Returning to his storm cellar, John spent the remainder of the morning making Life Stones and placing them on the auction for two and a half gold each. Then, after lunch, he practiced with Evoke Flame for several hours, receiving a very welcome system message.

[Evoke Flame has Ranked Up due to continued use. Novice à Apprentice]

[125 Leveling Points Banked.]

Not long after he heard someone calling for him. Popping his head out of the cellar he saw it was Ash and Callie, and he hurried over to take receipt of his order from the two. Approaching, he expanded his stone umbrella to cover all three of them with a comfortable amount of space to spare.

“Well, that’s nifty,” Callie commented, clearly glad to be out of the rain.

“Some kind of umbrella spell?” Ash asked, poking at the stone shell.

“Nah, just an application of Create Earth to make it and Move Earth to carry it,” John explained.

“Huh, I didn’t realize Move Earth could levitate rock,” Ash said as he unloaded the bodies.

John disappeared them just as quickly as they appeared, and then handed over the cash. “Well, the spell didn’t say it had to remain in contact with the ground… But honestly, I didn’t think about it that much, I just did it,” John admitted.

“I’ll add it to the list of things we need,” Callie grumbled.

“Speaking of,” John interjected. “Did you two get a Deific Quest earlier?”

“Yeah, it sounds like a pretty great opportunity, but I have no idea where to go for the trial,” Ash admitted.

John simply pointed toward the shrine, which could only be dimly seen through the heave rain and twilight.

“You’re kidding,” Callie said irritably. “That’s this ‘Gateway of Worlds’?”

“Yup,” John said. “Though I should warn you, the entrance fee is a silver.” John told them.

Callie snorted and Ash made a face. “I guess we could scrape that together, not like there’s a lot to spend money on out here,” he half-complained.

“I get the feeling that’s going to change once people start learning crafts,” John assured him. “What were you thinking of learning anyway?”

“Alchemy,” Callie said immediately and Ash nodded in agreement.

“Both of you?” John asked with some surprise.

Ash nodded again before speaking. “Yeah, Callie and I were both chemical engineers before we retired, we figured it’d be cool to see how magical chemicals work,” the wolfkin said, sounding genuinely interested.

“Retired?” John echoed in further surprise.

Callie gave a short sharp laugh. “You didn’t think this game was just for young people, did you? I’ve waited almost sixty years for full immersion virtual reality. Now that it’s here I’m not going to let a little thing like the advancing march of time get in my way!”

John looked at them, slightly dumbfounded. “I just kind of assumed…” he trailed off.

“That because our avatars are young, we’re young?” Ash asked with a wolfish grin. “Nah, we chose young avatars because what’s the point in escaping into fantasy if you just bring all your reality with you? And can I just say it feels amazing to be young again,” the, apparently quite old, wolf-man said with a large stretch.

John blinked, but nodded after a moment, digesting this new information.

“So, was the whole trial thing the idea you had earlier?” Callie asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, well, no. I was originally going to see if I couldn’t get some sort of library going, but there was no one to talk to about that so I asked the gods of the Gateway of Worlds for help and their response was the trials,” John admitted.

“Huh, that’s an interesting response for a request like that. I wonder what prompted them to answer this way; it seems like a lot of effort for the middle of nowhere,” Ash mused.

John just shrugged in response.

“Well, anyway, we’ll probably try for the trial tomorrow. We’ll bring the morning corpses, and isn’t that a weird thing to say, with us and try it then,” Ash continued.

“Alright, uh, go ahead and spread the word about the shrine? People will probably want to know if they all got the quest,” John said as the two began to make their exit.

“Sure,” Callie said, then the two walked off in the direction of town and were quickly lost in the rain.

Breaking off the excess stone of the umbrella into chunks, John dropped them by the hole in the wall and proceeded to take care of the chookers. The tiny draconic monsters were subdued today, as they usually were during the rain. He cleaned out the old bones and dropped the new bodies into the trough, then cleaned out the water. Finished with that he dropped the skeletal remains in the nearby field as he’d done with all the rest; they’d go in the next batch of fertilizer just fine, and so far only a few birds had been attracted by them.

“Well, aren’t those quaint little beasties?” Came the voice of Mageslaya.

John whipped around to see the woman poking her head around from the southern side of the coop, the windowed side, he realized a moment later. He looked past the woman to see her other party members arrayed a couple yards back. There would be no ambush this time it seemed.

“Relax John, you’re too tense, it’s gonna give you wrinkles,” she started, then paused, considering. “Though I suppose that’s not an issue, what with this not being real and all.” She came fully around the coop and leaned on it. “Still, we’re not here to fight you today, that big hunk of beef outside the shrine made his stance on that pretty clear last time.”

John glanced in the direction of the shrine, but the rain was still too dense to see much from this distance. “Then why are you here?” John asked warily.

“Because you still have something we need, of course,” she said like it was obvious. “The Gateway of Worlds just became even more valuable. An unlimited trial, do you know how many of those there are in the empire? Only a dozen or so, and they’re all tightly controlled by the nobles who own the shrines.”

