It didn’t take long after Jasper sat down to read when yet another knock on his door disrupted his reading. He went to answer the door not caring about his state of undress, not used to wearing clothing anymore anyway. Aaron stood there with another person holding a large box. The other person couldn’t see over the box, but when they set it down Jasper could see that it was another guy around his own age. He had light blonde hair slicked back and out of his face and wore a jacket with coattails, pantaloons, and a poofy shirt with lace sleeves poking out of the jacket he also wore a small top hat.
The whole outfit screamed wealthy dandy, but Jasper didn’t know much about those types of people, never having had the experience of spending time with anyone like that. As soon as the man dropped the box he screeched and tried to hide his eyes.
“H-he’s n-naked! Why is he naked!” The dandy asked as if Jasper had just slapped his mother.
“He’s naked because you hadn’t brought his clothes yet,” Aaron answered while opening the box and motioning for Jasper to come over to look through the box.
“He can talk for himself,” Jasper grumbled but still obeyed. Looking in the large box he saw several outfits hung on hangers as well as a few pairs of shoes strapped into the bottom of the box. Jasper reached out running his fingers along the fabric of one of the T-shirts that he’d been gifted. Immediately he yanked one of the outfits out of the box and started getting dressed if only to get that man who was still complaining about Jasper being in the buff to stop. The t-shirt was a deep purple color with soft flexible fabric and a small V-neck collar, and there was matching underwear and white jeans. It was fancier than the burlap and cotton clothes he had worn for most of his life.
Looking into the box he grabbed a pair of black sneakers that upon inspecting closer had socks stuck inside each shoe. Jasper pulled on the socks and shoes, and upon becoming fully dressed the dandy stopped his complaining.
“I can’t say that the outfit is very fashionable, but it’s better than the nothing you were wearing when I walked in.” He said causing Aaron to raise an eyebrow.
“I’ll be sure to let Master Tailor Hawkins know your thoughts on his designs.” He said and the fancy man went pale before giving Aaron a small bow and backing out of the room before raising back into a straightened position and exiting the apartment. “Looking good man! Want some help putting your clothes away?” The handler asked Jasper.
“Fine yeah, I guess.” He responded. The two men didn’t speak as they hung Jasper's new clothing inside his walk-in closet. Once they were finished Aaron patted Jasper on the back and grinned at him.
“Not a bad life huh? A nice apartment plenty of food, clothes delivered to your door, and all the teachers you could want to further your studies. If you ever meet the gods, put in a good word for me!” He joked to Jasper who half-heartedly laughed at the joke before shrugging off the man’s hand and exited his bedroom trying to grab whatever breakfast was left. The team had managed to pick most of the plates of food clean, but Jasper still managed a scoop of eggs and a couple of sausages.
After he finished breakfast, it was time for lessons. Despite Jasper thinking he was only going to take lessons on the history and law of the Undercity he also wound up being tested on his knowledge of math, science, and literacy. It was decided that Jasper would also get math and science teachers, which discouraged him slightly. He’d never been particularly good at those subjects, preferring to study hunters and their abilities in the hope that he would become one someday. Now that he knew that he would never be one of those combat-focused hunters he wished that he’d paid more attention to those subjects, thinking that they most likely would have helped more in his crafting.
Days and then weeks went by while Jasper took lessons from all types of people. Not only the scholastic lessons but those of many types of crafters as well. He learned more about sewing, carpentry, stone masonry, metalworking, leatherworking, and weaving. Jasper now had four entire rooms filled to the brim with different crafting materials and tools. He’d gained so many proficiencies that he had no idea which tool he might get when his next skill level came in. Not that he was gaining much in the way of a skill level-up. He took notes about everything in journals that were provided to him so that his teachers could check his work. All his tools were provided for him as well, which meant that he wasn’t using his summoned versions for his lessons.
He wouldn’t have wanted to use them for lessons anyway because Aaron was always watching him. Jasper grew by leaps and bounds as he took on new crafts and continued training with Aaron in the morning. He’d gained so much in Strength, Dexterity, and Creativity that he felt superhuman when performing any crafting. When Tailor Hawkins came for his lessons, Jasper would do things almost perfectly, which saved his hands from the pain that he’d experienced on that first day.
