He was making us fake CBs.

I knew that it was supposedly a thing, but until today, I’d not seen how they worked.

Earlier, because we’d been fully armored, Ella had made it so that the CB linked with the armor and simple scans would be returned with the ‘owners’ information. If we had taken any part of the armor off, we wouldn’t have been able to pass the simple scan.

What Guyle was doing was crafting new crystals for us, that would then interface with us. It would hardcap our stats, which would limit how strong we were, and prevent us from using our skills at their full power. I’d heard of a similar method that was used for restricting criminals that were being imprisoned for life, by basically zeroing out their stats and turning them essentially into a Mundane. Guyle was taking it a step further. He was also overwriting our names.

It was almost like the yellow seal over my heart that I could feel getting warmer. The seal was one of complete obedience and loyalty. Every God had a version of it that they put on at least their personal guards and their High Priest. Some Gods were paranoid and would just start putting it on everyone in their city. Those cities tended to empty fast.

Once I got changed into some normal clothes from the crystal that Guyle had in the back with an entire wardrobe in it. I walked over to the work area where Guyle was crafting our new CBs.

“When are those things going to be done?” I peered over the large man’s shoulder.

“Got somewhere you need to be?” Guyle looked up from his workbench.

“I’m just…” I looked over at where Sipher and Gall were having a quiet conversation. “I don’t know. Something about this whole thing feels off.”

“You trust Sipher?” The big man scooted over to the screen that was next to the workbench and started typing.

“I…” I thought about lying, but saying that you trusted a criminal was pretty unbelievable. “No.”

“Good!” Guyle moved back to the workbench and started cutting on the crystal again. “At least you’re that smart.”

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“Do you trust him?” I looked over at the bandit to see if he was paying attention to our conversation.

“By the Gods, no!” Guyle laughed. “But he pays good…” The big man shook his head. “When he pays up front.” He eyed me. “Best way to deal with him. Get paid. Do the job. Walk away.”

I wasn’t really getting paid for this. Not from Sipher at least. Maybe that was what had me on edge. I knew that the deal with Kire was already making me uneasy, but everything I’d gone through had been for a look at something that no one had ever found before.

My train of thought ended when I realized Guyle had said something.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I said. Has he paid you already?” Guyle looked me over and when I didn’t answer right away, it seemed like took that as a no. “So you’re in it for the…” He shook his head. “Love’s been the death of many a man.” He picked up the crystal he’d been working on and began putting it into a band. Once he had attached it, he handed it to me. It felt like it zapped all of my strength as soon as I put it on.

“What did you do?” I looked at the CB’s menu.

Whisper Kire - Mundane

Age: 34, Hair: Blonde, Eye Color: Blue

Skin: Silver, Blood: Black, Height: 6’

1 Power 1 Defense 1 Speed

1 Magic 1 Recovery 1 Aura

“You made me a Mundane?” My heart started beating faster. I’d felt out of my league before. Now I really felt like I was helpless.

“Relax.” He reached over and undid the clasp and took the CB off my wrist.

I instantly felt better. Like all my strength had returned.

“All you have to do is take it off.” Guyle held out the CB and tapped the black crystal. “Though you’ll have to wait until this thing turns clear again before you can use it. Still trying to work out that kink.” He offered it back to me. “So if you need your stats back, make sure it's worth it because you can’t be slipping it on and off all the time.

“Why a Mundane?” I took the CB and began looking it over.

“Nobody gives the Mundane a second glance.” Guyle started whistling as he started on the next one. “You don’t go into the Dungeon, so only the guards care about you and they’re looking for a group of Tier Fours.”

I nodded and slipped the CB into my pocket. I was definitely going to wear it as little as possible.