Ugh. Dear god why does my back hurt? Did I sleep on it wrong or something? Wait...what even happened last night? Did I go to bed?...No. That didn't happen. Ok, just... go through everything you've done since yesterday. You've got a killer hangover and it's definitely not helping, but you need to remember because things are bad when you get drunk. Plus, you should be able to remember anyhow, despite the hangover.

Alright, so you arrived in town and got into an inn after witnessing runes. Definitely got to learn about those later on, but got to focus. You spent some of the money you earned on food and beer. It was definitely crap beer though, despite how it tasted. You decided you'd stay behind after the coin toss determined my decision. Only really made that decision based on the coin because of my luck stat, although I still don't know what it does. Literally just guessing on what it exactly does for that. After that....what was it? Why can't I...wait, Kojo!!

Yeah! He came downstairs and said he had a vision from his god or something. We were supposed to meet someone at the church, and Marwall had already fallen dead asleep. Kojo didn't want to go alone, as he figured it was a call to battle, but I figured there wasn't going to be anything of the sort. It's a church after all and the city's currently being protected from a monster attack. I think people would be a fair bit more scared if they had broken through the wall or something via screaming in the streets. But despite that, I humored my bud and went with him.

It was...well, we were travelling through the streets following directions only Kojo seemed to know. Almost seemed random, but looking at the streets as we passed by building after building, and alley after alley, kind of put into perspective in how the city actually operates. For the most part, the parts of the city closer to thee exit were much cleaner than those towards the center. Sure, it wasn't much of a difference in terms of quality, but I could at least see dirt and the occasional piece of trash float by on the wind. The weird part though, was the further away we get from the walls, and assumedly towards the center of the city, the quality dipped back up, almost like there was just a ring of squalor here. It could also just be that the ring housed a lot more housing than all the others, judging from the lack of signs put on the buildings. After awhile, we came upon a city square with a fountain, a really weird statue of a rock monster, and...that guy bumping into shnozzes. The building didn't seem much like a church and that guy didn't seem much like a priest. If it was anyone else, I would've said it was a weird brutalist thing that some architect back home dreamed about, and the guy seemed like just a bum, but Kojo said he was the one we were supposed to meet. He also punched us, but I think it was just surprise. Kojo isn't exactly normal...probably. Speaking of which, I need to find out if they have pets or not. If monsters are a big deal around here, I imagine keeping some animals around is a bad idea.

After that the guy....lizardman guy...no, kobolt, that's the species...Yeah, I got nothing on him. Don't think we asked his name or if he even gave it. Seemed pretty old too, judging from the wheeze in his voice and hunched back. Think I also saw some cracked scales, but I don't know if that's from an age or an injury. He was in a panic and asked us a bunch of questions about classes and stats. And then...I think I got punched in the stomach. And it wasn't healing. Wait...shit. Don't tell me that I'm dead after pulling that shit out of my ass with [Animal Handling]. Uhhhh. Ok. Just, slowly open your eyes, and if things are going exceedingly wrong, don't freak out. Simple as that.

With a bit of fear, I open my eyes to find myself in a wooden room with a couple things in it. I found myself lying on a bed, and it was a little bit bloody, but I didn't see any hole or anything over my chest and most of it has seemed to scab over or be covered in that blue light like with what happened to my foot. Thankfully, it isn't completely see-through, so I assume that I'm patching myself up fairly well, or the damage wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I look up from my chest and onto the rest of the room. Sheets had been tossed to the floor, multiple things had been thrown onto some sort of cabinet or dresser, but two things caught my immediate attention. There sitting at the table, was Kojo fast asleep in a chair. He was back to being small, although he wasn't really puppy sized anymore, but more like the size of a German terrier. Still small, but more well-proportioned and filled out.

I did not expect that. I had thought that what I tried would alter him forever if he used it the way I thought it worked, but it seems like either my interaction or his control let him go back to being tiny after the battle. Judging from some of the backlog I'm seeing, he used my skills and leveled them up a fair bit for me. Nothing really impressive though. Most of the stuff I sent over were already maxed out. Although Kundalini is getting really close to reaching level 20. Some of the others have passed that mark and others are close but, I still have the options for upgrading some of them. I should probably do that after I get better. Don't know what happened with that fight.

