“You expect me to believe,” The officious guard folded his arms slowly across his chest. His polished armor made Randidly very aware of his own clothes. “That Mistress Claudette wishes to meet someone like… you…?”

Randidly’s lips twitched. He honestly wasn’t even insulted; at this point, he could completely understand where the guard was coming from. He considered how he had gotten here as he selected his answer.

Claudette had told him it was probably easier for him to come to the Beigon estate to read the historical records, because she had found them in her father’s library and wouldn’t dare steal them and draw Don Beigon’s attention to their activities. Randidly had agreed without thinking too much about it. He told Nrorce he’d be gone for a few hours and not to wait for his return to eat. The goblin had nodded, but somehow Randidly still would bet that the blue-skinned creature would be sitting in front of a cooling meal once again when he returned.

So he proceeded to some of the upper layers of the Nexus, places where you needed at least Tier 1 Nexus Citizenship to even go. Apparently, the process would be much simpler if he had a higher Citizenship Tier, but to approach the Beigon Estate as a Tier 1 Citizen one was required to ascend literally ten million stone steps. Randidly had taken the teleporter to approach and was shocked to find himself at the base of a mountain. Stones, wisps of mist, and stubby pine trees lined the ascent, which had been inscribed with an Engraving to restrict all Skills and images. All you could do was walk up the stairs.

Randidly’s eyelids twitched. The summit of the mountain was hidden by heavy clouds. He honestly wasn’t even sure he was still in the Nexus any longer. Hum… maybe I should have taken her talk about her identity a little more seriously…

The number of steps was somewhat mind-numbing, but Randidly’s physical body was leagues ahead of even the most talented physical specimens in the Nexus. He had shattered the Stat limit and then remade his body on an atomic level to take advantage of his newfound freedom. So his legs blurred as he propelled himself rapidly upward.

He was a ghost, speeding up past giant granite outcroppings and shadowy ridges that spread outward from the three-meter wide staircase.

Half-way up the stairs, he realized that there was also a growing physical suppression from the surroundings. Mist was steadily rising from the stairs, filling the walkers with a sense of isolation. If he had not been counting, Randidly probably would be completely oblivious to his positioning. At this point, Randidly estimated that gravity was about three times as strong here as it was normally.

And he probably wouldn’t have even noticed the physical restrictions if he had not blown quickly past a group of sweating, grey-skinned humanoids who were clearly struggling to continue. Randidly paused briefly to wonder why they were trying to ascend and visit the Beigons. Then he shook his head.

Everyone has their own circumstances.

He continued upward, moving past more and more individuals as he reached the three-fourths point of the staircase. As the intensity of the gravity was increasing, so was the number of people. They were packed in a wobbly line now, huddled and hurrying up the stairs like war refugees. The mist was thick around their knees, adding to the impression that they were wading through a shallow river. Randidly’s eyes flashed as he kept to the right side of the wide stairs and considered his ascent. Some creatures and humanoids glanced at him as he passed, but most seemed to consumed by their toil.

The first thing he noticed was that he was no longer swimming through mist. Then warm sunlight and the scent of lilacs hit him, leaving him feeling refreshed. He took the last ten steps slowly, rolling his eyes at the fifty or so grunting beings struggling to cross that last distance.

Finally, Randidly arrived at the top and was struck by two things simultaneously. First, the front of the home of the Beigons was a gorgeous thing, combining the heavy and solemn pillars of the Parthenon with the gold and jade inlaid patterns of East Asian cultures. A gleaming metal gate stood closed, covered in intricate and mesmerizing patterns that blended art and Engraving into a product that had Neveah instantly buzzing in Randidly’s subconscious, cooing in appreciation. In front of the gates were gorgeous statues surrounding by trees filled with pink and orange flowers.

Secondly, there appeared to already be a queue for others that had made it up here.

There was a smaller gate off to the left, down a manicured cobblestone path between flowering trees. Fifteen people, all sweating and bedraggled, stood there and waited for a bored-looking guard in white plate armor leaned out of the guardhouse to wave them forward. Randidly hesitated, sent Claudette a message to say that he had arrived, and then just joined the line.

“Next,” The guard called.

A humanoid with bright red antlers stepped forward. He offered an ingratiating smile to the guard and then produced a red-wrapped package with a flourish. The guard folded his arms and the man hurriedly unwrapped the package; within an ornate box was a bowl of some strange kernels. “Ah… this is a humble gift, I offer for the beautiful Claudette Beigon. Please, simply allow her to dine in the presence of this delicacy of my homeland. The alluring smell-”

The guard grabbed the bowl from the antlered man and gave it to a second guard waiting behind him, who sniffed the bowl and grimaced, and then unfolded his arms and waved again. “Next.”

Of the people waiting in line in front of Randidly, nine had come to deliver gifts that they ‘begged to be simply brought into the presence of Claudette Beigon’. The type of gift ranged from an inscrutable painting that was so divergent from Expira’s concept of art that Randidly couldn’t make heads or tails of it to a piping hot bowl of ham and bean stew. Which, even to Randidly’s nose that had been spoiled by Nrorce’s cooking, smelled quite good. With the same dismissive look, the guard took the items, passed it back to his companions, and beckoned the next individual forward.

Randidly glanced behind him as more and more drained and sweating individuals staggered off the stark stone steps and onto this flourishing wonderland. Once they were up to the top ten steps, he supposed it was just a matter of time until they made it all the way. No wonder his expression is so bored. Does he really just sit here and do it every day…?

