* * *

Joe landed on the other side of the wall in a rather ungraceful tumble, but when he neared the ground, mana swelled outwards in a rush, flooding his body once again even as it swelled into his mind and time slowed to a crawl. Mana flooded through his body and strengthened him again. His mind grew aware of all around him and tensed. He took in his body, his position, then turned to where he was going to land. His current situation took a sour turn when he saw that he would come down upon just the edge of a roof. He panicked for a bit then calmed as he noticed the time dilation and the amount of time he had to consider. Well… this is… not good! Not good… gonna die… falling fifty meters… but… less I can get my feet under me… gonna hit there… yeah… not good… kinda prone now… need to flip to my feet… but not gonna land well that way… don’t trust trying to roll from my head… head first seems dumb! But then… twist? Feet first though… flip… twist… then… His mind raced through his options and considered his current position and quickly realized that he didn’t have many options to landing this gracefully. The more he thought and considered, the grimmer he became.

Finally, he ended up narrowing down his options until he went with what he hoped would cause the least damage and allow him to get away at the end of it all. He was currently tumbling down face first and would end up landing on all four limbs; hands and feet. Joe didn’t like that and it would be a great way to leave with broken limbs and probably more. Fifty meter drop is more like a good way to die!

He’d originally panicked when he’d first found himself flailing over the top of the wall but calmed when he realized that if his body had the strength to leap fifty meters up, it had the strength to handle landing. That, of course, was with the understanding that he was able to land on his feet. To that end, he prepped his next set of actions.

Gonna need to flip… but then stop my spin… this… Joe tucked in tight into a fetal position while swinging his arms straight out then down into his gut while simultaneously going as fully fetal as he could. The rotation began, and Joe breathed with some relief as he began a forward flip. Evaluating his drop speed in comparison to his rotational speed, he realized it wasn’t going to be enough, and he pushed remained in a fetal position while lifting his hands above his head while keeping them fully tight next to his torso until he could push them straight above and as far back behind his head as he could before throwing them at the same time. Is this gonna work… not sure this is gonna work… equal and opposite reactions here… shouldn’t add anything… what am I gonna do! This isn’t… Ooh! Joe swapped out his mage job for wind mage then immediately manifested a wind point on one of his hands. His glee quickly turned to panicked frustration when he could create another wind point on his second hand, the old one vanishing with the new one he made.

OH! This is NOT cool! Who made this stupid… Joe allowed his rant even as he pushed his to hands together and then settled on a single point in the center of his two overlaid palms. Think I got the lined up…. Pretty close… really don’t want to add a twist in! Joe began expelling wind from the point as wildly and fast as he could, pushing his spin to greater speeds until he was rather certain that he would be able to complete the spin and have his feet under him before he hit the ground.

Then, he found himself rather lazily watching the whole affair, the slow spin and rapid fall a frozen moment in time were nothing changed and everything spun through his thoughts. Only a moment passed by his mind experienced an eternity until he was certain he’d spun enough and quickly began to come out of his fetal curl. He cursed when he found himself straightening way to fast and slowing his spin. Too much! Too much… not gonna make it! He quickly curled right back up and his spin accelerated again. It took him a few false starts to get to the point he felt comfortable that he’d timed it correctly and extended himself back to his full height, even stretching his hands high above his head to slow his forward spin. Happy with that, Joe then tackled the next issue.

Forward roll… gonna suck. Not sure I can crumple and control the thing… don’t wanna go over my head… shoulder roll? Maybe… but this height… I’m coming down so, so fast! Don’t trust my control… rear roll… much more natural… just fall into a squat and I’ll automatically fall backwards… just protect the back of my head with one of my hands… arms… and offset… aim for a back shoulder roll… that would …

Feeling much more comfortable with that option, he pulled his arms down from over his head then spread them wide as well as spreading his legs wide before twisting his torso and then pulling his arms and legs in as tightly together as possible, although he did make sure to pull his arms in together above his head to keep the forward spin as deadened as possible. His body began his twirl, and it was agonizingly slow. Just need one eighty… gonna make it? Gonna… maybe my legs… not my torso… ooh… good way to rip something… can you get a sprain in your torso… definitely back… yeah… not good!

He kept almost the entirety of his body stretched out long, one arm still over his head, but he took another and spread it straight out from his body to the side. His arms now made his best impression of a right angle, his head nestled inside that angle. On his arm outstretched to the side, he dropped another wind point, and just like he’d done with speeding up his forward flip, he erupted as much wind out of the point as possible, having the point locked to his hand and allowed it to increase his spin. More… just a bit more… he was now able to twist his upper torso around to line up with his legs, feeling much more comfortable about his landing now. Still not lined up… gonna hit hard on my right… and have to fall over my right… just a bit more… The wind point blew out wind furiously and then Joe stopped. About right, yes?

He pulled the arm in then cursed when he realized that by pulling the arm in and preparing for his fall, it increased his vertical spin and would have him turned too far to the left now, requiring him to fold down and over his left leg. He flung both arms out wide to the sides, immediately slowly his vertical spin and breathed a sigh of relief. Almost perfectly lined up now… will land just a bit off to the right, but… He pulled his hands in and out slightly, gauging his vertical spin and attempting to line up his landing such that he would hit with his back to the eaves of the roof, perfectly lined up.

After a few moments, however, his arms began pin wheeling and panic returned as his forward spin, now a back spin, had increased now that he did not have his arms outstretched above him, and now he was going to land a bit too far back. No! No! Too far… just… just a bit… but… His panic receded and he calmed some. A bit easier to collapse back though… but getting to the edge of what’s wise… Gonna need… Another wind point manifested right on the back of his head, locked to his skull. He then erupted wind out of it as hard as he could, and his backwards spin slowed. Enough? Maybe… yeah… Enough! Relief swelled through him and he turned his thoughts to his landing, his feet now only a meter or two above hitting the roof.

Now that he was turned and lined up, the slow time became a burden, and he fell so slowly through the air, his mind grew incredibly bored until a tap on his toes brought him back to awareness and he glanced down, startled, his head looking down to see his toes were now touching the rough. Time suddenly slowed even further as his heart beat harder and he focused, bringing his feet in line, fully extended as possible even as he began pressing back against the rough with the strength of his calves as his ankles began bending under the strain of his landing. As he felt his calves working hard and even slowing him, his panic receded and he felt a greater and greater sense of calm.

His heels came into contact with the roof and his entire legs now began to flex, straining against the force of his drop even as his knees and waist began to bend. Time sped up. His arms fell from where they were outstretched down towards his sides and he strained to keep them up so that he could use them to maintain his balance. Time sped up. His waist and core tightened against the bend and he froze his them to fall straight down, taking the full force of the landing in his thighs while his outstretched arms shifted to in front of him, attempting to give his thighs as much time to strain against gravity and the fall. And time sped up.

When his knees had bent to a ninety degree angle, he pulled his hands in and allowed his body to begin tilting backwards, collapsing his rear down into his ankles even as he fell backwards into a roll. And suddenly everything happened in a moment as he turned his head to the side and brought up an arm to cradle his head between bicep and forearm, turning the roll to the side so that he would end up going over the top of his shoulder instead of his head.

A loud crunch echoed through the inner city, bouncing off the fifty meter wall as he blasted off the roof in a speedy roll, his head not even touching anything as the edge of the roof ended up pushing against his upper shoulders. His roll had him now spinning off the roof and across the street to the opposite building, head down and feet up but spinning such that he would run into the building on the other side feet first.

He panicked again, and time froze, his body drifting across the street, the force of his vertical fall translated into a massive leap that would have him crossing the entire street of some dozen paces and slam into the wall on the other side. He looked at where he would land and sighed in relief when he realized that he was going to slap into the side of a stone building between two windows. Do the same? Joe considered to himself as he came in. Evaluating his spin and the time till he hit the wall, he felt some relief when he realized he had little to do. As luck would have it, he would hit the wall feet first and face down. Just collapse back on my butt like before… then slide down the wall! Jackie Chan style! Ha!

Time sped up slightly and he zoomed at a comfortable pace towards the wall before his feet hit and he slowed his speed as much as possible, cushioning with pointed toes and straining calves before turning to bending knees and burning thighs. He wasn’t able to bleed off much, suddenly relaxing his thighs when he felt something not exactly right with the wall. Not too much!

Not wanting to simply bash his way through the walls, he allowed a bit more force to be transferred into the roll than he expected, and fell back onto his rear once again before tumbling up the wall in a backwards roll, cushioning his head once again with an arm and rolling backwards over a shoulder.

The roll worked, and he rolled up, over his back, and back onto his front. Instinct took over and he tried to land on his hands and feet instead of continuing the roll, which turned out to be a very bad idea, his legs putting more force into the ending his tumble which bounced him off the wall in a rather uncontrolled forward flip down towards the street.

Crap! No. No…. No! No! No! Arms pin wheeled in wild effort as he found himself falling faced down and tumbling forward, then back down. This is gonna suck! This is… His mind scattered in panic, everything happening too fast and fear driving instinctual reactions instead of careful planning.

His forward flip had him twist around enough that he was able to land more on his butt in a seated position than flat on his back, but that did little to comfort him as his tailbone shattered under the landing. He bit his lips hard, grinding teeth to hold in his cry of pain, turning it into a low moan that cut off with some shock before realization set in. He flipped open his status and found almost three quarters of his over ten thousand health gone and huffed in shock that he’d made it out relatively unscathed. He looked up at the massive wall above him and gulped in shock, then jerked in fear, turning to his left.

A cry had rang out and more soon came after and Joe leapt to his feet! Right… time to get out of here! But… He glanced up at where he’d hit the wall of the building above him and found no damage to the wall. Something happened though… so… uh… He fished into his inventory and pulled out one of his broken cores before turning to look up at the window he’d landed beside almost three meters above him. Can I even get that… He blinked, glancing up at the fifty meter tall wall and then back at the window, huffing softly to himself. Then… what… not even ten percent of my power… more like… five? Less? A small hop?

Joe hopped a small bit and barely lifted off the ground, then grimaced with frustration. Time wasn’t with him and he immediately did as strong a leap as he could, and found himself at his regular vertical of about half a meter, or half a yard. What? Why… Realization hit him and he immediately grunted, putting effort into sending mana to his legs, and nothing really happened. Joe grimaced. Why! So easy just ten seconds ago! Now… His frustration welled and his thoughts turned to other things even as he continued to wish for a leap and suddenly the mana kicked in, swirling down and rushing to his legs. The mass of mana split, half staying with his thighs and calves and the other continuing down to spike down past his feet into a ground below him in a Lichtenberg scorch mark, spreading mana into ever small fingers and spikes into the earth.

He grinned, bending his knees to leap then paused. Right… five percent… just kind of a small… hop! Concentration painted his face and he gave a light hop, and flew up a good five meters and raised a hand upwards in worry as the eaves of the roof almost smacked him in the head. He grimaced and reached out wildly for the window sill and caught it with a grunt, pulling himself into the wall and holding there. OK. This… sucks! He carefully placed a broken core there then leapt off, landing on the ground with much more grace this time, the mana swelling to his legs and then punching down into the earth much like when he jumped, but in reverse.

He glanced around quickly, evaluating his time before running across the street. Got a bit of time… I can do this! He pulled out another core, this time holding it between his lips before coming to the window he was targeting right under where he’d landed on the roof. He had felt anything give in the roof, rather certain it was fine, but figured better safe than sorry. Legs bent, ready for a leap, and he almost worried when nothing happened but then mana surged again, a bit hesitant and in fits and starts, but it did, and Joe put just as much force in his leap as he’d done across the street. This time, it proved perfect, and he was able to lean forward at the apex of his leap and lightly place the core on the sill before falling back to the earth. Mana swelled again perfectly and he stuck the landing almost like he’d come off some Olympian floor exercise.

