Although we had defeated the three Kalamuzi, something still bothered me. Something about the two adventurers who had died.

Alright, yes, to be clear, they had been ripped to shreds in front of me, flesh and muscle and bone torn into unrecognizable gore. It would be insane if that didn’t bother me a little bit. But, honestly, it bothered me less than you might think. The adventurers were probably NPCs. I had no evidence of this, of course - I’d never even talked to them - but simple probability would say it was the safest bet. Most people were NPCs, simple as that, and I was wholly unconvinced that NPCs had souls. So it was more like a dog dying, or something. I was able to squash my guilt and trauma fairly effectively. This wasn’t even the first time I’d seen the Kalamuzi devour someone.

I also wasn’t particularly bothered by not stepping in sooner to help. Even if I had thought of the spear idea earlier, was I really that confident in Amaia’s ability to throw spears at moving targets? I’d never even seen her throw before today. Am I certain that it wouldn’t have ended with Amaia impaling one of the adventurers?

Besides, one out of one encounter with our fellow adventurers had led to them threatening to kill us. That’s some more probability for you.

Sure, I understand that maybe I should have tried. If someone had tested me on it, that would be the right answer, and so that’s what I would have said. “Of course I would step in, even if it killed me.” That’s what you’re supposed to say, just like how you’re supposed to say “Of course I would return the wallet I found on the ground.”

But if you think I’m throwing my life away because it’s the correct thing to do, think again.

No, what really bothered me is that I didn’t do what Tom would have done. I could feel this deep in my bones, like an arthritic feeling an approaching storm.

Normally what happened is that I would want to do what Tom did, but, without Tom around, it was nearly impossible to know what that would be, specifically. I knew him well enough to make good guesses, but I didn’t have that spark, no matter how hard I tried.

Now, I seemed to have gotten better at knowing what it was he would do. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder - perhaps it also helps get a clearer view of things. I had been looking at Tom the tree, not Tom the forest. Something like that.

I would have congratulated myself for the improvement, except that now a new problem had arisen. I knew what Tom would do, and I couldn’t do it.

Tom would have rushed in to save the adventurers. I couldn’t tell you why - did he expect a reward? Was he after the fame of being a hero? Maybe he thought one of the women was cute. Who knows, but that’s not important. He would have done it.

I could have done that, sure. I could have rushed down to save them, breaking my neck along the way. But I couldn’t have done the next part.

Tom would have succeeded. He would have gone to rescue them, and actually rescue them.

I found myself, unexpectedly, agreeing with Cadoc. Perhaps gaining power was the most important thing in this world. If power let me be like Tom, then I was on the right track.

“More power,” I muttered to myself as Amaia walked back to the ledge, feet touching nothing as she walked on air. “I need even more power.”

I nearly jumped as Cadoc patted my shoulder. “Yes, my friend. If we had more power, we wouldn’t have been stuck up here. We wouldn’t have had to bide our time, and watch. I know exactly how you feel.”

I doubted that, but I nodded all the same.

Suddenly a familiar feeling hit me. It was like when I had killed the Aryote, or when we had killed the vine monster. The yes or no question.

“Say yes,” Amaia said. “I already had mine.”

I wondered if this would give me more spells I could use. I said yes, mentally.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

A rush of energy flowed into me, but it didn’t feel right. I could feel as some of it was absorbed, but most of it flowed through and past me, as if I wasn’t even there.

“Doesn’t match you,” Amaia said, reading the expression on my face. “And you’re still in the First Circle. So no new spells. Just a little stronger.”

It seemed almost like she could read my mind. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t get anything new, but making my spells a little bit stronger was welcome, certainly. And it took me one step closer to the Second Ring.

With Amaia back, we decided we would descend, at least to pick through the remains. It was gruesome, but we needed every advantage we could get.

Cadoc voted we chase after the woman with the staff. He said he wanted to make sure she was okay, but the way he talked made it sound like he wanted to kill her for running. Or maybe just berate her.

Amaia was fine with whatever. She was an easy companion, in her own way.

There was nothing to tie our rope to besides the knob on the door we had entered from. It could be a problem if someone else came from behind, but there weren’t a lot of other choices presenting themselves. We tied the knot - Cadoc showed Amaia and I how to tie it - and we descended.

My first stop was simple. I needed more power. Picking my way through the bodies, I made straight for the remains of the shooter woman, hoping that what I was looking for hadn’t been torn apart.

It hadn’t been. I picked up the slingshot.

It was well made, clearly, out of leather and some sort of rubber-like material, but no matter how well made it was, that didn’t explain how the woman had been cracking skulls with it. It didn’t feel enchanted, but I wasn’t sure if that meant anything.

I picked through the battlefield some more, looking for the balls she had fired. I had pry a couple loose from where they had lodged themselves into Kalamuzi bone. I ended up with six.

