waiting for him for some time.


    ¡°Did you do it?¡± She asked him by way of greeting.


    ¡°I did it,¡± he said.


    ¡°Well then congratulations. My mom has been wanting to throw a sort of celebration for a while now. Wanted me to invite you and your family so we could show our gratitude. I told her we should wait a bit. Figured it might mean more to you if your family was whole again too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ really kind of you, Liz. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Anyway, I¡¯ve been waiting to see you again before giving the go ahead to mom. Does three days from now work for you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ guess so. But where is this thing going to take place? I don¡¯t even know where you live.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Take this token to the aliens at the free transport stations. It¡¯s stamped with my address. They¡¯ll load you onto a ship and drop you right at our doorstep. It¡¯s good for a return trip too.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know the Kumani offered services like this,¡± John said.


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re up to date in your quotas, they¡¯re pretty accommodating.¡±


    ¡°Well alright then. I guess I¡¯ll see you in three days,¡± John said, turning to leave.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Liz said hesitantly.


    ¡°Hm? What is it?¡± John asked curiously.


    ¡°I really am grateful for all you¡¯ve done for me,¡± she said quietly.


    John smiled.


    ¡°I know you are,¡± he said warmly.


    John returned home that day with the distinct impression that Emma might have been wrong.


    2


    ¡°And who is this?¡± Emma asked for the thirtieth time at least.


    ¡°For the last time, she¡¯s a friend that I helped out with something. Her family wants to show their gratitude.¡±


    ¡°You ¡®helped her out¡¯ with something? Very cryptic, brother.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be weird,¡± John said uncomfortably.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s very kind of her and her family,¡± their mom interjected, also not for the first time.


    ¡°Not everyone is so grateful for the help of a friend,¡± their father agreed.


    The four of them were seated on a private transport bound for a city called Gresham, Oregon. John¡¯s mom had instigated that they all dress up clean and proper. The children had begrudgingly agreed.


    The length of the journey was an astounding two hours, despite the trip taking them across more than one state line. Even more unbelievable was the smooth nature of the ride. There was virtually no resistance, or otherwise any indication at all that they were moving several hundred miles an hour.


    Adding to the impossibility of it all, Kumani transportation seemed to surpass the sound barrier without creating a sonic boom. John would have been fascinated to know how the ship seemed to defy the laws of physics, but it was likely a question he would never have the answer to.


    ¡°Arrival in fifteen minutes,¡± came the robotic voice from the speakers above.


    ¡°Good. I can¡¯t wait to get out of this thing,¡± Jack complained.


    The last few minutes of the journey passed in relative silence as the family watched the landscape scroll past. In virtually no time at all, the trip was over. When the transport approached the house they were seeking, John tried to hide his surprise.


    He wouldn¡¯t call it a mansion or anything so extravagant, but the place did scream ¡°money¡±. Three stories, a four-car garage, a wrap around driveway, and an in-ground pool in the back, clearly visible from the air. John¡¯s eyebrows involuntarily rose on his face as he beheld the place.


    ¡°Good God, John. Who is your friend? CEO of the world?¡± Emma asked.


    ¡°Apparently,¡± he said, just as surprised.


    They touched down without flair or pomp. The doors to the ship cracked open, giving them egress. John stepped down first, taking in the extravagant home of their hosts. His family followed, clearing the now inactive ship.


    The transport looked for all the world like an oversized lawn ornament. As an auto piloted transport, it had no further occupants, nor an impatient pilot. It would remain there, inactive until John and his family decided to leave.


    ¡°You¡¯re a bit early,¡± came a familiar voice.


    John looked to the front door of the house, where Liz was standing, door ajar. He smiled and waved at her before signaling to his family to follow him. They made their way to the girl as a unit. John waited until they were closer before responding.


    ¡°Yeah, well. I thought it would take longer to travel a thousand miles. I guess we could always come back later,¡± John said with a smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her! You¡¯re right on time!¡± The voice of her mom protruded from behind Liz as they approached the door.


    ¡°Hello, John. And hello, John¡¯s family. I¡¯m Amy.¡±


    She pushed past her daughter to make introductions with John¡¯s family. They all shook her hand and returned the courtesy with disbelieving expressions. John was still too surprised by their giant house to react properly.


    ¡°And this is Liz,¡± her mom said after learning everyone¡¯s name.


    ¡°Hello, Liz,¡± Emma said with a mischievous look at her brother.


    ¡°You must be Emma,¡± she responded.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a known entity,¡± Emma said, her mischievous look blending into a shit eating grin.


    ¡°You¡¯re a known something alright. Come on, loser,¡± John said, dragging her inside behind their parents.


    ¡°I just find it kind of odd that miss Liz here has heard of me, yet I¡¯ve never heard mention of her. What are you trying to hide, brother?¡±


    ¡°No one is hiding anything. If you took your nose out of my scroll to connect with someone once in a while, you might have picked up a detail or two.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him,¡± Liz said conspiratorially, ¡°you know he won¡¯t even show his face around me in public. Always has to wear a whole suit of armor to cover the shame of being seen with me.¡±


    John looked back at the two women with an incredulous look. Emma was suddenly very much team Liz, with her eyes sparkling in delight at the other girl¡¯s joke. Liz simply smirked back at John, daring him to take the bait.


    ¡°You know,¡± he said, trying to change the subject, ¡°when you said your home was unconventional, I didn¡¯t realize you meant ¡¯rich¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I told you my mom does business in countries around the world. It¡¯s not my fault that you never stopped to consider it.¡±


    ¡°You know what, where¡¯s the food? I¡¯ll take mine in a to go bag,¡± John complained.


    ¡°It¡¯s not ready yet. Unfortunately, our guests showed up three hours early, so they¡¯ll have to wait. But hey! That just means I can make you help me with the food, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing would make me happier,¡± John said sarcastically.


    ¡°These are my sons,¡± Amy was saying as they entered the living area.


    ¡°The twins are Jason and Caleb; Caleb is the one on the right. And this is my oldest, Darren. Say hi, boys.¡±


    The twins gave a polite greeting, shaking hands that were offered to them. They had light brown hair, like their sister and mother. Their blue eyes and noses gave them away as relatives of Liz.


    Darren had less family resemblance, and John assumed he got more genetics from the paternal side. His hair was much darker than his siblings, and his eyes matched. He was also stockier of frame. He looked like he could crash right through a line of people without slowing down if the mood struck him.


    Darren was less open with the greetings. John could tell that having new people in his home was an uncomfortable experience for him. Still, he met John¡¯s eye and rose from his place on the couch. He was taller than John by several inches, making it difficult and a little intimidating for John to meet his eye.


    ¡°You are the one who helped my sister? The one who found my mom? You¡¯re John?¡± He asked as he approached.


    ¡°I am. It¡¯s nice to meet you,¡± John responded, holding out a hand to shake.


    Instead of accepting it, Darren brushed it aside and pulled John into a tight embrace. He was taken aback by the man¡¯s warmth and gratitude. After a second, he put an awkward hand on Darren¡¯s back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, man.¡± John said kindly.


    ¡°I think we all owe you a massive hug,¡± Liz¡¯s mom said.


    ¡°What¡¯s this about finding you?¡± John¡¯s mom asked the woman.


    ¡°There will be time to hear our story over dinner. For now, make yourselves comfortable. If we can get you anything, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask. Liz and I have to get started on dinner.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re coming too,¡± Liz said, grabbing John¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be rude, Liz. Let John sit and relax,¡± her mother scolded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± John said, ¡°I¡¯m happy to help.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, sweetie. You¡¯ve helped our family enough as is. Just relax and we will have the food ready before you know it.¡±


    ¡°No, really. It¡¯s not a problem. I¡¯d rather put some distance between me and this one,¡± he said with a thumb at his sister.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Emma said indignantly.


    ¡°I mean, just look at the devious look on her face. The second you guys walk away, I¡¯ll never hear the end of it.¡±


    ¡°On second thought, you just sit and relax,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Elizabeth Mae. Are you trying to conspire against our guests?¡± Amy asked.


    ¡°Only one of them!¡± Liz said defensively.


    3


    John stood chopping vegetables alongside Liz as her mother prepared various bits and pieces for the meal she had envisioned. She threw this and that into the pot, adding more seasonings than John had ever seen. She turned to them after adding some kind of cubed meat that John was unfamiliar with.


    ¡°Okay, John. You¡¯ll want to go ahead with the potatoes, since they take a while to soften. Liz, while he does that, you finish dicing the onions. We want them small enough to overlook. Put those in in about ten minutes. All the other veggies can go in when that timer goes off. I have to go check on John¡¯s family to make sure your little brothers haven¡¯t driven anyone crazy.¡±


    She left them standing awkwardly together next to the stove. John got the feeling Liz¡¯s mom had made the obvious assumption. Her leaving them alone felt like both a generosity and a test.


    ¡°Well, thank you for inviting me here to gang up on me with my sister.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a delight,¡± Liz said, unrepentant.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re basically a spoiled rich kid, huh?¡± John teased.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Are you surprised?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I mean, kind of.¡±


    ¡°Why is it so unbelievable?¡±


    ¡°Well, for one, you¡¯re kind of a badass,¡± he said.


    ¡°Rich kids can¡¯t be badasses?¡± Liz asked with a coy smile.


    ¡°In my experience? No.¡±


    ¡°Well clearly that just makes you prejudiced,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m working with a pretty small sample size, admittedly.¡±


    ¡°How do I differ from the others?¡±


    ¡°I dunno, you don¡¯t seem entitled. You don¡¯t walk around expecting the world to shower you with fortune. That¡¯s a pretty common theme amongst kids with wealthy parents.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re also extremely capable for someone of such high class.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I had to be,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You¡¯ve had a lot harder life than I have. It wasn¡¯t right of me to presume.¡±


    ¡°How could you have known? I¡¯ve been taking care of myself and others for most of my life. Until you came along¡­¡±


    John felt the tension in the room shift in a way he wasn¡¯t expecting. He looked over at Liz to see her staring at him with the kindest expression he had ever seen on her. He opened his arms invitingly, smiling as she took the opportunity without hesitation.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she whispered into his shoulder.


    ¡°Of course,¡± he whispered back.


    ¡°Okay, we should be just about ready for-¡± Liz¡¯s mom stopped talking abruptly as she pushed the door open to see the two of them locked in a silent embrace.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said.


    She awkwardly moved around them to collect the various diced veggies they had been in charge of adding to the meal. John and Liz parted, embarrassed at the intrusion. She waved them aside dismissively.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just take these,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was just about to-¡± John started to say.


    ¡°No, no dear. Don¡¯t you worry about it. I can handle things here. Why don¡¯t you two relax? We have a while for the potatoes to soften. I¡¯ll send for you when things are ready.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, mom,¡± Liz said.


    She pulled John by the hand, out of the kitchen and back past his family. Emma caught his eye as he gave her a helpless and embarrassed expression. Liz pulled him along until they came to the stairs.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Somewhere special,¡± she said.


    She led him up the stairs, completely ignoring the second floor for the third. At the landing, she took him left down the hallway all the way to the end. They came to an extravagantly decorated wooden door that John could have guessed the owner of even before seeing the large glittery ¡°L¡± on it.


    ¡°Your room?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Yeah. But this isn¡¯t the spot. Come on,¡± she said.


    She opened the door and flicked the switch. John wasn¡¯t sure how to react to the turn of events, but Liz¡¯s stalwart grip on his hand left him no room for decision. She pulled him through her room to the window and opened it wide, revealing that it had no screen.


    ¡°Come on,¡± she said.


    He let her drop his hand as she climbed out of the window. He quickly put a leg through to follow and pulled himself free of the house. He found Liz sitting to the left of the window, leaning back against the slanted roof.


    ¡°This is your special place huh?¡± He asked as he settled himself next to her.


    ¡°It is,¡± she said, coming close to rest her head against his shoulder.


    John looked up at the early evening sky. The sun was behind them, beginning to fall. John smiled as he stared at the thick white clouds that looked almost painted onto the blue sky.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± he said.


    ¡°This is where I come when things get too hard. Just to remind myself that they can be simple again.¡±


    ¡°I can see the appeal.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a place like this? Somewhere you go to escape it all?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. There¡¯s this really relaxing spot behind my house. It takes some time to get to though. Plus,¡± John stopped talking, suddenly unsure what he wanted to say.


    ¡°What?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Nothing. I guess I stopped going there since the world went crazy.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It was my dad¡¯s favorite spot. He¡¯s who showed it to me in the first place. I don¡¯t know, I guess with him missing for months, I didn¡¯t want to be reminded of his absence.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be. You had your own family torn apart.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, John. I know the pain you felt. The helplessness. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I would still feel that pain. So, I will be sorry. Because I wouldn¡¯t wish that feeling on anyone. But especially not you.¡±


    John considered her words for a long moment. He thought back to the desire to help her he had felt upon learning her situation. He smiled to himself as he understood that she felt the same way for what he went through. He knew that if she had been able, Liz would have dove into Jack¡¯s shuffle right alongside him.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he finally said.


    ¡°Not at all,¡± she said.


    The two of them leaned against the roof in silence for several minutes after that. Neither felt the need to speak, preferring to bask in the silent peace together. John¡¯s heart beat rapidly at the scent of her hair against his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s next for you, now that your dad is safe?¡± She asked, breaking the silence.


    ¡°Hm? Oh! Um, I uhh, haven¡¯t really thought about it, I guess. Why do you ask?¡± John spluttered.


    ¡°Because I think we should get serious, now that we have the luxury. I¡¯ve been bringing my brothers out on hunts to get them accustomed to The Garden. There¡¯s no reason for them to go as hard as I¡¯ve had to though. As long as they get out enough to count for the aliens.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯ve been dreading the day Emma comes of age.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll have it easier than anyone else,¡± Liz said dismissively.


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°Because look at who her brother is,¡± she said.


    John was quiet for a moment after that. He hadn¡¯t ever seen himself as some great or capable person. He had always found a way when he had to, but he certainly wasn¡¯t infallible.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right,¡± he finally said.


    4


    Dinner was a thick stew, one that John had never heard of. Whatever the meat was, he had never tasted anything so soft and perfectly seasoned. There was also a plethora of bread options, but John politely declined.


    As the meal progressed, he became more and more aware of the attention everyone seemed to be paying him. From his sister, mischievous eyes daring his to meet them. To his mother, who looked at him uncertainly, as if she was unable to understand what he had done to receive such respect from a family he had ostensibly never met.


    His father, too. Jack was looking from John to Liz, who sat beside him. He had an expression John couldn¡¯t place. Somewhere between pride and sympathy, it looked like the man couldn¡¯t decide wether to congratulate his son or give him dire advice.


    Liz¡¯s family was no exception. Her twin brothers stared openly at him, as if trying to fit the reality into the legend. Amy was more reserved but still wore a genial expression when he met her eye. Darren alone seemed to be focusing solely on his food, having already given John his thanks upon their meeting.


    ¡°So, John,¡± one of the twins began.


    John wasn¡¯t sure which of the boys it was. Their identical faces were entirely too similar, and the matching shirts they wore did nothing to ease the problem. He simply raised his eyebrows politely to show they had his attention.


    ¡°Is it true that you have a fox as a pet?¡± One of them asked.


    ¡°Umm, I don¡¯t know if pet is the right word, to be honest. I do have a summoned soul that takes the form of a fox. Her name is Jane. It¡¯s a difficult distinction to quantify, though. You guys have been to The Garden now, right? Have you collected any cool souls yet?¡±


    ¡°Nah, Liz won¡¯t let us fight anything that cool,¡± the other said.


    ¡°Excuse you,¡± Liz said warningly.


    ¡°Okay, fine. She did give us both some pretty sweet weapons. Caleb got the samurai sword, even though I called dibs. But I got dual axes, like that guy from that sweet war game,¡± one of the boys said, marking himself as Jason.


    ¡°That¡¯s awesome,¡± John said, ¡°what are their ranks?¡±


    ¡°Enhanced, all of them,¡± Caleb chimed in.


    ¡°Wow. Those are some pretty good tools when you¡¯re just starting out. You¡¯re both lucky to have such a capable sister.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s lame. She won¡¯t even show us the bear,¡± Jason complained.


    ¡°Hopefully you won¡¯t ever need her to,¡± John said.


    ¡°John¡¯s right. It isn¡¯t about showing off or killing the most. The Garden is a dangerous place. Your sister is there to keep you safe. Not keep you entertained,¡± Amy scolded.


    ¡°John, is it true that you have a bow that tells you where to shoot?¡± Caleb asked, unfazed by his mother.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a little-¡±


    ¡°He does!¡± John¡¯s dad interrupted.


    Everyone turned their attention to Jack as he put his spoon down to continue. His wife, Emily raised her eyebrows at her husband¡¯s outburst. Neither he nor John had shared the details of their return from The Garden.


    ¡°He let me use it. It has a draw weight like you wouldn¡¯t believe. Seeing John pull it back, you¡¯d think it was as light as a feather. I could barely manage it, even after all the genes he gave me.¡±


    The boys were glued to Jack¡¯s enthusiastic tale with childlike wonder. John rolled his eyes, embarrassed, as his father went on.


    ¡°When you pull it back, a scope pops out of the side. It¡¯s got a heat sensor, so you can even hunt at night. And when you have something in the sights, the bow tells you the most vulnerable spot on your target. It¡¯s basically like cheating.¡±


    ¡°It is not like cheating!¡± John said defensively.


    ¡°It sounds awesome!¡± Caleb exclaimed.


    ¡°Can we see it?¡± Jason agreed.


    ¡°Boys, no weapons at the dinner table,¡± their mom chastised.


    ¡°John, tell us about The Garden. What¡¯s it like on the crazy adventures you and Liz get to go on?¡±


    John glanced at Liz curiously before returning his attention to the twins. He didn¡¯t know how to answer. He could tell that the two of them were already developing a potentially dangerous outlook regarding The Garden.


    The differences in personality between them and their sister was like night and day. Where she had grown up young in order to make sure they were taken care of, her sacrifice had allowed them to maintain both the childlike wonder and na?ve invulnerability that he would expect of children that came from money.


    Though the two boys were technically only a few months younger than John himself, he could tell that they had a lot of maturing to do. With any luck, they would survive long enough. John decided to make a lesson of his response.


    ¡°It¡¯s been my experience that you don¡¯t ¡®get to¡¯ go on crazy adventures. You aren¡¯t given the choice. Adventure begins when your plans for a safe trip get thrown out the window. When that happens, you either adapt, or fail. The Garden is a place of harsh predation. Everything is seeking to grow stronger at the expense of another. The environment itself seeks to claim you. What your sister and I have been through isn¡¯t grand adventures. It was lucky survivals. You shouldn¡¯t take the protection Liz has provided to you so lightly. ¡°


    When John stopped speaking, the whole table was watching him with rapt focus. Even Darren had looked up from his meal to pay attention. The twins looked slightly abashed, but Caleb pressed on, albeit more cautiously.


    ¡°What¡¯s the scariest thing that¡¯s happened to you?¡± He asked. This time, he sounded nervous to hear the answer.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about the scariest, but did Liz ever tell you about the time I got carried away by giant ants?¡±


    As the evening passed by, John humored the twins with tales of ludicrous mishaps and close calls that were meant to temper the boys with caution but instead seemed only to increase their enthusiasm. He feared that only something truly horrible could give them the wake up call they needed.


    ¡°So, you just ran?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John said.


    ¡°How did you get away?¡± Caleb wondered.


    ¡°The same way I always get away. Sheer dumb luck.¡±


    ¡°Luck? Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Seriously,¡± John confirmed.


    ¡°There has to be more to it than that,¡± Caleb demanded.


    ¡°Have you ever ran from a bear?¡± John asked the twin.


    Both of the young men shook their heads.


    ¡°Then allow me to enlighten you. You see bears are sneaky.¡±


    ¡°Sneaky?¡± Jason asked


    ¡°Oh yeah. A beast that size? There¡¯s no way it can run fast enough to catch a man fleeing for his life, right? Wrong. See, a bear spends its entire life scavenging for food. And under all that fat they build up is a solid layer of muscle. Now, being massive, terrifying brutes, bears don¡¯t generally have to chase anything. What could be worth burning so much energy? They work hard to stock up for hibernation.¡±


    ¡°Then why did one chase you?¡± Caleb asked.


    ¡°Aha! The golden question. What could I have done to draw the bear¡¯s ire?¡±


    ¡°Did you shoot it with your bow?¡±


    ¡°Why would I do a crazy thing like that? An arrow isn¡¯t the most effective tool to get through all that natural armor. At least not on something so advanced in tier.¡±


    ¡°Did you come between it and its cubs?¡± Jason guessed.


    ¡°Good guess, but this bear was alone. Also, a boy, I think.¡±


    ¡°So, what happened? Why did it come after you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already given you the answer. A bear spends more time looking for food than it does anything else. And when an idiotic human thinks to steal a bear¡¯s food, they take it very personally.¡±


    ¡°Why the heck would you try to take its food?¡±


    ¡°It was a miscalculation. See, beasts of The Garden are all trying to get stronger just like we are. The difference is that they don¡¯t need genes to do it. They need flesh of a higher rank than themselves. Plants would probably work too, but in this case, the bear was after the meat. I thought it had taken its fill and left the area. But when I went to collect the genes it left behind, the bear took offense. It really didn¡¯t like Jane taking precious bites of its kill.¡±


    ¡°Bears will often leave their kills behind for that reason. It attracts something new, and the bear gets to eat again without hunting for its meal.¡± Jack supplied.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Asked one of the twins, attention shifting to John¡¯s father.


    ¡°Dad was a big hunter before all of this,¡± John explained.


    ¡°I dabbled,¡± Jack conceded.


    ¡°So anyway, right as I¡¯m about to clear the area, the most furious bear anyone would ever want to meet comes crashing through the trees.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Caleb asked.


    ¡°I told you. I ran,¡± John said, as if the question was absurd.


    ¡°But how did you get away?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°I told you that too. Dumb luck.¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± Caleb whined.


    ¡°Yeah, give us the details,¡± Jason agreed.


    ¡°The truth is, there¡¯s nothing more motivating than an aggressive beast chasing you down like a criminal. It was everything I could do to keep my feet under me.¡±


    ¡°And you just outran the bear?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. When a beast reaches Advanced tier, there¡¯s almost no such thing as ¡°slow¡± anymore. Humans too. If I had the progression then that I do now, I could have disappeared in a streak of lightning.¡±


    ¡°How many genes do you have?¡± Jason asked, intrigued.


    ¡°One interrogation at a time, please,¡± John laughed.


    ¡°Well, if you didn¡¯t outrun it, how did you get away?¡±


    ¡°Sheer. Dumb. Luck. I had something called an augmentation soul. And it combined with my arrow to make an Advanced, poisonous, sleep-inducing arrow.¡±


    ¡°And you shot the bear with it?¡± Jack asked.


    Everyone turned their attention to John¡¯s father. He was as hooked on the story as either of the twins. John chuckled at his father, while his mother shook her head in embarrassment.


    ¡°I did indeed,¡± John confirmed.


    ¡°What happened to the bear when you shot it?¡± Caleb asked.


    ¡°Well, I was having Jane run interference, so it was distracted when I shot it. But boy did that change the second the arrow sunk in. After that, nothing Jane could have done would have been enough to keep its attention. I took off, running for everything I was worth. I could hear the beast gaining on me. I glanced behind me to see how far away it was, and that¡¯s when it happened.¡±


    ¡°When what happened?¡± The twins both asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s when I tripped.¡±


    ¡°You tripped?¡± Caleb asked, sounding horrified.


    ¡°I did,¡± John said, then his voice took on a more haunting tone.


    ¡°As I was lying there, listening to the bear grow closer and closer, growling and snarling, shaking the ground beneath me with each heavy step it took in my direction, I thought I was a goner for certain. There was nothing I could do, nowhere I could go¡­¡±


    ¡°How did you get away?¡± Jason asked, suitably frightened.


    ¡°Oh, the bear passed out from the poison on the arrow,¡± John said with a casual shrug, taking an obnoxiously loud sip of his drink.


    The tension that had built with his tale eased tremendously with his ridiculous non sequitur. John could tell that his mother, for one, was not enjoying hearing of the grand adventures he had so far been lying to her about. He knew he would hear her thoughts on the matter later.


    ¡°The moral of that story, in case you missed it boys, was that the only thing that made the difference between living and dying was not skill or intelligence. As he said many times, it was luck.¡± Amy said.


    ¡°That¡¯s how I have survived most of the crazy mishaps, where others weren¡¯t so fortunate. One day, I¡¯ll tell you guys about my very first trip into The Garden. Now that is a crazy story.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on! Tell us now!¡±


    ¡°Now, boys. John has entertained us all enough. Don¡¯t forget that he and his family are guests here. Let them enjoy their food in peace.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± Emily said, speaking up for the first time since the meal began, ¡°I would like to hear the story of how John helped your daughter rescue you.¡±


    ¡°Mom,¡± John began, but she silenced him with a look.


    ¡°That¡­ isn¡¯t a very dinner appropriate tale,¡± Amy said.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a bit-¡±


    ¡°John helped me infiltrate a criminal organization heavily invested in human trafficking and dismantle it from the ground up before freeing dozens of innocent women, including my mom, from a life of sexual servitude,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Elizabeth!¡± Amy exclaimed.


    ¡°What? You guys act like you have to take an hour to tell a story.¡±


    Liz turned to John¡¯s mom.


    ¡°Your son is an extremely resourceful and talented person. If he sets his mind to something, he does it. He proved that to me when he helped me bring my mother home. I assume he proved it to you as well?¡± She asked with a look at John¡¯s father.


    Emily was quiet for several seconds, as was everyone else. Liz politely kept her attention on the other woman while she sat in contemplation. Then she spoke, as if unwilling to admit the truth.


    ¡°Yes, he did.¡±


    5


    After dinner, John and his family excused themselves politely. They thanked the other family for their hospitality and made for the exit. John, of course, was stopped by every member of Liz¡¯s family to be given a warm hug.


    ¡°Will you come back soon?¡± Caleb asked after his hug.


    ¡°Yeah! Oh! And maybe we can all meet up for a hunt in The Garden soon?¡± Jason agreed.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to talk to your sister about that one,¡± John said as Darren stepped closer.


    ¡°Thank you, John.¡± Was all the man said as he wrapped John in another massive hug.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, buddy.¡±


    Amy also stepped forward to embrace John. She held him as tightly and lovingly as she would one of her own kids. John could practically feel the motherly love radiating from her.


    ¡°We really can¡¯t thank you enough for bringing us back together again. Seriously, John. If there¡¯s ever anything you need, please don¡¯t hesitate to call on us.¡±


    Then she parted from him with a warm kiss on the forehead. John¡¯s cheeks grew hot as he tried to hide his embarrassment. Then Liz stepped forward, not to be outdone by her mother.


    Grabbing his face, Liz planted a slow, soft kiss on his lips. Emma immediately started cheering behind him. Powerless to resist, John instead put a gentle hand on her face. After several seconds, she parted from him, if only by a few inches.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she whispered.


    Then, as if it never happened, Liz stepped away from him. Everyone, save for Emma that is, was quiet in the seconds following the kiss. Then John¡¯s father broke the spell.


    ¡°Well, alrighty then. Thank you for the meal and the hospitality. We will have to have you all over next time.¡±


    He reached out to shake Amy¡¯s hand, who took it kindly.


    ¡°We would love to,¡± Amy said.


    ¡°Thank you, again,¡± Emily added, also shaking the woman¡¯s hand.


    After the warm hugs John had received, it almost seemed overly formal to shake hands. Neither of his parents were presumptuous enough to extend more to the woman, however. So, with their simple handshakes, they bid farewell.


    ¡°Meet me at Emerald Base in three days,¡± Liz called to John as he was walking across her lawn.


    ¡°Bye, Liz!¡± Emma called back like the two were best friends.


    When the family was once again settled in their alien taxi, John looked to his mother. She had been very quiet all evening, and he knew she had a lot on her mind after all the revelations at dinner. He gently inquired in her direction.


    ¡°Are you okay, mom?¡±


    She met his eyes, looking equal parts concerned and proud. He held her gaze while she seemed to consider what to say. After a long moment, she spoke.


    ¡°You really saved that woman from slavery?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± John said quietly.


    ¡°The colony of ants? And the bear? That wasn¡¯t just you entertaining a couple of kids was it? Those things really happened?¡±


    ¡°They did,¡± he said.


    ¡°And when you found your father, that was also extremely dangerous, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It was. There is no such thing as safety in The Garden, mom. You know that as well as I do.¡±


    ¡°John, most people in The Garden aren¡¯t infiltrating the gangs of black-market criminals to save their friend¡¯s mom. How can I ever rest easy knowing what kind of insanity you¡¯re up to?¡±


    John was poised to answer, having already anticipated the entire conversation. When he looked at his father, though, the other man¡¯s expression silenced him. Instead, John allowed the answer to come from him.


    ¡°You can sleep soundly with your husband at your side,¡± he said gently.


    Emily turned her gaze from John to her husband as tears filled her eyes. Jack took her in his arms and let her cry. The stress of the past months had done serious damage to her mental stability, and Jack knew no words would ease her mind.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how amazing our son is?¡± Jack asked his wife softly.


    ¡°I know. We raised two perfect children. He is like his dad,¡± she said.


    ¡°No, Em. John is so much more than the son we raised. He¡¯s grown far beyond anything you or I can take credit for. And while I¡¯m pretty great, your son is something else entirely.¡±


    ¡°Dad, I-¡±


    John was silenced with a gesture from his father. Having a better sense of how to help his wife than either of his kids, Jack took the lead.


    ¡°Your son stood alone against an entire base to bring me home. It was him against hundreds. And do you know what the crazy part is? He won.¡± Jack said.


    ¡°An entire base?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Em, you should have seen it. He was pulling so many strings; I thought he was going to tangle himself up. But he never faltered. He never made a mistake.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. People died because of my mistakes,¡± John said morosely.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t your fault. You did everything you could, John.¡±


    ¡°Not everything.¡±


    ¡°My point,¡± Jack said, turning back to his wife, ¡°is that no matter what The Garden threw at him, John came up with a solution. He single-handedly brought over a hundred people back to earth safely. He manipulated an entire base with little more than his voice and a clever misdirection. It was like his brain had the whole encounter mapped out before it happened.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s exaggerating,¡± John said.


    ¡°I¡¯m really not. It was amazing. And do you know what he did after all of that? He took on another base full of enemies! There were a thousand of them, all fighting for control. And while he was doing that, he was also protecting me. When it was all over, John was the only one still standing.¡±


    ¡°You really did all of that?¡± Emily asked her son.


    John felt abashed. He knew that lying to her about his exploits would catch up to him sooner or later. He shamefully met her eye as he nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, John,¡± she said.


    ¡°Sorry? For what?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been growing stronger and stronger since your first day in The Garden. Working harder than any child should ever have to. I should have been more supportive. Instead, I scolded you, shamed you for any risks I thought you were taking.¡±


    ¡°What mother wouldn¡¯t want her kids to be safe?¡± John asked.


    ¡°John is right. You were just afraid of losing more than you already had.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. But that doesn¡¯t change the facts. I never dreamed that he would bring you home to me. I didn¡¯t even know it was possible for him to try. And now, hearing everything he¡¯s done, I just feel so selfish.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not selfish, mom. The Garden is a dangerous place. There isn¡¯t a person alive who can go there without facing the threat of death. But that¡¯s the catch. If you want to grow, death is exactly what you have to face sometimes.¡±


    ¡°How many times?¡± Emily asked.


    ¡°Too many,¡± John said.


    The flight back seemed to pass by in a blur as John continued to finally answer his mother¡¯s questions truthfully. She was not happy to hear the honest exploits of her son, but over the course of the ride, she came to understand just how far he had come. Further, perhaps, than any other.


    In the end, she was forced to admit that after all he had been through, John could take care of himself. He had taken care of the entire family in one way or another. To say he was incapable would be a ludicrous assertion. She grudgingly agreed to trust him in the future.


    When they arrived back home, John was just about to turn in for the night, exhausted by the excitement of the day when Emma appeared in his doorway. John¡¯s eyes narrowed in suspicion at her presence.


