Silas had failed to consider the basic mechanics of riding on the back of a giant rabbit—a giant female rabbit, as an appalled Dara had confirmed after lifting up Lucky's tail to check when Silas expressed his ignorance on the matter.

What he did check was Lucky's list of saved warp points. Not too surprised, he found the list empty. He saved a warp point just as they started traveling, out of sight of the palace walls so his sudden arrival wouldn't get him blasted by a startled guard.

Lucky's saddle sat over her shoulders, which seemed to minimize the bouncing potential when compared to sitting further back, yet it did nothing to minimize the discomfort of lurching forward with each thrust of her back legs. He got into something of a rhythm, breathing in each time his ride slowed, breathing out with each forward jump, lest the periodic g-forces knock the air from his lungs.

He had a surprisingly easy time holding on and maintaining his balance, or perhaps it wasn't too surprising given his rise in physical attributes over the past day. Eve had really come through for him, her nanites and augmentations exceeding the expectations he held when summoning her.

The Skill representing Eve remained capped at 19 however, limited by his Vitality's tier. Despite the +10 from his "equipment," Vitality remained at 19, at the peak of the first "tier" of power in this world. If he wanted to allow his "Eve" Skill to advance into the twenties he would need to first raise its governing attribute, Vitality, to the second tier, either by spending two AP or through effort, training, and time, at least according to his Help skill. Special resources were another option mentioned, but those almost universally had hidden costs or limited uses, not to mention their typical rarity and pricelessness. Maybe he could wait and find out, but as he lurched through the town on his giant rabbit, he felt gaining an advantage now was more important.

The gamer in him wanted to hold onto all his points and only spend them to increase the tier of Affinity, thus allowing Mana Magnet to climb higher as well, making his strongest advantage stronger, but life wasn't a game. He feared death, the ending of possibility. Maybe there was an endless spaghetti bowl filled afterlife, or something a little less absurd, but experiencing death wasn't something he wanted to try any time soon.

As for Mana Body, even if he wanted to wait until he had the SP to afford the Skill…

Notice! Purchasing Mana Body Reinforcement requires 8 SP. You currently have 1 SP.

Now he could only get a temporary boost version of the Skill, not something worth waiting for.

He spent two points on Vitality, then after half a moment spent two more on Endurance, deciding he might as well go for it if he wanted to improve his survivability.

He felt a rush as vigor and steel washed through him, vitalizing and reinforcing his body.

"What did you just do?" asked Eve, sounding anxious.

"Spent four AP to get Vitality and Endurance to twenty, raising them into the second tier. Notice anything?"

"Did I— Weights I'd never felt, weights slowing me down for my entire existence, just fell away, leaving me light as a feather. My processing speed and overall efficiency both just doubled, as did the toughness and energy levels within your cells, by the way. Yet the nanites improved equally, not hampering their ability to perform their tasks."

"Tasks? What are they even doing right now?"

"Does your city-boy bottom hurt riding that saddle? Are your inner thighs sore from how you're holding yourself aloft?"

"No?"

"You're welcome. Though, there's suddenly a lot less for them to do."

He stood tall in the saddle, exhilarating in his newfound vigor. He wanted to have Lucky let loose, see how fast she could go, but the city streets weren't suited for such behavior. It seemed a fair amount of people were out and about this morning.

He soaked up the sights of the city, looking at all the different people. Were they all humans, just with varied Bonds? After the talk about the guards and their forest wolves, he was starting to suspect so. Just one of the many questions he hoped his time at the Academy could answer.

They broke from the main thoroughfare and turned down another street full of shops. The intricate carvings and sculptures on the buildings' sides advertised for tailors, cobblers, assorted armorers, weaponsmiths, alchemists, enchanters, and more.

Before long Dara pulled up beside a tailoring shop which seemed much like the others he passed, though perhaps the clothing patterns depicted in the carvings were a bit more ornate than the others. Haize shrunk down, returning to her hummingbird form. She zipped in a circuit around the street before settling down on the princess's shoulder.

