The stale guild air clung to Dollar as he took a step back from his cousin. He tapped the side of his mask, but he knew that the dark tendrils had already sprouted over his features, and the action caused Jasper to stare at him. Jasper’s body was a criss-cross of silver light similar to Dollar’s own, and he had a big smile on his face.

His aura is normal. Dollar’s eyes swept over his cousin. But I can sense symbols.

For a moment, Dollar had considered pretending to have no idea who Jasper was. But that was nonsensical. A grec in a mask wasn’t going to hide Bill from Jasper’s sight, and like a predator gazing at prey, Dollar could sense opportunities presenting themselves before him. His cousin’s nerves were showing, a slight tremble in his eyes, and a quiver in his voice, giving away the uncertainty of his visit. Jasper Tiberius hadn’t planned this encounter, it was a moment of chance taken without thought behind it.

“Y-you shouldn’t even be here. You’ll b-be killed if you’re d-discovered,” Jasper said.

Between Jasper and his sister causing me stress I’m more likely to die of a heart attack than Parelius’ guards. Dollar kept his thoughts to himself.

“I’m aware,” Dollar replied. “And you telling me this in person is more likely to get me caught.”

There was a hint of reproach in his voice, and Jasper lowered his head ashamedly.

“I-I had to,” Jasper said. “I-I see it every day. And every night.”

“Your brother's death?” Dollar asked.

Jasper spat on the ground in response. “Christoff did worse things during my life than trying to kill me. He deserves what he got. No. I see you dying. Over and over again. The only family member who cared enough to save me instead of going for the throne of our household.”

And now, he could see tears forming at the edges of his cousin’s eyes. The last time Jasper Tiberius had seen Dollar was when he was falling off the edge of a sky ship, plunging to his death after saving Jasper’s life. Dollar could see the emotional toll that had taken. Jasper’s skin was pale, unhealthily so, and sunken deep from lack of eating. There were bags under his cousin’s eyes from sustained lack of sleep, and Dollar doubted that being Parelius’ new heir had made things easier. The sight of Jasper’s disrepair reminded Dollar of someone from his past. But he couldn’t think of who.

Despite his caution, Dollar couldn’t sense a hint of malice in Jasper’s gaze or actions. Which was why his cousin reacted with shock when Dollar stepped forward, taking Jasper in his arms.

He had hugged Jasper.

“Oink?” Bill’s shock filled the room, his hooves clomping against the carpet in surprise.

A sob filled the air, coming from Jasper himself.

“I-It’s r-really you,” Jasper stuttered. “I-I was l-looking everywhere I could in r-reports. T-Then you showed up at m-my doorstep.”

Well now. Dollar stared blankly as his cousin hugged him back. This is weird. I don’t know why Mitsy does it. Heck. I don’t know why I did it.

The confusion in Dollar’s heart threatened to melt his mind. His hug was a reaction of instinct, corrupted by Mitsy’s influence on his life, and Dollar was being hit with several emotions he wasn’t quite sure about. First of all, the hug felt kind of nice, though he dismissed that instantly. Second of all, there was a hint of panic that his cousin had actively been searching for him. Dollar quickly froze in his cousin’s embrace, which tightened in response. Thankfully, unlike Mitsy, Jasper Tiberius was too frail to kill Dollar with a hug.

Bill oinked, drawing Jasper’s attention, and Dollar focused on the symbols around his cousin. Instead of hiding themselves as they usually did, these ones greeted him fondly from nearby, jumping out from behind Jasper to reveal a golem walking steadily on four legs like a praying mantis.

“Skittles, stay,” Jasper chided the golem.

Jasper broke the hug off, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, and a thin splatter of black lines appeared under his cheeks. His cousin had been creating so many symbols that his clothes were covered in patches of multi-colored paint and ink.

Skittles the golem scuttled across the floor at his creator’s words, ignoring them completely and circling around Bill. The golem moved like an insect, but it had the head of a mechanical dog, much like the hounds of house Tiberius, and was made completely of solid bronze. Its feet were blades stabbing into the ground with each step, and to Dollar’s surprise the joints of the golem were roughly soldered by an amateur.

“Oink?” Bill tilted his head, lifting his snout to sniff Skittles as it circled him.

Don’t eat the golem, Dollar thought. Again.

He raised his hand to intervene when, to his surprise, Bill tapped his horn against the golem and then left it alone. Skittles took the gesture in stride, lifting a single blade-foot and tapping it gently against Bill’s hoof before stepping back and returning to Jasper.

“T-They like each other,” Jasper chuckled. “I thought your grec was going to eat him again.”