    ¡°Well well well. Have you come to apologize, or do you have more jokes?¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on. You know I couldn¡¯t pass up the opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I do.¡± John said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯m here though. I told you. I had a breakthrough with the scroll!¡±


    John¡¯s interest was thoroughly piqued at the statement. He sat down on his bed and invited Emma to take a seat at the desk. She did so, and quickly opened the scroll.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been stuck for a while on the first branch, right?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Right. I¡¯m pretty damn good at analyzation at this point. I just can¡¯t figure out how to tie it to any of the other concepts.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been studying it, and I think I know what the problem might be.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking at how each branch relates to each other, and I think I¡¯ve found something important. See, look how closely Analyzation crosses with Simulation.¡±


    John looked at what she was indicating. Indeed, the branches for Simulation and Analyzation shared a great deal of commonality. The execution of each branch started almost identically.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but what does that mean?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to figure that out. It almost looks like you can utilize both of them at the same time as long as you can separate the parts that don¡¯t match.¡±


    ¡°You think it¡¯s possible to focus on both aspects simultaneously?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. If you look at the demonstration examples here, you can see that Analyzation is actually supposed to become Simulation as you progress through the practice. I still don¡¯t know how it all works, but I¡¯m sure that they are the most closely linked out of any of the twelve branches.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. So, if I can find a way to transition from one to the other, I¡¯ll finally be able to make some progress. Thanks, Emma.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I hope it helps.¡±


    She left him alone after that. He sat in silence for hours afterward. He just kept running the new information through his head.


    The question he still had was, what exactly was he supposed to simulate? It was like there was a giant hole in the information he had. As he was contemplating the problem, a shimmering ray of moonlight pierced his window, melting into his skin as Lunar Radiance automatically triggered.


    John looked at the essence of moonlight steadily soaking into him. As he felt it saturate his cells, John¡¯s eyes slowly went wide. He sat up abruptly, looking down at his hands as they became inundated with shimmering energy. With an excited laugh, he finally thought he understood.

 Chapter 22

    Chapter 22


    1


    John sat on a plush cushion in the opulent palace of Thunder Fox Sanctuary. He had requested a meeting with Sun¨¦, and the sleek fox had agreed. Now that he was there, he was finding it difficult to find the words.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on this thing. It¡¯s kind of hard to describe. Do you have Cultivation of the Mind?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I do. I practice Tranquil Equilibrium.¡± Sun¨¦ replied.


    ¡°That sounds very balance oriented.¡±


    ¡°It is well rounded. Is Mind Cultivation what you wish to speak of?¡± Sun¨¦ asked.


    ¡°Yes. The one I¡¯m practicing is really complicated. It has a lot of moving parts. It¡¯s been really difficult to decipher how it all works together.¡±


    ¡°What is the purpose of the Cultivation?¡± Sun¨¦ asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s very confusing, but I think it¡¯s about understanding.¡±


    ¡°Understanding what?¡±


    ¡°As best I can tell, everything.¡±


    ¡°That sounds very powerful. It also sounds impossible.¡±


    ¡°In my limited experience, it is. But I want to try fitting just the first two pieces of the puzzle together. I think I know how I¡¯m supposed to do it. But I need your help.¡±


    ¡°My help? What is it that you wish me to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been working to master the first branch of the Cultivation. It¡¯s described as ¡®Analyzation¡¯. I think I have at least partial understanding of it. It¡¯s been great use in combat. But it¡¯s only scratching the surface of what the Cultivation can do.¡±


    ¡°I have witnessed your improvement. But what is it that you hope to accomplish with my help?¡±


    ¡°Well, the next aspect is called ¡®Simulation¡¯.  The way it¡¯s described, the mind first dissects all the relevant information, then it recreates it for my own use.¡±


    ¡°What information?¡±


    ¡°Again, as far as I can tell, anything I¡¯m able to understand. But more specifically, I think it can be used to replicate the essence of something.¡±


    ¡°Again, you speak of things that should not be possible. The essence of an individual is unique to the experiences and choices they make. Our Cultivations are a manifestation of each aspect of our essence, mind, body, or spirit. Take the spirit for example. Yours has to do with light and conversion. Mine is based on friction and destruction, and gentle rehabilitation. Those are entirely different concepts, not to mention only a fraction of our essence.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying I shouldn¡¯t be able to replicate your essence?¡±


    ¡°That is correct,¡± Sun¨¦ said.


    ¡°What about just the spirit?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. It still seems like you would have to change the nature of your spirit in order to accomplish it.¡±


    ¡°Would you mind if I still tried?¡±


    John stood on the sidelines of a training room that was apparently built into the palace. Sun¨¦ was sitting patiently on the field, facing a series of opponents that had been miraculously conjured from thin air. She had explained that owning the base came with certain resources that she rarely had need of.


    ¡°I wonder if my own base has anything like this?¡± He thought.


    Sun¨¦ looked at him with a tilt of her head. John took a final moment to focus every sense he had on the fox. He gave her a thumbs up, then belatedly realized that human gesticulations probably had very little meaning to an alien being such as her.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± he told her.


    With his attention laser focused on the fox, John felt confident in picking up at least part of the crucial information necessary for Simulation. In the blink of an eye, a bolt of lightning struck one of the immobile opponents. John gasped in surprise at the instantaneous exertion of her spirit.


    He had been watching, studying, analyzing in an attempt to understand the energy sequence. Surprisingly, he did catch a lot of important insight through his observations. Unfortunately, it happened so fast, his mind wasn¡¯t able to dissect it before it was over, leaving him with only the memory of the experience.


    ¡°So fast!¡± He exclaimed.


    Sun¨¦ was not content to simply strike from a distance. As John continued to analyze the fox, she once again began gathering electricity to her. This time however, she did not expend the charge into her foes.


    Taking a mere second longer, a second in which John was able to just barely glimpse the pattern that the energy moved through, Sun¨¦ drew the electricity through herself. It moved so quickly that by the time John realized what Sun¨¦ was doing, she had already blinked away in a flash of light.


    Quicker than a speeding bullet, Sun¨¦ landed amidst her foes. John gasped in surprise once more, though this time it was at himself. His eyes ached, like he had spent far too long watching a bright television screen.


    ¡°What was that?¡± He asked himself.


    Blinking hard to try to ease the discomfort, John centered his focus on Sun¨¦ once more. The ache increased as he watched the fox flash from one foe to the next, sometimes tearing at them with teeth, other times simply blasting them away with an electrically charged tackle. Each attack was perfectly executed and left no opening for the would-be foes to take advantage of.


    As she worked, John got more and more glimpses of her energy flow. It remained extremely difficult to dissect them, as no execution of her spirit took longer than two seconds, and John was forced to admit that Sun¨¦ was among the most powerful forces in all of The Garden. When she finished her exhibition, she appeared in front of John with a final flash.


    ¡°Holy shit,¡± John told her.


    ¡°Were you able to see everything?¡±


    ¡°Not everything. You¡¯re so powerful. You can call on your spirit so quickly, it¡¯s hard to see what is actually happening. My eyes hurt from the strain of attention.¡±


    ¡°Do you need me to slow it down for you?¡± Sun¨¦ asked.


    ¡°You can do that?¡± John asked.


    The fox just gave him an unamused look.


    ¡°Right. Stupid question. How slowly can you circulate your spirit?¡±


    ¡°Probably not as slowly as you, but I¡¯ll try.¡± Sun¨¦ teased.


    John looked grumpily at the snide fox as her eyes gleamed with glee. Then he nodded at the fox to begin once more. He focused his already pained eyes on her and she dipped her head in agreement.


    This time when Sun¨¦ began gathering the energy to her spirit, it happened much more gradually. John watched excitedly as small needle-like streams of static were pulled toward Sun¨¦. The sheer amount of them was unbelievable.


    Sun¨¦ pulled them all into herself much slower this time, but still admittedly much faster than anything John could muster in his own cultivation. He watched as each miniscule spec of energy meshed into a quickly compressing pool of light at the center of Sun¨¦¡¯s being.


    Then she let it loose once more. It blasted from her in the form of a deadly lightning bolt, exploding against the solitary foe that had been summoned to receive it. John smiled in amazement at the display.


    More than that though, he smiled in excitement. He could feel that his observations were making great strides toward understanding how he might simulate the energy himself. With great eagerness, he asked Sun¨¦ to repeat the process.


    2


    John spent a few hours watching the way Sun¨¦ manipulated the flow of electricity using her spirit. She was a lot more diverse with the use of it than John had expected.


    Sometimes she would launch lightning from her body. Other times he was the lightning, blasting through defenses like they didn¡¯t exist. She could also use the lightning as a sort of armor, repelling and stunning any who attacked her at close range.


    John closely watched every exertion of the fox¡¯s spirit. And each observation gave him another small piece of the puzzle. After hours of close inspection, John¡¯s brain as well as his eyes ached.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, I have to rest,¡± he told Sun¨¦.


    The fox looked over at him curiously before nodding. The practice enemies around her rushed forward in her lapse in aggression, seemingly determined to overwhelm her. Sun¨¦ remained unconcerned as they all closed in.


    With a blast of energy so powerful that John¡¯s hair stood wild even from his distance, every remaining foe was not only knocked back but nearly incinerated instantaneously. It was like a rapidly expanding sphere of heat and light that left nothing unscathed. Even the floor of the training room was scored from the caustic energy.


    John leaned against the wall and closed his eyes in discomfort. He had been pushing so hard to understand what he was seeing that his mind was sore. Somewhere along the way, he realized the discomfort was coming from his acute use of Analyzation.


    ¡°Are you having fun?¡± Sun¨¦ asked as she approached.


    ¡°How do you keep it up like that? I¡¯ve just been watching, and I feel like my head is going to explode.¡±


    ¡°You are still too weak. Your mental fitness is too low. I suspect that whichever Cultivation you practice is meant for one closer to the peak of Stage One.¡±


    ¡°Stage One? I¡¯ve heard that term before. What does it mean?¡± John asked.


    ¡°The Garden is broken into many stages. This world is the first.¡±


    ¡°You mean that there are other worlds just like this one? Where everything is even more powerful than you are now?¡±


    ¡°That is precisely right. And the closer you get to the pinnacle of Stage One, the better control you will have over your abilities.¡±


    ¡°I am fairly close to totaling my Advanced genes. And I¡¯m halfway there for Wizened genes as well. How much closer to the peak do I need to reach?¡±


    ¡°It is true, your culmination heretofore is exemplary. But even reaching peak Wizened tier will not be close to enough to harness the true capabilities of your mind.¡±


    ¡°Not even then? So then, are you saying that I need¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes. Until you begin to culminate Divine tier energy, you will never reach your full potential.¡±


    ¡°Are Divine genes really so powerful?¡±


    ¡°I do not know how it works for outside races such as humans. But I have heard from other races such as yours that a single divine gene provides more advancement than the total of all tiers before it.¡±


    John¡¯s eyes opened wide at the revelation. He thought back to his first Advanced gene allocation. He remembered the feeling seeming to burst through his entire body like a flood. Then he recalled how much more potent his first Wizened gene felt to consume. The thought of a single Divine gene surpassing not only both of those feelings, but allegedly the total sum of every gene he could consume was absolutely mind boggling.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be possible,¡± John refuted.


    ¡°Possible wasn¡¯t about to stop you from trying a few moments ago,¡± Sun¨¦ said.


    The statement was so very similar to the outlook of his father that John was forced to acknowledge the point. Still, if what Sun¨¦ said was true, John needed to break through the impenetrable barrier that was Divine tier as soon as possible. He thought back to the eggs he had stolen from the queen of the ants.


    ¡°Are those really Divine eggs?¡± He wondered.


    The queen of the colony had been much smaller than the rest. Smaller even than some of the Primitive ants. Yet the terror she had inspired in John had been no less than the sense of danger he felt when Sun¨¦ let loose. He pondered the little bug for several moments.


    ¡°Come, John. It¡¯s time to see if your Cultivation can truly recreate my spirit.¡±


    John stood wearily, his head still throbbing from the exertion he had forced on it. He moved to the center of the floor and waiting for the single faceless foe to be summoned into existence. When it appeared, John began focusing on all of the information he had gathered while watching Sun¨¦ fight.


    He ran through the mental pathways needed to utilize Analyzation, making a divergence down another mental avenue where Analyzation met Simulation. As his mind remained fixed on all of the relevant information he could manage as he attempted to draw all the static around into his body.


    He started to feel uneasy after a few seconds. Needle thin pinpricks could be felt all over his body, like he was getting acupuncture at high speed. Moreover, each miniscule puncture he felt moved beyond his skin to roam through his body at random, despite his efforts to concentrate them all.


    After only a few moments of this, John lost concentration. He couldn¡¯t keep his attention on all of the moving parts required to simulate Sun¨¦¡¯s spirit. With an impotent expulsion, all of his gathered energy was expelled from all over his body in a feebly crackling burst of static.


    John fell to the ground, utterly spent. Every hair on his body stood out, a clear indication of the trace electricity that had passed through it. He sighed in frustration at his own failure. Sun¨¦, however, had an entirely different reaction.


    ¡°You did it. How did you do it? I have seen your spiritual essence. It is far too different for you to have adapted it to my own methods. So, how is this possible?¡±


    For the first time since John had met her, Sun¨¦ seemed truly bewildered. She stared at John with wild fox eyes, as if he was something completely alien to her. He looked back at her in exasperation.


    ¡°You call that a success? I barely made a few sparks.¡±


    ¡°That is not the point, John. How long did it take you to learn the methods of your own spiritual essence?¡±


    At that, John paused. He thought back to all of his failures and just how long it took him to understand the essence of moonlight. When put that way, Sun¨¦ was right. He had at least grasped the basics of a Spirit Cultivation that he had never studied.


    ¡°It is a very powerful skill. What is the name of your Mind Cultivation?¡± Sun¨¦ asked.


    ¡°Third Eye of Callysta,¡± John said.


    At that, Sun¨¦ took a step back, even though they were already a considerable distance from one another. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked almost afraid for some reason. John noticed her odd behavior and inquired about it.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Have you heard of it?¡±


    ¡°Not the Cultivation. But I do know the name Callysta.¡±


    John¡¯s curiosity was aroused. He had been wondering what manner of creature could have come up with such a cultivation method. Hearing Sun¨¦ speak the name with such nervousness gave John pause.


    ¡°What do you know about it?¡±


    ¡°Not it. She. Callysta is the name of one of the four Transcendent Beasts. She is said to have been ancient when The Garden was first formed.¡±


    ¡°When The Garden was formed? Formed by who?¡±


    ¡°That is unknown. What is known or at least accepted is that it serves as a sort of training ground for all the species of the universe. Callysta, along with her three companions are said to have given pieces of themselves to help its conception.¡±


    ¡°How do you know this?¡±


    ¡°We who are native to The Garden are born with certain instincts. One of those instincts is to strive for the pinnacle of Cultivation. And it is upon those four Transcendent Beasts that the pinnacle is based.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°So, you know the name Callysta out of sheer instinct?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Callysta. Aggrievel. Indarous. Zetharian. These are the four Transcendent Beasts. And while I could not tell you what any of them are or the extent of their abilities, their names are engraved upon my very soul. As they are with all natives of The Garden. More than this, I cannot tell you.¡±


    ¡°Callysta is some type of cat, I think.¡±


    ¡°You would know better than I. I do not know how you came to be her disciple, John. But you should be very careful treading on the path laid out by one so ancient and powerful.¡±


    ¡°Fantastic,¡± John thought.


    3


    John was far too mentally drained to attempt another Simulation. Instead, he bid Sun¨¦ farewell after thanking her for her help. John returned to his room in Thunder Fox Sanctuary and laid down on the bed.


    He could have just as easily returned home for a rest, but he was supposed to meet Liz in Emerald Base the next morning, so he decided to save himself the trouble. Lying there half exhausted from the mental strain he had been through, John found it very difficult to keep his eyes open. Before he knew it, morning had come.


    John opened his eyes like a man who forgot where he was. Several seconds of confused worrying later, his mind caught up with his situation. With a calming breath, he settled himself onto the mattress once more.


    He sat staring up at the ceiling for several long moments, contemplating. His previous day¡¯s progress gave him hope that he could unravel the secrets of his cultivation path if only given time. Then his mind shifted once more to the thought of Divine genes.


    With great intrigue, John moved to a storage bin where he had recently moved the four eggs he had pilfered from the ant colony. He had spent no small amount of time attempting to gain any kind of insight about them. All to no avail.


    Grabbing one of the eggs, John brought it back to his bed where he could inspect it in leisure. He ran his fingers over the smooth embryo, marveling at the intricate network of veins running through it. Without realizing it was happening; John ran through the mental process of Analyzation.


    As he did, he thought of Simulation. Sun¨¦¡¯s assertion that he could not copy the entire essence of something was making more sense as his mind turned over the implications. He could hardly turn his body into a fox to simulate her physical cultivation. And unless he had access to every aspect of her mental cultivation, that was off limits too.


    But the spirit was something that all living things exuded. He could see its influence exerted on the world as Sun¨¦ gathered lightning to herself. Perhaps Simulation was specifically designed to harness the spirit of whatever he analyzed. The thought gave him an idea.


    As he sat turning the egg over in his hands, John felt his vision shift. Suddenly, instead of seeing the spiderweb veins and feeling the smooth shell of the egg against his skin, John saw the flow of energy. It was faint, as might have been expected of something so small, yet the pattern and circulation were both so confidently persistent that John became impressed with its ability.


    Unconsciously, John began to follow the guidelines for Simulation. Slowly at first, but with growing confidence, he started mimicking the faint spirit of the egg. After a few moments, his spirit began to circulate in the same pattern the egg in his hand did.


    There was a moment where nothing abnormal occurred. John simply sat motionless, playing copycat to the egg he held. Then, like a key turning in a lock, John felt himself connect to the egg.


    In the space between heartbeats, John¡¯s circulation of spirit completely synced with that of the egg. Before he knew what was happening, a cold chill more intense than anything he had ever felt coursed into his hand, numbing it. The sensation traveled quickly to the rest of his body, and John shuddered at the influx of power.


    Never in his life had he felt anything so invigorating. The memory of Advanced genes, Wizened genes even, felt like a trickle by comparison. John found himself unable to drop the egg around which his hand was wrapped.


    As the freezing cold flow of energy reached his chest, it began circulating in the same pattern that John had been Simulating. He gasped in overwhelmed exhilaration as the massive sea of energy slowly spread to his every cell. John was still entirely too overstimulated to comprehend the message that played in his head.


    ¡°Divine ant larvae gene absorbed. You have gained two Divine genes.¡±


    John fell back onto his bed as his cells swelled with more life than he thought possible. He sat gasping great lungfuls of air, feeling with each inhalation the expansion of his entire being. As if suddenly something tangible, John¡¯s essence burst within him.


    With inexorable determination, the pool of energy he felt at his core seemed to grow more than three times over. As if someone poured a lake on top of a pond, John felt quite justifiably drowned in excess energy. For long moments, he simply lied back, breathing as raggedly as a man who had run a marathon.


    When he finally caught his breath, John sat up in shock. He had not believed Sun¨¦ about the gap between Wizened and Divine, but having experienced it himself, he had no further doubts. The thought of how much more powerful she must have been than him filled him with awe.


    John looked down at his hand where the egg had been. Only a cold echo of its existence remained. The egg seemed to have dissolved into his skin entirely.


    He quickly retrieved another ant larvae and returned to his place on the bed. With his heart pumping in excitement, John studied the egg as he had its predecessor. He was intrigued to find that while similar, the pattern of the egg¡¯s spirit was slightly different from the last.


    Once again, as he studied it, his mind seemed to subconsciously mimic the pattern of the immature creature. And to his delight, he started to feel himself sync with the flow of energy almost immediately. Before he knew it, the vast ocean of energy was coursing through him.


    ¡°Divine ant larvae gene absorbed. You have gained two Divine genes.¡±


    John felt his chest swell with power as his essence expanded yet again. He wasn¡¯t overcome as he had been the first time, but doubling his total number of divine genes still had an extraordinary effect. He took a deep breath, and with the intake of air, he felt himself return to balance.


    John got to his feet again and was just about to retrieve his third egg when a demanding knock hammered against his door. He turned toward the disturbance, staring at the door with curiosity. He suspected that only Liz could or would have found him here, but he had been supposed to meet her in Emerald Base.


    As he looked at the door, John¡¯s eyes seemed to shift focus. As if viewed through frosted glass, the outline of a person became visible through his door. It was definitely female, and almost certainly confirmed his guess about the identity of the knocker.


    John was startled by the sudden change to his vision. He didn¡¯t understand how he could see someone¡¯s profile through a solid door. Before he could consider the implications of this new development, Liz knocked again, this time, if possible, harder.


    Like a veil being dropped over the world, John¡¯s vision became obscured, and he was again looking at a solid door. Blinking away the disorientation, he went to open it.


    ¡°Took ya long enough,¡± Liz said sweetly without greeting him.


    She walked past him and through the much larger dwelling than its Emerald Base counterpart. She made her way to the bed in the back of the building and sat. Noticing that it was unmade, she turned a questioning gaze on him.


    ¡°You stayed here last night?¡±


    ¡°Too tired to go all the way home. I was doing some¡­ training with Sun¨¦.¡±


    ¡°Trying to learn how to shoot lightning out your eyes?¡± She asked teasingly.


    ¡°Kind of, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Well, that explains the bed. But why didn¡¯t you come to Emerald Base this morning?¡±


    ¡°I was getting there. I¡¯ve just been busy. Why the impatience?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Because there¡¯s something I want to kill, and I need your help. I¡¯ve been waiting for weeks to have a go at this thing. If it wasn¡¯t so damn big, I would go by myself.¡±


    ¡°What is it that you want to hunt? You said something about cactuses before. We never actually got around to checking them out. Is that where we¡¯re going?¡±


    ¡°Actually, yes. I¡¯ve been doing some reconnaissance in the area, and I¡¯ve found the leader.¡±


    ¡°The leader?¡± John asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain. Think of it as a herd of cacti being controlled by a shepherd.¡±


    ¡°Herds of cacti? You mean like cattle?¡±


    ¡°Basically, yes. I don¡¯t understand how it works myself. But I found the boss.¡±


    ¡°How did you do that?¡±


    ¡°Well, it turns out that if you don¡¯t attack one of them, they don¡¯t seem to care if you¡¯re there. I just walked right through the whole area. When I found the big one, I figured I could take a shot at it, but when I say, ¡®the big one¡¯ I mean it.¡±


    ¡°How big are we talking?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Like, California Redwoods look small type of big.¡±


    John¡¯s eyebrows raised in shock. He had a hunch based on the description, but he couldn¡¯t be certain unless he saw it with his own eyes. He gestured for Liz to continue.


    ¡°I found out that the unspoken nonaggression between myself and the lesser cacti quickly became nullified when the big one spotted me.¡±


    ¡°It spotted you?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t explain it. But I could feel its attention on me. Then it started launching needles the size of spears at me. I managed to avoid them all but, on my way out, every cactus in the area was spitting needles at me. Almost took me out from all the poison.¡±


    ¡°And you think this big cactus controls all the little ones?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s your plan for taking it out?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything that can damage a cactus that big. I was hoping you might have some ideas.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I might have something that could work, but it¡¯s no sure thing. When did you want to go?¡±


    ¡°Right now. It¡¯s already almost midday. If we don¡¯t go soon it¡¯ll be dark before we can get there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I work better at night anyway. Let me make some quick arrangements. I¡¯ll meet you in Emerald Base in an hour.¡±  John said.


    Then he made his way to the transition pad and set his destination to earth. Without saying goodbye, John left Liz alone in his house within Thunder Fox Sanctuary.


    4


    When John returned home, his parents both greeted him at the door. Emma was nowhere in sight, and John had his suspicions about her current occupation. He was starting to seriously consider taking all of her notes on there scroll to The Garden to detox it from her mind.


    ¡°Hey guys,¡± John said as he hugged his parents.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t come back last night. Everything okay?¡± Jack asked.


    ¡°Totally fine. I was just doing some training with a magic lightning fox,¡± John said as he moved to the living room to sit.


    ¡°A what?¡± His mother asked incredulously.


    ¡°Her name is Sun¨¦. Or at least, that¡¯s what she told me to call her. She was very cryptic.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been training with a magic fox? And it told you to call it Sun¨¦? It¡¯s a talking fox?¡± Emily asked, bewildered.


    ¡°Well yeah, mom. I would hardly be able to train with it if we couldn¡¯t talk to each other.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get used to this,¡± she said with a resigned shake of her head.


    ¡°Well, that sounds awesome. I wanna hear all about it,¡± Jack said excitedly.


    ¡°Uh, yeah. No problem. But can it wait until later? I actually came because I need something from you. Liz and I are going to fight a giant cactus and she might need the ability to fly.¡±


    ¡°A giant cactus?¡± Emily rejoined with yet more incredulity.


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s apparently a whole flock of cactuses that it controls.  I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s some kind of hive mind, or more of a Jumbo Cactuar situation, but either way it should be fun.¡±


    ¡°Aw man! That would be awesome! Make sure you have sleep junctioned to Status Attack!¡± Jack said nostalgically.


    ¡°I know right? If only I knew someone who could cast water!¡± John responded, just as nerdy.


    Emily just looked on in bemused exasperation as her husband and son continued their back and forth about the superiority of 90¡¯s video games. She was well accustomed to the habit, and knew that there was no sense trying to rein them in. All she could do was wait for them to tire.


    In due time, John and his father ran out of steam. Jack wished his son luck and transferred the pair of Advanced wings back to him. John promised to return them soon, but his father shook his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need them. When I have to go back, It¡¯ll probably be on your heels anyway. Liz can get better use from them than me. Besides,¡± he added with a smile, ¡°it¡¯s not good form to take a gift back from a pretty girl.¡±


    ¡°No it is not,¡± Emily agreed with a significant look at her husband.


    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah. Let Liz keep the wings. Trust me,¡± Jack said with an apologetic glance at his wife.


    ¡°Alright, well I¡¯m gonna go before this gets more awkward. Is Emma upstairs?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Where else would she be? Never gives it a rest,¡± his mother said in exasperation.


    ¡°Cool,¡± John said, fleeing the room.


    John found his sister in her room as promised. She was unsurprisingly studying all of her notes on Third Eye of Callysta. She looked up at him as he entered.


    ¡°Can you tell me which branch would make it possible to see through a door?¡± He asked without preamble.


    ¡°Through a door?¡± She asked in confusion.


    ¡°Yeah. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but I could tell what was on the other side. Like an outline.¡±


    ¡°An outline of a person? Did you know they were there before you saw them through the door?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They knocked.¡±


    Emma nodded before flipping through her notes. She read passages on several pages before moving on, apparently unsatisfied with their content. Eventually she tapped her finger on a passage in triumph.


    ¡°It sounds like what you did falls into the Isolation branch. It fits with Analyzation to¡­ well, isolate things.¡±


    ¡°Isolate things? Like separate one thing from everything else?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Wether that be physically separating something or simply excluding the Analyzation of all else in order to focus on one thing more closely. It¡¯s all very complex when you start getting into the later branches.¡±


    ¡°I can tell. I don¡¯t even know how I did it. I¡¯ve never been able to understand more than the first two aspects. And only barely those.¡±


    ¡°Maybe your understanding is growing with your power. ¡°


    John thought of his recent step into Divine genes. If his ability to Cultivate really was directly related to his gene progression, it would make sense that his understanding had expanded.


    ¡°Maybe. I need to spend some time studying this whole thing a bit more. Thank you,¡± he said before turning to leave.


    ¡°Is that it? You just question me and leave after you learn what you want?¡±


    Uhhh¡­ yep,¡± John said before walking from the room.


    Mock outrage followed him from the room as his sister shouted fake invectives at him for his betrayal. John just chuckled as he made his way back down the stairs. His father met him at the bottom.


    ¡°When do you want to go back to Obsidian Base? The trial prizes should be ready in a day or so. I thought we could go together.¡±


    ¡°Uhh, yeah. Sure. I¡¯m not sure when we will be done with the cactus thing, but when I come back, we can go check it out.¡±


    ¡°Cool,¡± Jack said.


    ¡°Yeah. And if things go well with this hunt, I might have a lot more genes to support my guild.¡±


    ¡°Your guild?¡± His father asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I started a guild. It¡¯s really just a front to have people find more Advanced and Wizened things for me to hunt. But it¡¯s growing into something I don¡¯t really have the time to manage. I have a friend working on it but I think even he might be overtaxed.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. Do you need an extra pair of hands to help take care of things while you do the dirty work?¡± Jack asked his son.


    ¡°Dad, are you asking me for a job?¡± John laughed.


    ¡°I¡¯m simply offering to assist.¡±


    ¡°Well, like I said, I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be back, but if you¡¯re eager to do something, find my friend Jules at Emerald Base and tell him you¡¯re my dad. He can figure out the best way for you to help. This is his room number,¡± John said, moving to a notepad to write it out.


    ¡°You know it really is amazing everything you¡¯ve done in such a short time,¡± Jack said as he took the note.


    ¡°I never set out to do any of it. It all just happened. I¡¯m lucky to still be here to reap the benefits.¡±


    ¡°Luck isn¡¯t a currency we trade in, son. You¡¯re here because when things get bad, you have the determination to make it through.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the type of truth that only exists until it doesn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. But you never stop advancing. You face every challenge without hesitation. And every time you come out on top; your strength grows. Don¡¯t sell yourself short, son. I believe in you,¡± his father said.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± John finally said before bidding both of his parents farewell.


    With reassured purpose, John left his home and returned to The Garden. He shifted into Emerald Base with confidence, ready to take on the next challenge. As he stepped from the transition pad, he heard for the second time that day, the impatient banging of Liz upon his door.


    ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake.¡±


    5


    ¡°What took you so long?¡± Liz demanded as John opened the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that late! And besides, I was getting you a gift. Now that I hear your tone, I don¡¯t think you deserve it,¡± John said, turning up his nose in mock offense.


    ¡°A gift? For little ole me?¡± Liz asked, all trace of impatience gone.


    ¡°No, just forget it. You don¡¯t want to fly anyway. It would ruin your dignified image,¡± John said.


    ¡°Screw dignity, I want to fly!¡± Liz said, almost begging with her eyes.


    ¡°Why should I?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Because you like me?¡± Liz asked.


    John shook his head sadly. He made a show of regretting his decision. Then he grudgingly handed over his spare wings.


    ¡°You better start being nice to me,¡± he grumbled.


    ¡°No one likes a complainer, John,¡± she replied.


    With minimal reciprocated shit talking, the two of them quickly made their way out of Emerald Base in the direction Liz had chosen. After just a few minutes with the wings, Liz was soaring around like a natural avian. John trailed behind her, happy to watch her leave her dignified persona behind.


    ¡°This is awesome!¡± She shouted back at him.


    John just let her have her fun, easily keeping pace behind her. They flew in a more or less straight line toward the area Liz had found the cactuses. As she had previously described, the terrain was a constantly changing plethora of diverse ecosystems.


    It made no sense to John. Grassy fields bumped up against sandy desert, only to shift into luscious forest land a couple of miles later. It was like something had mixed all the land together, impossible as it seemed.


    Liz led him through area after area, pointing out different types of beasts that populated each one. John saw more than one Advanced specimen as they passed overhead. He made note of each one, hoping to return for some of them.


    The day turned to evening as they flew on. John was impressed by how far Liz had explored even without the wings. He guessed she had spent many days exploring the area. As far as she was taking him, it had probably taken her forever to find the place.


    When she finally came to a stop, they were looking down on a dry and dusty area. John could already see the cactuses liberally covering the quadrant. He inspected the nearest one and found it to be Enhanced rank, as Liz had advertised.


    The number of those alone would make quite the lucrative haul for the guild if nothing else, but John was hoping for a cache even more valuable. They flew over the area for several minutes, inspecting each cactus they came across.  As they ventured farther into the domain, they started seeing larger cactuses dotted here and there.


    John inspected a few, and could reliably identify them as the Advanced variety. They seemed to be positioned among clusters of their smaller relatives, almost like guardians. John wondered at the arrangement.


    He took the lead from Liz, asking her to let him inspect the area more closely. She agreed, and they moved on through the apparent families of cacti. After passing over a dozen Advanced cactuses guarding their inferior counterparts, John found what he was looking for.


    ¡°There,¡± he said, pointing.


    Where he indicated was an even more impressive cactus, towering over the others like an adult among toddlers. John had a good look at it, but he was already sure of its rank before his inspection was concluded. The cactus was Wizened.


    ¡°Is that the big one you saw?¡± He asked Liz.


    ¡°No. It was way bigger. I mean massive.¡±


    ¡°I thought as much,¡± John nodded.


