(Zack)

Gold's passed out at the table waiting for me to get home. He's sitting there, resting with his head on his arms, his tail hanging down. I know he's asleep, because he didn't react when I entered the property.

If I had a permanent marker, I'd totally be writing on his face right now. He's just too adorable to resist that with.

Yeah, it's probably for the best that I don't have one.

I walk over to him and gently nudge him until he wakes. As soon as he registers my presence, he tackles me with a hug, and I can tell by his thoughts that he was sure something bad had happened, and that that was why I hadn't come back and Nik hadn't told him anything.

"I'm fine, Gold," I tell him. "I promise. I sold my loot and picked up the stuff I commissioned before I left, since I knew you'd want to hang around. Anyway, I'm starving and in need a bath. Which do you think I should do first?"

He thinks for a moment, and decides that we should eat first, so I give him some food from my Inventory, and he gets to work making brunch. That only makes my stomach growl hard, though, since I kind of didn't eat breakfast.

Nik 'woke' me up, then took me straight back here. As Gold cooks and we eat, I tell him about my visit to Talorn, and he seems pretty amused by my plight with the Bounty Beasts that wouldn't give me rest.

After breakfast, we enjoy a bath, Gold showing off a wooden dog that someone carved for him to play with. It's about the size of his fist, and I'm guessing he's used it in the bath every time since he got it, considering how much he plays with it.

And for the first time, I hear him actually make sounds other than whimpers, cries, screams, howls, and such. He yips, yaps, and barks while playing with the dog, though it's not his own, actual ones – it's the pretend version, as if it's the toy doing the sounds.

It's adorable.

I finish up my bath while he continues playing, then dry off and head to the sleeping area, where I curl up under my comfy new blanket, quickly passing out.

When I wake, I find Kylie here, talking to Gold. Not with him, since he's not talking, just to him. And judging by his mindset, he's really, really bothered by it. She's making him uncomfortable. Doesn't sound like she's realized it, though, and nor does it sound like it's intentional.

He's just not used to anyone other than Nik and me treating him like a person, among other things.

The moment I let Gold know I'm awake, he whimpers a little, then runs past her and to me, hiding behind me a little bit. Kylie stiffens up a bit, then turns, her expression saying that was unexpected.

It was for you and me both, Kylie, trust me.

The moment she sees me, however, her face lights up.

"Hey, Zack!" She says. "How're you?"

"A bit confused," I answer. "Wasn't expecting to see you here. Don't you have, like, death's training, or something?"

"Yeah!" She laughs. "I had a little bit of a rest, so I thought I'd come and see how you were doing. Samantha mentioned that you were a bit unconscious."

"Gold?" I mutter. "What does she mean by that?"

His response is immediate. Apparently, I was out for nearly a full day. Damn, that's a long nap, but damn, do I feel refreshed.

"Yeah," I respond. "I didn't get much sleep on my trip."

"Is it true you were in Talorn all by yourself?" She walks over, seeming genuinely curious and concerned. "Wasn't it dangerous? I've heard there are lots of really, really powerful monsters in there, including Fallen Adventurers."

"There are," I nod. "Nik did a little bit of scouting for me beforehand to find a place that I could work with easier. Part of the trip was training, since my gains from regular Monsters are dropping, in terms of Experience, though it's also for my book."

"The one on Goblins?" She asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "I've got quite a lot about forest-dwelling Goblins, but that's it. There was a lot that got added to it in my week there, and I mean a lot. And I just remembered that I should've bought more ink while down in the market earlier, 'cause I'm just about out. Hey, Gold – want to head down there with me? We can eat at the restaurant that opened while I was gone."

He nods vigorously behind me before remembering that I can't see that, and I snort.

"Anyway," I say to Kylie. "We'll be heading into town to pick up some stuff. As you can see, I'm doing fit for battle."

Gold snorts behind me, and I playfully jab my elbow into his ribs, causing him to yelp.

"Don't worry, Gold," I say. "Oh! Right. Gold – I've got Jackson making a knife for you."

I look at Gold after that, and find him having tilted his head in confusion.

"To celebrate you becoming a Dark Knight," I say. "And to hopefully get you to not mourn the loss of using Heal too much."

Gold shifts around uncomfortably, and I narrow my gaze on him.

"Gold," I say. "What was your combined Skill Level when you acquired Dark Knight?"

He squirms a bit more, and I let out an aggravated groan.

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"Alright, Gold," I put a hand on his head and rub it a little bit, sensing his enjoyment of that. "Got it. We should get you up to Level 25 Dark Knight, so you can take on the regular Squire."

Gold suddenly looks scared and nervous.

"Don't worry, Gold," I pull my hand away. "It's purely for defensive reasons."

He starts to think in confusion, then realizes why. Because at Level 51, he'll be a Tier 2 Adventurer rather than Tier 1, and that's when he'll be able to use Heal again.

"Anyway," I pull out the knife that I had Jackson commission, back when Samantha and her students first showed up. "I had Jackson make this for you, just so you could use it and shit. With everything going on, he kind of forgot about it. Also, I have him making a new knife, so you'll get to have two. If you want to do something like a rogue or assassin rather than the line for Knights, we can get you training on that, too."

He nods, his tail wagging excitedly, his face lit up with a smile.

"Oh, hey, Kylie," I pull something out of my Inventory without turning around, unwrap it, then send the wrapper into my Inventory before turning around and holding it out. "Here, you can have this for being so nice to Gold and not treating him like crap for being a Beastborn."

"What is it?" She asks suspiciously. Just take the damn thing, will you? "I heard you unwrapping it."

