Dante was lead by the guards down streets inwards toward the heart of the town. Something he found surprising was the lack of people out on the streets. Most people he saw looked disheveled. Some wore their pajamas, others a t-shirt and underwear, and some just the underwear.

Part of him wondered why those people hadn't just bought clothes from the store, or one of the shops?

Then again maybe they had blown through all the money they had been given on any number of things. Or was it that no one else had gotten the bonus money? He might never know unless he asked.

"System how many players have reached...this tutorial zone?" Dante asked hesitantly.

The guard leading the way turned back to look at him before turning back to face forward.

1,134/10,000 players...

"How many people got that 1 small platinum bonus? How many of those players are like them, needing basic clothes?" he asked indicating towards the people he had passed.

All players received some monetary aid with the amount determined by chance. You were among the few, approximately 1-10,000, that received the max reward of 1 small platinum. The minimum was a single small gold...

It was not luck that decided this for you, you were chosen...

All received the basic inventory...

The Gods of Good turn towards you...

234 currently...

"That's... rather concerning...for several reasons. But, I wonder how they got through the first floor. How much other's struggled. How much would it cost to give them the basic articles of clothing they need?" He asked not sure if he would actually consider this course of action even if he could afford it.

Calculating...

The Gods of Good smile upon you and sponsor 20% of the total price...

With discount total comes to 2 large gold coins...

"Huh...Cheaper than I thought it would be. Let's help where we can. Alright, do it." He spoke, he was sad use the money on others, but felt that the kindness would help them through this trying time.

-2 LGP...

The Gods of Good smile upon you...

You have gained affinity with the Gods of Good...

For your kindness and generosity the Gods of Good grant you +1 to all stats!...

Many gods who previously closed their miracles to you now open them to you...

Many gods who once opened their miracles to you now close them off to you...

Many gods remain neutral to you...

Sekhmet watches your actions closely...

The system rewards your actions...

There was a flash of light that caused him to pause and cover his eyes. A second later the light had vanished as quickly as it had come. After blinking a few times as his eyes adjusted he saw Bobby wearing what looked like simple children's clothes. A small green T-shirt and a tiny pair of blue denim jeans, no shoes or socks though.

He wondered if he was still wearing the loincloth or if the system had given him some actual underwear.

Turning back to the people they had passed a moment again he saw the man previously wearing only his boxers holding onto the support pillar of a storefront crying quietly as he looked at him. The man simply mouthing, "Thank you."

156 players wish to give back to the one who helped them...

Coins are being donated...

Consolidating coinage...

Dante watched as dozens, hundreds of coins appeared before him before quickly they began to combine. Coins began to pair up, by twos and by tens.

Coppers became silvers and silvers to gold. In the end he got a nice even...

+6 LGP...

The Gods of Luck and Chance fall over laughing...

+2 Luck...

"Well holy shit..." Dante spoke in a small voice not having expected this. He was lost for words a moment before he felt something squeeze his hand.

Bobby looked up at him and smiled and spoke. "Not so cold."

The guards previously quiet and reserved each took a moment to shake his hand, thanking him for what he had done before they continued on their way.

---------

After about 10 minutes they arrived at a rather large building that while mostly unremarkable had what appeared to be several attached stables of varying kinds.

Stepping into the small reception area the guards quickly explained to the receptionist why there were here, asking to see the exotics trainer.

A moment later a short dark skinned man with glasses mad his way into the room and shook the guards hands before shaking Dante's. The man hardly stood a head over Bobby, so he guessed he stood about 4 feet tall.

Introducing himself as the Exotics trainer Rodrick, Dante introduced himself as well.

The guards took a step back but remained in the room, seemingly to keep an eye on him and Bobby.

"Fredrick sent a message that you were coming. So I am aware you managed to pick up some rather interesting creatures from the first floor of the first tower. And this little one is Bobby correct?" said Rodrick looking down upon Bobby who quickly hide behind Dante not liking the attention being paid to him.

"Yes this is Bobby." Dante said not wishing to explain the story between him and Bobby multiple times.

"I seldom see soul contracts between none tamers and until recently wild creatures. Though from what I've heard you had the systems help." Said Rodrick his eyes glowing with faint blue light.

"Neat skill, and yeah. So shall we?" Dante asked motioning to a nearby table.

"Of course." Rodrick said as they moved towards the table and chairs to sit. As they did so the guards remained where they were, continuing to stand.