“And telling me this is going to make me give it to you how?” John asked, glancing in Axia’s direction again.

“I’m just letting you know what the stakes are before we move on to the negotiations. See, here’s the thing, you now have something not just the gods want, but that we players want as well, and you’re naïve if you think no one else is going to come for it. In fact, our guild is already considering a move to this area,” She said with a genial smile. “It has a dungeon, a valuable resource in its own right, and now the only set of trials open to players. Possessing it would be a real feather in our cap and could catapult us to the top of the rankings.”

John frowned, he didn’t like where this was going at all. “So… what? You’re going to force out the NPCs? Take over the dungeon, then strongarm me into giving you the shrine?”

Mageslaya made a so-so gesture. “Something like that, I wouldn’t worry your hairy little head about it though, because I’ve been authorized to make you a very generous offer. We’re going to end up with Runic Rock in our pocket, that much is pretty much guaranteed,” she said with utter confidence. “All that’s to be decided afterward is who gets to stay and who has to go. And, in case there was any doubt, you currently have to go.

“But! It doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re willing to work with our guild and transfer the Gateway of Worlds into our care, we’ll take you on as the first non-titan guild member. We’ll ensure the safety of your farm and support you with good deals on crafters and items. We’ll even buy your crops at a premium should the guild have use for them. That’s on top of the benefits that come from being in a guild. You want to hit level ten by next week? The guild can make it happen, hell my team will take you through the dungeon ourselves, you can even keep the loot. You need help with unfriendly NPCs and players? The guild will be there for you. Want rare seeds and plants? The guild can find them. Having a guild behind you will lend weight to all your actions.” She said, seemingly totally sincere in her offer.

John wavered. She wasn’t necessarily wrong. Having the backing of a guild would be helpful, they’d almost certainly be a dedicated buyer as well, especially of alchemical ingredients and highly magical food stuffs. But… he’d have to give up the gateway and the tree. He’d have to break his contract with Ledos, and while the knights hadn’t been good to him, he wasn’t sure what the consequences would be.

“I already have guards, and the auction provides for my selling needs. I couldn’t use rare and exotic plants right now if I had them. If I needed levels that badly I could probably get some of the players in town to take me through the dungeon for a bit of coin. Eventually Runic Rock will have its own crafters, courtesy of the three trials.” John countered after a few moments.

“Please, the Knights Magi let you die, they let us demolish part of your farm and burn your crops before they stepped in. Do you really trust them to have your back? What about when there’s a small army of players bearing down on you? Worse for them, they don’t get back up when they die. In the end there’s a finite amount of defenders they can send against players, simple attrition dictates we’ll win,” Slaya said with a dismissive wave. “Sure, the big one was able to take us all out, but we’re a fraction of the players in the Titans, how will he fare against twenty, or thirty players? How long can he hold out if we just keep getting up and coming back, over and over? Eventually he’ll tire, run out of mana, and then he’ll fall. How long will the knights try to hold on after that? How many of their members will they throw into the meat grinder before they give up entirely?”

John ran his fingers through his beard. She was probably right, there were only so many knights, and they didn’t resurrect like players. He didn’t like the knights, but he didn’t want to see them destroyed either. And that didn’t even include the squires, a bunch of people his age and younger, who would almost certainly be caught in the crossfire. Maybe he should-

“As many as it takes,” Came the voice of Knight Commander First Class Helen from above.

The players all looked up to find the steel grey catkin sitting atop the roof of the roost, one leg dangling languidly off the side, the other pulled up so her knee was against her chest. There was something subtly off about her though, John just couldn’t figure out what.

“You players,” she said with a huff. “You all think yourselves immortal because you can get back up again. You boast about it, flaunt it, count on it. But we know there are consequences, especially for those who die repeatedly in rapid succession. Do you think there are no criminals among you upon who we can test solutions? Do you think we would let such a threat pass unnoticed? Already the gods grant boons and miracles that can hinder, or even eliminate this aspect of your powers.” The catkin woman gazed down at Mageslaya, who looked back with annoyance.

Helen turned her gaze to John. “None of us would blame you if you took this offer. I admit the knights have failed you, but I also promise that those involved are being dealt with; many will bear our symbol no longer and their patrons will be…” She paused to smile wickedly. “Admonished.”

She leapt from the roof to the ground in a fluid motion, placing herself between Mageslaya and John. “However, unless and until you take their offer, you have my protection.”

“Ugh, so dramatic,” said Mageslaya. “Think about our offer John. We’ll be waiting,” she continued as she turned to leave.

Helen watched as the group made their way onto the road and became lost in the rain. John didn’t, he was focused far too much on the woman as the wrongness had finally become apparent.

“You’re not actually here, are you?” he asked finally.

Helen made a tsking noise. “I hate rain, too much to compensate for all at once.” The image of the woman turned to look at John. “What gave it away?”

“The rain doesn’t roll off you right, and it always drips off you in the same places, it’s like watching a looping video” he said as he continued to stare.

“I don’t know what a video is, but I can guess it’s some kind of visual medium? If you noticed, they probably did as well.” She sounded slightly vexed.

