TORITH

©2023 SUNRISECV

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CONTENTS

Also in Series

Prologue: Silvi Jacobs

1. Into Torith

2. The Crown Restaurant

3. Business

4. Enigma

5. Gracefall Manor

6. Walter Gracefall

7. Preparations

8. Dinner and Discussion

9. About a Girl

10. Boss

11. Making Plans

12. Room and Board

13. Adventurer’s Guild

14. Hunting

15. Offense

16. Becoming Official

17. Meeting Stella Again

18. Crown Membership

19. The True Value of Void Beasts

20. Alanah

21. Price

22. Joining the Club

23. Inncoming

24. Mission Probable

25. Silvi’s First Day

26. Intense Battle in the Kitchen

27. Clare

28. Fine Dining

29. Waiting Game

30. Hunting

31. One Last Boar

32. Mr. Hunt

33. City Lord

34. Heart to Heart

35. Paying a Visit

36. Derek, Dear…

37. Gerald Torith

38. Preparations Before Departure

39. Fury

40. Overseer

41. I’m Sorry

42. Oathbreaker

43. Rudy

44. I’ll be Back

45. Breaking Through

46. Skill Testing

47. A Noble Hunt

48. Murderbunny

49. Captain Herrett

50. A Noble Death

51. Jacks

52. Time Prison

53. Spreading Word

54. Leaving

55. Surprise

56. Wilmette

Epilogue

Thank you for reading Torith!

Groups

LitRPG

ALSO IN SERIES

System Change

Torith

Savannah

PROLOGUE: SILVI JACOBS

Silvi stared at where her portal used to be. It had closed before Derek could make it out. What could she do? Was he even still alive? Question after question poured through her mind as she stared into the distance.

Derek had saved Allison and Gerard, but he may have sacrificed himself in the process. No, he didn’t sacrifice himself. This was her fault. As Silvi thought of the implications of one of the strongest people on Earth being done in by a portal… by her portal… she shook her head as tears built up in her eyes.

Gerard placed his hand on her shoulder. “Is there anything you can do? Maybe he didn’t actually go inside, and he is still battling on the other side. I would bet money he could take on every one of those invaders and still come out alive.”

“No…” Silvi sniffed. “He made it inside the portal, but it closed just before he came out. He’s stuck there, alone… if he is even alive.”

Silvi stayed in the exact same spot for over half an hour—enough time for her mana pool to regenerate sufficiently to open another portal. She had a vain hope that when she opened it, Derek would be waiting, and he would just hop right out.

Allison hadn’t spoken a word since she came to the realization that John was gone and never coming back. It would have been hard enough for her to lose Andrea, who was one of her best friends in the world, or to lose John, who she had been with since before the system came, but to lose both her best friend and her boyfriend at the same time… Silvi didn’t know if the girl would ever be okay.

Finally, Silvi had enough mana to use Portal and keep it open for a short time. She stood and wiped at the tear marks imprinted on her face before focusing ahead. In the same exact spot she had previously erected a portal, she summoned a new one.

The portal began to take form. Wisps of purple mana exploded out as an inky black interior formed inside the portal. She even connected it to the same place it had been connected to before. Damn the consequences if an invader traveled through it.

Silvi waited but felt nothing. There was no one inside. All the hope she had drained out of her as she realized the truth. Derek Hunt, one of the strongest users on the entire planet, was gone. He was gone, and it was all her fault.

Silvi disconnected her mana from the portal, and it blinked out of existence. She fell back to her knees with her face in her hands, and she cried. After heaven knows how long, Gerard placed his hand on her shoulder once again.

“There is nothing we can do about it. He saved both my life and Ali’s. Our lives may not be worth nearly as much as his was, but we can live so his sacrifice was not in vain. First, we need to go back and report what happened. After that, we will figure it all out.”

Gerard was right, of course. They couldn’t bring Derek back, but they could grow stronger so something like this never happened again. Silvi wiped fresh tears off her face and stood. She turned and looked in the direction of the city. Gerard bent down and picked the unconscious Allison up off the ground.

Silvi looked over at Gerard. He was her protector before the system came, and even now, after the rest of her family was gone and he was no longer being paid to do so, he stayed. She relied too much on the man, she knew, but she couldn’t help it. She gave him a sad smile. “Let’s go.” With that, the broken team made their silent journey back to the city, back to report what had happened, what she had done.

* * *

Nothing went as planned for Silvi and her broken team. Once the rumors spread, nobody would allow her to join their team. She was considered bad luck, and nobody would have her. Gerard stayed by her side, never wavering, not even when tempted with fantastic offers.

Allison never recovered from the loss of John and Andrea. Not long after they got back, she vanished without a word. Both Gerard and Silvi did everything they could to find her, but they couldn’t. She was gone without trace.

Eventually, an entire year after Derek’s disappearance, Silvi came to terms with her reality. Both she and Gerard had been ostracized by all other adventuring teams and couldn’t even make a small team with enough people to take on a mission. They even moved cities in the hope that they wouldn’t be recognized, but the rumors had spread far and wide.

They couldn’t take on missions, and they weren’t confident enough to level safely with just the two of them. Eventually, they went back to Charlotte.

Silvi spent much of her time researching Portal, the skill that had been the undoing of Derek Hunt. When she discovered the disaster, the Void Beast, that the skill could cause, she almost fainted. If she had done the research before, she would have never picked the skill, and none of the terrible things would have ever happened.

She once again fell into a depressive spiral. Everyone in the entire city was lucky to be alive. She had almost gotten an untold number of people killed, all because she didn’t read the instructions. Instructions that were provided at an extremely low cost through the system store.

Finally, she gave up. There was no joy left in her life. She couldn’t hunt, and she couldn’t do missions. She was a useless person. She tried time and time again to send Gerard on his way, but he would still not leave her. She was a rotting limb that he refused to amputate.

Eventually, she came across an old, closed-down bar and gathered what scrap she could. Using her remaining system credits, she bought the place and turned it into one of the most mediocre bars in the city.

There, she spent her days like a robot, mechanically repeating the same actions over and over. Serve drink, wipe counter, clean glass… Over and over, the days passed. This was her punishment. Infinite amounts of wondrous abilities, numerous planets that would one day be open for Earthlings to explore, and she was relegated to a bartender. A bartender in a dying bar—because as adventurers grew stronger, so too did their tolerance for alcohol.

She wondered when she would end up out on the street. But at least she still had Gerard.

1 INTO TORITH

Derek looked around the city as they strolled down the street. It was big. Not as big as some of the pre-system cities in his world, but it was definitely up there in size. Bronson had explained the layout of the city to Derek on the way there.

It was really basic, and according to Bronson, it was the preferred style of city layout. It was a giant city within circular walls. Of course, he had also seen some small huts and houses surrounding the city before they entered. There was not much protection from enemies, but maybe those people would be let inside in the case of an enemy attack, or perhaps the guards and Adventurer’s Guild protected them somewhat. Derek was curious, but not enough to ask Bronson if that was the case.

Once inside the city, you were on the main street. Both sides of the street had different establishments. There were various shops, crafting workplaces, inns, and taverns. Apparently, the farther you walked on the main road, the better the establishments you could find. If one was just entering the city, they would find restaurants selling delicacies such as rat on a stick for pennies, but farther into the city, one would find restaurants costing you actual gold to dine in.

The living arrangements worked the same. The slums were located immediately after entering the city. If one took the first intersection or alleyway they saw on either side of the street, they would stumble on the poorest area of Torith. The farther in, the richer the people. Just before the end of the street was situated the Adventurer’s Guild.

Finally, at the end of the main street was another wall and gate. This gate separated the lower class from the middle class—though, some that could afford to live in the middle-class area chose to live in the richer part of the lower-class area instead. According to Bronson, the cost difference between the two areas was staggering. Many merchants chose the upper-lower class area to save greatly on living expenses and put what they saved back into their business.

There were far fewer establishments in the middle-class area, but the quality of businesses was multiple times better than in the lower section. The smithy that crafted the weapons and armor of the city guard was located there.

The living areas were also much better. Each house had land and at least one open courtyard. Thinking back, Derek commended the villagers for at least giving all the families some space. From what he saw in the lower section of the city, it was very overcrowded.

Finally, there was the noble section. The upper section of the city consisted only of noble houses, big and small. Even if the noble house was in a dire situation financially, they were still able to live in the noble section unless they relinquished their nobility for money, which did tend to happen with some families.

There was only one restaurant and two inns in the noble section. For all their other needs, the nobles would send servants down to the middle-class area to obtain goods. Because of this, and the small number of nobles, the residences of the nobles were grandiose.

Then, at the very top of the city, was the city lord’s Manor. According to Bronson, it was almost like a mini castle. It was so extravagant that it could be seen from beyond the walls. He would have to take a look for himself once he arrived.

About halfway through the lower part of the city, Silvi, who had taken to sitting on the top of Thomas’s head, told Derek to stop. Curious, he halted the party to find out what was wrong.

‘That smell. So good. I want. Get me. Now.’

Of course, that’s what it is. She just wants food. There was a rather delicious aroma coming from one of the street vendors. Derek walked over, with Thomas following with Silvi. Looking at the cart, he was surprised to find steaming hot shish kabobs with some kind of meat and vegetables.

It looked good, smelled good, and if it could keep Silvi occupied while they trekked through the city, it would be well worth the cost. Derek walked up to the vendor and then turned to Bronson. “You want some?”

Bronson scrunched his nose a bit. “No, I’ll wait until I get home to eat. We’re not far now. You never know what kind of meat they sell down here.”

He’s a bit spoiled, I guess. Derek turned back around to the vendor, whose face’s shade had changed from regular to having a red hue, most likely from the words Bronson spoke. “Well, give me six.”

“Y-yes, sir,” the young man stuttered, surprised. “That will be twelve copper.”

Derek fished twelve copper coins from his bracelet and placed them on the cart. “Here you go.”

The man, seeing the copper appear out of nowhere, became even more nervous. “A-are you s-sure someone like yourself wants to eat something like this?” he asked.

“Come on, kid. I already paid,” Derek pushed.

“O-okay.” The young man picked up six kabobs and handed them over. Then he reached for the money and tried to give it back. “S-sir, it’s on me, please.”

Derek rolled his eyes and walked away without taking the money back. He put three of the sticks in his bracelet and handed Thomas the other two. Thomas looked at him oddly. Derek smiled. “Silvi can’t very well hold one and walk at the same time.”

Thomas, realizing that Derek meant for him to feed the bunny on his head while walking, frowned.

Derek turned to Bronson. “The way that kid acted, you would think I beat him. Do you guys really treat them that bad down here?”

“Some do,” Bronson confirmed. “Most nobles won’t even come to the lower city, preferring to leave through the side gate in the middle section. But those who choose to be a part of the Adventurer’s Guild usually come through this way. Many are young adults who are… spoiled.”

Derek scoffed. “Yeah… spoiled.” He shook his head and continued walking.

At least there was some entertainment for him on the way. Seeing Thomas holding one kabob over his head for Silvi and trying to eat his own at the same time was hilarious, especially with the juice dripping from Silvi’s down onto his face. Even Bronson let a chuckle escape at the scene.

Twenty or so minutes later, the group was finally at the next gate. Normally, Derek and Thomas would be stopped at this gate as they didn’t have the identification to make it through. Of course, if Derek showed even a little of his strength, it would be reported, and he would likely be welcomed.

They did not have to worry about any of this because of Bronson. So far, every city guard they passed had recognized the man at a glance. Just like what happened at the entrance to the city, the gate to the middle section was opened, and they were let through without any issue.

If I’m going to be here for a while, I’m going to have to figure out how to move freely through the city areas. Until then, I can just mooch off Bronson. Derek looked at Bronson with a smile that would send a shiver down anybody’s back.

After going through the gates, Derek focused more on his surroundings. The difference between the two sections was like night and day. They walked by a bakery, and Derek instantly regretted eating the kabobs. The previous smells of the city were all gone as the fresh scents of steaming pastries wafted through the air into the noses of passersby.

‘Want. Now.’ Silvi’s thoughts flew into Derek’s head as she sniffed the air.

‘I’ll get you some later. Just sit tight for now. I’m sure there will be even tastier things where we are going.’ Derek tried to pacify the hungry bunny. She didn’t answer, only snorting while sniffing the surrounding air.

“Aww! Mommy, look! It’s so cute.” A little girl walking the street while holding a woman’s hand yelled when she saw Silvi atop Thomas’s head.

The people in the middle area of the city were totally different from those in the lower section. While walking through the lower section, people did their best to avoid eye contact and tried to move out of the way before they came through. Of course, this was because of Bronson. He was still in his armor and had placed his sword on his back. The man was very intimidating.

Derek and Thomas still looked like they may have belonged in the lower section. Thomas was wearing the leather armor Brandi had made him, and though it fit well and looked decent, in a noble’s eyes, the armor would be worthless. Derek, of course, was wearing one of the black T-shirts Brandi had given him and a pair of blue jeans that had a few holes around the knees. He was also wearing his combat boots, which had seen better days. The duo looked completely out of place in the middle area.

The woman and child finally drew closer, and the child spoke to Thomas. “C-can I pet the cute bunny?”

A trace of disgust flashed in the woman’s eyes when she looked at Derek and Thomas, but when her gaze landed on Bronson, her eyes grew big. “Shana, we shouldn’t disturb the sirs. I’m sure they have things they must do.”

“Aww! I wanted to play with it and pet it and feed it.” Shana grumbled sadly and held out a pastry.

That was all it took for Silvi. One moment she was sitting atop Thomas’s head, the next, she was in the arms of a little girl chewing on sweet bread. ‘Pays to be cute. You wish you were!’ she transmitted to Derek.

Derek shook his head. ‘Hurry up and finish it. We have places to be,’ he sent back.

The woman quickly bowed. “I apologize, Captain Bronson. I’ll discipline Shana later.”

“Nonsense. It’s natural for little girls to adore cute things. We aren’t in a rush. Besides, that bunny is a glutton. We’re lucky the food was offered, and she didn’t steal it,” Bronson replied.

Silvi heard Bronson call her a glutton, and she looked back at him with squinted eyes. He flinched, and she went back to consuming the food.

“Thank you, sir,” the woman said.

Soon, the pastry was gone, and Silvi hopped out of the girl’s arms and back atop Thomas’s head. The party continued down the street.

A half-hour later, they were finally at the gate to the noble district. Derek was excited to see what was next.

2 THE CROWN RESTAURANT

With Bronson leading them, the group was able to pass through the gate with no problems. A couple of the guards gave Derek and Thomas strange looks, but they dared not say anything with Bronson around.

The first thing that Derek noticed when entering the noble district was a gigantic building with multiple floors. There was a balcony on the top floor. It had to be at least six floors tall. Of course, it was nothing compared to some of the skyscrapers Derek had seen and been to on Earth. Still, in a world like this that seemed to be stuck in medieval times, it was quite something.

There wasn’t much to the design of the building. It was square, with windows on every floor. At the top of the door, there was artwork of a crown with jewels in it. Derek also noticed how very clean the building was. He couldn’t find a speck of dust anywhere.

Bronson noticed Derek staring at the tall building. “That is the Crown. It’s a restaurant that originated in the capital, then proceeded to set up branches everywhere. No matter which city in the kingdom you are in, there will be a Crown Restaurant in the noble district.”

“Oh, that’s cool, I guess. So, can anyone who can afford it eat there?” Derek asked.

“No. All nobles and some wealthy merchants are able to dine there as long as they have the money. But they can only use the bottom floors. The top two floors are reserved for those lucky enough to obtain a membership. Currently, in Torith, there is no one, not even the city lord, who has been able to receive one. Receiving a membership to the Crown is a dream of many nobles,” Bronson replied.

Derek looked over at Thomas and Silvi. Thomas was still staring at the building, slack-jawed. Derek shook his head and turned back to Bronson. “So, is the food good at least?”

Bronson laughed. “It looks good. I’ve never been able to dine in the restaurant, but I have accompanied the master a time or two. It’s said that all the chefs that work for the Crown were raised up personally in the organization. They all have the same class, and their Cooking skills are unbelievably high.”

‘Cooking skill? They must have thumbs. Would make easier. I need thumbs. I cook better. Make restaurant.’ Derek was treated to the mumblings of Silvi. She was obsessed with food and was still bitter about her first cooking experience.

‘I don’t think there’s a skill that will allow you to grow thumbs, but I’m sure we’ll find something that will make it easier on you,’ he told her. He could only imagine Silvi running a restaurant.

He silently chuckled and continued with Bronson. “So, what does it take to become a member?”

“Great achievement or strength. Something that the Crown would recognize. Not even the princes or the princess are allowed in the reserved floors unless the king is with them. Though I have heard that the eldest prince is very close to obtaining membership. He tracked and killed a Void Beast some time ago,” Bronson replied.

Derek noticed Thomas staring at him out of the corner of his eye. It seems that though Void Beasts are rare, it isn’t uncommon to hear about them. I wanted Brandi to make me some armor out of the corpse I have, but I’ve outgrown its uses… and then some. Maybe it could make good armor for Thomas, though. Or, I may be able to use it to increase my reputation faster than expected. I guess I could always give away all but the skin and let the girl work with that.

“A Void Beast, huh? Why would that help with membership? I’m sure there are some very weak Void Beasts out there. They aren’t all strong like the legends,” Derek asked.

“No, they are just extremely rare. Mostly because it is forbidden to use Portal. Still, now and then, some untrained or unlearned mage thinks the skill sounds cool and ends up getting their whole village destroyed. The problem is that you never know how strong of a Void Beast you will end up with. If you could control that, you would be rich,” Bronson replied.

“Why is that?” Derek really was curious as to why Void Beasts, even weak ones, would be in demand. He could see blacksmiths or leatherworkers wanting the materials from stronger ones, like the one he had, but not weak ones.

Bronson pointed at the restaurant. “It’s a delicacy. One of the best-tasting meats you will ever eat… or so I’ve heard. Of course, the stronger the beast, the better the taste, but even a weak Void Beast tastes better than almost anything.”

‘Void Beast. I want to eat. Let’s go find one. Now,’ Silvi chirped.

“You don’t say…” Derek said and walked towards the restaurant.

“What are you doing? You won’t be allowed in yet. Wait for the master. I’m sure he’d be willing to bring you.”

Derek chuckled and kept walking until he made it to the entrance. Then he walked in. The inside of the building was exquisite. From the chandeliers lighting the ceiling to the tables placed around the room, everything was high quality. I wonder how the lights work, Derek mused as he looked at the ceiling.

In no time, there were two very strong-looking guards standing in front of him. At that time, Derek felt Silvi land on his shoulder. ‘Kill now? Eat?’ she asked.

‘No, just making a little scene. Though, we will probably eat soon. Just not the people. Didn’t I tell you that we don’t eat humans?’ he finished, calming the bunny.

“What are you doing? You don’t belong here. Leave now before we throw you out,” one of the guards said. They were both at least as strong as Bronson.

“Oh? I was hoping to speak to your manager,” Derek said.

The guards looked him up and down, then scoffed. “You? Why would someone like you think they would be able to speak to the manager? Filthy peasant, how are you even in the noble district to begin with?”

Bronson came in at that time. He bowed to the guards. “Phil, Ryan, I’m sorry about this. It’s just a misunderstanding. This is Derek, a guest of Master Gracefall.” He looked at Derek. “Come on, no matter how strong you are, you don’t want to mess with the Crown.”

That got on Derek’s nerves. He glared at Bronson, and the whites of his eyes began turning purple. “You do not speak for me. Understand?”

Bronson flinched and backed up. “Y-yes. Sorry.”

Seeing Bronson concede to Derek, the two guards tensed. The atmosphere became still. They reached for their weapons.

“What is going on down here?” a lovely voice sounded out.

A woman wearing an emerald green dress with a thigh-high slit was sauntering down the stairs. Her fire-red hair and green eyes accented her dress. A few freckles rested on her cheeks. Derek was unsure if makeup was used in this world. He’d seen neither Rayna nor Mal use any, but even if there was, it would only hinder the woman’s natural beauty.

“Madam, this… man was causing trouble. We were just about to throw him out,” one of the guards spoke. They had already caused a scene in the restaurant, and the dining nobles had taken notice and were all staring.

The woman looked past the two guards, and her eyes landed on Bronson. “Bronson, is Walter well?”

“Maam.” Bronson nodded. “Master has been very well.”

The woman then looked at Derek. Derek smiled a half-smile and withdrew the void raging inside his body. The deep purple in his eyes receded to his irises. The woman raised her eyebrows at that.

“And you must be…” She stopped to allow Derek to answer.

He nodded. “You can call me Derek. I take it you’re the manager here?” he asked, getting to the point. Derek appreciated beauty, but he wouldn’t allow it to cloud his judgment.

“Straight to the point, I like that. Yes, I am the manager. You may call me Stella. How may I help you?”

“Is there somewhere private we can go, or are you fine doing business here, out in the open?” he asked.

“I assure you, all the business we do here is above board. There is no need to hide anything. That is unless you are uncomfortable?” she said.

Derek laughed. “Nope. Here’s fine.” He shook his hand, and a corpse appeared. He was holding the body by the back of the neck. The bipedal, wolf-like creature was menacing-looking. Everyone in the restaurant gasped in surprise when they saw the Void Beast. “I heard you may be interested in one of these.”

Stella stared at the creature with wide eyes. “This… May I?” she asked as a knife appeared in her hand.

Understanding what she wanted, Derek walked to the nearest empty table and laid the corpse on it. “Go ahead.”

Carefully, the woman slid the knife down the chest of the Void Beast. The knife cut through it like butter. “So fresh, and there’s barely a mark on it. How was it slain?” she asked while examining the body.

“I stored it as soon as I killed it. As for how I did it… That’s for me to know.” In all, Derek had only had the corpse outside of his storage bracelet for a few hours. He had never imagined that it would taste good. If he knew, it may not have made it until now.

“The hide is so tough,” Stella said and looked back at Derek. “You must be quite strong to be able to fight such a beast. Well over level 100, at least. Am I correct?”

Derek just smiled. My stats would have put me around a level 130 with a rare class back when I fought it. I could kill it with a finger now, Derek thought.

“Right, that’s for you to know,” she muttered. “This… this is too much for me to decide what to do with it. We haven’t had one of this quality in years. I’ll have to contact my superiors. Could you give me a day or two? Will you be around?”

“Of course. Though I do want the hide,” he said.

“That’s fine. We usually just sell the remaining parts to the highest bidder. I’ll let my boss know. Would you like to take it with you until things are settled, or do you mind if we keep it? I assure you, you will get a good price,” Stella said.

“You can keep it. Frees up some storage space, anyway,” he said, and the woman looked at him in surprise. “What, I was told by somebody that you do things above board.” He smiled.

Stella’s lips turned upward into a stunning smile. “That somebody is correct.” She placed her hand on the corpse, and it disappeared. She looked around. “Would your party like to dine today? It’s on the house.”

Derek looked at Bronson, Thomas, and Silvi. The two men were stunned, and Silvi could barely contain herself. “That would be great.” He moved Silvi into his arms. “I hope you don’t mind my companion eating, too. She is quite the food connoisseur.”

The woman led them to a table. “She is fine. Many of our distinguished guests bring their pets,” she said. The group sat down. “Someone will be with you momentarily. Enjoy your meal,” Stella said, then sauntered back up the stairs.

After being seated, Derek looked around the room. The bottom floor of the restaurant was packed full of nobles. It would be impossible to hide what had just taken place. Derek expected the rumors to be all over the noble and middle-class districts by the time they left the Crown. Of course, this was what Derek wanted and the reason he had not asked for privacy.

He was, however, getting irritated at the surrounding nobles. They made no attempt to hide the fact that they were using Identify on him. Naturally, all of their attempts failed, which caused even more commotion in the already lively restaurant.

Soon, a waiter arrived to take their order. “I have been instructed to allow the entire bottom menu, free of charge. Would you like that?” the man asked.

That seemed fine with Derek. He was sure that his group would have no problem finishing one of everything, especially with the gluttonous rabbit with them. “Fine by me. At least I won’t have to worry about ordering something I won’t like,” he agreed.

The waiter nodded. “I will let the chefs know right away. In the meantime, would you like some tea or perhaps ale?”

Derek looked at the others. He had a craving for something hot. “Tea is fine for the three of us.” He motioned to Silvi, Thomas, and himself. “He can have whatever he wants.” He nodded to Bronson.

“Ah, yes. Tea will do nicely,” Bronson said.

The man cast an odd look at Silvi before answering, “Right away.” He then pivoted and left.

“The entire lower menu… for free. Do you know how much that would cost?” Bronson asked.

“Nope,” Derek replied nonchalantly. In fact, he didn’t care. Other than raising his reputation, the only reason he was at the restaurant was that he had gotten hungry while walking through the city, and the mystery skewers hadn’t filled him up. He was sure that no matter what food they received, it would be good. A place didn’t get and keep such a reputation without being exceptional.

Bronson could only shake his head in response to Derek’s attitude.

Soon, the waiter was back with four cups of steaming hot tea. “This is our very own Crown Tea. It is known throughout the kingdom as one of the very best,” he said as he set the cups in front of them.

Derek nodded at the waiter and picked up the cup. Moving it to his lips, he took a small sip. It was good but not quite to Derek’s taste. The tea had a fruity undertone and was very smooth. He could feel the small vitality boost he received by drinking it. As an “uncultured” American, he preferred coffee to any kind of tea he had ever drunk. In fact, the more bitter the coffee, the more he liked it.

At that thought, he got an idea. Why didn’t I think of that before? He looked at the waiter. “Is Stella still around? I’ve just thought of something else that she may be interested in.”

The man looked at Derek with interest. “She is. She is on the third floor, in her office. Would you like me to notify her?” Derek nodded. “Right away, sir,” the man said and took off up the stairs.

“What now?” Bronson asked.

Derek smiled. “I don’t even know if it’s possible yet. I’ll tell you later if it works.”

Not even two minutes later, the waiter was back down and at their table. “She is a little busy, but you may go up if you wish.”

Derek nodded and stood. He looked at his group. “Save me something to eat. I’m still hungry.” He turned back to the waiter. “Let’s go.”

After following behind the waiter to the third floor, he came to a part of the building that was much different from what he had already seen. Must be the business floor. Soon, he was in a hallway and was led to a door. The waiter knocked and waited for an answer from the other side.

Soon, the same melodic voice rang out, “Come in.”

The man opened the door and walked inside. “Madam. I have brought the guest.”

Stella, seated behind a desk littered with papers, nodded and dismissed the man from the room, and he shut the door on his way out. She focused her gaze on Derek. “Have a seat,” she said and waited for him to sit. “So, I hear you may have another proposal for me.” She spoke coyly.

Derek chuckled. “Actually, I do. But I’m not sure if what I’m looking for is possible.”

“Oh? What is it you are looking for?” she asked.

“Well… I assume you have botanists and other types of plant-type mages to grow your fruits and vegetables, correct?”

“Yes. We have a few here—and many others in our other host cities. We also have hunters that we pay a premium for their kills. What are you thinking?” she asked, intrigued.

“Are your mages good enough to reverse engineer a plant? One that has already been processed, dried, roasted, and ground.”

“I can’t promise anything, but they may be able to. They can experiment and grow things based on taste too. That is how we originally made our tea. What is it that you have?” Stella seemed even more interested.

Derek placed his hand over the table, and one of the coffee canisters he had appeared. He opened the lid and slid the can over to Stella. “This is a special beverage from my home. I haven’t seen anything like it since I’ve been here.”

Stella took the can and pulled it towards her nose. “Interesting smell. How’s the taste?”

Derek smiled. “You got a couple of cups? I’ll need some near-boiling water and a small funnel.”

“Is that it?” she questioned.

“Well, some people enjoy it with cream and sugar. Actually, it’s a pretty versatile drink. You can experiment until you find the taste you like best. I prefer it plain. It’s quick and simple,” he explained.

Stella nodded, then grabbed a small crystal-like object. Derek could see it lighting up when she injected mana into it. “Okay, it will be up in a moment,” she said.

Derek nodded. “By the way, your guests are pretty rude,” he said, making small talk.

“Oh, how’s that?”

“I’m pretty sure everyone dining on the bottom floor has tried using Identify on me. They really don’t try to hide it.”

“You will get used to that,” she said.

“I don’t mind, but I know some people who would have already slaughtered the entire floor because of it,” he said. Well, I used to know some. Hell, I don’t even know if Jace is still alive. I’m pretty sure Earth is out of the system’s introductory state. I always wondered what that was going to be like…

Stella looked at him, a trace of fear flashing in her eyes. “Identify is a vital skill for hunters, so in Cydaria, they are accustomed to using it on all they see, including people. It is the best way to level it. These people… are they here, too? Do they have strength similar to yours?”

Derek laughed out loud. “No need to worry. My coming here was a happy accident. I doubt they ever come here. Plus, I’m sure they would at least try to learn about other customs before causing a commotion,” he said. Well, except for Jim. I’m not sure he even knows what the word ‘custom’ means. “But yeah, when I left, they were probably stronger than me. That’s not to say they could beat me, though.” He smiled.

“Where are you from? If you don’t mind me asking. I’ve never been outside the kingdom before, and we don’t get many visitors.”

“Ah, that is a secret… for now. I may tell you someday. We’ll see how this… business works out.”

At that point, a waitress knocked and walked in. She arranged the cups, water pot, and funnel onto the desk, along with sugar and cream. “Is there anything else, madam?”

“That’s all. You can go,” Stella said. She then slid the can back to Derek and motioned for him to begin.

Derek pulled a coffee filter out of his storage bracelet. He took the funnel and was surprised by it. It clearly wasn’t used for something like this, but it was almost perfect. He fixed the filter inside the funnel. Then he put a few scoops of coffee into the filter. Finally, he slowly poured the water into it while holding the funnel over one of the cups.

One must become the coffee pot. He chanted a mantra to himself as he poured. Soon, both cups were full, and he stopped pouring. It pained him to use up his precious coffee, but if he could find a way to get more, it would be well worth it. He sat his makeshift coffee maker on a plate so it wouldn’t damage the desk.

Derek slid one of the cups to Stella and took the other for himself. He brought it to his mouth and took a sip. Closing his eyes, he basked in the flavor of the drink that he could only make on special occasions.

Stella did the same. Then she took another sip before setting the cup down. Next, she took a spoon and stirred some sugar into her cup before taking another sip. Then she tested it by adding in some cream.

“This… I think I enjoy it with sugar and cream more than I enjoy our own tea. And the aroma is exquisite,” she finally said after finishing the cup.

“That means you want to try to grow it?” Derek asked, still savoring his cup.

“Of course. What type of plant is it?”

“It’s a small tree that bears cherry-like fruit. Then you have to process the fruit and remove the seed, after which you dry the seeds. I’m not sure about the exact process. I’m not a botanist, but I’m sure your people could figure it out if they’re able to grow it. Finally, you roast, then grind the seed into the perfect cup of coffee.”

He motioned to his cup. It was, by far, not the best cup of coffee he’d had, but it was coffee. “And, you would probably do well to make some coffee-specific tools to use. Oh, and this…” He pulled out another filter. “Well, I’m not sure how it’s made, but it’s basically a filter for the coffee.” He gave the filter to her. “I don’t have many left. I’m sure you can make something good enough.”

Finally, he grabbed the lid and put it back on the can. “So, let’s talk business.”

3 BUSINESS

Stella was the first to break the silence. “So, you have already brought us a Void Beast, and now you are offering this coffee product? What is it you are hoping to obtain?”

“Status, and preferably the occasional supply of coffee.” Derek was blunt and to the point.

“Status? I understand about the coffee. It’s quite easy to allow that, but you want to receive status from the Crown?” she asked.

“I heard that many hope to obtain a membership but few ever do. That, in itself, is a form of status. I figured that the one Void Beast wouldn’t be enough for me to get the membership, so I hoped that I would be able to get closer by offering the coffee,” Derek replied.

Stella sat in silence for a moment, pondering her next question. Finally, she spoke. “Why would you want to go this route to gain status? With your strength, it would be quite easy to move your way up.”

Derek smiled. “It would, but I would risk offending person after person by doing it that way. If I’m being honest, I just don’t feel like wasting my time dealing with pampered nobles and young lords. Taking this path would be the less bothersome path. I’m sure that there would be those that would want to test me to see if I earned the membership or got it through luck, but those people would most likely be strong and few. I would much rather deal with a few strong fellows than a young Lord and all his minions over and over. I know how that goes.” I’ve read way too many novels to do that shit.

Stella looked at Derek with confusion in her eyes. “Why are you looking to gain status?”

“To live easy and allow others I know to live easy, too. I don’t necessarily want to live here in Torith… No, after seeing the city for myself, I don’t plan on settling here. But, wherever I choose, I would like to be respected enough that myself and those close to me are not harassed. Now, I could always tread down the path of fear, but, like I said, that would be bothersome and take effort,” Derek said.

This was the most he’d revealed to anyone about his future plans, but he figured Stella would be in the best position to help him the fastest. He could always go the route of befriending a noble, but House Gracefall was not in a position to help him in any place other than Torith, and he didn’t feel like cozying up with the city lord in hopes of meeting one of the king’s advisors.

In fact, learning about the Crown was a stroke of good fortune. If he could strike up a good deal with them, it would be great. Their influence stretched the entire kingdom. Hell, he wouldn’t mind going to an abandoned area and harvesting a few Void Beasts if they wanted them.

“To live easy.” Stella shook her head, a mysterious light flashing through her eyes. “What an interesting answer. Are you not looking for power or to find powerful friends?”

“Honestly, I’m not too hard to get along with. I enjoy being alone… well, it’s been kinda nice spending time with others, but I’m not one to go looking for friends. Really, if you leave me and mine alone, then I have no problem leaving you alone. Before coming here, I was considered a bit of a hermit even. I have no desire to be in charge of anything. I also much prefer to do my leveling by hunting monsters… not people,” Derek replied.

Stella laughed out loud. “I’m sure the populace would appreciate you not hunting them to level. Well, Derek. I’m not sure that your contributions will be enough for a membership, but you will at least be rich. My rank in the Crown is not high enough to finalize the Void Beast business, but I can pass everything you’ve said along to my boss later today and have an answer for you within a couple of days.”

Stella shifted her eyes back to the coffee on the desk. “However, I can negotiate with you about the coffee. If we are able to reverse engineer it and begin manufacturing, I am certain it will provide us with considerable wealth. With that, I am willing to sign a contract here and now that will provide you with two percent of coffee sales within the kingdom, along with however much you want for personal use. Of course, a contract with the Crown also allows you to dine on the lower floors, too. Your contribution to the Crown will also be noted, and that will go a long way to obtaining a membership. You will also earn more contributions for the Void Beast when we negotiate again in a few days. What do you think?”

Derek thought about the offer. Two percent seems like a small amount, but considering that it is within the entire kingdom, it should be a lot. “May I ask what the expected monthly revenue would be for the coffee?”

She raised her eyebrows at that question. “I’m not sure. It will definitely be a hit initially, but once the new feeling wears off, prices will settle down. It is also very strong and has a distinct flavor, so it is likely that there are many who won’t like it, even with added condiments. As the beverage is the cheapest part of a meal, the profits won’t be earth-shattering. All in all, I would expect it to compete well with our tea. I don’t see a reason that it would not bring in at least 250,000 gold coins a month once everything settles.”

“So, around 5,000 coins a month for me,” Derek pondered. Shit… I don’t know enough about the financial situation of this kingdom to know if that is a good deal. Fuck, why didn’t I ask Bronson more questions about that? Derek acted like he was thinking about the deal. His only brush with finance in this world was that a level 70 small hide could get him 3 or 4 silver. “How about three and a half?”

Stella looked at him with squinted eyes. He really wished he knew what the woman was thinking. “Two and a half.”

He smiled. “Three, and we call it a deal.”

She nodded. “Fine, I can do that.” She made a motion, and a small stack of paper appeared before her. She placed her hand on the stack, and a blue light shone underneath. Soon, writing filled the papers. She removed her hand and picked up the stack. Stella then handed the papers over to Derek. “Here is the contract. Read it over and inject your mana into it if you agree.”

Derek grabbed the papers and began reading. It was not a long contract, but it still had a bunch of the nonsense he expected in a contract. He couldn’t give the product to other businesses, he could sell none of the product he obtained for personal use, and a lot more stuff like that. He read carefully to make sure there weren’t any traps. After finishing, he read it again, then once more. Finally, he came to the conclusion that the contract wasn’t bad, and he injected his mana. A notification popped up in his vision.

A contract with one ‘Stella Brighton’ and entity ‘Crown’ has been initiated. Would you like to proceed?

Y/N

Derek agreed to the contract.

Contract has been completed. Please abide by the terms and conditions to avoid any penalties.

With that, the contract split in two, and another copy appeared before him. Stella reached over and placed her hand on the original. The contract turned into a blue energy and entered her body. Derek did the same. The energy flowed into his hand and traveled through his body before resting in his mind. He now had a new listing under his ‘Contracts’ tab in his status sheet.

Derek slid the coffee can back over to Stella and stood. He placed his hand out for her to take. Handshakes seemed to be commonplace as she stood and took it into hers. “It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

She smiled coyly. “The pleasure was all mine.”

Their handshake broke, and Derek turned to leave the room. Right before he opened the door, he looked back. “Oh, if I just happened to run into some Void Beasts, how many do you think it would take to hurry along the process of me obtaining a membership?”

Stella was stunned for a moment before she replied, “If they were of the same quality as the previous one, I don’t see why one or two more wouldn’t do the job. You may not even need that if the coffee sells well.”

Derek nodded his head, then opened the door. “I better hurry back down before that damn rabbit eats all my food.” He walked out and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Stella fell back into her seat. Meeting that man was extremely stressful. He had shown no aura or anger, but talking to him made her feel like she was talking to her boss. He was relaxed the whole time and spoke so casually about things. And when he asked about the Void Beasts at the end, the first thing she wondered was if he was going to open a portal and wait for one to appear. That would be crazy, though. A Void Beast may come after one minute or one hundred years. There is no way he would waste time trying to bait one.

She thought back to the contract they signed. She had actually given him a good deal. Two percent for an individual was a great number, especially for something that would sell so easily. Upping it to three had been painful. She only hoped that she could get one percent from the Crown for being the person to broker the deal. 2,500 extra gold coins a month would be a great payout.

Stella leaned back and sighed. Next, she had to contact her boss and tell her about the contract and the Void Beast. She knew she would be pleased, especially with the quality of the beast.

Stella motioned with her hand, and a light blue crystal appeared. She steeled herself as talking with her boss was always an incredible task. In fact, it was one of the reasons why she was currently staying in this backwater town.

* * *

Derek made his way back to the first floor and was greeted with an odd sight. Tray after tray was surrounding his table. He hadn’t expected there to be so much food. That wasn’t the odd thing, though. Thomas and Bronson were both leaning back in their chairs with their hands on their bellies.

Silvi, on the other hand, looked like she had grown two sizes. She was sitting on the table, in the middle, slowly eating what looked like a roasted duck. Derek tried to communicate with her. ‘Is that good? Did you save me any?’ he asked the bunny.

Silvi slowly turned her head to look at Derek. ‘Soooo good. Better than food from delicious, beautiful woman. Soooo full, she transmitted as she took another bite of the duck.

‘If you’re so full, why are you still eating?’ he was flabbergasted.

‘Can’t stop. Too delicious. Must eat all,’ the glutton replied.

Derek shook his head as he took a seat. He looked around at the trays of food. At least there’s enough left for me, he thought, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the best of the food had already been consumed. Oh well, time to eat.

4 ENIGMA

For half an hour, Derek fought Silvi for scraps. In the end, he got a bite or two of just about everything, and Silvi underwent another evolution from a Void Rabbit to a Balloon Bunny. Her front paws literally could not touch the ground anymore because of how much she ate. Her stomach was so engorged that she looked like a mini T-Rex.

Derek and the rest of the restaurant could only look at the fat bunny and sigh. As for the food, it was fantastic. Of course, there was something about the home-cooked meals that Mal made them that he could not put his finger on, but the food here was multiple times more delicious.

Derek looked around the table of human balloons. He was definitely the one who ended up eating the least out of the bunch. “I guess it’s about time to go. I’m sure you can’t wait to tell your master about me,” he said to Bronson.

Bronson, while leaning back in his chair, mumbled, “Yes…” Then he caught himself. “I mean. No… uhh… yes, I need to get back to the house soon, but no, I do not look forward to reporting on you,” he managed to get out.

Derek chuckled. “Relax, you do whatever you feel like. It’s not like I ever said you shouldn’t.”

Bronson released a long breath and nodded. Then he looked up at Derek with slightly furrowed brows. “May I ask what your other meeting was about?”

“Hmm? Oh, I remembered I had another product the Crown might like, so I went and offered it to Stella. She was quite inviting, and I ended up with a contract to provide me with a portion of the sales and contribution. Now, if everything works out well, I should be on my way to having a membership, along with making a bit of profit,” Derek explained.

Bronson’s eyes widened a bit, and the rest of the restaurant’s guests leaned in closer to hear what was said. They weren’t even trying to hide their prying anymore. “You were actually able to make a contract with the restaurant with means other than the Void Beast. That’s quite the feat.”

“By the way,” Derek said, “what is the value of 7,500 gold coins? As you should know from traveling with me, there are some things that I don’t have the greatest understanding of about this kingdom. The monetary system is one of them.”

“Well, 5,000 gold coins could purchase you a very nice residence in the middle-class, or merchant, district. Of course, you would also have 500 or so gold coins in yearly fees after the purchase. That is also only in Torith. The bigger cities have higher prices. 7,500 coins would probably do the same for many of the smaller cities. Some of the bigger cities or the capital would require a much greater investment.” Bronson paused to think more about the question.

Finally, after a small amount of time, he continued speaking. “You would probably understand better if I put it in terms of equipment. 50 coins would be enough to purchase a well-made blade for a level 75 warrior. Of course, the price increases greatly based on materials. My sword, for example, cost 2,700 gold coins. It is good enough to slay beasts up to level 150 without worrying too much about durability—unless it is a beast with extreme defenses.”

“I see,” Derek said, then rested his head on his hand. “Looks like I made a pretty good deal then,” he mumbled, but Bronson still heard him.

“May I ask the terms of the deal? Or would that be overstepping?” Bronson asked with a curious tone.

“That’s fine. I’m sure it would come out eventually, anyway. Other than receiving as much of the product as I want for personal use, I also get contribution and three percent of profits. The product is a beverage, and Stella estimated that after the initial craze for a new product, the monthly profits would be around 250,000 gold.” Derek said, the last part being said in a hushed tone that only Bronson could hear.

“So, the 7,500 gold coins would be monthly,” Bronson confirmed in awe.

“Yup. I wasn’t sure if I made a good deal or if I had been swindled until I asked you. Thankfully, Stella seems to be an honest person.”

Bronson shook his head. “The Crown has no need to perform shady deals. They are already so powerful that they would prefer to increase their image and reputation over saving a few gold coins.”

Derek nodded. “That makes sense.”

At that point in time, a few of the patrons let a painful moan out, and Derek received a notification.

You have succeeded in blocking 250 attempts of Identify in a row from 250 different users.

Achievement Unlocked

Oh, that’s cool, Derek thought, then looked around at the guests holding their heads in pain. I’m guessing it has something to do with causing a backlash to those who try to appraise me. Let’s see.

Lesser Enigma

Hundreds of people have tried to figure you out but have failed. You are an enigma.

You have earned the following:

Identify’s blocking ability increased.

Those who try, but fail, to Identify you will instead experience a small backlash.

Block more attempts to progress this Achievement.

Note: It is recommended to turn the backlash off in crowded areas.

That’s neat. I guess I just have to focus on keeping the backlash from happening. I wonder how many levels my Identify skill will block now. There was no way for Derek to immediately find out, but he could check on the backlash. “Bronson, use Identify on me.”

Bronson squinted. “It won’t work, but okay.”

Derek stared at the man. Soon, he flinched a bit, but that was it. “Did you feel anything when you tried?”

Bronson nodded. “Yes, a shooting pain in my head that vanished as quickly as it came. What happened?”

“New Achievement. Apparently, when Identify blocks 250 people in a row from obtaining information, you get an Award called Enigma. Pretty interesting, increases Identify defense, and forces a small backlash on those who fail to use it on you. I’m surprised you don’t know about it,” Derek said.

“It makes sense. Blocking 250 people is nothing, but having to do it all in a row is different. Most people know who the strong nobles are and avoid using the skill on them out of respect. And, the skill only levels when using it on things you haven’t already used it on, so once someone scans another once, they usually don’t bother with it again,” Bronson explained.

“Well, it should be an easy Achievement to get now that you know about it.”

“I hadn’t thought of that, but yes, you are correct. I will let the master know. Thank you for telling me about it. Most people are very secretive about their Achievements and Skills.” Bronson bowed his head slightly.

Derek nodded, saying nothing about the subject. “Alright, how ‘bout we get going then? I’m sure the staff can’t wait for us to leave.” Derek motioned to the bunny. “If we let this glutton stay here any longer, the entire establishment will go bankrupt,” he jested.

Silvi squinted her eyes at Derek. ‘Don’t want to leave. This paradise. We stay. Nice man will bring more food.’

Derek laughed. ‘That’s not how a restaurant works. This time, it was free to eat here. The next time, it will cost a great deal. Don’t worry, I will bring you back some other time, but not often. It is very expensive.’

‘Fine. You promise. These very beautiful, delicious people. Humans are not so bad,’ she replied.

After getting Silvi settled, Derek motioned to the waiter, who made his way over. “Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?” the man asked.

“That is all. I just wanted to make sure there was nothing I need to do, and it was okay to leave. I know Stella said it was on the house, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t dine and dash.”

“You owe nothing. You may leave at any time. It was a pleasure serving you.” The man bowed slightly.

Derek withdrew two gold coins and tossed them to the waiter. “I’m not sure what the custom on tipping your server here is, so please excuse me if it is not enough.” With that, Derek and the group left the waiter holding two coins in a confused manner and left the establishment.

Outside the restaurant, Bronson could not help himself and asked, “Why did you give the server gold?”

“Was it too much?” Derek asked.

“No, did you not see his confusion?”

“It was a tip. Do people not tip here?” Derek asked.

“Tip? No, the man is paid quite well by the restaurant. Employees work, and they are paid by their employers. Why would a customer also give them money?” Bronson asked.

“Just chalk it up to a cultural thing. Where I am from, if the waiter or waitress does well, you give them a tip before you leave. Even if they don’t do well, it is still usually a good idea to leave a tip. The people you don’t want to piss off the most are the staff of your favorite restaurant. Also, some of the restaurants don’t pay their servers much, and they make a living by the tips they receive,” Derek said.

“I guess that makes sense. I’m sure the man isn’t going to complain about making two gold today,” Bronson said.

“Alright, I guess it’s time to head to your place. I’m sure you have a lot you need to report,” Derek said to Bronson as he looked at Thomas struggling to keep the fat bunny atop his head. It was her favorite resting place, but her overextended belly was making it hard for her to fit.

“That I do,” Bronson answered. “And I’m sure the master would love to meet you.”

Derek nodded. “And I need a shower, so I would be happy to tag along.”

5 GRACEFALL MANOR

Bronson looked at Derek in confusion. “Shower? Like a rain shower?”

Derek looked over and sighed. “Damn, I guess you would only have baths, huh?” He was really looking forward to a shower. He figured, if anywhere, a city would be equipped with showers. He wasn’t much of a ‘bath’ guy. Baths were fine for rest and relaxation, but he always felt cleaner after a shower. An idea began to form in his head. He suddenly looked back over at Bronson. “Gracefall focuses on water classes, right?”

“That’s a bit of an oversimplification, but yes.”

“I’m sure you have some guards who can spew hot water then, right?” Derek asked in all seriousness.

Bronson chuckled at that. “Most of the guards spew hot water.” He looked over at Derek with a smile, but when he saw his face, he continued. “Uh… yes, there are a few mages able to use Geyser and similar spells.”

Derek nodded. “If it isn’t too much trouble, could you have a few make time for… uh… training after we get there?”

Bronson, of course, seemed more confused than ever with this sudden conversation, but he answered anyway. “I can… I’m sure training with you will help them greatly.” Like this, their small group continued on their way to Gracefall Manor.

It wasn’t long before the group arrived in front of a small gate manned by two guards. As soon as the guards spotted them, they saluted. “Captain Bronson!”

Bronson nodded at them and took out a key from his storage ring. Instead of waiting for the two to open the gate, he inserted the key and opened it himself. Stepping inside, Bronson motioned for one guard to come over. He motioned to Derek and the rest. “This is Sir Derek, and that is Thomas. See to it that our guests are well taken care of.” The guard nodded and asked the group to follow him. Before he left, Bronson grabbed his arm and whispered into his ear, “Treat that man as if he is Master Gracefall.”

The guard’s eyes opened in shock before he heavily nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Corporal Hines will take you to the guest quarters,” Bronson said. “I have to report to the master. I’ll send a few of the guards with that ability to you soon. Until then, treat this place as your own.”

Derek nodded and followed the guard in front. As he walked through the courtyard, he made out subtle differences between what was in front of him and the other residences he viewed on the way.

The residence was big, that was for sure. But it was one of the smallest he had seen in the noble area. Fortunately, it seemed well taken care of. There were four buildings inside the surrounding walls. The manor was a straight shot from the gate opening. To the left was a well-kept area with two buildings.

Looking in that direction, Derek could guess that the area was for the guards. Along with the two buildings, there were guards training—some sparring, and some practicing formation. He had an idea of what the buildings were. A barracks and an armory, perhaps? he thought.

He looked to the right of the main residence and saw a building that was grand but less so than the manor. Maybe the guest residence? Sure enough, when they arrived at the intersection of the stone path, the guard had them turn to the right.

“This is the guest manor.” The guard pointed at the building. “Please treat it as your own home. There is a separate staff inside that will be under your command.”

Derek nodded and looked at Thomas. He was taking everything in like a kid in a candy shop. Silvi had somehow managed to almost return to a normal-shaped bunny, no longer looking like a beach ball. She was able to balance on the boy’s head and sleep without much trouble. Thomas still reached up to stabilize her every once in a while, but the worst of the issues had passed. Super fast Void Bunny metabolism for the win.

Soon they arrived at the front of the house. The door opened, and a man with gray-white hair, dressed in a black coat layered over a white tunic, appeared. If Derek were to describe the man in front of him, he would use the word ‘gentleman.’

“Please, sirs, come in, have a seat.” The man motioned to the room behind him with a set of couches.

Derek and Thomas walked through the door into the front room and took a seat. Looking around, there was a double staircase leading to the next floor. Between the staircase on the bottom floor was a double door, leading to what Derek suspected was either a dining room or a kitchen. There was a door on each side of the room, too. Atop the staircase was a grand glass window with a door leading to a balcony, along with a door on each side of the stairs.

The layout of the house reminded him of many of the more expensive houses he had visited in his youth. The only difference was that the one he was currently in had a much more classic vibe than those others.

After talking with the guard for a moment, the man came over. “Is there anything I can get the two of you?”

* * *

In the study of the main manor, there were two men. One was sitting at a desk covered in papers, while the other was standing in front, straight-backed. “Sir, I have returned,” Bronson said.

The older man behind the desk nodded. “Report,” he said.

“Yes, sir.” Bronson took a deep breath. “Sir, I have confirmed that Young Master Wallace has passed. I have collected his remains for a proper funeral. I am sorry for your loss.”

The older man sighed. “So it was true. Was his death suspicious? Do you know what happened?” the man asked. Bronson hesitated, but he was pushed by the man. “Speak.”

“Sir, according to everything I gathered, Wallace died a hero. There is a level 100 undying dungeon in the forest that was spreading sickness, causing countless villager deaths. From the knowledge I obtained, Wallace and his party entered the dungeon and completed it. Only, his party was wiped out inside, and he was fatally injured and died just outside the dungeon, alone. But…” Bronson hesitated again.

“But what?”

“Sir, we both know Wallace. Do you believe he would risk his life like that? After confirming the dungeon, I believe he would, at most, return to Torith and report. His party was high level for this area, but he would know that it’s best to enter a dungeon at the highest possible level to ensure safety,” Bonson said.

The man furrowed his brows. “So, what are you saying?”

“I believe he offended someone dangerous and was framed in a way we would have to accept. Though, if it was who I suspect, I have no idea how the dungeon was cleared. There was nobody around, other than Wallace and his team, who would have been able to clear the dungeon. I have a corpse of one of the dungeon beasts, and it is quite formidable,” Bronson explained.

The man frowned. “Who do you believe he offended?”

“His name is Derek Hunt. He followed me back to Torith, and I have arranged his stay in our guest residence.” Bronson spoke cautiously.

The older man’s eyes widened. “You brought the man you believe killed my son to Torith, and then you allowed him to stay here? Have you gone mad?”

“Sir, do you remember the official that visited with Torith’s father?” Bronson asked.

“Yes. The king’s Advisor, Advisor Phillip Musgrave. What does anything have to do with him?”

“The pressure, sir. I believe Derek may be as strong as that man. Not only is the pressure he can give off as strong as Advisor Phillip’s, but he also has phenomenal control of it. When I first saw him, other than some arrogance, he didn’t seem to be much more than a regular human, but later…” Bronson shook his head.

The older man rested his hand on his forehead. He sighed. “So, he finally did it. He offended a person that should not have been offended no matter what. Bronson, what are we to do?”

“Sir, I have traveled with this man and spent much time with him. He has an arrogance to him, but from what I can tell, he is strangely kind and smart. If it was him that killed Wallace, it makes sense. Planting the body where he did not only protects the village he was staying at but also gives us a way to promote Wallace’s death as honorable and increase our reputation,” Bronson said, then frowned. “Still, the dungeon being cleared. I cannot figure it out. And the restraint it would take to leave the dungeon rewards with a dead body.” He shook his head.

“You are correct. We will spread the rumors of what happened and prepare an event to honor his sacrifice. It’s the only way—especially if this Derek is as formidable as you say.” The man sighed. “What was the dungeon reward, anyway?” the man asked, not really caring.

Bronson pulled the two rings out of his pouch and placed them on the desk. “That is the next problem.”

The man picked the rings up and examined them. Soon, he injected mana into one. “These are the rewards?” he asked, stunned.

Bronson nodded gravely. “They are. Both have the same amount of space, too. Once this spreads, Torith is going to be very busy.”

“Indeed.” The man sighed. Then he looked up at Bronson. “Have a seat. Tell me everything that happened from beginning to end. Don’t leave out a single detail.”

“Sir.” Bronson nodded and sat down.

6 WALTER GRACEFALL

Walter Gracefall was the leader of House Gracefall. His house had fallen when he was a boy, and he had been fighting to earn back the prestige of his house ever since. Throughout his life, he had traveled the kingdom and even become quite powerful. However, power was not enough to wash away the shame of his house. If someone were to ask him what he lacked, he would immediately answer: ‘luck.’

Now, his luck wasn’t terrible. It was enough to keep him alive in sticky situations, but what he needed to bring back honor to his house was to do more than just stay alive. He needed to be in the right place at the right time to obtain glory.

The man was 167 years old this year, and though the amount of glory he brought to his house was much more than an average noble, it just wasn’t enough to return to honor. However, the king had taken notice of his efforts, and perhaps his eldest son, Jenson, would be able to return them to House Searidge before he passed.

Currently, Walter was sitting at his desk listening to his most trusted aid, Bronson, report to him about various shocking events. Previously, when Bronson had given him a quick summary of the events, he was already quite shocked, but now, after learning all the details, he was just trying to do his best to not appear completely dumbfounded.

Finally, Bronson finished with the full report on what happened after they entered the city. The room was quiet for a while before Walter finally broke the silence. “So, Derek is well on his way to becoming a Crown member after only being in the city for less than one day. Not to mention that the way he is doing it is by selling a Void Beast and some type of beverage.” Walter shook his head. “Less than one day and already two contracts with the Crown,” he muttered. He could only wish he had this kind of luck.

“Well, the contract for the beast is not completed yet,” Bronson said.

Walter nodded. “It is as good as done, though.” The man sighed. “The most pressing matter is figuring out what to do with the dungeon. Let me see the specimen you obtained.”

Bronson nodded and stood. Then he walked to an open area of the room and waved his hand. The Ghoul he brought with him soon appeared on the floor.

Walter stood and walked over to the dead creature. He began his examination. He frowned. “Did you have to crush the head?”

Bronson nodded. “It is an undying creature. It kept struggling until I did so.”

Walter frowned but continued on. He lifted the long pale arm of the creature up, focusing his attention on the sharp nails extending from its hand. “Hmm… Toxic, huh?” He took his hand and ran the top of it under one of the fingernails. He pushed a bit harder until the nail penetrated his skin.

Bronson, to the side, let out a cry. “Sir!”

Walter motioned to him that he was fine. The toxin wasn’t as strong as it would have been if the creature was still alive as it was unable to draw on the creature’s mana. Walter dropped the arm to the ground, then watched the back of his hand. The toxin slowly worked its way from the top of his hand into his bloodstream. He turned his hand over and focused on the veins in his wrist. The raised but almost colorless veins on his arm turned darker and darker at a visible pace.

Walter closed his eyes and watched his health pool slowly deteriorate. The longer the toxin was in his system, the faster it spread, and the faster his health drained. Walter shook his head and released a breath. Then he placed his other palm on top of his hand and used a healing spell. It took multiple casts before the toxin disappeared, and he stood. He motioned for Bronson to take the creature back, then walked back over to his desk to sit.

He sighed as something like the toxin from the Ghoul wouldn’t have been able to harm him if not for his weakened state, but there was nothing he could do about it. Still, for the current members of his family, the toxin would be something they wouldn’t be able to handle. If there were more monsters in the dungeon like this one, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

Bronson stored the corpse and returned to his chair across from Walter. “Sir, did you learn anything?”

Walter looked up at Bronson with a serious expression on his face. “I did. We will not send anyone to this dungeon. You are to inform the Adventurer’s Guild of the dungeon and also show them the rewards. Use the excuse that we are mourning the loss of Wallace if the Adventure’s Guild asks for the reason we are spreading the news. A house cannot keep a dungeon to themselves and prevent others from entering, but they can choose to keep what they know of it private.”

Bronson nodded gravely. “Sir, why are we not taking the chance to obtain dungeon rewards before other houses?”

Walter stared directly into the eyes of Bronson. “Because whoever we send will die. Just based on one monster that escaped, even if it was 20 levels above the dungeon itself, its toxic ability—after its death, mind you—was enough to even astound me. You can consider this dungeon an ‘Elite’ dungeon. The group that goes in should all be as close to level 100 as possible, and their class should be a rare class. I don’t even believe that those who got uncommon classes from the start will be safe.”

Bronson only nodded at what was said. “So Wallace definitely did not complete the dungeon.”

Walter shook his head. “It would be impossible. Unless that creature you brought with you is the dungeon boss, or at the very least, few in numbers, there would be no way for them to complete it. Of course, if that happens to be the case, we still won’t lose much. If others complete it easily, we can send people all the same.”

“Should we warn others of your suspicion?” Bronson asked.

“No. They can find out the hard way. There are no nobles in Torith that would believe the words of a broken Noble House, anyway,” the older man said. “As for Derek, I would like to meet him at his earliest convenience. From what you have said, he does not sound like a bad person, just a little arrogant. I am interested in why he is trying to make such a reputation so quickly, though.”

Bronson nodded. “I will let him know. He should be training with the guards right now.”

“Oh?” Walter was surprised. “Why would someone like him train with the guards?”

Bronson shook his head. “I do not know. He suddenly asked about some magic spells and said he wanted to train with some of the guards that had the spells.”

“What spell?”

“Geyser,” Bronson replied.

Walter thought about what the man would want with that specific spell, but nothing came to mind. He shook his head, putting the odd behavior out of his mind. “You are dismissed. Allow Derek to train. Head to the Adventurer’s Guild first.”

Bronson stood and saluted. “Sir!” Then he turned and went to walk out of the room.

“Oh,” Walter said, causing Bronson to stop moving. “Do tell the Adventurer’s Guild that the village is under my protection. Not House Gracefall’s protection, but MY protection, got it?”

Bronson widened his eyes. “Yes, sir!”

The study returned to silence. Walter sat in the quiet, thinking, trying to work through everything that he learned so he could make the correct decision about it.

The loss of his youngest saddened him. Yes, he blamed Derek, but not as much as one would think. He mostly blamed himself for allowing Wallace to run amuck. There were many times he could have, should have, disciplined him, but he chose to allow the behavior to continue until it was too late.

No, the more he thought about it, the less anger he felt towards Derek. He had expected something like this to happen and was actually surprised Wallace was able to live as long as he did.

Even if he was more angry at Derek than he was, there was no way he would do anything about it currently. Doing everything he could for House Gracefall had instilled in him patience and rationale.

The man had killed his son, his failure, but he also allowed for his death to bring glory and honor to the house. It would bring more glory and honor than Walter suspected the boy would have obtained in his lifetime. This was something Walter could accept. In fact, Wallace would have most likely lost honor and brought more shame to his house.

Derek… This man is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Walter actually let a smile form on his face at that thought. Enigma was the Achievement that Derek told Bronson about. Bronson then told Walter. What a suitable Achievement for the man to obtain.

Walter was already looking forward to meeting the man who killed his son, brought House Gracefall honor, and achieved a reputation with the Crown on his first day in the city. He hadn’t been this excited since he received the parchment from the king, allowing Jenson to go to the king’s Academy for training.

Still, something bugged him at the back of his mind. Just what could the man be doing with the guard?

7 PREPARATIONS

Captain Bronson had told Guard Lieutenant Areyas to gather a few others that had the Geyser spell and report to the guest residence. That was easy enough, as Kellen and Emma both had the spell and were already following him. He grabbed Jared along the way and led them to the house.

When they arrived at the guest residence, they went inside and reported to the oddly dressed man with black hair and purple eyes. The purple eyes were disturbing. The man seemed raring to go as he jumped up and had them lead him to an empty room in the barracks. None of the guards asked any questions because Bronson had told Areyas to treat the man the same way that they would treat Master Gracefall.

Areyas led them to the barracks, then into a room that was mostly empty. There were just a few broken weapons lying around. Captain Bronson and he had been trying to decide what to do with the room, but they had failed to come to an agreement. There weren’t enough guards to warrant beds, and their gear was already optimally stored, so it wasn’t needed for that either.

The man looked around the empty room. “This will do nicely.” Then he looked towards Emma. “Do you have a separate room to change in than the male guards?” he asked bluntly.

Emma furrowed her brow slightly, understanding what he was asking. “No, sir, I am a guard. While others choose to do so, I do not need any special treatment.”

The man nodded to her. “Good.” Then he looked back at Areyas. “Are you able to clean water up easily?”

“Yes, sir. We are all water mages. We can gather small amounts of water and move it as we please,” he replied.

“Very good.” The man eyed the four guards. “Today, I need your help.”

* * *

Areyas and the other guards stared in stunned silence at the man, who was slowly pulling an odd tunic over his head. Captain Bronson had told him they would be training with this, Derek, but this was shocking.

The man had told them they were going to help him take a shower, and they had no idea what he was talking about. Then Derek began to remove his clothes. Derek was already intimidating, but when he removed his odd tunic, it was enough to make Emma gasp.

Scars covered his torso, each one looking deadlier than the last. The guards couldn’t even find it odd that the man was standing in the nude in front of them, their minds occupied solely on the scars. Then, Derek gave the command to cast Geyser on him one at a time. When one’s mana ran out, the other was to begin.

This led them to where they were now. Derek walked out of the room after thanking them and reminding them to not forget about the water on the floor. Emma was the first to break the silence. “M-my Geyser skill went up two levels.”

Areyas hadn’t even noticed any notifications, but after checking, his spell had also gained a level. “Mine went up one,” he said. “Did you see those scars?” he asked.

The others nodded, not commenting.

Areyas released a sigh. “Do you think Captain Bronson could stand in front of a Geyser without taking damage?” he asked the group.

“No,” Kellen replied. “He would be cooked alive. Maybe not instantly, but definitely after being blasted for so long… I’m pretty sure I heard that man humming a tune while being hit.” Kellen shivered.

“At least now we know why the captain told us to treat him well.” Areyas scanned the room. “We shouldn’t let others know about this,” he said. The others all nodded. Areyas then walked to the soaked floor and raised his hand. The water slowly rose from the ground, and he moved it, bit by bit, to a bucket, then looked at Jared. “Go get a tub. This is going to take a while.”

* * *

Derek walked from the barracks towards the guest residence. He was in a pretty good mood after taking such a refreshing shower. This was the cleanest he had felt in a long while. The only bad thing was the loss of his bar of soap. One thing he had not thought about was how fast the super-heated water would dissolve it. He only had a few, so he felt the loss.

Oh well, you win some, you lose some, he thought. He got a good chuckle out of seeing the guards’ reactions when he told them to hit him with the spell. Then their reactions afterwards were even more priceless.

The other thing he was most happy about was the two levels he gained in Magic Resistance. It was all the way up to level 10 now. His natural magic resistance was already at 15%. When the Geyser first started hitting him, it was hot, and his flesh slowly turned pink. But, after getting used to it, it felt like a nice warm shower.

If I have time, I should get a rune, metal, and water mage to help me make an actual shower that normal people can use. Baths are good for relaxing, but I think better when taking a shower. He already had an idea in mind about how he would go about designing a magic shower.

He wouldn’t actually need a water mage for it, but it would be easier than physically filling up a container himself. It was actually quite simple—if the runes existed. He would just have the rune mage apply some heat and pressure runes to a container filled with water. A pipe would run up, ending in a covered shower head. Remove the cover and he could have a hot shower. It would need some testing, but it should work.

Derek eventually ended up back at the guest residence while thinking these random thoughts. Awaiting him at the house were Thomas and Silvi. Thomas was looking cleaner than ever and was dressed in some clothing Derek knew was not his.

“What happened to you?” Derek asked.

“Bronson came by looking for you. I told him you were with the guards. He had someone bring me this.” He motioned at the tunic and pants he was wearing. “I took a bath and was waiting for you.”

Derek nodded. “Did you give Silvi a bath, too?” He looked at Silvi, whose hair was brighter than usual.

“I talked her into it,” Thomas replied sheepishly.

‘Better clean. More cute. More food.’ Her thoughts rang out inside his head.

Can’t argue with that logic. Derek chuckled. “Was there anything else? Did Bronson finish reporting everything?”

“I don’t know,” Thomas replied. “He said that Master Gracefall would like to have dinner with you tonight.”

“Sounds good to me. I didn’t eat as much as you all, so I could go for some more food,” Derek said.

Silvi jumped from Thomas’s hands onto the table. Nodding her head like a human. ‘More food.’

It was late, but there were still a good few hours left until dinner, so Derek wandered around the manor. Behind the door on the bottom floor was a magnificent dining area, with another door on the right side leading to the kitchen.

Both sides of the upper floor had doors that led to hallways. There were five bedrooms in total. He also found the bathroom. Unfortunately, there wasn’t real plumbing. He guessed that a mage would cleanse the room often to keep it clean. That wasn’t a job he would want.

After exploring a bit, he was bored again. He had plans, but it was already too late in the day to get anything else done. Instead of sitting there thinking, Derek slipped into meditation and waited for the time to meet this ‘Master Gracefall.’

Derek was awoken from his meditation by the arrival of Bronson. He opened his eyes and motioned for the man to take a seat across from him.

Bronson nodded and sat down. After sitting, Bronson waved his hand, and a set of formal clothing appeared on the empty table in front of him. Before Bronson spoke, he was interrupted by Derek.

“No,” Derek said.

“But…” Bronson muttered.

Derek shook his head. “I’m already wearing my least holey pair of jeans. Look how nice this shirt is.” He motioned to his clothing. “I’m not dressing in something I would never wear just to have dinner with someone I’ve never met. If it was a button-down with some chinos, then maybe, but not… that.”

“Button-down? Chinos? I don’t understand,” Bronson said.

“Nor should you. This is good enough. If you don’t like it, I don’t have to go. I could always just have dinner at the Crown.” After saying that, Silvi jumped into his lap and nodded fiercely.

Bronson sighed. “That is fine. I didn’t have much hope, anyway. Dinner is almost ready, and the master is already waiting. Please, follow me.”

With that, Bronson stood and led the group over to the main residence. The inside of the building was practically the same as the other, albeit a much grander version.

Bronson motioned to a door. “Thomas and Silvi will dine in that room with me and a few others. The main dining room will just be you and the master. He would like to speak with you privately.”

“Okay.” Derek separated from the kid and the bunny and followed Bronson into another room.

Inside the room was a middle-aged man with some gray streaks in his hair sitting at the end of a dining table. When they entered the room, the man stood.

“Sir, this is Derek Hunt,” Bronson said, and the man nodded. “Is there anything else, sir?”

“That is all. You are dismissed,” the man said, and Bronson left. “Please, have a seat.” The man motioned at the seat across from himself. Derek nodded and sat down, and the man did the same.

After some silence, the man spoke. “So, you are the one who killed my son?”

8 DINNER AND DISCUSSION

Derek stared at the man, his eyes squinting. The strange thing was that the man was not giving off any dangerous or murderous intent. Usually, especially with a question like that, there would be a chilliness or at least a subtle anger in the person’s voice, but Derek detected nothing like that. The question was asked as if he was asking about the weather.

After some time pondering, Derek broke out in laughter. It was definitely not a suitable response to the question, but he just couldn’t help himself.

This laughter caused the older man to frown, but he remained silent. He only continued to gaze at Derek.

Finally, Derek got a hold of himself and calmed down. “Sorry about that. I was just thinking that Bronson needs some kind of medal or even an Oscar for that kind of acting. I thought that he may have some suspicion, but he did a great job hiding it.” Derek shook his head.

The man let out a deep breath. “So, you are not disputing that you killed my son?”

“You seem pretty sure of yourself. I imagine if you didn’t have sufficient evidence, you wouldn’t have just come out and said it like that.” Derek did not confirm or deny the accusation, in fact, he really was intrigued by this man across the table from him. “By the way, how would you like me to address you? I’ve only heard people call you ‘Master Gracefall’ and ‘the master,’ but I am certainly not calling you master.”

The man stood and bowed slightly. “Excuse me for my rudeness. I am Walter Gracefall, Patriarch of House Gracefall.” Walter sat back down after introducing himself.

Derek nodded. “Now, I’m sure you have some questions for me, but I also have some for you as well.”

“Please, go ahead. I am a patient man,” Walter said.

At that time, a light knock sounded on the door, and a servant walked in, pushing a cart full of food. “Pardon me, Master Gracefall,” the man said, then looked at Derek. “Sir.” He began arranging the dishes on the dining table before backing away. “If there is nothing else.” The man looked at Walter, and Walter nodded. The servant took that as his cue and quietly retreated to the kitchen.

Derek took some time putting an arrangement of food onto his plate before he spoke again. “If you don’t mind me asking… how, or why, do you suspect that I killed your son?”

“The ghoul,” Walter answered straightforwardly. “I know my son and his team. There is absolutely no way they would be able to take out more than a couple of them, even if they are at a slightly lower level.”

“Hmm… What if the ghoul happened to just be the boss of the dungeon? It wouldn’t be too big of a stretch then, correct?” Derek asked.

The man nodded. “That is true, but bosses of dungeons are the last to break out during an overflow. If the dungeon had gotten to that point, I suspect the casualties would have been massive.”

Derek nodded. “It was in extreme overflow but still holding. It wouldn’t have lasted much longer.” He paused. “Is that the only reason for your suspicion?”

“It is the main one, but it is not the only one. I know my son, and his character, well. Overall, there are just too many things that don’t add up.,” Walter explained. “So… did you do it?” he asked for the third time.

“Yes,” Derek bluntly stated.

Walter looked down at his plate and sighed. “What did the boy do? How did he offend you?”

“Offend me? He could have offended me personally all he wanted, and I most likely wouldn’t have killed him. I have much thicker skin than most. But”—Derek paused and looked into the man’s eyes—“he stepped over two lines.”

“Two lines?”

“Yes. The first was when he attacked and left a 13-year-old girl and her mother unconscious over some insignificant items I gave them. I’m not sure I would have killed him and his group if that was all because I was able to heal them, but then… he dragged the village chief, my personal friend, to the center of the town to execute her for standing up for the child. If I had arrived even one minute later…” The purple in Derek’s eyes spread as he kept eye contact with Walter. “There would no longer be a House Gracefall in the city of Torith.”

Derek let the void go back dormant and released Walter’s gaze. He cut into a piece of meat and placed it in his mouth. He closed his eyes and sighed. “This is quite delicious. Not as good as that restaurant’s food, but still, it was very good.”

When he raised his head from the food, Derek was greeted with a surprise. Unlike the terror or surprise that usually came with his threats, Walter was only looking at him with a slight smile on his face. Oh? This guy must be much stronger than most or at least have much more experience. Derek knew it would be pointless to try Identify on the man. If he already couldn’t use the skill on Bronson, there would be no way that it would work on Walter.

“That is quite the threat,” the older gentleman said. “Though I imagine you would have had a tougher time making my house disappear than you thought.”

Derek was liking this man more and more. And he was liking the challenge even more so. “I don’t know,” he said, activating Void Shift directly after speaking. He moved to the paused Walter’s side, with his chin resting over the man’s shoulder, just within whisper distance. He released his skill and whispered in the man’s ear, “I think I would have managed.” He activated the skill again and moved back to his seat before releasing it.

The man had only seen his void aura and purple eyes as a party trick, but Derek could tell that this other display of power had truly gotten his point across. The man’s eyes had widened, and beads of sweat were dripping down his forehead. His breathing had gotten rough, and he swallowed with a loud gulping noise.

“Fortunately, none of that had to come to pass, and I’m able to have a delicious meal beside you.” Derek spoke joyfully as he brought another piece of meat to his lips.

Walter calmed down and chuckled. “It seems I was still underestimating you.”

“It happens,” Derek replied. “Though I am still curious. Why do you seem like you are not upset or angry at the loss of your son?”

Walter sighed and shook his head. “It is not that I am not angry or upset, it is that I am not angry or upset at you, especially after the reason you gave for killing him. I am angry with myself. I let the boy off too lightly when he was growing, and his actions grew worse and worse. By the time I realized my fault, it was too late. There was no changing the boy. The best I could do was try to cover up for him and try to provide relief for those harmed by him, while hoping he would not offend someone he could not afford to. But, alas, he met you. His death was bound to come sooner rather than later.”

“I see,” Derek muttered, understanding a bit, but still not understanding why Walter would treat him so well.

The man, however, gave Derek a warm smile. “I know you killed him, but you still honored my family with the way you did.”

Derek frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

Walter laughed. “Even if unintentional, the way you framed the situation has brought honor to Wallace’s death. Therefore, it has brought honor to my family. As you said before, the dungeon was in extreme overflow, and the forest was succumbing to disease. With the way you framed everything, Wallace and his team sacrificed their life while also saving the forest and villages around the area. Word of monster hordes attacking villages has spread through the city, so now everyone will know that the reason this has stopped is because of my Wallace.” The man stood and bowed to Derek.

Derek was at a loss for words. Derek figured his frame job would allow the family to accept their losses easier, but he thought nothing of honor for the whole family or of how much it might mean to them when he was doing it. “Uh… You are welcome, then.”

The man sat back down and nodded.

“So, what are your intentions with the dungeon?” Derek changed the subject.

“I have already instructed Bronson to spread the news to the Adventurer’s Guild. My family will not touch the dungeon. There is no way we have the current manpower at the correct level to complete an elite dungeon like that. The other families will soon suffer great losses.”

Derek nodded. The man before him was quite smart. “Though, won’t those losses result in people questioning Wallace’s ability to clear the dungeon?”

“It will, but the only people that knew of his actual strength were me, Bronson, and Jenson—my other son. If any questions are posed, it is easy enough to say that he was actually like his brother, except with a different character. And, if we are asked why we are not diving into the dungeon ourselves, we can simply state that we are mourning the loss of a prominent family member,” Walter answered. “Certain people may be able to ascertain the truth, but I doubt anyone will look too closely. They will be overly occupied with the rewards.”

Derek sighed. “I guess you have truly thought of everything.”

Walter nodded. “I don’t know if I have thought of everything, but I do not believe that there is anyone in this city who could have thought of more than this old man. Also, I have sent word that the village you came from and everyone residing in it is under my personal protection.”

“Thank you for that,” Derek said sincerely. “That means a lot. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?”

The man smiled. “Quite a lot, actually.”

“Oh? Ask away,” Derek said.

“I am still hung up on one major issue. I know Wallace couldn’t have cleared the dungeon, and you have confirmed this with your confession. So, how did an elite dungeon, one about to burst at that, get completed? Then, there are the two storage rings—one from the reward, and another from being the first to complete it, I would assume. This all adds up that you had something to do with the completion of the dungeon,” Walter questioned.

Derek nodded. “I did have something to do with it.” The man had already figured that much out, so Derek wasn’t going to insult his intelligence by answering in the negative.

“But you couldn’t have possibly been the one to clear it. Just with the power you displayed to Bronson, and what you showed me already, it isn’t possible for you to be under the dungeon level cap. The only possibility I can think of is an elite team that works for you, completing it and handing you the rewards.” The man pondered, giving more and more thought to the issue.

He continued speaking, working through the possibilities out loud. “But that doesn’t make sense either, considering the boy you brought with you. If you already had followers like that, then it would not be logical to bring the kid with you unless he was something special. According to Bronson, he is more of a carriage for your beast companion than a student.”

Derek got a good chuckle out of that. Ever since they left the village, other than during the fight with the bandits, Thomas had been a taxi service for Silvi. He smiled at Walter. “Any other ideas?”

