“… bitch,” I said, looking up toward where the portal had been.
I looked about the place into which I had been shoved. It was almost pitch black, but light emanated from somewhere, allowing me to see faint outlines. The air was damp and smelled of mildew and decay. Stone coffins filled the room. A dark tunnel revealed stairs leading downwards opposite a set of massive stone doors.
“Looks like a crypt,” I said and was instantly on alert.
I had played enough games to know that crypts typically meant undead, and Kelesa had implied that wherever I was going was dangerous.
First things first: what do I have?
Answer: only my hiking backpack and a pile of clothes. What did I have in my backpack? I opened it up and looked inside. It contained a first aid kit, a small camping coffee pot, a bag of beef jerky, an empty canteen, a roll of paracord, a box of strike-anywhere matches, a pocketknife, a compass, and a sketchbook with a case filled with pencils. In addition, a sleeping bag and a small cast-iron frying pan were tied to the top of the backpack.
Apparently, the pocketknife didn’t qualify as a weapon. Fair enough. I’ll be better off punching things than trying to use it to stab something.
It could have been much worse, but I was still pretty defenseless.
The only offensive ability I had was my Telekinesis. I rolled up my clothes to take up less space as I stored them in my backpack, stuffing it to the brim.
First, I need to find a weapon. Come on, this is just your tutorial. You’ve played enough games to figure this out.
Was there anything around that could be considered a weapon? There was nothing obvious. Then, I looked at the coffins and realized what I had to do.
Straining, I pushed as the stone lid slowly ground back before toppling and cracking on the floor. No skeletons or zombies rushed out to kill me, although I did find an inanimate skeleton inside the coffin but nothing of genuine interest.
There were some rings on its bony fingers, and I slipped them off. They appeared to be made of gold and silver. I might be able to sell them if ever I found a settlement.
There were some valuables inside the next coffin: rings, bracelets, necklaces, a small jade statue, and even a small pouch of coins.
On the sixth coffin, something interesting finally turned up.
The occupant had been a warrior and buried with all his armor. Unfortunately, the armor was rusted to shit. One gauntlet was rust-free, and I picked it up.
Gauntlet of the Soldier (Right hand).
Type: Armor. Rarity: Uncommon.
Increases damage with one-handed weapons by a minor amount. When paired with another gauntlet of the same type on the opposite hand, it will increase damage with two-handed weapons by a moderate amount. Durability: 9/10.
Made from common steel and empowered by a novice enchanter.
Great! The first magical item, and it only reinforces that I don’t have a weapon!
So frustrating! Hmm, was my decision to not start with a weapon as my artifact not as clever as I’d thought?
I dismissed my doubts. There was no point worrying about it now, stuck with what I had.
Grabbing the skeletal arm, I yanked off the gauntlet. After shaking out the last finger bones from the glove and all the corpse dust, I tried it on. I now had a piece of armor that covered my hand and wrist, something to amplify my damage if I could find something to use as a weapon. So, I continued to open coffins, wincing with each crash. There was an abundance of loot, just none of it very useful to me. My backpack was getting heavy from the weight of all the jewelry too, but I was still decidedly unarmed.
Finally, another body turned up, the corpse of someone who had been a warrior, the armor once again all rusty apart from the shin guards. They weren’t magical but had stood up better to the ravages of time. My artifact boots were indestructible and already covered my shins, so this was another bust. A rusty warhammer rested alongside the skeleton.
As I held it, the system automatically identified it for me.
Raven’s Beak. Type: One-handed weapon. Rarity: Common. A non-magical one-handed weapon, excellent at piercing armor. Durability: 6/10.
Additional effect: inflicts tetanus.
Any creature hit with this weapon that fails a toughness check will be infected with tetanus, suffering poison damage until they die or receive treatment or healing.
Whatever system the gods had created had let me identify the weapon but for some reason, not the leg armor. The reason why was unclear, and it probably didn’t matter.
I gave it a few test swings, familiar with hammers thanks to my work in construction, and it felt comfortable in my hand. Tucking the hammer in my belt, I continued to open the coffins. All I found, however, was some more jewelry and two rusty daggers in even worse condition than the warhammer. And soon, all the coffins were empty.
