Outside the Terrarium, the enclosure was the size and shape of a teapot with clear glass to view the spectacle inside. It was a wooden cabin that resembled a Roundhouse with a stone foundation surrounded by a herb garden.
The forest was large, and the trees were the oldest Gin had ever seen. The tree roots were twice the size of his head. Yet the entire place screamed dark forest; enter at your own risk. Gin would have loved to have the option to leave, but he was already there. Confident there was a way out, he calmed.
He stared at the creepy Cabin and decided not to enter it. His [Awareness] spread through the entire area. There were insects of all different sizes, but the monster he saw wasn’t anywhere to be found except something was filling the Cabin.
He looked at his hand and clenched his fist. This is the life he signed up for.
“Adventure awaits.”
He climbed the steps, floorboards creaking under his weight. Gin used his ability to look behind the door and felt nothing. The being was gone. The door opened, and five steps led down to a hall. In the center of the Cabin was a Furnace with kitchen utensils and lots of pots and pans. On the left side of the wall were a half-filled bookshelf and steps that led up to a large bunk bed with a couch under it.
A dinner table and a smaller bunk bed with a couch were on the right. In the back was a room Gin assumed was a restroom based on the towel and a silver metal plate on the wall that looked like a mirror. The strange part was that it all looked used and lived in.
The pots were used, the books looked disorganized, and the beds were messily folded, like people had stepped out for a while and would be back anytime. Gin took the view briefly because it wasn’t what he expected. Then he looked up, and the giant spider spat and the glob of webs smacked into him with a heavy thud.
Gin struggled to push out the webs, but the spider was already in his face. He had already subconsciously begun to create needles, and the spider seemed to notice. Its leg slammed into his face. His head spun from the pain as he tasted the blood in his mouth. He spat, and the spider began to wrap its webs around him.
“You have a strong body. Not like the others.”
A cultured voice echoed in his mind. Shocked at the weird interaction, Gin stopped struggling for a few seconds. The voice continued.
“But your mind is something else. I can’t find it, but I know it’s there. This spider’s mind was weak, but it would be a splendid treat if I possessed someone’s body like yours. I must apologize; this was all put together at the last minute. Welcome to my humble abode.”
“What are you? Some kind of mutant?”
Gin’s voice grumbled under the strain.
“No, I am more.”
The spider rose high, puffing out its chest.
“I am this Terrarium.”
The spider’s eyes watched him for a reaction, but Gin just stared back.
“Why aren’t you afraid?”
The spider cocked its head.
“I mean, you’ve sensed my mind, right?”
The spider didn’t twitch, but the voice sounded hesitant.
“Um. I’m not sure what to say to that.”
The spider moved closer.
“Let me show you.”
Gin shrank his [Awareness] to the size of six feet around him. Curiously, he asked a question. The spider seemed to disappear from his senses when he stepped through the door.
“How did you hide your presence?”
Gin had been thinking about being able to hide the presence of his Awareness from other psychics ever since he met that man at the gate. The spirit’s relaxed manner changed, and it shrieked.
“A Psion!”
His claws began to burn, and the possessed spider smelled the fire before Gin ripped through the webs.
“What are you doing? Stop that!”
Its leg came down, but this time, Gin was ready. Its legs slammed into his [psychic force wall] as Gin rose to his feet, and his claws grew glowing a bright red. The spider made a chittering noise, and he saw it through his senses. Thousands of spiders stormed the Cabin. He groaned.
“No, come on!”
The Gin focused on the [curse-eating flame], and then his claws turned gold. The spider’s eight eyes closed as the [cursed eating flame] began to feed on the atmosphere. The spirit screamed, and the Terrarium trembled. A translucent azure light left the spider, and the monster slumped forward and began to move differently, like a beast who had spotted its prey.
Gin’s needle filled the space around him. The spider spat a white glob, and Gin rolled out of the way and ran up the wall. The glob melted through the floorboard, and the acid’s scent wafted in the room. The spider squealed and attacked. The window crashed, allowing more spiders to climb into the Cabin. His needles launched and filled everything around him with holes, including the massive spider, but it kept coming. Gina’s golden claws cut off its attacking legs. The spider fell from the ceiling, but Gin couldn’t create enough needles to deal with all the spiders. He fell, cut the spider in half, and then used his upgraded ability.