    ¡°What did you figure out?¡± She asked.


    ¡°That guy down there is Wizened. I worried that this might be the case. It¡¯s just like the ants.¡±


    ¡°Like the ants? You mean that-¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t have proof. But if what you say about the size of the cactus you seen is true, we¡¯re dealing with something a lot more dangerous.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Hold on. Let me look at something,¡± John said.


    He flew lower to get a closer look at the plants below. He quickly began analyzing every cactus in sight. As he observed their essences, something seemed wrong to him. It wasn¡¯t until the eighth cactus that he realized what the issue was.


    ¡°They¡¯re all the same,¡± he said to himself.


    John hadn¡¯t been using his inspection abilities to read essences for long, but he had learned one crucial fact in his limited experience. Every living thing had its own unique way of circulating their energy. Even two unborn ants had their own unique yet similar essences.


    The cactuses beneath John were different. Or, more accurately, they weren¡¯t. Every cactus he inspected gave off an identical energy flow. The essence patterns were indistinguishable from one another.


    His first thought was that it was impossible and that he was mistaken. There was no possible way that each cactus could have the same exact signature. It was almost as if¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s all one plant,¡± John realized with widening eyes.


    He didn¡¯t know how it was possible, but it was the only explanation for the essence anomaly. He didn¡¯t know if plants worked differently from animals in The Garden, but evidence was certainly starting to point that way. While he was still trying to wrap his mind around everything, Liz flew down to him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She asked, seeing his confusion.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s some kind of plant-based hive mind.¡±


    ¡°A hive mind?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You said they all attacked you after the big one, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Every cactus I came anywhere near shot needles at me. It was like they were all taking turns, waiting for me to get in range.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. And you said you killed one?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I killed a couple. Why?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the only part that doesn¡¯t make sense. When I look closely, they all seem to share a single aura. But they still have individual bodies and genes. Was there anything strange about the kill notifications?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ yeah, actually. It called the cactus something weird. I forget the whole thing but it was something about a stray root I think,¡± Liz said ponderously.


    ¡°I thought so,¡± John said, nodding.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means they¡¯re like fruit.¡±


    ¡°Fruit?¡±Liz asked.


    ¡°Yes. Think of them like apples on a tree. And the big cactus is the tree,¡± John said.


    ¡°If they¡¯re all roots, wouldn¡¯t it be a better analogy to call them vegetables?¡± Liz asked.


    John looked at her with a bemused expression. Her confident smirk was as frustrating as it was predictable. He flew closer to emphasize his retort.


    ¡°You know, I flew all the way out here to look at cactuses with you, and you-¡±


    John trailed off as he noticed Liz¡¯s gaze, which was no longer smug and relaxed. She looked serious, and he knew that something had changed. Following her eyes. John saw the worst possible thing he could have hoped for.


    ¡°It¡¯s back,¡± Liz said.


    Below, moving through the barren cactus infested land was a massive snake. It had dark coloration, which seemed to change in pattern slightly with each new surface its impossibly long body passed over. It was big enough around to swallow a human whole, as Liz had promised. John watched it move confidently through the area without seeming to care about the innumerable cactus threats it passed.


    ¡°That¡¯s the one. It killed the goat I told you about, remember?¡±


    ¡°I remember,¡± John said with a shudder.


    ¡°See the baby that rides it¡¯s head? That¡¯s how you know it¡¯s powerful. Why else would it bring a baby along with it?¡±


    John looked where she had indicated and saw that she was correct. Nestled in what seemed to be a divot upon the snake¡¯s head was a small green snake. It couldn¡¯t have been more than two feet long. It had similarities to its larger kin, but as John studied it, his eyes went wide in fear and alarm.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a baby,¡± he said.

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23


    1


    Liz was halfway through her plan to attack the wandering snake when John grabbed her arm. She looked up at him to make a joke about his fear of snakes but stopped herself upon seeing the look on his face. He wasn¡¯t just afraid. He was terrified.


    ¡°You can¡¯t attack,¡± he said, more serious than she had ever heard him.


    ¡°Why not. It¡¯s a snake. We are in the sky. Birds kill snakes. We¡¯re basically a snake¡¯s most common predator right now. Even a snake that big can¡¯t reach us this high up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried about the big one,¡± John said.


    ¡°What? Then what¡¯s the issue?¡±


    ¡°The little one is giving off some seriously sinister vibes. I can explain later. But trust me, we can¡¯t attack. Let¡¯s follow them and watch.¡±


    Liz looked curiously at John but didn¡¯t question him further. She saw the genuine fear in his eyes that seemed to go further than his phobia. Graciously, she relented.


    In truth, John knew exactly why the smaller reptile felt so much more dangerous. It was the same feeling he had when he had encountered the ant queen. The certainty and strength of the little snake¡¯s essence left no doubt in John¡¯s mind. The snake was Divine rank.


    John and Liz stalked the pair of snakes all the way through the cactus region. They seemed to be moving with single minded determination towards a destination. Unsurprisingly, John soon found himself approaching an absolute monolith of a cactus.


    It was situated in the middle of a bowl-shaped depression, which had obscured it from their sight. It reminded John eerily of the Divine Tower. The cactus itself was a dark green color with two massive arms protruding from its sides. It was covered with needles so large that they were clearly visible even from a distance.


    Near the edge of the bowl, Liz stopped. John came up beside her and likewise halted. She pointed to the ground, where John could see an innumerable number of needles littering the rim of the bowl.


    ¡°Any closer and it will see us,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that. If I¡¯m not wrong, this thing has a massive root network. If I had to guess, it tracks by the vibration that reaches its roots when people walk across them.¡±


    ¡°Do you have to guess?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°What?¡± John asked, confused.


    ¡°It sounds like more than a guess. Is this that weird inspect thing you do?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called Analyzation. And yes. Unless I¡¯m wrong, the smaller cactuses are root tips. I¡¯m not sure how anything grows that big, but the information we have seems to support the theory. If that¡¯s really the case, then that would mean that this big prickly bastard has a nervous system several square miles in circumference.¡±


    ¡°Which means that everything that walks through the area is monitored by it. That would explain why every cactus attacked me after the big one did.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s just one flaw in the theory,¡± John said, pointing.


    Below, the massive snake was making its way into the crater. It moved confidently down the steep decline toward the gargantuan cactus. John looked on with a speculative gaze as the snake seemed to remain unnoticed.


    ¡°No fair,¡± Liz complained.


    ¡°Maybe since it doesn¡¯t have legs, it isn¡¯t shaking the ground when it moves?¡± John suggested.


    ¡°Maybe. But that would support the theory that we¡¯re safe in the air. Should we try to follow?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Yes. But be vigilant. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s really going on,¡± John said.


    The two of them hovered cautiously over the clearly marked line where giant cactus needles littered the ground. With all eyes fixed firmly on the gargantuan, they flew slowly forward. As they moved into the bowl unmolested, apprehension steadily decreased.


    ¡°It looks like we might really be safe up here,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Safer than down there perhaps, but don¡¯t forget that it can shoot needles. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s aiming at us or not if we¡¯re in the way. Just be careful,¡± John said.


    They continued forward for several minutes; not trying to reach the cactus as much as keep up with the snake that approached it. It became apparent just how immense the cactus was as they flew steadily onward without seeming to get much closer. Despite the persistent distance, the massive cactus seemed to grow larger with every passing minute.


    The bowl in which the cactus was situated was as barren as the rest of the area. Even more so, as not even the smaller cacti grew within.  The entire span of land between them and the cactus was empty, dry, and dead.


    The nightmare snake they were following moved without fear ever closer to the skyscraper sized cactus. John and Liz could only keep up with it because of their ability to fly. Without that, they would have both been sprinting just to keep the snake in sight.


    Despite its haste and determination, the snake only seemed to inch closer to its goal. It slithered on for well over an hour, a time in which the sun dropped from sight as they ventured down into the bowl. Evening was threatening to give way to an early night when the snake finally came to a halt.


    John and Liz had been keeping a very nervous eye on the gargantuan cactus for much of their journey. Now they were too close to do anything but bleed if the foe decided to project its needles. They could only hope nothing untoward was in the making.


    They were so close in fact, that John could see a plethora of colorful patches upon the cactus. They ranged in color from one side of the spectrum to the other, seeming to have no limit to the combination of hues they could produce. And as John studied them, he could see a large similarly colored fruit at the heart of each colorful outcropping.


    ¡°Look,¡± Liz whispered, snapping him out of his inspection.


    She was pointing to the ground where the snake had stopped moving. John followed her gaze and saw that the miniature snake had slid down from its companion and was moving onward alone. The larger snake watched it go obediently, as if waiting patiently for its return.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s as far as it can go, being as big as it is. The baby doesn¡¯t seem to be limited by the same fear though,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a baby,¡± John said solemnly.


    ¡°So you say. What makes you so sure?¡±


    ¡°For one, look at where we are right now. How could something less than Wizened hope to survive if that thing starts attacking? I don¡¯t know why they came here, but I think we¡¯re about to find out.¡±


    As they watched, the small green snake made its way impressively quickly toward the tree. John¡¯s theory was all but confirmed as the snake shot forward at an almost absurd pace. If it had been a race, John knew that not even his Wizened wings could propel him quicker.


    ¡°That thing is Divine,¡± John told himself with certainty.


    The miniscule snake had crossed the remaining distance in the blink of an eye. Before John could wonder what its goal was, the snake had pasted itself to the cactus and began to climb. As it moved up the impossibly large plant, the cactus showed signs of awareness for the first time.


    The entire trunk shuddered, like a massive foot had just kicked it. None of the deadly needles came free, but John and Liz both held their breath as they watched it protest. After a moment, the cactus settled, but John could still feel an ominous intent from its absurd aura.


    He wondered about that for a moment. He had never been able to deduce specific details from a creature¡¯s aura before. Was that another benefit of his expanded essence?


    ¡°What is going on?¡± Liz asked in excited confusion.


    ¡°Hm?¡± John asked.


    Right when he did, John saw what had provoked the exclamation. Coming into view from behind the massive cactus was a large bird, a species John was unfamiliar with. It had bright blue feathers, long black talons, and an overly protruding black beak to match its feet.


    ¡°It looks like there¡¯s some competition,¡± John said.


    ¡°What does that mean for us?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°At the very least,¡± John said, ¡°it means we aren¡¯t killing that cactus today.¡±


    2


    As they watched, the aerial newcomer circled the cactus deliberately. It seemed most interested in the miniscule snake that still scaled the cactus with determination. In time, the snake drew level with the lowest outcropping of colorful flowers.


    John and Liz cautiously flew closer to observe the scene better. They were still concerned about becoming collateral damage, but as neither of them had a solution for that eventuality, they simply hoped it wouldn¡¯t come to pass. The closer they came, the more absurd the true size of the cactus seemed.


    The green blur of the rapidly ascending snake looked almost ridiculously small in comparison. John took the time to familiarize himself with the spirit circulation of both the snake and the approaching bird, as well as the utterly alien presence of the great cactus they seemed to be competing over. All three of them were impressively formidable, but none so much as the cactus.


    The way its spirit circulated was difficult to decipher. It was partly due to the amount of cactus that was concealed beneath the ground. It was almost impossible to get an accurate impression.


    While he was transfixed by the plant, the conniving snake reached one of the fruits. It wrapped itself around the stem before seemingly expanding. The big fruit suddenly looked very crowded by the snake, and without much of a defense, it popped loose from the cactus.


    John watched it fall with great confusion. He couldn¡¯t fathom why the snake would go through the trouble of knocking loose a fruit if it wasn¡¯t even going to eat it. Then he saw the giant snake on the ground below strike, snatching the fruit right out of the air.


    ¡°They¡¯re working together,¡± John realized.


    The smaller snake continued to wrap itself around fruit as it came across them. As each one popped loose, its fellow on the ground would be there to catch them. John was impressed by the coordination and teamwork.


    But before either snake was satisfied with their pilfering, the blue bird started intercepting the falling fruit. It could dive impressively fast, and before long, the smaller snake began to hiss in frustration. John watched in fascination as the three creatures fought for access to the unanimously desirable fruit.


    ¡°What in the hell is going on here?¡± Liz asked as they watched.


    ¡°I think those fruit are something special,¡± John said.


    ¡°Yeah, no shit. But why is that bird so determined to steal them all. There have to be hundreds of those fruit across the cactus. Maybe even thousands. Why fight for its meal?¡±


    ¡°It could be that it¡¯s just an asshole bird,¡± John said.


    ¡°You think that¡¯s the reason?¡± Liz asked disbelievingly.


    ¡°No. I think it can¡¯t get the fruit itself. It¡¯s a lot bigger than the snake. And I have to imagine trying to find a place to grab on amongst all those needles is quite the task. Especially with the flapping wings and all.¡±


    ¡°You think this is a regular occurrence?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The snakes certainly seem comfortable with their system. And the bird seemed to know they¡¯d be here in time to intercept. It seems possible that they¡¯re familiar with each other.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a friendly contest,¡± Liz suggested.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that friendly,¡± John said, pointing.


    The thieving snake had just freed its latest fruit. But as the juicy morsel fell, the snake surprised them by falling from the cactus after it. The snake fell only a second behind its stolen produce.


    As John and Liz watched in shock, the bird snatched the colorful fruit from the air. It didn¡¯t see the angry reptile coming down after it. It impacted the oversized bird like an arrow shot by an expert archer.


    The bird let out a worrying screech that John was certain would alert the cactus to the shenanigans afoot. Surprisingly it didn¡¯t react at all to the noise, and the two predators began a pitched midair battle. Falling more than flying, the blue bird struggled to toss the snake from its back.


    Like a professional bull rider, the snake refused to come free. After several seconds of spinning, diving, and panicked flapping, the bird was forced to right itself lest it fall from the sky entirely. As soon as it leveled out, its unwanted passenger made its move.


    In the blink of an eye, the snake was wrapped around the bird¡¯s neck. Once again, it seemed to swell in circumference until it had nearly engulfed the entire head of the unfortunate bird. The effect was drastic and immediate.


    The blue bird lost all composure in a flash. It began flapping wildly to increase its altitude, but there were few ways it could save itself. Surprisingly, it managed a good attempt at one of those few ways.


    Desperately trying to escape, the bird angled itself straight for the massive needles protruding from the cactus. It was trying to take advantage of the increased girth of the snake to impale it.  John was once again impressed with the adaptive capabilities of high tiered creatures in The Garden.


    Unfortunately for the bird, it¡¯s adversary seemed to predict the move. The swollen snake suddenly shrunk back to its original size, just before the bird crashed into the trunk of the cactus. Three massive needles stabbed straight through the bird and broke off as momentum carried it on.


    As the bird skipped off the cactus, a huge tremor ran the length of the gargantuan. The ominous intent John had been feeling from the cactus suddenly intensified. In unison, every single needle on its body, untold millions, pointed directly at the retreating bird.


    ¡°Oh shit!¡± John shouted.


    He grabbed Liz by the arm and urged her upward as fast as his wings would carry him. She got the memo quickly enough, and soon they were both soaring up and away from the cactus with immense gusto. John kept an eye on the falling bird as they flew.


    Before they had come anywhere near the top of the cactus, it was too late. The snake had reasserted itself around the bird¡¯s neck almost immediately after impact with the cactus. The giant needles sticking out of it also served to disrupt its flight.


    As quickly a gravity would allow, the bird plummeted to the ground. John watched in horror as it spiraled out of the sky even as he climbed higher into it. The whole confrontation had been so fast, he couldn¡¯t fully parse it.


    The snake waited until the last possible minute before removing itself from the bird. It seemed to hop free of its beaten victim like it had legs. Once airborne, John was horrified to see it sprout miniature wings of its own to glide safely back to the trunk of the cactus.


    It landed delicately upon one of the violently poised needles before quickly returning to its task as if nothing had happened. If John had needed another reason to fear snakes, he now had several. It began climbing back up to retrieve more fruit as John shuddered in apprehension.


    ¡°So much for being safe in the sky,¡± he said.


    Meanwhile, the falling bird had no hope of saving itself. John returned his attention to it just as it crashed hard into the ground. Faster than the time it took to blink, the cactus attacked.


    3


    The second the defeated bird impacted the ground, thousands of needles the size of saplings pin-cushioned the entire ground for hundreds of feet in every direction.  John was felt terror enter his mind as the brutally efficient attack utterly ravaged the huge bird. He knew that if they were pointing in his direction, he wouldn¡¯t even have the time to process the attack before his death.


    He and Liz stopped their ascent as the cactus returned to passivity as quickly as it had struck. Heart still racing, John hovered in place to catch his breath. Liz was similarly affected by the scene.


    ¡°I think we should go,¡± she said.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± John said, though he sounded hesitant.


    ¡°What? You¡¯re not considering what I think you are, are you?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s extremely dangerous. The smart choice is to go,¡± he said.


    ¡°But that¡¯s not the choice you¡¯re about to make, is it?¡±


    ¡°Just let me think for a second¡­ I don¡¯t think it will attack us in the air. Even when the snake made that bird crash into it, it didn¡¯t actually attack.¡±


    ¡°So, what is your plan?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe¡­ we¡¯re a lot smaller than the bird was. I think we might be able to reach the fruit without getting pricked by the needles. Animals also lack thumbs. Which is probably what makes it so hard for things to get at the fruit.¡±


    ¡°Oh God, you really are choosing the stupid option, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to try, but I don¡¯t want you getting hurt if I mess this up,¡± he said.


    Liz just looked at him with a flat expression.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re not sending me away like you did with those ants. If you¡¯re going to do something stupid again, I¡¯m staying this time.¡±


    ¡°No. What if something happens?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. How do you think I would feel if I left you here to die?¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    John paused, taken slightly aback. Was he really so determined to be reckless? Maybe Liz was right, and they should just go.


    ¡°Stop kidding yourself. You¡¯re not going to change your mind. You¡¯re too obsessed with advancing. Let¡¯s just get this terrible idea over with,¡± Liz said, seeing the hesitation.


    ¡°Am I really that predictable?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Sometimes,¡± Liz said.


    She surprised him then by summoning her Wizened Bear soul. It flowed over her body, expanding and strengthening Liz¡¯s body until she was a floating ursine with long wings. John hadn¡¯t known it was possible to combine the two souls in that way.


    ¡°Just when I thought I had run out of irrational fears. Now there are flying bears,¡± John said, rolling his eyes.


    Unable to respond in kind, Liz simply grunted in amusement. Then she looked to him for the next move. With a sigh, John summoned his Chimera armor before cautiously making for the nearest fruit patch.


    He chose a spot intentionally far from the snake. Even if it wasn¡¯t a jealous and petty Divine beast, it was still a snake. John had no intention of testing himself against it.


    As he drew near to the trunk of the cactus, he slowed to a safe pace. Unfortunately, the presence of fruit and colorful flowers did not negate the existence of the needles. There was no safe place to approach.


    For a few minutes, John could only study the situation and ponder a solution. There wasn¡¯t enough space between each spike that he could comfortably hover while attempting to grab the fruit. What he could do was something idiotic and dangerous, par for the course.


    John slowly approached the cactus, careful to keep his constantly moving wings from becoming impaled on any of the needles as he did so. When he was within reach of the longest spikes, John reached out to carefully grasp the protrusions. He quickly dismissed his wings as he planted a foot upon one of the needles.


    John gingerly spread his weight between his two legs and both arms which grasped different needles to stabilize him. He waited for the angry shaking to begin, but to his surprise, the great cactus didn¡¯t react to his presence at all. He could still feel an immense malevolence from it, however.


    Moving as slowly as possible, John half stepped, half climbed to the nearest fruit. Liz watched him move from a few feet out. Her bear hide was too large to attempt something similar.


    John came within reach of the fruit after only a few moments of maneuvering. To his surprise, each outcropping of flowers actually held numerous fruit, each a different size. John inspected them all, seeing no obvious way to tell if they were ripe or not.


    After a moment¡¯s speculation, John pulled a bright purple fruit from the cactus. It was only the size of an apple, but it had just as strong of an aura as any of its fellows. It felt impossibly firm in his hands, like it could be shot from a cannon and not be bruised.


    John brought the fruit to his mouth to take a bite, but he knew before he did that it wasn¡¯t going to happen. His teeth slid right off the fruit like he was trying to bite something slick. His teeth clacked together loudly as they failed to find purchase.


    John inspected the fruit with a frown. He could feel the formidable energy it contained. He also knew that it wasn¡¯t impossible to eat, otherwise neither the wizened snake below nor the divine bird now dead alongside it would have been able to eat them.


    John inspected the essence of the fruit as he contemplated the issue. He could clearly read the pattern, but he was unsure if fruit and genes operated under the same principles. Would it dissolve into him just the same?


    John hesitantly began mimicking the essence of the fruit in his hands. Almost immediately, he felt a connection to it. John smiled and was just about to let himself sync with the round object in his hand when a thought stopped him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fall off this thing,¡± he realized.


    Unless he was utterly inept at reading the tier of the fruit he held, it would likely grant him Divine genes. His limited experience with the genes gave him no confidence in keeping his composure while that process occurred. It was more likely that he would be overwhelmed by the experience and fall to his death.


    With resignation, John dropped the fruit in his bag before moving on to the next.


    4


    John spent a few minutes after that collecting as many fruit as he could fit in his bag. He had no delusions of being able to consume so many. If they were anything like genes, the fruit would stop providing advancements after just a few.


    Nevertheless, John collected all the fruit within reach. There were other people who could potentially benefit from them. At the very least, he could probably feed them to Jane.


    When his bag was nearly full, John called it quits. Securing it on his back once more, he summoned his wings just as he leapt from the unsure footing of the protruding needles. He spread them wide as he fell, catching the wind and bringing himself level with Liz who had dismissed her ursine form to question him.


    ¡°What now?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Now we get out of here and try to figure out how to eat these things.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Alright, start heading that way. I wanna see if there¡¯s a collectible gene left from that bird. I¡¯ll catch up,¡± John said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take too long. And don¡¯t be stupid,¡± Liz said, already flying away.


    ¡°Sure,¡± John lied.


    They parted ways as John descended carefully towards the ground. He angled himself acutely at the fallen bird. He winced as he beheld the wide area of spikes laid down by the cactus.


    As he patrolled the area where the bird went down, he found himself unable to locate its remains. He looked at the most heavily needle littered area, right where he thought he remembered seeing it fall. To his surprise, there was no trace of a body anywhere.


    John was confused, but not dissuaded. He flew lower to have a closer look at the situation. After a few minutes of determined searching, he found something interesting.


    There was a definite impression where the bird hit the ground. It was difficult to see amongst all the cactus needles, but with John¡¯s observational skills, he had no trouble finding it. What was troublesome was the absence of the bird that had left it.


    John inspected the depression from just above the sea of spikes. There was a distinct dark patch of ground where a pool of blood had formed. Most of it had soaked into the dry ground, but its existence was still clear to see.


    ¡°So where is the body?¡± John asked himself.


    John inspected the needles where the ground was darkened and found that they too had been dampened by blood. He couldn¡¯t figure out how the bird had disappeared. As he was pondering the problem, something caught his eye.


    Lying on the damp ground near the center of the bloodstain was a fist sized crystal. It glinted despite the lack of light, which was the only way John had been able to see it in the quickly darkened evening. It seemed to glow with blue inner light.


    ¡°Is that a gene?¡± John wondered.


    He cautiously lowered himself to the ground, careful not to prick himself on any of the innumerable needles. As his feet touched down, John prepared himself for the cactus to react, but luckily, nothing happened. He crouched to examine the blue crystal that sat conspicuously amidst the drying gore.


    It had a strong circulation of essence, reminiscent of the blue bird that had fallen there. John plucked it from the ground before leaping back into the air. The ominous cactus looming over him shuddered malevolently at the disturbance.


    Without waiting to see what happened, John flew away from the area. He took the absence of needles impaling him as a good sign. Instead of flying to meet Liz, he made the straightest path to the edge of the crater before touching down just beyond the bulwark of giant needles that formed the perimeter of the massive bowl.


    Blessedly, there was no reaction from the massive plant. John sat down excitedly and began studying the blue crystal he still held. It had an unmistakeable resemblance to the bird John suspected it had come from.


    John didn¡¯t understand where the bird had gone, nor why it had left the crystal behind. The more he studied it though, the more certain he became that it was the Divine equivalent of a gene. Unlike its lesser counterparts, however, it could not simply be consumed at a thought.


    John circulated his essence to sync with the crystal. The practice was becoming instinctive. Every living thing operated on a similar frequency. He was finding the subtle differences in them.


    He was also learning how important direct contact with the subject was. He could feel the essence, but his armored hand prevented a deeper connection from being made. With a cautious glance around, he dismissed the armor. The difference was immediately noticeable.


    As with the two ant larvae he had previously consumed, the blue crystal slowly connected to his encouraging essence. John felt the tide of energy it contained begin to break down the barriers between the crystal and himself. Unfathomable power flooded into his cells.


    Far more than either of the eggs, the power seemed to dwarf the four Divine genes the two larvae had provided. John doubled over in overwhelmed ecstasy as the essence flowed from crystal to flesh. He gasped in great lungfuls of air as something akin to brain freeze overtook his entire body.


    The vast sea already churning within him grew three times as large as the last of the essence within the crystal flowed into him, the empty shell dissolving into nothing shortly after. John sat panting in shock as he listened to the notification play out in his head.


    ¡°Divine Shoebill gene absorbed. You have gained eight divine genes.¡±


    ¡°A shoebill?¡± John asked the air.


    He wasn¡¯t an expert in birds, but he did know that those weren¡¯t the type of bird that lived in a dry desolate area like this one. He wondered how far it must have flown to get a shot at the fruit. Like the snakes for which it had died, it seemed powerful creatures would travel long distances for something so valuable as the cactus fruit.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Liz suddenly said from behind him.


    John turned to see her accusing face looking at him with disapproval. He sat up sheepishly and climbed to his feet. He smiled at her annoyance and gave her a teasing shrug.


    ¡°Sometimes you have to lie down and revel in your continued existence,¡± he said with a wink.


    ¡°Whatever. Are you ready to get out of here?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Just about. But I do want to test something first.¡±


    John once more grew wings and lifted himself from the ground. Liz followed along curiously. When they were a safe distance from the lesser cacti below, John turned to Liz.


    ¡°Are you ready to run?¡± He asked with a mischievous grin.


    ¡°Run from what?¡± Liz questioned.


    ¡°From whatever happens next,¡± John said as his bow appeared in hand.


    5


    John felt the saturation of moonlight soak into his pores as his chosen spiritual energy circulated. With a dozen Divine genes under his belt, his skin seemed to soak the moon rays in with unparalleled vigor. In moments, John was bursting with energy.


    Drawing the string of his bow, John let every scrap of accumulated power enter the insubstantial arrow that had formed in the nock. It began to shine with a blinding light. He could feel the insane level of potential energy contained between the drawn bow and the arrow it held.


    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Liz asked skeptically.


    ¡°Not even a little bit. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to run.¡±


    John let every trace of excess energy flow into the spiritual arrow at his fingertips. It started to shake in his grip. With a final cleansing breath, he released the string.


    The insane speed at which the arrow flew was overshadowed only by the sheer devastation it wrought upon contact with the massive cactus. A blinding flash of light akin to one of Sun¨¦¡¯s lightning bolts was the only indicator they had that the arrow had not simply teleported. As it impacted the cactus, an unbelievable concussive shockwave rippled across its entire length.


    John watched the wave of force surge all the way down to the ground before continuing outward. Dirt and rocky debris were torn up from the ground as the shockwave surged along the ground in their direction. It eventually leveled out, long before any trace of it reached their elevated location, but they were both still buffeted by the immense gust of wind it had created.


    The air eventually settled enough for John to focus on the damage he had done to the cactus. To his immense surprise, a massive hole, even by the standards of the great cactus had been punched all the way through it. He had had no delusions of killing the thing; even the damage he had done was more than he had hoped for.


    To his dismay, the hole one could have driven a car through immediately began to close. At the same time, John began to feel an intense sense of danger. As he watched, the hole he had just made grew a massive flower.


    ¡°Oh shit,¡± John said.


    ¡°Jesus, John. How did-¡±


    ¡°We have to go! We have to go now!¡± John interrupted.


    Without waiting for Liz to respond, John turned and flew from the edge of the bowl like he was being chased by a pack of flying bears. His armor formed around him instinctively as he did so. Liz followed close behind, but they had only been moving for a few seconds when the cactus launched its counterattack.


    Unseen by the fleeing humans, the flower it grew began to glow with a shifting multitude of colors. It grew out and up, impossibly fast, until it snaked above the rim of the bowl in which the cactus was housed.  As if possessing eyes of its own, it locked onto the one who had harmed it.


    Perhaps sensing that none of its lesser limbs were up to the task, the massive cactus struck back directly. From the center of the newly grown flower emerged a single needle. This was not an oversized needle like every other.


    At least by the standards of the cactus itself, this needle was downright miniscule. By John¡¯s standards, it was still as big around as a dime and about a meter in length. And before he knew it existed, the needle shot unerringly from the flower and punched straight through his armor.


    Blood sprayed from him as John¡¯s chest sprouted a spike from behind. He felt several of his ribs crack at its passage, and blood immediately fountained from his mouth, spilling all over the inside of his armor. The outside of his armor was no better, as the needle protruded from both sides of him.


    Before the shock of what had happened could set in, John was falling both from the sky and from consciousness. A violent strain of poison spread through his veins, rapidly searching for his heart.


    John barely remembered the bone breaking impact with the ground before his vision clouded over entirely. His last conscious thought was of the words Liz was shouting into his ears. He couldn¡¯t make sense of them, but he knew he had to respond before he lost all reason.


    ¡°Get me¡­ to Sun¨¦,¡± he said as darkness fell around him.


    ¡°Foolish child. You squander your fortune,¡± the cat purred.


    John leapt to consciousness as a bolt of purifying lightning singed every cell in his body. He screamed in agony for far longer than the bolt affected him. He was sore from head to toe, and his skin felt sallow. He struggled to sit up, but a sharp voice berated him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, John!¡± Liz commanded.


    John fell back onto the soft surface beneath him with a cough. He was silently grateful for the comfort. He forced his eyes open past the excruciating pain to study his surroundings.


    Liz stood to one side of him, more shaken than he had ever seen her. Her mocking expression, ever present on her face, was nowhere to be seen. John was startled by the worry and anguish he saw there instead.


    To his other side was Sun¨¦. The tranquil fox stared at him with what he took to be a curious expression. She did not speak, though he did spot a spherical translator hovering nearby.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t have used the gentle healing method?¡± He croaked.


    ¡°No,¡± Sun¨¦ replied gravely.


    ¡°You were so badly poisoned by the time you were brought to me; it is no small wonder that you were savable at all. I have never seen any human survive such a powerful poison. It had a strong sedative effect, coupled with an aggressive neurotoxin that was shutting down all bodily function.¡±


    ¡°Is that why I feel like I¡¯m burning from the inside out?¡± John groaned.


    ¡°No. You feel that way because I¡¯ve spent the last three days trying to combat the poison. It has been incredibly resilient despite my most powerful cleansing lightning. Even now, the poison runs rampant through your body. I must maintain diligence, lest it overwhelms my efforts.¡±


    ¡°Three days?¡± I¡¯ve been asleep for three days?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Well, incoherent for three days. You¡¯ve opened your eyes a few times, but we couldn¡¯t get anything intelligible out of you until now.¡± Liz said.


    ¡°That really was a powerful sedative.¡±


    ¡°John,¡± Sun¨¦ began.


    ¡°I know. Do what you have to. I owe you one.¡±


    John screamed in pain. The restorative nature of the lightning made assurances that he would never bite through his tongue, but it did not promise a gentle treatment. John convulsed in agony, once more unable to stop his lamentation for several seconds.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, John,¡± Liz said quietly.


    ¡°Sorry for what?¡± John coughed incredulously.


    ¡°I should have known that thing was too much for us. We should have never gone there.¡±


    ¡°Do we have my bag?¡± John asked.


    ¡°What?¡± Liz asked in confusion.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t lose it did I?¡± He asked.


    ¡°No of course not. Though it was difficult carrying you with a bloody spear sticking through you. I thought about pulling it out, but I was scared you would bleed to death before I could get you here. That¡¯s why you¡¯re so badly poisoned.¡± Liz said worriedly.


    ¡°Indeed, you received a much larger dose than I thought you capable of surviving. It would seem that your progression has surpassed my expectations,¡± Sun¨¦ said in a knowing tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m a lucky guy, no doubt about it,¡± John admitted.


