“Applicant Mayhew, welcome back.”

Kyle was met on the platform with a group of tense-looking skrell and goblins. “Please leave the item with us, and see yourself home. We will send you an update tomorrow morning with your final calibrated score.”

Instinctively, Kyle clutched the sphere tighter. “Will it count toward my final score?”

The goblin woman who spoke before shook her head. “No. Your Practicum ended under… unusual circumstances.”

“Then I’m keeping it.”

The goblin woman had a pleading look in her eye. “Please, just give us the sphere, applicant. Trust me.”

He was about to protest further, when a weighty hand landed on his shoulder. Ghork gave his shoulder a firm squeeze. “The applicant is merely tired. I’m sure he won’t have any complaints passing it along. Right, Mayhew?”

The squeeze tightened a little at that, Kyle’s Enhanced Carapace doing little against the pressure. Still, he got the point. With a sigh, he extended his left arm, sphere held in his outstretched hand. The goblin took it, a look of relief plain to see on her face. She nodded at him, and spoke under her breath. “Thank you. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re safe.”

With that, the retinue of goblins and skrell left, walking down a hallway deeper in the complex before disappearing down a corridor. Kyle nearly fell over as the hand left his shoulder and clapped him on the back.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ghork laughed. “I’m sure they’ll return it to you. If there’s one thing we’re good at in the Verdant Republic, it’s following protocol. The sphere is yours by right, nobody here would dream of contesting it.”

That did make Kyle feel a little more at ease, though more than anything else he was exhausted and sore. The angry burns on his left arm would still take quite a while to heal, and he would need to examine his stonebloom armor for any other damage. First, however, he had a question. “Who paid for you to come? Was it Corthian Mining?”

Ghork laughed again. “You’ll find out in due time. Monster hunters are always in demand. Take care of yourself, Mayhew. You owe me a drink next time we meet.”

With that, the ogre strode out of the room, carrying himself as though he’d finished a particularly nice walk in the woods instead of a deathmatch against a veritable leviathan. Kyle watched him go as he, too walked deeper into the complex, before letting out a sigh. “I guess it’s time for us to go home. What do you say, C.H.A.D.D.?”

[I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE THAT, DR. MAYHEW.]

The moment he stepped out of the Collective Institute, he received a stream of messages on his nav bracelet. He saw several from Tillienne and Jax, one from Angela Corthus’s office, and several from various administrative agencies. Apart from letting Tillienne and Jax know that he was done and back safely, he set them all aside to review later. There would be time to read and reply in more detail after he had a chance to clean up and get some sleep.

He got some odd looks as he walked to the teleportation platform outside the Institute, which he ignored. He was disheveled, his clothes were in tatters, and he had a nasty scar on his exposed left arm. That’s to say nothing of the smell. The trend continued when he got closer to his apartment complex, and people gave him a wide berth as he scanned into the main lobby. Finally, he got to his door and stepped inside. He could already feel the warm shower, followed by a nap coming on. After the chaos of his practicum, Kyle was looking forward to some peace and –

“SURPRISE!” The lights in his apartment flipped on all at once, as confetti began to fall from the ceiling. Ignition activated immediately as Kyle’s adrenaline spiked, right hand falling to his hip where his baton usually rested. It only grasped air, and he felt a pang of regret. Tendrils of Parasitic Resonance swirled around him, and he looked around his apartment for the source of the sound. He found… nothing.

“Come on, you can be more hospitable than that. I thought humans loved surprise parties?”

Kyle whirled toward the sound, again seeing nothing.

“Who are you, and what are you doing in my apartment?” Kyle’s voice was a snarl, and he felt his muscles tensing. “If you think this is a joke, you’re sorely mistaken.”

The voice let out a chuckle. “Big talk for somebody who can’t even see me.” With that, a figure appeared in a puff of smoke, floating in the air right in front of Kyle’s face. It was no more than two feet tall, purple skin visible on its bald head, three-fingered hands, and small, batlike wings. It had a thin tail extending behind it, and small cloven hooves that stuck out beneath a tailored suit. Two deep violet horns budded out of its forehead, curling back like a mountain goat.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Kyle activated Identify on instinct, and his eyes widened when he got nothing at all. No mana could be visibly seen, no impression of attributes, not a single hint as to its power. He tried to hide his surprise, though the smile on the intruder’s face told him that he knew Kyle tried, and failed, to use an identification skill.

The figure bowed with a flourish, crimson eyes meeting Kyle’s. “Jarberry Bandersnatch, the pleasure is all yours. We have a lot to discuss, so grab a seat.” Before Kyle could so much as move, the diminutive form floated over and sat down in one of Kyle’s chairs, then pulled out one of Kyle’s plates that held a heaping pile of vegetables.

He took two bites before grimacing and setting the plate aside. “You really oughtta have something more palatable for guests. Ya ever heard of protein?” He pulled a drink out of thin air, downing it in a single gulp before looking back at Kyle, who was still standing, dumbstruck. “You gonna stand there all day or sit down? I told you, we have things to discuss, and I’ve got a busy schedule.”

