There were two new notifications waiting for him, both for skills.

You have gained a new skill!

Mana Saber:Rare

Use your mana to create a crude sword of energy that can be used for simple tasks.

The other one was more exciting however.

You have upgraded one of your skills!

Identify:Common->Basic Truesight:Legendary

You can empower your sight with the energy of your Divinity, revealing all hidden effects within the area around you, up to a certain amount of power.

It was basically something that he had already been able to do, but now he had gained a skill for it, which meant that he would be able to do it more efficiently. In addition, it was Legendary, which was always nice to see. With these new bonuses, as well as the masks, their time within the city would be far less dangerous than before unless they ran into someone of sufficient strength to see through their disguises. In any case, they were ready to start their quest to regain their lost possessions.

A few hours later, both men were sitting in the middle of a crowded tavern, unnoticed because of their masks. They were surrounded by people who could report them at any moment, but none of them had. The two men had tested their masks on everyone that they had met, and found that their effects were quite strong indeed. When any of the city guards came around, they had to increase the effects with an extra injection of mana, but such a measure ensured that they were let alone before long.

Jonathan took a contemplative sip of his tankard of beer, musing over its taste. It was strange, seeing as there were no hops in this world, and the taste was not the same as beer back on Earth. However, it was certainly refreshing, and it still had alcohol in it, not that it was able to affect Jonathan at all. Judging by the raucous shouting coming from the rest of the tavern however, it was certainly having an effect on the lower level citizens. The overall strength of the beer was far more than it would have been back on Earth, more akin to whiskey or vodka in strength than anything else. It was needed to get through the supernatural durability of the citizens however. In any case, Jonathan was having quite a good time, being able to relax somewhat for the first time since coming to his world in a while. He had a new friend with him, and the two men were rapidly getting to know one another better.

“So, Edgar, you said that you never managed to see any of the great sights of Telvaria during your time there? Like I said, I was only a peasant there, so I was not able to witness anything other than a few adventurers coming by here and there.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Well, I did have a bit more of a scope than you did, but I was still cloistered within the bounds of my kingdom. On Telvaria, the lands are stratified by power, and my kingdom was forced to keep to itself, save for the taxes that were levied on it by the ruler of the empire that we were in. It was a distressing circumstance to be in, given the magnitude of the tales that I had been told as a boy about the wonder world, but the only way out was to get stronger.”

“I wonder why you weren't stronger, if you were there for most of your life, and you were in a position of power?” Jonathan said, interested in why so many people seemed to be far weaker than they should have been, given the amount of time that it had taken Jonathan to reach his current level of strength.

“Progression in Telvaria is very much a business. Most of the planet’s surface has at least some sapient presence, and all of the monsters’ lairs are mapped out, to be plundered by adventurers. At least, that is how it is at the lower levels. I have no idea about the situation within the higher leveled areas,” Edgar replied, looking a bit abashed at this declaration of his ignorance.

“Well, at least your progression is freer here. You can do whatever you want, get as strong as you've ever dreamed of.”

“That is true, but is that freedom worth being in Hell? After all, our journey is bound to end sometime soon, with our rebellion against Granath. Do you honestly believe that you can actually beat that beast? Because, before long, we’re either going to be dead in a ditch somewhere, or facing off against the king of this circle.”

Jonathan nodded pensively at this, and mulled over his drink, not really thinking about much in particular. It had been a while since he could simply sit down and unwind, relaxing in a public place. There were some benefits to being in this city it seemed. A sudden thought entered Jonathan’s mind, and he almost let it overtake him. What if he remained here, and never fought again, living as a normal citizen for the rest of his life? It wasn’t exactly paradise, but it was still a life. The part of him that had sworn vengeance against the gods upon arriving here stirred however, and the desire vanished like mist in the morning sun. Jonathan clenched his fist, shattering the tankard involuntarily. Everyone around him looked over, but he merely fed more mana into his mask, causing them to go back to their previous tasks. These masks really were quite powerful. It was a pity that their protection vanished when one fought another, and Jonathan imagined the power that he would wield if his enemies forgot they were even fighting him during their battles, but he eventually decided that the benefits were good enough as they were. He looked up at Edgar, ready to be castigated, but the man simply sipped on his drink, rather than saying anything. Jonathan sighed, and looked down at the mess that was on his table.

“Sorry about that. I have some pent up anger at the people who sent me here,” Jonathan said.

“No need to explain. You don’t have to tell me what bothers you. After all, we are friends now, are we not? Friends of circumstance, true, but perhaps we shall eventually form a greater relationship.”

“I suppose that’s true. I was never expecting to hear something like that in the Hells. I was expecting for my journey to be a long and lonely one.”

“Well, so was I. Now however, we can at least fight and die together, rather than apart,” Edgar replied, in a somewhat melancholy tone. The man had already resigned himself to his death, and seemed to be happy about it. Jonathan was not quite there yet, but he was sure of just how ridiculous his quest was, and that the chances of him ever finishing it were basically zero.