The beginning of the plan was a pain in the ass.

Well, not literally. It was literally a pain in the head. Specifically, Serenity’s forehead and scalp ached as he kept botching his attempts to shapeshift so that he would appear fully human. “Remind me why I’m doing this again?”

Blaze sighed. “Eadsyt is a human world. Anyone who isn’t human is an outsider and wouldn’t be working for the Mimir. That may not be completely true, but it makes you far too noticeable and memorable; on the Mound, you won’t be ignored the way you are here in Thot.”

Serenity released his hold on his Multiform Skill. While it could probably do what Blaze wanted, and it would definitely stretch the Skill to become more flexible if Serenity succeeded with it, it clearly wasn’t going to be fast. He really should have asked more questions when Blaze told him to shift to get rid of his feathered hair and horns. “Then why don’t I just use the disguise Skill combination I’ve used in the past? I don’t look quite the same, and it can affect my Affinities a little, but it will be a lot faster. I can hold it longer, too, as long as I stay awake.”

He really should go back to Honoria and have her make some more amulets that would let him hold the temporary heritage longer. He’d slowly used them all and now only had a handful of the ones from his trip to Asihanya.

Blaze sighed. “I didn’t realize that was a separate Skill. I still want you to keep as close to your normal appearance as possible; I don’t think there’s anyone here with a proper Sight Skill, but you never know around oracles. You have some protection, but it doesn’t make you invisible.”

Serenity frowned in thought. He was happy to be able to stop trying to expand his Multiform Skill, but he did leave a note with Aide that it was something else to add to his unending list of things to practice. The question was which of his Heritages would make him the closest to his own appearance while also appearing human? He could manifest less of the Heritage and tune the effect, but that only worked so far.

Heritages

Chimeric

Pure (Innate)

Essence Dragon (Primary)

Asura

Child of Time, Unbound

Dhampir, Essence/Mana

Draugr, Sage

Elemental, Essence

Elemental, Mana

Godling

Human, Earth

Lich, Paramount (Primary)

Vampire, Daywalker

Potential, Sovereign

Wraith, Nightmare

Serenity’s eyes landed on three Heritages: Pure, Dhampir, and Human. He already knew Dhampir came very close to what Blaze wanted, since it was a bloodline that tried very hard to hide itself. He wasn’t certain about Pure; it might do anything. It might even be the key to the sort of flexibility Blaze assumed his shapeshifting Skill had. It probably wasn’t the right choice for today, though, since he didn’t know for certain what it did.

Human, Earth would probably work the best. In many ways, that was why he hadn’t originally used it; as a disguise, it would be terrible. He’d look like a human version of himself. It wouldn’t give him the additional mana and essence sensitivity that Dhampir had, but it also wouldn’t weaken his connection to everything else other than Death. Nothing could weaken his connection to his Incarnate.

Serenity nodded to himself. Human was probably the best choice. It was exactly what Blaze wanted, after all. Serenity opened his Realize Potential Skill and pulled his Human Potential through the Rift.

It felt odd. He couldn’t taste the mana that surrounded him. Instead of mana, however, he felt something else. Something that seemed slower yet was everywhere. It was far more constant than mana, whatever it was.

Serenity tugged on his Magesight Skill and almost immediately realized that he was feeling essence. It was so constant that he’d never noticed it before, but apparently Earth-Humans were just a bit more sensitive to essence and a bit less sensitive to mana, so when he went looking for the overwhelming constant taste of mana, he noticed the … it wasn’t taste, though it was close. Scent, maybe? Yes, the scent of essence.

That actually explained a lot. Among other things, it explained Russ and Red, both of whom used essence before the Voice’s arrival. It also explained Legion, in a way; humans from Earth didn’t just have a higher tolerance to World Core dust. They were probably also more capable of using essence, and World Core dust had a lot of essence.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The individuals that became Legion must have subconsciously tried to use it to preserve their lives. It clearly didn’t completely work, but Legion didn’t seem unhappy about that at this point. In many ways, it was a perfect example of the benefit and peril of Intent-based magic: they lived but Legion’s life would never be quite the same as that of the people that became Legion.

“That was fast,” Blaze stated. “Nearly perfect, too. I’ll have to remember to ask you to use this disguise next time.”

“Can I hope there won’t be a next time?” Serenity was fairly confident there would be; he’d used disguises too often in the past few years to really believe it wouldn’t come up again. He’d been lucky and they’d mostly worked, even though he was terrible at disguise.

Blaze’s snort indicated that he thought the same as Serenity, though he at least had the consideration to not verbally burst Serenity’s bubble of optimism. “You’re actually dressed about right; put on this cloak and follow me. We should get started.”

The cloak was almost more of a long coat than anything else; the only thing that made it seem like a cloak was the fact that the only fastener was at the neck. Interestingly enough, it was even properly fitted for Serenity’s shoulders; he’d be able to fight in the cloak without worrying about tearing the back out. Blaze had to have done that deliberately, since they weren’t close enough in size for Serenity to assume he could fight in Blaze’s clothing.

