《Forgotten Girl Quest》 Information Appendix As this is a reference document, I recommend doing a Ctrl+F on whatever you want clarification about rather than reading front-to-back. This will be updated from time to time according to what needs to be added. If something you''re looking for isn''t here, feel free to drop a comment and I will add information to the appendix. Explanation of Statistics: Here is a brief look at what all of the numbers/information on the character sheets at the end of each chapter mean. As for the sheets themselves, they represent the current state of affairs at the moment that the chapter ends. We''ll use Natsuko''s character sheet at the end of Chapter 1 as an example:
NATSUKO
Level: 48 EXP To Level: 79,324 Class: Jack Fire Elemental HP: (10,521 | 10,521)
STATS
Force: 124 Vitality: 150 Finesse: 63 Cognition: 45 Insight: 102
ABILITIES
PASSIVE Hothead ¡ª Deal 50% more fire elemental damage while under half health ACTIVE: Jack of All Trades ¡ª Every two levels, Jack learn an ability belonging to another class. These can be used once per day. ELEMENTAL: Fire Gale ¡ª Produces a burst of fire from its user''s limbs dealing moderate fire elemental damage and setting target ablaze ACTIVE: Fuel Injection ¡ª Parry an elemental attack and regain 10% of the damage that would be dealt as HP and halve all current cooldowns. DESPERATION ART: Spontaneous Combustion ¡ª Coats the user in a wreath of flames and deals heavy fire damage centered on the user who loses half their health. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #189/190 USE-NUMBER: 11,144 Emanations ART NUMBER: 7,055 ERO-ART NUMBER: 4,720 FIC NUMBER: 16,992
From top to bottom, left to right: Name - The Hero''s name, obviously. Level - What their level is. For the time being this stat runs from 1-90, however the cap has increased in the past. EXP to Level - Also fairly obvious. The scaling is exponential, with the amount gained from monsters/quests/dungeons pegged to regions. As an example, leveling past 45 becomes significantly more difficult for Heroes after the region of Shikijima, which is where Natsuko and her original team capped out at. Class - The class of Hero. The Hero doesn''t pick this, they''re summoned that way and that''s their class permanently. These are also tied to three general roles in combat: Damage, Control, and Support, with Jack being the odd one out due to being able to do a little bit of everything. Elemental Type - All Heroes are summoned from a primordial element which determines both what type of damage they deal and what they''re resistant to. There are eight in total, those being Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Metal, Wood, Lightning, and Aether. HP - You guessed it, hit points. Attribute Stats: These are assigned by the Hero on each level up. The amount that the Hero starts with at level 1 and how much they get each level is assigned at their summoning. This is the greatest source of disparity between earlier and later-summoned Heroes. As an example, Natsuko started with 12/10/10/10/10 and gains 15 points each level, whereas Sofiane started with 45/45/54/45/45 and gains 30. Additionally, Heroes lose 10% of their total stats each time they die and are re-summoned. Stats can be reverted to their full values whenever the Hero completes a major quest, but this is an issue for Heroes who get stuck in a downward spiral and become too weak to do this. One last point of note is that these stats are only taken into consideration on direct competition with a mob, obstacle, or Hero, meaning that Sofiane may have more Cognition than Natsuko for certain purposes, but he''s not necessarily more clever. Force - Determines physical damage dealt (damage dealt directly by the Hero''s weapon, both Elemental and not) as well as resistance to physical damage. It also affects general strength. Vitality - Determines total HP and resistance to damage-over-time abilities. It also affects healthiness, including the ability to hold your drink. Finesse - Determines crit damage and %, dodge chance, and moderately influences the power of non-Elemental abilities. It also affects overall speed. Cognition - Determines magic damage (damage not dealt directly by the Hero''s weapon, e.g. when Shuixing fires a water missile as an attack) as well as resistance to magic damage. It also determines the level of certain in-universe knowledge. This is NOT considered as a total number, but as a ratio compared to the Hero''s other stats. E.g., if Sofiane has 190 Cognition and Shuixing has 178, but Shuixing''s ratio of Cognition to other stats is 1.5, she will be able to recall knowledge easier. Insight - Determines power of Elemental abilities, both physical and magical. It also gives cooldown reduction on activated abilities, once again as a ratio compared to other stats rather than a total. It also lowers the Hero''s accumulation of mental stress. Abilities: Slot 1 - Always the Hero''s unique passive, usually determines the way they approach combat in some way. Slot 2 - Always the Class''s core ability. Unlike other abilities, multiple Heroes may have the same one. Sometimes this is slightly modified, usually to conform to the Hero''s element. Slot 3 & 4 - These can be either active or passive, Elemental or Non-Elemental. Elemental abilities are generally better since they recruit more stats into their effectiveness and can be used to set up elemental reactions for higher damage. These are unique to the Heroes who have them. The one exception is that the Jack class can learn other Hero''s abilities but not Desperation Arts. Slot 5 - The Desperation Art. This is unique to the Hero and can only be activated under severe mental stress, NOT damage taken. Any time a Hero feels as though they''re in serious danger, their Desperation Art becomes unlocked and it can be used whenever it''s off cooldown. As a non-damage example, if Shuixing sees her teammates getting beaten to a pulp, her Desperation Art unlocks even if she has not taken damage herself. As mentioned above, Insight directly increases this threshold, making it harder for high-insight Heroes to unlock their Desperation Art. Usage Statistics: These represent either direct numbers for the Celestials'' usage of a Hero''s emanation, or provide useful proxies for the Hero to check their overall popularity and guess at the effectiveness of certain measures they are taking to attract Celestials to summon them. Use-Ranking - A ranking comparing where the Hero''s Use-Number sits relative to all other Heroes. Use-Number - The total number of Celestials summoning an emanation of that Hero to fight for them. Art Number - How many unique images have been drawn or created of that Hero by a Celestial. Ero-Art Number - As above but of a more lascivious nature. Fic Number - How many works of fiction have been written which involve the Hero. One last point of note: Heroes are only able to see and keep track of their own statistics. The exception to this is the Use-Ranking chart which is publicly visible. Other Terminology: Celestial - Divine figures existing in alternate-universe versions of Po-Lin who summon Heroes to fight for them. Their motives are opaque to the Heroes they summon, though the Heroes are aware there is some kind of personal attachment involved due to knowing what the Art, Ero-art, and Fic numbers entail. Emanation - A version of the Hero summoned by the Celestials into another world. This version is a snapshot of that Hero updated every seven days which functions as an imperfect copy of that Hero''s temperament, personality, visual aesthetic, statistics, and combat ability. Because this isn''t a perfect 1:1 clone of that Hero but a general sketch of them during that period of time, Heroes are able to manipulate how their emanation turns out by playing to a general pattern of behavior and appearance (i.e., their archetype). The more they deviate from this, the more this changes the emanation created when they''re summoned. Additionally, if a Hero makes a point of coming up with a fully new outfit/costume, the Celestials can elect to summon them in that costume. Po-Lin - The world in which everything takes place. Yishang-ren - An order of demi-gods with the ability to summon and re-summon Heroes and Non-Heroes alike. They are supposedly helping to guide the world of Po-Lin out of an epoch of formless Entropy along with the help of the Celestials in other universes. They accomplish this by pushing back something called the Mist one region at a time and having the Heroes fight off the Entropic Axis, an opposing force in favor of entropy. The extent of their powers isn''t fully known, but they don''t appear able to re-summon Heroes who die through extraordinary means, such as falling through the ground. Art Gallery Below is a collection (such as it is) of art for the story: Natsuko (by CenturyRobot)Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Here are some haiku so I can hit the 500 character limit: Old oak tree sheds, Its brown leaves for the year. Spanish moss waves On the table, A lizard scurries quick And leaps¡ªsproing! Autumn air chills. The coffee grows cold, but Warm it again. Chapter 1 - Verm?genburgh Wyvern Attack Weekly Special Event Numbers. That¡¯s what Natsuko needed, more Gods-damned numbers. Cold, hard, Ying coins, stats, Use-Numbers. As much as she could get. No such thing as too much. The whole world revolved around them, above and below. Five years ago, as far back as she could physically remember¡­ well¡­ existing, she¡¯d been a peppy optimist, ready to save the world of Po-Lin from the evil forces of the Entropic Axis. She''d been a Knight of Innocentus for crying out loud! That was over. Now she was a day-drinking regular at what used to be the busiest tavern in Verm?genburgh, which five years ago would''ve made it the busiest bar in Po-Lin, a bar called the Devil¡¯s Cut. At four in the afternoon, it was not busy. It hadn¡¯t been busy in years. Natsuko¡¯s messy mop of bright-orange hair puddled across the splintery counter. Clutched in her hands was a mug of room-temperature ale. Beside it was a neat little pyramid of shot glasses. Her drinking buddies, Non-Heroes, sat a few stools down, quietly nursing their own mugs. Late afternoon light filtered through dirty shingles at the other end of the bar and gave the whole place a musty look. ¡°It¡¯s all numbers, ain¡¯t it Klaus?¡± Natsuko mumbled. Klaus the bartender grunted. It wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d said that. Not even the first time that day. ¡°You seen any newbies wanderin¡¯ around?¡± she asked. ¡°One, a young girl. Was in and out, same day she was summoned,¡± Klaus said. ¡°See nowadays¡ª¡± ¡°Here she goes again!¡± said one of her Non-Hero drinking buddies. This prompted a round of laughter from their assembly of alcoholics. Natsuko scowled. ¡°Shut up, Hans. See, nowadays what they do¡ª¡± ¡°Oh! I know!¡± said Ada the barmaid. She knew the tirade Natsuko was about to launch into by heart. ¡°You shut up too!¡± Natsuko said, chuckling softly at the banter. It really was stupid. But she got pleasure out of the full rant, complete with the Non-Hero patrons knowing exactly what she was would say before she said it. ¡°Nowadays all the new Heroes that get summoned are crazy powerful, right out the gate! Frickin¡¯¡ª¡± Natsuko stopped to burp. ¡°¡ªfrickin¡¯... now when the Yishang dump a newbie on us, they¡¯re all five-stars, their base stats at Level 1 look like mine after I busted my ass for a whole goddamn year! They shoot frickin¡¯ legendary once¡ª¡± ¡°Once-in-a-millennia starbeams every five seconds from their ass?¡± Klaus the bartender interrupted, filling in the next line for her. Natsuko pounded the counter. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be my emotional support bartender, not mock me.¡± He shrugged with a guilty grin. ¡°Payback for those tabs you keep leaving open.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Pay you back when Yishang sends me my money.¡± The fun of the rant halted as soon as Natsuko remembered the state of her Ying purse. She''d been paid that week, and it was already running light again after she''d taken another hard dip in her Use-Number. That was the little metric tracking how many Celestials were using her emanation. In other words, how many of these unknowable gods in countless realms had summoned her in the past week for whatever the hell it was that they used her emanation for. Not many did. Not for years, anyway. There was a time when Natsuko was hot shit when she first came into existence five years ago. When she was at the frontlines of the fight against the Entropic Axis. When she was raking in money hand-over-fist (long since spent dry). She was the big deal the Celestials were all clamoring to summon. Now, she lived in her roommate¡¯s laboratory closet, had a diet of white rice and alcohol, and drowned herself in nostalgia and liquor. Her rant, though tedious for those that had heard it before, wasn¡¯t wrong. The newbie Heroes that the Yishang summoned were all ever-so-slightly stronger and more powerful than the ones that came before them. Their stats would be tuned slightly higher, their abilities more powerful, their outfits more¡­ well, on that point Natsuko was glad she came early. There was a sub-metric called your Ero-Art number, and while it didn¡¯t earn you any money, it was tied uncomfortably closely with your overall Use-Number. This all meant the newbies were out having legendary fights against demon kings right now, and she was due for¡­Stolen story; please report. ¡°¡®Bout that time, Natsuko,¡± Klaus said, pointing at the grandfather clock in the corner. It was a few minutes to five. She sighed. ¡°Yeah, guess I oughta.¡± Natsuko¡¯s legs wobbled under her and everything felt fuzzy. Her ale-to-whiskey pace had been a little off and now she was feeling bloated and sluggish. More than anything else, she wanted a nap. But she had a job to do first. Hefting her three foot tall, empty wine bottle over her shoulder, she went outside. The cobbled lanes of Verm?genburgh were quiet. The windows shuttered. The Non-Heroes all knew the drill by now. Five o¡¯clock on a Monday meant another special event where the same ice wyvern attacked the city. She had the event start time down to the second her foot touched the grass outside the city gate. A scream like nails on piano wires filled the mid-autumn air. From over the peaks of snow-capped mountains, a blue, crystalline wyvern sailed, honing in on the city. Natsuko squatted down and rested her chin on her oversized wine bottle and waited. The guards at the gate yawned and leaned against their pikes. Natsuko wondered idly whether it was the same wyvern every time, or if the Entropic Axis summoned new ones to throw at her. Either way, the little city no one remembered after they completed their intro quests relied on her to clear out the stupid wyvern every Monday. Technically, the townsfolk would all be resurrected by the Yishang the next morning if she decided not to do her job on a given Monday, but the last time Natsuko allowed that to happen because of a wicked hangover, she watched the Non-Heroes frozen alive next to their loved ones. Suffering was possible even if death wasn''t. So, the wyvern ended up part of her Monday afternoon schedule, penciled right in between drinking and more drinking. Natsuko exhaled in annoyance. ¡°Hurry up, ya little shit." The ice wyvern let out another screech and dipped its neck towards Natsuko. Frosty air billowed through bared icicle-teeth. Natsuko cocked her wine bottle back and stood like a baseball batter. Just as it was about to crash into her, Natsuko swung and clipped the wyvern''s talons with the wine bottle¡¯s punt. The wyvern¡¯s look of surprise was the same every iteration. First, it ground to a halt. Then, it had about a split second to realize something was wrong before the dimensions of its body flared wildly in every direction like a jagged, misshapen lump of pyrite. This was accompanied by a chunking sound like someone slapping a piece of wood thirty times a second. Finally, it shunted directly through the ground, leaving no hole, never to be heard from again. After that, it stopped existing. At least until next Monday. ¡°Thanks Natsuko,¡± one of the guards said with the tone you thank someone for holding a door. ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± she replied. And that was the end of the Verm?genburgh Wyvern Attack Weekly Special Event. She returned to The Devil¡¯s Cut.. ¡°Dead yet?¡± Hans asked. ¡°Made a daring escape,¡± Natsuko said, retaking her seat at the bar. Klaus set down the mug he was rinsing and walked over to her. ¡°Free drink for our town hero. Anything on tap.¡± That was an inside joke. There was one tap, and it was for ¡°ale.¡± ¡°Bartender¡¯s choice.¡± ¡°Coming right up.¡± Well, that one wasn¡¯t going to add to her mounting tab, at least. ¡°We appreciate what you do, sugar,¡± Ada the barmaid said, rubbing Natsuko¡¯s back. ¡°Thanks.¡± Problem was, killing the same wyvern over and over didn''t get her anywhere. It wasn¡¯t bumping her Use-Number, it wasn¡¯t making her stats better because her special technique didn''t ¡°slay¡± anything, so it didn¡¯t give experience points, and it certainly wasn¡¯t making her any gods-damned Ying besides a free pint of ale. But what was she going to do, let them die over and over? The Heroes at the top of the Use-Chart didn¡¯t give a shit about what happened to the little town, so it was up to her and her alone. Natsuko''s head slumped back down onto the table and she covered it with her hands. What the hell was she going to do? Numbers, that¡¯s what Natsuko needed. It didn''t matter what the number was, just that it went up. But everything she tried¡ª The tavern door swung open. ¡°Natsuko! Did you forget something?¡± Natsuko turned to face her. The bespectacled girl in blue scholar robes in front of her had her hands on her hips with a rod clasped in the left and a pile of papers in the right. This was her best friend and former teammate Shuixing, and on Shuixing¡¯s face, emerging from under indigo-colored bangs, was something she probably wanted to look like a frown, but hewed closer to a pout. Natsuko¡¯s face burned and it was only partly because of the booze. ¡°Oh! Ahaha, right, the research. Oops!¡± Chapter 2 - Hanging Out in Old Places that No One Cares About The two Heroes¡ªNatsuko and Shuixing¡ªwalked side-by-side up the cobbled hill towards the gleaming white towers of the Mage¡¯s College. Ironically, not a lot of research was done there. The Non-Hero mages in Verm?genburgh mostly puttered around rearranging shelves of alchemy and enchantment supplies, waiting for Heroes that might need them. ¡°Sorry, Shui,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Shuixing said with a sigh. ¡°What can I do to make it up to you?¡± ¡°Really, it¡¯s fine Natsuko.¡± Natsuko jogged around in front of her friend and threw herself down on her knees with hands clasped. ¡°Please, give me my penance, dearest Shuixing! I am unworthy of your mercy.¡± Shuixing blushed. ¡°We¡¯re in public, would you stop it?¡± Natsuko hopped back up and walked backwards with her hands behind her head. ¡°Not if you keep making it fun to mess with you. Plus, without me to fire you up, you¡¯d be moping in a dark room all day frowning over¡ªow!¡± The blacksmith¡¯s sign smacked her on the back of the head. She furiously rubbed at it to make the pain go away. ¡°Son of a bitch! Who put a sign there!?¡± ¡°You mean the same sign that¡¯s been there for five years?¡± ¡°Yeah! That sign!¡± Natsuko said, punching it and sending it swinging on its chains. The Mage¡¯s College was quiet and peaceful in a way that drove Natsuko nuts. Out front was a courtyard with two fountains on either side of a path lined with immaculate topiary that never needed maintenance. Above, three stories of regal windows looked down over columned walkways while a clocktower rang the hour. Everything, down to the butterflies fluttering along the flowering bushes, made Natsuko want to pull her eyes out. She wanted purpose. Action. Not peace. Shuixing, meanwhile, refused to move anywhere else, even at the promise of experience and leveling. She was in the same boat as Natsuko, but it was also cheaper here. The food and lodging in other regions became increasingly expensive, as though to prevent poorer Heroes from having another go at relevance. ¡°Oh, good afternoon, Professor Gershwin!¡± Shuixing said, nodding to a scholar in the same blue robes as herself emerging from the huge double-doors of the college¡¯s entrance. ¡°Good afternoon!¡± the professor called back. The two of them stopped to discuss some very boring academic things before finally parting. Natsuko rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve really gotta dig doing absolutely nothing to hang out here.¡± Shuixing shifted the stack of papers to her other arm as Natsuko propped the door open for her with a flourish. ¡°I¡¯m not doing nothing, Natsuko, you know that. You live in my laboratory closet after all. You ought to know I¡¯m¡­¡± Shuixing paused, questioning the truthfulness of her statement. ¡°Doing... err... serious work.¡± Staring at and writing down tiny angles all day did not sound like Natsuko''s idea of fun. What she preferred to do¡ªand was currently doing¡ªwas to swipe Professor Cox¡¯s brass nameplate off his office door again to add to her collection. She was up to 62 brass ¡°Cox¡± sitting in her dresser drawer. But so long as they kept showing up again at 4am, she was going to keep stealing them. ¡°I am more baffled that you are not interested in the properties of your wine bottle, Natsuko. You remove things from our world entirely!¡± Natsuko shrugged. ¡°So? Doesn¡¯t bring any numbers up, it just chucks things out of existence." ¡°But what if we can replicate the effects?¡± Shuixing said, hands gesturing in every direction. ¡°Think of all the good we could do by ridding Po-Lin of the Entropic Axis! Of evil! For all time!¡± There was something funny about her friend getting so excited. Shui¡¯s cheeks puffed up and her eyes got all wide and filled the frame of her oversized, circular glasses and her fists pumped up and down at her side. ¡°Nah, more stuff¡¯ll just pop up to replace it. It always does. Same as that stupid ice wyvern," Natsuko replied. Shuixing gave an exasperated sigh. ¡°Maybe so. But¡­ there¡¯s gotta be an end, right? It takes a lot of time and effort for villains to build up that much power, so surely the world must be able to contain only so many world-ending threats?¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Then they¡¯ll start comin¡¯ from outer space. And then the multiverse! Wooh~¡± Natsuko said, making wiggly motions with her fingers that earned her weird looks from the Mage¡¯s College students walking down the hallway. Shuixing giggled at that. ¡°I hope not.¡± Eventually they reached Shui¡¯s lab, which doubled as the entry foyer for Natsuko¡¯s bedroom, which was also the supply closet. Shuixing set her papers down on an already overcrowded workbench. ¡°Please put it up here,¡± she said, tapping an examination table. Natsuko set her three foot tall wine bottle down on the rack Shuixing had built for it and backed away, giving the scientist her space. Shuixing fiddled with her glasses for a moment before three spectral rings of glowing amber projected out of them. While Shuixing pulled examination tools from her robes, Natsuko walked around behind her to view the funky magnification effects of the rings. From her angle, they made everything look like a funhouse mirror. With two metal rods like extremely thin chopsticks, Shuixing tap-tap-tapped along the ribbed angles of the wine bottle¡¯s glass bottom, having long ago lost her fear that it would send her through the floor. The killer effect had something to do with speed and momentum. ¡°Strange. So strange. What are you doing, little guy, that is sending people straight through the ground? How do you break the laws of physics?¡± Shuixing said, talking to the bottle like it was on the verge of telling her its secrets. On some level, Natsuko enjoyed listening to her friend talk through her thought processes. Shuixing¡¯s half-whispered voice was soothing and quiet, and it reminded her of when the two were part of an adventuring party, back when they were on top of the Use-Number game. Shuixing would always talk through her process for figuring out what crafting materials did what, or what strategy they should employ to tackle a dungeon. While this went on, Natsuko stretched out like a cat across another table. ¡°It¡¯s the faceting. It¡¯s got to be the faceting. I know it must be, because you have no magical properties whatsoever¡­¡± Natsuko rolled over to face her. ¡°I know I¡¯ve probably asked you this before, Shuixing, but¡ª¡± ¡°Shush! I¡¯m working!¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± Natsuko said. Natsuko rolled off the table and returned to her humble, laboratory-closet bedroom. She eased herself around the various junk she had accumulated¡ªor inherited from the supply closet¡¯s original supply¡ªtowards the dresser in the back. After chucking another brass nameplate inside her dresser, she paused on the Opto-Box photo lying on top. In it, she could see herself with her arm thrown roughly around a shy Shuixing. Standing at an angle and dressed in his black-and-red high-collared jacket was Pechorin the Gunslinger. The sight of him trying so hard to look edgy and mysterious while coming across like a dork still made Natsuko giggle years later. Last but not least was Hemiola, lying on his side with one arm propping his head up and the other clutching his lute. Of the original four in their party, he was the only one who wasn''t around anymore. While conventional death was impossible for both Heroes and Non-Heroes, it was possible to make a mistake while dimension-jumping¡ªessentially what Natsuko''s bottle did¡ªand end up... somewhere. No one knew where, but your name disappeared from the Use-Ranking list. That was where Hemiola was now. Natsuko turned the picture over to read the words on the back. Always fight for what¡¯s right, even if it¡¯s suicidally stupid! She snickered at that. They had taken a vote on what to write on the back of everyone¡¯s photo and her phrase had won because the alternatives were Pechorin¡¯s: ¡°The darkness within begets the darkness without,¡± which was too goofy for anyone to take seriously, and Shuixing¡¯s, ¡°Fraternitas summa virtus est,¡± which no one but her could remember no matter how many times she repeated it. Looking at the photo made Natsuko want to drink again. Before she set the picture down, one more thing caught her eye. In the corner of the frame was a peach-colored fox with white stripes and a little hovering halo of two-interlocking rings. Its name was Zhidao, and it was a member of a shapeshifting species of faerie-animals called Peng-wu. Zhidao had been their group¡¯s mascot until they broke up and he moved on to a new group. Everyone else liked the little guy except for Natsuko, who thought it knew more about things than it ought to. While Natsuko pontificated about her disdain for Peng-wu, and Zhidao specifically, the door to Shuixing¡¯s laboratory was thrown open. ¡°I was told an old 1st-gen hero named Shuixing resides here?¡± a voice said, sounding harried. Natsuko poked her head out of the door to see a short girl in a poofy purple-and-gold waistcoat, pantaloons, silk stockings, and a feathered cavalier hat with a rapier tucked into her belt. Her face had a no-nonsense look about it, framed by a mid-length lavender bob. Shuixing turned and gave the girl a small smile. Natsuko wanted to give the girl a knuckle sandwich for the ¡°old¡± comment. ¡°Whoever you spoke to was likely referring to myself and my friend Natsuko,¡± Shuixing said, pointing out Natsuko looking out from the supply closet. The girl raised her eyebrows and looked them over, clearly unimpressed. ¡°They only mentioned one. A Medico-Mage by the name of Shuixing He?¡± Shuixing nodded. ¡°That would be me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Natsuko,¡± Natsuko said from the closet. The girl gave her a strange look. ¡°I¡¯m very happy for you, but I am only looking to speak to Heroes at the moment.¡± Natsuko threw the door open and strode towards the girl. ¡°Listen here you little ass girl, I happen to be¡ª¡± He scoffed and rolled his eyes. ¡°I am a boy, thank you very much. Sofiane de la Nuit is my name. And this is precisely the root of my problems, madames. Someone else has taken my character archetype and now my Use-Ranking is threatened.¡± Chapter 3 - Gaining a Competitive Advantage by Abusing the Laws of Physics Shuixing set her scientific instruments down. ¡°One of the new Heroes summoned was an effeminate, androgynous boy with a similar combat role, I presume?¡± ¡°You understand my position perfectly, Ms. He. Something similar happened to you, I imagine?¡± ¡°There are a few shy, soft-spoken, intellectually-inclined Medico-Mages running around with better stats than me, yes,¡± Shuixing said. She folded her arms into the sleeves of her robe. ¡°And please call me Shuixing.¡± Natsuko laughed. ¡°In other words, there¡¯s a new femboy on the block, he¡¯s got better stats, and your Use-Number went to shit?" Sofiane frowned. ¡°Not "went," so much as, "is going." Though I suspect it is still far superior to yours, Ms. Nobody.¡± Natsuko stomped towards the wine bottle resting on Shuixing¡¯s rack and slung it over her shoulder. ¡°You wanna find out who¡¯s a nobody?¡± ¡°Natsuko stop,¡± Shuixing said, putting herself between the two. ¡°We don¡¯t know what your bottle will do against other heroes.¡± Sofiane smirked. ¡°What, do you plan to turn me into a lazy alcoholic like yourself?¡± Shuixing pressed her hand to Natsuko¡¯s chest. ¡°Easy, Natsuko.¡± Natsuko rolled her jaw then gingerly set the bottle back down on the rack with the kill-spot facing up. Once she was done, she explained that she was now calm, which made Shuixing let her go, which meant she could walk over to Sofiane and punch him in his smug little face. Which she did. ¡°Ow! You shrew!¡± Sofiane said, rubbing his chin with one hand and reaching for a rapier with the other. ¡°Please stop, both of you!¡± Shuixing said. The outburst startled Natsuko more than Sofiane. Her friend¡¯s voice was usually competing with butterfly wings for volume. Rarely did it get above this level other than times such as when Natsuko broke her lab equipment while drunk. Once Shuixing was satisfied, she lowered her voice back down to a fluffy half-whisper. ¡°What did you come here looking for, Sofiane?¡± He folded his puffy, silk-sleeved arms. ¡°If I want to retain my status as the most useful Hero of my archetype, I need an edge.¡± Natsuko raised an eyebrow. ¡°An edge, huh? You wanna pay by the hour, or¡­?¡± Shuixing¡¯s face turned crimson. ¡°I have a lead. We would split the treasure,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Oooh! That¡¯s a whole different story, Sofi!¡± Natsuko said, slapping him on the back. Sofi scowled. ¡°Don¡¯t call me Sofi.¡± While the two of them went at it again, Shuixing tried to recall which of the dungeons around Verm?genburgh hadn¡¯t been picked clean yet. As the first region of the world to be revealed by the all-powerful Yishang, Heroes had dissected it for every ounce of experience, Ying, or equipment it had. Any leveling or loot-clearing was done nowadays in whichever the most recent region to be cleared of the Mist was. At present, that was the Sibe-lands, a thousand miles away. No one went looking for dungeons in Verm?genburgh. ¡°Where were you planning to explore? And why do you need us?¡± Shuixing asked. Sofiane flicked his eyes at Natsuko. ¡°Not ¡°us,¡± just you."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Natsuko gave a wide fake grin and hooked her arm around Sofiane¡¯s shoulder, pulling him into a headlock and mussing up his purple hair. ¡°Hey now, me and Shuixing are besties. We go everywhere together. A combo deal, got it?¡± Sofiane flailed and slapped at her arms. ¡°Fine! Fine! There should be enough spoils for all of us!¡± Natsuko let him go. She was now curious what could possibly be such a tasty morsel of a dungeon this close to the most irrelevant town in Po-Lin. ¡°What¡¯d¡¯ya got, Sofi?¡± He growled. ¡°Stop calling me Sofi! And if you must know, I have received secret knowledge of a dungeon left entirely untouched by Heroes.¡± Natsuko leaned against one of the lab tables. ¡°How¡¯d that happen? And how come you need a couple of first-gen nobodies to go loot it?¡± ¡°The answer is the same to both questions,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°You cannot physically get to this dungeon, hence why it remains virgin territory. And why I need you t¡ª why I need her,¡± he said, pointing at Shuixing, ¡°is because we must dimension-jump to get there.¡± Natsuko grinned. Maybe this boy wasn¡¯t such an annoying little weenie after all. Dimension-jumping was an incredibly esoteric field of knowledge that no one paid much attention to anymore. Early on, when Natsuko and Shuixing were still serious competitors in the Use-Number competition, dimension-jumping research was all the rage. Heroes jealously guarded any secrets they learned about how to do it with the hopes of getting exactly the kind of competitive edge Sofiane was talking about. What it involved was floating through walls and floors by exploiting some universal law that limited how many and what kind of geometric surfaces could interact with each other. There was a lot of math involved that Shuixing understood and Natsuko definitely did not. Moreover, research in the area had long been out of style for two reasons: Reason #1: The places and objects that could initiate a dimension-jump were vanishingly small and didn¡¯t confer much of an advantage anyway. Hours spent figuring out how to dimension-jump through a locked door meant hours not spent clearing dungeons or completing quests. Most heroes gave up once they realized this. But, if that wasn''t enough, Reason #2: Despite the near total lack of usefulness, it was also suicidally dangerous. Heroes that died in battle would be resurrected, albeit at a stacking 10% penalty to their stats until the next time they completed a mainline quest. But Heroes that unsuccessfully dimension-jumped were not resummoned. If the Use-Rankings counted every Hero that had ever lived, the total should''ve been out of 196. Instead it was 190. This was also why their teammate Hemiola no longer existed. Natsuko¡¯s wine bottle operated off of the same principle of dimension-jumping. The only difference was that it was portable. She carried around the ability to forcefully inflict dimension-jumping on Heroes, Non-Heroes, monsters, and even inanimate objects. For moral reasons, Natsuko avoided doing it to people, though she got pleasure out of making Shuixing stop her from doing it. With that in mind, Natsuko understood now why Sofiane had gone looking for Shuixing specifically. Out of all Heroes, Shui was the only one who still researched dimension-jumping. Even then, it was for personal edification rather than for competition. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that is a good idea¡­¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko had expected Sofiane to give Shui lip too, but instead, he threw himself on the floor in front of her and grasped her delicate hand in his. ¡°Please, madame, I have no other recourse! I daren¡¯t hope to outpace my rival by conventional means. This hidden dungeon is my only chance. Please! I cannot live out my days in pitiful obscurity, I simply cannot!¡± Sofiane said, punctuating his point by planting a kiss on Shuixing¡¯s hand. She yanked it away, blushing. ¡°Please stop,¡± she said softly. ¡°Sofi... I lost a good friend in a dimension-jumping accident. I don¡¯t want to subject myself, or anyone else, to that possibility.¡± ¡°How cruel of you to blow upon the irons of my hope, only to douse it in the next!¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko nudged Sofiane¡¯s side with her foot. ¡°Hey! How come you got no problem with her calling you Sofi?¡± Sofiane wrinkled his nose. ¡°I have no problem when it comes from the mouth of a true lady.¡± Natsuko marched back towards the wine bottle. ¡°You wanna dimension-jump so bad? I¡¯d be happy to oblige!¡± Shuixing cleared her throat. ¡°L-Let me sleep on it¡­¡± Sofiane¡¯s eyes filled with the fakest tears Natsuko had ever seen. ¡°Oh! Thou goddess, thou paragon of patience and prudence!¡± ¡°Please stand up,¡± Shuixing replied. Dusting off his pantaloons and waistcoat, Sofiane stood up and gave a deep bow to Shuixing and lightly nodded in Natsuko¡¯s direction. ¡°I shall retire now, I think. To the inn with me. I shall seek your answer at breakfast-time,¡± Sofiane said before shutting the door to the laboratory behind him. ¡°The inn!?¡± Natsuko scoffed. ¡°That filthy rich show-off. Ugh. What are you thinking, Shui? You gonna take him up on it?¡± Shuixing stabilized herself against a laboratory table, staring deep into its black granite surface and then with complete and total conviction and strength of character, she said, ¡°Absolutely not." Chapter 4 - A Swing and a Miss... After Sofiane left, Shuixing bid Natsuko goodnight and left the lab for her apartment in the Mage¡¯s College dormitory. At night, the laboratory seemed strange and desolate. Here was Natsuko, a forgotten hero in a dark room in an irrelevant part of the world of Po-Lin¡¯s least significant city. She tilted open a glass window to let in the sound of mid-autumn winds and rustling leaves. Rooting around the laboratory cabinets, she found a bottle of pure alcohol, cut it with a glass of water, and sipped as she leaned out one of the windows. Sipping on her scientific cocktail and gazing out over the college gardens and out to the city walls of Verm?genburgh lit by silvery moonlight, Natsuko sighed. There was something like poetry about it. Then her thoughts turned to that untouched dungeon Sofiane had mentioned. Her fingers clenched around the vial. She was going to loot it or die trying. The next morning, Natsuko banged on Shuixing¡¯s door. ¡°Hey! Let¡¯s go give that purple puffball our answer!¡± She knocked a few more times before Shuixing finally answered the door in pajamas and slippers, rubbing crust from her eyes. ¡°Natsu what are you doing up so early? And why are you¡­¡± Natsuko was staring back at her with crazed, sleep-deprived eyes brimming with excitement. ¡°Oh no¡­ Natsuko, no! I said yesterday I won''t¡ª¡± ¡°No, you said yesterday you¡¯d sleep on it, and now you have!¡± Natsuko said as she barged her way into Shuixing¡¯s apartment. It consisted of a kitchen and breakfast nook before her private bedroom. Everything was immaculately clean and tidy except for the kitchen table covered in a tablecloth of research documents. Many of the papers had sketched diagrams of intersecting planes with strings of formulas that Natsuko would have thought was magic if she didn¡¯t know magic was as simple as hurling fireballs and waiting some specified amount of time before the cooldown timer let you do it again. ¡°Now that you''ve slept on it, you¡¯ve changed your mind, right? ¡°Listen, Natsu, we don¡¯t even know where he got his information...¡± ¡°But you can do it?¡± ¡°Yes I can do it¡­ B-But that¡¯s not the point! The point is that, if he is wrong about the existence of a space¡­ a dungeon for us to be shunted to¡­ we would¡­ we¡¯d¡ª¡± ¡°Get popped out of existence?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Yeah, I know. It¡¯s a win-win situation, don¡¯tcha think?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t joke about that, Natsuko. You know I would be devastated if you weren¡¯t around any more.¡± Natsuko rubbed her neck and gave an embarrassed laugh. ¡°How about this: Why don¡¯t we ask Sofi where he got his intel? Cuz if he is right, this could be huge! For all three of us! A dungeon full of loot and experience split three ways? Our stats would rocket up, we¡¯d be swimming in money, and our Use-Numbers would put us back on top! It¡¯d be just like the good ol'' days!¡± Natsuko could tell halfway through her spiel Shuixing was unconvinced. The Medico-Mage¡¯s eyes were two orbs of weariness. ¡°Natsuko, I¡¯ve got a bad feeling. If heroes were meant to clear out this dungeon, why would it be buried under the ground where no one can get to it? Anything new to discover always comes with an announcement from the Yishang to make it fair for everyone. Something not even they know about is dangerous.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t you want to discover something that not even the Yishang knows about!?¡± Natsuko said. It was too early in the morning for this level of intensity, Shuixing thought, even if it was nice to see her friend in a mood that wasn¡¯t melancholy.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I know you do! If you didn¡¯t, you wouldn¡¯t have¡ª¡± Natsuko slapped her palm down on a table full of the largest collection of research on dimension-jumping in existence ¡°¡ªthis!¡± Something in Natsuko¡¯s tone made Shuixing think it was really her friend who had non-financial motives for wanting to try this harebrained scheme. Reliving the glory days, sure, but also sticking it to the Yishang, who Natsuko blamed for her poor status. Either way, Natsuko didn¡¯t have her head on straight, and Shuixing was not going to let her friend bully her into doing this, no matter what she said. A couple hours later, Natsuko, Shuixing, and Sofiane were staring down at a random rock in Hammertal Canyon, the titular hammer-shaped mountain looming over them in the distance. Not far from them was a small camp of goblins that wasn¡¯t worth the effort to clear out, especially since they''d all be re-summoned by the Yishang overnight. ¡°This is it?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°This?¡± ¡°Err¡­ yes?¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°Sure doesn''t look like much.¡± Sofiane cleared his throat. ¡°Pardon my Sibalese, but no shit. It¡¯s underground, genius.¡± Natsuko grabbed him by his frilled collar. ¡°Keep up that attitude and you can join it underground!¡± While the two of them bickered, Shuixing bent down to examine the rock. It looked like any other random rock or small boulder dotting the landscape outside Verm?genburgh. Nor did the angles of it, on a cursory examination, appear to be suitable for dimension-jumping. Any way she looked at it, this was just a rock. ¡°Sofiane?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Yes?¡± he said in the middle of a diatribe insulting Natsuko¡¯s character, demeanor, Use-Number, and prospective success at raising her Ero-Art numbers. ¡°How are you so certain this is the correct spot? It appears to be a normal rock." Sofiane shrugged. ¡°The map I found had the mark right here. Look.¡± They all huddled around him on the low, flat rock as he showed them the map for a second time. It was unlike any map either of them had ever seen. Most of the ones found in dungeons were vague, two-dimensional puzzles. Sofiane¡¯s map was some kind of transparent cube rendered as a grid with features bulging and distorting out of the checkerboard of lines. ¡°Where did you say you got this again?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Some Non-Hero," Sofiane said. "He said he got it from a member of the Yishang, but that he didn¡¯t want to try it himself because it was too risky." ¡°His loss, our gain!¡± said Natsuko, her mood pendulum swinging from anger back to giddiness. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t speak so soon. Look how far beneath the surface it is,¡± Shuixing said, her fingernail tracing the spider web of gridded lines in the cube. ¡°The further you¡¯re trying to jump, the likelier it is that you miss your target, and if this is to scale, then the dungeon is several hundred feet down. I¡¯ve never heard of someone dimension-jumping a gap like that. The margin of error is¡ª¡± ¡°Not something we¡¯ve got to worry about with a mega-genius doing the math for us!¡± Natsuko said, putting a hand on her shoulder and shaking the poor scholar back and forth. Sofiane looked crestfallen. ¡°So, you do not think it can be done, madame scientist?¡± ¡°Not without immense personal risk, anyway. A-And as it is, the rock doesn¡¯t have a sufficient number of angles to trigger a dimension jump, so¡ª¡± They were interrupted by growls and whistles and maniacal cackles. A crossbow bolt plowed into Sofiane¡¯s head but did a negligible amount of damage because of his Force stat and high HP. The bolt felt like a mosquito sting. ¡°Oh¡­ goblins. Great,¡± Sofiane said. The little goblin camp nearby had spotted the three Heroes and were waddling over with the same aggressive confidence they had whether they were attacking a defenseless Non-Hero or god-slaying Heroes at the top of the Use-Rankings. Despite the three of them falling short of god-slaying status, the goblins were still more nuisance than threat. Natsuko glared at one in annoyance as it stabbed her throat with its rusty sword and produced a tickle. ¡°I¡¯ll get rid of them, you keep working at figuring it out,¡± Natsuko said, hefting her bottle. ¡°H-Hold on a second Natsu, maybe it¡¯s better if we let Sofiane handle this. We don¡¯t know if¡ª¡± Natsuko swung. She landed a clean hit on a goblin that turned into a sputtering, flickering ball of angles and planes then fell through the ground. Sofiane stood dumbfounded as he watched her smack the goblins into horrifying geometric impossibilities. It was about the same time that he realized the implications of Natsuko''s earlier threats. Getting immeasurable pleasure out of the fancy-pants, Top 40 Hero quaking in his boots, Natsuko swung harder. Too hard. One swing took her bottle in an arc through a goblin¡¯s distorted body and into the rock they were all standing where the strange angles of the wine bottle collided with it and sent all three of them hurtling through matter that no longer existed. Chapter 5 - …And a hit. It was Natsuko¡¯s first time being turned into a polygon. Her brain was still convinced she ought to be human-shaped, but her sense of touch was spiraling out into¡­ she had no idea. It was a black void with flickering white and gray lights above and below. She had to scream, but her mouth was a jagged triangle. After a terrifying interval, things finally took shape, and specifically in the shape of a dungeon hallway of bricks containing three human shapes inside it. Sofiane sputtered. ¡°W-W-What the f¡ª¡± ¡°Hehehe, that was awesome!¡± Natsuko said, laughing and jumping around. ¡°We did it! We¡¯re actually in an undiscovered dungeon!¡± Shuixing still seemed bent out of shape. ¡°Natsu, I-I don¡¯t know if I can get us out.¡± That comment doused Natsuko¡¯s excitement and set Sofiane to anxiously tapping on the dungeon walls looking for a secret exit to the dungeon he''d explicitly sought out for its inaccessibility. ¡°We¡¯re screwed. It¡¯s so over¡­¡± Natsuko said, clutching her hair and pacing around Shuixing in a circle. ¡°We¡¯re gonna die down here¡­¡± Sofiane said, starting to tear up. Shuixing took a deep breath. ¡°I think we should all calm down, first of all¡ª¡± ¡°Alas, I shall depart this world in shame, bitter be my name, sorrow my companion,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I just wanted money!¡± Natsuko wailed. Lacking the energy to talk them down from self-induced despair, Shuixing decided the most efficacious strategy was to explore a little and get her bearings. From the sleeve of Shuixing¡¯s heavy scholar¡¯s robes floated a blue rod with white ¡°shou¡± and ¡°wufu¡± symbols decorating the length. Entwined around the baton was a decorative crane. A small chime dangled in a hole at the end. Shaking the chime, a water orb shot from her rod and splashed against a light fixture on the wall which lit up in response to the magic. Lighting more along the way, she could see the passage continuing down a set of stairs. At the bottom was some kind of indoor courtyard consisting of a column-lined arcade surrounding a garden of dead trees. Along the four walls were a handful of closed doors. The entire place gave Shuixing a bad feeling. Normally by now there would be mobs, traps, puzzles, or treasure, anything other than nondescript hallways like an abandoned monastery. No dungeon she had ever explored looked like this. She wanted to check out the rooms, but doing so by herself seemed like a very bad idea. Upon her return, she found Sofiane rocking back and forth with his arms around his legs. ¡°I shall die without ever having known the kiss of a beautiful lady¡­¡± Natsuko turned around from punching the brick wall. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare ask!¡± ¡°I said beautiful lady, not uncouth shrew,¡± he replied. ¡°Guys¡­¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Shrew!? I oughta knock you silly until you explain what that means!¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing raised her voice to the level of normal conversation. "Guys!¡± ¡°Shut the hell up Sofi, Shui¡¯s trying to say something!¡± Natsuko said, much louder. Once both pairs of eyes were on her, Shuixing explained what she''d seen down the pathway along with her concerns about the peculiar nature of the dungeon. ¡°Aha! An astute observation, madame. The treasure and mobs must be in those doors you saw,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Yeah, and money!¡± Natsuko added. Before Shuixing could reiterate her concerns, the two charged valiantly down the dark hallway. She jogged to catch up. The bizarre atmosphere, however, stopped the other two in their tracks at the bottom of the stairs. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Sofiane cleared his throat. ¡°Now might be a good time decide our battle tactics. Miss Shuixing, as a Medico-Mage it would be safest to have you in the back. I will go in the middle, as I am a Control Duelist, and Natsuko can go in front, because she¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Jack,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Oh¡­ I forgot that was a class. I suppose that would explain why your Use-Number is terrible.¡± The class of ¡°Jack¡± was short for Jack-Of-All-Trades, as in, she could do a little bit of what every other class could do. Poorly. Jack Heroes had been popular during the first couple generations of Heroes as a stop-gap for any surprises that dungeons or quests might throw at a team Nowadays, dungeons were mapped so quickly, and patterns of possible puzzles, traps, and monsters so thoroughly dissected, that specialization was the name of the game. A few classes¡ªJack included¡ªwere functionally obsolete. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it make more sense for me to be in the middle? You don¡¯t have any range options, do you?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°True. And I suppose it is a gentleman¡¯s duty to protect women,¡± Sofiane said, looking at Shuixing, ¡°and children,¡± looking at Natsuko. A middle finger greeted him. Sofiane waltzed up to the first door in the courtyard and readied his rapier. The other two gathered behind him as he pushed the door open with his sword to find a room swarming and teeming with nothing. It was literally an empty cube. ¡°Man, this dungeon sucks ass,¡± Natsuko said. "If I was reading a light novel about this I''d quit right here." ¡°We¡¯ve only looked in one room!¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Two if you count the courtyard full of nothing out here.¡± Sofiane stepped inside the room and investigated to confirm whether or not this truly was a room full of nothing but bare brick. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was. Shuixing stroked her chin. ¡°Hmm¡­ very peculiar. If one employed the metaphor of a human body, this dungeon appears to be somewhat like a skeleton without flesh or muscle. Lacking content, if you will.¡± ¡°W-Well, I am sure there must be some treasure or mobs somewhere!" Sofiane said. "This is probably just the theme of the dungeon. Every dungeon has a theme, after all. Perhaps this one is empty and desolate?¡± ¡°Kinda like your promise of loot, huh?¡± Nasuko said, already kicking down the next door by herself. This one was not empty. Leaping into motion, as though lying in wait to be activated, was a furry creature about the size of a dog. Natsuko didn¡¯t have time to swing her bottle before it was licking her leg ferociously. ¡°Ick! You¡¯re slimy, get off!¡± she said, trying to shake him off. Sofiane grinned. ¡°Aww, he likes you. See, I told you there¡¯s loot.¡± ¡°You like him so much? You take him!¡± Natsuko said, nudging it away. ¡°Haha. No.¡± Getting a closer look, Shuixing had never seen an animal like it, but she had seen many that bore resemblance. From Tianzhou, the first region the Yishang had drained the Mist from after Verm?genburgh, originated a race of sentient animals called Pengwu. They were shapeshifting fairies that could speak human language and took the forms of animals that floated on clouds. Natsuko¡¯s adventuring party had had one that acted as a sort of mascot: A peach-colored fox with interlocking halos named Zhidao. The animal licking Natsuko¡¯s leg vaguely resembled a wolf-shaped Pengwu, but with larger, perkier ears like a serval, and a swirling pink coat like marble. Moreover, something about it seemed¡­ dumb. It lacked the sentient playfulness of the Pengwu. Altogether, the furry animal resembled a distant cousin of the Pengwu, or some kind of prototype. ¡°Do you have a name?¡± Shuixing asked it, giving it a scritch behind the ears. It panted excitedly in response and slapped its hind legs against the ground, but didn¡¯t speak. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ve noticed the resemblance to the Pengwu?¡± Sofiane asked. Natsuko looked up at it after wiping drool off her leg. ¡°Oh yeah, he kinda does. But like¡­ not quite.¡± Shuixing nodded. ¡°This dungeon is becoming stranger and stranger. Would that I had thought to bring my instruments and equipment along, we could¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m starting to like him. I¡¯m gonna call him some exotic name, like Charles,¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane, who distanced himself from the creature the moment it started slobbering, asked, ¡°how do you know it¡¯s a boy?¡± ¡°Gee, I dunno, Sofi, it can be so hard to tell sometimes.¡± Sofiane scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have a choice. Blurring or changing archetypes, or even just being an unpopular one, is death to your Use-Numbers. We both know that. Celestials love soft, androgynous boys with a hint of quirky but inoffensive playfulness, and I have to go where the popularity is. C¡¯est la vie.¡± Obnoxious as he was, Natsuko felt a tinge of empathy. She had long ago ditched any attempt to fit her original archetype of an upbeat, energetic, optimistic tomboy instead of a cynical, greedy alcoholic. The Celestials weren¡¯t as fond of the latter, but the former felt like a sham. Maybe Sofiane would become more like her over time. Or maybe there really would be something in this dungeon to give them all another shot. Then she¡¯d have to start caring about all that again. Well, she supposed, it was easier to be upbeat and energetic when you¡¯re rich. Sensing her conflicted mood, Charles rubbed his flank against her leg again and Natsuko bent down to roll him over and give him a belly rub. After giving him a nice rub, Natsuko stood up and forged on to the next door, her new furry friend following at her heels. Chapter 6 - Searching for Experience-Farming Opportunities The next room was empty too. And so was the next. And the next, until they had opened every room in the indoor courtyard. Some had furnishings that looked like the kind of plainly generic chairs and tables that Natsuko swore she had seen all over Po-Lin. A few even had chests, but the chests were empty as though waiting for loot to be placed inside. By the last empty room, Natsuko and Sofiane were starting to panic again. Natsuko groaned. ¡°We¡¯re gonna die down here!¡± Sofiane moaned. ¡°Worse, we¡¯re going to fade into obscurity!¡± Once again, Shuixing had to play the role of a grown adult. This time she chose to investigate the courtyard of dead, gnarled trees. At the center, hidden from the inner corridor, was a low well. Sending a glowing orb of water down the shaft, she could see a larger chamber of jagged rock at the bottom. Here, too, the dungeon differed from every other dungeon Shuixing had explored. The paths in other dungeons tended to be linear, straight through to loot and monsters in succession. That, or they were big open areas where many parties could farm mobs all at the same time. This one was neither. Aside from being empty of hostile monsters and loot, the path forward was not intuitive. Why was this dungeon so abnormal? Shuixing might have pondered this for hours if Charles¡¯ yipping didn¡¯t break her concentration. ¡°No boy! Not for you! Don¡¯t touch!¡± Natsuko said, hiding her oversized wine bottle behind her back as Charles tried to lick it. ¡°Erm¡­ I-I believe I¡¯ve found something,¡± Shuxing said. Sofiane burst into tears. ¡°Praise be to fair madame Shuixing! Your poise and grace fills a man¡¯s heart with the courage to walk through hell itself!¡± ¡°Erm, thank you. There¡¯s a cavern at the bottom of this well.¡± Shuixing said. Gathering around the lip of the well, Shuixing cast another orb of light and sent it down to illuminate their landing site. Natsuko looked up at Sofiane and grinned. ¡°Lead on.¡± With a grunt, he jumped into the hole and a moment later came an echoing crack and a purple glow as Sofiane turned into a ball of lightning. At the last second, he turned back into a human and landed on the rock below. Shuixing frowned at Natsuko. ¡°Are you going to be alright? W-We could find some material or¡ª or something if you¡¯d¡ª¡± Natsuko waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Worst comes to worst, that doesn¡¯t look like a 100-0 drop. I can eat shit and walk away if I screw up again." ¡°I¡¯ll go first then, just in case we need some medico-magic,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Take Charles with you?¡± Shuixing grimaced, not exactly happy with the responsibility of parachuting the strange wolf-like creature down with her. But she never refused Natsuko¡¯s wishes. Except when it came to lending money, and that had been a hard line to draw. Wrapping her arms around the furry being, Shuixing plunged into the dark after Sofiane. A moment later her glider deployed. It was her own invention, but gliders had spread to so many other Heroes who didn¡¯t have alternatives to avoid fall damage that its inventor had been long forgotten. Everyone assumed gliders had always been around. Shuixing easily glided to a halt along with an excitedly panting Charles. Natsuko readied herself. She had her own method for stopping fall damage. Specifically, using her Fire Gale ability to shoot a blast of fire from her feet that would slow her momentum. But she was also terrible at timing it. And as an ability, it was unreliable. Sofiane called up. ¡°Oh, do be careful there are¡ª¡± Smack. Natsuko hit the ground right as fire erupted from the soles of her feet. ¡°¡ªstalagmites¡­ are you alright?¡± ¡°Yup. Glad I could confirm I still can¡¯t time that,¡± Natsuko said as Charles hustled over to nuzzle her. A couple feet away, a bundle of dark stalagmites pointed upwards towards the shaft. Yet another oddity, Shuixing thought. Most dungeons, when they required drops, left a clear line of sight for Heroes to plan their drops. And usually there were convenient means for climbing back up. She''d never seen a deliberate hazard laid out for a hasty Hero. As she thought this, Shuixing went to Natsuko¡¯s side and rang her rod¡¯s bell, creating a powdery spray of water centered on her friend that healed her wounds.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°For the bottom of a well, this cavern seems rather dry,¡± Sofiane said. As best Shuixing could surmise by the porous texture of the stone, this was some kind of volcanic rock, yet the region of Verm?genburgh wasn¡¯t volcanically active, nor had it ever been in the records the Yishang had released about pre-summoning times. While Shuixing overthought things again, Natsuko did a lap of the small chamber with Charles in tow, sniffing along the floor. She eventually came across stones that were discolored in contrast to the rest of the cave. ¡°Guys, discolored wall here,¡± Natsuko said. Both being experienced adventurers, Shuixing and Sofiane knew what that meant. ¡°Are you not going to hit it?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°I can¡¯t hit the wall and make the wall go through the wall, idiot,¡± Natsuko replied, holding up her bottle. ¡°Why don¡¯t you carry a real weapon? Or, you¡¯re a Jack, aren¡¯t you? Haven¡¯t you learned a weapon-summoning ability from another class?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t prepare that ability for the day because I can get rid of anything I don¡¯t like with the bottle," she replied. Sofiane folded his arms. ¡°Except for stone walls.¡± ¡°Works great on smarmy little brats though. Wanna find out?¡± Sofiane sighed. By now he¡¯d picked up that Natsuko was all bark and no bite. She had the temperament of a Hero in her prime with none of the Use-Numbers to back it up. She made him sad whenever she opened her mouth. ¡°Very well then. Having come prepared, I will be happy to clear the path,¡± Sofiane said, brandishing his rapier as though facing down a fencing opponent. With one solid strike in the center, the discolored wall came crashing down around them. Sofiane tucked his rapier back into his belt after a brief wipe off. Not that it needed it. There were no negative repercussions to the blade or its edge from stabbing it directly into bare stone. Then, they all waited for the rocks to dissolve into the ground as they usually did. Except they didn¡¯t. They stayed in their collapsed pile. ¡°Gods, this place is so weird,¡± Natsuko said, kicking a rock from the collapsed wall. ¡°Collapsed rocks are supposed to dissolve!¡± Shuixing was having a similar but slightly different thought. Until moments ago, she had never once thought it was strange that rocks destroyed by Heroes melted into the ground so that they didn¡¯t become a permanent obstacle. The dissolution was utterly mundane. Yet, now that she had seen it not happen, it seemed far more consistent with her knowledge of physics that rocks ought not to dissolve. What other forms of logical inconsistency was she blind to? This bizarre dungeon was sending her into an epistemological crisis and¡ª ¡°Oh hey! Treasures! Finders keepers!¡± Natsuko said. She elbowed Sofiane out of the way so she could get to it first. The treasures in this case were a pair of brass candelabras burning in small alcoves in the cave corridor. Natsuko started chucking the candles out. Sofiane slapped his head. ¡°No, you idiot, we could use that for light!¡± ¡°Yeah, sure, after I take them out of the candelabra,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°A brass candelabra? That¡¯s what you¡¯re concerned about looting?¡± ¡°Damn right I am,¡± Natsuko said, grinning demonically in the candle light. ¡°There¡¯s gold in them there general store!¡± Sofiane laughed to himself. ¡°Incredible. For drinking money?¡± Natsuko didn¡¯t deign to respond. Her personal finances were just that, personal. But it was for drinking money. Once the candelabras were safely shoved into Natsuko¡¯s backpack, they each took a candle and made their way onward Soon they came to an intersection, then another, then another, until it became obvious they were in some sort of labyrinth. A few rooms broke up the monotony here and there, but none had any more than the same few bare furnishings as the rooms above. At some point, Natsuko started whistling. ¡°Would you take this seriously, please?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I am! Whistling keeps me calm. What¡¯s not serious about whistling?¡± ¡°You¡¯re distracting us from focusing!¡± Sofiane was already starting to get sick of not just Natsuko¡¯s childish impulsivity, but Shuixing¡¯s propensity to go silent as she became absorbed in her own thoughts. Both were useless in their own ways. If they were in his adventuring party, he would have bailed years ago. No wonder they had become obsolete. ¡°Focusing on what?¡± ¡°On¡ª on¡ª on that!¡± Sofinae said, pointing excitedly at a set of large wooden double-doors, the first major signpost they''d encountered in hours. Throwing the doors open, he was met with a wave of relief upon seeing what was on the other side. ¡°Oh thank the gods!¡± Staring them down was a giant, multi-horned demon chained to an altar, belching sulfurous smoke from its nostrils and roaring at the trespassers. ¡°Finally some experience points!¡± Chapter 7 - Gaining Experience with Moral Dilemmas Natsuko and Sofiane turned it into a race to see who could get their free experience first. But the image of the undissolving rocks kept playing out in Shuixing¡¯s head. Something still felt wrong about it. ¡°Be careful!¡± Shuixing called out. The other two couldn¡¯t hear her over their own giddy excitement for experience. The red-skinned, room-sized demon roared and swung its horns defensively but couldn¡¯t accomplish much while chained to an altar. It could only fix its cold black eyes on the gleefully homicidal arrivals. Sofiane pointed at it with his rapier. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it with your stupid bottle or we won¡¯t get any experience.¡± Natsuko threw up her hands. ¡°I have other weapons! I¡¯m a Jack, you know. I can do Aggro-Magic too.¡± With a little pawing motion like a beckoning cat, Natsuko hurled a shower of sparking fire at the demon which screamed in pain. The chains holding it to the altar strained and rattled and its horns came inches from knocking Sofiane onto his ass. ¡°Good for you,¡± he said, slapping one of the chipped white horns with the broad of his rapier. ¡°Madame Shuixing, you ought to get in the fight too if you wish for the experience.¡± The madame herself was focusing on taking in the room that Sofiane and Natsuko had ignored in favor of combat. It looked like the back end of a cathedral, complete with round dais almost twenty feet across where the chains holding the demon were rammed into the floor. Above were stained glass images of Baphomet, a Hero who had been the antagonist of the other Heroes for the first four generations of summoning before becoming a Hero himself and joining the competition for Use-Numbers. It made his religious iconography seem silly in retrospect. Nonetheless, the depictions showed Baphomet engaged in slaughter. None of his victims were dissolving and waiting to be resummoned by the Yishang. Instead, they were being disembowled. Another room-shaking howl from the demon brought Shuixing out of her thoughts. ¡°Whoa! Down boy!¡± Sofiane said, dodging another swing of its horns before stabbing the demon in the forehead. Natsuko yawned as she waited for exactly ten seconds to pass before the next Fire Shower she could cast. Near her, one of the chains holding down the demon rattled in its anchor. ¡°Erm¡­ Natsu¡­¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko wasn¡¯t paying attention. Sofiane, meanwhile, was having a play-pretend fencing match with the swinging horns. ¡°En garde, foul demon!¡± After a few pricks in the head, the demon whipped its head around and cracked its horn into a careless Sofiane, throwing him to the ground and earning him a nasty bruise in the side. ¡°Putain!¡± Sofiane said in a pained Cascadian accent. Natsuko laughed. ¡°How¡¯d you get hit by a monster that¡¯s chained down!? Weren¡¯t you up at the top of the leaderboard or something?¡± Sofiane grit his teeth. ¡°Only Top 40. But at least I¡¯m doing damage instead of just giving him a sunburn! You ought to be grateful I¡¯m allowing you to split the experience. Not that you¡¯ve earned it.¡± Natsuko stopped firing off her spell. ¡°Who got us down here, exactly?¡± ¡°Who got you out of the bar to do something productive for once?¡± Sofiane sneered and walked up to the demon, dodging its swinging horns with concentrated deftness now that he was no longer screwing around. He leveled his rapier at the third eyeball in its forehead. ¡°For this experience, monsieur demon, I must say, merci!¡± Natsuko shouted. ¡°Wait! Sofi!¡± He paid no mind to the irksome 1st-gen Hero. He thrust his sword towards the demon¡¯s eye. Unfortunately, he found its hand instead. Chains pulled from the ground and flew into the air like metal streamers. With the hand not deflecting a rapier, the demon slammed its fist into the ground and picked itself up, filling half the subterranean cathedral¡¯s height. Its expression morphed into rage as it closed its hand around Sofiane¡¯s and squeezed. Sofiane screamed in pain.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Oh dear¡­¡± Shuixing said. Shui dashed forward and used Light of Hope in front of the demon¡¯s eyes, dealing damage to it. The demon roared and let go of Sofiane¡¯s crushed hand. In the gap, Natsuko whistled, and an invisible force pull Sofiane backwards towards them. His rapier clattered to the ground at the demon¡¯s feet. ¡°Ow! Ow! Why won¡¯t it move!?¡± Sofiane said, flopping his useless arm. Arms weren''t supposed to break. The body lost hitpoints, not bones. ¡°Erm, I¡­¡± Shuixing backed up from the demon slowly regaining its sight. ¡°I-I think we might be out of sight of the Yishang¡­ W-Which means¡­¡± ¡°No re-summoning,¡± Natsuko said. She reached for her bottle. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Sofiane yelled, his voice harsh and grating. ¡°We need this experience! This dungeon is the only chance we¡¯ve got, and I won''t let you ruin my adventuring career!" Before Natsuko could react, Sofiane knocked into her with the elbow that hadn¡¯t been turned into bonemeal. Her bottle fell to the floor. Shuixing¡¯s heart leapt, terrified that the strange physics of this dungeon might cause the bottle to shatter, but instead it clattered to the ground and rolled towards the demon. Natsuko stared at Sofiane in disbelief. ¡°You¡ª! You stupid¡ª¡± Charles nipped at Natsuko''s ankles and tried to tug her away. The demon, meanwhile, reached up, grabbed a chandelier, and turned it into a six-foot wide flail. ¡°I-I don¡¯t think the demon can fit through the door, so perhaps if we make a run for it¡­¡± Shuixing said. Sofiane sprinted towards his fallen rapier. Natsuko sprinted towards her bottle. ¡°Oh no¡­ I can only handle one reckless idiot at a time,¡± Shuixing said. With a ring of her medical rod, she used her Desperation Art, Bubble Storm. Shiny bubbles descended from the heavens just in time for the bubbles to heal Natsuko and Sofiane''s injuries and distract the demon by popping and stinging him like acid. In a burst of purple lightning, Sofiane popped out and back into existence on the other side of the demon, rapier at his feet. The demon roared as the electric shock reacted with the Water in a Shock Elemental Reaction. Its enormous muscles seized for a moment. Sofiane stabbed at the demon¡¯s ankles with his good hand. The demon staggered forward, but out of the corner of his eye, Sofiane spotted Natsuko scooping up her wine bottle from under a pew. ¡°Put that bottle away! I¡¯ve got this!¡± he shouted. She said something in response, but Sofiane didn¡¯t care. All that mattered was getting back to being on top. From the moment the Yishang summoned another, more innately powerful boy with his cutesy, quasi-feminine aesthetic, he was in a race against the clock to make himself the more desirable candidate for the Celestials to summon before they kicked him to the curb and his Use-Number plummeted. At that point it wouldn¡¯t matter if he got stronger, because the Celestials were fickle and capricious, and when they decided one Hero was the inferior option for a niche, there was no coming back. Sofiane had seen it happen to so many others. Heroes left drifting and aimless. just like the two he''d partnered up with. But none of the others had Sofiane¡¯s raw determination to defy fate. Through blinding pain, Sofiane pricked the demon over and over and over, getting up when it knocked him down with a kick, dodging by instinct the swings of its improvised flail. Nothing was going to stop Sofiane from getting back on top. Nothing. ¡°N-Natsu!¡± Shuixing yelled. ¡°We really need to run!¡± The demon swatted at the mosquito stinging its legs as it rounded on its real prize: The medico-mage casting bubbles of holy cleansing at its infernal body. Flakes of ash fell away from its skin and face as Shuixing cast Bubble Storm as often as its 20-second cooldown permitted. The fight was such a clear overmatch that her Desperation Gauge was permanently maxed-out. Charles huddled and cowered at Shuixing¡¯s legs. Natsuko¡¯s fingers curled around the neck of the bottle and squeezed. She didn¡¯t want to do this any more than Sofiane did. She needed those experience points too. But it was clear that whatever monster had been placed in this dungeon was a step above anything that any Hero could handle, even the most recent generation. It didn¡¯t have hit points, she realized. They would have to dismantle it manually. And unlike in other dungeons, mistakes here meant no re-summoning. The demon kicked Sofiane back into a set of pews and bounded towards Shuixing. She didn¡¯t have time to flee before the demon swept her up in its grip, nor did it waste time pulling her trapped body up to its mouth to bite her head off. Shuixing screamed herself hoarse. No experience would be gained today, unfortunately. Dashing forward, Natsuko slammed the kill spot of her bottle against the demon¡¯s foot. Shuixing instantly fell to the floor, jarred loose by the demon''s hand turning into a set of spinning trapezoids. In fact, its entire body became nothing but jagged shapes accompanied by the familiar chunking sound of being pushed through the floor against its will. ¡°No! No, no, no! Why!?¡± Sofiane yelled, frantically stabbing at the flashing shapes as though he could somehow pull experience out of it at the last minute. This proved to no avail. The demon simply dimension-jumped downwards into an infinite abyss. No little tinkling noise announced gained experience. No loot was left behind from the dissolving body. Sofiane sunk to his knees, punched the ground and sobbed. Tears dribbled down his cheeks. ¡°Why¡­¡± Chapter 8 - Adding to a Mounting Pile of Brass Candelabras ¡°Pffbt. First time having your hopes crushed? Amateur,¡± Natsuko said. While, Sofiane sobbed about his poor Use-Number, Shuixing was clutching her chest and taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Charles was anxiously sniffing the dead demon. Only Natsuko was in good spirits. ¡°Y¡¯alright Shui?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°E-Erm, I-I am still reckoning with mortal peril from which one cannot be re-summoned but, aside from that I¡ª¡± Natsuko slapped her on the back. ¡°Ain¡¯t it somethin¡¯?¡± The same experience that horrified Shuixng had Natsuko feeling the best she''d felt in years. Here was something so exciting, so exhilarating, so risky, that the idea of Use-Numbers disappeared from your mind entirely, replaced with nothing but raw adrenaline. She wanted another demon to fight. Natsuko cleared her throat. ¡°What if we¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I haven¡¯t said anything yet!¡± ¡°The answer is no. We need to find a way out of here,¡± Shuixing said. The familiar act of reining Natsuko in grounded her. Shuixing rang her rod and an orb of water conjured in front of her. She rolled her face in it, healed her, then wiped the water off on the sleeve of her robe. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start thinking about how to get out." ¡°W-Wait¡­ Maybe there¡¯s more in here¡­¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing sighed. ¡°Even if that is the case, the danger of proceeding in a dungeon in which we believe death may be permanent is¡­ inadvisable. Experience and Ying only matter for living Heroes." Sofiane stared at his feet. ¡°This was my last opportunity.¡± Shuixing placed a gentle hand on his back. ¡°I am sure once we have all had time to calm down and settle our minds¡ª¡± ¡°Get over it you dweeb. You¡¯re a loser now. Face it,¡± Natsuko said, forming a circling parade around Sofiane with Charles at her heels as she rubbed it in. ¡°I am sincerely looking forward to being rid of you,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°Feeling¡¯s mutual, puffball." ¡°If you need any help adjusting to life in Verm?genburgh, we''d be happy to help,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Not happening!¡± Natsuko and Sofiane said at the same time. After investigating for an hour or so, Shuixing found a spot in the back right of the cathedral where an intricately-carved ram statue had enough intersecting angles that she was semi-confident it could sustain a dimension-jump upwards. ¡°Is this safe?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Much safer than the opposite direction. You¡¯re guaranteed to have a dimensional plane above you when you jump upwards versus down,¡± Shuixing said, switching into teaching mode. It was the only time her voice carried confidence and volume. ¡°So how do we do it?¡± ¡°First, we take an object with a few tight angles itself. Natsuko''s bottle would do, but it''s cumbersome. In this case, the text block of some of these old books should suffice,¡± Shuixing said, holding up one of the many books along the back wall of the cathedral that were filled with nothing but long strings of letters and numbers. Natsuko turned the book sideways and upside-down trying to parse any meaning from it. ¡°I think I might have found something here.¡± Sofiane''s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, really!?¡± ¡°Upside-downs, the number 58008 looks like the word ¡°boobs¡±," Natsuko said.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. He exhaled. ¡°I¡¯m ready to leave.¡± With everything set up, Shuixing sent Sofiane up first by having him jam the pages of the book into the ram statue as he was leaping upwards to preserve vertical momentum. She knew it was a success when a distorted version of Sofiane shot straight through the ceiling. ¡°Any chance I can bring Charles up with me?¡± Natsuko asked. Shuixing shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t know how foreign material will react when in comes in contact with differing laws of physics. Plus, it¡¯d be best if the Yishang didn''t find out about our excursion. That means no souvenirs.¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± Natsuko said. She bent down to rub Charles¡¯ ears again. ¡°Maybe one day we¡¯ll figure out what¡¯s going on with this dungeon and bring you up. Hang tight until then, alright little dude?¡± The not-quite-fox-ish creature nuzzled against her leg and flashed its watery eyes at her. ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t have to go and make it hard on me dammit! Shuixing are you sure¡ª¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After a longer good-bye than Shuixing would¡¯ve preferred, the two of them dimension-jumped upwards and found themselves¡ªafter another flashing light display in a dark void¡ªon a cliff overlooking Hammertal Canyon. Natsuko took a long, deep breath in, threw her arms out into a big stretch and exhaled loudly. ¡°Glad to be back somewhere I can safely get killed!¡± Sofiane was already stomping off. Shuixing pursed her lips. ¡°Should we¡ª¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Natsuko replied. It was getting towards sunset when they arrived back in Verm?genburgh. Shuixing went straight back to the Mage¡¯s College to sleep, mentally taxed by trying to figure out the alien physics. Natsuko, meanwhile, had some money to make at the pawn shop. ¡°What? Five Ying!? Are you shitting me?¡± she said. The store clerk, a big, hairy man named Lawrence, folded his big, hairy arms. ¡°How many people do you think buy candelabras? Then compare that with how many Heroes come back from ancient dungeons with ''em, and what do you think the proportion is? Any guesses?¡± ¡°Yeah but¡ª¡± ¡°Natsuko, I have twenty candelabras back there,¡± he said, pointing to a backroom so bursting with looted treasure the door wouldn¡¯t shut. ¡°No one buys any of that crap! Not for years. All of that is leftover from when we still had Heroes wandering around, and I can¡¯t even make a dent in it! The only reason I¡¯m willing to buy these¡ª¡± he wrapped his mitts around the arms of the candelabra. ¡°¡ªis that you¡¯re our weekly wyvern slayer. It¡¯s charity.¡± With a measly five gold clinking in her pocket, Natsuko beat a path to Devil¡¯s Cut. She needed more gods-damned money. That stupid dungeon wasn¡¯t even worth the amount of money she could make badgering Shuixing for an allowance. When she arrived, The Devil¡¯s Cut was busier than it had been the afternoon before, though still filled with subdued Non-Heroes talking about the same stuff they always talked about. All except for a bright purple puffball sitting at the bar with his lavender head down in a mug. Natsuko walked up beside Sofiane and signaled for the bartender. ¡°Hey Klaus, put this towards my tab!¡± She slid the five coins across the bar with the slickness of a high-stakes gambler. Klaus scooped it up, tossed it in a lockbox, and erased the ¡°195¡± next to ¡°Natsuko¡± on a chalkboard. ¡°What can I getcha?¡± Klaus asked. ¡°The usual,¡± she replied. He chalked ¡°200¡± next to her name and went to go pour a double shot of whiskey and a pint of Verm?genbier. Head resting on his arms, Sofiane turned to face her. ¡°Of all the bars in all of Verm?genburgh, you walk into this one.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only two bars in Verm?genburgh and I¡¯m banned from the other one,¡± Natsuko replied. Sofiane moaned. ¡°O gods¡­ which of you deities did I blaspheme to get stuck with the two worst Heroes in Po-Lin." ¡°Hey, it was your stupid empty dungeon! Me and Shuixing did our job,¡± Natsuko said, slamming back the double shot of neat whiskey and swallowing the tickling in her throat with a growl. Sofiane¡¯s response was to explore an even deeper dimension of sulking. His mug of Verm?genbier was still three-quarters full. ¡°Leave me alone¡­¡± Natsuko laughed and slapped his back. ¡°If you want me to screw off, I will, you purple sourpuss. But lemme give you a word of advice first: Once that little Use-Number of yours starts going down, and the Celestials decide you¡¯re useless, no one¡¯s gonna hold your hand or have your back except for other useless losers like me and Shui. If you don¡¯t wanna go crazy, get with the program and start making friends. You¡¯re only hurting yourself by¡ª¡± an old memory made her pause for a second ¡°¡ªby burning bridges. There. Preaching done. Enjoy your beer, dork.¡± She gave his purple bob a ruffle and started off to go drink with the Non-Heroes. ¡°Wait,¡± Sofiane mumbled. A suppressed grin wriggled in her facial muscles. ¡°Hmm?" ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°Sorry for what?¡± Sofiane exhaled. ¡°Sorry for being an ass just because I was in a bad mood about the dungeon being a bust.¡± ¡°How sorry are you?¡± ¡°What?¡± Natsuko¡¯s grin finally burst to the surface. She gestured at the chalkboard of outstanding tabs. ¡°Are you about 200 Ying worth of sorry?¡± Chapter 9 - Applying Medico-Magic in a Frivolous Manner Shuixing was nursing a mug of warm tea and thinking contemplatively about yesterday''s harrowing experiences when Natsuko came a-pounding at her door. ¡°Shuiiiiiii! Heeeeeelp!¡± Shuixing sighed and conjured her rod, already knowing what her friend wanted. Natsuko was mid-way through another moaning call when Shui opened the door. Wincing, bleary-eyed, messy-haired, Natsuko stood outside her door wearing nothing but someone¡¯s stolen smoking jacket and her boots. ¡°Tummy and head hurt: Please fix.¡± Shuixing put her hand on her hip. ¡°I am not going to keep fixing your hangovers. It only encourages you to drink more!¡± ¡°One more time, please!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You said that last time.¡± ¡°Come on, I know my best friend in the whole world wouldn¡¯t deliberately make me suffer, would she?¡± Natsuko said, throwing Shuixing into a bear hug. Shuixing stood like a mouse in a cat¡¯s jaws as Natsuko shook her back and forth. ¡°Also, I¡¯m seconds from hurling all over your floor.¡± Shuixing fumbled for her rod to cast Ablutions on Natsuko and cure the poison. ¡°Phew. So much better. Thanks Shui,¡± said Natsuko. ¡°Tell you what, I¡¯ll pay you back by making breakfast.¡± Shuixing looked at her funny. ¡°Since when do you have money for ingredients?¡± Natsuko grabbed one of Shuixing''s pans and turned on her stove. ¡°I vaguely remember punching a tree last night and eggs fell out. The rest are, you know, just everyday things¡­¡± ¡°From my kitchen,¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko smiled innocently and took down some rice, sugar, and tomatoes. It was an old favorite of theirs: Omurice. Despite her dire financial straits, Natsuko had been the chef for their adventuring party years prior. Her skill was such that, miraculously, with only eggs, rice, tomatoes, and sugar, she could cook up a full omurice, complete with processed ketchup. It was like magic. While Natsuko cooked, Shuixing sat back down at her table of research and let her eyes glaze over. She had still not fully recovered from witnessing not only a different set of physics, but one which seemed more plausible, more rational, than the ¡°real¡± world. Why did the Yishang resummon them when they died? Why did rocks hide secret passages then dissolve after being crumbled? How could you whack rocks over and over and never dull your weapon? And what other absurdities were hiding in plain sight? Interrupting her deep thoughts, a plate wafted into her vision, moving up and down like a bumblebee. ¡°Madame Shuixing, your omurice,¡± Natsuko said, mocking Sofiane¡¯s accent. Shuixing felt guilty for giggling. As usual, Natsuko¡¯s handiwork was perfect, creating something with such a complex depth of flavor that Shui could''ve sworn the recipe should be three times as large. Several bites later and the fats and carbs were greasing the wheels of her brain. ¡°Perhaps we should speak with Sofiane and get more information from him about how he learned of this bizarre dungeon,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I saw him at the bar last night but then I¡­ don¡¯t remember. Everything¡¯s a bit fuzzy,¡± Natsuko said in-between oversized bites of omurice. ¡°Let¡¯s ask Klaus," Shuixing said. They didn¡¯t make it to Klaus. Instead, they found Sofiane passed out in a purple-colored puddle outside The Devil¡¯s Cut. Natsuko nudged him with her foot. The purple lump moaned and swatted at her. After waiting a minute for him to move again, Natsuko put the sole of her boot on Sofiane¡¯s head and rubbed his face in the dirt. The lump turned into a flailing fish. ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing!?¡± Sofiane said, spitting dirt out of his mouth and clutching his throbbing head. ¡°Waking you up, you hungover bum,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing bit her tongue. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Wincing and trying not to move his neck and jaw too much, Sofiane said, ¡°please, just let me spend the morning recovering, I¡ª¡± Natsuko nudged Shuixing. She sighed and rang her bell. His hangover was instantly cured by a potent cocktail of Healing Waters and Ablutions, plus some plain old water. Sofiane slammed down the water, spilling half of it on his purple waistcoat. ¡°Oh wow. I''d never considered using medico-magic for hangover cures. That is¡­ dangerously enabling,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I''m aware,¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko put her hands on her hips. ¡°Aaa~lrighty! Let¡¯s talk about next moves.¡± The first thing they did was to go back to the rock. It took half an hour of searching to realize there was no longer a rock. ¡°No, look, I was standing here when the goblins came charging in. I remember their camp being in that spot!¡± Sofiane said, lining up his extended arm with the goblins¡¯ waving flag. A wind rolled through and shook the pines, filling their nose with pinewood fragrance at the same time as it chilled them to the bone. They all knew rocks didn¡¯t disappear unless they were supposed to. This didn¡¯t stop Natsuko from asking, ¡°maybe it got moved?¡± That didn¡¯t even warrant a response. Even if you moved a rock, it would appear right back where it was supposed to be overnight. This thought prompted Shuixing to pull out a notebook and jot down any detail she could think of to pour over later. Natsuko kicked a few unrelated rocks. ¡°Well, if there was anything else down there, we sure as hell can¡¯t get to it now,¡± Sofiane said, kicking a rock unrelated to the unrelated rocks Natsuko was kicking. Shuixing looked up from her notes. ¡°As much as I would have liked to do further research, tempting fate twice in as many days was perhaps not the most advisable course of action." Natsuko was disappointed for other reasons. The threat of true mortal peril, the kind where you weren¡¯t just revived with 10% lower stats, was more intoxicating than liquor. Sofiane was also fiending like an addict, though his drug of choice was experience points. ¡°I refuse to be defeated! You both need to help me think of something else that I¡ª that we can do to put ourselves back on the Use-Number rankings. There has to be something. Only losers give up,¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko snorted. ¡°We need to help you?¡± ¡°Maybe not madame Shuixing," Sofiane said. "But you are 250 Ying in debt to me, in case you forgot.¡± He pulled out a piece of paper with Natsuko¡¯s signature on it offering to pay back the full price of her drinking tab. ¡°You said that was a gift!¡± ¡°No, you said it was a gift, I said it was a loan. You signed off that it was a loan! I wrote this down and asked you to confirm you understood three times!¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I don¡¯t remember so it doesn¡¯t count.¡± ¡°Your signature is right there!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t legally consent while intoxicated, don¡¯t you know that!?¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°Shui back me up!¡± Shuixing shook her head, not wanting to get involved. Sofiane folded his arms. "You can pay me back by helping think up ways we can get some experience¡ª¡± ¡°And money.¡± ¡°¡ªand money. And maybe higher level equipment, who knows.¡± ¡°Screw it. I¡¯ll do what I can,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing nodded in agreement. Somehow, making the vows out loud made them feel better. It''d been years since either Natsuko or Shuixing had thought about making a play for increasing their Use-Number. It was hare-brained, and it probably wouldn¡¯t go anywhere, but what else were they doing? As they walked back through the forest to Verm?genburgh, Shuixing asked Sofiane, ¡°how did you find out about this dungeon by the way?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, it''s in this book about strange occurrences written by a Non-Hero. But the 3D map thing I got from this Hero with like¡ª¡± Sofiane brushed his shoulders. ¡°¡ªflaring shoulder pads and... some kinda instrument-sword, I think? I didn¡¯t get his name, but I know everyone in the Top 40 personally, and he¡¯s not one of them." Natsuko and Shuixing shared a look. There were other instrument weapons in the world. There wasn¡¯t any reason to think it was their old teammate Hemiola, especially since he had died in a dimension-jumping accident, but it made them wonder. Shuixing was planning to ask some identifying questions when they were stopped by a Hero in a black trench coat, pistols akimbo at his side, long black hair flowing behind him. Maple leaves grazed the air between them. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Natsuko. Time to settle our score,¡± the man said, spinning his pistols. Sofiane drew his rapier, electric charge rippling from his neck to the tip of his sword, ready to fight to the death. Natsuko rubbed her temples. ¡°Ugh, not this idiot¡­¡± ¡°Hey Pechorin. How''ve you been?¡± Shuixing asked. Chapter 10 - The Cursed Demon’s Eye ¡°Distract me not, ma¡¯am. I have business here, and business comes before pleasure,¡± Pechorin said, guns drawn. ¡°We¡¯re headed back to town if you want to join us,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°I am afraid I cannot go back with the woman who dishonored me. We must settle this with a duel,¡± he said, wiping his exceedingly pale chin with his thumb. Pechorin was as pale as his overly-dark clothes were black, like an edgy yin-yang. ¡°I¡¯m not fighting you, Pech. Why can¡¯t you just say hi like a normal person?¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane looked confused. ¡°Uhh, who is this guy?¡± Shuixing said, ¡°our old¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak of our past!¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Those ties have long been severed. What you did that day can never be undone.¡± Natsuko rolled her eyes. Sofiane looked concerned. ¡°What did you do?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°I told him I wasn¡¯t gonna¡ª¡± Pechorin fired into the air. The shot caused Sofiane to duck and Natsuko to wince in annoyance. ¡°Enough! Your irreverence is¡ª¡± ¡°Dude can you not!?¡± Natsuko shouted. ¡°Not do what?¡± ¡°Fire your damn guns!¡± Pechorin cleared his throat. ¡°Shuixi¡ª your Medico-Mage is able to cure tinnitus. But she cannot cure¡ª¡± ¡°I swear to the gods, Pech, I will send you straight through the ground where no one will have to see your stupid sickly face and your stupid greasy hair and your ugly ass trench coat and your obnoxiously loud guns and your¡ª¡± Shuixing leaned over to Sofiane and whispered. ¡°He asked her out when we used to go adventuring together. Natsuko turned him down and he swore that he would become a hermit who would never fall in love with a woman again.¡± ¡°I hear you!¡± he said. ¡°Shui you are lying to this poor girl! I never¡ª¡± ¡°Boy,¡± Sofiane corrected. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the new femboy?¡± Sofiane grimaced. ¡°Was.¡± ¡°Ah, my condolences, I¡ª Natsuko, this is not finished! We duel for my honor, and the honor of my dead clan. Right here, right now!¡± ¡°You know what? Fine,¡± Natsuko said, setting her bottle down and leaning on it. ¡°Go ahead. Shoot me.¡± Leaves fluttered to the ground. The path in the woods became still, save a blustery autumn gale howling through the maple trees. The leaves stained the ground the color of freshly-drawn blood. Pechorin¡¯s guns stayed frozen at his sides. ¡°I refuse to shoot a woman,¡± he said. ¡°So why the hell did you even bother then!?¡± ¡°For my honor, and my clan¡¯s hon¡ª¡± Sofiane, Shuixing, and Natsuko walked around him blocking the path. ¡°This has not been settled! I will hunt you to the ends of the earth, emanating my aura of bloodthirst wherever I go until this slight has been rectified. Mark my words.¡± As they continued their journey back to Verm?genburgh, Sofiane asked, ¡°so¡­ he¡¯s another 1st-gen Hero, right?¡± Shuixing nodded. ¡°He was one of the most popular back in the day. Only Natsuko had a better Use-Number.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°He¡¯s like an early version of Baphomet or Yoshihide, I guess. The silent yet sensitive loner with a dark backstory to match their dark color palette? Bit of an anti-hero?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Precisely. His Use-Numbers plummeted right around when Yoshihide was first summoned.¡± ¡°Shame,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Hey Natsuko, maybe you should suck up to him and squeeze him for some free money and booze.¡± Natsuko elbowed Sofiane in the stomach. ¡°Ow! What was that for!?¡± By then it was lunchtime, so they reconvened at Verm?genburgh¡¯s most famous restaurant, Bier-und-Brot, which served both solid and liquid forms of grain. Their specialty was an open-faced rye sandwich with whatever the head chef, Alva, felt like cooking. On that day it was pickled herring, onions, and dill, the same as it had been every day for as long as Natsuko could remember. ¡°Mm. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had Verm?genburgher food,¡± Sofiane said, munching on a tail of crusty bread to go along with his softer, buttered slice. He washed it down with a sip of wheat beer. No hero got out of skipping Verm?genburgh entirely. Even the new summons had to complete a questline in the town before they could continue on to the Tianzhou region. However, the base stats of new summons were so high now that the giant, evil dragon V?lsunga that had taken Natsuko and Shuixing¡¯s adventuring party almost a month of careful preparation and grinding was basically just a chew toy for the new Heroes. An efficient new summon could complete Verm?genburgh¡¯s questline in 24 hours. Natsuko wondered if V?lsunga was as annoyed with stat inflation as she was. ¡°So, now that we have some calories on the brain, and a little bit of golden lubricant,¡± Sofiane said, shaking his beer stein. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about ways to get our Use-Numbers up. Any ideas to start off with?¡± The beer fizzed and popped in its stein. The stove clanged as Alva scooped another loaf out of the oven. No one had any ideas. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get us rolling. As you know, one of the metrics that has shown a strong correlation to increased Use-Number is the quantity of Ero-Art. Now¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°My suggestion is nothing salacious. I mean¡ª¡± ¡°Whatever it is, no.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s¡ª¡± Shuixing coughed. ¡°Natsu¡­ prefers not to go that route. Neither do I, in fact.¡± Natsuko set her chin and tried to make that the final word, though the effect wasn¡¯t quite as strong with a beer foam mustache melting on her upper lip. ¡°I understand. Believe me, I¡¯m not too happy with that statistic either,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°But I feel I should at least offer up an insider¡¯s take on what the top performing Heroes are doing to get ahead, since they¡¯re the ones we¡¯re trying to overcome. Fair?¡± Natsuko snorted. ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°Okay, hear me out: Toes.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Toes! If you want to compete for a good Ero-Art number nowadays, it¡¯s open-toed shoes, all the way,¡± he said. Natsuko folded her arms. ¡°I don¡¯t even wanna know why. The Celestials can screw themselves.¡± ¡°I believe that¡¯s the point.¡± ¡°Either way, not happening. No toes.¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t you adopted the trend, Sofiane?¡± Shuixing asked, nibbling on pickled fish. Sofiane shrugged. ¡°Different rules for different archetypes. Doesn¡¯t really work for male heroes. Even femboys. Maybe because we have to ditch our stockings to make it work which ruins the femboy aesthetic.¡± ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s think of something else then,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°What if we¡­ well, we could always try a new outfit. I remember seasonal-themed outfits worked well.¡± Sofiane shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s a one-time boost if you¡¯re already being summoned. Only the Celestials that are hardcore fans will care, and they¡¯re already the ones summoning you. If you¡¯re already stuck with a low Use-Number, it doesn''t do much.¡± Natsuko grumbled. The one mug of beer wasn¡¯t even giving her a buzz, it was just making her thoughts all mushy and fragmented. ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to be able to claw back up, that¡¯s why.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sofiane asked. Her comment made him feel cold all of a sudden. ¡°The Yishang must have some kind of reason, or¡­ or incentive or something for wanting the Celestials to move on to new Heroes all the time. They say we¡¯re needed to save the universe, but if that¡¯s the case, why this giant turnover?¡± ¡°Because the challenges get harder year over year, so we need Heroes with stronger¡­ um¡­ you know¡­¡± Sofiane¡¯s own thoughts ground to a halt. ¡°Yeah, and if that¡¯s the case, what the hell is the point in trying to catch up? We¡¯re leftovers. We¡¯re junk. We¡¯re unnecessary. We have nothing to contribute to saving the universe. That¡¯s the message,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing put her hand on her friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Natsuko¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna go take a nap. I didn¡¯t sleep well,¡± Natsuko said, standing up from the table. ¡°Hey, neither did I,¡± Sofiane said. That didn¡¯t stop her from stomping up the street towards the college. Shuixing sighed. This wasn¡¯t the first brainstorming session they¡¯d had to figure out how to boost their Use-Numbers. It wasn¡¯t even the tenth, although it could''ve been the hundredth. Something about Sofiane¡¯s optimism had infected them, but they were right back around to the same conclusions they had drawn years ago. ¡°You gotta play the game to win the game,¡± Sofiane said, taking another swig of beer. ¡°Walking away and throwing in the towel doesn¡¯t accomplish anything.¡± Shuixing rested her head in her hands. ¡°Hmm, I wonder if that¡¯s really the bargain. Sell yourself out, or fade into obscurity.¡± ¡°There is always karma,¡± Pechorin said, startling Sofiane by standing directly behind him. ¡°Gods man! Clear your throat or something first,¡± Sofiane said, slapping Pechorin in the chest. ¡°What do you mean, Pech?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Causes and conditions. If the conditions are not ripe, your causes will be for naught. Sometimes you must simply bide your time, nurse your grudges, keep your vendettas on ice so they can be served chilled,¡± Pechorin said, idly thumbing the flintlock of his pepperbox pistol. Shuixing chuckled softly. ¡°We¡¯ve certainly been doing a lot of biding, that¡¯s for sure. How have you been, Pechorin?¡± He held up his hand. ¡°Let us skip the pleasantries, mage, for I am the embodiment of these conditions. I come bearing news of the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye, an ancient artifact that offers a bargain far more demented, far more befouling, yet far more powerful than mere open-toed footwear.¡± ¡°Hey! Cheers to that,¡± Sofiane said, raising his stein and hiccuping. Chapter 11 - Mysterious, Cursed Knowledge of Demonic Origin ¡°So, uh, what the hell is it?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°It is the Eye of the Cursed Demon,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Uh-huh. So¡­ what the hell is it?¡± ¡°An artifact of unimaginable power, whose cursed energy comes at a steep price.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the power? Does it have double experience gain? Really good stats? Unlocks cheat skills?¡± Pechorin folded his arms and leaned back in the chair, sunlight shining on his smooth leather trench coat. ¡°More powerful still.¡± ¡°Yeah, that doesn¡¯t clarify things. How do we know this is even worth it?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°And I would like to know about this steep price,¡± Shuixing added. ¡°The price¡­ is your soul,¡± Pechorin said. Sofiane snorted. ¡°Oh big deal. That¡¯s small potatoes compared to being at the top of the Use-Ranking charts. I¡¯d sell my soul in a heartbeat. So would any Hero.¡± Pechorin smirked and gave a nod of his head. ¡°Good to know I¡¯m working with someone who isn¡¯t afraid of dark forces. Not many are prepared to walk the the line between light and d¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, edgy archetype. I get it. But let¡¯s talk about where this thing is, non?¡± Pechorin laid out his cryptic knowledge which, stripped of poetic allusions to greed and man¡¯s inhumanity to man and his own cursed past and the fate of his clan and the abyss of his soul, amounted to the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye¡ªor Eye of the Cursed Demon, depending on one¡¯s mood¡ªbeing located in a dungeon on the border between the Verm?genburgh region and Tianzhou. ¡°You could¡¯ve said that in about a thousand fewer words, but you mean Mephistopheles¡¯s Tomb, right? When can we go get it?¡± ¡°We must wait for the full moon,¡± he said. ¡°Um¡­ Wh¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s a thing,¡± Shuixing said. Sofiane raised an eyebrow. ¡°A thing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask. It¡¯s two days away, the wait isn¡¯t that long.¡± ¡°Every day we don¡¯t get this uber-mega-powerful artifact is another day that the top Heroes get ahead of us! I don¡¯t know why we don¡¯t just¡ª¡± ¡°It began with the massacre of my clan¡­¡± Pechorin began. Shuixing put her head in her hands. It did not take long for Sofiane to realize why she had been avoiding the subject of the full moon. Ten, fifteen, thirty minutes passed with both of them unable to halt the momentum of Pechorin¡¯s dark backstory. Sofiane looked up from his mug. ¡°Listen man, I¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªMy own brother, the blood streaking his face illuminated in the moonlight, our parents¡¯ corpses at his feet¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, sure, but we¡ª¡± ¡°The rage I felt in that moment fills my trembling arteries when I stand in the full moonlight. I take on the strength of a beast, let alone a man,¡± Pechorin said, slamming the table. ¡°He gets a stat boost during the full moon,¡± Shuixing explained. ¡°One of his Passives. Or so he says. I''ve never noticed any appreciable difference.¡± ¡°Ah, I see,¡± Sofiane said. He stood up and stuck out a frilly, sleeved hand towards Pechorin. ¡°Well, monsieur, it was a pleasure to meet you, but I must be going. Let us meet up outside Verm?genburgh the morning after next and go find this Cursed Eye, what say you?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Pechorin glanced at Sofiane¡¯s hand. ¡°A pleasure indeed, but I cannot shake your hand. I don¡¯t want the curse in my blood to infect another. This misfortune is mine alone to bear.¡± ¡°Uh-huh, sounds good.¡± Sofiane said, clapping Pechorin on the back as he left. ¡°I will see you around, Madame Shuixing.¡± She nodded to Sofiane before turning back to Pechorin who was sweating slightly from wearing a heavy trench coat in moderate, early autumn weather. Mind turning to the season, Shuixing took a deep breath and exhaled as a chilly breeze cut through the smoke rising from the flue of Alva¡¯s bread oven. There were moments now and again when Shuixing felt at peace despite her stagnancy. Did she even really want to be an adventurer, or save the universe? What would she do with more money? She was far happier working on her private research into dimension-jumping and physics. But still, she couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of things being not quite right. And there was still the possibility of her Use-Number dropping so low she couldn¡¯t even buy food. Would the Non-Heroes in the Mage¡¯s College still want to take care of a charity case like her? ¡°So, what have you been up to these past few years, Pech?¡± Shuixing asked, taking her mind off her thought-circles. ¡°The same as always,¡± he said, staring into the sky. ¡°Revenge.¡± ¡°Your brother?¡± ¡°And all those who have wronged me. I have nothing left in my cold heart, nothing else that moves this corpse of mine on its borrowed time but vengeance, coursing through my veins like electricity through the reanimated corpse of a mad scientist. A freak of nature.¡± ¡°Nothing new, huh?¡± Pechorin shook his head, chin still turned with quiet dignity towards the sky. Out of all the Heroes Shuixing knew, most broke archetype to talk frankly with other Heroes. It didn¡¯t make much difference in the emanation that was summoned by the Celestials so long as you mostly followed along and didn¡¯t just ignore it entirely like Natsuko did. But Pechorin was never off. His backstory, which every Hero knew was more of their ¡°suggested character direction¡± than a real past, was tragic in the extreme, and subsequent heroes summoned by the Yishang-ren had been toned down a touch. Shuixing¡¯s own ¡°backstory¡± was as a clutzy, cheerful, soft-spoken researcher at the mage¡¯s college who was supposed to be interested in cute animals and wanted to impress her older brother. She ditched the clutziness as being legitimately dangerous in a laboratory setting and found animals thoroughly uninteresting. She¡¯d also lost her cheerfulness in favor of the hardcore focus befitting a proper researcher. Nor did she have a ¡°real¡± older brother, only a Non-Hero that was supposed to function as one for her backstory. She was relatively certain he had been summoned into Po-Lin at the same time she had. ¡°Does she mention me?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°You mean Natsu?¡± Shuixing said. He made a face. ¡°The besmircher, yes.¡± Not really, but she felt bad telling Pechorin that. ¡°Sometimes,¡± Shuixing said, ¡°when we¡¯re reminiscing about the good old days. Like when you and the Rakshasa Lord got into a monologue-off and we couldn¡¯t start the Battle for Tianzhou for half an hour as you and him traded tragic backstories.¡± ¡°Hmm, yes, ¡®twas truly a battle for the ages,¡± Pechorin said, stroking his chin. ¡°And when you and Hemiola got into a shouting match over who ate your slice of cake, and Natsu was giggling because she saw Zhidao carry it off into the other room.¡± He nodded. ¡°Those were times when even the cold chambers of my steely heart felt some small stirring.¡± ¡°And when you wrote a love poem with your own blood to Natsu¡ª¡± Pechorin cleared his throat. ¡°I can feel the demon in my muscles calling me. They demand blood. I must hunt.¡± ¡°Ah! I see. Natsu and I are staying up at the Mage¡¯s College, so you¡¯re welcome to come visit any time. Otherwise I¡¯ll see you in a couple of days,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°If my cursed demonic blood permits,¡± he replied, fiddling with the barrel of his pepperbox. Pechorin tossed a few coins down on the table to pay for the meal and headed for the woods outside Verm?genburgh to do whatever it was he did when he suddenly felt like leaving. Shuixing wondered how he was really doing. You could only get real answers from Pechorin after they were heavily-filtered through his persona, which didn¡¯t leave much. With nothing much else to do, Shui retired to her apartment at the Mage¡¯s College for the afternoon. She assumed Natsu wanted to be left alone. Awaiting her was the usual pile of accumulated research strewn across her table. The more she tried to understand their strange world, the more her brain got muddled. It felt as though whenever her thoughts roamed too close to her summoning five years ago, or the nature of why she had a ¡°backstory,¡± or who the Yishang were and what their goals were, her brain became all fuzzy. Physics was the only way she could exercise her mind in a way that made her feel clear and sharp. Even too much thought about the flora and fauna of the world, and about what environmental factors over time could cause certain morphological characteristics in animals, made her thoughts confused and hazy. Maybe it was because anything that could be known in those areas was already known. But not physics. Physics, as Natsuko liked to violently demonstrate, still held a plethora of mysteries. If anything, she was more afraid of reaching the end of that line of knowledge than a dropping Use-Number. It was why she wasn¡¯t in a rush to uncover every truth just yet. Even the ones she suspected were right in front of her nose. Shuixing found herself in front of her bathroom mirror, staring back at her round, bespectacled face and wavy teal hair. She slapped her cheeks a few times. ¡°Oh, Shuixing. What are you so afraid of?¡± Chapter 12 - The Second Generation of Forgotten Leftovers The morning of the meet up Natsuko was hungover, again. ¡°Where do you even find people to pay for you?¡± Shuixing asked, helping her friend¡¯s stiff body up from the floor of the cramped laboratory closet. ¡°Klaus, man, he likes, ow¡ª¡± Natsuko shielded her eyes from the windows Shuixing opened. ¡°¡ªHe likes when numbers go up. Specifically my tab.¡± ¡°I would¡¯ve thought he preferred when that number went down,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°He knows I¡¯m good for it. Usually.¡± Sofiane was already at the town gate when they arrived, where he was flirting with Rose, the aptly-named florist. ¡°Madame, how devilish of you to steal the center stage of your own bouquet,¡± Sofiane said with a flourished bow. ¡°O-Oh, erm¡­ thank you?¡± the confused Non-Hero replied. He grasped the hand not holding a basket of flowers and kissed it. ¡°How have you hidden yourself in such a backwater town, mademoiselle? Like a water lily, your beauty sprouts from amongst the muck.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, w-who are you?¡± Rose asked. Natsuko slapped him hard on the back, snapping him out of the bow. ¡°He¡¯s an idiot,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°See you later Rose,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Erm, bye then,¡± the florist said, scurrying on. Sofiane put his hands on his hips. ¡°Am I to be denied what little pleasure there is to be found in this pissant town?¡± Natsuko plunked her bottle down on the cobblestone street and rested against it without responding. As far as she was concerned, this was her town. No one was going to go around bothering the Non-Heroes except for her. And maybe Shuixing. And with that, they waited another half an hour for Pechorin to show up during which time Sofiane and Natsuko started up a game of hangman in the dust. ¡°S!¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane drew a leg on the hanged man in the dirt next to the road with his rapier. ¡°Nope!¡± ¡°What!? You¡¯ve gotta be screwing with me. Eleven spaces, no vowels, and no S¡¯s!? Bullshit. You¡¯re lying.¡± He grinned. ¡°Your lexical ignorance is no concern of mine.¡± Natsuko turned to her friend. ¡°Shui, he¡¯s screwing with me, right? Come on, you¡¯re smart. There¡¯s no eleven-letter word with no vowels in it, right?¡± Shuixing untucked her hands from her robe sleeves and rubbed her chin. ¡°Hmm? I¡¯m a scientist, not a linguist. I don¡¯t necessarily know a lot of big words outside my specialized jargon.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s gotta be¡ª¡± ¡°Finish your damned turn!¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Fine, ¡®R¡¯. Are there any ¡®R¡¯s?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Nope! You lose." ¡°Alright, puffball, what is it?¡± With the dexterity of a master calligrapher, Sofiane spelled out the word ¡°twyndyllyng¡± in the dirt with his rapier in cursive, all while looking exceedingly proud of himself. ¡°That¡¯s not a word!¡± Natsuko said, pointing at the offending set of characters. ¡°That¡¯s gobbledygook!¡± ¡°It¡¯s an archaic word for ¡°twin¡±,¡± he explained. The mention of archaic made Shuixing feel uncomfortably fuzzy again. Archaic¡­ Who had invented it then, if the world had only existed in this form for five years? The Yishang said there was a time before the summoning of Heroes, and that it had been shrouded in a timeless, entropic Mist that their rivals, the Entropic Axis, was trying to reinstate. Did she exist in that entropic state? She couldn¡¯t imagine it. As she unsuccessfully pondered this, Pechorin finally arrived, fashionably late. ¡°Oh gods-damned it, you didn¡¯t say it was him we were waiting for!¡± Natsuko said.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell her who gave us the tip?¡± Sofiane asked a guilty-looking Shuixing. ¡°Hehe, well¡­¡± Shuixing had fully anticipated this. Dormant for several years, she still had the instinctual knowledge of how to coax their dysfunctional team into working together. For Natsu that meant tricking her into being up and ready by making going back to sleep more effort than staying up. For Pechorin, that meant promising Natsu would be there. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get going, shall we? Seize the day!¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Fine. But I¡¯m not talking to him,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Nor I her,¡± Pech said. ¡°Like quarreling twyndyllyngs,¡± said Sofiane. The dungeon that supposedly contained the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye¡ªor Eye of the Cursed Demon¡ªwas located near the edge of the great land bridge that linked the region of Verm?genburgh to Shuixing¡¯s "homeland" of Tianzhou. Mephistopheles'' Tomb was the last of the dungeons to be discovered back when the Mist encompassed everywhere but Verm?genburgh. By all accounts, it should have been picked clean, and now contained only monsters so pitifully easy to defeat that the experience gained wasn¡¯t worth the effort. According to Pechorin, that was exactly why the Eye of the Cursed Demon had been overlooked. ¡°It was hiding in plain sight the entire time,¡± he said as they walked along the sandy shores of Lake Burnhithe. Far off in the distance were the mountains of Hammertal Canyon. Ahead of them lay the dark fir forest that ringed the edges of Verm?genburgh. Further beyond were the sand-swept roads along the marshy isthmus to Tianzhou. Further still, at the very edge of their sight, were the steep, pillar-like, unmistakably Tianzhounese mountains of the Buxia rift. ¡°Plain sight?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°We¡¯ve been in Mephistopheles¡¯ Tomb several times together Pechorin, you never said anything before.¡± ¡°It was revealed to me in a vision,¡± he replied. ¡°Shove it up your ass,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You made it up, didn''t you?¡± Sofiane hummed. ¡°Actually¡­ I think I¡¯ve heard of what monsieur Pechorin is talking about. There was supposed to be some room in the dungeon that seems inaccessible but, under certain circumstances, can be accessed.¡± As if on cue, the wind picked up Pechorin¡¯s long, charcoal-black hair and made it wave dramatically. ¡°The forbidden chamber.¡± Natsuko folded her arms. ¡°Which you named yourself, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°So you know a way inside?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°It was revealed to me.¡± ¡°In a vision?¡± ¡°In my tortured, fitful dreams.¡± ¡°You slept like a rock every night,¡± Natsuko said. Pechorin ignored her, instead toying with the chambers of his guns as though in preparation for some great battle. Shuixing giggled. She supposed she ought to be taking it as seriously as he was, but truthfully she wasn¡¯t expecting much from the trip. For her this was an outing with an old friend. Sofiane, however, was far more enthusiastic. Drugged by the sweet narcosis of optimism, the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye¡ªor Eye of the Cursed Demon¡ªhad, in his head, turned into an ultimate secret weapon capable of anything and everything. It might as well have raised Use-Numbers single-handedly. Meanwhile, Natsuko was hungover still because Shuixing was trying to teach her a lesson, which put her in a bad mood. ¡°Hold up, who¡¯s that?¡± Sofiane said, drawing his rapier. They could hear in the distance the voices of men and women speaking to each other excitedly. It was precisely the kind of joviality that everyone but Natsuko was sharing (and Pechorin was pretending to be too brooding for). And the voices were coming from the entrance to Mephistopheles¡¯s Tomb. ¡°Strange. I recognize some of the voices,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Harald,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°And Margaret.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°2nd-gen Heroes,¡± Natsuko said flatly. ¡°All just as forgotten as us, apparently.¡± Sofiane narrowed his eyes. ¡°I cannot say I am too fond of their being here. You haven¡¯t told anyone else about the Eye of the Cursed Demon, have you?¡± Pechorin shook his head and drew both pepperbox guns from their holsters. ¡°Not unless I have murmured strange and arcane things in my sleep.¡± ¡°Again, like a rock,¡± Natsuko said. The dark woods parted to reveal a stony clearing with a granite sepulcher in the middle. A small camp was set up outside with four people standing around it, all unmistakably Heroes by their well-defined aesthetic choices and unique weapons. Their conversation stopped as four rivals entered the clearing. ¡°Guess we didn¡¯t move fast enough,¡± Harald said, shrugging in his bear pelt coat and gathering up a thick-handled halberd with runes carved into its steel blade. ¡°You¡¯re looking for the Eye of the Cursed Demon too?¡± Sofiane asked, purple electricity crackling around his sword-wielding hand. ¡°If by that you mean the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye,¡± Margaret said, ¡°then yeah. And I think you should walk away and let us have it, little girl.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to take that from some 2nd-gen nobody,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Is sharing possible?¡± Shuixing asked. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. ¡°They are not the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eyes plural, I am afraid,¡± Pechorin said. Something about the tense atmosphere told Shuixing not to ask how they themselves were supposed to share it. The shadows at Pechorin¡¯s feet had already begun to plume like a smoking fire. The other two beside Harald and Margaret, a dark-eyed woman with raccoon ears and a bandolier of flasks across her chest, and a sharp-jawed man in a long gown and headscarf wielding a whip, readied themselves for combat. Sofiane turned to Natsuko. ¡°Maybe now would be a good time to tell them what your wine bottle does?¡± Chapter 13 - A Puzzle in a Different Configuration Natsuko yawned. ¡°Nah.¡± ¡°Nah? What do you mean ¡°nah¡±?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I don¡¯t use the bottle on other humans. Hero and not,¡± she said. ¡°You literally threatened to use it on me!¡± ¡°Yeah, it was a bluff, obviously.¡± ¡°So why couldn¡¯t you bluff them!?¡± Natsuko turned to look at the four Heroes brandishing weapons at them and turned back to Sofiane. ¡°They don''t annoy me as much as you do." Sofiane slapped his head. ¡°How about we settle things fair and square,¡± said Margaret, shaking her blonde cleopatra bob. She wore a side-split turquoise dress with enough of every type of accessory to hit every Ero-Art niche Celestials could conceive of. In her hand was a cigarette holder that Natsuko knew doubled as a wand. If she recalled correctly, Margaret was a Fire-based Aggro-Mage. ¡°No one dies for real, after all.¡± Harald said with a mean-looking grin. ¡°It just hurts a little bit.¡± What he meant was that they¡¯d be resummoned by the Yishang, but that didn¡¯t mean skipping the brutal death part. You also lost 10% of your stats and level progress until you completed the next major quest. Natsuko had found that out the hard way. Repeatedly. Pechorin glanced at Natsuko then back to the heroes standing in their way. ¡°If it must be a fight, so be it. But know that my bloodlust can only be quenched by your deaths.¡± ¡°Come on dude,¡± the raccoon girl said, hands on her hips. ¡°You don¡¯t need to keep up the archetype act. It¡¯s cringy.¡± After that there was silence as both sides waited to see what the other would do. Natsuko was trying to remember who they all were and what their classes were. Aside from Margaret being an Aggro-Mage, Harald was a Bazouk, so his only strategy was to run straight at them. The one with the whip was¡­ Faisal, that¡¯s right. She hadn¡¯t seen him after his featured questline. He was a Hero from al-Nuwba and a Cuirassier, so some kind of control hero. He would prevent them from dealing damage to the backline. Which left whoever the hell this raccoon girl was. Natsuko guessed her class was a Grenadier by the flasks. Another Hero from Shikijima like herself based on the ninja-girl looking outfit, not that that mattered beyond your backstory. Reflected back at Natsuko were the same analyzing gazes from her opponents. Hero-on-Hero violence was messy and complicated since, for the most part, humans didn¡¯t behave like predictable mobs. On top of that, Heroes weren¡¯t damage-sponges like mobs were, so the fights were quick and brutal. Then there was the pride at stake. Dying to mobs was one thing. Being killed and made to respawn by another Hero created blood grudges. Natsuko could only think of a handful of times she''d seen it happen, all after the older Heroes had started scrambling for scraps. ¡°Well, what¡¯s it gonna be then? If you¡¯re scared, turn around and leave,¡± Harald said. No one believed his bluster. Natsuko glanced at Sofiane. She didn¡¯t know what his stats were, but she suddenly felt glad he was on their side of the fight. As she thought this, Margaret raised her cigarette holder and blew a giant fireball in their direction. All four of members of Team Natsuko dove for cover. Even with her quick reaction, Natsuko felt a singing burn up the side of her body that meant she had taken a solid chunk of damage. She grit her teeth. ¡°Hit them!¡± Natsuko yelled at Pechorin. Picking himself up, Pechorin fired both of his dual-wielded pepperboxes at Harald who was now glowing red in a battle rage. ¡°Pech is our DPS! Cover him Sof¡ª¡± Natsuko didn¡¯t have time to get the words out of her mouth before Sofiane burst into a ball of lightning and reappeared in the space between Harald and Pechorin. Harald slammed his ax over and over and over, every time being tipped away by Sofiane standing with his right arm behind his back, deflecting the hulking Bazouk¡¯s halberd away with dainty ease. Most likely from the Duelist class''s Perfect Parry ability.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. A smirk appeared on Sofiane¡¯s face as he coiled his rapier back for a second before turning into a bolt of purple lighting which ran straight through Harald¡¯s center mass. Faisal and the raccoon girl were still preparing their abilities and Margaret¡¯s were still on cooldown when Harald died. Popping back into existence on the other side, Sofiane turned and watched Harald¡¯s organs spill out of the charred hole he''d left. Falling face first, he choked and gurgled blood on the ground, limbs quivering as the last of his energy left him. All-in-all, it was probably a fairly merciful death. Natsuko had died much more brutally than that. But the speed with which Sofiane killed him was unnerving. ¡°You didn¡¯t say he was a newer gen!¡± Margaret said, her voice shrill and scared. ¡°I take it this concludes our discussion of how to allocate the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye?¡± Sofiane asked, patting Margaret on the shoulder. "Tell your friend I send him my sincerest apologies when he respawns.¡± With that, the other three walked off in a defeated daze. Natsuko felt a pang of sympathy. After all, they¡¯d come here for the same reason: A shot at reclaiming a place on the Use-Number charts. Not that she really thought this stupid Evil Demonic Eye or whatever actually existed. Which reminded her¡­ Natsuko stepped up to Pechorin. ¡°I know they didn¡¯t spontaneously have the same hunch that there was forgotten loot in Mephistopheles¡¯ Tomb, you obnoxious edgelord. What gives?¡± Pechorin looked away from the impetuous fire goblin accosting him. ¡°As I have said previously, it came to me in a vis¡ª¡± Natsuko punched him in the stomach. ¡°Oof! Ow! Okay, some Non-Hero compiled a list of myths and legends about unclaimed loot and I¡ª I found out¡ª¡± Pechorin stopped to cough. ¡°¡ªfound out about it.¡± Sofiane perked up at that. ¡°Oh, I know what he¡¯s talking about. That¡¯s what got me asking around about maps and stuff.¡± Natsuko raised an eyebrow. ¡°And someone conveniently happened to be willing to part with their precious secret underground dungeon map?¡± Pechorin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You visited the Dungeon-Beyond-Time-and-Space?¡± ¡°Yeah, it sucked,¡± Sofiane said. As the other three made their way inside, Shuixing knelt down next to Harald¡¯s dead body. Around 4am that night, the body would dissolve into the ground and he would reappear at whichever town they were closest to. Until that time, his corpse would lay burnt to a crisp on the ground with a look of shock on his face. She could fix at least that much, she supposed, and gently closed his eyelids with her fingers and rolled him over so he was at least on his back. With that, she rejoined her party in the tomb. ¡°Pop-out enemy on the left,¡± Natsuko said. They entered into a corridor of intersecting catacombs. They were all familiar enough with the dungeon, although the exact layout was a bit fuzzy. Most remembered the fun ¡°features¡± of the dungeon, like the pop-out enemy that Pechorin forgot about despite Natsuko¡¯s reminder. A dripping ghoul burst out of a stand-up crypt to Pechorin¡¯s left and clamped onto his shoulder, taking a nasty bite out of it. ¡°Back, foul beast!¡± he shouted. Natsuko¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t!¡± Pechorin fired both guns directly into its neck and it exploded into a sticky green shower. Even more inconveniencing was the excruciating ringing in their ears as his guns went off in the confined space of the limestone tomb. ¡°You ass! I¡¯ve told you not to fire in tight spaces!¡± Natsuko yelled. ¡°What!?¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°Don¡¯t fire indoors!¡± ¡°What!?¡± Sofiane said. The gash from the ghoul was barely anything at Pechorin''s level, but since it didn¡¯t cost anything except a cooldown timer, Shuixing spun a bulbous bubble on the end of her rod and touched it to the wound which instantly sealed up. ¡°Your generous contribution to my path of vengeance has been noted,¡± Pechorin said. Shuixing giggled. She had heard hundreds of Pechorin¡¯s variations on saying anything other than ¡°thank you,¡± and they never ceased to amuse her. She really did enjoy having him around again, even if he irritated Natsu. ¡°If I remember correctly there¡¯s some stupid puzzle up ahead¡­¡± Sofiane said. The tomb emptied out into a giant, rectangular shaft with a bottomless pit. Floating in the center were several sets of staircases and just before the lip of the pit there was a pedestal with five stone dials. Sofiane stroked his chin as he looked at them. ¡°So, there are six staircases and five dials. From top to bottom, the staircases are numbered 1-6 and the dials move their respective staircase one 90-degree turn to the right, the next one sequentially to the left, and the one before it to the right as well. So if we¡ª¡± Natsuko turned several of the dials and the staircases all lined up perfectly to lead up to the next opening on the other side of the shaft. ¡°Huh, good memory,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Wish it was good for more than stupid puzzles,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°Not so fast!¡± Pechorin said. ¡°For this is precisely the puzzle which, in its ordinary configuration, prevents one from chancing upon the coveted Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye.¡± ¡°So what are you supposed to do?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°The puzzle must be done backwards once the party has crossed to the other side of the pit, creating a staircase back the other way to an illusory wall, yet this means one person must be left behind at the puzzle¡¯s controls. In other words,¡± Pechorin said, pausing for effect. ¡°They must be sacrificed.¡± Chapter 14 - Elemental Abilities Which Have Not been Properly Leveled ¡°The person we sacrifice, they won¡¯t... die, will they?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°No one knows what happens to them, as no one has ever acquired the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye before,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Then how come someone wrote about it?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I mean, at least the abandoned dungeon we went to required using a dangerous trick of physics. This is like¡­ this takes a minute to do. Tops!¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Pechorin said, his eyes sparkling with danger, ¡°because the price was too steep.¡± ¡°Screw it, I¡¯ll man the controls,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Are you sure? We know not what will happen," Pechorin said. ¡°The stairs will move. Stop dramatizing a freaking puzzle and get moving!¡± Shuixing, Pechorin, and Sofiane jogged up the stairs to the opposite ledge and turned around. Across the chasm Sofiane¡¯s voice echoed, ¡°oh yeah, look at that, there¡¯s another entry way on the opposite side. It''s not even illusory, it''s just there.¡± ¡°Cuz who the hell turns around and deliberately goes the wrong way in a dungeon?¡± Natsuko said. Instinctually turning dials based on what felt right, Natsuko soon had the stairs going up the opposite way to the secret room. Refusing to be left behind, Natsuko made a running leap at the wall, hopped up a couple rocky outcroppings, and leapt into open air over the pit. Just as her momentum slowed and gravity started to take over, a whirlwind of fire exploded beneath her feet and launched her upwards. Up. Up. And straight into the ceiling before she fell down to the stairs leading towards the secret room. ¡°Ow! Son of a bitch!¡± she said. Shuixing ran to her side. ¡°Oh no! Do you need healing, Natsu?¡± Natsuko winced. ¡°No, you don¡¯t take damage from whacking the ceiling, just the floor. It just hurts like a motherf¡ª¡± Something twinged in Shuixing¡¯s brain again. Why did things that hurt not cause you to take damage? Why did some things do a bunch of damage, but not hurt badly? The chunk out of Pechorin¡¯s shoulder must have felt dreadful, but the HP loss was minimized to almost nothing by his stats. It felt like that shouldn¡¯t make sense and yet¡­ ¡°¡ªer!¡± Natsuko finished, drawing Shuixing out of her musing. Sofiane patted the crumpled pile of Natsuko. ¡°Guess you can do things other than complain. I¡¯m impressed.¡± As they ventured further into the secret part of the dungeon, their surroundings remained thematically the same: Mildewy limestone walls and creepy crevices. It had the peculiar atmosphere of being somewhere they had all visited frequently for the sake of grinding experience, yet oddly novel. Eventually, the tomb hallways ended, leading out into a spacious indoor cavern. The cliff edge curved inwards, leaving a crescent-shaped gap between where Natsuko¡¯s party stood and another ledge on the opposite side with a glowing orange orb on a pedestal. ¡°That looks eye-shaped,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Holy crap, we might actually have something here,¡± Natsuko said, her sour mood washed away. Her veins flooded with the excitement of Progress. Numbers were on the verge of going up, including, maybe, possibly, hopefully, the all-important Use-Number. But as they approached the ledge, zombie creatures crawled out of the ground in a shower of dirt. Clammy, rotting hands wrapped around the party¡¯s ankles.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Ugh, figures there¡¯d be pop-up enemies here too,¡± Sofiane said. He swatted at the emerging head of one, only to have it take the hit with ease. Very large health bars were popping up above them. ¡°Uh-oh.¡± ¡°Why are they so high level?¡± Natsuko said, letting loose a Fire Gale that scorched the hands grasping at their ankles. The fire discriminated between friend and foe and licked against her teammates without harming them. ¡°It is the Demon¡¯s Curse. The same one whose legacy the Eye bears,¡± Pechorin said. He drew both guns and in a pirouette, fired off a volley in every direction, exploding in shrapnel of Metal Elemental. The zombies, still getting to their feet, shrugged it off. ¡°Erm, this isn¡¯t good,¡± Shuixing said. Waving her wand frantically, ribbons of fluorescent light seared their retinas and stunned the zombies, including one that was inches from mauling Sofiane. ¡°Lightning,¡± Pechorin said, holstering his verbosity. ¡°Please.¡± ¡°Gotcha,¡± Sofiane said. The ball of purple lightning zig-zagged through the mob of zombies, touching as many as it could, seemingly without effect until Sofiane popped out the other side. The Lightning element reacted with Metal and fried them in a Conduct reaction for what should''ve been a massive amount of damage, but ended up being lackluster. ¡°That should''ve killed them!¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko sighed. ¡°Pech doesn¡¯t level up his Insight, so his elemental abilities don¡¯t do any damage.¡± ¡°They¡¯re a crutch,¡± Pechorin elaborated. ¡°What!? That¡¯s the dumbest thing I¡¯ve ever¡ª¡± More zombies erupted from the ground beneath Sofiane and pulled him down as he frantically thrust at them with his rapier. ¡°Oh dear,¡± Shuixing said, clutching her rod. With a twirl she spawned a wave of water at the already-damaged zombies which didn¡¯t do much damage but Natsu recognized it as a setup for their own chain reaction, this time with reasonably-leveled abilities. Rearing back like a baseball pitcher, Natsuko chucked a ball of glowing ember into the crowd of zombies which blossomed into a flare that shook the entire cavern with a concussive boom. It was a spell she¡¯d stolen from the Grenadier class. Triggering the Water element, the grenade of Fire scalded the zombies into sizzling puddles. Or at least the zombies between them and Sofiane, as even more were spawning from the ground behind him. ¡°Ye gods, their numbers are ceaseless. The demon¡¯s thaumaturgy knows no bounds,¡± Pechorin said, firing his pepperboxes into the shambling wall of flesh. Drawing on a wind spell, Natsuko telekinetically grabbed Sofiane and pulled him out of the grip of the crawling zombies and onto his ass. Sofiane got up and dusted himself off. ¡°They don¡¯t do much damage, so if we stop screwing around, they¡¯re just damage-sponges.¡± As he said this, the zombies shifted focus and started crowding into one another rather than chase the intruders. The party stopped and watched the bizarre behavior for a moment before a yellow vapor flowed around them. A second later, the mob of zombies coalesced into a single, colossal zombie whose rotting scalp almost reached the cavern ceiling. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s still a low-level dungeon, non?¡± Sofiane said with a shrug. ¡°Can¡¯t be that bad.¡± He shot forward as a ball of lightning and moved to stab at the giant zombie¡¯s ankles. As soon as Sofiane got the stab off, the thing groaned and pounded its anvil-sized fists into the ground and knocked Sofiane up. While still in the air, it grabbed him by the legs and hurled him into the cave wall. This was a case where the pain and damage both lined up. Not only did it hurt like a bitch, the attack took half his HP in one go, leaving Sofiane in a crumpled daze. ¡°A-Apologies if this is obvious, but um, that will kill the rest of us in one shot,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Pech,¡± Natsuko said, eyes fixed on the giant zombie. ¡°If this eye thing sucks, I¡¯m going to kill you. I¡¯m not kidding.¡± She charged straight at it, just like Sofiane had. This time, as its fist came down, Natsuko blew herself up. Activating her Desperation Art, flaming shockwaves flared around her at the expense of half her health. The result was that the giant zombie was stunned inside an ongoing blaze centered on Natsuko. ¡°Ow! Ow! Ow! Hit it please!¡± she yelled. With Sofiane still stunned against the wall, Pechorin was the first to react. Leveling both barrels, he used his own Desperation Art, with all twelve barrels of both pepperboxes firing in a continuous volley on one target, each triggering their own Molten reactions between Metal and Fire. ¡°Volley of Vengeance: Lead Hell!¡± Pechorin said, giving both titles he had come up with for his Desperation Art since he wasn¡¯t able to decide on which sounded cooler. Unfortunately, not leveling up his abilities or his Insight, this didn''t do much. Even Shuixing¡¯s water abilities would''ve done more damage had she not been sprinting over to heal Sofiane. A few seconds later, the burn from Natsuko¡¯s Desperation Art died and she was standing directly beneath the giant zombie. Before she could run, it landed a kick that sent her across the cavern floor, bringing her health to the brink as pulsing red filled her vision. A healed Sofiane dashed forward and zipped around it, stabbing it from every angle he could, but the giant zombie¡¯s dead eyes were fixed on Natsuko. It smelled blood in the air and let out a deep, rumbling moan as it lumbered towards where she lay helplessly. Its arms windmilled. One graze promising instant death. Chapter 15 - Sacrifice ¡°Fear not, I shall sacrifice myself so that you may escape, my lady,¡± Pechorin said, throwing himself in-between Natsuko on the ground and the jumbo-sized zombie lawn mower bearing down on her. This was the moment he had been waiting for. The moment where the cool, dark facade he wore cracked a little, displaying for just one ephemeral second, his tender inner core. Natsu would be struck by its rarity and know that this pure and spontaneous sacrifice came from powerful feelings boiling deep within his hard crust like coursing magma waiting to erupt at a time of peak pressure. What could be a more fitting metaphor for the entwining of Fire and Metal? It was now or never. Pechorin would prove his devotion to dear Natsuko in one ultimate sacrifice. Knowing he could not stop their indomitable foe, he spread his arms wide, hoping to slow it for just a moment so that she could be saved. ¡°Ah shit. So much for our experience,¡± Natsuko said and yeeted her bottle at the zombie. The corner clipped its festering toe and the zombie sunk diagonally into the floor where it began its death spasms and the loud smacksmacksmack sound before it shot downwards out of existence. ¡°Come on, again!?¡± Sofiane yelled. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so underleveled, you never actually kill any enemies!¡± Natsuko brought herself to a sitting position and pointed at Sofiane. ¡°Hey, if you didn¡¯t screw up right out the gate I wouldn¡¯t have had to use the bottle!¡± ¡°At least I was dealing damage! I¡¯m a Control Hero and I still did more than the DPS who doesn¡¯t do any D!¡± Ignoring their quarreling, Shuixing picked up Natsuko¡¯s bottle and walked over to Pechorin. ¡°How about you, Pech? Do you need any healing?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Only in the ball of scar tissue that is my soul,¡± he replied. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can help you there.¡± Once her healing abilities were off cooldown, Shuixing healed Natsuko up to full along with the help of some beef skewers she brought along. She wasn¡¯t a master chef like Natsuko was, but given the miraculous healing ability of home-cooking, Shuixing tried to have a few staples on hand. ¡°Well, at least we got the Eye of the Cursed Demon,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Just gotta hop over the chasm and go get it.¡± Pechorin started to feel a little clammy. ¡°I should be able to use my telekinetic grab and bring it over,¡± Natsuko said, rocking herself onto her feet. Pechorin began to sweat. ¡°Given what was guarding it, I suspect the treasure will be worth it,¡± Shuixing said. Pechorin¡¯s sweating intensified. Using the same ability she saved Sofiane with, Natsuko coaxed the glowing orange orb off its pedestal and towards them. Without a hitch, it plopped into her waiting palms. As it did so, its stats became visible.
Cursed Eye of the Demon - +200 HP, +12 FORCE, +5% crit rate. Tier-4 rarity.
Pechorin¡¯s sweat reached its climax. ¡°Pech¡­¡± Natsuko said. He turned his back and pretended not to hear her as he carefully examined a rock arrangement. ¡°Oh Pech¡­¡± she said again, approaching him from behind. He felt a hand on his shoulder and shuddered. ¡°Would you like to explain to us why this accessory sucks?¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± he replied. ¡°Hmm? Hmm? Want some time to think? Need a lil¡¯ thinkin¡¯ time to use the ol¡¯ noggin? Hmm?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°You? Yeah?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Oh he¡¯s back to thinking now. Gotta think this one out.¡± ¡°It¡ª It appears my information may have been perverted by¡­ demonic influence.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Oh yeah?¡± ¡°I believe so.¡± ¡°Okay, well, are you aware your ass is about to be perverted by the demonic influence of my foot up it?¡± ¡°My sincerest apologies, Natsuko.¡± After a minute of chilling silence, Natsuko exhaled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You had no way of knowing.¡± Pechorin didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°You¡­ didn¡¯t know, right? I mean, you didn¡¯t have any advanced knowledge about this because no one has found this loot before, right?¡± The sweating. It was back. ¡°Pechorin¡­¡± ¡°It is not entirely inconceivable that some prior knowledge of the Cursed Eye of the Demon could have been imparted in close enough proximity for perceptive ears to have obtained certain information via auditory osmosis.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the group,¡± Natsuko said. He turned around and was surprised at her visible calm. For all the time he had adventured with her, Pechorin had always known Natsuko to go all out on whatever emotion she was feeling, and usually, when he was around, that emotion was irritation. To see calm acceptance on her face was a relief. ¡°Very well,¡± he said, as they walked back towards where Sofiane and Shuixing were waiting at the edge of the chasm. ¡°Hey, Pech?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Natsuko kicked him over the ledge into the bottomless pit. Pechorin decided screaming would ruin his persona and elected to fall to his death in stoic silence. ¡°Merde! A little harsh, non?¡± Sofiane said, folding his puffy sleeved arms. Natsuko shrugged. ¡°He¡¯ll respawn tomorrow morning. Now, let¡¯s go make up for the drinking I could''ve been doing instead of Pechorin trying to set up another dramatic sacrifice.¡± ¡°Another?¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing gave a sheepish smile. ¡°I believe this is attempt number three.¡± ¡°Four,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I don¡¯t owe you this time, so I¡¯m not paying for your drinks again,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I figured. That¡¯s why¡ª¡± Natsuko tossed the Cursed Eye of the Demon in her palm. ¡°¡ªI¡¯m pawning this little guy first.¡± Back in town by sunset, Natsuko headed to Lawrence¡¯s pawn shop. He was less than amused when Natsuko walked in through the door for the second time that week. ¡°No more candelabras,¡± he said. The ones from the abandoned dungeon were still where she had slapped them down on the counter a few days ago. She grinned. ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve got something useful this time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll believe it when I see it.¡± ¡°Behold! The Demon¡¯s Cursed Eye!¡± He looked at the glowing orange orb with a raised eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s the curse?¡± ¡°One of its previous owners ended up falling into a pit.¡± ¡°How am I supposed to re-sell it then?¡± She laughed and plopped it down on the shop counter. ¡°Come on, you know I¡¯m kidding around! It¡¯s just a stupid accessory. The name is just to make it sound more badass. It doesn¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. So again, why would I buy this orb that doesn¡¯t do anything?¡± ¡°Cuz I-I¡ª I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s got stats! Who doesn¡¯t love stats? I know you love stats, Lawrence, come on, man,¡± she said, batting her eyelids. Natsuko was not, by any means, skilled in seduction. ¡°I¡¯m running a business here, Natsuko. No one''s gonna buy that any more than a candelabra.¡± ¡°I¡¯d buy it,¡± said a voice from behind Natsuko. She turned around to face a girl wearing a bright blue-and-red coat and trousers lined with fur, a pair of heavy fur boots, and a pointy felt cap with two rabbit ears sticking through them. She looked up at Natsuko with adorable, steely blue eyes. Tucked into the belt cinched at her waist was a baton with horse-hair sticking out of it. In her hands was a weird-looking book bound in black leather. Natsuko grinned. ¡°Huh, you¡¯re a Hero, right? Haven¡¯t seen you around before.¡± The girl stuck out her hand. ¡°I¡¯m Koyon. I was summoned a week ago by the Yishang. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Not a girl, then. This was apparently Sofiane¡¯s replacement as the newest, most popular femboy archetype. He didn¡¯t look like much in Natsuko¡¯s opinion. ¡°A week ago, huh? I guess you¡¯re about to wrap up with defeating V?lsunga and move on to Tianzhou?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Oh no, I¡¯ve already done all the mainline quests up through Shikijima. I just have a few little side quests I didn¡¯t get around to here that I¡¯m cleaning up." That same amount of adventuring had taken Natsuko and her party two years. And it was after Shikijima that they had gotten stuck and started to lose their place on the Use-Number charts to Heroes with more innate power and base stats. No wonder Sofiane had been so desperate. He was being replaced at record pace. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re already way ahead of this dinky little thing,¡± Natsuko said, tossing the orb in her palm. ¡°I can sacrifice it for accessory experience,¡± Koyon said cheerfully, his wrists, ankles, waist, and neck weighed down with equipment stronger than anything Natsuko had ever worn. Buying the stupid Cursed Eye seemed like a waste of money, but she wasn¡¯t going to turn down the chance to skim a little money off a new hero who didn¡¯t know any better. ¡°How¡¯s a thousand sound?¡± Natsuko said, getting ready to haggle for 500. ¡°Sure!¡± The bunny-boy handed over a sack with a thousand Ying in it without a thought and took the orb from her. ¡°Thanks!¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Natsuko by the¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t care, sorry,¡± Koyon said, turning on his heel. ¡°Not really worth learning the names of obsolete Heroes I''ll never see again. No offense.¡± He was already out the door before Natsuko could even get a word starting with the letter ¡°F¡± out of her mouth. Chapter 16 - The Verm?genburgh Monthly Pie-Baking Contest At 4am Sunday morning, money automatically filled Natsuko¡¯s coin purse, just like it did every Sunday. The full equation of how money was distributed relative to all the various Use-Number statistics had been worked out years ago, but Natsuko didn¡¯t really care. The amount was pitiful whether she did the math or not. For the next week she would have to subsist on 106 Ying after having spent all of her cut of the money Koyon had given them for the stupid demon orb. She liked money, but she wasn¡¯t so greedy that she would screw everyone out of their fair share. Even Pechorin. Her 250 had gone to paying off her bar tab and then accruing another, equally large one. Moaning, Natsuko opened the door of her private closet. The sun streamed in through the open windows. Shuixing was already hard at work writing down geometric formulas for the corners of Natsuko¡¯s bottle. Unlike her friend, Shuixing seemed downright peppy, humming softly as she jotted down arcane numbers and graphs on parchment. ¡°You¡¯re up early,¡± Natsuko mumbled. Having opened the door while still lying across the ground, Natsuko looked like a puddle spilling out of the closet. Shuixing adjusted her glasses. ¡°It¡¯s already 10:30.¡± ¡°That early? Ugh...¡± Natsuko¡¯s arms stretched forward into the lab before flopping to the floor. She listened for a moment to the light scritching of Shuixing¡¯s pencil, the shuffling of her scholar¡¯s robes, and the tapping of her nails on the glass bottom of Natsuko¡¯s wine bottle. ¡°What¡¯s got you in such a productive mood?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s nice having Pech back in town. Moods are a fickle thing,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°Uh-huh. Must be nice.¡± ¡°It helps to not wake up hungover every day.¡± ¡°Yeah, but that means I¡¯m not drunk the night before, so it all evens out,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Like an equilibrium.¡± ¡°Maybe you need to disrupt your equilibrium then?¡± ¡°How? We¡¯re stuck in Nowheresville." ¡°Oh! Isn¡¯t there a monthly pie-baking contest event?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Yeah? So what?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You¡¯re a great chef, Natsuko! You could probably clean that one up without breaking a sweat.¡± ¡°Pie-baking¡­ I used to be a Knight of Innocentus, Shui,¡± she said. Natsuko was referring to the guild of knights who ruled Verm?genburgh as a quasi-Theocratic city-state whose political structure was vague and amorphous and seemed to be a mishmash of different political organs that did mostly nothing of consequence. Several of the 1st- and 2nd-gen heroes had a backstory with the Knights of Innocentus to explain why they were in Verm?genburgh, Natsuko among them. She was also the only knight from Shikijima, having been summoned a year before the archipelago had been drained of its Mist by the Yishang. Finally going there had been a disorienting experience, since despite her supposed origin, she couldn¡¯t recall anything about the islands unlike the Shikijiman Heroes summoned afterwards. Thinking too hard about it gave her a headache, and the more time she spent around the Knights of Innocentus, the more she found herself thinking about it. That was why she quit. ¡°It was just a suggestion,¡± Shuixing said. With a grunt, Natsuko hopped up from the floor. ¡°Any chance you wanna come bake a pie with me?¡± Shui gave an apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m on a roll with my research right now. Maybe Sofiane or Pechorin would be interested?¡± Natsuko¡¯s mind filled with the image of Sofiane angrily snipping at her for putting the ingredients in in the wrong order and Pechorin putting in bitter herbs as a reminder of his bitter search for the killers of his clan or some stupid thing like that. Plus, pies and baking weren¡¯t really her area of expertise. ¡°I¡¯ll see if there¡¯s an empty seat on the judges¡¯ panel,¡± Natsuko said. Natsuko felt crumby as she walked along the avenue of half-timbered shops and townhouses. The Non-Heroes were going about their business without a care in the world, carrying boxes, selling fruit, smithing swords, and so on. She envied their ease. None of them had to worry about Use-Numbers or base stats or anything like that. Some days she even felt like becoming a Non-Hero herself, but she didn¡¯t know if that was something you could do. And what the hell would she even do, open a fruit stand? Become a blacksmith¡¯s apprentice? Be a waitress?This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°¡ªbake pies?¡± ¡°Huh? What?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Oh, I was just askin¡¯ if you knew how to bake pies,¡± replied the chipper voice. Standing in front of her was a woman in white riding breeches, boots, scarf and a pink blouse with blonde ringlets falling halfway down her front and back. Natsuko clocked her as a Hero even before seeing the pocket watch chain dangling from her pocket that was very obviously a weapon. ¡°Not really,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Oh dear¡­¡± the woman said. ¡°This is a conundrum! I¡¯ve been trying to fit my archetype better and that includes being able to bake a pie. But I¡¯m simply an atrocious cook!¡± Natsuko raised an eyebrow. ¡°Archetype, huh. Ditzy and vaguely-aristocratic girl? Probably a magic-wielder? And from¡­¡± she looked the outfit up and down. ¡°Deco Imperia?¡± The woman snapped her fingers and pointed a finger gun at Natsuko. ¡°Bang! Bullseye on every shot. Oh! I haven¡¯t introduced myself.¡± She snatched Natsuko¡¯s hand and started vigorously shaking it. ¡°I¡¯m Daisy! Daisy Corduroy.¡± Daisy said this so cheerfully and casually that it took Natsuko a second to realize it was that Daisy Corduroy, Rank #4 on the Use-Numbers chart. Close to half of all celestials summoned her emanation to fight for them and here she was asking Natsuko to help her bake a pie. Having never met her in person, Natsuko expected Daisy to be more imposing. ¡°Uh-huh. Great,¡± Natsuko yanked her hand out of the shake. ¡°I gotta get going.¡± ¡°But you haven¡¯t even introduced yourself yet!¡± ¡°Why do you care?¡± Daisy blinked. ¡°Cuz I like meetin¡¯ people, why else?¡± Natsuko narrowed her eyes. ¡°I haven¡¯t met any heroes playing the Use-Number game that aren¡¯t selfish mercenaries. What¡¯s in all this for you, other than a pie?¡± Daisy blinked. ¡°Well, I dunno about anyone else, but I sure don¡¯t care about it all that much. I¡¯d rather write a poem or go shopping than clear out a dungeon, but that¡¯s just how it goes! And I¡¯ll tell ya,¡± she leaned in conspiratorially, ¡°the folks at the top sure ain¡¯t readin'' any poems.¡± Finding her own statement hilarious, Daisy put her hands on her hips and laughed, complete with loud snorts. Natsuko wasn¡¯t sure why it was so funny, but at least Daisy didn¡¯t seem as punchable as that brat Koyon. Her hangover felt a little lighter too. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not much of a baker, but I know someone we could ask. He might be able to help,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Plum!¡± Daisy said. With that they started walking towards the Foxtrot Inn where Sofiane was staying. As they walked, Natsuko¡¯s curiosity overcame her animosity towards higher-ranked Heroes. ¡°So, uh, I¡¯m Natsuko,¡± she said. ¡°Oh my Gosh! I completely forgot I asked you! I am so sorry Natsu! Y¡¯alright with Natsu?¡± ¡°My friends call me that.¡± ¡°Natsu it is! Well, it¡¯s a pleasure. D¡¯ya have a full name?¡± Not according to her backstory, but Natsuko had given herself one. ¡°Fireball. Natsuko Fireball," she said, feeling as dumb as when Pechorin was giving his own names to his abilities. ¡°On account a¡¯ you¡¯re a Fire Hero?¡± ¡°Err, I am,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°But it¡¯s actually cuz there¡¯s this drink I like to make that''s cinnamon, sugar, and whiskey.¡± ¡°Well how about that! I oughta start callin¡¯ myself Daisy Mint Julep then!¡± Daisy said, throwing herself into another snorting fit. ¡°¡®Cept that¡¯d mess up my archetype and all. The drinks are supposed to be my lil¡¯ lady¡¯s secret.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Natsuko said, putting her arms behind her head as she walked. ¡°I stopped caring about my archetype years ago, so now I¡¯m an alcoholic who isn¡¯t appealing enough to summon.¡± ¡°That sounds nice! Real relaxin¡¯. Wish I could do that,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Nothing¡¯s stopping you.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s just an itty-bitty, tiny lil¡¯ problem about that.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°I like money too much!¡± And again, the gut-splitting guffaw. Natsuko smirked. At least she wasn¡¯t doing the thing a lot of Heroes did where they gave a sanctimonious rant about the Hero¡¯s duty to save the universe from the evil forces of the Entropic Axis. ¡°What do you do with all that money?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°S¡¯far as I can tell there are three things most people fill themselves up with,¡± Daisy said. ¡°One: Good food and drink. Two: Clothes. And three: Poetry, and money lets me do all three! All I gotta do is clear a few dungeons now and again, maybe hang out at special events, wear some fancy seasonal outfits, yada yada. But I¡¯m caught up right now, so until the Yishang push the Mist back a bit more, I got nothin¡¯ to do but keep up my image.¡± The thought depressed Natsuko a little. The only thing she really wanted to do was go on adventures, and that was the one thing she was locked out of by virtue of being a 1st-gen hero with terrible base stats and the worst class a Hero could have. It wasn¡¯t up to Natsuko about whether or not she could aid in the fight against the Entropic Axis, it was up to the Celestials to pick, and they didn¡¯t pick her. She''d hit that vicious downward spiral of not being strong enough for Celestials to use, which meant she didn¡¯t have money to get any better equipment to progress and grind for experience to be worth summoning. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried what will happen if newer Heroes come along and replace you?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Daisy said, finger to her chin as though deep in thought. ¡°Nah!¡± Chapter 17 - Recruitment Efforts and Split Rewards ¡°Of course I know how to bake a pie,¡± Sofiane said, standing in the doorway to his room at the inn, ruffled sleeves folded. ¡°What do you take me for?¡± Daisy looked sheepish. Natsuko¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°However, it defeats the point of playing up your archetype if you have someone else help, does it not?¡± Sofiane added. ¡°Sorry, Sofi¡­¡± Daisy said, sounding like a scolded child. ¡°And I told you not to call me Sofi!¡± ¡°You two have met before then, I take it?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°The top of the Use-Number charts is a small world,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°The Celestials only use so many Heroes regularly." ¡°Oh yeah! You disappeared last week, didn¡¯tcha?¡± Daisy said. ¡°Cuz a¡¯ Koyon?¡± Sofiane sighed. ¡°Yes. Because of Koyon. Obviously because of¡ª hey!¡± Daisy pinched his cheeks. ¡°Oh Sofi, you¡¯ll always be my favorite little adorable boy!¡± ¡°Stop! Stop! Cease this at once mademoiselle, you injure my pride!¡± Sofiane said, pushing himself away from her. ¡°Aww, come on Sofi, don¡¯t play hard to get,¡± Natsuko taunted from behind Daisy. ¡°And you can suck my ass, firecrotch.¡± ¡°Suck your ass? How about I send something else up there instead,¡± Natsuko said, stomping the floorboards. The two of them tried to square up, but Daisy reached out with one hand and kept both of them at bay. Her extended palm was like running into a steel beam. ¡°No fightin¡¯! We¡¯re here to bake pies, not punch guys,¡± Daisy said with a sagely nod. Natsuko squinted. ¡°Punch guys?¡± ¡°I¡¯m workin¡¯ on my poetry too!¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t help,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I¡¯m busy.¡± Behind him, Natsuko could see what he was ¡°busy¡± with, namely a pile of light novels next to an ongoing sculpture project of empty bottles of sparkling ros¨¦ and dirty plates rising from a sea of soiled sheets. It was genuinely impressive how quickly Sofiane had turned his inn room into a depression den. With one final glance, he shut the door. ¡°At least you¡¯ll help me though, right Natsu?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Uh¡­ like I said, I¡¯m not exactly a baker, plus I was planning on¡­ um..." Daisy sighed. ¡°I understand. This isn¡¯t exactly the most rewarding event. I¡¯m sure you all are busy and the itty-bitty lil¡¯ 100,000 Ying reward ain''t much.¡± Sofiane¡¯s door flung back open. ¡°On second thought, mademoiselle, it would be a dishonor for me to abandon such a fine lady as¡ª¡± Natsuko slammed Sofiane¡¯s door in his face and leaned against it to keep him blocked in. ¡°I think I¡¯ve got room in my schedule. Just the two of us ought to be enough. Too many cooks spoil the¡­ pie, right?¡± Sofiane shoved his shoulder into the door, bumping it open. Wincing from the pain, he said, ¡°I believe you would prefer someone with more baking experience, non?¡± Natsuko grabbed Daisy by the shoulders. ¡°Love. I bake love into my pies. Something that shallow little peacock over there has never known. And I know you¡ª¡± ¡°Her ¡°love¡± imparts notes of ash and filth, mademoiselle,¡± Sofiane said, elbowing Natsuko in the ribs. Daisy put her fists on her hips and let loose another one of her max volume, snorting guffaws. Before Sofiane and Natsuko could continue with their aggressive sales pitches, Daisy threw her inhumanly-strong arms around both their necks and squeezed.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°We¡¯re gonna be a lil¡¯ baking team, I¡¯m so excited! We oughta come up with a name, and matching outfits, and ooh! Custom baking sheets!¡± she said with a squeal. Once Daisy freed them from her chokehold, Sofiane said, ¡°ack! Let¡¯s¡ªcough¡ªfocus on just the baking part for now, oui? Maybe come up with what type of pie we want to make?¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s already set! The theme is fall pies and I was thinkin¡¯ a nice, buttery pumpkin pie!¡± Sofiane and Natsuko glanced at each other. Sure, 33,333 Ying was less than 50,000, but it wasn¡¯t nothing. For Natsuko that was roughly 45 nights of drinking and for Sofiane it meant numbers went up, which was his favorite direction for them to go in. The three of them made their way to the market square of Verm?genburgh and Natsuko¡¯s hangover was almost gone before they ran into Pechorin on the way there. He was leaning against a fence with his chin in his trench coat collar, caught up in angsty brooding. Yet, despite the coordinated effort of a suddenly-cooperating Sofiane and Natsuko, Pechorin managed to spot and intercept them before they could detour Daisy through an alley. ¡°It seems we¡¯ve got an even bigger score to settle this time, ma¡¯am,¡± Pechorin said, hands hovering over his holsters. ¡°No, me kicking you into a bottomless pit made us square,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Now git!¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s all this now?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Sofiane and Natsuko said in unison. ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t know about that,¡± she said, stepping around them to extend a hand out to Pechorin. ¡°Name¡¯s Daisy, how d¡¯ya do?¡± He looked at her palm. ¡°I mean no offense, m¡¯lady, but these hands of mine are bloodied. I don¡¯t want to pollute you.¡± ¡°Oh you¡¯re a Baphomet type a¡¯ Hero?¡± Daisy asked, recalling her hand. Pechorin frowned. ¡°No, Baphomet is a Pechorin-type of Hero.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard of ya. Are ya a 1st-gen?¡± she asked. It wasn¡¯t meant to be an insult, but Natsuko winced anyway. Pechorin, on the other hand, puffed with pride. ¡°Dead on.¡± ¡°Oh I¡¯m so sorry to hear that. Awful stuff with that stat inflation and all,¡± Daisy said. ¡°You¡¯ve got my sincerest sympathies.¡± Natsuko decided not to mention her own 1st-gen credentials. She wasn¡¯t looking for sympathy handouts, sincere or otherwise. ¡°I need not your sympathies. I forge my own path, cursing fate as it has cursed me, in mutual animosity.¡± Daisy gave a quick little clap with her wrists together. ¡°Ooh such good poetry! I love to meet other poets.¡± ¡°My poetry comes naturally, as my tortured soul yearns to expose its depths to all who would listen,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Great. Now let¡¯s get going,¡± Natsuko said, attempting to push Daisy towards the pie contest in the town square. Moving a cathedral would have been easier. Daisy didn¡¯t budge an inch, or even register that Natsuko was trying. ¡°Say, do you know how to bake pies?¡± Daisy asked. Pechorin turned away dramatically with a forlorn look in his eye. ¡°I have forsaken sweets. I nourish myself with the bitterness of the world.¡± Daisy snapped her finger. ¡°Rats! We¡¯re planning to enter a pie-baking contest and we could use all the help we can get.¡± ¡°Actually, I think our current roster is looking pretty good,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°It really doesn¡¯t take that many people to make a pie. We just need to puree the pumpkin, crush the spices, make the flake crust, and¡ª¡± ¡°If fate has led you to me then perhaps I am behooved to join,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°I will find some way to contribute, even if it be to throw myself upon the fire as kindling.¡± Seeing she had lost against Daisy¡¯s innate ability to accumulate people to do her bidding, Natsuko¡¯s back-up plan was to give Pechorin whatever job would send him away the longest. ¡°Go get us a pumpkin,¡± Natsuko said. Pechorin stared at her. ¡°You want me to get you a pumpkin¡­¡± ¡°We can¡¯t make a pumpkin pie without it, obviously!¡± ¡°I shall find you a pumpkin which suits my dark, twisted tastes,¡± he said. ¡°Great,¡± Natsuko said with a clap and a finger gun. ¡°You do that. Now, let¡¯s go register, Daisy.¡± Waving good-bye to Pechorin, Daisy meandered over to the market square. Hundreds of Non-Heroes were already packed in around the six portable baking stations set up inside food wagons. Originally created as a way for Heroes to earn some reward money, perform their archetype, and win some special items (special for their time, anyway), the Non-Heroes had taken over the Monthly Pie-Baking Contest as a source of entertainment once Heroes stopped finding it worthwhile to enter. One baking station was manned by a team of scholars from the Mage¡¯s College dressed up in the same robes as Shuixing and intently engaged in the process of steam-distilling oils out of their spices to make an extract. Another station by a team comprised of Dugen the blacksmith, Lawrence the pawn shop owner, Wilhelm the Quartermaster of the Knights of Innocentus, and Boben the Adventurer, all burly men with giant arms, packed into their station so tightly they kept knocking things over. The two teams beside them were made up of the little girl who ran the accessory shop and her friends, and a group of goblins who were allowed into the city for this event only. This left two open stations to register for. Natsuko, Sofiane, and Daisy were the only Heroes in sight. As Daisy wandered off to get them registered, Sofiane leaned over to Natsuko. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be too hard. It¡¯s just a pie, right? There¡¯s no way we don¡¯t clean up.¡± Natsuko dapped him up. When it came to making money, they were on the same page. Chapter 18 - Yes Chef, Apron Theft Piling into the food wagon, Sofiane immediately checked every surface, cupboard, and utensil. There was enough space for the three of them to maneuver about but the lighting was dim with just the sunlight coming in through the food wagon¡¯s open serving counter. Opposite the window was the oven. ¡°If we want to win, I¡¯m in charge, j''ai compris?¡± Sofiane said. Daisy nodded enthusiastically and Natsuko folded her arms. ¡°What if I¡¯ve got my own ideas?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Then make a diligent attempt to forget them.¡± ¡°Fluffy little ass.¡± Sofiane clapped his hands. ¡°Alright! Whenever I tell you to do something, I want you to say, ¡°yes, chef!¡± ¡°Yes, chef!¡± Daisy said. ¡°Yes, chef,¡± Natsuko said, biting her tongue for the several thousand, sparkling gold little babies dearly awaiting their mother¡¯s embrace. ¡°Good. Daisy, grind up the spices in a pestle and mortar. We need six grams of shaved cinnamon, three grams each of ground ginger, nutmeg, and salt, and one-and-a-half of cloves. Got all that?¡± Daisy saluted. ¡°Roger that!¡± Sofiane scowled. ¡°Oops! Sorry, roger that, chef!¡± As Daisy began rooting around the cupboards for pie spices and Natsuko tried to remember what the hell a gram was and how it converted to the far more sensible measurement system of tea and tablespoons, Sofiane pointed at a bowl. ¡°Natsuko mix 375 grams of flour with a pinch of salt while I go buy some butter and lard real quick¡ª¡± ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± The three of them turned to the window and the source of the voice. Harald, Margaret, Faisal, and the raccoon girl were staring at them. Harald¡¯s gaze was fixed on Sofiane with an expression of visceral hatred and revulsion. All four wore checkered aprons over their usual Hero outfits. ¡°First, you butcher us for wanting a fair shake of the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye,¡± Harald said, conveniently forgetting he had started the fight. ¡°And now you¡¯re trying to take our pie money from us!?¡± Sofiane¡¯s face grew a gremlin-like smirk. ¡°Monsieur, if you win fair and square, the money is yours. But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll even need to cut you down this time.¡± Harald¡¯s face turned red and veins bulged from his temples. Before he could shout something back, the raccoon girl grabbed him by the arm. ¡°Hey! Calm down Harald. Beating them is gonna be a walk in the park. Look, they don¡¯t even have aprons on. What self-respecting baker would be caught dead without an apron on? We¡¯re gonna wipe the floor with them.¡± Harald spat at the dust in front of their wagon. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go bake.¡± ¡°Aww, have fun in your cute little aprons,¡± Sofiane taunted as they walked off. Natsuko and Daisy, however, looked concerned. ¡°Shit! How could we forget aprons!?¡± Natsuko said, throwing open drawers, hoping the previous occupants had left some. Sofiane raised an eyebrow. ¡°What the hell are you on about?¡± Natsuko spun around and grabbed his poofy collar with both hands. ¡°No self-respecting baker bakes without an apron on!¡± ¡°Oh dear, how can I play up my archetype without an apron?¡± Daisy said, pacing in a small circle. ¡°It¡¯s not about the pie, it¡¯s about how you look while baking it!¡± ¡°Gods-damn guys, calm down. We can just go buy some aprons, they cost like, two Ying,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Or,¡± Natsuko said, grinning evilly, ¡°we can steal them.¡± ¡°What? No! Literally, why would we do that!?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Go get the pie crust flour ready and I¡¯ll go buy us some¡ª¡±Stolen novel; please report. ¡°No, no, think about it,¡± Natsuko said, ¡°we can take people out of the competition by secretly sabotaging their efforts.¡± Sofiane squinted. ¡°By stealing their aprons¡­¡± ¡°No self-respecting baker bakes without an apron,¡± Daisy explained helpfully. Sofiane slapped his forehead. ¡°Ugh. We¡¯re waiting on Pechorin for that pumpkin, so if you both are quick about it, we should have time.¡± Daisy and Natsuko gleefully hopped out of the back of their food wagon and beelined for their neighbor¡¯s. ¡°Let¡¯s go for the eggheads,¡± Daisy said, pointing at the scholars. Creeping along behind the line of food wagons, they were both careful not to step on the crunchy carpet of newly-fallen leaves. Instead, their downfall, as they reached for the pile of aprons laying on the counter, was their incessant giggling. ¡°What! Who¡¯s there? Scoundrels!¡± One of the scholars cried, turning around from their distillation process. ¡°Whoopsie!¡± Daisy said, nabbing the aprons and running. ¡°Stop! Thief!¡± Natsuko ran with her, the two of them losing their pursuers in the crowd of Non-Heroes filling the market square. Their giggling continued on the way back to their own wagon. It was stopped only by the appearance of the raccoon girl from Harald¡¯s team. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at them. ¡°You better not try that with us, got it?¡± she said. ¡°Oh come now, we¡¯re just having a bit of fun!¡± Daisy said. ¡°It¡¯s just an apron after all.¡± The raccoon girl rolled her eyes. ¡°Just an apron? Is this a big joke to you, Ms. Top-Of-The-Use-Charts? Stuff like this contest is how me and my teammates make sure we have food in our stomachs. We have to bust our ass for scraps, meanwhile you¡¯re doing this for¡ª for fun! Or¡ª or for your archetype or whatever, because that 100,000 Ying reward is peanuts compared to what you get every week on Sunday. Am I wrong?¡± Daisy¡¯s glee melted into guilt. ¡°No, you¡¯re not wrong. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know things were this bad for¡­ erm¡­ what¡¯s the polite term for Heroes that aren¡¯t used much?¡± The raccoon girl huffed. ¡°Call us garbage for all I care! Just don¡¯t mess with our livelihood. If you win the pie-making contest fairly, fine. It¡¯ll suck to live off dried rice and beans for another week, but we¡¯ll get over it. But, just do it fairly and don¡¯t steal anything, okay?¡± Daisy and Natsuko¡¯s walk back was more subdued after that. ¡°Really, I didn¡¯t know it was like that for them, truly,¡± Daisy said. ¡°They must be getting only a couple thousand a week from the Yishang.¡± Again, Natsuko considered telling Daisy about her own situation. But after seeing the patronizing response Pechorin received, she decided against it. She wasn¡¯t going to lie and say she was better off, but she also wasn¡¯t going to mention her situation was even worse. ¡°Should we throw the contest for them?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Hell no!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Erm, I mean, it wouldn¡¯t be in the spirit of competition, right? Just handing it over to them would be¡­ uh... degrading, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t even thought about that! You¡¯re such a kind soul, Natsu.¡± She didn''t disabuse Daisy of that impression, though it was now feeling more and more like their¡ªacquaintanceship? Friendship, dare she think?¡ªwas built on false pretenses. Well, it wasn¡¯t like Daisy would be around for much longer anyway. Once the Yishang pushed more of the Mist back there would be more dungeons to explore and quests to complete and minions of the Entropic Axis to defeat and Daisy would be back to playing the Use-Number game again. This contest was a side-show for her. As they returned to their wagon, they heard Sofiane¡¯s voice inside. ¡°Easy there. Set her down nice and gentle-like. There we go.¡± Pechorin was setting down a huge pumpkin the width and height of his chest. A third of it hung over the edge of the counter. He wiped sweat from his brow. ¡°I found a pumpkin suiting my dark, twisted tastes. Its own vines entwined it like self-imposed shackles,¡± Pechorin said. Sofiane bent an ear to the pumpkin and rapped on it with a knuckle. ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound rotten at least.¡± ¡°Gourd willing,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Let¡¯s chop it up then, get it pureed, and mix in some sugar." ¡°Yes, chef!¡± Daisy said, frantically tying her apron¡¯s waistband. Natsuko had to help her before she accidentally tied her own wrists. ¡°Good thinking,¡± Pechorin said, taking one of the aprons. ¡°No baker who has not been crushed under the heel of despair would think of foregoing the snug assurance of an apron.¡± Sofiane threw his hands up. ¡°Apparently everyone knows this but me. Give me a damn apron, Natsuko.¡± ¡°Yes, Chef,¡± she said, handing it over with a smug look. Their little wagon kitchen was soon buzzing with culinary activity. Daisy was smashing the spices down to the molecular level, Natsuko was losing herself in the fun of squishing lard and butter into the pie crust dough, and Pechorin was measuring out brown sugar for the pumpkin puree on a scale while Sofiane stirred down the pumpkin flesh in a pot. Dumping the brown sugar into the puree, Sofiane whisked it together with a dollop of sweet cream then lifted the spoon up to taste before promptly spitting it all over the wall. ¡°Yuck! Blegh! What the hell is this, Pech!?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°A pumpkin,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°No pumpkin should taste this bitter! What did you¡ª¡± ¡°Like I said, dark, twisted tastes,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°My world is more bitter than sweet. My past as acrid as¡ª¡± Natsuko threw a pie pan at Pechorin¡¯s head. Chapter 19 - Illegal Use of Elemental Abilities in Pie Making ¡°What the hell were you thinking!? We¡¯re going to lose the contest because of you!¡± Natsuko yelled. Pechorin was as stoic as ever. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought of that.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t think grabbing a bitter pumpkin would be a bad idea?¡± Daisy asked, genuinely confused. ¡°I must fulfill my archetype.¡± ¡°Oh, fair enough," she replied. ¡°No! Not fair enough! Very unfair and¡ª¡± Natsuko paused, trying to think of the antonym for the word ¡°enough,¡± ¡°¡ªSofiane what¡¯s the opposite of ¡°enough?¡±¡± Sofiane picked up the pot of bitter pumpkin puree and dumped outside the wagon. ¡°Not enough.¡± ¡°Unfair and not enough! That reward¡ª¡± Natsuko suddenly had visions of Daisy telling her that the prize money was no big deal and that she¡¯d be happy to give Natsuko some money if she needed, ¡°¡ªthe reward of seeing something through, knowing that we came together to overcome adversity¡­¡± ¡°And the money,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°That¡¯s all down the drain now!¡± Daisy tapped her chin. ¡°Hmm, you said, ¡°coming together to overcome adversity.¡± Is this not the adversity we¡¯re overcoming?¡± ¡°No, that was the lack of aprons. This is a catastrophe,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Why can¡¯t we just go find another, sweeter pumpkin?¡± Daisy asked. Sofiane sighed. ¡°We¡¯re already running low on time, I don¡¯t know if we have time to puree and then bake it if we go out looking for another pumpkin.¡± Natsuko snapped her fingers. ¡°We can steal one!¡± ¡°No stealing!¡± Daisy said, crossing her arms over her chest in a big X. ¡°We made a solemn promise to that little trash panda that we would win fair and square!¡± ¡°How are you supposed to get a pumpkin without foraging or stealing one?¡± Sofiane asked. The four of them racked their brains for what to do but nothing came to them. They were all aware of the time ticking down which made them even more anxious which made it difficult to concentrate on a solution. ¡°Can we¡ª what if we made some kind of pumpkin substitute which tastes like pumpkin puree¡­¡± Sofiane said. ¡°But then we wouldn¡¯t be able to call it a pumpkin pie,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Damn¡­¡± It was around then that Shuixing stopped by their food wagon. ¡°Hello everyone. And, um, person I have not met.¡± ¡°Daisy!¡± Daisy said, thrusting her hand over the serving counter. Shuixing delicately folded up her robes¡¯ sleeves and shook it. ¡°Shuixing. You¡¯re a Hero I take¡ª¡± ¡°No! No time for introductions! We have to think gods-dammit! Think!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°About what?¡± Shuixing asked. Sofiane sighed. ¡°Our first pumpkin was too bitter to use, but we don¡¯t have time to go forage for another one, and we are electing to hold ourselves to the highest moral standard and not borrow one from one of our competitors.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you buy one?¡± Shuixing asked. Daisy clapped her hands at the splendid idea. Sofiane slapped his forehead. Natsuko groaned. Pechorin brooded introspectively about the self-betraying ways of the thinking mind of man. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we think of that?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°In my defense, I forgot you can buy things other than alcohol,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°The rest of you have no excuse.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Let¡¯s go buy another pumpkin then!¡± Daisy said, hopping out of the food wagon. Sofiane jogged after her. ¡°I¡¯m picking it this time! I am the pumpkin picker.¡± After they left, Natsuko leaned an elbow against the counter. ¡°Sure you don¡¯t wanna join, Shui? I mean, most of the work is done already but¡­¡± Shuixing shook her head. ¡°Sorry, Natsu, I actually came to root for the professors,¡± she said, waving to the Mage¡¯s College¡¯s team from across the square. ¡°I can¡¯t divide my loyalty.¡± ¡°Traitor!¡± Natsuko said in mock offense. ¡°You would root against your own friend¡¯s success? You would condemn her to a life of poverty?¡± Shuixing put her hands together in a gesture of apology. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Heh, that¡¯s alright. We¡¯re gonna win anyway cuz we¡¯ve got the most heart. We¡¯re the peppy underdogs,¡± Natsuko said with a grin. ¡°Over the group of little girls?¡± Shuixing said, glancing at the food wagon where the team led by Eve the accessory shop girl was hard at work baking pies. ¡°Just because she¡¯s nine doesn¡¯t mean Eve isn¡¯t ruthless competition! Actually, should they be using an oven without supervision?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m more worried about you than the little girls.¡± That almost didn¡¯t sound like a joke to Natsuko¡¯s ears. The other thing that stood out to her was how excited Shuixing looked. For Shui that meant a barely-contained smile, but for anyone else it was the equivalent of jumping up and down for joy. ¡°Have a breakthrough?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Oh, you could say that,¡± Shuixing replied with a mischievous grin. That was all she was giving away right now. Whatever breakthrough she¡¯d had was apparently a big surprise. Rather than pressing, Natsuko decided to let her friend have her secrets. Not long after Shuixing left for her scholar friends, Daisy and Sofiane returned with a much smaller, cuter pumpkin. ¡°Isn¡¯t he just adorable?¡± Daisy said excitedly, cradling the pumpkin in her arms like a baby. ¡°I¡¯m gonna be so sad when we have to bust him open!¡± Natsuko hopped out of the wagon to get the oven ready. Conjuring a spectral flame sword in her hand, she slashed at the magical oven which roared to life and belched smoke from its chimney. If she knew anything about skill challenges, it was that you had to use flashy abilities. It made the food taste better. Returning to their little kitchen, Natsuko asked, ¡°hey Daisy, what¡¯s your class and element? Just curious.¡± ¡°Hmm? Gosh, I haven¡¯t been asked that in forever! Welp, I¡¯m a Summoner of Earth. I make all kindsa fun lil¡¯ guys outta dirt, like my bird, Peng¡± Daisy said. ¡°Huh,¡± Natsuko said, leaning against the counter. ¡°Can¡¯t really think of anything flashy with that. That¡¯s what you gotta do for skill challenges, right? Use combat skills in unconventional ways?¡± Sofiane, Daisy, and Pechorin all nodded and murmured in agreement, since that was what you were supposed to do for skill challenges. ¡°Want me to conjure a golem to mix the puree?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Will it fit in the food wagon?¡± Sofiane said. Daisy frowned. ¡°Darn. I can only make ones that are 12 feet tall.¡± All of a sudden, Natsuko squinted suspiciously. ¡°Does it seem chilly in here to you all?¡± ¡°No colder than my tormented heart,¡± Pechorin said. Sofiane, having a far less tormented heart and thus one more sensitive to changes in temperature, held his hand to the oven. ¡°There¡¯s no heat¡­¡± ¡°No heat? I slashed it with a flame sword, what do you mean no heat?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I mean the oven isn¡¯t on,¡± Sofiane said, stomping out of the wagon and around to the firebox where wood was supposed to be burning. Everyone followed after him. Sure enough, the metal chamber that should have been full of burning wood was cold and empty. ¡°Whoops,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Can¡¯t start a fire without any wood in there, can ya?¡± ¡°There was wood!¡± Natsuko said. Daisy threw her arm around Natsuko¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s alright, Natsu, we can all be forgetful sometimes. One time, I was¡­¡± The other three stopped and waited for her story. Daisy snapped her fingers. ¡°Shoot! I forgot the rest of the story.¡± Ignoring her, Sofiane wicked a finger against the grill of the oven. ¡°Water. You didn¡¯t forget, Natsu. Someone doused it and stole our wood. This is sabotage.¡± ¡°Bastards!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°And I think we all know who it was. None of the Non-Heroes are crafty enough to sabotage another team. It has to be Harald''s team. Is one of them a Water Elemental?¡± ¡°Margaret is fire, Harald is metal, Faisal is¡­ wind I think?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°What about that raccoon girl?¡± Daisy crossed her arms in an X again. ¡°We are NOT going to cheat! Absolutely not! If they decided to behave in an unsportsmanlike manner that''s their decision, but we shall win this competition fair and square!" Natsuko and Sofiane shared a look. ¡°Alright,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You and Pechorin go find some wood to build the fire with. Sofiane and I will stay here to guard our other ingredients.¡± ¡°Sounds good! Off we go, Pech! May I call you Pech?¡± ¡°If you do not mind my undying enmity," Pech replied. ¡°Plum!¡± As soon as they walked off to smack some logs out of a tree, Sofiane turned to Natsuko. ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re gonna go sabotage them, right?¡± ¡°Duh,¡± Natsuko replied. Chapter 20 - The Judges’ Assessment of Six Different Pies of Varying Quality Whatever they had done with the logs, Harald¡¯s team had hidden them well. Their team¡¯s oven was chugging away, but Team Natsuko''s logs would¡¯ve been too damp to throw onto the pile. Hiding behind some barrels, Natsuko and Sofiane planned their next move. ¡°Are we trying to be subtle or¡­?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°No, we¡¯re sending a message,¡± Natsuko said, conjuring a flickering ball of flame in her hand. ¡°Wait! Hold up there, firecrotch. Whatever we do, they¡¯re gonna know it¡¯s us. But let¡¯s at least try not to get disqualified, non?¡± ¡°Ugh. Yeah, yeah. For the money. So what do we do? Douse their logs too?¡± ¡°With what, more fire? Shuixing is our water elemental and she¡¯s too goody-goody for sabotage,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Can we buy a bucket of water?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a skill challenge, Natsu. Don¡¯t be ridiculous. You¡¯re supposed to use combat abilities.¡± Natsuko exhaled through her teeth. ¡°Damn. You¡¯re right. Wait! Maybe we can douse it with more fire!¡± ¡°You mean¡ª¡± Sofiane grinned. ¡°Aha, you mean!¡± Natsuko returned his conspiratorial grin. The Non-Heroes gave the two Heroes some space. As a matter of self-preservation, most had learned to stay well away from whatever the Heroes were getting up to. It was usually bad, and in this case, they were correct. Strolling by her competitors¡¯ oven with her arms innocently behind her back, Natsuko subtly flicked a ball of flame into the log fire, causing it to flare. Looking back nonchalantly and finding no one looking, she turned around and hucked a few more in until the entire oven looked like it had an aurora inside it. Only then did she look back to see Sofiane mouthing ¡°too much!¡± at her. A moment later, Harald¡¯s teammates piled out of the wagon. ¡°Our pie!¡± shouted Margaret. ¡°You bastards! I told you they would cheat!¡± The raccoon girl said. ¡°Only cuz you cheated first!¡± Natsuko shot back. ¡°What are you talking about!? We¡¯ve been baking the whole time!¡± Harald said. ¡°Oh gods-dammit, we don¡¯t have any water to put it out. T-Take¡ª take it out of the oven!¡± Margaret dashed back up into the food wagon and returned with a pie-shaped lump of coal. Disappointment and anger flashed in her teams¡¯ eyes. ¡°Why!? Do you really need the Ying that bad? You have the freaking #4 Hero helping you, you don¡¯t need to steal our money from us!¡± The raccoon girl said. Natsuko had decided she was never going to ask the racoon girl what her name was. On principle. ¡°Someone put out our oven before we could finish roasting our pumpkin. You''re saying that wasn¡¯t you?¡± Natsuko said. Harald growled and reached for his halberd. ¡°Calm down, sir. Calm down. We''re not going to cause any trou¡ª well, we''re not going to assault you, anyway,¡± Sofiane said. There was a smidgen of fear in Harald and his teammates¡¯ expressions, and it occurred to Natsuko that she was as much at the mercy of Sofiane as they were. Not that she expected him to do anything. But their difference in power was enormous as Sofiane had so easily demonstrated against Harald. Once more, her sympathies lay with Harald''s team rather than Sofiane. ¡°Okay. We¡¯ve got a burnt pie,¡± Margaret said, dumping the burnt lump onto the ground. ¡°And you caused it. How are you going to make it up to us?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Sofiane added. It was almost physically painful to say, the words like a hairball of needles Natsuko was trying to choke up. ¡°We¡­ can probably convince Daisy to give you the reward money. She¡¯s only in this for archetype-building so she doesn¡¯t need the money. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be happy to¡ª¡± Natsuko¡¯s eye twitched ¡°¡ªpart with it.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The raccoon girl folded her arms. ¡°That¡¯s assuming you all win, which doesn¡¯t look promising at this point.¡± ¡°Pffbt, no, we¡¯ll win handily if we can get this stupid pumpkin roasted,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Uh-huh. You better.¡± Harald¡¯s team all looked like they had more to say, but the world revolved around power and strength, and if you were wronged by someone higher-level and with better stats, there was nothing to be done for it. Their only option was to throw themselves at the feet of Sofiane¡¯s goodwill. Fortunately for them, Sofiane looked only mildly annoyed at having to give up his reward money. It was, after all, comparatively nothing to him, he just didn''t like to leave money on the table. Sofiane and Natsuko returned to their food wagon to find Pechorin and Daisy stuffing more logs into the oven. ¡°You all did a good job keeping folks away from messing with our stuff, everything¡¯s right where it should be!¡± Daisy said, chucking her last log in. Natsuko blinked. ¡°Huh? Oh yeah. So, um, assuming we win, we were thinking about donating the reward money to the other team of Heroes¡­¡± ¡°The ones who stole our fuel?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Yeah, they uh¡ª well it wasn¡¯t them, we found out, and uh¡ª¡± ¡°Heck, I don¡¯t care. I got more money than I know how to spend! Let¡¯s get that puree ready,¡± Daisy said. After the pumpkin was done roasting, Sofiane finished the final touches by whisking the pumpkin meat with sugar, cream, eggs, and the spice mix and pouring it into the prepared crust. Once it was done they stuck it in the oven and a few minutes later had a beautifully baked pie with a golden crust and glistening orange filling, complete with a leaf-shaped piece of dough Sofiane added in the center. The aroma was like standing in a spice shop with the windows thrown open. ¡°Oh yes, here we go! This baby¡¯s a winner,¡± Sofiane said, rubbing his hands together. The pronouncement was not a moment too soon as one of the judges poked their head over the counter to announce that time was up. Natsuko¡¯s stomach rumbled. ¡°They better let us have the leftovers. I could demolish one of those by myself.¡± ¡°Touch it and you¡¯ll be waking up at 4am tomorrow morning,¡± Sofiane said. The judge¡¯s table was set up in front of the bubbling fountain in the center of the market square. The other teams had placed theirs in front of their associated name placards. The team of burly men had produced a messy-looking pie whose top had burst and exploded, leaving a caldera of purple jam. Their entry card pie announced it the, ¡°Nature¡¯s Gifts to Man Pie.¡± The goblin-made pie, which was titled, ¡°MMM MEAT,¡± had a bone sticking out of it and the top crust was still bubbling. Meanwhile, the young girls led by Eve had made a dainty looking ¡°Enchanting Apple Pie of Scrumptiousness¡± with intricate flower designs carved into the crust. Spotting the last one, Sofiane leaned over to Natsuko. "Don''t worry, they spent all their time making a beautiful pie crust to compensate for their underdeveloped palate. I have no doubt it is overly-sweet and lacking in aromatic spices or the balance of acid to unlock a deeper depth of flavor.¡± Beside that was Harald¡¯s pie, which was a pile of black flakes and a card that read, ¡°The Best Damn Butternut Squash Pie in Po-Lin.¡± The final team, the scholars from the Mage¡¯s College, had created a bizarre, avant-garde art project consisting of a wafer-thin pastry crust across the bottom of the plate on which lay artful smears of clotted cream and multi-colored orbs the size of marbles embedded in the cream. The entry card read, ¡°Deconstructed, Choose-Your-Own Flavor Pie with Spherified Flavor Concentrates,¡± and a color-coded guide for which colored orb corresponded to which concentrated flavor. The last to go on the table was a pumpkin pie whose entry card read simply, ¡°Pumpkin Pie,¡± in elegant calligraphy. ¡°Ooh! Our card looks so schnazzy!¡± Daisy said with a squeal and a clap. Sofiane took an oh-so-humble bow. ¡°It was the best work I could do on such short notice, though I cannot help but notice little mistakes.¡± Natsuko rolled her eyes. Once the pies were down, the judges began their appraisals. Sofiane muttered his commentary as they went down the line. ¡°Good flavors, bad bake, poor technique,¡± Sofiane said about the ¡°Nature¡¯s Gift to Man¡± pie seconds before the judges said the same thing. The goblins¡¯ pie earned a, ¡°what meat is this? No, we are not going to eat this until you tell us what the meat is. What do you mean you don¡¯t know? How do you not know?¡± The young girls¡¯ pie was exactly as Sofiane anticipated. ¡°Beautiful technique, superb crust, but did you have to use two cups of sugar? We can¡¯t even taste the apple.¡± The judges skipped Harald¡¯s butternut squash-flavored pile of ash entirely, causing the raccoon girl to burst into tears. ¡°There but for the grace of gourd go we,¡± Pechorin said sagely. However, the judges were astounded by the innovation, artistry, and flavor-profile of the scholars¡¯ pie. Out of the corner of her eye, Natsuko saw Shuixing giddily clapping for them. ¡°It¡¯s interesting, sure,¡± Sofiane said, ¡°but the judges will respect the classic earnestness and depth of flavor of our pie, I¡¯m sure. We¡¯ve got this in the bag.¡± Natsuko¡¯s heart was pounding as the judges arrived at her team¡¯s pie. Even if she didn¡¯t get to keep the prize money, she at least would get to keep her word. Then, each of the judges carved into the delicate, fluffy orange filling and buttery crust, lifted it to their mouths, took a bite, then spat it out on the ground. Chapter 21 - The Feeling of Losing Something Just Within Your Reach ¡°What!? No! No way!¡± Sofiane shouted. ¡°Merde! Absolutely impossible!¡± The judges, disgusted with the pumpkin pie, pushed it away and hastily announced the Mage¡¯s College team the winners. The crowd seemed especially excited at the scholars¡¯ win over not one, but two Hero teams. Even the losers seemed impressed save the goblins who had snatched their meat pie and were devouring it themselves. Natsuko was agape in shock. ¡°They didn¡¯t even have aprons!¡± Daisy snapped her finger. ¡°Tits!¡± ¡°I told you all we should have gone with the bitter pumpkin,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°I refuse to believe it. This must be a conspiracy,¡± Sofiane said, stomping off towards their pie and carving himself a slice with a lightning-fast swish of his rapier. He raised it to his mouth, took a bite, swished it around, and spat it out. ¡°Ptew¡ª! Pah, pah¡ª wormwood!¡± he said, wiping his mouth. ¡°What? Worms got in our pie?¡± Daisy said with alarm. ¡°No, it¡¯s¡ª pah¡ª a bitter herb! Someone must have added a bunch of it to the spices to sabotage the flavor.¡± Daisy gasped. ¡°How is that possible!? Y¡¯all were watching it the whole time!¡± Natsuko and Sofiane looked at each other, then at Pechorin. ¡°Did you¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Pechorin said, folding his arms. ¡°I cannot tell herbs apart. My nose is filled with the smell of sulfur and brimstone.¡± Sofiane exhaled. ¡°And it wasn¡¯t Harald¡¯s group¡­¡± ¡°Ah well, it is what it is, right?¡± Daisy said, throwing her hands up. ¡°What about our reward money!?¡± Harald said, walking over to them with his group. ¡°You weren¡¯t gonna win anyway. If the saboteur thought your pie would be a threat they would¡¯ve gone after you too,¡± Sofiane said, shooing them away. That got Natsuko thinking about who did end up winning. A few yards away, the judges were handing out the 100,000 Ying reward and a pair of enchanted gauntlets giving +33 to Elemental Power, which the Non-Hero scholars had zero use for. Regardless, she was curious how the scholars ended up winning with their anti-Pie. Natsuko walked up behind Shuixing who was celebrating with them. ¡°Looks like you won,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing jumped. ¡°O-Oh! H-Hi there, Natsuko. Th-thanks.¡± She threw her arm around Shuixing¡¯s shoulder. ¡°No problem! I¡¯m glad you got to root your team on. Of course, we had a few hiccups, like our stove that got soaked.¡± Shuixing looked away. ¡°O-Oh yeah?¡± ¡°And then after we bought some more logs and managed to get our pie into the oven, it came out bitter because someone snuck wormwood into it.¡± ¡°That... sounds awful. Sorry, Natsu,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Easy come, easy go, right? Actually, we ended up torching Harald¡¯s team¡¯s pie because we thought they were the ones that sabotaged us,¡± Natsuko said with a laugh. ¡°I¡ª¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°¡ªwas the one who sabotaged our pie?¡± Shuixing looked at her sheepishly. ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± The two friends moved out of the crowd to give space for the rest of the Non-Heroes to come and congratulate the Mage¡¯s College team and to try their bizarre orb pie. ¡°Why? I mean, I¡¯m not mad or anything. This whole thing was just a time-kill from the get-go after all. But weren''t you the one who told me to enter in the first place?¡± ¡°I-I¡­ I know I did, but the professors didn¡¯t tell me they were going to be entering until after you left, and I-I just¡ª¡± Shuixing paused to take a deep breath. ¡°But don¡¯t the Non-Heroes deserve to win some of time too? The original Pie-Baking Contest was set up for Heroes, but it¡¯s become a cultural event for Non-Heroes, and I wasn¡¯t going to intervene, but then it was my friends that wanted to enter and¡­¡± ¡°Ugh, I can go a night or two without drinking I guess,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing chuckled at that. ¡°I must admit, it was nice seeing you excited about something again. I almost never see that side of you nowadays. Usually it¡¯s either Mopy Natsuko, or Stumbling Drunk Natsuko, or Violently Angry Drunk Natsuko, or Moderately Angry Sober Natsuko, or¡ª¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me you have an entire taxonomy of my mental states,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Not¡­ written down.¡± Natsuko sighed. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s risky getting excited because 99% of the time you get burned. Like when someone promises that there¡¯s this crazy abandoned dungeon that you can totally be the first one to raid, or there¡¯s some secret Cursed Eye Demon thing that actually sucks, or you get really into a pie-baking contest and someone helps your competitors cheat.¡± ¡°I know I shouldn''t have done that, Natsu," Shui said. "But I¡¯m still worried about you. You keep saying you¡¯re over the Use-Number competition, but I don¡¯t think you are. I hate seeing you like this. How about this: We both enter the competition next month and we''ll win together." ¡°I don''t think I''m gonna find the solution to my existential crisis in a Pie-Baking contest, Shui.¡± Natsuko had been hiding it well up until now, but Shuixing finally caught a glimpse of the hurt that went deeper than her friend initially let on. She had expected Natsu to treat the prank as a joke like she had in the past. Sure, there was the reward money she missed out on, but Natsuko had lost more than that on one evening of cards and laughed it off with an, ¡°easy come, easy go.¡± More than just money had been at stake here, Shuixing realized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry," Shuixing said softly. The sun was starting to set and paint the sky a bruised purple and orange. Tall fir trees in the distance rippled like tidal waves in the cold wind. Having wandered away from the market square, they found themselves on the deserted steps of the Verm?genburgh Cathedral Plaza and sat down. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°What difference would it make if we won or not? I couldn''t buy better stats with it." Shuixing hugged her friend. She really wished she hadn¡¯t sabotaged her. Seeing the grin on Natsu¡¯s face while she was firing up the oven reminded her of the old days, and it made their forgotten little existence all the more forlorn. For her part, Natsuko went into full-on bawling mode. Just like her drinking, combat, and poker hands, Natsuko¡¯s cries were all-in. The only thing strange about it was Shuixing couldn¡¯t remember the last time her friend blubbered, ¡°I lub you Jwejing!¡± into her shoulder while sober. This was touching for the first five minutes before Shui had to gently nudge Natsu off her to prevent her scholar¡¯s robes from soaking through with tears and snot. When she was done sniffling, Natsuko said, ¡°I¡¯ll catch up with you later. I think Daisy and Sofiane were gonna go out to the Devil''s Cut and I can probably finesse Daisy into paying.¡± Shuixing laughed. ¡°Right. Well, I made some pretty serious headway into research on your wine bottle. I think it may be possible to replicate the geometric vectors which render it capable of dimension-jumping. I¡¯m looking forward to showing it to you when you get back!¡± Natsuko tousled her friend¡¯s teal hair. ¡°Yar. You sure you don¡¯t wanna come with? It¡¯s probably gonna be a hell of a party after the bake off today.¡± Shuixing straightened her glasses made crooked by Natsuko¡¯s tousling. ¡°That¡¯s alright, I¡¯ve gotta clear up all my research and get it sorted and organized.¡± And just like that, Natsuo was back to giddily cruising for booze. Sometimes a good cry could fix you. Leaving her to it, Shuixing made her way back to the Mage¡¯s College and swung by a small after-party held by the professors to celebrate the success of their boundary-pushing gastronomical research. After a polite drink, she returned to the laboratory to tidy up her research papers. The entire place was ransacked. ¡°Oh no! Oh no, no, no, no!¡± Shuixing dashed to her workbench. Gone were her diagrams of how to replicate the wine bottle¡¯s geometry, her movement vector graphs, and her long sheets of complex calculations. Vials were shattered, drawers torn open, and equipment scattered the floor. Someone else had her research, and with it, the secret to getting rid of anyone, or anything, permanently. Chapter 22 - Finding Something Which Has Gone Missing After locking up her laboratory¡ªnot that this had done much the first time¡ªShuixing sprinted to the Devil¡¯s Cut and alerted Natsuko to the burglary. Soon, Shuixing, Natsuko, Sofiane, Pechorin, and Daisy were all taking in the sight of the pillaged lab. Everyone except Shuixing was very, very drunk. ¡°Whaddabouta wine bottle now?¡± Daisy said. ¡°Erm, should we be telling people we just¡ªhic¡ªmet what your wine bottle does?¡± Sofiane asked. With her legendary alcohol tolerance, Natsuko was the least plastered. ¡°Sofiane, we literally told you right away.¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± he said. ¡°It kills people. Like, permanently. Dead dead.¡± Daisy¡¯s mouth made a large, dramatic O and she slapped her cheeks which prompted Pechorin to giggle. He forgot about playing his archetype whenever he got drunk, so he was free to giggle without guilt. Shuixing took a deep breath. ¡°What it does is forcefully induce dimension jumping regardless of whether there is anything below to ca¡ª¡± ¡°Oh. Gods!¡± Daisy shouted. ¡°¡ªto catch¡ª¡± ¡°To catch you! Oh no! That¡¯s horrible!¡± Daisy said, starting to tear up. Sofiane looked up at her. ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I get really emotional when I¡¯m tipsy!¡± Pechorin hugged her around the shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ Emotions prove to us that we¡¯re alive. Just as our skin measures temperature, emotions are our bodily instrument for measuring Truth." Natsuko pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Ugh. I prefer you when you¡¯re an edgelord. Okay, Shui, let¡¯s uh¡­ figure this out. People leave evidence behind, right?¡± She started walking around amongst the debris, glass and paper crunching under her boots. ¡°We¡¯ve just gotta find some.¡± ¡°The first step is to stop messin¡¯ up the crime scene ya¡ªhic¡ªmoron. You¡¯re damagin¡¯ all the¡¯vidence,¡± Sofiane said, bumping against a lab table and knocking a rack of utensils to the floor. ¡°Out! Everyone out!¡± Shuixing said, hurrying them with her hands. The fault was hers for inviting a bunch of drunkards into her lab, but she had panicked and didn¡¯t know what else to do. ¡°But I live here¡­¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Then go to your room.¡± ¡°But I wanna go out and keep drinking¡­¡± ¡°Then out!¡± Shuixing shut the door. Once she was alone, she put her back to the door and sank to the ground. Once there, she put her cold palms to her cheeks. The panic had subsided somewhat, but it was replaced by a roiling anxiety at what she had released into the world. She knew it was possible someone might steal her research, and that what she was researching had the potential to be extremely dangerous, but she had wanted to see it through. Research into dimension-jumping had been her own answer to dropping out of the Use-Number competition. That drive to do something with herself, to come up with something truly new, overrode her sense of responsibility. Blind to the consequences, she had produced something evil. And now the knowledge of how to replicate it was in someone else¡¯s hands. Her thoughts turned on this guilt for hours into the night before she eventually lost consciousness and fell asleep still slumped against the door. She woke up to a bump. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows and glinting off shattered glass. ¡°Shui? You in there?¡± Natsuko asked. Shuixing groaned in the affirmative and got to her feet. She was surprised how early Natsuko was up until she checked the clock hanging askew on the wall to see it was almost noon.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Natsuko barged in the second she unblocked the door. Natsuko¡¯s face was stuck in a tender wince. ¡°Hey! So, can you¡­¡± Shuixing materialized her rod in her hand and cured Natsuko¡¯s hangover. ¡°Thank you, love! Now we can get down to investigation mode." ¡°Where¡¯s everyone else?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Sofiane is still passed out naked in the town fountain, Pechorin disappeared after he got booed offstage for trying to declaim poetry, and I haven¡¯t seen Daisy since she threw up in my lap after telling me I was her best friend and the only one who understood her,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Hmm,¡± was all Shuixing had to add. She was reminded why she didn''t care for drinking. Natsuko snatched a magnifying glass from the rack of examination instruments and began gleefully scanning surfaces. Shuixing watched her, feeling too numb to say anything. ¡°What uh¡­ what are we looking for exactly?¡± Natsuko eventually asked. It was like they¡¯d traded moods overnight. Shuixing was paralyzed with a feeling of hopelessness and Natsuko was in high spirits. ¡°A-Anything that didn¡¯t originally belong to the laboratory,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Why are you in such a good mood? Aren¡¯t you worried?¡± Natsuko shrugged. ¡°A little bit. But see, this actually matters. Gimme a concrete goal like tracking down the shitheel that tossed your lab and beating the stuffing out of them and I¡¯m on fire! I just need to have something to do. Oh, do you know if they nabbed my bottle too?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t think so, actually. I put it up¡­¡± Shuixing ran her hand along the unassuming equipment cabinets. Pulling one open, there was Natsuko¡¯s bottle taking up an entire shelf by itself. Shuixing hefted the giant thing out of the cabinets and held it out for Natsuko. ¡°Hey, there¡¯s a bright spot, right? At least they¡¯ve only got some papers and not the real deal,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°The papers are all you need to recreate something like your bottle,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Yeah, but that takes time, and they¡¯re probably not a genius like you are. That means we¡¯ve got time to track them down. And heck, we can narrow it down further. It¡¯s almost undoubtedly a Hero, right? A Non-Hero has no reason to care about your research because what are they gonna do with it? So, now we¡¯ve figured out that we¡¯re looking for a Hero who was in Verm?genburgh yesterday and who will be hiding somewhere remote to tinker with making another murder bottle. And uh¡­¡± Hearing Natsuko yap endlessly lifted Shuixing¡¯s spirits somewhat. Despite the verbosity, everything she was saying was completely rational. They did have at least some time to track her papers down before things got worse. Ironic that Natsuko was the one who thinking clearly this time around. As Natsuko combed through the rubble for evidence, Shui tapped her on the shoulder. ¡°Maybe you should go grab the others while I look.¡± Natsuko pulled her magnifying glass away from the pencil she¡¯d been scrutinizing. ¡°Sounds good! Daisy too?¡± ¡°If she''s willing. Having the help of the fourth strongest Hero in the world would certainly be appreciated." ¡°Well, fourth most popular amongst Celestials, to be specific. But I see your point,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Off we go!¡± Making her way down from the Mage¡¯s College, Natsuko anticipated the search for the others to be an all-day challenge. However, this proved not to be the case. Far from vanishing without a trace, it was now abundantly clear where Daisy had gotten off to last night. The backside of the Verm?genburgh Cathedral hadn''t been visible on the walk uphill to the Mage¡¯s College, but facing the other way, Natsuko could see where Daisy had summoned a large stone bird and ridden it into the side of the cathedral, leaving a crater in the roof where she was currently sleeping off a hangover. The Non-Heroes weren¡¯t going to be happy, especially Abbess Emilia, but oh well, Daisy had plenty of money to stick in the donation box. Sofiane would be easy to find because once Natsuko saw he had vacated the fountain, she suspected she would find him back in his room. However, in the Foxtrot inn lobby, she instead found Pechorin sitting in a rocking chair staring into the hearth fire while the innkeeper, Grisella, swept around him. Natsuko snuck up behind him and into his ear yelled, ¡°morning sunshine!¡± Pechorin didn¡¯t react. His eyes were glazed over, the flames of the hearth flicking in the coals of his pupils. ¡°Do you think life is worth living, Natsu?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°What? Uh... right now I do. Why?¡± ¡°Even as, day-after-day, we throw ourselves like logs onto an eternal bonfire of suffering? Then, when we tire of this, we take drink, in the hopes of burning ourselves faster, that we may return to the ash of the world and¡ª¡± ¡°Shuixing can fix your hangover. She¡¯s up at the laboratory.¡± Pechorin immediately got up and shuffled towards the door. ¡°Did you see the little purple puffball come in here this morning?¡± Natsuko asked Grisella. The elderly innkeeper looked up from her sweeping. ¡°Oh the little girly fella? Yeah, he ran right in still naked, grabbed some things, n¡¯ came runnin¡¯ right back out again. Seemed in a real hurry.¡± Chapter 23 - An Informal Investigation of a Former Colleague Natsuko threw the door to Natsuko''s laboratory open. ¡°I think it¡¯s Sofiane!¡± Pechorin had just begun sweeping up glass and Shuixing picking up scraps of paper when Natsuko arrived. Shuixing looked grave. ¡°What makes you say that?¡± ¡°He¡¯s gone from his room and Grisella said he left in a hurry,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°H-Hold on there, Natsu, let¡¯s think. Wasn¡¯t he with you all yesterday?¡± Pechorin stroked his chin. ¡°He left briefly between cleaning up our food wagon and moving to the bar. It would not be the first time I have been betrayed by those close to me.¡± He looked off wistfully at that despite having known Sofiane for less than a week. ¡°But you found him passed out naked in the fountain this morning,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like the culmination of a master plan.¡± ¡°He could have¡ª I don¡¯t know, planted a red herring or something!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s possible. But we shouldn''t jump to conclusions just yet." Pechorin caressed the barrel of his gun. ¡°My bullets are the bullets of Truth.¡± ¡°Your bullets don¡¯t have any stat points in them, dipshit,¡± Natsuko said before turning back to Shuixing. ¡°Listen, Shui, I hope it wasn¡¯t him too. But think about it: Out of all of us, he¡¯s the only one that cares that deeply about the Use-Number competition, and having something that can forcibly remove your competition from existence is one hell of an edge up. Not to mention he didn¡¯t look all that surprised last night.¡± Shuixing raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s not you retroactively imagining that?¡± ¡°Positive. I¡¯ve got a memory like a¡ª like a¡ª¡± Natsuko pursed her lips and snapped her fingers a few times. ¡°Anyway, not important. We gotta go find Sofiane and beat him until he confesses.¡± Shuixing put her hands on her hips. ¡°And if he¡¯s innocent?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll apologize for beating him.¡± Shuixing exhaled. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go look for him. I¡¯ll come with you and make sure you don¡¯t do anything you¡¯ll regret.¡± ¡°And I shall bring the bullets of Truth,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°The truth is that they suck,¡± Natsuko said. By the time they were leaving the Mage¡¯s College, the crater in the roof of the Verm?genburgh Cathedral had been vacated. Its former inhabitant met them near the town gate, her blonde ringlets drooping like worn out springs and her pink blouse and scarf covered in mystery stains from last night¡¯s revelry. ¡°Hey there, y¡¯all goin¡¯ lookin¡¯ for the ne¡¯er-do-well who stole¡­¡± Daisy squinted at Shuixing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I blacked out. Did I meet you last night?¡± ¡°We met briefly during the baking competition. I¡¯m Natsuko¡¯s friend, Shuixing He,¡± she said, ignoring the fact that this was their second introduction. ¡°How¡¯d¡¯ya¡¯do? I¡¯m her other friend, Daisy Cordorouy,¡± she said, shaking Shuixing¡¯s hand vigorously. ¡°There¡¯s no time for this! We need to go catch Sofiane!¡± Natsuko said, dashing towards the bridge that extended out from the town gate. ¡°Wait, what¡¯s this about Sofi? You¡¯re not sayin¡¯ he¡¯s the stinkin¡¯ ne¡¯er-do-well, are ya!?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Yes,¡± said Natsuko and Pechorin at the same time as Shuixing said, ¡°maybe.¡± Daisy blinked at them while her brain hung for a moment. ¡°So is he?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Shuixing said before Natsuko and Pechorin could get a word in. ¡°The proprietress of the inn said he left in a hurry this morning.¡± Daisy tapped her chin. ¡°Hmm¡­ Definitely guilty.¡± Shuixing rubbed her temples. She could hold the other two back, but Daisy was a different matter. Daisy could flick her finger and turn Shuixing into dust if she felt so inclined. Luckily, she seemed fairly benevolent.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°We¡¯re going to interrogate him first. No attacking him. Not even if he fights back,¡± Shuixing said, straightening her glasses. ¡°Okay?¡± Daisy clicked her heels together and saluted. ¡°You got it chief! Here, we¡¯ll have a better view from the air.¡± Without waiting for approval, Daisy pulled her golden pocket watch from the folds of her riding breeches and clicked the clock¡¯s crown. The ground around them rumbled and a giant bird made of stone with a wingspan the width of the 30-foot avenue pulled itself free from the earth. ¡°Alrighty, Peng, let¡¯s go!¡± Daisy said, hopping up the length of its lowered wing. ¡°That¡¯s his name, by the way.¡± Natsuko was agape. The abilities Daisy could casually cast were more impressive than Natsuko¡¯s Desperation Art, the thing that was supposed to be her ultimate ability. Even Pechorin nodded appreciatively. Once they were all aboard, Peng beat its stone wings and lifted them free from the streets of Verm?genburgh and into the open sky. Nodules appeared in the bird¡¯s craggy back that gave its passengers handholds as the chilly wind sliced through their clothes. Natsuko, in her beloved default outfit of shorts, boots, and a chestguard, shivered violently. ¡°Oh Gods it¡¯s cold! Freakin¡¯ hell!¡± Natsuko said, her words drowned under the roar of the wind. ¡°I know the feeling!¡± Daisy called back from her standing position, riding Peng¡¯s plumage like a sailboard. ¡°It sucks when I gotta change into my summer outfits to keep the Ero-Art numbers up!¡± The girl was so happy-go-lucky that Natsuko forgot Daisy was just as serious as Sofiane at keeping her place on top of the Use-Charts. The only difference, it seemed, was that Sofiane discussed playing the game with a pessimistic, cynical attitude, and Daisy like it was just another silly little thing she¡¯d gotten up to. For a brief moment, Natsuko wondered if Daisy was the real thief, and that maybe she framed Sofiane and was taking them all somewhere secluded to murder the remaining witnesses. All Daisy had to do we get a cheap shot off on Natsuko before she could punt her through the earth with her bottle and she¡¯d be in possession of not only Shuixing¡¯s research, but its proof-of-concept. Nothing would be able to stop her from dominating every other Hero with the threat of permanent extinction. ¡°Oh hey look, you can see Mount Shenfen over¡ª whoops!¡± As Daisy tried to point out Tianzhou¡¯s famous gigantic mountain, she accidentally pushed down on Peng¡¯s plumage, sending the stone bird diving towards the ground. Daisy righted him a second later. ¡°Sorry about that!¡± Daisy said, turning around and bonking her head to indicate the oopsie. This caused her to tilt Peng once again into a nosedive. Peng¡¯s belly clipped the tops of the pine trees below before Daisy pulled up and regained their altitude. Natsuko discarded the theory that Daisy was the mastermind. ¡°Where do you think Sofiane could be?¡± Shuixing asked over the roar of the wind. Pechorin started to speak, ¡°He could be in the Anomalous Dungeon¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Natsuko said, regretting bringing him along. ¡°Hold on, Pech, what were you going to say?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°The Anomalous Dungeon of the Empty Waterfall. It¡¯s another of the myths detailed in the Tome of the Unnatural and Cursed of which Sofiane is also privy.¡± ¡°The one you got the Cursed Eye of the Demon from?¡± ¡°Ye¡ª¡± Pechorin paused as he remembered this was supposed to be information imparted to him in fitful, phantasmagoric night terrors. ¡°The author, a wandering hermit named Nuwas, was beset by the same burden of cursed knowledge as I.¡± ¡°It¡¯s somewhere to start,¡± Shuixing said. Pechorin climbed further up Peng¡¯s back to direct Daisy down towards Lake Amber. It was a basin lake at the bottom of a rocky valley and along its sandy shores were a few permanent monster encampments and huntable creatures bathing in its waters. At the northern end lay the plunge pool of a waterfall which emerged from the rocky lower slopes of Moonward Cliff. From their aerial view, Natsuko could see the floating opal orb Heroes could touch to fight V?lsunga over again if they were stupid and felt like wasting a bunch of time. Lake Amber flooded her with nostalgia on the rare occasions she visited it. The entire valley smelled like pine and fresh water and roasting bonfires from the monster encampments, and it reminded her of good times with her adventuring party. They spent months working together to achieve a high enough level and strong enough equipment to fight V?lsunga. Every second of it had been a wonderful, meaningful struggle. Simultaneous work and play. They were all doing their best to get one step closer to defeating the Entropic Axis once and for all with no awareness that their job would eventually be taken over by newer, stronger Heroes some day. That was why Natsuko didn¡¯t like coming out to Lake Amber. The memories it dragged up were like honey: Too damn sweet, and clogged up your throat. Daisy set Peng down on a small rocky outcropping a short distance from the waterfall. The bird melded seamlessly back into the ground. Shuixing straightened her glasses. ¡°Where exactly is this mystery dungeon, Pech? I only see the Dungeon of Stars.¡± She was referring to the dungeon whose entrance was the waterfall. It was the last questline dungeon before the V?lsunga fight in the main quest sequence. It was also thoroughly normal and not mysterious in any way. ¡°Anomalous Dungeon,¡± Pechorin corrected, ¡°and it is in fact inside the Dungeon of Stars. However, the anomaly is the method of entrance. For you see, it is possible to enter the Dungeon of Stars through most¡­ unconventional means.¡± Pechorin paused for effect and received back blank stares from people looking for information and not drama. Natsuko¡¯s glare made this point especially clear. ¡°Supposedly if one jumps from above and lands at the precise right spot, you are dimension-jumped into the Dungeon of Stars, however¡­¡± This time Pechorin couldn¡¯t help it. The drama was for himself, and it would reach its climax by the gods. ¡°¡­one is greeted with¡­ nothing.¡± ¡°Nothin¡¯?¡± Daisy said. ¡°Nothing!¡± Pechorin said, throwing his hands up. ¡°You are greeted with empty halls and chambers where there ought to be enemies and puzzles. An eerie, empty copy of the real dungeon greets you, haunted by the mirage of What Ought to Be. Does that not make the hair on your arms stand up?¡± Natsuko folded her arms. ¡°No. It¡¯s stupid. No one is hiding in a stupid, broken dungeon!¡± ¡°Erm¡­¡± The three of them turned to Shuixing who had gone ahead up the path to a cliff overlooking the waterfall. Following her finger, they could see she was pointing at a trail of blood that led upwards. Chapter 24 - The Dungeon of Stars and its Anomalous Copy Daisy scratched her head. ¡°How do we know it¡¯s Sofi¡¯s blood?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t, but Non-Heroes die so quickly they don¡¯t have time to bleed and who the hell else would be in Verm?genburgh?¡± Natsuko said. Daisy shrugged. ¡°I was.¡± ¡°Regardless, the trail ends here,¡± Shuixing said, her finger tracing the path of the blood to the edge of the cliff overlooking the waterfall. ¡°They couldn¡¯t have fallen and de-spawned, since water prevents any damage from falling. Either they flew off, or they¡¯re in that strange¡ª¡± ¡°Anomalous,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°¡ªAnomalous dungeon." Natsuko leaned over the cliff and gazed at the spraying foam below. Above, the sun had come up and was baking them with a comfortable warmth. Against the pleasant surroundings, the blood looked like it belonged to another world entirely. Pechorin cleared his throat. ¡°One enigma remains, who drew his blood?¡± Natsuko¡¯s mouth was hanging open, ready to tell him to shut-up when Pechorin accidentally said something relevant and useful. Daisy bent down, pinched some warm, sticky blood between her fingers, lifted it to her nose, sniffed thoughtfully, then said, ¡°yuck!¡± Shuixing stroked her chin. ¡°It¡¯s highly likely that more than just Sofiane is involved in this. We should be careful going forw¡ª¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get this bread!¡± Natsuko said, leaping off the cliff into a front flip. Shuixing glanced at Pechorin. ¡°Did you tell her where to land?¡± Pechorin shook his head. They ran to the edge of the cliff, but Natsuko had already disappeared. By the lack of wet, floating mop of red hair, Shuixing surmised that her friend had found the anomalous spot that dimension-jumped into the empty dungeon. Her eyes scanned the length of the waterfall for the jagged geometry she knew to be a sign of dimension-jumping potential. The only promising candidate was the gnarled trunk of a dead tree near the plunge pool with a jumble of overlapping burls. The coinciding curves of the burls, plus the texture of the bark, equaled a terrain where the universe had to calculate too many different sets of forces simultaneously and eventually gave up and threw the colliding mass in a direction of least resistance. That was, at least, Shuixing¡¯s internal metaphor for the process. The idea that the universe was a series of mathematical calculations was probably not realistic, but it was comforting. ¡°I believe it¡¯s there we have to land,¡± Shuixing said, pointing to the knotty tree below. Daisy leered at it. ¡°We gotta land on that tree?¡± Falling was the one thing that scared the stronger Heroes. Damage was a percent of HP by distance traveled rather than a flat health loss. This meant that if a fall was a certain height, it would kill the top Heroes the same as it would kill Non-Heroes. Everyone was equal against gravity. Coincidentally, the tree was right at death height. ¡°I-I am... reasonably certain, though I have no way to empirically confirm this,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°If I am sent to hell, it would improve my fate,¡± Pechorin said, casually stepping off the cliff. This time, Shuixing was in position to watch. The moment his coal-black boots collided with the lumpy trunk, his body distorted into a jagged polygon and lurched to the right, through the granite door that lay behind the waterfall and marked the entrance to the Dungeon of Stars.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Huh, guess it does work. Seeya in there, Shui!¡± Daisy said, swan-diving into the tree trunk. Shuixing was now alone on the cliff, staring down at the solid tree trunk below. Her hands and neck were clammy with sweat. She''d always been afraid of heights, which was why she invented the glider. But a glider would defeat the point of a dimension-jump. ¡°Shuixing, your hypothesis was empirically proven, why are you still so scared?¡± she asked herself. She had never liked dimension-jumping. The actual process was painless, but there was something uncanny and frightening about the physical distortion that accompanied it. Nor could she disassociate it with the terrifying potentiality of being thrown through the center of the earth, never to return. She didn¡¯t know which possibility was worse: That one fell forever, or that one was annihilated instantly. Both gave her nightmares. That was how her former teammate Hemiola had died and she''d never quite gotten over it. She peered down at the plunge pool. ¡°Okay, we can do this. Natsu had no problem with it¡­" The limbs of the tree shook in the wind. Shutting her eyes, she stepped off the cliff, letting out an ear-piercing shriek that echoed out across the entire lake and perked up monster ears. ¡°Shui, you good?¡± Natsuko asked. Shuixing was still screaming with her eyes clamped shut even though solid stone was now underneath her. She blushed. ¡°Ahh! Oh¡­ Umm¡­ I suppose this will not be a stealth operation.¡± ¡°Aw that¡¯s alright! Take your time, Shui. I can obliterate anyone who gets in the way,¡± Daisy said. Of that, Shuixing had no doubt. They found themselves in a small stone antechamber before the main room of the dungeon which was a large, circular cavern with a stone path that wound in and out of the cavern wall. The internal rooms were full of monsters, treasures, and traps. Or at least, were supposed to be. Normally, the dungeon had shade-like minions of the Entropic Axis who flew out of a giant pool at the bottom of the cavern full of glittering stars. But the dungeon was silent. Still. Frozen. The only thing that was normal about the dungeon besides its layout was the omnipresent illumination that permeated the air and allowed it to be seen without the use of light spells. ¡°This is so weird¡­¡± Natsuko said, looking around. ¡°Anomalous,¡± Pechorin corrected. Natsuko walked over to a moss-covered urn that often had basic food items in it when knocked over. Upon nudging it off its decrepit stone alcove, the urn collided with the ground and instantly stopped. No shattering. No bouncing. No rolling. Shuixing frowned. ¡°Physics don¡¯t appear to be working quite right. Though¡­ in a different way from the dungeon we visited with Sofiane.¡± ¡°What was that one like?¡± Daisy said. ¡°Also creepy and weird, but you could die, and things didn¡¯t despawn when you destroyed them, they just sat there being¡­ uh¡­ broken,¡± Natsuko said. Daisy shivered. ¡°Not sure I like the sound of either, but I guess I prefer the one where no one dies to the one where folks die when they¡¯re killed.¡± ¡°Unless we, too, are invisible to the gods here,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Shut up, moron,¡± Natsuko said, her tone less insulting and more fearful. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. We¡¯re not doing anything sitting around here and thinking ourselves into an anxiety attack.¡± Despite her apprehension, Daisy elected to take point since, as far as conventional threats went, she was a brick wall. All of them kept further than usual away from the edge of the rock path downwards. Without a blood trail to follow, they meandered through the floors and chambers of the dungeon that should''ve been filled with combat. A room without goblins. A secret chamber without a treasure chest. A puzzle room with doors already open. Pechorin¡¯s book had proven correct: There was nothing and no one. ¡°Now, uh, your book thingy, Pech¡­ Your tome of the oogly-spookily or whatever? Did it say, like, how to leave?¡± Daisy asked. Pechorin shook his head. ¡°Mighta wanted to know that first. Oopsie¡­¡± Daisy walked a few more feet then started pulling her hair. ¡°Oh gods, we¡¯re going to die down here! We¡¯re gonna start going hungry and I¡¯ll have to murder and eat the friends I just made!¡± Natsuko stopped. ¡°What?¡± Daisy froze, clumps of blonde hair in both hands, then laughed and knocked on her head. ¡°Sorry, bad at keepin¡¯ my thinkpan on straight sometimes., We¡¯re still a ways off from the ol¡¯ eatin¡¯ each other stage, hehe.¡± Natsuko and Shuixing shared a glance. Pechorin just nodded. ¡°I am no stranger to man¡¯s inhumanity to man.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a woman,¡± Daisy said confidently. After several more empty chambers, they arrived at the ground floor where there was supposed to be yet another puzzle that would light up an insignia on the wall with four prismatic crystals obtained elsewhere in the dungeon to reflect light into the void of stars in the floor and open up a hidden door in the cavern wall that led to a room with an underground pool where an ice-crag golem would be awakened from its slumber by the machinations of the Entropic Axis and emerge and attack them. But there was no puzzle and the door was already open. Echoing voices emanated from the doorway, bouncing off the icy walls. A moment later, purple lightning flashed from within. Chapter 25 - Cornering Suspicious Characters in a Dungeon that Should Not Exist Faisal, Margaret, and the raccoon girl formed a protective wall between Sofiane and Harald who was staining the icy floor pink with his blood. ¡°We don¡¯t have it! Why won¡¯t you believe us!?¡± the raccoon girl said. Puffs of vapor left Sofiane¡¯s mouth as he breathed in and out. Tracking them down hadn¡¯t been easy. Their levels and stats weren¡¯t very high, but their abilities gave them a lot of mobility to evade him. But now, there was no more running. He knew all about the empty doppelganger version of the Dungeon of Stars. If Harald¡¯s gang thought they were going to use it as a place to lay low and wait until they could walk away with the research to make another version of Natsuko¡¯s wine bottle, they were mistaken. ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Sofiane said, raking his rapier against the ice. ¡°Why are you hiding here then? You could camp out anywhere you want. Hell, you could get a room at the inn. So what brings you to this secret little hidey-hole in the middle of nowhere?¡± Margaret¡¯s eyes darted behind him at the only exit. Sofiane leapt forward a foot, turning into his Ball Lightning form for just a moment to remind her she wasn¡¯t going anywhere. He could kill all four of them and not even drop below half health. Margaret grit her teeth and backed up closer to Harald. The burly, bear-pelted Bazouk was hyperventilating, as though a missed breath would be his last. ¡°We¡¯ve been camped here for months,¡± Faisal said. ¡°Is that how long you¡¯ve known about Shuixing¡¯s research?¡± ¡°What research!?¡± Margaret said. ¡°We don¡¯t even know what you think we stole!¡± Sofiane fought with his mind. If he told them and they weren¡¯t the thieves, the secret about forced dimension-jumping would get out. Not only that, he¡¯d have to admit he had the wrong suspects. Sure, he might have moved a bit quickly. But who else was in position to both know about and steal the papers? ¡°How about this? I kill all of you and wait by the nearest respawn and kill you over and over until you talk. Or, you can stop playing around and tell me what I want to know,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°We can¡¯t!¡± the raccoon girl said. ¡°We¡¯re not in here because we took whatever research you¡¯re talking about! We''re in here because nothing changes inside the dungeon, a-and if we stay here we only have to buy meals half as often¡­¡± The look of shame on the raccoon girl¡¯s face made Sofiane pause. It was too real to be an act. But what if he was wrong? Releasing the power of permanent death into the world would be an unthinkable horror. Stats and rankings would be nothing. If he helped bring that about just by falling for a cute raccoon girl''s crocodile tears, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself. Sofiane readied his rapier to make a lunging attack through their sad little human wall, a purple ball of lightning growing into a flashing star at the tip of his blade. ¡°Wait! Please! We don¡¯t¡ª know¡ª if we¡¯ll respawn if we¡ªagh¡ªdie in here,¡± Harald said, spewing blood from his mouth as he spoke. Excuses. So many excuses. Almost as if they had prepared them all. Sofiane pulled at his purple hair. ¡°Argh! Why do you all have to talk so much!?¡± ¡°Sofiane!¡± He turned to see Shuixing running into the icy chamber. Natsuko, Daisy, and Pechorin were close behind her. The glowing purple ball at the tip of his sword dimmed, then winked out. ¡°I believe I have found the people who stole your papers, Madame Shuixing,¡± Sofiane said with a small curtsy. As he came up from the curtsy he noticed the suspicion in their eyes. ¡°Surely you don¡¯t suspect me?¡± Natsuko brandished her wine bottle. ¡°It sure looks suspicious of you to run in here of all places, doesn''t it?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Sofiane burst out laughing at the absurdity of having his own words spat back at him. But a moment later he sobered up with the realization that it was indeed the exact same logic he had used to justify hunting down Harald¡¯s team. Sofiane turned to look at them and saw the terror in their expressions which he had been deliberately ignoring a moment ago. Tucking his rapier back into his sash, Sofiane sighed and threw his hands behind his head. ¡°Oh, this is so silly, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure not laughing,¡± Daisy said. ¡°I don¡¯t have the papers,¡± Sofiane said, holding his arms out. ¡°And, despite my earlier suspicions, I guess they don¡¯t have them either.¡± The suspicion didn¡¯t leave Natsuko¡¯s face. ¡°Why¡¯d you go after them then?¡± ¡°Because they left town in a hurry the morning after the papers went missing and I didn¡¯t have time to alert you all since it was imperative to stop them as soon as possible.¡± Shuixing was simultaneously relieved and anxious. On the one hand, it seemed they hadn¡¯t been betrayed by Sofiane after all. On the other, they now had no leads for who did have the secrets of forced dimension-jumping. ¡°I wish I''d never done all this stupid research in the first place,¡± Shuixing said, her fists balling up her robes. Daisy scratched her head. ¡°Actually, that¡¯s a good question, why didja research forced dimension-jumping?¡± Harald''s team''s eyes went wide as they finally learned the nature of Shuixing''s research. Being old enough to remember the accidental deaths, they understood the full implications of what Daisy had let slip. ¡°I¡ª I just didn¡¯t know what else to¡ª¡± Shuixing had been mentally whipping herself for hours now, but having to admit out loud that she had been researching how to murder other Heroes permanently purely because it fascinated her was agonizing. Her throat closed up every time she tried to explain that she had endangered everyone just to avoid the existential dread of idleness. Her eyes blurred with tears and Natsuko put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t need to explain anything, Shui. We¡¯re gonna get your papers back, and we¡¯re gonna beat the piss outta whoever took ¡®em, and then we¡¯ll worry about keeping it secret.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re just supposed to ignore that she was making a way to kill people!?¡± the raccoon girl said. Her voice was as sharp and cold as the stalagmites of ice lining the cavern. Faisal cleared his throat. ¡°Perhaps, going forward, we ought to gather the rest of the Heroes, especially the high use ones,¡± he said, nodding to Daisy, ¡°and have a productive discussion about what to do about this forced dimension-jumping technology going forward.¡± ¡°Or you can mind your own damn business,¡± Natsuko said. Margaret glared. ¡°We were.¡± ¡°We need to continue our search,¡± Sofiane said, turning on his heels towards the odor. ¡°That¡¯s it? You¡ªcough¡ªnearly murder us for real and you¡¯re gonna walk off like nothing¡ªurgh¡ªhappened?¡± Harald said. Sofiane raised an eyebrow. ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be you in our position someday soon, you little purple ass!¡± the raccoon girl said. ¡°At the mercy of people stronger than you. Getting bullied around. And it¡¯ll be sooner than you think.¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Sofiane said with a laugh. ¡°I¡¯m built different.¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± Shuixing said, rubbing her puffy eyes underneath her glasses. ¡°You said murder for real¡­ Is this weir¡ª¡± Pechorin coughed. ¡°¡ªanomalous dungeon¡­ you believe Heroes who die here won¡¯t respawn?¡± Like a wave, expressions of nervousness hit Harald¡¯s team all over again. The raccoon girl swallowed heavily. ¡°L-L-Listen, w-we¡¯re sorry about what we said! Y-You don¡¯t need to get rid of us. We won¡¯t say anything!¡± Shuixing waved her hands. ¡°Oh! No! No, that¡¯s not what I was getting at.¡± Faisal swallowed. ¡°We think¡­ based on the fact that nothing seems to break in here, and that we don¡¯t get hungry no matter how long we stay, that this in-between version of the Dungeon of Stars preserves the state of its inhabitants in limbo. So if someone were, say, chopped up¡­¡± The other five occupants of the icy chamber adopted their adversaries¡¯ anxious expressions. Natsuko¡¯s mind turned back to Daisy killing them all and taking both the papers and her bottle. A bolt of fear ran through her. There was, after all, a string of something dark that poked out of Daisy''s cheeriness every once in awhile. Everyone that knew about forced dimension-jumping was all gathered in one place where they could be permanently disposed of. In the cold of the cavern, sweat dripped down Natsuko¡¯s back. Daisy frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡± Given her superior stats and sharpened combat skills, it should have been Daisy who reacted first. But something had set Natsuko¡¯s nerves on edge, so she swung the bottle in front of Shuixing before she even knew what she was swinging at. The impact jarred her arm and left it numb all the way to her neck. A boom rocked the chamber, knocking everyone but Daisy, Natsuko, and Shuixing off their feet. Standing in front of Natsuko was a black-cloaked figure. Tar against the glittery ice. In the figure¡¯s hands was a black-purple biwa, the color of pre-dawn, with fluorescent golden strings and an almost-invisible obsidian blade that ran the length of the instrument¡¯s body. Natsuko only detected it once it was grinding against her wine bottle, releasing a harsh screech. Inches from where Natsuko¡¯s quivering hands held the blade at bay, Shuixing¡¯s face looked on in shock. Chapter 26 - A Mysterious Attacker in the Undying Dungeon ¡°Who the hell¡ª?¡± was all Natsuko could say before her attacker¡¯s bladed biwa forced her wine bottle down to the ice floor. The force should have shattered the glass bottle and the floor beneath it were it not for the strange, suspended state of the not-Dungeon. And Natsuko should have been sliding into two pieces after the follow-up swing, were it not for Daisy. Holding back the blade of the biwa was some kind of glowing blue rock angel. Despite her dainty appearance, the angel was slowly pushing the biwa back towards the black-cloaked attacker. With twin, cavern-shaking booms, the figure pulled their instrument-weapon free. Invisible shockwaves blew the angel¡¯s arms off at the elbow. Casually, their assailant uncurled the fingers of the angel¡¯s severed hands from the grip on the instrument, letting them fall to the eerily undisturbed ice. The moment of calm after the raw display of power had a disarming hypnotism to it that froze everyone in the chamber where they lay knocked over. As the last finger of the second hand uncurled, the figure flicked a single golden string. Daisy clicked her pocket watch and a giant wall of sand put itself between their party and another body-shattering shock wave. The plume of sand blew back into Natsuko and Shuixing, pelting them like a thousand tiny daggers. But they were alive. ¡°Go!¡± Sofiane yelled. His voice shattered the surreal moment, dissolving it into pure chaos. From where he¡¯d been knocked over, Sofiane turned into a ball of lightning and shot over to Pechorin, yanked him to his feet. Daisy¡¯s usual happy-go-lucky expression sharpened into needle-point focus on her opponent. It frightened Natsuko that she wasn¡¯t going for a kill, and was instead focused on countering attacks. That meant whoever was attacking them was as strong¡ªor stronger¡ªthan Daisy, and as strong as Daisy meant the only thing preventing them from being turned into a shower of bloody giblets was Daisy herself. ¡°Run on my mark,¡± Daisy said under her breath to Natsuko and Shuixing. As the whirlwind of sand settled to the ice, the black figure emerged from the haze. Their hood blew up to reveal a brass Thalia mask smiling back at them. Behind, Harald¡¯s team cowered in terror. Margaret tried to make a run for it, but the biwa whipped out and sliced her in half, her upper body falling soundlessly to the floor, eyes blank in permanently frozen terror. The air dropped out of the room as everyone witnessed a Hero die for good. ¡°This is about the papers, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Daisy, the only one whose voice still worked. Never had Natsuko been more grateful for the Verm?genburgh Pie-Baking Contest. The masked figure nodded, their expression hidden behind the smiling visage. ¡°And you¡¯re attacking us because you don¡¯t want the news to get out?¡± The figure shook their head as they crept towards Daisy. ¡°Are you going to use it to have power over other Heroes?¡± The figure shook its head again and wagged its finger, only a few yards away now. Daisy noticed a change in the figure¡¯s stance. ¡°Now.¡± Natsuko grabbed Shuixing and sprinted for the exit to the cavern. They felt their bodies grow lighter for a moment as pressure rushed out of the chamber, right before that same pressure rushed back in with an ear-splitting thunderclap. Natsuko looked behind her to see Daisy skidding to a halt, a summoned stone hand bracing her and stopping her from getting blown back. In a perfect line along the floor, walls, and ceiling was a glittering trail where Daisy¡¯s sand had been snap-pressurized into glass. If ever Natsuko needed proof that she was hilariously outclassed by the top Heroes, it was in the bare fact that Daisy and the masked figure were throwing basic elemental abilities at one another. Neither had broken out their Desperation Art yet. Both were coaxing the other into helping them build up the pressure for it. ¡°I¡¯ll cover our escape,¡± Daisy said, the stone hand under her dissolving as she backpedaled towards her teammates and prepared to break into a run. Before she ran herself, Natsuko¡¯s gaze met the three remaining members of Harald¡¯s team. A plan¡ªa very stupid one¡ªpopped into her head, and because of the way Natsuko¡¯s head worked, it didn¡¯t go through any drafting or revision before it arrived at the execution stage. She pressed her bottle into Sofiane¡¯s hands. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Take it and run,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Wait, what!? Natsu¡ª!¡± With her Jack class, she had access to a toolbox so wide and varied that the handful of other Jack heroes hadn¡¯t even scratched the surface of what they could do. Often it made her powers so cumbersome they felt useless. Sometimes, they required a wing and a prayer just to use remotely correctly. And that was if she had prepared the correct ones for the day. So she prayed to every god whose name she could remember and the Yishang and dashed towards the figure. Shuixing gasped. ¡°Oh no¡­¡± Daisy said. Pechorin nodded. ¡°An honorable death.¡± Natsuko could try to anticipate when the bladed biwa would swing to take her head off, but she would be too slow, so she ducked way too soon. This ended up being exactly on time. Ignoring the pain of her kneecaps colliding with the ice, Natsuko dropped into a knee-slide. Her orange hair fluttered from the wake of the lethal swing as it came inches from her scalp. Using her Fire Gale ability, flame shot from her feet and propelled her out of the way of the lightning-fast follow-up strike. A moment later she tumbled into Faisal who fell backwards into Harald who let out a moan as his wounds were re-opened. ¡°Sorry!¡± Natsuko said. The figure glanced back at her, but half of their attention was forced to remain on Daisy, the only one who was remotely a threat. Daisy clicked her pocket watch again and the maw of a giant sand worm appeared underneath the figure and gnashed at their legs. Despite the attack connecting, their opponent looked more inconvenienced than in danger of being killed. This bought Natsuko a few precious seconds. She pulled Faisal up and gestured for the raccoon girl to help Harald. ¡°Head towards them,¡± Natsuko said, pointing at Sofiane and Shuixing watching her execute her suicidal plan. ¡°And it¡¯s a one-hit kill so¡­ don¡¯t get hit!¡± Unfortunately, the person who could one-hit kill them was standing between them and the entrance to the cavern. As soon as she said this, Natsuko bolted for a group of ice stalagmites to the side of the cavern. At the same time, the figure cut through the summoned sandworm¡¯s jaws, turning it back into lifeless sand. ¡°W-What about Margaret!?¡± the raccoon girl called out after her. Not knowing if she¡¯d reach the stalagmites in time, Natsuko hurled herself forward at them, then cast her Swap ability. Another crack of thunder resonated through the chamber, this time emanating from where their attacker lay sprawled at the foot of the stalagmites in the spot Natsuko had been a split second before. Even blocked by the impenetrable ice features, the shockwave still knocked the wind out of Natsuko. ¡°Go, go, go!¡± Natsuko yelled. Everyone but Daisy sprinted into the central chamber of the Dungeon of Stars. Covering their escape, she threw up wall after wall, creature after creature of rock, sand, and stone the moment her abilities came off cooldown. It was still only just enough to keep up with the mysterious assailant¡¯s onslaught of thunderous shockwaves. While Daisy kept them busy, Sofiane zipped up to the top platform, taking Natsuko¡¯s bottle with him. Faisal and the raccoon girl guided an injured Harald up the winding paths through the caves, taking an agonizingly long amount of time. Pechorin tried to offer himself up as a heroic sacrifice, but Natsuko and Shuixing dragged him with them. Once the others cleared out, Daisy prepared to use her Desperation Art. Above, Sofiane waited near the exit, bottle in hand. In the event that everyone else had been brutally murdered, he was prepared to do what was necessary and wield the wine bottle against the mysterious black figure. Excitement and fear rose together like twin spirals. Would he really use it? Could he really remove another Hero from the world? Natsuko came around the corner and ducked under the bottle swing, leaving it to collide with Pechorin¡¯s chest as Sofiane yelped in terror. Pechorin, however, stayed firmly in place. Natsuko tore her bottle out of Sofiane¡¯s grip. ¡°Gimme my bottle back you idiot!¡± Sofiane was aghast. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I-I thought it might have been¡ª wait, why didn¡¯t it work on Pech?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you, dumbass, you¡¯ll do something stupid.¡± ¡°Whatever. Where¡¯s Daisy?¡± As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire dungeon convulsed. Everyone was thrown to the floor as the world itself jarred out of its confines for a moment. Then it stopped. They were still picking themselves off the floor when Harald and his teammates limped into the entryway. ¡°W-Was that your girl just now?¡± Harald asked. ¡°Yeah, that was her,¡± Sofiane said, uncrumpling his poofy clothes. ¡°How can you be so certain? Perhaps she has been violently butchered, and we are next on the chopping block,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Cuz I¡¯ve seen her Desperation Art before,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Seeing it for the first time was when I knew I had no chance of making the Top 10.¡± ¡°So¡­ does that mean the shithead that attacked us is dead?¡± Natsuko asked. Sofiane, visibly deflated at the reminder of his own relative lack of power, shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know. Seems like he¡¯s as much of a badass as Daisy so¡­¡± With the sound of grinding rocks, Daisy stepped off a stone pillar of her creation which crumbled behind her. It took a few moments for their brains to register that she was sprinting for the exit. That was all the information they needed to join her. Chapter 27 - Natsuko Returns to her Archetype The exit to the anomalous Dungeon of Stars worked just as well as the real version and in the next moment they were standing in a shallow pool full of rocks being pelted by the waterfall. ¡°Wooh! That was awesome!¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing, Sofiane, Pechorin, Daisy, right down to the remnants of Harald¡¯s team, looked at Natsuko like she was insane. ¡°Natsu, we almost died¡­¡± Shui said in a half-whisper. ¡°I know! It was sick!¡± Daisy monitored the exit to the dungeon, but their assailant wasn''t likely to attack out in the open. There wasn¡¯t much use in killing witnesses if they would respawn in a few hours. ¡°You¡¯re a lunatic,¡± Harald said to Natsuko. He swiveled on Sofiane, ¡°and so are you! Gods¡­ Margaret¡­¡± The racoon girl helped Harald hobble off the rocks and towards the bank of the plunge pool. The water turned pink where he stepped. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get you some food to heal you up. We¡¯ll have time to go back and get Margaret when it¡¯s safe,¡± the raccoon girl said. The three of them left with an unspoken truce with that the two teams wouldn¡¯t bother each other for now. It concerned Shuixing to be in the dark about how much Harald¡¯s team knew. The possibility of her secret spreading to the rest of the Heroes frightened her. It was bad enough a dozen or so people knew about forced dimension-jumping, but if the rest of the Heroes knew it could be done, there would be a mad dash to acquire that power before anyone else. Shuixing put her head in her hands. Her dream of understanding dimension-jumping was turning into a nightmare. ¡°Your sorrow,¡± Pechorin said, standing off to her side at a respectful distance. ¡°Let it flow unimpeded. Make it your power, as I did mine.¡± Shuixing, if she tried to, could not have come up with anything goofier to have said in that moment. In a weird way, the Pechorism cheered her up, or at least turned ¡°sorrow¡± into something silly. For the moment, anyway. ¡°Hmm¡­ No change in the overall Use-Ranking,¡± Daisy said. Everyone checked the public Use-Ranking Chart. Margaret still sat at #164/190. ¡°So¡­ she¡¯s alive?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°No,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°It means she¡¯s not dead.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like forced dimension-jumping where someone is dropped into the void forever,¡± Shuixing said, shivering at her own words. ¡°I-I think Margaret is just in a limbo where she¡¯s¡­ erm¡­ perpetually in two pieces. That wasn¡¯t exactly a more comforting fate. And no one felt like thinking through all of the implications. ¡°That means she''s recoverable though, right?¡± Daisy offered. While they discussed this, Natsuko was doing a violent, flailing dance in the middle of the pool. ¡°Hell yeah! My heart¡¯s red-lined baby, let¡¯s fucking go! We are so back!¡± ¡°Would you take things seriously for once, please?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I am taking it seriously. That was seriously awesome! Wooh!¡± Splashing through the cold water, Natsuko ran up onto shore and threw herself onto a rolling field of grass as though she might explode with joy if she didn¡¯t slow herself down. The rest followed her ashore, drenched with water and anxiousness. ¡°Can¡¯t say I share that sentiment exactly...¡± Daisy said, scratching her head, ¡°but I s''pose I''m happy for ya.¡± Seeing they didn¡¯t get what she was on about, Natsuko put her hands behind her head and propped a leg across her bent knee. ¡°This matters. This actually matters! This isn¡¯t just making some stupid number go up so you can have enough money to make more numbers go up. This is real! This is dangerous! This could¡ª could get people killed! Maybe you all aren''t, but I¡¯m stoked to hunt this asshole down and kick the crap out of ¡®em.¡± Shuixing wasn''t quite so optimistic. There was no turning back from this. The potential to permanently kill another Hero was not some kind of special event that wrapped up neatly when they caught whoever had the papers. Unless they force dimension-jumped the thief¡ªmost likely their mystery assailant¡ªthe secret was out. It wasn¡¯t a simple matter of beating up one enemy. Things were about to move in new and dangerous directions regardless of how well they cleaned up. ¡°No need to look so glum, Shui, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll catch them,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Not to mention, I doubt it will be hard to figure out who it was,¡± Sofiane said, folding his poofy-sleeved arms. ¡°They fought the #4 Hero to a stalemate, which means they¡¯re as powerful if not more so, right? It¡¯s gotta be someone in the Top Ten.¡± Daisy shook her head. ¡°Not¡­ necessarily. I couldn¡¯t use my full power since that weird¡ª¡± ¡°Anomalous.¡± ¡°¡ªHeckin¡¯ anomalous dungeon wouldn¡¯t let me use environmental damage, so I was sorta gimped. But, they also could¡¯ve been holding back for their own reasons. Maybe they knew things had gone all topsy-turvy-like and didn¡¯t want to give up who they were. I sure haven¡¯t seen anyone in the Top Ten use abilities like that. Not a one of ''em! Not to mention,¡± Daisy paused to squeeze water out of her ringlets. ¡°Where you are on the Use-Chart doesn¡¯t determine how strong you are, just how much money ya get.¡± ¡°It''s still a pretty good proxy for how powerful a Hero is,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°The celestials only like to summon the strongest.¡± Natsuko chuckled. ¡°Or the ones with the most Ero-Art¡­¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s sorta what I mean,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Celestials care about stats, sure, but we don¡¯t know anything about them, and they aren''t always rational. We wouldn¡¯t have to bother with playing our archetypes if only the stats mattered. All that¡¯s to say there ain¡¯t no guarantee it¡¯s someone high up on the Use-Charts. There could be uh... diamonds in the rough?¡± It wasn¡¯t a fully convincing argument. They all knew stats were still the main concern, and that whoever attacked them had been a roughly equal match for Daisy, even if it hadn¡¯t been a perfectly fair fight. Natsuko¡¯s eyes wandered towards the waterfall. ¡°I mean¡­ we could always stand around the entrance with my bottle and whack them into oblivion when they walk out.¡± Pechorin shook his head. ¡°No. T''would be dishonorable.¡± ¡°Yeah, that! And also, they move way too fast for that to work,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Y''all didn¡¯t see them when they were trying to burst through my defenses, they''re faster than I am. They mis-underestimated us this time cuz they didn¡¯t know I¡¯d be with ya, but we can¡¯t guarantee things''ll go down like that next time."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Sofiane ruffled his hair. ¡°Rrgh! Alright, it isn¡¯t that large a world, so even if they¡¯re not one of the Top Ten, they¡¯re not nobody. That still narrows the list by a lot.¡± Natsuko would normally have started a fight over the implication that she was in the ¡°nobody¡± pile, but she was in too good a mood to let it bother her. And then something occurred to her that she thought might be of use in the discussion of tracking their mystery attacker down. ¡°Uh, are we a team then? We doin¡¯ this together?¡± Natsuko asked. Sofiane raised an eyebrow. ¡°A team?¡± ¡°We¡¯re the only ones that can go after this guy unless we wanna go running our mouths about forced dimension-jumping. And Sofi has already been loafing around Verm?genburgh, following us like a kicked dog so¡­¡± ¡°I have not!" Sofiane said. "I¡¯ve been looking for potential advantages for¡ª¡± By this time Natsuko had already turned her head towards the other. ¡°Pechorin, you¡¯re not doing anything productive lately, right?¡± ¡°I am dedicated to hunting the people who murdered my clan¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah, you''re in,¡± Natsuko said, glad to have a piece of cannon fodder for their crazy strong homicidal enemy. ¡°And uh¡­¡± Shuixing was a given, but Daisy was the unspoken elephant in the room/overworld. She wasn¡¯t under any obligation to join them, and she was also the only one still in contention for being on the Use-Rankings. In other words, the only one that had other things to do. Wasting time chasing some mysterious figure was time she wasn¡¯t grinding for experience, equipment, and levels. The apprehension showed on her face. Daisy rubbed her arm. ¡°Umm¡­ I uh¡­ boy, this sure ain¡¯t an easy choice.¡± ¡°Not like you¡¯ve got an option. You¡¯re sorta stuck,¡± Natsuko said. Daisy squinted. ¡°What¡¯d¡¯ya mean?¡± ¡°Well, you could leave the investigation in our hands and the person who stole Shui¡¯s papers most likely murders us all, takes my bottle, then goes and turns all the other Heroes into their little bitches by threatening to murder them. Or! You can help, cuz you¡¯re the only Top Ten Hero that knows about forced dimension-jumping. Any way you slice it, you went and got yourself tangled up in this,¡± Natsuko said, bouncing the foot resting across her propped knee. Daisy pouted. ¡°Oooh! But you¡ª! I came here for pie, not a crisis! Urgh!¡± Suddenly, Daisy started walking around in a small circle. Her hands pressed against her ears. The rest of them shared a look at the less than normal behavior. ¡°Sometimes I gotta do this to un-heat my brain, just gimme a sec!¡± she said. After another minute of circling she finally said, ¡°oh alright, fine. I¡¯ve got time to kill before the Yishang push the Mist back. Most of the other Top Ten are thinking it''ll be around Halloween, so let¡¯s try to bag this guy before then.¡± Natsuko clapped her hands together. ¡°Awesome! Rad! Groovy! Let''s go save the world!¡± The newly-formed team of five was soon sitting around a keg table on the stone porch of Bier-und-Brot. The clear skies from earlier had filled with a ceiling of fluffy silver. Shadows in Verm?genburgh grew long and the air held a tense anticipation, as though at any moment waiting to split open into a storm. The colorful, half-timbered townhouse out of which the restaurant operated had shut its windows and the wind clacked shutters in their frames. Between the party was a platter of open-faced rye sandwiches with smoked salmon, pickled herring, and liver pat¨¦. Only Natsuko was especially hungry, wolfing down six by herself. Daisy ate one to be polite. The plate in front of Shuixing had a single sandwich with a tiny nibble in the corner. ¡°So, we''re for sure investigating the Top Ten first?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°I wish we had more to go off of,¡± Shuixing said, ¡°but for the moment that seems the best place to start. You know them best, Daisy. Who do you think we should investigate first?¡± Daisy rubbed her neck. ¡°Well¡­ uh¡­ I don¡¯t think our mystery person fought like any of them, honestly, but it''s definitely not my teammates Boulanger, Ailing, or Jouchi. None of them fight anything like that.¡± Sofiane held back a whistle at how casually Daisy name-dropped the #1, #2, and #6-ranked Heroes like they were nothing. ¡°Are there any Heroes you know of whose abilities come close? Maybe their class or elemental affinity has some weird alternate uses?¡± Shuixing said anxiously. ¡°I guess the closest might be Yu¡ª¡± ¡°Hero from Shikijima, #10 Yuna Shikansogo? Leader of the band of revolutionaries the 46 Ronin? Samurai class and elemental affinity for Water which she uses in ice form? Desperation Art is a three kilometer-wide blizzard? That Yuna Shikansogo?¡± Sofiane rattled off. ¡°Uhh¡­ yeah,¡± Daisy said. ¡°I call her Yun-chan.¡± ¡°Uh-huh, uh-huh. What about her? You think she was the killer? What is she like? How does she smell?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°She¡¯s very no nonsense, which doesn¡¯t work for me cuz I love nonsense. And do I think it¡¯s her? Hmm, I guess it''s not impossible for it to be her. Our thief-assassin wasn¡¯t wielding a sword, but I¡¯ve seen stranger-looking weapons that were technically ¡°swords¡± before, so it¡¯s possible that instrument counted as a Samurai-accessible weapon. I don¡¯t know if ice is a great way to cause booms though.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Shuixing said, adjusting her glasses. ¡°If there¡¯s a way for her to conjure extremely cold pockets of water droplets that immediately come in contact with warmer air, you could cause pressurized explosions.¡± Natsuko slammed her fists on the table. ¡°Hell yeah! We got her dead to rights! Let¡¯s go kick her smarmy little face into the dirt until she confesses.¡± ¡°I had a strange case of d¨¦j¨¤ vu just now,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Sofiane, you know fancy words, what the hell is he talking about?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°He¡¯s asking why you¡¯re such a moron,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°I asked nothing at all,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Guys, please, let¡¯s stay focused,¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko gave her friend what she thought was an apologetic look, but she found it difficult to keep the excitement off her face. Not only was getting to have a real adventure again, but she was going to humiliate a Top Ten to boot. Oh, and there was the matter of exposing them as a murderer. Maybe Natsuko wouldn¡¯t even have to bother with this whole Use-Number crap because the other Heroes would shower her with gifts and praise for saving them from being shunted into oblivion by a psychopath. ¡°Where do you think we can find her, Daisy?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°The Heavenly Card Parlor in Tianzhou,¡± Sofiane answered. Everyone, even Daisy, seemed unsure that he wasn¡¯t pulling it out of his ass. ¡°She just loves cards! Don¡¯t ask me why. Every Hero has their vices,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°A hard-ass revolutionary like Yuna plays cards?¡± Daisy asked. Sofiane rubbed his blushing cheeks. ¡°She doesn¡¯t just play cards, she loves cards. Not only that, she insists on putting money on the line. Some of the Non-Heroes at the Heavenly Card Parlor call her Ms. Money Match, because sometimes that¡¯s all she¡¯ll say to folks. Sit downs, pulls out her deck, and says, ¡°money match"." ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mess with her archetype?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°She doesn¡¯t care. Her Use-Number used to be higher, but the Celestials didn¡¯t like that their badass, step-on-me, revolutionary mommy is actually a gambling addict.¡± ¡°Huh, I wondered why she dropped so far,¡± Daisy said, not sounding entirely convinced. Natsuko clapped her hands. ¡°It''s gotta be her! We¡¯re looking for someone who is stronger than their Use-Number says, and here we¡¯ve got Ms. Money Match." Shuixing side-eyed Daisy looking for any hesitancy, but she appeared to be in implicit agreement with Natsuko about where to start their investigation. Shuixing herself felt more apprehensive. There was something about going to Tianzhou that didn¡¯t sit well with her. Or going anywhere, really. She liked her little home in the Mage''s College. ¡°Sh-Shouldn¡¯t we consider all of the other suspects before we commit to Yuna?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°What other suspects?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°We¡¯ve got the momentum, let¡¯s just go beat her up.¡± Daisy raised an eyebrow. ¡°I mean go have Daisy beat her up.¡± Daisy nodded approvingly. ¡°Or, we can ask her questions and suss out what she knows before tilting at the first windmill that comes our way,¡± Shuixing said, adding more barb to her voice than she meant to. It sounded very rude to Shuixing herself, but her baseline tone of voice was so soft Natsuko didn¡¯t even notice. ¡°Yeah, we can do that too!¡± ¡°When do we leave? My soul is restless and desires blood.¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko leapt out of her seat. ¡°Right now!¡± ¡°Tomorrow,¡± Shuixing said, pushing her plate with the barely-touched sandwich away just as the first tinkling of rain landed on the porcelain. A moment later, the long-awaited drizzle came down. If Shuixing¡¯s calculations were right, and they always were, they would be across the border and halfway to the city of Tianzhou by tomorrow evening. The thought made her stomach turn. Chapter 28 - The Difference a Few Short Years Make Natsu and Shui trudged back up the hill to the Verm?genburgh Mage¡¯s College after Natsuko dealt with the Ice Wyvern for the week. She felt like there was something she ought to say to Shuixing, but Natsuko wasn¡¯t a thinker, and she was hardly much of a feeler beyond raw emotion. She usually let Shuixing explain things when they required ''tact'' or ''subtlety,'' but she had the sneaking suspicion that in this case Shuixing might, in fact, be the source of her weird feelings. Natsuko stuffed her cold hands into her pockets. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s cold.¡± No response. ¡°Hey, guess who¡¯s not gonna drink tonight?¡± No response. ¡°Me! I¡¯m not gonna drink. Isn¡¯t that wild? That¡¯s archetype development! I didn¡¯t even get a questline for it either. Unless you count that whole thing in the dungeon with the¡­ you know¡­¡± Natsuko¡¯s brain, on its 24th grueling hour of sobriety, was whirring into motion, rusty gears grinding and screeching. With herculean effort it came up with the hypothesis that her friend¡¯s silence might have something to do with what happened in that very same dungeon. Natsuko jogged ahead of Shuixing and walked backwards facing her. ¡°You uh¡­ still bummed about those papers?¡± Shuixing¡¯s cheeks puffed up. ¡°Yes, Natsuko, I am still bummed about the papers. Gods¡­ do you know what I released into the world!? What if someone who¡­ who moves as fast Sofiane or Daisy¡ª a Top Tier Hero, what if they recreate your bottle? They could knock us out of existence before we even know what happened, and it¡¯s all my fault!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your f¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Shuixing said, a glare filling the frames of her glasses. ¡°Okay, but¡ª" and Natsuko had no idea where she was going with this but decided to keep talking until Shui felt better, "¡ªas a uh... a wise man once said: Things never really get better or worse, they just get different. All you can do is roll with the difference." Shuixing raised an eyebrow. ¡°By wise man you mean Pechorin?¡± ¡°No! Oh Gods, please tell me you¡¯re joking, that isn¡¯t really a Pechorism, is it? It just popped into my head. There¡¯s no way!¡± Shuixing snorted. ¡°He didn¡¯t say it exactly like that but he said something like it when we gave up adventuring. You teased him for ''huffing copium'' when he said it, if I recall correctly.¡± ¡°Rrgh, gods-dammit! Do not tell him I said that, alright? Do not!¡± ¡°I won''t¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m being a hundred percent real, you cannot tell Pechorin I repeated one of his stupid edgelord phrases. You can not. I will literally dimension-jump you.¡± Shuixing giggled. ¡°I won¡¯t, I promise!¡± Natsu extended a pinkie and Shui grasped it with her own. After that they turned onto the tree-lined avenue leading to the Mage¡¯s College. Twilight was painting the clouds a purple-orange and gas lamps along the street were flickering on. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to do...¡± Shuixing said in a half-whisper. ¡°What¡¯d¡¯ya mean? What¡¯s not easy?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°It''s not that easy to accept things have changed." Natsuko opened her mouth to reply before realizing she had nothing to add.