Pulling the jar from his inventory he placed it on the table. Bobby was offered a chair by Dante but was content to dig lay on the cool stone floor and dig dirt and bugs from between the cracks in the floor.

"Please in your own words explain anything you already know about these creatures." asked Rodrick.

"Sure. These guys are baby mimics. They mimic items and grow over time as they consume creatures. Presumably they would start with small insects, rodents and such. The appearance of the coin is to draw people in and presumably to help the children be carried far from their parents to new hunting grounds. The adult I fought on the first floor appeared as a wooden chest. So they can change their coloration and texture within a certain range, as it would have been hard to tell it from a real chest at a glance. If the system hadn't said it was spawning it I might have assumed it was some sort of possible reward chest. They are sticky and use acid to digest their prey. They are also amorphous shape changers so if you kill them they turn to something that looks like a bag of flesh. Well that is unless you freeze them. " He said recounting what he knew of mimics and what he had experienced first hand.

"Freeze them? How did you freeze the mimic?" Asked Rodrick with one eye brow raised as he examined the contents of the jar.

"An aura skill, does some cold damage per second with a few feet of me. They aren't fast so I just walked after the thing and after about a minute or so it froze and I got the kill notification."

"Do you have the body?"

"Unfortunately not, had a quest to kill some creatures for a god and was offering the corpses to her as a sacrifice. Before you ask, she was the god I bought a basic healing miracle from and the quest was part of what she demanded. The offering corpses stuff was a convent way to get rid of the bodies. I thought she would appreciate the offerings and she seemed to."

"Ah I see. I am unfamiliar with your gods as few who have yet come her have made mention of any. So I won't pry. Now may I examine one of them more closely?"

"Sure, but please be gentle. I think I've managed to build a small amount of trust with them and I would rather not ruin that."

"I will be gentle." Said Rodrick as he opened the jar, one of the "coins" floated from the jar, propelled by some unseen force.

"How are you doing that? Is it magic or some form of Telekinesis?" Dante asked curious for possible paths of growth to go down.

"The expert application of a force aura actually, something...well let's say it would be a bit hard to get a hold of and takes a rather long time to gain a decent proficiency with it." Rodrick said as he paused his examination of the baby mimic.

Dante simply nodded, recalling vaguely a similar skill from somewhere but not quite remembering the detail. Something to deal with later.

"Are you seeking to learn the ropes of being a tamer? That you may better train these creatures?" He asked slowly turning the baby mimic in mid air examining the finer details of its assumed appearance.

"That depends what that would entail and the time required. On a bit of a time crunch. If I could learn a skill for taming that would be great but If it takes too long I'll have to put it off." Dante explained to the trainer who nodded in understanding.

"The system often changes things from one world to another. This multiple tower idea is rather new and refreshing. Though I see your point on the time constraints. While you could obtain the taming skill from the store I wouldn't recommend it. Skills are priced based on several factors and due to this Taming is a rather expensive skill. It is better to learn the trade for a considerably lower fee over the course of about a week thus gaining the skill. However if you wish for the ability to tame creatures in the meantime we do have a few scrolls of [Tame Creature] that we could sell you. One small gold each, we have 5 currently." Spoke Rodrick as he smiled warmly.

Dante couldn't help but smile, the man seemed to be a salesman, but a likeable one.

"Ok I'm interested in the scrolls explain them to me."

Rodrick began explaining how to use the scrolls.

"Often you must render the creature unconscious or docile by other means before applying. You must unfurl the scroll and place it on the creature. Then cut a finger or something, possibly a prepared blood vial. to get your blood and drop it into the middle of the diagram on the parchment. You will also need a bit of their blood. If the creature doesn't have blood you'll have to supplement that with additional mana. The scroll isn't usually consumed by the process. Technically there isn't a limit to the number of creatures you can tame but practically there is. That limit depends on the power of the creature or creatures you have tamed currently and your own stats. The important stats here being Will, Cha, and spirit, along with your mana regen. For each creature you tame some of your mana regen will be tied up in maintaining the connection between you and them." Spoke the trainer, taking a few breaths and pausing to let Dante ask any questions he might have.

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He racked his brain for a moment, having had a question but lost it, unable to remember what he wanted to ask. It was a rather annoying feeling.

