"How went the looting?"

Lowe scowled at the . "No idea, mate. I was doing all I could to keep up with you. I just left auto-loot on as I was running."

"Well, have a look. You've got to have picked up something better there than what you currently have on. Once we leave here, the next bit is going to be a touch spicy, so it would be helpful if you could be a touch more . . . solid."

Lowe glanced at his inventory, and quite beyond the pages of gear, he was staggered at the increase of his gold. "If I'd known Dungeons were this lucrative, I'd have rethought my career path."

Latham snorted. "This a touch unusual. This place is rated for a twenty-man, Level 30 team. There are supposed to be a lot more noses in the loot trough."

That made sense to Lowe. There was a staggering volume of gear, materials and potions washing about in his inventory. "Are you sure you don't want a cut of this?"

The good humour immediately vanished. "I have no financial need, little man. All my Skills are Legendary, my Level is maxed out, and I am as highly evolved as my patron wishes me to be. What could I possibly spend it all on?"

Even so, Lowe knew he was looking at a not-inconsiderable fortune, and it didn't seem right that it was coming his way when he'd had so little to do with its generation. "I can't accept all this, Latham."

"Look, think about it this way. That was the most fun I've had in months. I'd happily pay twice the amount you've probably gathered for such an experience. Having a helpless duckling along for the ride added massively to the jeopardy."

Lowe wasn't all that delighted to be considered a handicap in this particular encounter, but it was nice to be able to put a price on his own uselessness. For once.

"How does the gear look, little man? Anything good?" said Latham, adjusting his own armour, which Lowe couldn't help but notice was repairing itself as he did so. Perhaps the big man was right; he really didn't need the money if he was already kitted out with Legendary stuff.

"There's mountains of it. It's hard to tell. I've got, literally, pages of grey stuff."

"No worries. Set anything sub-Epic to autosell and go see the ."

It was as if the tubby man in the flowing green robes appeared in the corner of the Safe Zone the moment Latham mentioned him. There was a glassy expression on his face, which suggested he was an N.P.C.

Lowe walked up to the man, unclear on the protocol. The came to life as soon as he drew near. But it was not 'life'—nothing like it. In fact, Lowe thought, there was something profoundly creepy about this simulacrum of reality, and he found himself instinctively recoiling back.

"How can I help you, sir?"

Trying to hide his distaste - it wasn't this thing's fault he was what he was, was it? - Lowe did his best to keep it civil.

"Can you clear my inventory, please?"

The pages of newly acquired gear vanished in a blink, and it seemed like his financial good fortune had doubled. He was left with just one item. And, for the life of him, Lowe had no idea what the item was.

"Ah," Latham said, "I didn't like to get your hopes up, but I was counting on that showing up."

Lowe turned the small brass coin over in his hand. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before. It's a Token of Reset?"

"Indeed. Not a top-tier item, of course. It's only usable by those who are sub-30, and, honestly, it's pretty rare for anyone at that Level to want it. Let me tell you, though, if it were appropriate for my Level, we'd be having quite the discussion right now.

Lowe was sure this wouldn't have been a chat he'd have enjoyed.

"I don't think I understand. What does it do?"

"Well, that rather depends on whether you followed my advice and read up on Essence Transmutation Theory, doesn't it?"

*

Lowe had actually had a chance to read a little about Latham's pet ideas on the night of the murder. He'd been so wired after examining the scene that sleep was the last thing on his mind, and he'd passed a somewhat frustrating hour trying to understand what E.T.T. - as it was described in the various scrolls he'd accessed - actually was.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Let's say I have a working knowledge."

"Excellent. Well, a Token of Reset will effectively allow you to test it out."

Lowe let the coin run across his knuckles. "You want me to pull out all my Progression Points and stick them in Intelligence?"

"Little man, I don't give a flying fuck what you do without build. But if I had my time again - which is what this token gives you - I'd do it like a shot."

Lowe continued to run the coin backwards and forwards. "But if I pull them all out, my Skills will go back to Common. That will make me more of a helpless duckling than I was before, isn't it?"