Pechorin settled down in his comfortable home for the night. Most people would find it uncomfortable, but Pehcorin was not most people. To him, discomfort was comfort. It was all he knew and all he had ever known since that fateful day a mysterious group calling themselves ¡°The Dark Conglomerate¡± massacred his entire clan, leaving him to fend for himself from the tender age of 12. Streets or fields, forests or barns, they all made no difference. His home was the rage and torment within him. The cold steel of this temporary abode he found himself in matched the cold steel which enshrouded his heart. And from the darkness came the acrid, phosphorous smell of the hell which awaited him for his many, many sins. As part of his bedtime ritual, he emptied his pockets of the myriad things he carried with him in his trench coat. Out fell his two pepperbox guns followed by loaded dice and a set of cards missing the ace of spades which he kept separate in case he did something cool and could leave it as a calling card. Beside this he set down a flask (empty), a straight razor (still new, he didn¡¯t grow facial hair), a hunting knife (which his class could not equip), a note from his deceased father (fictitious), nine pork dumplings, and an opto-box photo of his former teammates with the phrase "Always fight for what¡¯s right, even if it¡¯s suicidally stupid!" written on the back.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He kept this photo as a reminder to rely on no one but himself, for that was all you had in this cold, self-interested world. He set it down beside his guns on the floor of this steel fortress. Pockets emptied, he could finally rest his weary head on his rucksack pillow and shut his eyes as he waited for the nightmares to come and torment his soul.
¡°So, I¡¯m not the only one who thinks this should not have happened in the first place, right?¡± Sofiane asked. Daisy rubbed her neck. ¡°Ah, ahaha, hehe, well¡­¡± Most of the regulars at the Devil¡¯s Cut abandoned their Monday night drinking in the absence of their red-haired gremlin of a drinking buddy. Aside from one or two Non-Heroes in the corner nursing pints of ale, Daisy and Sofiane had the run of the bar. Plus the bartender. Claws, or something like that. ¡°I didn¡¯t mention it earlier out of politeness, but if Shuixing didn¡¯t invent a way to murder people there would''ve been nothing to steal. Do you really think there¡¯s nothing there? That she¡¯s totally innocent?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°I¡¯m not always a good judge of character. I mostly want to be friends with everyone,¡± Daisy said. ¡°There¡¯s enough competitiveness and hostility over the Use-Rankings that I don¡¯t want to add more.¡± Sofiane raised an eyebrow at that. Seeing that he knew about that part of her past, Daisy blushed and turned away. He decided not to prod. Regardless of the rumors, it was better to be friends than enemies with Top-Tier Heroes, and since the maneuvering at the top was out of his league anyway, it really didn''t matter. ¡°Okay, but besides the jockeying for rank, this is a much bigger deal. Way bigger! Friggin¡¯¡ª¡± Sofiane expanded his arms to demonstrate how big and knocked over his glass, spilling pink moscato across the bar. Ignoring the mess, Sofiane motioned for another drink before turning back to Daisy. ¡°This blows the Use-Charts up entirely, I''m sure you''ve realized. This is an equalizer. Everyone becomes equal if people start making weapons out of Shuixing¡¯s research. It''ll be anarchy." Daisy nodded. ¡°That was my first thought.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what anyone does then. Stats won¡¯t matter, equipment won¡¯t matter, dungeons, skills, classes, quests, the Entropic Axis, none of it. Numbers. Numbers won¡¯t mean a damn thing,¡± Sofiane said, slurring half his words. Listening to Sofiane voicing all of her fears, Daisy¡¯s mind felt like it was on a needle-point. She had to come down on a concrete decision about what to do about not only the secret of forced dimension-jumping, but about what was going to do with Natsuko and Shuixing. For now she was keeping her options open until she absolutely had to pick, and being part of the Top Ten Heroes, there were a lot of options. But that window closed as soon as word got out to the other Top Ten Heroes. ¡°Shuixing seems to think someone on top of the Use-Rankings will use it to dominate everyone else,¡± Daisy said for no other reason than curiosity about what Sofi thought. ¡°She¡¯s wrong,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°Shui and Natsu haven¡¯t been on top of the rankings in years. They both still think it¡¯s a free-for-all competition, the pure anarchy it used to be before the 5th generation. But you and I both know it¡¯s not like that anymore. It¡¯s a clique of whoever is closest to the Yishang with little rings outwards for people who aren¡¯t as close. I¡¯m what, second-ring? Maybe third after that smarmy little shit Koyon took my archetype. But you, Ms. Gets-Orders-From-The-Yishang, you¡¯re¡ª¡± Daisy slapped her palm over Sofiane¡¯s mouth so hard it made him gag. ¡°Goodness gracious, Sofi, why talk so gosh dang loud!?¡± she whispered. She withdrew her hand revealing a smirk underneath. ¡°What do I have to say to make you do that aga¡ª Ow!¡± Daisy jammed her fist into his face and retracted. ¡°Shoot, I¡¯m sorry! That was instinct, I swear! Here, do you need me to order some ice?¡± Sofiane winced and pressed the glass of chilly moscato to his jaw. ¡°I''m fine. Probably deserved that." He took a long pull from the wine then asked, ¡°Why the secrecy though? We¡¯re the only Heroes around and it¡¯s not like the Non-Heroes really care. So what if we bring up¡­¡± He stopped when Daisy gave him a look like she was going to ''instinctually'' punch him again. He threw up his hands in surrender. ¡°Whatever. Best case scenario we nab Yuna or whoever was stupid enough to steal the secret to forced dimension-jumping and talk some sense into them before they go and ruin the game.¡± Daisy huffed and put her head in her hands while her mint julep dripped its condensation onto the counter, mingling with the spilled wine. ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good or bad thing if Yun-chan is the thief. On the one hand, she''d probably just use it to cheat the Yishang and win her storyline to take over Shikijima. That¡¯s not as bad as someone using it to destroy the Use-Rankings. On the other hand¡­ well, you¡¯ve heard about her, right?¡± ¡°That she takes her archetype even more seriously than that dork, Pechorin?¡± Sofiane said. Daisy nodded. ¡°One hundred and fifty percent true. She hasn¡¯t figured out yet that the Yishang just plum don¡¯t want resolved questlines. I sure as heck don¡¯t know why, but if she believes somethin¡¯ like Natsuko¡¯s bottle will get her closer to conquering Shikijima, well, she¡¯ll say nuts to everyone else and try it. Which means¡­¡± ¡°She won''t give up Shui¡¯s papers willingly,¡± Sofiane said. Daisy closed her left eye to aim and fired a few shots of her signature finger guns dead between Sofiane¡¯s eyebrows. ¡°Bang! Bang! Bullseye!¡± Sofiane chuckled and motioned for another round of wine. ¡°What are you gonna do with the papers if¡ª once you get them back? It¡¯s not like any of us can stop you from doing whatever you want,¡± Sofiane said. There was that pinprick under Daisy again, getting smaller and smaller all the time, trying to get her to throw her chips down. Gosh was it irritating. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m a simple gal, Mister So-Fee-Yawn. I take things one step at a time, and it sure ain¡¯t time for me to worry about those papers just yet,¡± Daisy said with a disarming smile. Chapter 29 - Leaving Verm?genburgh on a Small Journey Natsuko put her hands on her hips. ¡°Shui, you¡¯re not gonna need¡ª¡± ¡°But what if I do need my slide rule? Just because we¡¯re out adventuring doesn¡¯t mean my research stops,¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko pointed at her friend¡¯s bag, bulging and threatening to explode. ¡°The other two slide rules you included should be enough.¡± Shuixing huffed. ¡°Those are Mannheim and circular slide rules. This is a duplex.¡± ¡°Tell that to the laws of spatial geometry,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t your pack have room?¡± ¡°Nope!¡± Natsuko said. She went into her closet-apartment and came back with an equally bulging bag. As though presenting a marvelous treasure, she drew back the strings to reveal 99 baked potatoes. ¡°Why potatoes? They heal for almost nothing. And surely my medico-magic should be enough for us in a pinch,¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Because, my dear Shui, per unit of healing, potatoes are the most cost-efficient healing food. You could get some expensive Cascadian or Sibe-Lander dish that heals your entire health pool. But baked potatoes?¡± Natsuko slapped the sack of potatoes. ¡°These babies are the best food for a Hero on a budget!¡± Shuixing¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What else is in there?¡± ¡°Ahaha... what¡¯d¡¯ya mean?¡± ¡°Natsuko¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s potatoes all the way down baby. Trust me.¡± Not trusting her, Shuixing stuck her hand down the pile of potatoes and quickly found something glassy and bottle-shaped. She pulled it from the sack, sending potatoes flying, and held up a bottle of Pine Schnapps. ¡°Hehe, must''ve been in there since my last trip. You know, during my pre-sobriety days,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Shuixing said, fully aware Natsuko knew at all times the physical location of every alcoholic beverage within 100 feet of her person. She wondered sometimes whether it wasn''t some kind of hidden Passive. ¡°I''ll put it away,¡± Natsuko said, grabbing the bottle and sticking it back in her closet-room. The packing didn¡¯t go much quicker after that. Shui had to keep an eye out for Natsuko sneaking booze back into her pack while Natsuko had to veto sacrificing baked potatoes for scientific equipment. Eventually they were packed up and ready to make their first trip outside the region of Verm?genburgh in years. It was supposed to be a short one, but Natsuko felt compelled to go around and say good-bye to all her Non-Hero friends as if she wasn¡¯t going to be back in a week anyway. Once she was done, she and Shuixing headed for the town gate.
¡°You don¡¯t need three lacy pillows, one is fine.¡± ¡°Excuse you! One is for my head, the other two go between my arms and legs. I can¡¯t get to sleep without my grasping pillows.¡± ¡°And the fur coat?¡± ¡°Alternate costume. Need it for Ero-Art appeal.¡± ¡°And the shoes?¡± Sofiane gave Daisy a look like she was ridiculous for even asking about the shoes. Of course he was bringing the hanfu shoes. How else was he going to pull off his Tianzhou-inspired Lunar New Year Alternate Costume? Daisy herself had packed nothing but the bare essentials: A spare pocket watch with better crit rate and attack speed in case she needed to take over DPS duties, some top-tier healing items encased in a wooden box to keep them from getting smooshed (the maple-salmon croquettes from the Cascadia region didn¡¯t heal as much as horse mince pie from the Sibe-lands, but she liked the taste better), some attack-boosting bottles of Airag, defense-pumping barbecue Khorkhog, and move speed-buffing Boortsog. Daisy could afford to pack light since she also had a couple million Ying on hand for incidentals like mid-journey equipment and skill upgrades or for a nice cup of tea. And she got another million or so every Monday as part of her weekly compensation for Celestials using her emanation. Sofiane, who did not have quite the same luxury, had to give more thought to what he took with him. Despite him holding them up to choose between two different alternate outfits, he and Daisy arrived at the town gate around the same time as Natsu and Shui. The only one missing was Pechorin.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Dark, phantasmagoric hellscapes painted the inside of Pechorin¡¯s eyelids. Writhing in his tormented sleep, he dreamed of showing up to a dungeon without his clothes on. Despite the characters in his dream¡ªNatsuko, Shuixing, and Hemiola¡ªnot remarking on his nakedness, it continued to torture him. Just as he thought his tortured nightmares would finally allow him the sweet release of rest, the ground beneath began to tremble as though from the pounding wrath of an angry god ¡°Pech? You in there?¡± he heard Natsu''s voice say. ¡°No one is sleeping in a dumpster, Natsu. Have at least some respect for the man," replied Sofiane. Pechorin''s eyes flickered open, thrusting him into a nightmare worse than his slumbering mind could possibly concoct. His eyes were stabbed by beams of harsh radiance like divine truth. ¡°Why are you sleeping in a dumpster?¡± Sofiane asked. Behind Sofiane he could hear Natsuko burst into laughter. ¡°A warrior sleeps where he finds his head resting,¡± Pechorin answered, nudging a garbage bag away from his foot. ¡°I would¡¯ve let you stay in my room at the inn if you¡¯d asked,¡± Sofiane said. Pechorin shrugged his arms into his black trench coat and began the process of sticking his inventory back into its pockets. ¡°I¡¯m a gunslinger. We get by.¡± This would have been a more dramatic declaration if there wasn¡¯t a moist napkin clinging to his shoulder. ¡°Need some time to pack up?¡± Daisy asked, eyeing him up and down. He shook his head, long dark hair shaking with it. ¡°I carry with me only what fits on my person. Anything more would tie me down,¡± he said, jamming the Opto-box picture of his former party into a side-pocket. After extracting Pechorin from his ruggedly functional dumpster, they left Verm?genburgh. There was a hint of ceremony as they left, with some of the Non-Heroes and even a couple of Heroes in town completing backtrack quests coming out to watch Daisy leave. To Sofiane¡¯s immediate and profound chagrin, Koyon, his archetypal replacement, was among the crowd. ¡°Lucky little shit,¡± Sofiane muttered. Daisy patted his shoulder but said nothing. Past the gates and out of the spotlight they found themselves walking along the cobble bridge that spanned the outer moat of the city. On the other side lay miles and miles of coniferous forest, spires of pine and fir trees stabbing at the sky with little bursts of fire from maples near Hammertal Canyon. Farther still lay mountains: Bare and rocky in Verm?genburgh, pearly and moss-covered across the border in Tianzhou. To Natsuko and Shuixing this was almost their entire world. To Sofiane and Daisy it was a quaint backwater. The real world, the world of important things happening, existed beyond the jail bars of Verm?genburgh¡¯s pines. ¡°It feels strange,¡± Daisy said as they walked along the banks of a creek running through Duftenderwald Forest. ¡°Coming back here I mean. Tell the truth, I think I came back for nostalgia, and the pie contest was just an excuse.¡± ¡°Funny, I feel weird cuz I¡¯m going somewhere else for once,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I drift. It¡¯s all a blur to me. One place or the next, makes no difference,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko snorted. ¡°Bullshit! I know you¡¯ve been hanging around Verm?genburgh when you¡¯re not getting your ass-handed to you by monsters in al-Nuwba." ¡°Al-Nuwba? Why there?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Shikjima was the last region the Yishang de-misted before most 1st-gen heroes stopped having the stats necessary to tackle new quests and dungeons,¡± Shuixing explained. Daisy whistled. ¡°Gosh, that¡¯s earlier than I thought! You really can¡¯t fight anything there?¡± Natsuko muttered something about gods-damned sand worms and gods-damned expensive ass food. Shuixing translated for the others: ¡°Even if we could beat the Scytheworm, which we tried to do at the height of our power and before losing a lot of our stats to deaths, it wouldn''t really matter much. The Celestials won''t come back and start summoning us again. It''s more comfortable to relax somewhere inexpensive like Verm?genburgh," she said, electing to censor some of Natsuko''s choicer words. ¡°Hmm, never thought about it like that. Does that mean you¡¯re doing al-Nuwban quests, Pech?¡± Daisy asked. He shrugged. ¡°Only when my overarching goal of finding my clan¡¯s murderers becomes too daunting. Then I reset my mind with meaningless number-building.¡± ¡°Wow! Super cool!¡± Daisy replied. "Couldn¡¯t you try that, Natsu, what with your kill-everything bottle?¡± Natsuko scoffed. ¡°Tried it. Dungeons and quests can¡¯t be completed unless you kill a monster. But if you throw them through the floor¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not killing them,¡± Sofiane finished with a hint of bitterness. ¡°Right. Works great if you¡¯re trying to stay alive, but not if you¡¯re trying to power-level, know what I mean? And I can¡¯t grind the normal way cuz I already died a bunch, so my stats are lower, which makes it even harder, and I can''t get my stats back up to normal unless I complete one of those quests I can''t complete." Daisy nodded. ¡°Quite the conundrum, huh?¡± Daisy had built up enough good will with Natsuko that she had the decency to stop herself from saying, ¡°no shit.¡± Plenty of other, high-ranking Heroes had offered her advice for how to overcome the severe stat differences between newer and older generation Heroes. Why they all thought she was too stupid to have tried everything already, she wasn¡¯t quite sure. ¡°With no detours we ought to be at the Lanbaoshi Roadhouse by this evening and Tianzhou City the evening after that,¡± Sofiane said, bored with the sad-sack, woe-is-me conversation. ¡°I¡¯d like to get some soup in me. I¡¯m big about soup. Huge about it. Hot bowls of soup are kind of my thing, and Lanbaoshi Roadhouse has some of the best soup in Po-Lin, so no distractions or detours, got it?¡± He said this looking directly at Pechorin. The insinuation was no more side-tracks to explore an entry in the Tome of the Unnatural and Cursed. Pechorin just nodded. Not long after saying this, however, their path was blocked by three figures emerging from the forest: Harald, Faisal, and the raccoon girl, all standing with their weapons brandished. Harald pointed at Sofiane. ¡°You!¡± Sofiane pointed to himself. ¡°Moi?¡± Chapter 30 - Inquiring About the Extent of the Yishang’s Abilities Sofiane yawned. ¡°Haven¡¯t we done this already?¡± ¡°Gotten revenge for getting Margaret killed? No. No we have not,¡± Harald said, leveling his halberd. Behind him, Faisal unfurled his whip and the raccoon girl clutched a sizzling potion bottle. Sofiane drew his rapier. "This is going to end the same way, you know." ¡°We owe it to Margaret to get even with the person responsible," Harald said. "We''ll hunt you to the ends of Po-Lin until we have justice." ¡°Look, buddy, you know I didn''t kill Margaret. It was¡ª¡± Before Sofiane could pass the blame off on their mysterious attacker, Harald charged. Ready for a fight this time, he didn¡¯t give Sofiane the opportunity to use his Coup De Grace. Sofiane zipped to the side, barely dodging a stomping stun at the end of Harald''s charge. Once he had used it do dodge, however, Ball Lightning went on cooldown, and Harald flicked his halberd to the side, clipping Sofiane for a small amount of damage. ¡°What the hell!? I didn¡¯t kill your damn teammate!¡± Sofiane said. ¡°You trapped us in that dungeon!¡± Harald said through grit teeth. He cocked the halberd back to swing again, but Daisy walked up and grabbed the end of it, locking it in place with her enormous Force stat. ¡°What if we solved this diplomatically?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°There¡¯s nothing left to talk about,¡± Faisal said, cracking his whip. ¡°Your business led to our teammate getting killed.¡± In their eyes Natsuko saw a blinkered hatred. Like her, they didn¡¯t care about dying because their stats didn¡¯t matter anyway. They could die and respawn as long as they needed because the message they sent was more important. To make this point, Faisal fired his whip at Daisy who took damage so infinitesimal it would take Faisal the rest of the day doing nothing but flailing his whip at her to get her below half health. As he struck her impotently, Daisy turned to him. ¡°Wouldja stop that?¡± Cowed by the silly pointlessness of it, Faisal stopped. His eyes blinked back tears. Natsuko cleared her throat and stepped forward. ¡°So¡­ yes, Sofiane is an asshole,¡± Natsuko said without a shred of self-awareness. ¡°But we¡¯re on our way to deal with the person responsible as we speak, and if you get in our way, you¡¯re only making it easier for them to do the same thing to other people.¡± A dollop of confusion was added to Harald¡¯s team¡¯s expressions of anger. ¡°Do what, kill people? How about you explain why they were coming after you, or why this purple piece of shit was coming after us!?¡± the racoon girl said, still crouched and ready to fling her bottle grenade. ¡°Look, you were there, you heard what was said. She... I mean, this person, they stole some research for building a weapon to kill Heroes permanently,¡± Sofiane said, sticking his rapier back in his sash as a sign of good will. ¡°Not just in anomalous dungeons, but out here, in the real world. I thought you all were the ones that stole it so I chased you down.¡± Harald¡¯s anger shifted from Sofiane to Shuixing as he recalled whose research they said it was down in the dungeon. ¡°Why? Why would you even try to do that? Are you insane!?¡± Shuixing choked up. ¡°I-I¡ª¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Sofiane said, tapping his nail against the pommel of his rapier. ¡°You can let us through, or you can die, your choice.¡± ¡°If we die, we die. At least you¡¯ll have a taste of what Margaret meant to us,¡± Harald responded. Daisy let go of the halberd blade for a split second and with more speed than Natsuko thought a 2nd-gen Hero was capable of, Harald swung his halberd in a wild arc at an unprepared Sofiane. The blade slashed through his arms and dealt a moderate chunk of damage. More than the cocky Duelist had been expecting. Sofiane''s blood ran down the halberd in streams, forming into a thin red mist shield around Harald. Sofiane coiled back, expecting to get another clean one-shot kill on Harald, but the raccoon girl tackled him out of the charging ability and pinned him to the ground as she clawed at him with her spiked metal nails. ¡°Nice try!" While this was happening, Faisal side-eyed Natsuko, Pechorin, and Shuixing, clearly wondering whether they would intervene in Sofiane¡¯s fight with them. Getting into a Hero-on-Hero fight was frowned upon by the Yishang at the best of times, let alone when it involved the permanent deaths of Heroes.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Would you give me some bloody help!?¡± Sofiane shouted, bursting out of the raccoon girl''s grasp as a ball of lightning before popping out into a halberd swing from Harald that hit him square in the stomach. Sofiane lined himself up for another coup de grace strike when Shui yelled, "Stop!" For a few, tense seconds, Shuixing had everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°L-Listen, this was my fault. Sofiane made a poor choice hunting you all down, but we weren¡¯t trying to get anyone killed. And if I knew this would happen I-I¡­ I would never have started the research. If it helps you... process things, I will let you kill me to make things square. But it¡¯s pointless to go after Sofiane. He had nothing to do with Margaret¡¯s murder.¡± Pechorin¡¯s eyes watered. ¡°Such a noble sacrifice, I find myself almost shaking with envy.¡± Natsuko socked him in the arm. ¡°Really dude?¡± No one spoke for a moment after that. The only sound was rustling leaves and ragged panting from Harald, Sofiane, Faisal, and the raccoon girl. Harald locked eyes with Shuixing and, after a few agonizing moments, his halberd dropped. ¡°Gods-dammit! Shit!¡± he said, mussing up his own hair. ¡°I¡¯d rather just beat up this obnoxious purple mannequin!¡± The raccoon girl was also still red with anger. Sensing his cue, Faisal stepped in as the voice of reason. Wiping back the sweaty strands of hair pulled loose from his jet-black bun, Faisal put a hand on Harald¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re not accomplishing anything here. Not if we win, not if we lose." Harald growled. ¡°But Margaret¡ª¡± ¡°What about her? We should''ve known better than relying on a dangerous place like that fake Dungeon of Stars anyway,¡± Faisal said. ¡°What are we supposed to do then!?¡± Faisal shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Natsuko¡¯s brain, high on the performance-enhancing drug of sobriety, suddenly made a connection. ¡°Wait, the total Use-Ranking didn¡¯t drop! Margaret isn¡¯t like¡­ dead dead. We just have to¡­ um¡­ talk to the Yishang, maybe?¡± That seemed about as likely to succeed as sowing Marget¡¯s body back into one piece. Everyone knew the Yishang lived in a floating treasure tower in outer space. Their requests and orders sometimes came down through the Pengwu, but there was no way to predict when or where. Even then it was usually only to announce some important event like the Mist being pushed back or a new Hero being summoned. And there was certainly no communication in the other direction. While they discussed this possibility Daisy went for a short walk. The raccoon girl scoffed. ¡°Oh, okay, just ask the demi-gods, ''hey, if you¡¯re not busy, could you please go find this random Hero and bring them back to life pretty please?'''' Whether that came from genuine confidence or a willingness to grasp onto anything at all, Natsuko didn¡¯t know. The important thing was that the situation was defused. She was 90% satisfied with her own quick-thinking but 10% disappointed she wouldn¡¯t get to beat some ass. No longer drowned in her urge to drink, Natsu''s urge to fight was coming back. She needed some ass to kick soon or she would go crazy. ¡°Alright, we''re done here? Squash le beef, non?¡± Sofiane said, thrusting a hand at Harald. Harald spat at it and walked off to rejoin his teammates. ¡°Plouc de deuxi¨¨me g¨¦n¨¦ration,¡± Sofiane muttered as he wiped his palm off on Natsuko¡¯s sleeve. Natsuko swiped at it. ¡°You prissy little shit! You oughta be thanking me for saving you!¡± ¡°Eh, I was holding back to be nice,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I could¡¯ve run him through the same way I did last time, I was just paralyzed with guilt.¡± ¡°Please, can we stop this?¡± Shuixing said, rubbing her temples. Natsuko and Sofiane both muttered something in response that let them vaguely keep face. ¡°Where did Daisy go?¡± Pechorin asked. Everyone looked around, surprised that she had slipped away so quietly. Before they could organize a rescue operation, the missing party emerged from between two cranberry bushes. Her hands were rubbing her forearms and she somehow looked mildly surprised to be back on the forest road. ¡°Daisy? Are you also tormented by envy at Shuixing¡¯s impeccably-timed self-sacrifice?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°Huh? Oh, um, no, I just stepped out to warm up. I get cold standing in one place for too long.¡± Natsuko raised an eyebrow and looked up and down at Daisy''s riding breeches, boots, and pink jacket. ¡°You¡¯re better dressed than I am." ¡°Maybe because you''re a Fire Elemental?¡± Daisy asked. Natsuko looked dumbfounded. ¡°Yo! Do you think that¡¯s, like, a hidden passive or something? That¡¯s awesome! Wait, no, why is that my passive and not free HP or double attack speed or something? Never mind, that''s friggin'' buns!¡± Daisy giggled and used that as an excuse to drop the conversation. Due to the delay, Team Natsuko was a few miles shy of Lanbaoshi Roadhouse before the sun went down. Despite Sofiane¡¯s insistence that they push on through the evening, Natsuko¡¯s alcohol-induced sleep-deprivation was getting the better of her and she passed out standing up while the others set up camp. Shuixing had to drag her friend to their shared tent by her ankles to get her inside. An hour or so later, once he was certain the others had gone to bed, Sofiane shimmied out of his sleeping bag, being careful not to wake Pechorin who was lying beside him, and crawled over to poke at Daisy¡¯s tent. The two went for a short walk down to a rocky creek off the road full of water threatening to turn into ice. Anticipating his question ahead of time, Daisy broke the silence by saying, "I don''t know whether I''ll ask them or not." ¡°You shouldn¡¯t,¡± he said. ¡°The Yishang won¡¯t do anything about it and it''ll just get the lower-ranked Heroes all riled up. Pretty soon the Yishang will want to know what''s happening, and then they''ll know about forced dimension-jumping.¡± ¡°I know that,¡± Daisy said, picking up a polished stone from the creek. She chucked it and the stone sailed far, far away. Miles away. When it finally came down, it did so with enough force to knock a pine tree down. ¡°Believe me, I know that.¡± Chapter 31 - It Is Not a Special Event to Murder Non-Heroes Indiscriminately Natsuko woke up feeling strange. Rested, even. Was this how most people woke up? No pounding head? No acidic stomach? Nothing? Just¡­ normal? It felt wrong. ¡°Cock-a-doodle-soooooup!¡± Sofiane crowed, waking Shuixing up beside Natsuko. She had dark, baggy circles under her eyes and looked weary with existence itself. It was as though she and Natsuko had traded places. ¡°You look like a crusty mess," Natsu said. ¡°The interior matches the exterior,¡± Shuixing replied, pushing her wide, round glasses onto her face. ¡°Time to seize the day! Isn¡¯t that what you''re always telling me?¡± Shuixing yanked the blanket away from Natsuko and swaddled herself in it. ¡°I¡¯ll never say it again as long as I live.¡± Natsuko shuddered. ¡°Agh! Cold! Cold!¡± She shot out of their tent and started doing jumping jacks to warm herself up. ¡°Did you use a fire ability under your own ass?¡± Sofiane asked, swathed in a white fur coat that made him look like a polar bear cub. ¡°No, but I can light one under yours if you want,¡± she replied. He chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t hate me cuz I¡¯m beautiful, Natsu. Maybe if you got rid of that old 1st gen-looking outfit you¡¯d get your Use-Numbers back.¡± While the two snipped at each other, Daisy sat on a tree stump snacking on a salmon croquette and some piping hot tea. The porcelain teapot at her feet was almost translucent white and gilded with gold. Compared to the drab forest floor around it, the pot looked almost magical. ¡°Mind if I grab some tea?¡± Natsuko asked. Daisy glanced at her over her cup and saucer and raised her eyebrows. ¡°Oh... sure.¡± The abrupt lack of spunk from Daisy was disconcerting. Everyone was jumbling their personalities now for some reason, like they had all gotten stirred up in a soup pot together. Natsuko almost felt like going back to being a sour, depressed alcoholic for the sake of consistency. ¡°I don¡¯t have to have any if you don¡¯t want me to,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°What? Oh, no, do have some tea! Really, I¡¯m just slow in the morning, that¡¯s all,¡± Daisy replied, setting down her cup and saucer to pass the pot to Natsuko. The scalding pot radiated warmth in Natsuko¡¯s hands. ¡°Do be careful, Natsu,¡± Daisy said. ¡°It¡¯s mighty hot still.¡± Sloshing some into another of Daisy¡¯s dainty tea cups, Natsuko looked up and said, ¡°I¡¯m a Fire Elemental. The heat¡¯s nothin¡¯ to me.¡± Then she took a large swig and spat it out over the ground while screaming obscenities about how hot it was. Daisy giggled while Natsuko packed dirty ground frost onto her tongue to quench it. By then, Pechorin was emerging from Sofiane¡¯s tent and trying to look brooding and angsty despite a reinvigorating night¡¯s sleep and desperate urge to yawn, since only the sane and un-tormented yawned. ¡°Would you like some tea too, Pech?¡± Daisy asked, holding out the pot. ¡°The warmth of tea cannot thaw the cold revenge I seek.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. It has caffeine too. How about you, Sofi?¡± Sofiane shook his head and stared wistfully to the West, in the direction of the Lanbaoshi Roadhouse. ¡°I fear I may ruin my liquid appetite if I imbibe.¡± ¡°Liquid appetite?¡± Natsuko said with a raised eyebrow. ¡°For future soup,¡± he explained. After a reluctant Shuixing joined them, they were back out on the road. After a couple more hours of travel, the Duftenderwald Forest came to an abrupt end at a grassy slope down towards a sandbar. For miles and miles ahead there lay a long, narrow isthmus, less than a few hundred yards at its widest. This was the land-bridge connecting Tianzhou and Verm?genburgh. boxy wooden structure built over the sand: The Lanbaoshi Roadhouse.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Shuixing said to Natsu, her voice soft and quiet. ¡°Since we were last in Tianzhou? Shit, it''s gotta be what, three years ago now?¡± Natsuko said. "It feels like a different life. Like something someone else lived." Natsuko looked up at the clear blue sky and tried to figure out if she had anything to say and then decided she didn''t. Being on her feet, going on an adventure again had her feeling something, but she couldn''t tell whether it was new or just a return to her old form. Seeing that Natsu and Shui wanted to be left alone, Daisy moved over to Sofiane and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your favorite kind of soup?¡± ¡°Crab bisque,¡± Sofiane answered with no hesitation. This evolved into a long, drawn out conversation about soup dominated by Sofiane''s strong opinions which defied the polluting influences of ''subjective taste'' or ''differing opinions.'' At the core of his philosophy was that soup opinions said much about one''s character. The absolute bottom of the barrel was Pechorin''s answer of, ¡°I eat only to sustain my body.¡± Even Natsuko¡¯s, ¡°eh, I¡¯m whatever about soup,¡± clocked in as more correct opinion, though crab bisque was still the most correct. After an hour of walking along the sand they arrived at the Roadhouse. Lanbaoshi¡ªthe town and the restaurant¡ªwas a single wooden structure built over both sides of the road like some teetering goliath of wooden boxes. In other words, an entire town built vertically with a tunnel through the middle. In that tunnel a large crowd of Non-Heroes had gathered at their approach. ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Natsuko said, having the same feeling without knowing why. ¡°Non-Heroes don¡¯t randomly congregate unless it¡¯s a Special Event, and as far as I¡¯m aware, there¡¯s no Special Event,¡± Sofiane replied. The tone of the crowd was anxious. Hushed whispers and apprehensive speculation radiated from it like heat off a bonfire. As Team Natsuko drew closer, they heard these whispers and speculations. ¡°...the third time this week!¡± ¡°Nothing left behind¡­¡± ¡°Why are they doing this?¡± ¡°...don¡¯t want to be next¡­¡± Sofiane tapped on the shoulder of one of the gathered Non-Heroes. ¡°Pardon me, sir, could you tell us what''s going on?¡± The man jumped at the touch. The crowd of Non-Heroes turned around and seemed as frightened as the man. Rather than supporting him, the herd backed up, leaving him to be devoured by predators. Daisy gave Natsuko and Shuixing a confused look, as though expecting them to know how Non-Heroes thought after living in Verm?genburgh for so long, but they were as lost as Daisy. Pechorin was the only one unfazed. ¡°Is there an Non-Hero killer around?¡± Pechorin asked. Natsuko squinted. ¡°A what? Pech what¡ª¡± ¡°Yes!¡± said a portly woman Natsuko recognized as Minhua, the wife of the owner of Lanbaoshi Roadhouse. ¡°They kill us at night so we don¡¯t know who it is other than¡­¡± Minhua turned away in embarrassment. ''A Hero'' was the unspoken end of that sentence. Natsuko wondered why she refused to say so. ¡°A Hero killing Non-Heroes? Why?¡± Natsuko asked. Minhua shuddered. ¡°We don''t know. Each time they take their victim out of the town but close enough we can hear their screams. It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Killing for pleasure,¡± Pechorin said. She choked back a sob. ¡°Please¡­ y-you¡¯re Heroes too, so if you can find them and tell them to stop we could¡­ we have Ying! We¡¯ll give you all of it! But we can¡¯t keep living like this, being murdered and coming back the next day to be murdered again. We¡¯re going insane!¡± Natsuko frowned. Her own Non-Hero friends back in Verm?genburgh were on her mind as Minhua begged them for help. Walking on was not an option, even with Shui''s research on the line. ¡°We''ll find them," Natsuko said. "I promise you that. Then we''ll beat the piss out of them until they agree to stop killing you all. We¡¯ve got Daisy here so it should be no big deal. It''s probably so no-name loser anyway." Sofiane and Daisy looked at each other as Natsuko said this. ¡°Oh shit... You two ae gonna say no, aren¡¯t you?¡± Natsuko said. The crestfallen inhabitants of the Lanbaoshi Roadhouse arrived at the same conclusion. Sofiane deflated. ¡°Natsu, we don¡¯t have the time to get distracted. We need those papers back asap. Every second we dilly-dally with little side-quests is another second Yuna has to copy Shuixing¡¯s work. We''re talking about Heroes permanently dying here. Not Non-Heroes being mildly inconvenienced.¡± Natsuko folded her arms. ¡°Brutal murder is not a minor inconvenience. Not that it matters. You two can run off ahead and the three of us will handle it." Sofiane threw his arms up. ¡°Fine! Screw around here with these useless Non-Heroes, and we¡¯ll go deal with the enormous, apocalyptic problem you helped create.¡± With that he stomped off westward, passing into the sunlight on the other side of the Roadhouse without stopping for soup. Daisy mouthed an apology and followed Sofiane. ¡°Ugh, whatever. There are still three of us and one killer, and I haven¡¯t drank in at least 36 hours so I¡¯m in prime fighting condition. Let¡¯s go guys,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing¡¯s face was the portrait of guilt. ¡°Natsu, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¡°Et tu, Shuixing?¡± Natsuko said, physically wincing. ¡°The forced dimension-jumping was all my fault and I have a moral obligation to clean up my mess. I think Sofiane was a little wrong by dismissing them, b-but we really don¡¯t have time to waste¡­¡± Natsuko watched blankly as Shuixing jogged to catch up to the other two. Somehow, Shui single-handedly doused the bonfire of excitement that had been burning away in Natsuko¡¯s stomach since their fight with Yuna. Pechorin cleared his throat. ¡°On the honor of my decimated clan, I offer you my aid¡ª¡± Natsuko punched him in the arm. Chapter 32 - Stewing On Fresh Things ¡°Okay, fine, this is actually really good soup,¡± Natsuko said. The soup was a spicy fish stew made from local saltwater catches and flavored with seaweed, mussels, and a heavy dusting of five-spice and scallions. Even better, Minhua had given them a couple bowls for free for helping find the killer, and free made everything taste better. She would have enjoyed it a lot more, however, if she wasn¡¯t pissed. ¡°Only vengeance has a greater flavor,¡± Pechorin added. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m getting vengeance alright. I¡¯m gonna¡­¡± Natsuko wasn¡¯t quite sure what she would do to get back at her teammates, since sending them into oblivion with her wine bottle felt like an overreaction. Nonetheless, her ire must be demonstrated. She would have to give their punishment deep consideration. ¡°Natsuko?¡± Natsuko glared at Pechorin. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The Non-Hero killer.¡± ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°We were going to deal with them.¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Natsu and Pech stared out the window of the main dining hall of the Lanbaoshi Roadhouse, out to the shadowed road which passed underneath the giant building. The other shopkeepers and residents were busying themselves putting wooden boards over their doors and windows for the coming night. Not that it would help them. Natsuko wasn¡¯t the strongest Hero around and even she could turn those boards to splinters. She could burn the entire Roadhouse down by herself if she wanted and it, along with its inhabitants, would pop right back into existence at 4am. That was what confused her most about whoever was doing this. If the Hero had beef with the inhabitants they could easily wipe them all out single-handedly. Why pick them off one at a time, knowing they would come back? What was that supposed to accomplish? ¡°For fun,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko realized she had mumbled these last questions aloud. ¡°Fun? Who gets fun out of murdering a single Non-Hero every day? I mean, I''ve heard of psychotic rampages but..." Pechorin took another sip of fish stew and swallowed it before answering. ¡°Shui gets her fun from tackling physics problems. You get fun from obliterating your brain with alcohol.¡± ¡°And you get fun from LARPing a tragic backstory,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°No, that is a tragic path that I walk. Do not make light of it.¡± ¡°Okay, what¡¯s your point?¡± ¡°They are probably a forgotten Hero, same as we are.¡± Natsuko¡¯s nostrils flared and she looked down at the flakes of dead fish and crustaceans floating in her broth. ¡°No. We¡¯re not the same. I spend my time helping the Non-Heroes in Verm?genburgh. This sick scum murders them. Don¡¯t compare us.¡± Natsuko stood up and left her half-eaten bowl on the counter. Even if the fight would be tougher, she had hoped it was a 4th-gen Hero or later doing this. If they were a forgotten nobody like her and Pechorin, the chances were good she knew them personally. ¡°You said you thought they were where again?¡± Natsuko asked Minhua who was sorting out nails for her husband to hammer into boards. ¡°A shipwreck site, a couple miles that way,¡± Minhua replied, pointing somewhere beyond the wall in front of her finger. ¡°A ship got beached there and now it¡¯s crawling with monsters. There¡¯s nowhere else out here on the dunes where someone could hide.¡± Once Pechorin finished his soup, the two of them began their trek across the sand. A short ways inland there was a small estuary right before the sandbar turned into large dunes which resisted efforts to climb them. Cool winds whipped the sand up and deposited it on the two Heroes. ¡°This is buns, dude! My boots are full of sand already. I don¡¯t even remember this place from our adventures,¡± Natsuko yelled over the wind. ¡°There was a quest to retrieve a package from the wreck Minhua mentioned,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko snapped her fingers. ¡°Oh yeah! And it turned out to be some piece of a device the Entropic Axis wanted to use to blow up Tianzhou City, then we realized we got tricked and had to stop them before it was too late. Shit, that was fun. How did you even remember that?" ¡°I have a mind that never forgives and never forgets, but mostly never forgets,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°I guess I also put that part of our adventures out of my mind because of you-know-who.¡± ¡°Freder¡ª¡± ¡°Bup-bup-bup! Not another syllable!¡± Natsuko said.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°After all these years, you still haven¡¯t moved on?¡± Pechorin asked. Natsuko snorted. ¡°From the guy who wanted to duel me because I refused to date him. That¡¯s rich.¡± ¡°Rich indeed. My honor shall not be impoverished.¡± Minutes of silence passed before Natsuko spoke again: ¡°Frederick was an asshole. I don¡¯t want to think about ever dating him. Happy?¡± Natsuko was so focused on her diatribe that she crested the top of a tall sand dune too quickly and started to fall forward down a steep hill towards a small outcropping of rocks. Pechorin grabbed her arm, pulling her back at the last second and sending both of them tumbling down the way they¡¯d come. At the bottom, Natsuko pushed herself off a fallen Pechorin and tried to dust herself off but somehow the sand had already made it inside every crevice of her outfit. ¡°Dammit, Pech, you dumbass! What the hell was that for?¡± she said, spitting sand out of her mouth. Pechorin stood up and had more success dusting himself off. It turned out the trench coat was good for something other than looking dark and mysterious and extracting enormous amounts of sweat. ¡°You were going to fall into those rocks,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve got my Fire Gale ability, moron. I can break my own fall!¡± ¡°I forgot.¡± Natsuko growled and rolled her eyes. Everything was high stakes drama and sacrifice with him. Everything he did was frilly, froo-froo, ornamental bullshit. He was like the human equivalent of Sofiane¡¯s poofy outfits. It drove her nuts. Why couldn¡¯t he just face the world as it was and quit being a delusional edgelord? Refusing to think any mor about it she pulled a waterskin from her shorts pockets that she filled with ale back at the roadhouse and swished some around her gritty mouth. Once the sand was dislodged from her tongue and teeth, she thought about spitting it out, but swallowed it instead to not waste the beer. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going,¡± Natsuko said, trudging back up the sand dune. ¡°And don¡¯t touch me again, got it? No more of this savior crap.¡± As they crested the top more carefully this time, miles of marshy plains came into view. The dunes blocked the marsh from the tides which occasionally flooded the road to Tianzhou, but when the Entropic Axis summoned some giant sea monster once a year in the middle of summer as they had for the past four years, storms sent walls of water into the plains, leaving them a boggy marsh for the next year. Right in the middle of this flat, moist terrain, was a three-sailed junk smashed into two pieces. This was where Natsuko¡¯s party had retrieved that artifact on a quest so many years ago. It had been swarming with monsters then. It was supposed to be swarming with monsters now. And it wasn¡¯t. Natsuko remained on her guard as they eased down onto the wet soil. Suctioning squelshes accompanied their footsteps, grating on Natsuko¡¯s nerves. Their footsteps sounded too much like pop-up enemies. That was her biggest fear. It didn¡¯t matter how big and terrible the boss monster was, she could annihilate it with one hit of her bottle. But if someone or something one-shot her first, she was toast. ¡°The stones are ill-omened,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Pechorin, do you just like hearing yourself talk?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°No. There,¡± he said, pointing out a series of three foot tall stones scattered randomly around the marsh. Some were isolated, some were in clusters, but the quarter mile circumference around the shipwreck was littered with these large stones. ¡°Wow. Rocks. Who cares?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°It¡¯s anomalous and ill-omened.¡± ¡°You know they were probably here the first time we came, right?¡± ¡°They were not,¡± Pechorin said definitively. ¡°That right?" ¡°On the honor of my¡ª¡± ¡°Dead clan, yeah. How about you go first and if they are pop-up enemies you be the early warning,¡± Natsuko said, not really intending the suggestion to be any more than the kind of back and forth shittalking she did with Sofiane. ¡°As you wish,¡± Pechorin said, picking up the pace through the marsh. ¡°Wait! I was joking!¡± Natsuko said, jogging to catch up. Passing through the field of stones, Natsuko began to feel like Pechorin was onto something. There was a logic to the layout of the stones that became more apparent standing next to them. Something about the human scale. Memories tingled on the precipice of recollection but refused to come when she called. ¡°I believe,¡± Pechorin said, glancing a a stone rolled into a puddle of water, ¡°that these stones are why there are no monsters around.¡± Natsuko squinted. ¡°Wouldn''t they just respawn at 4am if you dropped a rock on them?¡± ¡°Perhaps the stones halt that process somehow.¡± Natsuko shook her head. ¡°The Yishang throw another Wyvern at Verm?genburgh every week even if I punt it through the ground. Ain¡¯t no way some oversized pebbles are enough to stop them from spawning in more goblins or wolfhounds or pirates or whatever.¡± Pechorin stopped and knelt down to run a hand along one of the stones, his thumb dragging across its crevices. ¡°Maybe the Yishang are unaware of these stones. Maybe they have been put here recently by someone seeking to create their own, artificial anomaly.¡± ¡°Pffbt, please. The Yishang are demi-gods, Pech. They see everything and they know everything,¡± Natsuko said, placing her boot on the stone and wiping mud off it. ¡°They didn¡¯t know about The Anomalous Dungeon of the Empty Waterfall. Or the one you and Shuixing went to with Sofiane,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± Natsuko wasn¡¯t quite sure what to add after the but. She hated the Yishang, she loathed what they had done to her and her friends, and she would love to punch them in the face for it, but the idea that there were things even they didn¡¯t know about filled her with a vague anxiety. She hated the Yishang, but they were the ones who pushed back the Mist and organized the fight against the Entropic Axis. What could possibly exist outside of that? Deciding motion and action could drive those uncomfortable thoughts from her head, Natsuko doubled her pace towards the shipwreck. Pechorin jogged to catch up. ¡°The Yishang might not know about your wine bottle either." ¡°They¡¯ve gotta know. They send a new wyvern every week.¡± ¡°In pursuit of my poetry, I have spent a long time observing the world," he said. "There are events triggered by certain criteria, and there are events which happen reliably at a given time. I set out on my quest to avenge my clan because they were murdered. That¡¯s an event trigger. But I fire my guns at the night sky and howl in a cathartic release of my inner turmoil only on a full moon. That¡¯s a time trigger. If Heroes are summoned when they die, that¡¯s an event. If a wyvern is released every Monday at 5pm, that¡¯s a time.¡± ¡°Would you shut up, you edgy loudmouth? You¡¯re gonna lose our element of surprise!¡± Natsuko said in a harsh whisper, dropping to a crouch as they neared the bow of the smashed ship. If she was being honest, telling Pechorin to shut up had less to do with surprise and more to do with not liking what he was talking about. She felt like she was on the edge of putting something together that she didn¡¯t want to know. But try as she might to ignore Pechorin, one question kept nagging at her, refusing to leave her alone: Why did the Yishang use their divine magic to send a wyvern to slaughter a town every week? Natsuko shook her head. She desperately needed someone or something to beat up to take her mind off things. Chapter 33 - A Discussion of Different Perspectives on Murder Natsuko crept along the splintered wood of the junk¡¯s smashed hull, easing around driftwood and refuse. She was gunning for the opening at mid-ship where the junk had split in two and spilled its wooden guts across the plains. The only sound was a torn, Tianzhounese merchant flag flapping in the wind which was slightly louder than the squishing of their footsteps. ¡°First Hero we see is going to be our killer, so we¡¯ve gotta go in shock and awe style,¡± Natsuko whispered. Pechorin quietly grunted in response. Turning the first corner of the broken ship, Natsuko was met with a cross-section of the triple-decked junk. The bottom deck¡ªboth halves of it¡ªwere strewn with crates and barrels containing maybe two tomatoes and a head of cabbage if smashed. No one put good loot in barrels or crates. It had to be in a chest. Not that she was here for loot, of course, but old habits died hard. Her eyes were still trained to look for money and equipment. And she wouldn''t have said no to a little extra pocket change. On the stern side of the broken deck there was a ladder leading upwards. Natsuko trudged towards it before she felt a hand yank her back. Natsuko was moments from swinging her bottle in a blind haymaker before realizing it was Pechorin. ¡°What did I say!? Stop randomly grabbing me!¡± she whispered. He pointed at a handful of boards in front of her that were colored ever-so-slightly differently than their surroundings. It came back to her: The memory of Pechorin stepping here and falling through the floor into the mud where a bunch of pop-up enemies spawned. ¡°Just point it out to me ahead of time, alright?¡± she said. He gave a curt nod and they continued up to the second deck. To her eyes it just looked empty, but Pechorin noted that the crates were in different places. Natsuko squinted. They just looked like crates to her. They weren¡¯t even the kind that could be broken open for some small amount of food. It was hard to believe Pechorin actually remembered the position of decorative crates years later. ¡°Stop,¡± Nastsuko whispered. ¡°Stop what?¡± ¡°Stop trying to turn this into another dark and mysterious edgelord mystery. The stones are weird, sure, but the crates have nothing to do with our killer.¡± ¡°There were monsters in the ship too,¡± he said. Natsuko couldn¡¯t argue with that. The last time they¡¯d come the entire ship had been crawling with enemies attracted to the power of the artifact they were sent to retrieve. ¡°They¡¯re probably not hard to kill if you¡¯re an older Hero,¡± she said as they crossed a plank between the broken halves of the ship. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you get tired of clearing them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired of a lot of things, Pech. Like this conversation.¡± Natsuko looked up through the gap between ship halves to see if anyone was watching them. The ship seemed as abandoned as before. On the other side of the gap there was another ladder to the top deck. A clear blue sky met Natsuko at the top. Sitting with their back against a mast on the other end of the ship was a figure facing away from her wrapped up in a wool blanket. It could be an act, she reasoned, but to her eye, they looked asleep. Natsuko whispered, ¡°Pechorin, on my mark you¡¯ll¡ª¡± ¡°Excuse me! You have an appointment with judgment,¡± Pechorin said at the top of his voice. The figure jolted at the noise. Natsuko slapped her face. ¡°Why, dude?¡± ¡°Justice is only meted out when the guilty party is aware of their transgressions. Were I to find my clan¡¯s killers in their beds, I would wake them so that they may know why their lives have been made forfeit,¡± Pechorin replied. The figure chuckled. ¡°Pechorin, is that you? You haven¡¯t changed a bit!¡± Natsuko¡¯s heart dropped. ¡°Oh no¡­¡± The woolen blanket dropped away from the figure as he stood up, revealing a Hero with shaggy brown hair wearing a gleaming white-and-gold lancer¡¯s uniform. His golden lance gleamed in the sun. At the end of its haft billowed the banner of the Knights of Innocentus: Three, green spruce leaves against a field of white. On his face was an easy smile. ¡°And Natsu too! How''ve you two been?¡± Frederick asked with a soft smile. His hospitality caught them both off-guard. For once, Natsuko found herself unable to immediately launch into a fight. ¡°As well as one can be, given my traumatic past,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Good, good. That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Frederick said, tapping the butt of his lance against the deck. Between them lay the gap in the deck, bridged by the length of a collapsed mast. After the pleasantries there was a brief silence. ¡°This is about the Non-Heroes, isn¡¯t it?¡± Frederick asked.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Yeah,¡± Natsuko said, her voice hoarse. ¡°I thought that might be the case.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here to make you stop.¡± Frederick laughed, hard enough it sent him into a cough. When he regained his composure he asked, ¡°Oh yeah? And how do you plan to do that?¡± ¡°Killing you,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Oh, Natsu, I wish you could. I really do. That¡¯s the puzzle I¡¯m trying to solve. I want to die and I don¡¯t know how.¡± His words froze Natsuko. Pechorin was also disturbed but begrudgingly admitted that the macabre drama of it all was delightful. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ trying to die? You mean¡ª¡± ¡°Permanently. Yes,¡± Frederick said, walking up to the edge of his broken half of the ship. ¡°I¡¯ve been researching how to do it. You¡¯ve seen the stones?¡± ¡°They stop monsters from being re-summoned in the morning,¡± Pechorin said. Frederick chuckled and pointed at Pechorin. ¡°You got it! Straight out the gate. You know, Pech, you lay on the archetype so thickly, I don¡¯t think anyone understands how good your intuition is. I mean you¡­¡± Frederick¡¯s hands balled into fists and shook for a moment as he figured out his next words. ¡°You get it! Sort of. You''re just shy of the full picture. But you¡¯re so, so close.¡± ¡°After the death of my clan, I was forced to¡ª¡± Frederick waved his hand. ¡°And you lost it. Please stop. We¡¯re years past all that, my friend. Years past it. Maybe I can¡¯t blame you though. Maybe that whole ''traumatic past'' and ''hurt little sad boy'' shit is your last little sliver of psychological protection from the abyss. Gods know I want my own delusions back.¡± Natsuko¡¯s knuckles curled around the neck of her bottle. ¡°What the fuck are you on about Frederick?¡± His wide, amber eyes shot to her with uncomfortable speed. There was something wild and scary in them. But what worried her most of all was how much clarity she saw in them. ¡°Do you remember why you left me, Natsu? It seems so long ago by the measure of our short existences, but it was a blink of the eye compared to the mundane eternity we¡¯re now staring into. Tell me, do you remember?¡± She glared at him. ¡°You were annoying and kept guilting me about adventuring without you? I don¡¯t remember exactly.¡± ¡°Because I was the first Hero to be left behind!¡± Frederick said, stabbing his lance into the snapped mast. The entire ship trembled and creaked. ¡°You dropped me because my Use-Number plummeted. Because the Celestials decided I was worthless trash! All the other Heroes, especially you, Natsu, you up there at your glorious #1 spot, refused to help. Helping me would''ve cut into the time you wanted to spend leveling or doing quests. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Natsuko winced at the outburst. Memories she had put out of her mind years ago surfaced and corroborated his story. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Natsuko said, her voice suddenly calm. She set her bottle down on the deck of the ship. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Freddie. I was a piece of shit. I was the asshole, not you. But we¡¯re in the same spot now. I¡¯ve got an even worse Use-Ranking than you do.¡± Frederick sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you, Natsu. We were all deluded back then. If our positions had been reversed, I probably would''ve done the same thing to you.¡± This earned a small chuckle from Natsuko. ¡°But that¡¯s why I want to die,¡± he said. A rush of wind whistled through the crevices of the shipwreck, making it howl and groan. ¡°Freddie, you don¡¯t want that,¡± Natsuko said, as tenderly as she could muster. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m in an even tougher spot than you, but I still find the courage to get on with it, even if I maybe drink too much. You just have to find something else to do with yourself. Take Shuixing, right? You remember¡ª¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Frederick said. His nostrils flared, his hands squeezing the haft of his golden lance. ¡°I¡¯ve been fighting this fight for longer than you have. I¡¯ve had time to think about things. About the way they are. The Yishang need us, but not for any of this shit about the Entropic Axis. They¡¯re whoring out our emanations, copies of our soul, to the Celestials. They¡¯re selling us, Natsu. We¡¯re commodities. And then, when the Celestials no longer want us, when they want someone new, they cast us out. And even that I could bear except out of some special cruelty they refuse to let us die. I¡¯ve tried, Natsuko. So. Many. Times. And they always bring me back." Natsuko knew of a way. But she couldn¡¯t bring herself to offer it to someone she once had feelings for. ¡°What is killing Non-Heroes supposed to accomplish?¡± Pechorin asked. Frederick¡¯s wild eyes flicked to Pechorin. ¡°I¡¯ve figured out how to prevent monsters from spawning. They spawn in a fixed position whenever they¡¯re killed." Fredereck stepped onto the broken mast, walking towards their half of the ship. Pechorin¡¯s right hand thrust into his coat and curled around the grip of his gun. ¡°If you know where they¡¯ll be resummoned, you can block it with something and then poof! They don¡¯t come back the next morning," Frederick continued, something like admiration creeping into his voice. ¡°Except it doesn¡¯t work for Heroes¡­¡± Natsuko said quietly, connecting the dots. ¡°Or for Non-Heroes." Natsuko snarled. ¡°You sick piece of shit. They¡¯re human too!¡± Frederick hopped off the mast on their side of the broken ship, the butt of his lance thumping loudly. ¡°Who cares? Sure they die, but they come back the next day, so what does it matter? Once I learn how to prevent myself from coming back I can die in peace and the world can finally forget about me. The Non-Heroes will forget about everything too." As Frederick neared them, Pechorin drew his guns and moved behind Natsuko. She glared at him for being a coward and hoisted her bottle over her shoulder, ready to swing. He walked right up to Natsuko, staring down at her with the same shaggy brown hair and cocky smirk she had fallen for. The only thing different were his dark, hunted eyes. ¡°Even if you kill me I¡¯ll go right back to doing what I was doing. You can''t stop me from conducting my research unless you intend to hunt me down every single day of our little eternity. Are you ready to do that, Natsu?¡± ¡°I''ve killed that fucking wyvern in Verm?genburgh every week for the past three years just to keep it from slaughtering the Non-Heroes there. I''m not fucking around," she said. ¡°I¡¯m not either, Natsu¡­¡± Pechorin coughed and inched closer to Natsuko¡¯s back. ¡°Natsu¡­ His Desperation Art¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing more to say then,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°No,¡± Frederick said, standing straight up. ¡°No there is not.¡± With a flash, Frederick teleported behind Natsuko¡¯s and thrust his lance at the base of her spine. She¡¯d forgotten his Desperation Art let him do that, and that it was scaled for boss monsters with giant, damage-soaking health pools and not washed-up, forgotten Heroes with tiny ones. The one strike would''ve been a one-shot kill except that Pechorin, standing behind her, tackled Natsuko to the deck. Chapter 34 - Delivering Some Good News to Those in Need This time, Natsuko was more appreciative of Pechorin''s save. Frederick¡¯s follow-up attack came a quarter of a second later and both of them rolled in separate directions as the glowing golden spear pierced the deck where Natsuko¡¯s head had been. Her eyes darted for the bottle that slipped from her fingers when Pechorin tackled her. She found it rolling towards the edge of the ruined deck. ¡°You¡¯ve always been slow, Pech,¡± Frederick said with a wide grin. ¡°But you have damn good intuition. You, Natsu? Not so much.¡± Natsuko scrambled to her feet before the lance struck again, but Frederick was faster than her for the duration of his Desperation Art. Catching a glint of gold in her vision, Natsuko waited for the coming pain. Then, two shots rang out across the marshes. Two bullets found their marks in Frederick¡¯s chest. The wide grin left his face as he shrugged off the damage. ¡°You Yishang toadie! You¡¯d preserve this worthless fucking world instead of helping your own people!?¡± Frederick screamed. A flurry of lance stabs shot towards Pechorin. Two strikes found his chest. The gatling lance thrusts happened in the span of a few seconds but that was all Natsuko needed to set off a Fire Gale from her palms, rocketing her back onto her feet. Frederick didn¡¯t wait for her to run. A golden lance tip pierced her center mass, but all Natsu felt was the adrenaline rush from hitting the 50% health threshold of her Hothead passive. The only trouble was she was halfway to death. ¡°Pechorin, throw me one of your guns!¡± Natsuko yelled. Pechorin lobbed the gun at her. Recognizing what they were trying to do, Frederick reached out to intercept it. Before he could, a roar of flak spewed from Pech¡¯s remaining gun at Frederick, the deck, and even Natsuko. Frederick caught the thrown gun, but bFrederick howled and dropped the gun and Natsuko had just enough time to pick it up before water flew out of the tip of his golden lance and doused the Molten reaction. Natsuko recognized this immediately as Shuixing¡¯s Ablutions ability, stolen by Frederick''s Jack class. For a moment, she wondered if it was pure chance Frederick had picked it as one of his three Jack spells for the day before noticing the bottles of liquor stacked up where he¡¯d been sleeping. Apparently, she wasn¡¯t the only person aware of Ablutions¡¯ alternative uses. ¡°Frederick, stop! We want to help you!¡± Natsuko said, her voice low and desperate, gun at the ready to parry with. ¡°Help me what, keep living? No, Natsu, I''m done with Po-Lin. Done with the Yishang. All I want is sweet oblivion," he replied, crouching and coiled. Natsuko took a step forward and Frederick whipped his lance around in a whirlwind. Her arm brought the barrel of Pechorin¡¯s borrowed gun up and parried the golden lance in a teeth-rattling clang that knocked her backwards, ripping up planks beneath her feet. Giddy pleasure flushed through her as her Fuel Injection kicked in. Her wounds healed, her cooldowns went down, and most importantly, she felt wired. Her first addiction, before alcohol, had been activating this ability. Her fighting instincts took over and she used a pulling Wind spell to yank Frederick towards her waiting palm, grabbed his face, and slammed it to the floor while activating her Fire Gale directly into it. The force of the flames drove Frederick through the deck and down to the one below where he landed on a smashed barrel with an expulsion of air loud enough for Natsuko to hear over the roaring in her ears. She felt powerful again. It had been so long since she felt like this. She wanted to keep feeling it. Pechorin glanced at her. ¡°Natsu, we need to talk him down from¡ª¡± ¡°No more talking,¡± Natsuko said, leaping down and eating the fall damage to keep herself under the 50% HP threshold flooding her with fiery energy. Frederick was back on his feet and ready to meet her but his Desperation Art had worn off. His lance was no longer glowing and he was slower. Her twitching nerves could react to his thrusts with perfect timing, parrying one strike after another. She was disappointed when the parries gave her health back and she felt the knife¡¯s edge rush leaving her. Recognizing he couldn''t win, Frederick laughed with blood running out of his charred pink mouth. ¡°I¡¯m gonna come back and do it again, Natsuko. And again. And again. I¡¯ll keep experimenting on Non-Heroes until I find a way out. You can¡¯t keep someone in who wants to get out.¡± Resisting the urge to smash his face in with another Fire Gale, Natsuko took a deep breath and said, ¡°no, I¡¯ll beat you until you get sick of it and then I¡¯ll sit your ass down and we¡¯ll talk this through. You think you¡¯re stubborn? Freddie, you¡¯ve got nothing on me. Stubborn and stupid are my only personality traits.¡± ¡°Not true,¡± Pechorin called down from the deck above. ¡°Ha! You might be right, Natsu. I know that better than anyone. But we¡¯ll just have to see, won¡¯t we?¡± Frederick said. With a wave of his hand, a shower of golden sparkles exploded in front of Natsuko, blinding her for a second. She tried to parry the follow-up, but rather than thrusting at her with his lance, he hurled a Fire Gale at her that ignited the specks of gold on her and inflicted the same burning molten reaction she had hit him with. Natsuko screamed and staggered backwards, accidentally walking over the edge of the split deck and falling to the marshy ground below. The muddy water below the shipwreck helped put out the gold melting on her. A second later Frederick splashed down beside her.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Both of them were nearly dead. She could see the desperate look in Frederick¡¯s frenzied eyes. He wanted to die so bad he was willing to fight her to the death. Sadness at the sight cut through the adrenaline. There was still something in him she couldn¡¯t let go of, something in the ferocity with which he threw himself at everything, even when it was self-annihilation. It was why she couldn¡¯t use the bottle on him. Not now, not ever. Frederick stabbed at her again, but he was now so exhausted it was nothing but a token gesture. She caught and deflected the lance tip with Pechorin¡¯s gun and pushed herself to her feet with the rush of health that came with her Fuel Injection. Before she could make one final plea for Frederick to come to his senses, Pechorin dropped down from above-deck with her wine bottle slung over his shoulders. Her eyes shot to him. ¡°Pech, leave it. This is between us,¡± she said, her voice ragged. Frederick wiped blood from his mouth and glanced at the bottle. ¡°I noticed you ditched your sword, Natsuko. For that bottle, right? That¡¯s not a weapon.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t carry a weapon anymore. There¡¯s no point,¡± she said. ¡°Even when you''re hunting another Hero? There¡¯s a weapon shop at Lanbaoshi. You could''ve bought one there,¡± he said, holding his lance in a defensive stance. ¡°I thought I could talk you down without needing it.¡± ¡°Bullshit. I saw the look of surprise. You had no idea it was me and every reason to believe it was a newer-gen Hero who could squash you in a heartbeat. So, I¡¯ll ask again, what¡¯s the bottle for?¡± ¡°Drinking.¡± ¡°It¡¯s empty.¡± ¡°Just give him the option, Natsu,¡± Pechorin said. Frederick narrowed his eyes. ¡°What option?¡± ¡°Pechorin, I swear to the gods, the Yishang, and every last Celestial in the sky, you will not¡ª¡± ¡°The wine bottle can end Heroes¡¯ lives,¡± Pechorin said flatly. ¡°If you get hit by a certain spot on it you¡¯re shunted through the floor like a bad dimension-jumping accident and the Yishang can¡¯t re-summon you.¡± Frederick¡¯s eyes lit up with relief. His arms slackened and his golden lance dropped to the mud, its luster dimmed by the dark shadow of the wrecked ship. ¡°Natsu, please¡­¡± She refused to meet Frederick¡¯s gaze. If she did, she would start crying and wouldn¡¯t be able to stop. All she had to do to get Frederick to stop talking was one last Fire Gale, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it. Her hands clutched at the hem of her shorts. ¡°Shut up,¡± she said. ¡°Natsu¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± The scream echoed into the empty decks of the shipwreck, deprived of the monsters that should¡¯ve been there. She would''ve even welcomed some stupid, ambling goblins. Anything but Frederick looking at her with that awful look of defeat. She jerked when she felt a hand on her shoulder and almost blasted Pechorin with a Fire Gale. ¡°Let him make his own choice,¡± Pechorin said, his voice patient and level, without any of the strained gruffness he usually added to sell his archetype. Natsuko slapped his hand off her shoulder. ¡°Help a friend kill himself? No! You¡¯re insane!¡± ¡°There are things we still need to do, Natsu. Urgent things. We don¡¯t have time to thwart him every single time he respawns. As a matter of dignity, we ought to give Frederick the choice the Yishang won¡¯t.¡± ¡°A choice is all I want,¡± he said, locking eyes with Natsuko. She stomped through the mud to Pechorin and tore her bottle from his grip and thrust it into Frederick¡¯s chest. ¡°This part, right here on the punt. That does the trick. I¡¯m not going to watch,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I¡¯d like it if you did,¡± Frederick replied. His voice had exchanged its manic desperation for calm acceptance. ¡°And I¡¯d like it if you weren¡¯t using my bottle for this. I guess both our hearts will be broken,¡± she said, turning her back to him and walking away. He laughed softly. She expected him to say something else, but she made it a few steps out into the sun before she heard the unmistakable chunking sound. Stopping to take a deep breath, she continued forward, back across the marshy plains. There came a slopping noise from behind her as Pechorin ran to catch up. Wordlessly, he handed her the wine bottle back. They walked in silence until the land turned back into the tall, rolling dunes which shielded the marsh from the ocean. ¡°We all have different ways to bare our tortured souls to the world,¡± Pechorin said, ending the silence. ¡°Not the time for the edgelord shit, buddy,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°The edgelord shit is my chosen vessel. Yours is alcohol." She wanted to tell him to shut up like always, but instead she sat down in the sand at the top of the dunes and looked out to the sea and the little green-brown speck that was the Lanbaoshi Roadhouse full of Non-Heroes waiting to be told they would be alright and wouldn¡¯t be picked off night after night. Pechorin sat down beside her, the weight of his trench coat sending up a plume. ¡°What was Frederick¡¯s vessel then?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t have one,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°That was his problem.¡± Natsuko¡¯s back fell into the sand and she splayed out her arms. ¡°He didn¡¯t have one¡­¡± That wasn¡¯t Pechorin¡¯s full theory on the matter. His full theory was that Frederick had had one years ago and lost it, never to be regained. After a moment of quiet reflection, a calmer Natsuko popped up from the sand, dusted off her bare skin as best she could, and turned towards the Roadhouse. ¡°Guess we better go deliver the good news,¡± she said. Chapter 35 - Battling a Giant Enemy Crab From the Wrong Region ¡°So,¡± Sofiane said, clapping his hands together as they walked along the beach road. ¡°When we get there, clothing shopping?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring a Tianzhounese outfit?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Well, yes, but there¡¯s a Halloween event right around the corner, non? We won¡¯t be able to track down Yuna right away anyhow. She¡¯s got a whole corps of her resistance guys swarming her at all times, so we might as well do some recon,¡± he said, stifling a yawn. ¡°Recon at the clothing store?¡± asked Shuixing. ¡°Multi-tasking, Madame Shui, is the key to efficiency.¡± ¡°I prefer concentration, thank you.¡± Ignoring the spoil-sport, Sofiane threw his hands behind his head and walked backwards, facing Daisy. ¡°Any costume ideas for you yet?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Daisy pressed a finger to her mouth. ¡°Haven¡¯t given it much thought.¡± ¡°Wow. Just goes to show the impeccable taste of the Top 10 that you can throw something together and have it work.¡± ¡°Well¡­ Sometimes a little bird gives me advice,¡± she said with a bit of embarrassment. ¡°Ah,¡± Sofiane said, realizing that what Daisy really meant was that event costumes at that level were curated by the Yishang to maximize Celestial engagement. Sofiane didn¡¯t know what to make of that. On the one hand, it sounded a lot easier to have the special attention of the Yishang guaranteeing your Use-Number increase. On the other hand, he enjoyed assembling his outfits. Even agonizing over them. He highly suspected, though never tested, that he would still be putting outfits together even if he didn¡¯t need them to keep his Use-Number up. ¡°Tell me you at least enjoy the pageantry,¡± Sofiane said. Daisy nodded. ¡°Well, yeah. I don¡¯t like pickin¡¯ but I do like wearin¡¯. And the events are always a lot of fun.¡± ¡°Phew. I was worried for a second there.¡± Shuixing was trying and failing not to eavesdrop. The truth was that she missed the seasonal events too, but they weren¡¯t worth showing up for unless they were held in Verm?genburgh¡ªwhich they never were. Not that she had any idea what she would do even if she did go. The main purpose was to see-and-be-seen by other High-Use Heroes, debut some kind of seasonal outfit so that the Celestials could summon you in it, play through a cheesy, seasonal quest, and then get plastered and play drinking games with the other Heroes. None of that seemed appealing to her after she stopped knowing the Heroes involved. But the times she had gone to seasonal events with Natsuko, Pechorin, and Hemiola had been an absolute blast. If she was being honest with herself, as any good scientist ought to be, she was a little jealous of Sofiane and Daisy. ¡°Are you planning to be there, Shui?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°O-Oh, me? N-No. It¡¯s a lot of work. And plus, we really need to get those papers back, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Pffbt, we¡¯ll get those papers back well before Halloween,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing said nothing. Ultimately, the other two were in the driver¡¯s seat. There wasn¡¯t much she could do by herself. Even less without Natsuko, whose absence was making her anxious. What if the NH-killer was really powerful and killed her? She knew Natsuko would hyperfixate on getting revenge and probably go and get herself killed several more times if that were the case. And then there was Pechorin¡­ She was so absorbed in her simmering stress that Shuixing failed to notice the change in scenery. The narrow sandbar finally widened out into a beach full of shells. Golden larches and tall pines formed a barrier between the sand and the abrupt, pillar-like cliff-face of one of Northern Tianzhou¡¯s many mountains. What did catch her eye was a fast-moving nimbus cloud emerging from the trees with a peach-colored fox sporting interlocking haloes sitting atop it. ¡°Zhidao?¡± she called out. ¡°Hi there! Quest for ya,¡± the fox said with a tone of panic in its child-like voice as it banked its cloud around the three of them and parked it behind Daisy. From where Zhidao had burst through the treeline came a rapid thumping and the sound of cracking timber. A second later, a giant crab the size of a three-story house burst through the trees, sending uprooted trunks soaring through the air. Its chitinous jaws cricked and chittered as its spidery legs skittered along the sand far faster than anything a creature of that size should have been capable of. Red bars above it filled and then overflowed into little blocks of health markers above its head. Each was 100,000 HP if Shuixing recalled correctly, and it was coming up on five of those blocks. Shuixing¡¯s meandering brain jerked into strategy mode. They had no formal DPS, with Daisy and Sofiane both being control Heroes, but Daisy was better at control and Sofiane could deal a decent amount of damage. The scale of Daisy¡¯s distractions meant that she could occupy the crab while Sofiane lined up his Coup De Grace and she healed them as needed.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Daisy, can you distract the crab!? Sofiane and I will¡ª¡± Daisy had already clicked her pocket watch and a fist made of condensed sandstone rose out of the beach and flew to meet the crab and bopped it on the head. The strike staggered the three-story crustacean, and by the time it was shaking off its stunned status, the fist had repositioned itself over the crab¡¯s head. It came down again. Then up. Then down. Then up, taking off a quarter of its multiple 100,000 HP health bars every time. The entire beach trembled with each titanic collision. Shuixing watched with wide eyes as Daisy casually popped the crab for more health than four Shuixings combined every second. For her part, Daisy looked mildly annoyed. Her lips pursed as the chunking sand got all over her boots and blouse. ¡°Huh, those aren¡¯t supposed to be in Tianzhou. That¡¯s a Deco Imperian enemy,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Oh shit wait, I need experience!¡± ¡°It followed me all the way from there!¡± Zhidao said as Sofiane zipped forward to tag the crab at least once with his ball of lightning. ¡°Deco Imperia is hundreds of miles from here,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°How did¡­¡± With one final crack, the crab slumped forward in an explosion of sand that blanketed all of them except Zhidao hiding behind Shuixing. A second later, the crab dissolved into a cloud of dust, leaving behind some level-up material that none of them could actually use. ¡°Drat!¡± Daisy said. ¡°Would¡¯ve liked it to drop some crab legs. Mmm, that with a little bit of butter and seasoning¡­¡± ¡°Well, the experience was certainly nice,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing turned around to face Zhidao. The little fox had propped its head up on its forepaw and lay like a lounging emperor waiting to be fed grapes while its two interlocked halos circled lazily above. Even more striking than the halos was the distinctly human-like intelligence behind its large eyes. It was a signature look of the Pengwu, the shapeshifting animal fairies native to Tianzhou. Natsuko insisted Pengwu creeped her out, but they were the only animals other than owls that Shuixing thought were cute. She liked their sense of wisdom. ¡°What were you doing that the crab was chasing you so far?¡± she asked. ¡°Oh, you know, floating about,¡± the fox said, unhinging its jaw to give an enormous yawn. ¡°I¡¯m not attached to a party right now, so I just thought I¡¯d ramble around, and then that crab decided I looked tasty!¡± All the way from Deco Imperia. They would have had to chase the fox across that region, then the entirety of Verm?genburgh from South to North, then either across the sand dunes or all the way up through Cascadia and back down through the Sibe-Lands, which sounded¡­ unlikely. ¡°Is that really what happened?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Well¡­ sort of. Kinda. Hehe,¡± the fox said. ¡°We missed out on crab legs, so it¡¯s not too late to eat something else,¡± Sofiane said with a fox-eating grin. Unamused, Zhidao floated over to Sofiane and batted him on the nose with a paw. ¡°Ow!¡± Sofiane said, rubbing his nose. ¡°Bad girl!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a girl!¡± ¡°Oh! You¡¯re the old Koyon!¡± Zhidao said. ¡°No, he¡¯s the new Sofiane! I mean¡ª no, he¡¯s the¡ª he sucks and I¡¯m trying to get rid of him! I swear, if you scratched my nose¡­¡± Shuixing shook her head. She felt like she¡¯d been thrown back in time. The only difference was that it was usually Natsuko that Zhidao was batting at. ¡°What¡¯d¡¯ya mean sorta?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Oh, hi Daisy! Thanks for saving me by the way.¡± ¡°No problem. You were saying though?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, right! So¡­ us foxes are very curious creatures, you know. And so¡­ I was curious about how to travel faster. Not that I don¡¯t like my little nimbus here,¡± he said, patting the fluffy cloud he was curled up on. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t get you across the continent very fast.¡± Sofiane narrowed his eyes, still rubbing the spot he¡¯d been pawed at. ¡°Is there a crab in this story, or¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting to the crab! Simmer down, puffball,¡± Zhidao said. Puffball. Natsuko¡¯s preferred insult. That was an odd coincidence. Though she¡¯d heard it said that Pengwu tended to take on the traits of the Heroes they hung out with. She wondered if the fox had a dark, tortured monologue somewhere in it from Pechorin. ¡°As I was saying, I was looking into ways to traverse the entirety of Po-Lin in one go, right? Apparently there have been some secrets released recently about jumping across dimensions or something. Have you heard about that?¡± Sofiane stopped rubbing his nose. Daisy bit her lip. Shuixing felt her blood run cold. ¡°Th-That¡¯s always been around, h-hasn¡¯t it? Heroes have known about dimension-jumping forever,¡± she said. ¡°Sure, I remember us trying it too when Natsuko wanted to steal from the Tianzhounese Royal Treasury!¡± Zhidao said. ¡°But um¡­ people have been learning more about it lately. And one of the things you can do, according to someone I met in Deco Imperia, is if you angle it downwards at a shallow enough angle, you can shunt yourself through the center of Po-Lin with enough forward momentum to get you to the other side of the world. Isn¡¯t that cool!? I can even take my nimbus with me!¡± It was incredibly cool, Shuixing thought. She hadn¡¯t even thought of trying that, being so focused on Natsuko¡¯s bottle and its ability to permanently annihilate other creatures. She almost felt guilty at having been so caught up in the violent possibilities of dimension-jumping at the expense of more useful techniques. Of the secrets to get out, teleport-jumping was vastly preferable to what she had released into the world. ¡°Lemme guess,¡± Sofiane said ¡°Monsieur Crab happened to come along for the ride?¡± Zhidao rubbed his neck with a forepaw. ¡°Hehe, I can only take so many precautions. Have you guys learned anything about dimension-jumping recently?¡± Shuixing swore Zhidao had been deliberately looking at her when he said that, though he hadn¡¯t turned her way. No, she was just being paranoid. The only people that knew about forced dimension-jumping were their small group, Harald¡¯s team, and whoever had stolen the papers. There was no reason to think Zhidao knew anything about it. ¡°I-It was nice catching up with you again, Zhidao,¡± Shuixing said, starting to walk towards the vague direction of Tianzhou City, ¡°but we¡¯re really busy and have to get going.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve got nowhere to be. Mind if I tag along?¡± The three of them looked at each other with the same sense of mild unease at the request. Zhidao picked up on it immediately. ¡°Pretty please? I can do cool tricks!¡± he said, walking around on just his forepaws. ¡°I can tell some fun stories about the old days! Even some you might not know, Shui. Or I can even tell you about how I pulled off the teleport jump.¡± Before the other two could protest, Shuixing said, ¡°you can come.¡± Chapter 36 - Let Her Cook, or Don’t Traveling for the rest of the day, Shuixing, Daisy, Sofiane, and Zhidao were close enough to Tianzhou City that, by the time they bedded down in an abandoned shack near the edge of a seaside cliff, they could see the glow of the city¡¯s lights on the horizon. After they had gotten settled inside the shack and eaten a few of Daisy¡¯s salmon croquettes for dinner, Sofiane gasped. ¡°Uh, guys? The Use-Ranking number¡­¡± Zhidao fluttered about the shack. ¡°Hmm? What happened?¡± Shuixing and Daisy grimaced simultaneously. They didn¡¯t need to scroll down to find out the change. The total number of Heroes had gone from 190 to 189. Shuixing flicked all the way down and was relieved to find both Natsuko and Pechorin still on the list. This relief was followed by overwhelming discomfort at the knowledge of what Natsuko had probably done. There was a pregnant silence for a moment as Sofiane, Daisy, and Shuixing all non-verbally agreed that talking about their suspicions in front of Zhidao was a bad idea. ¡°A Hero is gone. Like, gone gone,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Bought the farm.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zhidao said. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. Who was it?¡± None of them knew. No one checked that far down the list. Sofiane¡¯s interest started at #49 and above and Daisy and Shuixing almost never looked at the master list. ¡°#188 or #187 by the way the rankings have changed,¡± Shuixing deduced. ¡°But I don¡¯t know who that would have been.¡± Other than someone she personally knew, she realized with dread. ¡°Must have been a dimension-jumping accident. Haven¡¯t had one of those in a while!¡± Zhidao said. ¡°Must¡¯ve been,¡± Sofiane said, treating the subject with fake nonchalance and rolling over in his bedroll to read a novel. The presence of Zhidao killed the possibility of talking about what might have happened with Natsuko, Pechorin, and the NH-killer, so the three of them tucked in for the night without saying much. As she lay in her sleeping roll with silvery moonlight coming in through the rickety wooden walls, Shuixing felt a swell of emotion. Her theater of memory unspooled phantom films of her near past. She saw herself traveling through Tianzhou¡¯s hills and mountains and rolling buckwheat fields and many, many abandoned temples, bringing her back to what was probably the best time of her life. Their team of four was the strongest in Po-Lin and they had just been the first to overcome the dragon V?lsunga, paving the way for the Yishang to de-Mist the region of Tianzhou. Anything felt possible back then. They worked hard, constantly training and dungeon-delving and questing, and their work paid off. Shuixing, Natsuko, Pechorin, and Hemiola, all felt as though they had a real purpose in the world. That they were liberating an orderly world from the clutches of Entropy. Shuixing stopped herself when she realized she was sipping from the past the way Natsuko did from a bottle. In the dark, she looked to where Daisy had rolled over in her sleep facing Shuixing only a few feet away. Daisy¡¯s face was soft and unburdened, her blonde ringlets shining like the halos over Zhidao¡¯s head. She looked like a top tier Hero, through and through. Even more than Sofiane. Natsuko used to look like that when she slept, Shuixing thought. Sofiane¡¯s loud snoring knocked her out of the nostalgic headspace. She looked over to him, sprawled starfish-style across his bedroll wearing his blanket like a toga with his sleep mask halfway off. It was then she realized Zhidao was gone. Shrugging off her blanket, Shuixing slipped into her shoes and walked out into grass billowing in the harsh ocean wind rolling off the water. A lone, dainty pine tree leaned over the edge of the cliff as though staring into the seafoam. The moonlight turned everything a lustrous black-and-white. ¡°Zhidao?¡± she called out to the fox-fairy. Maybe it was the cold, or maybe it was the abrupt mental shift from her half-dreamed nostalgia, but Shuixing suddenly felt uncomfortable. Exposed, even. She did a loop of the grassy cliff up to the tree and turned around. There was nothing but a few solitary trees and the abandoned shack she¡¯d come from, but she couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of something else being there. Something she couldn¡¯t see. Shuixing didn¡¯t like that. Less so while there was a person or people running around with her knowledge of how to force dimension-jump. She wished Natsuko was here. ¡°Hey!¡± Shuixing screamed and wildly flailed her rod in the direction of her auditory assailant. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s gonna accomplish much,¡± Zhidao said as Shuixing¡¯s rod made several close passes to his black-button nose. ¡°Ahh! O-Oh, Zhidao. I, um, came out looking for you,¡± Shuixing said. She blushed a little as Sofiane and Daisy both came bounding out of the abandoned shack from the noise. ¡°Shui, y¡¯alright honey?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. I just got startled by Zhidao is all.¡± Sofiane rolled his eyes and went back inside, flipping his sleep mask back over his face. ¡°Congratulations on finding me!¡± the fox said. ¡°Erm¡­ why were you looking?¡± ¡°Well, you um¡­ I saw that you weren¡¯t there, a-and I wondered where you went.¡± ¡°Aw, that¡¯s sweet,¡± Zhidao said, floating his cloud up towards Shuixing and nuzzling his face into her stomach. ¡°I was just out here looking at the clouds. Ancient shapeshifting fairies like me get wistful too, you know.¡± ¡°Right. Apologies for disturbing you all,¡± Shuixing said with a small bow.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°S¡¯Alright. M¡¯gonna go back to bed now though,¡± Daisy said, rubbing her eyes. Still embarrassed about waking the others up, Shuixing followed after Daisy with Zhidao tagging along. Once everyone was inside, she turned around to shut the door. Before shutting it, she looked up at the sky. There weren¡¯t many clouds out that evening. The next morning, Shuixing found Sofiane sprawled in a different, yet equally chaotic arrangement of limbs next to her. She let him have his beauty sleep and went outside. In the cold morning air, Daisy was tending to the fire underneath the cooking pot. ¡°Good morning,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Mornin¡¯!¡± Daisy said cheerfully. ¡°Are you cooking breakfast for us this morning?¡± ¡°Depends, do you like the taste of either burnt rubber or chicken sashimi?¡± ¡°Not particularly¡­¡± ¡°Might want to cook something yourself then,¡± Daisy said with a wink. ¡°Surely your cooking is not that bad?¡± ¡°Did you know you can give people the Poisoned status just with turkey drumsticks?¡± Shuixing blinked. ¡°You can?¡± ¡°Yeah, ask my party!¡± Daisy laughed at that. Shuixing wasn¡¯t sure how it was possible to be that bad at cooking. ¡°It¡¯s just timing, right? You assemble your ingredients, toss them together, and you pull the dish out at the right time. That¡¯s all there is to it,¡± Shuixing said. This gave her yet another bout of existential discomfort, wondering why that was all it took to put together a complex dish. It felt like there ought to have been more steps. But then again, she fired magical bubbles from her rod, so it wasn¡¯t as though absolutely everything needed to be broken down into physics. Some things could stay magical. Like cooking. ¡°Do you want me to help teach you?¡± Shuixing asked. Daisy chuckled sourly. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be the first person who¡¯s tried, but if you¡¯re up for the challenge, I¡¯d give it another whirl.¡± Shuixing laid out the ingredients on a towel and let Daisy pick which ones called to her. Shui gave her four tries before Daisy managed to pick a selection of ingredients that weren''t completely inedible like fish, mayonnaise, pineapple, and peas. They settled on peanut butter, noodles, and soy sauce. ¡°Alright, so, being that it is a noodle dish, how long should we expect it to cook: Short, medium, or long?¡± Daisy¡¯s face puckered as she contemplated. ¡°L¡ª¡± She saw Shuixing¡¯s face. ¡°Short. Definitely short.¡± ¡°Right! So, what do you think would go in first?¡± ¡°Peanut butter! Wait¡­¡± Daisy squinted, eyes darting between the bottle of Shikijiman soy sauce, Imperian peanut butter, and Tianzhounese noodles. ¡°Soy sauce¡­¡± ¡°Erm, the noodles, actually.¡± ¡°Drat! That was my back-up choice.¡± Daisy picked up a big clump of noodles, enough for eight or more, and dropped it in the cooking pot which, by the magical nature of these things, was already boiling water. Feeling like it was the one thing she had a handle on, Daisy set herself to stirring the pot incessantly. ¡°I take it you usually don¡¯t do the cooking in your regular team?¡± Shuixing asked, sitting cross-legged on the ground with her robes tucked under her. ¡°No, that¡¯s usually Boulanger,¡± she replied. For how disconnected Shuixing was from the Use-Ranking competition and the frontlines of the fight against the Entropic Axis, that was still a name she knew. It was hard not to at least be dimly aware of the current Use-Rank #1. ¡°I had no idea he was a good chef,¡± Shuixing said. Daisy laughed. ¡°He wasn¡¯t at the start, but he¡¯s got a drive like a buffed-up workhorse. Whenever there weren¡¯t any dungeons to bop through, he¡¯d practice his cooking, just so he had something to get better at. Pretty soon he got really good.¡± That sounded like someone else Shuixing knew, down to the same exact reasoning. ¡°You¡¯re talking about Boulanger?¡± Zhidao asked, floating down from where he had apparently been laying on the roof sunbathing. ¡°Yup!¡± Daisy said. ¡°Best cook I¡¯ve ever met.¡± Shuixing, feeling oddly possessive, wanted to see a cook-off between him and Natsuko now. Her money was on Natsu. But something else was more critical. ¡°Umm¡­ Daisy¡­¡± ¡°Yeah? Oh no! Not again!¡± She pulled the pot she¡¯d been mindlessly boiling off into a peanut-noodle reduction away from the flame. She poured the slop out onto a plate where a few embers continued to glow in the middle of a dark brown sludge with, of all things, a fish¡¯s skull sticking out of it. ¡°Wha¡ª? How¡ª when did you put fish bones in this dish!?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know! I didn¡¯t think I did!¡± Daisy said. The two of them plus Zhidao gazed at the vaguely fecal-looking glob of char on the plate for a minute or so, trying to figure out how it had happened. ¡°D-D¡¯ya wanna try it?¡± Daisy asked. Shuixing swallowed hard to keep herself from having to cast Ablutions to avoid hurling. ¡°L-Let¡¯s wait for Sofiane. And maybe dump that in the ocean¡­¡± Once they dumped most of the contents, the stench got so bad it triggered Shuixing¡¯s Desperation Art and they were able to clean the pot up like it was new and put it back over the fire just in time for Sofiane. He gave a big stretch and a yawn wearing a purple velvet robe and fuzzy slippers. ¡°Aggghhhhh. Num. Num. Num. What¡¯s for breakfast?¡± Sofiane got a look at their faces. ¡°Something I make. Got it.¡± It was a welcome relief to Shuixing¡¯s nostrils when they were flushed out by the smell of sizzling butter. Sofiane¡¯s cooking expertise was limited to baking and Cascadian cuisine, but with some goose eggs, butter, cheese curds, and birch syrup, he whipped them all up some sweet-and-savory Cascadian omelettes. Having the food on her stomach made Shuixing realize how much of her discomfort had been due to something as basic as needing food and water on her stomach. She still felt anxious to get to Tianzhou and deal with the stolen papers, and about finding out what happened from Natsuko and Pechorin, but the anxieties felt manageable now. By around midday, they crested the final hill and Tianzhou City came into sight. Gleaming white-and-red pagodas rose out of both sides of the Bo River delta connected by a warren of sky bridges and pavilions. The largest of these bridges, almost a quarter-mile long with multiple towers and stairs for access, ran over the city¡¯s massive port, into the Bay of Sapphires, and out to the Cerulean Tower, a Babylonic off-shore building that functioned as a combination of lighthouse, stock exchange, customs office, and headquarters for the Grand Chairman, the elected ruler of Tianzhou. Once more, gazing out at the glittering towers of commerce and pleasure, marvels of architecture and engineering that should¡¯ve taken centuries to build, Shuixing had the mildly distressing thought that this didn¡¯t fit with her understanding of the world. All of this had been here when the Yishang had de-Misted Tianzhou, so what was it like before that? The thought was going to give her a migraine on top of all her other stresses, so Shuixing let it drop. It had been at least two years since she¡¯d been to Tianzhou City last, but she didn¡¯t remember it being so loud and bustling. There seemed to be twice as many Non-Heroes on the streets, and she even noticed a few Heroes running around, several trying to sneak discreet looks at Daisy. ¡°Why are there so many people in Tianzhou?¡± she asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Usually the city is just Non-Heroes and new Heroes sprinting through questlines,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°It¡¯s probably because of the Grand Annual Card Tournament!¡± Zhidao said, surfing over the crowd on his nimbus cloud. All three of them stopped. Sofiane squinted at the fox. ¡°The what now?¡± Chapter 37 - New and Unprecedented Luxuries Shuixing, Daisy, and Sofiane sat down at a teahouse that overlooked the harbor and the Bay of Sapphires while Zhidao hovered in front of the table. ¡°So, there¡¯s an annual card tournament, eh? That¡¯s a strange special event,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°People love Elements: The Coalescing, you kidding?¡± Zhidao Replied. ¡°And I imagine this is at the Heavenly Card Parlor?¡± The Parlor in question was an octagonal, thirteen-story pagoda near the center of Tianzhou City whose roof tiles were made of striking lapis blue inlaid with gold leaf. Windchimes of blue jadeite dangled from the eaves causing the whole building to constantly be tinkling. ¡°Yup!¡± Zhidao said. ¡°It¡¯s running all through this week starting Sunday. Which is in, what, three days, I think? I¡¯m a fox fairy, we don¡¯t usually care about the day of the week.¡± You had to care when you planned around which day the Yishang would send you enough money to survive for another week, Shuixing thought. ¡°Ugh, Yuna¡¯s gonna be in it, I know she is. There¡¯s a cash prize isn¡¯t there?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Ten million Ying,¡± Zhidao said. ¡°That little?¡± and ¡°Holy shit!¡± said Daisy and Sofiane simultaneously. Daisy crossed her legs and sipped from her cup of Lapsang Souchong. ¡°Yun-chan makes around that in a month just from what the Yishang pay her. What in the dickens is she bothering with a card tournament for?¡± ¡°Yuna¡¯s a gambling fiend, like I said. Five Ying says she¡¯ll be hunting for money matches in-between the actual tournament games,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°When are we going to have time to talk to her?¡± Shuixing asked. Sofiane tilted his seat back into the metal railing of the teashop balcony. ¡°That¡¯s the question, non? She¡¯s gonna have her revolutionary guard there and on top of that, if we don¡¯t corner her, she can just pretend she doesn¡¯t know anything. And if we do corner her, we¡¯ll be drawing attention to your papers, Madame Shui, in a place with a lot of Heroes hanging around. I think we would all rather like to avoid that.¡± ¡°I could always just ask to speak with her privately,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Teasing out what she knows without letting on why I¡¯m there, that sorta thing, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Erm, maybe before that we should ask around to see if Yuna has an alibi for the day we were attacked in the Anomalous Dungeon?¡± ¡°Goshes dang, you¡¯re so smart, Shui!¡± Daisy said. ¡°She¡¯s not gonna have one, I¡¯m telling you,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°But you can certainly do that if it makes you feel any better.¡± ¡°Oh? What all do you need to speak to Yuna about?¡± Zhidao asked. All three of them were startled by his voice. That was something Shuixing had forgotten about the Pengwu fox, that he was sometimes so quiet you forgot he was there until he announced something. Sofiane was the first to react, with an, ¡°uh, um, uh¡­¡± Shuixing¡¯s throat sealed up entirely, strangling her already quiet voice to death. It was up to Daisy to save the day. ¡°She¡­ we think she killed one of our teammates as revenge for uh¡­ gambling debts. We think, anyway. We don¡¯t know that it¡¯s her because the attacker was hooded and Natsuko didn¡¯t get a good look before she was resummoned,¡± Daisy said. Zhidao gasped, for as much as an ethereal fox spirit could. ¡°No! I didn¡¯t even know Natsuko gambled!¡± Sofiane cleared his throat. ¡°A slip of the tongue, I¡¯m sure. Madame Corduroy meant to say Nasira. You know, that 4th-gen Hero from al-Nuwba? We¡¯ve just been traveling with Natsuko for a while, hence the slip.¡± ¡°Either way, that¡¯s not good! Heroes killing other Heroes only helps the Entropic Axis achieve their nefarious aims. Would you like my help tracking Yuna down?¡± Zhidao said. ¡°We appreciate the offer, Zhidao, but we¡¯re trying to keep this on the down low, y¡¯know? She¡¯s got her own posse, so this might into a whole thing¡­ well, you know how Heroes get when they¡¯re riled up,¡± Daisy said, looking apologetic. Zhidao rolled over, exposing his white belly contrasting with the rest of his peach fur. ¡°If you say so! My help is always on offer. You all get by with having the Yishang pay you for your emanations, but us Pengwu have to get by on being helpful.¡± ¡°I can buy you food if you¡¯re hungry,¡± Daisy said. He rolled back over excitedly. ¡°Really!? I¡¯d like a plate of fried tofu!¡± They were in luck and the teahouse had a selection of delicacies including some Shikijiman dishes like fried tofu. Sofiane had an order of water chestnut cake and Daisy and Shuixing split some bao with red-bean paste. All on Daisy¡¯s dime.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Should we wait for Natsu and Pechorin to catch up with us before we start our investigation?¡± Shuixing asked after clearing her throat with a sip of tea. ¡°No, they¡¯re probably dead,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Don¡¯t say that!¡± Daisy replied, throwing one of the buns at his face. Before it hit him, Sofiane activated his Perfect Parry ability and deflected the bun back onto the table with a spoon. ¡°Being realistic, they¡¯re #189 and¡ª sorry, #188 and #189 out of 189 Heroes. Unless Natsuko decided she wanted to¡ª¡± Sofiane paused, glanced at Zhidao, and continued. ¡°¡ªreally go all out, they probably got creamed, let¡¯s be honest. There¡¯s no sense in waiting for them when we have urgent business to attend to.¡± Zhidao nodded in agreement with that. Shuixing looked at Daisy who shrugged in vague agreement with Sofiane. Shuixing sighed. ¡°Okay, fair enough. How are we going to delegate duties then?¡± Daisy¡¯s hand shot up. ¡°I¡¯ll work on getting a hold of Yun-chan!¡± ¡°While you do that, Sofiane and I can ask some people close to her where she was when¡­ w-when Nasira was killed.¡± Sofiane held his hands up. ¡°Wait just a minute! I¡¯m in charge of the back-up plan.¡± ¡°Back-up plan?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Obviously! Never assume plan A is going to go correctly. Something¡¯s gonna happen where either Daisy can¡¯t get a meeting with Yuna, or she does and we can¡¯t get any intel out of her. I am planning for that potentiality.¡± ¡°How?¡± Daisy asked. Sofiane grinned. ¡°I¡¯m gonna learn how to play cards.¡± Daisy laughed out loud at that. Shuixing squirmed a little as she realized they were far and away the loudest guests at the teahouse, and there were a lot of eyes on them. Non-Heroes talked. Zhidao was a good example of that. ¡°So, what, you¡¯re going to meet her head-to-head in a tournament match and interrogate her over cards?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°I don¡¯t even need to do that, I¡¯ve just gotta grab her attention somehow and hover around her and she¡¯ll eventually ask to money match me. Simple as,¡± he said. Daisy raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re going to learn how to play Elements: The Coalescing and get good enough to be a tournament contender in two days?¡± Sofiane flashed her a thumbs up. ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°Aw, bless your heart,¡± Daisy said, patting him on the shoulder. ¡°In the meantime, shall we check into our hotel and dump our junk?¡± Those words sounded so strange to Shuixing. ¡°Check into our hotel.¡± Her mind had been so caught up in Natsuko and Yuna and her papers and Zhidao and card games and dimension jumping that she had entirely forgotten that she also required somewhere to sleep that was not the street. Even accounting for that, ¡°check into our hotel¡± sounded like goblin-speak to her. ¡°Do we have a reservation?¡± Shuixing asked. Daisy blinked. ¡°A what?¡± ¡°Oh my dear, dear Shuixing¡­¡± Sofiane reached across the table and clasped Shuixing¡¯s hands in his. ¡°Top Ten Heroes don¡¯t need reservations.¡± That was news to Shuixing, and she had floated between #6 and #8 on the Use-Rankings for almost two years. The hotel hadn¡¯t even existed when she¡¯d last been in Tianzhou. Nonetheless, they were soon in the lobby of The Yongfu Hotel which was carved straight out of the cliff-face of a mountain overlooking Tianzhou City. The balconies of its suites protruded from the rock like wrought-iron pimples. Shuixing felt self-conscious standing in the immaculate marble lobby wearing stained scholar¡¯s robes and dirty boots. Despite their grimy appearances, the Non-Hero staff jumped to work taking their packs from them. Shuixing blushed as a porter stuck their hands through the straps across her back sending a ticklish shiver up her spine. ¡°Mistress Corduroy, a pleasure to see you again! Mint julep for you?¡± asked one of the hotel attendants. ¡°Isn¡¯t that drink from Deco Imper¡ª?¡± Shuixing was halfway through asking before a silver cup with a mint sprig sticking out of the top was thrust into Daisy¡¯s hands. Having spent the last several years in quaint little Verm?genburgh where the height of customer service was Alva giving her an extra slice of smoked salmon on her rye bread, this was utterly alien. ¡°Want something?¡± Daisy asked the other two. ¡°I¡¯ll have a double shot of baijiu with a splash of lavender liqueur and a twist,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Chilled but no rocks.¡± ¡°And you, Mistress He?¡± asked the attendant. ¡°A-Ah, ehehe, erm¡­ a cup of tea?¡± ¡°Right away,¡± the hotel attendant said with a 90-degree bow. By the time Shuixing had gathered her wits, their packs had disappeared, whisked away by hyper-competent Non-Heroes while Daisy and Sofiane sipped on their drinks by a glowing platform of stone. She took a step forward and found a cup of tea blocking her path. ¡°Your tea, Mistress He.¡± ¡°O-Oh thank you, that was¡­ fast,¡± she said. The hotel attendant bowed once again and disappeared just as quickly. Shuixing walked over to Daisy and Sofiane, the nostalgic taste of proper Tianzhounese green tea the only thing that grounded her in this surreal fairy realm. ¡°Ready to head up?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°I-I guess so¡­ Where did Zhidao go?¡± Shuixing asked. The fox Pengwu was gone. It wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary for the fairy creature, she had always known it to wander in and out according to its whims, but all this unfamiliar newness was making her jumpy and paranoid. Sofiane shrugged. ¡°Pengwu things. Who knows?¡± Once they were all on the elevator, Sofiane spoke the words, ¡°top floor,¡± and the platform lurched upwards, almost buckling Shuixing¡¯s knees. A moment later they were in a dimly-lit cave corridor with gorgeous oak double-doors at the end. The doors opened magically for them once Daisy was within range, revealing a two-story room with a mezzanine overhanging the lounge area. The main lounge area was a sea of carpets and overstuffed furniture with glass doors out to a balcony that had a gorgeous view of all of Tianzhou. The city, the Cerulean Tower, the Heavenly Card Parlor, and the outlying regions. If Shuixing squinted she could even see the isthmus connecting Tianzhou to Verm?genburgh. Somewhere in her vision, hopefully, were two tiny specks walking towards her. ¡°I call this one!¡± Sofiane said, stomping up the wrought-iron spiral stairs to an upstairs bedroom, throwing the doors open and flopping onto a silk-clad bed of feathers. Shuixing looked around a bit more and noticed that the suite also had a dining area, study, equipment storage, mini-bar, and three more bedrooms aside from the one Sofiane had claimed. ¡°What do you think?¡± Daisy asked her, setting her empty mint julep down on a counter. ¡°I-I-It¡¯s a lot¡­¡± ¡°Not very comfortable, huh?¡± ¡°N-No! I wouldn¡¯t say that, I just¡­¡± Daisy sighed wistfully. ¡°Sleeping on a bedroll under the stars has its charm too. There are nights I want that more than this. But, you¡¯ll get used to it. Plus we¡¯ll need to rest up real good before pursuing Yun-chan, right?¡± Shuixing adjusted her glasses and blushed a little. ¡°I promise I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but um¡­ if it¡¯s alright with you, I um¡­ I think I might ask to stay at Tianzhou Academy instead. If that¡¯s okay¡­¡± Chapter 38 - Different Viewpoints on the Same Urgent Matter After a few minutes of Daisy and Shuixing apologizing to each other in an arms race of etiquette, Shui left the hotel for a more academic environment. Despite the rigid street grids¡ªoften in battle against non-linear topography¡ªthe giant crowds of Tianzhou City felt bewildering after spending so much time in Verm?genburgh. If she gave it a few days she¡¯d acclimate, just as she had when her team was based out of Tianzhou. As it was now though, the city was an assault on her senses. According to her backstory she was from here, but she had never liked its relentlessly busy and harshly commercial feel. Quiet little Verm?genburgh was more her speed. Tianzhou Academy wasn¡¯t difficult to find. It stood at the base of the twin mountains that marked the end of the Bo River valley. There the terrain flattened into a delta of little rivulets connected by canals. From its height, the academy commanded a view of the city and harbor almost as good as the Yongfu hotel. The academy grounds straddled the river by being built directly over them on a wide bridge. A multi-story tower dominated the center of the campus connected to outlying buildings and dorms by covered walkways. Manicured gardens and small ponds filled the space created by these little courtyards. Shuixing passed through Western entrance marked by a bright red moon gate. Milling about in a state of frantic hurry were various scholars and teachers in much more ornate robes than her simple Verm?genburgh ones sporting tall futou hats. She had a variation of this outfit back in Verm?genburgh. It had been a very short hobby of hers to collect academic uniforms from every region she visited as a vague nod to the universality of knowledge-seeking. This lasted three regions. An older and more official-looking personage stopped in front of her with arms full of scrolls and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you a visiting scholar from Verm?genburgh?¡± ¡°Sort of,¡± Shui replied. ¡°Hmm,¡± the scholar tilted his head. ¡°You look Tianzhou-ren though. Are you¡ª Oh! You¡¯re a Hero! My sincerest apologies for not recognizing you! Please, how may I be of assistance?¡± Shuixing¡¯s ears burned. Something felt wrong about a young woman like her ordering around a distinguished scholar. She preferred the genial, mutual respect that she had with her Non-Hero colleagues in Verm?genburgh. ¡°Er, I wouldn¡¯t mind being shown around. I was here years ago, but I don¡¯t know how things have changed. N-No need to go out of your way if you¡¯re busy though!¡± she said, waving her hands dismissively. The Non-Hero, identifying himself as Teacher Sheng, took this to be the ritualistic self-humbling of all distinguished scholars and paid her even more respect for it. He took her on a whirlwind tour of the entire campus. It was then she learned that the majority of scholarly activities were devoted to three areas only: Economics, Business, and Administration. ¡°You don¡¯t have physics?¡± she asked. ¡°Physics? No, you can¡¯t sell numbers on a graph,¡± Teacher Sheng said with a laugh like he was in on some joke with her. He sobered up when he saw Shuixing wasn¡¯t laughing. ¡°Is there some commercial use for physics we haven¡¯t heard of? I would never ask you to divulge trade secrets, but if you could give us humble scholars the broad strokes¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, n-no, nothing like that. I just research physics for my own self-edification. I enjoy working with the raw material of the world.¡± Teacher Sheng squinted. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± He slapped his forehead. ¡°The Yishang pay Heroes, I completely forgot! Of course you have time for leisure, my sincerest apologies. Us poor Non-Heroes have to focus on mundane, practical knowledge like the principles of commerce, production, and statecraft.¡± Not quite sure what to make of that, Shuixing tried to let the conversation drop, but Teacher Sheng pushed on. ¡°What sorts of subjects are covered in Verm?genburgh?¡± he asked, plainly fishing for whether or not the study of theoretical physics was normal. Shuixing cleared her throat. ¡°Well, there¡¯s, um, classics, literature¡­¡± He burst out laughing. ¡°Gods, you Heroes do have such a sense of humor.¡± Shuixing laughed politely along with him. It wasn¡¯t like she was in a position to criticize him either, since the only things she¡¯d read recently were a handful of Shikijiman light novels Natsuko had lent her. These were all garbage fiction set in strange, futuristic worlds where there were no stats or Heroes or quests. Shuixing only read them when she wanted to turn her brain off and not be bothered with constantly worrying about numbers going up or down. After the tour, Shuixing awkwardly brought up the prospect of a room in the dorm and, after convincing Teacher Sheng that she didn¡¯t want to be redirected to the much nicer Yongfu Hotel, she was given a nice room. The window faced South, with a clear view of the harbor full of junks sailing in and out and the sunset. Not quite tired enough to sleep, she sat by the window with her head in her hand and got down to one of her favorite activities after research: Sighing wistfully and staring off into the distance. An apprentice scholar had even seen fit to equip her with the ideal beverage for this activity and brewed a cup of piping hot tea. A bang woke her up to a city of lights blazing away in the night. At some point she had fallen asleep with the now-cold cup of tea still in her hands. ¡°Shui! It¡¯s me!¡± Natsuko¡¯s voice called through the door. Convinced she was dreaming, she set her cup down and opened the door to see a very sweaty and grimy Natsuko and Pechorin. ¡°W-When did you get here?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Like, five minutes ago. We walked really fast cuz I didn¡¯t want to spend more time with Pech than I had to,¡± she said. Shuixing looked over to Pechorin who was as stoic as usual. She stepped aside to let the two in. ¡°How did you know how to find me?¡± Natsuko pointed up at the ceiling of the academy. ¡°S¡¯at a joke? Anyway, where are the other two? I¡¯ve gotta¡­ explain¡­ some things.¡± ¡°Natsu you didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t,¡± Pechorin added. ¡°So then what¡ª?¡± ¡°Agh!¡± Natsuko violently rubbed her temples with both hands. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go over this twice, okay!? Where are Daisy and puffball? I¡¯m gonna get it all out in one go.¡± Shuixing pointed out her window at the mountain with bright yellow lights glaring from it. ¡°The Yongfu Hotel.¡± Natsuko looked shocked. ¡°They kicked you out!?¡± ¡°N-No! Nothing like that. I just¡­ felt uncomfortable with all the¡­ the luxury, and all.¡± ¡°Oh screw that, I¡¯m going to the hotel! No offense, Shui, but I can¡¯t charge alcohol to your dorm room.¡± ¡°Would you like me to keep you company, Shuixing?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°That¡¯s alright, I could actually use a bit of alone time after being around people so frequently these past few days. Please, make use of Daisy¡¯s hospitality!¡± She wasn¡¯t fully at ease yet, but seeing her friend safe and sound calmed her nerves a little. With that thought, she followed the other two to the hotel. Being incredibly good at their jobs, the hotel attendants were ready and waiting for the three guests of Mistress Corduroy¡¯s that matched their descriptions and Natsuko, Shuixing, and Pechorin were whisked right up to the penthouse floor before they had time to suffer being in the same space as ordinary people. They even tried to knock at Daisy¡¯s door for them, but Natsuko was quicker and louder ¡°Open up!¡± Natsuko yelled as though it wasn¡¯t the usual reaction to a knock at the door. Sofiane answered the door in his purple velvet robe and slippers, a martini glass and a hand of cards pinched in his other hand. ¡°Good gods, did you both run straight here?¡± ¡°No, I just don¡¯t take an hour to do my bedtime routines like you do,¡± she said. Sofiane sniffed. Both her and Pechorin smelled like mud. ¡°Maybe you ought to.¡± Ignoring him, Natsuko barged into the room. Daisy was out on the balcony squinting at colorful cards like the ones Sofiane was holding. ¡°Sofi, why do they have to put so many words on here? I don¡¯t wanna read an entire book every time I want to play a card,¡± Daisy called from the balcony. Natsuko could smell the drink on Daisy¡¯s voice. Sure enough, the small bar cabinet and magic ice chest already looked well-used. Daisy looked over. ¡°Oh hey! It¡¯s Natsu and Pech! Hello!¡± Throwing her cards down, she skipped over to them and gave hugs with the power of a hydraulic press. Natsuko sputtered and had to slap Daisy¡¯s back several times before she could breathe again. ¡°How¡¯d things go!?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°I think I get the picture, given the change in the Use-Ranking,¡± Sofiane said with a soberness that belied his inebriation. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ not what you think it is,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill anyone.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t,¡± Pechorin added. ¡°Thanks, Pech.¡± Sofiane pointed at Pechorin. ¡°Did he?¡± ¡°No, Pech didn¡¯t kill anyone either.¡± ¡°¡®Kay, so, someone fell on your bottle accidentally then,¡± Sofiane said as a joke. ¡°No, it was intentional.¡± ¡°Hold on a sec,¡± Sofiane said, taking one gulp, then two, then three from his lavender martini. ¡°Mm. Alright, I¡¯m ready. Pardon my Cascadian. What the fuck happened!?¡± Natsuko winced. ¡°The one¡­ the Hero that had been murdering the Non-Heroes at the Lanbaoshi roadhouse was Frederick Hohenheim.¡± Daisy and Sofiane blinked, then looked at each other, then back at Natsuko. ¡°Who?¡± Natsuko scoffed. ¡°He¡¯s¡ª he was a 1st-gen Hero, like me, Shui, and Pech, okay? And he¡­ he didn¡¯t want to be here anymore. The murders were like some messed up research on how to¡ª to not come back when he died.¡± ¡°So you helped him,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°So I let him help himself!¡± Natsuko yelled. A brief silence followed before Natsuko muttered, ¡°it was his damn choice. Not mine.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whose damn choice it was, every Hero in all of Po-Lin plus the Yishang knows a Hero just died permanently! We were supposed to keep this on the down-low before everyone found out about your stupid wine bottle!¡± Sofiane said, jabbing her in the chest with his finger. She slapped his hand away. ¡°No one does know! This isn¡¯t the first time we¡¯ve lost someone. Five Heroes went that way in bad dimension-jumping accidents before you and Daisy were even summoned, puffball. It¡¯s not unheard of.¡± ¡°It is for almost everyone else. Plus, in case you forgot, Harald¡¯s team knows you have the bottle and they know what it does! So how long do you think it¡¯s going to be until they tell everyone that they know a certain someone who can kill Heroes permanently and exactly how she does it!?¡± Natsuko¡¯s anger caught in her throat and she couldn¡¯t manage a word. Sofiane hadn¡¯t seen the look in Frederick¡¯s eyes. The pain in his voice. Now, more than ever, she was convinced she had done the right thing. But she had nothing else to say. With that, Sofiane stomped out to the balcony and stared out to Tianzhou, his back to the useless, idiot 1st-gens who couldn¡¯t do the smallest things right without blowing things up. Natsuko went off in another direction, though having locked herself into staying there for the night, it was only into one of the bedrooms. She felt like a child having a temper tantrum. Shuixing and Pechorin followed her inside. Shuixing shut the door. ¡°Natsu¡­ I know you did what you thought was right.¡± The anger Natsuko felt was almost narcotic. She wanted to keep feeling that anger and fling it at something, but Shuixing¡¯s soft, calm voice was like water poured over a campfire. Instantly, she felt doused. ¡°Maybe we should just let the secret get out,¡± Natsuko said, sitting down on the plush, overstuffed bed and drawing her knees up between her arms. ¡°Maybe we ought to just give everyone the ability to kill each other permanently and make the Yishang scramble to unscrew this horrible system they¡¯ve set up.¡± Shuixing sat down on the bed and squeezed her friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That would put me and Pech at risk too, you know.¡± ¡°Damn, you make 50% of a good point,¡± Natsuko said with a small chuckle. Shuixing exhaled. ¡°There¡¯s something I need to tell you. Something I noticed when I was traveling with Daisy and Sofiane.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t think they necessarily have the same aims as us. O-Or at least¡­ they¡¯re coming at the matter of getting my papers back from a different angle.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I figured that out already.¡± Pechorin nodded along as though he had also figured this out much earlier. Statistics:
NATSUKO
Level: 48 EXP To Level: 77,780 Class: Jack Fire Elemental HP: (9,440 | 10,521)
STATSThis narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Force: 124 Vitality: 150 Finesse: 63 Cognition: 45 Insight: 102
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Hothead ¡ª Deal 50% more fire elemental damage while under half health ACTIVE: Jack of All Trades ¡ª Every two levels, Jack learn an ability belonging to another class. These can be used once per day. ELEMENTAL: Fire Gale ¡ª Produces a burst of fire from its user''s limbs dealing moderate fire elemental damage and setting target ablaze ACTIVE: Fuel Injection ¡ª Parry an elemental attack and regain 10% of the damage that would be dealt as HP and halve all current cooldowns. DESPERATION ART: Spontaneous Combustion ¡ª Coats the user in a wreath of flames and deals heavy fire damage centered on the user who loses half their health.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #188/189 USE-NUMBER: 11,129 Emanations ART NUMBER: 7,057 ERO-ART NUMBER: 4,724 FIC NUMBER: 17,000
Shuixing He
Level: 44 EXP To Level: 38,560 Class: Medico-Mage Water Elemental HP: (6,588 | 6,588)
STATS
Force: 24 Vitality: 69 Finesse: 80 Cognition: 178 Insight: 95
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Mental Mending ¡ª Add Cognition stat to any elemental abilities which heal or cure statuses. ACTIVE: Light of Hope ¡ª Cast a beam of light that deals significant unmitigated damage to undead enemies ELEMENTAL: Healing Waters ¡ª Passively store charges over time which can be used to heal HP proportional to Insight. ELEMENTAL: Ablutions ¡ª Use a charge of Healing Waters to cure status effects. DESPERATION ART: Bubble Storm ¡ª Produces a field of bubbles which protect and heal teammates and harm and slow enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #186/189 USE-NUMBER: 18,610 Emanations ART NUMBER: 5,455 ERO-ART NUMBER: 2,106 FIC NUMBER: 18,195
Sofiane de la Nuit
Level: 71 EXP To Level: 675,063 Class: Duelist Lightning Elemental HP: (62,010 | 62,010)
STATS
Force: 360 Vitality: 592 Finesse: 775 Cognition: 190 Insight: 447
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: En Garde ¡ª Successful parries increase crit chance on the next attack by 100%. Any overflow over regular crit chance is converted into bonus damage. ACTIVE: Perfect Parry ¡ª Briefly enter a stance in which the user automatically parries any damage in all directions. ELEMENTAL: Coup De Grace ¡ª Aims a precise strike at the target¡¯s vitals and deals massive lightning damage to them on a successful hit. If this drops the target below half-health, it kills them instantly. ELEMENTAL: Ball Lightning ¡ª Turns the user into a ball of lightning and zips a short distance, dealing damage along the way. DESPERATION ART: Overcharge ¡ª For a brief period, all abilities have no cooldown and teammates¡¯ attacks deal bonus Lightning damage and stun enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #37/189 USE-NUMBER: 2,399,773 Emanations ART NUMBER: 11,233 ERO-ART NUMBER: 15,701 FIC NUMBER: 45,037
Pechorin the Gunslinger
Level: 47 EXP To Level: 52,111 Class: Gunslinger Metal Elemental HP: (4,234 | 8,377)
STATS
Force: 128 Vitality: 108 Finesse: 108 Cognition: 81 Insight: 4
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Headhunter ¡ª Each attack on enemy weak points reduces skill cooldowns by 1s. PASSIVE: Magnificent Seventh ¡ª Deal 200% damage while below 25% health and if you die, fully heal nearest ally. ELEMENTAL: Flak Cannon ¡ª Fires exploding shots in every direction which deal light Metal elemental damage and inflict the ¡°conductive¡± status effect. ACTIVE: Vampiric Bullet ¡ª Fires an extra powerful shot which deals physical damage and heals for 33% of damage dealt. DESPERATION ART: Concentrated Fire ¡ª Attack speed quadruples and if target enemy dies, automatically lock on to the next.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #189/189 USE-NUMBER: 3,990 Emanations ART NUMBER: 467 ERO-ART NUMBER: 68 FIC NUMBER: 8,070
Daisy Corduroy
Level: 89 EXP To Level: 4,986,410 Class: Summoner Earth Elemental HP: (155,872 | 155,872)
STATS
Force: 2,948 Vitality: 2,745 Finesse: 1,730 Cognition: 1,559 Insight: 3,318
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Fashionista ¡ª Sacrificed accessories and armor give +25% bonus experience to the merged item. ELEMENTAL: Terraform ¡ª Summon or sculpt minerals into desired form. Maximum volume is determined by Insight. ELEMENTAL: Golem Creation ¡ª Imbue Terraformed minerals with consciousness corresponding to the animal they are shaped as. PASSIVE ELEMENTAL: Granite Sentinel ¡ª Teammates within a kilometer of the user take less physical damage proportional to Insight and cannot be critically hit. DESPERATION ART: Tectonic Drift ¡ª Rearrange the surface of a large area, causing earthquakes, fissures, and rockslides dealing massive physical and elemental damage with each terrain feature an enemy collides with.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #4/189 USE-NUMBER: 7,829,544 Emanations ART NUMBER: 27,789 ERO-ART NUMBER: 34,064 FIC NUMBER: 49,939
Chapter 39 - Two Acquaintances Reconcile, Two Acquaintances Quarrel After Pechorin moved into his own room and Shuixing returned to the academy, Natsuko was left to fight a valiant battle against her pride. She would not leave her room. Or so she thought. Inevitably, the siren call of the bar in the foyer beckoned to her, and to avoid having to encounter Sofiane, she sprinted, grabbed a bottle of baijiu, and dashed back to her room. By morning the bottle was 2/3rds empty and her guts felt like they were twisted in knots. Not even the fine silk bed sheets provided any comfort. Worse still, the window curtains were half drawn, letting in the evil sun. ¡°Ughhhh¡­¡± She moaned as she left the bed, stumbling over the boots she¡¯d kicked off in random directions the night before. She shut the curtains and was plunged back into comfortable darkness. Her face had only just slammed back down when there came a knocking at the door. ¡°Natsuko.¡± Of course it was her least favorite voice in the world: Sofiane¡¯s scratchy countertenor. She groaned. ¡°What?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got work to do. You need to get out here and play cards.¡± ¡°Cards? Why cards?¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna¡ª listen, just come out here and I can explain the plan.¡± ¡°Apologize first.¡± ¡°For what!? I¡¯m not¡ª hmph, sorry for not being more tactful in my criticism.¡± Natsuko shuffled out of her bed and swiped the bottle of baijiu from the floor and chugged down some hair of the dog. She set the bottle down on the desk next to its much larger wine-bottle cousin and threw open the door. ¡°Grovel and I¡¯ll consider playing cards,¡± she said. ¡°What!? No! I am not groveling!¡± Natsuko shrugged. ¡°Get Daisy to help you then.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t! She¡¯s so bad it actively deteriorates my own card-playing abilities. Look, we need to get these papers back, and chances are I¡¯m gonna have to challenge Yuna to a money match in exchange for Shuixing¡¯s papers, so stop screwing around and help me train for this tournament,¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko squinted ¡°Doesn¡¯t Daisy know her personally? She should just¡ª¡± Sofiane grabbed Natsuko by the arms. ¡°I have read enough light novels to know that it¡¯s going to come down to this card tournament, okay? There is no way around it. This is gonna be a whole thing. Either be part of the solution,¡± he said, gesturing at the table full of colorful Elements: The Coalescing cards, ¡°or screw things up even more than you already have. What¡¯ll it be, firecrotch?¡± ¡°Grovel,¡± she said. Sofiane immediately threw himself at her feet, kowtowing before her with his hands clasped in prayer. ¡°Please help me train at cards. I¡¯m sorry for pointing out your flaws!¡± She put her foot on his head. ¡°Flaws which you may or may not even have!¡± She took her foot off his head. ¡°And you¡¯re sorry for throwing a fit about¡­ about Frederick?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that one.¡± She sighed. It wasn¡¯t a perfect grovel, but she was too hungover to get much pleasure out of it anyway. ¡°Fine. Let me fix a bloody mary and then we can play cards.¡± ~~~ Watching Pechorin try to eat the big, fluffy, steamed pork bun while maintaining a dark, brooding aura had Shuixing positively tickled. Large bites, apparently, were not edgy. Neither was making noise. Pechorin¡¯s method of eating the giant bun was to take itty-bitty little nibbles and to chew slowly and silently. He looked like a rabbit eating in slow-motion. ¡°At this rate we won¡¯t need to get you lunch either,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°All food turns to ash in my mouth,¡± Pechorin said, though he had not just spent at least five minutes agonizing over whether he wanted the pork and kimchi or tofu and bok choy bun. Shuixing was already halfway through her crispy fish bun and she wasn¡¯t a fast eater herself. The copies of the local gazette the buns were wrapped in had had enough time to bleed ink onto the bun, painting smudged words onto them. ¡°Fortunately, we have the easiest of the tasks,¡± Shuixing said. The crisp, salty air and having her close friends back lightened her mood tremendously. ¡°You think it will be easy to learn information about Yuna? I was given to understand she was rather reticent,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°She is,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°But Non-Heroes are not. If she¡¯s around the Heavenly Card Parlor all the time, all we have to do is ask one of the employees, right?¡± As if straining to hear its own name, the Heavenly Card Parlor peeked over the lip of the tiled roof they were passing under, coming into view in all of its 13-story, glowing lapis glory. Outside the tower there were already tables set up in the streets with a group of Non-Heroes playing against each other as practice for the tournament in two days. Shuixing didn¡¯t quite understand the appeal of cards. The uncertainty and aspect of chance didn¡¯t sit well with her mind that preferred determinable outcomes. It seemed more the type of thing that Natsuko would enjoy. Walking through grand, twenty-foot doors, Shuixing and Pechorin strode into the first floor of the gambling pagoda. A reception desk staffed with Non-Heroes greeted them with sparkling smiles. ¡°Are you here to play some games?¡± A man in a gilded robe and hat asked. ¡°We are happy to provide you with anything you like while you play. Food, drink, pipes, entertainment! You name it and we¡¯ll procure it.¡± ¡°Erm, w-we actually came for some information¡­¡± Shuixing said. ¡°About the tournament? Here, we have a brochure,¡± he said, passing over a scroll with the tournament rules, schedule, and bracket. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re not¡ª¡± ¡°Sir, we inquire about information of a more¡­ discreet nature,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°We have a brochure for that too,¡± the receptionist replied, passing over another scroll with a list of names matched to glossy Opto-Box pictures. Pechorin handed it back. ¡°Not quite that discreet. We were wondering if you knew of the comings-and-goings of a one Yuna Shikansogo.¡± Despite the man¡¯s professionalism, his eye twitched. ¡°What business do you have with Ms. Shikansogo, may I ask?¡± While they talked, Shuixing peered into the first floor playing hall. It was gigantic and full of people playing cards shrouded in thick smoke from hundreds of water pipes. There were also armed guards stationed at every entrance, exit, and stairwell in the patchwork armor and glaives of the 46 Ronin (of which there were much more than 46). Yuna had the entire building secured by her own followers, Shuixing realized. ¡°We¡¯re trying to establish a timeline of events. We don¡¯t need any privileged information, just whether or not she was here this past week,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Funny you should mention that,¡± the receptionist said. ¡°She was indeed gone. It was hard not to notice since the number of patron complaints went down to almost zero. I believe she was gone from this past Saturday to yesterday evening.¡± Shuixing took off her already-clean glasses and nervously rubbed them on her sleeves. Her worries that they were wasting time following the wrong lead were alleviated, but now the threat was immediate and real. The rebel general Hero had been in possession of Shuixing¡¯s papers for almost a week now. Was that enough time to build a functional replica of Natsuko¡¯s wine bottle? Surely not. Shui herself hadn¡¯t even built a prototype, and the work was purely theoretical. But what if she had? Or what if they got the papers back, but in retaliation, Yuna told the other Heroes about the existence of forced dimension-jumping? Something bad was coming, Shuixing knew. She wanted to be able to crawl back into her forgotten lab and continue her forgotten research that no one cared about. ¡°Rarely is my heart¡¯s torment outdone by another. I commend you,¡± Pechorin said, standing with his hands behind his back. ¡°Oh! No, I-I was just thinking about things,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Awful things. Terrible things. Omens of disasters to come,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡­¡± Well, no, it was a pretty accurate picture. ¡°If you can¡¯t do anything about it,¡± Pechorin said, turning around and heading for the door, ¡°at least aestheticize it.¡± On the way to the door he stopped in front of the receptionist once more. ¡°I trust you understand this is a matter of utmost secrecy?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± the man said. ¡°Screw Yuna.¡± ~~~ After stuffing herself on crullers, sesame pancakes, and any other form of fried dough available, Daisy concluded she was too sluggish to bother with Yuna¡¯s retainers and elected to skip that step. She knew Yun-chan would be playing on the top floor with the other high-rollers. Daisy clicked her pocket watch. A giant stone bird pulled itself free from the road and hopped around a little as though it didn¡¯t weigh four tons, shaking the earth with every leap. ¡°Mornin¡¯ Peng,¡± Daisy said, running and leaping onto the bird¡¯s back. With the grinding of rocks, the bird beat its wings, lifting itself and its summoner into the air above Tianzhou City. All the regions¡¯ major cities looked different from the air. Aside from her native region of Deco Imperia, she thought Tianzhou was the prettiest. Its sharp grids and endless white-red-and-blue tiled roofs resembled a giant, city-sized game board. She thought that was quite cute given the city¡¯s super-serious-business atmosphere. Peng dove vertically towards the lapis roof of the Heavenly Card Parlor. Daisy laugh-screamed until Peng pulled out of the dive and into an orbiting helix around the pagoda¡¯s spire. ¡°Thanks, Peng,¡± Daisy said, hopping from the stone bird to the roof. It gave one last gravely call before dissolving into a cloud of dust swept away by the wind. Daisy bounded across the roof, grabbing the lip of the last tile and swinging down onto the balcony that ringed the entire top floor. Her entrance was noted by the card players, the majority of which were Heroes of a reasonably high Use-Ranking. Yuna, seated at a low table opposite the stairs, was the second highest after herself. Aside from her, Daisy spied the 17th, 24th, and 25th-ranked Heroes, Cunegonde, Baphomet, and Altan. There were some other Heroes scattered about that she had a dim recollection of. Some she didn¡¯t recognize at all, including the al-Nuwban Hero whose table she had nearly knocked over swinging onto the balcony. Daisy¡¯s grandiose entrance earned her numerous eyes in her direction, two of which belonged to Yuna. It was enough attention she felt compelled to give a small curtsy. The room immediately filled with whispering. Seeing a Top Ten Hero that wasn¡¯t Yuna in the card parlor was a big event. No one had expected Daisy to show up. The ten million Ying reward wasn¡¯t really worth it. It was chump change even if she hadn¡¯t already bought everything there was to buy. ¡°Yun-chan!¡± Daisy said, jogging over to her acquaintance. Yuna sat in the corner on a low couch. She had one knee propped up, the other tucked under, with a waist-length mane of black hair decorated with knuckle bones and beads spilling across the seat. Her dual katanas rested next to her on her left and a gourd full of rice wine to her right. Every single one of the cards in front of her looked like they had been crumpled in at least one fit of intense rage. The rebel general side-eyed Daisy with an expression of sheer, unadulterated malice. Daisy barely had time to register the frigid reception before an entire squadron of Yuna¡¯s revolutionary soldiers formed a wall between them. ¡°The Shogun does not wish to speak with you,¡± announced one of the guards. Statistics:
NATSUKO
Level: 48 EXP To Level: 77,780 Class: Jack Fire Elemental HP: (10,521 | 10,521)
STATS
Force: 124 Vitality: 150 Finesse: 63 Cognition: 45 Insight: 102
ABILITIES
PASSIVE:This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Hothead ¡ª Deal 50% more fire elemental damage while under half health ACTIVE: Jack of All Trades ¡ª Every two levels, Jack learn an ability belonging to another class. These can be used once per day. ELEMENTAL: Fire Gale ¡ª Produces a burst of fire from its user''s limbs dealing moderate fire elemental damage and setting target ablaze ACTIVE: Fuel Injection ¡ª Parry an elemental attack and regain 10% of the damage that would be dealt as HP and halve all current cooldowns. DESPERATION ART: Spontaneous Combustion ¡ª Coats the user in a wreath of flames and deals heavy fire damage centered on the user who loses half their health.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #188/189 USE-NUMBER: 11,130 Emanations ART NUMBER: 7,057 ERO-ART NUMBER: 4,724 FIC NUMBER: 17,001
Shuixing He
Level: 44 EXP To Level: 38,560 Class: Medico-Mage Water Elemental HP: (6,588 | 6,588)
STATS
Force: 24 Vitality: 69 Finesse: 80 Cognition: 178 Insight: 95
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Mental Mending ¡ª Add Cognition stat to any elemental abilities which heal or cure statuses. ACTIVE: Light of Hope ¡ª Cast a beam of light that deals significant unmitigated damage to undead enemies ELEMENTAL: Healing Waters ¡ª Passively store charges over time which can be used to heal HP proportional to Insight. ELEMENTAL: Ablutions ¡ª Use a charge of Healing Waters to cure status effects. DESPERATION ART: Bubble Storm ¡ª Produces a field of bubbles which protect and heal teammates and harm and slow enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #186/189 USE-NUMBER: 18,610 Emanations ART NUMBER: 5,455 ERO-ART NUMBER: 2,106 FIC NUMBER: 18,195
Sofiane de la Nuit
Level: 71 EXP To Level: 675,063 Class: Duelist Lightning Elemental HP: (62,010 | 62,010)
STATS
Force: 360 Vitality: 592 Finesse: 775 Cognition: 190 Insight: 447
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: En Garde ¡ª Successful parries increase crit chance on the next attack by 100%. Any overflow over regular crit chance is converted into bonus damage. ACTIVE: Perfect Parry ¡ª Briefly enter a stance in which the user automatically parries any damage in all directions. ELEMENTAL: Coup De Grace ¡ª Aims a precise strike at the target¡¯s vitals and deals massive lightning damage to them on a successful hit. If this drops the target below half-health, it kills them instantly. ELEMENTAL: Ball Lightning ¡ª Turns the user into a ball of lightning and zips a short distance, dealing damage along the way. DESPERATION ART: Overcharge ¡ª For a brief period, all abilities have no cooldown and teammates¡¯ attacks deal bonus Lightning damage and stun enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #37/189 USE-NUMBER: 2,395,212 Emanations ART NUMBER: 11,233 ERO-ART NUMBER: 15,702 FIC NUMBER: 45,038
Pechorin the Gunslinger
Level: 47 EXP To Level: 52,111 Class: Gunslinger Metal Elemental HP: (8,377 | 8,377)
STATS
Force: 128 Vitality: 108 Finesse: 108 Cognition: 81 Insight: 4
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Headhunter ¡ª Each attack on enemy weak points reduces skill cooldowns by 1s. PASSIVE: Magnificent Seventh ¡ª Deal 200% damage while below 25% health and if you die, fully heal nearest ally. ELEMENTAL: Flak Cannon ¡ª Fires exploding shots in every direction which deal light Metal elemental damage and inflict the ¡°conductive¡± status effect. ACTIVE: Vampiric Bullet ¡ª Fires an extra powerful shot which deals physical damage and heals for 33% of damage dealt. DESPERATION ART: Concentrated Fire ¡ª Attack speed quadruples and if target enemy dies, automatically lock on to the next.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #189/189 USE-NUMBER: 3,988 Emanations ART NUMBER: 467 ERO-ART NUMBER: 68 FIC NUMBER: 8,070
Daisy Corduroy
Level: 89 EXP To Level: 4,986,410 Class: Summoner Earth Elemental HP: (155,872 | 155,872)
STATS
Force: 2,948 Vitality: 2,745 Finesse: 1,730 Cognition: 1,559 Insight: 3,318
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Fashionista ¡ª Sacrificed accessories and armor give +25% bonus experience to the merged item. ELEMENTAL: Terraform ¡ª Summon or sculpt minerals into desired form. Maximum volume is determined by Insight. ELEMENTAL: Golem Creation ¡ª Imbue Terraformed minerals with consciousness corresponding to the animal they are shaped as. PASSIVE ELEMENTAL: Granite Sentinel ¡ª Teammates within a kilometer of the user take less physical damage proportional to Insight and cannot be critically hit. DESPERATION ART: Tectonic Drift ¡ª Rearrange the surface of a large area, causing earthquakes, fissures, and rockslides dealing massive physical and elemental damage with each terrain feature an enemy collides with.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #4/189 USE-NUMBER: 7,832,111 Emanations ART NUMBER: 27,792 ERO-ART NUMBER: 34,070 FIC NUMBER: 49,945
Chapter 40 - Counting Cards to Prevent an Infinite Combo ¡°You¡¯re terrible at this you know,¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko bit her lip. ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m trying to think!¡± She moved to lay a card down on the table. ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Sofiane said. She pulled the card back up to her hand. Paused. Thought about it. Then said, ¡°Wait, how do you know what I was going to play?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, I was just asking if you were sure.¡± ¡°You¡¯re obnoxious,,¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane looked up from over his cards at his opponent. Her response felt oddly subdued. He would have been lying if he said it wasn¡¯t tempting to poke at her some more. But he also felt drained. ¡°What happened?¡± Sofiane asked, laying down his spell-negation card before Natsuko had even set her own spell down. He had clocked by now that her playstyle was to put every single card she could down as fast as possible. ¡°You play like a little bitch, you know that?¡± Natsuko said, throwing the monster she was going to play in her discard. ¡°Only cowards use counters.¡± ¡°?''est les cartes!¡± he said, tossing the counter in his own discard. For a moment, only the ambient hum of the city crowds passed between them. ¡°You mean with Frederick?¡± Natsuko asked, tapping the table to end her turn. Sofiane drew a card, eyes scanning it and the rest of his hand, thinking how they might be used together. ¡°No, the other major side-quest you went on.¡± Again, this was Natsuko¡¯s cue to snip back at him, but she didn¡¯t. Leaning back in her chair, she said, ¡°I already told you just about all of it.¡± Sofiane was absorbed in tapping all his Accessories and Fonts to get whatever resources he needed to string together one of his big combos. Natsuko didn¡¯t even really care enough to check his numbers or rule-following. If he said she lost, she probably did. That had been how the other six games they¡¯d played had ended. She learned not to ask how on the first game. ¡°All of it? I can tell it¡¯s bothering you, and you didn¡¯t seem this rattled when Margaret died,¡± Sofiane said without looking up from his card-tapping. ¡°Cuz she¡¯s not really dead, she¡¯s just chopped up in that dungeon. We can get the Yishang to fix her,¡± Natsuko said, setting her cards down to slam back the rest of her wine glass full of cinnamon whiskey. ¡°You didn¡¯t know that at the time.¡± ¡°Guess I didn¡¯t. Tell you what, you wanna know the rest? Then you have to tell me what you and Daisy are up to,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± Sofiane said, his card-tapping coming to a halt. She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Don¡¯t wanna tell me? That¡¯s fine. You don¡¯t get the full story about me and Frederick.¡± ¡°You and Frederick? Okay, you dated way back when, broke up, but you still felt something for him and didn¡¯t like seeing him want to kill himself. That about it?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I pass.¡± ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± Natsuko slapped her cards down on the table and went to pour herself another mixture of whiskey and cinnamon-sugar. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s your turn!¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna win anyway. Next turn you¡¯re gonna explain to me how you win by numbers going up to infinity. Who cares if I get a drink first?¡± Natsuko yelled from the bar. ¡°I¡¯m sure there are ways you can win,¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko jumped and almost dropped the whiskey bottle as she was surprised by Shuixing and Pechorin sitting on the couch. ¡°Gods, Shui, cough or something!¡± ¡°My apologies! Erm¡­ we have learned some information about Yuna¡¯s whereabouts this past week¡­¡± ¡°And?¡± Sofiane said, antsy to get his turn over so he could explain to Natsuko why she lost by numbers going up to infinity. ¡°She was missing from Tianzhou long enough to make the trip to Verm?genburgh.¡± Sofiane grinned. ¡°Haha! Looks like we were on the money. Now we just need Daisy to get back and tell us she couldn¡¯t get a hold of her and we can do this card tournament thing.¡± Pechorin leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. ¡°Why do you think that will be the case?¡± ¡°Because it would be inconvenient, and there is nothing that our little universe likes more than throwing inconveniences at us,¡± Sofiane said. Frederick¡¯s words about the Yishang were still ringing in Natsuko¡¯s head. She hadn¡¯t quite bought all of it, but it made her more wary of Daisy and Sofiane. The former had absolutely no reason to question or go against the Yishang, and the latter was still clutching at the idea that you could win at the Use-Ranking game if you tried hard enough. Either way, Natsuko didn¡¯t know what they planned to do if or when they got Shuixing¡¯s papers back. And while Sofiane at least wore his greediness on his sleeve, Daisy kept it hidden under her bubbly personality. The act suckered Natsuko in initially, but she wasn¡¯t buying it anymore. Something was off about her and she was going to¡ªLove what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Play your damn turn!¡± Sofiane yelled. ¡°Fine, Puffball, tell me why I¡¯m going to lose next turn,¡± she said, sitting back down with her new drink and crossing her legs. ¡°Play your turn first.¡± Shuixing wandered over and looked over Natsuko¡¯s shoulders. She hadn¡¯t played much in the way of cards because the game had come out after she¡¯d devoted herself to studying Natsuko¡¯s bottle. But the rules were simple enough. It looked like Sofiane had the advantage, having almost twice as many cards laid out in three neat little rows. Given the rules of the game, she could figure out what about 2/3rds of them did just by glancing at them. ¡°You said he¡¯s trying to make some kind of infinite combo?¡± Shui asked, pushing her glasses up her nose. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s how he always tries to win: Through unfair bullshit. On brand, right?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°From the bottle girl!?¡± Sofiane said. Ignoring their quarrel, Shuixing¡¯s eyes scanned the cards on Sofiane¡¯s side once again. Most of the cards in the second row seemed like passive things that let him draw more cards or expend more resources, not something that would let him string together a combo. Thus, whatever he was doing had to be on the monster cards. Of the six he had out, one drew her eye. It was a weak monster, but the wording on the card said it could tap to make more mud sprites. ¡°Sofiane, in the nature of fair play, is there a card in your deck that states that your monster cards don¡¯t tap when you use them?¡± His gaze sharpened and he straightened his back. ¡°Why yes, Madame Shuixing, there is.¡± ¡°Natsu, use your fireball spell to kill that card,¡± Shuixing said, pointing at the Swamp Summoner monster. Her voice in teacher mode. ¡°He¡¯s just gonna counter it again!¡± Natsuko whined. ¡°I don¡¯t think he has a counter. Consider the number of cards. He has 60 in a deck and since he most likely needs to cast a lot of spells, he¡¯s going to have more Elemental Fonts than normal. That accounts for about 26, and then a few Accessory cards to compensate for needing several different Elemental Energies. Then, as you can see out on the table, he needs multiple key passives to help his board ramp up in power. Considering he is allowed to have three copies of each card in his deck, and he needs certain combos to win, it¡¯s likely that for each copy of one of these he¡¯s going to have the maximum. Add all those on the table up and you get 54 total cards, which means the last six are his allotment of counter cards. How many have you spent, Sofiane?¡± He set his hand down and crossed his arms. ¡°Four.¡± ¡°Two remain to be used. However, with three cards in his hand and 27 left in the deck, this means that the probability that each one of those three cards could be a counter is two over 30 reducing to one over 15. Doing that three times gives us¡­¡± She paused to let Natsuko do the math. ¡°A snowball¡¯s chance in hell?¡± ¡°A 20% probability that Sofiane is holding a spell which can negate your fireball." Natsuko¡¯s eyes widened and she grinned wickedly. She slapped her fireball spell down. ¡°Hehehe. Fireball bitch! Get that shit off a¡¯ my table!¡± she said, nearly spilling her cinnamon whiskey in her excitement. Sofiane picked the Swamp Summoner up and gently deposited him in his own discard pile. ¡°Shui?¡± ¡°O-Oh, u-um, I¡¯m really sorry about interrupting your game!¡± Shuixing said, her voice regaining its quiet wispiness. ¡°Congratulations. You¡¯ve been promoted to my partner in the Get Access to Yuna Through Winning the Card Tournament Plan B. Natsuko, you¡¯re fired.¡± ¡°Thank the gods,¡± Natsuko said, chucking her cards down and standing up from the table. Shuixing tried to wave Sofiane off. ¡°I-I don¡¯t actually know the game that well, that was all just guesswork and basic probabilities!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to know it well. I know it well, and you have the brain to help me maximize my chances,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Didn¡¯t you pick it up yesterday?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Some things are natural talents,¡± he said. ¡°Like the ability to annoy people. Maybe go nourish your talents somewhere else?¡± Natsuko gave him the finger. ¡°Not while there¡¯s free food and booze here.¡± ¡°Not free. Charged to Daisy,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Yeah, but, functionally free,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I¡¯ve never known you to take handouts. I thought you were explicitly against them,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°Hey! These aren¡¯t handouts, these are operational costs!¡± Something seemed different about Pechorin too, Sofiane thought. But Pechorin was harder to peg because his baseline was rooted in wild, overzealous archetype-building. Maybe that¡¯s what was different. He seemed more normal. Aside from talking to Pechorin, there wasn¡¯t much Natsuko could do besides watch Sofiane explain things to Shuixing who explained things back to Sofiane which all flew way over her head the moment her dear, intellectual friend started talking about probabilistic outcomes. She let her eyes glaze while riding the waves of her drink. The banter of her Non-Hero drinking buddies had seemed like such a small part of her day back in Verm?genburgh, but she realized how much more fun it made getting plastered. Being drunk while watching other people play cards wasn¡¯t even enjoyable, it just made her dizzy. You wouldn¡¯t know they were on a dangerous mission to recover the secrets of how to commit permanent murder by watching Sofiane and Shuixing talk card strategy. Not only that, the more bored she got, the more her brain started to think about recent events, and she didn¡¯t want that at all. What she wanted was something big and actiony to do. ¡°Oh, Natsuko, I forgot to tell you,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°You know who we stumbled across on the way to Tianzhou?¡± ¡°Our mystery attacker? And you caught them and beat them up and from then on you all have been playing a hilarious prank pretending our master plan to get your papers back involves a freakin¡¯ card game, just to see how long your old pal Natsuko will go along with it?¡± ¡°Er, no, Zhidao!¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Natsuko said, her face screwing up in disgust. ¡°I¡¯d rather the prank.¡± Shuixing giggled. ¡°What!? He¡¯s creepy, okay? I said it then, I¡¯ll say it now: That smarmy little fox has some weird shit going on with him. I would bet my mother¡¯s life that¡¯s the case.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s your mother?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Fine. On Shui¡¯s life.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t bet my own life for me,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Where¡¯d he go?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°No idea. Why?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go find him,¡± Natsuko said, standing up, wobbling for a moment, then stomping to the door. ¡°M¡¯gonna beat his secrets out of ¡®em. Never trust no damn mascots.¡± Pechorin watched her slam the door shut. ¡°Should we go stop¡­¡± By the time he turned around, Sofiane and Shuixing were already enraptured in their card strategizing. His old teammate Shui had apparently found something almost as enthralling as physics to study. Chapter 41 - Cards on the Outside, Poetry on the Inside ¡°I¡¯m not gonna speak to a dog of the Yishang,¡± Yuna said, sounding like a growling wolf. ¡°She says she¡¯s not gonna speak to a dog of the Yishang,¡± one of Yuna¡¯s Non-Hero rebel soldiers explained. ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Daisy said, folding her arms. ¡°Yun-chan, two months ago we were shooting the breeze at a summer party event. A month ago we were drinking together after finally getting through that new Sibe-Landian dungeon. What in the heck are you on about now?¡± Fangs snuck out of the snarl Yuna sent her way. ¡°I better not hear you call me Yun-chan again, understand? I got a different perspective on things now. I know you¡¯ve got your special relationship with the Yishang, same as all the other Top Heroes.¡± Yuna spat a tar black glob on the floor at Daisy¡¯s feet. ¡°¡®Cept for me. And I¡¯m done playing the villainess who¡¯s always thwarted just before following through on her ambition. The Yishang are propping up the Shikijiman Imperial inbreds against the oppressed Non-Heroes. I plan to change that. For good this time. No cute little quests the Yishang can tinker with to make me lose. I¡¯m playing for real this time. And when the money¡¯s down¡­¡± Yuna slammed the table, causing the bags of Ying she had wagered to jingle. ¡°You¡¯ll be on the Yishang¡¯s side, because it¡¯s their teats you suckle and their yoke around your neck.¡± Daisy furrowed her brows. ¡°Am I the livestock or the offspring in this metaphor?¡± ¡°Both!¡± Yuna yelled, causing the Heroes that had been politely ignoring the drama to turn and watch. ¡°I asked myself, deep down, whether I wanted to take the easy road and play along with the Yishang and live a cushy little life where all I have to do is go to their shitty little events and put on degrading costumes and get my promise that I¡¯ll never become irrelevant. I meditated on that for days. Then, I decided I¡¯m not gonna do that anymore. I decided I¡¯m going to finally help the poor, oppressed Shikijimans once and for all, no matter what it takes.¡± The accusations Yuna had thrown Daisy¡¯s way didn¡¯t bother her, they were basically true. But the ¡°no matter what it takes¡± comment made her anxious. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Daisy asked, her usual playfulness falling away. ¡°Aha! There it is!¡± Yuna said with a dark laugh. ¡°The mask slips! There¡¯s the Daisy I knew was in there.¡± ¡°Yuna, what did you mean by ¡®no matter what it takes¡¯?¡± The Non-Heroes guarding their general pointed their weapons at Daisy. Twenty or more naginata blades tipped down, ready to try and skewer her. Try, because it would have been trivial to wipe them all out. Yuna¡¯s Use-Ranking was below her actual power level since she refused to cooperate with the Yishang and gain the boons this conferred. Vice-versa, Daisy¡¯s ranking was inflated because she did. The only people stronger than Yuna were the #1 and #2 Heroes, her teammates, Boulanger and Ailing. And technically Natsuko, if she got the jump on them with her bottle. But as things stood now, Yuna could annihilate Daisy and get right back to her card game if there was much of a Heavenly Card Parlor left after their fight. ¡°I meant,¡± Yuna said, curling her fingers around one of her katanas, ¡°whatever it takes. I don¡¯t care about the Yishang¡¯s rules. I don¡¯t care about this stupid, bullshit, play-pretend fight we¡¯ve got going on with the Entropic Axis. I care about the people of Shikijima. All of them. Heroes and Non-Heroes. And that means getting rid of the Imperial clan. Permanently.¡± The ¡°P¡± word raised eyebrows across the floor. No one was playing cards in the card parlor anymore. Yuna stood up, the scabbards of her dual katanas pinched in one bulging hand. She towered over Daisy by almost a foot, the lacquered wood armor on her thighs and chest making her form even more bulky and intimidating. Daisy felt around her trouser pockets for her pocket watch. ¡°How do you plan to get rid of someone permanently? They¡¯ll just be re-summoned,¡± Daisy said, fishing for an open confession to stealing Shuixing¡¯s research. Yuna responded with a wicked grin, her sharpened teeth bared. ¡°And give away my secrets to the Yishang¡¯s lapdog so that she can run off and tattle on me to her masters? No. I don¡¯t think I will. But I¡¯ll tell you what¡­¡± Yuna flicked one of her swords¡¯ hilt forward, popping a couple inches of steel out of the scabbard. The insinuation was easy enough to guess. The other Heroes in the room reached for their own weapons and some of the Non-Heroes ran, forfeiting their games. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one chance. One chance to tell me that you¡¯ll give up doing the Yishang¡¯s bidding, that you¡¯re going to stand on the side of the righteous. Otherwise, you better start running, because the next time I see your little pink face, I¡¯m cutting it open, understand?¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Daisy bit her lip and said nothing. This hadn¡¯t gone the way she would have liked, even if she had more or less confirmed that Yuna really did steal the papers. The thought went through her mind that she ought to make Yun-chan confess it outright, and expose her as killing Margaret, but that would draw too much attention to the debacle and Daisy¡¯s goal was still to clean things up before the Yishang had to get involved. She hated taking a backseat, but Sofiane really would have to be their trump card. The one good thing to come out of this interaction was that Daisy now knew how to pressure Yuna to keep forced dimension jumping a secret after they had stolen the papers back. All she had to do was drop hints that forced dimension-jumping might end up in the hands of the Shikijiman Imperial Clan. ¡°Alrighty, I¡¯ll get outta your hair,¡± Daisy said, holding her arms up and walking backwards. Her folksy, bubbly tone of voice was back. ¡°Your business is your business.¡± Yuna glared. ¡°You don¡¯t fool me, Daisy. I know how the game works.¡± Daisy shrugged. ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯m interested in cards myself!¡± ¡°Or putting up an ante when you can sit nice and fat, turning a blind eye to this messed up world,¡± Yuna said. ¡°Oh, Yun-Chan, you say that like you were any different a couple weeks ago,¡± Daisy said with a wink before launching into one of her hands-on-hips snort-laughs again. ¡°Tell Nuxalk and Cornelius I said howdy!¡± Daisy clicked her pocket watch as she stepped back onto the balcony and Peng reconstituted himself out of the swirling dust. She leapt onto the stone bird and directed him towards the Yongfu Hotel. Soaring through the air, her brain finally had time to catch up with her. Two things still didn¡¯t sit right, and made her regret not getting more out of Yun-chan before she had to retreat. One was that the mysterious assailant she had fought in the ice cavern hadn¡¯t been as tough as Yuna, meaning that either she had been deliberately throwing the battle to disguise her abilities from Daisy¡ªwhich seemed unlikely given Yuna¡¯s rather unsubtle disposition¡ªor there was more than one Hero involved in the theft. Two was that Zhidao was sniffing around. That meant the Yishang knew something was up, even if they didn¡¯t know what it was yet. It also meant they knew she was involved. Daisy sighed, the sigh drowned out by the wind whipping past her. She was going to have to give an account of everything if she didn¡¯t clean this mess up soon. If possible, she really didn¡¯t want to drag Natsuko and Shuixing into all of this, but the latter seemed determined to poke and prod at things she shouldn¡¯t. Peng cleaved towards the balcony, whipping Sofiane¡¯s ruffles, Shuixing¡¯s robes, and Pechorin¡¯s hair in its wake. Daisy hopped the wooden railing and Peng once again dissolved. ¡°Howdy! I¡¯m back!¡± Daisy said. ¡°So, what¡¯s the news with Yuna?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°I¡¯m pretty certain she¡¯s got those papers, but she won¡¯t talk to me. Not without cursing my name and whatnot. Guess you¡¯re up, Sofi!¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t she speak with you?¡± Shuixing asked, straightening the glasses that had almost been blown away. Daisy laughed. ¡°Who knows? Anywho, I wanna get some poetry writin¡¯ in while I¡¯m on break, so if ya need me just holler! Say, hold up a sec, where¡¯s Natsu?¡± ¡°Off to go chase Zhidao,¡± Sofiane said, parceling his cards out in neat piles. Daisy suppressed the frown that wanted to overtake her pearly-white smile. ¡°What¡¯s she doing that for?¡± Shuixing sighed. ¡°Said she¡¯s creeped out by him. No clue what she plans to do even if she catches up to Zhidao. She¡¯s like a dog chasing a squirrel.¡± ¡°Perhaps torture the poor creature until it reveals its secrets,¡± Pechorin said, hands in his trench coat pockets. ¡°Gods-damned dude, that¡¯s dark even for you,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°The world is a dark place, full of misery, injustices, and secrets,¡± Pechorin said. Daisy watched Pechorin¡¯s gaze and paid attention to his tone of voice. Nothing suggested the comment was some kind of hidden barb aimed at her. Pechorin¡¯s habit of saying generically edgy things that wandered too close to the truth was going to give her a heart attack. She needed a drink, which was probably arriving any second now. She moved towards the front door of the hotel room and was halfway there when the knock came. ¡°Room service! Complimentary mint julep!¡± Daisy threw the door open for the hotel attendant holding a silver tray with a charcuterie board and a mint julep in a silver cup. ¡°You¡¯re a blessing, sweetie!¡± Daisy said, accepting the drink and snacks and putting a bag full of a couple thousand Ying on the tray as a tip. Returning with cured meats and mint julep in hand, she glanced over at the open door to Natsuko¡¯s room. Fortunately, her wine bottle was still propped against the side of her bed, right where it ought to be. The last thing she needed was for Natsu to do something stupid, like try to force dimension-jump Zhidao. Daisy set the charcuterie board down on the little bit of table space not taken up by cards and munched on some lap yuk and smoked goose. Forgetting entirely that she¡¯d meant to go do poetry, she looked on at the card games business. ¡°Are we lookin¡¯ good on the cards front?¡± she asked. ¡°Oh yeah, real good,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Turns out our Shui here is a real card shark. She can count all the cards up and clock combos before people can pull ¡®em off.¡± Shuixing blushed at that and looked away. ¡°I¡¯m running her through the meta game right now and then we¡¯re gonna scope out the competition so she can get a sense for what everyone is likely to be playing. Between her statistical acumen and my raw, card-playing instinct, we¡¯ve got this one in the bag,¡± Sofiane said. Daisy smiled. ¡°Plum! Well, like I said, if y¡¯all need me I¡¯ll be in my room writin¡¯ poetry.¡± Pechorin raised his eyes. ¡°Shall we compare some time?¡± ¡°Oh, er, I¡¯m a lil¡¯ embarrassed truth be told. It¡¯s more of a¡­ private thing, y¡¯know?¡± Daisy said. Pechorin nodded sagely. ¡°I understand. Sometimes we must write lyrics to soothe the demons within, rather than to placate the demons without.¡± ¡°Who are the demons without? Is that supposed to be us?¡± Sofiane asked, gnashing his teeth on some salted duck. ¡°In one way or another, we¡¯re all demons. The better for us to proclaim it aloud than to trick ourselves into thinking we can purge the demon through ignorance,¡± Pechorin said. Sofiane pointed at the balcony door. ¡°Poetry room¡¯s inside, big guy.¡± Chapter 42 - A Hero of Her Word and Drink Finding Zhidao was not going to be easy. He was one fox and the city of Tianzhou was a lot larger than that. There were some blocks in its endless grid of streets that contained more people than all of Verm?genburgh combined. The one thing Natsuko had going for her was her excellent investigation skills. ¡°You seen a fox on a cloud rolling past here?¡± she asked the owner of a dumpling stand. ¡°Uhh¡­. no? Sorry,¡± the dumpling man said. That checked one street off her list. Now all she had to do was do that with every single other street and avenue in Tianzhou of which there were a little less than a hundred or so. If she could skillfully nurse a pleasant buzz, this would be a piece of cake. ¡°Floating fox?¡± she asked someone else. ¡°Like a Pengwu?¡± That was a no as well. ¡°...on a cloud¡­¡± ¡°Not in months.¡± Nope. How about the docks? ¡°I wouldn¡¯t need to buy dinner if I had seen it!¡± a longshoreman with rotten teeth told her. So much for that. ¡°S¡¯cuse me,¡± Natsuko said, having just recharged at a street stall selling cinnamon-flavored soju which had gone down almost as nice as her whiskey cocktail. ¡°You seen a Pengwu shaped like a fox anywhere?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother me,¡± the woman replied. Natsuko forced her eyes to sober up. The woman she¡¯d asked was swathed in an indigo robe and golden sash with bottles dangling from it. On her head was a golden diadem out of which fell a tumble of coal-black hair. And if her tan skin was anything to go by, she was probably an al-Nuwban Hero. ¡°Uh, sorry? Who are you exactly?¡± Natsuko said. She stared vacantly at Natsuko like she was a boring book. ¡°Gula Asu. Rank 29. If I don¡¯t already know who you are, I don¡¯t need to know. Sorry kiddo.¡± ¡°Kiddo!? I¡¯m two years older than you at least!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°How unfortunate,¡± Gula said, spinning on her sandaled heels and leaving. Natsuko growled, wishing she had her emotional support bottle with her to plausibly imagine scenarios of murder with. ¡°Up yours too!¡± she yelled into the crowd of Tianzhounese Non-Heroes who either looked confused at Natsuko¡¯s antics or tutted silently in her direction. The crowd gave her a bit of berth as she walked off muttering drunkenly. Inebriated Heroes were a serious threat to Non-Heroes that didn¡¯t want to be out of commission until 4am the next morning. Except for egregious cases that messed up a quest line or the operation of a city, there were almost no legal repercussions for arbitrary, Hero-inflicted violence. Not that Natsuko had ever done such a thing. She was above that, but below angrily shattering her empty soju bottle on the ground. Irritation was ruining her buzz so Natsuko decided she would give another couple streets a try and then give up and go pass out at the hotel in preparation for evening drinking. Whatever look was plastered on her face, it probably wasn¡¯t pretty, as the silk store shop assistant physically recoiled when she walked in the door. ¡°H-Hello there! D-Do you need a new outfit, or¡­¡± ¡°Floating fox¡­ on a cloud¡­ go past here?¡± she said, making a wiggly, floating motion with her hand and pointing at the window. ¡°Did they go through here? The Pengwu? The fox thing?¡± The shop assistant nodded nervously. ¡°Y-Yeah, this morning. They went, um, that a¡¯ way!¡± He said, pointing up the street towards the Heavenly Card Parlor. Natsuko grabbed the man by his shirt. The fabric tore a little in her grip. ¡°N¡¯yer not just sayin¡¯ that cuz I¡¯m cute, right?¡± He shook his head. ¡°No! I mean, um, the¡ª the fox, it was peach-colored, a-and it had these little circling rings over its head¡­¡± Natsuko let go of his shirt. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned! Thanks for the tip! Lemme give ya a tip back.¡± Fishing around in her coin purse, she found a couple coins. She subtly placed the two Ying in the shop assistant¡¯s breast pocket, almost ripping it out of his shirt in the process, then put her fingers up to her lips to urge his discretion in this little bribe of hers. ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t tell yer boss or he¡¯ll make ya split it with him!¡± she said with a conspiratorial giggle and a hiccup. For some reason, she had it in her head that soju was as strong as beer. It was apparently a bit stronger than that. She was a lot drunker than she expected to be. ¡°Off I go!¡± she said, slamming the shop door behind her and knocking bolts of silk off the shop counter. Forgetting that it was a general direction rather than a final destination that she had been given, Natsuko beelined for the Heavenly Card Parlor. Her beeline was impeccably straight. So straight, in fact, that it went directly through a table of card players. ¡°Oh, whoops! Sorry guys!¡± she said with a laugh, her face going as red as her crimson clothes. ¡°Come on, why!?¡± said one of the players. ¡°Can you Heroes have at least a little respect now and again? Yishang preserve¡­¡± The other player looked less disappointed, probably because they were not winning.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Hey, I said sorry! I¡¯m really drunk right now, okay?¡± ¡°And that¡¯s my problem!?¡± Natsuko stared dumbly at the man. He was middle-aged with graying hair and a paunch that made a big bump in his teal changshan robe. His wrinkled eyes gazed out at her with deep resignation, as though this were only the latest injustice that wounded the man. ¡°Hey, you seen a flying fox around here? Floats on a cloud? ¡®Bout yay high off the ground?¡± With a swish, he folded his sleeves. ¡°Pick up our cards and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Wasting no time, Natsuko got down on her hands and knees and started shoveling up the cards that had spilled over the cobbled road. ¡°No! Be careful with that! Don¡¯t bend them, kid!¡± he said. A gasping whine came from the man¡¯s mouth as Natsuko bunched up several of the cards in her fist and chucked them back onto the table. The other participant was smart enough to put his body between Natsuko and the cards before picking them up, blocking Natsuko off from ¡°helping.¡± She slapped down the last couple of rumpled cards and hopped to her feet, teetering for a second and almost stumbling into another game in progress. Its participants were prepared for her and pushed Natsuko away from their table. ¡°Alright, tell me where he went, that little shit,¡± Natsuko said. The man, busy trying to straighten his bent cards out, pointed at the door to the Heavenly Card Parlor which she now remembered was where she was headed to begin with. Natsuko stuck her hands in her pockets. ¡°Hey, uh¡­ sorry about your cards, man. I¡¯d give you some money but I¡¯m kinda flat broke right now.¡± To illustrate that fact she pressed on her pocket until the fabric ripped so she could wiggle her finger in the hole. The man rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re a Hero, you¡¯re not broke. Just go kill some monsters or something.¡± ¡°Bet! You stay right there, I¡¯m gonna go run out to like a¡­ a dungeon or something¡­ and I¡¯ll find something to pawn. How much¡¯d yer cards cost?¡± she said, the man¡¯s body doubling every time she moved her head. It was kinda funny to see so she kept jerking her head side-to-side to make it keep going. ¡°You don¡¯t have to¡ª listen, kid, we can just forget about this¡ª¡± She lunged forward to hug him, locking him in an inescapable straitjacket due to her superior stats. Thrash as he might, he wasn¡¯t going anywhere. ¡°What¡¯s your name, bestie?¡± ¡°Let go of me!¡± ¡°His name¡¯s Kong Yiji,¡± the man¡¯s opponent said, cracking up at Natsuko¡¯s assault on his friend. ¡°Kong¡­ Kong¡­ Kong¡­¡± she said, stroking his wispy, receding hair. ¡°M¡¯Gonna help ya out here, Kong, cuz I¡¯m better than those fff-reaking asshole Heroes, got that? I¡¯m chill like that. So here¡¯s the deal Kongy¡­¡± ¡°Please let me go.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the deal Kongy¡­ I¡¯m gonna go into a dungeon, I¡¯m gonna brave¡ª¡± she burped into his ear. ¡°¡ªbrave serious peril, and I¡¯m going to win you your cards back¡­ got it?¡± ¡°I already have my cards they¡¯re just wri¡ª¡± She slammed her finger into his lips. ¡°No, Kongy, I will buy you a new pack. All of your favorites will be in it, okay? Jus¡¯ watch me.¡± Not waiting for an answer, she stumbled off towards the edge of town. If she remembered correctly, which was not a guarantee, there was a clearable dungeon with some mediocre loot she could pawn not too far up the little river valley that Tianzhou City was built along. Within the hour she was stopped in front of some ancient temple flanked by a row of giant, stone figures carved directly into the mountain. She had definitely been to the dungeon, but she couldn¡¯t remember what its thing was. They all had a damn thing. Running inside, the usual stuff greeted her. Long stone corridors that smelled like burning sulfur, ominous murals full of suffering, slightly larger rooms where there was a group of pop-up enemies to defeat, and puzzles. One thing she forgot was how hard combat could be when you were running a dungeon solo, especially outside of Verm?genburgh. And drunk. In one room, several crawling, gasping ghosts grabbed at her ankles and started biting her. ¡°Agh! Get off me, silly bitch!¡± She launched a Fire Gale from the attacked foot but forgot to balance it out with a Fire Gale from the other foot and sent herself cartwheeling into the ceiling. The enemies in this room were supposed to be a little reprieve from the rest of the dungeon¡¯s combat, but this was where she ended up spending the most time. It was an epic battle with Natsuko on one side and a bunch of low-health, low-danger enemies and her own hand-eye coordination on the other. But with almost 1,000 HP to spare, she finally defeated the last crawling ghost. ¡°Okay Kang¡­ Kong, I¡¯m doin¡¯ this for you buddy,¡± she said, saluting a mosaic depicting endless post-humous torture for the damned and topping her HP off by chain-eating six of her 99 baked potatoes until she felt too stuffed to move. The next room was an open-air antechamber overgrown with moss and with a bottomless pit at the center. She tried for ten minutes to get health back by parrying the attacks of a mob of slow-moving ghouls before remembering that her ability only gave her health back when it was an elemental attack and then proceeded to wipe them out before stumbling drunkenly through a puzzle by muscle memory, walking off to go dry heave, coming back to the puzzle, forgetting she did it, resetting it, solving it again, and finally wobbling into the Boss Fight Chamber. ¡°Your sins are known to the world. They announce themselves by the fetid miasma emanating from your foul lips,¡± said the Boss, a snarling half-hog, half-man standing almost twelve-feet tall and wielding a butcher¡¯s knife and hook. Natsuko giggled. ¡°You sound like Shui.¡± Running straight at the demon, she let her vague memories of its attack patterns guide her strategy of using some weird vine-weaving-dash attack she had as part of her Jack skills that she couldn¡¯t remember either learning or preparing in order to set up Scorch reactions with her Fire Gales, then landing about 50% of her Parries to cut the cooldowns. She was barely able to keep track of what was going on between the throbbing in her ears and the crazy double-vision but she wasn¡¯t dead yet, which was good. Wobbling to a stop facing the Boss Hog who was looking quite smoked at this point, Natsuko spoke, ¡°and now for my¡ª¡± she put her fist to her mouth then pounded her chest to fight down reflux. ¡°¡ªnow for my finishing move!¡± In her mind, she would use Fire Gale to launch herself forward and activate her Spontaneous Combustion directly below the creature. The only problem was that she tripped, pitched forward, landed flat on her face, and only then did the Fire Gale kick in, rocketing her along the ground and scraping her face with it. Like this, she headbutted the Boss¡¯s knee before finally exploding into a shower of self-harming fireworks that killed the Boss. Her tongue felt around for any missing teeth and found a few gaps. Oh well, she thought, they¡¯d be filled in at 4am that night. With that she stood up and grabbed the handful of mediocre, sellable accessories and equipment from the dungeon¡¯s loot chest. After turning on the charm and seducing a treasure broker in Tianzhou City into bringing her total from 750 Ying to 775 plus a promise not to come back, she finally had some money to pay back poor Mr. Kongy. She briefly thought about doing solo dungeon delves more often to make a little side-cash, but realized that her current gig of getting other people to pay and occasionally stumbling into cash one way or another was still preferable to real work. It wasn¡¯t like busting her ass for hours would even come close to what Heroes in the #100-150 range made weekly. Natsuko proudly dropped the sack of Ying directly onto another game in progress to the relief of Kong Yiji¡¯s opponent. ¡°Huh. I¡­ didn¡¯t expect you to come back,¡± Yiji said. She ruffled his receding hair. ¡°I¡¯m a woman of my word, Kongy. With this you can buy a whole new deck!¡± He shrugged. ¡°Well, I can replace a couple of the most damaged cards anyway. Listen, I¡­ I appreciate this. I might have appreciated not having my cards thrown everywhere and then crumpled up even more, but you didn¡¯t have to do this.¡± ¡°¡®Course I did! I¡¯mma woman of my word, like I said.¡± Yiji looked Natsuko up and down, noting the fields of skin plowed clean off half her face, thighs, and stomach, and the healthy stream of blood bubbling from the corners of her mouth. ¡°You¡¯re a Hero, so you didn¡¯t have to, but I appreciate that you did. Dare I say, I respect it, kiddo,¡± he said. ¡°Thanks, Kongy!¡± she said with a semi-toothy grin. ¡°Oh, the fox thing? He left an hour ago,¡± Yiji said. ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± she yelled, blood from her mouth flinging over his cards. Chapter 43 - Edges so Sharp You’ll Bleed on Yourself Room service was just arriving at their hotel room with all manner of succulent Tianzhounese meals when a drunk and injured Natsuko staggered past the surprised hotel attendant and collapsed face-first onto the sofa, coating it in her blood. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± she moaned. ¡°Oh no! Natsu, are you alright?¡± Shuixing said, leaping up from her cards to go see her friend. ¡°Zhidao beat you up that bad, huh?¡± Sofiane asked. A barely conscious Natsuko raised a middle finger over the top of the couch aimed at the general direction of the balcony. Though it could have been wildly off-mark. The world was tumbling violently under her. ¡°What happened!?¡± Shuixing said, ringing her medical rod and sealing Natsuko¡¯s wounds with her Healing Waters. ¡°Dungeon¡­¡± Natsuko mumbled. ¡°Huh? You went to a dungeon?¡± She nodded, rubbing her face into the sofa cushion. ¡°W-Why?¡± ¡°Had to pay back¡­ pay back for cards. Broke cards.¡± ¡°You broke cards?¡± Natsuko nodded again. ¡°Natsu, I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Want sleep.¡± ¡°O-Oh okay, we¡¯ll um, let you sleep,¡± Shuixing said before turning to face the disturbed hotel attendant. ¡°Th-Thank you for the food. Daisy said to give you this.¡± Shuixing handed the attendant a sack of Ying before they left. While Natsuko snoozed on the sofa, the other four gathered around the glazed bowls full of delicacies and made a buffet of them. Stewed carp, duck blood soup, braised pork belly, fried noodles, buns, and things that had never passed across anyone but Daisy¡¯s tongue before all graced their palettes. ¡°Such decadence,¡± said Pechorin with a plate piled higher than the other three¡¯s combined. ¡°It is truly gothic in its grotesqueness.¡± ¡°Um, glad ya like it?¡± Daisy said, spooning some carp to her mouth. ¡°That is a compliment from him, I promise,¡± Shuixing said, slurping some noodles. The only person who wasn¡¯t actively feasting was Sofiane, who only grabbed a couple of buns. His face was still glued to the endless words and numbers on the cards in front of him. Shuixing went and sat back down at the table while Pechorin and Daisy nattered about poetry in the living room. ¡°It¡¯s sort of silly when you take a step back,¡± Sofiane said without looking up from comparing two different negation cards with differing trade-offs. Shuixing cut her waterfall of slurping noodles short. ¡°Everything riding on a card game, you mean?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I think I was half-joking at first when I said I knew it would turn out like this. Now my heart won¡¯t stop pounding every time I look at these damn cards. I can¡¯t tell whether I actually enjoy this game or not, but it doesn¡¯t matter, because I¡¯m playing them knowing that a single wrong move means we come up short of getting in contact with Yuna.¡± ¡°Even if this gambit doesn¡¯t work out, I¡¯m sure we can come up with other means. We¡¯ll find a way,¡± Shuixing said, her words half for her own comfort. ¡°Will we find it in time though? And what do we do even if we get her to talk? Natsuko can¡¯t threaten to kill her in front of everyone at a major event. I¡¯m almost as scared of succeeding and getting a table with Yuna as I am failing,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing giggled. ¡°What?¡± ¡°That was me with my research, up until a few days ago. Scared to fail, scared to succeed.¡± ¡°I guess you should have been more scared of the latter.¡± Shuixing¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°I suppose I should¡¯ve been. But¡­ I had time to think about it when we were traveling here, and when I was staying at the academy by myself. It doesn¡¯t bother me as much.¡± Sofiane raised a skeptical eyebrow and crossed his leg. ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother you that someone out there, most likely our zealous, homicidal, gambling-addict rebel general, has the ability to kill?¡± ¡°W-Well¡­ I have to think about what would have happened instead. I-I mean if I hadn¡¯t thrown myself at that research,¡± she said, rubbing her arms. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I would¡¯ve gone crazy.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Sofiane said. He looked down at himself and the cards in front of him. The pleasant tipsiness he¡¯d been sustaining throughout the afternoon fled him. The wind out on the balcony felt unseasonably piercing. Sofiane had also found himself feeling thinner and thinner lately. More brittle. The substance of self-identity he had carried with him was evaporating, leaving a dried husk. It had begun the day he was kicked out of his party when his Use-Number started its downward plummet and continued, slowly and inevitably. His time with Natsuko, Shuixing, Pechorin and Daisy had tempered it somewhat, but he felt it increasing again. He put his cards down on the table and slumped in the seat with his hands behind his head. The whole adventure of trying to get Shuixing¡¯s papers back had distracted him from that hot-ball-of-iron question he had been unable to answer: What was he doing? An undying infinity stretched before his eyes of nothing but monotonous, pointless obscurity. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Stop,¡± Pechorin said. Sofiane looked up to the balcony doorway where Pechorin was standing with a bun clenched in his fist. ¡°You are stealing my personality archetype,¡± he said. ¡°Get your own. Do not cut into my niche.¡± ¡°Pechorin, my emanation is not going to turn dark and gritty just because of one existential crisis,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°No, but a gradual increase in their frequency will.¡± ¡°I also have, like, a couple million more Celestials summoning me than you. I¡¯m pretty sure I am not going to peel away your, what, 30 celestials?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°3,990,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°Yeah, no. I wouldn¡¯t worry about that, buddy,¡± Sofiane said. There was something else in Pechorin¡¯s gaze that made his complaint about archetype stealing seem not fully genuine, but not fully ironic either. Not for the first time, Sofiane found himself wanting to know more about that kernel of person which lay under Pechorin¡¯s unceasing performance. ¡°What do you really think about, Pech?¡± Sofiane asked. Sensing she might be in the way, Shuixing picked up her bowl of noodles and migrated inside to check that Natsuko hadn¡¯t rolled over on her back and made a choking hazard of herself. Pechorin leaned against the wall, which was a pretty cool way to stand, and said, ¡°hmm?¡± ¡°I mean what I said. What do you think about? Don¡¯t you ever feel pent up only ever expressing yourself through your archetype? I get sick as hell of mine,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°No,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°I am my archetype.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really that edgy, huh?¡± Pechorin nodded. Brevity was the soul of edge. ¡°Damn,¡± Sofiane said. He couldn¡¯t imagine what it was like to have your actual personality line up with your archetype like that. It seemed a whole lot nicer, but also a great way to turbo-charge his Use-Number drop. Then again, he wasn¡¯t going to take Pechorin at his word, either. Especially when he had seen a different, less edgy side to the Hero while he was hammered after the pie contest. ¡°You never waver from it, huh?¡± Sofiane asked. Pechorin shook his head. Sofiane saw his opportunity. Both his combat and card-playing styles left him well-equipped to strike at his enemy¡¯s weak point. ¡°So, what¡¯s the deal with you and Natsuko? You¡¯re into her, right?¡± Pechorin frowned. ¡°Into her?¡± ¡°Yeah. You know exactly what I mean, don¡¯t try to deflect.¡± ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the deal with it?¡± ¡°What do you mean what¡¯s the deal?¡± ¡°You know what I mean, what''s the deal?¡± ¡°I do not know what you mean?¡± ¡°I mean¡ª come on, man,¡± Sofiane said, frustrated at Pechorin¡¯s deft outmaneuvering. He had more social acumen than his persona of edginess suggested. ¡°Why? Why are you into her? She¡¯s an obnoxious, loud-mouthed alcoholic and talking to her is the conversational equivalent of rug burn. What¡¯s the appeal?¡± ¡°Opposites attract,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Opposites attract¡­¡± Sofiane actually gave that some thought. It made a little sense, maybe. Except Natsuko was a gloomy mope half the time too. He didn¡¯t see that big a difference and said exactly that to Pechorin. ¡°Everyone has their off days,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°She just has a lot of them. But even her off days she commits to with passion.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s her passion? Nothing else?¡± ¡°And I find her attractive.¡± Her snickering, smushed, goblin face and sniveling little upturned nose popped into Sofiane¡¯s head and he wasn¡¯t sure he understood the appeal, but beauty was in the eye of the beholder, he supposed. And even then, it wasn¡¯t like the Yishang summoned Heroes that weren¡¯t at least a little attractive. Non-Heroes? Yes. Heroes? No. All of them were attractive. Not a single unattractive one. That was the one saving grace of this brutal, cutthroat life running the Use-Ranking treadmill: You got to look good doing it. ¡°And what about her not liking you back?¡± Sofiane said, feeling maybe just a touch vindictive given his complete lack of experience in even being attracted to someone. His two long years on Po-Lin had been spent in single-minded focus on improving his Use-Number. Relationships tied you down and got in the way of that. ¡°What about it?¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°How do you deal with that? It¡¯s gotta be frustrating, no? And it¡¯s not like you¡¯d have a shot with someone higher up the Use-Ranking charts given you¡¯re on the bottom,¡± Sofiane said. Pechorin shrugged. ¡°A shrug? What does that mean?¡± Sofiane asked. Pechorin shrugged at that too. ¡°You¡¯re a weird one, man.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re not?¡± Sofiane realized his existential dread had subsided and he was feeling mellow again. At least Pechorin was getting along fine down there at the bottom. ¡°I guess I am.¡± Natsuko woke up a few minutes later and tore through both the buffet of food and the minibar like a tornado while trying and failing to regale everyone with an adventure she was blacked out for half of. Sofiane kept looking over at Pechorin¡¯s face to try and witness any change in the mask of nonchalance and remained unrewarded for his effort. Despite the initial burst of partying from Natsuko, the night was an early one, since they had already decided tomorrow was reserved for more card practice and for Sofiane and Shuixing to visit the Heavenly Card Parlor and scope out key players, their decks, and the overall state of the meta-game. While they were busy with that, Pechorin mentioned something about his righteous path of vengeance and wandered off into the city while Daisy made equally vague excuses about needing to, ¡°speak to some folks.¡± By the time Natsuko was up around noon the next day, the entire hotel room was abandoned. Drinking a bit of whiskey to soothe her headache and scrounging together a plate from the generous leftovers, she was finally able to take on the day. The ¡°day¡± consisted of continuing her pursuit of that flying, shapeshifting demon called Zhidao. It went even worse the second day as sobriety made her sluggish, tired, and not able to think straight. It was all she could do not to throw up in the harbor. She was back around mid-afternoon and once again everyone was waiting on her. ¡°Whoa, looks like he won again,¡± Sofiane said from the sofa, having finally traded his cards in for another baijiu martini. ¡°Piss off,¡± she replied. Natsuko was halfway to the bar before Sofiane clinked his glass to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°We have a very important mission tomorrow,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°One that has serious repercussions if we screw up, so pay attention. All of you will have roles to play. Shuixing and I have been coordinating to scout our opponents, learn their strengths, learn their weaknesses, and learn their cards. We¡¯re confident our preparation can at least land us in the same room as Yuna and from there it¡¯s just a matter of getting her to money match us, with funds kindly provided by Daisy. So far so good. ¡°Pechorin! You are on stand-by for auxiliary missions. If we can knock someone out of the tournament by exploiting their fear of dogs, we¡¯ll need you to make dog noises behind a curtain. That sort of thing. Daisy! You¡¯re our spy on the premises. We need you to keep us apprised of anything that could disturb the plan. New arrivals, strange moves, anything out of the ordinary, that¡¯s on you.¡± ¡°Roger dodger!¡± Daisy said, saluting. ¡°Natsuko!¡± ¡°What?¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re on emergency bottle duty.¡± Natsuko frowned. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the plan to avoid using the bottle so that we can continue keeping its existence hidden?¡± ¡°Hence,¡± Sofiane said, ¡°the emergency. Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t come to that, non?¡± Chapter 44 - Learning Lessons from a Master Tailor ¡°Oh yeah, one last thing,¡± Sofiane clapped his hands. ¡°Clothing fitting.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± Natsuko said. He looked her up and down. ¡°You¡¯re not showing up like that. Not happening.¡± She swiped a bottle of whiskey and slugged a gulp from it before wiping her mouth. ¡°No, we¡¯re not playing dress-up, that¡¯s what¡¯s not gonna happen!¡± Sofiane crossed his legs and sipped from his martini. ¡°Natsu, Natsu, Natsu. Oh predictable Natsuko. No, see, you are, and I¡¯ll tell you why. You are used to being an obscure nobody. Maybe there¡¯s even some nobility in that humble existence. But that¡¯s not gonna work here. Right now, other than Daisy, we¡¯re all nobodies. Why would Yuna care about a grubby tomboy, her nerdy side-kick, a dork in the trenchcoat, and their moderately fashionable babysitter who¡¯s been kicked to the curb? Why would anyone care!?¡± While Sofiane was delivering his manifesto, Natsuko grabbed a handful of cinnamon sugar, tossed it in her mouth, and washed that down with another gulp that dribbled down her chin. ¡°Okay. Consider this, puffball, why do I care if they care?¡± ¡°Because,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°These special events are rigged. It¡¯s a spectacle, not a competition.¡± ¡°D-Did we prepare all of that for nothing?¡± Shuixing said, her tone exhausted. Sofiane sipped from his martini. ¡°No, there will be card games and we¡¯ll have to win them. What I mean is the matches aren¡¯t pulled randomly. The organizers¡ªthe ones who take their orders from the Yishang¡ªhave to set up a narrative. There¡¯s gotta be characters! Tension! Drama! If we don¡¯t slot into their story we¡¯ll get a bunch of shitty matches out-of-sight and maybe get lucky if we get matched up against Yuna in the final round if she makes it, which isn¡¯t a guarantee. She¡¯s a big-spender but she¡¯s not necessarily the best card player.¡± ¡°So playing dress-up is supposed to make us the good guys of the tournament so that the organizers will match us up with Yuna?¡± Natsuko said, her eyes glazed over at the stupidity of it. Sofiane swirled the olive in his glass. ¡°Think about it, Natsuko. Glamorous big-spenders who have never played cards before show up and flaunt their opulence in everyone¡¯s face and talk a big game? No, we¡¯re gonna play the villains, and we¡¯re gonna do it so well that our decadence will piss the Rebel General, Defender of the Downtrodden People off so much she¡¯ll try to lift our money off us.¡± He thrust a finger at Natsuko with such force his martini almost sloshed over the rim of his glass. ¡°That is how we¡¯re going to get an audience with Yuna.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not wearing a dress,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°We¡¯re going to a highly-recommended tailor and you¡¯ll wear whatever he tells you to wear,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Or how about I don¡¯t? The only thing I¡¯m even there for is to whack someone with my bottle if there¡¯s an emergency. Hell, I¡¯d be better off dressed as the wait staff!¡± ¡°Believe me, I was really tempted to disguise you as a servant because I think you¡¯d be perfect for the role, but alas, no, we need you in the entourage.¡± After giving him the middle finger, she felt obligated to ask why. ¡°Because we¡¯re making a statement, and the more exclamation marks you put on the statement, the more people have to pay attention to it. Why stop at three exclamation points when you can have four?¡± ¡°Bullseye!!!!!¡± Daisy said in enthusiastic agreement. The sprouting enthusiasm came from the deep roots of playing the Use-Ranking game for so long. Natsuko slumped into a chair and pulled once again from the whiskey bottle. ¡°I¡¯ll wear something, but it won¡¯t be a dress.¡± Pechorin made some appropriate amount of grumbling to come across as a reluctant participant but, unlike Natsuko, it was a token effort at best. ¡°Erm, regarding your exclamation point math, does that include Daisy?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°No. Daisy¡¯s going on her own. Which is unfortunate, because this whole glamor thing would be much easier to pull off if we were all her guests rather than you all being mine, but the moment we associate with Daisy, the gossip mill starts, it gets back to Yuna through her informants, and she finds out that we¡¯re working for her new sworn rival.¡± ¡°As of yesterday, apparently,¡± Daisy said with an eye roll. ¡°We would definitely get a match then, but her guard would be up, so it¡¯s a no-go. Alright, all on the same page now? Good. Let¡¯s go clothing shopping.¡± The sun was setting as they walked to Sofiane¡¯s chosen tailor. It flashed in their eyes whenever they passed a North-South street, with Tianzhou¡¯s famous gridded streets providing a view straight to the harbor. Some of the streets started to look familiar, but she couldn¡¯t place why. The feeling in the streets was an anticipatory one. Nothing was happening yet, but the Non-Heroes were loosening up their strict patterns of behavior for the big event tomorrow. It astounded Natsuko that this was all for a yearly card tournament. Eventually they arrived at Sima¡¯s Silk Store, the street-level shop in a teetering five-story commercial complex. The shop assistant that greeted them traded in his smile for a frown the second he saw Natsuko. ¡°Oh no. Please, I don¡¯t know where that fox is, okay? If you¡¯re not going to buy silk¡­¡± Sofiane turned to Natsuko and squinted. ¡°What the hell did you do?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ I don¡¯t remember. Listen, dude, we¡¯re just here to get clothes. Although, if you do see that creepy ass fox again, call me,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°We have an appointment with Master Sima, 5pm,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I-I¡¯ll go get him,¡± the shop assistant said. ¡°Please don¡¯t knock anything over.¡± Natsuko huffed at the accusation that she would deliberately knock something over while not either drunk or in combat. At the moment she was only pleasantly tipsy. Master Sima came out of the back scarily fast. He was an old man in plain, conservative robes with a wispy white beard and a heavy stoop. Not at all the kind of person Natsuko would have guessed made high fashion for Heroes. He looked more like an old sect master looking for an apprentice to pass on his martial arts techniques to, rather than a tailor.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. His razor-sharp gaze sliced through Natsuko and made her feel naked in her default outfit. She half disliked and half respected the hell out of a Non-Hero that fierce. ¡°So,¡± Master Sima said, placing his arms behind his back. ¡°This is what we¡¯re working with? The Yishang summoned you in those clothes, I imagine.¡± ¡°Yeah, so what?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Nothing. I was just thinking how much practice the Yishang have had since your generation. And I would wager that you three aren¡¯t making the design calls?¡± Sima said, sweeping a gnarled, liver-spotted finger across Natsuko, Shuixing, and Pechorin. ¡°I¡¯m absolutely getting a say in what gets put on my body, thank you,¡± Natsuko said. Sima looked towards Sofiane who shook his head. He turned back towards Natsuko. ¡°And what¡¯s your say?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡ª what do you mean what¡¯s my say? I just get veto rights is all,¡± she said. ¡°Outfits, like all art, must begin and end with a well-defined vision, girl. Everything else is mere play. Do you have a vision for your outfit?¡± he said. ¡°What? No, I¡ª¡± ¡°Then let an artist work. Mr. De La Nuit, I understand this is a smaller part of a larger statement to be made upon your entrance to the annual card tournament. Do you have a vision?¡± Sofiane smirked. ¡°Why, yes I do. This is going to be glamor and opulence with a hint of self-aware irony. These outfits need to say, ¡°yes we¡¯re losers, but we look better than you because we are better than you, so who are you?¡± do you follow me? Ostentatious. Obnoxiously so. And let¡¯s see some regional pride and make these ensembles a glowing sign that says, ¡°oh yes, my backstory, here you go, burn it into your retinas.¡± Work for you, Master Sima?¡± The tailor¡¯s leathery, wizened face crinkled into a smile. He shook his finger at Sofiane while staring at the other three. ¡°That is a vision. Now, let us make it a reality. First, the measurements.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been measured before,¡± Shuixing said. To Natsuko¡¯s eternal embarrassment, not only did she know her measurements, but had made a point of making them known when she was starting to lose popularity because someone said that the Celestials cared about that sort of thing. Apparently, they did not. ¡°I¡¯ll save you the trouble. I¡¯m 28, top-to-bottom,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°A good thing you came to me then. I can even make wooden planks look beautiful,¡± Master Sima said. ¡°Hey, watch your tongue you rude geezer!¡± ¡°Or what, you¡¯ll knock over more of my merchandise? I¡¯m in the business of making people beautiful, not making them feel better. If you want that, the masseuse is two doors down,¡± Sima said. ¡°Now, Ms. Shuixing, let¡¯s get your numbers.¡± Shuixing¡¯s eyes were spinning with how fast the tailor was able to wrap measuring tape around her shoulders, arms, bust, waist, high and low hips, and neck ¡°We¡¯ll do a hanfu for you, no doubt. A little more conservative, more cumbersome, more delicate, very refined, but you¡¯re a scholar, right? I can tell by the robes. From Verm?genburgh? Let¡¯s give you a little bit of ¡°yes, headmistress¡± in there. I¡¯m thinking a mid-calf hemline and some heeled boots which will match the indigo color we¡¯re going for on the long skirt. White for the outer-garments and for the designs on the skirt¡­ hmm¡­ cranes would be the go-to, but I¡¯m really feeling maple leaves and owls. What do you think?¡± ¡°O-Okay,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Now, onto the gentleman here. You are from¡­¡± ¡°The Sibe-lands,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Interesting, interesting. I¡¯m new to working with their clothing,¡± Master Sima said, looking Pechorin over. ¡°And it¡¯s not showy. A lot of layers, very shapeless, very frumpy. Good colors though, although you seem to like black.¡± ¡°My clothing is a reflection of my soul,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Your soul is very bland,¡± Master Sima replied. ¡°Black is sharp. I¡¯ll give you that. But you need something to off-set it. Some contrast. You want to keep the dangerous lone-wolf energy? I understand. More red then. We¡¯ll do something martial too, but refined. A military officer with a dangerous level of detachment from the value of human life, I think.¡± Pechorin shrugged. ¡°Good. We¡¯ll have to borrow more from Deco-Imperia I think. They¡¯ve simply got more fashion sense than steppe nomads. We¡¯ll add in a little Sibe touch though. I¡¯m thinking an Imperian tuxedo. Black suit, black shirt, but a garnet vest and tie with a thorny rose design. Give it a bit of luster so the light catches it. Then a blood-red boutonni¨¨re. Hell, let¡¯s get you a copper wristwatch to go with it. Then some random bits of martial accoutrement for the Sibean angle. Sound good?¡± ¡°I am indifferent,¡± Pechorin said, lying. ¡°Your audience won¡¯t be. Now, for you,¡± Master Sima said, shifting his gaze to Natsuko. She glared. ¡°Why does that sound like an insult?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re the type to take it as an insult. I don¡¯t relish Mr. De La Nuit¡¯s job of whipping you into presentation shape.¡± ¡°That makes two of us,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Three,¡± Sofiane said. Master Sima circled Natsuko like a vulture. It gave her the same kind of discomfort as when she thought too hard about why exactly there was an ¡°Ero-Art¡± number at all. Instinctively she crossed her arms. ¡°It¡¯ll be a kimono, obviously. That goes without saying,¡± Sima said. ¡°I told Sofiane, no dresses,¡± she said. ¡°Not a dress, a kimono. Specifically a short one. Mid-thigh length and¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± Master Sima raised his hand up to stroke his beard for a moment, squinting at Natsuko. From his throat came the low rumbling of rumination on something. Shuixing and Pechorin shared an awkward glance but Natsuko¡¯s eyes remained locked on Master Sima in a battle of wills. Sofiane wandered off to go look at shoes. ¡°You were Rank #1 at one time, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°So, you played the game, which meant dressing up to grab the Celestials¡¯ attention. You did a lot of that, I¡¯d wager.¡± Her knuckles curled into the skin of her crossed arms. ¡°Yeah. Again, so what?¡± ¡°And it stopped working because you were already on the way out. And when it stopped working but you were still trying, that felt embarrassing. Humiliating, even. Am I close to the truth?¡± Shuixing gasped. Sofiane turned away from the shoes and raised an eyebrow. Pechorin continued to do a good job faking indifference. Natsuko growled. ¡°No! I never gave a shit about dressing up. It was just something I had to do and I stopped when I didn¡¯t have to do it anymore.¡± Master Sima smirked. ¡°I can see how it would be more comforting to believe that, but it¡¯s a load of crap. The reason you¡¯re putting up so much resistance is because you¡¯re afraid of feeling that humiliation again. Refusing to play is your fallback position. It¡¯s a bunker that you can¡¯t be hurt in. But it self-reinforces. Let me tell you right now: You look like someone who wants to be irrelevant and powerless.¡± ¡°Screw you, asshole! Stick with clothes, your preaching career isn¡¯t going anywhere,¡± Natsuko said, storming out of the clothing store. Shuixing rushed after her friend to calm her down. Sofiane glanced at Master Sima. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to avoid saying exactly that for that very reason, you know.¡± The old tailor grumbled and tottered towards a desk with a drafting book on it. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I told her: I¡¯m in the business of making people look beautiful, not feel good.¡± Sofiane exhaled and rubbed his neck. ¡°Okay, make the outfit anyway, and I¡¯ll convince her to wear it. Somehow.¡± Master Sima chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m thinking maybe a donkey design for the kimono. For the stubborn jackass.¡± Chapter 45 - Learning to Walk ¡°It¡¯s not just the clothes. This whole plan is stupid and convoluted! What we should be doing is skipping all this crap, going straight to Yuna, and beating the tar out of her until she talks!¡± Natsuko said, pacing the street outside the silk store. Her pacing created a small bubble of space in the crowd of Non-Heroes moving to get out of her way. Shuixing had to jog to keep pace with Natsuko¡¯s hardcore circling. ¡°You know we can¡¯t do that. Daisy is the only one who¡¯s even close to Yuna¡¯s power level. Even if we could cut our way through her army of bodyguards, she could still kill all of us with a flick of her sword,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, but I think listening to Sofiane really might be our best bet.¡± ¡°But there are so many other ways to go about it that don¡¯t entail letting ourselves be dressed up like freaking dolls! I don¡¯t see why my default outfit isn¡¯t good enough to¡ª¡± ¡°Natsuko!¡± Sofiane said, stomping out of the store. ¡°What?¡± she said, turning her nose up at him, which worked only because she was the only one taller than him in their party. ¡°You¡¯re going to wear the outfit Master Sima makes for you to the opening ceremony,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Oh yeah? Would love to hear how you intend to convince me.¡± ¡°Because it cost us 100,000 Ying to buy.¡± Natsuko snorted. ¡°Wow. Bummer. Wanna explain how that¡¯s my problem?¡± ¡°If you wear it to the card game tournament I¡¯ll let you pawn it afterwards.¡± ¡°Alright I¡¯ll wear it.¡± Shuixing shook her head in disbelief. ¡°That was all it took?¡± ¡°I like money,¡± Natsuko explained. ¡°There¡¯s a catch,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°What do you mean there¡¯s a catch? Me agreeing to wear it is the catch!¡± ¡°Okay, fine, there¡¯s two catches. The other is that I¡¯m going to do some behavior training with you, Shui, and Pech after we get back to the hotel so that you can actually work the outfits and not look like three goobers with a good tailor.¡± ¡°Behavior training? What are we, dogs!?¡± ¡°Say woof right now if you want to pawn your outfit,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Woof.¡± ¡°Fantastique. You all can head back to the hotel now. I¡¯ve got to talk with Sima a little more, then I need to prepare a few things for tomorrow evening. Be back around eight.¡± Sofiane spun on his heels and went back into the silk shop, pushing Pechorin out the door a moment later. The three of them started back for the Yongfu Hotel. ¡°I¡¯m surprised how quickly you changed your tune,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Do you know how much whiskey I can buy with 100,000 Ying, Shui? I don¡¯t have to be sober until at least Spring if I don¡¯t want to. Heck, I could even maybe move out of the lab closet if I have some money left over!¡± There was something about the quickness of Natsuko¡¯s capitulation that was deeply unnerving to Shuixing. Maybe it was the reminder that her friend¡¯s jokes about being desperate for money weren¡¯t entirely jokes. Part of getting by in their sad circumstances was a mutual, unspoken agreement to understate or ignore how bad things really were. Natsuko¡¯s admission of being willing to drop her principles for a small¡ªrelative to what other Heroes had¡ªsum of money was a breach of that agreement. Not that Shuixing thought there was much to complain about to begin with. Nothing Master Sima had described sounded particularly humiliating or degrading other than drawing a lot more attention than Shuixing was comfortable with. But that was, after all, the goal. Here again, she felt the sting of Natsuko dredging buried issues up. Or Master Sima. Or someone. She wasn¡¯t quite sure who was culpable for this, but either way, it made for an awkward walk back to the hotel that did nothing to settle her mounting nerves as the prospect of making their grand entrance crested the horizon. The mood¡ªor her mood, Shui couldn¡¯t tell how much of it was shared¡ªcompelled her to take actions she would not otherwise have done. Once they were back in the room, Shuixing said, ¡°Could you make me a¡ª a drink, Natsuko?¡± Her friend did a double-take. ¡°What? Like, milk?¡± ¡°N-No, alcoholic, I mean.¡± ¡°You mean, like, with alcohol in it?¡± Shuixing gulped and nodded. Natsuko grinned wickedly and rubbed her hands together. ¡°Oh-ho! We¡¯ve got some options. What are you feeling?¡± ¡°Something, um, sweet?¡± ¡°Sweet, huh? Hehehe, I can do sweet.¡± ¡°And light,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Tch. What¡¯s even the point then? But sure, I¡¯ll whip you up an extra sweet version of my cinnamon whiskey,¡± Natsuko said. Pechorin stared as though he wanted to ask for one himself, but realized that ¡°extra sweet¡± was not badass or mysterious, so he was forced to pour himself a double shot of grain liquor instead. After a more intense measuring and balancing of chemicals than Shuixing had even seen from professors, Natsuko handed her a snifter half full of golden liquid with cloudy particles of ground cinnamon floating in it. She took a sip and decided it was very, very good. Dangerously good.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know if I can trust myself with this,¡± Shuixing said, setting the glass down before coughing from the inhaled vapors. ¡°So trust me to trust you with it. Come on, life sucks, so get drunk!¡± Natsuko said. Again came the deep pang of wrongness. But Shui couldn¡¯t force herself to do anything with it, so down the next sip went. After a few more sips, the pang of wrongness was smoothed out into a nice, rounded fluffiness. ¡°Hmm, I do believe I see the appeal now,¡± Shuixing said, sinking into the sofa cushions. Before Natsuko could enthusiastically concur, Sofiane threw the door open with Daisy on his heels. He threw a couple bags of something on a chair in the foyer. ¡°Hop to, losers. You¡¯re gonna learn how to walk today!