The pretty blonde had her arms crossed in front of her, frowning at him when he appeared in the doorway. "Really Nix?"

"Hmm... What?" Nix walked in, letting the door swing shut behind him.

"Don't what me. I contacted you last night and you didn't bother to reply!" Darsi spotted the first aide token in his hand and dropped the frown.

"Sorry Darsi. We just had a major raid and I was injured." More than likely she had saved his life, so he was going to take good care of her in Colonial. He placed the token on the counter in front of her.

She picked up the token, the smile on her face returning. She noticed that he was wearing jeans. "You can make jeans?"

"Yep, underwear too." Nix noticed that she had been crafting. "Doing the lifestyle route? Or feel like adventuring?"

"Adventuring, but I'll keep crafting since I can make credits." Darsi finished the piece and set it aside. "Gladis Corp has been banned from Colonial, pending investigation of tampering."

"What about Dalton and the rest?"

"Gladis wiped all the cards right when they discovered they'd been infiltrated. Fortunately, a lovely and talented angel was able to grab their cards first."

Nix grinned at her. "No argument here. When can we expect them?"

"They'll filter in slowly. Our friends are part of the case against Gladis. In exchange for sworn affidavits and testimony, they will be released. Some of them could be here in a few weeks if Gladis decides to make a deal, the release might be quicker."

"Anything I can I do for you?"

"I'd like to be a sniper, I can't shoot or anything but that's not needed right?"

Nix shook his head. "Definitely not. I'd recommend becoming a Scorched Earth Mage, Assault Tree, and a rifle marksmen as your second path."

Darsi gave him a blank look. "Didn't I just say I want to shoot things?"

"Yep. Normally the second path comes with a penalty. The Scorched Earth Path has modifiers in place that can avoid that."

"So I can still be a sniper but with added benefits of a Scorched Earth Mage?"

Nix nodded, "Scorched Earth sniper."

[Whisper: Wylie to Nix] Were you serious about going through Mariner training with the newest recruits?

[Whisper: Nix to Wylie] Yep.

[Whisper: Wylie to Nix] The next rotation starts in two weeks.

[Whisper: Nix to Wylie] Sign me up.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Can you make it to a meeting Nix?

/Inferno: Nix: Sure when and where?

/Inferno: Jun Li: Guild Hall, right now.

After saying goodbye to Darsi, he headed toward the Guild Hall, he could have gated there but preferred to stretch his legs.

"Nix!" Mina's voice called him from the doorway of the Kindled Spirit.

"Morning." NIx accepted a hug from her, smiling when she fell in beside him. "How'd the mission go?"

"One of the Palace Pages was secretly a Necromancer in training, still very weak but he was able to use the Scarabs that fake Tu-Khat had given him."

"Did you destroy them?"

Mina nodded, "unnatural and evil."

"Glory will have its first Black Fire Mage in a few days." Shae had told him that the queue time was five days, even she had been surprised by the time table.

"I'll be interested to see what sort of abilities he has." Mina slid an arm through his. "I've not been myself lately."

"Everything okay?"

Mina nodded, "when you disappeared, it felt like my heart had been torn out. I guess getting back to normal will take a while."

"Am I better looking now?"

The Aquarion stared up at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Nope, still very difficult to look at."

Nix laughed at her serious face before stopping abruptly. "The f*ck is that?"

A black, windowless tower stretched skyward several hundred meters into the air. It was round at the base, perhaps fifty meters in diameter, it stayed that way until the very top.

Mina pulled his arm and continued walking. "It's the Colonial Embassy Nix."

"Huh? That's not an Embassy. An embassy has courtyards and gardens, maybe some offices filled with diplomats." Nix frowned at the huge ugly building, it was an eyesore.

Mina shrugged. "No idea. The construction is not quite finished. According to Semmi, less than an hour left."

They entered the Guildhall together and Nix took a seat at the table. Shae's injuries were serious enough to take her out of commission for a few days, so she wouldn't be attending. "Morning everyone."

Ronnie claimed the seat on the other side of him. "How's Morti?"

Nix shrugged. "Fat and lazy, he'll be sleeping for the next three days."

Tess took a seat across the table. "He slapped the monkey-snot out of a Nemesis, I'd say he's earned a nap."

Jun Li and Semmi were the last two officers to arrive.

/Inferno: Jun Li: I'm assuming everyone has seen the Embassy by now?

/Inferno: Sharl: You mean the black Wizard Tower of death?

/Inferno: Ronnie: There's a wizard in there?

/Inferno: Sharl: No Ronnie...

/Inferno: Jun Li: Regardless, we'll check it out after this meeting.

/Inferno: Semmi: The Inferno Guild received an invitation to the marriage ceremony of Princess Festa and King Tu-Khat.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Be my date Nix!

/Inferno: Nix: Sure.

/Inferno: Sharl: Hey!

/Inferno: Tess: The hell? No asking stuff like that at the meeting.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Heh... Too slow.

/Inferno: Jun Li: He can't anyway, Festa has requested that he attend her for the duration.

/Inferno: Nix: Attend? Am I a bridesmaid now? No thanks.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Can't really say no Nix.

