For all the talk of wizard-shit, and unnatural powers and craziness since the System Integration, Logan had accepted that he had access to things beyond this world that could do amazing things. He’d accepted it and relied on it. The System categorized [Threshold Shift] as an epic skill.

An epic skill shouldn’t fail.

Had he activated it incorrectly? He didn’t know what he’d done wrong, and it was crunch time here. Lara and the kids; hell, all the people in the cells… they were relying on him to rescue them.

“What happened?” asked Ernie with his mental voice. “That felt icky! Cold. Foreign.”

“[Threshold Shift] failed.”

Ernie huffed. “We wasted an upgrade on that! Hmm. I still have [Portal Generation]. Would that work instead?”

[Portal Generation] was a one-time use skill with a prohibitive cost. Ernie would have to be right next to Lara and the kids to get them out of the cell, which meant that he’d first have to portal inside. With a 24-hour activation limit, he’d effectively imprison himself.

“I don’t think it’ll work. Let me test something first.”

Logan gestured to Lara through the glass, motioning her to wait, mouthing, “Hold on,” and then backed into the hallway. He glanced down the long corridor and narrowed in on a spot fifty feet away. Half dreading that he’d have that same cold, nausea inducing sensation, Logan deployed [Threshold Shift].

Just like in the skill ring factory, with less than a blink, Logan jumped to that spot.

It had worked.

The skill was fine.

Shit shit shit. He didn’t like what that implied.

Logan deployed [Threshold Shift] to return in front of Lara’s cell. Even being this far away from her made his anxiety surge. But she was in the same spot as before, her eyebrows scrunched, her hands on her hips. If the cell didn’t stop sound, Logan would be getting an earful right about now.

He had one last hope, a possibility that he’d screwed up the skill when trying to shift into the cell. It was a faint hope, but hope was all he had right now. Scrunching his nose, Logan concentrated on another point within the cell, this time farther back and to the right, then deployed [Threshold Shift].

“Oh fuck!” he screamed, a gush of blood pouring from his nose. It was even worse than last time! A million needles stabbed his forehead, his ears feeling plugged and full of water, as if he’d gone for a swim and angled his head the wrong way. Shit, it felt like his ears were bleeding! Logan retched and leaned against the cell, gasping, doing everything he could to avoid collapsing.

It was just as he’d suspected. [Threshold Shift] was fine; there was nothing wrong with the skill. But these cells had an aura that reminded him of the black chains; they were so strong they blocked out sound. Could they also interfere with teleporting skills like Logan’s?

He couldn’t be the only one within the Collective to receive a transportation skill. Logan didn’t know how many worlds or how many people the System had integrated, but there had to be billions. Trillions.

It would be smart to create a prison that prevented escape.

A lump in his throat, Logan looked at Lara through the glass, staring into her eyes, never feeling more powerless. If the skill didn’t work, that meant he’d have to rescue her the old-fashioned way.

“All right, Shoot,” he said, glancing over at the vine cat. “Back up, will you? Well clear of the cell.”

“Yes, mother!” Her tail wagging, she backed away, her green eyes alight with curiosity.

But there was still the matter of the people within the cell. They were way too close to the glass.

Logan made a shooing motion with his hands, but the people just looked at him as if he were especially odd. Lara’s mouth twisted, and she looked at him in confusion. Wait, wait, wait. Lara’s house had a hell of a lot of crap, and Logan had thrown everything inside of his spatial storage collar.

Mentally rummaging around, he willed out a piece of white printer paper and a black felt pen and then etched, BACK UP, in big caps and held the paper up to the glass.

Lara nodded and then started gesturing to everyone to back far away from the glass. Sawyer clung to her mother’s hand and bounced on the balls of her toes.

All right. It was time to use every earned strength and agility point at his disposal to break through the glass. Logan was going to turn into the Hulk to rescue his family. “Keep inside the pouch, Ernie. There could be flying glass.”

Ernie made a sound of acknowledgement.

Glancing down at his fist, Logan made sure that his armour covered it evenly and then shifted his feet, widening his stance, his limbs tingling with anticipation.

With a wide swing, Logan pounded the glass, hitting it like a punching bag. If he had done the same to a car outside, he would have sent it flying in the air. But the glass didn’t vibrate; it was like hitting a wall of concrete before the System Integration. Holy shit, that wasn’t good. Still, like hell was he giving up. Lara and the kids were watching him, relying on him. He was getting them out of here if it killed him.

Logan slammed his fist again, then again, again.

Again. Again.

His armour shattered, the sand raining down to the floor, but still, he continued, hitting his fist against the glass like a madman, his knuckles splitting, blood smearing on the glass. His heart racing, sweat breaking out on his forehead, Logan went to town, slamming his fists, hit after hit, until a sharp pain broke through his trance. It felt like his fist had been run over by a truck!

Ding!

[Idiot’s Paradox is level 29!]