I looked around. It was now time to explore the tunnel or what lay beyond the set of stone doors. Looking down the tunnel, I had to decide against it, unable to see in the dark and lacking any way of producing light. Also, if there were any undead here, they would almost certainly be loitering down there. I had no interest in fighting the undead in the dark.
That left the door… It didn’t budge an inch when pushed against, despite straining with all my might; still, the mighty door refused to shift. I kept at it for half an hour and eventually stopped to rest, leaning back against the door to keep an eye on the tunnel.
“So, I have to get through that tunnel, somehow,” I told myself, just to hear a human voice and break the oppressive silence.
My eyes closed as I took a quick nap, a tremor reverberating through the door. I sat up, adrenaline jerking me to full wakefulness. The tremor came again, my eyes fixated on the door, watching as it trembled. While trying to get out of here, I hadn’t considered that something or someone else might try to get in.
“Maybe they’re friendly,” I said to myself.
If you can survive, Kelesa had said.
“Probably not.” Sighing, I pulled out my warhammer.
Crack! The sound echoed through the tomb, the stone beginning to shake particles of loose dust as the door trembled. Crack! The stone started to spiderweb. Crack! A wide hole opened, but there was no visibility as a cloud of dust filled the air. Coughing sounded from the other side, making me duck low behind a coffin in case they decided to shoot in blindly.
The dust cleared and a huge man stepped into the room, carrying a massive maul with a wooden head bound in iron bands, a metal pole at the base.
About a dozen other people followed him in and stared around the crypt.
“Someone already looted it,” a male voice complained.
“Impossible. You all saw it was sealed,” a woman said.
“Quiet, all of you!” the man with the maul commanded, his voice deep and gravelly. “We don’t know what’s in here.”
Risking another glimpse, I studied their leader.
Quin Varis. Gifted Human/Humanoid. Mortal. Rank: 4.
The text appeared as I studied him. So, he’s a Gifted. What exactly does Rank 4 mean?
The number at the end of a Gifted’s description indicates their accumulated ranks in various abilities. A single question mark at the end of a creature’s name or species indicates a Mortal-ranked Gifted with ranks below double digits.
?? indicates a Gifted with at least 10 or more rank points.
You can see the number of rank points of any Gifted with fewer rank points than yourself. It will be harder to determine the rank of those higher than yourself without a higher Perception Attribute than the opposing creature’s Spirit Attribute.
We’re roughly on the same level then, but there’s no telling how experienced he is. Maybe it’s possible to talk my way out of this. I slowly stood up, setting my warhammer where I could quickly grab it, and raised my hands placatingly.
“Hello there,” I said, trying to sound friendly.
“An undead!” a man screamed as they loosed an arrow at me.
I didn’t even flinch; my foresight told me the arrow wouldn’t come close. The bow appeared so crude, as if someone had just chopped down a tree, stripped the branches, and added a string. Now that I looked, most of the weapons were crude, apart from the leader’s maul. They had sharpened sticks in place of spears, and absurdly basic bows with hides draped over them in place of any armor.
Quin looked me over and smiled. “A bounty hunter! Looks like I’ll earn myself some new rank points really quick!”
There goes diplomacy! I watched as Quin tensed.
I grabbed my warhammer just before teleporting in the instant Quin pounced on me.
The maul obliterated the coffin by which I’d been standing. I appeared in the doorway, and one of the men stabbed me with a wooden spear.
My reflexes kicked in before I could think, my warhammer caving in his skull.
It was a strange sensation; having always believed I’d feel something when killing a person—horror or shock at least—it was perturbing to grasp only a mixture of fear and something hot in my chest.
Quest updated.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 5 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 1/5. Every time you complete this quest, you will gain 1 rank point. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
My head shook in irritation as the text blocked my vision. “Turn off quest notifications during combat,” I ordered, and the text disappeared.
Quin turned and saw the corpse by my feet, his face twisted with anger. “Armor of the Earth!” he commanded, and stone flowed up his legs, forming plate armor over them as well as his torso, arms, and head.
He charged me while I still had thirteen seconds left before being able to teleport again.
