The next morning the blue screen of awakening smashed into my throbbing skull like a sledgehammer. I startled awake and cursed violently. I didn’t bother to read any of the words praising my survival, because I didn’t quite think that was accurate, I felt like I was dying.

What the hell kind of sick and twisted world was this where every night I was healed, but a hangover was still with me when I woke up? I glanced around under slit eyes and saw nobody else was stirring, so I took the thin pillow that came with my bunk and covered my face with it before going back to sleep.

***

Pest was awake. The blue screened auditor waking him at the prime of every morning for his pre-shift stretches and ablutions. Oddly, Chairman Viktor wasn’t rising this day. He grumbled and complained in the bunk that the new business partners had provided. Pest wasn’t sure if this was a hostile takeover or a merger that these Red Wolves had inflicted upon Pest and Chairman Viktor. But he was pleased with some of his new associates. The soft lady was especially pleasant, she smelled good and heaped him with compliments. Not to mention her keen business acumen.

The dark one who was her mate left something to be desired though, he was weak and ineffectual at trade.

The CEO of this business-partner seemed to be at odds with Chairman Viktor if the scents that Pest picked up were any indication. The CEO leaked musk like he was trying to lay claim to the chairman.

The only reason the CEO seemed to not lash out at the chairman was the other man’s presence. He had a calming way about him that Pest rather appreciated. A cool and level head for business was an asset amongst those that ran hot with the passion of trade. All personalities had a place amongst a well-run business. But not all personalities belonged in the seat of the CEO position. However, Pest kept these thoughts to himself. He did not wish to stress the chairman with his wild musings.

Pest inspected the chairman for any business leads, but frankly the chairman stank. He smelled of sick. Pest knew he was fine, due to the auditor’s health indicators. But it was easy to worry about the Chairman doing too much. Pest would have to help. He found a small piece of something amongst the bedding of the chairman’s bunk. He fished it out and it crinkled in a satisfying way. It was a white flat thing, much like the tree bark that the chairman had brought back from the Market. But much thinner and less brittle.

It had a special scent to it. Something unique that Pest only smelled occasionally. The last time he had smelled it this strongly, Finley the transportation service provider had shown up. Pest would take this from Chairman Viktor and see if he could remove this task from his busy schedule.

Pest had caught a whiff of this scent at the market yesterday. But he couldn’t recall where. Maybe if he took it back to where he had smelled it, he could puzzle out the next step to do with it. He crumpled up the small thing easily and bit onto it. It didn’t taste like anything specific, he noticed. Defiantly not a delicious tasty. He wondered if the Chairman had anymore delicious, tasty treats left. Maybe the chairman would reward him with one for his good work today. He thumped down onto the floor of the cabin and set out. The door was easily clawed open, as it didn’t seem to lock or latch. He wasn’t so sure about that lack of security but kept it to himself as well. It wasn’t his place.

Maybe the calm man was head of security? He did seem to dissuade the angry rivals from last night from attacking the chairman. He would bring it up with him, just as soon as he found a way to talk to him. He found that he couldn’t communicate with the others like he could with the chairman. He knew he had a special bond with the chairman, a contract signed for a lifelong business partnership. But he did wish he could communicate with others as well. How else would he bargain trade discs for services and goods?

Pest ambled along thinking his deep thoughts and darted into the large open home that Finley was staying in. He liked to check in on the transporter, just to make sure everything was running optimal. It was unfortunate that she lacked the spark. But not everyone could be as blessed as Pest. He dashed out the back of the building and squirmed his way between the large fence that surrounded the cabins. A street was in front of him, but at this early hour it was nearly deserted.

Watching both ways, Viktor had told him about many large things that could squish him flat if he didn’t treat large open city lands with respect, he crossed the street into the market.

This was Pest’s heaven. The market was filled with so many things that Pest’s little mind couldn’t take it all in at once. And that wasn’t the task for this visit anyway, he needed to find the scent to decode the import of this item and tend to it as the chairman would like. Luckily most of the stalls were closed just now, so the distractions were minimal.

Pest was determined to retrace his steps from yesterday to find the scent. The item in his mouth was starting to soften and turn soggy, he’d better hurry.

First, he made his way to the wagons that the soft lady had yelled and hugged with in the great dance of mercantile bliss. She had given him spider parts that Pest himself had slain for trade discs. It had been a very exciting moment, teaching him that even the lowliest products could be sold if enough volume was applied to the seller. The scent he hunted, however, was not here.

He considered his next destination and decided to forgo the stall with the man who had all the small containers. The only scent there was the manure from the animals he was next to.

