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Maybe because he was in what he had called home for many years, Vincent slept late, waking at eight in the morning. The first thing he did was to check on the guest, then jerked and reached for his gun, noticing the king’s bed was empty. A second later, Vincent arrested his move. Leaning on the window sill, Ludwing was looking outside.

"Beautiful view," the king said.

"It is, isn't it?" Vincent sighed. "This is the best room in the apartment… My folks let me have it because I liked the view… Bella wasn't born yet… Then they gave her their room and slept in the living room…"

"I apologize for being rude last night," Ludwing said. "One can lose touch with reality, hanging out in castles for hundreds of years. Despite their poverty, your parents raised you well."

The emphasis on some words showed the man was trying to familiarize himself with the local idiom. Vincent's phone, on the nightstand, had a vocabulary application opened. "It's OK. But you better not say things like that around them. This apartment would sell for over a million do… err… six thousand gold coins today."

"Life must have been hard to you," Ludwing said slowly, with an expression conveying: 'Six thousand? You truly must be paupers.'

"By the way, these items are private," Vincent said in a neutral tone, pointing at his phone. "I'll buy you one later."

"Thank you. Your magic tablet received floating text similar to the System's messages. It said a Holly Gupter would come for us at ten."

"Helicopter. It's a flying machine. " Vincent said, checking the SMS. "It'll land just across the river, in the park."

"I can fly on my own," Ludwing said. "I like flying."

"Our flying machines are very fast, you’ll get lost… Open the window since you're there." The air was a bit stale from the summer heat, and two persons shared a small room for the night.

"So many horseless carriages…” the king said, pulling a chair near the window.” I guess true wealth is better measured in the normal people's quality of life."

"Regrets?" Vincent asked. The king's sadness was obvious in his sagged shoulders.

"A little… Often, I sacrificed my country's wealth for security. The border with the Mongols is too long. The raids bleed us dry… but with the core…"

"Wanna eat something before we leave? I say we go at nine. We have to buy you a phone…"

"Let's allow your parents some more time to rest," the king said. "Since we're here, and you graciously hosted me, may I repay your kindness with a few advice about magic?"

"Sure," Vincent said, sitting on the bed, legs crossed underneath. ‘I won't refuse counsel from someone with over three hundred years of experience behind his belt; be him a villain.”

Ludwing turned the chair to face the younger man, clearing his voice and straightening his back. Involuntary or not, the change in his body's stance revealed he considered the subject most important. "There are three matters to consider. The first is not to neglect common skills. You don't have Healing and Accelerate Regen, for instance. These are life savers if you are isolated from your group. That's the first thing," Ludwing counted on his fingers. "Second, have you considered what kind of habitus you want to achieve?”

“Hobbit?”

“Habitus. The overall schematic of your stats and skills and how they interact. Do you want to permanently raise your stats through tokens or rely on skills and buffs? Are you inclined more toward physical damage, magical, or both?”

“I see… We call that a build… and since you asked… my plan is to invest in my Body stats to reach at least eighty by itself. I don’t have many skills, but those I have are good, so I’d rather save my tokens for my stats, if possible.”

“Then you have to consider unlocking skills the hard way. Think about this: if you could unlock Healing by spending a few months working in a hospital, would that time be worth the token you save?”

“Err… I think so?” Vincent hesitated. One token was not much in the great scheme of things.

“Of course it is!” Ludwing erupted. “Your mind and spirit stats will grow too. My grandfather made me sew wounds for a year and learn how to amputate limbs. Back then, those were very in-demand skills… There are easier ways, though. Hanging in a hospital and helping the most tired doctors will unlock Healing faster. A small trick that makes the difference. You won't be able to reach a true Healer’s class proficiency, but even a fraction of that can save lives."

“OK, I’ll consider it,” Vincent interjected.

“I'll write you a guide for skills that could be unlocked by other means than spending tokens."

"Thanks."

"I'm not finished. Third… you must not, I repeat, not buy any weapon or any kind of combat proficiency."

“Sorry?”

“There are more types of combat proficiencies. The basic stuff won’t even register with the System. However, there are also skills that the System doesn’t recognize. I challenged you to a boxing match because I inspected you, and you didn’t display any melee or hand-to-hand ability… and yet your fighting style was very good.”

“It’s called Krav Maga, I learned it in—”

“I don’t care. The important thing is that the System doesn’t recognize it. Suppose you buy a proficiency that resembles it, more or less. In that case, it will clutter your mind and try to replace your reflexes with automatic skills, ruining everything you’ve learned. If you continue on your own path, your fighting style will adapt to use Mana and Stamina by itself, like the warriors or wizards of old. It takes time; it’s hard and ugly and lacks the bling of blue tooltips, but in the end, it pays off.”