The only thing that he didn’t care for was that Aaron didn’t seem to like the idea of him working with runes. Any time he was caught trying to study the appliances the handler would pop up directly behind him and say something like. “Come on man let’s go train some more!” or “Hey I’ve got another teacher coming here soon let’s go get ready.” Jasper’s actual level was stagnating, and he didn’t care for it at all. He couldn’t reach his next threshold, which was extremely frustrating thinking that he was only a single level away from it.
He couldn’t understand why he was allowed to gain stat points and even expected to, but they didn’t want him to level up. Based on Sabina’s explanation of why the council would have allowed him to stay in the city he’d expected that they’d have been looking forward to him leveling and becoming stronger so that he could do more for them. When Jasper tried to question the team members about it all he got were shrugs or scoffs in response. Asking Aaron was out of the question because no matter how friendly he was or how much he helped Jasper train or study there was the buzzing knowledge in the back of his head that told the crafter that the handler was only here to watch him and report back to the council. He couldn’t be trusted.
At the end of Jasper’s first month of lessons, he was told that it was time for his first test of citizenship. Nervousness burbled in his gut at the thought of failing the test. He wondered if he’d studied enough to pass. Part of him didn’t even want to pass, just wanted to get back to his cabin and continue building his settlement. He’d have Effen, and Shelld back and he’d always have Stalker for company. His shoulders slumped as he realized that none of that was true, as much as he didn’t trust Aaron, he’d really enjoyed being around the team members and always having food and clothing. Plus, if he was thrown through the boss gate, he knew that he most likely wouldn’t have his old gear back.
The morning of the test Jasper woke up and pulled on his clothing a white T-shirt, a green jacket, a pair of beige cargo pants, and a pair of leather boots. He wanted his best chance at survival and that was the outfit he felt would work best for him in the jungle if he failed his test. After he finished changing, he went to the kitchen and filled his pockets with bottles of water and small bags of food. While he was doing this, he received odd looks from the others that he didn’t respond to before Figis finally asked him a question.
“What the hell are you doing?” The large red-headed man asked making Jasper’s head snap up in surprise that the man would display any amount of concern for him. Jasper explained his reasoning for his actions causing the entire group including Figis and Aaron to burst out into peels of laughter that left them gasping for air. Sabina was the first one to stop her laughter and look at Jasper again who was now red from tip to toe, but not sure what he was supposed to be embarrassed about but still feeling it, nonetheless.
“Jasper for one you haven’t talked to Aaron about how the testing is going to work. For another filling your pockets with food and water will only slow you down during combat and if you hope to solo the boss one day you won’t want to slow yourself down. All you’re doing right now is flavoring yourself.” The statement about testing confused Jasper. It was true that he did everything he could, so he didn’t have to talk to his handler, but it seemed pretty clear to him that if he failed the test, he’d be thrown through the boss gate for whatever horror awaited him inside. Jasper tilted his head toward his handler who was still chuckling to himself only realizing that his charge was looking at him with the expectation of an answer when Luke tapped him on the arm and pointed toward Jasper.
“Oh, uh sorry man.” Aaron apologized pulling himself together. “So yes, it’s true that if you fail the test, you won’t receive citizenship and you know what happens then. But you get three chances for each test. We aren’t barbarians and have already taken into consideration that you are learning about a brand-new culture. If you fail today, you’ll be given another month to study the material you’ve already gone over this month. Another month will be added to your six-month probationary period, however, if you fail all three of the same tests then it will be clear to the council that you aren’t putting forth the effort to become a citizen. This is all just as new to us as it is to you and the council has had to look into centuries-old immigration laws to even get this far. You would be the first immigrant to this city since our time as a wandering city. The fact that you don’t know that though does make me worried about you passing this test though.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Jasper listened carefully to the explanation and sighed a breath of relief knowing that he would have more than one chance to pass the test. Minutes later it was time for him to leave to take his first citizenship test. For the first time in a month, Jasper was put in another hover vehicle and taken outside of the apartment. He was taken to the capital building once more, but instead of going to the council room like he had done the last two times he’d been there, he was instead guided to a small grey room that looked more like a prison cell than a testing area. Even so, there was a desk inside and to his surprise, the green robed woman who sat on the council stood next to it waiting with the classic scowl that she had displayed the entire time Jasper had been on trial.
“Welcome Mister Cartwright. Today I will be the invigilator for your test to prevent any cheating. Aaron, you may wait outside during the duration of the test.” She pointed toward the door and Jasper’s handler gave a sharp salute before turning on his heel before rapidly exiting the room. The councilwoman placed a piece of paper in front of Jasper before asking her first question. “What are the three main tenets of the Undercity?” She asked and Jasper moved to start writing his answer down on the paper. Before he was able to touch the pen, he’d been provided to the paper he paused as words started appearing on the sheet.
