I'm not one for stuffy legalese, so I'll summarize the contract that we eventually hashed out this way: I was going to take Kalamitus' recommended path towards the Full Clear Quest, including agreeing to return after the thing with Bo was completed, in return for a bunch of personal requests and training, and some miscellaneous info.

One piece of that "Miscellaneous info" that I threw in towards the end of the negotiations was answered there and then.

"...any information you may have about a god named Muratama." I wasn't expecting that they would have an encyclopedia entry about Louise's god, since we knew it wasn't one of theirs, but I figured even if they knew nothing, their reaction would be telling.

Herman and Kalamitus exchanged strange looks, and--and this part scared me--it was Herman who said, "That information is restricted."

I didn't honestly know what to think about that, and they didn't go into even one more iota of detail.

The agreement for training was split up such that Kalamitus could teach me whatever he thought I needed to get through the Fairy Dungeon now, and more when I got back from that trip and prepared to challenge Bo in Armand Bayou. Herman, in his way, insisted on a penalty for Kalamitus if I died as a result of his negligence on this quest, which wasn't going to be a whole lot of comfort to me what with being dead, but it should presumably have ensured that the god would take it seriously. I also insisted on some information about how to take proper care of Merry, including removing this stupid non-aggression thing she'd picked up from my Caesarian Gentleman, and that was due now rather than later. Other than that, I was content to have less stuff up front and just see for myself what this whole Fairy Dungeon thing was about.

One of my immediate questions, of course, was whether Louise would be, or should be, coming along with me.

"That's a complicated question," answered Kalamitus, in a tone that told me it was a part of the conversation that he actually found stimulating, which he usually did not. "It comes down, effectively, to whether she's a help or a hindrance, and frankly, that question isn't as simple as you will imagine. Level, as you know it, is not part of the Fairy Dungeons, and I'm frankly aware of humans hundreds of levels above you that you could beat in that place, merely as a matter of skill." The dragon's body stretched for a moment and then twisted around idly behind him. "As a Priestess, your friend has some additional power there, but the Fairy Knight that you will face to use the passage--ah, I'll explain that in a bit, don't worry--will simply increase their budget to match if you bring her along. If she isn't enough benefit for that added difficulty..." Kalamitus shrugged. "One or both of you will die, and that place will not protect your body the way our Dungeons do."

So, needless to say, I wouldn't be bringing her. Goodness knows I'd prefer to have her around, for my mental health if nothing else, but I'd just recently known the bitter sting of losing her, and I had no idea what I was about to get into.

Herman, from what I could tell, was done with his job the moment that the deal was officially inked, where by "inked" I mean a proper quest window was offered and accepted. I... like I said, I'm not one for contracts and technical details, so I trusted Herman to tell me that it was exactly what we had agreed to, and left it at that. He stuck around for a little bit longer, I guess to make sure that I was okay with everything. When he decided everything was okay, which was just a few minutes later, really, he took me aside a moment.

"Mr. Applebee, I do very much appreciate you trusting me with this matter." Herman, floating closer to me, laid a hand on my shoulder, and again, the energy he gave off made me itch a bit. "I know you don't understand, but being called to this place is actually very good for me and my people, and as such, I'd like to offer you just a couple bits of wisdom before I go."

Well, I mean, how could I say no? I nodded eagerly, my eyes wide, and Merry also dropped what she was doing and paid rapt attention.

"The Fairy Dungeons are more than simply unregulated Dungeons, and in fact they are nothing like what you know. They are raw, and the fight that you will be having there will disturb you, as it disturbs all living things. You will see fairies in a different light after that, because we live within things that are supposed to be whole. Many see us as parasites because of that, and that word is correct, as far as it goes." Herman's other hand raised to where his cheek would be on his mask, and I was a little surprised to see that when he touched it, the mask flexed as though it were his own skin. "But we are not mindless things, as you well know. You will only survive the Fairy Dungeon if you can see magic the way that we do: as pieces of a whole, larger than ourselves, which can be altered, manipulated... even stolen."

And then, removing one hand from my shoulder and the other from his mask, Herman reached for his forearms, and the pair of fishnet stockings on them that had been one of the few unassuming and inoffensive parts of his attire, and as naturally as though they were simply clothing, slid them off and held them out to me.

When I reached out a hand to take them, they fell into my hands, as though my body was a hollow tube, and Merry, confused and surprised, caught them somewhere within me.

"Fairies are not charming pieces of nature, Mr. Applebee," said the spider fairy that made everyone who met him faint, "and the Fairy Dungeons are not convenient tools to be used on a whim. They siphon energy from the system so that our people can survive, and the combat challenge is designed to draw more of that energy. They are obliged to be fair, or face retribution, but they will be trying to win, and they are not going to be bad at their job. You are probably capable enough to survive a fair fight, but don't show any openings. It will be dangerous."

And then he was gone.

