Vaughn waited patiently as the system processed his request for the Rule change.

A catalyst is required to change the Rules. You require a Greater Mana Crystal (0/1) or equivalent catalyst, offering, or sacrifice in order to implement the [Veil] Rule change into the Archives.

System is analyzing…

Because this is the first request from an Outlander with a strong [Dragon] affinity, the Rule change offering will be waived.

[Rule change is now being implemented.]

Vaughn’s self congratulatory grin couldn’t get any wider when he saw that the [Dragon] affinity he previously thought to be useless now paid for itself in a very meaningful way.

He had no doubt that something with the name Greater Mana Crystal would be quite a pain in the ass to obtain, probably hiding in one of those treasure chests in a video game where you needed to backtrack halfway across the map with rock smash to get at it (for legal purposes he was most certainly not referring to any one particular video game or franchise that contained the abilities strength, waterfall, surf, or anything else of that nature), so getting a free pass because of his perhaps-not-so-useless affinity was fantastic.

The Archive has now been updated with a new Rule.

The name and likeness of Corporate employees will be concealed through the [Veil]. A high level corporate executive may claim a [Territory], start a [Pact], perform an [Offering], or even [Declare War] anonymously. This list is not exhaustive.

Display of a corporate executive’s achievements on the Seasonal Board will be concealed behind the corporation’s name, unless the executive wishes to reveal their identity.

System is updating…

Vaughn tossed his vial of slime blob in the air, catching it deftly as he waited for the system to finish processing the interaction. He had to admit, this entire interaction made him feel just a bit more draconic. Setting up rules for his territory and authority, his own personal domain… hiding his existence better so that he could more easily defend his turf and amass wealth… he really was starting to act a whole lot like a dragon, now that he thought about it.

Ah, draconic… what an interesting word. Originally meaning for something to be like a dragon, it eventually took on the tangential meaning of a particularly harsh or severe treatment. A dragon’s temperament was one to be feared.

For a word that meant like a dragon to evolve into a word that reflected their mythically violent temperament was an evolution of language that felt more familiar in mandarin than in english. Vaughn was fluent in both, as well as Russian, and he always found that words in Chinese, built from characters and modifying radicals, were far more inferential and contextual in their meaning versus the literal rigidity that English words sometimes possessed.

A quick lesson for those who were not so versed in Chinese. If this was a webtoon, this part would be like the translator’s notes written with little asterisks at the bottom of a panel, Vaughn thought, where the readers had absolutely no clue if the translator was spewing bullshit because, well, obviously they couldn’t understand the original language, and they could only hold onto those little asterisks for dear life, putting every ounce of trust into some seventeen year old scanlator’s 3 AM ramblings.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Time to start the lesson.

In English, a bear would be a bear, a cat would be a cat, and a panda would be a panda.

In Chinese, a bear would be a bear, a cat would be a cat, and a panda would be a… bear cat. Wait, what? Why? Well, because pandas looked like bears but acted lazy and coy like cats. Inference. Context. Equal parts poetic and guesstimating. Some might even say that it was stretching meanings to places they didn’t belong.

It was not surprising that the culture that conducted thought in Chinese created wuxia and cultivation, while the culture that conducted thought in English created Dungeons and Dragons and character sheets with moral alignment charts that looked awfully and suspiciously religious.

Poems versus numbers. Confucianism versus Christianity. Neither approach was right, but they were so far from each other–despite telling the same wish fulfillment tale at the end of the day– that it was interesting to see how diligent young masters and Eladrin Drow Demi-Elves could tell the same story in wildly different fonts.

Now if some mad scientist put both of those together… creating poetic character sheets… god, the thought of it made Vaughn want to vomit. It would be like combining vodka with wasabi. Both were terrific standalone ingredients, but together… only someone truly insane would appreciate that. And scratch that, Vaughn wouldn’t call vodka a terrific standalone ingredient per se, rather, it was an ingredient of emotional necessity and spiritual elevation.

Congratulations, outlander Vaughn Hallows. You have founded Sintech Dungeon Pharmaceuticals.

You are the sole executor of Sintech Dungeon Pharmaceuticals.

Ah, yeah, the system finished its job. Who cares. Back to vodka and wasabi. If there was anyone in the world that could contend for the coveted title of a mad scientist that was truly depraved in his insanity, it would be Vaughn Hallows.

And here he was, speaking to himself in his own mind while referring to himself in the third person. Talking to yourself was a marker of intelligence… right?

…

Really, at this rate, was he any better than Dunny?

…

Speak of which… the bearded ginger man with his brown hood pulled over his head was walking right towards him. In his right hand was a small curved dagger, which looked a bit different than the dagger Vaughn found in his own newbie adventurer’s starter pack. Maybe the system tailored rewards for each person?

Dhunnim pocketed his curved dagger with a swish of his robes, then nodded knowingly at Vaughn when they locked eyes.

“I have been observing you for the last few hours, Vaughn Hallows,” Dhunnim said. “Not only has your true name changed countless times, but I have also seen a fire burning in your soul. There are sparks of mana flying around your body.”

Vaughn nodded approvingly.

Wait, you thought he was nodding because of what Dhunnim ‘il Dharral said? Not exactly. He nodded because Dhunnim properly utilized the grammatical rule for not only, but also, and it was thoroughly satisfying for Vaughn to hear.

“I believe that you have the potential to unlock your mana circuit. Do you wish to learn the way of the mana?”

Vaughn’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t even mentioned anything to Dhunnim, and yet he was already offering his tutelage?

Perhaps this man was a lot more perceptive than Vaughn first took him for. Or, perhaps he was just a huge fucking nerd.

Little bit of column A, little bit of column B.

Vaughn nodded. “Please teach me well, Dhunnim ‘il Dharral.” He raised his hands in a respectful ninja gesture, mirroring the one that Dhunnim did earlier. When in Rome, do as the Romans do…

Now it was Dhunnim’s turn to be surprised. “Oh? You already know the secret greeting of the Shadow Council? Very well. You have passed the test. Now, it’s time for you to learn magic.”