Standing there like a deer in headlights, I took stock of the situation. Despite my best efforts I had all but certainly outed myself as a Titan Spawn. Some naïve part of me thought I could keep cover and maybe stall Celeste a while longer. Mostly, though a small and deeply scared part of me feared that things would change. Angelica was my first friend. The fundamental lessons she had taught me made it clear higher Scale meant complications in relationships.

I felt an instinctive urge to try and use some sort of distraction skill. Shift focus onto Brunhilda. Thankfully I came to my senses. “I am guessing you have some questions.”

“You are guessing correctly,” Angelica said flatly. She turned to Brunhilda, she slammed a fist to her chest, “Hail Champion of the Shattered Mountain!”

Brunhilda mirrored the gesture, “Hail Hero of the Coast!” after a brief pause, “Now that that is over, I assume you two have drama with my new drinking buddy? So long as you have no ill will just pretend I’m not here.” She slapped my ass, “Good luck buddy.”

Balin’s Beard! Her hands were like little hammers.

I took another swig of the Titanic Brew and handed it back to her. She took it eagerly and went to sit on a large piece of rubble. She was not far away enough to give the allusion of privacy: this felt more like an audience member taking the good seats.

Angelica and Brand turned to me. They didn’t look pissed off, but they definitely weren’t happy. I hitched a thumb at the body of the dungeon boss, “Shouldn’t we loot that?”

“It's a dungeon boss, it will stay until we leave the dungeon,” Brand explained. He eyed me for a moment before using some sort of Scrutinize skill “How do you not know that?”

I sighed. Might as well just get this over with, “I have been keeping a secret.” I stopped. How to approach this…

After a moment a strange look crept into Angelica’s expression, “Wait, are you talking about the fact you are obviously a Titan Spawn?”

“Oh!” Brand said, understanding hitting, “That makes much more sense, I thought he was a manifestation of the goddess of war.”

I looked at myself and then a Brand, “Goddess?”

“Lola is not opposed to subtlety,” he explained.

“Subtlety?” I asked.

“Within the domain of war.” Brand hedged.

I got what he was saying. A massive, extremely burly dude who can smash stuff with their bare hands is both not what you would expect of a goddess, but on brand for a being related to war. Hell, my body was basically a living weapon. If not for my own incompetence, who knows how dangerous I could be.

“Was I really that obvious?” I managed.

“Doug, let me answer that question with a few questions,” Angelica said. “First, do I have a spear?” She was holding it in her right hand.

“Yeah,” I answered.

“How do you know?” Angelica asked.

“I have seen you use it in front of me multiple times,” I admitted, seeing where she was going.

“How could you be able to figure this out, even if I didn’t specifically tell you I have a spear?” she pressed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

I nodded, “I get your point.”

“What point? We haven’t established if I have a spear,” Angelica demanded, waving the spear directly in my line of sight.

“How long do you plan to keep roasting me?” I asked

“I haven’t decided,” Angelica replied, “Brand, anything you want to say?”

Brand paused before answering, “You’ll have to forgive me, but I am still dealing with a sudden shock. I would love to participate in this but I still need to process a few things.” He turned to Brunhilda, “Has the Fantasy Coast picked a side in the Forever War?”

“Sadly, my being here is not an act of support or opposition to any faction in the Forever War beyond the basic stance of both the Fantasy and Techna Coasts mutual agreement of non-involvement in matters outside of this continent.” Brunhilda responded immediately in a practiced tone.

“Of course,” Brand sighed. He turned to me, “I plan to mock you at random intervals for the remainder of our existence. Given that you are basically an infant, I expect a large amount of my jabs will go unnoticed.”

I thought for a moment. When no good retort came to me I pulled a barrier out of my inventory, putting a wall between Brand and the conversation Angelica and I were having.

I’m not petty, you’re petty.

“Are we still good?” I asked Angelica.

“Yeah,” She nodded. “I get it. People get weird when Scale gets involved.

“Fucken’ Preach!” Brunhilda called. Where did the popcorn come from?

“So what did I do that tipped my hand?” I asked.

Angelica eyed me. Clearly she was curious why I needed to know.