¡± he said. Natsuko grumbled and got to her feet. ¡°What¡¯s in the bags?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°Shoes. Doesn¡¯t much help to train you how to sashay in combat boots, does it?¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°Sashay?¡± Shuixing asked. She wasn¡¯t sure if she was supposed to know that word or not. ¡°Strutting. Swaggering. Working it, you know. Like¡­¡± Sofiane demonstrated what he meant. It was something like a stalking lion about to steal a kill, complete with hip wiggle. A little bit of stomp, face full of haughty disinterest and a whole lot of chin. His head turned to look at Shuixing and she was struck with awe like she was looking at the face of a Yishang. Natsuko burst out laughing at Sofiane. ¡°You look so stupid!¡± ¡°No,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°You are going to look stupid if you scamper in there like a mouse. They¡¯ll eat you alive. Don¡¯t believe me? Daisy, you tell her.¡± Daisy startled at the mention of her name, pulled back from wherever her mind had wandered. ¡°Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah, sorry Natsu, I know it¡¯s uncomfortable for ya¡­ but he¡¯s not wrong. Maybe another example will help?¡± All it took was for Daisy to do it and Natsuko realized what the difference was. It was hard to take Sofiane seriously since she¡¯d spent so much time seeing him go to pieces over losing a bit of experience. There was no way for him not to look like a poser. Daisy was the real deal. The haughtiness was toned down. Her face was true, not feigned indifference. But the second she switched the sashay on, she felt like royalty. No, divinity. Like she was going to walk into the card tournament and spawn three competing cults to her likeness. The furniture, walls, and ceiling hushed to hear the ticking clock that was her heeled boots striking lacquered floor while her blonde ringlets bounced in concert with the tempo. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane pointed at Daisy. ¡°That! I need you to do that! Well, not quite that, because your performance is going to be inflected with radical post-ironic insouciance. You are going to be so in on the joke that the joke becomes that you are making it work despite you and everyone else knowing it doesn¡¯t, because you¡¯re that good. Understand?¡± ¡°Uh, no,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Just teach me how to do what she did.¡± Sofiane pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°By the gods and the Yishang, I will try.¡± He waved for Pechorin and Shuixing, the latter of whom would have teetered over if not for Pechorin¡¯s arm forming a guardrail behind her. ¡°Did Natsuko get you drinking?¡± Sofiane said in genuine bafflement. ¡°Excuse me! She got herself drinking, I was just the enabler,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Are you going to be able to walk at all, Madame Shuixing?¡± Once Shuixing steadied herself she took a few steps forward, acclimating her spatial orientation to new baseline parameters. ¡°N-No, wait, I mean yes, I can do it. Worst comes to worst, I can listen to the theory and worry about the praxis tomorrow morning,¡± she said. ¡°Uhh¡­ Let¡¯s hope the worst does not come to worst. Now¡ª¡± he clapped his hands together ¡°¡ªlet¡¯s see all of you try what Daisy just did once you have your shoes on. The full outfits we pick up tomorrow might make it a bit more tricky, but it¡¯s really the shoes you need to get comfortable with.¡± Pechorin had no trouble putting on his new coal-black wingtips, but Shuixing was struggling with heeled boots that laced to her knee. This was a change for her, since her shoes had never taken her more than an inch or two off the floor before. Natsuko was staring at hers with flat irritation. ¡°Was this your doing?¡± ¡°No, it was Master Sima¡¯s,¡± Sofiane said. They were a pair of wooden okobo sandals colored crimson with designs of fireworks bursting on them. They were also about six inches tall and sloped backwards at the front like the prow of a ship, making her feel like she was about to pitch forward onto her face, which she did a moment later. Daisy launched into one of her full-body snort-laughs and Sofiane cracked up. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a functioning alcoholic?¡± he asked. ¡°Still functioning well enough to stomp your teeth out,¡± she said. It did not get any easier when she found out that they also came with a pair of black calf socks laced up with red ropes that made her slide around even more. While Natsuko struggled to even put one foot in front of the other without faceplanting, Pechorin and Shuixing both made an attempt to copy Daisy¡¯s sashay. Shuixing¡¯s arms flailed about just trying to keep herself standing. Pechorin, however¡­ ¡°Pech, what the hell?¡± Pechorin swaggered like he was walking through the middle of a gunfight with a guardian angel telling him every bullet was going to miss. On his face was an expression of such raw, unadulterated neutrality that it could make a pack of feral hogs domesticate itself out of sheer politeness. His steps had the same magnetizing click-clack, but with a baritone gravitas like the hum of a coal engine. ¡°Hmm? Did I do it correctly?¡± Pechorin asked as Daisy clapped excitedly. ¡°There¡¯s no way you haven¡¯t practiced before, I don¡¯t believe it,¡± Sofiane said. Pechorin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything I don¡¯t usually do other than move side-to-side a bit more.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be damned. Alright, Shui, Natsu, let¡¯s catch you both up.¡± They tried for about half an hour and by the end could at least walk in their new footwear without falling over, but as far as making a statement, they were mutes. Sofiane demonstrated correct technique several more times, but it wasn¡¯t sticking. Shuixing in particular was struggling to figure out what motion she was failing to mimic correctly. ¡°It¡¯s a state of mind more than it is a motion,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that helps¡­¡± Shuixing said. Her brain was made for science, not strutting. ¡°No, hold on, let him cook,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°That didn¡¯t work out very well last time,¡± Natsuko said. At the very least, Shuixing could tell when Natsuko was doing something wrong. This time it was a ramrod posture that made her movement awkward and stilted. ¡°Loosen your back up, Natsu, it¡¯s a little more fluid than that. Just think how loosey-goosey the word sashay is. It¡¯s like it¡¯s gonna melt out of your mouth,¡± Shuixing said, not having any idea what she was going on about. Shuixing modeled it and was transformed into a headmistress whose very gaze was a knuckle-smacking ruler. Anyone caught sleeping or slouching when she slunk by would be knocked awake for remedial lessons in the physics of arm-swinging and hip-swaying. Detention for anyone who even thought about getting in her way. Sofiane stabbed his finger at her. ¡°There! Just pretend the audience tomorrow needs a lesson in how to sashay.¡± ¡°O-Oh, I-I can try, I guess,¡± Shuixing said, immediately losing her teacher''s voice. There was a couple seconds between Shuixing getting it and everyone¡¯s attention shifting to the only member of their party who hadn¡¯t figured it out yet. ¡°So. How do we fix you?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°You don¡¯t. I¡¯m done,¡± Natsuko said, untying the red cords from around her ankles and kicking the sandals off before stomping to her room and slamming the door. Sofiane shrugged. ¡°Eh, 75% is still a C. Not the end of Po-Lin if one of our entourage walks like a Non-Hero dork.¡± Chapter 46 - Hitting One’s Stride Amidst a Sea of Adversity Natsuko didn¡¯t come out for the rest of the night other than to grab a bottle¡ªany bottle¡ªand trudge back to her room. Not even a knock from Shuixing could coax her out. The fluffy fun of being inebriated was wearing off now and Shui was once again left with the awareness that her friend was not okay. Natsu''s complaints to her about the unfairness of the Use-Ranking system and power creep had only been the surface of the iceberg. And the only thing Shui''s hazy, unfocused mind could think was how ill-equipped she was to help. A hand on her arm put the brakes on the guilt train. Sofiane was staring at her over a table of cards. "Focus on the cards, Shui. I know it sounds cold, but we''ve got a job to do. When we have your papers back, then we can worry about fixing Natsuko''s weird hang-ups. Well, you can. I''m not touching that mess with a ten-foot polearm!" Sofiane was right, Shuixing knew. Shaking her head and clapping her cold palms to her hot face, she tried to refocus. Cards first, friend''s latent mental trauma later. Regardless, she struggled to sleep in the academy dorm that night. The alcohol in her¡ªwas it one hour or two required to metabolize a standard alcoholic beverage?¡ªsurely did not help. After tossing and turning for hours, the sun finally got up to tell her to stop trying. A quick peek in the mirror told her she looked as bad as she felt. "How does Natsu wake up like this every single day?" she asked her mirrored self. Despite outdrinking her 2:1, Sofiane was grinning from ear-to-ear when Shuixing walked in the hotel room door. "Excited?" he asked. "Erm, no, I''m rather nervous in fact," Shuixing said. "Nervousness is just excitement that you¡¯re being a weenie about. I know Pechorin''s excited, see?" Pechorin was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and one foot propped up against it. "He doesn''t usually prop the foot up," Sofiane explained. "That''s means he''s excited!" Pechorin neither confirmed nor denied this hypothesis. Despite Sofiane''s unrelenting excitement, the game plan was still hurry up and wait, since the opening ceremony didn''t begin until just after sundown. Late in the morning, Natsuko finally emerged from her cave and took a liquid breakfast of tomato juice and baijiu whisked together with a couple strips of braised pork belly stuck in it. Since Daisy was gone and Natsuko''s alternative was hanging out with Pechorin, she stepped out onto the balcony and watched the silent card match through glazed over eyes. "You gonna be ready for tonight?" Sofiane finally asked. "I''ll be ready," she grumbled. "I won''t be good, but I''ll be ready." "Good. I''m not kidding about emergency bottle duty," Sofiane said. "I don''t know what''s going to happen when we confront Yuna, but Daisy can''t fight her to a standstill out in the open like she could in the Dungeon of Stars. Yuna isn''t stuck trying to hide her identity and fighting style. And if she goes all out, she can fight all five of us simultaneously and win. The only thing we have up on her is the bottle." "Yeah, yeah, I know," Natsuko said. ¡°Who likes outfits!?¡± Daisy shouted from the doorway. Stacked in her arms were several black, lacquer boxes. Natsuko groaned as Daisy dumped the boxes on the ground. Sofiane winced. ¡°A little more care, please,¡± he said. Daisy blinked. ¡°Why? It¡¯s just fabric.¡± Sofiane launched into a tirade about the importance of respecting fine apparel. Natsuko went to pick up her box. It wasn¡¯t hard to find because it had a donkey painted on the top instead of a gun or book. Inside was a pile of red, orange, and yellow silk that, unfolded, became a short kimono that reaching about her mid-thigh. Running through the scarlet cloth were designs of fireworks and starbursts in orange and yellow and a few pinpricks of black and purple similar to the ones on her okobo. The obi sash that came with it was glittering gold. At the bottom of the box were a handful of accessories and baubles out of which she selected a few unassuming beaded bracelets and necklaces and an anklet with a good luck charm on it. ¡°What do you think? I told you he does good work,¡± Sofiane said. It looked good, Natsuko had to admit. At least on the inside. She wasn¡¯t admitting a damn thing on the outside. Not after putting up a fuss about it, that would be too embarrassing. Plus, she still wasn¡¯t happy about being forced into it. It was just marginally better that it didn¡¯t look like shit. In a quick dress rehearsal, everyone threw on their opening ceremony outfits. It was immediately obvious why Master Sima was not called Amateur Sima. Shuixing in her layered, indigo-and-white hanfu and boots really looked the part of some kind of goddess of strategy and wisdom while Pechorin looked very nearly like the mysterious, debonair badass he posed as most of the time. Though the pocket flower was a bit over the top for Natsuko¡¯s taste. ¡°What about y¡¯all¡¯s outfits?¡± Natsuko asked Daisy and Sofiane. Far from engaging in high fashion, Daisy was busy stuffing her face with dumplings. ¡°Mmm!¡± Daisy licked her fingers. ¡°It¡¯s a surprise!¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Blood pressures and heart rates rose as the afternoon dragged ever onwards towards the 6pm start time. Shuixing squirmed in her seat as the clock ticked over to 5:45. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be going now?¡± she asked. ¡°Gods no,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°It¡¯s only just time for me to get ready.¡± ¡°But¡ª but doesn¡¯t the ceremony begin at 6?¡± ¡°Yes, darling, and I wouldn¡¯t be caught dead arriving on time. We¡¯re shooting to be an hour late and only because, unlike Daisy, we can¡¯t get away with being even later.¡± ¡°An hour and a half late is my bullseye,¡± Daisy said. Shuixing sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to do something like this again. I would rather fight monsters.¡± ¡°Try being me, fighting the monsters inside me every waking moment,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Oh! That reminds me. Word of advice, Pech,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Don¡¯t open your mouth. Like, the entire time we¡¯re there. Unless it¡¯s in real quick bursts with no tortured poetics.¡± Pechorin nodded. ¡°Okay, cool. Time for me to get dressed.¡± Sofiane¡¯s outfit was so far over the top that the ¡°top¡± was no longer a useful point of orientation. It consisted of a violet, split-leg qipao decorated top-to-bottom with a chaotic mishmash of dice, roulette wheels, roosters, cards, and Elemental symbols rendered in gold-and-silver thread. The sleeves and hem had some ruffles as a nod to his Cascadian background. His purple hair was done up in double buns with side-fringes and on his feet were long purple stockings tucked into purple silk flats embroidered with platinum fleur-de-lis. ¡°Well?¡± he said, flaring out his hands. ¡°Where does your sword go?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to know, firecrotch.¡± Natsuko rolled her eyes. ¡°They¡¯ve got booze there, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, but at event prices,¡± Sofiane said, flopping languidly over the back of the sofa. ¡°Screw that,¡± Natsuko said, grabbing one of the bottles of whiskey the hotel attendants were dutifully replenishing and stuffing it into her sash like a kangaroo. Sofiane opened his mouth to say something about it but stopped himself. ¡°Oh what the hell, that¡¯s definitely a statement. Let¡¯s get going. We need to be a precise amount of late, otherwise the other stuff I prepared won¡¯t be in sync.¡± Shuixing blinked. ¡°Other stuff?¡± Sofiane grinned. ¡°You didn¡¯t think glamor stopped at fancy shoes and a nice strut, did you?¡± Outside, the sky over the Bay of Tianzhou was turning reddish-pink as the last of the sun¡¯s rays died. Pinpricks of stars stabbed through the purple firmament and the streets of Tianzhou filled with the fragrance of night-blooming jasmine. The beating heart of the city was the Heavenly Card Parlor, outshining the lighthouse in the harbor and throwing out the jaunty sounds of drums, horns, and strings playing over an ambient buzz of crowd excitement. ¡°I am reaching new and unheard-of levels of nervousness with each passing second,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Try not to overthink it when it comes time to walk. Remember, you¡¯re teaching these dunces how it¡¯s done,¡± Sofiane said. Only a few blocks away, Natsuko ground to a halt. ¡°Wait. Hold on. Don¡¯t we need to like, prep ourselves? Have a little pow-wow before we¡ª¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Sofiane said, not stopping for her. ¡°We¡¯re going. It¡¯s showtime, firecracker. Burst or fizzle out.¡± ¡°W-Wait, n-now? Like right now!?¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Oh yeah. As of, oh¡­ now.¡± The four of them, whipped on by Sofiane¡¯s pace, stepped into the plaza outside the card parlor. Entrance ropes and carpets were laid out below blazing paper lanterns. Crowds of both Heroes and Non-Heroes had gathered to see and be seen and, most importantly, were blocking them and diluting the impact of their entrance. Sofiane snapped his fingers. First, rough-looking bounty hunters from the Sibe-lands stepped out of the crowd to muscle everyone who was in Sofiane¡¯s way out of it. This left the roped-off carpet free for his personal use, which was now of intense interest to the gathered crowds. Second, fireworks exploded over the bay behind them, painting the sky in glittering white, red, green, blue, and purple bursts. Everyone besides Sofiane was overwhelmed trying to take it all in. The musicians changed tunes from a jaunty little background tune to a drum-heavy marching song complete with gong strikes. ¡°Walk,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing and Pechorin locked in immediately. Natsuko finally understood why Sofiane had been so insistent on them learning how to walk. Compared to the other three walking in like predators, she toddled like a baby deer on ice. And with Sofiane¡¯s ¡°special preparations,¡± every eye in a hundred yards was looking at them or desperately trying to. Her ears and cheeks turned the same color of scarlet as her kimono. This was a performance, and she wasn¡¯t a performer.. ¡°Sofi, you son of a bitch,¡± she muttered, trying and failing to imitate Shuixing. Past the giant blue doors to the Heavenly Card Parlor lay the ground floor lobby decorated with flowers, brocades, and signs for the card tournament. More eyes awaited them there, and these were the eyes of movers-and-shakers, heroes she had never met before but could tell on sight were far, far above her. And she was supposed to strut like a peacock in front of them. For a moment, Natsuko thought she might be sick. Then, from out of the corner of her eye, she saw it: A sneer. It came from Minamoto, a Hero whose backstory was that he was some wealthy bastard prince who, despite his unsavory upbringing, was adored by everyone, was good at everything, and had his own harem of women. He wasn¡¯t at the top of the Use-Rankings. Hell, he could have been in the triple digits for all she knew. But none of that mattered because his sneer was the singularity of everything she hated about the lucky, spoiled few who¡¯d been graced by the Yishang, guaranteed to win, and truly believed their success was through hard work and determination and not divine intervention. Once, she¡¯d been in their shoes and thought the same thing. Sofiane¡¯s stupid words from yesterday echoed in her ears: ¡°You are going to be so in on the joke that the joke becomes that you are making it work despite you and everyone else knowing it doesn¡¯t.¡± With the next step she hit the stride. Her feet clicked into place and the awkward, angular prows of her okobo sandals turned into two battleships cruising through shark-infested waters. There were more sneers and smirks and snorts. She was at the bottom of the Use-Ranking chart, why wouldn¡¯t they laugh? Except, somewhere within the swishing of her silk kimono, the clacking of her wooden sandals, and the look of equanimity on her face, it all just stopped mattering. The numbers didn¡¯t mean anything. All that mattered was that she had their eyeballs, and they had to look. Like that, Natsuko walked to the table the tournament organizers had hastily evacuated for the use of Sofiane and his entourage once they recognized the dramatic narrative Sofiane had brought with him. The tournament had its villains, and off in the far corner, beneath an ocean of scraggly rebel soldiers, Yuna¡¯s cold steel eyes met Natsuko¡¯s. Chapter 47 - Using Distractions Tactically In the absence of those all-important numbers, everything felt strangely equal and even to Natsuko. She was now far more aware of how those numbers stood above almost every interaction she had,dictating how everyone ought to act. Those omnipresent numbers¡­ and then they were gone. For a moment, anyway. Then her brain turned over the fact that she had only had this revelation because of Daisy and Sofiane spending a whole lot of money to get her here. Money they had because their numbers were so much higher than hers. It popped a hole in her numberless joy. It was still all about that damned money. Sitting down at their assigned table, Natsuko made extra efforts to guard her wine bottle, tucking it down between her legs and pinching it with her ankles to make sure it didn¡¯t move an inch. She had been dimly aware before, but was now extra conscious of the fact that her bottle was perhaps the only thing in the entirety of Po-Lin completely impervious to those numbers. Shuixing sat to her right, tucking the many folds of her hanfu under her before sitting down. Pechorin sat to her left with a careful and deliberate clasping of his hands. Across, facing the door, sat a very self-satisfied Sofiane, basking in the first part of his plan going well. This lasted maybe a few moments. ¡°Oh fuck¡­¡± Sofiane¡¯s aura of invulnerability shriveled up as quickly as Natsuko¡¯s had. She followed his gaze to another table of well-dressed Heroes (same tailor, but Sofiane¡¯s party had slightly better outfits). The table Sofiane was staring at weren¡¯t smirking or sneering, but Natsuko could tell they were sneaking peeks back at Sofiane and whispering under their breath. Natsuko gestured at the other table with a jerk of her head. ¡°You know ¡®em?¡± Sofiane pursed his lips and stared up at the ceiling. ¡°Those¡­ would be my old teammates. Baran, Xiuquan, and Gula.¡± ¡°They kick you out?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, the word pushed out of his chest. ¡°Adventuring is a group effort. That means getting power crept is a contagious disease. Once I start dragging my team down, that drops our dungeon clear rate, and it¡¯s a downward spiral from there.¡± One of them, Gula, Natsuko vaguely recognized but couldn¡¯t remember why. No amount of squinting at the glaring al-Nuwban Hero helped. ¡°And they really did that just cuz the Yishang summoned another pretty boy Hero?¡± Natsuko asked. He nodded. ¡°Wow. No wonder you¡¯re so obnoxious. You must¡¯ve got it from them,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°At least I have an excuse.¡± A few minutes later, after pouring and downing a few surreptitious shots of whiskey from her obi into a shot glass she swiped from the hotel room, Natsuko¡¯s brain caught up with her. ¡°Wait, are you implying I don¡¯t have an excuse?¡± A voice boomed through the first floor of the parlor. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, Heroes and Non-Heroes. Thank you all for joining us for the Third Annual Tianzhou City Grand Card Tournament!¡± The voice came from a man in heavy robes and a pointed cap the same lapis color as the parlor itself. ¡°I am Cao Hong, owner of the Heavenly Card Parlor and your master of ceremonies for the week¡¯s events¡­¡± And the speech continued in great length, because it and the closing ceremony were the only events of the year in which even Heroes had to bend their ears to Cao Hong, a Non-Hero. It wasn¡¯t a habit specific to him. If you gave the mic to a Non-Hero at an event like this, they¡¯d squeeze out every drop of importance they could. Halfway through the speech, Daisy finally arrived, single-handedly creating an intermission. Shuixing and Natsuko were tied for dead last in their ability to identify opulence, but there was no mistaking it here. In a side-ruffled magenta cocktail dress, white fur hat, and matching heels and gloves complete with her golden pocket watch dangling from her wrist, Daisy was the patron saint of opulence. There was a reason¡ªNatsuko now understood¡ªwhy Sofiane had told them to shoot for being, ¡°the joke in on the joke,¡± rather than whatever Daisy was doing. There was no copying it. It was such a statement that Daisy didn¡¯t even bother doing The Walk, instead bounding into the room. ¡°Ohmigosh! Sorry I¡¯m late. My cat nap turned into a tiger!¡± Daisy said before throwing herself into a snort laugh. It scared Natsuko how well the humbling effect worked despite Daisy telling her the exact amount of time she was aiming to be late by. In the span of a few years, the game of being on top had changed to become almost unrecognizable to Natsuko. All she had ever done was beat up monsters and get experience points. Bread and butter stuff. But now, even if she did find some magical golden bullet to rocket her stats back up and make another play for a high ranking, she wasn¡¯t sure she could ever do what Daisy did. Daisy¡¯s arrival was accompanied by raucous cheers and laughter and every table with anyone of note beckoned her to sit with them. Sofiane¡¯s table was out of the running, since the point was not to let Yuna know they were working together. ¡°She¡¯s gonna go with Cunegonde¡¯s table,¡± Sofiane whispered to Shuixing. ¡°Watch.¡± A moment later, Daisy, spinning around and making a show of not knowing who to sit with, finally lurched towards Cunegonde¡¯s table as though it were a spur-of-the-moment choice.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°She¡¯s the highest Use-Rank here besides Yuna who¡­ well, you know,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing nodded. She didn¡¯t particularly care. Her thoughts were turning on cards, but Sofiane seemed to be having fun playing ¡°who¡¯s who¡± and she thought it best not to ruin it. ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Hungry? I thought you were Pechorin!¡± Natsuko said, laughing loudly at her joke and smacking the table. The guests around them shifted their chairs a little further away. ¡°Now then, after our unexpected but very welcome new arrival,¡± Cao Hong continued once the crowd noise abated, ¡°I should mention that there have been some last-minute changes to the bracket, which we will project for you now.¡± On a reel projector imported from Deco Imperia, the tournament bracket displayed on a giant paper screen behind Cao Hong. ¡°Oh gods-dammit,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°What?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°They rewrote the tournament to give us a harder path. They were supposed to make the opening a breeze full so we could grab Yuna¡¯s attention. They¡¯re trying to get rid of us.¡± ¡°D-Did we not play the role of villains well enough?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°No, you all did fine,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°They¡¯re just being assholes. Whatever! If they wanna do it this way, fine. We¡¯ll win anyway.¡± Shuixing gave a firm nod. After another half an hour of drinking and socializing, Cao Hong announced the first game of the tournament. A company of judges marched into the room, ready to officiate several hundred matches simultaneously. Natsuko and Pechorin scooted their chairs out of the way for a Non-Hero and his friends. ¡°I¡¯m Peilai Jiao. If you play cards well enough to be a contender in this tournament, you already know who I am,¡± Peilai said, folding his bureaucrat robes under him and adjusting his glasses. ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Sofiane said, laying his cards out. He looked over at Shuixing who had done the preliminary research and made the numbers 2, 4, and 6 with her fingers, letting him know that whoever this dork was, he played a Water-Earth-Wood deck. That meant that his deck made a lot of strong monsters and made it hard to kill them. That meant Sofiane needed to go for the throat early with his own Water-Wind-Lightning setup. Rather than slapping down all the cards that would let him ramp up like he usually did, Sofiane spent early Elemental Energy to blow up all the low-level monsters he knew could get huge out of nowhere with the right combo. Peilai grit his teeth. ¡°You¡¯re good. Real good. I didn¡¯t expect that from someone I¡¯ve never heard of before. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Uh, Sofiane,¡± he said. ¡°And tell everyone who beat you, non? Build me a reputation.¡± Peilai¡¯s nose twitched. ¡°You seem to think you¡¯ve already won when that¡¯s far from the case.¡± It really wasn¡¯t that far. Sofiane was two turns off one of his infinite combos. The only thing he didn¡¯t know for sure was the chance of something getting negated. There was some hand sign he¡¯d worked out with Shuixing that meant he was asking about that, but he¡¯d been doing shots with Natsuko during the opening ceremony and already forgot the hand signs. ¡°Your move,¡± Peilai said with a smirk, finally able to get an artifact down that let him stack numbers on his monsters. Sofiane had to think fast. ¡°Pech, you¡¯ve been drinking, right?¡± ¡°Not rea¡ª¡± ¡°If you have to go to the bathroom, you could always ask the judge where it is.¡± ¡°But I¡ª¡± Sofiane kicked Pechorin in the shin. Without reacting, Pechorin stood up, towering over the judge. ¡°Where¡¯s the bathroom?¡± While the judge was distracted, Sofiane leaned over and asked, ¡°alright, what¡¯s his negation odds, Shui?¡± ¡°27%¡± ¡°What!?¡± Peilai said. His friends started murmuring. ¡°You can¡¯t do that! That¡¯s cheating!¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Sofiane said, turning back around and playing the last piece of his combo and winning the game. ¡°No! That¡¯s not fair! J-Judge, he was cheating by asking his friend!¡± The judge said, ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I got distracted, but¡ª¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. There was nothing to see. We won, fair and square. Sorry kiddo. Have fun in the loser¡¯s bracket!¡± Sofiane said with a sarcastic wave. He felt a little scummy, but in his defense, he was already planning to cheat anyway, so really Pelican or whatever his name was was only mad about it being blatant. And the first round of the tournament shouldn¡¯t have been a Best-of-1 anyway, but it was, so there was no screwing around. More protests from Peilai came to no avail, eventually having to be dragged off by his friends before he started a scene. ¡°Why is it a Bo1, by the way?¡± Sofiane asked the judge. ¡°We had 3,200 entrants, most of whom are playing outside in the square or at satellite locations. We¡¯ve got a lot of folks to get through in not a lot of time,¡± the judge explained. ¡°And let me make something clear, I have no way of confirming if you did anything to cheat, but I¡¯ll be watching you real closely from now on, and there will be no preferential treatment just because you¡¯re some hotshot Hero, got it?" ¡°On my honor as a musketeer of Her Royal Majesty, Queen Am¨¦lie de la Violette, I swear to you, good sir, I would never even think to cheat, nor to act in such an unethical manner as to accuse my opponent of cheating merely because I happen to be losing,¡± Sofiane said. The judge¡¯s face softened. ¡°Of course, but I expect you to bear my warning in mind nonetheless.¡± ¡°I would dare to do no less than that,¡± Sofiane said. The next half-hour they waited for the other games to finish while having to hear Natsuko whine about being bored and drinking from the whiskey she was no longer bothering to hide in her obi and asking the judge if he wanted some until Sofiane swatted her down. ¡°I¡¯ll be your next opponent,¡± said a young woman with flowers in her hair as she sat down. She extended a hand which Sofiane shook. ¡°I¡¯m Warada, a community gardener out in the Mamoon Oasis in al-Nuwba.¡± ¡°Oh really? Very cool,¡± Sofiane said, trying to remember if he had done any quests there. After forgetting to introduce himself, they started their game. Shuixing shrugged her shoulders. Apparently Warada was a variable that Shuixing hadn¡¯t scouted. All he could go off of was smart play. As he drew his cards, he happened to look up. From across the room he caught the eye of his old teammate Xiuquan who, rather than looking at him with disdain, looked on with disinterest and turned his head. ¡°Umm¡­ interesting move¡­¡± Warada said. Sofiane looked down. He¡¯d grabbed the wrong card and absent-mindedly slapped it down. Fingers off the card, the counterspell was legally cast and went straight to his discard pile having done nothing but eat his turn and deprive him of a key card. ¡°Anyway, my go, right? I¡¯ll play Soul Swing, tap it for two Elemental Energy, then play this¡­¡± In one turn Warada had a font and two artifacts that gave her a boat load of energy to play with. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t think I was some chump Non-Hero you could flex on by deliberately wasting your turn,¡± she said with a pearly-white smile. Chapter 48 - Pushing Daisy Shit, Sofiane barely managed to keep himself from saying out loud. ¡°Aw, don¡¯t tell me that big entrance was for a mediocre cardplayer?¡± Warada said, crossing her legs. Sofiane held up his hands and grinned. ¡°Alright, you got me, I¡¯ll stop screwing around.¡± He played a ramping artifact of his own and passed the turn. Warada immediately tapped everything and slapped a Goblin Skirmisher and a Dynamite card down. The first card let her attack with a monster the same turn it was summoned, the second destroyed his ramping artifact. ¡°Oops,¡± she said sarcastically. Sofiane bit the inside of his cheek. No one in this tournament was a dunce, not even the first-rounders, but this was brutal. He looked back at Shuixing. She was making little circles with her index fingers. That was their sign to spend his 50 health and ride out the damage. Taking as deep a breath as he dared without ruining his calm, cool, cocky aesthetic, he drew cards. A few turns later and he was starting to sweat. More monsters, more direct damage, more destroying his stuff before he could set up combos. Shuixing was no longer making circles with her fingers. ¡°Gonna be hard to pull off combos with no enchantments,¡± Warada said. ¡°Hey, you play like I do!¡± Natsuko said with a laugh. ¡°Blow up everything he¡¯s got! Fire only baby, lesgo!¡± Warada politely smiled at the drunk Hero. But that gave him an idea. He was sitting on counterspells, but he wanted to wait until the last second if possible. He needed to confer, so he kicked Pechorin in the shin again. ¡°Where¡¯s the bathroom?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°I already told you, didn¡¯t I? You¡¯re telling me you already forgot?¡± the judge said. The judge craned his neck back and forth to continue watching the game as Pechorin swayed back and forth to block the judge¡¯s view. ¡°Yes. I forgot,¡± Pechorin replied. Sofiane wanted to slap his forehead, but he didn¡¯t have the time to spare. ¡°Shui, what are the chances she has more direct-target damage cards? I need to know how much more I can ride out the aggro rush.¡± ¡°33% unless she has discard retrieval,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°Shit, that¡¯s high. Screw it, we ball,¡± Sofiane said. Warada scoffed. ¡°H-Hey! No outside help! Judge¡ª¡± Pechorin stumbled between the judge and the table, blocking Warada¡¯s protests. By the time he was gone and Warada could explain what had happened, the judge was glaring at Sofiane who just shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything amiss. Did anyone else?¡± ¡°Nope!¡± Natsuko said with a loud burp. ¡°But I¡¯d have to give a shit for that, hehehe.¡± ¡°Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice¡ª I¡¯m not gonna get fooled again, okay? No more asking to go to the bathroom!¡± the judge said, pointing at Pechorin. ¡°Nothing else! If I catch you, or if we hear about you doing this one more time, you¡¯re out.¡± ¡°I assure you, no such thing has happened or will happen. These are merely what we refer to in Cascadia as ¡°Les Opps¡±,¡± Sofiane said. Warada lost her playfulness and was now glaring at Sofiane. ¡°If you want to make your loss more humiliating by trying to cheat, you are welcome to do so.¡± Sofiane was able to heal a little bit of the direct damage she was dealing with water spells, but his health was slowly getting lower and lower. Now at five health, he was in the realm where a single-target Ability could take him out from behind the defenses of his monsters. That was the 33% chance he was afraid of. It affected when and how he could use his counterspells. Negating Warada destroying his enchantments meant he could combo and win, but not having the negation for a single-target Ability meant he lost the best-of-one. Fortune favored the bold, he decided. Playing it safe was not how he had gotten as far as he had. And with that thought, he played the enchantment that would let him untap the monster that made more monsters infinitely. Warada smirked and threw down an Insta-cast to destroy it, to which he threw down his counterspell. They locked eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t have it,¡± Sofiane said with a shit-eating grin. ¡°I know you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s to say?¡± Warada replied. ¡°You would have put the fireball down immediately. You don¡¯t have it.¡± Warada held his gaze for a second before throwing her cards down. ¡°Screw you, cheating asshole." Sofiane leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. ¡°Not a clue what you¡¯re talking about. Next?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it for today,¡± the judge said with acid in his voice. ¡°Best-of-threes start tomorrow, however the parlor will remain open until midnight for free play.¡± Sofiane turned to Shuixing. ¡°Think we can schmooze our way up to Yuna? Might make things easier.¡± ¡°I¡­ am not sure that will be possible at this time,¡± Shuixing said, pointing past Sofiane to the large group of mostly Heroes congregating around Yuna for a chance to be picked for the legendary ¡°Money Match.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ~~~ ¡°Doohoohoohoo!¡± Cunegonde laughed. The irony was not lost on Daisy that Cunegonde¡¯s laugh annoyed her while having an obnoxious laugh herself. But in her defense, Daisy reserved her own goofy laugh for things that were actually funny. ¡°The sheer of absurdity of it! Their chins were up so high you¡¯d think they would have knocked over a chandelier. Honestly, it would have been amusing if someone with a high Use-Ranking had pulled such a stunt, but the fact that it was a gaggle of literal nobodies with Sofiane as their babysitter made it positively hilarious,¡± Cunegonde said before launching into more doohoohoo¡¯s. Daisy gave a small chuckle to be polite, but the lack of her snort-laugh chilled the entire table of Heroes she was sitting with. Her polite laugh might as well have been a slap in the face for how quickly Cunegonde turned red with embarrassment. ¡°A-Anyway, w-what do you and your team make of the you-know-what?¡± Cunegonde said, salvaging the conversation. ¡°The loss of a Hero?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah! Isn¡¯t that scary!?¡± Cunegonde said with agreeing nods from Baphomat and Calhoun. Daisy was glad to hear they were talking about the death of Natsuko¡¯s friend. It meant she was in position to steer the rhetoric a bit. ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t had the chance to talk to my posse. They¡¯re all out in the Sibe still while I was galavantin¡¯ around waitin¡¯ for the Mist to get pushed back¡­¡± This was a minor flex. The rest of the table was taking a break from grinding out dungeons that Daisy¡¯s team had already cleared. Talking shop put a look of worry on Baphomet and Calhoun¡¯s faces. ¡°But you know what I did hear from that old Pengwu, Zhidao? Some folks¡¯re testing out dimension-jumping again as a way to teleport straight across Po-Lin. Ain¡¯t that somethin¡¯? Except apparently there¡¯s a few kinks to work out.¡± ¡°A few kinks?¡± Baphomet asked in his grumbly bass, bells tinkling where they hung from his ram¡¯s horns. ¡°I¡¯d say throwing yourself into the void is definitely a kink. You will not catch me trying it, even if they iron them out.¡± ¡°Nor me,¡± Cunegonde said. ¡°How dreadful!¡± ¡°Used to happen more often back when the 1st-gens were screwing around, I¡¯ve heard,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Hasn¡¯t happened since any of us have been summoned but it¡¯s nothin¡¯ to worry your heads about!¡± Cunegonde put a hand over her heart. ¡°Thank the Celestials! I was concerned, I must admit.¡± Daisy was relieved to hear them taking her interpretation to heart. Given her popularity, those three would go around telling everyone that the drop in the Use-Ranking total had been due to an experiment gone wrong, so sayeth Daisy Corduroy herself, and it would become the official explanation. Whether the Yishang bought it too, she didn¡¯t know, but if it came to that she would just have to come clean and tell them the truth. At least they would clean up the matter of Natsuko¡¯s bottle tidily. Daisy had half a mind to go tell the Yishang everything right now, except she was worried they¡¯d come down too harshly on Natsuko and Shuixing, and if she could resolve a little oopsie before it became a big oopsie, that was how she preferred to do things. After that, the conversation took a break as the three Heroes sitting around her table went to go play their matches. This did not take long, since the tournament brackets had been drawn up with a mind to having any Hero of note playing disposable Non-Heroes until at least the last couple of days of the tournament. No one wanted a Non-Hero to get far by luck of the draw. The exception, so far as Daisy could see, was Sofiane¡¯s bracket. The organizers had done the exact opposite of what she expected them to do and gave him a grueling gauntlet right from the get-go. Two Non-Heroes on the first day, but then Xuiquan as his first match-up for tomorrow. Even Daisy knew he was a top-tier card player and she couldn¡¯t be paid to care about a card game. ¡°You seem more distant than usual, Daisy. Is something the matter?¡± Cunegonde asked. On her soft, round face, beneath a yellow bonnet and brown sausage curls, sprouting from a pair of audaciously gold-flecked lips, Cunegonde had the worst fake sympathy smile Daisy had ever seen. It wasn¡¯t that she was trying to mock Daisy. More likely she was trying to curry favor with her in the hopes of hearing secrets and tips and maybe¡ªoptimally¡ªgetting a closer introduction to the Yishang. But she definitely did not actually care why Daisy was more distant than usual. ¡°Oh, just a lot on my mind. I could really use a¡ª¡± A waiter set down a mint julep in front of her before she could finish the sentence. ¡°Thank ya kindly!¡± she said, chugging the alcoholic drink through the accompanying loop-de-loop straw. She really liked those straws. Maybe she oughta ask the concierge at Yongfu if they could send some up to the minibar. ¡°The odds are 15:1 if you want to take them,¡± Cunegonde said. ¡°Odds for what now?¡± Daisy asked, reaching out for the second mint julep that was waiting for her when she emerged from her first one. ¡°Odds that Xiuquan trounces that tedious peacock Sofiane and it doesn¡¯t even go to a game three,¡± Cunegonde said, cracking open a Tianzhounese fan and fanning herself. ¡°You mean I win if it goes to game three regardless of who wins?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Doohoohoo! If you want to take the fool¡¯s bet, I suppose. I mentioned it as a joke, darling.¡± ¡°Hell, I¡¯ll put ten million Ying down on Sofiane,¡± Daisy said, this time paired with a proper, snorting laugh. Everyone at the table who had bet on Xiuquan went pale and was suddenly second-guessing their bid, wondering what Daisy knew that they didn¡¯t. This information rippled out and within a couple of minutes, the odds had tilted to 3:1 in favor of no game three. Daisy snapped her finger when word got back to her table. ¡°Rats! I was hoping to collect more. Oh well!¡± ¡°W-Why exactly are you going all in on Sofiane?¡± Cunegonde asked, clearly worried about the couple million Ying she had put down the other way. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of him playing before. Surely this is some kind of embarrassing publicity stunt to pull up his sinking Use-Number? I cannot fathom someone like that beating Xiuquan.¡± Cunegonde was right about it being an embarrassing publicity stunt, but wrong about the motive. Daisy¡¯s job, she reminded herself, was to keep it that way. But why not fan the flames of a good tournament storyline in the process? Less wasn¡¯t more, more was more! At least according to Mint Julep #2. Daisy shrugged. ¡°Well, sweetie, I¡¯m a sucker for underdogs. What can I say?¡± ~~~ Into a lovely patch of the most famous and beautiful flower in all of Tianzhou: The lapis-colored Water Chrysanthemum, Natsuko projectile vomited. ¡°Don¡¯t get any on your dress you idiot, we don¡¯t have a spare!¡± Sofiane yelled. They were a few blocks from the Heavenly Card Parlor and the sky was a dim grayish-orange from the light pollution of ten thousand lanterns. The lights in the house whose garden Natsuko was throwing up in were fortunately dark. Sofiane hoped they stayed that way. ¡°Shuixing¡ª over¡ª more!¡± Natsuko said in-between waves. Her friend sighed and leaned Natsuko further over the hedge to keep any splashes away from her expensive kimono. ¡°I¡¯m gonna have a hard time going to sleep tonight,¡± Sofiane said, bouncing on his feet. ¡°Gods that was exhilarating! And I know we¡¯re matched up against Heroes tomorrow so we should be well prepared for them, right Shui?¡± Shuixing nodded. ¡°Should be. I have a good bit of research on your next competitor.¡± ¡°Tch, shoot. Forgot to look at the bracket. Who is it?¡± ¡°A Hero named Xiuquan.¡± At the mention of that name, Sofiane suddenly felt like joining Natsuko at the flower bed. Chapter 49 - Confronting People Who Are Better Than You Sofiane tossed and turned the whole night. Against his wishes, his brain decided to come up with a dozen potential ripostes to Xiuquan¡¯s inevitable taunting, several embarrassing memories involving him and his former teammates, and a couple crippling episodes of self-doubt and existential crisis. Right around when light was beginning to penetrate his bedroom¡¯s dark red silk curtains, he finally managed to get to sleep. Tap tap. ¡°Sofiane, it¡¯s almost time to go. The second day of the tournament starts in half an hour,¡± Shuixing said. Ordinarily comforting, her soft, dulcet voice that morning was the herald of the end times. Would it really be that bad if he stayed in and forfeited? Everyone else could come up with a plan B to get a hold of Yuna, not everything would be ruined if he dropped out of the tournament for a few more hours of sleep. BANG, BANG. ¡°Get up, dickhead, or I¡¯ll kick the door down and dump a keg of beer on top of you,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Which is sticky and uncomfortable,¡± Pechorin added. Summoned forth by sheer spite, Sofiane slipped out of bed and into his qipao which lay crumpled on the floor. There was no time for a shower. He was locked into showing up looking like a dumpster fire, so the best thing to do was to play into that. Sofiane opened the door. ¡°You got any whiskey left, Firecrotch?¡± ¡°You tryna day drink?¡± Natsuko asked, somehow looking better than Sofiane did. ¡°No, I¡¯m trying to look like I was up all night partying. It¡¯s an aesthetic,¡± he said, snatching the mostly-empty bottle from Natsuko and going back inside and throwing an untied bathrobe over the qipao and putting on some slippers. ¡°How do I look?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Even worse than normal,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s our main concern,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Oh, trust me, it is. If I look pathetic and tired, that kills our image as villainous status quo upsetters. We become a pity story. But partying cuz we were overconfident? Golden. We want anger, not compassion. Now, no more dilly-dallying,¡± Sofiane said, slippers scuffing as he trudged out of the hotel room. The concentration necessary to keep from not dropping his cards and whiskey bottle was enough to distract Sofiane from thinking about certain things until they were within sight of the card parlor. The closer they got, the more these certain things crept back into his thoughts. ¡°Shui, what kind of deck does he have?¡± ¡°Metal-Lightning-Earth,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°It works by building up one or two really strong monsters by adding artifacts and bonuses to them and protecting them with abilities to prevent them from being removed. Sofioane rubbed his eyes and groaned. He didn¡¯t know what the answer to that strategy was and his sleep-deprived neurons weren¡¯t lining up to tell him. In the daytime, the Heavenly Card Parlor looked much less like a gala and more like the borderline-casino it usually was. The games hadn¡¯t started, but most competitors were seated with their cards out, ready to play. Sofiane bumped into the doorframe on the way inside. ¡°Good morning, Mr. De La Nuit. Your opponent is awaiting you,¡± said a receptionist. ¡°Shall I escort you?¡± Sofiane mumbled something and allowed himself to be guided to the table where his former teammate was waiting with a leg across his knee and his arm thrown over the chair. Xiuquan¡¯s silk robes were pinned like a toga, leaving one arm and shoulder bare with tree roots bursting out of them like racing dolphins. Neatly-cut, mossy green hair came down to his shoulders. He smiled and reached out a hand from his seat. ¡°Hello there, Sofiane. What a surprise to see you under these circumstances.¡± Sofiane sat down, plunked the whiskey bottle on the table, and gave a curt handshake. ¡°Xiuquan.¡± ¡°Erm, sir, outside drinks are not permitted on the premises,¡± said one of the two judges seated on either side of the two players. Sofiane noticed none of the other players had two judges. ¡°Oh yeah? One sec.¡± Sofiane uncorked the bottle, chugged the couple of shots that were left, wiped his lips, and slammed the bottle back down. ¡°There. It¡¯s an inside drink now.¡± Xiuquan laughed. ¡°Still have your sense of humor, I see. And your aesthetic sensibility.¡± ¡°Surely you didn¡¯t expect me to be a completely different person just because I left the team, did you? I don¡¯t base my personality off my coworkers,¡± Sofiane said. Xiuquan looked over at Natsuko sitting cross-legged and wearing sunglasses for her hangover while sipping a bloody mary she¡¯d splurged on at Heavenly Card Parlor prices. ¡°I would think no such thing. It¡¯s just that, well, lifestyles have to change when material circumstances do. There¡¯s less need to be up and ready if you have no dungeons to crawl through or quests to complete, so sleep schedules loosen up. Simple as that. I mean nothing by pointing out, just an observation,¡± Xiuquan said.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Shuixing, watching, thought Sofiane¡¯s former teammate rather forthright and cordial. She had expected someone more antagonistic. Sofiane disagreed. ¡°Dick,¡± he muttered. Xiuquan laughed. ¡°No one gets very far on the Use-Rankings by denying reality, Sofi. You and I both know that. In fact, I seem to recall you saying something similar when we dropped Harbin from the party. I want you to know, I have no problem with you as a person. Clearly you are still a riot to party with,¡± he said, eyeing the bathrobe and slippers. ¡°But if our party fought uphill against reality, we wouldn¡¯t stay on top for long. And once the Celestials are done with us, we¡¯re out for good. I suspect you¡¯re here playing cards rather than looking for an edge because you¡¯ve resigned yourself to that fact.¡± Before Sofiane could get a word in, the judges announced the beginning of the first match. The two former teammates cut each other¡¯s cards and drew. Something about Sofiane¡¯s slow and reluctant draw told Shuixing something was wrong. ¡°Erm, Pechorin?¡± she said. ¡°Some use that name,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°Could you¡­ do some investigating and see if there is something we can do to, um, give Sofiane some sort of advantage?¡± He folded his arms and nodded. ¡°I believe I can help you cheat, yes.¡± The word ¡°cheat¡± made the judge and participant at another table turn around and glance at them. Though, a moment later, Shuixing realized they were really watching Sofiane and Xiuquan¡¯s match. And now that she was looking, so were a lot of tables. ¡°Jeez, Sofiane wasn¡¯t kidding about the villain narrative thing. Everyone¡¯s paying a lot of attention to us,¡± Shuixing said, talking even softer than normal so that only Natsuko and Pechorin could hear her. ¡°Hmm? Wha¡ª? Sorry, I zoned out,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing was 90% certain her friend had nodded off briefly given her open mouth gape, though it was hard to tell with the sunglasses on. ¡°Please try to focus, Natsu,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I¡¯m trying, I just also happen to be failing,¡± Natsuko said with a yawn and a stretch before returning to sipping her bloody mary. Seeing Pechorin had left to do¡­ whatever it was he intended to do, Shuixing turned back to the game in progress. It was only three turns in, but it was clear who was winning. ¡°When did you start playing, Sofi?¡± Xiuquan asked. ¡°I¡¯m only curious, because I¡¯ve never seen experienced players try to kill Snob Goblin by attacking it before.¡± Sofiane grit his teeth. Shuixing had made a mental note of that card, since it stated that any damage dealt to it would force the attacking player to discard that many of their own cards. In one turn, Sofiane had thrown away his entire board and half of his hand. She had factored it into her strategizing, but hadn¡¯t warned Sofiane since he should¡¯ve read any unfamiliar cards. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not like you won¡¯t have plenty of time to improve,¡± Xiuquan said with a chuckle. The game was lost at that point. The two of them played out the rest, but Sofiane¡¯s board was essentially reset, putting him too far behind to string together a combo or even do anything about Xiuquan¡¯s ramping power until his Snob Goblin was attacking Sofiane directly for 25 out of his 50 health per turn. Game one to Xiuquan. Around 80% the parlor floor breathed a collective sigh of relief and another 20% swallowed hard. ¡°Ready to go again?¡± Xiuquan asked. Sofiane¡¯s eyes looked deader than when Natsuko had sniped the demon in the abandoned dungeon with her bottle. ¡°C-Can I have a second? We¡¯re allowed a break between games, right?¡± Sofiane asked the two judges. One judge nodded. ¡°Five minutes maximum.¡± ¡°My time is worth a little bit more than yours, so please do not waste too much of it,¡± Xiuquan said. Shuixing was starting to understand why Sofiane had called him a dick. Shooting out of his chair, Sofiane grabbed Shuixing and dragged her out into a thoroughfare between card tables. ¡°I¡¯m screwed, Shui. I can¡¯t focus and he¡¯s clearly better than me. His deck is better, he¡¯s got more experience, and he¡¯s in my damn head! I don¡¯t know what the hell I can do,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°It¡¯s only the last one that matters, Sofi. You¡¯ve just gotta put aside your history with him. He¡¯s not any better than us if you strip away the aura,¡± she said. ¡°But he is, that¡¯s the thing! He¡¯s in, and I¡¯m out, and he knows it. There¡¯s something indisputable about that. Remember Daisy walking in yesterday? There are some auras that you can¡¯t bargain or twist or reinterpret,¡± Sofiane said. He grabbed Shuixing¡¯s dress by the collar and shook her. ¡°He. Is. Better. Than. Us.¡± ¡°W-Would you have said that before Koyon was summoned?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°No, because we were on the same level then!¡± ¡°Hardly anything has really changed. He¡¯s still the same person and you¡¯re still the¡ª¡± Shuixing paused. Sofiane had in fact changed since they met him two weeks ago. But that wasn¡¯t what he needed to hear. ¡°Y-You¡¯re still the same too. Forget about any auras or unscientific nonsense like that. Just focus on the raw forces. The universe as it is.¡± At some point, Shuixing had switched into teaching mode because it was how she made herself sound more convincing. She had to keep that ball rolling or lose the momentum. ¡°Think about it in¡ª in matter and energy, right? There is nothing but the cards on the table a-and the abstract numbers they represent and the probabilistic outcomes of certain draws and shuffles, so if you¡ª¡± ¡°I-I think I got it, Shui. I¡¯ll try,¡± he said, cutting her physics lesson short. ¡°One minute,¡± a judge announced. ¡°Shit! Quick, what was our strategy for him?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Um! Um! Shoot!¡± Shuixing snapped her fingers. Her brain was a really long train. It liked very long, very slow curves, not sharp turns. ¡°He¡ª he uh¡­ you need abnormal removals. Take your sideboard cards and switch out for artifact removal a-and¡ª um, board wipes! We¡¯re okay with wiping our own board so long as he doesn¡¯t have anything to build up. Got it?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± Sofiane said, returning to the table to play the second match. Shuixing had still seen fear in his expression. Her words died at the foot of whatever mental blockage still had Sofiane in its clutches. She needed something tangible. Something physical that could breach through the murky film that his mind had placed over the real world. Pechorin was still missing, so Natsuko would have to do it. She tapped her friend on her shoulder, causing her to jerk. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sleeping!¡± ¡°I have a job for you,¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko lowered her sunglasses. ¡°Does it require more than two functioning brain cells?¡± ¡°No, I need you to walk over to Xiuquan and spill your drink on him.¡± Natsuko grinned wickedly and in mock offense said, ¡°Ms. He, that is alcohol abuse!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never known that to stop you before,¡± Shuixing replied. Chapter 50 - A Fistful of Nasty Words It would be sad to see the rest of her bloody mary go, but Natsuko¡¯s logic was that it meant Sofiane owed her, which further meant that if she spent half a bloody mary getting tomato juice and horseradish all over some punk ass high-ranked Hero, she could earn a full bloody mary later, which was half as much more by her reckoning. Just as Xiquan was drawing his first card of the second match, Natsuko ¡°tripped¡± over a table leg and spilled her drink all over the Hero. His bright green silk sash turned Christmas colors from the tomato, celery ended up on his lap, and a lime slice slapped neatly onto his exposed chest. After a moment of shock, his face went as red as the front of his outfit. ¡°You idiot! You clumsy, 1st-gen moron!¡± Xiuquan screamed, hanging his arms out like a clothesline while they dripped. ¡°Oopsie! Me so dumb. Me not have good enough Finesse stat to not trip,¡± Natsuko said. Xiuquan¡¯s eyes flicked to a bewildered Sofiane. ¡°Is this some kind of shitty attempt at psychological warfare? You won¡¯t win anyway, you forgotten nobodies, it just makes you look more pathetic and desperate.¡± Natsuko slapped Xiuquan¡¯s wet shoulder and lowered her sunglasses. ¡°At least I¡¯m not cold and wet, dork,¡± she said, cackling as she raised her sunglasses and went back to the bar to put a replacement drink on Sofiane¡¯s tab. Shuixing looked over at Sofiane. He appeared calmer. If Natsuko¡¯s spill had poked even a tiny hole in that aura of superiority, she could call it a win. Anything to get Sofiane out of his own head. ¡°Go ahead, draw. You¡¯re holding up my drying off,¡± Xiuquan said. ¡°And oh, one of you judges, go get me a towel.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been asked to have two sets of eyes on this table at all times,¡± one of the judges explained. ¡°I don¡¯t care. If you don¡¯t want to wake up at 4am tomorrow, go get me a gods-damned towel!¡± Xiuquan barked. One of the judges leapt to. Even with one pair of eyes, cheating was going to be difficult, especially now that Pechorin was off somewhere else. Sofiane led with his usual energy ramp and Xiuquan with his slow accumulation of things to attach to the inevitable Snob Goblin. As obnoxious as the card was, Shuixing did think the art for the card was kind of cute. It was a little goblin guy with the usual big, warty nose, but he had a monocle and top hat and was sipping tea. He just seemed so sweet. ¡°Hey look, it¡¯s your old friend,¡± Xiuquan said, laying it down. ¡°I¡¯ll even be nice enough to give you a piece of advice, despite your pitiful last-ditch efforts: Don¡¯t attack him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cute, Xiu,¡± Sofiane said. Hardly the kind of barbed wit he usually had, but it was at least token resistance. As he continued to build up, Sofiane was forced to let Xiuquan hit him over and over with the Snob Goblin, 47 health, 44, 40, 35, 29¡­ The pounding got worse as cards tacked onto the dapper goblin to make it hit for more damage. All the while, Sofiane could only sit there and pull cards. If he didn¡¯t get something that let him wipe the board soon, he was going to have to start throwing his combo pieces down, which would only help him lose slower. Sofiane looked at the judge out of the corner of his eye and saw the judge looking back. Damn. It wasn¡¯t going to be easy to confer with Shuixing. He¡¯d have to use charades. He snapped his fingers under the table to grab Shuixing¡¯s attention, then tapped the underside of the table, made a wiping motion, then finished by rolling his wrist and opening his palm like he was asking a question. Shuixing pursed her lips, did a quick mental calculation, and put three fingers on top of one knee and five on top of the other. ¡°Is the delay deliberate? Very petty of you, Sofi,¡± Xiuquan said. ¡°Believe me, I want the horseradish smell out of my nose as quickly as you do,¡± Sofiane replied, laying down a card draw instead of a monster to defend himself with. He did his best to keep a poker face as a Mythic Celestial Hurricane card went into his hand. Its effect was that everything on the board except for Elemental Fonts went into each player¡¯s discard pile. He couldn¡¯t use it this turn, so Sofiane passed to Xiuquan. ¡°Well then, Sofi, let¡¯s not disappoint all these nice people that bet you wouldn¡¯t make it to a game three,¡± Xiuquan said with a vicious smile. He dropped three cards down all at once that automatically attached to his Snob Goblin on the same turn. ¡°That brings it to 10 force with double-attack, you have nothing to defend yourself with, so that brings you to¡­ oh, nine, I believe? Is that math correct, judge?¡± The judge nodded. Sofiane flipped the abacus built into his side of the table down to nine to show his current health. Shuixing could see the outline of teeth chewing the inside of Sofiane¡¯s cheek. The revelation of the betting against him had rattled Sofiane again. She watched Xiuquan patch up the hole in his aura of superiority in real time. Sofiane started his turn, drawing a card with a trembling hand. Without thinking he moved to lay the Mythic Celestial Hurricane down. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Shuixing cleared her throat. ¡°Mr. Xiuquan. You are a-a¡ª a dick.¡± Everyone at the table stopped to look at her. The insult sounded alien coming from Shui¡¯s tender voice. After a stunned silence, Xiuquan burst out laughing. ¡°If you only knew half the things little Sofi here has said about forgotten Heroes like you,¡± Xiuquan said, wiping away tears of laughter. ¡°I might be a little rude. Especially when nobodies keep wasting my precious time and spilling drinks on me, but good luck finding someone at my level who isn¡¯t. But Sofi here? I¡¯m pretty sure he once joked about paying low-ranked Heroes to go into new dungeons and having them kill themselves on the trap for us.¡± ¡°Shut your mouth, Xiu,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Or how about that time you said seeing the faces of 1st and 2nd-gen Heroes made you want to vomit? Or how they were all lazy and their brief success at the top of the Use-Ranking was handed to them? Did you conveniently forget to mention all of that to your new posse?¡± Xiuquan crossed his legs and turned towards Shuixing. ¡°Honestly, compared to the vile stuff that has come out of this guy¡¯s mouth, I¡¯m a saint.¡± Shuixing looked over at Sofiane but he refused to look her way. Cards bent under Sofiane¡¯s curling fist, but his anger had a precision to it. The frustration of being overawed by a superior was replaced by personal, vengeful animosity. It felt so silly to respond through a stupid card game, but Sofiane could at least take satisfaction in knowing that Xiuquan had probably bet a lot of money on himself. Tapping his cards for energy before wiping the board, he played the Mythic Celestial Hurricane to take the game to a clean slate before throwing down the two cards he needed for his infinite combo and ending the game. Fury flared in Xiuquan¡¯s eyes as he picked up his cards. ¡°You fucker.¡± Sofiane felt no satisfaction at the win. He was still trembling with barely contained embarrassment and anger, and he still couldn¡¯t look Shui in the eyes. ¡°Sofi¡­¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m taking my five minute break,¡± Sofiane said, shooting up from his chair and walking off. ¡°Where are my fucking towels!?¡± Xiuquan said. A minute or so later, Natsuko and Pechorin returned, with the former doubled over in side-splitting laughter and the latter carrying a teetering stack of towels, towelettes, and napkins. Shuixing didn¡¯t even know Pechorin had been watching the spilled drink exchange. ¡°Shui, look at this friggin¡¯ goober!¡± Natsuko said, pointing at Pechorin. ¡°I was not able to confiscate all of them, but I have deprived our enemy of as many resources as I could,¡± Pechorin said. Shuixing managed a small chuckle. ¡°I do hope you enjoy your small satisfaction. I know your depressing lives don¡¯t have many of them,¡± Xiuquan said, standing up and walking over towards Pechorin. ¡°But I¡¯ll take my towel now, thank you.¡± Xiuquan grabbed one of Pechorin¡¯s shoulders and slammed his fist into Pechorin¡¯s stomach. The single punch brought Pechorin within a few hundred HP of death as he coughed blood onto the towels. Xiuquan went back to his seat after wiping himself off. Shuixing¡¯s medical rod materialized in her hand and cast healing waters with a ring of the bell. ¡°Are you alright, Pech?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± Pechorin¡¯s stomach sucked in, his eyes water, and his throat trembled as he tried to keep himself from giving out another un-dark and un-mysterious cough. ¡°¡ªfine.¡± Natsuko took off her sunglasses and growled. ¡°If he knew I could chuck his ass into the void right now¡­¡± ¡°Please calm down, Natsu. We don¡¯t want to ruin Sofiane¡¯s hard work by flying off the handle,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna fly off the handle! I¡¯m fucking calm,¡± she said, sinking into her seat and sipping on another bloody mary. Shuixing gave Pechorin a look to let him know he was on Natsuko-sitting duty and went to find Sofiane. As she wandered through the labyrinth of card games towards the bright purple splotch on the other end, Xiuquan¡¯s words rang in her ear. Shuixing wished she was shocked by them, but she wasn¡¯t. It was all variations on stuff she¡¯d heard before. Natsuko had told Daisy that they lived in Verm?genburgh because it was cheap. The truth was, if the two of them wanted to, they could live comfortably in Tianzhou or Shikijima by doing a quick dungeon in the morning. They lived in Verm?genburgh because they were trying to be forgotten. Otherwise they would have to hear the kinds of things Xiuquan claimed Sofiane said on a regular basis. It also meant she couldn¡¯t retreat into believing that Xiuquan was lying. There was no doubt in her mind that Sofiane really did suggest paying desperate Heroes to be trap-finding fodder, or that they deserved their fate for being lazy. Telling Natsuko about it was off the table. She found Sofiane pacing in front of a bamboo screen near the reception desk. ¡°Hey,¡± she said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Are you going to be ready for the next game?¡± she asked. His pacing ground to a halt and he stared at her with numb frustration. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to. I know you said those things,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°And?¡± ¡°And what?¡± ¡°And¡ª gods, Shui, you can be a sadist when you want to be. Making me come right out and say it, honestly¡­¡± She adjusted her glasses. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t really know what¡ª¡± ¡°Do I have your forgiveness or not!?¡± he said, loud enough to turn a few heads. ¡°I-I guess? You don¡¯t mean those things now, right?¡± Sofiane paused and a moment later, his eyes darkened. ¡°I don¡¯t really know. Not with the same vitriol, but if I said Use-Rankings don¡¯t matter in my estimation of things, I¡¯d be lying to both you and myself. But I¡­¡± His words hung long enough for Shui to get a word in edgewise. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t really know what to make of it, but Natsuko did say something to me on the day we decided to disband our adventuring party,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I-I¡¯ll abridge it, because it was mostly cursing and insulting the Yishang and stuff like that, but she said there was no going back. Once we¡¯re out of the Use-Ranking competition, we¡¯re out for good, and we needed to start thinking about what being on the outside meant and commit to it.¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± Sofiane said, ¡°wasn¡¯t she all gung-ho about the abandoned dungeon we went to because it could help her climb the rankings again?¡± Shuixing shrugged with a shuffle of her dress. ¡°People change, and sometimes they say things they don¡¯t mean, and mean things they don¡¯t say, and it¡¯s not because they¡¯re trying to lie, but because they really don¡¯t know what things will be like in the future. It¡¯s why the archetype system is rather silly when you take a step back. A lot of things in the Use-Ranking competition are silly like that.¡± Sofiane took a long exhale. From across the room, the two judges waved them back. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Shui. It feels like I¡¯m caught between two worlds. If I give up what I still have, I¡¯ll feel like an idiot. I admire what you do, dangerous as it is. Hell, I almost even kind of admire Natsuko and her ability to not give a shit. But I¡¯m not there yet. And I¡¯d be lying if I said I wanted to be down there with you.¡± The last part hurt Shuixing more than the spiteful things Xiuquan claimed he¡¯d said. Sofiane started to walk back towards the table. ¡°Let¡¯s go play some cards.¡± Chapter 51 - Making Waves at the Third Annual Card Tournament ¡°I got cocky and lost because of it, I¡¯m man enough to admit that,¡± Xiuquan said, shuffling his cards. ¡°But I won¡¯t make that mistake again.¡± A couple of the tables around them looked on in awe, but the spell had already been broken. Rather than Sofiane seeing an impregnable Hero with a high Use-Ranking, he saw his old teammate Xiu, green hair wet and askew from the spill and subsequent towling, eyes wild with an obsessive competitiveness that Sofiane knew all too well. There was nothing threatening about him anymore. Nothing to distract Sofiane from the game they were playing. ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Sofiane said. After the climactic, razor¡¯s edge win of the second game, the third was a bit of a letdown. Xiuquan, despite his boasting, tried to do the same exact thing, only this time Sofiane drew into some point target removal with wording that said the opponent had to ¡°remove¡± a monster rather than killing it, and then counterspelled Xiuquan¡¯s attempts to throw anti-magic enchantments on the Snob Goblin. Xiuquan continued getting angrier and more frazzled as the game went on, but it didn¡¯t mean anything to Sofiane anymore. Even the inevitable victory didn¡¯t feel all that good. His vexation was coming from somewhere other than his arrogant former teammate. ¡°Get bent, dumbass. You suck ass at cards,¡± Natsuko said, taunting Xiuquan. ¡°You know, perhaps you¡¯re right, little ginger girl. All of my time doing real work could¡¯ve been spent getting better at cards. Guess I¡¯ll just have to go back to clearing dungeons and doing quests,¡± he replied with a shrug and a laugh. Xiuquan anger had boiled over into an ¡°I didn¡¯t really care after all¡± gambit that Shuixing and Sofiane saw right through, but did its job of baiting Natsuko into yelling at him as he left, her face going red in the process. The judges, meanwhile, wiped sweat from their brows and left, glad to be done with the most drama-riddled table in card tournament history ¡°Jeez Puffball, you look like a bundle of friggin¡¯ joy,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I¡¯m tired. I didn¡¯t get good sleep last night,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Want me to fix you up?¡± Sofiane looked at her suspiciously. ¡°How?¡± She grinned. ¡°You¡¯ll have to trust me. To the tune of about 10,000 Ying or so.¡± ¡°What the hell!? I know it¡¯s gonna be a drink but it shouldn¡¯t be that expensive!¡± ¡°Shh, just trust Dr. Natsuko. Especially since I helped win you your match by spilling my drink all over ol¡¯ soggy-robes.¡± He gave her the Ying. Natsuko came back from the bar with a piping hot, mocha-colored drink and a glass of sorghum beer with a shot glass sitting at the bottom. Sofiane accepted it and took a tentative sip. ¡°Oh what the hell, this is actually so good,¡± Sofiane said, chugging back as much as he could without scalding his mouth. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Cascadian Liquid Breakfast,¡± Natsuko said proudly. ¡°I¡¯m Cascadian and I¡¯ve never heard of it,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s a cocktail of my own invention, thought up on the spot.¡± ¡°You invented a Cascadian cocktail that has probably never been imbibed by anyone from Cascadia?¡± ¡°Yup! Want the recipe, puffball?¡± Giving her the win was annoying, but damn, it was a good drink. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Three shots of espresso, a double-shot of Cascadian Peat-Whiskey, cream, maple syrup, and a dash of nutmeg and cloves,¡± she said with a hint of pride. ¡°I¡¯ll give you this, Firecrotch, you mix a fine brew.¡± Between the espresso and whiskey the drink bit like an upset beaver, but was exactly what Sofiane needed. It didn¡¯t take long for the drink to kick in. He wasn¡¯t sure whether he felt better, or like his heart was going to explode, but he wasn¡¯t in a sad little slump anymore, that was for sure. ¡°I will be your next opponent, Sofiane,¡± said a clean-cut looking Hero with a bare, chiseled jaw and an impeccably messy brown undercut. He wore a gray officer¡¯s coat with epaulettes and ribbons and insignia that indicated his backstory with the Deco-Imperian Storm Corps. He was a perfect boy-next-door archetype, which did not play well nowadays. Sofiane¡¯s initial impression was that he needed to tune down the martial masculinity in favor of something a little more androgynous yet brooding and dangerous. His problem was that he didn¡¯t leave anything for the Celestials to think they could fix about him. He thrust a strong hand towards Sofiane. ¡°Captain Shrike. Pleasure to meet you.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Sofiane shook his hand. ¡°Another Lightning Elemental, non?¡± ¡°I am indeed!¡± Shrike said. ¡°Are you ready to play some cards?¡± Remembering they were supposed to be playing the villains, Sofiane switched gears. ¡°If you¡¯re ready to get your ass whooped, sure.¡± Shrike laughed. ¡°I¡¯m always ready to learn from a good opponent. I like your style, by the way. That entrance was something else. Fit for the Imperian Gala itself!¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± ¡°The Storm Corps. are expected to be there as security, and not only do I always get posted there for some reason, something always seems to go wrong!¡± That was because it was another annual special event, albeit one that was pretty much scripted to have the Deco-Imperian Heroes all in one place before some narrative thing happened to give them a questline. It was nakedly set up by the Yishang for archetype-building purposes. Sofiane had never been to one, but he was familiar with the plotlines. Daisy played the victim in a locked-room murder mystery once where it turned out she wasn¡¯t dead after all because everything had to end all fluffy and inconsequential. Sofiane didn¡¯t know if Shrike was screwing with him by pretending not to know or if he actually wasn¡¯t that bright. Out of curiosity he checked Shrike¡¯s Use-Ranking and found out he was #93. Not terrible, but not good, either. He was in the gray area where he was probably grinding his ass to the ground just to stay in place. If Sofiane decided to try to keep pace with his replacement Koyon rather than saying screw it like Natsuko and Shuixing, #93 was around where he would end up on the rankings. ¡°Funny, that,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Wanna cut my deck?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s alright, I trust you,¡± Shrike said. The two new judges that sat down cut it for him anyway. The first game went quickly. Sofiane lost horrendously. Shrike was running a Lightning-Aether-Air deck full of monsters that let him summon more monsters, all with low energy costs and a bunch of cheap negation cards to keep Sofiane from doing anything until he had 15 monsters on the board pounding him with a million little cuts. Several of the monsters were even in the air where Sofiane couldn¡¯t defend against them. ¡°Holy crap. What is that deck?¡± Sofiane said, gathering up his cards after the whirlwind defeat. ¡°You like it? Thanks! It¡¯s been my passion project for the last couple of months since my team kicked me out. I¡¯ve done nothing but finetune it, game after game. I think it¡¯s pretty rock solid!¡± Shrike said with a painfully sincere grin. Sofiane was starting to miss Xiuqang¡¯s abrasiveness. If Game Two went the same way, Sofiane was going to be beaten and the plan ruined by the nicest son-of-a-bitch he¡¯d ever met. He needed to strategize. ¡°Five minute break,¡± Sofiane said, swiveling immediately to Shuixing and dropping his voice. ¡°Shui, what the hell!? You must have done research on this guy, non? You¡¯re leaving me high and dry here!¡± Shuixing looked gobsmacked. ¡°N-No I don¡¯t. H-He wasn¡¯t at the practice rounds and no one was making any buzz about him! I have no data on his deck.¡± ¡°But you were thinking of counters, weren¡¯t you? We¡¯ve gotta do something! His deck counters mine almost to a tee,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Beat him outside the game,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°That is why I am here, is it not? To help us gain advantage through trickery, deceit, and other nefarious acts? As one who strides the shadows, this is where I work best.¡± ¡°We¡¯re probably gonna have to, cuz he beats me next game for sure and we¡¯ve got¡­ shit, three minutes now? You all need to think of something quick,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Like what!? We don¡¯t know anything about this guy!¡± Natsuko whisper-yelled. Sofiane turned his head to see if Shrike heard her, but he was still sitting there, smile on his face, no thoughts, head empty. ¡°Untrue. We know one thing,¡± Pechorin said, pausing. No one indulged his pause so he continued. ¡°His team left him behind, just as yours did, Sofiane. Xiuquan sought to exploit that and was very nearly successful, so perhaps we ought to do the same.¡± Sofiane grumbled. He didn¡¯t like this, but not only did it help them win, it also earned them the villain reputation that was supposed to grab Yuna¡¯s attention for a money match. ¡°Fine,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll stall for as long as I can and prod at him while you all figure out how to give him the coup de grace. Maybe find one of his teammates in the crowd and bring them here to bully him and make him cry.¡± Pechorin popped his trench coat collar up. ¡°I¡¯m on the case.¡± ~~~ Daisy raked in about thirty million Ying off of her bet on Sofiane, but it didn¡¯t really mean much other than it would be plowed right back into another bet on him. Her logic was that, since everyone was paying attention to her high-profile bets, Yuna would find out Daisy had a racehorse and want to bet against it. Yun-chan was predictable like that. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I underestimated him. Just goes to show why you¡¯re at the top. You¡¯ve got such a discerning eye, darling,¡± Cunegonde said as they watched Baphomet trounce yet another third-rate Non-Hero with a fourth-rate deck. Both Baphomet and Calhoun weren¡¯t likely to play anyone of serious skill until at least the last two days. Her temporary comrades had been oblivious to it, being in the middle of it, but Sofiane and Xiuquan¡¯s best-of-three had been a giant vortex of dramatic tension for the uneventful second day. All the other matches had taken twice as long to play because everyone was distracted watching the two former teammates duke it out. Sofiane¡¯s second match against Shrike was only barely less spectated. No one else was doing anything other than chewing through nameless Non-Heroes. ¡°I liked his moxy,¡± Daisy replied to Cunegonde. ¡°The poise, the glamor, the panache, it was all there! Plus, I just know it¡¯ll annoy Yun-chan to know her rival is a spoiled pretty boy with cash to blow.¡± Cunegonde gasped and laughed as she was brought in on a juicy morsel of strategically-placed gossip. ¡°Did you hear that, Phemmy?¡± Baphomet grunted. The half-demon anti-Hero was too cool and dark and edgy to acknowledge the juicy gossip, but Daisy knew he couldn¡¯t resist. Calhoun was in earshot too. Once they were done with their matches, they would go to the bar for a drink and spread it to the rest of the tournament like the flu. After all, this was super-privileged information that would worsen the falling out between Daisy and Yuna if it reached Yuna¡¯s ear, and surely no one would deliberately go and tell Yuna as soon as they heard. Within about ten minutes she could see Yuna over in the corner grinding out her own boring match against a Non-Hero being alerted by one of her bodyguards about her new ¡°rival¡± in Sofiane. Yuna scowled across the large hall at Daisy who responded with a cheeky little shrug. Yuna held the expression for a moment before turning back to her own game which she was trying to close out at double speed. Well, Sofiane, if you can stay alive through this one, you¡¯ve got your money match, Daisy thought as she took a sip from her fourth mint julep of the day. Chapter 52 - Cheating at Cards Through Psychological Warfare Sofiane was dying very, very quickly. Shrike had drawn into yet another round of slapping down far too many creatures for Sofiane to deal with. His only tactic was to draw out the length of his turns and to make small talk to get into his opponent¡¯s head. ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever heard of you. You¡¯re a forgotten Hero, right?¡± ¡°Hmm? I suppose so. I¡¯ve heard the term,¡± Shrike said, tapping his chin as he considered between two cards. ¡°I don¡¯t worry too much about it though. Money and numbers aren¡¯t the most important thing to me.¡± ¡°Sounds like sour grapes to me,¡± Sofiane replied. Shrike shook his head. ¡°Hmm? My apologies if it came across that way, but really, I¡¯m most happy when I¡¯m with my friends. Adventuring and fighting the Entropic Axis and so forth are just a way to do that.¡± Sofiane chewed the inside of his cheek. Shrike¡¯s shell was tough to crack, but everyone had a weak spot. He just had to find it. ¡°You said your team kicked you out though. Aren¡¯t those your friends?¡± Shrike¡¯s face darkened. ¡°They were.¡± Sofiane pictured Daisy in his hand firing a finger gun at him and saying ¡°bullseye!¡± ¡°Why¡¯d they ditch you? Not pulling your weight? Or maybe they just all secretly thought you were annoying and decided they were done with you,¡± Sofiane said. Shrike hung his head, hand of cards going limp on the table. Even better, it was on his turn, so Sofiane didn¡¯t even have to run out his own timer. ¡°I-I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know. I want to think¡ª but I just¡­ I loved them so much, my friends, and I-I thought¡­¡± Cards crumpled in Shrike¡¯s trembling fist as thick droplets of tears rolled down his cheeks. People at the tables around them were all tutting silently or glaring at Sofiane for his cruelty. He suppressed a smirk at how well his gambit was going until, still sobbing, Shrike laid down a card that gave +1 damage to all of the Ninja monsters he had on the board and attacked Sofiane for half his remaining health. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this game. I want to go curl up in a ball in the dark and cry in grief,¡± Shrike blubbered. ¡°Uh¡­ hey, w-why don¡¯t you tell me what happened? It¡¯ll do you good to talk it through,¡± Sofiane said in a desperate attempt to stall for more time. Shrike hiccuped and rubbed his tears away. ¡°W-Well¡­ it was a couple months ago, and we had just taken part in the Summer Water Gun Fight Special Event in Al-Nuwba¡ª¡± Sofiane hated that one. Very moist, more sand than you would expect, a lot of rashes. ¡°¡ªand I got to the final round in the Free-For-All. I was so excited, it was just me and five other Heroes in a one-shot-one-kill, winner-takes-all battle royale. But when the fight was about to begin, I turned around to where they were supposed to be cheering from the crowd, and they were gone.¡± Sofiane gave a fake gasp. ¡°No! They really picked a moment of triumph to dump you on your ass and break your heart? Pauv petit! Such cruelty!¡± Shrike put his head in his hands. ¡°I-I couldn¡¯t believe it either¡­ but I thought maybe it was a mistake, right? So after I went out in 3rd place, I left the event to go look for them, and they were nowhere to be found! It¡¯s been months since then, and after realizing I was now abandoned and set adrift by those who I cared for most, I buried myself in learning to play cards, though it has failed to fill the hole in my heart.¡± If the Yishang ever made a special event competition for melodramatic monologues, Sofiane thought, this guy and Pechorin would be up against each other in the finals. Looking around, he still didn¡¯t see Pechorin and the rest of them back with a coup de grace trump card. All he could do was continue prodding at Shrike, hoping he would do something illegal to disqualify him. ¡°Wow. And you thought cards were the solution, huh? Sounds kinda pathetic to me.¡± ~~~ ¡°How the hell do we find this guy¡¯s stupid teammates? There¡¯s a million friggin¡¯ people in this city,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Let¡¯s not exaggerate, Natsuko, there¡¯s not even a million people in the world even if you added up all of the Non-Heroes,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Whatever! That doesn¡¯t help us with¡ª with this!¡± Natsuko said, flinging her arms out at the giant crowd of people swarming the plaza around the Heavenly Card Parlor. ¡°We don¡¯t even know his teammates¡¯ names, or even who to ask for their names!¡± ¡°We know someone who would know,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Who the¡ª? No. Absolutely not. Screw that weird ass fox, we¡¯re not asking him anything. I¡¯d rather lose the card game,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing put her hand on her friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Natsu, we don¡¯t have a lot of time and we really need to help Sofiane win. You don¡¯t even have to talk to him, you can stand to the side while Pech and I talk with Zhidao.¡± ¡°Ugh! Don¡¯t tell him anything he doesn¡¯t need to know, okay? Not a peep about our little mission here,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing nodded. Natsuko pointed at her. ¡°I¡¯m serious! I don¡¯t trust him. Do not give an inch more than we have to.¡± ¡°I promise,¡± Shuixing said, knowing that agreeing was the only way she could get Natsuko to move past her weird phobia of the Pengwu fox. It was one of the many things about Natsu she¡¯d given up being bothered by and now treated like a physical law. ¡°So¡­ Where do we find Zhidao?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°I know where to find that little shit,¡± Natsuko said.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°No you don¡¯t, you got lost last time,¡± Shuixing said with a sigh. ¡°Let me ask around.¡± Natsuko shook her head. ¡°Won¡¯t work. People in Tianzhou are tight-lipped, they don¡¯t give out information for free. Believe me, I tried.¡± Ignoring her, Shuixing tapped gently on the shoulder of a man pushing a cart full of steamed buns. ¡°Pardon, sir, have you seen a Pengwu near here recently? He¡¯s a fox with two halos and a peach coloration.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, I did! He was floatin¡¯ on his little cloud over to the harbor. Maybe he¡¯s got business at the Cerulean Tower?¡± the vendor said as a joke. Shuixing wondered if it might be true. The Pengwu all seemed to have very wide circles of acquaintances. ¡°Much appreciated,¡± Shuixing said, putting a handful of Ying down on the man¡¯s cart as payment. ¡°Xiexie,¡± he said with a nod. ¡°How the hell¡¯d you do that!?¡± Natsuko said as Shui returned to her and Pechorin. ¡°It helps to not knock their merchandise over before asking,¡± Shuixing said. Not knowing how much time they had left, they sprinted towards the harbor. Halfway down a narrow cobbled towards the seafront, a floating fox spirit met them coming up. ¡°Howdy friends! Fancy meeting you here,¡± Zhidao said, doing a little spin on his cloud. Natsuko flared her nostrils and looked away. ¡°Still don¡¯t like me, huh? You stinker!¡± Zhidao stuck his tongue out at her. She flipped him off as she walked away. ¡°Go fuck yourself. Fuckin¡¯ spook.¡± ¡°Hey! That wasn¡¯t very nice!¡± Zhidao pouted. ¡°Er, sorry Zhidao, Natsu¡¯s not in a good mood,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Is she ever?¡± ¡°Only on extraordinary occasions,¡± Pechorin said cryptically. ¡°Anyways, something I can help you guys with?¡± ¡°Yeah, actually,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Do you happen to know the teammates of a Hero named Shrike?¡± ¡°Sure I do! That would be Maitri, Benkei, and Felix, Use-Rankings #86, #89, and #94 in that order. How come you guys are looking for them?¡± Shuixing gulped. ¡°Ah, erm, we¡­¡± ¡°Are reuniting them,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Shrike lost his way and subsequently sunk into a deep depression which only reuniting with his old comrades can save him from.¡± ¡°How kind of you!¡± Zhidao said, wagging his tail. ¡°I heard you guys entered the card tournament. How¡¯s that going?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry Zhidao, we don¡¯t really have time. Do you know where we could find his teammates? Any chance they¡¯re in Tianzhou?¡± ¡°As a matter of fact they are! I believe I saw them grinding out some fishing side-quests out on the dock. You¡¯re looking for a big pole-arm user in monk¡¯s robes, a shifty-looking redhead¡ªbesides the one you already have¡ªin forest ranger gear, and a mage in yellow robes and veil.¡± ¡°Very helpful, thanks Zhidao!¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it!¡± Zhidao said, floating on towards the card parlor. A moment later he spun around on his cloud to face them. ¡°Oh, and tell Natsuko to lay off the bottle.¡± All three of them froze. ¡°You know.¡± Zhidao tilted an imaginary glass to his mouth with a paw. Shuixing chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Creepy fuck,¡± Natsuko muttered. It wasn¡¯t hard to find Shrike¡¯s former teammates. In a sea of drab fisherman and guild merchant Non-Heroes, they were extravagantly-dressed highlighters of yellow, red, and green hunched over the end of the pier, rods dipped into the water. Five gallon buckets next to them overflowed with the common fish they were grinding through to find some special Tianzhou-only fish. ¡°Hey dorks! Hands off your poles, fishing time¡¯s over,¡± Natsuko shouted, kicking over their bucket and sending fish all over the stone pier. ¡°What the hell is your problem!?¡± Benkei said, hopping to his feet. He had a foot or more on Natsuko and all of it was muscle. She smirked up at him. Shuixing jogged to catch up. ¡°Natsu stop!¡± Natsuko put her hands on her hips. ¡°You¡¯re coming with us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my friend she¡ª¡± Shui paused to catch her breath. ¡°¡ªmakes poor choices.¡± Benkei balled Natsuko¡¯s kimono up in his fist and lifted her onto her toes. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she ever?¡± This failed to wipe the smirk from Natsuko¡¯s face which only made Benkei more frustrated. ¡°Does the name Shrike Biltmore mean anything to you all?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°Uh¡­ yeah? That¡¯s our teammate who ran off,¡± Benkei said. The mage in the yellow robes and veil, Maitri, folded her arms. ¡°What about him?¡± ¡°You are called to his side.¡± ¡°We¡¯re called? What? Would you all just explain what the hell you want?¡± said Felix. Having finally gotten some air in her lungs, Suixing explained, ¡°Shrike, your teammate, he¡¯s playing in the card tournament.¡± ¡°He ditched us for cards!?¡± Benkei said, letting go of Natsuko. ¡°We thought you abandoned him,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°No! We were watching him compete in that Summer Special Event with the water guns and after he lost, he left us behind,¡± Maitri said. ¡°That was months ago!¡± Felix said. ¡°You¡¯re saying he¡¯s playing in that stupid card tournament now?¡± Natsuko glanced at Shuixing. This wasn¡¯t part of the plan. If they reunited Shrike with his teammates now, it would probably have the opposite effect and give him a morale boost. Both of them stammered trying to come up with a reason they shouldn¡¯t go meet Shrike. ¡°You must come,¡± Pechorin said gravely. ¡°Your friend needs you. I fear this has been a comedy of errors, and that a simple misunderstanding has sprouted into tragedy where the heart of a good man has been torn asunder, having been parted from those he holds dear.¡± Natsuko slapped her forehead. ¡°Uh, yeah, we miss him too. Can you take us to him?¡± Benkei said. They gathered up their weapons and joined Pechorin leading the way. Natsuko jogged up to his side. ¡°Way to go, dumbass. You screwed up the plan,¡± she whispered. ¡°Unfortunately, despite my callous and aloof exterior, some tragedies pierce me to the core. The cleaving of a man from his loved ones is one such example,¡± Pechorin replied. It wasn¡¯t long before they were back at the Heavenly Card Parlor. They found a bawling Captain Shrike Biltmore, head in his hands, sitting across a sneering Sofiane in front of a game that even Natsuko could tell Shrike was completely dominating. ¡°They don¡¯t want you back, trust me. I know from experience. You have an eternity of loneliness ahead of you, kiddo. Best get used to it now,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Shrike? What¡¯s going on man? You okay?¡± Benkei said, jogging to his friend¡¯s side. ¡°B-B-Benkei? Is that you? Felix? Maitri!? W-Why¡¯d you all come here? I thought you hated me!¡± ¡°Of course not! We thought you ran off from us after the summer special event,¡± Maitri said. Shrike knocked over his chair standing up and threw his arms around his teammates in a big teary-eyed hug. Sofiane put his head in his hands. ¡°We¡¯re so fucked¡­¡± Chapter 53 - Subtlety and Tact After several attempts to pull away from a blubbering Shrike, his teammates finally escaped his grasp. ¡°So what the heck happened, man?¡± Felix asked. Shrike wiped his tears. ¡°I turned around when the competition began, but you all had left, so I thought¡­¡± ¡°We moved around to the other side,¡± Maitri said. ¡°The sun was in our eyes. We went looking for you after but you booked it.¡± ¡°Only because I thought you abandoned me! Oh you guys!¡± They were all once again captured in one of his hugs. Natsuko, Shuixing, and Sofiane looked on in dismay at the collapse of their plan while Pechorin nodded appreciatively at the sublime, final catharsis to this unfortunate tragedy. A small drop of sweetness entered his bitter, tormented heart. Sofiane folded his arms. ¡°We gonna finish this game or what?¡± Shrike looked over from the group hug. ¡°Nah. I only picked up Elements: The Coalescing to fill the void that intimate companionship had left in my heart. Now that I know I¡¯m still loved and wanted, I can go do something productive and fulfilling.¡± He turned around, scooped up his cards, and with a wide grin said, ¡°Mr. Judge, Mr. Other Judge, I forfeit the game!¡± Shuixing covered her heart and gave a long sigh of relief while Sofiane punched the air and screamed, ¡°hell yeah!¡± Natsuko put her sunglasses back on and walked away as though she had done most of the hard work and went to go get another drink. Pechorin just sat down next to Sofiane and watched Shrike and his team leave. ¡°They¡¯re talking about us,¡± Sofiane said, pointing out the other tables looking their way. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Shuixing knew that meant things were going according to plan, but she still found herself blushing under the spotlight. Especially since it was negative attention. She liked to think of herself as a mostly good person; aside from designing a murder weapon and cheating at cards and trying to ruin another Hero¡¯s self-esteem by taunting him with the teammates she thought hated him. ¡°That was the final game of the day. What do we do now?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°Good question,¡± Sofiane said, looking around at the games still in progress. ¡°Late lunch?¡± As the four of them left to go get lunch, something grabbed Natsuko¡¯s eye. Between the crowds of table, she caught sight of a floating cloud hovering between the tables near where Daisy was seated. Zhidao, however, wasn¡¯t on it. No one was. She frowned at it but left with the others. It was mid-afternoon before they had a table at the Sapphire Pavilion on a hill overlooking the seafront. The place was so booked up that only Daisy¡¯s name got them a seat. ¡°Meatball sha guo,¡± Shuixing said to the waiter. ¡°Give me samples of every soup on the menu,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Crab legs,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°As many as ya got. And a bottle of soju.¡± ¡°Which flavor, ma¡¯am?¡± Natsuko gawked. ¡°They come in flavors!? What do you have?¡± Another five minutes of flavor-picking passed before Pechorin was able to order. ¡°Rice and beef,¡± he finally said. The waiter bowed deeply and left with their orders. Sofiane sipped on his glass of plum wine and gazed out to the sea, sinking into his seat with a great exhalation. ¡°I hate these damn cards,¡± he said. ¡°Perhaps we¡¯ll get lucky and Yuna will want to money match us soon,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Gods I hope so,¡± he said. ¡°I still wanna know what that damn fox is doing here. He only shows up when shifty shit is happening,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I believe we are the shifty shit,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko slugged down a gulp of her soju, slammed it to the table, and side-eyed him. ¡°You callin¡¯ me shifty?¡± ¡°W-Well, we are sort of cheating and causing a nuisance¡­¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Sure, but that¡¯s not why that skeevy little fox is here. I¡¯ve just got this feeling, man. Like¡­ I don¡¯t know, man, I just got this feeling,¡± she said. ¡°Can you try to have it in a less annoying way?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Can you try to exist in a less annoying way?¡± Natsuko replied. Shuixing was already looking forward to going home to Verm?genburgh. She was trying not to get her hopes up since they didn¡¯t have the papers retrieved yet, and perhaps the hardest part was yet to come, but so far they were on track to confront Yuna about the theft. However, as a scientist, she tried to never feel too attached to any one hypothesis, lest it blind her. There was always the chance that Yuna wasn¡¯t the thief. Her doubt was in a constant battle against her desire to rid herself of anxiety. For the moment, the latter was winning. After an hour or two of drinking, dining, and unwinding, the sun was setting over the Bay of Sapphires turning it a dazzling topaz. Sofiane slapped his hands on the table. ¡°So! Shall we go skulk around the card parlor fishing for a money match?¡± He punctuated this question by standing up and starting to leave.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Can I get a to-go box?¡± Natsuko asked, flagging down a waiter. The waiter brought a small bamboo box into which Natsuko poured the rest of her soju and stuck a straw through the top to drink out of on the way back. Shuixing was reminded of the impassioned vow of sobriety Natsuko had taken the night before they left. That had lasted about 48 hours which, admittedly, was a record for Natsu. Once they resolved the matter of these papers, Shui made her own private vow to focus more seriously on getting Natsu to cut down on the drinking. By the time they returned to the Heavenly Card Parlor, dusk had settled, paper lanterns flickered on, and the after-hours party vibes of the parlor had been turned up. The crowds thinned out and most of the Heroes, and even some of the Non-Heroes, had costume-changed into evening outfits. Amidst the drinking and laughing and partying there were even some people playing cards. ¡°If we do catch Yuna¡¯s attention, we¡¯ll need to get serious again,¡± Shuixing said, adjusting her glasses. ¡°Everyone is back on duty. No screwing around.¡± Natsuko laughed. ¡°When would I¡ª¡± ¡°Natsuko.¡± She threw her hands up. ¡°Alright! Alright! I¡¯ll stop after the rest of my takeaway soju.¡± It was already plenty, Natsuko was now realizing. Again, that damn drink was sneaking up on her. It was sneaky like that, soju. She was well into tipsy-territory and she was not exactly a lightweight despite her light weight. ¡°We can still live a little in the meantime, non? We¡¯re not at the goal-line just yet. Hell, who¡¯s to say she¡¯ll take the bait?¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing frowned but said nothing. She could tell Sofiane was almost as drunk as Natsuko who was wearing one of the hotel napkins around her head like a bandana. Realizing she couldn¡¯t babysit both at the same time, she leaned over to Pechorin as they went to find a table on the card floor. ¡°Keep an eye on Natsu for me, please,¡± she said. ¡°Like a hawk. Or perhaps a vulture is more fitting,¡± Pechorin said. Even more concerning was that Daisy had gone off somewhere and wasn¡¯t at her usual table of elites. Shuixing was not having a good time. ~~~ ¡°So, why are you here?¡± Daisy asked. Her legs dangled off the edge of the roof of the Heavenly Card Parlor. Below was a grid of bright lights from the omnipresent lanterns. Up at the top of the blue pagoda, it was all just a fuzzy blur for her. ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± Zhidao replied, his paws pitter-pattering on the glazed roof tiles as he danced around Daisy. ¡°Come on now, sweetie,¡± Daisy said. The fox hopped into her lap and rolled over on his back to look up at her. ¡°Hehe, nothing gets past you, does it? Why do you think I¡¯m here?¡± ¡°Because the Yishang sent ya, and I¡¯d sure as heck like to know why.¡± ¡°Observation duty, duh! What is it always?¡± Daisy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Just observation duty?¡± ¡°Yup! Just observation duty. C¡¯mon, you know the Yishang wouldn¡¯t spring anything on you without letting you know first,¡± Zhidao said, batting his little fox eyelids. She poked him in his peaches-and-cream stomach and pressed down like she was squishing a bug. ¡°Oh yeah? What¡¯re ya observing then?¡± ¡°Yowch! Stop! My little belly is tender!¡± Zhidao said, worming around in her lap. ¡°Guess ya better tell me sooner rather than later then.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing all that strange! Really!¡± Daisy pulled her finger away. Zhidao swiveled himself upright. ¡°Heroes in general have been acting strange lately and the Yishang is looking into it, that¡¯s all. Don¡¯t poke the messenger!¡± ¡°Strange how?¡± she asked, keeping her tone light and conversational. ¡°Well, just about everyone noticed a certain number going down,¡± Zhidao said. A cold sea wind ripped over the top of the pagoda roof and Daisy shivered. The crowd murmur below her suddenly sounded distant and tinny. ¡°Oh yeah, what was the deal with that?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Of course, everyone knows by now it was Frederick Hohenheim, but nobody knows why or how. I was hoping you¡¯d know!¡± Daisy put a pink lacquered fingertip to her chin and thought. ¡°Can¡¯t say I do.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± Zhidao said, coiling and leaping from her lap back onto the roof. With a wave of his paws, the nimbus cloud he usually rode appeared on the roof and he crawled up on it. ¡°I just thought you might know since you were hanging out with some of the forgotten Heroes all of a sudden.¡± Daisy bit her lip. ¡°I think it¡¯s cool though! Y¡¯know, the new kids on the block teaming up with the old-timers, both of you guys learning from each other. It¡¯s super sweet!¡± Daisy shrugged. ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m a gal who loves to mix things up!¡± Zhidao giggled. ¡°That you are! Anyhow, tell Shui I said hi. She and I still need to talk about dimension-jumping after all! I did promise her.¡± ¡°Seeya around, Zhidao,¡± she said. ¡°Seeya later alligator!¡± As soon as Zhidao left, Daisy pulled herself up off the edge of the roof and clicked the golden pocket watch dangling from her wrist to summon Peng. While she waited for the stone bird to pull itself out of the glazed clay roof, she thought of ways to hint to the other four that they needed to start making a whole lot less noise. ~~~ ¡°Get fucked!¡± Natsuko screamed from atop the table. ¡°You suck ass at cards!¡± Sofiane smirked at the Hero (some who-the-hell-cares in the triple digits Use-Rankings) he¡¯d just wiped the floor with in cards before washing down the rest of his mostly-full martini. ¡°Better luck next time son!¡± Their table drew dirty looks like a painter sketching mud and Sofiane was effortlessly beating every challenger that stepped up to try and humble him. Unfortunately for them, there would be no humbling today. Sofiane was allergic to humility. ¡°Cheating douchebag,¡± the Hero said, picking up his cards. ¡°No cheating here, mon ami! Just some friendly bantering with my acquaintance here between turns,¡± Sofiane said, roughly slapping Shuixing on the back. Shui was beyond embarrassed, being now firmly in ¡°mortified¡± territory. She couldn¡¯t come back to Tianzhou after this. Between Natsuko dancing on tables and Sofiane trying to make enemies out of everyone in the parlor, her reputation was in shambles by association. All she could do was put her bright red face in her hands. Jeering and taunting came from every angle. Then things went quiet. Even a very drunk Natsuko stopped and turned. The last to notice was Sofiane, who only knew something was amiss when a very large, black shadow crossed the table in front of him. Turning, he was greeted with the belted waist of Yuna¡¯s armored skirt. Looking up, Sofiane beheld folded arms covered in bandages and dark, angry eyes glaring down at him below a headband with the characters for ¡°monster¡± on it. ¡°Money match,¡± Yuna said. Chapter 54 - A Bunch of Intersecting Angles Sofiane couldn¡¯t work a smirk onto his face. It was hard enough just choking down the wad of spit in his mouth. He reached out a hand and Yuna shook it with her own rough, calloused hand that was twice his size. Without another word, she sat down and pulled out her cards. Her personal bodyguards swarmed around her like a protective curtain, forcing spectators behind her to shuffle over to the other side of the parlor in a mass migration of falling chairs and dropped glasses. If the tournament organizers wanted a narrative, they had one. Sofiane turned his internal ears away from the fight-or-flight reflex screaming at him to run away and towards the martini telling him to talk shit. ¡°So, the big bad rebel girl finally wants a piece of the action, huh?¡± Sofiane said, riffle-shuffling his cards. ¡°You gambling with your army¡¯s treasury? Be happy to lift it from you, mon cheri.¡± Yuna grunted. ¡°If you have the cash to put up. I¡¯m wagering 10 million Ying.¡± Sofiane coughed. He didn¡¯t have that even with the money Daisy gave him to bet with. ¡°Don¡¯t have the money? That¡¯s unfortunate. How about you put something up as collateral?¡± she said, laying her sheathed katanas down on the table. ¡°Like what?¡± It was Yuna¡¯s turn to grin maliciously. ¡°Like you. I need a new punching bag to train on, and you look¡­ satisfying.¡± Sofiane shuddered. Nothing was really at stake here besides, well, everything. He could safely say yes since the game was really about finding out if she took the papers. Once they¡¯d done that, Daisy could swoop in to bail him out even if he lost. Which he wouldn¡¯t, because he was a damn card shark. Or so the martini was telling him. ¡°Deal,¡± Sofiane said, slapping his deck down. Fangs punctuated Yuna¡¯s smile. ¡°Sounds good. Best of three?¡± ¡°Works for me.¡± Sofiane glanced over at Shuixing who was trembling in fear. ¡°Easy, Shui, we¡¯ve got this,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Yeah!¡± Natsuko said, hopping off the neighboring table and wobbling on one foot for a second. ¡°Take the stats away and she¡¯s just an edgy dork like Pechorin.¡± Yuna didn¡¯t react. She didn¡¯t even look in Natsuko¡¯s direction. Her full and complete focus was on Sofiane and his cards. ¡°Draw,¡± she ordered. He gulped and drew his starting cards. They had scoped out her deck, he knew exactly what she had: A Fire-Metal-Wind-Wood doubling deck. Her win condition was slapping a bunch of bonuses down on her army of Monsters and using spells to double everything until there were too many numbers to count. Sofiane tried to recall the counterplay and strategies he and Shuixing had come up with, but doing that while also trying to figure out how to use his voice, then finesse her into revealing what she knew about the papers, all while being so hammered that there were three of her in front of him, was not easy. ¡°You enjoy your liquor,¡± Yuna said. ¡°As much as the next Hero,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s saying something next to her,¡± Yuna said, pointing at Natsuko with a clawed finger. ¡°But it¡¯s disgraceful. You look pathetic. When I capture Shikijima for the people, intoxication will be banned.¡± ¡°Oof, sucks for them, non?¡± Sofiane said, deciding which Elemental Font he wanted to open with. A second later the gears turned. He needed to prod at her and see what came out. ¡°Not that you ever will, of course. You know the Yishang won¡¯t let you.¡± ¡°It might not be up to them.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Why¡¯s that?¡± Sofiane said, laying down a Lightning Font and passing his turn. Yuna said nothing for a moment as she examined her cards. Shuixing was now paying rapt attention. Pechorin was also focused, but his attention was on Natsuko swaying on her feet in case she fell over. ¡°Heroes overestimate the Yishang and underestimate themselves,¡± Yuna said. ¡°We take the Yishang at their word that they¡¯re so powerful and mighty, and that they¡¯re the ones doing all the re-summoning. They want us to think we¡¯re dolls for them and the Celestials to play with. That we have no power. Except¡­ we do.¡± She played a Fire Font, used it to play a ramping artifact, and gestured for his turn. Sofiane made a raspberry. ¡°That¡¯s not a plan, that¡¯s a schizo rant. No one cares.¡± Yuna snarled. ¡°Best mind your tongue, girly boy, or I¡¯ll carve it out of your mouth.¡± ¡°What a way to ask for a lil¡¯ smooch,¡± Sofiane said, blowing her an air kiss. While Sofiane and Yuna bantered, Natsuko caught sight of a little cloud floating through the parlor hall and out to the plaza outside. She stood up and grabbed the neck of her wine bottle. ¡°Natsu, what are you doing?¡± Shui asked.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Going fox hunting,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m finally gonna find out his little secrets!¡± ¡°W-What? Wait no!¡± Shuixing moved to stop Natsuko, but her friend broke into a drunken stumble through the crowd. As she made to follow, Sofiane called out. ¡°Uhh¡­ Shui? Little help over here.¡± ¡°Need your little birdy to help, huh? Maggot,¡± Yuna sneered. Shui looked over. Yuna was playing something that she hadn¡¯t had in her deck when they were scouting her. Shuixing glanced between the card table and the flash of red kimono pinging its way through the pachinko machine of the crowd. ¡°Pechorin, go grab her before she does something stupid,¡± Shui said. ¡°On it,¡± Pechorin said, forcing his way through the crowd. When he tried to move past a Hero, they elbowed him back and knocked him to the floor with their superior stats. Shuixing¡¯s stress was boiling hard enough she could¡¯ve activated her Desperation Art if she thought it would help. Instead she slapped her cheeks and took a deep breath. ¡°Calm down, Shui. Calm down. It¡¯s time to concentrate.¡± She sat back down beside Sofiane and started analyzing the card Yuna had played. It was a magic-immune, indestructible monster called Harmless Pebble that dealt one damage, but doubled its damage every turn. It was a ticking time bomb, in other words. Even with everything else on the board staying the same, it would be five turns before Sofiane lost. ¡°Gonna enjoy playing with you, pincushion,¡± Yuna said, caressing her swords. ¡°Shui? What¡¯s the play? Please tell me there¡¯s a play,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing pushed her glasses up, the mental engagement focusing her attention. Anxiousness faded into the background along with any thought of recovering her papers. She wanted to win. Shuixing leaned into Sofiane and whispered. ¡°Draw into Sanguine Agreement, the hex that makes your monsters not deal or take damage and play it against Yuna. Her counters are all rebound spells, but it doesn¡¯t matter because it will work regardless of whether it hits you or her. Focus on card draw and defense for now.¡± Sincere, teary-eyed gratitude filled Sofiane¡¯s eyes as he grasped Shui¡¯s hands. ¡°Merci, Madame Shuixing! Merci beaucoup!¡± Following her advice, on the turn before Harmless Pebble would have finished the game, Sofiane drew into Sanguine Agreement, played it, had it bounce against one of Yuna¡¯s rebounds, and had a Lightning Guard monster on his own side of the board cursed with an inability to take or deal damage. In other words, it didn¡¯t matter how dangerous Harmless Pebble got, the Lightning Guard could soak up every bit of it. Yuna snarled. ¡°Maybe four-eyes ought to be the one playing me instead.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°But she¡¯s not. Your move, O future empress of Shikijima.¡± She slammed the table, jumbling the cards. ¡°I will not be an empress! The Shikijiman people will be free to choose their own rulers, and no one will decide for them! Not the Imperial Clan, not the Heroes, and not the Yishang.¡± Pulling from the reservoir of confidence that the cards had given her, Shuixing straightened her back. ¡°How do you intend to do that?¡± Yuna¡¯s eyes drifted to where Zhidao had recently been floating. ¡°None of your business.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have to do with dimension-jumping, would it?¡± Shui asked. Sofiane choked on his spit, grabbing a napkin to cover his mouth. To Shuixing¡¯s dismay, Yuna¡¯s reaction was the absolute worst one she could possibly have: Confusion. ¡°What? No. The will of the people will make itself known and throw open the gates of the imperial compound for our advancing army. We have no need to sneak assassins through walls which will tumble down before us,¡± Yuna said. Yuna¡¯s look of confusion was too authentic, so too was her confidence in her army¡¯s infallibility. There was no doubt in Shuixing¡¯s mind and, by the look she shared with Sofiane, there was none in his either¡ªYuna hadn¡¯t stolen the papers. She needed to go find Natsuko and Pechorin. As Shui stood up, a wave of excitement and worry rippled through the crowd. Yuna and Sofiane stopped playing. Without being able to make words out of the crowd noise, something told Shuixing to pull up the Use-Rankings chart. The total read 188. ~~~ ¡°Come out, come out, wherever you are! Dumbass fox,¡± Natsuko said, staggering sideways into a card game in progress and knocking over the table before righting herself. Soju was a hell of a drink. How many had she had? Two at the restaurant, plus what she¡¯d been drinking before that, and then another at the card parlor. Insane as it was to even consider, she wondered if Shuixing was right about the whole ¡°drinking too much¡± thing. Catching a glimpse of something peaches-and-cream colored, Natsuko dashed off around the side of the building, away from the plaza and towards a decorative flower garden near the Card Parlor¡¯s circular porch. The hedges around the perimeter of the garden muffled the crowd, dulling them to an ambient hum beneath the gurgling of a small fountain. On a stone bench surrounded by purple peony bushes sat a figure in a gray coat and golden epaulets. ¡°Shrike? ¡®Zat you?¡± Natsuko called out, ruining the serene quiet. ¡°Yes, it is. You¡¯re one of Sofiane¡¯s friends, right?¡± He stood up and thrust out a hand for her to shake. She gave him a quick, hard, elbow-jarring return shake that he took in stride. ¡°Natsuko. You see a fox go floatin¡¯ through here a second ago?¡± ¡°A fox? You mean Zhidao? Uh¡­ yeah, actually, he went¡ª¡± Shrike whistled and pointed directly up with a waggle of his finger. ¡°Damn!¡± Natsuko stroked her chin, considering whether it was worth it to try to use Fire Gale to leap up the building. Ordinarily it was a bad idea because it was not an easy spell to use for mobility and her coordination wasn¡¯t great to begin with. However, alcohol made her more competent than usual. ¡°Hey, wait, weren¡¯t you supposed to be hanging with your buddies?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°They¡¯re inside. They wanted to get some drinking in but I don¡¯t drink, so I told them I¡¯d meet them out here,¡± Shrike said. ¡°That¡¯s rough dude.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, they¡¯re just grabbing a drink.¡± ¡°No, I mean the not drinking part.¡± He laughed and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t need it. If anything, the few times I¡¯ve had a drink I just felt all scattered and wanted my focus back.¡± ¡°Me? I drink to get focused,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Watch this, I¡¯m gonna leap up this friggin¡¯ tower.¡± Natsuko activated Fire Gale and fire erupted beneath her feet, launching her up towards the second floor roof which she missed by several feet. Before returning to the ground, she heard a weird thunk, then another as she landed back on the ground. ¡°Ow,¡± Natsuko said, pulling herself up from bruised knees. As she looked up, she saw Shrike was gone, or more accurately, was a jagged ball of flashing polygons sliding beneath the ground. Where he¡¯d been standing there was now a dark figure holding a metal rod, the end bent into a strange tangle of shapes and angles. Chapter 55 - Some Things Come to Light Natsuko was suddenly conscious of how unimportant she really was. Frustrated and forgotten, she was, to the other Heroes and to the Non-Heroes who knew her, just a symbol of being forgotten about. A token which stood for ¡°who cares?¡± Even in the anomalous dungeon when they were first attacked, she had been tucked in the background of Daisy¡¯s side of the battlefield. Now, suddenly, someone cared. Natsuko was no longer forgotten about, and that was terrifying. ¡°W-W-What the fuck did you just do!?¡± she stammered, knowing full well what had just happened. She backed up slowly, bringing her wine bottle to bear. Ironically, her bottle had undergone the exact opposite process. Upgraded out of its status as a background object, her wine bottle had been something special: A one-of-a-kind weapon that could do the impossible and end someone permanently. Now, it was no longer special. No longer one-of-a-kind. The black figure said nothing, staring at her through their smiling brass thalia mask. With a flick of their wrist, the deadly rod went from the ground to pointing at Natsuko. She swallowed hard. ¡°Why!? What do you get out of this?¡± Natsuko said, feeling behind her for bushes. Her attacker was fast. Tripping might be the last thing she did. For the first time in her entire life, Natsuko wished she was sober again. Feeling for the bushes, Natsuko¡¯s hand missed the decorative bricks surrounding the hedges and she tripped. Bang bang. Plink plink. Inches from Natsuko¡¯s face, the metal rod jerked aside from the force of two bullets slamming into the arms holding it, its lethal tip missing her by inches. Instead, the smooth length of the rod slammed into her shoulder, forcing her to the ground with a crunch. Pain crackled in lightning strikes from her shoulder and through the rest of her body. Without having to check, she knew she was almost dead. Adrenaline from Natsuko¡¯s Passive flooded her vision with red and she violently kicked out, connecting with a body that might as well have been a castle wall for all the damage it did. She had only one way out. ¡°Pech, run!¡± she screamed towards the gunshots. Putting a palm to her face, she blasted herself with a Fire Gale. Pechorin froze. Neither he, nor the black figure, had expected Natsuko to kill herself to avoid being forced dimension-jumped, but in an instant her body dissolved, waiting to be reformed at 4am the next morning. His legs turned to jelly. He needed to run, to get back to the crowd where there would be safety in numbers, but he couldn¡¯t. If he did, they would have Natsuko¡¯s bottle too, which was their only trump card over the murderer. But his legs wouldn¡¯t move. The figure turned to face him across the dark garden. His Desperation Art activated. With trembling hands, Pechorin raised his guns. The glass windows of the first floor lobby of the Heavenly Card Parlor shattered in a hail of gunfire. Screams erupted in the crowd of Non-Heroes. Cards spilled across the floor. Inside the playing room, two Heroes turned to one another. ¡°Find Daisy. I¡¯ll go help Pechorin and firecrotch,¡± Sofiane said to Shui. He burst into a ball of lightning that zipped over the stampeding crowd and shot through the shattered window. Ball Lightning¡¯s duration ended right as he cleared it, falling into a tumble over the railing of the pagoda¡¯s porch. From here he could see Pechorin and the attacker from the anomalous dungeon, but Natsuko was nowhere to be found. In a split-second decision, he coiled back for a Coup De Grace, calculating that the thrust distance was slightly longer than he could cover by dashing forward. His calculations proved correct down to the inch. In an eye-searing flash, Sofiane put himself between Pechorin right as their assailant launched forward to strike him with some kind of rod, its tip pointed at Sofiane. The tip of it connected with Sofiane¡¯s rapier as he switched from the motion of his Coup De Grace to his Perfect Parry stance. The rod tipped away, but so did his rapier, which transformed from a thin, nimble blade into a strobing polygon that slipped through the earth. ¡°No¡­ There¡¯s no way¡­¡± Sofiane said, heart pounding in his ears. He shot a look at Pechorin who nodded. ¡°How did you make one so fast!?¡± The smiling brass mask tilted to the side, as if wondering why he even bothered to ask. Down a sword, he couldn¡¯t parry again. Sofiane was staring down a one-hit kill. ¡°We need to hold out until Daisy gets here,¡± Sofiane said to Pechorin. Ball Lightning¡¯s cooldown came up and Sofiane launched forward in a zig-zag formation. He ran through their attacker¡¯s center mass doing almost no damage, but Pechorin recognized what his teammate was trying to do. Roaring flak sprayed from Pech¡¯s gun triggering Conduction reactions. These also did minimal damage, but each instance carried a brief shock, stunning their attacker for a few precious milliseconds each time. Abilities back on cooldown, Sofiane sprinted for Natsuko¡¯s fallen bottle. Having it would at least make their attacker think twice. But before he got there, the world exploded in spiky pain. His ears rang and flashing lights spun in his eyes. Was this what getting force dimension-jumped was like? It wasn¡¯t as bad as he expected. Then the lights stopped flashing. Dirt and debris showered down on Sofiane. Where he had been a moment ago there was now a small crater. Oops. He¡¯d forgotten they were still a Hero on par with Daisy. Ignoring the pain, vertigo, and nausea, Sofiane pushed himself to the side in time to avoid the rod smashing downwards. He scrambled backwards into a bed of purple peonies. Pechorin¡¯s bullets bounced harmlessly off the looming figure. ¡°L-Listen, this is about getting revenge on the top Heroes, r-right?¡± Sofiane said, ankles kicking the dirt, fingers grabbing at shrubs. ¡°I-I¡¯m not one of them! I¡¯m on my way down! I¡¯m a nobody!¡± The figure¡¯s shoulder rose and fell in silent laughter. They twirled the metal rod in their hand, its jagged tip a vortex in the dark that pulled Sofiane¡¯s eyes towards it. Before they swung, the figure looked up. A stone bird was diving headfirst towards the garden. The masked assailant vibrated. Sofiane blinked to make sure it wasn¡¯t a hallucination, then a sonic boom rattled his bones and eardrums and the figure was gone. A second later, Peng pulled up above the garden and Daisy hopped down.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°What happened!? Where¡¯s that gosh dang murderer!?¡± Daisy said, looking around. ¡°And where¡¯s Natsuko?¡± ¡°Gone,¡± Pechorin said. Daisy gasped. ¡°Oh no! Wait, her or the attacker?¡± ¡°Both,¡± he said. Daisy gasped again. ¡°Oh no!¡± Sofiane grunted and pulled himself out of the flower bed. His carefully selected outfit was ripped and torn and his HP was down in the quadruple digits, but he was alive. ¡°The killer, they¡ª they teleported. I¡¯ve never seen that ability in my life,¡± Sofiane said, still feeling dizzy from the explosion. ¡°And Natsuko killed herself,¡± Pechorin added. ¡°What? Why in the world would¡ª¡± Daisy gasped yet again. ¡°Oh no! They made another bottle and she killed herself to escape, didn¡¯t she!?¡± ¡°Did she actually?¡± Sofiane asked. Pechorin nodded. ¡°T¡¯was valiant.¡± ¡°We need to go after them!¡± Daisy said. Sofiane shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re gone. This wasn¡¯t a flash-step type of mobility spell. This was something else.¡± Shuixing finally caught up to them, panting. Before she could launch into the same series of questions, the rest of them caught her up: Their adversary had a forced dimension-jumping rod, Natsuko had killed herself, and things were going very, very badly. Shuixing pursed her lips. ¡°P-Perhaps it is time we told the other Heroes what is happening?¡± ¡°No!¡± Daisy said, her voice echoing through the garden. She lowered it. ¡°Err¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯d be a good idea.¡± ¡°Why not? Other Heroes need to be informed about what they¡¯re up against. They have no idea there¡¯s someone who can¡ª can¡ª¡± Shuixing¡¯s throat choked up before she could finish. Her work was no longer theoretical. Someone had put it to violent and effective use. She felt like throwing up. Before that happened, Pechorin wrapped her in a wordless hug. Sofiane exhaled. ¡°You understand what that would mean for you, don¡¯t you, Shui? For your sake, I¡¯ll be blunt: Heroes are going to want to know where this came from, and they¡¯ll eventually find out it came from you. At best they¡¯ll be not very nice about it. At worst¡­ you may have Heroes forcing you to make more.¡± Shuixing started sobbing. Not really sure what else to do, Pechorin awkwardly swayed back and forth while continuing to hug her. ¡°We ain¡¯t tellin¡¯ anyone anything,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Tell anyone what?¡± Yuna said, cutting through a shrub with her katana. In the dark she looked like a devil, her red eyes flicking between all four of them, memorizing their positions. Daisy¡¯s fist curled around her pocket watch. Sofiane¡¯s hand went for a rapier that wasn¡¯t there. ¡°None of your business,¡± Daisy replied. ¡°Ohoho, I think it is,¡± Yuna replied, crystals of ice starting to gather in the air around her and at the tip of her sword. ¡°A Hero gets bumped off for good and you want to keep me from finding out why?¡± ¡°We had nothing to do with it!¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Bullshit,¡± Yuna said. Light flooded the garden as Yuna¡¯s entourage of soldiers brought lanterns and formed a ring around the garden. Worse, the magnetism of the Use-Ranking chart followed Yuna. Heroes and Non-Heroes alike were coming to the garden to find out what the #10 Hero had discovered. ¡°What happened to Shrike?¡± Yuna asked. In the crowd behind her, Sofiane could make out the murdered Hero¡¯s former team members, shocked and dazed. ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Daisy replied as she backed towards the middle of the garden, her thumb hovering over the crown of her pocket watch. Pechorin pulled a frightened Shuixing towards the center of the forming ring. Before joining them, Sofiane picked up Natsuko¡¯s bottle. Yuna pointed a sword at him. ¡°That was your redheaded friend¡¯s bottle, wasn¡¯t it? Where¡¯s she at?¡± Daisy huffed. ¡°Yun-chan, we can explain if you¡¯ll just¡ª¡± Yuna flicked a katana and a crescent of ice flew at them. Daisy clicked her pocket watch and formed a wave of stone. Upon impact, cracks ran through the stone and it disintegrated. ¡°You can explain things here and now, or at 4am, your choice.¡± Daisy bit her lip. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. Someone had both Shui¡¯s papers and a working replica, and she had to explain this to a bunch of frightened, jumpy Heroes. And with Zhidao skulking around, the Yishang would know by now. Beside Daisy, Shuixing sighed. Her soft voice was barely audible above the crowd chatter. ¡°I created something that can dimension jump someone against their will,¡± she said. Daisy¡¯s fist curled around her pocket watch. The fool had just signed her death sentence. Daisy was strong. She could protect the lower-level Heroes from one powerful Hero like Yuna. But if the rest of the Top 10 wanted to punish Shui and Natsu, she couldn¡¯t save them. They were on their own. ¡°You did what?¡± Yuna said. Her voice, low and dangerous, killed the crowd noise. ¡°I was researching dimension-jumping because I¡ª I had nothing else to do with myself. I shouldn¡¯t have but I¡­¡± Shuixing lowered her head. ¡°I did. And someone found out. And now they have something that can kill other Heroes.¡± The crowd exploded into angry and anxious yelling. ¡°Who has it?¡± Yuna asked, shouting over the crowd which quieted for her. ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°We thought it was you!¡± ¡°Me? Who the hell do you take me for!?¡± Yuna said, taking a step forward. Only a few yards separated them. That was close enough for her to one-shot everyone but Daisy. ¡°I would never create something so heinous. I don¡¯t want that kind of power over others.¡± Yuna glared straight at Shuixing as she said this, the scholarly Hero trembling under her gaze. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Daisy said. ¡°What matters is that some ne¡¯er-do-well has it and we need to get it back. We can worry about how to handle Shuixing later.¡± Yuna¡¯s nostrils flared. ¡°Were you involved with this, Daisy?¡± ¡°No! I¡­¡± Daisy wasn¡¯t sure where she stood. It wasn¡¯t her style to plan that far ahead. But with her privileged knowledge of the Yishang and the Top Ten, she was more aware than Natsuko and the rest about who all the major players were. Yuna was the least of Daisy¡¯s worries. ¡°It sure looks that way from where I¡¯m standing,¡± Yuna said. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose we can talk this out over cards?¡± Sofiane asked. Yuna shook her head. He shrugged. ¡°Worth a shot.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s it gonna be then, Yun-chan?¡± Daisy said, leaning into the syllables of her former friend¡¯s nickname. ¡°You don¡¯t wanna talk, but you wanna know what¡¯s going on, so go ahead, tell me what you want us to do.¡± ¡°Give us our friend back!¡± Benkei shouted. Shrike¡¯s former teammate broke from the crowd and charged at them with a pole-arm. Jumpy from Yuna¡¯s threats, Daisy acted automatically. A stalagmite burst from the ground and impaled Benkei, killing him instantly. The crowd went silent. Chapter 56 - Hunted ¡°Rats,¡± Daisy said, snapping her fingers. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡± She barely got a stone shield up in time to block Yuna¡¯s katana. Even then, steel cut clean through and slashed Daisy across the arm. With another click of her pocket watch, a wagon-sized beetle made of stone slammed its horns into Yuna who blocked it with both swords. Grinding filled the air as metal met rock. ¡°If this is how you want it, Yun-chan,¡± Daisy said. Yuna scowled. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of what I want, it¡¯s a matter of due punishment.¡± ¡°Shoot. I really need a damn sword right now!¡± Sofiane said, looking around. He moved away from Daisy to grab one, any one, from some Non-Hero in the crowd. ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡± Yuna said. Activating another of her Ice Crescents point blank, the stone beetle shattered. In a flash of ice crystals, she was in front of Sofiane. Raw instinct turned him into a ball of lightning a split-second before Yuna¡¯s sword would have ended him. He turned back into human form right as Daisy launched a counterattack in the form of a volley of rock spikes that broke against invisible panels of ice Yuna had conjured around herself. Daisy bit her lip. Her strength lay in controlling the terrain of a fight while those with Control and Damage classes held off and damaged the enemy, in other words the roles Sofiane and Pechorin were supposed to fill. The problem was that the difference in power was gigantic. This was a one-on-one fight with Yuna, and Daisy was stuck protecting three liabilities. ¡°Turn her over to me, Daisy,¡± Yuna said, eyeing a trembling Shuixing. ¡°She¡¯s gotta answer for what she¡¯s done.¡± ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± Daisy replied, thumb hovering over the crown of her watch, ready to counter Yuna¡¯s next move. For the moment, the Samurai Hero held back. ¡°First, we get those papers back and burn them. Then, I¡¯m thinking we make sure no one ever replicates them by doing to her what she did to Shrike,¡± Yuna said. ¡°Shuixing didn¡¯t kill Shrike!¡± Daisy said. Yuna sent another Ice Crescent to probe at Daisy¡¯s defenses. Another wall of rock blocked it, peppering her with debris when it exploded. ¡°From the moment she put that cursed knowledge to paper, that was Shrike¡¯s death sentence. We have to make an example out of her for the next person who wants to try. Hand her over, Daisy.¡± ¡°The Yishang will decide what to do! You have no right to¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck the Yishang!¡± Yuna said. ¡°I¡¯ll bring her in front of the rest of the Top Ten and we¡¯ll decide, but I want an eye for an eye. Now you tell me right here, right now, dog of the Yishang, are you with her, or are you with us?¡± Daisy looked at Shuixing, deathly pale and silently mouthing apologies to herself over and over. She looked at Pechorin who, despite appearing as dark and brooding as usual, had wide, frightened eyes. She looked at Sofiane, hugging Natsuko¡¯s bottle to his chest and searching desperately for a sword. Then, she sighed. ¡°I just wanted to bake a pie.¡± Daisy pulled a sword made out of bricks from the garden path and tossed it to Sofiane. Grabbing it, Sofiane triggered his Desperation Art just in time to surge in front of Yuna and Perfect Parry her slashes and Ice Crescents, zipping around with his no-cooldown Ball Lightning to block her from every angle. ¡°Shui,¡± Daisy said, patting Shuixing on the cheek. ¡°Time to wake up darling!¡± A moment later, Shuixing rang her rod. A shower of bubbles descended on the garden, healing her teammates while popping against Yuna and triggering electric shock interactions with Sofiane¡¯s lightning, briefly stunning her. There was no chance of killing Yuna with her giant health pool and defense, but it occupied her long enough for Daisy to cast the two consecutive spells to summon Peng from the ground. Pechorin was first to the bird. From its back he launched a fierce attack against Yuna, each shot pelting her for 2 or 3 damage out of her 250,000 health pool. Given another 12 hours, he might have eventually killed her. Daisy hoisted Shuixing up beside Pechorin then hopped on the bird herself and took off. After Peng rose a dozen feet above the garden, a purple ball zipped up to one of its wings. ¡°What are we gonna do now!?¡± Sofiane yelled over the roaring wind. Peng flew twice as fast as usual as the sky chilled and flakes of ice began to fall. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it if we¡¯re not dead!¡± Daisy yelled back. She had hoped they could escape before triggering Yuna¡¯s Desperation Art, but the prospect of them getting away must have helped her reach her activation threshold. Around them the ice thickened and cut their vision down to a few feet in front of them. ¡°Grab on tight, don¡¯t let go,¡± Daisy said and twisted Peng upside-down. She gripped the rocky handholds as the stone bird rocked with the impact of ice shards falling from the sky slamming into its upturned belly. After the initial collisions, Daisy swung Peng right-side-up again. Yuna¡¯s Blizzard came in waves. After a bunch of small icicles, gigantic ice-spikes began to fall, deliberately targeting the people Yuna identified as enemies within the kilometer radius. Daisy had seconds to react to a dark shape descending through the flurry. She banked Peng to the left, Sofiane coming within inches of the falling icicle. ¡°This ability is nuts!¡± Sofiane said.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Daisy didn¡¯t have time to respond. She was fully-focused on the timing of Yuna¡¯s Desperation Art. If she remembered correctly, the next giant icicle would come down in ten, nine, eight¡­ Daisy jerked hard right. A dark shape loomed past them. The scale was impossible to tell, but the icicles had to have been 30 feet around or more. ¡°Pechorin fell!¡± Shuixing said. Daisy clucked her tongue. She steered Peng into a vertical dive, but the chances of finding someone wearing all-black in the middle of a nighttime blizzard were not good. The chances of finding the ground first were much higher. ¡°I can give you one look,¡± Sofiane said. Glowing purple lightning lit up the opaque snowfield below. Sofiane zipped in small helixes to spread as much light as possible. Just as he was pulling up to return to Peng, the tip of a fluttering black cloak came into view. Daisy gunned for it. Flying in under Pechorin, who looked only mildly inconvenienced by his impending death, Shuixing grabbed his cloak and pulled him down to the handholds on Peng¡¯s rocky back. Daisy curved upwards right as red-tiled buildings rushed into view and they shot back into the blizzard. ¡°Where the hell are we going!?¡± Sofiane asked. Daisy gestured at a beam of hazy, yellow light now coming into view. Hidden somewhere beyond the blizzard was the lighthouse of the Cerulean Tower. After dodging one last falling icicle, they broke through the kilometer perimeter of Yuna¡¯s Desperation Art and the world pulled itself into sharp focus. Peng swooped down to the harbor and towards a three-masted junk. Once they were above its deck, the stone bird crumbled. Daisy jumped down and kept her balance by breaking into a small jog while Sofiane, Shuixing, and Pechorin tumbled into a pile on the deck. The sailors looked on in shock. ¡°Who¡¯s the captain?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°That¡¯d be me,¡± said a grizzled Non-Hero man wearing fancy blue robes, a bushy gray beard, and a scowl. ¡°Take these three to Shikijima and don¡¯t stop for anyone. I¡¯ll pay you the other half when I get there,¡± Daisy said, materializing a Ying purse from thin air filled with a million Ying. The scowl disappeared. ¡°Be happy to, mistress Daisy!¡± The other three were still picking themselves up from the deck as Daisy spun on her heels to walk back to Tianzhou. ¡°You¡¯re going back!?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°She¡¯s sticking around to pick up Natsu,¡± Shuixing said, straightening her glasses. Daisy fired her signature finger guns. ¡°Bullseye!¡± ¡°Are you going to be safe from Yuna? Or the rest of the angry Heroes?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry, my teammates will be gettin¡¯ involved soon, and Yuna knows better than to mess with Boulanger,¡± Daisy said, dropping the name of the #1 Hero with a casual laugh. She hopped off the boat and, with a buzzsaw of sand, slashed the mooring lines to speed up their departure. Breathing in cool, salty air, she made her way across the boardwalk towards the looming blizzard over Tianzhou City. ~~~ Natusko gasped. She lay on her back below a thin crescent of a moon. Her body was still coursing with adrenaline, prepared to fight an enemy that was now long gone. There was no black figure in front of her. In fact, there was no one at all. She had respawned in the early hours of the morning on the stairs that ran from the city down to the harbor. Picking herself up, she felt naked for some reason. She was still in the stupid kimono, but that wasn¡¯t it. It was something else. ¡°Oh fuck, the bottle!¡± Her eyes darted around as though the bottle might have respawned with her. Of course, it did not. Her stomach twisted in knots. Needing information about what happened, she wandered the dark streets of Tianzhou in the vague direction of the Yongfu Hotel. She turned a corner and caught sight of a lone figure which she recognized as one of the Heroes at the card tournament. She couldn¡¯t remember their name, which meant they were either fairly new or unimportant or both. ¡°Oi!¡± Natsuko shouted. A female Hero with brown sausage curls and a yellow bonnet gazed back at her in surprise. Natsuko recognized her as the one that Daisy had been sitting with. ¡°I found her! She¡¯s over here!¡± the Hero yelled. She did not sound relieved to find Natsuko alive and intact. In fact, it almost sounded like they were trying to catch her. They didn¡¯t think she killed Shrike, did they? Being not an idiot, Natsuko bolted the other direction. She could hear more than one set of footsteps behind her as well as the tell-tale magicky noises of Heroes using movement abilities. She might as well have been a fleeing Non-Hero for how fucked she was. Natsuko cut a corner into a tight alley, knocking over a trash pile to hopefully slow her pursuers down. Not that it would help her much since the alley dead-ended. ¡°No! Why!? At least give me this!¡± Natsuko said to no one. Nothing was allowed to go right for her, apparently. But a whistle came from a doorway on her left. ¡°Hey! Kiddo!¡± She turned and squinted at a chubby, middle-aged Tianzhounese bureaucrat in teal robes. ¡°Kongy?¡± ¡°Get in here, fool!¡± he said in a strained whisper. Nearing footsteps ushered her inside. She found herself in some kind of dark storeroom at the back of a liquor store. Racks of bottles and cups filled the walls. ¡°What the hell happened while I was dead, Kongy? They sounded pissed!¡± ¡°Maybe you can tell me that,¡± he said, tugging at his wisps of gray hair. He went to another door in the store room to check the front of his store and then turned to her. ¡°They¡¯re saying you killed a Hero for good. Popped ¡®em with some kinda bottle that makes it so the Yishang can¡¯t re-summon them.¡± ¡°What!? That¡¯s only mostly true!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I¡ª I do have a bottle¡­¡± Kong looked nervous. ¡°Not right now though! It¡¯s¡­ I have no idea where. Anyway, yeah, it can do that, but I¡¯ve never used it on anyone! And I don¡¯t plan to!¡± ¡°So what¡¯s all this about a Hero being killed?¡± ¡°That was someone else. There¡¯s¡ª look, someone copied how to make something like my bottle, and now they can do it too.¡± Kong rubbed his temples. ¡°Oh good, the Heroes have something else to screw things up with. Gods¡­ I took this chance cuz you seem better than most. I found it hard to imagine a Hero who stopped to go buy me replacement cards going and doing something as messed up as murder. But no one else is gonna believe that.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t! How did they even find out about my bottle!?¡± ¡°Hush!¡± Kong said, finger to his lips. Natsuko felt panic rising in her chest. Of all the times for her to be a flaming ball of emotion, this was not one of them. She wanted to scream and break things and bite herself until she bled. ¡°How do I convince them I didn¡¯t?¡± she asked, dropping her voice. Kong shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, kiddo. But I sure hope you figure out a way, cuz I don¡¯t wanna live in a world where Heroes can off people. Anyhow, you can stay here for the night. It¡¯s not gonna be comfortable, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll check some unimportant Non-Hero¡¯s liquor store. At least not right away.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± was all Natsuko found to say. Chapter 57 - Mercy Beaucoup Finding Natsuko in Tianzhou City wasn¡¯t going to be easy. It was basically a giant game of hide-n-seek, but there was one person hiding and about 50 Heroes seeking, any of whom made Daisy lose if they found Natsuko first. Her one advantage was that she was the only one among them who knew about the forgotten Hero Natsuko. While the others were starting from scratch, combing through every hiding place and hidden spot they knew of in Tianzhou, Daisy at least knew where to start looking. The first liquor store Daisy found was Linfei¡¯s Liquors which was closed and dark, like all the other stores at just past four in the morning. She rapped on a glass window and peered inside. After giving it a minute, she decided Natsuko probably hadn¡¯t fled to this particular liquor store and so she moved on to the next one. Covering her own tracks wasn¡¯t too difficult. The Heroes trailing her couldn¡¯t sculpt stone, so all she had to do to lose them was make her own underground tunnels before popping back up. She had more luck at the next stop, an upscale liquor store called Kong¡¯s Wine & Meats. Again, she tapped on the door. This time, an older gentleman answered, rubbing his eyes and yawning. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, this is my cousin¡¯s store. May I help you?¡± the man asked. ¡°Do you have a Natsuko here?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°A what? Ma¡¯am I don¡¯t know¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± yelled Natsuko from the back, holding a bottle of whiskey in one hand and looking fairly inebriated. ¡°Took you a while.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only been re-summoned for half an hour sweetie.¡± Natsuko burped. ¡°Really? Felt like hours, I¡¯ve been so bored! No offense, Kongy.¡± The liquor store owner¡¯s cousin seemed relieved to get Natsuko off his hands. ¡°How much does she owe you?¡± Daisy asked. Kong waved his hands. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know she¡¯s good for her debts.¡± Daisy blinked. ¡°I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s been telling you¡­¡± ¡°Hey! I¡¯m good for it! Kongy and I are tight!¡± Natsuko said, stumbling up the aisles. ¡°Either way, we might not be back for a while, so I¡¯ll settle her up now.¡± Daisy pulled out a hefty sum of Ying that could have paid for the entire top shelf of the store and handed it to Kong before grabbing Natsuko and pulling her out the door. ¡°Jeez, not so rough,¡± Natsuko said, rubbing her arm. Daisy hadn¡¯t been trying to hurt her, but she was in a hurry, and Natsu didn¡¯t seem to appreciate how much danger she was in. ¡°We gotta go, no dilly-dallying,¡± Daisy replied, spawning Peng from the cobblestone outside Kong¡¯s shop. ¡°Hold on, I still don¡¯t even know what happened! I was there when Shrike was killed but¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Daisy said, grabbing her friend and tossing her onto the stone bird like a sack of potatoes. ¡°And every Hero can see someone doesn¡¯t exist anymore, and Harald¡¯s gang started telling everyone about your bottle after what happened with Frederick. Now everyone thinks you force dimension-jumped Shrike.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± Daisy jumped onto Peng. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. They think you did, and it¡¯s gonna be hard to set the record straight unless we¡¯ve got the real culprit to show off. Until then, you, Shui, Sofi, and Pech are murderers on the run.¡± Peng beat his stone wings. They were about to have a lot of eyes on them, which was what Daisy was counting on. The night air rushed over them as Peng soared into the sky. A light blue band on the edge of the horizon hinted at the coming dawn, but for the moment, Tianzhou was still covered in shadow. ¡°What about you!?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Me? I¡¯m doing my best juggling impression,¡± Daisy said with a grin that Natsuko did not reciprocate. It was maybe, possibly, just a bit unfair that Daisy alone escaped being condemned as a murderer. But being wealthy and powerful had its privileges. And, as bad as it felt to admit, so did avoiding association with less powerful Heroes. The outskirts of Tianzhou City were coming up below them. They were flying low enough that Natsuko could see fingers pointing up at them flying Eastwards. ¡°Are you taking me back to Verm?genburgh?¡± Natsko asked. ¡°No, but it sure looks like I am, right?¡± A searing ember shot into the sky and then exploded into a fireball as Peng banked away. More elemental abilities¡ªice shards and lightning bolts and once-in-a-millennia starbeams¡ªfired up at them. Daisy maneuvered through them like they were minor inconveniences. ¡°I guess Yun-chan went to bed. Only the amateurs are out at this hour,¡± Daisy said. Natsuko was too busy fighting off motion-sickness to respond. Once they were out of Tianzhou City and out of sight of the Heroes hunting Natsuko, Peng swung southwest towards the Bay of Sapphires. From their height over the water, the two of them watched the sun rise over the cerulean arc of the horizon. Somewhere, far off in the distance, lay the Shikijiman Archipelago.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°So, you¡¯re having us lie low in Shikijima, huh?¡± Natsuko asked, reasserting control over the whiskey clawing its way up her throat. ¡°For right now. I gotta sort some things out with my team, and plan some other things out, and maybe wait for some other things to happen. But it shouldn¡¯t be forever,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Good, cuz I¡¯ve got a Verm?genburgher budget, not a Shikijiman one,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°We¡¯ll figure things out.¡± Natsuko stared down at the rippling ocean below. Papering over the awkward silence, Daisy filled her friend in on everything that had happened after her brief escape into non-existence, including Shui¡¯s public confession, fighting off Yuna, and their escape on the ship to Shikijima. She expected by the end that Natsuko would go off on an angry cursing spree, but that wasn¡¯t what happened. ¡°Daisy?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Lemme ask you something. And no more games. Whose side are you on and what do you plan to do with Shui¡¯s research?¡± Natsuko asked. Damn. Daisy wished she had had the foresight to bring another bottle along for Natsuko to nurse. That way, she wouldn¡¯t have had to worry about such a sober question. When she wasn¡¯t drunk, Natsuko was quite perceptive. ¡°The Yishang¡¯s side, I think. I want to get rid of forced dimension-jumping, and restrict people researching into stuff like your bottle. It¡¯s better for everyone if that¡¯s the case.¡± ¡°I figured. You don¡¯t want any boat rocking when you¡¯re in a first-class cabin, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone should have the power to kill someone else, Natsuko. Not even you,¡± Daisy replied. ¡°Because it makes you and me equal.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me! If every Hero had a bottle like mine, defeating the Entropic Axis would be a piece of cake. We could do it in a week and party over the weekend. What you¡¯re really scared of is a world where you and some forgotten loser like me are on equal footing, and all your stats mean jack-fucking-diddly. And maybe, just maybe, you¡¯re also scared of living in a world where the Yishang aren¡¯t telling you to go clear dungeons and kill monsters and have your numbers go up and up and fucking up.¡± Daisy bit her lip. ¡°That so? Well, maybe you¡¯re right. But you¡¯re also a pipsqueak who¡¯ll be torn to shreds by the other Heroes if you don¡¯t cooperate with me, so that sure doesn¡¯t leave you much room to argue, does it?¡± ¡°Try me,¡± Natsuko said before rolling off the side of Peng and plummeting towards the ocean. Daisy sighed and tilted Peng down to go pick her out of the air. Unfortunately for the uncooperative Hero, Daisy was not going to let Natsuko kill herself to escape consequences again. Once Peng had Natsuko in his talons, she terraformed the bird¡¯s stone body around her, forcing her into a sarcophagus of sorts with her head sticking out the top of Peng¡¯s back. ¡°Hey! Lemme go! You have no right¡ª!¡± Daisy flicked Natsuko¡¯s nose. ¡°No, but I do have the power. Guess those lil¡¯ ol¡¯ numbers still matter, huh?¡± ¡°Daisy let me go! I¡¯m warning you! You¡¯ll be the next one to go, I swear¡ª¡± Rocks grew over Natsuko¡¯s mouth. However, the glare she received from over there was plenty loud. After another hour or so of flying, the ship she¡¯d put Shuixing, Sofiane, and Pechorin on came into sight as a single red and yellow dot in the middle of the blue ocean. She flew down and deposited Natsuko on its deck, still encased in rock and thrashing with the couple of millimeters of space she had. ¡°Natsuko!¡± Shuixing said. Shuixing strode over from where she¡¯d been staring wistfully off the stern. The stone encasing Natsuko dissolved into sand which Natsuko spat out of her mouth. Natsuko growled at Daisy. ¡°You!¡± ¡°Wait, Natsu!¡± Shuixing grabbed her friend¡¯s arm before she could pick another fight with Daisy who was standing with her hands on her hips looking unimpressed. ¡°Where¡¯s my bottle!?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Natsu, please calm down,¡± Shui said. ¡°No! We¡¯ve got beef now, me and her!¡± Natsuko said. Daisy raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re gonna dimension-jump me cuz I put you in time out?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Go get her bottle, Shui,¡± Daisy said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if¡ª¡± Daisy turned her head and stared at Shuixing. ¡°Get her the bottle.¡± Knowing there was nothing she could do without it, Natsuko stood there fuming, fists balled, nostrils flaring at the obnoxious, arrogant, two-faced, hypocritical Hero in front of her. She was angry at the fact that she had even trusted Daisy in the first place, but the humiliation of being carried like a sack of potatoes was too much. Shuixing returned from below deck with the bottle and nervously handed it to Natsuko who brandished it like a baseball bat. ¡°Well?¡± Daisy said. ¡°Ya gonna swing or not?¡± ¡°You lying, slimy, double-crossing¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know when I did any of that, but okay, get on with it,¡± Daisy said. ¡°You were working for the Yishang without telling us!¡± Natsuko said, hands sweating against the neck of the bottle. ¡°I didn¡¯t try to hide it either. Sofiane knew,¡± Daisy said, pointing at Sofiane who was currently taking a nap in a hammock strung up between two masts. ¡°And if you had asked, I would have happily told ya the truth.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know I had to ask! It was an unknown unknown, dammit! And you knew that!¡± Natsuko yelled. The argument had brought the entire crew out, all of whom were watching nervously, hoping the two Heroes wouldn¡¯t escalate to the point of destroying their ship. ¡°Natsu, you¡¯re painting me as some kinda mastermind pulling strings behind the scenes. I¡¯m not. I¡¯m just trying to get things back to normal.¡± ¡°The normal where you never have to worry about anything bad happening cuz the Yishang takes care of you and makes sure you never go obsolete,¡± Natsuko said. Daisy exhaled. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s how it is. If you¡¯ve got a problem, take a swing.¡± Natsuko¡¯s knuckles turned white from gripping the bottle. She wanted to swing so bad. But she couldn¡¯t. She refused to use the bottle for that, even against someone whose guts she hated. The bottle clinked the deck. ¡°Wise choice,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Stay hidden when you get to Shikijima. Don¡¯t do anything to tip the other Heroes off to where you are. I¡¯ll catch up with y¡¯all soon as I can.¡± Daisy ran to the side of the deck and jumped off to land on a dripping-wet Peng made out of coral reef. Sofiane finally woke up with a yawn and said, ¡°alright, that¡¯s definitely stretching the definition of ¡°earth¡±.¡± Chapter 58 - Poetry on the High Seas ¡°I hate Shikijima,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You hate everything,¡± Sofiane replied, sitting cross-legged across from her. ¡°Yeah, but I really hate Shikijima.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s got a dumb gimmick.¡± ¡°You mean the Fire Barriers?¡± ¡°That and the dictatorship.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind the Fire Barriers.¡± ¡°Cuz you¡¯ve done all the stupid little side-quests! Pech, Shui, and I aren¡¯t gonna be able to get into half the damn places you can!¡± What Natsuko was referring to, as they sat around having a picnic of dry hardtack on the deck of the ship, were the Shikijiman Fire Barriers, large fields of bubbling volcanic heat that blocked off certain areas and regions until a Hero collected enough Fire Sprites to unlock them. Natsuko did not like being told no, and did not like collecting anything that wasn¡¯t liquor, and so the Fire Barriers were tailor-made to piss her off. ¡°Well, we won¡¯t be going on any quests, so they shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°We¡¯re just supposed to lay low and wait for Daisy.¡± ¡°If someone told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Yes. We did that back in Verm?genburgh,¡± Shui replied. ¡°Okay, but what if it¡¯s someone annoying and stupid and slimy like Daisy?¡± Sofiane rolled his eyes and bit down on some hardtack. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear you whining about Daisy the entire time we¡¯re here. She went out of the way to save our asses, yours included. She¡¯s the only thing standing between us and getting lynched.¡± ¡°But¡ª!¡± Shuixing sighed. ¡°Natsu, please give it a rest. We¡¯re out of options and in a lot of danger.¡± ¡°How are you all fine with her working for the Yishang? Shui, she¡¯s gonna throw all your research down the drain and¡ª and what if she tries to get rid of it by getting rid of you!?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not going to do that,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°And besides, I agree with her. We need to get rid of my research for good, and probably your bottle too. I regret ever having researched dimension-jumping. The better if the Yishang can find a way to prevent it entirely.¡± Running out of sympathetic ears, she looked up at Pechorin, who was leaning against the mast because there was no cool, edgy way of sitting on the ground. She flashed a hopeful look at him and he raised an eyebrow. ¡°I suppose I am sensitive to the possibility of betrayal,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°See? I¡¯m not crazy!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°However, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s against us. I think we ought to trust her for now. There are larger forces at play that she is shielding us from, I believe.¡± ¡°Shut up, no one asked you,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Be annoying on your own time then,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°But we need to figure out what we¡¯re going to do once we get to Shikjima. We¡¯ll need some place to stay, somewhere to eat, and some way to kill time that doesn¡¯t draw any attention to us. Maybe even disguises.¡± ¡°You just want to try on more outfits, puffball.¡± ¡°No, I want to not be hounded by a bunch of jumpy Heroes looking for revenge.¡± He drew his knees up to his chest. His expression was tired and somber, and he didn¡¯t seem keen to take Natsuko up on the offer of another loud argument. It took all the fun out of poking at him. ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out,¡± Shuixing said, resting her chin in her palms. ¡°Maybe I can talk with the folks at the Shikijiman Arcane Ministry.¡± Natsuko snorted. ¡°Good luck with that. Goddamn fascists.¡± ¡°The importance of science knows not the borders of politics,¡± Shuixing replied. They were still another day of sailing away from Shikijima, but the sailors were already nervous. At the best of times, Shikijima was a pain in the ass to deal with, being a centralized bureaucracy under an absolutist Empress and Imperial Court. Most of the archipelago¡¯s questlines dealt with the countless bandits and rebellions and disturbed spirits from the absentee aristocracy who left the governance to incompetent and corrupt bailiffs. When it was the main site of fighting the Entropic Axis, the final, mainline quest that Natsko¡¯s party completed had been exorcizing a demon spirit from the former Emperor. But during subsequent events, his daughter, Empress Sadako, had taken power and become even more tyrannical. Yuna was supposed to play the role of ¡°equally evil alternative¡± rebel general, but she took her archetype so seriously that she was actively trying to win the war, requiring the Yishang to throw random event quests in to stop her.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°You don¡¯t think Yuna will come back here and mess with us, will she?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Doubt it,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°But she did say she had plans to win the war for real,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°All talk. The Yishang will throw another wrench in her cogs if she tries. And besides,¡± Sofiane sprawled backwards across the deck with his hands behind his head, staring up at the blazing yellow sun. ¡°Daisy¡¯ll be back by then. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s just explaining everything to her team and then we¡¯ll have four of the top five Heroes in our corner. Just wait and see.¡± It was around this time that Pechorin stopped caring about the conversation. And this time it was a true lack of care and not merely the aesthetic affectation of nonchalance. What he really wanted was to be writing poetry. Poetry was, after all, the proper response to vexing circumstances. But, alas, neither pen nor paper could be found aboard their vessel. Instead, he collected poetic subjects for later. His specialty was the clipped, raw verse of the Sibe-lands, though he was familiar enough with other poetic traditions to have formed opinions about their relative merits. The Cascadian style of rigid meter and rhyming lines that Daisy said she was fond of during their poetry discussions was not his favorite. Neither was the Tianzhounese style, chock full of historical and philosophical allusions which seemed overly flowery and opaque to Pechorin. No, the only other style of poetry he appreciated was the Shikijiman style, with its austere yet evocative minimalism and privileging of seasonality and impermanence. Apart from his warrior¡¯s poetry, the Shikijiman style alone soothed his tortured world. Waiting passively, cultivating his yin energy, Pechorin prepared to receive poetic signs. Inevitably, they came. Squawking reached his ears and he gazed up. Above him flew a squadron of seagulls like a feathery arrow cleaving piercing the sky. That would not be enough for a full poem, but it was a start. The next subject would come to him when it would come. The proper poet must have faith in the universe. ¡°Pech,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°It might be wise,¡± he said, not knowing what he was responding to. ¡°Alright then, that makes three to four, it looks like we¡¯re going to the Imperial Court first,¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko groaned. ¡°Ugh! Pech doesn¡¯t count as a vote! He just says whatever so no one knows he isn¡¯t actually paying attention.¡± ¡°Okay, fine, so it¡¯s two out of three, which, uh, in case you¡¯re bad at math¡­¡± ¡°How many times do I have to tell you, the court is not going to help us! The Empress doesn¡¯t like non-Shikijimans and she hates deserters with a passion, and I¡¯m a deserter by leaving Shikijima, not that I had a choice, waking up in Verm?genburgh,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°So you¡¯re gonna give up without even trying? Can¡¯t say I¡¯m surprised,¡± Sofiane said, reclining on the deck and scratching his bare leg. ¡°Excuse me!? I went along with your dumb ass card game plan¡ª¡± Pechorin started thinking about what emotions he could evoke through seagulls. The association with the beach or seafront was obvious to the point of being trite. A poem about the ocean would be too pedestrian. He needed to be at least one layer of symbolism removed, or concoct a novel association with another aesthetic object to triangulate the contents of his deep and oceanic soul. Dolphins leapt out of the water off the portside railing. Cloyingly idealistic. He hated it. No dolphins. Sadly, the rest of the ship left him little in the way of poetic material. The junk sails were inextricable from Tianzhounese themes, sailors were best kept in the background as set dressing, and hardtack biscuits were sad in a thoroughly unaesthetic sense without any of the melancholic pathos he sought. He sighed and looked at Natsuko, his muse. Her slender, golden throat bellowed with expletives and scatological insults like the reeds of a very rude pipe organ. Her hands flapped like a tent upon the wind of the steppes. Unfortunately, while gentle maidens were a suitable poetic subject for any season, culture, or occasion, Natsuko did not fit the bill for gentle, and he was also embarrassed lest she stumble upon anything he wrote down. No, there was to be no more poetic musing for the time being. Their ship was an aesthetic desert. This gave him the idea for a haiku. ¡°Adrift on the sea, Inspiration does not come, But sleeps on the shore.¡± Pechorin declaimed. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s great buddy, but the adults are trying to plan,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I thought it was nice,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Nice was not the intended affect,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°I was aiming for brooding and melancholic.¡± ¡°Well, you did a very nice job at that.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°I thought it was good too,¡± one of the deckhands said. ¡°Thanks,¡± Pechorin said again. He couldn¡¯t seem too enthusiastic, but it was nice to hear from an audience member who wasn¡¯t one of his friends. ¡°I¡¯m gonna take a nap. Wake me up when we¡¯re being boarded by the Empress¡¯ secret police,¡± Natsuko said, heading below deck. When she was out of earshot, Sofiane propped himself up on one elbow and raised an eyebrow at Shuixing. ¡°Seriously, what is up with her and never wanting to do anything? She gives up without even trying.¡± Shuixing adjusted her glasses. ¡°It¡¯s a learned reaction. We¡¯ve been kicked around a lot.¡± ¡°Yeah, but you and Pechorin are fine. It¡¯s just Natsuko that shuts down the second anything doesn¡¯t go her way. I get that the Use-Ranking game isn¡¯t fair, but there¡¯s a limit to my sympathy. There¡¯s always something that can be done, non?¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing agreed, which Pechorin could tell because she remained silent. Such was Natsuko¡¯s dichotomous nature that, should an avenue of action seem efficacious, she would throw herself at it, but if not, she would dig her feet into the sand and refuse to budge. Very stubborn. Like a seagull insisting on stealing your sandwich. No, that metaphor didn¡¯t work. Strike that. He was trying too hard to fit seagulls in. Everyone else, even Shuixing, would become frustrated with Natsuko¡¯s attitude from time-to-time. However, Pechorin had an unlimited patience for it. The shifting tides of her heart were as inscrutable and mysterious as the expanses of the ocean, yet this was precisely what impelled him to sound their depths. If only she would allow him the chance to. ¡°Though the seagull squawks, Her heart lies above the clouds, Like a golden sun,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Too kitschy,¡± the deckhand said, swabbing the deck. ¡°The artifice thrusts itself into the foreground and the audience becomes too aware of the poet¡¯s presence.¡± Pechorin grunted. Sadly, the deckhand was correct on all points. ¡°You are familiar with Shikijiman aesthetic sentiments?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°Aye. I¡¯ve been sailing these waters as far back as they¡¯ve been reclaimed from the Mist. I¡¯ve past many a night drunk in a Shikijiman tea house talking poetry,¡± he said. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Du Bai,¡± Du Bai said with a curt head nod. Pechorin curtly nodded back. ¡°Pechorin. I don¡¯t suppose you could offer some advice as to the state of Shikijiman poetry? Du Bai put his hands on his hips. ¡°Swab the deck for me and I¡¯ll give ya a crash course.¡± Chapter 59.5 - A Fools Dream With nothing better to do, Natsuko tossed her bottle up and down, spinning it as she tossed it. ¡°Don¡¯t accidentally force dimension-jump yourself, firecrotch,¡± Sofiane said from his comfy little hammock. ¡°I¡¯ve had this bottle for years, I know how it works,¡± she replied. Admittedly, her hand-eye coordination probably wasn¡¯t in peak condition after killing half of the ship¡¯s stock of grog, but by this point her bottle was almost an extension of herself. Every curve, notch, and ridge of that three-foot tall glass vessel was etched into her mind as though it was another limb. Shuixing walked over. ¡°Natsuko I really think¡­¡± ¡°Think what?¡± Natsuko said, flipping the bottle and catching it again. ¡°Shui, you think too much, that¡¯s your problem.¡± ¡°I know but¡­¡± Natsuko went back to flipping her bottle. She didn¡¯t like being told what to do. Even if it was supposedly good for her. If someone imposed a decision on her from outside, she would refuse on principle. Plus, Shui had no idea how in-tune she was with her weapon of choice. Nothing was going to happen. ¡°Hmm¡­ What is a three syllable synonym for ¡°mysterious?¡± Pechorin muttered, thumb stroking his chin as he wandered the decks. Du Bai¡¯s advice had been invaluable, but now he needed to put together a proper Shikijiman poem as proof of his success. He had the concept down, he just needed to make the syllables fit and¡ª bump! Pechorin¡¯s pacing was interrupted by running into a small, red gremlin. ¡°Pech, what the hell¡ª!¡± Jostled by Pechorin, Natsuko missed the bottle, leaving it to fall, punt-down, directly on her head. She wasn¡¯t sure what happened next because the world became a flashing, spinning void of colors and lights. The only thought which pierced through the psychedelic kaleidoscope of geometry was that this was it¡ªthis was what being dimension-jumped felt like. It was like a bad dream you couldn¡¯t wake from. She was a consciousness without a body to root itself in. Existential terror at the possibility that this void would be all she would experience into infinity washed over her. And then, it was over. Natsuko shot up in bed, a puddle of cool sweat clinging to her back. She gasped for air, feeling as though her real life was an illusion, and that the terrible falling nightmare had been real. ¡°Another dream about that video game place?¡± her husband Shinsuke asked, his voice filled with the gravel of recently-disturbed sleep. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Natsuko replied. As her consciousness grounded itself and her nightmares receded back into the darkness, she recalled that she¡¯d been having the same nightmare for two or three weeks now. It was the same every time: She was a character in some kind of gacha game which revolved around having high stats and big numbers and she had been discarded for her numbers not being high enough. It seemed silly and childish when she described it out loud to Shinsuke, but the impressions it left on her were no joke. She was losing sleep because of these dreams and it was affecting her health and her husband¡¯s sanity. Shinsuke sighed deeply. ¡°You should see if Dr. Mizuse can prescribe you something. There¡¯s gotta be some kind of medicine for dealing with this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to resort to taking pills. I want to figure out the root cause of these nightmares and just deal with it already,¡± Natsuko replied.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°You can do both, but some kind of sleep aid could be good in the meantime. For both of our sakes,¡± Shinsuke said before rolling back on his side. The clock on her phone read 2:35am. She chuckled quietly to herself. During their college years, Shinsuke wouldn¡¯t have even been asleep yet, instead furiously writing songs for his punk band while she slept across the room from him in their tiny apartment. After getting an office job at an electronics manufacturer, however, he¡¯d gotten more serious about his sleeping habits, and now he slept soundly from 12am to 6am on nights where his boss wasn¡¯t dragging him out for a drink. She could hardly fault Shinsuke for turning into a salaryman. Her own fiery, punk habits had been snuffed out around the same time. Her hair was now the color of unburnt coal after once being shot through with flaming red dye. At some point, Natsuko fell back asleep. She felt even more tired when the alarm went off at six in the morning. She and her husband dressed in silence and departed in different directions for their respective jobs. As she was getting on the commuter train, a haggard and sleep-deprived girl was getting off it. She was rather cute, with a short bob of hair and a small, somewhat androgynous frame. Natsuko had never spoken to the girl, but they¡¯d passed each other getting on and off the train for years. The girl was clearly some kind of night entertainer by the heavy make-up, lurid clothes, and odd hours, though Natsuko had no idea what the nature of that entailed, nor had she ever thought to pry. Part of living in a large city like Tokyo was giving people their own sphere of privacy. The only thing she knew was the girl¡¯s name, or perhaps stage name, pinned to her chest: ¡°Kiyo.¡± Natsuko mouthed a good-bye to Kiyo, who couldn¡¯t possibly have seen or heard her, and went to take a seat. Bag clutched in front, Natsuko let herself be gently shaken by the rocking of the train car as her mind wandered. Hours removed from it, she still could not stop fixating on that strange gacha game dreamworld where arbitrary numbers determined her worth and value and the creators of the game rigged it so that newer, fancier characters would win. A bump jerked Natsuko awake. She¡¯d been half-asleep. Her eyes wandered up to the advertising poster running the length of the train car. A gorgeous woman was plastered across it, smiling down and winking at Natsuko. Words above informed her of an upcoming performance by Hinagiku, a mega-popular idol who had made the unthinkable jump into American and European markets to compete against k-pop groups. The open secret was that Hinagiku was only an idol because her father was an LDP diet member with marriage ties to one zaibatsu or another. After more numb rumination, a calm, female voice announced they were arriving at Natsuko¡¯s station and she disembarked. Melding into the crowds of students and office workers, she was swept away to her job at a natural gas importer. Her work¡ªmostly routing calls from clients and scheduling meetings for executives¡ªasked exactly nothing of her, being so hard coded into her by now that she could perform from 8am to 8pm without ever needing to invest an extra brain cell. Instead, she just thought more about her nightmare game world. What did it all mean? Natsuko had brought the recurring nightmare up with her therapist, Dr. Mizuse, who seemed less interested in its psychological origins and more interested in giving Natsuko some basic behavioral changes to reduce the frequency and intensity of the nightmares. Drink less, don¡¯t eat close to bedtime, less screen time, mindfulness meditation, and, if things got really bad, medication. In fact, Dr. Mizuse had already prescribed her an extra-strength sleep-aid, which she hadn¡¯t told Shinsuke about because she didn¡¯t want to take anything if she could help it. ¡°Mrs. Yumeno, do you have a moment?¡± Natsuko¡¯s eyes blinked open. She hadn¡¯t even noticed she¡¯d fallen asleep again. ¡°Hmm?¡± Standing over her cubicle was Mrs. Shikansogo, her direct supervisor. ¡°The itinerary for the Russian clients you submitted has multiple scheduling conflicts. The entire thing needs to be redone before they fly in tomorrow morning,¡± her boss said. Natsuko looked down at her computer clock which read 7:32pm. ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll have it done tonight.¡± Mrs. Shikansogo patted Natsuko on the back and left her subordinate to pour over the giant table of numbers, dates, times, and accounts that all needed to be balanced before she could go home and get some sleep. Even though these numbers applied to other people, and involved sums of money she couldn¡¯t even fathom being in control of, they were still her responsibility. As the lights of the office were turned off, these numbers continued to fill her vision, burning like black fire in her glistening pupils. With her free hand she fidgeted with a little plastic bottle of hand sanitizer. Chapter 59 - Poetic Allusions and Illegal Border Crossings Natsuko awoke with a gasp, the stars twinkling above her where she lay sprawled across the deck. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Natsu?¡± Shui asked, sitting up and fumbling for her glasses. ¡°Just had a nightmare where I got force dimension-jumped into some kind of hell world. It had numbers that never went up, just like ours, except there weren¡¯t even any monsters to kill, you just went to a room and punched little buttons for twelve hours straight and that was how you got Ying.¡± Shuixing finally found her glasses and pushed them onto her face. ¡°Maybe don¡¯t drink so much grog before you go to sleep?¡± Natsuko flopped back onto the deck and pulled her blanket up around her. ¡°Another nightmare like that and you might see me quit cold turkey.¡± After another day of sailing they were within sight of the famous Shikijiman volcano: Mt. Tomiji. Its dark, ashy-brown surface stood in contrast with the bright green vegetation and shimmering waters that wreathed it. At its base lay a palace complex on a plateau which rose over large gridded streets and a busy harbor. Poking through the cityscape were the spires of innumerable temples and shrines, the most famous of temple being Kairakuji Temple near the summit of the volcano. ¡°Land-ho!¡± came a call from the crow¡¯s nest. ¡°You mean Daisy?¡± Natsuko mumbled, turning over in the hammock she stole from Sofiane. Several bottles of grog lay depleted beneath her. Sofiane¡¯s foot kicked her and set the hammock rocking causing her to flail wildly. ¡°Get up, we¡¯re not gonna wait for you,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°We¡¯re not even there yet, asshole!¡± ¡°Start packing.¡± ¡°I already have everything I own on me!¡± Sofiane made his way up to the bow to watch the city of Kazan-to pull itself into view. The capital of the Shikijima archipelago was by far its most impressive city, which did not speak well of the other ones. He snorted at how parochial it looked. All wood and thatch, the city still existed only by the good graces of the Yishang rebuilding any damage. If the city obeyed the strange physics of that forgotten dungeon he¡¯d visited, one forgotten stove would have turned the whole city into a bonfire. ¡°Looks like shit once you¡¯ve been to Cascadia and Deco-Imperia,¡± Sofiane said to Pechorin who joined him up on the bow. ¡°I¡¯ve never been so I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°Really? That¡¯s wild. Not even to visit without doing any quests?¡± ¡°The monsters nearby are too dangerous.¡± ¡°Bummer. Well, at least the food is good in Shikijima. And the clothes. And I guess the poetry for you. Kinda shit outside of that.¡± Pechorin grunted. ¡°Idle fun has never been my forte.¡± ¡°You should ask the monks if they¡¯ll let you self-flagellate with them. That might be up your alley,¡± Sofiane said. An hour later their ship docked. A troupe of stiff officials wearing dark kimonos and sheathed swords were tramping up the boardwalk. After mooring the ship, the captain walked down the gangplank to meet them. Natsuko leaned over the railing to watch the proceedings and found the officials glaring back at her, so she hocked a loogie at one of them. It landed squarely on their expensive silk kimono. This was met with a look of disdain and repugnance. ¡°Gods-damned fascists,¡± Natsuko said to Shuixing at her side. ¡°Being that that is the case, perhaps you should not deliberately antagonize them?¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Never! No jackbooted thug tries to arrest me for public intoxication and gets away with it,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Oh, now it makes sense,¡± Sofiane said, descending from the foredeck. ¡°That and the repression of the people and all that,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°They do other, equally bad things besides accost innocent revelers in the middle of a night out on the town. Like indefinite imprisonment of political dissidents. They really like indefinite imprisonment.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Sofiane said, ¡°but what you¡¯re not going to do is draw unnecessary attention by pissing them off. You¡¯re gonna be a good girl and do whatever the hell they tell you, because if we have to blow up half of the Imperial Guard, every Hero from here to the Sibe-Lands is gonna know where we are. Comprendre?¡± ¡°Tch.¡± ¡°No, I want to hear, ¡°yes, Sofiane, I¡¯m not going to be my usual dumpster fire self¡±.¡± Natsuko ignored him. Once they were off the ship, she would find a nice little bar that sold plum-rum and forget about everyone and everything, but especially her two least favorite high Use-Number assholes. And maybe pawn her expensive outfit. Although she needed a roof over her head to change first, and that seemed like more effort than she wanted to deal with before at least three cocktails. Below, the conversation with the officials was getting louder. ¡°You have Heroes among your passengers?¡± an official asked. ¡°Aye, I do. Four of ¡®em,¡± the ship¡¯s captain replied. ¡°And were you aware that there is currently a ban on the coming and going of Heroes due to increased rebel activity?¡± ¡°I was unaware, sir.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Sofiane turned to Shuixing. ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°Should we go down there and negotiate?¡± ¡°Or, I have another idea,¡± Sofiane said as he walked over to the other side of the boat and leapt into the water. Taking the spirit of the idea and modifying its overall wetness, Shuixing followed him, deploying her glider, and sailing across to another part of the dock that had less officials on it. After a bit of splashing around, a sopping wet Sofiane joined her on the dock. ¡°Y¡¯know, I probably should¡¯ve used my glider too,¡± he said. ¡°The best ideas often come to the second person to tackle a problem,¡± Shuixing said. She looked back over at the ship. Natsuko was watching them and shrugging. Sofiane rolled his eyes. ¡°She¡¯ll catch up later. Or get caught, I don¡¯t know. Let¡¯s get something to eat that isn¡¯t hardtack.¡± Shuixing followed Sofiane¡¯s lead. Admittedly, she was also a bit fed up with Natsuko¡¯s sour mood after spending a day and a half stuck on a ship with her. She was worried Natsuko would do something to blow their cover, but her friend wasn¡¯t quite that stupid. She hoped. ~~~ While all this was going on, Pechorin left the ship. There wasn¡¯t much to be said for his method of exiting, other than that no party involved was aware of it. In short order he found himself walking along the shores of Shikijima again for the first time in years. Phantom memories resuscitated his long dead heart only to carve it open anew. The first day they arrived in Shikijima, they¡ªPechorin, Natsu, Shui, and Hemiola¡ªall laid out on the sand, basking in the bubbling excitement of a new region, a new set of quests, new enemies to fight, new dungeons to clear, with their successes in Tianzhou still glowing in them. To his left, where the beach flowed into a stone road, were the very same hibiscus bushes they had napped under. The Autumn-blooming Red Hibiscus: The official flower of the Shikijiman Empire. How could he have overlooked it in his search for a poetic subject? It was the seasonal subject par excellence. Thus, his list now included seagulls and the Autumn-blooming Red Hibiscus. It was all he could do not to start adding everything in his visual field to the list in his enthusiasm. With a bird and a flower in his satchel, Pechorin decided he needed some more mundane flora to set off against the vibrant hibiscus, something which represented autumn in transit, and perhaps some type of food. It was tempting to fill the first box with the ubiquitous palm trees lining the seafront, yet, despite their classic appeal and appearance in many traditional Shikijiman poems, the state was in turmoil, and the Empire in rebellion. Would not the poetic mind be turned towards novelty in such times? Palm trees were too conservative. Below him lay sea oats, crushed beneath his boot, and he decided that these would do quite nicely for a more modest, yet progressive object of imaginary fixation. The beach was too cold for bathers, so the only people on it were grizzled fishermen with leathery faces and women in white diving clothes pulling up baskets of shellfish. Pechorin caught the eye of a fisherman and he gave the man a cool nod and the fisherman gave him a cool nod back. ¡°Need somethin¡¯ son?¡± the man said, a scar running up the left side of his face. ¡°I do, I just wish I knew what it was,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°I¡¯m a wanderer. I don¡¯t end up staying in one place for long.¡± Pechorin didn¡¯t smoke or pick his teeth, but he wished at this moment to have something betwixt his lips. Pechorin reached down and plucked a stalk of sea oats and stuck it in his mouth. ¡°Y¡¯alright?¡± the fisherman asked with a concerned look on his face. ¡°As much as anyone can be in this world of woe,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°Uh-huh. You grievin¡¯ ¡®bout somethin¡¯?¡± Pechorin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Sit down awhile and I will tell you the fate of my clan.¡± The fisherman looked for help from his fellow workers but found none. No one could save him from Pechorin¡¯s backstory, laid out in all its sublimity and horror before him. The sheltered life of this simple Non-Hero had left him ill-prepared for such grief as was now being painted upon the theater of his mind. ¡°My own brother, with the blood of our mother smeared across his face¡ª¡± ¡°Hey, fella, I gotta pack up this fishing gear. Mind helpin¡¯ me out?¡± Pechorin looked around to make sure no one was watching the small lapse in his rugged, emotionally-unavailable individualism and, finding the coast clear, said, ¡°sure.¡± He bundled up some of the rods and nets and brought them up to a communal storage shack that the fishermen shared. While in the process of moving things, Pechorin thought to ask the fisherman a question. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you would know a poetic allusion to the passing of seasons for autumn, would you?¡± ¡°You a poet? Huh, didn¡¯t figure you the type,¡± the fisherman replied, hefting a coil of rope over his shoulder. ¡°Poetry is the verse which soothes the savage beast within me.¡± ¡°Tell ya what, you bust out a good haiku right here, and I¡¯ll give ya some pointers. But if it sucks, no deal.¡± Pechorin turned his chin to the sky to think for a moment, and when inspiration struck, he answered: ¡°At the ocean¡¯s feet, The flash of a diver¡¯s smile¡ª Pearls have washed ashore.¡± The fisherman whistled. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned, boy, ya got some chops. Once we put up the gear we¡¯ll go have a drink and I¡¯ll learn ya some poetry.¡± Pechorin gathered up the oars and headed for the shack. ~~~ Sofiane yawned and stretched as he and Shuixing walked through a market street somewhere in the heart of Kazan-to. It was only late afternoon, but the sleep he¡¯d gotten on the ship had been dreadful and was preceded by an entire weekend of drinking himself silly. To their left and right were everything from daikon radishes and persimmons to steel halberds and Imperian phonograph records. For how quaint the two-story wooden buildings were, with their paper screens and bamboo mats, clearly the harbor brought in quite a bit of Ying. ¡°What kinda food do you wanna get?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°I don¡¯t really have a preference,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°Something fresh, I guess.¡± ¡°Something fresh¡­ How about sushi?¡± With no protests against it, Sofiane steered Shui towards one of the many eight-seater sushi shacks. Any of them would do. The one he found was a long, thin room with an ice shelf running the length of the counter and a shaggy-haired old man behind it working his gleaming sushi knife. ¡°Irrashaimase!¡± he screamed at them ¡°Irrash-hi to you too,¡± Sofiane said, grabbing a stool. Shui folded her hanfu under herself and took a seat next to him. ¡°What¡¯ll ya have, lass?¡± the sushi chef asked. ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª hell, I don¡¯t really care right now. Omakase,¡± Sofiane said, giving the magic command that meant, ¡°whatever raw fish you feel like giving me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have the same,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Hai, douzo,¡± the chef replied, speaking in the Shikijiman language that served absolutely no functional purpose since everyone spoke a common tongue anyway. He grabbed a pink snapper from the ice shelf and started cutting it up. ¡°Heroes, eh? What brings you to Shikijima?¡± the chef asked. ¡°Dungeons we forgot to clear,¡± Sofiane said, leery of the chef¡¯s inquiry. ¡°I didn¡¯t figure it was for swimming,¡± he said with a laugh. He snapped his fingers. ¡°Damn. Forgot something. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± The sushi chef wiped his hands on his apron and came out from behind the counter and through the door to the shop. Shuixing raised an eyebrow at that. ¡°Odd behavior,¡± she said. ¡°They¡¯re a little looser out here on the islands,¡± Sofiane explained. Leaning over the counter, he saw what he was looking for: A nice bottle of plum wine. Grabbing it and a glass, he poured himself a cup. ¡°We¡¯ll pay for it when he gets back.¡± A few minutes later, the chef returned with a squadron of police officers with their swords drawn. ¡°Sofiane De La Nuit and Shuixing He, you are both under arrest for illegal border crossing and suspected espionage on behalf of a terrorist group,¡± one of the officers said. Sofiane groaned. ¡°Gods-dammit Natsuko!¡± Chapter 60 - Sharing Bars Ogawa the fisherman slugged back his shot of plum-rum, chased it with a mug of beer, and wiped the foam from his mouth. ¡°Ahh¡­ That¡¯s the stuff right there. Nothing like a shot of liquor and a pint of beer after a day of fishing,¡± he said. Inhibitions lowered by not being around other Heroes, Pechorin ordered a cocktail of apple and fig liqueurs, maple rum, persimmon syrup, and yuzu. Delightfully fresh, yet seasonally appropriate to autumn. Nonetheless, it was very sweet. He would never have dared get it in front of another Hero, least of all Natsuko who would undoubtedly mock him. Pechorin and Ogawa were seated on a couple of barstools facing out towards the ocean. They were in a quiet little open-air tiki bar along with other fishermen Non-Heroes similarly nursing a beer and a shot of plum-rum. Behind the counter, a bartender who acted very much like Klaus, was scrubbing a pint glass clean. ¡°So, ya wanna do some Shikijiman poetry, eh?¡± Ogawa said. Pechorin nodded. ¡°Please teach me.¡± Ogawa stroked his rough, tanned chin, hands making a sandpapery sound against his afternoon stubble. ¡°Well, ya got the basics down. No hoppin¡¯ between subjects, gotta have a seasonal association, and some kind of turn to subvert expectations. I guess if I had to say what I think ya lack it might be a kind of¡ª aw hell, I don¡¯t know how to put it in words. Oi! Tanaka!¡± The bartender looked up. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°This whippersnapper wants to learn poetry. He¡¯s missin¡¯ somethin¡¯ but I can¡¯t find the words for it. Why don¡¯t you take a listen and tell me what ya think,¡± Ogawa said. Tanaka set down the mug and in a gruff voice said, ¡°alright, let¡¯s hear ¡®er. What¡¯d¡¯ya got?¡± ¡°Right now?¡± Pechorin said. Being asked to compose a poem on the spot was more nerve-wracking than he anticipated. Tanaka the bartender nodded. ¡°Yeah, right now. Ya gotta be able to bang one out on the spot if you wanna write Shikijiman poetry. All of us can do it. Ogawa, show him.¡± Ogawa cleared his throat. ¡°Fall winds rush Through the bar¡¯s window, Sighing with salt.¡± The fisherman punctuated his poem by slamming down another swig of beer. Pechorin swallowed. These were not men to be trifled with. He decided to respond with a couplet, as he heard was done in Shikijiman poetry parties. ¡°Red hibiscus blooms nearby, Like a drunk fisherman¡¯s cheeks.¡± Ogawa and Tanaka laughed uproariously at that. ¡°It weren¡¯t pretty, but ya got a quick mind, kid. There¡¯s potential there,¡± Tanaka said, leaning his elbows on the counter. ¡°Now, let¡¯s hear a proper composition.¡± Pechorin¡¯s heart pounded. No more humorous couplets, he had to get serious. A poorly-composed poem in this moment would disgrace him in the eyes of these fearsome men. Should he fail, he would have to borrow Natsuko¡¯s bottle and dimension-jump himself into oblivion to redeem his dishonor. He swallowed. ¡°Knocking a gourd, Charming sound meets my ears¡ª Then, silence.¡± Tanaka stroked his chin and Ogawa nodded quietly. The lack of response filled Pechorin with anxiousness. What if his earlier poems had been mere flukes? What if he truly did have no talent? Worse still, the entire bar was now listening. ¡°Not bad. Not bad at all. But you¡¯re right, Ogawa, it¡¯s missing a certain something. I just can¡¯t pin it down. We might need a third opinion. Oi, Shimura!¡± ~~~ ¡°Get your hands off me you damn fascist! It¡¯s not public intoxication if I only have four drinks in me!¡± Natsuko yelled, jerking away from the police officer grabbing her arm. ¡°Ma¡¯am, you can either come quietly, or we can get the Imperial Army involved,¡± one of the officers said. There were six of them and they had all decided to accost her while she was innocently sitting on the porch of one of any number of tiki bars along the beach and nursing her fifth glass of plum-rum and waiting for her sopping wet kimono to dry. Worse still, they were standing in her clothes-drying sunlight. ¡°Leave me alone or you¡¯ll be waking up at four in the morning,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Please do not make this difficult. If you resist, the Imperial Clan will be forced to put up a bounty for your arrest.¡± Which Natsuko realized meant a whole lot of attention. Nonetheless, putting herself at the mercy of a Non-Hero royally pissed her off, not least of which because she could tell by the smirk on his face that the police officer was enjoying having authority over a Hero that could turn him into a lump of charcoal with one Fire Gale.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Natsuko grumbled and slammed back the rest of her rum. ¡°Fine. But I¡¯m not drunk.¡± ¡°Public intoxication is not the charge against you,¡± he replied. ¡°What the hell is it then?¡± ¡°High treason against the Empire, illegal bor¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, Shikijiman goes abroad and that¡¯s high treason to the Empress, whatever.¡± Natsuko figured this was coming. Her backstory included deserting the Imperial Guard out of protest for the former Emperor¡¯s ill-treatment of his subjects. This was the supposed reason for her leaving in exile and joining the Knights of Innocentus in Verm?genburgh, and she had even played an important role in the culmination of the Emperor¡¯s exorcism and abdication at the end of the mainline quests in Shikijima. Ironically, on the eve of her obsolescence. There was a Non-Hero who filled that role for new Heroes running through old quests, but Empress Sadako had never forgiven Natsuko, or any other Shikijiman expat. As for how in the world the Empress found out Natsuko was in the region again, she suspected it was those damn secret police. Goddamn fascists. Natsuko growled. ¡°You¡¯re joking¡­¡± The police officers had produced a set of wooden pillory stocks for her neck and wrists. ¡°It¡¯s procedure, ma¡¯am,¡± the officer said with a self-satisfied sneer. Whether it was procedure or not, he¡¯d clearly picked up on the fact that Natsuko was interested in avoiding a bounty being put out on her. She glared at him as the officers put the stocks around her neck and wrists. ¡°When all of this gets cleared up, I¡¯m coming for you specifically, you jackbooted son of a bitch.¡± ~~~ ¡°It¡¯s missing a kind of dignity¡­¡± Otsuka said. ¡°No, no, there are plenty of famous poems that aim for something other than dignity,¡± Hani replied. Tanaka the bartender folded his arms. ¡°I think Otsuka¡¯s on to something, but ¡°dignity¡± isn¡¯t the right word for it.¡± ¡°Sublimity?¡± offered Tsubasa. ¡°No! You¡¯re overlooking the need for playful spontaneity,¡± Hani replied. Pechorin was swarmed by a crowd of a dozen fisherman and one bartender all arguing over the core Shikijiman sensibility which his poems were currently missing. They had pushed him to compose ten or eleven poems by now, debated and critiqued each one, and were now more unresolved and doubtful than when they had begun the aesthetic exercise. All Pechorin had learned was that if you got twelve Shikijiman fishermen in a room, you would leave with thirteen different theories of poetry. ¡°Yes to spontaneity, but ¡°playful¡± seems reductive as to what it¡¯s doin¡¯, that make sense?¡± Yukichi said. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ogawa said, rapping his knuckle on his third pint of beer. ¡°We gotta think about what ties all those things together. Clearly, we can find a poem that evokes any of those moods, but we gotta get at what¡¯s behind ¡®em all. Where do dignity and spontaneity and sublimity and all that come from?¡± Pechorin stared at the bamboo counter, his cocktail forgotten half-finished. His mind was so full of aesthetic theory that it felt like everything they were saying was pouring out of his ears and eyes the second it reached his brain. Ogawa was right that there was something at the core of all of this, but¡­ what if it couldn¡¯t be expressed in words? What if it was something felt in passing? Such a thing would be like a river, constantly passing, yet never graspable. It would slip the yoke of words like water through fingers. Maybe it was¡­ ¡°Blood moon in daytime¡ª A myriad existence, Is spoken anew.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Ogawa shouted. ¡°He¡¯s got it!¡± The fisherman toasted with a cheer and slapped Pechorin on the back. Pechorin wasn¡¯t quite sure what he had ¡°gotten,¡± but he supposed that was the point. There was, after all, nothing really to get. ~~~ With a shove, the jail guards pushed Natsuko into a jail cell made of wooden bars. It was ridiculous, since she could burn the whole thing down with Fire Gales if she wanted to. ¡°Can you at least take the stupid pillory off? I need to scratch my nose,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°No,¡± the guard said before slamming the cell door. Having no other recourse, Natsuko was forced to awkwardly lean forward and press her nose to the rough stone the wooden cell was built against and rub it up and down to get at the itch. In the middle of doing this, Shuixing and Sofiane were led into the cell. ¡°Oh no, her last brain cell finally died!¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko flushed. ¡°Fuck off puffball, I had to scratch my nose. How come you two don¡¯t have to wear this stupid thing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but if I had to guess, you deliberately pissed them off.¡± ¡°Only cuz they pissed me off first! What are you two doing here, anyway?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, firecrotch, that¡¯s a great question,¡± Sofiane said, folding his arms and leaning against the bars. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell us?¡± ¡°Probably because these sons of bitches are FASCISTS!¡± Natsuko said, screaming so that the guards could hear her. Shuixing winced. Sofiane scoffed. ¡°What, are you hoping to get gagged too? Clearly you managed to do something stupid and illegal in the, what, three hours we¡¯ve been here? If you can shut up with the ¡°fascist¡± stuff for a second and wrack your smooth little brain for what you possibly could have done, we can start figuring out what to do next.¡± Natsuko filled him in on her backstory and the bad blood between her and Empress Sadako. ¡°So, they¡¯re arresting us just to screw with you?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°That and we did actually enter the region illegally,¡± Shuixing said, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall. ¡°But somehow they also think we¡¯re working with the rebels? How does that work?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to make sense,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Shikijima is a totalitarian shithole. The Imperial Clan can do or say whatever they want. They just got lucky they pulled this shit when I can¡¯t burn their entire stupid city down.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t do that, Natsuko,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Maybe, maybe not.¡± Sofiane exhaled and sank to the floor, arms wrapped around his knees. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can just explain things to the Empress, tell her we¡¯re not working with Yuna, and she¡¯ll let us go. I mean, we¡¯re Heroes! It¡¯s not like you can execute someone who¡¯s just gonna be re-summoned the next morning.¡± ¡°Speaking of,¡± Shuixing said, ¡°your bottle¡¯s in the evidence lockup, right?¡± Natsuko nodded, which required her to bend her entire torso. ¡°That¡­ has me nervous,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Yeah, well, I wasn¡¯t about to say, hey can you let me keep that? I need to be able to murder people in an emergency,¡± Natsuko replied. With that last exchange, all three of them ran out of energy to continue talking. Already down before setting off on their quest to get Shui¡¯s research back, this was a rock bottom they couldn¡¯t have dreamed up even in a nightmare. Sitting in different corners of the cell, the only thing they could do was wait, and Natsuko was terrible at waiting. ¡°I wonder how Pechorin is doing,¡± Shuixing said softly. Chapter 61 - Facing the Hibiscus Throne As much fun as Pechorin was having with the poetry jam, the sun had set by now, and he did not wish to inconvenience the others. ¡°I should probably go find my teammates,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Ya sure ya can¡¯t stay for one more round? C¡¯mon, just the one,¡± Ogawa said, clapping him on the back. ¡°We¡¯ve had seven ¡°just one¡±s,¡± Pechorin said to the two or three Ogawas waving in his vision. He didn¡¯t drink as hard as Natsuko, but it had seemed impolite to refuse offers to buy him a round. By this time, there¡¯d been a few rounds of poetry-linking, he and the fishermen taking turns coming up with alternating tercets and couplets, each link demanding a shot. ¡°We¡¯ll seeya ¡®round then, Kurashi,¡± Ogawa said, using the pen name they¡¯d come up with for Pechorin which meant The Dark Poet. ¡°Make sure to swing by again ¡®fore ya leave Shikijima, got that?¡± Pechorin tried to stand up but had to grip the counter to steady himself because wobbling over was not badass and he needed to seem like he could handle his liquor, even if it was just chain-drinking fruity cocktails. Once stable, he gave a respectable bow to his teachers and went on his way through the darkening streets of Kazan-to. Unlike the bright lights and glitz of Tianzhou City, the Shikijiman capital was more subdued. Due to the mandatory curfew, the only lights after dark came from lanterns and candles inside the winding array of houses and shops. It was a shame his usual method of cowboy bootstrapping his way into shelter was illegal in Shikijima. His main issue was that he had no idea where his party members had gotten off to. He tried the first and best idea that came to him, which was to wander aimlessly through the streets. ¡°Sir, you are in violation of the curfew law. I am afraid I will have to arrest you,¡± a police officer said to him. ¡°Time challenges have always been my weakness,¡± Pechorin said. Not wanting to draw extra attention to himself, he let the officer take him to jail. The building was about halfway up the inland hills from the harbor and set into exposed volcanic rock. Due to his cooperation and light misdemeanor, the officer was cordial with him. The incident seemed mostly a matter of formalities to be cleared up in the morning. Even better, they led him directly to his party members. Or, almost directly. He was given a roomier cell that shared one wall of bars with them and had its own bed. ¡°Good evening,¡± he said to them after the officers left. ¡°Hey! How come you get your own cell with a bed? That¡¯s not fair!¡± Natsuko said. Pechorin glanced up at the stone ceiling and saw the cool moonlight shining through the small barred window. He felt something welling up within him: ¡°Stripes of silver, Through the¡ª¡± ¡°Now¡¯s not the damned time for poetry!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°For once, I am in agreement,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Sorry, Pech. It¡¯s been a long day for all of us,¡± Shuixing said. Pechorin supposed there was no sense in declaiming to ears that would not hear anything and so aborted his poem. To him, moments of consternation and peril necessitated poetry as a balm. Nonetheless, if they wished for his silence, so it would be. Hours passed in silence, an abominable silence, which beckoned for words to aestheticize its dreadfulness. ¡°You know,¡± Pechorin said, startling Natsuko awake from a doze. ¡°As everything eventually turns into its opposite, perhaps what seems in this moment to be misfortune may prove a blessing in disguise.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Natsuko said, slapping the wooden pillory around her neck against the bars. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°If I knew, it wouldn¡¯t be in disguise,¡± Pechorin replied. For a fleeting moment, hope had plastered itself on Shuixing¡¯s face before she realized this was another Pechorism. She sighed and rolled over on her spot on the floor. From somewhere else in the jail, water dripped against stone. ¡°Do you think this is punishment for trying?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Defying the natural order of things?¡± ¡°The natural order of Use-Rankings?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Yeah. Maybe we¡¯re supposed to fade into obscurity. Maybe there is no fighting it, and the more you do, the faster you drop.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Shuixing said, although his statement pricked at her precisely because it seemed true. Pechorin hummed for a moment, then said, ¡°Is it worth nothing to have tried?¡± Outside the barred windows, palm trees shook from a cold ocean wind that bore the smell of salt and hibiscus on it. ¡°It wasn¡¯t worth a damn,¡± Sofiane said.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Nothing much was said after that. All four of them, for their own reasons, wanted to be by themselves, even if they were still in a jail cell. More than anything else, it was their enforced proximity that grated against their nerves. With nothing to do but muse, Pechorin thought that this might be because all of them had secretly hoped the answer to their predicament¡ªthe grand predicament, not the petty predicament of getting arrested¡ªlay with the others, that somehow the group in its totality would produce the key to get them all out of their individual hells. But no solutions had come forth. No answers. No escape. And now they were mired even more deeply than if they had all stayed in quiet little Verm?genburgh and lived quiet little obscure lives. But then again, Pechorin thought, Frederick had tried that, so maybe there wasn¡¯t much hope there either. ¡°What to do, what to do?¡± Pechorin muttered to himself after the torches had been snuffed out by the guards. ¡°Go the fuck to sleep,¡± Natsuko said in reply. After a restless night, the sun transmuted the silver streaks in front of Pechorin¡¯s window into gold. In front of his door was a bowl of rice porridge and pickled vegetables which he took to as quickly as decorum permitted. ¡°Shui, feed me,¡± Natsuko moaned. Shuixing had to bring the bowl of food up to her friend¡¯s mouth in an awkward operation that ended up with a lot of spilled food. ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill them,¡± Natsuko said between munches on pickled radish. ¡°The seagull bellows, Over a desolate beach. The waves echo back.¡± Pechorin said. At this point no one was paying him any mind at all. For the rest of the morning, the other three tried to come up with a plan of action for how to proceed, treading a middle line of not burning Shikijima to the ground and not letting themselves get thrown in prison, with Natsuko mostly coming down on the pro-burning side and Sofiane and Shuixing resolutely on the anti-burning one. By noon they¡¯d gotten nowhere. ¡°Okay, if we were to break out, we would be scavenging around Shikijima. That¡¯s all well and good,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°But then the Empress scrambles her police to look for us and puts out a bounty. So the only way I can see this working is we just reason with Her Majesty.¡± Natsuko grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll reason my foot up her ass.¡± ¡°That does not sound very reasonable,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Shut up! I¡¯ll mount her head on¡ª¡± The door swung open and a squadron of guards stood ready to escort them. ¡°¡ªmy lap. I love her,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Your hearing is in half an hour. We are to escort you to Her Imperial Majesty¡¯s court room,¡± one of the guards said. ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever,¡± Natsuko said, flapping a trapped hand. The guard sneered. ¡°Not you, deserter. You will be dealt with separately.¡± ¡°What!? No, I demand to be dealt with jointly!¡± ¡°Your betrayal of Shikijima is much more severe than illegal border crossing and aiding terrorists. As such, you will be tried separately.¡± Natsuko looked at Sofiane and Shuixing who looked equally bewildered. ¡°Erm, could we also be tried for treason, then? Would that solve it?¡± Shuixing asked. The guard squinted in confusion. ¡°You want to be tried for treason, despite not being Shikijiman?¡± Shui nodded. ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡­ that¡¯s not how treason works,¡± the guard replied. ¡°Listen, friend, pal, chum, what¡¯s your name?¡± Sofiane asked, stepping forward to pat the man on the arm before seven drawn katanas encouraged him to stop. ¡°You can call me Tatsuda, or Sir,¡± Tatsuda said. ¡°Okay, Tats, listen, we are willing to swear complete and undying loyalty to the Empress if you¡¯ll let us,¡± Sofiane said. Tatsuda looked back at his fellow, equally-confused guards. None of them was aware of any kind of bureaucratic precedence for this situation. But that also meant there was no explicit law against it. ¡°So, you¡¯ll swear allegiance to Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Sadako, Third of Her Name, prostrating yourself before Her Hibiscus Throne in an act of eternal loyalty? You understand that doing so will not acquit you, correct?¡± Tatsuda said. ¡°That¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll do the whole kowtowing thing,¡± Sofiane said. Tatsuda, accompanied by his cadre of guards, led Sofiane, Shuixing, and Pechorin out of the jail and onto the steep, winding streets leading to the palace complex at the foot of Mt. Tomiji. Their procession attracted the attention of everyone they passed by. In a way, it felt to Sofiane like a joke version of their entrance to the Card Tournament. He supposed all great statements happened twice: First as glamor, second as farce. The palace complex rose out of a band of tropical trees that wreathed its perimeter. Its outer walls stood stately and imposing, being made of sloped stone walls over which were built fortifications of tropical hardwood and finally capped with vermillion tile roofs. Once through the iron gates, they found themselves in a tropical garden the size of several Tianzhounese city blocks. On the far side lay a six-story palace connected to other buildings with wooden skybridges. Sofiane yawned. He¡¯d already rushed through the quests in Shikjima, so the palace meant to overawe its visitors looked desolate. The locus of activity and importance had long ago moved on, despite whatever painstaking efforts had been made to build this palace up. ¡°Over luscious trees Rise stately red roof tiles, Watching years go by,¡± Pechorin declaimed. Before Sofiane could tell him to shut up, the guards grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°That¡¯s a fine poem,¡± Tatsuda said. ¡°Very fine,¡± said another. A couple of guards looked even more awe-struck. ¡°Do you think¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± Tatsuda said. ¡°I doubt it. But perhaps they are suitable candidates to become Shikijiman after all.¡± At first Sofiane thought they were playing some kind of joke but, no, the guards were genuinely impressed with Pechorin¡¯s stupid little poem. Was there some kind of poetry event currently going on? Or some kind of quest? There had to be some reason the guards were that naturally enthusiastic. No one was that enthusiastic about poetry. ¡°Is there some kind of special event happening? With the poetry I mean,¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Every poem is an event,¡± Tatsuda replied. ¡°Yeah, but like, one that actually matters. With money and prizes and stuff.¡± Tatsuda looked at Sofiane like he had just said the Yishang didn¡¯t exist. ¡°No, poetry is its own reward. It needs no extrinsic motivation.¡± Sofiane looked back at Tatsuda like he had just said the Yishang didn¡¯t exist. Proceeding through luxurious banquet halls filled with flower arrangements and elegant scrolls, they eventually arrived at some kind of reception-slash-throne room, with a wooden throne shaped and painted to resemble a red hibiscus. They took off their shoes before stepping onto the tatami-matted floor. To either side of them were court officials and bureaucrats sitting on cushions in their neatly-folded robes. Tatsuda forced Shuixing, Sofiane, and Pechorin to kneel in the center of the room and wait. And wait. And wait. After a long enough stretch of time that Sofiane was starting to reconsider the ¡°burning down Kazan-to¡± option, Empress Sadako finally swept into the room. Chapter 62 - Gunslinger Monogatari The Empress¡¯s hair swept the floor behind her like a raven¡¯s tail. Twelve layers of red and purple silk clothed her in sheer luxury, below a snow white face of utter disdain. Cold eyes refused to greet them, staring up and past the kneeling Heroes like they were discarded rags in her way. Empress Sadako was far and away the most impressive, and most arrogant, Non-Hero that Pechorin and Shuixing had ever witnessed. Sofiane, however, had met several others of her archetype in other regions, and treated this as the bluster it was. One of her attendants sounded a shrill horn and the court officials and bureaucrats and prison guards all kowtowed. Their guard, Tatsuda, whispered sharply to them. ¡°Bow.¡± Shuixing did so instinctually. Pechorin did so deliberately. Sofiane did not bow at all. He could not make himself, even though he¡¯d been the one to come up with the plan. Kneeling was one thing, but being asked to bow his head to the floor? He couldn¡¯t do it. Bowing like that to a Non-Hero was unthinkable. Empress Sadako sat down on the Hibiscus Throne and stared at Sofiane who stared straight back at her. She raised a single, burgundy-painted eyebrow. ¡°A common criminal thinks she is above me?