Panting, Logan took a step back, glancing down at his fists and wincing, but [Regenerate] was already at work, knitting together his torn skin and working deep within his hand to repair his cracked bones. On the glass, it looked like a slaughterhouse, blood and torn bits of Logan’s skin stuck to the cell. But…

Ah, man. The glass was intact, no hint of a crack. Other than the filth, it was like new. He hadn’t made a dent.

There had to be a way to break it, something, anything.

Inside the cell, the others were inching their way back towards the glass, avoiding the smears of blood. Lara scanned him, wincing at his bloody fists. She held up a hand and then moved towards her cot, grabbing something and returning. It wasn’t a piece of paper like Logan’s, instead, it was a small, sparkly notebook, likely Sawyer’s.

Lara scribbled something on the page, tore it out, and then slammed it against the glass.

Find a guard. Force them to let us out.

Logan looked from the paper to Lara, nodding his head that he understood. There was a sparce lack of guards here, but the prison couldn’t be abandoned. There had to be a guardroom, a barracks. A place that…

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

A place that…

A feeling of dread swept through Logan, making his muscles lock in tension. It felt as if someone were watching him, that same feeling you got while trekking through a park in the pitch dark, and a predator’s eyes flashed in the darkness. Logan had had close calls with bears in the Okanagan. They normally kept far up in the mountains, but every once and a while, he’d find them on hiking trails. That heart racing, prickling feeling, that what the fuck get me out of here sensation.

Turning as slowly as possible, his senses wide open, Logan peered behind him, saw nothing but the other cell, and then looked down the hallway.

That… definitely wasn’t human.

Thirty feet down the corridor, something on two legs observed him. But two legs were as close as humanoid as it came. Holy shit, even though Logan knew that the Silverdagger Clan were technically aliens, with their wolf-like ears, this was the first time that he really felt that alienness. That was a frigging alien!

It was covered in black fur and at least seven feet tall. It had a snout, with long whiskers and a black nose. Its cheeks were angular, looking more bizarre because of the two, huge blue eyes that glinted in the lights of the arena. At the top of its head, two fluffy ears pointed straight up like a rabbit’s.

It was wearing a shirt, normal looking, but instead of pants or shorts, it was wearing what Logan could only describe as a skirt, or a kilt. As it moved closer, its bare feet clacked against the floor, sharp black nails rounding out rodent-like feet. And behind it, a long, long fluffy tail, covered in black fur, swayed from side to side. It reminded Logan of a fox tail.

The thing was decorated in jewelry—a dangling gold necklace, bracelets and rings. Even ankle jewelry.

It was one thing to be so completely alien. Logan could get around that eventually. No, that wasn’t what made dread pool in his stomach.

It was its aura.

Back in the attribute trial, even back at the resort, Logan had figured out that you could extend your aura to come across as intimidating and make people back down. Logan had done that to Thorin in the attribute trial, forcing him to be less bluster and to not be such a bully.

He didn’t know if this alien was consciously doing the same, but radiating from it was a crushing aura. It felt as though a ton of pressure was pressing down on his shoulders, as if a house were crushing him! His mouth went dry, his heart beating like he was having a heart attack, every sense on alert.

Whoever this was, they felt strong.

Too strong.

Logan scanned it with [Idiot’s Inspect].

[Ruler Pied. Level ??? The immortal ruler of the Kingdom of Pied.]

[Highest stat: Wisdom. Characteristics: A master of the mind arts.]

Oh hell. From what he’d learned, Pied was an immortal, and immortals were over level 1000. Level 1000!

Logan had puffed himself up, felt pride at how far he’d come, knowing that against all the other people on Earth, the System ranked him second. But against someone over level 1000, how could he compete? Who knew what kind of skills it had at its disposal? And his greatest weakness was his constitution stat, which made him vulnerable to mind attacks. His stealth player status meant nothing against someone this strong. If this thing wanted, it could crush him like a bug.

It was one thing if it killed Logan, but if it did, everything he’d struggled through for the last week meant nothing. Lara and the kids would stay trapped, subject to the whims of this monster.

But if it had wanted to kill him, wouldn’t it have done it by now?

Strolling closer to Logan, it smiled, and its aura only got worse. So bad that the air felt dense with pressure, as if he’d entered a sauna and the air had grown thin. Trying to move was like struggling through ground saturated in molasses, as if his boots wanted to stick to the floor.

“W-what is that?” asked Ernie, breathless.

It examined Logan like he was a piece of meat it was considering buying.

Just like that, Logan made a decision, deploying the only skill that might let him survive this encounter.

It felt like ages since he’d last activated [Foresight], but it was the only skill that would let him foresee how this encounter would go. By activating it, he’d be able to see ten minutes in the future, and there was no way Pied would know that he was doing it.

[Activating Foresight in 3… 2…. 1.]

A flash.

“Mm,” said Pied. “You’re a noble one, aren’t you? Slightly jaded, but still guided by a righteous need to do good. You’ve had quite the little adventure within my complex, haven’t you, Logan?”

Logan swallowed.

“Ah! My apologies, I should have introduced myself.” Pied dipped his head, kicking his foot back and bowing theatrically as if he were on a stage. “Ruler Pied at your service.”