“I would like to know how to not obviously signal to the entire world that I am Titanic Scale. Not everyone I meet is going to be as friendly as you.”

Angelica thought for a moment, clearly debating whether to give me more shit or not. “Fine. In no particular order. You don’t know basic things about the world, like where you are. You don’t know about the Fantasy Coast or the Techna Cost. You don’t recognize names like Herschal or the Demon of Frost. You have the Sheltered condition but look to be too old physically to still have it. You have a Goddess and a Titan Spawn interested in you. You can fight Demigod Scale enemies and not die. You can Tank. You could resist the effect of Divine Scale players. You can move during Time Stops. You are using a Cosmic Martial Art. Your fists hit almost as hard as my attacks, at least against lower Scale opponents. You crafted a Vitae.”

“How is that last one a clue?” I asked.

“Vitae are only made using Titan Spawn blood,” Angelica answered.

I sighed, “I really thought I was being subtle.”

“Doug, you are my friend. God love ya man, but you are as subtle as a trainwreck… on a boat.” After a moment Angelica patted my shoulder in a there-there sort of way.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“Anything else i should know?”

“The barricade only blocks line of sight,” Brand called over the wall. “I explain this, because you are so young, I am uncertain if you understand object permanence. Which is that things keep existing even when you do not look at them directly.”

I pulled the Barricade back into my inventory.

Before I could talk Brand said, “Peek-a-boo.”

I am not a smart man. I set myself up for that. Turns out Angelica and Brunhilda are the type of friend that will point as they laugh at you. Brand had outmaneuvered me this round, no sense denying it.

“Seriously though, what else did I do that outed me?” I was strangely reminded of the casual embarrassment that sort of permeates every aspect of the middle school experience.

Angelica forced herself to stop laughing. She took a deep breath. “The underwear you gave me says it was made by Zach. You know, the Storm King of the Fantasy Coast.”

“So I have been broadcasting my high Scale status constantly,” I realized aloud.

“In your defense,” Brand started gently, “You did not know any better. This world must be alien to you, as the world that was is to us.”

That seemed strangely sincere, “I thought you were mocking me?”

“Intermittently,” Brand replied. He tried to straighten his coat, but it was basically shredded.

“Ah.” Joy. Surprise mockery, how very British.

“In case you are just pretending to know what that means, a bad habit, by the by. That means at irregular intervals, not continuously or steadily.” Brand elaborated. “It helps with the comedic timing, you see.”

I chose to ignore this, because I am more mature, and not because I didn’t have any clever comeback. It was my maturity, definitely that. “I can always blend in better next time.

Everyone sort of shared looks. Dammit they were meaningful looks.

“What?” I asked. I prepare for this world to find a new and inventive way to piss on my parade.

Angelica thought a moment before answering. “You have the God Killer achievement. That is going to be pinned next to your name forever. Whatever Titanic Perk or Trait you have making you look Rare Scale isn’t hiding that achievement.”

That tracked. I nodded. I wasn’t bitter. No, I was not going to pout about this. I opened my character sheet. I didn’t see any obvious marks. That said maybe I wasn’t supposed to. What I did see was positive.

Level Up!

Level Up!

Level Up!

Name:

Doug

Race:

Titan Spawn

Class

Left Hand of The Titan

Level:

7

HP:

420

Power:

20

Mobility:

20

Body:

20

Mind:

20

Face:

20

Magic:

20

Select Perks and Traits?

Yes/No

I selected no for the perks. Conversation now. Becoming OP later. I decided to look on the bright side. “Oh well, I am not going to complain. That pushed me to level 7. I might as well look at the positives.” I turned my attention back to my friends.

Everyone, including Brunhilda, looked absolutely stunned.

Angelica stared at me wide-eyed. “Holy shit. Are you telling me you did all of this crazy stuff at level six?”

Oh yeah, I’m overpowered. Probably best not to flaunt that. In other company that may be stupid. Luckily Angelica was an actual friend. Brand seemed to have principles… hopefully. Brunhilda… Here's hoping drinking buddies don’t tattle on each other.