/Inferno: Nix: Sure I can. No, no, no. See? Easy.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Can you make me a nice dress Nix?

/Inferno: Nix: Yep.

/Inferno: Tess: Stay with the agenda, Ronnie.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Moving on. Their intent is to follow the original plan and unify Espana, Wisteria, and Phelinomia into one Central Kingdom. Festa's parents will become the governors of Phelinomia and Brahmi will be the governor of Espana. They will answer directly to the King and Queen of the Central Kingdom.

/Inferno: Nix: That's the name? The Central Kingdom?

/Inferno: Jun Li: Unsure. Anything else on the agenda besides the Embassy?

/Inferno: Nix: I'll be taking Mina back to Pinnacle to speak with Air Nemesis Rhylia.

/Inferno: Tess: Need any healing support?

/Inferno: Nix: Diplomatic mission, we will avoid any fighting.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Anything else?

/Inferno: Nix: If you want me to make you proper wedding attire, put an order in now. Be prepared to pay for mats, no free rides.

/Inferno: Semmi: Looks like the Embassy is finishing!

Nix exited the Guildhall, the rest of the officers following behind. There were already dozens of vendors setting up shop around the embassy.

/Inferno: Nix: Okay... How is this possible?

/Inferno: Semmi: They came with the building.

The entire first floor was nearly all windows, after that, it was black marble all the way up. A huge set of double wood doors was the only entrance, Nix and his group filed in quickly.

The building's lobby had a single elevator with a rather large armored man guarding it. He smiled when he saw them. "Going up folks?"

Nix gave the man a blank look. "Sure..."

"Guild Cards please." The man held out his hand expectantly.

"We're from the Inferno Guild. We own Glory Island." Nix smiled pleasantly. "the fifth floor please."

/Inferno: Jun Li: Why the fifth?

/Inferno: Nix: Lucky number.

The man cleared his throat and pointed toward the office across the entryway. "No one is allowed access without first presenting an Adventurer Guild Card."

/Inferno: Nix: This a joke?

/Inferno: Jun Li: I think it's an instance. Let's play along.

Nix walked through the glass doors and stood in front of a large counter. Three men in office uniforms stared back at him. "Where can I get a Guild card?"

"Here sir!" The first man pointed to a line on the floor. "Stand there please!"

Nix grinned when the man took his picture. The man held it up and examined it for a moment before sliding it over to the man next to him.

"Next in line please."

The second man grabbed the picture and slid it into a pad. "Place your right hand on the pad please."

Nix placed his hand on the pad, it warmed up for a moment and then vibrated.

The third man reached over and pulled a small card from the pad. He lowered his spectacles and read it aloud. "Nix from the Inferno Guild. Is that you?"

Nix nodded. "Yep."

The man slid the card in front of him. "Please verify that the information is correct."

Nix [Race: Human/Salamander Hybrid]

Level 50 [Locked: Actual Level 96]

Strength 92

Endurance 95

Intelligence 57

Dexterity 57

Perception 57

Mana 18900/18900

Cold Resistance 120 [Ice Blessing]

Fire Resistance 120 [Burning Aura]

Emerald Flame Strands 100 [Flame Snare] [Fire Root]

Fire Seed [Emerald]

Josori's Stealth [Champion's Ability]

Weapon Skills:

Primary: Path of the Fire Lord [Salamander]

Secondary: Spellsword

Support Skills:

N/A

Primary Path Skills

Balefire

Meteor Storm

Combustion

Comet Strike

Secondary Path Skills

Flame Blade

Flight of the Gryphon

[Spirit Animal 4/4]

1: Soup [Royal Sea Turtle]

2: Ducky [Siren]

3: Fey [Fire Drake]

4: Mortimer [Titan Cave Bear]

Skills:

Hunter 100

Leather Making 100

Tailor 100

[Current Floor Rating: 1st]

[Companion Price: 19 million Credits]

Nix shrugged. "Seems okay."

The man smiled happily. "There's a Kiosk in the lobby. If you wish to hire a companion, you may choose one there. You also have the option of becoming a companion for others to hire. If you choose this option you will be immediately transported to the lobby whenever someone hires you. Your hiring price may go up or down depending on your performance in the Embassy."

Nix walked into the lobby a few minutes later. The elevator attendant hadn't moved. "Can I choose any floor?"

The attendant shook his head. "There is a test on the next level. Your floor rating will depend on how you perform there. You can take this rating test as many times as you like."

"How many floors are there?" Nix glanced back into the offices, Semmi was just finishing up.

"I'm not sure sir. I know there are at least a hundred. On the tenth floor is a weapons/armor shop, on the 20th floor there is a casino, on the 30th floor there is an inn. on the 40th floor there is a Pleasure Club. I have no data on anything passed that.

Semmi overheard most of their conversation. "Every 10 levels there's a break and a special floor?"

The attendant nodded, while examining both of their cards. He handed them back and stepped to one side. "Going up?"

Semmi glanced at Nix, "you and me Nix?"

"Sure, we're going up." Nix grabbed Semmi's hand, a moment later the huge elevator door opened up and they stepped inside.