[Firewave] Like the rise of a flood, the surge exploded from his feet and climbed up the walls, setting everything inside the Cabin on fire. The tiny spiders screamed as the house burned around him. The spirit’s voice thundered in the Terrarium.
“You, you monster. You destroyed my Home. I will kill you. How will my daughter ever have a home to return to?”
The spirit’s voice began to change, growing larger and more bestial.
“You must die.”
Gin closed his eyes and focused on changing the fire from the burning Cabin from red flame to gold. The spirit began to scream in pain.
“I’m not sure if anyone told you this, but I found this Terrarium in a magic thrift shop. I’m sorry to tell you this, but whoever you are waiting for is waiting for you in the next life, so go in peace. You don’t have to cling to this place anymore, or these flames will eat you alive, I mean dead. You know what I mean.”
“You lying you killed her, didn’t you? If I’m going to die in taking you with me.”
The earth shook, and the trees began to fall, and Gin found himself running away from a forest that ended at the glass walls of the Terrarium. They fed on the energy of the spirit, and the fire grew larger, sat trees on fire, and smoke filled the Terrarium until the spirit could no longer hold on. The fire seemed to have eaten all the spirit’s power. The fire slowly died. Died as Gin heard it.
“Oh my Tilly, My little girl.”
“Goodbye.”
The dark air about the place slowly lifted the golden fire, had nothing to feed on, and slowly died. Gin hid himself inside his force wall under a pile of trees. He climbed out of the debris to stare at the carnage. Gin liked the Cabin. He could have used it while he traveled. He sighed, and then he remembered there were more Terrariums. He spat blood from his busted lip.
“Now, how do I get out of here?”
The Terrarium began to change. Everything became a little brighter. A subtle breeze shook the trees as if the seasons had changed. The Cabin began to rebuild itself until it was a bit larger than its original size.
“Hello?”
Nothing responded. Gin heard birds chirping and bugs, but it felt calm. The Magic of the place seemed to attach to his Mana, and suddenly, he knew. What to say to leave, he thought to himself, and word came to him.
“Umm. Tilly?”
Gin found himself inside the terrarium aisle. The tablet sat on the floor before him. He picked up a tablet and scanned the Terrarium.
Sweet Home: created by Decius Farler, a level 59 [Gardener] who wanted his daughter to bring a piece of Home on her travels. He so badly wanted his daughter to be safe that he gave the Terrarium everything he had and passed away. After her father died, the Terrarium came to life. Tilly died challenging Zystar, The Tower of Seasons, and Decius Farler’s spirit refused to believe she died and never moved on. Only the name of the one he loved could allow entry. Extremely dangerous; do not enter.
“Dangerous got it.”
Gin picked up the Terrarium and brought it to the front. On his way, there was a rack of weapons. He placed a mace by the miniature furnace burning golden light; Ada was asleep. What do I need to remember? Red said she had a technique scroll. Now, if I were a technique scroll. Where would I be? He thought to himself.
Gin entered the back room. There were only two corridors. A mask sat on a box filled with various items, and his psi abilities resonated with the mask. At the end of the corridor, He found a small shelf that said Spells, stones, and Techniques. His eyes washed over the back room.
The techniques were actual scrolls, but the stones were small, thin glass bottles the size of a finger with class spells for mage classes written on their side. The fact that they were in the shop could have been more exciting. Gin began to read. Technique scroll wasn’t just a skill. It was a whole school of fight style. Gin had already created his own style from his master and added the claws, but something was missing, so it was incomplete.
After he read a few, he began to see the problem with the technique scrolls. They had requirements to gain the school of style. The skills were powerful, but their requirements were primarily suicidal. Most involved killing their opponents with no magic or skill, only what they learned from the scroll in a fight to the death. There were two scrolls that Gin wanted. One was a technique scroll that involved fighting with claws, and another used needles and steel wire threads, perfect for trapping and killing monsters. It was the only scroll with the odd requirement of learning how to knit, which was the Tailor class.
He remembered having to knit his clothes and eat Raman when he started saving money to move out of the Orphanage. He dusted off the scrolls and read The Dance of the Dragonblood Songila and the Southern Giratain forest-style scroll.