That… how!? He looked down to see his knees barely bent, took a moment to explore the impossibility, then heard another shout and took off as fast as he could. That turned out to be very fast, and mana surged through him once again with ease, swelling to his thighs and calves even as a massive surge welled up in his feet. Some went up into his skull and a small portion went to his arms, but the vast majority of it was to his feet and legs.

He zipped down the street and turned the corner into some alleys, but found his traction and movement simple, even as the buildings blurred by him. When he had streets leading towards the clan walls, he was able to easily get his bearings and continue to sprint to the other side of the city, towards the clan. About half way there, he quickly slowed and began to walk more naturally, not because he was mana exhausted, but simply due to shock catching up to him. He took another couple corners and alleyways until he met one that was facing both walls, the outer city walls and the clan walls, and stared at both. He simply stared at them in awe. I… jumped that!

* * *

In the capital city of the capital plane of Aelthron’s capital, the prison guard captains for the cradle met and prepared. One of their number had completed his service and was now released to return home. The nominal warden of the prison and the other three captains prepared for the day and to stand for the release of the old captain and the arrival of the new one. The nominal warden, just one of the four captains of the guards assigned leadership here, groaned at the duty, his dark shadows forming wings behind him and enshrouding him in darkness as his Dao was wont to do when he wasn’t feeling to sociable or in a pleasant mood.

He wasn’t sure which one it was, but he still had one more period of service and seeing another being freed to return to the greater Cycle where cultivation was possible left him in a bitter mood. It was also a pain as nominal warden but essentially of equal status to attempt to wrangle the other three captains to do what they were supposed to do. Where is she? Should be back by now! Gotta kick one out and get the other here… The captain of the winds was gone on a wild goose chase seeking perfect cores and while he knew she would find nothing, she was new and still naïve to the situation of Alethron’s cradle.

Need to setup the goodbye and the welcome celebration for the new guy. And, of course, I gotta do it alone! Grumpily, he prepared everything and then found himself marching out of the prison guard’s headquarters alone, teeth gritting in annoyance. Kinda expected it from the other guy, but why would she? He sighed, seeing that the only other captain of the four that had showed up was the one actually leaving. He sighed, understanding, but was still frustrated that he was left essentially high and dry, the other two not coming.

This dereliction of duty would be unacceptable in almost any other location, but with the crippled nature of the inhabitants and the fact that no serious cultivator would find themselves caught dead on this plane, those who found themselves as leaders of the guards were often simply first among equals. All the responsibility, none of the power. He sighed and stepped up beside the other captain leaving today.

“Hey!”

The man turned to look at him, shocked, then chuckled and shook his head, “You know, none of the others ever came. Think you’re the first who ever took it so seriously.”

“Yeah. Trust me. I know,” he replied grumpily.

The conversation didn’t continue because the gate swelled and opened. No more good byes or comments were given, nor even a moment to remember their service together. The man simply fled, escaping through the gate with a whoop of joy that cut off well before he made it to the gate, not wishing to show such poor behavior on the other side of the gate.

The shadows welled up around him even tighter, feeling his agitation as the burned upon him like flames, twisting and licking up his body in a tight weave to hide him, sucking even more of the light in and leaving him in dark blackness difficult to see through. His mood soured, he grunted then sighed, wishing he was the one who’d completed his service and was able to leave before he looked up at the sun and cradle, glancing between the two before frowning. Just another bell or so… the new guy should show up! He glanced back at their headquarters then over to a small bench at the side. He sighed and sat on the bench, wrapping the whole area and bench in dark shadows to drive away any of the imprisoned mortals. He didn’t want to be bothered today.

* * *

The last prison guard from the Prison Cradle, or what was known in ancient times as Aelthron’s cradle, slipped through gate and to a smaller transfer hub before quickly finding his next transfer and driving onwards to a second much greater transfer hub at a different cradle. He transferred four times before making it home and rushing to his family grounds; a massive estate that was more a small city that covered the entirety of a massive rolling mountain.

A shift change for the Prison Cradle, while not exactly a momentous event, was rather unusual simply due to its rarity. It did nothing nor caught the attention of any of the political powers that be, military or otherwise.

It did, however, cause a massive change in the Great Cycle and brought about upheaval in every cradle across the Great Cycle, for when the guard traveled through the first plane and cradle, the cradle took notice, a pondering that had it somewhat interested. Something tickled its interest, but as was the nature of most cradles, the young cultivator was already through his next gate and onto its next location in a short time of not even a day.

Its interest, however, rolled through the community of cradles, and the other cradles that saw his passage roused from long slumber and peered as he passed, which quickly roused their interest further. But, as before, he spent so little time on each cradle before he reached his home cradle and plane.

His home cradle dug into the juicy morsel with excited interest and after months of careful study, passed on his findings to the other cradles. Excitement roiled through them all, but none could take advantage of the new findings until the home cradle bit the bullet and shifted everything on a fundamental level. Like Aelthron’s Cradle, things changed overnight, some for the better, some for the worse. But the cradle sighed in relief when its burden was lightened because every single plane and the life on all of them shifted slightly, requiring less effort and work from the cradle.

An eye blink of time later, several of the locals of the cradle traveled to other locations, and the cradles there took just as avid attention, studying and enacting the change themselves. The change, from that moment, was exponential, and a wave spread across the entire galaxy over the next few years, encompassing every life on every plane of every living cradle with a new gift: mana enabled cellular life.

This change, unseen and unknown to the cultivators living on the planes did not pass without ramifications as reports came in with ever increasing shock and rapidity. Their cradles were accelerating their matrix production wildly, surging outwards. Many cradles even formed entire new planes and populated them. Other cradles, content to wait, left the newly formed planes empty and waited for the cultivators to make a home there with new gates to facilitate travel. And the Great Cycle grew into a period of incredible growth and prosperity, a golden age for all with surging population, wealth, mana, and growth. And many more cultivators leaping into the heights of heaven higher than ever before.

* * *

Joe found himself at the base of the clan wall, staring up at it and gritting his teeth. It was the same height as the other city wall, but now that he knew he had the capability of scaling it, he found himself much less willing to make the effort. He stared at it for a time before running back from the wall a decent distance before putting his eyes to the test and trying to see if anyone was up top. Wonder if it’s the same as the other wall I stood on in the monster tied… two tiered. Would they walk the top or bottom. Are there even guards on the inner wall? Not sure that…

His worries were proven right even as he grimaced, seeing a small dark mass against the lighter darkness of the sky. It was very hard to see them, but having picked out one, it was easy enough to recognize the patterns of the guards. He sighed, evaluating his chances and then started studying them. As he watched, he became both more assured and a bit more concerned.

The guards moved with regular metronomic speed around the wall and while the movement seemed rather mechanical, he also saw their heads on a swivel, always looking around, if he was able to interpret what he was seeing that well. He could only hope they weren’t, but didn’t feel comfortable attributing what he was seeing to just poor visual conditions and so assumed they were diligent in their search. They also seemed to be patrolling the upper outer section of the wall, which had him a bit annoyed.

The good think, however, was that there were no lights of any kind on the wall, and it was dark on the wall. He then turned to counting, measuring the movement of the guards and found himself finding some measure of certainty, seeing a good three or four minute interval between each of the guards. Maybe… if I’m counting the seconds right! He found himself wondering what he could do before feeling like he might have a chance at this.

He picked his moment, counting as the guard passed directly in front of him and just before he hit the middle of his count, Joe paused and grimaced. Wait… how high will I jump! I don’t want a full jump… that’ll put me at way over top and outlined against the sky for the guards coming up on me… so…

He then paused at that, then decided to turn to a possibility that had been percolating in the back of his mind. He slipped into an alleyway and leapt as high as he could, not using mana of any kind. The leap was pretty decent, but proved nothing as he couldn’t evaluate his own height so tried once again. He pulled out his pencil and marked the highest he could reach, then prepared himself before leaping and marking a second time.

It took him a couple times to get a mark dark enough to see as well as a couple times sharpening his pencil with a dagger before he was finally able to measure his vertical. Then he struggled to get his actual leap but then defaulted to using his limbs and his known height to guesstimate it. By the time he was done, he was a bit annoyed as his vertical was basically unchanged, if you tossed in the variables, to what he’d measured back on Earth. Didn’t even need to check… sheesh. Just a bit over half a meter. He sighed.

Well… then that’s kinda… telling. Fifty meter high wall. Half a meter vertical. Just a little over ten thousand strength. If the average is a hundred… like all my mana stats are at… then a hundred times the strength… I would just clear fifty meters… His considered everything then decided to run the actual numbers compared to his stats and came to a standing vertical of just shy of fifty five meters. And I took a run up for that last jump! And a good run up can add… maybe five… ten centimeters? That would be another… five ten meters? Yeah… that would put me well over the wall.

He stepped back out and looked at the wall and considered. So… don’t want a running jump up. And a full powered jump would put me a story or almost two above the wall. So… gonna want a ninety percent jump? Ninety five? Sheesh… not sure I have the control for that fine of a change. He spent a good five minutes considering his options before finally making a choice and stepping out into the middle of the alleyway that gave him line of sight to wall as well as straight run there. So… maybe try just short… assume I’ll miss get a second jump… so gonna wanna run up maybe… just a couple seconds before… try one jump… then aim to get it on the second. The oncoming guard would still be far away and if I time it right… right in the middle of both.

Joe looked at the guards and timed their circuit once again, hopping in place a few times before he made his pick and began counting, a subtle anxiety agitating his body as he bounced and wiggled his limbs, the count continuing quietly in his mind. Right about a third of the way through the count, he verified one last time that he was on track and started jogging towards the wall, moving quickly but silently and carefully maintaining his count. He made it to the large empty fairway before the wall and paused, looking out while still counting and finding it relatively empty. He took a couple steps out and glanced behind him, up and down the row of houses, making sure they were also devoid of anyone before darting across the street as stealthily as possible. He made it to the base of the wall and hid in its shadow, the gas giant on the far side leaving this side of the wall deeply shadow. He continued his count.

Just about ten seconds before the halfway mark, he settled himself and look up. Ninety percent… maybe a bit more… not much… Just shy of full… just shy… Mana flooded through him with ease as his thoughts remained entirely on the lip of the wall or on his efforts to control the power of his leap. Swooping down into his legs, calves, and further, spiking into the ground in a massive disordered web of mana. Five seconds before, he leapt, straight up and quite parallel to the wall. He grinned, joy ripping his lips upward in a wild surge of joy as the wall slid past below him in rapid spurts of various color and texture. He slowed as he reached the top of his leap and the failure to match the height of the lip of the wall could not keep the brilliant joy from his face, even if a small twinge of disappointment nagged at his heart.

His fall had his head turned back down and he spread outwards, prepared to strike the ground. Don’t need to roll now… no need to worry about breaking someone’s house or crushing people in their beds. He came down rapidly and slammed into the ground, mana ripping outwards and down through his legs as well as into his torso and up into his head and arms before spiking down into the ground as soon as he slapped down.

He hit the ground hard, unable to quite arrest his fall, ending up on his hands and knees. But that did nothing, and he struggled to keep the laughter quiet even as he glanced back up at the wall. He cursed through his laughter as he realized he’d forgotten to keep track of his count and immediately prepared for his next leap. Close to center enough! Let’s do this!

He pictured the lip of the wall at the height of his previous jump, just a couple body lengths out of his reach and aimed for just a bit higher, then added a bit more for safety before repeating his leap. Joe really didn’t notice anything different, but to me honest, he was too busy feeling exhilarated as the wall whipped past below him before slowing as he reached the height of his jump. He struggled to keep his laughter internal which quickly became easy as he just as easily slipped up and past the height of the wall about half a body length. Crap! No! Just…

He glanced to his right, taking in the incoming guard and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the guard glancing out over the city from where was walking across the wall. Joe quickly slipped back down and he grabbed the edge of the wall with his fingers, clenching with a death like grip to hold on. And he stayed there, breathing heavy with worry. Right… maybe this was pretty dumb!