Pulling up beside Dara, he said, "I'm looking for comfortable, normal clothes. I don't care for anything overly fancy."

Dara nodded, as if in agreement. "Juicia is the best in The Gray Depths. She can do you a whole wardrobe, while charging reasonable fees. And she has in-house cordwainers, leatherworkers, even a blacksmith, so it's a good one stop shop, since you need quite a bit."

Accepting the wisdom of his guide, Silas dismissed Lucky after saving the shop as his second warp point. He then summoned Taylor, both for her opinion as a tailor and to run defense against Dara's advances. If he was lucky, maybe Dara could run defense against Taylor's unwanted advances, too.

"Master?" Taylor asked, looking around at the unfamiliar street.

"Seriously, call me Silas, okay? Or sir if you must. I'm not your master, Taylor."

The pink elf smirked. "If you're not my master you can't tell me what to do, Master."

"Who's this?" interjected Dara, sounding a bit frosty to Silas's amusement.

"Princess Dara, this is Taylor, one of my summons. As she's an accomplished tailor, I want to get her opinion on things." To Taylor he said, "Taylor, Princess Dara, she's taking me shopping today. Buy as much as you want, it's all on her."

"Oh?" Asked Taylor, looking at Dara with a predatory gaze. "I see. Very well then."

The princess hesitantly approached and held out a hand. "I love what you've done with your hair."

Taylor smiled brightly, touching a lock of her long, wavy neon pink hair with her left hand as she shook the princess's with her right. "Thanks! Master Silas chose the look for me. Yours is quite lovely as well."

Dara's shoulder length hair was a lighter shade of pink, falling in wide, loose curls. If Taylor calling Silas 'Master' confused her, she didn't let it show. "Thanks. And those ears… Elfin? Was that the word?"

This confused Taylor. "I'm an elf, yes?"

"I've gathered they don't have elves here?" Silas half said, half asked.

"Not that I know, but the world is a big place. I don't think anyone could know everything there is to know about the world."

Seeing his chance, Silas asked, "So, to clarify, is everyone here human? They all look different because of the Bonds?"

Dara frowned. "What else would they be, if not human. Elves?"

Silas shrugged. "Cat people, werewolves, dwarfs, gnomes, pixies, dryads, orcs, goblins, and so on. Anything, really. So you're all human, then?" He felt a bit cheated.

The princess still seemed confused. "We're all human, yes. Those others…I don't know about cat people, but the rest? They're all monsters of one sort or another, denizens of the dungeons, wretches of the wilds."

Wait. "So, there are dwarfs? A civilized group of short, wide people who like smithing and living under mountains?"

She shrugged. "I don't know about civilized. Never seen one. They're a type of monster who came from the dungeons, once upon a time. It's where the monsters in the wilds come from. 'Expect no mercy from a monster, and give them no mercy in return.' Dwarfs are a type we don't really need to concern ourselves with, long as we stay out of the deep tunnels."

"What happens if someone Bonds with a dwarf?"

The princess shook her head. "Can't bond with too smart monsters. Don't have the right…something."

"Could someone Bond another person?"

She looked affronted, then calmed down, likely as she realized he didn't know what she considered common sense. "Of course not."

Silas…probably needed to learn more before drawing any conclusions. For all he knew dwarfs killed non-dwarfs on sight in this world. There was no reason his preconceived notions should fit any aspect of this new reality.

"Hey," he said to Taylor, realizing something. "You can understand her?"

The elfin maid shrugged. "I speak what you speak."

Silas sighed. For once the translation nonsense went in his favor. "Good, good."

They entered the shop, to discover two people in the middle of a shouting match.

"…said he could do it in half the time, for half the cost!" yelled a round, hairy man who looked much like the guinea pig things the locals used in place of horses.

"Then pay Vitus Varick to make your next suit!" answered a whipcord-thin woman who looked to be in her sixties, perhaps. She had short-cropped silver hair and eyes…Silas shivered. With those eyes, he had no doubt the woman had Bonded some kind of spider.

