Ryker sat up from his bed. It was a dingy, wood and straw construction that had a solid and trustworthy quality to it that one wouldn’t expect. Any Crafter with a keen eye could tell you just how meticulous the care that went into constructing it was, not that many were worthy of such a title to begin with.

“Come here, little guy.”

Ryker hid his wince with a smile, beckoning a small floating mirror over to him. Despite the pain he was in, the smile itself was quite genuine. It held every bit the charm and charisma it had in the past, not marred by the baggy and torn cheap linen clothing he wore at all.

As charming as Ryker appeared, though, the small mirror before him now definitely felt out of place. It wasn’t that it was low class, in fact it was quite high class. The main issue was that it was overly feminine.

The small mirror didn’t have a handle and was about the size of two palms. Shaped like a circle, it had a polished, silver exterior that curled into flowery designs. Even now, it had not a speck of dust on it, having received a diligent polish from Ryker everyday it had been in his life.

No matter how one looked at it, this was the mirror of a noble lady. It had no business being in possession of a young man like Ryker, and it most definitely shouldn’t have been floating about as though it had a mind of its own.

Ryker continued with his daily routine, bringing out a silk cloth that had dried through the night to wipe the small mirror down. His actions were delicate and gentle, as though he was caressing a lover rather than a mere object.

The small mirror released a subtle vibration. It was weak, but Ryker caught it with the sensitivity of the tips of his fingers.

Ryker’s smile widened. ‘Soon. Very soon.’

Once Ryker completed his small mirror’s daily cleanse, he crossed his legs, closed his eyes and settled his breathing.

A light glow began to form at the center of his brows, spreading out at a slow but steady pace. The light started to pulse, drawing out a light from Ryker’s forehead to the small mirror floating before him. As time passed, the line became thicker, and the light began to spread over the small mirror’s body as it had done to Ryker.

Whenever Ryker entered this state of meditation, he couldn’t help but remember past events. These ones were even more vivid than his dreams, but that was what he got for having such talent.

From his birth, Ryker had always had a very pure soul. With this pure soul came talent the likes of which was rarely seen. If not for a mistake he had made as a child, his current situation wouldn’t be so bad. Even that might be an understatement. The life he was living now versus the one he could have been living was like comparing a muddy swamp to the bright sun.

Ryker had no one to blame but himself. It was his own childishness that led to the mistake in the first place and his own stubbornness that still had him dealing with it.

That was what Ryker loved the most, though. Living life by his own terms, his own rules. The only shackles he would allow to bind him were ones of his own choosing. And this small little mirror… was definitely a shackle.

Memories of himself as a three-year-old child playing with his mother’s mirror replayed in his mind.

“Don’t…!”

Ryker’s eyes snapped open once again, the connection between himself and the small mirror snapping.

A cold sweat covered Ryker’s forehead, his heartbeat following an erratic rhythm.

Ryker shook his head. It was just too real. He could replay his memories in such vivid detail that it was almost as though he was reliving that moment. They say that that was a talent of those with Pure Souls, but why did it feel so much like a curse instead?

Ryker chuckled to himself. It was quite funny, he got so much anxiety from watching himself do something stupid. He still called out like a fool every time despite how many years had passed since then.

His 21st birthday was already approaching. He had had 18 long years to learn to accept this. And, he believed he had. It was just that whenever he remembered these memories, all the emotions attached to every moment since he could comprehend he had made a mistake was attached to it as well.

You could say that Ryker’s perfect memory was the bane of his existence.

Ryker stood from his small bed, beginning another routine that ensured his body’s flexibility. He carefully stretched out all of his limbs, completing stunts that would make even a contortionist proud, before he began with his more physically demanding exercises.

The sky was still dark by the time Ryker returned to his small shack. However, what had changed were the beads of sweat falling down his body.

Just because he was still at the first level of the Enlightenment Realm, didn’t mean that he used it as an excuse to neglect his training in other aspects. The contours of Ryker’s body could have been carved out into a golden ratio, everything from his broad shoulders, sculpted torso and powerful limbs was worth a look of appreciation. It was just unfortunate that despite looking the part, he didn’t have much strength to show for it, thus the bruises that covered his ribcage with grotesque green, brown and mustard yellow splotches.

Ryker never trained in clothing since he only had a single set, so he simply bypassed his small cabin, stepped through a clearing of woods, and strode into a small lake to clean himself up.

