For the second time since coming to Arena Disk, I found myself incarcerated. Fortunately, the city guard didn’t send me off to the prison barges; they weren’t sure whether or not I had broken any city laws. Though the Artificers Guild claimed I was distributing dangerous magical artifacts, the Hunters and Mages Guild said otherwise. Unsure of how to proceed, the guards took me to their headquarters and put me in a holding cell. The man that had kept the guild agents off me said he wanted to keep me out of trouble. Someone would come by to question me eventually.

I sat in my cell, wondering whether or not Hruk would come for me. Arena Disk likely didn’t have the concept of posting bail. Even if it did, the city guard would likely refuse to deal with a hobgoblin. If the Seekers and guilds still had agents around, they’d likely try to apprehend him too. No matter what happened, I trusted Hruk and was sure he wouldn’t abscond with the money. He’d likely wait for me, or find a way to make my life easier.

Now that I had nothing better to do, I finally checked my notifications.

Congratulations! You’ve brought something new to Game World!

The Deity of Feasts and Over-eating asked, and you delivered.

If only more Champions were like you; things move at a snail’s pace here.

Cooking Mastery has progressed to Journeyman: Rank 3

Control + 1

Perception + 2

You have a new Mastery-focused trait slot. A divine presence has upgraded your pool of choices.

Blessed Touch: Your natural Control and race characteristics have made your fingers agile and dexterous. Divine attention has taken it a step further. Whether you’re picking locks or pockets, cooking a feast, or playing an instrument, your blessed touch will make everything better. Your base Dexterity is two and-a-half times as effective when your hands are concerned.

Culinary Efficiency: Your cooking is one-and-a-half times more effective. Not only does a portion keep you full for longer, but all health benefits are increased as well. Arcane properties of ingredients will linger longer in the cooked product and have increased potency.

Culinary Reinforcement: Good food sustains the body and nourishes the soul. Dishes you prepare will provide temporary Arcanic Reinforcement. The nature of said Reinforcement will depend on the ingredients and techniques used. Mana may be woven into the cooking process to increase the potency and duration of the enhancements.

As incredible as Culinary Efficiency and Culinary Reinforcement seemed, I didn’t see the point in investing in them unless I made Cooking Mastery my primary focus. Perhaps someday when I had trait slots to spare, I’d pick them. I especially liked Culinary Reinforcement as a prospect since it would give me access to an Arcane school outside of whatever Attunement I picked.

Divine Touch stood as the clear winner. It came across as a much better version of Nimble Hands, one of the first three traits offered to me when I arrived on Arena Disk. Maka had kept me from picking it, and now I intended to make the most of it.

Brawn: 7

—STR 4| VIT 10

Control: 20

—DEX 24| ARC 16

Wit: 26

—INT 21| CHA 31

Traits:

Coward’s Brand | Facts Begin With Fiction | Arcane Strings | Acknowledged By Mana | Sharing Traits | Druidic Inclinations | Spirit Sense | Royalty Fees | Blinding Charisma | Divine Touch

Active Masteries:

Musician: Journeyman Rank 6

Mana Wielding: Journeyman Rank 2

—Mana Sense: Journeyman Rank 2

—Mana Control: Journeyman Rank 2

Brokering: Apprentice Rank 0

Sneaking: Apprentice Rank 7

Loreseeker: Apprentice Rank 7

—Identify: Novice Rank 5

Sleight of Hand: Apprentice Rank 0

Riding: Apprentice Rank 6

Beast Taming: Apprentice Rank 5

—Satchel Monster: Novice Rank 7

—Primordial Magic: Novice Rank 9

Cooking: Journeyman Rank 3

Scribing Mastery: Novice Rank 6

—Print: Novice Rank 6

Inactive Masteries:

Fashion: Novice Rank 5

I couldn’t help but feel pleased with the changes. Two masteries had reached their milestone ranks, bringing in an influx of stats and two new traits. The class masteries weren’t too far, either.