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you John. Your survival is still by no means a certainty. I have never had to spend so long on a healing before. Your body is simply not strong enough to recover under such drastic conditions.¡± Sun¨¦ said.


    ¡°My body needs to be stronger?¡± John asked.


    ¡°That would be a start. But your spirit has been fouled by the strain you¡¯ve undergone. You need to purge any foreign influence from it.¡±


    ¡°I can work on that once I can soak in some moonlight. For now, where¡¯s my bag?¡± John asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s right here,¡± Liz said, sitting the bag next to him.


    ¡°Get me one of the fruits,¡± he said.


    6


    Liz looked at John curiously, but didn¡¯t question his request. She silently dug into the big pocket of his bag for a suitable target. Her hand emerged a few seconds later with a shimmering blue fruit the color of the sky and the size of a large pear.


    John struggled to move his arm enough to grasp the fruit. He groaned in pain as his hand fell back down the second he had it in his grip. He gasped a few impotent breaths out before looking at Liz once more.


    ¡°I need you to prop my head up. I have to be able to see what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing exactly?¡± Liz asked as she hastened to fulfill his request.


    ¡°Hopefully not wasting my time.¡±


    ¡°John, I need to cleanse you again.¡±


    ¡°I know. Not yet. Be ready though. This shouldn¡¯t take long.¡±


    John settled his gaze on the fruit in his hand the moment Liz had positioned his head well enough to see it. His head was incredibly sore, and his eyes ached at the effort of concentrating so closely on something. It tested his tolerance for pain as well as his ability to concentrate and his willingness to persevere.


    It took much longer than he had hoped, but after a few moments of determined inspection, John began to see the underlying life force the fruit gave off. He took an extra few seconds to decipher what he was seeing, courtesy of his aching head. Soon enough, though, he had a solid grasp of the fruit¡¯s spirit. .


    ¡°John I can¡¯t wait much longer.¡± Sun¨¦ said urgently.


    ¡°Get ready. I almost have it,¡± he said.


    John hesitantly began mimicking the circulation of essence he sensed from the fruit. Once again, his efforts took longer than he would have liked, but he still felt the fruit steadily, if slowly, open itself up to his efforts. After another few moments, John felt everything fall into place. Like a key in a lock, the potential of the fruit was released.


    ¡°Now,¡± John said as he felt the overwhelming tide of energy flood his damaged cells.


    Sun¨¦ didn¡¯t hesitate. John screamed half in pain and half in pleasure as the combination of lightning and Divine energy warred with the toxins that were ravaging his body. His vision went blurry as the three powerful forces fought their brutal fight with his insides as the battlefield.


    ¡°Divine Matriarch Cactus fruit consumed. You have gained six Divine genes.¡±


    John barely registered the words as the worst of the sudden pain subsided. He had hoped the fruit would work under the same set of rules as genes. He would have been screwed if he had to lift the fruit to his mouth after connecting with it.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Liz asked John in shock.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I¡¯ll tell you later,¡± he said.


    ¡°What are those fruit?¡± Sun¨¦ asked.


    ¡°They are the fruit from the enormous cactus that did this to me.¡±


    Sun¨¦ was quiet for a moment, as if choosing how to respond with care. She stared at John for a long moment before finally speaking.


    ¡°So it¡¯s true. You truly have taken a step into my tier. However you managed to use it, the fruit seems to have reinforced your cells slightly against the toxins. More will be needed if you¡¯re to shake the poison entirely.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Liz?¡± John asked, indicating the bag with his eyes.


    ¡°Okay. But when this is over, you¡¯re going to figure out how I can do that.¡±


    ¡°I can try,¡± John said uncertainly.


    John and Sun¨¦ repeated the process of tag teaming the poison a total of five more times. On the sixth and final repetition, there was no voice of congratulations in his head. The fruit seemed to dissolve off of his hand rather than soaking into his skin. Similar to genes, there appeared to be a limit to how many he could consume before potency was lost.


    Still, both his body and his progression had improved greatly as each fruit garnered him between three and six Divine genes each. He was equal parts weary and ecstatic by the end. His tally for Divine genes had climbed all the way to thirty-six. A couple more consumptions would result in them surpassing his Wizened total.


    ¡°Your body¡¯s integrity has vastly improved. Even without more fruit, I believe it will eventually purge the toxin, so long as I continue my efforts,¡± Sun¨¦ said.


    ¡°Thank you for everything. Both of you,¡± John said.


    In the end, John¡¯s rehabilitation still took several hours even with his improved cells. He sat through the excruciating lightning treatment without complaint, though not without sounds of agony. When at last Sun¨¦ stepped away, John sighed in relief.


    He was utterly exhausted despite his long unconsciousness. He wanted nothing more than to sleep for three more days. Sun¨¦ looked little better. The ancient fox seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to trouble you so much. I promise I¡¯ll make it up to you,¡± John said to the fox.


    ¡°We will not speak of it for the time being. You have embarked on the final leg of progression. When you are closer to the peak, we can come to an arrangement.¡± The weary fox said before walking away.


    ¡°Help me up,¡± John said to Liz.


    Liz looked even more exhausted than he felt. John had no doubt that she had not slept for much of the last three days. Thinking of the sacrifice, he felt extremely guilty. She silently reached out a hand to help him up.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I put you through that, Liz,¡± he said quietly as he took her hand.


    She didn¡¯t respond with words. She had a distant expression on her face as she shook her head slightly. Nothing else was forthcoming.


    With her help, John rose to an unstable standing position. He met Liz¡¯s eye, which seemed almost afraid to look at him. Then he spread his arms, and Liz gently leaned into him.


    He held her silently as he felt the warm tears fall onto his shoulder. John knew that his recklessness was the cause of her distress, and the knowledge made his chest ache. He hadn¡¯t considered her at all.


    She had even mentioned her fear of something bad happening to him. And he had cast those concerns aside for what? A pointless exhibition of his new power?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said again.


    After a time, John and Liz made their way out of the grand palace within which Sun¨¦ lived. Night was well underway by then, which made it much easier for John to travel in his weakened state. His enhanced physique, even in less-than-optimal condition, let him circulate Lunar Radiance like never before.


    John felt the lingering contamination in his spirit start to burn away as he circulated the essence of the moon. His aching body eased over time as the soothing nature of Lunar Radiance spread through him. There was a lingering sense of danger that evaporated alongside the harmful stain left on his spirit.


    ¡°Well, that was fun. Remind me to never challenge a giant plant monster again.¡± John said to Liz as they walked.


    ¡°Remind me to never show you one again,¡± Liz shot back.


    The two of them parted ways as John insisted on returning home for some proper rest. He gave Liz a warm hug and thanked her again for saving his life. She returned the hug and asked him to meet her in Emerald Base again in a few days.


    ¡°Actually, why don¡¯t you meet me in my new base?¡±


    ¡°New base?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, turns out you can win them in contests.¡±


    ¡°What is it called?¡±


    ¡°Obsidian Base. I¡¯ll make sure to give you access when we go back to collect.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Three days then.¡±


    ¡°See you then,¡± John said before stepping into his room.


    Once alone, John quickly let his shoulders slump in exhaustion. He wanted nothing more than to fall down on the provided bed and sleep, but he had been gone for four days already. He would have felt guilty for making his family wait another night.


    With considerable mental effort, John stepped into the transition pad and made his return. The alien station guard scanned his monitoring chip as usual and ushered him on. John had grown used to the process in his many trips to and from the Garden.


    Despite the late hour, it was no trouble for John to arrange passage to his home. A single passenger transport was a complimentary service provided by the aliens. So long as one was diligently exploring the Garden, they would accommodate all manner of things.


    John made it back to his house at roughly half past midnight. Nevertheless, his parents were both waiting for him when he did. Having heard the door close, they both came to meet him in the hallway.


    ¡°Hey guys,¡± he said quietly.


    ¡°You were gone a long time. Was everything okay?¡± Emily asked as she entered the hallway.


    ¡°Everything is fine,¡± John lied.


    ¡°What kept you?¡± She asked skeptically.


    ¡°Took us longer than we thought to take care of things is all,¡± John reassured her.


    ¡°Well, okay. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay,¡± she said before hugging him and heading off to bed.


    ¡°Our prizes should be ready in Obsidian base, now. What do you say we go check them out tomorrow?¡± Jack asked in an overly loud tone as his wife walked away.


    ¡°Um, yeah. That sounds good,¡± John said.


    ¡°Nice,¡± Jack said before adding in an undertone, ¡°Are you really okay? I recognize that look in your eyes. What happened?¡±


    John looked to his dad, then to the receding form of his mother, then to the stairs which led to his wonderfully comfortable bed. He considered not giving a response at all. After a second of pondering though, he came up with an answer.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say; it was not a Jumbo Cactuar situation.¡±

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24


    1


    ¡°I think you¡¯re over complicating things.¡± Emma said.


    She was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. She had a fork in one hand, dangerously brandishing a bite of egg in John¡¯s direction. In the other hand was her personal notebook, open for inspection.


    ¡°How so?¡± John asked as he too ate his fill.


    ¡°You said you could copy spirit patterns by simulating what you find there, but there is an easier way.¡±


    ¡°And what way is that?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Neutralization. It shares some similarities with Simulation. The difference is that instead of bringing yourself into harmony with whatever you¡¯re trying to replicate, the goal is to bring your target into a neutral state. Then it would be receptive to your attempts to master it.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just a more complicated method to accomplish the same thing? How is that simplifying anything?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m working with secondhand knowledge here, but didn¡¯t you say genes lose potency if you consume too many of the same kind?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They stop giving advancements after half a dozen or so. Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just postulating here. But what if you could change the nature of the gene so that didn¡¯t happen anymore?¡±


    ¡°Emma, it¡¯s a little more complicated than that,¡± John said dismissively.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it is,¡± Emma said excitedly.


    ¡°Explain,¡± John commanded.


    ¡°Well, if you study the fundamental aspects of each branch, as you should, you get the sense that each branch is an incomplete tool. Any one aspect of the Cultivation has great benefits but also huge drawbacks. I believe that one of the benefits of Neutralization is that it¡¯ll let you erase or at least cover anything that gives your target identity.¡±


    ¡°Identity?¡± John asked skeptically.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed that we all have our own unique signature.¡±


    ¡°I have,¡± John said.


    ¡°Well, if you were able to wipe away what made me different from you, how do you think that would affect me?¡±


    ¡°It would make us identical. But that sounds way beyond anything I could manage.¡±


    ¡°Maybe right now. But we¡¯re not talking about humans, are we? You just need to figure out how to shut down the factors that make repeated gene consumption impotent.¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re talking about is rewriting the rules that govern the Garden. I don¡¯t think anything I can do could accomplish that. But still, you did give me an idea of how I might solve a problem I¡¯ve been thinking about.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t know until you try. Let me know how it works out. You¡¯re our only means of testing any of my theories.¡±


    ¡°I will. There are a few things I want to try out now that it¡¯s a bit easier to comprehend what¡¯s actually happening. I can¡¯t believe you have such a great grasp of it without a single gene. When your counts start going up, I expect you¡¯ll surpass me.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on that.¡± Emma said modestly.


    ¡°I would. You and I are the first to ever look at that scroll. The fact that I received it on a technicality is the greatest stroke of fortune I¡¯ve had. Maybe the greatest fortune anyone has had. I can¡¯t imagine what the trial to earn a scroll like this would even look like. Undoubtedly, it¡¯s beyond anything us mortals are capable of surpassing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s beyond learning by instinct, for sure,¡± Emma said, ¡°but luckily we can learn by instruction.¡±


    ¡°Even that is a task only for the most determined mind I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± John said.


    ¡°You talking about me?¡± Emma asked.


    ¡°Who else could actually make sense of it? I certainly couldn¡¯t until you organized it all for me.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m better than you?¡± Emma asked.


    ¡°You have more free time, at least.¡±


    ¡°Morning, kids,¡± Jack said as he entered the room.


    His kids both greeted him as he went straight for the coffee before finding his way to the table. He started piling a plate up with eggs and sausages, ignoring the rolls in front of him. When he had an adequate breakfast of protein assembled, he turned to John.


    ¡°Will you be ready to go in an hour?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ready now,¡± John said, nodding.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of me, son. A man¡¯s gotta have his priorities,¡± Jack said as he stuffed bite after bite into his mouth.


    *


    ¡°So, tell me about the Garden,¡± Jack said as they rode to the nearest transition station.


    ¡°What about it?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Tell me what you¡¯ve learned. What¡¯s up with this survival trial we just won?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. There seems to be a lot of weird quirks like that. Like the shuffle feature. It¡¯s like the Garden has a mind of its own.¡±


    ¡°How do you figure?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it weird that you found an abandoned base right after escaping from another?¡±


    ¡°I think it would have been weird no matter the circumstances. But yeah, I guess.¡±


    ¡°It was a brand-new base. The Garden made it for you to find.¡±


    ¡°Come on, John. That seems a bit far fetched.¡±


    ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it? You know what else is far fetched?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Jack asked, humor in his voice.


    ¡°When I got shuffled, the second person in our family to be shuffled by the way, I was taken to a place in the middle of nowhere. I wondered aimlessly until I ran into a pack of raptors, yes, actual dinosaurs. They chased me down a ravine until I found a tower.¡±


    John could tell that his father was already bursting with questions. He held up a hand to forestall them. He hadn¡¯t even made it to the good part.


    ¡°I run up to this tower, and all the raptors just leave me alone. They wouldn¡¯t come anywhere near it. I went inside, and¡­ I¡¯m not really sure how to explain it. I met someone. She claimed to be a god. Like an actual god. Divine power, limitless knowledge, the whole thing. Now, this is the best part, stop me when it gets far fetched.¡±


    Jack was staring at his son with an incredulous expression already. He remained silent as John went on.


    ¡°So, I met this person claiming to be a god. Not the god but a god. Her name was¡­ Alikeelifice! That was what it was! She called herself the Moment Mistress. Sounded kind of S&M to me, but I wasn¡¯t about to tell her that. So, she invites me in for lunch and tells me she is a god that has the ability to answer any question I have as long as I can pay the price. What is the price you ask? Conveniently, I could pay with my progression. That seemed like the most efficient way to pay anyway. There was an exchange rate that didn¡¯t seem worth it for anything else. Anyway, I decided to test her knowledge. I asked her how to find you, and boy did it cost me. But she gave me the best way to get to you. So that¡¯s what I did. It wasn¡¯t easy, and I definitely could have died several times in the attempt, but I finished my shuffle. My rewards included a new ability that let me enter someone else¡¯s trial. And that¡¯s how I found you.¡±


    Jack was unable to think of anything suitable to say. He had wondered how John was able to find him, but he had never suspected the intervention of a supposed god. Though like his son, he was skeptical of the authenticity of that particular claim.


    ¡°So, tell me dad. What is more far fetched? Everything I just told you, or a world we don¡¯t understand making an extra city?¡±


    ¡°I guess you do have a point. But what makes you think it was made for us?¡±


    ¡°I think it was made for you. Alongside your shuffle.  It was an option for completing your trial created in the form of another trial.¡±


    ¡°Why would the Garden do that? There¡¯s no way I could have survived without you there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe I was always supposed to be there. Maybe it would have been different if I wasn¡¯t there. I don¡¯t have the answers. But I do know one thing.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°You asked me what I¡¯ve learned about the Garden.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°One thing I¡¯ve learned is that it operates on a risk/reward curve.¡±


    ¡°Meaning?¡±


    ¡°The greater your struggle, the more handsome the reward for surviving it.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. I went ahead and had my suspicions confirmed when talking to the pretty lady in the tower. The souls we get and the specific instances we get them in are all but planned by the Garden. I spent three days in a tree while an Advanced Lunar Stag tried to knock me out of it. Through sheer luck, something else came along to handle it. But I was able to get the last hit. That¡¯s how I got this,¡± John said as the bow appeared in his hands.


    ¡°Your first hunt,¡± Jack said in amazement.


    ¡°It was the only thing that gave me the chance to progress like I have been. And it happened because I was in an impossible situation and came out alive.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that the Garden gave me the chance to attempt an impossible situation?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± John said.


    ¡°And we ended up sandwiching a gorilla on the final scoreboard?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°That whatever we get as a prize should be pretty freaking awesome, yeah.¡±


    2


    As John and his father arrived in Obsidian Base, John was inundated with notifications. John had emerged from a transition pad in an adjacent room to Jack. Judging by his prolonged stay within his room, John¡¯s father had his own list of updates to parse. John turned his attention to the voice in his head.


    ¡°Congratulations! Obsidian Base has collected all genes left by slain combatants! All collected genes have been added to your vault!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! You have one new devoted follower!¡±


    ¡°Attention! You have four thousand three hundred and fifty-seven new requests to follow!¡±


    ¡°Warning! Obsidian Base is under populated. Risk of takeover by hostile entities is high.¡±


    ¡°Attention! The grace period for prize generation has ended!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! You have received Roaming Base Token!¡±


    ¡°Attention! You have received a challenge to your leadership. Respond within the next seventy-two hours to avoid automatic forfeit of leadership.¡±


    John took a moment to process the plethora of information he had received. He didn¡¯t know what to focus on first. He started by inspecting the prize that fell into his unsuspecting hand as he read of its existence.


    The Roaming Base Token had an identical image on both faces of the coin. It showed what was clearly a distanced view of a base. The base was stretched to one side, like it was being blown by a strong wind. Small streaks of light trailed the bent buildings, seeming to indicate a great movement.


    ¡°Hm,¡± John said with interest.


    Putting the token away, John addressed the other notifications he received. He had a devoted follower, as well as several thousand requests to follow. He had no idea how to address those requests, nor who his current follower was.


    He suspected that it could be his father, but almost the same time he had the thought, a notification came through.


    ¡°Jack Greene is now a devoted follower! Devoted followers: 2¡±


    ¡°Well then who is the other one?¡± John wondered.


    His mind was taken from such concerns as he remembered another notification. He had a vault. Moreover, it was stuffed with genes from the fight for control of Obsidian Base.


    ¡°How do I get to the vault?¡± John asked himself.


    ¡°Vault access is limited to yourself and those you grant access personally. You may enter the vault through the use of any Transition Pad within Obsidian Base.¡±


    The information came to him almost in answer to his rhetorical question. He hadn¡¯t expected to have an answer, but he was delighted at the development. Perhaps he could get answers to some of the other questions he had too.


    ¡°Who are my followers?¡± He asked the air.


    ¡°You may access all base related information by placing your hand upon any Transition Panel and verbally requesting the information you seek. This will only work within bases you maintain leadership of.¡±


    ¡°Nice,¡± John said.


    He moved to do as the instructions had said, placing his hand on the panel. It lit up with recognition of his mastery, and he thought of what he wanted to know first. After a few seconds, he made a request.


    ¡°Leadership Challenges,¡± he said.


    A small screen slid from the top of the panel at his request. It lit up like any television John had ever seen. Words soon appeared on it, telling him what he wanted to know.


    You have one challenge to your leadership!


    Challenger: Vulsa Tetrival


    Challenge: Single Combat


    Win condition:  Vulsa Tetrival¡¯s submission or death


    Lose Condition: Submission or death


    Penalty for Losing: Forfeiture of leadership


    Time to accept challenge: 72 Hrs.


    You may assign a champion to fight in your stead.


    Assigned champion must be a devoted follower or higher.


    Warning! Loss by an assigned champion will incur all penalties. Choose wisely.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    John sighed at the never-ending predation the Garden favored. He would have to address that soon, but he saw no need to worry about it for the time being. Instead, he requested some other information.


    ¡°Follower List,¡± he said.


    Followers: 2


    Jack Greene, Gogojira


    Devoted followers: 2


    Jack Greene, Gogojira


    Requests to follow: 4374


    You may set all requests to accept or decline automatically. Would you like to configure those conditions now?


    ¡°Gogojira?¡± He wondered.


    It took him a moment to remember the name. It was the large gorilla that had made the deal for second place in the contest. Apparently, he had decided to join John. Not only that, but he had also somehow risen to the rank of devoted follower. Not knowing how such a process worked, John pushed it from his mind.


    John looked over the screen and was relieved to find a solution to thousands of requests. Especially since it seemed like the number had gone up in the few moments since last checking. He quickly agreed to set the criteria for following.


    After a bit of thought, John set the terms to allow anyone in distress access to the base so long as they did not seek to harm any other residents. He wondered how esoteric he could be with his criteria before he was misinterpreted. Deciding there was only one way to find out, he continued to outline his demands.


    Followers would be permitted so long as they did not actively or passively seek to undermine him or his interests. Furthermore, they had to agree to refrain from combat within Obsidian Base. Apart from that, John didn¡¯t think any great restrictions needed to be in place. Only time would tell though.


    John looked over his decisions before confirming. There was a positive chime from the podium before the screen dissolved to neutrality. As soon as it did, John received a notification.


    ¡°You have gained 4,296 followers. All followers have been given residence.¡±


    ¡°You have declined seventy-eight follow requests.¡±


    ¡°Only seventy-eight? That¡¯s surprising.¡± John thought.


    He was interrupted from further speculation by the knock of his father at the door. At a thought, the door slid open to admit him. Jack walked in the door with a goofy smile on his face. John knew before asking what the source was.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said to his father, ¡°let¡¯s see it.¡±


    3


    Jack wasted no time in summoning his new Divine rank soul. John looked at the weapon with raised eyebrows. He had never seen anything like it before.


    His first impression was that of a spider hugging his father¡¯s torso from behind. Eight bone arms curled around his torso, one over each shoulder, two just beneath his armpits, another pair closer to his waist, and the final two wrapping around his upper legs. An ivory-colored armor covered Jack from shoulder to groin.


    ¡°What is it?¡± John asked upon getting a good look.


    ¡°It¡¯s something called a Divine Arachnoid. Not quite a spider I don¡¯t think. But pretty cool right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ certainly unique. What can it do?¡± John asked.


    ¡°The best I can tell, the arms act as defense; but they can also do this,¡± Jack said, turning to face a wall.


    He concentrated for a second before two of the arms straightened with a snapping sound. The wall was impaled almost instantly by a pair of conical bone shards. John¡¯s head rocked back in mild surprise.


    ¡°Woah. That¡¯s pretty cool. Offensive and defensive capabilities. It¡¯s a good fit for you,¡± he said.


    ¡°I agree. I don¡¯t plan to spend as much time here as you do, but I should be able to hold my own when I am.¡±


    ¡°Sweet. I should select my own prize too. But there¡¯s something I want to check out first. What did you get for placement in the challenge?¡± John asked as he accessed the Transition pad once more.


    ¡°I got something called an Immunity Token. Says I can opt out of any one challenge the Garden throws at me. It¡¯s a free pass basically.¡±


    ¡°Nice. That¡¯ll come in handy. Well, do you want to check out my new vault with me?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Jack exclaimed.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± John said as he gave his father access to the base vault.


    Then he touched the panel once more before fading out of existence as his father stared at him. John emerged in a room like nothing he had ever seen. It was so enthralling that he was still staring open-mouthed at the scene when his father finally appeared behind him.


    ¡°You know, some of us don¡¯t-¡± his father¡¯s words were cut short as he too beheld the room they stood in.


    It was a large room, the only access point being the transition pad they stood upon. Somewhere near the far wall, some football field away was a small pile of neatly assorted genes. John could barely make out their telltale glisten in the eerie light.


    The entire space between there and the transition pad upon which he stood was an unbroken river of slowly flowing lava. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all surrounded by the molten earth. At closer inspection, John could see a transparent layer of something separating the lava from the contents of the vault.


    ¡°Are we inside the volcano?¡± his father asked, taking in the scene as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s as good a guess as any,¡± John said as he started forward.


    The room was no hotter than the room they had just come from, a clear indication that things weren¡¯t as they seemed. Moreover, there had to be airflow of some sort in order to survive in the room at all. Yet, to all senses, the room appeared entirely encased in lava.


    The two of them walked forward in awe as they looked around, surveying the many empty shelves and open floor space the vault contained. The further he walked, the more he realized his initial assumption that he had a vault ¡°stuffed with genes¡± had been optimistic to say the least. Only the smallest section of the room had any genes to fill it.


    That wasn¡¯t to say he had an inconsequential horde. As he approached, John¡¯s eyes widened at the sight of nearly a thousand genes of various tiers. Genes of all different varieties were arranged neatly upon shelves or within alcoves.


    A glance told him that both he and his father could reach the peak of both Advanced and Wizened genes if they desired. And that wouldn¡¯t even deplete the reserve. John smiled like the snake that got the egg.


    Now he could move on. Now he could focus his attention on bigger concerns. Now he could finally get serious. Beside him, his father let out an amazed sigh.


    ¡°It seems like cheating, doesn¡¯t it?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Not really,¡± John replied, ¡°we may not have killed every beast these genes came from, but we fought to the end to claim the spoils. If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯ve learned, it¡¯s how the Garden rewards determination.¡±


    ¡°It still seems a bit cheap,¡± Jack said.


    ¡°Does that mean you don¡¯t want any?¡± John asked with a smile.


    ¡°Honestly? I don¡¯t know if I do,¡± Jack said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± John asked.


    ¡°You just said it yourself. The Garden rewards those who are always seeking a way forward. If I take these, I¡¯m choosing that life of strife and perseverance.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to move forward?¡± John asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. You guys have lost me once already. I don¡¯t want to risk myself again. If something else happens, your mom¡­¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± John said, breaking the silence his father had fallen into.


    ¡°This world is a crazy place. And as much as I hate to admit it, I think you were born for it. Not all of us are so well equipped.¡± Jack said.


    John didn¡¯t know what to say. He didn¡¯t want to coerce his father into progressing if that wasn¡¯t what he wanted to do. Moreover, he was rendered speechless by his father¡¯s assertion that John belonged there.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Jack said, ¡°keep the genes. I have a feeling you¡¯ll need them for something else sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± John finally said.


    ¡°Are we done in here?¡± Jack asked.


    ¡°Just about,¡± John said with a predatory grin at the genes.


    4


    ¡°Congratulations! Your Advanced genes have reached 100!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! Your Wizened genes have reached 100!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! For being the first from your planet to reach 100 Advanced Genes, you have received a Wizened Soul Token!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! For being the first from your planet to reach 100 Wizened Genes, you have received a Divine Soul Token!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations! For being the first from your planet to reach 100 genes in all tiers below Divine, have received a Title. Fitness Junkie! The yield and fitness enhancement of consumed genes is increased by 20%. By virtue of its nature, Fitness Junkie automatically bears the Pioneer Distinction! This title works retroactively!¡±


    Before John could even begin to parse what he was being told, he felt an impossible swell of energy within him. He gasped as a torrent seemed to fountain from his core. It spread to every cell as he nearly fell over from the burst of excess power.


    ¡°You have been retroactively awarded seven Divine genes!¡±


    John remained rooted in place, breathing as though he had held his breath for several minutes. He wanted to sit and rest, but there was no place but the lava lit floor of the vault he and his father still stood in. He was about to sit anyway, when even more information streamed into his brain.


    ¡°Congratulations! For Pioneering three or more traits or titles, your Pioneer Distinction has been upgraded to the Trailblazer Distinction!¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Jack asked, seeing his sudden change.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± John said though he was unsure.


    He felt strange, like he had gained more than simply a half dozen extra genes, though those alone had been enough to overwhelm him. Additionally, he felt as if everything he already had gained meant more than it had before. He shook his head, resigned never to know for sure.


    ¡°First Pioneer Distinction. Now Trailblazer. I still have no idea what either of those things mean,¡± he thought.


    ¡°Are we ready to go?¡± Jack asked, unaware of his son¡¯s musings.


    ¡°Uhh, yeah. Let¡¯s go get more goodies.¡±


    The two of them left via transition pad and were back within the same room John had originally come to. John immediately moved to the panel to use the tokens he had acquired. His father on the other hand moved to the door.


    ¡°I should get going. I have to meet your buddy Jules in Emerald. You know that guy is kind of a genius?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah! I forgot you were going to go meet him. How did that go?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Well, for one, he tried to recruit me as a guardian as soon as I mentioned being your dad. It took me ten minutes to convince him I only wanted to help with administration.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The people I bring to him tend to be on the unbelievable side. He must have thought you were the reason I¡¯m so awesome,¡± John said.


    ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m not?¡± Jack asked in a mock offended tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m saying he had reason to assume,¡± John responded, not answering the question.


    ¡°Hm. Well anyway, the kid has one hell of a mind. Did you know he has spread your business to half a dozen bases already? There are about four hundred clients in most of them, and he had me organizing which guardians should take which jobs in which base for about two days straight. He made this massive chart detailing each job and how long it would take based on distance from the base and how soon someone was available to begin, I mean I was lost for about three hours. Where did you find that kid?¡±


    John laughed.


    ¡°He traded me the arrow I use for some genes I had found. It only took me about five minutes to figure out how smart he was just like you did. I knew that together we could do big things. But I¡¯ve gotta be honest, I didn¡¯t expect to outpace the entire reason for creating the guild. I don¡¯t even need genes anymore. Now it¡¯s just a many mouthed beast I have no time to feed. Luckily Jules can still benefit from the genes that are brought in. I¡¯d feel bad asking him to do all that work for no gain.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just it. I think he¡¯s addicted to it. Do you even know how many genes he¡¯s collected from all the contracts people bring him? It¡¯s enough to pack one corner of your new vault full at least. You should talk to him about this place, you know. It¡¯s a big opportunity.¡±


    ¡°I agree. It¡¯s on the list. I¡¯m just a bit overworked at the moment. But when you see him, send him here. I¡¯ll mark him as VIP.¡±


    ¡°Will do. I¡¯ll see you back home,¡± Jack said before turning away.


    ¡°Yep,¡± John said, turning his attention back to his task.


    ¡°You have three Personal Tokens and one Base Token! Would you like to use one?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± John said to the panel.


    A layer of the panel slid away, revealing the slot in which tokens would fit. John summoned his Wizened soul token first. He quickly fit the token into the slot.


    As he inserted the coin, the small screen filled with innumerable options for weapons, armor, transformations, augmentations, and a variety of other types of souls. John shook his head at all the insane luck he had. Both the good and the bad.


    Sure, he had forgotten to press circle in time and been counterattacked by a giant cactus. Sure, he had been in a coma the day before. But he couldn¡¯t deny that when the dice fell in his favor, the favor was immense.


    ¡°Maybe something that¡¯s good for close combat,¡± John thought as he looked at the screen of choices.


    He had plenty of options for dealing ranged damage. He even had a Divine weapon for mid range fights. Unfortunately, none of his options held up in a close and personal scuffle.


    He looked over the list, even narrowing it down to try to find something that caught his eye. Even after several minutes of searching though, he was disappointed at the lack of appealing options. With a sigh of resignation, he changed tack.


    ¡°If I can¡¯t find something for close quarters, maybe I can upgrade my distanced combat,¡± he thought.


    Resetting the filters, John began looking for a suitable augmentation for his bow. He debated augmenting something else, but in truth, his bow was his favorite soul apart from perhaps Jane. Since she was already a Divine soul, he went with his next choice.


    ¡°This looks good,¡± John said as he selected and confirmed his choice.


    ¡°You have received Wizened Soul Augmentation!¡±


    John wasted no time summoning his bow and allowing his new soul to merge with it. The two souls shone as they made a connection. Within seconds, the augmentation had been consumed by the Lunar Stag Bow.


    ¡°Advanced Lunar Stag Bow has evolved to Wizened Luminal Bow!¡±


    ¡°Notice! Luminal Bow may now draw upon any source of light and all types of ammunition will now deal Luminal damage!¡±


    John let himself smile, but quickly recalled the bow and turned his attention back to his spoils. He placed the Divine Soul token in next, already eager for the options he would receive. As the screen lit up, John saw it.


    It was the very first soul on display. As he looked upon it, he was so enthralled that he selected it for more information without even considering. A small description of the item appeared.


    Itzukiel¡¯s Mercy


    All purpose armament


    As good for stopping an attack as it is for ending a life.


    Equally suited to evading a fight and bringing a fight to you.


    Supplements the inflexible reach of a hammer with the inescapable distance of a projectile.


    Made from the soul of the Legendary Warrior Itzukiel after he broke the Soul Pact he had made.


    John was stunned at the sinister nature of the soul, even before learning it had come from what sounded suspiciously like a person. Did that matter? Was the soul of a person more sacred than the soul of an animal? John shook his head, turning his attention back to inspecting the weapon.