"What is… was your class?" Vincent inquired.

"None. I'm a Declassed. I refused to pick a class and continued to gain skills by unlocking them the hard way. It's not a choice for the weak at heart, but…"

"You are special," Vincent nodded. That means he didn't lose his class by coming here. He was always like this…

"Yes. I had my grandfather and the Raven to help me where a commoner would have failed. That’s how I unlocked my strongest skill.”

“Which is?”

“Really?” the king snorted. “My own pocket universe, ruled by Shadow and Darkness. Pocket universes are the most powerful skills; very few can get them. You’re trapping your opponent in an environment you control… If you didn’t have the Raven Blessing, now you’d be a thrall.”

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“Hm…”

“Now, let’s return to stats and how to raise them.”

“Now you’re talking,” Vincent rubbed his hands.

"You were right to think about investing tokens for the high levels. That’s unavoidable. No matter how hard you train, you will hit a plateau eventually because stats have countless hidden substats. At some point, you might have good strength but poor dexterity. Those, like many other things, must work together.

“The secret is to take a break when you reach a plateau. A month or two. In time, you’ll understand how to get farther. For the second plateau, use a few tokens and take your time again. At the third, only tokens will make you advance."

"Can you raise your stats after you reach cap level?" Vincent asked. “If you’re out of tokens and decide to train.”

“The question is if you’d want to. Let’s assume you are at cap level and neglected a stat; it’s very weak, and now you want to raise it. The answer is yes, you can raise it by exercising, like before. Imagine you already have a high stat that plateaued for the second time. Would you obsess about it and invest years to raise it, or use palliatives?

“Buffs and enchantments would achieve the same effect, and stats can work together, reinforcing each other. Through Spirit, you can enhance your physical hits with magic. Isn't it the same as a high Body? The Body offers resistance, sparing your Mana. Mind bridges the gap, helping you use both Body and Spirit efficiently. In reality, stats are different aspects of the same thing."

"I think I get it," Vincent said.

“I hope so.”

Vincent's mother knocked at the door before calling: "Come out, boys. Breakfast is ready."

"Give us ten minutes," Vincent yelled. "I'll go first because I'm fast. Do you know how to flush the toilet?"

"I have learned Earth's etiquette before expanding my vocabulary," Ludwing gestured toward the phone. "It's amazing how much knowledge such a small device holds."

"Actually, the knowledge is stored in an external database, and— forget it. I'll shower first."

As promised, Vincent finished in three minutes, which was leisurely compared to the speed he was used in the army. He waited for Ludwing to finish washing and dressing and checked the bathroom to make sure everything was in order. All looked right except for the many soap bubbles left behind in the sink. Ludwing had even folded the borrowed pajamas neatly on the bed.

The ecstatic grimaces Ludwing made while eating raised his status in the host's eyes. Vincent's mother refilled the king's plate twice.

"Will you come back tonight?" Vincent's father asked.

"Maybe… dunno yet… I have to visit that girl's parents…" Vincent sighed. In a slip of the tongue, he had confessed he liked Irene, and his parents were salivating all over the prospect of him getting over his ex for a better and certainly richer match. "I'll let you know."

"Regardless of his choice, I'm afraid I will have to find another place to stay," Ludwing said, lowering his eyes. "Returning would only betray your extraordinary hospitality. Such fantastic food and an attractive young lady make my urges go wild. I must distance myself from temptations." He took Vincent's mother's hand and kissed it. The woman slackjawed, followed by her husband a second later.

"We have to go, or we miss the helicopter," Vincent hissed, pulling the king after him. "What do you think you're doing, you douchebag?" he yelled once outside the building. "You're hitting on my mother? She's three hundred years younger than you! Go pick on someone of your age, a mummy or something."

"Tchao, Jana! Tchuss!" Ludwing waved toward the apartment’s window, then sent a kiss in the air. "I'm doing your parents a favor, that's all," he whispered with his lips nearly closed. "Nothing revives a relationship better than knowing royalty is attracted to your spouse. Basic nobility social skills: compliment someone's wife, pretend you are refraining from pursuing her because of honor, the husband grows fond of her again, and you don't have to give him a better pay or job. Everybody wins."

"I so much wish I had killed you," Vincent growled. "From now on, keep your mouth shut until I give you permission to speak!"

Ludwing shrugged but stayed silent. There was still half an hour to go until the rendezvous, and Vincent made good on his promise, buying the king a phone and a rechargeable SIM card. When they reached the helipad, the helicopter had already arrived, and it was bigger than expected—a luxury ride.