Pest continued around a long circular path until he came to the blanket where the old one had been. Surprisingly she was already there. She sat on her blanket and sipped from a cup. He came up to her knee and sniffed at her. It wasn’t her that he needed to find. She said something to him he didn’t understand. He gave her an affirming stare and she smiled at him. She said something more and set out a saucer, pouring a small amount of her drink within. She scooted the saucer closer to him. He set down his task item and sniffed at the bowl before lapping it up. It was a strange liquid that smelled like the plants that the chairman sometimes liked to collect, but with a hint of sweetness that Pest enjoyed.

She reached for the item that Pest carried but made a hissing noise just before she touched it and drew her hand back. Pest recalled she made the same noise when touching Chairman Viktor’s wooden weapon. He pondered that while he finished his drink. He had no trade discs with him to pay, so he graciously allowed her to stroke his fur before taking up his item once again and continuing his journey.

The next and last place must have been where he had found the trace of the scent. He made his way to the large fountain that dominated the market’s center. Around the back of it he mounted the steps, cautiously keeping an eye out for the large bird that was here last time. He didn’t have the soft lady’s charms to grant him entry this time. Fortunately, the large lack bird was not atop its stoop and it looked like the strange businessman was not here as well. He made his way cautiously to where the client creature had been cut and killed. He scented carefully along, the lingering scent of blood nearly overwhelming, as he jumped onto the edge of the fountain and peered into its not clear waters. He remembered he had gotten a trace whiff of the scent when the strange merchant had thrown the trade disc into the fountain. Pest hadn’t been able to see where that disc had went, but the scent was at the time he had hunted for it in the waters. Maybe he needed to do the same with this object of Viktors. He held it over the waters and released it. The crinkled and soggy thing flopped down in the water, and started to break up and dissolve as the water took it.

The faint scent that he had been hunting was suddenly overwhelming.

“You just couldn’t wait to cash in your I.O.U., could you Alpha Tester Vik…” The large blonde man trailed off mid-word as he gazed down at Pest.

‘Valued Associate Pest is here in place of Chairman Viktor,’ Pest mind-spoke at the man. Pest figured if he could understand him, then the man could do the same for Pest.

“What do we have here, my little creature has broken free of the mold has he?” The man said and leaned over to look at Pest.

‘Pest breaks no things.’ Pest said.

“Oh yes, let me reassure you, he does,” the man says with a chuckle.

Pest stared at him. The man stared back.

‘What?’ Pest asked him.

“Well, I guess that is up to you, after all you turned in the I.O.U.” The man said. “What do you desire little creature.”

‘Trade!’ Pest announced without delay. ‘Pest businessman.’

“Hmmm,” the man said as he stroked a hand through his beard. “Must be hard to be a businessman without being a man.”

‘Pest is a one of his kind, first and foremost!’ Pest announced.

“I can work with that,” the blonde man smiled and snapped his fingers.

***

I was happily trying to ignore the pain in my head as I slept in, guessing from the quiet in the cabin so were the others. The door opened once or twice but was easy to ignore in my semi-coherent state. What was harder to ignore was the little paws pushing at my arm.

“Chairman Viktor,” the little voice of Pest said. My head hurt so much that his voice was more irksome than normal. Higher in pitch and slightly crackling, like a child with a growth spurt.

“Not now Pest,” I said and tried to roll away from him. I felt him crawl on top of me, and redouble his efforts to gain my attentions.

“Chairman Viktor, I need your help.” Pest said. Something niggled in my brain, he normally didn’t speak like that. I opened a bleary eye to look at him. I had to blink my eyes a few times, he looked odd. Distorted. Instead of the beady little eyes that normally stared back at me, he had large expressive eyes more akin to a canine. The whites and iris plainly visible. His head was slightly larger to accommodate the eyes with a bit of forehead above it. He was thicker too, like he had suddenly dumped a few points into Strength and Constitution, instantly gaining mass and weight. His arms were longer, losing their comical chibi charm. He might just be able to scratch his own nose now. His back legs were where the most overt changes took place, the feet larger and shaped more like a rabbit or cats, the large tarsus providing the ability to stand and balance. His little legs more substantial and about twice as big as before, more in proportion to his long body.

To sum it up, he looked like a person. A little furry stretched out person with fuzzy ferret face and tail.

“Am I high?” I asked him.

“No, the bunk is rather low,” he helpfully responded.

“Why do you look like a little dude now?” I asked him.

“The blonde one gifted me with a new form to better suit my aspirations of conducting business.” Pest explained.

“You are also talking. Like really talking. Not in my mind.”

‘We are still bonded, I can do that as well.’ He mind-spoke to me.

I rolled over to face the wall, my head still throbbed.

“I don’t think I can deal with this right now.”

“But I need help,” he said.

“What?” I asked the wall.

“I need proper business attire. I never realized before how underdressed I was to conduct trade deals.” He complained in his crackly teenager voice. “And I think it will help protect me from other things.”

“We will do it later, when my mind isn’t spinning.”

“Okay.” He said, in his old way. I felt him sit on the end of the bed and heard his dangling little feet knock against the side boards of the bunk. Little dude even started humming to himself.

