I don’t care who you are, whatever your background is, or how seriously you take yourself. There is no one. And I mean absolutely no one, that can resist posing in front of a mirror when one of their eyes literally glows. Because I have a glowing eye now. Or at least an eye that glows whenever I need to identify something.

I stared into the bathroom’s mirror with my best impression of an action hero’s brooding smolder. My right eye blazing to life as I pushed mana into the Sigmata. The design swirling to life in my eye as it… just kept glowing. Like I’d tried the dozen or so times before I pushed mana into it harder. My forehead creasing with the strain as a bead of sweat formed on my brow. Disrupting my action movie pose as I tried to get the damn thing to work. I pushed and pushed until…

“Damnit!” I cursed, smacking my eye and rubbing at it furiously after running enough mana through it to make my eye itch.

Now, as someone who was formerly a normal person back on Earth. I have to admit I used to look down on people who actually got their eyeballs tatted up. But here, in Kanaan? Oh man. I am here for the tats. All the tats. Eyeball tats, full arm sleeve tats, the whole shebang. May was absolutely infectious in her joy of talking about Sigmatas and had officially won me over on the subject of magic tattoo supremacy.

Do you like the idea of having a spiral shield but don't wanna carry one? There's a Sigmata for that. Have you ever wanted night vision and thermal optics being attached to your eyeballs? There's some Sigmatas for that. Binoculars? Sigmata. Water breathing? Sigmata. Strength enhancement? Sigmata. Fuckin' extradimensional storage? Sigmata.

Granted most of those things were ludicrously expensive to get. And I may never see any in my life, but holy shit they were cool.

My own eye Sig was supposed to be an Identify Sigmata. Well, it was supposed to be quite a few things actually. It had taken days of May working on it for a couple hours at a time to finish it but unfortunately I just didn’t have the mana capacity to activate it. The way it was explained to me is that each Sigmata is different. There are the simple ones like Match and Lamp that are almost free with how little mana they need to activate. But the more advanced a Sigmata is the more mana capacity the body it’s attached to needs to activate it.

That didn’t really make sense to me, even after May had finished explaining it. My mana regen was supposed to be three hundred percent faster than normal, which sounds awesome and broken in the best way possible. But apparently that doesn’t mean squat if you don’t have the mana capacity to cover the cost of activating a Sigmata.

Basically my mana regenerates fast, but its only filling up a small cup’s worth of mana before spilling over. My Identify Sigmata cost about two cups of mana. Which my body just couldn’t cover.

I ran my good hand over my face in embarrassment. Thinking about how concerned May had been after she had found out I wasn’t joking and couldn’t activate the Sigmata. She went straight from acting normal and upset I wasn’t activating the Sig she’d worked so hard on to looking at me like I was a crippled puppy. And then she left for her University class telling me some tips on the best way to increase a person’s mana capacity, with this really somber and sad expression on her face.

I was prepared to mope for a while longer in the bathroom and try to cheer myself up by posing a few more times since my eye was only good for looking cool at the moment. Until I heard a knock at the door.

“Toby are you alright in there?” Gregor asked with concern. “You’ve been in there for a while.”

“I’m good sorry!” I said hastily. “Just making sure my hands are clean!” I said as I turned the sink faucet on full blast. Loudly washing my hands before opening the door. To find Gregor still standing outside the door.

“So what’s up?” I said smiling. Nothing to see here just a totally normal person leaving the bathroom.

“I thought I heard you say something in there earlier.” Gregor said plainly. “Sharrygen or sharringan or something.”

“It’s just a curse on my world.” I said quickly as I felt my cheeks flush red. “Just trying to get the Identify and other stuff in my Sigmata to work you know. I ah, I’ve been trying to activate it.” I tapped my temple next to my newly tatted eye. “No dice.”

“Well… anyway I think I may have found a solution to the problem we talked about.”

“Really?” I said hopefully. Desperate for some good news.