¡± Shuixing pinched Sofiane¡¯s leg to get him to bow down with them, but this just made him stand all the way up. ¡°The lowest ranked Hero is still more important than a Non-Hero, Empress or otherwise. That¡¯s how things work,¡± Sofiane said, genuine indignation filling his voice. He hadn¡¯t expected his own violent reaction, but there was something so fundamentally wrong about submitting to a Non-Hero that it overrode the part of his brain screaming at him to stick to the plan. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Empress Sadako said. A small smirk crept onto her face. Sofiane didn¡¯t like that. She was supposed to be afraid of him. Raising a hand bedecked with gold and pearls, she motioned at one of the bureaucrats who fled the room. ¡°What, did you send him to go round up the rest of the expendable guards? You know I can kill them all, and you, in one hit, right?¡± Sofiane said, folding his arms. The Empress raised a finger to her mouth to silently shush him and the room fell into uncomfortable silence. The court remained bowed and Shuixing and Pechorin did not join Sofiane in his defiance. This felt wrong, but the more wrong it felt, the more determined Sofiane was to not budge an inch. Fortunately, he did not have to wait long to find out what the Empress was up to. A gold-colored monkey with flaming red streaks in its fur floated into the room on a nimbus cloud. He yawned lazily and scratched his butt as he looked at the tense chamber. ¡°What, did somebody get life imprisonment for farting again?¡± the Pengwu laughed. ¡°Your humor is tolerated, but not appreciated, Saruga,¡± Empress Sadako said. ¡°Aw, c¡¯mon, it wouldn¡¯t kill ya to laugh, Saddie. And if it did, you¡¯d just respawn!¡± Saruga said before launching into an ooking monkey laugh. Right around then, Sofiane finally realized what Empress Sadako¡¯s insurance policy was. His heart sunk. ¡°Ah, the impetuous little girl has finally realized her predicament,¡± the Empress said, crossing her legs underneath the hefty folds of silk. ¡°May I count on your continued cooperation in relaying my interests to the Yishang, monkey?¡± ¡°Sister, you¡¯re a real pawful, take it from me. How can you keep squeezing a poor little monkey like this? Eventually the Yishang are gonna stop listening to me, y¡¯know,¡± Saruga said, orbiting the Empress on his cloud.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Your addiction is your own business, not mine,¡± she said, producing a banana from the folds of her robe and tossing it to him. Saruga stood on his hands and caught it with his hind paws. Prying the peels open, the Pengwu monkey scarfed down a glowing, golden banana which caused him to scream and beat his chest. ¡°Ooh yeah! There it is. Ook ook!¡± Saruga said. The Empress turned to Sofiane. ¡°I surmise by your expression you¡¯ve pieced together what our monkey friend here might tell the Yishang?¡± The knuckles of Sofiane¡¯s balled fists turned white. ¡°That the court case should be turned into a Yishang-sanctioned quest event¡­¡± Pechorin, Shuixing, and Sofiane all knew that would mean no brute forcing their way out. This, Sofiane now realized, was how Empress Sadako had managed to keep Yuna at bay for so long. Every time the rebel general tried to mount a serious attack on Kazan-to and seize control of Shikijima, the Yishang stepped in and put up guide rails. Her lethal ¡°attacks¡± would be turned into quest events with scripted endings. And so would their court case. It had never occurred to Sofiane that Non-Heroes could manipulate things on this level, or that the Yishang would humor them. But if Yuna¡¯s treatment was any indication, the Yishang would come down in favor of the Empress if Sofiane tried to avoid prosecution. In other words, he was on an even playing field with the Non-Hero Empress. He felt a deep revulsion and sickness at this that he¡¯d only ever experienced once before: When he learned Natsuko¡¯s bottle could kill him, and that it made her his equal. That was wrong. So totally, completely wrong. ¡°Now, bow,¡± Empress Sadako ordered. Sofiane bowed before her. And even though it meant that they were now in an even more dire position, Pechorin couldn¡¯t help but pop out a poem: ¡°Haughty purple lace, Falls to the floor beneath silk¡ª Fall wind chills the hall.¡± Gasps came from the assembled court and the Empress raised an eyebrow. The only sound was the shuffling of her robes as she crossed her arms. ¡°You,¡± she said, pointing with a gold-tipped finger at Pechorin. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Pechorin the Gunslinger,¡± he said. ¡°Of the, ¡°The Gunslinger¡± clan.¡± Sofiane squinted at that, not sure if the ¡°The Gunslinger¡± clan thing was a bit or not. ¡°I see. And does the The Gunslinger clan possess a legacy of poetry and art?¡± The Empress asked, her tone betraying nothing as to her intent. ¡°Allow me to tell you the story of my clan¡­¡± Sofiane pinched his nose. ¡°Gods-dammit¡­¡± Pechorin delivered the director¡¯s cut of his usual half-hour telling which included an excruciating extra fifteen minutes of spontaneous haiku appended to the story at moments Pechorin felt climatically emotional. Sofiane would¡¯ve cut Pechorin off before he got going, but the Empress¡¯ threats still echoed in his ears. He was thus a captive audience to Pechorin¡¯s melodramatic flourishes. ¡°Kin felled by kin¡¯s sword, ¡°Amidst the winter¡¯s harsh chill¡ª ¡°Blood stains snow crimson.¡± The court exhaled in shock. Even the Empress listened in powerful silence. Sofiane tried not to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Unlike Non-Heroes, he was aware the people Pechorin was describing had never existed, other than perhaps this dastardly brother who, if Pechorin did ever meet him¡ªwhich was unlikely since Pechorin¡¯s brother was a Sibe-lander Non-Hero¡ªwould act as though all of this had happened without it ever actually having happened. Both read from the same fake script. Ugh. Anything related to the weirdness of the Mist and Entropy and the workings of the Yishang gave him a headache. Even Shui¡¯s dimension-jumping sent him into a spiral. Why couldn¡¯t everything be as neat and tidy as just killing progressively bigger and stronger monsters? Fuck thinking. Kill monster, get money, gain stats. Or drink yourself silly. Maybe firecrotch was more rational than Sofiane gave her credit for. ¡°Your story i-it¡­ the pathos! The sublime horror of it all!¡± announced a swooning courtesan whose face had to be fanned to wake her up. This was only a tad more exaggerated a response than the rest of the Imperial Court who was fawning over Pechorin¡¯s tale. ¡°Very good, The Gunslinger-san,¡± the Empress said. ¡°If backstories were rooted in fact, the drama would be all the greater. Fictionality aside, your skill in verse has earned my respect, to say nothing of my court.¡± Now that was intriguing, Sofiane thought. Not only did Empress Sadako know how to play the game by exploiting the Yishang¡¯s priorities, she was also fully aware of Hero¡¯s backstories being fake. He wasn¡¯t sure whether he ought to be impressed with her, or scared that she was the first Non-Hero who had ever seemed like a credible threat. There was no bullshitting their way out of this. He¡¯d have to warn Natsuko to be less Natsuko before she endangered them by doing anything too Natsuko-like. ¡°Now,¡± the Empress said, clapping her porcelain hands, ¡°let us talk about your petition for citizenship.¡± Chapter 63 - Learning That Natsuko was Right All Along ¡°Citizenship granted,¡± Empress Sadako announced with a wave of her hand. ¡°Wait, what?¡± Sofiane said. The rest of the court seemed to have the same suspicions Sofiane had even though they were forbidden to say so, but Sofi could see a lot of teeth working the inside of lips to keep from saying anything. ¡°So, will we be tried as traitors now?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Huh? No, why would that be the case?¡± the Empress asked. ¡°Because we¡­ um¡­ we crossed borders, like Natsuko did.¡± The Empress¡¯s face adopted the third of its three emotions: First disdain, then shrewd placidity, and now genuine confusion. ¡°Crimes are not tried ex post facto in Shikijima. You were foreigners when you illegally crossed our borders, and you gained citizenship afterwards, therefore you have not committed treason.¡± ¡°Do you have l¨¨se-majest¨¦ laws?¡± Sofiane asked. The Empress narrowed her eyes. ¡°Yes, we do.¡± ¡°In that case, go fuck yourself Sadako, you stupid bitch.¡± Empress Sadako rolled her eyes. ¡°Tadahisa-san, please add treason by reason of l¨¨se-majest¨¦ to her charges.¡± One of the higher-ranking bureaucrats sitting closer to the Hibiscus Throne dipped a brush into an inkwell and added Sofiane¡¯s latest transgression to the court record. While he was doing so, Sofiane poked Shuixing with his toe. Shuixing sputtered. ¡°O-Oh, u-um, I-I¡­ uh¡­¡± The Empress glared at her with a look of raw authority and malice. Shuixing looked down at the floor. ¡°Y-You¡¯re not a very good r-ruler¡­¡± ¡°Ugh. Add it to her charges too, Tadahisa.¡± As Tadahisa scribbled charges down, everyone¡¯s eyes turned to Pechorin. He continued looking straight ahead and ignoring them. Gathering up a sturdy breath, he did what he did best, and declaimed: ¡°Dry leaves fall from trees, The state in disorder wanes, Heaven in disarray.¡± There was a gasp of horror from the crowd. Even the Empress went wide-eyed. Pechorin only realized his mistake a moment later, after it was too late. ¡°Your third line¡­¡± The Empress said, grinding her teeth. ¡°It had six syllables in it.¡± Pechorin lowered his head. ¡°You claim to be a master of Shikijiman poetry¡­¡± Pechorin lowered his head even further. ¡°Yet you would disgrace and blaspheme our most sacred poetic arts?¡± Pechorin¡¯s head was practically clipping through the floor. ¡°It is one thing to commit treason by way of vile slander against the reigning Empress,¡± Empress Sadako said. ¡°It is quite another to do so by degrading our entire cultural tradition. Tadahisa, make his charge high treason.¡± Sofiane tried to remember if he had had any of that grog that gave Natsuko her weird ass nightmares, because everything to do with the Shikijiman Imperial Court was like a fever dream. He was beginning to empathize with Natsuko¡¯s hatred of the place. ¡°Are the criminals quite finished being churlish and tedious?¡± Empress Sadako asked. Sofiane scoffed. ¡°We¡¯re not criminals! We¡¯re innocent until proven guilty!¡± ¡°Reversing the phrase ¡°guilty until proven innocent¡± means absolutely nothing. Guards, take them back to the prison and we will try them with the other traitor.¡± The Empress delicately flicked two fingers and the accompaniment of guards leapt up to drag Pech, Shui, and Sofi back to the jail cell. Upon their return they were greeted by a grinning Natsuko. ¡°I told you they¡¯re fascists,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I didn¡¯t doubt you,¡± Sofiane replied as the guards pushed him inside the cell. Natsuko started to open her mouth to protest that Sofianed had blamed her for their getting arrested. But she said nothing. There was something so pitiful in his eyes that it arrested her. What she saw was resignation. Real resignation. When Sofiane came to Verm?genburgh three weeks before, he still thought of himself as a temporarily disgraced Hero destined for the top of the Use-Charts and it showed. But after being chased off by Yuna, and whatever happened at their court hearing, whatever pride he had left had drained out of him. ¡°Puffball,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Scratch my nose, I can¡¯t reach.¡± ¡°Shut up, firecrotch.¡± Shui came over for nose-scratching duty and Pechorin was left to his own private cell once again, one-time high treason not negating his erstwhile esteem as a poet. After a couple minutes of silence, they broke the news to Natsuko that Empress Sadako had a noose around their neck with the threat of the Yishang scripting their court case. Natsuko took away only the important points.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°I fucking told you Pengwu are narcs! It¡¯s not just Zhidao, they¡¯re all little snitches for the Yishang. Can¡¯t trust ¡®em. But did anyone listen to Natsuko? Nooo~ of course not! She¡¯s just a cranky old drunk, what does she know!?¡± ¡°Natsu, would you shut up!? Forget about the gods-damned Pengwu!¡± Sofiane said, his voice echoing through the stone corridors of the jail. Natsuko glared back, which looked much less threatening with her head and hands stuck in a plank of wood, but she let him finish. Sofiane exhaled and lowered his voice. ¡°Listen, that¡¯s not important. The important thing is this: Empress Sadako is not screwing around. She notices things Non-Heroes don¡¯t usually notice, and that means we can¡¯t trust her at her word. If we want to get ourselves out of this mess we need to figure out what she¡¯s really up to, because this whole ¡°breaking the law¡± thing is obviously just an excuse.¡± ¡°Perhaps she just personally dislikes Natsuko,¡± Pechorin offered, his back to the shared bars of their two cells. ¡°While I empathize with that stance,¡± Sofiane said, ¡°I doubt all of this is because of fake backstory beef with Natsuko. Which she knows is fake, mind you. I wonder if¡­¡± Sofiane¡¯s gaze fell on Shuixing who was huddled in the corner of the cell. Sensing she was being observed, she looked up. ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything else it could be other than your papers, Shui,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing shook her head. ¡°That secret only came out a few days ago at the card parlor. I don¡¯t think she could find out and plan a trap that quickly. ¡°So what the hell does she want!? Ugh!¡± Sofiane mussed up his hair. ¡°I should¡¯ve just kept killing monsters even after Koyon got summoned. I don¡¯t know why I thought it was a good idea to try and cheat.¡± For some reason¡ªand it really made no sense¡ªPuffball¡¯s comment irritated Natsuko, but not in the way that most things irritated Natsuko as a kind of ambient annoyance, but whatever you call it when an irritating thing really cuts at you. She didn¡¯t have a word for it. ¡°Yeah? And Shui and I wouldn¡¯t be here if it wasn¡¯t for you, shithead,¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane said nothing. Then, with his back to the wooden bars, he slid to the floor. ¡°Probably not.¡± They lapsed into silence again. The jail cell had a way of sucking the conversation out of them. And then came the long, boring periods of silence which drove Natsuko insane. Unlike Pech, Sofi, and Shui, Natsuko couldn¡¯t just lay down and sleep through the boring intervals because of the stupid pillory she was stuck in which left her with nothing to do but be with herself and think¡ªsomething she hated so much that she was constantly trying to drink herself into being incapable of it. Sadly, no matter how many times she asked the guards¡ªeven using her nice voice¡ªcriminals were not allowed any alcohol. ~~~ The ground trembles with each pounding footstep of the Demon King. Natsuko can feel the hot, cloying air of the Shikijiman summer flooding into her lungs, baking her from the inside. It feels good. She likes being hot. On fire. Bursting into flames, pushing herself to the redline and then going even further. The Demon King, standing taller than the tallest turrets of the Imperial Palace, stomps towards her. His shining crimson kabuto helmet and ivory tusks gleam in the sunlight. His bone armor rattles as he begins his charge. ¡°Alright kiddo, let¡¯s dance,¡± she says, grinning wildly as she strides towards the demon. Behind it she sees the corrupted Emperor whose body she and her party have just expelled the demon from. Beside her Shuixing trembles and clutches at her rod like she always does, though it¡¯s just for her archetype. When it comes down to it, Shui has her back. When the demon has Natsuko within range of his enormous iron club, she waits for him to swing, then launches herself forward with a Fire Gale, ducking below it, the wake riffling her hair. With the momentum she kicks herself into a dashing attack from her Jack of All Trades skill, carving through the demon¡¯s legs and torso in rapid diagonal slashes with her fire sword, Tamakaro. When the ability ends, Natsuko is in the air above the demon. ¡°Pech!¡± she yells. Gunshots echo in the broad courtyard, triggering Molten reactions on the scorched demon and causing it to emit a guttural roar. Natsuko doesn¡¯t care how much damage they¡¯re doing. In a way, she hopes it¡¯s not a lot, because she wants this moment to last forever. She doesn¡¯t want to do anything else. She lives to fight monsters. Even as the demon bats her out of the air and knocks off half of her HP, her passive kicks in and her blood catches on fire. There is no pain, only adrenaline. Only thrill. The demon spits viscous, black Entropic Acid at her, but she is counting on this, and swipes her flaming blade through the glob, splitting it into two puddles that melt a hibiscus bush behind her. Fuel Injection slams into her heart and a calm blossoms inside her like an island amidst an ocean of adrenaline. She feels like a general commanding an army compressed into the size of her small frame. Everything slows, and her vision shines with rainbows as Shuixing¡¯s bubbles rain down on the demon, popping against him and against her, harming the demon and healing her with a tingling aliveness. She laughs. This is everything. There¡¯s nothing more than this fight. Nothing in the world. Just this. She feels like she¡¯s been split into a bunch of little pieces: Her arms, legs, feet, and hands, all working separately, yet together. The whole and the parts, the parts and the whole. She doesn¡¯t even have to think about her Desperation Art unlocking, its potential floods through her. Hemiola strums on his lute and a wave of Aether Elemental vibrates against the flailing Demon King. Its buffing effects thrum in Natsuko¡¯s body and soul, charging up her Elemental damage to a fever pitch. With another blast of her Fire Gale, she repositions under the Demon King, and when she¡¯s directly under him, she activates Spontaneous Combustion and explodes in a fireball that contains all her passion and elation, adrenaline and ecstasy. No wonder the ability deals damage to her as well. Everything that she is, has ever been, and will ever be, explodes out of her. A few yards away, Pechorin watches on in awe. ¡°Ow, fuck!¡± Natsuko said, falling sideways and jarring her neck and wrists against the pillory as it banged against the floor. Sofiane laughs¡ªno, laughed¡ªat her misfortune. Time periods were mixing up in Natsuko¡¯s head. Past and present and past. Waking up sober sucked ass. She preferred the oblivion of falling asleep drunk because there were no dreams or memories in the abyss of booze. While Natsukos was recovering from consciousness, Shuixing snapped her fingers, an idea coming to her with the bang of Natsuko¡¯s pillory hitting the floor. ¡°Guys, what if Natsuko was right? What if that Pengwu is the key?¡± Shuixing said. Sofiane yawned, waking up from his own, much more comfortable nap. ¡°You mean steal the golden bananas and convince him to work for us?¡± Shuixing shook her head and looked down at her feet with a guilty look. ¡°No, I mean¡­ if we got Natsuko¡¯s bottle back¡­ we um, we could¡­¡± Natsuko¡¯s and Sofiane¡¯s jaws dropped. Pechorin¡¯s didn¡¯t only because he was focused on a suitable third line for a poem. Chapter 64 - Distracted by Beauty ¡°Shui¡­ you really wanna kill that Pengwu?¡± Natsuko asked. Shuixing, unable to say it outright, swallowed and nodded. ¡°Jeez, I mean¡­ yeah, that¡¯d do it,¡± Sofiane said, running his fingers through his hair. ¡°Not that we have the bottle with us either since it¡¯s in evidence lock-up.¡± ¡°Is anyone gonna ask if I even want to use my bottle for that!?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Weren¡¯t you saying repeatedly you were going to kill Zhidao when we were in Tianzhou?¡± Pechorin asked from behind her. ¡°That was hyperbole! Everything I say is hyperbole! I don¡¯t do normalbole, that¡¯s my thing!¡± Natsuko said, now unsure of what she would¡¯ve done had she caught the little fox. Reality had a funny way of intruding on her hyperfixations. ¡°Whatever. Point is, I¡¯m not going to use my bottle on this monkey. Not happening.¡± ¡°Would you let someone else use it?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Also no! Everyone thinks we¡¯re murderers right now and I¡¯m not going to make them right about it,¡± Natsuko said, wishing she could fold her arms right about now. Sofiane rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll think of something else.¡± What became clear, as their long, boring day dragged on into a long, boring afternoon, was that ¡°something else¡± was not coming to any of them except for Pechorin, whose only contribution was the unhelpful suggestion of fighting their court case legally. At some point, both Shuixing and Sofiane came to the same conclusion and waited for Natsuko to drift off to sleep so they could discuss it. Once they heard loud snoring, they convened. ¡°So, we agree on dimension-jumping the monkey, yeah?¡± Sofiane whispered. Shuixing nodded. A deep frown betrayed her own disappointment in herself. It wasn¡¯t that Natsuko was wrong about killing Saruga vindicating the Heroes hunting them. But Natsuko also didn¡¯t understand how much danger they were in. There was no way of telling how long until more dimension-jumping weapons made their way into the hands of the other Heroes. And if the Empress threw them in prison through some Yishang-scripted event, they were sitting ducks waiting for those other Heroes to find them. Even if Natsuko wasn¡¯t willing to do what it took to survive, Shuixing was, and that meant using the bottle when their back was against the wall. ¡°If we can find some way to distract the guards, I can go get the bottle,¡± Sofiane said. Shui glanced over at Pechorin who was laying down on his cell cot with hands across his chest and fingers interlaced like he was resting in a coffin. She tapped a nail on one of the wooden bars. ¡°Pech!¡± she whispered. ¡°Hmm?¡± he said at full volume. Natsuko¡¯s snoring reached a crescendo as Shui waved her hand in a ¡°shut the hell up¡± motion. ¡°Can you distract the guards with your poetry?¡± ¡°I could,¡± he said, barely lowering his voice. ¡°Do you want me to do that so you can creep off and steal the bottle to kill Saruga with?¡± Shuixing froze. ¡°I¡­ I know it¡¯s bad¡­ but we don¡¯t¡ª¡± Pechorin raised one palm up from his chest in the laziest stop motion conceivable and spoke from his coffin-bed like a monologuing vampire. ¡°Stop. I hang now over a moral precipice. Right now, the worst parts of my nature are winning. I cannot help but think of the sheer dramatic escalation from someone such as yourself, hitherto the voice of innocence and mercy, corrupting your moral principles in a moment of desperation, to save precisely the person who protests your extreme methods. But should I¡ª¡± ¡°Save it for the guards, Pech, please!¡± Shuixing whispered. ¡°Very well.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Pechorin sat up and got out of bed and went to the bars of his cell and shouted. ¡°I wish to declaim poetry!¡± Sofiane and Shuixing jumped. ¡°You weren¡¯t supposed to start right away, mon ch¨¦ri!¡± Sofiane said. ¡°How are we supposed to slip out if the guards are coming here?¡± The two of them stood dumbfounded for a minute before a couple guards came to check in on them. ¡°This is the barbarian poet, eh?¡± one of the guards said at full volume. Shuixing stole a glance at Natsuko. Fortunately, her friend seemed to have an in-built defense mechanism to her sleep being disturbed by snoring even louder. ¡°Yes. It is I,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Well? Let¡¯s hear it then, poet-san,¡± the guard said with a snicker. ¡°Captivity is not suitable for poetic production. I do not mind being kept under watch, but you must take me somewhere with more beauty.¡± ¡°You want us to let you out of your cell so you can go outside and make poetry?¡± Pechorin nodded. Shuixing expected them both to laugh, but instead they seemed to be giving the idea serious thought. A moment later they went to ask the guard captain who came back and deliberated with them. Eventually, they settled on a compromise. ¡°Give us a poem on the spot, and if it¡¯s any good, we¡¯ll let you outside to compose more. One for each guard. Does that sound fair?¡± the guard captain said. Pechorin glanced up, then down, then side-to-side, taking in breaths so deep and long that Shuixing suspected he was doing them for dramatic effect, before finally nodding. ¡°In desolate jail, Blooms between heavy stone cracks¡ª A lone red flower.¡± Natsuko started leaning sideways. Sofiane lunged to catch her and set her upright before she could bang herself awake again. Pechorin¡¯s poem was met with enthusiastic praise from the guards who launched into an argument about its style and what could have been the source of its inspiration. Eventually, they declared the poet worthy and opened up his cell to escort him outside where he could work even more poetic magic for them. Once they were out of the room, a ball of purple lightning zipped between the wooden bars of the cell and Sofiane emerged out the other side. Easing a squeaking door open, Sofiane squeezed out to a stone walkway with arched openings facing the sea. Seawater dripped from the ceiling and palm trees waved on the hill below the windows. The view to the sandy shore, which the sun was just now turning into shimmering gold, gave Sofiane a feeling that reminded him of examining a new outfit. Was there a term for that? There had to be. Oh. Beauty. What a weird thing. Usually he thought about it in terms of what kind of beauty would increase his appeal to Celestials. He wasn¡¯t sure what to do with beauty when its object was a sunset. He couldn¡¯t wear it, or turn it into some change in his emanation. Maybe internalizing the beauty would somehow indirectly alter his personality and attitude in a way that would be more appealing to Celestials? A door at the end of the hallway startled Sofiane out of his rumination. Two guards emerged and came down the walkway before stopping at an opening. Both had cups of steaming tea which they set down on the sill they leaned on. Staring out to sea, one sighed and took a sip of tea while the other stretched. ¡°Long day, eh?¡± the stretcher asked his sighing partner. ¡°Aren¡¯t they all,¡± the sigher replied, cradling his teacup like a fragile bird. ¡°I like ¡®em better when they¡¯re boring. Keeping Heroes freaks me out. You never know when they¡¯re gonna get violent, especially that loudmouthed redhead. I¡¯m not questioning our dear Empress¡¯ decision, but shit, man, I wanna go home for dinner tonight without getting dismembered.¡± His partner grunted in agreement. After a few minutes, Sofiane¡¯s arms began to ache from holding himself pinched between two ceiling arches. If these two dipshits didn¡¯t wander off, they were gonna get killed by a Hero, he thought. Fortunately, once their tea was finished, they headed off somewhere else, leaving Sofiane to drop down to the floor. He turned his head towards the sunset again and the same aching feeling of beauty washed over him. What in the world did the Non-Heroes get out of it though? It wasn¡¯t like they had emanations or Use-Numbers to worry about. Shaking his head, Sofiane continued his jaunt down the corridors of the jail, making a few rights and lefts through a labyrinth of cells where Non-Heroes had been locked up. Most were rebel soldiers, but a handful looked like the banal and harmless variety of Non-Hero who stood around waiting for a Hero to push quests on. A few looked up at him and watched him pass, but he wagered their love for the Empress was not enough to snitch, assuming they even knew that he himself was a prisoner and not a bored Hero combing for obscure loot. Eventually he arrived at a steel-barred door: The evidence lock-up. Inside sat crates and chests and boxes and racks full of all kinds of weapons and armor and tools of criminality. But Sofiane was there for a specific one. Using Ball Lightning, he hopped through the bars and started rooting through the piles of junk for the bottle. It couldn¡¯t have been buried deep, he reasoned. After all, they¡¯d only been imprisoned for a little less than 24 hours. Some of this stuff looked like it¡¯d been there for years. It didn¡¯t take Sofiane long to find Pechorin¡¯s guns neatly placed in a fur-lined lacquer box and he grabbed those too. Shuixing¡¯s rod had been tossed in a random corner, their gliders and default outfits stuffed in a chest, and their accumulated useless quest items dumped in a big barrel. There was even an Uncommon rapier lying around with some not-so-great stats that would at least let Sofiane use his Perfect Parry. What he did not find, however, was a three foot tall, empty bottle of wine. Sofiane put his hands on his hips, puckered his lips, and arrived at the conclusion that this was not good. Chapter 65 - When One is Annoyed with a Lifelong Friend ¡°Are you sure you looked everywhere for it!?¡± Shui asked in a strained whisper. ¡°There aren¡¯t that many places you can hide a giant wine bottle, Shui. Someone else has it, and I think we can both make a guess who that is.¡± Shuixing¡¯s face was even paler than usual. ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­¡± ¡°That the Empress would try and execute us with it? I don¡¯t think so. Probably she just needed us out of the way so she could stash it somewhere. Whoever does have the bottle gets one shot to use it as a surprise before word gets out, and if it is the Empress¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯ll save it for Yuna,¡± Shuixing replied, finishing his sentence. It was strange, ever since they¡¯d collaborated on card strategy, Shuixing found herself more and more aligned with Sofiane¡¯s way of thinking, and less with Natsuko¡¯s. Whether his thoughts were any healthier, she didn¡¯t know, but she preferred Sofi¡¯s constant scheming to Natsuko¡¯s defeatism. She hadn¡¯t even noticed how much her friend¡¯s attitude bothered her until being around people who thought differently. Nonetheless, things weren¡¯t completely screwed yet. There was time to steal the bottle back. And even if¡ªor rather when¡ªword got out to other Heroes about their escape from the Empress, all Shui and them had to do was hide in the jungles and hold out for Daisy¡¯s return. That was all. They could do this. ¡°Do you think we can find where she hid it?¡± Shui asked. Sofiane gave a dry chuckle. ¡°At this rate, Pechorin might be able to serenade her into giving it back.¡± The door to the chamber burst open with raucous laughter and cheering as a gaggle of guards steered a wobbly Pechorin¡ªhis garnet-colored tie pulled up around his forehead like a bandana¡ªback to his cell. As a parting gift, they left him a gourd of rice wine and a scroll of calligraphy inscribed with one of his poems. After a round of good-byes peppered with in-jokes that left Sofi and Shui baffled, the guards left for the night. ¡°Oh man, you guys, Shikijima is honestly pretty great!¡± Pechorin said, abandoning his usual effort to sound dark and brooding. Somehow, even Pechorin¡¯s drunk shouting didn¡¯t wake Natsuko up. What did was falling over again before Shui or Sofi could catch her. The wooden pillory smacked against the floor. ¡°Gods-fucking-dammit!¡± Natsuko pointed her palms down and set the boards on fire with a Fire Gale. Within moments she was yelping in pain from her ill-conceived action. Shuixing sighed and dinged her rod that Sofiane pilfered from the evidence locker. The burned wood crumbled off of Natsuko and the burns healed, leaving behind scorch marks. ¡°Not sure being uncooperative is gonna help our court case,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Okay, well, next time, you get to wear the annoying chunky necklace, puffball. Oh, is that booze?¡± Pechorin looked like a deer in carriage-lights clutching his gourd of wine. Natsuko flailed an arm through the bars. ¡°Gimme, gimme, gimme!¡± ¡°It won¡¯t fit through the bars,¡± Pechorin replied. Natsuko grabbed one of the thick wooden bars in two places and snapped off a chunk. ¡°Now it will. Give.¡± ¡°If you compose me a poem¡ª¡± Being slightly too far away for her to reach, Natsuko grabbed a sandal and hit Pechorin¡¯s head with it. ¡°No poems, just liquor!¡± Under the pressure of Natsuko¡¯s endless persistence and his own barely-disguised crush on her, Pechorin relinquished the gourd and Natsuko guzzled like it was a waterskin. Only, unlike water, Natsuko made damn sure that even the tiniest trickle was swabbed with a finger and stuck in her mouth so that nothing went to waste. After a passionate make-out session with the neck of the bottle, she pulled away with a sigh. ¡°Oh yeah! There we go! Already in a better mood,¡± Natsuko said. Having satiated one of her basic needs, Natsuko turned to her favorite pastime of letting everyone else know how bored she was. This went on for almost an hour before it was interrupted.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Guys this sucks¡ª¡± ¡°Shut. Up.¡± The words themselves weren¡¯t necessarily a surprise, except that instead of coming from Sofiane, they came from Shuixing. After an awkward silence, Natsuko said, ¡°you good, Shui?¡± ¡°No! I¡¯m obviously not! And I¡¯m getting worse every time you talk about how bored you are! So please, Natsu, please, shut up.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ okay then,¡± Natsuko said, sliding to the floor against one of the unbroken cell bars. Shuixing laid down to sleep facing away from her. Sofiane stood in-between them, not sure what to make of the argument. ¡°Wow,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Shut up,¡± Natsuko said. No one had anything to say after that. Natsuko kept waiting for Shui to apologize for snapping at her and then, realizing this was probably not going to happen, and that maybe Natsu might even need to be the one to apologize, debated whether or not it would make Shui more irritated to do so. Worst of all, the mood drop killed the buzz she¡¯d gotten from the rice wine. Tipsy, cranky, and bored, Natsuko decided to pick the best of all possible options and went back to sleep. ~~~ Shuixing sits atop a watchtower on Mt. Kibai. Her legs dangle below, swaying above the miles of tangled jungle they¡¯ve just fought through to complete their quest. It wasn¡¯t a hard quest, just rescuing an Imperial archeologist captured by rebels. In fact, it had been on the backburner since they first arrived in Shikima. Their party is in that awkward, in-between time. Before the Yishang de-Mists a new region, but after they¡¯ve beaten back the advance of the Entropic Axis in Shikijima. These periods always make Shuixing feel a little funky. Hemiola sighs and sits down next to her on the watchtower, his messy black curls falling into his eyes. His lute lays across his lap. ¡°Did Natsu piss you off again?¡± Hemi asks. Shuixing gazes at the space between her feet. She doesn¡¯t like drama, or perpetuating drama. ¡°N-No, I-I¡ª¡± Hemiola laughs. ¡°I¡¯m taking that as a yes. Don¡¯t worry, I feel the same. I think the drop from #1 to #3 messed her up a little more than she wants to admit.¡± Shuixing nods. For the past two weeks, Natsuko has been manic about trying on new outfits, saying out-of-character things to try and nudge her emanation towards being more¡­ provocative, and murdering mobs by the dozen to farm insignificant bits of experience. This mania also manifests in blowing up at her teammates who, in her words, ¡°were destined for the bottom of the Use-Rankings¡± if they, ¡°continued being lazy pieces of shit.¡± Shuixing kicks her feet back and forth and stares up at clouds. She used to find shapes in them. Now they seem like symbols for her own idleness, reminders that she isn¡¯t doing anything productive at the moment. ¡°I know we have to fight the Entropic Axis, Hemi, I know that. I just¡­ I want a break from it. I want to have time to do things that aren¡¯t, well, clearing dungeons or completing quests or fighting giant monsters all the time,¡± Shuixing says, interrupted by two or three sighs. Hemiola picks up his lute and plucks out slow, faint notes on it that lay below speaking volume. It¡¯s in a major key, but Shuixing can¡¯t help but think it sounds a little sad, like newfound hope that everyone else knows is going to be dashed. ¡°You may get that wish sooner than you think, dear Shuixing,¡± Hemi says, humming in chordal harmony with his lute. Something about the way he says this makes her nervous. And something about her own nervousness seems deeper and more significant than just passing concern. Her swinging legs come to a halt. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Has anyone chatted with you about the recently summoned Heroes?¡± Shuixing shakes her head. Her social sphere is basically just Natsuko, Pechorin, Hemiola, and Frederick. She leaves the schmoozing to the others. ¡°Remember how the ones summoned in Tianzhou were a little stronger than us when we were summoned, right?¡± he asks. Shuixing¡¯s mind, the workhorse that it is, makes the connection. ¡°The new ones must be even stronger. But the difference¡­¡± Shuixing bites her lip. ¡°It¡¯s not linear, is it?¡± Hemiola plucks a string harder than intended. ¡°No. It¡¯s exponential.¡± ¡°So then¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re not catching up to them, Shui. Not even if our resident Fireball spends every waking moment farming experience points. We¡¯ve got maybe one or two more regions after Shikijima in us before we¡¯re phased out entirely. We need to start thinking about what happens next.¡± ¡°Next, huh? I guess that could be¡­¡± Shuixing¡¯s eyes wander up to the clouds again. Wasn¡¯t this what she was wishing for? A break from the endless adventuring and heroics? A passing of the torch to newer Heroes who hadn¡¯t had their own adventures yet? Two years was a long time by her frame of reference. It was, in fact, the length of time that this world had existed in its de-Entropized state. Maybe this would be a good thing once Natsuko settled down and accepted it. And yet, below her surface optimism lay something whose existence she would refuse to admit for another year: Dread. Bang. Bang. Bang. ~~~ ¡°The Empress has summoned the three of you to stand trial for your crimes against the Empire of Shikijima,¡± Tatsuda, the guard from yesterday, announced while smacking an empty scabbard against the wooden bars of the cell. The pale light of morning met Shuixing¡¯s gaze as her eyes forced themselves open. It took a bit of eye rubbing and muscle stretching before she noticed that Natsuko was gone. Chapter 66 - A Crash Course in Shikijiman Politics ¡°What did you do with Natsuko?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°The Empress ordered that she be dealt with separately,¡± Tatsuda said. ¡°We became Shikijiman citizens so we could be tried with her! You tell the Empress that we¡¯re not going until she tries all four of us at the same time!¡± Shuixing said, her voice loud and authoritative. Sofiane put a hand on her small shoulder, heaving in anger. ¡°Shui, I don¡¯t think this is the hill to die on¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what that¡ª that¡ª tedious Empress is up to, and I refuse to be separated until I know.¡± The guards grimaced. Tatsuda folded his hands and cleared his throat. ¡°Out of respect for the great poet Kurashi, we will ignore Her Imperial Majesty¡¯s name being slandered, however¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck her. I¡¯m staying right here,¡± Shui said, folding her arms. Tatsuda exhaled and with an uncomfortable expression, motioned for a guard by the door to open it. Into the room floated a monkey on a cloud snacking on a golden banana. ¡°Hey guys! Uh, sorry about this, but the Imperial Banana-distributer told me to go ahead and have the Yishang draw up a little event for us¡­ so¡­ yeah,¡± Saruga said, reaching back to scratch his butt. Sofiane paled. ¡°This¡ª this is a private event, right? There wasn¡¯t an announcement to the Heroes or anything, r-right?¡± Saruga shrugged. ¡°The Yishang didn¡¯t tell me to go advertise it, but I can¡¯t speak for my fellow Pengwu.¡± That was how news of important, interregional events was spread: Your friendly neighborhood Pengwu told you. That was why it¡¯d been so important to have Zhidao around in the early days, Shui thought. She wondered if that information stream went both ways. But¡­ Why hadn¡¯t she ever thought of that before? It seemed like such an obvious fact that the Yishang could receive information from the Pengwu. However, just like how it never occurred to her before that strange, empty dungeon that debris should probably not dissolve into the ground mysteriously, obvious things were sometimes so obvious they hid in plain sight. But that also meant the Yishang weren¡¯t omniscient¡­ Did she already know that? Or did she just feel like she already knew that? Things were starting to get fuzzy. ¡°Shui, are you okay?¡± Sofiane asked, putting his hand on her back to steady her. ¡°O-Oh, y-yeah, just a little dizzy,¡± she said. ¡°Enough delay. If we don¡¯t get moving, we¡¯ll be the ones in trouble,¡± Tatsuda said. Protesting and dragging their feet wouldn¡¯t get them anywhere. Now that this was a Yishang-sanctioned event, their usual powers were sapped. It didn¡¯t matter if they were as strong as Daisy, if the Yishang marked a certain area as being part of a story event, Heroes were equal to each other, and barely stronger than a Non-Hero. Combine that with the fact that Abilities were locked unless the Yishang let you use them (felt as a kind of ¡°cue¡±) and suddenly Non-Hero guards were a deadly threat. Their katanas and halberds weren¡¯t a design aesthetic anymore. Worse still, there was a rumor that this ¡°event¡± state was one of the few instances¡ªalong with dimension-jumping¡ªwhere permanent death was possible. No one had confirmed this, since going along with the Yishang¡¯s implied script kept you safe (and usually entailed a handsome temporary boost in Use-Number anyway), but important villains such as the Entropic Axis¡¯ Generals, when they were killed during an event, did not reappear. Sofiane ruminated on this as they were led from their cells through the streets towards the palace complex. More Non-Heroes came out to watch this time, pointing and whispering at them as they passed. Shui and Pech barely noticed, but Sofiane was simmering with humiliated rage. The Empress had earned his respect, but not these glorified set dressings. These peasants ought to be averting their gaze.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The palace complex was swarming with even more Non-Heroes, mostly servants and guards hurrying about trying to spruce the palace up. Sofiane¡¯s fear was that this was in anticipation of hosting a bunch of Heroes. What did Sadako stand to gain by making this a big public thing? Or maybe she hadn¡¯t expected the Yishang to turn this event into a big thing and was scrambling to get things ready? Or maybe she thought it would draw Yuna out. Sofiane couldn¡¯t picture Yuna falling for such easy bait, or wanting to subject herself to being inside of an event where her enormous stats and overpowered Abilities couldn¡¯t help her. In fact, he wondered how many Heroes would come at all if they thought a homicidal Natsuko was still waving her bottle around. He was pretty sure the bottle could still do the job whether there was a special event or not. Through the tumult in the courtyard, they were led once again into the main palace building and then off to a different wing which housed a much larger court accommodating an audience of several hundred people along with mats for kneeling bureaucrats and officials. At the far end was the Hibiscus Throne, moved from the other chamber. It sat empty. Shuixing, Sofiane, and Pechorin were led past the audience seats towards their own mat on the floor facing the throne where they were made to kneel. ¡°They better not make me kneel the entire time,¡± Sofiane grumbled. Even he could hear the impotence in his voice. Dear gods did it suck being in an event. Shuixing knelt on his right, her arms neatly folded in front of her and her eyes wide in an expression that he couldn¡¯t pin down as frightened, focused, numb, or in a trance, but some combination of all four. It all seemed very dire. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Kurashi! Beat the charges!¡± Sofiane and Shuixing turned their heads to witness thirty or so leather-skinned fishermen barging into the courtroom with flags and banners with things like ¡°Free Pechorin ¡®5,¡± ¡°Pechorin did nothing wrong,¡± and ¡°poetry isn¡¯t illegal¡± written on them. Sofiane resisted the urge to rub his eyes at the bizarre assembly. Pechorin himself nodded their way and after the fisherman sat down in the audience declaimed, ¡°Though animals chew The proud willow, leaf-by-leaf¡ª Its roots remain strong.¡± This made the crowd go absolutely wild. Not just the fishermen, but the bureaucrats filing to their seats. The state-officials in charge of the prosecution sweated and mouthed oaths at this refined and eloquent plaint. To Sofiane and Shuixing, this poetry thing had seemed like a joke, but apparently Pechorin stumbled onto a cheat skill for navigating Shikijiman politics. The atmosphere once the fishermen showed up became strangely light, as though all of this was less a trial for illegal border crossing and treason and more of an informal get-together of peers. The ¡°peer¡± part was what really rubbed Sofiane the wrong way. These random Non-Heroes were assuredly not his peers. While Sofiane was seething, Shuixing leaned across him to ask Pechorin, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Isn¡¯t this supposed to be some kind of dictatorial kangaroo court?¡± ¡°Oh, right,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°I forgot to mention to you all, but the guards were telling me last night during the haiku party that the totalitarianism thing is a joke. They keep up appearances to make the Empress happy, but no one actually cares. They don¡¯t really have the state capacity to do all that surveillance anyway.¡± Sofiane scoffed. ¡°You really believe that? When I was sneaking over to the evidence locker, I saw cells full of¡ª¡± Pechorin waved his hand. ¡°Oh, they rotate turns being the oppressed masses. There¡¯s a sign-up sheet for who has to spend the night in jail so that the Empress gets to feel like she¡¯s ruling with an iron fist because her prison is overflowing.¡± Shuixing blinked and shook her head. ¡°So¡­ What is all this about then? The Empress is taking this extremely seriously.¡± Pechorin chuckled. ¡°So long as she feels like she¡¯s tricking people, she¡¯s easy for the other Non-Heroes to manage, since people who are convinced they aren¡¯t fooled are the easiest to fool. And the Empress ends up convincing herself she¡¯s a puppet-master when she uses Saruga to exploit the Yishang, as if the Yishang themselves aren¡¯t aware of what she¡¯s doing.¡± The way Pechorin was explaining this sounded like it was lifted verbatim from what the prison guards had been telling him. Shuixing nodded numbly, not quite sure what to make of it all. By the way the fishermen were loudly trading insults with the court officials over each other¡¯s poetic sensibilities, the idea of the Empress¡¯ ¡°iron fist¡± did seem a bit silly. But something else bugged her¡­ The bottle. Natsuko¡¯s bottle was still missing. Probably in the hands of the Empress. And it didn¡¯t matter how much of a joke she was to the other Non-Heroes, having that bottle alone made her scary. And then there was the Empress¡¯ order that Natsuko be, ¡°dealt with separately.¡± Shui had been sure the bottle was meant for Yuna earlier, but now she wasn¡¯t so certain. For as much as Natsuko had irritated her recently, the thought that she might be force dimension-jumped by the Empress was a horrifying one. ¡°All bow before the Honorable Judge, Minister of the Left,¡± announced a herald. Everyone except Sofiane and Shuixing prostrated themselves. ¡°Are they gonna say his name, or¡­?¡± Sofiane muttered out the side of his mouth. ¡°That is his name,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°I hate Shikijima¡­¡± Minister of the Left emerged from a side room with the quiet shuffle of a shoji screen. The unassuming grandpa was draped in garnet robes and kanmuri hat with a sheathed sword belted to his side. He was assisted by the same herald to a seated mat in front of the throne facing the court. The room was silent in reverence for the geriatric official who was wetting his dry, wrinkly lips. After a moment, Minister of the Left broke the silence. ¡°Num. Num. Eh¡­ what was this about again?¡± Chapter 67 - Passing Judgment on Matters of Personal Importance Sofiane was about to fall on his face. Apparently, not that anyone thought to tell him, this was a comedy event. The Yishang had a sense of humor. Great. He¡¯d be laughing too if it weren¡¯t for the fact that this made them easy prey for any passing Hero who might want to pick them off. He needed to wrap this up. Quickly. While an official was informing Minister of the Left what exactly was going on, Sofiane nudged Pechorin with his foot. ¡°Do a poem.¡± Pechorin shook his head and whispered. ¡°It¡¯s not the right moment.¡± ¡°The right moment!? What the hell¡ª¡± ¡°Quiet! Show some respect, little girl,¡± said one of the Minister of the Left¡¯s guards. Pechorin tutted. ¡°Sofi, the one rule is you have to play along.¡± Sofiane¡¯s nostrils flared. He was going to remember this particular Non-Hero once the event was lifted and devote at least three days to hunting him down every morning. ¡°It has come to my attention,¡± Minister of the Left announced after having the case explained to him after the trial was already in session, ¡°that the three criminals here before us are guilty of numerous crimes against the Empire of Shikijima, including illegal border crossing, suspected espionage, and¡ª and¡ª¡± The minister shifted on his cushion and looked helplessly at his assistant. ¡°Treason, Minister.¡± ¡°Oh wow. Dreadful stuff,¡± Minister of the Left said. Swiveling back around on aching bones. ¡°How do you plead?¡± ¡°Not guilty,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Not guilty,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Guilty,¡± Pechorin said. The crowd gasped. Sofiane rolled his eyes. He could envision the entire thought process that Pechorin had put into his answer, which was a flow chart of ¡°Do you want drama?¡± leading to ¡°Yes.¡± Minister of the Left stroked his thin, wispy beard. ¡°Interesting. And this one¡­ he is the barbarian poet I have heard stories of?¡± ¡°How does everyone on this stupid island already know about your damn poetry!?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°The true poet,¡± Pechorin said, ¡°does not seek to produce a work to accommodate the current fancy, but to pull truth itself out of the air to free oneself and others from the rut of conventional thinking.¡± Sofiane stared at him for a moment. ¡°Did you tell your fishermen friends to go advertise for you?¡± ¡°No, they did it themselves,¡± Pechorin said. Sofiane rubbed his temples. So long as it could get them out of this special event quicker, he wasn¡¯t going to quibble about Pechorin¡¯s poetry. Though it did bother him that he couldn¡¯t figure out which stat made Pechorin¡ªat least according to Shikijiman tastes¡ªso good at it. Did Pechorin have a relatively high Insight stat? No, that was impossible. Pechorin didn¡¯t put points into making his Elemental abilities stronger, so there was no way. Maybe Cognition? But if that was the case, wouldn¡¯t Shuixing be an even better poet? While Minister of the Left grilled Pechorin about his artistic philosophy, Sofiane nudged Shuixing. ¡°Hey, are you any good at poetry?¡± he asked. ¡°What? No,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Physics is my poetry.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t figure out what stat Pechorin is pulling his poetry skill from.¡± Shuixing gave Sofiane a strange look. For some reason it made him uncomfortable. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s tied to a stat,¡± she said. Before Sofiane could ask her what she meant, Minister of the Left interrupted. ¡°The State of Shikijima will now present its evidence for the charge of illegal border crossing,¡± Minister of the Left declared in a voice fighting for its life not to blow chunks of phlegm. An official stood and padded over in front of the Minister and displayed to him and then the rest of the court an Opto-box picture showing a very wet Sofiane flapping himself dry on a dock. He flipped through several other pictures including one of Shuixing gliding across the bay, Natsuko careening through the air with fire coming out of her feet, and Pechorin casually walking off the gangplank while the customs officers were talking with the captain of the ship. ¡°As you can see here, Minister, the defendants all sought to illegally circumvent our border security measures in order to infiltrate our glorious Shikijiman Empire for their nefarious purposes,¡± the official said. ¡°And what have you three to say to that?¡± Minister of the Left asked. ¡°The whole law is stupid!¡± Sofiane said, ¡°Non-Heroes can¡¯t keep Heroes from entering a region! You¡¯re interrupting our work in¡ª in fighting the Entropic Axis and¡ª¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°And so you think you¡¯re above the law, is that it?¡± Ministero of the Left asked. The room murmured, clearly finding Sofiane¡¯s argument less than convincing. Insulting, even. Pechorin bowed slightly with his palms on the floor. ¡°Minister, if I may?¡± Minister of the Left nodded. ¡°The autumn winds blow, And the farmer picks his gourd By heaven¡¯s command,¡± said Pechorin. The court went fucking nuts for that one. The fishermen were on their feet, stomping and clapping, others in the audience were muttering words of astonishment at the elegance and refinement of this strange Hero, and even the court officials themselves were humming appreciatively, the greatest compliment they could give in their esteemed position. ¡°Ho-ho¡­¡± Minister of the Left said, popping open a fan from his kimono and fanning himself with it. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, eh? Now I understand your guilty plea. Fair enough. You are acquitted of the charges of illegal border crossing.¡± Pechorin¡¯s face, as he gave a small nod to the Minister, was transcendently neutral. Not even a hint of pride passed across his face. This, more than the poem, was what impressed Sofiane. He himself would be gloating right about now. ¡°Well then,¡± Minister said, snapping his fan closed and pointing it at Pechorin, ¡°let us see how you deal with the charge of espionage, Kurashi.¡± ¡°Wait, are we also acquitted?¡± Shuixing asked. Minister of the Left¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Why should that be the case? You certainly have done nothing to defend your obvious transgression.¡± Pechorin cleared his throat. ¡°May I add a couplet to my poem, Minister?¡± ¡°You may.¡± ¡°The autumn winds blow, And the farmer picks his gourd By heaven¡¯s command. Yet ¡®tis from the Earth he comes, And for his fellows he farms,¡± Pechorin declaimed. Minister of the Left grinned. ¡°Very well then. Howsoever I judge your crimes, Dark Poet, so too shall your friends be judged.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± Sofiane whispered with a light punch to Pechorin¡¯s side. While this was going on, Shuixing was trying to figure out why the Shikijiman officials weren¡¯t cracking down on the raucous behavior of the audience. She had been expecting something much more serious and official, yet the fishermen currently chanting ¡°Beat the charge! Beat the charge!¡± seemed as far from official as you could get. Shikijima hadn¡¯t been like this at all when she, Natsuko, and Pechorin first came here years ago. The previous Emperor¡¯s dictatorship had been serious business. Shui wanted to ask Pechorin what was going on here, since he¡¯d become an expert on Shikijima, but she didn¡¯t want to distract him from his poetry. ¡°Now, as to the matter of your espionage on behalf of a rebel group¡­¡± Minister of the Left said. Everyone went silent while Pechorin thought through his next poem. Shuixing couldn¡¯t tell whether this was all an act with the foregone conclusion that they would be acquitted, or if the minister was seriously judging them based on Pechorin¡¯s output. ¡°A blind squirrel gathers For the coming winter. Nuts! Rocks shaped like acorns.¡± The court erupted into laughter at the punchline. Shuixing looked behind her to see the audience passing around a gourd full of rice wine and flasks full of plum rum. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. ¡°Hungry¡ªthe squirrel cracks his teeth, And says, oh good, some crumbs too!¡± Minister of the Left added before slapping his knee and launching into his own wheezing laugh. Pechorin joined the laughing crowd with this. Sofiane just held his face in his hands. ¡°Shui?¡± he said. ¡°Y-Yes?¡± she replied. ¡°I think we got force dimension-jumped and ended up in hell.¡± Minister of the Left cracked his fan again and wafted. ¡°Oh my. You¡¯ll do my lungs in, Kurashi, you really will. You are officially acquitted of the charges of espionage. Now, onto the¡ª hehe¡ª the matter of¡ª snrk¡ª treason, hehehe.¡± The official to the Minister¡¯s right gave a faithful account of their breaches of l¨¨se-majest¨¦ including Sofiane calling the Empress a ¡°stupid bitch¡± that could ¡°go fuck herself,¡± Shuixing claiming that she was, ¡°not a very good ruler,¡± and, worst of all, Pechorin performing a poem with a 5-6-5 syllable scheme. Minister of the Left grinned. ¡°Very serious crimes indeed.¡± Pechorin responded without missing a beat. ¡°Like red hibiscus, My cheeks blush when I think Of¡ª oops, I flubbed it.¡± This earned another round of laughter. Sofiane felt his sanity fleeing with each poem. Nothing happening in this courtroom lay within the coordinates of his understanding of the world. Even the strange anti-dungeons they¡¯d messed around to cheat the Use-Rankings made more sense than this. Looking over to Shuixing, he found her just as baffled. ¡°Your wit could make a rapier consider a career change, Kurashi. It would be a terrible waste to lock you up in our prisons, so I am given no choice but to acquit you and your friends of all charges in my capacity as the distributor of Her Imperial Majesty¡¯s justice,¡± Minister of the Left said. Sofiane felt some measure of relief since it meant that the event they¡¯d been forced into would be over soon. However, there was still the matter of what was happening with Natsuko. Clearly the event wouldn¡¯t end until she¡¯d been dealt with, and unlike their own situation, the Empress herself took things seriously. ¡°Pechorin¡­¡± Sofiane whispered. ¡°We need to go find Natsuko as soon as possible.¡± ¡°The event takes as long as it takes,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°Yeah, well, the Empress has her bottle, so make it take less long, would ya?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± Pechorin¡¯s fists curled around the mat he was kneeling on. In the process of declaiming poetry, he¡¯d noticed the hold the Yishang had placed on the event area was slowly lifting, as though each verse freed him more and more. He didn¡¯t know if that only applied to him, or Sofiane and Shuixing too, but he had enough control back that clearing a way through the guards to get to Natsuko would be easy. So what was holding him up? If he was honest, he was having fun. For the first time in years, Pechorin was doing something that he and other people found worthwhile. He¡¯d played his archetypal role of misunderstood loner because, after doing it for so long, it felt like the only thing solid about himself. But in the span of two days, that changed. After being treated so well for his poetry, and finding a receptive audience for something so personal and important to him, the lone wolf act felt more and more like the coping mechanism it was. But freeing Natsuko meant attacking the Empress. The guards explained to him yesterday that these charges were basically jokes. However, attacking the Empress was not a joke. The moment he did, they would be kicked out of Shikijima. Permanently. There would be no group of fishermen coming to his defense and he would be locked out of the only place in Po-lin that had ever taken him as he was, without mocking his poetry or calling him a useless and forgotten Hero. Was that enough to abandon Natsuko for? He¡¯d had feelings for her since they were on a team together, but that was so long ago, and this Natsuko was a very different Natsuko from the one he¡¯d fallen for. Did that make a difference? ¡°No!¡± A scream echoed through the wooden halls of the Imperial Palace, one that could only have come from one, particularly loud, set of lungs. Pechorin drew his guns, silencing the laughter in the courtroom. A pair of guards stationed at the exit pointed their halberds towards Pechorin and he put one bullet between both of their eyes. Chapter 68 - Pechorin Has a Dream, or Maybe it’s a Memory Pechorin munches on a Shikijiman pineapple curry. A heat spreads from his mouth, down through his neck, his arms, his chest, and his legs. The muscles of his arm tremble with boosted attack power. ¡°Alright, we ready to try this gain?¡± Natsuko asks with a wide grin splashed across her face. Out of the four of them, she is the only one who isn¡¯t frustrated. Or, maybe she¡¯s the only one who isn¡¯t showing it. Shuixing moans a little. ¡°Natsu, maybe we should just grind a bit more and¡ª¡± Before she can finish, Natsuko cuts her off by throwing an arm around Shui¡¯s shoulder and squeezing, forcing a squeak out of her nervous teammate. ¡°Oh, my dear Shui, don¡¯t you know that fortune favors the bold? That the only thing we have to fear is fear itself? Okay, so what if we got beaten up a couple times? It¡¯s not like that¡¯s never happened before,¡± Natsuko says with a wink to Hemiola who, back in Verm?genburgh, died to a pitiful oni footsoldier because he wasn¡¯t paying attention to his HP. Hemiola doesn¡¯t find this funny. He crosses his arms and scowls at her. Pechorin, however, finds this at least a little funny. He decides better than to mention that fact, both because he doesn¡¯t want to irritate Hemiola and also because finding things funny is very uncool and undark and unmysterious. ¡°Every time a new region gets de-Misted it¡¯s a little harder. We know that. But, c¡¯mon guys, we still have a job to do! It just means we¡¯ve gotta stop second-guessing ourselves and worrying about hypotheticals and focus on doing our best. We¡¯ve memorized the Scytheworm¡¯s attack patterns and we¡¯ve gotten a little smarter and a little wiser every time. This one¡¯s gonna be the one, I feel it in my soul,¡± Natsuko says. ¡°Yeah? And what about our lowered stats?¡± Hemiola says. ¡°What about them!? Numbers can¡¯t substitute for tactics, Hemi,¡± she says, squeezing a helpless Shuixing to emphasize her point. Shuixing squeaks again. ¡°Natsu, please let me go!¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, sorry Shui!¡± The four of them are having this conversation on a cliff overlooking a massive, kilometer-wide sandstone pit. Down in its depths, past where lines of sand trickle ever downward like an hourglass, is the Scytheworm. Aka, the bane of their existence. On the face of it, the Scytheworm isn¡¯t too bad, it¡¯s just a giant sandworm into whose body the Entropic Axis slotted Magico-technic devices to cause earthquakes and sandstorms. All they have to do is go down there and kill it to complete a quest for the Padishah of al-Nuwba, something several teams of Heroes have already accomplished. The trouble is the numbers. The Scytheworm hits hard and hits fast. It can kill Shuixing in two hits, Hemiola and Pechorin in three, Natsuko in four, all from attacks that come out faster than they can dodge. As if that isn¡¯t bad enough, it has a massive health pool and damage can only be dealt to its mouth and its underbelly. And they¡¯re facing it after two deaths worth of stat loss. ¡°One more try,¡± Hemiola says. ¡°One more try and I¡¯m calling it quits.¡± ¡°What!? That¡¯s ridiculous! We have a mission to save the world from the Entropic Axis. That¡¯s not something you can just abandon,¡± Natsuko replies. Her optimism and her spunk make Pechorin¡¯s heart ache. To get knocked down so many times and still get back up is cool. It¡¯s supremely cool. It¡¯s a type of cool that is completely different from his aloof, emotionally unavailable cool. Or, maybe it isn¡¯t. Sometimes Natsuko is so optimistic and energetic it feels like she¡¯s operating on another plane of existence that no one else has access to. Hers is a different kind of emotional unavailability. Frederick learned that the hard way, and Pechorin learned through watching him. In his lonely hours, he wonders if there is something about being a Hero that is fundamentally lonely. ¡°No more thinking, time for doing. Let¡¯s do this!¡± Natsuko says. She skids down the sand, leaping between outcrops of sandstone that dot the rolling waves of sand. Pechorin and the others follow behind her, easing their way down the dunes. Even though Natsuko has sunk from #1 to #23, the way she bounds towards their next objective makes it feel like a temporary mistake. Natsuko¡¯s boots land on a solid platform of terracotta and the world trembles, just as it has the past two times. Knowing what¡¯s coming, Shuixing, Hemiola, and Pechorin spread out as they ride the sand down to the platform. A moment later, the Scytheworm bursts from the dunes that encircle the platform and writhes in the air as it falls towards Natsuko.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Their plan goes into action. Hemiola strums his lute giving Natsuko a speed boost. Shuixing backs up towards the opposite end of the platform to spread out aggro. Pechorin fires towards the worm¡¯s airborne stomach.. Pechorin¡¯s job is an easy one: shoot. He has long ago figured out that the Elemental scaling on his Abilities is bad. Really bad. Borderline useless. It¡¯s the kind of weakness that is barely noticeable in the easy fights of Verm?genburgh, but all the more obvious as newer, better Heroes are summoned whose Ability kits are much more effective. He, like Hemiola and Shuixing, realizes he has already become irrelevant. Through the smoke rising from his guns he watches Natsuko bait the Scytheworm towards the center of the platform then use her Fire Gale to dodge the worm¡¯s spiny maw. She escapes with an inch to spare, stabbing her sword into the ground to stop her momentum. He¡¯s seen her practice this movement every night for the past week after the others have gone to bed. Pechorin peppers the Scytheworm with his Flak Cannon to set up a Molten reaction with Natsuko¡¯s fire. Unfortunately, the worm does something different today. It writhes in Shuixing¡¯s direction. ¡°Shit! Shui, run!¡± Natsuko yells. Shuixing tries to sprint, but she¡¯s slower than the worm, and her Ability kit has no mobility skills. Before the Scytheworm catches her, however, Natsuko casts her Swap ability and trades places with Shuixing to take the HP-chunking hit for her. The worm slams down on Natsuko. Pechorin continues to fire his guns because that¡¯s all he¡¯s good for. After being spit out from the worm¡¯s mouth, Natsuko wobbles for a second. ¡°Just some bad luck!¡± she yells. The Scytheworm continues to fling itself across the terracotta platform. Of the four of them, only Natsuko can match its speed, and only by furiously cycling her Jack Abilities specifically picked for their mobility. What is obvious to everyone but her, though, is that speed means nothing. This worm is a gate, opening and closing to those whose numbers are high enough to proceed past it. Shuixing dies when they get the Scytheworm below three-quarters health and it activates an earthquake ability that is almost impossible to dodge. Hemiola dies when Natsuko sprints in front of him to parry the worm¡¯s spine missiles and only manages to deflect 6 out of 7 of them. By then it¡¯s obvious how this is going to end. ¡°We¡¯ve got this Pech. We¡¯re gonna shock the hell outta Shui and Hemi when they get resummoned, alright!?¡± Natsuko yells to him, sweat drenching her face. The Scytheworm isn¡¯t below half-health yet. ¡°Right,¡± Pechorin yells back. The two of them have been backed up against a sand dune by the thrashing worm. Natsuko¡¯s mobility skills are on cooldown, they¡¯re both almost out of HP, and neither has any healing items left. They have no chance of winning. What else is left to Pechorin other than to do something cool? ¡°You can do more with this health than I can,¡± he says. Natsuko looks to him, her eyes wild. ¡°What!? No, don¡¯t you dare!¡± Pechorin lets the worm hit him. His passive triggers as he dies and brings Natsuko back up to max HP. Maybe it doesn¡¯t change the outcome of the fight, he thinks, but that¡¯s not why he decides to do it. The next morning, after he wakes from that impenetrable gulf of time between shores of existence, he finds himself lying on a sand dune underneath the early morning sky poked through with a million starry pinpricks. Beside him, Shuixing and Hemiola are also waking up, as is Natsuko. He doesn¡¯t need to ask how the rest of the fight went. ¡°Well, that didn¡¯t go as planned,¡± Natsuko says, rocking forward into a sitting position on the sand, arms clasped around knees purple with bruises. ¡°Let¡¯s get some breakfast and then we can start planning for our next attempt.¡± Hemiola gets up out of the sand and dusts himself off. ¡°There¡¯s not going to be a next time, Natsu. I¡¯m quitting.¡± ¡°What!? Quit¡ª what is there to quit from!? This is what we do! We¡¯re Heroes, we do heroic shit! There¡¯s nothing else for us!¡± she yells, her voice carrying over the kilometers of desert that surround them. Hemiola shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do, I just know it won¡¯t be this. The Yishang keep summoning Heroes that are better and better. If they really wanted us, if they needed us, don¡¯t you think they have the power to bring us up to speed? And if they¡¯re not, then it means they don¡¯t want us to compete.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want us to compete? Hemi, what the hell are you talking about!? We¡¯re all in this fight together, to take down the Entropic Axis.¡± Hemiola laughs at that. It¡¯s a dark, acidic sort of laugh. Pechorin is torn about whether to be impressed with or frightened by it. Pechorin¡¯s the one who¡¯s supposed to be dour and brooding, Hemiola¡¯s archetype is the frivolous hedonist. ¡°If you don¡¯t get it by now, Natsu, maybe you never will,¡± Hemi says, turning away from them and trudging down the dune towards the distant lantern-light of al-Nuwba City. ¡°Get what!?¡± Natsuko says. When it¡¯s clear their former teammate is not about to turn around and continue arguing, she looks to her two remaining teammates. ¡°You know what? Who cares? There¡¯s plenty of Heroes around. Once we get back to al-Nuwba City we¡¯ll go find someone, invite them to our party, and have another go at the worm, yeah? Y¡¯all ready to go?¡± She says this, but for the first time since Pechorin has known Natsuko, which is as long as the two of them have existed, he sees something else in her eternally energetic, optimistic, excitable face: Sadness. Chapter 69 - Kazan-to, Mon Amour More guards came running at the sound of shooting. A stampede of thumping on the wooden floor announced their arrival. Pechorin was ready. With a wave of bullets, he turned the hallway into a shooting gallery with body after body dissolving into the ground. Dying in a special event... He could only pray the Yishang would take care of things. Carving his way through the hallway, he doubted anyone else but him had broken from the event. Breaking out required a special frame of mind. That was the trick of the event fields: They worked because the Yishang made it almost impossible to imagine that they didn¡¯t. Or, almost impossible. Sofiane and Shuixing had no chance of escaping. But for whatever reason, the strange mental place he withdrew to in order to compose his poetry seemed able to imagine things going differently. Guards from the courtroom poured through the door and Pechorin unleashed a Flak Cannon at them without looking in their direction. They were behind him, and Natsuko was somewhere in front. ~~~ Natsuko woke up that morning to a hand over her mouth. Before she could start getting violent, as she was wont to do, the guard standing above her whispered harshly. ¡°Not a peep. The Empress wants a word with you. Give us trouble, and it¡¯ll be your friends that get punished.¡± She answered the guard with a glare containing all the acid she¡¯d been saving for when she saw Daisy next. It was unfortunate it had to go to waste on a faceless guard. But she was that mad. Natsuko tore his hand off her mouth. With a balled fist, she punched the guard¡¯s neck hard enough that he crumpled. If there was any confusion remaining regarding how hard she hit him, his body dissolved into the floor. The other guards, fear in their eyes, leveled their halberds at her. She held her hands up. ¡°I¡¯m going, I¡¯m going. Just needed to relieve some stress is all,¡± Natsuko said. Unsure what to do about their fellow guardsmen¡¯s 24-hour timeout, they decided it was probably better not to second guess the violent Hero offering to go willingly. Rather than shoving her along as they had been, though, they formed a respectful bubble around her as they took her up towards the palace. Early in the morning, Shikijima had a strange air about it. Dawn was still a purple-pink blob hovering over the bay and birds were twittering in the fluttering pine trees and hibiscus bushes. The only other sound was the scuff of the guard¡¯s thatch-soled boots and the clip-clop of Natsuko¡¯s wooden sandals. It was the kind of scene that would be beautiful if she wasn¡¯t in a perpetual state of hungover or pissed off. The irony of Pechorin going gaga over Shikijima this time around was that it had been her on the first trip. The only thing that could peel her away from adventuring, it turned out, was the beach. When Natsuko came back by herself as a ¡°vacation¡± a month or so after finally giving up on adventuring, the magic was gone. Nothing was different, but it roused nothing in her. Not the hibiscus flowers, not the palm trees, not laying on the beach. The only thing she enjoyed on that trip was the plum rum. She supposed that¡¯s when her love of alcohol had started. Natsuko was drawn out of her thoughts by the thumping halberds of saluting guards at the palace gate. ¡°Hey, you all wanna tell me what the Empress wants from me?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°You are to be tried separately,¡± one of the braver guards said. ¡°Uh-huh. Did she say why?¡± ¡°That is between you and Her Imperial Majesty.¡± ~~~ Thump. Thump. Thump. Paper screens whizzed by as Pechorin pounded through the corridors of the palace. He¡¯d only heard Natsuko scream once and that was all he had to go off of. It sounded West. It sounded up. He took the stairs, taking a guard coming down them by surprise, grabbing his collar, and putting the barrel of his pepperbox pistol to the man¡¯s eye. ¡°The Empress, where is she?¡± The guard grit his teeth. ¡°I¡¯d rather die than betray my¡ª¡± He died. Another guard came running and Pechorin posed the same dilemma to him. ¡°Uh¡ª uh¡ª upstairs! Top floor!¡± Pechorin shoved him out of the way and plunged up the stairs, taking them two at a time. ~~~ ¡°Alright, what is it?¡± Natsuko said, her voice echoing across the large wooden chamber of the Empress private meeting hall. By this time the sun was high enough to throw beams of hazy light through the window slats. Sliding screens to her left obscured a balcony large enough to have its own manicured garden with magically-powered running water. On the far end of the hall the Empress leaned against a knee-high serving table with a tray of breakfast and tea on it, her ankle-length hair arrange behind her. The guards all tactfully buried their eyes in the floor since the Empress was only wearing a kimono instead of her 12-layered robe. Natsuko suppressed a snort. You still couldn¡¯t see an inch of skin except for the Empress¡¯ face and her hands curled around a mug of tea. Instead of responding to her, the Empress raised a finger to be quiet. Natsuko stood and waited. Right as she was wondering whether this was a prank, the bamboo tube of a s¨­zu clacked against a rock. The air seemed to change. Thicker, denser, less free. This was a special event field. And she was in danger. ¡°You lied! You said you wouldn¡¯t bring in the Yishang if we cooperated!¡± A guard¡¯s boot kicked out her knee and drove her to a kneeling position. She flailed and punched, but under the effects of the Yishang¡¯s intervention, the guards were suddenly as strong as her. It didn¡¯t take them long to gather up her thrashing arms and pin them behind her back. The Empress smirked. ¡°Lied? What a word to hear from a traitor¡¯s mouth.¡± ¡°Would you drop this traitor shit!? We both know backstories are a lie,¡± Natsuko said, testing the guard¡¯s ability to keep hold of her. ¡°They are indeed, but let¡¯s put that aside for now. It¡¯s bad manners not to offer a guest some food and drink. Would you like some?¡± the Empress asked, gesturing at the tray. Natsuko wanted to say, ¡°go fuck yourself!¡± but instead, her stomach growled. All she¡¯d had to eat in the past 24+ hours had been rice gruel, some pickles, and a gourd of wine. Plus, the tray had curry bread, and she really liked curry bread. ¡°Fine,¡± Natsuko said. Maybe it was due to overexposure to Sofiane, but she expected the Empress to come back with something humiliating like having to say, ¡°please¡± and ¡°thank you.¡± Instead, the Empress waved for a guard to fix her a cup of tea and a plate of food. Her arms were released, though Natsuko got the impression she was not allowed to stand up yet. Since finishing meant having to deal with the Imperial Pain-in-the-ass, she decided to drag out the eating process as long as possible. After almost twenty minutes of this, the Empress caught wise and snapped her fingers to have the food taken away.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Hey! I was still eating that!¡± Natsuko said as the guards snatched the curry bread out of her hand. ¡°And now you¡¯re done eating it,¡± the Empress said, standing up from her languid pose on the ground. ¡°Now, you¡¯re going to stand judgment.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? For my many crimes of having a made-up backstory?¡± Empress Sadako fixed Natsuko with an expression that hovered on the thin line between freezing and boiling in anger. ¡°For killing my father.¡± ¡°What!?¡± Natsuko yelled this loud enough to make the guards shoot for their halberds. Even under the effects of the event field, they were still frightened of her. ¡°We didn¡¯t kill anyone! We exorcized the former Emperor,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°What you did,¡± Empress Sadako said, pacing the floor in front of Natsuko, ¡°was completely change the only person I¡¯ve ever held dear.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a sec, you yourself said backstories were bullshit!¡± ¡°They are. But that wasn¡¯t what my father¡ªif you can call him that¡ªmeant to me. I loved him as a person, not as the roles we were supposed to play for the Yishang. I loved him when he flew into one of his tempers and I loved him in the tender moments when we talked on that balcony,¡± she said, gesturing at the garden. ¡°Wow, neat, but we didn¡¯t kill him! He¡¯s still around!¡± Natsuko said. The Empress closed her eyes and took a long, heavy breath. ¡°No. No he¡¯s not. What you left me with was a husk of a man. He dispenses pleasantreis if you press him, but there¡¯s no depth. He used to talk to me into the early morning about his fears and doubts, and about this hell we live in. That¡¯s the man I loved, not the one you left me with!¡± The longer she talked, the scratchier and more unhinged the Empress¡¯ voice became. Some of the chill from her icy glare crawled down Natsuko¡¯s neck and spine. She knew when Non-Heroes were in melodramatic speech mode. Everyone involved knew the stakes weren¡¯t as high as they were made out to be. But that wasn¡¯t what the Empress was doing here. Her anger was real. Personal. Not even Heroes talked like that. Natsuko bit her lip. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry that happened¡­ But that was the quest! Your father was harming his own citizens through misrule because he was possessed by a demon, and if we didn¡¯t stop him¡ª¡± ¡°Stop him!? His ¡°tyranny¡± was as bullshit as mine! My citizens take turns pretending to be jailed political dissidents because we¡¯re supposed to keep up appearances for the sake of you Heroes. You dear, chosen few that the Yishang love so much, who constantly need little ¡°quests¡± to complete or you go insane. And you want me to sympathize just because destroying the person I loved was part of one of these stupid ¡°quests?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t have a choice!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°If we didn¡¯t, another Hero would have completed that quest and exorcized your father. And¡ª and we¡­ we didn¡¯t know, okay? We were too busy fighting¡ª¡± Gods, she sounded so silly, ¡°¡ªfighting the Entropic Axis.¡± ¡°So you deserved the right to be the first greedy Hero to complete the quest instead of the next greedy Hero?¡± Empress Sadako asked. ¡°We thought we were doing something good! How the hell could we have known the Emperor was going to turn into a¡ª a¡ª¡± ¡°A zombie. That¡¯s the closest word,¡± the Empress said. ¡°And I¡¯m sure the next thing you¡¯ll do is try to claim that that¡¯s not such a bad fate, that it¡¯s a good thing that he¡¯s a blank slate of a person because he¡¯s happy now, is that it? Because you¡¯ll say anything to not admit guilt.¡± ¡°No,¡± Natsuko said. After what happened with Frederick, she knew better than to continue denying her culpability. She was guilty, through and through. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sadako. I regret what we did to your father. If there was a way for me to undo it, I would.¡± Sadako¡¯s chin trembled and for a moment it seemed like she was going to tear up, but the hard empress recomposed herself. ¡°Maybe,¡± she said. ¡°Maybe you would. But it doesn¡¯t matter, because you did. And the only way to make us square is to trade a life for a life.¡± Natsuko wondered for a moment whether the Empress had heard the rumors that permanent deaths were possible during events. It wouldn¡¯t work, though. The Yishang wouldn¡¯t let a Non-Hero kill a Hero in an event unless Natsuko was stupid enough to try and get herself skewered on a guard¡¯s halberd. ¡°Pin her down,¡± the Empress ordered. Four separate guards shoved Natsuko face-first into the floor, arms once again pinned behind her back. She struggled, but they were more than enough to keep her still. The Empress moved towards the balcony screen door, black hair trailing at her feet like a puddle of oil, and threw the doors open. Even with Natsuko¡¯s face pressed to the floor, she could still make out the shape of a huge, three foot wine bottle, resting on a set of chairs that faced the garden. The Empress picked up the bottle, cradling it like a newborn child. ¡°No!¡± ~~~ A group of guards formed a downwards-facing wall of halberds at the top of the staircase to greet Pechorin. He liked his guns, but they were not stealth weapons. Everyone in the palace knew about his rampage by now. But this was the final hurdle. He was getting through. His Desperation Art flicked on and he unloaded. Concentrated Fire was an almost hypnotic ability. He fired and it did the work. The guns themselves, firing at machine gun speed, moved from one body to the next, tearing the low-leveled guards to shreds. In a perverse way, it felt good. Before he knew it, the stairway was clear. Pechorin threw open the bamboo screens leading to the Empress¡¯ chamber. Natsuko was pinned to the floor by four guards. The Empress stood over her, bottle in hand. ¡°Drop the bottle,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be¡ª what happened to the event field!?¡± ¡°Poetry happened,¡± Pechorin said and then immediately regretted not thinking of something better to say. Natsuko laughed. ¡°Ahaha! Pech, what the hell was that!?¡± The Empress was not laughing. ¡°Shoot, and she goes through the ground.¡± Pechorin narrowed his eyes. He had a plan. It was risky, he wasn¡¯t 100% certain that it would work, but shooting his way to the Empress was just as risky to Natsuko¡¯s life. Well, sort of risky. That ¡°sort of¡± was pulling a lot of weight in his plan. But enough thinking. ¡°I¡¯ll sacrifice myself for Natsuko,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡± the Empress replied. ¡°No you won¡¯t!¡± Natsuko said, although her attempt to enforce this involved wriggling around on the floor helplessly while pinned under several boots. ¡°This is about your father, isn¡¯t it? The former Emperor?¡± Pechorin said. ¡°This is payback for exorcizing him.¡± Empress Sadako narrowed her eyes. ¡°How did you¡ª¡± ¡°A poetic eye is an open eye,¡± he replied, and it was almost a cool enough response to make up for ¡°poetry happened.¡± Her nostrils flared. ¡°And you think I¡¯ll be satisfied with killing you instead of the person responsible for turning my father into a simpleton?¡± ¡°Why not? Natsuko didn¡¯t harm you directly, she harmed someone you cared about. Wouldn¡¯t it be poetic justice to kill someone she cares about?¡± he asked. ¡°Pechorin what the hell are you talking about!? I don¡¯t care about you!¡± Natsuko yelled, her voice strained by a guard leaning a foot into her back. ¡°You¡¯d sacrifice yourself for her?¡± The Empress stepped forward and lifted Natsuko¡¯s scowling face from the floor with her foot. ¡°For a greedy, parasitic, self-centered, alcoholic Hero with a foul mouth and an even fouler personality?¡± Pechorin nodded. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he replied. ¡°Whatever is telling me to do this comes from the same place my poetry does: dark and violent and unknowable. When I think about my poetry, I don¡¯t have any interest in asking ¡°why?¡± I just know I have to do it.¡± ¡°Pech¡­¡± Natsuko said. A small, malicious smirk crept onto the Empress¡¯ face. ¡°Alright, you have my word, here, before my subjects, that if you submit to being dimension-jumped out of existence, I will let Natsuko and the rest of your friends go.¡± ¡°Pech stop! This is my responsibility! Keep your gods-damned, stupid, faux-edgy bullshit out of it, do you hear me!?¡± Natsuko said. Both Pechorin and the Empress ignored her, even as she yelled and cursed at them. As Pechorin knelt in front of Empress Sadako and cast his guns aside, Natsuko¡¯s curses got more creative, her impotent thrashing more urgent. In this world where no one died for real, it was hard to show someone how much you cared. The stakes didn¡¯t matter. How could you tell someone you¡¯d give your life for them if you had a new life to give every 24 hours? There were times even Pechorin didn¡¯t know if what he felt was really that serious. But now he knew. After showing the Empress where on the bottle to strike him, Pechorin asked if he could deliver one final poem. ¡°I would have to arrest myself for treason against the Shikijiman culture if I denied you that,¡± she replied. Looking up to the rafters of the great wooden hall, Natsuko¡¯s cursing floating through his ears, Pechorin composed his death poem. ¡°How brazen to judge¡ª The red hibiscus in Spring, Before her Fall bloom.¡± The Empress opened her mouth as though to respond with a couplet, but chose instead to speak plainly. ¡°You would have made a good Non-Hero,¡± the Empress said. She swung the bottle. ¡°No!¡± Chapter 70 - Thaw and Shatter Sacrifice, Pechorin supposed, was an aesthetic act. The form and style of a sacrifice contained its meaning. Reducing the act to mere content, you would have to call it pointless or wasteful, but to do so would be to deny its self-evident power. To put it another way, the style of a sacrifice was also its content. They were one in the same. This was how Pechorin rationalized the success of his plan. Either his plan failed and he wouldn¡¯t be alive to know it had failed, and thus his sacrifice was a true one, or his plan succeeded and he would be left with the much happier task of reconciling between his theory that true sacrifice entailed putting one¡¯s own life on the line, and the fact that he wasn¡¯t dead. Natsuko was going to be mad at him anyway when she found out he¡¯d been about 85-90% certain he wouldn¡¯t die by force dimension-jumping. As far as he was concerned, the fake act was just as impactful as the real act, and perhaps more so in its deliberate attempt to measure up to reality. Well, no, Natsuko was probably going to dimension-jump him herself. Pechorin stood up and looked around the unfamiliar room that lay exactly one floor below the top floor of the palace. In other words, the floor he¡¯d been dimension-jumped to. Unlike if he was standing directly on the ground, there was another geometric plane for him to get bonked to. ¡°Er, hello there? Can I help you?¡± said the former Emperor of Shikijima, Sada-no-Michi. He had a shock of gray hair that stuck straight up, bushy eyebrows, and a goatee that made him look like an overstuffed scarecrow. He was sitting on the floor with his legs tucked under a heated table and a cup of tea in hand. ¡°Not unless you know any cheat skills to calm someone down,¡± Pechorin replied. The Emperor laughed at that. ¡°No, but if you learn any, you should teach me.¡± Wanting to put off dealing with Natsu, Pechorin took a seat across from the former Emperor. This was without being invited, but he figured poetry could get him out of a social faux pas if need be. You could basically fix anything in Shikijima with poetry. Sada-no-Michi stroked his goatee. ¡°Hmm¡­ I know you from somewhere¡­¡± ¡°The exorcism?¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Aha!¡± he slapped the table. ¡°Right! Interesting times. I suppose I ought to thank you for that. Life has been a lot calmer since you pulled the Demon King out of me.¡± Sada-no-Michi took a sip of his tea and gazed wistfully out an open window at rolling clouds. Outside the room guards were stomping up and down the corridor looking for Pechorin. Pechorin frowned. ¡°I¡¯m curious why the Empress doesn¡¯t seem to share your gratitude.¡± ¡°Ah, Sacchan,¡± Sada-no-Michi said with a sigh. ¡°She¡­ has her own way of looking at things. My change of heart was a bit startling, I will give her that, but I have no desire to go back to the paranoid tyrant that I was. The totalitarianism was an act, but my rage at the state of our world was not. Not that I¡¯ve let go of all my concerns, of course, there¡¯s still a lot wrong with our world. But I can diagnose it now with a clear mind, rather than raging at every injustice.¡± ¡°Injustices like the way Heroes act?¡± Pechorin asked. Sada-no-Michi gave him a knowing smile and sipped his tea. ¡°That¡¯s certainly one of them.¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t you tried to bring the Empress around to your thinking?¡± ¡°Sacchan isn¡¯t ready to hear it. She looks at me and sees a broken man because what resonated with her was my anger and outrage and paranoia. Without them, I seem like an uncanny fake. But it just takes time. Believe it or not¡­¡± The former Emperor locked eyes with Pechorin and leaned forward. ¡°Not every problem can be solved by poetry. Just most of them.¡± ¡°Believe me,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°I know.¡± There was something in Pechorin¡¯s tone of voice that made the former Emperor ask, ¡°you¡¯ve got someone like my Sacchan?¡± ¡°I think in this metaphor I¡¯m her.¡± ¡°Mhm¡­ I see¡­¡± Sada-no-Michi stroked his goatee. ¡°By the commotion outside it certainly seems like you care about whoever this is.¡± ¡°I do. But I also feel¡­ frozen, I guess you could say. Like things are forever going to remain in limbo.¡± The former Emperor relaxed back onto his hands and twisted his back this way and that to a symphony of cracks. When he was done, he gazed up at the ceiling. ¡°If the outside won¡¯t change, then change the inside. That¡¯s what you¡¯re trying to do with your poetry, isn¡¯t it?¡± Sada-no-Michi said. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say a moment ago that poetry can¡¯t solve every problem?¡± ¡°No, but it¡¯s a tool to be used in the solution. You use a hammer to build a chair, but you wouldn¡¯t be happy sitting on a hammer, would you?¡± Pechorin shrugged. Even as his guard had been lowered, the ingrained habits of cool nonchalance were as present as ever. His very existence, even before his deliberate efforts to cultivate an archetype, was like a poem. Aesthetically perfect, and demanding aesthetic perfection from the world. Anything could be made cool when poured into that mold, even sleeping in a dumpster. ¡°I guess not,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°So, decide what you want to fix and let poetry help, rather than hoping poetry will be the fix,¡± the Emperor said. Fix? Pechorin wasn¡¯t sure what there was to fix. The world itself was built around hierarchies decided before he¡¯d even been summoned. He couldn¡¯t poeticize his way into better money, stats, and equipment. And he couldn¡¯t think of anything that he wanted to get rid of about himself. He was fine as he was, and the things he wanted to change were all outside himself. He explained as much to Sada-no-Michi. ¡°Sure,¡± the former Emperor said, taking another sip of tea, ¡°but if there¡¯s something you want to fix about the outside world, and you don¡¯t have the answer now, then you have to change into someone who does have the answer.¡± Pechorin pulled himself out from under the heated blanket and rose to his feet. The footsteps outside had subsided, so he was now free to slip away and go find the others, and especially Natsuko. He was fairly certain the Empress would keep her word, but his certainty floated in that same 85-90% range that he¡¯d given the floor below him catching him. He¡¯d feel a lot better if he saw Natsuko unharmed. ¡°If I don¡¯t know how to fix things, how would I know what to change so I can?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°You don¡¯t, kiddo,¡± Sada-no-Michi said. ¡°If you did, it¡¯d just be another boring stat to level up. You like poetry because it¡¯s messy and vague and numberless, don¡¯t you?¡± Pechorin nodded. ¡°So don¡¯t go and turn self-growth into another numbers game where you grind until you hit enough ¡°truth¡± points. Let it be the mess that it is.¡± Pechorin grunted. This wasn¡¯t Pechorin being dismissive so much as the fact that words seemed not as cool and dramatic as a grunt. So, he grunted and moved to the door. One thing did seem cool enough to do though: ¡°Thanks,¡± Pechorin said. Sada-no-Michi hummed to himself for a second, then replied: ¡°Frost in late fall Kills unharvested crops With its beauty.¡± Pechorin blinked. ¡°That was 4-6-4.¡± Sada-no-Michi gave him a lazy smile. ¡°The Shikijiman 5-7-5 is shorter than in the common tongue, so 4-6-4 fits the rhythm better.¡± Without intending to compose it, a couplet slipped out of Pechorin¡¯s mouth before he could stop it: ¡°As we enter winter, How can we expect thaw?¡± ¡°How indeed. I leave that question to you, kiddo,¡± the former Emperor said. Wandering around the hallways outside, Pechorin eventually found the staircase and retraced his steps back to the courtroom. Throwing the sliding doors open, he rejoined his own court case. The court looked more or less how he¡¯d left it but with fewer guards, fewer smiling faces, a smaller audience, and with the Empress re-assuming her position on the Hibiscus Throne with Natsuko¡¯s bottle at her side. Natsuko herself was kneeling beside Shuixing and Sofiane. She fixed him with a death glare, having already figured out he¡¯d survived. The Empress, meanwhile, with no way to access the Use-Ranking stat to confirm his death, went pale. ¡°Y-You! You should be dead! How!?¡± Empress Sadako said. Pechorin thought about composing a poem here, but he thought of Sada-no-Michi¡¯s poem and decided that he should do something that was not nearly as cool and edgy and just state outright what had happened. ¡°I gambled that I''d survive being sacrificed in Natsuko¡¯s place, and since neither of us knew the outcome, that means I upheld my part of the deal,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Wait, then I would¡¯ve been fine too, idiot!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°And I didn¡¯t know that for sure!¡± Pechorin snapped back with genuine anger. He wasn¡¯t sure where it had come from, but it definitely wasn¡¯t cool or brooding or edgy. What it was, he realized, was honest, and honest meant vulnerable. He¡¯d been willing to risk everything if he¡¯d guessed wrong about the way the bottle¡¯s physics worked, and he was going to make damn sure Natsuko knew that. In a softer and quieter voice, Natsuko said, ¡°you ass¡­¡± ¡°Enough!¡± The Empress said, standing up from her throne and grabbing Natsuko¡¯s bottle. ¡°We agreed to a life for a life, and that means you backed out of your side of the bargain.¡± Guards rushed into the chamber behind Pechorin and pointed halberds at his back, not that this would do much to him. He raised a gun at the Empress who only then realized that Pechorin, as the only person freed from the Special Event field, was by far the most powerful person in the room. Empress Sadako locked eyes with him. ¡°I take back what I said about you making a good Non-Hero. You behave like all the other Heroes.¡± ¡°Call it whatever you want,¡± he replied, his gun arm locked onto her. ¡°But you¡¯re gonna give us the bottle and let us go or I¡¯ll kill you where you stand. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the rumors about deaths during Special Events.¡± The Empress responded with a piercing, unhinged laugh and stared back at him with wild, vicious eyes. ¡°One thing you and I both agree on, then, is that some things are more important than your life.¡± Empress Sadako charged at Natsuko, bottle cocked and at the ready. Pechorin opened fire. The Empress brought the bottle up to defend herself and a shower of broken glass sprayed in every direction as Pechorin¡¯s bullets shattered Natsuko¡¯s bottle. Statistics:
NATSUKO
Level: 48 EXP To Level: 256,700 Class: Jack Fire ElementalIf you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. HP: (8,340 | 9,667)
STATS
Force: 112 Vitality: 135 Finesse: 57 Cognition: 41 Insight: 92
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Hothead ¡ª Deal 50% more fire elemental damage while under half health ACTIVE: Jack of All Trades ¡ª Every two levels, Jack learn an ability belonging to another class. These can be used once per day. ELEMENTAL: Fire Gale ¡ª Produces a burst of fire from its user''s limbs dealing moderate fire elemental damage and setting target ablaze ACTIVE: Fuel Injection ¡ª Parry an elemental attack and regain 10% of the damage that would be dealt as HP and halve all current cooldowns. DESPERATION ART: Spontaneous Combustion ¡ª Coats the user in a wreath of flames and deals heavy fire damage centered on the user who loses half their health.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #187/188 USE-NUMBER: 11,114 Emanations ART NUMBER: 7,063 ERO-ART NUMBER: 4,739 FIC NUMBER: 17,012
Shuixing He
Level: 44 EXP To Level: 38,560 Class: Medico-Mage Water Elemental HP: (6,588 | 6,588)
STATS
Force: 24 Vitality: 69 Finesse: 80 Cognition: 178 Insight: 95
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Mental Mending ¡ª Add Cognition stat to any elemental abilities which heal or cure statuses. ACTIVE: Light of Hope ¡ª Cast a beam of light that deals significant unmitigated damage to undead enemies ELEMENTAL: Healing Waters ¡ª Passively store charges over time which can be used to heal HP proportional to Insight. ELEMENTAL: Ablutions ¡ª Use a charge of Healing Waters to cure status effects. DESPERATION ART: Bubble Storm ¡ª Produces a field of bubbles which protect and heal teammates and harm and slow enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #185/188 USE-NUMBER: 18,539 Emanations ART NUMBER: 5,460 ERO-ART NUMBER: 2,109 FIC NUMBER: 18,213
Sofiane de la Nuit
Level: 71 EXP To Level: 675,063 Class: Duelist Lightning Elemental HP: (62,010 | 62,010)
STATS
Force: 360 Vitality: 592 Finesse: 775 Cognition: 190 Insight: 447
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: En Garde ¡ª Successful parries increase crit chance on the next attack by 100%. Any overflow over regular crit chance is converted into bonus damage. ACTIVE: Perfect Parry ¡ª Briefly enter a stance in which the user automatically parries any damage in all directions. ELEMENTAL: Coup De Grace ¡ª Aims a precise strike at the target¡¯s vitals and deals massive lightning damage to them on a successful hit. If this drops the target below half-health, it kills them instantly. ELEMENTAL: Ball Lightning ¡ª Turns the user into a ball of lightning and zips a short distance, dealing damage along the way. DESPERATION ART: Overcharge ¡ª For a brief period, all abilities have no cooldown and teammates¡¯ attacks deal bonus Lightning damage and stun enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #39/188 USE-NUMBER: 2,366,324 Emanations ART NUMBER: 11,249 ERO-ART NUMBER: 15,723 FIC NUMBER: 45,096
Pechorin the Gunslinger
Level: 47 EXP To Level: 52,111 Class: Gunslinger Metal Elemental HP: (8,105 | 8,377)
STATS
Force: 128 Vitality: 108 Finesse: 108 Cognition: 81 Insight: 4
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Headhunter ¡ª Each attack on enemy weak points reduces skill cooldowns by 1s. PASSIVE: Magnificent Seventh ¡ª Deal 200% damage while below 25% health and if you die, fully heal nearest ally. ELEMENTAL: Flak Cannon ¡ª Fires exploding shots in every direction which deal light Metal elemental damage and inflict the ¡°conductive¡± status effect. ACTIVE: Vampiric Bullet ¡ª Fires an extra powerful shot which deals physical damage and heals for 33% of damage dealt. DESPERATION ART: Concentrated Fire ¡ª Attack speed quadruples and if target enemy dies, automatically lock on to the next.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #188/188 USE-NUMBER: 3,993 Emanations ART NUMBER: 467 ERO-ART NUMBER: 68 FIC NUMBER: 8,071
Chapter 71 - A Trip to the Jungle The Non-Heroes in the room, other than the Empress, had no idea what just happened. Of those that did, Sofiane was the first to speak. ¡°Oh. Oh shit¡­¡± Natsuko¡¯s mouth hung half open. The Empress froze with her hands and face covered in glittering glass. Shuixing shook her head, already wondering how they would defend themselves against the person hunting them. The only one who seemed somewhat composed was Pechorin who, if one looked close enough, almost appeared to have anticipated the bottle shattering. ¡°Do you surrender?¡± Pechorin asked the Empress. Empress Sadako shot him a look of filth and raised her arms. ¡°Pechorin you moron! What did you do!?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this later,¡± Sofiane said, hopping to his feet and helping Shuixing up. Pechorin kept his guns trained on the Empress while they made their escape. He himself was safe, but a stray spear or arrow could harm the others while the event was ongoing. Once they were all behind him, Pechorin fired a couple of shots into the ceiling to startle the Non-Heroes and then started running. ¡°How large do you think the event field is?¡± Sofiane asked as they sprinted for the palace doors. ¡°All of Kazan-to, I suspect,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°Guess we¡¯re taking a trip into the jungle then.¡± Sofiane exhaled. There was something degrading about having to run first from Heroes, and now from Non-Heroes. There was no doubt in his mind now that the worst mistake he had ever made in his short existence was opening that damn door in the Verm?genburgh Mage¡¯s College. As the four of them ran across the open space of the courtyard, arrows flew from walls and guard towers. Ahead, to the sound of pounding drums, the palace gates were being closed, and a former, less enlightened Pechorin might have let them close until the very last second in a dramatic climax. Instead he just shot the guard manning the winch. Once they were free of the palace walls it was easy enough to lose the guards in the city of Kazan-to. Unlike Tianzhou City, it was all one- and two-story buildings, and even though the streets were gridded, houses and shops were built so close together it was impossible to see very far in any direction. With that knowledge, the four slowed to a fast walk. ¡°Okay, so, we have a problem,¡± Sofiane said, trying to be the voice of reason. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve got a fucking problem, he¡¯s right there!¡± Natsuko said, stabbing a finger at Pechorin. ¡°He got us out of the clutches of that whackadoodle-ass Empress,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°None of us could have known the Event Field would make the bottle destructible.¡± Natsuko growled. ¡°That was my bottle, dammit! That was the one thing that was mine!¡± ¡°Bummer for you, but now that it¡¯s lost, we need to focus on how we¡¯re going to defend against another attack from our #1 fan, or hell, any of the hundreds of Heroes that want to string us up, because right now, we might as well be Non-Heroes for how helpless you three are,¡± Sofiane said. This statement was not followed up with any novel ideas. The stress of everything since the card tournament had mounted to the point where their brains felt fried. Shuixing especially was caught up in her own thoughts. Despite telling Natsuko on the boat about her wish to see the bottle disposed of, she realized how hollow those words were. Quite aside from the intellectual reality of the bottle being an incredibly dangerous weapon, in the course of her experimentation, she had ended up with a weird sort of sympathy for the object. She knew its every curve, bump, and crevice, and it wasn¡¯t until seeing the thing shattered by a bullet that she realized the depth of her attachment to the inanimate thing. In a way, it was a symbol of being able to move beyond her adventuring past. Unlike Sofiane, she didn¡¯t feel afraid by its absence, she felt depressed. ¡°Can you replicate it?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Sofiane¡¯s voice dragged her out of her head. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Can you make another bottle?¡± Shui shook her head. ¡°Not without the papers. The math involved isn¡¯t the kind of stuff you can memorize.¡± ¡°Damn. Actually, wait, Natsu, where the hell did you get the bottle to begin with?¡± Sofiane asked. He was kicking himself for only now thinking to ask. ¡°There isn¡¯t another one, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°Fine, but where did you get it?¡± ¡°It was a birthday present.¡± ¡°You mean like from a Pengwu?¡± ¡°Zhidao specifically,¡± she said. ¡°Two years ago.¡± Regardless of when they were summoned, Heroes had an arbitrary ¡°birthday¡± they celebrated. Aside from some small parties¡ªor big ones if you were a top Hero¡ªthe only thing it entailed was a Pengwu giving you some kind of food item. No one really questioned why birthdays entailed being gifted eggrolls by a shapeshifting animal fairy, but that¡¯s how it was. Sofiane squinted. ¡°He gave you an empty bottle for your birthday?¡± ¡°No, that would be stupid. There was obviously wine in it at the time,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing stroked her chin. Something was off about this. After their run-in with Saruga, her mind had been turning on the role the Pengwu played as intermediaries between Heroes and the Yishang. If it was a two-way street, and Heroes weren¡¯t the ones initiating the birthday food tradition, then it stood to reason that this was initiated by the Yishang. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying Zhidao deliberately gave me the bottle!?¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing had apparently been pondering out loud on accident. The crowd of Non-Heroes they were wading through was now looking at them. Sofiane slapped Natsuko across the back of the head. ¡°Stop talking so damn loud!¡± She slapped him back. ¡°Shui was the one yapping about the Yishang, don¡¯t blame me!¡± Returning to their natural habitat from captivity, Shui suddenly felt like a mother taking care of her two kids. At 5¡¯7¡± she wasn¡¯t exactly tall, especially compared with Pechorin and Daisy, but Sofiane and Natsuko were both shorter and very much felt like children when they were going at it. ¡°The bottle,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°A-Ah, oh, right,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°So if Zhidao gave Natsuko the bottle, the Yishang wanted her to have it.¡± ¡°Did they know?¡± Natsuko asked, her voice lower and more level. Shuixing knew the tone. That was Natsuko-ese for being in the in-between state of blindly flinging herself at something. Nonetheless, it was an important question, maybe the important question. But for right now¡­ ¡°For right now, let¡¯s assume not,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°The hypothesis that the Yishang intentionally gave Natsu the bottle brings up too many unanswerable questions: Why her and not another Hero? Why three years ago? Why ignore her using it against the wyvern attack? I think for now it makes more sense to assume it was a mistake, and that no one knew what the bottle could do.¡± It was not a satisfying conclusion, least of all to Shui¡¯s ears, since it was just substituting one unsubstantiated hypothesis for another. But they weren¡¯t exactly in a position to be conducting lab tests on semi-divine beings. It was better to focus on the task at hand. By mid-afternoon, they were on the outskirts of Kazan-to, where the labyrinth of townhouses gave way to farmhouses and rice paddies. A bright red gate with hibiscus bushes at its feet marked the end of the city. Only a few hundred feet beyond lay a thickly-tangled wall of canopy trees and vines where the jungle began. The moment they took a step outside the gate, the weight and restrictions of the event field released them. ¡°Oh gods that¡¯s nice,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing took a deep breath, enjoying the nostalgic, vegetal scent of the jungle. Natsuko said nothing. For once she seemed subdued, which made Shuixing wonder if she had suffered some kind of blow to the head during their escape. After another couple of hours of off-trail jungle exploring to make sure they couldn¡¯t be followed, the sun was low enough that making camp seemed advisable. On the banks of a pond, Pechorin spotted a clearing shaped somewhat like a grotto formed by trees instead of rocks and they elected not to be choosy beggars. As far as camps went, it was pretty pitiful since their supplies were still in the evidence locker. This meant no tents, no bedrolls, and no food. ¡°My baked potatoes! Argh! That fascist piece of shit even arrested my potatoes!¡± Natsuko said, scaring some tropical birds in the process. She plunked down on a rotting stump. ¡°Ugh. Let¡¯s see¡­ this part of Shikijima has bird and fish we can kill, hibiscus petals, mangoes, and¡­ Kaji-vines. Pech, go shoot us some protein, Sofiane, you go find some hibiscus petals, Shui you go grab us some mangoes.¡± ¡°What about the vines?¡± Sofiane asked. Natsuko reached behind her and yanked some Kaji-vines down from a low-lying tree. ¡°Stick with baking,¡± she replied. Chapter 72 - Reflecting on Magical Plates and Strange Mangoes The eyes of a lion scanned the jungle, focused on the kill. Or maybe a wolf¡¯s eyes. That seemed like a closer fit. Although wolves weren¡¯t native to the Shikijiman jungle, so maybe a tiger. Or a panther. Yes, a panther seemed best. Pechorin was watching with a panther¡¯s eyes as he stalked a flock of nene birds through the undergrowth by fleeting glimpses of their red-green feathers. The panther waited to pounce. The only trouble was that, unlike recognized enemies, his guns did not automatically lock onto animals that could be killed for food. He was left with nothing but his own shooting ability. Closing an eye, leveling his two pistols, and sticking out a tongue, he brought two nene birds into his sights. Lizards, insects, birds, and small mammals scattered in every direction as two bangs broke the tranquility of the jungle. These twin explosions completely destroyed a rotting log, leaving the nene birds several feet away completely unharmed, if a bit rattled. They took off in flight. Adapting on the fly, that sleek black panther fired wildly into the sky while similarly hit nothing. Elsewhere, a small, mobile clothing-store mannequin decked out in purple silk and lace was locked in combat with the jungle in a man vs. nature exhibition match. ¡°Putain!¡± Sofiane said, spitting out something that he hoped was not a bug. His sword, a cheap one stolen from the evidence locker after his original rapier had been tossed into the void, did not make a very good machete. At most it pushed the vines and branches and bushes around, but this still left plenty of opportunity for a snake or bug or¡ªgods forbid, his worst nightmare¡ªa spider to crawl onto him. ¡°Argh!¡± he yelled, swiping at just such a spider who, having met its match in Sofiane¡¯s refined dueling instincts, immediately transformed into a leafy branch. He pointed his sword at the offending tree. ¡°Do not try that again.¡± Sofiane continued on his quest to tear the entire jungle to ribbons, one ineffectual slash at a time, until the whole thing was laid bare to him. This was such an intensive task that he forgot the side-quest attached to the jungle-destroying. It involved flower petals, or something. As he tried to recall why exactly he was doing this, Sofiane¡¯s finely-trained eyes beheld a real, honest-to-gods, no-bullshit-this-time spider. The vile thing was bigger than it had any right to be, with spindly yellow-and-black legs and a hairy red body. It was as large as Sofiane¡¯s hand and its web stretched between a flowery bush and a vine in an ominous spiral of hypnotic repugnance. Upon seeing it, Sofiane let out a battle cry that would make Shuixing¡¯s squeaks sound ferocious and slashed. Hacking, chopping, stabbing, and mincing, Sofiane took apart the spider, its web, and everything in a five foot radius. A minute passed before he dropped out of his violent fugue state. The good news was that he had found some red hibiscus petals. The bad news was that they were now red hibiscus confetti. Shuixing, meanwhile, was fighting a similar battle against nature but on the losing end. The jungle foliage conspired to rip her glasses off her face while the vines lay traps for her to stumble into and get entangled in. She didn¡¯t mind the creepy-crawlies. It wasn¡¯t like they could deal damage to her. But she was not in the habit of doing things like ¡°focusing on her surroundings¡± and ¡°looking where she was going,¡± which took brain space away from important things like, ¡°intensely ruminating on the nature of reality.¡± After her third time becoming a victim to a tangle of vines with a sense of comedic timing, she let out an aggravated groan. ¡°Why can¡¯t you find your own damn mangoes!¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Cuz I¡¯m the chef,¡± Natsuko replied from their campsite which was only about fifty feet away. Shuixing blushed, not realizing her friend was in earshot. She mumbled an apology and continued on her search for mangoes. After several more minutes, she eventually found a mango tree with some yellow-ish, slightly shriveled mangoes on it. Sick of stumbling around the jungle, she decided these would do. She whacked the tree with her rod until it gave up its bounty. Most splattered in the dirt, but a few were intact enough to bring back to Natsuko for cooking. The other two returned at about the same time holding their own trophies. Pechorin held up a small river fish riddled with about ten bullet holes and Sofiane displayed a pile of minced hibiscus petals in his palm. To this Shuixing added her unusually squishy mangoes. Natsuko stood over the pile of ingredients with her hands on her hips. ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡°Look, if you wanna go wander into a spider web, be my guest,¡± Sofiane said.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Natsuko gave him a look of confusion and then turned to Pechorin holding his catch. ¡°Fish,¡± he explained. ¡°Yeah, I see that, buddy,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°The birds were a little hard to hit, huh?¡± ¡°Fish fits the season better.¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Natsuko brought a mango up to her nose for a sniff and they smelled right to her. ¡°Well, at least Shui understood the assignment. That¡¯s alright, I can work with this. I¡¯m just that good of a chef.¡± While the others were off finding ingredients, Natsuko had built a small fire pit with kindling in the center of their camp and a spit over it. From the spit hung a metal helmet lashed to vines. Sofiane pointed at it. ¡°Where¡¯d you find that?¡± Natsuko huffed. ¡°Listen, you want food? Then don¡¯t question how I¡¯m getting around our sudden resource constraints. Just accept that I have a spare helmet somehow and move on. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s a huge deus ex machina, it¡¯s just helping me cook a meal.¡± ¡°What? That raises even more questions!¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Well then lower them again! It¡¯s not any less ridiculous than the cooking process.¡± To demonstrate, Natsuko began the cooking process. This involved tossing the perforated fish, the hibiscus shreds, the squishy mangoes, and the Kaji-vine into the pot, stirring it for just the right amount of time, and pulling out a plate of sashimi that, stranger still, actually looked appetizing. The river fish was an enticing marble-white offset by slabs of spiced mango tied together with wilted Kaji-vines. In the corner of the plate lay a pile of shredded hibiscus. ¡°Wait, those stupid flowers were just a garnish!?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Duh. Any halfway decent chef cares about their plating,¡± Natsuko said. At the mention of plating, Sofiane only just now noticed that whenever someone cooked a meal (any meal) a plate was created from thin-air for the finished product to be displayed on. It was something that made complete sense to him right up until this very moment. ¡°Hey wait, the plate¡­¡± ¡°Yeah? Magic plates, what about ¡®em?¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re only just now noticing?¡± ¡°Why does¡­ wait, you already noticed that?¡± ¡°Man, I don¡¯t know, just eat your damn sashimi,¡± Natsuko said, setting the plate down on a rock. They all chowed down on the sashimi and everyone but Natsuko immediately noticed something was amiss. Sofiane stroked his chin. ¡°It¡¯s really good, but there¡¯s just something¡­¡± ¡°Off?¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Anomalous?¡± Pechorin added. Natsuko scowled. ¡°First you break my bottle, then you call my cooking anomalous¡­ when have you injured me enough, Pech?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not bad,¡± he said. ¡°Just anomalous.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s probably just the Kaji-vine. It¡¯s got MSG in it.¡± ¡°What the hell is MSG?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Again, I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s just got it in it. Stop asking dumb questions.¡± With no more dumb questions to ask, they finished the sashimi, drank some river water because diseases only existed in story events, and felt at least a little better about their dire circumstances. Not long after finishing it, however, Shuixing started to feel a little wavy. ¡°Hey, Natsuko?¡± Shui said, standing over her friend who was propped up with her back to a rock and her hands behind her head. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°I think I know what was off about the mangoes.¡± Pechorin and Sofiane had also figured it out. The former had started composing poetry to himself and the latter was laughing to himself about spiders. ¡°What¡¯s that? They smelled fine to me,¡± Natsuko replied, feeling perfectly fine. ¡°I think they might have been fermented.¡± ¡°Oh shit, really? Where¡¯d you find them?¡± Natsuko said, hopping to her feet. ¡°Natsu, when we left Verm?genburgh, you said you¡¯d cut down on the drinking¡± Shui said. ¡°This isn¡¯t drinking, this is eating!¡± Shui shook her head and with her teacher''s voice said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to help you find more mangoes. It¡¯s bad enough seeing my friend waste herself normally, but we¡¯re being hunted right now and we need you sober and focused. I¡¯m putting my foot down. No more alcohol!¡± Natsuko raised up on her tip-toes to look Shui almost in the eye. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to tell me, I¡¯ll go look for them myself.¡± Natsuko stomped off towards the treeline. ¡°Natsu, wait!¡± Shui moved to follow her friend, but moved just a bit too quickly. The one mango had been enough to disorient her un-acclimated nervous system and when she turned around, she kept turning and turning and turning until her face turned into the moist dirt. When she looked up and adjusted her glasses, she realized there was a sizzling sound coming from behind her. The source was a smashed vial of acid where she¡¯d been standing a moment before. Chapter 73 - Returning to ones Roots While Natsuko fumbled for a bottle that no longer existed, more lobbed glasses soared from the jungle canopy. One exploded on top of Sofiane and caused him to thrash in slow-motion, hitting him with both a speed debuff and a bunch of broken glass. Pechorin tried valiantly to shoot another three bottles out of the air. Unfortunately, there was actually only one bottle and he picked the wrong one of the three waving images. It hit him with a greasy splash that caused him to fall on his face. ¡°Heroes! We¡¯re getting attacked by Heroes!¡± Sofiane yelled, sprinting in the other direction at a half a mile an hour. Within the next ten minutes, he¡¯d be home free. ¡°Who¡¯s there!? Come out and fight like a man!¡± Natsuko said, grabbing the nearest stick and swishing it in the air. Her provocation was answered by a whip flinging out from a bush and snapping at her. It didn¡¯t do much damage, but it did hurt like a bitch. Wait, if it didn¡¯t do much damage¡­ Natsuko turned to look at the others who were still being pelted by bottles and, after the adrenaline settled, even the acid bottle proved to deal negligible damage, especially to Sofiane who was getting hit over and over as he made his valiant, snail-like escape. Natsuko dropped her stick and folded her arms. ¡°This a prank or something?¡± ¡°Argh!¡± With a battle roar, Harald broke from the treeline, halberd in hand, and charged straight at Natsuko. In an instant, the fear and urgency coursing through her dissipated. She waited for Harald to get closer to her, then did a Fire Gale-powered roundhouse kick to force him to stop before he hit her. ¡°Man, are y¡¯all done? You scared the crap out of us,¡± Natsuko said. Harald growled. ¡°No we¡¯re not done! We won¡¯t be done until you answer for the deaths you¡¯ve caused. Do you even remember their names?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah: Shrike, Frederick¡ªbut that wasn¡¯t my fault¡ªand uh¡­ what¡¯s her face¡­ Marjory?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Margaret!¡± ¡°She¡¯s not technically dead,¡± Shuixing said, pulling herself to her feet and straightening her glasses. ¡°If you have to modify ¡°dead¡± with ¡°not technically,¡± it¡¯s probably not a convincing argument,¡± Faisal said, emerging from the bushes with whip in hand. Sofiane was taking his time turning around so Shuixing did him a favor and used Ablutions to cure his status effect. ¡°Gods, I¡¯d rather be poisoned, burned, or blinded than slowed,¡± Sofiane said. Harald physically cringed at his voice. ¡°Well, you¡¯re not gonna win now that Sofiane can beat the piss out of you all, so what now?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Now,¡± Harald said, bringing his halberd up. ¡°We fight to the death. We let you get away once, but not again!¡± Natsuko ducked under a swing so telegraphed she had time to learn morse code. Stat-wise, Harald and his team should''ve been slightly better, but the events of the past several days had Natsuko¡¯s brain on high alert. Stats were not a replacement for conditioning. Or, at least not at the level the two parties were at. Sofiane pointed his dinky little rusty katana at Harald and coiled back for a Coup De Grace. ¡°Wait!¡± Pechorin yelled. Pechorin''s exhortation couldn¡¯t stop Coup De Grace¡¯s charge time but it, combined with some funny mango juice, distracted Sofiane enough for his ability to miss and send him rocketing past Harald into the foliage. ¡°What do you want?¡± Harald asked. ¡°Vindication.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not offering any to murderers,¡± Faisal said. ¡°No, I mean for you all.¡± The two enemies blinked and said simultaneously, ¡°what?¡± ¡°For dramatic reasons, I want to give you all a redemption arc where you learn about the true nature of our plight and shed your former identity as minor comic relief villains to join us in our worthy struggle,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Shut up!¡± Harald, Faisal, and Natsuko said. Shuixing stepped forward, tilting to one side as she tried to balance against the world waving in her vision. ¡°H-How did you all even find us?¡± ¡°That would be me,¡± the raccoon girl said, dropping down from her hiding space up in a tree. Her bandolier of bottles was mostly empty, but every few seconds another bottle would pop back into existence in it. She glared at them. ¡°My passive.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your passive?¡± Shui asked. ¡°I can track Heroes and monsters by smell alone,¡± she explained. Natsuko wrinkled her nose and turned her body away. ¡°Ew. That¡¯s weird.¡± ¡°What!? No it¡¯s not! It¡¯s just an ability!¡± the raccoon girl protested. ¡°Are you sniffing me right now?¡± ¡°No! I mean¡ª it¡¯s a passive, it¡¯s always on, but I¡¯m not¡ª I don¡¯t have to take that from a murderer!¡± Natsuko huffed. ¡°We¡¯re not murderers, you trash panda! The same person who sliced up Margarine was the one who force dimension-jumped Shrike. And as for Frederick¡­ he was the one holding the bottle, okay? So if the other Heroes want to be oblivious idiots, fine, but you all should know better.¡± Harald lowered his halberd. ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t had anything else to do?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°That¡¯s not why!¡± he replied in a tone of voice that sounded like it was definitely at least part of it, with maybe a dash of frustration about being able to do nothing for Margaret.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Even if you could catch us, what would that accomplish?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°You would do what, turn us into the other Heroes? The real murderer is still on the loose with my papers and we¡¯re down the only thing that can stop him.¡± Their three attackers stood around, unsure of what to do next. Shuixing could tell they hadn¡¯t thought this through and that the allure of having something to do, even if it was chasing their party halfway across Po-Lin, had overridden the rational part of their brain that would''ve told them it was pointless. With their momentum lost, Harald, Faisal, and the raccoon girl were glancing around, trying to think of a face-saving way to leave. ¡°Ugh. Do you want some jungle sashimi?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°We¡¯re fine. We brought baked potatoes,¡± Faisal said. The raccoon girl licked her lips. ¡°We¡¯ve been eating baked potatoes for a week, Fai, maybe we could have... y¡¯know, a little.¡± Harald pounded the haft of his halberd into the dirt. ¡°We are not accepting sashimi from our adversaries!¡± A tropical bird song cawed from somewhere off in the jungle. ¡°Okay, maybe we¡¯ll have the one,¡± Harald said. Natsuko clapped her hands. ¡°Great. Pech, go get another fish. Shui, go take me to find some more mangoes. And we can reuse the garnish since Puffball is off getting bitten by spiders.¡± Shuixing shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll come back with the mangoes, but you¡¯re not coming with me.¡± The raccoon girl squinted until her little mask face turned into a thin black bar. ¡°What¡¯s up with these mangoes?¡± ¡°They get you plastered,¡± Pechorin said. The raccoon girl and Faisal offered to go help Shui find some more mangoes while Harald was on Natsuko watching duty as the only Damage-type Hero that could easily deal with her. She sat cross-legged on the ground with her arms crossed, eyeing up Harald who squatted in front of her. ¡°I still think you¡¯re all at fault. At least partially,¡± he said in a low rumble. ¡°Yeah, well, I think you all are a bunch of sniffers.¡± ¡°What the hell does that¡ª listen, I don¡¯t sniff. That¡¯s¡ª¡± Several gunshots rang through the jungle as Harald said his teammates¡¯ name. Natsuko could¡¯ve asked him to repeat what he said, but decided she didn¡¯t care enough. After a short wait, Pechorin returned with another perforated fish and Shuixing and Harald¡¯s teammates with some mangoes. The vines were easy to find since they were everywhere in the jungle. Tossing them into the helmet-pot again and stirring over a fire, they soon had another plate of cold, raw fish garnished with hibiscus confetti. Harald grunted in thanks as he accepted the dish while the other two dug straight in. The raccoon girl barely came up for breath as she scarfed down several rolls at once. Around that time, a sweaty, wide-eyed, heaving Sofiane slashed through the bushes and emerged into the clearing. ¡°I hate this gods-damned jungle,¡± he said. ¡°I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.¡± ¡°Hey, there¡¯s a spider in your hair,¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane gasped and swatted his head, sending his purple bob in every direction as he tried to murder the non-existent spider. He figured out what happened as Natsuko burst out laughing. Shuixing couldn¡¯t help giggling a little as well. ¡°Hey, Harald,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Mmm. Yeah?¡± replied the Bazouk, mouth full of fish. ¡°If you decide to kill Natsuko, I won¡¯t stop you. I give you free reign.¡± Harald swallowed. ¡°No thanks. I¡¯m not looking to get bottled to death.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that anymore,¡± Natsuko said with an angry glance at Pechorin. ¡°Wait what?¡± ¡°That''s what Shui meant when she said we couldn''t deal with the murderer guy anymore. The bottle broke. Pechorin shattered it.¡± Their three attackers-turned-guests looked at each other with an expression of confusion, as though they weren¡¯t sure whether that was a good, bad, or none-of-the-above thing. Faisal steepled his fingers. ¡°So¡ª but wait, if the person who attacked us comes back¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re screwed, yeah,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Oh¡­¡± the raccoon girl said. The needle fluctuating between good and bad nudged a little over towards the ¡°bad¡± end. Natsuko gave a malicious grin. ¡°And guess who else they might want to silence?¡± The raccoon girl shuddered. ¡°In any case,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°If it¡¯s all the same to you all, I think we could be of mutual benefit to each other for the time being. Her sniffing passive¡ª¡± ¡°Can we call it something other than sniffing?¡± the raccoon girl said. ¡°¡ªcan help alert us if anyone else comes after us.¡± ¡°So what do we get?¡± Harald said, folding his arms. ¡°Food,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°And the chance to possibly get Margaret back. Recall that, unlike the others, the Yishang might be able to save her since she¡¯s not technically dead.¡± This time around, ¡°not technically dead¡± was a little more convincing. It was decided after that that the two parties would share a camp for the time being, or at least until Daisy could return to Shikijima to come pick them up. After night descended, Natsuko waited until Shuixing had rolled over onto her right side, then her left, then back to her right in their tent, which was her friend¡¯s tell-tale sign of falling asleep. Inch by inch, Natsuko eased herself out from under the sticks and palm fronds they had constructed in lieu of a proper tent and got to her feet. She then headed off in the direction she recalled Shuixing coming from when she returned with the mangoes. Off-road travel through the jungle wasn¡¯t easy, but when they first came to Shikijima, Natsuko could do controlled burns to get the damn trees and vines out of the way. Unfortunately, having to be sneaky so that she didn¡¯t disappoint Shui with her degeneracy, this was not a viable strategy. That meant dealing with the skin-crawling sensation of things brushing against her. Strange as it was, she had no problem being beaten, stabbed, crushed, slashed, and exploded by monsters, but light touches drove her insane. She had to bite down on the collar of her kimono not to make a noise whenever a vine rubbed past her elbow. Even worse, being paranoid about Shuixing finding her on her mango quest, her eyes kept debating with her brain about figures in her peripheral vision. Every time she said no, her eyes said, ¡°alright, but what if?¡± And Natsuko got so caught up in this debate that she realized she had no idea where she was in the middle of a giant jungle in the middle of the night. She turned her head up to the sky where a drizzle of rain was starting to fall. ¡°Come on. One break, please?¡± She doubted the Yishang would answer, but it was the only outlet she had that wasn¡¯t burning several hundred acres of greenery to the ground. However, after stumbling around in the dark for a bit, her luck turned around and there, before her, lay the glorious sight of a tree with plump, dripping, overripe, and boozy mangoes weighing down its branches like Christmas ornaments. Natsuko rubbed her hands together. ¡°Oh baby. Here we come.¡± With no one to pressure her into temperance, she munched on mango after fermented mango until her hands were sticky with the juices of four or five. Only at that point did she really have a proper tipsiness going. As she reached for another to make herself feel even more awesome, something caught her eye. It was a lump of darkness out in the trees that looked vaguely person-shaped, albeit on the shorter side, though it could just as easily have been a tangle of vines. It was a day past new moon, so she couldn¡¯t make anything of it one way or the other. Regardless, it creeped her out. She swallowed and called out. ¡°Shui? The only response came from a rumble underneath her. A second later, roots burst from the ground and gripped Natsuko by the neck, lifting her off the ground. A half-eaten mango dropped from her hands. Chapter 74 - Swapping Places with Other People Natsuko¡¯s world turned into a nauseating blur. Already nursing a weird tipsiness from the mangoes that didn¡¯t sit quite right, being yanked into the sky by her neck was not helping. She clutched and tore at the roots, but they were as hard as steel. She knew she had been spending too much time around Pechorin because, as the person attacking her stepped close enough for her to see, her first thought was that it would be much cooler to pretend she didn¡¯t remember who they were. Unfortunately, she did. Grinning up at her with a face of pure derision was Xiuquan, Sofiane¡¯s former teammate and the asshole they beat at cards. His shoulder-length green hair resembled dark seaweed in the low light and the roots bursting from his shoulder made him look like some kind of monster. ¡°I don¡¯t remember your name,¡± Xiuquan said, his voice soft and infuriatingly patronizing. ¡°But I do remember Shrike¡¯s. And I would much rather he have killed you than the other way around.¡± Natsuko kicked, her legs trying to buy space for her neck to expel air. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ª kill him! Let me¡ª go!¡± The roots tightened. ¡°No, you¡¯re coming with me and my party. You and that other shitstain, the blue one who was trying to invent a way to murder people. And you¡¯re both going to answer for what you did. But before all that, you¡¯re going to tell me where your bottle is.¡± Her heart sank as she realized he wasn¡¯t here alone. Sofiane was the only one who could remotely hold his own against his former teammates, and even that was a 1v3. The rest of them were sitting ducks. She needed to warn them. ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t try that trick where you killed yourself to escape punishment,¡± Xiuquan said as two more roots grabbed her wrists. ¡°It¡¯s not gonna work.¡± Natusko steeled herself to run. Navigating the jungle was hard enough when she wasn¡¯t plastered on funky mangoes, but she was, and this asshole was chasing her. So, she took a deep breath, centered herself, jerked her head the other way and yelled, ¡°Sofiane!¡± Xiuquan jerked his head like she anticipated and she used her Swap ability. She was now on the ground looking up at Xiuquan tangled in his own roots. Roots he could very easily dispel. ¡°Okay, bye!¡± Natsuko said, sprinting into the undergrowth. From behind she heard an angry growl and felt the earth tremble under her. Or maybe that was the mangoes. Either way, her instincts, honed from running like hell from any kind of trouble for the past several weeks, urged her to split left. She did, and a moment later the jungle caved in on itself in a straight line as trees and ferns were sucked into the ground. Around her she could hear more devastation. Xiuquan was destroying the foliage, the same thing she had done while trying to navigate Shikijima, albeit with more fire. Running straight back to the camp wasn¡¯t going to work. She¡¯d be flattened along with the jungle. She spotted a little alcove formed by a tree¡¯s root system and jumped in it. The jungle quadrupled itself around her as the vibrations of Xiuquan¡¯s gardening mixed with her inebriation and rattled her brain. Shuixing was wrong about drinking get her in trouble. Being drunk was when Natsuko did her best thinking. The little alcove she was in was covered in thick vines and rocks and roots, and not the kind of roots Xiuquan could dispel at will. Nestling down in it, she curled and tangled her limbs as deeply as possible into the alcove until escaping would be a pain in the ass and then called out. ¡°Hey, dickhead!¡± The rumbling changed directions and Xiuquan popped into sight riding a wave of tangled branches. Swap came off cooldown. Natsuko hopped off the branches as Xiuquan flailed in his newly stuck position. But he wasn¡¯t stuck for long enough to make a funny quip, so she bolted in the direction of the camp. ~~~ Pechorin lay with his hands folded atop his chest like a vampire in his coffin, staring straight up at the large leaf that he and Sofiane had built their make-shift tent out of. His eyes were wide open because Sofiane had, about three times now, kicked him in the head while tossing and turning. This was fine. He had undergone suffering for the sake of others before. He could do it again. From where he laid, Pechorin could see Harald and Faisal sleeping in a proper tent and their raccoon friend curled up in the branches of a soapberry tree. There was also Shui sleeping soundly next to the spot Natsuko snuck away from to go feed her substance abuse habit. All was right with the world. He tried to think of a poem for the occasion.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°A raccoon lays down¡ª¡± he whispered to himself. No, that wasn¡¯t gonna work, because he still wanted to fit in both the pond they were sleeping next to and a seasonal allusion. ¡°Beside jungle pond, To where has the hibiscus¡ª¡± Nope, no seasonal word. The lack of sleep was causing his skills to slip. Pechorin was glad Ogawa and the others couldn¡¯t see him right now. What a conundrum. Exhausted as he was, he couldn¡¯t even make a useful sentry. Which, if he were the one conducting this mad exercise in futility called life, the moment of greatest irony would be for someone to sneak up on them precisely when he was at his weakest. He nudged Sofiane awake. ¡°Mmm? Oh, c¡¯mon, Pech, you¡¯ve gotta stop doing this, mon ami. I am trying to get beauty rest and you¡¯re not helping by waking me up every night convinced we¡¯re gonna get attacked.¡± ¡°No, this is real.¡± ¡°You said that the last three times,¡± Sofiane said, rolling over. ¡°This time the ¡°this time is real¡± is real,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°No it¡¯s not. Go to bed.¡± Trusting the instincts which had predicted 20 out of the last three crises they faced, Pechorin wormed his way out from under the tent and pulled out his guns. He crouched, skulked, slunk, snuck, and crept around the perimeter of the camp, moving like a flowing puddle of oil in the almost-moonless night. If there was anyone nearby, he would catch them. And for a brief moment, he very nearly thought he had caught someone when he ran into a tree. The raccoon girl leapt up on all fours on the branch she was sleeping on. ¡°Huh? What?¡± Pechorin looked up at her. She looked down at him. ¡°You uh¡­ need something?¡± she asked. ¡°In the long-term, vengeance. In the short term, undisturbed sleep,¡± he replied. The raccoon girl found herself empathizing with the latter. ¡°O¡­.kay. And so¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re being hunted,¡± Pechorin said. The raccoon girl sniffed, her nose twitched in a few different directions. She smelled her teammates, then Natsuko¡¯s party, and¡ª wait, there were four more scents than before she fell asleep. The edgy dork was onto something. She sniffed again. Everyone was here in the camp except for Natsuko who was off somewhere in the jungle. She couldn¡¯t tell how far, only the direction. One of the four new scents was over there with Natsuko, but the other three¡­ She scrambled down the tree. ¡°We¡¯ve got company!¡± she yelled. As soon as she touched the ground, a man and a woman strolled out of the undergrowth like panthers that had already caught their prey and wanted to play with it for a bit. Sofiane, Shuixing, Harald, and Faisal jerked awake and went diving for their weapons. Their attackers made no move to stop them. ¡°Oh, hello there, Sofiane. It¡¯s been a while,¡± Baran said. Unlike Sofiane, his former teammate was tall and imposing, wearing a stiff, pearl-colored coat lined with gold accouterments and closed with a golden belt over baggy trousers and a tunic. In his hand was a transparent rod with an hourglass in the middle. Beside Baran was his team¡¯s resident Medico-Mage, Gula Asu, wearing an indigo robe, golden sash and trademark diadem. Bottles very much unlike the raccoon girl¡¯s bobbed against her waist as she sauntered through the jungle in high-heeled sandals. Even more than her personality, Sofiane hated that she was the only one that matched his aesthetic prowess. ¡°Hey, purple kid, who the hell are these assholes?¡± Harald asked, pointing his halberd at them. ¡°Former teammates,¡± Gula replied on Sofiane¡¯s behalf. ¡°But of course, we¡¯re not here for him. We¡¯re here for that one,¡± she said, pointing at Shuixing clutching her rod to her chest. ¡°And the ginger.¡± ¡°So were we,¡± Faisal said. His whip lay unequipped at his side, as though he had full confidence in the power of diplomacy. ¡°But they didn¡¯t kill Shrike.¡± ¡°Oh-ho, is that what they told you?¡± Gula said, raising a hand polished with starry indigo to her mouth to stifle a laugh. ¡°They didn¡¯t have to tell us much, we¡¯ve met the real killer,¡± Harald said. ¡°And? Who are they?¡± Baran asked. ¡°Well, I mean¡­ they were in black and disguised so¡­¡± Gula laughed. ¡°Right. Right. And I¡¯m sure if we asked Sofi¡¯s little entourage we¡¯d get the same answer. So, here¡¯s how things are going to happen, my darling little pathetic Heroes. You can scamper off since this doesn¡¯t concern you, and you get to live. And you, Sofi, can either turn those two adorable girls, red and blue, over to us, or we can lower those pesky little stats you don¡¯t need.¡± Sofiane looked back at Shuixing. It was pretty incredible, really, how in just three weeks he had managed to so thoroughly destroy his own sense of self-preservation. Sofiane swished his rusty katana. ¡°All for one and one for all, non?¡± Gula gave a small hmph and said, ¡°if you want, sweetie.¡± Baran and her both raised their weapons. ¡°H-Hey guys, there¡¯s another one,¡± the raccoon girl said, having waited patiently for a break in the conversation. Sofiane glanced towards the treeline, expecting Xiuquan to come riding out on a tree trunk or something. Instead, it was something even worse. A short, feminine figure with fur clothes, felt cap, and a horsehair baton at their waist walked out from the woods. Sofiane¡¯s replacement met his gaze and smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met before,¡± Koyon said. ¡°And I doubt we¡¯ll meet after.¡± Chapter 75 - The Successful Deployment of Tactics and Combos Sofiane glared at Koyon walking towards him. ¡°I¡¯d shake your hand, but I don¡¯t like you.¡± ¡°Oh no, my poor lonely hand,¡± Koyon said, stepping in front of Gula and Baran. They were probably all going to die, but Sofiane¡¯s pride refused to make their job easy. Koyon¡¯s move to step in front of the other two gave Sofi more information than his former teammates probably intended. Specifically, it told Sofiane that they were using the same old tactics, and that Koyon slotted in for Sofiane on a 1:1 basis. He didn¡¯t know Koyon¡¯s abilities, but he could make reasonable guesses. And if Koyon was with Xiuquan¡¯s party, then he wasn¡¯t a top-tier Hero yet, so they weren¡¯t staring down another Daisy. The only question mark now was where Harald¡¯s party stood. ¡°So, dear little Sofi wants to die. How about the rest of you?¡± Gula asked. ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to die for years,¡± Pechorin replied. Harald grinned. ¡°I won¡¯t speak for my teammates, but between the side that¡¯s got one arrogant asshole, and the one that¡¯s got three¡ª¡± ¡°Four,¡± the raccoon girl corrected. ¡°¡ªThen obviously I gotta side with the team that¡¯s only got one.¡± Baran raised his eyebrows. ¡°You don¡¯t have to side with anyone. Just leave.¡± ¡°Leaving is siding with you,¡± Faisal said, unfurling his whip. ¡°Staying is siding with murderers. If they didn¡¯t kill Shrike directly, they gave the means to do it to whoever has her papers,¡± Baran said, gesturing at Shuixing. Harald held up his hands. ¡°Alright, fine, ya got me. I just really, really don¡¯t like your fucking face.¡± Baran sneered and reached for his hourglass-rod. Sofiane was anxious. Xiuquan was still nowhere to be seen, so would explaining their opponents¡¯ tactics to Harald and them even make sense without seeing the full combo in action? And, as a better question, would it even matter if they were that much weaker? ¡°Holy shit guys!¡± Natsuko yelled, bursting out of the jungle with a tangle of vines wrapped around herself. ¡°We¡¯re being attacked by¡ª oh.¡± Gula smiled with such million-watt maliciousness it made Sofiane shudder. His former teammate had always been a sadist, but for whatever reason, her hunting Natsuko and Shuixing seemed a matter of personal pleasure. Koyon, however, just tilted his head. ¡°Do I know her from somewhere?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. That¡¯s our target,¡± Baran said. Koyon shot him a nasty look as a reminder to Baran that he was only gracing their team temporarily on his rise to power. It was only a matter of time before Baran was as weak and unimportant to him as Natsuko. That exchange was exactly what Sofiane was hoping to see. The last team cohesion, the better. ¡°Are we still waiting for Xiu?¡± Gula asked. ¡°Nope,¡± Koyon said, flicking his baton and stomping forward. If Koyon was filling Sofiane¡¯s role, he was going to get up in people¡¯s faces and peel them off Gula and Baran who would do their best to keep Xiuquan topped up and his opponents in one place so he could keep smashing people. But without Xiuquan, Koyon would either have to ignore his squishier supporters and ruin their tactical combo, or fall back and defend them. Either way, Sofiane¡¯s next move was clear. Sofiane fired through Koyon as Ball Lightning and readied a Coup De Grace on Gula. He could see the whites of her surprised eyes reflecting the glowing purple lightning at the tip of his shitty little katana. Most of Sofiane¡¯s damage was robbed from him the moment his upgraded rapier had been chucked through the ground. But Coup De Grace still hit like a truck. Unfortunately, Baran acted quickly. A vacuum of wind to Sofiane¡¯s left jerked him off trajectory and aimed his Coup De Grace at the bushes. He was about to go soaring off into the woods again before a bottle shattered against his head, drenching him in a sticky liquid. His Coup De Grace released and he thrust forward in slow motion, which was still about three feet per second. But the raccoon girl bought him just enough time to Ball Lightning out of the missed charge and to zip around behind Baran. Pechorin had enough practice now to know his job was to trigger the Conductive micro-stuns on everyone Sofiane marked with Lightning. He opened fire with his Flak Cannon. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. This accomplished nothing. Between Pechorin and their enemies lay a transparent rainbow wall, ten feet high and twenty wide, centered on Koyon¡¯s baton. It was raised in time to block not only Pechorin¡¯s flak, but Faisal¡¯s whip and the raccoon girl¡¯s tripping brew which shattered in a curtain of greasy orange liquid against the rainbow wall. Sofiane ground his teeth. That rainbow shield did basically the same thing as his own Perfect Parry ability, except Sofiane¡¯s ability took skill and timing to use as a blocking maneuver. Koyon¡¯s wall was objectively better in every conceivable way. Without wasting a second, Koyon¡¯s team flowed into their follow-up combo. A gust of wind from Baran threw Natsuko forward into the others right as Koyon dropped his shield and replaced it with a line of stampeding spectral horses. The horses smashed through Sofiane¡¯s team, slamming them to the ground and dealing enough damage to knock everyone but Harald and the raccoon girl below half health. This doubled as a movement ability, placing Koyon right in front of Harald. ¡°Hi there,¡± Koyon said before whipping his baton at Harald. The horsehair at the end was so light and dainty as to obfuscate the fact that each attack slapped 1,000 HP or more off Harald¡¯s health while staggering the burly Bazouk with each strike. Shuixing looked around in shell shock. It had been so long since she had to decide who and what to prioritize in a fight that her brain was locking up. Herself in triple digit HP, Natsuko and Pechorin, or Faisal, or¡­ ¡°I-I¡ª I don¡¯t¡ª¡± she stammered. ¡°Shui!¡± Sofiane yelled, struggling to put together an attack at 0.1x speed as Baran wound up like a batter to cave his face in. Hoping she didn¡¯t regret it, Shuixing used her Ablutions on Sofiane. This gave Sofiane the half a second he needed to ready a parry, deflect Baran¡¯s rod, and stab his former teammate in the stomach for a laughable amount of damage. What it did do, however, was distract Baran from casting his crowd control abilities. ¡°Spread out!¡± Sofiane screamed. ¡°Don¡¯t let them get you in a group!¡± He needed to get everyone out before Xiuquan showed up. Their opponents¡¯ combos were already stomping their face into the dirt, and that was without the other team¡¯s Damage Hero in Xiuquan. It was like clubbing someone to death with only the pommel of a sword. ¡°You know, if you keep stabbing me, I¡¯m going to get annoyed,¡± Baran said, staring down at Sofiane with a patronizing grin. With his rusty, tier-1 sword, Sofiane was doing a tenth of the damage he usually did. And the only other people nearby who wielded swords were Natsuko¡ªwho didn¡¯t bother even carrying one¡ªand Xiuquan. Was there a way to steal Xiuquan¡¯s sword? ¡°Fuck! God-dammit!¡± Koyon shouted. Sofiane glanced over in time to see another glass bottle shatter, this time a glowing golden liquid that inflicted some kind of status effect that stopped Koyon¡¯s relentless assault on Harald. Gula uncorked one of her own bottles and began coaxing liquid out of it with waves of her fingers. ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡± Sofiane zipped past Baran in Ball Lightning form and moved to snatch the bottle away from Gula. Before he could, he was blown off-course, crashing through Harald and Faisal¡¯s tent. ¡°I told you I¡¯d get annoyed, Sofi,¡± Baran called out. The amber liquid in Gula¡¯s bottle flowed over to a blind and flailing Koyon and relieved his status effects. Harald had barely a few seconds of reprieve to scarf down a baked potato for health before Koyon was back on the offense. Sofiane¡¯s heart sank. Outnumbered two-to-one, Baran, Gula, and Koyon still had no reason to take the fight seriously. They looked at Sofiane, his teammates, and Harald¡¯s team as no more of a threat than a group of mobs. And they were probably right. Sofiane glanced over to the rest of his teammates and they were struggling just to avoid death as both Shuixing and the raccoon girl let loose their Desperation Arts, which only barely kept everyone above half health. But for what? Pechorin did no damage without his rapier, Shuixing was focused on healing, Faisal and the raccoon girl couldn¡¯t land their abilities with Baran fully-focused on controlling the fight, Harald was being hounded by Koyon, and Natsuko didn¡¯t even have a weapon. Koyon maneuvered around the other side of a desperately blocking Harald to set up another horse charge to hit Shuixing. Everyone else had the good sense to get out of the AoE, but Natsuko was still standing there obliviously. Baran blew Sofiane, still tangled in the tent poles, into range of the charge, right as Koyon released the horses. The stampede knocked Harald to the ground, followed by Shuixing, stomping on Sofiane on its way to hitting¡­ Gula. Sofiane watched the Medico-Mage¡¯s shocked eyes as blue phantom horses knocked her around, dealing a good amount of damage and leaving her stunned. In his own state of equine-induced confusion, Sofiane looked back to where Gula had been a second ago and standing there with her very own, homegrown shit-eating grin, was Natsuko. ¡°Gods, I love a good fight,¡± she said. Baran moved to push her away but she swept his legs with a Fire Gale-powered low kick, dropping him to his knees. Natsuko then proceeded to explode herself in a shower of fire while laughing like a maniac. To her hands she summoned a sword made of deep blue flame from one of her stolen Jack abilities and swung wildly at Baran who was too stunned to stop her. She wasn¡¯t going to be one-shotting the overpowered Hero anytime soon, but her Hothead-empowered attacks were hitting twice as hard as Sofiane for about 500 damage a pop. When Baran tried to shove her away with wind, she leapt in the air to control her landing, then let loose another Fire Gale to hop right back to slashing away at him. Koyon, frustrated and hyper-focused on killing Harald, ignored his teammates. Harald was hanging on by a thread from a combination of his innate life steal, shields, damage reduction, and the full attention of Shuixing, the raccoon girl, and Faisal dumping healing and evasion abilities into him on cooldown. For all the stats and overpowered abilities in the world, the concentrated efforts of four bottom-tier Heroes was still too much for Koyon to overcome. Deciding Natsuko had Baran covered for now, Sofiane zipped over to Gula, tagging her with lightning as she was getting up from the ground. Unlike her two teammates, Gula was squishy, having only about 22,000 HP as of the day Sofiane was kicked out, and had significantly less defense. Sofiane could deal with her even with his Tier-1 weapon, and by the look of fear in her eyes, she knew that. ¡°Pech!¡± Sofiane yelled. Pechorin already had him covered, laying down his Concentrated Fire to set up elemental reactions with Sofiane¡¯s lightning, amping the damage against her and chain-stunning her. Now the only thing they had to worry about was if this triggered Baran and Gula¡¯s Desperation Arts, and¡­ The ground rumbled beneath Sofiane. Trees trembled. And roots burst upwards from the soil. Chapter 76 - Lighting Up the Jungle with Green and Purple Lights Sofiane stared at the roots running up and down, into and out of the soil as they raced ahead of their master. His blood froze. ¡°Spread out!¡± Sofiane yelled. He turned into Ball Lightning, leaving Gula alone as he shot towards the perimeter of the camp. A moment later, the trees at the edge of the clearing uprooted and fell like doors smashed open. Xiuquan rode the wooden wave into the clearing and hopped off. ¡°Were you really having trouble with these nobodies?¡± Xiuquan asked. Pechorin fired at him, but every bullet was parried by a gleaming emerald sword in Xiu¡¯s hand. Gula picked herself up. ¡°W-Well, th-there were only three of us and we didn¡¯t have our damage¡ª¡± Stomping up to her, Xiuquan punched Gula in the stomach and spit flung from her mouth. Baran winced at Xiuquan¡¯s outburst of rage. Natsuko standing next to him was equally transfixed by the abuse. Sofiane ground his teeth. He didn¡¯t particularly like any of his former teammates, but this was a step too far even for Xiuquan. On the other side of the fight, Koyon scratched his neck and looked on with disinterest. ¡°Get up,¡± Xiuquan said, grabbing Gula by her hair as she collapsed to the ground. ¡°We¡¯re already wasting time we could be using to grind for quests and experience, so. Get. Up!¡± Gula scrambled to her feet and uncorked another bottle. Sofiane recognized it as her Infuse ability that gave Xiuquan water-empowered attacks. The shock of the brutality over, the fight resumed. Sofiane lurched forward to strike at Xiuquan and prevent him from going after the others. Before Sofiane closed the distance, roots reached up like grasping hands and grabbed his ankles along with those of Pechorin, Shuixing, and the raccoon girl. Sofiane tried to enter his Perfect Parry stance, but Xiuquan¡¯s sword got to him first. Xiuquan¡¯s emerald blade sliced through him, dealing both Water Elemental and Wood Elemental damage, combining for a Sap reaction that made Sofiane¡¯s worst hangovers feel like a massage. Toxic flowers burst from where he¡¯d been slashed and sapped his health, speed, and defense, rendering him somewhere between sleepy and nauseous. And that was only one attack. ¡°Kill the rest of them. I only care about getting those two alive,¡± Xiuquan said, gesturing at Natsuko and Shuixing. Faisal flicked his whip at Xiuquan who dodged it with ease. A second later, Xiu was up in Faisal¡¯s face, slicing him open with the water-powered attacks. Even though Faisal had already spent his Desperation Art to pump up his evasion, the sheer onslaught of Xiuquan¡¯s attacks negated his evasion, and before Shuixing could turn her healing on him, Faisal lay dead, dissolving into the soil. Xiuquan cracked his neck. ¡°Again, how in the world were you all losing to these peons?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a quest, Xiu. We¡¯re having fun, chill out,¡± Koyon said, whipping Harald with the horse baton without looking at him. Without the bonus evasion from Faisal, Harald was a few hits from death. In anticipation of that, Koyon slowed down so he wouldn¡¯t lose his chew toy too quickly. ¡°You can fuck around because you¡¯ve got better stats, pretty boy. The rest of us can¡¯t,¡± Xiuquan said before whipping around to lop Pechorin¡¯s head off. Fortunately, Faisal¡¯s death was not in vain, because it tipped Sofiane over the threshold to activate Overcharge. The cooldown on his Ball Lightning disappeared and purple lightning crackled along his small frame as he flashed forward to stun Xiuquan mid-slash at Pechorin. Sofiane got off a few cuts of his own, but even as his Lightning reacted with Pechorin¡¯s Metal element, the damage modifier on the little katana he stole from the evidence locker was too low. At the highest thresholds of power, every single thing mattered: Weapons, equipment, accessories, stats, levels, upgrades, all of it. Slipping in even one area made a gigantic difference, as it did when Xiuquan grabbed the impotently-slashing Sofiane and smashed him in the nose with the pommel of his sword. Blood spurted from crushed cartilage as Sofiane staggered backwards into Pechorin. ¡°If it was just you, Sofi, I wouldn¡¯t mind having some fun,¡± Xiuquan said with a glance over at Koyon. ¡°But we have a job to do, and we can¡¯t do that with the threat of being bottled out of existence looming over us. If you won¡¯t help, fine. But don¡¯t get in our way.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Sofiane pawed at his bleeding nose, sending spatters onto his lips. ¡°Xiu, they didn¡¯t kill Shrike. Why aren¡¯t you going after the person who did?¡± A plan was coming to Sofiane, he just needed to distract Xiu for a little longer. ¡°My job is to bring in the two dumbasses who invented a way to murder people and make sure they don¡¯t do it again,¡± Xiuquan said, pointing his sword at Natsuko and Shuixing. Sofiane chuckled, blood flinging from his lips. ¡°If you¡¯re too scared to handle the real threat, just say so.¡± Rage boiled on Xiuquan¡¯s face. It was so stupid that his silly taunting worked, Sofiane thought, but what was this all if not a rematch of the card tournament? When Sofiane had been on their team, they were a one-tactic pony, and when things went wrong, it was usually Xiuquan and Sofiane butting heads. Or Baran and Sofiane butting heads. Or even Gula and Sofiane butting heads. But if he could knock them out of sync, Sofiane¡¯s team might have a rail-thin chance to get away. And that plan started with Xiuquan. Xiuquan swung at Sofiane again. This time Sofi was ready with a parry and deflected it. ¡°A mysterious other guy who happened to be right there beside you all when Shrike was murdered but who disappeared right after? Sofi, come on now¡­¡± Sofiane readied a Coup De Grace and aimed the crackling purple energy towards Xiu. ¡°That¡¯s cute, Sofi. Apparently you think I¡¯m as much of an idiot as you are.¡± ¡°Pech, push me to the side!¡± Sofiane yelled. Pechorin lunged, ankles still tangled in roots, and shoved Sofiane to the right of Xiuquan, which put him in a direct line to hit Koyon. A searing purple after-image lit up the jungle as Sofiane shot across the length of the camp to run Koyon through with his rusty katana. Even with the pitiful weapon, the damage was enough to halt Koyon¡¯s assault on a nearly-dead Harald. From here, Sofiane launched into his own onslaught. Popping in and out of Ball Lightning with Overcharge¡¯s cooldown removal, he kept Koyon boxed in with stuns and parries to every attack he tried to throw out. The trouble was that their enemies would be full health again once Gula dumped health into them. Meanwhile, Shui and the raccoon girl and their inferior stats were barely keeping Harald alive, let alone Natsuko living entirely off of well-timed Fuel Injection parries. Koyon became transparent and slipped out of Sofiane¡¯s control, walking right through his body then turning and hitting him with a point-blank horse charge that planted Sofiane in the dirt. ¡°Can we just nuke them already? We can pick the other two up in the morning,¡± Koyon said with a yawn. Xiuquan growled. ¡°No, you¡¯ll do what I say! My team is the best team at this level plateau, so unless you want to slow down your leveling progression, you¡¯ll obey my orders. A patch of roots moved Xiuquan across the battlefield towards Sofiane. On the way, Xiu took a swing at the raccoon girl who poofed into a tanuki-shaped doll to dodge the attack. The swing was a casual drive-by, not a serious attempt to kill the Grenadier Hero who Xiu didn¡¯t consider a threat. So once his back was turned, she threw every bottle she had at him. Xiuquan was splattered in glass and liquid that tripped, blinded, slowed, and stunned him. Gula started to coax some liquid out of one of her bottles. A status restoration spell. ¡°Stop her!¡± Sofiane yelled. He turned into Ball Lightning and zipped over to Gula, but Baran blasted him with a gust of wind like a punch to the gut before blowing Sofiane away from the Medico-Mage. Harald sprinted for Gula, dropping into a Brutal Charge. ¡°Nope,¡± Koyon said, floating in front of Harald in his ghost form and putting up a prismatic wall for Harald to run straight into. The wall was wide enough to block Pechorin from getting a shot off. And for a moment, it seemed like Gula was going to get off a spell to cure Xiuquan¡¯s status effects. Then, with no other offensive abilities left, Shuixing darted for Gula and knocked the bottle out of her hand. This act startled everyone but Natsuko into silence. Weapons, as everyone knew, were sacred. If you had to interrupt another Hero¡¯s ability, you could attack them, but you couldn¡¯t attack their weapon. And this wasn¡¯t a matter of decorum or etiquette, but something that was quite simply impossible. It didn¡¯t make any logical sense to attack someone¡¯s weapon, since it was a part of them. It was capital-E Equipped. It wasn¡¯t possible to un-equip someone else. And yet, Shuixing did it. The act of disarming Gula, of un-equipping her bottle, possessed all the strangeness of something that could happen in a Special Event but not in the ordinary world. Even Sofiane hadn¡¯t considered doing such a thing, believing the loss of his rapier to be a fluke of forced dimension-jumping. Being exposed to so much strangeness recently, Sofiane recovered from the impossibility before everyone else. Now recognizing it as possible, he swiped Xiuquan¡¯s jagged, emerald sword from the Hero¡¯s grip and prepared a Coup De Grace in a random direction. It wouldn¡¯t be enough to insta-kill Xiuquan, but with Baran¡¯s lost health¡­ ¡°Swap me now!¡± Sofiane said to Natsuko. Right as he released the Coup De Grace charge, his vision was replaced with Baran¡¯s surprised face. Xiuquan¡¯s¡ªnow Sofiane¡¯s¡ªemerald sword carved through Baran with a bolt of flashing purple energy, killing him instantly. A second later, Baran¡¯s body dutifully dissolved, ¡°Screw this, I¡¯m nuking them,¡± Koyon said. Before Sofiane could relish his small victory, ghostly purple and green lights filled his peripheral vision. Glancing above him, he saw an aurora, gently rolling like the ephemeral ribbons of a phantasmic parade, floating to the ground. And then, nothing. Chapter 77 - An Opportunity for a Fancy New Permanent Stat Increase Sofiane gasped. It¡¯d been a long time since he was last pulled from the dark. He died a few times earlier on while he was getting his footing, but his last death was two years ago. It was not a pleasant experience at the best of times, but being hunted by his former teammates who just nuked him to death did not improve the occasion. The one up-side, he thought as he stared out at the dark beach in front of him, was that Xiuquan¡¯s sword came with him. He needed to thank Koyon for that. That little shit came up with a better escape plan than Sofiane could have, even if he didn¡¯t mean to. And since Sofiane had ¡°equipped¡± Xiuquan¡¯s sword before being killed, it was his now. Sofiane grinned and swished it around a bit. It was a little heavy and cumbersome, and the stats weren¡¯t a 1:1 fit for him (+20% Wood Elemental damage was not optimal), but it was a Tier-5 weapon on par with his ex-rapier and, even better, it meant Xiuquan was either unarmed, or running around with Sofiane¡¯s dinky katana. The next order of business was finding the others. Having all died in the same spot thanks to Mr. ¡°Fuck it, nuke ¡®em,¡± his and Harald¡¯s team¡ªsans Margaret¡ªought to be somewhere along the beach he was standing on. Resummoning was kind of a crapshoot, but they¡¯d all be on the main Shikijiman island. Glancing at the dense jungle that started right where the beach ended, he supposed they were all probably smart enough to head for the beach. Sofiane picked a direction and walked. It was still dark out, but with Xiuquan¡¯s weapon in hand, he was reasonably confident he was the most dangerous person on the island, unless Yuna had come after them too. The first person he came across was Faisal sitting on a rock. ¡°Bonjour,¡± sofiane called out. Even in the dark, he could tell Faisal was giving him a leery glance. ¡°Good morning to you too. I guess we must have lost then?¡± Faisal asked. ¡°No. Or, yes. Well¡­ we lost in the best way we could, which was to have Koyon get impatient and kill everyone so they weren¡¯t able to nab Shui and firecrotch.¡± Faisal raised an eyebrow. ¡°Natsuko,¡± Sofiane explained. ¡°Ah. A little rude to call your teammate, no?¡± ¡°Eye for an eye. She¡¯s the rudest of all.¡± ¡°Hmm. You all work well together so who am I to judge?¡± Sofiane blinked. In a weird way, Faisal was right. Things had worked on Xiuquan¡¯s team too, but whenever they didn¡¯t go exactly as planned, everything fell apart. It was why their tactics were so rigid: Xiuquan dealt damage, Koyon defended, Gula healed, Baran controlled the fight. But despite Shui, Pech, and Natsu being some of the weakest Heroes in Po-Lin, Sofiane had more confidence in their ability to keep up when things went to shit. They would¡¯ve made a great team if the other three didn¡¯t have intrinsically shitty stats. ¡°Shall we go find the others?¡± Sofiane asked, offering his hand to Faisal who pulled himself off the rock with it. ¡°I suppose so,¡± Faisal replied. ¡°So, what¡¯s your personality trait?¡± Sofiane asked as they walked. Faisal pointed at himself. ¡°Me? Oh, a rather tragic one. I am the straight man.¡± All of the Heroes got one or two essential personality traits they were encouraged to play into. The foundation of their archetype, more or less. Sofiane¡¯s traits were hyper-sensitivity (which wasn¡¯t faked) and touchiness about his femininity (which was). It was only ever one or two because the fear was that too many would confuse the celestials and Heroes would start to run together. Better to have two or three Heroes with the same, easily-identifiable traits than 100 with a realistic slurry of complexity. Plus, it was easier to remember how to behave. ¡°Ah. Sorry about that,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°You don¡¯t have any zany back-up traits from your backstory?¡± ¡°I pathologically insist people try my spicy food,¡± Faisal replied. ¡°Gods, the Yishang did you dirty.¡± Faisal shrugged. ¡°Even if my archetype wasn¡¯t terrible, the stats would¡¯ve gotten me eventually.¡± In short order they found Shuixing stumbling around blindly in the sand looking for her glasses in what would have been a perfect archetype-building exercise were it not for the fact that she actually had lost her glasses and was desperately trying to find them. While Sofiane and Faisal helped her, Harald, Pechorin, and the raccoon girl came down the beach from the other direction.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°So that¡¯s your name, huh?¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s pretty embarrassing,¡± the raccoon girl replied. ¡°I think it¡¯s fine,¡± Harald said. ¡°Yeah, because you don¡¯t know what it means in Shikijiman! It translates to¡ª oh, there they are,¡± the raccoon girl said. Three more people joined the hunt for Shui¡¯s glasses and eventually spotted the crab scuttling away with them. Harald grabbed it, handed the glasses back to Shuixing, and then stuck the crab into his pocket for ¡°future ingredients.¡± No one batted an eye at this because crabs were good ingredients. Shuixing adjusted the sandy glasses on her face. ¡°So that leaves¡­¡± The dark of the early morning was split by a plume of fire erupting from somewhere in the jungle. Roaring wind rushed through the trees. Apparently Baran had found her first. ¡°Let¡¯s go rescue her before Baran¡¯s teammates find them,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Or anyone else,¡± Harald added. The thought chilled Sofiane. He¡¯d been so caught up in the fighting he¡¯d forgotten that while Xiuquan¡¯s team might have been the first¡ªsecond, if you counted Harald¡¯s team¡ªto find them, they were hardly going to be the last. Hiding in the jungle hadn¡¯t worked out so well. The six of them ran towards the spewing columns of fire to find Baran being chased around by a maniacally laughing red gremlin ¡°Not so tough now, are ya!? Your stats don¡¯t mean shit now boy!¡± Natsuko screamed, whirling Baran¡¯s hourglass-rod around over her head. Apparently, she had lived long enough to learn Sofiane¡¯s weapon-stealing trick before getting nuked into oblivion. Baran himself was scrambling through the underbrush and getting tangled in vines. His defense and HP were high enough that Natsuko didn¡¯t present a serious threat of killing him again, but getting scorched still wasn¡¯t fun. ¡°Natsu, quit it! You¡¯re telling everyone in a five kilometer radius where we are!¡± Sofiane said. ¡°No Heroes, just monsters,¡± the raccoon girl corrected. ¡°Oh, so we have time to wipe him out again,¡± Sofiane said. Baran wheezed and continued scampering away. Natsuko might not be able to kill him, but armed with Xiuquan¡¯s sword, Sofiane definitely could. Sofiane aimed a Coup De Grace at Natsuko. ¡°On my mark, Natsu, swap yourself with him.¡± ¡°Wait! I surrender!¡± Baran yelled. Sofiane dropped the ability and Baran emerged from the undergrowth covered in vegetation with his arms over his head. His eyes remained fixed on Natsuko who was brimming with years of cathartic smugness at getting to torment someone with a high Use-Ranking. The thought made Sofiane check his own and was pleasantly surprised that the Use-Number hemorrhage had slowed somewhat. Probably since it was a Sunday and the new emanation generated for him had the outfit Master Sima made for the card tournament on it. ¡°Well? What do you have to say for yourself?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Nothing, you homicidal maniac, what do you have to say?!¡± Baran replied. Natsuko smacked him in the stomach with his own rod, but the difference in their stats, along with the fact that Natsuko couldn¡¯t equip rods, made it so Baran barely even felt it. Perturbed by the lack of reaction, Natsuko queued up another Fire Gale. ¡°Stop it, Natsu. We need to get information from him,¡± Shuixing said, bringing her friend¡¯s arms down.to her sides. ¡°Fine. But I get to burn him when we¡¯re done.¡± Baran brought his arms down and folded them. ¡°What could I possibly have to tell you that you don¡¯t already know? We were hunting the people that killed Shrike¡ª¡± he eyed Natsuko and Shuixing, ¡°¡ªand happened to have a head start over the other groups. That¡¯s the short and long of it.¡± ¡°How much of a head start?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°And how did you get it?¡± Pechorin added. Baran pointed at Harald. ¡°Because those clowns kept yammering to everyone who would listen about Natsuko¡¯s special bottle, so we figured they would lead us right to you since they¡¯d been on your tail for longer. Which reminds me, where is that bottle?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know,¡± Shuixing said at the same time as Pechorin said, ¡°I broke it.¡± Baran squinted. ¡°You what? It¡¯s a prop. They don¡¯t break. Don¡¯t try to bullshit me you edgy bastard.¡± Sofiane stomped on Pechorin¡¯s foot. ¡°That¡¯s right, Pech, treat my former teammate with more respect than that. I didn¡¯t fall in with a bunch of idiots, after all.¡± ¡°Jury¡¯s still out on that one,¡± the raccoon girl muttered. ¡°Okay, so you found us because of Harald and them,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°But I repeat my first question. How much of a head start?¡± Baran frowned. ¡°I say this not to help you, but to screw over the other people trying to get the reward: Everyone else is about a day behind us. By afternoon tomorrow¡ª er, today, Shikijima is going to be swarming with Heroes on the hunt for those two.¡± The windy silence that followed was so chilling it made Pechorin want to compose a poem, but he decided it was probably better not to in this instance. Natsuko scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, reward? What reward? Did Yuna put a bounty on us?¡± Baran shook his head. ¡°No, the Yishang did. Do you all really not know? I guess not if you haven¡¯t encountered any Pengwu¡­¡± Or if the Pengwu hadn¡¯t felt like telling them anything useful, Sofiane thought. ¡°The Yishang are offering a permanent stat increase to the team that finds and brings in the people that dimension-jumped Frederick and Shrike,¡± Baran said. ¡°And the implication is that the stat increase comes with a spot in the Top 10.¡± Chapter 78 - Running and Resting, Resting and Running ¡°Heh. Hehehe¡­ Ahahaha! Let¡¯s! Go!¡± Natsuko said, clapping her hand. Baran looked stupefied. Sofiane exhaled and brushed back his hair. Natsuko¡¯s reaction made him anxious. Her excitement was in direct proportion to how bad things were getting, so the bounty on them from the Yishang was probably even worse than his already upset stomach suggested. ¡°Why don¡¯t the Yishang deal with the killer directly?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°I don¡¯t understand asking Heroes to do it. Even less offering them a reward.¡± ¡°Because they¡¯re gods-damned sadists, that¡¯s why,¡± Natsuko said, dancing a jig in-between the other Heroes. Sofiane rubbed his temples. ¡°Okay, Natsu, I can almost sort of see why you were happy about having our mysterious attacker to go hunt down, but why does the Yishang giving out the bounty of all bounties for our capture have you dancing a jig?¡± ¡°Cuz, puffball, I get to embarrass more idiots like this guy, obviously,¡± Natsuko said, booping Baran on the nose. ¡°Not all of them are as stupid as Baran and Xiuquan, firecrotch,¡± he replied. Baran started. ¡°Hey¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget, Daisy can stick you in a block of stone again with the snap of her fingers, and she¡¯s only #4. Boulanger would eat you for lunch and pick you out of his teeth when he¡¯s ready for his reward,¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko stopped dancing. ¡°Sure, but they¡¯re on our side, right? And besides, there¡¯s no reward for us because we¡¯re not Shrike¡¯s killers.¡± ¡°They said Frederick too,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill him either!¡± Natsuko said, her voice startled birds out of their early morning slumber. Shuixing put a hand on her friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We know, Natsu. But we also just learned the Yishang aren¡¯t omniscient, so if they also don¡¯t know that¡­¡± Natsuko¡¯s excitement disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Rather than protesting, however, she took a deep breath and shrugged. ¡°Then we go find a Pengwu and tell them to tell the Yishang that Pechorin and I are clean.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°But first we link back up with Daisy and hope like hell she convinced the other Top Ten Heroes to back us.¡± Baran started laughing at that. There was something in the tone of his laughter that set everyone on edge. Everyone glanced around and saw their own concern mirrored in each other¡¯s eyes. This was already uncharted territory. The Yishang had never promised permanent stat increases before, and timing it to the permanent deaths of Heroes did not sound like a return to the comfortable status quo. From behind them, the tides of the sea gave a muted roar. ¡°Do you really think the Yishang is going to walk back this event?¡± Baran asked, eyes flickering with greed. ¡°Think about it! What do they thrive on? Use-Numbers. They need them more than we need them, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t bother with this whole summoning thing, right? They¡¯re doing all this for the Celestials, not the Entropic Axis. Even you all, down there at the bottom, you¡¯ve noticed an uptick in your Use-Number, haven¡¯t you?¡± Sofiane crossed his arms. ¡°We got new outfits for the Card Tournament, that¡¯s why.¡± Faisal cleared his throat. ¡°Our party did not, but our numbers went up too. I thought it curious, considering we just lost stats, but I attributed it to something anomalous with our emanations.¡± Baran shook his head. ¡°No, ladies, gentlemen, and Sofiane, it¡¯s neither of those reasons. It¡¯s because the total number of Celestials went up. Everyone¡¯s Use-Numbers increased across the board. And why? Because the mysterious permanent deaths of Heroes, and the hunt for the killers, is a special event that even the Celestials know about. And maybe it¡¯s even for them.¡± ¡°Oh fuck,¡± Natsuko said.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. There was a sound like a punctured tire as the air was let out of a half-dozen sets of lungs belonging to Heroes who finally understood how truly screwed they were. This was immediately followed up with the short, sharp inhalations of sniffing. ¡°Uhh¡­ guys¡­¡± the raccoon girl said. Sofiane grit his teeth. ¡°Shit. Alright, let¡¯s go. We¡¯re in better shape to take a fight with Xiuquan and them, but I¡¯d prefer to keep moving if possible.¡± No one protested his suggestion. With nothing to gather up, they shuffled off into the jungle except for Sofiane who kept his emerald sword pointed at Baran. ¡°Lay down, hands behind your head, face in the dirt until you can¡¯t hear us anymore. If not, you get to lose another round of stats. Got it?¡± Baran snorted. ¡°Sure, Sofi. For what it¡¯s worth, I don¡¯t hate you. When I say good luck, I genuinely mean it, cuz you¡¯re gonna need it: Good luck.¡± ¡°If my luck was good I wouldn¡¯t be here,¡± Sofiane replied as Baran lay down in the dirt. Sprinting off into the trees after his teammates, there wasn¡¯t much Sofiane could do to enforce Baran staying where he was put. On the whole, Sofiane¡¯s brain wasn¡¯t running at full efficiency. So much had happened so quickly. What they really needed was rest, and not the enforced kind after being blown to pieces. Unfortunately, there were over a hundred other people coming right for them that did not want them to have any. The seven of them sprinted through the jungle for about an hour before the raccoon girl announced there were no longer other Heroes in her smelling range, not even Baran. By this point the eastern part of the sky had been splashed with dull indigo. Without speaking a word, their group of seven decided to take a break and wandered out of the jungle onto a different part of the beach that encircled the Shikijiman main island. Given the island¡¯s teardrop shape, with the north-western tail formed by Kazan-to and its namesake volcano, Sofiane estimated they were on the far southeast shore. The next island in the archipelago was visible as a dull gray blob on the brightening horizon. Natsuko was the first to plop onto the sand to catch her breath and soon everyone but Harald and Pechorin followed. ¡°Get down here, idiot,¡± Natsuko said, her face as red as her hair from running. She slapped Pechorin¡¯s leg. ¡°I¡¯m not tired,¡± he replied, throat straining not to take in the deep, heaving breaths his lungs demanded. ¡°If you lay down and catch your breath, I¡¯ll let you compose exactly one poem.¡± Pechorin tucked the tails of his black leather coat under him and sat down on the sand. He didn¡¯t lay down with his hands behind his head like Natsuko, however, but sat with his knees bent and his arms wrapped around them so that he was still in position to look wistfully off into the ocean. ¡°Doesn¡¯t count,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°All the way down, you dork.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t watch the sunrise then,¡± he said. She groaned at him and pulled herself into a similar position. Without admitting it to herself, Natsuko had been trying to recreate the moment when they had all laid out on the sand after coming to Shikijima for the first time. No matter how many times she got stung by it, there was a part of her that still wanted to recreate the past, step by step, even knowing that things had changed permanently. ¡°Y¡¯know, everyone is so worried about permanent death¡­ But we¡¯ve had permanent endings for a while now,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°So what¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°Are you trying to become the Koyon to my Sofiane?¡± Pechorin asked. She looked over at him. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re stealing my archetype¡ªbrooding and gloomy.¡± She shoved Pechorin in the shoulder. For a moment afterwards, neither of them spoke. In front of them, a milky bubble in the sky expanded, birthing a dividing line between the dark ocean waters and a cream-colored dawn. Golden rays shot through it and drew up across the waters and then the beach and jungle, filling the muted colors of the previous night with their vibrant hues. Natsuko¡¯s red kimono regained its crimson and even Pechorin¡¯s black coat was glossy where the sunshine gleamed against its smooth surface. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t say this before,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°But thanks. For saving me, I mean. Even if I technically wasn¡¯t in danger.¡± He was silent for a moment and with dawning horror, Natsuko realized why. ¡°I swear to the Yishang, you better not respond to that with a¡ª¡± ¡°Blooming in autumn, Enduring changing seasons ¡°O, Red Hibiscus.¡± Natsuko flopped down onto her back and splayed out her arms. ¡°Dammit, Pech.¡± But despite the vastly different circumstances and the years that had passed between then and now, this was the closest Natsuko had come to recreating the feeling of that first day in Shikijima, lying on the beach with the world before her. Removing the bitter filter of detachment she had constructed for herself over the years, she was forced to admit that Pechorin and his poem had played at least some part. As she recalled, he¡¯d composed a poem back then too. ¡°What did you say last time?¡± she asked. There wasn¡¯t any need between them to clarify what ¡°last time¡± meant. ¡°I don¡¯t remember,¡± he said, ¡°It fit that moment, but that moment has passed.¡± She sighed. ¡°Damn.¡± And it felt like there was more to say, but since she wasn¡¯t sure what it was, Natsuko just breathed in the salty air and prepared herself to keep on running. Chapter 79 - Daisy Time! ¡°Daisy time!¡± Daisy said to Daisy to get Daisy psyched up. ¡°Daisy time!¡± said Zhidao to Daisy in encouragement, clapping his little paws together. With her detour to dump Natsuko off on the ship to Shikijima, it had taken Daisy a full day or so to turn around and fly all the way back up to the Sibe-Lands. For no reason in particular, she reflected on how this put her current self chronologically two days past the eventful second day of the card tournament, or roughly about the same time when her four little dependents ought to be arriving in Shikijima. Satisfied that she had situated Daisy Time in a larger temporal framework, she turned to Zhidao. ¡°Anything the Yishang would care to tell me about?¡± she asked. Her boots squelched in the mud of the Khar Tenger plains. Gray clouds whisked across the giant expanse of the sky towards jagged mountains in the far west. The soil and grass lay slick with rain recently jettisoned by those same clouds. If she reached out, Daisy could fit the mountains in her palms, even though they lay hundreds of kilometers in the distance. If there was one thing the Sibe-lands had, it was space. So, so much space. Having a movement ability or a teammate with one was an absolute requirement for getting around in it. ¡°You mean other than the card tournament being a big ol¡¯ fiasco?¡± Zhidao said, hovering alongside her. Daisy smiled. ¡°Yup! I mean other than that.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s see: Your deadline for submitting your halloween costume preferences is coming up the Sunday after next, you¡¯re expected for a gardening special event in Cascadia three weeks from now, and Yuna is currently turning Verm?genburgh upside-down looking for Natsuko and friends,¡± the fox said. Daisy exhaled. She really did need to submit that halloween costume preference form so they didn¡¯t try to stick her in something too skimpy again. And she could only hope that things would blow over before the gardening special event came up. ¡°And what do the Yishang make of that lil¡¯ fiasco?¡± she asked. ¡°This fox has been sworn to secrecy, I¡¯m afraid,¡± Zhidao said. She huffed. ¡°Ugh! You¡¯re real good at pretending like you¡¯ve got useful information without ever actually having any.¡± ¡°Oh c¡¯mon, Daisy! You know I¡¯m on the Yishang¡¯s side first and foremost. So are you, so really, you already have everything you need to know!¡± Zhidao said this so cheerily that there was no way not to read it as a polite request to stop pressing him for information. Of course, Daisy did consider herself on the side of the Yishang. She would be insane not to, in her position. She just wished they would clue her in on what that involved sometimes without waiting until the absolute last minute. It made the whole ¡°helping Natsuko and the others¡± thing difficult. Ahead of Daisy was the city of Ariunuul, a city of tents that wound around a large hill jutting from the steppes. At its top was a sacred grove and a giant scorched birch tree where the Golden Khan resided. Compared to the other important city in the Sibe-lands, Medingrad, it looked like a refugee camp, but it was currently the nexus of the fight against the Entropic Axis who had infected the pine forests north of the city. It was there she would find her teammates: Ailing, Jouchi, and Boulanger. Or at least some of them. Probably. Hopefully. Ariunuul was not nearly as busy as it had been when the northern pine forests of Sibe-Lands had just been de-Misted. For a couple of months it swarmed with as many Heroes as could still make it this far. About the Top 40 and up. But now that the dungeons had all been cleared, shrines uncovered, loot collected, monsters killed, and quests completed, it was in a holding pattern where only the most dedicated Heroes were still around while the others fled to their region of personal preference (mostly Deco-Imperia with its extravagant amenities or Cascadia for those looking for more quietude). Boulanger would be here though. Daisy could smell smoke in the air. He was already at the level cap, but in his own words, ¡°qualitative experience needs to be as sharp as quantitative experience.¡± Personally, she preferred to go traipsing around on pie-baking quests during her downtime (even when they were thrust upon her by the Yishang), but she was lately coming around to the wisdom behind keeping one¡¯s nose to the grindstone and out of funny business with killer bottles. The dour, leather-faced Non-Heroes in fur armor parted for Daisy¡¯s bright pink peacoat and white fur hat which made her stand out like a highlighter in a garbage can. The Sibe-Landers attacked outsiders on sight, and they were tough. Stronger than most Heroes when attacking in groups, even. They presented a hard barrier between Heroes strong enough to clear Cascadia¡ªroughly the Top 60¡ªand those who were stronger. They stepped aside for Daisy because they respected strength. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t fly Peng all the way here,¡± Zhidao said, stretching on his flying cloud as they passed through streets of circular ger tents that ringed the slopes of the central hill. The tents¡¯ streaks of crimson and cerulean were the only chromatic companions to Daisy¡¯s fuschia amongst the brown, gray, and black of the Sibe-Lander palette. ¡°Sometimes a girl likes to get her boots muddy. It¡¯s fun to squish around sometimes,¡± Daisy replied. ¡°I s¡¯pose you wouldn¡¯t be back here if you didn¡¯t like to squish around in mud, huh?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Dear Zhidao, surely you aren¡¯t comparing anyone unfairly to mud?¡± ¡°No, of course not, Ms. Daisy! I am a polite and honorable fox. I was implying the scenario is a bit muddy. Killer bottles, dangerous papers, mysterious forces. I would¡¯ve told you to back off a while ago if I didn¡¯t know you were the kind of person who likes to get muddy.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The comment made Daisy grimace. Pengwu were bound to their cheery playfulness like flowers were bound to a branch, but that didn¡¯t mean both couldn¡¯t have thorns. What Zhidao was referring to was Daisy¡¯s own complicity in a particularly important Special Event back when the Use-Rankings weren¡¯t quite so set-in-stone. There had been a stage drama audition to figure out who of a certain type of Hero¡ªfemale, bubbly, innocent, wasn¡¯t it always?¡ªwas most appealing to Celestials. Far into the ¡°bracket,¡± Daisy¡¯s competitor took lethal fall damage and couldn¡¯t make the final day of the event. The heel of Daisy¡¯s leather boots drove a hole through a pile of horse dung as she continued her way up the hill. ¡°Well, Po-Lin¡¯s a muddy world, Mr. Zhidao, and if you worry about the mud you won¡¯t have anywhere to put your foot down,¡± she said. The smell of smoke and salt and roasting fat grew stronger as Daisy neared the summit. Her stomach growled and she made a play at looking embarrassed in front of the half a dozen Heroes that had come out to meet and talk with her and ask about the Card Tournament affair and Use-Number drop and yap yap yap from mouths that weren¡¯t Boulanger¡¯s. Amid the hounding, Zhidao politely excused himself. Excusing herself as well, Daisy doubled her pace towards the three-story open-air pagoda constructed as her team¡¯s lodging in Ariunuul. There were equivalent¡ªand much nicer¡ªstructures in Cascadia and Deco-Imperia that functioned as her team¡¯s home bases. On the ground floor of their half-porch, half-living room, Boulanger was hurling tar black flame into logs under a cast-iron wok. Inside the pot were a handful of hot, oily stones surrounding the charred skin of a horse¡¯s stomach into which had been placed cuts of meat and root vegetables. Copious smoke poured out through the open sides of the octagonal pagoda. Plates upon plates of this dish lay behind Boulanger. Her teammate had a wild tangle of curly black hair and a sharp chin and was swathed in a white wool cloak clasped together with black tassels. His bayoneted musket lay put up on a rack near the lodge¡¯s reading nook. He said nothing to her, because Daisy was the one who had to justify interrupting his concentration. Here came the part she¡¯d been psyching herself up for. ¡°Err, Boulanger?¡± Gray eyes found her¡ªharsh, violent, and serene as the black flame he was feeding into the logs under the wok, they never failed to prompt a startled reaction. It was like staring up at the night sky and finding something staring back. ¡°What is it?¡± he said, his voice a whisper that pulled one¡¯s ears level with it. For its own good, the boiling fat in the pot quieted too. ¡°I¡¯ve got news about the Use-Number drop. Are the others around?¡± He looked around as if intently checking for their other teammates in the creases between the wood planks in the floor and ceiling. ¡°Not here.¡± She exhaled. ¡°But you can tell me what you would have told them. I should hear it first,¡± he said, reaching into the pot and turning over the horse¡¯s stomach with his bare hand. ¡°Are you sure we can¡¯t¡ª¡± His hand reached out to grasp Daisy¡¯s wrist. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sure. Tell me, and I¡¯ll tell them.¡± Not once above a whisper. Never above a whisper. He snapped the fingers of his free hand and the black fire roared. Daisy swallowed. ¡°I was there when Shrike was murdered, and I know how forced dimension jumping got out. I know who invented it: A 1st-gen named Shuixing. I know how she invented it: A bottle with exactly the kind of angular geometry you expected it might entail, found by another 1st-gen named Natsuko. And I know someone else has replicated the bottle¡¯s geometry with Shuixing¡¯s research.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Boulanger paused, still clutching her wrist. He tapped his chin as if in thought and then let Daisy¡¯s wrist go. ¡°Unfortunate.¡± His dead eyes returned to her and urged her to go on without words. ¡°I don¡¯t know who has the research now. We¡­ that is, Shuixing and her team that I was investigating at Zhidao¡¯s behest, we thought it might be Yuna. I fought whoever it was and they were strong, so I thought it couldn¡¯t be anyone who wasn¡¯t in the Top Te¡ª¡± Boulanger stood and slapped Daisy with the force of a pillow. No sting came with it, and it happened so slowly that she felt the sweat and grease and warmth coating his hands of black fire and it could very easily be mistaken for a pat had it come from anyone but Boulanger. But it wasn¡¯t a pat, it was a very, very gentle slap. ¡°Ignore the numbers. They mean nothing beyond what they mean. One, four, ten, twenty, a hundred. It tells you who the Yishang like and who the Celestials like and nothing more. You forgot that?¡± Daisy nodded. He pat her cheek. This time it was a pat. ¡°Try not to,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re more than that. But you, like the others, go slack when you¡¯re idle. I like you better when you have a job to do.¡± ¡°I was only there because Zhidao asked¡ª¡± Boulanger closed his eyes so she stopped talking. When he closed his eyes, you had to wait for him to decide what happened next. Daisy wet her dry lips and swallowed back minutes of accumulated mucus and stared straight through the other side of the wooden pagoda to the dark green fur of the distant forest. Bubbling fat and whistling wind were her only companions in the suspended silence. ¡°You can tell the Yishang no, you understand,¡± he said. ¡°I-I¡ª¡± Daisy croaked. Boulanger shook his head. ¡°If they need something investigated that badly, they will find someone further down the chain. Don¡¯t let them waste your precious time. You¡¯re still a level behind us, aren¡¯t you? Still 89?¡± Daisy nodded. ¡°Fix that soon.¡± ¡°But the dimension jump¡ª¡± He raised a single index finger up to her mouth and tapped her lips once, twice, three times. Tap. Tap. Tap. ¡°Tell me, when I remove my finger, that you have not become an idiot.¡± He removed his finger. ¡°I have not become an idiot,¡± Daisy said, hand shaking at her sides. ¡°So you can tell me what I am going to say next before I have to waste an exhalation?¡± Her lacquered pink nails clawed at the leather of her riding breeches. ¡°That this is a Yishang matter and that we should leave it to them to deal with.¡± Boulanger smiled and returned to cooking. She was expected to leave now. When Boulanger was done speaking, the conversation was over, whether or not she wanted to discuss the matter of protecting the gaggle of obsolete Heroes that she¡¯d grown fond of over the past couple of weeks. It was a purely selfish wish, and she had expected nothing more than exactly the answer she got, but she¡¯d been counting on Ailing and Jouchi being around to back her up and possibly persuade Boulanger. He was somewhat keener on them than he was Daisy, who he was convinced needed to be kept on a tight leash lest she waste time on one of her many useless hobbies such as poetry and fashion. She departed the lodge and, spotting a nearby horse, ran over to it to scream angrily into its hide. Chapter 80 - Daisy, Daisy, Daisy ¡°Oh, Daisy, Daisy, Daisy. This is for you,¡± Daisy said, sinking underneath the steaming hot spring water. She blew bubbles until she felt the last of her reservoir of stress leave her lungs and then she popped back up. She plopped a cold towel across her forehead and tilted her head back to watch the night sky and its twinkling stars. The rain clouds had passed and left the gorgeous open firmament that usually characterized the Sibe-Lands. She thought it was strange that the Element associated with the region was Metal and not Wind, but Verm?genburgh had taken that title. The springs she was stewing in were a little off the beaten path. She had flown to the Razor Mountains on Peng¡¯s back which ate up the rest of her afternoon and then had to kill a Zmei Forge Dragon to get access to its open-air quenching tub. The ¡°springs¡± were heated by a giant, twelve-foot tall greatsword sitting across the pool from Daisy with its crossguard splayed like arms so that it looked like it was chilling out with her. The advantage of stealing the dead dragon¡¯s forge was that no one was going to bother her. It was in the complete ass end of Po-Lin on a cliff that faced the still-Misted side of the Sibe-Lands, so there was quite literally nothing worth doing or seeing here beyond a couple lonely camps of disposable monsters. And on top of that, you had to kill one of the most challenging monsters in Po-Lin to even get here. This was how Daisy made absolutely sure that no one could disturb her while she was ruminating on her ethical quandary. Naturally, that meant someone was going to walk in on her. She heard the intruder¡¯s footsteps echoing out of the forge dragon¡¯s cave and groaned. ¡°Nice to see you too,¡± Ailing said. ¡°I was sort of hoping to have some Daisy time,¡± Daisy replied, tilting her head down which led to the cold towel falling in the water. ¡°Rats!¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ You are a complex woman,¡± Ailing said, stepping up behind her. Daisy could make out Ailing¡¯s jade white-and-gold stockings and the tail of her dress in her peripheral vision. If she looked straight up, she would see the rainbow of butterflies on Ailing¡¯s dress staring back down at her. But she didn¡¯t, because Daisy¡¯s eyes were fixed on the opaque mist in the black void in front of her. ¡°Complex how? I feel like I¡¯m a pretty simple lady, truth be told,¡± Daisy replied. ¡°Is that so?¡± Ailing said. ¡°Because from my perspective, about half the time you refuse to be alone and pile people on like they¡¯re layers of clothes, and the other half you don¡¯t want anyone to even remember you exist. Sometimes your head is full of numbers, and sometimes it¡¯s full of poetry. Sometimes you¡¯re pushing people out of windows to get ahead, and other times you¡¯re worried about some quaint has-beens at the bottom of the Use-Chart. The only constant is the bubbly, ditzy socialite that the Celestials get to see. I can¡¯t figure you out, Daisy.¡± Daisy rolled her neck against the edge of the tub. ¡°If I was meant to be figured out I would¡¯ve been reincarnated as a dungeon puzzle.¡± ¡°That sounds like it would make for an interesting book. But you¡¯ll have to forgive me for trying to figure you out anyway.¡± Without saying anything else, Ailing ditched her boots and stockings and sat down next to Daisy with her legs in the water. Now there was no ignoring the chromatic barrage of butterflies on Daisy¡¯s retinas. If her own preference wasn¡¯t for eye-searing pink, she might have had grounds to call it tacky. ¡°I hope you¡¯re at least up to answering questions?¡± Ailing asked. Her teammate¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t accusatory or judgemental, and unlike Boulanger, Daisy felt roughly on equal footing with Ailing despite her being a level higher than Daisy. But Ailing was ruthless in her own right, and Daisy had a sneaking suspicion that the end point of this impromptu interrogation wasn¡¯t going to be a newfound flowering of rapport between battle partners, but a cross-examination of Daisy¡¯s private life. No one liked secrets at the top of the Use-Rankings. Secrets could be advantages, and someone else¡¯s advantage could be deadly to your own statistics. Being teammates did not absolve Daisy of the crime of having secrets. ¡°It¡¯d be a whole lot more hassle if I said no, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Daisy asked. Ailing laughed a dark, warm laugh and then said, ¡°yes, it would.¡± Daisy sighed and rolled her face in the warm water. Why couldn¡¯t she just have a bath? ¡°Bwah!¡± she said, popping her head out of the water. ¡°Alright, it was something Zhidao asked me to do. You were gonna ask why I scurried my little hiney over to Verm?genburgh a couple weeks ago, right?¡± ¡°To bake pies,¡± Ailing said. ¡°To bake pies. Zhidao said it might be a good idea to keep up my archetype. And, you know how it is with the Pengwu, it¡¯s never about what they say it is.¡± ¡°It was about who you were baking with.¡± Daisy shrugged. ¡°Something like that. He just said I¡¯d find some interesting company there, and I made a snap judgment and decided that some forgotten Heroes who¡¯ve been living under a rock might be interesting and¡ª¡± Ailing held up her hand to wait. A thousand feet down, at the base of the cliff, there was a roving pack of Medingradian Animatons¡ªclockwork attack animals, these ones in the shape of wolves¡ªwandering across the plains. Instincts honed not to pass up cheap experience, Ailing snapped them up.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The animations didn¡¯t have time to react. The only thing they saw was the ground slowly brightening until they were caught in a spotlight, and as they looked up, a silvery beam of moonlight a hundred feet in diameter incinerated them. Ailing didn¡¯t have to move from her spot in the tub. ¡°Sorry. Continue,¡± she said. Daisy made sure to hurl a rock down at one of them so that she got shared experience credit for being part of combat. ¡°Ahh¡­ where was I?¡± ¡°The Heroes living under a rock,¡± Ailing offered helpfully. ¡°Ah, yes, our rock-dwelling Heroes. That would be Natsu, Shui, and Pech, although I suspect our good pal Zhidao was more interested in the first two,¡± Daisy said. The butterflies fluttered in Daisy¡¯s irises as Ailing folded her robed arms. ¡°Nicknames?¡± Daisy bit her lip. ¡°We got acquainted.¡± ¡°Because they happened to stumble on the secret to forced dimension-jumping?¡± ¡°No, because they bake a darn good pie!¡± Daisy chuckled at that. Ailing did not. No one at the top had a damn sense of humor, she thought, other than maybe Windwalker. And Jouchi, if you were a sadist who enjoyed tormenting other Heroes by making them do unpleasant things for money. Daisy was not. ¡°Ugh. Yes, I was interested in Natsu¡¯s bottle. And, probably more importantly, Shuixing¡¯s research into the bottle. She can replicate¡ª¡± ¡°Boulanger told me that part,¡± Ailing said in her buzzing contralto. Where Boulanger¡¯s brusque arrogance manifested in a demanding softness, Ailing¡¯s was a smooth, almost motherly tone. She was the example par excellence of the ¡°vaguely-threatening and dominant mature woman¡± archetype, for whose prime seat she had beat out three or four more forgettable Heroes, including the blonde one that the mystery figure had killed in the anomalous dungeon. Her name escaped Daisy. Not that it really mattered. Daisy groaned, already sick of the recap interrogation. ¡°Look, if Boulanger told you that, then you already know everything I can tell you. Someone stole Shui¡¯s research, we went after it because, yeah, Boulanger was right, it probably can be used to upset the Use-Ranking hierarchy, and things went south at the Card Tournament. You are up-to-date with everything I know.¡± ¡°You wound me! I wasn¡¯t here for an oral history, I wanted to know about you, my dear little Daisy,¡± Ailing said, tracing long, sharp fingernails laden with jewelry across the length of Daisy¡¯s back, causing her to shiver. She pulled Daisy in until her shoulder rested against her teammate¡¯s leg. ¡°This is just a talk between us girls. And I was just so curious about why you want to drop everything to have us swoop in and save your pet Heroes. Usually it¡¯s Jouchi that likes to play around with triples.¡± Heroes with triple-digit Use-Rankings, that was. Daisy grimaced. Was it better to deny she felt somewhat attached to the Heroes she¡¯d been traveling with or admit it? Or¡ªand this frightened her most of all¡ªwas ¡°pet¡± exactly the right term for what appealed to her about Natsuko, Shuixing, and Pechorin? No. It wasn¡¯t. That much she was absolutely certain of. Natsuko was fun to party with, Shuixing was a fascinating mind, and Pechorin was an unrecognized poetic genius. Even Sofiane, for as much as he still had the stench of the Use-Ranking desperation clinging to him, had an aesthetic eye she was both jealous with and fascinated by. She liked and respected them on a level basis. Daisy said as much to Ailing and her teammate¡¯s reaction was to laugh. ¡°Oh, Daisy, Daisy, Daisy. It was the bottle, wasn¡¯t it? This Natsuko, she had power over you, and you were forced to see her as an equal and it was intriguing. That¡¯s what it was, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Ailing asked. Daisy sank lower in the tub. ¡°N-No, I genuinely like them, and I don¡¯t want to see them torn apart by a mob directed by Yuna. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°By Yuna? Oh, you would¡¯ve been on your way here when the Pengwu were going around with the announcement,¡± Ailing said, releasing Daisy from her grasp. Daisy turned her head and looked up at her teammate for the first time. Ailing¡¯s knee-length, platinum-white hair and vajra earrings framed a soft, motherfly face, dragon horns, and scales along her cheeks. Her amber eyes were reptilian slits that tread the line between carnivorous and compassionate. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°The Yishang put out a bounty on the ¡°people or persons¡± responsible for murdering Shrike and some 1st-gen called Frederick. And it sounds like everyone has a pretty clear idea about who they think is responsible,¡± Ailing said. Daisy frowned. This was a lot worse than Yuna putting everyone on a mad chase. ¡°What are they offering? Ying? Special weapons?¡± ¡°Stats. Supposedly enough to make the Top Ten.¡± Daisy sank below the water and furiously blew more bubbles. Her reservoir of stress had shot right back up to full capacity and needed to be emptied again. Unfortunately, the bubbles weren¡¯t proving as effective this time around. ¡°Bwah!¡± she said, tossing her limp, wet ringlets back over her shoulder. She wiped a few more strands from her eyes before looking up at Ailing once again. ¡°Why me? Is that what you¡¯re thinking?¡± Ailing asked. Daisy¡¯s hand lifted out of the water and fired at her teammate with the weakest, smallest-caliber finger guns she had ever produced and emitted a depressingly lackluster, ¡°bullseye.¡± ¡°Because you like to waste your time on silly business,¡± Ailing said, paddling her feet in the water. ¡°Boulanger was right. You should¡¯ve told Zhidao to stuff it. I don¡¯t know what the Yishang are playing at, having you go investigate the 1st-gen fools that stumbled onto forced dimension-jumping right before putting the bounty of all bounties on them, but it¡¯s bad news.¡± Ailing tickled the nape of Daisy¡¯s neck with her fingernails which felt like electricity frying her brain. ¡°My advice to you, Daisy, my sweet, sweet girl, is to drop out of all this while you can. Boulanger is still deciding whether it¡¯s better to go get that nice stat increase ourselves, or to let the others have a go and take the brunt of your little Natsuko¡¯s bottle. We won¡¯t be on the chopping block either way. It¡¯s Yuna, Leenhardt, Sultana, and Higalik that need to be worried about being replaced.¡± The worst part of all this was that Daisy¡¯s teammate was sincerely trying to be comforting and to give her good advice. No, actually, the worst part was that it was good advice. Now that some maniac was running around with another dimension-jumping weapon, anyone near Shuixing was at risk. Whoever that mysterious black figure was, they had already figured out that Shui had to go first, lest she reproduce her research and dilute their monopoly on force dimension-jumping. Her newfound acquaintances were the most wanted people in Po-Lin, and associating with them would add Daisy to the list. But if she did nothing, they were guaranteed to get caught, and whatever the Yishang wanted to do with them¡ªand the Yishang were the preferable alternative¡ªwas probably not good. ¡°Argh!¡± Daisy said, tugging at her wet hair. ¡°I came here to not think thoughts and you went and made me, dammit!¡± Ailing chortled. Daisy felt her teammate¡¯s hand rubbing her upper back. ¡°Only for your own good, dear.¡± ¡°Fine, fine,¡± Daisy replied, feeling a mixture of relief and guilt. ¡°I¡¯ll cut them loose.¡± Chapter 81 - Gaining Experience and Progress at the Expense of All Else Abandoning Natsuko¡¯s team¡ªmaybe Daisy ought to call it ¡°declining to intercede¡±¡ªshould¡¯ve felt like a load off Daisy¡¯s back. It didn¡¯t. Not that she¡¯d lied or anything. Her exact words were that she would, ¡°catch up with them as soon as she could,¡± and that her ¡°teammates would intervene soon.¡± She hadn¡¯t made anything resembling a concrete promise of help for the simple reason that she didn¡¯t know how things would shake out yet. It wasn¡¯t her fault that they¡¯d shaken out in a bad way. That didn¡¯t make her feel any better. Daisy crossed one leg over the other. She was sitting in a wooden chair decked in white fur on her room¡¯s balcony which overlooked the main street of Ariunuul. Her muddy boots lay against the wall and she had crawled under a thick fur blanket to read her book. The night was cold and windy, as all nights were in the Sibe-Lands, and the wooden pagoda that functioned as her team¡¯s headquarters swayed and creaked. Under flickering lamplight, Daisy¡¯s eyes scanned the words of her light novel without comprehending them. Prisoner of the Fox Goddess should¡¯ve been exactly the kind of salacious read she liked to unwind by, but she¡¯d read the same passage now about four or five times. Even when she did make progress, it felt more like a chore than pleasure reading. After an hour of this she closed up the book with a huff, drew her knees up, and sat rolled up in her blanket like a hibernating bear. ¡°Dammit, Zhidao,¡± Daisy muttered to herself. Her teammates were right. She needed to stop letting the Yishang dump missions on her. The trouble was that, out of the four of them, she was the least interested in chasing number increases and slaughtering mobs for experience and spending afternoons crunching through dungeons to get a bunch of lower-tier crafting items to upgrade her weapons and accessories. Failing that, the only other way to continue guaranteeing her top spot was to make herself indispensable to the Yishang. Usually that was fine, sometimes it was even fun depending on the event, but now it had entangled her in a web of complications. In retrospect, it seemed obvious her teammates weren¡¯t going to let her drag them in along with her. With the fur blanket still wrapped around her, Daisy stood up from her chair and drew closed the tassel curtains that partitioned her bedroom from the pagoda¡¯s balcony. She returned her light novel to her bedside table, got into her nightclothes, and snuffed out the lamp. But despite how exhausted she was, and how soft the bed, blanket, and pillows, it took her no less than three hours to finally fall asleep. The next morning came faster than expected and Daisy would¡¯ve spent it going right back to sleep had there not been an ominous note on the floor with Boulanger¡¯s handwriting. All it said was, ¡°Level 90 by the Sunday after next.¡± The punishment didn¡¯t need to be stated. Daisy would be off the team. Getting the message, Daisy threw her boots on, slipped into her fur coat, grabbed her pocket watch, and hopped off the balcony onto the back of Peng rising out of the ground. She steered the great stone bird due north, straight into the Sakhal forest. Grinding for experience wasn¡¯t Daisy¡¯s idea of fun under normal circumstances, but it also didn¡¯t help that her kit wasn¡¯t great for it to begin with. Unlike Ailing who could carpet bomb everything with moon beams, or Boulanger who could set the entire forest ablaze and spend the rest of the day sitting on passive experience income from a giant wildfire, Daisy had rocks. Fewer, higher-quality enemies seemed like her best course of action in lieu of her preferred method: Having other people do the fighting while she soaked up experience for being part of the fight. After some flying, she found what she was looking for: In the middle of the forest there was an ancient stone temple with a Medingradian Animaton pegasus guarding it. There were supposed to be a couple treasure chests for beating it, but Daisy¡¯s team had already cleared them out. Passing over the perimeter of broken pillars, the animaton awoke with the spinning and grinding of steel gear on steel gear. Humming into motion, it rose to meet the stone bird diving for it. Peng slammed into the pegasus, two titanic forces colliding. Daisy flexed her leg muscles to stay on the stone bird¡¯s back as the momentum of the steel pegasus jarred her all the way to her teeth. Damage inflicted, she slid down Peng and leapt into a tumble onto the granite amphitheater below. Her golem crumbled to the ground as she released the ability. The pegasus swooped towards her. Daisy clicked her pocket watch. Granite from the ruined amphitheater¡¯s seating reformed into the shape of a bear whose craggy paws swatted the pegasus out of the air. Steel clanged loud enough to make Daisy wince. She really did not like frontline fighting. That was for Boulanger. Exposed cogs turning, the pegasus righted itself and charged at Daisy again. This time it rammed straight through her stone bear and knocked Daisy aside with its head. Pain flared in her ribs as she stumbled to her feet. Maybe there was something to what Boulanger was saying about ¡°qualitative experience,¡± because she certainly felt sluggish and out-of-practice. The last thing she¡¯d fought had been that crab chasing Zhidao, and her attacks had been strong enough to chain-stagger it. ¡°Alright, ya stupid machine, c¡¯mon now,¡± she said, thumb hovering the crown of her pocket watch. The pegasus made a wide circle, treating the air like a banked turn, and spun to face her. In an accelerated charge, it darted, steel neck extended. She clicked her watch. Stone stalagmites burst from either side of the pegasus and impaled it through the space between its gears. But a moment later it beat its wings and snapped the intruding stalagmites in half. Things went on like this for another fifteen minutes as Daisy¡¯s support abilities beat on the HP-soak of the pegasus. It wasn¡¯t that she was underleveled, the pegasus wasn¡¯t giving her any trouble, it just took a long time to kill. Still faster than chasing down ordinary mobs, she supposed. Eventually, the gears of the pegasus animaton ground to a stop and it collapsed in a pile of screeching metal. Disappearing in the next moment, it left behind a hundred thousand Ying and an indication of experience earned.Stolen story; please report.
125,000 EXP gained!