"The most important thing to remember you shouldn't try to tame things much stronger that yourself, its begging for trouble. Its a bad idea to try and tame something that will require more mana regeneration than you have to maintain the connection. I see the question so I'll head it off here. If you attempt to tame something stronger than you, or that the bond would require more than what your mana regen would allow for, there will be backlash and the bond will fail. Trust me when I tell you boy you don't want to experience the kind of pain that will happen if a bond fails and backlashes on you. Some have compared it to having their soul flayed. Not a pleasant experience. Now are you seeking to tame all of these mimics or would you like to sell them to the Tamer's guild for others?"

Dante was silent for a long moment contemplating all he had just been told. 'So probably not a good idea to try and tame an army. Not at the moment at least. I really don't have the attention span to take care of the mimics anyway. I'd likely forget about them and they would just starve to death in my inventory. Or worse they eat each other then starve to death or die from the fighting.'

"How much were you thinking for each of them? Not including Bobby he's not for sale." Dante asked and quickly expressed much to the trainers amusement.

"I hadn't been considering the goblin but it is good you made your stance clear on him. As for the baby mimics? Let me see..." Rodrick spoke rubbing his smooth chin as he did math in his head.

After a long moment he gave an answer.

"A medium gold each, totaling to..."

"6 Large gold coins. I will be keeping one, and you throw in one of those taming scrolls. I'll buy the other 4." Dante interjected before the man could finish surprising him.

"...Well aren't you adapting quickly. Very well as what your asking is reasonable I will oblique you."

the man pulls a single coin from the jar but Dante hold the jar. I'm keeping the jar unless you guys sell terrariums I can put him in?

"What's a..."The man began to ask confused for a few seconds before his eyes flashed and began rubbing his chin with a smile.

"That might not be a bad business venture. Small tailored environments to help nurture tiny tamed creatures, like these mimics. They would eventually outgrow the container but that could take quite some time depending on how much they manage to consume. It could be fun to make a model dungeon terrarium. Oh the possibilities." The man spoke with a smile. "Tell you what since I like this idea you've given me I'll do you a favor for a favor. Leave you remaining baby mimic with me and I'll tinker with a small dungeon terrarium for it. Should take a couple of days to get a working prototype. You show it off, and tell people about it once it's done and you can have it. I'll even throw in those scrolls you wanted for free. No telling what interesting creatures you might bring back." He spoke quickly and with confidence, his eyes gleaming with a hint of greed.

Dante agreed and received the scrolls. Rodrick offering a bit more information as he handed over the payment for the other mimics.

"The prototype I'm imagining will be quite bulky so you will likely have to carry it in an empty inventory slot...You don't have one. What's your spirit stat? 49? That's a small issue, but something fairly easy to fix. When your spirit stat reaches 100 which is the first stat milestone, and your inventory will go from 1 slot, to 8. So you just need to get your spirit to 100 in the next couple days. Tell me how much rp do you have right now?"

"Um...Roads?"

*Sigh*

Roads Available, RP: 26 Beginners Magic I, 1/25 Chronomancer I Road, 0/50 Road of Beginnings, 0/5 Road of the Downtrodden I, 0/10 Road of New Beginnings, 0/20 Goblin I Road, 0/25

"I have 26 RP available. and I have multiple roads I can complete in one go. Any you recommend?" Dante asked who grabbed the blue box from the air and handed it to Rodrick who looked at him with eyes wide in surprise but didn't decline.

"I will help you, but bear in mind for the future you should never do what you just did except with your most trusted people. This sort of information would be invaluable for any number of people for any number of reasons few of them good. Now with that out of the way, let's see what you have...Clearly you haven't gone through the some of the basics of walking roads as you still have the road of beginnings. Beginners magic is common, Chronomancer...is something I never believed I would see let alone from someone who just started. Downtrodden says your past hasn't been the best. New beginnings is something to push you towards a better future. And of course the goblin road which you certainly got after your pact with young Bobby there. If you want my advice then complete both the beginnings roads and leave the others for a little down the line. I suggest you do that now instead of later." Rodrick said handing the blue box back to Dante.

“Five points to Gryffindor..." He said softly, one corner of his mouth pulling up in a wry grin.

Rodrick looked at him with a confused expression but he just tapped the small plus sign for the Road of Beginnings.

The hardest step is often the first, keep moving forward! +1 Str/End...

For a second he felt an alien twitch in his muscles that was gone as suddenly as it had come. Another point.

The second step brings you ever farther along the bumpy road, but you pass by with ease. +2 Dexterity...

He felt his joints loosen and shift, giving off a soft pop as he felt a small hit of euphoria.

