Ruth wished she had gone down into the pit with the others. Surely she would be able to help more there, than up here doing paperwork!

Baara, however, had insisted that Ruth could help. And yes, Ruth was good at paperwork. She had spent most of her life sitting in the back of her father's truck, filling out reports and checking data. So she could accept the order with grace, even if it was coming from someone younger than she was.

But she had also run away from that life for a reason. Well, okay, she ran away because her aunt tried to assassinate someone in front of her, and killed an innocent man in the process. But she had been trying to run away, in a less literal sense, for years before that. She wanted to be on the front lines, fighting monsters and helping people, not… sitting behind a desk and sorting files.

At least Baara had promised to let her look at the Pyrolance she had received from her father. Ruth wouldn't be able to replicate it, not fully, but it did have an awful lot of runes. Even if she didn't have access to infusion enchanting, the way the runes shaped the power was still worth studying.

Ruth got up from her desk, stretching with a yawn. She was most of the way through the pile of paperwork she had been given. What time was it? This room didn't have any windows. Most of the buildings in the town hall didn't, which was annoying, but it was the kind of thing you got used to. She'd seen stranger things, traveling with her father. There had been one town that surrounded their walls with a lightning moat. Too bad they had a metal drawbridge.

There was a knock on the door, and she opened it to find Baara. The girl was even smaller than Ruth, and when they first met Baara had been a cringing mess who flinched whenever someone bigger than her spoke. Of course, they had been in the middle of a siege at the time. Now, she stood with her back straight and head held high.

“Oh, you got here early,” Baara said, with a shy smile. “I needed help with some of the City taxes, but I wasn't sure you'd be in.”

Ruth blinked like an owl. “Early? What time is it?”

Baara frowned. “Did you sleep here last night?”

“No! I mean—” Ruth suddenly felt waves of exhaustion threatening to crush her. She yawned. “I—I thought it was getting late. But there's no way I worked that long!”

“It's five in the morning,” Baara said gently. “Did you really not sleep at all?” She looked past her, then her eyes widened at the pile of paperwork. “Tamer’s minions! Did you get all that done?”

“I... had an energy drink?” Ruth said lamely. Baara gave her an incredulous look, and Ruth shrugged. “I got it from our new Alchemist. I guess I didn't notice how effective it really was.”

Baara sighed. “Well. I suppose one night isn't so bad. Though those things probably have side effects.” She winced. “Right?”

“Josh would probably know.” Josh knew a lot of random class details. She was going to have to ask him about that eventually. Then she brightened. “Leveling and advancement clears up that sort of thing!”

“...I'm sorry, are you suggesting that you want to resolve any medical side effects from drinking an Alchemist concoction by going out to fight monsters? After you stayed up the entire night?”

“I'm level 39,” Ruth said, still smiling. “I just need a bit more to get my advancement.” Though she did need another rift crystal if she wanted her Exemplary-tier class. “There's an easy dungeon nearby, right?” She went back into the room and started rooting through the papers again. “Yeah, that one that opened up to the north.”

“The scouts didn't actually go inside.” Baara stepped up next to her and gently took the papers out of her hands. “It should be easy, but we have no guarantees. I'm not sure that we should send you out personally. You need to rest.”

Ruth grabbed her wrist.

Baara tried to pull her arm free. She failed.

“You're hurting me,” she said, quietly but firmly.

Ruth took a deep breath and released her. “Sorry,” she said. She took a deep breath, then put a smile on her face again. “Sorry! I just don't like being told to stay behind for my safety. I mean, you get it, right?”

“I think so? But not really?” Baara gave an uncomfortable shrug. “My parents both thought fighting was fun. My dad used to take me out hunting as a reward for getting all my paperwork done.”

“That must have been nice,” Ruth said bitterly.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“It could be, I suppose.” Baara looked depressed for a moment.

At which point Ruth remembered that this girl's parents were dead, and she was trying to carry on their legacy. “I-I mean...” Ruth squeezed her hand. “It's good that you have happy memories of them, right?” She smiled. “They were trying to include you. That's not nothing?” Better than her father, hiding her away like a pretty bauble. Or her mother, gone with nothing more than a note. “They gave you the best life as they knew it. Don't ever feel bad about that!”

Baara smiled, a little more genuinely this time. “T-thanks.” She took a deep breath. “But I was just saying that if you're so close to your level, you'll probably reach 40 before you even finish the dungeon. Then you'll have to pause your advancement in the middle of a dangerous situation.”

Ruth nodded. “Yeah, okay, I can see that.” It was a bit disappointing, but understandable. “Did you have something else in mind?”