“Many of the things that ended up in this store killed someone or were taken from someone.”
“Holy shit Red. I almost fried you.”
Red yawned.
“All I’m saying is that the people who owned them got killed, so you better train like hell because they probably did. Come show me what you created.”
“You know I should be worried that you’re not trying to tell me to put it back.”
“Many people who live on these levels have loved ones who left them behind. My son and then my husband. This was my husband’s store. He had the enchanter class he used to try to reverse the enchantment and make new things. I studied Terrariums.”
Red sat on her chair behind the counter. She stared at the flames and smiled.
“Terrariums? Are you some kind of space mage? If that’s true, then you didn’t need my help.”
“No, I used contracts. Terrariums are just like eggs; there are dozens of to cook. There are contracts, space magic, dungeon creation, and Domain magic. I am a Domain crafter.”
Gin looked around.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Then why aren’t you rich?”
She waved him off.
“There are more advanced creations, like spatial devices. Why bring one of those? When you have a spatial device.”
“I want one. I’m taking this one.”
“I see you got rid of that crazy old ghost.”
“I feel like you really didn’t need my help.”
She smiled again and stared at the fire.
“I knew you were a genius.”
“If you let someone help you, they could have done better. I’m not a genius.”
Red frowned.
“I let you help me, and all you wanted were some trinkets and not the whole store. Do you know the requirements to enter my store? Pure and honest intention. That’s why Ibara couldn’t get in here. You came here to help an old lady, and that’s exactly what you did. I left you alone with all these things, and you didn’t try to grab what you could and run or try to kill me. If I hear you say one more negative thing about yourself, I’m going to kick your butt.”
“I didn’t.”
Gin thought on the conversation and then gave a wry smile.
“Okay, I’ll try.”
Gin went over how he came to create the fire and everything else about the Terrarium. After a while, Gin realized that he’d been in the shop.
“Interesting, what you did was use emotion-based Magic. It’s not very rare but exceptionally difficult to control. Cursed Magic works as a cornerstone in emotional Magic. Infusing the emotion of determination and catharsis while providing a way for this flame to feed on the cursed energy like a grinding flame of purification. Most academics might have done this differently; maybe they just locked the shop doors and threw away the keys. I give you six out of ten. Well done.”
“A six?”
“Yes, your plan was reckless, and if it blew up in your face, we would both be dead or worse. So far, it has been stable. Now, show me your meditation practice. How the energy through your body looks as if it’s incompatible with your affinity.”
Gin booked
“What. Now? I don’t know who you are?”
“Welcome to the fourth floor.”
Gin looks around.
“Here?”
The old lady stared at him.
“What’s this all about?”
“You helped me and now I’m helping you.”
“You look like a fighter.”
“That is the real question. I retired from being a climber when I met my love. My goal was to become rich, not immortal.”
Gin grinned.
“I knew it!”
He began to laugh. Gin wasn’t interested in this not as far as they could help get out of the deadly situation alive. If they had the growth aspects, he would care for them like his best friend Ada, who was still pretending to be asleep. The receptionist did mention the thing about high-level shop owners. Now he’s found someone who might be able to help him.
“Thank you.”
Red nodded to his thank you.
“Focus.”
Gin closed his eyes and began to meditate. He inhaled, filling his chest with warm air.
“Stop.”
Gin opened his eyes.
“What was that? Are you trying to burn away your energy paths? That was an activation to something else, some kind of spell. Try again.”
Gin frowned.
“That’s how I meditate.”
“How many times have you done that?”
“So far, once.”
She poked him in the head.
“The higher you get in the Tower, the natural Prana energy you’ll find in the atmosphere. Therefore, we must devise a way to let the energy pass through our bodies properly or die from Prana sickness. If you do it right, you can leave the Tower no matter what floor you surpass. Do this wrong, and you can never leave the Tower. Many people talk about the number of people who died in the Tower, but no one will tell you how many died after they leave, so listen, this is important.”
“But what is Prana is it the same as Mana?”