I wasn’t in the mind set to process.

***

I awoke sometime later to people shouting. I rolled over to find Pest standing on our table as Mave was bouncing in delight and Dark was weaving his spear in the air like he was about to take a stab at him.

“Oh, my got! You are so cute!” Mave squealed like a schoolgirl seeing her crush unexpectedly.

“Kill it!” Dark shouted.

“You are a bad businessman!” Pest shouted back at him, and I discovered just because his proportions altered to allow him to stand like a man, he could still do a war dance like a ferret. And if anything, he got faster at it. Mave got in-between the two and leaned down to look Pest in the eyes.

“Musty Man, what happened to you?” She asked him.

“The blonde man made me a businessman!” He proclaimed in satisfaction, stopping his dance and standing tall and proud.

“Blonde man?” She asked him.

“The one from the fountain,” he said with a nod.

“The fountain from the market, Gorm? He did this to you?” Mave asked in confusion.

“I think he means Loki,” I answered from my bunk, finally deciding to participate. I swung my legs out and sat up carefully. My head didn’t throb much.

“Loki?” Dark said raising his spear again. “So, Pest is a creature of the trickster?”

“Shouldn’t you love him because of that emo boy?” I asked him.

“I am not emo!” Dark snapped and enunciated it by slamming his spear on the ground.

“Sur….” I began before Ryan’s door burst open and the angry tall man shouted.

“What the hell is all the noise in here?” He shouted louder than any of us had. “Some people are trying to sleep!”

“Pest is a creature of Loki!” Dark whined at him.

“I don’t care what that rat is. Keep it the hell down,” he said and slammed his door, retreating back into his room. He didn’t even stay long enough to see the glare I shot him. The outburst seemed to fizzle the energy in the room, and we all shared a glance.

Pest leapt down from the table, doing a commendable job of not falling flat on his face and skittered over to me. He still went down on all fours to make quick time.

“We get business attire now?” He asked me, one of his paws, now with thumbs, tugging at my pant leg.

“Yea, yea, let’s go get some stuff, get the hell away from these grumpy people.”

“I’m not grumpy.” Dark said quietly and hid behind his hair. Mave gave him a comforting pat on the arm. Their relationship was weird. Mave acted more motherly than like a real partner. I wondered what psychology was underlying that.

I collected my coat and coins and left without any further conversation. I was not a morning sort. If it wasn’t for the stupid blue screen alarm clock each morning, I’d sleep in everyday well past sunrise. But I had the curse of once I was up, I was up. This morning had been a special case of feeling like death, which allowed me to get some more rest. My mind needed justification like that to keep sleeping.

Once we were out, I took a mouthful of crisp water from my flask and spit it out. My mouth was gross tasting and I bet my breath smelled of death. I wonder if I could get an achievement for attacking with dragon breath.

Maybe a little later than I should have, I remembered to keep an eye out for the Vinlanders, but the yard in-front of our cabins was devoid of people. I did a quick check, and luckily found no skinhead attackers lurking in the shadows. As I glanced at their door, I spotted a woman standing next to the door, she was dirty and wrapped in a blanket, her long hair in tangles and snarls as it covered her face. I Inspected her.

Name: Slave

Race: Human

Type: Resident

Allegiance: Samuel Davis (owner)

FLAGS: COGNITION_0, IS_THRALL

Health: Injured

Energy: Tired

I grit my teeth but kept walking. These fuckers, I knew why she was injured and tired. I felt helpless. I could do something, but would it fix anything? No. If I removed her, they would just find another one. If I killed them, they would just come back. Not to mention I wasn’t sure if I could kill all five on my own. Also, there were the ‘rules’ I kept hearing bits and pieces of. I didn’t want to get drawn and quartered for serving justice to some scum. I’d have to ask Hallway later about the specifics of the rules later. Maybe I would be able to amend them to protect the locals from degradations.

In a burst of irritation, I quickened our pace. But watching Pest’s funny new way of movement lightened my dark mood significantly. It reminded me of a prairie dog. He would run along in his old four-legged slinky run, then pop up on two feet and look around. He was very quick, sprinting in front of me in little bursts.

“Hey buddy, keep pace with me, would you?” I asked him before we crossed the intersection to the market.

“Okay,” he said simply and walked next to me. With quick little steps he was able to keep up with me fine without needing to resort to his four-legged run. I pondered what sort of gear would be good for him. And how the hell we would find anything that would fit him. Belatedly, I Inspected him.