Over the last few days I’d talked a lot to Gregor about what I should do considering my situation. Essentially it boiled down to a few things we knew for sure. The Syndicate, or at least a part of it, wanted me for some reason. Enough to try and kidnap me from a cell in broad daylight. Being only level two there wasn’t a lot I could do to stop the Syndicate if they came for me again. Getting out of the city wasn’t an option either as I’d have to go by the security checkpoints that would check my credentials. And since I only came to this world several days ago there wasn’t any record of me in the system.

I’d talked to Gregor about trying to get some counterfeit credentials and he said it was impossible. After trying to understand why he thought that was apparently they had fingerprint scanners here as well as mana signature readers. Which are apparently very good at figuring out who you are. Not to mention if anyone saw my class as a rogue type they’d sound the alarm and tackle me to the ground in a heartbeat.

And that was just if they thought I was a normal rogue. Gregor made it very clear that absolutely no one could know I was brought here by the Akashic.

“But why?” I said on the night he had been explaining it to me. May had gone back to her University dorm and the walls were inscribed with sound dampening Sigmata. So we could speak freely. “If you already know people can come here from other worlds why is it so out of the ordinary for me to be here?”

Gregor frowned in his chair and sighed. It was weird seeing him in normal clothes and not his armor but I was getting used to it. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking to me again.

“I suppose I should probably start at the beginning.” He mused. “I’m probably going to butcher the original telling of it and leave out a lot you should know but the simple fact of the matter is that…” Gregor shrugged.

“We are all from other worlds.”

My mouth fell open at his words. The questions piling together in my head so much they caused a pile up before reaching my mouth.

“The world that we humans came from, from what our records show from that time period was called Tameria. And it, well it… It was dying.” Gregor said simply. “We don’t know what caused it or why it happened or why our gods allowed it to happen. And yes, I can see the question plain on your face. Yes, there were other gods in our old world. There was no Akashic either. No classes, no skills or attributes. Nothing. Magic, yes. But that was much different before, everything took longer, took more people working together to create.”

Gregor leaned forward in his seat, eager to tell me as much as possible about the history of the world. “I’m skipping over many important things to get to this but one day. As our kingdoms were falling, our prayers going unanswered, and the very mana in the air rotting. A gate appeared. A gate made of light and numbers that stretched for hundreds of feet across. In one of the most heavily populated areas in Tameria. And humanity as a whole made their way through to this world we now live on. That was roughly twelve hundred years ago.”

My brain spun with so many thoughts and questions. I was silent for a moment before talking. “So a giant gate to another world appeared in the middle of a city and people just walked through it?” I said bewildered.

Gregor snorted, amusement clear on his face. “That’s what you’re focused on?”

I shrugged. “I’m just saying that walking through a giant portal to another world wouldn’t be most people’s first instinct. Honestly, I’m surprised there wasn’t a panic as everyone ran for the hills.” I said bluntly. “Put me in that same scenario and I’d be the first person out of town.”

Gregor shook his head at my explanation. “Imagine living on a dying world your whole life. The air burning as it enters your lungs, the fields withering as the plants suffocate on tainted mana. And then all of a sudden, a gate appears. And the world on the other side is full of life. The mana leaking through so pure you can taste it. The air so fresh as to be unbelievable. Some of the earliest records we have of humanity entering this world made clear that a majority of people believed this place to be a kind of heaven for us, for surviving so much suffering in Tameria.”

“That’s why people refer to the world and the kingdom we reside in by the same name, Kanaan. Its an old word in one of humanity’s original languages that translates to ‘promised land’.” Gregor sat back for a moment, not tired but clearly thinking on what he’d just said. “The Elves have a different name for this world of course. Something long and unpronounceable. The Beast Tribes’ word I do know though. Non-Huada. Which translates almost perfectly to ‘Not Home’.” Gregor said.

“So the other races of the world. The Elves and Beast Tribes, I mean. They all came through gates like the first humans did?” I said putting together what I’d heard.