Activating the speed increase on my boots, my entire body vibrated.
Quin’s maul swung horizontally, the weapon creating a breeze with the force at which it moved through the air as it passed above my head.
I’d somehow matrix-dodged it.
So, I have speed and reactions on my side, whilst he has durability and power on his. I leaped to the side, foreseeing an arrow going through my chest.
And he has other people on his side.
Feet pounding on the rocky ground, I was upon the archer who shot at me in a second, my arm lashing out, caving in his skull, the warhammer splattering blood and brain matter everywhere, red and purple, green in places, hideous to see.
Standing outside the crypt now, my eyes cast around to see another two-dozen people, all brandishing crude weapons and wearing rags.
“Fight me, you bastard!” Quin shouted, chasing after me.
There surely must be a time limit on that armor, I thought, hurtling headlong at a group of three spearmen, finding myself intercepted by Quin and striking the ground before him, sending up a cloud of stone shrapnel.
Next, I dove behind a tree, stones cutting through my shirt, digging into my skin.
He still has ways to hit me, even without the speed to catch me.
As the thought hit me, a burst of inspiration came, a counter too.
With a mental maneuver, I teleported into the middle of the grave robbers and hit a spearman in the back of the head, spinning and hitting a woman’s chest.
Quin roared and rushed to them but couldn’t use his shrapnel trick without hitting his people. “Duck!” Quin yelled, and everyone around me fell.
He can’t be trying it again…
He did not try it again, and instead, threw his maul. It spun horizontally, metal shaft and wooden head twisting through the air.
My eyes gaped wide with shock as the maul spun toward me like a death frisbee. My foresight told me I couldn’t move out of the way fast enough, so I dropped too.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
A spearman lunged at me with a dagger as the maul passed us overhead.
I blocked it with my gauntlet, but my balance was off, and another man grabbed my warhammer which I struggled to pull free.
Quin was getting closer.
Abandoning my warhammer, I rolled out of reach of the hands that had tried to grab me and sprang to my feet, tugging one of the looted daggers out of my boot and the other out of my belt, holding them in both hands. I stuck close to Quin now, ducking his attacks and trying to stab through a joint in his armor. None of my attacks penetrated his defense. The stone armor gaps seemed designed to prevent such attacks.
Arrows flew in our direction. It seemed the bowmen were not concerned about hitting Quin due to his impenetrable armor. Those arrows, however crude, would still be nasty for me to get hit with since my armor consisted of a cotton T-shirt and cargo pants.
My teleport came off cooldown, and I transported myself next to two archers, stabbing them in the back with my daggers. Wow, did that feel good!
Success per se felt good—until my targets dropped, and I couldn’t pull my daggers free, the shoddy blades caught in the ribs of my foe.
“Fuck!”
I ran, Quin quickly closing the gap between us again.
I was all out of weapons now.
“Come on! you know karate. Time to put it to use!” I said aloud, trying to psych myself up. Yeah, you took karate… five years ago, and it’s going to do jack shit now, another part of me retorted, but I did my best to ignore it.
1 rank point gained.
Someone had bled out, and I’d gained a rank point, but I’d need one more to upgrade any of my skills. I turned to the few dozen people forming a line and charged them.
I didn’t have a weapon but moved as fast as a train.
They tried to form a wall of pikes.
I went low and flew across the ground, my momentum carrying me into the middle of them. Finding my feet again, I leaped up, and hit a man in the throat. His neck broke with an audible crack, and my knuckles echoed the sound with the force of the attack.
I maintained my speed, ignoring the brutal hand pain, spinning into a circle-kick whereupon the armored part of my foot collided with a woman’s temple, caving in three inches of her skull. I kept punching and kicking, losing track of how many times I had to punch with my bare hands before they died. My knuckles were bleeding and broken, and there was a pain in my thigh from where one of the wooden spears had struck me.
Suddenly, I turned as my foresight gave me a warning and ducked Quin’s attack. My killing spree felt as though it had taken minutes but likely had been less than a dozen seconds.
I rolled and grabbed a wooden spear, ramming it into the gut of a man already prostrate on the ground. I ripped it out and stabbed down again a dozen times before the wooden spear broke off inside the corpse.