“Before I answer, I need you to promise you will not make this weird.” I said, stalling slightly for time.

“I won’t make it weird,” Angelica promised readily.

“I was level 4 throughout the dungeon and 5 while we fought Grond.” I explained cautiously.

Angelica’s expression remained neutral as she nodded. She kept nodding for a few moments too long. When she spoke her voice was calm and steady, “I lied. I will have to make this weird. Sorry.” She nodded again before demanding, “FOUR? Are you fucking kidding me?”

Brand pulled his last cigarette out and lit it, “I can’t believe we are not dead.” He paled even as he puffed.

“You're welcome!” Brunhilda cheered, raising her glass.

“Thank you!” we all called in unison.

Angelica turned back to me.

I seized the initiative, “You are making this weird.”

“I know,” She said. She thought for a moment, “It is weird being on the other end of this.” she took a deep breath, “I mean, I think most people understand Divine and Titanic Scale are overpowered but… fuck me.”

“Careful with statements like that, If Adora is involved,” Brand cautioned.

“Shit!” she muttered, before checking to see if any bad-touching goddesses were about to sneak up on us.

“Are we still good?” I was concerned this somehow could affect my relationships with the only people who hadn’t tried to kill me so far. Not to sound codependent but I don't think I could live without them. There were lions out there… probably.

“Yeah, I am just having one of those moments when I realized the dumb thing I was doing was way more dangerous than I thought.” Angelica’s hand drifted to her now mended throat. “It was a calculated risk but apparently I am bad at math.”

“I have an idea, how about we ponder that while we get the fuck out of here?” The climb to the exit was now going to be a difficult journey up sheer rock faces. The exit had been about 600 feet above the upper level. Then Grond had pulled the upper level down to the ground floor, so now it was roughly the height of the empire state building above us. This dungeon seemed unlikely to be possible in the world that was.

Asshole Narrators make it so you can’t even trust the ground.

“From the mouth of babes,” Brand said. He clipped for a moment and was wearing a climbing harness.

Brunhilda stood, and stumbled slightly. She meandered -staggered, really- our way, “Would any of you happen to have a mobility spell?” When we all shook our heads she looked up toward the exit. She nearly toppled over. I barely caught her, the armor somewhere between just as heavy as it looked and weighing as much as a literal truck. After gaining her feet she considered the cliff, “I don’t think I can make the climb, not without having to sober up first. Would any of you happen to have the Construction skill?”

Everyone else looked at me.

“I have it, but how would building stairs be faster than just climbing?” I asked. I wasn’t sure I’d like the answer, but I knew for a fact I would hate the climb.

Brunhilda pulled an odd thing out of her inventory. It was a metal beam with two handles on it. “We just need to exploit the system. Between you being a Titan Spawn, and my stupid stats we should just drag this screed over the stones and shape them like concrete. Instant stairs.”

“How does that work? My stats are only around 20,” I said without thinking.

Brunhilda snorted, “When I was level 7 my lowest stat was 9. Again I am going to help you. That will add a bonus equal to a portion of my attributes. Plus I can keep drinking while we do this. Grab a handle.”

“The hell is this thing?” I asked.

“A screed.” She said then took another swig of titanic brew. “Think stairs and make with the Construction.”

I did what I was told. So a screed is a tool meant to level wet concrete. This shouldn’t do a damn thing with natural, solid rock.

Construction Check… Successful!

Five Stairsteps completed

So of course the screed rubbing on the stones caused the rocks to mold and shape into rough steps sticking out of the sheer cliff face

Brunhilda frowned at the steps, clearly unimpressed with the craftsmanship, “I thought you said you had the Construction skill?”

“At Untrained,” I admitted.

“Don’t worry buddy, I’ll get you there. No other dwarf has to know,” she whispered. Her tone was extremely significant. Then again, Dwarves probably put great significance on stone working.

“I am less than a month old,” I explained, feeling strangely self-conscious as we ascended, making stairs as we went.

Brunhilda considered that, “I still wouldn’t tell any other dwarf you are Untrained in Construction, Craft or Appraise. They just won’t take you seriously.” She then chugged from the Titanic Brew and belched.