Me too, Dollar thought. Maybe Bill doesn’t want to eat Skittles now that he’s got the movement symbol.

“Why are you here, Jasper?” Dollar dug straight into the point.

“N-not going to ask how I knew you w-were here?” Jasper asked.

I have a grec that bursts into flames. It’s not too hard to work out. Dollar’s train of thought had already worked out that answer before Jasper had entered the room. He hadn’t worried about that before because Bill couldn’t exit the lake before, and had done so unexpectedly today. It was an oversight that had cost him dearly.

Not even I’m perfect, Dollar grumbled silently. Though I can turn this around in my favor.

“Let’s call it intuition,” Dollar replied dryly. “My identity. Have you told anyone?”

His steel tone carried a subtle hint of warning to it, and Bill paused, lowering his horn until its deadly green tip glimmered dangerously in the glowing light of the artifacts on the ceiling. Jasper didn’t notice the shift in the room’s tension, but Skittles raised its head, its bladed legs clacking menacingly as it flanked Dollar.

“Of course not,” Jasper’s shaking head cut through the growing anxiety, and Dollar breathed a sigh of relief. “And as for w-why I-I’m here. Well, likey I said, I needed to see. But also, the l-lake. I-I needed to warn you not to g-go there.”

“Wait,” Dollar held up his hand. He brought out a piece of chalk and began drawing on the nearby walls. He kept his notebook nearby, but didn’t draw any symbols on it.

The sound of chalk pressing against the walls filled the air, then, to his surprise, they were joined by another. Jasper’s hand reached out to join him, the chalk blurring in his hand as he drew. His cousin added more symbols, each obscured by a veil, and as they filled the wall Dollar saw a strange transformation come over Jasper. The boy’s posture had fixed itself. His back straightened, his shoulders grew more robust, and his eyes took on a confident tinge.

Ten symbols were formed in an instant. Then twenty. Then thirty.

In minutes, the room was thoroughly covered.

“[Activate].” “[Activate]!”

Dollar and Jasper spoke at the same time, and the symbols erupted into waves of darkness, the power of [Ength’s Touch] empowering them to cover the entire room. The other symbols were sound symbols that were designed to silence off their conversation the moment it left the doorway. He trusted the guild’s protections, but with Jasper in the room he had an excuse to use symbols to strengthen his defenses.

“Hey, you still say it out loud too, even though it’s not a real [skill],” Jasper said.

“Huh?” Dollar turned to face his cousin.

Jasper gestured with a wave at the symbols. “[Activate]. You know, there’s nobody else around so we don’t have to pretend it exists.”

“We have to keep the normal people thinking it is a [skill]. That’s how the monopoly is maintained,” Dollar smiled. “It’s just good business.”

“Not bad.” Jasper stepped back and admired their handiwork. “Darkness, and some kind of silencing symbol. Oh, I know! A sound symbol. Maybe silence.”

Dollar stared at his cousin. The stutter was gone, and in its place was a torrent of words that struck hard and fast.

His cousin truly loved symbols.

Bill trotted up to the wall, eyeing the symbols that had been drawn with a curious gaze, and Skittles moved up beside him. The golem was strangely animated in its expressions and mannerisms, unlike the clunky movements and still bodies of the golems that guarded the city of Tiber. It looked almost like it was alive.

“You know what symbols I’m using,” Dollar’s words came out slowly. “Is that because of their effect?”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Yes. The lines were great, but something blurred them from my sight the moment you conjured them.”

“I could say the same for yours,” Dollar said. All of Jasper’s symbols had been veiled the moment his cousin drew the lines, and it wasn’t an ordinary veil. It was a [skill] similar to [Symbol Obscurity].

Jasper closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and releasing it.

“What’s wrong?” Dollar asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Jasper tilted his head, a smile flickering over his pale lips. “There’s so many symbols. It’s lovely.”

Fabric pressed against stone as Jasper leaned against the wall, trying to get as close to the symbols as he could. His eyes were still closed, and Dollar saw him swaying from side to side. All around them the call of the symbols pulsated, and tension easing out of Jasper and his skin taking on a healthy glow as he listened to music that only they could hear.

“[He Who Hears The Call].”

Jasper’s voice rang out, confident in its words. But none of them meant anything to Dollar.

“That’s my [class] title,” Jasper’s eyes were still closed. “Hearing their call. Listening to their concepts. Discovering their imperfections and making them right.”

The fact that Jasper’s [class] had its own title could only mean two things. Either it was either epic-rank, or legendary-rank.

“You’re telling me too much,” Dollar said with a frown. “I can’t tell you my [class] in return.”

