In ancient times there were legends of a [Lightningsmith]. One that only worked in the angriest thunderstorms. His swings called lightning to his blows and he was rumored to be Level 90 or thereabouts. He was a true master, as he'd left meticulous notes on his Skills and Class so that one day someone might follow in his footsteps. [Bestowment of Thunder], that his weapons vibrate with power. [Lightning Strike], that his hammer might fall with the speed and accuracy of nature incarnate. [Arcing Tools], that his tools connected to each other by his will, magnetized to his bidding. The man was rumored to have created Items of Legendary Rarity.

It is one of the most documented Classes out there, and yet, to my knowledge, not one [Lightningsmith] exists to this day. So the notes have never been verified. In part, that is due to the nature of the Class. A [Smith] of any variety at least Level 50 must be struck by lightning during the completion of his greatest work.

- The Book of Legends, The [Lightningsmith]

Jayke was bruised. He'd woken up in his [Safehaven] and stared at the small sack of healberries with barely restrained desire. He'd ignored them as best he could and went about his business without them. Their exchange had been short but that Morn lady had packed a punch. And a kick. He rubbed his arms gingerly, he wondered if all the proctors were similar. His ribs still ached.

He leaned back in his chair and thought about the fact that he had actually overcome her. He had run through thousands of fights before. Among that data set, she was something different still. Not in a particularly bad or inept way, just something more primal. Raw.

Her instincts were sharp and Jayke was almost certain her every movement was her body reacting before her mind. Sure, there looked to be some general caution or sense of the flow of battle, but when they got close it was different. Her eyes had been taking him all in at once, where he had stared at her stance and posture she had looked at his eyes and intent. There was a balance between the two normally perfected but she was almost animal in that sense. And for some odd reason, there was something optimal about that approach.

Jayke actually frowned at her inexperience in grappling. Her reaction was to overpower, Jayke's was the methodical and technical approach of a master's pupil. Leverage and mechanics. By all accounts, she should've had him beat, only more so given her apparent background. Yet her movement on the ground was inexperienced. But who was to say that this world contained superior martial techniques to his? Perhaps the people here had the strength of will and hardened resolve to survive encounters with monsters, but did that mean they had the time to hone the very art of combat?

"I doubt most people are training specifically to take down another humanoid either." Jayke openly mused. "Maybe things would've turned out differently if we were pitted against some kind of monster. I wouldn't know the first thing to do with my fists against a huge lobster."

Jayke shrugged. "Punch it, I suppose."

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting but he shouldn't have surprised. A part of him was expecting something like a horse or carriage but of course, there were no roads. Luckily, his legs weren't bruised or aching, the majority of his pain came from his arms and ribs.

Jayke walked towards the back of the crowd. There had to be about a hundred people traveling. They walked the line between the shade of Blueglow and the sun of the Desert Blurr. He was very glad for his [Sand Rabbit's Foot], the wonderful feeling of walking on new running shoes could not have been more understated. Once Blueglow ended the intention was to take a more direct route towards the Mountains of Rune. As it was, walking with so many people into the poisonous environment of Blueglow Forest was foolish. They'd need to travel past it first.

Apparently, there were still wild creatures that'd take offense at their proximity. And in an effort to protect the aspiring members of the Coterie and prevent casualties, groups had been formed roughly dependant on the proctor one tested under. Grouping up too tightly was ill-advised and so their numbers were spread about a longer length.

Having been the only one who had tested under Morn, Jayke had simply been placed in another group. The wartorn woman had been allocated elsewhere along the line, presumably to shore up some weakness.

Important to note was that not every person present was magically inclined. A number of escorts had been hired, of different disciplines. Additionally, some people had simply jumped on the opportunity of protected travel. Regular travelers. In this, the logistics went over his head. He wasn't at all sure what one might need traveling the wilderness, but he had packed some things he kept in a backpack he had bought. Foodstuffs, water, and a sleeping bag among other things.

"You beat the wartorn proctor in a sparring match?" Jayke had been pleasantly surprised to find Oz in his group.

"It was the only way she'd let me pass." He offered a weak smile.