He stayed there and restarted his counting, deciding to start exactly where he left off. Better safe than sorry! He calmed his breathing, slowing it as well as his wildly beating heart. When he made it to about three quarters of the time, he began to hear the quiet steps of the next guard and quickly stilled himself even more, not wanting any noise to reveal him. He did clench his fingers tighter even as he pulled his knees up and to either side of his chest before resting his shoes on the wall. As soon as he did, however, he cursed with some worry. No… that… those shoes will make too much noise! He considered his options but really didn’t think that taking one of his hands of the wall was going to be a good idea. His mind whirled with possibilities, dismissing all of them and came close to despair before an option popped into his thoughts. My inventory!

He wondered, then gave up and just tried it, and the shoes stayed firmly on his feet and he side with annoyance. Woulda had to take off my socks too, that’s not... His socks disappeared from his feet and he narrowed his eyes, shock playing across his face before a small grin grew on his lips. OK. Now shoes! The shoes vanished as well and Joe grinned, but withheld the chuckle as he put his bare feet on the wall. Better… much better.

The person coming walked along the wall and passed in front of him a few moments later, and he wished fervently under his breath that the guard wouldn’t notice his fingers slipped over the ledge of the wall. It’s dark… right? Should be ok. Maybe…

The footsteps did not stop and continued past and Joe stifled his sigh of relief before quickly pushing up with his feet while pulling with his hands. He almost pushed too hard with his feet, causing his fingers to slip and he froze, gritting his teeth before making sure to push up and not out with his feet. Seconds later, his head was poked up over the edge and he saw the guard a couple meters to the side staring up into the night sky while twirling his staff like weapon. Joe grinned and turned to look the other direction and saw the guard quite the distance away. He grimaced with some worry. I see him… he probably can see me easily, right?

Joe considered for a moment, looked back at the other guard, then committed, pulling himself all the way up and onto the wall silently while remaining almost flat on the ground. He didn’t even glance back and forth, quickly scuttling across the ground like a demented human lizard. He kept himself as low to the ground as possible while not allowing any part of his body to touch the ground, not wanting the sound of dragging clothing to be heard. Rushing across on hands and feet, not using his knees to crawl, he had to open his legs in an odd wide split so he could keep his back and rear low to the ground.

A couple meters and he was past the line the guards walked. Another couple meters and he made it to the edge where the lower wall began and he slipped over it then scuttled quickly the wall towards the oncoming guard till he got to the stairs leading from the lower to upper level. He huddled against them then turned to look at the previous guard walking away from him. Don’t turn around… please don’t turn around…

He remained there for another circuit until the next guard came by, his footsteps methodical and plodding until he reached him then passed by and Joe breathed a sigh of relief and only waited a few more moments before peaking over the edge of the stairs. Next guard… far away, but… He scuttled again, keeping down and slipping over the wall down the five meter drop and finally rested, feeling some relief. Glancing both ways, he found no guards and waited once more, stepping out slowly to see where the oncoming guard was every once in a while. When the guard was almost directly overhead, he began leaping quietly down the five meter drops until he made it to the ground, easily able to do so because the large five meter drops kept him hidden from the view of the closest guard and the furthest one was still too far away.

Reaching the bottom of the wall, he settled against it, breathing as nervous tension and worry evaporated and he finally calmed. Right… now to belong… and to find where it’s at… If I remember… my old guest villa first, I think. But… not much shadow here… got the whole gas giant shining down here…

Joe stood and glanced around before taking in a small offset building that had no light and empty. On the other side, a small garden and a copse of trees stood and deep shadows covered the distance between the small building, the gardens, and the wall of the building. He glanced around quickly, looking up at the walls and saw the guard oncoming and waited for him to pass before marching purposely to the small building. He slipped to the right side then settled against the wall, the heavy shadow there covering him, even if he was still in the sight of the wall. He looked to the copse of trees but found it very small and utterly tangled with vines and bushes. I’ll be even louder in there... Joe grit his teeth and considered his position. Well… better now than never!

He swapped his job to shinobi, the highest shadow hunter job he’d been able to level up decently and then used its shadow meld, shadow stealth, and generic stealth capabilities. His eyes widened and his grin grew. Wow! This… Shadows melted down and covered him, all color bleaching from his appearance and even taking on some of the coloration of what was around him, although the main effect seemed to more turn him basically monochrome. The shadows then blended so that what counted as his edge faded and blended into his surroundings, removing the sharp outline of his being and making him appear much more of a smear against the ground and wall than any meaningful shape. If anything, he looked kinda bush-like, now, and Joe struggled to keep his grin soft. OK… kinda nice.

He then paused for a time and simply explored the skills before finally turning back to what he was there for. So… then, hmm. Nicer clothing first, maybe… and my shoes! He grinned then tried to return his socks and shoes to his feet, but as soon as he willed his socks out with his feet as the target, his joy evaporated as he found his sock laying limply over his feet. He cursed, grumpily sitting on the ground to put his socks and shoes on, then stopped and pulled out his bag first to retrieve something a bit nicer. And a cloak… maybe… how about…

Joe took a moment to come out of the shadow to look at the guards and checked out their clothing then frowned. Lone guard walking around… might cause problems? Or are there guards… Joe look out over the empty wide greenery of the clan lands and saw a couple wandering individuals that Joe could take for guards before looking back up at the wall as well. He couldn’t find anything that made them really stand out as uniquely guards as they all went about their duties without any real uniform or identifiable mark that Joe could guess at. Maybe… this was a bit dumb… Just… maybe go back. Shouldn’t do this… Joe sighed, his smile curdling as the rage he’d felt earlier faded. He sighed and glanced at the glowing softly strobing blue at the corner of his vision.

Uncertainty washed through him and he retreated into looking at the two messages that he saw, seeking the familiarity of peace in retreat. Don’t wanna think about anything right now… and no internet, so… He had both messages pop up.

You have seen the target of your rage and revenge and refused to take it, instead offering mercy. You have gained the title Justicar of Mercy

Justicar of Mercy (Unique Title): You have shown mercy to those who deserve no mercy. You have lived a life of justice according to your own code of honor and refuse to bend, break, or yield to 'simple answers.' Unlock Justicar of Mercy

You have seen the target of you rage and revenge and chosen to live by a higher moral code, as you’ve defined it. You reject immediate emotional solutions for longer term moral ones. May you find what you seek. Your journey is harsh. Unlock Holy line of Priesthood.

Joe stared at both of them and felt a certain sense of disgust well up within him even as he rejected what he saw. Within his heart, the hypocrisy of what he read rang out and he closed his eyes even as rage swelled once again. The target of my rage… and revenge! His breath shuddered and the calm he’d regained shattered. Fuck you! Aelthron… this fuckin’ prison… this … fuck ALL THIS!!! The blue boxes floated in the darkness behind his eyelids and his rage grew even as he dismissed them, refusing to see or even consider them. Only rage burned, dulling to cold hatred, redirected.

He stood and stamped his feet into the ground to get his feet more comfortably settled in his shoes before looking around. His shadows swam desperately trying to hide him and he calmed. Calm down… slow down… I can do this… And I got this shadow stuff… I can do this… Seeing the guards and their getup, he chose a similar color cloak and draped it across his body. Oh… staff, too… or some kind of spear? Although a couple have swords… He evaluated and pulled out his favored spear then grimaced, noticing the full metal of it and sucked it back into his inventory before pulling out his wooden spear he’d gained. It was much more ornate, but, to his perspective, local and hopefully less eye catching. Never seen anyone have a full metal spear except … Joe’s teeth ground as his mind scattered, skittering away from his memories of Garnedell, then he paused and took a deep breath. Don’t worry… maybe… I … there’s a chance. Eyes closed, he took a deep shuddering breath to calm himself even as his raged remained in a roil, and then he stepped out from the wall of the shadow with conviction, although he took a step back and looked up. Just passed… nice…

He then turned and marched from the shadows deeper into the clan grounds. The shadows stretched then snapped when he walked out from them, and he grimaced at the feeling but didn’t notice it, his eyes forward. He kept his head straight forward, but had his eyes glancing to both sides constantly and made sure that his path kept him far from most other guards, speeding up or slowing down slightly that he never really crossed paths with any guards. Not too close… but… so many… or… wait… some of them kids… messengers? Kinda late, but…

After walking out about half a dozen paces, he took a glance to his right, trying to see the clan gate entrance. It took him a bit of trying, but then he saw it and quickly got his bearings, turning slightly to his right. Came in this way towards my villa… then from my villa to the wall… it was off to the side… if I remember right. Should be, um… yeah. Think I recognize that tree and then there was that odd villa with the really weird orange and blue flowe… yeah!

Joe grinned when he came upon the villa with the odd flower in the flower bed, the flower petals now closed but still recognizable because of their odd coloring. He stared at the flowers one last time as he passed before settling on the line that he now recognized, bringing him close to the villa he’d used in defense of the wall.

He didn’t even get close to the villa, completely dark without any lights of any kind to appear inviting. But he did angle to pass by a copse of trees, wanting to remain in the shadows as much as possible, and as he came up upon the trees, the shadow from the copses of trees stretched out to meet him and he saw it actually swell and swarm up around him and he grimaced. Ok… bad idea! Gotta not… He quickly swapped his jobs and the shadows snapped away again, returning to normal behavior. OK… gonna need to practice that a bit more, then…

Without his shadows going wonky, he had no worries to pass close to other sources of shadow and turned his thoughts to trying to find his place in the clan grounds. During this time, he swerved to dodge the guards, but the messenger boys were everywhere, so he soon passed them by while mainly ignoring them. After a good dozen or two, he felt relaxed enough to simply ignore them as they seemed to expect that. Soon, his attention turned back to finding his destination and after a few corrections to his angle of travel, he was on a very easily remembered path through the greenery and cultivated paths. Careful timing to his speed of travel and slight angle shifts had him walking through the grounds on his way to the wall where he kept all other guards a good hundred or more paces from him until he came to and then passed his target.

He’d wanted to stop earlier, being able to time and know when to shift from confident patrol to skulking spy much easier when he could see his target and everyone in front of him. Sadly, a guard in front came in to view and passed in front of him, and by the time Joe was able to do something then, he was already in front of his target and frowned when he saw an older gentleman with a long thin pointed beard covering only his chin sitting in front of the entrance to the wall, obviously in meditation with eyes closed while also holding a cup of tea and occasionally taking a sip. He only had a half dozen paces to evaluate him before he was too far forward for his eyes to be able to catch and focus on him out of the corner of his eyes while keeping his head mostly forward and out of view of the man.

He didn’t want to catch the man’s attention. Something about the man made him uncomfortable so he stared as cautiously and as much as possible until his steady pace took him beyond sight. He continued his watch, marching slowly and grimaced. Donno if I can do this, then… He came to a copse of trees next, his last chance to do anything, and angled to walk right beside it while also still appearing nonchalant in his duties. As he drew close enough that the copse now covered him from the odd meditating man, he sighed and stretched, faking a yawn while looking up into the sky. He maintained his march, if a bit more slowly, and carefully glanced into the copse, finding the inside of it relatively empty of bushes and vines. This works!

He slowed to a stop and then stretched some more until his stretching turned him so that his back was to the copse of the trees and then continued, used the stretches to cover his scans of the entire area in front of him and to his sides. A forward stretch allowed him to take a look behind him as well, especially back towards where the old man meditating was. Suddenly, the rustle of grass caught his attention and he looked up in a bit of panic but then calmed when he saw a young kid run by. The kid looked up at him with a smirk, and Joe relaxed, smiling back. The kid seemed to take that as permission and slowed to stand next to them. It was a decidedly odd moment, the two simply standing in silence while looking into the sky. They remained like that for a time before Joe looked down at the kid. The kid looked up at him with a smile.