The man furrowed his brow and sat in silence for a few moments, seemingly thinking of any other possibilities. Eventually, he shook his head. “For the life of me, I cannot think of anything else. Strangers clearing the dungeon wouldn’t have given you their rewards, and I doubt you would kill them and steal the rewards, especially since you already told me that you would not have killed Wallace if he had only angered you.

“You could have traded some strangers for the rewards, but most people would not let the opportunity to brag about being the first to complete a dungeon go. We would have heard about their completion well before you arrived in the city. Of course, I could be wrong and you did, in fact, kill an entire team to set up the results. But that makes less sense than everything else after meeting you.” Finally, apparently out of ideas, the man went silent. Then he looked into Derek’s eyes. “Will you tell me how you did it? I’m afraid not knowing is going to eat at me for a very long time if you do not.”

Derek pondered the situation for quite some time before finally giving an answer. “I can tell you,” he said. Walter’s eyes lit up as he waited for the answer. “But this answer concerns a big secret of mine, so I would need you to give an oath first.”

Walter frowned. “What kind of oath? I can give one. It’s not like I haven’t given many in my life, but it cannot be too stringent. If it is, I will have to make do with random guesses and never knowing.”

It made sense. Oaths were not something that was easy to accept for most people. Though, Derek figured that someone like the man in front of him could easily tell if the oath was worth taking or not. “Two things.” Derek held out two fingers. “First, you are not allowed to tell anyone this secret of mine in any form of communication.” Derek figured that someone could get around an oath by using loopholes in the wording.

“Second, you are not allowed to use the knowledge of this secret to purposely hurt or hinder me or those I care about,” he said, then he thought of something else. “Oh, and my secret may become common knowledge one day. So, when that happens, you will no longer be bound by the oath.”

Walter sat quietly for a bit before talking. “Those aren’t too binding of conditions. I have agreed to worse for less. I must ask you. Will knowing your secret bring any benefit to me or my house?”

“I’m not sure about that. All I can say is that it will give you some peace of mind—and maybe some information that you never knew. What you do with the information is entirely up to you,” Derek replied.

Walter considered it for a while. “Well, since the terms aren’t actually bad, and as I have no intention of going against you now, or ever, hopefully, I will agree to them. If for nothing else than to ease my wondering mind.”

“I, Walter Gracefall, formerly Walter Searidge, hereby swear to the Great System to accept your previous conditions as stated.” It was a weird oath and much different from how the others had given theirs, but the notification popped up just the same.

An oath to the Great System has been made by one, Walter Gracefall, formerly Walter Searidge. This oath is binding until death—or until certain conditions are met. If broken, Walter Gracefall will lose all classes and skills obtained by the Great System, and he will never have access again. Stats will remain as is at the time of breaking the oath.

Derek nodded after seeing the notification of the oath. It was interesting, though. Derek figured that the system had to constantly ‘keep watch’ on its users as Walter was able to complete an oath without himself laying out the terms. And, because Derek had mentioned that the oath would be void if others ever found out, the notification mentioned the addition of other conditions.

Of course, Derek still didn’t plan to tell the man the whole truth. Him being from Earth–and thus, another system—was a huge secret that he would not be sharing.

Derek looked the man in the eyes. “So, what do you know of legendary classes?”

Walter’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “There is not much at all about them. An epic class is already considered peak. The only thing we know is that they have existed before, but there is no one that I know of currently that has one.”

Derek nodded. It was what he expected. “Well, if an epic class gives 20 stat points per level, what do you think a legendary class would give?”

The man shook his head. “I’m not sure, at least 25 or more.”

Derek could tell that Walter had already figured out what he was going to tell him, so he decided to stop the teasing and held up three fingers. “A legendary class gains 30 points per level, and the skills”—Derek gave a dramatic pause—“are quite threatening.” He smiled.

“Now, if someone unlocked a legendary class upon unlocking the great system, how strong do you believe he or she would be? Even if he had not reached level 100.” Derek left the question hanging in the air.

Walter let out a deep breath. “I suppose the person would be just about as strong as you. That’s what, around 2,800 stat points to be used at level 100. Just one’s basic stats would be outrageous for that level.” The man stared at Derek. “So you…”

“Have a legendary class? Completed the dungeon? Yes.”

Walter’s hands shook in excitement. The door to the kitchen opened. “Not now!” he yelled, and the servant quickly backed away and shut the door. The older man calmed himself. “Would you mind answering some questions about your class? Not what class it is or anything, just how you went about getting a legendary class.”

Derek nodded. “Depending on the question.”

“Do you know why the class was offered to you? The conditions you met?” Walter excitedly asked.

Derek nodded. “I raised my stats and skills a lot before taking a class. Also, I spent a ton of time alone in different elements to get my class type. So, if I had to help one get a great class, other than desire, I would say to max out your stats and skills to the best of your ability before taking a class. Even go as far as not hitting level 10 as soon as possible. Train someone until they are 15 or even older. And, if you want a water-based class, become one with the water. Train in it, sleep beside it, and constantly surround yourself with it.

“There is a downside to a legendary class, though. The amount of experience points you need to level is at least triple that of a common class,” Derek warned.

Walter nodded his head. “We do train with water, but we have never gone as far as surrounding ourselves constantly. It is also very hard to get a child to wait before selecting a class as they would not want to fall behind their peers. As for the experience, you are a prime example of why that does not matter. There are those who focus more on their skills than their levels, and they tend to be stronger in the long run, so your theory does have merit.

“If you can run a level 100 undying, elite dungeon by yourself, then you can run a level 100 regular dungeon early on. Even if the experience gained inside is halved, with just hard work, leveling is easy enough.”

“Do you know how well your theory works? Have you experimented with others to unlock great classes?” Walter asked.

Derek nodded. “I have. Only one, though. The highest class she was able to choose was epic, but there were also rare growth classes that may one day turn to legendary or higher. Of course, nobody would be able to train as I did. I am much older than you think. I was almost 30 when I hit level 10.”

Derek was not lying there. Even if his status sheet didn’t show all the years he spent in the void, he could not forget them. “But, the reward for such preparation is being able to crush anything close to your level and, after leveling some, being able to crush things way above your level.”

Walter nodded. “This girl. Do you mind me asking about her?”

Derek sighed. “One reason that I am checking out the city is because of her. If I tell you about her, you must promise to never act against her and help protect her if possible. Though, I’m still not sure about Torith as a place to stay. That is another thing I wished to discuss with you today.”

9 ABOUT A GIRL

Walter nodded. “I promise. As long as this woman does not act against me or my family, I will do nothing that will harm her. And, if possible, I will do what I can to help her. Now, what is it you would like to discuss about her?”

“The girl’s name is Brandi. She was a villager that I saved by chance. With the Great System only just being unlocked, she already had a passion for Leatherworking. She wanted nothing more than to provide armor for her village to help them hunt safely,” Derek said.

He sighed. “Unfortunately, because of the spread of the disease caused by the dungeon, her village was attacked by a horde of mid-level forest creatures that were pushed out by the higher leveled ones that were running from the disease. By the time I arrived, it was too late for their village and most of the hunters in it. Her father also lost his life buying enough time for the women and children to escape.”

“I see. There have been reports of monsters attacking villages that were close to the forest. It must have been one of them. That is also the reason the Adventurer’s Guild took the report of a possible dungeon seriously and sent out my son’s team when news of it arrived. Of course, who would have imagined that it would be a level 100 elite dungeon?” Walter added.

Derek nodded. “That sounds about right,” he answered. “After saving what was left of that village, I escorted them to Thomas’s village. Things happened, and I ended up staying longer than I thought I would. That’s when I noticed Brandi’s drive and passion for crafting. That’s also when I decided to test some things.”

“I helped Thomas level fast and choose a class, but I had Brandi stay at level one and focus only on her general Leatherworking skill. Later, I took her and some others through dungeons and around other places, trying to obtain a bunch of Achievements before allowing her to level to 10. Surprisingly, it seemed to pay off as she was offered both an epic class and a rare growth-type class when she could choose. I won’t say what the classes were, but they both seemed quite good. She chose the rare growth-type class in the end,” Derek explained.

Walter nodded. “That sounds like a successful experiment to me. If only we could find out how much of it was her passion for the craft, and how much was from the Achievements and experiences. Then again, I don’t think many people would be about to focus only on the general Leatherworking skill without an adequate amount of passion.”

“That’s right. I believe that it all comes together. Now, with Brandi, we only focused for a couple of months. Think about what would happen if you had someone focus the same, except for years. I believe it would work for multiple class types, too. Not just crafting classes. Take your water-type classes, for example. If you could find a serious student at around 10 years of age, you could have him train his body and mind and constantly be surrounded by water.

“Then, when he unlocks the Great System, you could have him spend a year or so leveling General Skills or skills learned through scrolls that have something to do with water or magic. I suspect that when he finally gets to choose a class, he could select from at least an epic class. Who knows, he may even get a legendary class.” Derek laid out the training plan he had been thinking about since Brandi’s success.

Walter was quiet for a while, seemingly lost in thought. Finally, he came out of the trance. “I think we have a child in the family that could do it,” he said. “She just turned 12, but it would still be worth trying. Although, she enjoys melee more than magic…” Walter trailed off.

“That would work, too. Find the weapon she is most suitable for, and have her train with it constantly by the water or in the rain. Then, when it comes time for her to unlock the Great System, allow her to reach level one. Have someone help her get the Achievement for slaying a creature at a certain level above her, then spend the skill points on one of the weapon mastery skills, along with some type of general magic skill. Oh, and Meditation, it is a must. So, I guess she would have to get the Giant Slayer Achievement for slaying a creature 50 levels above her. Make sure she does it with the weapon of her choice, too.” Derek nodded, happy with his explanation.

Walter laughed. “It looks like I’m going to have to take my great niece in as a disciple.” He chuckled. “I wonder how the rest of the family is going to react.”

“She will be lucky. Hell, if it works, she could turn into the next head of your house.” Derek chuckled. “Now, about finding a place for Brandi. Do you think Torith could be a good option?”

Walter sighed, then shook his head. “The only way would be if you were to stay with her at all times or allow her to work under me. I don’t believe that is what either of you wants.”

“Why is that?”

“The city lord, Malcolm Torith. Though I’m much stronger than him, his power comes from his father, who isn’t considered too strong, but his father has connections. He has slithered his way into the king’s good graces. You can think of Malcolm as a version of Wallace but to the extreme. He has never had to work for anything, though his level is rather high. It was all done by servants. I don’t believe he has ever been in a real fight,” Walter explained.

He continued, “If he finds out about Brandi, then the second she is left alone without you or me guarding her, he will have her. And, it would not be long after when she is forced to sign a slave contract for their family. After that, there would be nothing you could do to save her. With a slave oath, even if you kill all the Toriths, she would die along with them. So, I believe you should keep her as far away from this city as possible.”

Derek frowned. He had expected the city lord to be a bit overbearing, but he never thought that he would be this bad. “If the man is as bad as you say, then why does the king allow it? From what I heard about the king, he seems pretty reasonable.”

“Gerald, Malcolm’s father, once saved the king’s life. If you ask me, it was all too timely. An assassination attempt happening during a small meeting that just so happened to include Gerald. I was there, and to me, it seemed that Gerald moved too fast. But, he took an enchanted dagger in the chest and almost died. The assassin died as soon as he failed, so there was no evidence left at the scene.” Walter shook his head. “The injury to Gerald took a very long time to heal because of the enchantment. So, either everything he did was selfless. Or he is playing a very long game.

“As for Malcolm’s actions. He knows how far he can go and who he can offend. Though I know you are a person who should not be offended, nobody else does. Well, maybe the Crown suspects so. A slave contract is frowned upon by the king, but Malcolm has used it multiple times, and he only gets a visit from his father and a good yelling at when they find out,” Walter finished.

“I see… Then, is there a place that you would suggest? Somewhere safe for her, where she could also hone her craft and gain reputation?” Derek asked.

The older man thought for a bit before speaking. “Savannah,” he said, nodding his head. “I believe that Savannah would be the safest city in the kingdom. Natalie Savannah is the city lord there, and she is the most neutral city lord.”

“Oh, what is this city like?”

“Savannah is the third biggest city in the Cydaria kingdom, only behind the capital and Rota, and it is the wealthiest. It is a big merchant city. There is no low-class area in the city as it was built by merchants for merchants. The Savannahs have taken orphans in the city and raised them as their own for generations, thus keeping the homeless and slum rate down to a minimum.”

“The security is very strict, and there are laws that must be followed. There is no leeway for crimes in the city. Because of how successful of a merchant city it is, the Savannahs have full control of the city, and not even the king dares to interfere. I have personally met Natalie, and while I can’t say we are friends, I can say that she is a very upright person. Instead of trying to have a talent such as Brandi for herself, she would be elated that the girl chose her city to make a living. I imagine that she would even post guards and extra security for the girl if she ever found out about her,” Walter said.

Derek nodded. “That does sound good. How is the outside of the city? Are there a lot of dungeons or high-level monsters? I plan to provide the materials for the girl to work with, so that is a must. Right now, I can get plenty of level 100 or so materials for her to use, so is there a good amount in Savannah?”

“There is. There are many dungeons, ranging from level 50 to level 250. Plus, the areas around the higher-level dungeons have high-level monsters. There is a level 200 dungeon desert dungeon that rewards fantastic weapons. Plus, the enemies inside the dungeon all have some kind of material that Blacksmiths and Leatherworkers can use. Not to mention that it is a main city with a teleportation platform, so you can always go to other cities to hunt, too,” Walter explained.

Derek laughed. “I let the teleportation platforms slip my mind. I guess I’m going to have to check out this Savannah once all my business here is finished.”

“Speaking of business,” Walter said. “I was informed by Bronson that you have been doing some business with the Crown Restaurant. Would you mind if I asked about that? He said you gave them a Void Beast and signed a contract for some beverage.”

Derek nodded. “I happened upon a Void Beast not long after I saved Brandi and the remaining members of her village. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, other than give the hide to Brandi once she was able to make something out of it, so when Bronson was explaining to me about the Crown, I made the decision to do business with them. As for the beverage, I’m sure it will be a hit once it’s ready, especially if the Botanists can enhance certain properties of it.”

“That should put you on the fast track to earning a membership.” Walter nodded. “Especially if this beverage does as well as you think. Other than business with the Crown, is there any other business you plan to do? If you don’t mind my asking.”

Walter was being overly polite to Derek, but Derek didn’t mind, nor was he very suspicious. The man had already sworn an oath and made promises, and he didn’t seem like the type of person to go back on his word. Even though Derek hadn’t dealt with many people in the past, those like Walter were his favorite to deal with. He knew that the man had the ambition to clear his family name, but he wasn’t the type to step on the innocent to get his way. If he was, he never would have told Derek to go somewhere else with Brandi.

So, Derek didn’t mind letting him know of some of his future plans. “Honestly, I came here to meet you, to meet the city lord, and to register at the Adventurer’s Guild. The Crown was just a happy accident. After meeting you, I don’t feel the need to meet Malcolm. So, I imagine I will head to the Adventurer’s Guild in the next few days to register. After that, I have to wait for Stella to negotiate for the Void Beast. I’ll probably stay here for a month or so before looking for a city with a teleporter, then I will look into Savannah.”

Walter smiled. “I see. I’m sure Stella won’t make you wait long. She is quite the capable woman,” he said. “Though I do not think you will be able to avoid a meeting with Malcolm. Surely, he has already heard of both your business with the Crown and your meeting with me. I would not put it past him to send someone to my front door to invite you for a chat.”

“About that. I will stay in the guest house for tonight since you invited me, but I don’t plan on overstaying my welcome. I will head to the merchant district and book myself and the kid a room for the time being.” Derek continued with a frown. “What are the chances Malcolm leaves things be if I reject his invite?”

Walter laughed out loud at the question. “The chances? Next to zero. Maybe I did not explain the man’s temperament well enough before. The odds of him getting angry if you refuse his invitation are 100%. The man is nothing more than a smart child. You are a new, shiny toy that he wants to play with. Like I said, he doesn’t know that he should not offend you yet, so him taking action against you is a given.”

Derek frowned. “Dammit. This is going to be way more trouble than it’s worth.” He shook his head and thought everything over.

“What are you thinking?” Walter asked after the silence continued for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Derek sighed. “I’m trying to figure out if it would be less of a hassle to not respond to the invite and offend him or accept the invitation and offend him to his face.”

Walter stared slack-jawed at Derek. “Why do both options end with you offending him?”

“Have you met me?” Derek answered.

After letting the answer sit for a moment, Walter burst out laughing. “I understand. There is indeed no way for you to go an entire meeting without offending someone like him. And there is no way you will bow your head and act submissive to him.” Walter sighed. “I can’t tell you what to do. You may be able to delay your meeting by making some excuses, then quietly leave once all your business is finished. Other than that, I don’t know, and I would prefer not to have to deal with the commotion caused by a city lord’s death…” Walter spoke the last part in a much lower voice.

Derek chuckled. “I guess it doesn’t hurt to try that. And I will try my best not to force your precious city lord into early retirement,” he said. “By the way, which inn would be good to stay at in the middle district?”

“You might as well stay at The Oliphant Inn here in the noble district. I can sponsor you if needed, but I’m sure that your dealings with the Crown Restaurant have already made waves. If you are able to dine there, there is no way that any inn in the city would deny you entrance. Though, it will make it easier for Malcolm to keep an eye on you,” Walter responded.

“I guess that makes things easy.” Derek checked his storage bracelet and frowned. “How much does it cost per night?”

Walter chuckled and tossed a small pouch on the table near Derek. “This is the gold you left in Wallace’s storage ring. You might as well take it. It will cost five to fifteen gold per night, depending on the length of stay, which room, and the number of people.”

Derek hesitated, but eventually, he grabbed the bag and put it in his bracelet. I guess it was my kill. No sense in letting the loot go to waste. “Thanks, I’ll pay you back.”

“Don’t worry about it. Like I said before, letting Wallace have a noble death is already more than enough. I still feel like I’m in your debt because of my son’s actions.”

Derek felt a little odd. It was like he was being paid by Wallace’s father for assassinating the idiot. Finally, he shrugged the feeling off.

Derek looked around the table. During their conversation, both men had eaten their fill. The entire table was full of nothing but empty dishes. Derek stood. “Well, it was very nice meeting you.” He moved closer to Walter, who also stood, and held his hand out.

Walter took his hand. “The honor was mine. Bronson was not jesting when he said that you were a very interesting person.”

Derek laughed as their hands separated. “He is quite the servant. Seems like a great man.”

“One of the best. He is one of the few I have absolute trust in.”

Suddenly, Derek remembered something. “By the way, I was talking to the man about his sword. He said that a blacksmith you know created it. It’s a pretty decent sword, and I am in the need of a new weapon. I’m getting kind of sick of using my hands.” Derek pulled his glaive out, showing the chip in it. “At this point, any enemy tough enough for me to face will destroy my glaive before it does any damage.” The glaive disappeared back into his bracelet.

“A glaive… I haven’t seen one of those in ages,” Walter said, then sighed. “I do know a good blacksmith, but Bronson’s sword was a favor to me. We are not really friends, only acquaintances. With your rapid leveling, I cannot suggest him to you, anyway. If I were you, I would look in the capital or Savannah for someone who can craft a weapon worthy of someone over level 200.”

Derek let out a breath. “That’s what I was expecting. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask, though,” Derek said. “After our dinner, I have a much better idea of what I plan to do. Thank you.”

Walter nodded. “It was fun. If you ever need anything, or a place to stay, don’t hesitate to find me.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not overly prideful or shy. If I need something, I will be sure to ask.” Derek smiled. “Thanks for dinner. I’m going to head back to the guest house and get some rest. I think I may actually sleep tonight.”

Derek turned to walk back out from where he came, and Walter followed. When they entered the main room of the manor, they saw Thomas and Bronson sitting across from each other, Thomas on the couch, and Bronson in a chair.

Bronson immediately stood and bowed. “Sir.”

Walter nodded. “It seems our dinner went on a bit longer than expected.”

Silvi was lying beside Thomas on her back with her feet up. ‘Such a great day. Best day ever,’ she sent to Derek when she noticed him.

‘Don’t get used to it,’ he transmitted back. How she was able to eat so much at the restaurant, then come here and eat again Derek did not know. If he didn’t know any better, he would assume that the ‘void’ part in her race’s name was talking about her stomach. It seemed endless.

Derek looked at Thomas. “You ready? I’m going to head back to the guest residence and get some rest. Got a lot of shit to do tomorrow.”

Thomas agreed and stood. Then he looked at the bunny and sighed. He reached down and picked her up. “I’m ready.”

Derek, Walter, and Bronson chuckled. Derek walked to the front door and then turned around. “Thanks for having me. I’ll stop by tomorrow before we leave.” Derek then opened the door and walked out.

Thomas, trailing behind him, clumsily turned and bowed respectfully, catching a rabbit horn in the sternum in the process. “Ouch… Sorry… Thank you for the meal.” He quickly turned and ran out the door. The laughter resounding behind him faded as the door swung closed.

10 BOSS

Inside the Crown Restaurant…

A couple hours after Derek and his group left…

Stella held a blue crystal in her hand. The crystal was smooth on all sides and round, with no jagged edges. This was called a communication crystal, and it could only be created by a high-level Runesmith working together with a Gemsmith.

The smooth surface of the crystal contained multiple etchings. Each etching represented a connection to another communication crystal. Stella’s crystal still had plenty of room to hold multiple more runes. Other than her boss, a few coworkers, and a couple of friends, nobody else had aroused enough of Stella’s interest for her to give away any more of the crystal’s precious space.

As Stella held the crystal, she focused on a specific rune, injecting mana into it. Soon, the mana ran through the crystal and traced along the rune. Before long, the rune illuminated fiercely. Once the rune lit up, Stella set the crystal on her desk and waited.

She had gathered her thoughts and knew exactly what she was going to say before activating the crystal. Talking to her boss was a task, so she wanted to be exact and make the conversation straight and to the point—though she doubted that it was even possible. Every time Stella needed to make contact, she did the same, and every time, she ended the conversation rattled.

After nearly an hour of waiting, the blue glow changed. The bright, still glow darkened and began to blink. This was the indication that her boss had activated her crystal and was ready to speak.

Stella hurried to pick up the crystal and injected more mana into it. She quickly transmitted. ‘My Lady. I have ma—’ She tried to start the conversation on topic. She tried so hard. But it was all for naught as a perky voice resounded from her crystal.

“Oh, if it isn’t my dear little Stella. I’m so glad you called. I’ve been thinking about you for days. You really must make time to come to the capital. It just doesn’t have the same beauty while it’s missing one of its brightest gems.” The happy and alluring voice echoed throughout the room.

Stella’s freckled cheeks began burning and soon reached the same color as her hair. Her mind blanked, and she could only mechanically answer the woman. ‘My Lady, please stop. I am nowhere near as radiant as you,’ she transmitted. She tried her best to gain back control, but she couldn’t. Her boss had her.

“Oh! Do you really think so? You’re making me blush.” Stella could barely think coherently as the woman’s voice filled the empty space of the room. “I fear that my age is finally getting the better of me. It’s so nice of you to say such kind words to an old woman like me.” The voice let out a happy giggle.

‘Old woman? Surely you jest. If we were standing next to each other, any person would think you were younger.’ Stella sent her message through the crystal as she tried her best to fight back. It took immense willpower and wisdom to not get caught up in the woman’s skill.

See, her boss’s class was called Dawn Siren. Even if the woman didn’t try to seduce or sway one with her voice, her passive skills still made it impossible for most to be unaffected. Even with such a distance between them, Stella was unable to stay calm and speak about what she wished. If the woman gave a command or actively used her skills it was even worse.

“Oh, Stella! You don’t know how lonely it has been here, with only Avery to keep me company. I wish you never would have taken that opening in Torith,” the voice echoed. “Ah! Is that what you’re calling about? Are you coming back? Have you missed me, too? Oh, how exciting!”

Stella blanked for a second before regaining her thoughts. ‘I am so sorry, my Lady. I cannot leave here yet. There is much that I must do.’ Slowly but surely, Stella was regaining control over herself. The longer the voice influenced someone, the less hold it had, especially through a communication crystal.

“Ah, how sad. Is that whiny lord over there treating my little Stella well? Do I need to come down there and teach him a lesson? Should I go to that father of his and give him an earful?” The voice rang with question after question.

‘Everything is fine, my Lady. He wouldn’t dare to disrespect me knowing that I have you as my benefactor.’ Stella’s will finally won out, and she was able to speak freely. She took a deep breath and let it out. ‘My lady, I am contacting you to let you know that I have made a contract with a very interesting fellow, and I plan to make another with him, but I need your approval for it.’ The voice on the other end tsked, which made Stella smile. She knew that her boss figured out the effect wore off.

The happy voice coming through the crystal changed to a dry, almost sad tone. “Business, business, business. Why must people only call about business? It’s so hard to find someone to have a proper chat with these days.”

‘My Lady…’

“Please stop with the ‘My Lady’ shit. It makes me sound old. There’s no one but me here anyway.”

Her boss was finally showing her true self. Stella sent her thoughts into the crystal. ‘Alanah, I really do need to report some things.’

“That’s better,” the voice said. “Fine, who is this ‘interesting fellow,’ and what kind of contracts have you made?”

‘His name is Derek Hunt. I first met him when he came into the restaurant and caused a scene… Well, he didn’t cause the scene, but some of the guards judged him before finding out about him, and that caused a scene. What was interesting about him is that he tossed a Void Beast corpse on the table like it was nothing,’ Stella began.

“Oh, a Void Beast? That’s good. Is that what the contract is about? Why do you need to contact me to make a contract about a Void Beast?” the voice asked.

‘That is one of the contracts, yes. But this Void Beast is much stronger than the usual one we get. Usually, Void Beasts of this caliber are the smart ones that flee when they find they cannot win, so I will need to confirm some things with you before writing up the contract,’ Stella answered.

“That’s fine,” the voice said. “How strong would you say the beast was? And is this man also strong?”

‘I would say that it would take someone in the mid-100s to take out the Void Beast without letting it escape. And yes, the man is very strong. I still do not know how he killed the Void Beast because there were no real external injuries on it. In fact, when it was just me and him in my office discussing some terms, he intimidated me without meaning to. It felt like I was doing a business deal with you,’ she transmitted into the crystal.

“Hmm… Are you sure he wasn’t trying to intimidate you?”

‘Positive. He actually seems like a decent guy. Which brings me to the other contract that I have already signed.’

“Go ahead,” Stella’s boss said.

‘He had on him a type of beverage that I had never tasted before. It also had small amounts of some medicine or something that increases alertness, though, with my vitality, the effect was minimal. Our contract was for our Botanists to reverse engineer the plant that makes the beverage, then to sell it in the restaurants—or however we deem fit. He gets as much of the product as he needs for individual use, a portion of the profits, and some contribution. At first, I figured that it would bring in around the same amount of profit as our tea, but if we can increase the potency of it, it could double, or even triple, the sales of the tea,’ Stella explained.

“That much? If that’s the case, his contributions are going to be quite high. We may very well be giving out another membership in the near future. As for the Void Beast, just give him a premium contract. One that you would give to someone who is already a member. Throw some more contribution to him, too. Might as well start treating him well before he even becomes a member. Your instincts have always been good,” the voice ordered.

‘I was thinking the same thing,’ Stella transmitted. ‘Oh, the man seemed pretty close to the Gracefall house, or at least Walter’s head guard. And I suspect that Derek is going to make some big noise in the coming days, and I’m sure that it will draw the attention of Malcolm. I do not believe that the two of them would get along.’

“I see. I’m sure that brat is going to try to stir up trouble with him…” The voice paused for a moment. “Well, if Mr. Hunt asks the Crown for help, you have my permission to help, but if not, don’t bother getting involved. With what you described, the man can take care of himself.”

‘Yes, Alanah,’ she answered.

“About this beverage. What are the chances that we will be able to reverse engineer it?”

‘I have already sent the beverage to our in-house Botanist here in Torith, and he said that the specimen contains more than enough of the plant to make it. He assured me that he should have a plant ready by the end of the week.’

“That’s good. Is there anything else?” the voice asked.

‘That is it. I will prepare the contract and contact Derek within the next two days,’ Stella replied.

“Very well. Give me that man’s description.”

That caught Stella a bit off guard, but she did as she was told and described Derek to her boss.

“Okay. I’m going now. Do contact me again—and preferably with a topic other than business.” The voice changed back to the alluring tone at the end of the communication.

‘Yes, my Lady.’ Stella flinched at falling under the spell again as her crystal stopped glowing. She let out a sigh. Talking with Alanah always left her mentally drained. She needed sleep—and a lot of it.

* * *

Inside the Crown Restaurant in the capital…

Upper Floor…

A beautiful woman with emerald green hair and ears with a slight point to them smiled as she tossed a crystal into a drawer full of other near-identical crystals. She leaned back in her chair and whispered a silent whisper. “Derek Hunt… Interesting.”

11 MAKING PLANS

After leaving the Gracefall’s main manor, Derek walked towards the guest residence while Thomas jogged to catch up. Before long, the duo was walking side by side. Derek glanced at Thomas, who kept opening his mouth, then hesitating before closing it.

“What do you want? Just speak,” Derek said.

“Mr. Gracefall. What was he like? I like Bronson. He seems like a really decent guy, so his master shouldn’t be bad, right?” Thomas asked.

Derek nodded. “He is one of the few people that I can see myself respecting, even trusting to a certain extent.”

Thomas spoke in a hushed manner. “What would happen if he found out… you know… about his son?”

“He’s a smart man. He already knows,” Derek said.

Thomas paused his movement. Derek stopped to wait for the boy’s mind to start working again. After waiting for nearly a minute with no change, Derek snapped his fingers in front of the boy’s eyes. The snap was loud, much louder than a normal snap. It sent Thomas tumbling to the ground, the snoring Silvi flying out of his arms.

Silvi landed gently on the ground next to the boy who was finally coming to. She glared at him with what Derek could only describe as a look of disgust. Derek laughed.

Thomas finally returned to his feet. He looked at Derek. Panicking, he said, “How? What is he… Why are we…” Thomas rambled on and on before Derek stopped him.

“Enough,” Derek said. “Like I said, he is a smart man. He knew his son’s character and had already accepted the fact that the boy’s actions would eventually get him killed. You don’t have to worry about him, and you don’t have to worry about him acting against the village, either. In fact, he has used his own name and standing to protect your village and those inside.” Derek explained. “Now, let’s go. We shouldn’t be talking about things like this outside where anyone can hear us, anyway.” Of course, Derek was always checking his surroundings, so there was almost no way for others to eavesdrop on his conversation.

Thomas nodded and reached down to pick Silvi back up. She rested herself in his arms and turned her head away from him. Soon, the three began walking again and eventually reached the guest residence.

Once settled, and in private, Derek told Thomas about what he and Walter had discussed and what he thought about the situation. After the long conversation, they all headed upstairs to different rooms to spend the night.

* * *

After waking, Derek headed down to the common area to wait for Thomas. He was not in a rush to do things, so he let the boy sleep in. While waiting, a servant brought him some tea and a type of breakfast pastry. The food was rather good, but he was not a big fan of tea. Derek couldn’t wait for Stella and the Crown Restaurant to finish reverse engineering his coffee.

While waiting for everyone to wake, Derek thought about his plans for the day. First, I should look into getting somewhere to stay. I think I would rather find a place in the merchant district instead of the noble district. It will be cheaper, and most of the things I plan to do will be in the middle area, anyway.

Derek looked down at his combat boots, which were falling apart. It’s too much to ask for a regular pair of boots to last with my strengths. I wonder if any of the crafters can repair them. Oh well, that will come last, if there’s time. Derek shook his head. I should have asked Brandi about them before I left. He sighed.

After getting a room at a decent inn. I guess I should head to the Adventurer’s Guild and get one of those fancy badges. How will they judge my skill? I know they said that gold was for those above level 100, but I am not there yet, but I’m much stronger than someone at that level. I’ll just have to find out once I get there. Derek nodded.

I still need to head over to the Crown and talk to Stella about the Void Beast and contributions. I’ll wait a couple of days before I do that, though. I don’t know how long it will take her to work a contract out with her boss. He thought.

After the meeting with Walter, I’m not going to look for any buildings to purchase anymore. I would be out of my mind to set Brandi up in this city. Derek shook his head. Savannah is definitely a city I have to visit. The only question is if I should just bring Brandi along with me, or if I should let her stay in the village until I scope things out. Derek let out a long sigh. The longer she stays in the village, the more of a chance that someone finds out about her.

That was currently Derek’s biggest concern. With the village soon becoming a pit stop between the dungeon and the city, sooner or later Brandi would be in trouble. Walter was right about saying that the only way to guarantee her safety currently would to constantly be under his or Walter’s watch. I could have her stay at the Gracefall residence for a bit while I sort everything out.

Walter seemed pretty straightforward and trustworthy, but Derek still wasn’t sure about leaving Brandi in his care for the time being. He would have to keep an eye on the man. One meeting was not enough for him to make a decision. Though he had sworn an oath, it was only to not speak of what he knew of Derek. The oath hadn’t included Brandi in it. He had only gotten the man’s word that he wouldn’t act against her, and would actively help keep her safe. Derek needed to know what the man’s word was worth.

After settling what he was going to do, Derek waited patiently for Thomas. Eventually, he slipped into Greater Meditation and time passed much faster to him. Soon, at least to him, Thomas and Silvi came down and had breakfast, too.

Derek waited for them to finish before speaking. “Today, we are going to find a decent inn in the merchant district, then I am going to run some errands. You are welcome to join, but I think it may be good for you to do some exploring by yourself. You have Silvi with you, so you won’t be in any danger.” With that, Derek pulled some gold coins out of his bracelet and tossed them to Thomas.

“That should be more than enough for you to shop and eat with today. Have fun, explore, make friends. Hell, buy some new clothes so you won’t have to wear armor or that old tunic all the time. Also, you could head to the Adventurer’s Guild and register. You should be able to become a bronze member. That’s one of the things I plan on doing today.” Derek explained, then sent to the still sleepy Silvi. ‘Keep the kid safe, okay?’

‘Yes. He feeds me. Is my mount. Keep safe.’ The bunny replied.

Derek eyed Silvi suspiciously. He was sure that the bunny was just as, if not more, intelligent than an average human. He was pretty sure that she was just lazy. I would be too if I didn’t have to do anything but rely on another to get stronger. He thought to himself, as Silvi’s strength grew proportionate to his.

Suddenly, the voice appeared in his mind again. ‘Exactly.’

Derek finally understood. Silvi wasn’t incapable of sending complete thoughts. She was just too lazy to put together full sentences.

Thomas took the money in his hands. “This much? Are you sure?”

“Of course. It’s fine.” Derek replied. “If you need more, just ask Silvi to contact me. I’m not sure of the distance we can communicate with each other, so it will be interesting to find out. Now, let’s go inform Bronson that we are leaving.”

After that, they headed out to say their goodbyes.

* * *

Some time later, the trio was standing in front of the gate separating the noble district from the merchant district. Derek looked around and his eyes stopped on one of the extravagant inns. It was The Oliphant that Walter had told him about. Derek hesitated, but in the end, he decided that it would be for the best to find a decent inn in the merchant district, just like he planned.

The trio walked up to the gate, and the guards, who apparently already recognized Derek, nodded to him and opened it. Derek gave a nod as a thanks and they walked through. “Alright, let’s go look for a good place to stay.” Derek said to no one in particular.

They looked around at the buildings surrounding the main street. It was their second time to see everything, but the first time they came through, they were being led by Bronson and didn’t take much time on getting the lay of the land, so to speak.

Derek knew from earlier conversations that the closer one was to the noble section of the city, the more expensive the living arrangements were. He didn’t mind this, as if he was already able to stay a couple weeks at The Oliphant in the noble district, he would for sure be able to afford to stay in any of the inns in the middle section of the city.

Derek spent some extra time looking inside some of the buildings. He watched as a group of blacksmiths trained in the courtyard of one of the smithies, then he walked over to a tavern to see that no matter where you go, or what time it was, there was always money in alcohol. He also looked in on a few of the inns. So far, he didn’t like the attitude of two of them, and the third that he looked at was already filled to capacity.

Finally, Derek smiled widely after walking into the fourth in. It was exactly what he was looking for.

12 ROOM AND BOARD

Derek had a big grin on his face as he strolled into the inn. Unlike the other inns he had visited in the merchant district where there were only stuck up businessmen and no bars, this inn had it all.

The current clientele was definitely on the adventurer side of things. There wasn’t a single person he could see that didn’t look like they could scrap. Even though a few of them were wearing storage rings, they still had their weapons strapped to their waist or back. To Derek, this was a sign that they would be ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Also, this most likely meant that they had grown used to having their weapons in place.

If all that wasn’t enough to figure out what kind of inn this was, then the fact that every adult he could see was wearing a silver adventurer’s badge would make it abundantly clear. Hell, there were even a couple of people with gold badges.

Derek gazed over the entire floor of the establishment. Dozens of tables were spread out where the rowdy bunch of adventurers sat. On the right side of the floor was a bar being manned by two bartenders. A couple of servers walked back and forth from a back room, serving different foods. And on the left side of the room seemed to be a ‘check-in’ counter with a bored-looking woman seated behind.

Derek and company walked over to the bored woman. “Do you have any rooms available?” Derek asked.

The woman looked up from whatever she was reading. A slight surprise fell over her face when she saw the trio. “We have one.” She said and looked from Derek to Thomas. “Will that be enough?”

He was hoping for separate rooms, but it didn’t really matter to him. He didn’t sleep much, anyway. With the news of the dungeon soon to spread, and Torith being the closest city to it, Derek figured that it wouldn’t be long before it was hard to get a room at any inn. “Fine by me,” he said. “If another becomes available in the future, I’d like it too, though.”

She nodded. “Fine,” she said. “And how long do you plan on staying?”

Derek thought for a second. “I’d like to pay up for two weeks. I may stay longer or shorter, but two weeks is a good start.”

The woman nodded again, then pulled out a notebook. “Name.” She stated.

“Derek Hunt.”

She frowned in confusion and muttered. “Where have I heard that before?” She shook her head and began writing in the book. “Okay, for two weeks, that will be seven gold.”

Derek brought the gold out and placed it on the counter.

The woman took it. “You can get free breakfast in the morning, but all other meals, and all drinks cost extra.” She reached under the counter and pulled out a key. “Your room is number 214 on the second floor. Just go up those stairs and you can find it yourself.” She pointed at the stairs to her left.

Derek took the key from her. “Thanks,” he said. Then he turned and headed up the stairs to check out his new living arrangements. Thomas and the bunny followed.

Once up the stairs, Derek looked around. There was another set of stairs leading up to the third floor, and there was a hall with doors on the inside wall. Derek noted the room numbers as he walked down the hall. 201, 202… Looks like the same layout we used for our hotels back on Earth. Eventually, he reached the end of the hall and turned right to continue. About midway through, he found his room number.

He put the key in and turned it. The door opened, and he stepped inside. The room was much more spacious than the one he had in the village, as was to be expected. The bed was quite big, too. In the corner was a desk and a chair. There was also a wardrobe with two drawers on the bottom meant for clothes. It made sense, as he hadn’t seen many people with storage rings.

“Well, this is good enough for me. Good enough for you?” he asked Thomas.

Thomas nodded. “It’s fine. More comfortable than my home.”

Derek tossed Thomas the key. “You keep the key. I don’t sleep much. Besides, we won’t have any stuff inside, so we don’t need to keep it locked, anyway.”

Thomas accepted the key with a nod.

“Alright, you do whatever you want for now. I’m going to go do some stuff.” Derek turned and walked out of the room.

Back on the first floor, Derek walked over to the bar and sat down. A brawny bartender walked over with a mug and a towel in hand. “What can I get you?” He asked.

“Give me whatever is strongest,” Derek replied.

The man lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “You sure?”

Derek only nodded in return.

The man changed the mug in his hand for a small glass, which surprised Derek. Then, he grabbed a bottle from under the bar and began a slow pour. A caramel colored liquid filled a quarter of the glass.

Derek reached for the glass, but the man stopped him with a finger on the rim. “That’s a quarter gold.”

Derek chuckled and tossed the man a gold coin. “Fill it up the rest of the way.”

The bartender took the gold coin with a smile and filled the rest of the glass up to the rim. “Good luck,” he said, and watched Derek with anticipation.

Derek took a sip. If he had to describe it, he would say that it was like a fine whiskey mixed with two parts battery acid. It burned and stung, but somehow didn’t seem to cause any damage inside his mouth. Interesting. He thought. He turned up the glass and finished the rest of the drink off. All the while, the bartender was staring at him in shocked surprise.

Derek waited for a few minutes before sighing. I guess not even this is enough to affect me with my vitality and endurance. Derek tipped the man a few silver and stood to leave. It was time to check out the Adventurer’s Guild.

A while later, Derek was standing alone in the lower district of the city. He was standing in front of the Adventurer’s Guild, the biggest building in the lower district. It was even bigger than any of the buildings in the merchant district.

Derek walked inside to take a look. It was just like all the Adventurer’s Guilds he’d seen and read about in the past. There were six counters, each with a person standing behind, helping clients. Around the area were tables for adventurers to sit at while their leaders did what they needed to do.

There were four different boards with papers pinned to them. One was outlined in bronze, one silver, and one gold. The other didn’t have an outline. Derek went over to that one and looked at some of the papers. He chuckled when he read a few. They were quests like ‘Help Mrs. Green clean her shop’ and ‘Help find lost pet.’ They were for those that hadn’t reached a minimum level to become a full-fledged adventurer.

The counters were the same as the quest boards. Each had a plaque representing adventurer rank. The counter on the far right seemed to be where citizens would go to post a mission, and the counter on the far left was registration. That was what Derek was looking for.

Derek walked over to the counter and was greeted by a cute lady with dark brown skin, wearing big, round rimmed glasses. “Hello, sir. Welcome to the Torith Adventurer’s Guild. How may I help you today?”

Derek smiled. “I am looking to register. I was hoping you could help me.”

The lady smiled back. “You can call me Nia. It would be my pleasure to help you today,” she said. Nia took out a small stack of papers and a writing utensil. “Now, this is the basic contract you will have to sign to in order to become an adventurer at our guild. Do you understand?”

Derek nodded. It made sense.

The woman began pointing out lines in the papers, explaining each one to Derek. “This states that you must never actively move against the Adventurer’s Guild as a whole… This states that you must do your utmost to be a respectable person, as to not tarnish the name of the Adventurer’s Guild…”

The list went on. There was nothing that Derek didn’t expect. The contract was so basic that Derek could think of loopholes to get out of every single point if needed. It all made sense why, even with Wallace’s character, he was still a member of the guild.

“Violating any of the preceding rules could result in termination of your contract and expulsion from the Adventurer’s Guild. Do you understand?” Nia said.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Nia signed the paper, then slid it over to him. “Please sign on the line next to my name.”

He took the pen-like writing utensil and signed his name. He waited for a notification saying that he had made a contract, but it never popped up.

Nia took the papers, glancing at his signature. “Alright, Mr. Hunt.” She said, then pushed a button on her counter. “Someone will be with you in a moment to verify your contract and get you situated within the guild. Thank you for coming. You may wait here or choose to have a seat. I will let you know when you are needed.”

Derek laughed. Here he was, thinking that joining the Adventurer’s Guild was turning out to be extremely simple, but it turned out he was only speaking to the receptionist. “Thank you,” he said. Then, he turned and walked over to a bench against the wall and sat, waiting for the real process to begin.

13 ADVENTURER’S GUILD

Derek waited for a very long time before Nia finally walked up to him. “They are ready for you, Mr. Hunt.”

Derek nodded and stood. Nia led him past the counter into a room in the back, where a skinny man with light brown hair waited at a table.

The man stood. “Mr. Hunt, it’s nice to meet you.” He stuck out his hand for a handshake, and Derek took it. “I see Nia has already gone over the contract with you. Please…” He motioned to one of the chairs at the table. “Have a seat.” Then the man dismissed Nia.

Derek took a seat, and the man began. “Are there any question or concerns you have about the contract here?”

Derek shook his head. “It all seems pretty basic.”

The man nodded. Then, he held his hand over the papers and injected his mana into them. Afterwards, he slid the papers across the table to Derek. “If you would,” he said.

Derek put his hand on the contract.

A contract with one ‘Francesco Jaccobs’ and the entity ‘Adventurer’s Guild’ has been initiated. Would you like to proceed?

Y/N

Yes. Derek accepted the contract.

Contract has been completed. Please abide by the terms and conditions to avoid any penalties.

Just like before, the contract split in two. Derek placed his hand back on his contract, and it turned into mana and flowed into him, creating a new contract in his Status Sheet. The man across from him did the same.

“Alright, now that all the formalities are over, we can get down to business. I am the manager of the Torith Adventurer’s Guild, Francesco Jaccobs. You can call me Francesco or Mr. Jaccobs. I vet all new applicants before they become full-fledged guild members,” Francesco said.

“Now, the first thing I must ask is, what grade membership are you applying for? Bronze, silver, or gold?” he asked.

“I don’t suppose you can give out platinum, then?” Derek said casually.

The man’s eye twitched at that. “Unfortunately, no. For platinum-ranked, you will need to apply at one of the guilds in a top city or the capital. Above Platinum, you can only apply at the Adventurer’s Guild in the capital.”

Derek nodded. “I see. Then I guess I’ll just take a gold badge for now.”

The man flinched at Derek’s nonchalant attitude again. “You can not just ‘take’ a gold badge. You must first be tested. Only then will you be awarded a gold badge.”

“That’s fine,” Derek said.

Francesco let out a deep sigh. “For the test, would you like to provide stat information and confirm through a contract, or would you like to be tested on your combat ability by the gold-ranked instructor on standby?”

This was a no-brainer for Derek. There was no way he would give out his current stats to anyone. But he decided to ask a question that had been on his mind. “Can’t you use Identify to verify that I’m at least level 100 and be done with it?”

The man shook his head. “No. The examples people give of adventurer tiers are usually levels. Like, level 100 for gold, and level 50 for silver. But those examples are actually incorrect. You need the fighting ability of a level 50 or a level 100. Identify can be fooled. For example, a level 100 warrior can come in and ask for a gold badge. Under what people think, we would just give that person the badge. But what if that person had a non-combat class until level 100, then changed their class to a combat class? That person would not have fighting experience, class-supporting stats, or skills,” he explained.

“So, in general, people assume it is level 100 that we give gold badges to, but in reality, it is the strength of a level 100 combat class that is awarded the badge. You see?” the man added.

Derek nodded. “I guess that makes sense. You wouldn’t want a complete novice fighter on a gold-ranked team.”

“That’s right,” the man said. “Now, how would you like to be tested?”

“Combat ability, of course,” Derek said.

“Very well. Please follow me.” Francesco stood and began leading Derek to another door in the room.

Derek followed. They went through the door and into a hallway. They continued walking until they reached a door at the end. When Francesco opened the door, sunlight shined through, and Derek realized they were heading to an enclosed courtyard behind the Adventurer’s Guild.

Derek looked around at the training dummies and targets stationed surrounding the area. It was a full-on training ground.

“This is our training area. Our gold- and silver-ranked adventurers are allowed to come here to test their abilities and spar with one another. There are always a few healers on standby in case something goes wrong,” he said as he kept walking towards an area with two people sparring.

They got close to the spar, and Francesco motioned to a giant of a man watching over the two opponents. The man nodded their way, then turned and yelled at the two people sparring. “Take five!”

Soon, Derek, Francesco, and the other man were all standing together. “Russell, this is Derek Hunt. He is here for a gold-ranked examination.”

“Oh?” Russell eyed Derek up and down. “He doesn’t look like much.” The man laughed.

“He wanted to take the platinum-ranked exam, but we don’t offer it. He said he’d just have to settle for Gold,” Francesco said, not hiding his disdain at all.

Russell burst into a laughing fit. The two fighters also overheard Francesco’s comment and began laughing. “You want to be platinum-ranked? In your dreams, maybe. Hahaha!”

Derek was getting a bit irritated. Not at being made fun of, but because of how long this endeavor was taking. Derek liked to think of himself as a patient man, but this whole thing was reminding him of waiting at a DMV back on Earth before the system appeared.

“Can we just get on with it? I have things to do, and I didn’t plan on being here all day,” Derek said, clearly showing his irritation.

The man, a head taller than Derek, looked down at him. “That eager to get your ass kicked? I don’t mind.” Russell looked at Francesco. “Explain what you need to him. I’ll be waiting over there.” Russell walked to the sparring area.

“The Adventurer’s Guild is not liable for any damage caused to you during the test. Of course, the healers will do their best to heal you back to 100%, but there have been cases where they were unable to. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Derek replied.

“Very well. You may spar with Russell when ready. Do try not to get hurt too badly,” the man said.

Derek shook his head and walked towards Russell. Finally, he stood across from the man.

“I’ll give you two free shots. Go ahead.” Russell tried to provoke Derek. “C’mon they’re free. You won’t get this treatment anywhere else.” He pointed at his chin.

“Just shut up and fight. Like I said, I don’t have all day.” Derek stood with his arms at his side.

Derek may not have a short fuse, but Russell sure did. Just the one sentence and the man’s face turned red in anger. “You asked for it!” the giant screamed and charged towards Derek.

At the side, Derek heard Francesco’s loud sigh. The man was shaking his head in contempt as he watched the scene.

Derek watched as the presumably gold-ranked adventurer lumbered towards him. This is the experience one needs to get the badge. It looks like this asshole just put every stat he got into strength. Hell, I think Thomas is almost as fast as this guy. Derek shook his head and waited.

Soon, the towering giant arrived in front of him. The man drew his arm back, ready to launch a haymaker. His enormous fist flew forwards, aiming directly at Derek’s face. Derek tilted his head ever so slightly, letting the fist blow by, missing his ear by not even an inch. Then, he lifted his right arm and, with the back of his hand, he slapped the giant man in the face.

Everything happened in an instant. All anybody really saw was Russell rushing Derek, then throwing a punch. The next thing they saw was Russell spinning in the air like a dancer before landing face down, ass up, completely unconscious.

Even Derek was in awe of what happened. No, it didn’t surprise him that he won so easily. Based on the man’s attack, that was a given. What he was surprised about was the grace at which the man was knocked unconscious—or lack thereof.

Two healers immediately ran over to check on Russell. Before long, they had him conscious and healed up. Luckily for the man, there were only six other people currently on the training grounds. The two adventurers, two healers, Francesco, and Derek. If he did some quick talking, perhaps he would be able to keep this unsightly news from spreading.

Derek walked over to Francesco. “So, I guess he was a Blacksmith or something before switching to a combat class? One of those level 100s that aren’t qualified for a gold badge?” Derek asked.

“Uh… N-no, he was the instructor. One of the stronger gold-ranked adventurers in the city,” the man answered, embarrassed.

Bronson is so much stronger. Derek inwardly sighed—he was embarrassed on behalf of the Adventurer’s Guild. “Was that enough? Can I get the gold badge now?”

The skinny man answered. “Y-yes… Well, n-no… Uh, you weren’t joking about wanting platinum rank, were you?”

“No.”

The man sighed. “I’m sorry about my previous arrogance, sir. Soon, I will have a temporary gold badge for you. I would like to give you an official one, but I can’t go against guild rules.”

Derek frowned at that. “What do you mean?”

“You have proven yourself to be more than worthy of gold-ranked. However, for it to be official, you must complete at least two silver-ranked missions. Before that, you will not be allowed to take on gold-ranked missions.”

Derek let out a breath. “So much trouble.” He shook his head. “Well, let’s go see some missions. I really want to get this done today.”

With that, the duo left the training area, leaving Russell alone to pander to the four witnesses.

Francesco led Derek to a room within the Adventurer’s Guild. It was nearly the same as the room where he had met the man in the first place. The difference was that there were thick binders all around.

“All the missions that are upfront are here, too,” Francesco said. He walked over to one of the binders and dropped it on the table in front of them. “This binder has all the silver-ranked missions that are upfront. It also has some that have yet to be added—missions that are still being vetted.” He opened the binder to the front page and slid it over towards Derek.

Derek took the binder and flipped through the missions. There was nothing in it that caught his eye or even seemed the least bit challenging. Finally, his eyes landed on one of the missions towards the back. “Uh… I’m pretty sure I already completed this one.” He pointed at the description.

“Hmm?” Francesco took the binder and read the mission. “This mission was submitted a few weeks ago. A bandit camp was spotted a couple of days away from the city, and some citizens were able to make it back to the city and report it. You’re saying that you completed it? How?” He eyed Derek.

“I’ve only been in Torith for a couple of days now. My route to the city took me on a path that was being patrolled by bandits. My group took care of the ambush quite easily. Afterward, we made a detour to the camp itself. It was relatively big for a bandit camp, but it didn’t take much effort to eliminate. We brought the captives along with us,” Derek said.

“Is there anyone who can confirm this?” the man asked.

“Uh… Bronson was a part of my group. And there are the captives that scattered as soon as they arrived in the city. The guards that were on duty when we arrived took a report from Bronson, so they can confirm, too.”

“Captain Bronson? From House Gracefall?” Francesco asked.

“That’s the one. Good guy. He puts that meathead you got conducting your exams to shame,” Derek replied.

“I will send someone to verify everything. If it all comes back as you have said, you will only need to complete one mission. Is there one you would like to complete?”

Derek took the binder back and kept flipping through it. Eventually, his eyes landed on a hunting mission. He pointed at it. “Where is this?”

Francesco eyed the mission. “It’s about a week’s travel past the city. Before you reach the mountain. There are a bunch of the little creatures wandering around the area. They are easy enough to fight. Nobody has taken the mission because of its closeness to the mountain and distance away from the city.”

“What does the mountain have to do with anything?”

“It’s a dangerous area, not unlike the forest opposite it. Except the forest doesn’t really get dangerous until you venture deep into it. The mountain range has higher-level monsters wandering around it. Of course, those monsters are nothing for a gold-ranked adventurer,” the man explained.

“So, there’s unlikely to be anyone at or around the area? You know, to help an adventurer if he were to get in trouble?” Derek asked.

“Exactly.”

“Alright, I’ll go ahead and take this mission. I should have it completed in a couple days. Hell, I might make it back by the end of the day. I am quite fast.” Derek smiled.

Francesco nodded. “Very well. I should have the other mission verified by the time you get back. Happy hunting.” The man stood and put out his hand.

Derek shook hands. Francesco led Derek back to the front of the guild. Derek nodded at Nia, then left the establishment.

Outside the Adventurer’s Guild, Derek tried to contact Silvi. To his surprise, it worked. ‘Can you hear me? Hello?’

‘What?’ Her annoyed voice entered his thoughts.

‘Where are you right now?’ he asked.

‘Merchant district. Pastry shop. Eating,’ she replied.

Of course, he thought. ‘I’m heading out of the city for a bit. I may be back today, but I might be gone until tomorrow. Do you want to come?’

‘Food?’ she asked.

‘No. No food. Just hunting,’ he said.

‘I stay. Protect the mount. Eat food,’ Silvi answered.

‘Okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Take good care of Thomas.’ Derek stopped the transmission and headed towards the city exit.

Outside the city, Derek followed the path around. He could see the distant mountain range in front of him. He had chosen this mission for two reasons. The first was literally just to get an official badge, but the second was to do something that he had been thinking about for a while now.

Soon, he took off towards the mountain at a blistering pace. The distance to the target may take a normal silver- or gold-ranked adventurer a week or more of travel, but with his speed, he planned on arriving before nightfall.

It was the first time since his enormous stat increase that he could run all-out without having to wait for someone. His speed actually surprised him. The only unfortunate thing about it was that his boots were basically being ground to a pulp. With a sigh, he removed his shoes and kept running.

It was well before nightfall when Derek arrived at his hunting grounds. The beasts he was looking for were toadstools with purple and white caps. Their height reached just below his knees.

With Derek’s senses, it was not long before he found a group of them. His mission was to bring 15 corpses back to the Adventurer’s Guild. Apparently, they were great ingredients for Alchemists to use.

Before hunting them, Derek decided it was time to learn a skill that he had been putting off because of the off chance he could find a Weaponsmith to upgrade or make him a new weapon. Alas, there was nobody with the talent to do so at Torith. Derek focused on the General Skill.

Would you like to learn Unarmed Combat Mastery?

Yes.

Unarmed Combat Mastery Learned Successfully.

Skill Points Remaining: 13

After learning the skill, Derek checked out his status.

Status

Personal Information

Name: Derek Hunt

Age: 30

Level: 76

Experience: 365,118/590,000

Class: Legend of the Void (Legendary)

Race: Human (Modified)

Health: 7250

Mana: 5000

Stamina: 7150

Stats:

Strength: 700

Dexterity: 500

Endurance: 715

Vitality: 725

Intelligence: 500

Wisdom: 500

Stat Points Remaining: 40

Contracts

Silvi (Bonded Beast)

Stella Brighton (Crown Restaurant)

Francesco Jaccobs (Torith Adventurer’s Guild)

View Status

View Contract

View Contract

Skills

Absolute Nullify Lv. 1, Chain Lightning Lv. 9, Channel Void Lv. 8, Cure Toxin Lv. 4, Dismantle Lv. 12, Greater Meditation Lv. 3, Heavy Weapons Mastery Lv. 18, Identify Lv. 15, Magic Resistance Lv. 10, Multi-Strike Lv. 1, Physical Resistance Lv. 1, Rejuvenation Lv. 9, Sweeping Slash Lv. 18, Unarmed Combat Mastery Lv. 1, Void Call Lv. 2, Void Sense Lv. 2, Void Shift Lv. 3, Void Storage Lv. N/A

Skill Points Remaining: 13

Skill Upgrade Points Remaining: 4

Achievements

Greater Giant Slayer, Jack of All, Lesser Dungeon Explorer, Lesser Enigma, Lesser Slayer of the Unknown, Magical Glass Cannon, Meat Shield, Lesser Explorer, Offensive Powerhouse

Surprised, Derek had to look at his status again. When did I turn 30? Apparently, sometime within the last couple of weeks Derek had a birthday. Well, like they say. It’s all downhill from here.

After settling on his new skill, Derek ran over to the first group of Poison Fengs. The fight wasn’t climactic as the mushrooms were weak enough for bronze-ranked adventurers to kill. The problem with them was that they always traveled in a group. Which was no problem for Derek at all.

Derek finished hunting the monsters in less than an hour. It would have been much quicker, but he had to spend some time finding them. Once finished, it was time for Derek’s other task. He took off, closing in on the mountain range.

Finally close to the mountains, Derek checked his surroundings. Other than some birds and other beasts, he sensed nothing. Just to make sure he was alone, he ran far off the path to the mountains until he was in a desolate area.

Finally, he sat with his back against a boulder and channeled the void through himself. With the void threatening to explode inside of him, he triggered the skill. Void Call. The purple energy gathered in his upper body, then exploded out. Shooting a beam of light in the sky.

The light shined like a beacon, which was why he found a place so far out of the way, and why he was happy that he made it there before sundown. After a few moments, the beacon dissipated, and Derek was out of mana.

The instant loss of mana caused his head to throb. He quickly slipped into meditation to increase his recovery. Soon, all his reserves were filled up. The only thing left for him to do was wait.

14 HUNTING

Derek removed the shirt Brandi had made for him while he waited. There was no sense in ruining one of his only good shirts. He didn’t bother to put on any of his armor—his main armor was still damaged from the fight with the first Acidic Ghoul. Plus, his skin and bones had already been pushed to an entirely different level since then.

Derek stared at the sky where the void beam had disappeared, waiting for the spider web-like cracks to come. Finally, after three or so minutes, the hammering sound came. The dull thud sounded like he was in a smithy, but the smiths were working on a hollow drum. His gaze sharpened in anticipation of what was to come.

As the thundering drums increased, the crack finally appeared. The blue sky broke, line after line appearing. Derek waited and waited. Finally, he furrowed his brows in confusion. The beast had already taken over twice the amount of time to appear than the one he slaughtered previously.

Derek focused his Void Sense into his eyes. The small spider webs in the sky brightened like a flare of the sun. The void leaked out of each one, but they were healing. The Void Beast wasn’t doing enough to break through. In fact, if this went on any longer, Derek figured the beast would run out of strength, and the sky would heal itself completely. He could not have that.

Derek, using his immense strength, shot off the ground like a rocket. Upon reaching the cracks in the sky, he entered Void Shift. Everything slowed, and the cracks stopped healing. Surprisingly, the dull thuds continued from behind the cracks. I’m definitely going to have to experiment with that, he thought.

Derek reached out and pulled himself up to the cracks in the sky. Taking his hand, he jabbed his fingers between fractures, then pulled. It was odd holding a piece of the sky in his hand. He studied the shard, then released it. It stayed where he let it go and floated beside him. Again, he gripped another shard and pulled.

After removing a few pieces, he could finally see clearly into the void tunnel. He shuddered, thinking about his time spent inside, and unconsciously moved back before getting ahold of himself. As long as I stay out here, it can’t hurt me, he thought. Wait, I can get out whenever I want with my control over the void. With that comforting thought, he moved closer again.

Inside the tunnel, the Void Beast moved, peering through the hold Derek had made. The same piercing crimson eyes stared death at Derek. The razor-like claws reached through the widened fracture and ripped at the sky. I guess that’s my cue. Derek released Void Shift and fell. He landed on one knee on the ground below and gazed up. The pieces of the sky glistened as they crumbled and disappeared.

It was enough. Now that the beast could get his claws through the cracks, it had no problem coming out. Derek waited for the beast to appear, ready to test his unarmed skills. Finally, the creature pulled itself out and fell… Face-first onto a stone.

Derek’s jaw hung open, shocked. He slowly walked up to the Void Beast. Blood pooled out of the beast’s mouth. Derek reached down. It’s not dead, just unconscious… He shook his head and studied the creature. It was no doubt a Void Beast, but it was barely a few feet tall. It seemed like he had summoned a young beast this time.

At that time, the beast regained consciousness. It jumped up from its position and looked around. Its eyes landed on Derek. Shooting forward, it pulled back its clawed hand for a slash. Derek slowly raised his arm and took the strike. It didn’t even leave a mark on his forearm. This time, he felt like he was the Void Beast, and his opponent was him from before.

Derek laughed and covered his palm in the void. He pushed forward, slapping the chest of the creature. Like that, blood shot out of its mouth, and it fell over, dead. Well, that was… interesting. Derek looked at the corpse. I wonder how much Stella will give me for this. She had told him that the stronger the Void Beast, the better it tasted, but maybe one as young as this would be a delicacy. He stored the remains in his bracelet and sat back down against the boulder.

He wanted to farm a few of these beasts. They had great value to others, and he had an easy way to attract them. Also, he wanted a fight. A real fight. He had survived on Earth by fighting creatures and invaders over and over. He had thought he would be able to embrace a peaceful and worry-free life, but deep down, fighting for his life over and over had changed him. Thus far, the only thing that did not die instantly in a fight was a Void Beast.

He wasn’t quite craving for a fight; he didn’t need to fight, but he wanted to fight. He could do without fighting, but there was a little itch that he wanted to scratch. And he had a way to bring a fight to himself at any time, so why not use it?

Derek channeled the void through his body again and cast Void Call. The beam shot up, and the same process repeated. He waited.

This time, he didn’t have to wait long as in mere moments, the thundering sound rang out. Maybe the first call gathered some close, so this one was already there. The sky cracked, this time at a much more rapid pace—even faster than the first beast he summoned. Derek tensed, giddy for a real fight. I wonder if this one is going to be as strong as the one that freed me from the void.

He stood and readied himself for a fight. The thunder sounded again, and massive fissures appeared in the sky. Derek gulped, hoping he hadn’t bitten off more than he could chew. He waited for the claws to tear through and rip the shards away, but what happened made him even more excited.

Instead of the Void Beast removing the shards piece by piece, the thunder rang out, this time even louder than before. The impact from within the tunnel struck the shards again. This time, the shards came loose and burst from the sky. They flew through the air at an outrageous speed until they disintegrated like all the others before.

A massive clawed hand reached out of the fissure before grabbing onto the side of the hole. A foot followed, then a head, then a torso. The Void Beast’s whole body was out, but its hand still gripped the side of the fissure. It dangled there, gazing around the area before its crimson eyes landed on Derek.

I really hope that this beast isn’t the parent of the one before, he thought, but there was no way for him to know. Their gazes locked, and the beast let go. It fell to the ground, landing without so much as a bend in its legs.

Derek wasn’t scared of fighting the creature, though. He still had the void that had been able to penetrate everything it came into contact with, regardless of its defenses. He was raring to go. He had only had one decent fight since he arrived in this world, so it was funny that his second decent fight was going to be with the same kind of creature. It seems that the only danger to me is myself, literally. Derek laughed as he waited for the creature to make the first move.

This Void Beast was a whole two heads taller than the first one he summoned. It was ripped, its muscles seemingly on the verge of bursting through its skin. The razor claws on the tips of its fingers were double the length of the previous beast. I’m going to put my Vitality to work today. Derek stared at the beast with a smile on his face. I bet Stella will pay a premium for this thing. I’ll probably get a membership as soon as I show it to her.

Instead of launching towards him as the other beasts had, the giant of a beast moved towards the rock with blood on it. It reached its claws down and scratched the blood-covered stone, leaving deep tears inside. Then it raised a bloodied, stone-covered claw and opened its mouth, presenting rows of spear-like fangs for Derek to see. It ran the claw over its tongue and closed its mouth, shutting its eyes in the process.

When it reopened its eyes, its gaze had changed from the aggressive gaze of a beast to a gaze of anger. It lifted its foot and brought it down on the stone, shattering it in the process. Then it turned. It slowly crept closer and closer to Derek, inspecting him with its rage-filled eyes.

The Void Beast stopped three meters away, looking Derek up and down. The rage in its eyes turned to disdain as it snorted. It was the same Jace had given him before they fought. It was a gaze that Derek loved nothing more than breaking, and his smile grew wider.

The beast opened its mouth, rivers of fangs showing again. Derek prepared himself to take an attack head-on. Then the Void Beast spoke.

“You,” the creature hissed, “are a user of the void.” The almost snake-like voice escaped the maw of the beast. It paused, staring at Derek, seemingly waiting for an answer.

It didn’t receive one. Derek was still looking at the creature in shock. So many questions were flying through his head. ‘How was it speaking?’ ‘If it was a creature not bound to this system, how was it speaking the system’s language?’ ‘Was it even speaking the language of this system or one that he already knew from his old system?’ The questions bombarded his brain. He wasn’t surprised that it was intelligent enough to communicate, though. Silvi had already shown him it was possible.

After waiting for some time, the beast spoke again. “You… have the power to call into the void but not the power to control.” The disdain in the beast’s eyes was still there, though it drew its eyelids down in a squint.

Derek snapped out of his confusion. He chuckled and placed his right hand on the back of his neck. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just… you caught me unprepared is all… What was it you wanted to know?”

The beast hissed again, irritation clear in its voice. “You use the void but not well. You direct it but cannot fully control it.”

“Uh… well, yeah… I guess. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of using it myself.” Derek focused the void into his hand and made a fist.

“Ignorant!” The Void Beast screeched. “You know not what you play with.” The beast calmed and let out a deep breath. “Luckily, I was close by this time.”

Oh? Is this the part where the legendary beast decides to take on a genius apprentice? Is it going to show me the proper ways to use the void? Ways that aren’t included in the system. Derek’s blood was boiling in excitement. This unexpected situation may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Derek, unsure of custom, bowed slightly. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I’m new to the whole ‘void’ thing. Any tips would be much appreciated.” That sounded genuine, right? Yeah, it was pretty good. C’mon training arc.

The Void Beast’s mouth drew up into a menacing smile. Rows of razor-sharp teeth all appeared at once. Then the creature let out a booming laugh. “Me, show you?” Its laughter increased. “No, no, no, no, no.” It shook its head. “I’m not here to help you. I’m here to kill you.” That was when it attacked.

The Void Beast launched itself forward towards Derek, its clawed hand leading the charge. Derek had hoped for some good fortune and more of a discussion, but he had never let his guard down.

The movement of the beast was almost as quick as Derek’s own at top speed. Derek moved his right foot behind him and braced for impact, crossing his arms to shield himself against the razor claws.

The claw hit his unarmored forearm and penetrated his skin before stopping at the muscle. It was reassuring to Derek that the attack only managed to break through his skin, though he knew that there would be much stronger attacks to come. The beast pulled its blood-covered claw back and retreated.

Derek’s arm was soaked in fresh blood—his blood. It had been a while since the last time a beast had drawn his blood. The last one to do so was the Acidic Ghoul he faced before getting all of his levels. The wound stung, but not enough for it to show on his face. He looked at the four claw marks flowing down his forearm but smiled when they began rapidly closing on their own.

Derek looked up at his new opponent with a grin. “I wanted to talk some more, but this is fine, too.”

The previous disdain-filled eyes of the Void Beast were now widened and filled with amazement. The creature’s snake-like voice rang out. “Your body…” The creature’s words came out, confusion in the tone. “How… You are not just an amateur void user.”

“I tried to tell you, I just picked up the skill. My main focus is on… other things,” Derek replied.

“You must not live!” the beast shouted in rage before attacking again.

The Void Beast was fast. Much faster than the first one he killed, and he knew that it was possible it was even stronger than the one he met in the void all those months ago. It seemed to be a little taller than that one, but he couldn’t be sure.

Derek didn’t bother dodging. He wanted to test out his body with a worthy opponent. It was the reason he was out here doing this, after all. Well, that and the possibility of increasing his standing with the Crown. Plus, there hadn’t been many opportunities for him to train his Physical Resistance skill.

Derek blocked strike after strike of the Void Beast, his entire body becoming a crimson mess in the process. Blood dripped down from fresh wounds on his side, chest, and arms. He was careful not to let the creature hit any vital parts.

He was extremely satisfied with his body’s ability. Though his vitality and endurance couldn’t heal his wounds completely before a new one was inflicted, Derek doubted that it would actually be possible for him to die from a loss of blood.

Keeping an eye on his health bar, Derek took hit after hit, watching the number fall, then rise again. Sure, he wasn’t healing faster than the Void Beast could damage him, but it was close. Even with open wounds and blood cascading down his body, his health was sitting at over 90% full.

If someone was to look at the current Derek, they would wonder how he was still standing on his two feet, but the reality was that he was perfectly fine. Well, he would have to go shopping for some new pants after, and he really hated that he was ruining a pair of his remaining jeans. He was pretty sure that this world didn’t have baking soda or peroxide to deal with the stains, but perhaps there was some other, more magical, way.

He had to admit, the strength of the beast was astounding, and on top of its speed, he figured that there wouldn’t be a single person in Torith that could last five minutes with the creature except for maybe Walter or Stella. He wasn’t entirely sure about their overall strength yet. Derek wanted to fight back, but his Physical Resistance had already grown three levels in the less than five minutes that he and the Void Beast had been fighting.

So far, all the Void Beasts Derek had seen had the same traits. Fantastic speed and strength on top of near-impenetrable defense. It was almost like fighting a lesser version of himself.

Derek started moving slower, taking more injuries and losing more HP. If he wanted to reap as many rewards as possible from the fight, he would have to make it look like the Void Beast had a chance. It was very adamant about killing him, so it shouldn’t lose its drive to kill so easily, but he didn’t want to take any chances.

Plus, there was a good chance that he could not keep it from escaping with the speed and strength it had already shown, and he couldn’t have that. Not only did he need to obtain its corpse, but he also wanted to interrogate it a bit. Derek couldn’t help but wonder why it was so set on killing him.

His health hit 70% and then he retreated while blocking the attacks. At this point, his Physical Resistance had already grown to level 6. He hoped that he would be able to get the skill to level 8 before his health reached 40%. He didn’t feel comfortable letting his HP fall below that, especially while bleeding from countless other wounds. Though, he did still have Rejuvenation to rely on if needed.

Derek took a beating for well over ten minutes. The Void Beast finally seemed to get tired, but it had a fire burning in its eyes, showing that it was ready to push past its limits to land that final killing blow on Derek.

Finally, Derek felt his back against a boulder and noticed his HP was just below 40%. His Physical Resistance had actually made it to level 9, making it almost even with his Magic Resistance. Derek looked at the panting beast, the fire in its eyes all but smothered. It stopped a few feet from him and stared.

Derek looked at his bloodstained body and moved his arm, wincing at the pain of some of the wounds. He grimaced when he saw the white of his bones at his elbow. Before, he was satisfied with how well his body was holding up. Now he was giddy with excitement. He finally let it show on his face.

“Human,” the beast spoke again. “You laugh at the inevitability of your death. Respectable. You were much stronger than I expected, even for a turtle.”

Derek burst into a fit of laughter then. “You’re mistaken. I’m not laughing at my death.” He shook his head while bending over with guttural laughter. He winced at another of the many rips in his flesh tearing back apart.

“What is your meaning?” the beast grumbled.

“You”—Derek straightened and pointed his index finger at the exhausted beast—“are the best training dummy I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.” Derek closed his eyes and cast Rejuvenation over his entire body. The already rapid healing of his wounds became even faster, a new wound closing every second.

The beast stumbled back at this, fear flashing through its eyes for the first time. Derek had been told that Void Beasts had an uncanny sense of when to flee, and its fight-or-flight response had just landed on flight. It turned, putting the same strength and speed into fleeing as it had before when fighting.

Before it could take two steps, Derek launched himself forward, grabbing its shoulder and pulling to spin it around. Derek balled his hand into a fist and blasted it into the creature’s midsection. It was like hitting a steel wall. Neither his fist nor the creature took any damage. The force of the impact made the Void Beast slide backwards a couple of meters, but that was it.

Derek looked at his fist and smiled. He had already gained a ton from leveling his Physical Resistance in this fight, but he was even more excited to see how far he could push his Unarmed Combat Mastery, and with the defenses of the Void Beast, it was the perfect opportunity.

15 OFFENSE

Derek rushed forward after knocking the beast back. The last thing he wanted was to give the Void Beast a chance to run. He drove another fist into the abdomen of the creature, again not causing any visible damage. Derek continued this pattern.

Derek moved from side to side, dodging thrusts and ducking under swipes from the monster. After gauging the toughness and durability of the Void Beast, he started throwing in a Multi-Strike occasionally when it was off cooldown. He didn’t want to push the monster too hard, too fast, but he knew that he would have to keep an eye on his own stamina to make sure that he had more than enough to finish the fight or handle any surprises.

Claw swipes tore through the air, missing their mark by inches. Occasionally, Derek couldn’t dodge a blow, and he would be forced to raise his forearm to block. Other than that, he landed Multi-Strike every time he felt it off cooldown and punch after punch. Notifications occasionally rang in his head, but attacking and dodging took much more focus for Derek than turtling up and defending.

Finally, Derek felt winded—which was a sign that his stamina was approaching its limit. Even then, he stayed glued to the beast. At last, it was time for him to take the next step in the battle.

Derek’s next punch was loaded with the void. The beast finally showed a reaction to a hit. Though it was not as much of one as Derek expected. The creature flinched but still managed a step back and a swipe of its claws.

The previous punch was only meant to size up his opponent. He didn’t aim for anything vital. His next strike, however, was at the center of the beast’s chest. Assuming that he was correct, the Void Beast’s heart was there. The strike may not kill it, but it should do some damage.

Derek was correct, and not long after the strike landed, the beast stumbled backwards a step before righting itself. Surprisingly, that was all the damage that the beast showed. Derek had expected to see blood drip from its mouth like the last Void Beast that he hit with the void. Of course, that strike was with his glaive and not his fist. Still, the beast barely reacted to receiving a void-covered strike to its heart.

Sighing, Derek loaded up another void-covered fist and took aim again. He rushed forward, this time trying to combine Multi-Strike with the void fist. He was unsure how it would work, but he was anxious to see.

After ducking another attack, Derek drove his fist back into the creature’s chest. The Void Beast slid back and paused. Silence reigned over the battle as the monster and Derek both looked at one another.

Then the Void Beast fell to its knees. The beast raised one clawed hand up, clutching at its chest. Its breathing grew heavier and heavier as its face contorted in pain and agony. Still, Derek stared cautiously.

No way Derek would underestimate the beast after their battle. It had already proven that it could injure him, especially if it took him by surprise and caught him in a vital area like his throat or head. Derek slowly approached, finally glancing at his status in the process.

His Unarmed Combat Mastery skill had grown to level 7 during the fight, and Multi-Strike grew to level 3. Unfortunately, he was unable to use Multi-Strike as much as he wanted because of the cost of each use and the time between cooldowns. Even though he dragged the fight out for as long as possible, he was only able to use the skill a half-dozen times because of the long cooldown, not to mention the mana cost per activation. Still, this was one of his most rewarding fights yet.

Derek stopped next to the panting beast. The blood that oozed from its mouth and nose pooled on the ground and was getting bigger by the second. The creature heaved and coughed, causing large amounts of fluid to fly.

Derek, still covered in his own blood, crouched down next to the Void Beast. “So, I know I was summoning Void Beasts to kill, but that doesn’t seem to be what set you off. Why exactly were you so enthusiastic about killing me?” he asked.

The beast slowly turned its head to meet Derek’s eyes. “Like you…” It went into a coughing fit. Once it caught its breath, it hissed. “Like you don’t know. Kill me and be done with it.”

Derek frowned. He didn’t know, and he said as much. “I really don’t know. I was hoping to talk before. I mean, I honestly didn’t know that there were any intelligent Void Beasts. I guess I should have known, but you were quite a surprise.”

The beast eyed Derek skeptically, its breathing becoming easier. “You are the enemy to all of my kind. You call, and we must come, but you do not have control… yet.”

