I moved for several hours in every direction but that of the hotel, aiming to lose anyone following me. My plan for a life of self discovery was in substantial jeopardy due to my most persistent foe—the consequences of my own actions. However, I refused to allow my brief detour into the murderhobo grindset to force my hand. I would chart my own course and, as such, needed to be extraordinarily careful.

I went to the slums, assuming that the people there were more likely to mind their own business. Looking for a place to hide, I skulked through an alley and forced my way into an abandoned warehouse. As I concealed my break in, a new notification popped.

Congratulations, You have unlocked the Skill: Stealth.

Stealth: Skill governing the understanding of how to travel in a covert manner. (1/10).

Skill detected, “Autodidact,” would you like to transfer 100 experience points to level Stealth? Y/N.

‘Fuck!’

I braced myself for another bout of mania… but none materialized.

‘Oh thank god…’ I caught my own stray thought, ‘I really need to stop thanking that dick.’

The fight with Jax must have resolved, at least temporarily, whatever the problem had been.

I leaned against a wall and slid down, allowing the night's activities to catch up with me.

‘Every escalation into mania occurred after I skilled up, and I only returned to normal after those fights. It has to be related to the essence that skill ups provide… I think I’m fine, but I need to get Lydia to a doctor ASAP. Something tells me she may not bounce back as fast as the world's biggest chea- rules avoidance specialist.’

My pulse quickened when I thought about the danger she faced.

‘I need a distraction… Oh, right. I unlocked a new evolutionary path, but this time like a normal person… My definition of normal really has taken a turn in the last few months.

I opened the evolution screen and selected the icon for Cosmic/Eldritch Pugilist. The racial enhancements were the same as for the prior evolution, except with increased effects and decreased energy costs. Those changes were useful but not particularly significant. More important would be the addition of my magic stat to my strength stat on punches, permanently doubling my combat power. However, the most compelling aspects were the selectable combat abilities.

Cosmic/Eldritch Pugilist Combat Abilities:

(Select 2 Abilities - Warning, selection of an Eldritch ability will increase your level of Eldritch Infusion):

Cosmic Abilities:

Interdimensional Footwork: So long as you are delivering a punch, you will always find an opening. Instantly teleport to the desired position around your enemy. (Range: 20 yards) (Energy Usage - High)

Cosmic Bomb: Upon activation, you charge an attack with cosmic energy leeched from the environment. The strength behind it is dramatically increased, and the damage type changes from physical to cosmic. Warning - this attack takes several seconds to activate. (Energy Usage - Extreme)

Schrodinger’s Fist: So long as you are threatened, you both do and do not exist in up to 5 locations within a quarter mile of each other. You must select one true position in order to interact with the physical world. When something interacts with one of your copies, you must decide if that is your true position. If it is, all other copies disappear, if it is not, that copy disappears. (Energy Usage - Extreme)

Eldritch Abilities:

Reality Consumption: Upon activation, your fists gain the ability to delete destroyed enemy body parts from the enemy’s soul pattern. The system treats these body parts as though they never existed, so they cannot be regenerated. Your enemy has a chance to resist proportional to the gap between your Magic Stat and their Magic Resistance, modified by any other relevant resistances they possess. (Energy Usage - High)

Hunger Strike: Upon activation, you possess an unnatural desire to consume your foes’ life energy. Each strike permanently reduces the stats of your enemies and increases your own. Your enemies have a chance to resist proportional to the gap between your Magic Stat and their Magic Resistance, modified by any other relevant resistances they possess. Warning: until your hunger for life energy is sated, you experience extreme physical hunger. (Energy Usage - Extreme)

Call for Cthulhu: Upon activation, your punches shatter the dimensional fabric and bring forth the aid of a fragment of the essence of a slumbering Old One. While it provides no conscious help, you gain the ability to command and manifest a small fraction of its being as though it was your own. Warning: You lose the ability to control this effect if the Old One awakens as the result of your actions. (Energy Usage - Impossible with Current Level of Evolutionary Energy)

Would you like to evolve into a Cosmic/Eldritch Pugilist. Y/N.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

‘No.’

It was an easy choice. The abilities were strong, but I did not know if fighting was my path. I could always select it later.

The sun had begun to rise, so I decided it was time to head back to the hotel. I looked out the window and, for the first time, used Teleportation to move to the roof of the furthest building that I could see. I was slightly nauseous as I reappeared, but it was manageable.

’If anyone can still find me after this, they deserve to catch me.’

I shifted back to my original form and donned my regular clothes.