The route Blaze took through the city’s streets was different from any Serenity would have picked, but it was different in the way a resident’s route was always different from a stranger’s. He didn’t follow the main roads to find his way around and he didn’t always head directly towards the Mound; instead, he went through smaller side streets to skip between roads when that was faster.

When they passed down one alley, a large man stepped out in front of Blaze. He was dressed in scarred leather armor; it was clearly functional but it had just as clearly seen better days. He didn’t seem to be maintaining it particularly well, either; it would never last the way it should if he treated it like that. “You need to pay the toll.”

Blaze sighed; his body language told everyone, even Serenity, that he was irritated rather than worried. “I do? Have you forgotten what happened the last time you tried to make me pay your toll?”

“This time, I have friends,” the bulky man stated with a grin. Three more people stepped out of the shadows. Serenity wasn’t surprised; they’d given themselves away to his Eyeless Sight far earlier. He didn’t think Blaze was surprised, either.

“I only brought one friend,” Blaze countered, “but don’t think that makes you any safer. He’s just going to hold the bread for me.”

Serenity took that as instructions: let Blaze handle it and keep the bags safe. He stepped forward long enough to take the bags with bread at the top from Blaze, then turned to check behind them. He hadn’t seen anyone as they walked in, but he wouldn’t have put it past people demanding a “toll” to have friends there to prevent people from running away.

There wasn’t anyone there, but Serenity kept most of his attention on their line of retreat anyway. He was sure Blaze knew what he was doing, but surprises were always possible.

A feeling of heat from behind him told Serenity that Blaze wasn’t holding back as much as Serenity expected. Was it safe to reveal that he could and would fight? Would that compromise Blaze’s cover?

Blaze must not think so. After all, it was clear he’d already tangled with that particular tough before.

A scream from behind made Serenity turn long enough to get a good glimpse at the fight behind him. Blaze wasn’t anywhere to be seen; instead, the entire alley was filled with flames. It didn’t burn the surroundings, but it did seem to do some rather unpleasant things to the four muggers.

Well, two muggers, now. The other two were on the ground; only the one to the left and the one at the rear were still standing. The one at the rear seemed to decide he’d had enough and turned to flee, but the one on the left charged through the fire towards where Blaze started.

It was a mistake; Blaze wasn’t there anymore. By the time the mugger made it through the fire, he clearly couldn’t tell where anyone was. Serenity doubted he’d ever see anything again, at least not unless he got some excellent medical help. Blaze could do that, but somehow Serenity didn’t think that Blaze had any intention of healing the muggers.

A moment later, the fire whipped around the blindly flailing mugger and encased his head and upper body. It didn’t stop the mugger’s movements; instead, it moved with them. When the mugger staggered towards Serenity, Serenity moved backwards.

Moments later, the third mugger fell to the ground. Serenity didn’t bother to check if he was still alive; the fire seemed to be intent on incinerating him into ash and bits of bone. It wasn’t quiet; Serenity could hear the hiss of escaping steam as the mugger’s blood boiled.

Once that mugger was an unrecognizable lump on the alley’s stones, the fire hopped to each of the other muggers in turn and repeated the task. It wasn’t fast, but it was still only a bit over an hour before Blaze reformed in front of Serenity. He seemed a bit drained but uninjured.

“I didn’t expect this city to be quite so brutal,” Serenity offered as he held the bread out to Blaze.

“For you, it wouldn’t be. You have the aura to scare off small fry like that and no one’s going to mess with a Tier Eight if they realize that’s who they’re dealing with. Unfortunately, I don’t go around openly armed and people here are used to most mages relying heavily on foresight; most mages can’t take on four people who are a Tier below them.” Blaze shook his head. “At least, not if they let them get that close. They should be able to take on four opponents like those, but this city doesn’t breed skilled delvers; they follow a delving plan and only delve well-known dungeons using the cheapest tools that will work. They’re not well rounded.”

“And it’s clear no one’s coming to look.” There was actually a distinct lack of anyone even glancing down the alley the entire time Blaze spent destroying the bodies. That made this a bad part of town, as far as Serenity was concerned.

Blaze shook his head. “We’re inside a dungeon enclosure wall. Theoretically, at least; it’s not as good as it should be. The dungeon has steam drakes. They’re only Tier Two, but you still don’t want to get caught by them. If you are…” He gestured towards the bodies, clearly explaining why he did what he did.

“Why are they here if this is a dungeon enclosure?” Serenity frowned. “Do they claim the dungeon?”

Blaze shrugged. “They say they do, but really all they claim is the enclosure. Anyone weak enough to still be on the first few floors pays them to enter, anyone stronger is ushered through. I’ve proven that I belong in the second category a few times, but that one wouldn’t let it go; it seemed to hurt his feelings that he had to pay for healing after each time he told me to pay him. No one’s going to miss him.”