That caught his attention. He had originally thought that Void Call was a skill that allowed him to summon and control a Void Beast. He almost died because of that assumption. Now, however, it seemed that he might not have been too far off after all. “What will I be able to control? The void? Void Beasts?” he asked.

The beast scoffed. “Kill me.”

“Really? I was thinking about letting you go,” Derek said. But the resolute anger was still burning in the beast’s eyes. “But it seems like if I do that, you’ll do what you can to find a way to come back and kill me.”

Derek sighed. “Fine, I’ll kill you. No sense in letting you suffer like this anymore. I’m not really one for torture.” He stood from his crouch and walked behind the kneeling beast. “I hope this works.”

Void energy covered Derek’s palm, and he raised his hand. Just as the creature turned suddenly to try to land one more strike, Derek unleashed his palm on the Void Beast’s head. Its outstretched arm fell to its side limply, and the light in its eyes flashed out. Its body fell over to the side. “It was a good fight,” he said sincerely.

Derek smiled halfheartedly. “I guess the brain is always the hardest thing to strengthen.” He bent down. He was still not sure if the beast was really dead, but when he tried to pull it into his bracelet, he succeeded. His bracelet could not store living things, so that mystery was solved.

Derek studied his surroundings before finding a large stone to sit on. He had planned on summoning and fighting as many Void Beasts as he could before the next day, but his last kill had left a bad taste in his mouth. He was out here to fight monsters but not sentient ones. Sure, he had killed hundreds of human and other alien species, and thousands of monsters, but he had never gone out of his way to hunt intelligent species or monsters.

He didn’t know the odds of calling an intelligent Void Beast, but one in three was his current ratio. He had also been thinking about trying some Void Beast cooked by the Crown, but now he was hesitant.

Hunting and eating intelligent monsters was actually a common practice, according to what he had seen while he had the old system. There were some monsters that would even give permanent increases to stats. Of course, this only extended to evolved monsters, not actual intelligent beings. Still, it was one of things he had yet to get behind.

Now Derek was in a dilemma. On one hand, he wanted to level up Void Call on the chance that it could increase to a controlling skill. On the other, he no longer felt like fighting Void Beasts. He was definitely going to head back to Torith in the morning, though.

Derek stood and sighed. I guess I need to find a river or a stream somewhere. The one thing he did know was that he needed to wash all the blood off. Heh… I wonder what the guards would say if I showed up at the gate covered in blood.

Derek searched around and listened for a while, finally coming to the decision to go back to a stream he passed by on his way to hunt the Poison Fengs. By the time he reached the stream, night was falling. He washed up as best he could and decided to work on Void Call another day.

The next morning, Derek examined his scar-covered body. All the wounds inflicted by the Void Beast were gone. Some of his previous scars were also gone. It seemed like his body’s healing healed not only the wounds but also the scars the beast had cut open. Some scars even looked weird. It was like someone dragged a knife up his abdomen but kept lifting it in the process, leaving portions unscarred.

He didn’t like that. Derek had refused to remove his scars so he would have a reminder of what he had been through. Plus, he thought they looked cool. Now, some of the ones on his abdomen and chest just looked odd.

While checking over his body, he tried to communicate with Silvi but was unable to. It made sense. He was quite far from the city. He was already surprised when he found that they could communicate with each other half a city apart, so he had no hope that it would actually work this far away.

Derek dressed and ate some jerky from his bracelet. He had a long run ahead of him, and he hoped he could make it back to Torith by lunch. He set his sight in the right direction and took off.

* * *

Derek arrived at the city gates around noon. The first thing he did before going through was try to communicate with Silvi. ‘Silvi, can you hear me?’

‘What do you want?’ a reply came through.

‘I was just checking on you. Did anything exciting happen yesterday? Did y’all stay out of trouble?’

‘No trouble. Mount idiot. Getting tricked,’ Silvi answered.

‘What do you mean? Tricked how?’

‘Girl acts nice. Wants ring. Mount idiot.’

Silvi had a way with words. Derek understood immediately. Thomas must have met a girl, but she really just wanted to find a way to take his storage ring. Derek shook his head. ‘Well, don’t let her steal the storage ring. If she tries, don’t kill her, just keep her from taking it. I’ll talk to Thomas in a bit.’

‘Girl not here. They meet later,’ Silvi replied.

‘Good. I have to take care of a few things, then I’ll meet up with you,’ Derek said. No response came back through. Derek sighed and shook his head. Lazy bunny.

With that, Derek showed his Adventurer’s Guild badge to the gate guards and was let through. At least it’s good for something, he thought. Time to go get the real thing. He set off to the Adventurer’s Guild.

16 BECOMING OFFICIAL

Derek walked the long road from Torith’s gate entrance to the Adventurer’s Guild, taking in the scenery along the way. He wasn’t in a rush; he still had plenty of time before lunch. The difference in the quality of the buildings and the way people lived in the first district versus those in the merchant and noble districts never ceased to amaze him.

Every city had its slums and rougher areas, but the division in this city was unlike anything he’d ever seen back on Earth. All that he could think was that the living conditions must be heavily enforced.

Finally, after strolling through the ‘commoner’ district of the city, he made it back to the Adventurer’s Guild. I really hope he was able to confirm that we drove… killed… those bandits on the way from the village. Maybe I should have picked up another mission to complete along with the other… Well, hindsight’s 20-20.

Derek opened the giant double doors of the guild and took a step inside. I feel like I’m in a Western walking through double doors like this. He glanced at the doors that swung shut. If only they kept swinging.

Once again, he walked over to the counter on the far left. Nia was standing there with a beaming smile.

“Derek! I was told you left for a mission near the mountains yesterday. Did you forget something?” she asked.

Derek chuckled. “Nope. Actually, I’m here because I hunted the Fengs and need to turn the mission in. I also need to talk to Francesco and see about another mission… Along with other things.”

Nia stared at Derek for a while before finally coming to her senses. “Oh… I see. You must have already hunted some of the beasts before and decided to turn them in instead. That’s fine, too.” She smiled.

Derek smiled back. “Wrong again.” He laughed. “I’m just pretty fast. Not to mention that it didn’t take much time at all to find the mushrooms,” he lied. Finding the monsters had taken the majority of the hour that it took to hunt all 15 of them. “I would go turn the mission in at the counter over there”—he pointed to one of the counters on his right—“but I need to talk to the guild manager, so I figured I’d knock both things out at once.”

Nia looked at Derek like he was crazy. Then she looked down at his temporary gold badge and seemed to come to terms with it. “Please, have a seat. I’ll inform Mr. Jaccobs of your arrival, and he’ll be with you shortly.”

Derek stayed standing instead of having a seat. If the previous day was any indication, the man wouldn’t keep him waiting long. In fact, not two minutes after Nia left, she came back, trailing behind Francesco.

“Mr. Hunt,” Francesco said, offering his hand in greeting. “Nia tells me you have already completed your mission. That’s great!”

“Indeed.” Derek nodded.

“Please, follow me to the back, and let’s get you taken care of.” Francesco motioned Derek to the door.

“Lead the way.”

Inside the meeting room, the two were sitting at a table. “You have the corpses on you?” the manager asked.

“Of course.” Derek flicked his hand, and one of the Poison Fengs appeared.

Francesco nodded. “Good. Leave them and the mission here with me when you leave.” He grabbed the binder laying on the table and flipped through some pages before stopping. Then, he made some marks on the page. “Alright, I have marked the mission as complete for you.”

Then Francesco pulled two gold coins from his storage ring. “Here are the rewards for the mission. Normally, it would be less, but since it was quite the distance and close to a dangerous zone, the reward is bigger.”

Derek inwardly laughed at the small amount. “What about the other mission? Did you have a chance to check on everything while I was gone?” he asked.

Francesco nodded. “Of course. I sent some runners and found two of the people your group saved, and I personally paid a visit to Captain Bronson. After some discussion, I have determined that the bandit camp your group stumbled onto was indeed the one from the mission.

“Since Bronson was the only person registered to the guild at the time, I have put him down as the team leader and you as a member. As for the young boy that traveled with you, if he registers at the guild in the future, he will have a completed mission waiting for him.” Francesco then summoned 20 silver and put it on the table in front of Derek. “As this mission was closer and not deemed to be much of a threat to a team of silver-ranked adventurers, and the split is between three team members, the pay is not as grand.”

Derek didn’t join the Adventurer’s Guild to make money, but after seeing the rewards, he checked it off the list as a fast way to make money. Still, he took the silver and put it away.

“With that…” Francesco pulled a badge out of his ring. “You have completed your two silver trial missions, and I can officially make you a gold-ranked member of the Adventurer’s Guild.” He placed the badge in front of Derek, then summoned a book out of his ring. “Now, I just need to update the member list.” He jotted down something in the book. “Done, it is official. Please return your temporary badge.”

Derek handed the manager his temporary badge, and the man stored it.

“Now, please inject some of your mana into the badge for activation,” Francesco said.

Derek did as told, and a notification appeared.

Would you like to bind ‘Adventurer’s Badge: Gold’ to you?

Y/N

Derek focused his mind on accepting.

‘Adventurer’s Badge: Gold’ has been successfully bound.

“Now, it doesn’t do much, but when picking up or completing missions, they will ask you to provide your badge. We will test it to make sure you are its owner and that it is an official badge of the guild,” Francesco continued.

“Also, you are the only person that can activate the badge. It will glow slightly when you inject your mana. There is no tracing or listening spell on the badge, so you don’t have to worry about your privacy. If you are skeptical, you can have it tested. If you lose the badge, it will cost 10 gold coins to be replaced, so it is best that you keep an eye on it.

“Do you have any questions for me about the badge?” the manager asked.

Derek shook his head. “Nope, that’s it.” Derek stood and walked over to an empty corner. He dropped the 15 Poison Feng corpses onto the ground. “I guess this will do?”

Francesco winced. “That’s fine. Don’t worry about the cleanup.”

“Thanks. I will see myself out if there isn’t anything else,” Derek said, and Francesco nodded. “See you around.” Derek walked out of the room.

Francesco walked over to the pile of corpses, putting a glove on his right hand in the process. “I should have told him to take them to the completion counter to get the hang of what it’s like to complete a mission.” He sighed, placing corpse after corpse into his storage ring.

Derek walked back into the front of the building. Nia was waiting behind her counter, reading a book. “Slow day?” he asked from behind, causing the woman to jump and let out a light cry.

Embarrassed, she replied, “Few people have not already registered for the guild, so there’s a lot of downtime. I mostly deal with kids who have just unlocked The Great System. Other than that, I help at the other counter when things get busy or with Mr. Jaccobs if he needs help.

“Most of the time, I’m just here all day with nothing to do. But, the pay’s good, and I don’t have to risk my life. Plus, I get to read as I like. It’s a win-win,” Nia explained.

“Oh? What’re you reading?” Derek leaned forward to get a look at the book.

Nia quickly hid the book behind her back and brought a hand to her cheek before stammering. “N-nothing you would like.” Calming down, she looked at the badge he had pinned on his shirt. “I see everything went well for you.”

Derek nodded. “Yup.” He was still wondering what kind of book the woman had been reading but decided to leave it alone. He didn’t want to embarrass the poor girl any further. “I guess I’ll be seeing you around more often. Enjoy your book.” He winked at her. Okay, now I’m done embarrassing her. “I’ll see you later. I have some more business to take care of. Have a great day.” He left the guild, leaving Nia standing like a statue with her book clutched in her hand behind her back.

Okay… Got my guild badge. Now I need to pop in and see how Stella’s doing, then I need to have a chat with Thomas. Derek walked up to the gate separating the lower district from the middle and waved at one of the guards. The gate opened immediately. I wonder if they all know who I am already, or if it’s the gold badge…

He didn’t think too much about it and walked through the gate. I wonder if I’ll get the same treatment going from the merchant district to the noble district. He began his trek to the Crown, all the while thinking, They really need to get some carts and buggies or taxis or something. Maybe I’ll create a bicycle next.

17 MEETING STELLA AGAIN

Derek’s walk through the merchant district of Torith was uneventful. He thought about stopping by the inn to see Silvi and Thomas but decided against it. It was funny to him, though. He received fewer stares from the people around now that he was wearing a gold-ranked badge on his shoulder. At least the badge is good for something, he mused.

Eventually, he ended up at the gate separating the merchant district from the noble district. He stopped in front of the gate, looked up at one of the guards, and waved. The guard frowned, but another guard noticed Derek at the gate and ran over to whisper something in the previous guard’s ear.

“Please excuse us, Mr. Hunt.” The guard that seemed to recognize Derek jumped from his perch on the gate and walked towards Derek while speaking. “As you are not a noble, we must document your entry and exit to and from the upper district.”

Derek nodded at the guard to continue.

“Ah, I see you went and obtained an Adventurer’s Guild badge—and a gold one at that. Congratulations. That will actually make things much easier.” The man pulled out a clipboard and jotted something down before he asked, “Now, I must ask what business you have in the noble parts. Because of your gold rank in the Adventurer’s Guild, I don’t need specifics, just why you’re entering.”

Derek frowned. He didn’t like having to tell others about his business. Then again, it would make it pointless to have walls separating the city if anyone could just pass through the gates. “I am here to see Stella from the Crown Restaurant. She should be expecting me anytime now.”

The gate guard nodded and jotted something else down. “Do you, perhaps, know how long you will be staying in the district?”

Derek furrowed his eyebrows. “No clue. Could be anywhere from five minutes to five hours. It depends on how our discussion goes.”

The man nodded and wrote more on the clipboard. “Alright, thank you for your cooperation.” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge, not unlike what he got from the Adventurer’s Guild. “Please take this. It is a guest pass into the noble district. You inject your mana into it just like the one you are wearing. This will activate the guest pass.

“The difference between this badge and the one from the guild is that the mana injection only lasts 24 hours and cannot be activated again for a week. It has a tracking spell linked to it that covers the entire city. If it is not returned to a guard post within that time frame, guards will be sent out to collect it… and you. Also, we will be alerted if the badge is ever more than two meters away from your mana signature. If a crime is found to have been committed and your badge is known to have been in the vicinity at the time, you will be questioned. Do you understand?”

Derek nodded and took the badge. He injected his mana into it, accepting the notification that appeared. He then looked back at the guard. “Why did I not have to have one of these when I came through earlier?” he asked.

“That is because you and your… friends came through with Sir Bronson as his guests. Later, Sir Bronson arrived and reported your stay at the Gracefall Manor. As for why you did not need badges, it is because as guests of the Gracefall House, you became their responsibility. As you are no longer staying as guests of the Gracefalls, you are required to… jump through these hoops,” the guard explained.

Derek nodded. “I suppose I can’t store this thing in my storage ring?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, no.”

Derek placed the badge into his jean pocket and lifted his hand. “Thanks for the information… Mr.…”

The man took his hand. “Bellamy, Bellamy Sanz. You can just call me Bellamy.”

“Bellamy.” Derek nodded and released the man’s hand. “It was a pleasure.”

Bellamy nodded back, then turned to the other guard and nodded again. Soon, the gate opened, and Derek walked forward.

Immediately, he was standing in the noble district. I didn’t think that Bronson had gone through that much trouble for us to stay here. I guess it’s not much trouble if you know the people and are used to doing it, though, Derek thought. I wonder if I would have chosen to stay in one of the inns in this district, would I have still been Walter’s responsibility? Derek’s respect for both Walter and Bronson increased once again.

Soon, he was standing in front of the Crown Restaurant. He opened the door and walked in. The same bouncer-like guards as before were standing around the entrance and took note of his arrival.

“Hey, Beavis, is Stella in?” Derek asked.

The guard flushed red in anger before calming down. He didn’t bother to reply and just nodded his head to the woman behind a hostess station. She was already looking at him.

Derek walked over to the woman. He didn’t recognize her from before. “Hi, I’m Derek Hunt. Is Stella in?”

The woman glanced at a book on the stand and raised her head with slightly raised eyebrows. “It seems she is expecting you, and I am to bring you up whenever you arrive. Please, follow me.”

Derek followed the woman up to the same floor and office he had gone to the previous day. The hostess knocked twice on the door. “Madam, Mr. Hunt is here to see you.”

“Come in,” Stella’s voice rang out from behind the door.

The hostess opened the door and stepped to the side, letting Derek have a clear view of Stella and her intoxicating smile. Today, she wasn’t wearing a provocative dress.

She was standing, dressed in a tight, forest green, long-sleeved laced tunic trimmed in black. The lace was loose, causing Derek to put more focus on looking at her face. The tunic fell into a short black pencil skirt with stockings underneath.

Derek smiled at the beautiful woman. “Stella! Good to see you again. I’m not too early, am I?” he asked while walking the few steps over to her desk.

“Of course not, Derek. I was actually able to contact my employer just after you left the other day and work something out,” she answered, then nodded at the lady standing at the door to signal she could leave. The door closed. “Please”—Stella gestured to the empty chair in front of Derek—“have a seat.”

Derek sat. “So, how are things going?” he asked.

“They couldn’t be better. In fact, not only was I able to work out your compensation for the Void Beast, but my botanist has already made a coffee prototype.” She took a crystal from one of her desk drawers and injected mana into it. Afterwards, she put it back. “I’ll have the staff bring up what we have so far.”

Derek nodded. “That’s great!” He was genuinely excited. He was more excited about the idea of not running out of coffee than he was about the money.

Stella smiled. “I see you visited the Adventurer’s Guild after you left.”

“Yeah. I figured I could do more with a badge than without.”

She nodded. “That’s true.”

The two chatted for a few minutes about unimportant things before a waiter arrived with the prototype coffee.

After the waiter left, Stella poured Derek and herself a cup. “Please. Tell me what you think. You are the expert, after all.”

Derek nodded and took the cup, bringing it to his lips. He took in a deep breath of the aroma. Well, at least it smells like coffee. That’s already big. Then he took a sip. The taste was coffee-like but weak. It’s better than nothing, though, he thought and took another sip.

After setting the cup down, he spoke, “Well, the flavor just isn’t there yet. With what you currently have, I would suggest brewing it with less water or double brewing it for a stronger taste. The problem may just be that your people aren’t used to strong drinks, so they are diluting the coffee with too much water.

“I’m not sure how roasted the coffee is, but if you have your people roast them longer, then you will get a much richer, bolder flavor. Where I’m from, you can get a light roast, a medium roast, or a dark roast. I prefer medium roast, myself. With it, you get a bit of the stronger original flavor of the coffee combined with a bit of the bold flavor from the roasting process.”

Stella nodded and made some notes on one of the papers scattered around her desk. “I will let them know. Thanks for the information.”

Derek smiled. “Well, I am by no means a coffee expert. I would just like to be able to drink all I want without having to worry about not being able to find it anymore.”

“Well, thank you anyway. I actually think the product is going to bring in more money than I initially expected. It has something in it that stimulates a person and their energy. If we are able to increase the drug’s effects, we could sell it as more than just a beverage during a meal,” she explained.

“Of course, there are other plants and medicines that do the same. It’s just that none of them tastes good while also providing the benefit. Also, having the stimulant occur naturally in the beverage is much easier than having to extract the stimulant and add it to other medicines,” she continued.

Derek nodded. “Yeah, we call that caffeine where I’m from. We never enhanced it. It was used by very low-level people who needed more energy to work late or to wake up faster. Because, as you know, it would take a ton of enhancing it to work on someone with a lot of endurance.”

She smiled. “Exactly.” Then she pulled out a stack of papers from her storage ring. “Well, let’s get down to business. I’m sure that you are anxiously waiting to see what the Void Beast is worth to us.”

Derek nodded.

“Well, I have some good news. My employer seemed to take an interest in you and decided to give you a premium offer in hopes of your further cooperation with the restaurant.” She slid the papers over to Derek.

After reading, Derek’s eyes went wide. “Is this right?”

18 CROWN MEMBERSHIP

“Is this right?” Derek asked, looking at the contract. The offer was for 25,000 gold coins and contribution towards a membership. He had expected quite a lot, but more like 10,000 gold coins. If Bronson’s sword cost 2,700, I wonder what kind of weapon I could get for this. Nah, I bet at a certain point, Weaponsmiths stop accepting gold for their wares. They probably deal only in trade.

“Mhm.” Stella nodded. “As I said, my employer has made the decision to give you a premium offer. Plus, the Void Beast you brought in was high quality, so the price has to match. As you only want the hide back, not much was deducted from the amount because we don’t have many uses for it.

“The current payment is what someone with a tier one membership would be awarded if they brought in the same beast. As I said, my employer is treating you quite fondly. This is the first time I have seen such a thing happen, though it is not the first that I’ve heard of,” Stella finished with a smile.

“I see. I will have to thank your boss at some point,” Derek replied. “Now, about the Crown Membership. This contract only states that I will be awarded a medium amount of contribution towards a membership. Is there a tangible way to tell how much contribution I have?”

Stella’s smile grew wider at the question. “I was wondering when you were going to ask that.” Stella looked deep into Derek’s eyes. “Now, there are two answers that you can get. One is a basic outline, but the other requires an oath to not repeat what I say to anyone. Which would you like?”

Derek frowned but agreed to the oath. “I, Derek Hunt, swear to the Great System to abide Stella Brighton’s words and keep what I am about to hear to myself… and my companion—as I cannot hide things from her—for as long as required.” After his oath, the notification popped up.

You have made an oath to ‘Stella Brighton.’

Please abide by the terms and conditions to avoid any penalties or punishments.

Stella frowned. “Your companion? The rabbit?”

Derek nodded. “Yes. We communicate telepathically. It is easy for her to hear my thoughts unless I specifically focus on keeping her out. Trust me, she does not actively try to listen to them either.”

“That’s… interesting. Most communicate with their beast companion through their will. They just understand each other.” Stella furrowed her brows. “Just how strong is that bunny?”

Derek smiled. “Would you like to swear an oath?” He laughed.

Her eyes widened a little, then she chuckled. “No, it was just a passing thought.” Then she cleared her throat. “I trust that she will not speak of what we are discussing to anyone?”

“No. If we were talking about food or sleeping, she might find a way, but she couldn’t care less about anything we are discussing right now. Besides, as of right now, she can only communicate with me,” he answered.

Stella nodded. “Very well. First, to answer your question… No. All that you have to go on is my word and the trust that you have in the Crown. There are many reasons for this, but the main one is because my boss controls who gets the memberships and who does not. She is quite fair, though.

“Even if she does not personally like you, as long as you do not act in a detestable and despicable way, and if she sees that you have worked and contributed much to the restaurant, she will award you with a membership. However, the biggest factor standing in the way of most of the nobles receiving a membership is how they act and treat others. My boss is… well, she has eyes and ears everywhere.”

Stella sighed. “You could say that she is the kingdom’s foremost expert in gossip. She does not spread it, but she collects it, then verifies it. There are nobles—I will not name names—that have contributed greatly to the Crown and helped the cities and those less fortunate than themselves. But they have never received a membership, and they never will.

“They may look perfect on the outside, but they are vile on the inside. Some of the things that I have heard about…” Stella shook her head. “My mistress will never allow people like that to be formally associated with her business. There are some, though, that are strict and violent that have been given membership and people wonder why.

“Those people treat everyone the same. If a descendant from their house steps out of line, they will be punished the same as if a beggar did the same. Their violence is warranted. They are usually noble houses that uphold the laws of the kingdom. And though they cannot punish a noble of another house the same way as they do a commoner under kingdom law, they will punish their own. It is respectable. Many normal folk and nobles alike fear them,” Stella stated.

Derek nodded. “I understand. This is actually great information for me to know. If I go to another city and a ‘perfect’ noble house is there, but they do not have a membership to your restaurant, I will know to avoid them. I see why you had me take an oath.”

Stella nodded. “That is correct. There are a few, not many, that are respectable and close to perfect that do not care for a membership; therefore, do not seek to obtain contribution. But they are usually neutral parties and will not seek you out without reason.”

She continued. “Now, that is all for people who have not earned a membership yet. There is a tangible way to see your contribution once you are a member.” Stella flicked her wrist and a solid white card with a golden crown in the middle appeared in her hand. It was slightly bigger than a credit card. “This”—she waved the card around—“is a membership card.” She handed it to Derek to examine.

Holding it in his hand, he studied it. It was hard. He put some strength into his hand and squeezed slightly. After some pressure, the card bent a little, and he relaxed. “Some good material,” he said.

“Indeed,” she answered. “They can survive”—she watched as he bent the card even more—“most indirect attacks.”

Derek nodded and handed the card back. “I’m guessing this is just for me to examine?”

Stella chuckled. “Yes. It is not an actual membership card, just a display. It is the same in almost every way, just lacking the enchantments.” She took the card back. “Now, as you can see, the card is a blank slate, solid white. This is a tier-one membership card with no contribution. You will begin at tier one if you ever become a member.

“Now, as you gain contribution, you can give your card to a manager, and they will transfer it to the card.” Stella injected mana into the card. The end of the card began turning blue. As she continued, the blue color spread across the card. “As you can see, as you earn contribution, the card will fill with a different color.” At that point, the entire card had turned blue.

Stella injected more mana into the card, and a purple tint appeared on the side. “White is tier one, blue is tier two, purple is tier three, and black is tier four—the maximum tier. Each tier comes with different benefits. You will only learn about them when you reach that tier, and you will be required to sign a contract not to spread said benefits.”

Mhm… It’s like the more I spend, the higher my credit limit. Derek nodded. “I see. That makes sense to me.”

Stella nodded and put the card back into her ring. “Now, like I have said, my boss seems like you, which is a point in your favor. She will definitely be listening and watching you, so when you reach enough contribution in her eyes, it won’t be hard to become a member.”

Derek frowned, disappointed. “So, no matter how much I contribute, it will take a while to become a member because she needs to find out my character?”

“Well, that depends. My boss is a great judge of character, and I don’t believe that she has ever been wrong about a person, no matter how quickly she came to her opinion about them. She’s… special in that way.”

“I see.” Derek nodded. “So, hypothetically. If I had enough contribution in her eyes today, how long do you think before she judged me worthy or not?”

“That’s a tough question. It could be a day, a week, a month, a year… I don’t know. I’m sure she knows more about you than I do already. And she’s in the capital. She may already have her opinion.”

“Interesting.” Derek smiled. “This isn’t some secret spy or assassination guild or something, is it?” he asked in jest… mostly.

Stella broke out in laughter. “No, it isn’t. But isn’t that exactly what a spy guild would tell you?” She gave him a serious look, then burst out laughing again. “No, my mistress doesn’t have a lot of friends and can’t talk to many people.” She frowned and lowered her head. “So, learning about people from afar became a hobby of hers after she started the Crown, and her skill in it has greatly improved the restaurant’s standing. This is all public knowledge.”

“Why can’t she talk to people?” he asked, intrigued.

“This is also public knowledge. Her class has a skill that makes people… uncomfortable, and she cannot turn it off. It is a tragedy because she really does love having conversations. Very few servants can be around her, and she does most of her communications via the communication crystal. Even then, her skill affects others,” Stella replied.

“That is sad. I would like to talk to her someday. Who knows, maybe I’m different.” Derek smiled. If she has a skill that’s constantly active, and it’s magic, will my Magic Resistance constantly go up? Of course, he had ulterior motives.

Stella’s smile shined. It was more genuine than Derek had seen before. “I’m sure that she would love that. I’ll let her know next time I speak with her.”

Derek nodded. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said, then continued. “Now, let’s get back to my payment and contribution.” He reached over and rubbed his bracelet, waiting for the right time to reveal his other… goods.

“Very well,” Stella replied.

19 THE TRUE VALUE OF VOID BEASTS

“So, as you can see…” Stella reached over to the contract and pointed. “You will get 25,000 gold coins for the Void Beast, minus the hide. And seeing your earlier reaction, I’m guessing that this price is acceptable?” she asked.

“Yes, very acceptable. I was just wondering what I would do with so much gold,” Derek replied.

Stella chuckled. “Ah yes, having such an amount of coin and nothing to spend it on can be a problem. May I suggest your local Crown Restaurant? I hear that they have a delicious menu, though they aren’t cheap.”

Derek laughed at that. “No, I suppose they are not. As for the contract, I would be happy to sign it, but I was thinking about maybe adding something to it. Or I could take this and the money, and we could make another.”

Stella’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “You never cease to amaze me. You have more to offer the restaurant? Is it another product like coffee? I don’t think we’re ready for that yet. The Botanist is still working out the kinks in that, and we wouldn’t want to introduce too many new products like that into the market all at once. I mean, we would still buy it, but you wouldn’t see revenue on whatever we work out until we begin selling.”

Derek shook his head. “No, unfortunately I don’t have any more moneymakers like that. Though I may have an interesting alcoholic beverage later, but I’m still in the process of thinking about it. This is another one-off purchase like the Void Beast. Are you interested?”

“Of course we are interested. May I see the goods?”

“Sure, but first, since you’ve treated me so well.” Derek held his arm out and the small Void Beast appeared, held by the back of its neck. “You said that the older and stronger the Void Beasts were, the more expensive. Well, this one is neither old nor strong, more like a baby. I figured I’d toss it in as an appetizer if your offer was sincere.”

Stella’s eyes were like saucers. “Another Void Beast,” she whispered. Then she stood and walked around the desk to get a closer look. “May I?” she asked.

“Of course.”

With that, a knife appeared in Stella’s hand, and she reached over to the beast Derek was holding. She slid the knife along the upper arm of the creature, slicing through the flesh. Derek could see the bone when she withdrew the blade.

“Interesting…” she said as she touched the exposed muscle with her finger. “I’ve never seen a Void Beast that was so… delicate.” She looked at the finger, which had a small amount of blood on the tip, and frowned. “I hate having to do this.” Sticking her tongue out, she licked the end of her finger and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, her eyes shot open. “Store that… immediately.”

Hearing the agitation in her voice, Derek quickly stored the Void Beast. Confused, he looked at Stella. “What’s wrong?”

Stella leaned against the desk, and using her hands, she lifted herself atop it. She sighed and summoned a tissue to clean her hand. Then, sitting on the desk just in front of the seated Derek, she spoke. “I can’t in good conscience accept your gift. Not without you knowing the real value of it. Now, I can’t tell for sure by just tasting the blood, but that creature is most likely worth much more than the one you already brought me.”

She sighed again. “The meat, bones, and brain are the valuable parts of the usual Void Beasts.” She chuckled. “Hell, I might as well tell you this. I suspect you will be a member soon. With the right chefs, our chefs, those who eat the Void Beast meals we prepare obtain increases to their stats. Of course, a Void Beast meal is absurdly expensive and usually only sold via auction.”

“Don’t most meals increase a user’s stats?” Derek asked. He could see where it was going, but he wanted to make sure.

Stella nodded. “That’s true, but those stats are temporary. These are permanent. We are unsure why, but the theory is that the beasts are creatures ‘outside the Great System.’ So the increased stats aren’t system-granted stats but more… personal.”

That got Derek’s attention. “How much will a Void Beast increase someone’s stats? Let’s say, the one I’m selling you.”

“Well, you are able to get increased strength, endurance, and intelligence out of a Void Beast. Which is funny because they come from the muscle, bones, and brain, respectively. Now, if you want to get the most benefit out of the creature, you can’t eat it all at once. The benefits diminish the more you eat. You have to give your body enough time to process everything.

“If you were to just eat it all at once, that Void Beast, prepared by our cooks, would give you around 25 strength, 15 endurance, and 10-20 intelligence. Intelligence is always hard to estimate. Now, if you eat, then wait a couple months for your body to process everything, then repeat until the Void Beast is gone…” she quieted, thinking. “Then you could stretch the gains to probably 50-60 strength, 30 endurance, and 30 or more intelligence,” she answered.

“Okay, you said that Void Beast was pretty strong and special, though, so I imagine those results aren’t typical,” Derek said.

“No, not typical at all. Really, Void Beasts aren’t typical.” She laughed. “The foundation of our entire business is based on the way we prepare Void Beasts. My boss… the owner is the only person who has the recipe. Our cooks are bound by extreme contracts. If they so much as think about selling the recipe, they will die.”

Derek frowned at that.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Stella said. “They aren’t slaves. They and their families are paid extremely well. A chef’s child can grow up as if they are the heir to a top noble house in the kingdom. Also, they can leave whenever they want. Remember how I was telling you about the owner’s skills?”

Derek nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, those skills allow her to both implant the recipe into the chef’s mind and remove it without any harm. If a chef wants to leave, the process is simple. In my 27 years with the business, only one person has ever died from breaking a contract. We also provide top-notch protection to all the chefs and their families. As I said, my boss has eyes and ears everywhere. It’s near impossible for harm to come to one of her chefs,” Stella explained.

That sounded well and good to Derek, but he was more caught up on the fact that Stella had been with the Crown for 27 years. She looked to be in her mid-20s, so unless she was born into the Crown… “Uh… You’ve been with the Crown for 27 years? Were you born into it? You don’t even look that old.”

Stella burst into a fit of laughter. “Thanks for that. It’s very reassuring that you think I’m that young. No, I started working for my employer when I was 20. Now, I will not say my age out loud because it stings, but I’m sure you can do the math. Being in my position has a lot of benefits. One of them is obtaining extra endurance, therefore preserving my looks and investing points into vitality to increase my lifespan.” She smiled. “Though it’s nothing compared to Alanah.” She muttered under her breath, but Derek could still hear.

Derek snapped out of his thoughts. “Well, you are very beautiful for your age… or any age, actually. Anyway, what’s up with the baby Void Beast?”

Stella stared him directly in the eyes, all playfulness gone. “When I tested the blood, I was just testing the flavor to see which tier menu to put it on. It’s a Void Beast, so no matter what, it will still give stats, even if it’s only a few. But, when I tasted the blood, I got a notification that my vitality increased by a point. Vitality is a very… sought-after stat. It’s easy to die in a fight without having decent vitality, but if you put your free points into the stat, you are missing out on offense.

“Very few people like classes that get hit often, so there aren’t many people with vitality as their main stat. People offset this weakness with accessories and potions that boost their vitality. I’m sure that you know all of this,” she said.

Derek nodded. Yup, people looked at me crazy when I said that I was a tank. Who knew getting hit hurts? “I see. So, if the blood gave you an increase with just that much, and no special preparation, then the value would be… a lot.” Damn, who knew the baby beast would have blood that would increase Vitality? It’s almost like those old stories…

Derek flinched, thinking about the stories he had heard about people bathing in the blood of babies or virgins. There were movies and novels about the subject, mostly fiction, but he could recall that there were people who actually did such things on Earth hundreds of years ago.

Stella gave him an odd look. “What’s wrong?”

Derek shook his head. “Nothing. I just thought of something unpleasant.”

Stella nodded. “I see. Anyway, yes, the value would be astronomical depending on how much blood the creature has. Would you please give me a moment? And please ignore me if I act… oddly.”

“Sure.”

Stella walked back over to her side of the desk and sat down. A blue communication crystal appeared in Stella’s hand. I hope this isn’t too embarrassing. I guess I could ask him to leave. She looked up at Derek, who was watching her with interest. Whatever, let’s get it over with.

She injected her mana into the crystal, hoping that Alanah would pick up quickly so she would not waste too much of the man’s time. Fortune seemed to smile on her as she felt the connection establish.

Hurriedly, she transmitted, hoping her boss would not speak first. ‘Don’t speak. With a client.’ Seeing that her boss didn’t speak, she sighed in relief. ‘I have Derek Hunt with me right now. We were going over his contract for the Void Beast. He looked over the contract and decided that we were being very sincere, so he said he wanted to do more business. Before that, however, he said that he wanted to give us a gift for being sincere.

‘The gift is why I am contacting you. He pulled out another Void Beast from his storage. It was a very young beast, most likely a baby. I went over and took a blood sample… Alanah, it gave me vitality. One drop of the blood gave me a point of vitality. Now, I told him what had occurred and gave him the beast back. I’m not sure how to proceed. He did say that he would like to talk to you, though.

‘I may have overstepped, but I told him a bit about your… condition. I was wondering if your recipe included preparing blood along with everything else, and I was wondering if I could just pass the crystal over to him and let you talk.’

“Yes, we can talk,” the alluring voice sounded out of the crystal, and Stella’s mind went blank.

20 ALANAH

“Yes, we can talk,” the voice sounded out of the crystal.

Derek felt a slight tug in the back of his mind, but nothing more than that. It was so light that he barely sensed it. Stella, on the other hand, had become completely mechanical. Her eyes dimmed as she sat in the chair, staring forward.

A sigh came from the crystal. “Hop on one leg,” the sensual voice sounded out.

Again, Derek felt the tug in his mind, and a slight want to stand on one leg, but nothing else.

Immediately after the command, however, Stella stood and raised one leg, then began hopping. Derek frowned as he watched the beauty bounce up and down. He was unsure what the person on the other end was planning. Overall, he was embarrassed for Stella.

“Stop,” the voice commanded, and Stella stilled. “Stella. Answer me. Did Mr. Hunt hop on one leg?”

Stella leaned forward and grasped the crystal in one hand.

“Wonderful!” the voice boomed. “That’s just wonderful.” It sounded genuinely happy. “Stella, dear. Please fetch our private communication crystal and lend it to Mr. Hunt.”

Stella flicked her hand, and another crystal appeared. It was the same size and shape as the other, but it was red instead of blue. Stella walked back around her desk and placed the crystal in Derek’s hand.

Derek took the crystal and inspected it. Unlike the blue one, this crystal only had three runes drawn on it.

“Stella, you can return to a comfortable position,” the voice said. “Now, Mr. Hunt. If you would be so kind as to inject some mana into that crystal when it lights up, that would be great. I will talk with you in a moment.” With that, the blue crystal that Stella had sat back down on the desk faded.

Stella walked back around to her side of the desk and flopped down into her seat, leaning back and placing her crossed feet on the top of her desk.

Well, she did tell her to get comfortable. Derek chuckled as he looked at the lounging figure.

Soon, the red crystal began to glow, and Derek injected some of his mana into it. ‘Hello,’ he answered like he was taking a call.

‘Ah, Mr. Hunt… Derek. So nice to meet you… Hop on one foot.’ The alluring voice invaded his mind and gave him a command.

This time, the tug in the back of his mind was much greater. So much so that Derek actually pushed his foot on the floor to stand before catching himself. Realizing what was going on, he stopped and sent a thought back. ‘I would prefer it if you wouldn’t do that.’

‘Oh! How absolutely wonderful! You‘re able to handle a command issued directly into your mind via a private communication crystal. Truly astounding. Just so you know, a command through this crystal is a dozen or more times as potent as one issued out loud through the other crystal. Also, as it was a command, it is much more potent than us just chatting. You really don’t know how wonderful this is.’ The alluring voice was gushing with happiness.

That would explain Stella. ‘I guess that’s a good thing?’ he answered.

‘A very good thing. I wasn’t sure you would be able to handle it, but I hoped. When Stella informed me that you did not hop on one leg, I was beyond excited. Speaking of Stella, she will be back to normal in a few minutes. She has very good willpower for her level,’ she said.

‘That’s good. I think she’s going to be embarrassed when she’s back to normal,’ Derek sent. ‘Anyway, what can I do for you?’

‘Ah, business…’ the voice sounded with disgust. ‘Business can wait. Do you know how often it is that I get to talk with somebody who doesn’t have to strain themselves being around me? You aren’t straining yourself, right? You don’t feel anything weird when we are just chatting? No impulses to flatter me or tell me the truth about anything?’

‘Nope. Just a force in my mind when you told me to hop on one foot. I felt like I wanted to stand but was able to control it,’ he answered.

‘Good… very good.’ The voice paused. ‘Oh goodness! Do you know what that means? We could actually talk person to person. Without you having to spend 12 hours next to me to get your focus back, and without you having to focus your mind so much that you have to stay home sick for two days.’

‘Uh… okay…’ Derek replied.

‘Oh, sorry for the babbling. It’s just so nice to really talk to someone…’ She paused. ‘Where are my manners? I was so caught up in my excitement that I forgot to introduce myself. I am Alanah Swan, owner and operator of the Crown Restaurant. And you, you are Derek Hunt. A most interesting man.’

Derek actually blushed a little at that comment. ‘Thank you… I think. I do pride myself on being… interesting. It is nice to meet you, Miss Swan.’

‘I’ll have none of that. You can call me Alanah.’

‘Fine by me. You can call me Derek if you want.’

Alanah giggled. ‘You are extraordinary. You must have phenomenal willpower to withstand my voice. Or maybe a great number of points invested into wisdom. Or… do you have the Mental Resistance skill? Oh… Sorry… You don’t have to answer that.’

Derek did feel the tug on his mind again when she asked the question, but it was much less forceful than before. ‘Don’t worry. I didn’t plan on answering.’ Derek was surprised and a little disappointed. Her comment meant that the conversation wouldn’t affect his Magic Resistance like he had hoped. But she was spot on about him having high wisdom and willpower. He couldn’t have survived so long as a tank without a ton of willpower.

‘And that… is why this is wonderful. Oh, the things we can discuss. You can lie to me, too. That is wonderful, so wonderful. Tell me, what is two plus two?’

Seeing where she was going with it, Derek answered, ‘Five.’

‘Wow!’ Alanah said in awe. ‘That is amazing. Unless you are very dumb… I don’t think you’re dumb. Nope… definitely not.’

‘That is great and all, and I would be happy to talk with you more, but I do have a lot of stuff to take care of today,’ he said. I don’t, but she doesn’t know that… I think. ‘I would like to discuss some business. I guess Stella informed you of everything?’

‘Yes, yes. Always business. Stella told me.’ Her happy, seductive voice changed to a flat tone. Though, it was still very bewitching. ‘She told me you brought in an interesting Void Beast. One that will give a lot of vitality points. Now, you should definitely thank her when you get a chance because anyone other than her… or me would have taken your ‘gift’ without saying anything because you are not a member, and you would have been none the wiser.

‘Stella is just too kind,’ Alanah continued. ‘Now, she asked me if I had a recipe for such a beast, and the answer is… maybe. I have methods to increase the potency in some things, and they have been known to work with some bloods, so there is a chance that the vitality points gained from the Void Beast could be increased. Now, of course, I can buy it from you if you would like. I would offer 50,000 gold coins for it, or…’ Her voice trailed off. ‘We can come to another arrangement.’

‘What arrangement would that be?’ Derek asked.

‘We split the Void Beast blood,’ Alanah answered. ‘You get half, and I get half. I will have my staff use my methods on the blood, and once we figure everything out, we can split it 50/50. Now, the final result could be more than what you would get just drinking all the blood raw, or it could be less. Like I said, with this method, you would only end up with half. What would you like to do?’

At that time, Derek noticed that Stella had come to her senses. She had taken her feet off the desk and was sitting straight and professionally. The blush from her embarrassment was fading, and she was staring at Derek with wide eyes.

Derek smiled at the woman before answering Alanah. ‘Honestly, since I was going to give you the beast as a gift before, it feels awkward taking it back…‘ Derek thought about everything for a moment. ‘Okay… I have an idea. I’ll do the 50/50 split with you on the baby Void Beast. Then, since I haven’t signed the contract for the other beast, you can have it for free. And we can discuss the price of my other Void Beast. You should find it quite interesting.’

‘Oh… That is interesting…’ Alan said with a giggle. ‘Tell me, is Stella back to her senses yet?’

‘She is.’

‘Very good. Tell her that I will contact her on the blue crystal. I will not talk, and she can just provide me with answers that I will ask for you. Is that acceptable?’

‘That’s fine by me,’ Derek answered.

He looked at Stella, the blush finally gone from her face. She seemed to come to terms with whatever she was feeling because she was looking at him in a professional manner instead of with shock in her eyes. “Alanah said to pick up the blue crystal when she contacts you. She won’t speak, but you can use it to tell her your thoughts. I’ll… translate.”

“Okay,” Stella said, and she picked up the crystal from her desk, answering it when it began glowing.

This is going to be odd. Derek didn’t know what to think about being the go-between for the two women. Oh well, it’s about to get a lot worse, he thought as he prepared to summon the corpse of the sentient Void Beast.

‘Ready?’ Derek asked.

‘Ready,’ Alanah chimed.

“Alright,” Derek said, speaking to Stella. “Alanah wants you to examine this and give her your opinions.”

Stella nodded her head, frowning. “Okay.”

Derek summoned the gigantic Void Beast. Stella looked at it, then back at him. Dumbfounded. The room was in complete silence.

‘Well! What’s going on?’ the voice rang in Derek’s head.

‘Well… Stella’s just… staring at the Void Beast. Give her a minute. Let her get her bearings back. Like I said, this Void Beast is interesting,’ Derek replied.

Derek watched as Stella took a deep breath, calming herself down. “May I?” She pulled her knife back out of her storage device and approached the giant of a Void Beast.

“Of course. That’s why I’m here.” Derek had to stand to keep the enormous beast from dragging on the ground. Other than its massive size, the differences from the normal Void Beasts were abundant. Longer, sharper claws, crazy muscle definition, and extra teeth, all sharper than regular Void Beasts. And those were only the visual differences. Derek was still unsure if he was going to tell them about it being sentient and talking.

‘She came to. She’s beginning her examination now,’ Derek said, keeping Alanah informed of what was happening.

Like with the first Void Beast he brought in, Stella placed her knife on its sternum to make an incision. Derek assumed that she wasn’t worried about perfectly dressing the small beast, which was why she only cut into its arm, but with a beast that would provide more than just food parts, she would dress it neatly.

Stella applied pressure to the knife. Then she applied more pressure, then more. Her brows furrowed, and she frowned. “How?” she whispered to herself. Soon, her knife vanished, and another one replaced it in her hand. This knife was much more interesting. To Derek, it looked more like a surgeon’s scalpel than a butcher’s knife.

Derek had to hold the corpse tight and steady to keep it from being pushed back by the pressure she applied with her new knife. “Here,” Derek said, placing the Void Beast on the floor. It was a tight fit, but he was able to slide Stella’s desk a bit to give her enough room to work.

“Thanks,” Stella lightly answered and kneeled on the ground. This time, she was able to apply the pressure she needed, and the scalpel sliced through the hide. She made an incision from the top of the sternum down past its abdomen. Then she moved to the top of its sternum and cut outward.

It was unsettling to Derek. She was a doctor performing an autopsy on a dead patient, and that was what her cuts looked like.

“You’re oddly good at that,” Derek mused out loud.

Stella nodded while concentrating. “It’s how I started out. Dressing game, cutting meats, that’s what I did when Alanah took me in. I got really good at it and leveled my skills fast. Then, I changed my class to make use of all the skills I picked up. From a common Hunter when Alanah found me to a rare Gourmet Butcher. And now my current class, which… I won’t elaborate on… You understand,” she said as she pulled back some of the hide from the beast.

“Gotcha. I just didn’t expect it. I thought you would have some managerial type of class,” Derek said.

Stella turned to him, and her lips formed into a bright smile. “Who says that I don’t?” She turned and went back to cutting.

To Derek, it was beautiful, in a sense. He injected the crystal with some of his mana and explained what was happening to Alanah.

‘Ah, yes. She is something of an artist. It pained me when she left the capital. Hopefully, she’ll get tired of Torith soon and come back,’ Alanah said.

‘Wait, so she isn’t the actual manager of this restaurant?’ Derek asked.

‘Oh goodness, no. She is way too qualified for that. It only takes her a few minutes to break out of the trance when I talk through a regular communication crystal. After being around me for a couple of hours, she is able to be around me for the rest of the day without being passively influenced. Do you know how hard it is to find someone like that?

‘Stella is the manager of the restaurant here in the capital. She went all the way to Torith a year ago on… vacation,’ Alana said, with regret in her voice. ‘Really, she just needed to get away from me for a time. She lasted much longer than most, but being around my passive influence is tiring. It wears people down.’ Alanah went silent for a moment. ‘But still…’ she said, ‘I don’t blame her one bit. She needed a break from me. She’s able to be around me with pure willpower, too. It would be counterproductive to invest in wisdom for her…’ she trailed off.

‘I’m sorry,’ Derek said, and he really was. It had to be hard to deal with, driving everyone away without doing anything wrong. ‘Is there no way to dampen your skill?’ he asked.

‘No, not that I have found. Trust me, I’ve looked.’ Her sigh came through the crystal. ‘There was a time when I tried hiring Wisdom-focused people, but the sheer volume of points needed in the Wisdom stat takes so long to get. It doesn’t even begin making a dent in my passive skill until it hits 500. A normal person would have to ignore everything else for 100 levels or so and go heavily into Wisdom just to have an equal conversation with me. And that is if their class isn’t automatically investing their points into other stats, which most do.’

‘I see…’ Derek said. ‘Have you not tried creating a class specifically for your needs? You need wisdom-based cooks, butchers, and managers, correct? Stella said you took her in, and she seems very grateful, so I assume you are a decent person. Why don’t you help others? You could have dozens of employees with high rarity class in a decade or so.’

‘What? How would I do that?’ Alanah spoke fast, almost panting.

‘Oh… uh…’ Derek had forgotten how Walter had reacted when he told him about experimenting with classes. He had two systems worth of experience to form theories. I guess everyone tries to get to level 10 as fast as possible… Now, the problem was whether he wanted to tell Alanah about the methods or not. She seemed fine, and he actually trusted Stella after their meetings.

‘I see… I’m sorry,’ the voice chimed in his head, this time sounding deflated.

At that time, Stella stood, finished examining the creature. She turned and nodded to Derek.

‘Stella’s finished. We can talk about classes later. I’ve told others, but it’s not really something that I want to spread to a lot of people quickly. Whatever the case, don’t let the fact that I have something you want sway the way our next business is conducted,’ Derek said.

Alanah chuckled, now back to her previous demeanor. ‘Of course I won’t, but you should use something like that to negotiate business. I wouldn’t take offense to it.’

‘I figured, but I’m not trying to amass a fortune. Friends and allies are much better assets. Besides, I wouldn’t know what to do with the previous offer for the Void Beast, much less what you’re going to offer for this one.’

‘That confident?’ Alanah asked.

‘If the different faces I saw Stella make while examining the thing are any indication… Yes, very confident.’ Derek chuckled. ‘I’ll let her know that you’re ready.’

“Alanah is ready for your assessment whenever you are,” Derek said to Stella.

Stella smiled and took the blue crystal before looking back at Derek. “I am happy that you two can talk like that.” She nodded to the red crystal. “A bit jealous, too,” she muttered and released her mana into the crystal.

Derek watched and waited for a while. Finally, after some time, Alanah’s voice rang in his head again.

‘Oh my. You did bring us something interesting. According to Stella, its hide was so hard to cut, even for her, that she had to use her other blade. That blade was made by a level 220 Blacksmith, just so you know. She’s excited because it’s the first time she’s ever had to use it. Do you know how tough the defense had to have been when it was alive to make her have to use the blade after it died?’

‘Yes,’ Derek said. ‘I’m the one that fought it, remember?’

Alanah laughed. ‘Oh, I know that. But, there weren’t any injuries to its skin, so I don’t think you really know. Apparently, you somehow nearly destroyed its heart, and its brain is mush. I think I may be more interested in how you fight than the incredible Void Beast that you have brought us. How did you do it?’

‘Secret,’ he replied.

‘Of course, of course,’ she replied. ‘Well, we’ve only ever had one beast come anywhere close to this one. Tell me, was it able to speak? If so, how well?’

That was surprising. Derek was speechless for a moment. ‘Uh… yes. It was. And it spoke very well. As intelligent as any human.’

‘Very interesting. The one we had before was able to speak, but it was very… ignorant. Short phrases like, ‘I eat’ or ‘I kill.’ We were able to stretch the stat gain of that one by… a lot. Off that one Void Beast, I could run the restaurants for free, giving away food every day for over five years. Of course, I didn’t do that, we are not a charity. What we do with Void Beasts is auction off meals to the highest bidder.

‘We sign a contract with estimated growth per meal, then start the bidding. Only members can join the auction, but there are some that use it as a chance to snag a meal, then gift it to someone to curry favor. It’s frowned upon, but we allow it… once. If it doesn’t go to you or your close family more than once, you are stripped of your membership and will not be reassessed for two decades.

‘Stella told me that she explained the stat increases from Void Beasts to you. Going by the one she was talking about, the current one should give three times or even more stats than the first one,’ Alanah explained.

‘So, you would offer me four times the amount?’ Derek asked.

‘Of course not. That would be ripping you off, dear. We sell only one meal per customer. This Void Beast will make, according to Stella, at least seven meals with quality stats. She explained how your body has to rest after each meal to get the total benefit. Well, your previous beast would make four or so meals. So, you could take the max stats she gave you and divide it by the number of meals. That would be the stats you would get per meal,’ she answered.

It was starting to make a lot more sense to Derek now. Of course, one meal with four times the stat increase would be much more valuable than the other. It would not be four times more valuable but much, much more.

‘So, a meal would give 6 strength, 3 endurance, and 2 intelligence with the other beast, but this one will give 24 strength, 14, endurance, and 10 intelligence, and the number of dishes that could be created is increased. So the price would go from tens of thousands of gold per meal to hundreds of thousands, if not more?’ he asked.

‘Exactly. That, or something of equal or better value in trade,’ she explained.

‘Okay, let’s talk price.’

21 PRICE

Derek waited for Alanah’s reply while Stella stored the carcass of the Void Beast and went back over to her seat.

‘Very well.’ The feminine voice entered his thoughts, and her tone had subtly changed. There was still a hint of happiness in her tone, but the excitement had waned, replaced by a more business-orientated tone. ‘First off, do you still plan on giving the other Void Beast to us as a bonus? Knowing what you now know?’

‘Of course. I can’t say that my word is my bond, but when dealing with those I respect, you can consider it as such. Honestly, I still don’t really want to take back half of the small Void Beast’s blood because I had already offered it, but getting free vitality points is too much to pass on. So, you’ll have to excuse me and accept the other Void Beast in its stead,’ Derek replied.

‘Very well. I thank you for that. I would not respect you any less if you chose not to do so. Just remember that,’ Alanah said. ‘Now, back to the super Void Beast. We have never had to make a deal with such a priceless ingredient, so this is new territory for me. Plus, having the three beasts, minus the blood of the small one, I imagine we will be able to draw even more attention in. I suspect there won’t be a single member absent from the auction. With that known, I can only ask. What is it that you would like as payment?’

Derek chuckled. ‘Well, there are many possibilities for that. I guess one would be a membership. But I’m unsure if I fit into those qualifications yet.’

A musical laugh was sent back to him. ‘That… is not payment for the Void Beast. You would be walking out of this meeting with a membership card with or without selling this Void Beast. I like you, Derek. Please do prove my judgment correct.’

That was surprising. Derek hadn’t expected it to be so easy to obtain a membership card, but then again, who else could do what he had done in the last few days? ‘Thank you,’ he replied. ‘Other than that, I do have some ideas.’

‘Oh? Let’s hear them.’

‘First. I was thinking that instead of a payment in gold, here and now, I could ask for a percentage of the sales. Say… 25 percent. What do you think?’ he asked.

‘Hmm… Maybe. It depends on what else you would like,’ Alanah replied.

Good, he thought. 25 percent of whatever it is sold for will be more than enough for a single person. That should make it easy enough to support Brandi without having to do everything myself. Speaking of Brandi… ‘I would still like the hide of all three creatures, if that’s okay.’

‘Of course. That was always the plan. For our purposes, the hide is useless. Would you also like the claws and fangs?’ she asked.

‘Sure,’ he replied. I’m sure the claws will help her with some of the other crafting classes.

‘What else?’ Alanah asked.

‘I would like two meals from the regular Void Beast and two from the super Void Beast. Is that too much?’

Alanah’s voice didn’t sound for a moment. Everything was silent. Finally, her voice rang again. ‘It’s… not too much. I would have to decrease your profits from 25% to 20%, though. Would that be acceptable?’

Derek thought for a moment. Of course, stats were priceless, so the decrease of 5% was not too bad. ‘That will be okay.’

‘Good. Is there anything else?’

Derek smiled. He didn’t know what to expect with his next ask. ‘Well, after you told me about Stella’s knife, I couldn’t help but think about the blacksmith. I can only assume that he is a member of your restaurant. Would you be willing to offer him a meal in exchange for him making me a weapon? My current one can no longer keep up, and though I’m good with my hands, I do prefer a weapon.’

This time, the silence stretched much longer before Alanah replied. ‘I can see, but I am not sure he will do it. The most likely answer will be yes. The extra strength and endurance is a great boon for a Blacksmith, but he can be… eccentric. However, if he accepts your offer, I am afraid I will have to cut your commission another couple percent. How does 18% sound?’

‘That’s fine, too. As long as the weapon is to my standard. Now, I also have a couple of paltry requests that I doubt you will have a problem with.’

‘They are?’

‘You may find them a bit… unordinary. I would like a storage ring. I would also like it to be fully stocked with a variety of cooking equipment and spices. Maybe some common recipes, too, if you’re willing,’ he answered.

‘Oh, training up a cook?’ Alanah mused.

‘Something like that.’ Derek smiled. ‘I would also like some pocket change. I had come in thinking that I would leave with a good amount of gold, but… well… things have changed, and I would rather not have to rely on Walter for room and board. I have enough for a while, but I would like to be prepared, in case of emergencies.’

‘That’s fine. I will have Stella provide you with 500 gold. That should last you until your beverage starts selling… if you don’t squander it. Is there anything else?’

‘500 gold is great,’ Derek said. ‘Now, for the awkward request. I would like to arrange for a… friend of mine to shadow some of your cooks for a few days. They don’t need to provide lessons or recipes, just allow my friend to watch them. It’s also fine, if not better, for them to be your lesser cooks.’

‘Ah, I take it that this ‘friend’ is your aspiring chef? Well, we do not have any ‘lesser’ cooks, but your friend can observe the cooks from the first floor. Is there anything else?’ Alanah asked.

Derek shook his head, even though Alanah could not see him. ‘Nope. That’s it. You might want to prepare your chefs, my friend is… different.’

‘Okay. So, we have 18% of the auction sales, a weapon by a master Blacksmith, two meals from the regular beast and two from the giant one, 500 gold, a storage ring filled with cooking supplies, and observation rights for your friend. Does that sound right?’

‘Yes, that’s fine.’

‘Very well. Please hand Stella the red crystal and inform her that I wish to speak with her,’ Alanah said.

Derek stood and leaned over the desk, handing the private communications crystal to Stella. “Alanah wants to talk to you.”

Stella frowned and hesitantly received the crystal from Derek’s hand. Taking a deep breath, she injected the crystal with her mana.

Derek watched as her breathing changed from slightly fast to a slow, mechanical pace. Then her pupils dilated, and her eyes glazed over. She pulled a set of papers out of thin air and began working vigorously.

Seeing the mechanical motions, Derek could only shake his head in awe and praise his wisdom and personal willpower. It also made him feel a pang of sadness for Alanah. If one simple word through a communication crystal from cities away could force Stella into this state, he couldn’t imagine what it must be like for her and the people close to her. If there was anyone close to her, that is.

He had lived alone for over five years back on Earth, and he was fine with it. But after his experiences in the void, he knew the pain of being alone better than anyone else. At least Alanah was able to talk with others after they acclimated to her passive skill for a time. He was alone for… well… he was still unsure how long he spent in the void.

Stella continued mechanically working on the contract while Derek contemplated his life. Finally, she slid the papers and pen across her desk and placed the crystal on top, snapping Derek out of his daydream.

Derek picked up the crystal. ‘I’m here,’ he said.

‘Good. Stella should be fine in a few minutes. I hate doing that…’ Alanah trailed off. ‘Anyway, please review the contract and let me know if you need any changes. I had Stella stamp it with my approval stamp and confirmed it myself.’

‘Okay.’ Derek took the contract and reviewed it. Everything they had talked about was outlined, and there wasn’t any fine print. The contract was exactly as they had discussed. At the bottom, instead of Stella’s signature, there was an odd symbol radiating magic. That had to be Alanah’s stamp of approval. ‘Everything is good. I’ll sign it now.’

Derek placed his hand on top of the stack of papers and channeled his mana into them. Soon, the contract message appeared before his eyes.

A contract with one ‘Alanah Swan’ via ‘Stella Brighton’ and entity ‘Crown Restaurant’ has been initiated. Would you like to proceed?

Y/N

Derek focused on accepting the contract.

Contract has been completed.

Please abide by the terms and conditions to avoid any penalties.

‘Very good.’ Alanah’s voice sounded inside Derek’s head, indicating that she had received the notification of the contract. Derek also noticed a flash of intelligence in Stella’s dead eyes when the contract completed.

‘Thank you for the favorable contract,’ Derek said. He was being genuine. As a person who could ‘summon’ Void Beasts, he felt like he was getting the better end of the deal. All he had to do was use a skill, then have a short fight. Alanah and the Crown were the ones who had to specially prepare the Void Beasts to obtain stats from them.

‘It was nothing, dear,’ Alanah answered in a happy tone. ‘Now, while we wait for Stella to snap out of the compulsion so she can register you as a Crown Restaurant Member, I have one last thing I would like to discuss with you.’

‘What is that?’ Derek asked.

‘Well, I was wondering. Since you seem to be able to summon Void Beasts, have you thought about making a long-term deal?’ Alanah’s amusement-laced voice rang in Derek’s thoughts.

Derek’s blood ran cold, and all traces of emotion left his voice. ‘What?’

‘Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody. But you really should be more careful. You bring a Void Beast for negotiation, then you leave the city to go on a mission in a remote location. Then, there is the giant purple beam that shot into the sky… it’s more noticeable than you would think. After that, you bring back two more Void Beasts for sale.

‘Plus, according to Stella, you have the most alluring purple eyes. Now, I’m pretty sure that I am the only one to put all this together. I am the only one that knows about the purple light too—well, me and my ‘eyes’, but they are deathsworn. Stella may have some suspicion, but that’s all. Before you ask, no, I am not going to blackmail you with any of this. I am not that type of person. I just like having information. It helps keep me… occupied,’ Alanah explained.

Derek calmed down after that explanation. ‘Do I have anyone else to worry about?’

‘No, dear. My ‘eyes’ confirmed that they were the only ones to keep track of your comings and goings. They also did not get close enough to ‘see’ the Void Beasts, just the light. I put two and two together. Walter may have some ideas, but he only knows about the one beast. Plus, he is a decent man. He would have a membership the moment he gives any contribution to the Crown, but he is more worried about his noble house and pesky honor,’ Alanah sent.

Derek released a deep sigh. ‘We can talk a little about it, but I don’t plan on using the skill too much. It’s very random. I never know what I’m going to get.’

‘Thank you for humoring me.’ Alanah’s voice rang in Derek’s head. ‘Would you mind telling me how your… skill works?’

‘Since you already know some about it, I don’t see why not. Just don’t let others know,’ Derek said.

‘Wait one moment, please,’ Alanah said. Then the communication crystal went quiet. Soon, a notification appeared in his vision.

An oath to the Great System has been made by one, Alanah Swan. This oath is binding until death. If broken, Alanah Swan will lose all classes and skills obtained by the Great System, and she will never have access again. Stats will remain as is at the time of breaking the oath.

As this oath was made while not in your presence, the conditions of the oath are outlined as such:

Alanah Swan will not reveal what she learns of your ‘Void Beast Summoning’ skill to anyone outside of whomever you allow or until you decide that the oath is no longer needed.

‘Did you get that?’ Alanah’s voice broke Derek out of his thoughts.

‘Uh… yeah. Are you sure about that?’

‘Of course. I wouldn’t trust someone I barely know with something so sensitive without an oath. Why should you have to?’ she responded.

With that, Derek was no longer concerned about talking about his Void Call skill with Alanah. ‘Well, the skill is called Void Call. It actually doesn’t have a description other than ‘call the void,’ so all that I know about it is through trial and error.’

‘Interesting. I’ve never heard of a skill with such a lack of description. I can only imagine it is because it is a skill that interacts with things that are not of the Great System.’

Derek paused. He hadn’t thought about that. He thought back to the first time he killed a Void Beast and the Achievement the system had given him. The Void Beast was considered a ‘creature unknown to the Great System.’ He took a moment to examine all his other void skills, but Void Call was the only one lacking in description. Void Sense had little information about it, but ‘The ability to sense the void’ was more than enough to explain what the skill did.

‘That may be right. I never thought about the skill like that. It makes sense because of the Void Beasts not being creatures of the Great System,’ Derek agreed.

‘Mhm. That’s what I was thinking,’ Alanah replied. ‘What else can you tell me about Void Call?’

‘First, it takes a massive amount of mana. I don’t think it’s a set amount either. It doesn’t seem to get any less consuming with more wisdom. It’s about 90% every time I use it. The only difference wisdom makes is that the mana-depletion headache is lesser with more wisdom,’ Derek explained.

‘Does the ‘call’ seem to be more powerful with higher wisdom?’ she asked.

‘No. Not at all. It’s the same as the first time I used it.’

‘Interesting. What else?’

‘Well, I think it calls to the closest creature in the void. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a Void Beast tear apart the sky and enter or exit the void, but when I used it yesterday, the small Void Beast wasn’t even able to exit the void. I had to go up and help it out. So, at any time, the skill could call down an infant beast or even one that could possibly destroy the nation.

‘Sometimes, it takes longer for the Void Beast to arrive, and I’m pretty sure that if there were two beasts together or at equal distances apart, both would arrive. I think the bigger Void Beast heard the first call, but it was unable to locate the correct space once the first beast arrived. Of course, it only seemed that way to me. I could be completely wrong. You have to know, I’ve only used the skill three times. It is still level one,’ Derek said.

‘I see. That leaves the skill with multiple ways for it to grow. Some of which may not be all that great. It may call more than one beast when it levels, which could be catastrophic. But you may be able to obtain more control of the skill. Perhaps, with a higher level, you would be able to choose the strength of the Void Beast that is called, though, that is just speculation,’ Alanah replied.

‘Yeah, I’ve thought about that. One possibility is control. The intelligent Void Beast seemed to want to kill me out of fear of what I may become. It strongly hinted at me being able to control its race. So, I was thinking that the skill may eventually become an actual summoning skill. Perhaps I would be able to control Void Beasts one day,’ Derek explained.

‘That idea is both fascinating and terrifying. You must never let anyone learn of this. The ability to control an army of Void Beasts would cause the king and his men to fear you. Same for the other kingdoms in this world,’ Alanah warned.

Derek was happy with her warning. It didn’t seem like she had any fear toward what he may be able to do, just curiosity. ‘I will keep that in mind,’ he said. ‘Other than the things mentioned, I do not know anything more about my skill. The only way to obtain more information is to use it more, and that comes with a lot of risk. Both with the summoning and being found out.’

‘I understand and agree with your reservations. Perhaps it would be too much to ask for you to use your skill right now. However, I know of a few places that are both remote and abandoned where you would be able to use the skill to your heart’s content without the worry of being found out. Of course, I would still suggest bringing an ally to help you deal with whatever is summoned.

‘I would be remiss to not include myself in that list. I hope you consider me when the time comes that you want to improve your skill. It has been some time since I went out and had fun,’ Alanah stated.

‘I may have to take you up on that offer,’ Derek replied.

‘Thank you,’ Alanah replied. ‘Is Stella showing any signs of awakening yet?’

Derek focused on Stella’s eyes. They were still glossy, and the woman was staring into space. ‘Nope, she’s still pretty lifeless.’

‘I see…’

Derek considered some things for a moment before coming to a conclusion. ‘About the process of unlocking those with rare classes. I won’t ask for an oath or anything, as I didn’t when I told Walter. I trust both of you to be discrete.’

‘You don’t have to—’ Alanah began to say before being cut off.

‘No, it’s only fair that I do,’ he said.

After that, Derek went on to explain the process he took with Brandi, without mentioning her specifically, of course. He told her about keeping under level 10 and improving mastery of different General Skills before choosing a class. He also told her about becoming close with an element of their choosing like fire or water. But, the big point he made was not rushing to obtain a class and how a 20-year-old person with a level 10 epic class would quickly surpass a 20-year-old with a common or upcoming class who obtained their class at 13.

After giving his hypotheses and theories, Derek waited for Alanah to reply. Alanah was obviously taking in everything he said and suggested before coming to a conclusion.

‘Fascinating,’ she finally replied. ‘It will, of course, be difficult to persuade somebody to hold off on obtaining a class, but the possible benefits will help me sway them. I know some of what you said is just conjecture, but it all makes perfect sense. My class has always had to do with sounds, and I spent a decade of my life before obtaining a class in a hellhole where there was never a break from noise. This only helps confirm some of your hypotheses…’ Alanah trailed off. ‘Thank you, Derek. I mean it,’ she spoke in a broken voice.

‘Don’t mention it,’ he said.

‘No, this is really something. I have the means to test it, and I will begin immediately. And, don’t you worry, I will have some of my deathsworn act, so none of this information will ever be leaked by me. Of course, I will have to select the children carefully. I much prefer loyalty over oaths. And, I do not like obtaining oaths from children, especially those who have not unlocked the Great System yet,’ Alanah said.

Derek smiled. What she said was already what set her apart from most of the noble houses. He still felt the disgust he had when he first heard about slave oaths and the nobles who choose to use them. ‘Can I ask, what is a ‘deathsworn’ that you mentioned?’

‘The deathsworn are scum. Some of the worst people you could imagine. For those who deserve a fate worse than death, who others would torture, I choose an alternate route. I’ve an ability that allows me to trap a mind after I break it. Think of the state Stella is in, right now, but permanent. I use the skill sparingly, and it takes more than you could imagine for it to work, but the result is what I call my deathsworn. If ever they think about defying me, it is instant death.

‘I do not like using the ability, but sometimes, it is what is needed. And yes, the majority of my deathsworn are high-level nobles… or used to be. For example, the deathsworn that is currently monitoring Torith, and thus, you, is a noble from the capital. I discovered that he was an instigator of raiding and pillaging small villages for sport. Nobody in that group had a good ending, but he became a deathsworn, fated to live inside his mind but never able to control himself again. He has been this way for 45 years now,’ Alanah explained.

Derek shivered. Alanah was a very kindhearted and vicious woman. Of course, he couldn’t blame her for her actions. He had met many people who deserved the same. ‘I see… Thanks for the explanation.’

After that, they sat in silence for a while. Finally, Stella began to stir.

She shook her head. “I hate it when that happens.”

22 JOINING THE CLUB

“How long was I out?” Stella asked as she came to.

“It was a good bit,” Derek replied. “Long enough for you to write a contract, then long enough for Alanah and me to have an interesting conversation.”

Stella nodded. “When she speaks directly into my mind, I’m just like all the others.” She sighed. “I really don’t understand how you do it.”

“Yeah, you don’t even want to know.” He definitely didn’t have the wisdom to be completely invulnerable to Alanah’s passive, but that, combined with his mindset and willpower from spending such a long time alone in the void, seemed to work. Sometimes, it paid to have a bit of a broken mind. Wait, if your mind is broken, do you know that it’s broken?

‘Is she back?’ Alanah chimed in.

‘Yeah, she’s back,’ Derek replied.

‘Good. Have her read the contract over and prepare everything she can.’

‘Okay,’ Derek answered.

Derek slid the contract he had signed back over to Stella. “Alanah said to go over the contract and prepare what you can.”

Stella smiled and nodded. “I remember most of what I wrote, but things get fuzzy while you’re under her influence.” She took the contract and began reading, nodding occasionally.

After she reviewed the contract, she pulled out another white card from her storage ring. “This is the real membership card. I’ll inject my mana into it, then you do the same. It will be activated and bound to our mana signatures. Of course, any manager of the Crown Restaurant can update your card. However, if it is lost or stolen, you must seek either the issuer, me, or the owner, Alanah, out to have it replaced and refilled.

“Of course, there is a replacement fee. You will lose half of all contributions and the rank you have earned as the replacement cost, and you will be banned from our restaurants for two months as the deactivation fee for your previous card. Do you understand?”

Derek nodded. “Yes.”

“Very well.” Stella injected the white card with her mana, and the image of the Crown’s logo was imprinted into the middle.

That’s different, Derek thought. The previous card already had the image on it, but this image was actually made from the mana of the manager.

Stella reached out to hand the card to Derek. “Your turn.”

Derek took the card and injected his mana into it. After a moment, the notification confirming his ownership appeared.

Would you like to bind ‘Membership Card: Crown Restaurant’ to you?

Note: This card has been imprinted by Stella Brighton.

Y/N

Derek accepted the binding.

Membership Card: Crown Restaurant’ has been bound.

Derek fiddled around with the card for a bit before putting it inside his bracelet.

“Now, the card is zeroed out and currently has no contribution points on it, making it tier one—as I have explained before. Anytime you wish to update your card, you need only speak with me or another manager. With your coffee product and the auction, your contributions will skyrocket. I don’t doubt that you will have the max tier very soon,” Stella explained.

Derek nodded. “That’s good.”

Stella stood. “Now, please remain here while I go gather some of the items listed in the contract.” She walked around her desk and left the room, closing the door behind herself.

‘Stella is gathering the cooking supplies now,’ Derek informed Alanah.

‘That’s great… I have thought about some things,’ Alanah transmitted. ‘When she gets back, inform her that I wish to give you this private communication crystal.’

‘Oh? Why is that?’

‘Derek… I know we talked mostly about business, but this has been one of the most pleasant afternoons that I have had in ages. I rarely… extremely rarely get to chat with others. With you, I could just talk about the weather, and you would be fine. There is almost nobody else that could stand to be in my skill’s presence to just have small talk. So, if you do not mind, I would like you to keep the crystal so we may talk again in the future.’ Alanah’s voice cracked while explaining her thoughts to Derek.

‘I don’t see why not. But, are you sure? This thing seems expensive.’

‘Of course, it is quite pricey, but that’s no matter. I will, of course, send Stella another crystal. Some conversations are better done privately,’ Alanah said. ‘Now, this crystal can hold 15 sigils. Unlike the blue one, which can hold as many as you can fit. When I gave it to Stella, it was under the instruction to only have my sigil on it. You, of course, can add whomever you wish.

‘Just know that the sigils cannot be erased, so choose who you wish to communicate with wisely. Also, private communications crystals are quite rare, so it may be hard to even find somebody with one. Of course, Old Man Gracefall certainly has one or two.’ Alanah chuckled.

‘Well, thanks. Will I be able to tell that somebody wishes to communicate with me if it is in my storage device?’ he asked.

‘You will. It’s an odd sensation but not overly distracting. If you are concentrating on something at the moment of the request, your concentration will override the feeling so you don’t lose concentration.’ she explained.

‘Sounds good. You can call me anytime you want. You’re also pretty knowledgeable, so I wouldn’t mind being able to pick your brain when I need to,’ Derek answered.

‘Thank you. I’ll be sure to contact you soon. And feel free to contact me whenever.’ With that, the red crystal in Derek’s hand stopped glowing.

At that time, Stella re-entered the room. She put a storage ring on the desk in front of Derek and walked back around to take a seat. “Okay. So, that has all the cooking utensils and things in it. I also put a few recipes for your friend inside. The gold is inside as well. Have a look and see if there’s anything else you need.”

Derek picked up the ring and sent his consciousness inside, viewing the contents. Everything seemed in order. “This is great,” he said.

“That’s good. Now, let’s talk about your friend that is coming to observe our cooks. I imagine that it’s the boy that always travels along with you? I was wondering about him, and why he travels with you, but if he plans on becoming a personal chef or something for you, it makes perfect sense,” Stella said.

Derek almost burst out in laughter. “No, I’m afraid that Thomas is not the one that will be observing your cooks. He is a fighter. Pretty decent with a spear. I don’t think he’s ever shown any real interest in cooking.”

That answer caused a look of confusion to fall upon Stella’s face. “If not Thomas, then who?”

“Silvi,” Derek answered.

“Silvi?” Stella asked. “Silvi, Silvi…” she mumbled. Then her eyes widened. “Your rabbit? That Silvi?”

“That’s the one,” Derek answered.

“You want your… beast companion to learn how to cook from our chefs? Is that even possible?”

“It’s very possible, actually. She’s even cooked before.” Derek recalled her attempts to cook while they were traveling. “She’s not great at it yet, and complains a lot about not having thumbs, but I think she is interested enough in it that she could become good.”

“Um… Okay. So, when you’re ready for her to observe, bring her here, and I will go with her to introduce the chefs to her. It may make it less awkward. Is she able to communicate with them, ask questions and stuff?”

“I don’t believe so, no. She can talk to me fine, but not others. I figured that she could observe, then, when she comes back, I could write some of the questions she had, and your cooks could answer them the next day,” Derek answered.

“I guess that will have to do until we figure something else out.”

“Ah, one more thing. Is there any way that I could borrow one of your knives? I don’t need the high-level one but the other one,” Derek asked.

“I guess.” Stella summoned one of her knives, but not the one shaped like a scalpel. “This one is for level 150 or so. Will it do?” she asked.

“That would be great.” He took the knife and put it in his storage. “Alright, thank you for everything. I’ll bring Silvi by tomorrow if she wants to do this. I haven’t actually asked her about it yet.”

Stella nodded. “It’s not a problem.”

“And… Alanah wanted me to keep this crystal.” Derek lifted the red crystal up for Stella to see. “She said that she would have another one sent to you.”

Instead of complaining or looking shocked, Stella smiled sweetly. “That’s great.”

Derek stood. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Stella nodded. “Have a good day.”

After leaving the restaurant, Derek contacted Silvi. ‘Hey, Silvi. I just left the Crown. I have some news for you. Where are you?’

‘The food place? The beautiful delicious food place? You didn’t take me.’ Silvi’s voice came back distraught like she had the winning lottery ticket but lost it.

‘Yes, the food place. I didn’t eat, though. I only did business. But, some of that business included you. Like I said, where are you?’

‘At inn. Eating lunch. Have good soup,’ she replied.

‘Okay. I’ll be there soon. Then we can discuss everything. I think you will be very happy.’ With that, Derek started his walk back to their inn. He looked forward to seeing how Silvi would react when she learned that she was going to learn how to cook from some great chefs. And he finally obtained the storage ring he had promised her all those weeks ago.