2 rank points gained.
Ducking under Quin’s next strike, my body screamed for me to stop and rest. I noticed a green bar at the bottom of my vision which I guessed indicated Stamina, flashing as it approached empty. I spun under the next attack, running back into the crypt.
“I hope I get your teleport ability when I kill you,” Quin taunted as he followed, but he had lost sight of me when I’d entered the crypt.
He thinks my teleportation is an ability!
I had not used my only combat ability yet.
Crouching behind a coffin, I hid from his line of sight.
“Assign two rank points to Telekinesis,” I whispered. There was a burning feeling around me, like standing beside a warm fire as my ability ranked up.
Telekinesis (Rank 2): You can, at will, lift 2 objects or creatures weighing 50 pounds or less and move them within 70 feet of your body; or up to 6 objects or creatures weighing 15 pounds or less and move them within 50 feet of your body. The speed and power of objects are based on your Spirit Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 10 small objects/sec; or 1 Mana per large object/sec.
Upgrade this ability to increase the number of items, their weight, and the range at which you can move them. Every upgrade of this ability increases your Spirit Attribute by 1.
Quin stomped into the crypt. “All of you, stay out. This kill is mine!” he ordered as he angrily searched for me.
I lifted six rocks into the air and hurled them at Quin’s head with as much force as my ability would allow, feeling no remorse as Quin staggered, my hurled rocks thrown with the force of a major league pitcher, hitting his head in rapid succession. He charged into the crypt, smashing coffins as he went, destroying any cover I could use. He found me and raised his maul high, clearly with the intention of bringing it down and turning me into paste.
I raised two huge chunks of rock and hit Quin in the back of his knees.
He staggered but remained on his feet, then grabbed a chunk of stone and tossed it at me.
I ducked, and the stone shattered behind me, the fragments striking me in the back. I began lifting rocks with the power of my Telekinesis, again hurling them at Quin as fast as I could, dodging and rolling out of the way as he relentlessly pursued me.
Quin’s armor began to crack, but I could feel myself tiring; my Endurance wasn’t high enough to support my Speed. I hit Quin in the back of the knee with a rock the size of his head, his armor shattering. I hit the same spot again with three smaller rocks the size of apples, hearing the bone crack.
Quin fell to his knees but didn’t stop using his maul like a crutch as he hounded me.
Fuck this!
I lifted two massive rocks and dropped them on Quin’s head.
He staggered from the sudden heavy impacts.
So, that encouraged me to raise two more and drop them again.
His helmet shattered, the blow sending Quin collapsing to the ground.
I gasped for breath as I continued the fight, no Mana left, but there was still Stamina. I lifted a rock with my hands and staggered toward him to stand over Quin, the hot feeling in my chest rising. This time, I raised the stone above my head and brought it down with all my strength. There was a sickening crunch as blood splattered the ground, rubble all around us.
2 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 1/20. Every time you complete this quest, you will gain 4 rank points.
The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
A stone the size of my thumb floated up from the ground before me, dissolving into mist and flowing up my nose. It felt weird as if I should sneeze, but I couldn’t.
Congratulations! Ability gained. Compress Earth (Rank 1): You can fuse dirt and stone together into a more durable, heavier material that can be shaped. You can currently fuse a 1-foot-square section of earth and common stone. Your compressed stone has a Hardness rating of 4; your compressed earth has a Hardness rating of 2. The precision of detail with which you can sculpt is based on your Mind Attribute.
Cost: 1 Mana per 1-foot square.
Upgrade this ability to increase the amount you can compress, its durability, weight, and the materials upon which you can use it.
Each upgrade increases your Mind Attribute by 1.
When I dismissed the notification, another one popped up.
You have absorbed an uncut Greater Diamond which has bonded to your Mind Attribute and will fuel and guide your soul’s mutation when you pass the Mortal limit for your Mind Attribute.
I probably should have absorbed something better based on what Kelesa had told me, but I had no time to prepare for this. I dismissed the notification, and another one popped up.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Kill your first Gifted with an improvised weapon made of stone.
Reward. Title: Mark of Cain.
*Mark of Cain: Your damage dealt with stone weapons is increased by 1 stage.