When I checked in on Merry, she had integrated the stockings on her own forearms, looking quite perplexed at the accessories. They're... well, they're magic, she tried to explain. But not like, abilities or stats magic. It's not like any of your stuff. It's just... some piece of something else, and it's really good, kind of. I'm not sure.

So, you like it?

Merry, in my mind's eye, kind of proudly showed off the little things. Although the her inside my head was obviously not the same size as Herman's manifested body, they fit just right, as you'd expect of Dungeon Items... or their fairy counterparts. I guess! How do I look?

I mentally nodded in approval. Though they kind-of clashed with her Caesarian bronze armor, the new accessories were thin enough that they were just generally inoffensive to look at. Honestly, out of everything Herman had, it was probably the only thing that was inoffensive to look at, and I was pleased as punch that he'd felt grateful enough to offer it. ...Whatever it was, I mean. Hopefully it wasn't a trap?

So we wandered back to where I would have been talking with Kalamitus, but he was facing another direction, apparently conversing with someone else, somewhere else. I took a moment to bring out my messaging item and send something along to Louise with a very brief summary. When it took Kalamitus more than a minute, I extended that summary a bit before sending it.

But then he was done with whatever, and he obligingly got down to business.

"I don't know what Herman said to you," said the Dragon god, perhaps a bit testily, "but since this is part of your quest now, I can tell you quite a bit about the Fairy Dungeons." He cleared his throat, settled down into a comfortable pose somewhere out beyond where I could see, and began expositioning. "The Fairy Dungeons are a network of parasitic tubes that connect the Dungeons, and they are guarded by what's known in your language as Fairy Knights. These creatures are fair, but cruel--they will challenge you to a duel, and your loss means death. You, I think, have what it takes to beat them, but only if you understand how."

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Which was a topic that had been danced around, but I took a seat on a little rock bench and waited patiently.

"Everything that the--the Labyrinthine Star provides you, is magic," said Kalamitus, a little hesitating, as though he were trying to dumb down a conversation he'd had before. "and magic in that place is broken--deliberately. The Fairy Knight that you face will take the broken magic within the Dungeon and create new, whole magic out of it. Your task... well, at your level, most likely they will simply set the rule such that if you arrive before the Knight, you will be declared victor. If it's not that, you'll be asked to land a single blow against them; the rules vary depending on how talented they think you are."

Kalamitus, who had previously been kind of looking up into the middle distance at nothing, focused his eyes on me for a moment. "The key thing to understand is that your magic--your body, your items, your skills, your class, everything--will also be partially broken when you enter the Dungeon--only partially. To succeed, you must know your magic well enough to fix it when it is broken. Anything that you do not understand, you will not be able to use."

I frowned, thinking. "Broken in what way? I know how to use telekinesis, but I have no idea how it works."

The dragon gave the impression of a shrug, which was difficult to do without shoulders. It was more of a flexing of his neck, but it got the point across. "I was never allowed into one, but my understanding is that the pieces that are broken are intuitive, somehow. You will feel something missing, and you should be familiar enough with it to know what belongs there."

I frowned. "What happens if I put something into it that doesn't belong?"

A big toothy grin--and I mean, physically bigger than me--answered. "Let me rephrase--if you attempt to use a skill in the Dungeon, it will be broken until such time as you repair it. Fail to repair it, and it will be broken forever."

I frowned as I considered that. "Then, what about my physical and mental stats, and Dungeoneer body...?"

"That's an interesting question," answered Kalamitus, again with a spark of energy as he sort-of sat up. "Functionally, within the Fairy Dungeon, your stats move towards their most natural state--the state that you have earned. Arguably, that's what happens with all magic that you express there. Those people who have inflated their Body stats tend to find that they are weakened substantially there, while those who do not remodel their Dungeoneer Body tend to find that their points go up rather than down, as they should be stronger than they are. The previous batch of Sovereigns attempted to model this with a system that increased Dungeoneer statistics in response to training, but people too rapidly learned to cheat the system, and so their interactions with the Fairy Dungeon were not much different."

I... well, I can't say I didn't really care, because that was actually an interesting topic, but I could tell we were going to get off-topic pretty quickly if I let us. "By the same token, I could make any other magic stronger?"

"Yes," answered Kalamitus, immediately. "Items in particular are easily molded into an idealized version of themselves in the Fairy Dungeon, but just as easily turned into trash. I suspect, for example, that it would be quite easy to take a broken sword and make it sharper but too fragile to use, or cause your own magic to hurt you. But if, for example, you took a skill you understood in theory--say, for example, pyrokinesis--and you found the skill lacking, by challenging a Fairy Dungeon you could change it to a version that you prefer. Just be aware that the Labyrinthine Star does have rules; if your magic works in the Fairy Dungeon but violates the code of the Sovereigns or the Lord Beneath, if may be stripped from you."