23 INNCOMING

Derek passed through the gates, returning his pass on the way. Bellamy, the guard, was still on duty, so they exchanged pleasantries before Derek moved on towards his inn. Soon, he was standing in front of the inn’s door.

No sooner than Derek opened the door than a loud crack was heard from inside. Derek looked in front of him, only to see a furry cannonball with a sharp point flying directly at him. Not this time. Derek reacted and held both hands in front, catching the projectile before it had time to damage his shirt again.

“The hell are you doing?” he whisper-yelled at Silvi.

‘You went to the restaurant without me. I could have eaten better food while I waited for your meeting, just like before,’ Silvi explained, which left Derek flabbergasted.

The bunny had spoken two complete sentences, each with more than three words. It was a first. So, all I have to do to get Silvi to communicate better is make her mad… but I think the only way I’ve found to piss her off is to withhold food. Derek shook his head at the crazy bunny in his hands. ‘I told you that I brought you something, and it would make you happy. You should have waited for me to show you. I am disappointed.’

Silvi looked up at Derek, the anger in her eyes fading. Being replaced by… hope? ‘Food?’ she pleaded.

Derek rolled his eyes and looked over the room. He finally found Thomas sitting at one of the tables in the middle, staring wide-eyed at Silvi and him. Derek transferred Silvi to his right hand, holding her by the scruff of her neck. Her paws swiped at the air as he walked the two of them over to the table.

When he arrived at the table, he frowned. Many cracks ran along the edge of the table towards the middle. An empty bowl sat just outside the range of the cracks. Derek looked back at Silvi again. ‘If we get kicked out of this inn because you can’t hold your temper, I’m not going to give you your gift.’

‘No! I am sorry! Give food. Won’t happen again.’

He fought the urge to chuckle before pulling one of the chairs out and sitting across from Thomas. He placed Silvi in his lap.

Almost as soon as he sat down, one of the inn workers arrived at the table and frowned. The well-dressed man looked at Thomas, then at Derek before speaking. “20 gold.”

Derek sighed and handed the man 20 gold coins. The man nodded, then placed his hand on the table. A light shined through the table, and the cracks receded. After a moment, the table was good as new.

Interested, Derek asked, “What skill was that? If you don’t mind.”

“General Repair.” The man eyed Derek. “Helps when unruly people visit the inn.” He glared at Silvi, who quickly turned her head to the side.

“Thanks… Sorry about my companion. She was just really happy to see me,” Derek said.

“Just don’t let it happen again. The first time was 20 gold. The second is 100. The third is a lifetime ban from the inn. If you cannot pay the fee, you will be banned until you come up with it.” The man then turned and walked away.

Derek looked around until he finally caught sight of one of the servers. He got her attention with a wave, and she walked over. With a friendly smile, he asked, “Can I get a bowl of whatever that was?” He pointed to the empty bowl. “And something cold to drink. I don’t mind what it is.”

“Certainly, sir.” The pretty brunette waitress smiled. She was pretty, but after meeting Stella, he couldn’t help but make comparisons. Though what he liked most about Stella was the behavior and attitude that matched her beauty.

Derek shook his head. It wasn’t polite to compare women. He turned back to Thomas and placed Silvi back on the table. It probably wasn’t good manners to have a rabbit on the table, but he didn’t think the inn would have any highchairs.

“What was that all about? I know she wasn’t just happy to see you. You haven’t been gone that long,” Thomas said, breaking the silence.

“Oh, I was at the Crown Restaurant, and Silvi was just mad because I didn’t take her along,” Derek answered. Thomas was quiet, and a small pout formed on his lips. Derek chuckled. “Not you, too. As I told the lazy bunny, I only went there for business, nothing else. Why do you think I ordered something to eat here?”

“Oh…” Thomas said. “Well, how did your meeting go?”

Derek explained some of the finer points of his meeting with Stella. He left out Alanah and a lot of the contract, especially the part about him going out and hunting Void Beasts.

“And after everything was over”—Derek pulled out the white card with a crown on it—“I became an official member.”

Thomas stared at the card, impressed, but not as impressed as the waitress carrying Derek’s stew… well, dropping Derek’s stew. Derek quickly reacted and kicked the floor, sending himself and his chair sliding. Then, reaching down, he caught the stew in his palm, inches before it hit the ground.

“I’m s-sorry,” she squeaked out.

“It’s no problem.” Derek stood and dragged the chair back to the table, setting the fresh bowl of stew down.

The server hurriedly placed his ale beside his meal. “Is… is that real?” she quietly asked.

“The card? Yeah, just got it today. I’ve been in a meeting with Stella over at the Crown all day,” he answered. The membership card was something that he wanted and had always planned to show off. The only thing that changed was the fact that he obtained a lot earlier than he expected.

“So, what does the card mean? Exactly?” Thomas asked. He wasn’t as enthused as everyone else in the inn was. At the first commotion, all eyes were on them. Thomas was, for lack of a better word, a bumpkin. So all he knew about the membership was that it was hard to obtain—and what he learned from Bronson when they first arrived in the city.

“It’s nothing much. I can dine on higher floors than others, with a different menu if I choose. And I can bring one other person with me,” Derek answered.

“Status,” the waitress mumbled. When Derek and Thomas both looked at her, she continued, “You have status in the kingdom, no less than most nobles. It wasn’t given by the king but by Mrs. Swan. You no longer need a pass to enter different parts of cities, as the Crown Restaurant is always in the best part of the cities. They can be considered your backers now… sir.”

“Oh… well, that too, I guess,” Derek said.

Thomas nodded. “That seems good.”

“Excuse me,” the lady said and scurried away, face flushed.

Derek watched as she ran away before turning back to the table and looking at Silvi. ‘Come here. Give me your paw,’ he said.

Silvi hopped once and was in front of Derek. She raised her paw. Derek took it and pulled out the new storage ring from his pocket. He pushed it over her paw, but even though the ring adjusted its size slightly to its wearer, it couldn’t stretch big enough to go over her paw.

“I was afraid of that,” Derek said. ‘I’ll give you the storage ring when we go back upstairs. I’ll also explain some stuff to you,’ he transmitted to Silvi.

Silvi didn’t reply. She only hopped out of the way of his meal and stared at the spoonful of stew as he began eating.

“So,” Derek said in between bites, “Silvi told me that you made a… friend.”

Thomas’s eyes lit up at the statement. “Ah… yes. Her name is Alicia. She’s really nice. I met her yesterday, and she showed me around the city. She helped me get a provisional bronze-ranked adventurer’s badge,” he said, showing the badge to Derek. “I have one more city quest to do, then I can get the official one.”

“I got my gold one this morning,” Derek said, showing Thomas the official gold-ranked badge.

Thomas nodded. “So cool. I never thought I would be able to become an official adventurer.” He sighed. “I’m meeting Alicia again today, and she’s going to show me some more places.”

Derek squinted. “Okay. But be careful. Silvi’s not going to be able to protect you anymore. She’s got other things she has to do. And don’t leave the city without telling me.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “What is she going to do?” he asked.

“That’s something that I plan on discussing with her later, in our room,” Derek said as he finished the bowl of stew and downed the last drop of ale. “Did you tell this girl about me?” Derek asked.

“No, I know you don’t like being talked about… and I don’t want to slip up with the oath.” Thomas added the last part quietly. “I only told her that Silvi was the companion of a friend of mine and that I was taking her around the city.”

“Good,” Derek said. “Keep it that way. I don’t need to meet her. Also, Silvi said she seemed a little shady, so keep that in mind when you’re with her. Don’t get taken advantage of.”

Thomas looked taken aback. “Alicia? Shady? I don’t think so. She’s been so kind.”

“Just be careful.” Derek stood. He tossed Thomas a couple of gold coins to pay for his meal and any other expenses. We’ll be heading up. I need to get Silvi situated. “Come on,” he said to Silvi, and the bunny hopped onto his shoulder. He turned back to look at Thomas one last time. “Remember what I said.”

Derek hoped his warnings were enough for Thomas to take to heart. If not, the boy would have to learn the hard way, and Derek did not mind giving him another strike if he did not listen.

With that, Derek took Silvi up the stairs, leaving Thomas sitting alone in the middle of the inn.

Derek was sitting on the bed in their room next to Silvi. He kept tossing the storage ring from one hand to the other, watching as Silvi’s head moved from left to right, following the motion of the ring.

“So”—Derek caught the ring in his right hand and held it in front of Silvi—“this is yours. But first, we have to make sure you’re able to use it.” Derek placed the ring on the bed. “Put your paw on it and try channeling your mana into the ring.”

Silvi did as instructed. ‘What’s… Oh… Cooking! This cooking stuff!’

That settles it, Derek thought. He didn’t have to ask if she could access the ring based on her reaction. “Good, that means you can use storage devices,” Derek said to her. “Now for the hard part.”

Silvi ignored Derek, still focusing on the ring, her eyes closed.

‘I SAID!’ Derek yelled through their connection to break her out of her trance, ‘it’s time for the hard part.’

Silvi lifted her head up and looked him in the eyes. ‘What hard part?’

“Well, I checked back downstairs, and the ring doesn’t fit over your paws. We could put it on a chain for a necklace or something, but that’s a good way to lose it,” Derek said aloud.

Silvi’s eyes narrowed. ‘Then?’ she asked.

Derek sighed and pulled out the knife he borrowed from Stella. “Well, I borrowed this just in case you couldn’t wear the ring.” He flashed the knife in front of Silvi. “Worst-case scenario, we meld it to you.”

Silvi, staring at the knife, answered. ‘Do it.’

Derek raised his eyebrows. “Really? Just like that?”

Soon, he heard a mental sigh and a slight groan before Silvi continued, ‘It’s just pain. No worse than jumping into a tree that doesn’t break.’

Derek smiled. “No, I guess it isn’t.” He chuckled. I’m pretty sure the sigh was because she knew she was going to actually complete a sentence. He shook his head. “Okay… Nose, ear, mouth… eyelid?” he asked.

‘Hold at nose,’ she said.

Derek did as told. Soon, a spoon fell out of the ring and onto the bed in front of Silvi. Then, Silvi put her paw on the spoon and it disappeared.

‘Hold to ear.’

Holding the ring to the lower part of her left ear, Derek watched as Silvi concentrated. Soon, the spoon fell out of the ring again, this time hitting her on the way down to the bed.

‘Nose. Easy to control. Can use a knife without killing me.’

Like a knife used for cooking could kill her from such a short fall. But Derek knew what Silvi was thinking. It takes time to get used to storage devices. It’s easy to put things away with any kind of touch, but it’s harder to control where the item is summoned. Most people only summon items directly to the hand wearing the ring. With good control, however, a person can summon an item with any part of their body.

Some could even make an item appear at a small distance from their body. It just depended on how far someone could stretch their mana outside of their body. Those people usually had classes that gave some type of mana manipulation skill. Derek, for example, had to have physical contact when he pulled something out of his bracelet.

“Hold on,” Derek said as he stared at Silvi’s horn. He placed the ring over and slid it down. It made it about three-quarters of the way down before it could not get any bigger. “We can put it there. Maybe find something to stop it so it doesn’t come off?”

‘Nose fine. Void Lightning Bolt break stuff. Charge hit with horn, too,’ she replied.

Derek nodded. “Okay.” After placing the ring on his little finger to resize it as small as it could go, he took the knife and held it to her cute purple nose. “Stay still. It will only hurt for a minute.”

Silvi didn’t move an inch as the blade grew bigger and bigger in her eyes. Derek, however, had a hard time focusing. He didn’t like that he was going to have to hurt his friend. The knife stopped right in front of her nose.

‘Hurry up!’ Silvi prodded.

“I know, I know. Hold on.” Derek took the knife and sliced at his own hand. It was just able to break his skin. He nodded. With more than half of his stats, the knife should be more than enough for Silvi. “Okay. I just had to test it.”

Derek put the knife back up to her. “Here we go,” he said as he sliced deep into her nose. Quickly, he stuck the ring in and cast Rejuvenation directly on the wound, hoping the healing process would not push the ring out. “Focus your regeneration to heal around the ring,” he said.

Seconds later, with Derek’s Rejuvenation and Silvi’s natural healing, her nose was restored, and the ring embedded. For Silvi’s part, she didn’t twitch or even make a peep. Derek was just glad it was over… hopefully.

“Okay. How does it feel? Is it annoying?” he asked.

Silvi’s nose wiggled and twitched. Then she tossed her head back and forth. ‘It’s fine. Very stuck. Can’t feel it… much.’

Derek nodded. “Good. In that case, try taking out that spoon again.”

Silvi did, and this time she was even faster than before. ‘Works good.’ Silvi then stored the spoon. Moments later, a piece of paper was summoned. Derek watched as her eyes brightened. She placed a paw on the paper. Then the paper shined blue, almost like a contract, and disappeared.

“What was that?” he asked.

‘Recipe.’

That’s interesting. I didn’t think the recipes would be bound. I guess it makes sense, though. Derek watched Silvi as the same thing happened again. “What is the recipe for?” he asked, wondering what ingredients he should buy for her to practice later.

‘Makes food,’ Silvi answered.

Derek’s face deadpanned. “I know that. I mean, what kind of recipe is it? What ingredients do you need me to go get for you?”

Silvi looked Derek in the eyes. ‘Most ingredients are in the ring already. We need a bunch of different types of beast meats to try the recipe with to find our favorite. Boar-type monsters are suggested.’

Derek smiled. I may have found a way to get her to actually talk to me. “Well, we can get that settled later. I still have some boar meat in my storage, too. But there’s no need for that right now. Are you ready for the second part of your gift?”

‘Second? There’s more?’ she asked excitedly.

“Yup. I talked to Stella, the manager of the Crown Restaurant. She’s agreed that you can go watch the chefs on the first floor cook. We didn’t set a specific amount of time you can spend there, so you could basically stay there until we decide to leave the city. The chefs will answer any questions you have. Though I will have to stop by occasionally to communicate with them, or I can write them down for you,” he answered.

‘I need Telepathy… or some other mental transmission kind of skill. Or a skill that lets me speak out loud.’ Silvi looked up at Derek, eyes pleading. ‘There have to be skill scrolls, right? Do you think anyone is selling?’

Derek shook his head. “Not here. Torith isn’t even a real city. There is the dungeon that gives skill scrolls, but I doubt there is a big supply. I’ll talk to Stella and Walter tomorrow after I drop you off in the kitchen. If anyone knows, they will.”

With that, Silvi hopped off the bed and went to the corner of the room to practice using her new storage ring. Different items began to fall out onto the floor in front of her. Then, she would touch them with a paw and store them again. As Derek observed, he could feel the frustration building in her because of her lack of control.

“Maybe the chefs will have an idea about how you could handle the cookware. We could try Mage Hand or General Telekinesis, but those aren’t very good outside of extremely simple tasks. I’m not even sure you could chop an onion with General Telekinesis. I’ll have to ask if there is a scroll for Telekinesis. We could try Mage Hand, though. What do you think? It has a very limited range and chews through mana, but you do have a decent mana pool.”

Silvi stored a pan and looked up. ‘I’d like to try,’ she communicated.

Derek nodded and pulled up the General Skills menu. He scrolled through until he found Mage Hand, then paid the two skill points it costs to give her the skill.

Silvi closed her eyes. Soon, an almost transparent blue wave grew out in front of her. Finally, the blue blur took form. Derek almost choked when the ‘Mage Hand’ turned out to be a ‘Mage Paw.’

Silvi’s eyes shot open to bask in her glorious success to summon the Mage Hand, but as soon as her eyes opened, her head slumped from the failure.

“It’s fine. I think you’re just used to the shape of your paws. Concentrate… I think you will be able to change the shape as you please once you get the hang of it.” Derek tried to cheer her up. For Silvi’s part, she did just that. Over the next few minutes, the mana paw’s shape changed. It never got anywhere close to something that would be able to hold a knife, but at least it showed them that it was possible.

However, after a little over five minutes, the skill abruptly ended, and Silvi let out a small squeal. Derek chuckled. “That was probably the first time you used up all your mana, huh?” He knew that the squeal was more from the surprise headache than the actual pain. “I guess you’re going to need Meditation,” he said as he went through the list and bought her the skill.

The most surprising thing was when the skill started at level 10 for the bunny. Must be because of the link. I wonder if it would work with other skills? He looked through his list, but the only other possibility was Identify. I’ll think about it. I only have nine skill points left right now…

And so began Silvi’s vigorous training routine of Meditation and Mage Hand. All for the chance that she would one day be able to chop a carrot.

24 MISSION PROBABLE

After making sure Silvi was okay staying alone in the room to practice her skills, Derek left. His day was free, and he was debating on what to do with it. He could explore the city more, or he could visit Bronson. Drinking and relaxing all day doesn’t seem like a bad idea, he thought.

After experiencing the dungeons, running a level 100 over and over to increase his level didn’t sound like a bad idea either. The only thing keeping him from doing that was Thomas, Rayna, and Mal. Those dungeons would be great to power level the bunch. Brandi would do just fine without the dungeons.

Derek predicted that Brandi would have an extremely fast leveling speed. The only thing that could slow the crafter’s leveling would be if she had a lack of imagination. She would benefit the most from Derek running solo dungeons. He didn’t need to sell any of the materials he gained for money because of his contracts with the Crown, so every material he gained would go to the girl to improve her craft.

Rayna could take care of herself. If she decided to step down from Chief, or if the capital sent an Overseer for the Undying Dungeon, she could make a great adventurer. She was already level 50 and had a rare class. The way she was, Derek did not doubt that there would be some options at level 100 for her to change to an epic class. Of course, it would all depend on whether the skills she had ended up being compatible with the new class. It would be hit or miss, and only she could make that decision.

Malorie was the one he was most worried about. He knew she would want to be strong enough to protect Brandi, but the girl would be rapidly leveling. She did prove to be quite fierce with a blade staff.

Thomas… he would be fine. The kid was still a bit naïve, especially if he was already being duped by the first girl that talked to him. The way the kid had acted when they first met caused Derek to overestimate him. He seemed mature for his age but disappointed him with his actions repeatedly. Since they arrived… no, since they left the village, other than the one skirmish with bandits, Thomas had been relegated to Silvi’s mount. It had gotten so bad that Silvi actually called him as such.

The boy had finally gotten the courage to talk to Derek without stuttering, and he would ask questions and comment without worrying that Derek would be offended. Then, he would go right back to letting Silvi drip grease on his head without saying anything. Derek didn’t know what to think about the boy.

Speaking of the boy. Derek thought as he came to the top of the stairs leading back down to the first floor of the inn.

He had been just in time to see the boy walking out of the inn beside a cutely dressed brunette girl that was slightly taller than him. She was at least a couple years older than the boy, and in the few seconds that Derek could see her before they vanished behind the door, she had taken a glance at Thomas’s right hand no less than twice. A quick Identify let him know that she was a level 40 female mage.

Derek chuckled to himself. I guess I know what I’m doing today, he thought as he glided down the stairs and left the inn. He looked around and caught sight of the duo walking down the street. Let’s see what this girl has in store for the boy.

* * *

Thomas was ecstatic about being able to hang out with Alicia again. This time, he didn’t have to carry around Silvi all day either. Not only was that embarrassing, but it was also really hard to explain without giving away more details about Derek than he would like.

Their first stop of the day was the Adventurer’s Guild to pick up another unranked task to complete. They weren’t even classified as missions until they actually had rank. And he wasn’t technically classified as a member of the guild until he had the official badge.

“No cute bunny today?” Alicia’s voice rang out from beside him, causing Thomas to abruptly end his daydreaming.

“N-no… She stayed back at the inn today with my friend. He made it back,” Thomas replied.

“Oh… Where did your friend go that he wasn’t able to make it back until today? I wouldn’t want to leave such a cute pet alone… especially in a city.”

Thomas thought about how to answer for a moment. When he told Alicia that Silvi was the companion of a friend, she took it as him meaning that Silvi was a pet, so he never corrected her. He really didn’t like talking about Derek, and it wasn’t entirely because of the oath he had to abide by. The oath actually made it easier to know what he could and couldn’t say, though. If he touched on something covered by the oath, he would get a weird burning feeling in his chest, warning him to stop.

Technically, nothing other than what Derek specifically told him was a secret would break the oath. As long as he kept from talking about the man’s class, skills, and origins he would be fine. “Apparently, he was doing what we were yesterday. He got his official badge from the guild, though.”

“Oh. Well, you aren’t too far behind him. Let’s hurry and get yours, too,” Alicia said, and the pair quickly jogged to the Adventurer’s guild.

“You’re so lucky.” Alicia pouted and patted Thomas’s shoulder with her hand. “I can’t believe they had a cleaning task to complete next door. I had to run from one end of the city to the other to complete all of my tasks.”

Thomas shivered at the contact and blushed. “I-I… I guess I’m… uh… lucky,” he finally managed to stammer out. It was already hard enough for him to talk to the girl dressed in the red frilly skirt and black blouse. Much less when she was teasing him.

“Hmmph.” Alicia snorted and turned her head. “Well, hurry up and go clean. I’ll wait here. I’m not helping you with this one.”

Thomas lowered his head to hide his face and walked over to the Alchemy Shop next door. There’s no way Alicia is a bad person. Derek doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He opened the door and spoke to the shopkeeper. “Ma’am, I’m here to clean.”

* * *

Derek had followed the pair through the merchant district and into the commoner district. He had to admit, from observing the whole time, the two looked like they were just friends hanging out. Well, the teasing and Thomas stumbling over his every word made it obvious that the girl was in complete control of the boy.

However, other than the occasional glance at his storage ring, the girl hadn’t shown any other indication of nefarious actions. Maybe she’s just curious. Thomas is young and dresses like a farmer that found his grandpa’s old leather armor from ‘back in his day.’ No… Derek shook his head. I doubt Silvi would be wrong about the girl after spending most of the day with them yesterday.

Currently, Thomas was in an Alchemy Shop, completing a mission for the Adventurer’s Guild. The girl was waiting outside the guild on a bench. Derek, on the other hand, was across the street getting a kabob of greasy food, feeling like a creep stalking a girl that could not be more than 16 years old.

Soon, a man… boy… an older teenager, a level 45 warrior, sat on the bench next to the girl. He looked to be 18 or 19, but with the way vitality and endurance worked with the systems, he could have been 40 for all Derek knew. But his level was low, and he was talking to Thomas’s ‘friend,’ so Derek guessed him to still be in his teens.

The boy was wearing some impressively clean plate armor and had flowing blond hair that looked like it had never been dirtied. His entire presence, from his untouched boots to his self-important nose that only wanted to breathe in ‘clean’ air, rubbed Derek the wrong way. If Derek had a dictionary, this boy’s picture would be next to the phrase ‘Spoiled Noble.’ Derek would not put it past the system if the boy had been awarded an Achievement for being stuck up.

Derek moved a little closer to listen in on their conversation. He wasn’t exactly dressed to be a spy, at least not in this world. Luckily, his enhanced skills, which increased his hearing and vision, made up for his lack of dress.

“You’re sure he has no backing? Not that it would really matter if he did,” the boy said.

“Yes, Clay. He came from a village with his friend. His friend has a pet bunny… a bunny. It’s odd-looking, but it’s a bunny. And his friend only finished his provisional Adventurer’s Guild missions yesterday,” the girl responded.

“And he hasn’t said where he got the storage ring?”

The girl shook her head. “No. It’s a sensitive subject. But he also has a decent-looking spear, too. I saw it while he was killing rats yesterday. I think they are most likely family heirlooms that were passed down to him so he could adventure.”

The boy nodded and stood. “Looks like he’s almost done.” He looked at the Alchemy Shop. “Keep close to him. I’m still busy for a while, but I’ll think of something soon.”

The girl nodded, and the boy walked away.

Clay… Derek thought to himself. He would have to ask Stella or Walter about the boy when he dropped off Silvi at her first day of sch… cooking class.

Thomas walked out of the shop and over to Alicia. The girl jumped up and ran her finger over the boy’s nose to wipe off the dust. “Did you use your face to mop the floors?” She giggled.

Thomas’s face turned a shade of red that Derek wasn’t familiar with. “N-no.” The boy lowered his head. “L-let’s go turn in the task. I can’t wait to get a real badge.”

The girl giggled and locked his arm with hers. “Let’s go!” she said as she practically dragged the poor boy into the guildhall.

Derek shook his head at the scene. At least I don’t have to worry about them for now. He sighed. Tommy, Tommy, Tommy… you are going to be devastated later. He could hardly blame the kid for this one… almost.

25 SILVI’S FIRST DAY

Seeing that Thomas wasn’t in any immediate danger from his crush, Derek decided to head back to the inn and spend the rest of the day relaxing. He had been pretty busy lately, so it was a good idea to rest and recharge for a day.

After arriving back, he spent the rest of the day drinking. Unfortunately, nothing was strong enough for even the smallest of buzzes. He chatted with some of the guests, but he spent most of his time listening to the rowdy bunch of patrons. After a while, Derek retired back to his room and watched the bunny train. That ended up being much more entertaining than listening to the stories downstairs.

Finally, he ignored the sound of the occasional clatter of a spoon hitting the floor and fell asleep. He woke up once as Thomas made his way inside, but then he went directly back to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Derek’s eyes shot open as a cannonball flew into him. He sat up fast and sucked in a giant breath after the wind was knocked out of him. Then he looked at the bunny, who had tumbled to his lap. “Why?” he half-yelled.

‘Time to go. Up. Up. Up. It’s morning. No more sleep. Stop being lazy.’ Silvi’s excited voice chimed in his head.

Derek looked into her glimmering eyes and couldn’t bring himself to scold the excited bunny. I feel like I’m a father about to take his kid to her first day of kindergarten. Derek sighed. ‘Fine, but be quiet,’ he said as he looked at Thomas sleeping on a cot in the corner of the room. He had stirred a bit when Derek half screamed but didn’t wake up. Apparently, the boy had requested the cot the day they got the room.

Derek walked out of the room, the bunny hopping behind him. He made it down to the first floor and was met by a mostly empty room. Walking over to the bar with the staff behind it, he pulled out a stool and sat. “You got any breakfast yet?” he asked the man.

The man nodded. “First round will be ready in five minutes. Want something to drink?”

“What you got?”

“A few teas, some juices, and”—the man eyed Derek—“some ale if you’re one who likes to start the day that way.”

“No.” Derek shook his head. “Not much for tea. Just give me some juice.”

The man nodded. “We have iper, apple, and abola juice.”

Derek stared at the man. “Did you say Ebola?”

The man nodded. “Abola juice is one of my favorites.”

Derek caught the distinction that time and let out a breath. I really don’t think I could bring myself to drink Ebola Juice, no matter how good it is. I wonder if apple is the same. He’d noticed that there were some fruits and vegetables that were basically the same as on Earth, but they had different names. One staple that had stayed the same was potatoes.

He really wasn’t a big fan of apple juice, but he had to give it a try. “Just give me some apple juice.”

The man nodded and walked to the back.

‘No time to eat,’ Silvi said as she hopped onto the bar. ‘Must go.’

‘Not before I get some food in me.’

Silvi released a mental sigh and planted herself off to the side.

The man came back from getting him something to drink, carrying a glass and a plate. “Enough was done for a couple of plates. Here you go.” He sat what looked like bacon, eggs, and toast in front of Derek.

“Thanks,” Derek muttered, then dug in. The apple juice was definitely apple juice. It wasn’t as sweet as what he was used to, but it was practically the same.

‘Hurry. Eat. Then go,’ Silvi rushed.

Because of her rush, Derek savored every bite and took small sips. The bunny’s constant demands made him dine that much slower.

The sun had barely risen when Derek walked out of the inn with a full belly and a very angry bunny trailing behind him. He couldn’t believe that she didn’t even ask for food while he was eating. It was the first time that had happened. Eventually, Silvi stopped talking and glared at him until he finished.

Now she quietly hopped behind him, sullen. He had offered to carry her, but she refused. Finally, halfway to the gate, Silvi tried to hop onto his shoulder. Derek’s shoulder was just big enough for her to fit there if she balanced herself. Unlike Thomas, he refused to let her ride on his head. Derek swatted her down and said, ‘No. You said you didn’t need my help. So, I’m not carrying you until you fix your attitude,’ he communicated in his best parent voice.

‘Hmph.’ Silvi’s snort came through. ‘Your fault. Taking so long.’

‘There’s no rush. We don’t even know if Stella is in yet. If she’s not, we’ll have to wait.’

The walk was quiet after that. ‘Sorry,’ Silvi’s voice finally came through.

‘I know, you’re just excited.’ Derek smiled and patted his shoulder. ‘Come on.’ She was already perched there before he finished his sentence. The two walked to the Crown Restaurant, Silvi talking nonstop about everything she was going to do the whole way. And she used complete sentences the entire time.

Arriving at the Crown, Derek opened the door and walked in. Surprisingly, the staff was already there working. They were wiping down tables and setting the chairs. Two guests were already sitting at a table, eating.

Derek walked over to the hostess he met yesterday. “Is Stella in yet?”

“Hello, Mr. Hunt.” The woman nodded. “She’s in her office. I was told to send you up when you arrived. You’re free to go on up.” She motioned to the stairs.

Looks like I don’t have to be escorted there anymore, he thought. “Thanks,” he replied to the hostess.

With Silvi still on his shoulder, he walked up the stairs and to Stella’s office. Once there, he knocked on her door and waited.

Stella’s voice rang from inside the room. “Come in.”

Derek walked in and closed the door behind him. He sat across from Stella. With just the two of them, and Silvi, they no longer needed to act so formally after the previous day.

“You got here early,” Stella said.

“Yeah. Silvi couldn’t wait, so she woke me up as soon as she could. It was unpleasant.” He rubbed below his chest, where she had crashed into him that morning.

“So”—Stella looked at Silvi—“this is your companion? Did you figure out the communication problem with her?”

“Not yet, but it’s something I want to talk to you about. I was thinking that you may know of a way to get a skill scroll for Telepathy, and maybe one for Telekinesis. With those, we’d be able to solve both her communication issue and the whole, ‘not having thumbs’ thing that she keeps complaining about,” he answered.

Stella nodded. “That would definitely take care of the issue. Are you sure she’d be able to learn the skills from a scroll?”

“I don’t think there would be a problem. She can learn General Skills easily enough.” He looked at Silvi. “Show her your Mage Hand.”

Silvi did as directed, and the ripple of mana popped out above her. This time, it transformed from a paw to a hand, and it was quite accurate.

“Not bad,” Derek said to Silvi. When he had gone to sleep, she was still having problems making a hand. She must have practiced hard. “Good job. I didn’t think you would have advanced that far.”

The hand reached out in front of Derek and grabbed at a pen. It gripped it and raised it off the desk a few inches before the pen fell back to the desk. ‘I’m getting better,’ Silvi chimed, and Derek nodded.

“That is interesting indeed,” Stella said, watching the Mage Hand evaporate. “I think it’s worth a shot. Telekinesis won’t be hard for me to get. The Crown actually buys them up as they appear, so we have a good number in stock. Our chefs are all required to learn the skill… makes it easier for them to multitask. Unfortunately, I don’t have any on me at this time, so I will need to request one from Alanah. Speaking of which…” Stella pulled out a red crystal. “If you don’t mind, I would like to link our private crystals.”

“Uh… okay…” Derek pulled out the crystal he received yesterday. “How do we do it?”

“Oh, it’s simple.” She held her communications crystal out. “We just touch them together and send mana into them at the same time. If you have a free space, the link will form. Then you only have to focus on which rune you want to contact afterwards.”

Derek did as she said, and the link was formed seamlessly. “I didn’t think you had another private communications crystal,” he said, remembering his previous conversation.

“I didn’t. Mine was the one Alanah gave you. She sent the new one over last night,” she replied. Derek frowned, but before he could ask a question, Stella continued speaking. “Teleportation. We are able to teleport small objects, but it is quite costly and very mana-intensive. And no, this form of teleportation cannot send live things through… unless you want it turned into dead matter. That is also how I plan on getting you the Telekinesis scroll if you want it.”

Derek nodded. “How much would that cost?”

“Well, the base cost is 1,100 gold plus teleportation fees, so that would be about 1,400 gold. That is, however, with no markup on the scroll. But, we like you, and I’m sure that Alanah would insist, so we can waive the teleportation fee and sell you the scroll at base value. If you would like, we can take the gold out of whatever profit you would receive from our contracts.”

“That would be fine,” he replied. He wasn’t hurting for money anymore, and he knew that non-General Skill scrolls were going to be expensive.

“As for the Telepathy scroll… that will be a bit harder to obtain. We don’t require the skill, so we don’t have any in stock.” Stella frowned. “But I was thinking about the communication issue, and if your companion is as advanced as you say she is, I would like to try something.”

Stella pulled open one of her desk drawers and a pile of green crystals shined. “These are cheap versions of the communication crystal. They can only hold one rune and will shatter after one use. Their distance is also not great. We use these for reservations when the restaurant is full. They are extremely cheap to make.”

Stella took two of the crystals and touched them to each other. Soon, a rune appeared on each one. She slid it across the table. “Let’s see if your companion can use one.”

Derek explained to Silvi how the crystals worked. The bunny hopped off his shoulder and onto the desk. Then she placed a paw on the crystal and it lit up. Soon, the one still in Stella’s hand began to glow. The woman channeled mana into the crystal and sat it in front of her.

“Well?” Stella said. “Does it work?”

‘Like this.’ Silvi’s voice rang out in Derek’s head but did not emerge from the communication crystal.

‘No. You need to focus. Think about how you talk to me through our link, then direct that at the crystal while touching it.’ Derek did his best to explain how to use the crystal.

‘Like this?’ The bunny’s voice rang again. This time, before the voice vanished from Derek’s head, it also rang out of the crystal. “Like this?”

Silvi’s eyes widened, and she skittered backwards, staring at the crystal. The voice that came out was almost childish. ‘It worked! It worked! Is that what I sound like? I’m amazing!’

‘Yes. It worked,’ Derek confirmed. ‘Now, try again. This time, try not to send your voice to me at the same time.’ He was very happy with this turn of events. Now, he didn’t have to go around the city asking for a Telepathy scroll. He also wouldn’t have to be the go-between for Silvi and the cooks.

It took a few tries, but eventually, Silvi was able to direct her thoughts into the crystal without directing them at Derek at the same time.

“It’s good to meet you, Silvi,” Stella said.

“You, too. Can I cook now?” Impatient as ever, Silvi couldn’t wait to learn.

Stella smiled. “Soon. First, I would like to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?”

“Sure. Sure. Then I can go cook?”

“Of course,” Stella replied. “Now, why do you want to learn how to cook?”

“I love food! The Cooking skill makes food taste even better. I have the skill. I can make tasty food,” Silvi excitedly replied.

Stella laughed at the response. “Is that it? Is there anything else you want? Don’t you want to get stronger like the other beasts?”

“Stronger? I can beat you,” Silvi replied and looked at Derek. “Even if not, I wouldn’t need to be stronger. I have him, and he is strong enough. Leaves more time to eat and make food. Plus, I have my own personal mount.” Her voice continued to flow out of the crystal, and she nodded as if everything she said was a fact.

Derek sat back with an awkward look on his face. Why does she talk in complete sentences when it’s not me? And why do you have to do Thomas like that? Poor kid’s going to get his heart broken, and he has been officially demoted to a mount.

Stella looked at Derek as if asking if what Silvi said was true. Derek sighed. “Just because Thomas lugs you around doesn’t mean he’s your mount.”

“T-that’s what you had a problem with?” Stella asked, flabbergasted. “Are you saying that you think your companion is that strong?”

“Are you stronger than Bronson?” Derek asked out of nowhere.

Stella frowned and nodded hesitantly.

“Are you stronger than Walter Gracefall?” he asked.

“Maybe,” she replied, not answering directly.

Derek nodded to Silvi. “She is,” he said.

“No way,” Stella said. “She’s… she’s like…” Stella stuttered. She was holding her hands out in front of herself like she was measuring a small distance. “She’s only this big.”

“I’m right here.” Silvi’s voice rang out. “And I’m a little bigger than that.” She stretched her back to make herself look a little bigger.

Stella sighed, reverting back to her professional demeanor. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Now, I can have the Telekinesis scroll ready in a few hours. And we have the communication issue settled. Seeing as how anxious Silvi is, let me take you to meet some of our chefs.”

Derek nodded, and Silvi hopped up on his shoulder. Stella touched one of the crystals, and they both turned to dust. Afterwards, she pulled a handful of them out of her desk.

Seeing Derek staring, she spoke, “They’re not even worth a gold each. They don’t travel so well after being activated. Usually, we activate them, say ‘your table is ready,’ and that’s it. However, if they are close together and still, they should last for a few hours.”

Stella led the duo out of her office down the stairs. “They’ve already been at it since before dawn. One thing about our staff is that they all love cooking and bettering their skills.”

Back on the first floor, Stella nodded at the hostess before moving past and entering the double-door room behind the host station. Derek and Silvi followed.

The room was stunning. There goes my running water idea, Derek thought as he looked at the multiple sinks with faucets and sprayers. Though it looked to be redundant as Derek watched one of the staff grab a dirty plate and cast a spell that instantly left it spotless. Now that’s a spell I need, he thought. If they have sinks like this, why haven’t I seen any showers?

“Hey, everybody!” Stella clapped, and the whole place quieted down. “This is Derek and his companion, Silvi.” She motioned to the duo. “Now, I know this may seem strange, but Silvi, the bunny, will be learning skills from all of you.”

Confusion washed over the room. Stella continued. “You all knew that someone would be learning from you. It makes no difference if it is a human, elf, dwarf, beast, or any other species. And I can attest to Silvi’s intelligence. She is no less intelligent than one of you. She may even be smarter and is certainly much stronger.” Stella smiled. “So do well not to anger her.”

“As for communication,” she continued, moving to the corner of the room that was empty of all but a table and chair and sitting a handful of the green crystals on the table. “As she cannot speak out loud, she will use these communication crystals to talk. She is perfectly able to do so.” Then she turned to Silvi. “This is your ‘workplace’ for the time being. You will be able to ask questions, practice basic techniques, and observe how a kitchen is run.

“Later, during slow times, they will allow you to practice cooking while making sure you do not spoil the food. What you make will be what you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But that will come after you prove yourself with the basics—if you can prove yourself in the time you are here. Until then, the staff will make an extra serving for you.” She turned to the chefs and staff. “Is that understood?”

“Yes!” everyone other than Derek replied in unison.

While Stella was speaking, Derek had used Identify on the room. Three people came back as crafters between levels 70 and 85. One person was unidentifiable, and the other two were both mages of level 46 and 49. Those two were the ones that were cleaning the dishes.

“Now, let me introduce everyone,” Stella continued. “These are our first-floor chefs.” She motioned to the three crafters. “Daniel, Stephanie, and Raymond.” Then she pointed to the two mages. “These two are our first-floor cleaners, Marie and Jessica.” Then she walked beside the man that Derek was unable to Identify. “This is Gregory Sutter. He is the head chef of this restaurant. He spends most of his time down here because there aren’t any people with a membership in Torith. Only the occasional visitor…” She smiled at Derek. “Well, there weren’t any people with a membership.”

Gregory walked over to Derek and shook his hand. “It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Hunt. I would be happy to prepare you a meal whenever you need. And please, call me Greg.” Then the man moved his focus to Silvi. “I will make sure to take good care of your companion. You don’t have to worry.”

Derek smiled. “Thank you. I will definitely trouble you with a meal sometime before I leave Torith.”

Stella clapped again to get everyone’s attention. “Now, back to work. Silvi, to your station.”

Surprisingly, to Derek at least, Silvi flew from his shoulder and landed gently on the table in the corner.

Jessica, one of the cleaners, laughed and removed the chair. “I guess we won’t be needing this.”

Stella walked back over and linked two of the crystals. “You can introduce yourself now.” She placed one of the crystals in front of the bunny. Silvi channeled her mana into the crystal, and Stella had Marie answer the call instead of herself. “The one who activates the crystal can’t be too far away, or the connection will falter,” she explained.

“Hello, everyone.” Silvi’s excited voice chimed out of the crystal. “My name is Silvi. I’m six years old, and I really want to learn to cook. I’ll be in your care. Please teach me well.”

All the females and Daniel blushed from the overflow of cuteness. Derek shook his head, not falling for the bunny’s deceit. Stella seemed to have the same idea as him as she stared blankly at Silvi’s antics and looked back at Derek, shaking her head.

“Okay, everyone knows each other now.” She walked over to Derek. “We’ll be leaving. I’ll be back with the Telekinesis scroll later.” She opened the door leading out of the kitchen, and Derek followed her out. “Intelligent indeed,” she whispered.

“Yup. Would you believe it if I told you that Silvi was so lazy that, other than a couple of times, she only spoke to me in incomplete sentences until today?” Derek turned and looked at the door swinging closed behind him, catching one last glance at Silvi before it shut. “They grow up so fast.”

Stella snorted. “Is that everything you need from me today?” she asked.

“Uh… that cleaning spell that Marie used for the dishes. Does that work on clothes and bodies, too?” He asked.

Stella stared at him before nodding. “I guess Silvi would need a spell like that since she would have a hard time cleaning everything manually. It doesn’t cost much, and I could have the spell scroll sent with the Telekinesis for a few hundred extra gold.”

“Uh… I was talking about me, not Silvi… but I guess she would need one, too. If the scrolls are so cheap, why do you need cleaners? Why not just give them to the chefs?” he asked, noticing the discrepancy.

“They all have the skill. The cleaners are both aspiring chefs. Their next class upgrade will allow them to switch to our restaurant’s main cooking class. It’s the most convenient path to the class, but it requires the cooking skill and a certain path through mage classes to get,” she explained but didn’t give Derek any specifics. “I’ll get you a copy of the Cleaning spell, too. But, your total is going to be 2,000 gold now. Is that still okay?”

Derek nodded. “That’s fine. I just hope that the coffee sells well.” With that, Derek gave Stella his regards and left the Crown. I guess I’ll go see if Bronson or Walter have gotten any information on the undying dungeon or the village in the last couple of days.

26 INTENSE BATTLE IN THE KITCHEN

Silvi watched in amazement as pots and pans, knives and spoons, and ingredients flew through the air, landing perfectly in front of Daniel, Stephanie, and Raymond. At the same time as the ingredients hit the counter, the chopping began. They were all perfectly in sync as Gregory watched over the crew.

Once the chopping was finished, the vegetables flew into the hot skillets and broth-filled pots. Silvi couldn’t help but imagine herself doing these wonderful tasks. She resolved to train more than any human, for she would have to as she was small and without thumbs.

Silvi refocused on her task at hand. Gregory had called this foul vegetable an onion, and Silvi was tasked with finely chopping it into tiny pieces. What Stephanie had just finished in mere seconds was a monumental undertaking for Silvi, and she would not fail.

Silvi summoned her chopping knife out of her storage ring that hung on her nose. It was not the ideal placement for a storage ring, but it beat all the other current options. Having it on one of her ears would have been much worse.

The knife clattered on the table beside the onion. Gregory had said that she first had to peel the outer layer of the vegetable away, then use her own judgment on whether the next layer would need to be removed. How was she supposed to know? This was her first time personally dealing with any kind of vegetable. Thus far, her experiences of preparing and cooking food was ripping meat out of freshly killed monsters with her teeth, then dragging it to roast over a campfire.

Silvi made it her personal mission to become a master onion chopper on her first day. She would succeed, and all the professional chefs would be in awe of her learning speed and superb skills.

Silvi summoned her level 4 Mage Hand and morphed it into a proper hand with a thumb. She had thought about adding more thumbs just to one-up the humans, but she soon found that one thumb worked the best.

Gripping the handle of the knife, she floated it over the onion. According to the example that Gregory had shown her, she first needed to cut a small portion off both the root side and the opposite side, leaving only the ‘bulb’ left. That all went completely over her head. But she watched carefully, and Gregory had taken his time to slowly demonstrate the process, so she wasn’t worried.

She brought the gleaming blade of the chopping knife over the onion, a couple centimeters in from the root. Slowly and meticulously, Silvi brought the knife down. The knife made contact with the onion and bit into it. The movement stopped, the blade of the knife sunk shallowly into the onion, just past the first couple layers of skin.

This was it, the first real moment, the first step on the road to becoming a chef. Silvi cleared her mind and focused. It was just her and the vegetable. She increased the pressure and pushed, preparing to see the knife flawlessly relieve the onion from its remaining root.

Then the onion flipped and rolled atop the knife, which was currently lying horizontally on the table. The onion rolled off the knife and continued rolling, speeding towards the edge of the table. Everything was in slow motion. Silvi watched on in horror as the bulbous vegetable inched closer and closer to the edge.

If the onion hit the ground, it would be over. The vegetable would be ruined, no longer fit to be included in any dish. Nobody would want to eat a floor onion. There was no ‘5-second rule’ like Derek said. The skin was punctured by her knife. It was no longer in any condition to protect the inner onion from outside forces.

Frozen, Silvi could only watch as the onion made it to the edge of the table. One more rotation and it would be over the edge and onto the floor.

The Mage Hand had long since dissipated due to the shock of what happened. Thoughts and ideas appeared in her mind and were rapidly dismissed as not possible. She was fast enough to get to the onion before it hit the ground, but alas, not having thumbs would thwart any attempt she could make to save the onion.

Silvi caught sight of the chopping knife as the vegetable finally rolled over the edge. She knew what she had to do. Abruptly, she vanished. Appearing beside the knife, she bit down on the handle and vanished again.

This time, she appeared on the floor, directly under the falling onion. In an instant, she tilted her head sideways and a small amount of pressure pushed on her face from above. Silvi appeared once again on the table where she first was.

She opened her mouth, and the knife fell out. This time, though, on the end of the knife was the onion. Speared by the tip of the knife like a fish over a fire.

Silvi slowly glanced around at her surroundings, hoping nobody saw her almost failure. The coast looked clear, as everyone seemed too busy caught up in their own personal projects. Gregory was beside Daniel and Jessica, pointing at something Daniel was doing and explaining to Jessica the reasons why he was doing it.

Silvi continued gazing around the kitchen. Finally, her eyes fell on Marie. The girl was staring wide-eyed at her like she was some sort of mystical beast. Well, Silvi was a mystical beast, but she was sure that was not why Marie was staring.

She had been caught. Dread poured over the young rabbit as she waited to be reprimanded. Her eyes met Marie’s, and they shared a moment before the cleaner with short, messy brown hair made her approach.

Marie arrived at her table. The girl looked at Silvi, then the knife, then back at Silvi. Finally, she spoke. “That… that was amazing! How did you do that? You were here”—she pointed at Silvi—“then there”—she pointed to where the knife used to be—“and then, all of a sudden, you were back here with the knife skewering the onion.”

“I…” Silvi’s childish voice rang out from the active communication crystal. “I just didn’t want the ingredient to touch the floor.”

The girl stared dumbfounded at Silvi. “The onion fell, then in less than a second, you were back on the table with it. Such amazing speed. I barely saw you get the knife and didn’t even see you move to the falling onion. You must be so strong.” She shook her head. “You really don’t have to worry that much about a mere onion.”

Marie picked up the onion and knife, removing the vegetable from the blade in the process. Then, her hands glowed white and all the liquid, including Silvi’s saliva that was on the handle, disappeared. She placed both the onion and the cleaned knife back on the table in front of Silvi. “You need to find a way to hold the onion still while you cut it, or the same thing will keep happening. We have both hands and Telekinesis, so it’s easy for us.”

“We have tons of onions and other vegetables,” Marie explained. “If a few of them get bruised or fall on the floor, they can be thrown away. This isn’t a village where every scrap of food is precious. We have professional Botanists. From each onion, they can grow many more in a short amount of time. They are the perfect people to get stranded on an island or lost in a desert with. As long as they have mana and a single edible plant, they have food.

“The reason that you are starting out on chopping an onion is that it doesn’t matter if you mess it up, and one of the most needed skills in cooking is the ability to chop and dice something. Not because vegetables need to be perfectly cut up to use, but because of the time saved by doing it properly. Now, that’s not to say that a perfectly diced onion doesn’t taste better than a poorly chopped one, it does. The texture is different, and thin slices aren’t as strong as thick slices,” Marie continued.

Marie placed her hand on the back of Silvi’s head and scratched her behind the ear before suddenly pulling back and apologizing. “Ah… s-sorry. You’re so cute. I didn’t even realize I was petting you until I already had.”

“It’s fine. Feels good,” Silvi said.

Marie let out a sigh and petted Silvi again. “Anyway, don’t worry if you mess up a few vegetables. Gregory won’t even accept them unless they are chopped perfectly. You don’t even want to know the number of wasted onions and carrots Jess and I went through before we were able to properly use a knife.”

Marie leaned in close and whispered in Silvi’s ear, “The really scary thing is the amount of food you will end up wasting during the actual cooking. So much burned or undercooked meat and over- or under-seasoned vegetables that just go straight into the garbage.” She pulled back and shuddered. “If you want to see Gregory mad, all you have to do is char a perfect cut of a high-level beast.”

“Well”—Marie straightened up and looked over at the sink—“I better get back to it. Those dishes aren’t going to clean themselves. Just remember that if you make a mistake, it isn’t the end of the world.”

“Thank you for your help,” Silvi replied, and Marie nodded before turning and walking over to the sink full of dishes.

Silvi turned back to her freshly cleaned knife and slightly damaged onion. Time for round two. She had failed before, but by the end of the day, she would show the onion who the boss was.

27 CLARE

Derek left the Crown and headed over to Gracefall Manor. He was let through the gate with no hassle and was escorted by Lieutenant Areyas. Both Bronson and Walter were out back by a newly formed pond. It wasn’t too big but not too small—about 10 by 10 meters. Or, by Derek’s standards, a little over 1,000 square feet.

At the center of the pond was a small island with a shack surrounded by flowers and stone for decoration. On the surface of the pond, there were lily pads and moss, and the occasional fish could be seen splashing around.

Man, when a noble decides to do something, they really go all out, Derek thought as he walked over to the two men. Now that he had a better view, he could see a small girl standing in front of the two, looking out over the pond. The girl turned to say something to the two men, and Derek caught a glimpse of her face.

She favored Walter a bit. She had short black hair and a button nose. There was still some baby fat on her face, making her look younger than she probably was. What Derek took note of most was the look in her eyes. It was the same look Brandi would get when she was preparing to work on a new project. A look of pure focus.

This must be the niece Walter told me about during dinner. Derek and Lieutenant Areyas were finally spotted by the little girl, causing both Walter and Bronson to turn around to take a look.

“Ah, Derek! Just in time. I want to introduce you to my great-niece, Clare.” Walter spoke first, gesturing towards his niece. “Clare, this is Derek Hunt. He is the one that came up with the plan we are going to be using. You could say that he is either going to be the reason you obtain glory and honor, or he is going to be the reason you fall behind your peers and are never able to catch up. Why don’t you say hi?”

Lieutenant Areyas quickly dismissed himself after a look from Bronson. Derek suspected that the guard didn’t know what was going on or why, and Bronson likely wanted to keep it that way.

The little girl walked past the two men and arrived in front of Derek. She tilted her head and looked up at him with squinted eyes, inspecting him. “The Patriarch said that I will be able to get a better class because of you. Is that true?”

“I told you to call me Uncle Walter… or even just Uncle. Enough of this Patriarch nonsense. We’re all friends here. No need to be so formal,” Walter chimed in before Derek could say anything.

Derek shook his head at Walter’s antics, then looked back at the girl. Straight to the point. I like this girl. He smiled at Clare. “Honestly, I’m not sure. In theory, it should. But I have only been able to test it once. Though, that test proved to be very successful,” Derek answered.

“Then I will be the second success,” the girl confidently spoke.

“How old are you?” Derek asked; she didn’t seem to be older than 10. Derek remembered Walter saying that his great niece was 12 years old, but it was possible that he chose a different family member, one that was younger and would be able to train for longer before she unlocked the system.

“I just turned 12. Is that a problem?” she asked, a little worry showing in her eyes.

“Not at all,” Derek reassured her. “Someone younger would be able to train a little longer, is all.”

Derek turned from the girl to look at Walter. “So, has she picked a weapon yet?”

Walter shook his head. “No, we haven’t gotten that far. We only just showed her the pond. Speaking of which, what do you think?” Walter turned and gestured with both hands at the newly formed pond.

“It’s nice. It should work well… I think,” Derek replied.

Walter nodded. “I was just about to have Bronson go fetch a variety of different ones from the barracks. I only keep my sword and staff with me—and backups, of course,” Walter replied, then he turned to Bronson. “Bronson, if you would.”

Bronson nodded. “Of course, sir,” he said and prepared to run off to the barracks.

Derek stopped the man before he took off. “It’s fine, Bronson. I have plenty of different weapons on me that she can test.” Derek then moved his arm, and the weapons he summoned for Malorie back in the dungeon began spilling out before them.

Derek sorted the swords, scythes, daggers, machetes, and other types of bladed weapons into one pile. He moved his arm and summoned the different polearms into another. This included halberds, spears, and his favorite, glaives… along with many more. The stack of ranged weapons wasn’t very large, though. It only had a few different-sized bows, a crossbow, and a bola. None of which he thought Clare would use.

The pile of blunt weapons had everything from nunchucks and clubs to quarterstaffs and brass knuckles. He also included a pile of multi-purpose weapons that included weapons like shovels and blade staffs. Again, he kept the few guns and enchanted weapons to himself. He didn’t think the smiths of this world would know what to do if a blaster needed to be repaired.

Derek’s stockpile of weapons soon had even Bronson and Walter going through it. Bronson seemed particularly interested in a giant halberd that Derek had obtained from an ‘invader’ who thought it was a good idea to wield a weapon he could barely carry.

Bronson took a few swings, then returned the weapons to the pile. “Too light,” he commented.

“Well, we aren’t trying to find a weapon for you, now are we?” Derek said. “Plus, these aren’t high-level weapons. They’re probably good for level 65 and under.”

“I just really like the design,” Bronson replied. “If a Blacksmith copied it, then made it out of a good material…” He trailed off.

“What? Your greatsword not good enough? Wouldn’t changing weapons hurt your stats?” Derek asked.

Bronson shook his head. “I went the heavy weapon route. Never specialized. The greatsword was the closest thing I could find to a weapon that felt good.” He looked at the halberd again. “I mean, what Blacksmith would waste so much material to make such an outrageously big weapon?”

“Well, go ahead and take it. Maybe you can see if you like it, and if you do, you can have someone craft a higher-level version for you. I certainly don’t need it.”

The three men chatted for some time while the girl sorted through all the weapons. It took much longer than Derek expected, and the girl’s decision piqued his interest.

Clare was swinging her fists around with a pair of brass knuckles. Of course, in her hands, the knuckles looked ridiculous. But she had good form, unlike Thomas when he was trying to use daggers. If she chooses those, Walter will have to get a Blacksmith to make her a pair that are the right size.

One thing Derek had wondered about this system was if it counted weapons like knuckle dusters and studded gauntlets as unarmed. He knew that his previous system did, and many of the video games he played as a child would have knuckles under the unarmed weapon category.

Beside Derek, Walter scoffed. “A brawler’s weapon.”

Derek squinted his eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I think the noble in you may be seeping out,” he joked.

Walter flushed. “Nobody who uses weapons like those—”

Derek cut him off. “I know plenty of people who used weapons like those and are damn good fighters. Think about this. If you learn to fight with knuckles, if ever you are disarmed, you still have your trained fists to fall back on. You don’t get that with a sword or spear. Trust me, I know. I’ve been fighting unarmed ever since I outgrew my glaive. Everybody needs some familiarity with fighting unarmed. At least like this, she won’t have to split her focus.”

“Here, watch,” Derek said, and he walked over to Clare. “Those are a bit big for you. Put them down and come spar with me.”

Clare eyed him quizzically but did as asked. She didn’t seem to have heard them talking about the weapons as she was too busy trying them out.

They walked a few meters away from the stockpile of weapons. “So, you like the knuckles, then?” he asked.

The girl nodded. “They’re light and feel like I’m fighting barehanded.”

“Have you been taught to fight unarmed before?” he asked.

The girl shook her head. “No. But I’ve always watched the guards train. I never had swords or spears, and Dad always said I was too young, so I follow along when they train without weapons.”

Derek nodded. “I see.” He took a step back and motioned at the girl. “Come on, let’s see what you got.”

Without hesitation, the girl bent her knees and launched herself towards him. Derek smiled. Because of the height gap, the girl instinctively swung her fist towards his midsection. Derek blocked her little fist with the back of his hand, moving it with the motion of her fist so she wouldn’t break her fingers.

He slowly, at least for him, swung his palm out at the girl’s head. She ducked just in time and retaliated with an uppercut to his chest. Derek took half a step back, and the girl whiffed. Quickly, she regained her balance and continued her charge.

A bit later, Clare was heaving, trying to catch her breath, and Derek’s smile had only grown wider.

Derek waited for her breathing to calm before asking, “So, you’ve never practiced with anyone? And you didn’t try to follow along with, say, a stick instead of a sword when the guards were training?”

“No.” She shook her head, her breathing still labored. “That’s why I was… so happy when…” She looked at Walter. “Uncle Walter… asked me… if I wanted to train.” She finally caught her breath and was able to speak clearly. “I have tried using a stick before like all the boys do. I don’t like it. I feel like I’m…” She tilted her head and looked up with her brows furrowed. “Like I’m tripping over myself.” She nodded. “That’s it. It’s like my feet get tangled.”

Derek summoned a small sword from his storage and handed it to the girl. “Show me.”

The girl took the blade and slashed out. The swing was much wider than it should have been, and she stepped in too far. Derek only needed to watch for a short time before he concluded that she wasn’t meant for a sword. Still, she is much better than Thomas was with a dagger. But she is also as talented unarmed, if not more, than Thomas is with a spear.

Maybe it was unfair to Thomas, using him as a comparison, but he was the only kid that he could use to compare Clare with. He could compare her focus with Brandi, though. So if she concentrated on fighting as much as Brandi did on crafting, she would be unstoppable.

“That’s enough.” Derek stopped her before her next swing. He turned to Walter and Bronson. “You still think the knuckles aren’t suitable. If you make her use another weapon, you’ll be crippling her. Why do you think Unarmed Combat Mastery is a General Skill?” He took a chance on the two systems using the same classifications.

When he wasn’t corrected, he continued, “Combining it with water won’t be bad either. It will allow her to have a more balanced fighting style. Of course, lightning or wind would be better because of the speed, but other than having someone here with the ability to control it, I don’t see a way to train around it at all times. I’d do it”—he summoned some lightning in his hand from Chain Lightning—“but I’m leaving soon, and you already built this great spot for water cultivation.

“It’s okay, though. I still think it’s better than purely offensive fire or defensive earth. Plus, you said that your family already has a certain affinity for water, so that may help. She may even get some healing properties as well. Who knows?”

Walter sighed. “You’re right. What she showed earlier was… impressive. I don’t have much going on these days, so I will make sure she gets more training than she will ever need. She will not let me regret my decision. Isn’t that right?” He aimed the last question at Clare.

“No, sir!” she answered.

“Good.” Walter nodded. “Now go look at your new home.” He pointed at the shack. “You’ll be living there for a long time.”

The three men watched as Clare hopped along a stone path in the water to reach the small island in the middle of the pond. Derek nodded as the girl never once lost her footing on the path. She was agile, energetic, had a passion to learn, and was a natural pugilist. The girl was all any teacher could ask for in a student.

Derek broke the silence. “So, what exactly are your plans for the girl once she finally gets a class?” he asked Walter.

“Well, based on everything I’ve learned from you, I plan on having her delay reaching level 10 until she is 14 or 15. Though it may put her behind some of her peers, she will be better off because of it if it all works out. Once she turns 15, she will level to 10 and hopefully unlock a powerful class. Then, hopefully, I’ll be able to power level her to 25 before she turns 16 years old. But my plans will only work if she gets a powerful or unique class,” Walter answered.

“Why would she need to be level 25 by the time she’s 16?” Derek asked.

“Ah, I never told you much about the academy in the capital. The king’s Academy trains the elites of the kingdom. However, the academy has strict rules when it comes to enrollment. The main ones being class level and rarity. A student must be under 16 years old and over level 25 with an epic class to be eligible.

“However, the student can also be under 16 and through their second class upgrade of a rare class at level 50 to enroll. The second option is the most used option for students, as epic classes are extremely hard to come by. There is maybe one student a decade that enrolls with an epic class,” Walter continued.

“Now, there are also some other circumstances that will allow enrollment. A growth type uncommon class at level 50, or a growth type rare class at level 25, will both be considered because of future prospects. They may even allow some students in at a later age, depending on family circumstances.

“My eldest son, Jenson, was one of those circumstances. He had a rare class at over level 50, but he was already 17. However, he had gotten to level 50 before he turned 16. Instead of joining the academy, he chose to take on important missions through the Adventurer’s Guild, as it seemed to be the faster way to restore our honor.” Walter shook his head. “That was my fault. Honor is extremely important to me, and it rubbed off on my son. Though I couldn’t be more proud, it almost hindered my son’s growth.”

“However, the king somehow learned of my son’s accomplishments and allowed Jenson to specially enroll in the academy. That is where he is now. It is also what drove Wallace’s jealousy to an extreme and caused him to act out the way he did.” Walter sighed. “That is still more my fault than anyone else’s.”

“I see,” Derek said, saying nothing about Wallace. “So you hope for the girl to receive an epic or rare growth type class when she hits level 10, or maybe one at level 25. I don’t think she will have any problem obtaining that result. However, if she gets a legendary or epic growth-type class, I would suggest keeping her away from an academy. Level her Identify skill as fast as possible and try to keep it a secret until she can protect herself. Then again, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you these things.”

Walter nodded. “Don’t worry. Her safety will come first.”

Derek nodded. “Don’t forget about the different Achievements that can get her extra skill points before she hits level 10. Those General Skills will really help. If you could have a team complete a basic dungeon while keeping her safe, that’s two extra points from the Dungeon Explorer Achievement. Then, there is the Giant Slayer one, too.”

“I didn’t think about the Dungeon Explorer Achievement. It’s a pity that there aren’t any level 10 dungeons around here, but I think I could put together a more than adequate level 25 team for a basic dungeon. That insect dungeon out past your village is quite easy.” Walter muttered something incomprehensible to himself before nodding. “Yes, I think I will do that.”

Derek checked the system time. “Damn, it’s well past lunchtime. How about the two of us head over to the Crown and grab a bite?” Derek flashed Walter his membership. “You’re paying.”

Both Walter and Bronson’s eyes turned into saucers. At the same time, they both shouted, “How?”

Derek laughed. “That’s not important. I can only invite one person with me. How ‘bout it, Walter?”

“It would be an honor. And of course, I will pay,” Walter said, hastily. “Bronson, see to it that both you and Clare are properly fed.” He pulled a small sack out of his storage ring. “In fact, why don’t you fetch her, and let’s all go to the Crown? The two of you will have to make do on the bottom floor.”

Derek and Walter begin walking through the estate. “So, why don’t you try to get a membership? I believe that someone like yourself would have no problem obtaining one,” Derek asked, remembering what he was told by Stella and Alanah. If Walter even contributed a little, he would be rewarded with a membership of his own.

Walter shook his head. “I’ve never had the time to worry about unimportant things. Sure, a Crown Membership is great for politics and that sort of power, but it wouldn’t do anything to help restore our honor. Plus, the bottom floor is already costly enough. I don’t even know how much the membership floor will cost. If the food is as good as I think it will be, my house would go broke within the year.” Walter laughed. “And before you say that it’s not possible, I have seen it happen to others.”

Yikes! Maybe I should just stay away from that floor altogether, Derek thought. “Well, let’s hope that isn’t the case for me,” he said. The two continued through the estate in silence.

At that time, Derek pulled up the notifications that he had gotten while talking with Clare and the others.

Congratulations

Your beast companion (Silvi) has learned the Telekinesis skill.

Ah, that’s good. Stella works fast, he thought, then pulled up the next notification.

Congratulations

Your beast companion (Silvi) has learned the Cleaning skill.

Wait! I’m the one who’s supposed to get the Cleaning skill. Not cool, Silvi. Also, not cool, Stella. I’d yell at Silvi right now if I wasn’t worried about her being in the middle of something important. Derek sighed and shook his head. I guess she will need it to easily clean her cooking utensils. I’ll just have to see about getting one for myself later. This cooking endeavor is becoming really expensive.

At least I’m going to get a delicious free meal out of Walter today. He eyed the old man walking beside him. He seems oddly excited, even knowing that he’s going to have to pay.

The two kept walking. Soon Bronson and Clare caught up with them, and they all headed to the Crown.

28 FINE DINING

Soon, the group was all inside the restaurant. Bronson and Clare were seated at a table on the bottom floor, and Derek and Walter were being led up the stairs by the hostess. They soon passed the floor that housed Stella’s office and went to the next.

Arriving on the next floor, they stood staring at an almost empty room with beautiful lights hanging from the ceiling. There were only two tables occupying the entire area.

“Welcome to the Tier One dining area,” the hostess said. “My name is Emily, and I will be your host for this evening.”

The woman was the same person who led Derek to Stella’s office earlier in the day. She was quite attractive, in terms of beauty. She only lost out to Stella. She was on par with Rayna. She had long wavy brown hair and was wearing a simple black dress with a silver bracelet and necklace. On her right hand was a black ring that Derek could only assume was a storage ring. On her feet were a pair of nice, black open-toe heels.

Her style would be perfect for the hostess of a three Michelin star restaurant back in his world if it wasn’t for the material of her dress not existing in Derek’s previous world, at least before the system arrived.

“The two of you are the first people to dine in the membership area of this particular restaurant. As such, your meal will be free.” She smiled.

Derek narrowed his eyes. “Is this Stella saying that it’s free, or is this an actual thing?” he asked.

Emily chuckled. “Don’t worry, you aren’t getting any special treatment right now. The first guests to dine in an area of the restaurant eat for free. It was that way on the bottom floor as well. Plus, it is the first time you used your membership, so the meal would be free even then. This way, you are allowed free dining for being the first to dine on this floor, and you can keep the initial free meal that comes with a newly obtained membership card.” She bent down to whisper where only Derek could hear. “You also get a free meal every time your tier increases.”

Her breath brushed against Derek’s ear, and a slight blush fell over his face. He cleared his throat before speaking again. “In that case, I will have to thank you.”

“No need for thanks,” Emily said with a sly grin. “Now, there is no menu for membership holders. The meal will be the chef’s choice. But Greg has been dying to make something up to his standards, so I believe you will be in for a treat. What would you like to drink?” she asked.

“Can I get coffee?” Derek asked.

Emily’s eyebrows raised. “It may not be up to your specifications yet, but if you would like some, I would be happy to oblige. How do you take it?”

“Black,” he replied. By the way this woman was acting, she seemed to be much more than just a hostess. Derek had a sneaking suspicion. “You’re the actual manager of this restaurant, aren’t you? You’re only doing this until Stella decides to return to the capital.”

Emily’s smile grew wide. “You got me. You can think of me as second-in-command right now. Once Mistress Stella returns, the restaurant will be mine again.” She looked over at Walter. “Now, what can I get you?”

Walter’s eyes furrowed. “What is this ‘coffee?’ I don’t seem to have heard of it before.”

“It’s a new beverage that the restaurant is preparing. It’s not completely ready yet, but it’s close,” Derek answered.

“May I try it?” Walter asked.

“Certainly,” Emily replied. “I will bring out some cream and sugar in case you do not like it black. If nothing else, you will make a good test subject.” She giggled before sauntering away.

When Emily disappeared from sight, Walter whistled lowly. “What a fiery woman.” Walter shook his head. “She’s going to drive some poor bastard crazy one day. I both envy and pity whoever she ends up with.”

Derek nodded. “More dangerous than a dragon, that one.”

Not long after, the pair were dining on a mouthwatering range of cooked meats and vegetables. According to Emily, every bit of meat on the table was from a beast at level 100 or higher. Though a high level didn’t exactly mean high quality, the cuts of meat were from some of the finest beasts in the kingdom.

The coffee was an absolute hit with Walter. Like Derek, after trying it multiple ways, Walter found that he preferred it black and strong. The man couldn’t wait for the drink to become a common staple.

Emily, as professional as she was, ducked in and out of the room, always there when they needed a refill or wanted to ask a question, but nowhere to be found when she wasn’t needed. Her actions were truly impressive.

The meal was quiet for the most part. Both men savored every bite. Such a dining experience was not something one could experience often.

Before they knew it, they had finished everything. Derek did a quick check of his stats and noticed that he had multiple week-long buffs active, and the minimum buff was a 10% increase in his dexterity, while he had a 25% increase in his endurance.

Derek’s good impression of the Cooking skill and classes rose to an entirely new level. He couldn’t help but hope that Silvi would make rapid progress in her skills. He finally admitted that he may not be wasting resources helping the bunny expand her hobby.

Emily appeared out of nowhere and quickly bussed the table, leaving it spotless and empty, just as it had been when they first arrived. Afterward, a small cake appeared before both Walter and Derek. “Please enjoy your dessert,” she spoke, then vanished.

Derek punctured the chocolate cake with a fork, then smiled as a thick, steaming chocolate liquid poured out from the cake. How long has it been since I had a chocolate lava cake? He took a bite and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the rich, creamy goodness spreading throughout his mouth.

Derek sighed. “Now I know how someone could go bankrupt after getting a membership to this place.”

Walter nodded. “I was just thinking about what I would need to do to obtain a membership.” He shook his head. “The Crown Restaurant is truly terrifying.”

It didn’t take long for the two to devour their dessert. Seconds after Walter took his last bite, a door to the room swung open, and Gregory walked through, flanked by Emily.

Gregory stepped close to the table. “Mr. Hunt. I didn’t expect to see you so soon after this morning. However, I am happy you came.”

Derek stood and shook the chef’s hand. “I have to admit, Gregory, I’m happy I decided to put the membership to use today.”

“Haha! Please, call me Greg. I hope the two of you enjoyed your meal as much as I enjoyed preparing it,” he said.

Derek laughed. “I don’t think it’s possible that you enjoyed cooking the meal more than I enjoyed consuming it. If that truly was the case, then you have a problem. Have you ever tasted your cooking?”

The man grinned. “I’m glad you liked it.” The expression on his face changed, and he sighed. “I don’t know what I was thinking when I took the job as the head chef in a place like this.” He shook his head. “Sure, it was a promotion, but this is the first time I have actually been able to cook since I arrived. My progression is stalling, and I’m bored. Ingredients like these are just something I can use to practice with.”

“Don’t say that,” Emily chimed in. “The boss gave you plenty of benefits to come here. Don’t forget about the monthly goods you get to perform experiments with. Other chefs would kill for that opportunity.”

The man sighed again. “I know, but I go through those ingredients in a few days, then I have to wait weeks for another delivery.”

Emily scoffed. “That’s just because you can’t restrain yourself.”

“I wouldn’t have to restrain myself if I actually had some customers.”

Gregory shook his head and smiled again. “Anyway, none of this is your problem, Derek. I thought I would give you a quick update about Silvi before you left.”

“Oh? Is she causing problems?” Derek asked.

“None at all,” Gregory quickly replied. “She’s actually a very hard worker. It feels odd to say it, but I think she has a natural talent for the craft. Of course, she’s still learning the basics, but she’s progressing rapidly for someone with no previous experience.”

Derek smiled. “That’s good.”

Gregory nodded. “It is. Now, I’ve taken enough of your time. I’m going to go see if those numbskulls have burned down the other kitchen while I’ve been away.”

“Thanks for the meal,” Derek said as the chef left.

Emily stepped forward and handed Derek a rolled parchment. “Mistress Stella is busy right now, but she wanted me to give you this. The boss said that she would put it on your tab.” Emily gave Derek a playful smile.

Derek took the parchment and unfolded it. Oh? It’s another skill scroll with the Cleaning skill on it. He didn’t say anything about it being put on his ‘tab.’ He wanted the skill, and it was a good idea for Silvi to have it, too. He quickly injected his mana into the paper.

Skill Scroll: Cleaning

Upon activation, the user will learn the support skill, ‘Cleaning.’ As this is a skill from a scroll, no skill points are required, and it will not be forgotten upon class change.

Would you like to learn? Y/N

Yes. He mentally agreed.

Congratulations

You have learned the support skill, ‘Cleaning.’

Derek let out a breath, then looked at Emily. “Thank you. And please give Stella and Alanah my thanks, too.”

Emily’s eyes widened at the mention of Alanah but soon went back to normal. “I will be sure to do so.”

Derek turned to Walter. “You ready?”

Walter nodded and focused on Emily. With a slight bow, he said, “Thank you for the service, Mistress Emily. It was excellent.”

Emily let out a sultry giggle. “The pleasure was all mine.”

The two men took off down the stairs, and Emily followed in the distance. They soon arrived back on the first floor. Bronson and Clare were still both enjoying their meal, so Walter walked over to their table and took a seat.

Derek waited for Emily to catch up and turned to her. “Do you mind if I go check in on Silvi in the kitchen?”

“Of course not. Follow me.” Emily led him through the doors towards the kitchen.

When he arrived, Gregory had one of the cooks in a corner, giving him a scolding. Derek laughed. Looks like one of them tried to burn down the kitchen while he wasn’t supervising.

Derek searched the rest of the room until his gaze landed on the table and Silvi. She was concentrating hard. Her Mage Hand was holding an onion still while a floating knife slowly cut through it.

Derek watched as the bunny sliced through the onion multiple times. He swore that he could see sweat forming on the beast’s brow. Following her success at slicing the onion up, the knife started a chopping motion as her Mage Hand pushed the sliced onion through, then she turned the knife and pushed it through the other way.

When Silvi finished, she hopped close to the onion and inspected it intently. Derek wanted to laugh at her serious expression but kept it to himself. Soon, the bunny looked up and looked around at everyone. Derek could see a glint in her eyes as if she had just accomplished an extraordinary task. Unfortunately, everyone was busy, and nobody saw her amazing feat.

The glint slowly disappeared from her eyes as she noticed that nobody had watched her. But soon her gaze landed on Derek. Derek smiled and gave her a double thumbs-up.

‘You saw? I was amazing. The foul vegetable didn’t even make me cry this time,’ Silvi’s voice chimed inside his head.

‘I saw. That was quite an accomplishment. Do you like Telekinesis?’ he asked.

‘I love it. It makes things so easy. I don’t even need thumbs anymore.’

‘That’s great. Are you finished? Do you want to go back to the inn with me?’ he asked.

‘No. I got permission from the delicious woman and head chef to stay here as long as I want. I’ll stay here so I can practice more. Need to level my skills,’ she replied.

Derek nodded. ‘Okay. Have fun and work hard. Just let me know if you want to come back to the inn. And try not to do anything to get in the way of the others.’

‘Okay. Gotta go chop more vegetables. The carrot is next,’ she transmitted. Derek saw another spark of determination appear in her eyes.

Derek turned to Emily. “Thanks for letting me check in. She’s doing fine.”

Emily nodded, and the two walked back to the dining area. Emily dismissed a waitress that had taken over her duties as hostess while she was gone and stepped behind the hostess station.

Derek smiled at her. “I’ll see you later.”

“I can only hope,” she said.

He looked back over the floor to see that the table that Bronson and Clare were sitting at was occupied by someone else. He turned and left the establishment.

Outside, the trio was waiting for him. “You didn’t have to wait for me. I’m just going to head back to my inn and get some rest.”

“Clare wanted to tell you thanks before we left,” Walter said.

Clare walked forward. “Thank you for your help. I’m going to try my hardest.”

Derek patted the girl on the head. “I expect great things from you.” He smiled and looked at the rest of the group. “I’ll catch you all later. Have a good evening.” He then turned and left, leaving Clare and the others waving goodbye.

29 WAITING GAME

Derek sat in his room at the inn, going over all the information he had gained throughout the day. Silvi was doing fine, and he suspected that the only way he would be seeing her in the near future would be if he visited her in the kitchen.

He also admired Water’s swift actions. In less than a week, the man was acting on the advice he had received from Derek, and Clare was the perfect student. All Derek could see when he looked in her eyes was resolve. She didn’t act like a spoiled noble, either. Derek had a feeling that the girl would grow to be a great warrior.

His discussion with Walter also led to him learning about the academy. Derek had been wondering what to do with Thomas over the last few weeks. Sure, he could take him around and put him through dungeon after dungeon, but by doing that, the boy would come to rely on others more than he should.

The academy would be the perfect place for the kid. With everything that Derek had learned from novels of his previous world, nothing would help a naïve kid grow more than life at a magical academy. Of course, Derek would have to okay it with the boy’s grandparents first. By sending the kid to the academy, Derek would no longer be able to protect him.

I’m sure Richard and Delilah would be proud if Thomas went to the capital to enter the academy. He didn’t think he would have a hard time convincing the couple. Before any of that, though, he would have to get Thomas to level 50. Shouldn’t be a problem. He’s already above level 30.

Derek’s decision about Thomas wasn’t made rashly. Just by batting her eyelashes, the girl Thomas had been hanging around with was able to rid the boy of most of the training Derek had given him. One look and the kid had lost the survival instincts he picked up in the insect dungeon. One giggle and Derek’s words of warning had flown in one ear and out the other. Derek couldn’t help but sigh.

It was much easier to deal with Brandi and Clare. Maybe it’s true that girls mature much faster than boys. Even more so in a world full of systems and magic.

First, I have to make sure the kid doesn’t get himself killed before I talk to Richard. Derek had brought up the boy that Alicia had met outside the Adventurer’s Guild to Walter while they were dining. Based on the information given, Walter had informed Derek that ‘Clay’ was most likely Clay Torith, the city lord’s son.