I dismissed the notification, wondering just how many had piled up while I had been fighting.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Kill at least 5 humanoids with no weapons.
Reward. Title: Bloody Pugilist.
*Bloody Pugilist: Damage dealt directly with parts of your body, such as hands and feet are increased by 1 stage.
I dismissed these new titles, not even sure what they were or even what they did, and no new notifications popped up.
Why didn’t it give me his armor ability? Also, is that how difficult it is to fight someone only two ranks higher?
I thought through my following actions as I panted, recovering from the battle. Ok, I have one rank point. Where should I put it?
“What are my current Attributes?” I asked the System.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa. Gifted—Humanoid/Human. Mortal. Rank: 50.
Available rank points: 6.
Might:
12
Mind:
9
Speed:
12 (+2) =14
Perception:
8
Toughness:
11
Spirit:
15
Endurance:
10
Power:
10
Maximum Stamina:
56
Maximum Mana:
51
Stamina Regen:
11.2 per second
Mana Regen:
11.4 per second
Abilities:
Dominion (Rank 1), Telekinesis (Rank 2), Heightened Speed (Rank 1), Foresight (Rank 1), Compress Earth (Rank 1).
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Mortal).
Titles:
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist
“Ok, I have excellent Speed and Spirit, but my Perception and Mind are low. I could increase my Perception but won’t benefit from its increase until it hits fourteen,” I said, reasoning aloud. “I could increase my Endurance to let me use Heightened Speed longer, but no ability I have will increase my Endurance. Two of my abilities benefit from Spirit.
“Telekinesis was the only power that let me win that last fight. But I’m one point short of being able to rank it up.”
A sound emanated from outside; the others were still alive! I looked around for weapons to use, having lost all mine in the battle. I lifted Quin’s maul and five rocks with my Telekinesis. As I slowly exited the crypt, the speed boost from my boots had ended, and it felt like the biggest sugar crash I’d ever had.
There were ten surviving brigands left, two women and five men. They had three bows drawn on me and a small phalanx of spears. They looked at me with terror when they saw Quin’s maul. The three archers launched their arrows.
Three of the rocks dropped from my hands, instead reaching to grab the arrows midair, deftly turning their points toward the grave robbers.
“We surrender!” one of the women shouted, dropping her bow and raising her hands.
The others glared at her and didn’t drop their weapons.
“There’s more of us than there are of him,” said a man with a spear.
“He killed Quin,” another man reminded him. “You really think you can beat him?”
“I only really need five of you,” I said. “You have five seconds to drop your weapons.”
“Fuck this!” one of the men said and charged me.
Quin’s maul spun and splattered the man’s brains across the ground. Another threw his spear, and three arrows shot forward, taking him in the throat and neck.
Another turned to run, so I struck him in the back, grinning as he collapsed.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 4/20. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The seven remaining dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.
“Dominion,” I said.
The seven brigands cried out in pain. In agony, they reached for their necks where marks had suddenly appeared around the base of each, white and like brands.
They revealed the pattern of a chain.
Quest updated. Whip and Chains: 1 rank point added.
Whip and Chains (Repeatable): Conquer 5 monsters or humanoids by bringing them under your Dominion. Current progress: 2/10. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
“You will serve me now,” I said. “Prepare a camp and fire.”
The survivors turned and ran into the forest. Will they run off, I wondered? I wasn’t exactly sure how this ability worked. Ten minutes later, they reappeared, shaking and sweaty. Some carried packs while others lugged firewood. They began to set up camp, pitching tents.
I was thirsty and hungry. I looked around and saw gravestones all over the crypt, the only building in the clearing. A few trees and bushes grew among the graves, and it was clear this land had been abandoned long ago, the names on the gravestones not even legible anymore.
Wandering into the forest, I discovered a stream and bent down, cupping water and drinking, I felt some strength return, briefly wondering about sickness from the water, but I didn’t have time for concerns like that with monsters and people with superpowers walking around. If I got sick, I’d deal with it as it came along.
I returned to the crypt, found my backpack buried among the rubble and pulled it out. Taking out the bag of jerky, I ate a bit before returning it to my pack.