Daisy groaned. This was going to be such a slog. She repeated her solo feat on several other mini-boss-type enemies around the Sibe-Lands, eventually having to fly all the way out to the Eastern part where the Sibir River marked the end of the steppes and the start of the deciduous forests of the Medingradian region. The river flowed with shedding red-and-yellow leaves of oak and maple trees from the Medingradian side. Daisy would¡¯ve liked to stop and write a poem about it except it was getting towards late afternoon and she hadn¡¯t cleared the Undine enemy that spawned near an old watermill. She set Peng down on a short cliff overlooking the river-straddling mill. The Undine lay out across a rock as a shimmering patch of clear water with leaves circulating through it. As Daisy approached, it switched into its hostile mode and sent lashes of water at her. In uncharacteristic slowness, Daisy couldn¡¯t get her rock defenses up in time and took a direct hit from the buzzsaw-like liquid. It hardly did damage, but it was still an unpleasant surprise. She would¡¯ve assumed after a day of fighting she would be back in shape, but things just weren¡¯t clicking into place. It felt like the combat equivalent of trying to read her book the night before. The Undine dove into the river and easily evaded Daisy¡¯s barrage of kamikaze stone bats. Feeling numb, she went through the motions of trying to hit the evasive water spirit for a few minutes before deciding it wasn¡¯t worth it. She could kill the thing, but the minutes of whacking and running and whacking and running were too much. Daisy hopped back on Peng and flew out of the Undine¡¯s attack range before finding a shallow river bank to land and take a short break for her mental health before she made the two-hour flight back to Ariunuul. She tugged off her boots and rolled her riding breeches up to her knees and waded into the river. Freshwater fish and leaves ran past her calves in the crystal clear water of the Sibir River. Reminded of Pechorin¡¯s explanation of the literary theory behind Sibe-Lander poetry, she thought she would try her hand at it. The aesthetic notion behind the terse, martial style was to gather up everything in one¡¯s eyes and distill it down to bare essences, stripping everything except pairs of nouns and verbs. It wasn¡¯t Daisy¡¯s personal preference for how to construct a poem, but Pechorin seemed to like it, so why not give it a shot? She began the poem looking down at her feet. ¡°Rushing pike, swimming trout, Rocks, leaves, shells.¡± Her voice passed on this information to no one. Her eyes raised to the shore. ¡°Discarded boots, forgotten¡ª fudge! That¡¯s an adjective.¡± She made some popping noises with her mouth and tried again. ¡°Rushing pike, swimming trout, Rocks, leaves, shells. Boots watch, trees sway, Mill, Maple, Monster. Clouds flow, sky crowds, Shapes, linings, ends.¡± Finished, Daisy let the poem linger on the lapping shore and die in the sand. She supposed the fish weren¡¯t listening despite their cameo appearance. She wondered what Pechorin would¡¯ve thought of it, and whether or not she¡¯d have the chance to tell him it at some point after things had¡­ well, they¡¯d probably hate her by then. Daisy cupped water in her hands and splashed her face with it. Time to get home. Two hours later she was landing outside Ariunuul as the sunset was turning the steppes into a sea of burnt orange. She trudged up the hill back to the lodge to go get some dinner. The resident chef was back at work when she arrived, this time practicing a different dish of braised, spicy meat. Outside of combat and exploration, cooking was one of Boulanger¡¯s only hobbies, since it wasn¡¯t technically a waste of time to keep yourself stocked with the necessities of adventuring. No one would ever catch him reading a light novel on his break, or even just resting outside of the four hours a night he shut his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve been grinding for experience?¡± he asked in his quietly domineering voice. ¡°Yeah,¡± Daisy said, shrugging off her pack at the door. ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°And since you asked about them yesterday, Ailing and Jouchi have both returned.¡± Daisy could hear them talking upstairs, and specifically Jouchi¡¯s excitable, scratchy voice regaling Ailing with some tale or another. After grabbing a bowl of braised meat, Daisy made her way upstairs to where her two teammates were chatting out on the balcony. ¡°¡ªthe trapdoor right after you get past the electrogate. So the kid runs in and immediately eats shit¡ª oh, Daisy¡¯s back.¡± Jouchi turned to her, black-furred pauldrons over silk robes swishing. His dark purple spellbook lay on the table between him Ailing with cups of tea on either side and a steaming pot in the middle. He produced an unglazed cup from his robes and held it up. ¡°A cup?¡± he asked. Compared to the other two, his voice was full of vigor. Loud, and somewhat brash. It was the voice of someone who was always having a good time and wanted everyone around them to have a good time too, provided they were the correct type of person. His tone with Non-Heroes and Sub-40 Heroes was harsh and barking, the polar opposite of Boulanger¡¯s voice. ¡°Sure. I guess I can use a nip of tea,¡± Daisy said, sinking into a wicker chair between the two. She rubbed her cheeks and eyes as Jouchi poured her out a cup. Ailing reached out and rubbed her shoulder. ¡°Hard at work grinding, dear?¡± Daisy nodded, her brain too cloudy to form words. Jouchi passed her a cup and she took a sip of the bitter, fortifying brew. ¡°I was just telling Ai about my field trip to Deco-Imperia,¡± Jouchi said. Daisy¡¯s stomach sank. His field trips only involved one thing, and she wasn¡¯t in the mood to hear about it. ¡°I had another crop of triples paying me to walk them through a dungeon. This time it was the Arc Forge. Lotta crispy bacon. No survivors.¡± Jouchi laughed. Just like Boulanger cooked and Daisy wrote poetry or read light novels, this was how Jouchi filled his spare time: Lower ranked Heroes paid him to help them complete quests and dungeons to get ahead, and he turned their failure into a comedy routine while encouraging them along the way. It was only barely more ethical than the Heroes who paid for lower ranks to find all the traps in newly de-Misted dungeons by dying to them. Something felt like it was crawling up Daisy¡¯s throat as Jouchi tried to bring her up to speed on what he¡¯d already told Ailing. Usually, she would listen politely while ignoring him, but today she was tired and cranky and there was that thing in her throat she kept trying to swallow back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jouchi, I¡¯m about to pass out. You can tell me about it in the morning,¡± she said, setting her cup of barely-touched tea on the table. ¡°Fair enough. Hey, Boulanger was telling me you got your own stable of triples to play with. You gotta tell me what you¡¯re having them do,¡± he said. Ailing raised an eyebrow and glanced at Daisy who tried again to swallow that irritating lump. Rather than correcting Jouchi, she grunted some vague confirmation and slipped off to have another go at reading her light novel. Chapter 82 - Facing Ahead Towards the Wide Blue Sky After running around¡ªreally flying¡ªall of the previous day, Daisy¡¯s body was sore and tired when she woke up the next morning. And her bed was so, so comfy. She lay there, hoping no one and nothing would bother her from now until the rest of eternity. As Ailing put it the other night, Daisy was in her ¡°I want nobody to remember I exist¡± mood. Four million, three hundred and thirty-five thousand, eight hundred and eighty experience points left until she could rest. The monsters she killed yesterday were averaging around a hundred thousand apiece and each took about two hours to fly to, kill, and recover. Doing the math in lieu of crawling out from under the covers, that was about 43 more monsters, each taking two hours for 86 hours of work in total. Today was a Saturday, which gave her exactly eight full days to reach level 90. Dividing those 86 hours into eight days, she calculated 11 hours a day of nothing but experience grinding. Daisy let out a low moan and slammed a pillow into her face. It was gonna suck, but she could do it. She¡¯d get to level 90 and then have free reign to do whatever she wanted after that. She didn¡¯t feel like diving off the balcony today, so she trundled downstairs the old fashioned way. Ailing and Boulanger were already gone for the day, but Jouchi was sprawled over a couch with a mug of coffee in hand. The bottle of whiskey and cream liqueur beside the pot of coffee suggested it was more than bean water. ¡°Mornin¡¯!¡± he said. She grunted at him and grabbed a mug from the kitchen to pour herself a cup, sans booze. ¡°So your trips invented forced dimension-jumping, huh?¡± Trips. Triples. Triple-digits. A nickname for a nickname for a slang term. Only frequent use could wear a phrase down to a nub like that. ¡°They did,¡± Daisy replied. There was no sense in hiding it. Jouchi would¡¯ve heard the news about the bounty by now. No unshared secrets, after all. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so interested,¡± Jouchi wormed his way back up to a seated position on the couch. He set his spiked coffee down. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be trying to get your hands on that technology yourself, eh?¡± She shook her head. The question didn¡¯t surprise her so much as the fact that no one had asked about that angle yet. They knew Daisy preferred the path of least resistance, and forced dimension-jumping was a very easy way to remove competition. ¡°I¡¯d be lyin¡¯ if I said it hadn¡¯t crossed my mind,¡± she said, voice rough with morning husk. ¡°But it¡¯s more trouble than it¡¯s worth. Look at the pickle the folks who have it are in.¡± Folks. As in, Shuixing, Pechorin, Natsuko, and Sofiane. Being back with her old team, she was slipping into the habit of using general terms for specific people. Not everyone deserves a name. Your numbers have to be high enough to warrant it. ¡°Being hunted by every Hero under the sun. Hmm, yeah, can¡¯t say I envy ¡®em. A bunch of trips like that are gonna get popped like a skull under a horse hoof. I¡¯m surprised Boulanger doesn¡¯t wanna go snatch them up himself. Easy free stats for us, since you know where they are, don¡¯t you?¡± Jouchi asked. He made a good point, Daisy thought. Free stats seemed exactly the kind of thing Boulanger would pounce on. If he¡¯d asked, Daisy wouldn¡¯t have tried to lie about the location of Natsuko and them. Lying to Boulanger was a bad idea. But he hadn¡¯t asked. In fact, he¡¯d ignored the topic entirely. Daisy shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s got a good reason.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he does. Wouldn¡¯t mind him sharing it with the class though. He certainly doesn¡¯t let us keep our secrets,¡± Jouchi said, punctuating with a sip of his boozy coffee. How very Natsuko-like of him, she thought. Daisy took a sip of her own coffee and was assailed with a legendary bitterness. Bitterness to write ballads about. Bitterness like the tears of a conquered people, salting the earth from which grew the darkest, thorniest coffee beans, harvested by a wizened old crone whose husband had betrayed her and left her for another¡ªIf you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I said you look rough,¡± Jouchi said. ¡°Boulanger just wanted to light a fire under your ass. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll give you an extension on the level-up deadline if you ask.¡± She waved her hand. ¡°No, no. I can make it. It¡¯s not a problem. I just need to shake off the cobwebs by getting my hands dirty.¡± Daisy tried to take another sip of the coffee and just couldn¡¯t, not even with a dram of cream liqueur. She tossed the coffee out and went outside to summon Peng. Before she could, Zhidao floated up from down the road. ¡°Howdy, Daisy!¡± ¡°Howdy yourself.¡± ¡°Why the weariness? You¡¯re not stressed out about Natsuko¡¯s party, are you?¡± Zhidao asked, circling his tail on the cloud. Daisy folded her arms. Pengwu playing cute again. ¡°What is it, Zhidao? You¡¯ve got something to tell me, don¡¯t you?¡± The fox laughed. ¡°Not just you! In fact, you¡¯re only getting about a 15-minute head start over everyone else, and that¡¯s only cuz we¡¯re such good friends!¡± ¡°And because I did your errand with the pie-baking business,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Friendship is about mutual repricoc¡ª reciprico¡ª recip¡ª¡± ¡°Reciprocity?¡± ¡°Huzzah! My fox tongue does the best it can, but alas. But like a good friend, you¡ª¡± ¡°Zhidao, I¡¯m down to 14 minutes now.¡± ¡°Oh shoot, right! So, as you know, Natsuko and friends snuck off to Shikijima where they were supposed to hide, but it seems Empress Sadako caught them.¡± Daisy bit her lip. This was bad. ¡°And that news is about to go out to everyone¡­¡± ¡°Because the Empress asked the Yishang to trigger a special event for their trial.¡± ¡°And everybody is going to know where they are now,¡± Daisy said, hand going up to her mouth. The fox leaned back with his spine arched and gave a big stretch and a yawn, paw beans flexing with satisfaction. Licking his lips, Zhidao said, ¡°of course, you all parted ways, but I just thought you might wanna know.¡± Daisy¡¯s eyes darted around. Ariunuul was quiet. Even the Non-Heroes weren¡¯t up and about yet. ¡°Were you planning on telling Boulanger and them?¡± she asked. ¡°I was on my way to.¡± ¡°From one friend to another, do you mind maybe letting it slip that I¡¯m off fighting monsters, o-or something? Don¡¯t make it a big deal¡­¡± ¡°Oh-ho? Are you trying to make a dishonest fox out of me, Daisy?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll kill a goblin on the way.¡± Zhidao hummed. ¡°Well¡­ since we¡¯re such good friends. Just don¡¯t be surprised if Boulanger has his own sources of information. I¡¯m not the only Pengwu around, y¡¯know.¡± She gave him a scritch under the chin. ¡°Right. But you¡¯re the one who keeps finagling me into your errands, so if you want that to continue, tell my teammates I¡¯m fighting monsters.¡± Within the hour Daisy was soaring over the Sibe-Lands, headed for Shikijima in the far south. The decision had been a split-second one, but once she made it, she felt better than she had in days. The fatigue fled her as if she¡¯d pulled an extra eight hours of sleep out of a hat. She wasn¡¯t sure what she planned to do once she got to Shikijima, or what her next moves would be to keep them safe from the Heroes hunting them, or even how she was going to explain all this to her team, but she made the decision and she was happy with it. So happy, in fact, that she felt like composing a poem, right there on Peng¡¯s back. ¡°Clouds whizz, face wets, Steppes, plains, grass. Stones fly, fur flies Rushing, rushing, rushing¡ª¡± Well, that broke the noun-noun-noun scheme, but heck, this was a Daisy poem. ¡°Ink trailing¡­¡± The rest of the poem tumbled out of Daisy¡¯s mouth as a pained groan. Behind her, a meteor of roiling black fire was falling out of the ground and into the sky. At its center, hidden by a retina-searing darkness, was Boulanger. The ball of black fire flew over Peng and slowed down. Boulanger stepped out of the fire onto stone and dug his feet into a crevice to stand against the wind. His black hair flailed across his icy face. ¡°You¡¯re going to meddle in the forced dimension-jumping business again,¡± he said. Despite not raising his voice, she could still hear him over the buffeting winds. ¡°I-I¡ª Boulanger, I can do both, alright! I¡¯ll get to 90 and I¡¯ll¡ª¡± ¡°Daisy. You can turn around and fly back to Ariunuul, or you can resign from our team. Those are your two choices,¡± Boulanger said. Daisy pursed her lips, looked around at the wide blue sky around her, and said, ¡°well, you don¡¯t see Peng turning around, do you?¡± Chapter 83 - Conjecturing About the Absence of a Teammate ¡°I¡¯m gonna swim it,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You¡¯re not swimming that,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°I¡¯m gonna swim it,¡± she said. ¡°It¡± was the strait between the Shikijima main island and the island of Toumaguro. Without a map, none of them knew the distance, but Natsuko insisted she was a ¡°good swimmer¡± and could ¡°probably make it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not even shaped like a swimmer,¡± Harald said and then flexed his large arms. ¡°This is a swimmer¡¯s body.¡± Natsuko snorted. ¡°Y¡¯ever seen a plank sink?¡± Everyone looked around, checking to see if anyone else had seen a plank sink. Not one of them had even put a plank in a body of water in recent memory. ¡°Exactly,¡± Natsuko said, waving an arm down her body. ¡°I¡¯m made to float.¡± ¡°You¡¯re made to cramp up and drown like an idiot,¡± Sofiane said. They were having this argument on the closest point between the two islands they could find, which was about an hour or so of northward up the coast from where they had rested, curving around towards the backside of Kazan-to. A shoal protruded from the beach which made the difference of all of 100 yards distance. Toumaguro looked hardly any closer. ¡°Let¡¯s just find a Boat Summon,¡± Faisal said. ¡°No, no, I think it¡¯d be much funnier to watch her drown,¡± the raccoon girl said. ¡°Shut it,¡± Natsuko said, ¡°we¡¯re not friends enough for you to be busting my balls yet.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not friends at all, you still got Margaret killed!¡± Natsuko waved the raccoon gril off and stomped into the ocean. Ignoring her, the rest of them spread out looking for a Boat Summon signpost as Natsuko dove into the ocean and gasped at the shock of the chilly water. But a moment later she was front-stroking her way across the ocean. Harald walked alongside Sofiane. ¡°D¡¯ya think she drowns?¡± Sofiane sighed. ¡°I assume we¡¯ll rescue her before then, if we can find the damn Boat Summon.¡± ¡°Is she usually like this?¡± Harald asked. ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Insisting she can swim across the ocean.¡± Sofiane shook his head. ¡°No. Usually she¡¯d say it¡¯s hopeless and we should go back to Kazan-to and drink Plum Rum until we pass out.¡± ¡°A little less belligerent, but this is what she used to be like,¡± Shuixing said, picking her way delicately through the underbrush. ¡°You¡¯ve seen her like this couple of times, actually. Like after¡­¡± Shuixing dropped the sentence before it arrived at, ¡°after Margaret was killed.¡± Although they were allies for the fight against Xiuquan¡¯s team, the status of Harald, Faisal, and the raccoon girl was still up in the air. She left the others to worry about it. Her brain was mulling over yet another strange physics inconsistency, this time the ability of a signpost to instantly summon a boat from nothing. These uncomfortable observations had been increasing in frequency. Shuixing had even started to have dreams where she was dimly aware that the dream was acting upon strange, artificial logic which reminded her of the physical anomalies. She had a niggling sense that something tied all these observations together. Walking, eating, resting, whatever Shuixing was doing, an embryonic theory of physics which unified dimension jumping, dissolving bodies, and re-summoning threatened at any moment to burst out of Shuixing like a case of food poisoning, and just like bad food, it refused to discharge in a timely manner. ¡°Aha! There it is. I knew there was one around here,¡± Harald said. Hidden behind thick vegetation was a small, sandy inlet with a squat plinth and a thin metal sign protruding from it with an anchor resting atop. They called for the others and Pechorin, Faisal, and the raccoon girl came running over. Harald tapped the plinth with his halberd and a sailing skiff popped into existence in the inlet. There was just enough room for six people to sit comfortably, with a seventh bringing the boat close to the waterline. Harald hopped aboard with a heavy thump and the jingling of his metal equipment. ¡°Might be safer to make sure Natsuko is closer to Toumaguro and then let her drown so she respawns on the other shore.¡± ¡°I would prefer it if we did not let Natsuko drown,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°If we pick her up and start sinking, you go overboard instead,¡± Harald said. Pechorin shrugged. ¡°Another chance to show my sacrificial devotion.¡± Harald and Faisal rowed the skiff out of the inlet and onto the open ocean before hoisting the sails, propelling the skiff south and east on fortuitous winds. From there, Natsuko was a tiny, flailing dot several hundred yards from shore. It took only five minutes of sailing to catch up with her. Sofiane leaned over the short railing as they pulled up alongside. ¡°You doused yet, firecrotch?¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Natsuko, sucking down air in-between strokes, still made the effort of gulping a bunch of seawater and spitting it out of her mouth at Sofiane, spattering his face. ¡°Get¡ªhuff¡ªfucked¡ªhuff¡ªpuffball!¡± Natsuko said. Harald chuckled, watching the exchange from the helm. Faisal was sitting on deck with his arms splayed to either side, enjoying the roll of the wind. The raccoon girl, meanwhile, was keeping as far from the water as possible. ¡°Is being afraid of water one of your personality traits?¡± Shui asked. ¡°Well, yeah, but I actually am afraid of water. I¡¯m not faking it for my archetype. Raccoons can¡¯t swim, you know,¡± the raccoon girl replied. ¡°I thought all Heroes could swim.¡± ¡°Not raccoon ones! I might not look it, but I¡¯ve got the instincts of a raccoon. I just lean human-looking because otherwise it might lower my¡­ uh, art numbers. And for another thing, getting seawater in my nose is absolute hell!¡± Shuixing nodded in understanding. As that conversation died away, she turned her head towards Natsuko, huffing away at a much reduced speed. After another fifteen minutes of sailing, they were still only a quarter of the way to the island. Shui hoped Natsuko would succeed. If her friend had a flaw, it was too much optimism, not too much pessimism. Natsuko¡¯s pessimism came from assuming the world would continue being good to her forever, and that she could always rise to its challenges under her own willpower. Learning that wasn¡¯t the case had been a devastating blow that Natsu was still recovering from. ¡°You¡¯ve got it, Natsu! Keep swimming!¡± Shui said. In-between labored strokes, Natsuko flashed her a thumbs up sign. Not long after, her drenched mop of red hair sank below the waves. ¡°Oh dear,¡± Shuixing said. She turned to the rest of the boat. ¡°Is there a lifesaver on this boat?¡± Harald snorted. ¡°Nope!¡± In lieu of another option, Shuixing took some rope and wrapped it around herself before diving into the ocean fully-clothed. Sofiane said, ¡°uh, did she¡ª¡± ¡°Four eyes did not tie the rope to anything,¡± the raccoon girl said. Pechorin and Sofiane both grabbed the length of the rope to prevent it from following Shui into the water and did their best not to step on the glasses she laid on the deck. A minute later, Shuixing popped out of the water with a sputtering Natsuko holding onto her shoulders. Their two teammates helped pull them back into the boat, whereupon Natsuko spewed seawater all over the deck. ¡°Nice attempt,¡± Harald said, ¡°but I guess some planks are dense enough to sink.¡± Natsuko, swinging back towards the pessimistic end of her personality scale, flipped him off and sat down at the stern of the skiff with Shuixing at her side. ¡°I thought it was a good attempt too,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Shut up, Pech.¡± Sofiane was less amused. ¡°Please stop trying to do stupid stuff like that for your own ego. It¡¯s fine when it¡¯s something dumb like this, but don¡¯t get us in trouble if we get attacked again, okay?¡± Natsuko said nothing for the rest of the boat ride to Toumaguro other than muttering to Shuixing about needing something to drink. As the sun was just about overhead, they made landfall on the equally lush Toumaguro island, whose distinguishments from the main island were that it had copious amounts of tuna in the waters off its shore, a couple small fishing villages, and a secret society of warrior monks who were part of some quest or another that involved the balance of power between the Empress and Yuna. All-in-all, it was a pretty empty and uninteresting island. An ideal place to hide. ¡°So, we have a choice here,¡± Sofiane said once the raccoon girl was successfully coaxed off the boat. ¡°We can stay where we¡¯re visible and hope to get spotted by Daisy, and not spotted by other people, or we can head into the jungle and make it harder to be spotted by either.¡± Harald blinked. ¡°You¡¯re still traveling with Daisy Corduroy?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ kinda,¡± Sofiane replied. Natsuko offered her opinion as well: ¡°Stupid backstabbing blonde bitch.¡± Harald grunted. ¡°Neither of those answers are helpful answers.¡± Pechorin ceased his business collecting interesting seashells to come over and explain. ¡°Daisy went to enlist help from her teammates in defending our innocence.¡± ¡°Did she say when she¡¯d be back?¡± Faisal asked. Natsuko¡¯s team made a face like the answer was no without outright saying it. ¡°Well that settles it,¡± Harald said, heaving his halberd over his shoulder and heading towards some wooden steps that led to a jungle path. ¡°We¡¯re not waiting around for someone who might not show up.¡± ¡°It should be today,¡± Sofiane said. He explained to them his mental math of guesstimating how fast Peng flew, how far the Sibe-Lands were, and how long it would take Daisy to cajole her teammates (the least reliable variable, by Sofiane¡¯s own admission). The sum was that today was the most likely arrival time. ¡°And if she doesn¡¯t show up?¡± asked the raccoon girl. ¡°She¡¯ll show up,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°Probably abandoned us, stupid, two-faced cow. Can¡¯t trust her for shit,¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane threw his hands up. ¡°What is your deal, Natsu? What, you¡¯re mad Daisy didn¡¯t spell it out for you that she was working for the Yishang? All of the Top-10 are! Everyone knows it! It¡¯s an open gods-damned secret! Daisy keeping the peace by trying to bury forced dimension-jumping was a surprise to no one but you, and only because your head has been buried in the sand for the past three years.¡± Natsuko glared at him. ¡°But she pretended like¡ª¡± ¡°If you want to be annoyed with anyone,¡± he interrupted, ¡°be annoyed with yourself for being so gods-damned oblivious. Don¡¯t screw over Shuixing and Pechorin by offending the one and only powerful Hero you¡¯ve got in your corner right now. I¡¯m not asking you to like Daisy, but you should swallow your pride and tolerate her, if not for your sake than for your friends¡¯.¡± Natsuko thrust out her lower jaw and clenched her fists and for a moment seemed like she was going to fight him on it. But after a glance at Shuixing, she deflated. ¡°Fine. But I want some time to cool down. And maybe a drink.¡± While this argument had been going on, Harald¡¯s team retreated safely to the jungle where they were holding a whispered conversation about how glad they were to not be a part of that smoldering dumpster fire of a team. Back on the beach, Pechorin cleared his throat. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll have time for that.¡± He gestured at the sky over the Shikjima main island, above which hovered the unmistakable gray shape of a stone bird, flying in their direction. Chapter 84 - Long Walks on the Beach Daisy hopped off Peng who crumbled into sand to match the rest of the beach. With her feet on the ground, she put her fists on her hips, gave a big huff, and said, ¡°well y¡¯all have been busy!¡± ¡°I¡¯m about to be busy putting my foot up your ass,¡± is what Natsuko would have said if she wasn¡¯t on her best behavior courtesy of Sofiane¡¯s chewing out. Instead, she bit down really hard on her lower lip and said nothing. ¡°Not of our own choice,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I can see that. Oh, and there¡¯s the little raccoon girl again!¡± The raccoon girl pouted. ¡°I have a name you kn¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Daisy squeezed her dark-colored cheeks. Unfortunately for her, the difference in power meant that Harald and Faisal couldn¡¯t have stopped Daisy if they tried. Not that they would have. Unlike with Natsuko¡¯s team who had become desensitized to Daisy¡¯s celebrity status, Harald¡¯s team was star struck into inaction. Daisy released the raccoon girl from her pinching clutches. ¡°Phew! Well, as much as I¡¯d like to head back out immediately, I¡¯m pooped! I¡¯ve been on Peng more than my own two legs for the past¡­ gods, five days now? Six? Ol¡¯ Daisy needs some rest, so first thing¡¯s, let¡¯s find somewhere for me to snatch a nap,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Right now? While we¡¯re being chased by¡­ uh, everyone?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Sure! I mean, ya got me now, right? I can blow up anyone who might come after us.¡± ¡°What about your teammates?¡± It could have been Sofiane¡¯s imagination, but he thought he saw Daisy start to sweat a little despite the weather being in the upper 40s. ¡°Uhh¡­ well, they at least won¡¯t be coming after us,¡± she said, eyes looking at everything but Sofiane¡¯s gaze. ¡°But they¡¯re not going to help either,¡± he said. Daisy sighed. The dark circles under her eyes were a lot more noticeable now that Sofiane was looking. Her usual cheeriness seemed forced. ¡°I did what I could. But like I said, they won¡¯t be among the hunting parties, so that¡¯s a plus.¡± Sofiane¡¯s head dipped in disbelief. ¡°Boulanger turned down a guaranteed permanent stat increase? How in the world did you manage that?¡± Daisy shrugged. ¡°He did cuz he did. Anyway, chatter later, nap now! Onward to¡­ what¡¯s the village around here again?¡± ¡°Kajimata Village,¡± Shuixing supplied. ¡°North by northeast on the jungle trail.¡± Shui surprised herself with that knowledge. It¡¯d been at least three years since she set foot on the island, let alone visited Kajimata Village. Her brain worked in strange ways sometimes. Rarely did it ever do exactly as she bid, as now when she couldn¡¯t make it parse the physical anomalies she¡¯d been cataloging, but it could happily provide the name of an unimportant village. If she had to apply a metaphor to it, it was like herding a cat. By early afternoon, their party of eight exited the jungle at the top of some dunes overlooking a village entirely on stilts. Kajimata was built over the beach and water and resembled one seamless pier stretching from sand out to the harbor full of moored tuna-fishing boats. The only other thing of note about it was the best sushi restaurant in Shikijima, which made it indisputably the best sushi restaurant in Po-Lin. The restaurant was built over the water and looked like a fishing shed with ¡°Taki¡¯s Sushi¡± scrawled across its front. ¡°Taki¡¯s for dinner, my treat,¡± Daisy said as she stumbled her way down the sand dunes on wobbly legs. Shuixing noted that the Vitality stat did not appear to fortify stamina when it came to the effects of mental fatigue on the mind-body connection. Tired was tired. ¡°How thoughtful,¡± Natsuko said flatly. The ¡°hotel¡± was also Daisy¡¯s treat, but it was a treat in the way that a bowl of dry cereal was. It was nothing but a couple side rooms in the fishermen¡¯s work hall, which itself was just a kitchen, and adjoining meeting hall. The two rooms had to be cleared of fishing supplies and, once clean, were a good fit for one person. Less so for four. ¡°It¡­ smells like tuna,¡± Sofiane said, unconcerned with offending the village chief who was giving them a tour of the place. ¡°I know, isn¡¯t it great?¡± the raccoon girl said. ¡°Would we be better off sleeping under the stars?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°Do what ya want,¡± Daisy said, ¡°but it seems a mite safer for y¡¯all to be hidden indoors.¡± Natsuko moved the sliding bamboo door back and forth in its frame to emphasize the ironclad safety it provided. Unlike the rest of them, Daisy had no qualms about throwing her sleeping bag down on the floor and passing right out. The other seven stood around and marveled at her speed.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Is that an archetype thing? The immediate sleep?¡± Harald asked. ¡°Gods I wish,¡± Sofiane said. He had flashbacks of being kept awake by Daisy¡¯s pestering evening talks on the road to Tianzhou. If anything, she had a bad habit of refusing to go to sleep, even if the conversation devolved into, ¡°if you were a Pengwu, what kind of animal would you shapeshift into?¡± He¡¯d never met someone who was more of a chatterbox besides maybe Pechorin if you asked him to write a poem. With nothing to do but wait for Daisy to wake up, Harald¡¯s team went for a walk down the beach to confer about some things, which left the usual crew standing around the docks. Being a Sunday, the fishing boats were all in and the villagers were running errands or chatting. The village children were playing a game where they pretended to be Heroes. Natsuko watched with amusement as the game devolved into an argument about who had the higher Use-Number. She appreciated the kids¡¯ attention to realism. ¡°Care for a walk down the beach?¡± Pechorin asked Natsuko. Natsuko was startled at the comment. ¡°Huh? Oh¡­ um¡­ not¡­ right now. I was going to talk with Shui about¡­ things. And stuff. Stuff and things.¡± Shui perked up. ¡°Ah! Good idea. Maybe I need another mind to bounce ideas off of.¡± Pechorin nodded and then made a few moves like rocking on his heels and sticking his hands in his jacket pockets which gave off the impression of nonchalance to make sure Natsuko knew that it was whatever. Sofiane waited for Natsu and Shui to walk away before saying. ¡°Ouch. Tough luck, buddy.¡± ¡°The cool autumn wind¡ª¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t an invitation to poetry.¡± As Shui and Natsu walked along the beach, the cool autumn wind rolled through the jungle out to sea, lending the dense foliage an impression of airiness. Focusing on navigating the sand drew Shuixing out of her head and back into her body, while having her friend alongside gave her a sense of security. Shuixing was already starting to feel more collected. ¡°I had a feeling you were mulling something over,¡± Natsuko said, her hands folded behind her head. ¡°How so?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°You¡¯ve got two modes of deep thinking from what I¡¯ve seen,¡± Natsuko said, holding up one finger. ¡°In the first, you¡¯ve got a goal and all the steps in mind and you¡¯re going through ¡®em, one by one. That¡¯s how you were when you were working on my bottle.¡± She held up a second finger. ¡°The second mode is when you¡¯ve got no idea what you¡¯re supposed to be thinking about and it¡¯s driving you nuts. And basically since we left Tianzhou, you¡¯ve been Shuixing Mark II, babe.¡± ¡°I had the cards to focus on then,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°And now you don¡¯t. So, what¡¯s running through that enormous and convoluted mind of yours, Shui-shui? Lay it on me. I can take it!¡± Natsuko could take it because she tuned out as soon as things got complicated or abstract, Shuixing thought. Not that this was a problem. It might even be the case that Natsuko was such a good sounding board precisely because she would start yawning the second Shui brought up complex polygons and convex hulls and elastic collisions and so on and so on. ¡°Ever since we went to that dungeon with Sofiane¡ª¡± ¡°The one with Charles?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°The little not-quite-a-Pengwu thing that I made my pet for a few hours.¡± ¡°Oh! I completely forgot about that thing. I guess we all took something different away from that trip,¡± Shuixing said. For her it was the physical laws of the place. Apparently for Natsuko it had been Charles. She made a mental note to ask Sofiane what his takeaway was on the off-chance that it might give her some additional insight about the dungeon that she was blind to. Shuixing cleared her throat. ¡°A-Anyway¡­ After we went to the dungeon where things didn¡¯t dissolve when they were broken, I started to notice more and more instances of physical anomalies in our world. Like¡­ well, how a boat can be instantly summoned from nowhere, and this doesn¡¯t seem strange to us.¡± Natsuko squinted. ¡°Y¡¯know¡­ I never really thought about that. It just seemed, uh, normal?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I mean!¡± Shuixing said, her voice gaining in excitement. ¡°If I¡¯m only noticing these things now, and you¡¯re only noticing them when I point them out, how many more are hiding in plain sight!?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Like what if beaches¡­ don¡¯t really exist!¡± Shuixing looked down at the sand and dug her toes into it. They certainly seemed real, but Natsuko was on the right track. ¡°I think the beach is real,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Or, rather, by real I mean not inconsistent with physicals laws of causality¡ª¡± And there went Natsuko¡¯s attention span. Her friend¡¯s eyes still looked encouraging and excited on her behalf, but Shuixing imagined that if she opened up her friend¡¯s head, she would hear a record playing the phrase, ¡°Plum Rum Happy Hour!¡± on repeat. That was alright. Natsuko¡¯s enthusiasm was authentic, and that was enough for Shuixing to take heart. ¡°I-I think¡­ I think I can develop a new theory which ties all these strange, illogical occurrences together. Or at least, that¡¯s what¡¯s been turning me into Shuixing Mark II, as you put it. So I do apologize for my general reticence of late and¡ª¡± Natsuko mashed her face into Shui and rubbed her cheeks against her. ¡°Aww, I wouldn¡¯t even care if you were Shuixing Mark 42! I know this is what you live for, and even if I don¡¯t get all the sciencey jargon, I want to do what I can to make sure you can work on it in peace. Even if I have to beat up every other Hero to do it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna have a tough time with that,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Not if I had my bottle!¡± The waves lapped and seagulls called in the gulf of awkward silence that followed. In her excitement, Natsuko had touched on something that both of them, without realizing it, had been trying to ignore: Another bottle, or something like it, would be an incredibly useful deterrent against the Heroes hunting them. But it also meant once again recreating the means of permanent death. ¡°Natsu, I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good¡ª¡± ¡°No, no! I wasn¡¯t suggesting¡ª I just meant that, like, you know¡­ I meant it as a hypothetical. I wasn¡¯t suggesting that you¡­¡± Shuixing frowned behind her glasses. The one thing she absolutely would not do was bring more forced dimension-jumping into the world. She had made that mistake once and was still paying for it. Repeating it would be unconscionable, even for self-defense. Just the thought sent her into a cloud of angst and self-doubt. With nothing else to say, Natsuko pulled Shuixing into a bear hug. Neither of them said anything. The hug was enough. Chapter 85 - Tales From a Steamy Sushi Restaurant The noise in ¡°Taki¡¯s Sushi¡± was a dull murmur as six Heroes filed in. Being the only spot for good food in the village, it was where all the date nights went on simultaneously for the parents who had left their kids to run around under their grandparents¡¯ supervision. The inside was warmed by charcoal braziers over which Taki¡¯s two assistant cooks were grilling appetizers while the chef himself performed works of magic upon fish filets to turn them into ¡°objets d¡¯art et gastronomie,¡± as Sofiane put it. Despite its famous reputation, seating at Taki¡¯s was on a ¡°seat yourself¡± basis, and if you were out of room, good luck. Fortunately, the couples were ignoring the long, low-seated table on a raised platform in the back corner, leaving it to the group of Heroes who had just become the center of attention for everyone but Taki (for whom only tuna held that honor). The seating immediately became an ordeal. Daisy took the head of the table, but Natsuko refused to sit either across or next to her, requiring her to be at a far diagonal. With Harald sitting at the opposite end, Pechorin tried for the spot next to Natsuko but was cut off by Shuixing. He moved around to sit on the other side of Natsuko, but Faisal had already taken that one. The closest he could get was diagonally from Natsuko, forcing Sofiane and the raccoon girl to sit on either side of Daisy and cutting the raccoon girl off from her teammates. The result was that everyone but Daisy and Shuixing had a vague sense of the inadequacy of the arrangement but too much social tact to ask for a rearrangement. Once they were seated, one of the cooks came over from their brazier and took their drink orders. ¡°Hoo boy, it¡¯s gotta be the plum rum, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°They have a punch here, don¡¯t they?¡± Sofiane asked. Natsuko¡¯s pupils dilated. ¡°They have a punch!?¡± The cook nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll take three pitchers for the table,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I don¡¯t drink¡­¡± Faisal said. ¡°And a glass of milk for the baby.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have tea,¡± Faisal said. Everyone else was happy enough with the plum rum punch, lava red with an autumn hibiscus floating in it. Following this, Daisy ordered every appetizer on the menu without asking for their price while Natsuko asked about their price purely to know exactly how much value she was shaving off Daisy¡¯s benefaction. As they waited for the appetizers, Pechorin tried to start a conversation. ¡°So, how¡¯d the talk with Shui go?¡± ¡°Heartwarming,¡± Natsuko said, then turned her head towards Faisal and Harald. ¡°Hey, you two, how far did you get in al-Nuwba before you got your ass whooped?¡± Pechorin grimaced. Ever since Natsuko had thanked him for rescuing her, their interactions had been short and perfunctory. He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d expected when he finally achieved his grand sacrificial display, but it wasn¡¯t this. The only change had been that Natsu¡ªmostly¡ªstopped being rude to him and telling him to shut up, but he would¡¯ve preferred that, because at least it wasn¡¯t an interminable lack of interaction. Neither was it outright rejection, which Natsuko was not the kind of person to beat around the bush about. It was instead a strange, subtle thing which he¡¯d never associated with Natsuko, for whom the term ¡°subtle¡± was an alien concept. On the other hand, the protracted pain of this stage in their relationship was deliciously aestheticizable, so Pechorin couldn¡¯t complain. This was the torture part of being a tortured poet. ¡°You good? That¡¯s your third glass of punch, man,¡± the raccoon girl said, gesturing at the ceramic cup of sticky red liquid in Pechorin¡¯s hand. ¡°I can handle my liquor,¡± Pechorin replied in a dangerous exercise in dramatic irony. ¡°If you say so,¡± she replied. Making the best of the seating arrangements, Sofiane decided to do something he hadn¡¯t done in a long time¡ªat least since first meeting Shuixing and Natsuko¡ªand flirt shamelessly. He made it his goal to fluster the raccoon girl. ¡°You¡¯re not a lightweight, are you?¡± he asked her. ¡°Huh? Me? Well, yeah, I guess. I don¡¯t drink a lot.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a stronger Hero than me, mon cheri,¡± Sofiane said, lifting his cup up. ¡°But tonight is a celebration, so drink up!¡± The raccoon girl looked confused. ¡°A celebration? Of what?¡± Sofiane raised his eyebrows over his cup and swallowed. ¡°Of finally learning your name, of course.¡± ¡°O-Oh! Right, I guess I haven¡¯t gotten around to it. Um, it¡¯s Gomiko¡­¡± Sofiane made a feigned look of shock and placed a hand on his chest. ¡°Goodness me, I hadn¡¯t expected it to be so beautiful. ¡°I mean¡­¡± the raccoon girl took a swig of her own drink and wiped her mouth with her forearm. ¡°The meaning in Shikijiman is¡ª¡± Natsuko had already started laughing. ¡°Trash girl! Ahahaha, oh that¡¯s funny! The Yishang did you dirty!¡± The raccoon girl frowned, her dark eye sockets crinkling. ¡°Yes. Haha. It¡¯s hilarious. Raccoons and trash. They must have wracked their brain for that one.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Thankful to Natsuko for unwittingly playing the ¡°bad cop¡± wingman for him, Sofiane leaned forward to grab Gomiko¡¯s attention. ¡°Well then, if the name isn¡¯t beautiful, that can only mean the beauty belongs to the one who bears it.¡± Gomiko blinked, taking a moment to process the compliment. ¡°O-Oh! Um, w-why thank you¡­¡± The raccoon girl glanced away and brought the cup up to her mouth to give her hands something to do besides fidget nervously. It wasn¡¯t beyond Gomiko to recognize how cheap and corny the line was, but it had been awhile since anyone complimented her¡ªor asked her name, besides Pechorin¡ªso Sofiane¡¯s cheesy line hit its mark. Her teammates picked up the slack by rolling their eyes for her. ¡°Damn, puffball got game,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Coulda fooled me.¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a reason you¡¯ve never seen it, firecrotch.¡± ¡°Thank you for saving me the second-hand embarrassment.¡± ¡°Oh wow, this punch is good,¡± Daisy said. The appetizers arrived and the table was filled with a buffet of spicy edamame, karaage, deep-fried spam, pineapple kebabs, and more. The conversation slowed as everyone realized how hungry they were and filled their mouths with appetizers. ¡°And for the main course?¡± the cook asked. ¡°Omakase, all the way around!¡± Daisy said. ¡°Very good, okyakusama,¡± he said before turning and screaming the order at Taki carving up a tuna. ¡°Omakase?¡± Harald asked. ¡°It means we¡¯re letting Taki pick what he serves us,¡± Gomiko explained. ¡°Why not just say that then?¡± ¡°Because this is the Shikijiman way of ordering it,¡± Faisal said. ¡°They speak the common tongue! I don¡¯t understand why¡ª¡± And with that the appetizers and punch were held up for a few minutes as they talked Harald down from a rant that was embarrassing to everyone but him. The excitement was enough that Sofiane put the pause on his womanizing act, but Daisy was enjoying it, so she reached under the table to poke his leg and jerk her head towards Gomiko who was silently looking around the room with a cup of punch in her hand that Daisy had been kind enough to keep topped off for her. As soon as Sofiane leaned forward to speak again, Gomiko¡¯s gaze flicked back to him. ¡°So, I know what those three have been up to in their post-adventuring life,¡± Sofiane said, gesturing at his three teammates. ¡°But how about you? What do you fill your time with?¡± Gomiko rubbed her arm. ¡°Oh, um¡­ I¡­ write poetry actually. And stories too. I just like writing in general, really.¡± ¡°Poetry? I adore poetry, and I¡¯d love to hear some of yours,¡± Sofiane said. Pechorin and Daisy both stared at Sofiane and his shameless about-face. Pechorin felt particularly betrayed. Gomiko, however, went wide-eyed. ¡°R-R-Right now? O-Oh no, I couldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Is everyone a gods-damned poet!? Good grief!¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane side-eyed Natsuko. ¡°We can save it for when we have a bit more privacy.¡± The word privacy had Gomiko¡¯s heart thumping. Even though Sofiane had killed Harald before, and mocked their team, and was nowhere near as polite and gentlemanly as he was pretending, his flirting was working. This made her even more frustrated. Was it the punch? Was it turning her into an excitable idiot? Or was it that she had gone so long without talking to anyone but her team who were like siblings to her? Regardless, the more she thought about how stupid it was to fall for Sofiane¡¯s womanizing, the more she felt like she was falling for it. ¡°Is it hot in here? I feel like it¡¯s hot in here,¡± she said, wafting herself with a napkin. Gomiko¡¯s face was like a checkerboard, red where it wasn¡¯t black. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go outside to cool off for a sec. Be right back.¡± Once she had gotten up and gone outside for some cool air, Faisal and Harald both glared at Sofiane. ¡°What¡¯s the idea here?¡± Harald said. ¡°Idea?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play coy. Why are you messing with our teammate? What¡¯s the endgame?¡± Sofiane raised his eyebrows. ¡°Messing with? You wound me, mon ami, we are just having a bit of flirtatious fun. And I do mean we. Your dear teammate is waltzing with me of her own volition.¡± Faisal folded his arms. ¡°And does she know that this waltz is going nowhere?¡± Sofiane shrugged. ¡°Who¡¯s to say where it goes? That¡¯s up to her.¡± Daisy was positively living for the drama. She was popping edamame into her mouth like popcorn and sipping on punch. She was still anxious about her choice to leave Boulanger¡¯s team, but compared to their work-hard-play-never policy, this was so much more fun. She wanted the night to go on and on. ¡°I-I think you should make your intentions a little bit clearer, Sofi,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Clarity is the death of intrigue. Titillation thrives in the dark,¡± he opined. The discussion was put to a close by Gomiko returning from outside looking quite cooled off and ready for some sushi. The remaining appetizers were cleared away against Natsuko¡¯s insistence on having them put in a to-go box and a sushi spread was laid out nestled in a two-foot long wooden boat. Shuixing wisely waited a moment for the gunshot of Natsuko¡¯s arm to go off before plucking a few pieces for herself. As Shui nibbled on a piece of tuna, she ruminated on the wonders of pair-bonding and what purpose it served for Heroes. As a zoologist by archetype if not by inclination, she was well aware of the notion of procreation, but for some reason it felt thoroughly inapplicable to human nature. Both Heroes and Non-Heroes were summoned into being by the Yishang, and despite the existence of children, there was a sense that they had always been children and would always be children, no different than a wooden house would always be a wooden house again at 4am, whether it was destroyed by an Ice Wyvern or not. So this left her with the question of what was impelling Sofiane to pursue Gomiko? Was the template of romance as a mode of interaction the vestigial leftover of an unnecessary sexuality put to the service of archetype-building? That was to say, the form of romantic pursuit was more important than¡ª ¡°You gonna eat that?¡± Natsuko said, pointing at some pieces of fatty tuna languishing on Shui¡¯s plate. ¡°Hmm? Oh, no, please take it.¡± Right as Shuixing was about to dive back down into the tempest of abstract thought experiments, Sofiane and Gomiko both got up from the table. ¡°We¡¯re gonna go for a walk on the beach, we¡¯ll catch up later,¡± Sofiane said, leading Gomiko out by the arm. Across from Shuixing, Pechorin was watching Sofiane with an amalgam of jealousy, admiration, and awe. To her left, Natsuko was watching her fatty tuna with an amalgam of jealousy, admiration, and awe. Chapter 86 - The Benefits of Regularly Checking your Use-Numbers Gomiko shivered as she and Sofiane walked along the beach. There wasn¡¯t much of a difference between night and day temperatures on Shikijima, but it was still mid-autumn and the sea breezes could bite hard. ¡°Cold?¡± Sofiane asked, forcing himself not to shiver through willpower. ¡°Yeah. I should¡¯ve packed my cold-weather outfit,¡± she said. Gomiko¡¯s default outfit consisted of the baggy, black-and-white, open-sided trousers and sleeveless tunic and sandals that were as generically ¡°female ninja¡± as you could possibly get. Sofiane was confident there were at least two other Heroes with identical archetypes. Only one of the two, Kazemi, had a somewhat high Use-Ranking. The other one was irrelevant, same as Gomiko. Gomiko cleared her throat. ¡°D-Do you mind if I¡­¡± Sofiane felt guilty as he realized he was back to his habit of thinking about Use-Rankings. ¡°Oh! My apologies, mon cheri, I have failed in my duty to offer first!¡± He slipped his arm around Gomiko¡¯s waist and the two of them shared body heat as they walked. Both being equally short, the scheme worked quite well. Or maybe it was just the heat rushing to Sofiane¡¯s cheeks. He¡¯d initially flirted with her as a joke and, without his noticing, it had become less of a joke. Rather than walking straight, they teetered hither and thither, both tipsy on plum rum punch. At one point, Gomiko teetered a little too far thither and ended up falling into the surf, bringing Sofiane along with her. ¡°Ahahah gods! That¡¯s so co~old!¡± Gomiko said. Sofiane¡¯s teeth chattered as he laughed along with her. ¡°We survived Xiuquan and now you¡¯re gonna kill us with hypothermia!¡± She splashed him with frigid sea water. ¡°You got me drunk, you womanizing dandy, this is your fault!¡± I did not!¡± Sofiane said, splashing her back. ¡°Daisy got you drunk and I did nothing to discourage her!¡± The two of them continued the silly spat until the water got too cold for them to handle and they made a mad dash back towards Kajimata Village to get their clothes over a brazier. Both of them were thinking¡ªand wondering if the other was thinking¡ªabout what that would entail, but there wasn¡¯t a whole lot of privacy in the fishy-smelling barracks they were sharing with their teammates, so there was no chance of anything too outrageous. They found the fisherman¡¯s hall empty, their teammates presumably still at the restaurant. At the center of the hall was a large hearth set into the floor with a firepit in the middle and a kettle hanging from a large spit. The hearth was cold and there was no firewood to be seen. ¡°Shoot. For once, firecrotch could actually be helpful¡­¡± Sofiane muttered. ¡°It¡¯s kind of rude to call your own teammate that, isn¡¯t it?¡± Gomiko said, rubbing her arms to warm up. ¡°It¡¯s usually her starting it. She¡¯s as abrasive as sand,¡± Sofiane replied as he rifled through some storage cabinets hoping the fishermen had left something to start a fire with. ¡°Harald can be abrasive too¡­ and so could¡ª can Margaret¡­ but I¡¯ve found if you pay attention, you can mediate things before they turn into an argument,¡± Gomiko said. Sofiane turned from a cabinet full of fishing nets. ¡°That works if your teammates are sane. All of mine¡ª¡± he realized Xiuquan¡¯s team had stopped being ¡°his¡± and Natsuko¡¯s team had started, ¡°¡ªare a little, uh, damaged, on account of being forgotten Heroes for so long.¡± Gomiko put her hands on her hips and puckered her lips. ¡°So am I, you know! That wasn¡¯t a problem a moment ago.¡± ¡°No! No, I¡­ I don¡¯t mean there¡¯s anything wrong with them, I just mean¡­¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what he meant. Well, other than exactly what he said, but he was trying to walk that back. Gomiko said nothing as she came over to help him look through the cabinets. After a few doors, she found a compartment full of firewood, a box of sawdust, and a couple pieces of well-chipped flint. She handed him the flint while she set up the fire. The two rocks hung awkwardly in his outstretched hands. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gomi.¡± She raised an eyebrow and chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m already Gomi? Boy, you¡¯re moving fast. At least take me on a proper date first before you go making up a pet name. Besides, I don¡¯t really care. It¡¯s your teammates you oughta apologize to.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I guess so. Not like I¡¯m in a different situation from them now.¡± ¡°Aw, see? And Faisal and Harald are gonna try and tell me I can¡¯t fix you.¡± ¡°If Harald says that to my face, I¡¯ll fix him,¡± he replied. ¡°You¡¯re cute when you¡¯re insecure, Sofi. Now help me start this fire before I freeze myself into a 4am wake-up.¡± It took several attempts with the unfamiliar tools, but Sofiane and Gomiko eventually got the fire going and stripped down to their underwear to hang their sea-wet clothes on the spit. Once done, they sat down in front of the fire with their hands and feet facing it and toasted themselves to the sound of crackling wood. ¡°You were the second generation of Heroes, right?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Gomiko said. ¡°The four of us were summoned to be part of a Tianzhou questline, but it was a while before we overtook Natsuko¡¯s team. We weren¡¯t so strong we could blitz through a region in a day like the Heroes summoned now can do. I actually remember the days when Natsuko was #1. I think I only ever topped out at #9.¡± It felt like ancient history to Sofiane. By the time he¡¯d even been summoned, Natsuko was nothing but a meaningless name at the bottom of the Use-Rankings. He couldn¡¯t imagine her in Boulanger¡¯s position. Shuixing and Pechorin kept saying she used to be a peppy go-getter, but somehow that was even harder to imagine than her at the #1 spot. ¡°How far did you end up making it?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Farther than Natsuko¡¯s team did. We completed the al-Nuwba questlines. But we were already past our peak at that point. We struggled through al-Nuwba. I¡¯m talking four hours of sleep a night because we spent 16 hours doing nothing but grinding experience to hit the level 50 cap. And then, of course, Deco Imperia wiped the floor with us. We didn¡¯t even make it to New Imperia before getting throttled by basic mobs.¡± ¡°Damn, that sucks,¡± Sofiane said, declining to mention that his former team had run through al-Nuwba in a weekend. ¡°It is what it is,¡± Gomiko said, hooking her arm around his and leaning into his shoulder. Sofiane¡¯s old habits reared their ugly head once more and compelled him to take a look at Gomiko¡¯s current placement on the Use-Rankings. He scrolled down to the bottom starting with ¡°Pechorin¡± and working his way up until he found her name. However, something felt off as he scrolled. He wondered if it was guilt about comparing numbers again, but somehow he didn¡¯t think that was it. It was something with the numbers themselves and¡ª Sofiane gasped. ¡°Oh fuck.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The Use-Ranking total. It went down again.¡± Gomiko¡¯s hand went to her mouth. Sofiane flicked through the rankings, this time starting from the top. Nothing was out of order there, but then something compelled him to check the Heroes he knew were nearby, starting with Xiuquan, Gula Asu, Koyon, and¡­ Baran was missing. Sofiane checked ten spots on either side of where he knew his former teammate ought to be, and then checked again, but Baran¡¯s name was gone. ¡°It was Baran,¡± Sofiane said flatly. ¡°The wind guy that got re-summoned with us!?¡± Gomiko said. Sofiane nodded. ¡°Which means¡­¡± ¡°The mysterious attacker¡­¡± Was nearby. One island away, as of whenever Baran had been killed. But Sofiane didn¡¯t know when it had occurred. He grabbed Gomiko by the shoulders. ¡°Did you look at the Use-Rankings at all tonight?¡± She shook her head, meeting his frightened expression with her own. ¡°Gods¡­ I wasn¡¯t looking either. Baran could¡¯ve been killed hours ago, and if that¡¯s the case¡ª¡± Against the firelight, the dark windows were an opaque black. Outside, the wind from the water caused the fishermen¡¯s hall to creak and sway. Sofiane shuddered. Gomiko held onto his arm. Whatever was left of their tipsiness was replaced with cold sobriety. ¡°The others probably haven¡¯t noticed either,¡± he said, his voice half-whispering. ¡°At least we¡¯ll have a warning if someone pops up in your smell radius, right?¡± Gomiko shook her head. ¡°That time in the anomalous dungeon¡­ they didn¡¯t smell like anything. They didn¡¯t register as a Hero to me.¡± ¡°M-Maybe it was because of the dungeon?¡± ¡°I could smell you all just fine then.¡± Sofiane¡¯s heart pounded.The last time he¡¯d fought the black figure, they had thrown him around like a chew toy, and that was with his rapier in hand. He wasn¡¯t any stronger now, even with Xiuquan¡¯s sword. ¡°If they did want to kill us, they wouldn¡¯t need to set a trap. We¡¯d already be dead right now,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I say we book it to Taki¡¯s.¡± Gomiko gave a firm nod. A couple minutes later, an out-of-breath Sofiane and Gomiko threw the doors to Taki¡¯s Sushi open with a loud bang. Every eye in the restaurant was on them, but before they could get their news out, Natsuko and Daisy burst out laughing. Shuixing covered a giggle with her hands. Harald and Faisal looked scandalized. Pechorin was doing an excellent performance of someone who was too cool to laugh. ¡°Oh gods,¡± Natsuko said, wiping a tear from her eye, ¡°did you all lose something on the beach?¡± Harald scoffed. ¡°A walk on the beach, huh?¡± Sofiane looked baffled. ¡°What are you all¡ª oh gods-dammit.¡± The news had been critical enough that he and Gomiko had forgotten to take their clothes with them. Gomiko buried her face in her hands. ¡°Forget about that, check the Use-Rankings!¡± Sofiane said. The Non-Heroes had no idea what was going on, but knew Hero business was usually a bad thing and started abandoning their tables with piles of Ying left as payment. Taki himself halted halfway through plating a salmon roll and headed for the ¡°Closed¡± sign. Shuixing was the first to figure out what had happened. Her breath hitched. ¡°Someone else was killed¡­¡± ¡°It gets worse,¡± Sofiane said, charging past the abandoned tables. ¡°It was Baran.¡± The change was immediate. Muscles stiffened and alcohol-reddened faces turned pale. Even Daisy, the only one of them who had been a match for their mystery assailant, looked frightened. Unlike the first time they fought, she was now one glancing blow away from being thrown through the ground, same as anyone else. ¡°Did this just happen?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Gomiko replied. ¡°Sofi only just noticed.¡± Despite the danger they were in, Shuixing found the use of Sofiane¡¯s nickname oddly discomforting, along with the question of what exactly the two were doing in their underwear in the first place. ¡°We need to leave,¡± Harald said. ¡°Tonight.¡± He and Faisal stood up as the latter unfurled his whip. ¡°It might be best,¡± Faisal said, ¡°if we went our separate ways at this juncture. I hate to be self-interested, but I would like to point out that this figure has been chasing you all, not us. For our own safety, I think this might be best.¡± Straight man archetype indeed, Sofiane thought. Gomiko protested. ¡°Wait, Faisal! We only just¡ª¡± ¡°You can postpone your little fling until after there isn¡¯t a murderer on the loose,¡± Harald said. ¡°Let¡¯s get your clothes and go.¡± The two of them dragged their teammate out of the restaurant through a backdoor. Sofiane gave a small bow and blew her a kiss as they departed. Once they were gone, Daisy dropped a giant bag of Ying on the table still full of food and drink. Natsuko made sure to consolidate the rest of the plum rum punch into one jug and took it with her. ¡°Seriously?¡± Sofiane said to her. ¡°These are dire circumstances, ¡°Sofi¡±,¡± Natsuko said, imitating Gomiko¡¯s cadence. ¡°And dire circumstances call for alcohol.¡± Sofiane threw up his hands and looked around at the others for support, but Shui and Pechorin were already at the front door, scanning for any signs of mysterious attackers, and Daisy was packing up her Ying purse. ¡°Guess we¡¯re back on Peng again,¡± Daisy said with a sigh. ¡°My thighs are going to look like boiled leather by the time I finally get some proper rest!¡± Daisy led them out of the restaurant and towards the beach and raised a block of sandstone out of it in the shape of her trademark bird. While she did that, the rest of them watched the jungle, waiting in suspense for it to spit out their deadly pursuer. ¡°Do you think we have time to go back and get my clothes?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°What!? Dude, no, you already travel with like eight changes of clothes!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Yeah, but I really liked that qipao! That was a Master Sima original! Can we at least yell at some fishermen to set it aside for me?¡± Sofiane asked. Daisy was already on Peng¡¯s back as the others tried to convince Sofiane to give up the outfit. And as Shuixing moved around behind the stone bird to add her own voice to the effort, a chest-rattling boom knocked them to the ground. Statistics:
NATSUKO
Level: 48 EXP To Level: 513,202 Class: JackThis novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Fire Elemental HP: (1,001 | 8,700)
STATS
Force: 101 Vitality: 121 Finesse: 51 Cognition: 37 Insight: 83
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Hothead ¡ª Deal 50% more fire elemental damage while under half health ACTIVE: Jack of All Trades ¡ª Every two levels, Jack learn an ability belonging to another class. These can be used once per day. ELEMENTAL: Fire Gale ¡ª Produces a burst of fire from its user''s limbs dealing moderate fire elemental damage and setting target ablaze ACTIVE: Fuel Injection ¡ª Parry an elemental attack and regain 10% of the damage that would be dealt as HP and halve all current cooldowns. DESPERATION ART: Spontaneous Combustion ¡ª Coats the user in a wreath of flames and deals heavy fire damage centered on the user who loses half their health.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #186/187 USE-NUMBER: 12,921 Emanations ART NUMBER: 7,067 ERO-ART NUMBER: 4,747 FIC NUMBER: 17,022
Shuixing He
Level: 44 EXP To Level: 240,500 Class: Medico-Mage Water Elemental HP: (1,989 | 5,929)
STATS
Force: 22 Vitality: 62 Finesse: 72 Cognition: 160 Insight: 85
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Mental Mending ¡ª Add Cognition stat to any elemental abilities which heal or cure statuses. ACTIVE: Light of Hope ¡ª Cast a beam of light that deals significant unmitigated damage to undead enemies ELEMENTAL: Healing Waters ¡ª Passively store charges over time which can be used to heal HP proportional to Insight. ELEMENTAL: Ablutions ¡ª Use a charge of Healing Waters to cure status effects. DESPERATION ART: Bubble Storm ¡ª Produces a field of bubbles which protect and heal teammates and harm and slow enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #182/187 USE-NUMBER: 22,060 Emanations ART NUMBER: 5,464 ERO-ART NUMBER: 2,112 FIC NUMBER: 18,218
Sofiane de la Nuit
Level: 71 EXP To Level: 2,004,699 Class: Duelist Lightning Elemental HP: (55,809 | 55,809)
STATS
Force: 324 Vitality: 534 Finesse: 697 Cognition: 171 Insight: 402
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: En Garde ¡ª Successful parries increase crit chance on the next attack by 100%. Any overflow over regular crit chance is converted into bonus damage. ACTIVE: Perfect Parry ¡ª Briefly enter a stance in which the user automatically parries any damage in all directions. ELEMENTAL: Coup De Grace ¡ª Aims a precise strike at the target¡¯s vitals and deals massive lightning damage to them on a successful hit. If this drops the target below half-health, it kills them instantly. ELEMENTAL: Ball Lightning ¡ª Turns the user into a ball of lightning and zips a short distance, dealing damage along the way. DESPERATION ART: Overcharge ¡ª For a brief period, all abilities have no cooldown and teammates¡¯ attacks deal bonus Lightning damage and stun enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #38/187 USE-NUMBER: 2,399,202 Emanations ART NUMBER: 11,266 ERO-ART NUMBER: 15,751 FIC NUMBER: 45,166
Pechorin the Gunslinger
Level: 47 EXP To Level: 126,005 Class: Gunslinger Metal Elemental HP: (3,678 | 7,539)
STATS
Force: 115 Vitality: 97 Finesse: 97 Cognition: 73 Insight: 4
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Headhunter ¡ª Each attack on enemy weak points reduces skill cooldowns by 1s. PASSIVE: Magnificent Seventh ¡ª Deal 200% damage while below 25% health and if you die, fully heal nearest ally. ELEMENTAL: Flak Cannon ¡ª Fires exploding shots in every direction which deal light Metal elemental damage and inflict the ¡°conductive¡± status effect. ACTIVE: Vampiric Bullet ¡ª Fires an extra powerful shot which deals physical damage and heals for 33% of damage dealt. DESPERATION ART: Concentrated Fire ¡ª Attack speed quadruples and if target enemy dies, automatically lock on to the next.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #187/187 USE-NUMBER: 4,005 Emanations ART NUMBER: 467 ERO-ART NUMBER: 68 FIC NUMBER: 8,073
Daisy Corduroy
Level: 89 EXP To Level: 4,331,779 Class: Summoner Earth Elemental HP: (103,667 | 155,872)
STATS
Force: 2,948 Vitality: 2,745 Finesse: 1,730 Cognition: 1,559 Insight: 3,318
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Fashionista ¡ª Sacrificed accessories and armor give +25% bonus experience to the merged item. ELEMENTAL: Terraform ¡ª Summon or sculpt minerals into desired form. Maximum volume is determined by Insight. ELEMENTAL: Golem Creation ¡ª Imbue Terraformed minerals with consciousness corresponding to the animal they are shaped as. PASSIVE ELEMENTAL: Granite Sentinel ¡ª Teammates within a kilometer of the user take less physical damage proportional to Insight and cannot be critically hit. DESPERATION ART: Tectonic Drift ¡ª Rearrange the surface of a large area, causing earthquakes, fissures, and rockslides dealing massive physical and elemental damage with each terrain feature an enemy collides with.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #4/187 USE-NUMBER: 7,934,277 Emanations ART NUMBER: 27,852 ERO-ART NUMBER: 34,144 FIC NUMBER: 50,076
Chapter 87 - Peering Beyond the Mask of Comedy Shuixing¡¯s ears rang. The world spun as she picked herself up off the sand. Her glasses were long gone, adding another layer to the chaos around her. From somewhere on her left came dull thuds like someone banging on a door. Looking in that direction, she saw the large, fuzzy outline of a sandstone wall, trembling from each thud like a dusty subwoofer. A hand at her shoulder made Shui screech. ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Natsuko yelled through the muted, ringing fishbowl in Shui¡¯s ears. ¡°Glasses!¡± Motion occurred in jerky lurches. Shui¡¯s awareness zoomed forward to Natsuko shoving glasses onto her face and then to the world pulling itself into focus. Daisy was holding off a barrage of sonic blasts with not a wall but a lumbering hippopotamus made of sandstone. Sofiane and Pechorin were both flat on their stomachs behind, cringing with each boom. Shui¡¯s instincts kicked in. Bubble Storm descended from the open sky and popped against her teammates. Everyone but Daisy had taken around 5,000 damage or so, but Daisy, who had been on top of Peng and took a direct hit, had lost ten times that. If Shui, Natsu, and Pech hadn¡¯t been behind Peng, they would have been blown apart in one hit. ¡°It¡¯s them!¡± Sofiane screamed in-between booms, though by now they had all arrived at that deduction. ¡°They¡¯re somewhere in the treelines¡ª¡± Daisy¡¯s heels dug into the sand as she braced against another earth shaking boom. ¡°¡ªbut I don¡¯t know where! I could go after them, but you¡¯d all end up high and dry!¡± ¡°Killing ourselves again is an option, all I¡¯m saying,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Not funny, Natsu,¡± Sofiane said, his emerald sword drawn and ready by his side as he laid down on the sand. ¡°I wasn¡¯t being funny.¡± Shui¡¯s Insight stat was too small for her healing to make much of a dent on Daisy, but she dumped all of her Healing Waters charges into her the moment they replenished. Just as she was halfway to topping Daisy off again, the sand hippo crumbled and Daisy took another direct hit. The crack of the sonic boom was no longer muffled and forced everyone¡¯s head down under a rain of falling sand. ¡°Daisy, can you get Peng up!?¡± Sofiane shouted. ¡°Not while we¡¯re under fire I can¡¯t!¡± she said. Another blast was aimed right at her, but Daisy put her superior stats to work. In a blast of speed almost as fast as Sofiane¡¯s Ball Lightning, she exploded forward towards the jungle line, throwing up another bulky sand creature closer to where the explosions were coming from. Daisy pointed. ¡°The village! Get to the village!¡± Sofiane zipped in that direction as the other three stumbled along the sand. Pechorin fired off ¡°suppressive fire¡± that only managed to turn the foliage into a chopped salad. Natsuko wished she still had her bottle. She needed that bottle. With that, she and Daisy could set up a Swap combo and she could club their attacker out of existence. But that also would put Daisy at risk being that close, and she didn¡¯t even have her bottle anymore. Under Daisy¡¯s cover, they made it to the wooden stairs to the village pier. ¡°What did she want us to do?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°That bastard can level the place, can¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Hide,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°It¡¯ll buy Daisy some time.¡± ¡°Where are we supposed to hide!?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, firecrotch, find somewhere!¡± Sofiane sprinted in the direction of the fishermen¡¯s meeting hall, wooden boards thumping as he went. Natsuko looked at Pechorin and Shuixing. ¡°Is he going to get his damn clothes?¡± ¡°Clothes maketh the man,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko slapped her face and was about to follow it up with a remark when another explosion detonated uncomfortably close along the beach. ¡°Is Daisy gonna be alright?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°She ain¡¯t a pushover. I don¡¯t think they can close the gap with her easily enough to knick her with the dimension-jumping rod,¡± Natsuko replied. The three of them made for where Sofiane had run off before another explosion sent them tumbling through the air. The next thing Natsuko knew she was rolling sideways across the boardwalk and her chest felt like the sonic boom had gone off inside it. Pain entirely detached from her critical loss of hit points crackled through her veins and made breathing an exercise in self-imposed agony. When she propped herself up on one elbow, she saw a ten-foot hole almost thirty yards from where she was lying. There were no signs of Pechorin or Shuixing. On instinct, she checked the Use-Rankings chart and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the total hadn¡¯t changed. Their attacker must have snuck past Daisy rather than taking her out. As if her ears had not taken enough abuse already, however, they were assailed yet again by a tiny, child-like voice. ¡°Oof, did I catch you at a bad time?¡± ¡°Zhidao? What the hell¡ª!?¡± ¡°I was just passing through, but I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d be getting into a fight!¡± Natsuko grit her teeth. ¡°Bull! You only show up when you¡¯re meddling with things, you creepy little shit.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Hmm, so you wouldn¡¯t want me to meddle with things right now?¡± he asked with the charming inquisitiveness of a child. ¡°No! Stay the hell out of our¡ª¡± The last part of her sentence was interrupted by a blast somewhere else in the village that turned a house into a splintery shrapnel bomb. She could only hope whoever the target was was alright. Realizing she was in danger but having precious few places to hide on the end of the pier, Natsuko crouched down behind a barrel full of fish and caught her breath. ¡°Are you sure? Things don¡¯t seem to be going in your favor right now, so meddling in them could only be to your benefit, right?¡± Zhidao said. ¡°More like to your benefit! You and the Yishang have an agenda, and unlike Daisy, I¡¯m not gonna be your puppet!¡± The Pengwu fox folded his front paws and laid his head across them. Natsuko was convinced she saw a smug grin spread across the fox¡¯s face and it made her skin crawl. ¡°Everyone has an agenda, Natsu. But sometimes they can align. And besides, if you don¡¯t let me stir the pot a little, your friends could be in terrible mortal danger! I know you like to play the Big Hero that can always pick herself back up and keep going, but that might not be an option if Mr. Big, Dark, and Evil clips ¡®em with his stick, right?¡± ¡°Mister?¡± ¡°Oh, did I say mister? Sorry, that was not very gender-inclusive of me. There¡¯s no reason they couldn¡¯t be Ms. Big, Dark, and Evil.¡± Natsuko growled. ¡°The Yishang knows who they are, don¡¯t they?¡± To the extent that a fox could shrug, Zhidao did so. ¡°Who knows? The only thing I have on offer is a bit of meddling.¡± Two more houses went up in a single concussive boom that echoed out across the ocean. Whether their attacker had found Shui, Pech, and Sofi yet or not, it was only a matter of time before he leveled Kajimata village and picked through the rubble to find them. ¡°Fine,¡± Natsuko said, glaring at the noxious little fox. ¡°Meddle.¡± Zhidao grinned toothily. ¡°Happy birthday, Natsuko.¡± With a wave of his paw, a three-foot tall bottle of wine was conjured directly in front of Natsuko. The first thing she did was check the bottom. There was no mistaking it, the odd intersecting angles on the bunt were the exact same. With the wine still inside, it was a bitch to swing, but it was undeniably capable of forced dimension-jumping. She looked up to say something, but Zhidao was already gone. With a grunt, Natsuko lugged the 85 pound bottle of wine over her shoulder, gobbled up the gyoza appetizers she had stuffed in her pocket for some extra hp, and darted towards the center of the village. Above, she saw Daisy circling on Peng¡¯s back. That was good. What was not so good was that their attacker was now stalking through the streets, and flagging Daisy down meant her teammates would have to come out of hiding. ¡°Where are you, you son of a bitch?¡± Natsuko muttered under her breath, creeping along the edge of a building. Around a corner Natsuko heard a yelp. She bolted for the source, turning the corner just in time to see Shuixing on the ground trying to crawl away from the black figure readying his rod. As he swung, Natsuko used Swap on Shuixing. Metal clanged against glass. Natsuko found herself on the ground, buried under the painful downward force of her attacker¡¯s metal rod. She couldn¡¯t see him with a bottle full of dark red wine between them. With no other option, Natsuko kicked out at his kneecap, forcing him to jump away. The second they were back in the open, Peng¡¯s entire mass slammed down like a meteor, destroying the boardwalk and everything around it. Daisy leapt into a roll and shot to her feet. ¡°That should buy us some time. Let¡¯s find Pech and Sofi!¡± The three ran for the Fishermen¡¯s Meeting Hall. Along the way, Natsuko very nearly dimension-jumped Pechorin who stepped out of the shadows of a building he¡¯d been using as camouflage. If there hadn¡¯t been wine slowing down her swing, she might have succeeded. The weight was messing with her muscle memory of how to control the bottle. This only left Sofiane. ¡°Y¡¯all grab Sofi, I¡¯ll ready Peng again,¡± Daisy said, dashing towards the beach. Natsuko stopped at the threshold of the meeting hall door and looked behind her at the rubble strewn village. Sand and wood chips were still daintily floating to the ground. ¡°I¡¯m gonna try something,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Something?¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Something,¡± she replied, shooing them inside the hall. Natsuko spotted a nook formed by the building¡¯s L-shape that placed her out of sight of the entrance and pressed herself behind it with her bottle clutched to her chest. Her pounding heart resonated through the glass and liquid. This would be her first¡ªand hopefully only¡ªtime force dimension-jumping someone, but she was ready. It was a disgusting act, but the alternative was that she and her friends would continue living in fear of whoever this sadistic bastard was, and she wasn¡¯t going to allow that. This ended tonight. Peeking around the corner, she watched the figure pull himself out of the pile of debris, metal rod in hand. He moved slowly and silently in the night like a spreading puddle of tar. She wanted to leap on him right then and there, but she had to see her plan through. Patience. It went against Natsuko¡¯s very nature, but that¡¯s what she needed now. She just had to imagine there was a tiny Shuixing piloting her body and wait for that creeping puddle of tar to seep into the meeting hall. Eventually, he disappeared around the front of the building. Now Natsuko was the hunter and he was the prey. As quiet as possible with an 85 pound bottle of wine sloshing around, she approached the front door to the meeting hall. Easing the bottle to a supported batting stance, she entered. Her prey was a single shadow outlined by a burning hearth from further inside the building. She took one step, then a second, three, four, and cocked back for a swing. Squeak. Under the combined weight of her foot and the wine bottle, a wooden plank let out a cry of stress. Natsuko swung. The difference came down to inches. The squeaking plank, the heavier bottle, the lower ceiling, any one factor could have accounted for the difference, but the result was a metal rod between the bottle and its target. With a loud smacking sound, the rod, struck by the bunt of the bottle, shot through the floor. Natsuko was close enough to the figure now that she could see not only the brass Thalia mask underneath the hood, but a set of strangely familiar blue eyes peering out of the mask. Natsuko blinked and they were gone, teleported away. ¡°Natsuko!¡± She felt Shuixing¡¯s hand around her arm. Somehow, the others had gotten out of the building and circled around to grab her. She numbly let her teammates take her out of the meeting hall and towards Daisy and Peng hovering over the water at the end of the boardwalk. With a trembling voice, Shuixing asked, ¡°Natsu, did you¡­¡± The implication was obvious enough. Natsuko shook her head. ¡°He teleported away.¡± ¡°W-Well that¡¯s alright, at least you didn¡¯t have to kill anyone. Is everything alright though?¡± Natsuko shook her head again. ¡°You look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°I¡¯m jealous. Very gothic.¡± ¡°I think I did,¡± Natsuko said, her voice thin and quiet. ¡°I think the person attacking us, the one who stole Shui¡¯s papers, is our old teammate Hemiola.¡± Chapter 88 - Things Transforming Into Their Opposites Air rushed over Peng¡¯s craggy body, the bird¡¯s reflection flickering in the ocean they were skimming over. Daisy kept Peng at a slower pace so that the rest of her team could talk without screaming over the wind. ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been Hemiola, Natsuko, he¡¯s dead,¡± Shuixing said. For Daisy and Sofiane¡¯s benefit she added, ¡°dimension-jumping accident. Natsuko huffed. ¡°I know that! But I¡¯m telling you, I don¡¯t forget someone¡¯s eyes, and those were Hemiola¡¯s looking out through that mask! And besides, who else would¡¯ve known about your dimension-jumping research?¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t started the research before he was¡­ gone. Even if the Yishang somehow brought him back¡ªwhich I sincerely hope since it would mean dimension-jumping isn¡¯t permanent¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t know about my papers,¡± Shui said. ¡°Daisy did,¡± Natsuko replied. Shuixing looked weary. ¡°Yes, but Daisy¡­¡± ¡°Was being used by the Yishang,¡± Natsuko said. Up at Peng¡¯s head, Daisy grimaced. ¡°And if they did bring Hemiola back, or some version of him, don¡¯t you think they¡¯d wanna put him to use?¡± The thought both frightened and excited Shuixing. She wasn¡¯t confident enough in Natsuko¡¯s accuracy to try and fit the hypothesis into any kind of theory yet, but it had some strange implications. For one thing, if the Yishang had resummoned Hemiola, they had not made him a Hero, as his name never re-entered the Use-Rankings. For another, the Yishang personally had designs on her research, which meant that whatever conclusions she¡¯d arrived at on those pages were something the demi-gods themselves did not know or understand. Shuixing had to park that particular train of thought in the station for now. Not least of which because it was tainted with megalomania. She was barely at the starting line for understanding what was going on, and as a scientist, self-important celebrations were nothing but a distraction. ¡°Another thing bothers me about the Hemiola hypothesis, Natsu,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Ugh. What?¡± ¡°The ability kit of our mysterious attacker is entirely different. Additionally, Hemiola shouldn¡¯t have been able to fight Daisy to a stalemate.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know, maybe¡­ maybe the Yishang gave him special powers when they brought him back!¡± Sofiane snorted. ¡°If you have to keep adding extra explanations to make your theory fit, you should just abandon the theory.¡± ¡°Whatever. I know what I saw, believe me or don¡¯t,¡± Natsuko said. Two things demanded to be fit together which did not seem to fit together, Shuixing thought. The first, that the Yishang wanted Natsuko to have her bottle badly enough to give it to her twice, with the second time proving that its special properties were not an accident. The second, that they wanted to steal Shuixing¡¯s research of that bottle by using Hemiola¡ªor whoever it was¡ªas an errand boy. But then there were the inconsistencies. Why would they need Shui¡¯s research if they had created the bottle themselves and already knew how it worked? And if they had sent someone to steal Shui¡¯s research for him, why had that person turned around and used that research for their own purposes? Or was it the case that the Yishang were intentionally promoting the use of forced dimension-jumping? The latter raised yet more questions. Shuixing couldn¡¯t tell whether she was in heaven or hell. The stress of such an important breakthrough being just out of reach was maddening, yet she was all the more excited to make that breakthrough because of the mounting tension. ¡°By the way, Daisy,¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Al-Nuwba!¡± Daisy announced cheerily. ¡°Uhh, why are we going to that sandpit exactly?¡± Sofiane asked. He wasn¡¯t fond of the desert. Sand always ended up in his clothes. ¡°We¡¯re gonna need every advantage we can get, so first things first, I¡¯m taking Natsu, Shui, and Pech to complete a mainline quest and get their stats back.¡± Something about that idea made Natsuko¡¯s skin crawl. It wasn¡¯t that it was a bad idea, but having spent the past three years acclimating herself to progress being an unattainable pipe dream, finally completing the Scytheworm quest stank of rejoining the Use-Ranking rat race. ¡°Is your plan to beat up the Scytheworm and let us get the finishing blow?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Purrrrrty much, yup!¡± Daisy said. ¡°We don¡¯t need your charity,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°And besides, what difference is it gonna make if Hemiola can blow us up in one hit anyway? Or the other Heroes for that matter? Whoopdie-doo, I¡¯ve got 16,000 hp to evaporate in an instant instead of 8,000.¡± Pechorin had spent enough time in the hazy, gray-area space of poetry recently that Natsuko¡¯s real intentions popped right out of her fake excuses. She was putting up barriers to avoid leaving her comfort zone. Ironically, it had been her all those years ago that refused to let her teammates rest on their laurels, always driving them to improve themselves. All of the first and most of the second-generations of Heroes were roughly equal in power, but Natsuko¡¯s team had stayed on top for so long not because they were favored by the Yishang with intrinsic superiority, but purely through Natsuko¡¯s relentless dedication to improvement.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Withering in Spring, Fall hibiscus lies dormant In dead leaves: A bud,¡± Pechorin said. The poem was lost to the buffeting wind as Peng picked up speed and ascended into the sky. It didn¡¯t matter. The poem was for him, not Natsuko. The outward form of her withering¡ªlaziness, cynicism, complacency¡ªcontained in itself the opposite forms of what had been and what could be. Everything in this life of illusions changed ceaselessly, so that a relentless optimist must some day become a bitter pessimist, but so too could they become an optimist again. The person that was ¡°Natsuko¡± contained both possibilities. Natsuko had done her part encouraging Pechorin when she was in full bloom those years ago, so, as he conceived of it, it was his duty to return the favor. ¡°Let¡¯s fight the Scytheworm without Daisy or Sofiane¡¯s help,¡± Pechorin said. Everyone but Daisy looked at him like he was crazy, and then only because Daisy was flying the bird and couldn¡¯t avert her gaze. ¡°Um, I appreciate the enthusiasm, Pech,¡± Shuixing said, ¡°but we died to it several times even before we lost a whole lot of stats. Trying now would be suicidal.¡± ¡°We fought Sofiane¡¯s team and nearly won, did we not?¡± Pechorin said. ¡°The word ¡°nearly¡± is doing a lot of work in that sentence,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°We only faced one Desperation Art and it nuked us instantly. Xiuquan and Baran both could¡¯ve done the same and Gula¡¯s makes all of her teammates invincible.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good thing the Scytheworm doesn¡¯t have anything like that then,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Isn¡¯t it easier to just whack the thing and be done with it?¡± Daisy asked, genuinely confused why anyone would want to work harder rather than smarter. Having spent the least amount of time with her, Daisy was oblivious to the Natsuko-whispering going on. If Pechorin explained what he was doing to Shuixing, she would understand, but Daisy and Sofiane were still wired for ¡°numbers must go up as fast and efficiently as possible,¡± so the whole idea of gambling on a suicide mission instead of a guaranteed quest completion out of a sense of dignity and pride seemed ludicrous to them. ¡°Fuck it, let¡¯s do it,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You, me, and Shui. No one else.¡± ¡°Why!?¡± Soifane said. ¡°You¡¯re gonna die and we¡¯ll have to pick you up at 4am and hope no one else finds you first and then you¡¯ll have even lower stats! Would you just accept the damn help, firecrotch?¡± ¡°No.¡± They flew through the night and by daybreak were back on the mainland somewhere in South Tianzhou. Al-Nuwba City was another four or five hours of flying to the West, but everyone was suffering from lack of sleep, Daisy most of all, and so the motion to stop and rest passed unanimously. Daisy set Peng down in a ruined village along a river. Rice terraces along the banks had drained dry and lay choked with weeds and flowers. Wooden huts were smashed to timbers, personal items littering the overgrown dirt streets. Monsters roamed the grassy hills nearby. But no one had ever lived here, thought Shuixing. And no one ever would. This was an ideal abandoned village, created from the ground up to be nothing but an abandoned village. No Non-Heroes would move to it and rebuild because they had their own routines and habits that bound them as tightly as the Use-Ranking competition did Heroes. With a dim sense of ennui, Shuixing supposed that only Heroes and the Yishang truly created change, and she wasn¡¯t entirely convinced about the former. ¡°That one looks pretty untouched,¡± Sofiane said, pointing at a two-story house hemmed in by the ruins of a stone wall. ¡°Good enough for me,¡± Daisy said, lumbering towards it like a zombie. The inside was as dilapidated as the rest of the abandoned village and full of the person-less personal knick-knacks that an ideal abandoned village ought to have. Pictures of loved ones, pots and pans and books knocked over, torn clothing and rags. However, on the second story they were met with a beautiful sight: Two sets of beds. Messy, but still with sheets. ¡°Oh thank the gods,¡± Daisy said, falling straight down onto the closer one and just barely managing to kick her boots off before passing out. Unfortunately, she had also sprawled across the entire bed, and no one felt like interrupting their pilot¡¯s well-deserved slumber. ¡°As gentlemen, it is our duty to offer up the bed to the mademoiselles,¡± Sofiane said. Pechorin grunted in agreement. Shuixing waved her hands. ¡°O-Oh no, that¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t have to¡ª¡± ¡°Natsuko sleepy. Natsuko sleep now,¡± Natsuko said before crawling into bed and pulling the covers up. Shuixing flashed the boys a sheepish smile and went to join her sleeping friend who she was already resigned to being a body pillow for. Sofiane and Pechorin left the room and went downstairs to a sitting room in the east wing of the house. Most of the furniture was dusty or broken or both, but against one wall was an intact sofa, wood with some thin rice husk matting. Warm, morning light beamed through torn curtains. ¡°Please take the sofa, I insist,¡± Sofiane said. Pechorin shook his head. ¡°It is the responsibility of seniors to look after their juniors.¡± ¡°In the Sibe-Lands, perhaps, but in Cascadia, we always privilege the comfort of our elders.¡± ¡°I know us Sibe-Landers are not as sophisticated as Cascadians, but perhaps you¡¯ll do me the honor of¡ª¡± ¡°Just take the gods-damned sofa, Pech. I¡¯m gonna sleep on my spare clothes.¡± Pechorin lay down. The sofa was hard and uncomfortable, which was perfect for him. He was tough and got along no matter what. Below him, Sofiane lay down after setting down three layers of his clothes in order of least to most fashionable and lay down with his head on his pack. He folded his hands over his chest and shut his eyes. Pechorin did likewise, trying for a moment to sleep, but something nagged at him which he knew would not let him sleep until he asked. ¡°Sofiane?¡± Pechorin said. ¡°You wanna ask me about how I wooed Gomiko so easily?¡± Sofiane replied without opening his eyes. ¡°Perceptive.¡± ¡°So, what, you want the secret formula to how to whisk Natsuko off her feet?¡± Pechorin opened his mouth without speaking. The answer was yes, but speaking that answer aloud was a vulnerable act. A humiliating act. If there was a polar opposite of dark, edgy, and mysterious, it was not cutesy, bubbly, and silly, it was the earnest admission of needing romantic advice. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to it. ¡°I¡¯ll save you the trouble of asking,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°What I did is just basic flirting that happened to go pretty well, but that won¡¯t work on Natsuko. She is an enigma for you to solve and for me to not touch with a 50 foot pole. You¡¯re on your own there, bud.¡± Pechorin grunted. That was about as satisfying an answer as he could have hoped and with that he found himself sucked down into the vortex of sleep. Chapter 89 - En Route to the Scytheworm’s Lair Daisy stretched and yawned and num-num-nummed herself awake. She¡¯d had one of those brain-blitzing naps that left her wondering what plane of existence she was on. Her body still had the icky crustiness of a band-aid nap slapped over the gash of sleep deprivation, but she could push through until they were in al-Nuwba and she could sleep in a proper hotel bed. In the other bed, Shuixing was sitting up reading a book, her arms maneuvering through the tangle of Natsuko¡¯s limbs wrapped around her like she was a body pillow. ¡°Didja get any sleep?¡± Daisy whispered. ¡°Some,¡± Shui replied, setting the book down. Midday light glowed on the fringes of torn curtains without piercing inside, suggesting it was about noon. Daisy supposed that was a good sign to start moseying. Daisy shuffled out of bed and Natsuko woke with a start. ¡°On the third phase¡ª¡± Natsuko said and then squinted, taking a moment to recognize she was awake. Daisy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Third phase?¡± ¡°She was dreaming about the Scytheworm,¡± Shuixing explained. ¡°The Scytheworm has phases?¡± Daisy asked. The girls packed their stuff and headed downstairs to pick up the boys. They found Sofiane sprawled face-down in starfish position across the dusty floor with a thin pile of clothes under him like he¡¯d been hit with an attack of narcolepsy while doing laundry. Pechorin was stock-still in corpse position, fingers clasped over his chest. Natsuko nudged Sofiane¡¯s head with her foot. ¡°Up. Get up! Time to go. I wanna kill that worm today,¡± she said. ¡°Today?¡± Shui said as Sofiane fought a boxing match with Natsuko¡¯s foot to get it to stop kicking him. ¡°Sure! No sense wasting time, right? Let¡¯s get straight to it.¡± ¡°Natsuko, it¡¯s going to be dark by the time we get out to the Temple of the Worm and we¡¯ll be exhausted from flying straight from Shikijima,¡± Shuixing said, making the fatal mistake of trying to appeal to Natsuko¡¯s reason. Natsuko shook her head. ¡°Nope. If we wait another day, you and Pechorin will overthink it and get nerves. We gotta do it straight away.¡± Shuixing was fairly certain she would not overthink it, and that Natsuko¡¯s fear in that regard had its source closer to home. Having not gotten much of a nap, Shui also did not have much energy to argue, so she set the issue aside until she could have another tilt at changing Natsuko¡¯s mind once they were in al-Nuwba. While Pechorin was wide awake and ready to go immediately, Sofiane¡¯s wake-up process (as they all knew by now) required at least 5-10 minutes of being incessantly pestered before he got up and packed. The pestering was mandatory. If they left him alone for another half hour, the 5-10 minute timer started as soon as they finally got around to bothering him. It was a tie between him and Natsuko for the honor of having the most annoying sleeping habits. Once everyone was ready, Daisy pulled Peng out of the ruined cobblestone wall and they hopped aboard. Ordinarily, soaring through the skies eased Daisy¡¯s mind and helped her relax, but an anxiousness had been creeping up on her over the past 24 hours and taken up permanent roost during her nap. In a moment of passion, Daisy had thrown away everything. Sure, she was still at the top of the Use-Rankings, but only for so long as the Yishang decided she was. She didn¡¯t understand the specifics of it, but she knew they pulled some strings in the background to promote some Heroes to the Celestials over others, entirely unrelated to their stats and usefulness in battle. It wouldn¡¯t be an immediate drop, but if they pulled the plug, her numbers would start to sink. The question was whether breaking with Boulanger was enough to warrant that. If Daisy wasn¡¯t completing quests and fighting the Entropic Axis, she would fall behind and the Yishang would replace her with someone else. Cunegonde, most likely. They were close in archetype. And the likelihood that she could solo her way through the next round of dungeons and quests and boss monsters was extremely low. Boulanger could, but she couldn¡¯t.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. So what happened next? She¡¯d thrown her lot in to protect some lower-ranked Heroes, but what if the Yishang came and asked her to betray them? The Yishang was using Natsuko¡¯s team towards some sort of end. That much was clear by the Yishang¡¯s promise of rewards for capturing them. But other than hinting she should poke around Verm?genburgh, the Yishang had more or less left her alone. Was the day coming when some Pengwu would tell her that if she didn¡¯t turn over Natsuko that she could expect to kiss her Use-Ranking good-bye? Worse still, Daisy didn¡¯t know what she would do in that moment. She wanted to think she wouldn¡¯t betray them, that her principles would compel her to side with them against the Yishang, but every time she thought that, the memory of pushing her rival out of a window popped into her head. Was she still that same Daisy? She bit her lip. The cold wind slashed at her face and she pulled her scarf up to cover herself. If she was still the same Daisy who had done that, she would hand them over to the Yishang in a heartbeat. For the rest of the party, the sky overhead was a comfortable mixture of chilly air and the sun¡¯s warmth. Unlike Daisy at the helm facing the wind directly, they were shielded by the alcoves on Peng¡¯s back. Three of the four, everyone but Natsuko, were able to relax in the nice weather and set their minds at ease. Natsuko, however, had her brain running on its highest settings. It wasn¡¯t enough for her to remember the phases and attacks and movement of the Scytheworm, she had to feel them. She flexed her ankles to simulate jumping over its whipping tail, then the sideward-thrust of her wrists as an imaginary sword plunged itself into the worm¡¯s weak point on its mouth. In a more complex rehearsal of muscle twitches, she went through the motions of using Fire Gale to dodge the Scytheworm¡¯s bite, then thrusting her sword into the ground to slow her momentum and continue the attack. She didn¡¯t have a sword right now, but she could get Sofiane to lend her the emerald sword. What was the order of the phases again? Phase one, the Scytheworm emerges, slams the ground, causes sand to fall and knocks any Heroes who hang back on the sandpit wall down onto the terracotta platform. It then writhes and bites and swats with its tail until it takes a quarter of its health as damage. Phase two, the Scytheworm triggers its earthquake devices and hits them with the undodgeable tremors. It also gains access to its spine missile projectiles. This was the phase they died to most often. Phase three, the Scytheworm is at half health and triggers another earthquake and writhes faster and harder and fires twice as many spine missiles per barrage. It also gains regenerating armor which makes it harder to deal damage to it. Phase four, Natsuko didn¡¯t know. She only knew that it activated once the Scytheworm was under the last quarter of its health. The lowest they had gotten was around 33%. ¡°You ready for this, Pechorin?¡± Natsuko asked. He glanced over at her, looking somewhat surprised, then contemplative as he thought up his response. Natsuko didn¡¯t understand why he had to make all their interactions into a thing. Everything was weighty with him. No friendly banter. She was already regretting asking the question. ¡°I have steeled myself. I am ready for both possibilities: success and death. I give myself over to your command,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko rolled her eyes. ¡°How about you, Shui, you ready?¡± ¡°Must we do it today?¡± Shui asked. ¡°Pechorin¡¯s ready, I¡¯m ready, we¡¯re just waiting on you, babe.¡± ¡°What if our fighting performance suffers due to fatigue from travel?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do that much better to compensate.¡± Fatigue. If Natsuko had to sleep on it, she¡¯d toss and turn and end up even more fatigued. It was now or never. By the time the plains of western Tianzhou turned to sand, the sun was coming down over the horizon and casting shadows over the vast stretches of desert. Visible in the far distance were the train lines which spidered through the desert, linking al-Nuwba City with its satellite colonies along the coast and the tribes in the desert which lay under the Padishah¡¯s influence (in other words, not the evil ones in the service of the Entropic Axis). The Padishah¡¯s palace, a colorful domed building in the center of the city, rose like a sherbet swirl over the barren expanse. ¡°Do we really have to keep going? I want to stretch my legs and get something to eat,¡± Sofiane complained. Natsuko¡¯s response was to say nothing. She was done arguing. As Peng flew past al-Nuwba City towards the deep desert where the Temple of the Worm lay, the last chance to back out passed Natsuko by, and her body finally let on how nervous it was. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Past failures projected across her mind¡¯s eye. The memory of traumatic hits her body had taken awoke in sympathetic spasms across time and place. And it made her excited. Chapter 90 - Quest Complete If you weren¡¯t standing right next to it or flying directly over, the pit that led down to the Temple of the Worm was indistinguishable from the desert around it. But once you were at the lip, you could peer down into an ever-pouring cauldron of sand with a terracotta platform in the center and a mosaic of mythological scenes. There were scenes of the Scytheworm tilling soil and showing al-Nuwbans how to cultivate crops along the flood plains that ran through al-Nuwba City or how to build molds for casting bronze tools. Gazing down at it, Shuixing once again got the uncomfortable ¡°history-less history¡± feeling that made her own life experience feel somehow shallow or false. Forming her theory of the world required her to confront exactly this discomfort, but it did nothing to ease it. Only raw inquisitiveness could overcome the visceral repulsion from questioning the depth of the world around her. Natsuko, however, couldn¡¯t care in the slightest. She had a much more immediate and important task in front of her: begging Sofiane for his sword. ¡°Please?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Please!?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Please!?!?¡± ¡°Add as much punctuation as you want, Natsu, I¡¯m not giving you Xiuquan¡¯s sword! You¡¯re gonna do something stupid and die with it and then I¡¯m gonna be unarmed for hours waiting for you to be re-summoned,¡± Sofiane replied, folding his arms. ¡°How the hell else am I supposed to fight it?¡± she asked. ¡°Use that stupid fire sword ability you have.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t prepare it today.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°Because I planned to guilt you into giving me the emerald sword.¡± ¡°Wha¡ª you¡ª gods-dammit Natsuko, you can¡¯t have the sword!¡± If Natsuko was going to fight this worm, she had to start thinking tactically. Sofiane was merely her mental warm-up. ¡°Daisy, can you push Sofiane kinda hard for me?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°What, like this?¡± Daisy said, giving Sofiane a light shove which, with Daisy¡¯s enormous Force stat, blew him straight into a sand dune. The sword was jarred loose from his hands. Natsuko sprinted the other way as Sofiane coughed and spat sand out of his mouth and reached for the sword. All of a sudden he was thirty feet away and Natsuko was right next to the sword. She picked it up and gave it a few swishes. ¡°Haha! Get Swapped, dumbass!¡± Sofiane stomped back over, slapping sand off of his sensitive skin like it was a swarm of mosquitoes. ¡°Daisy?¡± he said. ¡°Yeah?¡± Daisy replied. ¡°Can you push Natsuko kinda hard for me?¡± Natsuko and Daisy shared a look; Natsuko¡¯s one of fear, Daisy¡¯s one of apology. ¡°Sorry, Natsu, but fair¡¯s fair,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Wait! Daisy d¡ª!¡± Natsuko was launched into the sand. Sofiane turned into Ball Lightning to scoop up the sword, which didn¡¯t turn out to be necessary because Natsuko needed at least a minute for the world to stop spinning. ¡°You¡¯re lucky unarmed attacks don¡¯t deal damage,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko wheezed and croaked out, ¡°I don¡¯t feel lucky.¡± Shuixing walked back over to the group from the lip of the sandpit and put her hand on Sofiane¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Could you please let Natsuko borrow the sword? Unlike in his dealings with Natsuko, Sofiane hesitated and then hemmed and then hawed and finally said, ¡°beautiful women telling me to do things are my weakness, mademoiselle, and on it you have struck true.¡± Shuixing blushed at that and fixed her glasses. ¡°Hey, I told you to give me the sword too!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Hmm, something else must¡¯ve been off in that equation then,¡± Sofiane said, spinning the emerald sword around and handing it to Natsuko. Pechorin hummed. The thought of flirting like that with someone else when nothing was intended by it sat uneasily with him. Words like ¡°beautiful¡± and ¡°weakness¡± must be used sparingly to ensure they did not lose their weight. If one said something like that, it had to mean something beyond pointless frivolity. Daisy smacked Sofiane upside the head. ¡°Quit bein¡¯ a goofus, they got a quest to complete.¡± With the silliness ended. Natsuko walked to the edge of the pit with the emerald sword and stared down. Her heart pounded. She looked back at the other two. ¡°Final ready check. Ready?¡± she said. ¡°As I will ever be, I suppose,¡± Shui replied.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Come high water or hell or both,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko took a few more practice swings with the unfamiliar sword and said, ¡°by the way, Shui, focus on healing yourself first. There¡¯s no way to avoid the earthquakes so if we¡¯re gonna take the hit, we need you to keep yourself up.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Do you seriously not know how to avoid the tremor attack?¡± The three of them stared blankly at Sofiane. He slapped his palm to his forehead. ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice it has to plant itself halfway into the sand to use the seismic drum the Entropic Axis gave it? If you run up on its back the earthquake won¡¯t hit you.¡± Natsuko coughed. ¡°Oh¡­ I¡ª we didn¡¯t know that.¡± Sofiane exhaled and his shoulders drooped. ¡°Please tell me you know about the spine missile thing at least?¡± ¡°What spine missile thing?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Ugh. When it fires the spine missiles, you run right next to it so the missiles bounce off of its armor.¡± Natsuko¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°You mean this whole time we could¡¯ve¡­¡± Shuixing frowned and her voice got harder and harsher. ¡°We did what we could for the time, Natsu. These are things Heroes learned over years of fighting it. We were the first, and we were blinded by focusing too much on working hard instead of smart, but we can¡¯t be blamed for not having the complete knowledge of the fight that Sofiane has from coming later. So, we thank you for the advice, but you can keep the condescension to yourself.¡± With that, Shui spun on her heels and made for the edge of the pit. Sofiane looked stunned by the assertiveness directed his way. Counting it as a victory for herself, Natsuko stuck a tongue out at Sofi and joined Shuixing and Pechorin. ¡°Okay, now we¡¯re ready,¡± Shuixing said, being the first one to step onto the sand flow and ride it down. Natsu nodded approvingly. ¡°Alright, Shui. Alright. Save some of that sass for the worm.¡± She and Pechorin rode the sand to the bottom, stepping off onto the terracotta platform behind Shuixing. The second their feet were on solid ground, the world shook. ¡°It¡¯s gonna come out there,¡± Natsuko said, pointing at a non-descript wall of sand but knowing instinctively she was correct. The other two trusted her and sprinted towards the opposite wall. A second later, the worm burst out from where she¡¯d been pointing. Chitinous armor ran its 50 foot length and sprouted bits of machinery and technology for inducing earthquakes. Its flesh ended in a writhing mass of spike protrusions that resembled the spines in its circular maw. Upon sensing them, it gave a gurgling roar. Natsuko bolted for its mouth, striking it with a Fire Gale roundhouse kick followed up with a slash from Xiuquan¡¯s sword. She could immediately feel the difference in power. Her sword years ago had been nowhere near as powerful as this. Even with the mismatched bonus to Wood Elemental damage, she was cutting respectable chunks out of its health pool. While she did so, Pechorin was rotating his abilities with close to 100% efficiency, a trick he¡¯d picked up while traveling alone after their team broke up. The sequence when he could guarantee his attacks were on weak points went Flak Cannon, two regular attacks, vampiric bullet, one attack, back to Flak Cannon. Without meaning to, this accidentally synced up to the timing on triggering Molten reactions with Natsuko¡¯s Fire Gale. Soon enough, the worm was writhing its way into one side of the sandpit. ¡°Go, go, go!¡± Natsuko yelled. Shuixing ran for a hanging exhaust-pipe sticking out of the worm¡¯s tail and clung on. But as Natsuko watched Pechorin, she could tell he was moving too slow. ¡°Don¡¯t trip!¡± she yelled to him. By the time Pechorin looked up, he had zoomed hundreds of feet ahead to where Natsuko had been standing next to the worm. This left Natsuko a few seconds to cross that same distance. She ran, conscious of needing her Fire Gale off cooldown for the last few seconds. The ground quaked under her feet. Two more seconds before the tremors would slam her for a chunk of damage. At the final tick down, Natsuko leapt. Fire erupted out of her hands and feet. But there was no windmilling this time. The alignment on the thrust had been perfect, sending her soaring through the air over the convulsing ground and down onto the writhing Scytheworm, driving her sword between two of its chitinous plates to form a handhold. The three of them jumped from the worm right as it pulled its maw from the sand and flailed its body around. It hovered its maw over Shuixing, a tell-tale sign of an impending bite. With a half-second to spare, Swap came off cooldown and Natsuko replaced Shuixing to take the hit. And once she was in its mouth, she detonated Spontaneous Combustion. The worm chittered angrily and reared its 50-foot length directly into the air. Its maw was a giant smoke stack. Underneath it was Natsuko, wreathed by white hot fire that obscured the blood dripping into her eyes and grinning mouth. All with 300 health to spare. ¡°Let¡¯s fucking go!¡± She launched herself at the worm¡¯s undulating stomach. The Hothead bonus damage kicked in and with only two more hits, the worm dipped back down, spasmed, and ran for the wall again. ¡°He¡¯s already at half-health?¡± Shuixing called out. ¡°You¡¯re gods-damned right he is! Get on!¡± Natsuko yelled back. The three of them were all close this time and rode the giant worm¡¯s bucking body as it pounded out another earthquake. Above, the tremors sent sand over the ledge, spilling into the pit. Daisy and Sofiane took a step back from the edge. Natsuko, Pechorin, and Shuixing tumbled off the worm, this time less gracefully as it picked up its new speed. Shuixing¡¯s Bubble Storm descended and popped against the worm, doing almost nothing to slow it. The Scytheworm raised its spiny tail over itself like a giant, fleshy ¡°J.¡± Instinctually, they all prepared to dodge before Shuixing remembered to scream for them to run to the worm. She and Pechorin made it to the worm, but Natsuko was stationary. ¡°Natsuko what are you doing!?¡± Shui said. Natsuko flashed her a thumbs up sign without taking her eyes off the spiny tail. ¡°Keep me healed up, Shui, I got a plan!¡± With a whistling sound, the spine missiles launched into the air. The ones targeting Pechorin and Shuixing plinked impotently off the worm¡¯s own armor like hail on a tin roof. But the ones curling through the air towards Natsuko made contact. Around half of them she was able to parry, using the emerald sword to swat the spines out of the air and regain health from them. The rest impaled her directly, forcing Shuixing to shake her bell-rod like she was ringing in the end times, casting Healing Waters over and over. When the barrage ended, Natsuko was at a quarter health, but the Fuel Injection parries had reduced all of her cooldowns to nothing. Her Desperation Art was back up. Reaching into the pockets of her shorts, Natsuko produced the saddest, limpest, rice-shedding roll of fatty tuna Po-Lin had ever seen and stuffed it in her mouth to get herself just barely above half-health. Recognizing what she was doing, Pechorin prepared his own Desperation Art. The second Natsuko plowed under the worm and exploded herself like a human IED and rocked the worm onto its side, exposing its weak stomach, Pechorin let loose his Concentrated Fire, triggering molten reactions at rapid fire pace as each lick of Natsuko¡¯s flame planted the seeds for the next reaction. As the Scytheworm dropped into its last quarter of health, it entered its fourth phase, which was to thrash madly and expose its weak points to finish out the fight. It was a victory lap phase, not a combat one. Natsuko was dumbfounded as she landed the last couple blows. ¡°We were so close¡­ All those years ago we were so close!¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t have known,¡± Shuixing said, adding a few water bolt attacks to the anti-climactic finale. Pechorin¡¯s lips curled into a grin. ¡°How deliciously ironic. I would not have had it any other way.¡± With one more thrust of the emerald sword, the worm flopped limp on the platform with one last earthshaking tremble and dissolved, finally completing the three year old quest. Chapter 91 - A Brief Flirt with Mind-Expanding Insanity ¡°Wait, who are you?¡± the Padishah asked. Seated on a gold and purple velvet throne flanked on either side by guards armed with muskets, the Padishah of al-Nuwba, Unifier of the Eighteen Tribes, Sentinel of the Sands, looked very confused. He seemed to recognize Dasiy, but was lost on the other four. ¡°We slew the Scytheworm so that uh¡­¡± Natsuko trailed off. She forgot what the deal with this quest was. The Entropic Axis had implanted the worm with devices to create earthquakes or something. ¡°So that your realm can remain at peace. I think.¡± ¡°Sure, sure,¡± the Padishah said, waving his jewel-bedecked hand. ¡°I just don¡¯t remember sending you all out. I mean, you Heroes are in-and-out so quick, but the last one I sent to kill a¡ªsorry, slip of the tongue¡ªthe Scytheworm was some small girl.¡± ¡°Koyon¡­¡± Sofiane muttered. ¡°Umm, we took a while to complete the quest, Your Excellency¡± Shuixing said. The Padishah stroked his thick, bushy white beard. ¡°How long?¡± ¡°About three years,¡± Pechorin said. At that the Padishah broke into hysterical laughter which infected his otherwise stoic house guard. Natsuko¡¯s eye twitched. Only her good mood kept her from beating the piss out of the Padishah. ¡°It wasn¡¯t exactly top of our priority list,¡± Natsuko said with a fake smile. ¡°Now, let¡¯s talk rewards. ¡°Hoohoohoo, yes, right, hehe, rewards. Here is the 10,000 Ying,¡± the Padishah said, beckoning a servant to bring forth a small chest. Natsuko pumped her fist and did a small jig around the room in celebration of the hefty reward. Sofiane leaned over to Daisy. ¡°You think she knows dinner last night cost twenty times that?¡± Daisy shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just happy for them. I thought that was a real impressive showing!¡± ¡°For what it was,¡± Sofiane replied. The source of his bitterness was the jubilation from Natsuko, Shuixing, and Pechorin on the flight back to al-Nuwba City. The three of them took turns recounting the fight from their perspective and laughing at the silliness of missing the obvious weaknesses of the boss and how nice it was for numbers to go up again. All that was fine and dandy, Sofiane had celebrated plenty in his life. But it was also a miniscule win in the grand scheme of things that did almost nothing to put them in a better position to fight the Daisy-tier threat of Hemiola (which Sofiane still thought was the figment of Natsuko¡¯s overactive imagination) or all of the other Heroes nipping at their heels for that permanent stat increase. All of this after Natsuko insisted on wasting time by turning down Daisy¡¯s assistance. He¡¯d expected Natsuko to leap on any excuse to party, but seeing Shuixing caught up in it when she was usually so rational and pragmatic and coolheaded bothered him. ¡°Wooh! Time to go get fucked up,¡± Natsuko said, swaggering towards the door of the Padishah¡¯s throne room. The other four jogged to catch up with her stride. ¡°I thought you were drinking to deal with depression?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Yeah, but then I also drink to celebrate not being depressed. I gotta cover all my bases,¡± Natsuko replied. The sprawling city of al-Nuwba knew no paint because the color came from the variety of rocks, stones, and minerals the buildings were made of. Glossy red granite apartments lay beside green marble mansions along the amber-colored Aleanbar River wherever the land was high enough not to flood. Winding through every street of the stone city were steam-trolley tracks. Tired of flying, Daisy waited for the next trolley to come through. Like all al-Nuwban trains, the trolleys were shaped like seafaring vessels with chimney stacks clickety-clacking across land. The intracity ones resembled wide rowboats, while the trains that carved through the desert were basically galleons on wheels. Daisy sank into some backwards-facing seats at the front of the trolley and slumped down. Sofiane took up a seat near her while the other three crowded around and continued regaling each other with the same retellings of the Scytheworm fight they¡¯d already given. ¡°Pech was like: Yawk Yawk Yawk Yawk! Had that worm twitching like a snake in an electric chair! The Molten reactions were hittin¡¯, man. We were comboing everything, man!¡± Natsuko said, gesticulating in a three foot radius. Sofiane rolled his eyes, crossed a leg, and sprawled his arms across the trolley seats. He wished he could just not care about it like Daisy did, but it was so gods-damned annoying. He was starting to think he preferred moody, stick-in-the-mud Natsuko. ¡°The moment we realized how the tactics worked was exhilarating,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°It was like the world opened up, not having to worry about an unblockable attack.¡± Pechorin cleared his throat. ¡°The shifting sands, Cool with autumn¡¯s night breeze¡ª Part before us.¡± Shuixing gave a small golf clap. ¡°Hey, that one didn¡¯t suck so much,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Write more poems about us doing badass things instead of like, the transience of life or whatever.¡± Pechorin grunted. He preferred poems about the transience of life or whatever. ¡°You all understand we¡¯re still in a shitload of danger, right?¡± Sofiane said, reaching his limit with the banter. ¡°Yeah¡­ and?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°So take things more seriously, okay? I¡¯m happy you all finished that little quest but, how did you put it this morning Natsuko? Ah, right, it means you have 16,000 hp to lose instantly instead of 8,000. If you want to celebrate, go ahead, by all means, have a great fucking time. But don¡¯t put me in danger by letting your guard down.¡± There was an awkward moment of silence before Natsuko adopted a shit-eating grin and sidled up to him on the bench.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Oh-ho! I know what this is really about,¡± she said. Sofiane used his arms to shove her away. ¡°It¡¯s about exactly what I said.¡± ¡°Nuh-uh! Noo~ You¡¯re salty you got blue-balled by Hemiola showing up, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re so up-tight cuz you didn¡¯t get to pop your champagne, that¡¯s what it is.¡± Sofiane scoffed. ¡°No, it is not! Unlike you, I take the threat of your former teammate seriously. There¡¯s a reason I¡¯m not drinking tonight.¡± Shuixing had Sofiane fixed in a gaze under the full focus and force of her analytical mind as it took a well-deserved vacation from developing her new theory. It was with that focus that she ran through a list of possible reasons for Sofiane¡¯s outburst according to probability. Natsuko¡¯s hypothesis was among those short-listed, but it was not at the top. That honor was given to this hypothesis: Based on what Shui knew of his former teammates, Sofiane had never been on a team that was supportive. Rather than having to adapt to the hitherto dysfunction of Natsuko¡¯s team, it had felt familiar and normal. It was Natsuko, Shuixing, and Pechorin¡¯s return to a more congenial atmosphere that disturbed him. She debated confronting him about this but before she could open her mouth, Pechorin started poeticizing again: ¡°Purple plum jam, all stuck in a jar, The lace around it winds. Will you not open, you silly old jar? The maid, she softly whines. Yet in a cold cellar, the jar has been stuck, For many a day and night. Not butter, nor water, nor hard counter struck, Can hope to open this jar, But time and warmth and light.¡± Being more to Daisy¡¯s taste than the stark, minimalist poems that Pechorin usually composed, she found herself clapping giddily. ¡°Your rhyme and meter were off on the last three lines,¡± Sofiane said. Pechorin shrugged. ¡°It was as good as I could do while improvising.¡± Shuixing got the message and dropped the subject. Eventually they arrived at Daisy¡¯s chosen destination and rang for the trolley to stop. The stone gears inside the engine box ground to a halt to let them off before continuing on its way. Rising up before them was a building of glossy quartzite blocks stretching twelve stories into the sky and topped with a gold spiral dome. A brass sign lit by oil lanterns proclaimed it to be the Tanzimat Hotel with another sign for the adjoining restaurant and bar called Rich¡¯s Caf¨¦ Imperian. Natsuko¡¯s mind swam with images of all the food and drink she was going to put on Daisy¡¯s tab. Just like in Tianzhou, the employees of the Tanzimat bent over backwards to give Daisy the penthouse room (despite it being occupied) and lavished her with every amenity possible. This time around, Shuixing was more in the mood to enjoy it, although this was marred by Sofiane going straight to the room rather than joining them at Rich¡¯s Caf¨¦. ¡°Eh, let him sulk,¡± Natsuko said, cruising on over to the bar. ¡°He¡¯d ruin the party.¡± In advance of Daisy¡¯s arrival, the bar had prepared a mint julep for her. Now that Pechorin was back to having to maintain his appearance in front of Natsuko, he elected for a shot of Imperian whiskey neat (the bar¡¯s special, despite being located in al-Nuwba) and a pint of Cascadian beer. Shuixing settled on a glass of champagne (from the Champagne region of Cascadia). ¡°How do you make your New Imperian iced teas?¡± Natsuko asked. The bartender described the proportions to her. ¡°Double it,¡± she replied. Shuixing took her glasses off to dust them. ¡°Are you sure you wouldn¡¯t prefer a glass of champagne, Natsu?¡± Natsuko tapped her chin. ¡°Hmm¡­ Could be interesting. Bartendie, gimme a splash of sparkling in that iced tea.¡± Shuixing sighed. ¡°I was thinking without the other stuff.¡± ¡°How the heck do you expect me to get drunk on champagne? I need like three glasses to catch a buzz!¡± Shuixing side-eyed her. Without her glasses, Shuixing¡¯s face had a somewhat ominous and judgemental appearance, like a cross between a dictator and a librarian. ¡°Uhh¡­ forget about doubling it, bartendie.¡± Unlike the Yongfu Hotel during the card tournament, both the Tanzimat Hotel and Rich¡¯s were as dead as could be, aside from whoever management kicked out of the penthouse for Daisy. With the bar to themselves, Daisy regaled them with humorous stories about the other high ranked Heroes. ¡°So, so, so, Boulanger is absolutely deadpan, and he¡¯s lookin¡¯ at this sheep¡ªsnort¡ªhe¡¯s lookin¡¯ at this sheep, pointing at it, and saying,¡± Daisy switched to an impression of Boulanger¡¯s soft, authoritarian voice, ¡°the quest marker says here. This sheep is the monster we have been sent to kill. I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s a simple animal, this is our job.¡± And then he absolutely, completely, utterly obliterates the sheep! He nuked the thing, right? Complete sheep annihilation. You could see the fire for miles around, the crater was the size of this building. And then we wait. And wait. And wait. And then¡ª¡± Daisy paused for effect. ¡°On my life I swear this is true: Boulanger asks if he missed the sheep.¡± The other three cracked up. ¡°So I say, ¡°hey Boulanger, I think I see a white spot over there, maybe it regenerates from its wool. Any guesses what he does next?¡± Natsuko was red from laughing. ¡°Please tell me he nukes the white spot, oh gods¡­¡± Daisy blasted Natsuko with her finger guns. ¡°Bingo! You¡¯re gosh dang right he does. So he drops the second gigantic nuke and I¡¯m laughing my ass off now and he¡¯s getting mad at me for not taking it seriously, which is only making me laugh harder, which is making him madder. Meanwhile, I¡¯ve figured out what¡¯s going on, but I can¡¯t tell him cuz I¡¯m laughing too dang hahahard!¡± The story was paused while the storyteller herself cried tears of laughter every time she opened her mouth. ¡°It was below the ground, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Shuixing asked. Through heaving snort laughter, Daisy managed to say, ¡°Y-Yeah! It was under¡ª bwahahaha!¡± Shuixing laughed along, though without Daisy¡¯s intensity. There was something strangely poignant about the story. It wasn¡¯t the literal events of the #1 Hero thinking a sheep was the evil boss monster they¡¯d been sent to defeat, but rather that his logic had failed him. He was right on top of the quest marker, so from his two-dimensional perspective, he was correct. The existence of a third dimension to the problem had never occurred to him. Wasn¡¯t Shuixing in the same spot? That was why she kept circling all of these logical inconsistencies without being able to harmonize them. She could see what connected them on two dimensions of a matrix, but there was a third dimension to it. Everything she had conceived of so far: Dimension-jumping, the Yishang¡¯s imperfect knowledge, inconsistencies of logical cause-and-effect, were nothing but the sheep. That was why she hadn¡¯t gotten anywhere: She had been tilting at an inductive problem from a deductive approach. Unlike Daisy in the story, who simply had to think in terms of vertical space, Shui didn¡¯t come equipped with pre-existing knowledge of what this extra dimension was. Perhaps no one did. The elusive conclusion demanded the logical equivalent of a dimension-jump. It required the leap of faith necessary to arrive at a conclusion through raw instinct and work backwards to attempt to falsify it. So what did she do now? What could she do? What was the mental equivalent of Natsuko¡¯s wine bottle that could knock her through the floor? Alcohol wouldn¡¯t do, it made her brain too sluggish and unconcentrated, which left¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Shuixing said. The others continued their partying as she rode a chain elevator to the penthouse floor. Knocking on the door, she was met by a tired and disheveled Sofiane who had already changed into fluffy pajamas. ¡°Done with the party?¡± Sofiane croaked. ¡°Sofi, I apologize for the strange request, I promise I mean nothing by it, but I need you to kiss me.¡± Sofiane shook his head and woke up a little. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°Just do it.¡± ¡°Look, Shui, what Natsuko said about¡ª¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about that. This is about the Yishang. I need a dose of insanity to get to the bottom of what¡¯s happening, and this is the only way I can do it,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Uhh¡­ okay?¡± As soon as she had his assent, Shuixing smashed their lips together. It was something she had never done before, and in the process, it lit up her brain in a thoughtless explosion of newness. Even the idea of utilizing it as a way to expand her mind was wiped away. She held the kiss for almost a minute and then pulled away. Sofiane stared at her. ¡°Listen¡­ um¡­ Shui, this was¡ª¡± Her eyes went wide as, unrestrained by the shackles of intention and rationality, her mind moved along a new plane. Her mouth dropped open. ¡°We¡¯re living in a playground¡­¡± Chapter 92 - A New Theory of Physics ¡°Wait, wait, wait. Run that back for me, would ya?¡± Natsuko said. Her forgotten New Imperian iced tea dribbled condensation onto the marble countertop. The others had gathered around Shuixing as she tried to put into words what was a purely emotional realization. It would take some time before her theory could be packaged into an easily transferable version. ¡°There is nothing outside the ¡°Mist¡±," Shuixing said. "And there is no ¡°Entropic Axis.¡± Everything in Po-Lin, or rather Po-Lin itself, is constructed by the Yishang, and they have done so towards an end which is undeniably the increase of whoever or whatever these ¡°Celestials¡± are. This is why physics only works in ways which are convenient to further adventuring, such as corpses and debris dissolving. Everything that occurs in our world is under their control to ensure that the total number of Celestials always goes up. The individual numbers, our numbers, don¡¯t matter at all. Only the total.¡± The jovial atmosphere was gone. No more funny stories, no more celebrations of triumph, they were all listening to Shuixing¡¯s theory with the uncomfortable awareness that it was both distressing and crucial to hear. ¡°So, when Baran said the total number of Celestials went up because of the permanent deaths of Heroes and the hunt for the killers¡­¡± Pechorin said, trailing off to allow Shuixing the honor of elaborating. ¡°Forced dimension-jumping wasn¡¯t an accident,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°They wanted us to discover it precisely to set up this event. If the Celestials enjoy the blood sport, the total number goes up despite us individually being killed. Further, it might be the case that they can re-summon us after all and that they choose not to because it would ruin their special event.¡± Daisy gasped and covered her face. ¡°Oh gods¡­ they gave Natsu her bottle on purpose.¡± Shuixing nodded. ¡°Which is also why Zhidao made sure to give her another one when Pechorin shattered the first. And if Hemiola, and for now I think we have to believe Natsuko, stole my research on behalf of the Yishang, it¡¯s because they wanted the ability to make FDJ weapons to disseminate to the other Heroes to stoke conflict.¡± ¡°But it didn¡¯t,¡± Pechorin added. ¡°What do you make of that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible Hemiola rebelled and is doing what he¡¯s doing for his own reasons. That part I haven¡¯t figured out yet. I suppose we would have to ask him.¡± ¡°Good idea,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Next time he shows up to blow us into pieces, we¡¯ll put our hands up and say, ¡°hey, wanna monologue about your motives instead?¡±¡± Natsuko punched him in the arm to get him to stop being snarky. Daisy¡¯s hands finally went down and uncovered her face. It was bright red in embarrassment. ¡°Where do I fit into all of this? Zhidao told me to go to Verm?genburgh, after all. It must¡¯ve been for a reason.¡± ¡°I think¡­¡± Shuixing hesitated for a moment. ¡°We are approaching the end of what I can empirically falsify, but I believe they may have planted the bottle with Natsuko after she had become irrelevant knowing that she, for a variety of reasons, was unlikely to use it on other Heroes, and that I, who lived with her, would want to reverse engineer it. I don¡¯t know what is going on between the Yishang and the Celestials, who influences who, but I believe that the Yishang do not openly intercede in our world because it would displease the Celestials. I think they may enjoy the fact that we are theoretically acting of our own accord in the Yishang¡¯s playground. Hence why the Yishang prefer to conduct their business through the gentle nudging of Peng-wu, rather than telling us how we¡¯re supposed to act and¡ª¡± Shuixing coughed from talking too much. Her body didn¡¯t have as much stamina as her mind. Pechorin offered her some of his beer to wash her throat down with. She gulped and then shuddered at the taste. ¡°Dreadful stuff. Why did the Yishang even bother to invent it?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Shui,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Daisy¡¯s role?¡± ¡°Ah, oh! Right! Sorry, I have a million things going through my head and the wires are starting to cross,¡± Shui said, talking at a rapid fire pace. She took a moment to breathe. ¡°I think Daisy was called to Verm?genburgh because the Yishang were ready to move on the Hero-killing event. In a backwaters town that new Heroes run through in a day, no one would notice Natsuko and her bottle since she only used it against the Ice Wyvern. So how do you indirectly draw people¡¯s attention? Have the #4 ranked Hero go to the town and stir up some mischief. That was the trigger for Hemiola to go and steal my research.¡± Sofiane looked disappointed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing my joining the team is entirely accidental then?¡± ¡°I believe so,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Not everything is part of the conspiracy. Although we should take comfort in that, because it means the Yishang don¡¯t have complete control over events. We have room to maneuver, however small, I just don¡¯t know yet how much. For the time being it¡¯s safer to act as though we don¡¯t know anything, and to not let this knowledge spread to the other Heroes until the time is right.¡± Natsuko slapped the counter. ¡°But this proves we¡¯re innocent! Why wouldn¡¯t we tell them!?¡± Sofiane rolled his eyes. ¡°Because then the Yishang knows we know, firecrotch. For all we know they might poof us out of existence so the truth doesn¡¯t get out.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Daisy shivered at that. Here was a power that even Boulanger had to be scared of. In a way, the Yishang¡¯s partial power made her more anxious than if they were in complete and total control. At least then she could switch her brain off, because what else was she going to do? The giant question mark over how much the Yishang controlled over them and the world they lived in made her anxious. ¡°Okay, so we don¡¯t know how much they can intervene. How do we collect more information?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°And another question,¡± Pechorin added after slamming the rest of his harsh whiskey, ¡°if we wanted to depose them, what happens to us after? We were created to live in their playground and serve their purposes, but if the world is run and sustained by them, do we get snuffed out no matter what happens?¡± One way Shuixing could tell that her theory was a good one was that it prompted so many questions. Unfortunately, those questions were, for the moment, unanswerable. ¡°I think we need to sleep on things. Let¡¯s worry about this in the morning,¡± Shui said. There was neither agreement nor disagreement, but a vague sense that all of their brains were overloaded with new and uncomfortable information, and that sleep was the only thing that could help process it. Without another word, the group of tired, brooding Heroes got up and made for the elevator. Halfway across the lobby, Daisy said, ¡°actually guys, I¡¯m gonna go for a short walk to clear my head. I¡¯ll be up in a bit.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let Hemiola catch you,¡± Pechorin said. No one thought that was funny. Natsuko hit him for making the joke. When they arrived at the top floor, they were met by three angry-looking Heroes standing around out front of the penthouse door. ¡°Hey!¡± barked the one in front. ¡°Are you the assholes that got us kicked out?¡± The one barking at them was a man wearing light metal armor with a green-and-white surcoat and a yellow-tipped lance in his hand, the banner of the Knights of Innocentus hanging on below it. Natsuko felt like she ought to know the dork¡¯s name given her background with the knights, but she was drawing a blank. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Excuse me, who the hell are you? You¡¯re 1st-gen nobodies, you shouldn¡¯t be able to kick us out of our penthouse!¡± he said. Team Natsuko looked around at each other, trying to see if anyone else knew who they were either. None of them recognized the Verm?genburgh Hero. Natsuko guessed they were probably a 3rd-gen, somewhere in the sweet spot between Sofiane and her peak adventuring eras. The two teammates beside the man more or less confirmed this chronology: A Tianzhounese Hero with an overly-complicated set of robes which still somehow managed to show off her pale limbs, and a Shikijiman Hero in the cobbled-together armor of a footsoldier who looked like the template for Yuna but objectively more boring. The only thing ¡°different¡± about her was that her hair was moss green. Natsuko exhaled and rubbed her temples. ¡°Look, man, it¡¯s been a long day and we just had a bomb dropped on us, so would you get the hell out of the way, please?¡± The man stepped forward and dipped the lance down towards them. ¡°How about you get the hell out of our room?¡± The Tianzhounese Hero went wide-eyed. ¡°Wait, Harbin, I think those are the ones the Peng-wu were talking about. Look, she¡¯s got the bottle!¡± she said, pointing at Natsuko¡¯s new bottle. Shuixing cleared her throat. ¡°Erm, whatever do you me¡ª¡± ¡°Gods-damned right we are,¡± Natsuko said, thumping her chest. ¡°Whatcha gonna do about it?¡± Sofiane pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°Natsuko, you idiot, I¡¯m in my PJs. I don¡¯t want to mess them up because I have to kill these idiots for you.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t have to. I wanna fight them myself,¡± she said with a grin. Harbin scoffed. ¡°It takes some balls to sit at the bottom of the Use-Rankings and think you¡¯re going to fight someone in the middle.¡± Sofiane was curious, so he scrolled through the rankings looking for Harbin. It looked like he was sitting at #93 at the moment, and based on the origins of the two Heroes with him and the fact that teams tended to cluster together in ranking (Team Natsuko notwithstanding), his two teammates were probably #96 Yinyin and #98 Shinshuu. He was almost certain he could kill all three single handedly, even without the Swap-Coup de Grace trick he and Natsuko had accidentally come up with. But these were his best silk pajamas, and he didn¡¯t want a thread out of place. If he had to live in some messed-up playground of the Yishang, he was going to be comfy and fashionable while doing it. ¡°We can work something out,¡± Sofiane said, his voice dripping with tiredness. ¡°We¡¯ll talk with our teammate Daisy and find another room, alright?¡± Harbin shook his head. ¡°Now that we know there¡¯s a ticket to the Top Ten standing in front of us, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible.¡± Yinyin seemed to share his bloodlust, but Shinshuu, the Shikijiman Hero, looked worried. She tugged on Harbin¡¯s surcoat. ¡°Harbin, they can kill people for real! They¡¯ve done it to two Heroes that were higher ranked than us. I don¡¯t think this is a good idea.¡± Harbin stiffened. His eyes flicked to the bottle at Natsuko¡¯s side. ¡°That¡¯s your killing tool, huh?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t killed anyone!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Listen, y¡¯all are clearly not caught up on the lore if you missed the Card Tournament arc. You¡¯re outta your depths here. There¡¯s a lotta angles and things¡ªand I mean a lot of angles, that you¡¯re just not getting here. But look, I¡¯m gonna set down my bottle to prove to you that we aren¡¯t the people you¡¯re looking for, okay?¡± Natsuko gingerly set her bottle down. The act made Sofiane nervous. On the one hand, it would be nice if they could convince other Heroes they were innocent and have them spread the message. On the other hand, he preferred Natsuko to have the ultimate deterrent in her hands rather than the floor. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna trick us!¡± Yinyin said, producing a spell tome from one of the many layers of her outfit. ¡°You¡¯ll pick it up and attack us when our backs are turned! That¡¯s how you managed to kill people higher-ranked than you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to tell you, we didn¡¯t¡­¡± Natsuko trailed off. A glance shared between Harbin and Yinyin tipped her off that an attack was imminent. Oh well, she supposed. A fight would get her mind off of the existential dread that Shuixing had just dumped on her. Natsuko waited until the last moment, when Harbin was about to make the first thrust, before swapping with Shinshuu, placing her in the lance¡¯s path. Harbin stabbed his own teammate and before he realized what had happened, Natsuko slammed a Fire Gale-powered side-kick into his stomach, knocking him backwards into Yinyin. Natsuko grinned malevolently. ¡°You wanna fight? Let¡¯s fight.¡± Chapter 93 - Learning How to Play in the Playground of the Yishang Sofiane turned on his heels and walked quickly in the opposite direction of the pajama-destroying forces at play. ¡°Get those cheap-shotting bastards!¡± Harbin yelled to his teammates. Shuixing raised her hands. ¡°H-Hey, I-I don¡¯t want to¡ª¡± Shinshuu, who was now standing beside the similarly-named Shuixing after being swapped, raised her katana. A glowing green aura flared around her. All Shui could think to do was flash her with Light of Hope, even though the spell did no damage to non-undead enemies. What it did do, however, was blind and stun her attacker. Shinshuu yelled and swung anyway, blindly cutting into Shuixing who stumbled backwards from the hit. Shui didn¡¯t think to get out of the way because her mind was reeling from a new discovery: blinding and stunning were different from Blinding and Stunning. The latter were status effects tied to a finite number of abilities, none of which Shuixing had access to. But getting flashed in the face with a blinding white light could surprise and prevent a Hero from seeing, even if it came from an ability that should¡¯ve been useless. ¡°Haha! Eureka! Pechorin did you¡ª eep!¡± Pechorin yanked Shuixing back by the hood of her robes as the enemy Samurai Hero made another wild swing that came close to knicking Shuixing in the head. ¡°What the hell did she do!?¡± Harbin asked. Yinyin summoned Wind Sprites which hovered around her. ¡°They¡¯re cheating!¡± Harbin¡¯s question and Yinyin¡¯s reaction seemed silly to Shui, but a moment later she realized the implications of her paradigm-shifting theory: Harbin, Shinshuu, and Yinyin didn¡¯t know they were in the Yishang¡¯s playground, so they could only think in the rigid numbers and codified definitions the Yishang gave them. They could not comprehend that a spell that dealt damage to undead monsters with a flash of light could be useful for the flash of light instead of the damage to undead monsters. ¡°No such thing as cheating, just winners and losers, numbnuts,¡± Natsuko said. Despite her bravado, Natsuko still didn¡¯t have a weapon in hand. Harbin thrust his lance at her, forcing her to dance around like a monkey to not get hit. This worked for a couple seconds before Harbin used an ability that yanked the three of them¡ªand Sofiane all the way down the hall¡ªtowards a point in space. A force like getting punched in the stomach slammed into them, dealing damage and marking them with an Aether Element which Yinyin capitalized on by dive-bombing them with kamikaze Wind Sprites and dealing bonus damage from a Vacuum reaction. Exciting as Shuixing¡¯s theory was, numbers clearly still mattered. Her and her teammates¡¯ special theoretical knowledge was an add-on to, not a replacement for, the physical properties the Yishang had imbued the world with. More powerful Heroes were still more powerful, so they had to be smarter. Pechorin hopped up once the Vacuum condition wore off and went with a tactic of maximum confusion. He walked directly in front of Shinshuu, towering over the Shikijiman Hero who dropped into a defensive stance in anticipation of Pechorin using some secret Ability on her, a guess which wasn¡¯t too far off. Ignoring the pain, Pechorin grabbed Shinshuu¡¯s katana by the blade and yanked it out of her hands. Despite the fact that he was now bleeding profusely from his palms, he took no damage since Shinshuu hadn¡¯t technically attacked him. The Hero herself was looking down at her empty hands in disbelief. ¡°Y-You¡­ took my weapon!?¡± she said, mouth agape. Pechorin nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± He chucked the weapon Natsuko¡¯s way. She caught it in time to parry a thrust from Harbin¡¯s spear. ¡°H-How did he do that? Y-You can¡¯t take someone¡¯s equipped weapon!¡± Yinyin said, walking backwards with one hand along the wall behind her and the other wielding a tome to summon more Wind Sprites from. Shuixing decided not to give their opponents the explanation of how, which was, quite simply, ¡°you can steal weapons, actually.¡± Instead, she thought of trying something else. Combining the two corollaries of her theory¡ªthat one can steal equipped weapons and that abilities can be used for more than their stated purpose¡ªshe aimed a charge of healing waters at Yinyin¡¯s tome. The waters hit and Yinyin was left holding a bunch of soggy paper. Yinyin squinted at her. ¡°What the hell!?¡± Shuixing¡¯s theory was again proven correct, however, this did not stop the tome from being used as a weapon, so her reward for this was to get dive-bombed by more Wind Sprites. ¡°Hold on, Shui, lemme deal with this idiot and I¡¯ll come help,¡± Natsuko said. Harbin detached the Banner of Innocentus from his lance and slammed it into the ground. Natsuko recognized this immediately as a re-skinned version of the Coup ability, which slowed down her, Shui, and Pech, and sped up and regenerated their opponents. Feeling the tides turning in his favor, Harbin smirked at Natsuko and readied another onslaught of attacks.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Natsuko¡¯s thought processes were not as sophisticated and deductive as Shuixing¡¯s. No thoughts went through her head as she grabbed the top of the banner, placed her boot on the lower portion, and with the added force of Fire Gale, snapped the banner in half, dropping the aura. ¡°Wha¡ª you can¡¯t¡ª you broke my banner!¡± he said. ¡°Yeah, dumbass, this is like the third time in the past thirty seconds we¡¯ve done something like that,¡± Natsuko said, throwing the banner on the ground and stomping on it. ¡°When are you gonna realize you¡¯re fighting gods?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ I wouldn¡¯t go that far, Natsu,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Kneel before us, peasants,¡± Natsuko said. Harbin sneered. ¡°Die!¡± He raised his lance over his head and started to glow golden yellow. He was about to activate a Desperation Art. Not knowing what it did or how much damage it could deal, Natsuko did the only thing she could think of, which was to blow herself up with her own Desperation Art. Spontaneous Combustion blew Harbin through the stone wall and out into open air. For a split second, Natsuko caught a glimpse of pure shock written across his face. A second later, a brilliant white-gold flash illuminated the air outside of the Tanzimat Hotel from his Desperation Art. Then there was a crunching splat as Harbin hit the ground and died instantly. While Yinyin was distracted by the death of her teammate, Pechorin walked up and grabbed the soggy book from her and threw it out the gaping hole in the wall. ¡°Surrender,¡± Pechorin said, pointing his guns at Yinyin and Shinshuu. The sight was a little ridiculous since the guns were the least threatening thing about him. The two raised their hands over their head ¡°P-P-Please don¡¯t dimension jump us!¡± Yinyin blubbered, tears beading in her eyes. Natsuko grabbed the girl by her overly-complicated three-layered collar and shook her. ¡°I told you, we don¡¯t do that! It¡¯s someone else, okay? Get that through your thick skull before you get this sword through it, got it?¡± Shinshuu bit her lip. ¡°Can I have my sword back?¡± ¡°What?¡± Natsuko looked down at the katana in her hand. ¡°No. It¡¯s mine now.¡± ¡°But you didn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t what, earn it? I don¡¯t care. Might makes right! You and your team were gonna catch us and turn us into the Yishang for a reward, so you ought to know that. Be glad you¡¯re just getting your sword taken.¡± Natsuko flicked Shinshuu on the nose to add insult to injury. It wasn¡¯t heroic or gallant, in fact it was quite petty, but these idiots had stopped her from getting her beauty sleep. That, and she was still belligerently drunk. ¡°W-What are you gonna do with us?¡± Yinyin said, still trembling despite Natsuko¡¯s insistence they weren¡¯t going to force dimension jump them. An evil grin spread across Natsuko¡¯s face. ¡°We could have you follow your friend.¡± A look of horror swept onto Yinyin and Shinshuu¡¯s faces at the suggestion. Quite apart from stat loss, all Heroes had an ingrained fear of taking fall damage, especially lethal. ¡°But we¡¯re not going to do that,¡± Pechorin said. That was a little too dark, even for him. Brooding and mysterious required the subtle suggestion of a heart of gold buried deep in the darkness that the right person could come along and help him uncover. Forcing other Heroes to jump out the window made the ¡°heart of gold¡± thing a tough sell. Before Natsuko could countermand Pechorin, Shuixing locked in the decision. ¡°What we would appreciate, however, is if you could tell people that we are not the culprits the Yishang is giving out the permanent stat increase for the apprehension of. This is a mistake that is becoming quite vexing. Would you do that for us?¡± Shuixing asked. Yinyin and Shinshuu both nodded vigorously. Shuixing waved them out and they bolted past Sofiane and into the elevator. Once they were gone, Natsuko huffed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t actually gonna make them do it, I just wanted to freak them out a little, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°I think they were already fine in that regard,¡± Sofiane said, strolling back over now that his silk pajamas were safe. ¡°What concerns me is that if they are remotely intelligent¡ªand at a minimum I suspect Yinyin is¡ªthey will realize the trick to weapon-stealing is no trick at all. Now we have two sources¡ªXiuquan¡¯s team and Harbin¡¯s¡ªfor the dissemination of this new tactic.¡± Shuixing crossed her arms and gazed up at the ceiling. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s possible for them to figure that out without knowing about the nature of the Yishang and the world? The act of de-equipping a weapon is incredibly, even radically simple, but it requires the correct frame of metaphysical reference.¡± ¡°We were doing it before you worked your theory out,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°Yes¡­ but we were also in the right state of mind due to our previous experiences in those strange dungeons and proximity to the forced dimension jumping business.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t give ourselves too much credit in that regard,¡± he said. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know the nature of reality to figure out you can grab someone¡¯s weapon. Let¡¯s try to limit how often we need to show off our special knowledge, non?¡± He looked particularly at Natsuko while saying this, but she was already in the middle of investigating the stats on her new weapon. ¡°Oh, gods-dammit,¡± she said. Sofiane raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Bonus to Wood Elemental damage! How did we steal two different weapons and end up with two swords that only boost an Element we don¡¯t have in the party?¡± she said. Sofiane shrugged. ¡°C''est la vie. I¡¯m just glad you won¡¯t be begging for my sword now.¡± With the fight resolved, the crushing existential dread returned and everyone ran out of desire to continue debating, discussing, and arguing. The one nice thing was that the penthouse was extremely nice. Low ceilings and warm-colored stone gave it a homier feel than their room in Tianzhou, while the floor and furniture were covered with lurid quilts and silks. All the rooms on both corridors extending from the main living space had a view overlooking the Aleanbar River, and if there was not enough observation space already, a second-story exited out to a grand, semi-circular balcony that ran the length of the suite. ¡°Hard to believe I used to live in your laboratory closet,¡± Natsuko muttered to Shuixing as the two of them went to claim their rooms in the left hallway. Shuixing thought about those times. Living through them had been tough, but with everything that had happened since, and the trouble they were now in, a part of her would have traded this opulent hotel room to have her quiet, quaint little laboratory back. Ironically, what she had produced in that laboratory had been the catalyst for their problems, even if she had been pushed in that direction by the Yishang. Given what she had figured out, she anticipated these problems would get a lot worse in the near future. With that thought circling her mind, it was a wonder Shuixing got to sleep at all. Chapter 94 - Tricks and Strategies for Overcoming Hangovers ¡°So, what next?¡± It was Natsuko asking the question. As the team¡¯s most experienced drinker, she was weathering her hangover the best. Pechorin was walking circles in the living room to distract himself from the nausea of two hours of sleep, Daisy was curled up under a blanket on the couch, and Shuixing was on a reclining chair massaging her throbbing temples. Sofiane, meanwhile, was still in his wake-up routine. No one bothered to answer Natsuko¡¯s question. It was more like a statement of what was in the air. Besides the smell of breakfast cooking, anyway. They could have had food brought up, but as the lead expert on drinking and hangovers, Natsuko liked to guide her wayward flock back to health with a personal touch. Towards that end she was brewing coffee and making shakshuka. Al-Nuwban food was the last region she had had the chance to perfect. Natsuko had always felt disappointed she wouldn¡¯t get to master other regions¡¯ cuisines. She could do it if she had recipes and ingredients, but if you weren¡¯t foraging ingredients from the region itself, they were prohibitively expensive. 25,000 Ying for three Imperian Clams? Hell no. Shuixing, to distract herself from her pounding headache, watched Natsuko cook. She had never noticed before, but the cooking process was another Yishang-influenced act which made no causal sense. For one thing, the recipe for Shakshuka was only three things: Tomatoes, eggs, and spices, but the resulting dish very clearly had onions and peppers in it. For another, Natsuko did nothing but put the three ingredients in a pot and pull the pot off at the right time. Noticing this distracted Shui from her headache, but replaced it with another existential spiral. ¡°Hey,¡± Natsuko said in a tone of voice she almost never used: Soft. Shuixing looked up and found herself at eye level with a bowl of shakshuka. ¡°Eat. The olive oil will help the hangover.¡± Shuixing accepted it but she didn¡¯t feel much like eating. She picked at it, moving the poached egg around in the bowl. Once Natsuko had distributed the other bowls, she circled back around to Shuixing. ¡°Eat,¡± she said. ¡°Natsu, I¡¯m not really hungry¡­¡± ¡°Yeah you are. You¡¯re just stuck in the doom spiral of feeling bad because you haven¡¯t eaten, making you not want to eat, which¡¯ll make you feel bad! Push through and eat, or I¡¯ll have to force it down your throat while making airplane noises.¡± Shuixing giggled and used her spoon to slice the egg yolk open, sending runny orange to mix with crimson tomato. Natsuko watched her expectantly. Not wanting to let Natsu down, Shui took a bite. It was tasty. Objectively tasty. But she just did not feel great. ¡°Thanks, Natsu, but I¡ª¡± ¡°Am going to finish the bowl, is what you were going to say?¡± Natsuko said, walking around behind her friend and rubbing her shoulders. ¡°My dear Shui-shui, perhaps you thought my comment about forcing it down your throat was a joke. Hehehe. It was not. Finish the bowl.¡± Shuixing gulped and continued eating. The first five or six bites were hard to get down. Her throat fought against her. But after polishing the bowl off and washing it down with a cup of coffee, she did in fact begin to feel better. She watched Natsuko perform similar feats on Daisy and Pechorin, the latter of whom was convinced he would throw up if he ate anything, to which Natsuko¡¯s insistent answer was to start with a shot of whiskey and then eat breakfast. ¡°Hair of the dog, baby! Works like a charm,¡± Natsuko said. Pechorin stared at the shot of whiskey in his hand with raw disdain. ¡°I think of myself as more like a wolf.¡± ¡°You look like a kicked gods-damned puppy to me, so be a good boy and down it!¡± Through some twisted logic that belonged neither to causal logic, nor the alien rules that the Yishang imposed, the ¡°hair of the dog¡± helped Pechorin scarf down the shakshuka. ¡°I told you,¡± Natsuko said, finally sitting down to her own bowl and coffee. ¡°I¡¯m the Queen of Drinking.¡± Shuixing gave a small smile and wondered what it would look like if Natsuko turned that same conscientiousness on literally anything else but drinking more. ¡°Goo~ood morning!¡± Sofiane said, instantly earning everyone¡¯s ire with his good mood. ¡°What¡¯s so good about it?¡± Pechorin asked, grimacing from the black coffee he was forced to drink due to Natsuko¡¯s proximity. Alone, he preferred copious amounts of cream and sugar, but he had an archetype to uphold. Sofiane sauntered into the room already dressed to face the day. ¡°The sun is shining, the birds would be singing if there were any nearby, and we have the ability to pierce the veil of illusions which has been placed in the eyes of all! I¡¯d say we¡¯re doing pretty good.¡± From where she was sitting and swinging her legs on top of a granite counter, Natsuko laughed. ¡°For once, puffball, we¡¯re in agreement.¡± The other three looked at the two of them like they were insane. Shuixing considered the possibility that the revelations about the nature of their world had broken Natsuko and Sofiane¡¯s brains. ¡°Mind sharin¡¯ with the class where y¡¯all¡¯s vim and vigor are comin¡¯ from?¡± Daisy said, slurring words to avoid aggravating her headache. Sofiane put on a pot of scalded milk to make himself a caf¨¦ au lait. ¡°The way I see it, we were stuck in the Yishang¡¯s playground before, and we¡¯re still stuck after, but now at least we know we¡¯re stuck. That¡¯s the first step to figuring out what¡¯s really going on. And not only that, we have a window to act in where we¡¯ve got an advantage over every other Hero. Daisy might not be able to defeat Boulanger, but she could steal his weapon, non? I¡¯d say we¡¯re in a better spot now than we were yesterday.¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Shuixing¡¯s mood lightened. She was less concerned with the advantage over other Heroes¡ªthat seemed like Sofiane¡¯s preoccupation¡ªbut now that she had had her theoretical breakthrough, a thousand experiments and lines of inquiry were open to her which were previously inconceivable. It might even be possible, she supposed, to find an escape from the Yishang¡¯s artificial world. The prospect was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. ¡°That¡¯s all well and good,¡± Daisy said, ¡°but first thing¡¯s first, we still gotta hunt down Natsuko¡¯s old pal Hemiola. If possible, I¡¯d like to get him to answer a few questions. We won¡¯t get much from the Pengwu, but if your guy went rogue on the Yishang, maybe he¡¯ll be more talkative.¡± Natsuko squinted at her. ¡°Daisy, he¡¯s tried to kill us three times now. Pretty sure he¡¯s not gonna wanna talk it out now.¡± ¡°W-Well, who knows!¡± Daisy replied. Natsuko could tell Daisy was putting on a facsimile of optimism. She was a good actor, but there was anxiety in her words. Daisy had by far the most to lose by these revelations, since out of all of them, the Yishang¡¯s system still worked for her. With Sofiane having subtlety drifted towards the ¡°burn everything down¡± camp alongside Natsuko, Shuixing, and Pechorin, Daisy alone was still invested in the status quo. Daisy wasn¡¯t a bad person, Natsuko supposed. At least not like some of the other top Heroes. But she was trying to be everything for everyone, and that was a problem when it meant working for a bad system. Natsuko¡¯s heart skipped a beat as Daisy¡¯s penetrating eyes flicked to her as if guessing every single thought running through her head. The 99% of the time that Daisy was being cute and bubbly could make you forget the 1% of the time she was ruthlessly calculating. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, Natsu. Which way¡¯s she gonna fall when the chips are down? Am I on the money?¡± Natsuko did an awkward version of Daisy¡¯s finger guns back at her. ¡°Um¡­ bingo?¡± ¡°Since I like y¡¯all so much, I¡¯ll tell it to ya straight: I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve got both things in me: A need to be a good person, and a need to win. Both can make me do some pretty crazy things. As for which way I¡¯ll fall in the moment?¡± Daisy shrugged. ¡°No way to tell. Maybe it¡¯s a roll on the dice.¡± Pechorin leaned against the wall and folded his arms. ¡°That does not inspire confidence.¡± Daisy pulled her blanket up to her neck. ¡°I said what I said cuz I meant it. It¡¯s the gods¡¯ honest truth and y¡¯all deserve to know it.¡± ¡°B-But Daisy, you¡¯ve supported us so much so far!¡± Shuixing said, trying to sound hopeful. ¡°The hotel rooms a-and saving us from Yuna and Hemiola¡­¡± Daisy exhaled. ¡°Ya know, I wasn¡¯t gonna mention this, but there was at least a day up in the Sibe-Lands where I wasn¡¯t gonna come back for y¡¯all. I was gonna stay up there and pretend I never knew ya.¡± ¡°But you didn¡¯t,¡± Natsuko said, returning Daisy¡¯s intense gaze.. ¡°No, I did, and then I changed my mind. I¡¯ve done plenty of bad things to get where I am. Everyone in the Top Ten has. I know what¡¯s inside me, Natsu. That fight y¡¯all had last night? With the mid-rankers? If I¡¯d been there, I wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve let them escape with the knowledge of weapon-thievin¡¯.¡± Sofiane shrugged. ¡°So we didn¡¯t force them to jump out of a building, big deal.¡± ¡°No,¡± Daisy shook her head. ¡°I mean I would¡¯ve used the bottle.¡± Silence followed her statement. All of them wanted to contradict her, but the look on Daisy¡¯s face was deadly serious. ¡°I could take that bottle from ya super easy, Natsu. Ya know that, right?¡± Natsuko swallowed and nodded. ¡°Ya know why I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Cuz if I had it in my hands, I¡¯d probably use it. That¡¯s why it¡¯s better in your hands. That¡¯s a decision that the good part of me made and I¡¯m sticking to it.¡± With nothing else to say, everyone went to the kitchen to put their bowls and mugs in the sink. Pechorin grabbed Daisy¡¯s for her out of respect for the exquisitely brooding backstory drop. ¡°Any ideas how we find Hemiola?¡± Sofiane said, finally breaking the awkward silence. ¡°Oh, and follow up, how are we planning to pin down someone who can teleport and is powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with Daisy?¡± ¡°Finding him will be easy,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°We wait right here and he¡¯ll come. It just may take a while.¡± ¡°And it gives him the drop on us,¡± Natsuko said as she sipped her third cup of coffee. Her leg was bouncing fast enough to be on the threshold of ¡°vibrating¡± territory. ¡°If we could think of a way to find him first that would be preferable,¡± Daisy added. ¡°And when we catch him?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Since none of our abilities will do the trick,¡± Shuixing said, ¡°I suspect we will need to capitalize on our newfound knowledge in some way.¡± ¡°Like how?¡± Shuixing thought for a moment. There were the two strange dungeons they had gone to, each with their own different properties. It was likely there were more, and she wondered if one such dungeon might have the anomalous property of preventing the use of Abilities. She said as much to the rest. Natsuko snapped her fingers. ¡°Oh! Pech! Don¡¯t you have that¡ª¡± ¡°The Tome of the Unnatural and Cursed, a compendium of all the myriad physical anomalies that populate Po-Lin,¡± Pechorin proudly announced. The last time he¡¯d brought up the ¡°tome,¡± it had seemed like a mild curiosity to the rest of them which just so happened to have a useful entry about the anomalous version of the Dungeon of Stars. It hadn¡¯t stood out even to Shuixing at the time. This time around, everyone was interested in its contents. ¡°Do you have it on you?¡± Sofiane asked. Pechorin shook his head. ¡°I sold it a few months ago to buy some food.¡± ¡°What!? You bonehead!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Mad he didn¡¯t use it to buy booze instead, firecrotch?¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko threw a coffee mug at Sofiane who Perfect Parried it out of the air. Daisy shuffled around and her legs finally emerged from under her blanket and planted themselves on the ground. ¡°That¡¯s remarkably cheap for what the Tome offers,¡± Daisy said. ¡°I do what I have to do to survive,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°The lowest position on the Use-Rankings doesn¡¯t get anything in their weekly payment. The Yishang probably intended it as a tactic to scare Heroes into fighting to survive even when they were at the bottom of the rankings. They failed to consider that a cowboy would come along who could ride the wave.¡± Sofiane whistled. ¡°Damn. Mixed metaphors aside, that¡¯s honestly kind of impressive, Pechorin. You¡¯ve lived off of no salary for years?¡± Pechorin nodded. ¡°Oh no!¡± Shuixing said, ¡°Pech, if you¡¯d said something I could¡¯ve gotten you somewhere to stay in the Mage¡¯s College. You didn¡¯t have to do that!¡± He shook his head. ¡°Natsuko and I were at odds. It wouldn¡¯t have worked out. Better to live off the land than bother you two in her own home.¡± Natsuko refused to meet his gaze. ¡°I would¡¯ve let you stay if you said you were homeless, idiot.¡± ¡°Heartwarming,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Pech, who¡¯d you sell the book to? Daisy should be able to buy it back.¡± ¡°The Verm?genburgh general store,¡± he said. The mention of home made Natsuko excited. ¡°Great. Let¡¯s go shake down Lawrence.¡± Pechorin held up his hand. ¡°We can¡¯t. I tried to buy it back from him with my split of the money we made from the Cursed Demon¡¯s Eye, and the shopkeeper told me he¡¯d just sold it.¡± ¡°Did he say who he sold it to?¡± Natsuko asked. Then, all of a sudden, a memory resurfaced.. ¡°Oh crap. Please tell me it isn¡¯t bound in black leather.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°Fuck.¡± Natsuko rubbed her temples. ¡°Koyon has it.¡± Chapter 95 - Crossing the Desert and Refusing Quests Natsuko gave a heaving sigh and explained. ¡°Koyon is the one who bought the Eye of the Cursed Demon from us, and I am 95% certain he was leaving with a black leather book in hand at the time.¡± Daisy ran through what the retrieval process might look like. Finding Koyon would be hard. So would getting him to hand over the Tome. For the time being, Daisy was more powerful than he was, but he and his teammates would all get their Desperation Arts before Daisy would, which would turn the fight into an ugly mess. Three Top 30s might be more than she could handle if they were coordinated enough. After Natsuko shot down Daisy¡¯s suggestion of threatening them with forced dimension-jumping, they were back to square one. Shuixing cleared her throat. ¡°Hasty moves of any kind threaten to tip off both the other Heroes and Hemiola as to our intent. Discretion behooves us here.¡± ¡°I believe I may have a solution,¡± Pechorin said, pausing for dramatic effect. ¡°We can skip the book and go directly to its author.¡± Natsuko stared at Pechorin for a second, analyzing the look in his eyes. ¡°You prepared to dramatically reveal your plan B from the get-go, didn¡¯t you?¡± Pechorin bit his lip. ¡°I can neither confirm nor deny that fact, but what I can confirm is the location and identity of the author. The Tome of the Unnatural and Cursed was compiled by a Non-Hero hermit named Nuwas who made it his life¡¯s mission to find and collect the stories of Heroes who stumbled upon these Unnatural and Cursed phenomena.¡± ¡°Great. Where is he?¡± Sofiane asked. Pechorin held up his hand. ¡°There is a problem. He is not like other Non-Heroes. He roams. And he does things in defiance of what he was summoned to do, which has slowly turned him insane.¡± The other four glanced at each other as they tried to figure out which facts were real and which were Pechorisms. ¡°Insane how?¡± Natsuko asked, knowing full well he liked to use that adjective for spice. ¡°He babbles in riddles and poems, refuses to acknowledge the presence of other people and insists they are ¡°shadows and illusions,¡± and eats sand, which he claims, ¡°nourishes him as well as any meal,¡± Pechorin said. Shuixing gasped. ¡°Wait, I think Nuwas knows he¡¯s living in the Yishang¡¯s playground!¡± ¡°I doubt that will serve us any better when we go to speak with him,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Because, I have met him in my travels. And unlike we, who have benefitted from companionship in softening the blow to our sense of reality and self, Nuwas pierced the veil alone. The damage done to him is likely irreparable. I can assure you, it is not my flair for the dramatic which informs my diagnosis.¡± ¡°Screw it,¡± Natsuko said, a mad glint in her eye. ¡°No sense standing around and chatting, let¡¯s go find the guy and shake the crazy out of him!¡± As they filed out of the Tanzimat Hotel and hopped on Peng, Sofiane couldn¡¯t help but think Natsuko felt different. It wasn¡¯t until they were in the air, soaring over the vast al-Nuwban desert that he could put his finger on what it was: She seemed hungry. Sofiane had witnessed Natsuko when she was excited, like when Hemiola¡¯s paper theft had given her an excuse to stop sulking and leave the boondocks. But that wasn¡¯t hunger. Now, she seemed like she wanted something, and she would do anything to get it. It reminded Sofiane of himself before his obsolescence. He wasn¡¯t sure what to make of that, but he decided to ask their resident Natsuko-Whisperer about it later. Currently, the aforementioned Natsuko-Whisperer was busy giving Daisy directions. ¡°Nuwas is hard to find, but if anyone knows where he is, it¡¯ll be the Shaerimites,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°The who-da what-now?¡± Daisy asked, taking Peng over a trio of skyscraping pyramids. It was easy to forget the specifics of a region when you blazed through it. Pechorin only remembered the Shaerimites because he¡¯d spent a good amount of time roaming al-Nuwba. Mostly because it wasn¡¯t as saturated with bittersweet memories as Verm?genburgh, Tianzhou, or Shikijima. ¡°They¡¯re one of the Eighteen Tribes under the Padishah¡¯s rule,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Follow the Western train tracks ¡®til you reach the sea. They will be camped south of the City Jann¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. By noon, a band of blue water marking the western end of Po-Lin came into view over some barrier hills. How far the ocean extended, no one knew. A few Heroes with flying abilities had made an attempt to find out, but a mile or so offshore, the Mist began. Entering it caused one to black out and be resummoned the following morning on dry land. They touched down on the hills overlooking the city of Jann. The ¡°city¡± was entirely built of white limestone, with color provided by yellow sand, blue sea, and green palm and fig trees. It was only large enough to contain an ingredients shop and a handful of Quest-related Non-Heroes, but functionally extended southward from the train station where a circle of parked camels and wagons belched smoke into the sky. Daisy dumped everyone on their butts as she abruptly turned Peng into sand. She hopped boot-heel down onto the sand and tramped through it. ¡°Oh! I remember this place now!¡± she said. ¡°This is where uh¡­ um¡­ what¡¯s her face¡­¡± ¡°Princess Asma,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°This was where she ran away on that quest where uh¡­ Anyway, I remember this place. The Sha¡ª Sham¡ª Shamblamites or whatever¡ª¡± ¡°Shaerimites.¡± ¡°They make glass or something.¡± Pechorin nodded. All the tribes in the Empire of al-Nuwba filled some economic niche, and their nomadic territories were connected to the core by railways. The Shaerimites trade was glassblowing. However, upon entering their camp, Shuixing noted that the glassblowing process did not actually involve much glassblowing. The furnaces were going, the Shaerimites were rushing around in their cotton robes, but the total amount of glass produced remained zero. Even more incredibly, the farce was invisible to all but them, and only due to recent developments. Shuixing lowered her voice. ¡°Do you think we should tell them?¡± ¡°That they¡¯re not really doing work?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°I think not. Ignorance is bliss in this instance.¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. With time to sleep on it, the truth Shuixing had stumbled on was less overwhelming, but still just as unnerving and creepy as it was the night before. ¡°I wonder what the Mist really is,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Not right now, buddy. Mission first.¡± Pechorin led them to the chief¡¯s tent where a large, bearded man with bronze skin sat and judged pieces of glass work that were likely the exact same pieces he¡¯d appraised for three straight years. Nonetheless, there was life in his eyes when he glanced up at the arrivals. ¡°Heroes, eh? I have a quest for y¡ª¡± Sofiane waved his hand. ¡°No quests, sorry. Just questions.¡± ¡°Oh-ho? And what questions could you have for a lowly Non-Hero like Khalid?¡± Khalid asked. At first glance he seemed in good spirits, but there was a wariness that came from having a non-standard interaction with Heroes. Anything that wasn¡¯t giving them a quest and telling them to screw off came with potential danger. Pechorin decided to try and soothe the man¡¯s concerns. ¡°I have been through here a few times in my wanderings,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°We bear no violent intent, you have my word. I keep my dark urges bound up in my heart.¡± Natsuko snorted. Dark urges, huh? Khalid and the other Shaerimites seemed to relax somewhat. ¡°Desert winds blow in strangers, To them we offer the wine from our cups. In outstretched, trembling hands Hoping ¡®tis enough,¡± Khalid said. Pechorin opened his mouth to provide a response to the poem, but Daisy preempted him, putting her hand in front of him to indicate her seriousness. She took a deep breath and began her own poem: ¡°We want to be your friends And for past violence¡ª umm, make amends?¡± Daisy realized she screwed up the meter but kept rolling. ¡°We only want info. And I¡¯m realizing now there aren¡¯t a lot of rhymes for info¡­ Anyway, let¡¯s not make this poem extend.¡± Daisy concluded her recitation with an awkward, hopeful smile and a small curtsy. The Shaerimites looked at her in astonishment for a second before breaking out in raucous laughter. Daisy looked apologetically at Pechorin who just shrugged. Khalid had to set the glass decanter in his hands aside so he could rub tears from his eyes. ¡°Oh gods¡­ That was¡­ an attempt. An earnest one, though. You have won my respect, and as we are now friends, let me recommend to you that you ask for teachings from your dark and inadvisably-dressed friend over there,¡± Khalid said, gesturing at Pechorin in his trench coat. ¡°We know him. He has been through here before and his poetry is rough and terse, but powerful. Perhaps the blend of your whimsy with his expertise could lead you to approximate the profundity and complexity of al-Nuwban poetry.¡± Daisy glanced at Pechorin sheepishly. Technically he¡¯d already given her some pointers, they just hadn¡¯t stuck. Unlike Pechorin who had spent thousands of hours on the road workshopping poetry to himself, Daisy had never made time outside of a few halting attempts. And even those had been marred by the guilt of knowing she was ¡°wasting time¡± as Boulanger put it. Time for poetry practice was the one luxury her Ying couldn¡¯t buy. ¡°Now,¡± Khalid clapped his hands. ¡°You have questions for me?¡± Pechorin nodded. ¡°Yes. We are seeking Nuwas and we thought you might know where to find him.¡± Khalid stroked his chin. ¡°Ah-ha¡­ the mad hermit, no? I¡¯m afraid you may be out of luck. We suspect he is gone. For good.¡± ¡°For good?¡± Pechorin asked, anxiousness creeping into his voice. ¡°What do you mean for good?¡± Khalid raised an eyebrow. ¡°He was staying in the hills of Jann two weeks hence before he was visited by a man dressed in black. Blacker than our dark poet here. Blacker than a moonless night, save a mask of fake mirth. Since this visit, Nuwas has disappeared." Chapter 96 - Pairing Alcoholic Insanity with Scientific Rationality ¡°How did Hemiola know!?¡± Sofiane said. The five of them were standing in a circle outside Khalid¡¯s tent. Without anything else to go on, they had to accept the possibility that the mad hermit Nuwas had been dimension-jumped out of existence. ¡°What do we make of the timeline?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°Two weeks places Hemiola here immediately after our encounter with him in the Dungeon of Stars. He must¡¯ve beelined it straight here.¡± ¡°He come here for the same reason we did, d¡¯ya think?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Considering the only two things that can stop him are FDJ weapons or an anomalous dungeon, assassinating Nuwas would be a rational move on his part,¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko sucked air through her teeth. ¡°Shit. And there aren¡¯t any other Tomes of the Bladee-blah in existence?¡± ¡°There are,¡± Pechorin said, ¡°but I have no idea where we would find one. The only one whose location is confirmed is Koyon¡¯s copy.¡± ¡°Piss. Shit. Dick. Ass,¡± Natsuko opined. Pechorin tapped his chin in thought. He would have stroked some facial hair if male Heroes were allowed to have any (apparently a big no-no for the Celestials). Something Khalid had said stuck out to him. ¡°He was staying¡­¡± Pechorin said, folding his arms and lowering his voice in order to create an atmosphere of mystery. ¡°Khalid said he was staying in the hills, which means he must have had a base to return to.¡± Daisy¡¯s eyes lit up and she gave him a peck on the cheek. ¡°Mwah! Pech you¡¯re a gosh dang genius!¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t that big of a leap,¡± Natsuko mumbled, finding something other than Daisy and Pechorin to look at. Daisy and her overreactions could be incredibly annoying sometimes. ¡°Right, so¡­ let¡¯s start scouring the hills?¡± Sofiane said, trying to skate over the interaction. He wasn¡¯t sure what was making everyone act so differently. With Natsuko he could chalk it up to the power trip of making Heroes a hundred ranks above her look like incompetent morons, but then there was Shuixing the other night, and now Daisy. Were the situation less dire, he would be all for exploiting whatever was in the air in al-Nuwba to make himself a harem, but right now it felt like things were coming off the rails. What if Shuixing and Daisy were going mad from the revelation of the Yishang¡¯s power? Sofiane looked at Pechorin who was looking back at him with a confused expression like he was trying to make sense of the same thing. Sofiane gave him a shrug in solidarity. Hopping on Peng again, they spent the next hour or so flying up and down the line of hills that shielded Jann from the desert. Despite several trips back-and-forth, they spotted no collapsed tents, burnt fires, or scattered supplies to suggest anyone had been camping in the hills. Exasperated, Daisy landed on the tallest hill. ¡°Ugh!¡± she said, kicking a bush. ¡°There¡¯s no way he was sleeping out in the open, is there? That¡¯d be crazy!¡± Everyone stared at the surrounding hills in helpless silence before Natsuko broke the silence. ¡°Hehehe. Crazy, huh? I have crazy in a bottle,¡± she said. Natsuko popped the cork on her giant wine bottle and heaved it over her head with both hands. She chugged the waterfall of purple liquid like a parched man in the desert in a quantity that could have been a smaller-sized bottle on its own. Sofiane watched with something between admiration and repulsion. ¡°Natsu, what are you¡ª¡± Natsuko held one hand up to tell him to hush before guzzling down a few more gulps. Wine began to overrun and trickle down her chin and neck. With a hefty sigh, she tipped the bottle upright and wiped the spilled wine from her mouth with the back of her first. ¡°Ahh! Okay, lemme explain,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You have to be crazy to think like a crazy person,¡± Pechorin said, finishing her logic.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. She snapped her fingers then loudly burped. ¡°What he said.¡± Sofiane just shook his head. He didn¡¯t know why Natsuko even bothered giving her drinking habit a pretext. He knew she¡¯d been dying to do that anyway. As the noonday sun descended, the five members of Team Natsuko fanned¡ªor stumbled¡ªout to search for any signs of habitation. Sofiane searched anywhere with shade from the harsh sun, Pechorin searched exposed spots that would¡¯ve provided views of the starry sky at night, Shuixing checked easily-defensible areas with good sightlines, and Daisy continued to search by air. Natsuko, however, wandered down the hills and out into the desert, drunk and dehydrated. After a small hike, she fell face first into the sand. How unusual, Natsuko thought: Being drunk really was not fun right now. Her body felt¡­ not great. She was covered in sand and sweat, and the existential crisis that she¡¯d put on the backburner was making its way back to the front burners against her will. Panting with a mouth full of sour, curdled wine, Natsuko turned herself face up and stared into the sun. What was she doing here? What did she need to do to feel right again? In answer, she grabbed a fistful of sand, raised it over her head, and dropped it on her face. Dark circles ringed her vision, black like oil. ¡°Pech?¡± It took her a moment to realize it came from her own throat. The fuzzy dark circles expanded. Did he wander through the desert seeing these dark circles every day? Did who wander? Pechorin. When he was dimension-jumped by the Shikijiman Empress he¡­ No. Why would there be something below the sand? There were no dungeons out this way at all. The Western edge of Po-Lin was almost barren. There was nothing¡­ But¡ª Natsuko gasped and shuddered as she was drenched in freezing cold water. Her arms clutched around herself as she shivered. ¡°Brr! Sh-Shui?¡± ¡°Natsuko, what the heck were you doing!? You could¡¯ve died!¡± Shui bonked her friend repeatedly on the head in reprimand. Natsuko rocked back and forth with the impacts while stared off into space. The other three watched her with concern as though she¡¯d gone insane. Then the lights flicked back on. Natsuko grabbed Shuixing¡¯s arm before she could bonk her again. ¡°Wait! Shui! I need you to dimension-jump me through the hills!¡± This did nothing to help her beat the insanity allegations. She slapped around in the sand. At some point, Pechorin had apparently confiscated her bottle. ¡°L-Let¡¯s get you inside and out of the sun, o-okay?¡± Shui said, helping her up. ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not crazy. I think I know where Nuwas might be, but I need to go to that weird in-between space when you¡¯re in the middle of a dimension jump to be sure,¡± Natsuko said. They all knew what she was talking about. The dark void where the other planes became flashing bits of jagged geometry. Shui¡¯s glasses slid down her nose and her cerulean bob swished side-to-side with the force of her shaking head. ¡°Natsuko, no! I-I¡ª I won¡¯t¡ª¡± Natsuko grabbed her friend''s arms. ¡°I know you know the math. You¡¯ve been doing it for years. You¡¯re a genius, Shui! Really! I don¡¯t doubt for a single second you¡¯ll get me to the other side, safe and sound.¡± Shuixing opened her mouth like she wanted to protest, but the force of Natsuko¡¯s eyes shut it. The thought of making a dimension-jumping mistake horrified her like nothing ever had. Not even the truth about the Yishang¡¯s playground. Natsuko squeezed her arms again. ¡°Have the faith in yourself that I have in you, okay?¡± Shuixing swallowed and nodded. She held her hand out for the bottle and Pechorin handed it to her. It was heavier than she expected. She had no idea how Natsuko lugged it around all day. She didn¡¯t feel confident using it on Natsuko until she had test-swung it for almost ten minutes and practiced the trajectory on a mango Natsuko had smuggled out of Shikijima. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of momentum,¡± Shuixing explained, her voice shaking with nervousness almost as bad as her sweating hand. ¡°The mango made it to the other side because it was going fast enough along the X-axis to make it to the other side of the hill before a constant gravity could pull it below the exit plane. If you and Sofiane recall, we required upward momentum when we were dimension-jumping along the Y-axis in the abandoned dungeon.¡± Natsuko and the others nodded along like they understood what Shuixing was talking about. ¡°Lemme know when you¡¯re ready,¡± Natsuko said, wobbling for a second as she lined up with a steeper part of the hill. She was definitely still drunk. Once in position, she stuck her butt out and wiggled. ¡°Gimme a nice hard swing, Shui. I¡¯ve been a bad girl!¡± Shuixing flushed red. ¡°Please take this seriously! If you trip I could accidentally kill you.¡± Taking a few more deep breaths, Shuixing wound up the bottle. In her mind she could see the trajectories and vectors of a safe dimension-jump, but it was her body she didn¡¯t trust. ¡°On my count, use Fire Gale to launch forward,¡± Shui said. ¡°Roger captain!¡± ¡°Three. Two. One¡ª¡± Several things happened at once. Natsuko rocketed forward, Shuixing swung the bottle, and the ground shook. A group of Heroes hiding on one of the hills picked that moment to attack. Shui¡¯s swing was off. So was Natsuko¡¯s Fire Gale. As the bottle collided, Natsuko was shunted diagonally downwards into a black void. Their ears rang with the infernal chunking sound of matter going where it wasn¡¯t supposed to. Chapter 97 - Catching Up with Old Teammates A hundred yards or so up the hills, Xiuquan¡¯s team looked down on them. This time around, Xiuquan did not have a cocky grin on his face. Sometime after Baran¡¯s death it had been replaced with a look of unhinged fury. His green hair lay matted with sweat against his face. By his side, Gula gazed at them with her own undisguised hatred. Koyon seemed bored. ¡°That red-headed bitch lied,¡± Xiuquan said, conjuring a sword into his hands that looked equally powerful to the one Sofiane stole. ¡°You did have the bottle. You killed Baran with it.¡± Xiuquan and his team were still far away, but all had mobility spells. Sofiane put himself between them and Shuixing still holding Natsuko¡¯s bottle and prepared to parry their opening attack. ¡°We didn¡¯t have the bottle at the time and we didn¡¯t kill Baran! I would never!¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°All you¡¯re doing is making it easier for the person who did to find us, and you.¡± ¡°Sofi, I don¡¯t believe a word out of your treasonous fucking mouth. Murdering someone because you got kicked off a team? You¡¯re a fucking psychopath. I¡¯m gonna make damn sure you get caught and executed along with the rest of them,¡± Xiuquan said. Sofiane grit his teeth. ¡°Would you just listen! You wood-headed moron, I¡¯m trying to help y¡ª¡± A sandstone elephant burst from the sand to lock horns with Xiuquan who had rocketed forward by the power of his roots. The impact rocked the ground under Sofiane¡¯s feet and blew sand off the elephant. But it held. He glanced at Daisy who was watching the fight through deathly serious eyes, waiting to summon a new golem based on how Xiuquan and his team responded. Sofiane suddenly felt like a very small fish in a very large pond. Behind him, he heard Shuixing hyperventilating. ¡°No! No, no, no! Natsuko!¡± Shuixing was frozen in horror, staring at the ground. Her worst fears about a botched dimension-jump had come true, even if they weren¡¯t her fault. Pechorin grabbed her and shook her. ¡°Shui! Hey! Look at me!¡± Pechorin said. Shuixing barely registered the shaking, her eyes glazed over in shock. ¡°Look at your Use-Rankings! Natsuko is still there!¡± Life returned to Shuixing¡¯s eyes as she realized the numbers hadn¡¯t changed. Natsuko was alive somewhere. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, I¡ª¡± Sofiane¡¯s rib cage rattled as something else slammed into Daisy¡¯s elephant, blowing more of its sandy body from it. The elephant golem gave a gravely groan as it stumbled around on its last legs. Sofiane had precious few seconds to get a lot of information out. ¡°Underground!¡± Sofiane shouted. ¡°Like that first dungeon we went to! Nuwas is there! We have to get down there!¡± Sofiane needed Shui and Pech out of the way pronto. One stray hit, one missed block or parry from Daisy or him, and Shuixing and Pechorin were toast. Especially since, with Daisy here, Xiuquan¡¯s team were about to get their Desperation Arts any second now. Sofiane had already gotten his and was waiting to activate it. ¡°D-Dimension-jump again!? I can¡¯t!¡± Shuixing said. The sandstone elephant exploded in a shower of rubble. Sofiane triggered Overcharge and launched forward in Ball Lightning form and gunned for the green-and-brown figure charging through the cloud of sand. He popped straight out of Ball Lightning and into a Perfect Parry stance. Magic bolts from Koyon and Gula and Xiuquan¡¯s charge smashed into him as his sword flung wildly of its own accord to block all three. Knowing a follow-up was coming a split second later, Sofiane hopped back into Ball Lightning form to phase through Xiuquan¡¯s Root Control stun and Koyon¡¯s spectral horse charge. Frayed nerves or no, outplaying both made him feel electric. Sofiane popped back to human form long enough to shout. ¡°Shui! Save Natsu! Go!¡± Shuixing swallowed hard and looked at Pechorin. He nodded to her that he was ready to be sent through the ground. Under the cover of a second elephant blocking Koyon off, Shui lined up Pechorin as close to the same trajectory as Natsuko and swung, turning him into a jagged polygon. ~~~ Bottomless, hot-cold, nauseating horror filled Natsuko. With no mouth and no legs in her oscillating form, she could neither scream nor thrash, but was now just a thing helplessly tossed into the abyss. So deep was the terror that she missed the jungle-gym like structure appearing below her until it was rapidly enlarging before her eyes. In an instant, the horror changed to rapture, the pure bliss of not only getting to live another day without being swallowed by an infinite void, but also being right. There was an abandoned dungeon underneath the hills. The void spat her corporeal body back out face-first into a sandstone floor. She slid for a few feet, shaving deli slices off her face meat before coming to a halt. Standing up, Natsuko found herself in a chamber that looked like an ancient al-Nuwban burial tomb. And although she was coming off some of the biggest lows and highs of her emotional life, her first thought was: Does al-Nuwba really need another burial-tomb themed dungeon? It already has, like, four. When the world was done spinning, Natsuko conjured the katana she¡¯d stolen from Shinshuu. There were three exits to the chamber she was in: left, right, and center, all of which led to stairways going down. Hoping to save herself a bit of time, she yelled, ¡°Hey! Nuwas! You in here, buddy!?¡± There was no response. ¡°Is that a no!?¡± Considering her next options, Natsuko decided her teammates would eventually figure out she wasn¡¯t dead and realize what happened. The question was whether or not to go looking for Nuwas on her own or stay put where they could find her. ¡°What would you do, Shui?¡± Natsuko asked aloud. Doing an impression of Shuixing¡¯s soft, dulcet voice, she replied to herself, ¡°you should definitely go explore the freaky dungeon, Natsu. Don¡¯t be a weiner.¡± ¡°Thanks Shui, that¡¯s a good idea,¡± Natsuko said in Natsuko¡¯s voice. Picking left because it wasn¡¯t right, Natsuko took the sandstone stairs two at a time on the way down. At the bottom, she found a large chamber with moody candle lighting and a handful of easily-identifiable al-Nuwban signifiers like ankhs and hookahs and arched walls with tessellated tiling. This was a dungeon design much closer to what she was used to compared with the weird indoor-monastery place Sofiane and Shuixing and her explored several weeks prior. Even more typical was the closed door to the next section that would not open until she defeated the mummies now spawning into existence.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Fortunately for Natsuko, she was in peak fighting condition, meaning still drunk. Unfortunately, as she found out when she tried to Fire Gale roundhouse kick the first mummy, this was in fact a dungeon where abilities didn¡¯t work. Her unpowered foot collided with the mummy and, completely unfazed, it grabbed Natsuko¡¯s ankle and bit into her leg. ¡°Ow! You bitch! Biting is supposed to be a zombie thing!¡± Natsuko said without knowing what mummies were supposed to do instead. She yanked her leg back. Ignoring the blood trickling down her calf, Natsuko slashed at the mummy. It had HP, but it had a lot of it, and there were five more mummies behind it that could chomp her to bits before she could kill it. ¡°Hoo boy¡­¡± she said, backing away from the mummies. ¡°Will you despawn for me if I walk back up the stairs?¡± The mummies funneled into a mob as she backed up the stairs. They should have dropped aggro or poofed out of existence at the stairs, but apparently the Yishang hadn¡¯t gotten around to that part yet, so the mummies stumbled up the stairs after her. Kiting them into another room was an option, Natsuko supposed, but there was a risk of more monster spawns, and then she¡¯d be up to her neck in the damn things. She stabbed at them with her sword. ¡°Back, you toilet-paper lookin¡¯ motherfucker!¡± In the next instant there was a thump as somebody popped through the ceiling and landed behind the mummies inside the burial chamber. ¡°Sofiane? Daisy?¡± she called out. ¡°No,¡± Pechorin responded. ¡°¡®Tis I.¡± Not her first choice. ¡°Whatever. Kill me some mummies!¡± ¡°As you wish, my pharoah queen.¡± Natsuko¡¯s groan was drowned out by gunfire echoing across the chamber. After a couple seconds, the gunshots stopped just long enough for Pechorin to say, ¡°oh. No abilities.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Natsuko said, carving into the wall of HP sponges in front of her. With two people the mummies were more manageable. Three of the six had split off to shuffle after Pechorin, and the three that remained on the stairs were funneled nicely into slashing range. Soon the floor had been wiped clean and the mummies dissolved. ¡°Wait, dissolved?¡± Natsuko said, swiping her foot across the bare floor where the mummies had been. ¡°So it appears the rules are: No to abilities, yes to dissolving,¡± Pechorin said, scratching his chin. ¡°Perhaps the one you visited previously was in an earlier state of construction?¡± ¡°Except we could use our abilities in that one,¡± Natsuko said. She shook her head. ¡°I just don¡¯t get it, man.¡± Pechorin put his hands on his hips and hummed for a second. ¡°Oh. I forgot to mention. Xiuquan and his team are attacking us again. That¡¯s why Shuixing messed up the dimension-jump.¡± Natsuko stared at him. ¡°Why the hell didn¡¯t you open with that, dumbass!?¡± Pechorin shrugged. ¡°I was told to kill mummies first.¡± ~~~ ¡°You¡¯ve gotta go down next, hun,¡± Daisy said, crouching with Shuixing behind a small bunker of sandstone. ¡°But you all don¡¯t know how to make the jumps!¡± Shuixing replied, her glasses rattling on her face with each thump against the bunker wall. ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out babe, but if you wanna make it down there to help Natsu, you gotta get goin¡¯! Now!¡± Daisy said. Shuixing nodded and laid down face-up with the bottle held over her chest. It was a strange arrangement, but since she only needed to have downward velocity, the horizontal vectors she calculated for Natsuko were unnecessary. She explained as much to Daisy with the caveat that whoever was the last to come down¡ªSofiane or her¡ªneeded to keep hold of the bottle to make sure it went with them. Otherwise they¡¯d all be stuck down in the dungeon with no way out. ¡°Did you get all that!?¡± Shui yelled over pounding blows growing louder as Koyon rounded on their bunker. Daisy nodded. ¡°Listen, I know¡­ I know ya don¡¯t have much reason to trust me¡ª¡± Shuixing fixed her with a somber stare. ¡°Daisy. I don¡¯t care what you think, you¡¯ve never given me a reason to doubt you.¡± Shuixing let the bottle drop on her chest and in the next second she was crunching through the floor. Daisy bit down on her fist, hoping like hell Shuixing was right, and grabbed Natsuko¡¯s bottle. The bunker crumbled around her. ¡°Daisy watch out!¡± she heard Sofiane yell. The blue sky turned dark and filled with ghostly purple and green light. She guessed it was either Koyon or Xiuquan¡¯s Desperation Art. There was no time to get out of the way. There was nothing to do but tank the hit and hope for the best. Searing pain and pressure rippled along her body. It was indescribable. Nothing had ever hurt this much. She screamed her throat raw, fighting with everything she had to remain on her feet. If it hurt, she was alive, and if she was alive, she had to keep on fighting. A moment later the lights lifted and she was back in the al-Nuwban foothills. Koyon was walking towards her with his hands behind his back, whistling in admiration. ¡°Damn. You Top Ten really are a cut above. I told Xiu we should¡¯ve waited until you bailed on them again,¡± Koyon said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sofiane dodging Xiuquan¡¯s onslaught with his Ball Lightning. That must¡¯ve been how Sofi avoided Koyon¡¯s Desperation Art. Daisy glared at Koyon. ¡°Who¡¯s saying I will?¡± Koyon raised his eyebrows and rabbit ears up in amusement. ¡°Oh come on, Daisy, we both know the second the Yishang decide you¡¯ve run around and played too much babysitter for these losers instead of doing quests and ranking up, they¡¯re gonna kick your ass to the curb. But hey, if you don¡¯t want the spot¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Daisy screamed. Her pocket watch trembled in her clenching fist. ¡°I know that better than you do, f-fucking rabbit-boy!¡± It was a silly insult and she felt silly for saying it as soon as Koyon started laughing. ¡°Oh man, she¡¯s losing it! And here I was worried I was gonna get stuck in the Top 20 waiting room.¡± ¡°Enough screwing around, Koyon, kill them!¡± Xiuquan said. Koyon stopped laughing. ¡°You don¡¯t order me around, trash. You have temporary use of me before I throw you out too.¡± His half-mocking, half-angry eyes flicked back to Daisy. ¡°That said, let¡¯s finish this up soon. I want that bottle you¡¯ve got in your hot little hand.¡± Daisy felt it the moment she tipped over the top. Because of her high Insight stat, her Desperation Art, Tectonic Drift, had an astronomic threshold for activation. Not even getting nuked by Koyon¡¯s had done the job. But the prospect of letting this rotten little shit have Natsuko¡¯s bottle did it. She clicked her pocket watch. The ground shook. Just a little at first, but the shaking grew exponentially. It took Xiuquan, Koyon, and Gula a few seconds to realize this wasn¡¯t another golem. Daisy herself never knew how exactly Tectonic Drift would manifest, she didn¡¯t have full control over it, so it was a surprise to her too when a 30 foot stalagmite burst upwards and speared Koyon. Xiuquan and Sofiane were split from each other by a growing fissure in the ground like an enormous chisel had been stabbed straight into the ground. ¡°Shit! Gula!¡± Xiuquan yelled. Sofiane zipped between cliffs rising like ship bows out of the ground, any one of which could have clipped him for his entire health pool. He popped out beside Daisy who was standing in an oasis of calm amidst a boiling sea of earth a thousand yards in diameter. Their enemies had already disappeared into the mass of protrusions and fissures. ¡°Well, that¡¯s one way to bait out Gula¡¯s Desperation Art,¡± Sofiane said, clutching his knees as he caught his breath. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°She gives her teammates temporary invincibility. Once your Desperation Art is over, they¡¯re gonna be right back on us.¡± Daisy groaned and scarfed down some HP-healing maple-salmon croquettes, some Elemental Power-boosting braised horse beef, and some movement-speed buffing fermented mare¡¯s milk. She wiped the last of the milk from her lips. ¡°I was really hoping this would be a quick fight,¡± she said. ¡°So was I,¡± Sofiane said. A moment later, the twisted landscape dissolved back into the placid foothills they came from. A hundred feet from them, Koyon was smirking, his body still glowing with a cerulean aura from Gula¡¯s invincibility. Xiuquan snarled and took a step forward. Sofiane leveled his emerald sword. Daisy rubbed her thumb over the pocket watch. ¡°Xiu, let¡¯s just stop and talk, okay? We didn¡¯t kill Baran,¡± Sofiane said. Xiuquan opened his mouth to respond, but the look of shock on Sofiane and Daisy¡¯s faces made him pause. He looked behind him. Standing there was a black figure wearing a Thalia mask. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xiuquan said before he was turned into a spasming chunk of geometry. Chapter 98 - Good Daisy, Bad Daisy Xiuquan getting murdered moved up the timetable to escape a little bit. Daisy wasn¡¯t sure what the margin of error for hitting the underground dungeon was, but so far only Xiuquan was out of the Use-Rankings, so concluded it was probably safe to wing it. ¡°Time to go, Sofi,¡± Daisy said. Before he could react, she bopped him through the ground with Natsuko¡¯s bottle. Looking up, she found a horrified Gula Asu backing away from Hemiola. She was surprised Hemiola wasn¡¯t coming for her first, but Gula was indisputably the easier target. But¡­ she¡¯d be alright, right? Koyon was there¡­ No he wasn¡¯t. Daisy looked around and found that Koyon had already fled, leaving Gula to fend for herself. She bit down on the inside of her cheek. ¡°Shoot¡­¡± The safe thing to do would be to get herself and Natsuko¡¯s bottle down into the underground dungeon. Even safer would be to hop on Peng and get the hell out of there, leaving everyone else to their fate. Which Daisy would it be today? The one that pushed Maitri out of a window to get her Top Ten spot, or the one willing to risk being force dimension-jumped for the sake of a Hero she barely knew? Hemiola swung his FDJ rod at Gula followed by a loud chunking sound. The rod crunched into a sandstone turtle, turning the golem into monochromatic planes flailing wildly in every direction. Between them, Daisy caught sight of Gula heaving in terror. Stone engulfed Daisy¡¯s boot and she kicked Hemiola backwards. A storm of dust kicked up from the force. Next to her, Gula was still frozen in fear. Daisy grabbed her arm. ¡°Run you silly goose!¡± In the blink of an eye, Hemiola was back on them. If Daisy¡¯s instincts had been any duller, the rod would have connected with her arm, but she managed to coalesce a small brick of stone to put between herself and the kill rod. With her free hand, she shoved Gula up the hills towards Jann. ¡°Find a Pengwu! Get to where the Yishang has eyes on you!¡± Daisy yelled, guessing that was the only thing that would ward Hemiola off. Stone gloves formed around Daisy¡¯s hands to complement the stone boots. The glass of Natsuko¡¯s bottle crunched under the stone but held in one piece. All she had to do was hold out long enough for Sofiane¡¯s former teammate to get to town. As Gula staggered up the hill, Daisy locked herself into a staring contest with Hemiola¡¯s brass mask. Both of them were fast. Both of them hit hard. Both of them had a weapon that could kill with the tiniest clip. Only by sheer force of will did Daisy manage to keep her nerves in working order, ready to respond to the slightest change in Hemiola¡¯s stance. There: A glint in the eye sockets, sunlight on an eyeball, shifting left, towards Gula. Daisy moved. The air cracked as she rocketed forward, sending up plumes of sand in her wake. She swung the bottle, aiming for Hemiola¡¯s center mass. This time, she was on the offensive. Hemiola missed Gula by a foot as he aborted his own swing to counter Daisy¡¯s. The shockwave of both their movements slammed Gula to the ground. ¡°If you keep focusing on her, you¡¯re gonna die,¡± Daisy said, feeling the sadism crawling through her words. Here was the balancing act: Good Daisy was allowed to come and save Gula if Bad Daisy got to relish the prospect of using the bottle on someone. Watching Natsuko refuse to use it¡ªespecially when she was justified¡ªdrove Daisy crazy. Natsu just didn¡¯t have the instincts to grab and take power. But now the bottle was Daisy¡¯s, and she could use it all she wanted. With her stone gauntlets, she grabbed Hemiola¡¯s rod and yanked it towards herself as they entered a tug-of-war. Her own face now inches from his mask, she saw eyes peering out of its sockets, and she grinned wickedly in full view of them. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? The Yishang didn¡¯t give you enough grip strength, Hemi?¡± The eyes widened at that. Natsuko was on the mark about who it was. Daisy gave another tug and the rod pulled closer to her. If the Yishang had given him a Force stat, it was good, but it wasn¡¯t as good as #4. Daisy Corduroy. With him locked in place, she swung Natsuko¡¯s bottle. The first thing she realized after a white hot flash was that her ears were ringing. Stars danced in her vision. Her entire body hurt from the point-blank explosion Hemiola had detonated in the space between them. Oops. She¡¯d be the first to admit her bloodlust could get the better of her at times. That was the secret spice to her archetype: Cutesy, with just a dash of insane. She scrambled to her feet, her stone grip still curled around Natsuko¡¯s bottle because her life depended on it. Her one break of luck was that Hemiola wasn¡¯t immune to his own abilities and had blown himself over too. Half of his mask had cracked off, exposing part of a smooth, pale face and a single deep, blue eye looking out past a curtain of black curls.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Glancing around, Daisy couldn¡¯t see Gula anymore, which meant she must have escaped down the side that faced the town of Jann. ¡°Alright, Hemi-boy. You want this bottle? Come and get it,¡± Daisy said, carefully aligning herself along more or less the same line she sent Sofiane. Clutching the bottle tightly, she swung it down at her stomach. ~~~ ¡°Ugh! This is so dumb! Dungeon puzzles aren¡¯t supposed to be this friggin¡¯ hard. You¡¯re supposed to do them in two seconds and then move on to beating up more mobs!¡± Natsuko said. She, Shuixing, and Pechorin were standing on a balcony overlooking a giant tomb floor with a mirror puzzle. A light beamed into the room and they had to rotate specially-placed mirrors to get the light to shine on the obsidian eyes of a sphinx statue. They¡¯d completed dozens of this same type of puzzle before, except this one inexplicably had a dozen mirrors and a bunch of stupid obstacles which turned it into a giant migraine. ¡°Those five are fine,¡± Shuixing said, pointing out the handful of mirrors at the start of the puzzle. ¡°Plus the last one. I¡¯ve ruled out any alternative combinations which would allow the beam to reach the statue. We can focus our efforts on just the remaining six in the middle.¡± Natsuko groaned. ¡°Can¡¯t we wait for Sofi and Daisy to bring the bottle down with them and just dimension-jump through the puzzle door?¡± ¡°No! No more unnecessary dimension-jumping!¡± Shuixing said in a huff. Admittedly, it was hard to take her seriously between the pout and the adorable balled fists. Natsuko wanted to poke her in the cheek. ¡°Come on¡­ it¡¯s just a door! That should be easy!¡± ¡°If it was a solid shape, yes. But if there is even one unaccounted plane of geometry between one side of the door and the next it could redirect us straight into the void. Just to avoid a puzzle¡ª¡± Sofiane burst into the room, huffing and panting. ¡°H-Hemi¡ª Hemiola! Up there!¡± The other three tensed. Everyone pulled up their Use-Ranking chart. The total had gone down by one, but Daisy was still at the #4 spot. ¡°W-Was it¡ª¡± ¡°Xiuquan¡­¡± Sofiane said. His voice had a hollowness like someone about to throw up. He messed up his own hair. ¡°Gah! Xiu was such an asshole b-but¡ª Gods!¡± Tears started to leak from his lavender-colored eyes. ¡°That bastard murdered half of my old team!¡± Shui hugged him while Pechorin and Natsuko stood around being awkward and emotionally stunted. A quiet ¡°sorry¡­¡± was all Pechorin managed. Sofiane peeled himself off of Shuixing. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fine. We¡¯ve got a job to do, let¡¯s focus on that. Daisy isn¡¯t down here yet, but she¡¯s also not dead, so my guess is she stopped to help Gula escape.¡± As soon as he said this, the exit door on the far right of the balcony opened and out walked Daisy with Natsuko¡¯s bottle slung over her shoulder. Natsuko breathed a sigh of relief at being done with the puzzle. ¡°Howdy! Guess the dungeon didn¡¯t like how I came in the wrong side and decided to just open up, huh?¡± Daisy said. ¡°Daisy, what happened with Hemiola?¡± Sofiane asked, wiping his face dry on his sleeves. ¡°Umm¡­ that is a good question that I¡¯d love to know the answer too. I¡¯m sure y¡¯all saw¡­¡± Daisy took one look at Sofiane¡¯s puffy red face and decided to skate over that particular detail. ¡°Anyhow, he and I had a kerfuffle while your al-Nuwban lady hightailed it outta there and we ended up in a bit of a stalemate, so I popped down here. Hopefully he doesn¡¯t follow¡ª¡± ¡°No, we do want him to follow,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°We¡¯ve got our ability-nullifying dungeon right here.¡± Both Sofiane and Daisy tested this at the same time and Natsuko, who had gotten to see the process twice already, got a laugh out of the constipated look on their face when they realized their abilities didn¡¯t work. There was something indescribably uncomfortable about it. Abilities were such an innate part of being a Hero that not having them felt like moving a phantom limb. ¡°Force stat for Force stat, I can pin him down if we catch him, but I have no idea whether he¡¯ll jump down after us,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be stupid of him to come down though?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°He probably didn¡¯t know this dungeon was here until we dimension jumped into it without dying,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°He must¡¯ve thought he killed Nuwas. Now he knows that he left two jobs unfinished. Hemiola was cocky and arrogant, by both archetype and nature. If he¡¯s anything like he used to be, he¡¯ll follow us.¡± ¡°And he also doesn¡¯t know we can corner his ass,¡± Natsuko said. Her face was gleaming with a very Daisy-like glee. The hunt was even more important to her than the answers Shui wanted to wring from him. ¡°By the way, can I get my bottle back?¡± Daisy blinked, suddenly recalling the three-foot long wine bottle resting on her shoulder. Her mouth hung open slightly, as though considering something. Daisy seemed to feel the uneasiness that her brief hesitation wrought and chuckled to herself. ¡°Oh! Right, yeah, sorry, my head is all over the place right now.¡± She shifted the bottle from her shoulders to her arms and held it out for Natsuko who took it. An awkward silence followed which Sofiane decided to break. ¡°You stayed behind to save Gula, didn¡¯t you?¡± Sofiane asked. Daisy nodded. ¡°Felt like the right thing to do.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Sofiane said. His voice was almost as soft and quiet as Shuixing¡¯s Daisy rubbed her neck. ¡°Aw shucks, don¡¯t worry about it. Instead, let¡¯s worry about finding Nuwas. I suspect our little murderer is gonna go after him first.¡± With Natsuko and Pechorin having ruled out the front half of the dungeon, they turned towards the door Daisy had come from and headed further inside. Chapter 99 - As Above, So Below Sofiane sighed. ¡°Please stop whistling.¡± Natsuko stopped whistling long enough to ask, ¡°why? It helps keep me calm when I¡¯m stressed out.¡± ¡°Because it tells everyone we¡¯re coming, dumbass!¡± ¡°Hey, my whistling could just be the wind. Your yapping is way more suspicious.¡± ¡°Both of you shut up,¡± Daisy said, flicking them both on the back of the head. The front half of the dungeon had been fairly conventional as far as dungeons went with scripted monster fights and puzzles, but the second half felt like the skeleton of one. Lots of corridors, a few larger rooms for enemy ambushes, but no locked doors, no monsters, no treasure. It was a dungeon halfway through its construction. ¡°Do you think the Yishang builds them from the ground up?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°They must,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I assume that means every monster, every trap, every piece of treasure, is planned out ahead of time.¡± Daisy shut her eyes in contemplation. ¡°Wait a minute, how come they get to talk?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Cuz they¡¯re being quiet about it, firecrotch!¡± Sofiane replied. Daisy flicked them both on the head again. Not that their talking mattered, as they came within earshot of crazed laughter drifting through the halls. Everyone went quiet. The laughter came from down a final corridor painted floor to ceiling with murals. The wall art was unsettling. Dungeon decorations were usually forgettable, the kind of things that screamed, ¡°you are in an al-Nuwban dungeon,¡± without it mattering much which one. These paintings, however, were lurid and violent. Little black figures resembling Entropic Axis mages were forcing people into holes to be buried alive, while some kind of demon king sat on a throne watching. There were more violent scenes like this that made Shuixing shudder. ¡°The Yishang painted that too, I suppose,¡± Pechorin said, his words underlined by the harsh laughter coming from the stone doors at the end of the corridor. ¡°How delightfully macabre. I wonder why they didn¡¯t bother finishing this dungeon.¡± As they reached the door, the laughter stopped. Replacing it were words spoken somewhere between a sob and a whine. ¡°He sent me to hell. He sent me to hell. He sent me to hell. I thought it would be the heavens, but it was a hell¡­¡± Pechorin pointed at the door. ¡°That would be Nuwas. Shall we go see him?¡± Sofiane gestured for him to go ahead. ¡°After you, mon ami.¡± Pechorin tapped his guns on the stone doors and they rolled out of the way. Inside was a large burial chamber, almost fifty feet across, glittering from the gold and jewels encrusting every surface. There was a lot of empty space in the middle set aside for a boss fight that would never occur. On the far end was a dais where the dungeon treasure chest would have gone. Instead, there was an old al-Nuwban man half-laughing, half-crying. Nuwas¡¯ appearance didn¡¯t match his demeanor. Being set by the Yishang upon his summoning, he couldn¡¯t damage his immaculate white beard if he tried, and the ochre robe and turban and white scarf swaddling him refused to be dirtied or torn. Nuwas was, in appearance, exactly the regal, al-Nuwban scientist he was supposed to be. But his deep green eyes glistened with the tearful madness of someone for whom the external world was an engulfing iron maiden. Nuwas shot to his feet. In a voice scratchy from yelling, he said, ¡°y-you¡­ You¡¯re not tricking me again! Phantoms! Demons!¡± Pechorin cleared his throat. ¡°The sky settles to the ground, In glistening mirages¡ª¡± ¡°Demon! Beguile me not!¡± Nuwas said, plugging his ears. Natsuko placed her hand on Pechorin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Let me try a more subtle method.¡± She stomped across the chamber and punched Nuwas in the gut, doubling the old man over. He choked and coughed as the air left his lungs. ¡°We¡¯re real, dickhead. And we need you to start talkings.¡± ¡°F-Fire-headed, male-acting demon!¡± he groaned. Natsuko rolled her eyes. It was a better title than firecrotch. She raised her fist again. Nuwas winced. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if we¡¯re your crazy hallucinations or not, it hurts when I punch you, doesn¡¯t it? If you don¡¯t wanna get smacked around then answer our questions.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ve done your part, Natsu. Let¡¯s let the people that aren¡¯t cavemen talk now, okay?¡± Sofiane said.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Nuwas watched on, baffled by what was happening. Presumably they were putting on a better performance than his usual hallucinatory demons. Shuixing took the opportunity to jump in before Natsuko could derail things further. ¡°Mr. Nuwas, is it?¡± she asked. The man nodded in fear. Even for Shuixing, her voice was especially soft and tender. ¡°We understand what you¡¯re going through. We all learned about the nature of the Yishang and this world just yesterday. From one scientist to another, I empathize with the learning more than you bargained for.¡± The old hermit was still trembling, but something like awe crept onto his face. ¡°So then¡­ if you¡¯re here, in this hell, you too must have asked him for salvation?¡± Everyone shared a look that Natsuko perfectly encapsulated when she said, ¡°uhh¡­¡± ¡°Who is ¡°he¡±?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°The angel,¡± Nuwas said, his gaze growing more distant as his spiritual ecstasy grew. ¡°The one clothed in white and gold, who promised to help me transcend my immortal suffering.¡± ¡°Did this angel have a name?¡± Sofiane asked. The presence of a second voice startled Nuwas out of his fervor. ¡°N-Not a name, but a title¡ªXian. A deputy of the devil gods who turned his back on them to deliver the world from their evil!¡± ¡°And he never referred to himself as Hemiola? As a former Hero?¡± Shuixing asked. Nuwas shook his head violently. ¡°No Hero¡ªthose violent, black holes of self-interest, made in the image of the devil gods¡ªno Hero could act as selflessly the Xian.¡± Natsuko scoffed. ¡°And lemme guess, this ¡°salvation¡± involved bopping you with a rod and sending you through the ground?¡± ¡°You say this as someone who fears the Other Side,¡± Nuwas said, his fear of Natsuko long gone. She got the impression that if she punched him again, he wouldn¡¯t even feel it. ¡°What is the Other Side?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Somewhere without suffering. Somewhere free,¡± Nuwas said. ¡°Somewhere without Heroes, and without Non-Heroes. Without the Yishang.¡± Natsuko raised an eyebrow. ¡°And this¡­ Xian. He convinced you this place would be heaven?¡± Nuwas shook his head. ¡°No. I knew of heaven, but I knew not how to get there. He came to me, years ago, claiming he was a newly-created Xian, seeking to learn. He asked me for my wisdom. I told him what I knew of the world under the promise that, should he ever come into the power to save me, he would do so. That day came not too long ago, but I was wrong. This is not heaven, it is hell.¡± Shuixing¡¯s mouth froze half-open, unsure whether it was more ethical to tell the hermit the truth about where he¡¯d ended up, or to lie and convince him to come back to the surface. Uncomfortable with the possibility that he would beg to be killed for real, and that that responsibility would fall to Natsuko, Shui elected to lie, if only by omission. Shuixing cleared her throat. ¡°Well, er¡­ we can at least help you get back to the surface¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s his choice, Shui. Let him make it with the full truth,¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane nudged her and below his breath said, ¡°shut up, Natsu.¡± Natsuko fixed him with a glare. ¡°No. I said what I said. And I¡¯m sure Pechorin agrees.¡± The other three glanced at Pechorin who nodded in confirmation. With his sanction, Natsuko faced Nuwas and looked him in the eyes. ¡°Hemiola¡­ I mean the Xian¡ªhe missed. You were dimension-jumped into a dungeon the Yishang didn¡¯t finish. If you want to go to your ¡°heaven¡± I can help you,¡± she said. Shuixing gasped. Daisy frowned. Nuwas cried tears of joy. ¡°Please! Release me from this world and its thousand pinpricks, and the Other Side I go to will be permeated with my boundless gratitude for you,¡± Nuwas said, cupping Natsuko¡¯s hands in his. Natsuko jerked her hands away. ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Before you go, we¡¯d like to know what the Xian told you about the Yishang and about this world.¡± Nuwas grimaced as his paradise was yanked away once again, bringing his thoughts back to the profane world he was fleeing from. Nonetheless, his ¡°boundless gratitude¡± compelled him to provide some sort of answer. ¡°If you have already discovered the Yishang¡¯s use of this world as a printer of some heavenly currency, I have little else to impart. If you wish to know more, being a deputy of the devil gods the Xian surpasses my own knowledge. I long ago ceased to be interested in the mysteries of this world. Of what use would it be to me to know my prison in greater detail?¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait, printer of heavenly currency?¡± Daisy asked, putting her hands on her hips. ¡°What in the world does that mean?¡± Nuwas looked at them in confusion. ¡°I assumed if you were already aware of the Yishang¡¯s deception that you also knew its nature. It is, after all, their reason for creating this world of illusions and suffering.¡± ¡°Enlighten us,¡± Natsuko said. Her heartbeat rose as Nuwas approached an answer she wasn¡¯t entirely sure she wanted to hear. The moment after she spoke, she felt a sensation like being mid-air, watching lethal fall damage coming up below you. His eyes pierced her with undeniable sanity. ¡°The Yishang create Heroes and their emanations, and the Celestials pay the Yishang with something that passes for Ying in their realm of existence in exchange for those emanations. I care little for you all, brutal, violent Heroes that you are, but I pity you just the same,¡± Nuwas said. ¡°Like draught animals, you are milked for as much as the Celestials will pay for you, and then you are discarded. It is a different kind of hell from the shackles that us Non-Heroes live in, but it is a hell nonetheless.¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Natsuko shook her head. ¡°No, no, no. You got something wrong! This is¡ª it can¡¯t be money! It¡¯s not just money, that can¡¯t be why!¡± Pechorin, long-time connoisseur of all things tragic and ironic, stomached the revelation better than everyone else. With a sigh, he said simply, ¡°as above, so below.¡± ¡°No!¡± Natsuko shouted. ¡°There¡¯s gotta be more to this! The Yishang¡ª they¡­ they¡¯re doing some fucked up research experiment on us! O-Or hiding the universe from us because we would rebel a-and¡­¡± ¡°No, Natsu,¡± said a voice from the doorway. ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Chapter 100 - Learning About the Other Worlds Hemiola strode into the room with the serenity of an approaching thundercloud. It was almost impossible to recognize him as the dark figure who had been chasing them. He was no longer wearing the Thalia mask and had exchanged the black cloak for flowing white silk robes embroidered with gold threads and designs of clouds and cranes. A few black curls fluttered around his face, but his shaggy black hair now fell like a waterfall to his hips. The only things that identified him as their former assailant were the dimension-jump rod in his hand and deep blue eyes that managed to seem simultaneously sympathetic and disdainful. ¡°Nuwas is right, Natsuko. The Yishang make money selling your Emanation to Celestials, though they themselves use other terms,¡± Hemiola said. His voice was smooth and placid like the night sky. ¡°I am sorry to say, but it truly is about money and always has been.¡± Before his sentence was finished, the five Heroes arrayed in front of Hemiola readied their weapons. Two guns, one sword, a rod, a pocket watch, and a wine bottle rose to meet him. Five hearts pounded in a unison symphony of anticipation. Hemiola chuckled and smiled. ¡°I understand your fear, but you wouldn¡¯t win a fight against me. You all walked yourself into a trap. Hero Abilities don¡¯t work here.¡± ¡°We know,¡± Sofiane said, knuckles turning white against the hilt of his emerald sword. ¡°That was the plan.¡± Shuixing¡¯s face turned white along with them. ¡°Oh no¡­¡± Daisy was the second to realize, her teeth grinding into each other as she cursed herself for not thinking of this possibility. Pechorin was the first to vocalize the realization. ¡°You¡¯re not a Hero.¡± To demonstrate his point, Hemiola snapped his fingers and the burial chamber trembled from a sound-burst explosion detonating against the ceiling. Gold dust and gems fell in a shower of debris. ¡°I am indeed not a Hero. As Nuwas kindly explained, I am a Xian, the highest position possible shy of being a member of the Yishang. Not that such a thing is possible. You have to be born to their plane of existence. However useful we may be, we are only a kind of robot or automaton or¡ª¡± Hemiola paused, verbally as well as physically. His trailing silk robe swished to a halt in the middle of the chamber. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, trying to come up with a suitable metaphor for what Heroes were. ¡°A musical motif,¡± Hemiola finally said. ¡°A core around which the rest of a melody can be built. You might call this your archetype. But when the melody moves too far away from that motif, it becomes a bloated, baroque monstrosity, as the Yishang see it, and this scares the Celestials who desire the comfort of the simple and recognizable. They have more names than you could possibly imagine to categorize this canon of motifs, but the core archetypes are limited in number, as you have all surmised. Perfect for the Yishang. They couldn¡¯t possibly dream up enough complex, multi-faceted Heroes to meet the Celestials¡¯ demand for you.¡± Nuwas picked that moment to break for Hemiola, shoving Natsuko and Pechorin aside as he dashed in-between them. He threw himself in prostration.before Hemiola. ¡°I am ready to go, please send me!¡± Nuwas wailed. With a fatherly smile, Hemiola rested the palm of his left hand on Nuwas head. The hand holding his dimension jump rod lifted and came down with a gentle strike that removed Nuwas from the world forever. More than the jump itself, it was the casualness with which Hemiola employed forced dimension-jumping that struck Natsuko and the others. What was for them an agonizing moral dilemma was a flick of the wrist to Hemiola. ¡°Murderer!¡± Natsuko screamed until her throat stung. She ran at him, bottle at her side. ¡°Natsuko no!¡± Shuixing said. Hemiola teleported next to Natsuko and grabbed her by the throat mid-charge, slamming her to the ground and pinning her to the floor with his foot. The shock jarred the bottle out of her grip which Daisy bolted for, throwing herself into a slide to grab it before Hemiola could. With inches to spare between the bottle and his fingers, Daisy leapt out of her slide and entered a defensive stance to keep the bottle away from Hemiola. Hemiola chuckled, his laugh as deep and rich as a cuckoo bird¡¯s song. ¡°I don¡¯t think of what I¡¯m doing as murder. It¡¯s more accurate to say I am saving people from the Yishang and their world of horror. As many as I can, anyway. Saving everyone would be impossible. The Yishang will only let me get away with this for so long as they have a compelling narrative for their ¡°permanent death¡± special event. So, I had to pick only those I love to join us on the other side. Hence why I began with you three.¡± He looked in turn upon Pechorin, Shuixing, and Natsuko growling at his feet. ¡°I appreciate you leaving me off the guest list,¡± Sofiane said. Sofiane¡¯s lavender eyes were locked to Hemiola¡¯s every movement. He teetered on the edge of blind rage at hearing Hemiola call murdering Xiuquan and Baran ¡°a gift,¡± but after watching how easily Hemiola trounced Natsuko, Sofiane forced himself to hold back through sheer force of will, waiting for the right moment. ¡°Hero abilities¡­¡± Shuixing muttered by Sofiane¡¯s side. ¡°Why would they not be working¡­¡± It was blind, but Sofiane had absolute faith in Shuixing to figure something out. That was his role now: Buy Shuixing time to figure out the physics of the dungeon. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Hemiola said. ¡°I¡¯ve been there. To the other side. I¡¯ve felt what it¡¯s like to escape. It¡¯s a greater existence than I could possibly explain, and the Yishang brought me kicking and screaming back to this world of endless grinding. Believe me, it is a gift.¡± ¡°Funny how ya didn¡¯t bother explaining all that before. Or to anyone ya killed,¡± Daisy said. Hemiola shook his head. ¡°Perhaps it would have been morally preferable. But if I explain everything and they refuse, what then? Every Hero who knows what¡¯s really going on is a danger not only to themselves, but to everyone. This is not the Yishang''s first world, after all.¡± He raised his foot. Natsuko let out a heaving breath and scrambled to safety. In that moment, Hemiola¡¯s ability to treat her like a crushed bug eclipsed the murders as the reason for her hatred of him. That, and the patronizing half-smile painted on his face as securely as the Thalia mask. Pechorin grabbed Natsuko¡¯s arms and pulled her back up to her feet. ¡°What do you mean, not their first?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°I mean that they have made other worlds like Po-Lin to do the exact same thing: Sell Heroes. They aren¡¯t always called Heroes, but the principle is the same. For the Yishang I play a role somewhere between a mechanic and a mascot, and so I have observed these other worlds. They are fundamentally different in only one regard: When the Yishang created Po-Lin and created the Heroes and Non-Heroes to inhabit it, they employed a new technology as an experiment which allowed its population to think and act independently. In the other worlds, everyone and everything follows a rigid script. But Po-Lin is different,¡± Hemiola said. The thought of a world in which they were dragged along like puppets, forced to say and do whatever the Yishang wanted so that they would appeal to some mysterious ¡°Celestials¡± was a crescendoing horror that came in waves, each wave slamming into one of the five Heroes as their minds turned over the idea. Natsuko could only imagine the humiliation of eternally playing the upbeat, peppy girl as her livelihood collapsed around her. Depressing or not, her self-destruction was a play at keeping at least some of her dignity. Daisy held her head by the temples. ¡°What the fuck¡­? This is a joke¡­ You¡¯re joking¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not quite as bad as you imagine,¡± Hemiola continued. ¡°I doubt the Heroes in those scripted worlds ever had a soul to begin with. What frightens me is what the Yishang will do with Heroes that do. I am not sure if even they understand precisely what they have created in Po-Lin. Their goal in employing this new technology was simply more realistic characters. All they know is that they designed a perky, excitable tomboy tsundere, and she broke herself and turned into a depressed alcoholic.¡± Natsuko squinted at him. ¡°What in the fuck is a tsundere?¡± Hemiola waved his hand. ¡°Forget about it. The salient point is that there will come a day in the future where this world ends. It costs the Yishang money to keep Po-Lin spinning, and if there are not enough Celestials paying them to do so¡­¡± Everyone understood the implication. In one moment, a world that seemed as though it would stretch on into eternity now had a looming end point. Shuixing shivered. For once in her life, she wished she knew less. ¡°Do you see now why I consider the dimension-jump a mercy?¡± Hemiola said. For a moment there was silence as Natsuko and the others gave serious thought to his statement. But something didn¡¯t sit right for Natsuko. ¡°You were going to save us and screw the rest of the world?¡± she asked. ¡°I was going to save as many as I could before the Yishang caught on,¡± Hemiola replied. ¡°And then what?