“Maybe not too long,” Joe said.

The kid grinned and nodded before turning to take off. He did take the time to yell out as he ran off.

“Thanks, elder!”

Joe huffed, playing the part, then sighed in relief, returning to evaluate his situation. He bent over again, returning to his ‘stretches’ so he could see behind him one last time before returning to a standing position. Glancing around one last time, he found a guard walking out from behind a home and begin circling it. Joe stood and remained still, the guard not looking in his direction before taking a step back into the shadows of the copse of trees. Alright… time for you to do your thing!

Joe swapped out his job for his highest shadow hunter job and immediately leaned on his stealth, shadow stealth, and shadow meld skills. The shadows seemed to melt without shifting, covering him without moving, and he almost simply became a part of the shadows himself. Wow… ok… this is … His grin grew then he stifled his happiness, keeping his gaze on the other guard until he passed back around the house again. Wonder what that house is to be guarded?

He glanced carefully around then more quickly when he found the view empty and quickly turned to slide under the shadows of the trees. He shifted through the shrubbery at the edge with some effort, cursing the soft noises, but made it through easily enough until he was under the overarching trees where the shrubs and vines had little chance to grow, the sun blocked by the tree’s branches. Sliding through the small copse of trees was easy enough, even if the noise was frustrating as he struggled to make it through all the fallen leaves. Never really learned this stuff… maybe I need to now? He stepped carefully and cautiously felt out each step for any branches before he reached the other side of the copse and stared out at his target. The odd roofless windowless building was where he remembered it and where Gwenvair had told him it would be, but the meditating man in front still sat there, guarding the only entrance into the place. His eyes glanced up at the gaping roof and sighed. Only chance I got… should I?

He glanced around and found no other way to continue closing on the place, the man in front obviously to alert to sneak close and he found himself taking in the surroundings until he sighed in defeat. Gonna have to do this the long way! He glanced out towards the wall where he’d helped guard against the monster tide and saw the heave shadow at its base. He sighed and turned away and marched back to the other end of the copse of trees closest to the distant walls but with the meditating man directly behind him, the copse of trees covering him. He glanced around cautiously before pushing out from the bushes and vines that ran the edge of the trees and stepped out into the bright gas giant light. Even as he came out, he immediately swapped out his shadow hunter job again so the shadows wouldn’t act strange, and he continued his measured assured march to the walls.

It was tense and uneventful and he soon stepped into the deep shadows of the wall before he heard some shuffling noise and froze, glancing towards his right and dropping to his knees. What? Where is… An odd sound and whispering voices caught his attention to his right and he narrowed his eyes, seeing someone laying on the ground then felt his eyes widening and he grimaced. Seriously!? Now… He quickly turned away from the two people laying on the ground and moved quietly away. The two didn’t even notice him, unaware of his arrival and he was incredibly grateful for it. He did immediately engage his shadows by swapping to the shinobi job as soon as possible, staying as far away from the others while remaining in the shadows. The shadows covered him well, but he sweat the entire time until he was able to head to the wall itself with some relief. Seriously! Caught cause… He sighed deeply but quietly and slid down the wall while keeping his focus on the odd building he was targeting.

When the front of the building finally slid in to view, he walked another fifty or hundred paces and lined up directly behind it before glancing around and dropping his shinobi job when marched out into the lighted grounds. He moved with purpose, acting the guard and glancing around with very shallow turns of his head although he made sure to keep his steps very light and quiet. It was not easy, the comfortable march of a guard who’s supposed to be there wouldn’t care about stealth and so he struggled to maintain the look of someone who was supposed to be there without giving away the fact that he was trying to be sneaky, at least with the sound of his movement.

When he finally came upon the building, he found his second problem: he was brightly lit by the light of the gas giant behind him. He stopped and leaned against the wall before faking a yawn, hoping to look like a guard resting a bit when he turned around and took in the area before him, including the top of the wall. The guards were marching around from his left and one was just coming into view as he watched. The man glanced at him and Joe tensed with some worry until the man raised a hand at him and waved. Joe’s eyes grew before he nodded and raised his own hand which he waved. The man nodded and turned his eyes back out towards the dark of the forest and Joe remained where he was, frozen with some uncertainty. Should I move… or will he get suspicious if I disappear? Or if he… The other guard marched down the wall until he was lined up with him, just passing by, before glancing at him one last time and waving. The guard didn’t even wait to see his wave back, already turning back to face the way he was going and Joe was now behind him, struggling to keep his panting worry silent even as his heart beat rather hard. This… He dropped the hand he’d raised to wave a second time and then glanced towards where the next guard was going to come. Time to move a bit faster then! He turned and looked at the building, then to the left and right side from where he was standing. The building was not straight on to the light shining from the gas giant, actually twisted quite far off that both the wall he was against and the wall to his left were brightly lit, although there was a tree on the left side. He waffled for a bit before ultimately choosing stealth. Tree offers nowhere to hide. Right side it is… but gotta stay away from that guy in front!

He slipped around the right side and stepped into the shadows before reengaging his shadow skills when he swapped to the shinobi job again. Shadows swelled up and covered him, hiding his form and even, now that he noticed, seeming to have some effect on the noise he was making. He slithered to the wall, just inside the shadows and as far from the meditating man at the front as possible before he took a beat to rest and calm himself. This… really sucks… really sucks! Dumb… I don’t think… The cold hatred and rage from before had calmed and was now whimpering thing in the corner before the reality of his current situation, and as his thoughts skittered towards finding a way to continue, he quickly came to the conclusion it would be incredibly unwise. He grimaced, grinding his teeth as he berated himself. But then his mind would return to a memory of his past and the rage seemed to swell and encompass him in uncontrollable explosive desire to explode out at the world before he scrambled to crush it all back down under what little control he had.

He remained against that wall for quite some time, silent and lost in memories that he struggled to reconcile. All he wanted to do was hurt someone, anyone, if he could find who to blame. Zilnek was the obvious one, at least in regards to Garnedell, but Joe also recognized that his desire was firmly in the field of revenge and as much as the rage demanded he barrel down that, terror gripped his heart with the knowledge that once he started, it was unlikely that he would ever be able to stop. Could I stop? Would I? Am I capable of it? What would… Joe shivered at the ramifications as the horror of it all settled upon him and he lay crumpled against that wall, terrified to move or make a sound but paralyzed to move on. His hatred warred with his fear, and neither won.

He didn’t know how long he remained like this, but the line of the shadow separating the dark from the brilliant reflection of the gas giant seemed unchanged at his side when something changed. The villa he’d seen previously at the small copse of trees where he’d spied upon the meditating man and this roofless building still had guards circling it and he’d watched them pass by as he was lost in thought. He couldn’t see the whole villa, only one corner and a guard that would come around that corner then disappear past the wall he was hiding behind.

However, this time, the guard came around the corner and froze, throwing up a salute, and the oddity of it was enough to drive Joe’s paralysis away and make him wonder. Whoever was receiving the salute was behind the building he was hiding against and he saw nothing. He looked down and found his cloak, despite being a light beige color, swimming in blackness that matched the wall or the grass he sat upon, depending on where the cloak was draped. His eyes flicked up at the guard, then back down. Curiosity ate at him and he moved from leaning against the wall to laying in the grass before looking back to see his legs basically the same color and shadow of the grass he lay upon.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

He raised his head, and suddenly his leg was not a raised bump of grass but was instead now a flat plane, possibly just a small bump if anything, above the field of grass around it. He grinned and laid a hand out to see his arm melding down into the ground. Huh… magic. Ha! Joe cautiously then began to crawl out just enough to allow his head to peak around the corner, certain the shadows would keep him covered. Gotta stay in the shadow though… so…

There were not many breezes in the clan grounds, the massive walls around them blocking many of the winds that might have come upon the clan’s trees or buildings. But, there were still some as the winds over the walls stirred the air within the clan walls with soft brushes, the trees offering the most noise as the leaves rustled. Still, Joe had to move cautiously, shifting when the noises rose or due to some other source of noise, and when Joe made it out enough to see, fear, rage, and doubt hammered through him as he cursed wildly in his mind.

Gunlan, now Patriarch of the Galgandar clan, was marching across the wide cultivated greenery, waving off the saluting guard off to his side. He heard some rustling around the corner of the building and he froze, not moving anymore. Meditation dude’s getting up? Joe watched as the man who’d been meditating at the entrance walked out into the field towards the Patriarch before coming to a stop and waiting. Joe found his eyebrows knitting at that. Making the Patriarch come to him… huh… some high level uppity muck. Joe remained absolutely still, waiting and watching.

The Patriarch seemed to be in a poor mood and marched up with a sharp accusation, “I summoned the Wyvern, not his lackey!”

The man who’d been meditating before the entrance chuckled and waved away the Patriarch’s comment, “I can tell him you said so… if you wish.”

Gunlan actually seemed taken aback by that, and paused before restarting his walk. He’s… afraid! Who’s the Wyvern?

Gunlan quickly spoke with some nervous hand waving, quickly backtracking, “Ah! I’m so sorry. I am… grateful to … ah, yes. I am grateful.”

“It is wonderful you are.”

The Patriarch had paused then come to a stop, obviously less certain of himself and a bit. He wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation and floundered until the visitor continued.

“You called?”

“Yes. I seek my payment. I have need of funds.”

The man paused at that before cocking his head. Joe couldn’t see him, but he was rather certain that there was a smile on his face.

“Funds? You seek a loan?”

The Patriarch cursed then calmed himself, “I do not seek a loan. I seek my payment promised!”

“A payment? For what,” the man asked with obvious relish. Man… this guy really likes pushing this kids buttons.

The Patriarch couldn’t keep his face calm and grimaced in rage before controlling himself, calming his rage, “You know I did as the Wyvern asked. The four dungeons, all broken as requested.”

Joe felt his heart thud, the rage swelling through him before he froze, gritting his teeth and not allowing anything to show. Don’t move… don’t move… quiet… quiet… can’t let Gunlan know … can’t… Fear skittered through his entire being, the realization cooling his anger under the deep fear of being found out by Gunlan and coming under the man’s control once again.

“You did not do as the Wyvern asked, nor when he asked. In fact, you almost destroyed all his plans. You fool.”

The Patriarch started and then grimaced, “The dungeons broke! And I did it!”

The man snorted, shaking his head, then snapping his hand in an odd gesture, “Excellent. You did. It is your responsibility.”

Joe frowned, eyebrows knitting, when he saw mana swell around the man, most of it hidden by the man’s body but obviously centered on the man’s hand, if Joe were to guess. It swelled out in a sphere, surrounding both of them in a complete sphere and holding it’s a place for a time before suddenly zipping back to the man but never actually passing through Gunlan. Huh… some kind of stealth … something. Doesn’t want Gunlan to know… Joe wasn’t able to ponder on it much longer as Gunlan continued, his rage spiking.

The Patriarch quivered in his place, “The Bastard Wyvern asked for it! He asked it of me!”

“He asked for much more than simply that. You failed. So, there is no payment. Good day.”

The man who’d been meditating and drinking tea then simply walked away, not even looking at the Patriarch nor giving him any kind of respect in leaving. The man turned away, walking across Joe’s field of view and after a few steps, he turned to look in Joe’s direction. He took another few steps then look down directly at Joe before smirking. The smile grew before he turned away casually, not giving away Joe’s location before walking on, completely ignoring the Patriarch.

As for the Patriarch Gunlan, he trailed after the man in a rage, shouting out and calling, pestering the man until they left Joe’s area, although he did see a moment where Gunlan was put in his place by the visitor who exploded with some rage before stomping off with greater speed, leaving Gunlan behind. Gunlan waited for a time before trailing after him in continued desperation, now pleading his case.