Of the remaining six people in front of Randidly, four had brought gifts for the Don Beigon himself. These were universally less personal and more… transactional than the gifts for Claudette. The way that one beleaguered centaur with grey mutton chops handed over a ring with one thousand ingots of some specialty steal made Randidly think that this was less about earning favor and much more about repaying debts. He wondered what the centaur had done to require him to pay so much.

But most awkwardly were the two that had come to beg for entrance to Alymian.

“Please,” The monkey with golden fur got onto his hands and knees when his initial plea did nothing to sway the guard. “Please. I must return to Alymian. I… for the briefest moment, while I was there, I found my calling. Yet back here in the Nexus-”

“Don’t disgrace yourself,” The guard leaned forward and spat on top of the bowing monkey, finally showing some emotion. “If you wish to return, pay for a pass. It’s that simple.”

“Please… I’ve already given everything for this chance.” The monkey raised his head off the ground. His lips trembled. “I was so close-”

“Next!” The guard bellowed. And when the monkey moved to speak, two other guards stepped forward and raised their weapons, leaving the monkey to whimper and drag himself away.

Randidly coughed lightly as he stepped forward It was finally his turn. “I… hello. I’m here to see Claudette. She should be expecting me.”

The words were like a spell, slowing the panting and the whispering of the people who had filled in behind Randidly while he had been waiting. Even some of the other guards paused in their yawning conversations and swiveled their heads over to look at the man who dared claim that Claudette Beigon was expecting him.

And considering most of the people here are just here to drop off weird gifts… I guess she doesn’t have many friends that stop by…? Haaah, what a hassle...

The guard folded his arms across his chest, looking Randidly up and down from his bare feet to his chin-length black hair. “You expect me to believe that Mistress Claudette wishes to meet someone like… you…?”

The guard didn’t even give Randidly a chance to respond. He just kept speaking. “Let me tell you a secret; there is actually a method by which she could have told us to let you through. It has just happened so rarely that we no longer bother to check it. And because I’m feeling generous, and honestly in need of entertainment, I don’t mind checking today.”

The people behind Randidly were now whispering furiously with each other. At the same time, the other guards of the Beigon family began to gather around, nudging each other with their elbows. The receiving guard leaned forward, his pristine white armor glimmering in the warm sunlight that suffused this whole place. “...however. If I go back and check and find out that you’ve taken me for a fool… if you’ve lied and used the name of our mistress in some batshit scheme to lie your way into the Beigon compound… well. I suppose you will have to take responsibility for entertaining us. I hope you don’t break easily, boy.”

Randidly reached up and scratched his jaw, feeling somewhat helpless. He couldn’t decide what sort of expression he should be showing. Not that any of you are weak… but even Alana could come here and rip a hole through your defenses. You are definitely not the true guards to this compound… And you want to threaten me…?

Ultimately, it was a moot point. Randidly decided to overlook their foolish swagger and simply nodded. The guards chuckled and one stepped forward and bowed theatrically. “I wish for the honor of finding out this man’s fate!”

“Go, go,” the gift-receiving guard said, waving his hand and chuckling. The younger guard who volunteered then sauntered forward, taking his sweet time as he walked up to the main gate and approached a small and inconspicuous box sitting there.

A slippery amphibian humanoid stood behind Randidly and leaned forward to whisper in his hear. “You best not anger them. The Beigon Family and all their affiliates will hold a grudge against you for as long as you live. They will never allow you into Alymian.”

“I… am telling the truth.” Randidly shook his head.

After making a great show of producing a key and raising it above his head to show everyone the crimson metal and silver stylings on the handle, the young guard inserted it into the box and twisted. The door swung open, revealing several small chambers.

“Bahaha!” The young guard threw back his head. “The young mistress’s box-”

But then he choked. There was an awkward moment of silence. Randidly tilted his head to the side, curious. The young man reached forward with trembling hands and removed a small scroll from within the container. After reading it, he spun around. “Open the gates!”

“What?” The guard in front of Randidly was dumbfounded. All of the waiting beings were frozen with looks of shock on their faces. One by one, they turned to look deeply at Randidly.

“The main gates!” The young guard gestured frantically. “Open them.”

The gift guard spun around and looked at Randidly with wonder. Randidly could only shrug helplessly. I did tell you…

The Engravings moved first, flowing backward across the heavy gates in a mythical pattern that had Neveah swooning. Then the physical gates moved, opening a space of about a hundred meters just so Randidly could walk forward. Then the gates rumbled back into place behind him.

Randidly followed a floating light orb through a dazzling array of flowering gardens and strange sculptures. The entire area was dyed the color of sunsets, either with paint or material. Everything he saw stank of money and power, to the point that Randidly had to resist a very literal urge to wrinkle his nose; the scent of the flowers was overpowering.

If Randidly walked past one more perfectly blooming rose bed before getting to Claudette, he considered very seriously whether he could set the damn thing on fire without anyone knowing it was him.

If he gripped it with the slightest bit of Mana, in a few minutes they would all transform to ash anyway...

But due to his time on the farm, Randidly recognized that his emotional reaction was to due the thick image of ‘quality’ layered over every inch of this place. The Beigon Family seemed to think very highly of itself.

Finally, Randidly was led into a small drawing-room that gave the occupants a perfect view of the gorgeous bubbling spring in a nearby courtyard. But the figure within was not who he had expected.

“So,” A middle-aged man took a sip of tea then set down his cup. He sat with his legs folded beneath him, his heavy-lidded eyes seeming to scan every inch Randidly. “Why have you come on this day, to my house, to meet my daughter?”