“Exactly.” Gregor said. “Each time a gate has opened on Kanaan we refer to it as a Crossing. The last Crossing brought the Elves to Kanaan.” Gregor said his expression growing dark. “We’ve been at war with them ever since they stepped through their damned gate. That was three hundred years ago.”

There was a moment of quiet as I absorbed that information and gave Gregor the time to speak again. It was a lot to take in, but I had to know these things. I had to learn as much as I could if I wanted to get my bearings in this world and survive in it.

“The point I’m trying to make Toby.” Gregor said as he focused on me. “Is that you are an anomaly. We’ve never known another race to have entered this world without coming through a gate. You’re very existence here is… troubling.” Gregor said plainly. “I believe in the Akashic. I believe it must have brought you here for a reason even if we don’t know it yet. But if the Church of the Akashic discovers you…” Gregor let his words trail off.

“So what if they do?” I said not understanding. “They wouldn’t kill me would they?”

“No.” Gregor said quickly. “Toby. Imagine what would happen if you walked into the Grand Cathedral in the Capital and told them what you were. You’d never be allowed to walk free again. You’d be a living icon of the Akashic’s favor for humanity. There are already a disproportionate amount of people who believe that humans are the rightful rulers of this world since we were the fist intelligent race to be brought here. The fact that you’re human, even if you are a Variant one, would just add further fuel to that fire. Imagine the kind of power someone in the church could command if they controlled you. Using you as proof that the Akashic approves of whatever plans for power the clergy may hold. Broken Gods Toby, that might be enough popular support to challenge the King himself.”

I stared at Gregor with a hollowness in my gut I’d never felt before. I’d been afraid before but that? The thought of being used as living proof to justify whatever plans or schemes the church wanted was downright horrifying. Earth’s own history was filled to the brim with religious organizations being given too much power. Human beings believing themselves so superior to to others they’d wage war to prove it. I could literally be the catalyst for a new inquisition.

“Everything alright Toby?” Gregor asked me. Bringing me out of my recollections and back to the present.

“Right. Sorry.” I said sheepishly. “So what solution do you have?”

After our talk about how important it was to not be discovered or taken by the Akashic church. One thing we focused heavily on was making me better able to defend myself and get control of my class and mana. I’d let Gregor know how much trouble I was having with my class without going into too much detail about my status condition and what it had done to me. I’d kept quiet about how I’d really escaped my encounter with the Syndicate and thankfully, Gregor was convinced that had been a stroke of luck more than anything. He wanted me to start training my skills, all of my skills. Chief among them being Small Blades.

“You can focus on improving your Meditation skill here like we agreed. Most people have to rely on standard meditation exercises and practice to increase their mana pools but since you have the skill that should go much faster. We can train your Sneak skill by having you move through the safer streets of High Water and hide from normal citizens. That just leaves your Small Blades skill.” Gregor moved to a closet by the door and started rifling through it. “I know someone who works with fresh kills from the Thunderwall. A butcher named Grima who owes me a favor. Should be the best place for you to practice Small Blades and make some of your own coin. Ah, there it is.”

Gregor stood back, unfurling a dark cloak with a hood. Something that managed to look fashionable while also being mall ninja levels of edgy. My kind of fashion.

“This is for you. You’ll get a lot more out of it than I will.” Gregor said with a smile.

I took the cloak in my hands and rubbed my fingers through the fabric. I didn’t know the first thing about threads or fashion back on Earth but I knew quality stuff when I saw it. The cloak was just a few shades shy of black. The length was a bit on the short side but I could imagine it would make moving around in it a lot easier and it definitely wasn’t the flimsy kind of easily torn cloaks you could order online. This thing was made to be worn, and already had a bit of wear in it.

“Thanks a bunch man.” I said honestly. I was really grateful for everything Gregor and May had done for me so far but that list was just getting too damn long for my liking. I chuckled at the thought. “I’m gonna end up repaying you for the rest of my life aren’t I?” I said good naturedly.