"You must have some physical Skills then," Oz said dumbfounded. "Something useful too." He dropped it when Jayke didn't elaborate.

Technically, he did have skills. "And your test?"

"Vexing," The blue man said with a pause. "They said this would be the easiest or hardest test for some of us. Our proctor looked at us one by one and passed or failed us. There were no complaints from those who were failed either."

"Just like that? Isn't that unfair?" Jayke blinked.

"Frustrating if I hadn't been the first to pass his inspection. I can only speculate." Oz shrugged. "No one seemed to have a problem with it."

Jayke stared at the back of the man walking slightly ahead of them. His mouth was a constant line. His facial features were exaggerated in an unsettling way and his face was a mask. Tall legs carried the man forward with a stride less frequent than anyone nearby. There were so many races to keep track of, all Jayke could gather was this proctor was a new one he hadn't yet seen. Admittedly, that was nothing new.

They walked for nearly three hours and it became clear only a handful of people were unaccustomed to the cardio. Jayke wasn't an unfit person, but he was regretting carrying the sword and shield he had decided to walk with. For one, it was terrible for his bruised arms. The belt he had gotten before leaving felt like a tool belt so in that it was familiar, but the scabbard attached to it holding the sword threw his weight off to the side, putting unnecessary pressure on his ribs. It threateningly chafed at his hips, and the shield did the same to his arm if he wasn't carefully handling it. He was tempted to get rid of them but he wasn't particularly comfortable jumping in and out of his [Safehaven] with people nearby given the Skill Rarity.

By the end of the day, a group as large as they were were bound to attract attention. They'd been attacked at different points in the line a total of five times. Each time the threats were Blueglow Rattlers, which were considerably large snakes that buried in the sand right at the edge of Blueglow Forest to soak in the heat. The creatures were usually dispatched promptly by whatever proctor or quick individual was nearby. Jayke had spotted a few violent reactions.

Jayke's crowd was near the back so none of them had ever been accosted.

He found it interesting so many people were freely using their active Skills. For some, this was a wordless process directed out into the forest or into the desert, others were vocal. Jayke couldn't have guessed what the effects were unless he heard them say something. He'd been observing the people nearby, especially the leading proctor, who seemed to stare out to the sides of them every so often.

Jayke didn't have a reference or a book to read up on so he asked Oz. "Why do some people call out their Skills? Wouldn't it be better to keep it to themselves?"

Oz looked at him oddly.

"I don't have an active Skill." He explained easily. "Is there any particular reason?"

Oz seemed to take that face value. "The reasons vary wildly, but usually it isn't necessary. It's similar to swinging your arms when you walk. Instinct, bred by the singular focus one usually affords a Skill. The words come out on their own. Of course, some people overcome this hurdle with some effort, though that requires some amount of practice." He chuckled. "A lot of people think it's somewhat cool to show off Skills especially by announcing them. In some cultures, it's a very purposeful way of displaying power."

"And it's rude to ask someone about their Skills but fine when they yell it out into the world." Jayke pondered. "But I guess that's fair, it's on their own terms."

"That is the accepted logic, at least in most polite society," Oz replied, looking at him curiously. Jayke realized he was making himself out to be unworldly. Oz didn't seem to linger on it. "Social norms differ across the world. Interactions with the System vary across cultures."

"You seem fairly worldly, Oz," Jayke remarked.

"I've kept up my studies during my travels." The blue man said.

With nothing better to do, Jayke didn't mind the conversation. Oz seemed to be someone quite level-headed and intelligent and Jayke enjoyed his company. The blue man was actually a fan of The Untethered Tomes. Jayke had asked him about them, motivated by his use of the term 'System'. He did recall Oz had once called a library his home. And Jayke had only ever heard it referred to as the 'System' in The Origin of Skills and Abilities. As it turned out, The Untethered Tomes were a group of people and not a collection of texts, while Jayke had confirmed that in some previous readings, he was happy for Oz's confirmation.

Eventually, night caught up to the testers.

The tall individual who was their proctor prodded carefully at the ember, bringing it to full heat. The roar of the flame and warmth it provided was encouraging. The crackling wood and light radiated a small but potent heat around the small number of people that were his companions for this trip. Jayke was somewhat peeved he didn't throw a small spark of fire to the wood with magic. The proctor had started the fire manually.