The other thing that I noticed was that the kobolt had slouched over in his chair. He seemed to be...tinkering? He's got a screwdriver? Huh...Wait, he's awake I can-

"Ugh!" I let out a little wince as I get up, and it disrupts my thoughts. Ok. Still quite injured. Noted. And he seemed to have noticed my grunt, while Kojo still is asleep.

"You're up." With that simple statement he sets down whatever he was working on along with his tools and gets up. I notice that behind him was the pack he was wearing and it had...magic coming off of it. Somehow. I mean, I can see magic, but I didn't think it could...radiate like this. At most, it just seemed like things were colored differently, not...waves of it. Plus, I think I can see some sort of mechanical bits and bobs that some mana seems to be emanating from, where he left his tools upon the table. I hear a few snaps, and it gets my attention.

"A little slow with the response time, but otherwise you seem fine." He remarks as he inspects my chest.

"Thanks for caring."

"No thanks are needed. In fact, I'm more in debt to you two then I willingly give debts to almost anyone. It's only right to save a life in turn." Ahh. I think I'm beginning to like this guy but...something's off about him. I can't seem to put...wait. He doesn't have magic? I mean, most people have some tint if I look closely with my skill, but it almost seems like...he's absorbing it? Huh. Wait, would that interfere with my healing magic stuff? Shit! At that I slowly inch away from him, not letting his clawed hand touch my stomach. His face almost seems to light up again from whatever funk he was in and he retracts his claw.

"Sorry. I've just never seen anybody able to cast while unconscious. Most people are unable to do anything once they go catatonic." He was just curious. Don't treat him like a rabid animal Dave. It'll be fine. Just...Just ask.

"Is there a reason you seem to absorb magic?" His eyes seemed to narrow before turning back to gleeful wrinkles, while his back straightens a bit.

"That is simply a condition I've had for awhile thanks to the man you helped stop. Now that he's gone, I've gotten most of what I came to do here." Wait...was he...He didn't really mention saving his life, so perhaps...

"You wanted to kill him didn't you?"

"Yes. He has caused a lot of suffering to many here and in the surrounding areas." I look into his eyes. It's not like I have a 'read people' skill or anything, but I think he's hiding something else.

"I get that. His cannibalism though doesn't seem what you're angry about. If what I heard from the town is true, it's much like an open secret. This seems to run a fair bit deeper than that. Judging from your glare." He sits on the side of the bed, and remains silent for a while before sighing.

"I won't lie. He's done a lot worse than cannibalism. Most of the titles that he held which were... inglorious, he had gotten rid of, long ago. Cannibalism is the only thing that keeps coming back faster than he can pay for it, so he just doesn't." ...I kind of knew you could already pay to get rid of things, but it applies to all titles? Wait...what else did he even do?

"Judging from your expression, you're curious about him." Startled, I give a nod in reply. "Alright then. I'll give you the tale that I can tell from my experience. Some have known him longer though, so if you're still curious after this, and I pray you aren't, go find them." I nod quickly, before the lizard sits upon the side of my bed and begins to orate.

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> When I first met Feldur, he was a new lord in the area. A low-ranking one to be sure, he only had a town to his name after all. He started out in the deserts to the southwest. He was in charge of providing the higher tiered lord the local tithes of food. Being in the desert, it was a bit of a challenge for him, so he decided to set up a tower in an area that no one wanted to build.

>

> That tower...he tried doing anything he could to gather anyone that could work for him to help solve the food issue. He boasted free materials for people to work on, access to monsters they could use to level if they had warrior classes. Anything to be able to grow food better in the desert. That was when I showed up.

>

> At the time I was a fair bit younger and I had just gotten access to my main class I wanted to use most of my life for. So, hearing the offer I travelled and went to work there. I wasn't much in the way of being a researcher back then, I mostly just made machines to better automate processes. It was after making on such machine that I came to the direct attention of Feldur.

>

> At first, it was enjoyable. He recognized the talent I had, and the amount I put into work to be of such a high level in the class. Then he started inviting me into some gatherings he put on near the top. Symbolism I suppose, but there I was introduced to a fairly small circle of people.

>

> You see, among the ones he invited, he found a rather remarkable amount of [Improvisationists].

"What are those?" I interject. At my voice, the kobolt stopped its storytelling and looked over to me.