Name: Pest

Race: Ferret

Type: Creature

Allegiance: Viktor (bond)

FLAGS: COGNITION_3, IS_BOUND (Viktor), MERCHANT, ADAPTABLE, ANTHROPOMORPHIZED_25

Health: Healthy

Energy: Full

He had a new flag. ANTROPOMORPHIZED_25, so Loki had anthropomorphized Pest, giving him a degree of human characteristics. What a powerful flag. I wonder if there was a way to safely copy it from Pest. I could imagine a forest full of animal people. Loki gave me the Furry Lover boon, maybe he was on to something. I could have a whole furry army. Bear men who could smash through walls. Dog soldiers who would race at enemies like they were chasing down prey. Bunny girls who could race around spreading messages and news of my glory. Kitsune fox girls who would seduce all the nerdy anime loving Chosen to my side. It would be glorious! I could call it…Furrtopia! No. That was horrible, I would have to workshop the name at a later date.

I was very leery about fiddling with Pest’s rune-code. What if I made him explode? I pondered that as we finished walking into the market. Maybe I could make a Vinlander explode or add a debilitating flag to them. I’d have to find an ERECTILE_DISFUNTION flag. That might put an end to some of their unsavory acts.

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

I eyeballed the statue. It hadn’t changed.

“How is it that Loki decided to change you?” I asked Pest.

“Who?” he asked.

“Loki, the blond guy.”

“Oh, I gave him your object.”

“What object?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“The crinkly object from your nest.”

It took me a moment to puzzle out he meant the IOU paper. I gave him a critical eyeball. If the IOU was powerful enough to have changed him this much, what could I have done with it? Hell, would I have been able to choose anything as good as turning Pest into a little person? Probably not. I felt a little bitter at opportunity lost, but in all honesty, I probably would have horded the IOU and never spent it for fear of wasting it. That is if I ever figured out it was powerful at all, instead of thinking it some stupid joke. Which is exactly what I had thought it was when I had when I had seen it. Loki was tricky, I needed to pay closer attention to his ‘gifts’.

The day had started a little slower today, not as many Chosen around. Obviously, my crew weren’t the only ones affected from a little late night drinking. But the vendors all seemed in place and rearing to go. I picked up Pest, it was funny to feel him steady himself with his little paw-hands on my wrist. He weighted a bit more. I could feel the added muscles under my hands as opposed to his scrawny little body from before. I put him on my shoulder, and he sat like a human, little feet dangling and a fist full of my hair in one hand.

He seemed to enjoy kicking his new feet when they dangled, and a little rhythm tapped itself out against my chest.

“Okay buddy,” I started as we wandered towards the section of the market that seemed dedicated towards clothing. “Do you want clothing, like these merchants?” I gestured at the vendors surrounding us. Most of them wore the Norse standard, with a few in finer livery like the what the earl had worn and given me. Not too much better than standard, just more embroidery and trim.

“Or do you want armor and gear like the fighting men.” I gestured this time towards the armorers’ section, that held leather and steel plate, with everything in between. I knew intellectually that the selections available at this market did not match what should have been available in a city of this size. But I assumed it was an inaccuracy of gamification of this world. Games never seemed to take in consideration regional conditions and supplies needed to make all the crazy things that a city would need to be fully stocked on all the things it had. I had never seen a game with enough fields of growing food to even come close to feeding a city.

Pest fidgeted on my shoulder, showing an indecisiveness that was not like him.

“We have one more option.” I told him as we wandered down the aisle and came around a corner to a cul-de-sac section that housed the vendors that dealt in Chosen gear. “We could find you something from here.”

“Yes, here.” He said immediately and so we began perusing the options. There wasn’t so much here, and it all seemed sized to be human standards.

“Maybe, we can pick something and have one of the craftsmen make a smaller copy.” I mentioned to him. The gear was quite the mix of odds and ends. It looked like most of it had been contributed by Kraken and Raid as the same sailor style and mix-matched armor pieces dominated the market stalls that were dedicated to apparel.

I entered the closest stall. It was set up like a fair booth, an overhead canopy with racks and tables within. The first set of racks were bedecked in robes and dresses. The young man that managed the stall gave me a bored expression. He reminded me of a teenager in a mall boutique shop more offended that I was there and might ask a question than anything else. Obviously used to Chosen window shoppers he didn’t assault me with an aggressive sales pitch like the other vendors would have.

“Maybe a Friar Tuck robe?” I joked pulling on a robe that was hanging on a rack. The set up resembled a modern hanger and rack style, which made me comfortable to peruse. I didn’t even know what a real-life Nordic market would resemble. This entire market remained me of a large flea market more than anything.

I felt more than saw Pest shake his head.

“That will not do!” He announced and tugged on my hair in his exclamation. I chuckled and continued looking. I had a morose moment as I pulled a sundress from between the racks and looked at it. It was white at the top and devolved in a vomit of vibrant colors and flowers on the bottom. It was delightfully hideous and just the sort of thing that I would get for my wife. I frowned as I put it back and decided to leave that section. Nothing there would work for Pest anyway. I was just torturing myself looking at these reminders of the life I was missing.