“I know,” Jasper chuckled. “I don’t expect you to.”

The confidence of Jasper’s chuckle contrasted with the entire personality profile that Dollar had built for his cousin in his mind. His cousin was acting how he had during the symbologist exam, calm and in control.

It’s like he does better in groups instead of individual conversations, but only if the others in the group are symbols. Dollar examined his cousin carefully. [He Who Hears The Call]. The [class] title doesn’t give me too much information on its abilities.

“I’m not here because father knows you're alive, by the way. I can see you’re nervous about it, but he’s never even suspected you. I made sure he didn’t,” Jasper said, a slight tremble entering his voice at the mention of Parelius. “But I’m glad I tracked you down. That symbol in the lake is dangerous. I can feel it in my heart, and I can sense it in its call.”

“Oh?” Dollar leaned forward, and he saw Bill doing so as well.

“House Tiberius is gathering their forces. A full complement of five squads, and golems, so many golems,” Jasper frowned, glancing downward. “I don’t know why he’s so confident, but he’s training them personally. Only the presence of the guilds and the foreign factions is stopping him from sending an entire army down there once the strange barrier around the lake dissipates.”

Dollar frowned. “Are you going with them?”

If Jasper goes at all, then they’ll definitely send their best. And my chances of obtaining the symbol will lower considerably, Dollar thought.

“I’m going,” Jasper replied instantly.

There was a pause, then Dollar sighed. “I didn’t jump off a ship into the maw of a giant monster just so you could go gallivanting into a deadly situation. You’re the heir to house Tiberius and there’s going to be dozens of deadly warriors aiming for that symbol. It’s too dangerous.”

His words echoed off the walls, and the symbols around Jasper disappeared, their time reaching an end. His cousin didn’t seem to notice at first, but then Jasper’s posture slouched, and Skittle the Golem chittered at his side, rubbing against him comfortingly.

“I-I’m going,” Jasper repeated, a little less confidently this time. “I just wanted to warn you. I don’t know why you’re here, but this is the time to escape. I-l’ll get the symbol. I’ll l-learn it. You don’t have to.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Dollar asked. “If you’re against me, then you shouldn’t be helping me. House Tiberius wants me dead. You know that. And you should want that too.”

“Yes, I am the heir to house Tiberius,” Jasper’s fingers clenched into a fist. He opened his mouth, but then closed it as he felt his stutter coming back. Dollar could see him trying to overcome the verbal tic, and he knew whatever his cousin was going to say, it would mean a lot to him. “I’m not against you, cousin. Your life. My brother’s life. My life. All of them were warped, and I have seen the problem. It’s our household. Our bloodline is a poison, and you aren’t tainted by it like we are.”

Jasper’s tone was fierce, and his expression scathing.

“Even if it takes me years, I’ll burn House Tiberius to the ground. So, let me handle it.”

His words touched Dollar’s heart. He had seen a lot of people with that kind of determination back on Earth, but never in a person so young. More importantly, Dollar saw a potential ally. He’d already worked with Jasper against House Tiberius before.

Maybe he could do so again.

“Thank you,” Dollar said. “But I’ll also be going into the lake. Even if House Tiberius comes, I will fight them to earn that symbol.”

If I don’t get there and leave before everyone else, that is. He raked his hands through his hair and adjusted his mask, gazing into his cousin’s eyes. Which is my number one plan.

“I’m not in need of saving, and I don’t need someone else to take charge in my stead. I’ll be going into the lake, and I’ll find the symbol. If we cross paths, we’ll have to see what we do. If you truly want House Tiberius to burn, then maybe we can make that happen together.”

“I c-can respect that. I-I mean I respect your decision,” Jasper clarified. Then he hesitated, and nodded as he decided something in his mind. “Father k-knows more than I do, but it’s n-not the lake we’re going t-to. I-I don’t know w-what it is, but it’s definitely not a lake.”

That was new information. Dollar glanced to the side and then frowned. His [Aura Sense] picked up several familiar auras beyond the stone walls of the fisherman’s guild. Multiple Accensi had appeared, far more than the usual patrol, all circling the guild.

What are they doing here? Oh. Right.

House Tiberius had sent men out to find Jasper. He’d been gone from their sight for too long.

Dollar glanced at his cousin. The boy was so thin, and so vulnerable. Skittles the golem would protect Jasper if his cousin was attacked, but with a flick of his hand he could conjure Agni and stab Jasper. Or he could use his notebook to move a fire symbol onto his cousin and activate [Defy Death].

This was the perfect time to kill Jasper Tiberius, the heir of House Tiberius.