Class Mastery Unlocks Tracker:

Bard Checklist

Achieved: Journeyman Musician, Journeyman Mana Wielding, Apprentice Loreseeker

Required(any one): Journeyman Sneaking, Journeyman Beast Taming, Journeyman Sleight of Hand, Apprentice Fashion, Apprentice Scribing, Prerequisite Masteries not unlocked

Wayfarer Checklist:

Achieved: None

Required(any three): Journeyman Sneaking, Journeyman Sleight of Hand, Journeyman Riding, Prerequisite Masteries not unlocked.

Merchant Checklist:

Achieved: Journeyman Cooking, Apprentice Loreseeker

Required(any two): Journeyman Brokering, Journeyman Scribing, Apprentice Fashion, Prerequisite Masteries not unlocked.

The system didn’t tell me whether more than one class could use the same mastery, since the lists had several overlapping items. Most of all, I hoped both Bard and Merchant would use Loreseeker to meet the requirements. I foresaw Fashion requiring financial investment to grow and couldn’t afford to waste money on such pursuits. I didn’t know what benefits the class masteries would get me besides only taking up only one slot on the active list instead of the three or four consolidated to create them.

Sneaking only needed three ranks to reach the necessary threshold. Beast Taming needed five. I didn’t foresee taming a wild animal while in Eldar’s Port and assumed the first would have to get me to my goal quickest.

When I got my next trait slot, perhaps Culinary Efficiency would make an appearance in the choice pool. After some experimentation, if I discovered ingredients that granted buffs of any kind, pickles and dried snacks could help in a pinch.

From what I understood, I was an anomaly. For most people, achievements were considerably rare. As a result, they relied on masteries to gain attributes. On average, people unlocked at most one Class mastery in their lifetime. They didn’t have my growth bonuses, after all. According to Hruk, attributes weren’t as important as I thought them. Once someone reached their race’s physical peak, the extra points didn’t provide anything more, suggesting they eventually provided diminishing returns. It was traits and spells that helped people overcome their natural boundaries.

Hruk called the Coward’s Brand unfair. Not because of its penalties, but the growth bonuses that stacked with the hill folks’ natural qualities. I had spent a bit more than six lunar cycles on the disk—approximately six months. My attributes and mastery ranks weren’t far behind his. He’d successfully gotten everything connected to the Artificer Class mastery to the Adept rank, but everything else was still at Journeyman or Apprentice. Given we were almost the same age, I got a rough idea of the local average. I didn’t make such assumptions about other champions since their deity’s gifts likely changed the equation.

I owed a large chunk of my growth to Maka, too. If she hadn’t focused multiple deities’ attention on me, I likely wouldn’t have earned as many achievements. However, it annoyed me that introducing mayonnaise and burgers to Arena Disk hadn’t gotten me any more goodies. Either the dishes didn’t meet the relevant deity’s standards or I needed to spread them far and wide before they or the system recognised my brilliance.

“Oh, good. You’re still awake.” It was the guard from before. He had told me his name when we first met at the city gates, but now I struggled to recall it. Lost in my daydreams, I hadn’t heard him approach. “On your feet,” he said. “You’ve got a visitor.”

“A visitor?” I sat up expecting Hruk, but found myself looking at a rather dapper gnome instead. He wore a three-piece suit that featured a purple dinner jacket and trousers, a crimson vest, and a baby blue shirt. The outfit resembled a tuxedo, and not even the pricks from the Bards’ Guild wore anything like it. Unlike the average gnome, he featured a full head of brown hair and a curly moustache too. He wore the Seekers’ crest on his lapel, and had badges from the Merchants’ and Artificers’ Guilds too. “Did my innocent little stall attract the wrath of three organisations simultaneously?”

“Wrath?” The man chuckled. “That’s a bit melodramatic, isn’t it?”