    As the description stated, it had several components. The first part was what looked like a buckler shield. It would cover little more than his forearm, but that was not it¡¯s only function.


    From beneath the shield protruded a deadly looking arrowhead. By aiming his wrist, he would be able to shoot it like a crossbow. The image depicted the bolt as being attached to some type of thin cable, creating a pseudo grappling hook sharp enough to pierce clean through a foe.


    That was only the first half of the strange weapon though. After successfully anchoring a target with the tether, either John or his victim, whichever weighed less, would be pulled towards the other as the cable retracted itself. That would form the setup for the true devastator.


    From the elbow facing end of the shield streamed another cable. It snaked behind the back to connect to the real damage dealer. In the opposite hand from the shield would rest a weapon.


    The cable connected to the handle of a weapon John was almost familiar with. Somewhere between two and three feet long, the handle connected to what John was considering a hammer. One side held the expected blunt head of said hammer. The other half housed a near foot long, uncurved pick, like if a claw hammer had been renamed ¡°stab hammer¡±.


    John¡¯s mind raced as he stared at the deadly weapon. The ideas he already had for different ways to use the weapon made him almost too excited to pass it up. Moreover, it was not only a great close quarters weapon as he had been hoping for, but also a weapon for bringing ranged foes to him.


    Deciding that looking at more options would only make the choice harder, John confirmed his selection.


    ¡°You have received Itzukiel¡¯s Mercy!¡±


    5


    John was ecstatic over his new Divine Soul. Not wanting to get distracted by it however, he turned his attention back to the panel. He pulled out his Divine Cultivation Scroll token and placed it in the slot. The screen lit up with a plethora of options for John to choose from.


    He quickly selected the physical cultivation tab. Second, he filtered the selections by difficulty. He moved down the list until reaching the bottom. He didn¡¯t pay attention to the finer statistics of the cultivations and instead selected the very last option on the list and requested information.


    Sublime Apotheosis


    Seraphic fortification of physical makeup on a cellular level.


    Having expected more, John was initially disappointed. For the most difficult cultivation on offer, the description didn¡¯t give him a whole lot to go on. As he studied the name and few words of explanation though, he paused.


    ¡°Apotheosis? Seraphic? I¡¯m not a thesaurus, but aren¡¯t those words used to describe gods?¡±


    John was too curious not to check the trial statistics for the cultivation. He needed a comparison for his other cultivations. At his prompting, the screen displayed the information.


    Sublime Apotheosis


    Difficulty: Extremely Difficult


    Abandoned Trials: 246,139,458,742


    John had requested the last statistic based on his memory of the most difficult mental cultivations. Upon inspection, he was impressed. Sublime Apotheosis fell somewhere between Mind Void and False Truth in terms of difficulty.


    Extremely Difficult was enough challenge for him. He smiled at his own hubris before disregarding any other choice on the list. Confirming his selection, John reached out to take the proffered scroll.


    ¡°You have received scroll: Sublime Apotheosis¡±


    John took the scroll, but momentum stopped him from tearing it open to study it immediately. Instead, he sat it down next to the control panel. He had one last token to use. With an anticipatory smile, he inserted the Roaming Base token.


    ¡°You have augmented your base with ¡®Roaming Base Token¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Attention! Obsidian Base has gained the Roam Perk!¡±


    ¡°Obsidian Base now has the ability to passively or determinedly travel up to five thousand miles per day. Access travel options through any Transition Panel within Obsidian Base,¡±


    As he had suspected, the token had given him the ability to move his entire base. Five thousand miles each day was something like two hundred and ten miles per hour on earth. John didn¡¯t know the Graden¡¯s equivalent, but he suspected it was quite fast.


    John went through the options for his new city sized vehicle. There were several ways to use it, but what really caught his attention was the territory the base encompassed. It was far more than simply the chunk of mountainside on which the base sat.


    John smiled as he realized that the entire mountain would travel with him each time the base was moved. He should have suspected such an inclusion after seeing the lava vault. The revelation brought an odd thought to his head.


    ¡°It kind of makes me feel like a supervillain, carrying a volcano in my back pocket.¡±


    John turned his attention back to the travel options. Again, he was impressed by the utility. It was surprisingly comprehensive.


    He could set the base to travel the full 5,000 miles in any direction. He could also set it to travel a specific distance or length of time, such as one hundred miles or fifteen hours. It seemed the easiest option for travel.


    Additionally, he could simply select the direction and allow the base to travel its max distance in a straight line each day. Now that he was perusing the options, he could see that the base would travel at full speed for twenty hours before a cooldown period of eight. Contrarily, he could also select an option called ¡°Meander.¡±


    According to the explanation, Meander was a passive travel option that would take all of the control he had from the journey. Instead, the base would stay in constant motion, although at a much slower pace than directed travel would be. The trade off was that the base would remain in constant motion, never needing to stop for a cooldown. The maximum distance would remain at 5,000 miles, but the pace would include the eight hours of cooldown per day.


    All of that was very fascinating, and John couldn¡¯t wait to start experimenting with the function. What he wanted to try out first was the next option he noticed. One look at it and he knew Jules would be frothing at the mouth.


    It was an option to select a specific destination, usually another base. The distance would be calculated, and then John could see how many days of travel it would take to get there. Even adjacent to Jules¡¯s goal of mapping all of the Garden, John felt immense excitement.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to lose it,¡± John said to himself.


    Thinking of Jules, John played with the control panel and set base access to ¡°All positive acquaintances.¡± That would allow Liz to meet him there as well. Not knowing when either of them would actually show up, he continued to mess with his base controls.


    Everyone visiting a base for the first time would generally show up at the public transition pads along the perimeter of the base. John didn¡¯t want his friends to have to struggle to find him though. So, he dove deep into the functions of the base and altered the default controls.


    He created a parameter within the base controls that allowed close acquaintances to default to the transition pad of his choice. He chose the transition pad he was standing on, then began manually adding people to the list. Jules, Liz, John¡¯s mother, Liz¡¯s mother, and both of her younger brothers were the first names to go on the list.


    He couldn¡¯t put his father on the list because he had already selected a room. That was an important distinction. It meant that John couldn¡¯t overrule someone¡¯s choice, even as the owner of the base. That gave him comfort, as he didn¡¯t want to control everyone that came to visit.


    Thinking of the first two likely visitors, John quickly retrieved a pen and paper and began writing a general note that both Liz and Jules would benefit from. When he was finished, he taped it to the control panel on the transition pad.


    Then he went into the controls again, having seen an option that would assist his note. It was a simple timer function, and John set it for forty-eight hours. He started the timer, turning his attention back to the note he had written.


    Welcome to Obsidian Temple. I¡¯m probably out doing something stupid right now, but I¡¯ll be back when the timer hits zero. Feel free to explore until then.    -John


    Satisfied with his efforts, John finally turned his focus to the scroll he had been given. It was clasped with an emblem just like his other two scrolls, but this one was simply a human body with an actual diamond at its core. It glistened in the light, seeming to symbolize an inner strength blossoming.


    John was tempted to crack it open and begin studying it immediately, but he hesitated. He hadn¡¯t even given Lunar Radiance the study it needed for him to progress to the first stage. How long would it take if he divided his attention in three instead of just the two he already had?


    ¡°Not yet,¡± John decided.


    He would take the scroll back home, keeping it in reserve for when Lunar Radiance made a breakthrough. It would serve as motivation for him to work harder. And hard work was exactly what he had in mind.


    He had felt close to a breakthrough with a Lunar Radiance once already. It was when he had taken the Spirit attack from Light Thrower. He had been able to make the connection between sunlight and his own abilities.


    If he could find the route back to that clarity, he felt certain his Spiritual Cultivation would take a quantitative leap. After all his recent injuries, his confidence was tempered by humility, but that wouldn¡¯t deter him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡±

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25


    1


    John spent his allotted time alternating between long study sessions of Lunar Radiance while at home and long practice sessions while in the Garden. He had paid woefully little attention to the scroll since receiving it, preferring to learn by doing. Now that he was giving it his attention, he realized how foolish his lapse in dedication was.


    There were hidden nuances and secrets hinted at all throughout the scroll. John discovered as he went through it that it did not have nearly so much detail or complexity as Third Eye of Callysta. It was mostly because the latter was so extraordinarily intricate. But John also suspected that Lunar Radiance might have been akin to a single branch of a greater cultivation.


    That wasn¡¯t to say it was lacking in any way. John had already accomplished incredible feats with it. He just had the feeling that it had more potential than even the scroll let on.


    His progress in the two days before his self-imposed time limit was up gave him hope for the future. He had been practicing the components of Lunar Radiance for months at that point. His goal was to make a breakthrough within the next month.


    The thought reminded him of his sister, who would be turning fourteen before his deadline. She had just over two years before she would need to enter the Garden for herself. The idea gave John a sense of dread he couldn¡¯t seem to ease.


    It was only a couple hours before the timer ran out, which meant Jules and Liz were both probably waiting for him in the Garden. He decided not to wait until the last minute; having plenty he wanted to accomplish. When he faded into existence within his new base, he was unsurprised to find his two friends waiting for him.


    ¡°John! You¡¯re early,¡± was Jules¡¯s greeting.


    ¡°Took you long enough,¡± was Liz¡¯s customary salutation.


    ¡°Hey guys,¡± John said, smiling at both of them.


    ¡°Nice house!¡± Jules said.


    ¡°Thanks, I won it in a contest,¡± John said.


    ¡°That¡¯s so awesome. You own a whole base!¡±


    ¡°I kind of own a couple now. But this one is the most impressive for sure. Wait until I tell you all the cool shit it can do,¡± John said.


    ¡°Yeah, your dad was telling me you had something awesome to show me.¡± Jules said.


    ¡°I do. A couple things really.¡±


    ¡°Well get on with it,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°So polite, as always, Liz.¡± John said.


    He motioned them to the transition pad and gave them both permission to access the vault. Then he faded away as he traveled there himself. His two companions looked at each other curiously before following.


    On the other side, Jules and Liz were just as mesmerized as John had been when he beheld the vault. Jules gasped in astonishment. Liz just looked around silently, clearly impressed and a little intimidated by the lava all around them.


    ¡°Welcome to my vault. This is where all my spoils go as owner of the base. I don¡¯t have much to fill it now but I figured,¡± John trailed off as he looked at Jules.


    ¡°You¡¯re willing to let me keep all the guild genes here?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°Of course. You¡¯re working harder than I thought possible. I can¡¯t imagine where you¡¯re storing all the genes now. This will give you a safe place to keep them all. And I figured we could make Obsidian our base of operations for the guild.¡±


    ¡°That sounds amazing. We can dispatch members to other bases as needed to fulfill contracts.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. And that¡¯s not all this base offers either. But we can get to that later. For now, I think you two should have a couple genes as a welcome gift.¡±


    ¡°What kind of genes?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°What kind do you need?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m working on my Advanced genes now. With all the genes the guild brings in, that¡¯s all I need,¡± Jules said.


    ¡°I am near the peak of Advanced,¡± Liz added.


    ¡°So advanced genes for both of you?¡± John asked.


    ¡°You have Advanced genes to just give away?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°Sure. What am I going to do with them?¡±


    John led them across his large vault floor to the small mound of genes nestled at the other end. He began picking out various genes for the pair, limiting himself to the Advanced tier. Both of his friends knew of Wizened genes of course, but John didn¡¯t want to seem too patronizing in handing them such powerful resources for free.


    Not that they didn¡¯t deserve the boost. He would have gladly given them both the means to fill their Wizened count without a second thought. But people rarely accepted such charity.


    Liz, for one, would never allow him to hand her so much. A couple Advanced genes were one thing, but he knew she would be insulted if he tried to take the act of progression from her. She was like him in that way.


    Jules on the other hand would have felt entirely too guilty if John insisted on giving him so much at once. John resigned himself to smaller acts of kindness over more time. He could still provide what his friend needed to advance, but without the heavy guilt added.


    The two of them accepted his gift of Advanced genes with graciousness. Jules took five Advanced genes while Liz only needed three in order to reach her total. Jules thanked John profusely, happy to be one step closer to the peak.


    ¡°You guys are worth it. Wait until I tell you what else the base can do. Come on. Let¡¯s head back to the room.¡± John said.


    ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°Much more. But that reminds me. I gave you permission to access the vault. Both of you. Anything you want to keep here will be safe. Go ahead and move all the guild spoils here at your convenience.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Jules said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Thank you for all the help. How is my dad working out?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Jack? He¡¯s great. Thanks for sending him my way. Though I¡¯m not sure why he would want to help with the books. Even I get burnt out with all the organization.¡±


    ¡°I think he just wants to be useful some way other than killing. Thanks for giving him something to do. Now, are you guys ready to see the real prize of this base?¡± John asked as they made it back to the transition pad.


    2


    ¡°You have got to be kidding,¡± Said Jules in astonishment as John showed him the travel controls.


    As predicted, Jules had nearly become unhinged in his excitement. John could see the gears in his head turning at rapid speed. He listened with rapt focus as John explained how it all worked.


    ¡°And that¡¯s pretty much it. I think we should move the base from here before too long. There are some loose ends that might cause some trouble if they found their way here.¡±


    ¡°Where should we go first?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave that up to you. I assume you have some kind of plan for the process?¡±


    ¡°I can make one, sure. You¡¯ll have to resolve whatever this is before we can go though,¡± Jules said, pointing.


    ¡°Roam perk disabled while any active challenges exist¡±


    John cursed, but it wasn¡¯t an insurmountable task. He already planned on resolving the challenge before the time limit expired. This was just some added incentive.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. You should take the extra time to start organizing our vault and bringing everything here. We will be ready to leave within the next day. Does that work for you?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Yeah I can work with that. There are a couple people I want to bring over to help with the logistics if that¡¯s okay.¡± Jules said.


    ¡°If you trust them, I trust you. They won¡¯t be getting any base permissions though. You¡¯ll have to meet them at the pads near the gate.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±


    After John left Jules to begin whatever extraordinary plans he had already concocted, he had Liz choose a room of her own and they went inside. She gave him an inquisitive look, but her customary smirk was missing. She looked almost nervous.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on my cultivation paths a lot the last couple days. Mostly my spirit, but I think I¡¯ve made a discovery with my mind path.¡±


    ¡°A discovery?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Yes. You told me to figure out how you can use the fruits we stole. I¡¯m not certain, but I think I may be onto something.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± she said.


    John took the bag from his back and pulled a fruit out. It was the size of a coconut and had the coloration of something between a mango and a pomegranate. Warm orange blended with a deep maroon color to create a unique shade where the colors met.


    ¡°Take this,¡± John said.


    Liz took the fruit and examined it like she was trying to solve a puzzle. She squeezed it in her hands, seeming disappointed in the lack of weakness it showed. She didn¡¯t try to bite it as John had his first time holding one.


    ¡°What do I do?¡± She asked.


    John spoke in a hushed voice. Not that anyone could overhear him. He simply felt the situation called for a bit of suspense.


    ¡°If you can connect with it, this fruit will give you Divine genes,¡± he said.


    ¡°Divine genes?¡± Liz asked in disbelief.


    ¡°Yes. It was the only way Sun¨¦ was able to save me. I would have died almost instantly if I hadn¡¯t already gained a few when the cactus got me.¡±


    ¡°I knew it. It was the only thing that made sense. You really found a way to gain Divine genes?¡±


    ¡°I did. But it¡¯s only because my Mind Cultivation allows it. I don¡¯t think I can use the same method for anyone else. But luckily, I have options.¡±


    ¡°So, what is the plan?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°First, you should know what¡¯s going to happen should you succeed,¡± John said.


    Then he described the overwhelming sensation of Divine genes entering the body. He tried to accurately convey just how insignificant everything up until then had been in comparison. He knew words fell short of the experience, however.


    ¡°What I¡¯m going to try is called Neutralization. As the name suggests, I¡¯m going to attempt to bring the fruit to a state of neutrality. Hopefully then, you¡¯ll be able to soak it in.¡± John explained.


    ¡°Just like that?¡± Liz asked skeptically.


    ¡°I doubt it¡¯ll be simple. I¡¯ve never even tried to use this branch before,¡± he said.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re experimenting on me?¡±


    ¡°More like, exploring the realm of possibilities together.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but if I get some kind of rash or something, I¡¯m kicking your ass,¡± Liz promised.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the risk,¡± John laughed.


    John had Liz concentrate on feeling some sort of connection to the fruit. She closed her eyes and held it closely in both hands. As she did so, John began reviewing everything he could remember about the use of Neutralization.


    He had never put his focus on the branch before, so his knowledge was much less cohesive than his already limited grasp of Simulation. Nevertheless, he attempted to cycle through the correct mental process needed to activate the ability. Unfortunately, the branches after Simulation became much more complicated.


    His sister had described Culmination and Neutralization as ¡°twins in their necessity¡±. John hadn¡¯t understood why before attempting to practice Neutralization. He quickly discovered that there was a new and imperative concept to master before he could hope to succeed.


    Culmination was the practice of enhancing a target to the pinnacle of performance. As John understood it, after Simulation, Culmination could be used to grow and expand the potential of whatever he had chosen to simulate. However, that was not the extent nor the crucial aspect of the branch John needed to master.


    The true boon, and also the true impediment to John¡¯s efforts was the concept of projection. Instead of limiting the practice to the confines of his own body, John had to learn to project Culmination onto the world around him in order to assist the natural spirit of anything it interacted with.


    It was the beginning of a closed system between Culmination and Neutralization. First he would need to learn to Culminate his own spirit. The process would give him the experience and insight needed when it came to applying the branch to a foreign spirit.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Next, he would need to learn to use Neutralization to balance his own spirit. In order to avoid conflict with any spirit he made contact with, he would need to suppress his own spirit. He had already unknowingly started the process while getting a grasp on Simulation.


    It seemed with each branch there were crucial aspects of other branches to master before they could be fully utilized. It was what made Third Eye of Callysta so complicated to comprehend.


    After learning to neutralize his own spirit, he could work on projecting himself onto the spirit of another in order to impress Culmination on it. It was the stage at which his cultivation stopped being entirely internal. The last step of the closed loop his sister talked about would be learning how to impress neutrality upon the spirit of another.


    It was the act of suppressing a spirit entirely. It would be a contest of will against anything he sought to use it on. It required the understanding of both Culmination and Neutralization in order to utilize. That was the finish line he was currently trying to skip to.


    The concepts involved were strongly connected to Spiritual Cultivation. Indeed, the practice had more than once made John think Third Eye of Callysta was really a Spirit path in disguise. If it hadn¡¯t been for the constant complicated analysis required, he would have been convinced.


    Still, the thought made him look at the situation differently. He thought of Lunar Radiance, how a ray of moonlight needed only touch his skin for the cultivation to do its magic. It almost seemed like moonlight was being projected onto the world around it. And only because John had the capability to draw upon it was it anything more than illumination to him.


    Concepts and ideas clashed in his brain at the insight. He remembered trying to copy Sun¨¦¡¯s lightning; how the energy had fizzled out when it came time to unleash it. He had thought it was due to lacking some aspect of the spiritual cultivation.


    Perhaps that had been part of it. But the more necessary missing component was the ability to project the energy beyond his flesh. Perhaps his own spirit would be less difficult to spread.


    As soon as he had the thought, John realized that he had already done so before. He hadn¡¯t recognized it as such at the time, but he had learned to push his essence into his bow to create the spirit arrows it could fire. He needed to make his first breakthrough in Lunar Radiance.


    He suspected spiritual projection was a universal component in applying one¡¯s spirit cultivation. That was how Sun¨¦ produced lightning to fry her foes from distance. She projected her spirit. If he could learn to properly harness the ability, he might make headway with the rest of his Mind path.


    ¡°Stop,¡± John said to Liz.


    ¡°Stop what? We haven¡¯t done anything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. There is something missing. I¡¯ll keep working on it.¡±


    ¡°Wow. You sure know how to let a girl down,¡± Liz chastised.


    3


    John accepted Liz¡¯s berating comments without complaint as he moved to the access panel in her room. She followed him there, continuing her complaining the whole while. Only when she saw what he was doing did she pause.


    ¡°What now?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Someone wants to fight,¡± John said.


    ¡°Who? I wanna fight,¡± Liz said, sounding like she had been left out of something.


    ¡°Easy, killer. I didn¡¯t ask to fight. I¡¯ve been challenged for control of Obsidian Base.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so because you¡¯re the owner, you get to fight everyone that comes along starting trouble?¡±


    ¡°Would you rather fight for me?¡± John asked with a laugh.


    ¡°Wait, really?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I have the option to send a champion in my place. But you do realize we lose the base if you lose right?¡±


    ¡°What? You don¡¯t believe in me?¡± Liz asked in an offended tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about the challenger. They could be better than both of us.¡±


    ¡°Maybe better than you. My modesty needs some work. Come on, let me do it,¡± Liz pleaded.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re as good as you are confident,¡± John said.


    He made the selection to appoint a champion, but there was a problem.


    ¡°You have to become a devoted follower before you can be a champion,¡± John told her.


    ¡°How do I do that?¡± She asked.


    John shrugged. He hadn¡¯t asked his father how he had become devoted. Perhaps there was a specific action she had to take first.


    ¡°You¡¯re a follower just by joining the base. I¡¯m not sure about anything beyond that. I¡¯ll have to ask my dad.¡±


    ¡°No need. I¡¯ve got it covered,¡± said Liz as her eyes refocused.


    ¡°Liz has become a devoted follower!¡±


    John smiled and returned to the panel. He chose Liz as his champion and confirmed the challenge. Upon doing so, he got a new notification.


    ¡°A challenge has been accepted by your champion! Competitors will now be transferred to the challenger¡¯s arena! All occupants of Obsidian Base currently in residence shall be asked to bear witness! Transitioning all parties now!¡±


    John felt himself shift forcibly from one location to another as he listened to the words. When his vision had cleared, he was resting on an ornate seat in the front row of a set of circular stands overlooking an arena below. He blinked away the confusion as he beheld Liz below, facing her competition.


    Vulsa Tetrival was not what John had expected. That wasn¡¯t to say that John had any specific expectations. But what he saw was beyond anything he could have foreseen.


    He or she or they vaguely resembled what could generously be called humanoid. It stood on two legs, though leaning forward precipitously so that what John took for arms rested only a few inches from the ground. A long and thick tail seemed to correct the imbalance. It looked ready to sprint in Liz¡¯s direction.


    In place of skin was some type of chitin exoskeleton. A smooth jade color, it somehow looked both durable and flexible. John noticed serrated areas on its arms that gave it the appearance of a mantis with only two legs.


    Its head was something akin to an insect, though not one John was familiar with. That coupled with its missing legs disqualified it from the classification, though he had no idea what to consider it instead. Two bulbous black eyes stared coldly at Liz as the seconds ticked by.


    For her part, Liz simply stood motionless, taking in her foe. She didn¡¯t look the slightest bit nervous, and John knew she was trying to gauge the threat Vulsa posed. John too inspected the strange challenger for signs of its ability.


    As for weapons, John could only see the blade like arms. If whatever species Vulsa was originated in the Garden, that could be all it had in the way of offense. If it was an outside race like humans, it likely had at least one Soul to summon.


    Having no way to tell for sure, John continued to study Vulsa¡¯s outward appearance. The more he observed, the more convinced he became that the strange challenger was highly invested in speed. Analyzation showed him the details he would otherwise have needed to guess about.


    Vulsa¡¯s legs were thick and sturdy. He could see even from his distance the increased definition of its otherwise thin form. That told John that it did a lot of traveling by foot.


    He also noticed that its tail never stopped moving. It swayed back and forth purposefully. John could tell that it would not be easily unbalanced.


    Liz stared no less penetratingly at Vulsa than John. Wether she could discern as much as he did was a question he wished he had an answer to. While they both stared at the strange foe, it did something that neither he nor Liz had expected.


    John watched in growing astonishment as the bug-like creature produced a small orb from somewhere within its chitin skin. His eyes grew wide as it tossed the orb to hover between itself and Liz. It was a communication orb.


    Liz seemed to startle at the action, but she only waited for the other to speak. John also waited in silence, the implications flying through his mind at the development. After a few seconds, Vulsa spoke.


    It was a strange chittering sound. Something between a squeak and a series of clicks. When it came out of the orb though, the voice was as human and perceptible as John could have asked, though it was monotonous.


    ¡°Greetings. Are you John?¡±


    Liz seemed offended at the question. Then John saw her recognize the differences between herself and her opponent. In the end, she spoke evenly in reply.


    ¡°No. But I do speak for him in this fight.¡±


    ¡°I am Vulsa Tetrival. I have challenged-¡±


    ¡°I know who you are, dude,¡± Liz said before the translation was complete.


    ¡°Very well. I would like to speak with John before we begin,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not really up to me. But I can pass along the message after you lose,¡± Liz said confidently.


    ¡°He is here now. He is watching our match, is he not?¡± Vulsa asked, not to be dissuaded.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know. I¡¯m new to the whole champion thing. What do you need to say to John?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I wish to ask for asylum,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°You know, challenging the leader of a base for ownership is a funny way to ask for help. Why should he give you a place here?¡±


    ¡°Because I have information that could be valuable to him,¡± it said.


    ¡°Where did you get the orb? I know the Garden doesn¡¯t give them to just anyone.¡±


    ¡°I stole it. From my master,¡± Vulsa said evenly.


    ¡°Yet another great reason to take you in,¡± Liz said sardonically.


    ¡°Allow me to explain,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested. Let¡¯s just get on with it,¡± Liz said in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°Very well human,¡± Vulsa said.


    4


    Vulsa launched forward faster than most could react. In almost no time at all, the bug-like creature was slashing down at its opponent. Liz, however, was not most people.


    She met the charge with a summoned dagger. Its jagged blade locked with the first swipe of Vulsa¡¯s serrated limb. Vulsa, seeming to expect this, used the deadlock to attack with their free arm.


    Unfortunately for Vulsa, Liz was far from helpless. In a blink, she had dismissed the dagger. The absence of pressure against Vulsa¡¯s first arm immediately unbalanced them.


    Liz took a step back as she dismissed the dagger, and Vulsa¡¯s newly freed arm swiped involuntarily through the air between them. This completely neutralized the actual attack the bug had been planning with its other arm as all of its weight was redirected to keep it from falling. Liz didn¡¯t simply allow Vulsa to recover though.


    As she took her calculated step back, the dagger appeared in her hand once more. With a brutally efficient swipe of the blade, she scored the jade-colored chitin of Vulsa¡¯s body. A thin trickle of purple ichor seeped from the wound.


    Only a few seconds into the fight, Vulsa seemed to be heavily regretting their decision. Despite the speed they had, Liz was not to be trifled with. John was impressed by the calm calculative nature she displayed when dealing with her opponent.


    It wasn¡¯t often that Liz deigned to do more than rip things apart with her ursine transformation. That was why he was so impressed. John had become so used to the proclivity that he hadn¡¯t given her the credit he knew she deserved.


    In truth, Liz probably had the highest advancement of any human he knew apart from himself. The genes she had consumed were more than just tally marks on a board. They translated to speed, dexterity, strength, and most importantly, mental acuity.


    She demonstrated this nicely as she repeatedly predicted the manner in which Vulsa would attack. Again and again, she either dodged, blocked, or parried the frenzied slashing of her opponent. Her predictions were so accurate that John narrowed his eyes at her as he watched.


    Something was off about her, but he couldn¡¯t place it. She was moving in such an unpredictable manner, John doubted even he could have found an opening. It was an unusual display.


    He watched as Liz stepped forward, seemingly into the trap laid by Vulsa. As her foe made its move though, Liz leaned and twisted her body impossibly to avoid the diagonal slash Vulsa had aimed at her. Instead of cleaving her body in two as expected, Vulsa was once again exposed to a counterattack.


    With her foresight, it seemed Liz could have ended the fight at any time. Instead of fatally wounding the chitin covered creature, however, Liz was toying with them. As she had every other time she bested the bug, Liz simply left a warning cut across its thick exterior.


    Vulsa was beginning to look pretty rough after about the dozenth time Liz wounded them in this manner. They didn¡¯t relent, however, and Liz was content to keep proving how outmatched Vulsa was. Stubborn as a mule, her foe refused to yield.


    John watched with interest as Liz seemed to predict every move Vulsa made. As she stepped once again into what seemed like the worst position, John frowned in sudden realization. Vulsa received another thin wound for falling for the bait yet again.


    John¡¯s mind spun with possibilities as he observed the way Liz was moving on the field. The more he analyzed the match, the less it seemed like a match at all. Indeed, Vulsa was no more than a puppet dancing on the strings Liz had ensnared him with.


    While Vulsa glimpsed openings by which to strike at Liz, the truth was almost the opposite. This was evidenced by the repeated cuts they had received. The more John watched, the more he realized that Liz was manipulating every action her opponent made.


    ¡°That¡¯s mental cultivation,¡± John said to himself.


    There was no other explanation for the phenomenon. She seemed to dissect exactly how Vulsa would react to her every move. He was amazed at the sheer effectiveness Liz displayed.


    When she needed to maintain her advantage, she projected nothing but calm confidence. When she was trying to bait Vulsa, she somehow always exuded an air of weakness that her opponent couldn¡¯t help but try to capitalize on. It was something akin to mind control, and John was all the more wary of crossing Liz.


    ¡°Stop,¡± Liz said suddenly.


    She held up a hand as Vulsa tried once more to read her intentions. Just before they lunged at her, she got their attention. The bug came to an uneasy halt, arms still raised. The communication orb still bobbed around, ready to convey a message.


    ¡°Why are you here, Vulsa?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I came to challenge for control of-¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I got that already. But why?¡±


    ¡°Those were my instructions,¡± Vulsa said uncomfortably.


    ¡°So you follow orders blindly?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡­ am unable to disobey.¡±


    ¡°Yet, you also stole from this master of yours. I¡¯ve gotta say, you¡¯re not really selling yourself here.¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Please, human. I-¡±


    ¡°My name is Liz,¡± she interrupted yet again.


    ¡°Very well. Liz, then. I have been sent here to die. I am not foolish. I can see that I am not your match.¡±


    ¡°But you continued to fight. Why?¡±


    ¡°Because that is the primary directive of all Kulthaq dispatched by my master.¡±


    Liz sighed deeply.


    ¡°Damnit. This is some kind of gigantic, convoluted mess, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I am afraid so,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°Of course it is. I can¡¯t just kick some ass without things going all weird, can I?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I¡­ suppose not,¡± Vulsa answered cautiously.


    ¡°Well unfortunately, this all seems to be a bit above my pay grade. I¡¯m not the one you have to explain everything to. And I¡¯m a little lost as to how you might ask him directly,¡± Liz said.


    But John was already going through his menu options. He scanned over the rules of a challenge and found something useful. He stood and made a gesture with his hand.


    ¡°Rendezvous,¡± he said.


    ¡°You have called a halt to the challenge! You have requested a meeting with your challenger! This is a diplomatic request and is not required to be accepted.¡±


    ¡°Attention, Vulsa Tetrival has accepted your Rendezvous!¡±


    John was suddenly standing between Liz and Vulsa in the arena. He looked at Liz, who didn¡¯t seem at all surprised that he had appeared. He gave her a nod of appreciation for her display.


    ¡°I see you found a way to butt in,¡± she chided.


    ¡°Gotta stay true to yourself,¡± John said before turning to Vulsa.


    ¡°Hello Vulsa Tetrival. I have many questions for you.¡±


    5


    ¡°You are John?¡± Vulsa asked.


    ¡°I am. Let¡¯s talk about why you¡¯re here.¡± John said.


    ¡°My master sent me-¡±


    ¡°Stop,¡± John said.


    Vulsa fell silent as John had commanded. They just looked at him with what John assumed was indifference. When he was sure he had the floor, John spoke again.


    ¡°I know you were sent to challenge me for ownership of Obsidian Base. I can also tell you don¡¯t really want to be here. What I need is context. You said something about a primary directive. Tell me about that,¡± John said.


    ¡°The Kulthaq are a race native to the Garden. We are hatched by an alpha, who lays eggs in the bodies of adversaries. I was given life and brought up alongside thousands of others. When we reached maturity, we were dispatched to all corners of the Garden. Our goal is to become the owner of a base.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s all very interesting, but again, you¡¯re not telling me anything I haven¡¯t figured out already.¡± John said.


    ¡°I was dispatched with a few hundred others to seek out a base to conquer. I came upon this base many weeks ago, but I lacked the ability to enter.¡±


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I do not know. My instincts told me I could not.¡±


    ¡°And you didn¡¯t even try?¡± John asked.