Derek had been doing everything he could to avoid having to meet the city lord. Then Thomas ended up getting involved in a conspiracy with the man’s son.

At least it seems like Thomas still has a while before they act. Walter had mentioned that the city lord was cautious the first time they met. It seemed like the same trait had been passed down to his son. According to Thomas, he has never mentioned my name to the girl. At least I can give him some credit for that… unless it’s just the oath at work.

Also, other than the first day and the morning after, I haven’t really made any appearances with Thomas. Other than having the one meal when I got back from the Adventurer’s Guild. Derek frowned. Though, I did cause quite a commotion when I showed Thomas the Crown Membership card… Oh well, if the girl investigates thoroughly, they won’t try anything on Thomas, and if she doesn’t, Thomas will learn a valuable life lesson.

Derek decided he would avoid meeting with Thomas in public. He also went downstairs and found that one of the guests had checked out earlier, and he was able to get himself a separate room.

Derek lay on his back in his new room. All of his tasks in Torith had been completed. The only reason he decided to stay longer was because of Silvi’s cooking classes and Thomas’s situation… he wanted to see how it played out. He would stay for at least a few more weeks before picking up Brandi and heading to Savannah.

Days passed by quickly for Derek. For the most part, he did nothing other than relax. He took the occasional call from Alanah or Stella and visited Silvi on a couple of occasions. He didn’t visit often because he could just communicate with her at night because of their link. He did make his way over to Walter’s place to spar with Clare a few times.

The girl’s combat ability was rapidly progressing. Walter had even had a pair of small silver knuckles made just for her. When Derek wasn’t there, the old man had gotten Areyas or Bronson to spar with her whenever she needed. Derek was even more impressed with the girl the longer he got to know her.

Unfortunately, the city lord had found out where Derek was staying at some point. Derek had slipped away from the man’s servants multiple times, but every time he came back, there would be an invitation slipped under his door, inviting him to dinner at the city lord’s manor. Finally, Derek grew tired of the annoyance and checked out of the inn. Thomas was still there, and it didn’t look like the city lord’s servants had any inkling that the boy was related to Derek.

As the weeks passed, Derek occasionally visited Thomas in secret and dropped hints, warning him of others. His excuse for leaving the inn was that he was avoiding the city lord and didn’t want the boy to also be harassed. He recommended Thomas avoid contacting or mentioning him.

Derek was now staying at a rustic inn in the commoner district called The Burnt Feather. The inn was clean, and it offered a decent breakfast. The owner was a mid-level fire mage who once survived a griffon attack while out adventuring. On a mantle above the door, there was a slightly singed feather that Derek assumed was from the griffon. Hence the name “The Burnt Feather.”

Derek had been a resident of this inn for a week now. He was currently sitting on the edge of the bed in his mediocre room when he felt an odd vibration from the storage ring on his finger. He’d come to know over the last two weeks that the vibration was the feeling of the communication crystal being activated.

Derek flipped his hand over, and the red crystal appeared. The rune that was lit up this time was Alanah’s. Derek sighed before channeling his mana into the room and answering the ‘call.’

‘Hey, Alanah. What’s up?’ he asked.

‘I was just contacting you to let you know that one of my ‘eyes’ spotted your boy heading out of the city with a girl and Malcolm’s boy.’ Alanah’s sensual voice rang in Derek’s mind, but because of their occasional communication, any effect her normal voice would have had on Derek had disappeared.

Over the last two weeks, Derek had gotten tired of watching Thomas and waiting for the girl to make her move. He had asked Alanah if it was possible to have one of her Deathsworn keep an eye out for the kid, to which she readily agreed. Apparently, today was the day.

‘Oh, did you happen to learn what they are doing?’ he asked.

‘It looks like they are going east of the city to hunt some Horned Boars for a quest. The monsters in the area are all around level 50 or so and are scattered about around the area. It’s one of the safer hunting grounds by the city, but only those nobles close to Malcolm hunt there. There are a handful of guards trailing the group to make sure nothing happens to the lord’s son,’ she answered in a disinterested voice.

‘I thought controlling an area for your own gain was illegal,’ Derek said.

‘No. Controlling an area with a dungeon is illegal. It’s frowned upon, but what they are doing isn’t illegal. Edwin knows his nobles need to have some benefit,’ she replied.

‘Edwin?’ Derek asked.

‘Oh. That’s the king’s name,’ she answered nonchalantly.

Derek shrugged like it didn’t matter. ‘Well, whatever. Thanks for letting me know. Is there anything else you need?’

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment. ‘Derek,’ Alanah said.

‘Yes?’

‘Try not to kill the boy… or Malcolm,’ she answered. ‘At least not yet. I’ve been very busy with your coffee and your Void Beasts… I’d rather not have to deal with a noble crying over his son’s death.’

Derek furrowed his brows. ‘I don’t see what me killing them would have to do with you.’

He heard a sigh come from Alanah. ‘We are friends, are we not?’ she asked.

‘Of course we are.’

‘Then what you do affects me. Do you see?’

‘I get it… I get it,’ he said. ‘I won’t kill anybody important. I guess it doesn’t matter, anyway. I’ll be there, so if they do act, I won’t let anything bad happen. It’s not my style, but I guess I could let them off with a warning, just this once… for you.’

‘Thank you. Let me know what ends up happening later. Now, I need to get back to working on these damn auctions. We’ll talk later,’ she said, then the crystal in Derek’s hand stopped glowing.

Derek put the crystal away and hopped off his bed. It was finally time to see what those kids had in store for Thomas. He hoped the kid would take the appropriate actions once they acted and make him proud. He also hoped that once everything was over, Thomas would come out stronger.

30 HUNTING

Derek made his way through the commoner district of the city before finally arriving at the gate. After flashing his adventurer’s badge, he left the city.

If everything Alanah had said was correct, he wouldn’t be too far behind the trio and their guards. Derek found one of the trails heading east and took off.

Sure enough, after traveling only a few minutes, he caught sight of the guards trailing secretly behind, and he was also able to spot Thomas and the others even farther ahead but out in the open. Derek slowed his speed and followed silently behind the guards, not wanting to give his position away to anyone.

Still, he was surprised that he was unable to find any trace of the Deathsworn on his way. Derek remembered what Alanah had said about the Deathsworn she had in Torith and that he had previously been a very high-level noble. There were many more questions about the Deathsworn that Derek wanted to ask Alanah, eventually. Right now, he could only guess that the one she had been using in Torith happened to be skilled in stealth before she took him down.

Derek continued to follow the group for another hour and a half before they stopped. He looked around and found a few of the beasts that Alanah had mentioned. I guess this is the place, he thought. He then moved around the guards to find a good hiding place to observe. He wanted to be close enough to see and hear everything, and also close enough to act if or when something happened.

Derek finally settled on a tall, lush tree with thick branches. He slowly climbed his way up it, onto one of the branches near the top. There were plenty of leaves around him to provide cover, and he would be able to have a good view of everything around him.

Not long after settling in, Derek heard the blond teenager begin discussing the plan. It seemed like the silver-plate armored teen had become the de facto leader of the group. Derek still couldn’t believe how clean Clay was able to keep his gear. He definitely has the Cleaning ability. Derek thought while listening to the boy’s plans.

“There are plenty of Horned Boars in the area around here. I’ve already checked, and it will be just us hunting here today,” Clay said.

“How do you know that nobody else will be here?” Thomas frowned.

Derek smiled. It looks like they never informed Thomas of Clay’s background. It’s nice seeing the boy being suspicious. Letting his guard down and ignoring my warning about the girl can still be attributed to teenage hormones. I’m sure the girl vouched for Clay, too. Otherwise, it would be too strange for the three of them to go on a mission together. It’s good to know that he doesn’t automatically trust Clay just because he’s that girl’s friend.

“Oh, Thomas, don’t worry. Clay is a noble, didn’t I tell you?” the brunette girl answered Thomas. This time, she was dressed in a white and red robe-like attire. It actually looked like some healer’s garb you would see in a video game.

Derek chuckled silently as he watched Thomas’s frown deepen. If nothing else, Derek knew Thomas had an extreme dislike for nobles. Not even the pleasant experience he had at the Gracefall Manor could change that, at least not in a short amount of time.

“No. You did not,” Thomas answered. His eyes shifted towards the noble. “Even if you are a noble, you shouldn’t be able to know what every other person is going to do today.”

Clay sighed. “You know nothing of noble society. Normally, I wouldn’t bother to explain myself, but it seems that you will not be convinced unless I do so.” Clay opened his arms wide and spun around in an opulent gesture. “This area is our, the nobles, hunting ground. Commoners wouldn’t dare hunt here without permission, and I have made sure that none of the other nobles plan on coming here today. It is ours to do as we wish.”

“Isn’t that amazing!” Alicia chimed in. “This place is perfect for our level, and we wouldn’t get to hunt here otherwise.”

“Why?” Thomas asked Clay. “Why bring us here to hunt with you? Why dirty your reputation by associating with commoners?”

Clay laughed. “Alicia is like a little sister to me. She may not be a noble, but she is no mere commoner. She is from one of the richest families in the city. Her family is worth more than many lower-tier nobles. As for you”—his eyes squinted as he glared back at Thomas—“the only reason you are here is because she wants you to be. If your combat ability is not up to snuff, then don’t blame me for sending you back.”

Damn, I wish I had some popcorn. Derek was enjoying the show from his perch. This kid is good. He knows that Thomas’s actions show the boy won’t trust him, so he’s putting everything on Alicia. Then, he challenged the boy’s combat ability… in front of the girl Thomas likes.

“It’s fine, Thomas. Clay isn’t bad like a lot of the others,” Alicia claimed.

“Alicia!” Clay reprimanded. “Be careful not to speak like that around others. If someone else heard you, it would be bad.”

“No one else is here. You said so yourself,” she answered, and Clay sighed.

Thomas let out a breath. “Fine. What are we going to do?” he asked. He was still frowning and clearly showed suspicion, but he finally gave in.

Clay cleared his throat. “As I was saying… Nobody else will use these hunting grounds today. None of the beasts around here are above level 60. Most of them are around level 50.” He gestured to the open area around them. “I am able to hunt them by myself if needed, so with the three of us, it will be even easier.”

“Of course, that is assuming that I only hunt one beast at a time, which is what we will do. I will go out and lead a beast back to this clearing, and we will fight it here. That way, there will be no trees or terrain to get in our way. It may be a little slower, but it is much safer.” Clay then focused on Thomas. “Alicia said that you are proficient in the spear. Are you?” he bluntly asked.

Thomas moved his hand, and the spear Derek had given him appeared. Thomas didn’t seem to see it, but Derek saw a slight reaction from both the girl and the noble when he pulled the spear out of nowhere.

“I guess we’ll just have to find out,” Thomas spoke.

Clay smiled. “Good,” he said before a large, silver kite shield appeared in front of him. He took the shield in his left hand, then a gleaming longsword appeared in his right. “I will lead the monsters here and tank the damage. Alicia will provide healing and support. Thomas, try to do some damage without getting in my way.”

Woah! Derek thought. It was unusual for someone to choose to be a tank of their own accord. Most people couldn’t handle the constant beatings and pain. Sure, there were skills that dampened the pain, but it was still there. If it wasn’t for the teen’s schemes, I would actually have a little more respect for him. I mean, with all that gear, it would be hard for anything around here to actually cause any damage, but surely he’s been on the receiving end of some pain.

Thomas’s eyes gleamed when the gear appeared, but soon his expression went back to how it was before. “Don’t worry. There’s no way that I will be in anyone’s way.”

Challenge accepted! Derek thought. He looked forward to seeing the skills of the group, especially Thomas and Clay. It had been a while since he had sparred with Thomas, and he hoped the boy had been keeping the rust off. The boy’s actions may have disappointed him some, but one thing the kid still had going for him was his skill with the spear.

“Okay, let’s start,” the golden-haired teen commanded.

Soon, a yellow light shone over Clay’s body. Then, the same light appeared on Thomas. A blue light soon followed suit, then red.

“You have extra speed, defense, and attack for 10 minutes,” Alicia’s voice rang after casting her spells. “I’ll recast after cooldown and heal when needed.”

So she is pure support. I wonder how she levels. Does she gain experience when somebody with one of her buffs kills something? That’s probably it. I wonder how a pure healer would gain levels. Derek hadn’t run into many people with just combat support roles, and he’d never bothered to ask any he did. Besides, it may be different with this system than the other.

Thomas looked over his glowing arms and smiled. He turned to Alicia. “Thanks!”

“Get ready!” Clay shouted, then ran into one of the forested areas.

Not long after, Derek heard a squeal, then rustling sounded through the area. Soon, Clay broke back into the clearing, followed by a five-foot-tall boar with two large bone tusks protruding out from the sides of its mouth, then curving back in almost like a hook.

The boar charged out of the brush and lowered its head just as Clay turned to face it. Clay set his feet and lowered his shoulder behind the shield. A loud crash sounded out as the tusks made contact with the shield.

Clay took a step back but held. He swung his sword out from behind the shield, and a small cut appeared in the hide of the boar.

“What are you waiting for? Attack!” he yelled. “I said attack!” Clay shouted again. The giant boar smashed into his kite shield over and over. Each blow caused his feet to slide back, inch by inch.

Finally, Thomas, from behind Clay, broke off to the right side and thrust his spear forward as the boar charged again. Thomas went for a probing attack, aiming for the wound that Clay had created at the beginning of the fight.

Derek nodded. It wasn’t a bad tactic.

His spear made contact with the wound on the monster’s shoulder. As the spear penetrated the muscle of the beast, the speed of his thrust slowed until finally coming to a stop a few inches into the boar’s muscle.

Thomas pulled his spear back, causing blood to fly out of the wound with it. The boar squealed and shifted its sights to Thomas. The boy had caused much more damage to the beast than Clay in such a short amount of time. It would be weird if its rage didn’t shift to the spear-wielder.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Clay yelled and bashed his shield into the side of the boar’s head.

Thomas ducked back in behind the tank. Not long after, the boar was charging back at the shield. Thomas slipped out to the left of the Warrior this time, staying small so as to not draw attention to himself.

Derek quickly shifted his attention to Alicia.

The support girl stayed in the back of the formation, watching the fight. There was nothing that needed her attention, and if she attacked, she would just get in the way. Neither Thomas nor Clay had been injured enough to warrant a heal.

Clay’s organs may have been shaken a bit because of all the charges he’d been tanking, but it shouldn’t be enough to cause him much damage. She could only sit back and watch, preparing herself in case something bad happened.

Derek once again wondered how she gained experience before focusing back on the fight.

At this time, Thomas had taken an extra step closer to the monster. Seeing this, Clay took a half step to his right, further pulling the boar’s attention away from Thomas.

Good move. Derek couldn’t help but compliment the tank on his awareness. It’s a shame. He shook his head.

Thomas quickly took advantage of the distracted monster. His hands glowed blue for a fraction of a second before the glow shifted over to his spear. Again, he thrust his spear forward. This time, a projection of his spear overlapped with his physical spear.

That’s his Soul Spear. Derek remembered the skills the boy received upon taking the Soul Spear class.

The projection of the spear moved forward at a faster pace than his physical spear. The Soul Spear made contact with the side of the boar. As soon as the projection hit, the extra piercing damage from the skill caused the projection to pierce the boar’s side with little resistance. The physical spear followed closely behind.

This time, instead of piercing a few inches of muscle, Thomas’s spear kept penetrating the beast. The projection cleared the way, and Thomas’s spear took advantage. In a split second, half of his spear was buried into the side of the boar.

Derek could only imagine all the organs that the spear had damaged. If nothing else, with the angle of the spear, there was no way the boy missed the monster’s liver. Even if it wasn’t an instant kill, it wouldn’t be long before the Horned Boar bled out.

Derek wasn’t the only person to see the boy’s skill. Alicia was staring wide-eyed at the battle. When the projection shot out of the spear, her entire demeanor changed for a second. Looks like Thomas never had to use any of his skills in front of her. I guess he didn’t talk much about his class either. Derek nodded. Good. I wonder if she’s having second thoughts.

Clay had also seen part of the attack but missed the beginning. He did well, holding in his shock, but Derek had seen his expression change for a fraction of a second.

Well, rare classes are… well… rare, and I doubt many common or uncommon classes would have skills like that at such an early level, Derek thought.

Thomas took a step backwards and, using his strength, ripped his spear back out of the boar. The monster let out a weak squeal and tried to turn but stumbled. Its front legs buckled, and it fell down, its chin landing on the ground. It let out a couple more weak cries before going silent. It was dead.

Thomas took another step back and shifted his spear to his left hand. He swung the spear hard towards his side, causing most of the blood to fly off in the process.

Derek laughed. Nice! Killing the monster, then looking cool afterwards. After surviving the insect dungeon, getting fed experience in the other dungeons, and even killing bandits on the road to Torith, Thomas had developed well when it came to battling.

He wasn’t a scared or shy little boy when an enemy was attacking. It was a sight to see.

Everyone took a break after the fight. The teen with the golden hair reached for the boar and stored it inside his storage ring. “I’ll keep the corpses for now. We’ll split the coin evenly when we return to the city and sell everything. Is that fine with you two?”

Alicia and Thomas both nodded.

Clay looked over at Thomas. “You’re better with a spear than I thought you would be. What was that skill you used? I’ve never seen nor heard of a skill like it before, and a lot of the guards around the city wield spears.”

Thomas furrowed his brows before answering. “It’s just a skill that came with my class.”

“And your class? What rarity is it?” Clay asked, irritated.

Thomas was silent and didn’t answer.

“That’s enough, Clay. Nobody likes giving out information about their classes to anyone, much less strangers. You know that as well as anybody. I still don’t even know what the name of your class is, and we’ve known each other forever,” Alicia chimed in.

Clay clicked his tongue. “Whatever. It doesn’t even matter. I was just curious. It was a nice skill is all.”

Thomas nodded. “It is.” He sat down and closed his eyes. “Let me know when it’s time for the next hunt.”

“What are you doing?” Clay asked.

Thomas opened his eyes. “Resting, waiting… I’m ready whenever.”

Looks like he hasn’t been neglecting his Meditation skill either. I know that his spear skill takes a good amount of mana, and he doesn’t have very much. I should ask him about his Meditation level later. By the looks of it, it’s at least level 5 or 6. He can hear and sense some of his surroundings, otherwise, it would be suicide to meditate here, Derek thought.

Alicia cast a quick heal on Clay to top off his health. Then she looked over at Thomas. “Thomas, did you get hurt any? Do you need health?”

Thomas opened his eyes again and smiled at the pretty girl. “No, thank you. My health is full. Clay didn’t let the monster get anywhere near me.”

It was funny seeing the difference in how Thomas spoke to the girl.

Alicia nodded. “That’s good. I still have a decent amount of cooldown left on my buffs. I didn’t think we’d be able to take out the Horned Boar that fast,” she said.

“I think we could fight them without your buffs,” Clay said. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said to Alicia when she scowled at him. “I was just saying, if we can take out the boars without the buffs, then we can save them for when we really need them. And you will have close to a full mana pool, so we will save on mana potions.”

Clay turned to the meditating Thomas. “What do you say? Do you want to try it without the buffs?” he asked.

Thomas nodded. “That’s fine with me. That was my first Horned Boar, so I was being extra careful. Let’s wait until Alicia’s skills are almost ready, though… Just in case.”

Clay nodded. “We’ll do that.” He looked over at Alicia. “Let us know when there are only a few minutes left.”

Alicia nodded. “Will do.”

After 15 or so minutes, Alicia finally spoke. “My skill will be ready in a few minutes.”

Clay nodded and stood. “Alright, I’ll go find the next monster. Get ready.”

Thomas opened his eyes and stood, spear in hand. “Let’s go.”

Clay ran into the forest and brought back another boar. This time, he wasn’t as fast as before, but he was still able to get back to the clearing before the boar caught up. “Get ready!” he shouted. Then he turned around with his shield. Like before, the boar crashed into his kite shield.

Without the defensive buff, it caused Clay to take an extra two steps back before he stabilized himself.

Thomas ducked into formation behind the tank before making his move. Again, he appeared at the side of the beast, forgoing the probing attack.

Derek wasn’t sure, but he suspected that Thomas’s Soul Spear was still on cooldown.

Again, Clay turned the beast slightly to the side to give Thomas a better angle. A small yellow glow fell over Thomas’s hands, and he thrust. The spear pierced the side of the beast, but without the extra attack buff from Alicia, and the extra piercing damage from Soul Spear, it wasn’t able to penetrate nearly as deep.

Derek frowned, but what happened next made him smile.

The yellow glow from before was Thomas activating his Flurry skill. It was yellow because it chewed through stamina instead of mana.

Thomas’s spear was pulled out of the beast’s side as quickly as it entered, but before the beast could even think about making a move, the spear was back in the freshly created wound. Thomas wasn’t entirely accurate, though. The second thrust entered at a slightly different angle, but it didn’t matter.

In just over two seconds, Thomas had made three thrusts, all in almost the exact same spot. By the end of his third thrust, his spear stopped, buried almost as deep as it had been on the previous monster.

Thomas retrieved his spear and jumped back, just in case he didn’t do enough damage, but it didn’t matter. The boar was dead. And they had done it without any buffs.

Derek smiled and sat back to watch the rest of the show.

31 ONE LAST BOAR

The group continued killing the level 50+ Horned Boars for a few hours. It would take mere seconds for Clay and Thomas to slay one of the monsters once Clay began tanking the beast. With each kill, their cooperation increased.

Thomas alternated using his skills to kill the beasts. He would use Soul Spear for one, Flurry for the next, then the third would take a little extra time as both of his skills were on cooldown, but the boar would die, nonetheless. After that, he would use Flurry again because its cooldown time was less than that of Soul Spear.

Alicia was rendered relatively useless after a few kills. She occasionally had to come in and heal when Thomas was fighting with just regular attacks. Noticing the situation, she saved her buffs for when Thomas’s skills were all on cooldown. After every fourth monster, the group would take a quick break.

Thomas’s hesitation at working with a noble slowly dissipated throughout the day. At one point, Clay had announced that his storage ring was almost full, and Thomas even offered to use his so they could continue.

Even Derek had begun to wonder if Clay and Alicia were actually going to make a move on Thomas. Perhaps, because of his show of strength, Thomas had forced them to change their minds. However, Derek was still able to catch the occasional tension between the pair when Thomas wasn’t looking.

Something was going on. Derek suspected they were trying to work themselves up for the task. If nothing else, their hesitation and delay in their plans, if they actually planned on doing something, had caused Thomas to lower his guard significantly.

Finally, after hours of watching the group mechanically slay Horned Boars, it happened. Thomas had just used Flurry to kill a beast, and Soul Spear was still on cooldown. Thomas turned to walk back towards Alicia.

With Thomas’s back towards Clay, the noble locked eyes with Alicia. With a serious look, he nodded at the woman. Alicia quickly shifted her gaze from Clay and looked towards Thomas with a glint in her eyes.

“Are we all ready?” Clay asked. “I’m going to go get one more monster, then I think we should call it quits for today.”

Thomas turned around and smiled. “Sounds good to me. I’m getting tired, anyway.”

With Thomas’s back turned, Alicia nodded at Clay while speaking. “Yeah, me too. If we hurry, we can have a good dinner when we get back. What we had for lunch can’t be called food,” she said and giggled.

With that, Clay ran into the forest to look for their last prey.

Derek realized that Alicia didn’t bother casting any buffs on the two this time. Surprisingly, Thomas noticed it, too.

“Ah, you didn’t buff our defense or speed,” Thomas said.

“Oh… I was thinking about dinner and I forgot. I’ll cast them when Clay gets back with the monster,” she replied.

Thomas nodded at her. It was a valid excuse, and it didn’t seem like it made the boy suspicious.

Derek sat forward from his perch on the tree. If something was going to happen, it would happen soon. Either just after, or during, the next fight.

Soon, Clay came running back from the tree line. Another Horned Boar was chasing him, just like all the others. The teen slid to a stop and turned around. Thomas ducked right in behind him, just as he had done many times before.

It was odd. Clay had been able to keep more distance from this beast than he had the others. Derek frowned.

The new monster broke through the tree line and entered their hunting ground. As the boar rapidly approached the tank, a smirk appeared on his face. Derek had an idea of what was about to happen. The question was whether he should intervene and stop it from happening or let it play out some. Either way, he would interfere before the kid died or got hurt too badly.

And, just as Derek thought would happen, Clay dove to the side just before the boar hit him. If the boar kills Thomas, nobody would be able to say anything.

Thomas’s eyes went wide at Clay’s actions. A yellow glow fell over his body almost instantly, and he moved his spear up from his side to block while trying to dodge to the side. Unfortunately, he was too close to Clay when the teen dodged the rampaging boar.

Derek was impressed by Thomas’s quick thinking. Haste was a skill that the boy hadn’t used in front of the others yet. It didn’t save him from being hit, but it allowed him to take a step and partially block the attack and avoid lethal damage.

Thomas’s spear swung in front of him, slightly parrying the tusks of the boar. That, combined with the step he took, caused the boar to miss hitting him center mass. Instead, only one tusk made contact. It tore into the side of Thomas’s abdomen and came out of his back.

His quick actions caused the boar to miss most of his vitals. It was possible that his kidney had been damaged, or maybe his spleen, but at least it missed his heart and liver. A health potion would be able to heal other organs, but the heart could have been an instant death.

The boar raised its head and swung Thomas into the air. Thomas flew to the side before crashing to the ground. Derek, watching from the side, examined the boy with Identify. Afterwards, Derek smiled. The boy had ‘injured’ and ‘bleeding’ status effects, but he wasn’t even in critical condition. That meant that he still had a good amount of health left.

Plus, Thomas was already moving with a red vial in his hand. He rolled to the side, unstoppered the vial, and drained it all in one gulp. The results were visible as the dripping blood slowed to a stop. The bleeding status was removed, and soon his injured status would be, too.

Luckily for Thomas, instead of chasing after him, the boar turned back to Clay. Clay was the one who initially provoked it, so he still held its attention.

“Damn it!” Clay cursed as he took a charge with his shield. He summoned his sword and raised his free hand. With a quick motion, he pulled it down and yelled, “Take care of this!”

The six hidden guards jumped out of their hiding places and charged forward. Clay had to hold the Horned Boar’s attacks for an extra ten seconds, but the boar couldn’t break through his defense. Soon, the first guard arrived, and, with a slash of his sword, the boar was beheaded.

Clay dismissed his shield and scowled at the guard. “Took you long enough to get here,” he scoffed. Then he turned and walked over to Alicia, who was standing with a frown. “Even with all that work…” He shook his head and sighed. “Well, I guess it really doesn’t matter.”

At this time, Thomas had made his way back up to his feet. The health potion had done a great job of healing him, but there was still a wound in his side. The potion couldn’t completely heal him in such a short time.

Thomas glared at the pair standing in front of the newly arrived guards. “Why?” he asked.

“Why?” Alicia laughed. “Why would someone of your status have something as precious as that?” She pointed at Thomas’s hand. “Who asked you to go around flaunting a storage ring? If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself.”

Thomas’s gaze grew colder. A single tear ran down the right side of his face, but he didn’t whimper, and his voice didn’t break. “Just over something like this…” He raised his hand and fiddled with the ring with the other. “Everything we did… the weeks running missions and spending time with each other. All of it was just because you wanted to steal my ring!” Thomas yelled the last part before breaking into laughter.

“He”—Thomas’s laughter continued—“was right,” he managed to say. Finally, he calmed down. His eyes were red, and more tears seemed to have rolled down his face. “I should have listened to him. He gave me so many warnings about you.” He glared at Alicia.

Clay frowned and turned to Alicia. “Who is he talking about?”

Alicia shook her head. “I don’t know. The only person he ever talked about was his friend with the pet bunny, even then only barely. I never met him, so I don’t know why he would talk about me.”

“I guess there’s no way for me to get out of this alive, then?” Thomas’s voice broke the pair’s discussion.

As Derek was watching everything play out, he noticed one guard frown when he heard Alicia speak about the man with a pet bunny. It looks like someone may be able to connect the dots, he thought.

Clay shook his head. “Why couldn’t you have made it easy on us and been killed by the boar? If you would have died to the beast like you were supposed to, we would have been able to bring your body back, and you could have had a proper burial. Now, you’re just going to have to disappear.”

Thomas resolved himself to his fate and withdrew a backup spear from his storage ring. It looked like he knew that he couldn’t outrun the guards. He didn’t plan on going down without a fight. Thomas lowered himself down into a combat stance and got ready.

“Guards!” Clay yelled. All but one of the guards withdrew their swords from their sheaths. Clay gave the single guard an odd look. “Bradley!” he called to the guard.

“Y-young master,” the guard spoke. This was the guard that seemed to have put together Derek’s identity. “Maybe we should stop.”

Clay scoffed. “Stop? Why should we stop?”

Instead of answering Clay, the guard, Bradley, directed his next words towards Thomas. “Your friend. The one who gave you the warnings. Is his name, perhaps… Derek Hunt?”

Thomas twitched when Derek’s name was mentioned. It was more than enough for everybody there to see that the boy recognized the name.

Seeing the boy’s reactions, the guard spoke again. “Young master. You mustn’t do anything rash. If this boy truly knows Mr. Hunt…” He stopped. “The master… he has been trying to establish relations with the man…”

Clay furrowed his brows. “Even if that is so, the damage is already done. And that’s if he actually knows this man you’re talking about. All the more reason to make this kid disappear.” Clay smiled and asked Thomas, “You didn’t tell anybody what you were doing today, did you?”

Thomas didn’t reply, but that was enough to know that he hadn’t.

“Good… Guards! Kill him!” Clay commanded.

Before anyone could move, a loud clapping sound rang out from the edge of the tree line. Derek had jumped down from his perch and began his approach. Everyone’s gazes shifted to him as he stepped out of the forest.

Thomas shuttered and let out a long breath.

Derek smiled and looked at the boy. “You fought well today. At least you’ve been keeping up with your training.”

32 MR. HUNT

Derek put his hand on Thomas’s head and gave him a reassuring smile. “You really did fight well today. I was here for all of it. You showed a great understanding of the spear and a good amount of wariness towards others… at least until you got comfortable. But I can’t blame you for that as I was even beginning to think they weren’t going to make a move.” He glanced over at Clay and the guards.

Thomas ducked his head and whispered in a low tone only Derek could hear, “I should have listened to you about her.”

Derek laughed and patted the poor kid on the back. “You should have,” he agreed. “But you’re a young man, and she’s a pretty girl who bats her eyelashes at you. You know, hormones and such… I was probably expecting too much from you, anyway.”

“Ahem!” Clay cleared his throat to try to get everyone’s attention.

Derek didn’t even bother to look at the noble. He continued talking to Thomas. “That’s the first time I’ve seen you use your skill so well. Have you been practicing with them?”

Thomas nodded. “Yeah…” he said. “I may need to borrow some more gold soon. I’ve been renting out one of the training rooms at the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“That’s fine. Money is meant to be spent. It does nothing sitting in your ring, gathering dust. It’s not like we can earn interest in this place,” Derek answered. Actually, is there a bank somewhere? I can’t believe I’ve never asked anyone that. He looked at his storage bracelet. I guess basic economics gets thrown out the window when you can store all your wealth on your person…

“Hey!” an annoyed shout came from the noble. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” he yelled again.

Again, Derek ignored the teen. “And, saving your Haste skill until you needed it at the end… well done. I don’t know if you didn’t use it before because you didn’t need it or if you were actually saving it… either way, well done.”

Thomas smiled. “You always need a trump card.”

Derek laughed out loud. “I don’t remember teaching you that, but it’s not a bad idea.”

“Mr. Jaccobs told me that when I rented one of the training rooms. He seemed to know that I was with you, so he treated me well,” Thomas answered.

Derek frowned. “Mr. Jaccobs?”

“The manager of the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Oh! Francesco.” Derek nodded. “He seemed decent enough,” Derek said. At least after I took the gold-ranked test, he mused. I wonder what my trump card would be. Is it calling an uncontrollable murder beast from the void? Is it having a murder bunny? Maybe it’s just Multi-Strike.

Derek secretly glanced over at the noble and his guards. Damn, his face is almost as red as Stella’s hair. He inwardly laughed but kept ignoring them on the surface.

“We’ll talk more about how you fought later. Did you get a lot of experience today?” he asked Thomas. He already knew the answer because of Identify, but he asked anyway.

Thomas nodded. “The experience was shared, but I still gained three levels.”

Derek nodded. “Make sure to spend the points wisely. I’m sure you’ve realized where you’re lacking.”

Thomas nodded and started to speak but was cut off.

“OH! MY! GOD!” the noble yelled. “Guards!”

He lasted longer than I thought he would. Derek praised. Most noble brats would have probably exploded after I ignored them the first time.

“I’m tired of this,” Clay said, reining in his anger. “Kill them,” he commanded.

“Stop!” the guard called Bradley said to the others. “Don’t move.”

“What are you doing, Bradley? You’re here to follow my orders, not give them,” Clay reprimanded.

The guard sighed. “I’m sorry, young master. That’s not entirely true. The master tasked me to keep you safe, and right now, that is what I am doing.”

Derek finally turned to the group. He eyed Bradley. “Bradley, was it?” he asked.

The guard nodded gravely. “Yes, Mr. Hunt.”

Derek flashed the man a vicious smile. “What makes you think that there is any way for you to keep him safe now that I’m here?”

The man gulped and visibly shook, though not in anger. “Sir… Mr. Hunt. Please forgive my young master. He did not know who he was offending.”

“Oh, so you’re saying that if it weren’t for me, it wouldn’t matter if he dragged another commoner out to the middle of nowhere and murdered him for a storage ring?” Derek asked.

“N-no, sir… That’s… That’s…” Bradley tried to answer.

“Inexcusable!” Derek yelled, releasing some of his strength along with his voice. Void raced through his body and veins, causing his eyes to become solid purple and his messy hair to rise with energy.

Now, even those who didn’t know who Derek was were trembling. Alicia had it the worst. She had fallen to her knees with tears rolling down her face.

“Now!” Derek shouted. “Let me tell you all something.” Derek was sure that Bradley had just been being cautious before, as nobody in Torith, other than Walter and maybe Stella, really had an idea of how powerful he was. The city lord may have heard about his test from the Adventurer’s Guild, and he was sure rumors of him having a Crown Membership had spread, which was why the guard was being cautious, but that was it.

“I have a pet. I’m sure you’ve heard about it,” Derek said.

Bradley slowly nodded.

“That pet could wipe out your entire little group in seconds…” Derek waited to let that sink in. “Now… What do you think I can do to you?” He channeled some lightning from Chained Lightning through his fingertips and held his hand up. “Do you want to find out?”

At that, Clay stumbled backwards, and the guard took two clumsy steps back. Alicia was already out of it, her eyes looking dead from fright. It wouldn’t be odd if she lost consciousness at any point now.

Derek looked out of the corner of his eye and could see Thomas staring at the girl. He could tell that the boy was uncomfortable with the girl suffering, even after everything she had done to him. However, Thomas didn’t say anything and left them all to their fate.

Derek finally released the void and stopped casting his spell, allowing the noble and his guards to finally catch their breath.

Derek smiled, still talking with Bradley because the guard was the one actually in charge. “So, here’s the thing,” Derek said. The guard had calmed down and was now nothing but ears. “When I heard about your little… rendezvous in the forest, I was chatting with a friend.”

“Now, that friend asked me to not kill anybody important today, and after some hesitation, I agreed. So, I’m going to have to let this little noble go today, and you can thank Alanah for that, because if it wasn’t for her… Let’s just say that only Thomas and myself would make it back to the city,” Derek explained.

“T-thank you, M-Mr. Hunt,” Bradley stammered out and bowed.

“Like I said, don’t thank me, thank her,” Derek replied. He then put his hand on his chin as if in thought. “Hmm… I guess the noble runt is considered important and maybe you are…” he said to Bradley. “That’s all, though. I don’t think she would mind if I only let the two of you leave. What do you think?”

Everyone lost what little color they had regained with that declaration. Derek chuckled. “I’m just kidding. I’m actually in a pretty good mood after watching this little guy fight today.” He pointed at Thomas. “You can all go.”

Derek waited, but everyone just stood in silence. Irritated, he clapped his hands. “Chop, chop!”

That did the job. The guards gathered up the noble teen and began to return the way they came. Bradley directed them, glancing in fear at Derek occasionally.

Derek noticed that the group only focused on the noble and completely ignored Alicia. “Hey!” he shouted. The squad of soldiers stopped, not daring to move. “Don’t forget about the little harpy.” He pointed at the crestfallen Alicia.

Bradley whispered something to one of his nearby guards. That guard rushed over to Alicia and quickly scooped her up before retreating back to the rest of the squad.

The lead guard stepped forward and bowed again. “Mr. Hunt. If that is all, we will be taking our leave. Thank you for your generosity.”

“Wait,” Derek said. “When you get back, let Malcolm know that I’ll finally be paying him a visit. No need to send me any more invitations. He’s got my attention now.”

The guard’s eye twitched at Derek’s use of the city lord’s first name, but he only bowed deeper. “I will be sure to let the city lord know.”

Derek nodded. “Be sure to do so. You’re dismissed.” He swung his hand in dismissal.

“Move out!” Bradley commanded.

Derek and Thomas stood in the clearing, watching as the group got smaller and smaller as they distanced themselves from the duo.

Derek looked over at Thomas, who was frowning. “Do you not approve of the way I handled that?”

Thomas shook his head. “It’s not that. I was just wondering how many other people they have killed and stolen from, and how soon before they do it again.”

Derek nodded. “I know. Hopefully, I scared them straight…” he said, then sighed. “But most likely, they will only become even more cautious. Though I doubt that girl will be up for it anytime soon.”

Thomas flinched at the mention of Alicia.

“Oh well, I plan on dropping by the city lord’s place soon. Maybe the man will give me a reason to perform a demonstration.” Derek patted Thomas on the back. “I’m hungry. For some reason, I’m craving pork.”

33 CITY LORD

Bradley and the other guards rushed back to the city. When they arrived, he tasked one of his men with delivering Alicia to her home while he and the remaining guards hurried back to the city lord’s manor, along with Clay.

Bradley was filled with anxiety after meeting the purple-eyed man. He didn’t know how he was going to explain everything to Lord Torith. The higher-ranked and the lord’s personal guards all knew about the mysterious Derek Hunt, and there were standing orders not to offend the man until the city lord learned more about him.

The city lord hadn’t placed Derek Hunt high on his list of priorities, which is why not many of the other guards knew about him. Of course, rumors had spread about a man obtaining a Crown Membership, but not much more than that. Only the more influential in the city knew of the man’s name and had received an accurate description. Hopefully, the lord would take pity on him and his men as he was able to at least save the young master’s life.

He was also able to obtain some information about the other man’s power. He didn’t have a clue on how to describe it other than ‘more terrifying than any person I’ve ever met.’ But, before he could completely collect his thoughts, Bradley was standing before the doors to the manor’s Great Hall, waiting to be seen by the city lord.

Soon, the doors opened, and Bradley was greeted by Captain Herrett—the captain of the guards and leader of the city lord’s personal guard. The man was actually from the capital and assigned to guard the city lord by the lord’s father. Bradley had told Clay that he was under orders from the city lord to protect him, but his orders had actually come down from Captain Herrett.

“Bradley? What is it? What is so urgent that you need to speak directly with the city lord and are unable to write a proper report?” Captain Herrett questioned.

“Captain… Sir. Young Master Clay had a run-in with Derek Hunt today and was lucky to have gotten out alive,” Bradley replied.

The captain furrowed his brow. “Let’s go.” He motioned for Bradley to follow and led him through the Great Hall towards a man sitting on a seat higher than all the others.

The Great Hall looked like a mini-Throne Room. It wasn’t Bradley’s first time being in it, but it was still a sight to behold. The Great Hall doubled as a dining area for celebrations and such. As of right now, the hall was empty, apart from the single seat that the city lord occupied. But, during celebrations and when there were guests, servants would bring tables and decorations to accommodate the party.

Captain Herrett and Bradley approached the man in the high seat flanked by guards on either side. He looked nearly identical to Clay, but he kept his golden hair trimmed and neat. With a goblet in his hand, resting on the arm of the chair, and his laid-back manner, he gave off a regal air. He seemed to be only in his early 20s, but Bradley knew that was because of his high vitality stat that he obtained when he was younger.

Clay had followed his father’s example in that regard. The easiest way to invest in vitality without squandering your stat points was to have a defensive class. Of course, that way of leveling was painful, but it was a price one would have to pay to appear younger.

“Hmm…” the city lord said. “You are… Bradley, correct?”

“Yes, Lord. It is an honor that you remember my name,” Bradley replied.

“Of course.” The Lord laughed. “Herrett picked you out of the bunch of rabble to protect my son. How could I forget?”

“It is my honor to have received such a task.”

“Now, why are you here? I hope it’s for something important,” the lord said with squinted eyes.

“Y-yes, Lord. It is about that task, and the man, Derek Hunt.”

Malcolm Torith frowned at that. “What do you mean? What do the two of them have to do with one another?”

Here it goes… Bradley thought. “Sir, normally they would have nothing to do with one another. But today I was guarding the young master out in the noble hunting grounds. He brought along that merchant girl Alicia, and a… commoner boy. The young master planned on…” He stopped. How am I supposed to say that the young master planned on robbing and killing a young teenager?

The city lord appeared irritated at his hesitation. “Spit it out, Bradley.”

“Y-yes, Lord,” he replied. “The young master planned on… taking the commoner boy’s possessions.” Bradley gulped, waiting for the lord’s reply.

“And?” the city lord said.

Bradley spaced out for a moment. Does he not care that the young master was stealing from a commoner? He shook that thought out of his head. “Y-yes… um…” He hesitated again but forced himself to continue. “When the young master finally struck, the boy showed remarkable ability to dodge and move, avoiding any fatal blows. He then healed himself with a potion.

“That was when the young master called for myself and the other guards. We finished off the monster he was fighting and prepared to… take care of the commoner. When he gave the order, Derek Hunt came out of the forest… clapping,” Bradley said.

At this point, both the captain and the city lord were frowning. “Why was that man there?” Lord Torith asked.

“Sir, apparently, he knows the boy. They acted almost like master and disciple. Mr. Hunt talked to the boy about the fight when he appeared. They continued on, casually, like the rest of us weren’t even there. Finally, the young master was unable to take it anymore, and he called for both of their deaths,” the guard recounted.

The captain winced and the city lord’s frown deepened at that. “What happened next?” Captain Herret commanded.

“C-captain… My Lord… I’ve never… I’ve never…” Bradley began shaking uncontrollably. “I’ve never felt such power. One word from the man and it was all I could do to stay on my feet. The young master may be in shock still, and the merchant girl ended up unconscious on the way back.”

“But he let you go?” the lord asked.

“Yes, he said that we would have all been dead if it wasn’t for someone called Alanah. He said that she had asked him not to kill anybody important today, so he didn’t. He said that if I wanted to thank anybody, to thank her,” Bradley replied.

“Alanah? Alanah Swan?” The city lord nearly jumped out of his seat. “Do you know who that is?”

“N-no, sir.”

“She is the owner of The Crown Restaurants. All of them!” the lord nearly yelled.

Bradley was just transitioning to one of the more important guards. The inner workings of the Crown Restaurant were so high above him, he had never worried about learning anything more about them. All he knew was that he couldn’t dine there and that he should never make a scene or allow the young master to make a scene there.

Bradley couldn’t believe his ears. He had only done a small amount of research on Derek Hunt when he heard Captain Herrett talking about him and sending messengers to him. All he knew was that he had a pet bunny, and he had somehow received a Crown Membership card. It wasn’t his job to investigate the man, so he left it at that.

The city lord sighed. “So, he left you all alive, and the only reason he did so was because the owner of the Crown asked him not to kill my son.” He shook his head. “Other than the power you felt, is there anything else you can tell me about him?”

“When he got angry, the purple in his eyes expanded to cover all of his whites. It was like how when someone with powerful fire affinity channels their ability through their body and their iris’s turn red. I’ve never seen anyone with purple before—and definitely not encompassing the whole eye. He also channeled lightning through his hands, I’m sure of it. It was blue, instead of purple,” Bradley replied.

“A purple element… but also lightning. Can’t be royal, right…” the city lord mumbled to himself. He turned and looked at Captain Herrett. “Herrett, have you ever heard of anyone having a purple elemental affinity before?”

“Nothing tangible,” Herrett answered. “An extremely high affinity with lightning may get darker blue, enough to be mistaken as purple. Other than that, maybe gravity or a dark ability.” Herrett looked at Bradley. “Are you sure that it was purple and not black?”

Bradley nodded. “It was definitely purple. You can ask the young master and the other guards.”

“Hmm… Well, we’ll table it for now. Is there anything else?” Lord Torith asked.

“Y-yes, Lord.” Bradley gulped. “H-he… Mr. Hunt said that he would be paying the city lord a visit soon and that there was no need to send him any more invitations. He said that you… have his attention now.”

The city lord’s face turned slightly red, and he gritted his teeth. A crashing sound came from the floor as his goblet lay crumpled on the ground, wine spilling out of it. “He said that, did he?” he asked rhetorically.

“Bradley,” the city lord said, “why is it that you did not know that this kid was related to that man? If I’m not mistaken, the man arrived with a bunny and a teenage boy with dirty blond hair in tow. Did you not do any research on my son’s target before you let him attack?” he finished in a yell.

“S-sir. T-that is not it. W-we… I had guards trailing the boy for over a week now. The boy never made contact with that man while we were trailing him. Other than practicing in the Adventurer’s Guild and doing small tasks with the merchant girl, he stayed in the inn,” Bradley quickly answered.

“Is that so?” the lord said. “Still, it is your fault that you did not investigate thoroughly?”

Bradley bowed his head. “Y-yes, sir.”

“Starting today, you are stripped of your rank. You will go back with the rest of the rabble, where you belong. You’re lucky that I don’t just kill you now and be done with it,” the city lord said. “Herrett, see to it that my orders are followed… and get my son a new personal guard. Dismissed.”

“Yes, sir.” Herrett nodded slightly and took a hold of Bradley’s arm, leading him back out of the hall.

“Derek Hunt… we’ll see… we’ll see,” Bradley heard the city lord mutter just before the doors closed behind him.

34 HEART TO HEART

Thomas and Derek made their way back to the city. Derek needed to think about his plan of action for the upcoming days. He hadn’t planned on meeting the city lord, but after today’s activity, he couldn’t ignore him anymore. Well, he could, but he no longer wanted to.

Derek hated to take Silvi away from her cooking lessons. She was having such a good time and learning so much. According to Stella, the bunny was making outstanding progress. But their time in Torith was almost up. Maybe he could talk with Alanah and get Silvi a spot at the Savannah Crown. It may be a tougher sell because of the differences in city size, but he was sure Alanah would at least consider it.

He also had to pick Brandi and Malorie up before heading off to the nearest city with a teleport circle. Either the girl would be super excited at the prospect of going to a big city, or she would be sad that she would have to spend time away from crafting. Derek wasn’t sure which.

The pair arrived at the city just before dark. They split up at the commoner district and went to their respective inns. Derek made sure to stress that Thomas needed to be vigilant, just in case. He was sure that the city lord wouldn’t do anything, but it never hurt to be cautious, especially because he didn’t know how Clay would react.

When Derek got back to his room, he decided to let Silvi know about his plans.

‘You busy?’ he asked.

‘No. Just watching.’ Her reply came through instantly.

‘Good. I just wanted to let you know that we’re only going to stay here for another week, two at the most.’

‘Nooo!’ she chimed. ‘I need to cook more. So much more to learn.’

‘I know, but we can’t stay here much longer. We’ve got a soon-to-be-angry, if he already isn’t, city lord, and I have things I need to do in a big city. I’ll talk to Alanah and see if we can set something up for you once we get to Savannah,’ he explained.

There was a long pause after that. ‘Okay,’ her resigned reply came through.

‘Hey. We’ll be traveling for a while because we have to take others with us, so I’m looking forward to seeing some of your cooking skills on the road.’ He tried to cheer her up.

It worked. ‘I’ll show you. It will be so tasty.’

‘Mhm. I’ll make sure to buy a bunch of different ingredients before we leave. Goodnight. I’ll talk to you sometime later.’

Silvi didn’t reply. Her communication skills were much better after spending so much time with the cooks, but she still wasn’t good at ending a conversation.

Derek smiled and lay back on his bed. He decided that he might as well sleep for the night.

* * *

Derek wanted to wait a couple of days before visiting the city lord.

The next day, he went to the Adventurer’s Guild with Thomas for some sparring. Through that, he was able to see the boy’s progression better than when he was fighting the Horned Boars.

All the boars attacked the same, so once Thomas had gotten comfortable and used to their attack patterns, he didn’t have to show any more skill. That was also what led him to being able to escape the final boar’s attack without Derek having to interfere.

After the sparring session, Derek was even more impressed. The boy fought like the spear was an extension of his own body. He may even have as much or more talent in using the spear as Clare had using her fists and knuckles.

Derek came to the conclusion that the boy would do well at the Academy, especially after experiencing the harsh reality of being manipulated. But first, he needed to discuss it with Thomas.

Currently, the two were sitting with their backs against a wall in the training room. Derek could see the appeal of the training rooms. The room was soundproof, and the staff was forbidden from entering without warning. This was done with a one-way crystal that glowed blue when the staff needed to enter or talk, and glowed red and sounded an alarm when time was up in the room.

Thomas was still out of breath after the spar. He had poured some water over his head and was currently taking a sip. Derek, however, looked completely normal. It didn’t seem like he’d been fighting at all.

“So.” Derek suddenly spoke, getting Thomas’s attention. “Have you ever heard of the kingdom’s Academy?” he asked.

Thomas, still breathing hard, nodded his head. “Only a little.”

“What do you know about it?” Derek asked.

“Just that some men and women of the kingdom go there to train… and that when they graduate, they become some of the kingdom’s elites,” Thomas replied.

“Have you ever heard about the requirements to get in?”

Thomas shook his head. “No.”

“I see…” Derek nodded. “Would you want to go to it, if you could get admission?”

Thomas paused, staring at Derek with a frown, then chuckled. “I doubt I could ever pass whatever tests are required for admission.”

“But would you want to go… if you could?” Derek asked again.

Thomas went silent again. “Do you think I could pass?”

Derek smiled. “Easily. From what I gathered, all you would need to do is have a rare class and be at level 50 before you turn 16 years old. You may have thought that level 50 was a pipe dream a few months ago, but what do you think now?”

Thomas opened his eyes wide. “That… if I could find a group, I could run level 40 or 50 dungeons. It would be easy to be level 50 before turning 16…”

Derek nodded. “Exactly. Or, I could even take you to a level 100 dungeon and get you there in one swoop. But, it would be better for you, experience-wise, to not rely on me for the level gains. I still think you could be admitted to the Academy before you turn 14, either way. It may be better to get in when you are young, too.

“Of course…” Derek continued, “we could also go out and find some areas with monsters like the one you were at yesterday, and you could gain experience while I watched over and made sure you stayed relatively safe.”

“Relatively safe…” Thomas shuddered. “Just like when I was in the insect dungeon.”

“Exactly,” Derek said, knowing that the boy was thinking about the injuries he had gotten in that dungeon. “The only bad part about that would be you missing some opportunities at dungeon rewards. Though, that would only be if we could find dungeons at that level that would give good rewards.”

Thomas nodded. “I think the… third option would be the best.”

Derek was surprised. He thought Thomas would do anything to avoid the possibility of getting injured like he had before. “Why do you say that?” he asked.

Thomas let out a breath. “Because I think that’s the best way for me to improve. It’s the only way where I have to rely only on myself. Even if you are there to keep me alive, I still know that the pain I will experience if I make a mistake will be real.” He sighed. “Besides, I’m not sure if I want to have to rely on anyone other than myself or you for the time being.”

Derek felt for the boy. After experiencing what he did, Thomas would be extremely hesitant and very cautious around others for some time. Derek had never had that problem before as he preferred fighting alone to begin with. It could be lonely, but Derek still thought that it was the best option for improving growth.

“I see,” Derek said. “I’ll ask around and find a suitable area once we get to Savannah. There are some good dungeons around there, at least from what I’ve heard so far. You can tag along while I clear them, so we can double up on the rewards,” Derek said.

Thomas just nodded.

“So, what do you think about joining the Academy?” Derek asked again.

“I think I would like to give it a try,” Thomas answered. “I never thought I could be considered one of the kingdom’s elites. If nothing else, it would make my grandparents proud and help me give them, or any children I may have, a better life in the future.”

Derek smiled, surprised at the boys’ thinking and attitude. “I think so, too,” he said. “We’ll discuss it with your grandparents when we go to the village to pick up the girl. When you enter the Academy, I will no longer be able to protect you. But I think your recent experiences will definitely help you protect yourself.”

Thomas winced at the phrase. “That they will,” he said.

Derek stood, brushing off his back and pants in the process. “Get up. It’s time for Round 2.”

35 PAYING A VISIT

Two days later, Derek was walking through the commoner district on his way to pay the city lord a visit. He had let Alanah know what was happening and that he still planned on keeping his promise from before. He couldn’t promise that he would be too civil, but he would do his best not to kill anybody. In reality, it all depended on how the city lord and his people acted.

He preferred it this way as well. A little intimidation could go a long way. He was still a bit wary about making a mortal enemy out of one of the king’s advisors, even with the knowledge that Alanah could deal with the situation if he did.

Right now, he considered his relationship with Alanah to be even. Actually, considering how valuable she thought the information he gave her was, she may still feel like she owed him. Either way, Derek didn’t want to put any unnecessary burdens on her shoulders.

As Derek hadn’t done anything to hide in the past few days, it didn’t take long for the city lord’s men to find where he was staying and keep watch on his activities. When he left the inn and began his slow trek towards the noble district, he didn’t fail to notice the eyes on him.

Some ran ahead, obviously to inform someone that he was heading deeper into the city. The same thing happened the previous day, but Derek ended up stopping at the Crown for lunch and to check in on Silvi before he went back to the inn.

He was sure that the second he entered the noble district, the city lord and his people made preparations to ‘welcome’ him. He laughed as he thought about the city lord’s face when Derek turned around and went back.

Today, however, would not be like yesterday. Today, he would see how the man prepared to greet him.

Before long, Derek was standing before the gate to the city lord’s manor. The central house in front of him put Walter’s house to shame. The ‘manor’ looked more like a castle. Derek was in a good mood today. I think I’m going to go with eccentric Derek today. It’s more fun than dark and broody Derek or angry Derek…

“Welcome, Mr. Hunt,” a gate guard greeted. “The city lord has been expecting you. Please, follow me.”

Derek nodded. “I can’t wait. I wonder why he didn’t invite me sooner.”

The guard heard him but said nothing.

As they made their way up to the manor, Derek took in his surroundings. Other than what may have been guest manors and courtyards, there wasn’t much else out of the normal. The one thing that did happen to catch his attention was the training grounds in the distance.

Obviously, the guards that were training were not the cream of the crop. They must be new recruits, Derek thought. One guard, however, seemed familiar. Derek watched as the man picked up a discarded piece of gear and placed it back on a rack. The man then went to a bench and began cleaning a sword with a rag.

It took Derek a moment to place the man before he realized who it was. His name was… Bradley… I think. Why is he off doing grunt work? He was literally the only competent guard that the brat had with him. Derek shrugged and put the man out of his mind. It didn’t concern him.

“Wow, those guards could probably battle an entire company, no… two companies… no, an entire battalion of squirrels if they fought under the right conditions,” Derek muttered in mock surprise.

A smug smile began to form on his escort’s face as Derek spoke, but his face soon turned ugly, and his eyelid twitched when Derek mentioned the squirrels.

“What, don’t underestimate a battalion of squirrels? That’s how you lose your nuts,” Derek casually mentioned.

Soon, the guard led Derek into the manor. As Derek looked around, he realized that for some reason, probably him, the manor was oddly empty. There were no servants running around, no butlers greeting him, and no guards stationed anywhere. Derek couldn’t help but chuckle, causing the guard in front of him to tense.

“Calm down,” Derek said. “I was just thinking about the welcome they have prepared for me. Come on, let’s go see. Aren’t you excited, too?”

The guard continued leading Derek. Eventually, they arrived at a giant double door with two guards standing in front. Both guards were unidentifiable to Derek, but that didn’t mean anything.

“Phew….” Derek mocked wiping his forehead off with the back of his hand. “For a second there, I thought this was going to be a haunted house. I was just waiting for all the ghosts to appear and attack. You don’t know how happy I am to see others.”

The three guards didn’t know what to say. They could only stare at Derek in confusion.

“Well, come on,” Derek said. “I’m sure your master is waiting on pins and needles for me. We wouldn’t want to be rude and keep him waiting, would we?”

“No… Sir…” Derek’s escort said, then nodded to the other two guards.

Both guards reached out and pushed their respective door, causing a loud creak to sound as the doors slowly swung open.

Derek winced. “You really need to lube up those hinges… Hey, you.” Derek pointed at one of the guards that opened the door. “Do you have a Grease Mage or anything? Maybe someone who specializes in WD-40? One could work miracles here.”

The guards stared at Derek, not uttering a word.

Derek clicked his tongue and looked ahead of him at the long room packed full of people. He smiled before he walked in.

Files of guards stood on both sides of the room. An overly colorful long carpet ran through the center of the room up towards a dais that held an exquisite chair that one could mistake for an actual throne. A man that was the spitting image of the young noble that Derek had let live occupied the chair.

On the man’s left was another, much less decorated seat that was occupied by the young noble. And standing on the man’s right side was a clean-shaven, middle-aged man with short brown hair and a scar running down his left cheek.

All the guards were wearing their standard leathers, but the man standing on the dais was different. He wore a very dark gray that could be mistaken for black, and studded leather armor covered the black tunic on the man’s torso, down past his waist. He wore matching bracers and gloves, with his black breeches tucked neatly into his dark gray, almost black, boots. A shortsword was sheathed on his left hip.

He’s definitely the strongest person in the room. Derek could already tell that the man was a veteran fighter. He gave off a much fiercer vibe than the city lord or any of the other guards.

Derek had used his Identify skill on everyone in the room. Most of the guards were under level 100 and identifiable, with a few exceptions. Of course, he was unable to Identify either the city lord or the man with the scar, but that was to be expected. He was also sure that with his skill level, and the Achievement he had received, nobody would be able to successfully use the skill on him.

Derek walked forward, swinging his head around in mock awe of the room’s decorations. When he was halfway to the dais, he let out an impressed whistle. “Wow! If I didn’t know any better, I would think this was a throne room,” he said loud enough for everybody in the room to hear. “Is that it?”

He looked directly into the city lord’s eyes. “Do you think yourself a king?” Derek gasped and covered his mouth to hide his shock. “That must be it! You’re not the city lord, you’re the king in disguise!”

“Everyone!” Derek hurriedly motioned everyone down. “Hurry, bow to His Highness.” He turned back to see the now red face of the city lord before giving an exaggerated bow of his own.

“Blasphemy!” The city lord rushed to his feet. “How dare you… you…” the man muttered.

Derek cocked his head to the side as if confused. “Are you not the king?” Derek shook his head. “No… Only the king would have enough gall to create a throne room inside a mini castle. Surely you are the king and this is just your… vacation home.”

While the city lord was clearly fuming and everyone else in the room was flabbergasted, Derek noticed that the scar-faced man was standing calm as if nothing was of his concern. That man may be tricky, Derek thought.

“I… I am the city lord!” the red-faced man half-screamed.

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Derek clicked his tongue. “Causing all of this confusion.” He shook his head. “I think you owe everybody here an apology.”

The city lord just stared at Derek, not speaking. Before long, he fell back into his chair and let out an exasperated sigh.

If Derek hadn’t been paying close attention, he would have missed the slight tug at the corner of the warrior’s lips, but he was paying attention. Oh? It looks like that man is finding this whole situation entertaining.

“Anyway, if you aren’t the king, then you must be Malcolm. I’ve heard a lot… no… I’ve heard a little about you,” Derek said, trying to bring the city lord back from whatever reality he had retreated to. “My name is Derek, but you can call me Mr. Hunt… or Sir… or Lord, if you want. I would prefer Mr. Hunt, but really, it’s your choice.”

Derek waited for the flustered city lord to reply. After a couple of minutes of silence, he decided to continue. “I guess it really doesn’t even matter.” His eyes shifted to the guard next to the city lord. “Well, while he is broken, we might as well have a little chat. Hi, I’m Derek.”

The guard narrowed his eyes slightly. “Captain Herrett of the city lord’s guards,” he replied.

Derek smiled. “Well now, we both know that you are much more than just a guard captain. What is someone like you doing watching over a couple of lordlings? I’m sure this ‘job’ is far beneath you, don’t you think?”

Captain Herrett’s face grew even more serious. His eyes glanced at the silent Malcolm. “I do what my lord needs of me.”

“Ah! So that’s it,” Derek exclaimed. “And who might this lord be? No… wait… don’t tell me. It’s this…” Derek motioned to the city lord. “It’s his father, right? Of course it is. Why else would someone like you be here? So”—Derek leaned in—“is it blackmail? Did he trick you into an oath? Oh, did he save your life on the battlefield, and, because of honor, you have dedicated your life to protect him and his family?”

The man stayed stone silent.

“Oh, God. It’s not money, is it? Please don’t tell me it’s because of something so small…” Derek said, and he watched the man’s reaction. Still nothing… “I’ll tell you what. How about I give you 1,000 gold a month, and you can come work for me? Someone like yourself, I’m sure, deserves at least that much.”

Derek heard the clamor of the guards behind him when he mentioned 1,000 gold. It even caused the man’s eyelid to twitch. So, he definitely doesn’t get paid as much as what he should, if at all.

“Are you trying to recruit my guard captain?” The city lord finally collected himself and managed to speak.

Derek’s attention moved back to the city lord. He cocked his head sideways. “Who were you again?”

The city lord opened and closed his mouth multiple times before closing it shut and not saying anything. While the city lord was trying to figure out what to do, Derek took a quick glance at his son, sitting in the chair next to him. Clay flinched when Derek’s eyes landed on him. At least I don’t have to worry about the kid interrupting me. I bet he’s still shaken up from the other day, he thought, then looked back at Malcolm, who was still silent.

Derek nodded at him before turning back to Herrett. “So, what do you say?”

Herrett’s face stayed serious, but he shook his head. “Unfortunately, I am not bound by money.”

Derek nodded, not pushing it any further. It’s either loyalty or blackmail, or maybe an oath caused from loyalty. I’m not sure how oaths work under duress. “It’s my loss, then. Hopefully, this fool of a noble doesn’t do anything bad enough to get you killed. Though, if not for Alanah, we would be having a very different conversation.”

Malcolm gulped, and Captain Herrett nodded gravely at the mention of Alanah.

Derek knew that Herrett had been sizing him up and was still unsure if he could win against Derek in a fight. Because of that, the guard captain had been serious and respectful, even with the way Derek had been acting. At least he doesn’t seem like the scheming type.

Knowing he wasn’t going to get much more out of the silent guard, he moved his focus back to the city lord. “Earth to… err… Cydaria to Malcolm. Is anybody home?”

“What?” the city lord snapped.

“Woah there, no need to get so testy. You’re just in some mood today, aren’t you? Well, I would be too if I had a scumbag son like the one you have,” Derek replied.

“Don’t talk about my son that way.”

“Isn’t that why I’m here? For us to talk about your son and what he did,” Derek said.

The city lord, finally back to his old demeanor, scoffed. “So what if he tricked a lowly commoner, no… not even a commoner. It was a lowly villager, wasn’t it? They aren’t even worth as much as a peasant beggar in the lower district.”

“Wow, just wow. You are not going to make it easy for me to keep my promise to Alanah, are you?” Derek quickly glanced at Herrett, who still hadn’t moved.

Derek’s aloof smile he had been wearing ever since entering the manor disappeared. Because the people in the hall were much stronger than those he intimidated out in the forest, instead of channeling only a little of the void through his system, Derek opened the floodgates and let it explode throughout his body.

He had never done this before. When he was using the void, it was always through a controlled channeling, except for when he used Void Call, which could not yet be controlled. This time, he made no attempt at controlling the energy. If he was going to get his point across, he couldn’t hold back.

The void energy rushed through his body from head to toe. A visible purple hue fell over his skin, and both eyes changed to match. Derek could not only feel the void radiating through himself but also a small distance outside his body.

He had an idea about the so-called ‘aura’ that he was releasing. He’d been wondering about it since he first intimidated Bronson back at the village. Through talking with Walter, Stella, and Alanah, he had come to a conclusion.

The ‘aura’ seemed to be an outward projection of his combined stats and affinities. His void skills augmented his outward projection, just as other elements did for other people. It was something that people learned to do as they got stronger.

It also meant that projecting your aura was a conscious decision that one had to make. He’d heard rumors of a friend of the city lord’s father walking around with his aura out. That meant that it was this man’s decision to walk around, terrorizing everybody on the streets.

Derek’s combined stats were already on par with someone who had taken a rare class at level 10 and had leveled all the way up to level 200 or more, so when he fully and consciously released his so-called ‘aura,’ those around him felt it, especially if he was focusing specifically on someone.

While releasing the void, Derek maintained eye contact with Herrett. He didn’t want the man interfering with anything.

Derek looked around the room to see that over half of the guards present had fallen to their knees, some even face down. No matter which guard he looked at, their faces were pale. One not-so-unexpected outcome was that the city lord’s son had fallen unconscious in his chair and was slumped over.

The city lord, however, maintained at least some of his dignity. He managed to remain conscious, and if it wasn’t for his flushed skin and the shock in his eyes, Derek would have assumed that his display of power didn’t have much effect on him.

Herrett’s outcome was much better than the rest. He didn’t seem scared or too shocked. Other than his eyes widening ever so slightly and his hand hovering over his sword, he was no different from before. Well, there was also the initial step backwards that he unconsciously took when Derek first channeled his energy.

Derek smiled at Herrett before his gaze fell over the city lord once more. “Now, I just so happen to call some of those villagers my friends. And I can guarantee that not only are they not ‘lowly commoners,’ but their lives are worth much more than yours or your spawn’s.

“Now, you may ask me, ‘Why are they worth so much?’ and to that, I say, ‘Because I fucking said they are!’” Derek shouted, causing the city lord to shrink back. “Now, your son had to go and fuck with one of my people. I don’t take kindly to that.”

“Normally, I would barge in here, and by the time I was done, the only heart left beating would be my own.” Derek smiled evilly. “But, I recently made another friend, and she’s busy and doesn’t want to deal with the fallout of one of her friends not so gently removing the city lord from the city. Well, sub-city in this case.”

“So, because of my friend, I’m going to give you one chance. That’s all you get, and it’s more than what you should have. So, if you or your son ever does something to anger me again, don’t think your daddy could keep you breathing.” Derek eyed Herrett up and down. “And don’t think your guard captain here could even buy you a chance to escape.” He turned back to the city lord. “Do you understand!” he shouted loud enough to cause even the guard to flinch.

“Y-yes, Sir,” the city lord mumbled.

“What was that?” Derek asked.

“I understand… Sir,” Malcolm muttered.

Derek released his aura and stopped channeling void energy. His serious expression changed back to jovial. With a smile plastered on his face, he said, “That’s great. And I see you chose to call me ‘Sir.’ That was the correct choice.”

Derek did a one-eighty and began his walk towards the entrance to the Great Hall. He looked over his shoulder back at the shivering lord. “Ah, I forgot to tell you. I’ve made some friends in this city, too. So you can add them to the list of ‘my’ people. Just a heads up, you might want to make sure you and your son are more careful who you mess with. I’m leaving soon, but I will be listening.”

After speaking, Derek walked out of the hall, whistling.

36 DEREK, DEAR…

The Next Day…

Alanah reached her hand out and moved the window curtain to the side. Outside, in her private courtyard, Avery was instructing two boys. If Stella was her left hand, then Avery would be considered her right.

After her conversation with Derek about the class system, Alanah had sent Avery out to scour the cities for candidates. Alanah was very strict in her choosing.

She would choose no one who had a loving family, or a person hellbent on revenge. The child must have not unlocked the Great System yet, either. This already narrowed the search to orphans and beggars. Avery knew the type well as he was picked up by Alanah when he was a young orphan.

The child must also be driven. Usually, that was hard to find in orphans. Most of the children would give up and accept their fate instead of fighting hard to make a better life for themselves. No matter what life threw at them, the child must not break. That alone made the task she had given Avery almost impossible.

However, to her surprise, just two weeks after Avery set out, he brought back a pair of boys, Zachary and Lucas. They were best friends who called themselves brothers. Alanah was skeptical at first, but after hearing their story, she was convinced.

Zachary and Lucas were from a village outside of Clayton. They grew up together—their parents were best friends—so they spent a lot of time with one another. That was before a Void Beast attacked their village.

It was a surprise. Nobody had heard of anyone opening a portal at that time, so when the beast appeared, no one was ready. The village was decimated before the beast turned towards Clayton.

With the combined strength of the guards and adventurers in the city, they were able to wound the beast and drive it off. After that, the king sent an elite team, including his own son, to track and kill the Void Beast. It took days, and the team lost two members, but in the end, the prince was able to strike a fatal blow before the beast could disappear back into the void.

While everybody else was celebrating the defeat of the Void Beast and the prince’s accomplishments, Zachary and Lucas were mourning the loss of their parents and most of their village.

It wasn’t long before the new village chief decided that there weren’t enough people left to maintain their village. Soon after, the chief disbanded the only home the boys had ever known. Some of the remaining villagers migrated to other villages, while others chose to move to Clayton to try their luck.

The boys decided to follow the latter group. So, for weeks, the two boys had been living in the slums of Clayton, doing what they could to survive. They told Alanah tales of running errands for bread and getting beaten by nobles for being ‘dirty.’

They never resorted to stealing. In fact, when Avery asked them about it, the thought had never even crossed their minds. Apparently, their parents instilled a strong sense of right and wrong in the boys. Of course, Alanah knew that it would have only been a matter of time before they did something like stealing. It was only natural.

They had only been in the city for a few weeks, so nothing too terrible happened to them, but she knew that if one of the boys had gotten sick, with the way they treated each other, there was nothing that the other wouldn’t resort to doing. She was glad it didn’t come to that and that Avery was able to find them.

Avery had laughed about how hard it was to convince them to come with him. It had only been a few weeks, and a few bad nobles had already caused a natural distrust in the boys. It took Avery telling them about the story of Alanah finding and raising him up before they would even consider it.

What sealed the deal was when Avery took the boys to Clayton’s Crown Restaurant. Avery always said that a great meal made all negotiations easier, especially if you were the one paying.

The boys also held no grudge against the Void Beast as it was just a mindless beast. When asked about the person who summoned it, they had said that they knew that a Void Beast could only be summoned by accident. They didn’t even seem to care when Avery told them that the king found the noble who created the portal and that the man had already been punished.

The thing that seemed to bug the boys the most was Alanah’s lack of speaking. Avery and Alanah held their private crystals, and Avery did all the talking with the boys. When Avery told them about Alanah’s ‘condition,’ though still confused, they no longer asked questions about it.

That was two days ago. Now the boys had settled in and were being tested by Avery. Currently, Alanah was watching the man conduct a weapon’s test as Derek had explained to do in their conversation.

Once the right weapon was chosen, it would be time to pick their elements. This would be the boys’ personal choice. Currently, Alanah could provide the boys with water, wind, fire, earth, lightning, ice, metal, and darkness. Technically, she could also provide them with poison, but she preferred not to do that.

After watching the boys train with Avery for a while, Alanah closed the curtains with a smile on her face. She hoped everything would work out like Derek had theorized, but even if it didn’t, she had no problem raising the two orphaned boys. They were good kids.

She walked back to her desk and sat down with a sigh. This could be considered both her favorite and least favorite part of her day: communicating with her Deathsworn. She could link up and chat telepathically with those close to her, but for the others, like the one that was watching over the city of Torith, she had to communicate via crystal, just like she would with anyone else.

Of course, if anything big happened, or if she gave an order to report certain matters at any time, she would receive a communications request. Usually, no news was good news.

Alanah pulled out her first crystal and began receiving her daily reports. It was mostly normal matters like Savannah hosting another auction next week, a noble doing something stupid, or even the occasional bandit group attacking caravans or villages. None of that was any of her concern, but she still tucked it away for possible future use.

She changed crystals and received more reports from her Deathsworn. After receiving a certain report from her Deathsworn stationed in Torith, she put the crystal down, sighed, and smiled wryly. Well… he didn’t kill them… I hope.

According to the report, Derek had created quite the commotion at the city lord of Torith’s manor. Her Deathsworn wasn’t able to get many details, but apparently, Derek walked in with a guard. Not long after entering, the Deathsworn felt an enormous pressure that even caused those nearby to panic. Then, Derek walked out with a smile while whistling.

After that, the manor went into lockdown and allowed no one in or out. Even the trainee guards were filed into the manor. After Derek left, the entire outside of the residence became a ghost town.

What exactly did you do? she couldn’t help but wonder. And how strong are you, exactly? She got the feeling that Derek was much stronger than he had led on, even though he claimed that he was strong. To create that kind of pressure on my Deathsworn while being that far away… she thought.

She sighed and went on with her reports. She would contact the man when she was finished with them if he didn’t contact her before.

It wasn’t long before she was finished. The previous day was just like almost every other day. The only thing exciting that happened was with Derek, but that had come as no surprise to her. These days, news about Derek was the one thing that always seemed to bring her something interesting.

Alanah tidied up her office before making a cup of tea and trying to communicate with Derek.

‘Alanah! Good morning. How are you?’ The man’s voice came through clearly in her head.

‘I am doing great today. What about you? I heard you paid the city lord a visit yesterday,’ she replied.

‘That I did… It went better than expected. There was barely any talking back to me. All things considered, I’d say it went well. And I didn’t kill anybody important… Actually, I didn’t kill anybody at all. I think I went above and beyond,’ he said.

‘Oh, that’s good. That means I won’t have to deal with that deadbeat advisor and can focus more on the Void Beasts and helping train my two new wards,’ she chimed.

‘Oh yeah, you mentioned the other day that you had picked up a couple of prospects. That’s good. I hope everything works out with them.’

‘Me, too. Avery seems to like them, and he has been very excited to try out your training methods. I have to admit, I’m anxious to see the results,’ Alanah said.

‘Me too,’ Derek replied.

‘I—’ A knock sounded on her door. ‘One moment, someone is at the door.’ She laid the crystal down.

“Enter,” she said.

The door opened, and Avery walked in and closed the door behind him. After receiving Alanah’s nod, he spoke, “Alanah…” He smiled oddly. “Gerald Torith is on the first floor demanding an audience. He’s making quite the ruckus.”

Alanah rolled her eyes, held up two fingers, and nodded. Avery gave her a nod in confirmation, turned, and walked out the door.

Alanah picked the crystal back up off her desk. ‘Derek, dear… What exactly did you do yesterday?’

‘Uh… I pretty much told you everything I did. I met with the city lord, made a couple threats, didn’t kill anyone, and I left… in that order,’ Derek replied.

‘When you said that you made a couple of threats, what kind of threats exactly?’ Alanah asked.

‘Nothing much, really. Just the usual. I told them exactly how much their lives were worth to me. I let them know that the only reason they were still breathing was because of a favor to you. I also told the city lord that I didn’t fear his daddy, and that the man wouldn’t be able to save him if I wanted him dead,’ Derek explained.

Alanah frowned. He didn’t kill anybody, and he even used my name. It really doesn’t seem to be all that bad. Gerald may be a scumbag, but he’s too smart to offend me or someone I support over nothing but a threat. What is he planning? 

‘And that’s all, just some idle threats?’ she asked.

‘Yeah. I let him know that even if I left, I still had eyes in the city, and that I had made quite a few friends. I told him that he better be careful about offending people in the future,’ Derek said. ‘Ah, I also used my full aura to really get my point across.’

‘Hmm… So, you wouldn’t happen to know why Gerald Torith is currently at my establishment seeking an audience with me?’ she asked. Wait a minute. A thought occurred to her. ‘You said you released your full aura? What was the outcome? My Deathsworn was outside the manor and reported that it was quite the aura, but he was very far away.’

‘Uh… let me think…’ Derek replied. ‘Well, the city lord nearly lost his shit. That guard, Herrett, got a bit pale and took a step back. Half of the room, including the city lord’s son, fell unconscious… that was pretty cool, actually. The rest were on their knees or fighting to stand.’

‘I can see all that making Gerald angry, but it shouldn’t cause him to cause a commotion in my restaurant. If he was going to do anything, he normally would do it in the dark,’ she told Derek.

‘Well, I don’t think I went too overboard. I had multiple opportunities to kill that kid, and that guard captain wouldn’t have been able to do anything to me. Sorry I can’t be more helpful,’ Derek said.

‘No need to apologize. I asked you to spare them, and you did. In fact, if I’m not missing anything, you did less than I believed you would. I don’t know your actual power, but from what I have picked up on and what my Deathsworn has felt, I should thank you for even listening to my request.

‘Thank you for talking with me. Unfortunately, I must cut our chat short and go deal with a spoiled noble. Do not hesitate to contact me whenever,’ Alanah said.

‘It’s always a pleasure. We’ll be leaving this city shortly and heading to one with a teleporter. We may be able to have this conversation in person sooner rather than later,’ Derek replied.

‘I’ll look forward to it. Goodbye.’

‘Goodbye.’

37 GERALD TORITH

Alanah stored the now-inactive crystal in her storage ring. Letting out a deep breath, she thought, Might as well get this over with. With that, the beautiful woman strode out of her office down to Meeting Room Two.

Arriving at the meeting room, Alanah didn’t bother to knock. She opened the door and walked in.