Latham nodded. "True, but you'll have control over your stats. And, right now, you've got the cash to rank your Skills back up the rich person way."

"Why are you pushing this? I mean, what's in it for you?"

There was a pause as the frowned and seemed to consider how he wanted to answer. "Look, I have many regrets in my life. I like to think that if I had someone to push me in the right direction, I might have been able to end up in a different place. Listen or don't listen, but don't ignore some hard-won experience."

"Mate, you're the tankiest Tank that ever tanked some tank. I'm finding it pretty hard to hear how you fucked up your life when you've just soloed a Heroic Dungeon."

Latham walked away and sat down on an upturned log. "Little man, things are not always the way they seem. Do what you want with that token, but this is going to be your best - and probably your last - chance to do something about how your life is going. We've got a couple of bells before the Safe Zone will destabilise; let me know when you're ready to move on."

And then, to all appearances, the went to sleep.

Lowe watched him for a moment, and then, once the snoring started, he moved over towards the again.

"How can I help you, sir?"

"I have the Token of Reset. How much is it worth?"

"A Token of Reset has no intrinsic value. This Token is soulbound to you, sir. I will not be able to offer you anything for it."

"How do I use it?"

"I do not understand your question, sir."

So much for the helpfulness of N.P.C.'s.

Lowe closed his eyes and tried to sense the token. As soon as he did so, a new screen opened. And one he had not seen before

<<<>>>

Well, that didn't sound too fucking doom-laden or anything.

"How many Progress Points will this give me back?"

<<<>>> appeared in Lowe's vision. Soon to be replaced by:

<<<< Locked Skills = 100 Points

Available Skills = 55 Points

Threshold Bonus = 45 Points

Allocated Progress Points = 15 (these are unavailable for redeployment)

Total available Progress Points = 165 Progress Points

Do you wish to proceed?>>>>

Lowe's mouth was open in shock. He had made use of 200 Progress Points? That was such an insane number that, at first, he couldn't believe it. But then, thinking about things a little more clearly, it did make sense. A handful of Points every few years, maybe a bonus here and there, he could see that number could be accurate.

The question blinked incessantly. Did he want to proceed?

Adding 200 Progress Points in Intelligence would be . . . interesting. That wouldn't be a million miles away from what he possessed when he was still Classed, which felt crazy.

<<<>>>

Why wouldn't he? It could hardly make his life any worse, could it?

Lowe accepted the prompt and felt his knees go weak as his Progress Points were sucked out of him. He felt Roll with the Punches, Slugger, and Grid View return to Common, as well as the myriad of Skills that had been locked away during his Classtration.

Interested, Lowe opened up his stats and, trying not to think too hard about it, dumped every single Point into Intelligence.

The 100 number started shooting upward as if it were a possessed counter. As soon as the number hit 200, though, it screeched to a halt, and another screen appeared.

<<<>>>

"Erm, Latham?" The continued snoring. It felt like waking a sleeping Latham was likely to be one of those life-limiting things it would be sensible to avoid. "Well, in for a bronze, in for a gold," he said, answering with a hesitant 'yes'.

At first, Lowe did not think anything had happened. And then the text around Intelligence - 200 went gold and then blasted upwards to reach 265.

As soon as that message faded, another one replaced it.

<<<>>>

Without quite knowing why, Lowe split these bonus points in half and dropped half into Wisdom and the other into Strength.

He couldn't quite believe his own stat sheet.

Primary Attributes:

* Strength: 95 (Increased from 70)

* Dexterity: 65

* Intelligence: 265 (Increased from 100)

* Wisdom: 103 (Increased from 78)

* Charisma: 60

* Constitution: 75

It had been so long since he had felt even remotely like himself that tears welled up slightly in his eyes. Of course, there was the proportional loss of power to Roll with the Punches, Slugger and Grid View, which was a bummer, but he had a sneaky idea he might be able to do something about that.

The

"I notice that you have several Skills, sir, that are rated as Common. I will be able to upgrade those for you for a small fee."

Lowe grinned. "It seems rude not to, doesn't it? Show me what you've got."