Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1794.01.23]

The city has changed.

The streets weren’t as lively anymore. The harsh winds were bringing more snow than any sane person could deal with, so locals didn’t seem to care about the snow piling up.

The bad weather was intensifying as the days were passing by. Soon they would enter the mid-winter period, the most painful one.

The first floors of the city’s buildings were almost entirely buried under the snow, yet the traffic continued unabated on its hard-packed surface. Shop entrances and decorative facades were moved up, to a floor above, working either as information signs and advertisement boards or set like small stalls where the clients could order and collect the shop’s goods.

The only exception was the terraces. They were in constant use, well-lit, and kept unclogged. It was endearing, in a way. Using them, one could step below the surface of the snowy ground and the harsh winds, entering a whole new world.

Tunnels were dug out to connect entrances of the buried buildings; the snow refrozen into slick ice covering the walls and ceilings. But what was truly eye-catching about them stemmed from another local practice – every accessible surface in the tunnels was filled with colored ice and engraved or sculpted artwork. Lurona’s people, teens especially, liked to leave their mark in their neighborhood. Each passage was different, colorful, and illuminated in a way to make the greatest possible impression on the passer-by.

Water dyes could be brought in almost every kind of shop because nobody wanted to miss the best occasion to earn good money brought by the local trends.

Most of the foot traffic moved to the underground. It seemed that enclosed spaces were less of a deterrent for people than the weather outside. Probably to remedy the Veil issue, most of the main tunnels had one-way traffic. That way people could walk in line and have more control over the distance to other people or groups. Despite that, traversing the emerging underground city felt weird for Zeph – a little claustrophobic for the most part.

He visited the hot baths this morning, but his short trip took him more time than anticipated. Moving in such a matter through the tunnels wasn’t exactly efficient – a whole line had to walk at the speed of the slowest person present. It was a little better in the main artery, as it was big enough to – more or less – comfortably accommodate two people side by side, allowing for the advanced road maneuvers – overtaking and lining up depending on the speed of movement.

At least the trip wasn’t boring. He was actually glad he had to slow down. The art was fascinating for him, mostly because of how alien the style, shapes, and showcased stories were. He could spot places with remnants of old works, hidden behind fresh layers of the semi-transparent material, so he was quite sure people worked at them daily. Also, the net of tunnels was still growing, so a lot of remodeling ought to happen. He was sure that, come evening, people would start reshaping and repainting the surfaces once again. As so, the chances of him becoming bored by taking the same route in the future were slim.

But now, he was lazing around in a cozy meeting room on the third floor of their Guild’s headquarters. Danette Gildafi would be visiting soon; she insisted on meeting him as soon as he would be awake. Kwan couldn’t ignore her request – the woman was a leading figure of the General Apprising and Accounting Guild, an organization that was constituting the core filar of the city.

And especially since she sensed a lucrative contract coming their way.

Before that, though, Danette wanted to talk with him in private. The topic was obvious, but he wondered what exactly she wanted to extract from him. The woman was a little too pushy for his liking, making him cautious.

Truth be told, he would rather leave this meeting for another day. He had a much more pressing issue to solve.

Landlord Hale Jaekandu – his last opponent in the Tournament – was still being healed in the Shrine. But, most probably, he was going to perish soon after leaving the impromptu hospital. Zeph wanted to contact Gibbons before that happened. Not because he had any pity for the man, but because he was in possession of very important information.

Important for Zeph, that is – he wanted to uncover the mystery of his ‘scarred’ Soul and a week of unconsciousness. More importantly, Zeph needed to find out if he was infected with a Netherling. Additionally, the Gibbons themselves should have some idea of what that artifact was. Assuming it was an artifact in the first place.

While lazily chewing on some salty nuts, he once again tried to contact Gru.

His companion stayed unresponsive. His methods of ‘poking’ at him were becoming quite forceful, yet Gru stayed completely silent. Zeph wanted his advice and support in regards to his ‘damaged’ Soul. Also, they both had his Will contamination, so having a little help when trying to see if he was infected with a Netherling would go a long way.