We skipped over a section of miscellaneous armor pieces, I could tell through the bond and faint emotions coming from Pest that these held no interest for him. The final section of this booth held a wall rack of hats and masks.

“You know, a well-dressed businessman usually has a hat.” I told him.

He perked up at my words and we scanned the wall. It wasn’t all for him though, I needed a mask for my rune-code experiments. I didn’t want to end up with a face full of glass again. There were only two full face masks, a hockey mask and a kabuki mask. The hockey mask was a standard sort but sported too many holes for me to feel confident in it catching the glass shards from an exploding bottle. The kabuki mask was basic, a plain white mask with some red detailing. I kept hold of it for now, not sure if it was something I wanted to invest in.

For Pest I picked a Russian style fur hat with fuzzy flaps on its sides. It was brown and the leather was cut in a few places but seemed mostly whole. With all his chairman talk I felt like it was his style. I plopped the enormous hat over him on my shoulder, just to mess with him. To my astonishment it shrank down to a tiny size to fit him. I instantly inspected it.

Name: Ushanka Hat

Material: Sheepskin, Leather

Durability: Worn

Value: Below Average

FLAGS: CHOSEN_ARMOR

“No way!” I announced and set Pest onto the ground, he stood there clutching his hat in both hands, staring at me with big eyes.

“Here, try this.” I said as I stripped off my jacket and draped it around him. As it engulfed him, it began to shrink, a fountain of my collected junk raining out of the pockets before it finished resizing to his proportions. I quickly took the jacket back and began stuffing things back into the pockets. The bored shop clerk gazed at my antics but didn’t say anything. I grinned like an idiot at Pest.

“What?” he asked simply.

“I just found out something new, and the fact that any of this Chosen gear will fit you. So, we have so many more realistic options!” I told him excitedly. Finding out that CHOSEN_ARMOR made things resize to fit the wearer was awesome. I could strip the tag off his hat later, and never need to find a pair of shoes that fit again. They all would fit from now on!

“Good!” He announced and smiled back. It was the cutest little fuzzy fang-faced smile that one could ever see. I laughed delightedly and snatched the tiny hat from him, bringing it to the clerk. We did a quick bargain that I didn’t try to barter down as the hat wasn’t worth much in its current condition, and for a few coins it was Pest’s first piece of clothing.

We left the stall and I received two new notification.

[Congratulations. You have unlocked the Concealment skill!]

[Congratulations. You have unlocked the Thievery skill!]

How in the hell did I do that? I patted my pockets and found something large and hard in one pocket. I accidentally swiped the mask. I gave the vender a surreptitious look. He was acting the bored teenager, so I just kept slinking off to the next stall while checking out the new skill.

[Concealment]

Unlock Conditions – Conceal an object on your person.

[lvl 1] – You can hide a small object on your body without notice. IS THAT A BANANA IN YOUR POCKET?

[Thievery]

Unlock Conditions – Take someone else’s property and make it yours.

[lvl 1] – You can notice items that would be easy to steal. HANDS TO YOURSELF, SNEAK THIEF.

We went to the next stall, which seemed to be a dumping spot for Raid. It consisted of mostly stray armor bits that were not to Pests standards. We didn’t stay in that stall for very long.

The last stall was the odd assortment of sailor gear that Kraken must have sold off. It wasn’t exactly to Pest’s style either, but I did spot a vest that looked like it belonged to a three-piece suit amongst the collection. It was a shiny brown pinstripe with buttons down its front. I inspected it before having him try it on.

Name: Vest

Material: Sharkskin

Durability: Undamaged

Value: Average

FLAGS: CHOSEN_ARMOR, MENDING

It was perfect for him, I thanked the true god of the realms RNGesus. And if I had to bet, that extra flag would be highly beneficial. Between the ‘sharkskin’ and ‘mending’ my best bet was a garment that self-repaired. I wasn’t about to stab it in front of the shop clerk to test the theory or not. The brown pinstripes went very well with his dark fur.

I felt he needed at least one more piece of clothing. Most respectable businessmen I have delt with had pants. Due to his little legs the short sailors pants were a good choice, I dug through the collection until I found something perfect.

Name: Cargo Shorts

Material: Wool

Durability: Average

Value: Average

FLAGS: CHOSEN_ARMOR

The cream-colored shorts were a little frayed and worn at the bottom, obviously second-hand, but had lots of pockets and a built-in woven belt. I considered searching for another pair for myself. As a father, these were standard kit after all. I guess Pest would need these for when he planned to sire his own little ones. I looked him over before giving them to him. Now that he wasn’t really a ferret, and not quite a man, how would romance and children factor into his life? I decided after some mental imagery to pack that thought away, deeply away.

I gave him the little pants and after they shrunk to a good fit, I showed him how to work the belt and rings to secure them in place. His tail came out from one of the pant legs, but we could fix that once we got back to the cabin.