"Just a treat," I tell her. "Pretty damn good, or so I've heard. Gold likes them. I unwrapped it 'cause you seeing the wrapper would spoil the surprise. I promise, it's really good."

Gold's mentally giggling, doing his best to not let it leak to verbal giggling.

Kylie accepts the treat and takes a bite into it, immediately gagging as she starts turning transparent.

"Well, it's only really good at night," I tell her. "That is for not realizing that Gold wasn't very comfortable with you yattering away at him."

"What is this?" She asks.

"A Spook Treat," I tell her, and she swears, looking down at her arms before swearing again. "I found a fresh one. Not really sure how, but there it was, just chilling there in Talorn. Since Gold likes them, I thought I'd nab them. Please learn to understand Gold, because he was being very obvious you were making him uncomfortable."

By the time I'm finished speaking, she's done turning transparent, her body completely invisible, though her clothes, armor, and hair tie are still visible. It looks kind of funny.

Kylie swears again, then hurries off, using Conceal as she goes. I turn to Gold and grin.

"Let's go get our shopping done."

He giggles, then follows me into town. We first stop by the restaurant, because I am fucking starved, and it's open for lunch. And a little bit packed already. We order our food – well, I order and Gold sits there, shifting uncomfortably – then we wait for our food.

We draw more than a few gazes from Adventurers new to the area. I know they're new because of the confused looks they're giving Gold and inquiries they're making of others.

"Oh, and the Dark Knight-looking kid next to him?" The mage who's explaining who Gold is to a table of ten. "Don't mess with him. Zack's a powerful Dark One. Yes, Dark One, as in the Rank 2 Dark Knight Class, and he is the kid he looks like. Much like other Dark Knights, he's very temperamental, and hasn't made any qualms with removing body parts on people who bother him."

Who try to steal from me, dude. From people who try to steal from me.

"He's really a kid?" One of the Paladins at the tables ask. "He's not one of the unaging or slow-aging power-fest freaks?"

"Correct," the mage answers. "He's an actual kid who showed up a little before the Spook Master, coming from reality."

"Damn," one of the other Paladins says. "How did he get strong so fast?"

"Part of it's from past skill," a martial artist I don't recognize speaks up. "The kid had done martial arts and such before dying, and was pretty talented at it, so he was able to kill a lot of stuff, and fast. He learns quickly, too, which affects Experience gain. In addition, he's managed to kill a few Holiday Bosses, mostly out of luck."

"Mostly," one person agrees. "But he's gotten powerful equipment from it, and rumor's going around that his current set was made with Primordial Essence, and considering that Peter Heradis has mentioned it, there's a good chance it's true. He was trained by one of the Five True Master Blacksmiths, after all."

No one told me that. Dang, he must really know his weapons.

They continue talking about me, completely unaware that I can hear them. And judging by Gold's twitching ears and smile, he can, too.

"Why does he treat the beast like he's a person?" Someone from another table asks, and Gold's mood drops.

"He's a Dark Knight, just leave it," someone else comments.

"The beast has access to the System," the first person comments. "We can't just drop it. How did that even happen?"

"It's Zack," the person who said to leave it says. "Just leave it."

"That doesn't explain-"

"It's Zack," someone else states. "When something inexplicable occurs and he's involved, just leave it. Half the people who were in the City when the Turkey Patriarch showed up saw him fight the thing and kill it as if it was something people did every day."

"I didn't know that's not normal," a quiet voice whispers next to me, and I look over to find Nathan standing there, looking quite embarrassed.

Embarrassed not from what he said, just from the fact that a lot of people can see him. His comment was meant as a joke. I think.

"Don't worry, Nathan," I say. "The lesser folk can never hope to understand the brilliancy of people like you, me, and Gold. You here to join us for food?"

He nods and sits, just in time for our food to arrive. Before I can even offer to let Nathan have some of mine while we wait for food to show up for him, Gold shoves his own plate in front of the powerful healer, looking at him expectantly.

Nathan shakes his head and shoves the plate back, and Gold tries to protest, though it's mostly just by pushing it back and shaking his head, but the healer sits firmly on his stance that he'll wait and we can eat.

So I do, digging into my food. Not that I wouldn't have if he didn't want us to eat until he got his food. I'm starving, and the food's still hot. It's pretty okay, not something high-class, in my opinion. Bryce cooked better than this.

The moment that thought hits me, I start choking on the food, and Nathan pounds on my back until I stop. I also lose a few Health every time he does, reminding me that he, too, is a pretty strong guy and several dozen Levels higher than me.

Gold can sense that something got my mood down completely, though he doesn't try to push it.

After I pay, Gold and I leave, heading to do some shopping. I buy around twenty silvers' worth of food, and around two golds' worth of writing supplies. I can tell that my tailed companion's curious about the extra, thick books I bought, so when we get home, I decide to explain to him about them.

"I'm seeing more than just Goblins," I tell Gold. "And while I'm observing the Goblins primarily, I do still notice things about them. So, I'm making a guide for other things, too, like Wolves, Rats, and Slimes."

Gold nods, understanding the purpose, now. They probably won't be as expansive as my guide for Goblins, but it'll work. It's not like they'll be released anytime soon, though. It'll take me years to make the guides properly.

Even if I just released a forest-based Goblins guide. My experience so far is in exactly one forest. After the war, I plan on visiting several others. Most will be in the Lost Territory, though I know I'll probably be summoned to the capital once the war ends.

As if they could force me to. They can try to rule me, but the Boundaries are made and run by the Crystals. Only they have true authority over me, and I will not bend to mortal kings. I wasn't sent into a kingdom, I was sent into the Boundary.

Trying to force your reign on the people the Crystals chose is stupid, and I will stop anyone who tries to do that to me.