"You've never heard of the class?" At this I shake my head before he sighs. "They mainly involve themselves with three stigmas that differ from the class where they originally came from, that being the [Tinkerer]. Where others used those skills on machines, they turned it around and focused their skill to to use it upon either their own bodies or others. Satisfied?"

"Yes. Very informative. Thank you."

"Any other interruptions?...No...good."

> Anyways, they had moved past the point where they could use their class skills on themselves. They were more creatures than people now, and I, in my youth, had fallen for their promises. Who wouldn't have wanted to make themselves better under the care of master craftsmen, who literally crafted men!

>

> After a while I noticed something though. The information about the lower levels of the tower had almost become...silent while I mainly worked upon the upper floors. You see, the tower had two section cut in half by a nearby cliff face. I worked in the top portion while everyone else was in the bottom. So, when I began to get curious about the lack of information flow between the tower floors, I had then decided to ask Feldur about it, and he, in his ivory desk, had remarked that it was meant to better compartmentalize information. What good would a [Druid] have for information on the [Craft] floor after all? What was the point of a [Metallurgist] speaking with a [Farmer]? I found his logic sound and continued my work. However, eventually, I found out the truth, as one of the older machines that I had built, on the lower floors, broke. No one else but me could fix it, and thus I was sent down to do so.

>

> Down there...I saw what he had been hiding and what he'd been doing. Anything he deemed worthy of keeping or influencing, he kept at the top of the tower, but anything else he deemed worthless and kept below the regular entrance. There, where my machine broke, I saw the cells. The [Improvisationists] who I adored had been given their own floor. They had captured many children and, there, on their isolated floors, they...did things to those children.

>

> To this day, I still don't know what made them become like that. Some had shrunken in on themselves, while others bloated, filled with pus or water. Others, they kept in cages originally meant for animals. They fed children to the beasts that they caught, and also performed experiments on. On that floor, I discovered the most shocking secret of all. it was when I approached a tiny leamp who, I discovered, was a leamp no more. They had found a way to make a beast become a monster.

>

> It had been messed with to such a degree, it could only feed on love and no longer required the normal sustenance it needed before. Love was, perhaps, the easiest supply they had of course, given that they held children who had been sold or taken away from their families, so any affection shown to them was returned ten-fold. I wasn't certain of much of that until later, but I confronted Feldur with what I had discovered.

>

> He didn't excuse their actions and simply repeated what he always had said. They had been given everything that they wanted to help solve the problem. Everything so that they could give their all in growing food in that godforsaken desert. With that, I knew that I could no longer follow him, but I stayed a couple more weeks. I had to acquire evidence before I left, of course. I had to make sure that people know about this - Important people within the government! During my last few weeks, I played the loyal follower and in return, he indulged me in even more of his...proclivities. He had been given enough towns and the main city of this territory before even being promoted to that rank of [High Lord].

>

> In the bowels of this city, I saw more travesties. I saw him training monsters underground, and disposing of criminals in the way he had determined to solve the food issue. He ate them and had everyone under him eat them too. It was only after seeing him brutally devour my kindred that I left, vowing to take him down. I could no longer simply bide my time as he dined on scale soups and bone broths. By then, the tower had been all but decommissioned for the people who specialized in the more 'light' side of research. It was then on, only ever a place for people who performed atrocities against Bide and beasts alike.

>

> Before I left, however, he activated his hidden card. Earlier, when I had fervently joined the ranks of being an [Improvisationist], I had altered my body quite a lot. One of the things I had created, with their help, was an overlay in my mind - something to promote magical growth in accordance with the Will of the Gods. It was a practical thing, since I was using mana for a lot of my tools that I created, as well as the devices I had been given leeway to create. Somehow, he had gotten his hands on all the information that I had collected and used it against me before burning it up along with any of my spare research notes. He somehow had managed to figure out how to mess with the overlay in my mind, and inverted its ability, reversed its purpose. He made me draw mana to perpetuate the devices that I had created, rather than provide it.

>

> From that moment on, I could no longer use any sort of magic, as any mana I had was simply put to waste. It was his last blow against me and was the equivalent to declaring he could've had my life at any point and could still have it. I trained for years after that to work around the handicap that he had imposed, and returned to fight him and bring his tower down. I managed to deal with the later, but, as you well know, I was almost dealt low trying the former.