Ryker slid a hand through his long black hair. The small mirror bobbed above the waters, following along with him as usual.

With a sudden movement, Ryker sent out a straight punch through the water. A small wave rose, surging toward the small mirror and threatening to swallow it whole.

Ryker’s form was quite good. Though he was certain that his father’s keen eye would be able to pick out several flaws, he was still excellent given his current level and experience. He would be even better if it wasn’t for the fact he wasn’t very interested in close combat, at least not with his fists, anyway.

That said, the point wasn’t to show off.

The small mirror vibrated, a small wall of energy rebounding the short wave away.

‘Still not quite there.’

The wave wasn’t very impressive. There wasn’t much difference between a little girl and Ryker himself doing it with the exception of the fact he was able to do it with a fist as opposed to a palm. However, the strength was as important as the result. There was a certain threshold Ryker was looking for that the small mirror was still just short of.

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Without wasting time Ryker headed back to his cabin to pack up a large wooden box that was about a meter tall and a half meter wide and thick. Once he was finished, he put on his clothing and headed out, trekking down a mountainous pass.

Ryker leapt from rock to rock with a practiced agility. His hands held onto the straps of the large wooden box, keeping it from bouncing around too much.

To ensure his peace, Ryker had purposely built himself a home over two hours away from the nearest town. This was about the only way he could get into all the trouble he did yet live relatively peacefully.

He knew well how lucky he had gotten with this location, though. In worlds like this one, the wilderness was an especially dangerous place, and that was even more so for someone as weak as his current self. He had a certain mysterious Spirit Beast to thank for the peace he had had to this point.

Ryker broke out into a light jog, reaching the bottom of the mountain. This was the most dangerous part of his journey, but he wasn’t worried. With his senses, picking out and avoiding danger was as easy as breathing.

A small city appeared in the distance, the smell of kindling smoke and industry clogging up the clear, mountainous air.

Smog and soot rose up high, layering the city in a sheen of black that was impossible to notice unless you stepped outside of it.

Ryker flashed a worker’s permit at the gates and slipped through under the envious eyes of those camping for an opportunity to enter. It was quite a shock to Ryker the first time he had seen this. He was used to grand cities with long waiting lines, but this city wasn’t even considered First Circle, and yet it received just as much enthusiasm.

Ryker began to weave through the familiar city streets. Though the immediate path into the city was clear, it was quick to become cluttered even so early in the morning.

This sort of industrial city was a staple of lower class worlds. Without access to higher forms of energy, they were forced to rely on steam and coal powered machines to live their day to day lives and survive the harsh environment wrought by Spirit Beasts.

With the population of Mythical Masters being so low in these worlds, there was no choice but to make up the gap in other ways. The result was what was seen before Ryker now.

Ryker sported a bright smile, grinning at almost everyone he passed by. He quickly made it to his usual spot nearby a soon to be bustling road.

“Ryker!” A middle-aged man with a face covered in soot poked his head out from a curtain masquerading as a doorway. “Didn’t I tell you to lay low for a while?! Do you have a death wish?!”

Ryker let out a chuckle. “Worried about me, old man? When’d you get so soft?”

Without a care, Ryker began to set up his stall, using his large wooden box as a table and crossing his legs before it.

A loud snort came from the curtain doorway before a box came flying out.

Ryker caught the small black box and opened the lid, finding a worn timepiece laid within it on a bed of silk the old man should have definitely been unable to afford.

“You’re finally letting me have a go at it?” Ryker’s head shot up toward the curtain door.

“If you leave even a scratch on my precious baby, I’ll have your head, brat!”

“You’re trusting your prized possession to a dead man?”

There was no response on the other end, but Ryker could almost see the reddened cheeks of the easily embarrassed old man.

Ryker didn’t waste anymore time, a faint excitement glowing in his eyes. He had wanted to tinker with this rusted watch for a very long time already, but the old man had always refused. Ryker had no idea what had gotten into him today that made him change his mind.

‘Maybe saving beauties does pay,’ thought Ryker with a grin.

Before even touching the watch, Ryker wiped down the tip of his fingers with alcohol. He didn’t like the feeling of having a separation between him and his work, so he abhorred gloves. This, then, was the next best option.

A shimmering set of silver tools rested on the large wooden box. One after another, Ryker brought them out, never using a general tool for something that could be done with a specialized one.

‘A beautiful pocket watch.... It has a standard tourbillon design perfect for a pocket watch, unfortunately there seems to be some damage to the escapement. The fix shouldn’t be difficult, the most tedious part will be the cleaning and oiling.’