Returning to sit in the light of the setting sun, I fixed on watching my captives, subjects and vassals, still unsure what to call them yet.
They set up camp with ragged tents and a rough campfire, with stones around fallen and broken branches and chunks of wood. They lit the fire and huddled around it, the ominous shadows of the night already darkening the clearing.
I got up and walked over to the fire, my vassals eyeing me the way you would a grizzly bear, making no sound or sudden movements as I sat on a large stone across from them.
“Who are you people?” I asked.
They were silent for a while, and I watched as the brand along their necks began to glow, and they twisted in discomfort.
“We’re bandits!” one of the two remaining women finally exclaimed.
I reasoned that the brand must cause them more and more pain the longer they disobeyed or didn’t try hard to comply with my orders.
“If you are bandits, you are not very good ones! Quin was the only one among you with any real weapons,” I said.
“Quin sprang most of us from prison,” said another woman. “He killed a noble in his sleep to steal his abilities, then used his powers to overwhelm the guards and break us out. We fled into the woods and have been hiding out here for about a week. We found this crypt and were going to search it for treasure.”
“What do you want from us?” one of the men asked. “Are you a bounty hunter?”
I considered how much to tell them.
I don’t think they could betray me even if they wanted to.
“I am Mordred, champion of Kelesa,” I announced.
When I said the goddess’ name, the bandits shuddered and made some ward against evil.
I laughed inwardly. “I want you to do as I command. As long as you follow my orders without complaint and without trying to escape or twist my words, I will protect you.”
“Yes, Warlord,” they mumbled, bowing their heads.
***
Guinevere rode at the column of a head of horses. Almost ten score knights rode behind her, all of them Knights of Camelot. She let out a sigh. This was overkill, even thirty royal Camelot Knights being enough to turn most armies, but the King had insisted she bring them with her. He wanted to protect the alliance that her marriage to Arthur would bring between their two houses. Her father, Merlin, hadn’t wanted her to marry Arthur, but she had gone with it nonetheless, to keep stability in their kingdom.
“Guinevere,” one of her knights said, riding up to her.
“You will address the Duchess Guinevere by her title or as Lady Guinevere, or you will not address her at all,” Lady Kira said beside her.
Lady Kira was a healer. Guinevere’s father had assembled an entourage for her and insisted she take them. More coddling she didn’t need or appreciate.
“I’ve known Sir Kallin my entire life,” Guinevere said. “He has every right and my permission to address me by my first name.”
“But propriety…” Lady Kira said.
“We are on the border of the Cursed Forest,” Guinevere said. “There isn’t a town within a day’s hard ride of where we are. These are the lands of barbarians, so if we can’t have a little impropriety here, then where can we have it?”
“We’ve been following your lead,” Sir Kallin said. “But we’ve been getting closer and closer to the Cursed Forest. Shouldn’t we be heading north to the Old Road?”
“No,” Guinevere said. “Going around the Cursed Forest adds another month to the journey. There isn’t a man here below Rank Fifty. We’ll ride straight through.”
“The horses won’t like that,” Sir Kallin said.
“What’s the point in having Gifted horses if we aren’t going to use them?” Guinevere asked. “We waste valuable monsters on getting them abilities; the least they can do is ride through a damn forest once in a while!”
“Lady Guinevere!” chided Kira, shocked.
“My apologies,” Guinevere said. “It’s been a long day. We’ll camp here tonight before heading into the forest tomorrow.”
“What if monsters attack?” Sir Kallin asked.
“I hope they do,” Guinevere said. “We could all use a bit of exercise and a new ability or two.”
“There are worse things than monsters in those woods,” Kira said. “What if a myrmidon raiding party decides you’d be a good wife for one of their warriors, or the hell dragon flies out of the forest… or worse, a chaos spawn uses us as rank fodder? What then?”
Guinevere rolled her eyes. “You’re being melodramatic! The hell dragon has never flown out of the Cursed Forest, and he wouldn’t be stupid enough to attack an army of Camelot knights. And as for a chaos spawn… Really? None of the Chaos gods would be foolish enough to set one of their champions this close to Camelot and Lunara; they know it would be suicide for them as soon as we found out about them.”