Ernie popped his head out of the pouch and then crawled onto Logan’s shoulder. “Ernie!” Logan sent, alarm shooting through him. It was one thing to survive this encounter on his own, but another thing to put Ernie into jeopardy. By clinging to his shoulder, he’d make himself into a target.

But there was no talking Ernie out of it. “I will kill him! Kill him!”

Pied’s whiskers twitched as if in delight. “And this little gremlin must be I Rival All, hmm? He’s certainly feisty.”

Ernie had heard the name Pied, equated it to the killing of his brethren, and then lost the pot. Logan knew he wanted revenge and that he was swimming in emotion. But if he didn’t rein himself in, he’d never survive. “Ernie, he’s over level 1000! You’ll have no chance!”

Ernie didn’t bother responding in his mental voice. “He killed them, Logan! He killed them all! I can’t let that stand.”

Pied’s tail swayed like a curious reptile. “Oh? Who did I kill, spicy thing?”

Ernie puffed his cheeks in rage. “My brethren,” he hissed.

“Ah. Well.” Pied frowned. “That’s one way to look at it, and don’t get me wrong, I understand where you’re coming from, I really do.”

Logan blew out a jagged breath. If Pied wanted to have a conversation, that meant they might have a chance. “Then why do it?”

“Profit, my dear. It makes the world go around. If I don’t do it, then the others will, and then where would that get me?” He dipped his head at Ernie. “But I can understand your anger, of course I can. I’ll let you in on a little secret.” As he smiled, two white incisors glinted. “I was once like you, spicy thing. I was a bonded companion.”

Ernie stilled. “What.”

“Oh yes, that got your attention, didn’t it? Just like you, I bonded with someone like Logan here. So don’t think I don’t understand that the production of skill rings is unpalatable. I sympathize, I really do.”

“Unpalatable?” Ernie hissed in outrage.

But if Pied had been a bonded companion, what happened to his companion?

[540 seconds remaining.]

A flash.

The pressure around Logan intensified, like turning up the temperature on an oven. It was all he could do to remain standing.

“Well,” said Pied, his smile turning sinister. “If you feel that you can’t let bygones be bygones, you can always try your best. Get revenge, spicy thing. Why don’t you try me?”

Ernie trembled, the horns on top of his head flattening, his skin turning pale, back to his Liche look. Logan knew he wanted to jump on top of Pied and pummel him to death, but even Ernie knew that it would be suicide.

“Ah,” said Pied, clucking his tongue. “I’m glad to see you made the smart decision. A Liche octopus is rare, and I wouldn’t want to ruin your chances before you even start.”

Pied crouched down, his tail bobbing behind him. “And you!” he said, pinning Shoot with a look, seeing right through her camouflage armour. “A Chameleon vine! So unique!”

Shoot shifted, looking as if she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be offended or flattered.

Pied straightened. “Well done, Logan. That’s quite rare for someone barely into E grade.”

Logan licked his lips. “So you’re not here to kill us.”

“Kill you?” Pied laughed. “Little human, why did you think I let you tear through my complex like that, killing my soldiers left and right?”

Logan had killed over fifty people. Pied had known about it and done nothing?

Pied continued laughing, his eyes glinting playfully. “You really are clueless, aren’t you? Everything that happened since you returned to Hope’s End has been orchestrated by me to make you stronger. My army was fodder for you to jump levels. Fang kept them in line, making sure to feed you only the ones that you could survive. Level up breeding is a delicate balance, you understand?”

Logan took a step back, a rollercoaster of emotions swamping through him, not knowing what to believe. He had thought it strange that he’d only fought the two and three-headed rats, and that the larger, mammoth rats had always stayed behind. But why would someone want him to get stronger? It didn’t make any sense.

[480 seconds remaining.]

A flash.

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“Why? Because you’re rank number two in your newly integrated world. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll feed you anything to keep that climb going. The stronger you are, the better my chances.”

“Chances for what?”

Pied clucked his tongue. “I know, so confusing. You’d hope the System would give you better instructions, wouldn’t you? New users must stumble around in the dark, discovering everything for themselves. Logan, in six of your human days, the System will transfer the top ten users from each newly integrated world to an arena. You’ll compete against the others, world against world, user against user. Since you’re ranked number two, that means you’ll be going, my dear. And it’s to my benefit to make you as strong as possible.”

At first, Logan wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. The hell? A tournament when he had a Save Humanity Quest on the line? He didn’t have time for this bullshit! In his mind, he envisioned a shitty knights tournament, topped off by shitty helmets and horses.

“Why is it to your benefit?”

“Because I want to sponsor you. I think you’re a winner, and as you humans like to say, you’re my dark horse.”

Logan clenched his fists, anger surging, just barely holding himself back from shouting. This asshole was treating this like a game. Watching Logan kill his own soldiers, feeding him to his rat army, all so that he’d level up and give him a good showing in a competition? Hell no. “And what if I don’t want to be your dark horse?”

Pied shrugged, stifling a smile. “That would be unfortunate. Considering that I was going to free your sister and the little ones if you agreed.”