“Anna has lists of hunters who might work well together.” She searched through Ruth's papers—which didn't take long, because Ruth had organized everything well—before finding what she was looking for. “Here we are. Yes, I think I can organize a team and have the dungeon cleared before the end of the day. You'll have first pick of any rift crystals.”

Ruth twirled a lock of hair on her finger. “Is that really okay? Just letting me get a pick of the spoils even though I'm not involved? I mean, I already have the Vareo crystals, I just want more options.”

Baara put down the paper, and gave her that weak smile, like she didn't know that she was the one in charge. “I can't make anyone give you anything for free. But you're getting the first chance to buy their spoils. You still have your Enchanter abilities, so I'm sure that you can make something that they would be willing to trade.”

“Oh.” That made more sense. Then a thought occurred to her. “Do you think that Darius should give them some shrouds before they leave?”

Baara raised an eyebrow, then pulled out another piece of paper that Ruth had already organized. Ruth took it, and realized it was a list of sales. It took her a moment longer to figure out that it was a list of the shrouds Darius had sold. The exact items weren't named, but it was obvious when she knew what she was looking at.

“Oh,” she said again. “Well, all right then.” She looked down at the paper. “At least he's selling them for a reasonable price?” Darius was a good man, if a little grouchy. Still, greed could turn people to dark places. Half the people her dad had gone after had been like that. Some people got a taste of power and tried to make the most profit possible off it.

Baara nodded. She turned to go, smiling. “Get some sleep, Ruth,” she said. “We'll have something for you when you wake up.”

Ruth looked at the closed door for a moment, before sighing and organizing some of the loose papers. She didn't want to leave a mess behind, after all. Still, it felt like a waste of time to go all the way back to the house. Maybe she could have a bed moved into this office? Or would that just encourage people to give her more paperwork? At least if she had to leave every once in a while, she would have an excuse to go hunt monsters or something.

Just as she was about to leave, her hand on the door, something changed. Ruth felt the distinctive twisting of space that could only accompany teleportation, along with a sharp shift in the pressure of the room. She spun around, grabbing the big hammer next to the door, to look into the corner of the room. Her hammer's head was bigger than her own, and even with her increased Strength, she needed the Vareo runes to use it properly. She was confident using it against anyone and anything.

A figure clad head to toe in black leather stepped out of the shadows. Ruth gripped her hammer tighter, activating the runes at the same moment. She had more than just her gravity enchantment on it now. “Hello, Kun,” she said coldly. She knew Kun was mute, but she wasn't deaf. And even if she had been, Ruth was in no mood to accommodate her.

She was very surprised when the woman said, in a perfectly clear voice, “Hello, Ruth.”

Ruth stood there a moment, paralyzed as thoughts rushed through her head. Kun could speak. She and the priest had been lying. Why? If it was for some advantage, why give it up now?

Kun just stood there silently, waiting for her to put it all together.

In the end, that was what did it. That endless patience, like Ruth could take as long as she wanted, and she would still be waiting there with a hand up. Waiting, but offering no actual help.

Ruth let out a long breath. She loosened her grip on her hammer, but didn't drop it, and didn't release the magic in the runes. “Hello, Auntie Jael. What do you want?”

“I want you to be safe,” she said with no preamble.

“So you joined the guy who is working with the dragon who wants to destroy the City.” Ruth nodded, as if this was a perfectly reasonable idea. “Yeah, sure. That makes sense. Just like you decided to hunt down Josh for the crime of becoming the first Crafter. End the world, and then no one will be able to hurt me!”

“I have spoken with Hou Zheng extensively,” Auntie Jael said. Her voice was very distinctive, and Ruth could understand why she decided to pretend to be mute. Ruth would have figured her out if she had said more than two words. “With his information, I believe that the damage to the City can be mitigated to minimal property damage. In return, he has agreed to take you with him when he leaves this world.”

Ruth didn't blink. “Yeah, I don't care about that.”

Auntie Jael held up a hand, as if she was being unreasonable, and needed to be calmed down. “Ruth, you haven't heard the details.”

“Nope! Don't care about them, either. I don't care if it's possible, or even what it means. Is the priest offering to bring me with him as he ascends to the heavens in a glorious pillar of light? Or maybe we'll just step through a portal and be in a higher world, whatever that means.” She threw up one hand. “Or maybe he'll just strap a rocket to my butt and we'll go flying! It doesn't matter.” She gripped her hammer again. “You're getting people killed. Again. Because you refuse to do the right thing. Again.”