“Do not react I am Council Woman Haerilaei, this is the only way we can communicate for now so just read. You cannot trust the council. You have been taught a skewed version of our history, but you should still answer the questions in the way you’ve been taught. I attempted to get you thrown through the boss gate before you were stuck here but I was unsuccessful.” Jasper’s head snapped up and he glared at the woman who didn’t react in any way instead telling him to keep his eye on his test. “I’d have made sure that you were armed, but like I said I was unsuccessful. Years ago, we betrayed the founder of this city and imprisoned him in stasis. I voted against it, but the others were forceful about it. Now that our civilization is on the edge of technological collapse the council wants to use you as a tool in order to maintain their power just as they did with Felix. There’s another sect of us that wants to help you escape and if we can take down the council at the same time. This is as much as I can tell you for now otherwise your handler will get suspicious of how long the test is taking. We’ll talk again upon your next test. Do not trust your handler. Trust Thorn Skin.”
With that, the words disappeared from the page and the sharp-faced council woman tapped his paper again telling him to finish writing his answer. He did what she asked, but his heart was pounding in fear at the prospect of suddenly being thrust into a political conspiracy. He continued answering the questions as they came while simultaneously thinking about the new information. When he finally finished the test the woman who Jasper now knew was named Haerilaei came and snatched it from him keeping the same look of derision on her face as she looked it over.
“Very well Mister Cartwright you have passed the first test of citizenship. Good for you, now get out and rejoin your handler.” She spoke with a tone that made Jasper feel like she was disgusted with him, but the disappearing letter said otherwise. He turned and left the small room rejoining Aaron and then exiting the capitol building. Once they were back in the hover car and on their way back to the apartment the handler surprised Jasper out of his thoughts by trying to make conversation.
“So, did you enjoy your time with Councilwoman Haerilaei?” he asked Jasper who only shrugged in response. “Yeah, I get it she’s a bit of a pill to swallow, but she’s a good person, I think. Did she mention anything that I should know?” Jasper's eyes widened but he kept his head down hoping that the other man hadn’t noticed his change in expression. “You know any changes to the testing or updates that the council wants me to know?” He went on helping Jasper to calm down, thinking that he was just curious about any changes to the schedule we’d gotten used to.
“No sorry, she didn’t seem to like me very much. I don’t know why though.” When Jasper responded the other man let out a bellow of laughter.
“Yeah, that’s Haerilaei for you. She’s not a fan of most people, but she seems to like me so maybe I can put a good word in for you!” Once again Jasper was surprised, he did notice that she’d called him by his first name but had only referred to Jasper as “Mister Cartwright,” but she’d also said not to trust Aaron. It wasn’t like he trusted the man to begin with, but it did make him wonder about his constant companion. After a second of thought, Jasper responded.
“Yeah, thanks I’d appreciate that. I don’t enjoy being disliked for no reason.” Aaron sucked his tongue at that.
“Now I don’t know about that. If she dislikes someone there’s usually a reason for it. She’s pretty sharp all of the council is otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to keep the power they have had for the last several centuries. They’re a powerful bunch, so I don’t recommend doing anything to get on their bad side. They’re all good people though.” The man offered Jasper a reassuring smile and then pulled onto the top of the apartment. Once they were back inside the team greeted Jasper with a cheer except for Figis and they celebrated the success of Jasper's first pass.
“Only five more tests and you’ll officially be a citizen!” Sabina cheered raising a glass of dark colored liquid before passing it over to Jasper. She motioned for him to drink it down and when he did, he spluttered a bit as the bitter burning flavor made its way down his throat.
“What the hell was that!” Jasper exclaimed, receiving raucous laughter in response before getting a slap on the back from Aaron who threw an arm over his shoulder.
“It’s liquor man, you don’t have liquor where you come from?” Jasper frowned at the man before responding.
“Of course, we have liquor! We just aren’t allowed to drink it until we’re 21 'cause people say it makes people under that age stupid.” The laughter stopped almost immediately at that point only to have Luke say.
“That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Even people with classes?” He asked receiving an affirmative answer from Jasper. “But you have vitality! Most liquor won’t even affect you after reaching 50 in vitality! What is the point in that?” Jasper had to think about that for a moment before answering.