"And thanks to you, I finally have laid to rest all the regrets I had coming to this territory. All that I have left are my personal goals for my growth and oaths that I have to uphold." That's...Oh. Oh god, this place is more like medieval times than I thought. Except if corrupt nobles had superpowers. Shit. Ok. Well, from what it sounds like he got rid of the tower, so no monsters roaming around here or creepy cult guys. Wait...

"What about the people below the city? You said that there were some of the most horrible people you've seen." At this, his eyes almost seemed to sparkle.

"Ahhh. Well, they've been taken care of...mostly. Before I came into the city proper, I had one of my creations dig down below and hook up the sewage system to that underground. They should've all died now due to gases getting into contact with fire or them not being able to breathe. If some are more hearty than others and survive that, they'll know that it's not good to stick around after that. I'm just worried about the monster tamer."

"Putting aside the fact that someone can somehow tame those things, why do you think he survived?" At this, his shoulders slightly stoop a little.

"I was not able to keep track of most people in the city since I was away, but if the monster tamer is still here, than I'd expect him to either be at a place in the woods where he keeps them, or down there having fun with...well, it's best not to say. It's all a matter on how much he cares about his job now."

"What should we do if he survived? Do you think he'll want revenge or something?" I panicked a little thinking about a guy controlling ten Grendels roaming around the city, and roaring like they were in a kaiju movie.

"No. It shouldn't really matter. He only really stuck around to get paid and leech off any monster that came free of the caldera. Other than that, he was only interested in the differences between natural monsters and made ones. Since he won't be getting paid anymore and the made monsters aren't being produced anymore, I think he would leave."

"What about the caldera? I was there a while back ago and it had some pretty viscous monsters in it." At this, the kobolt almost seems startled before it pushes down the scales on its head.

"No, he won't go there. It's a domain after-Wait. You were in that?"

"Yes. Had to fight one off to get out of that place. Some bastard teleported me there or something." His eyebrows seemed to crest a bit.

"Well, I guess that explains some things about you."

"Like what?"

"Your...nature, I suppose. If you stay in that strong of a domain long enough, you're bound to get an affinity or two, and judging from the rapid healing, you got pretty lucky with what you got." I nod a bit at his words before looking down at my feet.

"I didn't think I would survive it." My voice seemed to almost still the air with how dead it sounded. Silence permeates between us. I didn't mean for it to happen, but I couldn't just let him think it was a walk in the park.

"You did not though, which is naturally good news. You'll also have to tell me what kind of spell you cast before. It was really dense."

"Uhh, sure. I don't see why not. I'm Dave by the way." I introduced myself, finding my face slightly flushed, probably due to the embarrassment of the silence.

"Credonz." He held a hand towards me, which I grasped and shook. Glad that cultural differences aren't that far apart here, even with it being another world. Then, I noticed that my face was getting more flush. I was not simply embarrassed, but the actual temperature of the room was gradually increasing. I look to see that with the other hand, Credonz had covered me back up with the sheets thrown on the floor. I must've caught some type of sickness with how much open wounds I had in the middle of the road. I coughed a little bit, already feeling slightly under the weather, before I notice a key detail in the room.

"Could you open the window? I'm a bit hot under this." I asked. He nods before shuffling over and sliding it open letting the cool air in. Its nice smell seems to tickle my nose before subsiding. I breathe in deeply before settling back down into a restful position, letting myself get healed slowly and surely by my magic doing its work.

My eyes closed as dust seemed to pile on my sheets. I let out a sigh as I start practicing the [Kundalini Meditation]. Might as well get that last few percentage points that I need. I breathe in and out, letting myself relax in a rhythm. Sounds almost seemed to drown out as my conscious fades from me, but something stops me. What...what's going...why can't I something's...Agh! I can't...I can't breathe! Oh god! What's in my lungs? It's piercing everything.

I open my eyes to find that everything had been covered in dust and no sound could be heard. I looked around frantically finding Credonz had fallen to the floor having the same trouble as me. He seemed to be wheezing but nothing was happening. Then I recalled something a long time ago. A story told to me by Marwall. Sand that ran like water devouring flesh, then bone. I think I understand why he was so afraid. All this pain is aggravating my wounds and seeming to open new ones on my person. The...the pain is...too....

Kundalini Meditation has reached Level 20