“Well, I’m behind bars while you’re here dressed to the nines and wearing the emblems of the three organisations that hate me. Wouldn’t you make the same assumption if you were in my place?”

“On the contrary, Mr Kanooks, we’re impressed. Before we continue, I believe introductions are in order.” He stuck his right hand through the bars. “The name’s Elvin Silverknut. I sit on both guilds’ councils and lead the Seekers of Oth in this…city. The artificers are impressed with your product. Everyone on the Merchants’ Council unanimously agrees that you’re an excellent salesman.”

“And what about the Seekers?”

“My subordinates and I don’t beat the same drum, but I believe that we’d rather work with you than against you,” Elvin answered.

“Don’t tell me this is a job offer?” I laughed.

“Take it how you will. To continue your current operations without ending up in a prison barge, you require one of the three organisations to back you. You may have found a loophole to get away with it once, but come tomorrow morning, we’ll have amended the laws to ensure it won’t work again. You’re lucky we’re not getting rid of you and that hobgoblin assistant of yours already.” Elvin maintained an amorous tone through the threat. I looked into his eyes, expecting cold calculation, rage, or similar emotion, but saw nothing of the sort. “Personally, I’d rather not see that happen. Multi-talented individuals like us are much too rare, you see.”

“Right. So, it’s more of an ultimatum than a job offer.” I sighed. “If I don’t take you up on your offer, do I have to get out of town, too?”

“Is there much else for you to do here?” Elvin’s eyes narrowed, and he retracted his still outstretched hand. “We’ve been watching you, Mr Kanooks, and my Seekers will continue doing so. The longer you stay in town, the more suspicious and out of control they’ll get.”

“Is that a threat, Mr Silverknut?” The guard asked. “You’re not issuing a threat of violence in the presence of the city guard while in their headquarters, are you?”

“I wouldn’t!” Elvin exclaimed, feigning offence. He dramatically clutched his chest and staggered back a couple of steps. “Besides, it’s not my Seekers you need to worry about, Elias. I hear there are more violent folk about following the Thieves’ footsteps. How about you do your job and sort that out. The Merchants’ Council has been discussing pulling back on your funding, you know? Without the guilds’ patronage, can the city guard survive?”

Neither the guards nor I had much to stay. Elvin shot me a saccharine smile before nodding at the guard and marching away.

“Does that mean I’m free to go?” I asked.

Elias nodded, unlocking the cell door. “The Mages and Hunters Guilds vouched for your… product. Delicious and not dangerous, they called it.” The guard shot me a knowing grin. “All witnesses have declared you were running a food stall and nothing more. Agents of the Artificers and Merchants Guilds say otherwise, but they don’t have a leg to stand on. Mr Silverknut may have put on a grand facade, but we argued city law for quite a bit before he changed his tune.”

“I have to admit, mate, I’m surprised.”

“Why? Did you think the merchants had us in their pocket?”

I shrugged. “It’s not unheard of. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time a policing force obeys the highest bidder.”

“We serve the city council, not the guilds,” he told me. “The Merchants’ and Artificers’ Guilds might have a representative on the council, but they don’t run it.”

I didn’t believe him or trust the governing body. Given the state of Eldar’s Port, there had to be some corruption at play. Why else would there be so many people living on the streets? The council had failed its city, but the city guard had been fair to me so far. Unwilling to antagonise him, I kept my thoughts to myself.

“I bet the guilds will ensure my stall doesn’t survive for long, though,” I said.

“That’s up to them. The council has no say over the stalls. Citizens might own the structures, but the Merchants Guild is in charge of regulating them. A trading city can’t afford to have illegal or subpar goods circulating in its markets, after all.”

The guard led me out of the headquarters and bid me goodbye at the gate. Something didn’t feel right. After the guild agent’s behaviour, I expected to spend the night behind bars. I had exploited a loophole. Even though I hadn’t committed a crime, I expected the two supposedly powerful guilds to do more to punish me.