Then there would only be Ayia to contend for the position. And she’s joined the Unseeing. But if he’s truly serious about bringing down House Tiberius, then he would be a powerful ally. Maybe even my greatest one.

“Will you tell anyone about me?” Dollar asked.

Jasper blinked in surprise, and then shook his head. “Never.”

There was a pause as Dollar gazed into Jasper’s eyes, trying to discern the emotions and thoughts behind them. Trust was a fickle thing. One that he was still growing used to. But he was confident in his ability to read people. He wouldn’t strike. Not this time.

“There’s no more time,” Dollar said. “But thank you for your warning.”

“T-Thank you for still being alive,” Jasper said. “T-t-there are people under my s-sway that don’t like what my dad is doing. How he r-runs things. I suppose…I suppose I came here to say that I’m on your side. Down there, if you need me, just ask. ”

Dollar walked past his cousin, making space for Bill to trot through the doorway, and then he paused. His hand shot out, and he gave Jasper a single firm pat on the shoulder.

“I appreciate it.”

****

Dollar sat on his laurels, basking in the warm glow of the blue screens hovering over his vision. He had escaped from the guild like his life was on the line, with Bill growling as they trotted through the streets. They’d both been tense as Dollar kept an eye out for any Accensi or Ino of House Tiberius. Luckily, none came, and none had any interest in him. Now, he was sitting at the edge of the abandoned port, directly in line with the area he and Bill had used to enter the area. The grec was squealing beside him, happily throwing dirt into the air as he shoveled holes into the ground.

Dollar was watching the lake carefully, waiting for the crowd of would-be barrier breakers to thin out so that he and Bill could go into the depths unnoticed. Most of them were adventurers, but a few ordinary people had snuck into the crowd as well. Those were the people who were worried about running out of supplies. Usually, they could fish for sustenance, but during his brief visit he’d noted that several of the market stalls had been taken down early, their usual stock of food dwindling.

As the evening sun grew low and dim, Dollar updated his notes and checked his System notifications.

Grisham’s Artifact Dispensary Earnings:

- Day 1: 10 gold.

- Day 2: 9 gold.

- Day 3: 4 gold

- Day 5: 171.4 gold.

The Boots of Silencing had sold for 28 gold. The Robes of Darkness had sold for 55 gold. Both Rings of Water Breathing had sold for 32 gold.

Combined with the 24.4 gold he had made earlier from ordinary dispensary sales, that was a total of 171 gold coins and 4 silver coins.

Taking out the forty gold coins he’d spend on materials and hiring Gherm, he was left with 129 gold in his pocket.

[You have reached level 52.]

[You have reached level 53.]

[You have reached level 54.]

[You have reached level 55.]

….

[You have reached level 59.]

[You have reached level 60.]

[You have reached level 61.]

[You have reached level 62.]

[You have gained a level: +10 free stat points.]

[You have gained a level: +10 free stat points.]

[You have gained a level: +10 free stat points.]

…

[You have gained a level: +10 free stat points.]

[You have gained a level: +10 free stat points.]

[You have gained a level: +10 free stat points.]

[Free stats: -> 110.]

[Symbol Variation has reached level 10.]

[Symbol Variation has reached level 11.]

…

[Symbol Variation has reached level 14.]

[Symbol Variation has reached level 15.]

[Symbol Variation] went up a lot more than usual when using the variation to create artifacts. Dollar noted the impact with a speck of interest. Just like [Ength’s Touch] did in the lake. That probably means there’s specific conditions which will make each [skill] level up quicker. Good to know.

He did a little bit of math with his earnings and levels and frowned.

That’s around 15 gold per level up, but that estimate goes way higher when I take into consideration the worth of the artifacts I made. So, there are maybe 20-25 gold coins required per level. My levels are increasing quickly, but the increase in assets required to reach each new level is also steep. Not bad for a seven-year-old, but I can do better.

Something banged against the wall of aura cutting the lake off from the outside world, and Dollar rose from his seat of sand, Bill joining him a moment later. The people trying to break the seal of Ength’s aura had left, and Mitsy was calling for him and Bill to enter.

“Uncle is going to have to barter with the visiting households for supplies if the lake’s seal holds, which will temporarily shift the balance of power to them,” Dollar said to Bill. “Assuming no ships can get through, he might even have to look into expanding his territory to create more farmland. Either way, it presents an opportunity. Especially now that Grisham’s name had spread.”

Dollar stepped onto the lake as another bang rocked through it, and he looked back at the grec, his lips curling into a smile.

“Come on Bill, let’s get through here before Mitsy does their work for them and destroys the barrier.”