Aside from Oz and the expressionless proctor, there was a person with a bow who sat upon a rock and kept a vigilant watch on the forest. Jayke had spoken with him briefly, he'd been hired to guard the rear. Then there was a green-eyed woman who seemed to be sporting a satisfied grin. The group gathered around the fire was one of the smallest relative to the others who ranged from six to ten people.

The proctor's voice was very slow and dreamlike. "We will be sticking to the known path for this trip. A myconid village lies not a day away from here." He glanced up at the peeking stars and fading sunlight. "The first of many trials will be held there. As aspiring testers, you two will be subject to a trial of my choice upon arrival." He pointed to Jayke and Oz.

Jayke looked at him confused. "Just us? What about her?"

The green-eyed girl peeked from under her hood, wisps of green hair covered her eyes. "Oh, I'm not testing for the Coterie." She grinned. "I'm just here for the free escort." She nudged the guard who shifted politely away from her. She crossed her arms. "This'll be a fun one."

"Morn told me of you." The proctor regarded Jayke. "You and Ozlipp here are the only ones that were lone in their success." He said simply.

Jayke looked at Oz in surprise.

"I forgot to mention that part." Oz grinned lightly. So he could be smug.

"Ooh pretty impressive for some [Mage] boys." The woman leaned in with interest. "Can you do any magic tricks for me? Maybe throw a [Fireball] or two?"

"Who even are you?" Jayke said pointedly.

"Glad you finally asked." She harrumphed. "Ercur Tychus, best [Gambler] this side of the Uncharted." She pronounced. "I'll happily take your money if you'll play a game with me."

"Isn't it counterproductive to tell us you're a [Gambler]?" Oz speculated.

"That's underhanded." She replied briskly.

The proctor's expressionless mask slipped and his eyebrow twitched, thin line turning into a frown. "This is Coterie business miss, your type would know better than to interject." The [Gambler] seemed to withdraw with an easy smile and the proctor turned to Jayke and Oz. "Generally, that initial step determines your testing group. We are the smallest of them all but as none of the other groups are too imbalanced we're allowed this much."

He stood up and dusted himself off. "I am Sterext. For the remainder of the trip up until the Mountains of Rune and arriving at the great Floating City of Nubilum I shall be your guide." He sat down and looked at the two. "Questions now." He closed his eyes.

"The Floating City of Nubilum?" Jayke asked instantly.

"The city which rests upon the clouds. The Floating City hovers in the sky. It is nestled in the Mountains of Rune, the great floating peaks we often spy in the distance." Sterext spoke. "There, one of the largest branches of the Practioner's Coterie is located."

"Nublim overlooks this entire area of the Uncharted. For those on the lands below, the Mountains of Rune are an easy landmark to recognize for all that it might help given its dynamic movement." Oz added. "It's a hard city to track down. Not many would ever see it staring at the mountains unless informed."

Ercur smiled, her grin showing pearly white teeth. "That it is." She agreed. "It's also rumored to be on the richest cities ever. There'll be high-stake gambling dens all over it."

Jayke now had a clear idea of the woman's motivation. He couldn't have blamed her, if Classes embodied the person than this was a lifestyle for her. He regarded her with interest, somewhat curious about what Skills a [Gambler] might have.

"What kind of trials can we be expecting?" Oz asked, interrupting Jayke's thoughts. It was the more pertinent question, Jayke admitted.

"Magical abilities are a difficult thing to measure with any standardized tests. Aside from magical affinities and one's mana well, there are little indicators on someone's actual talent. We'll not bother with those tests and instead, focus on the application of one's abilities." Sterext explained. "You'll both be given appropriate trials, fear not. I am more than qualified to administer them."

"Doesn't the Coterie strive for magical greatness?" Jayke began. "How are we going to be tested on our magical application when magic is different for each individual? It seems like a hard thing to tailor to each individual."

Sterext huffed. "You Jayke Cipher, are a [Barrier Mage] or some such alteration thereof. Your Class and capabilities are not so secret in the face of the Practitioner's Coterie, thus your trials will be the application of those barriers when an opportunity to test them arises."