Avery was standing inside next to the door. In front of her, sitting at a table, was a middle-aged man with long, flowing golden hair. He was dressed in a formal green tunic and wore an irritated expression on his face that screamed ‘slap me.’

When Alanah walked in, the man didn’t even attempt to stand and only stared at the woman. Avery was not happy about this, but Alanah stopped him from saying or doing anything.

Alanah approached the table and pulled out the chair across from the man before sitting. She fished a private communications crystal out of her storage and channeled her mana into it. They could have used their Telepathy skill, but showing the crystal eased others’ minds by knowing Avery was receiving direct responses from Alanah.

Behind her, Avery gripped his crystal and spoke. “Gerald, my mistress would like to know if this is okay, or if you would like to try your hand at communicating with her directly.”

The man scoffed. “She thinks herself powerful. I’m not the same person I was when last we spoke. You will not be needed.”

“Very well,” Avery replied but stayed standing behind Alanah.

Alanah inwardly laughed to herself. There were very few people who could withstand a conversation with her in the kingdom, and the king was one of the only ones she had met face-to-face who could do so without having to acclimate over a period of time.

Avery and Stella could also converse properly with her, but it took Stella hours to adapt, and she would have to start the process over at the beginning of each day. Avery was a little better, but he still needed a short period to adapt. Neither of them, however, could withstand her if she actively used her power for a command, no matter how much acclimation they had gone through throughout the day.

She had a lot of hope in Derek. He was the first person, other than the king, who could withstand a command through the crystal. Not to mention that he was so much more fun to talk with than that boring old man.

Without using any power, Alana spoke, “Stand.”

Immediately, Gerald kicked the chair back from him and shot to his feet.

“Spin.” Alanah watched as Gerald did a full three-sixty. “Hop on one foot,” she said, and he did. “Apologize for overestimating yourself, for disturbing my establishment with your presence, and for just existing in general.”

Behind Alanah, Avery looked at the hopping man with disdain. He even went as far as openly laughing at him.

“I am very sorry, Miss Swan. I am nothing compared to you. Forgive me for believing myself capable. I apologize for any harm my behavior has caused to your great restaurant. And you are correct, I should not even think to exist, much less in your appearance. Please allow me to atone for my sins.” With that, Gerald Torith summoned a beautiful dagger out of his storage ring and pushed it into his jugular, causing blood to pour out of his neck with every pump.

“That’s enough,” Alanah said. “No need to go and die. Put your weapon away. I’m sure your vitality will have that wound healed in no time.”

Gerald did as he was told.

“Now, sit. Let me know when you are no longer under my influence, then we can talk.”

Gerald walked mindlessly to the chair that he had pushed away earlier. He pulled it back up to the table and mechanically sat back down, staring intently at nothing.

Alanah pushed her thoughts back into her crystal. ‘So, how are the boys doing?’ she asked Avery.

Avery chuckled. ‘Are you sure that was necessary, Alanah? You know he’s going to go complain to the king after what you just did.’

‘And the king will admonish him for overestimating his talents. I know that man better than anyone, including the royal family. In fact, that old bag of bones, boring as he may be, will probably find some entertainment in Gerald’s tale,’ she assured Avery.

‘If you say so,’ he replied. ‘Zac and Luke’s training is progressing well. They are also extremely grateful to both you and me, especially after finding out the reason they were selected and what our plans are. Honesty is the best way to obtain loyalty—as you have taught me.’

‘That’s good. They seem like nice boys.’

‘They are, indeed. In fact, they both remind me of myself. I was even younger than them when you found me, so I know exactly what they are feeling right now. Of course, you never gave me a lofty goal like they have.’

Alanah smiled. ‘You’re still young. You may not be able to reach as high as they will be if the experiment works, but you are still one of the strongest in the kingdom. You are nearly able to resist my voice with willpower alone. How many can openly say that?’

‘I can only hope,’ Avery said. ‘Ah, I was discussing with the boys how you found me and everything you have done for me. Including giving me your surname. They are both newly orphaned, and their parents’ deaths are still fresh in their minds, but I have heard them privately discussing asking you to give them your surname.’

‘It’s only been a few days. I’m sure they are just overly grateful for being rescued from their situation. You had next to no memories of your parents, so taking my name was an easy decision. Still, I waited for you to ask. The boys knew their parents, and by what you have told me, they seemed to be good people. I will not disgrace their memory like that. It is the same reason that Stella is still a Brighton,’ Alanah replied.

‘If they ask, I will let them know and explain why. They are still children. They will grow and learn. I cannot wait.’ Avery smiled.

‘Nor can I.’

The two continued discussing matters for well over an hour before Gerald stirred. All of the sudden, he bolted to his feet and put both hands over his throat.

“Ah, Gerald, so nice of you to join us.” Alanah said.

“W-what did you two do to me?” Gerald sputtered while clasping at his throat.

Alanah looked at the man, confused. “Mr. Torith, I have no clue what you are talking about. You wanted to have a conversation, face to face, with no communication crystals involved, so that is what we are doing. I must say, you acclimated quite quickly. Very impressive.”

“N-no! You made me stab myself… in the throat. I… I remember it all!” the man screeched.

“Now, now. Think back on what you remember. I only told you that you should apologize. You are the one who went above and beyond and tried to maim yourself. Which, might I add, is quite interesting. You may want to ask yourself why you would subconsciously decide to act in such a manner. You might learn a bit more about yourself and your nature. I know I sure have,” Alanah said with a knowing smile.

“Y-you… you…” he stuttered.

“Have a seat, Gerald,” Avery said, speaking up. “You wanted a meeting with my mistress, and now you have one. Her time is quite valuable. You better use it wisely.”

Gerald took a deep breath, calming down. He cautiously approached the table and sat down, eyeing Alanah wearily.

“Now,” Alanah said, “what was so urgent that you had to come to my establishment and cause a ruckus? I was in the middle of a very important conversation when you arrived. This better be good.”

Gerald, now calm, stared daggers into Alanah before answering. “I’m sure you know exactly why I have come here, but since you are acting ignorant, let me help jog your memory,” he practically spat.

“Careful!” Avery warned. “Your position in the kingdom may be higher than mine, but you are not in my league. I will not tolerate you talking to my mistress in that manner.”

“It’s fine, Avery,” Alanah said. “Let the man do as he pleases. If he goes too far, you will not be needed to defend my honor. I am perfectly capable.” In her head, she spoke through the communication crystal. ‘That’s enough. He’s already reeling from the other actions, there is no need to add to his stress.’

Avery bowed in servitude. “Yes, mistress.” Inwardly, he sent back, ‘I know he’s just trying to gain back a little control of the room, but if nothing else, he should know better than to insult you.’

‘Better to my face than behind my back,’ Alanah replied.

Gerald flinched at Avery’s outburst but smirked at Alanah’s reprimand. “Yes, Avery, she is perfectly capable. There is no need for a dog like you to bark. Listen to your master.”

“Watch it.” This time, Alanah warned. “I gave you some rope, and now you try to hang yourself? Get on with it. What do you want?” Her friendly demeanor was thrown out the window at his remark. Alanah was as protective of her people as they were of her. She would not hear them being insulted.

Gerald clicked his tongue. “Whatever,” he said. “I know you know of this Derek Hunt person.”

“Yes, what of him?” Alanah replied.

“He attacked my family yesterday!” Gerald yelled.

Alanah shook her head. “No, he didn’t. I know exactly what happened yesterday. He warned your family after they made an egregious error by offending him. They are lucky that I talked him out of attacking your family. Otherwise, only you and your wife would remain.”

“My grandson is in a coma!” the man spat.

That was news to Alanah. It seemed like the boy hadn’t been able to withstand Derek’s aura at all. Of course, it had only been a day. He would most likely wake up and be fine. Well, physically, at least. Also, she knew that Gerald didn’t actually care that much about Clay. He was only using this as an opportunity to try to gain something from her or the king.

“And whose fault is that? I can’t believe that your son actually raised a child who can’t even withstand a little aura. How pitiful,” she said. “Besides, it only happened yesterday. I’m sure he’ll be fine in a few days. You can use this as a learning experience for him. It will teach him not to offend those he can’t afford to. Of course, with the way this meeting is going, maybe it would be good for you to gain some of that experience as well.”

“Still! How dare he barge into my son’s, the city lord’s, manor and threaten him? And over a commoner’s life,” Gerald said.

Alanah looked back at Avery. “Avery, which noble house is it that you come from again?”

Avery tilted his head. “None, mistress. I am but a commoner orphan.”

“Ah, I see,” Alanah said, then shifted her focus back to Gerald. “Gerald, as my assistant is but a mere commoner, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind having an exchange with him, maybe learning the worth of commoners in the process?”

Gerald’s face paled slightly, but he scoffed. “I will not lower myself to spar with a filthy commoner. Besides, one outlier proves nothing.”

“Oh? Well, since you won’t lower yourself to spar with a commoner, then how about me? I won’t even use a weapon,” Alanah said.

His pale face contorted in fright. “I wouldn’t dare,” he said.

“Then shut the fuck up and get to your point!” Alanah commanded, still careful not to put any energy into her voice. “Commoner this, commoner that. I am neither a commoner nor from this kingdom. None of that matters. What matters is that your family offended somebody that they shouldn’t have. That somebody just happens to be a friend of mine. Now, you’re here making excuses. What is it that you want?”

“I want him held accountable!” Gerald yelled. “He threatened my family. The family of the king’s Advisor. Just that should be enough to put him to death, but he even put my grandson in a coma.”

Alanah sighed. “I really don’t know what the king sees in you. Derek let your family off lightly after what they did. Yet, you still come in here demanding he be held accountable? How could someone like you possibly advise the King?”

“Y-you!” Gerald’s face flushed red in anger.

“Little Gerald,” Alanah spoke softly. “Let me give you a small piece of advice. Derek is a friend of mine. He is also somebody that I would never want to offend,” she said. “And, if the king were to ask me, I would tell him the same thing.”

It took a moment for the realization of what her words meant to kick in. Finally, his eyes went wide. “He’s but one man. How can you have such a high opinion about a single person that nobody has ever heard of before? What has this man done to receive such respect?”

Alanah smiled. “I’m sorry, but that is all I’m willing to discuss with you about Derek. Take my advice or ignore it. It’s up to you. I will not reveal any more details about him than I already have. I suggest you count yourself lucky that Derek has agreed to let your family off with a warning.”

Gerald sat in silence. Occasionally, he shook his head and muttered, “Just one man…” Finally, Gerald finished thinking. “The man should still be punished. Nobody is above the law. He definitely broke many of the kingdom’s laws by threatening a city lord.”

Alanah snorted. “Laws? You should know better than anyone that laws are for the weak. How could any of your family be alive if the laws of the kingdom were followed? I, for one, know of at least a dozen ‘laws’ that you or your son have broken that have the punishment of death attached to them. I’m sure the king knows as well, but he has decided to overlook these transgressions because he thinks he owes you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Gerald shouted from across the table. “My family and I do everything openly and honestly.”

Alanah stared at the man, flabbergasted. “Did you seriously just say that? You’re literally here because your grandson tried to ambush and kill a thirteen-year-old so he could steal the boy’s storage ring. And you say that your family doesn’t break any laws? Are you delusional?”

“That’s just a mistake made by the young. You can’t hold that against him. Besides, he was a commoner, and my grandson is a noble. The laws are different.”

Alanah shook her head. “No, they are not. The laws are the same. Actually, it is the nobles who are supposed to set an example for the commoners. If anything, nobles should be punished to a higher extent than commoners. But that is politics, and you are not here to discuss that. Are we finished? I have many things to do today.”

“We have to do something about this. Even if he is one of your friends,” Gerald said.

“I agree,” Alanah said. “I’ll probably congratulate him on a job well done, thank him for not causing your family too much damage, and buy him a drink when he arrives at the capital.”

The man sneered. “At least tell me why you hold him in such esteem.”

“No,” Alanah answered simply.

Gerald pushed himself back and stood from his seat. “Fine. I knew this was going to be a waste of my time. I only came here out of courtesy. I’ll be reporting this matter to the king.”

“Courtesy?” Alanah scoffed. “You came here because you thought you could pressure me into betraying my friend. Or, at the minimum, get something out of me. Well, I’m sorry to say, but Derek can handle himself. I’m sure you’ll send some assassins after him after this. I know how you operate. Go ahead and tell Edwin. I’ll be sure to contact him once you leave to let him know you’re coming. Think of it as a courtesy to you.”

Gerald stomped across the room to the door.

“Oh, just so you know,” Alanah said, and he stopped, “I’ll let Derek know that he doesn’t have to hold back because of me anymore. I’d like to see your manor in Torith after the first failed assassination attempt.”

Gerald opened the door, walked out, and slammed it.

I didn’t make anything better, but that man was set in his ways the moment he entered the room. There was no changing his mind. He’s actually happy that something like this happened. He’s always been jealous because of the respect Edwin gives me, she couldn’t help but think as the king’s Advisor left her restaurant. At least Phillip isn’t a total idiot like that one, even if he is overbearing.

Alanah shook her head. “Looks like I have even more on my plate today.” She took out two red communication crystals. One had Derek’s contact information, along with a few other runes, and the other had but a single rune, the king’s.

“Are you going to warn Derek?” Avery asked.

“You do it.” She tossed him the crystal containing Derek’s rune. “The old man always talks my ear off. No telling when I’ll be able to get out of this conversation.” It was ironic. If only she knew that Stella had the same thoughts about her.

Avery smiled wryly. “Well, I wanted to talk to Derek anyway.” He took the crystal and began his communication.

38 PREPARATIONS BEFORE DEPARTURE

Walking down the street of the commoner district, Derek put his communications crystal away. Huh… That’s interesting.

He had just finished talking to a man named Avery. He was one of Alanah’s aides. She had mentioned him before, but Derek had never talked to him directly.

According to Avery, Alanah was going to be busy talking with the king for the time being. He contacted Derek to let him know what happened with Gerald Torith and to warn him about possible retaliation.

Everything is a game to some of these nobles. Avery had explained how Gerald had jumped at the first opportunity to try to damage Alanah’s reputation or gain some sort of advantage. They knew that he would try to use her refusal to punish Derek to help further his cause. Technically, what Derek did was a punishable offense.

Well, he did tell me that if anything happens now, there will be no need for me to hold back. I wonder if they are really going to send assassins after me. I doubt they would be much of a problem to me, but I would hate for Thomas or the others to get caught in the crossfire.

Derek would soon be traveling to another city, along with Thomas, Malorie, Brandi, and possibly Rayna. It was certainly possible for any assassins to target anybody in his party. There’s nothing I can do right now, he thought. I’ll just have to deal with any threats as they come.

Currently, Derek was debating on whether to just go back and finish the city lord off or not. Finally, he decided to take a ‘wait and see’ approach to that issue as well. Since Alanah was in talks with the king, there was a good chance that Gerald would be forbidden to take any action against Derek.

Well, now that everything is settled, I guess it’s time to prepare to leave. Derek continued through the streets of the commoner district, moving from stall to stall, purchasing anything he thought would make traveling more convenient.

There weren’t a lot of convenience items in the commoner district, at least until he got to the Adventurer’s Guild. The shops and stalls around the guild contained the vast majority of items that adventurers would use. There, he picked up some low-tier health, stamina, and mana potions, along with some other things. He shouldn’t need them, but they would be good to have, just in case.

After rummaging through the commoner district, he headed to the merchant district. This was where he would pick up the items he was most concerned about.

Shopping was an all-day experience. Even in a pseudo-city like Torith, the merchant district was huge, and everywhere he went, there were stores, stalls, and vendors. Throughout the day, Derek managed to pick up quite a few things.

Because of how well his coffee had been selling across the kingdom, he didn’t have to worry about being in debt with the Crown because of the scrolls for long. Therefore, he could spend what gold he had on his person without worrying.

Derek bought numerous herbs, spices, vegetables, fruits, and meats for Silvi. He found shops selling monster materials and bought some raw materials for Brandi. He also stumbled upon an alchemy shop and bought a portable alchemy set along with any books on alchemy he could find.

If it was only going to be him and Silvi, they would be able to make it to the next city in a very short amount of time, but since he would be traveling with the others, he had to prepare for a long journey. He was even thinking about setting off with one of the trading caravans just to make the trip more comfortable.

Of course, if he did that, Brandi would have to pick one craft to practice on the trip and stick with it. Even though he planned on securing her a place in Savannah, it would be best to keep her talents a secret until discussing everything with the city lord there. At least he had some assurances from Walter that the city lord of Savannah could be trusted. So far, Derek’s only experience with city lords was Malcolm Torith, and it was not a good one.

Derek continued his shopping by heading to a clothing store. As he was close to the noble district, the clothing store was quite extravagant and pricey. They would still have traveling clothes, so he went inside.

The shopkeeper glanced up from his book and frowned when Derek stepped into the store. He began to read again before realization flashed in his eyes, and he slammed the book shut. “M-Mr. Hunt… Welcome to Radiance Raiment. What might I do for you today, sir?”

“Huh, you know who I am?” Derek asked.

“Of course, sir. Gossip… travels fast,” he answered. “N-not that I’ve been gossiping about you… I…”

Derek laughed. “That’s fine. I don’t mind,” he said. “What exactly has a shopkeep in the merchant district heard about me?”

“N-nothing too much.” The man hesitated.

“Don’t mind me. You can speak freely,” Derek said.

After hesitating more, but then getting another nod from Derek, the man finally spoke. “W-well… I, of course, heard of your description, including your odd dress.” He motioned to Derek’s shirt and jeans. “There is also a rumor that you obtained a membership at the Crown.” He paused.

Derek nodded. “And?”

“And that you were the one that caused the commotion at the city lord’s manor yesterday,” he concluded.

Derek smiled. “All true,” he stated.

The man’s eyes went wide, but he chose not to say anything about it.

“So, I’m looking for some traveling clothes for my companions. You think you could help me out?” Derek asked.

“Of course, sir. What is it that you are looking for?” he asked.

“Well, I need some comfortable clothing for a boy about this big.” Derek moved his hands, drawing Thomas’s shape in the air. “At least a few sets. And, it’s better if they are on the bigger side. Should be easy enough to bring them in if needed.” Derek thought about Brandi’s skills. She could easily make a set of clothes that were too big fit.

“I’m also going to need some sets for a girl about this big.” Again, he motioned his hands to draw out Brandi in the air. “And two women.” He described Rayna and Malorie to the shopkeeper instead of giving a general outline with his hands. “Again, too big is better than too small. We have a decently skilled tailor, so she should be able to take in any extra widths or heights.”

The shopkeeper nodded. “Very well. It would be better if I could see them, but I should have some clothes here that shouldn’t need too much altering.” The man went and picked out numerous sets of clothing, bringing them back to his counter and Derek.

Derek went through the clothing. “Well, I’m not really good at this, so I’ll trust your judgment.” He agreed to the price and put everything away in his storage ring.

“Would your companions need any undergarments?” the man asked.

Derek smiled oddly. “Uh… I… guess. Just give me a bunch, and I’ll leave it to them to sort everything out,” he said. This is going to lead to an uncomfortable conversation… 

Derek finished buying everything he needed from the shop and left, turning to wave at the shopkeeper before the door closed. “Thanks for your help.”

A few hours later, Derek walked out of another shop. “Phew…” He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. I don’t know how everyone does this shopping thing every day. This is more tiring than fighting a horde of Void Beasts.

With that, Derek turned back towards the commoner district and started back to his inn.

* * *

A couple days later, Derek was just about ready to leave. Stella had requested to meet him before he headed out, so he was standing in front of the Crown Restaurant. Surprisingly, instead of being directed to her office, as usual, she met him on the first floor.

“Stella! Usually, you invite me up,” he said.

Stella smiled and said, “I know, but I felt like taking a walk today. Care to join me?” she asked.

“Of course.”

The two of them then made their way out of the restaurant and walked slowly together through the district.

“Looks like I’m leaving tomorrow,” Derek said.

“That’s what I heard,” Stella replied, then chuckled. “How’s Silvi taking that news?”

“Hah!” Derek laughed. “She’s doing better now that I promised that I would try to find another place for her to practice cooking when we get to where we’re going. She’s also going to get to cook on the road, so that’s sure to keep her occupied for a while.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow,” she said.

“What about it?”

“Well… I’ve been gone from the capital and bigger cities in general for quite some time. Alanah keeps nagging me, so I think it’s about time to leave Torith. I was thinking I could travel wi—” Stella started to explain, but Derek frowned and held up a hand.

“Sorry,” he apologized for cutting her off as his red communication crystal appeared in his hand, and he looked at the rune displaying who was contacting him. “Something’s… odd. Give me one second. Walter’s calling.” It was odd because Derek was supposed to meet with the man soon. Why would he be calling now?

Derek injected his mana into the crystal and answered, ‘Hey, Walter, I’m a bit busy…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Walter cut him off. ‘Derek… sorry… I’ve got some bad news.’

‘What’s wrong?’ Derek sent, no longer speaking out loud.

‘The scout I have stationed at your village just reported to me that the city lord’s men found Brandi crafting multiple items, using different crafts. They were ordered to capture the girl and bring her back,’ Walter explained.

‘Is she okay?’ Derek asked. His hand balled into a fist. He was doing his best not to crush the crystal.

‘The girl is…’ Walter said.

‘What’s wrong? Hurry and tell me!’ Derek was quickly growing impatient.

‘The former village chief tried to stop them from taking her… She’s dying…’

‘How long?’ Derek’s rage was building.

‘She only has a few hours left…’ Walter solemnly answered.

‘Does your man not have a Scroll of Resurrection?’ Derek asked with some hope.

‘No, they are very rare in this area…’

‘Brandi has one in her storage ring. Can your man get to it?’ Derek asked, already knowing the answer.

‘He’s only a scout. The city lord’s men are warriors, and they took her and her mother’s rings.’

Derek was furious. He didn’t want to see Rayna die, but he wasn’t sure if he could make it to the village in time. ‘Thanks for letting me know,’ he sent, then disconnected from Walter.

‘Silvi,’ he sent out.

‘What? I’m cooking,’ she sent back.

‘We’ve got people to kill.’

Instantly, after sending the thought to Silvi, a loud crash rang out and the entrance door to the Crown Restaurant was in splinters. Soon, a purple ball of lightning came flying toward him. She landed on his shoulder. If there was one thing she loved as much as or even more than cooking, it was killing.

‘Let’s go.’

Derek put all his strength in his legs and pushed off. The ground beneath him cracked and dust flew. Stella was left standing alone with a look of shock on her face, but Derek couldn’t pay her any mind, he had to make it to the village before Rayna’s time ran out.

The pair didn’t pause to be let through the gates. As soon as they reached one, they were up and over, and before long, they had made it outside of the city.

Derek quickly thought about the exact location of the village, turned slightly, and took off in its direction.

39 FURY

A skinny man with a straw hat and a muscular man in well-maintained leather armor were sitting atop a tarp-covered carriage being pulled by two Equvins, a creature that was a cross between a horse and an ox. The horse-like creatures were moving at a controlled pace—not too fast, but not too slow—towards Torith.

“Aye, Garrett,” the man not holding the reins said, “ya think the lord will let us have some fun with the mom? She’s a right beauty, that one.”

“Are you daft?” the driver of the carriage spat. “Of course he won’t. That woman’s the only leverage the city lord will have over that youngster. We’ll be lucky if we’re not punished on account of us having to rough her up a bit.”

“A shame, it is. She’d be a good time,” the man said.

“It doesn’t matter how good of a time it would be if you end up dying because of it. She is a beauty, but she ain’t worth dying over,” the driver said.

“I guess yer right,” the other man agreed.

Behind them, in the tarp-covered carriage, sobbing and hushing sounds could be heard. “Shh… shh… everything’s going to be alright.” The men heard the mother try to comfort her daughter.

They heard the girl sniff. “B-but Rayna… She… she…” The girl broke out crying again.

“Aye! You two better put a lid on it before I come back there and give you something to cry about.!” the skinny man shouted at their captives.

“Let them get it out of their systems. Better here with nobody around to hear than in the middle of the city,” the driver said.

“Whatever,” the skinny man replied.

An hour or so of travel later, the crying sobs quietened, replaced by the occasional snore. The little girl had apparently cried herself to sleep.

“Oi! What’s ‘at up there?” The skinny man pointed at a black dot in the distance.

The driver squinted before seeing what the other man was talking about. “I don’t know. But it’s getting bigger and bigger. It’s fast.”

In an instant, a man in a black shirt and dark blue pants appeared in front of them. There was some small beast atop his shoulder as well.

* * *

Derek and Silvi had been rushing towards the village at the fastest pace they could travel. After over an hour of travel, they came across a suspicious-looking carriage being driven by two men. Derek came to a halt right in front of the carriage.

“Move out of the way! We’re on city lord’s business,” the skinny-looking man yelled.

“Torith city lord?” Derek asked.

“Who else?” the man answered.

Derek took a step forward, and in the next second, he appeared beside the covered carriage. Raising his hand, he yanked and removed the tarp from the carriage. Underneath the tarp, a bruised Malorie and a sleeping Brandi sat in cuffs inside a cage.

Derek was already furious. He was even more so now.

‘I don’t have any time to spare,’ he sent to Silvi. ‘Take care of the guards and bring Mal and Brandi back to the village. Keep them safe.’

Silvi hopped off Derek’s shoulder before Derek took off again.

* * *

Silvi landed lightly on the ground. Then, using Active Void Shift, she disappeared from the spot and appeared flying through the air beside the city lord’s men.

Combining her Active Void Shift with Charge, she flew at a rapid speed with her head down. Her purple-wrapped horn glistened in the sunlight as it connected with the temple of the driver. Her horn pierced his head like a hot knife through butter, and, without slowing down, she continued through with her small body.

Of course, with the speed at which her head connected with the rest of the man’s head, and, because the man’s brain had already been destroyed by her horn, the rest of the man’s head exploded into pieces.

The skinny man hadn’t even had time to turn to see his companion lose his life before it was his turn. Silvi had lined up her path perfectly so she would fly directly through the first man, then into the second.

In an instant, the front of the carriage was splattered with gore and brain matter, and the city lord was down two men.

The two beasts, scared at the sudden development, reared up. Before they could do anything, Silvi appeared in front of them and stared into their eyes with a fierce gaze. They instantly froze in place, not daring to confront the powerful bunny.

She disappeared again before landing back on the ground close to the carriage, her silver fur and purple mane now coated in a crimson red. Woah! she thought. My head-butting has gotten so much better than it used to be. She took one quick hop before realizing that she was covered in human.

Nasty. The head chef would scold me for this. She hurried and cast Cleaning, restoring her fur and cloak back to their previously beautiful appearance.

After taking care of the guards and cleaning herself, she hopped over to the carriage and into the cage.

Everything had happened so fast that Malorie hadn’t had the time to adjust, so when Silvi appeared in front of her, she flinched backwards. Then, she recognized the bunny that she hadn’t seen in a while. “S-Silvi? Is that you?”

Malorie whipped her head left and right, looking for Derek. If Silvi is here, he has to be close. However, she couldn’t find him, no matter where she looked.

Out of nowhere, two small green crystals appeared in front of the bunny. The bunny put each of her small front paws onto a crystal, then they began glowing. Then she opened her mouth and picked up one of the crystals.

“Hello, beautiful, delicious lady.” A child-like feminine voice sounded out from one of the crystals.

“Silvi? Is that you talking?” Malorie asked. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “What are you doing here? Where is Derek?”

“Derek is going to your village. He left me here. He’s trying to save the other lady,” the child-like voice chimed again. “I’m here to save you… uh…” The bunny looked around. “Tada! You’re saved.”

“What?” Malorie stood as tall as the chains would let her. She wasn’t able to see much, but she could see some blood pooling on the ground towards the front of the carriage. “What happened?”

Silvi then went on to explain to Malorie everything she knew about what was going on. Which could be whittled down to, ‘needed to kill humans to save friends’ and ‘Derek was really, really mad.’

* * *

Derek dropped Silvi off at the carriage containing Malorie and Brandi and kept going. He could only hope that the mother/daughter duo were safe. He didn’t have enough time to stay and check on them, and he knew that there wasn’t much that Silvi wouldn’t be able to handle. Right now, he was in a race against time to save Rayna.

Derek could vaguely feel the pull from the communication crystal in his storage going off, but he ignored it. It wasn’t the first time he’d ignored it, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Minutes after dropping Silvi off at the carriage, a couple of notifications flashed in his vision. Since the notification at the side of his screen was mildly annoying and reading them wouldn’t affect his speed, Derek viewed them while running.

Your Bonded Companion Has Killed level 83 Warrior.

Your Bonded Companion Has Killed level 91 Warrior.

214,000 Experience Gained

579,118/590,000 Experience to Next Level

They were higher level than I expected, Derek thought. It seemed like he was correct in assuming that Silvi wouldn’t have any problems taking care of them. He could only wonder how they met their fate. Did she use her Void Lightning skill on them? Did she just overpower them? Had they seen it coming?

Derek couldn’t help but distract himself with these thoughts. He hadn’t gotten Rayna’s exact countdown time before he left, so for all he knew, she could already be gone. He hated he couldn’t travel any faster.

He tried to put the thoughts out of his head. Rayna was one of the few people he would call a friend. In the whole of the Earth’s Apocalypse, he had never gotten too close to anyone. Even Silvi and her team could only be considered acquaintances who fought together from time to time.

Getting stuck in the void had made him feel the need for a connection. Traveling together with Thomas had further changed his attitude towards people, and the conversations with Walter, Stella, and Alanah had made him accept the reality that he no longer wanted to be left alone.

Before long, Derek was at the village. Instead of going around to the gate, he jumped over the side of the wall. There was no time for manners.

Quickly, he found himself on the main street of the village, by the old inn. The village was lively, and he could see many people running around. These people weren’t those of the village. It was to be expected after the dungeon was discovered.

Derek grabbed the first person he found—a rough-looking man with brown hair and leather armor. “Where’s Rayna?”

The man tried to shrug Derek’s hand off his shoulder but was surprised when he found he couldn’t move it. “W-who?” he asked.

“Rayna. The former chief of this village. Where is she?” Derek asked again.

“I-I don’t know.”

Derek tossed the man to the side and ran towards Richard and Delilah’s house. If anybody knew what happened, it would be Richard.

Derek burst through the door, not bothering to knock. Instantly, his eyes fell on Richard. “Where is sh…” he started but saw Delilah sitting on the floor with her back against their bed, holding Rayna in her arms, the old woman’s tears running down her face and dropping onto Rayna’s.

Human Female

Level 53

State: Dying

Time Remaining: 13 Minutes

Derek let out a breath. He’d made it. She only had 13 minutes left, but that was plenty. As long as she could still be saved, he would do it.

He pulled out his last remaining Resurrection Potion. He could only hope that the potions from his old system would work the same here as they did there.

Derek walked forward, potion in hand. He crouched down in front of Delilah and reached for Rayna’s head.

“Open her mouth,” he said to Delilah.

Not asking any questions, Thomas’s grandmother did as Derek told her. While Rayna’s head was cradled in her left arm, she reached up to her mouth with her right hand and forced open Rayna’s mouth.

Derek slowly poured the small vial into Rayna’s mouth, not allowing a drop to spill. Once the potion was in, he forced her mouth back shut and waited, checking her status constantly. Finally, her status changed, and Derek released the tension in his body.

Human Female

Level 53

State: Unconscious

Derek used the hand he had placed on her head and cast Rejuvenation on her. He also pulled out a couple of health potions and fed her one, setting the other beside Delilah.

“She’ll be fine,” Derek said, then he went back over to Richard. He leaned against the wall and slid down into a sitting position. “So, what exactly happened?” he asked.

“I’m happy you made it in time,” Richard said as he sat beside Derek. “How did you find out?”

“A friend of mine has someone watching the village, so when that person saw what happened, he sent a message to my friend, who told me,” Derek answered as there was nothing to hide.

“You were at Torith when you got the message? How… how did you get here so fast?” Richard asked.

“I’m fast when I travel alone,” was all that Derek said. With his strength, endurance, and dexterity, Derek’s speed was multiple times faster than the average person’s. A caravan would travel at 3 to 4 miles per hour because not everyone would have unlocked the system, and most of the time, there wouldn’t be enough carriages to go around.

It would also have to take breaks for meals and rest while traveling. And without proper guard, they wouldn’t travel at night. So, with around 10 hours of travel time, a caravan would average around 35 miles a day, resulting in the long travel time between cities and villages.

Derek was able to ignore all of that and make it within a few hours. First, he was able to sprint the entire way without rest. Also, with his stats, his running speed was much faster than the average system user. Of course, he wasn’t able to gauge how fast he could run, and he wasn’t plane-fast yet, but he may be able to compete with some cars.

Richard received Derek’s answer and didn’t ask any more questions. “I’m just glad you made it in time.” All of a sudden, Richard seemed to remember something. “Brandi, Malorie…” he muttered but was cut off before he finished.

“Safe,” Derek said. “I left Silvi with them. They should be making their way back to the village as we speak.”

Richard nodded and let out a sigh. “That’s good… that’s good.”

“So, are you going to tell me what happened?” Derek asked again.

“I’m not entirely sure as I didn’t see the whole thing,” Richard replied. “When I heard about the commotion, I rushed over to Malorie’s courtyard. She and Brandi were already locked in cages, and Rayna was doing everything she could to rescue them. There were two men, and they were both more powerful than she was, so it didn’t take long before they overpowered her.”

“What about the Overseer?” Derek asked.

“She showed up at the end, but Rayna was already in that state.”

“But she just let them take Brandi and Mal?” Derek’s rage still hadn’t subsided. Now he was starting to get an idea about whom to point it at next.

Richard shook his head and sneered. “They don’t care about us. One of the men whispered something in her ear and handed her two of the storage rings they stole off the girls.”

Derek scoffed. “She was sent here to keep the peace but was bought off just like that. I guess the village is going to need a new Overseer,” Derek said.

“What?” Richard was flabbergasted. “But the Overseer is sent by the king’s men. Going against them is like going against the king.”

Derek shook his head. “From what I know, the king is a decent person. He just surrounds himself with greedy idiots. I’m sure the dungeon and a village like this were only a blip on his radar that he passed off to one of his advisors. Besides, I know someone who has a good relationship with him. I’ll let her know that the king’s going to need to send a new Overseer.”

Richard looked at Derek like he was a monster. Of course, Richard had given Derek the same gaze many times since they met, so it was no longer odd.

“Do you know the name of the Overseer?” Derek asked.

“Katrisha Collins,” Richard answered. “She made sure that we all knew the name of the person in charge as soon as she arrived.”

Derek nodded and took out his communication crystal. “Give me a minute. I need to contact someone,” he told Richard. Both Alanah and Walter had been trying to open communications with him while he was running to the village. It was time to let them know what happened.

Derek first contacted Alanah.

‘Derek? Finally… What happened? Is everything alright? Were you able to get to your friend in time?’ Alanah hit him with question after question. Obviously, Stella had found out what happened from Walter and passed the information to Alanah.

Derek smiled at her concern. ‘Only just. I got here with a few minutes to spare. I was lucky.’

‘That’s good,’ Alanah said in relief.

‘Yes… yes it is.’

40 OVERSEER

‘Now, what do you know about the Overseer here? Katrisha Collins. I’m about to go pay my respects,’ Derek asked Alanah.

‘I don’t know a lot. I know much more about her parents,’ Alanah answered. ‘Wait, what do you mean when you say you are going to pay your respects?’

‘She let everything happen today,’ Derek said. ‘She arrived after Rayna was already dying, so I can’t blame her completely for that, but she also let those two goons kidnap Brandi and her mother. So, use your imagination,’ Derek explained.

‘Like I said, I don’t know much about the woman, but she is part of a mid-tier noble house. Her father is one of the biggest pushovers you will ever meet. Her mother married into the Collins family but controls everything. The house has fallen greatly in the last few decades. Other than a few old guards, they don’t have much strength,’ she said.

‘If the house has fallen that far, how are they still considered mid-tier?’

‘Well, Katrisha’s mother is from a different noble house, also mid-tier. But her aunt married into one of the more well-known noble houses.’ Derek heard Alanah sigh in his head. ‘A well-known noble house that is close to another noble house… Torith…’

‘Figures,’ Derek said.

‘You aren’t surprised?’ Alanah asked.

‘Not at all. It makes sense to send someone who has some relationship to the city lord of the closest city to the dungeon to oversee it. It also explains her actions, or lack thereof, after one of the men whispered to her privately,’ he explained.

‘So, what are you going to do?’ the woman asked.

‘I’m not entirely sure about that. It depends on her, to be honest. She will not get away unscathed, though. Neither will the city lord when I get back to the city.’

‘I see,’ Alanah said.

‘What, are you not going to try to stop me this time?’ Derek expected Alanah to ask for him to go easy.

‘Nope. Gerald had his chance. You gave them a warning, even going as far as telling them not to mess with the village. They had plenty of time to call off their men, but they didn’t. And trust me, those men wouldn’t have kidnapped your friends without getting the ‘okay’ from Malcolm. Whether he knows they were close to you or not, I don’t know,’ Alanah answered in a somewhat defeated tone.

‘Plus, Gerald pissed me off the other day. He will receive no more help from me or mine,’ she continued.

‘Oh, you don’t have to worry about him for too much longer, either,’ Derek said. ‘When I eliminate a problem, I take it out by the roots if needed, and based on everything I know, it’s needed. You may want to get in touch with your friend, the king, and tell him it would be a good time to start looking for a replacement advisor.’

‘Derek, you can’t,’ Alanah said. ‘I’m not sure of your exact strength, but that will make you enemies of the king. I would rather see the two of you at peace with one another…’

‘Don’t worry. I don’t have any illusions about my strength. But my strength right now is not my strength tomorrow. I’ve been stagnant for far too long. You don’t have to worry about me. By the time I finish uprooting House Torith, the king will thank me for going easy,’ Derek replied.

‘Just be careful. Gerald will not let anything slide if you actually go after his family. My talk with the king caused the man to not take action after your threats, but all that is off once you do anything.’

‘I know. Like I said, I’m one person that you don’t have to worry about…’ Derek said. ‘Oh, Rayna is stirring. I have to cut our conversation short. I’ll talk to you later.’ With that, Derek ended their conversation and stored his crystal.

“Look who’s finally back to the land of the living,” Derek said as he stood and walked over to the confused-looking Rayna.

“W-where am I?” Rayna asked. “D-Derek? What are you doing here?”

“Well, I had to come see my favorite punching bag,” Derek jested. “What is it about you and getting your ass beaten by people from noble houses?” This was twice now that Rayna had been accosted by the nobles. Once from Walter’s son, and again from Torith’s men.

“Brandi! Mal!” Rayna’s eyes went wide, and she jumped to her feet.

“They’re fine. You need to rest.” Derek put his hand on her shoulder.

Rayna looked up into his eyes. “I couldn’t do anything. I can never do anything.” She stepped forward and put her head on Derek’s shoulder. There, she wept.

Derek patted the back of her head while she cried on his shoulder. “It’s fine. You did your best, and everyone is still alive. There’s no shame in that. You will get stronger. Hell, you gained a few levels in the short time that I’ve been gone, too, and you did it on your own.”

Eventually, Rayna pulled back and stared deep into Derek’s eyes. “I’m coming with you. Is that still okay?”

Derek nodded. “Of course it is.” He looked around the room. “So, other than the whole kidnapping debacle, how has the Overseer been?” Derek still wasn’t sure of what kind of punishment he was going to deal out, so he wanted everybody’s opinions on the woman.

“She’s useless,” Rayna started, “and that’s not just me being angry over everything that happened. She rarely comes out of my… her house, and when she does, it’s only because she has to check on the dungeon camp every week or so. From what I know, she hasn’t said a single nice word to any villager.”

Derek nodded and looked at Richard.

“She also beat Bart because she didn’t like the way he spoke. He didn’t say anything uncouth to her, she just didn’t like his manner of speaking. It wasn’t the worst beating that old bastard’s ever received, and he came out of it not too much the worse for wear, but it’s just about the only beating he’s gotten that he didn’t deserve,” Richard said.

Derek nodded again. “So, the general consensus is that the Overseer is shit. Got it. That makes what I’m about to do much easier,” Derek said. “Now, would you all like to come watch?”

With that, Derek walked out of Richard’s house. The others followed behind him. According to Rayna, the woman had taken over her residence, so it wouldn’t be hard to find her.

Derek walked through the town center and up to the residence. There were two well-kitted guards with spears stationed in front of the door.

“Stop!” one of the guards yelled, and he eyed Derek up and down, getting a shock when he saw Rayna standing behind him. “Who are you?” he asked, less commanding.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is that I’m here to see Katrisha, and I’m not in a very good mood,” Derek answered.

The guards looked at Derek, unsure of what to make of him. Finally, the other guard spoke. “Who can I say is here for a visit?”

“You can’t,” Derek answered. “I’m not here to visit, and I’m not going to make small talk. Either you go in and get her, or I will.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” one guard said and drew his weapon. “If you are not willing to let yourself be known, then I must ask you to leave.”

Derek shook his head, then stepped forward. His motion was almost a blur. Holding back as much strength as possible, he cracked both guards on the back of their armored heads. They crumpled to the ground.

Derek ran a quick check to make sure they weren’t dead or dying. Luckily for them, they were only unconscious.

With that, Derek turned to Rayna. “Sorry about your door,” he said.

“My do—” she began to ask, but before she could complete her words, Derek had already kicked out, sending the wooden door splintering into pieces.

Derek walked in and scanned his surroundings. He heard some noise coming from one area of the house and headed that way. Again, he didn’t bother with knocking or even opening the door. He sent his palm out, and it exploded as well.

Inside what Derek now knew was a bedroom, he saw a young man to the right side of the door rushing to equip his armor. On the other side of the bed was an attractive woman with brown hair, brown eyes, and dressed in a sheet. Derek could only chuckle.

The half-equipped man rushed at Derek with a sword he picked up from leaning against the wall. Just as he did the previous two guards, Derek tapped him on the back of the head, causing the man to go limp and fall to the ground.

Derek moved his attention toward the woman. Her face flushed red in anger and embarrassment. “You must be Trish,” he said. Then, in a serious tone, he added, “Put some clothes on. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

The woman looked down, then back up at Derek. If gazes could kill, he would have been dead many times over. She made a quick gesture with her hand, then dropped the sheet. Where the sheet once covered was now a beautiful black dress.

“How dare you!” she finally yelled. “Do you know who I am? I am the Overseer of this village and the new dungeon. I was appointed by the king’s office.”

“Now, now,” Derek said. “None of that shit matters right now.” He took a step and appeared again right next to the woman. She tried to attack him but only received a punch in the gut. Then Derek grabbed her hair and started walking, pulling her along behind. “Follow me. I’ve made enough noise that I’m sure the entire village is wondering what’s going on. We can’t let our audience wait, now can we?”

Derek, with a handful of hair, dragged Katrisha out of the bedroom. She was pulling against him and fighting at his hand the whole way. When he made it out of the bedroom, he found a waiting Rayna, Richard, and Delilah.

“Come on,” he said as he continued out the front door.

The trio looked at each other, some worry in their eyes, before finally just following along behind him.

“Derek,” Richard spoke, “the Overseer is sanctioned by the king. What are you planning?”

“That’s right!” Katrisha yelled. “I was sent here by the king’s office! What you are doing right now is tantamount to treason. Release me at— Ouch!” She finished her sentence as Derek gave her hair a hard tug.

“Shut up,” Derek said to the woman, then looked back at Richard. “I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do with her. She’ll definitely be punished, but how bad will be up to her. While not innocent by any means, she was not the one who gave the orders or did the act. But, like I said, what happens next depends on her, and so far, it isn’t looking good.”

Richard didn’t ask anything else.

After a few more moments, Derek and the group arrived at the intersection that doubled as the town center. He was right in assuming that the sound of him destroying the door had drawn some attention as there were over a dozen people there, with more arriving every minute. There were also a couple of villagers in the distance that had seen him knock the two guards unconscious, who must have spread word around.

“This is good. Let’s wait a bit before we have our little trial. Is that okay with you?” he asked Katrisha. Before she could say anything, Derek spoke again. “It is? That’s great.” His anger had faded some once Rayna woke up, but it was still there.

More and more people came to the town center over the next few minutes. “That’s good enough, I guess.” Derek shoved the woman to her knees. “Don’t get up,” he said to her. Of course, the instant he removed his hand, she turned as fast as she could and attacked him.

“Are you serious?” he said as he held her fist in his hand. He then let his aura spill out and directed it as best he could towards the woman. “Listen, I really have no qualms about killing you right here and now. Hell, it might be better to do just that. It’d at least save me some time… But I’m giving you a chance here.”

Derek let go of her fist, and she dropped to the ground under the weight of his aura. She had looked terrified when she stared into his changed features. Derek withdrew his aura, and Katrisha didn’t try to stand again.

Derek bent down. “Now, here’s the deal. I’m going to ask you some questions, and you’re going to answer them to the best of your ability. I only want the truth. If I sense that you are lying to me, then I will just kill you as I don’t actually need any information from you. Is that clear?”

The woman, under the eyes of dozens of villagers and adventurers, nodded fiercely in agreement.

“Good. Now, if you cannot answer something because of an oath, just say that you can’t answer. I’m sure you are oath-bound on some subjects, right?”

She nodded again.

“How many?” Derek asked.

“Two,” she meekly answered.

“Good. Now, my first question. Did you know that the village was under protection?” Derek asked.

She nodded.

“Yet you still allowed my friend to be beaten and the other two to be kidnapped. Why?”

“I-it was only protected by a fallen noble house. Those that acted were from the city lord’s house. House Torith,” she answered.

“You’re wrong,” Derek said, causing her eyebrows to rise. “The village wasn’t protected by House Gracefall. It was protected by Walter Gracefall, on his own honor. Do you know what honor means to that man?”

Katrisha stared up at Derek in shock. “But I heard it was only under his house’s protection. That’s what those adventurers said.”

“That’s probably what they thought, too. Do you expect regular adventurers to know the difference?”

“Still,” she said, “his honor is nothing against House Torith.”

“It was also protected by me,” Derek said.

“I don’t even know who you are.” As the interrogation continued, Katrisha’s personality was beginning to force its way back into existence.

“That’s fair. I don’t feel like explaining it to you right now, anyway,” Derek replied. “Now, second question. What relations do you have with House Torith?”

Apparently, she took this question as Derek being cautious, trying not to offend a top noble house. She lit up at the question. “I am very close to House Torith. I have family that is part of the house. They won’t forgive you if anything happens to me.”

Derek almost laughed as he listened to the woman dig her own grave deeper and deeper. “Is that so?”

She nodded furiously. “That’s right. I’m sure the city lord has already heard of this by now. If you let me go and beg for mercy, I may be willing to put in a good word for you.”

As if, Derek thought. “No, I don’t think I need you to put in a good word for me. Besides, did you not hear what happened with the city lord a few days ago?”

“Huh? What happened?”

I guess it would take a long time without communication crystals for news to travel to a remote village. Even an up-and-coming one like this one, he thought. “It’s nothing that concerns you right now,” he replied. “Now, if I’m correct, you were given two storage rings as… compensation for not getting in the way. Give them to me.”

He had already seen the two rings she was wearing on her hands and the one on a necklace around her neck when she was startled up from the bed.

“They are mine,” she said.

Derek reached over the woman and took the rings off her hands. He also tore the necklace with the ring off as well. The woman turned her head around and glared at him, but he stared daggers at her until she turned back around.

Some gasps could be heard from those watching. It was unreal for most people to see someone appointed by the king treated this way, even if she did deserve it. There were those, however, who had been in the village at the time when Derek executed the noble adventurer. They made no noise and only watched in silence.

“You get her!” a familiar voice came out of the back of the crowd—the old bartender’s voice.

Derek contained his smile as he looked up and saw Bart with his black eye and makeshift crutches. Ah, they didn’t say how recent his beating was. By the looks of it, it only happened in the last couple of days. Villages needed a more proper way to heal. The people just didn’t have a strong enough vitality stat to remove the injuries quickly. Derek was thankful for his vitality stat more than any other.

He moved his attention back to Katrisha. “Does your family work with or for the Torith family?” Katrisha hesitated to answer. “Remember what I said. You better answer.”

Finally, she nodded. “Yes. We do.”

“Good. What is it that your family does for Gerald and House Torith?” Derek made sure not to include any honorifics when saying the family head’s name. Maybe, with his disrespect for such a powerful person, Katrisha would understand more of the situation she was in.

She was silent for a while. “I can’t answer that.”

“Ah, so it’s damning enough that it requires an oath from anybody who knows?”

“I can’t answer that,” she repeated.

Derek nodded and didn’t continue that line of questioning. He would bring it up with Alanah later to see if she knew the connection.

“Do you agree that what you did to my friends was wrong?”

“I had no choice!” she argued.

“I didn’t ask that,” Derek said. “Was it wrong? Are you sorry for your actions?” Derek waited, but she didn’t answer. “Of course, you aren’t sorry for your actions. You’re only sorry about the situation they put you in.”

“That’s not—” she started, but Derek cut her off.

“Don’t lie. That was my condition,” he warned.

Obviously, Derek didn’t have a way to detect whether she was lying or not. He had no skill to do so, and even though he could feel her heartbeat if he wanted, he hadn’t practiced any lie detection methods. Hell, the ones he had seen were only from movies and books, so he didn’t even know if it worked like that. However, Katrisha did not know any of this.

“I regret being in this situation, but those women were only villagers… peasants.”

Derek shook his head. How big of an anomaly was Walter? Derek was one in five when it came to adult nobles not thinking villagers were scum. Six if he included Gerald, but he hadn’t personally met that man yet.

“Thank you for answering honestly,” he replied. “What kind of punishment do you think you should receive for your actions and inactions?”

“Isn’t this enough?” she asked.

It was true that what had happened was extremely embarrassing for her, but it was not enough. “No. You allowed an attempted murder for no reason, kidnapping, and you personally beat a good man because of the way he talks. This is not enough.”

She was quiet at that. While he waited for her answer, Derek looked through the storage rings. The one on the necklace was most definitely her personal ring. It had many sets of clothing and undergarments. There were wines and foodstuffs, as well as a small amount of armor and weaponry.

He shifted his focus to one of the other rings. It was near empty. All it had in it were some cooked dishes. This ring must have been one of Mal’s. After skimming the contents, he moved on to the last ring. Looking into it, he stopped. His dissipating anger rose again.

“When you took these storage rings, did you look inside them?” he asked.

“Of course,” she answered.

“So, you know the contents?”

“Yes?”

The ring he was holding was Brandi’s personal storage ring. It had all her completed crafts inside. It also had her Scroll of Resurrection.

“So, this”—he pulled out the scroll—“was in your possession the entire time, and you didn’t even think about using it on a lowly villager? Even though it belonged to her friend in the first place.”

“I-it’s too valuable,” she said.

Derek was being a hypocrite here as that was the same reason he used not to save Brandi’s father when he first arrived. Had he gotten a scroll from someone close to the man, and they all seemed like good people, which they did, he wouldn’t have even thought about it before using it. Derek could still use the excuse that he was in an unfamiliar world and still didn’t know what to expect. He could also use his time in the void as an excuse. But what excuse did Katrisha have? That it was too valuable?

He was already leaning towards death for Katrisha. Her closeness, and her family’s apparent oaths towards the Torith family, had almost settled it. When he saw the contents of the ring, it was settled.

It would not be a painful death, and she wouldn’t see it coming.

While standing behind the woman, Derek channeled the void through his hand. With his palm, just as he did with the Void Beast, he struck the back of her head, destroying her brain in the process. The woman fell forward, dead. There was no ‘dying’ state with such damage.

Derek sighed and looked around. This was the same place he killed his first human in this world. It was almost as if this village center was Derek’s very own execution ground.

41 I’M SORRY

A collection of gasps sounded out of the gathered crowd once Katrisha fell to the ground.

“Is she dead?” one voice sounded out.

“Did he kill her?”

“Maybe she’s just unconscious.”

Derek listened to the discussions going on around him. Finally, he decided to clear the confusion. “I have killed the Overseer. She is dead. Not only did she fail to reliably do her job, but she also acted in a way unsuitable for a person in power, noble or otherwise.”

Afterward, he reached down and placed his hand on the lifeless body. With a thought, the body disappeared inside his storage ring. That was more proof that he had indeed killed the woman as storage rings were unable to store the living.

“Alright, clear out.” Rayna got everyone’s attention. “The show is over.”

With that, the crowd dispersed. Occasionally, Derek could hear people discussing what happened with each other and whether it would have any effect on the village or themselves.

“Come on,” Derek said to those remaining. “Let’s go back to your residence,” he said to Rayna.

On the way to the residence, Derek picked up the two unconscious guards before walking inside and tossing them in the same room as the other unconscious guard. He would wait for them to wake before deciding their fate. The most likely scenario was death if they were contracted to the noble house, but it was possible that they had been personally contracted to Katrisha. If that were the case, then the contract or oath would be voided, and he could let them live… depending on their attitudes.

“Watch over the guards. If they stir, just hit them in the head. It won’t take much to keep them unconscious. Don’t worry about striking too hard. If they die, they die. I’m going to go make sure the others have had no problems getting back.” Derek wasn’t worried about Rayna watching the guards. She may not have been as strong as they were, but she was strong enough to watch them in the state they were in.

Everyone nodded, and Derek left, heading straight towards where he left Silvi and the others.

After running for a short time, Derek made it close to where he left the trio. He continued until he saw the bloody mess that was the bodies of Torith’s other guards. He viewed the scene, giving Silvi a mental nod.

Derek went and inspected the bodies, making sure that they no longer had any of the stolen storage rings on themselves. They did not. Satisfied, Derek turned to the path that most carriages would take when traveling between the villages or the villages and the city. Now on the path, he followed it towards the village.

He had gone to the village in a straight line from where he intercepted the guards. So, it made sense that he might have missed the trio by a bit.

Sure enough, after only a few minutes of running, Derek caught sight of the cart. He continued and closed in on the cart.

“That’s when the smelling vegetable began to roll towards the edge of the table.” Derek heard Silvi’s childlike voice from the carriage. “I didn’t know what to do. I went over idea after idea, but before I could decide on one, the onion had already made it to the edge. That’s when I saw the knife. With no time to idle, I bit down on the handle, then I was under the onion.”

“What happened next?” Brandi asked. She was listening to the story with rapt attention.

“Haha! Of course, I saved the smelly vegetable from hitting the dirty floor. With my superior reflexes, it wasn’t even possible for the onion to hit the ground. I stabbed it with the knife, then appeared back on my worktable. You should have seen the look on all the chefs’ faces. They couldn’t stop complimenting me on my skills for the rest of the day,” Silvi spoke proudly.

Derek wanted to facepalm. He had heard about the incident, and while Silvi did as she claimed, she had told him that only one other person had seen it happen. I guess no matter where you go, you’ll always have people telling fish stories.

Derek kicked the ground and landed in the seat next to Brandi. There wasn’t a lot of room, but with Brandi slid up against Mal, and Silvi in the girl’s lap, there was more than enough of a seat left for him.

“Wow! You sure are amazing!” Derek said to Silvi with admiration.

“I know. That’s what I’ve been saying,” Silvi answered, not the least bit shocked at Derek’s sudden appearance. With her stats, if he had caught her by surprise, he would have been disappointed in the bunny.

“Ah!” Brandi let out a light yell before her eyes fell on Derek. “Derek!” she shouted, then leaned over and put both arms around him.

Malorie had reined in the two Equvins after they were spooked by Derek’s sudden entrance. Once the horse-like monsters were under control, she turned to him. “Rayna?” she asked.

“She’s fine. I was barely in time, but I made it,” Derek replied.

Malorie let out a sigh. “Thank goodness. I thought she was a goner.”

Brandi sniffled. “I… I had a Scroll of Resurrection, but they stole my ring.” She sniffed again. “Even after begging them to use it on her, that awful woman refused.”

That set Derek’s mind right. He no longer felt any remorse about killing Katrisha. He had not known that she was actually asked to use the scroll by Brandi. In fact, he could now say that he was very happy with her outcome.

“It’s okay. I got there in time and used my potion. Luckily, it worked.” Derek comforted her.

Brandi nodded her head. After a few seconds, she frowned. “When did you get a potion? From the city?”

Derek flinched. Malorie looked over at him with sadness in her eyes but a smile on her face. Of course, she already knew. If she didn’t, then she should have already had a pretty good guess.

“I had it when I got to this world,” Derek said, choosing not to lie to the girl.

“Then… when Daddy…” Brandi muttered.

Derek nodded. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Brandi pulled back from him and looked up into his eyes. Her jaw was quivering, and tears flooded from her already teary eyes.

“Brandi,” Malorie spoke.

The girl turned to look at her mother.

“He made the right decision,” Malorie said. “Anybody in his position would have done the same.”

“B-but.”

Malorie shook her head. “He was a lone adventurer. He didn’t know anybody; he didn’t know us. He’d already done more than enough by saving us. That he even thought about using his potion already puts him leagues above most in this world.”

Derek looked up at Malorie. “How did you know I almost used the potion?”

She smiled back. “Leon,” she said. “He told me he thought you had one. He said you kept fiddling with your storage device while looking at Travis. The only thing that made sense was that you were hesitating to use such a precious potion on my husband.” Then she looked back at Brandi. “And you know he’s good because of how well he treated everybody once he got to know us. Just think of all he’s done for us, though some of it was probably from guilt.” She looked up at Derek.

Derek smiled. “Only a little.” He did feel guilty about not using the potion, but it was the logical decision to make. And if he had never gotten to know Mal or Brandi afterwards, he would feel no guilt at all.

“And he doesn’t owe any of us anything, yet he rushed to the village and used that precious potion on Rayna. I’m sure there are people who would choose to keep one of those potions for themselves instead of using it on a family member or friend,” she continued.

“That makes me think,” Derek said. “Why would the guards give the ring with the scroll in it to the Overseer if it’s so precious?”

“Because they didn’t know what was in it. They took it off Brandi and gave it directly to her. By the time they realized it had a scroll in it, it was too late. It was already in the Overseer’s possession,” Malorie answered, as Derek noticed how Brandi appeared to still be quietly thinking. “Speaking of which. What are we going to do about the rings? The Overseer still has them. Will we let her keep them?”

Derek pulled the rings from his storage bracelet. Rings couldn’t hold other rings, but for some reason, most likely because it was from his old system, his bracelet was able to store storage items. He still wondered about the reason.

He handed the rings to Malorie. “One’s yours, the other is Brandi’s. The Overseer is dead. When I found the scroll on her, I made the decision. When Brandi told me she begged her to use the scroll, I was sure I made the correct one.”

“What’s going to happen?” the woman asked.

“I’m not sure. I’ve already offended a noble family. One more’s not going to matter. I made some friends with high status, so I’ll also let them know what happened. We’ll talk more about it when we get back to the village,” he answered.

At that time, Brandi reached over and put her arms back around Derek and began crying loudly into his shirt. He could feel the tears seeping into his clothing.

Derek hugged her back with his left arm and stroked her hair with his right hand. “I’m sorry,” he said again, quietly.

Brandi pushed herself back and shook her head furiously. “I know… it… it wasn’t your fault.”

“Still,” Derek said.

“Momma’s right. If Dad was here, he would thank you for saving and taking care of us.”

When did she become so mature…? When her father died in her arms. He chided himself. “Thank you.” Her acceptance made Derek feel relief that he didn’t even know he needed.

Derek looked over at Malorie and smiled. She smiled back. “How about we see how fast these beasts can get us back to the village?”

Mal nodded and pulled on the reins.

42 OATHBREAKER

A couple of hours later, the group was back in the village. Brandi had fallen asleep leaning on Derek. The girl had been through a lot recently, and she was beyond tired. Derek patted her head, gently waking her.

“We’re back,” he said.

Malorie directed the Equvins towards a makeshift stable that had been created outside the village due to the influx of adventurers recently. Everyone hopped off the carriage, and she tied the beasts to a post before gathering with the others.

“What are we going to do with the carriage?” she asked Derek.

Derek chuckled. “Well, now that we have it, it makes it easier to travel. I say you keep it.”

They chatted as they walked through the gate and headed to Rayna’s new, old residence. Before long, they were all gathered in the meeting room.

“Did they give you any trouble while I was gone?” Derek asked Rayna, talking about the three unconscious guards who were now laying in the corner of the room.

“The pretty boy woke once, but that was it. Didn’t take much to knock him back out,” she answered.

Derek nodded and walked over to said guard. “Let’s get this over with.” He bent down and lightly tapped on the guard’s face. Noticing that it wasn’t enough to wake him, Derek sighed and pulled out a cup of water from his storage bracelet.

He poured the water onto the man’s face. Slowly, the man’s eyes opened. He looked around in confusion before realization struck him.

“Y-you.” He looked up at Derek. “Where’s the young lady?” he half-yelled.

“Dead,” Derek answered blandly.

“No!” He jumped to his feet and rushed at Derek. “You bastard!” he yelled as he cocked his arm back to him.

Derek sighed and wrapped the pretty guard up before he could do anything. Standing behind the man, holding him off the ground in a bear hug, Derek spoke to the room. “I think he’s a lost cause.” The man was clearly in love, or lust, with Katrisha. As she was dead, there was no reason to leave somebody like this alive.

“Brandi. Go to the other room,” he said to the girl. She had seen death before, but it all came at the hands of beasts and monsters. She hadn’t been in the village center when Derek took out Wallace and his adventurer team. He thought it better for her to not see him kill these people.

She shook her head. “No. Don’t worry about me,” she replied mechanically.

Derek, still holding the struggling guard, looked over at Malorie. The woman sighed and nodded.

Even if she’s so adamant to watch, I can at least try to make it as least gruesome as possible. He thought. Derek transferred the struggling man over to his left arm, holding the man tightly against his chest. With this move, the man’s right hand was free, but it didn’t matter.

Derek’s right hand was also free, and it was channeling the void. Derek had grown to really like this technique ever since he used it on the Void Beast. With a quick strike to the side of the head, the man went limp, then disappeared into his storage ring.

After taking care of the young guard that was found in bed with Katrisha, Derek moved to the next one. This guard woke up easily.

It was odd, though. Once the guard stood, he just stared vacantly into space. Derek prodded him with a few questions, then eventually tapped him on the cheek a few times. Finally, after minutes of trying to get the man’s attention, the man fell to his knees in tears.

Derek looked over at the others. They were just as confused as he was. He bent down and finally got the sobbing man’s attention.

“What’s wrong?” he asked when the man finally noticed him.

“She… she’s dead, isn’t she?” the guard asked.

Derek nodded. “Yes. After what she did, I couldn’t allow her to live without punishment. Death was the best option.”

The man’s sobbing continued. “Two more months… Just two more months…”

“Two more months for what?” Derek asked.

“Before I fulfilled my oath to that family,” he answered.

At that, Derek started putting the pieces together. “You were under oath to protect her? To keep her alive?”

The man bobbed his head up and down. “It was a temporary oath. Once completed, all my debts would be wiped out, and I could start over with my family.”

“She died, so the oath is broken?” Derek asked.

The man nodded furiously, another bout of tears on the way. “M-my skills. The Great System…. It’s all gone now. I can’t even see my status anymore.”

Derek stepped back and examined the broken guard with Identify.

Human Male

Level N/A

State: Oathbreaker

Wow, Derek thought. This system really doesn’t pull any punches, does it? Not only does he lose all his skills, but he is labeled as an Oathbreaker for all to see. Derek looked over at the group.

“Do any of you have Identify at a low level?” he asked.

Brandi raised her hand excitedly. “I do. It’s level 5.”

In Derek’s opinion, that wasn’t actually too low of a level, but with her base level on top of it, it should do. “Good, use it on this man. Tell me what it says.”

Brandi nodded and stared at the weeping guard. Then her eyes opened wide. “Oathbreaker,” she said. “Human Male. Level ‘N’ ‘Slash’ ‘A.’ State is Oathbreaker… What does ‘N’ ‘Slash’ ‘A’ mean?”

“Not Applicable or Not Available,” Derek answered. “It means that the Great System took away all of his levels, so they are no longer there.”

“Why not just say level 0?” Brandi asked.

“Because that would be confusing. He gets to keep all of his prior invested stat points. So, his strength would still be at whatever level it was before he broke his oath,” Derek explained.

Brandi nodded.

“Now,” Derek directed his question towards the man, “why were you under an oath to that family to begin with?”

“It was only supposed to be a temporary guard duty for Katrisha while she got sorted as an Overseer. I… I made some bad investments and got into some trouble,” he said.

“Gambling?” Derek asked.

“Yes…” the man answered truthfully. “Because establishing an outpost for the new dungeon was urgent, the house offered a bunch of these temporary oaths and contracts until they were able to provide more permanent positions. Once it was finished, I would have been able to go back to my wife and daughter and beg for forgiveness… Now…” He broke down again.

“Now you’re marked as an Oathbreaker, and the Collins will probably kill you on sight since you let Katrisha die.” Derek thought for a moment. “Do you think they will go after your family?”

The man’s eyes widened before he released a breath and shook his head. “I’m not sure about the others, but because of the time I spent… gambling, I knew about the rumors of the noble house. I made sure to include it in my oath that my family wouldn’t be harmed in any way, even if my oath was broken.”

“Who did you make the oath to?” Derek asked. He hoped that the man had not made the oath to Katrisha. If he had, then the man wasn’t as smart as he seemed.

“The House Manager,” the guard answered. “He’s basically the head butler of House Collins. He also oversees the guards and staff.”

So, he’s basically the Collins’ Bronson, Derek thought. “I see. Well, at least you were smart about it. What are your plans now?”

The man looked up into Derek’s eyes. “You’re letting me go?” he asked.

“You don’t seem too bad of a person. You just put yourself in a bad situation and made a poor decision on how to get out of the hole you dug yourself,” Derek answered.

The man got excited. “I… I can…” he started, but eventually, he lost that excitement. “There’s nothing I can do. I can’t go to the city for my family. Beth won’t even look at me… and that was before I became an Oathbreaker. Not to mention the people who will kill me on sight just for a chance at the Achievement.” The man shook his head. “No, there’s nothing left that I can do. My family will be in danger if they are beside me.”

Derek felt for the man, but there wasn’t anything he could do for him. He wasn’t about to take him in. And apparently, there was some Achievement that was given for slaying an Oathbreaker. “What is this Achievement you mentioned?”

The man paled at the question.

Derek realized what the guard was thinking and tried to calm him down. “Don’t worry. None of us are going to kill you. I don’t think you deserve to die. I’m just curious.”

The guard cautiously answered Derek. “I-it’s an Achievement you get for killing an Oathbreaker from the Great System. It’s not a big Achievement, but it’s something. I think it gives you extra skill points depending on what tier you have. It’s a popular one to get, which is why there are people who constantly look for Oathbreakers.”

Derek nodded. “That’s unfortunate,” he said. “Well, I can’t offer you my protection or anything, but I can let you go. You are strong enough that you could find a decent life in some rural village. That would be my suggestion.” Then Derek spoke in a serious voice. “But you had better play nice. If I catch wind of you killing or otherwise being shady, I will find you. You will die, and it won’t be quick or painless.” Derek let a little of his aura seep out towards the guard. He was getting better at controlling it, and it seemed to really drive home a threat.

“Y-yes. I-I promise, I will be a good person,” the guard said.

“Good… Now get out of here.”

The guard bolted up from his knees, then ran for the front door.

Derek turned to look at the last guard. “You can quit pretending. I’ve known you were conscious for some time now.”

43 RUDY

“Ah.” The guard made a noise, and his eyes shot open. Using his hands and feet, he backpedaled towards the wall until his back was against it. He stared up at Derek. “Please. Don’t kill me. You let Jared go. Can you let me go, too?”

“Maybe,” Derek said. “It depends on you,” he clarified.

“Okay, okay. What do I need to do?” the guard asked.

“How much did you see with the other guard?”

“Just the end. I was unconscious for the rest. All I know is you let him go,” the guard answered.

Derek nodded. “Okay,” he said. “First, you are a guard for House Collins, correct?”

“Yes…” the man answered, then spaced out for a moment. “I mean, I was. I’m not anymore.”

“How so?”

“My contract has been voided,” the man answered.

“Oh, contract? You weren’t under an oath?” Derek asked.

“N-no… Only a fool would go under oath to a family like that. With a contract, you can set your own punishment terms,” the man answered.

“Why did you even sign a contract with them?” Derek asked.

“The free gear and money, of course,” he answered. “The gear”—the guard motioned to the armor he was wearing and the sword laying across the room—“is provided upfront. It is mine no matter what happens. The money will be rewarded at the successful completion of the contract… well… it would have been rewarded at contract completion. Obviously, it won’t be now.”

“Obviously,” Derek agreed. “And what were your penalties for failing the contract?” he asked.

The man smiled at that question. “That is why a contract is always better than an oath,” he said. “I am very cautious when making contracts. I also have my own contract skill, which allows me to negotiate better terms.”

“Oh.” Derek’s eyes widened. Stella was the only person he had met so far that had a contract ability. Alanah probably had one, too. “Well, what did you negotiate to be your punishment for failure?”

“It depended on the terms of the failure. As I said, my contract was voided. I will get no rewards or penalties for it anymore. My contract stated that I guard Katrisha to the best of my abilities, and I did so.” He rubbed the back of his head. “There’s not much one can do when you’re unconscious.” He smiled.

“I see,” Derek replied. “What would have happened if you would have run?”

The man was quiet for a time. “Ah, there it is.” He finally spoke. “If I would have fled from an assault where the lady ended up dead, I would lose my contract ability for the next ten years and be forced to work for House Collins for five years. The work would be taken under oath as well…” he said. “I really have to thank you for knocking me out back there.”

“What if she was only injured but lived?”

“Cut in pay and loss of contract ability for five years,” he answered quickly.

“Interesting.” Derek rubbed the stubble on his chin. “How many different clauses do you have in your contract?”

The man was quiet for a bit before replying. “Fifteen with penalties, and four that void the contract entirely. There are also some in favor of me. You know, you have to make sure that no harm comes to you from those you are guarding.”

Derek nodded. That made sense. Everything about contracts made sense. Derek’s mother was a lawyer back before everything happened, so he had picked up a few things. He would have to look into the skill later. Unfortunately, there were no contract skills in the General Skills section.

“So, do I get to live?” the man asked, snapping Derek out of his thoughts. Once they began having a civil conversation, the guard’s entire demeanor had shifted.

This guy would have made a brilliant attorney, Derek thought. “What is your name?”

“Rudolph Mckinney, sir. But my friends call me Rudy.”

“And how many friends do you have that call you that?” Derek asked.

The man started counting on his hands. When he got to his seventh finger, he stopped. “Zero,” he said. “It’s not easy to make friends. I have quite a few acquaintances, though.”

Derek didn’t know what to say to that. “Okay, Rudolph. Do you have any allegiances to House Collins?”

“Nope. It was just a job.”

Derek narrowed his eyes. “Contracts are lesser forms of oaths, correct?”

The man slowly nodded.

“Then this is easy. Write up a contract real quick. A nice, simple contract. You will answer any question I have with honesty and to your best ability. You will not answer in half-truths or otherwise try to limit any information you give me. In return, if your answers are to my satisfaction, for this offense, I will let you live,” Derek explained.

The man’s eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t seem like a very good deal to me. Besides, what are the penalties?”

“Instant death for you,” Derek answered.

“What would your penalty be?”

Derek smiled. “How about this? I lose half of my stats for three months. With the people that want me dead, it would basically be me signing my own death warrant.”

Rudolph eyed Derek. “Fine… What is your name?” Derek answered, and the man began drawing in the air. After two minutes, a blue sheet of paper, made entirely out of mana, appeared. Rudolph pushed his thumb to the bottom left of the paper and it glowed. The paper then shot toward Derek.

Derek read over the contract. The man had made it word for word as he had asked. There was no fine print anywhere to be seen, and he couldn’t think of a way that the man could be fooling him. Derek stuck his thumb to the bottom right of the page, under his own name.

A contract with one ‘Rudolph Mckinney’ has been initiated. Would you like to proceed?

Y/N

Just as he did before with Stella, Derek agreed to the contract.

Contract has been completed. Please abide by the terms and conditions to avoid any penalties.

“Great. This makes everything much easier,” Derek said. “Now, do you have any allegiances to House Collins?”

“No,” the man answered again.

“Then you were just in it for the monetary gain?”

“Yes.”

“Even though you knew that the family was not to be trusted?” Derek asked.

The man flinched. “Yes.”

“Why risk it then?”

“It was only for three months, and I made sure my contract favored me highly.”

Derek nodded. “Are there any noble houses allied with House Collins that you have any allegiances or contracts with?”

“None that I am aware of. I have had past contracts with some houses that are on decent enough terms with them, but those contracts have all already been either completed or voided.”

“What is the reason you need money so bad that you would contract yourself to Katrisha?” Derek asked.

“I want to start a business in one of the major cities. I’m great with contracts and abhor fighting. To do that, I need money—a lot of it,” Rudolph answered.

“Interesting,” Derek said. “Did contract abilities come with your class, or did you get the skill through a scroll?”

“It is part of my class.”

“Is it a key part of your class?” Derek asked. “Do you get experience for successfully completing a contract?”

The man nodded. “It is. I get experience for each contract completed. The more in favor of myself, or the person I represent, the contract is, the more experience I obtain.”

“What about your fighting skills? Are you a battle attorney or something?”

The man chuckled and shook his head. “I lost most of my fighting skills at level 50 when I changed classes. I still have all my stats, so I’m able to get by with guard duty. I usually do well and am always using temporary contracts, so my level grows at a decent rate, and I usually leave on good terms with my contractors… which leads to more temporary guard work.”

“Do you have any active contracts?”

Rudolph nodded. “Always.”

Derek frowned.

The man quickly explained. “There are none that indebted me to anybody. They are mostly contracts I wrote for others or completed contracts awaiting payment. There are none that will come back to bite me. I’m too careful for that. I would give you all the details if I could, but most contracts are private. I can only share the details of the ones that I am an actual part of. Would you like me to explain them?”

Derek thought about it. The man was already under a pretty strict contract, so he was definitely not lying. Finally, he shook his head. “No, that’s fine.”

Rudolph nodded.

“So…” Derek said. “You have no allegiances to any noble house. This includes House Collins and House Torith. You don’t have any current contracts that could hinder or harm me. Am I correct?”

“House Torith…” he muttered, then shook his head. “No, I am not known enough to have dealings with such a high-ranked house.”

“Very well,” Derek said. “Then I have one final question for you.”

Rudolph held his breath, waiting for the question.

“Are you a good person? Would others think of you as a good person?” Derek smiled when he asked the questions.

The guard frowned. “Am I a good person? I’m… not sure,” he said. “Most others would think of me as a good person. I try to put it in all my contracts that I will not do anything blatantly against my moral code. Which is why I did not lay hands on that bartender and did not get involved in their kidnapping.” He nodded towards Brandi.

“I also wasn’t allowed to help them because it would be considered going against my contractor. If I had to answer honestly, I would say that I am a neutral person. I have done bad things, but there is a point where I draw a line. I have also done some good things. Believe it or not, not all nobles are terrible. Unfortunately, the good ones tend to pay much less than the bad ones.” He shook his head.

Derek nodded. “That’s good. I’m not going to kill you. You can consider the contract complete.” As Derek said that, under the contract tabs in his status, the contract status changed to completed if he viewed it. It wouldn’t have changed status if Derek had still planned on harming Rudolph. Derek smiled. “I do have one more question for you, though.”

“What’s that?” Rudolph asked. Clearly relieved now that the contract was complete.

“Would you like a job?”

That question seemed to stun Rudolph more than anything he asked before. The man tilted his head in confusion. “Did you ask me if I wanted a job?” he tried to confirm.

Derek nodded. “Sure did,” he answered. Before he continued, he turned to look at Mal, Brandi, and Rayna. “Would you guys mind working with this man? Or would you rather not? He was one of the guards of the Overseer, after all.”

The trio looked at each other. Obviously, they knew that they were going to be leaving with Derek when he went to a new city. Finally, after some quiet discussions, Rayna was the one to answer. “We don’t mind. We heard everything he said, and while he may not be the most trustworthy, he’s not completely without hope. Besides, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind making some contracts with us if need be.”

Derek nodded again, then focused back on the man. “So, would you like a job?”

Rudolph frowned and squinted his eyes. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

Derek smiled. “A lot, actually,” he answered vaguely. Feeling the tension, he continued, “It wouldn’t be just your normal contract work, but you would be able to do that on the side as well. In fact, it would actually be better for you to do so.”

Rudolph bobbed his head as he listened.

“First, we will be going to Savannah. When we get there, I have to meet with the city lord and confirm a few things, but if all goes well, I should be able to get some type of workplace somewhere in the city,” Derek explained.

“Savannah? How do you plan on getting something there? You know that it’s the most expensive city in the Cydarian kingdom to live in, right?” the man questioned.

“Of course,” Derek confirmed. “Without going into too much detail… I have some dealings with the Crown Restaurant that should cover most of the startup costs. If I’m unable to get the money immediately, it shouldn’t take too long for me to gather it.”

The man stared at Derek with wide eyes. His dirty blond hair had fallen in front of his eyes, but he was too caught up with Derek’s words to move it. “Th-the Crown. You have dealings with the Crown? Just who are you?”

Derek fought the urge to chuckle. “That’s not important right now,” he said. “So, step one is to find a place and build a workshop. It will be expensive, especially for what I’m needing, but I will get the capital.”

“What would be my part in all of this?” the man asked, apparently no longer shocked. Derek could see the gears turning in his brain.

“Well, first, this would be more of a long-term thing… very long-term. Your contract work will come in handy with a lot of my planned business, but for the most part, maybe you could be a shopkeeper, or we could set up contract shop for you on the side—as long as you keep away from shady business,” Derek explained.