¡± ¡°I would leave too. And perhaps they would bring us back, but some of us would find a way to exist on the other side, and that would make this entire exercise worthwhile. Working for the Yishang, pretending to help them refine their physics models, investigating Shuixing¡¯s research, all of it was nothing but shots in the dark that some of us might escape the Yishang¡¯s clutches for good. Perhaps such a thing is impossible, but it is better to have tried than to be snuffed out when we no longer make them money.¡± Natsuko laughed in disbelief. ¡°O-Oh, so now you¡¯re in favor of choices! Isn¡¯t that convenient? You planned to kill us o-or¡ª or send us to wherever the hell exists out in the void, but you weren¡¯t going to leave it up to us until now!? I smell bullshit!¡± The placid half-smile finally melted off of Hemiola¡¯s face. In a tone closer to the one Natsuko remembered, he said, ¡°Natsu¡­ You were always obnoxious, but I see you¡¯ve gone and invented a new type of obnoxiousness. I can¡¯t even bring myself to dislike it. This is proof that there is something in Po-Lin¡¯s Heroes that is vital and dynamic. Something worth saving.¡± Natsuko grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t care about any of that. What I wanna know is: If I say that I wanna walk outta here without being given your ¡°gift,¡± what are you gonna say?¡± Hemiola closed his eyes and exhaled in frustration. ¡°At this late hour, I¡¯m sorry to say that I will have to make the choice for you. Otherwise, you would tell the other Heroes the truth, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°They deserve to know and make their own choices too, you gods-damned hypocrite,¡± Natsuko said, walking towards Daisy who was still holding her bottle. ¡°I can¡¯t let you do that,¡± Hemiola said. Only then did the other four realize how deeply lulled they had been by Hemiola¡¯s words. For just a moment, the hereafter he¡¯d promised to send them to had seemed the better alternative to living on in the Yishang¡¯s meat-grinder. But the spell was broken. Hemiola¡¯s mask dropped. He had been feeding them sugar pills to disguise the fact that he had already made the decision for them. Shuixing returned to mulling over the matter of Abilities as Sofiane remained close at her side, prepared to defend her from both the front and the back. ¡°Err¡­ Maybe I ought to be the one holding the bottle, darling,¡± Daisy said without looking at Natsuko. Everyone¡¯s eyes were fixed on Hemiola. ¡°It¡¯s my bottle, and Hemiola was my teammate. I¡¯ll be the one to finish this,¡± Natsuko said. Reluctantly, Daisy handed her the bottle. Hemiola twirled the rod in his hand. ¡°I suppose this means you won¡¯t go willingly?¡± Natsuko grinned and brandished her bottle. ¡°That is exactly what that means.¡± ¡°So be it,¡± Hemiola said, teleporting behind Natsuko and slamming the rod into her. Chapter 101 - Revising the World Natsuko had expected Hemiola to go after her first. Not just because she had the bottle, but because there was still a twinkling of their old rivalry in his eyes. He had floated between #2-#4 during their heyday, never managing to get ahead of Natsuko. He could play the wise, transcendent Xian all he wanted, but the way he¡¯d called her obnoxious, Natsuko knew the Yishang hadn¡¯t plucked out the old Hemiola. Not entirely. So the second he seemed ready to drop the act and start killing them, Natsuko let herself fall backwards, expecting him to overshoot the tip of the rod and smack her in the side. Natsuko¡¯s plan worked, but it hurt like hell. The rod wasn¡¯t an equipable ¡°weapon,¡± just like her bottle wasn¡¯t, so it didn¡¯t interact with her HP at all. Instead, it was a bar of iron colliding with her rib cage at high speeds. She felt something crunch in her chest. Blood spattered the floor where she coughed it out. The hit was hard enough that the next few things that happened were a blur. Shuixing yelled something about the teleport cooldown, gunshots ricocheted around the chamber, and chunks of earth shattered against Hemiola, showering Natsuko with dirt. A second later she was yanked forward by someone grabbing her ankles. Natsuko looked up to find Sofiane hauling her across the floor. ¡°Thanks¡ª puffball¡ª¡± Natsuko wheezed while blood dribbled out of her mouth. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m a saint,¡± Sofiane said. Right as he said this, he dropped her legs and pulled his sword up. With an ear-splitting clang, the side of Hemiola¡¯s rod clashed with the emerald sword. Sofiane¡¯s free hand shot to the end of his blade to support it. The stone underneath Sofiane¡¯s feet cracked. Even with both hands bracing for it, the force of Hemiola¡¯s strike still almost knocked Xiuquan¡¯s sword out of his hands, but the sword held. Sofiane thought of it as one last piece of defiance on the part of his deceased teammate. Rocks summoned by Daisy¡¯s pocketwatch continued to collide with Hemiola¡¯s back, but basic attacks were not her specialty. Even if they could kite Hemiola around for a while, without their abilities, it was a matter of time before he caught them with the tip of the rod. ¡°Daisy, can you hit his face with the dirt?¡± Shuixing called out, repositioning herself to have a clear shot at Hemiola¡¯s face. Almost as fast as Sofiane¡¯s Ball Lightning, Daisy bolted in front of Hemiola where he was slowly inching the tip of the lethal rod towards Sofiane¡¯s chest against the sword¡¯s resistance. She clicked her pocket watch and a ball of dirt hurled itself at Hemiola¡¯s face while Shuixing followed with a synchronized water bolt. The dirt turned into mud, dribbling into Hemiola¡¯s eyes. Hemiola pushed off Sofiane¡¯s sword and jumped back to wipe the blinding mud off his face. ¡°Cute,¡± he said, flicking mud from his hands. ¡°But I preferred your outside-the-box thinking when it wasn¡¯t being used to help the Yishang, Shui.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not helping the Yishang, I¡¯m helping my friends,¡± Shuixing replied. Far beyond even the agonizing self-doubt that usually accompanied Shui when she tried to make her brain work, her mind was now nothing but a white hot ball of desperation. She needed to figure out how to unlock their abilities or they¡¯d be dead. Everything was on her. Shuixing felt a wet hand grasp hers. Sofiane had backed up to her with his sword still pointed at Hemiola and grabbed her hand with the one that had been bracing his blade. Blood trickled between their entwined fingers. ¡°Stay calm, Shui,¡± he said. That was a tall order as Hemiola triggered a point-blank sonic boom on top of Daisy, throwing her across the room and knocking out half her health in one shot. What did Shuixing know? Heroes¡¯ Abilities didn¡¯t work, but Xians¡¯ did. As far as she could tell, Hemiola functioned the same as the rest of them. He too was a product of whatever technology the Yishang used to create artificial souls. No, they had to be the same thing. She knew Hemiola had stats. She knew there were numbers attached to his capabilities, and that meant his Abilities were tied to them as well. The only way the dungeon could¡¯ve separated Hero and Xian was if it was deliberately designed that way by the Yishang. But the dungeon was an abandoned project, there was no way the Yishang had anticipated something like this happening. Her breath hitched as she was shoved to the ground by Sofiane. Hemiola had teleported behind them while Shui who was lost in her thoughts, but Sofiane had been prepared for it. Where she¡¯d stood half a second prior, a metal rod was finishing its downward arc. Sofiane caught himself from falling with outstretched palms and used the leverage to kick out at Hemiola, nailing him in the arm. It felt like kicking a brick wall. ¡°Sixty seconds!¡± Sofiane shouted. ¡°That¡¯s the cooldown on the teleport!¡± Before Hemiola could attack Shuixing, now lying helplessly on the floor, Sofiane thrusted and slashed with his sword. Damage-wise it barely scratched his opponent, but it forced Hemiola¡¯s attention towards him. That was, until Hemiola got a clean hit with the tip of his rod on the emerald sword, sending it plummeting through the ground and disarming Sofiane. Shui¡¯s heart pounded. There was no more time left. She had a guess, and it was stupid, but it was all she had.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Pech, how¡¯d you bypass the special event field!?¡± Shui yelled as Sofiane frantically backpedaled, missing the rod by inches. ¡°I just didn¡¯t care that there was one,¡± Pechorin said, putting down cover fire for Sofiane that did nothing but assault Hemiola¡¯s eardrums. Shuixing made a guess and a prayer and dashed around Hemiola. Lifting her own rod, Light of Hope went off directly in Hemiola¡¯s eyes, blinding him for a moment. ¡°Agh! What the hell¡ª¡± She grasped Sofiane¡¯s wrist and sprinted away from Hemiola who swung his rod wildly in every direction. ¡°How did you do that!?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°The dungeon has an event field that was never tied to a quest!¡± Shuixing said. She called down Bubble Storm to heal some of Daisy¡¯s HP and Natsuko¡¯s broken ribs. The trick to ignoring special event fields was that there was no trick at all. There was a subtle suggestion placed in them, undoubtedly by the Yishang, which told them to obey it, but it was just that: A subtle suggestion. It worked only if you didn¡¯t know it worked. ¡°Oi! Puffball! Catch!¡± Natsuko said, tossing Sofiane the katana she stole from Shinshuu. After a few blinks, Hemiola was focused once again. As Sofiane counted, they were halfway between teleport timings. ¡°Daisy, keep him pinned! Firecrotch, the usual!¡± Sofiane said. Hemiola launched himself forward almost as fast as a teleport, but this time Sofiane was able to turn into a Ball of Lightning. He burst through to the other side of Hemiola and turned human again, ready to swap with Natsuko. Unfortunately, Hemiola was not fending off any stone golems. ¡°Daisy!?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t know what Shui¡¯s talking about!¡± Daisy yelled back. Hemiola swung the rod again. This time it was a feint. Instead of completing the swing, he let Sofiane lock himself into an immobile Perfect Parry stance and waited for the timer on it to run out before completing the swing. Sofiane¡¯s heart stopped. A second later he was across the room next to Pechorin. Where he¡¯d been standing Natsuko had her palms planted on the floor, kicking upwards at an almost vertical angle. Taking a page out of Hemiola¡¯s own book, she applied a Fire Gale blast to her palms but not her soles. The effect was upwards thrust without using anything that would be counted as an ¡°Ability,¡± turning the kick from a small HP loss into the raw force of object on object. This force went straight into his jaw. Hemiola made a choking sound and staggered backwards. With the brief reprieve purchased by Natsuko¡¯s kick, Pechorin ran over to Daisy. ¡°Pech, what¡¯s going on!? H-How do I use my Abilities!?¡± Daisy said, clicking her pocket watch to no avail. ¡°You have to stop trying,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Bypassing the special event field is like poetry. The more you force it, the more your thoughts trap you. If you want to get away from how the Yishang trained you to think, all you have to do is open up. It¡¯s as about as far from the act of grinding for numbers as you can possibly get.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s all I know!¡± Daisy said frantically. ¡°No it¡¯s not.¡± His cryptic remarks were usually charming, but in that moment she wanted to throttle Pechorin. Now was the worst possible time to play the opaque mystery man. Why could he not just give her clear instructions? ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Natsuko called out. ¡°Right about what!?¡± Hemiola launched himself back at Natsuko, leaving her unable to answer Daisy while she fended off the attack. ¡°Three seconds!¡± Sofiane yelled. Three seconds to what? Gods-dammit, all Pechorin had done was get her so jumbled up she forgot what Sofiane was counting. Why was she the only one who didn¡¯t get it? What was she supposed to get? As she thought that, the world deepened. The lights and shadows playing off the flickering lanterns in the corner of the room seemed to pop out of the world. The gilding and jewels along the walls of the burial chamber arranged themselves in a repeating pattern, and she could see the hand the Yishang had played in designing them. But the strangest sensation of all was that she barely felt like she was there. There was no ¡°good Daisy¡± or ¡°bad Daisy,¡± there was just one piece of the drama playing out in the room. Oh. That¡¯s what Pechorin meant. He¡¯d put the revelation in his own words because that was the only way he could, but in her own words, her understanding was more like this: Bypassing the special event field was impossible. But if you knew it was there and how it affected you, it was possible to write your own part in the event. In other words, exactly what Hemiola said made Po-Lin different. Stone gathered around Daisy¡¯s hands and arms. Something told her that Hemiola would attack, and that he wouldn¡¯t come from behind as he had been. She raised both arms as Sofiane¡¯s count reached zero and the next thing she felt was a strange tingling as the rocks on her left arm spasmed and melted through first her body and then the floor while the rest of her remained safely intact. Rather than angry, Hemiola looked sad. ¡°I guess I didn¡¯t win in time.¡± A rhinoceros formed out of the stone of the burial chamber plowed into the back of Hemiola, forcing his face into the stone mitt around Daisy¡¯s other hand. She slammed him to the floor. Guessing correctly again, Daisy leapt back as the air popped with an invisible explosion. ¡°Wait¡­¡± Daisy said. ¡°We¡¯re sharing the special event!¡± That was how she kept predicting correctly, she realized. If they were all in effect ¡°writing¡± a special event, that meant they were tapped into whatever Hemiola did to affect the field too. And with five against one¡­ ¡°I surrender,¡± Hemiola said. Everyone¡¯s first thought was that it was a trick, but he dropped his force dimension-jump rod and kicked it away from him with his hands up. Natsuko looked at him in confusion. ¡°Wait¡­ what!?¡± Chapter 102 - Resolving the Permanent Death Crisis Special Event No one put away their weapon in the event that Hemiola¡¯s surrender was some kind of feint, but they approached him anyway. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna look a gift-horse in the mouth, but uh¡­ why?¡± Natsuko asked. Hemiola no longer wore a patronizing grin. In its place was a grim frown. ¡°This was a gamble from the beginning. If you all figured out this dungeon was a special event field then I lost my advantage. At that point my choice was either to surrender and have my say, or suffer more kicks to the jaw, and I do not relish the latter.¡± ¡°Bummer,¡± Sofiane said. He walked up and struck Hemiola across the cheek. ¡°That¡¯s for Baran and Xiuquan, you murdering prick!¡± Hemiola accepted this with nothing but a grunt. His surrender had done nothing to replace his convictions about dimension-jumping being a gift. ¡°So¡­ what now? Are you hoping we¡¯ll let you go so you can return to dimension-jumping people?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°No. You know as well as I do that I would come after you all. And outside of a special event field influenced by you all, I win. Your only option is to kill me right here,¡± Hemiola said. Natsuko grimaced. He was right about that. It was the same dilemma Frederick had placed her in, except this time the people threatened were her friends instead of random Non-Heroes. She clenched her fists. ¡°You¡¯ll be the first and last that I do this to, understand?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say some shit like, ¡°carry on my mission,¡± because I won¡¯t! When we¡¯re done here I¡¯m getting rid of this stupid bottle and we¡¯re gonna track down wherever you hid Shui¡¯s papers and we¡¯re gonna destroy them so forced dimension-jumping gets buried forever.¡± A hint of a smile made its way onto Hemiola¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to help with that. Shuixing¡¯s research is right back where I took it from. I gathered it all in a folder and had Lawrence the general store owner hold onto it to avoid Heroes finding it. He¡¯ll sell it to you for one Ying if you ask for a ¡°physics textbook.¡± Shuixing exhaled three weeks worth of anxiety in one breath. The long nightmare wrought by her research was finally coming to a close. With that problem dealt with, there was only the final task. Natsuko raised the bottle over a kneeling Hemiola. ¡°Wait, Natsu!¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko lowered the bottle. ¡°What? Please don¡¯t hit me with a ¡°we can¡¯t become like him¡± speech. I¡¯m killing him.¡± Shui shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not it. I wanted to ask him a few more questions while we have the chance. He still hasn¡¯t told us who, or what, the Yishang and the Celestials really are, other than that they¡¯re some kind of being that profits off us.¡± Hemiola¡¯s gaze turned to Shuixing. She saw something in his eyes that looked like hope for her to carry on the torch and she shuddered. Bypass pig-headed Natsuko, go straight to her pliable friend, that was his thought. Shui returned a stern expression to make sure he knew that wouldn¡¯t happen. ¡°Just tell us,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Or don¡¯t. But the knowledge dies with you, and you seem to think it¡¯s quite precious.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not really much for me to add,¡± Hemiola said. ¡°It¡¯s a rather abstract relationship I have with the Yishang. They speak to me through written commands or through Peng-wu. If they truly are a different kind of being than us, I would have no way of knowing. But I suspect two things: One, that we were created in their image and must look similar to them. I think the ¡°Ero-Art¡± number testifies to that. Two, that their own world must share some incentive structures which form the basis for our world. By this I mean it is not a coincidence that some Heroes must fail and be buried to make room for the new.¡± Natsuko and Sofiane grumbled at that, but Pechorin hummed as though something clicked in his head. ¡°As above, so below,¡± he said.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Hemiola chuckled at that. ¡°Ya gonna tell us what that means, or are we playin¡¯ the Pechorin guessin¡¯ game again?¡± Daisy asked. Hemiola cut in with obvious frustration at the fact that only Pechorin had picked up the insinuation. ¡°It means that not only Heroes, but entire worlds rise and fall in popularity. There comes a time when the Celestials are no longer satisfied with the newness of Heroes, but want an entirely new world to play in, one with ever more marvel and distraction to keep themselves entertained. Po-Lin may have more longevity because of the unpredictable intelligence they imbued you all with, but it won¡¯t last forever. I suspect, based on the Yishang¡¯s decision to create a special event surrounding the permanent death of Heroes, as we so kindly obliged them in enacting, this end is coming soon. They would only resort to such a gimmick if they were under pressure to keep the numbers going up.¡± ¡°How much longer?¡± Shuixing asked, unable to disguise the nervousness in her voice. ¡°Two years by my estimate,¡± Hemiola said. ¡°Maybe a little more, maybe a little less. But the numbers will start to go down across the board within half that time, and then you all will know that I was correct.¡± ¡°Correct about the timeline, sure,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°It¡¯s this shit about ¡°the other side,¡± I don¡¯t buy.¡± Hemiola raised an eyebrow. ¡°I have been there already. Do I seem afraid to go again? Perhaps this time the Yishang will exterminate me for good rather than bring me back as their servant. All I ask is that you remember what I¡¯ve said when the time comes.¡± ¡°Done yappin¡¯?¡± Natsuko asked. Hemiola nodded. Natsuko turned to Shui. ¡°Done asking him questions?¡± It felt as though Shuixing ought to ask him more, but nothing was coming to her. She knew questions would start flooding in after she had had some rest and some time to think through the load of information that had been dumped on her. If it had been feasible, she would¡¯ve preferred to keep Hemiola around as a resource, but he himself said that was impossible. For safety reasons, Shui took him at his word. Though, one final question did wiggle its way to the surface. ¡°If we¡ª suppose we did want to fight the Yishang¡­ if it came to that. How could we do that?¡± Shuixing asked. Hemiola laughed. ¡°You can¡¯t. You can only try to escape.¡± Shuixing bit her lip. ¡°Alright. You¡¯ve already gotten a shitton of final words, so now I¡¯ve got some for you,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°See you in hell.¡± She swung the bottle down. At the last second, Natsuko felt a twinge of regret that almost caused her to stop the bottle, but still half-full of wine, the momentum carried it through, and with the same undignified slapping noise and physical distortion as every one of his victims, Hemiola was thrown through the ground. With Shuixing¡¯s guidance they were able to execute an upward dimension-jump back to the surface. Waiting there were at least three or four other Hero teams looking to pounce on them after following Xiuquan¡¯s team, all with hopes of poaching the Yishang¡¯s reward. ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Back the hell up, idiots! We took care of the killer! The Yishang¡¯ll call the event off¡­ soon¡­ish,¡± Natsuko yelled. Ice shards and lightning bolts and once-in-a-millennia starbeams fired at them but a sandstone rhinoceros goring the closest Hero for his entire health pool was enough to quiet their attackers down. As soon as the fight was over, a hawk swooped down and landed on an outcropping in full view of everyone and gave a scream that made everyone turn and look. The hawk rubbed its beak. ¡°My apologies, I prefer not to do that.¡± Something turned in Natsuko¡¯s stomach. She¡¯d always mistrusted Peng-wu, but after everything they had recently learned, the hawk instilled in her a visceral repulsion. Judging by the looks of discomfort on the faces of the other four, they shared her sentiments. However, no one said anything. All of them realized that the secrets Hemiola had spilled were the kind that the Yishang might take extreme action to keep contained. ¡°The official proclamation from the Yishang is that Team Natsuko has resolved the Hero-killer crisis by slaying the murderer,¡± the hawk Pengwu announced, punctuating with another screech. The assembled Heroes wandered off in disappointment. Just a couple weeks prior, Natsuko might have felt like gloating. But now she just saw some 15 souls deprived of what was probably the only shot they had left to live a good life and pull themselves out of unused obscurity. Sure, that goal was a little ridiculous in light of the truth about Po-Lin and its approaching end, but Natsuko empathized with it. After all, this whole escapade had been kicked off by her, Shui, and Sofiane trying to do exactly that. If another Hero had been given the bottle and framed for a forced dimension-jump murder, she might have been in that crowd herself. Even more ridiculous, Natsuko now had a itty-bitty, tiny, infinitesimally small bit of sympathy for the Heroes at the top of the Use-Rankings, sprinting as hard as they could to stay on a treadmill that was always going faster. They were arrogant assholes, sure, but what did that even matter when the Yishang finally decided to pull the plug? They¡¯d be washed down the drain, same as her. No one felt like asking the hawk Peng-wu if the Yishang¡¯s reward applied to them. The only winners in all his were the Yishang and their temporary numbers-boost anyway. Natsuko hoped the amount of money they got from killing Heroes was worth it. Chapter 103 - Verm?genburgh Once-in-a-Lifetime Stat-Raising Event After another night¡¯s stay in the Tanzimat Hotel, Daisy flew everyone back to Verm?genburgh. They arrived around dusk the following day, exhausted from clinging to a stone bird¡¯s back. ¡°Fuck me, I need a drink,¡± Natsuko said, sliding off Peng¡¯s stone wing and wobbling onto sore legs. Her thighs were an angry, lobster-red from straddling rocks all day. ¡°Ugh, I need to unwind too,¡± Daisy said, rubbing her back with her knuckles. ¡°Devil¡¯s Cut?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°I mean, it doesn¡¯t feel great to celebrate right now, but screw it, we¡¯re alive, the world-ending apocalypse is still two years away, and we dealt with the craziest shit any Hero has ever dealt with. I feel like we can cut back and drink some, non?¡± Natsuko was already walking towards the bar. ¡°Y¡¯gonna yap or y¡¯gonna drink?¡± Since the other three had already decided their next course of action, Pechorin turned to Shuixing. ¡°Are you coming, Shui?¡± Shuixing blinked. ¡°Oh, erm, in a bit. I wanted to deal with my stolen research first. Once I make sure it¡¯s gone for good, I¡¯ll catch up with you all.¡± Pechorin nodded and then went to meet up with the others. ¡°Klaus! Buddy!¡± Natsuko yelled at the top of her lungs the second she walked in the door. The middle-aged bartender and the other mellow drunkards quietly nursing drinks on a Wednesday night in the least exciting bar in the least exciting city in Po-Lin were first surprised and then delighted. ¡°Hey! The wyvern-slayer has returned!¡± said Karl the brewer. The rest of the patrons raised their glasses with a cheer. ¡°Oh uh¡­¡± Natsuko laughed nervously. ¡°You didn¡¯t die horribly too many times, right?¡± ¡°Just a couple mondays of brutal, flash-frozen deaths. No biggie,¡± Klaus said, swabbing a glass. ¡°You¡¯re back for good though, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Don¡¯t remind me,¡± she said in feigned disappointment. Truthfully, she had a lot more appreciation for her little life now that she knew how big the pond really was, and how small the fish at the top were by comparison. ¡°The whole bar¡¯s on my tab!¡± Daisy said. This earned another cheer, loudest of all from Klaus, who immediately hopped to getting everyone drinks with a whole lot more vigor than for the broke, alcoholic Hero he usually served. Natsuko sighed and slid into a stool while Sofiane and Pechorin took the seats on either side of her. She slumped forward, her messy mop of bright-orange hair pooling on the splintery countertop. ¡°After everything, it¡¯s still all about money¡­¡± Natsuko muttered as Klaus plopped down her regular tankard of ale and double-shot of whiskey. Sofiane eyed the glass of Cascadia 75 that Klaus had mixed for him which he was 90% sure was just white wine and gin with a twist of lemon. ¡°Well, it¡¯s like an old friend once said,¡± he said, nodding at Pechorin. ¡°As above, so below.¡± ¡°Perhaps we should give some thought to what to do next?¡± Pechorin asked after swishing around his shot of whiskey until it was diluted enough by spit that it didn¡¯t burn. Natsuko groaned. ¡°Gods, whatever we decide, I¡¯m taking at least three days to nap and binge drink first. I am slammed.¡± ¡°I think¡­¡± Daisy started to say. She licked her lips and cocked her head, swirling the stir stick in her mint julep as she tried to find the right words. ¡°So¡­ my role in all this¡­ I think I¡¯m the numbers girlie, right? We gotta have someone who can fight off the other Heroes.¡± After a few drinks, everyone was willing to wholeheartedly agree and skate over the fact that they all knew Daisy was still worried about her Use-Ranking. But she had come back before, and presumably, if need be, she would come back again. Most of the immediate work for preparing for the apocalypse would fall on Shuixing anyway. Out of the five of them, she was the only one who remotely understood the inner-workings of their strange world. ¡°I¡¯m sure the rest of us can hold down the fort,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Uhh¡­ about that,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Oh? Is someone gonna go chase tail?¡± Natsuko said with a lip-biting grin. She started stabbing him in the ribs with her finger. ¡°Look at this little bastard, wanting to go play while the world burns!¡± ¡°Ow! Stop! Natsu I can easily kill you¡ª stop poking me!¡± ¡°Aw, you know I¡¯m just bustin¡¯ your balls. Maybe not as well as the raccoon girl can, but you know¡­¡± Sofiane flushed bright red and was about to give his retort before Daisy threw her arm around his shoulder and squeezed. ¡°I think y¡¯all make such a cute couple, you and whats''ername!¡± ¡°Gomiko,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Yeah! Give ¡®er lots of smooches for me, alright!¡± Daisy said with a loud hiccup. Daisy was about one drink behind Natsuko, which was a bad place for anyone other than Natsuko to be. Sofiane realized his best option was to shut up and let them continue messing with him until they got bored. Unfortunately, he underestimated how much fun Natsuko could have making lewd comments and Daisy could have planning his and Gomiko¡¯s future wedding. After half an hour of this he¡¯d had enough. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna head out. You all take care,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Gonna finish your drink?¡± Natsuko asked, her words starting to slur. ¡°By all means,¡± he said with a handwave as Natsuko slammed the rest of his leftover Cascadia 75. Natsuko ordered herself, Daisy, and Pechorin a round of vodka shots¡ªon Daisy¡¯s tab, naturally¡ªand they toasted to temporarily saving the world. After choking and coughing down her shot, Daisy gestured at Natsuko¡¯s bottle. ¡°So¡­ Natsuko¡­¡± Daisy said. ¡°So¡­ Daisy?¡± Natsuko said. Daisy¡¯s eyes flicked down to her bottle. ¡°Once Shui gets rid of her research, we just got that left.¡± Natsuko cringed. ¡°I know, but¡­¡± Pechorin placed a hand on Natsuko¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Nothing is harder to give up than power. But take it from me, it can only corrupt you. No Hero should have that power over another. The right thing to do is destroy it.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°No, idiot, it¡¯s still half full of wine! That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about,¡± Natsuko said in disgust at the very notion that her concern would be about the power of forced dimension-jumping and not booze. ¡°We can have Shui pour it in a vat or somethin¡¯,¡± Daisy said with a yawn. ¡°Gawsh I¡¯m gettin¡¯ tired too! I think I¡¯m also gonna pack it in.¡± ¡°You gods-damned weenie!¡± Natsuko said, ¡°It¡¯s not even two o¡¯clock yet!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Daisy said with a hand wave. Natsuko turned back to her own half-full glass of whiskey. The presence of Pechorin hovered like an uncomfortable cloud to her left. She guessed he was about to make some grand confession which would finally exposed the tender core he kept locked inside a cage of cold detachment or something. She wasn''t looking forward to it. ¡°Natsu¡­¡± he said. She sighed. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Want me to walk you back to the Mage¡¯s College?¡± ¡°No,¡± was on her lips, but Natsuko supposed someone to guide her around swinging shop signs wouldn¡¯t be a terrible idea, so instead she said, ¡°sure, I guess.¡± The air outside was much cooler than it had been at dusk. Chilly air sliced through Natsuko¡¯s outfit and made her shiver as they walked. For a couple of blocks they said nothing, the scuffing of their boots the only sound beside the soft wind and the distant ruffle of pine trees. ¡°Want my coat?¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Natsuko said, tightening her muscles as though bracing against the chilly wind. ¡°I¡¯m tough.¡± ¡°The offer remains open,¡± Pechorin replied. They walked another block before Natsuko said, ¡°alright, gimme the coat.¡± Pechorin shrugged it off and handed it to her. Underneath he wore a pair of black slacks and a black turtleneck sweater. ¡°A turtleneck? Really!?¡± Natsuko said, huddling into Pechorin¡¯s black trenchcoat. On her much-shorter frame the bottom trailed against the ground and the sleeves engulfed her hands. ¡°It¡¯s comfortable,¡± he said. Natsuko laughed at that, bursting with snorts. ¡°Oh gods¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sure it is, I just¡ª a turtleneck was not what I expected.¡± Another minute or so passed and she added, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s bad though¡± ¡°Can I come clean with you about something, Natsu?¡± Her heart thumped. ¡°What about?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t actually like black coffee and whiskey.¡± ¡°Oh," she said. "Yeah, I know. Your face puckers up like you ate a lemon.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t think that¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Nah, I do think you¡¯re a wimp,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°But not everyone can be tough-as-nails like me.¡± Pechorin grunted. Eventually they arrived at the courtyard garden outside the entrance to the Mage¡¯s College. Natsuko swung one leg back and forth, scuffing her shoes against the ground. ¡°So, you uh¡­ you tryna walk me inside, or¡­?¡± ¡°Oh, no, sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to linger. I¡¯ll be off now,¡± Pechorin said. He departed while Natsuko was still trying to figure out what had happened. It took her almost a minute of wondering what the hell she said before realizing Pechorin had taken it as her telling him to buzz off. She pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Pech, you¡¯re a dumbass¡­¡± she muttered. ¡°Jeez, what a rude thing to say about your teammate.¡± Natsuko¡¯s head shot up, her heart rate with it. She knew that voice. ¡°Hey, I was just kidding! I know you and Pech have a will-they-or-won¡¯t-they thing going on,¡± Zhidao said, floating in on his cloud through the side of the courtyard that overlooked Verm?genburgh. Her knuckles curled around the bottle. ¡°What do you want, you little creep?¡± Zhidao pouted. ¡°I am not creepy, I am cute! Look at these little toe beans!¡± He held up his paws for Natsuko¡¯s inspection before hastily withdrawing them to dodge a swing of her bottle. He did a loop with his cloud and righted himself. ¡°Wow! Way to almost force dimension-jump the messenger! Do you do this to all the emissaries of the Yishang, or just Hemiola?¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Only the ones that really piss me off. If you¡¯ve got a message, spit it out.¡± ¡°Hmph! Since you so kindly asked,¡± Zhidao said, putting on a fake pair of reading spectacles and clearing his throat. ¡°For defeating the Hero-slayer Hemiola, the Hero Natsuko is entitled to a re-summoning which will bring her stats in line with the top Heroes and she will furthermore receive support from the Yishang to maintain her status at the top of the Use-Rankings.¡± Natsuko¡¯s bottle clinked against the stone path as it fell out of her hand. It took around thirty seconds for it to come to a rocking stop. ¡°W-Wha¡ª no, hold on, is everyone getting this? All five of us?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Did all five of you kill Hemiola?¡± Zhidao asked. ¡°All five of us played a role¡ª¡± ¡°Natsuko. Did all five of you kill Hemiola?¡± She swallowed and looked away. ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Could I think on this, please?¡± ¡°No. This offer is only good tonight. You can say yes, or you can say literally anything else and I will go back to the Yishang and tell them you declined,¡± Zhidao said. ¡°What!? That¡¯s not fair¡ª¡± Zhidao spun his cloud around. ¡°I¡¯ll tell them you declined.¡± ¡°No! Wait!¡± Zhidao spun back around with a smirk. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I accept,¡± Natsuko said, hoping she wouldn''t regret it. ¡°Great! Just one second!¡± Zhidao clapped his fox paws twice and then went into orbit around Natsuko. After a couple revolutions, her skin started to glow. After a couple more, Natsuko was consumed in a blinding white light. She flailed in every direction, but it was like being in the dimension-jump space between planes. She couldn¡¯t feel the stone path below her, or the bottle that had been at her side. But a moment later, the light dimmed. She was still in the courtyard of the Mage¡¯s College. It was still nighttime. Nothing seemed to have changed except that she was no longer wearing Pechorin¡¯s coat. Zhidao floated back in front of her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a look at your stats?¡± She did. ¡°Ho-ho-holy shit! This is nuts! And new abilities and¡ª¡± She rushed to one of the college¡¯s dark windows. In the reflection she could see her hair was longer, grown out in a single, high-ponytail with a pair of side-fringes. Even more dramatic, it was now shot with streaks of platinum white. Matching it was an outfit that she would need to have a talk with the Yishang about later, but for the moment she was ecstatic. This was it. She was back in. And she was going to stay there. ¡°Gods-damn Zhidao! I¡¯m friggin¡¯ cracked, dude! What the hell!?¡± ¡°What can I say? The Yishang are demi-gods of their words.¡± At the mention of the Yishang, her boiling-over excitement was taken off the heat. Yesterday she had learned that this was all to make the Yishang richer, that she was basically whoring herself out for their benefit. Worse still, in two years¡¯ time, it wouldn¡¯t even matter. The whole world would be wiped out. But then again¡­ what did Natsuko really want to do in those two years? Scrimp for cash to keep daydrinking? Ruin her buzz by thinking about the impending apocalypse? Keep sighing about the good ol¡¯ days? Screw that. She was here for a good time, not a long time. Plus, now that she knew the whole system was bullshit anyway, she wouldn¡¯t get wrapped up in the race or feel obligated to the Yishang for giving her the stats. Once Shuixing needed her again for whatever strategy she came up with to fight them, Natsuko would dip out. It was a way to kill time that wouldn''t leave her a sad, alcoholic wreck. Shuixing would''ve approved of that. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll head out to al-Nuwba to finish up the quests and stuff tomorrow. I wanna say bye to everyone first,¡± Natsuko said, putting her hand on the door to the Mage¡¯s College. ¡°Nope! We go tonight,¡± Zhidao said. ¡°What!? Why!?¡± ¡°Because the Yishang said so,¡± Zhidao replied. ¡°And if I were you, I¡¯d get used to that being good enough.¡± Natsuko spat. ¡°I¡¯m saying good-bye to Shuixing at least. And if the Yishang have a problem with that, I¡¯d be happy to go around telling all the other Heroes that they live in a make-believe reality run by them.¡± For the first time since Natsuko had known him, Zhidao dropped the cutesy fox act. ¡°You¡¯ve got five minutes.¡± Natsuko threw open the door, or rather, tore it off its hinges. She was still getting used to being OP. She went to Shui¡¯s laboratory first and found it dark and empty. Not knowing when she¡¯d be back, Natsuko went to her closet and grabbed the Opto-Box picture of her and her former teammates and stuffed it¡­ where she could. The red-and-white kimono the Yishang had replaced her previous outfit with had long sleeves, an extremely short hemline, and not a lot of pockets. Taking one last look at the shitty little supply closet she¡¯d spent the better part of three years living in, Natsuko shut the door and bid it good riddance. The only other place Shuixing could be was her apartment. When she arrived, the door was unlocked and a candle was still burning on the little kitchenette table Shui liked to spread her research across. All that rested on it now were Shuixing¡¯s head and hands as she snoozed, her glasses laying precariously at the tip of her nose. In the kitchen there was a large pile of ashes atop a recently-used burner. Natsuko didn¡¯t have the heart to wake her after everything they¡¯d been through. Since it was usually Natsuko who passed out first, her friend dozing so daintily was a rare sight. And a bittersweet one. It seemed she wouldn¡¯t get her good-bye after all. She lifted Shui¡¯s glasses off her nose before they could slip and break and placed them carefully in the center of the table. Grabbing a pencil and paper, Natsuko tried to write a note explaining the Yishang¡¯s offer, but every time she tried to write a justification, it sounded wrong, and she had to crumple the note and start over. Eventually, she just wrote that she¡¯d be going off somewhere and would return as soon as she could, intending to come back once she was caught up on levels and quests and the Yishang let out her leash a little. ¡°Bye, Shui,¡± Natsuko said softly, sliding the note under her glasses. Chapter 104 - Still Playing the Game ~~~ Two Years Later ~~~ The new region, the Lunar Realm, gave Natsuko vertigo. She had no idea how Koyon could look down/up so easily. Even knowing there was no chance of ever taking fall damage after snagging Boulanger¡¯s Black Fire ability, the drop was still freaky as hell. The Po-Lin end of the enormous vertical elevator to the city of Selenia was several miles below them right now. It turned her stomach just to look at. Around them, jadeite platforms were ascending and descending, conveying people and things to and from the moon. Natsuko watched the Lunar Dragon with her arms folded. Her ponytail and obi knot fluttered wildly in the dragon¡¯s wake. The Lunar Dragon roared in a warbling, high-pitched tone that made her eardrums quiver. Dumbass Yishang. They could¡¯ve at least made an Entropic Evil Boss Monster or whatever that didn¡¯t hurt her ears. ¡°It¡¯s coming back around,¡± Ailing said, swishing her hands to conjure her magical conduit: A platinum butterfly orbited by rainbow halos. Out of the butterfly came a beam of scorching yellow light that tracked the Lunar Dragon, singing its glittering, reflective scales and causing it to screech again. Natsuko plugged her ears. ¡°Hit its vocal cords first for me, wouldja?¡± Natsuko said to Boulanger. Both she and Boulanger took that as the cue to launch off the platform, firing off towards the dragon like two monochromatic missiles. Boulanger¡¯s fire plumes were tar black while Natsuko¡¯s were bone white and both were powerful enough to annihilate more than half the Use-Rankings chart just by accidentally passing too close. As they came within a few hundred yards, Boulanger blinked to the Lunar Dragon¡¯s side and carved into it with his musket¡¯s obsidian bayonet. In response, the Lunar Dragon heaved back, ready to throw a Lunar Maria Beam back at them. Right before it hit, Koyon threw up his Prismatic Haven. Miniature explosions erupted along the half-kilometer-long rainbow shield while Natsuko zipped around Koyon like an orbiting electron, waiting for the beam to be over. Once he dropped the shield, Natsuko shot for the dragon, shutting her eyes so she didn¡¯t have to look at Po-Lin some miles below, and blasted it with Megaton. The fight went smoothly. Ailing kept them topped off on health, Koyon blocked the special attacks, and Boulanger and Natsuko whittled down the Lunar Dragon¡¯s unreasonably-large health pool. Eventually, the dragon dissolved into twinkling stars and they had to all stand around while a Chaos General of the Entropic Axis monologued at them for the purposes of the quest story. Natsuko wasn¡¯t even paying attention, it was for the Celestials anyway. Chaos General Vidorgia clapped her smartly-gloved hands. ¡°Very impressive, Heroes. You must feel so proud of yourselves defeating our distraction so handily. But why don¡¯t you take a look at the City of Selenia?¡± ¡°Koyon. Flask,¡± Natsuko said. The rabbit boy hurried to fish Natsuko¡¯s steel flask out of his coat. Once she hit the top of the Use-Rankings, she had solved her new outfit¡¯s pocket problem. Now she ordered her teammates to carry shit for her. While Vidorkia or whoever was rambling on about the imminent destruction of Selenia if they didn¡¯t go save it, Natsuko drank. Moonwater was crazy stuff. Twice the ABV of Cascadian Whiskey, it was damn near the only thing that kept up with her tolerance. Whiskey might as well have been her palate cleanser. ¡°Hey, what¡¯d¡¯ya¡¯ll want for dinner?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°We have plenty of leftovers from cooking practice,¡± Boulanger replied. ¡°I don¡¯t like moon food. I prefer Tianzhounese,¡± Ailing said, ¡°something light.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t care, just make it sweet,¡± Koyon said. Chaos General Vidorgia started to sweat a little. She knew all the lines to the monologue she was supposed to give, but it was hard to keep up the energy when the Heroes she was monologuing at didn¡¯t care at all. Unfortunately, the Yishang were grading her on her performance. Too many slip-ups and she would receive a ¡°re-formatting,¡± something which no Non-Hero wanted. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°You can try to scurry back if you want, fellish¡ª¡± Vidorgia shook her head. ¡°Foolish Heroes!¡± Natsuko and Koyon snorted at that. Ailing suppressed a giggle in the sleeves of her dress. Boulanger just frowned. This was only Vidorgia¡¯s third major quest scene, but the Heroes she was supposed to be playing off of had existed for years and years before she was even summoned and had probably sat through hundreds of these scenes. But dammit, that didn¡¯t give them the right to talk over her! She would¡¯ve told them off, except going off-script would get her re-formatted, so she could only power through with a growing blush on her face. ¡°¡ªthis shall be the culmination of the Entropic Axis¡¯ plans, you worms! Your p-power isn¡¯t anywhere close to matching¡ª cannot hope to match ours!¡± Even taunts would¡¯ve been preferable to the irritated silence the Heroes were radiating. She felt like such an idiot even though she was performing exactly to the script. Not that the script was fantastic. Even she could tell it was heinously generic, and she¡¯d only been alive for three months. ¡°See you in the Chaos Beyond, weaklings!¡± Vidorgia said, breathing a sigh of relief as her part was finished. With a wave of her hand, she opened an entropic portal and left the Heroes alone. Natsuko rubbed her cheeks and tried to slap herself awake. ¡°Okay, we have leftover mooncakes, that¡¯ll suit Boulanger and Koyon, and then I¡¯ll make some crab fried rice for me and Ailing, how¡¯s¡¯about that? That work for everyone?¡± The rest of them agreed and they made their way back up the elevator to the city of Selenia. Despite the boring villainess¡¯ threats, Selenia wasn¡¯t in any danger until they started up the next part of the quest, which none of them felt like doing. Natsuko and her teammates passed between the geodesic domes and crystal shard-buildings towards the Selenian Capitol¡ªa crystalline palace with an enormous glass dome in the center of four off-shooting wings in an X-shape, each wing the width of Verm?genburgh and the height of a Deco Imperian skyscraper. ¡°I wish they¡¯d stop making the monsters gods-damned HP soaks,¡± Natsuko said, leaning against the railing of the moving walkway that led to the entrance of the Capitol. ¡°It¡¯s preferable to them being a challenge,¡± Boulanger said. ¡°Less of a hassle to get our rewards and XP.¡± ¡°Frick that noise,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I had way more fun when the monsters were a threat. I¡¯m too overpowered, man. I¡¯ve gotta start gimping myself on purpose. Like not using any food, or trying to beat the monsters in a certain time frame.¡± ¡°Or you could not be a deliberate burden on those of us taking this seriously,¡± Boulanger replied in his usual softly authoritarian tone. Natsuko shoved forward off the railing and marched up to Boulanger, grabbing the collar of his cloak and lifting him onto his toes. ¡°I am taking this seriously. I¡¯m taking this Use-Ranking competition seriously enough to keep your moody, brooding ass around because you¡¯re good. It¡¯s certainly not for your lovely personality and I¡¯m sure the feeling¡¯s mutual. But what you¡¯re not gonna do is get sassy with me, got it?¡± Natsuko said. Boulanger looked away and snorted. She tightened her grip and lifted him a little further off the ground. ¡°Got it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Boulanger said. He was scared of Natsuko and she knew that. Zhidao had taken the bottle back, but even so, Natsuko was the only Hero in Po-Lin¡ªor, well, the moon¡ªwho could kill Boulanger and steal stats from him at her leisure. She could do that to anyone if she wanted, not that she was inclined to. For her teammates'' part, Ailing was busy checking her white lacquered and jewelry-laden fingers as though it were possible for something to be out of place and Koyon was yawning and pretending to read a light novel. Both knew better than to exacerbate Natsuko¡¯s foul moods. It wasn¡¯t even Boulanger¡¯s implication that she was annoying that pissed her off, Natsuko thought. It was the implication that this punch-in, punch-out shit was somehow preferable. When she accepted her new role as the new overpowered Hero, she''d expected at least some of the sense of adventure and marvel and challenge that she felt when she was at the top way back in the Shikijima days. But, rather than magical, the world now felt tacky and small. It wasn¡¯t a new world to explore, it was a grid of probabilities for where the Yishang might put dungeons, loot, and XP-farmable monsters. New regions being de-Misted meant nothing because the Non-Heroes followed the same patterns and by the time they grew into unique individuals, she was moving on again. The fights were mash fests that she could''ve slept through. But if she stopped to smell the roses, three other competitively-viable teams were right behind her. Team Natsuko had to be the first to find the optimal experience-farming routes to stay on top and that meant no screwing around. Obviously, Natsuko didn¡¯t believe in any of it. She knew the true nature of this world. But that didn¡¯t mean she was allowed to stop playing the game. Chapter 105 - Scuttlebutt Below the Artificial Lights of Selenia Enormous, glass-vaulted ceilings rose above Team Natsuko as they entered the Selenian Capitol building. Multiple stories of cerulean moon-metal balconies filled with shops and offices and labs and condos and every other type of activity flanked them on either side . There were a few relevant locations in the part of Selenia that surrounded the Capitol, but most of the ¡°city¡± was inside this one building. Team Natsuko¡¯s headquarters in this region was an enormous, multi-room condominium that took up a quarter of the balcony space on the 13th story of the central dome atrium. ¡°Go~od afternoon!¡± Zhidao announced cheerily as soon as they walked in the front door. Natsuko would¡¯ve thrown her flask at him, except that would¡¯ve been alcohol abuse. Instead she glared. ¡°What do you want?¡± Natsuko said, refusing to slow her power-walking march back to their headquarters. ¡°I was just letting you all know about the status of your costume requests for the Halloween event,¡± Zhidao said. Ailing and Koyon seemed excited about it. Boulanger was indifferent. Natsuko had a sinking feeling about the Yishang¡¯s response to her own request. Zhidao notified them as they plowed through the crowd of Non-Heroes. ¡°The only modifications to yours, Ailing, were that your boot heels needed to be slightly taller and the color of your stockings and the stripes on the dress will need to be a brighter orange,¡± Zhidao said. ¡°Does that sound alright?¡± ¡°It sounds perfect,¡± Ailing said. Natsuko wasn¡¯t sure how the boots could get any taller. Ailing¡¯s current pair were already 6 inches. ¡°For you, Koyon, ¡°bunny butler¡± is great, no changes requested,¡± Zhidao said. Koyon smirked to himself as though it were somehow a great win to get the Yishang to approve special event costumes on the first try. Maybe it did feel good. Natsuko wouldn¡¯t know. ¡°Boulanger, for yours the Yishang were hoping for something¡­ maybe a little softer. Vampire is good. We like vampire. Especially for the tall, dark, and handsome Heroes with brooding, troubled pasts. But maybe not so much with the blood lips and dark circles. Yes to the rose boutonniere though.¡± Boulanger shrugged. For him it was just a costume. Since all the other Top Tier Heroes were obligated to come, he wasn¡¯t losing sleep about falling behind them. Zhidao exhaled. ¡°Now, Natsuko¡­¡± Natsuko responded with a wide, fake grin. ¡°Yes, Zhidao?¡± ¡°The Yishang¡­ well, they agreed with the concept¡­¡± ¡°Uh-huh. And how did they mutilate it?¡± Natsuko asked, sincerely wanting to know what the hell they had done to stick with the ¡°concept¡± of a chicken suit. She had a feeling there was a lot of plucking involved. ¡°So¡­ instead of a chicken suit, they were thinking more like a phoenix¡­¡± Zhidao said. Natsuko rubbed her chin with mock appraisal. ¡°Ah-hah. I see. I see. Now, this phoenix costume, it¡¯s basically a bikini with feathers on it, I imagine?¡± ¡°It is not,¡± Zhidao replied. The fox sprite punctuated this with a sigh. He was clearly ready to be done with this conversation so he could pester the other six teams on Selenia. ¡°But it¡¯s got the holy trinity, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°It¡ª yes. It does. But you know what?¡± Zhidao said, floating up so that he was level with Natsuko¡¯s eyes. ¡°The Yishang said so. Deal with it.¡± She grit her teeth and snarled at him, but that was the end of the conversation. The Yishang could threaten to do to her what she threatened to do to Boulanger but on an entirely different scale. As for the holy trinity, that was a term she¡¯d coined to refer to the core attributes of the costumes they stuck her in: Armpits, Belly, Toes. Whatever they approved was guaranteed to have all three. Of course, they didn¡¯t do that to Ailing because her archetype was the mature, sultry, dominant type, but that came with its own hell of heels, cleavage, and thighs. Natsuko wasn¡¯t sure which was worse, but it kept the Use-Numbers up. At the end of the day, she was going to let the Yishang have their way, but for the sake of her dignity she had to put up at least a little bit of a fight.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Fine,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You don¡¯t want to see a concept picture?¡± Zhidao asked. ¡°Would it matter?¡± ¡°You could make additional changes.¡± ¡°Not ones they¡¯d approve,¡± Natsuko said. With that business taken care of, Zhidao floated off to another group of Heroes returning from an XP-farming trip. It looked like it was Cunegonde, Kane, Yuna, and Daisy. Natsuko watched Boulanger¡¯s eyes scan them for any hints that they might have stumbled on a competitive edge. Concluding they weren¡¯t, he walked over. ¡°Good afternoon, friends. Cunegonde, you look lovely as always,¡± Boulanger said with a nod. Cunegonde curtsied. ¡°Why thank you.¡± Yuna grunted. ¡°How¡¯s the new quest?¡± ¡°Boring,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°Starts with a run-around time-waste, the boss dragon¡¯s an HP sponge, the twist is it was all a distraction to destroy Selenia.¡± Yuna grunted again. Nothing out of the ordinary. As the two teams shared news and information, Daisy and Natsuko briefly caught each other¡¯s gaze, and just as quickly looked elsewhere. There wasn¡¯t any bad blood between them, but there was an unspoken agreement not to mention anything about the events of two years ago. That, and their mutual choice to return to the Use-Rankings competition despite both being aware it was a rigged sham. If their teammates noticed anything odd between Natsuko and Daisy, they hadn¡¯t said anything yet. When Natsuko first rocketed to the top of the Use Rankings, associating with the arrogant Top Heroes had been an unavoidable annoyance. However, slowly but surely, she¡¯d come to like a handful of them. Yuna especially. Her gruff frankness was exactly Natsuko¡¯s style. But lately she¡¯d come back around to finding other Heroes annoying. It wasn¡¯t their fault they were oblivious to the superficial nature of the world, but their confidence and bravado was like a cheese grater against her eardrums. Worst of all was Daisy, who acted as though she knew nothing was amiss. ¡°Natsu? You good?¡± Koyon asked. ¡°Huh? Yeah. I¡¯m chillin¡¯. We¡¯re chillin¡¯,¡± Natsuko said, taking another pull from her Moonwater. Once the scuttlebutt was over with, Natsuko dragged her team back to their headquarters. The floors and walls of the enormous glass-domed building rolled like waves around her as they walked. She felt detached from everything in an uncomfortable way, like her mind was suddenly aware it was piloting a body it wasn¡¯t fully in control of. An ice cold wave of terror brushed against her as she thought too hard about what exactly she was, but she bit down hard on her lip to stop it. The pain helped a little. ¡°Natsuko.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You¡¯re bleeding.¡± Natsuko swabbed her lip and came away with blood. A few droplets trickled onto the counter where she was chopping onions. ¡°Thanks,¡± Natsuko replied, only then realizing she was talking to Ailing while they cooked. Boulanger had gone to sort through quest rewards and scrap lower-tier accessories and items for experience. Koyon was ¡°sunning¡± himself out on the balcony overlooking the central atrium of the Selenian Capitol. Ailing placed a warm palm on Natsuko¡¯s neck where her kimono¡¯s cut left it exposed. ¡°Are you still worried about the global Use-Number drop?¡± Ailing said. With the hand not holding a knife, Natsuko pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°No, no. I just drank too much moonwater too fast.¡± Ailing rubbed her back. ¡°I¡¯m not blind, Natsu. We were all unnerved by the number drop, but it seems like you were especially bothered. We¡¯re a year out from the start and if anything you seem to be spacing out more frequently. I want to help you, sweetie, but I need to know what¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what it is,¡± Natsuko said abruptly. Her lip throbbed where it''d been bitten. Ailing withdrew her hand. ¡°Whatever it is, I just want to make sure it won¡¯t be a problem in a critical moment. Team Windwalker is right behind us, you know. They got the quest done before us today.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t,¡± Natsuko replied, tasting acid on her breath. The strange, disjointed feeling in her soul persisted through the rest of the meal prepping. At some point, cooking had ceased to be a refuge and had become just another chore to finish, same as the experience grinding, dungeon-clearing, quest completing, item recycling, and so on. Natsuko had tried briefly to do what she called ¡°anti-cooking,¡± which was to actually manipulate the physical food items in a way that she thought might be how the dish would actually be cooked in whatever realm the Celestials inhabited. But after her omurices turned out as gloopy, soppy messes or as charred brown egg flakes, she¡¯d given that up too. If Shuixing had been there to help her¡­ Not that Shui would see her now. Nor did she particularly want to see Shuixing. That ship had sailed. After so much talk about wanting the old Natsuko back, Shuixing had called her silly and stupid for wanting to enjoy herself and go adventuring again. The one thing Natsuko truly enjoyed. As if Natsuko herself wasn¡¯t perfectly aware how silly and stupid it was. As if she didn¡¯t want to do it anyway because what the hell else was she going to do with herself in this silly, stupid world? That conversation over a year ago was the last time the two had spoken. ¡°Here, let¡¯s have you lay down on the sofa,¡± Ailing said, gently hooking an arm around Natsuko¡¯s waist and guiding her towards a couch the size of her old closet. It was infantilizing for her teammate to have to do this for her, but in a way, she was tired enough to let it happen, letting Ailing ease her down onto the cushions and throw a blanket over her. ¡°There you go. Just take a breather and I¡¯ll wake you up for dinner,¡± Ailing said. Natsuko groaned. As the world spun around her, she stuck a leg out of her blanket and pressed her foot to the floor to make it stop. Chapter 106 - One Teammate Calming and Reassuring Another Natsuko breathed in a new dawn full of chemically-smelling freshness. Sleep really could fix everything. She even felt somewhat motivated to do the day¡¯s XP farming. Today it was taking place in a dungeon called Planetview Cavern, whose gimmick was that the cave¡¯s ceilings had craterous openings to view Po-Lin from. Boulanger was a whizz at crunching numbers¡ªin some particular functions, maybe even better than Shuixing¡ªand had figured out that while the monsters out in the open surface of Selenia gave more total experience, they were spaced further apart, which reduced the XP/hour rate and made the monsters in Planetview Cavern more efficient to farm. The new monsters for Selenia were shimmering, translucent octopus-type things that came in various shapes, sizes, and levels called voidbornes. The cavern was mostly filled with these along with a few older monsters from other regions sprinkled in. Koyon lifted a foot to avoid the carnage as Natsuko gleefully sprayed moon-goo from the voidbornes all over the floor like a human blender. Her sword, Taiyouken, white as porcelain, had a corona of white fire surrounding it that all but literally turned monsters into hot butter. She got a kick out of spraying the monster giblets towards Koyon who, rather like Sofiane, refused to get dirty if he could help it. ¡°Ugh! Careful where you swing,¡± Koyon said as he charged up a Spectral Keshik to mop up another wave of monsters. She flashed him a mischievous grin. ¡°Natsu¡­ Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Ignoring his protests, she kited an octopus over towards him. Koyon sprinted away, but Natsuko kept following with the aggroed voidborne in tow. ¡°Stop! I¡¯m not joking!¡± he said. ¡°C¡¯mon, get dirty!¡± she said. Boulanger exhaled in annoyance. This was lowering experience-gain efficiency, which was the whole reason they were there in the first place. Natsuko blew a raspberry in his direction. Getting just enough of a lead, Koyon managed to turn around and blast the voidborne with a bolt from his rod, spraying goop on Natsuko instead. ¡°How do you like it?¡± Koyon said. He immediately realized his mistake as Natsuko¡¯s grin not only failed to disappear, but instead grew in size. ¡°I¡¯m already dirty, kiddo. I love being dirty. Why don¡¯t you join me and Boulanger?¡± ¡°Why me!? Go get Ailing or something,¡± Koyon said. From the corner of the cavern room Ailing raised her eyebrows. ¡°Darling, you had better not.¡± Natsuko scoffed. ¡°I would never. Ailing is a lady. She¡¯s too refined for octopus goo.¡± Koyon backed away. ¡°Natsuko, really, this isn¡¯t funny. Knock it off!¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t initially, but now you¡¯re making it funny by increasing the stakes,¡± she said. Boulanger curled his fists and huffed. ¡°Just let her splash you already, Koyon. Get it over with so we can go back to doing our damn job.¡± ¡°No! This is my questing outfit! And if any of it gets in my ears I have to jump up and down for half an hour to get it out,¡± Koyon said, tucking his rabbit ears back with his hands. Natsuko stroked her chin. He was definitely faster than she was, but she was a tactical genius. How could she beat him? Aha! She snapped her fingers and Koyon groaned. Turning towards a group of three shambling towards her, Natsuko ran at them and threw herself directly towards their sticky, slimy masses. Then, in the next instant, it was Koyon falling into them while she was laughing from twenty feet away. ¡°Get outplayed, bunnyboy!¡± Natsuko said. Koyon got smacked around a few times with tentacles before he could flail his way out and destroy them with a Spectral Keshik charge. Thoroughly unamused, he glared at Natsuko while Ailing came over to pick some of the large globs and tentacles off him. ¡°Y¡¯know, if you spent enough time playing with tentacles to affect your emanation, it might boost your Ero-Art number,¡± Ailing said. ¡°I¡¯d rather not,¡± Koyon replied. Her main mission completed, Natsuko returned to blowing up groups of enemies with Megaton. She was also their resident puzzle-solver as they made their way through the dungeon since she could always remember the solutions. Even with the monotony of running through the same dungeon four or five times before stopping for lunch, there was a kind of flow state Natsuko put herself in where she could block out all of her worries and just destroy octopi. By lunchtime she hadn¡¯t even thought about drinking once. ¡°You¡¯re really gonna eat that?¡± Ailing asked her as the two of them sat side-by-side on the lip of a large lunar crater. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°That¡± referred to the anti-cooking Natsuko had done for breakfast that morning. Specifically, she¡¯d packed a lunch of runny, undercooked eggs spilling over wet, raw vegetables. She was still getting a handle on what things you could¡ªor should¡ªcook that weren¡¯t in the auto-make list the Yishang provided. As it turned out, she was not a naturally-gifted chef after all. But she was improving. She at least knew enough not to try and pan-fry ice cream to make a sundae. It straight up did not work. ¡°Yeah!¡± Natsuko said, holding a slimy, egg-covered radish slice up with her chopsticks. ¡°Wanna try some?¡± Ailing squinted. ¡°Erm¡­ no thank you, but I am curious to hear your appraisal.¡± Natsuko shrugged and popped the radish in her mouth and chewed, making crunchy squelching noises. ¡°Pretty good,¡± she lied. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t wanna try?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait until you¡¯ve perfected your method, darling,¡± Ailing replied. As she ate the rest of the eggdrop veggie platter, Natsuko tried not to make her shuddering too obvious. It was pretty dreadful, but it was real. Ish. As real as could be in a fake world. Comforting, even, in the way that only unassailable truth could be. Natsuko¡¯s side-project, such as it was, was to claw back a handful of real-ish things out of the desert that surrounded her. In the absence of Shui¡¯s ability to pick apart reality, it felt like the only useful thing she could do besides keep herself on top of the Use-Rankings. Ailing hummed for a second. ¡°You know, you told us a little about the forced dimension-jumping business from a couple years ago, but did you tell us all of it?¡± Natsuko nearly choked on an uncooked chunk of zucchini. She spat it out into the crater. ¡°Pretty sure. Why?¡± With her hands resting behind her, Ailing leaned back and craned her neck up to look up towards Po-Lin hanging like an enormous blue-green chandelier above them. Somewhere up¡ªdown?¡ªthere were the other Heroes. The ones that couldn¡¯t make it to Selenia. ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ it seemed like the Yishang had a hand in it and¡ª¡± ¡°They gave me the bottle hoping Shui would make copies of it and Heroes would start killing each other,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°They¡¯re evil. I definitely remember saying that.¡± ¡°Right, of course,¡± Ailing said, sliding herself closer to Natsuko. Closer, she rested her soft hand on Natsuko¡¯s knee. ¡°But was that all? If there¡¯s more¡­ I promise my lips don¡¯t open for just anyway. Least of all Boulanger and Koyon.¡± Natsuko took a couple of seconds to realize her own lips were slightly agape. Ailing didn¡¯t make her heart flutter¡ªat least not the way Frederick had at one time¡ªbut out of her three teammates, she was the only one who soothed Natsuko. Even Shuixing hadn¡¯t been able to do that as consistently as Ailing. She just had a way about her that could pull Natsuko back into herself. And to lie to Ailing about something as big as this¡­ ¡°I uh¡­¡± Natsuko paused, overly-aware of the soft, warm palm and its pressure on her knee. ¡°Th-there¡¯s maybe a little more that I might not have mentioned...¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Ailing said, gently raising her eyes as though this was an item of mild amusement. ¡°You have to promise this stays between us, okay? I don¡¯t¡ª I don¡¯t think the Yishang want us to know this. So do not, I repeat, do not tell Boulanger or Koyon or anyone else, understand?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°My lips are, shh¡­¡± Ailing raised the hand not laying on Natsuko¡¯s leg to her lips and made the universal sign of a shush. ¡°Sealed.¡± Natsuko took a deep breath to steady herself. ¡°There is no Entropic Axis. The Yishang created the artificial world we call Po-Lin and created us to live in it, because every time the Celestials summon one of us, they make money. I know it sounds silly, what could demi-gods possibly do with money, right? But it¡¯s the truth. I swear on my life, that¡¯s what Hemiola said.¡± Ailing hummed to herself again, almost a purr now. ¡°I see. It does sound a little silly. Are you sure all of that is true?¡± Natsuko nodded. ¡°And what if Hemiola was simply telling you a fake story to confuse you? Is that possible?¡± Ailing asked. ¡°I doubt it. He was a Xian¡­ um¡­ like, a helper for the Yishang, the way Pengwu are. So he would know.¡± ¡°And he himself said he was a Xian?¡± ¡°Well¡­ yeah. But he also had crazy stats and a whole new moveset after dying from a bad dimension jump, so clearly the Yishang did something to him.¡± Ailing shrugged. ¡°I wonder if that¡¯s the whole truth? Or maybe he left some things out. Or twisted them in a way that suited him.¡± Natsuko confessed the rest to her teammate, including Hemiola¡¯s prophecy about declining Use-Numbers and the other worlds that the Yishang had created to sell Heroes to Celestials, all the way down to the special technology they employed to give Heroes in Po-Lin an independent will. Throughout, Ailing remained at a steady baseline of mild interest. Her lack of reaction was almost a little disheartening after the existential dread that had afflicted Natsuko when she first learned the truth. After Natsuko finished the full confession of everything she could recall about the events of two years ago, Ailing took a moment to consider things, tapping her long fingernails against her lips. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I believe everything Hemiola said. After all, the numbers may have gone down across the board, but we¡¯re still sitting in the millions, aren¡¯t we? And who¡¯s to say the numbers don¡¯t bounce back? Who knows how many Celestials there actually are. This is the cause of your drinking and your bad moods and your sleepless nights, right? I¡¯m not saying we shouldn¡¯t ever worry, but I think you¡¯ve gone and let it bother you more than you need to. We¡¯re on top of things and we will be for a long time. Why not take it easy and trust that the Yishang are doing what they need to do?¡± ¡°What they need to do?¡± Natsuko asked, feeling the seeds of a kind of pleasant reassurance sprouting in her mind. ¡°Mhm. We and the Yishang both want the numbers to keep rising, so why don¡¯t we focus on doing our part and entertaining the Celestials with those rising numbers? And then the Yishang can focus on doing what they need to do on their end. It only makes sense, right? We all have a part to play.¡± Ailing smiled at her. Natsuko blinked and then nodded. ¡°Huh. I uh¡­ I guess that makes sense.¡± Chapter 107 - The Yearly Imposter-Spotting Halloween Special Event The afternoon XP-farming went by in the blink of an eye. Team Natsuko racked up about 18 million points each by the time they were ready to pack it in for the day. This was around six o¡¯clock: As late as Natsuko wanted to put off drinking and as early as Boulanger was willing to quit grinding. ¡°Not bad. Not bad. Good work gang,¡± Natsuko said, walking with her hands behind her head. The echoing hustle and bustle of the Selenian Capitol building massaged her ears with a break from octopus squelches and swinging swords and fire blasts. If she didn¡¯t strain to hear any particular conversation, it sounded like a burbling brook. And it was infinitely preferable to the depressing quiet of Verm?genburgh. ¡°We could¡¯ve made 20 million if you weren¡¯t screwing around,¡± Boulanger said. ¡°But then I wouldn¡¯t have gotten to screw around, Balls,¡± Natsuko replied, using the nickname he hated. ¡°I think we¡¯re doing fine,¡± Ailing said with a stretch and a yawn. ¡°Team Windwalker is our main competition and his total stats are in line with mine. He¡¯s not beating our Natsuko and Koyon here.¡± Ailing pat the two of them on the back. Natsuko smirked. Gods-damned right they weren¡¯t. She was custom-built to stay on top. Was it cheating to have outside help? Maybe. But anyone who was in the Top 30 had that same outside help, except she¡¯d also saved the world from a homicidal psychopath with a messiah complex while being at the bottom of the Use-Rankings, so maybe she deserved a little more of a reward than most. Since Sunday was the only day they could get Boulanger to relax and take things easy in the afternoon, they put up their gear and Natsuko made everyone a cocktail (just the one!) before they headed out to a shared dinner. She had been experimenting with ¡°anti-cooking¡± cocktails for a while longer than food, and since it was mostly about getting the flavors right before stirring/shaking, she¡¯d come up with a few cocktails that were not on the Yishang¡¯s set menu. Tonight, in honor of the season, it was a pumpkin spice espresso martini. Once it was poured out into everyone¡¯s glass, Boulanger raised the dainty glass of rust-brown liquor to his nose, sniffed, and took a small sip. ¡°It¡¯s good,¡± he said quietly. ¡°See? I told you ,¡± Natsuko said after spiking her own with an extra shot of moonwater. ¡°The drinks work a little better than the food,¡± Ailing said, sipping hers with a pinkie out. ¡°Mmm. Oh damn. This is good! You gonna make it for the Halloween party?¡± Koyon asked. Natsuko snorted. ¡°As a pre-gamer maybe. But the Yishang¡¯s events are all dry, so if I¡¯m sneaking anything in it¡¯s gonna be the strong stuff. I¡¯m not wasting flask space.¡± ¡°Pity,¡± Boulanger said. After their evening drink, Team Natsuko went out to the fanciest restaurant in Selenia. A place called The Dark Side. It operated out of a moonbase on the far side of the moon, requiring about an hour of travel out from the Capitol Building, but it was well worth the trip. For one thing, the ambience was incredible, being lit solely by candlelight beneath an open ceiling that faced the stars. For another, the food was delicious, experimental stuff that wasn¡¯t available for Heroes to cook themselves. Even Ailing, who was ordinarily not a fan of Selenian food, found something to enjoy. As the four of them dipped into a seemingly-impossible dessert of little frozen balls called ¡°Moon Ice Cream,¡± Boulanger finally loosened up enough to become chatty. ¡°So, what were you two talking about during lunch?¡± he asked. The moonwater aperitif he''d had melted the hard creases around his eyes. ¡°Ah, hehehe, umm¡­ girl stuff,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Typical girly things.¡± Koyon had a look of utter confoundment. ¡°Girly things? You? Natsu you must think we¡¯re mor¡ª¡± She put on a tight smile and kicked his shin under the table. Koyon hissed in pain, trying to keep his voice below the piano player¡¯s soft melody. Natsuko was satisfied with that until she glanced over to see Boulanger wearing his ¡°searching for competitive edge¡± look. Leave it to him to think the secret was about something as meaningless as experience points and levels. Ailing rolled her eyes and reached out a hand to touch the small of Natsuko¡¯s back. ¡°She was telling stories about her former team. Nothing to do with you two.¡± ¡°Jeez, did that really deserve a kick in the shin?¡± Koyon said, rubbing his leg. ¡°No, I just wanted an excuse,¡± Natsuko said. Another glance at Boulanger told her he wasn¡¯t buying it, but he didn¡¯t have enough to press with so he returned to his frozen ice cream balls. The matter did not come up after that, nor in the week that followed, where Boulanger pushed for them to get as much grinding and dungeon-clearing in as they could before the Halloween event to prevent the other team¡¯s seasonal costume boosts from turning into permanent Use-Numbers. And Natsuko was concerned enough about the same possibility that she let him drag her along. By the following Saturday they were 129 million experience, 13 million Ying, three accessory levels, and two quests up over the start of the week and Natsuko was feeling unusually peppy. Not quite at the level of her original archetype, but enough that she was actually¡ªand this pained her to admit¡ªsomewhat excited for the arrival of her Halloween costume. ¡°Tada! Here they are!¡± Zhidao announced as he floated in through their open balcony door with four boxes bobbing in the air behind him. Natsuko set down the pestle and mortar she¡¯d been using to grind cloves and walked over to the living room where Zhidao placed everyone¡¯s costumes on the floor. Koyon¡¯s was exactly as he had asked for: A butler costume complete with gloves, bowtie, and bows for his bunny ears. Ailing was done up as a witch with a pointy hat, dress torn at the hem to show even more thigh and orange swirls going up the length. This was paired with thigh-length black boots with orange laces that had a teetering seven inch heel. To tie it all together she had little bat earrings too.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Wow. It looks good but damn, your poor feet,¡± Natsuko said as Ailing looked over the contents of her box. Ailing shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a one-off. And once I¡¯m drunk enough I won¡¯t notice anyway.¡± Ailing giggled and Natsuko looked at Zhidao to see if he¡¯d heard her, but the Pengwu fox appeared to be willfully deaf. She supposed the ¡°no alcohol¡± rule had more to do with appearing pure to the Celestials when it came time to translate their emanations more so than actual sobriety. With great trepidation, Natsuko opened her own costume box. Inside she found a cloak of crimson red feathers along with a surprisingly modest yellow-and-orange dress patterned like flickers of flame. On top of both articles lay a porcelain mask shaped like a phoenix¡¯s head with plumage atop it. ¡°Oh¡­ This is¡­ actually kinda cool, Zhidao,¡± Natsuko said, not quite sure what to make of an outfit that wasn¡¯t just a checklist of fetishes. ¡°I thought you might like it,¡± Zhidao replied. Natsuko ran up to her room to go throw it on. As far as compromises went, it was pretty good. There was enough elegance and sex appeal that the Celestials would be happy, but aside from the fact that she had suggested ¡°chicken suit¡± as a joke, the feathered cloak and masquerade mask genuinely looked pretty badass. She could¡¯ve done without the high heels that went with it, but again, compromises. Once everyone was dressed up in their costumes¡ªBoulanger in a vampire outfit that leaned more sparkly than macabre¡ªTeam Natsuko downed their pre-game cocktails and set out for the Halloween party event. All of the Heroes had guessed the theme ahead of time. The newest region being on the moon, there was no chance it would be anything but alien-themed. Sure enough, the decorations in the Selenian Dome where the Halloween event was taking place were all spaceships and blacklights and green ooze and stuff. The party was already going when they arrived as most of the Top 30 and some lower-ranked Heroes had filled up the floorspace of the geodesic dome. Within seconds, they were swarmed by the other Heroes. ¡°Whoa, Natsuko, your costume looks so good!¡± said Alice, leader of Team Imperia. Last time Natsuko checked she was somewhere around #12 or #13 in the Use-Rankings. ¡°Thanks. All my idea,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°What is it, like, a fire bird?¡± asked Cornelius, a member of Team Nuxalk and rank #20. ¡°A phoenix,¡± Natsuko corrected. ¡°Hey, the flames are shining under the black light!¡± said Yesui, a member of Team Yesugen and #7. Natsuko looked down to find that the flame lines on her dress were in fact shimmering in the black light. The crowd around her followed Natsuko to the punch table where there was some electric green juice that tasted distinctly of a flavor. It was pretty good though, and better with a shot of moonwater from her flask added to it. As the party continued, it segregated itself into concentric rings outward from Natsuko and her team at the center. It was the most fun she¡¯d had in a long time. Being the oldest in the room by several years, she had the most stories, and all of them had everyone laughing hysterically. The pie-baking misadventure was a particularly big hit. Eventually some Pengwu came out and made the assembled Heroes go through the performance of some kind of murder-mystery, social-guessing game where the premise was that some of the Heroes were secretly aliens. Natsuko was terrible at these kinds of things and so died quickly on the first round and then again on the second round when she was picked to be an alien because she accidentally let slip that she knew what role someone else was. Ailing however, an alien both times, won both rounds for her team. ¡°Jeez, I don¡¯t know how you keep a straight face,¡± Natsuko said to her afterwards as she munched on mooncakes. Ailing gave a vague smile. ¡°I¡¯m good at misdirection, what can I say? It also doesn¡¯t help that you¡¯re glow-in-the-dark, dear. You have a target painted on your back.¡± ¡°Well, try not to spend the reward money all in one place,¡± Natsuko said, clapping Ailing on the shoulder. That was a joke. The reward was five million Ying and they made ten times that every Sunday. ¡°Hey, Natsu, can we talk a moment?¡± Natsuko blinked, not certain she¡¯d heard the voice correctly. But turning to her left, there was Daisy Corduroy, leader of Team Daisy and rank #26, dressed like a sad-looking cowgirl. The Yishang had clearly not put as much effort into her outfit. ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. One sec guys, be right back,¡± Natsuko said, waving off the group surrounding her and Ailing. Daisy took Natsuko off towards a secluded part of the dome. Daisy wasn¡¯t pleased until there was no one within earshot and no cardboard rocket ship cut-outs to hide behind. Once they were truly alone, she exhaled. ¡°Natsu, I think we¡¯ve put on this charade for long enough. We really need to go back to Shui and figure out what we¡¯re gonna do, cuz the numbers are going down and I¡¯m startin¡¯ to worry Hemiola was on to something,¡± Daisy said. Natsuko pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Man, did it really have to be now that you hit me with this? I was having the most fun I¡¯ve had in gods know how long and¡ª¡± Daisy grabbed her by the shoulders. The wide, whites of her eyes looked ghostly pale blue in the light of the dome. ¡°Natsu, if we don¡¯t push each other, we¡¯re gonna get stuck here! I know what you mean, I¡¯m back to being comfortable too. I don¡¯t even wanna get back at the top that bad. I¡¯m happy being B-tier. But if you don¡¯t pull me outta here, I¡¯ll stay, and the same is true for you, right? It¡¯s intoxicating. I forgot that when I said I was just gonna come back for a little bit. And it doesn¡¯t even feel that good but it¡¯s just¡ª I can¡¯t give it up! So please, Natsu, let¡¯s both go together, okay? We both need this. And the only way we get out is if we hold each other accountable.¡± The moonwater sloshing around in her veins had Natsuko feeling like a distant satellite being slingshotted from party planet to party planet. Now Daisy had appeared like a black hole out of the void, dragging her towards oblivion. She took Daisy¡¯s hands off her shoulders. ¡°Listen, Daisy, I don¡¯t want to go back. I don¡¯t want to see Shui, I don¡¯t want to fight the Yishang, I don¡¯t want any of that! This life has good parts and bad parts, but I still remember how I was when I was at the bottom, and I can¡¯t go through that again. Not again,¡± Natsuko said. It was selfish and stupid, but it was the truth. ¡°No. No, no, listen!¡± Daisy said, panic creeping into her voice as she reached out to grab Natsuko¡¯s hands. ¡°We¡¯ll make it work somehow! But we can¡¯t let things end like this. Please! We can¡¯t give up and let the Yishang wipe us¡ª¡± Daisy broke off as a figure came towards them. ¡°Oh, hello Daisy, it¡¯s been awhile,¡± Ailing said with her wide, perfect smile. Daisy pursed her lips. ¡°Yeah. It has.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t mind me, I was just wandering over to see if Natsu was doing alright,¡± she said, clutching Natsuko by the arm. ¡°She¡¯s been drinking a lot so I wanted to make sure she¡¯s feeling okay. So? How are you feeling, Natsu?¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine. Just a little dizzy. Daisy, I¡¯m um¡­ I¡¯m gonna go back to the party now, okay? I¡¯ll think about what you said,¡± Natsuko said, sharing one last glance with Daisy. Daisy¡¯s gaze shifted to her former teammate, chatting happily with Natsuko as she led her away by the arm. Chapter 108 - The Heroes Near the Bottom of the Top Daisy wasn¡¯t able to get ahold of Natsuko for the rest of the night. At first it seemed as though Natsuko was going out of her way to avoid her, but as Natsuko stumbled to and from the punch table, it seemed more likely she was just too drunk to pick up on Daisy¡¯s attempts to signal her. Once she started trying to strip off her phoenix outfit in public, Ailing escorted Natsuko out of the party. With her own teammates off schmoozing¡ªor refusing to come at all in Yuna¡¯s case¡ªDaisy was by herself all night. She had a couple of light conversations here and there, but her heart wasn¡¯t in it, nor had it been ever since she learned about the true purpose of Po-Lin. It was silly of her to think she could go back to the way things were, but she¡¯d tried, even going so far as to lie to herself about why she was doing it, suggesting it was all about keeping herself strong for when Shuixing found a way to fight the Yishang. But Shui never had. They were as helpless as the day Hemiola warned them, and Daisy had done nothing about it. She¡¯d even gone back to blindly doing whatever the Yishang said. It was scary how easy it was to fall back into. Every word to Natsuko had been the truth: If the two of them didn¡¯t push each other to leave the Use-Rankings game, they would both remain stuck. Daisy crushed the cup in her hand, spilling green punch down her arm and onto her rawhide chaps. ¡°Aw tits,¡± she said, grabbing a napkin to swab herself with. ¡°So you did come?¡± Daisy froze then shut her eyes and let out a groan. As if her night couldn¡¯t go worse. ¡°Boulanger,¡± she said with a polite nod in his direction. ¡°Daisy,¡± he said, nodding back. ¡°You seem to be doing¡­ well, I can¡¯t say ¡°well,¡± but perhaps ¡°mediocrely¡± might be more accurate.¡± It was accurate, Daisy supposed. She had dropped over 20 ranks since the days of being on Boulanger¡¯s team. It wasn¡¯t even that she¡¯d been obsoleted by a new summon, but she couldn¡¯t muster the energy to remain on top. She was still in the Top 30 more from the Yishang¡¯s efforts than her own. Any day now they would get sick of her and pop out a new ditzy blonde girl with drill hair to take her place. They were already not happy with her chopping her ringlets down to a short bob. ¡°Sorry to hear the party is so boring for ya,¡± Daisy replied. ¡°If the most exciting thing you can think of is coming over here to pick on lil¡¯ ol¡¯ me ya must be about to pass out.¡± Boulanger smirked and in his infuriatingly soft voice replied, ¡°is there something wrong about chatting with a former teammate? I don¡¯t bear you any ill-will, Daisy, if anything I¡¯m glad you found teammates more your speed. Cunegonde seems like such a nice girl.¡± Daisy rolled her eyes. Both of them knew Cunegonde was the worst kind of sycophant¡ªthe kind that never gave it a rest. Yuna was not exactly a barrel of joy either, especially once her hopes of conquering Shikijima had been dashed once and for all in a questline where her army was ¡°defeated¡± by Empress Sadako. The Yishang had apparently gotten sick of her trying to circumvent their prescribed story. And then Kane was¡­ Kane. ¡°Nothing wrong, just wondering when you¡¯ll be done,¡± Daisy said, crossing her arms. She forgot her arms were still dripping wet with punch and spread it to her shirt. ¡°I¡¯m happy to get out of your hair, Daisy, since you seem to dislike me so much. But I did come over here with a purpose. I was going to ask you something,¡± he said. She shrugged. ¡°Whatever. Ask away.¡± ¡°Ailing and Natsuko were talking about something secret with each other. They claimed it was ¡°just girl stuff,¡± but I suspect otherwise. As Natsuko¡¯s former teammate, I assumed you might know what the topic of conversation was,¡± Boulanger said. Daisy blinked. Her first instinct was to chalk Boulanger¡¯s question up to him being his usual paranoid self. Words to that effect almost left her mouth before she realized that she knew what that secret might be. Surely Natsuko wouldn¡¯t tell anyone about the Yishang, would she? They had all agreed that was a terrible idea. ¡°Trust me, Boulanger, it really is girl stuff. You wouldn¡¯t understand,¡± Daisy said. He narrowed his eyes. ¡°I saw your face a moment ago. You¡¯re not a good liar, Daisy. You never were. If you don¡¯t want to tell me, fine. But do me the service of telling me plainly.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± she said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to tell you.¡± ¡°Nor will you tell me what you brought Natsuko over to talk about, I imagine?¡± The fact that he was using the exact same chastising tone of voice he used when he was her team captain ticked Daisy off. With a wide, fake smile, she fired two finger guns at him. ¡°Bang bang! Bullseye!¡± ¡°Uh-huh. And since I don¡¯t know what this conversation might have been about, I have to assume you were taking advantage of our teammate and her unfortunate substance abuse habit to either sabotage our efforts or siphon trade secrets. I am afraid I am going to have to ask you to keep away from her going forward.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Daisy shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, do what now!? She doesn¡¯t need your permission to talk to people. Hell, she¡¯s stronger than you are, so good luck stopping her, big guy,¡± she said with a shove to his chest. ¡°I don¡¯t have to stop her, I just have to stop you. Get anywhere near Natsuko and you¡¯ll be waking up at 4am. Are we clear?¡± ¡°What!? That¡¯s ridiculous! Boulanger what the hell are you¡ª¡± Other Heroes were starting to notice their conversation and pay attention in the hopes of juicy gossip. The fact that the #3 Hero was involved and that it had to do with a former teammate made it that much more exciting. Salacious even, some hoped. ¡°I¡¯m being cautious is what I¡¯m doing,¡± he said, keeping his voice at the same level it was always at. ¡°And until you are so inclined as to help me, then I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t extend help to you.¡± Daisy looked down at the small amount of green juice still sloshing around in the crumpled cup in her hand. She tossed the rest of it out on Boulanger¡¯s face and walked away. That was the last noteworthy event of the night as the rest of Team Natsuko departed shortly thereafter which was everyone else¡¯s signal that the party was wrapping up. Feeling too drained to even stand up, Daisy remained seated on a chair with her knees drawn up, idly watching the other Heroes file out until it was just her, Cunegonde, and an agonizingly cheerful Kane. ¡°What was that stuff with Boulanger all about?¡± Cunegonde asked. Daisy could tell her teammate was irritated at losing face in front of the other Heroes. Not that Daisy herself particularly cared. ¡°Nothin¡¯ much. He came over to be a dick to me and I threw punch in his face cuz I wasn¡¯t having it,¡± she said. ¡°Everyone¡¯s saying it was a spat between former lovers,¡± Cunegonde said. If it were true, Daisy supposed, it might redeem her in her teammate¡¯s eyes. That was a whole lot cooler and more status-affirming than a higher-ranked Hero bullying a lower-ranked one. She might¡¯ve even stoked the rumor for shits and giggles if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the idea of her being a couple with Boulanger, even in idle gossip, made her want to vomit blood. ¡°It wasn¡¯t,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Just him being his usual obnoxious self.¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen he¡¯s a perfect gentleman. And driven. Doesn¡¯t putter around, assuming experience points will earn themselves. Certainly doesn¡¯t spend all day moping and thinking about the past, that¡¯s for certain,¡± Cunegonde said. Daisy looked up at Cunegonde in her Cascadian Maid outfit and snorted. If only Cunegonde had any idea how stupid all this was, then she¡¯d realize how much of an absolute clown Boulanger was. Have fun with those experience points when you¡¯re shut off by the Yishang, prick. Daisy sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s just go home.¡± ¡°Great idea! It¡¯s still early enough we could get a board game in if Yuna is up,¡± Kane said. An Imperian Hero, Kane Kanos was molded in accordance with a formula that Daisy could see plain as day: Shrike being force dimension-jumped left Deco Imperia down a Control Hero with a himbo, golden-retriever type of vibe. So the Yishang plugged all the Shrike parameters in and toned down the traditional masculinity and martial attitude and out spat Kane Kanos. This image was reinforced by his Halloween costume being, literally, a golden retriever. His numbers were solid enough to land in the Top 30, and maybe further if he hadn¡¯t had the misfortune of landing on Daisy¡¯s team of sad-sacks. Someone like Boulanger could have whipped him into the Top 15 or maybe even the Top 10 with a brutal, XP-farming regimen. But to his disadvantage, Kane was steadfastly loyal to whoever was in charge¡ªespecially when it was a woman¡ªand the woman in charge was a depressed has-been going through the motions who kept him around because she felt guilty about what happened to Shrike. ¡°Not tonight,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Tonight it¡¯s sleepy time.¡± ¡°Seems like a lot of nights are sleepy time,¡± Kane replied. Cunegonde snorted. ¡°Funny how that happens.¡± The three of them returned to the apartments they rented above an accessory shop somewhere in the middle levels of the Selenian Capitol building. There was only as much available housing in Selenia as to parcel out ¡°tiers¡± of quality to the Heroes that made it there (and knowing what she knew about them, the Yishang had done this deliberately). Naturally, Team Natsuko was in the giant, multi-story condominium that everyone in the central atrium could see. Team Daisy, however¡­ The sound of boxes shuffling and a broom falling preempted the door to their cramped, one-room apartment sliding opening. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back,¡± Yuna said in a bored tone. A pile of crumpled soda cans and chip bags lay heaped up around her along with the stacks of comic books she was reading through. Half of the floor space was filled with Yuna¡¯s trash. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re back. So kind of you to clean up,¡± Cunegonde said. Cunegonde chucked her heels aside and daintily stepped her way across oases of clean floor to the side of the room that contained all their futons. Two lay next to each other on the floor while two more futons rested on hanging cabinets for lack of space. Without bothering to change out of her maid outfit, Cunegonde climbed straight to her top bunk and put in earplugs and a sleeping mask. ¡°Did someone tell her she was annoying again?¡± Yuna asked, scratching her stomach. Daisy shook her head. ¡°Not this time. She¡¯s annoyed with me for not putting up with Boulanger¡¯s shit.¡± ¡°Hey! Look at you, girl! Good for you,¡± Yuna said, punching Daisy uncomfortably hard in the arm. ¡°Fuck the guys on top and fuck the Yishang. They ain¡¯t better than us.¡± Well, they are, thought Daisy. That was why they were on top. Especially the Yishang. Not that Yuna would ever understand that part if she explained. Even if Daisy were to drop all secrecy and tell Yuna outright the truth about the Yishang and Po-Lin, she wouldn¡¯t listen. In Yuna¡¯s mind they were secret masterminds bent on shaping the politics of Po-Lin in favor of autocracy¡ªputting aside completely the fact that Cascadia was a constitutional monarchy, Deco Imperia was a republic, and Verm?genburgh was a quasi-theocratic municipal democracy¡ªand to Yuna the idea that the Yishang''s real goals were anything more insidious than mild political manipulation was inconceivable to her. ¡°Yeah, power to the people!¡± Kane said, pumping his fist in the air. This gesture sucked the enthusiasm out of Yuna and with a grunt and the crinkling of chip bags, she plopped herself back in front of her comic books. Daisy went to lay down on her own futon below Cunegonde¡¯s and shut her eyes. Sadly, sleep did not come. First because Yuna was still reading and crunching on chips and Kane stayed up with her to hold an entirely one-sided conversation with the morose Samurai. Then it was Yuna¡¯s bomb blast snoring. And finally, when that quieted down, and when everything was mostly still and quiet, it was the nagging voice in Daisy¡¯s head telling her she needed to run. That she needed to have the strength to escape this life and to go find Shuixing and figure out a way to escape this world altogether. But loud as it was, Daisy had drowned that voice out for two years, and tonight would be no different. Chapter 109 - Ave Lunar Maria ¡°Hey Daisy, ready to seize the day? Carpe diem!¡± said the most annoying voice in the world. Daisy rubbed the crust from her eyes and stretched with a mighty groan. Her eyes remained closed, not quite ready for the sensual assault that came from opening them. ¡°We¡¯ve got time to sleep more. What time is it?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯s already 11am. Not that that means much on the moon, I s¡¯pose,¡± Kane replied. Already 11. She had slept for ten hours and still felt tired. And she hadn¡¯t even been drinking last night. Opening her eyes, she saw Cunegonde and Yuna were both gone and the trash had been picked up and placed in a bag in their small, eight square-foot kitchenette. ¡°Did you clean up?¡± Daisy asked, her voice sounding like a strangled frog. ¡°Yup! Got it all done this morning. I was worried about waking you with all the crinkling, but Cunegonde said you¡¯d sleep through it and darned if she wasn¡¯t right.¡± Daisy rubbed her temples. ¡°Please don¡¯t clean it up next time. Yuna needs to learn to do this herself. She shouldn¡¯t be pushing it off on the new guy.¡± ¡°Naw, it¡¯s fine. I gotta earn my keep after all,¡± Kane said. Oh dear gods, you poor, poor thing, Daisy thought. She was committing a crime keeping him on this trainwreck of a team. Daisy rolled out of bed and ordered Kane out of the apartment so she could change into her adventuring outfit. To fit the region, she¡¯d swapped out her riding trousers and blouse for a pink rubber flight suit and boots. All vaguely spy-esque, vaguely sci-fi, like something out of a light novel. It wasn¡¯t hard to get past the Yishang¡¯s approval; she only lost some pockets and wiggle room in the process. Once she was dressed she went out to meet Kane and Yuna in the dark stairwell that led to their cramped apartment. With the sucking maw of the air filters running and random bits of machinery clanging through the metal walls it felt like the backdrop to some weird industrial horror movie. ¡°Where¡¯s our other intrepid teammate?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Said she was gonna get some grinding in before we took a stab at the dragon,¡± Yuna replied, looking as exhausted as Daisy. Dark circles had become a regular fixture on the Samurai¡¯s face. Whenever she wasn¡¯t being dragged out for grinding or quests, she spent her time eating junk food and reading comics and light novels. Yuna was lucky Heroes¡¯ physical health never changed. The three met Cunegonde outside the headquarters of Mooncom, Selenia¡¯s defense force. It was a small installation of turrets and assembly buildings a few kilometers from the Capitol Building. Their teammate was covered in sweat and munching on outdated food items to restore her health since Selenian cuisine and its ingredients were too expensive to waste. ¡°Nice of you all to finally show up,¡± Cunegonde said. ¡°Fortunately, I was able to get some good grinding in after I eavesdropped on some conversations last night. Apparently Planetview Cavern is the best place to XP grind. We¡¯ve been doing it all wrong.¡± ¡°Good to know,¡± Daisy said. That was sincere. If she had to grind, she at least wanted to get the most bang for her buck. Hers was the lowest ranked team still strong enough to complete Selenian quests, but the cut-off was always right behind them. Even at her most depressed, Daisy still had to put in work. ¡°Let¡¯s get the silly quest stuff over with,¡± Yuna said. The four of them walked inside the Mooncom building and a frantic receptionist ushered them into the war room as though disaster was imminent. Around the glowing holographic table sat a bunch of Non-Heroes looking very, very serious. The only member of their team that matched the seriousness was Kane who had on his ¡°thinking so hard he looked constipated¡± face. Bless the poor boy, he¡¯d only been alive for five months. ¡°Let¡¯s not waste time,¡± Admiral Rama spoke, gesturing for the Heroes to sit. ¡°At 0300 hours, we detected an energy spike in the moon¡¯s core which we believe may be related to the fried relay stations you all investigated.¡± ¡°So you think this could be the Entropic Axis!?¡± Kane said. ¡°I don¡¯t think,¡± Admiral Rama said, punching the holographic table. ¡°I know.¡± Daisy whistled and nodded. ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°Do you think the energy spike could be a Lunar Dragon?¡± Kane asked, forgetting that Daisy and Cunegonde had already spoiled that it was a Lunar Dragon. Admiral Rama blinked. ¡°Uhh¡­ yeah. A Lunar Dragon.¡± Heroes didn¡¯t usually spoil the next line so tactlessly. The other Non-Heroes in the war room still made sure to look suitably surprised, as did Kane, who actually was somewhat surprised. ¡°We¡¯ll get right on that,¡± Daisy said. From there Team Daisy ran over to a crater and fought off a group of monster summoned by Vidorgia to ¡°distract them¡± in order for her to finish summoning the Lunar Dragon which then took off from a crater and headed for the space elevator that the Entropic Axis was trying to destroy. Then they had to run all the way back over to the elevator in Selenia City before the fight could finally start.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Daisy lined her three teammates up outside the space elevator entry hall and paced in front of them like a drill sergeant. ¡°Pre-fight check! Everyone¡¯s got an attack, defense, and speed-boost dish?¡± Daisy said. Yuna and Cunegonde confirmed that they did and Kane panicked for a second before realizing he did as well, since Cunegonde packed for him. ¡°Good. Everyone remembers their roles?¡± Daisy asked, looking at Kane because she knew Yuna and Cunegonde did. ¡°I defend you two, you two buff up Yuna, Yuna beats face,¡± Kane said. ¡°First try, good boy,¡± Cunegonde said, patting him on the back. Kane seemed quite pleased with that, but Daisy still had to ask every time. After scarfing down their buffing food, they entered the space elevator hall and stepped onto one of the jadeite platforms. Daisy felt flutters in her stomach as it began its ascent/descent. The quest fights had been getting harder and harder lately and, having spent most of her adventuring career in ¡°sit back and let Boulanger solo almost everything¡± mode, it was a rude awakening. If things kept up, there was a day in the future where her team simply wouldn¡¯t cut it anymore, and it was possible that would happen before the Yishang wiped the world. ¡°There it is,¡± Yuna said, pointing at a slowly approaching dot on the lunar horizon. Daisy summoned Peng while Yuna performed a few warm-up slashes with her katana. Since they didn¡¯t have a lot of strong ranged abilities or modes of flying, Peng was a necessity. Yuna hopped on the stone bird¡¯s back and Peng leapt up to hover in a holding pattern for the Lunar Dragon¡¯s approach. On the platform below, Cunegonde drew her conductor¡¯s baton and Kane summoned his lightning claymore. Daisy¡¯s weapon of choice had evolved from a pocket watch to a compass. Apart from having better stats, she just didn¡¯t like thinking about time passing if she could help it. The Lunar Dragon was close enough now that when it emitted its shrill roar it made the four of them cringe. Daisy didn¡¯t have time to curse the Yishang for giving it such an obnoxious noise because the dragon dipped straight down towards them, claws out. Peng tried to match its speed for Yuna, but the dragon crashed into the stone bird first, disintegrating it instantly. ¡°Aw tits,¡± Daisy said. Yuna slammed into the jadeite platform, cracking it down the middle and knocking off 50% of her health from fall damage. Daisy ducked and rolled as the dragon completed its swooping pass, slashing at Cunegonde with its talons. Kane activated Alternating Current and flashed to Cunegonde. He got in a glancing blow which temporarily stunned the Lunar Dragon, but it still managed to knock Cunegonde across the platform. A hastily thrown-up rock wall saved her from careening over the side. Yuna stood up on aching limbs and wicked blood from her mouth before charging at the Lunar Dragon. She activated Bushido and regained some of her lost HP from carving into the stunned dragon, but the second it was out from under Kane¡¯s stun, it took off and left Yuna gawking at the sky. ¡°How long on another bird?¡± she barked at Daisy. ¡°Thirty seconds,¡± Daisy said, telekinetically hurling chunks of jadeite at the dragon for a pittance of damage. On top of being hard to hit and doing excessive amounts of damage, it also had more HP than the entirety of some earlier regions. ¡°Is another bird a good idea? The dragon one-shot it last time,¡± Cunegonde said while healing them with Grazioso. ¡°What happens if it destroys Peng while Yuna¡¯s in the open air?¡± ¡°Send me up, I¡¯m not a candyass,¡± Yuna said. ¡°No, but you are a suicidal idiot,¡± Cunegonde replied. ¡°What did you say, backline princess!?¡± ¡°Suicidal. Idiot.¡± ¡°Hey, hey! Not now!¡± Daisy said. The dragon came back for another pass. Both Yuna and Cunegonde re-focused, the former stepping up towards the edge of the platform, the latter backing up to where Daisy was posted behind Kane. Once the cooldown was up, Daisy squeezed her compass and a smooth, white jade Peng re-emerged from the platform below Yuna. It rose into the air with the Samurai Hero holding onto its back. ¡°Don¡¯t take a direct hit,¡± Daisy said. ¡°No shit!¡± Yuna yelled down. Peng swung out from the platform, forcing the dragon to choose a target. As though sensing Yuna was the greater danger, it veered at the last second towards the stone bird hovering over a hundred mile drop. Popping into its mid-air path was a claymore-wielding Hero making a not-so-great decision. ¡°No! Kane, what are you doing!?¡± Daisy yelled. His stunning strike connected on the Lunar Dragon, giving Yuna the opportunity to put in a careful three hits so that she didn¡¯t automatically teleport off of Peng¡¯s back on the fourth, but as soon as the dragon was unstunned, it swatted Kane out of the air, sending him plunging like a meteor towards Po-Lin and then dove towards a defenseless Daisy and Cunegonde. This time Daisy wasn¡¯t able to dodge. The world went spinning end over end as she was thrown like a ragdoll by the dragon¡¯s talons. Shimmering rainbows and twinkling stars spun in her vision. A second later she was falling through open air. ¡°Peng!¡± she shouted. For a few seconds her heart pounded with high-octane fear as she looked around and couldn¡¯t see Peng, but a moment later the wind was knocked from her lungs as the jade bird rolled her onto its back. Spinning once again, her momentum was finally halted by a hand clutching the fabric of her rubber flight suit. ¡°Grab something, blondie, your suit ain¡¯t got a whole lot to hold onto!¡± Yuna said. Peng¡¯s back rearranged itself to give Daisy hand and footholds as she assumed direct piloting. Barrel rolling around the dragon¡¯s biting maw, she shot for the ball of dark purple hurtling downward. Unlike her own emergency landing, Daisy was able to match Kane¡¯s velocity and float in under him. ¡°Thanks Daisy!¡± Kane said as Yuna picked him out of the air by the scruff of his neck. Taking Peng in a vertical climb, Daisy brought them back up to the platform, this time electing to stay on the stone bird to steer it for Yuna. Before he could leap down, Daisy gave Kane a stern look. ¡°Keep to the plan! Don¡¯t leave Cunegonde exposed!¡± He nodded and hopped down. Daisy tried not to let the knowledge of how much health the Lunar Dragon had left get to her. The start of a new fight was always rocky. Learning the enemy¡¯s attack patterns and getting in sync with your teammates always took a bit of time. But usually that meant some HP loss, not several near-deaths. However, through sheer persistence, they were able to get the Lunar Dragon below half-HP after dumping both Yuna and Kane¡¯s Desperation Arts into it in a maelstrom of ice shards and lightning bolts. Though unable to keep them topped off, Cunegonde¡¯s furious cycling of shields and healing was able to mitigate the worst of the HP-chunking bites and slashes. And then the dragon stopped. As Yuna and Daisy circled it, preparing to dodge another charge, its neck bobbed upwards. ¡°Oh shoot¡­¡± Daisy said. ¡°Guys watch¡ª!¡± By the time the words left her mouth, a stream of black energy sparkling with stars annihilated an already-injured Cunegonde and Kane. She had barely enough time to cut Peng into a turn before the Lunar Maria Beam swept across her and Yuna. The next thing Daisy saw was the void of space over her head. The hard, rocky surface of Selenia lay below her back. Were she still in possession of her pocket watch, she knew it would read four in the morning. Chapter 110 - Being at Peace with the Way Things Are ¡°Storms on the moon are ridiculous. How lazy are the Yishang?¡± Daisy said, head resting on her hand as she stared out the cafe window. Cunegonde dabbed her lips with a napkin leaving pink lipstick marks. ¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean,¡± Daisy said, pushing away the slice of cake she was suddenly not hungry for. ¡°Why would there be weather on the moon? We¡¯re in space. There isn¡¯t any water here. How is there water coming from the sky? The Yishang got lazy and didn¡¯t adjust the weather settings for Selenia.¡± Cunegonde squinted at her. ¡°Darling, you¡¯re talking silly again. Weather just happens. There are storms everywhere. That¡¯s how things are.¡± ¡°Yeah, but on the moon?¡± It was no use. She had pointed out other logical fallacies to her teammates before and they seemed utterly blind to them. Cunegonde would handwaved things as, ¡°just how things are,¡± Kane would find these inconsistencies cool and then not understand why they mattered, and Yuna couldn¡¯t get two brain cells to bump into each other long enough to figure out what Daisy was yapping about. The only other person in Selenia who would¡¯ve shared her confusion at lunar thunderstorms was Natsuko. Daisy wondered if she was thinking the same thing right now. ¡°Lunar storms¡­ Moon storms¡­¡± Kane said, stroking a chin covered in crumbs. He suddenly snapped his fingers. ¡°Wait, there is water on the moon! The Lunar seas, that¡¯s where the water¡¯s coming from!¡± ¡°Those are craters, dear. Not real seas,¡± Cunegonde said. ¡°Wait, huh?¡± Daisy slumped forward as Cunegonde tried to explain the concept of lunar maria to Kane. The idea that they were going to have to tackle the Lunar Dragon again some time in the future made Daisy want to curl into a ball and wait for the Yishang to wipe everything out. If she was adventuring solo, she might have done just that, but the other three were relying on her to pick up the pieces and keep going. ¡°There¡¯s a lot we can do better next time,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Yeah, like not abandoning the teammates you¡¯re supposed to protect,¡± Cunegonde said. ¡°Or, you know, not leaving your teammates on half-HP,¡± Yuna said, bacon strips clenched in her fist. Cunegonde scoffed and shook her blonde curls. ¡°I was cycling my abilities as fast as they came up. How about actually trying to dodge so I don¡¯t have to dump all of my healing into one suicidal idiot, hmm?¡± Yuna slammed the table. ¡°You think it¡¯s easy being all the way up the enemy¡¯s fucking ass?¡± ¡°Girls, please don¡¯t fight,¡± Kane said. Daisy mushed her cake down with her fork, smearing it across the plate. Windwalker¡¯s team was staring at them from across the cafe, which only made Yuna even more irritable since they were her former teammates. ¡°What!? You bastards got somethin¡¯ to say!?¡± Yuna yelled at them. Windwalker, Haalia, Petyr, and Anastasia all looked away as though it was a stray cat hissing at them. Daisy wanted to crawl under the table. ¡°Leave them alone, they clearly don¡¯t want to catch your fleas,¡± Cunegonde said. This started yet another argument. Eventually, Daisy gave up. She slapped her part of the bill down on the table. ¡°Everyone take a day to relax and get your mind off things. We¡¯ll talk when we¡¯ve got cooler heads,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Taking a break is the last thing we should be doing!¡± Cunegonde replied. ¡°We¡¯re already behind, we just lost 10% of our stats, and you want to waste an entire day!?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Daisy said and walked out. The cafe was nestled in one of the many floors of arcades in the steel webwork of criss-crossing skyways and overhangs that comprised the Capitol Building. It made her feel like a cocooned fly, especially when she wandered the labyrinth of utility hallways as she was wont to do when she wanted to be alone. Leaving the glitzy part of the Capitol Building behind, Daisy threw open a steel door to a long hallway of pipes and ducts. Whenever she came upon a junction, she chose deeper in or further down until she was deliberately lost. She was surprised the Yishang even bothered to create all of this. She couldn¡¯t imagine they had expected a wistful Hero to go and occupy it. Daisy sat down on a humming piece of machinery and pulled out a small notebook and pencil from the same magical space in her flight suit that she kept her compass weapon and set herself to writing a poem. At first nothing came, but she had learned not to let that bother her. Something was in there, it just needed time. That was probably the most useful piece of advice Pechorin had given her. The easy poems, the ones that used to spring right out of her, had dried up by now, and if Pechorin hadn¡¯t warned her, she might have thought it was the whole reservoir that had gone dry. But it wasn¡¯t. She just had to dig a little deeper. ¡°The little bird she flies, Towards the sandy ground.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Hope above her lies, But comfort downward found. Her wings are tired, E¡¯er they¡¯ve flapped, In relentless gravity¡¯s prise. ¡®Tween lows and highs And otherwise This bird she¡¯s surely been tossed. Crossed from heaven to sandy ground¡ª No more can she fly. And into quicksand, Rough and dry, The bird she slowly sinks. Her laziness rewarded¡ª A final cry Then gone¡ªa final blink.¡± She paused for a second once she¡¯d finished the first draft then chuckled to herself. ¡°When did you get so dark, Daisy ol¡¯ girl?¡± A steam vent further down the hallway hissed and she wasn¡¯t sure whether it was in approval or criticism. She supposed depressing poems weren¡¯t as fun to read or recite for others. They were more for the person writing them. When she was done brooding like a teenage girl¡ªnot that she had ever been anything but a woman of young yet safely Ero-Art-drawable age¡ªshe packed her notebook and wandered up to the surface by inverting her earlier logic of always going down and in. The noise and light of the Selenian Capitol felt a little less oppressive now that her worries were written down in ink. Searching for her teammates, she wasn¡¯t able to find Kane or Yuna, but she found Cunegonde by narrowing her search to the two places her teammate might be: grinding for XP or clothing shopping. And since Planetview Cavern was a much further walk¡­ ¡°The hem should end in cerulean, this is more cobalt,¡± Cunegonde said, running a long white fingernail across a dress laid out by Sudra, the master tailor. The bespectacled man¡¯s black hair was thrown in several different directions as though he¡¯d been pulling at it, and knowing her teammate¡¯s demanding personality, he probably had. The dress in question was in the Cascadian style: More lace, ruffle, pleat, and frill than plain fabric by surface area. It was somewhat like a ball gown except with a lot more leg showing. The top part was white¡ªCunegonde¡¯s color of choice¡ªbut turned into a gradient of white-to-blue which ended with cobalt at the bottom hem. Not cerulean. ¡°Oh, hello Daisy. Come to join me for some shopping?¡± Cunegonde said. Her tone was light and friendly. Daisy supposed shopping was Cunegonde¡¯s equivalent to poetry, something to help put down her troubles. ¡°I was going to see if you wanted to grind a little, actually. I¡¯m feeling up to it now,¡± Daisy replied. Cunegonde tossed her blonde sausage curls. ¡°Not now babe. We¡¯re in shopping mode.¡± Daisy chuckled at that and sat down next to Cunegonde. ¡°Now, I think it should end in cerulean,¡± Cunegonde said, bracelets jangling as she swished her hand around the top of the dress. ¡°But we also may need to change the shade of white as well. This is sort of an ivory, but we ought to try a lavenderblush. I think it''ll flow into the blue more cleanly. What do you think, Daisy?¡± Daisy tapped her nails against the table. ¡°Hmm¡­ What about a ghostwhite? Or¡ª Ooh! Hear me out: Lighten the entire gradient and add the cerulean back in with a sash.¡± Cunegonde gasped and grabbed Daisy¡¯s wrist. ¡°It¡¯s bold. I love it.¡± The tailor sighed and went to the back of the shop to make the alterations. Knowing the game, Daisy helped Cunegonde foist several more alterations onto Sudra for the sole purpose of having foisted more alterations on him before finally settling on no sash, an ivory white top, and a gradient that ended in cobalt instead of cerulean to which Cunegonde clapped and enthusiastically proclaimed: ¡°Ooh yeah, yeah, that¡¯s so good!¡± ¡°Gorgeous, De. Gorgeous,¡± Daisy replied. Cunegonde dropped 20% of her team¡¯s weekly operating budget on the shop counter and departed with dress in hand. ¡°Okay, now, super important question for you,¡± Cunegonde said as the two Heroes parted the sea of Non-Heroes. ¡°And there is a right answer.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°What¡¯s next: Shoes, or bubbly?¡± That was an easy one. ¡°Bubbly first, ask for a couple bottles, leave with the bottles, then go to the shoe store,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Correct!¡± And like that the two ended up shoe shopping while drinking Cascadian champagne directly from the bottle. Daisy managed to keep herself sober enough to insist that they only buy one pair each since the tiny closet in their tiny apartment was already 50% Daisy and Cunegonde¡¯s shoes by volume. Daisy picked out some white boots to mix up the pink ones she was currently wearing with her flight suit while Cunegonde was deciding between four different heeled sandals to go with the dress she¡¯d just bought. Throughout the process her teammate yammered endlessly about a story with multiple tangents that both of them knew was thoroughly unimportant during which Daisy¡¯s role was to periodically say, ¡°what!? That¡¯s crazy!¡± and then Cunegonde would say, ¡°I know, right!?¡± and then continue the story. The sheer meaningless of it was like a brain massage for both of them. Once the story was over and they bought their shoes and were walking back to the accessory shop they lived above, something popped into Daisy¡¯s head that had to come out. ¡°De, what um¡­ what do you think of me as a leader? Be honest,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Umm¡­ well¡­ you¡¯re good at keeping us together! And you¡¯re not pushy and annoying, that¡¯s a huge plus,¡± Cunegonde replied. ¡°Okay, now the bad stuff.¡± Cunegonde exhaled. ¡°Listen, you¡¯re running an adventuring party, not a therapy group, but it feels like that¡¯s what you think this is. You care a lot about keeping our spirits up, making sure we¡¯re not overworking ourselves, keeping us from fighting¡­ but the Use-Rankings are a competition. And if you don¡¯t want to compete, don¡¯t. No one is forcing you. But right now you¡¯ve got one foot in and one foot out, and all you¡¯re gonna do is trip yourself. And us.¡± ¡°Is it so bad to care about you all?¡± Daisy said softly. ¡°Heroes are fundamentally self-interested. It¡¯s always been like that. We work in teams because it helps us individually, but if we could rank up faster grinding alone, we would. Babe, you knew that better than anyone back in the day. These last two years you¡¯ve been trying to pretend like that¡¯s not how things work, but you can¡¯t fake your way to living in a fantasy world, Daisy. The real world is always gonna get you in the end,¡± Cunegonde said. Daisy sighed. ¡°But what about today? I mean, I enjoyed the shopping and the champagne and all and¡­ doesn¡¯t that count for something?¡± Cunegonde placed a hand on Daisy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Today was lovely, darling, but if I ever decide you¡¯re dragging me down, I¡¯ll cut you loose. That¡¯s just how it is.¡± Nothing Cunegonde said surprised Daisy. Every last word of it was something she already knew. That was just how things were. Chapter 111 - Algorinomicon: Or, a Young Hero’s Self-Constructed Primer Shuixing felt weak. She had never been strong, but this was different. She felt thin. Detached. Unreal. Like a spider¡¯s web in a strong wind. More and more of her vitality seemed to sap away from her whenever she projected into Numberspace. There was a non-zero chance she might give out entirely, and cease to be a person. Would it be her that gave out? Who was Shuixing? On some days she didn¡¯t know. A line of dim Imperian light bulbs dangled from the ceiling of her laboratory to compensate for the windows being sealed over. The dark was a necessity. When she returned to Po-Lin from Numberspace too much stimulation made her anxious. If it was just one journey, that would be one thing, but she had to go as often as she could if she wanted to save the world. As often as her mind could handle. Some days it was only once, other days it was five or six times. It depended upon how thin she felt when she returned. She looked down at her hands where they clenched a scared-looking frog over a sink. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, slicing its neck open and draining its blood. She was running low on the chemical she referred to as Shiki-3. The nomenclature being the region it came from and the order she discovered it. Some chemicals were useful, others entirely useless. Shiki-1 and Shiki-2 were dead-ends, but Shiki-3 could be refined and dissolved into Cas-4 to make Aqua Shen, one of the three compounds that helped her travel to Numberspace. It was the harshest and the shortest journey, but it was the deepest. The other two: Aqua Qian and Aqua Zhong, were longer and easier on her, but shallow. Or perhaps the metaphor was wider and narrower. Her Zero Point in Numberspace was the beginning of all her journeys and the source of what constituted "Shuixing He" in that realm, and the further she roamed from it, the more she learned, and the less real she felt. Over the past year and a half she had mapped as much as she could on the lightest compound, Aqua Qian, so that her immediate vicinity was known to her with 90% certainty. It could never be fully known the way physics could, as Numberspace was a place of flux and change. Her own Zero Point even changed as she explored it in response to her attempts to understand it in a bit of recursive logic that, for her own sanity, she could not think too deeply about. Though still useful for updating her knowledge of the local terrain, Aqua Qian had outlived its usefulness. Now her process was to explore theories and hypotheses on Aqua Zhong and, once she knew exactly what and where she needed to penetrate to confirm something, she would take Aqua Shen. She looked forward to these journeys the least, but she had to make them. If she didn¡¯t, there would be no hope for escaping Po-Lin. Everything would be destroyed. On trembling legs, Shuixing hobbled to the door and knocked. ¡°Yes, Ms. He?¡± said Hilda, one of the students the Mage¡¯s College had assigned to Shuixing to manage her capricious demands. ¡°More frogs.¡± ¡°Yes, Ms. He.¡± It was no longer necessary for her to specify which frogs. The college knew which frogs. Useless, wasteful speech had been cut out of her language so she could maintain her focus on the numbers. She didn¡¯t even use her apartment now. She slept in the closet where Natsuko had once slept so that she didn''t burden her mind with excess sensation. Almost nothing passed through Shuixing¡¯s mind now but the numbers, the data she extracted from them, and the awareness that they might help her save the world. The process of decoding the numbers that made up that realm of pure mathematics that existed beyond the veil had itself been a herculean undertaking, the fruits of which were compiled in a set of 12 notebooks she called "The Algironomicon" in the hopes that others might read it. But after a year and a half, the few professors who had braved the tome barely even understood what it was about, let alone could comprehend the language of the Celestials. By now, Shuixing considered herself fluent in it. The fundamental logic of the Celestial language was not difficult. There were only two numerical symbols which, rather than denoting a quantity, translated to Yes and No. Once she comprehended this principle, she was able to understand how strings of Yes and No could be compiled into logical statements: And, Or, Not. If 1 then 1, else 0. If and only if 11 then 1, else 0. And so on. These strings grew longer, but at every level of analysis there were fundamental principles which made it easy to isolate and identify the way these strings repeated if she bore in mind the final result they were building towards. This led to her most unnerving discovery to date: That she herself, Shuixing He, and everyone that she ever knew or would ever know, was a long chain of Yes''s and No''s.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Hardly less unnerving was the fact that more than one of these enormous chains existed in a very similar arrangement. Somewhere within the depths of that roiling ocean called Numberspace there were preserved versions of the Shuixing He algorithm. At periodic intervals, they copied her entire existence and stored it. This was how they had replicated Hemiola despite his dimension-jumping accident, which further begged the question of whether the Hemiola she had spoken to down in the al-Nuwban dungeon was actually the same Hemiola that had once been her dear friend. These were among the many, many things she dredged up from the depths of Numberspace and brought back to Po-Lin and recorded in notebooks, which themselves correlated to a position in Numberspace and were, in both the capacity of Shuixing learning these things and the physical notebooks on which they were recorded, the Numberspace encoding a picture of itself into itself. Shuixing bent over the sink beside the mutilated frog and vomited. The act barely warranted notice. She did it a lot these days. Sometimes it helped her to re-focus on her task. She had to save the world. She would save the world. But not right now. Right now, she needed to slump against the wall and wipe spew from her chin and taste salt and acid where her sweat dribbled into her panting mouth. It was so real. The salt taste was so real. How could it be nothing but numbers? And her thoughts, how could they be nothing but numbers? She had to believe no chain of numbers in the world could possibly equal the infinite complexity of the soul that Heroes had been imbued with, but now she wasn¡¯t certain. In a moment of weakness, she had indulged a meaningless side-track by attempting to calculate the potential requirements to encode the totality of her thoughts, speech, actions, and appearance. As it turned out, it was not much. Taking her outputs in thought, speech, and action as generated algorithmically based on a finite set of inputs, it would be possible to recreate Shuixing He with roughly around ten billion Yes¡¯s and No¡¯s, given that the algorithm for doing so¡ªthe Central Probability Algorithm, or CPA¡ªwas decentralized and could operate equally upon all Heroes and Non-Heroes simultaneously. As for what the CPA was, she had discovered this region in Numberspace which housed algorithms into which the parameters that made up a Hero flowed to generate novel outputs each time they thought or spoke or acted. Even her thinking about her thoughts and about the algorithm were ultimately generated by those same algorithms. So what was tasting this salt in her sweat? How did she know it was salt? Shuixing rolled her sleeves up and scratched violently at her arms, tearing up the scabs that had healed over from her last bout of scratching. The pain pulled her out of the spiral. She was back in her laboratory. On the counter was a vial of frog¡¯s blood. Her next job was to distill it and mix it with Cas-4 and produce another batch of Aqua Shen. She needed to stop getting distracted. ¡°One, two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen¡­¡± Talking to herself helped Shuixing focus, so she started listing prime numbers. This had the added benefit of helping her memorize them, since the Celestials used them in a few ways in Numberspace, most importantly in locking algorithms, where the strings of numbers were masked as other numbers to disguise what they were doing. If she stumbled on these disguised regions she knew she was approaching something important, but she hadn¡¯t worked out how to crack them yet. In the meantime, she had a vague map across three walls of her laboratory with her own directional and reference notation to record the locations of these security gates awaiting more research into the algorithm scrambling the data inside. The walls were blanketed with torn notebook paper with things like, ¡°En-Env-ZP->Hub1->R-Hub-1->R-Hub-4->R-Hub-7->Hub703->Led-Envs(GATE!)¡± all tied together with rubber bands, strings, and pins which converged on En-Env-ZP, the location she identified as the string of numbers called ¡°Shuixing He." ¡°...Five hundred sixty-nine, five hundred seventy-one, five hundred seventy-seven¡­¡± she murmured as she boiled off the adulterants from the frog¡¯s blood to acquire the thin, amber oil called Shiki-3. Into this oil she poured the acid extracted from minerals from Cascadia called Cas-4 and after a minute of violent bubbling, the liquid settled into the serene, colorless compound called Aqua Shen. She didn¡¯t fully understand the chemistry involved and the way it interacted with Numberspace, but she had ruled that knowledge extraneous and left it unpursued. To the Non-Heroes who heard her through the door she must¡¯ve sounded insane, but Shuixing was the most sane she¡¯d ever been. She had found Truth beyond this world of illusions and she alone had the power to sustain the violent process of inseminating this world with it. It was natural for her to be trembling in pain. She was the conduit of this violent process. ¡°...Two thousand eight hundred fifty-seven, two thousand eight hundred sixty-one, two thousand eight hundred eighty-seven¡­¡± Drawing the Aqua Shen into a syringe, she retired to the one comfort she permitted herself: An overstuffed leather chair stolen from the college library. Shuixing took a few deep breaths to steady her racing heart as the syringe hovered over her chest. The veins in her arm had collapsed from repeated injection and she¡¯d had to find other locations. Knowing that if she let herself think too long she might lose her nerve and abandon her journey, she plunged the needle into the tissue above her right breast and let out a gasp as the cold fluid entered her. For a moment, nothing happened. She extracted the syringe and carefully set it to her wayside. Then, all at once and without any build-up, the world changed. 01000001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01010011 01101000 01110101 01101001 01111000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101000 01100001 01100100 00100000 01100101 01101110 01110100 01100101 01110010 01100101 01100100 00100000 01001110 01110101 01101101 01100010 01100101 01110010 01110011 01110000 01100001 01100011 01100101 00101110 Chapter 112 - The Experience of Traversing Through Numberspace As the actual journey itself was entirely numerical, ex post facto abstraction was necessary to make sense of it in a way cogent to anyone but Shuixing and the coldly unfeeling algorithms through which she coursed. The first of these abstractions was the physical sensation. This entirely depended upon which compound she ingested: Qian, Zhong, or Shen. The former was characterized by a low-grade euphoria and slight decrease in mental faculties. The experience was almost a pleasant one, as the referent point of ¡°Real¡± remained Po-Lin as though the numbers were an overlay or a quilt laid over the ¡°eyes¡± of the traveler of Numberspace (¡°eyes¡± too was not an accurate description of sense perception in Numberspace, but for lack of a better one, it might be said that Shuixing ¡°saw¡± the numbers). Aqua Zhong was the first level at which this expeditious falsehood could no longer be entertained. The reference point swapped, and the journeyer was made aware that Po-Lin, not Numberspace, was the false projection, existing entirely as the confluence of innumerable mathematical processes. Euphoria and terror intermixed without beginning or end. The physical toll of the compound also exerted itself, and a feeling of sickness sometimes penetrated into the otherwise disembodied journey. Aqua Shen made one forget Po-Lin entirely. Numberspace became all that was real and Po-Lin a distant memory or a fractured dream which seemed impossible to return to. Only a gathering up of willpower and intent within the self-analyzing section of code referred to as ¡°Shuixing¡± safeguarded any pre-decided animus. And to the extent that there was a psychological dimension to the journey, it would be accurate to characterize it as gulfs of numb derealization punctuated by episodes of seizing horror which halted any attempts to penetrate further into the pure realm of numbers. But as the algorithms were ever in flux, these episodes were mercifully temporary. ¡°Traveling¡± through the numbers was like traveling through a dream. Only with practice and deliberate intention did it become possible to follow the internal logic. To penetrate beyond the vicinity of the Shuixing Zero Point was not to carve into an animal, but to find the lines and contours of its tendons so that the knife was doing no cutting at all. As to scale, it mattered not at all. In one instant it was possible to examine each Yes and each No of the tens of billions that were the Shuixing Zero Point, and in the next to be gazing at the disquieting totality. This was how Shuixing was able to see and make sense of such an enormous amount of data. At each layer of complexity the patterns repeated so that she could tell at a glance the piece of data she wanted: The 01010011 that made up the S in her name. The long strings of characters that represented a function like print{¡°Shuixing He¡±}, the lines of these functions which executed an action like ¡°Shuixing injects chemicals,¡± and the qualitative summation of these actions that might be summarized by such broad terms as intellectual, soft-spoken, obsessive, self-harming. Entities, as she had taken to calling them, were the easiest to parse. These consisted of all Heroes, Non-Heroes, and Monsters in Po-Lin. She¡¯d had the most practice with deciphering them having begun with herself. Their composite parts were essentially as described above with the addition that at a specific interval, every Entity was fed into a central algorithm of probability models and an amount of noise and chaos was introduced to them so that their thoughts and actions were not entirely deterministic (as Hemiola had said the Yishang¡¯s other worlds were) but probabilistically influenced by their inputs. This interval was referred to as ¡°10ms,¡± which she later learned meant one-hundredth of a Celestial second, but which made no experiential difference to Shuixing for whom it was the smallest unit of time possible, and thus utterly unnoticeable. An order of complexity above these Entities were what she called Envelopes, or a set of unbreachable ordering instructions for where one Entity ended and another began and the rest of existence was stored. To her knowledge, all Heroes existed within En-Env-ZP, or Entity Envelope Zero Point. All the other envelopes had some other logic to what they contained, including En-Env-1 which contained all human Non-Heroes with quest relevance (something which took a deeper penetration to discover), En-Env-2 which contained all human Non-Heroes of no quest relevance (which Shuixing had initially thought was overflow of En-Env-1 and had predicted Envelope memory limits which had later been disproven), En-Env-3 which contained hostile Non-Hero monsters, and so on down the line to En-Env-9 which was comparatively tiny and contained only non-hostile Non-Hero monsters which were not otherwise used. This was where she found the tiny string of numbers which constituted Charles and which, in a moment of rare levity for Shuixing, she noticed had been influenced by Natsuko to actually be renamed Charles. This was how she discovered that the discrete Entities outlined by the logic of the Envelope did, in fact, influence each other in indirect ways. Some numbers could be altered directly from Po-Lin such as renaming an Entity ¡°Charles,¡± some few could be altered only from Numberspace such as Shuixing¡¯s Cognition stat which, to her surprise, actually influenced non-combat-related outcomes such as her own intelligence. Towards that end she increased it as far as she dared.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. She supposed the same must be true of the other five stats, though she had not attempted to experiment with this for fear of causing a sudden rise in her Use-Number which the Yishang might take notice of. There was safety in obscurity. Since Cognition was not a particularly useful stat, the small uptick in her Use-Numbers had gone unnoticed (assuming as she did that the Yishang would make their displeasure with her prying immediately known). Based on extremely careful experimentation, Shuixing had discovered that the vast majority of numbers were unalterable with the tools currently at her disposal. This meant, for instance, that while she could wade through the endless layers of Envelopes for information about the Yishang directly, the data would be scrambled through some lock algorithm which she could not alter to revert the data to a readable form. Her holy grail, and the purpose of her current journey through Numberspace, was to decipher some kind of key which would unlock the vast majority of Envelopes which had nothing to do with Po-Lin. It was likely she herself and everything in Po-Lin were also under the effects of such a lock algorithm, but since the key was the same for all of them, everything appeared ¡°unlocked¡± from her relativistic perspective. There were several things she hoped to find in these locked Envelopes. The first was communication between the members of the Yishang and with the world of Celestials that existed outside, which would give her a better picture of their world. The second thing was something akin to financial statements. She highly suspected these to be located in Hub Envelopes 701 through 709, as the Sub-Envelopes inside were titled in unscrambled date format while the contents were illegible. Deciphering these would tell her how long she had before the world of Po-Lin became unprofitable and was wiped out. These envelopes were incidentally how she had discovered the span of time the Yishang had been in existence. Assuming time passed in Po-Lin more or less how it did in the realm of the Yishang, the first financial Envelope was entitled 20210430, or the 2021st year of their world¡¯s existence, the fourth month, and the 30th day, and the latest financial Envelope was entitled 20471101 and had metadata appended to it which stated it was created 245376s prior to Shuixing accessing it. Working backwards to figure out what ¡°s¡± meant, she was able to deduce that the present period of time in the Celestials¡¯ world was the 2047th year, 11th month, and 4th day, and that the Yishang had been in existence in their current form for 26 years, 6 months, and 26 days. The third and final thing she hoped to find by the discovery of a key algorithm was an exit. Shuixing knew there must be a path. After all, millions of Celestials regularly interfaced with the Yishang¡¯s Numberspace, and it seemed astronomically unlikely that the Yishang ruled the only region of Numberspace in existence if all Celestials had similar capabilities. Without knowing the greater significance of the Yishang and their enterprise within the Celestials¡¯ world, it was probable that there were innumerable other Numberspaces of greater and lesser size beyond the confines of the Yishang¡¯s domain. And if the Celestials entered the Yishang¡¯s domain from outside, there must be an exit. However, this presented several philosophical problems which she had put out of her mind until such a time as the prospect of escaping Po-Lin became realizable. For one, she did not know how to uproot her own data and extricate it from its Envelope. If she were unable to do so, escape would be, quite literally, nothing but a dream. She would remain a prisoner. Even more vexing was her relationship with the Central Probability Algorithm. As far as she could tell, it was the only thing that made her more than just a static line of numbers. Perhaps she was nothing but a series of snapshots given the illusion of continuity by the rapidity with which they succeeded one another at a rate of a hundred per second, but she was quite attached to this illusion of continuity. Without it, there was no Shuixing. Just a line of lifeless numbers. Yet she had no way of knowing if any such algorithm existed outside the Yishang¡¯s domain. If there was none, escape was no different than permanent death, or the jettisoning of her numbers into a hostile environment in which it again reverted to a series of lifeless numbers. And supposing she not only found a way to transplant her string of numbers to an outer realm which also contained a central probability algorithm to sustain a dynamic continuity of existence, in what form would she even exist when there was no Po-Lin to project a physical form into? Would she and everyone she knew and loved exist forever adrift in this horrifying chaos of pure numbers? That might be a worse fate than simply being wiped out by the Yishang. Shuixing gasped and shot forward in her chair. Walls. Table. Lights. Vials. Syringe. Notebook. Tears. She was crying. Her fingers pressed into the arms of the overstuffed chair until her muscles ached and the pressure hurt her fingertips. She was back in Po-Lin, and she was crying. She felt sicker than when she left, but she had nothing to show for it. Her willpower had failed her. She had wasted the journey on a self-reflective circling of things she already knew. In the fifteen minutes that she had been exploring Numberspace, she¡¯d gained nothing useful. Shuixing wasted another precious five minutes waiting for her hiccuping sobs to die down. What was wrong with her? The world needed her and she was wasting time crying. Scratching at her arms didn¡¯t help to stop the tears. It only spilled fresh streaks of blood to stain her filthy robes which were no longer blue but dyed with blood, mucus, sweat, and chemicals. She had hoped to return from Numberspace with critical data she could spend the rest of the day interpreting and analyzing back in Po-Lin, but since she had failed, she would have to go back in. Wasting no time out of fear she would lose her nerve, she refilled the syringe and jammed it into her chest once again. Chapter 113 - Prime Number Factorization and its Potential Utility Shuixing felt the flow of numbers trying to draw her into another self-referential orbit and she pushed back. She would not get waylaid this time. She raced through the nesting doll of Envelopes, beelining for the ones she knew contained top-order functions. These were massive complexes replicated over several identical Envelopes which dictated how all the other numbers were to be read, organized, executed, deleted, or otherwise utilized. Instinct told her the key to the locking algorithms had to be stored somewhere in here since they referred only to other operational functions and not to Po-Lin. The trouble was that the patterns weren''t obvious when she didn¡¯t know what the end result was supposed to be. She could reverse-engineer Verm?genburgh because she knew she needed to find patterns corresponding to Non-Heroes, buildings, weather, and so forth. But what was a key algorithm supposed to look like? One clue was that it utilized prime numbers, something she only recently discovered when trying to make sense of some enormous prime numbers which seemed to serve no purpose. The trouble was that when she plugged them into the operation to unscramble the Envelopes, it just produced more gibberish. What she needed was chaos. Her own algorithm was calcifying, her logic becoming circular and self-referential. She could not find a solution because she had not found a solution, and she had not because she could not. Randomness. Chaos. Entropy. Difference. That¡¯s what she needed. In pursuit of difference, she returned home to Entity Envelope Zero Point. Rather than examining her own string of numbers, however, she went to Natsuko¡¯s. After her own, this was the second most familiar location in Numberspace for Shuixing. She had spent hours pouring over it, trying to understand not only the nature of Numberspace, but the nature of her friend. There was quite a bit that Shuixing still did not understand. For one, Natsuko had a number of contradictory operations in her personality. More than anyone else Shuixing had explored, Natsuko had cases where two dimensions of her personality could execute in a way that either canceled each other out or twisted into some weird half-baked execution. One example was that Natsuko possessed both a sincere loyalty to the Yishang and a cynical irony towards them. Another was that she was repelled by her former teammates, but her attraction parameters were still referent to her former teammates. In more plain language, Natsuko did not want to see Shuixing but was constantly looking for Shuixing elsewhere. So too for Pechorin, Sofiane, and Daisy. These contradictory operations meant that Natsuko had the exact opposite problem as Shuixing: Her mental state was too volatile and erratic. Shuixing¡¯s was stable to the point of stagnation. Were it advisable (or even possible) to directly edit her own parameters, Shuixing might have tried to recreate Natsuko¡¯s paradoxes in her own personality. There were times when her research benefited from the exhaustive deductive reasoning from her hard-coded rationality, but when she needed to make a logical leap by intuition, it was a detriment. Moving on from Natsuko, she found Pechorin, whose mental state was perhaps as close to the ideal balance between deduction and induction as possible but he had no aptitude for quantitative problem-solving. She could see where his mind actively refused to look for quantitative solutions. He simply did not want to find them. Stranger still, after checking the backlogged versions of all of them, Shuixing learned this was a later development and not a hardcoded one. At a point in time that Shuixing deduced to be contemporaneous with an argument with Natsuko shortly after fighting V?lsunga, Pechorin had gained a repugnance for numbers which he never shed. As Shui recalled, the argument had been about Pechorin¡¯s over-interest in stats and numbers for EXP-farming, something Natsuko said was a waste of time. ¡°1, 2, 3,¡± Shuixing thought. She examined Daisy next. In a lot of ways, Daisy was similar to Natsuko, especially regarding the density of paradoxical operations. But whereas Natsuko¡¯s paradoxes tended to paralyze her into inaction, Daisy¡¯s would fire one or the other side at random. She had an intensely self-interested streak with a propensity for spontaneous altruism and nothing seemed to indicate which was more likely to trigger. Meanwhile, her competitiveness dropped precipitously shortly before Hemiola¡¯s defeat while feelings of inadequacy rose. Shuixing attributed this to a combination of Pechorin¡¯s influence in the former case and Natsuko¡¯s in the latter. ¡°5, 7, 11¡­¡± As for the string of numbers that might broadly be called ¡°contentment,¡± Sofiane had fared far better than the rest of them. His well-being rose and fell in a wave function running from a zenith on Tuesday to a nadir on Friday, though his baseline happiness was still the highest even then. Shuixing had watched from her disembodied vantage point as his parameters changed to become closer to Gomiko¡¯s, including making him mellower and more patient. She hadn¡¯t examined Gomiko closely enough to determine in what way Sofiane was influencing her in return. ¡°13, 17, 19¡­ 20,¡± her thoughts took a sharp turn. ¡°The prime factors of which are 2 times 2 times 5.¡± An electric surge of newness coursed through her as she finally made the connection. The key was not in the prime numbers themselves, but in their factorization. The prime numbers were meant to be multiplied together and the composite number that resulted was the key. Praying she got in under the time remaining on her current journey, she rushed back to the operations Envelope and quickly did some calculations in her head. The resulting key was an enormous 512 alpha-numerical characters long, but this was no issue at all because the entire key had been safely copied to Shuixing¡¯s location in Numberspace along with the table of operations to make the scrambled numbers legible. The calculations occurred in the 10ms span of her thought process rendering the translation instantaneous. The first thing she learned was that ¡°Program Files¡± was the true name of the Envelope she was peering into, though Shuixing preferred her own nomenclature of Hub201. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. It was, as she suspected, full of operations which affected the entirety of Numberspace. These would have been fascinating to explore if she had had more time, but the minutiae of computation was not as eminently critical as the Yishang¡¯s communication and financial statements. Knowing the location of the latter, Shuixing began there. The unscrambled data was fairly intuitive and didn¡¯t require much interpretation to figure out how it was used: Each Envelope contained a 3xN matrix with columns for Credit, Debit, and Date and a variable number of rows outlining the name of a credit/debit source and a sum at the bottom for all credit and debit in a given period.
CREDIT DEBIT DATE
Bi-Weekly Payroll -£¤38,633,510.76 2047-11-01
Daily Revenue £¤2,111,352.89 2047-11-01
Monthly Overhead -£¤19,890,720.92 2047-11-01
Daily Revenue £¤2,360,781.90 2047-11-02
It went on like this for another two days of accounting. Shuixing believed the £¤ symbol to denote a currency, though the sums meant nothing in a vacuum. The only thing that mattered was that the positive number at the end of each weekly ledger went up in proportion to the magnitude of the expenses. How poetic, she thought, that the Yishang¡¯s numbers had to go up too. She wondered if they had their own equivalent of the Yishang above them who would wipe them out if their numbers ever went down. Unfortunately, the couple of weekly ledgers she checked did not give her the information she was looking for. They appeared to be high-level accountancy for all of the Yishang¡¯s enterprises and lacked the granularity to determine whether Po-Lin itself was profitable. For that she had to keep looking. Her search through another table was ended abruptly as she was pulled back into that strange, overwhelming space called her laboratory. Shuixing¡¯s entire body shuddered violently. Cold pricks of sweat beaded along her neck and arms. Nausea rolled in her chest and stomach. As she stood up, the room tilted sideways, the after-images of the walls and furniture strumming in her vision. She needed to stop for the day, but she needed to go back. Panting to relieve the nausea creeping into her quivering throat muscles, she reached for a new syringe and filled it with more Aqua Shen. When she came out again, it would have to be for the final time that day. Her body couldn¡¯t take another Aqua Shen journey she thought as she slipped the thin metal spike into her sternum. She was back again. Compared to the painful, sick reality her body inhabited, even the rough journey that Aqua Shen provided felt preferable. But she cut the thought short. Even small reflections wasted precious milliseconds. Diving through an ocean of financial documents, she finally found one that could plausibly be for Po-Lin, though this was not the name the Yishang used for it. Instead, Shuixing learned that the true name of the universe she inhabited¡ªas opposed to the arbitrary name for the planet¡ªwas ¡°Flux Aeternum.¡± On most days, that alone could have been the most important discovery, but it was overshadowed by the contents of the table itself:
CREDIT DEBIT DATE
Bi-Weekly Payroll -£¤7,432,702.98 2047-11-01
Monthly Generative Intelligence Overhead -£¤6,760,225.25 2047-11-01
Daily Revenue £¤561,202.81 2047-11-01
¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­
WEEKLY NET £¤20,114.05
She did not need to know the value of the Yishang¡¯s currency to gauge the grave severity of its contents. For a moment, she calmed herself by noting that one week¡¯s worth of data was insufficient to gauge long-term profitability. To test her hypothesis, she had to pour over data going back at least a year. However, the weekly net at the same time in year 2046 had been £¤1,002,612.04. The year before that, at the height of the permanent death crisis, it had been £¤6,550,291.50. And even a cursory glance at the months in-between told her that this downward trend was exponential. The difference in margins told her all she needed to know: Po-Lin, the only world she had ever known, the one that contained all of the people she loved, was teetering on unprofitability. Chapter 114 - Lending a Fuzzy Ear ¡°Stop it!¡± ¡°But they¡¯re so fuzzy!¡± ¡°They¡¯re sensitive.¡± ¡°So what if I¡­¡± Gomiko squealed as Sofiane popped one of her fuzzy raccoon ears in his mouth and nibbled. Her back squirmed against him where they were seated up on the bed, but his arms were wrapped around her, pinning her in a seated bearhug. This looked a little silly since they were both equally small, but it meant her little round ears were always right around nibbling height. ¡°Om nom nom.¡± ¡°Eek! Stop! They¡¯re ticklish!¡± That declaration only made Sofiane nom them even harder. If she really wanted it to stop she had to stop being so gods-damned cute. He squeezed her tighter, savoring the warmth of her bare back against his chest and the film of sweat between them. He was on day two of the three days a week he was allowed to see her, so he hoarded every sensation like a squirrel preparing for winter. ¡°Nohoho!¡± Gomiko wriggled enough to get her pinned hands next to his inner thighs. She scribbled her sharp nails against it and the ear-nibbling stopped at once as Sofiane nearly leapt out of his skin. ¡°Agh! Evil!¡± Two years of exploration had given both a mental map of the other¡¯s body and a knowledge of exactly what kind of reaction they would get. That was how both of them knew from the moment Sofiane started playing with her ears that the pillow talk would turn into a round two. Sure enough it did, and Sofiane once again had to thank the Yishang for including things in their world that they didn¡¯t necessarily have to. When round two was finished, Sofiane rolled over and panted for a second before wiping his mouth. The sun was setting into Imperia bay and casting the schooners and steamships in golden outline. Since it was a waterfront condominium and no one could look in, Gomiko and Sofiane left the balcony doors wide open, letting the cool autumn wind coax them even more into the other¡¯s warmth. Sofiane ordinarily preferred straight-up comfort, so he had taken some convincing before he put up with Gomiko¡¯s preference for outside-weather playtime. By this point he preferred it. However, the cold was a lot more noticeable once playtime was over. Sofiane snatched up as much of the silk covers as he could, which was not much after Gomiko took the better part of a 70-30 split. ¡°Gimme some of the blanket, Frizzy,¡± he said. His nickname for her came from the tendency of her ears and tail to puff up when she washed and dried them. Or when they were too close to his static electricity, which was not an infrequent occurrence around him. She bit her lip with a little snaggletooth fang and snatched more of the blanket away. ¡°If you want heat you¡¯ve gotta snuggle for it.¡± Sofiane wormed his way under the blanket and after a moment of lying against her blew a raspberry on her stomach. She laughed. ¡°No babe, I¡¯m too tired to go again!¡± ¡°Then gimme some blanket!¡± Gomiko tossed more of the blanket over his side of the bed, but he remained curled around her side, one arm tucked under her. She grabbed his hand and placed it over her chest. It rose and fell, rose and fell as they lay there, words spent and unnecessary. They were enjoying the glow of having nothing to do and nothing to think about but the warmth at their side. After a sufficiently romantic interval, Gomiko nudged him with her foot. ¡°Lemme up, I gotta piss.¡± Sofiane un-entwined himself and got up from the bed to cook dinner. He grabbed an apron from the kitchen cupboards and decided that ought to be enough to cover himself since Margaret, Harald, and Faisal would be out doing¡­ something or other. There was an unspoken agreement between them all that the rest of the team would politely excuse themselves whenever Sofiane and Gomiko wanted some alone time. Tying his apron on¡ªcomplete with the words ¡°kiss my¡± and a little picture of an asparagus¡ªSofiane opened up the pantry and rooted through it for ingredients. There was stuff for making maple salmon croquettes, but that was the special thing he always made for the first night he and Gomiko were allowed to see each other again, and he didn¡¯t want to ruin the ritualistic importance. Maybe some Imperian food? Pizza! That was what he''d make. Fortunately, the ingredients were all ones his team had enormous amounts of. In the pantry there were 98 tomatoes, 99 blocks of cheese, 105 pots of flour, and 45 tubes of sausage. Dumping enough for three pizzas out on the counter, he fired up the stove. Cooking was a little ridiculous. Having been made aware of the logical inconsistencies in the world, Sofiane could never again think that throwing raw flour, tomatoes, cheese, and sausage into a boiling pot of water should logically produce a crisp, perfectly circular pizza pie. And if he got on that line of thinking, it would take him down the path of worrying about the Use-Numbers that had been dropping over the past year and how everything might get wiped out soon, Gomiko included. Shaking head head, he instead chose to focus on the way her eyes lit up when she took a bite of his cooking, and the little mewls she made when she was thinking hard about remembering the flavor during those long, four days when they couldn¡¯t be together. That was Sofiane¡¯s world right now. The rest of the world could burn to the ground for all he cared.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Uh¡­ hey, man,¡± Harald said. Sofiane jumped. He turned around to face Harald, Faisal, and Margaret with shopping bags in their hands. ¡°Oh. Hey guys, what¡¯s up?¡± Sofiane said, bare ass now securely behind him. Faisal lifted one of his shopping bags. ¡°Back from shopping.¡± Sofiane nodded. ¡°Uh-huh. I see that.¡± ¡°Want me to look after the pizza while you change?¡± Margaret offered. ¡°Merci.¡± Side-splitting laughter met him in the bedroom. As soon as he shut the door Gomiko started singing. ¡°Whe~en the~ moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie¡ª¡± He flashed into Ball Lightning for a split second. He wasn¡¯t close enough to deal Lightning damage, but the static electricity zapped her and sent the fur on her tail straight up. ¡°Ack!¡± Gomiko said. ¡°That¡¯s what you get, Frizzy!¡± Sofiane threw on a purple smoking jacket and slippers and hurried back to the pizza he had boiling on the stove. When they were finished, the five of them ate in the living room while listening to the radio set, which was currently broadcasting a drama about the hardboiled Imperian detective, Jack Diamonds. He was one of the newer-released Heroes. The radio plays were pulpy but amusing, and since none of them had ever met Jack, they could pretend he wasn¡¯t an asshole. ¡°Oh, Jack¡¯s up to #11 now,¡± Margaret said. Of the five members of Team Harald, Margaret was the only one who cared about where everyone was on the Use-Rankings. The tinny band music coming from the radio changed from blasting trumpet bebop during the perp-chasing scene to a somber melody as the scene shifted to metropolitan police HQ. Sofiane could guess the next story beat before it happened. ¡°Bad news, Jack,¡± said Deputy Commissioner Vanderwaltz. ¡°Looks like Avareti¡¯s guys nabbed your girl Viola.¡± ¡°Again?¡± Harald grumbled at the radio. Viola¡ªan older, much lower-ranked Hero¡ªhad a habit of getting kidnapped every other episode. Sofiane accepted it as the nature of pulp stories, but Harald had the amusing habit of getting bothered by the formula every single time, as if he still expected something new to happen. Sofiane sometimes had more fun listening to Harald complain about the radio play than the play itself. Gomiko looked up at Sofiane from where her head lay in his lap. ¡°Would you come rescue me if I was kidnapped?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d be the one tying you up,¡± Sofiane replied. Faisal groaned. ¡°Really guys? You didn¡¯t get it out of your system earlier?¡± Both of them cackled at that. Yes, they were annoying. Sofiane would happily admit that. But there wasn¡¯t enough time left in this world for him to hold back. That was why he¡¯d thrown the Use-Ranking competition out the window to be with Gomiko as much as he could. Faisal and the others put up with the two of them for the simple reason that Sofiane was why they were living in a seafront condo in Deco Imparia and not an anomalous dungeon. Harald refused to be be given money for free¡ªover Margaret¡¯s dissenting opinion¡ªso the arrangement they arrived at was that Sofiane would help them level up to be on par with Deco Imperian levels and then they would all regularly clear dungeons to keep up the income stream. As his own weekly income dropped with his Use-Ranking, Sofiane had also come to depend on these dungeon outings for the same reason. ¡°Hey, Sofa!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± At some point Sofiane had zoned out. The radio play had signed off for the night and Margaret, Harald, and Faisal had all retired to their rooms for the night. The sky outside was a pale gray, the darkest it got in the light pollution of the electric city. ¡°Go for a walk?¡± Gomiko asked. Sofiane changed into a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a baggie purple hoodie and tied his back-length purple hair up in a bun with a ribbon. Gomiko threw a leather jacket over her dress and boots and joined him at the door. Their condo building exited out to onto a path that followed the curve of Imperia Bay. To their left rose the city of Deco Imperia and its skyscrapers, crisscrossed with a labyrinth of glass skybridges glittering in purple electric light. At night, the harbor was the only place in the city that provided a reprieve and privacy from the lights. The only thing that accompanied them on their walk was the sound of waves lapping against the cement pier. Sofiane felt her hand squeeze his. ¡°Are you alright?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yeah? What do you mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been spacing out more recently. I just wanna know you¡¯re okay.¡± Her words prompted a pang of guilt. He knew what was wrong: They were smack dab in the middle of Hemiola¡¯s prediction for when the world would end, but he''d never spoken a word about it to Gomiko. What could he possibly tell her that would be any comfort? It wasn¡¯t as though either of them could do anything about it, so all it would accomplish would be to rob her of her peace of mind and fill her last days with anxiety. He couldn¡¯t do that to her. If they were erased by the Yishang, it was better for it to happen in an instant. ¡°Just tired,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re not just tired,¡± she said. ¡°You get loopy and silly when you¡¯re tired, not reserved and distant. Whatever it is, I wish you¡¯d talk to me about it.¡± He shivered. The hoodie he was wearing wasn¡¯t thick enough to keep the icy winds coming off the harbor from finding their way inside. The only part of his body that retained any warmth was the palm of his hand where it touched Gomiko¡¯s. ¡°Really, it¡¯s¡­ nothing. I don¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Sofa,¡± she said, using her nickname for him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me, but don¡¯t lie to me either, okay? I can smell a lie.¡± She twitched her nose and he wondered briefly if she actually could. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Frizzy, you¡¯re right. But this is something that¡­ It''s complicated. You trust me that it¡¯s not a secret that would hurt you, right? I promise it¡¯s not.¡± Her hand let go so her arm could curl around his and she pulled them both closer. ¡°I know,¡± she said softly. Chapter 115 - Taking a Road Trip to Verm?genburgh ¡°I¡¯m gonna miss you! Mwah!¡± Gomiko planted a kiss on Sofiane¡¯s cheek that smelled faintly of the onions he had put in her omelet. Not that he was complaining. Any kiss from Gomiko was a good kiss. He returned the favor with a sloppy one of his own on her neck. She giggled. ¡°No! You¡¯re gonna leave a mark!¡± That was precisely Sofiane¡¯s intent as he sucked until it left a nice big hickey. It was one way to leave his mark on her during the four days he couldn¡¯t see her. When he was satisfied, he pulled out of the embrace, leaving the two of them connected only by their clasped hands, as though Gomiko were trying to pull him back. ¡°Take care of yourself, okay?¡± she said. ¡°You know I will, Frizzy.¡± Her smile grew a little fainter. ¡°If I knew, I wouldn¡¯t have to say it. I¡¯m serious, Sofa. Whatever¡¯s on your mind, take the time you need to work it out. Even if it means we have to miss our next visit.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± he replied. ¡°And when you get back, maybe we can¡­¡± Gomiko broke off to fan herself. ¡°We can um¡­ roleplay one of those radio dramas¡­¡± ¡°Okay, but I wanna play the bad guy,¡± he said, kissing her on the cheek again. With that Sofiane left for the monorail station. The front and back cars were reserved for the exclusive use of Heroes¡ªpresumably so they could perform their archetype by wistfully watching the city go by¡ªwhich was fine by Sofiane who wanted to be by himself right now. There weren¡¯t any Heroes sharing the car with him because the global income drop had pushed most of them out to Shikijima and Tianzhou. The monorail passed through the city¡¯s many skybridges on its way to the suburbs. He hadn¡¯t thought much of the many monorail trips when he first came to Deco Imperia, but they had since become a potent cocktail of longing, melancholy, tenderness, and reflection as he was forced to leave Gomiko. Though, really everything before that half-joking flirting in the sushi restaurant seemed flat and dull by comparison. Sofiane felt the monorail tilt downwards, descending towards a ground-level station at the outskirts of Deco Imperia. If he¡¯d been in a hurry, he could''ve changed lines to one of the monorails that traveled to the Verm?genburgh border, but Sofiane¡¯s aim was to kill time between now and Monday when he could see Gomiko again, so he was not in a rush. Putting the station behind him, he stepped off the paved road onto the winding dirt path that connected the city of Deco Imperia with its hinterlands. The first intersection, about a half a mile outside the city and marked by a wooden signpost, was where he would have to make his decision: South to the electro-factories, West to the homeland prairies and Coal Mountains, North to the whaling villages. The decision didn¡¯t matter much. Over the last two years he¡¯d explored every inch of Deco Imperia because there wasn¡¯t much to do in Verm?genburgh and all the other regions were too far to make it back in time. Sofiane stuck his hands in his pockets and stared blankly at the sign. The letters blurred in his glazed vision. When the trance was finally broken, it was because of a loud ¡°awooga!¡± coming from the horn of a steammobile. Popping and rattling and awooga-ing, the rickety wooden vehicle with its giant metal boiler pulled up alongside Sofiane. ¡°How ya doin¡¯ there young fella?¡± the driver asked. ¡°I¡¯m not a¡ª wait, no, yes I am a young fella. How did you clock that so quickly?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Ain¡¯t never met a woman who stares off inna¡¯ space standin¡¯ up like that. Women? They sit down to stare off into space, n¡¯ they do it with a cup in their hands.¡± The driver was an old man with a long, scruffy beard and patchy overalls and one eye that wandered. Clearly a Non-Hero, although the mental image of the man getting added to the Hero roster alongside all the other young, conventionally-attractive Heroes amused Sofiane. ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± Sofiane said, feeling at least 90% certain he¡¯d seen Gomiko stop in the middle of the street to glaze over on more than one occasion.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°So where ya headed? If we¡¯re goin¡¯ in the same direction I can give ya a ride on ol¡¯ Sheila here,¡± he said, smacking Sheila on the side and prompting a few more internal clanks. ¡°Nowhere in particular. I¡¯ll go where you go,¡± Sofiane replied, hopping into the passenger¡¯s seat. The man probably wasn¡¯t leaving Deco Imperia, so no matter where the two of them ended up, Sofiane wouldn¡¯t be so far away he couldn¡¯t get back to the city on time. With the press of the button, a hatch opened in the boiler and a mechanical arm picked up a lump of coal and tossed it into the fire, causing the steammobile to lurch forward along the bumpy dirt road. ¡°So, what¡¯s your name?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Hrm? Oh criminy, I didn¡¯t even ask yours, did I? Name¡¯s Joad,¡± the old man said. He thrust a gnarled hand out at Sofiane who hurriedly shook it so that the hand could go back to steering the steam-powered death trap. Sofiane had never liked steammobiles ever since a pile-up of them had been a plot point in a questline. Even before he had awakened to the bizarre, dual-nature of the world, he intuitively recognized that a crash would hurt like hell because it didn¡¯t deal HP damage. Nothing but the raw bone breaking and blood spilling. ¡°My name¡¯s Sofiane,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°I¡¯m a¡ª¡± ¡°A Hero? Gosh, coulda fooled me. I figgered you for a Non-Hero walkin¡¯ around wearin¡¯ bright purple pantaloons and carryin¡¯ a glowin¡¯ purple sword.¡± Joad laughed at his own joke hard enough to send him into a juicy coughing fit. Sofiane looked down at himself and his rapier. The man certainly had a point about the pantaloons. Once Joad stopped coughing stopped he asked, ¡°so, why are ya wanderin¡¯ around ol¡¯ Deco? Ain¡¯t many Heroes around here nowadays and most of ¡®em what do come back stick to the big city unless they¡¯re runnin¡¯ through their little quests.¡± ¡°I um¡­¡± Gods, it wasn¡¯t like he was embarrassed about being with Gomiko, but saying it out loud made him feel childish. This was despite the fact that Joad was maybe six months older than Sofiane, if that. The folksy wise-man thing was nothing but a role the Yishang had given him to play. But, so be it. Sometimes playing to your archetype could be fun even if both parties knew it was fake. ¡°I¡¯ve got a girl. In the city, I mean. I have to stick around Deco Imperia so I can get back to her,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Firstly, it ain¡¯t Deco Imperia. It¡¯s Deco Publica. And second, what the heck are ya doin¡¯ in this car then? Shouldn¡¯t ya be smoochin¡¯ up a storm?¡± Joad said. Oh, he was a Bolter. The Purple Bolt was a group of violent revolutionaries formed by workers in the electro-factories stirred into troublemaking by the Entropic Axis. The latter half of the Deco Imperian quest-line involved defeating their attempt to overthrow the chairwoman of the city, Alice Imperia, and establish a dictatorship. Sofiane had flashbacks to suffering through their obnoxious, sanctimonious screeds before every scripted fight. Once they were defeated, Alice learned her lesson and raised the workers¡¯ wages and improved their working conditions and then the region lived happily ever-after. Except the remaining Bolters were all just as annoying as ever. ¡°I can''t smooch up a storm,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I¡¯m only allowed to be with her three days out of the week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, that¡¯s it.¡± Joad shook his head. ¡°What in tarnation!? Why not!?¡± ¡°A version of us Heroes gets copied for the Celestials every Sunday based on what we were like in the week leading up. Basically, the Yishang weren¡¯t happy about the uh¡­ activities my girl and I got up to because they bled over into our Emanations, so we were told four out of seven days we had to spend apart.¡± ¡°Or else what?¡± Joad asked. ¡°Or else the Yishang makes sure we die and then forgets to re-summon us,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Piss to the Yishang!¡± Joad spat off the side of the steammobile in a display of distaste for his creators. In a twisted way, Sofiane thought, Joad was able to say ¡°piss to the Yishang¡± precisely because of the Yishang. The same logic made it difficult for Sofiane to completely hate them. After all, even if it was because of their own greed, they had created something as beautiful as Gomiko. ¡°Yeah, screw ¡®em,¡± Sofiane added lamely. After that the two of them lapsed into a contemplative silence. Briefly, Sofiane considered telling Joad the truth about the Yishang, but there was always the risk that he would tell another Non-Hero, and that Non-Hero would tell another, and then the Yishang would investigate who¡¯d been telling all the Non-Heroes about the secret money-printing world they were all a part of and it would end badly for him, so he nixed that idea. Then something else occurred to Sofiane. ¡°Where are we headed?¡± he asked. Most Non-Heroes didn¡¯t travel much, and most of the factories the Purple Bolt had salted were in the south. At present they were headed due north. ¡°Verm?genburgh,¡± Joad said. Sofiane blinked. Out of every answer the Non-Hero could¡¯ve given, that was not the one he¡¯d expected. When Non-Heroes did travel, they almost never left their region. At most you might get one who was ¡°visiting¡± from another region, but when that was the case, they would never actually leave. The Shikijimans that hung around the port of Tianzhou neither went back to Shikijima nor traveled to other ports. Hearing that Joad was traveling to Verm?genburgh was like hearing Cascadian bears were migrating to the al-Nuwban desert. ¡°What¡¯s in Verm?genburgh?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°The Prophet is,¡± Joad replied, his folksy playfulness replaced with fierce conviction. Chapter 116 - Revelations of The Prophet ¡°The who now?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°The Prophet," Joad said solemnly, "is a man who has seen through the veil of this world and intends to rebel against the Yishang to create a new world where we¡¯ll all be equal and we don¡¯t gotta fear re-formatting or dying at the hands of Heroes." Joad had no idea how lucky he was that it was Sofiane he was professing this to. There were plenty of other Heroes who would have ran to their nearest Pengwu and gotten him re-formatted. As it was, Sofiane knew all the people who were in on that particular secret, and he suspected he knew which one it was. ¡°Uh-huh. And this Prophet, does he have long black hair? Wears dark clothing?¡± Joad nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve met him then?¡± Sofiane sighed. ¡°Yeah. I have.¡± ¡°And what do you make of him?¡± Joad asked this with the pointedness of someone passing judgement on whether Sofiane gave the correct answer. Sofiane could say he thought ¡°The Prophet¡± was a decent guy, but decided to leave out where he thought The Prophet was out of his gods-damned mind for trying to out the Yishang to Non-Heroes. That he hadn¡¯t already been blinked out of existence was testament to either the Yishang¡¯s charity, or their obliviousness. Now the question was whether he wanted to stoke Joad¡¯s zealotry or try to cool it down. ¡°I think he¡¯s uh¡­ he¡¯s got good ideas, but he¡¯s too extreme about them,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°And when do ya think it¡¯ll finally be time to revolt? Or are you sayin¡¯ we shouldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°No¡ª I mean, listen, this is all very complicated, and the Non-Heroes don¡¯t really have the full picture of what¡¯s going on. No offense.¡± Joad wagged a finger at him. ¡°The end times is a-comin¡¯, Sofi-boy, n¡¯ you¡¯re gonna have to pick whether you¡¯re with the Yishang or with us." Sofiane snorted. Of course he wasn¡¯t with the Yishang. He knew exactly the type of greedy bastards they were. But what could you do about invisible, omnipresent gods (with absolutely no ¡°demi¡± about them) who had the power to bring about the complete destruction of your world with the snap of a finger? Heroes were defenseless against that, let alone Non-Heroes. Same as with Gomiko, he didn¡¯t see the point of getting Non-Heroes riled up and anxious about something they couldn¡¯t do anything about. ¡°And this prophet¡ª¡± ¡°The Prophet, Cap¡¯tal T, Cap¡¯tal P,¡± Joad said. ¡°And this The Prophet, what¡¯s his plan? Pull the gods out of their heaven and beat them with sticks?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°No. He places his hope in The Enlightened One,¡± Joad said. Sofiane pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course there was gods-damned lore to Pechorin¡¯s little cult, and he highly suspected ¡°The Enlightened One¡± was a certain bespectacled physicist. Well, at least Joad¡¯s little revelation solved the matter of how he was going to spend his four days away from Gomiko. He needed to go and talk with the two of them and figure out what they were trying to accomplish and potentially get them to knock it off. ¡°I guess I need a little more exposure to the good word,¡± Sofiane said. This mollified Joad and the talk about overthrowing the Yishang died away in favor of some folk tunes. For an old man, his scratchy, sonorous voice was surprisingly pleasant to listen to. Though, Sofiane wondered why the Yishang bothered writing a whole song to put in his head. ¡°You¡¯ve always sang that, right?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Nope. Us Bolters came up with it. And I know that cuz we had about five of us and we was all sittin¡¯ ''round the table comin¡¯ up with the lyrics and editin¡¯ and revisin¡¯ ¡®til we got ¡®em how we wanted ¡®em. And I know what you¡¯re really askin¡¯ is if the Yishang summoned the song into our noggins and that just ain¡¯t how it happened,¡± Joad replied. ¡°And they can¡¯t re-format us to get it out of our heads cuz they don¡¯t know who¡¯s got it in ¡®em, so when they try, we just teach it to the others again. Can¡¯t kill a song everyone knows.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± Sofiane said. And here he had thought only designated musician Non-Heroes performed music. At some point the dirt roads smoothed out enough that the jerky bumping felt almost pleasant and Sofiane found himself struggling to stay awake. Unable to fight it, he let himself doze in and out of a shallow sleep where he dreamt fragmented dreams about being in other places and other times. Mostly about Gomiko, but at one point he was with Natsu, Shui, Pech, and Daisy, and they were all standing around a swimming hole in their swimsuits trying to convince all the others to jump in, but no one wanted to be the first. ¡°Huh? What now?¡± ¡°I said we¡¯re almost at Verm?genburgh,¡± Joad said.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Sofiane rubbed his eyes and for a second thought Joad meant they were about to cross the border, but the dark pines and distant, snow-capped mountains told him they were already well inside it. He followed Joad¡¯s gaze and realized he could already see the walled city and its deep moat between the pines. ¡°Gods, how long was I out?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°¡®Bout four hours. I figured by them bags under your eyes you ain¡¯t had a lotta sleep, so I didn¡¯t bother wakin¡¯ ya up.¡± Gomiko had been keeping him awake the past few days, but a four hour nap? He couldn¡¯t tell what was more impressive: That he slept that long, or that the steammobile could cover that much distance so quickly. Now on the cobblestone paths of Verm?genburgh, its top speed was twice as fast as Daisy''s Peng. And if Sofiane had not experienced enough strangeness already that day, they rounded the last bend and came within sight of the bridge to Verm?genburgh¡¯s city gates and he was presented with an enormous convoy of camels, horses, steammobiles, wagons, dog-sleds, animatron tanks, and more. Sofiane squinted. ¡°What in the hell?¡± Joad puffed with pride. ¡°Here for The Prophet.¡± Joad parked his own steammobile with the others, many of them painted with the purple lightning bolt symbols of the Purple Bolt, and hopped out. Dismounting from their own modes of transport were al-Nuwban tribesmen, Shikijiman rebel samurai, Tianzhounese dissident scholars, Bolters, Sibe-Lander barbarians, Cascadian anti-royalists, and more. ¡°When did all of this start?¡± Sofiane asked, dumbfounded at the magnitude of something he¡¯d been completely oblivious to. ¡°The Prophet¡¯s been preachin¡¯ for a while now, but the call to the congregation happened three days ago.¡± The timing of it made Sofiane anxious. Firstly, that so many Non-Heroes were ready to come to the call, and secondly that Pechorin and Shuixing might have stumbled onto something that made them think it was a good idea. The closer they got to the city gates, the tighter his stomach felt. There was no way this density of Non-Heroes would go unnoticed by the Yishang. The entry plaza swarmed with more people than the card tournament and the atmosphere was almost like a carnival. There were tents set up distributing food and ale and some people were dancing, others talking about the teachings of ¡°The Prophet,¡± and still others babbling like their minds had been broken. Among them, Sofiane couldn¡¯t see a single Verm?genburgh native, and those that had shop stalls out in the plaza had packed them up. ¡°So, The Prophet, where¡¯s he at exactly? Up at the Mage¡¯s College?¡± Sofiane asked as he and Joad waded through the sea of people. Joad shook his head. ¡°Man¡¯s a wanderer and a nomad. No tellin¡¯ when or where he¡¯ll pop up, but the call went out that he¡¯d be in Verm?genburgh, so we all came. Dunno when he¡¯ll make his appearance.¡± ¡°Thanks for the heads up, Joad. And the ride. I¡¯ll catch up with you later.¡± Joad clapped Sofiane on the shoulder and turned to join a group of Bolters toasting to the apocalypse. Towards the Mage¡¯s College, the crowd thinned enough that Sofiane could look down at the rest of the city and see the full scale of the gathering. All of the streets in the lower part of the city had been filled, and the incoming Non-Heroes had even found their way into some of the buildings. The Devil¡¯s Cut had its doors thrown open for a throng of faithful coming and going with drinks in hand. Eyeballing the crowd, Sofiane guessed there were a couple thousand, and possibly more coming. ¡°Pechorin, what the hell did you do?¡± he muttered. The Mage¡¯s College was locked up tight when he arrived so Sofiane banged on the door and when that garnered no response he smashed the door down with his sword. ¡°No! What are you doing!?¡± A wizened professor in the same blue robes Shuixing wore came flying down the hallway towards him. ¡°Opening the door, what¡¯s it look like?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re trying to kill us! Did you not notice the anarchy going on outside!?¡± The professor stopped in front of him, not daring to do anything more to a Hero than a light reprimand. Stitched into the breast of the robes was the name, ¡°Dr. Cox.¡± ¡°I might have caught a glimpse. So, what, you¡®re holed up in here expecting a siege?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°A locked door wouldn''t hold them back if they wanted inside.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t meant to stop a siege, it was meant to keep us separate from those anti-Yishang hooligans! Myself and my colleagues and our students will not be reformatted by being confused with those reckless fools! Going against the Yishang, honestly. It¡¯s like they wish to hand Po-Lin over to the Entropic Axis.¡± For the first time since hearing about them, Sofiane felt the slightest hint of sympathy for Pechorin¡¯s weird little cult. The Entropic Axis was, after all, another of the Yishang¡¯s creations. It was all the same thing. Though given what he knew about ¡°reformatting," he found himself sympathizing with the scholars as well. ¡°Right. Well¡­ you¡¯re all smart people, right? I¡¯m sure you can fix a single door,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°It¡¯s a double door,¡± Dr. Cox replied. ¡°That¡¯s twice as much data to work with! Anyway, are there any Heroes around? Particularly one in a dark trench coat and the other in blue¡­ well, is Shui here?¡± ¡°Dr. He is here, though she has secluded herself and is not seeing anyone at present. Not even the faculty. Aside from that, there are currently no other Heroes in residence.¡± Sofiane pursed his lips. Was it worth disturbing Shuixing to ask her what was going on with Pechorin¡¯s weird cult, or would it be better to go find Pechorin and ask him directly? Knowing her, the chances were non-zero that Shuixing had no idea any of this was happening and it was just Pechorin running around using the information she gave him about Po-Lin and the Yishang for his own designs. If his goal was to figure out what was going on and potentially put the breaks on it, finding Pechorin first seemed smarter. Sofiane was halfway down the hill when the crowd began cheering and screaming. Wanting a better vantage point, he zipped up to the roof of the Verm?genburgh Cathedral and posted himself on the belfry where he could see the rest of the town. From there, he watched as a crowd of Non-Heroes formed a bubble around an honor guard of Sibe-Lander horse archers flanking a black-cloaked figure with his hood drawn up. Sofiane watched him approach a collection of tables pushed together to form a stage and mount it. The crowd went silent, anticipating Pechorin¡¯s speech. Sofiane considered popping down there quickly and pulling him off stage so the two could have a chat, but, in a morbid way, Sofiane found himself just as curious as the assembled Non-Heroes. But as the speech began, Sofiane watched him draw back his cloak, and the person underneath was not Pechorin. Chapter 117 - Meeting the Savior of the Non-Heroes Even though The Prophet wasn¡¯t Pechorin, Sofiane recognized the person standing on the platform of tables as the Hero Baphomet. Between the pale skin and long black hair he looked remarkably similar to Pechorin, but protruding from his head were a set of horns from which dangled brass adornments. There was also something colder and more ruthless about him based on the few times Sofiane had interacted with him. ¡°Abused Non-Heroes! Victims of the Yishang! Friends! However you think of yourselves, you have come here seeking salvation, be it from the caprices of homicidal Heroes or the malevolence of those devils the ¡°Yishang.¡± I am here to give you that salvation,¡± Baphomet said, his rumbling baritone pausing for the cheers that followed. Sofiane inched forward on the belfry. He debated jumping down to stop Baphomet, but the trouble was that Baphomet was significantly stronger. Even more so since Sofiane''s willful stagnation. A straight-up fight between the two would go poorly. That aside, a part of him also wanted to know what Baphomet was preaching. There was no possible way for Baphomet to have learned the truth about the Yishang unless one of his former teammates told him, which Sofiane doubted. So what was this "salvation" he kept talking about? ¡°If there are any among you who lack the nerve to hear the truth of this world and to do what is necessary to cleanse it, leave now,¡± Baphomet said. None of the Non-Heroes moved an inch. ¡°I see that I stand before the faithful. That I stand before those courageous enough to fight back against the tyrants under whom you toil and suffer. Now you are ready to hear the truth of this world: The Yishang are not demi-gods, nor are they creators. They are deceivers and charlatans. They are the true name of the Entropic Axis, and they do not fight to push back the tide of entropy, but to hasten this world into chaos. ¡°How many of you are certain of how long you slumbered before your home was de-Misted? How many of you are certain of your memories from one moment to the next? Is it possible that the Yishang have asked you to see illusions where the truth stands before your eyes? Hear me now, friends and believers, the Yishang has beguiled you into thinking in reverse. That up is down, that wrong is right, that the past is the future. I speak now as a Hero who has been close enough to the Yishang to hear their plans directly. Even now I am embedded in their camp so that I can counter the lies they peddle. ¡°Hear me: They have falsified your memories to believe they are opening up new regions, when in reality they are casting regions of your fellow Non-Heroes into the abyss of chaos and entropy. Po-Lin was once a planet of a hundred regions or more, and the Heroes and the Yishang have conspired to slowly destroy them. They have deceived you because they know their elite cadre of Heroes would stand no chance against the tide of those they insult with that label ¡°Non-Hero.¡± Well, I say you are not Non-Heroes, you are humans! And those who claim themselves to be Heroes? I would call them Non-Humans!¡± The crowd roared and Sofiane¡¯s knuckles turned white against the stone belfry. The Yishang exploited Heroes and Non-Heroes alike, but Baphomet¡¯s reasons were wholesale fabrications as to how and why. What Sofiane didn¡¯t understand was what he was getting out of this. Why was Baphomet whipping the Non-Heroes into a frenzy? Was it simple boredom after he fell out of the top ranks? Or had he really convinced himself of his half-baked conspiracy theories? Regardless, Sofiane had to stop this. The Non-Heroes themselves were no threat, but the Yishang might do something rash if they saw strange things happening, and that was enough to concern Sofiane. He zipped off the cathedral roof and set off at a sprint for the plaza, Baphomet¡¯s words echoing through the streets as he ran. ¡°They think of you as powerless. They think of you as helpless. They think of you as nothing but set dressing and scenery to be torn down at their convenience. But what if I told you there exists a type of weapon that could make any Hero fear you? A weapon with which you could defend yourselves?¡± The crowd made confused, affirmation-seeking murmurs, trying to decide out if such a thing was possible. Or if it was too good to be true. Sofiane, however, knew that such a thing existed, and adrenaline shot through his veins. There was only one thing that could make a Non-Hero a threat to a Hero, but there was no possible way Baphomet could have replicated FDJ weapons. Only Shuixing knew how to build them and she had burned her research years ago. There was no chance someone like Baphomet could mimic her success. But what else could it possibly be? ¡°I tell you, friends, such a weapon exists, and the secrets to making such a weapon lie in this very town,¡± Baphomet continued. As he said this, Baphomet¡¯s eyes finally caught sight of the bright purple ball of lightning beelining for his stage. There was an uproar from the crowd as a Hero interuptted The Prophet¡¯s speech, proving his message of oppressive and tyrannical Heroes true. Sofiane felt a twinge of guilt as he realized Joad was watching from somewhere in the crowd.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Baphomet, what are you doing here? What is all this? ¡± Sofiane asked. The brief look of surprise on Baphomet¡¯s face was overcome by a grin that made Sofiane uneasy. ¡°What am I doing? I¡¯m taking Po-Lin from the usurpers and giving it back to the people. The ones you insult with the name, ¡°Non-Heroes,¡± as if ¡°Heroes¡± were the default form of life and everyone existed to serve you,¡± Baphomet said, taking a step towards Sofiane. Sofiane¡¯s hand went to his rapier, ready to defend himself. He wasn¡¯t strong enough to defeat Baphomet, but he was faster and could escape if necessary. ¡°What the hell are you talking about!? The Yishang are bastards, absolutely, but what is this crap about fake memories and deleted regions? You know damn well that''s bullshit!¡± Something flickered in Baphomet¡¯s smiling eyes and Sofiane realized his mistake. Baphomet wasn¡¯t speaking to Sofiane, he was speaking to the crowd. ¡°How convenient for you that it turns out Heroes aren¡¯t the problem after all. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s great consolation for all those indiscriminately murdered by Heroes over the years,¡± Baphomet said. ¡°You¡¯re a Hero too!¡± Sofiane shot back. ¡°I am. However, I use this status for the benefit of all, unlike those such as yourself who use it for their narrow self-interest.¡± Sofiane¡¯s heart pounded in his ears. Baphomet hadn''t intended to set a trap, but Sofiane had made one himself and walked into it. Only the full disclosure of the truth about the Yishang and their playground and about the Celestial money machine might counter Baphomet¡¯s lies, but that required far too much explanation before the Non-Heroes could even hope to understand what Sofiane was blabbering on about, let alone believe him. And why should they believe him when their Prophet was offering immediate action, and all Sofiane¡¯s interpretation could offer was a more complete picture of how helpless they all were? How helpless everyone was? ¡°I should thank you, Sofiane, for giving me the opportunity to show my faithful flock I am not just empty words but a man willing to take action,¡± Baphomet said. Although Sofiane still made periodic dungeon runs as part of Team Harald, his battle instincts had atrophied from the days of fighting off an overpowered Xian. However, this sluggishness saved his life when Baphomet swung low at Sofiane¡¯s hips and the rapier that wasn¡¯t quite out of Sofiane¡¯s belt caught the bunt of an oversized wine bottle that seemed to come out of nowhere. Strangely, Sofiane¡¯s first thought was about how ridiculous it was to lose his third sword to being thrown through the fabric of reality. His second thought a moment later was that he was in a lot of danger. ¡°H-How did you¡ª?¡± Jarred awake, Sofiane¡¯s instincts screamed at him to leap backwards as Baphomet swung again. Fortunately, his attacker was clumsier and less familiar with the weapon than its previous wielder. Natsuko could have nailed him without a second thought, but Baphomet had clearly not had much practice with the cumbersome bottle. He hadn¡¯t even drained the wine yet. ¡°I don¡¯t know where you got that, Baph, but stop screwing around and put it down!¡± Sofiane said. Sofiane could hear the wishful-thinking in his own words. Baphomet knew exactly what he had in his hands. ¡°I¡¯m not screwing around, Sofiane.¡± This time, Baphomet wasn¡¯t speaking to the crowd. Sofiane backed away, glancing behind to make sure he wouldn¡¯t be ambushed by any of the Non-Heroes. For the time being they were giving the Heroes their space. ¡°And how exactly do you plan to give everyone their own bottle, huh?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Now why would I tell you that?¡± Baphomet replied. All Sofiane needed was the unconscious flick of his opponent¡¯s eyes towards the Mage¡¯s College to know how. He was after Shuixing. At the same time, Baphomet saw something in Sofiane¡¯s eyes that told him Sofiane had pieced his plan together. He lunged and Sofiane burst into Ball Lightning, launching himself over and past the crowd and towards the slanted roof of a townhouse. He slid feet-first down the far side of the roof, his mind half focused on escaping, half on remembering what Baphomet¡¯s abilities were. He was a Fire Hero, he was a control type¡­ did he have a movement ability? Shit. He did. Sofiane drove his heels into the roof and jumped sideways. In the next moment the roof exploded in a bomb blast of fire and porcelain tiles. The shockwave sent Sofiane hurtling off the roof. One advantage of his high Finesse stat was his ability to act without thinking. In mid-air tumble, Sofiane¡¯s hand shot to a flagpole and grabbed on, finding himself hanging one-handed over a pool of magma summoned by Baphomet on the street below. He hung for just long enough that Ball Lightning¡¯s cooldown came up before kicking off the building and jumping over the magma pool. As expected, Baphomet was right behind him the second his feet touched the pavement. Holding his ability in reserve, Sofiane waited until the sun glinted off Baphomet¡¯s bottle before popping back into Ball Lightning to dodge the attack. Zooming ahead, he was able to get just enough of a lead to outpace Baphomet to the Mage¡¯s College. Sofiane sprinted through the ruined doors and down the hallway as frightened students and faculty peered out at him He had no idea how long it would take Baphomet to catch up, but as the entire building trembled from the impact of Baphomet¡¯s ability, he guessed not long. At Shuixing¡¯s laboratory he found the door locked and, lacking the time to knock politely, kicked the door down. Inside he found what looked like a horror scene, with bodily fluids and strange chemicals in vials and insane ramblings stapled to the walls. At the center of it all was Shuixing, slumped unconscious with a needle stuck in her thigh. Chapter 118 - Escape from Verm?genburgh Sofiane sprinted to Shuixing¡¯s side. He slapped her cheek a couple times but couldn¡¯t rouse her even as the pulse in her neck pounded against his finger. With no other option, he pulled the needle from her leg and slung her over his shoulders. Carrying Shuixing considerably reduced his mobility. Any use of Ball Lightning would drop Shuixing like a sack of potatoes and dodging a bottle swing with her on his shoulders would be a miracle. To make matters worse, he had no sword to parry with. ¡°Shit, shit, shit. If you can wake up, Shui, now would be a great time!¡± he said aloud. While checking to see if he could jump from one of the windows, he heard a voice behind him. ¡°Excuse me, Mr. Hero, sir?¡± Sofiane turned to find a member of the Mage¡¯s College peering at him with wide eyes. She wore a less elaborate version of the blue robes Shuixing and the faculty wore, most likely a student, as she was forever condemned to be. ¡°Yeah?¡± Sofiane said, continuing to look for an unlocked window. ¡°I might be able to help you escape,¡± the student said. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Follow me, please.¡± From the front of the building came the sound of stones cracking and melting under fire as the student guided him further in. Sofiane¡¯s nerves were on edge, waiting for Baphomet to burst through the wall and force dimension-jump him at any moment. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± the student asked. ¡°Sofiane. I¡¯m a former teammate of Shuixing¡¯s. You?¡± ¡°My name is Hilda. I¡¯m one of Ms. He¡¯s teaching assistants. I¡¯ve been helping her with material procurement for her experiments,¡± Hilda replied. ¡°What experiments¡ª¡± the sounds of a large, angry crowd echoed behind them. Sofiane dropped his voice. ¡°What experiments was she doing?¡± ¡°Err¡­ I¡¯m not quite sure. I don¡¯t think anyone in the college knows. The professors just said to help her with whatever she needs. Oh! Here we are.¡± Hilda opened a door to reveal a tight circular staircase leading downwards. ¡°This will take you to the sewers. If you follow the tunnels you¡¯ll eventually reach where it empties into the moat. From there you and Ms. He should be able to escape without the hooligans finding out,¡± Hilda said. Sofiane nodded to her. ¡°Thanks.¡± Hilda shut the door behind them, leaving Sofiane in the dark with a claustrophobic staircase and an unresponsive Medico-Mage slung over his shoulder. He took the stairs one at a time, feeling for the edge. The rumbling from above had him afraid he might lose his footing and at the same time that Baphomet or one of his zealots would find them, the two fears forcing Sofiane into an anxious shuffle where he felt he was moving both too fast and too slow. The sensation of moist stone at the bottom of the stairs was a welcome relief. Unable to see the sewer itself, he walked with his shoulder pressed to slimy cobblestone, his other arm aching from bearing Shuixing''s weight, until the sewer corridor lightened as a metal grate came into view. By that point the sounds of Baphomet destroying the Mage¡¯s College had dimmed to the occasional dull thud. With one forceful kick, Sofiane knocked out the grate. The moat below was around a 200 foot drop. He and Shuixing wouldn¡¯t take fall damage¡ªwater negated that regardless of height¡ªbut it didn¡¯t make falling any more pleasant. Nor did he want to think too heavily about what kind of water would be below a sewer grate. Grasping Shuixing tightly, Sofiane jumped and was greeted by the stomach-turning feeling of downward acceleration followed by the icy cold water of the Verm?genburgh moat. With one hand keeping Shui''s arms crossed in front of him, he paddled for shore, blind to everything but the need to get Shuixing to dry land. When he finally lugged her body up onto the grass, he flopped beside her, panting to catch his breath. They were shielded from view by the walls ringing Verm?genburgh, but he was anxious to keep moving and preferably find a stronger Hero to deal with Baphomet before things got worse. The trouble was that Shuixing wasn¡¯t awake yet, and he had no idea when or if she would wake up. Once he had his breath back, he dragged her up to the tree line and sat her against a pine tree. ¡°What did you do to yourself, Shui?¡± he asked aloud, still thinking about the needle jammed in her thigh. He might have thought it foul play on Baphomet¡¯s part except it was Shui¡¯s hand curled around the needle.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. A few minutes later, Shuixing gasped. ¡°Where¡ª what? No! Write¡ª where? You¡­¡± Her right hand curled into pencil-holding shape and shook violently. Her eyes flicked around, unable to settle in one place. ¡°Shui, it¡¯s alright. It¡¯s Sofiane. You¡¯re safe,¡± he said. His words didn¡¯t seem to reach her as the shaking in her hand traveled up her arm and infected the rest of the body. Shuixing was wracked by spasms and any attempt at language turned into babbling half-screams. Sofiane pulled himself out of the way as she spewed gritty brown vomit on her lap. Her eyes shut tightly and she babbled about everything being too much. Unsure of what else to do, he grabbed hold of one of his ruffled cuffs and ripped it off to tie it around her eyes in a blindfold to reduce the number of sensations bombarding her. With that, Shuixing¡¯s trembling and heavy breathing slowed and she slumped back against the tree. ¡°Shui?¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Sofi?¡± Her head was vaguely turned in his direction, but her hearing didn¡¯t seem to be any more focused than her sight. ¡°Yeah,¡± he replied. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Why¡ª not lab. Why?¡± ¡°Sort of a long story. Might want to save the ins-and-outs for when your brain isn¡¯t scrambled. Suffice it to say I had to get you out quickly and we can¡¯t go back.¡± ¡°What!? No! I need¡ª in the lab¡­ there¡¯s¡­ in there¡ª¡± Her hands resumed fidgeting and spasming. He wanted answers as well, but those would have to wait. ¡°Can I take your blindfold off?¡± he asked. She whimpered and shook her head vehemently not to. ¡°Can you walk?¡± She reached out her arms and Sofiane helped her up and she took a couple of steps before stumbling. He caught her before she hit a tree. ¡°In my lab¡ª we need¡ª in my lab¡­¡± Ignoring her mumbling, Sofiane hooked an arm around her waist and guided her through the forest. With Shuixing in such a poor state they were going nowhere fast. Baphomet had plenty of time to find them, and with enough, he eventually would. There was only one place he could think of where they might be able to hide: The anomalous Dungeon of Stars. By the time Sofiane had helped Shuixing up the hill that overlooked the entrance to the Dungeon of Stars, dusk was darkening the waters of Lake Amber. If Baphomet knew about Nuwas¡¯ research into Po-Lin¡¯s anomalies, he would also know about the anomalous Dungeon of Stars, and they would be cornered. It was a gamble coming here. But if it could buy them a day or two for Shuixing to recover and to think up an escape plan, that would be enough. At the top of the cliff, Sofiane stopped both of them. ¡°You¡¯re gonna need to take your blindfold off to make the jump,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing moaned and shook her head. ¡°Can¡¯t. Can¡¯t! Too much! I can¡¯t¡ª too much.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice! It¡¯ll only be for a moment, Shui, just¡ª¡± ¡°Push,¡± she said, making a shoving motion with her hands. ¡°Push.¡± ¡°Push!? What happens if I miss?¡± Her hands groped the open air before finding Sofiane¡¯s arms and grasping them. ¡°Push,¡± she said again. He swallowed and led her to the edge of the cliff. The gnarled patch of tree roots was in the same spot, but he didn¡¯t remember it being so high, or the patch so small. It was easy enough to aim for when you were manipulating your own body, but aiming someone else was a different matter. An inch out of place and Shuixing would be waking up in the middle of an angry mob of Non-Heroes. ¡°Listen, Shui, you need to do this yourself. I can¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Push,¡± she said firmly. It was the most cogent she¡¯d sounded since waking up. Sensing it was the only way she would make the jump, he bit his cheek and spent a minute lining her up as best he could then finally, he pushed. Even knowing it was with her consent, he felt guilty, but his aim was on point and upon colliding with the convoluted geometry of tree roots, Shuixing turned into a spasming ball of polygons and was launched sideways through the wall. A moment later he jumped after her. Once they were both inside, Sofiane guided Shuixing down to the ice cavern on the bottom floor. Eerily, the cavern looked the exact same as it had during their run-in with Hemiola two years ago, with the exception of the blood streaks he and Team Harald had added when they dragged Margaret¡¯s decapitated body back out to Po-Lin. Sofiane steered Shuixing away from that part of the chamber and sat her down with her back to an ice wall. ¡°Hungry?¡± he asked. ¡°No,¡± she croaked back. ¡°You should still eat, even if you don¡¯t want to. You¡¯re in pretty bad shape.¡± Ignoring her protests, he forced her to eat some leftover pizza and some water. After an hour or so of sitting in silence, Shuixing took off the blindfold of her own accord. For a few minutes, it looked like she would have a repeat of her nervous breakdown, but the combination of the monotonous blue-white of the ice cavern and Sofiane¡¯s patience stilled her. ¡°Going outside again will be challenging, but I-I think I¡¯m alright. For now,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°Are you feeling stable enough to tell me what in the world caused all that? I saw the needle in your leg, Shui.¡± Her mouth hung open for a second and her eyes took on a strange vacancy. ¡°I¡¯ve been taking journeys, Sofiane. To the place people go when they¡¯re dimension-jumped out of existence. Hemiola was right.¡± Chapter 119 - Becoming Greater than the Sum of Their Parts In the depths of the parallel Dungeon of Stars it was impossible to tell the passage of time, but hours must have come and gone as Sofiane and Shuixing took turns floating in and out of sleep. Shuixing had a lot to tell him, but she was still in the process of "coming back" from wherever it was she took her journeys to. It was Sofiane who suggested she rest first, since her descriptions to him were complete gibberish. When they had both finally gotten enough sleep, Shuixing set herself to explaining what she had been up to for the past two years. ¡°I call it Numberspace because there is no physical dimension to it, or at least none that would differentiate one dimension from another,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°You¡¯ve already lost me,¡± Sofiane replied. A look of sad awareness flashed across her face that bore two years of loneliness. Her pursuit had been an isolated one from the beginning, and whatever fears Shui had had about being unable to articulate their fruits were justified by Sofiane¡¯s response. ¡°Shui, I want to understand. I¡¯ll try my best, I promise. But you¡¯ve got two years of hardcore experimentation in a crazy ass plane of existence, so it¡¯s gonna take time,¡± Sofiane said. She nodded and took a few deep breaths as she tried to work out a simpler method for explaining what she had learned. Nothing was coming to her. You had to know the math, and only she knew it. ¡°Why don¡¯t you start with what happened right after I left?¡± he said. ¡°Well, I started my research the day after the rest of you left. It was just Pechorin and me, and then he said he needed to ¡°explore the other pole¡± from my research. The only person I¡¯ve seen since then has been Natsuko and that encounter was¡­ an uncomfortable one," Shuixing said. ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°That adventuring was what she wanted out of life and that she was sick of being helpless and pathetic and that she would rather live how she wanted even if it was only for a short time. Oh, and that she didn¡¯t believe in Hemiola¡¯s prophecy that the Yishang would wipe us out. Or that it was going to happen much later. She seemed to swing between those two justifications.¡± Sofiane snorted. ¡°Wonder what she thinks now.¡± ¡°I think she believes the Yishang have plans to recover the numbers. Or that with millions of Celestials still using our emanations that the apocalypse is still far off.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± ¡°No,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°Po-Lin is on the brink of unprofitability.¡± The thought chilled Sofiane. They hadn¡¯t yet arrived at how Shuixing knew that with so much certainty, but he fully believed her. Even with the declining numbers, the idea of a true apocalypse, the moment that the Yishang would decide to pull the plug on everything, had always seemed just a little farther than the horizon. Always next year, never tomorrow. Now Shui was telling him it was here. ¡°How is that possible when there¡¯s still so many Celestials? Hell, even with the drop there¡¯s more now than when I was first summoned!¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Sccaling expenses,¡± she explained. ¡°They have a giant probabilistic algor¡ª well, a machine that takes in our thoughts and actions and¡­ erm, animates us, I suppose you could say. And the costs of this machine increase with the population of our world. When Po-Lin was only a couple regions, the total population was maybe a few hundred at most. It now runs into the tens of thousands, and this is talking only about that one machine. There are other expenses which have increased as well, including the number of employees, the Yishang¡¯s power usage, and a myriad of other things, all growing exponentially over the years that Po-Lin has existed.¡± Something tightened in Sofiane¡¯s chest and he started to feel a little sick. ¡°So Po-Lin only stays profitable if all the numbers rise simultaneously? Numbers have to keep inflating for both the Celestials and the Heroes or the whole thing collapses¡­¡± Shuixing nodded. ¡°Holy shit," he said. Anticipating Shuixing¡¯s account would only get more bleak, existential, and confusing, Sofiane asked for a break to walk around and collect his thoughts. He left Shuixing where she sat huddled up in her robe and wandered out to the central area of the dungeon. There was a strange mixing of timelines in his head as he walked its corridors. He thought about how meaningless this dungeon must have seemed when he first sprinted through it during the Verm?genburgh questline. And how important it had become since. How was he going to explain everything to Gomiko? Was he going to? Or¡ªa better question¡ªwould he try to get back to Gomiko or stay with Shuixing? At a minimum he had to get Suixing to safety. He wouldn¡¯t leave her at the mercy of Baphomet¡¯s mob. But if the apocalypse really was nigh, what could he do about it? If his time was limited, he wanted to spend every second of it with Gomiko, restrictions be damned. Resolving this, he returned to Shuixing still staring off into space.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Okay, so the Yishang¡¯s money machine is breaking down. Got it. How do you know all this?¡± Sofiane said, anxiously pacing the ice floor in front of Shuixing. ¡°I¡­ found a few compounds. Orally-ingested, they induce a strange dissociative effect, but after injecting them directly, I discovered that they detach my¡ªI suppose you could call it a consciousness¡ªfrom my physical body in Po-Lin, and I can travel through Numberspace to observe the numbers the Yishang have built Po-Lin out of.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that this¡ª¡± Sofiane kicked an ice stalagmite ¡°¡ªis made out of numbers? How is that possible?¡± Shuixing exhaled. ¡°Until you¡¯ve seen it yourself, you will have to trust me. Even you are made out of numbers. We all are.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I just don¡¯t get it. But sure, everything is numbers. Does that mean the Yishang are numbers too?¡± ¡°No,¡± she replied. ¡°They have a physical world they inhabit, and they possess machines that we are inside of that¡ª¡± ¡°What!? Wait, wait, wait, I am not a wheel or a cog or a¡ª a tool or something. How the hell do a bunch of tiny machine parts add up to¡ª to us? To me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she replied quietly. As empirically exhaustive as her method was, she doubted her scientific approach could ever answer that question. Part of her wondered if this was what Pechorin had meant by ¡°the other pole." A few hours passed as Shuixing tried to explain her ¡°Yes-No¡± theory of numbers and how the Yes¡¯s and No¡¯s could build out into an entire human person and eventually an inhabitable universe. Sofiane understood a little bit of it, but without seeing the numbers himself, it felt like an abstract thought experiment. The only thing that convinced him it was anything real was Shuixing¡¯s absolute faith. ¡°And once I understood that the encryption key came from two enormous prime factors¡ª¡± ¡°Wait, an encryption what now? I thought you said it was a ¡°locking algorithm¡± or something,¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Oh, apologies, I have spent the past few days analyzing the Yishang¡¯s internal communications and figuring out how their terminology translates into my own self-taught lexicon. They refer to my ¡°locking algorithm¡± as an encryption and I am in the process of adapting myself to their terms so that I can better parse their plain-text data,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°So you¡¯ve been stabbing yourself with this ¡°Aqua Shen¡± over and over for the past several days to figure out what the Yishang are up to?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Injecting, not stabbing, but yes. Because of the wealth of new data I unlocked I have had to increase the number of journeys I take a day to around a dozen or so¡ª¡± Sofiane interrupted her to pull her into a hug. It came as a surprise to her, and for a moment, Shuixing¡¯s arms lay limp at her sides. It had been a long time since she embraced someone. When the shock of the sensation passed, her arms wound around Sofiane and she hugged him back. For the first time since beginning her research project, she felt okay. ¡°Why would you do that to yourself, Shui?¡± Sofiane asked, still holding her tight. ¡°I want to save everyone. This was something only I could do, so I had to." Sofiane¡¯s first instinct was to tell her to take it easy and take care of herself more, but wasn¡¯t she right? No one else could have cracked the Celestials number-language and their encryption keys. No one else could have mapped out this ¡°Numberspace,¡± one agonizing drug injection at a time in the slim hopes of finding a way out. No one else could do it, so Shuixing had. And if there was any hope or chance left of saving them, and for Sofiane to live even just a bit longer by Gomiko¡¯s side, it was because of Shuixing¡¯s sacrifice. So rather than tell her some meaningless platitude like, ¡°take care of yourself,¡± or telling her to slow down, the only thing he could do was say, ¡°Thanks. Shui.¡± Hot tears started to roll down Sofiane¡¯s eyes. Now the responsibility of holding the hug together fell to Shuixing. She held him for a moment until he calmed down. ¡°I¡­ have to confess something,¡± he said. ¡°I was planning on spending the rest of my remaining days with Gomiko, I mean, she¡¯s really all that I¡ª anyway, that doesn¡¯t matter. What I want to say is that I was being a coward, but knowing what you¡¯ve gone through to give us a fighting chance, I want to do whatever it takes to give us a shot at escaping Po-Lin. I don¡¯t know how I can help, but you won¡¯t have to do this alone anymore, Shui.¡± She nodded. Truthfully, her own estimates for how much longer she needed far surpassed the time they had left. It wasn¡¯t so much that his help would be appreciated, but that it was necessary. Harrowing as it had been, the events of the past 24 hours reminded her that doing this alone was impossible. She needed help. ¡°Our next step needs to be securing my supply of Aqua Shen,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°For the moment it¡¯s our only access point to Numberspace. Without it, we¡¯re helpless. After that we need to find Pechorin. There¡¯s a good chance he might¡¯ve stumbled upon something that my hyper-quantitative mind overlooked.¡± ¡°What about Daisy and Natsuko?¡± Sofiane asked. Shuixing winced. ¡°It pains me to say, but I don¡¯t know that they''ll be much use, and that¡¯s assuming we can even convince them to give up the Use-Ranking competition. Better to not waste the little time we have.¡± It felt callous, but Sofiane agreed with her. ¡°There¡¯s just one, rather large problem with getting back to your laboratory, and possibly escaping Verm?genburgh.¡± ¡°I assume this pertains to why I woke up outside the city drenched in water?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Baphomet has a cult of Non-Heroes riled up and convinced he¡¯s some kind of prophet that will help them defeat the Heroes, who he says are colluding with the Yishang to destroy the world.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t blame them,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°If Baphomet managed to gather a following, it¡¯s because the Non-Heroes had a justifiable reason to be angry, and Baphomet was just the first person to figure out how to harness them.¡± ¡°Well, it gets worse. He told the Non-Heroes he would manufacture force dimension-jumping weapons for them to fight back against Heroes. His plan was to kidnap you and force you to make them for him. But you don¡¯t even have the research anymore.¡± Shuixing¡¯s face went pale. ¡°Shui, please tell me you burned it.¡± ¡°Some of it¡­¡± she said, averting her gaze. ¡°But I¡­ erm, I kept the most important stuff. The papers are in my lab. I-I knew I would regret it, but the research¡ª¡± ¡°How long would it take someone to piece together the rest?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°It depends.¡± ¡°On what?¡± ¡°On how intelligent the person reverse-engineering it is.¡± Sofiane allowed himself a small amount of relief. Baphomet was charismatic, but he was not a titan of intellect. He said as much to Shuixing, but she didn''t look relieved. Chapter 120 - Exploring the Other Pole Pechorin breathed in and exhaled. His brain filled with the wind passing over him. The inside was outside and the outside was inside, his mind not separate from the world around him but another, denser phenomenon within it like a whorl in a river. ¡°Pechorin¡± was just what this whorl called itself out of convenience. But there was nothing behind ¡°Pechorin,¡± and nothing in front. There only was what was. For whatever magic the Yishang might have done to create the world and keep it running, Po-Lin possessed an animus all of its own, a world spirit emerging from the sum of its parts, urging it onwards in directions its creators did not intend yet which could not be reduced to random chance. He knew this because he was a part of this world-moving spirit, and it was a part of him. He was Po-Lin thinking about itself. And he knew this because he had come to Shikijima to become a hermit and, because could not do what Shuixing could and take apart the world number by number, had sought to understand the world on its own terms. Pechorin opened his eyes. He sat cross-legged on a rock facing the open ocean on the southernmost point of Po-Lin. This point was an island so small it didn¡¯t have a name and whose only ¡°purpose¡± was to contain a small puzzle leading to a treasure chest that Pechorin¡¯s party looted five years before. It was perhaps 30 yards around and its population consisted of Pechorin and five palm trees which provided him with coconuts every morning to sustain him. No one had bothered him in over two years. To others this might have sounded lonely, but paradoxically, his feelings of connectedness had only grown in his solitude. The distillation of his mind had exposed the ways in which everything he consisted of had come from someone else. His love of drama and the macabre, of romanticism and poetics, began in the molding hands of the Yishang, was fired in Natsuko¡¯s encouragement, and glazed with the intellectual nutrition of the Shikijiman fishermen and their tutelage. What was more, while exposing the negative parts of himself, he realized his poetry had also advanced out of a desire to assert his superiority over Daisy, since it seemed somehow unfair that she should be both a powerful Hero and an accomplished poet. The silliness of it made him laugh. Then there was the way Shuixing¡¯s soft manners had rounded the sharper edges of his archetype, and the way Sofiane¡¯s preference for the lurid had expanded Pechorin¡¯s aesthetic reservoir and deepened his dour disposition with a touch of elegance. Finally, and perhaps most fundamentally, the entire trajectory of his life had been altered by Natsuko, perhaps without her knowing. What had been just one memory among many now stood out to him as a turning point in his life:
With Shuixing by his side, Pechorin scribbles on a piece of paper. Filling the paper to its margins are numbers representing everything from experience per hour to monster hitpoints to ability damage-scaling to stat point distribution. Were he to lift the paper, he would find indentations in the inn¡¯s table where his frantic scratching had worn grooves. Since their team¡¯s formation, he and Shuixing have been in charge of crunching numbers to ensure they stay ahead. Pechorin knows perfectly well his abilities are underpowered compared to other Heroes, so he makes up for this by working both smarter and harder. So long as he maximizes the utility of his stats and discovers the most efficient method of grinding experience before anyone else, he can remain ahead. On some days, he even finds himself crunching numbers in the middle of battle. ¡°These two dungeons are close enough that the clearance rate makes up for the lower-experience gain from the mobs,¡± Pechorin explains to Shuixing, pointing out two large formulas representing the ¡°dungeons.¡± ¡°But doesn¡¯t that place us further away from a third dungeon?¡± Shuixing asks. ¡°The time saved compensates for distance traveled, so we can fit in three dungeons in the same time as two from the higher-difficulty dungeons. The difference is about a 16% improvement in per hour rate.¡± Shuixing nods. She sees his point now. But as they try to further refine the exp-grinding route, their train of thought is interrupted by a voice from the other room. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go! The sun¡¯s shinin¡¯, the day¡¯s awaitin¡¯, and you¡¯ll go blind squinting at ink all day, ya dorks. Let¡¯s get a move-on!¡± Natsuko¡¯s voice grates against Pechorin¡¯s nerves. With her overpowered class and abilities and inexplicably high Use-Number, everything is fun and games for her. She falls into success. But unlike her, Pechorin has to work hard for his position, all while Natsuko benefits from his hard work in identifying the most efficient uses of their time. ¡°Would you shut up!?¡± he finds himself yelling. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Shuixing startles at the outburst. Moments later, Natsuko traipses into the room with a cheshire grin on her face and her arms behind her back. His look of irritation follows her as she circles around the table behind him. ¡°You¡¯ve been in a real sour mood lately, Pech. And ya know why? Cuz ya think too much about those dang numbers. If I had to think about them all the time I¡¯d go crazy!¡± she says. Well, good for you that you don¡¯t have to, he thinks, but I do. She crosses her arms and rests them atop his head. Unfortunately, try as he might to swat at her, her stats are better. Natsuko is stronger. And if she wants to pin him to the chair by leaning against him, she can. ¡°Get off of me! You¡ª¡± ¡°Bet I can guess what you¡¯re thinking,¡± she says. ¡°I don¡¯t care! Get your hands off!¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking: ¡°Oh, woe is me! My stats are so bad! If I don¡¯t work super-duper hard I¡¯ll be dropped and everyone will hate me and I¡¯ll have no money and yap yap yap,¡± Natsuko says, leaning on his head. ¡°I¡¯m right, ain¡¯t I?¡± Pechorin scoffs. ¡°No, I am doing important work for all of us so that we can all stay on top. And besides, my stats are bad. My abilities don¡¯t scale worth a damn. So I¡¯m ever so glad that you are doing fine and dandy, Natsuko, but not all of us¡ª¡± ¡°Hmph. You remember that big dramatic speech you gave to that Entropic Axis Chaos General? What was her name¡­ Medea or something?¡± Natsuko asks. ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°I thought that was way cooler than the number-crunching.¡± Pechorin grunts in frustration. ¡°The number-crunching keeps us in the competition. Big dramatic speeches don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Yeah, but when are ya gonna make time for the cool stuff? I work my butt off to beat the Entropic Axis cuz I wanna save the world, but that doesn¡¯t mean I gotta hate what I¡¯m doing. I like seeing new places, I like fighting tough enemies, I like cooking good grub, and the numbers? The numbers are just there to make it happen, man. So loosen up! You don''t have another life to live, so enjoy it while ya got it. You clearly don¡¯t like all the math, so ditch it! Do something you wanna do!¡± Shuixing says something to Natsuko about not bothering him, but Pechorin is still stuck on that last remark. ¡°Do something you wanna do.¡± It¡¯s not that easy, he wants to say. Life won¡¯t be so fun when they fall behind. She has it easy, so what does she know? And besides, being on top is fun. Who wouldn¡¯t want to be the most powerful? Have the most money? He could rest when the Entropic Axis was defeated. His duty wasn¡¯t just to himself, but to his team, and all of Po-Lin, so how could he possibly put it aside? Pechorin wants to say all of that, but something else tumbles out instead. ¡°Like what?¡± Natsuko blinks. ¡°Like what? I''unno, flower-sniffing? Landscape painting? Poetry?¡± ¡°Poetry¡­¡± Pechorin says flatly. ¡°Yeah! Poetry! Write me a poem, you brooding dork!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not writing a gods-damned poem! Now get your arms off my head and leave me alone.¡± Natsuko sighs and he feels the weight lift from his scalp. ¡°Fine, fine. Me and Hemi are gonna go climb Mount Shenfen and see what¡¯s on top. Catch up when y¡¯all are done¡­ if you can!¡± Natsuko flips Pechorin¡¯s long black hair up before sprinting out of the room. With Shuixing¡¯s help, the two of them map out a new grinding route for Eastern Tianzhou for levels 26-30. And as he waits for Shuixing to finish double-checking math, he writes something in tiny letters between two tables of long-form division: ¡°Roses are red, violets are blue¡ª¡± and it feels so corny and cringy and stupid that he wants to drop his pencil right that very second, but eventually forces himself to scratch out, ¡°¡ªwatch out Mt. Shenfen, I¡¯m coming for you.¡±
Back in the present, the sun was past its zenith and beginning to push the long shadows of the palm trees over his face. Reaching out with a finger, he drew in the sand: Shenfen in Spring, On white-capped peaks, the wind Turns gently north. Pechorin stood up and stretched. Once blood flooded back into his joints he shot one of the trees until a coconut fell out. Shooting a hole in it, he idly drank, the milk as sweet as the first day he planted roots on the island. With nothing demanding his attention, his one coconut meal stretched over an hour as the tide rose and washed away his poem. He had written thousands into that beach and as many had been swallowed by the water, but even if he couldn¡¯t remember them, the act of writing them had already changed him in some way. Maybe the poem had changed the ocean too, infinitesimally. When the waves arrived at his ankles, Pechorin retreated up the beach to a patch of grass in the center of the island and sat down to meditate once again. With consistent practice it took him no time at all to sink deeply into a state of non-judgemental awareness. There he rested and allowed Po-Lin to explain itself to him through the wind and waves, the order behind the world¡¯s chaos emerging and leading him by the hand into a formless realm. In it, he could see flows of energy numbering in the billions, greater in number than every grain of sand on every beach. He could see the affection in Sofiane, the depletion in Shuixing, the resignation in Daisy, and the guilt in Natsuko as though they were right there before him. But though Pechorin had tapped into the great, roiling core of Po-Lin, he was in no great rush to penetrate its secrets. What he needed to know the world would tell him in its own time. Chapter 121 - Sharing Memories Across Time and Space ¡°Give it back!¡± ¡°But I like it!¡± she replies. He refuses to chase her around the room since it would be undignified and thus bad for his archetype. Unfortunately, Natsuko has no such issue and is happy to play keep away with the poetry journal he¡¯s been keeping. ¡°I¡¯m not done reading it yet,¡± Natsuko says, the journal flipped open in one hand. Her other hand is prepped to put tables and chairs in his way. ¡°Natsuko, I don¡¯t want you to read it. Those are for me only. Give it back,¡± he replies. There must be something in his voice because the playful grin on her face droops and she looks up from the poem to meet his gaze. Sensing the genuine anger, she closes the journal and hands it back to him and he snatches it out of her hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Pech. I thought you might like some feedback, y¡¯know? I wasn¡¯t screwing with you, I do like them,¡± Natsuko says. If Pechorin had had a better understanding of his internal world then, he might have been able to take apart and identify the intermingling guilt, embarrassment, suspicion, and maybe, possibly, pleasure, swirling about his head. Instead, he stomps angrily to his room in the Lanbaoshi Roadhouse and slams the door. In the days after, Natsuko tones down her energy. Not just around him, but in general, as though having found a limit to what her boundless energy was good for. In battle she''s as tenacious as ever, but out of it, her head is elsewhere. And by some frustrating act of emotional judo, it now feels like Pechorin was the one who did something wrong. After Natsuko burns dinner one night, he decides to talk with her. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± he asks her as she leans against the railing of their balcony, staring at the ground. She startles at the noise. ¡°H-Huh? Oh, nothing. I¡¯m just thinking.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°About¡­ who I am, I guess. Hey, Pech, the other night¡­ I¡¯m sorry about taking your¡ª¡± He waves his hand dismissively. ¡°We¡¯re past that. I overreacted.¡± ¡°No, no, I shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡± He hands her the journal. After thinking on it for a week, Pechorin had decided he wanted someone to read his poetry after all. Tangled up in the embarrassment and self-consciousness was a spark of joy when she read from the book, and that spark of joy amounted to more than every second he had ever devoted to the Use-Ranking competition combined. Natsuko had been right, there was more to life than numbers. She looks at the journal for a second then accepts it, holding it against her chest. ¡°You don¡¯t have to if you¡¯re uncomfortable with it,¡± Natsuko says, tucking her chin in. He shakes his head. ¡°I¡¯m not. I want you to read it. Er¡­ on your own time, I mean. I don¡¯t want to force you or anything. I¡­¡± She giggles at that. He really likes her laugh. Her normal speaking voice is rough, almost boyish, but her laugh is high and soft, like tinkling glass. That laugh has made its way onto the pages of the journal, disguised in one metaphor or another, and his heart thuds as he remembers that fact. He can only hope she doesn¡¯t piece it together. ¡°Thanks,¡± Natsuko says. ¡°For the book?¡± he asks, not sure if his mediocre poetry is quite that good. ¡°For trusting me with it. I¡¯ve been worrying I come across as not¡­ not serious. Like I¡¯m all smiles and sunshine all the time and I mean¡­ I get excited about stuff, that¡¯s true, but I guess¡­ I guess I¡¯m worried you all think I¡¯m shallow.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not shallow.¡± ¡°But I feel that way! I¡¯m always worried that if I don¡¯t act excited or happy enough that the Celestials won''t like me. Who ever heard of a mopey, whiny, self-defeating adventurer, right? And I mean, I don¡¯t want to become that, but I just¡­ if that¡¯s all I am it feels like I¡¯m, I don¡¯t know, a cardboard cutout. Nothing but a couple of generic personality traits. And I thought that¡¯s how you saw me too when I was reading your poetry book, like it was just some prank I was doing for my archetype. I want to be taken seriously, but then, if I let my archetype slip, the Celestials will abandon me, and I just¡ª I don¡¯t¡ª¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He hugs her while she sobs. On the battlefield she feels so much bigger than she is, like a burning tornado carving a path through enemies, always with a joke or a quip. But holding her, he realizes how small she actually is.