He turned to Oz. "And you Ozlipp Slim are some variation of a [Summoner] or perhaps [Tamer]. With an emphasis on slimes." Sterext cited. "Your trials will likely be centered around the adaptability of your summoning."

Jayke regarded Sterext. The man knew his stuff. Jayke wondered what kind of tests might merit the usage of his shields. "Fair enough," Jayke said when Sterext finished.

Oz looked a very different shade of blue. His voice was almost inaudible through the crackling wood of the fire. The wind gently blew the smoke towards him, masking his expression. "How do you know that name?" Oz was like stone.

Sterext looked at him neutrally. "Your father was part of the Practitioner's Coterie. You must've been aware of it." Sterext took in Oz's tense state expressionlessly. "It would be cliche to say he had powerful enemies, the man was a shut-in." Oz clenched a fist. "He was not a man to make allies either, however. He made friends. Powerful ones. And that is all I'll say on the matter."

Oz sat up and raised his voice. "No, you'll tell me exactly how you know of me." He nearly yelled. "That knowledge-"

"Do not forget I am proctoring your tests, Mr. Slim," Sterext said sharply. "Be glad I have told you this much. Any investigations you have you may conduct once we arrive in Nubilum."

Oz quieted, but his glare was far from the conservative look he'd normally have. "Please, Oz." He pressed.

Sterext sighed. "Mr. Ozlipp, then." Oz relaxed.

Jayke felt awkward, social interaction was much more taxing than he remembered. If there was some analog to popcorn here, he was sure that Ercur would've been munching on it. The woman was looking back and forth like she was watching a ping pong tournament.

"As for you." Sterext addressed Jayke. "Know that the Coterie is not as transparent as they seem. We tread very carefully when allowing newcomers into the fold. That is why these tests are often long and grueling, to weed out the untalented, and to kill the rats." He said with a certain fervor. "I do not expect any foul play from my measure of you. Understand that we do not hold any grudge towards travelers from beyond civilization, however, it is often the case that [Spies] like to masquerade as them. Do not give me reason to cut you from testing." Sterext's voice was naturally slow, so Jayke hung on to each word as they came.

It looked like Sterext assumed he had traveled very far. In that sense, he was somewhat right, but there was something to his words that sounded meaningful once Jayke removed the 'civilization' from his sentence. Jayke contemplated that, deciding to do some more research once they reached the Floating City.

Could that have been a hint to more of his people? Was there a chance that it was magic that actually brought him here? He hadn't really been thinking of that avenue but if that was the case then he needed to join the Practitioner's Coterie.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Jayke said seriously.

They talked of inconsequential things and eventually, they let the night take them. Jayke undid the strings on his backpack and pulled out a thin sleeping bag. He was surprised at the find, yet it turned out even the dwei did not like sleeping in the Desert Blurr exposed.

Sterext had assured them the proctors and escorts would be keeping watch throughout the night. But, outside his [Safehaven] he still felt like abominations lurked in the shadows. His body locked up and he swore he saw something move far in the desert. A demon with a yawning mouth, grinning with teeth too white and pearly to justify the blood and lava dripping from the corners of its smile. Its eyes stared at him across miles, and in the blurring, they were the only things he saw.

Jayke sat up with a gasp, sweating and breathing hard. He looked around in panic propping himself up against a rock. He took precious moments to calm his beating heart, letting gasping breaths become easier and easier. His hair stuck to his forehead. He felt cold.

Ercur was sitting daintily on the rock nearby. She was poking at the fire, keeping it from dying. Ercur glanced at him, turning to stare at the fire. "Nightmare, huh?"

Jayke looked around frantically. Oz and Sterext were lying still around the fire. The man with the bow was sitting further, just at the edge of the light, eyeing him but nodding and turning to the forest. Down the line, he saw similar watchers.

No demons.

He felt anything but the cool collected person he was proud of being. He felt like the Jayke Cipher of the very first night everything had become real. It was the same feeling he had when staring at that damn grinning horror slipping through the ceiling. The stinging heat of adrenaline, and the cold rush of fear. Together, a paralyzing fever.