“Prana combines all energy into one force, the natural energy. Your body has been absorbing Prana since you set foot in this Tower. That is why you are stronger and faster, but soon, that will plateau, and you will have to pull the energy into your body until you can do it in your sleep. Mana is the individual parts of Magic. It is used to form unique spells. It’s not a lesser form of Magic, just not as potent.”
She stared at Gin for a few seconds.
“That’s enough for now. Here.”
She handed him a scroll that said Aquatic Dragon meditation.
“You have Gill. You also have, water, earth, and most of all, fire affinity. That build-up of heat in your chest is the activation of a spell [Fire breath]. You are closely related to the Levaithan’s great water Dragons but your hands are something else. I had to search my vault to find this, so don’t lose it.”
Gin stared at the scroll.
“How do you know a Leviathan? Houses you mean?”
Red cuts him off.
“I see you don’t trust me.”
The ring on her finger shimmered and the head of a gargoyle statue appeared. Gin stepped back.
“It won’t hurt you. Just place your hand upon it. Gargoyles are among the oldest mythical beings to have lived. Their survival instinct went beyond turning to stone by day. They were also used to hide from the original beast, ancient immortal god beings. Fear is so ingrained in their bodies. With a good enchanter, one can get their bodies to react to certain prominent bloodlines. Now touch it.”
Gin tapped the monster and waited for it to react, but nothing happened. He slowly placed his hand on its head. The monster’s mouth opened and gasped like gravel on a grindstone. Its eyes opened as blue as the sky, and then it spoke.
Initializing
Bloodline test activated…
Gin felt a jolt through his body, painful, but it faded quickly.
Bloodline detected….
Initializing
Psionic Bloodline detected
Psionic compatibility..98.99 percent.
Psionic race…
Error.
Ancient detected.
Ancient detected.
The head began to melt. Red waved her hand and the head disappeared. She sighed.
“What was that?”
“Abyssal beings do not like to be recognized so they cut the connection. For your other question, haven’t you been paying attention?”
“You can’t just spring shit like that on me. What’s an abyssal?”
“A leviathan. I have to do some more research but for now, use the scroll I gave you. It costs a lot of credits.”
Gin realized she was talking about her money. Of course, she’s rich, so this was probably a test to recruit people, Gin thought.
“What house are you with?”
Red smiled.
“There we go. I’m not with any of the houses. I’m into protecting what’s mine and mine alone. I have some ties with the Climbers Guild.
“I thought the climbers’ guild was close to the upper tower families?”
“We have a few council members on their side, but we’re Climbing first and everything else second. Nobles’ house leaders are greedy. We recognized that long ago and made iron rules to ensure their greed doesn’t corrupt our goals.”
“And what is your goal.”
“Gain a foothold in the greater universe to keep our world safe.”
“Is your husband?”
“Yes, that’s all true, I’m just not a weak old lady.”
She gave him a sardonic smile.
“I have something I need to do tomorrow. I’ll come back and check on the fire. It’ll die if there is no cursed energy in the shop.”
Gin didn’t know what to say. He was still learning about the world. It was good to know the Climbers Guild weren’t sellouts, but finding out what Bloodline he had gave his stomach backflips. From his point of view, Dragons were excellent, but honestly, is that why he liked to fight or why his [Awareness] was so strong?
“You can come back here anytime. I’ll keep this Terrarium and do something extra to it.”
Gin nodded.
“Okay. Thank you for what you’re doing, but I have no intention of joining any group.”
Red stared at him uncaringly and nodded.
“Certainly. You helped me, and I helped you think of this as an exchange, nothing more. Think of me as someone interested in ensuring the right people reach the top.”
He waited for Red to say something else but she just watched him leave the shop. At sunset, he had been in the shop all day and hadn’t bought any clothes. All the food vendors were still selling food, and dinner was exceptional. After asking for directions, Gin bought skewered meat and a stick and found a shop with under-armor clothing. He bought primarily dark colors because he was in a tower and didn’t know what the Tower held in store for him on the next floor. Dark colors are for hiding and not drawing too much attention.
After he got to the Inn, he put on his new armor. The armor seemed to shift to fit the shape and size of his body, and while draining a little Mana, the tail seemed to come alive on its own. To Gin, it was as if the armor had a sort of consciousness. He promised himself to treat the armor with care.