Ryker immediately got to work. Despite its small size, the watch had over 70 components. Remembering them all, cleaning them individually, and finally oiling them one by one was a tedious and monotonous task that required an absurd amount of skill.

The small mirror bobbed up from Ryker’s side to hover before him. A faint light came from its surface, magnifying the image of the watch’s mechanism for Ryker to see.

Ryker forgot that he had a business to run. The money he gained here always went toward his meals, it was the only reason he came to this place to begin with. He was unable to hunt on his own with the small mirror’s obvious weaknesses, so he had no choice but to play his role as humble merchandise seller.

This, though, was meaningless to him in the face of something so fascinating.

The hours of the morning ticked by. Many passed Ryker’s shabby so-called stall, but without any wares to show, none stayed.

“Ryker?”

Ryker blinked, suddenly feeling that his eyes were quite dry. He had a terrible habit of forgetting to blink when he tinkered.

Two beauties stood over Ryker and his large wooden box. One wore a bright yellow sundress of fabric so light it wrapped a little too well around her curves. As for the other, her outfit was far more intentional in its provocation, showing off her long and slender legs.

Ryker recognized these two quite well, he had one of them to thank for the bone bruises he was nursing at the moment, though he didn’t mind. Now that he got to have his fun with the old man’s pocket watch, wasn’t it worth it?

These two women had a striking difference about them that set them apart from the others frequenting this marketplace aside from their beauty, and that was the two odd creatures that followed them.

The yellow-dress beauty held a fluffy white bunny in her arms which had a small red horn poking out from its forehead. It was no larger than two palm lengths and had chubby cheeks that seemed perpetually stuffed with food.

The beauty’s companion, though, carried around what looked like a fluffy yellow furred duck. The only difference was that it had a silver beak forged of metal and larger than normal palmate.

Ryker recognized both Spirit Beasts with quite some ease, but paid them little attention. They would at most be Second Circle Talents upon growing out of their Infant stage. They weren’t a worthwhile investment for anyone serious about having a future as a Mythical Master.

Ryker chuckled to himself when he had this thought. Both creatures were still far better choices than the small mirror floating before him now.

“Hold on a moment, Rosemary. I’m almost done with old man Bowan’s watch.”

Rosemary, the yellow-dress beauty, blinked in shock. Her grandfather had allowed someone else to touch that antique? Even for her, someone he was used to pampering, hadn’t been allowed to even once.

Ryker ignored the two women and focused on the last pieces.

A snort came from the short-dress beauty. “It’s just a watch. Can’t you take a few minutes away from it?”

Ryker didn’t seem to hear this at all, his hand and mind having entered a state of focus once again.

“Sofia!”

Rosemary pulled her friend back with a hushed whisper. She knew how important this watch was to her grandfather. Nothing could ruin it.

It was enough of a surprise to her that her grandfather wasn’t watching Ryker like a hawk from start to finish.

“What’s the big deal? The street is making more noise than me by a mile,” Sofia spoke with dissatisfaction.

First she had been ignored, and now she was being reprimanded. Plus, she wasn’t the biggest fan of this place to begin with. She had no idea how Rosemary, with her family background, could possibly have a grandfather who lived and worked a shop here. Just the dirtied streets and concentration of people made her skin crawl.

“Done.”

Ryker looked up with a smile, sliding the casing back over the watch and shutting it. After placing it back in the box, he looked up toward Rosemary and handed the box over to her.

“Ah…”

A feeling of anxiety came over her as she accepted the box, shifting the little bunny in her arms. She was very much afraid of dropping it and ruining everything.

“Well, aren’t you two looking quite beautiful today.” Ryker beamed.

Rosemary flushed, but Sofia only snorted again.

“At least you know.”

Ryker clicked his tongue. “I might have to take away a point for that attitude.”

“What did you say to me?!”

Rosemary panicked, stepping forward to mediate between the two. Her slender arms struggled to juggle her Spirit Beast and the pocket watch, her face flushing with hints of anxiety.

“Don’t fight! Ah, I, um… Ryker, I wanted to thank you for yesterday. How about I treat you to a meal?”

Ryker’s amused expression morphed into a bright light.

“A meal? I accept!”

He had already been wondering where he would get his meal from today. Now that such an opportunity had fallen into his lap, an invitation from a beauty no less, how could he not accept?