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“And a bit of the next.” Gregor quipped good naturedly as he made for the door. "Got your knife?"

I nodded, patting the sheathed knife clipped to my belt. Another gift from Gregor I'd have to pay him back for. It was nothing fancy, and only about the size of an oversized pocket knife but I really appreciated it all the same.

“Wait.” I said thinking on something. “Don’t I need something to protect my status information if someone in the Syndicate Identifies me with a scroll or Sigmata? Won’t they see my race as well?”

“Well…” Gregor stopped. Pondering the thought. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility but its very unlikely. They may have a description of your features and class, but you have Sigmata now whereas you lacked any before. Since its been a few days I’m counting on their searches to go towards the edge of the city rather than it’s center. Plus, I Identified you myself with my own Sigmata when we first met and had no idea what your true nature was. Most people are not going to have the mana or the advanced Identifying Sigmata needed to see your race or specific class come up in their scans.”

“Most, is good. But what about the people that doesn’t cover?” I said warily.

“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.” Gregor said nonchalantly. Opening the door and holding it open as he looked at me. “If people at that level find you, there isn’t anything you or I can do to stop them.” He said bluntly.

I stared at the man for a second. His voice was firm but accepting. Like the idea of being found by high level people was more like being hit by a natural disaster than living thinking beings. Not something you’d even consider being able to stop. It was just something to be avoided and survived. No use raging against the hurricane right?

I gulped down my fear and followed Gregor out the door. Trying not to think about the kind of powers or levels people had to have for Gregor to just shrug and give up fighting back.

I was halfway down the hallway before I stopped and swore, with Gregor already calling for the lift.

I’d been holding back on picking my Attribute Ability and adding my point to Wisdom for days now. But I couldn’t hold it back any longer. I knew I needed all the help I could get and holding back on this for any longer would just be stupid. So I put the point into Wisdom.

I’d already felt what it was like for skills to get added to my brain. That weird unpainful fire that blazed across your mind as they burned themselves into place. Wisdom was like that but different. Like the first time I’d added three points into Dexterity for the first time there was a kind of crackling lightning through my mind. It was a bit painful, but not in a bad way if that made sense. Like the strain you’d feel in your muscles after working out. It felt good, made everything clearer.

And then, before I could second guess myself anymore I selected Acrobatics as my first Attribute Ability. I braced myself for anything, whether it be pain or another spasm of electric fire changing my body. And I felt… Normal? I looked down at my body to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. Was it normal to feel normal after getting Acrobatics?

“You forget something Toby?” Gregor called back to me as I turned towards him.

“It’s nothing, sorry.” I said as I caught up to him. Well I had Acrobatics now and my point of Wisdom. I was as prepared as I’d ever be.

With my hood up and Gregor in normal street clothes we made out way out of his apartment building and into the city proper. I drew a lot less looks than I thought I would with my hood. Even catching sight of a few other people in the crowd with cloaks of their own. Walking with Gregor it was hard to not stare at the city moving around me. At the shops selling things I’d never seen before to the food stalls cooking up shit that smelled damn near divine. Gregor had to pull me back on course a few times as my attention wandered.

My eyes naturally went to the Skystream as we made out way through the city. It was still amazing to look at, and probably would be for however long I spent in High Water. My mind wandered back to my panicked swim in the river and the Sigmata I’d accidentally broken that was apart of the river. The Hyrdrolocked Containment Sigmata, if memory served.

For obvious reasons I couldn’t ask May a lot of the questions I wanted to about Sigmata. Nothing would be more suspicious than someone being completely clueless about something so foundational to human society in Kanaan. It would be like some young guy on Earth pointing to an LED light strip and asking “Why can the fire in that thin torch shine so brightly without burning? And how does it change colors so easily without mana?”

Fortunately for me Gregor was more than willing to put up with my stupid questions when I’d first asked them.

“So they’re runes? Not spells?” I said to Gregor. Turning away from the view his living room window offered me. May had classes that day and I’d still needed a bit more time to recover. Gregor had returned from his duties patrolling the streets and nodded as he relaxed on the couch.