"Just a dream about an old friend." His voice sounded pathetic even to him, shaky. He rubbed an arm, shifting closer to the fire. Smoke drifted lazily into the night.

"Must be some friend." Ercur's green eyes reflected the fire.

Jayke would've done anything to change the subject, remove his mind from the memories. He wanted to enjoy the scenery, to admire the desert or stare at the glowing blue of the forest opposite. He couldn't. There were too many shadows. The fire only made the memories worse so he followed the smoke, staring at the sky.

"There are too many stars here." He whispered to himself catching the twinkling lights with each slow blink. Back home, there'd be half as many. Maybe less. "Home." He said to himself.

The short woman's attention was briefly brought up to the sky. "I reckon you need something to get your mind off whatever it is you're thinking of." She said. "Play a game with me, I've been itching for one the whole day."

"A game?" Jayke stared at her. He sat up, dizzy still. "Which one?" It would be nice.

"Card games, Magifield, Slice Monster, etc." She listed. "Do you know any?"

He needed something mind intensive. He needed his head to start working so his body would follow. That was how he always got out of these slumps. He racked his mind as much as it would let him. "Poker comes to mind, but I'm not sure if you've heard of it or even have chips."

"[Game Table]." She said softly into the air. A table sprung into existence complete with a set of comfortable chairs. "Hard to use on the move." She explained at his look of astonishment.

Jayke blinked at the instant setup. He got to his feet shakily and pulled out the chair, sinking into the cushion with a look of pure amazement. "Do you know what poker is?" Jayke noticed the table had nothing on it. He was pointedly ignoring his nightmare, and Ercur was playing along.

"My Skill should." She said simply. Then a stack of ephemeral cards appeared. Ephemeral chips too. "Hmmm." She said staring at each component with interest. "Teach me then."

Jayke spent all of twenty minutes teaching her before it became apparent she was a natural. He took a surreal moment to take in what was happening. He was playing poker in the wild with a person from another world. The night sky looked lovelier than ever and he wondered if a night like this might be one he could be accustomed to.

"How is this even possible?" Jayke addressed the table and cards for the first time.

Ercur held her cards close to her chest. "A [Gambler] needs something to gamble with. I was always on the move, so this Skill was just what I needed." Jayke wished it was acceptable to pester someone with endless questions. "It was my milestone Skill. It knows every game that can fit on it."

"That's amazing," Jayke said honestly.

"Thanks." She said. "Now let's play for real," Ercur suggested.

Jayke stared up at the sky then regarded her and reflected on her skill at the game. She harbored an inherent knowledge of risk and reward and chance. "Do we have enough time? These games can last hours." He stared down the line of campfires, noting the few people who were sitting up and watching the darkness beyond. Some were looking their way with some small interest, watch it seemed was boring.

"Hours?" She blinked, but then grinned. "We're fine, you were lying down for all but an hour before you shot up. We have a lot of time before first light." She assured him. "But let's make this interesting and play for something."

Jayke smiled, he was pretty good at poker. "What do you have in mind?"

Ercur looked at him with green eyes, through light green hair. "If I, the greatest [Gambler] this side of the Uncharted, win," She began. "Then you tell me about that nightmare."

Jayke's expression must've shown something because Ercur frowned and hesitated. He looked at her. "That's what you want?"

"Sterext said you're from beyond civilization, I've always wondered what might scare the people there." She responded smoothly. "The Uncharted is as vast as the ocean is deep, it holds many wonders but horrors alike. Those who come from farther than any have even seen let alone map are always interesting."

"Fine." Jayke wasn't going to lose anyway. This girl didn't even know what poker was thirty minutes ago. He contemplated something he was curious about that he felt might match the weight of his past. "If I win, you tell me why you're a [Gambler] out in the middle of nowhere."

She scoffed, pausing. "How-" She collected herself. "Looks like that's fair game." She said curiously. "[Bet Fairness]. Not something I need to share, but it tells me if that's an equal wager for both of us." She looked at him with real interest. "It turns out it is."

Jayke regarded the girl. Woman? He knew what his past meant to him, which left him with a real curiosity about hers. "Shall we start then?"