“A shopkeeper with contract work on the side….” Rudolph muttered. “What exactly would we be selling?”

“Everything,” Derek said. He made sure not to look at Brandi. Then again, the cat was most likely out of the bag. If those guards had told the city lord about her, then he could have already told his father as well.

“What do you mean?” the former guard asked.

“Well… I plan on building a forge, alchemy station, leatherworking station, and many others. I’m not entirely sure what is needed yet, which is why I’m hoping I can get a large piece of land. It’s going to require a lot of building, so it will be a bit before you’re needed… Though I could build the shop part first, and you could begin doing contract work immediately…” Derek touched the stubble on his chin while he thought out loud.

“Ah, we can decide on that later.” Derek shook his head. “So, what do you think? Are you interested?”

Now it was time for the former guard to ponder. The room was silent for a long while.

“Kitchen!” Derek heard a childlike voice come from behind him. “When you’re building all these other places, don’t forget about a kitchen. A great big one, too. Not like that dinky kitchen on the bottom floor of the Crown, but like the awesome one on the upper floors.”

Derek turned to see Silvi with one of her paws on a green crystal. He smiled. “Of course, Silvi. I would never forget about making you a grand kitchen. I’ll buy you more onions than you could possibly deal with, too.”

Silvi’s nose twitched. “The kitchen is fine. Don’t need a bunch of onions. In fact, don’t even worry about the shopping. I can send the mou—” Silvi stopped when Derek narrowed his eyes at her. “I can ask if Thomas would help gather what I need for each meal. Oh, this is going to be great. Hurry. Hurry. Let’s go to Sa… Sa… let’s go to that other city. What are we waiting for?”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Nobles… Silvi… We still have a bunch of nobles to deal with. Remember?”

“Ah… that.”

Derek turned his attention back to Rudolph. At this point, he was no longer thinking about the job request. He was staring at Silvi in shock.

“Hey.” Derek snapped his fingers in front of the man’s face. “Snap out of it. I asked you a question.”

The man shook. “T-that bunny… so… so… intelligent. She’s not a pet, is she?”

“You’re a pet,” Silvi’s voice chimed.

“No, she is my contracted companion. You would do well to remember that. She’s probably stronger than anybody you’ve ever met… well, other than me,” Derek explained.

“She…” The man stopped and directed his question to Silvi. “You cook?”

“Of course, I cook. Were you not just listening? I swear… some humans. Are you sure you want this person to work for you? This guy couldn’t sell water in the desert.”

That was when Derek realized. He had left Silvi alone, in a kitchen full of chefs, for weeks. Then he thought about all of those cooking shows he’d seen before the system came to Earth. Oh, no… This might be really bad.

Derek snapped back to reality at the sound of laughter coming from everybody in the room. Well, everybody but Rudolph. Rudolph’s eyelid was twitching, and his face was red. Well, he did just get told off by a bunny.

“Ahem.” Derek cleared his throat to bring quiet back into the room. The laughter continued for a bit, but it eventually died down. “Yes, Silvi is a bunny. She is my companion. She is very strong, and yes, she can cook. In fact, she loves it and has been practicing at the Crown with their chefs. Do you have any more questions about her?”

“N-no.”

“Good,” Derek said. “Now, I’ll ask you again. Are you interested?”

“I… I think so,” the man finally answered.

“Good. Now I’m going to need you to make another one of those contracts with me. That, or an oath,” Derek said.

“Contract. Definitely,” Rudolph replied. “If there’s any way to get out of having to make an oath to the Great System, I’ll take it. Now, what kind of contract do we need this time?”

“Just a simple one. But it needs to have some serious consequences if it is broken. You mustn’t knowingly do anything that will harm me or my friends, and I will do the same for you.”

“Simple enough,” the man replied. “I will put up my contract skill as collateral. What would you like to use? Stats, skills, what?”

Derek raised his hand, blue sparks appearing as he channeled Chain Lightning. “I’ll put up my Chain Lightning skill. What do you think? Is that enough?”

“Is it a skill you use often?”

Derek thought about that. It was true that he could get by easily without having the skill. Losing it would only decrease the rate at which he could kill multiple enemies at a time. The skill had been great when he was in the dungeon, but it did little for single combat. Technically, it is the skill that I’ve gotten the most kills with since I’ve been here. After looking over his skills, the only skills he would prefer not to wager would be Identify and Channel Void.

It was also the skill he had leveled the highest, barring those that combined with previous skills and Identify. “Well, it is one of my most used skills. It’s my dungeon-clearing skill. To be honest, there aren’t many skills that would hurt for me to lose. And the one that would, I will not put up. Losing Chain Lightning for a time would slow down some of my future plans, though.”

“Tell you what. You put up one more skill and we’ll call it even. All that we have to do to keep to the contract. It shouldn’t be hard. It is a simple contract,” Rudolph replied.

Derek nodded. “Alright, I’ll put up my Cleaning skill as well. Will that do?”

“Cleaning?” The man shook. “No utility skills. It wouldn’t mean anything if you lost it for a time.”

Derek chuckled. To be honest, Void Storage had been sitting there for a while, unused. However, Derek didn’t want to put any of his void skills up. It would give too much information out. “How about Heavy Weapons Mastery?” Derek asked. It was literally his second-highest leveled skill. The only problem was that it had become useless, and it would continue to be useless until he could obtain a new weapon.

Rudolph frowned. “What level is it?”

Derek narrowed his eyes. “Above level 10. Is that enough?” He knew the man was trying to find out how much he relied on the skill to try to make a balanced contract.

“Is it above level 13?” the man finally asked.

Derek nodded. “It is.”

Rudolph let out a breath. “That will do. Though it is odd that you have both Chained Lightning and Heavy Weapons Mastery. They don’t really go together.”

Derek smiled. “Well, that’s probably true… for most classes.”

Rudolph stared at Derek for a minute, then shifted his eyes onto a magic contract that he began filling out. Before long, the man had made another contract, and they both had signed.

Derek held out his hand, and Rudolph took it. They shook.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what you got, Rudy.”

44 I’LL BE BACK

Now that the ‘Rudy’ problem was taken care of, Derek needed to figure out exactly what he needed to do. Alanah’s words about needing to be stronger rang in his head. He had told her not to worry about him, and he meant it. He had a few ideas about how to increase his strength quickly. Luckily for him, he was already close to where he needed to be.

“Rudy.” Derek got the man’s attention. “Of all the people that are in the village, where would you rank in terms of strength?”

“Uh…” Rudy gave Derek a thoughtful look. “With Katrisha and the other guards… gone… from what I know, I should be in the top 10. That’s unless some other adventurers who are at the dungeon camp decide to stop by.”

Derek nodded. He needed to leave the village for a while, but he didn’t want to leave the others unguarded, especially after he had just killed the Overseer. He’d wanted to bring Silvi along, but it looked like she would have to stay in the village.

“Silvi,” Derek said.

“What?” the green crystal rang with her voice.

“Do you mind staying here in the village and making sure nothing happens to anyone?” Derek asked.

“That’s fine,” Silvi agreed. Then the bunny looked over at Malorie. “Beautiful deli… ahem… Malorie. Do you want to cook with me? You made that delicious food before. Show me.”

Malorie glanced oddly at the bunny before smiling. “I would be happy to prepare some dishes with you. I’m sure everybody’s hungry after all that’s happened today.”

That got multiple nods of agreement from the room.

“Good. It’s settled. Silvi will stay here and make sure nothing bad happens. I have some business to take care of. It will probably be late before I get back. That’s if I get back today,” Derek said.

Nobody seemed to care about what business he had to take care of. In fact, almost everybody, especially Rudy, seemed more concerned about watching a bunny cook dinner.

Derek turned to leave the house.

“Be careful,” Brandi’s voice sounded out behind him.

He turned and gave her a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.” Then he walked out of the room and left.

A few minutes later, Derek stood in front of the forest’s entrance. He sighed. Alright… How am I going to do this? There were a few challenges in the next step of his plans. Derek planned on completing the undying dungeon a few times.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to gain any rewards from an already completed dungeon, and the experience gain would be half of the original amount. Still, with the number of enemies in the dungeon, even if they had lessened after stopping the overflow, and his quick clearing speed, he should be able to hit level 100 in no time.

Still, the main problem he was contemplating was the dungeon camp. It meant that there were going to be multiple people in the area of the dungeon. There may even be people running the dungeon already, and from what he knew, only one group could complete the dungeon at a time.

One thing was certain: people were going to notice him. As far as he knew, after talking with Walter, there had only been a single successful completion of the dungeon since everyone found out about it. When a single person showed up and cleared the dungeon solo, it would draw some attention.

Derek was sure that someone would be able to put together who he was, even if he wore a mask, which he did plan to do. People would learn of him showing up at the village and killing the Overseer. If a masked figure then showed up at the dungeon right after, it wouldn’t take a genius to draw some connections.

Of course, nobody would know for sure, and that was why Derek still planned to do it. The worst outcome would be people thinking that Derek was still below level 100 somehow. Which would lead to many questions about his class and rank. But that was all it should lead to, questions. Questions he wouldn’t have to answer.

Who knows? Maybe nobody will connect it with me. I made sure nobody saw me leaving the village, so I’m sure everybody still thinks I’m at Rayna’s. If all else failed, he could deny everything. He wouldn’t be in the Torith area much longer, anyway. He hoped any rumors would die out quickly.

The other problem with his plan was the dungeon timer. It wasn’t a big problem, but he would have to stand still while the dungeon timer counted down. This problem wouldn’t matter with a full party, but, being solo, he would have to wait.

While waiting, Derek would be immobile and only have one hand to use if somebody decided to do something. He wasn’t scared of the people around the dungeon, as he was sure he could beat them with one hand, but there was the possibility of somebody else latching on to the dungeon orb and seeing his information.

Maybe there are rules or honor or something. He thought back to what he heard about it basically being illegal to monopolize a dungeon, so maybe there would be something about that, too. Oh well, I’m not going to find out until I get there.

He glanced at his notifications and noticed that he had gained another level after killing Katrisha and the guard. He was now level 77. He smiled. One level to him was like a common class gaining three. Besides, not many people will be able to do anything to me once I’m finished.

With that, Derek threw on his black facemask and gear and made his way into the forest. When he got there, he didn’t want to make it easy for people to pick him out, so he dressed in equipment common to what he saw people wearing.

Derek kept at a reasonable pace all the way to the dungeon camp. He didn’t want to make too much of a commotion speeding through the forest.

As he stepped into the now giant clearing, he observed his surroundings. He chuckled as he wasn’t the only person hiding his face. In fact, there were quite a few people with large hoods or other types of face concealment.

The large camp was pretty basic. There was a large tent set up closest to the dungeon orb. That must be the Overseer’s tent when they are here, he thought. There were dozens of other tents around, too. Multiple guards patrolled the perimeter.

As he looked around, he noticed something about almost everybody. Most people were sullen or sad. Many had a look of defeat plastered on their faces. I guess that’s what you get when you’ve been sending so many people into a dungeon and next to no one has returned. By now, he was sure the difficulty of the dungeon had spread far and wide.

Finally, Derek set his sight on the dungeon orb. It was much dimmer than it had been recently. It had already been pale gray, but it at least had some luster to it. This orb barely had a glow to it. Is that because it’s no longer overflowing? No, Derek thought. It wasn’t like that after I cleared it. All the other dungeons we ran had more of a glow, too.

Derek walked deeper into the camp. He walked over to an older man dressed in worn plate armor, sitting in front of a fire, staring at the dungeon orb. “Mind if I have a seat?” he asked.

The man glanced up, then furrowed his brows. “Doesn’t make any difference to me.”

Derek sat on a log a few feet away from the man. “How long have you been here?” he asked the man.

“I was one of the first here,” he replied.

“Oh, were you one of the members that completed the dungeon? I heard that a team actually succeeded,” Derek asked.

The man shook his head. “No. I’m over the level requirements. I’m here to observe for the Adventurer’s Guild.” The man pointed to the badge on the shoulder Derek hadn’t seen. It was gold.

“Ah, I see,” Derek said. “Are people still going in?”

The man nodded. “There’s a team in there now.”

That must be why the orb is odd right now, Derek thought. “You’d figure people would get the hint that it’s a difficult dungeon and stop going in.”

The older man grunted. “You’d think. But they don’t. They just want the glory and rewards. Greed kills more people than beasts.”

Derek couldn’t help but agree with the man. “You think this team is going to make it?”

The man shook his head. “Not a chance. Their preparations were lacking, and they didn’t have the levels. I told them not to go in,” he replied.

At that time, the dungeon orb began glowing properly again. The man let out a sigh and took out some papers and a writing utensil. He began jotting down some characters on the paper.

“What are you doing?” Derek asked.

“Marking down that five more adventurers have perished in the dungeon.” The man shook his head and stored everything back in his ring.

“Is another team going in?” Derek question.

The man shook his head. “At this point, the dungeon goes hours without being occupied before a team gets the courage to go die again.”

“That’s good.” Derek stood and walked towards the orb. When he got there, he touched it with his left hand.

The man he’d just been talking to stood and walked up beside him. “You don’t see many dungeons with the undying in them.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, with the rate that it’s being completed, it won’t be long before it begins to overflow.” Obviously, he thought Derek just wanted to view the status of the dungeon.

Derek nodded, still waiting for the dungeon notification to pop up. They stood in silence while he waited. Finally, the notification popped.

Dungeon Countdown Timer Depleted

Participants: 1/5

Derek Hunt: Level 77

Please Choose an Option Below

View Dungeon

Enter Dungeon

Leave

Derek didn’t bother looking at the dungeon status and just focused on entering.

Participants Ready: 1/1

Derek Hunt: Ready

Derek turned and looked at the older man. If this man was watching everyone who was going in and out of the dungeon, he would see Derek anyway. There was no reason to try to hide going in. “Well, I guess I’ll be back in a bit,” Derek said.

The man gave Derek a confused look that turned into wide-eyed horror as the dungeon counted down, and a light washed over Derek’s body. Finally, the light vanished, along with Derek.

45 BREAKING THROUGH

Derek reappeared in the dungeon just as he had previously done. When he looked around, he was still in the enclosed stone room. The only difference was that he was alone this time. He slid the tomb door open and stepped out into the graveyard.

Looking around, Derek could see that the number of skeletons he was going to have to fight was not nearly as abundant as they were when the dungeon was in ‘Extreme Overflow.’ He identified the closest skeleton to him and confirmed his suspicions. The skeleton was only level 96 instead of level 100. So, the overflow affects everything from density to levels.

When he previously raided the dungeon, everything in the dungeon was level 100 or higher. If the skeletons this time around were only level 96, then it was possible that the level 110 Ghouls would be weaker, too. It was unfortunate for Derek as he would already be taking a hit by only getting half XP per kill while in a dungeon he’d already completed.

Now, how do I want to do this? I may not be able to get the full XP, but I should still be able to get quite a bit of skill proficiency. I have to use magic to complete the kill, so Chain Lightning would still be the quickest way. One thing was certain, he didn’t want to sever a bunch of heads, then have to gather them again.

At that thought, Derek decided to channel the void into his fists and aim for the head. He also activated Greater Meditation so he would be able to work on advancing three skills all at once. He was slow while using Greater Meditation, but it didn’t matter. The skeletons were mindless.

Derek walked forward and began crushing the heads of all the Skeleton Warriors. The Skeleton Mages and Skeleton Archers hung back and pelted Derek with spells and arrows, but they failed to do any lasting damage. They only left minor scratches and burns, which were all healed within moments through Greater Meditation.

Occasionally, a bat would swoop down and kill itself on Derek’s fist. In no time, all of the melee skeletons were dealt with. For the ranged skeletons, Derek disabled Greater Meditation and went to work. The fight was over in minutes. Finally, Derek focused on the remaining bats. As they were flying creatures, they were the most troublesome for him to fight.

Luckily, they were dungeon monsters, so they always ended up attacking. In total, it took Derek around fifteen minutes to clear the first wave of the dungeon. He was disappointed in the number of enemies this time around, but it was still better than searching in the forest.

Before the next wave began, Derek ran around collecting all the bat corpses. He enjoyed the silk-like material that came from skinning them. He would most definitely have Brandi make him a few more shirts once they got settled.

The next wave started with the ghoul attacks. Derek was still wary about the different toxins and acids they produced, so instead of fighting closely with his fists, he switched to Chain Lightning. The ghouls were all level 100 this time around—a vast difference from what they were previously.

Derek’s already high-leveled skill made quick work of the ghouls. In fact, they ended up dying off much quicker than the skeletons. When every enemy rushed to slaughter, it tended to make things much simpler.

Derek knew what was coming next before it even happened. He rushed over the mountain of dead ghouls and to where he had killed the lich previously. The whole ordeal saddened Derek. It almost seemed like he was a spawn camper. Alas, before the enemy lich could even cast one spell, his phylactery was in Derek’s hand, then crushed between his fingers.

That was the end of the level 110 lich, and thus, it was the end of his first repeat dungeon run.

He was not rewarded with any items or even any notifications upon completing the dungeon. Instead, the dungeon orb made its silent appearance, and Derek exited. Everything would have been for naught if Derek hadn’t gotten five levels for all the kills he made.

With a flash, Derek, with his face and head covered, appeared in the camp outside the dungeon. In an instant, the old adventurer was next to Derek.

“Y-you didn’t die?” the man muttered.

“Of course not. I told you I’d be back,” Derek replied. He expected to be battered with question after question, but he had no intention of answering most of them.

“But… you were alone…” the man said.

At that time, the old adventurer wasn’t the only person who made their appearance. At least half the dungeon camp surrounded Derek.

“How did you do it?”

“Where’s the rest of your team?”

“Are you the only one who made it out alive?”

“What was the boss? Was it an undead dragon?”

Question after question was yelled out one after another. Most people hadn’t seen Derek enter the dungeon, so they believed he was the only survivor in his team. They had all heard rumors of the enemies in the dungeon, but the only people who truly knew were the one team that managed to complete it.

“Back off, back off!” the old adventurer shouted.

With that, everyone went quiet. They all knew that the old man was sent by the Adventurer’s Guild to oversee the dungeon. He had arrived at the dungeon before them, and he would most likely be there long after everyone gave up.

“Sir,” the adventurer spoke, his tone humbler than before. “Would you mind telling me about the dungeon? It would help to have a firsthand account of all the enemies, traps, bosses, and anything else you experienced during your run. With more information, fewer adventurers will lose their lives.”

Derek shook his head. “You know better than that,” he said to the man. “We just talked about greed and what it does to people. Do you really think knowing exactly what is in the dungeon will stop people from entering?”

The man shook his head. “No, probably not. But it would at least allow those adventurers the chance to prepare. If they know exactly what they are going to face, it will allow them to build their party around it.”

“What about that team that completed the dungeon?” Derek asked. “Didn’t they give you all the information you needed? Why do you need it from me?”

The man shook his head. “No. That was a team gathered from one of the upper noble houses. Other than some rumors spread, they didn’t leave us with anything. And we don’t want to listen to those rumors because we don’t know what is real or fake. Just think about those people pelting you with questions. We’ve heard everything from a dragon being the final boss to it being an undead chicken.”

Derek thought about everything for a moment before answering. “Fine. I’ll give you the information.”

“Thank you.” A gleam appeared in the man’s eyes. “It’s a pity seeing so much death these days… So, what can you tell me about the first wave? I hear there are skeletons.” The man took out some paper and a writing utensil.

Derek chuckled. “I’ll tell you, but later. I still have stuff to do.” He reached over and placed his left hand back on the dungeon orb.

“You’re not planning to go again, are you?” the man asked with wide eyes.

Derek smiled under his mask but didn’t answer. Before long, the countdown finished, and, under the shocked gazes of all those around him, he disappeared again.

Derek’s new priority had changed from completing the dungeon to speed-running the dungeon. His previous time had been just less than 30 minutes, and he wanted to lessen that. When he appeared in the tomb again, he didn’t waste any time. He shoved the door aside and began.

Derek continued this time and time again. After three runs, he could get his completion time down to under 20 minutes. It had also gotten to the point where nobody bothered him outside the dungeon. Sure, there were a few times when a lower-leveled person would ask him to take him in just to gather the information himself, but Derek always refused.

After his fourth run, the dungeon camp was no longer in any type of frenzy. Everybody sat in a daze, staring at the dungeon orb, finally accepting that someone was able to complete this terrible dungeon solo.

After completing the dungeon for the fifth time, Derek got a notification he hadn’t expected.

You have succeeded in completing five dungeons alone.

Achievement Unlocked

Derek was quick to check out the new Achievement.

Lesser Solo Diver

By completing dungeons alone, you have experienced the hardships that come with not having a team to back you up. You will be awarded with the following:

+2% Stat Boost to all basic stats while solo diving.

Ability to instantly begin a dungeon dive.

Note: Continue diving solo to increase this Achievement’s tier.

Awesome. Currently, the 2% stat increase wasn’t a game changer, but if he continued to complete dungeons solo and increase its effects, it could become amazing. Not having to wait at the dungeon orb was a nice perk, too.

Derek exited the dungeon and entered again. This time, he vanished seconds after placing his hand on the orb. With this ability, he was able to cut the time it was taking to level even shorter.

Sometime later, Derek completed his ninth solo run. With that, he received another notification.

You have completed the same dungeon ten times.

Achievement Unlocked

That’s an odd reason to receive an Achievement, Derek thought. Then, he looked at his newly unlocked Achievement, and the rewards that went with it.

Lesser Repetitive Dungeoneer

With monotonous boredom comes great achievement. You have steeled yourself and completed the same dungeon ten times. You will be awarded with the following.

5% Chance to obtain dungeon rewards upon completion of the same dungeon.

Note: Continue running dungeons multiple times to increase this Achievement’s tier.

Woah. Five percent wasn’t a lot, but the ability to be rewarded made grinding a dungeon easier to withstand.

Before exiting the dungeon, Derek looked at his level. Level 98. One or two more dungeon runs and I will hit level 100. It had been far too long since his last class upgrade.

Derek continued with his next dungeon run, making it midway through level 99 in the process. One more time. After the next dungeon run, he would no longer be eligible to do level 100 dungeons until he upgraded his class. Even then, he would only get one or two more runs before leveling to 101.

His whole plan was to level to level 100, so little else mattered once he made it there.

Derek appeared in the camp once again, and with no fanfare, he disappeared back into the dungeon. He was almost finished culling the horde of ghouls when the notification sounded that he had reached enough experience to level to 100. The only thing left was for him to do the class selection or upgrade.

Derek went ahead and finished the dungeon. With the phylactery in his hand, he squeezed, and the lich’s life was over.

He waited, but alas, he wasn’t rewarded with any items. A 5% chance was so small that he wasn’t disappointed when he received nothing at the end. Finally! he thought as he pulled up his status sheet.

Status

Personal Information

Name: Derek Hunt

Age: 30

Level: 100 (Upgrade Class)

Experience: 889,654/???

Class: Legend of the Void (Legendary)

Race: Human (Modified)

Health: 7250

Mana: 5000

Stamina: 7150

Stats

Strength: 700

Dexterity: 500

Endurance: 715

Vitality: 725

Intelligence: 500

Wisdom: 500

Stat Points Remaining: 763

Contracts

Alanah Swan (Crown Restaurant)

Silvi (Bonded Beast)

Stella Brighton (Crown Restaurant)

Francesco Jaccobs (Torith Adventurer’s Guild)

Rudolph Mckinney

View Contract

View Status

View Contract

View Contract

View Contract

Skills

Absolute Nullify Lv. 1, Chain Lightning Lv. 12, Channel Void Lv. 10, Cleaning Lv. 5, Cure Toxin Lv. 4, Dismantle Lv. 12, Greater Meditation Lv. 4, Heavy Weapons Mastery Lv. 18, Identify Lv. 15, Magic Resistance Lv. 10, Multi-Strike Lv. 3, Physical Resistance Lv. 9, Rejuvenation Lv. 9, Sweeping Slash Lv. 18, Unarmed Combat Mastery Lv. 9, Void Call Lv. 2, Void Sense Lv. 2, Void Shift Lv. 3, Void Storage Lv. N/A

Skill Points Remaining: 11

Skill Upgrade Points Remaining: 4

Achievements

Greater Giant Slayer, Jack of All, Lesser Dungeon Explorer, Lesser Enigma, Lesser Repetitive Dungeoneer, Lesser Slayer of the Unknown, Lesser Solo Diver, Magical Glass Cannon, Meat Shield, Lesser Explorer, Offensive Powerhouse

Derek was pleased to see the different skill upgrades he had gained during his dungeon grinding. His Chain Lightning, Channel Void, Cleaning, Greater Meditation, and Unarmed Combat Mastery had all increased to various degrees. He was especially happy about Greater Meditation gaining a level.

Derek selected his class option to view his various choices.

He was a little sad as he scrolled through his options as he was hoping for his ‘Legend of the Void’ class to have another upgrade in rarity. He was unsure if there was a rarity above legendary, but ‘Legend of the Void’ still showed that it was a growth-type class, so he still had hope. Unfortunately, his next class upgrade wouldn’t come for a while.

There were no other legendary classes available for him to choose from, either. He still had some of the same options he had previously, including a couple of epic-ranked growth classes, but he had invested so much into his void class that it would be insane to change. Plus, his current class hadn’t let him down as of yet, and he was quite fond of his Channel Void skill. He didn’t want to risk losing it.

Derek selected ‘Legend of the Void.’

Legend of the Void

You have lived within the void and used the void as you see fit. You have become a void user of legend. Unlike others, you will no longer become trapped in the void. The void is your ally.

Legend of the Void is a growth-type legendary class. Preferences for this class are unknown. Upon class upgrade, two new skills will be available for selection.

You will receive 30 Skill Points upon class upgrade.

Derek sighed while reading his class description. Nothing at all had changed, well, nothing but the number of Skill Points he would receive. Derek confirmed his decision.

Upon confirming his selection, more notifications flooded his vision. Derek dismissed them as they were mostly kill notifications. Finally, after sifting through the notifications, Derek checked on his new possible skills.

Time Prison

One cannot master the void without attuning oneself to time and space. Using your mastery of the void, you are able to create a separate void space to hold your enemies. Time Prison allows you to adjust the passage of time inside your void space.

As the skill level increases, control over the passage of time increases with it.

Uses 1,500 mana to open

Cost: 21 Skill Points

Derek wasn’t sure about having his own personal prison. He shuddered at the thought of being trapped alone in the void again. Now he had the ability to cause others to suffer the same fate. Plus, he was unsure how he would go about leveling the ability. Would it require him to constantly open and close the prison, or would he actually need to imprison enemies in it to grow?

However, he could see some upside in the ability. If he could make time pass slowly, then he could also make time pass quickly. It could be possible that he could use the ability to carry others. With the ability to change the passage of time, somebody could go in, then in just mere minutes, come out days or even weeks later.

Now that I think about it, isn’t this an extremely broken skill? No wonder it was only unlocked at level 100… And the cost… wow… Derek didn’t take any more time to decide and spent the skill points on the skill.

Time Prison Learned Successfully

Skill Points Remaining: 20

Derek then checked on his remaining class skill.

Void Steps

Using your Void Sense, you are able to see shifts and tears in the void. Void Steps can force those intangible rifts into the physical for you to use as footholds.

Uses 100 mana/s

Cost: 7 Skill Points

Basically, it allows me to use the void to sort of fly. Well, I guess fly isn’t the right word. It’s kind of like that skill of Rayna’s that lets her step on air. At least it’s cheap both in skill points and mana usage, Derek thought, then accepted the skill.

Void Steps Learned Successfully

Skill Points Remaining: 13

Derek breathed a sigh of relief. He was half expecting not to have enough skill points to even learn his second skill after the cost of the first. Luckily, it was quite the basic skill, and he still walked away with two more points than he started with.

Now, Derek had over 700 stat points to spend. He was tempted to spread it evenly out through his stats but decided against it. It’s nice to have strength and mana, but it’s even better to be able to live through attacks.

Endurance and vitality had been his go-to stats since he first obtained a system. You couldn’t do anything if you were dead. The two stats had never failed him, and it was time to increase them.

First, Derek put 375 points into his vitality, bringing it to 1,100. Instantly, Derek felt his blood begin to boil. It was like magma flowing through his veins. His heart pounded harder than ever before. If there was anybody else around at the time, he was sure they would hear the sound of drums beating or horses charging on a battlefield.

Derek clutched at his chest as pain engulfed his body. He fell to his knees as his veins bulged, threatening to burst out of his skin. Then, all of the sudden, it was over. Everything felt like a dream. If not for the sweat and rip in his shirt where he had clutched it, he may believe nothing had even happened.

That was intense, he thought and let out a deep breath. I’m not sure I even want to know what’s going to happen when I increase my endurance. Derek calmed himself and prepared for the worst. Then, he dropped 385 points into Endurance and accepted the changes.

Derek closed his eyes and balled his fists, waiting for the change. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the sound of bones breaking rang out. Derek felt like every bone in his body was being crushed by a giant hammer, then repaired, then crushed again. It was like his entire body was in a vise. It was pure agony.

Luckily, the bone breaking didn’t last as long as the burning blood had. Within seconds, it was over… Then came the itching. Derek’s skin felt like thousands of ants were crawling underneath it, biting and stinging as they moved along.

If Derek had to choose, he would choose the bone-breaking or boiling blood, or even both at once a million times before he would choose to feel the itching. Derek couldn’t handle it. He tore his shirt off and clawed at his body.

No relief came. The harder he clawed, the worse the itching sensation got. He clawed and clawed but wasn’t even able to break the top layer of his skin. He gave up. The only thing he could think of to help him in this situation was Greater Meditation. The second the thought hit him, he tried it.

It worked, at least somewhat. While meditating, it reduced the feeling to an almost bearable sensation. He didn’t know how much time passed, but eventually, the feeling dissipated. With that, he exited meditation and looked down. His skin was still tan, but every scar on his body had disappeared. No bumps, moles, or pimples remained either.

Derek pushed on his forearm and was amazed at how soft and smooth his skin felt. One thing was certain, it didn’t feel like it would have any defense. Derek brought out one of his knives from his storage bracelet. Quickly, he jabbed the knife into his forearm. The tip of the blade pushed the skin in but was unable to even slightly pierce it.

I guess that’s something, he thought as the blade vanished from his hand. Derek looked at his new Personal Information and Stats pages.

Personal Information

Name: Derek Hunt

Age: 30

Level: 100

Experience: 889,654/5,800,000

Class: Legend of the Void (Legendary)

Race: Human (Modified)

Health: 16500

Mana: 5000

Stamina: 16500

Stats

Strength: 700

Dexterity: 500

Endurance: 1100

Vitality: 1100

Intelligence: 500

Wisdom: 500

Stat Points Remaining: 3

Derek was able to see the effects of his stats breaking through another threshold. Both his stamina and health increased by 15 points per stat point now, which would greatly improve his overall defensive capabilities. And, if his little test with the dagger was any indication, his body’s natural defense had entered an entirely different realm. I guess all that pain and suffering was worth it.

46 SKILL TESTING

Derek was more than satisfied with his new stats. Although both his endurance and vitality crossing the 1,000-point threshold came with massive pain and discomfort, the increased modifiers and extra health and stamina more than made up for it.

In fact, if Derek had to choose, he would certainly choose to accept a few moments of agony for permanent increases in his survivability.

Naturally, the next thing that he needed to do was check on his new skills. First came the one he was excited for: Void Steps. Time Prison seemed to be a valuable skill, especially considering the cost, but it lacked any immediate usefulness for Derek.

Void Steps could possibly increase his maneuverability and thus survivability. So, before leaving the undying dungeon for the last time, he wanted to try out his skills where nobody could see him.

Now, one thing he took note of in the description of his new skill was that it needed to be used in conjunction with Void Sense. Of course, Void Sense was a passive skill, so it was always on, but Derek had grown used to lowering his sensitivity towards the void as it was always a lot to take in, even with the clarity that came from having increased wisdom.

With Void Sense turned down as low as it could go, Derek could still see some faint ripples in the surrounding air, but he knew those he could see now barely scratched the surface of what was really there.

Derek focused his mind and gradually increased his perception of the void bit by bit. Soon, he found a happy medium for the skill. He could see all the ripples now, but they weren’t so blatant that they would be a distraction while fighting.

Next was to actually use Void Steps. Derek activated the skill and jumped towards the closest ripple. When his foot made contact, it was as if he stepped on solid ground. After that, he hopped from ripple to ripple, gaining altitude with each jump.

He could only use the skill for a little less than a minute before he ran out of mana. He could negate some of the cost by turning the skill on and off in between jumps, but that would require more and more practice, and he didn’t currently have the time for that. Plus, he had Greater Meditation to help him recover any mana he used in the process.

In the short time that he was able to keep the skill activated, Derek made it to an extreme height. Looking down, even with his enhanced vision, he could barely make out the crypt that was the dungeon entrance. If he wasn’t in a dungeon, and the current planet was anything like Earth, Derek was sure that he would feel some of the effects of reduced air pressure.

Soon, Derek was out of mana, and he began to free fall. Technically, this is my second time skydiving. He recalled that he was quite high in the air when he first came to this world. Of course, it was nowhere near as high up as he currently was.

Derek spread his arms as he had seen many skydivers do to reduce his speed. If nothing else, falling from the sky was quite peaceful. He didn’t worry about impacting the ground as he was more than certain that his body and organs were more than strong enough to avoid being injured by hitting the ground at terminal velocity.

That was one thing that always infuriated Derek when he read novels back on Earth. A man would forge and strengthen his body and organs so much so that he could be punched through a mountain or slammed into the ground, creating a giant crater, and live. Then, later in the novel, the same person would stand on a platform or cliff and fear falling and hitting the ground.

Derek shook his head at his thoughts and prepared to hit the ground. Of course, there was only one way to land after falling at such a height. He shifted his body and stretched out his right arm, forming a fist with his hand. Then, he hit the ground.

Unfortunately, Derek was in a graveyard, a damp one at that. Dust didn’t fly up, and a loud impact sound didn’t ring out. The ideal superhero landing didn’t happen. Derek’s cheeks blushed a bit as he thanked the heavens nobody was around to see him.

Derek pulled his arm, which had sunk into the ground all the way past his elbow, out of the mushy ground. Next was his legs. He was pretty much buried waist-deep in the ground. Note to self. Make sure the ground isn’t wet before testing a fall from such a height.

Derek looked down at his dirty clothes and cast Cleaning. It wasn’t until his fifth cast that he was fully clean. Alright, Derek thought, that skill is fun and should be really useful if I need to escape or climb. Time to see what this Time Prison is all about.

First, he slipped into meditation to restore all his mana, then he focused on activating Time Prison. Like that, a third of his mana was sapped from him, and he instinctively knew what to do next. With glowing purple hands, he grabbed out and pulled the space in front of him apart.

The nothingness in front of him was ripped open. A solid black door appeared in front of his eyes. Derek placed his hand on the door and pulled it open. Inside was a pitch-black room with nothing but walls, doors, and a ceiling. Derek gathered his courage and walked in.

When Derek stepped into the room, he could feel the passage of time. Time was currently flowing inside the room at the same pace as it was outside. Derek knew that, with a thought, he could change the flow of time in the room, but the change wouldn’t take effect until the door behind him closed.

He then walked over to one of the doors inside the chamber and placed his hand on it. Opening the door, he saw another room, this time smaller. Finally, he realized each door was a different cell and he could adjust the time of each cell. This meant that he could technically suspend time for one prisoner while causing it to pass rapidly for another.

Of course, the prisoners wouldn’t know the difference until they were back outside and were able to see how much time had passed in the real world.

Derek closed the door to the cell and placed his hand back on it. Now I can see why this skill costs so much more than any of the others. He thought of all the possible uses for the skill. Unfortunately, I can’t adjust the time too much with my current skill level.

With his hand on the cell door, Derek focused on changing the passage of time inside. Currently, he was only able to make small adjustments to the time. Let’s see... Currently, I can either double or half the speed of time in the cells. I can make 24 hours outside become either 48 or 12 hours inside.

There are just so many uses, Derek thought. The cells could be used for training rooms as well as prison cells. Of course, training by oneself was always a slower way to level skills than using them in actual fights, but with the increased time, it would still be a game changer. However, he had a nagging feeling that such a stingy system wouldn’t allow that kind of exploit.

The biggest question he had was whether the person he placed in the prison would age at the same rate he did when he was trapped in the void. Though he was in the void for decades, at the minimum, he had only aged a few years when he finally escaped. If it was the same in the prison, then by putting those in that hadn’t yet unlocked the system, he could help them achieve great results when it came to choosing a class.

This is basically a cheat, he thought, then shook his head. There’s no way the system would allow such blatant abuse. I have to be missing something. Besides, nothing really matters until I’m able to increase the level of the prison so I can better manipulate the passage of time.

Unfortunately, the only way for me to level it is to use it. I wonder if that means that I just need to open it and close it, or if I actually have to have prisoners inside. I’m not too keen on imprisoning people. Plus, I would have to worry about feeding and watering them as well, depending on the level of the people locked away. Derek couldn’t help but think of the starving and suffering he went through when he was trapped in the void.

I would rather kill them and be done with it. I guess I can change some things up. Clay would have been the perfect candidate before everything else happened, he thought.

Derek backed away and looked at his surroundings once more. There were ten prison cells he could use. I wonder if the number of rooms will increase as the skill levels or if it will stay the same, he thought. Maybe more rooms will be added as the others are filled. He wouldn’t really know until he started using the prison.

After taking one last look at everything, he walked out of the prison. He turned and closed the door, then, like curtains, he pulled the void together and closed it as well.

With that, Derek sat on a nearby stone and took out some paper and a writing utensil. He had promised the old adventurer that he would provide him with some information about the dungeon, and he didn’t feel like staying in the camp to do it. Written instructions would have to work.

On the paper, he explained, in detail, the variety of enemies he had faced in the dungeon, including the boss lich. He went on to give his thoughts on the best way for an average team to clear the dungeon, and what they needed to look for when assembling a team. Nobody else was a walking tank with magical powers, like Derek, so they needed to plan accordingly.

With his ‘strategy guide’ written, Derek placed his hand on the orb and prepared to leave the dungeon. It’s time to go noble hunting. With that thought, he vanished.

47 A NOBLE HUNT

Derek appeared back at the dungeon camp, still dressed in his leather armor and facemask. This time, to the shock of all those watching him, he didn’t directly teleport back into the dungeon when he came out. Instead, he backed away and looked towards the old adventurer from the Adventurer’s Guild.

He walked away from the dungeon orb and approached the old man. Without any words, he took out the walkthrough of the dungeon and handed it to the man. The man looked confused but soon shifted his eyes to read the parchment. As he read, his eyes grew wider and wider. After some time, the man looked up at Derek.

“You don’t know what this means to the guild,” he said. “If you follow me back or if you take it back yourself, they will reward you… and it won’t be a small reward.”

Derek shook his head. “You’re the one who wanted it so you could reduce the number of deaths that take place. I respect that, so you can do what you want with it.”

After speaking, Derek turned and walked off. As he moved back into the forest, he looked over his shoulder to see all the adventurers crowding around the old man. The man, for the short time they had chatted, seemed like a decent fellow, so Derek didn’t mind doing him this one favor. It took him all of a few minutes, so it really wasn’t much to him. Besides, if they ever did find out who he was, it would help to have some goodwill with the Adventurer’s Guild.

Thinking this far, Derek took off back to the village.

* * *

It wasn’t long before Derek snuck into the back of the village and silently crept his way back to Rayna’s residence. He gave everyone other than Silvi a shock when they finally noticed him standing in the doorway of the dining room.

He had stood there silently, watching everyone eating stew and having a good time. It wasn’t until Silvi looked up, irritated that he still hadn’t said anything, that the others shifted their gazes from their bowls to the doorway.

“Oh, gosh. Derek, dear, you just about scared me to death.” Delilah mocked grabbing her chest as she spoke.

“I didn’t want to interrupt. You all seemed to be having such a great time,” he replied.

“Hurry. Come eat. The beaut… eh… Malorie showed me how to cook a great stew. Come, try it,” Silvi’s voice sounded out from the green crystal placed at the center of the dining room table.

Derek smiled, then walked to one of the empty chairs and sat down. “Fine, but we can’t stay long,” Derek told Silvi. “We have some things to take care of, and the sooner the better.”

Malorie grabbed a bowl and filled it with stew before sitting it down in front of him. “Here you go.”

Derek picked up the spoon and took a bite. Silvi was correct. It was a great stew. It was even better than the stew Malorie had cooked before. Must be because of all the fresh ingredients Silvi has in her ring. The stew from before wasn’t much more than meat, potatoes, and carrots, he seemed to remember.

“That is great,” Derek praised. “The two of you could open a shop and sell this if you wanted to.”

Malorie blushed, and everyone at the table chuckled.

“I could help with getting you a stall or store once we get to Savannah.” Rudy pointed a spoon at Malorie. “I’m sure I could negotiate a fair price for you.”

“He’s right, Momma,” Brandi said. “It is really good. The best you’ve ever made.”

“I helped,” Silvi chimed in.

“Yes, you did,” Malorie said. “It wouldn’t have been nearly as good without your help.”

Derek smiled, and the group ate. They all made small talk as they filled their bellies. It really was one of the best meals he’d had in years. It would have been a great meal even if they were eating dried rations. The delicious food only made it that much better.

* * *

After dinner, Derek was using his Cleaning skills to clean the dishes. Rayna was standing beside him, chatting.

“So, did you do what you needed to?” she asked.

“Yeah. I shouldn’t have any problems for quite some time now,” he answered.

“That’s good.”

Derek nodded as he finished cleaning the last dish.

The pair walked into the meeting room where everyone else was and sat down.

“Richard… Delilah, are you sure that the two of you don’t want to come to Savannah with us?” Derek questioned.

The two looked at each other and nodded. “We’re old,” Richard said. “We’ve lived here most of our lives. We might as well finish our lives here. You don’t need to worry about us.”

Derek nodded. “Okay… I’ll be sure to bring Thomas by before we leave, then.”

“Thank you,” Delilah said.

Derek focused on everyone else. “Silvi and I are going to be gone for a bit. When we get back, be ready to go.” Then he looked at Rudy. “Rudy, I doubt anything will happen here, but if it does, you should be more than enough to take care of anything. Keep them safe for the next few days.”

Rudy nodded. “No problem.”

“Good,” Derek said. “We’ll be back soon.”

With that, Derek left with Silvi on his shoulder. He made sure to make a show of walking out of the residence and through the village, leaving through the gates. At least nobody in the village will think I left previously.

‘What are we doing?’ Silvi asked.

‘Ah, I guess I never told you. We… are going noble hunting,’ he replied.

‘Really?’ Silvi asked with a spark in her eye.

‘Yup. Pretty exciting, huh? Though I doubt they’ll give us much trouble.’

‘Yeah, we’re a lot stronger. I can feel it. What did you do while you were gone?’ Silvi asked.

‘I leveled up in a dungeon. Got to level 100,’ Derek answered.

At that time, he felt his private communication crystal going off. He pulled it out of his storage bracelet and answered the call.

‘Walter? What’s up?’

‘I was finally able to get a hold of you. I’d almost given up,’ Walter said.

Huh? This is the first time I felt the crystal since I talked with Alanah. Derek thought, then it hit him. There must not be any service in the dungeon. That made sense. Even if the crystal could reach from here to the capital, dungeons were in another dimension or instance. He wasn’t sure what to call it.

‘Sorry, I was indisposed,’ he answered. ‘What’s so urgent?’

‘It’s not urgent, exactly. Well, it might be for you,’ Walter replied. ‘The city lord left. His whole house left. What happened?’

‘Malcolm and Clay left? Where did they go?’ Derek asked.

‘It looked like they were heading to Wilmette. It’s the closest city with a teleport circle. I’m thinking they got wind of whatever you did, or maybe Gerald recalled them to the capital. I’m not sure, but they left a few hours ago,’ Walter explained.

Dammit! Derek inwardly cursed. ‘You said everyone left? They’ll be slow, then. How long do you think it will take them to get to Wilmette?’

‘If they travel through the night, then they’ll be there by morning. Clay was still unconscious, so they can’t move too fast, but everyone is relatively trained, so they will still be quick,’ Walter answered.

Derek pulled out the map he bought of the region and found Wilmette. We should be able to cut them off, he thought. ‘Walter, thanks for the information. I owe you dinner when we get back to the city. I’ll talk to you later.’

‘Be careful,’ Walter replied, then the connection cut off.

‘New plan,’ Derek sent to Silvi. ‘The nobles are running, so we’re going to have an actual hunt.’

‘Let’s go!’ Silvi sent back.

Derek smiled, then went over the map once again and made sure to orient himself in the right direction. Technically, going from where he was straight to the city wasn’t exactly the safest route. He was sure to come upon some dangerous creatures, but he doubted he would find any that were actually dangerous to him or Silvi.

‘Let’s go,’ Derek said back to Silvi. ‘If they stay on the road, it should be easy to cut them off.’

Then Derek, with Silvi on his shoulder, took off, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

Hours, and multiple monster kills later, Derek and Silvi made it onto the main road to Wilmette. It was the middle of the night. Derek wasn’t sure if Torith was ahead of or behind him at the moment. For good measure, he and Silvi split up. Derek headed towards Wilmette and Silvi headed the opposite.

It wasn’t long before Derek could see the outline of the city in the dark. He could make out lights and torches inside. It was a much bigger city than Torith. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Derek was unable to see anyone between himself and the city.

Derek smiled. They must still be on their way. He just had to hope that they weren’t traveling too fast. If they had already made it into the city, then he was sure they would have immediately teleported to the capital.

Derek turned around and rushed in the opposite direction, towards where Silvi went. Before long, he heard Silvi.

‘There you are. I found them,’ Silvi said.

‘I’m on my way.’

48 MURDERBUNNY

Before long, Derek could see a group marching in the night. He moved off the road and into the tree line to scout them out. After a few minutes of watching, Silvi landed on his shoulder, and they watched together.

‘We’re sure it’s them?’ He knew that the odds of somebody else traveling in the night with such a large group were basically nil, but he asked anyway.

‘Mhm,’ Silvi answered. ‘I’ve never seen the people, but the guards were complaining about the city lord forcing them to travel through the night.’

Derek nodded and looked to the sky. There were only a couple of hours left until daybreak. Currently, he was deciding whether to attack now or wait until morning. There was no need for him and Silvi to ambush the group. He was sure of that.

If they waited until morning, they could attack in a big clearing, and it would be hard for anybody to sneak away. Plus, it was easier to lose sight of them at night. After calculating the city lord’s army’s marching speed, it would be a little after dusk when they marched on the clearing. Once they made it to the clearing, there was nothing but open land until they arrived at Wilmette.

‘Let’s wait until daybreak, then we’ll take them out. I count about 300 regular guards in front, plus some elite guards protecting the back. We’ll attack once to begin with. Let the guards who run or don’t fight back live. Do what you want with the others. Well, everything except eating them. We don’t eat humans.’ he finished as he explained his plan to Silvi.

‘Got it,’ she replied.

‘If Malcolm runs, cut him off and keep him from escaping.’

‘ ‘Kay.’

With that, Derek and Silvi stalked the small army through the night, thinking of various plans and contingencies. It wouldn’t do just to assassinate Malcolm and Clay. They were going to make a show of power. Any soldiers who survived would spread rumors about what happened when you messed with Derek and his people.

Time gradually passed, and soon the sun began to rise. The army advanced out of the forested roads and into the open. They were on the home stretch.

Derek and Silvi hid in the woods and waited for them to get far enough out that it would take some time to escape back into the forest. When the army was around a mile out, Derek acted.

He rushed past the army and stopped in front. He would hit them head-on. It may not be smart, but it would make a statement.

The soldiers halted as they saw the pair standing before them. Some guards stared wide-eyed in recognition while others stared in confusion.

“Get out of the w—” One soldier up front stepped forward and began to speak, but another grabbed him by the shoulder and shook his head. He then whispered something into the first soldier’s ear. Which made the man turn pale and hurriedly step back into place.

“What’s going on? Why are we stopped?” a voice all too familiar to Derek called out from the back of the troops.

Hushed whispers sounded throughout the army until they reached the ears of the city lord.

“What are you scared of? There are over 300 of you, and only one of him,” the voice rang out again.

Derek decided that it was finally time to speak up. With some power in his voice, so everyone could hear him, he said, “You can all rest assured, I won’t harm you if you just give the city lord and his son up. However, if you take up arms against me, it will be the last thing you do in this life.”

His booming voice fell over the army, causing some to flinch and even more to fidget anxiously. Unfortunately, none stepped aside. This caused Derek to wonder about the contracts and oaths the guards were under. Still, he gave them a chance.

Derek stepped forward.

“Attack! Kill him. It will all be over once he’s dead. Whoever brings me his head will be rewarded by my father!” Malcolm screamed from the back.

Derek shook his head. In the end, it was greed that won out. The hesitant soldiers firmed their resolve and drew their weapons.

“Go,” Derek said one word, but it signaled the end.

The slight weight on his shoulder disappeared. Derek stared into the army. The army that had failed to charge.

A small white and purple light flashed throughout the crowd. Blood and gore exploded into the air, covering guard after guard. Soon, the white and purple flash became a red and purple flash as Silvi’s fur became covered in the gore.

Derek stared in amazement at the destruction and confusion his beast companion caused. He was especially impressed at her skill in using all her abilities in tandem. Of course, Silvi didn’t have many abilities, but it was still impressive.

Every time she hit a soldier, it was a critical hit with no chance of survival. Every guard who drew a sword or cast a spell was her target.

Silvi would fly through the air, horn first. Every person she hit would have their head exploded or chest pierced through, leaving no chance of recovery. When her momentum slowed, or she ran out of enemies in a straight line, she would vanish.

From there, she would appear on the ground or on top of one of the soldiers. She would kick off from there, sending her flying back through the air like a rocket. It was pure mayhem.

Derek watched as notification after notification appeared in the corner of his vision. He pulled them up and dismissed them as they came.

The army held for much longer than Derek would have liked. He had expected the guards to break and run after just a few moments of Silvi’s indiscriminate slaughter. He realized his mistake too late.

Derek knew of Silvi’s strength, but others did not. What others saw was a cute bunny wearing a purple cloak and a nose ring. So, when Silvi flew forward, it didn’t intimidate them and caused mass confusion.

Derek also underestimated Silvi’s ability to kill. Dozens of soldiers were dead before others even realized. Technically, it was their fault for standing in such straight lines. Straight-line formations were not good strategies to use against a projectile with extreme piercing potential like Silvi.

Every now and then, a flash of lightning would streak out from Silvi’s horn when she ran out of momentum, but there were still guards in front of her. It was when the guards began seeing her seamlessly cast magic that they snapped out of their stupor.

More and more soldiers began looking around the battlefield, seeing their former comrades laying headless in pools of their own blood. Well over a hundred soldiers were dead before the first ran. But, when the first broke, the rest were sure to follow.

And follow they did. Of course, there were still some soldiers who were stubborn and some who were just downright loyal to the city lord. That was something Derek couldn’t understand based on his meetings with the man.

Silvi obviously remembered Derek’s plan as she made no move to go after any soldier who tried to escape. Realizing this, more soldiers turned tail and ran.

In the distance, Derek could now see Malcolm as there were no longer huge numbers of soldiers standing in between the two. Only he and his personal guards were left.

Derek watched as his fierce figure gradually paled, and his face went from anger to confusion to extreme fright. While Malcolm Torith viewed the gory scene in fright, Captain Herrett was shaking his lowered head.

On the man’s face wasn’t fright or defeat, just acceptance. Derek knew that Captain Herrett had no love for Malcolm Torith. He was most likely a man in an unfortunate situation. Derek could only shake his head at the man’s predicament. The other guards were one thing. They had all perked up after hearing about getting a reward for killing Derek, but Herrett only smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Around the time Derek was thinking about Captain Herrett and the situation he found himself in, the city lord turned and gave some orders to his personal guards. Derek was still watching them as he saw them all turn away and take off in the opposite direction.

Of course, it was already too late for them to even try to escape. Their only chance would have been at the beginning of the chaos Silvi had created.

‘The city lord is trying to escape,’ Derek sent to Silvi.

‘Got it,’ he heard back.

With that reply, Silvi vanished from in front of a frightened soldier and appeared behind the army, in front of the escaping city lord and his people.

Derek slowly walked forward, through the battlefield littered with bodies, blood, and guts. The few guards who had yet to flee or had not yet been slaughtered by Silvi took him coming into their range as an opportunity to end the battle and receive a great reward.

If they could deal with Derek, his companion would lose most of its powers, and it would be easy to take down. Everyone knew how the companion contract worked. Unfortunately, they were wrong, very wrong.

The nine remaining guards signaled to one another and attacked all at once. Derek let the blades fall on his body, catching the one that threatened to pierce his eye. With a clang, the blades bounced off his newly improved body. Unfortunately, the sharp edges still cut into his clothing.

Derek channeled the void and, very quickly, hit each guard in the head with his palm. Unlike Silvi’s bloody killing, Derek’s killing with the void was relatively bloodless and graceful. Well, other than the occasional blood dripping out of the corpse’s nose or ears.

With no remaining ordinary guards or soldiers, Derek continued walking forward. A little over seventy guards had chosen to escape the battle after seeing the carnage and destruction. It wasn’t as many as he had hoped for, but at least some still had the sense to run.

Looking ahead, the frightened city lord had stopped in front of Silvi. The group turned back around to run away from her, and Derek smiled. Using Void Shift, Derek moved forward and appeared in front of the group out of nowhere.

The city lord stopped at the sudden appearance of Derek.

Suddenly, the weight on Derek’s shoulder increased, and a blood-soaked Silvi appeared.

Derek reached over and cast Cleaning, and Silvi was soon back to her original appearance as a majestic silver and purple Void Rabbit.

Derek looked over at the city lord and smiled. “Don’t you just love the Cleaning skill?”

49 CAPTAIN HERRETT

Derek had managed to make it through the battle without getting even a speck of dust on him. Of course, he was only responsible for a few cleanup kills at the end. Silvi had done everything else, and she had done it beyond his expectation.

As for the Cleaning spell, it was quickly becoming one of Derek’s favorite skills. It didn’t give him the same clean feeling he had after taking a bath or shower, but it was close. It also wiped away smells as well, both good and bad. If you wanted to be clean without smelling like anything, Cleaning was the way to go. The greatest example was the currently spotless Silvi perched on his shoulder.

Derek took a closer look around after praising his favorite new skill. There were only a couple dozen people left around the city lord. This included the city lord’s personal guard, Captain Herrett, and his son, Clay, who was lying in a carriage, still unconscious. The boy was also the reason their traveling speed wasn’t as fast as it could have been.

Currently, everyone was quiet. Nobody dared to make a sound.

Derek broke the silence. “So, it seems I have a decision to make.” He looked at the quivering city lord. “The question is if I should let anyone else live after I kill you.”

“No!” The city lord screamed. “Why would you kill me? I received your warning. I didn’t do anything else to offend you.”

Derek squinted his eyes. “Didn’t do anything else to offend me? What about the two villagers you had your men kidnap? The crafter girl and her mother.”

Malcolm’s eyes widened. “That girl? I… I gave those orders before your warning. I just forgot to cancel them. A mistake… It was an honest mistake. You can’t be mad over something like that.”

Derek laughed out loud. “A mistake? Your ‘mistake’ left one of my friends in a dying state. If I had been any slower, she would be dead now,” he replied. “Now, I don’t believe for a second that you forgot to cancel your orders. You had plenty of time to do it, and I’m sure I specifically said not to mess with that village or its people.”

Derek caught Captain Herrett’s minute nods as he spoke.

“Still. You plan on killing me? I’m a Torith. Do you know what my father will do to you if you kill me?” Pleading hadn’t worked, so Malcolm’s next step was to threaten.

“Send assassins? Talk about me to the king? Yeah, pretty sure there are already some assassins on their way to me. I’ve got a plan for them when they get here. It’s nice that your dad’s going out of his way to supply me with people. Say, do you think if I send him your head, he will send extra?” Derek chuckled and shook his head. “Nah, that’s too much, even for me. I’m sure word alone will be enough.”

“You… you…” Malcolm Torith stammered for a moment before he turned to Herrett. “Guards, Captain Herrett, do something!”

The older, scar-faced guard frowned at the city lord’s mention of his name. Still, he didn’t step forward. Neither did any of the other guards. Silvi’s spree of destruction was still fresh in their minds, so their feet stayed planted. Derek had just said that he had to make a decision. Perhaps they were putting hope in his words that he would let them off.

Derek could only smile at that thought. Those who he allowed to leave earlier were all that were going to leave today.

“Herrett! You know your oath! Do something!” Malcolm commanded again.

“Ahem…” Captain Herrett cleared his throat, his face still as stoic as before. “Derek, you said that you are going to kill my charge, yes?”

Derek furrowed his brows at the odd questioning but nodded.

“100%?” the man questioned again. “There is no possible way that he will live past today? Or even past the next hour?” he asked again.

Derek shook his head. “No, he dies today. His son may live. I haven’t made my decision on that. I’m not a big fan of killing someone in a coma. As for your ‘charge,’ he won’t live past the next few minutes.”

“Herrett! What are you doing? Attack!” Malcolm screamed again.

Captain Herrett nodded at Derek. “Would you receive my best attack? Think of it as a test of your strength.” The man smiled.

Derek couldn’t wrap his head around what the man wanted to do. Clearly, he was under oath to protect the city lord. He also clearly despised the man. Now, to ask Derek to receive his best attack. Is he trying to trick me just to get a decent hit in? Does he think his best blow will kill me? Derek had no idea what the man was up to. Still, he was very confident in his vitality and endurance. Especially after the upgrades they recently went through.

Derek smiled. “Your best attack, huh? What are you thinking? Do you want me to take it without fighting back? Without blocking?”

Herrett shook his head, and a smile finally appeared on his face. “It’s not like that. You can block if you wish. You can fight back, as well. Though I would prefer to be alive after attacking you, I’ve pretty much accepted the outcome if you attack back.”

Interesting, Derek thought. Then he took a few steps back and held out his arms. “Have at it.”

Captain Herrett stared at Derek, wide-eyed. “Really? You accept?”

Derek smiled. “Why not? I’ve been itching to see what that blade of yours can do.”

Oddly, the scarred man let out a breath of relief. “Thank you,” he said before stepping forward.

‘Hop down,’ Derek told Silvi. The bunny did as she was told and jumped off his shoulder onto the top of the carriage. Derek chuckled. ‘Getting a good view?’

“Get ready,” Herrett interrupted. The man took a step forward and drew his blade. Holding it across his chest, he closed his eyes and muttered a few things. A red glow fell over his sword, then yellow. After that, his sword burst into crimson flames. A few more seconds passed, and the same happened on the man’s body.

The fire fell over the man’s body, then moved until it was all concentrated in his hands. With both hands on his longsword, he pushed the flames into the sword, causing the flames to violently burst out until the flames took the shape of a greatsword.

Then the man opened his eyes. Derek had always wondered what it was like when other people saw his purple eyes when he used the void. Now, he had a pretty good idea. With a scar running down his face, a flaming greatsword, and crimson red eyes, Herrett was the most intimidating opponent Derek had ever seen.

At that moment, Captain Herrett leaned forward, then kicked off the ground. At a rapid speed, he appeared before Derek. The man swung his newly formed fire greatsword at a wide arc, looking to split Derek just above the waist.

Derek, for all his composure, almost jumped backwards. However, he promised to take the attack, and he would do so. In fact, since the attack wasn’t heading towards his head, neck, or heart, he believed that with his current vitality, he would be able to heal through any other damage done, even if he happened to get split above his waist.

Instead of taking a step back or moving his arms to block, Derek held his hands open to the sides, almost as if he was ready to receive Captain Herrett in a bear hug. The guard captain’s blazing sword reached him in a flash.

When the flames on the blade reached his shirt, it went up in flames. Derek frowned as the blade dug deeper into his body. It was a strong attack. The crimson blade tore past his improved skin and into his flesh.

With Captain Herrett’s full strength, the blade pushed deeper. It ripped through Derek’s flesh, moving past his muscles. Then, as if hitting a steel wall, the blade stopped. It had made contact with Derek’s ribs.

The sudden collision between bone and metal surprised both Derek and Captain Herrett. Herrett’s arms rebounded with the sword, and Derek was sent sliding a few meters back.

At this point, Derek’s entire shirt was up in flames. He quickly reached to his chest and ripped the blazing shirt off his body. Another one gone. He sighed. Derek inspected his new wound. It was quite deep, cutting all the way to the bone, but surprisingly, it wasn’t bleeding. That’s one downside of using flames on your blade, I guess. Instant cauterization.

Derek watched as the charred flesh moved rapidly, pushing all the char to the tip of his skin. It was unsightly. As the scarred flesh moved, the flesh beneath healed perfectly. This happened until the damaged flesh was pushed out of the wound and fell to the ground. Then, his wound closed and healed as if he was never touched.

Derek wiped some blood off his abdomen before using Cleaning on the area. I wonder if the Repair skill can fix shirts like it fixed that table. Derek put that on his list of things to ask Alanah about later.

Finally, Derek looked up into Captain Herrett’s eyes. They were no longer red, In fact, all color had left the man, and he was leaning forward, panting, on his longsword, which was stabbed into the ground.

“That was a great strike,” Derek praised.

The man smiled. “I’m glad. It took everything I had.”

With that, the man slipped off his sword and fell face-first onto the ground, unconscious. It seemed that he wasn’t joking.

Derek sighed and looked back up at the city lord and his personal guard. “Your turn.”

50 A NOBLE DEATH

“N-no! No, no, no, no… you can’t do this.” The city lord begged as he stumbled backwards, away from the approaching Derek.

Derek smiled and shook his head. “Oh, I can… and I will.” He moved forward, step by step. Derek looked around at the city lord’s remaining personal guards and noticed that they were all sweating bullets and stiff as boards. He chuckled. I’m guessing that display against Herrett is to thank for this.

Malcolm tripped over his own feet and landed on his back. From there, he tried crawling away. Derek took another step forward, getting closer and closer to the man.

“Attack him! Kill him!” The frightened city lord shouted his commands at his last remaining hope, his personal guards.

Derek could only guess that his personal guards had a much stricter contract or oath than the soldiers or even Herrett, because, even while terrified of Derek, they still attacked him one last time. And it was the last time because Derek didn’t hold back, giving them all quick deaths with his void-covered hands.

After that, only Derek, Silvi, Malcolm, and the unconscious Herrett and Clay remained. There may have been some soldiers still close enough to make out what was happening, but Derek didn’t bother to check. It was probably better if they were watching, anyway.

The city lord pushed and kicked the ground, doing everything he could to escape Derek. Unfortunately for him, it was all in vain.

“P-please don’t do this,” the city lord pleaded. “I-I can give you money! My father can make you a wealthy man.”

Derek shook his head. “I don’t need money.” He took another step forward.

“Women then! I can give you women whose beauty you’ve never even dreamed of.” When money didn’t work, he switched to sex.

“Not a chance.” Derek took another step.

Malcolm widened his eyes. “What about men? I could find you all types of men. Beautiful, handsome, rugged, you name it, and I will find them.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “No, not men either.”

A glint flashed in the eyes of the begging city lord. “If not men, women, or money, then children!”

Derek stopped and frowned. He looked the city lord dead in his eyes. “Children?”

“Ah. I see, so that’s it. Of course, you hang around with that boy and are very protective of that little girl. I can get you more. Boys… girls… it doesn’t matter.” The city lord seemed to think he had figured something out. He was sorely mistaken.

Derek moved and was overtop the city lord’s body in a flash. He reached down and lifted the man up by the collar of his tunic. With gritted teeth, he spoke, “And where do you get these children?”

The man squirmed in Derek’s grasp. “I cannot say, but you can have as many as you want.”

Derek reached down with his free hand and grabbed one of Malcolm’s fingers. He tightened his grip and twisted until he heard a loud pop. “Tell me!”

Unfortunately, the broken finger didn’t get much of a reaction out of the city lord. “I can’t tell you,” he replied.

Derek watched as the man’s finger seemed to set itself and slowly heal. Ah, that’s right. These nobles come from a line of tanks. Derek clicked his tongue. The fear of death was what kept the man talking. Pain wasn’t going to get Derek anywhere.

“If you can’t tell me, then I guess you don’t have any use left.” Derek brought his free hand up and channeled the void into it right before the city lord’s eyes. He made somewhat of a show out of it.

“No, please. I can’t say. I’m under oath,” the man blurted.

“Better to break the oath than to die, don’t you think?” Derek slowly moved his palm forward, inching closer and closer to the frightened man’s head.

“No, no, no!” the man screamed. “I can’t.”

Derek sighed. “Fine. I’ll just ask your son when he wakes up, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll ask your father… politely, of course.” He pulled his arm back and shot it towards the man’s head.

“Father!” the man yelled, and Derek stopped his palm just before the void made contact with the man’s skin. “It’s father’s business. He has other noble houses working under him. They… procure the goods and make the deliveries. That way, nothing is linked back to House Torith.”

Derek sat the man down and patted his tunic. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” He looked over at the unconscious Clay. “Your son, does he know about this… family business?”

The city lord fell to his knees, crying. “My skills! They’re all gone.”

Derek took a quick look, and sure enough, the information on the man came back as him being an Oathbreaker. I guess that’s one good thing that came out of all of this. Derek thought before nudging the man with his foot. “Hey! I asked you a question. Does your son know?”

The man, still sobbing, shook his head. “N-no. I barely know. I don’t have anything to do with that side of things. When I found out, I had to make an oath, and then my father still sent me to that damned city.”

Derek nodded. “I see,” he said. So the city lord doesn’t actually know anything else about it.

“Can I go now?” the man asked.

“Go? Who said anything about letting you go?”

“B-but I told you everything. I broke my oath for it. Y-you have to let me go.”

“Why would I have to do that? Besides, I promised your guard that you wouldn’t live for more than an hour, and I wouldn’t want to break my promise, now, would I?” he replied. “For your cooperation, I’ll give you a quick death. How does that sound?”

“N-n… b-bu… please, no!” The man tried to turn away and run.

Derek kicked off the ground and caught up to the man in an instant. He held him by the back of his neck. Using his void-covered fist, he punched him in the center of his back, right behind his heart. A spray of blood flew out of the city lord’s mouth, but the man was still breathing.

Just how much endurance and vitality does this guy have? It wasn’t as easy to kill someone with high stats by destroying their heart as it was if you focused on the brain, but that was fine by Derek. He had promised the man a quick death, not a painless one.

Derek opened his hand and struck the man’s back once again. It still wasn’t enough. Derek’s Identify told him that the man was in critical condition, though, so he struck one last time. With three void-covered strikes to the city lord’s back, it was enough to put the man in a ‘Dying’ state. Derek nodded, but instead of waiting for the time to run out, he struck out one more time, this time to his head. There was no ‘Dying’ state when one’s brain was destroyed.

You have successfully slain an Oathbreaker of the Great System.

Achievement Unlocked

That must be the Achievement the guard talked about.

Lesser Enforcer of Oaths

You have slain an Oathbreaker of the Great System. It is of utmost importance to keep to your oaths to the Great System. For enforcing oaths and delivering justice to those who break them, you will be awarded with the following:

3 Skill Points

Eliminate more Oathbreakers of the Great System to earn more rewards.

Holy shit. What an incentive to kill people who break their oaths. Now I’m starting to feel a little bit bad for that other guard. Derek shook his head. There was nothing I could do about it. His oath was linked to her death, and she had to die. If I would have had my prison before meeting her, it could have been different… Derek sighed and removed his hand from the back of the city lord.

With that, the city lord’s corpse stopped moving as blood pooled around it on the ground. His promise to Captain Herrett was finally fulfilled. Speaking of which, Derek walked over to the unconscious ex-guard.

He couldn’t get any information about the man because his Identify skill wasn’t at a high enough level to use it on him yet. Derek reached down and cast Rejuvenation, along with Cleaning on the guard. He was still unsure of what to do with the man. Derek checked on the man one more time.

He was breathing steadily, and his heart was beating strongly. Doesn’t look like there’s anything overly wrong with him or his body. He most likely just strained his body and mind by using a lot of skill at once and running out of mana at the same time. Derek reached down and picked the man up.

With Herrett in his arms, he walked over to the carriage that the city lord’s sun was in. Letting the boy keep his spot, for now, he placed Herrett on the seat at the front and sat down beside him. Unfortunately, the beasts in charge of pulling the carriage had run away during all the commotion, and Derek didn’t feel like carrying two bodies at the moment.

He could use Time Prison, but he was still unsure of how it worked. He didn’t want to lock Herrett up, then come to find out he couldn’t get him back out.

‘Silvi, how ‘bout you pull the carriage? I’m sure you’re strong enough to do it,’ Derek asked Silvi.

‘How ‘bout you fuck off?’

Silvi’s reply left Derek aghast, then visions of cooking shows from his previous world flashed through his mind. I’m definitely going to regret leaving her in that restaurant’s kitchen. So far, her use of foul language was minor. Hopefully, I pulled her out of it in time. Derek sighed once more and shook his head.

51 JACKS

Derek took three vials out of his storage bracelet and poured them inside Captain Herrett’s mouth. If what he was thinking was correct, the stamina and mana potions would help the man wake up, and it never hurt to throw in an extra health potion while at it.

The longer he waited, the more tempted he was to just throw Clay and Herrett into his Time Prison and sort everything out later. What he really needed to do was have a conversation with Alanah about what he learned from Malcolm. He struggled to think that with all her resources, she wouldn’t know anything about what was going on.

Derek waited around a few more minutes before deciding on a different approach. Using his aura worked well enough to knock some people unconscious, and that was back when he wasn’t as strong, so who was to say it wouldn’t be able to wake someone up?

He stood from the carriage and walked around to Herrett’s side. Using what he had practiced, he moved the void through himself without holding back, then he released the held energy throughout his body and tried his best to direct it towards Captain Herrett.

At that time, he wasn’t thinking about Silvi, who was sitting on his shoulder. When his aura poured out, it also hit the bunny. She launched herself off his shoulder and landed on top of the carriage.

‘Ass,’ she called out into his mind, then, to his surprise, she shot her aura back at him.

When Derek used his aura, a purple glow fell over his body, his muscles and veins bulged, his eyes turned purple, and his black hair took on a purple shade. Silvi, though, grew. She didn’t grow a lot, but when such a small creature has an increase in their muscles, it is very visible.

Her entire coat of hair turned the same color as her mane, and the purple streak on her horn glowed brilliantly. The freshly cleaned cloak on her back fluttered with her aura. It all made for a magnificent scene.

Derek locked eyes with his companion, then he felt a wave wash over him. Obviously, she directed her aura at him. It didn’t have much of an effect on Derek, but it was very uncomfortable. It felt like he was moving in water or like the air was extremely heavy in humidity. If he wasn’t as strong as he was, he was sure he would have trouble breathing.

And that was when Herrett shot up and took a deep breath. The man wearily looked over at Derek, then at Silvi. Again, he breathed in deeply. It didn’t seem to help much. Soon, his eyes turned red and a glow, not as distinct as Derek’s or Silvi’s, washed over his body. With that, the man breathed much easier.

Derek could feel the third aura. It was minor, but if he focused, he could find it. It was almost completely washed away with Silvi and his own aura.

Derek chuckled and withdrew his aura, letting Silvi’s aura fall over him with no resistance. The feeling stayed the same, but it was much more pronounced, almost like the water was even heavier than before. He only experienced the feeling for a few seconds before Silvi retraced her aura as well. Then, as if nothing happened, she took her place back on his shoulder.

Captain Herrett rubbed the sweat off his forehead, then cautiously withdrew his aura as well. “I thought I was going to suffocate.” The former guard broke the silence.

Derek began to laugh, then remember Clay, who was lying in the carriage that Silvi was standing on before. The boy had passed out with just one weaker aura before, and now he had been hit by both Derek and Silvi.

Derek rushed to the back of the carriage and looked in. Clay, in all his golden-haired glory, was on his side, coughing up blood and heaving. Apparently, their auras had done more than just weighing down his breathing.

Derek put his hand on the teen’s back and cast Rejuvenation. That seemed to lessen the teen’s injuries. Next, he saw the teen pull out a red vial and chug it. It was a much more expensive-looking potion than the vial he had fed Herrett.

“You done?” Derek coldly asked.

That was when the noble noticed Derek. When his eyes landed on him, the teen scampered backwards until his back was up against the wall of the carriage.

“None of that.” Derek reached in and grabbed him by the collar of his tunic. Then, in one swift motion, he threw him out of the carriage and onto the ground. After that, he picked the teen up by the back of his neck and walked back to the front of the carriage where Herrett was waiting.

Derek tossed the noble to the ground, then took a seat in the driver’s box on the carriage. “Get up.” He told the teen. “If you run, you die. If you fight, you die. If you don’t answer my questions… you guessed it… you die. Do you understand?”

To the noble’s credit, he was able to stand and nod without pissing himself. Well, that was until he decided to look around the area. What met his eyes first was his father’s dead body. Then, he turned his head and looked behind him, at Silvi’s battlefield.

The ground had turned crimson, and bodies, both whole and parts, littered the area. Hundreds of corpses fell into the boy’s view. With that, his legs gave out, and he fell to his knees. That was when his eyes fell back on Derek, and he lost control of his bladder.

Derek shook his head, ignoring the noble’s plight. His gaze landed on Herrett. “So, Captain Herrett, what should I do with you?”

“Former Captain,” the man answered. The man had to have been through some stuff because there was not a hint of fear in his eyes when he looked at Derek. “You can call me Jackson… or Jacks.”

“Okay, Jacks, what should I do with you?”

“That is up to you, sir. If your offer still stands, I would gladly accept it. You seem like a decent enough person to work for.” He gave Derek a toothy grin.

Derek had offered the man employment in jest when they first met. “And after your old employer just died, isn’t that a little rude?”

The man scoffed. “That twat? I hold no loyalty to him or his family. If I were able, I would have ended him myself,” he said. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

“Why would you work for him if that was the way you felt about them?” Derek asked.

“Contracts and oaths,” Jacks answered.

“And why would you make an oath to such a despicable person?”

Jacks sighed. “My son…” he said.

Derek frowned. “What happened?”

“I was out on a mission from the guild. When I got back, my wife was dead, and my son was missing.” The man clenched his fists. “I looked for days. None of my contacts with the guild knew anything. I had to find my boy. He was all I had left.”

“And that’s when Gerald found you, in person.” Derek cut in.

Jacks looked at Derek in surprise, then nodded his head. “Yes. He said that he would help me find my boy as long as I made an oath and signed a contract once they found him.”

“An oath and a contract?” Derek asked.

Jacks nodded. “It’s how Gerald does things. He makes you take an oath and sign a contract. The terms are exactly the same. The only difference is that the penalty for breaking the contract is death.”

“How does that work?”

“The punishment for the contract is death one second after it is broken. It allows the oath to wipe out any skills that may be used to break a contract, then the contract takes care of the rest,” Jacks explained.

Derek nodded. “So, Gerald found your son, and you signed the contract and made an oath? Where is your son now?”

Jacks smiled. “I haven’t seen him since Malcolm was sent to be city lord here. I trained the boy hard because I knew what kind of house Torith was. When he turned 12 and unlocked the Great System, he obtained a rare class. From there, I helped him level and sent him to the Academy. Nobody can lay a finger on those in the king’s Academy.”

Jacks sighed. “I haven’t seen him in five years. He’s 19 now. In the last letter I received, he had joined the King’s Army and was working his way through the ranks. It’s much easier when you’re a graduate of the Academy.”

Derek nodded. “That’s good.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Jacks asked suddenly.

Derek nodded. “Go ahead.”

“How did you know? How did you know that Gerald personally offered his help?” Jacks asked.

“Well… that’s because he’s the one who killed your wife and kidnapped your son,” Derek answered calmly.

“What?” Jacks shouted angrily. “How…” He shook his head. “What do you know?”

Derek shook his head. “Not much. Just what that asshole told me before he died. Apparently, his father likes to kidnap children and sell them. When Malcolm overheard him talking about it, the man placed an oath on Malcolm, though not nearly as bad as the one you talked about, and sent him far away, where there wasn’t anybody strong enough to worry about. Well, until me.”

Jacks was trembling in rage at that point. “I’m going to kill him!”

“Calm down. You’re not the only one who wants him dead,” Derek said. “Now, if his contracts are so fierce, how are you still alive?”

Jacks snorted, his face still tinged red in anger. “That’s because I did my best.”

Derek gave the man a sideways glance. “What do you mean?”

“After my son was… found.” He gritted his teeth at the word. “I had to sign the contract and make an oath. Fortunately, in my position at least, I had some wiggle room. I immediately rejected their first contract, which would have resulted in my death if Malcolm Torith ever died.”

Derek nodded along with the man’s explanation.

“After some back and forth, we were able to come to an agreement. Mind you, it was still a pretty bad contract for me, but I was indebted to the man for finding my son, so I wasn’t about to back out after a promise.” The former guard captain sighed.

“So, what did you end up agreeing to? If you don’t mind telling me,” Derek asked.

Jacks smirked, which looked frightening with the scar on his face. “Oh, I don’t mind telling you. If not for you, I would have never been able to ‘complete’ the contract.” He almost laughed but was still upset after learning about what really happened.

“You see. I signed and swore to protect Malcolm Torith to the best of my ability.” He finally laughed. “When you said that you were for sure going to kill the man, it fulfilled the condition that he needed protection. It also gave me hope that you would kill the bastard before I regained consciousness. If I would have woken up before you took care of him, I don’t know if the contract would have still been completed. Fortunately, you kept your word and finished him off before you woke me.” Jacks rubbed the stubble on his face. “Instant death by assassination may have worked, too.”