“That’s right.” He said stretching out on the couch with a groan. As he prepared his explanation. Something he was getting some good practice with. “Though the word rune is far too archaic. Runes are what we had been using in our previous world. After our Crossing and as our people gained classes and skills we were able to improve upon our simple runes to be more advanced and specialized. Those are our Sigmata.”

“How long did that take?” I said questioningly. “It couldn’t have been easy to do all of- you know.” I said waving an arm at the window and the thriving magic city beyond. “That kinda progress doesn’t happen right off the bat right?”

Now it was Gregor who was looking questioningly at me. “Off the bat? Do you mean a Sonic Bat or a Blaze Bat?”

“It’s just an expression for something happening immediately.” I supplied easily. Having gotten used to explaining Earth expressions and metaphors.

“Ah.” Gregor nodded. “Well truthfully the formation of Sigmata happened rather quickly.” Gregor said smiling. “One of the first people through the Crossing’s gate was a brilliant young man. A true genius in the art of runes back on Tameria. He took to this new world with a drive and passion like no one else. Becoming one of the first to get a class as a Sigmatist. He enchanted the walls of the first settlements. Made designs of Sigmata that could draw drinking water from the air itself. Oh the stories of the things he did.” Gregor said wistfully, shaking his head. “I’ll have to get you some books to read about him.”

Gregor’s smile was infectious and it had me smiling too. “He sounds like a real hero.” I said. Thinking about how this guy compared to Earth’s own historic heroes. Was he a magic Isaac Newton or a runic Nikola Tesla?

“He is.” Gregor said grinning. “And it fills me with pride everyday to serve with his colors and to call him my King.”

We kept walking for another thirty minutes with me staying in silence as I remembered all the things Gregor had taught me about the world until my Mind Map registered part of the city that I’d been in before, although very briefly.

“I’ve been here before.” I said and Gregor sounded unsurprised as he heard me.

“I’d imagine so.” he said. Nodding towards a somewhat familiar warehouse in the distance. “The Skystream you jumped into lets out at ground level over there.” Gregor looked around, assessing his surroundings. “I doubt you had anyone to welcome you here before, so let me be the first.” He said as we rounded a building and the scenery changed. The smooth and unique architecture of the city ending abruptly at the entrance to a less glamorous district.

“Welcome to the Murk District.” Gregor said as we made our way inside.

Immediately I could sense a change in the atmosphere. The district we’d just been in had the air of a thriving, very high end part of town. Kinda like the downtown areas of most major cities on Earth. Highly developed and highly trafficked. This place however was clearly not as well kept and new as the others. The crowds were different too. The ratio of humans to beast folk steadily decreasing until we were the only ones on the street. Gregor kept moving but I could tell he was keeping an eye out. The amount of side eye we were getting making me more than a bit nervous.

“This is our stop.”

I almost bumped into Gregor from behind as he stopped in front of a lone building. It was a beat up looking place that looked like the set for a bad horror film. There was a sign hanging off the building that had probably said something at one point but was so faded you’d have to guess at what it actually read.

“Grima can be a bit intimidating the first time you meet him, so don’t let that color your opinion of him too much alright.” Gregor said as he pounded on the door. “Grima! Open up it’s me Gregor!”

There was a loud noise of a bottle crashing to the floor and some harsh language I couldn’t make out. Something that sounded something between a snarl and regular words. There was the sound of stomping coming up to the door before the thunk of a large bolt clanged and the thing flew open.

“What is it you-! Oh. You again.” Grima growled before letting up as he saw me and Gregor.

The stench of alcohol hit my nose as I laid eyes on Grima for the first time. He was a wolf like the kind I’d seen at the warehouse I’d washed up in after my jump into the Skystream. Only he was an older grey, and big. A very concerning level of big. The first thing I’d noticed was the bottle of alcohol he was carrying, only it wasn’t a bottle, it was a frickn’ gallon sized jug that the wolf palmed as easily as I would hold a water bottle. With razor sharp looking claws wrapped around it and leaving scratches in the glass where he gripped it.