Joe didn’t see much else, fear paralyzing him for a time until long after the Patriarch and the visitor was gone. He remained in fear but after they’d been gone for a time, fear vanished and was replaced by an every growing rage. Within that rage, a bitter hatred grew and with that hatred, two names repeated over and over. Gunlan. Wyvern. Gunlan. Wyvern. Gunlan. Wyvern…

* * *

The wave of mana that had echoed around every plane within Aelthron’s cradle were now self-sustaining, supporting and reinforcing one another with each gate opening with new pulses offered from their source but primarily offering subtle extra pulses with each passage circumnavigating each moon that were timed to echo out from gates as they passed, a small amount of energy added each time to empower and push it on or gathering the mana upon the planes itself to increase the tide as it ebbed and flowed around each cradle. They had no other purpose but to maintain their presence and await a chance to expand their propagation.

It gained its chance when the gate leading out into the Greater Cycle opened due to the exchange of prison guards. In fact, it gained two, the mana wave propagating out into the next cradle. It stabilized itself quickly, especially sense a second opening allowed a fresh surge of power through the gate, empowering the first. It took time, but once off Aelthron’s Cradle and beyond the control of the prison, the mana waves propagated across each cradle upon the planes rapidly and easily. It took time, quite some time, almost four years, but the mana waves spread across every cradle in the Greater Cycle. However, it only needed about three and a half years to reach the first of what it was looking for and the second about half a year later.

On a distant and backwater world, an incredibly old but powerful Patriarch hid with his small clan deep in mountains. He sat in a cave, preparing to breakthrough if not actually intending to do so quite yet. His preparations were evaluated one last time but was suddenly interrupted. He glanced up in utter shock, completely disregarding his breakthrough as he tore from the cave and stared up into the sky with wonder and joy.

Upon another plane distant from this, another younger and vibrant but powerful Matriarch of another clan interrupted holding court and leapt to her feet in impossible wonder. She immediately dismissed the court before turning to look at a couple much older members and nodding, asking them to stay with soft wondrous eyes. When the room empty, all of them came together and leapt to a balcony to walk outside and look up into the sky. On two planes in two different cradles under two different suns, all looked up and breathed the exact same statement.

“The Library!”

* * *

Joe didn’t know how long he lay there, rage swelling through him and growing in power as he struggled to keep his position and calm. He was saved only because no one guarded this area. It took some time for him to calm, but the calm was a frozen lake over burning rage, brittle and held in place only because Joe had made some kind of plans. They were useless, but the promise of action calmed his rage and gave it patience.

He finally was able to rise and turned to look at the odd building at his side. A quick glance around his location showed it empty of guards and he quickly slid to the wall, pressing against it and remaining in its shadow. He stopped moving quickly to allow the shifting shadows to settle and give him camouflage. He kept his eyes on the villa guarded by the guards and waited until the latest guard passed by. When the latest one went by, he glanced around quickly to verify there were no guards before sticking his head past the corner of the building. Finding his way clear, he moved quickly to the open door and paused once again to look in carefully. Empty! Good!

He jumped in and found another oddly shaped building that almost looked man made but something about it made it seem strange. He almost paused to look at it to try and figure out why it was making him feel there was something off but worry about being found out had him diving directly into the open doorway in the odd building without pause. Should be empty at this time of day, right?

Once he was in the shadows of the door again, he immediately froze and evaluated, struggling to find if there was anyone around. A few deep calm breaths informed him there were no other sounds around and he quickly slipped down the steps quietly, being cautious as he came to any corner to look around it carefully. However, the steps down into the dungeon proved straight and mostly shadowed.

When he got to the bottom, he saw a rather open room although sight lines were broken up by a series of columns all around the room. He looked around, first checking to see if there was anyone else, but the room seemed empty. He quieted and turned his head, searching for any sounds of fighting or speaking but heard nothing at all except for the quiet wandering of booted feet.

He initially grew worried and quickly slid to one of the pillars and peered around it. Fear shook him at first, worry spiking badly when he saw dozens of men and women marching through the great hall. Most of them were not simply base humans but a variety of sapients. He saw dwarves, elves, Acokzau, Ulvan, and dozens of other obvious non-human races he did not know the name for. All of them walked and marched through the room, but did little else. He remained where he was with some concern before calming when he realized they were all moving rather robotically. His eyes narrowed as he considered. What… this is… something’s weird… He looked around and couldn’t quite place what he was seeing or feeling.

The room was overly guarded, if that could be possible, yet the people who marched through it seemed somehow uncaring. He pulled back and looked around again, taking in the entrance where he’d just walked down. The entrance opened into a wide area without any pillars stretching the width of the large hall. A white glow Joe immediately recognized as a dungeon safe zone covered the area from the entrance to the pillars and from wall to wall. He was still barely in it as he pressed up against the pillar. It was decently well lit in this area, although the hall grew dimmer the further away from the entrance it got, with torches on the pillars growing sparser and sparser until the far wall was shrouded in slight shadows. He still could see it decently, but the figures that wandered there were dark and hard to see.

He pulled back once again and wondered. Why are so many guards here? Only need one… just sitting in this place right here… In the safe area so no danger from dungeon mobs and easily able to see the only entrance. So… why out there? Makes no sense.

Joe glanced back around the pillar and froze in shock when he saw a women standing only a couple feet away staring directly at him. She stood there, watching him before turning away, uncaring. Joe breathed out but was unable to keep himself silent in his expelling breath, too shocked by what he’d seen. No way she didn’t see me! He glanced down and saw no shadows on him, then looked around, incredibly cautious.

He glanced back out and saw her wander on past another row of columns and back deeper into the hall. He watched her disappear around the columns and looked out past his pillar again, looking around then froze in fear when another guard came into view and stopped. Don’t… move! He froze again, terrified that his sudden movement would draw the guard’s attention so he remained in place. The guard stood in place and started glancing around and Joe felt his breath freeze in his heart and terror flood him before the guard turned to face him, staring straight at him once more.

Joe stared back in worry, wide-eyed as he looked back. The guard did nothing but stare at him then turned away, just like the other guard, before marching on towards the next set of pillars and turning it as well.

Joe slammed back around behind the pillar in terror and took a while to calm his heart rate, breathing heavily in worry while simultaneously trying to calm himself so as to not breath too hard. He remained there and soon recognized the sound of the marching guards behind him, coming from his left and moving to the right to go around the pillar the always did. He remained there for a long time, struggling to understand how he’d gotten lucky twice. Do I look like a guard… that much? He glanced down at his clothing then looked back at the others wandering around. No real uniform, but… what’s…

Joe ground his teeth then took a chance, stepping out from around the pillar and standing to the side of it, although he didn’t march forward, wishing to remain near the entrance. Wanna make sure I can get out… although… He stood there and watched as a half dozen guards marched past him from left to right. This time, he stepped to the left of the pillar so that the guard could easily see him walking past. And like the previous ones, the guards did nothing.

He clenched his teeth and when the next guard came by, he stepped forward and held out his hand in a greeting, “Hello, ma’am. It is good to…”

Joe froze in shock when the woman screamed in rage and ripped her sword from its sheath, immediately leaping at him with raised sword, charging at him. He stumbled back in shock and worry, struggling to grab a weapon from his inventory while also keeping his balance. Need space! Need space!

He tumbled back into the glowing white of the safe space and finally got his spear in hand, settling into position, ready to fight. But the screaming rage immediately cut off and the woman stopped, sheathing her sword and turning back to stare blankly around the room before walking past the pillar he’d been hiding behind and continuing her circuit. What. The. Freak!? Joe stared at her moving on, keeping his spear readied cautiously but stepped back to watch the woman continue her march. What is happ… An idea hit him, and horrified wonder crept into his thoughts. He sat up cautiously but still kept his spear in hand as he walked forward, about five paces behind the woman who’d attacked him but still in the glowing safe space offered by the dungeon. He stepped over the line and the woman whipped back around, sword already leaping from her sheath. He leapt back into the safe space and the woman’s face blanked as she stood up robotically and sheathed her sword again.

He stared in fascinated horror as he stepped across the line, then back again, watching the woman turn from blank faced nothing to screaming rage with each step across the safe space. He didn’t stop the foolish antagonizing until he heard a second scream coming from his left and found a man charging at him as well with his spear raised. Joe leapt away with fear and both stopped immediately, returning to blank faced marches on their circuit.

After that, he just watched with wonder as the woman turned back to her circuit and took off at a slight jog to return to her place, the man continuing on at his normal pace. Joe watched it all and knew but simply watched, stunned. Their dungeon mobs… I didn’t know dungeons could duplicate… people. This… well… guess it makes sense why this is a dungeon held by the clan… would be a really, really good place to practice fights. Then Joe frowned. Maybe not… not if they attack without care or concern for health… like rabid animals. You’ll learn a lot of bad habits to fighting sapients if you fight people… dungeon mobs like this.

Joe looked back at the dungeon entrance, finding it empty, then climbed back up the stairs and stared out from the shadows into the clan grounds. Finding the place empty, he moved to the wall that guarded the dungeon entrance and glanced around, also finding the place empty. OK… don’t have a lot of time… gotta run this fast, then…

He marched back down into the dungeon without worry and came into the large hall. He walked back and forth, looking down each of the long colonnades. He peaked around the corner first, looking for anyone who might be here. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, finding the long line of guards everywhere but unable to figure out if they were dungeon mobs or actual people. Then he realized there was a rather obvious way; any non-dungeon person here would be automatically attacked by the dungeon mobs.

He started checking each colonnade for any fights but found each one quiet. Joe began marching back and forth with less concern with stealth, double checking but still found the dungeon silent. Nice… right time of night. Gotta do this fast. Maybe get to the second floor at least. Easier to hide there.

Joe then began marching down the left side, walking into the guards… Not guards… they’re just mobs… just mobs… not actually people… just mobs coming towards me. It’s all good. Yeah… all good. He didn’t want any mob coming up on his rear, so didn’t want to take the left where the mobs would march back deeper into the hall and come up on his rear when he had to fight a monster.

Of course, he could have killed one guar…mob quickly and taken its place in the circuit, hoping the distance between the mob in front and to his rear would be enough not to agro another mob. But… if I do agro a bunch… especially if I’m halfway down the hall, and I need to retreat, I’ll have a bunch of mobs between me and the safe space. The left side will take me longer as the mobs are marching into my direction, but my rear will be clear the whole way.

He took his first step into the danger zone and marched upon the mob there. It immediately drew its weapon and leaped at him without care. It wielded a large two handed sword held wide and ready to swing upon him. He grimaced to see such poor form and attack and simply stepped into the attack, moving as quickly and deeply as he could while choking up on his spear so that he could get quite close. He infused his spear and punched it into the side of the mob easily, bypassing a small metal chest plate.

And the monster died immediately. Joe blinked in shock, staring down at the double handed great sword wielder in wonder. That was… too easy! The monster faded away, weaponry, armor, and body almost immediately and Joe shuddered in relief to see it evaporate much like monsters did. See… it’s just a monster… just a monster… we’re good… a dungeon mob.

He’d known it was, absolutely certain in his judgment, but the possibility still niggled at the back of his mind and left a tortuous worry. He calmed and stepped forward, continuing down the line staring directly at the next monster coming upon him. It marched forward without concern until it reached its agro range and leapt forward, screeching to meet him. He glanced beyond it and saw another guard, staring directly at him and it did nothing, simply watching him. He looked back at the one charging him in relief. See… not human… just a guard!