"Oh yeah I can see people being addicted to this." He spoke as another point went into the road.

With the third step, you find the beginning and the end within sight, equidistant. +1 Int/Per...

This time it felt almost like static dancing across the surface of his head. Another point.

The fourth step, you are almost there. You can see the branching of many roads before you. +1 Per/Luck...

Involuntarily he blinked, as he opened his eyes the world looked just a touch clearer, the sounds just a bit clearer. Rubbing his fingers together he could almost swear he felt the individual lines of his finger prints. One more point.

The fifth step. You have chosen to tread forth. Both for yourself and those you love. +2 Endurance...

Congratulations! You have completed the Road of Beginnings! You are awarded 1 random common skill...

Rolling the dice...

He could almost swear he heard actual dice being rolled.

Congratulations! You are awarded the Common, active skill, Reading Lvl. 1...

Reading- Slight increase to reading speed, comprehension, and retention per skill level. +2 Int, Wis per skill level...

Dante felt his feet moving though he remained standing still. With each step, each point, he felt something stretch out before him. It was the feeling you got when you played a grand and expansive game. It reminded him of good times with his friends. "My friends..." Dante felt the ever more familiar feeling of a door opening in the back of his mind to let in light before closing once more.

20 points went to the road of new beginnings.

Some are reluctant to begin anew, this is only natural. For the few like you who have had to start again many times, We give you this gift for better days! +5 Luck...

Your feet are in motion taking you down roads both old and new. You grow weary of the journey but still you endure! +4 End...

It takes great resolve to know the horrors that are, that were, that could be, and still look forward to the future. +5 Will...

You take a cautious approach to the new world before you, striving to survive, that you may see your friends and family again. +2 Int...

Let us steel ourselves for the worst, and hope for the best. +2 Will, Luck...

Congratulations! You have completed the Road of New Beginnings!...

Calculating rewards...

You have been granted the Common magic item, Apprentice Enchanters spectacles of Magic Detection...

Apprentice Enchanters spectacles of Magic Detection A pair of spectacles enchanted by an apprentice enchanter with the spell, Detect magic. They allow you to perceive magic in a cone in front of you. These spectacles allow the user to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any.

The enchantment of this item is imperfect however. For every minute you look through them the glasses will grow a little more cloudy with iridescent colors. Wearing the glasses for more than 10 minutes will render them opaque. While not being worn the lenses will slowly clear. For every minute they were worn they will need two minutes to clear.

This effect can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt. Otherwise you perceive magic up to 30 feet from you, in the direction you are looking.

Item added to inventory...

'...Well ok. I'm not complaining, but...this looks like something said apprentice made and then threw away because he screwed up. Sounds like a bargain bin magic item...Hey that could actually be a cool business idea.' Dante thought, giving a small laugh as he pulled out the glasses and held them in his right hand. "Well let's give them a try." he said, putting on the glasses.

Nothing immediately jumped out at him as magical. The room didn't look any different at first glance, so he scanned the room right to left. But after a few seconds he noticed that an area around Rodrick appeared more gray than the rest of the room. Upon closer inspection he realized it was the man's aura, which the glasses identified as some sort of transmutation effect. Huh he would have thought it was some kind of conjuring as its creating force.

Deciding it would be better to experiment with them later he put the glasses back in his inventory.

Congratulations! Your Health has surpassed 1000...

Calculating rewards...

You are awarded the common magic item, Bracelet of Goodberry...

Bracelet of Good Berries- Once a day cast the spell, Goodberry....

Goodberry (Lvl. 1 spell)

Up to ten berries appear in your hand and are infused with magic for the duration. Eating a berry restores 100 hit points, and the berry magically nourishes said creature for one day. This effect does not stack with itself, nor does it confer hydration. Eating an additional berry before the duration of a previously consumed berry has expired will refresh the duration.

If they have not been consumed within 24 hours of the casting of this spell, all unconsumed berries quickly rot and decay.

This time the item did not get placed in his inventory. No, this time he watched as a ring that seemed to be made of small woven together branches appeared on the table before him.

"I assume that is yours." Rodrick said as he looked between Dante and the item that had appeared on the table.

Dante without a word swept up the bracelet and quickly noticed it was far to large. If he tried to put it on he would have to push it nearly to his elbow. But to his mild surprise and joy as soon as his hand slipped through the bracelet tightened around his wrist. And with ease when he tried to take it off it grew to allow for easy removal. Placing back on the bracelet it shrunk and he turned to Rodrick.