Then my gaze travelled up to Grima’s face and several words came to mind when I saw it. One of those words was, “teeth”. The other was “fangs”. And I definitely felt a “maul” somewhere in the back of my head where I kept all my preservation instincts.

“Grima! It’s good to see you again.” Gregor said conversationally. Like he wasn’t talking to a fluffy murder machine. “I see you’re doing well, with the early morning drink eh?”

Grima chuckled but it sounded more like a rumble than any chuckle I’d ever heard. “Bah. Shit’s weaker than rainwater. Besides…” Grima said taking a swig from the jug and sighing loudly as he leaned against the door. “It’s always sunset somewhere.” he said before his eyes landed on me. “Who’s the Shade?”

“Grima this is Toby Kincaid.” Gregor said as I removed my hood, and met Grima’s gaze. Wait, were you supposed to do that with wolves? Or was it bears? Shit, I do not want to challenge the giant wolf. Even if its just to a game of Scrabble I’ll fucking fold as long as he doesn’t fold me.

“H-howdy.” I said trying to keep my voice from going up an octave. “I have Small Blades. The skill, I mean. I do have a knife too though.” I said as I effortlessly weaved through my introduction. It’s a wonder my job interviews didn’t go better back home.

Grima just stared at me with his brows furrowed as Gregor stepped back in to cement my rocky intro. “Toby has had some bad run ins with the Syndicate recently and needs a place to lay low and hone his skill. I know you’re always looking for people with knife skills and figured he would be a perfect fit.” Gregor said as he stepped a bit closer to Grima, unfazed that he only came up to the wolf’s chest. “As a favor to me Grima, please? I want to help this one get back on his feet.”

Grima crossed his arms as he looked me over. Frowning like he was looking over a side of expired beef. “You got any problems working with Beast folk?” he said to me.

“Nope! None at all.” I said quickly as I gave my best I-need-this-job smile. “I’m all about equality. I treat everyone equally.”

Grima held my stare for a second before scoffing and walked over to me. Very literally looming over me as he put a massive hand on my shoulder. He leaned down until we were eye to eye. His golden eyes staring daggers into my own.

“Then you…” he said softly as his claws pricked at my skin. “Are a fool Kincaid.” He said with a Cheshire grin. All those pointed teeth making for a razor sharp smile. “What’s to stop me from cutting you open right here huh? Stain the cobbles red with your blood.”

I made sure to stand perfectly still as Grima held me. I noted absently that my Danger Sense had activated. Not to the point of being useful in any way. It was just pulsing a soft warning to my body. Something that was like…

Hey. There’s something really pointy next to your throat… you should do something about that.

Now normally, I’d consider it a normal response for your brain to go blank when being threatened with immediate death. Especially by a giant alcoholic wolf butcher. Or whenever you see Hallmark original movies. To each their own.

But to my surprise, that didn’t happen.

My one point of Wisdom was pulling some serious weight as it kept me level headed. I was still scared out of my mind but I had enough presence of mind to recognize that Gregor wouldn’t lead me here to get ripped apart by the BIg Bad Wolf. And nobody kills anybody in the middle of the street in broad daylight in front of their own store. There were still plenty of witnesses walking down the street too. This had to be a test or something.

“Oh, you can kill me.” I said conversationally. Without any quavering either. Damn, I’d have to put points into Wisdom more often. “But wouldn’t it make more sense to put me to work first? I mean come on! Get a day’s worth of free labor out of me at least!” I said jokingly. A strained smile on my face as I patted the wolf’s hand on my shoulder. Jesus those claws were big.

There was a moment of silence as Grima stared into me. The perfect picture of a predator eyeing up a meal before he burst out laughing. I actually winced a bit at the volume of his laughter before buckling under the weight of him slapping my shoulder. Almost falling to my knees as I forced myself to stand up straight and not rub my now aching shoulder.