The one charging him now had a spear held in two hands and aimed dead center. It was a good charge, and Joe moved forward a few steps before setting himself to wait, his shield brought in front of him and readied to block the spear. He waited until the spear was a few paces away before leaping forward to catch the spear on his shield, not wanting to offer the charging monster a chance to change its target. His shield reached the spear first, connected, and then was pushed off hard to the left before Joe marched in a bit closer to get in range for his own thrust, his spear quite a bit shorter than this mob’s long spear. A thrust, an infusion, and a scratch that barely drew blood on the cheek of the mob when it dodge his thrust for its throat had Joe resetting himself in preparation for another strike before he calmed when he saw the mob collapse, dead. Oh… yeah… right. Infusion is broken. Joe grimaced and marched forward, ignored the dead mob that vanished and the small tinkle of a core as it fell.

He deliberately stepped on it as he passed. Can’t have perfect core… well… crap… never mind. Coulda taken that one. I hit it with infusion, the core was probably shattered or broken or weaker like how others get it… or something. Should test that!

He continued down and found the entire way in rather anticlimactic. Infusion was simply too powerful, with even the slightest scratch killing almost any monster. That… one on the last for of the last dungeon… though… but these regular ones… It was harder if he infused first, like the others did. The monsters seemed to notice and reacted quite defensively or in fear. He even tried with a dual wielding dagger fighter near the end of the colonnade and found the fight quite a bit more realistic, the fighter leaping in and retreating instead of charging straight in. However, another mob was coming up on him so he removed the infusion and watched as the mob charged straight at him without concern and he was able to bury his weapon into the dual wielder while infusing the weapon at the same time. Joe sighed and turned to the next one, removing the infusion to entice the mob to charge right in before killing it even faster than the previous. So… dumb.

Joe sighed and took a look around at the end of the hallway and found nothing really meaningful. Where’s the next floor? There were no entrance ways he could see and when he glanced back down the way he’d come, the wall was empty of doorways as well. He frowned and marched forward passed the first colonnade and found the entire way as empty as he remembered it from the other side. A march down to the other wall, stopping to kill mobs and stare down the colonnades, proved the same. Each colonnade was clear of any floor stairwell and the far wall was clear of any entryway. He killed one more mob then stepped back to look at the back wall, carefully searching it for anything, but found absolutely nothing. There was one platform that was raised off the floor two steps and up against the back wall, but other than that, there was no real other differentiation to the room.

A scream drew his attention and he turned back to see another mob as guard charging towards him. He dispatched it easily with an infused strike before turning back to look around the area at the end of the hall. He searched for a bit before another scream had him killing another mob. He did this for another few minutes, killing and searching but found nothing, and grew frustrated. Where’s the next floor?! He gave up on the back wall and decided to try to search the right side of the hall marching towards it and killing another mob before coming upon the far colonnade against the right wall. He then marched down it and killed another three or four mobs. After he’d killed the last one, then turned to look at the wall. He glanced down the colonnade back towards the entrance a few times until he realized there were no more mobs coming and began inspecting the right wall carefully. He looked on for a time before growing frustrated and turning back to the left wall for a time then finally simply looking at the center colonnades but ultimately found the place to be a single large and now empty room. What’s going on? This is…

He glanced back down towards the end of the hall and found a more ornately dressed guard standing on the platform at the end and Joe furrowed his eyebrows. Wasn’t there before… so… He turned to the back wall and marched down the colonnade while glanced back and forth once passing each pillar. No mobs were left and he found the entire place empty except the last guard standing upon the platform at the end.

He came upon it and stared at it carefully, but stayed away from it for now. It was a bit better equipped, holding a slightly more ornate sword and a shield, but otherwise, seemed relatively similar to everything else. Going to a bit tougher, though… a dwarf… gonna be very strong! He looked on for a time, then glanced back around the entire area one last time, mostly just stepping past each series of pillars so he could see down the long corridors made by the pillars but still found them all empty before turning back to the guard staring blankly back down the entire way back to the entrance. Joe frowned.

He stepped closer, but it did nothing, even when he got into the normal agro range he was used to. He stepped back and considered. How close does this thing need to start the fight? He looked at the area then walked to the side, not comfortable climbing up onto the small platform directly in front of the mob. Don’t want the stairs so close at my back.

He put his foot on the first step and the mob turned to face him, but just stared at him. He paused, then stepped up with both feet, but it did nothing else. He retreated, stepping off the step and the mob stared at him for a time before turning back to face the entrance. Huh... ok?

He walked back up to the first step and it turned to face him again. He walked up to the second step and the dwarf pulled out his weaponry and prepared, settling into his stance. Huh… very defensive. This… He looked down to see he only had one step left to get up on the platform and he glanced back up at the mob on it. He then glanced around the entire hall and found it all empty. He sighed deeply, considered, then committed. OK. Let’s do this.

He stepped onto the platform and the dwarf stalked towards him. He didn’t run nor was he reckless at all, simply closing in and preparing for the fight. Joe did the same, moving in close and moving to the right, putting the wall behind him so that the stairs would be behind the dwarf. Don’t feel like falling on my back if I hit the stairs! The dwarf didn’t seem to care that he had stairs at his back and simply shifted into position to face off against Joe.

The slowed as they closed and then simply circled each other. Joe found the whole affair quite a bit more comfortable and normal, but a lot more anxiety inducing as it pointed to a much more intelligent and cautious opponent. Time went on, the dwarf content to circle him for what equaled two full rotations and Joe’s discomfort grew. He never let the rotation put his back to the stairs, he refused that, but would always bounce back once he’d rotated all the way around and would have started to place his back to the stairs. Instead of continuing the rotation, he would stop and turn the other direction. The dwarf thought nothing of it and simply accommodated him. Joe grimaced. The fifth bounce back, the beginning of what would have been his third full rotation, Joe found his worry growing while simultaneously his focus narrowing. Worry and anxiety faded to the background, turning into distractions Joe easily ignored, wrapping them up into boxes to be dealt with later. Emotions fled and only the moment was left; only the enemy was in his focus.

The dwarf slipped back and forth, and finally, Joe noticed a slight hitch; a moment where he could exploit, and he let it slide. The shifted back around, the wall passing behind him once again until he was almost ready to spin around till the stairs were behind him and he stopped, reversing direction to circle back towards the wall. The dwarf followed. The hitch did not occur.

Joe slipped back around, the wall sliding past behind him and then he came to the end of his circuit, needing to reverse once again. The dwarf also reversed, although his footwork suffered just slightly, then smoothed out. The continued all the way back in the other direction, then bounced back, and the dwarf did so smoothly, perfectly. Left side… perfect… no problem. Right side… fumbles his footwork. Right… then…

They came back upon the right side again. Reverse, foot slips forward, stutters… NOW! Joe slammed forward with his spear hard, not putting effort into winding up the strike but wanting to hit while the advantage was available. The dwarf’s footing was poor, but it reacted with impressive speed, its shield rising to take the strike. It blocked the strike easily, but the strike slammed against the dwarf’s shield and with his poor footing, the dwarf stumbled back a single step. It wasn’t much, but it was enough and Joe pressed in.

The dwarf raised his sword and used a weak strike to push Joe back but Joe held his shield in close then struck out with the shield hard, slamming against the sword and causing it to swing wide. It didn’t do anything to the dwarf’s footing, but the sword swung wide and was now out of the picture and Joe was able to bring his spear in for a strike. He took in the dwarf’s current stance and shield position and decided there was no way he could aim for a body strike or to aim low, the shield too large and the dwarf too short to give him the angle he needed. Easy enough to go over the top, though.

He released his grip and slid his hand up the spear until he was pretty choked up on the spear head and swung it up, over, and down upon the dwarf’s shoulder. The long shaft made his movements weak and a struggle as he’d shifted his hand quite forward, and the dwarf easily raised the shield to block the strike. Joe grunted and stepped back. The two went back to circling and then Joe stepped forward for another strike, attacking at the same time on the same small hitch in the mobs movement.

And the same as before, it defended pretty well, if not exactly perfectly, but it was enough that Joe was not able to get a strike upon it. For the next ten minutes, Joe found himself stymied, unable to get a decent strike in but soon was engaging in lengthier exchanges. By the end, the two were exchanging blows, defending strikes, and parrying one another with aplomb as Joe chose to remain engaged. He even began to find a joy in it since it was one of the first fights he’d gotten into that felt both normal and pushed his skills. His grin began to grow and he soon found himself simply enjoying the fight.

As the strikes went back and forth, Joe found himself falling into the rhythm, but quickly made a mistake. He took a strike he should not have, leaving himself wide open, and as he stepped back, prepared to accept his failure and rest the spar, the dwarf followed through and almost buried the sword in his gut, swiping the blade from left to right and dragging it across his belly.

Joe leapt back with a cry of surprise and dropped his hand to his gut but found it perfect and hale, only his shirt ripped through. Joe took another step back and raised his weapon, his grin wiped from his face. Right… not a spar! Not a spar. Joe reset himself and went back in with murderous intent. Let’s end this.

He reengaged and returned to the fight with a vengeance. Not going to get through with this… not this way. He once again circled the dwarf, then reversed directions. As before, his footing stuttered just that little bit and he closed. The dwarf robotically responded, exactly as he did before, and Joe blasted away the sword strike like he’d done before with a swing of his shield. But instead of trying to capitalize on the opening with a strike of his spear because the dwarf was simply too capable of defending against his strikes, he took another step in and planted a foot behind the dwarf’s and slammed a shoulder into the shield, forcing another retreat.

The dwarf stepped back again, then stumbled, flailing wide with his arms. Joe charged in, thrusting forward with his spear and aimed for the dwarf’s neck, just above the breast plate. The dwarf noticed and even in the midst of its stumble, it leaped to take the strike on his breast plate. Joe growled, striking hard even as he kept rushing forward. The dwarf, feet of the ground, flailed even more wildly but was unable to keep its balance and land on its heels and unable to do anything but pinwheel its arms in an attempt to stay up. Joe closed and struck again and the dwarf had no option but to collapse, barely falling under the spear as it passed overhead.

Didn’t get the strike, but got the first plan at least. He leapt forward and stood over the dwarf. The dwarf raised its feet to fend him off, but Joe easily slipped between them, slamming a foot down upon the sword arm before stabbing down with his spear again and again. The dwarf shuffled and scuttled all over the floor, struggling to maintain a defensible position but was pinned in place by Joe’s foot on its sword arm. It attempted to kick at him, but Joe kept his free foot between the dwarf’s feet and the foot he was using to pin down the sword arm, taking the hits with a grimace. Kick’s like a horse! Man…

His spear stabbed down again and again until a shift finally left a small gap in the armor at the waist and he took it. The dwarf wildly struggled, shifting itself to the side so the thrust just clipped its side. But it was enough, his spear tip punctured into its waist. His mana points leapt to his spear shaft and Joe held his position with tense concern before finally relaxing when he saw the dwarf die, its body, armor, and weapons vanishing into dust as the armor retook its creation.

Joe stumbled back, collapsing till his hands rested on his knees, taking his spear into his inventory so he could rest. He gulped wild breaths before finding even standing to be exhausting and stumbled a few steps to the stairs and sat down. He stared out into the dungeon and found it completely empty. Joe frowned. Man… where is the next floor? This… is so annoying. Maybe…

He looked at the back wall, hoping a doorway would have opened up because he possibly killed this mob. His hopes rose when he saw an open door and grinned. Well, that was annoying! But… got the next floor open. He rested another few moments and then pushed himself to his feet to walk towards the next floor. Don’t wanna be here in case anyone comes down here. He glanced at his SP, seeing it full since he’d turned off the use of system SP. Probably worth it… He flipped it back on and felt the refreshing energy of system SP flood him and return him to readiness before he turned it off again. Time to move on.

He came upon the entrance to the next floor and stopped with some shock. That’s… not the entrance?! He didn’t find the entrance. Instead, he found the dungeon core, and Joe found himself shocked by it. A single floor? No boss? Or… was the dwarf a boss? Really? This… While he was shocked, he didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth and he reached out for it and immediately took control of it. Well then… this’ll be easy.