The vendor took nearly the entirety of the coins I had left. A few coppers and set of silver all that remained to my name. But it was worth the grin that my little buddy sported. And when I gave him the coins to slip into his tiny pants pockets, he only got happier. He had just enough space to stuff them in. Luckily, they were the style that buttoned closed, so they didn’t all scatter out when he did his slinky run.

We were in high spirits as we made it back to the fort. I led us into the tavern that looked to have seen better days. It was into the mid afternoon but still some younger people were cleaning the mess inside. I noticed that the Vinlanders table no longer held the mess I had made of it. Pity, they could have held onto my gifts for a little while longer.

Halloway was seated at the Red Wolves table and waved me over. I joined him and helped Pest climb into a chair next to me. He wasn’t able to sit, but standing on the chair gave him the right height to interact with the group. Halloway gave him a curious once over.

“I see Mave wasn’t kidding, Pest is looking a little different these days.” Halloway said.

“Pest is a new man!” he squeaked at Halloway.

“So you are, properly equipped now too, I see.” Halloway gestured at Pest’s new outfit.

“Businessmen need to be properly attired.” Pest said proudly and tugged at his vest in a way that was reminiscent of how I tended to tug at my jacket lapels.

I grinned at the exchange and glanced at the bar. A short stout woman caught my eye and gave a nod.

“Where you been this morning?” I asked Halloway, who was still mid-meal.

“Went to the library to check if anyone had registered a claim to any of the dungeons, we are planning to hit next.” He said.

“Wait, there is a library?” I asked.

“Well…” Halloway started with a chuckle. “We call it a library, but its like, three books and a map.”

“Damn, no user-manual for the system I suppose?” I asked with little hope.

“Unfortunately, not. Like I mentioned before, most of that stuff is word of mouth.” He answered.

I decided it was a good time to plumb him for that information, but before I was able to get started the woman who had spotted me from the bar came over to us.

“Good afternoon, hun, what can I get for you today?” she said pleasantly. She was a plump woman with smile lines etched in her face, her dark hair long ago taken over with grey streaks.

“Vikky, this is Viktor, a new member of Red Wolves.” Halloway provided a quick introduction between us.

“Nice to meet you, mam,” I said politely.

“I’d say the same young man, however you seem to keep making messes in my tavern.” She told me with a stern expression. I didn’t feel young man was applicable to me any longer, but to her most everyone here might be a young man.

“Sorry,” I said meekly. “Would you believe me if I said it wasn’t my fault?”

“Maybe, but only because I know that the Vinlanders cause trouble with almost all the new people, and last night you were drinking this boy’s horrible homebrew.” She said with a gesture at Halloway, who looked affronted.

“She isn’t wrong.” I informed him. “Truly horrid.”

“Each. Their. Own.” he told me slowly. I glared at him.

“So, what can I get you this morning? And only on the condition that you don’t make a mess of my tavern.” She was still giving me an impressively stern look.

“I’m not sure if any mess I make right now will go noticed,” I said as I looked around. The place was still pretty rough looking. There were even a few people sleeping in the corners of the building.

“Hrmph,” was the only response I got.

“Uhm, chef’s choice of breakfast?” I asked with a weak smile.

“Okay hun, but it’s going to be expensive, I’m going to use the good ingredients.” She gave me a look, daring me to challenge her choices.

“That’s okay mam, money is no object, just put it on the Ryan’s tab.” I graciously offered, Halloway let out a choked off laugh.

“Hrmph,” she made to turn away.

“Oh, Miss Vikky, may I get a fork? Please!?” I asked as she was leaving.

“Hrmph,” she said again as she made her way into the kitchen.

“Wow,” Halloway remarked. “You really are in the doghouse with her.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked. I assumed that everyone who worked in this tavern was just cranky as all hell.

“She is normally like that one aunt that everyone has, hugs and kisses and tucking hard candies into your pockets.” He told me.

“Hrmph.” I responded in imitation of her.

After that I got into asking him about the System itself. So far, the commands and features I had found were standard knowledge. There was no known inventory system or health tracker beyond the simplistic one provided by the party system.

The map was another one of those hard-to-find skills. Maps that granted it were special and hard to find. It was even harder to level up, as the experience required to level it up slowly was gained through exploration, but the real way to get it to a higher level was to consume more maps of large areas. I could get a bump if I went to the library and took a look at the map there.

The perk fragments did indeed unlock a perk after collecting nine of them, and the perks available to choose from were based on skills and achievements. I wondered if I would be able to see the all the ones available and unavailable to me, due to my Alpha Tester. Would there just be a list of hundreds of perks running through my list when I finally gained one? Halloway was only able to see the ones he had access to.

I wouldn’t know for another seventeen days or so.