“This is my apartment.” Kyle said, still in disbelief.

“And we established that.” Jarberry said. “Now sit down. Also, good to meet you, Mr. Drone.”

[AS A POINT OF FACT, I DO NOT HAVE A GENDER.]

Jarberry shrugged as Kyle removed the C.H.A.D.D.pack and sat across from him. “Works for me. Now, both of you have found yourselves in a rather uncomfortable position. That’s not to say you’re not without options, courtesy of my timely involvement.”

“What do you mean, ‘courtesy of your involvement?’” Kyle asked. “Ghork came to rescue me, and we’ve never met before today, when you ambushed me inside my own residence.”

Jarberry leaned forward, steepling his hands. His voice was low and serious. “Who do you think hired Ghork? He’s one of the top talents in the Mercenary’s Guild, do you think his services come cheap? Fortunately, he and I go way back. So, you’re welcome. And that’s only the beginning.”

Pointing between them, Jarberry said, “The two of you have done a fine job stirring up trouble during your Practicum, though I have to admit that it’s not your fault. Not really, in any event. See, your batch of applicants included a talent that the Alabaster Court has been nurturing for the better part of a century, and the fiasco in Phase Two led to you upstaging him. Which is not something they appreciated.”

“So what? It’s not like I had much of a choice. Besides, I’ve seen Arhades. It doesn’t take much to understand that he’s more powerful than I am, and by a pretty wide margin.”

Jarberry shook his head. “That’s not the point. The whole Practicum was supposed to revolve around him as the main character. Your exploits took away from that, and powerful connections of his took it personally.”

Kyle crossed his arms. “So all this happened because Arhades threw a tantrum.”

Jarberry chuckled. “I don’t think he had a clue any of this was happening. It’s politics, kid. Turns out, old timers with power, influence, and egos can stir up a lot of trouble all by themselves. Regardless, that led to your Phase Three. From everything I can gather, you were supposed to show up, see what a mess it was, then nope the heck out of there.”

Pieces started to click into place for him. The difficulty seemed off from the beginning, and he understood why. “But instead, I kept going. I explored, cleared out the wildlife, and stuck around longer than they expected.”

Jarberry flashed a grin. “Now you’re getting it! Exactly. You subverted expectations, again. But there’s a problem. You see, the trial you were sent to has been off the list for a long while due to the level of danger. So not only are you making it through, you’re advancing. And you’re really dragging it out, so more and more eyes are on you. Compared to Arhades, who was done in just a handful of days, everybody sees how far you’re getting. Everybody sees how broken your trial is.”

Kyle nodded. “And that just makes the people responsible more upset.”

“Bingo. But now they have a problem they didn’t expect. Old records indicated the presence of peak D Grades in the inner area, but nobody expected that one would advance to C Grade. Hell, maybe it was there from the beginning and we just didn’t know. If you died fighting some D Grades, it could get hand waved away. Dying to a C Grade though? That’s investigation worthy. They’re looking at sanctions, and major reputational damage for having a hand in this sort of shady business.”

“Isn’t it worth it?” Kyle asked. “If I die, they get a slap on the wrist, Arhades goes on with a bright career, they still win.”

Jarberry shook his head. “Nah, your death would be talked about way more, and believe me when I say the folks in the know have long memories. At least, that’s what we’re pitching them. The Guild Liaisons made the call to intervene, and this is how things are going to play out. Tomorrow, you’ll hear back from the Institute. Your overall score will be low, and it will be leaked to the public. You’re going to get one offer. You’re going to take that offer. You’re going to be sent off on an assignment to the middle of nowhere, and you’re going to keep your head down. This storm will blow over, and you’ll get to move on with your life, Independent Licensure secured and a Guild Membership established.”

Kyle stared at the diminutive figure, trying to wrap his head around everything he’d been told. “What if the offer isn’t from a Guild that I want to work with?”

The purple visitor shrugged. “Then you reject the offer, but believe me when I say no others are coming in. Trust me, you’ll want to accept. I’ve got an eye for talent, and I’ve been impressed by you two from day one. You’ve got the chops to be something special, particularly with the right tutelage.”

“And I take it you’re the right tutelage?”

Jarberry’s smile returned. “Damn right. I’ll let you get some rest, keep an eye on your messages tomorrow.” He floated off the chair and toward the door, before pausing mid-flight. He raised his hand, and the sphere appeared out of nowhere. “By the way, I took the liberty of grabbing this for you. It’s yours, but it might be wise to let me hold onto it for a while. You getting a treasure like this was not part of the deal, and I don’t think it makes sense to muddy the waters. Fair?”

Kyle’s jaw dropped upon seeing it, and he could do little more than nod.

“Good. We’ll talk soon.” With that, Jarberry Bandersnatch disappeared, the door not even opening. The confetti that had littered the floor vanished with him, though the dirty dishes were left behind.

He looked around the room, feeling wearier than before. “C.H.A.D.D., what just happened?”

[I BELIEVE YOU GOT A JOB OFFER, DR. MAYHEW.]