    ¡°We natives of the Garden have many advantages that outsiders do not. But we are also limited in ways you are not.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating,¡± John said dully.


    ¡°When the leadership trial began, I was given the opportunity to join. I chose not to, however.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Because success meant certain death, while failure meant near certain death. There was no outcome likely to preserve my life.¡±


    ¡°But challenging me for ownership a few days later is your idea of self preservation? If you haven¡¯t noticed, you¡¯re kind of out of your league here.¡±


    ¡°I never intended to fight you. My wish was to speak with you. I need your help,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t want to fight, you could have requested a place in my base. Why didn¡¯t you? The gates are open to anyone who is in need.¡±


    ¡°Because of the primary directive,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°And we¡¯re back to that. Alright. Why don¡¯t you tell me about this directive of yours.¡± John said.


    ¡°Kulthaq are born from the fallen enemies of our creator. Kulthaq Alphas instill certain instinctual desires in us. These are near unbreakable directives. Our primary directive is to conquer bases for the Alpha.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why you challenged me instead of asking to join?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°Yet, you don¡¯t strike me as particularly driven to fulfill this ¡®primary directive¡¯ you speak of. Why is that?¡±


    ¡°I have been traveling for many months. I have learned many things. One of which is a form of mental cultivation. Practicing it has given me more individual tendencies than others of my kind. I cannot free myself from our directives, but I no longer feel driven to fulfill them blindly.¡±


    ¡°And why wouldn¡¯t you want to become the owner of a base? You mentioned certain death?¡±


    ¡°I did. We Kulthaq are nothing but tools to our Alpha. Any who return victorious from their task will simply be killed. Our goal is to spread the influence and power of the Alpha, nothing more.¡±


    ¡°So, you come back as the owner of a base and your master kills you to take it for themselves?¡±


    ¡°Precisely,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°Have they never heard of pretty please?¡± John asked incredulously.


    ¡°I¡­ do not think so,¡± Vulsa answered clearly confused.


    ¡°Well I can¡¯t blame you for seeking alternate career paths. But how do you expect me to help you?¡±


    ¡°For now, I need asylum. As long as I do not come to possess a base, I will not be compelled to return to my master.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that simple?¡±


    ¡°No. There will always be the desire to conquer. That is why I need a powerful ally to keep me from losing control of my faculties.¡±


    ¡°And you want me to what? Babysit you?¡±


    ¡°I am unaware of this term. I wish to be imprisoned until I can free myself from the primary directive,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°And how do you intend to do that?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I do not know.¡±


    John sighed. He had been hoping for an easy solution to whatever Vulsa was wrapped up in. He had suspected from the start that he would have to get his hands dirty, though.


    ¡°You want me to grant you access to Obsidian Base just to imprison you?¡±


    ¡°The terms of incarceration are yours to decide,¡± Vulsa said.


    John thought about it for another moment. He didn¡¯t think there was any danger in granting the request. After all, he had decided anyone who was in distress would be given asylum. He supposed Vulsa¡¯s situation qualified.


    ¡°Very well,¡± John said.


    ¡°If you admit defeat, I will grant you access to Obsidian Base. If you wish it, you can be detained for your own safety. I make no promises, but I will also attempt to find a solution for your situation.¡±


    ¡°I accept your terms,¡± Vulsa said.


    ¡°Congratulations! Your champion has triumphed over challenger Vulsa Tetrival! Would you like to reward your champion?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± John said without even thinking about it.


    ¡°Your champion has been awarded two Wizened Genes from your vault!¡±


    ¡°Vulsa Tetrival is now a follower!¡±


    John turned to Liz, who was no doubt receiving her own notifications. He watched her eyes light up with excitement and knew she had just received his reward. She looked up at him in time to see his expression morph into expectant disappointment.


    ¡°And when were you going to tell me you started practicing Mental Cultivation?¡± He asked.

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26


    1


    John spent the next couple weeks in something of a routine. His attention was divided between speculation and practice. Each day brought him a little closer to his goal.


    His mornings were spent in study. He divided his time evenly between Lunar Radiance and the twin branches of Culmination and Neutralization. The former seemed tangibly close to a breakthrough, while the latter seemed almost nonsensical in practice.


    Afternoons were spent coordinating with Jules on transitioning the guild to Obsidian base. He had worked incessantly on transporting all of the genes the guild had accumulated to the vault in Obsidian. John was shocked at the sheer number of genes they had acquired.


    Evenings were when John practiced Lunar Radiance. He remained convinced that he was on the right path for enlightenment. Rather than just allowing moonlight to saturate him, John studied the moons themselves.


    Limited though his success was, he was able to glimpse a fragment of the higher truth. His understanding continued to grow with each day of study, but the finer points still eluded him. He was sure a breakthrough was close at hand, but finding the missing pieces was proving more difficult than he had hoped.


    He did not focus entirely on the cultivation, however. He and Liz also explored around one of the the three main bases they frequented. It helped John to get a better sense of how each moon reacted in different circumstances.


    For Liz¡¯s part, it allowed her to gain Wizened genes in an attempt to catch up with John. He helped her when she asked, which wasn¡¯t often. In general, she preferred to take down her pray alone.


    She displayed increasing proficiency with the Mind Cultivation she had chosen to learn. It was something called Heaven¡¯s Path. She surprised John when she told him she had used a Wizened gene to choose it.


    She didn¡¯t divulge the details of the trial she underwent to earn the scroll, but John assumed it was something quite complicated. As he sat back, watching her manipulate her opponents with near infallible accuracy, he goggled in impressed disbelief.


    He was impressed to learn that she could adapt her tactics to nearly any foe. It didn¡¯t matter if they had four legs or none, fur or feathers. Liz could always seem to bait her opponent into a foolish attack that left them defenseless to her trap.


    She did not content herself to fight only the Wizened foes she needed to advance. She pitted herself against everything she came across in a determined attempt to further her understanding. Her single-minded drive inspired John to work ever harder on his own goals.


    The two of them explored more and more of the Garden as the weeks passed. John spent the time focused on glimpsing the grains of truth missing for his breakthrough. He felt like the edges of the bigger picture were slowly coming into view, but he had yet to digest the entirety of the thing.


    Liz on the other hand seemed almost made for her Cultivation. Despite it being a tier higher than Lunar Radiance, Liz seemed to blow through the early stages of Heaven¡¯s Path like she had cheat codes enabled. He didn¡¯t know what a Gate Breakthrough entailed for her, but it was clear her mind was well suited to the journey.


    She tore through any foe that crossed her; leaving John to collect any genes below Wizened if he wished. He often did just for the sake of adding to the stores, but only if the prey had been Enhanced or better. The rest, he left alone.


    In this way, they began to get a particularly good idea of the lands around each base. It became apparent just how much there was to explore as they continued to find more places they did not expect. Such as when they came upon a cave that led them to an underground world.


    They never ventured too far into an area, having learned not to trifle with the Garden from the massive cactus. Neither of them wanted to run into anything that formidable again. Their efforts were only partially successful, however.


    They discovered no less than four new Divine beasts in their travels. They were lucky enough to avoid inciting violence from them, which was lucky considering three of the four were discovered while engaged in violence with others of their stature. John and Liz simply watched on these occasions, taking note of what they could before leaving as peacefully as possible.


    He had not progressed to openly hunting Divine beasts yet, especially after what had happened with the cactus. He did like to have an idea of where they could be found for when that day had come. So, he marked their rough location on the ever expanding map Jules had come up with.


    For his part, Jules had been working on transitioning all members of the guild to live primarily in Obsidian Base. He had commandeered a section of the base to serve as the official headquarters. He was often seen hurrying between there and the palace to arrange various details or confirm a decision with John.


    As for Vulsa, the Kulthaq was content to be detained in Obsidian Base. As a willing prisoner, John wasn¡¯t going to clap them in irons. Instead, he allowed the bug creature to live in the palace alongside himself and his friends.


    He wasn¡¯t particularly worried about treachery. He believed Vulsa when they said they had no desire to return to their master. As such, Vulsa would not attempt mutiny. And since his stipulations for remaining in Obsidian prevented treachery against other occupants, he didn¡¯t bother applying a heavier hand.


    Not that he thought the odd creature posed much danger to either Liz or Jules. The former had already proven her superiority while the latter had taken to friendly conversation with Vulsa each time they met. It seemed to John as if it was the first time they had experienced companionship from another.


    John had also taken some time to examine Vulsa in great detail. He had a suspicion that the compulsion Kulthaq felt was related to the spirit. Moreover, he thought it had something to do with the very concept John was struggling with.


    Instead of an unblemished and freely circulating spirit, Vulsa had something of a veil across his spirit. John could still see the core of Vulsa¡¯s being, but it seemed to be warped by a foul presence. It was like something had been stuck into the middle of Vulsa¡¯s spirit and twisted like a spaghetti fork until it was wrinkled and improperly circulated.


    John recognized the phenomenon. It was how his own spirit had felt after the deadly cactus needle unbalanced him. It was a foreign spirit inserted into Vulsa. Or more accurately, projected.


    ¡°Of course,¡± John had said when he made the connection.


    If he was correct, that meant the solution to Vulsa¡¯s problem was the very solution that John had been unable to achieve thus far. Third Eye of Callysta seemed capable of crossing all bridges, but the ability to do so continued to elude him. For now, he waited.


    2


    Three weeks after Jules first set foot in Obsidian Base, the transition of the entire guild was complete. That was made all the more impressive when John noticed how much it had grown since its inception. More than three hundred people had been signed on as guardians for contracts around half a dozen bases.


    The list of clients had grown exponentially to the point that Jules had needed to do the Garden¡¯s equivalent of hanging a help wanted sign in the window. He explained to John that he had enlisted the help of Elaina Parks to gauge the worthiness of new hires. Since she had been the only person to meet John¡¯s expectations in her own group of applicants, he had supposed she was qualified to pass judgment.


    John applauded the man¡¯s continued foresight and determination. In truth, John had no need to concern himself with the guild anymore. Jules was the one who was lacking in his progression.


    What John did do was give Jules the power to award genes directly from his vault to the rooms of guild members as tasks were completed. That made it a great deal easier to distribute them than having a pile of people streaming in and out of his room around the clock to collect.


    That didn¡¯t cut down on the traffic as much as Jules had hoped, however. Guild members were still stopping by near constantly as contracts were completed to drop off the excess spoils in accordance with their employment agreements. The sheer size of the guild made Jules come to John in search of a solution.


    After a bit of thinking, John had manipulated Obsidian Base to grow a series of depositories where anyone could offer genes or other spoils as a donation. Anything put in would be transferred to the vault. Jules then instructed all guild members to deposit their dues directly.


    With that issue solved, they were left with the final issue of maintaining presence in the bases Jules had spread to. He suggested simply spreading word of Obsidian Base as the official headquarters of the guild, but John firmly rebuffed this. He maintained that Obsidian would be the unreachable haven his guild could escape to.


    In the end, Jules came up with the idea to simply employ people to run a stall in the business district of each base. It would be an undertaking, but not one they weren¡¯t equipped to handle. That would leave Jules free to run the guild while only stopping at each base once per day to collect new contracts.


    Since each contract request required a room number by which to reach the signee, Jules could simply hire couriers for each base. They would deliver either regretful denial or details for when to meet a guild member to carry out an accepted contract. It still sounded horribly involved to John, but Jules insisted it lessened his workload considerably.


    For security purposes, John considered forbidding guild members to speak of Obsidian to clients. The separation from their contracts would give some security to guild members. When he told this to Jules, he pondered it before agreeing.


    He explained that he had been feeling a lot of anxiety as the person in charge of sending people on dangerous assignments. Each contract put not only the clients but the guild member he chose to protect them at risk. He felt like he was responsible for hundreds of lives.


    It had apparently got so bad that Jules had sought advice from John¡¯s father. John felt a twinge of guilt. Both from dumping the guild on Jules and at his absence from such a stressful ordeal.


    He had become so self absorbed that he had left an entire organization to Jules. One that he had wanted to start. One that he had not taken part in since the beginning.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Jules said when John had apologized.  ¡°You may have had the idea, but I¡¯ve made it my own. Not only are we earth¡¯s only security service that I¡¯ve been able to tell, we¡¯re also at the forefront of geological exploration!¡± He exclaimed.


    ¡°Geological exploration?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Every time a guild member explores a new area, they tell my group of cartographers, and it¡¯s added to the big map.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second. Cartographers? You¡¯ve hired map makers?¡±


    ¡°Hired? I could hardly stop them once I showed them that map you found. I expect they would foam at the mouth if I told them I had a way to chart exact distances between bases.¡±


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting until the guild was transitioned fully. I have a feeling they won¡¯t want to wait when they find out. Bunch of workaholics,¡± he added with an ironic eye roll.


    ¡°How soon do you think we can get started?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Well, now that we¡¯re getting settled, I suppose I¡¯m ready when you are.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. Bring your map friends tomorrow. I expect there is going to be a lot of math to do,¡± John said.


    He left Jules after that to do some practicing. He had almost had a breakthrough with Lunar Radiance. There was just something he was missing about the application.


    John tried to hone his mastery of spiritual circulation, hoping to cross some invisible threshold he thought he was missing. He couldn¡¯t figure out what the problem was. His instincts told him it had to be an important and fundamental aspect of the spirit.


    His inability to progress always brought his mind back to Third Eye of Callysta. He had been attempting to learn how to use Culmination. The concepts involved had proven difficult to decipher.


    Now, while John sat thinking about the roadblocks he was suffering, he made a connection. His goal was to learn how to project Neutralization onto the fruits so that Liz could attempt to gain Divine genes. He had been thinking of himself as a converter for the fruit.


    That did nothing to help him in the task, but what it did do was remind him of his revelation at the hands of Light Thrower. He thought back to his realization that the moon was a sort of converter for the sun¡¯s light. How he had come to understand that he himself was a moon.


    What he had not understood until then was that unlike a real moon, John did not have a radiance of his own. A true moon in the spirit of the cultivation should soak up light and energy and return it to the world as beneficial nutrients. Therein was John¡¯s shortcoming.


    He had not yet learned how to give back what he took in. Unless he counted blasting giant holes in cactuses, anyway. Until he learned to spread his spirit peacefully, he would never make the breakthrough he sought.


    Invigorated by the idea, John dove back into the scroll for mention of projection. He spent the entire afternoon scouring the lines of the paper. Now that he understood what he had been looking for, John could see hints and signs pointing to the information he was missing.


    He didn¡¯t reach the breakthrough he had been hoping for, but he did start to uncover the methods for projecting his spirit. It was a complicated process. It required both determination and visualization.


    John had to circulate his spirit while also allowing his essence to spread from him. He envisioned it like an invisible cloud around him. It was like someone wearing a strong perfume nearby, only instead of a scent, his spirit would be what interacted with the people around him.


    After spending the entire evening working on it, John felt the meter of progress notch forward ever so slightly.  He was slowly learning to push beyond the borders of his flesh to feel the world around him with his spirit. The practice was unsettling, and he understood why it was among the last concepts he was expected to master.


    He felt sure he would grow proficient in time, but he was equally sure there was still something he was missing to complete the puzzle. At the end of the day, John went to sleep disappointed but hopeful. The morning would bring a whole new adventure.


    3


    The next day, John woke to the biggest problem he had faced since entering the Garden. He had been only partially paying attention to the passing of days. As a result, when he looked at the calendar and found that his sister¡¯s birthday was only two days away, he understandably began freaking out.


    He had no idea what to get her. Apocalypses made it difficult to shop for birthdays. In the end, John was forced to admit to himself that he was out of his element.


    He returned to the garden that day with the problem of his sister¡¯s birthday looming over him. He was so preoccupied that when Liz showed up to tease him, he was unable to return her banter. At this she frowned and demanded an explanation.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± She asked.


    John begrudgingly explained the problem he was stuck on. He knew he was only asking for Liz to tease him some more. She surprised him by taking the matter seriously, however.


    ¡°Well, what does she like?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s just the problem. Before all of this happened, she would have been a lot easier to shop for. Now I don¡¯t know what there is.¡±


    ¡°What would you have thought to get her before?¡± Liz persisted.


    ¡°Uhhh, maybe like, something pretty?¡± John supplied lamely.


    Liz gave him a look that was equal parts unamused and disappointed. She shook her head resignedly before lamenting.


    ¡°That poor girl,¡± she said.


    ¡°I told you I¡¯m not good at this,¡± John said.


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking about it wrong. How would your sister spend an evening before the takeover?¡±


    John considered it for a few seconds. Things had been so different since the Kumani came that he had trouble recalling how anyone spent their time half a year ago. After a moment though, he came up with something.


    ¡°She likes old music,¡± he said.


    ¡°Old music? How old are we talking?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Old old. Like, the older the better. My dad has an old record player that belonged to my great grandfather. Emma used to listen to all the old records that came with it. She would sit there for hours just listening to them.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Music is something we can work with,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Yeah, the problem is that all the stores you could have found something like that in are gone now.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. Something might be done about it, but I see your point. What else?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Okay, well she likes a good problem to solve. Puzzles, you know?¡±


    ¡°We can probably find something that she¡¯ll like. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Colors?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Colors?¡± Liz repeated.


    ¡°Yeah. She likes those games where you sort things by color. She finds it really satisfying I guess,¡± he said.


    ¡°Alright. Music, puzzles, and colors. It¡¯s something to go on at least. Now you just have to find a gift that satisfies one or more of those interests.¡± Liz encouraged.


    ¡°Thanks. That actually helps a lot,¡± John said sincerely.


    ¡°Of course it does. I¡¯m awesome,¡± Liz said, punching him on the arm.


    John met Jules soon after. He was busying himself with what looked like a mountain of preparations. Despite his workload, the man looked as excited as John had ever seen him.


    He had chosen a large building near Obsidian temple to stage the operation. It was pretty basic, but had the size needed for the work that was to be done. As he beheld the scene, John realized how much work there must have been.


    Jules was flanked by more than a dozen men and women who also appeared quite involved. They were all exchanging words in a jumble of shouted formulas and aggravated corrections. He had never seen humans look so much like a colony of ants.


    John stood well away from the proceedings. He was afraid he would be expected to jump into the mess. Luckily, Jules wanted no such thing.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here. Wait right there for a sec, we¡¯re just getting some final figures sorted out. It should only take a few minutes,¡± he said when he had spotted John.


    John stood aside while people bustled around like they couldn¡¯t find their own head. It was interesting to watch. He found himself giving them all tiny little bug voices as they scurried here and there.


    ¡°Much to do. Must work fast,¡± he squeaked to himself as he watched a girl duck under the arm of a man who was handing a sheet of paper to another woman.


    ¡°Writing numbers. Lines. Letters. Have to hurry,¡± he chittered at the sight of a man scribbling furiously on some paper that another person was already using.


    ¡°Master Jules will whip us if we do not work hard. He is-¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Liz suddenly asked from right beside him.


    John jumped like someone had just leapt from hiding and shouted ¡°surprise!¡± He let out a short exclamation at her sudden appearance. Then he furrowed his brow at her.


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s funnier when you mess with Jules,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah. He is pretty fun to mess with. But still. You let your guard down. What was that you were saying?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Oh. Uhh, nothing important. So, you¡¯re here to see the big show huh?¡± John tried to redirect.


    ¡°Obviously. You know I was thinking about it, and you might try going to one of the Kumani shops. They have certain tools and resources to help train the mind. You may find something suitable for your sister there.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I hadn¡¯t thought about that. Maybe I will,¡± John considered.


    He was loathe to seek out the aliens for anything. He definitely held some resentment. But sometimes it was necessary to compromise. While he was lost in thought, another person approached them.


    ¡°You too?¡± John asked as his dad sidled up.


    ¡°Yeah, I figured I would see what a moving base looked like. They¡¯re pretty excited, aren¡¯t they?¡± Jack asked with a nod at the group of busy bodies.


    ¡°Yeah. Apparently, there is a lot to consider about turning our base into a car. I knew Jules would have a cow if I suggested just putting it in drive and going, but I didn¡¯t realize he was going to go all Spock about it.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, let him have his fun,¡± Jack said before exchanging polite greetings with Liz.


    In due time, Jules came over to John. He looked ecstatic. John prompted him as he approached.


    ¡°You about ready?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Just about. I¡¯ve had everyone punching in hypothetical locations all morning to calculate how close we are to various bases we know about. It¡¯s given us a general idea of where we are relative to other places. It also helps us estimate the exact size of this place.¡±


    ¡°What have you come up with?¡± John asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s big,¡± Jules said dramatically.


    ¡°Wow, how many nerds did it take you to work that one out? ¡®It¡¯s big¡¯? Seriously?¡± Liz taunted.


    ¡°By my calculations based on the furthest distance we¡¯ve been able to come up with, it¡¯s something like ten times the size of Jupiter. But that isn¡¯t the craziest part.¡±


    ¡°Ten times the size of Jupiter? That would be like a sun,¡± Jack observed.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a statistical impossibility by my calculations. Moreover, some data previously collected indicates that no matter where you go in the Garden, days are always the same length of time and nights always contain at least one moon,¡± Jules said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand the significance,¡± Jack said.


    ¡°The significance is that those things aren¡¯t possible. A planet this size would have to be spinning impossibly fast on its axis for days to compare to earth. Jupiter is the fastest rotating planet we know of, twenty-eight times faster than earth. A planet ten times that size would have to be rotating something like 500,000 kilometers per hour to match it. And while the mass of the planet is directly responsible for the rotation speed, one factor disproves the whole mess.¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡± John asked.


    ¡°The stars. On earth, the North Star never moves from its position in the Northern Hemisphere, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess so, why?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Because some of these guys have been studying the night sky as well to compare what we know to what we see.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± John asked.


    ¡°And the sky is fixed. The stars don¡¯t move. The sun and moons all make their way across the sky at a set rate. But constellations are never changing.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± John asked.


    ¡°It means this world is artificial,¡± Jules said excitedly.


    4


    Before John could even try to question Jules about the insane proclamation he had made, one of the cartographers sidled up and passed him a series of notes which he accepted without question. It was apparently what he had been waiting for, because he immediately set off.


    ¡°Alright. Here we go!¡± He said as he trotted back to the control panel.


    John followed a few steps behind. He was content to let Jules do all of the work while he watched from leisure. Nevertheless, he intended to be close by to aid the procedure if necessary.


    Jules began selecting options for the journey. He had apparently familiarized himself with the system quite thoroughly. He was moving and selecting options John had not known existed.


    Soon, a large projected screen covered one of the walls of the room. It showed a sort of top-down view of Obsidian base and the surrounding landscape. Coordinates, altitudes, time of day, compass indicators, and various other figures littered the periphery of the screen.


    The team of cartographers grew very excited at this. A couple of them unrolled what was undoubtedly the largest conglomerate of paper John had ever seen and began staking the corners. When it was flat, John saw that it was the map Jules had mentioned them working on.


    John was taken aback at both the size and the detail that had gone into the creation of such a work. It was not simply dots with names indicating locations. There were mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, grasslands, swamps, and anything else that had been encountered by anyone in the guild since its start.


    As he watched, the team located Emerald base on the map, denoted by a large emerald. John could easily recognize the different areas around the base. He was even able to pinpoint the place he and Liz had encountered the giant cactus. The skill with which the cartographers worked was undeniable.


    They made markings starting at Emerald base, indicating to Jules that they were ready for the next step. He made a selection on the screen, and another information box appeared there. It was a distance and direction calculation.


    35,000 miles


    247¡ã SW


    7 Days Remaining.


    At this, the team got out special looking mathematical tools and made marks based on some key they had created to measure distances on the incomplete map. One of them carefully walked across completed sections of the map while holding a piece of string. Another held the other end down on Emerald base while a third read out numbers to them that meant nothing to John.


    ¡°They¡¯ve been making adjustments to the map as we receive more accurate information. This is probably about the dozenth iteration. They¡¯re all hoping it¡¯s the last.¡± Jules explained to John as they watched several members of the team converge on the spot they had designated for Obsidian base.


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine why,¡± John said.


    They were all lying down in a circle on the map to draw the landscape. It was amazing to see it happen. Within ten minutes, the map looked almost exactly like the top-down image displayed on the wall. The base itself, the team omitted from the drawings.


    ¡°Hardly accurate to include it when it¡¯s about to move,¡± Jules explained.


    ¡°That makes sense. Do you want me to tell them about the bases nearby? We might as well get as much for the map as we can, right?¡± John asked.


    ¡°No need. I already got all that from your dad. He¡¯s a lot better employee than you by the way,¡± Jules said.


    True to his words, the team of map makers soon spread out across the paper. They all worked on a different section of the surrounding area until John could see a rough depiction of everything he had come across since joining his father¡¯s shuffle.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing,¡± John said.


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ve actually drawn all of this up already. We were just waiting for the accurate locations before adding it to the map. It helps to make it look better if they¡¯ve sketched it beforehand.¡±


    ¡°This is insane. I don¡¯t know how you found so many geniuses but I¡¯m happy you did,¡± John said.


    ¡°Same way I found you,¡± Jules laughed.


    They watched the team work with singleminded determination. It took time, but soon enough the last mark was placed, and the map was ready for them to proceed. John smiled at the excitement in everyone¡¯s face as Jules gave them a count down.


    ¡°If you thought what they¡¯ve done so far is impressive, just wait,¡± Jules said in an undertone before reaching zero.


    With an excited pause just before pressing the final button, Jules launched the base into motion. John was surprised, not because he or anyone else was unbalanced by the base suddenly lurching forward at a few hundred miles an hour. But because the opposite was true.


    In fact, it was as if they weren¡¯t moving at all. They felt no change in the gravity of the world. If it hadn¡¯t been for the screen depicting the land around them, he wouldn¡¯t have believed they had started moving at all.


    The base moved unobtrusively across the land. It seemed to impossibly part the environment around it as it passed, leaving it undisturbed and unchanged in its wake. John wondered how any of this was possible, but Jules¡¯s assertion that the entire world was artificial gave him the impression that ¡°possible¡± was a lot more open for interpretation than he had suspected.


    Unlike John, the team of experts jumped to work at once. The second the base had started moving, they were lying down instruments against the paper and making small denotations for landmarks and waterways. They worked like a well-oiled machine, rotating roles of watching the landscape pass, making general notes of locations, or beginning the arduous process of drawing out the world as it scrolled by.


    It was like watching a movie in fast forward. John had never seen any group of people work so well together or so efficiently. They did only the basics of the map in order to keep up with the insane speed of travel, but even so, a clear image of the world they passed by would appear on the page soon thereafter.


    John watched them go with something akin to longing in his eyes. The way each person seemed to work perfectly with all the others with very little problems was inspiring to him. It reminded him of the way Liz could move just the right manner to make her enemies do what she wanted.


    ¡°All things are connected,¡± he muttered to himself.


    After only a few minutes passed, John got a strange notification.


    ¡°Approaching Quartz Base. Base Leader: Karbizal. Issue Challenge?¡±


    John quickly declined before turning to Jules.


    ¡°I can see the names of bases we pass,¡± he said before sharing the name of the base they were coming closer to.


    Jules shouted the information out to his team as they made a notation of its existence. They passed the base peacefully, though no doubt arousing some excitement in the inhabitants as they did so.


    That day was spent observing the insanity of Jules and his cronies. The further the base traveled, the harder the team had to work to keep on top of things. Eventually, Jules had to admit that they could not maintain the effort for twenty hours straight.


    Luckily, he was able to adjust quite a lot about the journey. In the end, he reduced the speed to about half its maximum potential. That didn¡¯t make it easy for the team, but they could at least keep up.


    This also didn¡¯t negate the need for a cooldown period. But that was okay, as the cartographers would need a cool down far sooner than the base did. With trial and error, they reached a medium that everyone could handle. At the end of the day, John was impressed by the thousand miles they had covered as well as the rough depiction of the journey the map makers had been able to lay down under such pressure.


    They had not traveled for the full twenty hours. In fact, after only four everyone was ready for a break. Eight hours in, Jules relented.


    ¡°We can pick this back up tomorrow. Rest up until then. We can fill in some of the missing details later. Good work everyone!¡± He said as he dismissed them.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to stretch my legs and see what the terrain looks like. I should be back soon, but don¡¯t leave without me,¡± John said to Jules before he headed for the door.


    Liz and Jack, who had been quietly observing the proceedings for the last several hours met him as he made his way to the exit. Liz looked as bored as he felt, but his father looked content. He stopped to talk with them as they converged on the door.


    ¡°Well, that was boring,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Yeah, it was more drudgery than I had hoped for. But now I¡¯m going to explore a new area. So that¡¯s pretty exciting,¡± John said.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming too,¡± Liz said automatically.


    ¡°I figured. Dad?¡± John asked.


    ¡°You two have fun. I should get home to your mom soon. You know how she would worry if neither of us came back tonight.¡±


    ¡°Good point. Alright. I¡¯ll be back soon,¡± John said.


    ¡°You better be. Don¡¯t forget Emma¡¯s birthday,¡± Jack reminded.


    He exchanged an odd glance with Liz as he said this. John noticed but couldn¡¯t make sense of it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back,¡± he promised.


    He made his farewells, hoping to be back home in the morning. Then he and Liz left the building to explore the Garden in a brand-new place.


    5


    John was hovering in air thirty feet off the ground. He and Liz had been exploring the new area around Obsidian base. The sun had just disappeared below the horizon, and soon the two moons would be their only source of light.


    The volcano base had situated itself between two stray mountains near the end of a long range of their fellows. John could see the area on the other side of the mountain range quickly turn to desert. Behind them lay dense and unbroken forest land.


    Deciding they had both seen enough forest land to satisfy them, they had chosen to explore along the edges of the desert, where lush green turned to dry and cracked ground before giving way to harsh desert sand. They were not there to hunt, neither needing any of the lesser genes in any case. But they soon found that no beast they spotted was less than Wizened.


    No weak creatures were anywhere to be seen. Hundreds of Wizened beasts populated the area. Some entire herds of them roamed the edges of the desert.


    The density of powerful enemies was startling. John also marked a terrifying number of Divine foes in their short flight from the base. Some were peacefully moving along, while others clashed with great exclamations of spirit.


    ¡°This is where the real danger lives,¡± he said to himself.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Liz asked, hearing him murmur.


    ¡°Nothing. I was just thinking about the difference between here and Emerald base. It¡¯s more like the area around Thunder Fox, but even that seems tame compared to this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. It¡¯s tame because it exists around Sun¨¦¡¯s base. Without someone powerful enough to keep the area in check, of course it¡¯s going to seem more dangerous,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Hm. Good point. We should go back soon. I don¡¯t want to get caught up in anything.¡±


    ¡°Caught up in anything? Ever heard of minding your business?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°What kind of a stupid question is that?¡± John laughed as they turned back.


    As they neared Obsidian¡¯s great volcano, they came across the scuffle of a pair of Divine beasts. One was a boar, similar to the enhanced boar that John had killed all those months ago. This one was much larger, however. Coarse brown fur covered it, and two horrendous black tusks protruded from its shrieking mouth.


    It was shrieking due to the much smaller foe that was battering it. A stark white ram with an extremely impressive pair of curved horns was continuously charging it from its flanks and slamming into the sides of the great boar. The angry pig was knocked to the ground and forced to reset itself with each pass.


    John stopped to watch the pair fight. It appeared entirely one sided, until the boar managed to regain its feet in time to turn on the ram. With a great toss of its head, the boar caught the ram horn to tusk and sent it tumbling to the ground.


    Without so much as a second¡¯s hesitation, the boar was charging the fallen ram. The latter struggled to its feet but was unable to escape the fury of the hog bearing down on it. John was sure it was about to be ran through by the black tusks of the beast, but his jaw dropped at what really happened.


    The ram stood to its feet just before the boat reached it. Without much more than a lunge forward, it met the charge. John saw the fastest circulation of spirit he had ever witnessed in the instant before impact.


    The ram seemed to surge with it. And as he watched, John saw the pulse expelled from the ram at the point of impact with the boar. The effect was instantaneous and immense.


    Both of the boar¡¯s tusks completely splintered on impact, a feat John had never even heard of. Moreover, the boar was stopped in its tracks as the head butt continued to bash the body of the beast directly. Even from the height they hovered, John and Liz could hear the rib cage of the boar crack.


    The massive boar was sent careening backwards in a manner suggesting it had been launched from a gigantic slingshot. John couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. It crashed through two smaller trees before coming to rest ruinously against a sturdier trunk.


