I was still quite drunk when I woke up the following morning. I stumbled over Teos and out of bed. The lion was still snoring as I crept out of my room.

"I need to buy a bigger bed," I mumbled as I walked into the kitchen. Teos insisted on sleeping in the bed, and I didn't have the heart to command him not to. My familiar was massive, though, and only left me a quarter of the queen-sized bed to sleep on. I also wanted to make numerous other upgrades to the house. I'd like hot water for one and some of those cooling crystals to place throughout the rooms. The temperature here was lower than the desert had been, but it was still a tropical climate.

It was nice to be able to have some mundane worries for once. The information from Sam had raised my spirits considerably. Sure, Liana was probably out there scheming, but without the money and power, she was no longer such a grave concern. Last night we had real fun together for the first time. Without the threat of the Bainmourths looming over us, we could finally let loose. There was no acting, no putting on a mask. We were just a group of friends celebrating and getting drunk.

My teammates were both sitting in the kitchen. Cass was facedown with her forehead on the wooden table, her hair was a mess, and she was groaning audibly. Leo, on the other hand, seemed totally fine. That was odd, considering he was probably the drunkest out of all of us last night.

"Why aren't you on the struggle bus?" I asked him, my voice hoarse.

He smiled, then cast something. I instantly felt the half-drunk half-hangover feeling vanish. As if last night never happened at all. I felt so good I could run a fucking marathon.

"How the—" I began.

"Apparently, my Cure spell classifies alcohol as poison," he interrupted with a grin.

Cass finally picked her head up off the table and glared at the young mage, "You knew that the whole time? You let me sit here and suffer for over an hour!" she yelled.

"You made us drink those awful shots last night! They made me puke!" he rebuked.

"I can't remember anything after we drank that," I added.

"Expert dryads brewed that liquor for over a century! We were lucky they even had a bottle!" she answered.

They argued back and forth for a minute while I just stood there, feeling content that they seemed more relaxed than ever before. They squabbled like a brother and sister, and I couldn't help but smile. Cass eventually proclaimed it was Leo's "duty as our healer" and he relented with a grumble.

"Oh gods, that's so much better," Cass proclaimed while cracking her neck.

"I'm going to do some shopping today. I was hoping you guys could tell me where I'd be able to find a few things." I stated as I sat with them. They were as new to the city as I was, but at least they'd know what kind of shops to look for.

"What are you planning on getting?" Leo asked.

I told them the few items I was looking for specifically and asked if there was some general store that had a little of everything.

"Why bother with the cooling crystals? Just get an enchanted piece of gear that keeps you comfortable. Most runescribes have them pre-made," Cass replied.

"Those exist?" I asked in awe.

"Sometimes I forget you're from a different world," Leo stated. He looked embarrassed after he did, as if he had made a mistake.

I laughed, "Guys, you don't have to keep avoiding the subject. I'm from a different planet! You should be fascinated. I can't go home, and I'm beginning to accept that. I miss my family and friends, sure, but my life was so... uninteresting. I always wanted to see new things and meet new people, but I never let myself out of my shell. I have the opportunity here to change that! On Earth, every day was the same. Get up. Go to work. Go home. Go to sleep. Here, every day is an adventure! It's all new and exciting, and I have something to look forward to when I wake up every morning."

Leo and Cass began bombarding me with questions, and we talked for the better part of an hour about technology, science, art, and just general daily life. I knew they'd never let me leave at this rate, so I promised we'd continue the conversation later. I threw on a sleeveless linen tunic, a pair of shorts, and my leather boots and headed out for the city. Teos rushed after me like an excited puppy.

I wanted to swing by The Iron Draelok first to ask something I'd been curious about for a while. I asked Teos to wait outside. Smoke poured from the chimneys as the blacksmiths worked their forges. The two cousins, Ned and Lucas, were busy as always. I still had yet to meet the owner, Maddy. I walked over to Ned and greeted him. He carefully guided the cutting edge of a dagger along a whetstone in smooth, sweeping motions.

"My spear could certainly use a touch-up. Do you sell sharpening stones here?" I asked him.

"Yeah! We have a huge selection next to the utility and kitchen knives," he replied.