I was bemoaning the blue screen and wake up calls when Vikky came to us with a plate of the most delicious looking breakfast I had seen for months. Even before entering the tower I hadn’t been able to eat out often. The plate of potatoes and eggs with a chicken fried steak and gravy slathering it made my mouth water.

“Oh, my god.” I announced solemnly. She handed me a wooden fork and mug of something golden. I took a sip to find a sweetened tea with hints of citrus.

“This cannot possibly be Norse appropriate.” I announced.

“It’s not, but it’s Vikky appropriate.” Halloway said.

“I am forever in your debt.” I announced to Vikky who had finally cracked out of her solemn face.

“Just stop causing trouble in my tavern. Anything else I can get you?” She said with a wide smile.

“If I wasn’t already married…” I trailed off, the comment coming out automatically and leaving me with a twinge.

Her smile faltered and she put a comforting hand on my back.

“Sorry dear, I’m married to my tavern.” She said in way of reassurance. “But quite a few of us know your pain.”

Halloway nodded in commiseration.

I took a bite of the food, the delicious potatoes seasoned well with a feisty zing. She went back to the bar with a sad smile on her face.

“You know, the Vikings didn’t have potatoes.” Halloway said as I savored some bites. “There is a historian that sometimes comes through, he gets all bent out of shape about the idiosyncrasies.”

“Norse times were so long ago, it’s not like he has much to base it on.” I told him. “Hell, I once heard that the classic horned Viking helms weren’t even a thing until a Shakespeare play or something.”

“Yea, he bitched about that too, some of the Raid guys have them.” Halloway agreed. I just shrugged.

“I guess Loki is enjoying a bit of modern updates to his tower.”

“Why do you say Loki?” Halloway asked.

“Because he built the tower?” I answered a little confused by his question.

“How do you know that?” He asked and I thought about it. I guess the only reason I knew about Loki being management was because of the alpha tester and report interaction I had with him.

“Because he signs the update announcements? With a LL?” I answered, remembering the leet letters he used to sign it.

“I guess I hadn’t thought about that. You might be right.” Halloway said consideringly.

“What other god would write those sassy messages with each skill description? Besides, trust me, with all the trickster shit that has happened to me, it has to be that way.” As I ate, I told him about my special relationship with luck, and how every time I seemed to trip it was to save me from a worse fate.

“I haven’t had any special luck, or bad luck.” Halloway said.

“You put it at one, right?” I asked.

“Yea, min’d it to max other things.” He said casually.

“Well, are you the tank of the group?” I asked him, making the assumption based on the fact that he was the only member to have a shield.

“Yea, the dungeon monsters are easy for me to aggro.”

“Do you have a taunt skill or anything like that?”

“No.”

“But the monsters seem to aggro you more than the others?”

“Yep.”

“Kinda unluck, that, huh?” I said sarcastically.

“Oh! Oh…” He smiled sheepishly. “I just thought it was because I was normally in the front.”

“With that big fuck off barbarian swinging a giant ass sword? No. The creatures aren’t that dumb here. At least the ones I met, especially the goblins, were quite clever. Hell, look at Pest. He is as smart as we are, and he is a ferret.” I gestured to the little guy who had stolen my chicken fried steak and was savaging it with a mess of gravy splattering his face. He smiled at us.

“You are a good tank because you are so unlucky everything wants to kill you. Congratz.” I announced to Halloway.

“You might be on to something.” He considered my words, and I took the time to finish my meal.

“What are your plans now?” He asked.

“Well, I don’t know. Even before I came here, I was just reacting to all the troubles of life. Since I have been here, I have been setting small goals just to get by. Build a shelter. Get food. Get to civilizations. The quest’s have been guiding me gently, but not really driving me.” I mused as I sipped at the sweetened tea. “What about you?”

“I just go with the flow.” He said with a shrug. “I’m too indecisive to pick what to do next, so I just follow along with Ryan.”

“He doesn’t seem to be the best guy to give loyalty.” I said, booking on a familiarity I didn’t quite share with Halloway yet.

“There aren’t a lot of options. Especially when we met up. Vinlanders wouldn’t accept me even if I wanted to join them,” he said.

“Why not?”

“I’m a quarter Chinese,” he said with a bland look. I looked him over a little closer. I guess now that he mentioned it, I could see it. A roundness to his face, dark hair, and hooded eyelids.

“I didn’t really notice,” I admitted.

“Not a big deal,” he said with another shrug. “If I had my hair grown out, you’d see it.”

“Toros are pretty much Spanish only, as you have seen. They keep trying to poach Mave too, but she doesn’t seem too fond of them. Some sort of history with Mexicans or something like that. Plus, they wouldn’t take Dark either. He is part Korean I think.” He continued explaining. I nodded, Dark’s Asiatic features were more apparent to me with his thin face and severe eyebrows.