“You also allowed me the time to power up and prepare my most powerful attack. Thanks for that, by the way.” Jacks nodded to Derek. “Therefore, I did my all to protect Malcolm to the best of my ability. I honestly didn’t expect you to be able to take that attack so easily, though. You seem… stronger now than when I first met you.”

“I am,” Derek confirmed.

Jacks furrowed his brows in confusion but didn’t ask any questions. “Now, everything was all guesswork until it happened, and I didn’t die. I still have access to the Great System, and the contract is gone as well. And, since the contract is gone, and the oath was tied to the contract… it’s gone as well.”

“That’s good.”

Jacks nodded. “Yeah, the way I saw it, there were four possible outcomes. The most likely outcome was that I did it, then ended up dying when Malcolm died. Then there was you just killing me… I’m glad that didn’t happen. Followed by the plan working. Malcolm dying and me still being alive.”

“What was the fourth?” Derek asked.

“Well…” The man smiled oddly at Derek. “The fourth outcome is that everything worked, and you still kill me. I’m still figuring out whether that’s going to happen or not.”

Derek chuckled. “It’s not.”

“That’s a relief,” Jacks replied.

“By the way, you’re a lot more talkative now than you were before,” Derek pointed out.

Jacks scoffed. “You wouldn’t talk much either if you had to be around those assholes…” He pointed at the quivering Clay. “All day, and you weren’t able to take any actions against them without killing yourself.”

“I guess not,” Derek responded. “So, what are you going to do now?”

Jacks let out a breath. “I don’t know. I never thought I was going to get my freedom back. I thought that getting my son back and sending him to the Academy was going to be the last decent thing I did in my life. At some point, I am going to find him. There’s no telling where he’s currently stationed.”

Derek nodded. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you,” Derek said. “Were you serious about working with me?” At this point in the conversation, the two had dropped all formalities and were speaking with each other casually.

“If you’ll have me,” Jacks replied. “Of course, I’m not signing some soul-sucking contract again. If need be, I could sign a basic contract or something like that. I’ll also need to know exactly what I’ll be doing. From what I’ve seen about you, you don’t seem like a person who’ll require me to do awful things, but I was fooled once in some respects. Though never once did I think Gerald Torith was a ‘good’ person.”

“I’m sure I could find a spot for you. We’ll be heading to Savannah soon. The more strength, the better… especially if you prove trustworthy. We’ll work out the details later,” Derek explained.

Jacks nodded, then sighed. “It’s too bad about Bradley. He was a decent fellow.”

Derek had to think back for a minute. The name sounded familiar, but he was having a hard time placing it. Finally, he had a realization. That’s the guy that was Clay’s guard. Derek frowned. “Why? What happened?”

“Well, he was one of the few that was able to sign a decent contract with House Torith. I was there when he signed it. There was no death clause, and no oath required. He just had to protect this dipshit for a few more years or until the noble died,” Jacks explained.

Derek nodded. “That sounds like a good thing to me. If you want, I could just break his contract, here and now.” He pointed at Clay.

Jacks shook his head. “That’s not going to help.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the man was punished for ‘allowing’ Clay to get in that mess with your… companion. He was demoted. Unfortunately, because of that demotion, he was near the front of the guards when your”—he gestured towards Silvi—“attacked.”

Derek could see where this was going. ‘Didn’t we agree to let the ones go that didn’t attack?’ he asked Silvi.

‘I did,’ she replied.

“He must have attacked her. She let all the ones who didn’t attack run away,” Derek explained.

Jacks half smiled. “He did. I saw it. I think it was more of a scared instinct, but he did draw his sword when she appeared by his side.”

Derek sighed. “Can’t do anything about that.”

Jacks nodded. Then he pointed at Clay. “What’s your plan for this little shit? I can’t imagine that he’ll be able to give you more information than you got out of his father.”

Derek shook his head. “No, I doubt he knows anything. Technically, he hasn’t done anything wrong since I gave him a warning, but that’s because he was in a coma. However, there’s no way in hell I let him walk away.”

Derek looked at the trembling noble. “What do you think I should do with you?”

The teen opened his mouth to speak but was unable to summon the courage to say anything. He tried multiple times but was never able to form any words, not even a stutter.

“That’s what I thought,” Derek said. “Don’t worry. I happen to need a living enemy to help me test something out, and you’ll do just fine.”

“W-w-what i-is it?” the noble managed to mutter.

“Well, let me show you,” Derek replied. He looked over at Jacks. “Jacks, would you mind giving an oath not to reveal anything you’re about to see until I give you the okay? Either that, or you can go on to town and wait for us there.”

Derek watched Jacks’ eyes. He could see him wrestling with the decision to make an oath or not. Derek could understand him, seeing as he had just gotten out of an oath he never thought he would. Fortunately, this was a regular oath to keep a secret, and finally, his curiosity won out.

Jacks sighed. “I’m too interested. What oath do you want me to make? If it’s not too bad, I’ll do it.”

“Like I said, just that you won’t reveal what you’re about to see with anyone until I tell you it’s okay, and that you won’t try to use any information you gain to harm me or my companions,” Derek explained.

Jacks nodded. “Fair enough.” Then, he said the oath exactly as Derek had told him, with no alterations.

Derek waited until he got the confirmation, then nodded. “That will do.”

Then, to Jacks’ surprise, and even Silvi’s, as she wasn’t around when he received his new skill, he gripped the void in front of him and ripped it to two sides, revealing a door behind. With his right hand, he reached for the handle and pulled. The door swung open, revealing the contents to everybody at once.

Silvi flew in to explore before Derek could say anything. After a few seconds, she landed back on his shoulder, not impressed. ‘It’s empty.’

‘Of course, it’s empty. I haven’t had a reason to use it until now, and I just got it,’ Derek replied.

‘You could have at least put a kitchen inside,’ she ranted, but Derek ignored her.

At that moment, Jacks took a step forward to gaze into the darkness. “I-is this space energy? No… that’s not right. I… it feels… different… time? Yes, it feels like time.”

“You know what time energy feels like?” Derek asked.

The man nodded. “I once ran a dungeon with the aspect of time.”

Derek looked at him oddly.

“No, it’s not like you’re thinking. There aren’t any terribly powerful monsters inside. We knew it was a time dungeon when we went inside. It’s a very popular dungeon in another kingdom. It’s popular because there are so many monsters that it takes weeks to complete, but when you come out, only a few hours have passed. The Cydarian kingdom would kill for a dungeon like it. It makes for a perfect training dungeon,” Jacks explained.

Derek nodded in understanding. He had thought the same about his Time Prison. If he could figure everything out, it may be possible to make it into a great training space as well.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Derek grabbed the noble by the back of his shirt and pushed him inside the prison. He gave Jacks a smile and followed right behind.

52 TIME PRISON

As the noble fell to his knees inside the Time Prison, Derek stepped in behind him. As it was before, the prison was extremely dark, the only light coming from the door to the outside. I’m going to have to get some lights for this place. He put that on the list of things to do. If he planned on using this ability often, he would at least need to decorate the lobby.

After some time, Derek heard footsteps behind him. It seemed as though Jacks worked up the courage to follow Derek inside.

“I didn’t expect you to come in so quick,” Derek said.

“It just took a minute to get the nerve to. I trust you well enough. If you were going to harm me, I suspect you already would have,” Jacks answered.

Derek nodded his head in agreement.

“Now it’s time to see how this works.” Derek motioned around him. “This,” he said to Jacks, “is a prison.”

That got Jacks’s attention. “Did you say… prison?”

Derek bobbed his head in confirmation. “Yup. It’s my very own time prison,” he replied.

“A skill that gives someone a prison,” Jacks said to no one in particular. “How does it work? If you don’t mind.”

Derek waved him off. “I don’t mind… In fact, that’s what I’m doing here, now,” he replied. “You see, I’ve never had a reason to use it before, so I’m not sure how everything works. That is where this guy comes in.”

“I see. Do you really need a prison, though?”

Derek laughed. “Of course I do. I’m not a huge fan of killing everyone that crosses me, but it’s not like I can just let them off. You saw how well my warning went. At the same time, I don’t think everyone deserves death. A little time to themselves may change their attitude, and at the same time, some people deserve worse than death. I’m hoping this prison will allow for both. Besides, some people are more useful alive than dead.”

“I can see how staying by oneself in a place like this could drive a person mad,” Jacks replied.

Derek’s eye twitched. You don’t know the half of it, he thought. “Yeah, I’m sure it would,” he agreed.

Finally, Derek picked Clay up from the ground. “Come on,” he said while pushing him forward, towards one of the cells. “You’re going to be inmate number one until I figure out something else to do with you.”

With Jacks watching, Derek and Clay arrived at the closest cell door. Derek reached out and placed his palm on the door to open it. The door opened, causing a rush of air to flow out. Derek pulled the storage ring off Clay’s finger and pocketed it before tossing him inside the cell. With a push, Clay stumbled into the empty room.

With the noble inside, Derek closed the newly occupied prison cell. When the door closed, Derek received an interesting notification.

New occupant in Cell #003.

Select occupant’s sentence.

Note: Occupants can not be removed from the cell until their sentence is served. Time served is based on the flow of time inside the Time Prison cell. Once the inmates complete their sentence, they are unable to be imprisoned again for one week.

Derek furrowed his brow. That takes away some of the possibilities. As he was thinking, he focused on the sentencing options. Currently, the minimum sentence was one week, and the maximum was one year. Of course, this was only the time that Derek would have to wait for the prisoner’s sentence to be over. Depending on how he adjusted the cell’s flow of time, the sentence could be much harsher or lighter.

Since Derek was still in the experimental phase of the Time Prison, he opted for a sentence of one 28-day month. If needed, he could speed time up and get the noble out in two weeks, or he could double it and leave him in for two months. Once he selected the sentence, a new notification appeared.

You have selected 28 days. During these 28 days, inmates will be locked in the cell and unable to leave.

During lockup, skills and stats will be frozen in time, as this is a punishment, not a reward.

Inmate’s body will adjust according to the outside flow of time. Metabolic function will be adjusted accordingly. The prisoner will not die of dehydration or starvation.

Confirm Sentencing?

Y/N

That notification answered a question that Derek had ever since he was locked inside the void. It explained why it felt like he was trapped for decades or even centuries, but in reality, only a couple of years had passed. Unfortunately for him, his metabolic function was not adjusted when he was trapped. If not for his already high vitality, he would have died from starvation while he was there.

Derek confirmed the sentencing. A loud bang sounded out, and a screen with numbers appeared on the cell door. Derek watched the numbers count down from 28 days. Currently, the screen showed 27 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 53 seconds. Derek watched the seconds count down. 52… 51… 50…

Then Derek placed his hand on the cell and focused on adjusting the time. With a thought, the number displayed on the cell began counting down rapidly, two seconds for every one spent outside. Then Derek adjusted it again, and the countdown slowed. Now, only one second passed inside the cell for every two seconds Derek felt. He left the cell alone at that. With time slowed down, Clay’s imprisonment would feel like two months.

Under the scrutinizing gaze of Jacks, Derek backed away from the occupied cell.

“Amazing,” he heard Jacks say. “You’re able to adjust the individual flow of time for each prison cell?” he asked.

“Looks that way,” Derek answered.

“Can… can you use them as training rooms?” Jacks asked excitedly.

Derek sighed and shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. That was one of the things I wished to know when we entered. When the cell locks, apparently it blocks the inmate’s ability to access their skills. So, no matter how much time is spent imprisoned, their abilities will not grow… at least that’s what the notification sounded like when I read it.”

“How unfortunate.” Jacks also sighed. It didn’t take a genius to see the allure of a training room with time flow that could be adjusted.

“Indeed,” Derek answered. Suddenly, he got another idea. “Would you mind staying here for a moment?” he asked Jacks.

Jacks frowned. “What?”

“Just don’t move. I’ll be right back.” With the Time Prison his focus, Derek adjusted the time flow of the lobby. According to what he knew, the flow would take effect when he closed the prison.

Before Jacks could respond, Derek ran outside and slammed the prison shut. Derek stood still and waited for exactly two minutes. When the second minute passed by, Derek grabbed the space surrounding him and ripped it apart, revealing the door to the prison.

He reached out and opened the door, only to see a wide-eyed Jacks standing in the center of the room.

“So, what happened?” Derek asked.

“Y-you… You locked me in here without knowing what would happen?” Jacks half-yelled.

“I was almost 100% sure that you would be okay. The cells gave me all kinds of warnings when locking Clay away, but nothing popped up when I closed the door with you still inside. No warning, no confirmation, nothing,” Derek explained. “So, did anything happen? I waited two minutes outside. Did it feel like one minute in here?”

Jacks took in a deep breath and calmed down. “Yes. It couldn’t have been more than a minute… at least, I don’t think. I was busy reading the notifications.”

“Notifications?” Derek asked.

Jacks nodded. “Yeah. I was told that I had been locked inside a time prison and that any progression of my skills and abilities had been halted. I also got a warning that time had been adjusted relevant to the outside world, but it didn’t tell me in what way.”

“Interesting,” Derek murmured. So, this ‘lobby’ could be used as a prison too, if I was out of cells. He thought. “Did it say anything about your metabolic functions?”

“No?” Jacks shook his head in confusion.

“I’m guessing that there isn’t a control for that here, then,” Derek said. So, being shut in the lobby would be more like me being trapped in the void. Still, this space would make for a great transportation skill. Since I don’t have to confirm a sentence, I could use it to carry people.

That would be great for later. Currently, with the father and son Torith, he wasn’t in a rush to get to Savannah with everyone, so they could all travel the normal way, but if he ever needed to move everybody quickly, he could. Of course, he still wanted to test it some before putting Brandi and the others inside.

Derek nodded to himself as he came up with a plan. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the storage ring he took from Clay. We should probably ‘loot’ the battlefield before we go, he thought.

“Okay, let’s get out of here.” Derek walked back outside the prison. With Silvi sitting on his shoulder and Jacks standing beside him, he closed the prison.

Derek looked over the gory land and spoke. “Okay, let’s take anything valuable, then get out of here.” He handed the storage ring to Silvi. He had taken a look inside before, and it didn’t have anything he found useful other than potions. The bunny bit down on the ring and hopped off his shoulder.

He had forgotten about Malcolm’s storage devices earlier, so he walked over and stripped his dead body of multiple items, including four storage rings. He tossed two near-empty rings to Jacks.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

With that, the trio combed over the battlefield, looting anything and everything they found to be the least bit valuable.

53 SPREADING WORD

After around half an hour of looting, the trio had gathered everything that was remotely useful and stored it in their storage rings. In total, it was a good haul. Most of the items they gathered were different weapons used by Torith’s guards. Most of the guards also had a potion or two on their person that they were unable to use before being killed by Silvi, so Derek came out well ahead in potions.

As Silvi had not taken care to not damage armor, most of it, especially the chest pieces and helmets, was trashed. Still, Derek believed that Brandi could use everything. Most likely, she would be able to reverse engineer completed pieces and use the scraps as materials. Either way, the armor and weapons would allow her to increase her skills even more.

When all was said and done, Derek, Jacks, and Silvi all gathered back at the carriage. Derek had accomplished his goal with Malcolm Torith now being dead, and it was time to head back. As he was no longer in a rush, the three took off towards the village at a moderate pace. With Jacks’s stats, as long as Derek and Silvi didn’t go full out, he didn’t have to worry about the man keeping up.

Seeing how he had a short journey ahead of him, Derek decided that now was the best time to confront Alanah about the Torith matter. He still had a hard time wrapping his head around the thought that Alanah didn’t know about what they did, even if Gerald covered it up so well.

While rushing through the forest, Derek took out his red communication crystal. With a thought, he sent his mana in and activated it. After a short while, someone finally picked up.

‘Derek, this is Avery. My mistress will be with you shortly. She’s attending to a very important matter at this time.’ Avery’s voice sounded in Derek’s head.

‘That’s fine, I can wait. There’s something important that I need to discuss with her, too,’ Derek responded.

After that, the two made small talk while Derek ran through the forest. To Derek, Avery seemed like a pretty decent fellow. Of course, the man held important information close to his chest, and Derek couldn’t get him to divulge anything without the man first receiving Alanah’s instructions. If nothing else, it proved that Avery was a loyal subject.

One thing that seemed to excite Avery while talking about it was the training of the two boys, Zac and Lucas. When Derek brought the two boys up in their conversation, it was like the floodgates had opened. The man was very proud of the boys and spoke fondly of them.

‘I’d like to meet them when I get to the capital someday. With the way you talk about them, they must be geniuses,’ Derek praised.

‘I wouldn’t say that, but they are both talented and very hardworking. There’s not much more one can ask out of your students,’ Avery said. Then, before Derek could reply, he continued, ‘Oh, there she is now. One moment.’

Derek waited for a moment before Alanah’s voice came through. ‘Derek. How are you? How is your friend?’

‘Rayna is fine. She made it. Unless you’re talking about Katrisha? I’m sure your Deathsworn has already informed you of her demise,’ Derek replied.

‘Mhm,’ Alanah confirmed. ‘He did. I wasn’t surprised by the results. Though, you could have made everything less public. Who knows what Malcolm or Gerald will think when they find that their retainer is dead?’

‘Ah, so word hasn’t spread?’

‘Word about what?’ Alanah asked.

‘Did you hear about Malcolm retreating from the city to go home?’ Derek ignored her question.

‘Yes. Stella informed me. I was going to inform you, but she assured me that Walter had already contacted you,’ she replied. ‘So, what word has yet to reach me?’ she asked again.

‘Word that Malcolm won’t be making it to the capital after all,’ Derek replied.

‘Won’t be making… Did you kill him?’

‘I did. I intercepted him on his way to Wilmette. I’m sure you will be hearing stories soon. I didn’t go easy on them.’

Nothing came through for a moment until finally, Derek heard a sigh. ‘So you went through with it, after all. Like I said before, Gerald will come for you—and most likely those close to you. I hope you are prepared. I’ll do my best to let you know if I discover a plot against you, but I can no longer hold him off after the death of his family.’

‘I’m not asking you to,’ Derek replied. ‘I’m not worried about Gerald. I am wondering how you have allowed the man to live for as long as he has, though.’

‘What do you mean?’ Alanah asked.

‘Surely, with your resources, you’ve been able to put together what the man does. You said that becoming one of your Deathsworn is reserved for the evilest of society. I’m asking, why is Gerald not one of your Deathsworn?’ Derek asked.

‘What have you found?’ Alanah asked, confusion in her tone. ‘Gerald is by no means a decent person. I also suspect him of many deplorable acts, but I’ve never been able to get any proof. And, with him being by the king’s side, I would need proof. Gerald is very cautious with everything he does. Every time I try to find something on him, the person committing a crime is four or more people removed from him, and it can never be traced back to him.’

‘What do you suspect him to be a part of?’ Derek asked.

‘There are many things that I suspect, but none that I have been even close to proving,’ she replied. ‘I suspect he has been an accessory to many murders of nobles that have acted against him. Unfortunately, he’s so patient that it’s years before those nobles suffer horrible fates. I’ve had people trace those murders, but they always end up at a dead end.’

‘Anything else?’ Derek asked.

‘Of course,’ Alanah said. ‘He has his hand in so many markets that there’s no way he doesn’t get them dirty. Markets that I avoid at all costs. It’s one reason that I focus mainly on my restaurants. I’ve built it to the top, so I am king when it comes to restaurants. I don’t have to follow old traditions or grease any palms. The restaurant business also allows me to gather information easily. Who doesn’t like to talk during dinner?’ she explained.

‘I see,’ Derek said. ‘When you say other markets, do you mean slave trade and trafficking?’

‘Slave trade has been illegal for decades now,’ she replied. ‘That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any slaves, though. Sometimes a slave or servant oath is the only way out of a situation, but the Great System takes its oaths seriously. A slave oath cannot be coerced, and you cannot give the slave to another. Of course, there are contracts as well, and they aren’t nearly as regulated.’

Derek laughed. ‘I’m not talking about oaths and contracts; I’m talking about the slave trade and trafficking. You should know as well as I do that you don’t need to be under contract or oath to be a slave. You need only be weaker than the person opposing you.’

‘Of course, Derek, I’m not naïve,’ Alanah’s irritated voice came through. ‘What have you found?’

‘Gerald is part, if not the head of, a trafficking ring, and it includes children,’ he answered and then waited.

After a while, Alanah spoke again. ‘I can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve investigated multiple disappearances of citizens over the years, but they’ve never led to anything. It would make sense that he is involved because of how well he has been able to cover up his other crimes. Do you have any proof?’

‘Just the fact that Malcolm broke an oath by telling me about it before I killed him. Though, I don’t think anything he knew would hold up against Gerald, especially if he is in your king’s good graces. He heard a small bit of one conversation, and that was enough to get him sent to a city in the middle of nowhere,’ Derek explained.

‘So, that’s why Malcolm took the city lord position. I tried to find out for a while after the man left the capital, but I was never able to get any actual leads. It all makes sense, but I can’t do anything without proof. If he wasn’t one of the king’s men, my reputation would allow me to do with him as I pleased, and the king wouldn’t question me, but as of now, the best I could do is tell the king about it. At best, there would be an investigation that wouldn’t reveal anything,’ Alanah explained.

‘Oh, you don’t have to do anything. I will deal with him. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but with your connections and information, it surprised me that you didn’t know anything about it,’ Derek said.

Alanah sighed. ‘There are a few people in the kingdom that are ‘untouchable,’ Gerald is one of them. It is the reason I gave you ample warning before. Because of his status, it is easy for him to hide things and much harder to get information on him.

‘Fortunately,’ she continued, ‘I am another ‘untouchable,’ and my strength doesn’t come from political connections and other people like his does. My strength is my own. However, a war between me and the royal family wouldn’t end well for either of us or the kingdom. Unfortunately, my going after the main advisor of the king would most likely start such a war… I know my limits.’

‘If he lost the favor of the king, would he lose his status?’ Derek asked.

‘It would hurt him, that’s for sure. However, nobody knows exactly how far his connections spread. Which puts the king in a bind as well. Because of his gratitude, he allowed Gerald and House Torith to grow to the point where they aren’t in his control. Not to mention, Gerald is still in his favor,’ Alanah said.

‘The best way to deal with Gerald would be assassination. He is not personally strong. However, I’m sure he has many safeguards in place in the case of his death, so it will be in many people’s best interest to keep him alive,’ she explained.

‘So, what you’re saying is that once he is dead, it will be easier to find those who acted with him because they will be scrambling to save themselves,’ Derek replied.

‘That may be the case, but it could also cause a civil war.’

Derek scoffed. ‘That sounds like a problem for your inept king.’ He didn’t hide what he thought about the king.

‘He’s not a bad person…’ she tried to explain.

‘No. Apparently, he’s just gullible and inept. All the great qualities one should look for in a ruler.’ He laughed.

‘That…’ Alanah sighed.

‘Anyway, I’m getting ready to leave for Savannah. I’ll be there in a few weeks. It will take some time for everyone to travel to Wilmette for the teleport.’ Derek prepared to end the conversation.

‘Mhm.’ Alanah agreed, then her jovial, seductive tone finally broke through for the first time in their conversation. ‘Make sure you take care of Stella on your way.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Didn’t she tell you? She’s decided that she has had enough of that city and plans on traveling to Savannah with you,’ Alanah explained.

Derek thought back to his last conversation with Stella. I guess she was acting a little strange. They were interrupted by Walter letting him know of Rayna’s dire situation before she could let Derek know what she was thinking.

‘Oh… I guess that’s fine. It’s only one extra person if she comes alone. Plus, she can take care of herself. I haven’t even figured out the travel arrangements yet, so we can talk about all that once I get back to Tori… Do I still call it Torith since there are no longer any Toriths in the city?’ Derek asked.

‘For now, yes. The king, or his council, will eventually find a replacement, and the name will change, or, with Gerald’s position, it may continue to be called Torith forever,’ Alanah answered.

‘Oh? I thought the city names changed according to the city lord here.’

‘For the most part, you are correct. However, there are a few instances where the city name stays the same no matter the change. Take Wilmette, for example. The Wilmette noble family died out decades ago, but the city is named after them in remembrance. The last leader of the Wilmette family died protecting the kingdom before he could produce any heirs, and unfortunately, all his immediate family was lost earlier on. So, the king decided the city would forever be named Wilmette,’ Alanah said.

‘I see. I guess that makes sense,’ Derek said. ‘Let’s hope that’s not the case with Torith.’

‘We can hope, but I have a feeling it will stick. It’d be best if the Gracefalls could get their name back. The city could become Searidge once again. Walter’s son has impressed the king and continues to contribute to Cydaria, so it’s only a matter of time if nothing bad happens to him,’ Alanah said.

‘Walter is definitely proud of him, that’s for sure,’ Derek replied.

‘Speaking of bad things, you should try to get to Savannah as fast as you can. Once everything becomes known, you may have some trouble, so it would be better to get there sooner rather than later,’ Alanah warned.

She continued. ‘The city has almost as much power as the capital, and you and your people will be much safer there than in any other place. House Savannah, Natalie in particular, is another one of those that are considered untouchable. Nothing happens in that city without her knowing about it. But, staying there will be expensive. It will most likely cost even more than you will make through your coffee.’

‘I have a few plans for that. It will take some initial capital, but I should be able to make it. If not, there are other ways for me to obtain a bit of wealth if needed. By the way, what kind of person is Natalie Savannah? Walter seems to count her as one of the few people he respects,’ Derek asked.

‘Natalie is interesting. House Savannah chooses their head based on performance and that’s it. It doesn’t matter if you’re the son of the current head, you have the same chances of becoming the next head even if you’re a distant cousin. As long as you carry the surname, you can become the next Lord of House Savannah. Of course, being the son or daughter of the lord will have some advantages,’ Alanah explained.

‘You have to understand, while strength is important for House Savannah, it is not what holds the most importance. Business acumen is what they look for. House Savannah is the richest noble house in the country for a reason. They could single-handedly supply the kingdom’s armies for years. Money equals power for them. If they aren’t personally strong, they can spend some of their money to hire bodyguards or even elite teams to run them through dungeons,’ she continued.

‘I see. So, how did Natalie end up in her position? Was she the previous lord’s daughter?’ Derek asked.

‘Far from it, actually. She was a relatively unknown grandniece of the previous lord. When she was 13, she was given 1,000 gold coins as a test. Like I said, she was unknown. The Lord had never even met her. 1,000 gold coins are the minimum a Savannah gets when they unlock full functions of the Great System. Most of them blow the money, then go crawling back, asking for more. It’s not uncommon for one to lose everything multiple times before learning the trade,’ Alanah explained.

Derek listened with rapt attention, not wanting to miss anything that could help prepare him for his future in Savannah.

‘Well, Natalie took her 1,000 coins and began buying random odds and ends she found in the lower city. She even went as far as setting up a stand and buying trinkets from traders who couldn’t even afford entrance into the city. Still, nobody paid any attention to the little girl buying weird things. That was until it turned out every item she bought had either been misidentified or had hidden properties no one had found previously. Turns out, she had a knack for collecting strange items, and when she received her class, she received a powerful type of Identify skill,’ she continued.

‘What happened next? How powerful is the skill?’

‘Nobody knows but Natalie. The only information she’s ever given is that it’s like Identify,’ Alanah said. ‘What happened next? She turned 1,000 gold coins into 3,000 in a month, and by the time she was 15, she had made upwards of 100,000 gold coins. Also, she did much more than find items nobody else wanted. Once she gained enough capital, she opened small businesses and started making income passively. And every single person she’s hired has been perfectly loyal. She may be better than me when judging someone’s character.’ Alanah laughed.

‘Is that so? Speaking of character, what about her?’ he asked.

‘Well, she’s neutral when it comes to politics. She could affect the outcome of any political struggle, but she chooses not to. When it comes to illegal business, it varies based on which person wins Lord of Savannah. Both she and her predecessor chose to outlaw any illegal trades. If you are caught slave trading or forcibly making contracts, she will judge you. There won’t be a trial, and she won’t send a message to the king, you will just die, and that’s after an intense interrogation. I like this about her.’

‘Sounds like a good way to make some enemies,’ Derek said.

‘Mhm. Like another person I know,’ Alanah joked. ‘She has executed some pretty high-up nobles. Almost as high up as the ones you have executed…’ She laughed. ‘Remember when I told you that if I went against the the king it would end badly for everyone?’

‘Yes?’

‘Well, it’s just about the same for her. Actually, she would most likely do even better than me. Hell, she may even win outright. Once she buys all the soldiers who aren’t under oath or contract, I wonder how many people the king would still have fighting for him?’

Derek immediately put Natalie Savannah on his ‘people to not cross’ list. It was a small list. It currently had two names.

‘Overall, she’s a decent person. She’s the highest-rated member of the Crown. She’s fun to be around and easy to respect. But, no matter who you are, when it comes to business, she’s able to turn her emotions off. She will never make a deal to her detriment.’ Alanah seemed to be speaking from experience.

‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ Derek said. ‘Well, from everything you’ve told me, Savannah sounds like a decent place for me to settle for a while. How are the dungeons around there? And monsters?’ He had already learned a bit about all that, but it never hurt to learn more.

‘You’ll be able to find something to do. There are a few really good high-level dungeons around. You’ll be able to find anything from level 75 to 200. Unfortunately, there aren’t many dungeons in the kingdom that are above level 200, and none of them are around Savannah. Though, that doesn’t matter because you will finally have access to a teleportation formation. There are a couple dungeons I wouldn’t mind running… with the right people,’ she said.

‘I’ll be sure to keep you in mind when it comes to them. You’ll have to tell me about them later. I keep forgetting that I’ll have access to a teleportation circle.’ Derek laughed. ‘I guess I’ll have to change my travel plans. I had originally planned to travel slowly and let everyone have a bit of an adventure, but maybe I should speed things up.’

‘That would be for the best. Just with this conversation, I’ve ignored the king trying to contact me six times… no, make that seven… seven times already. So, it’s safe to assume that word has started to spread about Malcolm.’

Derek didn’t know what to say. It was amusing that Alanah had been ignoring the king to have a conversation with him. ‘Well, I’m going to go, then. Have fun talking with your king.’ The conversation had already gone on much longer than he planned.

Derek heard a sigh come from the other end. ‘You know that there’s not going to be anything fun about it. Just keep yourself safe.’

‘Will do.’ With that, Derek pulled his mana back and released the connection. He let out a sigh and turned to Jacks. “Looks like it’d be better if we moved faster.” As he spoke, he accelerated to the speed he had previously traveled with Silvi.

Jacks lagged behind and couldn’t quite keep pace. “I know where we’re going, so I’ll meet you there if you need to hurry,” he shouted as the distance between the two kept increasing.

Derek put his hand up in a half-wave. “You go to Torith. I’ll meet you there when I get everybody else.” With that, Derek rushed forward, and Jacks broke off in a different direction.

54 LEAVING

After splitting off from Jacks, Derek continued on his way to the village. While running, he brushed away all of Silvi’s kill notifications that had piled up through the battle. Unfortunately, most of the guards were in their mid-60s or 70s, so with the reduced experience from Silvi, and being a good deal above their level, Derek didn’t gain much XP.

Overall, he ended up gaining two levels. It was better than nothing, and two levels meant 60 more stat points for him. With his stats the way they were, he kept the points and wanted to wait to decide to increase his endurance and vitality even more or boost his strength stat a little.

So far, his endurance and vitality stats had been his savior. After taking Jacks’s ultimate skills on, he was sure that if he hadn’t passed through the two thresholds beforehand, the damage he would have taken would have been much, much worse.

Derek pushed all those thoughts aside. He would cross that bridge when he got there. It may be some time before he leveled up enough to make a dent.

Now, as he dashed through the forest full of monsters, his focus was on Thomas, Brandi, and the others. According to Alanah, it would be best for him to get to Savannah as fast as possible. He hadn’t wanted to use the Time Prison for transportation just yet, but it didn’t seem like he had a choice.

He didn’t want others to learn of the Time Prison, but the majority of those who would use it had already made oaths. Brandi, Thomas, Rayna, and Malorie had all made oaths before he took them to the first dungeon together, and those oaths would cover the Time Prison as well. He only had to worry about Rudy… and Stella. Rudy would be easy. He’d be happy to create another contract, and Derek doubted he’d have a problem with Stella.

If he went as fast as he could, he should be able to gather everyone in the village, then those left at Torith, and reach Wilmette by nightfall.

Within a few hours, he and Silvi were back at the village. This time, he took the front gate instead of jumping over the walls. When he arrived at Rayna’s former residence, he found everybody sitting around the meeting table, waiting for his return.

“I’m back,” he announced as he walked through the door to the meeting room.

“Derek! Silvi!” Brandi rushed up from her seat.

Silvi, taking the girl’s enthusiasm as a sign that she would be pet, hopped from Derek’s shoulder and into Brandi’s embrace.

“Did you take care of everything you needed to?” Rayna asked.

Derek nodded. “I did, but it left us on a clock. If you plan on coming, we need to leave now.”

Rayna nodded her head and looked at Malorie, who nodded back. “We gathered everything we needed while you were gone. We don’t have much.”

“Yup, yup. We’re all good to go. Say, how long until I’m able to open up my contract business? I can’t contain my excitement,” Rudy cut in.

“I don’t know,” Derek answered bluntly. “That Depends on Natalie Savannah. We’ll discuss that later.”

Derek turned and gave Richard and Delilah a half-smile. “Unfortunately, I no longer have the time to bring Thomas home to see you. You can come to the city with us and say goodbye. You would need to find your own way back. You could also write a letter or something… or you could change your mind and come with us.”

Richard and Delilah looked at each other and shook their heads. Finally, Delilah spoke. “It’s fine. Just let him know that he’s loved, and he always has a place to come home to.”

Derek nodded. “I’ll see what I can do about getting a communication crystal sent to you once we get to Savannah. I don’t have any extra one on me at the moment.”

At that, the couple’s eyes brightened. “We would be in your debt,” Richard admitted. “Thank you.”

Derek nodded and looked at his group. “Come on. Time to go.”

Once the group was well outside the village, out of sight of anyone else, Derek stopped them. “Okay, this is good,” he said.

“What are we doing?” Rayna asked.

Instead of answering her, he looked at Rudy. “I’m going to need an oath or a contract from you. You can’t reveal anything you’re about to see to anyone.”

Rudy frowned but complied. “I can make a contract. How important is what you’re going to do? I need to know how harsh to make the terms.”

“It’s not of great importance. You can make the terms ‘until I say otherwise,’ as it may be less important later on. Sound good?” Derek asked.

“If I choose not to?” Rudy asked.

“Then we part ways here, and you will need to get to Savannah on your own. Either way, what we talked about before still stands,” Derek explained.

“What about the contract from before? Does it not cover this?” Rudy asked.

“It may, but I don’t believe other people knowing will be harmful to me or the others. It’s just something I don’t want widely spread right now,” Derek explained.

“Very well,” Rudy agreed and wrote up a quick contract. “This one states that I will not reveal any future secrets of yours, unless you otherwise agree that I can, under penalty of losing my combat skills. Does that seem good enough?”

“How are your combat skills?” Derek asked.

“They’re good enough to be a guard, but not enough to be a part of a good Adventurer’s Guild team.”

Derek thought for a moment before agreeing. “That’s fine. Besides, I’ll know if you break it.”

Rudy nodded and wrote up another contract. Derek looked over the terms and agreed. The contract only had limitations for Rudy. There was nothing Derek had to abide by this time. Derek signed the contract and dismissed the notification that appeared.

“Okay, that’s that,” Derek said. “Stand back.”

Derek grabbed at the space in front of himself and ripped it open, revealing the door to his prison. He felt bad for using it with his group because of how dark it would be inside. He would have to remind himself to find some lighting runes.

He opened the door. “Alright, you’re all going to need to go inside. I tested it earlier, and it’s safe. Unfortunately, I haven’t prepared it for people to stay in, so it’s going to be dark inside, just bear with it. You’ll also get some notifications, but don’t worry about them.”

The group gave Derek an odd look, but they trusted him. Rayna was the first person to step inside. The rest followed. Even Silvi hopped in.

‘Silvi?’ Derek asked.

‘I can cook inside. It will give them a light as well,’ she explained.

‘But you won’t be able to level up your Cooking skill,’ Derek said.

‘But I can eat.’

Derek nearly facepalmed after listening to the gluttonous bunny. He thought she was just being thoughtful for once, but it turned out she only wanted to eat. Before shutting the door, he looked in and gave a reassuring smile. He made sure to adjust the time to half of what he would spend outside before pulling the space together and canceling the skill.

With that taken care of, he took off toward Torith.

* * *

A few hours later, Derek could see Torith in the distance. He didn’t bother letting the group out of the prison, as they would just have to go right back in. Derek made sure his Gold Adventurer’s Badge was pinned to his shoulder. It would allow him to pass freely through the city.

Derek checked the system time and nodded. He headed straight for the Adventurer’s Guild. After waving to Nia, he walked directly to the back without an escort. Standing next to the door to a training room, Derek put his thumb on a rune and waited.

A few minutes later and the door opened with a sweat-soaked Thomas behind it.

“Go get your things. We’re leaving.” Derek got straight to the point.

Instead of arguing or asking why, Thomas nodded. “I’m already ready.”

Derek smiled and cast Cleaning on the boy, removing the sweat and odor from him. “Let’s go.”

When the duo walked out of the guild, Jacks was waiting for them. Derek furrowed his brow slightly.

“You got here faster than I thought you would,” he said. “I had the guards let me know when they saw you arrive,” he explained.

Derek nodded upon realization. Because of his status, Jacks still had control of all the guards in the city until they learned differently. “We’ve got one more person to pick up, then we’re out of here,” he said, then took off at a jog through the streets.

When they got to the Crown, Stella was leaning against the wall outside in full travel gear. It was odd seeing the impeccable beauty in a tunic, pants, and boots, but the look suited her.

“You ready?” Derek asked.

“Alanah said you we would probably be leaving fast.” She nodded. “I’m ready.”

With that, the group left the city. Once outside, Derek began leading them towards Wilmette.

“Aren’t we going to the village to pick up the others?” Thomas asked.

“No. They’re already here,” Derek answered.

Alone again, Derek turned to Stella. “Normally, I would have you take an oath or make a contract for what happens next, but I trust…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Stella began writing a contract. She finished and gave the papers to Derek. “Is this good?”

Derek read it over. It was a pretty light contract and didn’t have many harsh penalties, but it was good enough. “Good enough,” he said. Alanah had once told him that she preferred loyalty over oaths, and he agreed. He believed he could trust Stella. The contract was just icing on the cake.

“Alright,” he said, then opened his prison.

Inside was the group sitting around a fire while something boiled in a pot. They all noticed when the door opened, and new light shined into the room.

“Wow,” Stella said. “You’re able to transport people?”

“Something like that,” Derek said. “Okay. Get in and let’s go.”

Jacks hesitated as he had been locked in alone before, but he still went inside. Thomas practically sprinted inside to see Brandi. Stella didn’t.

“I think I’ll stay out here with you,” she said.

“Can you keep up?” Derek asked.

“If I can’t, I’ll go in.”

Derek nodded. “Just a few more hours,” he told the group, then shut the door.

Turning to Stella, he said, “Let’s go.”

55 SURPRISE

Derek started out slow to see if Stella could keep up, then gradually increased his pace. To his surprise, when he hit his preferred travel speed, she could still stay close. Of course, he wasn’t moving at as fast a pace as possible, but he was close.

Looking back at Stella, she seemed to be exerting herself, but it didn’t look like anything she wouldn’t be able to maintain for the next few hours. Derek was impressed. Time for the ultimate test… holding a conversation while running. He snickered to himself.

“So, why choose to run with me instead of taking it easy in the space?” Derek asked.

“I’d rather not put my faith in anybody other than myself,” she answered as she closed in and stuck to his side. “Do you know what would happen to them if you were to die? I’d rather not take that chance. You have made enemies out of a powerful person.”

“Aren’t you already risking yourself just by traveling with me?” Derek asked.

“Maybe, but this way, I will be able to defend myself. If nothing else, I can run. Besides, I doubt anyone would try to kill me outright—unlike you. I’m pretty well known, and I’m sure nobody wants to go to war with the Crown and Alanah.”

“Would she?”

“Would she what?” Stella asked.

“Would Alanah go to war for you? You know, if you were killed,” he clarified.

“I believe so. If she didn’t, she would make the life of the one who killed me miserable. She’s like that with her people. It’s hard to be around her because of her skills, but people still flock to her. That’s one of the main reasons,” she explained.

“So, why did you choose now to leave Torith?”

“I’m bored,” she answered. “You’ve been interesting, and I haven’t been to the Savannah restaurant in a while. It will be good to check in. Kill two birds with one stone.”

“Oh, and here I thought you were developing a crush on me,” Derek said cheekily.

Stella snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

She may have said that, but Derek swore he saw her cheeks flush red for a split second before she got herself under control.

“Sure, sure,” he said. “So, what do you know about Natalie?” He changed the subject.

“Probably not more than you already know. Alanah told me she filled you in. I doubt I could give you any more information than what you’ve already received.”

“Alanah this, Alanah that. What happened to ‘my mistress?’ Last time we talked about her, you weren’t so casual,” Derek asked.

Stella laughed. “That was before you got to know her. Alanah doesn’t like being addressed like that, but when you’re doing business, it is better to err on the side of formal. She would consider you more than just a business partner now. There is no sense in keeping up the act when everyone is on such close terms.”

“I see.”

“Of course, I could still call you Mr. Hunt, if you prefer.”

Derek shook his head. “No. Derek’s fine.”

“So, you have plans for some businesses in Savannah? It’s a very tough place to build something from the ground up. There aren’t many places there that started in Savannah. Most are a success in other cities, then they open stores later on in Savannah,” Stella explained.

“I think it’ll be fine. Besides, if it fails, it fails, and I move on. There’s no reason not to try. Natalie seems to be an interesting person, so if nothing else, I’m sure I’ll gain something. Whether it’s a profitable business or information, it doesn’t matter,” he replied.

“So, what is it? Something like your coffee?” she asked.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

“Fine.” She clicked her tongue. “Be that way. I look forward to seeing.”

Like that, the pair kept chatting while traveling at high speeds towards Wilmette.

Hours later, they were closing in on Wilmette. Coming from Torith, they were able to stay on the route through the forest and didn’t have to cut through it to make up time.

At this time, Derek could see the end of the forest and the road emerging in the opening ahead. They were almost at Silvi’s battlefield. Derek was sure that the bodies had not had the chance to be cleaned up yet. Nighttime was approaching, but it was still the same day.

But before they could break free of the forest, both Stella and Derek came to an abrupt halt. In an instant, Derek raised his forearm to block his head, and two giant cleavers had appeared in Stella’s hands.

A dagger with a blue glow struck Derek’s unarmored forearm and pierced his skin, stopping midway through his muscle. Derek didn’t have time to pull the dagger out as more flying weapons arrived. Knives, daggers, arrows, bolts, and spears all landed on Derek. Some had blue glows covering them, others yellow. All penetrated his skin.

Even with his upgraded endurance and new skin, it couldn’t stop the flying weapons. Derek, doing his best impression of a pincushion, looked over at Stella, hoping she was still okay. To his surprise, or not, not a single weapon flew her way. Looks like she was right. Nobody wants the wrath of Alanah.

Stella, with her meat cleavers still drawn, had a conflicted look on her face. That was when Derek chuckled.

“Don’t worry. No sense in you getting involved,” he said, then sighed. “Another shirt down the drain. They got my pants this time, too.” Then he looked into the forest where the attack originated. “Do you know how hard it’s going to be to get a good pair of boxers in this place?” he said, bemoaning his loss.

Taking a quick glance at his HP, he could see that some of the weapons were covered in poison. His health was rapidly dropping, but with every tick of health he lost, the regeneration caused by his high vitality brought it back. Of course, some of his lost HP was caused by bleeding.

He could tell, however, that the poison could do more than just eat away at his health. His stamina was also showing the same signs that his Health Pool was. Unfortunately for his attackers, the two stats he didn’t have to worry about were his vitality and endurance, and they just so happened to control his health and stamina.

To Derek’s surprise, as the last weapon landed, the ones piercing began to disappear. The dagger in his forearm was the first, and when it disappeared, the same dagger flew at him once again from the forest. What an interesting class. I wonder if the weapons are conjured or stored. Whoever the assassin was, he could be considered a true ranged weapons master.

Derek almost couldn’t contain his laughter as both of his resistance skills, physical and magical, gained a level in the attack.

Derek grabbed at one of the last weapons to pierce him, a spear stuck in his abdomen. Instead of pulling the spear out, he squeezed it with both hands until it snapped. When the spear snapped, he heard a grunt come from deep in the forest. Seems like they’re bound to him.

After the grunt, the weapons disappeared rapidly until none remained. Then, before Derek’s regeneration could close his wounds, another volley began. This time, no spears, arrows, or other easily destructible weapons were used.

Derek tried the same trick with a dagger, but he was unable to bend it. His Strength stat was high relative to the average person—but only to the average person. Of course, Derek could have ended the battle before it began if he used Void Shift or his bunny of mass destruction, but he wanted to see what kind of assassination Torith would throw at him. So far, he wasn’t impressed.

After twenty or so blades pierced him for the second time, a loud stomping sounded out deep in the forest. Trees toppled in the distance as the stomping grew louder. That was when a giant of a man broke through the veil of the forest. The man put the biggest Void Beast he had fought to shame.

Standing at least ten feet tall and half as wide, the man roared with a deep voice as he charged. Derek crossed his dagger-covered arms in front of him as the giant’s fist landed. The daggers were driven deeper into his muscle, stopping only when they hit bone.

Derek, now a kite without a string, flew from the road into the densely packed forest behind, crashing through tree after tree. It wasn’t until the eighth tree that Derek lost his momentum, and the tree didn’t break. Derek’s back slid down the tree before he landed on the ground.

Derek checked his HP again and clicked his tongue. Damn, that took almost a tenth of my health. Blunt damage is always the worst, he thought as his health rapidly climbed again.

“Ms. Brighton, please don’t make a move. We are under orders not to attack you, but if you get involved, I’m afraid an accident may happen,” a sly voice sounded throughout the air.

Derek stood and began picking the daggers out of his body, one by one, as he walked forward. He chuckled. “Trust me, you don’t have to worry about Ms. Brighton. You should just focus on me.”

“Is that so?” the voice sounded again as Derek made his way out of the tree line.

Derek threw one of the daggers at the giant man, but it disappeared before it hit him. I guess he doesn’t have to extract them in order. Maybe it just costs less to do so.

“Forget it. You can’t use my own weapons against us.” The voice reverberated throughout the forest again as the weapons swiftly disappeared out of Derek’s grasp once again.

Derek smiled as another volley rained down on him, and the giant man charged again. He was intrigued by this person’s powers. An idea slowly formed in his mind.

One thing Derek could say about the giant man, he was slow. After taking the fist charge from the man to see what kind of damage he could cause, Derek switched to dodging. Not because he couldn’t take the damage, but of all the kinds of damage he had taken, he hated blunt trauma the worst.

“Stay still!” the giant roared.

In answer, Derek sidestepped another punch. After dodging, another volley of weapons fell onto him. This was what Derek had been waiting for.

He quickly gathered weapon after weapon as they fell on him while dodging the giant man all the while. As the end of the volley drew near, Derek hopped back with a grin on his face and multiple daggers in his hands.

With a thought, he motioned with a hand behind his back and used a skill he hadn’t thought much about since he obtained it… Void Storage. Before choosing to try the skill, he first tried moving one of the ranged assassin’s weapons into his own storage rings and bracelet. It didn’t work. Though it made sense that the assassin’s class wouldn’t have such a glaring weakness. Then again, how many people could survive multiple attacks from the man?

A small rip appeared in the space behind Derek, and quickly, while a few weapons were still in the air and before the assassin could pull them back, Derek tossed what he had collected into his Void Storage and ended the skill.

“No!” the echoing voice yelled, both hurt and confusion in his voice. “Ogre! Do something!” he screamed at his partner.

Ogre? How aptly named. Derek thought.

Derek smiled. If getting cut off from one weapon was enough to cause pain to the man, he couldn’t imagine what the assassin felt being cut off from as many as he just stored.

Derek’s Void Storage wasn’t like storage rings and the like. With the storage rings and bracelet, a spatial function was built in, and the user had to use his or her mana to movie items back and forth between the space and reality. One couldn’t physically reach inside the storage space.

When it came to his skill, it created a pocket in the void, and Derek could physically reach in and out if he needed. Derek, however, was very weary when using the skill. Unlike his prison, he was unable to choose the flow of time inside the space. If nothing else, his current situation would be a good experiment. He would check in on the weapons once he finished his current encounter.

Speaking of his current encounter, the giant was getting annoying. The dodging was easy, but the man was persistent. “So, they call you Ogre?” Derek asked. “Ogres are supposed to have a pretty high regeneration, right?”

With that, Derek covered his fist in void and used his tried-and-true technique, a simple palm. Except, this time, he didn’t aim for the heart or brain for an instant kill. Instead, he went for the man’s gut. The palm landed, and the big man stopped moving.

“Ogre! We’ve failed?” the voice sounded out again. “Quit standing there! We must retreat.” Another dagger shot out of the forest, piercing Derek’s forearm.

This time, as soon as the dagger stopped its movement, it disappeared. It seemed like the assassin in the forest had learned a lesson from the last time.

At that time, Ogre fell to his knees and opened his mouth. Derek hurriedly jumped back to avoid the flow and splatter of blood hitting the ground.

While Ogre was writhing in pain on his knees, the occasional dagger broke through the tree line. At the same time, the ranged assassin shouted his form of encouragement to his injured partner. Though, the way it looked, the man wasn’t getting up any time soon.

While all this was happening, Derek spared a glance at Stella to the side. She had been taking in everything happening. Even though she tried, she couldn’t hide the surprise on her face. It was as evident on her face as the worry she had displayed when she saw the volley of weapons pierce Derek, and then even more so when Ogre charged out of the forest. Derek was sure that she recognized the assassins.

Derek turned his focus back on the coughing man in front of him. Even on his knees, the man was still as tall as Derek himself. Derek scratched the back of his head with his right hand and batted a knife out of the air with his left. With an odd look, he said, “Uh, I’m sorry. I think I got my mythical creatures mixed up. It’s not Ogres with the health regeneration, is it? It’s Trolls. It was an honest mistake, surely you understand.”

Derek took a step closer, trying to avoid the puddle of blood on the ground in the process. With his hand balled into a fist, he swung wide and landed a punch directly on the chin of Ogre. The giant collapsed face down. Derek wasn’t sure if he was knocked unconscious or just terribly injured, but either way, it was enough.

The voice sounded again. “Retreat if you can. I’m leaving!”

Then Derek focused on where all the weapons were flying from. He had run his experiment and had already played their game for longer than he should have. A blue glint flashed in the distance, and a sly smile broke over his face as he activated Void Shift.

Everything paused, and through his Void Sense, Derek moved through the ripples in the void. He still wasn’t able to use the skill for long, but it was enough. Moving towards where the glint appeared, Derek arrived at a tree.

A skinny, almost skeletal man with long black hair with gray streaks stood still on a limb with his palm facing out, in the direction of where Derek just was. Around ten feet away from the man was a knife covered in a blue aura. He must project them from his hands, Derek thought.

Sensing that the time he could stay shifted was drawing to an end, Derek moved onto the same tree limb as the man and reached out, gripping his throat. At that moment, Derek released himself from Void Shift.

“Ugh.” The man grasped at Derek’s arm with his free hands.

“That was fun and all, but I think it’s time to call it quits. Really, it was fun,” he said as he looked down at his ruined clothes. “You’re going to pay for damaging my clothing.”

With those words, Derek hopped down from the tree and walked slowly back towards Ogre and Stella, all the while dragging the skeletal man behind him by the throat.

Reappearing at the ambush site, Derek was pleased to see Stella with a surprised expression she couldn’t even try to hide.

Ogre had gotten back up to one knee, so he hadn’t been knocked completely unconscious. He was breathing heavily, and small amounts of blood still dribbled out of his mouth. He wouldn’t be a problem.

Derek nodded at Stella. “Give me a few more minutes, and we can get back to our travels.”

The skinny man had clawed at Derek’s hand the whole time, even going as far as summoning a weapon and stabbing at him. Unfortunately for the man, his projectile strength was much stronger than his physical strength. He also seemed quite the glass cannon.

With that thought in mind, Derek balled his fist and launched it into the skeletal man’s gut. The man gasped and did his best imitation of a shrimp, trying to curl up while still in Derek’s grasp. Derek tossed him to the ground beside his partner, and he struggled up to a knee.

Now, both assassins sat side by on their knees as if waiting to be executed.

“So, you were sent to assassinate me but ordered to leave Stella alone?” Derek asked.

The defeated skeletal man shut his eyes and nodded. “We could not kill Miss Brighton, but we could harm her if she interfered.”

Derek was surprised that the man answered at all. “I take it Gerald Torith was the one who contracted you?” he asked.

“I cannot say,” the man answered.

Derek nodded. It made sense that the assassination contract would have a clause forbidding the assassin from revealing the client. “Did you really think you two would be enough?”

The man scoffed. “We’ve always been enough. We had the advantage. You… you’re a monster. How were we supposed to know?” The defeated man glared at Derek.

“He’s right, you know?” Stella chimed in.

“How so?” Derek asked.

“If that is Ogre”—she pointed at the coughing giant—“then you must be Bones, correct?”

“We are known as such,” Bones answered.

“You’ve not been here long,” she said to Derek, “but the two assassins in front of us are quite well-known throughout the kingdom. They have assassinated a few very highly skilled targets in their careers. Targets thought to be in the upper 100s or even lower 200s in level.”

“213.” The man spoke with pride. “But you…”

“Huh,” Derek said. “That’s all well and good, but I don’t really care. I’m just thankful for two more test subjects. I do like leveling skills.”

“Test subjects?” Stella asked.

“Mhm.” Derek nodded but didn’t elaborate. Instead, he turned to the side and pulled open his Time Prison, exposing the door. He pushed it open. The rest of his group was all sitting around a fire, chatting. Noticing the disturbance, their heads swiveled in his direction. “Don’t mind me,” he told them.

“Derek.” Jacks got up and walked over as Derek turned around and grabbed Bones by the neck again. “Are we there already?”

“No, not yet. Just needed to make a quick delivery.” He held Bones out to Jacks. “Here, take this.”

“T-this? It’s a person.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty scrappy too, so you better hold on tight.” He pushed Bones to the floor in front of Jacks.

Jacks, taking Derek’s advice to heart, moved behind the man and wrapped him up tight so he couldn’t move. In the meantime, Derek had turned around and was now dragging the giant man in by his arms.

Derek motioned his head over to the side, with Jacks following. He opened a cell door and nodded to Jacks. Jacks nodded and pushed the man inside, the man yelling all the while. Derek closed the door with his free hand and selected one year. He now had a prisoner in cell number 001.

He dragged Ogre past the next cell, as it was already occupied, then tossed him into the next. Ogre wasn’t much of the verbal type, so he only resisted with a few grunts and roars. Apparently, Derek’s void-covered fist had worked too well on the giant. He now had three inmates in his Time Prison and could only expect it to increase as time passed.

Derek mock brushed the dirt off his hands and turned around.

“Uh… Derek?” Jacks asked carefully.

“Hmm?”

“Was that Bones and Ogre?”

56 WILMETTE

“Bones and Ogre? Yeah, that’s what they called themselves,” Derek replied to Jacks.

“The assassins?” Jacks asked.

“Yeah… You know them?”

Jacks adverted his gaze from Derek’s. “Malcolm has hired them before… more than once. I saw them at those times. They’re the best assassins you can hire for a reasonable amount of coin. I think that’s just because they enjoy killing…” he explained.

“Well, now they are inmate number two and inmate number three,” Derek said.

“Are you and Miss Brighton hurt?” Jacks asked, after scanning Derek’s clothes.

Derek couldn’t blame him for asking. His clothes looked like he had just taken them out of a blender. Derek laughed. “We’re fine. They were instructed to leave Stella alone. They only attacked me. It was a fun break from the usual. I’m sure they wouldn’t agree, though.”

Jacks glanced at the locked doors. “No, I’d guess they wouldn’t.”

Derek then looked at Brandi and the others. They had been quiet, just listening to his encounter with the assassins. “We’re almost to Wilmette. I’m going to let you all out before we get there. I don’t know about any laws about smuggling, but I’d rather be square when paying the teleport fees. Besides, I’m not sure about teleporting while people are inside the prison. I’m sure it’d be fine, but I’d rather just do it all legitimately,” he explained.

“Oh yeah. Brandi, I have a bunch of bats from the Undying Dungeon in here.” He took off his storage ring and tossed it to the girl. “There are also some other things from a battlefield. Take all the bats and whatever else you want. I’m going to need some more shirts at this rate, if you don’t mind.” He then took one of his last pairs of undamaged jeans from his storage bracelet and tossed them to the girl. “If you could find a way to make something close to those, it would be awesome.”

Brandi grabbed the pants and examined them intensely. Seeing that she was too caught up in work to reply, Derek turned around and walked out of the prison. He then closed the door and pieced the space back together.

As soon as he pulled the space together, he received a notification that the skill had leveled to two. Nice. I’ll have to check on that later.

Back outside with Stella, Derek took his shredded shirt off and replaced it with another one made out of the thin bat cloth that Brandi had made for him. He also replaced his jeans with his last good pair. Still, this pair had holes in the knees. He had given Brandi the best pair he had left, so it was the best he could do. He wasn’t about to wear a tunic and pantaloons—or whatever they called the pants that were popular in this world.

“I thought you had scars all over your body?” Stella broke the silence.

“And how would you know that?” Derek asked.

“News travels. I didn’t see any scars, though,” she replied.

“Oh? How hard were you looking?” he asked with a smirk.

Stella scoffed. “It’s nothing like that. I was just surprised, is all. It was all Walter’s guards could talk about after you arrived. That and blasting you with scalding water without you so much as making a noise the whole time. You know, Bones and Ogre aren’t the only people who have called you a monster.”

“It seems to be a theme with anyone who sees me fight,” Derek said.

Stella only shrugged.

“Well, now that the theatrics are finished, we should probably get to Wilmette before Torith somehow manages to get them to shut down access to teleport. I don’t know if he has that type of power, but it seems like something he would do if he could. Especially if he learns that his assassins failed,” Derek said.

Stella nodded. “It would take a lot for a city lord to allow the shutdown of their teleport circle. For most cities, other than the capital and Savannah, the teleport circles make a good chunk of the money that goes back into them. Well, that and whatever the lords are able to sneak into their own pockets. It’s kind of an open secret.”

“However, if anyone can get them shut down, it’s Gerald. It would cost a lot of money and favors, but he could do it. Though, after your display just then, I don’t think anything could come from it. Worst-case scenario, you get kicked out of the city and they send more… prisoners… to you. Not to mention your speed. You didn’t so much as break a sweat while we were running, so I doubt you would have trouble getting to Savannah on your own, as long as you know the direction,” she continued.

Derek nodded. “That’s true, but you never know, someone truly strong could be sent. Plus, I’d rather use the teleport circle and get there sooner rather than later. Let’s go.”

With that, Derek and Stella broke through the forest and onto the open road. Not long after, they arrived at Silvi’s battlefield.

“This…” Stella said.

“It’s where we caught up to Malcolm,” Derek replied.

The bodies and remains were still littered around the area. Occasionally, Derek took note of people searching through the remains. Derek, Jacks, and Silvi only took things they thought could provide value to them, so there was plenty of stuff left for scrappers and looters. The majority of the looters were covered in dirt and mud, and most were children.

Derek clicked his tongue. “If we had time, I’d at least burn the bodies. I may have caused their deaths, but they still don’t deserve that.”

“Caused their deaths? You didn’t kill them?” Stella asked.

Derek shook his head. “No, that was all Silvi’s work.”

Stella came to an abrupt stop, so Derek did as well. “The cute bunny? The one who we’ve been teaching to cook? That Silvi? She did all that?”

Derek nodded. “Yeah. I told you she was strong… remember? I wasn’t joking.”

“I didn’t think you were, but this…” Stella sighed. She seemed to be having a hard time overlapping the picture of the cute bunny cook with this bunny of mass destruction. “Sorry… let’s continue.” With that, Stella started running again. Derek followed.

“You don’t need to worry about their burial or proper funeral. If the looters are already here, it won’t be long before the others arrive. Some of those religious classes wouldn’t miss the opportunity to send off a large number of dead. They’re probably already in the city fighting over who gets to do it. It’s an easy way for them to gain levels in skills and class,” Stella explained.

“That’s… useful?”

Stella smiled. “Not really, but there’s a class for everyone and everything. You just have to hope that those with religious rites get there before the necro classes.”

Derek shuddered. He still hated fighting the undying enemies. The only thing more annoying than fighting an army of enemies was fighting them twice or three times… or however many times they were able to be raised by a Necromancer.

“Let’s hope,” he answered.

Before long, they could see the outline of Wilmette. Derek and Stella broke off from the main path and went to a spot not easily seen. Derek opened his prison.

“We’re close. Please exit the bus in an orderly fashion,” Derek said.

Everyone gave him an odd look, but they all left the prison with no comment. Silvi hopped onto Derek’s shoulder as he closed the prison. Occasionally, Derek could see Stella side-eyeing the bunny cautiously. He chuckled.

‘Why don’t you let Stella carry you for a bit? She was just saying how cute you were,’ Derek sent to Silvi.

Silvi turned her gaze to Stella. Stella flinched.

‘Doesn’t look like it,’ Silvi replied.

‘Just do it,’ Derek said.

Silvi hopped off Derek’s shoulder towards Stella.

Stella’s eyes went wide, and with her maximum speed, she dodged the bunny. Silvi landed on the ground.

‘She doesn’t want to carry me. And now I have dust on my fur,’ Silvi sent.

‘Have her carry you, and I’ll make sure the kitchen is one of the first facilities we put in the building,’ Derek said.

‘Deal.’

While Stella and Silvi played tag, Derek explained the plan to the others.

“I wanted us all to arrive at the city and use the teleport circle together. I don’t want to be accused of smuggling people between cities without paying,” he explained.

They all nodded in understanding, but they were more intrigued by watching the beautiful woman dodge the cute bunny over and over.

“What are they doing?” Rayna asked.

“Just playing a game,” Derek said. ‘You have five seconds. We’re leaving,’ he sent to Silvi.

Receiving his warning, Silvi disappeared. When she reappeared, she was sitting on Stella’s shoulder. Stella let out a surprised shriek, and Derek laughed.

“Let’s go,” he said and took off at a moderate pace that everyone could keep up with.

Stella tried to brush Silvi off her shoulder, but each time she did, Silvi disappeared and reappeared on her other one. Eventually, she gave up and followed after the rest.

‘I won.’ Silvi’s voice sounded in Derek’s head.

‘Yes… you won.’

After settling the mount issue for Silvi, the group made their way to Wilmette. For Derek, traveling with such a large party was odd. At least with Jacks and Stella, they had a couple more capable fighters if needed. He wasn’t sure how much good Rudy would be in a fight as the only thing he had to go off was how easily the man had been knocked out.

Of course, he also didn’t know how long the man had pretended to be unconscious. For all Derek knew, Rudy could be much stronger than he seemed. Out of the rest, Derek would have to say that Thomas would be the most help.

With all the training the boy had done, even without levels to help, he had made great progress. He suspected the boy could give Rayna a run for her money, even though she was over 15 levels higher than him. He was more suited for his weapon and fighting style than Rayna was hers, but Rayna didn’t have many choices in the matter, and by now, it would be stupid to replace her sword with another weapon.

Malorie and Brandi were different stories entirely. While Malorie was efficient in her blade staff, she was still at a lower level without any real training. Derek had also seen that, while Malorie would fight and do anything she could to protect Brandi, she didn’t enjoy it like she did other things.

Maybe when she no longer has to worry about protecting Brandi, she could look into changing her class into something she would enjoy, Derek thought as he glanced at the woman struggling to keep pace with everyone else other than Brandi. Derek slowed his pace ever so gradually to help her.

Then, he glanced at Brandi, who was in a similar state as her mother, just more exaggerated. He slowed even more. Brandi would be, for a lack of a better word, completely useless in combat. She wasn’t able to distribute her stats herself, which meant that she couldn’t min/max for combat. Then again, with her class and abilities, she could end up more useful than anyone else in the group, and that was what Derek was banking on when they got to Savannah.

First, however, they had to get through Wilmette and anything Gerald had done to prevent them from leaving the area.

The group eventually saw Wilmette in the distance.

“Finally.” Malorie panted. “I don’t know how much longer we would have lasted.” She held Brandi’s hand.

Derek looked over at Stella who, surprisingly, no longer minded the bunny resting on her shoulder. In fact, she seemed to have taken to Silvi. “Stella.” He got her attention. “Will we be able to teleport today, or is there a set period when we can use them?”

“There are six cities with a teleport circle throughout the kingdom, not including the capital. Ten minutes out of each hour, the teleport circle can be activated for each city. For example, Wilmette’s teleportation circle can be activated from six in the evening to six o’ nine. That way, if anyone arrives at another city or the capital in that timeframe, they know that the person came from Wilmette,” she explained.

“So, if we get to the circle at six-fifteen, then we would have to wait 45 minutes until the next chance to leave?” Derek asked.

Stella nodded. “That’s correct. It makes it easier that way.”

“What if there’s an emergency?” Derek asked.

“It depends,” she answered. “If it is a citywide emergency and everyone needs to teleport out, the most likely place to go would be to the capital. The capital has six teleportation circles within, so you can get there at any time. Of course, under normal situations, you are still only allowed to use the circle at the designated times.”

“How do you know if someone is coming from the capital?” Derek asked.

Stella laughed. “The color is different.”

“The color?” Derek asked.

“Yeah. Normally, the mana projected out during a teleport is your run-of-the-mill light blue mana. However, the teleportation circles at the capital are built with better, more powerful runes, so when someone comes from there, the mana is a much darker color,” she explained.

“Oh,” Derek said. “I guess that makes sense.”

“It is what it is,” she said. “They used to require badges. Kind of like the Adventurer’s Guild ones but temporary. That got expensive, and materials got harder and harder to get. Of course, a good runemaster would be able to make one easily with just paper, but who would want that job when all that was actually needed was a schedule?”

“We’re almost there.” Jacks cut their conversation short as they arrived closer to the city.

“Everyone, put your Adventurer’s Guild badges on,” Stella suddenly commanded as she pinned a platinum badge to her collar.

Derek didn’t ask any questions and strapped his golden badge to his arm. He looked around and saw Thomas proudly take out his bronze badge and put it on. Rudy also wore a golden badge, and Jacks had equipped a platinum one.

“Herrett, you walk up front with me,” Stella said. “Rudy, you and Derek walk in the back. Everyone else, form two lines and walk between us.” With that command, the group formed up in a double file.

Stella looked over the group and frowned. “Derek, do you have any decent-looking armor you can equip?”

Derek nodded and quickly equipped a set of leather armor over his clothes. “Will this do?” he asked.

She looked him up and down. “It would be better with a tunic, but that should be enough.” Then she looked at the bunny on her shoulder. “Silvi, you need to hide somewhere. Does anybody have a pack of some kind?”

“Ooh, I do.” Brandi chimed in and pulled a rough leather backpack out of her ring. “I was working on making some travel packs, so I have a few. This one has some cheap materials stored in it from when I was testing it.”

“Great,” Stella praised. “Give that to Thomas. Silvi, you need to hide in the pack until we get to the next city. It would be best if you hid under the materials as well, in case someone decides to do a quick search. Brandi, could you give a pack to Rayna, and Malorie, and then wear one yourself?”

“Sure,” she happily replied and withdrew three more packs. One was full, like the one Thomas was wearing, and another was about half full. The last was almost empty. “I have one more if you need it.”

Rayna took the full pack, Mal took the half-full one, and Brandi kept the empty one.

“It’d be better if you put something in yours. It doesn’t have to be much, though. Make sure it’s cheap, whatever it is,” Stella said.

Brandi nodded and stuffed some materials in the sack. Afterwards, she slung it onto her back. “Is that good?” she asked.

“Perfect.” Stella flashed the little girl a smile. Then, she looked over the group again. “It’s believable that two golds and two platinums would have storage rings, so we don’t need the other sack. Thanks, though.”

“What next?” Derek asked. Stella seemed to have some kind of idea, so he let her have the lead and followed.

“Herrett,” she said. “Will anyone recognize you here?”

Jacks put his hand on his chin in thought. “Hmm… possibly. Most likely, no. Not unless they are looking for me.”

Stella took out a cloak and wore it. The shadow of the hood covered her face. Then she took out more and tossed them to Jacks, Rudy, and Derek. “Put those on. We’ll look uniform at the very least. Thomas… put your badge away. This way, we’ll look like a team of adventurers hired to escort people and materials. In fact, if you have some higher quality materials, it would be good to put some on top of the sacks.”

Brandi grinned and ran around, placing handfuls of the bat cloth she had made out of the bat hide on top of the sack.

“Good,” Stella said. “I think we’re ready.”

With that, Stella started forward, and the group moved. Before long, they were standing at the gates to the city. It was late evening, so there wasn’t much traffic. They were soon next in line to enter.

“Reason for entering?” one of the gate guards asked.

“Taking supplies to Savannah,” Stella answered flatly and cocked her head to the side, giving the guardsman a good view of the platinum badge.

The guard nodded. “You better hurry. Teleportation starts in five minutes. Unless you plan on staying here for the night.”

Stella nodded. “Thanks for the warning. We should be able to make it.”

The guard nodded and stepped to the side. “Safe travels.”

Stella led, and the group followed. Wilmette had a layout like Torith’s but on a much grander scale. Unfortunately, Derek wasn’t able to take much in because they were in a rush.

“The circle is in the Merchant Square. If we keep at the same pace as we were going outside, we may not make it,” Stella said as they rushed down the street.

Passersby saw the cloaked figures with platinum badges and sprinted out of their way. Derek chuckled as he noticed a would-be target of a pickpocket scurry away, leaving a boy with his hand outstretched in a compromising position. The boy cursed as he withdrew his hand and disappeared into an alley.

“We need to move faster. Derek… Rudy,” Stella said.

Understanding what Stella wanted, Derek moved forward and picked Malorie up in a princess carry. “Sorry,” he said.

Rudy saw Derek and did the same with Brandi.

“Woah!” Brandi shouted, then giggled.

“Let’s move,” Stella commanded, and the group picked up the pace. Without Brandi and Mal slowing them down, they were able to travel at Thomas and Rayna’s top speed, which was much faster. “We should be good with this.”

The group flew up the street, buildings and stalls flashing by every second. Before long, they were at the gate to the Merchant District.

Stella flashed her badge. “We’re looking to make the next teleportation,” she spoke hurriedly.

The guards saw the two platinum-ranked adventurers in front and didn’t make any fuss, allowing them through.

Before long, they were standing before a building in the Merchant District.

“This is it,” Stella said and walked inside.

Derek and Rudy dropped Mal and Brandi and followed.

When Derek walked inside, he saw Stella chatting with a man at a counter.

“Eight…” he heard her say. Then the man mumbled something, and she answered again. “Savannah.” With that, she tossed the man a small bag. The man dumped the contents of the bag onto the desk and nodded.

The man pointed to a giant rune drawn on the floor. “Better hurry. Only three minutes left.”

Stella nodded. “Let’s go.”

With that, the group all stood in the center of the circle, and Stella nodded. The man at the counter pulled a crystal of some sort out of his storage ring and placed it in a slot on the counter before placing his hand over it and channeling mana.

The rune around the group glowed blue before a flash of light blinded them. In an instant, they disappeared.

EPILOGUE

Darvin was in the meeting room waiting for Kelvin. The human leader had been personally gathering information on planet C-186. In the recent months, the system’s speed towards the anomaly had been increasing, and the human, Derek Hunt, was the only lead that Darvin and the other council members had.

When the system introductory phase on C-186 ended, Kelvin had rushed to the planet to learn everything there was to know about Derek. Yesterday, his mission was deemed complete, and he was to report back on what he learned today.

Darvin had paced more over the last three months than he had in his previous centuries of life. The more the system expanded in the singular direction, the more anxious the Malaxi became. He hoped that whatever was to happen would not be of great consequence, but in his gut, he knew something great was bound to happen.

Just then, the teleporter flashed, and Kelvin stepped out. His neat blond hair had grown shaggy, and he had a frown on his face. Darvin suspected he was not going to be happy with what Kelvin had learned.

Without any courtesy, Kelvin walked to a center chair at the table and flopped down. “Well, shit,” he said aloud to Darvin. “I got nothing useful.”

“Nothing?” Darvin replied. “There has to be something.”

Kelvin sighed. “I have some extra background on the man, but nothing concerning what is happening with the system.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Darvin replied. “Start at the beginning.”

Kelvin shook his head and began recounting his time on Earth.

“I started at Chicago II…” He shook his head. “A city named by Jace, the second strongest on the planet. Zero points for originality. Also, I met the man—he’s going to be a problem in the future. He’s either a psychopath or just likes to fight that much. I’m not sure which.

Darvin nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I learned about the other largest cities that have been established. Jiù zhǔ from a country known as China, Kingston from the United Kingdom, and… Muscle Town, created by a guy only known as Big Jim. It’s in the United States, same as Chicago II, though it was formerly known as Houston, Texas. I’m glad I didn’t have to meet that guy,” Kelvin continued. “They were all founded by the top strength on the planet.”

“I’ve heard of the cities.”

“Anyway, Chicago II was the closest city to the last sighting of Derek Hunt that I could teleport straight to from here. From there, I went east to what was known as North Carolina, where the man grew up and made his base. I really don’t get the point of breaking everything up like they do, the country into states, then states into cities, then cities into districts…” Kelvin began to rant before he was stopped.

“Keep going,” Darvin commanded.

“After a short time, I made my way to a city called Charlotte. The one Derek Hunt frequented the most. From there, I found Silvi Jacobs, the woman who used the Portal skill without knowing the possible consequences. She was run down and broken, running a bar in the city. If anyone knew more about Derek Hunt, it would be her.”

“And did she?” Darvin asked.

Kelvin sighed and shook his head. “No… nothing we didn’t already know. Gerard Brooks was also there, but he didn’t know anything, either. But when I told her he was still alive, I could see her regain some fire in her eyes. That should be fun to watch.”

“All the information I got was that Derek Hunt stayed at a cabin outside the city. When I found the place, it was already in ruin. All that was left was broken rubble and this picture.” Kelvin pulled a photograph out of his storage device and handed it to Darvin.

Darvin took the picture and examined it. On it was a photo of Derek Hunt lifting a small girl, with many of the same features he had, high in the air. She was too old to be his daughter, so it could only be his sister.

“That’s it?” Darvin asked. “Nothing else? There was no one close to the man?”

“I asked around while in Charlotte, but there was nothing. He didn’t have any friends. Hell, the man barely had acquaintances. He’s a mystery,” Kelvin answered.

“And you left the two alive?”

“Yeah, they aren’t strong enough to do anything. They have barely leveled since everything happened, and they don’t know anything. I had my skill activated the whole time I was there. They didn’t lie.”

Darvin shook his head. The two of them stared at the holograph of Derek floating in the middle of the table. “Just what is going on?” Darvin said to nobody.

Kelvin smiled a predatory smile. “I don’t know, but I can’t wait. It’s been so boring these last few decades.”

“You can go.” Darvin dismissed Kelvin, and he got up and left through the teleporter.

Darvin stared at the system model with the deviation at one point. “Just where are you going?”

The story continues in book three, Savannah!

Derek’s Final Stats

Status

Personal Information

Name: Derek Hunt

Age: 30

Level: 102

Experience: 1,355,6000/7,000,000

Class: Legend of the Void (Legendary)

Race: Human (Modified)

Health: 16500

Mana: 5000

Stamina: 16500

Stats

Strength: 700

Dexterity: 500

Endurance: 1100

Vitality: 1100

Intelligence: 500

Wisdom: 500

Stat Points Remaining: 63

Contracts

Alanah Swan (Crown Restaurant)

Silvi (Bonded Beast)

Stella Brighton (Crown Restaurant)

Francesco Jaccobs (Torith Adventurer’s Guild)

Rudolph Mckinney

View Contract

View Status

View Contract

View Contract

View Contract

Skills

Absolute Nullify Lv. 1, Chain Lightning Lv. 13, Channel Void Lv. 10, Cleaning Lv. 5, Cure Toxin Lv. 4, Dismantle Lv. 12, Greater Meditation Lv. 4, Heavy Weapons Mastery Lv. 18, Identify Lv. 15, Magic Resistance Lv. 10, Multi-Strike Lv. 3, Physical Resistance Lv. 9, Rejuvenation Lv. 9, Sweeping Slash Lv. 18, Time Prison Lv. 1, Unarmed Combat Mastery Lv. 9, Void Call Lv. 2, Void Sense Lv. 2, Void Shift Lv. 3, Void Steps Lv. 1, Void Storage Lv. N/A

Skill Points Remaining: 16

Skill Upgrade Points Remaining: 4

Achievements

Greater Giant Slayer, Jack of All, Lesser Dungeon Explorer, Lesser Dungeon Traveler, Lesser Enigma, Lesser Enforcer of Oaths, Lesser Repetitive Dungeoneer, Lesser Slayer of the Unknown, Lesser Solo Diver, Magical Glass Cannon, Meat Shield, Lesser Explorer, Offensive Powerhouse

* * *

Don’t forget to grab Savannah, book 3 of System Universe.

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Also in Series:

System Change

Torith

Savannah

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