I wandered over to the spot he told me about and looked over the options. There were dozens of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Many had a numeric value painted on the sides. I was about to ask Ned for guidance when a dwarven woman barged through the door. She was carrying what had to be three hundred pounds of metal rods over her shoulder. She walked over to the forge area and set them down like it was nothing. She had bright red hair woven into a giant braid that ran down her back. She wore a simple brown tunic and trousers, with a leather apron over them that I noticed most blacksmiths wore. I noticed her Prime Rune was the same anvil and hammer the cousins had, but she also had two Augment Runes. Her shoulders, arms, and forearms were massive. She could have been a powerlifter on Earth. I examined her quickly.

[Maddegith Kragbender - Level 87 Blacksmith]

"Why ye starin' at me like a slack-jawed willernabbit, lad? Knock it off, or I'll throw ya out the door!" she shouted in the familiar accent most dwarves had.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just fascinated by your Runes. I've only ever seen smiths with the primary one before. How do profession Runes work? I'm from a small village, and I've only just learned about all this." I told her as I gestured to her shop.

She chuckled, "Yer fine. Having a good-lookin' young lad inspect me isn't the worst thing that can happen to me! Prime is the Blacksmith Rune, but the Augments can only be earned at Journeyman Rank and then Expert Rank. The final rune will be me specialization. I'll be an Armorsmith once I reach Level 100," she declared proudly.

Did all crafting professions work that way? There was still so much I needed to learn about how this world worked, especially when it came to crafting and magical equipment. If I forged a blade, would it just be a regular knife, or would it have stats and effects? I was tempted to bombard Maddy with questions, but I needed to stay on track.

"I was just about to ask Ned which sharpening stones I should buy," I told her.

"Well, depends on the blade. Higher-grade materials will require different stones to sharpen. Basic whetstones work for most low to mid-grade steels, but specialized materials require some high-grade stones. The stone has to be harder than the material yer tryin' to sharpen. Understand, lad?" she asked.

"That makes perfect sense, actually. You wouldn't be able to sharpen a stick with a marshmallow." I answered.

"What in the Seven Seals is a marshmallow?" she questioned. The word sounded hilarious when spoken with her accent.

"Oh, it's like a soft cake. Well, not a cake, exactly. Honestly, I don't even know what they are, but they're really soft," I rambled.

She gave me a puzzled look but continued anyway, "Exactly. So, what did ye need to be sharpened, that dagger there?" she asked and pointed at Magefang on my belt.

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I summoned my spear from the Cache and presented it to her. That action caused her to crack a smile. She took the spear and held it in both hands, inspecting it.

"Hmmm... Blood Guard's Bonespear. Item Level 14. Epic quality. Haft is made from Shimmer Raptor bone, and this blade is Ustrium. Most call it Orcsteel since only orcs forge with it. A nice piece. That unique effect is probably quite handy, too, eh?" she asked without looking up from the weapon.

"Yeah, it is, but wait, item level? Orcsteel? Raptor Bone? Can you see all that just from inspecting it? Can you teach me?" I asked eagerly.

She handed back my spear and laughed, "Maybe I can teach ye to sense item levels, but the rest is from me Runes, lad. Any self-respecting smith can identify materials. As for which stones ye need..." she trailed off as she picked up three whetstones from the shelf.

"You start from lower grits and work yer way up," she explained as she handed me them.

I noticed the numbers on each one were different. Red was 120, yellow was 400, and green was 1000. I had sharpened my kitchen knives at home but only used one of those electric sharpeners that did all the work for you. I would have to practice on some basic knives before I attempted to sharpen my weapons.

"Thank you, Maddy! I'll be back soon. Maybe you can teach me about those item levels?" I probed after I had paid the dwarf.

"Ye kept me from work long enough! Get out of me fuckin' shop, lad!" she joked.

I laughed as I left the store. She may have kicked me out, but I could tell she genuinely enjoyed talking about her craft and teaching me. I had been tempted to ask her to inspect the weapons Gilthurdez had given us but feared she might be able to discern where I got them from. If she could teach me that talent, though, I'd be able to do it myself. I could inspect items in my Cache without removing them, so I didn't need to worry about the mana drained by equipping them.

Teos matched my pace as I further explored the trade section of the Guild area. I approached a building with a magical sign in the window that said "Merl's Runescribing." I was so busy staring at all the various magic items that I nearly tripped over a gnome in dark purple robes who was fiddling with a jewelry display. He had round glasses and a white beard that surrounded his wrinkled face.

"Sorry! I need to pay more attention." I declared.

"It's quite alright! I remember you from when you first came to town and entered my shop. Alex, right? Are you in need of something?" he asked.