I chuckled, ‘Call forth a slumbering Old One to help you fight. Who could possibly think that was a good idea?’

**********************************************

Jax approached the Teleportation Hall with all of his belongings packed into his spatial ring. It felt strange on his left hand. However, his right was no longer an option. Something about the exploding primordial battery had rendered normal regeneration magic ineffective. So, until Jax found a better way to heal, he would remain crippled.

It wasn’t all bad. His quasi-permanent maiming rendered him unfit for hero league competition, which voided his contract with that idiot Allister. A fact that he burned into Allister's throat on his way out the door. His contract’s cost savings provision to sever ineffective team members from the payroll was not quite as clever as Allister had thought.

And the clean break was fortuitous, for he had great works to perform. Jax had stared into the abyss, and the abyss had stared back, laying bare its secrets. Reality, the system, the false idols were all illusions, chains to be broken. A new world awaited. One with no gods and no masters.

But first, he needed to leave this city and its prying eyes. The walls whispered to him that this was not the place. Everyone was plotting his downfall. He could see it on their faces. They all conspired against him. No one here could be trusted to join his flock.

So, he headed for less corrupted lands. There, he could enlighten the chosen and prepare for the great battle to come. It was his turn at the portal. Jax stepped through, retreating for now. However, he knew he would return.

***************************************

I woke to the sound of a gentle knock. “Rise and shine, Noah,” Lydia said through the door, her voice far weaker than her normal tone.

“Waa…” I rolled over and checked the clock.

’Ugh, two hours of sleep... I can’t let her know that.’ I had spent the walk back trying to figure out what to say to Lydia. I obviously couldn’t keep last night's events a secret, but it needed to be handled with some finesse.

“I got us breakfast. You’ll want it hot.”

Wiping the crust from my eyes, I pulled myself out of bed. A pleasant smell wafted under the door. I staggered to the other room and was greeted by an elaborately decorated breakfast table. Lydia had laid out plates, silverware, and napkins folded into… well… I didn’t recognize that animal, but the intent was clear. Looking at her, I cocked my head to the side, as though asking a question. It was only then that I noticed the large circles under her eyes and the yellow tinge of her complexion.

“I know I was a lot yesterday, and I… wanted to thank you. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and my emotions have been all over the place. I think it’s time to pay the Kantarian healers a visit. After breakfast, that is.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I chose to move past it. “It smells good. What is it?”

“Well, you made me your favorite, so I decided to show you mine: poached yakston eggs with a side of Granada berries smothered in Tractari syrup.”

“Looks fancy”

“What can I say, I’m trying to show a boy a good time.” She smirked. “So, how was your night?”

“Oh, well, you know, it was fine.”

“Do anything interesting?”

‘Fuck, does she know?’

“Just this and that.”

“I see. You wouldn't have happened to—I don’t know—participate in any arena fights, did you?

My heart plunged.

“W...w...w...hy do you ask?”

Lydia dropped a newspaper in front of me: The Gladiator Daily. A moving picture showed my alter ego’s hand turning black and punching through Jax’s shield. Under it, the headline read, “New Champion Rising?”

“I found this when I was out getting breakfast. Would you, perhaps, like to amend that answer?”

“Yeah… so… last night may have gotten away from me.”

She raised an eyebrow “May have?”

“Just a bit.”

I swallowed hard, thinking.

‘I can’t hide any of this. It’s time to tell her everything.’

“Okay. Let me start from the beginning.”

**************************************

Creed stood before Hajim and delivered his report.

“Other than a visit to a bumbling gray market merchant, he has been entirely unremarkable. No trips to sensitive locations. No clandestine meetings. No actions that I found troubling or noteworthy. He appears to be nothing more than a run of the mill fighter with some unusual abilities. However, since the surveillance window has been so brief, I recommend continued observation by a lower level operative.”

“Excellent. And normally I would agree with you. However, a new matter has arisen that requires our full attention. Last night, a new fighter emerged in the arena, using what appeared to be novel magic. I don’t think I need to tell you the implications?”

“No, Sir.”

Hajim handed a few loose papers to Creed. “Here is all the information we have. I need you to pull all operatives off non-critical assignments and find this man. Search every inch of the city. He cannot be allowed to disappear."

“Yes, Sir.” He turned to leave.

“Oh, one more thing. The auction has been scheduled for the end of the month. Be sure to acquire all the high powered monsters that you can. We’ll need them for templates.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Creed left, and Hajim resumed his design work. The gate spell in front of him was the most intricate that he had ever drawn, and there was no margin for error.

‘Almost there.’