He didn’t have the space to move around, but he practiced his Kata in the armor, and the armor balanced his twists and turns. Before he left the shop, Red gave him a purple psi stone and a Red firestone. He took the psi stone and decided to keep the other stone for when he had time to train. He had a fight at the shell for now, and the psi stone would only amplify his ability. Gin felt when the stone was absorbed by his [Awareness].
Gin frowned as a surge of energy burst into his mind, and a wave of euphoria fell over him. An understanding locked into his mind, and then he understood that he had a new ability, not of the system, as if his [Awareness] had reached the next level.
Gin created a needle with a silver color. He stared at it and made it more prominent. It grew to a foot long, and then he touched his creation, and the needle felt cold. He created various weapons like knives and swords, but he couldn’t create heavy weapons, which was fine. He had grown used to using the needles, so using more was only a plus.
Gin put on the mask and looked in the mirror. The mask began to feed on his psi energy, and a clone stepped out of his body and another. Gin turned around, and the clones wore a simile mask, except they were different colors. Gin took off the mask, and the clones faded into dust. Gin grinned.
“That might be useful down the line.”
“Hey, what did I say about this thing surrounding the entire place? It feels like you got stronger! I’ve never met anyone with such an annoying ability.”
“Hi, my name is Gin, and you are?”
“None of your business. Just pull your Aura back so I can get some sleep.”
“What if I told you that if you told me which room you were in, I could wake you if someone was sneaking up to your door?”
“Are you trying to extort me?”
“No, I’m just offering a service.”
“And what do you get out of this?”
“What tower are you currently climbing?”
“Oh, Mnepires.”
“I’m looking for a team.”
“What?”
She hesitated.
“Why would someone as strong as you need a team?”
“I aim to reach the top I don’t want to go fast. I want to go far.”
“I’ll think about it. Just pull back your ability for an hour because I’m about to take a bath, and I’m sure that if you tried, you could see me.”
“I wouldn’t, I don’t even know where you are.”
“Good.”
Gin sighed and retracted his Aura from her room. From the moment she used a tendril of Mana to connect to his sphere of influence, he knew where she was, but telling someone like that would only freak her out and scare her away, so Gin respected her wishes. He read the monster compendium for two hours and got ready for his fight the next day, excited to see what came next.
“Damn it. If you watch my back tonight, I’ll pay you back tomorrow. I’m still thinking about your question, so leave me alone.”
“Got it. Good night.”
She scoffed, and Gin smiled.
Gin awoke the next day and tried a dark grey tunic under his black armor on his new clothing. Grey trousers and a leather belt with a hook for his new mace. He covered his eyes and walked down the steps. Ada was right behind him. The thing about Ada was that as long as she ate new things, she would keep getting strong. Gin convinced her they would hunt in the forest for a few days to reach level thirty when he finished the auction. The main lunch hall of the InnInn was full, but this adventurer stared at him.
“Hey, you’re that blind guy going to fight Bart, right?”
Gin hesitated. The adventurer went on.
“That bastard has been on this floor for two years trying to reach level thirty because he’s too scared to leave the city. I hope you kick his ass. That idiot doesn’t realize you don’t walk with a cane.”
The adventurer snorted.
“Make sure it hurts.”
Gin sat and found himself being encouraged by other Adventurers. His questions were: why did they know about Bart, and how long have they been on the same floor? A girl with reddish brown hair and light brown skin sat before him, kicking her feet on the table. Her purple eyes glared at him, daring him to say something.
“I never got your name?”
“Nhoka of the Toeshian mountain [Poison hunter], one question: you’re not one of the Third Eye cultists, right?”
“Nope.”
“Good, this is my partner, Thade.”
Thade was older by a few years, with broad shoulders. He looked like a typical heroic character from a fantasy. He sat down and gave Gin a grin.
“You know she hasn’t stopped complaining about your ambient ability. Toshian’s are.”
Nhoka kicked him. He leaned back in the chair and gave Gin a look that said he was lying.
“I’m a level 25 [swordsman].”
“Oh, I’m a [grappler].”
Nhoka leaned in and looked at Thade.
“No, really, what’s your class?”
“I’m also a [hunter].”