“Well, there are plenty of people that get crafting classes like me and don’t train their vitality until later on just for the life span increase. It’s not fun to train vitality you all know that.” He received understanding nods in return.
“I guess that makes sense from a certain point of view. It’s just different here, I guess. People use liquor to train their vitality here as soon as they get a class so it’s not as bad for us as it is for you guys. Although I will say you get plenty of drunken idiots during the early years of training so you’re right about that.” Osur explained.
“Of course, this liquor is quite a bit stronger than the stuff the lower-level people use for training!” Figis said, already clearly feeling the effects of the disgusting liquid. With the explanations being finished the entire group pressured Jasper to take a couple of shots and after a while, Jasper stopped tasting the liquid only feeling the warm tingly feeling spreading throughout his entire body. Even Aaron was joining in the celebration as the team plied him with the brown substance. It was odd that they continued to give the handler shot after shot each one of them taking turns talking to him while handing him a shot.
Before Jasper knew it the man who had consistently watched over him was completely drunk and passed out on the floor. The crafter drunkenly chuckled at the state his handler was in, but when he turned around to share his mirth with the rest of the team each of them had a serious look on their face.
“Cleanse him,” Sabina said while looking at Osur. They nodded and walked directly toward Jasper, placing their hand on his forehead. A second later a small golden light shone from their hand and then disappeared.
“What the heck?” Jasper said as he pulled back quickly and rubbed the spot that had been hit with the light. The warm tingling feeling quickly drained from his body and the others gathered around him.
“He won’t be out for long what did Haerilaei say to you?” Sabina asked the still complaining Jasper. When he finally realized the seriousness of the conversation, they were having he stopped complaining and quickly summarized everything that he’d learned that day. Sabina nodded her head in understanding. “Listen Jasper we are with you, but most of the time we’re going to have to take actions that protect all of us from the danger the council represents so just know if you ever find yourself doubting us, we are still on your side. You need to continue your work towards becoming a citizen, it is crucial that you continue to learn and grow. Do exactly what the council requested of you, help them with charging the technology here as much as you can and if you come up with anything that can help the city then give it to them within reason. We’ll take care of the rest. Do you understand?” Sabina finished just as Aaron started to stir.
The rest of the team let out another cheer, raising their glasses to the ceiling and taking another shot. Jasper nodded and did the same thing with his own drink having to keep his face straight as now that he was sober again, he tasted the bitter flavor of the drink again. Aaron finally stood letting out a laugh.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d suspect you guys were trying to get me drunk!”
“Well offf courssse we’re tryina get ya drunk! We’re all tryina get drunk now aren’t we!” Figis said slurring his words far more than he had at the beginning of the night.
“Yeah! Let’s get crazy!” Jasper said taking his cue from the large man. Pouring himself another drink he lifted his glass to his mouth, but before he was able to swallow the first drop Aaron quickly snatched it out of his hand. For a moment the crafter thought that he’d been found out and his heart thundered in his chest. A moment later though his handler gave him a large smile and let him know that it was time for bed.
“You still have lessons tomorrow and with how much you’ve drunk tonight it’s already going to be a bit of a pain when you wake up!” Jasper pretended to complain, but in the end, allowed his handler to pick him up and carry him to bed. Once he was in bed, he pretended to close his eyes and pass out, but once he’d left the room Jasper opened his eyes once more checking the notification he’d received after Osur had cleansed the alcohol from his system.
WARNING: You have been affected by the status effect of alcohol poisoning x5
NOTICE: You have recovered from status effect alcohol poisoning x5. +5 Vitality.
Jasper found himself smiling at his screen and promising himself that he’d use that method of training later. Realizing that he may be under surveillance at this very moment he closed his eyes again and let himself consider everything that had happened that day. First, he’d been scared that he was going to fail his exam, then he’d been contacted by a councilwoman that apparently wanted to both save him but also wanted to toss him out the boss gate then the team had clearly gotten his handler so drunk that they could finally have a private conversation with him.
He now knew that he could trust the team which gave him some relief. Being surrounded by people he wasn’t sure were enemies or not had been an extreme source of stress for him over the past month. He had clarity on Aaron being an enemy as well, which was good. There was always the chance that the team and the councilwoman were lying, but Jasper felt it in his bones that they weren’t. Settling into bed he finally allowed himself to relax enough to find sleep.