The trip also went faster than anticipated because of the greater speed and shorter distance. The chopper landed in a private park north of Vienna before an imposing castle. Ludwing's eyes were saying: 'Now that's a normal standard of living.'

Irene's parents and a boy in his early teens were waiting on the lawn, evidently impatient, albeit for different reasons. The adults barely stood on their feet while the kid played on his phone and ignored the world around him with a bored expression. Irene's mother was in her mid-forties, a few years younger than Vincent's mother. However, like rich people, she had kept her good looks and thin silhouette through regular exercise and probably top-notch plastic surgeries, all but invisible. Her husband was much older, and Vincent would have guessed by at last fifteen years, but in good physical shape too. Karl was his name. They both spoke German and Czech because Elina was from Prague, and Ludwing and Vincent spoke both, but in the end, they settled for Czech.

They were invited inside, where Irene's little brother was finally excused, and coffee and sweets were served. The best strudel and Sacher cake Vincent had ever had. Considering the location and the wealth, the cake was the real deal, and he took another serving. While at that, he told them the story a bit faster and easier than with his parents because he now had the experience. In the end, Irene's father phoned somebody and said, during the brief conversation: "Chiralic dark matter."

"We hired a team of scientists to work on opening a portal to get Irene back… and everybody else, of course," Elina, Irene's mother, said. "This information will offer us a better chance."

"I have the skill to make the transit," Vincent said. "The only problem is it needs Karmic Charges. And… sorry to be frank, but I'm not convinced Irene would want to return… she's engrossed in her mission to help the Realm."

"Ahum! Ahum!" Ludwing raised two fingers in the air.

"What?" Vincent sneered.

"Ahum?" the king gestured to his mouth.

"Oh, shoot, I forgot. I told him to keep his mouth shut. Go on."

"You're forgetting a small detail," Ludwing said. "Prejudice… Speciesism… Species changes are irreversible."

"S-species?" Elina asked, wobbling on the couch, ready to faint.

"Fuck," Vincent facepalmed. "True, it skipped my mind… Here, take a look," he showed them a group photo with Irene in the center, taken by Jorge with the drone while they were in Ludwing's castle, and shared.

"I always liked to call her my little kitty," Irene's father said. He had tears in his eyes, caressing the image with his index.

"But I can get you there too," Vincent proposed.

"You'll be awakened to magic and live longer," Ludwing said. "I'm three hundred and fifty-nine, and… well, not quite in my prime anymore, but still strong."

"I guess this will be a problem for later," Vincent said. "What about the relatives of the other people? Do you think keeping the secret was the best choice?"

"It was the only choice, for everyone's sake and multiple reasons," Irene's father said. "We believed the story from the beginning. We always trusted Irene, and she sent videos with proof of magic. Other people would think we kidnapped them and call the police... And those who'd believe... I don't wish what we felt upon them... These weeks were the hardest of our lives. Every moment, we asked ourselves if she was still alive."

"Vincent saved her life twice," Ludwing interjected. "Once from a slave trader who would have sold her to the underworld's brothels and from me, when I was possessed by our family patr— an evil entity. They're so much in love that I cry whenever I think about it."

As the king winked at him, meaning: 'See how much I'm helping you?' Vincent choked.

"We guessed," Elina sighed. "She spoke highly of you, about how you saved the group and led them to safety… Her eyes were glinting…"

Vincent decided to play it fair. "I… care very much about her, but I won't lie to you; this is a complicated topic… My past is—"

"We know about your past since you were hired for the tour," Irene's father said. "We chose you of all the guides because of your experiences. I wanted a second bodyguard with them, a person to be trusted if problems appeared—"

"My God!" Vincent shouted, jumping on his feet, suddenly energized and panicked. "The firm… my boss… I forgot to call him!"

"It has been taken care of," Irene's father said. "We paid the rent wherever it was necessary. Also, we bought your firm and reassigned the personnel to our businesses. You didn’t have an apartment of your own, or we would have paid your rent or rates."

"I was moving too much around. Hotels worked better for me. So, that now?" Vincent asked. "I mean, I know what I have to do, but what about you and the other families? You can't lie to them forever."

Elina crossed her legs, leaning back on the couch. "You're right. We'll start contacting our proteges' families, preparing them for the truth, and see if they want to visit their loved ones. Any timeframe before you can travel and take people with you?"

"I got three charges since yesterday," Vincent said. "From speaking to you and my parents."

"It's too slow," Elina waved her hand. "I have a few things in mind that will accelerate the process tremendously."

"Err… like what?" Vincent frowned.

"I don't want to spoil the surprise…" the woman smiled sheepishly. "Give me a few days. You will be our guests, of course."