He already tried to examine the offending area in his Soul when he was soaking in the hot waters this morning. Taking into account that he couldn’t even find a ‘phase’ that would encompass the entire thing at once, he was for a long grind if he was to work alone. Not only he wasn’t proficient enough to shift his Soul into every possible ‘pattern’ or ‘phase’, but inspecting an incomplete picture was beyond his abilities. For him, finding a proper representation to examine was more important than the actual examination. The System was right – it looked like a total mess.

His attempts at calling Gru were interrupted by the opening doors.

The old lady Danette was invited inside by her escort; the man stayed outside and closed the doors as she entered.

She was wearing official-looking, slightly loose, gray robes. She sported the same high bun as during their Duel. Different than the last time, she was wearing small, elegant jewelry and put up a subtle make-up.

As the security enchantments started activating, she moved closer with measured, graceful steps. Her stern face only added to the dignified aura she was trying to impose on him.

Zeph was also wearing an official garb but of a simpler and more practical cut. His black and red clothes were as close to the Guild’s military outfits as one could expect from a suit. This was a private meeting, but he still was representing Kwan’s Department in a limited capacity, so he decided to use a uniform signifying just that.

“Greetings, my ruthless competitor,” the woman said with a small smile caressing her lips as she reached the ornamental table. “To put my aged body through this much pain and strain… I expected more restraint from the well-educated and ingenious Fullangrarian.” She took her seat opposite of him while saying that, not breaking the eye contact.

Instead of standing up to greet her, as that wasn’t the local custom, Zeph reached for one of the bottles standing on the table. She had indicated with her hand that she would prefer the light, wine-like brew. “Well met, Guildmaster Gildafi. And I was surprised by your ferocity,” he returned the compliment while pouring the pink liquid into two glasses.

He didn’t comment on her attempt at flaunting her knowledge about him – the topic of his inventions and origin were not to be touched during the private dispute with the Master Appraiser.

“For a non-combatant, you clearly know how to fight quite well,” he added while handing her the glass.

“Privileges of the old folks. We had experienced a lot during our long lives,” she answered nonchalantly, receiving her drink.

“I must thank you,” Zeph started then sipped from his own glass, the soft aftertaste of sweet fruits filling his mouth. Gildafi waited for him to finish tasting before taking a sip herself. “For not abusing the rules,” he continued, “but it made me wonder. Why did you agree to represent your group? I am sure the merchants had other prospective representatives with appraising capabilities.”

She nodded, her face neutral. “There were many internal reasons. I can’t talk about all of them, but I supported the idea for two main reasons.” She looked deep into his eyes before continuing. “You see, I am one of the better-informed people in this city. Your Guild not only introduced us to new materials, industrial practices, and possible technology ventures, but even started introducing new medicines for previously uncurable diseases – no matter how specialized those seem to be.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Zeph’s eyes narrowed. The infamy of her Guild wasn’t a rumor after all. I was expecting her to know about the plastic, chemical processing, flashlight, and plane prototype. But for her to know about P’pfel’s rendition of DMSA? Wasn’t that kept under wraps? It wasn’t even evaluated fully by the System.

He was impressed. Especially because the effectiveness of the cure wasn’t yet confirmed and the details about the poisoning weren’t publicly announced.

“Not to mention, the influence of Sepia Familia has seeped into a few very trustworthy organizations. The extremist group of the Leilucia Temple being the major- but not the only one.” She nodded with respect. “It was only natural that I would want to impose a good first impression. That was the first reason. The second was – to put myself in a favorous position. The information I’ve gathered about you and the Sepia Familia is mine and only mine to disclose.”

Her cold, calculating gaze lighted up with her next words. “That said, I wasn’t supporting the idea of dominating your Guild in the first place. You are a net positive for the city. I wasn’t much of a support for you till now, as my reasoning and motivations had to stay hidden while I have been playing with the wider political scene, but that has changed. My role ended, my obligations were fulfilled, and a new power was seeded within our domain. Don’t you find that to be the best possible outcome?” She smiled at him, almost genuinely.

Zeph was listening to her patiently. All she said was logical and supported by her actions to a vast degree. But he also knew that she was a businessman at heart. She noticed an opportunity and was fighting for the right to get the first piece of the cake, he was sure. The question was, what part she wanted to steal first. Also, no matter how ‘neutral’ she tried to appear, it was still her decision to stay on the Landlord’s side. This ‘little’ conflict wasn’t enough to fully engage an organization like hers – the Towers were the best example of that fact.