"So should we postpone taming one of the mimics until your prototype is done?"

----------------------

Taking a quick trip to the Mages college Dante with his guard escorts, who seemed interested in seeing what he would do next.

The Mages college was a large campus with stone buildings that to him resembled Oxford.

After getting directions from the guards now walking side by side with him they quickly found their way to the main administration building.

After inquiring who they could talk to about constructs they were guided to a lecture hall whose professor was just dismissing his class.

Walking down the stair as the students ascended would have been tougher if the guards hadn't been there basically causing the students to part like Moses parting the red sea.

This quickly drew the attention of the professor.

He seemed to be an older gentlemen with short but well kept graying facial hair. The hair on his head was also gray and short but was more wild.

"Professor Orius? I have a construct I would like you to examine if you have a moment." Dante said as the professor presented himself at the bottom of the stair to greet him.

His eyes were brimming with delight.

"Yes, yes, of course! I always love to help young pupils. I haven't seen you around and by your...damaged clothing I will assume you recently came back from climbing one of the tower." Said Orius who sucked in his lips not wishing to smile or laugh and embarrass the boy further.

Dante looked at him blankly, then looked down at his shredded shirt and pants that still had holes towards their bottoms. Quietly he muttered, "Fuck."

"Yeah I forgot about that. I can fix it up just didn't want to before I completed the floor." He said as he quickly searched for and bought [Mend] and began casting.

Mend 1, Touch, Instant, 100 Mp

Touch a small non-magical, non-complicated object and restore it to its prime.

Exp to next Lvl: 0/300, Maximum level: (10*[Rank])

3 castings later his shirt and pants were good as new. Just enough to level the skill.

Skill, [Mend], has leveled! Lvl. 2...

"Yes very wise. Best not to expend resources if you can help it, not knowing if you'll need them in the near future. So please let me see this construct of yours."

Pulling out the bag of holding from his inventory and laying it on the floor he pulled out the once animated armor with the clearly smashed in helm.

"Oh my goodness! I presume you had to fight it for it to be damaged like this?"

"Yeah. I wanted to get you opinion on repairing it." He said uncertain if it would even be viable to repair it even though it was possible.

"I can tell you right away that much of the command framework is basically destroyed. Try using that mending spell of yours on the helmet." Orius instructed him.

"I'm afraid the spell won't work on this right now. It can only effect...Here's the blue box." Dante said bringing up the blue box describing [Mend] and handing it to the professor.

"Ah I see. I rather doubt you wish to spend the next hour mending broken objects to level this skill and waiting for your mana to regenerate. So I won't press it. As for the construct I would say while it's technically repairable it may not be worth the time and effort. If you want to move forward with repairing it will take time and I will have to replace the head entirely. Give me till tomorrow morning to examine it properly and I'll let you know if what it would cost you to get it repaired. It's not going to be cheap. So let me make you an offer to buy it off your hands. It would be a good teaching aid for my students. Their final could be trying to repair it. How does 1 small platinum sound."

---------------

With bag of holding empty Dante walked out of the Mages college and got escorted to the Crystal Foot Inn. After a brief check in and 4 large silvers for Bobbies meal they retired for the evening.

Thankfully there weren't many people in the dinning area, and after his brief explanation and assurance to the server they got to eat a peaceful meal. The guards smiling and shaking his hand before departing to finish their shift at the guard station.

Getting a room with two bed he saw the room reminded him of a more rustic and magical looking hotel room.

Dante showed Bobby how to clean himself in the shower. As it turned out Bobby had been given underwear, his loincloth nowhere to be seen.

Not wanting Bobby to drink the shampoo, or eat the soap he reluctantly took his shower with the goblin. Looking over his body he saw over a dozen new small scars adorning his body. The outline of a jaw where his leg had been chewed on. The many lines that crisscrossed his chest now from when the ghoul had tried to dig into his chest with its claws.

After the rather awkward and long shower they both retired to bed. Unfortunately in both cases, it was his bed as Bobby didn't want to sleep in his own bed.

Quickly Bobby fell asleep but sleep eluded Dante.

Looking up at the countdown in the corner of his vision he watched the seconds tick by.

20: 36: 40...

Finally with a moment mostly just to himself he thought about all that had happened. How the world had changed, and the many gods that had spoken to him just a few short hours ago back in his house...