    ¡°Holy shit,¡± John said as he beheld the silent aftermath of the scene.


    They waited and watched from above as the ram stopped moving. Its foe was clearly already vanquished, and it made no move to approach the fallen boar. Instead, it seemed to collapse in exhaustion at the base of a tree.


    ¡°This is the part where you forget to mind your business isn¡¯t it?¡± Liz asked as she watched John eye the ram.


    ¡°Looks that way, yeah.¡±


    John was doing more than just watch the ram, however. He had been inspecting it carefully the entire time. After its great crash against the boar, all of the formidable spirit it had exuded seemed to have abandoned the beast.


    John wondered what kind of cultivation path it followed. His own let him draw more spiritual energy from the light around him. Apparently, the ram had no such means.


    It made John consider something though. He had been edging towards the understanding that he himself was the moon in the equation of Lunar Radiance. Gaining energy through moonlight was simply a beginning step necessary for understanding the potential of the skill.


    What he had been considering most recently was the idea what if he really was supposed to be the moon, he would have to learn to affect those around him in the way moonlight affected him. That was the application of his spirit he needed to master.


    He had begun the process of projecting his spirit, but he was far from able to harness it to that extent. But as he watched the exhausted goat, he realized that wasn¡¯t the only way he had learned to use his spirit.


    The next second, he had his bow in hand. He pondered what it was that he wanted to do for a moment before proceeding. A new idea had suddenly come to him.


    In the past, he had only ever wanted to attack with his bow. He had poured his desire into the string and the bow¡¯s nature had done the rest. Now, however, he started to consider the nature of Lunar Radiance itself.


    It was not a spiritual cultivation based around harming others. In fact, the cultivation itself was unable to cause harm. The damage done had always been an exertion of John¡¯s will.


    In other words, John had been corrupting the purpose of his own cultivation. He had begun using it for his own desires, rather than following the path it laid out. He had not been far enough along to understand the true purpose of Lunar Radiance.


    Now, however, it was clear to him. The radiance of the moon. It was to provide light; to lend sight to those in the dark. It was security for those who felt alone. It was the assistance of a benevolent observer. It was that ray of light in the dark that gave one the endurance to continue on.


    ¡°I am the moon,¡± John said as he drew his bow.


    6


    John released his spirit arrow a moment later. He had not charged it with the intent of destruction. This time, he let himself feel the essence of the moonlight within him.


    He felt it¡¯s cooling, soothing, and invigorating properties flow along the pathways he had established for it. Instead of destructive energy, he allowed the rejuvenating energy to swell into the arrow he was forming. To his surprise, it took an enormous amount of his stored potential to make an arrow this way.


    He realized it was because his bow had always contributed to the formation before. In this instance, John was doing all of the work. His bow apparently had no ability to create arrows for anything but killing.


    Despite the strain, John was able to solidify the arrow with some extra time and effort. When he had, he took aim at the resting ram and loosed his arrow. It zoomed down and connected with the beast in an instant.


    The arrow splashed against the beast like it was shot from a water gun instead. It spread over the startled ram who quickly regained its feet and began looking around for signs of company. The arrow had soaked immediately into its fur without a trace.


    John¡¯s deeper inspection told him otherwise though. As soon as it hit, his arrow began lending itself to the ram¡¯s stamina recovery. The exhausted spirit of the creature began to circulate once more. It was nothing like its normal rate, but John could tell that it was recovering more quickly after his intervention.


    It was not the outcome John had expected, but he was still pleasantly surprised. He was even more surprised when he got the notification a moment later.


    ¡°Congratulations! First Gate of Lunar Radiance has been opened!¡±


    John felt an immense swell of his previously depleted spirit as something like a lock broke open within him. He thought back to when he had learned Third Eye of Callysta and the insanity of pain he had endured to achieve it. This felt more like he was a fountain, with spiritual energy bursting from him in all directions.


    He took a deep and satisfying breath. He slowly contracted and contained his spirit as he brought his heart rate back down. He laughed out loud at his success.


    Below, the ram he had used as a Guinea pig trotted away. It was unwilling to stick around and see what happened next. John didn¡¯t even notice this as Liz had already gained his attention.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I did it,¡± he said.


    ¡°Wow, that explains it all. Thanks,¡± she said, bemused.


    ¡°First Gate breakthrough. Two down, one to go,¡± John said.


    Before Liz could slap him with another scathing response, John got yet another thrilling notification.


    ¡°Congratulations! As the first from your planet to break a Spirit Gate, you have received a Title: ¡®Spiritual Forerunner!¡¯ All spiritual cultivation is now 20% easier! This Title gains the Trailblazer Distinction.¡±


    John almost cheered. He had achieved another first for earth. He was surprised no one had managed to break a gate by then. Of course, spiritual cultivation was no easy thing to master.


    ¡°Oh man,¡± he said, ¡°I have to get a move on with my Physical Cultivation. Maybe I can get all three firsts.¡±


    John was inspired by the thought, but he didn¡¯t have high hopes. In any case, he had finally achieved his goal. Now he could set his focus on the future once more. He and Liz returned to the safety of Obsidian base after that, and John quickly bid her farewell before returning to earth and thence home to his family.


    ¡°I am the moon,¡± he told the ceiling of his room as he drifted off to sleep.

 Chapter 27

    Chapter 27


    1


    ¡°Happy Birthday!¡± John said.


    He gave his sister a hug and presented her with the present he had picked out. He had spent hours looking through the various objects and tools the aliens made to benefit the progression of humans. In the end he had found something remarkably fitting.


    ¡°Woah,¡± Emma said, suitably impressed.


    It was a rectangular puzzle the size and shape of a large picture frame. Unlike any puzzle from earth, though, this one had the benefit of more advanced technology. Emma rotated it in her hands, studying the hundred squares of shifting colors as she did so.


    ¡°There are a bunch of different settings. This one shifts the colors based on how each corner of the board is tilted. The goal is to blend the colors seamlessly from shade to shade by tilting the corners in the correct angles in the right order.  There¡¯s also settings where you can manually move the colors around to blend them. You can increase the number of squares all the way to ten thousand if you really want to go wild. I figured it would be a good way to focus your mind,¡± John said.


    ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s really cool,¡± Emma said genuinely.


    ¡°Yeah, well. Don¡¯t expect to spend all your time playing with puzzles. Now that you¡¯re only two years from entering the Garden, it¡¯s time you learned proficiency in skills besides sarcasm.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± Emma asked, sounding excited.


    ¡°We will talk about it all soon enough. For now, enjoy your day,¡± John said.


    He left her in her room with her new alien puzzle and went down to the kitchen. His mom was there, meticulously squeezing little pink icing flower petals onto the yellow icing of the cake she was decorating. She gave a terse greeting, but otherwise did not interrupt her task at his entrance.


    Breakfast had been hours ago, but John had slept in until nearly noon. He took two slices of long-cold toast from the waiting plate and covered them with jam. He was halfway through wolfing down the second slice when he head the door open. His father¡¯s voice soon pervaded the house.


    ¡°I¡¯m back! Emma, come down here and see what I got you!¡±


    There was a distant groan of annoyance, followed closely by the sound of Emma¡¯s door opening. She walked to the top of the stairs and paused. John could tell even from his position in the kitchen that whatever she saw her father holding had caught her off guard.


    ¡°Is that.. a walking stick?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Of course not! It¡¯s a whacking stick!¡±


    John was already back in the hallway by the time his sister had come down the stairs to closer inspect the gift her father had given her. He saw the pole in his father¡¯s hands and marveled at the advanced construction. In fact, it wasn¡¯t a stick at all.


    ¡°Is that some kind of metal?¡± He asked just as his sister took the gift into her hands.


    ¡°It is,¡± she said, ¡°and it¡¯s extremely light for its size. What is this made of?¡±


    ¡°Some alloy the aliens have invented. But that¡¯s not the best part. Notice the middle section? It¡¯s gripped for comfort. And if you twist with your front hand, a spear head pops out. Twist with the other hand and the opposite side turns into a glaive,¡± Jack said.


    ¡°What¡¯s a glaive?¡± Emma asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a staff with a machete on the end of it. But the blade is usually a lot wider than the staff. How is it concealed?¡± John wondered.


    ¡°Look at the end,¡± Jack said.


    His children did as instructed and soon found what they were missing. The staff had a section of itself hollowed out to house the blade. The blade itself looked to have been split perfectly down its length to make it narrow enough to recess within the staff. The sharp edges of the blade were safely tucked on the inside of the staff until needed.


    John stood clear as Emma twisted the proper section of staff to release the blade. Like switchblades on opposite swinging springs, the two halves of the glaive launched free of their housing and swung around to meet like magnets, connecting almost seamlessly to form the wide and curved blade. Their hinges were locked in place where the tip of the staff had been. John had no idea how the aliens had designed such an ingenious mechanism, but he had to admit he was impressed.


    The other side of the staff impressed as well, producing an eight inch  spearhead that shot into place like a bullet, giving Emma the ability to quickly end a fight unexpectedly. John had to admit it was a great gift.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Emma said, hugging her father.


    ¡°Happy Birthday,¡± he told her.


    ¡°Well I guess since everyone else has already given you their gifts, here,¡± their mom said, coming into the room.


    She was extending a gift to her daughter. It was concealed in pretty pink paper, the only gift to have been wrapped. Emma made short work of it to reveal a small box. Once she had torn the tape from the edges, she opened the lid and stared inside.


    It was a necklace. It had a small figure resembling an angel, cupping a small teardrop shaped diamond. Her eyes were the smallest of sapphires. The three gems glittered in the light.


    ¡°Oh my god, mom it¡¯s beautiful. How did you get this?¡± Emma asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it,¡± her mom smiled, not answering the question.


    ¡°Are we all ready for cake?¡± Jack asked his family.


    ¡°Let me put my presents away first,¡± Emma said, turning back up the stairs.


    John joined his parents in the kitchen and watched his mom carefully place candles around the extravagantly decorated cake. It was only a few moments before Emma had returned. Before their mom had finished candling the cake, however, there was a knock at the door.


    2


    Everyone looked in the direction of the front door. Everyone but Jack looked confused at the visitor. He instead looked conspiratorially at John.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you see who that is?¡± He said with a smile.


    John¡¯s eyes narrowed in suspicion at his dad. He rose from the table and moved into the hallway once more. He looked questioningly at the door as he approached it.


    For the second time, John felt his eyes begin to focus beyond the door. Like he could see through the wood itself, the outline of a person came into focus on the other side of it. He could only make out enough to tell that their visitor was female.


    That gave him a nagging suspicion about who was standing on the other side of the door. He moved more decisively toward it, pausing with his hand on the knob. When he pulled it open, he wasn¡¯t at all surprised to see Liz standing in wait, holding a pink gift bag.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He asked incredulously.


    ¡°Wishing your sister a happy birthday, dummy. Thanks for inviting me by the way. Had to get your address from your dad.¡±


    Liz walked confidently past him and into the house. She paused behind him to take in the place with appreciative eyes. Then she walked on, correctly discerning the area everyone was gathered as she moved toward the kitchen.


    John shook his head as he stood in the doorway. He could practically feel the conspiracy forming against him. His fate was sealed when he heard his sister¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Liz?! Oh my god! What are you doing here?¡± She exclaimed.


    John shut the door as he sighed deeply. He walked slowly back to the kitchen as he listened to his family exchange greetings with Liz. When he entered the room, he caught his father¡¯s eye.


    ¡°What?¡± Jack asked innocently.


    ¡°You could have told me you were sending out invitations,¡± he said, exasperated.


    ¡°Ahhh now what fun would that be?¡± His father smirked back, unrepentantly.


    ¡°A lot more fun for me,¡± John muttered as he saw the devious look on his sister¡¯s face.


    ¡°Sorry if I¡¯m a little late. It took me a while to find this bag. You wouldn¡¯t believe how low celebrations are on the aliens¡¯ priority list.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. Thank you for coming,¡± Emma said in a tone of idolization.


    ¡°Of course. I wouldn¡¯t want to miss your birthday. Even if your brother rudely neglected to tell me anything about it after asking for gift advice,¡± Liz responded with a look of mock scorn at John.


    ¡°Oh, here we go,¡± John said with a roll of his eyes.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Emma said, drawing the word out in exaggeration.


    ¡°What?¡± John asked.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t even going to invite her to my birthday? You didn¡¯t want her to come? Pretty inconsiderate of you, don¡¯t you think?¡± Emma smirked at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s not my birthday! It isn¡¯t about who I wanted to come!¡± John exclaimed defensively.


    ¡°You know, that¡¯s actually a good point, brother. It isn¡¯t about what you want. It¡¯s about what I want. Now I know you¡¯re ashamed to be around her and all, but you could have shoved all those feelings down for just one day so your little sister could see her friend on her special day. Was that too much to ask?¡± Emma demanded, verbally moving her metaphorical queen into checkmate position.


    John opened his mouth to respond, but realized just in time that there was no way of responding that wasn¡¯t falling into her trap. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at her before turning his ire on their dad. Jack sat watching the exchange with amused eyes.


    ¡°Is this what you wanted?¡± He demanded.


    ¡°Most definitely,¡± Jack laughed at his son.


    ¡°I want a new family,¡± John said grumpily as he sat down at the table and crossed his arms.


    ¡°John!¡± His mother admonished.


    ¡°I got you this,¡± Liz said to Emma, holding out the pink bag she had brought.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to get me anything! That¡¯s so sweet of you,¡± Emma said, sounding almost embarrassed.


    She took the bag almost nervously from Liz. She cautiously removed the tissue paper piece by piece as she stared with anticipation into the bag. A moment later, she froze as her eyes went wide.


    ¡°Oh my god! You didn¡¯t!¡± Emma exclaimed.


    All semblance of grace or reservation disappeared in an instant as she tore the remaining tissue paper from the bag. Her hand launched inside the bag like a striking snake. It emerged triumphantly gripping an old and half destroyed record sleeve.


    ¡°What?!¡± Emma shouted as she pulled the vinyl from the gift bag.


    It was ¡®Kind of Blue¡¯ by Miles Davis. The sleeve was worn out and torn halfway down both edges. However, the encased vinyl appeared almost pristine when Emma carefully slid it from the sleeve.


    ¡°Are you kidding?! Miles Davis?! This was like, the second best selling record of the fifties! And it came out at the end of the decade, too. How did you find this?¡± She asked Liz in awe.


    John didn¡¯t bother to ask his sister how she knew so much about music that came out half a century before she was born. She had always been far behind her generation musically. He wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if she knew the names and order of every song on the record.


    ¡°I found it in my family¡¯s collection. We never use them, so I figured this one wouldn¡¯t be missed,¡± Liz explained.


    ¡°Oh my god! You have a record collection?! You have got to let me see it sometime!¡± Emma exclaimed in excitement.


    ¡°Of course. Come over any time you want,¡± Liz said warmly.


    John watched the entire exchange in bemused silence. He stared at Liz like she had betrayed him. When she looked at him, she gave him a challenging look.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You mean you could have given me a record for her the whole time?¡± He asked, offended.


    ¡°Yeah, pretty much,¡± Liz confirmed.


    ¡°But you let me struggle with a present idea instead?¡±


    ¡°Basically, yeah.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Why?¡± John demanded.


    ¡°Because you didn¡¯t invite me,¡± Liz said simply.


    John opened his mouth to retort. Then he paused. He glanced at his dad, whose amused smirk had morphed into a sympathetic look of recognition. He gave a slight shake of his head while looking regretful.


    John took the silent hint and closed his mouth. After a few seconds, he sighed in resignation. Then he grated out his response in a forced tone of remorse.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not inviting you,¡± he said.


    ¡°No problem, your dad is much more polite than you are.¡± Liz said dismissively.


    ¡°Oh we have got to listen to this thing,¡± Emma said in barely contained excitement.


    ¡°Cake first!¡± Jack exclaimed as she rose to take the album to the record player.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Emma said, sitting back down in annoyance as her mom began lighting the fourteen candles she had decorated the cake with.


    ¡°Are we all ready?¡± She asked as Emma sank low in her chair in anticipation of the inescapable embarrassment of the birthday song.


    3


    Hours later, John, Liz, and Emma sat listening to Miles Davis for about the fifth time straight. It was clear to everyone who had given the best gift as Emma gushed over the record again and again as they listened. John finally rose from his spot on the floor.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go,¡± he said to the girls.


    ¡°Go where?¡± Emma asked, sounding annoyed that anyone wanted to do anything but continue drooling over her new album.


    ¡°Come on, loser,¡± John said without answering the question.


    Liz got up to follow as Emma grumbled. She gingerly removed the needle from her new ancient record. John waited patiently as she returned it to its sleeve and placed it neatly into the line of records next to the player.


    The three of them left the house through the back door. They moved across the yard, John in the lead. He brought them to the edge of the tree line that bordered their property. They walked along it until John pulled a tree branch aside to reveal a game trail.


    ¡°After you, ladies,¡± he said, holding the brush aside for them.


    Emma took the lead, knowing where they were going at that point. Liz stepped past John with a curious expression. He followed behind her, carefully releasing the branch behind him.


    The trio moved through the trees as the trail they followed wound this way and that across the uneven terrain. Emma led them down the path as it crossed a stream, dropped over a hill, and wound through more trees than they could count. Liz took in the scene in silent admiration as they walked.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be in the wilderness without all the bloodthirsty monsters, huh?¡± John asked, seeing her tranquility.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Just wait,¡± John and Emma said together.


    They walked for nearly half an hour, Liz happy to traipse along in silence. John only broke her observational calm a few times to point out cool landmarks along the way. Emma chimed in with her favorites as they passed them as well.


    When they were well within the woods, they came to a new creek. This one was wider than the one they had already crossed, and additionally, much more active. They turned to follow the stream along its flowing course.


    Emma hopped along the larger rocks that made up the shoreline. John and Liz trailed behind her, walking side by side. Liz was content to keep taking in her surroundings as they walked, while John was finding it increasingly difficult to look anywhere but at her.


    ¡°You¡¯re beautiful,¡± he said quietly before he could stop the words from escaping.


    For the first time since meeting her, Liz actually blushed. She looked at him in surprise before looking away, embarrassed. She chucked him on the shoulder without looking back.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± she said warmly.


    ¡°Yeah, shut up John,¡± Emma chimed in.


    ¡°Nobody asked you, dork,¡± John retorted.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m not asking either. Birthday girl rules,¡± Emma stated matter-of-factly.


    John didn¡¯t respond, but rolled his eyes with a smile. The two women seemed content in their own ways, one with the scenery, the other with her ability to chastise her brother. As long as they were happy, that was all that mattered.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± John told Liz a moment later.


    True to his words, the path soon took them away from the water as it tumbled over the rocks and  down a small cliff. The path wound around thick brush and down a steep descent to return them to the water¡¯s edge. Below the drop off, they could see the water fall from the ten foot height and into a large pool they now stood next to.


    Liz stood in stunned silence as she stared at the scene. Though they had not received any snow, the late January chill provided innumerable icicles on protruding rocks, making the waterfall almost blindingly reflective in the early evening light. A small layer of ice had formed at the edges of the pool below, where the water was most shallow.  It crunched under their feet as they moved around the half frozen pool.


    ¡°Dad spent about a year damming the pool up. It still flows out at the bottom, just really slowly. He brought all kinds of stuff out here to make it more relaxing,¡± John said, pointing to two nearby trees that supported a hammock.


    Chairs sat upside down to keep their cushions more dry from the weather. There were makeshift ladder pegs nailed into the largest tree, leading up to a thick limb that dangled over the water below. Liz looked around in awed appreciation.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± John asked as he settled into the hammock to watch the water fall.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m jealous. Your spot has a waterfall. Mine just has stars half the time,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Yeah, my spot kind of kicks your spot¡¯s ass huh?¡± John asked.


    Liz just gave him a flat look. Then she walked over and flopped onto the hammock right on top of him. He protested loudly as her elbow dug into his ribs as she got comfortable. She finally settled in a sitting position directly on top of John¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Do you mind?¡± He croaked.


    ¡°Kind of. Why are you so bony? Have you never heard of empty calories?¡±


    ¡°My bad. I¡¯ll be sure to put on some weight for your ass¡¯s comfort.¡± John said as he shifted her off to the side.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Liz said impatiently.


    ¡°Well alrighty then. Y¡¯all are getting weird. I¡¯m gonna go ahead and leave,¡± Emma said.


    ¡°Fine, go,¡± John said in mock betrayal.


    ¡°Thanks for showing me this really cool spot,¡± Liz said to Emma.


    ¡°Hey, it was my idea!¡± John protested.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome Liz!¡± Emma responded as though John hadn¡¯t spoken.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a bit,¡± Liz beamed at Emma as she started walking away.


    ¡°Okay! Don¡¯t stay too long. It gets dark a lot quicker in here than in the open,¡± Emma warned as though John wasn¡¯t even there.


    ¡°Thanks for the advice!¡± Liz called as Emma tracked back up the trail and around the waterfall.


    John shook his head in bemusement. He watched his sister disappear into the woods, unconcerned at her ability to find her way back home. Then he turned to Liz, who was still perched over him with her legs draped over his chest.


    ¡°You guys are hilarious,¡± John said with no trace of amusement.


    ¡°Thanks, our mark makes it pretty easy to mess with him,¡± Liz said with a smile.


    4


    John and Liz stayed at the water¡¯s edge for hours, talking about their lives, telling stories about their pasts, and sharing hopes for the future. After sitting on his chest for a suitably dominant length of time, Liz adjusted herself to lay at his side. John wrapped an arm around her shoulders for comfort.


    As they lay there discussing anything and everything they could think of, they both became aware of just how similar they were. Liz was the rock in her family, always there for her siblings while their mom was away. John had fallen into a similar role albeit much more recently.


    He admired how long she had been the person on whom everyone relied. He thought back to the day they met, and the men he had scared away from harassing her. That must have been the first time she had needed anyone to stand up for her in who knew how long.


    He thought about how quickly she had latched onto the idea of accompanying him rather than exploring alone. In hindsight, that single decision was the least in character Liz had ever been. Since that day, with few exceptions, she had never presented even the slightest need for outside help.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s hard for you to trust. I know you¡¯re so used to doing everything alone that you don¡¯t even consider asking for help. So, thank you, I guess. For letting me help you.¡±


    ¡°You know that may have been the strangest thing I¡¯ve ever been thanked for?¡± Liz replied.


    John laughed.


    ¡°I mean it. Thank you for letting me in. You¡¯re pretty amazing, but no one should be alone out there. It¡¯s nice knowing we can watch each other¡¯s backs.¡±


    John could tell that Liz wanted to make fun of him. He could practically feel the snide remark pecking on the inside of her teeth as she restrained herself. Then she looked over at him with loving eyes.


    ¡°Thank you for showing me there are people out there I can trust to watch my back. I don¡¯t have a lot of faith in the kindness of men¡¯s hearts. It¡¯s just good to know I could find someone to rely on.¡±


    ¡°You and me both. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I¡¯d be plant food for a giant cactus,¡± John said.


    ¡°And I probably would have been a snack for a thousand giant ants without you,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Really? The ants? That¡¯s the best you can come up with?¡±


    ¡°They were the last thing you saved me from. After that, you kind of left me to my own devices. Not that I¡¯m complaining. I haven¡¯t exactly been attacked by any colonies of insects since you¡¯ve been more busy.¡±


    ¡°Oh, now you¡¯re going to blame me for the ants? I told you to leave before things got bad!¡±


    ¡°No one is blaming you. I¡¯m just saying everything wants to kill me more when you¡¯re around,¡± Liz said.


    John paused in the middle of his retort. He thought about what she said. Could that be true? Did all of the effort and dedication he had put into the Garden make things more likely to seek him out? Was that another product of the risk/reward that the Garden operated by?


    ¡°You might be onto something there,¡± he finally said.


    ¡°The point is, I agree.  It¡¯s nice to have support. Thank you,¡± Liz said in a rare moment of genuine sentiment.


    ¡°Quality over quantity. That¡¯s what I was taught.¡±


    ¡°Yeah I can tell. You really took that one to the extreme, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± He asked in mock outrage.


    ¡°Well you only have two friends. How much quality could there be?¡±


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re one of those two! And besides, you only have like one and a half friends! At least I found you, you just found me. So I think I won the contest of friends.¡±


    ¡°Half a friend? Oh come on. You¡¯re worth at least two thirds of a friendship,¡± Liz defended.


    ¡°I meant my devious sister, thank you very much,¡± John said.


    ¡°Oh she¡¯s way cooler than you. I¡¯m sorry but if there is only one full friend slot, I gotta put you in the fraction,¡± Liz said, sounding regretful.


    ¡°Betrayal most foul. I think I¡¯ll invite Jules instead next time,¡± John said.


    ¡°That sounds like fun. Then I¡¯ll have two marks to practice on,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Not if I don¡¯t invite you,¡± John retorted.


    ¡°Ha! You didn¡¯t invite me this time,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Shit,¡± John whispered loud enough for her to hear.


    They both laughed, a sound that had become too rare in the insanity of the new world. It felt nice to lay there, teasing and prodding each other with words. John was grateful for her presence in that moment.


    They devolved into silence once more, content to lay staring up at the forest canopy above. The sun had begun to disappear behind the horizon, not that it had been all that present before then. John let out a deep sigh of contentment.


    ¡°Thank you for coming,¡± he said quietly.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to be here,¡± she replied, no trace of sarcasm in her tone.


    They spoke little after that, both content to simply lay together. John found himself infatuated by the smell of Liz¡¯s hair. While Liz herself seemed preoccupied by tracing her fingers along his rib bones.


    Her arm had wormed its way under his jacket and into his shirt. Her cold hands felt like a touch of ice against his skin, but John didn¡¯t flinch away from it. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused on the contact.


    Her skin was incredibly soft against his. She gripped his chest with firm certainty as her hand moved across each bone and curve of his flesh. He felt his breath start to catch in his throat.


    He concentrated on the aroma of her hair as the exhilaration increased. She smelled like milk and honey. It was a scent almost sickly sweet in his nostrils. It made him want to bury his face in her hair and breathe it in like a man starving for oxygen.


    ¡°You smell good,¡± he said lamely.


    ¡°Uh.. thanks. You have really nice skin,¡± Liz replied a bit awkwardly.


    Then they both laughed. It was good to know that despite everything that had happened to the humans of earth, nothing could stop the ability of two teenagers to become embarrassing piles of inarticulate flesh at a moment¡¯s notice. They sighed at the failed attempt at flirting.


    John felt Liz turn her head to look up at him and opened his eyes. She was staring up at him with brilliant blue orbs that he found almost irresistibly beautiful in that moment. They just stared at each other for a long moment.


    Then John grabbed her cheek gently with his free hand and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her waiting lips. It was slow, soft, and invited much more than he had expected from Liz. His breath caught in his throat and his face separated from hers as he felt her hand slide down his chest with certainty.


    ¡°Oh shit,¡± he said just before her fingers snaked past his belt.


    5


    ¡°Where have you two been?¡± Emily demanded as John and Liz stepped through the back door of the house.


    ¡°Went down to the pond,¡± John explained.


    ¡°I know that. Your sister came back hours ago. What took you guys so long?¡± She asked, sounding very suspicious.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Emily. It was just so beautiful there. I wanted to take it all in for as long as possible. There aren¡¯t a lot of beautiful nature scenes in the city.¡±


    Emily looked understandingly at Liz. Her face softened a great deal. When she spoke, it was in a tone of reassurance.


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s quite alright honey. I just wish someone would have told me where they were going. It¡¯s already dark!¡± Emily said, turning her accusing eyes back on her son.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry mom. We didn¡¯t mean to stay out so long. We were just talking about everything and time got away from us,¡± John said apologetically.


    ¡°Yeah. I know what time getting away from kids looks like,¡± Emily said with an almost omniscient look at John.


    ¡°Mom! You have no chill!¡± John said, grabbing Liz¡¯s hand and attempting to pull her out of the eyes of scrutiny.


    ¡°Dinner is in the kitchen. But it¡¯s probably cold by now. Why don¡¯t you make your guest a plate?¡± Emily asked, making it sound like anything but a question.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± John asked Liz.


    ¡°Umm, sure. I could eat.¡±


    The two of them were soon sitting at the kitchen table, sending awkward looks at each other as they quietly picked through their food. Chicken casserole. A specialty and favorite dish of his mother¡¯s. They had been there for quite some time, the clock nearing midnight.


    John was more interested in looking at Liz than in eating. She sat almost self consciously, looking like she was being judged for simply existing. He reached out a hand to rest on top of hers.


    ¡°Thank you for that. I¡¯m sorry it happened in a hammock. Who knew they were so hard to-¡±


    Liz cleared her throat and glanced meaningfully behind John. He turned to see the shadow of his mother approaching from the hallway. He turned back to Liz.


    ¡°Well anyway. I just wanted to thank you for coming,¡± John said with a slight wink and a touch of emphasis on the last word.


    Liz grew slightly red at his words. She looked down at her food and began finding an extraordinary number of vegetables she wished to shovel into her mouth. John smiled and returned to his own food.


    ¡°Thanks for letting me come,¡± she finally said with a quiet smirk.


    ¡°Well it was kind of hard to stop you,¡± John smiled, enjoying the extended double entendre.


    ¡°When I set my mind on doing something, it usually gets done,¡± Liz returned.


    ¡°Liz, dear? Do you want to stay the night?¡± Emily asked as she entered the room.


    ¡°Stay? Oh, no that¡¯s okay, Emily.¡± Liz said in surprise.


    ¡°Nonsense! It¡¯s late and I don¡¯t like the idea of you taking one of those alien ships all the way home alone,¡± Emily insisted.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with her,¡± John offered hopefully before getting a swat on the head by his mom.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to inconvenience you guys,¡± Liz protested.


    ¡°Oh no, no inconvenience at all. You can sleep in John¡¯s room.¡±


    Both John and Liz shared a sharp look at these words. Neither responded, but Emily seemed to see through their silence.


    ¡°You can sleep on the couch,¡± she said to John.


    ¡°Yeah, mom. Whatever you say,¡± John assured her.


    ¡°Well then it¡¯s settled. You¡¯re staying. John, spare blankets are in the closet. I¡¯m going to bed,¡± Emily said.


    Then she left the room. They heard her make her way down the hallway and start climbing the stairs. John motioned to Liz not to speak until he had heard her bedroom door shut.


    ¡°She¡¯s in rare form tonight,¡± he whispered.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Liz asked.


    John shook his head. He laughed quietly at his mother before attempting to explain.


    ¡°We have a spare bedroom,¡± John explained.


    ¡°You do? Then why didn¡¯t she just offer that to me?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s right next to my room,¡± John said.


    ¡°What does tha-¡± Liz stopped in the middle of asking John.


    ¡°Ohhhh,¡± she said instead.


    ¡°Yeah. You may have heard the stairs creaking like a haunted house when she went up them,¡± John offered.


    ¡°I did,¡± Liz confirmed.


    ¡°You see? She fancies herself a detective. She wants those stairs between us so she will know if I try to sneak in to see you.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s actually really smart,¡± Liz complimented.


    ¡°The stairs were the whole reason we have a two story house. I think she imagined protecting Emma from boys when she gets that old. I never thought it would be to stop me,¡± John complained.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s a good thing she¡¯s looking out for me. I don¡¯t know what I would do if you came into my room at night when everyone else was asleep,¡± Liz said defenselessly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you would think of something,¡± John said with a thought back to their time in the hammock.


    ¡°Excuse me? I am a classy lady. I will not have you defame my good name with such scandalous accusations! Good day sir!¡± Liz said, rising haughtily from the table.


    John laughed and followed suit. He took their dishes to the sink and quickly cleaned them off before gesturing to Liz to follow him. He showed her to his room and made sure she had everything she needed to be comfortable.


    While still holding a conversation so as to cover his actions, John flipped the latches on his window. He pulled upward on it until it was opened by a couple inches. Liz looked curiously at him as he did so.


    ¡°No screen,¡± he whispered at her with a wink.


    When Liz was settled in, John left her with a soft kiss on the forehead and went to retrieve blankets from the closet so he could make his bed on the couch. He was sure to make as much noise as possible on the way down the stairs to reassure his mom of his final position. John sat alone in the living room as the house settled into silence.


    After plenty of time for his mother to fall asleep had passed, John quietly rose from the couch. Creeping into the hallway, John grabbed the front door as quietly as possible. With excruciating slowness, he turned the handle and began pulling gently on the door.


