Strange things, memories. A man remembered only the guilty ones, though Ryu was inclined to agree he had more to be guilty about than some. He supposed there was nothing for it, however.

He looked up from the washbasin and up into the mirror that sat above it. His razor came up, flicked down in a smooth motion, and came up once more. He looked himself over for cuts and then continued.

He had known a man who named his razor Occam. Thought he was hilarious. The sad truth was the funny ones died, too. Died in the same ugly way as the rest of them, broken and lifeless like discarded toys. Cost of living, he guessed.

He finished shaving his face and frowned. Sunken eyes, high cheekbones. A damn skeleton, if he had ever saw one, and he had seen more than a few. Another cost of living, perhaps.

The Fifth Ring. It was not much of a home, if he was honest. Sure, he rented this room in Haven, and sure, he spent much of his time living in the Wilds outside of the walls. Still not a home. Perhaps he was bored of it all. The monster attacks and the spontaneous, random Dungeons and Trials were not enough. He had killed and conquered all he ever would.

Or perhaps he was still running. Running from guilt and fear and disappointment. Aye, that sounded about right, so up to the Sixth Ring it was. Which meant acting on the tip the blacksmith had given him.

Lucius Augear. Never heard of the man, but then, Ryu spent all of his time at the fringe of humanity. For all he knew, the man was a storied hero like the Sword Saint of the First Generation from the Old World. He was in the Fifth Ring, though, so Ryu imagined it wasn’t likely. Maybe- just maybe- this expedition to the Sixth the man was organizing was legit.

He needed to get information first. Ryu was not a man to sign himself to something without knowing the person behind it, after all. Maybe. No, that was part of it, but the real reason he wanted information was because it gave him an excuse to see Bonny.

The Fifth Ring had information brokers aplenty and an ever larger number of willing ears- provided one had coin or crystal, of course. Still, Ryu preferred putting his Qi into his own improvement, and his coin was thin. No, best to see Bonny and her brother Horace. The Foster siblings would steer him right, assuming she didn’t outright kill him for showing up again. He supposed frequently disappearing for months wasn’t the best way to win a woman’s heart. Neither was being a mad, murderous bastard, he supposed.

Oh, well. It would have to be a problem for future him. He cleaned his face and gathered up his gear, locking the door to his room shut behind him.

He’d barely glimpsed the familiar store when sharp metal tickled the back of his neck. “Nice to see you, Bonny,” he said with a nervous chuckle, holding his arms up. “Or to be seen by you, I guess. Do you mind if I turn around?”

“I might,” a sweet voice said, her breath tickling his ear. The dagger pressed in harder. “But I suppose I’ll let you this time.”

The dagger was lifted from his neck. He turned, taking a look at her. Frizzy red hair framed a slender face, and she looked at him with her forest green eyes. She was clad in a tight suit of mottled black and grey, the wraps that normally went around her face bundled around her neck like a scarf. She looked at him coldly.

“I… Uh, I’m sorry,” Ryu said, scratching the back of his head. His left eye twitched. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He should’ve gone back to Wilds and forgotten all about this damn expedition. Hope only put a man in the grave.

“Sorry?” she laughed. “I waited for you for weeks, Ryu. Not hours. Not days. Weeks. You think you can just disappear on me like that, you bastard?”

He chewed on the inside of his lip. “It was a bit of a complicated situation,” he sighed. Give her a real explanation, and he’d look crazy. Give her a fake one, and he’d look like an ass. Wasn’t exactly easy to put into words the suffocating, dying feeling of being trapped behind the walls of this damn city. Hard to explain the whispering, murderous voice of his Shard that turned men into demons and monsters until he blinked them away.

“Complicated, is it? I thought they called you Ghost for your battlefield exploits. You know, like a real fighter. Didn’t realize it was because of how you treat women,” she said, her pretty face twisted in a flat look.

“Look Bonny, I-”

She laughed and clapped his shoulder. “Did you really think I was that sensitive?” she said, looking at him with a dangerous smile. Something told him she was only half-joking, but that was Bonny.

“Of course not,” he muttered.

“So you’re here for the expedition, is it?”

“I guess so,” he said, still uneasy.

“Horace knew you’d come. Knows everything, that one. It’s almost like he’s a-”

“Psychic,” Ryu finished. Horace’s Class was indeed Psychic, and it was sort of a running joke between the three to see how many times they could fit it in a conversation. Which meant it’d lost its charm quickly. Still, the familiarity eased the tightness in his shoulders.

“Go see him, but after, I want to talk,” she said. “And don’t take too long. I’m a bit tired of waiting.”

Ryu nodded, squaring his shoulders. He’d survived the dangerous part. Now he just needed to get through the uncomfortable one. Right. Still alive.

He opened the door to the small shop, wincing at the creak of the door. Not that it mattered. Horace would’ve sensed him from the street. He pulled the hood of his cloak down, looking at the neatly ordered shelves and goods in the dim light. His eyes adapted thanks to his Skill, and he saw the man sitting in the chair in the back of the room, counting Qi crystals in a soft whisper.