"I want him to make this one!" shouted the angry customer.

The spider-eyed lady pointed at a sign on her back wall. "Can you read? No! Refunds! Now get out of my store. I don't want to see you again any time soon, so I'll send a runner to deliver your suit, when it's done, on the day I promised it would be done."

The man slumped. "My wife rescheduled the party. I need it a week sooner, Juicia. Isn't there some way…"

The woman harrumphed. "Sounds like Vitus Varick can help you out. I couldn't possibly finish it an hour sooner than I promised. Good day, sir."

The man spun and made to stalk towards the door, then froze in his tracks, glancing at his audience. He noted the princess before studying Silas and Taylor, focusing mostly on Taylor's abundant assets.

Silas's friends always gave him a hard time for preferring female characters, saying he liked to roleplay as a woman, but they didn't understand. If he was going to spend hour after hour staring at a digital model, he'd much rather have a fine feminine form engraved into his mind over that of some dude. He worked hard getting the sliders for Taylor's body just right, so he only felt satisfaction seeing the man become so befuddled by the elfin beauty in her maid uniform.

The man blinked and shook his head, regaining his senses. "Princess Dara. How unexpected."

The princess smirked, like she'd just caught her sibling stealing cookies and was about to shout for a parent. "Bodwine. Always a joy to see you. I'll be sure to tell Auntie we crossed paths." She opened the door, a clear invitation for the man to leave.

Walking away he turned for one last study of Taylor, nearly walking into the door frame on his way out.

Once the door shut, the older woman came around from behind the counter to give Dara a hug. "It's been too long, child. I thought you forgot about little old me. And who are your friends? She's certainly lovely. Haven't seen ears like that before. What Bond might have such a manifestation, if you don't mind me asking?"

A high pitched scream from just outside derailed the conversation.

Just as they turned towards the door, a slightly more disheveled Bodwine burst back through it, slamming the door shut.

Juicia scowled. "What in the name of— Bodwine! Get out of my store, you oaf!"

The two wolfman guards who had taken up silent positions beside the door glanced at the princess, awaiting orders.

Bodwine shook his head, panting. "Surrounded. No way out." He glanced between the princess and her guards. "Might be after you. Either way, we need help."

Outside, further away, more people started screaming.

"What's out there?" Dara whispered.

The man quivered. "Rats. We're surrounded by rats."

Silas paused. He hadn't seen any rats since yesterday morning, back in his cell, as he sold them their daily cheese.

Suddenly he had a bad feeling.

"I'll go take a look," he said, regret piling on with every word.

The princess looked at him uncertainly. "You sure?"

He sighed. "Yeah." He glanced at Taylor. "Sorry. Need Vox for this."

She nodded in understanding.

Juicia and Bodwine, understandably, both gasped as he caused Taylor to vanish. They gasped again as Vox appeared atop his rightful perch across Silas's shouters.

"I'll be back," he said, grinning to himself just a little as he went outside to deal with some rats.

Status Silas Aegis 11y 3s 19d 9h L13 (380/455 XP) H: 30.0/30 (30/day rest) S: 30.0/30 (30/min rest) M: 18.0/18 (-2) (20% eff.) AP: 1 STR: 29 (+10) WIL: 20 AGI: 29 (+10) WIT: 20 END: 30 (+10) SPI: 20 VIT: 30 (+10) AFF: 20 PER: 29 (+10) CHA: 12 SP: 1 Gaming 29 Mana Sense 29 Obscurity 29 Pain Resistance 29 Programming 29 Sight Reading 29 Eve 21 Gaming Necessities 19 Interface 19 Mana Magnet 19 Pestilence Resistance 19 Piano 19 Poison Resistance 19 Sleep Resistance 19 Help 13 Bargaining 9 Chemistry 9 Language: Artean 9 Summon Character 9 Countdown to the End 3