“Is this how Axia appears without warning? Some kind of Illusion?” John questioned as he poked a finger at, and then into the projection.

“Stop that. Axia has his own ways that aren’t mine to tell,” Helen admonished.

“Could you have actually stopped them if they’d attacked?” John wondered aloud.

“Yes,” she said definitively.

John considered the illusion for a moment, then spoke again. “How?” he asked simply.

Helen just smiled at him, clearly refusing to answer that one. After a moment John shook his head. “They’re going to be back, with their guild,” he said finally. “They don’t seem like they’d be averse to taking the town by force either, which will leave me in a bad position.”

“An empty threat,” she scoffed. “Oh, it might have worked before the shrine became a place of interest to the empire. But now? Now Runic Rock is on the map, so to speak. I wouldn’t be surprised if The King of the East declared the creation of a new barony soon. The land will then officially be part of the empire proper, not just unclaimed wilderness. The formation of new claims will come to a halt, while existing claims will become fully owned property. And most importantly, the new lord or lady will be expected to hire troops to patrol their land and maintain order. Troops that will certainly take exception to anyone trying to conquer the barony.”

John listened in silence, and then spoke once it was clear she had finished her explanation. “What does that mean for my land claims?”

Helen’s image turned to face him, her look considering. “It means they’re going to try to claim you haven’t held it long enough, and that it should revert to the barony.”

“Try?” John asked, latching onto that key word.

“Try,” Helen affirmed. “The Emperor’s Law stands above even kings. The formation of a new barony can have no impact upon that. This land was wild when you claimed it, so it remains in your care until you either solidify your claim through time, abandon it, or fail to pay your taxes.”

“And how much are taxes going to run me?” John asked, concern clear in his voice.

“The land will be evaluated and a static tax will be assigned, usually a few silvers yearly unless it contains highly valuable natural resources,” Helen said.

John sighed. “I was just supposed to farm some crops and make some money,” he said mournfully.

“You do not seem to be hurting for golds, is farming really the best choice? It seems you may have other means at your disposal,” Helen commented.

John shook his head. “It’s not that simple. I can make money off of selling Mana Stones to other players for now. But eventually people are going to realize it’s more efficient to take feats like Dynamo and Expanded Pool. They’ll learn how to use Mana Imprinting to reduce spell costs, Mana Drawing to increase mana regen speed, and then they’ll stop buying stones for ridiculously high prices.” John paused and looked around his farm.

“I use mana for almost all my work,” he continued a moment later. “And I’ve stopped using stones for everything except rituals because of those feats and skills. So, I could dedicate every hour of every day to just making Mana Stones, but what happens when that well dries up? I’ll have spent all that time specializing in a single thing that’s not viable any longer. However, food? Alchemical plants? Those are always going to be in demand,” he finished.

“Hmm… you will need them for enchantments as well; every such working needs a power source. Otherwise you are somewhat correct in that small mana stones are used by low level mages, alchemists, and those who are not dedicated spellcasters,” Helen admitted. “Though, if you get good enough at it, there will always be a market for high quality, large capacity mana stones. There are few who can make them, after all.”

“That’s another part of it,” John said shaking his head. “Grandma Loren said it was hard to make mana stones manually, but I was able to obtain it with only a day of effort.” Helen frowned as he explained. “And I think it’s because of the different way players view the world. We have some more advanced knowledge that seems to apply here. If I were to ask you to describe the fundamentals of a crystal, what would you say?”

Helen gave him an odd look at the apparent non sequitur, but took a moment to consider the question anyway. “That is a difficult question to answer, crystals vary so widely… I would say that they all share some similar traits, such as a certain amount of opacity, and natural facets but even that varies greatly,” she admitted finally. “Though I am not dedicated to the studies of the earth, so my answer is woefully lacking.”

“In our society it’s quite easy to find out that crystals have a specific pattern or structure to their makeup, a pattern made up of tiny pieces so small that you can’t see them individually with the naked eye. I didn’t just visualize a mana stone when I tried making one, I visualized a repeating pattern, building up from smallest piece to largest in a symmetrical form.” John explained. “The biggest problem was that I had to move all the mana at once and couldn’t build it from the ground up. After I found that out, it clicked quickly.”

Helen didn’t move, while she’d made no extraneous movements through the entire conversation (likely due to being little more than a projected image) this non-movement seemed… more profound. “I see,” she said after a moment. “If a novice could use such information to make a mana crystal and unlock the feat, it’d be trivial for a master of mana manipulation. It could very well make mana stones far more common.”

“And that would devalue my ability to create mana stones. How long will it be before someone shares that kind of information, and then how long until it spreads? It could be years, or it could be days. It could have even already happened,” John explained.

Helen nodded her head to show her understanding. “If you’re sure then.”

“I am,” John stated firmly.

“Then I shall return to my paperwork, a good evening to you,” Helen said.

“To you as well,” John returned politely.

The image of the Knight Commander gave a small nod and then flickered out, leaving John standing alone in the rain and darkness.