“Aha, oh that’s a good one!” Gima snickered. Wiping his eyes as he turned to look at Gregor. “I was afraid you’d brought me some soft hearted city boy Gregor, but this one.” He said glancing at me. “I might not mind having this one around.”

Grima turned and walked back inside his shop. “Come on, new blood. I’ve got a mop here somewhere. You can start by cleaning up the place before the next shipment of meat arrives for cutting. Then if I’m feeling charitable, I’ll put aside some scraps for you to carve up. If you don’t completely ruin those scraps, I’ll think about having you work on something bigger.”

I gave a parting nod to Gregor as I made my way into the building. Gregor waving goodbye as he left me with Grima. He knew I had Mind Map after I’d told him about it and trusted me to find my way back. Entering behind Grima my nose winced almost instantly at the smell of the place. The inside of the building was about as shabby as the outside, if a bit more well kept. The front area was clearly a place for customers to peruse the fresh cuts of meat for the day. I followed Grima into the back as he hunched through a covered doorway into the back of his store.

"Sorry about that joke earlier." Grima called back. "But I can't stand any of these city types that pretend to care about folks in the Murk." Grima's words became more disdainful the longer he went on. "They'll throw all the right words around like confetti but when push comes to shove they aren't worth shit."

"It's all good" I said back. I felt like I should have said more but what I saw next took my breath away.

“Whoa…” I said softly as I saw my workplace for the first time. My breath frosting in the air as I entered the cooler space. The place was cavernous like a small warehouse. My mind immediately thought to what industrial butcheries looked like back on Earth. Only instead of hanging cow or pig carcasses. There were much, much bigger slabs of meat hanging from the hooks.

“These came from the Thunderwall?” I said wonderingly as I stared. I kept hearing the Thunderwall being mentioned by Gregor and made a mental note to ask him about it later. Adding it to the far too large list of things I’d need to ask on top of that.

“M’yeah.” Grima said nonchalantly. Walking by a ten foot tall slab of pure beef hanging from thick chains and hooks as I followed him. I had no idea what the hell these kinds of things came from but something told me they weren’t from giant harmless cows. “Course they never give us the good stuff.” Grima grunted. Clearly annoyed at that. “Just leave the scraps for all us lesser types.”

I was just turning to get a better look at the place when a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye caused my hand to leap up to my head in reflex to catch the thing thrown at the back of my head. Grima grunted again, a bit of begrudging respect in his eyes at my catch. “Put that on first, can’t have you working without the uniform.”

Unfurling the bundle of cloth in my hand I found a very, very worn apron in my hands. One that looked like a prop from a horror film. Blood stains almost painting the thing red more than its original faded white. I stretched the thing out and noted with a raised brow at Grima that the thing looked more like an apron shaped blanket than a normal apron. “You don’t have anything in a small?” I asked.

Grima barked a laugh as he grabbed a mop. “Kid, that is the small.” He said walking back to me.

“This though.” He hefted the mop and held it out to me. Grinning with a sharp smile. “This should fit you just right.”

I took the mop in my other hand. Looking it over. No magic brush on the bottom. No magically animated wood. Nope. I was holding a mop. A really dirty mop.

I’d had my fair share of crappy jobs over the years, but I was no stranger to hard work. Gregor and May were the only people I’d met in this entire city that had gone out of their way to help me. It was probably beyond me to find a way to pay them back completely right now but that didn’t mean I couldn’t start somewhere. My hand tightened on the mop as I thought about the reason I was here. I’d get a handle on my Small Blades Skill working for Grima, get more capable of defending myself. And once I get some extra cash to spend, I’ll find a cure for my Psych-Spliced condition. There were healing potions in this world. That meant there had to be cures for status effects like mine too.

Make some money. Cure myself of the unwanted psychic parasite in my brain. And get a few levels along the way. Easy.

I looked up to Grima as I held the mop ready in my hands. “So, where do you want me to start boss?”