"Actually, I am. I want to find something that keeps me cool in this heat. I gotta say I'm impressed you remembered my name from our brief encounter," I chuckled.

"A gnome never forgets! Merlden Drassle, Expert Runescribe, at your service. What you're asking for is my most popular enchantment. I have ready-made pieces, or I can even enchant a piece of your own gear if you fancy," he said as he gestured toward a floating board.

It reminded me of a chalkboard, but the letters and numbers were glowing silver. It was a list of popular enchantments Merl offered and a description of each.

* Winter's Kiss - Item keeps the wearer refreshingly cool. Warning: Does not prevent heat or fire damage - 3 Gold.

* Perfect Fit - Item will adjust to fit the wearer - 2 Gold.

* Self-Repair - Item will slowly repair itself over time. Warning: Does not work if the item is wholly obliterated - 6 Gold.

* Whisper - Item no longer generates any noise while the wearer is moving - 2 Gold.

The list of available enchants seemed endless. There was an incredible variety to choose from. There were even some that enhanced fertility or helped hair grow.

"Can you enchant clothes, too?" I questioned Merl.

"Oh, yes! I can enchant just about anything," he responded in his chipper voice. He reminded me of a kind old man who enjoyed his work.

I watched in awe as Merl went to work on one of my shirts. He used what looked like a metal wand with a sharp, glowing tip. He delicately ran the end over the shirt as if he was painting. His hands were so steady I had to wonder if they were magically enhanced. Blue lines materialized after each pass, eventually forming runes that vanished once completed.

"Can I get more than one enchantment on a single item?" I asked.

Merl answered without stopping his delicate work, "Unfortunately, no. Trying to apply a second will override the first enchantment."

I left the shop with six shirts and one bracelet enchanted with Winter's Kiss. Two were what I wore under my armor, and the rest were undershirts or casual shirts. I quickly swapped into one of the casual shirts and felt immediate relief from the heat. It felt like I was in a nice air-conditioned room.

"You have no idea how good this feels, Teos," I told the lion as we walked away from the Guild section of town. The lion didn't mind the heat at all, and I was starting to think he might even be immune to fire or heat-based damage. We walked to the merchant district of Fayne, which took about fifteen minutes. I was feeling much better now that the heat wasn't an issue.

I asked a Silsword if he knew where I could buy a bed, and he pointed me toward a street full of larger shops and warehouses. I found a huge store that sold just about anything you could need for a house. I was wandering around just in awe of all the unbelievable items they had on Astika. Some fixtures generated light, but instead of a lightbulb, they had a spherical crystal. I found a pen that used mana instead of ink and grabbed a leather-bound notebook to pair with it. I finally spotted what I came here for, the beds. They had beds in every shape and size. I had to laugh when I saw some of them were advertised as being enchanted never to squeak, no matter the "activity."

I settled on a large standard shape bed slightly larger than a king-size on Earth. It had a well-made wooden base, and the mattress felt like you were inside a cloud. I found a salesman and told him I'd take the bed, pen, and notebook. I paid the man and stored the pen and notebook in my Cache, but a message popped up when I went to store the bed.

[Warlord's Cache does not have enough space to store this item.]

I tried a couple more times to be sure, but it didn't work. Damn, I had thought my inventory skill was infinite. The salesman said I could have it delivered for 50 Silver, so I went with that and filled out a piece of paper with my name and address. He told me they'd have it to me later this afternoon, which was fine by me.

Teos and I began our short walk back to the house when my stomach started rumbling. I skipped breakfast again. I decided to swing by the Hunters Hall and grab some food. Nerzhyn was in her office with another group of Stalkers, but I spotted Sam sitting at a table alone. I grabbed some food from the kitchen and sat down with him. The kitchen staff loved my familiar, and always tossed him a huge serving of whatever meat they had on hand. The lion "thanked" them with a growl and dragged his meat back near our table.

"Everything alright, Sam?" I asked him.

"Oh yeah, just still feeling the effects from last night, is all," he replied with a smile.

I laughed, "You need to find Leo then. He can cure hangovers! How you holding up?"

"I'm good. The room they put me in is fancy as hell. The food's good, too. It's been a long time since I felt this calm," he told me.

"I'm glad you're doing well, Sam. You saved our asses, and I still need to repay you for that," I declared.

"It was nothing. Telovir is the one you should be thanking," he retorted.

"Of course, we would have never made it out of there without either of you," I responded.

"No, I'm not talking about that. Do you remember when they summoned you here? That pile of gear by the exit gate?" he asked.