Also, it even might be true that she had a lot of goodwill towards the actions taken by their Guild, but she was economically and politically bound by the powers ruling this city. No sane person would believe that she wouldn’t work for the best interest of her own Guild first and foremost.

“I understand,” he said, closing his eyes for a moment and taking another sip from his glass. “And what did you manage to learn about me, the members of my Guild, or our organization itself?” What is your leverage and what do you want to do with it? he asked in his mind. He had no illusion that what she had said was merely a thickly covered blackmail.

She put her glass down on the table. “Let me discuss the Guild matters in the presence of the rest of your Council. I was serious when I suggested cooperation. What you should know,” she started, relaxing in her chair, “is what I happened to glance at during our fight and the aftermath.”

Zeph focused. They were finally breaching the topic of the reason behind her arrival.

“I could and would, if requested, repeat that under the truth-telling device or specialist’s scrutiny. You masked yourself almost perfectly, Zeph Einar.” Her voice took a more level and harsh tone. “During our confrontation in the stadium, I could only deduce that you weren’t weakened by Arrio Arslancle’s attack and that you had mastered the attunement of Force Magicules. My scans never reached your body, though,” she admitted with a sour face. “But I also know that you can use Advanced Mana Manipulation, possess a pseudo-intelligent Bonded creature specialized in Soul Arts, and have an expanded selection in the Exchange. That, along with other rumors and clues, makes me believe that you are specializing in Willpower techniques. System Onji would reward you handsomely for new implementations of Willpower. It would also explain why you have chosen a Generalist as your first Class and how you managed to pay for so many advanced implants. Although that’s mostly guesswork on my side…”

It took all of his concentration to keep his face straight and not gape at the woman. She was way too close to the truth, even without properly scanning him.

“…That’s all I know. The details aren’t that important, I think. But that brings me to a very important question. You managed to attain a Tier 2 Spell from the Force discipline, didn’t you?”

He felt indignant at her question. That was way beyond touching upon private matters. “Even if I did, do you really think I would just tell you?” he asked incredulously, his false façade dropping immediately.

And maybe that was exactly what she was going for.

“Because I want to trade. Your knowledge for mine,” she said with a small smile.

Easy for you to say. Everyone knows you have reached Tier 2 in Telekinesis! I can’t just do it the same way! he thought exasperatedly. “That won’t happen.”

Her brows raised in surprise. “You aren’t interested in the information about other Tier 2 Spells from your domain?”

“That’s not it. The exchange is impossible,” he huffed. Try again after attaining a Greater Will, hag, he added in his mind.

His coolant, as well as Force Medium in its entirety, wasn’t something achievable for others. His manually modified Force Spell wasn’t evaluated by the System as a ‘Death Hazard’ and ‘Mostly Impossible to replicate’ for nothing. He would be painting a target on his back if that information leaked.

“Is that why you demanded to see me? To rudely ask about my Spells?” he asked, noticing that she fell into a contemplative silence.

“Yes,” she cheekily admitted. “And tell you about mine. Well then, if you need a gesture of good faith, I will grant you one.”

Zeph was – understandably – skeptical.

“If Tier 2s and above aren’t possible, let’s talk about Tier 1s,” she started. “I am sure you are aware that the size of the spiral forming a core of the basic Force Spell is responsible for the attunement of produced Magicules from the Force domain.” It wasn’t a question, but he nodded nonetheless. “I know of 21 stable and usable variants containing between 10 and 50 coils. As you can see, I have big gaps in my knowledge,” she shared. “I may have deep pockets and wondrous connections, but the Towers I had visited won’t give me more without forcing me to commit. We can trade with knowledge about those,” she said, smiling pleasantly.

Yeah, something doesn’t add up. Those ‘variants’ are almost identical. Unless… “Useful, you say? What efficiency are we talking about?” He asked, more open to the idea of trading with knowledge pertaining to the mundane Manacasting.

“Why? Not lower than 90%, of course,” she said nonchalantly. “Although, I am unsure as to how big the spectrum is. That can complicate the negotiations slightly…”

A mischievous glint in her eyes didn’t escape his notice.