“I don’t believe you. But since you need a team and we’re looking for an edge. I’ll let it pass, but if you try to kill me or Thade, I’ll make sure you shit every time you walk for the rest of your life. You got me?”
Gin gulped. He didn’t have any defenses against poison, and just realizing this, he nodded.
“Got it.”
Gin stood to leave.
“I heard you have a fight today at the shell with some Bart guy.”
“Yeah, many people around here seem to know him.”
“Well, he is almost level twenty-seven and has a reputation for killing his opponents.”
Gin turned around.
“He what?”
“Wait, you didn’t know?”
Nhoka sat up.
“Yeah, I was in here all day, and someone came in with news. They said that the last few opponents he fought died because he didn’t stop when the fight ended.”
“Why isn’t he in jail or something?”
Nhoka and Thade looked at each other.
“What’s a jail?”
“You know prison?”
Thade laughed.
“We used to have those what three hundred years ago. After the system came, it became a survival of the fittest, with strong rules over the weak. Lucky for you, this Bart is not the strongest, but the rules of the challenge can’t be broken. Death, knockout, the last warrior in the ring.”
“I really need to visit a library.”
Gin headed toward the Southern Shell guild. He was ready for an honest fight, but hearing the news about his possible betrayal upset him. He never planned on losing. What pissed him off was the fact that this guy had done it before, and he wasn’t planning on letting him do it again.
The receptionist smiled at him, then frowned when she realized he was supposed to be the blind adventurer. Gin left the front in a hurry. After he walked past the receptionist’s desk, there was a whole floor of tables, a bar directly behind the receptionist’s table, and a call of quests and bounties. The large back double door opened into a Dirtarena surrounded by the banister. The arena didn’t have a lot of people, but Gin noticed Bart waiting with his friends. Gin wasn’t one for as he walked down the steps. Bart looked up, and his friends grew quiet.
“You actually came. I was sure you would have returned the door to the first floor by now.”
Gin said nothing and waited for a burly man to descend the steps.
“Bart, you again. When will you go hunt in the forest and leave these new Adventurers alone?”
Bart said nothing as he grinned at Gin, waiting for the judge to start the fight. Bart had no weapons, but he had energy like an animal who had spotted its prey. With the judge came a crowd of adventurers filling the banisters with noise and laughter.
“My name is Alin, and I will see about this match today. This will be a match to the knockout?”
Alin glared at Bart.
“Listen, uh, this will be a fight to the death. Bart here has never let his opponents live, so I can’t be a witness without warning you. Do you still wish to continue?”
“If he’s okay with I’m okay with it.”
The crowd began to roar in excitement. Bart’s canines grew a few inches as he laughed like a delirious villain. Gin felt the subtle shift in the air, the Mana rising from Barts’s body as if he was ready to pounce.
“Okay, both agree to the terms of the challenge.”
Gin nodded, and Bart did the same. Bart never took his eyes off Gin, and they heard the word.
“FIGHT!”
Bart took off galloping on all fours as his body began to change into a humanoid giant beastman. Gin’s eyes grew wide as the space in the arena diminished rapidly. He rolled out of the way, and Bart’s monstrous form slid in the dirt to find purchase, and the adventurer laughed. Gin never estimated Bart. He just had no idea there was a werewolf race. His needles formed as he squared himself up. The monster jumped, coming down with a giant fist. Gin used a psi force wall while side-stepping its fist. Barts’s mouth opened, and his canine chomped at his face. His punch smashed into his jaw, and Bart missed a step and crashed into a wall. Gin pulled out his mace, and the crowd froze under the image of the tumbling giant. And they exploded with cheers. Bart quickly climbed out of the rubble.
“That didn’t hurt one bit. I have [stone body] activated.”
He chuckled.
“You’ll have to try harder.”