“Raid is a little too cutthroat for me. I don’t find raiding the villages, amongst other things, very fun. They don’t see the NPC’s as people. I can’t do that, they are too lifelike.” He said and I couldn’t do anything but nod in agreement, thinking of the few that I have met that were especially advanced. Ingamar and Idunn. I wondered how they were doing. I might need to go check on Ingamar soon, since I was back in town.

“Kraken could be fun, but I don’t know how to swim and tend to get seasick.” Halloway finished his explanation of what he saw as his choices.

“What about the Sisters?” I asked about the secret member of the Hand.

“I’m not really the homemaker sort. Not into building things.” He said.

“Ah, I love building shit. I can’t wait to go and turn my little camp into a tiny fortress. The quest wanted a homebase. I can’t imagine that it requested that for a one-off camp. I suppose I should go find the craftsman and figure some stuff out. I don’t suppose the three books in your library would happen to be a carpentry manual?” I asked hopefully.

“No such luck,” Halloway said with a smile, “but if you want some housewife smut I’m pretty sure there is a werewolf vampire love fantasy sort of thing.”

“Pass,” I said firmly. “I guess my ultimate goal is to go home. I want to be with my wife and kids. The system’s introduction said if we made it to the top floor we get a wish. I could wish to go home. They are constantly on my mind. And I keep thinking of how I died, so crazy. And I wonder how that rake handle got broken and just happen to find its way to where it was. Perfectly positioned to stab me at just the right time. I’m not running around screaming at the heavens about it, there isn’t anything I can do about it. But I know something isn’t right there. At least I can not do anything about it yet. How many floors have people gotten to?”

“As far as I know, nobody has gotten off Midgard yet.” Halloway said.

“So you all have been here for a year or more, and haven’t even gotten to the next floor, have you even found out how to get to the next floor?” I asked, he just shrugged at me.

“Not as far as I know. Which isn’t much. We mostly stay around here. We are technically on an island, if you count the tower wall as a border. There are two more islands, one seems to house this places equivalent of England, the locals pronounce it like Angles. This island is at war with that island, and constantly fighting each other for the ownership of the third. Sometimes the English raid here and sometimes the Norse raid the English mainland, but mostly they fight over the third island. Kraken adventures along the coasts and explores the seas, Raid for the most part goes to the third land and fights before coming or respawning back here. But I have yet to see any giant stairway to heaven or whatever this place will use to get to the next floor.”

“Well fuck a duck.” I said and considered for a while. Pest wandered off sometime during out conversation and I spied him as he slunk around the edges of the building looking for treasures. I was pretty sure he was looting the guys who were sleeping. But I wasn’t too worried about it, I assumed someone already looted them. And probably drew dicks on their faces. One doesn’t pass out in a bar without such things happening.

“I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do, and you are only confirming it for me.” I told him and began to lay out my plan. This may sound simple, but I had a hard time doing it. I didn’t like to reveal my ideas and plans to others, but I liked Halloway and hoped to include him in my future plans.

“I want to get stronger, either through equipment or skills. I want to find a builder or learn how to build a defensible shelter of my own. I want to find a way up to the next floor. The quest’s seems to be pointing us towards something, so I will use that as a compass for now. What subquest are you on?” I asked him.

“The subquest of Midgard that wants me to raid a village, amongst other things.” He answered.

“Okay, I am at the same place, I assume you don’t want to raid a village and that is why you are stuck there?” I asked and he nodded in confirmation. “Okay, that’s what I figured. Anyway, I’ll follow the quest. I can’t do it alone, but I don’t want to join a large group or be stuck somewhere I am not respected.” I gave him a significant look when I said that, and he gave me a small nod.

“I’m not sure what the future has in store for me. So far I’m not seeing benefits to being in a guild.” I paused to allow some input, but he didn’t so I continued. “The System is in alpha, it’s a little buggy and exploitable, and I don’t see why that can’t be leveraged for exploitation if we are careful about it. It would be shitty to depend on something that gets patched out, like your super stick.”

He nodded along but still didn’t say anything.

“All this sums up to, I plan on climbing this tower with, hopefully with a few friends, and exploit the hell out of this system in any way I can. Ultimate goal, escape and return home. If I become an all-powerful being of awesomeness along the way that would be okay too.” This was the first time I put my random thoughts too words, and I knew it was the path I wanted to tread. I wasn’t revealing to Halloway my extra advantages, but I hoped I could win him over to my cause.

“I need to start with the basics right now, which means the Red Wolves and dungeons to raise my skills and gather loot. Take care of the quest when I can. Build a good home base, not just a shack in a clearing. Find the exit. And square some local vendettas before I leave this floor.” I said with a gesture at the empty table the Vinlanders usually claimed.

“That is a hell of a list you have there. But what I want to know it how do you plan on doing that last bit?” Halloway asked with a nod towards the empty table.

“Oh. I have a few ideas…” I said with a grin and let the sentence trail off. “But I am going to keep those to myself for now.”