"Rules first." She said. "If this was for money I'd be underhanded, but you already know I'm a [Gambler]. I'm not sure if you have any magic that'll even help, but let's agree on the allowance of both Skills and magic or none at all." With the possibility that he might magically be able to see her cards, she didn't look worried in the slightest.

Jayke weighed his intense curiosity of Skills over the risk of opening up to his past. For some reason, he couldn't help but get excited. He wanted to see what people of this world were capable of, even in something as small as a poker game. How much help could someone even have against him when he was versed so thoroughly on the game?

"We'll allow both, no handicaps here." He responded.

Her grin was like a certain lion's he had encountered once upon a time. Jayke found himself sporting one as well.

"Then it's a [Wager]."

Jayke felt compelled to agree.

Jayke was down half his chips. He stared at her face and it was completely expressionless, like completely. Her eyes flicked to his every now and then and he felt as if he'd been getting read like a book. He'd calculated the probabilities of each hand, bluffing, baiting, and pushing with stronger hands.

She'd fallen for nothing.

"You're cheating." He said almost as an afterthought, he felt absolutely certain. "You're changing the deck. Or something."

"The allowance of Skills means I might've been able to. But thus far, nothing I've done tampers with the actual flow of the game." She said with an absolute poker face. "You have my word on that."

"Fuck," Jayke muttered.

He figured he might as well try his magic now. It'd be good practice interpreting things through it. With a game like poker his [Lesser Data Sense] was going off loudly in his mind. He focused his thoughts and constructed an algorithm to understand the best move to make with a given hand. Poker was a tough game to code a bot for. Usually, bots like those made for chess have every possible move memorized, they were given all the information they needed. Poker was different in the fact that it was a game of imperfect information.

The algorithm he constructed was mind-numbingly complex, but one that he had completed years ago in college. He was surprised to find it easier to code now, and he wondered if that was something to do with his proficiency, the logic shouldn't have come this easily. He actually frowned at the ease of which it came, he had a very strong grasp of the inputs and what to do with them. He had created a bot, all within his mind, and something about it was less rigid than anything made of actual computer-written code. This complex piece of code would've been hundreds of times harder than programming a little robot to move, and instead, it was hundreds of times easier than making a ragdoll walk.

The ball of magic swirled in his hand. At this point, Jayke wasn't entirely sure what to do with it.

Ercur had been patiently observing him. "Woah, what is that?" She said, letting her poker face slip, purposefully probably.

"This is my magic," Jayke responded. "I'm new to it though." He said thoughtfully.

She blinked. "You haven't been using any magic or Skills up until this point?" She gaped. "That's impossible."

Jayke let instinct take over for half a second, and he found himself clenching the magic in his hand, bursting it like a digital pixelized bubble. Information flooded his mind with cold calculating certainty. The magic became linked to him in a way eerily similar to his shields, yet completely different. It was almost as if it was running in his mind, data flowing directly to his brain. He kept it up with a constant supply of mana.

"I haven't until now, yes." Jayke took in the table quietly. He peeked his cards. "Fold." He felt the magic recognize the cards in his hand and the table.

Ercur took his blind. "How often did you even play this game? I could've sworn you were doing something to make the decisions you were making."

"This game is as much calculation as it is luck, chance, and reading your opponent," Jayke explained. "I've got most of those calculations memorized, not optimally, it wasn't enough to beat you." He said. "You better hold on to your chips now."

Ercur played like a demon. She switched from cold to hot like a bipolar polar bear who lived in an ice volcano. Jayke couldn't get a read on her at all. He was playing everything correctly, but more often than not she made the right move on what always looked like a whim. She avoided Jayke cutting her chips in half, dropped bets halfway through for no apparent reason, and pressed Jayke through bluffs enough that he lost a good number of chips every time.

His algorithm couldn't read facial expressions. It had been giving him estimations of the success of his hand given the cards that passed through the game, updating on the flop, turn, and river. What it could also do, was guess the other player's hand depending on their actions. Smartly, on his folds, she hadn't shown her cards so his bot couldn't learn from it.