Dispute his boast, Bart approached, wary of what Gin might have in store, but this time, Gin attacked and flew into an uppercut with his mace. Lifting the giant off his feet onto his back. With rapid movement, Barts’s claws crashed into Gin’s chest, but this time, Gin’s armor activated, and Gin landed on his feet on the side of the wall. With [Edge walking], the wall was as good as flat grounds. The two opponents met in the middle of the arena. Gin dodged all of his extensive and comprehensive attacks. While crashing his mace into Bart’s knees repeatedly. Bing, bing, bing. The giant devolved into a sluggish beast. Gin jumped in mid-air, and Bart’s giant claws grabbed, but Gin’s armor’s tail flickered, and suddenly, he was higher in the air, and Bart’s arm was missing him by a hair. Gin threw the mace, and it crashed into Barts’s snout, but the warrior never gave in. Bart tossed the mace out of the ring, and he punched using his whole body. Gin skated out of the way, but the backhand swing slammed him into the ground. Gin felt when his rib cracked, but he somehow still landed on his feet. Bart struggled to get off his knee, but his feet only quivered.
“All those lives you’ve taken and no one stopped you. I’m no judge, but if some dared to try to take my life because they seek pleasure out of the misfortune of others. I will not enjoy it but put them down like the rabid beast they are, so come show me how much stronger you are while I send you to your god.”
Bart looked at his friends, and a blue bottle flew into his hand.
“That’s against the rules. You have lost.”
Alin yelled at the top of his lungs, but Gin expected it; he wasn’t surprised. He stopped Alin, and the crowd of onlookers went silent. Bart chugged the healing potion and laughed.
“Now I’m going rip you to pieces.”
His claws grew longer, his body got more significant, and his eyes turned red. Gin hadn’t used his claws during the fight, but the alpenglow filled the arena as Gin’s hand stretched and snapped. The sound of bones breaking filled the stadium as they caught a flame. The monster that was once Bart’s roar was deafening and bestial. Its big red eyes locked on to Gin, and then it charged. Gin stood in place. His body twisted, cutting off its two legs, jumping on its back, and its head smacked the ground. The monster’s scream died in its throat.
He walked over to Bart’s bag, and Bart’s friends looked away. He turned to leave, and Nhoka Thade stood.
“I..that was.”
Nhoka hesitated.
“I didn’t want to turn my back on him. Not after what I heard.”
Thade nodded.
“No, I wouldn’t either. That’s terrible business. A good way to get your friends and family hurt.”
Gin walked out of the guild.
“I have somebody I need to go see. Meet you guys at the InnInn later?”
He wasn’t happy about the end of the fight, but he knew that was not something to walk away from without considering the worst circumstances. Everyone knew what Bart had done, and too many were afraid to stop him. Gin didn’t blame them after what Bart turned into. He looked into his eyes and saw and felt his mind bursting at the seams with an uncontrollable lust for carnage and pain.
Gin walked for hours and tried to clear his mind. He walked through the market in a daze, unconsciously maneuvering around bodies until the hair on the back of his neck rose, and he stopped. A man in a purple robe with golden embroidery was not ten feet away. The hood covered his face, but Gin felt his mind. It was slimy, as if he carried death with him.
“Good day, Psion. I am a representative of the House of Third Gaze. I was sent here to test your capabilities as a person. I was skeptical, but you know I can sense you from a mile away. I must say that I was surprised to find a natural.”
“I’m not interested.”
“..Wha. I’m not done.”
“Yes, you are now. Get out of my way.”
Gin started walking again, except his blood was pumping, and his heart thumped in his chest. One step, two steps, and they crossed paths. Two people were in a crowded market, yet Gin felt empty on the street. Through his mind, this man was like a mix of minds and in pain. Gin tried to hold his stomach together. The amount of people someone would have to kill to twist a mind that way.
“We will speak again, perhaps in better circumstances.”
The nasal voice whispered in his mind. Gin kept walking, mentally preparing himself for what would eventually come next. The miniature furnace was still burning, and Red’s shop felt brighter. Gin was still surprised by what he did to help. He was sure it was more psi ability than Magic, but yet again, Red told him not to doubt himself. On the counter was a note by the Terrarium.
I have something important to do, so I will be gone for a few days. Whatever you did is working. I’ll never be able to repay you. If you need anything, I will be in your corner. You’re a good boy- a little too trusting, but Good. Also, this box maintains the Terrarium inside spatial pockets. Do not place the Terrarium inside a spatial device without the box.
Gin stared into the Terrarium. The Cabin looked bigger. There was a lake and a massive tree on a hill, just close enough to stare into the lake. He looked under the Terrarium. He placed it in the box, sat at the counter, and watched the flame dance.