    It came open with a small jerk, and John held his breath for several seconds. When he was sure he wasn¡¯t about to be caught, he gingerly stepped into the freezing night air. Pulling the door closed just as cautiously despite his quickly lowering body temperature.


    When he had reset the door, John stepped away from the house with a smile. The hard part was over. Turning to look at his slightly opened bedroom window, John summoned the wings to his back.

 Chapter 28

    Chapter 28


    1


    John and Liz left his house fairly early the next day. Their night time shenanigans had went unnoticed by his determined mother, although she had wondered aloud why the front door had been unlocked, certain that she had locked it before bed.


    After escaping the suspicious looks from his mother, John and Liz took her return shuttle back to her house. It was a peaceful journey, flying at near jet speeds across the sky. When they touched down at her house, the vessel waited patiently for them to disembark before disappearing into the sky once more.


    ¡°Would have been nice if it just waited,¡± John lamented, watching it go.


    ¡°Eh, we¡¯ll get another one. It¡¯s not like they cost money,¡± Liz dismissed.


    ¡°I guess,¡± John conceded.


    They moved to the house and went in, John tailing a couple steps behind Liz. He was once again taken aback by the splendor of the place. They moved through the house without notice, everyone apparently occupied elsewhere.


    Liz led him to a study nestled deep within the house. There, they found her mom focused hard on what John recognized as a cultivation scroll. Liz knocked twice on the doorway as they entered.


    ¡°Hey mom,¡± she said when Amy looked up.


    ¡°You¡¯re back! Hello dear. Oh hello John! I wasn¡¯t expecting you,¡± she said warmly.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting me either,¡± John laughed in greeting.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s a relief. An extra pair of eyes will be good. They¡¯re upstairs, surprisingly. They haven¡¯t stopped asking when you¡¯d be back since you promised them to take them out. I can barely focus on anything.¡± Any complained.


    ¡°Sorry mom. I didn¡¯t expect to be gone all night,¡± Liz apologized.


    ¡°Had a fun night did you?¡± Amy asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Mom!¡± Liz reprimanded as her face turned a delicate shade of crimson.


    She pulled John away from the study before her mom could turn her questions to him. They heard Amy laughing heartily behind them as they went. John smiled too. It was nice to see Liz so put off.


    ¡°Alright dweebs,¡± Liz called as they topped the third floor.


    As though someone had rung the dinner bell on some starving dogs, Caleb and Jason rocketed from their rooms. They launched like cannonballs at their sister, nearly bowling her over. It wasn¡¯t until Caleb caught sight of John behind her that they really lost their composure, though.


    ¡°John is here?!¡± He shouted.


    ¡°What?! No way! You¡¯re coming too?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming too,¡± John confirmed with a laugh.


    ¡°Aw dude! This is going to be so sweet!¡± Jason crowed.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to take us somewhere really awesome aren¡¯t you?¡± Caleb asked.


    ¡°Chill out, nerds,¡± Liz berated them.


    ¡°Truth be told, I don¡¯t know where we¡¯re going to explore today,¡± John said apologetically.


    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± They both asked.


    ¡°No, unfortunately, you caught me at a weird time. See my new car base is in the middle of driving across the Garden. We have no idea where we are or how dangerous the area is. In other words, today we¡¯re going to explore the proper wilderness. You two may get to be the first humans from earth to explore that part of the Garden.¡± John explained.


    He could tell from the way their faces lit up that they had innumerable questions about his explanation. Liz put a hand up to stop them before they could get going. They looked at her like she was about to ruin their day.


    ¡°We have rules,¡± she said, and the twins seemed to have their confirmation.


    ¡°Aw, come on Lizzy. Always with the rules?¡± Caleb complained.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you think we¡¯ve heard this enough?¡± James asked.


    ¡°Clearly you haven¡¯t or you wouldn¡¯t still be complaining about it,¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Yeah, but you go over them every time. Why do we have to hear it again?¡± James asked.


    ¡°The rules have changed. This isn¡¯t a casual stroll around Emerald Base. We¡¯re talking about the middle of nowhere. People wouldn¡¯t normally ever see an area so far from the safety of a base. There is literally no telling what we¡¯re going to come across. Frankly, you¡¯re both lucky I¡¯m letting you come at all. And if it was just me, you wouldn¡¯t be.¡± Liz said, all seriousness.


    ¡°She¡¯s right guys. Your sister and I are going to take extreme cautions to make sure you guys are as safe as possible. Even so, there is no such thing as safety in the Garden. We will all be at risk, no matter how careful we are. If you can¡¯t follow Liz¡¯s instructions to the letter, we can¡¯t afford to take you with us.¡± John explained calmly.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Caleb said, suitably chastised.


    ¡°So? What¡¯s it going to be?¡± Liz asked, looking between the two of them.


    ¡°Give us the rules,¡± Jason answered.


    ¡°Good. Rule number one,¡± Liz pointed a finger at John, ¡°he is in charge. If he tells you to run, you run. If he tells you to be quiet, I don¡¯t want to hear a sound. What he says, goes. No questions asked. Got it?¡± Liz explained.


    ¡°Got it,¡± they both responded, looking at John as well to show they understood.


    ¡°Rule number two. You will not go anywhere alone. Even if it¡¯s only a few steps over a hill or around a few trees. There is nothing that doesn¡¯t want you dead in the Garden. You¡¯d be surprised how quickly safe can become life threatening. Every step you take will be accompanied by myself or John. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± they responded again.


    ¡°Rule number three. If you kill it yourself, you harvest the gene yourself. None of this ¡®do it for me, Liz¡¯ crap. John and I will have our hands full making sure nothing comes too close to killing you. If you expect to get stronger, you gotta learn to harvest them yourselves. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± they both intoned, though neither sounded very happy about this particular rule.


    ¡°Rule number four, and I can¡¯t believe I have to say this. No fucking fighting over who gets to kill what. It was a damn bunny for crying out loud. I¡¯ve never seen the equal, I swear. And after I killed the giant hawk you attracted with your bickering, you had the nerve to ask if one of you got the gene. I¡¯m going to say it this once, and if I ever have to put it on this list again, I¡¯ll crack your skulls together like eggs and see which one breaks first. No. Fighting. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± they repeated, sounding ashamed to be called out in front of John.


    Finally, rule number five. If we tell you to keep something to yourself, you will never mention it to anyone else under any circumstances. Certain information is dangerous. Spreading it around would only make you a target. No boasting. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± they both promised.


    ¡°John? Anything to add?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°I think that about covers it,¡± he said.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go,¡± Liz said eliciting cheers from the twins.


    2


    ¡°Location?¡± The Kumani at the station asked Caleb as they all approached the transition pad.


    ¡°Obsidian base,¡± Caleb said nervously.


    ¡°Confirmed. Step forward,¡± the alien said robotically.


    Caleb did as instructed and was soon fading from sight as he made the transition to the Garden. John gestured for Jason to go next, and the nervous twin moved to join his brother in the Garden. When John and Liz followed a moment later, the two were already agog with amazement.


    ¡°Is this your base?¡± One asked.


    ¡°Oh wow, this temple is huge! How big is the city outside?¡± The other chimed in.


    ¡°This is my base. It¡¯s not the biggest base you can get, but it¡¯s up there. I¡¯ll never run out of space at least,¡± John confirmed.


    ¡°Dude, this is so awesome. How did you get it?¡± Caleb asked


    ¡°I won it in a contest,¡± John oversimplified.


    ¡°You¡¯re so lucky!¡± Jason said enviously.


    ¡°Alright dweebs. There¡¯s some things we gotta take care of before we can get to the exploration. First things first. John?¡± Liz said.


    ¡°Right. Come over here and stand on the transition pad,¡± he said.


    They all did, including Liz, and John set the destination to his vault. A moment later, they were all standing in the still quite empty room. The lava floors sent the twins into another fit of excitement.


    ¡°Come along,¡± John said to them as he and Liz strolled across the glowing floor like they couldn¡¯t be less impressed.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± One of them asked as they trailed behind.


    ¡°It¡¯s a treasure vault in the middle of a volcano. What does it look like?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Dude, this is freaking amazing!¡±


    ¡°By the way, guys. Rule number five is in effect. Don¡¯t tell anyone John has a volcano base with a secret underground vault filled with genes. Agreed?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± they both said, still in awe.


    ¡°Thanks guys. Strictly speaking, not even my guild knows I¡¯m the one in charge. I always wear my armor around anyone but Liz or Jules. So, you guys are some of the only people who know the truth,¡± John said.


    ¡°Really?¡± Caleb asked, finally catching up with John and Liz.


    ¡°Really. I¡¯m trusting you guys. The less people who know, the safer we are.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t tell anyone, but what is so dangerous about someone knowing this place belongs to you?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°That,¡± John said, pointing.


    They had come within range of the ever growing mass of genes the base had acquired. Jules had provided a more than substantial increase to the quantity since transitioning the guild to Obsidian base. Now the entire back wall was decorated and organized with rows upon rows of lower tier genes.


    The twins gaped openly at the unfathomable wealth on display. Their eyes traveled from side to side, marveling at the perfectly organized shelves and cases of genes. John gave them time to take in what they were seeing before prompting them.


    ¡°Now do you understand what the big secret is? We could be in some trouble if people started challenging me for ownership of my base all the time. So, let¡¯s just pretend Obsidian base doesn¡¯t exist right?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Caleb said.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Jason agreed.


    They were both still completely flabbergasted by the room they were standing in. John laughed and stepped forward. He grabbed a few genes before turning back to the twins.


    ¡°How far along are you guys?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got thirty-two Primitive genes. I also have twelve Awakened genes,¡± Caleb said.


    ¡°I have twenty-eight Primitive genes. No Awakened genes but I have seven Enhanced ones.¡± Jason chimed in.


    ¡°Not bad guys,¡± John said as he rifled through the stock.


    ¡°Why are you doing?¡± Jason asked as they watched him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, a couple of these oughta do it. One of those. Alright,¡± John said absently.


    He came back with an armful of genes. He dropped them all in a pile at the twins¡¯ feet. They stared open mouthed at him.


    ¡°Those are all Primitive. Between the two of you, it should take a couple dozen to max out. When you¡¯re done with that, these two are for you Jason, and this one is yours Caleb. These are Awakened, while this one is Enhanced. That should put you guys on roughly equal footing,¡± John explained, putting the higher tiered genes aside for them.


    ¡°You want us to take all of these?¡± Caleb asked in awe.


    ¡°Yes I do. And be quick about it. We have more to do,¡± John said as he turned away to walk among the genes once more.


    ¡°Why are you giving us so many genes?¡± Jason asked as he and Caleb began picking up the Primitive genes at their feet.


    ¡°Because you need to be stronger. And because I don¡¯t know what else I¡¯m going to do with all of them. Have you seen this place?¡± John called back as he moved further into the rows of genes.


    ¡°Just take them. And put what you can¡¯t use back,¡± Liz commanded.


    The twins did as instructed and soon found themselves inundated with the expansive energy of the genes they were gaining. They exalted in the euphoria of expanding their spirits, and John thought back to his own early days in the Garden. He hoped he could provide the experience they needed without all the traumatic danger he had gone through.


    When the twins had finished with the Primitive genes, shouting in glee when their tallies each reached one hundred, John returned. They were moving on to their Awakened and Enhanced genes respectively when John placed a pair of Advanced genes down next to the lower ones. Both boys¡¯ eyes went wide in shock.


    ¡°Are those?¡± Caleb asked.


    ¡°Yep. Advanced genes. One for each of you. This is all I can give you though. Gaining anymore progression all at once could unbalance your growth.¡± John said.


    ¡°Unbalance our growth? But Liz said she flew through the lower tiers. She said you went even faster. How is that different from this?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°Because your sister fought for every gene. Every scrap of advancement she¡¯s made has been through strife and determination. She progressed so quickly because she had to so that she would be ready to protect you guys when you came here. You¡¯re lucky enough that you don¡¯t have to rush it. These genes will give you the boost you need to get a handle on your tools and reflexes more quickly. If we simply give you all the genes, you won¡¯t have the experience you need to survive without us.¡± John explained.


    ¡°Without you?¡± Jason asked in confusion.


    John and Liz shared a look. Neither of them had spoken of it, but they had an agreement of sorts. They would make sure their families were in favorable positions, and then they would both see what the ¡®Evolution Pool¡¯ was.


    ¡°You don¡¯t always want to be babysat, do you?¡± Liz deflected.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°No, I guess not,¡± Jason said.


    ¡°So, drink up. Then we can get to the exploring,¡± she said.


    ¡°Drink up? You know that¡¯s not even close to accurate right?¡± Caleb asked.


    ¡°Hush. Your skin is drinking. Now shut up and drink your genes so we can go kill some monsters.¡±


    3


    After the twins had successfully ¡°drank¡± their provided genes, a process that left them both gasping for air after the Advanced variant, John led them back to the transition pad. They returned to Obsidian Temple ready to do some exploring. John instructed them all to wait while he made the necessary arrangements.


    Donning his armor, he went to the ¡°Garden Mapping Command Center¡± as Jules had dubbed it. Unsurprisingly, the man was there along with his ever growing cadre of cartographers. They were hard at work mapping the current region the base was moving through.


    ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± John asked when he had gained Jules¡¯ attention.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Jules said excitedly.


    ¡°That good, huh?¡± John laughed.


    ¡°We¡¯re making amazing progress. We¡¯ve found a speed that we can maintain. The crew swaps out in hour shifts so no one¡¯s hand gets too cramped. We have people taking special note of landscape as it passes for the ones on mapping duty to get an accurate depiction. It¡¯s starting to run like a well oiled machine,¡± Jules said.


    ¡°Starting to? You did all of this in three days of trial and error?¡± John asked, looking with astonishment at the massive map sprawled across the entire floor.


    It had been filled in with an unbelievable amount of detail starting with the lands around the area Obsidian base had originated. There was a clear indication of every change in terrain and environment from there all the way to where the group was now scribbling. John stared at the several hundred miles of map that had been more or less completed since he last laid eyes on it.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Well, you know how neither of us really knows what we¡¯re going to do with all of the genes in the vault?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been giving them out as payment for drawing the map,¡± John said, suddenly understanding.


    ¡°I have. And it turns out that after you start progressing into the Awakened and Enhanced tiers, your mind becomes a lot more capable. Your body, too. I¡¯ve noticed it myself. Ever since we started the guild and my genes started to increase, I¡¯ve been able to get a lot more done. It¡¯s like my efficiency has grown tenfold. So I figured if they all had a boost like that, we wouldn¡¯t have as much of an issue with the project,¡± Jules explained.


    ¡°Well clearly you¡¯re onto something. I see you¡¯ve discovered a dozen or so bases,¡± John observed.


    ¡°Yeah, that challenge function is amazing,¡± Jules gushed.


    John had given Jules the ability to issue challenges to other bases on his behalf. He then extracted the promise that Jules would never, ever do so. That gave Jules the ability to see the names of every base they passed without John¡¯s presence.


    This had become necessary a couple days prior when Jules had asked John when he would be back to start the journey again. John had not understood the question until Jules explained that they couldn¡¯t simply pass bases without him there to be told their names. John had found the obligation unacceptable, and quickly found the solution in passing challenge authority to Jules instead.


    Jules had been ecstatic, and more than happy to let John go after that. And now, three days later, John could see just how well the man had adapted his workers to the task of mapping the Garden. Extraordinary amounts of detail had gone into it, including a seemingly accurate representation of each base they had passed.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done an awesome job, dude,¡± John told his friend.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a blast. I can¡¯t wait to get to Emerald base and pick another location.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should give these guys some time off? Don¡¯t they still have to get out and explore?¡± John asked.


    ¡°You let me worry about that,¡± Jules said mysteriously.


    ¡°Okay,¡± John said, drawing the word out in exaggeration.


    ¡°So what¡¯s up? Have you come to spoil my fun?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°¡®Fraid so,¡± John said.


    ¡°What¡¯s the story?¡± Jules asked.


    ¡°Got a couple of greenhorns. Liz and I are going to take them out for some experience. What do you think? How¡¯s the area look?¡±


    Jules hesitated.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not too far from the nearest base. I¡¯d say we¡¯re still further into the thick stuff than most people go, though. Based on what you told me last time you went out, I¡¯ve been making some estimations about the nature of the Garden. Look,¡± he said, gesturing to a section of map.


    ¡°Based on the size of a base in any given area, we can determine how quickly after leaving the base you can expect to run into bigger threats. Take Emerald for example,¡± he said pointing at it.


    ¡°Okay,¡± John said patiently.


    ¡°We have the most information on Emerald, because most of our team was stationed there originally. Notice the rings drawn around the base? They¡¯re color coded. Dark green represents the safest zone. It¡¯s about the first mile radius all around the base. You can still find Primitive things to hunt, but it¡¯s not a very big risk. After that is the light green ring. It makes up from one to four miles out in every direction from the base. You¡¯ll find Awakened and Enhanced beasts more often in this range. After that you get into the yellow ring. In the four to ten mile radius is where Advanced and worse beasts start showing up. When you get more than ten miles from the base in any direction, that¡¯s the orange zone. That¡¯s where zones like the ones you and Liz found the cactus in start appearing. Packed with beasts no lower than Enhanced, and often championed by something extremely dangerous. After that would be the red zone, but no one has explored far enough from Emerald base to know what that might be like. But if you look over here,¡± Jules directed John¡¯s attention.


    John was impressed by the consideration and effort Jules always seemed to put into his projects. He had to admit that in his experience, the classifications seemed accurate. After a moment, he looked where Jules was indicating.


    ¡°This is Calcium base,¡± Jules said.


    John noted the rings around the base started at yellow and moved to orange, then red, and finally, black. His eyebrows raised as he took in the map. He looked at Jules for an explanation.


    ¡°We stopped here yesterday morning. We had just passed the base, so I figured it was a good opportunity to let the crew catch up on some mapping and take a break. We stopped about a mile away from the base. Some of the guild members who are more diligent reporters volunteered to venture out and get a sense of the terrain. Well apparently our passage through the area stirred up some trouble because right after the group left the base, they were attacked by a whole pack of Advanced hyena things. They all made it back okay, but we decided against going out to explore after that. I drew these rings up as an estimation after that.¡± Jules said.


    ¡°And the black ring?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Anything beyond the red circle is considered unknown wild. It could be home to tadpoles or sharks. Red represents the most dangerous areas we¡¯ve studied. Black represents all of the area between bases that has never been studied. We simply don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so back to my original question. How dangerous would it be to go out?¡± John asked.


    ¡°For most people? I would say extremely. For you? I don¡¯t know. How many people are going?¡±


    ¡°Two. With Liz to help me watch them,¡± John said.


    ¡°Well, if we stop right now, it might be pretty bad. But there¡¯s another base coming up in about fifty miles. We should be there in half an hour or so. That would be a better place to show them the ropes.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second. How do you know there is a base coming up?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I increased the range it notifies me of another base within. You can¡¯t issue a challenge until you¡¯re within a couple miles, but it lets you know far enough ahead of time to prepare in case you want to. It¡¯s all impressively designed.¡± Jules explained.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad one of us is putting the time into learning this place¡¯s secrets. I just kind of stumble on all mine.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, give me some time to get us within a decent range and I¡¯ll stop the base. I still can¡¯t promise the area will be all that safe though,¡± Jules said.


    ¡°Understood. Thanks man.¡±


    4


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± John asked his charges as they all stood at the gates of Obsidian base.


    Jules had stopped the journey around three miles from the nearby base. Having told John its name was Topaz base, John had hypothesized that it would have roughly the same danger scale as Emerald, being the same tier. So they stopped right in the middle of what would have been the light green circle if he was right and prepared to do some exploring.


    The twins nodded their eager affirmations as John approached both of them. He produced his Wizened griffin javelin and handed it to Caleb. Then he summoned a soul his father had given him. It was one he had apparently gained during their trial to earn Obsidian base.


    It was a small weapon, though deadly in appearance. For all intents and purposes, it could be considered an ice pick. The barbed edges of the blade promised utter devastation both entering and exiting a victim. Both boys¡¯ eyes lit up at the offered gifts.


    ¡°These are both Wizened tier. We¡¯re not sure how many people even know that tier exists, so these fall under rule five, got it?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Got it,¡± they both said.


    ¡°Now, one of you is on ranged damage, and one of you is on close combat. You¡¯ll trade off every hour so neither of you is unfamiliar with both types of fighting. Whoever has the javelin, bear in mind that you can only throw it once before you have to summon it back. That takes time you might not have. Don¡¯t throw until you¡¯re ready, and make it count. Whoever is on close quarters, bear in mind that your brother can¡¯t defend as well up close with a long weapon. Watch each other¡¯s backs, and never let your guard down.¡±


    Then John produced a shield soul for each of them. They took the gifts with reverence, sure to thank John profusely for his kindness. When they were properly outfitted for the journey, they all set out.


    John chose to take them in the opposite direction from the nearby base, hoping to avoid running into any locals. He didn¡¯t want a situation like with the Drizk to crop up. So, they ventured out unobtrusively into the wilderness.


    The first few hours were just as John had hoped. They came across a decent number of Awakened beasts, with just a couple of Enhanced examples here and there. The twins took turns back and forth with ranged or close quarters fighting, both happy to try either role.


    Despite their inexperience, John was impressed by the boys. The griffin javelin made it incredibly easy to hunt at a distance, almost seeming impatient to find a target. While the Wizened Razortooth ice pick proved more than capable of dispatching the foes who came within range.


    The open field terrain made it simple for them to see most threats coming before they got close, though the weeds were so tall that certain beasts hid better than others. They were able to dispatch each foe relatively easily, if not entirely without strife. John and Liz stood ready with their own weapons in case anything proved the better of the boys.


    But, to their great surprise, the twins heeded their advice well and stuck together. Shields were always raised to intercept anything that might get close enough to attack. They were constantly looking all around them as the quartet marched through the fields. They diligently pointed out prey to each other and kept watch any time one of them had to harvest a gene, a task neither of them appreciated nearly as much as the hunting.


    They consumed the genes as they came across them, each adding to their pools steadily throughout the day. This also gave them a better grasp of their weapons as their capacity to learn and remember increased. By the fourth hour, they had both nearly maxed their Awakened counts.


    Caleb had just skewered his second Enhanced prey of the day when John spotted trouble in the distance. Jason, who was keeping watch for Caleb while he harvested the gene from the dead groundhog he had killed, noticed it too. He quickly turned to his brother.


    ¡°Can I have the javelin now? I want to get one of those,¡± he said pointing.


    Caleb followed his brother¡¯s finger until he saw the group of carrion birds circling the sky in the distance. He finished removing the front teeth from the groundhog¡¯s mouth and stood up. They both stared at the small black cloud of birds for several seconds.


    ¡°No,¡± John said.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°No questions asked, remember?¡± Liz reminded them.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. They should learn to spot these things. Take a look at the birds again, boys,¡± John said.


    ¡°Okay,¡± they said, turning to observe the cloud.


    ¡°Notice anything strange about them?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Strange?¡± Caleb asked.


    ¡°You mean how they¡¯re kind of stacked up?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°Exactly. The lowest tier flies below the rest. Now I¡¯m guessing by the size of the group that the lowest tier is probably Awakened. If I¡¯m right, that means that those two,¡± John said indicating the largest birds circling above all the others, ¡°are probably Wizened.¡±


    ¡°Wizened? Are you sure?¡± Caleb asked.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m not sure. But even if they¡¯re only Advanced, don¡¯t underestimate their ability to direct their underlings. The last thing we want is a whole murder of birds out for our blood. We should steer clear. There will be others to hunt.¡±


    ¡°If they¡¯re circling something, that probably means there is something about to die right? Shouldn¡¯t we see what they¡¯re interested in?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°No. If there is something ahead that is of interest to those two, you¡¯re already closer to peril that you realize. Come on. Let¡¯s head back this way. We should probably get back to Obsidian before long anyway,¡± John said.


    ¡°Alright,¡± they both agreed.


    John and Liz continued to chaperone the boys on their exciting adventure, collecting from them any Awakened genes they could no longer consume after maxing out. In this way, the twins contributed to the treasury after borrowing from its reserves. Not that John needed the genes back, but he wouldn¡¯t refuse the gift.


    They were well on their way back to the base when Jason raised the javelin to throw at a wild horse like creature. It had all the usual horse characteristics, but it also sported a pair of horns similar to, if more narrow than a bull¡¯s. John noticed his target just in time to warn him.


    ¡°Stop,¡± John said, quickly approaching.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s all alone. I¡¯ve got this,¡± Jason said, taking aim with the javelin.


    ¡°Rule number one,¡± John growled severely, forcing the javelin down as he did.


    Jason looked ashamed as he lowered his eyes to the ground. He dropped his arm and slumped his shoulders. Then he uttered a quiet apology.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, John.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just have more information than you. I can tell by looking at that thing that it¡¯s beyond anything that javelin can handle. And I¡¯d be willing to bet it isn¡¯t as alone as it looks either.¡±


    Even as he said it, they all heard a battle cry from the distance. A thunder of hooves soon hammered against their feet as a great stampede of hooves pounded the ground. John didn¡¯t wait around to see what the disturbance was.


    ¡°Time to go,¡± he said.


    5


    John and Liz both surrendered their wing souls to the twins. The instruction was that if either of them said so, they boys were to summon them and fly straight for the base. John was confident that he and Liz could avoid dying in the confusion, the twins, not so much.


    They had only made it a few dozen yards when they heard the return cry of whatever the horse beast was called. As they ran, figures started rising up from the tall grass all around them. John got a horrible flashback to his first day in the garden.


    He knew that the most dangerous threat one could face in the Garden was a large group of focused beasts led by a determined alpha. John abandoned all pretense upon seeing more and more of the horned horses rise all around them. He instinctively sunk an arrow into the chest of one that stood right in the path of Caleb and Jason.


    ¡°You have killed Advanced Bovequinite. Gene available for harvest!¡±


    It fell to the side, clearing the way for the twins as it did so. Unfortunately, this drew the attention of the alpha, who seemed to have an inordinate sense of its fellows. John could almost feel the collective attention shift from whatever had roused the beasts to their four man party.


    ¡°Shit, go! Now! Don¡¯t stop until you get back to Obsidian. Liz?¡±


    ¡°On it,¡± Liz replied before shifting into a bear.


    The twins followed their orders well and had already summoned their wings and were flying away when Liz met the charge of the nearest horned horse. She batted it¡¯s lowered head to the ground with an impossibly powerful swipe of her paw. The momentum of the beast carried it past her where John sunk an arrow into its prone form.


    They took off in a mad dash to escape the charge of angry beasts. John took the first opportunity he had to launch a replenishing arrow at Liz. It sunk into her hide without effect other than to lend a bit of speed to her quadrupedal stride.


    The twins soon left them behind as their high grade wings carried them faster than any human could hope to run. John was relieved to see them shrink into the distance as he and Liz continued to draw the ire of the horse beasts all around them. Four more times they were attacked as they retreated, and each time they were able to work together to dispatch the threat.


    After an unacceptably long amount of time, John heard the clamor of confrontation behind them. Deciding it was probably the threat that had aroused the beasts in the first place, he put on an extra burst of speed to get out of the combat zone. Soon he and Liz were able to slow down and catch their breath.


    John lamented the absence of his wings. He had become spoiled on the idea of letting his soul tools do all the work for him. Not having them was a stark reminder that he wasn¡¯t as untouchable as he always considered himself.


    As if to prove the point, a large cat suddenly leapt from the tall grass and tried to tackle him to the ground. He managed to roll with the pounce and toss the cat past him to the ground, but his bow tumbled from his grip. Relying on instincts, John summoned his newest acquired soul.


    Itzukiel¡¯s Mercy materialized around John as the cat rolled to its feet. It pounced at John once more, but he easily caught the attack against his shield and redirected it back to the ground once more. He swung the hammer/pick at the cat, but it was just as capable of evasion as he was.


    Twice more they traded blows to no effect. Liz also attempted to intervene, but her large frame was no match for the agility of the hunting cat. John gestured for her to keep her distance.


    He took it as a fantastic opportunity to get a handle on his new weapon. He particularly appreciated the ability of Itzukiel¡¯s Mercy to guard and attack simultaneously. He was so unused to the versatility that it was taking some getting used to in order to wield it effectively.


    He decisively rolled with the cat¡¯s attacks as it lunged at him repeatedly. Each time he deflected a strike, he countered with a swing of his own. He found no more success than his opponent however. The two of them appeared evenly matched.


    John had long since recognized the beast as a Divine foe. No other tier could have shrugged off the glancing blows from his hammer so easily. When the beast¡¯s spiritual signature began to flare with activity, John warily prepared for a surprise.


    Before his shield was fully in position, John felt a breeze brush against him. He cried out and stumbled back as he belatedly realized that the cat had swiped a paw in his direction with such force that it actually split the air into four claw like blades of air. John fell to the ground as long, deep gashes scored his shield and armor diagonally.


    He felt the attack slice into his flesh as well, but was unable to focus on the pain as the cat immediately pounced on him upon seeing him fall. Blood began seeping from the cuts in his armor as John caught the jaws of the beast on his hammer¡¯s handle just before they found his neck. It wrenched its head back and forth, trying to tear the hammer from his grip, but John pounded it repeatedly with his shield arm until it let go and retreated several steps.


    John scrambled to his feet as the cat stalked slowly to the side, eyes never leaving him. John matched both it¡¯s gaze and movements as they reset themselves. John sensed the surge of spirit once more and knew it was about to launch an impossibly fast gust of wind blades at him again.


    Before it could, John aimed his shield wrist at the cat and tightened his grip around the handle until a roped bolt launched from the concealed chamber. It slammed into the cat, interrupting the beast¡¯s concentration. It cried out in pain as the bolt punched clean through it and out the other side.


    Before either John or the cat could react, the tip of the bolt opened like a grappling hook, gripping the cat like it was meant to support John as he repelled down a cliff. Unfortunately for the cat, it was not heavy enough to ignore the insistent retraction of the cord the bolt was attached to. John set his feet as he too was pulled off balance.


    While not light enough to be yanked bodily though the air, the difference in weight was enough to steadily drag the hunting cat towards John as it cried out and struggled to free itself. Despite its desperate battle against fate, the inexorable pull soon brought it within range of John¡¯s retribution. He spun the hammer until the spike was leading just as the cat came in range.


    With a quick and accurate strike, the beast ceased struggling. John panted in the stillness of the aftermath. With another flexation of his of shield arm, the prongs of the grapple broke loose, collapsing to allow the bolt to be removed through its original entry point.


    ¡°You have killed Divine Jaguar! Gene available for collection!¡±


    The message was slightly different than it had been with lesser beasts. He turned his attention back to his new weapon. It¡¯s grapple had already returned to its housing.


    John was impressed by the sheer versatility of the weapon. He knew it would take some practice to become truly proficient with the tool, but he saw great potential already. As he was admiring his new soul, the body of the great cat began to dissolve before his eyes.


    John watched in interest as the cat¡¯s body steadily broke down. It seemed to blow away upon the wind with each second that passed. Soon there was only a spherical crystal the size of a golf ball left behind.


    ¡°That must have been what happened to the bird that the cactus killed,¡± John realized as he picked up the crystal.


    ¡°¡±What just happened?¡± Liz asked, shifting back to human.


    ¡°That¡¯s what happens to the bodies of Divine beasts that die,¡± John explained.


    ¡°Divine? You mean we were being stalked by a Divine cat that whole time?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Looks that way, yeah. We should probably get back before anything else happens. But first,¡± John said, looking down at the crystal in his hand.


    He took a moment to build his spirit into the configuration the cat had exuded. It took longer than he would have hoped, as much like Sun¨¦, the cat had been extremely proficient in circulating its spirit. In due time, however, John was able to connect with the gene and begin soaking it into his cells.


    ¡°Congratulations! You have gained seven Divine genes!¡±


    John stumbled as the flood of energy burst through his body, forcing his potential to expand once more. He gasped in euphoria, but quickly recovered enough to continue their retreat. He smiled to himself as they ran.


    ¡°Halfway there,¡± he thought.


    ¡°You¡¯re safe!¡± Caleb exclaimed when they stumbled through the gates of Obsidian base a few minutes later.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Jason asked in alarm, seeing the bloody gashes across John¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Got ambushed by a dangerous beast,¡± John said exhaustedly.


    ¡°And that,¡± Liz said, pointing to the gore running down John¡¯s armor, ¡°is why we have rule number one.¡±