They were simple steel balls, like ball bearings, each about the size of a thumbnail. They’d hurt, I was certain, but the woman must have used magic, somehow, to make them stronger, or shoot them faster. Maybe she had been a metal mage, like Amaia.

I couldn’t match that, but I had my own methods I could use.

I set a ball on the ground, between two chunks of meat I couldn’t identify. It was gross, but it held the ball in place.

Then, I sprinkled nails over the top of it. That was the trick, as I had figured out with the spears - I had to melt the nails as they fell, so that it would mold to the form of the spear, or the ball, in this case. I moved the body parts away after a second, once the ball wouldn’t roll away, and then continued, to make sure that it was as covered as possible.

Once it cooled, I picked it up, tossed it into the air, and caught it again, testing the weight, making sure the nails wouldn’t come off. They stayed. The nail wax - or whatever you want to call it, because that term was disgusting - had formed almost all the way around the ball, though there was a small uncovered spot where it had been touching the ground. It wasn’t a perfect sphere anymore, but it was close, and I thought maybe I could pick away at the excess bits of nail and improve it. The ball was heavy enough that it should fly well, anyway. Though I’d probably be a mediocre shot for awhile.

I smiled. Sometimes, life did work out. I killed the rats, and got more power. Perfect.

Cadoc and Amaia had been looking around as well, but hadn’t found anything of use. Amaia said that both the armor and the halberd the man had been using were too large for her, and Cadoc didn’t want to wear the armor and get slowed down, like the man had. I couldn’t exactly blame him.

There was one more thing that I wanted to do. I’d been avoiding it, but it seemed like we weren’t getting a lot of moments to rest, so I needed to get it done. I found a clear spot on the floor far from any remnants of the battle - on the opposite side from where the adventurers had died - and sat down. I almost put a hand to my ear, but stopped myself. Couldn’t start that habit. Someone might start looking around in there, and that would be absolutely terrible.

“RENA, can you hear me?”

“Of course I can hear you, Miles. I can always hear you. Even if you never speak with me, anymore. If you hadn’t recently asked for your items back, I would have assumed you had forgotten about me entirely.”

I furrowed my brows. “RENA, are you upset with me?”

“Don’t be silly, Miles. I cannot be upset. It is not in my programming. But Dimen-X requires frequent updates, and it is always easier to get direct reports from you, rather than extrapolate a report from what I can see and hear.”

“Ah. So I’m giving you more work.”

“That is correct, Miles. I am quite busy, you know.”

I nodded. “Alright, sure, whatever. What’s my debt for this month?”

“Twenty-five thousand dollars. A round number for you. I know you humans love that. However, on that note, I can’t help but notice we’re always talking about your debt, Miles. Do you think about anything else?”

“Get off my back, RENA,” I said. “Why is it so high? Is that all transportation cost?”

“Some of it is, of course,” she said. “But the rest is because your monthly payment has gone up. As per the contract, of course.”

I stood up, as if my frustration would be vented better from the position. “RENA, I’m not in the mood for jokes. I don’t know why Tom gave you the ability to tell jokes, but I wish he hadn’t. This is serious.”

“I am serious, Miles. Your monthly payment has gone up.”

I was pacing. “That is NOT in the contract, RENA. I read it! I actually read it! You saw me read it! There was nothing in there about the payment fucking doubling every month.”

“You are correct Miles.” I calmed down for a second. Took a deep breath. Just a misunderstanding.

Cadoc and Amaia were staring at me. Especially Amaia. I gave them a thumbs up.

“It was not in the contract,” RENA continued. “But it is now.”

“Huh?”

“The contract clearly stated that the terms of the agreement may be subject to change, and that Dimen-X may institute such changes at any time, without notice. Although, if you had called more often, I likely would have mentioned it sooner.”

“RENA, you can’t just change a contract like that. There is no way that that’s legal.”

“I’m afraid you are incorrect, Miles. EULAs - that’s End User License Agreements - have been doing it for years. There is precedence. Dimen-X lawyers believe it would hold up in court.”

“Anything else you like to tell me?” I asked, fuming.

“I would like to congratulate you on following Dimen-X’s DEI initiative, Miles. Some of the higher-ups were worried that we would need to mandate these measures, but now that you’ve recruited a female intern, it has been decided to keep the process a voluntary one.

“I will add, however, that I remain unconvinced in your choice. This Amaia woman seems unreliable. You have reported back to Dimen-X significantly less often ever since she joined.”

My astonishment overrode my anger, for a moment. “RENA, are you… jealous?”

“Of course not, Miles. I am incapable.”

I shook my head.

“Fine, RENA. I’ll get you your money. Fuck it. I’ll do whatever it takes.”