“Almost wish I had a Merchant Class,” Horace said, his back still turned to Ryu.

“I thought they all got ‘recruited’ by one of the big guilds or corporations,” Ryu said, leaning against the wall.

Horace nodded his head, his chestnut hair shaved close. “They do, but don’t we all like to imagine we’d be the one to make things different?”

“I suppose,” Ryu said.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“But then,” Horace said, his chair floating around to face Ryu, “some of us do actually make things different.”

“The expedition?” Ryu asked. He loved Horace like a brother, but he wasn’t interested in playing word games with the man. Not that he could.

“Straight to the point, I see,” his friend said. He tapped a slender finger against the arm of his chair, raising his eyebrows at Ryu in expectation. “Why do you want to know?”

Ryu scratched his beard. Or where his beard had been. He could already feel the beginnings of new whiskers. “Not sure, if I’m honest.” And Ryu always tried to be honest.

“I see. So you’ve talked to Bonny, then? The loon would stab me if you came by without her knowing. Also have you bathed? You’re filthy. In my store. Ryu, we talked about-”

“Horace, just tell me. And yes, I’ve seen Bonny,” Ryu grunted.

“Fine, fine,” Horace said with a wave. “Nice to have a bit of conversation occasionally, you know? But whatever, tough guy. Straight to the point it is. Right, the Last Expedition. The leader is Lucius Augear. The sponsor’s unknown, but if I had to guess, it’s probably some small company hoping to get lucky. None of the big corporations care for expansion. So far, there’s close to a hundred members. Ninety-six if I recall correctly. Decent organization. Saw worse on the last one. Well supplied-”

“Does it have a chance?” Ryu said. He swallowed. Gods did he sound desperate. Too desperate. And why was his throat scratchy?

“I suppose it does. Better if you came along, though,” Horace said with a knowing look.

Ryu rubbed the back of his neck. “Suppose I might be interested.” Why did this matter to him so much? No, he knew why. He’d stopped long enough. He couldn’t live like this.

“Then I suppose you should go find Lucius.”

“Where is he, then?” Ryu sighed.

“I know just the person to show you. Red hair, freckles across her nose, a little on the short side…” he trailed off with a grin.

“I am not short,” a voice called from the door. Ryu sighed again. Horace was the anvil, and Bonny was the hammer. He was trapped.

“Sister, will you show our friend where to join the expedition?” Horace called.

“If I must,” Bonny said, stepping beside Ryu and nudging him in the ribs. “Come along now, beast.”

Ryu stared at Horace. The man shrugged. Bonny tugged on his arm. Two against one were bad odds for the best of men, and Ryu was far from that. He surrendered.

---

Music and cheering poured out of the half-sunken door of the tavern. A sign above the door read “The Golden Hare” in chipped paint. Ryu stopped, and Bonny looked back at him. He gritted his teeth. Crowds. He clenched and unclenched his fists rapidly, his lip curling.

Bonny flicked his forehead. “Come along, beast. It’s just a tavern.”

Ryu grunted and followed. They slid under the doorway and into the tavern. He sighed. Music and light washed over him in obnoxious waves, followed by the stale smell of alcohol and sweat. What wasn’t there to love? Bonny pulled on his shirt, trying to guide him through the rabble. A man shouted next to Ryu’s ear. The edge of Ryu’s knife gave the man its opinion on shouting. Bonny tugged harder. He followed, back stiff with uncertainty.

Crowds… Ryu let out a small snort. It was funny, really, how many thought a crowd provided comfort. Provided companionship. He never felt lonelier than when in a crowd, never felt less safe. To Ryu, the only difference in a fight and a crowd was that the blades were replaced with words, and somehow, he left the latter with more wounds than the former.

A great bear of a man interrupted Ryu’s train of thoughts with a hand. It wasn’t a hand of welcoming, nor was it a fist. It was a hand wrapped around a waist. Bonny’s. A knot formed in Ryu’s throat, one that he tried to dismiss with a shake of his head. Odd, that. He hadn’t considered himself the jealous type, but then, who did?

“I didn’t think I’d see you here,” the great bear of a man slurred. He held a mug in one hand, and Ryu was doing his best to ignore the other. His face was broad and flat. His eyes were an uninspiring blue. His hair was… Ryu stopped himself, biting the inside of his lip. Right. Not the jealous type, not him.

Bonny pried the man’s arm away from her waist, gripping his wrist with white knuckles. “Just here to see Lucius, no surprise about it. Got a new member for the expedition,” she said, nodding back at Ryu.

‘Phil’ looked at Ryu, mustering something halfway between a grunt and a sneer. He bit his lip harder. The copper taste of blood filled his mouth.

“Nice to meet ya,” the man said after a moment.

Ryu gave him a small nod. “Likewise.”

“Now we’re all friends,” Bonny said with a clap. She grabbed Ryu’s arm and waved at Phil. “Guess I’ll go and introduce him then.”

Bonny led him to one of the larger tables in the tavern where a group sat. A blonde man sat at the front, and Ryu watched him laugh at some joke. It never reached his eyes. Bonny cleared her throat, pulling a chair from a nearby table.