"Ace, king," Jayke said offhandedly. He stared at his own cards. Pocket queens.

"Hm?" She asked, staring at him.

"You've got ace-king." He said simply, only knowing it was the most likely.

"You sure about that?" She grinned at him, her mask thrown away, replaced by another presumably.

Jayke squinted at her, staring at abominations in the face had done wonders for his poker face. "I'm certain of it." He responded evenly. "I have pocket aces. That means I have two aces by the way." His demeanor was even.

"I'll take that into account." She grinned.

He bet a good chunk of his chips. She called them and Jayke flopped the first three cards.

Ace, king, queen.

Jayke didn't hesitate, as soon as his magic saw the flop it recommended a certain move, but he wasn't listening to it for this particular hand, only reading its probabilities. He was bluffing.

He raised the bet. An all-in now would only spoil the potential for making a dent in her chips. He needed to get her more invested, now, however, it depended on what she thought Jayke had and what she actually had.

He actually had pocket queens, but they served the same purpose for this particular hand as pocket aces did.

Green eyes stared at him intently, roaming across the table practiced and expressionless. She called the bet wordlessly.

Jayke dealt the turn.

Ace, king, queen, queen.

Jayke raised the bet again, incrementally smaller. Ercur raised in response and he hesitated. She was bluffing. He already had four-of-a-kind. In this situation, there was nothing she could have to beat him.

Jayke dealt the river.

Ace, king, queen, queen, ten.

He raised again. "Thirty thousand more."

Ercur responded evenly. "I'll put you all in." Her response was immediate.

He'd already gotten this far. "Sure. I'll call." He said. "Go ahead and flip."

Jayke flipped his two queens over with confidence. Then his mouth dropped with a refusal to believe what he was seeing. She'd flipped over a straight flush, he hadn't even seen that possibility, it was almost insignificantly probable. Ace of Hearts, King of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, and Ten of Hearts. The flop showed a King of Diamonds, but her two cards bridged the straight and the flush, she had king-jack suited.

"You're kidding me," Jayke said dumbfounded.

"Ace-king was a good guess," Ercur said smugly. "You got one of them surprisingly."

"How could you possibly have had that?" He ran his hands through his hair. "That's nearly a three in ten thousand chance!" He complained. "That's improbable! We barely played twenty hands!"

She laughed like a bell. "I am the greatest [Gambler] this side of the Uncharted." She pronounced. "That was an insane game though. I had no idea what you had in the end, you really got in my head. " Her eyes went wide. "I actually leveled from that game."

Jayke's vision flashed blue as well. "Look at that, so did I."

Level Up: Level 2 [Code Mage] -> Level 3 [Code Mage]

Apparently, only the System issued Quests dependant on events that were worthy of merit. Speaking to Oz earlier, it seemed the Coterie had always had Quests associated with it, which was a display of prominence. It was like the very world recognized you, in fact, that was exactly-

The chair disappeared from beneath him and he fell on his ass, his bruised ribs jarring painfully. He groaned, he'd thrown his arm out to break his fall. Terrible move. The cursing escaped his mouth under the tongue with a hiss.

"Alright pay up," Ercur said cheerily. She sat down, curling up against a rock. The fire bounced off curious green eyes. "I'm ready when you are." Again, the phantom vision of her munching popcorn crossed his mind's eye.

Jayke stared at her and registered what she meant. He sighed deeply and considered reneging on his promise. Something compelled him onward though, against his will. He managed to fill his mouth with different words before something else bubbled up. "What the hell?"

Ercur tut-tutted. "We made a [Wager] Mr. Cipher." She said through wispy green hair. "You can't go back on it. And knowing it's equal to what I wagered on my behalf, now that has to be something interesting."

Jayke was too tired to contemplate the machinations of a Skill like that. "Fine." The moment he resolved to tell the story the pressure of her Skill subsided.

It wouldn't be like ripping off a bandaid. What a terrible analogy that was for this trauma of his. To Jayke, facing those memories with any amount of naked vulnerability would be like ripping off candle wax from his nether regions. Hot burning candle wax.

For the first time in a year, Jayke Cipher opened up to another soul.

It was painful.