As a port city, Eldar’s Port didn’t sleep. Most food stalls had long closed, but pubs were still open along the waterfront. I guessed the current economic climate didn’t affect merchants and sailors passing through; they probably had the coin to spend. The suffering was perhaps limited to the ordinary citizens and small-time merchants.

A part of me wondered whether I’d get mugged on my way back to the inn. I didn’t have any coin on me, but my clothes would probably go a long way to help the poor souls sleeping on the streets. No one approached me, though. Either they weren’t as desperate as they looked, or they considered robbing a jovian beneath them. In the darkness, unless they saw my giant feet, they probably wrote me off as a child, anyway.

I walked through the empty streets feeling good about myself. We had sold everything except the blast tubes. I couldn’t figure out a smart way to sell them as I had with the mana lamps, thermal plates, and self-refilling flasks. Perhaps this didn’t need to become our final blow out sale. Now that the Hunters and Mages Guilds knew of our existence, maybe I could negotiate a contract with them and produce just for them. I probably wouldn’t profit much from such a deal, but perhaps the deal would let us stay in the city for longer so I could accomplish my mission. Besides, Elvin had helped me pick a target. Even though I had little more than a gut feeling to go by, my instincts told me that I’d located Tracy’s champion.

It wasn’t just that he led the Seekers of Oth, but there was a sinister air to Elvin that I couldn’t shake. Since I lacked strength in the traditional sense, I scrutinised everyone I encountered a whole lot more. Besides his odd fashion sense, Elvin’s words had stood out to me as well. Beat the same drum. The idiom felt out of place. I wondered whether the System had struggled to translate whatever he was trying to get across.

Finally, Elvin’s tone suggested he was a man of great power. Leading a cult and sitting on two guild councils, of course, gave him a lot of clout. However, his saccharine tone and unshakable mirth gave me the impression that Elvin looked down on the world and saw it all as a game.

Walking through the dark streets, I came upon a small pub. A loud fiddle played within, and I could hear the patrons singing and dancing. Perhaps backing off merchantcraft and focusing on music would get the Seekers off my back for a while. I needed space to continue my operations. The Bard Class Mastery felt within reach, as well. A slight push would get me over the necessary hump to unlock it.

“So what did you do?” asked a woman, stumbling out of the pub.

“What do you think I did?”—A pot-bellied man followed her out into the night air with staggered steps—“I ran as fast as my fat legs would carry me.”

“What?” She spun on her heel to face him. The man moved in for a kiss, but she placed an arm on his chest, keeping him from leaning in. “I’m not going home with a coward.”

“Coward?” He laughed. “Woman, when a corpse collecting troll walks into town talking about the Champions of Pestilence coming, you don’t stick around to show off how brave you are. You run for the hills.”

“I suppose that’s true.” She sighed. “How long ago was this?”

“I saw the cemetery troll two nights ago in Hunter’s Watch,” the man answered. “Don’t worry. It sounded like he was heading towards the Bracken Swamps. Besides, trolls and the likes know better than to come near Eldar’s Port. The Hunters Guild has eyes watching the plain’s border, and the Mages Guild will keep all meddling champions away. So, are we going to your place or not?”

The woman let him kiss her, but pushed the man away seconds later and pointed in my direction. Sighing, he looked at me.

“What are you looking at?” he snarled.

“I’m sorry, mate, just passing by,” I said. “Didn’t mean to stare.”

The man shook his head. “Not you, little man.” My Control didn’t give me night vision. As a result, I didn’t realise he was looking past me. “Did I stutter? What are you guildies looking at?”

Two humans and three gnomes slunk out of the darkness. Their leather armour didn’t feature any guild insignia, but they dressed similarly. Without Hruk or Doctor Whoo by my side, I refused to stick around and find out what they wanted.

I ran.

The sound of leather soles smacking paved stone sounded behind me.