"It's hard to forget," I said sullenly.

"Telovir put that stuff there every year. He doesn't want anyone to know, but I watched him do it every year right before they summoned the tribute. After a few years, I asked him, 'Tel, why bother? They keep dying!' He told me, 'It doesn't cost me anything, Sam, and one day, it's going to mean the world to someone,' Tel never let that place break him, and he never gave up hope," Samuel explained.

I had figured it was someone's discarded junk. Now that I was thinking about it, though, the shield I grabbed was magical. The dwarf brothers who tried to kill me weren't even in magical gear. That shield saved my life. Telovir saved my life more than once.

Sam must have seen my expression, "Don't tell him I told you! He doesn't want you to get all mushy on him. Those are his words, not mine."

"I'll try to keep it to myself, but you're asking a lot. I wanted to ask you something, Sam," I said as I nodded toward his right arm, which he covered with one of his typical long-sleeved shirts.

His face turned blank. I hated to bring this up, but I needed to know.

"Can anything be done to reverse what Hector did to you?" I probed.

Sam sighed, looking at his arm, "I don't know. I don't think so, Alex. Do you understand what Hector's magic did to me?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Hector's magic was a perversion. Many of my faith believe dominion magic comes from something other than Astika. A dark entity," he stated.

"But you told me all magic came from here. How can any other source exist?" I responded.

"The Seven Seals. The theory is they're not prisons but gateways. A massive portal network that connects countless worlds," he declared.

If the universe really was full of inhabited planets, I'd have to guess more than one would be magical. Sam talked about Astika as if she was a sentient being, if other planets like her existed, nothing stopped them from being evil. How many planets were connected by this network? Was Earth one of them? Is that why they can no longer travel outside their planet with spatial magic? A portal network made too much sense. Gilthurzed had said he'd been to Earth before the Seals were placed. Fuck! I should have asked him more. The Guild was tight-lipped about the Seals, and even the Hunters returning from Oraphis wouldn't talk about it.

"Why cut off access to the other worlds suddenly?" I finally asked.

"I have to tell you this is theory. None of it is proven, Alex. The dark entity began seizing control of other worlds through the portal network. Had the gods not sealed it, every planet connected would have fallen," Sam explained.

Sam's explanation made too much sense, and existential dread began taking over. Did that mean if the Seals failed, Earth would fall too? So if this were true, the only way for me to get home would also destroy my home. Fucking great.

Sam deftly changed the subject, "What do you know of mana?"

"I need it to use my abilities, and it powers certain things. Gear draws upon it to grant the stats and attributes. Trying to push yourself to use skills without the mana they require can cause serious damage," I answered.

"You haven't even scratched the surface. Mana is in everything. The air, the water, the food, and the table we're sitting at. It permeates this world, and we draw upon it to use magic or power creations. In your world, are they familiar with human anatomy and biology?" Sam asked me.

That question startled me. I figured the knowledge here would pale in comparison to technology-driven Earth.

"Yeah, we're all taught about it from a young age," I replied.

"So you know the circulatory system? How blood flows through the body?" he questioned.

I nodded, and he continued, "Imagine if someone tied off all your veins and arteries, sealing them closed. How would the blood reach your organs? Let's say there's a symbolic system that allows mana to flow through you, like blood vessels. That is what Hector took from me. He severed my connection to Astika and her mana," he lamented.

"I think I understand, but why would I have access to it? I wasn't born here," I added.

"It's not a physical organ that I'm speaking of. It's a connection with the ambient mana. It is supernatural. Arcanists have not been able to detect it directly, but some say it could be the soul," Sam continued.

"So Hector removed your soul?" I asked, not hiding my astonishment.

He chuckled, "No, Alex. He hid me from The Veiled Queen and her mana. I can't draw it in, and I can't use it. You won't understand unless you can sense ambient mana. Close your eyes, and reach out, not physically, but mentally. Try to visualize your connection to Astika. Feel her power surrounding you," he instructed.

After a few minutes, I opened my eyes, "I tried, but nothing changed."

"Don't try, just relax and feel it," he declared.

I sighed, "Do all mentors speak in riddles? Aren't you supposed to be tiny and green?"

I closed my eyes and meditated. Not on anything specific. I just made myself aware of each breath, each heartbeat. This time I felt something—a spark in the distance. It was warm and kind. I reached out to it, and that spark combusted. The world around me exploded and transformed in a single instant.

[You have gained a new Talent.]