“Ah, the beautiful Miss Foster. How pleasant to see you,” the man said, his smile showing a perfect row of white teeth. “Sit, sit. Tell me, what do you need?”

“Hi, Lucius. I have a friend who wants to join the expedition, actually,” she said, sitting in her chair.

The man’s gaze finally flicked up to Ryu. “How wonderful. We’ll be glad to have you,” he said, gesturing for Ryu to sit in an empty chair. Ryu stayed standing.

A shoulder barged into him, and a man walked past Ryu to sit in the empty chair. It was Phil, the stink of alcohol even heavier on his breath. “Don’t look like much to me,” he said to Lucius, his eyes never leaving Ryu.

The blonde ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe not, but we need the help. However little.”

Bonny laughed. “What’s next? Going to measure cocks? Didn’t realize you’d become a bunch of pricks,” she said.

“Has nothin’ to do with you, Bonny. Just don’t like the look of him, myself,” Phil said, pounding his fist on the table. “The last thing we need on this journey is trouble, you hear?”

Ryu was tired of listening. “Gonna talk about me or to me there, friend?”

“Ain’t much to talk to is-”

“He’s the Ghost,” Bonny said, her words cutting off Phil’s red-nosed tirade.

Lucius seemed to understand the words much sooner than his companion. He sighed. “I’m dreadfully sorry. It seems we’ve been a bit rude, haven’t we?”

“Something like that,” Ryu said.

“Well, no more,” Lucius said, his expression brightening like the sun had just risen. “Let me tell you of the expedition. First off, we’d love to have you. Truly. As you can see, we’ve been a bit stressed lately, but that’s no excuse for our bad manners, is it Phil?”

Phil shook his head. “Suppose not.”

“Right, so back to the expedition. We’ve a good-sized group, close to a hundred. All experts. Our target is a dungeon past the Marshes. Only two teams have ever gone in it. The ones who originally found it. I think they were sponsored by…” he trailed off, working his jaw.

“The Achebe Corporation,” a woman down the table offered. Ryu’s teeth clenched.

“Right, them.” Lucius snapped his fingers. “Anyways, they found the place close to three years ago, but most of the team died. Only one man made it out, a Scout. Then the second team was my own team, actually. We didn’t conquer the dungeon, obviously, but before we used our Exit Stones, we noticed particular… power, I guess you could say. A presence, maybe. One that felt remarkably similar to a World Boss.”

Ryu held back his snort. A World Boss? They were powerful enemies. Extremely powerful. A Master Class might put up a good fight with one, maybe, but a group of Basic Classers? Ryu wasn’t convinced. Basic Classes were just that: basic. Their Skills couldn’t compare to the natural strength of a World Boss or the Techniques of a Master. If Lucius wasn’t lying- a possibility Ryu couldn’t discount-, then the expedition already had the odds stacked against it. The true elites were fighting wars in the lower Rings, not wasting about on the Fifth.

“So you think that means the dungeon is the Gate to the Sixth?” he asked.

Lucius smiled. “We do.”

“Seems like a bit of a wager,” Ryu said.

“Yes, but that’s all the Fifth Ring has to offer these days. Call it a choice between two evils. Stay in this hellhole, or try to find something better at the risk of death. I don’t know about you, but we know which one we consider the lesser of the two,” the blonde man said.

Ryu nodded. “Suppose there’s some sort of logic in that.” Twisted logic, maybe, but that was the only type he understood to begin with.

“So are you in?” Lucius asked with a wide smile.

“Sure.”

---

Bonny and Ryu walked out of the tavern, both feeling relieved for different reasons. For Ryu, it was the smell of outside air and the fading of the deafening noise of the bar. For Bonny, he assumed it was a relief that she no longer had to make sure he didn’t do anything… disagreeable. Still, a tension lay under the relief, one that Ryu refused to just let go. He wasn’t exactly the type to think on a worry. He preferred to act.

“Beautiful Miss Foster, eh?” Ryu asked in a mocking tone. It seemed he wasn’t the type to be subtle, either. More’s the pity.

“Didn’t realize a compliment would bother you so much,” Bonny said lightly, not even turning her head back to speak to him.

He glared at the frizzy hair that covered the back of her head, hoping he would look so hard she’d feel it. Hoping he’d come up with a good reply. “I guess it doesn’t. Just hadn’t realized you’d been so busy in my absence.”

She laughed. “Busy? I waited for you. Not that it’s any of your business, but I have never been with Lucius. Or Phil,” she said.

“Didn’t seem that way.”

“Didn’t realize you owned me,” she said, turning to look at him.

“Never said I did. Just odd that you wanted me to feel bad for leaving when it didn’t seem like you took long to move on,” he said. His mouth was dry, his fists clenched. When had he started yelling? Why was he so angry? Why was he being so-

“Shut the fuck up!” a man yelled, his upper body leaning out of a window on the second story of the building behind him.

Ryu and Bonny exchanged looks. They walked back to the store in silence.