And it was, the dungeon was flush with energy and Joe found he had to do very little to take control of it. He did have to offer some of his mana and prepare it, but it came rather quickly and he was soon ready. About half an hour later, he had the dungeon core in his inventory along with the rest and was climbing the stairs into the dark of night. Joe sighed with relief to find it still night, and prepared himself to walk back across the clan grounds. This time, he didn’t need to find any specific way, and marched straight to the wall, only changing his direction when he got close enough to see a stair case to climb.

He prepared to climb it, then paused, realizing he would be visible to the oncoming guards quite easily, so instead took to leaping up the wall carefully while staying behind the stairs for cover. The five meter leaps were still shocking to Joe, but he found them so simple. The first couple took a bit, finding the right mindset to engage his mana empowerment a struggle, but soon he was leaping up the five meter walls with ease, only pausing when the next guard got too close.

Despite knowing what he was capable of, running to the fifty meter drop off on the other side had him frozen for a time, struggling to force himself to leap over the edge even as he stared down a fall that he knew deep within his being would kill him while his mind tried to convince him he’d already jump dfifty meters twice and fallen that height once. Only the oncoming guard pushed him over and he almost didn’t keep in the shout of terror that crawled up his throat as he fell to the ground.

But, as before, his mana kicked in and flooded him, engaging his entire body and flooding his brain, slowing his thoughts and preparing him. Like he’d done before, he prepared to hit the ground and roll onto his back, but this time, when he hit, he bent his knees and the ground simply held him, so his calves and thighs worked hard to cushion his fall, and he found himself on the ground, in perfect health, only needing to do about half a squat to bleed off all that speed without injuring himself. He ended up frozen, staring at the ground while remaining in a squat for a few moments as he tried to process his easy and perfect fall.

Holy… what the… He remained like that until shaking himself clear of his shock and then tore into the depths of the alleyways, fleeing from the walls while struggling to hold in gleeful giggles. Super hero landing! Hahaha! I pulled of a super hero landing… He chuckled to himself for some time before regaining some semblance of control before he acknowledged to himself that it was quite the poor one. Very ugly landing… yeah… but still… He drifted off into shocked amazement before he came upon the next wall and slowed to a stop, his thoughts turning from that to his continued escape.

The wall separating the inner wealthy city from the outer commoner city was built a bit different from the clan wall. It was quite a bit thinner and much cheaper. There was no inner stepped section from the ground to the top, with only the sheer wall climbing to its full height. The only locations to reach the top were situated at the entrances between inner and outer city, and Joe found guards that kind of congregated around the top of the stairs for each of these locations.

He was growing frustrated when he finally found a lonely set of stairs at one end of the wall separating the two portions of the city. Joe didn’t take the time check the other side, but Joe could only wonder if there was another lonely stairway to the walls there as well. At the base of the stairway, tucked in behind two houses that crushed together and left only a tiny alleyway, sat a small guard post that guarded the way to the stairs leading up. Joe didn’t even try to go through the alleyway, simply looked up to find the stairs and made sure the stairs and the top were relatively clear of guards.

He nodded when he saw this and leapt up on top of the roof of some of the houses before leaping another dozen or two meters to catch the lip of the staircase and pull himself on to it. He glanced down the stairs finding them empty, the stairs emptying onto the roof of the guard house and the roof empty of said guards. Joe smirked, both grateful and annoyed at the guards’ poor defenses and slack attitudes, before turning and jogging quietly to the top of the stairs.

The top of the stairs emptied out on the wall between the inner and outer city. Where the outer city met the inner city wall, the inner city wall had a bulwark of some kind, large tower that wasn’t technically a tower as it wasn’t hollow, with stairs on the inner city side leading up and overlooking the walls coming in from the outer city, blocking entrance to the inner city from any guards on the outer wall as the side on the outer wall was a sheer ten meter wall. That allowed the guards on the inner city to stand on that bulwark and hold the high ground against any invasion from the outer wall.

Joe found himself staring at the defenses, a bit confused by the separation and somehow simultaneously insulted for city security. Right… get back home… no time for this… He evaluated the situation, finding the guards on this side quite a bit more lax, and waited until he could slip to the outer wall edge. The bulwark against the outer city was pretty much completely clear of guards and in the time he was watching, not a single guard climbed it. He considered climbing it and getting a view of everything, but realized that would leave him visible to the entire wall. And while he could lay down up there, see everything, then climb back down. Joe had no desire or need to track every guard on every wall he could see.

He simply waited for a couple of guards who were chatting and marching together to finally take their break and leave together back the way they came. The outer wall between the inner city and the wilderness didn’t seem to be under guard at all, or at least not by the guards that marched the divide between inner and outer city. Joe frowned, and glanced back. Where are the guards for the wall to the outer city? Nope… don’t care. Just get out of here… don’t want to be here if more come.

He glanced around, found the paths empty, and scrambled quietly across the wall to look down on the other side. When he got there and looked down, he grimaced. He was looking down into a maze of winding alleys and tiny streets that twisted and turned without any purpose or organization. Small hovels crowded one another and pressed in upon the streets and alleys leaving precious little room between it all, and Joe found himself worrying that he could hit such a tiny target. Streets… so small!

He glanced back towards the center of the town and found the richer quarters of the city and none of the buildings crowding the walls. He glanced up at the city wall and wondered if he could make it down the wall to the open area to jump into, but then sighed with frustration. Probably have to run to the other side… unless there are slums there, too… probably, if this is reflected on the other side.

Joe glanced to the horizon and saw the deep colors of sunrise coming. No more time… this… Joe looked over the edge, picked the largest street, then jumped. If I gotta… I can use my wind mage to push on to target. And… he quickly shifted his job to wind mage and readied his wind points. Kinda stupid! Shoulda done that before… Exhaustion was fogging his mind, and pushing him to decisions that were unwise, but he didn’t even notice, the nervous energy of completing his task and the rush of relief at escaping giving him manic energy to continue on, even at the expense of careful thought.

By then, he was already shutting down, and didn’t even really notice landing, his legs flexing under the force of his landing even as several of the cobblestones shattered at his arrival. Get home… get home… he was already running away into the streets of the city, no longer worried about being seen.

Lost… where am I? Wonder… Joe glanced up at the city walls, oriented himself, and ran towards the well to do section, hoping to find some kind of landmark. He did. It was the intermediate dungeon. It was more than enough to get him on the right streets to return, and the rest of the night slipped into a blur of shadows, movement, and muddled thoughts. He didn’t know when he made it home, nor did he even notice anything else. Exhaustion had him collapsing into his bed and asleep so quickly he wasn’t sure when the night ended and dreams began.

* * *

Kainaro spent the entire night in fruitless search, seeking for the eccentric and finding nothing. He began to grow increasingly concerned as he found no example of any late night wanderers; a sure sign of an escaping slave. He spent his time there rather certain the eccentric wouldn’t be so foolish as to attempt the same in the wealthier part of town where his midnight wandering would be obvious to all. But… maybe I need to search there?

It was well passed the slave hour, and the red of morning painted the horizon when he finally decided to end his efforts, returning to his current inn. Use the inn as a center… I checked the smart direction… let’s go to … closer to the inner city? Did he go there? Or…

Kainaro froze, turning to the side when he saw a cloaked figure rushing by on another street. Kainaro spun and sprinted down the street to get to the next cross street and looking down it with avid hope. His focused glare turned to a soft smile when the figure rushed passed in front of him. Right height… right build… even smarter than I thought… wanders in other parts… does he change every night? Pretty smart… gotta report this.

He was already sprinting down the cross street and rushed the corner before relief finally settled on his shoulders. Gotta get closer! Don’t wanna spook him… if I shout but my command is not clear…

He sprinted after but the man slipped around another corner and he pushed himself to catch up. Yet, somehow, was unable to get close enough that he was comfortable to engage. And by the time he could, his fear had swelled to titanic proportions and he came to a stop outside the cloaked figure’s resting place. He stayed there, staring for a time before gritting his teeth. Definitely more than one person in there… dumb to push this… yeah… should only do this … wait till he’s alone… and … come back in the morning… yeah… yeah…

Taking the excuse, Kainaro backed away and returned to the inn. He climbed the stairs and prepared for bed, and while he wasn’t honest enough to face his fears, he still maintained enough integrity to put forth an honest attempt to capture the eccentric, carefully remembering the path back to the eccentric’s current resting place and prepared for the morrow. Tomorrow… tomorrow morning… that will be my fir… second capture attempt!

* * *

He sat upon the bench of the main agora outside the prison guard’s home and presence for all of Aelthron’s cradle, dark shadows wrapping him completely, both for comfort, as a means of protection, and to keep away the prisoners. The actual physical expression of the dao, unheard of on Aelthron’s cradle, made it obvious who he was and kept the locals away. Couple more minutes till the new guy gets here, then I can flake off…

A rush of green wind swirled into existence, the wind dao competing with his shadow dao, and the two fighting for supremacy to claim their dominance upon reality around them. She sat down beside him, her green wind rushing up against and competing for space, and finally failing, submitting quietly to his superior skill and power in the dao. He ignored the playful interaction of the two daos and turned to stare at her.

He smiled, certain of what had happened but then his smile slowly fell when he found her grinning with obvious pleasure. No! Surely not… She said nothing but held up a Master monster’s core. He was not sure what dao it was nor what monster it came from, but he was certain what she was claiming and his breathing quickened before turning to look at her. Her grin grew and she pulled out a second. His eye’s widened in shock and he looked at her. Her grin turned to a full on manic smile as she tossed one to him. He snatched it from the sky and emitted mana. His eyebrows grew, and he emitted again, and his jaw slackened. He began emitting in every configuration and style possible, even began expressing his doa through the core using mana constructs and his dao simply flowed with an ease of expertise that had him staring in wonder.

He glanced back up at here, “Where? How?!”

She grinned, “I found two.”

He paused, immediately recognizing the shift, and he quickly dealt with that as well, “Only us.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

“We have to dump off the new guy first.”

She frowned at that, grimacing slightly, “I don’t want to waste time!”

He huffed, “He should be here in a few bells, at most.”

Her frown disappeared at that, and she nodded. Both fell silent for a time before she began again, speaking with hopeful concern.

“Sixty forty?”

He chuckled, asking even though he knew, “Who’s the sixty for?”

“You, of course,” she replied without a hint of upset but only hopeful he would accept.

He shook his head and she grimaced before nodding but he quickly held up his hand.

“You do not understand. I do not seek more. Fifty fifty is more than fair.”

Her eyes leaped upwards in shock and wonder flitted across her face. She said nothing, but he knew what she was thinking and explained.

“I have no need for you to bring your clan down upon me.”

She grinned at that then her smile froze as she realized what he was saying. Her eyes danced with fervor as she sought his before nodding slightly.

“My clan will not come down upon you.”

“Nor shall mine.”

Both agreed immediately, and both stepped upon the path of dangerous betrayal against the clan. But both also knew if they did not, their clans would not allow them to keep such a treasure. It would be horded and hidden deep within clan holds and those who would gain its use would only be the clan leaders and possibly family. And neither were inner clansmen, nor were they pampered elites that they would receive such privilege.

There was a moment of silence until he reached out with a soft sliver of his dao and her eyes rose before she nodded, returning in kind. Her sliver of green whirling wind collided with his shadowy flames and melded before both evaporated under the strength of their vows. This was a secret only the two shared and only the two could ever know. And with that, both felt a shuddering relief settling between them. He continued the interrogation.

“Where?”

“Some slave merchant in the capital. He pointed to the outer plane… some city named Coushar.”

“You are certain?”

“I have no dao for certainty.”

He nodded, immediately understanding what she sought from him, “I can bring certainty. You have a list?”

“I found two easily. A third location is likely, although it is simply an inn.”

“But still unlikely.”

“Inn’s usually are.”

He nodded and said nothing, falling into thought before he was interrupted by another question from her.