"What kind--"

"The rules are many and complex," he interrupted with an eye roll. "But an adequate summary is that everything has a commensurate cost. If you understand something well enough, you can create a more efficient skill, but the most useful ways to break and reforge skills are making them more intuitive, so that you can control the full extent of the power you already have." Kalamitus grinned at me, again. "And, let it be known, that's effectively necessary to reach the absolute peak of a skill's power. The ranks beyond S-rank, where you are, require you to reforge those controls at least a little, to give you access to controls that were beyond you, and the ranks beyond that require that your reforged skill truly be superior to the original. Fairy Dungeons are not the only way to do that... but they help."

I considered my efforts at touching the depths of Telekinesis, and my fight with the Yogi. "So... S-ranks are where you first are able to touch on the skill's hidden controls, but haven't yet re-shaped them?"

"A decent summary," Kalamitus returned, his energy waning a bit. "Though really, that's more like the peak of S-rank. The definition of entering S-rank is something like 'intuitively understanding the potential behind your skill'. Once you understand what it's capable of, only then can you start to control it."

I... I actually stood there, considering what he said for a minute before I really understood what he said. "Controlling the skill is the peak of S-rank?"

"Close to it. I think when you can do that reliably you should end up at rank SA, or similar."

Merry looked at me, and I leaned my head back and looked at the ceiling. Kalamitus, seemingly confused, raised his head to look at me.

"...I was controlling Telekinesis like that when I--" I couldn't actually explain the circumstances, because it touched on the fight I'd had in Pearland that originally led to me defeating the Devil, and then eventually humiliating him again and again my next time through the Dungeon. "--I fought in my first dungeon. I was barely level 20, and you're saying my skill rank should have been that high this whole time?"

"Really?" Kalamitus, from what I could see (because I wasn't really looking at him), honestly seemed confused. "Well, the way the ranking system works, it adjusts it over time--it's a running average, you see. So unless you continued using the skill at that level--"

"I couldn't. It physically hurt," I snapped back at him. "It still does--"

Kalamitus, in an act that briefly terrified me, raised one giant hand above me, and I thought for a moment he was about to lower it and crush me, though that made no sense. Instead, I saw a dim light like circles around his claws, and felt something odd brush over me. Kalamitus, an odd look on his face, seemed to think for a moment, and then brush it off.

"...Reforging that skill is necessary, for you. It's better to say that you broke it once already." He removed his hand and settled down again. "Which leads us naturally into a conversation about what some people on your world call Cultivation--the Fool's art of reshaping your magic until it becomes a part of you. There are ways that it can be done right, or wrong."

I raised a hand to interrupt. "Fool's art?"

He paused only a moment. "The Sovereign Fool reigns over all magic that denies the Lord and the Star. Cultivation, fairy magic, and some other arts fall under his jurisdiction." He only gave me a moment to let that sink in. "Now, the process of Cultivation necessarily varies, but since you have a fairy, there is a fairly simple technique to get you started. I'm sure she's shown you your own Core; without that image, you'd have to go by feel." He paused and looked to me. "Can you see it?"

Merry showed it to me once more--a big engine with teeth and threads of power that seemed to represent my skills, or whatever. She seemed as eager as I was to understand what it actually meant. "Yes."

"In front of where you sit, there are two holes. When you put your hands in them, you will have started on your journey."

Merry shifted her mental picture of the engine, the core. There were, indeed, two holes there, but they didn't look... healthy. They didn't look right. I didn't immediately leap to follow the direction. "It looks..."

"This is not the easiest way to learn, but it is the fastest. Just trust me and do it."

Instead of plunging my hands into it, I reached forward, moving my mental hands just shy of the holes. As I'd done when I was playing with Telekinesis, before Merry came along, I tried to find just that knife-edge point where I wasn't fully committed, but was just barely on the edge of it. As I got closer and closer to that point, I felt... something.

I just barely passed by it, and I felt like a layer of my skin was flayed off with knives of fire. I pulled my hands back, feeling like some part of myself was missing--but just a touch, just a thin piece. And since that was exactly what Kalamitus had said the Fairy Dungeons were like, I immediately tried to replace it, replicating the feeling that I thought should have been there--just the skin of my hands, nothing more substantive than that.

Only a moment later, my hands felt whole again. Or... more than whole. More me than they had been before. "Those holes break me? Whatever I put into them?"

Kalamitus raised up and looked down on me again, imperiously, and then gave me a wide, toothy grin. "You figured it out without crippling yourself. Usually, people have to rebuild something of value before they understand. As I thought, you've done this before." The dragon god reared back. "Practice rebuilding yourself, but only rebuild yourself into what you are, not what you want to be. Once you have gotten the knack of it, you can use Experience energy, Class energy, Skill energy, ...whatever you have access to, to make changes. Consult with me before you get to that part of it, but for now, I do have other things to do."