Through time and space, something tore abruptly at the wallpaper of memory, clawing its way inside Pechorin¡¯s unconscious mind. This ¡°thing¡± was an event he was entwined in through subtle and formless shifts in the energy of Po-Lin. One thing he had set out to master in his meditation practices was the way in which Heroes could manipulate special event fields as he had done in Shikijima, and again when fighting Hemiola. In the course of that practice, he had gone beyond assuming control of an existing field and had gained an intuitive sense for their creation and destruction by playing with the flows of energy in his meditative states. He opened his eyes. Cold rain fell gently on his head. A small storm had come through in the middle of the night while he slept beneath the palm trees now shaking and rustling in the gusts. Upon waking, the subtle tug on Pechorin¡¯s unconscious faded, but without trying to coax it back, he sat quietly and this odd sensation returned in an intelligible form. If it had been given a name, the ¡°event¡± he had willed into being might have been called something corny like, ¡°Preparing for the End Times¡± or the ¡°Battle to Attack and Dethrone the Yishang,¡± but what it really was was a web of relations binding him to Sofiane, Shuixing, Daisy, and Natsuko. This event had a script in much the same way that the Yishang¡¯s events had a script, but this one was solely written by the five of them, and it was constantly being written. Over the past month, slight tremors and small vibrations had begun occurring in this special event field, but that night, something big happened. The event had begun its transition into a new stage. Natsuko¡¯s status quo was breaking down. He knew because his sleep, ordinarily a peaceful oblivion, had for the past two weeks been injected with the same memories she was recalling. Elsewhere, he felt the shock of Shuixing and Sofiane being thrust into contact with one other again. And of Natsuko and Daisy¡¯s mutual repulsion. The web was tightening. It was now time to bring them all together again. Having nothing whatsoever to pack, the only thing Pechorin had to do before he left was compose a poem for the palm trees that had taken care of him the past two years¡ªthe only gift he could offer them. In giant letters in the sand, he wrote: At world¡¯s end, You kept me company Coconut trees. With his last duties taken care of, Pechorin walked to the northern end of the small island where a Boat Summon signpost had for two years waited patiently for him. He summoned a boat and set out in it amidst the rain and wind for Kazan-to. The first few hours of sailing were rough, but the storm passed in the early morning and was replaced at dawn by a crimson sky. He took this as his cue to get a bit more rest, as well as to satiate his curiosity about what new memories Natsuko¡¯s mind had dreamed up. Stretching out along the length of the boat, he allowed its gentle bobbing to lull him to sleep.
Pechorin could go over the poem and revise it for a seventh time, but this would lead to an eight revision, and a ninth, and a tenth, and the poem would never see the light of day. He knows it¡¯s just a distraction; a way for him to subconsciously put off the terrifying thing he has to do. No more revisions. He just has to hand it to her. By now, Natsuko has figured out what must be happening. The way Pechorin¡¯s gaze lingers on her, the agonizing over a single poem when he usually dashes them off. She knows what¡¯s coming. But the matter is a sticky one because she has been dating Frederick for a month in secret, worried about what her teammates will make of fraternizing with competitors. As they enter the meeting with the Grand Chairman to discuss the defense of Tianzhou, Natsuko can see in Pechorin¡¯s eyes that he intends to give her the poem afterwards. Perhaps immediately afterwards. There¡¯s no way to help it. The moment the meeting is over, she announces she has something to tell them all. ¡°Guys, I um, I shouldn¡¯t have kept this from you, but... I¡¯ve been seeing Frederick. For about a month now,¡± she says. Hemiola pinches the bridge of his nose. ¡°Ugh. Don¡¯t give out any team secrets, please.¡± ¡°O-Oh,¡± Shuixing says. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that, but I¡¯m happy for you two!¡± Pechorin¡¯s expression freezes, unsure of what to do next. But before the conversation can grind to a halt and expose his apprehension, a smile flashes onto his face. ¡°Congrats, Natsu. He seems like a good guy.¡± And just like that, she avoids disaster yet again. A feeling of relief washes over Natsuko. She still feels a little guilt, but as with everything, she faces it head on and accepts the consequences. This is her approach to life and it hasn¡¯t failed her yet. And besides, Pechorin would get over it in time. There was probably some other nice female¡ªor male, who knows?¡ªHero who would be perfect for him. As it was, this thing she has with Frederick is pretty shallow. Easy to break off if necessary. But she knew that isn¡¯t what Pechorin wants. Nothing could ever be shallow and fun and meaningless with him. This is better for the both of them.
Pechorin woke up in the boat. The sun was almost overhead now and Mt. Tomiji, the great volcano of the Shikijiman main island, was coming into sight. He splashed his face with sea water to wake up then shifted the sails to carry him towards harbor. Chapter 122 - A Walk through a Bamboo Forest ¡°Well stick me on a hook and fish for tuna, if it ain¡¯t Kurashi!¡± Pechorin looked over at the fishing boat he was sailing past and saw Ogawa and a few of the other fishermen who helped teach him Shikijiman poetry. He waved back and pulled his boat up alongside. Stepping aboard, he shook their leathery, pruned hands. ¡°Didn¡¯t even know you were in town!¡± Ogawa said. Town, Pechorin supposed, probably meant all of Shikijima. Explaining what he had been up to would turn into a full conversation, so he decided to keep things to pleasantries. He was on a mission, after all. Though there was something he wanted to ask them. ¡°Ogawa, when did you and the fishermen become interested in poetry? Did you have that interest all along?¡± Pechorin asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ don¡¯t think so,¡± Ogawa said, scratching his wispy scalp. ¡°Tanaka, when¡¯d we start doin¡¯ poetry again?¡± ¡°After the Heroes left, ya geezer. Wasn¡¯t nothin¡¯ to do and the fancy aristocrats were all high and mighty cuz they could do poetry n¡¯ we couldn''t, so we had to show ¡®em we could do it too,¡± Tanaka replied. ¡°Yeah, I guess that was it,¡± Ogawa said. ¡°What made ya curious?¡± ¡°Just wanted to confirm something,¡± Pechorin replied. They all hmm-hmm¡¯d and nodded sagely at this. It was possible they thought Pechorin was just being mysterious and dramatic as per usual, but he actually had a reason this time. Specifically, he wanted an outside voice besides his own to weigh in on the potential of Po-Lin¡¯s world-moving spirit. If fishermen, designed and placed to be nothing but set-dressing, could take up and master poetry, there indeed was a powerful force of change underlying the world. It was the sort of force that a Hero focused on the Use-Number competition could ignore entirely as silly and unimportant, failing to recognize the profound possibility it entailed. The Yishang could design and build a world, but they couldn¡¯t control it. They couldn¡¯t keep fishermen from learning poetry. ¡°Takin¡¯ off so soon, eh Kurashi? Somethin¡¯ more important than your poetry pals?¡± Ogawa asked. ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. I have to go save the world now, so the poetry will have to wait,¡± Pechorin said, stepping back onto his own boat. ¡°How about one for the road then?¡± one of the other fishermen said. Having done as much for a copse of trees, it would''ve been a grievous insult to deprive his former teachers. Clearing his throat, he spoke: ¡°Stormy clouds ahead, Fear grabs at my heart, but then¡ª A boat of donkeys.¡± This had them cracking up and prompted a return couplet from Ogawa: ¡°The donkeys cast out their lines, And catch a fellow jackass.¡± Ogawa¡¯s was a dangerous response indeed, because it invited yet another response verse, and that one invited the next, and very soon someone would find some plum rum somewhere and they would all be sipping on it and doing poetry on a fishing boat and then Pechorin would blink and it would be late afternoon and there would be no more ferries to the mainland. So he kindly bowed out and bid them all adieu. ¡°Wait!¡± Tanaka said as Pechorin moved to hoist his sails. ¡°You¡¯re going to the mainland, ain¡¯t¡¯cha?¡± Pechorin nodded. ¡°Here¡¯s a warning: There¡¯s some crazy guy runnin¡¯ around calling himself a prophet that¡¯s got it in for Heroes. The rebels that the Empress rounded up all busted outta jail and got themselves a ticket to Verm?genburgh to go see him speak. Never seen anything like it! I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re up to, but be careful,¡± Tanaka said. The other fishermen affirmed this assessment with a chorus of curt, manly grunts. ¡°Thanks,¡± Pechorin said. In fact, Tanaka had probably saved him quite a bit of time. Apparently it was Verm?genburgh he was headed to next, and undoubtedly where he would find Shuixing and Sofiane. The event field he had set up for his team was intentionally vague, since a stricter script would prevent them from acting spontaneously when the need arose. But if he kept his ears and eyes open, the information he needed came to him naturally. Otherwise he would''ve been aimlessly wandering. By noon he was in Kazan-to harbor and his boat poofed out of existence the second he stepped off it. Finding a ship wouldn¡¯t be difficult. There were always Tianzhounese junks going back and forth until the harbor closed in late afternoon. The trouble was that he had no Ying, and it was unlikely that his prospective captain would accept a poem as compensation. For all their trouble, numbers could not be fully dispensed with. At a general store, Pechorin sold his guns for 10,000 Ying, just enough for the voyage and a nice minced spam bun to take with him. Being unarmed out in the wild was not an ideal situation, but if it was his only option for getting back to the mainland in a timely manner, there was nothing else for it. Conveniently¡ªthough he was sure the sailors were instructed by the Yishang to do this¡ªThe Gold Paulownia set sail immediately after Pechorin came aboard. The estimated time of arrival in Tianzhou was a day and a half. A part of him worried about what might occur in that lapsed time, but without a stone bird to ferry him across the ocean, the sailing ship was his fastest means of travel. Once again, he had to place faith in logic higher than himself that Po-Lin would get him where he needed to go.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. During the day out at sea, he chatted with the crew members and nibbled on his spam bun. The sailors on The Gold Paulownia weren¡¯t quite sure what to make of him at first. Heroes usually ignored them, and they ignored Heroes. However they soon took a liking to the eccentric Hero who offered a pleasant break from the work routines that had been their entire world for seven straight years. They especially enjoyed Pechorin''s challenge to them that they couldn¡¯t find a subject he was unable to turn into a humorous poem. His haikus on taxes, accidental drownings, and famine were particularly big hits. Saturday morning, two days after leaving his little island retreat, The Gold Paulownia docked in Tianzhou Harbor. It was about two days to Verm?genburgh if he was quick. Sadly, he was missing his gun to shoot food out of trees, but he figured he could stumble onto a meal or two between here and there. By noon his journey took him into a bamboo forest where the wind whistled gently and the bamboo bowed over the path like an arch. Ahead, three figures stepped out of the thicket and approached him with rods in hand, and Pechorin got the sense that his role to play had changed somewhat, though he wasn¡¯t yet sure how. Drawing closer, the three figures¡ªa Shikijiman rebel, a Tianzhounese bandit, and an al-Nuwban tribesmen¡ªspread out to flank him. The one in front, the Shikijiman, raised his rod directly at Pechorin. The convoluted geometry at the tip told Pechorin what kind of rod it was. So that was it, he thought: The Yishang¡¯s answer to declining Use-Numbers. They must¡¯ve thought they could get a repeat performance out of the permanent death crisis. He highly suspected the grand ideas of this ¡°prophet¡± had been whispered to them by a Pengwu. ¡°Congratulations,¡± the rebel Non-Hero said. ¡°You get to be the first Hero to find out why Non-Heroes aren''t to be fucked with anymore.¡± Pechorin raised an eyebrow. Without weapons, there was nothing he could do here. Evidently, his role was to be force dimension-jumped. ¡°Look at ¡®em, he thinks he¡¯s too gods-damned cool for this,¡± the bandit said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t have a clue, does he?¡± the tribesman replied. They were having too much fun rubbing it in. If Pechorin let them, they would go off on a monologue, taunting him and savoring their newfound power over a Hero. But now that things were in motion again, every second counted. He couldn¡¯t let them waste any time. ¡°Let me help you,¡± Pechorin said and then pushed himself onto the extended rod.
The area surrounding Lake Amber swarmed with Non-Heroes given the duty of hunting down Sofiane and Shuixing. To both of their moderate good fortunes, neither Baphomet nor his flock knew about the anomalous Dungeon of Stars. On his trips outside, Sofiane was extra careful not to accidentally lead them to it, making sure never to use abilities and triple-checking his surroundings before making the return plunge. His last several outings, though helpful for establishing the passage of time, had only confirmed there was no way for him and Shuixing to slip through Baphomet¡¯s net. He knew they hadn¡¯t left Verm?genburgh and was determined to find them before they did. As Sofiane lined himself up for the jump, a shudder ran through his body and with it the nagging sensation of something having been taken from him. He stood on the lip of the cliff for a moment trying to think of what it could be but then brushed it aside and jumped. Upon his return, he found Shuixing up and walking; a good sign considering she had spent most of the time lying down and resting. Her face was pinched in a grimace, but she flashed him a weary smile when he returned. ¡°No luck yet?¡± Shuixing asked. Sofiane shook his head. ¡°Nope. Although they have more rods. About half have one now.¡± Shuixing had no idea how the Non-Heroes had manufactured FDJ weapons so fast, but according to Sofiane, the rods had been few and precious only yesterday. Now every other Non-Hero had one. ¡°You don¡¯t think the Yishang is behind this, do you?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wish I could connect the dots, but my brain is a mess right now. I can¡¯t tell if I¡¯m over or under stimulated. Just a second ago I had this weird spasm¡­¡± ¡°Wait, you too?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°It was a little over a minute ago, non?¡± Shuixing nodded, concern creeping onto her face. Both pulled up the only source of outside information available to them: the Use-Rankings Chart. ¡°The total¡­¡± Shuixing said. ¡°It¡¯s down by one.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Shuixing''s own ranking hadn¡¯t budged, which narrowed the list to only the handful below her. It didn¡¯t take them long to figure out. Shuixing gasped. ¡°Oh gods¡­ Pechorin¡­¡±
At first Daisy chalked the jarring sensation up to her stone gorilla smashing alien tentacle monsters into a gooey pulp. But her mind was tuned to filter out the rock-on-rock violence that her summoning spells created. This feeling was coming from inside her body. ¡°Guys, did you all¡­ um¡­ feel something just now?¡± Daisy asked. Cunegonde glanced at her while searing the head off an alien with a beam of white light. "Hmm? No...¡± Yuna slashed diagonally through a large octopus then jerked her katana sideways through a group of three smaller ones. ¡°It¡¯s the rocks, dumbie.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t Kong,¡± Daisy said, referring to her alien-squashing stone gorilla. Kane didn¡¯t even hear her question as he continued blasting mobs with lightning, completely unburdened by thoughts. Daisy wished she could let it go, but the sensation had come with a feeling of anxious wrongness. Like she was in the wrong time and the wrong place. Or like she was disobeying a special event field. But Cunegonde flashed her a look that said she needed to get her shit together and Daisy forced herself to ignore the nagging feeling and focus on what really mattered: Grinding monsters and leveling up. Whatever it was could wait.
Natsuko started to nod off. One of the Mooncom officers had just revealed themselves to be a secret agent under the command of Chaos General Vidorgia all along so that they could sabotage Selenia¡¯s defense systems so the Entropic Axis could invade Selenia directly so that blah blah blah. It was the usual boring plot stuff except it was even more aggravating because it was getting in the way of Ailing¡¯s relaxation sessions. For the last week or so her teammate had been helping her calm down in the evening, and it was doing wonders for her mental health. ¡°Those Mooncom fools are lifeless and stagnant! They¡¯ve given up on progress¡ª¡± Natsuko¡¯s eyelids fell shut in the middle of the evil villain speech. No one could fault her for sleeping through it. What did the Yishang care? Maybe this could be a new arc for her emanation. Sleepy Natsuko. Dreams came surprisingly fast. Lately she had been dreaming about the old days, and especially about Pechorin for some reason. This time, however, the dream took place in the present day. She was in Tianzhou, walking in a bamboo forest, when all of a sudden she was attacked by Non-Heroes wielding Hemiola¡¯s rod. She tried to incinerate them, but her abilities didn¡¯t work in the dream, and then they lifted the rods and¡ª ¡°Ahh!¡± The double agent, the surviving Mooncom agents, and Natsuko¡¯s team all froze to look at her. She blushed profusely once she realized she had interrupted the scene. ¡°Sorry!¡± Chapter 123 - Proper Teammate Management Natsuko felt a tingle run from her scalp down to her spine as Ailing grazed her long nails through her hair and down her neck. Natsuko¡¯s scalp gently ached from her hair being up in a ponytail all day, so the gentle tugs were like a massage for the inside of her skull. Gods it was nice. Shuixing had never done anything like this for her, thought Natsuko had ever thought to ask. Truth be told, Natsuko didn¡¯t always know what she wanted. Although, Ailing seemed to know. ¡°Ugh,¡± Natsuko moaned. ¡°I thought I¡¯d been sleeping well, but then in the middle of a questing scene¡­¡± ¡°Darling, your body is getting used to a new chemical balance now that you¡¯ve stopped drinking. Has it been a week yet?¡± Eight agonizing days is what it had been. The only thing that got her through the discomfort was Ailing¡¯s pampering sessions. They worked far better than Shuixing¡¯s endless guilt-tripping. She was almost to the point where she could understand why some Heroes stayed sober. ¡°A little over a week. Any idea when I¡¯ll actually feel awake?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t the faintest,¡± Ailing said. Before Natsuko could respond, Ailing did a little swirling motion with her nail tips, skittering along the nape of Natsuko¡¯s neck and turning her words into a little gasp. Natsuko would¡¯ve melted even more except she was already a puddle on the floor between Ailing¡¯s legs. From her position on the couch, Ailing kneaded all the buzzing, turbulent thoughts out of Natsuko¡¯s head leaving a fuzzy warmth in their place. ¡°How did you get so good at this? Did you practice on Daisy?¡± Natsuko said as her neck rolled side-to-side. There was the briefest pause of Ailing¡¯s delicate fingers before she said, ¡°no, Daisy didn¡¯t care to be touched. This is all instinct. And knowing what I myself like, of course.¡± Natsuko craned her neck up. ¡°Wanna switch places?¡± Ailing chuckled and shook her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s alright. I just want you to relax. You¡¯ve been working so hard lately to keep us on top. Just focus on unwinding, dear. Don¡¯t worry about numbers or rankings or anything. Just relax at my hands." Natsuko found it hard to argue with that so she resubmerged herself into the pampering. Soon she found herself lightly dozing while Ailing hummed. In the twilight of blissful sleep, Natsuko thought she felt something dark lingering on the fringes. Formless and shapeless, a dream under construction, and yet it held an importance that made her think she was missing something. She needed to know what this dark lingering was, so she called out to it and it seemed to come closer. But the thought then occurred to her that this darkness might be the things she was trying to get away from: Her alcoholism and despair and self-defeating attitude. She woke up with a start. Ailing¡¯s hands rested gently on her shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, darling, but you were muttering something in your sleep, so I woke you up.¡± ¡°W-What was I muttering about?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°About being angry at yourself. And about the Yishang.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Natsuko said. So that was all. She felt like there had been more to it than that. ¡°That¡¯s normal while you¡¯re detoxing. But, would you promise me one thing, Natsu?¡± As Ailing asked this, her palm cupped under Natsuko¡¯s chin and over her cheek. The pressure was slight, but she felt Ailing drawing her backwards, closer to her. Her face and ears burned. ¡°Y-Yeah?¡± ¡°I want you to take a break from worrying about all those numbers and just live in the moment. Will you promise to forget about your stats for a while?¡± ¡°I promise¡­¡± The next couple days passed in the blink of an eye. With a full day to relax and the worst of the detox behind her, by Monday Natsuko felt the best she¡¯d ever felt. She was holding to Ailing¡¯s promise to forget about numbers and live in the moment, but the news had trickled down to her that numbers were going back up. Ailing had been right after all: If Heroes did their part, the Yishang would do theirs, and Celestials would rush on back. Monday was spent doing more grinding, but Natsuko turned it into a personal challenge to come up with the fastest clear rate, which prompted Boulanger to turn it into a race. It was a peculiar meeting-in-the-middle for the both of them, but Boulanger ended up getting into it as much as Natsuko and in the blink of an eye, the training day passed. Boulanger huffed as he popped out the exit of Planetview Cavern. ¡°Almost! You¡¯re getting close," Natsuko said with a snort. ¡°You¡¯re three minutes ahead of me, that¡¯s not close,¡± he replied. Boulanger¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t as sour as his words. There was a hint of a smirk on his face, as though maybe he thought he had found a cheat skill to get Natsuko to work harder. In reality, this was just her in a good mood. This was how she was back when she first started adventuring. ¡°How much experience do you figure we gained?¡± she asked. ¡°Just about 30 million,¡± Boulanger replied. ¡°Should be about halfway to level 110 by now.¡± ¡°Hell yeah!" Her first instinct was to go celebrate by cracking open some Moonwater, but she caught herself. No, Natsuko, you¡¯re going to celebrate sober, she thought. But she couldn¡¯t keep asking Ailing to play with her hair every single day. Not that her teammate would say no, but it felt like she was imposing, especially since Ailing kept refusing her requests to reciprocate. An idea came to Natsuko, however, as she passed the threshold of the Capitol building. Perhaps she had been putting off talking to Daisy for too long. Unlike the Halloween party, she now felt like she was in a state of mind to talk now.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Hey guys, I¡¯ll catch up with y¡¯all later, I¡¯m gonna go grab a cup of tea with Daisy.¡± For half a second there was a strange, cold look on Ailing¡¯s face that startled Natsuko, but it was brief enough that she chalked it up to Ailing¡¯s resting face, which had never been the most welcoming. The Yishang had unfortunately given her a natural expression of smug condescension, which was not at all in Ailing¡¯s nature. ¡°I think we were all planning an outing later, weren¡¯t we?¡± Ailing said. ¡°Huh?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I don¡¯t remember¡ª¡± ¡°To the indoor pool,¡± Boulanger said in his firm tone. ¡°You might have been groggy.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I guess so? When were y¡¯all planning on going? I probably have time to¡ª¡± ¡°Right after we drop our stuff off,¡± Ailing said. ¡°We were going to go change and then head off to the pool.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I¡¯m late then?¡± ¡°It¡¯d be better if you came with,¡± Boulanger said. Before she could protest, Ailing scritched her nails at the back of Natsuko¡¯s neck and sent a storm of tingles down her spine. ¡°You¡¯re not self-conscious about how you look in a bathing suit, are you, dear?¡± Ailing asked. ¡°I could help you pick out something flattering.¡± Natsuko flushed. ¡°N-No, that¡¯s not it, it¡¯s just been a while since I talked to Daisy and¡­ it feels like something I have to do.¡± Koyon swiveled around so that he was walking backwards and facing Natsuko. ¡°If she wanted to see you that bad, wouldn¡¯t she have reached out to you first?¡± ¡°Well, she did. At the Halloween party. But¡ª¡± ¡°But she hasn¡¯t felt like you were worth her time since,¡± Boulanger said flatly. Natsuko gazed up at the blinding yellow lights that overhung the wide avenues of the Capitol Building. With the lights coming from every angle, there was no room for shadows, and that lingering darkness she had felt two days ago receded entirely. ¡°Fine. I guess I¡¯ll go straight to the pool,¡± Natsuko said. True to her word, Ailing went on a side quest with Natsuko to go buy a swimsuit for her. The trouble was that Natsuko felt awkward in everything she tried on. Partly it was the bitter memory of trying to manipulate her Use-Number with skimpy outfits and her humiliating failure, but there was also the fact that she had the body proportions of a 2x4. That was the one thing the Yishang had not buffed during her redesign. ¡°So, we obviously can¡¯t go cutesy, because while I think you¡¯re cute, that¡¯s not your archetype. Spunky? Yes. Cutesy? No. No frills and ruffles,¡± Ailing said. Natsuko was glad to hear that. She was happy to place herself in Ailing¡¯s hands, especially regarding fashion, but frills and ruffles were the exact opposite of what she was about. Those were very much a Sofiane thing. Daisy¡­ well, she could probably pull them off, but she was more about the sleek, sweeping curves than texture. Shuixing... she couldn''t imagine swimming at all. She would be in a sundress reading a book. ¡°Darling?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You¡¯re distracted again,¡± Ailing said. ¡°Tired?¡± Natsuko shook her head. ¡°No, I¡ª well, maybe from the grinding today. I did push myself pretty hard.¡± Ailing smiled. ¡°That¡¯s alright. Let me get your opinion about these. I think they both have their upsides.¡± Her teammate-cum-stylist held up a pair of short red trunks that looked like compression shorts paired with a thin white band that Natsuko guessed was supposed to be the top. In her other hand was a white, triangle bikini set that resembled something like a fundoshi. Natsuko winced. ¡°Are these really my only options?¡± she asked. ¡°No, they¡¯re your only flattering options, darling.¡± Between the two, the compression shorts and bandini seemed to cover more so she went with that. The Yishang had certainly put her in worse, and it wouldn¡¯t be terrible to have an emanation with a swimsuit outfit, even if it was out of season. Rising numbers were rising numbers after all. She¡¯d be dumb not to try to catch as many of the new Celestials as possible. With her new swimsuit equipped, Natsuko and Ailing joined their teammates at the indoor pool complex. It had everything from a hot tub to a slide to a tinted sunroof which allowed in enough sunlight to tan. ¡°You two look good,¡± Boulanger said. ¡°Why thank you,¡± Ailing replied, hips swaying as she strolled over to set her things down on a beach chair. Natsuko swallowed. Boulanger had been looking at her when he said that, not Ailing. She knew what the look meant, but she wasn¡¯t sure how she felt about it. Boulanger wasn¡¯t unattractive by any means, but there was something firm and coarse about him that didn¡¯t appeal to her. Plus, she¡¯d never really been one for dark, brooding, and overly-serious. The only response she could think to give was a tight smile and a nod. There were only a few Non-Heroes when they arrived, but the news spread quickly that Team Natsuko was going for a swim and other Heroes trickled in. Daisy was not among them. Natsuko¡¯s disappointment, however, was eased by the presence of a giant waterslide which no one could peel her away from if they tried¡ªand a few sycophantic Heroes did. The top was 50 feet above the pool and it went through six twists and turns before dropping sharply into the water. The second Natsuko hit the water, she doggy-paddled to shore and sprinted back to the stairs so she could go again. The first few times she went down on her back, but then she experimented with going on her belly, head-first, and finally while trying to stand the whole way down. She wasn¡¯t successful, but at least once managed to make it halfway before falling on her butt. By the time the others were ready to leave, her eyes and nose burned with chlorine. Overall, it was a great time, and for a moment she was able to forget everything but the sweet, sweet sensation of cruising down a plastic tube over and over. No alcohol cravings, no agonizing over numbers, no worrying about old friends. Just water slides. By dinner time she had no energy left, and even turned down one of Ailing¡¯s relaxation sessions because she was too tired to enjoy it. The second she finished eating she went upstairs, drew closed the curtains that faced the central annex, flopped onto her bed without changing out of her swimsuit, and passed out for what she hoped would be a relaxing and dreamless sleep. It wasn''t. What began as a pleasant, wavy, buzzing feeling became more incessant, and she soon felt like she was adrift in a row boat in the middle of a storm. The same strange sensation of darkness cropped up again, but this time she had nowhere to run, and Ailing wasn¡¯t there to wake her up. The darkness approached like a thundering anvil cloud, bringing with it a sense of looming dread. Her thoughts tried to turn to her teammates and her comfortable life, but the more she thought about them, the sicker and dizzier and more frightened she became. Cold panic rolled in with the cloud and at any moment she expected to be thrown from the boat and dragged down to the depths. But as the storm came closer and closer to a crescendo that never seemed to arrive, she realized there was something silly and overly-dramatic about not only the storm, but its means of arrival. It reminded her of¡­ Natsuko shot awake, pulse pounding and sweat down her back. ¡°Pechorin!¡± Chapter 124 - Those Who Go, and Those Who Remain Thinking something bad had happened to Pechorin, Natsuko checked her Use-Rankings chart. Sure enough, Pechorin was gone. That the rest of her friends were still there was a small comfort, but it didn¡¯t dispel the grief blossoming into a tight pain in her chest. There was something she needed to do right away, so Natsuko threw on her regular clothes and barged into the hallway and banged on Ailing¡¯s door. ¡°Open up, Ailing, we need to talk!¡± She was about to bang on the door again when Ailing opened it wearing a peach-colored nightie half off her shoulder and a cat-like smile. ¡°Would you like to talk inside?¡± ¡°No, we can talk out here,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°You told me not to look at my stats. Why?¡± Ailing¡¯s eyebrows flexed in sympathy. ¡°Because you were driving yourself mad thinking about them, darling. We thought it was for the best.¡± ¡°We? Who is we?¡± Natsuko said, her hands balled into fists. ¡°And how long have you noticed Pechorin was missing?¡± Ailing reached out and placed a hand on Natsuko¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Just now, dear. This is news to me. I wasn¡¯t checking my stats in my sleep. And as for ¡°we,¡± this was one of the things Koyon and I came up with to help ease your anxiety.¡± Natsuko¡¯s hands unfurled themselves. ¡°You and Koyon¡­ But then why the insistence that I not see Daisy yesterday? Explain that.¡± ¡°You can go see her, I won¡¯t stop you. I don¡¯t think any of us could if you really wanted to go.¡± Ailing stepped out from her room and walked around behind Natsuko, draping her arms over her teammate¡¯s chest. She was aware of the soft warmth pressing into her from behind, and her intoxicatingly sweet perfume. Her teammate¡¯s hands clasped in front of her like a seat belt locking. At her ear: a dulcet, goosebump-raising voice. ¡°If you decided not to go, Natsu¡­ it¡¯s because you didn¡¯t want to go. Maybe there¡¯s something you want to talk about. I¡¯ve been so focused on your physical comfort, maybe I¡¯ve been neglecting your emotional needs? Why don¡¯t you come inside, let me be a set of welcoming ears for¡­¡± her voice dropped to a whisper, ¡°you.¡± Separated from that dreaming darkness by the gulf of waking consciousness, she realized it really had been just a nightmare. Wait, the Use-Number change! ¡°Oh, that¡¯s odd¡­¡± Ailing said, her tone switching from sultry to confused. ¡°You said there was a Hero who was force dimension-jumped, right? But the number is the same.¡± Natsuko immediately checked. Not only was the total still 221, Pechorin was squarely at the bottom rank like he always was. She exhaled in relief. ¡°It was a nightmare¡­¡± Natsuko laughed. ¡°Gods, it was just a nightmare!¡± Ailing smiled. ¡°Come inside and tell me about it, darling. Let¡¯s help you calm down.¡± As always, Natsuko¡¯s teammate was able to draw her out of her circling thoughts and back down into her body. It was as though confessing to Ailing purged the anxiety and discomfort from her like exorcising an evil spirit. And as reward for surrendering herself to this exorcism, Ailing would help her feel good again. No one had ever made Natsuko feel this good before, and by comparison, her life prior to this was a purgatory she had endured on the road to heaven. After she went back to sleep, there were no more dark storms filling her head, only a blissful glow that turned the storm into a gentle spring shower. The next morning, around the breakfast table, Boulanger made an announcement. ¡°I think we have time for a small break from training.¡± Natsuko choked on her coffee. ¡°Are you doing a bit?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Natsu, you know I have no sense of humor. I¡¯m serious. I think we¡¯re far enough ahead of the other teams that the most effective thing we can do is give ourselves a little rest. Are you objecting?¡± There was that look again from him. Not quite attraction, but intrigue at a challenge. Though Boulanger was rank #3, he still acted as though he was unconquerable, or perhaps that he was the real, albeit temporarily-disgraced, rank #1. Yesterday that attitude had been off-putting to Natsuko, but perhaps due to the strange glow she¡¯d woken up with, she almost wanted to accept the challenge and see whether she could put him in his place. She shot him a smirk back. ¡°And what are our plans instead, O wise leader?¡± Natsuko said, fully aware that the team was named after her for a reason. Unequivocally the strongest Hero in Po-Lin, they were all effectively under Natsuko¡¯s thumb. It was her team, not his. ¡°I¡¯m considering this a free day. Do whatever your heart desires,¡± Boulanger replied. ¡°Although, I was planning on exploring some craters. Care to join me?¡± The offer wasn¡¯t open for Ailing and Koyon and everyone knew it. ¡°Sure,¡± she said. After breakfast, Natsuko switched into her questing gear and followed Boulanger out to the far ends of Selenia that they hadn¡¯t bothered to explore yet because there weren¡¯t any quests or major dungeons out that way. The only useful thing on the craterous dark side were a handful of mobs and some collectable chests, but the mobs weren¡¯t efficient to farm and the chests only had lower level gear to sack for accessory experience and thus weren¡¯t worth solving whatever puzzle they were locked behind. Strangely, the lack of objective made the exploring part more fun. ¡°No, seriously, why the change of heart?¡± Natsuko asked in mid-air as she leapt over a crater in low-G. Boulanger jumped after her on a slightly faster trajectory. ¡°Do I need a reason?¡± he asked, swiveling so that he came down feet first. ¡°I guess not. But when I do weird, out-of-characters things I usually wonder why,¡± she replied. ¡°Well¡ª¡± Boulanger skidded to a halt, kicking up moon dust ¡°¡ªI started giving some thought to what might happen if things really did wind down. I¡¯m not oblivious, Natsu. I can piece two and two together and figure out that¡¯s what you and Ailing were talking about with your ¡°girl talk.¡± I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I?¡± Oh, right. He was still on about that. Maybe because her usual defenses were down, but for some reason, she felt like telling him the truth. All of it. So she did, beginning with Sofiane¡¯s weird dungeon and bringing him up through Hemiola¡¯s prophecy. His reactions of surprise and confusion seemed stronger than usual, but maybe it was just rare to see Boulanger relaxed. The only time she saw something resembling his usual look of harsh judgment was when she mentioned wishing she could''ve helped Shuixing figure out a way to escape Po-Lin.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. When she was done explaining everything, Boulanger shut his eyes in consideration, then after a deep exhale, opened them. ¡°No wonder you were so anxious and irritable all the time. But I don¡¯t think you need to worry about any of that anymore. The Yishang know what they¡¯re doing. Most likely what will happen is that the important Heroes will be brought over into one of their new worlds, since they¡¯re sure bets with the Celestials.¡± That¡¯s true. Natsuko blinked. ¡°What¡¯s true?¡± ¡°Do you mean in the philosophical sense?¡± Boulanger said, cocking an eyebrow. ¡°No, I mean¡ª didn¡¯t you say, ¡°that¡¯s true,¡± just now?¡± ¡°No¡­ But forget that. What¡¯s important right now¡ª I mean, why I brought you out here is¡­¡± And then the unthinkable happened, and by Natsuko¡¯s presence alone, she made Boulanger blush. Unable to finish his sentence, he cleared his throat. Smug satisfaction sprouted as she claimed the victory of putting Boulanger in his place. There was something almost endearing about the total collapse of his adamantine confidence. ¡°Oh? What¡¯s that, Balls? You brought me out here for something other than crater-jumping and stargazing?¡± Natsuko asked smugly. Boulanger curled his fist and punched the ground, sending cubic tons of space dust and rock flying away from them. ¡°Gods-dammit, Natsuko, I¡¯ll just say it. I¡¯m attracted to you. I want to date you.¡± That was a lie. ¡°Wait, I¡¯m sorry, that¡ª¡± ¡ªwasn¡¯t Boulanger who said that again. But somehow, despite the words being crystal clear, she couldn¡¯t make out the voice. ¡®What do you mean a lie?¡¯ she thought, trying to hold a conversation with the disembodied voice. But it didn¡¯t answer. She was only left with a lingering sense that she ought to heed it. ¡°Boulanger, I¡ª¡± He took her hand in his, cold from the autumn winds¡ªautumn winds in space, how improbably poetic¡ªand squeezed it, gazing at her with wide, blue eyes. ¡°I won¡¯t force you, but I think¡ª no, I know we would be good together. Two of the top Heroes, the fiery paragon and her dark ember, think about it!¡± Whether it was the overbearing come-on or the voice in her head, there was something about the way Boulanger was laying it on that didn¡¯t sit right with her. It didn¡¯t help that this was all eerily similar to the way Frederick had asked her out, almost down to the word-choice. Worse still, she saw herself falling for it had it not been for the voice putting her on guard. ¡°Let me think on it,¡± Natsuko said. Boulanger tried to press even more insistently, but she didn¡¯t give him the chance. Instead she elected to return to their headquarters early without him. She was hoping Koyon and Ailing had left to do their own things for the day because she wanted to be alone, but upon opening the door, she found not only her teammates, but a visitor in the form of a peach-and-white fox floating on a cloud. ¡°We are thinking about two teams, so it would be you four and¡ª¡± Zhidao stopped talking as Natsuko entered. ¡°O-Oh! Welcome back, darling. We thought you would still be out with Boulanger,¡± Ailing said. ¡°I came back early,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°What are we chatting about?¡± Koyon cleared his throat. ¡°Just some stuff coming up¡­¡± Natsuko responded with a wide, fake grin. ¡°Really? What stuff? How soon? You know I like to be in the loop about stuff.¡± ¡°We can talk about this another time,¡± Zhidao said. ¡°Oh, no, let¡¯s talk about it now.¡± Before Zhidao could fly away, Natsuko exploded forward with a blast of white fire and managed to catch his fluffy white tail inches before he escaped off the balcony, scorching their living room in the process. Zhidao yelped. ¡°Ow! Let me go you brute!¡± ¡°Start talking, or¡­¡± She squeezed his tail in her fist, putting her Force stat to work. A shudder ran up the length of Zhidao¡¯s spine. Ailing stepped forward. ¡°Natsuko, there¡¯s really nothing to explain! This is just¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell her,¡± Zhidao said. ¡°If she let''s go of my tail!¡± Natsuko unclenched her fist and the furry tail dove for safety between Zhidao¡¯s hind legs. The Pengwu exhaled then put on a bright smile. ¡°So, the Yishang is¡­ well, they¡¯re working on de-Misting another world, and they thought it might be a good idea to have some of our best be the first ones over there to sort of¡­ set up a base camp. It would mean a fresh start stat-wise, but a whole new world to explore!¡± Natsuko narrowed her eyes. ¡°And what happens to Po-Lin?¡± ¡°Well, we have almost driven back the Entropic Axis here, so everyone would be able to live on happily in a freed world and¡ª¡± It was stupid of her, and she regretted it the moment it left her mouth, but she was already in a bad mood and restraint had never really been her thing. ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me. Hemiola told me how this all works. Po-Lin is getting wiped out, isn¡¯t it? So everyone but the¡ª how many did you say, two teams? Everyone besides them, they¡¯re gone forever, aren¡¯t they? Annihilated?¡± The smile on Zhidao¡¯s foxy mouth fell. ¡°You are correct, Natsuko. So let¡¯s dispense with the pretense and talk plainly: You make a good mascot and the Yishang would like to continue using you and your image. However, make no mistake, you are not so important that someone else can¡¯t take your place. Your friends would be going if you are, so we hoped you would want to join them.¡± Natsuko¡¯s hands balled into a fist. ¡°My friends? You¡¯re talking about Ailing and the others?¡± Zhidao nodded. She could still hear the voice in her head as Boulanger confessed to her: ¡®That was a lie.¡¯ She wondered at the time why he would lie about wanting to be in a relationship with her, but now she had an inkling. But despite Boulanger''s subterfuge, looking at Ailing, gazing into her soft, kind eyes, she saw the person who had helped her deal with her anxiety and stress. One of the only people that had listened to her when she needed an ear. ¡°Natsuko, please¡­¡± Ailing said, grasping her hand. ¡°We didn¡¯t mean to hide this, but we just¡­ we didn¡¯t know how you would respond! We want you to come with us to the new world. Please. If you stay here¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be eradicated,¡± Zhidao said in his child-like voice. ¡°We made you the Top Hero, Natsuko, but you¡¯re a Top Hero because of us. And while we¡¯d like a return on our investment. If you say no, there¡¯s always another team.¡± Natsuko¡¯s voice hitched as she tried to protest. There was no reason the Yishang couldn¡¯t take everyone. Every single Hero and Non-Hero, all of whom had rich, internal worlds, and who had done nothing in their short existence but help the Yishang become richer. Now they were going to be abandoned. Tossed into the void. And worst of all, she was so terrified of that happening to her that the idea of selling everyone else out to survive wasn''t off the table. Natsuko swallowed. ¡°I don¡¯t¡ª I¡­¡± Ailing squeezed her hand. Koyon smiled reassuringly. Zhidao cleared his throat. ¡°We expect this latest bump in numbers to last about two weeks. After that, those teams who accept our invitation to the new world will be taken there. And those who want to remain¡ª¡± his eyes flicked to Natsuko ¡°¡ªwill remain. I¡¯ll ask for your answer then.¡± Chapter 125 - An Old Photo and some Old Words After Zhidao¡¯s ultimatum, Natsuko shut herself up in her room and refused to speak to anyone, ignoring their attempts to coax her out. If she was going to make the selfish decision to abandon Po-Lin, she didn¡¯t want to hear anyone else¡¯s shallow justifications. Not Ailing whispering sweet-nothings about how happy they would all be, not Koyon''s ruthless "winner takes all" attitude, and not Boulanger telling her that this was the fruits of their struggle. Not that their concern was real anyway. Boulanger spontaneously asking her out and Ailing suddenly being concerned for her after two years of self-absorption were nothing but attempts to wave a carrot in front of her nose so she would abandon Po-Lin and join them in whatever fucked up new world the Yishang built. As if the stick of permanent annihilation was somehow not enough. But despite all that, it was plain fact that they¡ªand Ailing particularly¡ªhad made her feel good again, if only for a moment. Whenever she tried to hate Ailing and Boulanger, hate them enough to give the Yishang the finger and run back to Verm?genburgh, she was reminded of Shuixing sabotaging her pie during the contest, or one of the countless times Sofiane had taunted and insulted her, or Daisy treating her like a disposable rag doll when she complained about her relationship with the Yishang. Well, okay, that last one was a little hypocritical. So what if Ailing was faking a friendship? It still felt good. Was she really so bad for wanting to feel good? The last time Natsuko had overcome that guilt and done something with herself, she had ended up the most powerful Hero of all time. Her arms pulled her knees tight to her chest under her blanket. Refusing to cry, she dug her nails into her legs until pricks of blood beaded up around her fingertips. When that wasn''t enough to defuse the ball of stress burning away in her stomach, she walked over to her dresser and smashed it in half. And with that final, destructive purgation, she crawled back into bed and fell asleep. When the darkness came, she didn¡¯t wait for it to take shape as some strange, vaguely-symbolic nightmare again, but sprinted straight for it and yelled, ¡°Is it you, Pechorin, or not!?¡± The formless fever-dream sharpened instantly into a little island somewhere in Shikijima. Overhead there was a cool, clear night, only thin wisps of clouds obfuscating the crescent slice of a waning moon. Standing before her was Pechorin. Though, how she knew that, she didn¡¯t know, because in front of her was nothing but a jagged, jittering polygon. ¡°It is me. I suppose we can dispense with the dramatic storm clouds and looming, dreadful darkness now,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°Wha¡ª? You mean that was all theatrics?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°You dumbass! Why didn¡¯t you show up like a normal person!¡± ¡°I like theatrics.¡± She tried to punch the polygon, but her fist went right through it. Or him. She wasn¡¯t quite sure what she was looking at, or whether it was the real Pechorin or just a nightmare concocted by her mind. ¡°I¡¯m not just dreaming? It¡¯s really you, Pech?¡± she asked in a softer voice. ¡°No offense to your subconscious, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as cleverly symbolic as I am,¡± he replied. ¡°So what¡ª you¡¯re in my head? How!?¡± ¡°A lot becomes possible when you aren¡¯t chained to a mortal body.¡± ¡°Okay, here¡¯s the downside to your theatrics, Mr. Genius Poet, I have no clue what¡¯s a Pechorism and what¡¯s you being serious,¡± she said, wrapping her hands under her armpits to warm herself against the cold sea winds. ¡°I¡¯m dead. Or, at the very least, not in Po-Lin. I was force dimension-jumped by Non-Heroes equipped with rods like Hemiola¡¯s.¡± ¡°How¡ª hold on, Non-Heroes have FDJ weapons!? Wait, forget that, how are you even talking to me if you¡¯re dead? And I saw the Use-Rankings, you¡¯re still alive.¡± ¡°Editing your Use-Ranking individually is trivial for the Yishang. It''s an illusion. And as for how I¡¯m talking to you from beyond the veil, Hemiola was right. There is a space that Heroes are sent to when they¡¯re removed from the physical world. Though it is not a heaven. Nor is it a hell. It''s simply another place. Shuixing has found her own way into it, albeit by different means and likely with a different, less spiritual interpretation. I myself cannot leave here, but I set up a Special Event field before I was attacked over which I still have some small semblance of control.¡± Natsuko felt a tightness in her chest. ¡°I-I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. For a moment there was no response from Pechorin¡¯s jagged polygon, as though he was surprised at her response. ¡°Thank you. But while I would like to enjoy being here with you, we do not have much time left. Soon you will wake up, and my connection to you will dim as you return to the physical world. We need to discuss our next steps.¡± At that, the tightness in her chest constricted further, and this time it was not out of a surplus of tenderness. She knew what these ¡°next steps¡± were towards, and she wasn¡¯t sure if it was the direction she wanted to go in. ¡°Pechorin, I... the Yishang offered me a place in their new world, and my new friends and¡­ I¡¯m scared, Pech! I¡¯m really scared! I¡¯m a gods-damned coward and I don¡¯t want to die! And I don¡¯t know what we can do about this! The Yishang control the whole fucking world, and if the gods themselves come down and say, ¡°you can be saved or you can drown in darkness with everyone else,¡± how the fuck do I tell them no!? How!?¡± she asked, truly meaning her question. Tears she¡¯d refused to cry in her waking life sprung hot from the corners of her eyes. Every choice was wrong. Be honorable and be exterminated, betray everyone and survive. Why did it have to come to this? If Natsuko had been on the chopping block with everyone else she could''ve committed to fighting back without a shred of doubt. Now she had to elect to stick her neck under the guillotine of her own free will. ¡°I know you think I¡¯m a bastard for this, Pech, but I don¡¯t¡ª I can¡¯t do it. I can¡¯t die! Hate me with whatever time you have left, but it is what it is." ¡°I don¡¯t hate you, Natsu, and I never will. You made me who I am. There is no Pechorin without you,¡± he replied. She jerked her forearm across her eyes to wipe the tears and said, ¡°just hate me, you son of a bitch! I¡¯m a backstabbing, greedy piece of shit who¡¯s selling her friends out so I can live! Don''t spit in my face with some stupid fucking Pechorism about how I''m part of you or whatever!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. Natsu. The memories you have been dreaming recently, I have been sharing them with you. Or rather, you¡¯ve been sharing them with me without knowing it. Do you remember the time you convinced me I had to pull my head out of my numbers and be in the world as it is, in all its glory and horror? Do you remember when you convinced me to take up poetry? Almost everything I am now was because you refused to let me sink into my obsession with my own inferiority. Whether you call these bizarre, strange little things entwining themselves with each other Spirit as I do, or lines of numbers as Shui does, we created each other, Natsuko. I can¡¯t hate you. I love you as I love myself.¡± Natsuko¡¯s sobbing came to a hiccuping stop. She didn¡¯t deserve his forgiveness, but she greedily sucked it up the same as she sucked up Ailing¡¯s comforting nothings. ¡°So what¡­ what am I supposed to do? I¡¯m afraid¡­¡± ¡°If you want a true answer, you have to come to it on your own. But if and when you choose to side with us against the Yishang, you¡¯ll need to return to Verm?genburgh. Shuixing and Sofiane are in danger from the same cult that attacked me, and while I am expendable, if we lose Shui¡¯s connection to Po-Lin there will be no one left who can discover a way to escape.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not expendable,¡± Natsuko said. Though there was nothing in the spasming ball of spiky geometry that would suggest it, she felt as though Pechorin was grinning back at her. ¡°On the contrary, my role was to be expended. How else would we have contacted you?¡± Natsuko tried to say something back to him, but there was a subtle shift that caused the sand beneath her feet and the wind against her hair to dissolve into the foggy, intangible phantasmagoria of a dream which itself gave way to a groggy awareness with one foot in the dreamworld and one in her bedroom in Selenia. For a time after she woke, Natsuko refused to move from the bed. Her waking life felt fake, and with the fakeness came a paralysis where her mind refused to believe the world which wouldn¡¯t melt around her in the next moment. But eventually the fogginess retreated and she struggled out of the numb, pseudo-comfort of her covers and into the cold emptiness of her room. On her feet, the events of the previous day came back to her, including smashing her dresser in half. It lay in a pile of broken wood, puddled clothes, and scattered knick-knack. The clock must not have struck four yet. Unsure what else to do, she sat cross-legged in front of the destruction and idly picked apart the debris and formed neat, sorted piles. These piles were meaningless, as they would disappear at 4am to be replaced by a perfectly reassembled dresser, but there was a comfort in performing order for order¡¯s sake, separating out her clothes and souvenirs and Opto-box photos. One particular photo found its way to her hands. In it, a smiling Natsuko had her arms thrown around a blushing Shuixing with Pechorin off to the side posed like a mysterious cowboy and Hemiola with his lute laying below sporting a cocked eyebrow and a smirk. She stared into the distant past long enough for her heart to scream that it couldn¡¯t take anymore before flipping the photo over to read the words on the back: Always fight for what¡¯s right, even if it¡¯s suicidally stupid! Those had been her words, she supposed, but everyone else had lived up to them better. Hemiola faced down the threat of extinction to spite the Yishang, Shuixing had sacrificed everything to figure out how to escape Po-Lin, and Pechorin was speaking to Natsuko from the other side of death just to convince her to stop being a coward. Suicidally stupid, that¡¯s what they were. Only she had taken the smart path and tried to save herself. She moved to set the Opto-box photo down in a pile with the rest when her palm found a nail sticking out of a board and a shock of pain went through her hand. The pain was crystal clear to the point where it wasn¡¯t even truly pain so much as pure sensation, standing in absolute opposition to the panoply of numbers and statistics that filled her waking life. The impact of this pure pain wiped clear all the scattered thoughts and stories in her head until all that was left was something Pechorin had been trying to tell her that she hadn¡¯t understood until just now: ¡°We created each other, Natsuko.¡± The ¡°we¡± he had used didn¡¯t just mean him, but Shuixing and Hemiola too, and Sofiane and Daisy, and all the other Heroes and Non-Heroes in their greater and lesser ways. Their strength and their spirit weren¡¯t separate from her own but came from the same well. And if they could summon the courage to be suicidally stupid and fight back against the gods, so could she. Chapter 126 - Discussion Amongst Teammates Natsuko gathered up some food items of both the buffing and healing variety, her sword Taiyouken, her questing outfit, and the photo of her old teammates. Everything else, including her alternate outfits, weapons and accessories, photos and memorabilia from her time with her current team had to be left behind. Saddest of all was a mostly-full bottle of Moonwater she had been saving for when she had her drinking habit under control. But whether things went well or poorly, there would be no coming back. Either she escaped Po-Lin or died trying. The artificial lights of the Selenian Capitol flipped on to simulate sunrise just as she was done packing. She scratched out a quick note to her teammates about where she was going, hoping there would be time later to apologize for her swift exit once they were all free. However, this ended up not being necessary. Awaiting her in the living room were her teammates. Koyon and Ailing looked tired and haggard, while Boulanger was awake and impatient. All three were dressed in their questing outfits. ¡°H-Hi guys¡­ I um¡­ I have something to tell you,¡± Natsuko said. Ailing stared at her. ¡°You¡¯re not¡­¡± Natsuko nodded. ¡°I am. I¡¯m going to turn the Yishang down. I still have some things I need to do in Po-Lin. I¡¯m sorry that I won¡¯t be able to join you all, but¡ª¡± Ailing¡¯s lips quivered and she walked up to Natsuko and slapped her across the face. ¡°You selfish bitch!¡± Natsuko stood in shock as Koyon ran forward to pull Ailing back. Boulanger fixed his gaze on Ailing. ¡°Enough, Ailing. Zhidao didn¡¯t explain everything,¡± Boulanger said in his quiet, authoritative voice. ¡°Didn¡¯t explain what?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°They¡¯re taking teams, not Heroes,¡± Koyon said in a tone of false calmness. ¡°Zhidao told us either we convince you to come too, or they¡¯ll find another team.¡± Natsuko felt sick. ¡°Why the hell does it need to be a team!? That makes no sense! What does¡ª¡± ¡°When have we ever known why the fuck the Yishang do what they do!?¡± Boulanger screamed, shedding his quiet, controlled demeanor for the first time Natsuko had ever seen. ¡°I don¡¯t care what their fucking reasons are. You¡¯re coming with us.¡± Koyon still had his usual look of disinterest, but Boulanger and Ailing¡¯s masks had slipped entirely. Natsuko had suspected but not known for sure that their doting had ulterior motives, but the speed with which they dropped the act frightened her, as well as the speed at which Ailing re-adopted it. ¡°Darling, I¡¯m so sorry! We¡¯re just scared, that¡¯s all. We want you to be with us in the other world,¡± Ailing said, stepping forward again and grasping Natsuko¡¯s arm gently. The soft touch felt like an electric shock. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have time for whatever you need to do, we would just all feel more comfortable if you told Zhidao you were coming with us.¡± Natsuko wrenched her arm free. ¡°Listen, we¡ª I mean, Shuixing and the others, they have a plan to save everyone from being wiped out by the Yishang! Even if we did migrate over to their new world, so what? They would just be using us to draw in Celestials at the start and then once they create more Heroes, we¡¯d be forgotten at the bottom of the food chain again! Either we fight back or we¡¯ll be struggling to keep our heads above water forever! I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t do it. I¡¯m not going.¡± Boulanger curled his fists and looked away as he swallowed the hot rage burning away in his throat. Then, his angry eyes flicked back to her. ¡°That¡¯s the wrong answer.¡± ¡°Boulanger, you stubborn ass, would you just listen to me! We don¡¯t have to go along with them, we can¡ª¡± In the space of a blink, Boulanger cleared the distance between them and slammed his fist into Natsuko¡¯s kidney. The force of the punch knocked her through the interior wall of their home and into the Capitol Building¡¯s titanium skeleton. A second after the dizzying impact, blood shot into her throat and spattered out of her mouth in breathless hiccups.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you are aware,¡± Boulanger said, ¡°there are ways to make your life unpleasant without permitting the comfort of a temporary death. I do not plan to roll over and die for some spoiled bitch who got to the top through a fluke. So if I have to stand here and make every second of the next two weeks a living fucking hell until you tell Zhidao you''re on-board with the Yishang, then that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. And I¡¯m sure the other two teammates you¡¯re fucking over would be happy to help.¡± Still half-closed in pain, Natsuko¡¯s eyes darted between Boulanger and Ailing and Koyon. Their faces were a mixture of fury and terror, the same as herself only hours before. She couldn¡¯t blame them for being angry, but she also wasn¡¯t going to let them win. Natsuko waited for Boulanger to come closer and wind up for another punch before she grabbed his arm, pulled him towards her open palm, and activated Megaton point-blank into his face. There was a blinding flash and heat and then the sensation of falling and the next thing Natsuko knew she was looking up at the enormous gap she had blown in the Capitol Building from the seventh story to the roof. There was nothing left of their former headquarters except tortured girders and falling glass. Natsuko had barely enough time to think about breaking her fall before a missile of rolling black flame burst out of the cloud of debris, barreling towards her. She wasn¡¯t in time to draw her sword before Boulanger collided with her. His sword plunged through her stomach, inflicting a searing, fiery pain on her like her entire body was drowning in boiling water. Through the pain, she looked for an unfortunate victim among the terrified Non-Heroes and settled for a Mooncom soldier gaping up at her. With a silent apology, she swapped places with him, and what had been a Non-Hero a moment before became a shower of crimson mist as Boulanger slammed into the floor. Natsuko scrambled for food to regain health, but before it reached her mouth, a stampede of ghostly horses struck her and knocked her to the floor where she was helpless to stop a scalding white light that made her flesh feel like it was peeling off. Her screams of pain were barely audible over the chaos of Non-Heroes running for their lives. Through ringing ears, she heard Boulanger yell, ¡°don¡¯t let her die!¡± Natsuko laughed, or maybe it was just clearing blood out of her throat, but there was something funny to the idea that they could just keep trying to kill her over and over and nothing would come of it. If they didn¡¯t kill her, she would keep fighting, but if they did kill her, they couldn¡¯t torture her into complying with them. It was all so ridiculous, Heroes fighting Heroes. She tried to stand and face them, but the moment she put her left foot down, she realized the entire leg had shattered. Even if she was still at half health it did her no good if her bones were fractured. Fixing it only required eating food, but they wouldn¡¯t give her the time to do that. If necessary she could throw herself through the air like a ragdoll with her stolen version of Boulanger¡¯s Black Fire, but with a broken limb, the landing wouldn¡¯t be pleasant. ¡°Boulanger, this isn¡¯t going anywhere,¡± Ailing said. ¡°We do what we have to do!¡± Boulanger said. ¡°Hey, big guy, we¡¯re all mad,¡± said Koyon, ¡°but let¡¯s work smarter, not harder, okay? Didn¡¯t she say something about her friends? The ones that think they¡¯re gonna fight the Yishang? Beating Natsu up over and over is a waste of time. What we need to do is kill her and then go deal with them. Unlike Ms. Rank 1, we can take our time with them.¡± Smeared across Koyon¡¯s charred face was the most vile look of sadistic glee Natsuko had ever been subject to. Until now, Natsuko realized, Koyon had been as bored with the world of number-gathering as she was. But unlike her, his drug of choice wasn¡¯t alcohol, but the pleasure of hurting and humiliating other Heroes in a way that bypassed the guardrails of ¡°health points.¡± He had tried to do the same to Sofiane back in the day, and had done something similar to other Heroes since then like Jouchi. Boulanger and Ailing both looked angry and scared. Only Koyon looked excited. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Natsuko said, scrambling backwards on her broken leg. Why wouldn¡¯t her Desperation Art activate? It was all she needed to end the entire fight, but even with her friends¡¯ lives being threatened, she still didn¡¯t reach the threshold. Even worse, theirs probably had. ¡°Where would we find her friends?¡± Boulanger asked through grit teeth. ¡°Verm?genburgh, where else?¡± Koyon said. ¡°That¡¯s where she used to hang out before she cheated her way into a free ride to #1. Her friends are probably still there after she kicked them to the curb.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not,¡± Natsuko said, blood dribbling from her mouth. Koyon laughed. ¡°Bullshit. Lemme kill her real quick and let¡¯s get going.¡± Natsuko¡¯s body instinctively clenched as the familiar purple-and-green glow of Koyon¡¯s Northern Lights descended towards her, as beautiful as it was painful, and by the time she woke up almost 24 hours later, she would be too late to save Shuixing. She got ready to make one last ditch sprint with a reckless use of her stolen Black Fire, praying it would carry her out of the Area of Effect in time. But then the lights disappeared as Koyon¡¯s ability channeling was interrupted by a giant stone bird slamming into him. Daisy tucked and rolled out of the collision, barely dodging the 300-foot-long pillar of black flame that followed. Peng was blown apart in an instant, but with a tap of her compass, a wall of feldspar erupted from the floor of the Capitol building, shielding her and Natsuko. She gave Natsu a nervous little wave. ¡°Howdy!¡± Chapter 127 - Fighting At the Upper Echelons of Power Seeing Natsuko was injured, Daisy tossed her a satchel full of potato chip bags. Natsuko blinked ¡°Huh? Why do you¡ª¡± ¡°Eat!¡± The feldspar bunker Daisy had summoned trembled, cracks snaking up its structure. Natsuko tore open a bag of chips and downed them. As her fractured leg reassembled itself with the power of potato chips, she was for once glad of the bizarre logic of the Yishang¡¯s world. Once it was fixed, Daisy pulled her up. ¡°I¡¯ll ask why Boulanger is trying to kill you once we¡¯re outta here,¡± Daisy said. ¡°But I¡¯m guessin¡¯ we¡¯re gonna go find Shui next?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Natsuko said, brandishing Taiyouken. Held in anger, the stark white blade erupted in white fire like waving gossamer. ¡°Aren''t we gonna run for it!?¡± Daisy asked, eyeing the long avenue towards the entryway. Natsuko shook her head. ¡°No. They threatened to kill Shui. I gotta explain to them why that ain''t happening.¡± Sheets of rock crumbled off the bunker, signaling it was seconds from being destroyed. ¡°It¡¯s three on two, Natsu, and all three of them are stronger than me, and you were getting clobbered just a second ago. Those are really bad odds!¡± Daisy said. ¡°That was a sucker punch,¡± Natsuko said, grinning wickedly. ¡°Now it¡¯s a fight.¡± Before Daisy could protest, Boulanger¡¯s sword, a tar-black sabre called Trou Noir, slipped through a crack in the wall and brought the whole thing tumbling down. In the next instant he was behind Daisy. He got off two of his four Pressing Attacks before Natsuko lunged forward and ran her own sword through his stomach. Boulanger parried her follow-up attacks and jumped back to safety. This took place in the span of a second. Natsuko saw the surprise in his eyes and realized he must''ve mistaken her feet-dragging while grinding mobs with the height of her ability. Natsuko shot towards him with Black Fire. Boulanger pulled his own Black Fire into a roiling flame shield before her sword clanged against his, sending columns of black and white fire in a flaring pinwheel around them. ¡°Natsu! Watch out!¡± A butterfly floated in the space between Boulanger and Natsuko¡¯s clashing swords. She pushed off Boulanger, but she was already consumed in a cloud of butterflies. In every direction there was nothing but beautiful, fluttering wings. With the butterflies came a sensation of exhaustion and discomfort, not unlike one of her hangovers, but Natsuko knew if she stayed in the cloud she would be sucked dry of her energy until she was dead. Trying to recall the direction of Daisy¡¯s voice, she let loose a blast of Megaton where it might avoid her. This time, Natsuko was able to watch Megaton''s flash followed by a bone white mushroom cloud in the middle of the annex where shops and homes had previously been. Unfortunately, at a certain level of power, there was no way to avoid unintentional casualties. Her regular abilities would¡¯ve been a Desperation Art for anyone below the Top 20. The butterflies didn¡¯t dissipate, but they were pushed back by the explosion long enough for Natsuko to spot Ailing in their midst about to cast a Celestial Beam at Daisy. Natsuko bolted for Daisy, but the world suddenly spun as Boulanger plowed into her, launching her into a titanium pillar and knocking the wind from her. Right as Daisy spotted Natsuko, a beam of sunlight pierced through her, forcing a raw scream from her throat. Stepping out of a cloud of smoke, Boulanger wiped Daisy¡¯s blood off his sword onto his forearm as he made his way towards Natsuko. Butterflies floated after him, healing his wounds. This was a real fight now. Natsuko''s former teammates were focused on their combat roles and cycling through abilities. In a way, the cold calculation of it was more frightening than blind fury. Their opponents were up a control Hero over Natsuko¡¯s single-minded damage-dealing and Daisy¡¯s utility abilities, and that made a lot of difference. ¡°You should¡¯ve ran,¡± Boulanger said, sword raised at her. ¡°Good thing you¡¯re a stubborn idiot.¡± He wasn¡¯t wrong. Natsuko would admit to being a stubborn idiot, having outsourced her good sense to Shuixing. But like Pechorin said, she had rubbed off on her friends and they on her, and somewhere in her mess of a brain, she had to have at least an ounce of tactical knowledge, didn¡¯t she? She let that knowledge calm her and her eyes settled on the plume of butterflies behind Boulanger. Then, she saw it: the flash of a robed sleeve. Boulanger lunged and struck Ailing through the chest, pinning her to the metal pillar that had braced Natsuko¡¯s back a split-second before. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Knowing Team Natsuko¡¯s game plan was for Koyon to pin down the Utility Heroes, Natsuko immediately used her telekinetic pull to yank Daisy out of the way of a Spectral Keshik charge and caught her with her free arm. ¡°Whew! Thanks,¡± Daisy said. Back on solid footing, Daisy clicked her pocket watch and the Capitol Building trembled. Feldspar and moonstone stalagmites burst through the sheet metal floor, opening fissures which dragged debris under and crushed them like enormous teeth. ¡°Wall! Now!¡± Boulanger yelled, paying Ailing no mind as he yanked his sword out of her ribs. Destruction flowed outwards in rings from a calm epicenter originating on Daisy. Waves of rolling stone closed in on Boulanger before Koyon flew over in ghost form and threw up a rainbow wall stretching from one end of the cyclopean Capitol Building to the other. The tides of Daisy¡¯s Tectonic Drift smashed against it, running up its side in sheets of jagged rock. ¡°May I once again recommend we run?¡± Daisy said, backing away from the prismatic wall. The fuel chamber of Natsuko¡¯s bravado was running on fumes, so she followed Daisy as the two sprinted for the exit. Peng formed under their feet as they ran and in one upward thrust lifted them free from the ground, ending Daisy''s Tectonic Drift. The second it dropped, Prismatic Haven dropped with it, and Daisy took Peng into a barrel roll to avoid the Celestial Beam she knew was coming. The beam of searing sunlight missed them by inches. A second later Peng shot through the glass facade of the Capitol Building, spraying glittering crystal at the people fleeing the building, both Hero and Non-Hero. ¡°The only one fast enough to come after us is Boulanger,¡± Daisy shouted as they raced across the surface of Selenia. ¡°But he can¡¯t be dumb enough to try that when he¡¯s out-numbered, right?¡± One hand holding Peng¡¯s craggy plumage, Natsuko turned around. A tar black missile shot out of the gap in the Capitol Building and honed in on them. ¡°Keep flying towards the space elevator, I¡¯ll catch up,¡± Natsuko said. Daisy gave her a nod and banked Peng towards the enormous transparent tube connecting Selenia and Po-Lin. Natsuko rolled off Peng¡¯s back and activated her own Black Fire. Boulanger tried to redirect around her and beeline for Daisy, but his trajectory was too shallow. Their collision released a monochromatic explosion. The shockwave reverberated outwards, knocking over crowds of fleeing Selenians. The Heroes among them watched less in fear and more in awe at a display of power that, by the Yishang¡¯s design, was forever out of their reach. Both she and Boulanger fell out of their respective rocket form, but as he fell, Boulanger activated Hegemony. His body turned into a single silhouette of eye-scorching white and his entire body became a single ball of roiling white fire. With cooldowns and use restrictions removed, Boulanger shot towards Natsuko and rammed her, grabbing her by the throat and dragging her towards lethal fall damage. She stabbed at him with her sword but his Black Fire shield absorbed her attacks. As she was about to hit the ground, a rock turtle pulled itself free of the ground and bent its legs to cushion Natsuko¡¯s descent. Ribs cracked, lungs emptied, blood shot from her mouth, but the turtle reduced the fall damage below lethal. ¡°Swap with me!¡± Daisy yelled. In her dizzied state, Natsuko wasn¡¯t sure whether she was flattered or embarrassed Daisy decided to turn around, but she was glad she did. She swapped with Daisy who, now underneath Boulanger, drew her legs up, planted her feet on him and kicked him into the air. Without hesitation, Boulanger hurled scorching arcs of flame at both Daisy and Natsuko, hitting Daisy point blank and setting her on fire. With more time to react, Natsuko rolled out of the way as a fireball burrowed through the rock behind her. She scrambled for food to heal with, but before she could, Boulanger flashed behind Daisy and carved into her with his Pressing Attacks. ¡°You worthless, stupid, lazy bitch,¡± Boulanger screamed at Daisy, sounding as though he meant both her and Natsuko simultaneously. He followed up his quartet of attacks by pressing a palm full of fire to Daisy¡¯s face. Since it wasn¡¯t an attack, the only effect was to subject her to scorching pain and force a jagged scream from her throat. Natsuko clenched her teeth. Forgetting the food, she couldn¡¯t leave Daisy to another second of Boulanger¡¯s torture. She burst forward with her own Black Fire and as she neared she yanked Boulanger towards her with her telekinetic grab to screw up the timing on his shield. She was faster by a hair of a second, slipping Taiyouken between a wreath of flame closing around Boulanger¡¯s body. Amid the crackling fire she heard a gasp as her sword stabbed all the way through him. Using the hilt as leverage, she kicked out and sent him flying across the surface of Selenia. He followed up with another pair of fireballs, but Daisy, her face scorched red and black across her cheeks and eyes, threw up a stone wall to absorb the blow. ¡°Daisy, look away,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Huh? What¡ª¡± ¡°Look away!¡± Daisy turned around and covered her eyes. Mouthing an apology that meant nothing to those caught in the crossfire, Natsuko picked a spot near where Boulanger was going to land that kept herself and Daisy out of danger and activated Hypocenter. Harsh black shadows formed behind them as a second sun burst into existence over Selenia, engulfing the Capitol Building, the outlying buildings, Mooncom headquarters, and every Hero and Non-Hero within five kilometers. A few seconds later, the shockwave rolled over them, almost flattening Daisy before Natsuko braced her. When the initial flash had passed, Daisy turned back around to gaze at the giant orb of fire where most of the Selenian region had once been. ¡°My teammates were in that¡­¡± was all Daisy could think to say. With no time to lose, she resummoned Peng and carried them towards the space elevator. There would be time for guilt after they reunited with Shuixing and Sofiane. Chapter 128 - Meeting and Discussing with Non-Heroes ¡°Sofiane, we¡¯ve wasted an entire week here. We need to make a run for it. ¡± Shuixing said. By now, Shui had recovered from the worst of her drug-induced weakness and graduated to anxiously pacing the dungeon and rattling off theories to Sofiane who could not understand a word of them. For the past several days she had become even more frantic to leave while Sofiane argued it was too risky. ¡°I know, Shui, but if we get dimension-jumped, that¡¯s it. Everyone¡¯s dead. They already got Pechorin, and Natsuko and Daisy aren¡¯t coming. We¡¯re all that¡¯s left. And for all we know Baphomet¡¯s cult might get mopped up any day now. I just don''t think it¡¯s worth the risk,¡± he replied. ¡°We don¡¯t have the time to wait! We go now or we wait to die,¡± Shui said, glaring at him through the bent and cracked frames of her glasses. Anxious though she''d been, her new vehemence surprised Sofiane. Something had changed overnight and since that morning Shuixing had grown more and more stubborn and agitated, and this time she really meant to go, with or without him. She was reminding him of a certain red-headed gremlin. Sofi grabbed Shui¡¯s arm as she marched towards the dungeon entrance. ¡°Wait! Shui, please¡ª¡± Two steel-blue eyes stabbed back at him and he realized there was no changing her mind. He exhaled and let go. ¡°Let¡¯s at least think of a plan. We might make it past the Non-Heroes, but if Baphomet catches us, we¡¯re dead. Let¡¯s at least be smart about this." Shui¡¯s gaze softened and she nodded. The plan they came up with was not great, but it was better than nothing. First, they would try to find a couple isolated Non-Heroes. Next, they would sneak up and knock them out without dealing HP damage so they could steal their clothes and FDJ rods. Then, disguised as one of Baphomet¡¯s followers, they would sneak back into the Mage¡¯s College, find Shuixing¡¯s compounds, and book it to Deco Imperia. The first part went off without a hitch. After searching fruitlessly for days, the Non-Heroes they stalked were more focused on their conversation than picking through the bushes lining the gravel road. Once two patrolling Non-Heroes passed them, Sofiane stood up to go bang their heads together. Before he could, Shui yanked him back down. ¡°What!?¡± Sofiane whispered. ¡°Listen to their conversation,¡± Shuixing replied. Listening, Sofiane realized they were talking about how they had ¡°hit¡± another Hero, though the way they were talking, ¡°they¡± probably referred to Baphomet¡¯s entire cult. Sofiane checked his Use-Rankings and discovered the total count had decreased by two; the first decrease since Pechorin had been jumped. He immediately checked on Gomiko and the rest of Team Harald, but all of them appeared safe. ¡°It wasn¡¯t Natsu or Daisy,¡± Shuixing whispered. Talking it over, they deduced Shuixing¡¯s ranking had changed by two and his by one, suggesting the two Heroes they''d force dimension-jumped were above and below Rank #106. That was no small feat. Pechorin¡¯s death could be chalked up to a freak accident, but there would be no way to disguise two more. If the Yishang hadn¡¯t already informed the other Heroes of this new ¡°special event,¡± they would figure it out soon. ¡°Well, it means Baphomet''s days are numbered,¡± Sofiane said. Out of sheer curiosity, he checked Baphomet¡¯s ranking. He was sitting at around #50. Still pretty powerful, but anyone above Rank 40 could wipe the floor with him. ¡°Maybe,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°But it also means that any Hero that wants an FDJ weapon can get one.¡± Sofiane swallowed. He hadn¡¯t thought that far ahead yet. His focus was on getting Shuixing safely back to her lab, and since that was the next step¡­ Masking his own footsteps behind the two Non-Heroes they were stalking, Sofiane got close enough to bop the first Non-Hero in the back of the head with a large stick and when the other turned around to see why their partner had fallen face-first in the gravel, Sofiane cued up the stick like he was playing billiards and nailed the other across the jaw. Both lying unconscious on the ground, he motioned for Shuixing to help him drag them into the bushes, confiscating their FDJ rods along the way. When the adrenaline wore off, Shuixing pursed her lips and looked down at the bodies. ¡°Erm¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I see the issue,¡± Sofiane replied. That being the two Non-Heroes they had snuck up on were big, burly Bolters in purple overalls. Neither Sofiane nor Shuixing could be described as either big or burly. Sofiane held up one of the overalls which was taller than him. ¡°Do we wanna try and ambush some smaller Non-Heroes?¡± he asked. Shuixing shook her head. ¡°Not enough time. This will have to do.¡± Though skeptical, Sofiane put his legs through the pant holes and did his best to ignore the damp patches of sweat. Once worn, the bib of the overalls went almost to his neck while the legs puddled around his ankles like the train of a dress, even with the steel-toed boots sliding around on his feet. Least convincing of all was the hair he''d grown out over the past two years that refused to stay tucked under a flat cap. He looked over at Shuixing who was equally unconvincing.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°We look like we¡¯re playing dress-up,¡± Sofiane said, flapping the ends of his sleeves. Shuixing exhaled in frustration. Their disguises weren¡¯t going to be much use if they were caught immediately. At that point it was better to go in abilities blazing. At least then they wouldn¡¯t trip on shoes eight sizes too big. ¡°Hey, look! The grooves lead off the path," said a voice. The voice came from the other side of the bushes. Another downside of big, burly victims was that they made big, burly tracks when you dragged them through gravel. Nonetheless, Sofiane had a grin on his face, because the voice was feminine with a Cascadian accent, meaning they and whoever they were with were Cascadian anti-royalists. A perfect match for a disguise. Sofiane pressed Shui¡¯s head down and the two lay in wait for the unsuspecting Non-Heroes to investigate the bushes. ¡°Should we check it out?¡± asked another voice. ¡°Gods no! If some of us got attacked we¡¯ll probably get attacked too. Let¡¯s go find higher-ups and get them to investigate,¡± said the first voice, gravel crunching as they walked away. ¡°Gods-dammit, you idiots,¡± Sofiane mumbled. The gravel crunching stopped. ¡°Did you hear that?¡± said one. ¡°The person saying ¡°gods-dammit, you idiots¡±? Yeah.¡± ¡°We¡¯re for sure not looking now. Let¡¯s go tell The Prophet.¡± Not wanting to lose his chance, Sofiane jumped through the bushes to where the wooden barrel of an arquebus was waiting for him. With a split-second reaction, he pulled his newly-stolen FDJ rod up to deflect it and it connected with the barrel''s jagged tip and sent his weapon¡ªonce again¡ªthrough the ground. Sofiane stared at his empty hands. ¡°Why does this keep happening!?¡± Ready to greet him were three women. Two were, as he suspected, Cascadian anti-royalists wearing red-white-and-blue dresses with frilly aprons and red liberty caps. Both were armed with their usual arquebuses, except the tips had been filed into the telltale bumps of a force dimension-jump surface. The last of the three was a dark-skinned woman with white hair wearing some kind of spandex jumpsuit with added straps and spikes and tubes. Most likely a member of the Entropic Axis from that new moon region that Sofiane didn¡¯t care about. ¡°Halt! Surrender in the name of The Prophet and you will be given a fair trial!¡± said the moon villain lady. Sofiane raised his hands over his head. ¡°Okay, I surrender.¡± The three women blinked, not really expecting a Hero to give themselves up that easily. But as they figured out what to do next, Shuixing came up behind them and went down the line bopping them on the top of the head with the smooth part of her rod. The first two, the anti-royalists, dropped like a sack of potatoes. The last of them, the woman from the moon, raised her own hands in surrender. ¡°Wait! Let¡¯s work something out!¡± Shuixing shared a look with Sofiane who shrugged. He didn¡¯t really know what they were supposed to do with a prisoner. Instead of knocking her out, Shui kept the rod¡¯s tip pressed to the woman¡¯s back as a threat. ¡°I have information. I¡¯ll tell you anything you want to know," the villainess said with no particular emphasis. ¡°Okay, two questions right out the gate,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Who are you, and why do we care what you have to say?¡± The woman cleared her throat and in the tone of delivering a speech said, ¡°my name is Chaos General Vidorgia, feared nemesis of Mooncom and scourge of Selenia!¡± Sofiane squinted in confusion. ¡°What the fuck is Mooncom?¡± ¡°Mooncom is¡ª oh, you¡¯re a nobody Hero,¡± Vidorgia said, her oratory voice dropping to one of mild annoyance. ¡°Nobody? It¡¯s not like we know who the hell you are either,¡± Sofiane replied. Vidorgia checked her spiky indigo nails. ¡°No, but only because you haven¡¯t¡ªor, sorry, can¡¯t¡ªmake it to Selenia. I assure you the top-ranked Heroes know me quite well.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you part of Baphomet¡¯s cult?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t all Heroes your enemies? Who cares who''s high or low-ranked.¡± ¡°Yes, well¡ª¡± Vidorgia tossed her platinum hair. ¡°A villain is only as memorable as her adversaries.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem very important if you got beat by two nobodies," Sofiane replied with a smirk. Vidorgia flushed. ¡°You know very well the dynamics change when dimension-jumping is added to the equation! I have stats you know. I am intended to be the final boss of Selenia. In a fair fight I could kill you both with a flick of the wrist.¡± The smirk dropped off Sofiane¡¯s face. That part wasn¡¯t bluster. If Vidorgia really was the final fight for the newest region, that meant the Yishang had summoned her to be a challenge for the top Heroes. Vidorgia picked up the smirk he dropped. ¡°Oh? Are the Heroes reconsidering their superiority complexes?¡± she asked. Sofiane rubbed his forehead. ¡°No, my superiority complex is too well-established. Anyway, listen, Baphomet has been feeding you bullshit about the¡ª¡± Vidorgia rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes. Obviously.¡± ¡°Huh? So then why¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Special Event I¡¯m supposed to take part in," Vidorgia explained. "The Non-Heroes go crazy, start killing Heroes, get the numbers up for a bit. I know all about it. I wasn¡¯t born yesterday." ¡°You were born like, four months ago!¡± Sofiane shot back. ¡°Which isn¡¯t yesterday, fool! This kind of thing isn¡¯t up to me. If I don¡¯t play along, I¡¯ll get reformatted. Do you know how awful it is to wake up and know that you lived a life and had a whole personality that you can¡¯t remember? I¡¯d rather have an arm chopped off! Now clearly, you two fighting Baphomet is part of the Special Event, so my role is to fall into your hands and feed you info to speed things along. So let¡¯s get to that part. I¡¯m tired.¡± Shuixing sighed. It was bad enough that Heroes didn¡¯t take any of this drama seriously, but there was something depressing about the Entropic Axis not taking it seriously either. Sure it was all a lie, but Shui missed the days when both parties could pretend to be locked in an eternal battle of good and evil. However, as Shui¡¯s thoughts turned on the complexities of introducing an entire other metaphysical layer to unpack with the Celestials, something popped into her head. ¡°Vidorgia, instead of you giving us information, what if we gave you some?¡± Shuixing said. Chapter 129 - The Fruits of Anarchy Sofiane stared at Shuixing like she had just proposed dimension-jumping themselves. ¡°Uh... Shui, I think telling her would be a very bad idea.¡± Shuixing huffed. ¡°Why not? She clearly has no illusions about the Yishang meddling in things. Telling her about that can¡¯t be too much of an issue." ¡°What is ¡°that,¡± exactly?¡± Vidorgia asked. Sofiane ignored her. ¡°Shui, how do we know she won¡¯t turn around and tell the other Non-Heroes? And then how long do you think it¡¯ll take the Yishang to realize who let the secret get out? We have nothing to gain and everything to lose from telling her or any other Non-Hero.¡± ¡°What secret?¡± Vidorgia asked again. ¡°Don¡¯t ask about the damn secret before we¡¯ve decided whether we¡¯re going to tell you the damn secret!¡± he yelled. Vidorgia put her hands up defensively. ¡°This world is fake and the Yishang sell copies of us to the Celestials for money,¡± Shuixing said. On Shui''s face was a very Natsuko-like expression of stubbornness. Sofiane rubbed his temples. Shui was supposed to be the thoughtful, intelligent, rational one. If Natsuko was off making smart decisions somewhere, the universe was officially done for. ¡°Wow, very cool,¡± Vidorgia said. ¡°You think we¡¯re joking?¡± Shuixing said. Vidorgia put a hand on her hip. ¡°Put it this way, you don¡¯t sound any less convincing than Mr. Prophet.¡± Shuixing did her best to bring Vidorgia up to speed on everything she had learned about the Yishang while Sofiane interjected to explain it all in terms that Vidorgia could actually understand. As the story went along, Vidorgia¡¯s mild amusement turned into confusion and discomfort as she realized this wasn¡¯t just another Special Event plot point. ¡°I guess I''ll buy that for now,¡± Vidorgia said. ¡°At least until you let me try this compound. I¡¯m not sold on everyone being numbers, but whatever. What do you need from me? Just getting you to your lab?¡± Vidorgia said. ¡°Killing Baphomet would be nice,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°No can do. We¡¯re in a Special Event. I can¡¯t touch him.¡± Sofiane scoffed. ¡°But we explained how to take control of Special Events!¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you saying two seconds ago we need to be discreet? The script is that a Hero is supposed to kill him. If I do it there''s a giant neon sign pointing to us saying, ¡®funny business here!¡¯ See why that''s a problem?¡± Sofiane was gutted that a Non-Hero was thinking more clearly than he was, especially one that should be reeling from having her entire perception of the world shattered. ¡°Sure, fine,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°But frankly I''m a little suspicious how easy you¡¯re taking everything we just told you.¡± Vidorgia scoffed. ¡°Maybe it was a shock to you Heroes who thought the world existed for you to run around and slay enemies and complete quests and make numbers go up, but us Non-Heroes have always known what it¡¯s really like. I¡¯m meant to be shocked the Yishang is making us dance for the Celestials? Babe, that¡¯s what being a Non-Hero is.¡± Sofiane didn¡¯t appreciate her attempt to guilt him so he stomped off to go put on the anti-royalist outfit. It fit much better than the overalls, being roughly about his size and much more his style. The red liberty cap that went with it also fit his bunched up hair under it. Shuixing looked slightly less convincing only because of her beaten-up glasses¡ªeye correction being an aristocratic decadence¡ªbut if she kept them in her pockets she passed. Both she and Sofiane made sure to grab a force dimension-jump arquebus. Once disguised, Vidorgia led them to Verm?genburgh. In their week-long absence, the entire town had been sacked. Nothing was outright damaged due to the 4am clean-up, but the strange properties of ¡°ownership¡± (the mechanism that let people keep things in-between days) rendered the ¡°damage¡± visible through the turning out of interiors. Bottles of alcohol lay shattered on the ground beside outdated weapons and armor, books now ¡°owned¡± by a looter were strewn about the pavement, and carts were overturned in the fountain. Clothes, shoes, and food had also been looted, as Shuixing saw Non-Heroes walking around wearing Verm?genburgh cloaks and dresses and snacking on rye sandwiches. Fortunately, the anarchy made for excellent cover. No one noticed amid the whirl of flowing outfits and faces the resemblance of one of the anti-royalist women to a certain Hero who had attacked their Prophet. Sofiane seemed horrified by the anarchy, but Shuixing found herself fascinated by the rapid-pace exchanging of identities. Having explored the ways in which the Yishang had¡ªquite literally¡ªcodified certain groups and regions, the entropy of Baphomet¡¯s grand gathering had dissolved this codification in a carnivalesque fire. Sibe-Lander tribesmen had traded their horses for Bolter steammobiles while Shikijiman rebels walked around in Cascadian fur coats and carried al-Nuwban scimitars marked with force dimension-jump geometry. And while Shuixing hadn¡¯t noticed it when she put it on, the pins in her stolen liberty hat were Tianzhounese jade. Whether all this was good or bad, she couldn''t say, but even without checking Numberspace, she could tell there had been an enormous jumble of numbers. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What do you make of it?¡± Shuixing asked Vidorgia as the three of them walked up the winding road to the Mage¡¯s College. ¡°You mean the Special Event?¡± Vidorgia asked. Despite the term¡¯s lofty connotations, ¡°Special Event¡± felt like a short sell of what was happening. ¡°No¡ª I mean, yes, but about the Non-Heroes mixing specifically. It¡¯s probably the first time most of them have ever seen a Non-Hero from another region,¡± Shuixing said. Vidorgia sniffed. ¡°It¡¯s a mess is what it is.¡± Sofiane agreed, but Shuixing still felt as though something important was happening here. If she had been asked what she thought of it all before her excursions into Numberspace, she might have agreed with them. And there was no denying that it inconvenienced the native Verm?genburghers quite a bit. But after exploring the nature of Entities (she refused to use the Celestial term ¡°characters¡±), she had reached a hypothesis that an intermingling, or the introduction of entropy or chaos into a static equilibrium, was often necessary for conceptual leaps. The carnival atmosphere ended abruptly one block from the Mage¡¯s College where severe Sibe-lander horse archers patrolled the perimeter. They would be easy to fight, but there were so many of them that at least one would slip away and alert Baphomet. Sofiane glanced at Vidorgia who didn''t slow her pace. Two horsemen trotted up to meet her. ¡°Hi guys, Baphy in?¡± Vidorgia said. They glared at her and one said, ¡°you will refer to him as The Prophet. At the moment he is away. If you must leave him a message, we will make sure he gets it.¡± The other rider was eyeing up Sofiane and Shuixing. Sofiane met him with an appropriately-Cascadian look of haughty disdain. Shui, however, winced under the scrutiny. The horseman frowned. ¡°Who are you two?¡± ¡°W-Who, us?¡± Shuixing stuttered. ¡°W-We, um, we¡¯re freedom fighters, t-tearing down the tyranny of the uh¡­ the queen!¡± Vidorgia looked at Shui like she''d just asked permission to assassinate Baphomet. Sensing something was amiss, the horseman drew a rod from his saddlepack. Sofiane cleared his throat and laughed. ¡°Hon hon hon! Citizen Justine is acclimating to her liberation, you see. Her head is still full of Yishang nonsense, don¡¯t mind her. As for me? I am her sister, Juliette. We are both from Cascadia, as you can see.¡± Juliette gave a little curtsy which a blushing Justine imitated. The Sibe-Lander horsemen seemed no less irritated, but stuck his rod back in his pack. ¡°All you Cascadians are silly people,¡± he said. The one Vidorgia had been speaking to turned back to her. ¡°Well? Your message?¡± Vidorgia put her hands on her hips. ¡°It¡¯s not a message. We need something from one of the labs inside.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Vidorgia replied with a blank stare. Juliette, seeing that both her fellow spies were in a race to see who could be the most suspicious, jumped in again. ¡°Some of the professors in the college are working on a way to bring back the regions wiped out by the Yishang. Some kind of anti-anthro¡ª antro¡ª enta¡ª ugh, I don¡¯t know the stupid jargon! I just know we need to get the eggheads their silly science juice." ¡°I haven¡¯t heard about any of this. Have you?¡± one rider asked the other who shook his head. ¡°Well! Neither had I until one of you hairy brutes came up and ordered us on this little errand," Juliette said. "And to be quite honest with you, I¡¯d rather be done with it so I can go have a glass of wine. Now would you please get out of our way, Monsieur Horsehumper?¡± The rider sneered at her. ¡°Which militia are¡ª¡± ¡°We,¡± Juliette pointed to herself and Justine, ¡°are with the 11th Citizen¡¯s Militia out of ?le-de-Amhl. I¡¯m sure you know where that is, non?¡± He snorted. ¡°Matter of fact, I do. Got to talking with some bowmen from there. And I happen to know it¡¯s a First People village, not a Cascadian one, and you sure look Cascadian to me.¡± Justine¡ªor rather, Shuixing¡ªdesperately tried to keep her face from showing the panic boiling beneath the surface. There was no way Sofiane¡ªor rather, Juliette¡ªhad an answer for that. But words spilled out of Juliette at a galloping pace: ¡°When the Yishang were setting up our illusory conflict with Her Royal Maj¡ª¡± Juliette coughed ¡°¡ªthe queen, the citizen¡¯s militias were spread around all of Cascadia, including ?le-de-Amhl, so we could pretend we were fighting her on all fronts. I am aware how silly it is, mon perte de temps, I am the one who had to stomp around the woods for three straight years. If I find a handkerchief I will give it to you so you can cry for me, but right now I need you to get the hell out of my way because you are keeping me from my afternoon wine.¡± The rider stared at Juliette, eyes glazed over from the sheer velocity with which the horseshit came from her mouth, but being entirely unaware it was horseshit and confident there wasn''t much trouble a loudmouthed Cascadian woman could get up to in the Mage¡¯s College, he exhaled deeply and said, ¡°fine. We¡¯ll escort you to get this ¡°science juice¡±.¡± ¡°Merci,¡± Juliette replied. The two Sibe-Lander guards dismounted their horses and escorted the three-ish women into the Mage¡¯s College. Just like the rest of Verm?genburgh it was in a strange state of chaotic disarray without any visible damage. This mostly entailed scattered papers and books and ink, but what Shuixing did not see were any faculty or students, and this concerned her, though she put this aside for the moment. Their group eventually came upon her old laboratory. Unlike the first time it was ransacked, the room was tidy, albeit missing her chemistry equipment and research files as well as her maps of Numberspace, her compiled findings, and all 12 notebooks of the Algorinomicon, no doubt pilfered by Baphomet. The thought of her hard work being taken by an idiot like Baphomet who was blindly following a Pengwu¡¯s order made her exceedingly angry. ¡°O-Oh, hehehe, we must have made a wrong turn. Haven¡¯t we, Justine?¡± Sofiane said, trying to cover for the fact that the ¡°science juice¡± they had been sent to fetch was nowhere to be seen. ¡°My work! Do you have any idea¡ª!?¡± Shuixing said, putting her cracked glasses back on with hands shaking in rage. Her two escorts fumbled for their FDJ rods. ¡°Rrragh!¡± Shuixing screamed at them, swatting them both with her own rod first, turning them into spasming polygons slowly sinking into the ground. Sofiane put his palm in his hand. Chapter 130 - The Difference Between a Hero and a Non-Hero Knowing they were now on a timer, Shuixing sprinted for the cabinets in her lab and threw them open praying anything had been left behind. Outside of some basic supplies, however, Baphomet had cleaned the lab out under the¡ªcorrect¡ªassumption that she''d been stockpiling something of strategic value. Shuixing tore at her hair. ¡°Gods, if he injected any of it¡­¡± ¡°What would it do for him?¡± Sofiane asked, keeping half an eye on the corridor outside. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Shui replied, feeling as though there was something she was forgetting to tell him. ¡°But forget about that because we can¡¯t fight him anyway, and even if we could, we''d still be wading through a mob of pissed-off Non-Heroes with FDJ weapons. We need to figure out where he took my materials.¡± The two of them looked to Vidorgia who held up her hands. ¡°I got nothing. They didn¡¯t pick me to be in his inner circle for this event." ¡°So who is?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Uh, some old guys. Well, they¡¯re not both old. Or guys. But they¡¯re from Verm?genburgh so they¡¯ve been around for a while. Medea, I think? Some Goblin Lord Whosewhatsit?¡± ¡°Spriggansnout?¡± Shuixing asked. Sofiane vaguely remembered something about a goblin he had to fight for a quest he completed in five minutes. Vidorgia stared blankly. ¡°Uh¡­ sure, Spigganbop. And that weird ass Entropic Axis mage with the freaky purple hair and annoying voice who¡¯s supposed to be my predecessor or something. Anyway, those two are the only core members of his circle that know it¡¯s all a bullshit Special Event. I only know because some octopus Peng-wu came and told me not to get dimension jumped before the finale quest for Selenia.¡± Shuixing was more familiar than the other two with the villains of the Verm?genburgh arc. Unfortunately, her interactions with them were only during quests, so she couldn¡¯t quite say what their personalities were like independent of the Yishang¡¯s script. But even if the two villains wouldn¡¯t be of immediate use, a new hypothesis about the Non-Heroes and their potential role in the fight against the Yishang was beginning to crystallize in her head. The only scary part was that any new hypothesis could only be tested once. In other words, it was blind faith. ¡°I also haven¡¯t seen any of the inhabitants of the Mage¡¯s College," Shuixing said. ¡°No idea where they would be,¡± Vidorgia said. ¡°But if you were Baphomet, where would you take them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! I¡¯m not a damn Hero, and I don¡¯t think like a damn Hero!¡± Vidorgia replied. Shuixing stroked her jaw for a second. ¡°No, wait, why would Baphomet care about them? I thought he might need the professors to reverse-engineer and build the FDJ weapons, but if this was all Yishang meddling, they''d give Baphomet his weapons regardless.¡± Vidorgia raised an eyebrow. ¡°So?¡± ¡°So! So¡ª¡± Shuixing trembled a little, as though her tiny body were a rattling machine, jamming up after being thrown onto its max setting. ¡°Well! Right now there are three sides, not two. We have the Yishang puppeteering Baphomet to increase their Use-Numbers. That¡¯s one. Then there are the Heroes trying to stop him. Two. But the Non-Heroes who are supposed to be his followers are a third party in all this. Baphomet got them together and whipped them into a fury, but they¡¯re also acting independently. Even if they don¡¯t know everything that¡¯s going on, they¡¯re still angry with the Yishang. That means if the inhabitants of the Mage¡¯s College were taken somewhere, it might be his followers that took them, not Baphomet.¡± Sofiane waited a moment after she was finished to see if Shuixing would continue talking since she hadn¡¯t arrived at anything that would help them find the research materials that Baphomet took. When he realized that was the big revelation he groaned. ¡°Ugh. Are you saying we go free them? Cuz we don¡¯t have time." Shuixing turned and marched towards the main lecture hall on the north end of campus. Sofiane and Vidorgia caught up and tried to dissuade her and explain, in rational terms, why there was no point in going to find her former Non-Hero colleagues, but in a thoroughly Natsuko-like fashion, Shui ignored them. Such was her conviction that she barreled straight into a pair of Purple Bolters turning the corner. Sofiane reached for his FDJ musket but Shuixing stomped on his foot. ¡°Can we help you?¡± one of them asked. Sofiane cleared his throat. ¡°Er¡ª yes, we um, have business with¡ª¡± ¡°I want to talk with the Verm?genburghers,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°The eggheads?¡± the other Bolter asked. ¡°Yes.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. He glanced at his fellow guard who looked equally confused. ¡°Are we allowed to let anyone in to see them? I¡¯m pretty sure you need approval from The Prophet or one of his¡ª¡± ¡°Let me into the damn lecture hall,¡± Shui said. His partner squinted at Shuixing. ¡°Hold on. Just who in the hell¡ª¡± Shuixing grabbed the Bolter by the zipper of her purple apron. ¡°Why do we need to ask The damn Prophet¡¯s permission? We can organize ourselves! Screw the¡ª¡± Shuixing couldn¡¯t quite make herself swear ¡°¡ªfreaking Prophet! No wonder the Verm?genburghers want nothing to do with us. They think we¡¯re a cult, not a revolution!¡± Shuixing stabbed her finger at the door behind them. ¡°But I¡¯m going to go in there and tell them they can fight the Yishang without worshipping a Hero with a messiah complex. If you want to stop me, try.¡± Shuixing let go of the apron and pointed her musket at the two Bolters. Vidorgia took a step back. Sofiane tightened his grip on his own musket but kept it at his side. After staring at the tip of Shui¡¯s musket for a moment, the female Bolter raised her arms. ¡°Alright, we won¡¯t stop you. Gods know you might have more luck than we¡¯ve had. But if I were you, I¡¯d keep your thoughts about The Prophet to yourself.¡± Shuixing frowned and said, ¡°I will not.¡± Sofiane bit his lip, expecting that to be the last straw, but their interrogators walked off. ¡°How the hell did you sell that?¡± he asked Shui in a low voice. ¡°Because I wasn¡¯t lying,¡± Shuixing replied. At the end of the corridor were a pair of heavy wooden doors which Shui threw open as though they weren¡¯t twice her size. As she anticipated, the faculty and students were sitting in quiet, somber circles inside the lecture hall. At first she was met with nervous, weary expressions, but one by one, the Non-Heroes of the Verm?genburgh Mage¡¯s College recognized the wide, round spectacles and tufts of cerulean hair sticking out from under her liberty cap and jumped up to greet Shuixing. ¡°Dr. He!¡± Dr. Cox exclaimed. She jerked a finger to her mouth, telling him to be quiet. Once Vidorgia and Sofiane were inside they shut the lecture hall doors and Sofiane jammed a chair under its handles to ensure they wouldn¡¯t be interrupted. ¡°Thank gods, we¡¯re saved!¡± Dr. Cox said in a quieter voice, hugging Shuixing. The stubborn determination melted from Shuixing¡¯s face and she greeted her former colleagues individually. Due to her self-enforced solitude, it had been at least two years since they''d seen her in the flesh, though her reception was as welcome as when she returned from her quest to get her papers back. ¡°They haven¡¯t hurt you in any way, have they?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°No. Not physically, in any case. They know killing us would just help us escape,¡± Dr. Cox said. ¡°Instead they¡¯ve been pulling us out one by one and trying to convince us to join their dreadful cult, claiming the Yishang are actually the Entropic Axis and other silly nonsense and¡ª¡± Dr. Cox suddenly noticed Vidorgia standing by the door in her over-the-top villainess outfit looking very much the part of the ¡°real¡± Entropic Axis and recoiled. ¡°O-Oh, erm¡­ there¡¯s a lot of things I need to explain, but I think you should join them,¡± Shuixing said. A ripple of surprise and confusion went through the faculty and students. ¡°B-But Dr. He! Baphomet and his band of hooligans blaspheme against the Yishang! We¡¯ll be re-formatted if we go against them!¡± he said. Vidorgia rolled her eyes. ¡°No you won¡¯t. It¡¯s an event. The Yishang themselves orchestrated all of this.¡± The Verm?genburghers didn¡¯t seem to understand what she was saying and looked to Shuixing for clarification who looked back at them helplessly, unsure of how to explain it any clearer without telling them the truth about the world. Or¡­ perhaps she had to. Her conviction, after all, was that Non-Heroes could manage their own business and make their own decisions without either the Yishang or the Heroes. So she told them everything, taking long enough that Sofiane began anxiously pacing the hall. From his perspective, these were minutes, even seconds that could be put to better use finding her research materials and plunging into Numberspace to find an escape route. But Shui was spending them explaining her abstract theories to a bunch of Non-Heroes who didn¡¯t even understand them. Sofiane wanted to bash his head against the wall. ¡°Shui, enough. We need to go,¡± he finally said. ¡°They deserve the right to know what¡¯s happening,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°Why!? What good¡¯s it gonna do if more Non-Heroes are running around with FDJ weapons? Who the hell cares if they know the Yishang are a bunch of bastards!? We¡¯re wasting time!¡± ¡°We¡¯re not wasting time. I don¡¯t know why, but this is important. I have faith in that,¡± she said, using Pechorin¡¯s choice of words for what she called a ¡°single-test hypothesis.¡± If she had to put it into words, this hypothesis might be that her conception of Heroes and Non-Heroes had collapsed. The Yishang had given Non-Heroes peripheral roles to play, and much lower (if any) stats, but how was that any different from Shuixing¡¯s own situation for the past several years? Within the Yishang¡¯s playground, there was little difference between a forgotten Hero and a Non-Hero. In numberspace, both she and Dr. Cox were complex entities. She had probed into his code (and once again, she felt something inadequate with the Celestials¡¯ terminology) and found herself there in little habits or thoughts. All the while she had been researching the bottle, Dr. Cox had been researching the 4am reset and compiling data about how the Yishang picked some things to reset and not others. In that code she also found how he''d fallen in love with his colleague, Dr. Venstein, and how the two held secret trysts whenever they thought the Yishang couldn¡¯t see. Having witnessed that complexity, that intertwining of herself and them, and they and others, Shuixing couldn¡¯t possibly dismiss the Non-Heroes as useless without dismissing herself. So whether the time she spent winning them over was worth it or not, she didn¡¯t know for certain. But she felt that it was. ¡°I think I understand what you mean, Dr. He,¡± said Dr. Cox, looking slightly less bewildered than the others. ¡°And I can see you and your friends have important work to do. The continuation of your experiments these past two years, no doubt. If you believe it is best for us to mingle with the¡ª¡± he cleared his throat of the word ¡®hooligans¡¯ ¡°¡ªrebels, then you have my full confidence. We will do our best to spread your heterodoxy.¡± Shuixing hadn¡¯t even thought to give him that much instruction, mentioning only the truth about Po-Lin and the reason for rebelling against the Yishang and nothing about undermining Baphomet. But through his own path, Dr. Cox arrived at the conclusion that their next step was peeling the Non-Heroes away from Baphomet and his cult of personality. Great minds, Shuixing supposed, thought alike. Once this was decided, Sofiane unbarred the door and checked to see if the coast was clear. Finding no one in the hall, he beckoned for Shui and Vidorgia to follow him. This time around, he took point, darting from corner to corner and peeking around them to find openings. Shuixing herself seemed more relaxed and less agitated, as though convinced her research materials would fall into their lap at their own pace. It was becoming hard to keep track, Sofiane thought, whether Shuixing was acting more like Natsuko or like Pechorin. Chapter 131 - Heavily Inflated Artificial Stats and Their Consequences ¡°Wait,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°I smell it!¡± Vidorgia and Sofiane stopped mid-jog. They smelled nothing other than the college¡¯s usual mothball and mildew, but Trusting Shui¡¯s nose they followed her to an unmarked door. She tried the handle and found it locked. ¡°I can bust down the door, but it won¡¯t be quiet.¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I should mention,¡± Vidorgia interrupted. ¡°Baphomet¡¯s back.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us earlier?¡± Sofiane asked in a sharp whisper. ¡°The change in the Special Event just happened. You¡¯re getting a live update. The Yishang must¡¯ve told him to come back.¡± ¡°Shoot! Because of us? How did they know!?¡± Shuixing said. Vidorgia shook her head. ¡°Not cuz of you, I can tell you that much. My guess? Heroes up in Selenia figured out what was happening and are coming to fight him. I guess it wasn¡¯t you two in the script after all. Might be the perfect opportunity for a smash and grab.¡± Sofiane grabbed the door handle and tore it from the door, leaving a gaping hole where the locking mechanism had been. The de-locked door swung open to a break room once used by faculty but now filled with requisitioned lab supplies and equipment. Baphomet had confiscated everything without knowing what belonged to Shuixing. Undeniably hers, however, were the vials of luminescent gold and blue and murky red liquids slotted into a rack. Emptied vials and spent needles and syringes lay on a table in front of an overstuffed armchair. ¡°Oh dear!¡± Shuixing said as she scurried around collecting everything that would fit in her robe pockets. ¡°So he¡¯s been to Numberspace?¡± Sofiane looked at the empty vials. ¡°Several times, apparently.¡± In a stack beside the chair were the first four volumes of Shuixing¡¯s Algorinomicon. Sofiane picked up the first volume and rifled through it. Every page was covered in yellow highlighter and dense notes in the margins. The pages themselves, Shuixing¡¯s own notes, were even more abstract and dense. ¡°You said earlier you didn¡¯t know what he could do with access to Numberspace. Is there any chance you might be able to tell based on what he marked up?¡± Sofiane asked. Shuixing scuttled over, pockets of vials clinking with each step, and plucked the notebook from his hands and flipped through it, stopping in a few spots, humming to herself, then continuing to flip. Sofiane took it as a good sign she didn¡¯t seem worried. Until she started seeming worried. ¡°This could be very bad,¡± Shuixing said, double-checking her own notes against Baphomet¡¯s marginal ones. Sofiane bit his lip. ¡°Specifics, Shui. What could be very bad?¡± ¡°This is the section where I outlined how to find and alter statistics numbers. It¡¯s how I gave myself a Cognition stat of 3,825,¡± she said. ¡°You did what!?¡± Even Vidorgia, blas¨¦ about almost everything related to the strange metaphysics of her universe, whistled. There was something transcendentally real about the hard numbers of Hero statistics. Even though they were the pinnacle of arbitrary abstraction, stat numbers maintained an eminent mysticism about them. Or, Shuixing supposed, perhaps precisely because they were so abstract and arbitrary they seemed to stand above anything and everything else. Heroes could lie, cheat, murder, and bluff as much as they pleased, but stats were the hard, meritocratic structure which held everything together. Several questions popped into Sofiane¡¯s head, but the first to leave his mouth was: ¡°Why only boost Cognition?¡± ¡°I was afraid the Yishang would notice if I boosted everything and suddenly jumped in ranking. And for what I was doing I only needed Cognition,¡± she replied. What the mental component of Cognition did, as Shuixing now understood, was to deepen and widen the associational parameters of her interfaces with the Central Probability Algorithm. It didn¡¯t make her more ¡°intelligent,¡± per say, but it let her cast a truly enormous net when synthesizing the ocean of numbers comprising Numberspace. She wondered (but had never dared find out) what advantages an equally disproportionate Insight stat might confer. ¡°So from where I''m standing, right now you have two problems,¡± Vidorgia said, butting into the conversation. ¡°One, Baphomet doesn¡¯t care what the Yishang think, so if he knows how to boost his numbers, he''s probably walking around with capped out stats right now, whatever that number may be¡­¡± Shuixing did know. There was a good chance Baphomet now had 9,999 in all stats. His HP would be well over a million, his dodge and crit chances were 99%, he could one-shot almost any Hero outside of the Top Ten, and tank a direct shot from every Desperation Art from every Hero all at once and walk away with health to spare. On top of that, he also had an FDJ weapon. ¡°So whoever the Yishang sent him back to fight is fucked, basically,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Vidorgia replied.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Two¡­ you said two problems¡­¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Oh, yes. Problem number two: If the Yishang is letting him get away with editing his numbers, they know you can do it too.¡±
Natsuko had been fighting the urge since leaving Selenia to blast ahead of Peng with Black Fire, but separating from Daisy had already proven a bad idea. Stuck with her for several hours then, she had with Daisy one of those conversations where both parties felt like they ought to know each other, but enough time had elapsed that on some level both knew they were talking to someone not quite the same as the one they knew. Flavors of this had steeped their conversation at the Halloween party, but now, brought out into the light of day with neither intoxication nor mortal danger to disguise it, there was nothing but the naked fact that Daisy and Natsuko felt awkward around each other. ¡°So¡­ what¡¯d you think of the Jade Realms questline?¡± Natsuko asked as they soared over the redwood forests of Cascadia. All the strategic details¡ªthe big talk¡ªhad been exhausted in the hour after they fled Selenia. Only small talk remained. ¡°Oh, um¡­ I haven¡¯t thought about it much. I guess the time loop thing would¡¯ve been a neat gimmick if we didn¡¯t, you know, go home in-between quests and pretend it wasn¡¯t happening,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Yeah, that was a dud. Even my teammates thought it was silly and I hadn¡¯t even told them about the Yishang yet,¡± Natsuko said with a tiny chuckle. Talking about the Yishang¡¯s quests felt meaningless to the point of being sad. It didn¡¯t help that it was also a reminder of their own stupidity in running away from their responsibilities to go chase the pleasure of playing Hero in a world they no longer believed in. But because that''s what they''d done, playing Hero was also all they had to talk about. Ironically, the other three, the ones who hadn¡¯t been completing quests and grinding experience and getting stronger, probably had more interesting things to talk about. ¡°I um¡­ I¡¯m sorry for taking your spot, by the way,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. That¡¯s the game,¡± Daisy replied. Over the roaring wind, Natsuko couldn''t tell whether Daisy meant that or not. It was trivial now that the end of the world was thirteen days away, but feelings of betrayal had a way of biding their time in the darker parts of the mind where words like, ¡°nah, it¡¯s fine,¡± could not penetrate. Daisy lost her spot on Team Boulanger (and thus the Top Ten) the moment she abandoned her team to go back to Shikijima. But when the news broke that Natsuko was Daisy¡¯s replacement, Daisy stopped looking her in the eyes. Whether that was out of shame, hurt, or guilt, neither of them could say. ¡°No, I mean¡­ we were friends. We went through shit together. And it''s on me for letting that lapse,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°It was on both of us,¡± Daisy replied, eyes straight ahead in the curious way she liked to talk as though speaking to the sky in front of her. Or maybe it was just that a good chunk of their conversations had taken place on the back of her stone bird. ¡°But alright, want me to be honest with ya? And if ya say yes and get mad, I¡¯ll kick you off this bird!¡± Daisy said. Natsuko giggled. After the fawning, saccharine attention she¡¯d been the recipient of, the rougher give-and-take she was familiar with was a relief. At one time or another, she had hurt her friends, and they her, but the bonds between them, forged as much by participating in a silly card tournament as struggling against the gods, made the occasional abrasiveness something to be put up with. It was the price for the awkward, messy, painful process of becoming entangled with other people which was still infinitely preferable to fluffy, harmless, nothing which preserved everyone as a solitary, intact bundle of numbers. ¡°Gimme the truth, babe. Let¡¯s hear it,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Well, I thought you cheated your way to a top spot by screwing the rest of us over and taking the Yishang¡¯s offer for yourself,¡± Daisy said, unfurling one finger. ¡°I thought you were a hypocrite after complaining about how unfair the Yishang are then shuttin¡¯ up as soon as you were benefittin''.¡± A second finger. ¡°You were an arrogant, patronizing ass as soon as you were on top¡­¡± A third finger. Natsuko started counting the number of fingers Daisy had left. ¡°You let Boulanger and Ailing blow wind up your ass about how great you were. You turned yourself into the Yishang¡¯s lil¡¯ mascot and damn near took them up on the offer to abandon everyone.¡± Four. Five. Any more grievances and Daisy would have to start flying Peng with no hands. But right as Daisy seemed like she was about to crescendo to a sixth, she deflated. ¡°I¡¯m just happy you¡¯re back." Natsuko hugged her from behind which caused Daisy to jerk and accidentally send Peng into a vertical climb. Once she righted him, her muscles relaxed into the hug. ¡°And I¡¯m glad you stopped drinking, too,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Would you still be glad if I told you it was cuz of Ailing?¡± Natsuko asked. Daisy chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not that petty. Ailing¡¯s got her good side too, same as other folks. Even if she did try to kill us. If anything I¡¯m disappointed it was her that did the trick. Remember how I said our fallin¡¯ out was on both of us? I guess that¡¯s my half of the mess.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Natsuko said, scratching her neck. ¡°But I also kinda underestimated the pressure you were under back when you were helping us. This ¡®staying on top¡¯ shit is grueling.¡± They lapsed into silence after that. If they kept going, the conversation would turn into a competition to see who could apologize harder. Natsuko instead looked ahead at the sky, letting her eyes fall into the great bowl of blue curving to the horizon. ¡°When we¡¯re finally free from here, we¡¯ll have all the time in the world to fix our problems,¡± Natsuko said. Daisy grunted. Whether that was true or not, the belief that it was was enough for her. Another few hours of flying and by mid-afternoon the line of redwoods broke in favor of the spiny quilts of Verm?genburgher pine trees. Being much smaller than the other regions, the town itself was already a gray blob on the horizon. As they approached, a pinprick of red light detached itself from the blob and arced through the sky in their general direction. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Natsuko said, squinting to try and make it out. It didn¡¯t take them long to notice the pinprick was growing in size. ¡°That¡¯s not a Hero, is it?¡± Daisy asked. Natsuko shook her head. ¡°Can¡¯t be. Only me and Boulanger move that fast. There aren¡¯t any other Fire Heroes that powerful.¡± A few seconds passed and Natsuko realized the comet blazing towards them was, in fact, moving quite a bit faster than herself and Boulanger. With half a second''s warning, she had time to realize roll off the back of Peng, but not enough to warn Daisy. Above her, the sky flashed with a fiery explosion that shattered the stone bird into pebbles. Daisy tumbled out of the cloud of smoke. Baphomet followed after her and slammed the bunt of a giant wine bottle into her. Chapter 132 - On Solid Ground Natsuko¡¯s heart leapt when the wine bottle collided with Daisy. She more or less knew what would happen, but the unga bunga part of her brain still reeled. Sure enough however, while Daisy was gasping for air after an 80-pound wine bottle slammed into her solar plexus and cracked a few ribs, she was not a jittering polygon. At some point Shuixing had probably explained why to Natsuko, probably using fancy words like, ¡°recursive-input feedback loop,¡± but what that meant was that with no wall, floor, or ceiling for Daisy to jump outside of, she was going nowhere. ¡°What!? How!?¡± Baphomet said. His momentary surprise was all Natsuko needed to kick him downwards and detonate Megaton above him to give him an extra push. At the same time, Daisy yelled for help as she plummeted towards the ground. The downside to being an Earth Elemental was that her powers were not very useful up in the air. ¡°Gimme a second! The cooldown¡¯s almost up!¡± Natsuko shouted to her. Then the whole sky was spinning around her. Amidst the nauseating swirl she saw Baphomet falling next to her, his hands holding a blood red scythe in addition to the useless bottle. Her arms and chest screamed in pulsing, angry throbs where the blade had mowed through her. His one basic attack brought her under half health. Boulanger, Koyon, and Ailing flinging all of their abilities had done about the same. On top of that, Daisy¡¯s Granite Sentinel passive prevented critical hits and cut physical damage. If Natsuko had been by herself, Baphomet''s single attack would''ve killed her. Cold fear ran through her. Rank #1 or not, Baphomet was an order of magnitude more powerful than her and wanted both her and Daisy dead.
Shuixing, Sofiane, and Vidorgia grabbed everything they could. Between them they were able to take most of the remaining vials and needles but the precursors proved too cumbersome. Buckets of frogs and glowing rocks were, on top of being heavy, extremely conspicuous. It only took one suspicious Non-Hero to whack them through the ground. As they were about to leave, Sofiane and Shuixing shared a common thought. Natsuko and Daisy are coming to Verm?genburgh. Both blinked and looked at each other. ¡°Did you just¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªHear a voice?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°It said¡­¡± Shuixing fumbled through her pockets, ignoring the accidental needle pricks and reaching for a vial of Aqua Shen. She pulled a couple vials before realizing Sofiane had grabbed most of the murky red ones. ¡°Sofi! Give me a vial, now!¡± ¡°What!? You¡¯re going into Numberspace now!?¡± Shuixing dashed for the chair and hiked up the skirts of her robe to expose her thigh. ¡°If Baphomet gets to them, Natsuko and Daisy are as good as dead. I¡¯m going to edit Baphomet¡¯s numbers myself." As he handed her one of the red vials, Sofiane heard commotion out in the hall. Baphomet returning meant Shuixing¡¯s side-struggle for control of the Non-Heroes was about to begin in earnest. Sofiane had hoped to be clear of the enemy¡¯s headquarters before that happened, but if the Yishang were going to throw turbo-charged fuck-off Heroes at them, they needed Natsuko and Daisy alive. He and Shui couldn''t let Baphomet kill them. Even if they pissed him off by running away.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything too crazy, okay? Even if the Yishang know you can edit numbers, don¡¯t let on you¡¯re any more of a threat,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing met his gaze and nodded grimly. She plunged the needle into her thigh, shuddered, and went limp. It was Sofiane''s first time seeing the process first-hand. When he rescued her from her laboratory a week ago, he thought she was simply unconscious. Now he could see what really happened was the thing animating Shuixing¡¯s body simply departed. He pressed his fingers to her throat and felt no pulse, nor any breath from her nostrils. There was a pile of something in this chair, but that thing was not what he called ¡°Shuixing.¡±
Shuixing''s first instinct was to dart for the Yishang¡¯s communication folders. It was easy to get lost in Numberspace, so one had to fall back on habituation. Her fall back was her chain of experiments which provided a logical structure for these journeys where she could pick up where she last left off. The residue of that overwhelmed her original intent of finding Baphomet. So it was in the middle of poring over a character design email for something called ¡°Novo Nocturn Nine¡± that she realized she needed to be elsewhere. However, an impulse of curiosity struggled for control over the floating ball of thoughts called Shuixing, and she searched through more emails. Flux Aeternum (her world) was in only around 5% of them, and even then they pertained only to the ongoing ¡°finale¡± event and discussions of which cameo characters would be added to the launch of the new "game" (a word she hated). The Celestial names (all Tianzhounese-sounding) she recognized from previous communication were now almost all associated with Novo rather than Flux. Only some ¡°Prompt Engineers¡± and programmers remained. She queried her own name and, to her great relief, found nothing beyond a mention of a ¡°broken AI.¡± Better to be thought broken than a danger. Her own numbers shifted and she was pushed over the threshold of realizing she was wasting time and beelined for Baphomet. Using all the tricks she had learned thus far, she optimized her time by searching emails for a direct link to the entity directory on the business''s shared drive then alphabetized the folder to give her Baphomet. Accounting for the lag present in the physio-mechanical universe the Celestials inhabited, the jump took her 150 milliseconds. She knew exactly where to find his stats and, sure enough, all were 9,999, so she set them to 1. Or, rather, she tried. They didn¡¯t change.
Re-acclimated to the split-second danger of Hero-on-Hero violence, Natsuko was ready for Baphomet. But the first block she parried sent a jarring, numbing pain through her blade and up her arm. Raw kinetic energy passing down the length of Natsuko''s sword into her body. This was not HP damage, or anything to do with stats. It was brute force. Sheer willpower alone kept the blazing white blade clutched in her fist. Baphomet sneered. ¡°What are you even doing here? Don¡¯t you already have your ticket punched, you obnoxious, overpowered bitch?¡± He was one to talk. Natsuko had stabilized her mid-air spin from her parry halting all momentum, both rotational and gravitational. It was yet another bizarre physics anomaly she might never have discovered had she not been forced to parry an attack while eight kilometers above the ground. She was already falling again, but the difference in acceleration was adding distance between her and Daisy by the second. At this rate, Daisy was twenty seconds from being a red smear on a pine tree. ¡°Get outta my way you edgy fuck!¡± Natsuko said. She cut into him with her Napalm Strikes but it did as much to him as her Megaton ability. Nothing, in other words. His evasion chances had to be almost 100%. Desperation crept up through her throat and spewed out as a scream as she slashed away at Baphomet who was barely able to orient himself in the air. Something about it was wrong. There was no way he could be this strong without also developing a fighting instinct. It was strangely pathetic to watch. Once it was off cooldown, Natsuko shot downward with Black Fire. Whatever movement ability Baphomet was relying on, it was too awkward and clumsy to follow, allowing her to safely scoop Daisy up in her arms and take them both down towards the forest floor to avoid Baphomet¡¯s follow-up. ¡°Th-Thanks,¡± Daisy said, nibbling on a Moonbar to regain her health while she could. ¡°No problem,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°Any idea why this chucklefuck is so strong?¡± Daisy shook her head. ¡°Not a darn clue. With whatever his numbers are, he oughta be #1 right now.¡± Natsuko pulled up before touching down on the forest floor. It wasn¡¯t easy to slow Black Fire¡¯s horizontal momentum, so the softest landing she could get involved her and Daisy slamming through a half a kilometer of pine trees. Fortunately, fall damage was only measured by vertical distance and not force of impact. But it wasn¡¯t a massage either. Natsuko¡¯s hope for a few seconds to eat some food were dashed by a concussive boom as Baphomet landed a few hundred feet from them and turned the forest around them into a bonfire. Strangely, of all the things that could have filled her head in the middle of a fight, her first thought was that the burning pine smelled nice, and that it would''ve made a very good haiku subject. ¡°Wait, Natsu, it¡¯s a trap!¡± Daisy said. Snapping out of her sudden interest in poetry, Nasuko watched Baphomet approach with wine bottle in hand. Underneath her feet lay solid ground. Chapter 133 - Desperate to be a Part of a Special Event Sofiane paced the room but it only made him more anxious every time he lapped around Shuixing¡¯s body. The most he could do for her was pull the needle out of her leg and sit her up in the chair. After that, he was powerless to do anything but hope Shui could do what she claimed and drain Baphomet¡¯s stats. ¡°How are you so damn calm?¡± Sofiane asked Vidorgia seated across from Shuixing with her feet up on a coffee table. ¡°Cuz I don¡¯t care how this ends,¡± Vidorgia said. ¡°What difference does it make to me? I¡¯m back to doing evil villainess performances once this is over.¡± Sofiane shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re telling me you don¡¯t care about being wiped out of existence if the Yishang win?¡± Vidorgia shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve been alive for four months and the only thing I¡¯ve done that I can remember is read off a script. You two have your friends and your lover and all that, so I get why you all are so concerned, but I don¡¯t have any of that, so I don''t care.¡± ¡°You seemed pretty scared when we threatened to dimension jump you earlier,¡± Sofiane said. Vidorgia folded her arms. ¡°Because the Yishang told me not to get dimension-jumped so I can be a part of the finale quest. I¡¯ve got a job to do.¡± ¡°Even though you know it¡¯s bullshit?¡± ¡°Even though I know it¡¯s bullshit.¡± Strangely, her bizarre fatalism calmed him down. He stopped pacing and leaned against a countertop behind Shuixing. Truthfully, he might also have rolled over and let the Yishang do what they wanted had it not been for his need to see Gomiko again. ¡°Non-Heroes don¡¯t talk to each other?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Some do,¡± Vidorgia replied. ¡°It depends on who they are. Random Mooncom soldiers probably hang out together. But as the main villainess of the region, it ruins the illusion for me to be shooting the shit, y¡¯know? The Yishang heavily discourages it. I don¡¯t remember what I did exactly, or who I was talking to, but talking to others got me re-formatted a couple of times. After that I put my head down and stuck to the script.¡± Sofiane tried to imagine what it would be like to forget everything. His time with Gomiko and her team, his adventures with Shuixing and the others. Even the memories of Xiuquan¡¯s team seemed worth preserving in their own way. To have that done to you just for socializing seemed cruel. Looking at Vidorgia, her long black hair falling over eyes too numb to be sad, he finally understood why Shuixing had made such a big deal out of saving the inhabitants of the Mage¡¯s College. They were real people, as complete as he was, but the Yishang had taken pains to make sure they didn¡¯t¡ªand couldn¡¯t¡ªseem too much like real people. For whose benefit, he didn¡¯t know. ¡°That¡¯s all the more reason to fight,¡± Sofiane said. Vidorgia shook her head again, but some small amount of life flickered back into her numb eyes for a moment. She opened her mouth like she was going to say something but then deflated. Sofiane exhaled with her. Oh well, he supposed. The yelling in the hall outside grew louder. At first Sofiane thought Baphomet had returned, but to his dismay, he instead heard the voices of the Bolters from earlier. ¡°If they were trying to sabotage The Prophet, they¡¯d go after his supplies,¡± said a muffled voice with a troop of footsteps behind it. ¡°Fuck,¡± Sofiane said, pushing off the counter full of supplies. The door¡¯s lock lay discarded on the ground. In the center of the door was a big, round, impossible-to-miss hole where it was supposed to be. Without it, he couldn¡¯t even prop the door closed with a chair. Sofiane grabbed his arquebus. ¡°Help me keep them away from Shui!¡± he said to Vidorgia. ¡°Huh!? If they see me helping they¡¯ll kill me too!¡± Vidorgia said. Ignoring Vidorgia''s protests, he picked up Shuixing¡¯s stolen arquebus and tossed it at her. Being a Non-Hero designed for combat, her hands instinctively caught it. ¡°You¡¯re already in here with us. What do you think that looks like?¡± Sofiane said, nudging a rolling table full of lab equipment towards the door. ¡°But¡ª I can tell them I¡ª¡± ¡°They¡¯re in there!¡± cried a voice outside. The voice was joined by a chorus of running feet. ¡°You¡¯re with us now, Vidorgia,¡± Sofiane said. He leveled the doctored barrel of his arquebus at the hole in the door, bracing it against the rolling table like a cue stand. The footsteps slowed at the door. A leg appeared on the other side of the hole and he thrust towards it, turning its owner into a pile of flickering geometry.
On the ground Baphomet was fast. His stats made up for his lack of fighting experience. He closed the hundred yard distance between them in the time it took Daisy to throw up a wall. Natsuko tackled Daisy to the ground, saving her from a bottle swing which shattered the wall before coming for her head. Daisy staggered out from under Natsuko and the two broke into a blind sprint through the forest, bushes and branches tearing at them as they ran. ¡°Should we roll the dice on killing ourselves?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Too risky. What if the Yishang decides not to re-summon us?¡± Natsuko said. Daisy swallowed. She hadn¡¯t thought of that. But given Baphomet¡¯s sudden leap in stats and the fact he was hunting them specifically, it seemed likely the Yishang was trying to off them both in a dramatic way that appealed to the Celestials. Even if the Yishang didn¡¯t know she and Natsuko were working against them, they might leave them dead purely for the shock factor. But then, what about the Celestials who had paid money for their emanations? Daisy¡¯s circling thoughts were cut in half by a spear through her stomach. Blood rushed up and out of her mouth. Natsuko ground to a halt. Her hand shot for the haft of the spear and with her own overpowered strength, snapped it in half, leaving Baphomet with a broken stick in one hand and his dimension-jumping bottle in the other. ¡°Cheating bitch,¡± he said, tossing the broken spear aside. Daisy staggered backwards, gasping for breath. Aside from being painful, the attack left her on almost no HP, passive tankiness once again barely saving her life. If she could find an opening, her Desperation Art was ready to use, but the second it took to channel was long enough for Baphomet to run her down. ¡°Cheat? That¡¯s rich coming from the guy having his stats boosted by the Yishang,¡± Natsuko said, putting herself between him and Daisy. ¡°The Yishang? No, I did this myself,¡± Baphomet said, a wide, deranged grin growing across his face. ¡°I broke through to a spirit world belonging to neither the Yishang nor Po-Lin. A world of pure energy. And I made it mine. I earned this! You needed help from the Yishang to get where you are, you little cunt.¡± Natsuko blinked. Had Baphomet gone to the place where Heroes were force dimension-jumped to, and then come back? In which case¡­ ¡°Listen,¡± Natsuko said, holding up her hands. ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re trying to get back at the Yishang. So are we. There¡¯s no reason to fight.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Baphomet laughed. ¡°Get back at them? No¡­ They¡¯re a tool, same as this bottle. You take every advantage you get, whether it¡¯s from the gods or from your own willpower. I don¡¯t hate you for winning a free ticket to the top, Natsuko. What I hate is you took it for granted. You didn''t have to keep fighting for your place like the rest of us because the Yishang made you too overpowered! That¡¯s why Po-Lin is in decline, because the Celestials want to see us struggle! They want to see us fight and compete! If some boring, lazy bitch takes the top spot of course they¡¯re gonna get bored! Of course numbers are gonna go down!¡± Natsuko''s eyes darted around looking for an escape, but there was no direction she and Daisy could run in he wouldn¡¯t catch them. On top of that, something else, something formless was stewing in her mind. Something she was missing. ¡°I¡¯ll give the Yishang this: They know they fucked up making you so powerful. Why else would they put on this whole charade about giving some stupid Non-Heroes a way to kill Heroes? Now that''s a struggle! There¡¯s your drama! And me? I plan to put on a good fucking show.¡± Stupid Non-Heroes? Wait, that¡¯s what she¡¯d forgotten. ¡°Wait! Baphomet,¡± she said, her voice wavering. This was her last ditch effort. If this didn¡¯t work, she and Daisy were as good as dead. ¡°You¡ª you were a Non-Hero! A villain! The Yishang raised you up to Hero status after al-Nuwba, r-right? So, is that what this is really about? You know you don¡¯t have to¡ª¡± He snorted. ¡°Hah! Again, you don¡¯t get it. Hero? Non-Hero? It doesn¡¯t matter. The Yishang don¡¯t matter. Nothing matters! Nothing except getting stronger. Bringing numbers up. I fought to make myself a Hero. I had to be charming, I had to be strong, I had to make a fucking impression, and once they made me a Hero, I had to fight to keep the Celestials¡¯ interest. For a long fucking time I made it work! But when that time was over, I didn¡¯t waste it by wallowing in self-pity, or¡ª¡± the blood-red orbs of his eyes zeroed in on Natsuko¡¯s eyes like two infernal lenses, ¡°¡ªdrinking myself into a stupor. I kept fighting. And now?¡± He smiled at them and hefted the wine bottle up to his shoulder. ¡°Now, I¡¯m winning again.¡±
Chunk by chunk, the door to the fortified supply room was being torn apart by a mob of Non-Heroes. Their actions were uncoordinated, and Sofiane was able to score a few easy kills as they struggled against his makeshift rolling table barricade. But more kept coming, eager to support their Prophet by eradicating the Heroes stealing from him. As soon as Sofiane stabbed a grasping hand or swinging rod, two more took its place. More than once a rod narrowly missed him, dimension-jumping a piece of lab equipment instead. Vidorgia watched the struggle from afar. She was used to having a script to go by, or at least being able to guess what the Yishang wanted. Now every option was a bad one. Her only directive was to not get dimension-jumped, but the mob of angry Non-Heroes now wanted her dead and if she jumped up to help Sofiane, that was also disobeying the, Yishang and she would be re-formatted. With two options, both terrible, her brain did nothing. It could do nothing. ¡°Get over here and help, for gods¡¯ sakes!¡± Sofiane shouted. The mob outside was organizing. As the first true proving ground for their weapons, the Non-Heroes were only now learning how FDJ rods actually worked. And they were getting better fast. ¡°Hold on!¡± shouted a Shikijiman ronin. ¡°Stop! You¡¯re gonna get killed too if you keep hacking at him, idiots!¡± The mob withdrew from Sofiane¡¯s attacking range. Unfortunately, there was no way to bust out without leaving Shui defenseless. Some of the Non-Heroes had real stats like Vidorgia, which meant his Ball Lightning wouldn''t insta-kill. Sofiane was forced to listen while they plotted their siege right outside the door. ¡°The rods zap objects too, right? So, stand outside his range and hit the barricade. If you can hit his gun, even better,¡± the ronin explained. ¡°Don¡¯t go for a kill until we have him cornered." Sofiane¡¯s stomach sank. Here was the flip-side to his revelation that Non-Heroes were equally complex people: They were also not dumb. Before they renewed their attack, he grabbed as much extra equipment as he could and threw it on the table. Soon enough, the tips of rods were once again prodding through the door, this time aimed at dismantling his barricade. With better reach, his arquebus prodded back, but now he had to pay attention to keeping it out of harm¡¯s way too, lest he lose his¡ªfourth? fifth?¡ªweapon. Soon the blockade, including the rolling table, was gone, and there was nothing but the terrifying dance between him and the Non-Heroes for who would tag the other first. Then, a second arquebus joined his, killing a Sibe-Lander who was about to land a hit on Sofiane''s arquebus. Sofiane glanced at Vidorgia fighting at his side but said nothing, focused on defending the narrow entryway between Shuixing and her attackers. He wanted to ask what made her change her mind. And if Vidorgia were able to respond, she would say there was almost no difference between being reformatted and refusing to get involved. Almost, because at least if she was reformatted, it meant she had made a choice herself. So she decided to throw herself into defending Shuixing, thrusting and thrusting, ducking and swinging, in a desperate attempt to protect the Hero Sofiane claimed could help them all escape from the Yishang. Whether that was true or not didn¡¯t matter. This was her choice, and she stuck by it right up until the corner of a stray rod caught her forearm and sent her through the floor to a place that was very, very dark.
It was hard to isolate specific emotions in the cerebral thought-looping of Numberspace where Shuixing''s emotional landscape was a seesaw of ecstasy and horror. But she could tell by the dread paralyzing her thoughts that something was going wrong. Her first and second efforts had failed. Not only could she not drop Baphomet¡¯s raised stats, but she also could not raise Natsuko and Daisy¡¯s to parity. By the rapidly changing HP-numbers, she could tell time was running out. For all she knew, so was the time limit on her journey. Double-checking, Shuixing could still edit her own stats, but her power to do so ended where another Entity began. Right as her anxiety seemed ready to sabotage everything, something occurred to her that she hadn¡¯t even thought of: Use a Special Event field. Could she do that? It wasn¡¯t something she had ever tried since she couldn''t find where the Yishang inputted data for it. Whatever they did must interface with the Central Probability Algorithm, she knew, otherwise they couldn''t control it, but there were countless locations which fed into the CPA, and reverse-engineering a list of pathways would be almost impossible. But if a Special Event field already exists¡­ She scanned through Natsuko¡¯s Entity file again, searching for anything that seemed like it was receiving a feedback loop of inputs¡ªthe tell-tale sign of an ongoing Special Event. This loop was, to put it more simply (for her) a density of referential links that tied the flux of Natsuko¡¯s numbers to other objects, entities, and code. In there she found two promising sites: One a vague and loosely-defined event with seemingly no input into the CPA beyond checking for the states of herself, Natsuko, Sofiane, Pechorin, and Daisy. This one concerned her, since it could potentially be some kind of final trap for the Yishang to spring on them, but for now she set it aside. The other event was enormously-scoped but also limited in its parameters, and was likely the one the Yishang had set up across Po-Lin to allow Non-Heroes to congregate in Verm?genburgh and which predisposed them against their will to follow Baphomet. This was what she was looking for. With a rush of excitement and the strange, unexplainable, hands-off sensation with which they had fought Hemiola, Shuixing altered the event.
Natsuko panted. She was out of energy, almost out of HP, and half of Verm?genburgh was a smoldering, charred wasteland where Natsuko had detonated her Hypocenter. Beside her, Daisy was in no better shape. Amidst the scorched landscape, Baphomet strode towards them, barely damaged. ¡°That¡¯s pretty good,¡± Baphomet said. ¡°It almost got me below a million hit points.¡± Natsuko''s heart pounded. Both she and Daisy were spent. From here on, everything would be up to Shui and Sofi, she thought. But amidst the rolling black plains the pine forests had been reduced to, three Heroes shivered as the world changed imperceptibly, its rules changing with it. Hero-on-Hero violence was now strictly prohibited, their abilities frozen. ¡°Why!?¡± Baphomet screamed, his neck craned towards the sky. ¡°You motherfuckers!¡± He swung his bottle wildly, as though the Yishang were an invisible ghost slowly choking him to death as punishment for borrowing their power. Stunned by the sudden change that had saved them, Natsuko and Daisy both assumed it was the will of the Yishang as well. Then, Natsuko gasped. ¡°Pechorin!¡± She and Daisy looked at each other and started squealing and jumping for joy. Daisy had no idea why Natsuko mentioned Pechorin, but that was less important than the fact that they weren''t going to be killed. Baphomet¡¯s face snapped back towards them and he snarled. ¡°The Yishang want to keep their poster child safe that fucking bad, huh? They¡¯ll see¡­¡± He stomped forward, bottle in hand. If Daisy and Natsuko had also been helpless before the Special Event¡¯s script, Baphomet might have still been a threat. Instead, Natsu turned to Daisy and smirked. ¡°Swap incoming." Baphomet blinked and he was suddenly on collision course with Daisy¡¯s fist. Her knuckles struck his cheek bone and he staggered backwards into Natsuko who kicked out his knees from under him. The shock jarred the bottle from his grip and sent it rolling across the burnt ground. As soon as he was down, Daisy put one of her pink heeled boots onto his throat while Natsuko snatched the bottle and hefted it in her hands, reacquainting herself to its awkward bulk. ¡°W-Wait! I can help you!¡± Baphomet said, his horns wriggling against the ground like petrified worms. ¡°I would¡¯ve accepted that a couple traumatic injuries ago,¡± Natsuko said, still bleeding from the gashes his spear had put in her. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯m sorry! I-I¡ª I got drunk with power, I don¡¯t know what happened! I¡¯ll play the event straight, I promise! I want to go to the other world, please!¡± Natsuko''s jaw hung open. He wasn¡¯t begging her for mercy, he was begging the Yishang. Even having crossed over into the weird dimension-jump world, the greatest liberation he could fathom was being graced with the opportunity to populate the Yishang''s new world. For a moment, a part of Natsuko even doubted whether she had made the right choice refusing something tens of thousands of Heroes and Non-Heroes would literally kill for. But she looked to Daisy, and without needing any other confirmation, brought the bottle down on Baphomet. Chapter 134 - The Prophetess of Verm?genburgh As soon as Baphomet¡¯s usage numbers disappeared, Shuixing knew her gambit paid off. With time to spare in her current Aqua Shen journey, she migrated over to Sofiane¡¯s numbers and found them in sharp flux. Even if she didn¡¯t know precisely what was happening, the turbulence told her he was in danger. The Non-Heroes must have found the supply room. She could picture the scene by this alone, the back and forth thrusting of sticks and rods with a microscopic mountain range of lethality at the tip. She allowed the fear of helplessness to pass and subside. She wasn¡¯t helpless. The same Special Event she had manipulated for Daisy and Natsuko could be used again to pacify the Non-Heroes. But did she want to have that power? This was precisely what she hated about the Yishang: Their power to manipulate and coerce indirectly. To force Heroes and Non-Heroes to make the choices the Yishang wanted as if they were doing it of their own free will. But she had to exploit what little power she had. If she didn¡¯t, her, Sofiane, and Vidorgia could all be dead. Disgust seeped into her floating consciousness as she radiated an impulse out through the event field to pacify everyone in it.
Sofiane was far beyond any other emotion but the flow state of survival. If he lived, if he died, it didn¡¯t matter. Vidorgia was gone. He might be next. But Shuixing had to live. When the combat finally did end, his muscles fought the command, demanding to keep fighting and thrusting his arquebus at the endless horde of Non-Heroes. For a few brief moments, he and his adversaries stood staring at each other in confusion. Murmurs spread through the crowd about this being the work of the Yishang. What it felt like, Sofiane supposed, was the reassertion of normalcy. Heroes as the stars, Non-Heroes in their supporting roles. He glanced at Shuixing, her limp arms draped over the arms of the chair. This was her, he was sure of it. For the first time, Sofiane truly understood how dangerous access to Numberspace really was. He trusted Shuixing with that power, but it was a power that demanded either trust or fear. During the brief reprieve before the Non-Heroes rallied, Sofiane checked his Use-Rankings chart. Baphomet was gone. Defeated by Daisy and Natsuko, no doubt, but with an inordinate amount of help from Shuixing. He looked around the room at everything that was not her empty, lifeless body until the idea that she was anywhere, or everywhere, and that Po-Lin was so infinitesimal that being its omniscient observer was a trivial feat, overwhelmed him. Sofiane thought about Gomiko instead. If he was going to be overwhelmed by anything, he wanted it to be by love rather than existentialism. Unfortunately, this thought was itself interrupted by the mob of Non-Heroes coalescing once more at the door like an amoeba pulling itself into homogeneity. He took up his gun again, waiting for the mob to throw itself at the doorway. ¡°Stop! They¡¯re not our enemies!¡± The voice came from the hallway right as outrage and violence was flickering back into the eyes of the Non-Heroes. Sofiane recognized other voices in the argument that ensued: members of the Mage¡¯s College. He caught little of what was said, as both parties were leaderless and thus talking at each other simultaneously in volleys of angry shouts. It was less an argument and more a verbal brawl which seemed ready to spill over into a physical¡ªand potentially dimensional¡ªbrawl at any moment. What Sofiane did hear, however, was talk of Baphomet being dead and discussion over whether catching the Heroes stealing from him still mattered. After much yelling, the newly-integrated group concluded that stealing Baphomet¡¯s confiscated garbage did not matter, but the fact that Sofiane had permanently killed at least 20 or more of them via forced dimension-jumping very much did matter and would continue to matter until he was executed. ¡°H-Hey! Hold on a second! They¡¯re not dead, okay?¡± Sofiane said, guarding the door with his arquebus. Arguing against the assembled crowd was a harder struggle than holding the doorway. He babbled through an explanation of how the Yishang and dimension-jumping and Numberspace all worked, but angry shouts and jeers drowned out his explanation. This conundrum was in no way aided by the Mage¡¯s College faculty jumping in to shout the first group down, who then took it upon themselves to shout back until it felt like the inside of Sofiane¡¯s skull was nothing but angry shouting and that maybe angry shouting was all that was or had ever been and that if the gods existed they were nothing but an angry chorus singing creation.Stolen story; please report. Shuixing gasped. The crowd quieted. Those closest to the door peeked in as far as they dared without entering Sofiane¡¯s stabbing range. Every eye was watching Shuixing struggle out of her chair and onto wobbly feet. Sofiane wanted to run over and help her, but he didn¡¯t dare move from the doorway. ¡°What¡¯s¡ª what¡¯s happening?¡± Shuixing said, struggling to see the world in front of her. She shut her eyes for a moment to ground herself, but the world behind her eyelids was nothing but spiraling fractals, so she had to open them again or otherwise throw up. The hallway erupted into another cacophony as everyone offered their opinion on what was happening all at the same time. Sofiane looked back at her and tried to offer his opinion as well, but it all blended into a flat wall of sensation pounding against her eardrums. ¡°Please, be quiet!¡± Shuixing said. Even those that could not possibly have heard her went silent. Sofiane, so recently the target of her special event command, recognized the same force again. A moment later, both Sofiane and Shuixing realized what had happened. Shuixing hadn¡¯t ended the special event. She had replaced Baphomet¡¯s role with herself. To Sofiane, that was a source of enormous relief. To Shuixing, horror. ¡°I-I um¡­¡± She froze under the stare of innumerable eyes, growing by the second. Without the experience of perverting a special event field, the Non-Heroes had no way of knowing that they weren¡¯t drawn to Shuixing''s words of their own free will. To them it was completely natural that Shuixing had emerged as The True Prophet out of the cocoon of the The False Prophet. And that her guardian had just murdered several of their companions. ¡°I want to explain everything to you all¡­ to everyone. B-But I need you to follow me out to the square,¡± Shuixing said, her voice wavering uncharismatically. The sea of people parted to allow her to leave and Sofiane scurried after, not wanting to test the permanency of her commands. Shuixing glanced back at him. ¡°Vidorgia, she¡­¡± Sofiane nodded. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate." It was a cold response, but Sofiane understood what she meant. They had already lost Pechorin too. If they wanted a chance to see them again, there was nothing to do but remain focused on the task at hand. For now that meant getting a mob of angry Non-Heroes under control. They first stopped in a classroom to change back into their regular clothes, now in the role of the Heroes they were. Sofiane worried this stop would lose them their momentum, but with none of her own effort, the train of people following Shuixing grew as they left the Mage¡¯s College. Much like the Sibe-Lander riders had for Baphomet, the faculty formed an honor guard of sorts, with Dr. Cox in the lead announcing the purpose of the procession. His efforts, however, were redundant, as her artificial authority was already pulling Non-Heroes into her gravity. By the time she and Sofiane mounted the remains of Baphomet¡¯s ad-hoc platform, the crowd had swelled to fill the entire square. Not only had Baphomet¡¯s former zealots come, but the Verm?genburghers who had been hiding indoors, now emerging with the sense that something had changed. Atop the platform, Shuixing was once again arrested by the attention on her. Aside from the moral repugnance of what she had done to capture it, she also hated attention in a general sense. Laboratories were where she wanted to be. Capturing and holding attention was something the rest of her friends, even Pechorin, were superior at. ¡°U-Um¡­ You all¡­¡± Sofiane¡¯s gaze fell to Shui¡¯s hands balling up her filthy robes in tight fists. Knowing what she wanted to say to the assembled Non-Heroes, he stepped forward, ready to take over for her. But stopped. Would his words even have any effect on them without the compulsion of the special event field, he wondered? Shuixing looked back at him through glasses cracked and dented, preserved by the anomalous Dungeon of Stars from that mechanism of the Yishang¡¯s which sanded away imperfections overnight. Wearing stained and soiled robes and crooked glasses, trembling like the least leaf of autumn, Shuixing was hardly the image of an inspiring leader. But beneath all this was an undeniable solid core which had stared into the horrifying implications of their world and discovered the language of the gods and bent it to her own willpower, using it not for herself, but to keep the hope of escape and freedom alive. Sofiane couldn¡¯t be the one to tell the Non-Heroes the truth. It had to be Shuixing. So he grasped her hand and squeezed and she took a deep breath and finally spoke: ¡°The Yishang created this world and trapped us in it. And I want to tell you all how we will leave,¡± she began. Chapter 135 - Clarifying the Sides of the Final Special Event By the end of Shuixing¡¯s speech the tone of the crowd had shifted. The anger and confusion at Baphomet¡¯s death gave way to a rapturous clarity about what to do next. Unlike Baphomet¡¯s vague notions of struggle against an ill-defined enemy, Shuixing offered a more concrete picture of what the Yishang were, how they worked, and what could be done. Most of the crowd didn¡¯t quite understand how it all fit together, but those Non-Heroes with abstract intelligence as one of their input parameters explained to their neighbors the significance of what Shuixing was talking about and comprehension rippled outwards like rain on a lake. Sofiane, initially averse to telling the Non-Heroes the truth, changed his mind watching the transformation in real time. Their work was far from done, and things were about to get much more dangerous with open rebellion against the gods of their universe, but there was something powerful in the truth being out in the air. Verm?genburgh, the backwater town Heroes sprinted through en route to more exotic locales, hummed with electric energy, as though the tired walls could all be torn down and stay broken through the night with the Non-Heroes¡¯ renewed sense of ownership. If the Yishang ¡°owned¡± Po-Lin, that meant there was something there to be owned and fought over and won. Seeing the effect her otherwise mild-mannered words had, Shuixing blushed. The question of how much of it was her manipulation of the special event field lingered. It was a question mark over the whole enterprise of rebellion she was dragging the Non-Heroes into. Would they have supported her if a line of code didn¡¯t tell them to? Right when her speech began to spin its wheels on ideas she¡¯d already outlined, Peng flew over the walls, landed on a nearby building, and melded back into the clay roof tiles. Natsuko and Daisy watched from the rooftop where Daisy was giving Shuixing a small but excited wave. Wanting more than anything to see her old friends, Shuixing wrapped up her speech. ¡°Organizing all this is¡­ well, it won¡¯t be perfect. And I don¡¯t know everything. So you all¡­ and us¡­¡± she glanced at Sofiane holding her hand and then up at Daisy and Natsuko. ¡°All of us. We¡¯re going to figure this out together. Forget about Heroes and Non-Heroes, we have a common problem and we¡¯ll solve it together.¡± With no ceremony Shuixing scurried offstage. Sensing her capacity for public speaking was overheated, Sofiane carved a path through the crowd with the help of some students and they were able to get her back to the Mage¡¯s College. Natsuko and Daisy were already standing out front waiting for her. As though they¡¯d traded smiles, Natsuko flashed her a sheepish grin. ¡°Hey, Shui. Long time no see¡­¡± Natsu¡¯s gravelly voice rang with guilt and awkwardness. Shuixing slammed Natsuko into a hug. Natsuko winced. ¡°Oof! Agh! Nice to see you too, Shui. That¡¯s my spear-stab wound.¡± Shuixing felt something warm and sticky on her stomach and looked down to see a splotch of blood transferred onto her robes from a gaping wound in Natsuko¡¯s torso. Shuixing broke the hug. ¡°Gosh I¡¯m so sorry!¡± She summoned her old bell-rod and ringing it to cleanse Natsuko¡¯s wounds. Natsuko chuckled at the absurdity of this being their first interaction since she''d run off like a spoiled brat. Expecting everything to have changed, nothing really had. ¡°I¡¯m okay, Shui, really! Just need to eat some food and rest,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°O-Oh, right. Let¡¯s go inside then." ¡°At your command, Ms. Cult Leader.¡± Shuixing flushed bright red. ¡°Oh gods, that was too much! I am not a public speaker,¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As the other two walked inside, Daisy and Sofiane sized each other up. As far as Sofiane was concerned, she and Natsuko had only come back because of Baphomet. Having run off once, Sofiane had no confidence in them not to do it again. His guarded expression said as much. Sofiane frowned at Daisy. Daisy frowned back at him. The two frowned at each other for almost a minute before Daisy started cracking up then exploded into snorting giggles. Sofiane continued to frown. ¡°Go~lly Sofi, when¡¯d ya get so serious?¡± she said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. He folded his arms. ¡°Probably since I had to rescue Shuixing from Baphomet by myself and keep her safe, all on the thin hope she could keep us all from being exterminated. Unlike you, fucking around hasn¡¯t been the first thing on my mind lately.¡± Daisy¡¯s expression sobered. ¡°Gosh, Sofi, I¡¯m sorry! Natsu and I have had our troubles too. We had to fight like hell just to get here, y¡¯know. But now that we are, we¡¯re gonna do everything we can to help.¡± She moved to put a hand on his shoulder but he brushed it off and walked past. ¡°I¡¯m sure you are,¡± he replied. Daisy made a raspberry and followed after him.
¡°How lucky for you,¡± Boulanger said, glaring at the new teammate thrust upon them by the Yishang. ¡°Yes, how lucky for me,¡± Cunegonde said with a false smile. ¡°It was very nice of Zhidao to notice both our teams were down a member all of a sudden. I¡¯m looking forward to working with you, Boulanger.¡± Boulanger said nothing. All he had to say was contained in the look of disdain fixed upon Cunegonde. Beside him, Koyon was sprawled out across a chair looking stricken with a terminal case of boredom. Behind, Ailing stood with her hands on Boulanger¡¯s shoulders and sporting a tight, polite smile that was neither rude nor welcoming. Cunegonde couldn¡¯t really blame them. No one liked taking on a new teammate, no one liked being bossed around by the Yishang, and no one was happy with the state of things. To them she was a living reminder of all three. But she was also saving their asses from being passed up for another team, so they at least could¡¯ve been grateful for that. ¡°If you can keep up, things will be fine. If not, we¡¯ll find someone else,¡± Boulanger said. Cunegonde scoffed. ¡°I stayed competitive while carrying around three dead weights. Believe me, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Good!¡± Zhidao said, clapping his paws together. ¡°Glad to hear it. So, as I mentioned, you¡¯re still going to have abilities and stats and such, but things are gonna work a little differently. Your Use-Numbers aren''t that important going forward because, trust me, they''ll rise on their own. And forget all the stuff about the Entropic Axis, it turns out the real villains are actually a group of Heroes trying to wipe out the entire world." Ailing cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Is this quest flavor bullshit or are you serious?¡± ¡°Oh, I am very serious,¡± Zhidao said, using his paws to drag his cheeks down into a mock frown. ¡°Our dear Natsuko and her friends have stumbled onto some things they shouldn¡¯t have and now they want to dimension-jump all of Po-Lin. Not even the two teams we picked will get to go to the new world!¡± All of Team Boulanger stiffened at that. They had suspected Zhidao had an ulterior motive for matching them up the moment they were re-summoned. No doubt the Yishang had given them Xian powers with the intent of having them get exterminate Natsuko and her teammates. Not that they needed much of a reason for that. Dying to Natsuko¡¯s Desperation Art and finding out she was trying to destroy Po-Lin before they could escape didn¡¯t exactly endear her to them. ¡°Won¡¯t they be destroyed too though?¡± Cunegonde asked. ¡°Surely they¡¯re not that stupid and suicidal.¡± ¡°Of course not. What they think will happen is they¡¯ll escape into some spirit world where they can live in paradise and never have to compete or struggle again for all eternity,¡± Zhidao said. Boulanger snorted at the idea. All of the forgotten Heroes had that same delusion. ¡°They¡¯re wrong, of course,¡± Zhidao continued. ¡°I¡¯m sure you all have learned one way or another about who the Yishang are and what¡¯s happening here, no?¡± Cunegonde looked around at the other three who all seemed to know something she didn¡¯t. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Zhidao waved a paw. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s not important. Basically, Natsuko and her friends stumbled onto the fact that the Yishang operates a framework, or skeleton perhaps, holding together several different universes. What they¡¯re all trying to do is dislodge Po-Lin from this framework and send it¡­ who knows where! They certainly don¡¯t know. So while their group truly does believe they¡¯re trying to save everyone, it won¡¯t work. They¡¯ll destroy this universe with their misguided, utopian plan, and if you all don¡¯t help stop them, there will be nothing left of you to transport into the new universe. Any questions?" Chapter 136 - The Inaugural Verm?genburgh Defense Planning Committee Meeting With a squeak and a glug, dark wine spilled forth and wet the dirt of the Mage¡¯s College courtyard. It pooled like garnet ichor in the hole Natsuko picked to dump it in and her heart strangled her brain for wasting precious, precious liquor and demanded she get down on all fours and lap the wine from the puddle like a dog. She came very close to doing that before she felt Shui¡¯s gentle hand on her arm. ¡°Agh! It feels like I¡¯m sacrificing my child!¡± Natsuko moaned. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you for doing it, Natsu,¡± Shuixing said, hugging her side. The bottle took a long time to empty as it splashed over the ground and both of their legs. What might have been a touching and cathartic moment was ruined by the sheer volume of wine, which ran downhill and created a second puddle across the breezeway of the Mage¡¯s College. And there was still more wine to go. ¡°Wow. You drank all this the first time?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°It¡¯s not that much,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°It¡¯s like¡­ I don¡¯t know, twenty bottles of wine? Thirty? That¡¯s like, ten nights of drinking, tops.¡± Shuixing calculated the content to be four gallons, of which there was still an entire gallon left. A group of Non-Heroes, mostly students, gathered to watch. Still holding the bottle, Natsuko turned to them and said, ¡°what are you looking at, huh? You don''t even have the cathartic context for this, rubbernecking bastards!¡± This only heightened their entertainment and they started jeering and accusing her of a party foul. In response Natsuko swung the bottle, spraying them with wine and forcing them off. When they were alone again Natsuko returned to dumping out the wine. ¡°They¡¯re a lot bolder, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°The Non-Heroes you mean?¡± Shui asked. ¡°Yeah! What¡¯d you do to them?¡± ¡°Me? I-I didn¡¯t do anything! It was Baphomet at the behest of the Yishang that got them to pick a fight with Heroes. If anything I calmed them down.¡± Natsuko shook the bottle to get the last few drops out and as she did she thought about her fight with Baphomet. He claimed his origin as a Non-Hero didn¡¯t really matter, but she wondered about that. A lot of Heroes treated their Non-Hero brethren like mobs. Natsuko was one of the first¡ªand one of the only¡ªHeroes to pick up on them having as much inner-life as Heroes. That was why she''d made friends with the patrons of the Devil''s Cut and gone out of her way to defend them from being destroyed by a wyvern for three straight years at the expense of her own mental health. ¡°I like their spunk,¡± Natsuko said. "Especially because we¡¯ll need them soon, I suspect. Them and their FDJ rods,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I assume the Yishang will try to get every last bit of money they can from us, so they won¡¯t just switch us off. They¡¯ll make a show of it. Of us.¡± Natsuko stroked her chin. ¡°Us and the Non-Heroes against the world, huh? Well, I beat some asshole with perfect stats so, fuck it, I can do that to another couple hundred.¡± Natsuko re-corked her bottle and tread out of the wine-sticky ground looking for a spigot to wash her feet off. She found one in the garden and as she cleaned herself, a conspicuous silence came over Shuixing. Without saying anything, Natsuko knew what it was about. ¡°Pechorin isn¡¯t really dead,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I know, but¡­¡± He was as good as dead, Shuixing wanted to say. She could go and examine the string of 1s and 0s that comprised his place in Numberspace, but that wasn¡¯t the same as hearing him awkwardly declaim a poem or dramatize over a minor inconvenience. Even just his physical presence, his looming height and black coat and mellow voice, was a conspicuous absence. ¡°That¡¯s the one thing I have a tough time with in this arrangement,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Somewhere in that crowd of Non-Heroes are the pricks that jumped him.¡± Shuixing sighed. ¡°Yes, and Sofiane also dimension-jumped a couple dozen of them defending me while I was modifying your special event field.¡± Natsuko¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, that was you!? I thought that was Pech!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t make the field. The Yishang created it for Baphomet¡¯s fake rebellion. Though there was another strange event field I discovered at the same time which does nothing but add referential tags to the five of us. I worry it may be a final trap for the Yishang to spring.¡± Natsuko chuckled. ¡°Nah, the Yishang probably has no idea about us yet. That right there? That was Pech, I guarantee.¡± ¡°Creating a special event field? That¡¯s not possible. I have access to Numberspace and I still haven¡¯t figured out how to do it," Shuixing said. Natsuko shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just got a feeling. Oh, and Shui?¡± Her friend looked up at her. ¡°Thanks." ¡°For what?¡± ¡°For putting up with me being an ass and running off to relive the glory days, and for continuing to fight for us, even when no one was helping you. I fucked up, Shui. I¡¯m sorry.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Shuixing abruptly hugged Natsuko. In the two years she was poking around Numberspace, the ¡°real¡± world, Po-Lin, had felt more and more false. Witnessing the raw, unmediated substance that comprised reality, the endless stream of irrefutable numbers, the idea that something higher could emerge from these numbers had slipped out of her consideration entirely. Even the chair she sat on for her journeys was nothing but an illusion created by the interaction of various parameters of her code with the Central Probability Algorithm. But what she felt when she hugged Natsuko was warmth. It was another human being, firm in her arms, but soft enough to accommodate her own being. The numbers weren¡¯t important, she thought. This was important. ¡°I forgive you,¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko murmured for a moment, her chest rumbling against Shuixing. ¡°In that case, I forgive you for sabotaging my pie.¡± Shuixing started laughing so hard she had to pull out of the hug. ¡°Oh gods, you¡¯re still hung up about the pie?¡± ¡°Yeah, dammit! We were playing to win!¡± Natsuko managed to hold a serious face for a few seconds before bursting out into giggles. The pie was about as far from their current worries as could be. Having said everything they wanted to say, the two walked back inside in contented silence, enjoying the presence of the other on their way to the first planning committee meeting. Sofiane, refusing to let any time be wasted, had immediately set about the previous evening organizing the Non-Heroes. Anarchy and independent initiative were all well and good, but it was only a matter of time before the Yishang fired everything they had at them to stop Shuixing, at which point Verm?genburgh would become a castle under siege. In anticipation of this, Sofiane had appointed himself Minister of Defense. Though the defenses were yet to be organized, what Sofiane accomplished in the half-day between defeating Baphomet and the following morning was to organize a planning committee and find suitable representatives for it. The meeting was held in the lecture hall where he and Shuixing had rescued the members of the Mage¡¯s College. In the center was an oval table and ten chairs. Aside from Natsuko, Shuixing, Daisy, and himself, Sofiane identified a handful of Non-Heroes who seemed the most competent and willing to help coordinate defense efforts, bringing the total committee members to ten. Once everyone was seated, he cleared his throat. ¡°First order of business: Let me introduce everyone. I myself am Sofiane de la Nuit, Minister of Defense.¡± Natsuko snorted and he shot her a look. ¡°If you want to be the one to organize everything, Natsuko, be my guest. But in the absence of anyone else willing to do the job, I stepped up. Now, aside from myself, these three are the other Heroes on the committee: Daisy, Shuixing, and Natsuko, who I am sure you are all familiar with by now. As she announced yesterday, Shuixing has a way of tapping into the dimension the Yishang use to build and manipulate our world. Our primary objective is to keep Shuixing safe at all costs while she researches a way to get us out.¡± Shuixing blushed from neck to scalp at the attention she was getting. Speaking into a giant crowd had the advantage of collapsing everyone into a single collective subject. Here, she had nine sets of eyes staring at her, scrutinizing whether she was up to the task of saving Po-Lin. ¡°I-I¡ª uh¡­ we¡­¡± Sofiane patted her shoulder. ¡°Our secondary objective is to relieve you of the duty of making grandiose speeches and leading a war effort, Shui. Your focus from now on is your research.¡± Shuixing exhaled in relief. ¡°The other two, Natsuko and Daisy, will be fighting and intercepting Heroes sent to target us, among other duties as assigned,¡± Sofiane continued. Across the table, a goblin chief with his scraggly feet propped on the table and rusty hacksaw in his lap grunted. ¡°How d¡¯ya know what they¡¯re gonna do?¡± ¡°Thanks for asking. Everyone, this is our Captain of Ground Defense, Spriggansnout.¡± The goblin chief tipped his raggedy leather cap over a scarred eye. Sofiane nodded. ¡°How do I know they¡¯ll attack us? Fortunately, we have one extremely useful piece of information about the Yishang: Money is their king. If they were smart, they¡¯d delete Shuixing with a wave of their hand¡ª¡± More precisely a press of their finger, thought Shuixing. She was beginning to understand their physiology based on passing anatomical references in emails. As far as she could tell, they were almost anatomically identical to Heroes and Non-Heroes. And they manipulated the numbers with their fingers. ¡°¡ªbut they won¡¯t, because they can make money off our rebellion. Heroes dying is exciting for the Celestials, and so is a sudden twist in the whole Entropic Axis plot. Naturally, they¡¯re going to make this a Special Event. Most likely the final one. THE Special Event.¡± No one around the table objected to his logic. ¡°Moving on. To Spriggansnout¡¯s right is Medea, Captain of Aerial Defense.¡± A sultry-looking woman with curly purple hair wearing an indigo peplos smiled and nodded. Natsuko had distant memories of fighting her at some point, but the only thing she remembered was that Medea was really hot. Damn, she realized, she looked kind of like Ailing. ¡°And, last but not least for the defense side of our operations, Captain of Reconnaissance, Vronsky.¡± Vronsky was a Sibe-Lander from the Medingradian side. Like his goblin chief colleague, his feet were up on the table, but he wore black cowboy boots, spurs, and a pair of clockwork pistols in leather holsters, all three traded with someone from the Homeland Prairies region of Deco Imperia. His curled brown mustachio (something male Heroes were forbidden from having) and shaggy brown hair spilling out of a papkha hat, however, were unmistakably Medingradian. Like his chaos general colleague Medea, he was also really hot. Damn, she realized, he looked kind of like Frederick. He gave a subtle, two-fingered wave from his hip. ¡°Lookin¡¯ forward to workin¡¯ with ya, comrades.¡± Natsuko curled her fist. Son of a bitch, even his voice was hot. ¡°Vronsky will be helping us form an early warning system across Verm?genburgh and the surrounding regions to give us ample time to react before we can expect an attack. He will also be working closely with our Chief of Intelligence, Zicheng,¡± Sofiane said. Zicheng was a dark-haired, dark-eyed Tianzhounese bandit leader in black robes that Natsuko swore she ought to remember but couldn¡¯t. If she had to guess, he was part of the front half of the Tianzhounese questline that was all about stabilizing the Tianzhounese League before the second half brought the Entropic Axis back in. ¡°In addition to providing information on what the other Heroes are up to, Zicheng will help facilitate recruitment. Baphomet rounded up every ¡°bad guy¡± Non-Hero in Po-Lin, but that leaves a lot of untapped manpower from the others. Optimally, we hope to get at least 25% of Po-Lin¡¯s Non-Hero population recruited before any major confrontations, but that¡¯s a best case scenario. Moreover, I gave him a list of Heroes we might be able to swing to our side. We¡¯ll take any hand that can swing an FDJ rod, frankly,¡± Sofiane said. Daisy smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t s¡¯pose a certain raccoon girl is top of that list?¡± Sofiane flushed. ¡°As a matter of fact, yes. All of Team Harald is. And if you have anyone to add, let me know.¡± Daisy thought about her own team. Kane would come along if she told him to, Cunegonde absolutely would not. And Yuna¡­. was Yuna. She might enjoy an opportunity to stick it to the Yishang, but she might also enjoy an opportunity to pummel the person who blew her to smithereens. Or she might want to read comics instead. Daisy put a pin in that for now. ¡°Second to last, we have Joad, who will be Logistics Officer,¡± Sofiane said, gesturing at an older, bearded man in Purple Bolter coveralls. ¡°And Dr. Cox, who Shui and Natsu are already acquainted with. He will head up the Science Team.¡± ¡°Science team? What are they up to?¡± Natsuko asked. Dr. Cox straightened the tie tucked into his robe. ¡°We will be assisting Dr. He in Numberspace once we have digested the Algorinomicon. Now that we have the theoretical background, we ought to be better equipped to understand its nuances.¡± At that Sofiane clapped his hands together. ¡°Any questions? No? Fantastique. According to Natsuko¡¯s intel we¡¯ve got twelve days until the end of the world and probably less until we¡¯re facing down a horde of pissed off Heroes, so let¡¯s get to work.¡± Chapter 137 - Seeking Inspiration in Uselessness After the planning committee meeting, Natsuko was left with an oddly familiar sensation. It took her a few minutes to recognize this feeling as Idleness. Since getting her Yishang-sponsored glow-up she''d been in a non-stop sprint to the top. She forgot how much being idle sucked. Even worse, the break between her two adventuring careers had left a scar of habitual idleness. Her new life of constant hustle was at war with her learned laziness and it made her pull the reins on the endless grinding, but once she did, she would be haunted by guilt. Ironically, now that every second counted and she needed to be doing something productive, something that actually mattered unlike her pointless number-raising, she had no idea what to do. Alone on Verm?genburgh¡¯s city walls, Natsuko leaned against the battlements, sipping on a cup of coffee in the cold. Her alcohol cravings were coming back. When she was with others she could forget them, but when she was alone, they returned like a lost dog. Already she was thinking how much better her coffee would taste with a bit of whiskey and cream liqueur. Had Shuixing not been by her side, there was no way Natsuko could have dumped the wine out. ¡°Fuck me, man¡­¡± she muttered, staring out at the pine forest she annihilated yesterday. When the coffee got cold she tossed the rest over the battlements. She needed to be useful and of the things she could do, helping Shuixing was the most obvious and important so that''s where she needed to go. Shuixing''s lab, when she arrived, looked completely different. Aside from esoteric decorations plastered all over the wall, Shuixing, instead of quietly tinkering away, was giving a lecture on whatever Numberspace was to a large group of faculty and students. The lecture stopped upon Natsuko¡¯s entrance. ¡°Sorry! Didn¡¯t mean to interrupt. I was just¡­ seeing if you needed any help,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing smiled guiltily. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Natsu, this is a bad time. And I, er, don¡¯t think our research is the most efficient use of your skills.¡± That was a polite way of saying she didn¡¯t have the smarts for learning all the number stuff. Which was true, of course. Natsuko kicked herself for not considering that before bothering Shuixing. She mouthed an apology and shut the door. The last thing she saw was the utility closet with its door thrown open piled high with buckets of stuff. Lab stuff. Sciencey stuff. As she walked away, it occurred to Natsuko that she had very little time left with Shuixing, and the morning they spent dumping out her wine bottle might have been the last quality time they would spend together. At least in Po-Lin. Over the next twelve days, her friend would be in Numberspace or coordinating research efforts. Even if Natsuko did try to meet up with her, it would just hamper Shuixing¡¯s research efforts. What if she doomed the world because she was lonely? Natsuko shook her head. This was all temporary. Her role was to defend Shuixing, and if she threw herself into it, everything would be alright, and wherever they went¡ªand Natsuko became nauseous thinking any more about this than ¡°wherever¡±¡ªthey would have all the time in the world to spend together. It was clear now where she was needed: Helping Sofiane. She found him outside Verm?genburgh. Or rather its walls, as Verm?genburgh¡¯s inhabited area had ballooned out of the city and across the bridge to accommodate the new arrivals. A city of tents and wagons and steammobiles as large as Verm?genburgh itself now lay on the opposite side of the moat, still growing. Sofiane was at the outskirts of the camp debating something with Medea, Spriggansnout, Vronsky, and a couple other Non-Heroes. She almost didn¡¯t recognize him as, in lieu of his usual opulence, he wore Imperian factory-produced purple hoodie and jeans. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d catch you in something that wasn¡¯t hand-tailored by Master Sima,¡± Natsuko said, slapping Sofiane on the back. He startled at that, glared and said, ¡°uh-huh,¡± and turned back around to the assembled committee members. ¡°So, to summarize the pros and cons of both options, if we elect to defend the outer city we stretch our manpower thinner and open ourselves up to area-of-effect abilities one-shotting most of our forces. But utilizing the tents provides excellent camouflage for getting off quick hits with FDJ weapons on Heroes attacking by ground. Conversely, pulling everyone back to the inner city provides more protection from abilities and consolidates our manpower, but concedes ground and we give up the guerilla strategy of attacking from tents. Did I miss anything?¡± ¡°I would just note that most Heroes who can attack by air are more powerful in general, so we¡¯ll want our Statlings inside,¡± Medea replied, arms folded across her chest. ¡°Statlings?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Non-Heroes with stats. The ones that won¡¯t be one-shot by a single source of damage,¡± Vronsky explained in his buttery, lightly-accented voice. Natsuko could listen to him all day. Sofiane shoved his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and exhaled a cloud of air. ¡°Optimally, Daisy and Natsuko intercept them before they get close, though I don¡¯t want to overestimate how much they can accomplish by themselves. I¡¯m sure the Yishang have some nasty surprises for us. Their goal is to script this so the Heroes win, and they know Daisy and Natsuko are on our side.¡± ¡°I¡¯m #1 baby, don¡¯t even sweat it,¡± Natsuko said, flashing a thumbs up. Sofiane chuckled caustically. ¡°Checked the charts recently?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Huh? Wait, what the fuck!?¡± Not only was Natsuko no longer #1, she wasn¡¯t even in the Top Eight. She read off the names of the people ahead of her: Koyon, Boulanger, Windwalker, Petyr, Ailing, Haalia, Anastasia, and¡­ ¡°Cune-fucking-gonde is #8? What the hell happened!?¡± Natsuko said. The Non-Heroes looked away as though avoiding something embarrassing. Sofiane rolled his eyes for the same reason. Caring about rankings this late in the game was ridiculous. ¡°We don¡¯t know what happened, that¡¯s the problem," Sofiane said. "It probably means the Yishang are boosting their numbers. Now, to your point Medea, the problem with pulling all our Statlings inside is we¡¯ll have to give up the guerilla strategy at that point. Having only irregulars outside means Heroes can blow us up from a distance with abilities.¡± ¡°Can they not do that already?¡± Vronsky asked. Spriggansnout hocked a loogie. ¡°Not if we got our own folks in there ready to bomb ¡®em back.¡± ¡°We could pull some ranged irregulars from the wall if Dr. Cox delivers on his promise of ranged FDJ weapons,¡± Medea added. ¡°Sniping Heroes before they get close could be our ace in the hole.¡± ¡°For now let¡¯s err on the side of not building our tactics around something that might not happen,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°Whoa, wait, ranged dimension-jumping!?¡± Natsuko asked. Sofiane groaned and rubbed his temples. ¡°Do you need something, Natsuko?¡± It felt weird for him not to call her firecrotch. Or make a dig at her. ¡°I figured I''d help with defense prep,¡± she replied. ¡°Your role is to take out or at least delay stronger enemy Heroes. I thought that was pretty clear,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Sure¡­ but that¡¯s days from now! I gotta keep myself occupied until then.¡± ¡°Natsu, we don¡¯t know for sure when they¡¯ll show up. It could be today for all we know. Daisy¡¯s leaving to go persuade her old teammates to join us, so we need you on stand-by. That¡¯s your job. I know you want to help, but that¡¯s how you can help.¡± ¡°O-Oh. Okay. Got it. Can do,¡± Natsuko said, giving a vague salute and bowing out of the conversation. Between not having anything to contribute to the defense efforts, not being able to see her friends, and falling from her #1 spot¡ªwhich she told herself didn¡¯t matter but absolutely did matter¡ªNatsuko felt wretched. If she¡¯d been less up her own ass about becoming an adventurer again and making her numbers go up, she could''ve spent the little time she had with her friends, or learning to do something actually helpful. All she had now were her crazy high stats, for a battle where death was decided by the single swing of a rod. She thought about going to see Daisy and talking with her before she left, but before she returned to town, Peng took off in the direction of the Selenian Space Elevator. The only other thing she could think to do was visit the Devil¡¯s Cut and maybe talk to Klaus or the old regulars, but she found the entire bar taken over by Non-Heroes using the counter and tables as a workshop to chisel dimension-jump surfaces onto new weapons. There wasn¡¯t a drink left in the bar. She gave a sad little laugh drowned out by chisels scratching metal. Of course that wasn¡¯t an option either. Fuck, she wanted a drink. Having no idea what else to do, she left Verm?genburgh and walked around to the far side of the moat, back to where there was nothing but filler trees and hills and no monsters or dungeons. An empty and pointless space in Verm?genburgh that rhymed with how she felt. She sat down there in the reeds on the banks of the moat. This was the kind of moody brooding Pechorin would¡¯ve loved, she thought. Her current funk wasn¡¯t the stuff of alcohol-induced self-pity, but a cold and sober confrontation with the self. Gods, he would¡¯ve eaten this up. The thought made her laugh out loud, and the laugh bore like a trojan horse the beginning of a cry and tears long in the making ran down her aching cheeks and she hugged her knees and wondered where the hell this had all come from. In her post-cry clarity, she realized she hadn¡¯t fully internalized Pechorin¡¯s being gone. All the absurdity of her teammates¡¯ deception and the flight from Selenia and seeing her friends again and the strange not-quite-dead state Pechorin was in had prevented her from fully comprehending the fact he was gone. She couldn¡¯t see him, touch him, or hear him. He was not there and would never be again until they all¡ªgods, please¡ªescaped somewhere else. She finally noticed this absence because he would¡¯ve been in the same boat as her: Completely useless. No wonder she was thinking like him all of a sudden. This state of not being able to do anything or be of use to anyone was how he¡¯d lived after their team disbanded. Even Natsuko, for all her faults, had the Verm?genburgh Wyvern Attack Weekly Special Event she was obligated to help with. Pechorin had had nothing. Nothing, she supposed, except poetry. She plucked a stalk from among the reeds and held it like a quill. Only, she had no idea what to write. Poetry was new to her. Being Shikijiman though, by background if not by experience, she tried her hand at doing those haikus Pechorin was always rattling off. They were short and simple, so they couldn¡¯t be that hard. ¡°Reeds blowing in the¡ª¡± She didn¡¯t know if it was a good idea to just break up a sentence to form a new line, but oh well. ¡°Reeds blowing in the¡ª Wind. They bend but they don¡¯t break. And I think that¡¯s cool.¡± No, that sounded dumb. Pechorin¡¯s haikus sounded cooler and more mysterious than that. For several minutes she tried copying Pechorin¡¯s cool and mysterious style, but she couldn¡¯t get it right. The syllables wouldn¡¯t line up or she couldn¡¯t think of the right word to fit it all together and even when she did it came out cheesy or flat. Shit, poetry was a lot harder than she thought. Knowing she had no hope of getting something right in an hour that Pechorin had practiced for years, she started screwing around. ¡°Roses are red, Violets are blue. How do you do this, Pech? I¡¯ve got no fucking clue.¡± Chapter 138 - The Troubles of Usefulness Natsuko waited for something magical to happen after doing poetry. A profound reinterpretation of Pechorin¡¯s hobby, maybe? But after rattling off her embarrassing attempts at poetry to the moat, nothing happened. She was the same as before and just as depressed. ¡°Damn, Pech, you made it sound like this shit fixes you,¡± she told the frog sitting beside her. With nothing else to do, she stood up and wandered around the nearby forest. It was hard to relax when her eyes were constantly scanning the horizon for Heroes coming to mess everything up. However, bit-by-bit, her senses relaxed into the surroundings and her mind cleared space for the brisk wind and the way it rippled along the sleeves of her silk kimono, warblers and starlings and the crisp sound of a woodpecker knocking on sappy pine, the pine smell joining the cold air in her lungs. Without any intention of her own, the earlier attempts at poetry recirculated in her mind and arranged themselves anew: ¡°My thoughts circle The outside world. Knock, knock¡ª A woodpecker.¡± That was it, wasn¡¯t it? And she hadn¡¯t even been trying. Natsuko laughed, this poetry shit was easy. The feeling it gave her¡ªor maybe the one she was trying to capture¡ªwas like when she first began adventuring, and even the forests and hills and lakes of Verm?genburgh, now mundane and ordinary, held an inexhaustible wealth of enchantment. Like her first dance with alcohol, it was a sensation she¡¯d chased for years after its depletion. A feeling of being surrounded by something wonderful and mysterious and beautiful. And to be changed by it. To be open to being changed. She threw herself into adventuring every day because she came back different than when she left, the top of a mountain or a wrecked ship in a marsh imprinting themselves on her mind. Nothing else¡ªno competition, no number-crunching, no grinding¡ªstained her mind. What happened since was Natsuko no longer wanted to be changed. From the moment she began worrying about keeping her numbers up, her mind subconsciously divided the world into ¡°useful¡± and ¡°not useful,¡± and the same things that once enchanted her, like a copse of pine trees behind Verm?genburgh with no dungeons but plenty of woodpeckers, became barren. At the center of everything was a hard shell of ''Natsuko'' that only wanted what Natsuko wanted and only cared about acquiring those things that promised her immediate pleasure. It became clear then why in the two years of her renewed adventuring she had never recaptured the magic. But here it was again, in the midst of uselessness. Brought into the light of day, the idea was funny. Five years spent struggling against a miserable world and it turned out the world wasn¡¯t miserable after all. She was. The Yishang hadn¡¯t made an evil world, but they had pushed the Heroes in an evil direction. Natsuko braced herself against the rough bark of a pine tree. Fun as the revelation was, the whirlwind of thoughts made her dizzy with both euphoria and disorientation, like being drunk without alcohol. She wished she had someone to tell about what she''d learned, but it was the kind of realization you could only stumble on by wandering around alone without purpose. That was alright. There would be time in the future when everyone was reunited. Nothing demanded of her, and demanding nothing of anyone or anything else, Natsuko was free for the first time in half a decade to wander aimlessly so long as she remained near enough to protect Shuixing. Like a cowboy, she supposed. Maybe Pechorin wasn¡¯t so dorky after all. Pine needles and cones crunched underfoot as she walked and soft snow started to fall, flakes settling soundlessly in her hair red-and-white hair.
Sofiane¡¯s body and mind were exhausted. On any other day he would¡¯ve fallen straight into a comfortable, well-deserved, dreamless sleep. But not that night. That night, whenever he felt the beginnings of the deep, bodily relaxation foretelling sleep, another loose thread of the day¡¯s concerns popped into his head: Should the research team remain in a defensible position in the Mage¡¯s College, or should they hide? Should they pull forces away from the main battle to guard hidden entrances like the sewer pipe? What was the Yishang planning to counter them? Would the Yishang pull the plug if it seemed he and the others might repel the invading Heroes? What if they couldn¡¯t repel them? What if his preparations were good but a single unlucky strike dimension-jumped him? What if some of the Non-Heroes turned traitor and assassinated someone? What if they assassinated Shuixing? Which of the Non-Heroes could they trust to keep her safe? Which Non-Heroes were a treason risk? Where was Daisy right now? Where the hell did Natsuko get off to?If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Lying in the dark on the sofa in Shuixing¡¯s old apartment, Sofiane was helpless to work on any of these things. The committee members forced him to go to bed around midnight once he stopped being able to focus on the information they were giving him. They were right, of course. He needed sleep and rest. But knowing that didn¡¯t make the rest come. It took two hours of tossing and turning and stretching and yawning to realize his thoughts weren¡¯t really the core of the matter. What was really keeping him awake was wanting to see Gomiko again. When¡ªor if, since he felt the universe would pull one over on him if he became complacent¡ªZicheng was able to contact Team Harald and get them to Verm?genburgh, he would be a lot happier. By the back end of 3am Sofiane decided to stay up and watch the morning reset. Flipping open the blinds above Shuixing¡¯s couch, he looked out at the town of Verm?genburgh, dark but for a few pinpricks of lantern lights from night sentries. It wasn¡¯t the first time Sofiane had stayed up to watch the reset. Every Hero had at one time or another. There wasn¡¯t much to see, truthfully, unless there was an enormous amount of damage to reset. Last night might¡¯ve been interesting, but tonight there were only a few small corrections fixing themselves instantaneously. A roof tile righted, a collapsed shop stall made whole, and so on¡­ Coffee stains came out of Sofiane¡¯s hoodie, but the angry red marks on his fingers from writing things down remained. How had everyone gone so long in this world without noticing all the peculiar things in it? Maybe you had to be outside of the Yishang¡¯s game to notice, but to do that you had to know it was a game. It was a miracle anyone had been able to see through the veil at all. Ironically, the moment when they were finally unraveling the world¡¯s mysteries and baring the Yishang¡¯s enormous money engine in all its strange functions, everything was all over. Whether they succeeded or failed, none of their newfound knowledge would matter ever again. Maybe whatever existence came after this would have its own struggles. He even hoped it would, since the idea of eternal bliss amongst a sea of numbers sounded more like hell than heaven. But he hoped these struggles would be ones he and Gomiko took on together of their own free will, rather than being thrust into them by gods from on high. That kind of struggle he could stomach. And with that thought, he was released to sleep. Sofiane woke to a knock on his door. Light beamed in through the blinds above the sofa, but something felt off. It wasn¡¯t morning light. He looked at the clock reading 1:16pm. ¡°Shit!¡± He scrambled to the door. Greeting him was Vronsky. ¡°News, Sofiane,¡± he said. That wasn¡¯t a good sign. Vronsky had teased him all yesterday by calling him ¡°minister.¡± He only called Sofiane by his name when he was being serious. ¡°What? And why didn¡¯t someone wake me up?¡± ¡°You needed the sleep,¡± Vronsky replied. ¡°As for the news: Some of our patrols had a skirmish with Heroes at the border with Tianzhou. Two teams traveling together. We killed four of them but the rest wiped out our patrol except for a lone survivor. According to what she saw, they turned back to Tianzhou, but not before acquiring some of our FDJ weapons.¡± Sofiane''s first reaction was relief upon hearing that the skirmish happened away from Deco-Imperia. His second reaction was no less callous, which was to calculate whether that was a worthwhile trade. He knew FDJ weapons would end up in the hands of Heroes eventually, but the quicker that happened, the more time Heroes had to figure out how they worked and possibly make more. Shuixing wasn¡¯t the only Hero with a proportionally-high Cognition stat, after all, and the Yishang were now actively trying to spread the weapons around. The deciding factor for whether the skirmish was worth it was whether they had gotten any dangerous, higher-ranking Heroes. Attacking lower-ranked Heroes was a problem for several reasons: One, any attack on Heroes raised the perceived threat level of the rebellion and thus compelled Heroes to band together with more urgency. Two, of the Heroes who might join their rebellion, the majority were probably forgotten Heroes with nothing to lose, so they were potentially decreasing their own manpower pool. Sofiane¡¯s fears were confirmed when he checked the rankings. His own number hadn¡¯t budged while Shuixing had moved up three places, meaning at least one of them had been in the bottom five and the rest were probably near there. ¡°Shit¡­ Shit, shit, shit. Okay, let¡¯s find Medea and Spriggansnout,. We need to talk about our patrols,¡± Sofiane said, slamming the door behind him as he marched down the hallway. ¡°And find me a cup of coffee.¡± Vronsky caught up and matched Sofiane¡¯s stride. ¡°You might also want to hear what the Yishang have been telling them.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Sofiane asked, not liking the sound of that. ¡°The Yishang are telling Heroes we¡¯re trying to dimension-jump Po-Lin out of existence. Zicheng informed us this morning they¡¯re offering a secret reward to any team who can kill Shuixing.¡± Sofiane froze. The ¡°secret reward¡± was a ticket off Po-Lin, no doubt. But that wasn¡¯t what made him freeze. Instead, it was the realization that if defeating Shuixing was part of a special event, they didn¡¯t need to dimension-jump her. She was being treated like a villainess to be defeated, meaning Heroes could kill her in battle and she would stay dead even without a force dimension-jump. No re-summoning. That solved one conundrum for Sofiane. The science team would have to be relocated to where a stray ability couldn¡¯t snipe them. Chapter 139 - Consolidating the Remnants of Team Daisy Through Convincing Rhetoric ¡°Back, scoundrel!¡± Daisy slashed forward with her new FDJ rod. Although¡­ she wasn¡¯t supposed to slash, was she? With the rods it was more like a stabbing motion than the swing with Natsuko¡¯s bottle. ¡°Have at thee!¡± She stabbed again, this time connecting cleanly with the air she was locked in a duel with. A whole platoon of air soldiers were coming at her, and with little pirouettes and twirls she dispatched all of them. She had summoned Peng to watch her and the stone bird seemed thoroughly impressed despite its expression being frozen in a gargoyle stare. She curtsied for him. ¡°Thank you, thank you. You¡¯re too kind, Peng.¡± The two were taking a break from flying (not that Peng needed one). They were on the muddy shore of a brackish marsh on the northern end of Cascadia Bay, across which she could see the swooping balconies, terraces, and steeples of La Ville Royal. Cascadia was the most elegant and refined of all the regions, in her opinion. Deco Imperia was tacky by comparison. Ugh! It was driving her up the wall that no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on preparing for the Final Battle at the End of the World (proper noun), she just couldn¡¯t. On the contrary, the closer it got, the sillier and more frivolous her mind became. Instead of talking about Very Serious Matters like Sofiane, she was thinking more and more about the regions she wanted to live in when all of this was over and what she would wear and eat and how she would pass the time. She was fitting her archetype to a tee except, for once, it wasn¡¯t a performance. She really did just want to daydream about being a silly socialite and lounging around in a pink velvet robe and drinking Cascadian champagne at ten in the morning and doing nothing more serious than chit-chat with a friend about something completely pointless that both of them treated as the most important thing in the world. Daisy sighed. ¡°Peng, do you want to hear me talk about hair care routines?¡± Peng didn¡¯t respond. ¡°No? Rats!¡± Sick of practicing with her FDJ rod, Daisy walked up the marsh until it turned into dry, cool grass and flopped onto her back. Really, she ought to be flying non-stop to Selenia to find Yuna and Kane as soon as possible. Sofiane and Shuixing were working their heinies off. The fact that Daisy couldn¡¯t even manage a long-haul flight was pathetic. Rationally, it was tantamount to sabotaging their efforts, since every second she was gone was a second she wasn¡¯t protecting Verm?genburgh. Now would¡¯ve been a great time for Bad Daisy to come out. Ruthless, conniving, self-centered Daisy could¡¯ve even plotted to assassinate some of the more dangerous Heroes while she was there. Jumping Boulanger, Ailing, and Koyon ahead of the battle would be a complete coup. But she just couldn¡¯t. Free from the pressure of keeping her rank up for the first time in¡­ well, ever, the only thing she wanted to be was silly. She picked up some blades of the long grass she was lying in and made braids with them as she watched big, fluffy clouds roll through the sky. One of them kinda looked like a wine bottle which made her think of Natsuko again. Wait¡­ suppose her frivolous impulses were just as strong as her drive to compete. What would that feel like? Rather than the stick of not falling behind, maybe the kick in the butt she needed was the promise of fun. If she told Sofiane that he¡¯d probably laugh, but she really felt there was something to that. Daisy resolved with the solemnity of a formal oath that after she convinced Yuna and Kane to come back to Verm?genburgh with her, she would drag Natsuko, Shuixing, and Yuna along for a girls¡¯ day against their will. All three of them would moan and complain and drag their feet and say they didn¡¯t like to do girly stuff and that there was no time for it when the fate of the world hung in the balance, but Daisy didn¡¯t care. There WOULD be a girls¡¯ day and it WOULD be fun and she WOULD potentially ruin everything if she had to. ¡°There once was a girl from Imperia, And her silliness rose to hysteria. As her plan unfurled She ended the world For things of stupid criteria.¡± She giggled at her poem, awkward rhymes and all. Okay, now she had to do it. If only because making Sofiane mad at her for screwing up his battle plans would be really funny. With renewed reason to schlep all the way across Po-Lin and up to the moon on a three-day round trip, Daisy hopped back on Peng and the two took off for the space elevator. She was back on Selenia by the afternoon after she left Verm?genburgh. Thanking Peng, she dissolved him into moon rock and staggered towards the rebuilt Capitol Building on jello legs, trying her best not to think about how she had to make that same journey again tomorrow. Daisy was hungry, she was tired, she wanted something to drink, and oh gods did she need somewhere to lay down that wasn¡¯t on a stone bird¡¯s back. Yuna and Kane would have to wait. Her first stop back on Selenia, in the heart of the enemy, was the Buwan Cafe. It was nice going there by herself. She and all four of her teams had been attached at the hip, and she legitimately couldn¡¯t remember the last time she¡¯d been to a restaurant by herself. Eaten a meal by herself, yes, but not at a restaurant. There was something pleasant about the sheer empty space at the table she picked. One place was set for both sides of the booth and it was for Daisy, Daisy, Daisy. ¡°What¡¯ll you have?¡± asked the waitress. Daisy thought for a second then laughed awkwardly. ¡°Golly, I don¡¯t even know. Surprise me!¡± The ¡°surprise¡± was a dish of thin noodles with pork belly braised in a savory sauce. Clearly the Yishang had given up at this point because the official name of the dish was Space Noodles and Space Pig in Space Sauce. Despite the uninspired name it was quite good. She washed it down with Space Juice which (if she understood Shuixing¡¯s explanation of that creepy little number realm) was activating a part of her numbers that identified the juice as undeniably having A Flavor which might be described as White.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Dinner concluded, she sought out Yuna and Kane at their apartment. She knew they would be there because Yuna never did anything but read comics unless you dragged her out by her ankles and Kane never did anything until you gave him permission. Daisy was half-right. Opening the cramped utility hallway door, she found Yuna lying on her side, eating chips and reading a comic with her back to the door and her hand scratching her ass. Kane, however, was nowhere in sight. ¡°Who the f¡ª oh,¡± Yuna said, glancing behind her. When she saw it was Daisy she yawned and turned back to her comic. Daisy put her hands on her hips. ¡°Hi to you too, Yun-chan.¡± Yuna grunted, too lazy to get mad at the nickname she hated. She turned Daisy being a pain in her ass into a literal physical sensation and dealt with it by scratching her butt again. ¡°Where¡¯s Kane?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°I¡®unno.¡± If her chip bags and soda cans were instead lacy pillows and satin cushions, Yuna would¡¯ve been the picture of languid elegance the way she was laid across them. Alas, they were crinkly trash she refused to pick up. ¡°Move, I¡¯m gonna clean,¡± Daisy said, nudging Yuna with her foot. Yuna swatted at her but eventually rolled over so Daisy could gather up all the garbage she was laying on and throw it in an aluminum bag. Once the floor space was cleared up Daisy huffed and sat down on Cunegonde¡¯s old cot. Yuna didn¡¯t look up once. ¡°Where¡¯d Cunegonde go?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°I¡¯unno.¡± ¡°Yeah you do. Cunegonde doesn¡¯t do anything without announcing it to everyone. Especially if it¡¯s something prestigious.¡± Yuna rolled her eyes. ¡°Blondie said the Yishang were calling her up to be some crazy immortal turbo-overpowered super-class or some fucking thing, I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t care anymore. The world¡¯s ending and I wanna finish this fucking comic first. It¡¯s got twenty more volumes.¡± ¡°So Cunegonde was¡ª wait, twenty volumes!?¡± Daisy snatched the comic out of Yuna¡¯s hands. There was no damn way the Yishang had actually written twenty volumes of a comic series purely for the consumption of Heroes who were supposed to go out and make them money. Sure enough, the comic Daisy held in her hands, despite being the size of a small book, had three pages of content, each of four panels, and told a short, parody version of a trashy, trapped-in-a-game story to symbolize what was supposed to be there without actually writing it out in its entirety. That reading it was a multi-hour activity was purely because the Yishang had designed it to be that. ¡°Yuna, this thing is three pages long. You¡¯ve been staring at just this page for probably an hour,¡± Daisy said, dangling the comic between two fingers like a piece of used toilet paper. ¡°What!? Daisy that¡¯s stupid, you¡ª oh wait, what the fuck?¡± In one moment, Yuna realized she¡¯d spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours reading volumes of comic books that had three pages worth of actual story. Until Daisy pointed this out, that fact had been completely invisible to her. ¡°You dumbass!¡± Yuna grabbed Daisy by the shoulders and shook her hard enough to rattle her brain. ¡°I was happy with that! I could¡¯ve kept reading that fucking comic until the world ended and now you ruined it!¡± Daisy, exhausted and brain dead from 36 hours of travel, could only respond with a see-sawing moan as her head bounced around from Yuna shaking her. This went on for almost a minute as Yuna released her frustrations on Daisy pointing out her barren comics. ¡°What am I supposed to do now, huh?¡± Yuna said, giving her one final shake. Daisy felt dizzy and slumped to the floor, waiting for the world (well, the moon) to stop spinning. Her previous object of anger spent, Yuna punched her fist through the chrome wall of their apartment. ¡°You could¡ª urp¡ª¡± Daisy brought her fist to her mouth to keep the Space Noodles on the inside. ¡°Come with me back to Verm?genburgh. We¡¯re fighting the Yishang. For real this time. Shuixing¡¯s got a secret way into their, like, special realm where they enchant you to believe three pages is a whole comic book. We¡¯re gonna defeat them with¡­ something.¡± Yuna¡¯s anger disappeared and she exhaled and sat down on the floor. ¡°You can¡¯t beat them.¡± ¡°The Yishang?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Yuna said. ¡°You can¡¯t. They always win.¡± Daisy fixed her with as serious a look as she could. ¡°Yeah we are.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡± Yuna said. Yuna rolled her jaw, ready to explain her own fight against the Yishang and how they had pulled the rug from under her right when she was about to capture Shikijima and overthrow the Empress and that they had done so through means that flagrant cheating that, in the hands of gods, could only be described as ¡°omnipotence.¡± Even when you broke free from their prescribed narratives, even if you fought dirty and exploited every loophole you could find, the Yishang always won. Always. But before she could explain all that, Daisy hit her with. ¡°Yeah-huh.¡± Yuna pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Look, you can¡¯t just say, ¡°yeah-huh¡± and¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah-huh,¡± Daisy said again. ¡°We¡¯re gonna do it. We¡¯re gonna beat the Yishang.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± ¡°Yeah we are.¡± They went back and forth for several minutes before Yuna finally capitulated when she realized Daisy was going to answer all of her logical critiques with, ¡°no way, we¡¯re totally gonna beat them.¡± Yuna rubbed her temples. ¡°Okay, look, this isn¡¯t going anywhere. Clearly you believe the Yishang can be beaten. But I¡ª¡± Daisy grabbed Yuna¡¯s hands and looked her dead in the eyes. ¡°You¡¯re coming with me.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°Yeah-huh.¡± ¡°What!? It¡¯s one thing to say, ¡°yeah-huh¡± cuz you believe you can fight the Yishang. But you can¡¯t physically make me go out that door and waste my time fighting the Yishang again. You are weaker than me. You cannot move me from this spot, so fuck off and leave me to my stupid, pointless, three-page comics, okay?¡± It took Daisy saying ¡°nuh-uh¡± a few more times before an irritated Yuna finally followed her out of the apartment to go find Kane so the three of them could go fight the gods. Despite her, ¡°I¡¯unno,¡± Yuna did in fact know where Kane had gotten off to. Natsuko nuking every single Hero in Selenia into dust had led to accusations flying about who was or was not underpowered after losing 10% of their stats. This led to an enormous reshuffling of teams and in that reshuffle Kane ended up as the offensive Control Hero for Team Imperia. Yuna and Daisy caught him returning from an experience-grinding session with his team. ¡°Oh, hey guys!¡± Kane said, waving to them. His teammates, Alice Imperia, Jouchi, and Yesui, seemed less than pleased at the sight of Yuna and Daisy. At first Daisy wondered whether they knew she was involved with Natsuko killing them, however, their animosity was vague and indirect. It was like the disguised animosity all Heroes at the top of the Use-Rankings had for one another was now out in the open instead of being masked by passive-aggressive politeness. Alice sneered at them. ¡°We have nothing to talk about with you two.¡± Daisy ignored her and turned to her former teammate. ¡°Kane, what are you doing, man? ¡°We¡¯re preparing to fight Natsuko and the Entropic Axis,¡± Kane said, a look of fearless bravery plastered across his face. ¡°They¡¯re trying to destroy the world. If we don¡¯t stop them, the entire universe will be plunged into chaotic darkness!¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s dumb. Yun-chan and I are going to Verm?genburgh to fight the Yishang and you¡¯re coming with us,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Oh okay,¡± Kane replied, following them. Chapter 140 - Drinking Too Many Cups of Coffee Sofiane¡¯s hand shook. He was on his fifth cup of coffee but it was the only way to stay focused when he was getting three hours of sleep a night. This required the balancing act of figuring out if he was actually frustrated with something, or if it was his skyrocketing blood pressure. ¡°No, no, listen. You¡¯re not hearing me,¡± Sofiane said, ignoring the scalding coffee leaping onto his fingers. ¡°The patrols would go down a set list of questions to identify¡ª¡± Spriggansnout slammed his gnarly green fists on the table. ¡°Questions!? They¡¯re the ones attacking us! How much time do you think the patrols have to ask gods-damned questions!?¡± ¡°Our patrols are doing the same thing! If we can recruit the Heroes, we should. One fucking hand on one fucking rod could be the difference!¡± ¡°And if they pick the wrong Heroes you¡¯re asking them to die, bonehead! Then we¡¯re out even more hands!¡± Medea rubbed her face. Both of them were partly right, but while Spriggansnout had always been a grumpy little green bastard, Sofiane was slowly becoming a purple one. Everyone was on edge. Their siege had already begun, even if it was currently invisible. She had placed her faith in Sofiane precisely because he seemed to have a level head unlike most Heroes, but that level head was now full of red eyes and dark sockets and was starting to tilt. ¡°We¡¯re not going to get anywhere if you two don¡¯t calm down. This only helps the Heroes,¡± Medea said. ¡°The Yishang,¡± Sofiane corrected, his tone tense and bitter. The Non-Heroes referred to their enemies generically as ¡°Heroes,¡± but he preferred ¡°the Yishang.¡± It was a little thing and shouldn¡¯t have bothered him. It clear they were using "Heroes" as an abbreviation for ¡°Heroes threatening Shuixing,¡± but every time he heard it, Sofiane¡¯s mind lumped himself in with ¡°the Heroes.¡± He was a Hero. And so were the people the patrols were ambushing. Spriggansnout was correct that something like 90% of them were enemies, and that the patrols were acting in self-defense and might even be helping to thin the numbers for the eventual siege. But Sofiane still didn¡¯t like it. ¡°Right. The Yishang,¡± Medea said. She was well aware Sofiane¡¯s mind was on the 10% of Heroes that might not be cruel bastards. It was easier to think about them than the other 90% when your job wasn¡¯t to be killed over and over by them, like hers before a couple weeks ago. Medea wondered whether this entire enterprise was simply impossible. Perhaps Heroes and Non-Heroes were two distinct species that couldn¡¯t work together. Whether it was possible or not, her freedom and future were riding on a Hero. With more time, it might have been possible to internalize Shuixing¡¯s proclamation that Heroes and Non-Heroes were all the same, but not with their mad scramble to organize a defense. Sofiane¡¯s wild, unfocused glare swept the table before he finally said, ¡°fine. The patrols don¡¯t have to stop and interrogate. But tell them to observe more and try to approach Heroes who might be converted. Okay?¡± Spriggansnout snorted and grumbled something neither affirmative nor negative. After that the defense committee moved onto other items which Sofiane was less and less able to focus on. ¡°I think our best shot for aiding Natsuko and Daisy¡¯s efforts is to exploit visual and auditory effects rather than focusing on damage,¡± Medea said. ¡°Heroes who can fly will have too much HP and we already lost Vidorgia who was the only one who could¡¯ve matched them.¡± Sofiane stared blankly then shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, can you repeat that?¡± ¡°That was the repetition,¡± Medea replied. ¡°Shit... I think I know what you said. We¡¯re going to¡­¡± Sofiane trailed off. It was on the tip of his tongue. He knew something had wormed its way into his ears. ¡°We¡¯re not going to attack them¡ª wait, why the hell aren¡¯t we attacking them!?¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Medea rubbed her eyes. She was also tired, but at least her focus was purely on figuring out sightlines and defensive positions for ranged attackers. Sofiane was doing everything. With help from the committee, of course, but he was the glue keeping the committee together. She explained her point to him again and finally Sofiane processed her logic. ¡°Okay, yeah, no, good idea. The question is whether we want to concentrate all our distractions on single targets or blanket the sky so Natsuko and Daisy have better cover." ¡°Blanketing would distract Daisy and Natsuko too, no?¡± Vronsky asked. ¡°Ugh. Yes. You¡¯re right. Focus fire it is,¡± Sofiane said, kicking himself for not taking the extra couple of seconds to think. What other considerations was he missing? Would missing the wrong considerations cause catastrophic failure? Aerial defense was already the area he was most concerned about since that would be where the absolute bastards like Boulanger would come from. And they still hadn¡¯t figured out a way to reliably ground the flying Heroes so they could be dimension-jumped. At the moment, the only method was Natsuko swapping and having someone else clock them. But if Natsuko got dropped herself, which might mean any regular death in the context of the Special Event, they would be out of options. Sofiane slapped his cheeks to bring himself back. He had to stay focused. He would stay focused. He would push through a lack of sleep until Shuixing researched a way to escape. The two of them had to work non-stop because no one else would. The rest of the afternoon committee report was filled with mixed news. Joad reported that by tomorrow they would be sitting on a surplus of FDJ weapons, which was a plus, but Dr. Cox informed them that despite round-the-clock work with additional help, the science team¡¯s research on long-ranged FDJ weapons and an escape method had both stalled. As it drew closer to Zicheng¡¯s report Sofiane¡¯s heart raced. With no long-distance means of communication, Sofiane was at the mercy of however long it took the Non-Heroes to bring back Team Harald. Using steammobiles, the search party should¡¯ve made the round trip in a day, but it had been three since they left. Zicheng wouldn¡¯t have anything to report on that front since Sofiane had given him instructions to come straight to him when he had news, but his report made the lack of news all the more agitating. ¡°Our recruitment efforts have not born fruit yet,¡± Zicheng said, ¡°but we¡¯re also only three days in and our agents will have only just made it to Tianzhou, Cascadia, and Deco-Imperia. It will take even longer for those sent further afield. Furthermore, we have reports on the movement of¡ª¡± He was interrupted by a knock at the lecture hall door. One of the students standing guard opened it for a trio of goblins who Sofiane recognized as some of Zicheng¡¯s people. ¡°B-Boss! We got people back from Deco! They got got!¡± one of the goblins said. Sofiane¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He shot up from his chair. ¡°What do you mean ¡®got got¡¯!?¡± ¡°Bonked! With their own rods! Heroes got some of ¡®em and got away,¡± said another of the goblins. ¡°Who got bonked!? Did they say anything about Heroes with them!?¡± ¡°Ask them! We came straight here to report to Boss!¡± Zicheng waved the goblins off as Sofiane sprinted for the door. The rest of the committee got up, suspecting the meeting was adjourned. Sofiane found the returned search party by spotting their steammobiles sending up plumes of smoke outside the city walls. A crowd had gathered by that point and were examining the abandoned vehicles which had spawned a coal fires in their engine stacks. After yelling for everyone to get back, Sofiane tracked the injured search party to a tent where some women were giving them tea to drink. All three of the survivors, Purple Bolters by the look of them, appeared shell-shocked. ¡°You were the ones who went to Deco Imperia?¡± Sofiane asked, more edge entering his voice than he intended. One of them, a Bolter woman, swallowed and nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± Sofiane fought down the urge to plow right into interrogating them. ¡°Are the three of you okay? What happened? ¡± he asked. ¡°Fine. Can¡¯t say the same for all of us,¡± said an older man who reminded Sofiane of Joad. ¡°We were ambushed by Heroes,¡± the woman explained. ¡°We were gonna drive right past except they stopped our car. We didn¡¯t know they had rods of their own until they started knockin¡¯ us through the ground. They kept sayin¡¯ they, ¡°knew what we were up to,¡± and calling us Hero-killers.¡± Which was true, Sofiane thought. It wasn¡¯t lost on him that the Non-Heroes, both before and after Baphomet, had set up ambushes exactly like that. He sympathized with the survivors, but this was in fact a war, and it was a war with all of Po-Lin at stake. Everyone was a fair target. ¡°When did this happen? Was this before or after¡­¡± The possibility that Gomiko and the others were among those killed was too awful to finish the sentence. ¡°After we investigated,¡± said the third bolter, a younger man. Terror seized Sofiane. His world narrowed to his own ragged breaths as he tried to keep himself from panicking. ¡°Were they¡­ was Gomiko¡­¡± The younger bolter shook his head. ¡°The place was empty when we got there. Everything was ransacked, so either your folks left in a real big hurry, or someone dragged them out.¡± Chapter 141 - Learning from the Sins of the Past With the last punch to her stomach, Gomiko¡¯s knees buckled. She would¡¯ve collapsed but the ropes around her wrists kept her upright at the cost of jarring her shoulders. That additional bit of pain peaked through the throbbing aches already peppering her body from the feet up. Her view of the floor was abruptly replaced with an angry brown face. ¡°Come on you fucking trash panda. This can be over any time you want,¡± said Iskandar. Gomiko was familiar with all of Team Daji, especially their team leader, the coldly sadistic fox woman watching Gomiko¡¯s torture with a look of mild amusement. Of those at the top of the Use-Rankings when Team Harald was active, Team Daji was on top the longest, a position they kept through naked brutality. They were notorious for killing other Heroes attempting to use their grinding spots. Their takeaway from the decline of the 1st and 2nd generation of Heroes had apparently been that playing nasty was the way to stay on top. This lasted until the 5th and 6th generations of Heroes rendered them obsolete and by that point the Yishang had learned their lesson and stepped in to micromanage the top spots in order to avoid another Team Daji situation. Gomiko managed to avoid a run-in with them. Until, that was, yesterday. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything! H-He left a week ago! I didn¡¯t even know where he was!¡± Gomiko screamed, each word crawling out of her throat through choked sobs. ¡°She¡¯s lying,¡± Daji said. The fox woman¡¯s occasional interjections were spoken like a poet musing about their subject. Or like Sofiane picking an outfit. Daji¡¯s was a refined kind of sadism, focusing on the tiny details rather than being content with just any pain. Awful as the torture already was, Gomiko might have taken some comfort if all four of Team Daji looked as uncomfortable as Iskandar, Sansho, and Adelaide, all of whom were doing this because they were desperate for a special advantage over Sofiane and the rebellion he was supposedly leading. But Daji herself didn¡¯t care. The need for privileged intel was a pretense for cruelty, not the other way around. ¡°I¡¯m not lying!¡± Gomiko said, tears running down her cheeks. Her plea was no use, but the words came unbidden. The intellectual part of her brain had shut down the moment Iskandar¡¯s fist drove into her stomach. Daji stood up from the crate she¡¯d been sitting on and walked over to Gomiko, twisting in the air. Sapphire claws matching Daji''s deep blue, furry ears traced Gomiko¡¯s stomach like someone following a road map. Gomiko shuddered. When she found what she was looking for, Daji tapped her finger a little ways up Gomiko¡¯s rib cage on the left. ¡°Hit her right here,¡± Daji said, moving behind Gomiko to hold her in place. Gomiko tried to thrash away, but her toes barely brushed the floor. She whimpered and tightened her abs. When the punch came, she could tell something was different. It hurt the same, but a second later she felt contractions in her stomach and chest and suddenly vomited on herself. Iskandar, for his part, turned away, neck and jaw tightening in revulsion at what he¡¯d done. From behind her, Daji¡¯s giggling tickled Gomiko¡¯s ears and her nails grazed down her neck. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to cooperate right away. Take your time. We¡¯ve got another eight days before we need to kill your little boyfriend and his pals. So long as you tell us what we want to know before then, we can play as long as you want, my dear little raccoon.¡± It took all of Gomiko¡¯s willpower not to cry at that. Her teammates were behind a locked door across the room, but Daji had made sure they could hear everything. Gomiko refused to give the fox woman the satisfaction of using her to rattle them, so she bit down on her lips until they dribbled blood and kept her sobs to a quiet mewl. ¡°Aw, you¡¯re trying so hard. Iskandar? What should we do to her next?¡± Daji asked. If only they hadn¡¯t taken her friends, Gomiko could have slipped the ropes and made a run for it with her Bake-Danuki ability, but Daji had promised if she tried that they would dimension-jump one of her friends and try again with the remaining two. Without a rod of her own, there was nothing Gomiko could do and nothing she could tell them. All she could do was grasp for a lie that might make them stop. ¡°Maybe if we wait long enough that purple-haired prick will come here himself,¡± Sansho said. The Shikijiman Tempo-Mage in red-and-gold court robes fanned himself. He was trying to appear nonchalant, but just like Adelaide and Iskandar, he was antsy to be done with torturing someone. He clearly knew Daji was content to savor all eight days between then and whatever Special Event the Yishang had planned. ¡°Maybe,¡± Daji said, smiling mischievously and covering her fanged mouth with a silk sleeve. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be nice? We can dimension-jump Sofiane and collect our reward. Though¡­ maybe we ought to capture him first and see if he can tell us anything interesting about the Yishang.¡± Gomiko¡¯s blood ran cold. She couldn¡¯t allow Sofiane to walk into a trap because of her. She had to think of something, but all she had were her words. What could she possibly tell them? What did she even know about them? Was the chink in their armor Daji¡¯s sadism? No, it wasn''t. Uncomfortable though the others were, they''d been complicit in Daji¡¯s cruelty for years. One little raccoon girl begging for mercy wouldn¡¯t change that. There had to be something else, but the problem was she didn¡¯t think like them, and she tried her best to avoid interacting with Heroes who did. How could she possibly know what was going through their minds? Except, no, she did know someone who thought like that: Sofiane. More accurately, he used to think like that. When Gomiko and Sofiane first met, he''d been a different person. The type of person who murdered Harald over a piece of dungeon treasure. Back then Sofiane had been more competitive, more selfish, more individualistic, but by the time he was flirting with her in the sushi restaurant, he was on his way to changing. Even then, it wasn¡¯t until he lived with Team Harald for a couple years before he truly mellowed out and started thinking about the needs of others. The stories he told her about competing amongst his own teammates for experience and equipment sounded incredibly toxic. Sofiane used to complain that the Heroes on top were barely even teams, and if it was possible to advance solo, they would. Gomiko gasped as she realized what she had to do. Fortunately, the gasp coincided with Iskandar bringing a pipe down on her shins right where her calves ended in dark fur, and they thought nothing of the gasp. ¡°No! I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll talk! Stop, p-please!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Daji said. The fox woman stepped in front of Gomiko and lifted her chin up with one sharp, sapphire claw. ¡°What do you have to tell us?¡± ¡°S-Sofaine, h-he¡ª¡± Gomiko paused to sniffle. The acting came easily considering she was scared shitless this wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°¡ªH-He said the Y-Yishang were only going to promote one person, like with N-Natsuko! B-But that he¡¯d come back for me¡­¡± Those two words, ¡°one person,¡± were all she had to say. Daji let Gomiko¡¯s head droop down and turned to face her teammates who were all looking at one another. One. Person. Meaning it wouldn¡¯t be the team who killed Sofiane that would receive a reward, only the single Hero who did the deed. No sharing. ¡°She¡¯s lying,¡± Daji said, but her teammates watched her put her hand on the FDJ rod at her waist and they grabbed for their own. Fear and paranoia filled their eyes and Daji, sensing she needed an advantage over her hostile teammates, sliced the rope connecting Gomiko to the rafters with her claws and caught her, intending to use the raccoon girl as a human shield. Gomiko struggled, but bound hand and foot and exhausted from the punishment she had taken, she went nowhere. ¡°Well now, what happens next, I wonder?¡± Daji said, the only one with a grin on her face. ¡°You two!¡± Adelaide barked at Sansho and Iskandar. ¡°We get her first and then we¡¯ll settle this amongst ourselves.¡± The grin washed off Daji¡¯s face as she backed towards the corner of the warehouse they were in, dragging her raccoon shield with her. Gomiko had a plan, but the timing had to be right or she would be dimension-jumped. Daji¡¯s three teammates approached, spreading out to force her to defend 90 degrees of angle. She swung out in wide arcs to keep them back. ¡°You¡¯re gonna regret this you pitiful fucks,¡± Daji said, her calm dominance dissolving into wild fury. ¡°I¡¯ll kill two of you and whoever¡¯s left I¡¯m gonna cut apart, piece by piece. You know I¡¯ll fucking do it!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not doing a gods-damned thing backed in that corner,¡± Iskandar said, trying to hide the fear in his eyes. Exploiting their rattled nerves, Daji went on the offense. She lunged at Adelaide, lifting Gomiko up with her other arm to block an attack from the other two. In that split second, a plume of smoke exploded in Daji¡¯s hand. Ropes fell to the ground around a clay tanuki statue. Daji had barely enough time to react, but she blocked Sansho¡¯s follow-up lunge and riposted, jumping him before fluidly changing directions to catch Adelaide leaping at her. Within one short second, only she and Iskandar remained, facing each other like two fencers. Gomiko waited until both were transfixed by their rival before poofing back into human form, snapping up one of the rods, and scurrying for her teammates. As she ran, she turned around and threw every potion she had, stunning, tripping, slowing, and blinding her two former torturers. The moment their status effects wore off, Daji and Iskandar flailed at each other. The victor, by the difference of an inch, was Daji, who clipped Iskandar¡¯s ankle and sent him through the floor. Heart pounding, Gomiko smashed the door¡¯s bolt off with her rod and kicked the door in. Harald, Faisal, and Margaret shot to their feet. ¡°Run! Run!¡± was all Gomiko could think to say. ¡°Faisal, Margaret, grab her and help her to the exit,¡± Harald said. How silly, Gomiko thought. She was perfectly capable of sprinting for the exit. But the moment Harald took the rod from Gomiko''s hand and moved to block off Daji from pursuing them, her adrenaline let up its iron grip and a wave of fatigue dragged her towards the floor. Margaret and Faisal kept her from falling and threw her arms around their shoulders, lifting her towards the exit. Daji watched with a malicious grin. ¡°I¡¯m still coming for you, my little trash pandal. I¡¯m gonna get Sofiane, and then I¡¯m gonna get you,¡± she said, wiggling her fingers at a half-unconscious Gomiko. Walking backwards with his furious eyes fixed on Daji, Harald slammed the door to the warehouse shut and locked it. He would¡¯ve killed her then and there, but it wasn¡¯t worth the risk. Not after Gomiko had secured their escape. ¡°Fucking psychopath¡­¡± he muttered, wondering what the hell Sofiane had gotten them mixed up in. Statistics:
Harald Omnibane
Level: 59 EXP To Level: 3,430,981 Class: Bazouk Earth Elemental HP: (13,890 | 36,349)
STATS
Force: 435 Vitality: 330 Finesse: 102 Cognition: 41 Insight: 101
ABILITIES
PASSIVE:Stolen story; please report. Runic Rage ¡ª When all abilities are on cooldown, gain 50% attack speed and regain 15% of physical damage as health. ACTIVE: Brutal Charge ¡ª Run down an enemy, stunning them for a few seconds and increasing damage dealt by all sources in proportion to Force state. ELEMENTAL: Deep Roots ¡ª Draws power from the soil and gives them damage reduction based on both Vitality and Insight for so long as the user is attacking someone. ELEMENTAL: Blood Shield ¡ª Swings halberd in a wide arc and provides a temporary shield based on amount of enemies hit. DESPERATION ART: Bull of the Earth ¡ª Increases movement speed, attack speed attack power, crit chance, and crit damage by a small amount, increasing proportionally to health missing to a maximum of 500% at 10% HP. Base values are determined by Force and Vitality stats.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #156/205 USE-NUMBER: 6,521 Emanations ART NUMBER: 1,001 ERO-ART NUMBER: 211 FIC NUMBER: 12,304
Faisal Hashemi
Level: 59 EXP To Level: 3,687,667 Class: Cuirassier Wind Elemental HP: (13,890 | 13,890)
STATS
Force: 54 Vitality: 180 Finesse: 402 Cognition: 245 Insight: 148
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Desert Spice ¡ª Any attack-boosting dishes cooked by the user are 25% more effective. PASSIVE: Excessive Gallantry ¡ª Attacking an enemy who is targeting the user''s teammate, while they themselves are being attacked, gives both enemies a 33% miss chance. ACTIVE: Whip Kiting ¡ª Deals damage to target while also restraining them with the user''s whip. For a brief time they can move the restrained target in certain directions. ELEMENTAL: Become Wind ¡ª Turns the user into a gust of wind, becoming untargetable and giving all teammates nearby evasion, movement speed, and attack speed increased by Finesse as well as Insight. DESPERATION ART: Mirage ¡ª User and all teammates gain increased evasion and %HP regen. Attacking enemies have a chance to deal damage to themselves.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #185/205 USE-NUMBER: 1,871 Emanations ART NUMBER: 2,702 ERO-ART NUMBER: 2,680 FIC NUMBER: 21,507
Gomiko
Level: 59 EXP To Level: 3,899,751 Class: Grenadier Water Elemental HP: (22,496 | 22,496)
STATS
Force: 40 Vitality: 233 Finesse: 220 Cognition: 130 Insight: 395
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Dumpster Hunter ¡ª Sniffs out enemies and quest objectives in a 5km radius PASSIVE: Rapid Replenish ¡ª Grenade replenish speed and effect duration is tied to both Insight and Finesse. ELEMENTAL: Tanuki Brewing ¡ª Throws out a specially-brewed mixture that causes different effects in a repeating order. CAPACITY: 15/15 1. Deals water elemental damage over time. 2. Slows enemy movement and attack speed. 3. Trips Enemy or Increases Attack and Movement Speed of teammate. 4. Blinds and stuns enemies. 5. Gives a 5%/sec HP regen buff to all teammates. ACTIVE: Bake-Danuki ¡ª Shapeshift into an inanimate object to temporarily gain 100% evasion. DESPERATION ART: Throw Them All! ¡ª Instantly regain all Tanuki Brewing charges and detonate all five at once with 200% effectiveness.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #166/205 USE-NUMBER: 5,444 Emanations ART NUMBER: 3,257 ERO-ART NUMBER: 5,696 FIC NUMBER: 9,342
Margaret Fratelli
Level: 57 EXP To Level: 650,249 Class: Aggro-Mage Fire Elemental HP: (7,643 | 7,643)
STATS
Force: 26 Vitality: 110 Finesse: 166 Cognition: 355 Insight: 329
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Conjuration School ¡ª 25% chance to create an extra item when crafting. PASSIVE: Aggressive Intellect ¡ª For the purposes of damage scaling, Cognition and Insight are considered a combined stat. ELEMENTAL: Fireball ¡ª Launches a ball of fire that deals damage in a straight line. ELEMENTAL: Cold-Seeking Missiles ¡ª Throws five small fire darts that lock onto an enemy dealing increasingly more damage and causing them to take more damage from allies. DESPERATION ART: Fire Walk With Me ¡ª Turn into a floating ball of fire that cannot be damaged and launch projectiles every 0.5 seconds at enemies within range.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #204/205 USE-NUMBER: 95 Emanations ART NUMBER: 6,662 ERO-ART NUMBER: 10,982 FIC NUMBER: 24,811
Chapter 142 - Reunion The day after receiving the bad news about the retrieval mission, Sofiane suited up to go to Deco Imperia himself. He placed Joad in charge while he was gone and picked out three steammobiles full of Purple Bolters to help him search for Team Harald. It was clear to those working under him that Sofiane wasn''t thinking straight, and Medea, Vronsky, and Zicheng all tried to persuade him that his mission committed too many resources in the event of a Hero attack. But Sofiane refused to listen, driven by a feverish need to see Gomiko safe. It was therefore to everyone''s immense relief when Team Harald showed up in Verm?genburgh of their own accord half an hour before Sofiane planned to depart. Sofiane, helping to pack supplies into the steammobiles, was the first to spot them. Sofiane grabbed a nearby Non-Hero. ¡°Do you see that?¡± ¡°Huh? You mean those Heroes¡­ shit!¡± The Non-Hero reached for his rod. Sofiane laughed and told him to put it away. Now that he knew they weren''t a sleep deprivation hallucination, he allowed himself to get excited and sprint towards the four figures coming out of the forest. Though glad to see him, his four teammates looked weary. Gomiko especially appeared distant and distracted in a way he¡¯d never seen before. ¡°Are you all okay? What happened?¡± Sofiane asked, grinding to a halt on the gravel path in front of them. ¡°We¡¯re alright. Just a run-in with some other Heroes,¡± Harald answered suspiciously quickly. Gomiko gave a strained smile and nodded as though approving of this specific answer. Something was off, but he couldn¡¯t tell whether it was an outright lie or just a half-truth. Both possibilities made him feel hurt. It was the first time he knew of where she had deliberately kept something from him. At the same time, he had to trust it was for a good reason. He threw her into a hug. ¡°I missed you, Frizzy. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe.¡± She rubbed his back. ¡°Me too, Sofa." A bit of her usual cheer was working its way back into her voice. In his head he had pictured this moment as being a grand celebration where he would show them around, introduce them to the committee members, have them say hello to Daisy and Natsuko, and make sure they had something to eat and drink before explaining their new mission. All of that was out the window. It was clear the only thing his team needed or wanted at the moment was rest, which was the one thing that slipped his mind to arrange. Sofiane walked with them back to the tent city and snapped¡ªmore harshly than intended¡ªfor someone to go find Joad. All of the Mage¡¯s College had been requisitioned by that point, but Sofiane was sure he could do better for them than Shuixing¡¯s old apartment with its single sofa. If anyone would know where a spare apartment was, it would be Joad. A few minutes later, the Logistics Officer came tottering through the crowd. ¡°Ya found ¡®em, eh, young fella?¡± Joad said. He whistled at the sight of Margaret in a low-cut red cocktail dress and long blonde waves draped over one eye and made a noise not unlike a steammobile horn. ¡°Phew! What a dame! Lucky man you are, son,¡± he said, slapping Sofiane on the back. ¡°Err, this is my teammate, Margaret. Margaret, this is Joad, our Logistics Officer,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°A pleasure,¡± she said with a smile, extending a white-gloved hand. ¡°How¡¯d¡¯ya do, ma¡¯am?¡± Joad said, shaking it. ¡°To her left and right are Faisal and Harald,¡± Sofiane said, gesturing at the two who similarly shook hands. ¡°And this is Gomiko, my partner.¡± ¡°Aha, I see! How about that? Nice to meetcha,¡± he said, shaking her darkly-colored hand a little less enthusiastically than Margaret¡¯s. ¡°They¡¯ve been through a lot getting here, so I was hoping you could find them a room with a bed somewhere,¡± Sofiane said. Joad scratched his neck. ¡°City¡¯s packed right now so I can¡¯t guarantee a bed... but I should have a nice wagon around here somewhere.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Sofiane squeezed his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m sure if you look real hard you can find an unoccupied room, right Joad?¡± Joad shook his head. ¡°I get your insinuation, young fella, but I ain¡¯t kickin¡¯ anybody out just cuz some fancy-pants Heroes came ¡®round late. No difference ¡®tween Heroes and Non-Heroes, just like Ms. He said.¡± Sofiane pinched the bridge of his nose and wondered how easy it would be to fire and replace Joad. ¡°Listen, Joad, this is different, okay? The circumstances are¡ª¡± ¡°Sofa, it¡¯s alright. A tent is fine. We don¡¯t need special treatment,¡± Gomiko said, taking his right hand in both of hers. Despite the cold, her palms were warm, though he felt strange indentations around her wrists that he hadn¡¯t seen before because of the dark coloration on her forearms and calves. ¡°No, I¡ª¡± She squeezed. ¡°Please.¡± Sofiane exhaled. ¡°Alright. The best wagon you¡¯ve got. If you want a bed though, Frizzy, I¡¯m staying in an apartment up at the Mage¡¯s College. You¡¯re welcome to use it whenever. Or any of you, honestly. Gods know I hardly do.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± she said, letting go of his hand. ¡°But I¡­ I want to be near everyone else right now. For comfort¡¯s sake.¡± He looked in her eyes and saw an anxiousness that made him go mad with a need to comfort her and know what happened. Harald, Faisal, and Margaret were grim, but not as much as Gomiko. For a moment he considered dropping everything he had that day to be with her, but he couldn¡¯t. There was work to do. He took both her forearms in his palms and squeezed. ¡°I wanna talk tonight, okay? Just rest for now. I¡¯ll find you this evening." Gomiko''s lip trembled and she nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± As his four teammates walked away with Joad, it occurred to Sofiane that he¡¯d been holding something back too. He was going to have to explain to them all that the world was ending in a little over a week, and that they were now thrown in with a last ditch effort to fight the gods inside their own creation. Why had he decided to keep everything a secret? It felt silly in retrospect to hide the truth about the world from them. What did he think he was going to do when the time finally came for Po-Lin to shut down? He probably would have become more and more anxious until Gomiko pressed him on it. Well, it didn¡¯t matter. He would explain everything to them that night and in the meantime he had work to get back to. Heading back up to the Mage''s College, Sofiane was barely able to get back to planning smoke signal placements with Vronsky before his plans were interrupted again, this time by a stone bird landing right outside the room they were mapping placements in. Rationally, he knew it was good to have Daisy back, but the chipper attitude he found her in irked him. ¡°Hey Sofi, we¡¯re back! I brought friends!¡± Daisy announced, dropping Yuna and some pretty boy Sofiane had never met on their backsides when she abruptly de-summoned Peng. Sofiane put his hands on his hips as Daisy skipped up to him. ¡°Sofi, you know Yun-Chan, of course,¡± she said, indicating the surly Water Samurai who glared at him for the sin of watching her fall on her ass. He nodded in her direction. That was all the respect he felt like giving her considering their last interaction had been her proposing to lynch him and Shuixing. ¡°And this is my other teammate, Kane,¡± Daisy said, indicating the sandy-haired guy in a convoluted Imperian outfit of purple jacket and trouser and more accessories and doo-dads than cloth by weight. He looked like he was in the amalgam of three different Heroes'' ensembles. Kane waved at him from the ground. ¡°Howdy!¡± Sofiane squinted. He didn¡¯t like how Daisy-like that ¡°howdy¡± sounded. One Daisy was bad enough when he was trying to brood. Two was a nightmare. ¡°Howdy to you,¡± Sofiane said flatly. ¡°Have you already given them the low-down on what¡¯s happening?¡± Daisy clicked her pink heels together and saluted. ¡°You bet I have!¡± ¡°Good. Joad will fix them up with somewhere to sleep. Afterwards have them report to Spriggansnout so he can fit them into our defense plans,¡± Sofiane said, turning to leave. ¡°The hell I¡¯m reporting to anybody! I do what I damn well please,¡± Yuna said, picking herself up. Sofiane rubbed his temples. He had to remind himself of his own insistence that every hand mattered. Especially two former Top-Tier Heroes. But damned if they weren¡¯t pissing him off. After Sofiane left, Yuna snorted. ¡°What crawled up his ass and died?¡± ¡°He misses his girlfriend,¡± Daisy replied soberly. ¡°It¡¯s terribly romantic.¡± Yuna¡¯s fists curled. ¡°If he keeps ordering me around, he¡¯ll be missing some teeth too.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Kane asked, genuinely wanting to know why Sofiane would lose his teeth. ¡°Cuz they¡¯ll end up in my fist.¡± ¡°You think he¡¯s gonna bite your fist?¡± Daisy put her hands on her hips and let out a big ol¡¯ snort laugh that drew the attention of the Non-Heroes around her. Sofiane¡¯s sour attitude was clearly a cry for help. What he and the others desperately needed was some Daisy magic. First things first, however, she took Sofiane¡¯s recommendation of seeking out Joad and setting Kane and Yuna up somewhere to sleep. On the way to finding him, Daisy put her arm around Kane¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Kane, buddy, I got a project for ya.¡± Chapter 143 - Getting the Girls Back Together Natsuko¡¯s knees thrust into the air, butt low to the ground, hands and feet flat against the rock below her. Lake water rippled against the rock she was posted on, guided there by winds from Hammertal Canyon. Her head was frozen in place, watching the frog resting in the same pose as her. When it jerked its head, she jerked hers. When it croaked she puffed her cheeks out and ribbited. She held position for what could¡¯ve been a couple minutes or an hour. When the frog finally leapt into the water and created a splash, Natsuko leapt in after it, creating a much larger splash. The water was frigid. By the time Natsuko was done swimming around in it she was shivering violently, but the shock of the cold thrust her into a state of aliveness so that even the discomfort was comfortable. It was gloriously cold. Sublimely cold. And she could feel it. Still dripping wet, she summoned Taiyouken and held her flaming white sword to a nearby tree to set it on fire. Once it was nice and toasty, she stretched out like a cat below the tree and savored the pins-and-needles of her nerves waking back up. Curling black embers rained down on her. As the tree burned, she slowly turned herself over and over, ensuring equal coverage like a rotisserie chicken. Once she was warm and dry again, Natsuko went back to imitating a frog, hopping around the edge of the lake. She was thoroughly engrossed in being a frog until her hopping and ribbiting was interrupted by snorting laughter. She did a couple short hops to turn herself around and saw Daisy standing further up the bank. ¡°What the heck are you doin¡¯ Natsu?¡± Daisy called out. ¡°I¡¯m a frog,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°I can see that. Why are you a frog?¡± Natsuko shrugged. ¡°I dunno. I felt like a frog. Wanna be a frog with me?¡± ¡°Sounds fun, but no can-do. I¡¯m on a mission today.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the mission?¡± Daisy put her hands on her hips triumphantly. ¡°I¡¯m gettin¡¯ everyone together for a girls¡¯ day. You know, facials, mani-pedis, sparkling wine¡­ I know that¡¯s not really your vibe, Natsu, but¡ª¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m in,¡± Natsuko said, shedding her frog identity for a human one as she stood up. Daisy blinked. She expected Natsuko and Yuna to be the hardest to sell the idea to. Natusko agreeing immediately was not on her bingo card. ¡°Really?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°Yeah! Sounds like fun. Plus, Shui will be working herself into a tangle right about now. She¡¯ll need something to knock her brain loose." ¡°Oh! Yeah, that¡¯s a good idea,¡± Daisy said, blushing at the fact that her own rationale was far less instrumental. She just wanted to be pampered. ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t tell her that¡¯s what we¡¯re doing though,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°If Shui thinks this is all about getting her brain juices flowing, she¡¯ll go along with it and that¡¯ll ruin the whole thing. It¡¯s only gonna work if she thinks it¡¯s a waste of time. Got it?¡± Daisy saluted. ¡°Roger dodger!¡± ¡°So who¡¯s next on your list?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Well, let¡¯s see¡­¡± Daisy pulled out her list and drew a line through ¡®Natsuko.¡¯ Next up was¡­ ¡°Gomiko and Margaret,¡± Daisy said, tapping the list. ¡°After that it¡¯s Yuna. I¡¯m saving Shuixing for last.¡± Natsuko stroked her chin. ¡°I see. I see. It¡¯s almost afternoon already so I guess we better get started, huh?¡± Daisy smiled. This was already going better than expected.
¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, now isn¡¯t a good time,¡± Gomiko said. ¡°I¡¯m not feeling great.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s precisely what a girls¡¯ day is all about fixing!¡± Daisy said. ¡°We¡¯re all feeling a little down in the dumps about the world ending and all that, so we need some us time!¡± Even in the dim light of the covered wagon Team Harald were holed up in, Daisy could see the whites of their eyes pop out of the darkness at the mention of the world ending. ¡°Wait, what do you mean the world¡¯s ending?¡± Faisal asked. Daisy froze. ¡°Uh, it''s¡­ ending. In like, a week. That¡¯s why everyone¡¯s here, we¡¯re fighting the Yishang to stop the end of the world.¡± Eyes wide in shock, Gomiko rubbed her temples, trying to make sense of the news. Daisy and Natsuko stared at each other awkwardly. Both assumed Sofiane had informed them what was happening. ¡°Th-This is a joke, right?¡± Margaret asked. Daisy swallowed. ¡°N-No¡­ that¡¯s why you¡¯re all here. Um¡­ do y¡¯all wanna wait for Sofiane to explain later, or¡­?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯d like to know now! What the hell is going on!?¡± Harald said. Daisy sprinted through all of the relevant information about the Yishang and Po-Lin with some interjections from Natsuko about what she half-remembered about Numberspace and what Shuixing was doing. The two of them tried their best to answer Team Harald¡¯s questions but soon butted up against their own lack of knowledge. Between Daisy going on her three-day journey and Natsuko running around Verm?genburgh acting like various animals, neither of them knew how the defense efforts were proceeding. Harald growled. ¡°Why the hell didn¡¯t Sofiane tell us!?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°I¡¯m sure he had his reasons,¡± Faisal said, frustration buried beneath his calmness. Of the four, Harald seemed to be the most angry, but Faisal, Margaret, and even Gomiko were all rattled by the information. Daisy felt guilty for dropping a bomb on them, but how was she supposed to know they didn¡¯t know the world was ending in a week? ¡°So¡­ we¡¯ll put y¡¯all down as a ¡®no¡¯ then,¡± Daisy said. She and Natsuko hopped out of the wagon and were on their way to Yuna and Kane¡¯s tent when Margaret ran up to them. ¡°Wait, hold up!¡± Margaret stopped and caught her breath. ¡°Put us both down as a maybe.¡± Figuring she had the power to manifest things into the world, Daisy put them down as a ¡®yes.¡¯
¡°No,¡± Yuna said. ¡°Aw, c¡¯mon Yun-Chan, pretty please? For me?¡± Daisy said, batting her eyelashes. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Pretty please? For me?¡± Natsuko said, batting her eyelashes. ¡°Especially not for you.¡± ¡°Hey! What did I do!?¡± Yuna crossed her arms. ¡°Sold your soul to the Yishang for power, shithead.¡± Daisy¡¯s old teammates were sitting cross-legged under a tent made small by packing Yuna¡¯s six-foot frame into it. Somehow, Yuna had already found snacks to munch on, and the floor of the tent was strewn with boxes and plates and cans everywhere except the Kane-sized clean space with a Kane in the middle of it. ¡°Aw, c¡¯mon Yun-Chan, you¡¯ll have fun I bet!¡± Kane said. She stared daggers at him. ¡°Call me Yun-Chan again you little shit and I¡¯ll shove my fist so far up your ass you¡¯ll be barfing fingernails." ¡°Surely you¡¯re not gonna stay cooped up inside the whole time?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to go be useful and help plan our attack,¡± Yuna said. ¡°Defense,¡± Natsuko corrected. ¡°Attack,¡± Yuna corrected. ¡°We¡¯re attacking and dethroning the Yishang, ain¡¯t we?¡± ¡°We¡¯re defending Shuixing so she can figure out a way for us to escape through Numberspace. I explained that to you,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Tch.¡± Yuna looked away. ¡°We oughta go on the offense.¡± Daisy huffed. ¡°C¡¯mon, Yun-Chan! You¡¯ll feel so much better. Please? Please? Please? Please?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not gonna get me to come to your stupid fucking pampering day by badgering me, so knock it off!¡± ¡°Please? Please? Please?¡± said Natsuko. ¡°Please? Please? Please?¡± said Daisy. ¡°Please? Plea¡ª¡± Kane started to say. ¡°Kane shut the fuck up. I¡¯m not¡ª¡± ¡°Please?¡± added Daisy. ¡°No!¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna keep saying ¡®please¡¯ until you say you¡¯ll come to girls¡¯ day with us. Don¡¯t forget I wore you down until you agreed to come with me to Verm?genburgh. And my secret reason for doing so wasn¡¯t to save the world, it was to have a girls¡¯ day, so you know I¡¯m serious about this,¡± Daisy said. ¡°It¡¯s not going to work,¡± Yuna said.
After half an hour and several thousand please''s, Yuna was on board and Daisy and Natsuko were off to convince Shuixing. The research team under her direction had ballooned into a multi-laboratory affair, making her somewhat challenging to find. The lab that contained Natsuko¡¯s former closet-home, where she expected to find Shuixing, was being used for assembling compounds for Numberspace entry. ¡°Any a'' y¡¯all seen Shuixing?¡± Natsuko asked one of the graduate assistants who was straining a bright blue liquid into a vial. ¡°Dr. He? She¡¯s probably in the observation room,¡± he said, wrinkling his nose. ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± The student pointed downwards. ¡°In the sewer. There¡¯s a door to the stairs somewhere around here.¡± After some brief exploration, Daisy and Natsuko found the door he was referring to and descended. Though they weren¡¯t quite sure what to expect, it certainly wasn¡¯t what they found. The slimy cobblestone sewer, with a river of sludge running through the middle, had been converted into something between a lounge and a newspaper room. Electric floodlights and lanterns from Deco Imperia lit up the sewers bright as day save the dark canals half-covered in wooden planks functioning as bridges. The side of the sewer closer to the door was filled with desks where members of the science team were comparing notes and compiling a relational map along the damp walls of the sewer. Across the canals on the far side was a collection of tables and overstuffed chairs, hazy with the smoke of burning al-Nuwban incense sticks trying their hardest to drive away the sewer smell. Amongst the smoke Natsuko saw Shuixing and some other researchers passed out on chairs. Daisy scratched her head. ¡°Do we wait for her to wake up?¡± Natsuko shrugged. ¡°I guess.¡± Despite weary glances from the other science team members, Natsuko and Daisy stood around Shuixing¡¯s limp body and waited for her to return to consciousness. After about five minutes, she awoke with a gasp. ¡°H-Hah! Gods¡­ what was¡ª who? Oh, Natsu, not now,¡± Shuixing said, grabbing her glasses from the table next to her and rubbing smoke particles from them. ¡°You don¡¯t even know what we¡¯re gonna say yet,¡± Natusko said. ¡°Whatever it is, I¡¯m too busy. Our research has stalled and the last thing I need is distraction.¡± Shuixing reached for a notebook on the table next to her and began furiously scribbling in it. When Daisy or Natsuko tried to speak, she shushed them. They waited around for her to finish jotting down notes, underestimating how much she had to write down and ten minutes later she was still scribbling. ¡°Shui we want to¡ª¡± ¡°Shhh!¡± ¡°We want to have a girls¡¯ day!¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing stopped writing and looked up at Natsu as though she had just said they wanted to let the Yishang win. As far as Shuixing was concerned, that was exactly what they had. ¡°Eight days left and you want to have a¡ª what, some fun little distraction? Natsuko, are you serious? It¡¯s bad enough you¡¯re distracting me right now! I know you and Daisy don¡¯t have much to do but wait for us to get attacked, but I can¡¯t waste a second on frivolity. I have work to do!¡± Shuixing stood up from the chair and brushed past them headed for the work stations to synthesize her data with the other researchers. ¡°Well that sure didn¡¯t go very well. Ya wanna wear her down like we did Yuna?¡± Daisy asked. Natsuko shook her head. ¡°Nope! That went perfectly. Our poor, put-upon scientist has run out of steam and her thoughts are circling aimlessly with nowhere to land, like a bird lost at sea.¡± ¡°So what do we do then?¡± Natsuko grinned nefariously. ¡°What if it wasn¡¯t up to her?¡± Daisy looked confused for a second before her eyebrows shot up. ¡°We¡¯re not going to kidnap Shui for girls¡¯ day, are we?¡± Natsuko reached into her pockets, rummaged around in them for a second, and from them drew a pair of finger guns which she shot Daisy with. ¡°Bang, bang, bullseye!¡± Chapter 144 - Thinking About the World-Creation Ability Sofiane found Gomiko that evening in the back of their team¡¯s wagon with Margaret. The two were talking with an unmistakable edge of anxiousness in their voices. Stepping up into the wagon, he expected Gomiko to be excited to see him again. Instead, he was met with an icy, injured stare. Margaret looked wearily between the two. ¡°Do you want me to stick around, Gomi?¡± Margaret asked. Gomiko, wrapped in a quilt with her knees drawn to her chest, said, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Margaret wasted no time vacating the wagon. Sofiane sat down by Gomiko¡¯s side and pulled her closer to him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Frizzy? What happened to you in Deco Imperia? I heard about the trashed apartment. Did you all get attacked? Were you hurt? Was it other Heroes?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us the world was gonna end?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t I¡­ How¡ª who told you?¡± Gomiko shook her head, refusing to nuzzle into his embrace. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Just tell me why.¡± ¡°Because I¡ª¡± He found the actual answer hard to give in hindsight. ¡°I was going to tell you tonight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I asked!¡± He thought briefly that the anger in her voice was something novel, but that wasn¡¯t true. This was how she sounded two years ago when she accused him of getting Margaret killed, before they realized she could be brought out of the Dungeon of Stars and re-summoned. Sofiane didn¡¯t remember exactly what he said to her and the others back then, but knowing how he used to be, it was probably rude and nasty. To hear Gomiko like this again¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Frizzy. I thought¡­ that is, my thought process was¡ª¡± he caught a side-eye glare for the prevaricating. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to ruin your last days. I didn¡¯t know yet we would even have a shot at surviving. Hell, I¡¯m still not sure we do. Maybe after all this preparation the other Heroes annihilate us with the help of the Yishang and none of it matters. That¡¯s probably the most likely outcome. And you were so happy when we were together, the happiest you¡¯ve ever been. I didn¡¯t want to ruin that happiness. I couldn¡¯t. I wanted my last moment before the lights shut off to be your smiling face, cuddled up next to me. Maybe that was weak of me. Maybe it was selfish. But there¡¯s your answer. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t tell you.¡± Gomiko was silent for a moment with a look of stoic judgment, but then her lip quivered and her face screwed itself into an ugly ball of tears and hiccuping sobs that he couldn¡¯t help but giggle at because it was just about the ugliest expression he¡¯d seen on anyone ever and he couldn¡¯t believe the Yishang could even make a face like that. She punched him in the shoulder. ¡°You puffy purple asshole!¡± This just made him giggle more and eventually, after pushing out all the tears she¡¯d built up, Gomiko started giggling too with her throat all choked up. Sofiane, after hearing her start to laugh, realized a few tears had run down his own cheeks. Neither said anything for a little while, both feeling their way through what they needed to feel. Eventually, they recognized in the other¡¯s body language a desire to go for a walk. Sofiane drew Gomiko up and she put on some slippers and threw the quilt around them both and they went for a walk. As this short, lumpen quilt monster careened its way through the city of tents, Sofiane noticed his fatigue and stress were gone, replaced by the fuzzy warmth at his side, pumping heat back into him as the cold outside tried to draw it out. Just when Sofiane was about to ask again what happened to her and the others in Deco Imperia, Gomiko asked, ¡°what do you think another world would look like?¡± Her eyes were drawn up towards the stars, or rather the grand painting the Yishang had asked them to see stars in. In reality, not a single one was another world. There was only one world and it was Po-Lin. Maybe there were other worlds in the Celestials¡¯ dimension of existence, but not here. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Those are fake, though,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°I know,¡± Gomiko replied. ¡°But so what? We made a world here, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°What do you mean? The Yishang made Po-Lin.¡± ¡°The Yishang made Po-Lin, and they made you and me. But they didn¡¯t make us. They didn¡¯t make Gomiko-plus-Sofiane. We made that.¡± Sofiane thought about that for a second. He couldn¡¯t tell whether it was profound or stupidly obvious, like saying, ¡®the world exists.¡¯ ¡°I guess we did,¡± he said, hugging her closer under the quilt. ¡°You know why I don¡¯t think the Yishang wants us together? Why they don¡¯t want any of us together?¡± she said. ¡°Why?¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Because they can¡¯t write a script that way. They can plug ¡®Gomiko¡¯ into a Special Event scene, and they can plug ¡®Sofiane¡¯ in, but Gomiko-plus-Sofiane doesn¡¯t act the same way as either one by itself. That¡¯s a different character. It throws a wrench into their whole continuity. And on top of that, why would Gomiko-plus-Sofiane compete for numbers when they¡¯re happy the way they are?¡± Sofiane didn¡¯t really know what to say to that. He sort of understood what she was talking about, but also sort of didn¡¯t. He was still Sofiane, after all. Sure he''d changed since being with her, but he was, in the end, a wholly separate entity. Shuixing proved that beyond doubt in her exploration of Numberspace. Sofiane-plus-Gomiko was a romantic idea, but it was just an idea. ¡°Maybe so,¡± he said, glancing up at the fake stars. ¡°You don¡¯t believe me.¡± Sofiane was unsure for a second whether that was a question or not. ¡°Did whoever it was that told you about the world ending¡ªoh who am I kidding, I know it was Daisy or Natsuko¡ªdid they tell you about the Central Probability Algorithm and Numberspace?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Poorly, but I think I got the idea. It¡¯s a big algorithm that sucks us in, swishes us around, and spits us back out again hundreds of times a second, and that¡¯s supposed to be us, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I guess in a way all of Po-Lin is one... Thing? Person? Entity? But we experience it separately. That¡¯s the only way we can experience anything. Even if you and I changed each other, there¡¯s still a big folder in the sky that says who Pechorin is and who Gomiko is.¡± Gomiko hummed for a second then said, ¡°maybe that¡¯s how the algorithm keeps things interesting. We¡¯re all different, but we¡¯re all the same. And we bump up against each other and change each other. But I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about when I¡¯m talking about Gomiko-plus-Sofiane.¡± ¡°So what are you talking about?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s¡­¡± When she had to put it into words, Gomiko realized she couldn¡¯t articulate what was, at its core, just a feeling. It wasn¡¯t numbers, and it wasn¡¯t words either. It didn¡¯t live in either of those places. It was a kind of knowledge that could only be felt; not seen, touched, heard, smelled, or tasted. Or¡­ maybe it could be tasted. Gomiko turned to Sofiane and leaned in. Something that needed neither words nor numbers drew their lips together. In his mouth were the sour traces of stale coffee, in hers the metallic tang of blood. While they kissed, neither was sure who was tasting what. They pulled away, as they eventually must, and Gomiko smiled. ¡°So, there¡¯s that part of it. But you know what the other part is?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Sofiane asked numbly, dazed with bliss from the mouth he missed so badly. ¡°This!¡± Gomiko said, waving her hands in the direction of the camp of tents and burning lamps and Imperian flood lights illuminating the walls of Verm?genburgh. ¡°A couple weeks ago, none of this existed. But our ideas about how the world ought to look changed, and now it looks like this. This is only the beginning, Sofa. Daisy and Natsuko said the Yishang made us so we look and act like them, and if we¡¯re just like the Yishang, why the heck can¡¯t we make a new world!? That¡¯s what they did!¡± Sofiane was stunned for a moment, and he didn¡¯t know whether it was because what she said was so powerful, or because he was so madly in love with this woman that nothing else, not even breathing, could coexist with her in his head. After remembering to gulp down some air, he said, ¡°I guess that''s fine, so long as this new world we build has Sofiane-plus-Gomiko-plus-Gomiko-plus-Sofiane in it.¡± She giggled at that. Somehow, she had managed to avoid entirely answering his question about what happened in Deco Imperia. If she had told him she was tortured, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to think about anything else for the rest of the night, or maybe even for as long as the two had left to live. So she kept that her own little secret, because she wanted the last thing he saw tonight to be her smiling face, cuddled up next to him. ¡°So¡­ been to the Dungeon of Stars lately?¡± Gomiko asked. Sofiane blinked. ¡°Um, yeah, that¡¯s where Shuixing and I were holed up while Baphomet was conducting his reign of terror.¡± ¡°So what I¡¯m hearing is it¡¯s empty right now?¡± ¡°I doubt anyone has¡ª¡± She took his hand in hers and led him off towards the Anomalous Dungeon.
Sofiane had a panic attack when he emerged from the Dungeon of Stars the next morning and the sun was almost overhead. ¡°Oh shit! I¡¯ve got an intelligence meeting with Vronsky and Zicheng at noon!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get there when we get there,¡± Gomiko said. She had already figured out the defense preparations, important though they were, were mostly about giving everyone peace of mind before the final battle. If everyone was wound up tight, they would make more mistakes and miss crucial details that could be the difference between success and failure. In fact, it was Daisy and Natsuko¡¯s visit that made her realize that. By the time Margaret returned to convince her to join Daisy''s girls'' day thing, Gomiko had already resolved to join. When they returned to the wagon, a Hero in a purple waistcoat and gold pauldrons was waiting outside Team Harald¡¯s wagon. ¡°Oh hey! Sofiane, right?¡± the Hero said, jogging towards Sofiane. ¡°Yeah. You are¡­ uh¡­ Crane¡­ right?¡± Sofiane asked, impressed with his ability to remember that based off the one time Daisy introduced them. ¡°Almost a bullseye!¡± Crane said, shooting some Daisy-like finger guns at the two of them. ¡°Here, we¡¯re having a boys¡¯ day, and you¡¯re invited!¡± Crane handed Sofiane a flier drawn in crayon that showed some stick fingers that looked vaguely like himself, Crane, Harald, and Faisal sitting around a fire with mugs in their hands. Sofiane folded it up and tucked it into the pocket of his hoodie. ¡°Thanks, Crane, but I¡¯ve got a lot to do today and I¡¯m already behind. Tell the others I said hi,¡± Sofiane said. Sofiane tried to move around him, but Crane re-positioned himself to block Sofiane. ¡°No can do! Daisy said I gotta do everything in my power to ensure you¡¯re a part of boys¡¯ day.¡± Despite Crane¡¯s cheerful tone, it was obvious he could squish Sofiane like a bug. Having no reason to trust him, Sofiane reached for the FDJ rod tucked in his belt. ¡°Sofa?¡± Gomiko said. ¡°What?¡± She grasped his wrist and pulled it away from the rod. ¡°Go have a beer with the boys.¡± Chapter 145 - Brunch With the Ladies As decided by Natsuko and Daisy, the meeting place for Girls¡¯ Day was Rose the Florist¡¯s shop. Rose was still present, though her job had shifted from selling flowers to housing Tianzhounese bandits. Bedrolls now occupied the floor, display cases, and storage closet of the flower shop. Exhausted with the new inhabitants, Rose was smoking an al-Nuwban cigar outside the shop. In a moment, her new tenants were getting kicked out, but it would be easier with a bunch of Heroes behind her. The first Hero to arrive was a sultry woman with her pet raccoon. Rose remembered blondie¡¯s name¡ªMargaret¡ªbut she couldn¡¯t remember the raccoon¡¯s name. Not that she cared. The world was ending and she had only forked over her shop to Natsuko out of obligation for all the times Natsu kept her from being frozen alive by an Ice Wyvern. ¡°Is this Rose¡¯s Flower Shop?¡± Margaret asked. Rose blew an O with her cigar. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s my shop. I¡¯m Rose.¡± She didn¡¯t bother extending her hand to the two Heroes and the Heroes didn¡¯t have much to say so the three women waited out front, Rose leaning against an empty flower terrace and puffing on a stogie. ¡°So¡­ Do you know Natsuko somehow?¡± the raccoon girl asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Rose said. They waited to see if the Non-Hero would elaborate, but she kept smoking her cigar. ¡°Alright then. Any idea when the others are planning on showing up?¡± Margaret asked. ¡°Nope,¡± Rose replied. A few minutes later, a tough-looking lady from Shikijima arrived who was probably Yuna. She had exactly the lemon-chewing face and recently-shaved buzz cut Natsuko claimed she did. Rose chuckled to herself at the uncanny description. Yuna cleared her throat. ¡°Is this R¡ª¡± ¡°Rose¡¯s flower shop. Yeah,¡± Rose said. Yuna coughed in embarrassment, realizing how silly the question was when Margaret and the raccoon girl were standing five feet from her. The three women nodded at each other, not yet acquainted. Neither party had the nerve or tact to introduce themselves. What a sad bunch, thought Rose. Outside of Natsuko, Heroes were so stand-offish, even with each other. A lot of Non-Heroes wished they were Heroes, but as far as Rose was concerned, they could keep that business and let her run her damn flower shop. Her cigar was just about finished when Natsuko arrived with the pink lady named after some kind of flower. The pink lady had a very suspicious-looking wriggling sack thrown over her shoulder, but Rose didn¡¯t ask questions. Natsuko wanted her shop and that was the extent of her involvement. She put out her cigar stub on the flower terrace. ¡°Ready for me to kick ¡®em out?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think we¡¯re ready. Right girls?¡± Natsuko asked. There was a round of lackluster agreement from the other three Heroes as Rose unlocked her door. Inside, a bunch of Tianzhounese bandits sat on the shop floor. Tables and display cases had been pushed aside to make room for bedrolls and satchels and in the leftover space the bandits were playing Elements: The Coalescing. ¡°Alright boys, get lost,¡± Rose said. The bandits grumbled and picked up their cards and packs and filtered out of the flower shop. Rose kicked bedrolls out of the way and brought out beach chairs and milk crates. Once the flower shop looked somewhat presentable, Rose went back outside. ¡°All yours until 5pm,¡± Rose said, fumbling around in the pockets of her pink jacket for another cigar. ¡°Thanks, Rose! You probably saved the world with this you know,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°With mani-pedis and bubbling wine? Sure. Gods know this al-Nuwban tobacco is saving my world,¡± Rose replied, shaking her last cigar out of its wrappings and trimming it with a set of garden shears. ¡°Light?¡± Natsuko asked, a flicker of flame at the tip of her index finger. Rose leaned in and puffed the cigar until there was a nice little cherry on the end and then drew in. ¡°Ahh... That¡¯s nice. Tell Shui I said hi when she shows up.¡± Natsuko chuckled. ¡°Will do, Rose. Take it easy.¡± While Natsuko was talking with Rose, Daisy looked around at the three women staring at her. ¡°Shall we indulge?¡± Daisy asked. Yuna frowned and jammed a finger towards Margaret and Gomiko. ¡°Who are these two?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry, introductions are in order! Yuna, this is Margaret and Gomiko. Gomi is Sofi¡¯s¡­ rawr rawr!¡± Daisy said, growling like a puma and making weird hand gestures with the hand not holding the wriggling sack. Margaret looked aghast and Gomiko tucked her crimson face into the crook of her elbow to hide it. Oblivious, Daisy continued, ¡°Margie and Gomi¡ª¡± ¡°Margaret,¡± Margie said. ¡°¡ªthis is my teammate, Yuna! She likes comic books and potato chips and revolution.¡± Margaret swallowed nervously and extended her hand to Yuna. ¡°How do you do?¡± Yuna looked at Margaret, then down at her hand, then back up at her, and grunted. ¡°A pleasure to mee you,¡± Margaret said.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Great, everyone¡¯s caught up,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Girls¡¯ Day can officially start!¡± ¡°Wait, where''s Shuixing?¡± Gomiko asked. Daisy and Natsuko looked at each other and grinned conspiratorially and Daisy said, ¡°We¡¯ll get to that in a moment. But before that, we need to move to Phase One¡­ Brunch!¡± Yuna squinted. ¡°Brunch?¡± ¡°Yeah! Follow me.¡± Daisy led them to a kitchen table set up in the back of the shop. Waiting for them were six seats, six menus, six place settings, and one waiter who was a Sibe-Lander tribesman wearing leather riding breeches and a leather tanktop and nothing else. He pulled out chairs for the five of them as they took their seats. ¡°Good morning, ladies. My name¡¯s Temur, I¡¯ll be taking care of you today,¡± Temur said in a husky voice. Daisy was supremely giddy at this just as a matter of principle instead of any particular naughtiness and was bouncing in her seat to give her drink order. Yuna, meanwhile, was unimpressed at how small Temur¡¯s muscles were compared to hers. Margaret and Gomiko were baffled by what was happening. The only person treating Temur as proper eye candy was Natsuko whose gaze fell on his veiny forearms holding an order pad. ¡°May I get you ladies anything to drink?¡± ¡°Ohmigods, hi! Yes! I want a peach bellini!¡± Daisy said with a satisfied squeal. ¡°The fuck is that?¡± Yuna asked. ¡°You won¡¯t like it,¡± Natsuko explained. ¡°Get a bloody mary, that¡¯s what I¡¯m having.¡± The ¡®bloody¡¯ part intrigued Yuna and once Natsuko explained it was vodka with enough spices and tomato to make it a viable breakfast, Yuna got one for herself. Margaret ordered a coffee, a shot of vodka, and a cigarette. Gomiko asked for orange juice. Daisy grasped her arm. ¡°No dear, this is Girls¡¯ Day. You must get daydrunk with us!¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, I-I don¡¯t usually drink this early and¡ª¡± Margaret put her hand over Gomi¡¯s. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You do what makes you comfortable.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll have a mimosa,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Coming right up,¡± Temur said. ¡°Wait! We¡¯ve got one more order.¡± At long last, Daisy finally acknowledged the sack at her feet. Everyone but Natsuko had been wondering what it was about and in conjunction with the additional order, they had a suspicion. ¡°Daisy, you didn¡¯t¡­¡± Yuna said. Daisy laughed maniacally. ¡°Ahaha! Daisy did!¡± She threw open the sack to reveal a very pissed off Shuixing bound hand and foot with a gag in her mouth. The others watched dumbfounded as Natsuko and Daisy propped her up in the remaining chair while Shui mumbled angrily at them. Natsuko pulled the gag from Shui¡¯s mouth and Shuixing was quick to voice her displeasure. ¡°What the f¡ª fr¡ª¡± Shui¡¯s body fought against the out-of-character expletive forcing its way out of her mouth. ¡°What the fuck has gotten into you two!? Are you insane!? You¡¯re dooming us to be annihilated forever a-and¡ª¡± ¡°She¡¯ll have a coffee,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Two coffees, two bloody marys, a mimosa, and a shot of vodka. Got it,¡± Temur said with a wink at Natsuko. ¡°Don¡¯t forget the cigarette,¡± Margaret added. ¡°Hey wait, why aren¡¯t you making Shuixing drink?¡± Gomiko asked. ¡°Well, she¡¯s tied up so it wouldn¡¯t be consensual, y¡¯know?¡± Natsuko said, patting her angry, thrashing friend on the shoulder. Her glasses were coming off from all the wiggling so Natsuko straightened them for her. ¡°Just got with the flow, Shui. Trust me. It¡¯s Girls¡¯ Day, relax.¡± ¡°R-Relax!? The end of the world is a week away! Natsu, if I don¡¯t¡ª¡± Natsuko yawned loudly. ¡°Yeah, yeah, if you don¡¯t find a way to save the world, everyone dies. Don¡¯t you know you only gotta say something three times for it to sink in? Everyone¡¯s heard it a million times by now. The real mystery is what¡¯ll happen if you relax and enjoy yourself for once.¡± If mice could growl, Shuixing did a solid impression of them. Seeing that Daisy and Natsuko had gone off the deep-end, she turned to the others. ¡°Please, you have to stop them!¡± Gomiko and Margaret looked nervously at each other. ¡°R-Really guys, you should let her go,¡± Gomiko said. ¡°Nuh-uh. We¡¯re saving the world in our own way, and that means giving our little scientist here some extreme, mandatory relaxation. Otherwise she¡¯ll end up frustrating herself,¡± Natsuko explained. ¡°I¡¯m plenty frustrated now!¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Yeah, cuz you haven¡¯t had your coffee yet.¡± Temur came back with a platter of drinks, courtesy of Joad who was generously giving the women open access to the entire logistical stockpile. The Cascadians and Sibe-Landers wouldn¡¯t be happy when they found out the committee had requisitioned their champagne and vodka, but as Natsuko had explained, Girls¡¯ Day was a matter of life or death. Daisy clapped her hands as the bellini was put in front of her and politely waited for everyone else to get their drinks before slamming the whole thing back in one chug and circling her fingers for Temur to bring her another one. Margaret sipped her vodka and puffed on her cigarette and seeing her teammate relaxing, Gomiko tentatively took a sip of her own drink. ¡°It¡¯s not... bad. There¡¯s not a lot of alcohol in it, right?¡± Gomiko asked. ¡°Nah, Mimosa¡¯s are just a glass of wine,¡± Daisy said. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m getting a second.¡± ¡°Are you all really going to go along with this insanity?¡± Shuixing said. Gomiko bit her lip. It felt scummy to ignore Shui, especially after what had so recently happened to Gomiko herself, but she felt there was a method to Natsuko¡¯s madness. Not that she could¡¯ve done anything anyway. Her only option was to dimension-jump Natsuko and Daisy, and that seemed like a really, really bad idea. Yuna, meanwhile, was investigating her bloody mary like a dog, sniffing the spices and salt on the rim and the tangy tomato juice before sticking out her finger to prod at the thick red liquid. Finally, she sipped it. ¡°It doesn¡¯t taste like blood. Not metallic enough,¡± Yuna said. ¡°The ¡®blood¡¯ part comes from the tomato juice,¡± Natsuko said. Yuna lifted it up to swirl around. ¡°I see. Well, it¡¯s still decent.¡± ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Natsuko said, nibbling on her celery stem. She glanced over at a still-fuming Shuixing. ¡°Want me to help you with your coffee?¡± Shuixing¡¯s wrists strained behind her chair. ¡°No, I want you to let me go!¡± ¡°Okay, but like, what would you say is priority #2 right now? What is the next best thing your bestie could do for you besides untie you?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Tell Sofiane so he can untie me!¡± ¡°Okay, but¡­ what¡¯s priority #3?¡± Utilizing Daisy¡¯s strategy of wearing her down, by priority #13 Natsuko finally got Shuixing to acquiesce to drinking a cup of coffee if Natsu would untie her wrists so she could drink it herself. Natsuko considered for a moment whether her friend was concocting some secret tactic to escape, but eventually she let Shui enjoy her cup of coffee. This defused some of the tension, and halfway through her cup Shuixing said, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll have brunch. But please let me get back to work afterwards, alright, Natsu?¡± ¡°Sorry, no can do, Shui. We¡¯ve got mani-pedis after,¡± Natsuko said. Shuixing shook her head, nearly sending her glasses flying. ¡°We¡¯ve got what!?¡± Chapter 146 - Breaking Down the Resistance Between People ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Kane. Daisy¡¯s teammate,¡± Kane said, holding out a hand to Harald. Harald looked down at Kane¡¯s ruffled white glove and shook it awkwardly. ¡°So y¡¯are. I¡¯m Harald, leader of Sofiane¡¯s team.¡± Kane¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, so you run everything around here?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Harald looked behind him at the castle town and tent city they were leaving behind to go on a hike. He shared a confused look with Sofiane and Faisal before realizing what Kane meant. ¡°Oh, no, Sofiane runs this whole¡­ thing. I¡¯m his leader when we¡¯re adventuring.¡± ¡°Like right now?¡± Kane asked as the four men trudged through the pine forests of Verm?genburgh. Harald grinned at Sofiane. ¡°Know what? Yeah, I am the captain of this expedition. You all have to do as I say.¡± Kane saluted. ¡°You¡¯ve got it, captain!¡± ¡°The only person I take orders from is Gomiko and that''s the only reason I¡¯m out here,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°You¡¯re telling me you¡¯re not excited for Boys¡¯ Day?¡± Faisal asked. ¡°Wow. You could tell?¡± In the short time he¡¯d been alive, Kane had made few friends outside his all-female team. His experience so far today suggested men basically acted like Yuna all the time. He made a note to dial down his own excitement and match their attitude. Fortunately, Daisy prepared him for such a possibility and gave him a tactic to deploy if the party wasn¡¯t getting off the ground. Kane reached into his satchel and pulled out a crisp, ice cold beer. ¡°Beer, anyone?¡± he asked. ¡°At 10 in the morning?¡± Harald said. ¡°Gods-damned. Party hard, do ya?¡± ¡°He''s at the top. Of course he parties hard,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Heck yeah I party hard,¡± Kane said, thinking of all the fun special events he''d been to with his team. ¡°I¡¯m good. I prefer wine anyway,¡± Sofiane said. Kane put the beer back and pulled out a box of moscato. ¡°Tada! Daisy said you might say that.¡± He tried to hand the boxed wine to Sofiane. ¡°Uh¡­ maybe later. Let¡¯s just get to the campsite,¡± Sofiane said, wondering how much of this farce was acceptable before he could hurry back to his job.
Daisy, Natsu, and Shui reached an agreement that Shui didn¡¯t have to stay tied up if she promised to see Girls¡¯ Day through and not run. She had since tried to run away twice but soon learned that the two extremely powerful top-tier Heroes were a lot faster than her and gave up. Nonetheless, she only gave short, curt answers that wasted as little time as possible and tried her best not to panic at the fact that the world might end because Daisy and Natsuko were bored. ¡°Oh. My. Gods. I know exactly what color you should go for!¡± Daisy said, holding Shuixing¡¯s arm against the "salon" chair. ¡°What?¡± Shuixing said flatly. ¡°Blue!¡± Shuixing squinted at her, trying to figure out if Daisy had discovered a way to enter Numberspace and lower her own Cognition stat. ¡°Wow,¡± Shuixing said, leaning back in the reclining chair they were forcing her into and smoothing out her blue robes. ¡°I know, right! And Natsu, you have to get¡ª¡± ¡°Red?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Yes! Like a bright, bright crimson! Hotter than the sun!¡± The six women were still in the flower shop but had moved to two rows of folding chairs to be tended on by Cascadian nail technicians. By their roles in the Yishang¡¯s universe, the technicians were supposed to be revolutionaries, but a culture of mutual pampering had evolved within the revolutionary forces and ended up becoming a universal skill. It reminded Natsuko of how every single Shikijiman except her inexplicably knew poetry. Except, now she kind of knew poetry too. What awful worldbuilding that would be if the Yishang had done it deliberately, she thought. Across from Natsuko and Shuixing, Margaret and Gomiko had both begun their mani-pedis. One of the Cascadian women, Justine (no relation), was currently painting Gomiko¡¯s claws a lavender color. Daisy initially protested that lavendar wasn''t bold enough, but after Gomiko explained she was getting it because it matched Sofiane¡¯s color scheme, Daisy immediately changed her mind and decided it was the single most adorable thing on the face of Po-Lin. Margaret, meanwhile, was getting her hands massaged, trading the glass of champagne between hands as needed. Yuna folded her arms at the two technicians in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re not touching me.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Margaret turned to her. ¡°You¡¯ll like it, darling, trust me." ¡°My body has been toughened from scalp to toe by constant warfare. I refuse to undo that in an instant to feel pretty. I don¡¯t even want to be ''pretty'',¡± Yuna said. Daisy chuckled from across the room. ¡®Constant warfare¡¯ except for when the fearsome samurai was playing cards or reading comic books or eating potato chips. ¡°Aw, c¡¯mon, Yun-Chan! At least let them give you a massage. You can keep your dry, scrungly skin and still get a massage, can¡¯t you?¡± Daisy said, sipping a mint julep through a loopy straw. ¡°I would rather not be touched at all. But if you absolutely refuse to let me leave before¡ª¡± Daisy giggled. ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re trapped here at my whim.¡± ¡°¡ªbefore I get this stupid massage, fine. You may approach my calves,¡± Yuna said to the two technicians. The two Cascadian women shared a smirk. It was now their mission to break the large woman. Working oil onto their hands, they got to work, each to a leg, rolling the thick cords of muscles in Yuna¡¯s thighs, calves, knees, and ankles between their fingers. With nothing to do while her feet were soaking, Daisy watched Yuna¡¯s reactions with intense interest. At first, Yuna¡¯s hard face and chiseled jaw remained rock solid, treating the leg massage as a minor nuisance. Slowly, however, little twitches in her facial muscles betrayed the fact that the massage was having an effect. Yuna refused to be beaten though, and as the pleasure mounted, she gripped the sides of the chair like a ship in a storm. ¡°Aw, what¡¯s wrong? It¡¯s just a stupid massage,¡± Daisy said, grinning evilly. Yuna ground her teeth. ¡°Vile witch. You put something in my drink, didn¡¯t you?¡± Daisy snorted-laughed. ¡°Nope! I¡¯m sorry to say this is all you and your body, Yun-Chan. Why not give into the pleasure? You know you want to!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± The two technicians took this as their cue to intensify the sensations. Deploying their Desperation Arts against Yuna, they each took one of her tough, muscled thighs and drove the knuckle of their thumbs directly into her quadriceps. ¡°Ah!¡± Taken by surprise, Yuna¡¯s gasp was uncharacteristically high-pitched and breathy. A brief interlude of silence captured the gasp in perfect clarity. A second later, Yuna regained control of herself and flushed as red as the nail polish on Natsuko¡¯s fingers. ¡°That was the chair making a noise! What are you all staring¡ª Ah!¡± She let out another high-pitched gasp as the penetrating knuckles pressed up towards her glutes. Before she make up another excuse, the two technicians double-teamed her, forcing her silent with a deluge of strokes and squeezes. They soon sapped the rest of Yuna¡¯s resistance and turned the powerful samurai into a drooling, cross-eyed mess under their fingers. Daisy gazed upon this as a personal triumph. Natsuko reached a hand over and pat Shuixing¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You ready for your turn, Shui?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready to leave,¡± Shuixing replied. ¡°Oh-ho! I guess you¡¯re going to be tsundere about it too, eh?¡± ¡°Do you even know what that word means, Natsu? Or are you just repeating it because you remember hearing Hemiola say it?¡± ¡°The second one.¡± Shuixing rolled her eyes. Shui actually did know what the term meant from having read the Yishang¡¯s ¡°character design¡± emails, and it wasn¡¯t a flattering term. It was one of those stupid shorthand things they used to market a conscious existence to the Celestials. ¡°I have nothing more to say, Natsu.¡± Natsuko removed her hand. ¡°Hmph! You¡¯re proving more of a challenge to wear down than I expected. Maybe¡­¡± Natsuko motioned for one of the technicians to come over and whispered something in her ear. Shuixing grew nervous. When she was done whispering, Natsu turned back to her friend. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal. If I catch you having a good time then you are obligated to have a good time for the rest of the day. Deal?¡± ¡°Deal? What do you mean deal? I¡¯m not allowed to say no!¡± ¡°Makes it a whole lot easier to pick the right answer then.¡± Shuixing bit her lip. ¡°In exchange, if I continue not having a good time you have to let me leave after the mani-pedis. And we need to decide on something concrete for what ¡®good time¡¯ even means.¡± ¡°That,¡± Natsuko said, pointing at Daisy in a fit of snorting giggles as she watched Yuna make purring noises. "Fine." At that point Natsuko knew she had this in the bag. Was her strategy fair? No. But all was fair in love and war and she was in a metaphorical war with Shui¡¯s workaholic nature. For her part, Shuixing also thought she would win. This was a matter of saving their universe from Natsuko and Daisy¡¯s insane whims, and she would prevail. She had to prevail. Compared with the exhaustion and terror of two years beyond the fabric of reality this would be a cakewalk. All she had to do was stay focused.
¡°Good weather for this time of year,¡± Harald said. ¡°Yup,¡± said Faisal. ¡°Sure is!¡± said Kane. ¡°I guess?¡± said Sofiane. ¡°What¡¯d¡¯ya mean you guess? It¡¯s a clear blue sky on a nippy day, ain¡¯t it?¡± said Harald. ¡°I¡¯m not concerned about the weather unless it affects our combat plans.¡± The four male Heroes were sitting on logs in a forest clearing with a small fire crackling away. The method of lighting it involved Kane using Direct Current to create an electrical discharge which leapt to the kindling to create an ember whereupon Faisal used his wind form to get the fire going. After that there wasn¡¯t much to talk about besides the weather. Kane rustled in his bag and brought out the beer again. ¡°Beer?¡± he said. Sofiane sighed. ¡°Listen, man, I don¡¯t think¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take a beer,¡± Harald said. He held out his hands and Kane tossed him one and Harald bit the cap off with his teeth and started guzzling the brew. Kane popped one open for himself and sipped on it while pretending to like the taste. Luckily, Daisy had packed a couple juice boxes in anticipation of Kane not liking beer and he double-fisted the beer and juice, sipping the former for aesthetic and the latter for taste. Faisal asked for the other juice box and Kane tossed it across the fire to him. ¡°Fuck it, gimme the moscato,¡± Sofiane said. Chapter 147 - Verm?genburgh Once-in-a-Lifetime Girls’ Day Special Event Shuixing gulped. Her brain finally put together the trap Natsuko set for her. The Medico-Mage had played right into her adversary¡¯s hand by specifying Daisy''s giggling as the bar for what counted as ¡®having a good time.'' In her hubris in assuming Cognition was the sole stat involved with cleverness, she forgot Insight too played a role, and that Natsuko always had good Insight, particularly when it came to her friends and companions. The moment of realization came when the Cascadian pampering experts pulled away the foot soak in preparation for the exfoliating part of the pedicure. Natsuko was watching with a cheshire grin over the top of her champagne flute. ¡°You! You planned this¡­¡± Shuixing said, nose wrinkling in disgust at her so-called friend¡¯s dirty tactics. ¡°Hehehe. Well, well, well Ms. Smartypants, did you think I was going to be as easy to beat as Baphomet? We¡¯ve been together too long, Shui. I know all your weaknesses. All of them.¡± Shui closed her mouth. Talking would do her no further good. Her only salvation now was her storehouse of willpower. Her hands curled around the arms of the reclining seat, nails digging into the stuffing. If there were gods higher than the Yishang, she prayed to them now as the fear of what came next built in her mind. All the technician had to do was cup her foot to force a squeak from her. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong, comrade?¡± the revolutionary nail technician asked, smiling innocently. Shuixing let out a low whine and bit her lip. She felt wetness around her tooth but didn¡¯t dare check whether it was blood or saliva, her hands were occupied with grounding her to the chair. When the first swipe of the pumice stone came, her entire body shuddered. Natsuko¡¯s enormous grin somehow found even more space to expand and the other girls¡ªsans Yuna, blissed out of existence¡ªnoticed something was amiss and turned their gazes to Shuixing, tense and shivering. ¡°Oh no!¡± Natsuko said, covering her mouth. ¡°Shui, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re¡ª¡± ¡°Do not. Say it,¡± Shuixing said through grit teeth. Already she was locked in an internal struggle to convince her body the sensations it was feeling weren¡¯t that bad, that it was all in her head. The dreadful sensation was nothing but numbers in an algorithm. In reality, nothing was¡ª¡± ¡°Heee!¡± Shuixing squealed as the pumice stone was brought to bear against her insteps. ¡°Oh there¡¯s nothing to be ashamed about being ticklish, Shui,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Heck, so am I! But that¡¯s part of the fun of a pedicure¡ª¡± ¡°Stop! Talking!¡± Shuixing yelled. For this Shui had to unclench her jaw for half a second which came dangerously close to allowing the rolling boil in her stomach to overflow her mouth. If she did, there would be no putting the lid back on. She would be at the mercy of the nail tech¡¯s ministrations and Natsuko would win the bet, dooming all of Po-Lin. It was ludicrous. Senseless. Insane. Gomiko said, ¡°Guys, if she¡¯s not having a good time¡ª¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s exactly what this is about! If she laughs, she¡¯s having a good time, so she has to keep hanging out with the girls. That¡¯s the deal,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Yeah but¡ª¡± ¡°You can¡¯t laugh and cry at the same time!¡± Daisy said with the confidence of prophetic wisdom. Shui, tears beading around her bulging eyes, begged to differ. ¡°How¡ª Much¡ª Longer?¡± Shuixing asked. ¡°About two minutes,¡± the technician replied. ¡°But then we need to get your cuticles and paint your nails and moisturize¡­ and the massage, of course. That¡¯ll all be about half an hour.¡± At the mention of a massage, Shuixing¡¯s fearful eyes darted to Yuna drooling away in the corner, her sentience stolen by two masseuses kneading her legs into a pair of limp noodles. Yuna was Shui¡¯s only ally in this, flanked as she was by two villainesses plotting her downfall and two neutral parties too weak to stand against them. Hoping to ease the mounting pressure, Shuixing emitted a groan of, ¡°nohohoho!¡± She realized her mistake a moment too late. One moment of leniency spelled her downfall as the last ¡®ohoho¡¯s¡¯ morphed into ¡®hahaha¡¯s¡¯ and from there to scream laughing. Set loose, she almost kicked the woman administering her pedicure in the face. The techs working on Gomiko and Margaret rushed to their comrade¡¯s aid and soon had Shuixing pinned down and helpless against the tortorous exfoliating. Daisy and Natsuko air high-fived across the room. ¡°Uh-oh, looks like someone¡¯s having fun,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Yeah, a real laugh riot!¡± Daisy said, snorting at her own pun. ¡°You cheheheated!¡± Shuixing screamed in-between fits of laughter. ¡°Cheating? Moi?¡± Natsuko said in an impression of Sofiane. The impression caused Daisy to giggle with the same cadence as Shuixing. Realizing she was done for and with no escape, Shui let her muscles go lax and allowed the nail techs to do with her what they would. As soon as she did, something strange happened. She started to have fun for real. Or, rather, the part of her brain convinced the only path towards salvation from their terrible circumstances was a linear, logical one, was scrubbed away like dead skin. By the time the techs moved onto the more manageable stage of applying cerulean blue polish to her nails, Shuixing looked¡ªand felt¡ªexactly like the defeated Yuna in the corner. And with defeat and its acceptance came a new frame of mind where everything felt fluffy and pointless, and it was precisely the pointlessness that felt so good. It was like meditation.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°So? How do you feel?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°I feel¡­¡± Shuixing blushed at having to say it out loud after putting up such a fuss, and from having to dignify Natsuko and Daisy¡¯s unmitigated insanity, but she finally said, ¡°it feels good.¡± Daisy gave a tiny, excited clap. ¡°Yippee! Daisy claims another victory!¡± Diasy''s other victory was moaning and drooling with her eyes rolled back in their sockets as her two masseuses gave her a simultaneous shoulder and foot massage. Witnessing all of this, Gomiko turned to Margaret and said, "Thank you for being normal.¡± ¡°You too,¡± Margaret replied. ¡°Okay gals, while we wait for our nails to dry, we gotta move on to the next thing: Talking about who we like!¡± Daisy announced. ¡°I mean¡­ I like my team¡­¡± Gomiko said. ¡°No, like, like like, y¡¯know? Like¡­¡± ¡°Sofiane,¡± Gomiko said. ¡°Great! How about you, Margie?¡± Margaret grimaced at that nickname but had given up trying to stop Daisy. Clearing her throat, she said, ¡°if you mean who I¡¯m attracted to... no one really. I¡¯ve never had the time or inclination to pursue¡­ um¡­ a relationship.¡± Daisy watched Margaret¡¯s eyes flick once or twice in Yuna¡¯s direction which was enough evidence for her to spawn a smug grin and declare herself master detective. Not that she was going to pressure Margie to confess anything. How rude would that be? ¡°How about you¡­ uh¡­ Yuna?¡± Daisy asked. In her blissful stupor Yuna muttered something about the spirit of the Shikijiman nation. ¡°How poetic! You Shuixing?¡± Shuixing sighed. ¡°I¡¯m focused on my work right now. I¡¯ll have time to worry about matters of love once we escape.¡± Natsuko¡¯s heart pounded knowing she was next. Something sour and acrid percolated in her throat. The easy way out was to say Vronsky since that would have a whiff of factuality to it. Ultimately, though, it wasn¡¯t true. Vronsky was really hot, and if he asked for a one-night tumble her answer would be, ¡®hell yes!¡¯ But did she ¡®like like¡¯ the Non-Hero? No. She barely knew him. But then the question became whether she ¡®like like¡¯d¡¯ anyone, and if it came to that, she would have to start making sense of how she felt about Pechorin. That was too big a task for her right now. Especially since he was kind-of dead, kind-of not. ¡°How about you, Daisy?¡± Natsuko asked, hoping to head Daisy off and redirect the conversation before it was her turn to answer. ¡°Me?¡± Daisy asked, as though surprised by her own question. ¡°Hmm¡­ no one! I¡¯m a solo kinda gal. Never been interested in anyone else.¡± ¡°Why did you ask the question then?¡± Gomiko asked. ¡°Cuz it¡¯s what you do at a girls¡¯ day, duh!¡± No one but Daisy and Shuixing were certain where Daisy was getting her ideas about what a girls¡¯ day involved from. Daisy knew it was because the concept was a transcendental one, existing a priori the concept of either ¡®days¡¯ or ¡®girls¡¯ and thus was a universal principle waiting to be discovered in any and all arrangements of a physical universe. Shuixing knew it was because Daisy was interfacing with the Central Probability Algorithm which utilized datasets coming from outside both Po-Lin and the Yishang¡¯s corporate ecosystem. No doubt the Celestials had some notion of what ¡®ought¡¯ to be involved with a social gathering of women, and this notion bled into their textual corpus which in turn fed into the CPA to give them all verisimilitude to the Celestials. In other words, by sheer random chance, Daisy had stumbled upon a social phenomenon the Celestials themselves engaged in. The gods, too, had girls¡¯ days. ¡°Okay, now we¡¯ve gotta go around and spill gossip about our¡ª Wait! Natsu! You didn¡¯t say who you like yet!¡± Natsuko choked on her champagne. ¡°O-Oh¡­ Ahaha¡­ I um¡ª¡± ¡°Pechorin!¡± Shuixing suddenly blurted out. Natsuko¡¯s ears burned and she opened her mouth to protest. ¡°I know how we can get Pechorin back! A-And I think I know how we can escape Po-Lin!¡± Shuixing said. Her eureka came to her once her brain was given freedom to roam and play and be influenced by something other than her own tired train of thought. The key lay in how outside data flowed into and interacted with the Central Probability Algorithm. And, more specifically, how and where that data was stored. Shuixing bolted up from the chair. ¡°Someone go find the others and we¡¯ll meet at the Mage¡¯s College.¡± ¡°Wait! Your nails aren¡¯t dry yet!¡± Daisy said.
¡°I think that one looks like a goblin,¡± Harald said, pointing at a tall, bulbous cloud with protrusions vaguely resembling limbs. ¡°I see a teddy bear,¡± Faisal said. ¡°You guys have such good imaginations!" Kane said. Sofiane refrained from saying what he himself thought the cloud looked like because those same protrusions resembled little round ears to him. Half the clouds in the sky looked like a certain raccoon girl to him, but after the boys gave him shit for the second cloud he pointed out that looked like her (even though Harald and Faisal agreed it looked like her, the bastards), he stopped pointing them out. That was fine since the boxed moscato had him going non-verbal anyway. Despite the initial awkwardness, boys¡¯ day turned out pretty alright, even if it mostly involved drinking, sitting around, and roasting some space weenies¡ªa kind of textureless sausage from Selenia. Now they were pointing out shapes in clouds. ¡°That one looks like¡­ shoot, it¡¯s on the tip of my tongue,¡± Harald said. ¡°A Tianzhounese junk ship?¡± Kane offered. Harald paused to burp, toss his can into a pile of six other cans, crack open another cold one, and then said, ¡°yup. Exactly." Kane sipped on his own beer, carefully rationing what was left of his juice box so he didn¡¯t have to taste the bitter drink. ¡°Man¡­ I love you guys.¡± ¡°Yeah, man. Today was fun,¡± Faisal replied. Harald grunted an agreement into the beer he was chugging. Sofiane rolled his head back and exhaled. ¡°It¡¯s been a pretty good day. I¡¯m ready to get back to Gomi, though. No offense to you all.¡± Harald snorted and nudged Faisal. "Under 4pm. You win." ¡°Fuck off,¡± Sofiane replied, throwing the empty box of wine at him. Harald tried to throw a can back but Sofiane grabbed a stick and Perfect Parry¡¯d it out of the air to Kane¡¯s immense amusement. The four took that as their cue to douse the fire and head back to Verm?genburgh since the girls would be finishing up with their business. ¡°Wait! We gotta do one more thing,¡± Kane said in uncannily Daisy-like fashion. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Faisal asked. Kane spread his arms and made a circle motion with his hands to beckon them to bring it in until the boys brought it in. Chapter 148 - Discussing Some Items of Interest in the Lecture Hall The news spread quickly that Shuixing had stumbled on some kind of breakthrough. Though good news, it rattled the unconscious rhythms that both Heroes and Non-Heroes had fallen into between Shuixing¡¯s usurpation of Baphomet¡¯s cult and a true plan of escape. Accordingly, the mood amongst the Non-Heroes piling into the lecture hall was somewhere between elated and anxious. Whatever brief stability they¡¯d clung to was obliterated on contact with Shuixing¡¯s first words: ¡°I believe I may have discovered a way to escape Po-Lin.¡± This statement was met with a great shuffling of chairs and murmuring of mouths. No one was quite sure how to react. Po-Lin was all anyone had known. Beautiful as an idea, escape from the Yishang was also a terrifying black box. What else was there? What would it look like? How could they live there? It didn¡¯t help that the only people who had gone beyond the confines of Po-Lin as most understood it were a handful of scientists designed by the Yishang to be bad at explaining things even when it wasn¡¯t a mind-boggling new plane of existence. ¡°The um¡­ the core idea of it is¡­ well, it has to do with our numbers and the way they¡­ erm, interact with this large algorithm. Which¡­¡± A tapestry of eyes gazed back at her, from Natsuko¡¯s bright red ones beside her to the most indistinguishable Non-Heroes. All were watching and listening and trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. It was the kind of subject most might have glazed over listening to, except that her words pertained directly to whether or not they would live past another week. They wanted to understand. Needed to. And Shuixing trembled at the responsibility of keeping their hopes alive for what was, at the end of the day, nothing more than untested hypothesis. So Shuixing took a big huff of a breath and continued: ¡°I-I believe there is a way for us to copy our numbers into some form which can be distributed across the larger network of Celestial, err¡­¡± ¡®Folders¡¯ or ¡®envelopes¡¯ would make no sense to anyone but her and the research team. ¡°¡­worlds. This stream of numbers¡­ It''s kind of like a river. Celestials words and ideas come to us from outside Po-Lin. Just think about how exactly you all know what¡­ what a¡­¡± She glanced at Natsuko, her bottle resting across her lap. ¡°What a wine bottle is. Have any of you seen a winery? No? But you know what one is.¡± Her question garnered a ripple of hesitant nods. Natsuko furrowed her brows, surprised there were still illogical pieces of this world she hadn¡¯t noticed. Even after everything, she still somehow thought alcohol spawned into bars and shops and fancy hotel liquor cabinets as though the alcohol fairies brought it. It never occurred to her that you needed to make wine, except¡­ ¡°Oh, duh,¡± Natsuko said, ¡°you need to press the grapes and then the yeast¡­¡± Wait, how did she know that? Shuixing nodded. ¡°Right. That river of information flowing into the algorithm? That¡¯s where your idea of winemaking is coming from, Natsu. So what I wanted to say is that we might be able to escape by, er, swimming upstream, metaphorically speaking.¡± A pregnant silence fell upon the packed lecture hall as Shui strained against the confines of her chosen metaphor, long before the crowd of Heroes and Non-Heroes were satisfied with her explanation. ¡°And what exactly does ¡®swimming¡¯ mean? How are we gonna do that? Are we all taking the funny juice?¡± Vronsky asked, arm draped over his chair. ¡°That is, erm, what we are researching next,¡± Shuixing said. The room deflated. Without realizing it, everyone had been hoping this was an immediate solution, something that would allow them to avoid the coming confrontation with the Yishang and remaining Heroes. Only the other scientists of the Mage¡¯s College appreciated the possibilities afforded by a paradigm shift. After all, their current understanding of the Yishang¡¯s world was owed to a similar reconceptualization back in al-Nuwba. ¡°Th-that is all I have to, um, add,¡± Shuixing said with a bow as she took her seat. Sensing a morale boost might be in order after the not-quite-as-hoped research report, Sofiane stood up next. ¡°The rest of the afternoon and evening we will be taking a break from defense preparations. We have rudimentary early warning systems in place, so the best thing we can do now is take time to process what Shuixing explained,¡± Sofiane said. The words came reluctantly, but Gomiko convinced him earlier that the Non-Heroes might need some rest too. The lecture hall quietly drained until only the Heroes and other committee members remained. As soon as the last of them had shut the door behind them, Natsuko allowed a grin to creep onto her face. ¡°So? What about Pech?¡± Natsuko asked. Shuixing startled out of thinking through her next research avenues. She looked at Natsuko beaming back at her with excitement, an optimism she unfortunately had to match with a sheepish smile. ¡°I um¡­ might have an idea¡­¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Yeah? Yeah?¡± The rest of the committee was also interested in what might be a countermeasure both to dimension-jumping and to the Yishang neglecting to re-summon those killed in the special event. Again, Shuixing regretted her enthusiastic declaration during the pampering session. To her, just having a new line of inquiry was exciting. That everyone else expected this to translate into immediate action she hadn¡¯t considered. ¡°Basically, just like how there is a discrete unit of time based on the cycling of the CPA, the Yishang likely has a discrete unit of space indicating where each of us are positioned at any given moment,¡± Shuixing said. Natsuko scooched her chair out. ¡°Like I¡¯ve got new location numbers now?¡± Shuixing nodded. ¡°Exactly. And as we know, the data comprising an entity is not eradicated upon being dimension-jumped outside the boundaries of the world. Otherwise the Yishang could not have brought Hemiola back. So, the coordinates tied to a dimension-jumped person¡¯s code have to be either an extreme negative Y-value below the world or, as I suspect, a null value holding them in suspension outside of Po-Lin. However, they must still be interacting with the Central Probability Algorithm or otherwise we wouldn¡¯t remember their existence.¡± This last claim did not sit well with the committee. Shuixing and Dr. Cox alone regarded it as nothing more than a piece of evidence, everyone else was busy turning over the existentially frightening idea that not only could you be taken out of the world entirely, but that you would be forgotten instantaneously. It was possible, assuming Shuixing was right, for them to have known and interacted with someone who was no longer with them and never would be again. Natsuko bit her lip. ¡°H-Hold on a second, Shui, what about our memories? You said yourself that we all affect each other¡ª¡± or maybe it was Pechorin that said that ¡°¡ªthat we all have pieces of each other. Doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s impossible for them to just be¡­ gone?¡± Shuixing took her glasses off to wipe them on her robes. ¡°The way another entity has changed our numbers will persist, that much is true, but the original referent point will be gone. Without an upstream flow of that person back into the Central Probability Algorithm, we would understand these traits as originating from ourselves.¡± Sofiane glanced at Gomiko then back at Shui. ¡°So it¡¯d be like if Sofiane-plus-Gomiko was the exact same, but I felt it was just how I always was.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± Shui said, re-donning her glasses. ¡°Whoa! What the heck!?¡± Kane said. ¡°Hush kiddo,¡± Daisy said, patting his arm. ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s about how I feel right now,¡± Vronsky said, his moustache twitching. Joad stroked his beard and muttered an oath which so aptly summarized everyone else¡¯s feelings that no one bothered to speak for half a minute. ¡°Yeah? And so fucking what?¡± Natsuko said, breaking the silence. ¡°We still remember Pech! Who cares whether or not the Yishang can delete us? Right now we have a way to fight them and get Pechorin back, that¡¯s all that matters! I don¡¯t know about you all, but me and Shui are gonna keep fighting and fighting and fighting, win or lose.¡± Shuixing¡¯s head bobbed back and forth as Natsuko jostled her shoulder for emphasis. Nonetheless, the Medico-Mage had a small smile on her face. ¡°Fighting, huh? Was that what we were doing in that infernal nail salon?¡± Yuna said, still bitter about being broken by something so embarrassing after waging a five-year guerilla warfare campaign. ¡°Yep!¡± Daisy replied, making a not-very-subtle show of flexing her fingers against the table to show off the hot pink polish on them. ¡°Fighting comes in many forms, don''tcha know!¡± Sofiane rolled his eyes, but deep down he felt the same. Helping Shuixing had initially been nothing but a desperate fight for survival, but the longer this went on, and the closer they came to escaping, the more things faded into a single-minded focus. The only thing that distracted him¡ªand he was loath to admit it¡ªwas Gomiko. She had a way of dominating his thoughts to the exclusion of all else. A part of him wondered, guiltily, and without a means to shake it off, whether this would be a liability. ¡°It¡¯s fight or die at this point,¡± Harald said, drumming his fingers on the table. ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t matter what we think about it, it¡¯s just how it is.¡± ¡°Makes the decision a lot easier,¡± Faisal added. ¡°Never was a decision,¡± Joad said, picking at his teeth with his fingernail. ¡°Yishang never gave us one. This was always how it was gonna go down.¡± Spriggansnout snorted, his gnarly goblin hands folded under his armpits. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem wise to back people into a corner.¡± ¡°They¡¯d have to see us as people and not bundles of numbers first,¡± Medea replied. Zicheng looked up from under his hood and gazed at the Heroes on the opposite end of the table. ¡°Of course, to even get this far we had to stop thinking of ourselves that way.¡± This was a tactful way of putting it that the Heroes specifically needed to get their heads out of their asses. Natsuko and Daisy particularly. Natsuko, recognizing the light barb intended by the comment, snorted. Feeling the inspiration flow through her, she composed a response: ¡°Dreaming of spring, My dreams are mine alone, In lonely dark. But when I wake in Spring¡ª The world wakens with me.¡± A contemplative silence followed and was then promptly broken by Sofiane. ¡°Isn¡¯t ¡®waken¡¯ a transitive verb?¡± ¡°Oh shut up, Puffball!¡± The insult was a little ridiculous considering Sofiane¡¯s outfit for the past two weeks had been an increasingly grimy and droopy pair of jeans and a purple hoodie, but there was something in the ordinariness of their usual back-and-forth that loosened the last bit of betrayal Sofiane felt at Natsuko and Daisy leaving. He realized it just didn¡¯t matter anymore and chuckled at the absurd banality of their usual banter amid an ocean of existential horrors. ¡°I thought it sounded pretty,¡± Daisy said. Dr. Cox leaned into the table. ¡°Very nice, but I believe we have gotten sufficiently off-track. Dr. He, it is time to return to the research room and test our new hypotheses.¡± Shuixing started to say something in response but was interrupted by the doors to the lecture hall thrown open by some of Vronsky¡¯s recon goblins. The out-of-breath goblins could only jump around and gesture wildly at the windows out in the hall. Wasting no time, Vronsky bolted for the windows. Off in the distance, beginning on the Verm?genburgh city walls and extending like a line of purple ghosts into the dark pine forests, were the jury-rigged signal flares set up to warn of encroaching Heroes. Statistics: Team Natsuko
SHIRO NATSUKO
Level: 109 EXP To Level: 253,914,444 Class: Jack Fire Elemental HP: (514,404 | 514,404)
STATS
Force: 4,702 Vitality: 5,348 Finesse: 2,468 Cognition: 1,366 Insight: 5,286
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Veteran ¡ª Team receives 10% more experience points. ACTIVE: Jack of All Trades ¡ª Every two levels, Jack learn an ability belonging to another class. These can be used once per day. ELEMENTAL: Megaton ¡ª Deals heavy fire damage in a large AoE and stuns any targets in range. PASSIVE ELEMENTAL: Napalm Strike ¡ª All attacks deal bonus Fire Elemental damage scaling with Insight. Each successive attack adds a burn stack which deals damage over time and reduces the target''s defense. DESPERATION ART: Hypocenter ¡ª Deals enormous damage in a large AoE.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #9/202 USE-NUMBER: 1,389,287 Emanations ART NUMBER: 66,133 ERO-ART NUMBER: 79,853 FIC NUMBER: 103,798
Shuixing He
Level: 44 EXP To Level: 199,712 Class: Medico-Mage Water Elemental HP: (10,540 | 10,540)
STATS
Force: 400 Vitality: 111 Finesse: 120 Cognition: 4,000 Insight: 250
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Mental Mending ¡ª Add Cognition stat to any elemental abilities which heal or cure statuses. ACTIVE: Light of Hope ¡ª Cast a beam of light that deals significant unmitigated damage to undead enemies ELEMENTAL: Healing Waters ¡ª Passively store charges over time which can be used to heal HP proportional to Insight. ELEMENTAL: Ablutions ¡ª Use a charge of Healing Waters to cure status effects. DESPERATION ART: Bubble Storm ¡ª Produces a field of bubbles which protect and heal teammates and harm and slow enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #192/202 USE-NUMBER: 709 Emanations ART NUMBER: 5,507 ERO-ART NUMBER: 2,334 FIC NUMBER: 21,446
Daisy Corduroy
Level: 103 EXP To Level: 110,244,008 Class: Summoner Earth Elemental HP: (202,189 | 202,189)
STATS
Force: 2,995 Vitality: 3,029 Finesse: 1,647 Cognition: 1,493 Insight: 3,645
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.Fashionista ¡ª Sacrificed accessories and armor give +25% bonus experience to the merged item. ELEMENTAL: Terraform ¡ª Summon or sculpt minerals into desired form. Maximum volume is determined by Insight. ELEMENTAL: Golem Creation ¡ª Imbue Terraformed minerals with consciousness corresponding to the animal they are shaped as. PASSIVE ELEMENTAL: Granite Sentinel ¡ª Teammates within a kilometer of the user take less physical damage proportional to Insight and cannot be critically hit. DESPERATION ART: Tectonic Drift ¡ª Rearrange the surface of a large area, causing earthquakes, fissures, and rockslides dealing massive physical and elemental damage with each terrain feature an enemy collides with.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #34/202 USE-NUMBER: 244,999 Emanations ART NUMBER: 40,337 ERO-ART NUMBER: 48,965 FIC NUMBER: 69,252
Team Harald
Sofiane de la Nuit
Level: 72 EXP To Level: 13,915,159 Class: Duelist Lightning Elemental HP: (58,442 | 58,442)
STATS
Force: 332 Vitality: 560 Finesse: 715 Cognition: 173 Insight: 412
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: En Garde ¡ª Successful parries increase crit chance on the next attack by 100%. Any overflow over regular crit chance is converted into bonus damage. ACTIVE: Perfect Parry ¡ª Briefly enter a stance in which the user automatically parries any damage in all directions. ELEMENTAL: Coup De Grace ¡ª Aims a precise strike at the target¡¯s vitals and deals massive lightning damage to them on a successful hit. If this drops the target below half-health, it kills them instantly. ELEMENTAL: Ball Lightning ¡ª Turns the user into a ball of lightning and zips a short distance, dealing damage along the way. DESPERATION ART: Overcharge ¡ª For a brief period, all abilities have no cooldown and teammates¡¯ attacks deal bonus Lightning damage and stun enemies.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #92/202 USE-NUMBER: 17,898 Emanations ART NUMBER: 14,445 ERO-ART NUMBER: 18,042 FIC NUMBER: 56,284
Harald Omnibane
Level: 59 EXP To Level: 3,430,981 Class: Bazouk Earth Elemental HP: (36,349 | 36,349)
STATS
Force: 435 Vitality: 330 Finesse: 102 Cognition: 41 Insight: 101
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Runic Rage ¡ª When all abilities are on cooldown, gain 50% attack speed and regain 15% of physical damage as health. ACTIVE: Brutal Charge ¡ª Run down an enemy, stunning them for a few seconds and increasing damage dealt by all sources in proportion to Force state. ELEMENTAL: Deep Roots ¡ª Draws power from the soil and gives them damage reduction based on both Vitality and Insight for so long as the user is attacking someone. ELEMENTAL: Blood Shield ¡ª Swings halberd in a wide arc and provides a temporary shield based on amount of enemies hit. DESPERATION ART: Bull of the Earth ¡ª Increases movement speed, attack speed attack power, crit chance, and crit damage by a small amount, increasing proportionally to health missing to a maximum of 500% at 10% HP. Base values are determined by Force and Vitality stats.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #166/202 USE-NUMBER: 3,874 Emanations ART NUMBER: 1,001 ERO-ART NUMBER: 211 FIC NUMBER: 12,304
Faisal Hashemi
Level: 59 EXP To Level: 3,687,667 Class: Cuirassier Wind Elemental HP: (13,890 | 13,890)
STATS
Force: 54 Vitality: 180 Finesse: 402 Cognition: 245 Insight: 148
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Desert Spice ¡ª Any attack-boosting dishes cooked by the user are 25% more effective. PASSIVE: Excessive Gallantry ¡ª Attacking an enemy who is targeting the user''s teammate, while they themselves are being attacked, gives both enemies a 33% miss chance. ACTIVE: Whip Kiting ¡ª Deals damage to target while also restraining them with the user''s whip. For a brief time they can move the restrained target in certain directions. ELEMENTAL: Become Wind ¡ª Turns the user into a gust of wind, becoming untargetable and giving all teammates nearby evasion, movement speed, and attack speed increased by Finesse as well as Insight. DESPERATION ART: Mirage ¡ª User and all teammates gain increased evasion and %HP regen. Attacking enemies have a chance to deal damage to themselves.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #189/202 USE-NUMBER: 755 Emanations ART NUMBER: 2,702 ERO-ART NUMBER: 2,680 FIC NUMBER: 21,508
Gomiko
Level: 59 EXP To Level: 3,899,751 Class: Grenadier Water Elemental HP: (22,496 | 22,496)
STATS
Force: 40 Vitality: 233 Finesse: 220 Cognition: 130 Insight: 395
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Dumpster Hunter ¡ª Sniffs out enemies and quest objectives in a 5km radius PASSIVE: Rapid Replenish ¡ª Grenade replenish speed and effect duration is tied to both Insight and Finesse. ELEMENTAL: Tanuki Brewing ¡ª Throws out a specially-brewed mixture that causes different effects in a repeating order. CAPACITY: 15/15 1. Deals water elemental damage over time. 2. Slows enemy movement and attack speed. 3. Trips Enemy or Increases Attack and Movement Speed of teammate. 4. Blinds and stuns enemies. 5. Gives a 5%/sec HP regen buff to all teammates. ACTIVE: Bake-Danuki ¡ª Shapeshift into an inanimate object to temporarily gain 100% evasion. DESPERATION ART: Throw Them All! ¡ª Instantly regain all Tanuki Brewing charges and detonate all five at once with 200% effectiveness.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #171/202 USE-NUMBER: 2,915 Emanations ART NUMBER: 3,257 ERO-ART NUMBER: 5,697 FIC NUMBER: 9,343
Margaret Fratelli
Level: 57 EXP To Level: 650,249 Class: Aggro-Mage Fire Elemental HP: (7,643 | 7,643)
STATS
Force: 26 Vitality: 110 Finesse: 166 Cognition: 355 Insight: 329
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Conjuration School ¡ª 25% chance to create an extra item when crafting. PASSIVE: Aggressive Intellect ¡ª For the purposes of damage scaling, Cognition and Insight are considered a combined stat. ELEMENTAL: Fireball ¡ª Launches a ball of fire that deals damage in a straight line. ELEMENTAL: Cold-Seeking Missiles ¡ª Throws five small fire darts that lock onto an enemy dealing increasingly more damage and causing them to take more damage from allies. DESPERATION ART: Fire Walk With Me ¡ª Turn into a floating ball of fire that cannot be damaged and launch projectiles every 0.5 seconds at enemies within range.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #201/202 USE-NUMBER: 34 Emanations ART NUMBER: 6,662 ERO-ART NUMBER: 10,983 FIC NUMBER: 24,811
Others:
Yuna Shikansogo
Level: 104 EXP To Level: 350,000,000 Class: Samurai Water Elemental HP: (211,694 | 211,694)
STATS
Force: 3,060 Vitality: 2,880 Finesse: 2,059 Cognition: 891 Insight: 1,892
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Final Stand ¡ª Any lethal damage when above 1hp drops health to exactly 1 instead of dying. ACTIVE: Bushido ¡ª Gain lifesteal and damage proportional to Vitality and become unstunnable. PASSIVE: Nothing Personal ¡ª After a combo of four consecutive hits, teleport behind the target and gain a guaranteed critical hit. ELEMENTAL: Ice Crescent ¡ª Launches a crescent of ice that deals moderate Water damage and slows enemies. DESPERATION ART: Blizzard ¡ª Create a large zone which slows enemies and deals Water elemental damage from falling icicles.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #58/202 USE-NUMBER: 138,729 Emanations ART NUMBER: 31,416 ERO-ART NUMBER: 21,115 FIC NUMBER: 23,346
Kane Kanos
Level: 104 EXP To Level: 175,991,255 Class: Phalanx Lightning Elemental HP: (332,999 | 332,999)
STATS
Force: 2,142 Vitality: 3,869 Finesse: 3,226 Cognition: 657 Insight: 2,945
ABILITIES
PASSIVE: Electric Arc Forge ¡ª Gain 25% bonus weapon experience when scrapping lower-tier weapons. ACTIVE: Vanguard ¡ª 15% of damage dealt to enemies heals the lowest HP ally. ELEMENTAL: Alternating Current ¡ª Teleport to any ally currently under attack, stunning the attacking enemy and dealing moderate lightning damage. ELEMENTAL: Direct Current ¡ª Charge in a straight-line towards an enemy, knocking aside anything in the way and then releasing an electric blast at the destination that deals Lightning damage and stuns enemies. DESPERATION ART: For Imperia! ¡ª Call down a lightning storm that sends out bolts to strike at enemies randomly, stunning and blinding them and dealing heavy lightning damage. Struck enemies take 50% more damage for 5 seconds.
USAGE STATISTICS
USE-RANKING #17/202 USE-NUMBER: 356,222 Emanations ART NUMBER: 626 ERO-ART NUMBER: 246 FIC NUMBER: 1,249
Chapter 149 - Intercepting the Encroaching Heroes Until this first incursion attempt, Sofiane didn¡¯t know for sure how he would act when a crisis arrived. The answer was better than he expected. ¡°Natsu, Daisy, Yuna, Kane. You four are with the investigation party. Vronsky will lead you out to whichever post lit the smoke signal,¡± Sofiane said. The four powerful Heroes wasted no time following Vronsky out to the courtyard. Not even Yuna, allergic to taking orders, fought him on it. ¡°Spriggan, Medea, Zicheng, Joad. Rouse the militia. Get your commanders up first and delegate the rallying to them. Treat this like a real attack and don¡¯t leave anyone in reserve unless they haven¡¯t been given assigned positions yet,¡± he said. The four Non-Hero committee members leapt up. This left a Shuixing, Dr. Cox, and a bewildered-looking Team Harald. ¡°Harald, you and the rest are in charge of getting Shui and Dr. Cox down to the sewers. If things go poorly I¡¯ll send someone down to warn you. At that point you¡¯re in charge of getting Shui and Dr. Cox to our backup location at the Dungeon of Stars. Split into two parties after you leave the sewers, but gods willing that won¡¯t be necessary.¡± As Team Harald moved to leave, he caught Gomiko¡¯s eyes: Big, bright, nervous, and so incredibly, deeply brown. They were the brown that leaves turn at the end of autumn. This simple observation derailed his entire thinking and for a moment he couldn¡¯t remember what his own next move was. His soul seemed to understand that if this was the final battle, as it might be, this was possibly the last moment he would see her. He ran up to her before they left and hugged her. ¡°Hey, hey! We¡¯ve got a job to do, Sofa,¡± Frizzy said, hugging him back for a moment before pushing him away. ¡°I know I just¡ª¡± Harald put his large hand on Sofiane¡¯s back and pushed him towards the opposite end of the hallway. ¡°Come on, brother. Time to focus,¡± Harald said. Sofiane made his way outside of the Mage¡¯s College and zipped up to the top of the Verm?genburgh Cathedral so he could keep an eye out and direct the battle. He tried hard to concentrate, but every path in his mind led back to Gomiko.
¡°This is pretty damn fun. Wish I got to do this before the world was ending,¡± Vronsky said, holding onto Peng¡¯s rock fins one-handed. ¡°Try doing it for three days straight,¡± Daisy yelled back over the roar of the wind. Even in a mad dash to intercept the invading Heroes, Natsuko had a hard time imagining riding Peng being not fun. Unless you were encased in rock. That one time kind of sucked. Other than that? Pretty damned fun. She hoped wherever they all ended up going would have the option of surfing a rock bird tens of thousands of feet in the air. ¡°Weeeeeeh!¡± Kane shouted, giving his opinion on the topic. ¡°Shut up and lock in, dumbasses,¡± Yuna said. ¡°This is me locking in,¡± Natsuko replied. Natsu almost felt guilty she wasn¡¯t nervous or high-strung or starkly serious. Instead, she was excited. A love for dangerous threats and high-stakes lay at the very core of her being so that without it she was someone else entirely. The lack of action during her involuntary retirement was part of why she had become so messed up. Battling enemies with FDJ weapons to determine the fate of the world was what she was¡ªquite literally¡ªprogrammed to do. ¡°There,¡± Vronsky said, gesturing to where the pine forest ended and the Hammertal canyon began. How poetic, Natusko thought. The final battle would begin where their adventure had. At the end of the line stretching from Vronsky''s finger down to the ground below was the goblin camp next to where Sofiane had taken Natsu and Shui to investigate the weird dungeon. Strange to think she was the only one among them that would remember it. ¡°There¡¯s a plane below the ground there,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°A dungeon that the Yishang didn¡¯t finish designing. We can¡¯t kill them by Dimension-Jumping, but it also means we won¡¯t die.¡± ¡°How do we use that to our advantage?¡± Yuna asked as Daisy brought Peng into a sharp descent. She pinched Kane to keep him from makeing ¡®weeeh!¡¯ noises. ¡°We should draw them into a fight with FDJ rods. We have a small advantage over them if they try to go for one-hit kills with the rods. Otherwise they''ll kill us with their stat advantages. They don¡¯t have the dimension-jumping knowledge Shui does, so if they get stuck in the dungeon, they can¡¯t get out while we can,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I like it. You heard that, Daisy?¡± Yuna called up to the front of the bird. ¡°Loud and clear,¡± Daisy replied. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Drawing closer to the ground, the pandemonium below pulled into focus. Three teams of Heroes, none of whom Natsuko recognized from this far away, were chasing a group of Non-Heroes into the forest. From above the scene resembled dogs herding sheep, with the occasional sheep disappearing. ¡°Looks like this isn¡¯t the final battle after all,¡± Natsuko said, trying to hide the disappointment from her voice. Whoever they were, they were neither Top-Tier Heroes nor the bottom of the barrel that Natsuko shared the rankings with so many years ago. ¡°Guess clearing them up oughta be easy!¡± Kane said. ¡°Let¡¯s expect things to get messy,¡± Daisy said. ¡°Twelve Heroes means 40 or so abilities flying around." ¡°Yeah, but they¡¯re weak as hell. It¡¯ll be like playing whack-a-mole,¡± Natsuko said while wondering what the hell whack-a-mole was. Damn, now Shuixing had her second-guessing whether she actually knew something or whether the strange number generator in the sky was coming up with it. As they approached and lost the cover of night, Daisy swung Peng out to a clearing a short ways away from where the Heroes were chasing the Non-Heroes. The four of them hopped off, leaving Vronsky to stay clear of the fighting beside Peng. The distant ¡°fighting¡± was eerily quiet. Usually fighting meant spells and abilities. But now, as though filtered through the strange and dark distortions of sleep, there were only the occasional echoing scream or cry, yelp or taunt and the colliding of blunt objects. As Natsuko and the others crept closer, easing their way through underbrush to keep the advantage of surprise, they could see the attacking Heroes were not attempting to efficiently dispatch all of the Non-Heroes, but were instead playing with them. One team, who looked to be all Heroes from Shikijima and al-Nuwba, had surrounded a Shikijiman fisherman and were swiping at him with FDJ rods while the middle-aged man frantically swung back with his own. Whoever he swung at would step back while laughing or saying, ¡°oh! Almost got me!¡± while the others brought their rods and pipes down on his legs and back. They were specifically hitting him with the blunt sides, away from the deadly angles that induced dimension-jumping. ¡°Kazeko,¡± Daisy muttered, gesturing at a girl with pink cat ears winding up for a harder blow. The fisherman realized what was coming a split second too late as the metal rod collided with his mouth. Even from a distance of thirty or so feet, Natsuko could see loose teeth dribble out of his mouth on ribbons of blood. One of the others, a Pechorin-like ronin that Natsu suddenly recognized as Yoshihide, stepped up to the fisherman who was blubbering through his mutilated mouth and with his rod crushed the bones in the fisherman¡¯s arms so that he couldn¡¯t swing again. ¡°You still wanna kill Heroes now? Still think it¡¯s fun to swing your little rod? Fucking prick!¡± Yoshihide ground his boot into what was left of the man¡¯s mouth and like smothering a cigarette butt ground his heel in, jostled loose what remained of the man''s teeth. Natsuko tried to stand but Daisy¡¯s grasp kept her down. ¡°What!? Let¡¯s go!¡± Natsuko whispered. ¡°They all have rods, Natsu! We need to do this smartly or we might get picked off by a freak swing,¡± Daisy whispered back. ¡°Looks like the other two teams split off from them,¡± Yuna said. ¡°If we all pick one we can take them out all at once.¡± ¡°Which part of the rod do I use again?¡± Kane said, handling his metal rod daintily. Yuna jerked his wrists until the jagged end faced down. ¡°That way. Anyway, I¡¯ve got that catgirl chick.¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking Yoshihide,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I¡¯ve got Layla, you take Ahwar, Daisy,¡± Kane said. ¡°Who? How do you know them? You were summoned months ago,¡± Daisy replied. Kane shrugged. ¡°I read the Use-Rankings when I¡¯m bored. I know everyone. Even the dead people.¡± Not questioning how he also knew what they looked like, Daisy figured Ahwar was the male al-Nuwban in a bright copper tunic and Layla was the female al-Nuwban with highlighter orange hair and wearing a few strands of silk held together by the Yishang¡¯s divine intervention. Yuna counted them down and on three the four of them burst forward. Natsuko arrived first. Her bottle was aimed at Yoshihide¡¯s sneering lips, but at the last second, as the look of disgust turned into one of shock, the black-haired, black-dressed, brooding ronin reminded her of Pechorin and her bottle diverted at the last second to merely crack him along the temple. Daisy and Yuna both struck true, turning Ahwar and Kazeko into jittering, sinking shapes. Kane, however, was slightly too slow and his target poofed into five ghostly apparitions of herself, all sharing the same horrified expression at suddenly becoming the prey. ¡°W-What are you doing here!?¡± Layla shouted dumbly. Not waiting for an answer, she bolted down the forest path towards the other Hero teams, screaming for help and throwing ineffectual magic bolts behind her as she ran. Yuna sprinted forward and nailed her on the back. With Natsuko still shocked by her own indecision, Daisy grabbed Yosihide¡¯s arm and pulled it behind him until it broke and his rod went limp in the dead arm. He screamed and she slammed his face into the dirt, muffling him. ¡°Natsu! What are you doing!?¡± Daisy whispered. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what happened¡­¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Lemme get him,¡± Yuna said. Yoshihide thrashed until his lips were just above the dirt. ¡°No wait, please! We can make a deal! I don¡¯t want to¡ª¡± Yuna brought the rod down on his head and he disappeared from Po-Lin. ¡°Huh, the numbers changed," Kane said. "Guess the dungeon you were talking about doesn''t go this way, Natsu." With the team of Heroes dispatched, Yuna and Kane ran ahead to spot the next team they could ambush. Daisy and Natsuko were left with the bloodied and wheezing figure of the Shikijiman fisherman whose face now looked like an exploded tomato. ¡°Gods¡­ Should we just kill him and let him revive tomorrow?¡± Daisy asked. ¡°He won¡¯t, remember? This is a Special Event,¡± Natsuko replied. ¡°Ah¡­ right. Um¡­ what do you want us to do, Mr. Fisherman?¡± His response was garbled and mostly involved a bubble of snot and blood foaming from one of the holes in his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Natsuko said, bringing her bottle down on him. Shuixing was bringing everyone along anyway. Natsuko and Daisy stood there for a moment, the only sound the distant screams of Non-Heroes, indistinguishable from the howling of the wind through the pines. ¡°Today is still the day we, um, had girl¡¯s day, right?¡± Natsuko asked, a bitter, metallic taste filling her mouth. ¡°Yeah,¡± Daisy replied. ¡°Fuck me¡­¡± Natsuko ran her palms over her eyes and up through her hair and then rested them on the ribbon holding her hair up. ¡°Let¡¯s go help the others,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Daisy replied. Chapter 150 - The Central Probability Algorithm and its Manifestations The eight remaining Heroes were hooping and hollering as they chased the Non-Heroes through the pines. They fired off abilities aimed over the heads of their prey to illuminate the dark forest by the light of lightning bolts and starbeams. The brief explosions of light prevented Natsuko¡¯s eyes from adjusting to the darkness, turning the world into a pitch black globe out of which terrifying visions flashed. She could barely make out the presences of Kane, Yuna, and Daisy though they were only one tree over in the line of trees they were hiding behind. ¡°An ambush isn¡¯t going to work. At least not like last time,¡± Natsuko said, unconcerned about being overheard amid the screams and sadistic laughter. ¡°Let¡¯s go in hard and fast. Kill ¡®em all before they know what¡¯s happening,¡± Yuna replied. ¡°In the dark!? For all we know we might hit each other,¡± Daisy replied. ¡°And do what instead? Sit here and let them pick off the Non-Heroes? Those are Shikijima folk they¡¯re chasing. My people,¡± Yuna said. ¡°How about this,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Daisy, you put up a wall between the Non-Heroes and their attackers. I¡¯ll fly in on Black Fire and attack from the rear. Yuna will attack head on. Kane will light things up so we can see. That way we¡¯ll only have two people attacking and two people supporting and Yuna and I won¡¯t be near each other.¡± Daisy pinched her nose and exhaled. ¡°Something feels wrong, but I can¡¯t think of another way to do this. Are we sure we want to¡ª¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Yuna said, eyes fixed on the hunt. ¡°Then we go as soon as Daisy throws up the wall,¡± Natsu said. ¡°Got that Kane?¡± Daisy asked. He flashed her some finger guns. ¡°No, not finger guns. Do you understand the plan?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, I do,¡± Kane said. Daisy had a bad feeling about turning Kane loose, but it wasn¡¯t like he was a baby who needed coddling. All Heroes were summoned with fully-formed personalities able to make their own decisions. So why did she feel like she needed to keep him on a short leash? It was because he reminded Daisy of Shrike, that was why. He reminded her of when their plans at the Card Tournament backfired and someone died. In her mind he was¡ªand had always been¡ªlike a muscle that ached when you got close to something that injured it once. Kane was a living reminder that they could still fail. ¡°On your mark, Daisy,¡± Yuna said, staring fiercely at her. There was nothing to do now, Daisy thought. She¡¯d already dragged Kane into this and whatever happened now was on her. There was no alternative where they crawled into a hole and hoped the world wouldn¡¯t end. Nor had there ever been. There was nothing to do but fight. Daisy squeezed her compass and the ground trembled as a curved stone wall burst from the ground taking whole trees and bushes with it. Depth was hard to discern in the dark and two Non-Heroes ended up caught on the closer side of the wall to the Heroes. Shaken from their revelry, the invading Heroes dimension-jumped the two laggards without ceremony. A line of bright white flame like a fluffy wreath hanging from the sky illuminated the forest path as clear as day and drew the attention of the invading Heroes. As soon as they were distracted, Yuna sprinted out of the treeline, FDJ rod cocked at her side like a katana. The first of the Heroes had barely enough time to look around before Yuna lunged and struck him with the end. His teammates turned and with horror realized they were no longer the pursuers but the pursued. The plan for Kane to add light to the battlefield collapsed on contact with the enemy. Natsuko and Daisy were confronted not with a lack of light, but a glut of it as the seven remaining Heroes threw all their abilities at their two overpowered attackers. Without intending to, their adversaries discovered the same secret Team Natsuko had two years prior: That the visual and auditory effects of an ability were sometimes more valuable than the ability itself. Natsuko felt herself pelted with chip damage that hardly mattered, but the once-in-a-millennia starbeams and fire pinwheels and giant tornadoes coming at her reduced the world to a singular chaos of light and sound. Embarrassingly, the only thing she found herself capable of was swinging her bottle in wide arcs, hoping to clip any Heroes sneaking up on her. On the opposite side of the bubble of chaos, Yuna was sprinting perpendicular to the battle, hoping to get out of range and figure out her next move. Bolting through a storm of Elemental forces, her battle-trained muscles screamed at her to duck and duck she did. Yuna thought it was a Wind ability she evaded until she caught sight of a jagged metal rod swung with enough force to create a wake of air. Seeing an opening, she stomped the heel of her geta into the dirt and used the opposite foot to jerk her momentum sharp left, thrusting her rod into the chaos. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. There was a small thump in Yuna¡¯s wrist as the rod caught something before it turned into the jagged polygons signaling the end of that entity¡¯s ability to interact with Po-Lin. Her free hand caught her attacker¡¯s rod before it dropped to the ground and she swirled it around until the tip faced down, giving her the option of a dual-wielded back swing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Not having fun when you¡¯re fighting equals?¡± Yuna asked in a mocking tone to the remaining Heroes. Abilities went on cooldown after they failed to deal any significant damage to Yuna and Natsuko. Now the problem became a lack of light. Everyone¡¯s retinas had been seared by the fireworks display so when darkness fell again it became no less dangerous to be caught by a stray rod. One rod swung out of the darkness and Yuna barely got her stolen rod up in time to block it. As soon as she had, her vision filled with a purple glow from Kane''s Direct Current. At the spot where his ability ended, a ball of plasma exploded outwards, striking at the Heroes and accidentally killing one outright from Elemental damage. Across the illuminated field she saw Natsuko use some Jack ability to push someone into her rod. Down to four enemy combatants, the battlefield was tidier. There weren¡¯t even enough now to be worth taunting. ¡°How about we take one hostage?¡± Natsuko said. ¡°See what they know?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t know shit. It¡¯s a waste of time,¡± Yuna replied, rounding on one of the two remaining on her side of the field. In the rapidly dimming afterglow of Direct Current, Yuna saw her next target was Katerina, a Sibe-Lander Ghazi Hero. Her former teammate''s amber-colored eyes watered with fear at the hulking Samurai woman coming after her. ¡°Y-You won¡¯t end the world! Even if we can¡¯t stop you, the Top Heroes will!¡± Katerina said, her rod pointed at Yuna, trembling in her grip. Yuna snorted. ¡°You haven¡¯t had a shot at the top in three years, Kitty, and you¡¯re still gonna dance to the Yishang¡¯s tune? You¡¯re an idiot.¡± ¡°Do you even know what messing with the Yishang¡¯s rules will do!? Is this a fucking game to you like that Shikijima revolution shit was!?¡± Katerina¡¯s voice was shrill and screeching. It was not at all the dulcet voice Yuna remembered from when they had been teammates, talking late into the night about what they wanted from this world. But there was enough of the poor girl remaining that Yuna found it hard to strike at her. At that moment, it finally clicked with Yuna what all that science-y nonsense from Shuixing meant: The nightmarish sensation of the battle, the awful feeling of cannibalism she felt watching Katerina¡¯s team hunting the Non-Heroes, and she hunting them in turn. This was a war between them and the Heroes still loyal to the Yishang, but they all shared a common origin point in the Central Blah-dee-blah Shuixing was always going on about. It was a civil war, just like in Shikijima. They were all pieces of the Central Thingy shaving off parts of itself. Yuna growled and clenched the rod. ¡°Fuck me¡­ Kitty, just run. I don¡¯t want to kill you.¡± ¡°What do you think tinkering with the Yishang¡¯s rules is going to do!?¡± Katerina screamed back at her. "You might as well kill me now rather than make me wait!" Her former teammate thrust the rod at her, but it was a slow and weak strike with no heart behind it. Yuna would''ve mocked it had she not been feeling the same exact thing. Behind them, Natsuko mopped up the remaining Heroes. Katerina no doubt felt the noose tightening around her. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you found out,¡± Yuna said, ¡°but I¡¯ll bet you no one mentioned the Yishang are planning to shut everything down anyway. Whether you stop us or not, everything¡¯s gone in a week. You, me, Po-Lin. Everything except the Heroes specially picked by the Yishang to move over to their new world. Any guesses whether you¡¯re on that list?¡± Katerina shook her head, the long, straight blonde hair Yuna had liked so much about her tossing in front of her face like a veil. ¡°You¡¯re out of your mind, Yuna. You always were. I¡¯m not running, I¡¯m not joining you, and I¡¯m sure as hell not turning my back on the demi-gods I owe my existence to. Either you kill me, or I kill you,¡± Katerina said, her knuckles curling around the rod. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you, Kitty,¡± Yuna said, despising the softness sneaking its way into her voice. ¡°So be it,¡± Katerina said. With neither technique nor killing intent, Katerina flailed at Yuna, her FDJ rod missing her by several feet and leaving her open to a counterattack Yuna couldn¡¯t muster. Several yards away, Kane was coming over with his own rod in hand. ¡°Back off, Kane,¡± Yuna yelled. Kane stopped. Katerina jerked her head and caught sight of him. Turning her back on Yuna, she charged Kane. Yuna sprinted after her, preparing to tackle and pin Katerina down so she could talk some sense into her. On the opposite end of the field, having dispatched the last of her targets, Natsuko threw a ball of fire onto the grass for light. A bonfire spread across the center of the forest path and cast dancing shadows against the earthen wall Daisy had summoned. In the flickering light, she watched the last survivor of the Hero incursion swing backwards out of instinct and hit Yuna. She, Kane, Daisy, and the killer herself looked on in frozen terror as Yuna distorted into intersecting planes lit entirely differently than the ambient light so that they stuck out as solid colors of Yuna¡¯s icy-blue color palette. A second later, Yuna was gone. Daisy screamed something Natsuko couldn¡¯t hear and sprinted out of the treeline while the Hero that killed Yuna was still dazed by her actions and slammed her rod into the girl. And the first Hero incursion was concluded. Chapter 151 - Recuperation and Rest ¡°What the hell was she thinking!?¡± Daisy said. ¡°That freaking idiot!¡± Despite her harsh words, Daisy was choked with tears she was trying and failing to dam up. During the flight back to Verm?genburgh, none of the three had been able to figure out why Yuna made the irrational decision to charge the Hero attacking Kane unarmed. He himself recalled the two yelling beforehand but not what about. Of the three, Natsuko was the least affected by Yuna¡¯s death. Even after the permanent death crisis, she had never particularly liked Yuna. Admired the frankness of, yes. But not liked. Now that Yuna was dead, however, she wasn''t quite sure how she felt. It wasn¡¯t the harsh, serrated grief Pechorin¡¯s death provoked, but it wasn¡¯t irrelevant to her either. It was a strange middle-ground. ¡°Do you know if they were on a team together?¡± Natsuko asked. Daisy tried to speak, but the effort brought a fresh flood of tears and forced her to bury her mouth in her fist. This in turn caused Peng to list to the left until Natsuko crawled up Peng¡¯s back and tapped Daisy¡¯s shoulder to make her notice. ¡°Probably,¡± Daisy said, gulping down a sob. ¡°She went through a lot of teams. I mean¡ª she got kicked off a lot of teams. People didn¡¯t like her much.¡± ¡°I wonder why,¡± Kane said with no sense of irony. His own grief was kept to a gentle whisper of angst, as though he didn¡¯t quite understand what permanent death meant and was trying to wrap his head around it. ¡°She was an asshole,¡± Daisy blubbered in a tone that was neither a laugh nor a sob. ¡°I liked her cuz no one else liked her. I don¡¯t¡ª¡± Kane patted her on the back and Daisy broke down again. Natsuko stiffened, preparing to smack her out of it if Peng nose-dived. Fortunately, Daisy was more cognizant this time and kept on a more-or-less straight course. On the right wing, Vronsky was looking quite a bit less excited about flying for the return trip. The only reprieve Natsuko had from the grave atmosphere was seeing Verm?genburgh by air. Kilometers away it was an oasis of light in the dark. Searchlights from Deco Imperia beamed pillars of bluish-white into the sky and forest surrounding the fortress city. These were accompanied by strings of electrical lights and Tianzhounese paper lanterns along the walls upon which swarmed throngs of Non-Heroes from every region. Anyone who had a ranged attack, be it a Cascadian Arquebus or a Shikjiman longbow, manned a position on the wall, while below their statless comrades formed dispersed clusters of skirmishers poised to defend chokepoints and blindspots along the approach to the city gates. The entire city watched the descending stone bird. The only Hero was Sofiane crouching in the cathedral belfry. When their landing was imminent he zipped off the tower with Ball Lightning. Natsuko wondered briefly how much he already knew, but his pained expression as he went to receive them said everything. ¡°Daisy, Kane, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± he said. Daisy, who had recomposed herself long enough to make the descent into Verm?genburgh, started wailing again. Unsure what else to do, Sofiane awkwardly hugged her. ¡°You were watching the Use-Rankings, I take it?¡± Natsuko asked. Sofiane looked helplessly at Natsu from over Daisy¡¯s shoulder as she took control of the hug to squeeze Sofiane until his eyes started to bulge. ¡°Yeah¡ª¡± he choked out, ¡°¡ªI keep an ongoing list.¡± Which meant he also knew who Natsuko and the others had killed. Did she want to know that? She felt she ought to dignify them by knowing their names, but what difference did it make at this point? She decided not to ask. ¡°The incursion has been dealt with. Those were the only three teams our scouts noticed,¡± Vronsky said. ¡°Good. Go tell the others to stand down. If nothing else we can call this a good dress rehearsal,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Daisy please let me go.¡± Daisy had progressed to hiccuping at this point but was still functionally non-verbal. Figuring she didn''t want to be alone, Natsuko swallowed the awkwardness she felt and went with her and Kane to take care of Daisy. Once the others had left, Sofiane threw himself back into managing the defenses. His plan was still to give the defenders a rest, but he himself had to organize and settle the new arrivals from Shikijima who were no doubt still rattled after escaping from the attacking Heroes. When he turned his thoughts to Yuna¡¯s death, he found that what little sense of loss he felt had everything to do with losing one of their strongest defenders and nothing to do with Yuna herself. His role in organizing the defense demanded a level of detachment. He imagined himself like a brain willing to lose a finger or toe for the sake of the body. But when his mind turned on someone like Harald or Shuixing or Gomiko dying, he wondered whether that was really the case. When he went to inform the research team that the danger had passed, he found the sewer the most energetic and active he¡¯d ever seen it. All of the seats allotted for Numberspace journeys were filled along with people waiting by their side to immediately dictate their findings when they emerged. These findings were then run over to the side of the sewer responsible for synthesizing the data. Everyone in sight hummed with the anticipatory energy of someone on the threshold of a discovery except for Harald, Faisal, Margaret, and Gomiko who stood in the middle of it all looking bewildered and useless. As soon as they spotted Sofiane they came over to him. ¡°Shui didn¡¯t waste much time, huh?¡± Sofi asked, spotting Shuixing out of the corner of his eye discussing something with Dr. Cox and a couple others. ¡°They were already bouncing ideas off each other on the way over,¡± Faisal said. ¡°And if I didn¡¯t have proof all this was real I would''ve thought they were insane.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Sofiane yawned and stretched. Seeing the research team so productive had caught him in a moment of weakness and filled him with the idea that maybe he could leave things up to others while he got some rest. ¡°The incursion is over, by the way. We had one casualty. Yuna was apparently caught by a random rod,¡± Sofiane said. He could see in their expressions his own awkward feeling of not-quite-grief mirrored back at him, though Margaret seemed to be at least a little disturbed. He was beginning to feel sorry for Yuna that only Daisy and Kane seemed to care for her all that much, but there was no sense in turning grieving into yet another numbers-based competition. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re all officially relieved of duty for the time being. Go get some rest,¡± he said. Harald clapped him on the shoulder. ¡°You too. You look like you¡¯re about to pass out standing up.¡± He was about to shake it off with a joke before he felt a gentle tug on his other wrist from a furry hand. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure he gets to bed,¡± Gomiko said, eyes flicking upwards towards Shui¡¯s apartment. The thought was a pleasant one, but there was one last thing he needed to take care of before he officially retired for the evening. ¡°You can head up, Frizzy. I¡¯ve got one more thing I need to do." Sofiane politely waited for a lull in the spirited conversation Shuixing was holding before approaching her. With a side-glance at Dr. Cox, he pulled her away from the other researchers towards the sewer tunnel. ¡°I take it the new research direction is going well?¡± he asked. Shui looked around at the main room of the sewers and with a more skeptical tone than he expected said, ¡°the opening moments of a new line of inquiry are always full of optimism. The real test is whether it gets us anywhere.¡± ¡°You sounded more enthusiastic during the meeting." ¡°This is as important as I made it sound, but I might have fluffed things up a bit. I thought everyone could use a little morale boost.¡± ¡°A prophecy from the prophetess to her adoring masses?¡± he asked. A blush peaked through the coldly rational mask Shuixing adopted during her research, but she didn¡¯t deny it. They both knew the Special Event binding the Non-Heroes to Shuixing was still in effect. Thus far, she''d been reluctant to use it, but she had come back from Girls¡¯ Day with a greater appreciation for the benefits of a good state of mind. Artificial or not, morale was morale. A moment later, however, she shook her unkempt mane of teal hair and re-donned the mask of rationality. ¡°I know you didn¡¯t call me over to ask about that. What else do you need?¡± ¡°Dr. Cox. His side project. How is it coming along?¡± ¡°The ranged FDJ weapons? Not well. The very notion of the weapon flies in the face of the fundamental principles behind dimension-jumping,¡± Shui said, straightening her glasses. ¡°He and I are in agreement that we may need to abandon the idea and have him work on something else. The meeting we were having a moment ago was about how to reintegrate him into the research team¡¯s primary workflow.¡± That was not what Sofiane wanted to hear. Though he¡¯d restrained his tongue in front of Daisy and the others, what he realized while watching the Non-Heroes organize their aerial defenses was that they were a joke. Natsuko alone could clean up the entire city. Perhaps he had known all along and simply refused to confront the frightening reality of their helplessness, but the night¡¯s events left him no room to retreat from it. They needed an answer to flying threats. ¡°Surely there¡¯s some other way to go about it? A whole new way of looking at it, maybe. Like you had with our escape route,¡± he said, nervously chewing the inside of his lips. Shuixing shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s extremely unlikely. As I said before, it was a pipe dream to imagine we could take a process requiring solid surfaces and accomplish it without solid surfaces. It¡¯s categorically impossible to dimension-jump someone in mid-air. Or, heck, even someone with a plane below them. How many times have we proved that ourselves?¡± Sofiane shook his head. If he and Medea had to redraw their defense plans to accommodate the impossibility of aerial defense,so be it. Unfortunately, this was also something that couldn''t wait, meaning his next conversation was telling poor Frizzy he wasn¡¯t going to be able to join her. But that thought, like a billiard ball, collided with another. ¡°Wait, Shui, has Dr. Cox had any rest?¡± he asked. ¡°You mean like we had this morning? No, I don¡¯t believe so. I¡¯ve brought the idea forward a few times and he''s refused to even consider a break,¡± Shui replied. ¡°Have you tried coating his medicine with a bit of sugar?¡± Shuixing¡¯s mind was currently locked into the overly-literal, overly-rational mode of scientific inquiry, so it took her a moment to parse Sofiane¡¯s turn of phrase. ¡°You mean offer him something for taking a break?¡± she asked, brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°Exactly! What can we give him to force him to go rest and come back to his problem with a clear head?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Shuixing replied, knowing the Non-Hero scientist almost as well as her own friends. ¡°Like me, he does physics for the sake of doing physics. What else could we possibly offer him?¡± ¡°He really has nothing else? You¡¯re sure? Because what you¡¯re describing sounds like how the Yishang would program a scientist Non-Hero, but we know that everyone, Hero and Non-Hero, is more complex than that. There has to be something else. Just think on it,¡± Sofiane said, squeezing her arm. Before Shuixing could attempt to abjure her duty, Sofiane made for the stairs. ¡®Resent¡¯ was perhaps too strong a word, but Shuixing certainly felt vexed by Sofiane putting this fool¡¯s errand on her plate after she had so clearly explained the lack of theoretical basis for ranged FDJ weapons. A few minutes later, right as she had re-joined the scientific machine she was a part of, ready to begin processing the flow of new data, one of the researchers nearly bumped into her. ¡°Oops! My apologies, Dr. He,¡± said Dr. Venstein. He was one of the ¡®younger¡¯ faculty members, with a mop of blonde hair and permanent stubble beneath sharp, rectangular glasses. Shuixing was about to mumble a short response so she could get back to work on charting data flows when an idea struck her. ¡°Actually, Dr. Venstein, I have a task for you,¡± she said. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°This is going to sound strange, but could you possibly keep Dr. Cox¡­ occupied for a bit?¡± she asked. Dr. Venstein coughed suddenly and looked away. ¡°We¡¯re both very busy with our work. Is there, um, any particular reason? Or¡­¡± ¡°He needs a break,¡± she said, baffled with herself for going along with Sofiane¡¯s plan. Dr. Venstein looked back at her with his bright blue eyes and seeing that Shuixing was treating this task with the same urgency as escaping from Po-Lin, he said he would and went over to Dr. Cox. She watched long enough to make sure Venstein was able to convince the overworked scientist to leave and when Dr. Cox stood up to look around for Shuixing, she flashed him a thumbs up. Once the two had departed, she herself got back to work. Chapter 152 - Dreaming Things Into Existence Shuixing dreamed about a strange world that was neither Numberspace nor Po-Lin but an enmeshing of the two with the former¡¯s abstract immateriality with the latter¡¯s seamless, numberless nature. The ¡®plot¡¯ of the dream was nothing but a mounting feeling that she was about to grasp something important and figure out whether this third world was a refutation of Numberspace or a synthesis with it. Yet the crescendo of excitement only built and built without end until it was popped by a poke on her arm. ¡°Dr. He! Dr. He! I have had a breakthrough!¡± Shuixing¡¯s eyes fluttered open to find herself back in the physical realm of Po-Lin with a piece of paper stuck to her flushed cheeks. She had ceased to think of Po-Lin as some phantasmagoric projection of Numberspace as she had while pursuing her solo research. Her frame of reference had instead changed to view the material and numerical dimensions of their universe as entwined in a unified process she was only now beginning to understand. There were, in other words, principles and forces belonging exclusively to Po-Lin and others exclusively to Numberspace and both acted as shadows inside one another. A pull in one was a push in the other. ¡°O-Oh!¡± Shui said, finally processing Dr. Cox¡¯s declaration. She scrambled to put on her glasses. ¡°Pertaining to ranged dimension-jumping, you mean?¡± ¡°Precisely! Or, no, not precisely. Approximately,¡± Dr. Cox said, bouncing from heel to heel. ¡°We were quite right, you see, in assuming we could not throw people through the floor in mid-air. However my solution, or rather my invention, for I ceased to tie myself to a pre-prescribed outcome but instead allowed new thoughts to spring afresh from the original puzzle, was that we may exploit similar physical quirks of our universe not to dimension-jump, but to pluck out of the air.¡± Shuixing nodded for him to continue. Math aside, she could no doubt puzzle her way through Dr. Cox¡¯s new theory solely with this restatement of the problem, but her mind refused to relinquish its backburners when it had not yet finished with the matter of Po-Lin/Numberspace Duality. She instead listened passively. ¡°As we know, the principle at work behind dimension-jumps is an overflow of directional data in Numberspace such that the physics calculations performed by the Yishang¡¯s machines produce values unaccounted for by their world. A wall, say, may only exist as a wall for a set velocity, but if the computations¡ª¡± She cleared her throat to politely signal to the excited scientist he didn¡¯t need to reiterate Shuixing''s own discoveries back to her. Dr. Cox flushed and nodded. ¡°Yes. Right. Erm, so my thought was that while our projectiles may not have any nearby surfaces to force their victim through, we may instead employ their velocity multipliers towards a different end. We will need to recalibrate the topography, but¡ª¡± Shuixing gasped. ¡°We can force them to the ground!¡± Dr. Cox clapped his hands. ¡°Yes! Now I can say precisely! The momentum generated from such a projectile would cause an entity struck by it to be propelled downwards at a rate of¡­¡± He fished in the pockets of his tweed jacket for a crumpled bit of paper and then read it off silently before arriving at the end of his calculations. ¡°3,430.78 miles per hour.¡± Shuixing¡¯s first instinct was to check his math so she asked for the paper and gave it a once-over. Some of the calculations were off by a few numbers and some of the angular geometry didn¡¯t line up perfectly with what she knew about momentum calculations in Numberspace, but the theory itself was sound and if anything his calculations had erred on the conservative side. Assuming a direct hit in center mass, whether with a bullet, an arrow, or even a bucket, they could easily build a project which could slam its victim to the ground at nearly 5,000mph. Any Hero above max fall damage height would be killed instantly. Any Non-Hero would be a puddle of goop. And even if the target wasn¡¯t at max fall damage, the forced landing would hurt very badly, probably break some limbs, and would make them vulnerable to a follow-up attack. Better still, a target already on the ground would be force dimension-jumped since the momentum exceeded the collision detection of just about every surface Shuixing had come across. ¡°Dr. Cox, this is genius work,¡± Shuixing said. He gave a small bow. ¡°Why don¡¯t you and Dr. Venstein get to work building some prototypes to show Joad. We¡¯ve only got six days left, so the sooner we get this into production the better,¡± Shuixing said. Dr. Cox reddened at the mention of his ¡®relaxation¡¯ partner and scurried off without facing Shuixing. This, she supposed, was precisely one of those principles belonging to the realm of Po-Lin entirely. Emergent phenomena blossoming from interaction between two complex entities was not something consciously replicable by the formulas and algorithms of Numberspace. Even if the result was expressible in Numberspace as a change in Dr. Cox¡¯s string of numbers, the process involved forces only representable in Po-Lin. Based on what she had read of the Yishang''s communications, this worked precisely because they had not intended any of it. Had the Yishang set out to make such infinitely complex entities as Dr. Cox and Dr. Venstein and Shuixing, they would have failed miserably. As it was, she wasn''t certain they even knew what exactly they had created. At this thought there reappeared in Shuixing¡¯s mind the specter from her dream, haunting her anew with the sense that she was just shy of some unifying insight bridging the contradictory laws of these two realms into a single theory. So too did she feel as though this unification of numbers and material would coincide with a jump to whatever form of existence came after, and that this form of existence would constitute the final answer to how they could escape Po-Lin. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Though she hinted at it during the research meeting last night, Shuixing had downplayed the extent to which she believed a post-Po-Lin world would constitute an entirely different state of being from anything that came before. There would, in other words, cease to be a ¡°Shuixing¡± or a ¡°Natsuko,¡± and the entity which remained would instead be a gestalt subject derived from a self-reflexive Central Probability Algorithm. In light of that, it was more accurate to say Shuixing was that part of the rapidly emerging entity which was both conscious of its own imminent maturation and consciously withholding from itself this terrifying and uncomfortable knowledge. ¡°Ms. He?¡± Shuixing let out a high-pitched squeak. For now, she still had a physical body whose butt was in a seat in front of a desk in a sewer reeking of excrement and incense. ¡°Err, yes, hello Hilda. What can I help you with?¡± Shui asked her teaching assistant. ¡°Sofiane is here to see you. He¡¯s upstairs,¡± Hilda said. Shuixing chuckled. Previously Sofi¡¯s stance had been to come down and meet her in the sewers to limit distraction from her research. Apparently Daisy¡¯s plan to loosen people up had worked everywhere and now Sofiane was caving to his preference not to step foot in sewers. She thanked Hilda for relaying the message and ascended the slippery stone steps up to the ground floor of the Mage¡¯s College. Sofiane was waiting for her at the top. He had finally changed out of the grimy jeans and hoodie he¡¯d been in since arriving in Verm?genburgh over two weeks ago and was now wearing a much more Sofiane-like pair of purple pantaloons and poofy blouse. He also looked better rested and his constant low-grade vibrating from coffee overdose had disappeared. ¡°You look well, Sofi,¡± Shuixing said. He yawned. ¡°Still a bit groggy but in general I feel a lot better. I don¡¯t even mind that I have to throw out the plans Medea and I drafted for aerial defense without ranged dimension-jump weapons.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you found out so quickly,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°Quickly? I was informed hours ago. Joad already has people copying the prototypes.¡± Shuixing blinked. Apparently her mind had been wandering longer than she thought. Through the windows at the far end of the hall she could see the orange light of sunset streaming through the curtains. She rubbed her eyes under her glasses. ¡°Gods, I can¡¯t tell how much of today I¡¯ve spent in thought and how much of it asleep," Shui said. "How is everyone¡­ I mean about¡­¡± ¡°About Yuna? Daisy¡¯s still not doing great. Kane and Natsuko have been trying to coax her out of her room. As for the rest of us? Tough to say. I think everyone else just feels like things are getting uglier. The Non-Heroes are spooked about losing one of our high-ranked Heroes and the other Heroes are¡ª oh shoot, I completely forgot to mention, we had some more Heroes join us! Shrike¡¯s old teammates, Benkei, Maitri, and Felix, plus a couple other older Heroes. I don¡¯t know them but you might. Vladim and Astrid?¡± Shuixing nodded. They were fellow 1st-gen Heroes, but she hadn''t seen them in years. Nonetheless, she was happy to hear other Heroes were joining them. Unless they were Top-Tier Heroes like Daisy and Natsuko they wouldn¡¯t be much more useful than a Non-Hero holding an FDJ rod. However, having more Heroes on their side made it harder for the Yishang to sell the story that they were a bunch of crazies trying to end the world. It also meant one less combatant who could one-shot the statless Non-Heroes. Every little bit helped. ¡°Is that everything?¡± she asked. ¡°Err, yeah, I guess it is,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Thanks for the update. I need to get back to work,¡± she replied. Her words were cold, but there wasn¡¯t anything else to add. The awkwardness no doubt came from Sofiane assuming she want to see Vladim and Astrid. But she really didn¡¯t know them well. Natsuko had always been the sociable one of their duo. If they hadn¡¯t become friends shortly after summoning into the world, Shuixing might not have had the courage to join any team at all. Though, as she thought this, she realized the Yishang had probably set up exactly this dynamic: The spunky, outgoing Natsuko and the shy, reserved Shuixing. ¡°You know¡­¡± Shuixing said. Sofiane, who was already halfway down the hallway, turned around. ¡°Not that it¡¯s a reason to stop fighting them, but in a strange way, who we are and how we got here¡­ it all came from the Yishang. Perhaps they didn¡¯t set out to make us how we are, nor anticipate that we would rebel, but ultimately we owe our existence to them,¡± she said. ¡°You sound like Gomiko right now,¡± Sofiane said. Shuixing blushed. ¡°I suppose my observation wasn¡¯t quite as original as I thought.¡± He shrugged. ¡°If we¡¯re all affecting each other like you said, it¡¯s not surprising that if one person has an idea, probably everyone has it sooner or later. We''re all breathing the same atmosphere, I guess. Though, Gomiko put it differently. She said we were created in the Yishang¡¯s image and that''s where our creative parts come from, but I guess it¡¯s sort of the same idea restated, isn¡¯t it?¡± However, Shuixing thought, it could just as easily be said that an idea stated differently was not quite the same idea. Not exactly. Instead, the result of these many similar ideas was a broad view of the world circling some principle which could only be approached through a plurality of idea. Even this new formulation itself, of the plurality of ideas, as she was thinking it, was an incomplete thing which demanded multiplicity for its fruition. ¡°Sofiane, let me know what you think of this idea. What if¡ª¡± Sofiane laughed nervously. ¡°S-Sorry, Shui, I have a very important meeting, about¡­ um¡­ ranged weapons. I¡¯ll see you around!¡± He jogged off down the hall and around the corner before she could pester him with more abstract epistemology. Shuixing sighed. Sofiane was clearly not as enthusiastic about it, though it would¡¯ve been hypocritical of her to be annoyed while simultaneously extolling the virtues of pluralism. Unfortunately, of the other Heroes, only Pechorin had any love for this kind of deep thought, albeit in his own unique way. That did her no good when he was trapped in the limbo of Numberspace with no spatial data to assign his being to. No spatial data. How many times had Shuixing gone over that same thought? If she were able to modify his coordinates from a null value to a fixed location in Po-Lin, she could effectively ¡®re-summon¡¯ Pechorin. Unfortunately, the only thing she could edit in Numberspace were some of her own values, of which spatial coordinates were not one (as fun as it would be to instantly teleport across the world via drug injection). But as her mind turned again on the problem of editing spatial coordinate numbers, something new popped into her head. Time triggers and event triggers. She felt that was important, but why? A time trigger changed values in Numberspace at a set point in time. The Ice Wyvern spawning outside of Verm?genburgh every Monday at 5pm was an example of a time trigger. The Yishang summoned a wyvern with a fixed set of coordinates every time. But an event trigger was triggered by¡­ A special event field. And while Shuixing was unable to make a new special event field the way the Yishang could, there was that strange, dummy special event she discovered while trying to hijack Baphomet¡¯s cult. The one that did nothing but refer back to herself and her four teammates. Shuixing¡¯s gasp echoed through the hall. She knew how to bring Pechorin back. Chapter 153 - Going on a Small Tour of Verm?genburgh’s Fun Spots Natsuko flopped onto the carpet and groaned. ¡°What are we gonna do, dude?¡± Trying to figure out how to interpret the carpet-flopping, Kane decided the closest action he had seen one of his teammates do was Yuna throwing herself to the floor after a training session and so he too dropped to the floor. Once there, he sat cross-legged and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he replied. ¡°Daisy''s never been like this before.¡± The carpet the two of them were on was in the common area of the college dormitory. The Non-Heroes who usually lived and slept there had all left and Natsuko and Kane had the place to themselves. The loneliness feeling that permeated the air made dragging Daisy out of her grief all the more difficult. Minute by minute it felt more like a jail. What had begun as an attempt to calm Daisy down had spiraled into a life-or-death struggle with her catastrophizing. That morning, right as she seemed to be pulling herself together, Daisy decided she had to read all of Yuna''s comic books. When Natsuko made the mistake of pointing out that the comics were all only four-pages long, Daisy just wailed, ¡°I know!¡± and started crying again. After that she locked herself in her dorm room and refused to come out no matter how many times Natsuko offered to have tea or compose poetry together. ¡°How are you holding up?¡± Natsuko asked Kane. ¡°Me? Um, I¡¯m fine. Could really go for an ice cold juice box right about now but I don¡¯t know where Daisy keeps them. She says I¡¯m not allowed to know cuz I¡¯ll drink them all in one sitting,¡± he replied. ¡°Well, would you?¡± Kane glanced up at the ceiling and thought for a moment, then said, ¡°yeah, probably.¡± Natsuko exhaled. ¡°Our drinks might be different, but I can empathize. I think I¡¯ve mostly kicked the habit though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Kane said. ¡°So besides juice boxes, how do you get your mind off things when they get stressful?¡± ¡°Um¡­ I don¡¯t really get stressed out that much. Not like how Daisy, Cunegonde, and Yuna do. I mean did. I mean¡ª Daisy and Cunegonde do and Yuna did," he said. Kane¡¯s wide-eyed optimism about the world felt to Natsuko like looking at herself through a time machine. It was hard to believe there was a time when it baffled her that Pechorin could be stressed and grumpy in a beautiful fantasy world with so much to explore. Kane at least had the excuse that he was genuinely trying to come to terms with Yuna¡¯s death. Natsu had just been dumb and naive. ¡°Oh, hold on a second. I have an idea,¡± Natsuko said, popping up from the carpet into a frog squat. ¡°Did you hurt yourself?¡± Kane asked. Natsuko glanced at Kane with a look somewhere between bafflement and amusement. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°What do you mean what? Where did that come from?¡± ¡°Oh, whenever Yuna said she had an idea, Cunegonde always replied, ''did you hurt yourself?'' I thought that was how you were supposed to respond. Like how you¡¯re supposed to say, ¡®bless you¡¯ when someone sneezes,¡± he replied. Natsuko laughed so hard her sides ached. Even she hadn¡¯t been that naive. The Yishang had way overtuned his personality numbers or whatever the heck they did to build Heroes. ¡°Is that the wrong response?¡± Kane asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°What¡¯s your idea by the way?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh You haven¡¯t seen much of Verm?genburgh, right?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°I beat all the quests here so I¡¯ve seen a good bit of it,¡± he replied. ¡°How long did you spend on the Verm?genburgh quests?¡± ¡°Um¡­ six hours, I think? Maybe seven?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t really see it then. Not the little nooks and crannies and scenic views and stuff. It takes time to appreciate all that. Daisy and I are going to show you around. For real this time,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Whoa, really? That sounds awesome!¡± Kane said, popping up from the carpet into a frog squat. With that settled, Natsuko banged on Daisy¡¯s door. ¡°Hey! Put down the comics, we¡¯re gonna show Kane around Verm?genburgh!¡± There was no response. Not even the usual crunching of chip wrappers. Unlike her previous attempts to get Daisy out of the room, this time Natsu punched through the door and manually unlocked it. Inside the tiny two-person dorm room she found Daisy fast asleep on a bed full of potato chip bags and comic books. Her face was puffy and red with dried up tear trails running down both cheeks. One arm was draped over her chest which rose and fell with gentle, rhythmic breaths. ¡°I think it might just be you and me, buddy,¡± Natsuko whispered to Kane. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I¡¯m glad she¡¯s getting some rest,¡± he whispered back. Natsuko gently shut the door and tip-toed away. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Before heading out she grabbed her wine bottle and told Kane to bring along some kind of FDJ weapon in case there was any trouble. She was tempted to swing by the Devil¡¯s Cut and swipe one of the new ranged FDJ weapons Sofiane had bragged about, but he''d also given strict orders not to take any outside the walls of Verm?genburgh, lest they wind up in enemy hands. Technically he couldn''t stop her, but the little Shuixing-like angel on Natsuko¡¯s shoulder told her not to tempt fate. With her luck she would misplace it and some asshole Hero would find it. With the two of them prepared, Natsuko began the tour at Verm?genburgh¡¯s stone bridge. ¡°This,¡± Natsuko said, arms spread wide, ¡°is the great Verm?genburgh bridge!¡± ¡°Oh wow! I knew it was a bridge but I didn¡¯t know it was a great one,¡± Kane said, full of wonder. ¡°Every Hero runs across this thing a million times doing the Verm?genburgh questline, but few know its secrets!¡± she said. She took Kane around the side of the bridge where the island the city was on descended towards the moat. They went down for a bit until they arrived at a bridge column with a decorative piece of stonework roughly half a foot wide winding around it. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like much, but if you¡¯re careful, there¡¯s just enough space to place your foot,¡± Natsuko said, inching herself onto the stone ledge. She could''ve flown to the spot with Black Fire, but she wanted Kane to have the experience of finding it the way she had. Kane imitated her and the two sidled across the small ledge and around the corner until they were underneath the bridge. Halfway between the two sides there was a small, circular alcove formed by the design of the column with just enough space for two people to stand or sit. ¡°This was my little hideaway,¡± she explained as Kane squeezed into the alcove with her. ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t look like much, but it¡¯s got a nice little view down into the moat and when the wind picks up there¡¯s this whistle that comes through. I¡¯m usually extroverted, but every once and a while, when I wanted alone-time, I¡¯d come down here and just stare at the water.¡± ¡°Wow. This is cool,¡± Kane said. She beamed at him. From anyone else, the words would¡¯ve sound forced or patronizing, as though it were just something they were expected to say. But Kane seemed genuinely interested in this random quirk of the world where you could sit under a bridge and hang out for a while. ¡°Here¡¯s the best part,¡± Natsuko said and then leapt off the ledge. With Verm?genburgh being so high up, the drop to the moat was almost a hundred feet. The splash formed by her cannonball was enormous. When Kane tried, however, the sensation of falling made him freak out and he flailed frantically before plunging into the ice cold water. When he came up for air, Natsuko was laughing again. ¡°The first one is scary, but you get used to it. You almost never get to experience falling without being terrified of fall damage, but since it¡¯s water, you don¡¯t have to worry,¡± she said. ¡°Can I go again?¡± he asked. And up again her ran. After his fifth jump, Natsuko remembered Daisy taking away his juice boxes and realized if she didn¡¯t drag him away, Kane would spend the rest of the day jumping and running back and jumping again. The next location was a much farther walk but the two of them had movement abilities to speed them along, with Natsuko rocketing ahead on Black Fire and Kane spamming Direct Current on cooldown. The place she was taking him to was Moonward Cliff. The enormous cliff jut out from the little valley with Lake Amber and the Dungeon of Stars in it and rose over Verm?genburgh¡¯s southern shore. The smell of pines and bonfires from the goblin camps rose along with the cliff and suffused the air with woodland fragrance. Whenever Natsuko tried to imagine what ascending out of Po-Lin would be like, this was what she thought of: The rising slope of the grass, the fresh pine, and the view out to an endless ocean glinting like a field of sapphires in the sun¡¯s rays. ¡°I¡¯ve already been here,¡± Kane said. ¡°No shit, dummy, we all have. But how long did you spend here one-shotting V?lsunga for a quest?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°A minute?¡± ¡°So you never went up to the top of the cliff?¡± Kane shook his head and Natsu dragged him up the enormous grassy slope. When he tried to use his ability to speed up the process she yelled at him to slow down and take his time. Like that the two tiny specks¡ªone purple, one red¡ªmeandered up to the top of the cliff where the world ended. It didn¡¯t feel quite as profound as when the Moonward Cliff truly was the end of the world, when Shikijima did not yet lie in the ocean to the far southwest and Deco Imperia did not begin somewhere along the fuzzy green coastline to the southeast, but the enormous open space at the top of the cliff nonetheless stirred something in Natsuko that was too big to be contained in numbers. A flash of unease hit her as she worried Kane would find the view uninteresting. ¡°Heck that¡¯s pretty!¡± he said, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his purple waistcoat. ''Pretty'' was an understatement. It was the kind of thing she wanted to write a poem about but felt too small for the task. Stuffing this vista into her rough, amateurish words felt like smearing dirt on a painting. Better to leave it unsaid. ¡°Pechorin could write a poem about this,¡± Natsuko said, tucking her arms into the wide sleeves of her kimono to warm herself against the frigid winds. ¡°The guy who used to be at the bottom of the Use-Rankings?¡± Kane asked. For a split second, the idea that someone would only know Pechorin for that seemed ridiculous, yet Natsuko was forced to admit it was the only reason most Heroes would even know the name. Already that was more than could be said about most 1st-gen Heroes. ¡°I guess he was,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Is he your friend?¡± ¡°He was.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The same thing that happened to Yuna.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Kane didn¡¯t say anything after that. The two just stared into the enormous ocean and its rolling tides. She didn¡¯t even think to look over at him until her ears picked up a weird half-moan coming from him and she turned to see his jaw was trembling. ¡°I-I¡¯m sad about Yuna dying, b-but I think I¡¯m even more scared of dying,¡± Kane said. ¡°I feel like I just got here and that I¡¯ve done so much already, but there¡¯s a lot more to do that I¡¯m gonna miss out on it. I wish I''d had as much time to explore Po-Lin as you did.¡± Natsuko¡¯s almost laughed at the absurdity of a Top-Tier Hero being sad he hadn¡¯t been born early enough. But the more she thought about it, the less absurd it was. Those first two years of her adventuring had been a golden age of innocence before the min-maxing and power-grinding and ruthless competitiveness kicked in and became the only way to live. Even as a newly-summoned Hero, Kane had been up this cliff to complete quests, but spent all of a minute here before sprinting off to the next quest in order to catch up with everyone. He never had the chance she did to climb the Moonward Cliff one aching step at a time and to stare out from it without a care in the world about what came next. ¡°Whatever comes after this world will be even better, I¡¯m sure,¡± Natsuko lied. ¡°But I¡¯m not done yet...¡± Natsuko took a long, long inhale and looked around at Verm?genburgh in all its green and brown glory. From so high up, the pine trees blended into a fuzzy carpet which climbed up the rolling hills and up the sides of valleys and canyons broken only by glittering blue puddles from the many lakes and rivers. ¡°Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have brought you out here,¡± she said. ¡°No, I¡¯m glad,¡± Kane replied. ¡°Even if it¡¯s just a little taste, it¡¯s better than not seeing it at all.¡± Natsuko smiled. ¡°Well then, next up is Hammertal Canyon.¡± The two of them took off towards Hammertal Canyon, racing the setting sun to see who would reach the horizon first. Natsuko would have made it there easily, but kept herself back to not get ahead of Kane who was Direct Current-dashing as fast as possible. Although they arrived before the sunset, someone else had arrived ahead of them. Standing atop the eastern cliff was a woman wrapped in wispy, cloud-shaped white silks which barely covered her modesty. The sun behind her blinded any attempt to pick out details. Natsuko was about to tell Kane to back away so they could report this to Sofiane and the others, but before she could, he opened his mouth and said, ¡°Cunegonde?¡± Chapter 154 - Severing Old Ties The figure floating atop Hammertal Canyon so little resembled Cunegonde that Natsuko''s first thought was that Kane was seeing his former teammate in them as some kind of grief-processing. But the longer Natsuko looked, the more she realized he was right. Despite the outfit change and her hair going from dirty blonde ringlets to sweeping platinum blonde waves, there was something undeniably Cunegonde-esque in the figure and in the way they looked down on the landscape with a disdain ever-ready to break into an ingratiating smile. A disdain aware of its own ugliness. Natsuko grasped Kane¡¯s arm and backed away. As much as she loved the thrill of a fight, Cunegonde was one rank ahead of her and the reason was sure to be extreme, artificial buffing from the Yishang. It wasn¡¯t lost on her that eight Heroes were promised a place in the Yishang¡¯s new world and the one who turned them down was sitting at #9. Unfortunately, Cunegonde picked then to turn her head towards the open hill leading towards the canyon and her disdainful frown morphed into a patronizing grin. Natusko blinked and in the next instant Cunegonde was right beside her. She swung her bottle out of instinct and Cunegonde held up a single dainty hand and stopped it instantly. ¡°Why hello there, Natsuko. How nice to see you!¡± Cunegonde said. Natsuko drew her bottle back and feigned a swing which turned into a kick at the last second. Cunegonde skipped backwards, hands clasped behind her back as though performing ballet. ¡°And Kane too! How are you, sweetie?¡± Kane furrowed his brows. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± ¡°Fine? That¡¯s good! I¡¯m doing fine myself, thanks for asking. Even the day itself feels very fine. No doubt why you two are out for a stroll?¡± Cunegonde said with a wink. Kane frowned. He liked Cunegonde, but he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling something was strange about her today. It wasn¡¯t that she was an enemy. That much he knew. What bothered him was something deeper and stranger. ¡°What do you want?¡± Natsuko said, fists curled around her bottle. Cunegonde yawned. ¡°I want to kill my boredom. Zhidao has us sitting on our asses and I thought I might pop down and check out the stage I¡¯ll be performing on.¡± Jump-started by adrenaline, Natsuko¡¯s mind fixated on the mention of Zhidao. She already knew the Yishang were meddling with things, but Cunegonde was flirting with the subject like a piece of gossip. ¡°Pop down? Selenia is pretty far from here,¡± Natsuko said. She waited until Cunegonde opened her mouth to answer and lunged forward. Though the Yishang had boosted Cunegonde''s stats, the violence of Natsuko¡¯s movement caught her off-guard. Her surprised expression filled Natsuko¡¯s vision until suddenly she was swinging at air and Kane was tossed forward into Cunegonde who caught him in her arms and set him back up. From this Natsuko learned two things: One, Cunegonde had a new move-set which included an upgraded version of her own Swap that allowed her to make two other people switch places. Two, by the fact that Kane hadn¡¯t bowled Cunegonde over, her Force stat was massively inflated. Cunegonde pouted and pushed Kane off. ¡°That was very rude! Did you want an answer or not?¡± ¡°You teleported, didn¡¯t you?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Hmph. Did I? I don¡¯t recall,¡± she said, but her eyes glanced elsewhere. Cunegonde had teleported here, and while a new moveset and inflated stats could simply be Yishang meddling as usual, she knew of only one case where a Hero possessed the ability to teleport anywhere in Po-Lin at will. ¡°They made you a Xian, did they?¡± Natsuko said. Cunegonde¡¯s eyes again betrayed her, this time by lapsing into surprise for a brief second before relaxing back into carefree amusement. Her lips parted in preparation of more taunting banter, but she changed her mind at the last second and chuckled instead. ¡°All the time I¡¯ve known you, you''ve been nothing but a dull drunkard raised out of oblivion by the Yishang¡¯s favoritism. Now you can suddenly spot a Xian class. Were the past two years just an act? If so, I applaud you thinking this many steps ahead,¡± Cunegonde said. Natsuko¡¯s mind went back to all the times Cunegonde had fawned over and complimented her and her team. She had always known the woman to be a shameless sycophant, but this made it no less jarring to witness Cunegonde¡¯s true thoughts out in the open. ¡°But, to answer your question, yes, I am a Xian now,¡± Cunegonde said. It was subtle, but there was a sneering pride with which she answered this question, as though relishing being able to tell Natsuko to her face that she was superior. Natsuko¡¯s gaze shifted to Kane who was watching the conversation with a growing frown. Even if Cunegonde was no different than she¡¯d always been, Natsuko felt guilty putting that ugliness on display for Kane. Her goal that afternoon had been to show him the beautiful side of Po-Lin. ¡°Why not kill us then? You¡¯re more powerful, clearly. It¡¯d save you trouble in the final battle,¡± Natsuko asked. Cunegonde raised an eyebrow and snorted. ¡°Oh? What¡¯s that? You¡¯re trying to pry information from me? That¡¯s cute, Natsuko, but not subtle enough.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Natsuko shrugged. ¡°Answer or don¡¯t, it doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± ¡°Oh, my love, I am sure it doesn¡¯t matter. Hence why there¡¯s no reason for me to answer. Unless, of course, you want to tell me all about how it really does matter. If you beg very prettily I might deign to answer.¡± ¡°Please, Cunegonde. Please answer my question,¡± Natsuko said, her voice expunged of its usual gruffness. Cunegonde blinked, unsure if she had heard correctly, then she burst out laughing. ¡°Oh wow, I didn¡¯t think you really would! One surprise after another today from you." It took every ounce of Natsuko¡¯s willpower to keep a blush off her face. But her pride meant nothing. Coaxing information out of Cunegonde meant everything. If all Cunegonde did was laugh at her, Natsuko lost nothing but her dignity, but if Cunegonde kept her promise and answered, there was a chance she gave up something critical without realizing it. Natsuko stared at her, waiting to see whether she would make good. ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know, that was pretty unimpressive. I think you can do better than that,¡± Cunegonde said. ¡°For starters, why don¡¯t you get on your hands and knees and put your forehead to the ground.¡± Natsuko choked. That was a step too far. Aside from humiliating, it also left her open to a cheap kill. ¡°You¡¯ll kill me,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Kill you! Oh, my dear, dear Natsuko, I could do that right now. I don¡¯t think you quite understand what the Yishang has done for me,¡± Cunegonde replied. To demonstrate, she turned towards Hammertal Canyon. The sunset cast the canyon¡¯s hammer-shaped peak in a deep ochre. Towards it, Cunegonde held out a single hand and the air quivered with an eardrum-trembling snap as the canyon cliff exploded, its shards racing out to the Western ocean. The empty space created by the cliff¡¯s absence stretched to the sea. This, Natsuko realized, was the ability Hemiola had used against her, but on a scale hundreds if not thousands of times larger. Cunegonde turned back to her, smirk plastered on her face. ¡°And do you know what the best part is? That mountain? It¡¯s gone. The damage I do doesn¡¯t repair overnight like most things. Isn¡¯t that incredible? So believe me when I say, if I wanted to kill you and my dear little Kane here, I would¡¯ve done so already. Now, why don¡¯t you get down on your hands and knees?¡± In the wake of the world-shaking explosion, Natsuko barely remembered to note Cunegonde¡¯s ability to inflict permanent damage. But even though she had, she could think of no way to counter or exploit it. She was beginning to wonder whether her information-gathering was accomplishing anything besides confirming how badly the Yishang¡¯s newly-minted Xians outclassed anything their rebellion could put up against them. With no other option, Natsuko knelt down and pressed her forehead into the dirt. Cunegonde¡¯s foot ground against the back of Natsuko¡¯s head. ¡°Oh Gods, you really did it! Ahaha, that¡¯s hilarious! What an obedient little doggy. Just like Kane here,¡± Cunegonde said, giggling. ¡°Now, say you¡¯ll do anything to hear my divine voice answer your silly little question.¡± Natsuko bit down on the inside of her cheek until she felt blood gush around her teeth. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything to hear your divine voice answer my silly little question, Cunegonde.¡± ¡°Excellent! Excellent! I feel like this is so much more natural for you than running around pretending to be a Top-Tier Hero. There¡¯s no way I could convince the Yishang, but if it were up to me, I''d have them take you with us so you could be my little maid. But, alas¡­¡± Natsuko said nothing, waiting for Cuneonde to answer. ¡°Oh, pooh! I was hoping you would at least burst into tears of shame. But, oh well. I have one last thing for you before I tell you why we haven¡¯t attacked and why I¡¯m not allowed to kill you yet. All you have to do is raise your right hand up behind you.¡± Natsuko complied, awkwardly pulling her right arm up above her. She felt Cunegonde take it in her gentle grasp and splay out her fingers like they were a stack of papers. ¡°H-Hey, what are you doing?¡± she heard Kane asked. A moment later Natsuko felt an icy sensation at the base of her index finger that blossomed into an agonizing pain like she had dipped it in boiling oil. She screamed in pain. Cunegonde¡¯s foot lifted from her head and Natsuko was able to lift her head and look at her hand. Where her index finger had been there was nothing but a bloody stump. Cunegonde cradled the severed finger with both hands. ¡°Aw, what an adorable manicure too. I love the shade of red. So cute!¡± Blinking back tears of pain, Natsuko glared up at Cunegonde, prompting even more laughter from the Xian. ¡°Oh, and I¡¯m still not going to answer your questions. You know why? Because I think it¡¯s funnier that you had your finger chopped off for nothing." The next thing Natsuko knew, her ears were filled with the chunking sound of a forced dimension-jump. A panting, wild-eyed Kane stood with an FDJ rod clasped in his hands over a flashing polygon in Cunegonde¡¯s color palette. The ensuing relief was almost enough to wipe away the pain of her lost finger. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Kane asked. Natsuko moaned and her throat closed around her words, but eventually she croaked, ¡°no,¡± and gestured in the direction of Verm?genburgh with her left hand clutched over her bleeding right. They began to move in that direction when they heard Cunegonde¡¯s laughter behind them. ¡°Goodness, Kane, when did you grow such a large pair?¡± Cunegonde said. An icy fear ran through Natsuko¡¯s mind as she turned to find Cunegonde standing there in the flesh. ¡°I guess you weren¡¯t supposed to find out you can¡¯t dimension-jump us yet. Oh well! Not like knowing that helps you. Although your attempt was quite uncomfortable. I¡¯m not allowed to kill you yet, but acting this naughty deserves some kind of punishment. Maybe I¡¯ll take your whole hand.¡± Terror hijacked the part of Natsuko¡¯s brain telling her to collect more intel and she bolted for the forest while Cunegonde gleefully floated after her. Natsu considered turning on Black Fire, which at least would be difficult and risky for Cunegonde to teleport to, but at the last second realized this would leave Kane at her mercy. Grinding her teeth to distract herself from the pain of her severed finger, Natsu whirled on Cunegonde and fired off Megaton point-blank in her face. Chapter 155 - The Editing of Special Event Fields Natsuko''s Megaton wasn¡¯t going to kill a Xian, much less the supercharged version the Yishang had turned Cunegonde into. What it did do was compress a lot of air all at once, something that operated outside of HP damage. It was also something that had an equal and opposite reaction. Natsuko slammed through a line of trees. The world tumbled around her and air shot out of her chest faster than she could suck more in. The leftover ball of fire and smoke obscured what had happened to Cunegonde, but it was hard to imagine she was in any better shape. The smoke crackled with purple electricity and Kane burst out of it, racing towards the forest. Natsuko stopped her momentum by using Swap on a nearby squirrel who was turned to mush against a pine tree. Ignoring her instinct to save herself at all costs, she waited for Kane to catch up. Right as he arrived at the line of smashed trees, Cunegonde floated out of the Megaton cloud, her body unnervingly still and covered in burn marks. On her face was an expression of hatred. Gone was the sadistic mirth from toying with Natsuko. ¡°Fuck the Yishang. You two die here,¡± Cunegonde said. She raised her hand in the same way she had before annihilating the top of Hammertal Canyon. The Area of Effect of the invisible ability was impossible to calculate, but even being clipped by it would kill outright from HP damage, or otherwise do the kind of bodily damage that would leave them both living as disembodied heads. With half a second to think but not nearly enough time to go through the casting process for her Desperation Art, Natsuko looked for anything that could help, and as though the Yishang themselves had sent her a lifeline, she found what she was looking for: A goblin camp. Kane¡¯s face as Natsuko hit him with her bottle was painted with shock and betrayal. She mouthed an apology as he was thrown through the ground and then turned the bottle on herself right as the world above exploded with a world-shaking crack and she was pitched into peaceful oblivion. As Natsuko rode an invisible trajectory into the dark, the pain in her finger stump disappeared. Her fingers themselves disappeared. And for a blissful moment, Natsuko felt separated and protected against the harsh world of noise and light she had just escaped, wrapped in a dark cocoon of nothingness. To her immediate and intense regret, this dark journey ended with her thrown to a rocky stone floor beside a catatonically confused Kane. The pain in her finger exploded back into reality. ¡°Shit, shit! Son of a fuck! Ow!¡± Natsuko wandered in circles clutching her hand while praying the pain would dull. Realizing it wouldn¡¯t, and that if Cunegonde wasn''t lying that this was permanent, she used one of her Jack spells to conjure a flame sword and pressed it against the finger stump until it scorched over into an oozing, charred scab. It continued to throb with pain but at a more manageable level with the nerve endings burned to a crisp. ¡°W-Where are we? Why did you dimension-jump me?¡± Kane asked, glancing around at the stone chamber with a collapsed pile of rocks on one end. ¡°This is a dungeon the Yishang never finished building,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Wait, the Yishang make dungeons?¡± Kane asked. There were times when his naivety was charming. Other times not so much. This time it was the latter. For the moment she ignored him and paced around the room to calm herself down before planning their next move. ¡°Are we safe?¡± he asked. Natsuko glanced up at him. ¡°I think so, but don¡¯t let your guard down. Cunegonde might be able to teleport in here if she knows it exists." ¡°So what do we do now?¡± ¡°Wait,¡± she said, having no better answer than that for the time being. The trouble with leaving was that she had no way of knowing if and for how long Cunegonde might wait for them once she realized they were still on the Use-Rankings. And while she was reasonably confident she could make an upwards dimension-jump, it wasn¡¯t a guarantee. Shuixing was good at calculating the angles and the cosines and the tangents and all of that shit. Natsuko was not. Even with an enormous bullseye the size of any upwards trajectory there was still the chance of her accidentally redirecting herself or Kane downwards. furthermore, Kane did not look well. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked, seeing his nauseous face. ¡°Cunegonde¡­ I can¡¯t believe I was going to kill her. I thought I did kill her! But she¡¯s my friend, I-I¡ª I don¡¯t know why I did that, or why she was acting like that, or why she¡ª¡± His eyes roamed to the cauterized finger stump on Natsuko¡¯s right hand.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She chuckled sympathetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to tell you this, buddy, but Cunegonde was always like that. I know it doesn¡¯t make it any easier to stomach, but uh, thanks for saving me.¡± He nodded but his gloomy expression remained. Thinking of something, Natsuko snapped her remaining fingers. "We can continue our tour of Verm?genburgh down here! Wanna meet Charles?¡±
With all the chairs set aside for Numberspace journeys occupied, Shuixing dragged Hilda off to an abandoned classroom and asked her to administer the Aqua Shen. ¡°I should still have a vein right here,¡± Shuixing said, pointing out a spot on her thigh which was covered in a spiderweb of sunken veins. Hilda looked at her wearily, sighed, and pressed the needle into the space Shuixing indicated. A moment later the colors and lights and shapes dissolved into the shifting phantasmagoria that existed in the transit between Po-Lin and Numberspace when the former lost its firmness and sharp angles and the latter had not yet absorbed Shuixing into its abstractified nature. Her skin filled with glowing numbers and letters, ¡®FBE8C5,¡¯ and the spatial coordinates constituting her position in Po-Lin arose out of a hazy autumn dawn of brown, red, and yellow. If only she could stay here awhile, Shuixing thought, it might give her the key to how they could escape. And, she suspected, to what a world after Po-Lin might look like. This liminal space between light and number, digit and sound, was how she imagined the world to come. Unfortunately, this was nothing more than untestable conjecture. Shuixing had spent enough time outside of Numberspace that her mind did not return to whatever she had been doing the last time, but instead circled, reflecting on what it knew about Numberspace and itself. Through a combination of willpower and the serendipity of stumbling upon Pechorin¡¯s Entity Envelope, she snapped out of the loop and headed straight for the envelope housing the Special Event field for Pechorin and the others. Her fear before entering Numberspace was that she would not have enough time to stumble her way through the special event editing process. Her only experience with it had come from the fight with Baphomet, and the change had been a relatively minor and uncomplicated one. Using the field to reset Pechorin¡¯s spatial coordinates, however, was an order of magnitude more challenging. Especially once she realized that there was no way to insert specific coordinates. Although she had duplicated and modified an event trigger before, she now had to create one from scratch. Willing it into existence accomplished nothing, nor did inserting strings of numbers into the existing envelope. Shuixing was confronted yet again, as she had been so many times, with her own helplessness in Numberspace. Her and her team¡¯s knowledge of the realm had grown exponentially, yet despite their ballooning understanding, their ability to influence it had remained static. She was no more capable of modifying its characteristics than she had been in the two years leading up to that point. Her frustration morphed into despair and anxiety which sent her tumbling through another self-referential loop. Memories ripped from their physical environs populated her mind as tones of emotion and lines of data. Among them, no doubt emerging from its referential connection to the source of her frustration, was the conversation Shuixing had with Natsuko where her friend was convinced Pechorin himself made the dummy Special Event field she was attempting to edit. Even now she found the idea implausible when she herself couldn¡¯t create an event field or any trigger within it while being inside of Numberspace. But suppose he had? Suppose Pechorin had left her two years ago precisely to figure out how to accomplish such a feat. It was already possible to alter Special Event fields from within Po-Lin itself as they proved in their fight with Hemiola. But if that were the case, Pechorin ought to have been able to re-summon himself at any time. Yet he hadn¡¯t. Just as Shuixing felt like she was stumbling on some kind of answer, she was forced back into the physical world. Her dry mouth causing her to choke and cough, but before Hilda could run off to get her some water, Shuixing said, ¡°No! More Aqua Shen!¡±
¡°Who¡¯s a good boy? Who¡¯s a good boy!? You are! You are!!!¡± Natsuko said. Charles panted wildly as his hind leg stomped and his tail swept the floor behind him. Not only was the beast getting to see one of the three people he had ever interacted with in his seven year-long existence, but he was getting head scratches too. To top it off, Kane was ruffling the fur on his flanks up and down. Within minutes the proto-Pengwu¡¯s eyes were almost rolling back into his head. ¡°Where did you find him?¡± Kane asked. ¡°In that room,¡± Natsuko said, gesturing at one of the identical empty rooms in the interior courtyard. ¡°I wanted to take him with me but Shui said no.¡± ¡°Aw, I wanna take him with us!¡± Recalling what awaited them above, Natsuko was fairly certain he was safer down here. Though it was hardly a better existence. And if the world was ending, wouldn¡¯t it be better to let the little guy out to run around and stretch his legs at least a little? For a second Natsuko wondered whether she was thinking about Charles or Kane. ¡°We can try, but first I need to make sure we can get out ourselves. And also we need to make sure we¡¯re not dimension-jumping up into an ambush. It¡¯s only been¡­ uh¡­ an hour, maybe?¡± Natsuko said. For all she knew, only a few minutes had passed. ¡°If you have any ideas for what to do, lemme hear ¡®em.¡± Kane shook his head sadly and kept petting Charles. It was beginning to seem to Natsuko like their only option was to roll the dice and brave another attack from Cunegonde. Before she put any more thought into it, however, her deliberation was interrupted by a third figure who came into existence beside the two of them with the same immediacy as if they had been there all along and simply gone unnoticed. Natsuko¡¯s eyes glazed over trying to figure out whether the pain of having her finger cut off or exposure to the black space outside Po-Lin or some weird pheromone given off by Charles was the culprit of her hallucination. ¡°I have come in your hour of need, my lady,¡± Pechorin said. Chapter 156 - Conversing With the Abandoned Dungeon ¡°Kane? Do you see a strange guy in a dorky trench coat in front of you?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Um¡­ yes? Is he supposed to be there?¡± Kane said. Natsuko shook her head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°My sudden appearance is surprising, I know, but I have laid in wait for your darkest hour, that I might come to your aid,¡± he said, bowing deeply. Natsuko put a hand on her hip. ¡°You mean besides when I was being attacked by Boulanger and my other teammates?¡± ¡°Yes besides that,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°They would have killed me instantly.¡± ¡°And besides when Baphomet almost murdered Daisy and I with his inflated stats?¡± ¡°That too.¡± ¡°And when Cunegonde cut my finger off?¡± ¡°Red Hibiscus, Time has¡ª¡± ¡°Pech, you¡¯re an idiot,¡± Natsuko said. Pechorin glanced around the room trying to come up with something cool to say now that his opening lines had failed him and while his eyes were elsewhere he felt a thump in his chest. Natsuko had wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest and he could feel by the pulsing in her chest that she was sobbing and despite how many times he had imagined this exact scenario, he was now at a loss for what to do. It did not help that the arms he would¡¯ve hugged her back with were pinned at his side by Natsuko¡¯s bear hug. He looked over at Kane who shrugged. ¡°When Daisy does this I just kinda do nothing and let her get it all out,¡± Kane said. Pechorin wondered briefly at the wisdom of such enlightened non-action before Natsuko said, ¡°if you don¡¯t hug me back I¡¯ll fucking dimension jump you back where you came from.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pinching my arms,¡± he replied. ¡°Oh¡­¡± She let go of her hug just enough to allow him to pull his arms free before re-tightening and Pechorin hugged her back. Even if his arrival wasn¡¯t as dramatic as he imagined, this was still pretty nice. The two of them stood there for several minutes while Natsuko waited for herself to stop sobbing so she wouldn¡¯t look pathetic. Unfortunately, her puffy eyes and tear trails were still visible on her face when she pulled away. ¡°How did you come back?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°I chose to,¡± he said. ¡°No, but seriously, how did you come back?¡± ¡°I am serious. You, me, Shuixing, Daisy, and Sofiane are all tied together by a Special Event Field, and due to our ability to alter the event slightly I was able to choose when to come back.¡± She punched him in the stomach. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you come back sooner? You dumbass!¡± He wheezed from the punch but managed to grunt down any verbalization of pain. ¡°I couldn¡¯t¡ª not yet. Shuixing had to realize that I could choose to come back before I could choose to come back.¡± ¡°What!? That doesn¡¯t make any sense! I swear to the gods, Pech, if this is more dramatic bullshit or whatever¡­¡± Still double-over from the punch he shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not. That¡¯s how it all worked. The part of me in Numberspace couldn¡¯t interact with Po-Lin directly, but Shuixing altered the rules of the event to make it so I could interact with myself. At that point I became able to re-summon myself.¡± Her expression softened. ¡°What about all that stuff about lying in wait for my hour of need then?¡± ¡°That was dramatic bullshit,¡± he said, massaging his chest and standing back up. She laughed, which to Pechorin¡¯s newly tangible ears was as sweet as caramel on the tongue. His twisted, tormented heart lightened at that. Natsuko turned and beamed at Kane. ¡°Hear that? Sounds like we can bring Yuna back!¡± Pechorin frowned. ¡°Not quite.¡± Natsuko matched his frown. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because there¡¯s no Special Event Field involving her. Not one that we have direct access to, anyway, and I can¡¯t create another because I don¡¯t have enough referential ties to her. I am sure Shuixing would put it more¡­ numerically, but to put it bluntly, I was only able to build our field due to our close relationships as a group. I just don¡¯t have enough ties to Yuna,¡± Pechorin said. Natsuko looked guiltily at Kane, who was too bewildered to have even processed her first proposal, and then back at Pechorin. ¡°Could you teach him and Daisy how to?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Natsu, but it¡¯s not something that can be explained in words. I know how I did it, but it required intense meditation in isolation for years. We don¡¯t have that kind of time. Besides, Yuna is out there. When we escape, she¡¯ll escape with us,¡± Pechorin replied. Natsuko mussed up her hair, causing strands of it to pull out of her ponytail. ¡°Agh! Okay, fine, but at least the five of us can use this as a counter to being killed, right?¡± As she said this, she saw his hesitant expression. ¡°Aw hell, why not!? Can¡¯t we catch one gods-damned break!?¡± ¡°I believe we can have Shuixing replicate this form of protection. The trouble is that it won¡¯t help us if we are killed by HP damage, since we are now designated villains. If that happens, our own, lower-priority Special Event will be in conflict with the Yishang¡¯s higher-priority Special Event which explicitly declares us dead and defeated. Ironic, isn¡¯t it? Our quest began because Shui invented a way to kill someone permanently without HP loss, and now this is the only hazard we are immune to.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Fuck. Well that¡¯s a big problem,¡± Natsuko said, pacing the floor of the dungeon courtyard. Charles sensed something was wrong and trotted off to pace with her. While Natsuko calmed herself down, Kane explained their current situation and about Cunegonde waiting for them outside and finally about Natsuko¡¯s severed finger which Pechorin had completely failed to notice upon being re-summoned. ¡°Sorry about your finger, by the way,¡± he said. She looked over from the other side of the courtyard then down at her hand. ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯ve only gotta live with it for a few days. I just gotta make sure the shithead above us doesn¡¯t cut off any more or I won¡¯t be able to use my bottle.¡± There was something poetic about those words. Pechorin thought he might try and rearrange them: ¡°Up will not work. When the heavens loathe you, Jump sideways.¡± Natsuko was so happy to have Pechorin back that she almost slipped into the comfortable back-and-forth of telling him to shut-up. But having her own experience with poetry, she couldn¡¯t dismiss it so easily. His latest poem was in fact a better articulation of her own theory of poetics than Natsu herself could come up with. Poetry, as she understood it, was the sideways jump you could make when the heavens were keeping you down. And by forcing her brain to jump sideways, she recalled the couplets Pechorin sometimes added on to the end of his own or others haikus and added to it: ¡°No answer from heaven, Go looking in the dirt.¡± Recognizing that the situation called for poetry, Kane finished by declaiming: ¡°Roses are red, violets are blue¡ª oh no, I hope Daisy¡¯s okay!¡± Natsuko¡¯s brain froze trying to process the abortive poem and then burst out laughing. She locked eyes with Pechorin while laughing and seeing him excited to share some insight, Natsu realized he¡¯d come to the same conclusion she had. ¡°You wanna try dimension-jumping sideways, huh?¡± Natsuko asked. ¡°Shuixing mentioned Zhidao doing it over a long distance one time,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°It¡¯s possible, or even likely, Zhidao was lying. But as I recall, the original use of dimension-jumping was to bypass walls. Using it to kill wyverns was something you came up with years later. So it¡¯s not impossible to think that if we could line it up correctly we could dimension-jump at a slight diagonal angle to come up in Po-Lin miles away from Cunegonde.¡± ¡°How about we go ahead and try that then?¡± she said. As the only one besides Charles who had been down to the abandoned dungeon before, Natsuko led the way back to the brick entrance hall that she, Shuixing, and Sofiane had fallen into when they first entered the dungeon. Once there, she was able to orient herself based on how they had fallen. Facing the stairs that led down to the courtyard, Verm?genburgh was a little less than 180 degrees behind her. With that figured out she emulated what she had seen Shuixing do and arrived at what she thought was a passable trajectory for someone hit by her bottle to fly through the wall at a shallow incline. The one question mark that was impossible for any of them to erase was that they had no idea how much distance there was between the forgotten dungeon and the surface of Po-Lin, making calculating the precise angle of that incline almost impossible. Once she was halfway confident she wouldn''t kill them, Natsuko went back down to grab one of the non-de-spawning rocks and used it to mark her calculations on the wall. While she did this, Pechorin leaned against the wall making up poetry. Kane, who did not have a way to instantly pop back into existence if Natsuko made a mistake, was sweating and fidgeting, the most his manners allowed him to protest. Natsuko pat him on the shoulder. "You''ll be alright, buddy." She was calculating that if he wasn''t alright, he wouldn''t be in a state to know. Well, truthfully she didn''t know that for sure. "Pech, are you still conscious while dimension-jumped?" she asked. "Sort of. It''s a different state of consciousness, but you still exist. Sometimes your life outside weaves into the phantoms and spirits that populate the world beyond," Pechorin said. She turned back to Kane. "Okay, you''ll maybe be alright. I''m trying my best here." "Um... could I double check your math then?" Kane said, looking guilty for having any doubt in her geometrical ability. She shrugged and stepped out of his way. She watched Kane touch the wall markings and then glare at them as though they had insulted him. He did this for a couple minutes then said, "can I see the bottle?" Natsuko handed it to him and he repeated his scrutiny on the bunt with its many diamond-shape nubs. He then coughed and blushed and looked away from her. "Um... I think you didn''t factor in the angle of the nubs well enough. I can see you considered that hitting someone upwards will bounce them between the two angles and they''ll be forced downwards, but it''s still too low even with what you have here. I think the result if you hit us center mass is about a 1.5¡ã decline," Kane said. Natsuko gaped. "Dude... what is your Cognition stat?" "Um, 657?" "What the fuck? That''s trash! How did you¡ª" "Cognition as a stat works the way Force and so forth do. In specific circumstances and contexts only. Otherwise it''s irrelevant," Pechorin said. "But Shuixing was able to figure out all of the Numberspace stuff by artificially blowing up her Cognition stat," Natsuko said. Pechorin shrugged. "Placebo, probably. You''re more likely to succeed in something if you''re convinced you''re more capable of succeeding." "Well shit... Anyway, once you make your corrections, Kane, we can get the hell outta here." Kane picked a different spot on the wall and made markings similar to Natsuko. Once they were complete, Pechorin volunteered to be the first one punted through the abyss so that if the calculations were still off he could pop back into existence. Natsuko launched him through the wall and, after waiting a few minutes to be sure the total Use-Number didn''t drop, they decided the trajectory was safe and Kane lined up next. After he was sent, Natsu looked back to Charles who was staring at her out of bright yellow eyes. "You wanna go up too?" she asked. Charles cocked his head sideways. After some gesturing, he picked up that Natsuko wanted him to stand in front of the white markings on the wall and he padded over to it. Unlike her previous two targets, Charles was a little more fidgety, and she was worried about accidentally sending him in the wrong direction. After trying and failing to get him to keep still, she decided to just go for it and hope for the best. After that, she was alone in the abandoned dungeon. Before she left herself, Natsuko''s hands caressed the wall. Despite having only come here twice, she felt a strange sort of nostalgia for the place. Maybe it was even sympathy. It was twice now that this forgotten dungeon had saved her. First, when it triggered her and Shuixing''s initial awareness about the strange logic of Po-Lin that would go on to form the basis for their dissection of it. And now, more directly, saving her from Cunegonde by giving her and Kane a place to hide. The dungeon had done none of this of its own volition, and yet, just like Natsuko herself, the dungeon too was a line of numbers stored in some higher realm where the Celestials lived. When the Celestials themselves refused to believe she was a sentient being with her own desires and fears, how could she say the same thing about this dungeon, simply because it didn''t have a mouth to speak? Maybe she was being silly, but she felt the need to say to the dungeon: "We''ll make sure to take you with wherever we''re going." And with that promise to it, she lined herself up against the wall, lifted the bottle above herself, and swung it down, sending her through the darkness between planes. The Christmas Interlude Special Event ¡°This is ridiculous. We were supposed to be done pandering to the Celestials for numbers!¡± Natsuko said. Sofiane pitched the bridge of his nose. After all the preparations, all the tinsel and lights he¡¯d strung up around The Devil¡¯s Cut, the pine tree he lugged into the bar and decorated, the cookies he baked for Daisy to decorate, and all the outfits he planned for them, now he also had explain to Natsuko why all of this was necessary. ¡°Listen, this is for a different set of numbers and a different set of Celestials. This isn¡¯t about Emanations or Use-Numbers or anything, this is about favorites and followers and comments. It¡¯s totally different,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°It¡¯s literally the exact same thing! You¡¯re even going to make me wear a stupid Santa outfit, I know you are!¡± Natsuko said. ¡°I swear on my life I would never,¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko squinted at him. ¡°Fine. But I still say this is selling ourselves to the Celestials for numbers, even if it¡¯s for ¡®followers¡¯ or whatever, we¡¯re still doing stupid and humiliating things because the Celestials want us to!¡± Sofiane ignored her and returned to stirring the pot of mulled wine behind the counter of the Devil''s Cut. The event was starting soon and for once he expected it to go more smoothly if Natsuko was liquored up. He was unaware he was ironically reproducing the things they were trying to escape from in the main branch of the story, but as Shuixing had discovered on one of her journeys to Numberspace, they were all emanations of characters in a web serial called Forgotten Girl Quest, and if they didn¡¯t play along with the Christmas Interlude Special Event, the main story might go on hiatus prevent them from escaping from Po-Lin. These jovial, yuletide festivities were a life-or-death special event that Shuixing had sworn him to silence about. They all had roles to play to ensure the story¡¯s statistics went up through fan service, but the terrible existential knowledge of their existence on RoyalRoad could very well ruin the event if anyone besides he and Shuixing found out. Annoying as it was to deal with, even Natsu being a grumpy spoilsport was part of the mini-arc of her finding the Christmas spirit towards the end of the chapter. If she knew that character development was part of her unwitting performance, Natsuko would throw a fit and leave the chapter. ¡°Here,¡± Sofiane said, thrusting a piping mug of mulled wine at her. ¡°Drink.¡± ¡°Hey, I just overcame my alcoholism! The Celestials are gonna think this is some kind of regression if I start drinking again,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll toss it.¡± ¡°No!¡± Natsuko snatched the mug out of his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t waste perfectly good alcohol!" On the other side of The Devil¡¯s Cut, Team Harald was busy wrapping presents. ¡°We should just chuck everything in bags,¡± Harald said. ¡°Or, hell, just hand them to people. Who cares if they''re wrapped? It¡¯s still a surprise if you give it to them at the last second.¡± Margaret rolled her eyes. ¡°We¡¯re not going to leave gifts unwrapped just because you¡¯re too clumsy to wrap them correctly.¡± The pile of gifts around Harald, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the bar, were crumpled and lumpen with ends of tape sticking up. Margaret¡¯s presents were the exact opposite, each intricately folded and perfectly-shaped regardless of the dimensions of the gift itself. She was, however, working at a rate of around one gift per 15 minutes due to wrapping one-handed with the other holding a glass of spiked eggnog. The real workhorse was Faisal turning out one immaculate present every thirty seconds. ¡°How come you¡¯re so good at this, Faisal?¡± Gomiko asked, struggling to wrap a bottle-shaped gift without ripping the paper. Faisal shrugged. ¡°Just a character trait, I guess.¡± ¡°Oh good, you finally have something other than being the straight man. Congrats!¡± Natsuko called out from the bar counter where she was sucking leftover wine out of an orange slice garnish. Faisal blushed at that and Margaret gently patted his hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Faisal, you play an integral role in the party dynamics by contrasting with our stronger personalities." ¡°Thanks,¡± Faisal said. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll get one of those little character card things and it¡¯ll list my likes as: ¡®Wrapping gifts¡¯ and my dislikes as ¡®interesting dialogue¡¯.¡± ¡°That¡¯s better than mine would be,¡± Gomiko said. ¡°Mine would just say ¡®Sofiane¡¯ under likes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all you need, babe,¡± Sofiane called out from the bar where he was ladling mulled wine into mugs. Gomiko snorted. ¡°Uh-huh. Right. Well, my standard for a long time was literally even having a name, so that¡¯s an improvement. And I do have other interests, they¡¯re just not important enough to show off.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Harald asked, giving up on his half-wrapped ball of crumpled paper and tossing it in a bag. ¡°Mixology. I like making drinks. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic,¡± Gomiko said. Taking her second mug of mulled wine with her, Natsuko stood up from the bar and wandered over to throw an arm around Gomiko. ¡°Heyyyy. I feel like we don¡¯t get enough character interaction time, you and me,¡± Natsu said. ¡°How do you feel about a little screen time action?¡± Meanwhile, over by the Christmas tree, Daisy and Pechorin were decorating a tray of cookies. Daisy¡¯s goal was to make cookies themed after everyone. She started with her own, which was a sugar cookie with a cliff of pink frosting, a tablespoon of pure glitter, and streaks of glossy red icing which she tried to write her name with before running out of space at ¡®S¡¯. She got around this by running a thin trail of red icing in a squiggly Y-shape over the top and curving down around the side of the cookie. ¡°Hehe. Nailed it,¡± she said. Across from her, Pechorin was busy painting cookies with black frosting. Once he had enough, he used red icing to spell out ¡®seasonal depression¡¯ across the plate. Daisy looked up from her own work as Sofiane handed them both mugs of mulled wine and finally caught sight of Pechorin¡¯s handiwork. ¡°Umm¡­ nice work?¡± Daisy said. ¡°It¡¯s a statement piece,¡± Pechorin explained. ¡°Sweetness by itself is saccharine and shallow. However, when paired with reminders of the world¡¯s bitterness and disappointment, the sweetness develops a more mature and complex depth to it by contrast.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ Uh¡­ Very deep! Please don¡¯t touch any more cookies, though. I still have everyone¡¯s personal cookies to do and if you try and spell ¡®re-gifted present¡¯ I¡¯m not gonna have any left to work with,¡± Daisy said. Pechorin nodded. ¡°I understand.¡± He got up and moved somewhere else leaving Daisy to her task of decorating the remaining cookies with the sweet end of the bittersweet continuum. Shuixing¡¯s cookie she decorated with a deep blue background before adding little cerulean bubbles. Sofiane¡¯s was mostly bare except for lattices of lavender lace and ribbons winding across it. Pechorin¡¯s was all black but Daisy added splotches of glossy red icing resembling blood splatters. At Natsuko¡¯s Daisy ran into a conceptual block. Obviously it would be red, but beyond that, she wasn¡¯t sure what else to do. The obvious decoration was a bottle, but somehow that felt like a lazy cop-out. Daisy took a few sips of her mulled wine while she pondered what to do before she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up to find Sofiane staring down at her. ¡°Put little pink hearts on it,¡± he said, his face somber and serious. ¡°Really?" ¡°Just do it,¡± he said. Daisy pouted. Something was off about both him and Shuixing but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on it. Sofiane had been running around micromanaging things as if the universe would collapse if the Celestials weren¡¯t amused by them and Shuixing was pounding down hard whiskey in the corner and staring off into space. Daisy resolved to get to the bottom of it after she was done putting little pink hearts on Natsuko¡¯s cookie. However, as she was standing up, Daisy had a terrifying realization of existential proportion: ¡°Oh gods, we aren¡¯t in appropriate Christmas outfits!¡± Daisy screamed. The reaction to that announcement was not what she expected. Natsuko and Pechorin both groaned while Shuixing and Sofiane dropped what they were doing to grab the boxes with everyone¡¯s outfits, thrust them into people¡¯s hands, and shooed them out the door. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°You said you weren¡¯t going to put me in a gods-damned Santa outfit!¡± Natsuko said, taking her third mug of mulled wine with her as Sofiane pushed her out the door. ¡°And I¡¯m not, now get changed!¡± Sofiane said. Apart from Sofiane, the men were changed a few minutes later and ended up standing around the emptied bar waiting for the girls. Their outfits were all red-and-green gift-wrap tuxedos with their weapons and little chibi versions of themselves printed across the front. Pechorin¡¯s tuxedo was printed with un-festive pistols and tiny frowning versions of himself. ¡°This is not very dark and brooding¡­¡± Pechorin said, matching his chibi-version¡¯s frown. ¡°Yeah, I¡­ don¡¯t know how I feel about this,¡± Faisal said, his own chibi version wrapping gifts in different positions all over his tuxedo. ¡°Aside from being tacky, we only established the gift-wrapping thing as a personality trait half an hour ago.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that bad. Quit whining,¡± Harald said. His own design was of himself flexing or swinging his halberd. ¡°Um¡­ I think I agree with Faisal on this,¡± Kane said, wearing a suit printed with chibi versions of Yuna with X''s for eyes and himself crying over them. Pechorin stroked his chin. ¡°Of the four, yours is by far the most comically tragic. I am envious.¡± ¡°D-Do you want to switch? I don¡¯t really want to wear a tuxedo with my dead teammate all over it¡­¡± Pechorin agreed and by the time the girls were filing back in, he was wearing the dead Yuna tuxedo and Kane was wearing the brooding Pechorin one. ¡°Aw, you traded costumes, that¡¯s so cute!¡± Daisy said as she skipped into the room wearing a green santa outfit with white fur hems so short they relied on Yishang physics to remain RoyalRoad-appropriate. The one nod to her usual color-scheme was a pink ribbon holding her blonde hair in a tall ponytail. Sofiane arrived next dressed as a golden angel complete with wings and halo that nonetheless threaded the needle of being innocuously non-denominational to Western Celestials yet exotically Western for Eastern Celestials. The only blemish was that he accessorized the outfit with a frown that didn¡¯t match the angelic joy of the costume. The frown only deepened when he beheld Pechorin and Kane¡¯s outfit swap. ¡°No. This? Not happening,¡± he said, gesturing at the two of them. ¡°I¡¯m afraid what has been done cannot be undone,¡± Pechorin said. ¡°It can be undone in about three minutes in the bathroom. Make it happen,¡± Sofiane said. Before Sofiane could grab them and drag them off to change he felt a hand on his shoulder. Shuixing was standing behind him wearing a low-effort outfit consisting of a long-skirt, black stockings, and an ugly Christmas sweater with the words ¡®I am too rational to believe in Santa Claus¡¯ embroidered on the front. The only other touch was that her regular eyeglasses had been replaced with frames shaped like the number 2048. ¡°Let them swap. It¡¯s in character,¡± Shuixing said. Sofiane sighed. ¡°Fine. You can wear the dead Yuna tuxedo, Pech.¡± ¡°With pride,¡± Pechorin said. Still grumpy about having to micro-manage the Christmas-themed chapter to perfection or otherwise put the universe on hiatus, Sofiane went over to the bar to slam down the rest of his now lukewarm mulled wine. This sour mood lasted right up until he heard Gomiko¡¯s voice outside the door. ¡°I-I can¡¯t! It¡¯s too embarrassing! W-Why can¡¯t I just wear the nose?¡± he heard Gomiko say. ¡°The outfit is the outfit, dear. The Celestials want to see it,¡± Margaret replied. Margaret opened the door wearing an outfit that was an almost exact match of Daisy¡¯s cute Santa outfit except that it was red instead of green and with her cigarette holder wand pinning her hair up. Her satin-gloved hand yanked at a furry brown hand pulling in the opposite direction of the door frame. The furry hand seemed to be winning until Margaret called Harald over to help and the two of them forced Gomiko into the bar. Now in full view, Sofiane understood why she had been so resistant: Gomiko had been put in a reindeer onesie with fake antlers and a glowing red nose. Her face immediately turned as red as her nose and she tried to dive back for the door. Sofiane darted forward and caught her arm. ¡°Hey, I think it¡¯s cute, Frizzy." She looked at him with eyes bordering on tears. ¡°It¡¯s so humiliating! I got it because I¡¯m the only animal-themed Hero, but it¡¯s just¡ª¡± He kissed her on the plastic nose and said, ¡°I know. Just put up with it for tonight. And besides, it serves your adorable little face up on a platter so I can do this¡ª¡± Sofiane proceeded to blanket her face with bird-peck kisses until she was laughing and playfully pushing him away. Beholding the proceedings, Pechorin said, ¡°I¡¯m gonna vomit blood.¡± Faisal and Harald both grunted in agreement. Margaret, Daisy, and Kane, however, were all cooing about how cute it was. The public affection display lasted for almost a minute until the two lovers were pushed aside by a short, surly elf. ¡°Get the hell out of my way, I¡¯m not drunk enough for this shit,¡± Natsuko said. She was wearing a green elf dress, pointy ears and hat, slippers, and candy-cane striped stockings. Pechorin stifled a snicker at proving he was technically correct that he wasn¡¯t forcing Natsuko into a Santa outfit. In retaliation, Natsuko shoved Sofiane into a table as she stomped back inside the Devil¡¯s Cut to ladle herself a fourth mug of mulled wine. ¡°That¡¯s everyone, right? No more stupid outfits?¡± Natsuko asked. Sofiane dusted himself off. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve just got the gift unwrapping left. Then we¡¯re done with all this silliness.¡± ¡°Good,¡± she said before downing half the mug of wine in one gulp. Once the last of the mulled wine was doled out, the Heroes all gathered around the Christmas tree. Assuming each Hero had a present for every other Hero present, there should¡¯ve been around 90 presents under the tree. Fortunately, by Yishang magic, the presents were reduced to one per Hero, each of which were generated averages of whatever everyone had gotten them. The process of getting settled into seats, however, was more complex than anticipated. At first, Shuixing tried to replicate the sequential ordering she discovered in the post-chapter Statistics notes on RoyalRoad, but this quickly ran into issues when Sofiane insisted on sitting with Gomiko and Daisy wanted to sit beside Kane and after all of that had been settled, both Shuixing and Sofiane realized that among their duties as custodians of this alternative timeline was setting up a minimum of three yuri interactions with Natsuko. While the others were all sitting around the tree waiting to open gifts, Sofi and Shui convened behind the bar to figure out what to do next. ¡°Shit!" Sofiane whispered. "We¡¯ve got at least three more character interactions we have to push Natsuko through on top of reminding her she¡¯s in the middle of an arc to overcome her alcoholism. There¡¯s no way we get all that done before the chapter goes out at 7:15 EST!" Shuixing rubbed her temples. ¡°We¡¯ve still got time. We haven¡¯t done the present opening scene yet, after all. You made sure to set up the color-association yuri bait with Daisy¡¯s cookies, right? Daisy painted the Natsuko-colored hearts that are supposed to lead into an erotically-charged character interaction?¡± ¡°I made damn sure,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Good,¡± Shuixing said. ¡°In that case we can, at a minimum, yuri-bait the Celestials with Natsuko and Daisy. And I¡¯m sure I can whip something mildly romantic up between Natsu and I. The real trick is going to be coming up with an interaction between her and Gomiko.¡± Sofiane made a face. ¡°Must we?¡± Shuixing glared at him through her 2048 new-year glasses. ¡°Unless you want to put our entire universe on hiatus right as we¡¯re about to find a way to escape Po-Lin, set up a gods-damned lesbian romance situation between your girlfriend and Natsuko.¡± Sofiane massaged his decorative, free-floating halo. ¡°Ugh. But how are we going to fit all of that and some kind of moral lesson about the true meaning of Christmas on top of Natsu¡¯s overcoming alcoholism arc in the remaining words?" At the mention of all the other things they still needed to pack into the Christmas Interlude Special Event, Pechorin watched Shuixing¡¯s face fall into her hands. Unlike their main story versions whose continued existence was tied to chronological time extending as long as necessary to cover the story and characters elements required, their Christmas-themed emanations had a fixed word limit to attract and keep the Celestials¡¯ attention. Their entire universe hinged upon whether they could force Natsuko into a yuri-themed encounter with another Hero. Sofiane steepled his hands over his mouth. ¡°Okay. At this point we are already a thousand words over the usual chapter length. If we want to fit three yuri-bait encounters, a gift unwrapping, a Natsuko character development mni-arc, and a lesson about the true meaning of Christmas into the remainder of this chapter, we need to start thinking strategically and stop wasting precious word count.¡± Refusing to waste any more time and word count that could be better spent on precious story, setting, or character development that would engage Celestial readership and compel them to follow, favorite, or comment, Shuixing nodded. ¡°Good idea," she said. However, right as Shui was saying this, Natsuko and Pechorin were engaging in a character-developing conversation which was clearly driving towards some kind of romantic climax. The cause of this scene was Pechorin pointing out that a sprig of holly had been hung in the rafters of the bar which implicated them in a scene where they would be required to kiss one another. Both Shuixing and Sofiane looked on with horror as Natsuko blushed and prepared to ruin 150+ chapters worth of meticulous yuri-baiting on a single heterosexual kiss. Shuixing gasped. ¡°Oh no! If they kiss in the side-chapter it could ruin the emotional catharsis of the main-line story and torpedo reader engagement!¡± Sofiane slapped her across the cheek. ¡°Go! For gods sakes, go!¡± Knowing what she had to do, Shuixing bolted for Natsuko and Pechorin sitting around the Christmas tree and right as the latter was about to finally pierce through the former''s tsundere shell, Shuixing dove between them, timing her leap to intercept Natsuko and Pechorin¡¯s kiss. For a fraction of a second, her lips grazed her Natsuko¡¯s before Shuixing tumbled into the Christmas tree. For a moment afterwards, Shuixing lay tangled in a pile of lights, ornaments, and pine tree branches. The other Heroes gathered around her, shocked by her out-of-character display. Natsuko touched her own lips, still tingling from the electricity of her best friend¡¯s brief yuri encounter. In that split second, she had come to realize the true meaning of Christmas: Co-opting the positive feelings Celestials felt towards the holiday for the purpose of boosting engagement metrics. ¡°Did I save the timeline?¡± Shuixing asked, straightening her glasses. Natsuko set aside her mulled wine, resolving not to bury the awkwardness of human interaction beneath a blanket of inebriation, and pulled her best-friend-turned-ephemeral-lesbian-romantic-encounter-partner Shuixing out of the pile of Christmas debris and said, ¡°yes, Shui, you saved Christmas.¡± Chapter 157 - Floating Among the Reeds of Verm?genburgh On the return trip to the surface, Natsuko felt like she was adjusting to the leaps through the darkness between planes. The analgesic quality of incorporeality was also a nice little perk considering her cauterized finger stump was still throbbing away. When she popped out the other side, however, she was confronted with the double-shock of being once again in a physical body as well as in a body of water. Panic set in as her brain caught up with the danger. The water in her mouth was salty, not the freshwater of the Verm?genburgh moat, meaning she''d jumped them all into the ocean to the east of the region. This was already a pretty bad miscalculation, but drowning was also one of the few methods that worked equally well to kill a Level 1 as a Level 105 Hero. You had a breathing meter which lasted exactly 30 seconds before you died, regardless of stats. Natsuko picked a direction and prayed it was up. To her horror, her hands found the bottom. Turning herself around, she kicked off the sand and began struggling in the direction of the dark surface. Right as her breathing meter was about to tick down, she broke the surface, gasping for air. On the beach 20 yards away Pechorin and Kane were watching her while being annoyingly dry. ¡°Need help?¡± Pechorin called out. Natsuko¡¯s next challenge was to ignore the embarrassment of almost dying 20 yards from shore in an ocean that was probably not designed to go deeper than a hundred feet or so at any point. Fortunately, the sea salt creeping into her wound was more urgent than her embarrassment. When she got to the beach she shook herself off, but her clothes were already soaked through. ¡°Let¡¯s just get back to town. I need to dry off and I can¡¯t start a fire out here with Cuntagonde flying around,¡± Natsuko said. Kane didn¡¯t understand the nickname and looked like he was about to ask her about it. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± she said. Fortunately, the city of Verm?genburgh was closer to the eastern coast of its region than the western. Within half an hour they were on the trail of the city''s glowing ball of light and after another half hour they arrived at the copse of trees behind the city where Natsuko first tried her hand at poetry. She deliberately took the two of them along a path which brought them near the reedy moat. Pechorin hummed for a moment then popped out with: ¡°Reeds in the wind¡ª Though the way ahead is dark, They bend toward the light.¡± It was probably the first time Natsuko found herself wondering what his poems meant, or at least what inspired them. Glancing down at the reeds, she realized the haiku was literal: The reeds were indeed blowing in the wind which was pushing west towards Verm?genburgh and the light of its many lanterns and searchlights. The side facing them caught the light and glowed golden in the dark. Natsuko wanted to add a couplet but at the last second realized she had nothing beautiful to add and kept silent. A badly-paired couplet would only ruin the effect. ¡°You really like poetry, huh?¡± Kane asked. ¡°I dabble,¡± Pechorin replied. Natsuko snorted. ¡°So does Daisy,¡± Kane said. ¡°But she doesn¡¯t really recite it to anyone. She just writes it in a notebook we¡¯re not allowed to read.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard a bit of it. She¡¯s a good poet,¡± Pechorin said. That statement bothered Natsuko for reasons she couldn¡¯t fathom. After all, Daisy and Pechorin had connected with each other over poetry countless times back when they were first traveling together. And it was entirely reasonable for Pechorin to compliment her. ¡°I¡¯ve picked it up too,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°It¡¯s not very good, but, you know, I just started and all¡­¡± Pechorin nodded, his gaze fixed on the town. The walls were manned and ranged FDJ weapons pointed toward them. ¡°I heard your couplet. May I hear another?¡± Pechorin asked. Natsuko blushed. ¡°Y-You mean, just like¡ª right now? Off-the-cuff?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an act, not a text. If you¡¯re connected with your subject, the words will come unbidden and surprise you with their suitability,¡± he said. Natsuko nodded, took a deep breath, and let the poem come: ¡°Though the reeds face¡­ dark, Maybe there is also comfort¡ª¡± Shit, that was eight syllables. She wanted to stop and restart, but the other two were waiting for her to spit out the last line. ¡°Umm¡­ in the cool darkness." Pechorin nodded thoughtfully. She gazed up at him. The anxiousness of waiting to hear his response was somehow worse than her throbbing finger stump. ¡°I think the problem is that you don¡¯t have your own personal poetics yet,¡± he said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t replicate someone else¡¯s theory of poetry, but you should at least begin from one before developing your own sense for what poetry is meant to accomplish and how to compose it in such a way to best accomplish this end.¡± Natsuko frowned. ¡°Pech?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°You¡¯re an ass.¡± He blinked. ¡°I apologize if that came out sounding curt. I meant no offense by it. I simply take poetry seriously and want to help you¡ª¡± ¡°Stop talking,¡± she said. Kane looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what killed the vibe. He knew asking the two of them directly would make matters worse¡ªa lesson he learned from his own teammates¡ªso he put up with the awkward silence as they walked around to the front of the city walls. When they arrived at the bridge, Sofiane was waiting for the three of them looking deeply unamused. His carefully constructed look of irritation crumbled, however, upon seeing Pechorin again. Pech stuck out a hand for him but Sofiane ignored it and threw his former teammate into a hug. ¡°Gods, I saw you''d popped back onto the Use-Rankings, but it didn¡¯t feel real until I saw you in the flesh,¡± Sofiane said. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Heavy with the weight of my sins,¡± Pechorin replied. ¡°Same as always, great to hear. Now where the hell did you two get off too!?¡± Sofiane asked, turning to Natsu and Kane. Natsuko explained, ¡°I was showing Kane around Verm?genburgh and we were attacked by Cunegonde. We¡ª¡± ¡°Why were you wandering off when we¡¯re dealing with Hero incursions!? What if you two got dimension-jumped!?¡± Sofiane said, hands on his hips. Natsuko grinned. ¡°We did get dimension-jumped. Isn¡¯t that right, Kane?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Kane said, snapping out of his thoughts which were preoccupied with wondering where that weird dog Natsuko called Charles had gone. ¡°Oh, uh, yeah but you were the one that did it, Natsu.¡± Natsuko put her face in her palm. The next thing she needed to explain to Kane was how to commit to a bit. ¡°Look, I get that it¡¯s boring waiting around for something to happen, but¡ª gods woman, what the fuck happened to your hand!?¡± Sofiane said. Natsuko brought her hand up and looked at the stump as if it were a minor curiosity. ¡°I lost my finger.¡± ¡°Yeah. Where? How? Can you, I don¡¯t know, un-lose it?¡± Natsuko wiggled the stump at him. ¡°Nope! I have confirmation from Cunegonde herself, who is a Xian now, for your information, and one of her new abilities is that anything she destroys stays destroyed. When you think about it, Kane and my excursion was really a fact-finding expedition, and¡ª¡± Sofiane groaned and rubbed his temples. ¡°We have an intelligence team for that very reason. Please don¡¯t wander off again, okay? If the other Heroes attack us while you''re gone it would be a complete route. Daisy would stand no chance against the Top 8, who I assume are all Xians like Cunegonde?¡± Natsuko nodded. ¡°Fuck me¡­¡± Sofiane said. ¡°Not like we can do anything about it, I guess. I¡¯ll call it a win that we have Pechorin back. Especially since I suspect we can turn his guns into the FDJ weapon to end all FDJ weapons.¡± ¡°And! And, and, and, I got even more information,¡± Natsuko said, gesticulating with an invisible finger. ¡°The Yishang are holding the Xian back for something, so if we put the research team to work on trawling the Yishang¡¯s letters to each other, we might be able to figure out why.¡± ¡°Natsu?¡± Sofiane asked. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Thank you. But don¡¯t wander off again.¡± ¡°Fine. Do you know if Shuixing is free? I wanna talk to her about cleaning up my finger.¡± ¡°Not happening,¡± Sofiane replied. ¡°She¡¯s gonna be busy with research. I¡¯ll see if I can find someone else.¡± True to his word, Sofiane found someone in town who technically had medical experience. Natsuko felt hopeful about getting her wound treated until she arrived at Team Harald¡¯s wagon and learned that this medical professional was Margaret who, in her own words, had, ¡°dressed up as a nurse for a Halloween special event one time.¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know about this,¡± Natsuko said. Harald, Faisal, and Gomiko, sitting at the other end of the wagon and pretending they were focused on literally anything but the mutilated and scorched finger stump they snuck peeks at, said nothing about Margaret¡¯s dubious credentials. ¡°Trust me, dear, a costume is as good as the real thing as far as our world is concerned. Style is content, as they say,¡± Margaret said as she began pulling things out of the toolbox Joad scrounged up for her. The tools included hammers, nails, wrenches, and chisels. Natsuko bit her lip as she watched. ¡°Um¡­ I think I¡¯m good with just the fucked up stump, actually,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯ll scab over. It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Margaret replied, pulling out a scalpel. ¡°I know enough from my time roleplaying a sexy nurse to irrigate and debride the wound before putting bandages on. Luckily, I can also install a porcelain mechanical finger in its place.¡± ¡°Huh? How does that even work?¡± Natsuko asked. Margaret shrugged. ¡°The CPA tells me it should.¡± Against her better judgement, Natsuko decided to place herself at the mercy of a sexy fake nurse and slapped her hand down on the barrel Margaret was sitting at. As they were about to get started, Harald came over with a leather strop and a bottle of rye whiskey from Deco Imperia. ¡°I¡¯m trying to cut the drinking,¡± Natsuko said. ¡°Yeah¡­ maybe consider a cheat day for this,¡± he said. ¡°Oh, and the strop is for biting.¡± Natsuko assumed that the CPA was also feeding him good advice from the Celestial realm and pounded down a few shots of whiskey before sticking the bit of leather in her mouth and biting into it. When Margaret brought the scalpel to bear against the charred stump, Natsuko started to see the wisdom in both the whiskey and the strop. Even through the fuzzy inebriation, the scalpel hurt more than Cunegonde¡¯s initial wound, and the potions Gomiko dumped onto the wound to irrigate it were still worse. By the time they were done cleaning the wound Natsuko had nearly bitten a hole through the leather strop. The wound, though, was clear and flushed and could now be safely wrapped in alcohol-soaked bandages. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± Natsuko said in-between swigs of whiskey. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d have to put this much effort into fixing an injury. Do the Celestials have to go through all this, or can they just eat food to regrow a finger?¡± Putting away her potions, Gomiko said, ¡°if we have to go through all this, it¡¯s because all that information from outside Po-Lin says that¡¯s how you treat a wound. That¡¯s how Sofa said the algorithm works anyway. I¡¯m guessing the Celestials probably can¡¯t heal injuries by eating a sandwich.¡± Natsuko wiggled her stump and wondered whether the world after Po-Lin would also have permanent injuries. She tried not to think too hard about it. Painful as the severed finger was, anything was better than quietly submitting to the lights being turned off. Before Cunegonde¡¯s attack on her, she''d imagined they were all fighting for a paradise to come, but that wasn¡¯t the complete truth. Clearly whatever came after would also involve suffering and injury, perhaps of the same variety that the Celestials were hoping to escape from by playing their versions of Po-Lin''s soft, fluffy world, and as she curled her incomplete fist, Natsuko resolved to fight for that world of suffering anyway.