“You can find the answers?”

He grimaced, “Not answers. They still must reveal it, speak of it. I can only verify the speaking.”

She grimaced in turn as well, “It will slow us down.”

“Yes, but we have time. I will use the excuse of the recent eccentric invasions to give us the duty of searching and studying each plane.”

She nodded then grinned, “That will give us time.”

“But still not enough.”

She frowned and he continued with a smirk, “Do you trust me to search alone?”

Her eyes widened and suspicion leaked in but she said nothing. He laughed and waved away her glare.

“I do not trust you, either. That means we will have need to search the planes together.”

Her concern immediately calmed and her eyebrows smoothed as she nodded, “But we only need to seek a few.”

“Yes, unless whoever has brought in perfect cores is well traveled… and with these… his wealth will be immense.”

Her concern returned with pinched eyebrows, “True. And how will…”

Her words were interrupted when the gate shattered space time and a path opened to the very stars, erupting from Aelthron’s Cradle and into the distance. He stood and she with him, and he grinned.

“He is here soon. Then,” he said nothing else, not wishing to reveal anything. And she simply nodded, also silent but eager.

It only took a few moments for the new guard captain to come, and when he did, he received fastest and most thorough training any prison guard of Aelthron’s cradle has ever received in millennia upon millennia. And then, he did not see his captain for quite some time.

* * *

Allanar shifted on his bed the entire night, unable to sleep. The message had arrived only a little while ago, not quite the dead of night but late enough that worry had gnawed at him as he prepared in response. It had seen him traveling from villa to villa, and message boys running throughout the grounds regularly. Many of them had been sent with mundane and meaningless messages while others had been sent with just as apparently meaningless statements, all covered by the supposed preparation to celebrate the new Patriarch’s ascension. As luck would have it, the celebration was only a week away, and a flurry of messages would not seem out of context.

The burn of early morning began turning the sky red and he stood, preparing for the day as he was no longer able to simply accept waiting. Sleep would not come, and he had the energy to act now. He rose and left his home before turning to the servant’s quarters. He arrived found the manager dozing but on duty. The manager came to attention as soon as he showed up.

“Call for Toulnaria. Yourza and Kalina have need of the slave.”

The manager immediately nodded, bowing and calling for the slave. Allanar didn’t even wait, turning and leaving the place. He didn’t go far, finding a small out of the way place to take a moment and await. He didn’t have long to wait, the once Matriarch of the clan shuffling as hurriedly as she could towards the Promised’s villa where her two maids would be awaiting. Joe slid awaited for a moment before returning to a journey that would have him intercept the Matriarch. He passed by in front of her, and she immediately paused, bowing. He did not, walking past without stopping, but spoke quietly and quickly to her.

“You have a message for the Promised alone. She must prepare immediately. Then you leave.”

He said nothing else and continued walking on. He did hear a soft gasp before the Matriarch rose and began walking again. He longed to look back but steeled himself and marched on, coming upon another location he could slip behind and then wait, hiding in the shadows of the dark dawn.

* * *

The once Matriarch of Clan Galgandar shivered as she walked, not in cold as she normally would due to her mortal body, but in barely contained excitement as she marched upon Kilniara’s home. A message for the promised. She must prepare. Nothing more. She walked to the villa before knocking on the door and waiting.

A rather shrill angry groan came back through several moments later after a half a dozen knocks, “This had better be worthy of su…”

“A message for the Promised alone,” the Matriarch replied with soft authority.

The voice cut off immediately and a softer reply came through, “Apologies. Await in the anteroom. She will arrive shortly.”

The door opened and the Matriarch entered, although she kept her head down and allowed her hair to drift across her face. She was directed to the anteroom and came to a stop, holding her place exactly as a proper messenger should. The deep shadows of the night and single candle held by the servant revealed little and the servant bustled on down into the depths of the villa. Kilniara arrived rather quickly, her two servants behind her in obvious distress, poorly prepared and poorly made ready. Kilniara herself was not made up as well, either, but the early morning did not seem to affect her as much and her dress was well put upon, if not exactly the beautiful expectations of a clanner Promised.

“As the Promised, I am here.”

“A message for the Promised alone.”

Kilniara seemed uncertain how to respond, but when the Matriarch glanced up and met Kilniara’s eyes, Kilniara’s breath hitched even as her eyes widened slightly and took the hint. The Matriarch nodded once again, giving assurance, and Kilniara took a deep breath before waving her hand regally behind her.

“Leave.”

The two maids grumbled and turned away, shuffling out of the room. The two waited in silence until the sound of the two maids’ shuffling grumbles vanished down the hallway but the Matriarch was not so foolish as to believe they were left alone, so she played the part of messenger exactly, cautiously holding up a hand to hold Kilniara back when she seemed about to break her status.

“Your message: you must prepare immediately.”

Kilniara seemed to freeze at that, wonder crossing her face until she suddenly understood and nodded, if not quite as regal as she should. She replied well enough, however.

“Excellent. Return to Patriarch Gunlan.”

This time, the Matriarch almost froze, fear sprinkling up her spine and she glanced up, only with her eyes, however, and looked through the fall of her hair. Kilniara noticed immediately and locked gazes with her before very subtly nodding then smiling softly. The Matriarch took a deep shuddering breath before bowing.

“As you command.”

She then turned and Kilniara watched her go, as Kilniara should, before turning and returning to her room to prepare.

The Matriarch left the Promised’s villa and found her feet on a very unpleasant if well-known path to her, marching towards the Patriarch’s, and what once was her own, villa. She attempted to keep her breathing soft while chanting to herself. Trust them… they know what they are doing… trust them…

She came around a small building with a dense ill-kept garden and was suddenly pulled into the pushes, a soft hand holding her carefully even as another clasped over her mouth.

“Silence, my Matriarch. It is I, Allanar. All is well.”

* * *

Kilniara marched back to her room and knew immediately what she must do, but struggled to prepare. Gotta get rid of the maids… get rid of the maids… get rid… She’d been prepared, and certain, but now that she had to, she struggled to find peace in her efforts. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before stepping into the vestibule of her small personal complex where she lived. Inside, the two maids waited, perfectly as they should. OK… you can do this... you can…

“Prepare me for the baths.”

Both immediately jumped and within moments, had her swaddled in a mass of clothing she found uncomfortable. It took almost ten minutes, even if the practiced speed of the two maids made it feel like a whirlwind of dancing cloth enwrapping her. When it was finally done, she settled on the divan in her living room and waved at the two girls.

“Prepare my bath. I do not want to await for warm water to be prepared, nor do I wish to stand in the cold. Go.”

The two seemed to be uncertain, almost about to fight back, but ever since she’d left them high and dry in the capital, they were much less willing to fight against her. The Patriarch had been very upset and quite vocal and physical with his displeasure. The two shivered and ducked their heads as they fled the room. Maybe spies… but now they don’t take me lightly.

Despite that, her fear had ratcheted up as they now had no reason to protect or care for her. She closed her eyes and waited a few moments before standing and following behind them. Walk slowly, give them time to prepare… and be calm! Be calm!

* * *

The Matriarch shivered beside Allanar and watched the Promised’s villa. She’d at first pressed Allanar for details, especially of those who might join them. She was no fool. She knew exactly what was happening, and while she was angered at the weakening of the clan, she was no less grateful for the effort they put into including her. Allanar replied softly but succinctly and she chastised herself for her folly. Not the time! Surely! She realized quickly that it involved the eccentric and did not desire to offend. And if it is the eccentric… there is no weakening! Only pruning! She grinned, excitement twining through her as she returned her gaze to the Promised’s villa. A few moments later, the two maids came out, scrambling off towards some location which drew them quite close to where they were and behind them, walking sedately, strolled Kilniara. The Matriarch remained silent until after the maids had traveled by, then sniffled slightly. Allanar quickly noticed and removed his cloak. She almost refused, but the shiver that ran through her stayed her refusal and she snuggled into the warmth of the cloak with grateful reprieve.

A few moments later, Allanar stepped out with her, walking out past Kilniara. The Matriarch followed behind him and saw him look meaningfully at Kilniara. The Matriarch also looked in that direction, and Kilniara immediately recognized both. The Matriarch smiled and nodded softly, and Kilniara slowly turned to follow after them. Fear and hope mingled equally deep within her heart even as she fled her home, and her people but for a greater hope and a much greater potential! The grin on her face was hard to control.

* * *

The Dragon Spears and the Dungeon Guardians bustled with wild activity, news of what had happened driving through the leadership of the two organizations with wild frenzy. While both were technically of the same organization, the leadership had, over the years, slowly grew apart and grown antagonistic. The power of the Spears often overwhelmed the Guardians which had most things to fall the Spears’ way while the Guardians grew steadily bitterer.

Now, the two rarely shared information or worked together, and so while the Guardians had a few pieces of unique information, the Spears had the power and soon the Guardian had retreated to become the quiet observer while the Dragon Spears suppressed the Guardians. And the Guardians were once again subdued in their hidden and bitter anger.

That bitter anger quickly shifted to gleeful schadenfreude when the news that the Aelthron Prison Guards were suddenly and aggressively interested. The Dragon Spears quickly withdrew, but did not retreat. Like hyenas following a lion pack, they circled the lions with fascinated greed, hoping for a chance to scrabble for any scraps.

* * *

The greater clans were actually the first to discover the source of the perfect cores. The first to catch wind of the perfect cores but not the source were the Guardians and the Spears, but were unable to backtrack their data to find the city. The clans, however slothful they may be, attacked like rabid animals at the first hint of the incredible wealth of perfect cores. News of a certain slave merchant acquiring perfect cores in the capital city had the clans blanketing the city and one of the more powerful clans was even the first to acquire both the perfect cores after proper persuasion was applied to the merchant.

The clan that had captured the perfect cores had been rushing through the streets of the capital in hopes of returning them to their clan and losing it in the depths of their various clan treasuries. However, they found themselves met by a swirl of green wind just as they arrived at the clan entrance. The prison guard who specialized in the dao of the wind arrived in the full glory of her dao, her green domain of wind immediately suppressing all there. There was little response or reaction. She simply stared with a smile. The clan representative stared at her with barely suppressed raged before marching forward and bowing before her.

“Please accept these as our gift.”

Her smile flattened and quickly soured to spite, “Confiscation of contraband is no gift.”

The clan representative’s blank face almost cracked, rage quivering through the cracks before he simply retreated. A moment later, the wind disappeared and all who surrounded the clan entrance bore witness to their humiliation. The news spread throughout the city in moments.

* * *

The local LEAP organization didn’t truly target Loki, but they did all in their capability to seek out those who still worshiped the false god in hopes of crippling his power by crippling his followers. They’d gotten a lead through their trapped and compelled Loki follower. A report on a young man who’d just recently become a Loki believer and likely could still be saved from the heretical teachings. What they truly hoped to find was the man that led him to such folly.

Reports led to the city of Coushar, and so they marched upon it. They did find the news that the Prison Guard, Dragon Spears, and great clans all sought the same destination as interesting and possibly hinted at a large find of Loki heretics. So, it was with fervent hope they marched to Coushar with the Prison Guard but ultimately uncaring of the Prison Guard’s purpose.

* * *

Similar to the LEAP movements, the Saga priesthood quickly responded to their subordinates report and sent their team to seek out the eccentric. When news returned of perfect cores and Prison Guard interference, all the pieces seemed to click together and the Saga delegates rushed even quicker to arrive before the eccentric. They knew they could not capture the eccentric’s attentions nor could they compete with the other big players in the game. And while a perfect core was fascinating, the promise of rapid growth in power drew them more than any core possibly could. The secret to climbing through the ranks of the job system promised power and strength. Ultimately, wealth was founded exactly on such, and so the perfect cores would be theirs in time, if the wished. But of greater importance was the secret to power!