That old fox… he grunted internally, quickly realizing what was happening. The 90% is probably a standard of some kind. Seeing as I didn’t know and didn’t care, she is assuming that I am either using Spell constructs below that efficiency threshold or that my Willpower tricks are solving that innate problem… Both useless for her. Because of that, she has changed her angle and is trying to manhandle me into talking about what I managed to discover outside of the Towers’ purview.

And he, indeed, was circumventing the issue by using his Will, for the most part. If he needed to, he could simply force the Mana-flow to behave as it should near the ‘active center’ in other configurations of the Spell without changing the shape of the construct. He had learned enough about the Scrubbing cantrip to apply such changes. That said, he put some work into structuring his Spells as well. He was using Force Magicules too often to ignore that venture.

With each word, I am slowly confirming her suspicions about my person, don’t I? Ugh… That’s why I hate negotiating with experienced merchants! He sighed with resignation, understanding his current position. If I don’t answer in kind, she will just break the negotiations and try to gain what she needs with other methods… The pressure put on our Guild would be the last of my problems, if Lucas Esmonde was any indicator…

“Your win,” he admitted grumpily. “I have a few optimized to that degree, but I suspect they will be close to the ones you have. Optimizing the efficiency of other variants is possible… with enough time and money.” I am NOT going to tell you anything about HOW I am optimizing them, old hag! “But if you want to go in the direction of the limits,” he sent her a glare for putting him in this position. “The physical upper limit is 75 coils. The Spell’s efficiency drops to near zero, but that probably can be improved to some degree.”

The hateful lady looked satisfied.

“Splendid! We should start the trade with those near the limit but If you have means to optimize the ones necessary then I should be able to recreate the conditions of the accident!” she stated enthusiastically.

Shit! I forgot about that! he panicked slightly.

“Ah, right! What was I thinking?” she exclaimed, as if just noticing an issue. As if Zeph was going to believe that. “I also want your cooperation in researching what exactly happened back then. For helping me to reconstruct that mixed Spell, I will make sure that 25% of any gains—after the successful publishing of the data, of course—will be redirected to you and your Guild,” she stated unabashedly. “It’s a shame you aren’t able to recreate the conditions of the accident by yourself. We could go fifty-fifty or higher if you could, but it seems you will have to depend on me…” She didn’t sound one bit unhappy with that outcome, though.

Zeph almost facepalmed.

That freaking woman! If my Will took ANY role in forming that accursed ‘force storm’ she will notice that when the experiments fail! And Aisha believes my Will was FUNDAMENTAL in what has happened!

But before he could sink into a full panic mode, another realization hit him. Gah! And she just confirmed it! If I can’t do it myself, it means I can’t do it without whatever Tier 2 Spells she was using back then. It means her Force Magicules weren’t normal as well.

His prolonged silence caused Danette to lose some of her enthusiasm. A worried expression crossed her face as he continued to vigorously massage his temples while scowling hard.

If this continues, she will either make money off me, or we fail and she will assume that I have a Tier 2 Spell after all. One that I am keeping under wraps… On the other hand, she indirectly confirmed my theory – Tier 2 Spells require another form of energy besides Mana to be classified as such, he tried to think positively to stop the panic rising from within his chest. Which means, I would make big strides forward if we worked together… What should I do? Commit to the case? Stall her as much as I can? There were more variables than just our Mana – the enchanted equipment and random Magicule composition of the arena won’t be easy to imitate…

Previously, Zeph was planning to get in contact with her to propose a purely personal deal. One that could give them a huge boost in both understanding and power while steering away or cutting short the unavoidable gaze of the higher echelons. But it was clear that Danette wasn’t that kind of a person. She would extract everything she could from him for her personal AND political gain, using him as a stepping stone and nothing more. She was a merchant at heart and a greedy politician by trade, and she loved both.

That, or Zeph was interpreting their talk abhorrently wrong. He was becoming quite paranoid, too.

As the saying goes: keep your friends close and enemies even closer… He finally decided. Stalling it is, I can’t deal with this on my own!

“Make that 35%. I don’t need your gold,” he said looking up with tired eyes. “Rare ingredients, production facilities, and social shielding. That’s what we need the most.” Gildafi perked up hearing this. “Let’s call Kwan, shall we? I can’t represent the whole Guild in those matters…”