With that matter momentarily resolved, and after summarizing it briefly for Louise, there were a couple inward-facing things that were actually incredibly important that I look at right now, starting with spending my Class Points.

With the sudden and unexpected bonus Class Points, I actually now had over 500, enough for a Tier 3 Class Feature, which the newly proposed Skill would be. As much as it sounded like that was an immediate win... if this "Enhancement Sage" worked like Skill Sage, it would require higher levels, or a substantial influx of Growth Points, before it was really useful.

Oh, yeah, hey, uh, I rolled my eyes at Merry's sudden string of filler words as she fumbled around inside my head somewhere. Oh, yeah, okay. Uh... so about the Skill Sage stuff. The... the screen mostly went away but I kept pieces of it, and uh, the skill levels of stuff are... oops, I broke it. Uh, the level is supposed to really be the thing that gives you your power, so the points are supposed to be used to make certain uses easy or to unlock brand new stuff, like with the Telekinesis, right? Only that doesn't work for some skills where it's all inside the interface, like the Sage skills. The levels themselves can't do much. I mean yeah, I guess they can make the descriptions better or something, but it's not like you pick up more weight with the Sage skill. If they held it back until you were high level it would be useless for, like, forever.

So instead because it's, uh, it's really all about rewarding people who are good, I guess, there's like... an affinity stat, which I guess is hidden, since you don't see it on your own things? I dunno. So your Sage has an affinity, and each use of the... argh, part of this is missing... uh, I guess Growth Rank...?

Merry, I chided her quietly. You're giving me a headache.

The fairy, with her half-lidded eyes and pensive expression, popped up into my vision and gave me a sheepish grin, one hand grasping a broken piece of interface window, with writing on it too small for me to make out. Right, okay, sorry, I guess I'm saying that, uh, if there is a Sage skill, unless it can unlock itself like Skill Sage can, it should be usable right away, just like all skills are, right? Like... unlocking Skill Sage is kind of a test of Skill Sage. So if you have this other Sage thing for your item... things... or the... stuff that goes on them? It'll have its own restrictions, like maybe levels of stuff or whatever, but you won't need Skill Sage to use it first. That wouldn't make sense.

I knew she was trying to be helpful, but it seemed like it took her a long while just to get to the most reasonable conclusion anyway. Still, I shrugged and gave her a pleasant, Okay, thanks, before going back to staring at the mental window that was the Tier 3 Feature window.

This was a thing I'd been waiting for, and--clearly in exchange for me agreeing to meet immediately--a Dungeon God had not just permitted it, but made it so I could do it now. I wasn't an intensely religious person, but there was obviously a strong pointer here that I was being intentionally given a thing I wanted and asked for. The question remained, of course: did I ask for the right thing? Because I was still kind of guessing.

Still, I spent the class points, and I could feel (and see in Merry's reaction) a weird wave emanate from me when I did. Oh, yeah, that was fun, actually. Like, the skill's not just real, now; it's... different from the others. Neat.

Skill Sage said the following about my new skill:

[ Enhancement Sage ] [ Foundation: Soulforged ] [ Origin ] Level 0 The Enhancement Sage ability allows you to examine and alter enhancements on an item or item-like ability. You may recycle enhancements for [ Forge Points ]. You may move [ Forge Points ] into and out of items and item-like abilities.

Soulforged: This skill may be used at [ +10 ] on [ Soulforged ] abilities. You may unlock some sealed enhancements on [ Soulforged ] abilities.

Origin: Skillbook cost: 10000 Experience plus 5000 Experience per charge.

"Holy shit," I whispered. It honestly hadn't occurred to me that the Skill would work on non-soulforged items and... what even counted as a non-soulforged 'item-like ability'? A defensive barrier, maybe?

"Something good?" offered Louise, hopefully, and I explained it in brief.

"...on top of everything else, the window suggests that since I created the ability, I can just inherently create skillbooks for it, if I spend experience." I paused, running the numbers in my head. I was now level 41, which meant that I had 41000 total experience needed to level up. I could certainly grind a lot of experience and sell a bunch of skill books...

...except, I was already forgetting, Harry was going to just hand me a giant stack of cash (or a check or credit card or something) as soon as I got out, probably more than I'd ever need. It was weird how that thought didn't completely deflate the rising sense of greed in me--the money I could get for selling skillbooks felt right, like I was getting rewarded for doing the right thing, even as I didn't need more money right now. And even if I was able to drop a whole bunch of skillbooks for a big stack of cash... the books would do the most good for low-level divers, right? So if I made them too expensive, only the fat-cats would make use of them. If I gave them away cheap, this sick feeling of greed would doubtless be disappointed, but...

"That is so cool," Louise said, her eyes alight again. "Are you going to open a school, where you teach people how to use it?"

...there was that, too. I laughed, feeling that sense of greed finally receding a bit. The skill book itself was valuable, sure, but expertise and understanding was, too. I shook it off, trying to put my thoughts back in order.

Hey, uh, on the topic of keeping your priorities straight, uh, Merry put the broken piece of interface away and started to slide back out of sight, though she kept her shoulders and head there, as though hanging off the ledge with her elbows. You were gonna look into that cultivation stuff, too, right? That means spending the experience stuff. You don't want to be low on that when you go looking for a teacher.

I let out an exasperated sigh and flopped backwards on the floor. "Merry reminded me that Cultivation also needs experience. So yes, I could give away a bunch of skill books right now, but what I probably want to do is leave the dungeon almost topped off." I paused, and directed a question to her. Has it stopped feeding experience to the broken things? I did get a level...

It's doing that less and less, but it hasn't stopped, she replied. When you got those big mean guys, it came in like a flood. I admit I took a little bit of it, too. It's, uh, tasty? It actually tastes like the guy you beat. Weird, right? Kind of metal and cloth and a little leaf and, uh, sweat and skin and muscles. Merry gave me a wide, satisfied toothy grin that I thought was... a little bit suspicious, in an I-don't-want-to-know way.

That did remind me, though. Since I was already on my back looking up at the ceiling, I just spoke directly. "Hey, Administrator, I'd like to talk to you."

Oddly, considering how often that had worked, nothing happened.

I frowned, wondering if something--the god or angel or whatever, maybe--was getting in the way. She had suggested that the Fairy was helpful; was there a reason she was not willing to talk now? Perhaps she was busy? "Administrator? Uh... well, if you can hear me, I think we should talk... privately, I mean. I can just say what I'm thinking, and you seem to be able to hear me, but..."

After another moment of no response, I just shrugged and tried saying what I was thinking, anyway. "I... can't explain, probably not even directly to you, what happened, but um, the thing where your mini-bosses, the Caesars, drop corpses, is... probably more powerful than you meant it to be, because of an ability I have. You might want to give them a rare drop instead, simply because if I go down and keep grinding them, I could have an army of those things to take into the Dungeon. I know..." I flinched as the NDA appeared again. "Argh, I can't mention it. But, um, I'd be willing to trade some or all of those corpses back, if you would be willing to trade me something."

Again, no response, but there was an odd feeling in the air, as though something was listening. Given that she had proven capable of just creating a specter to prove that my spirit sense, or whatever, was real--side note, Merry, remind me to ask for a class feature spiritual sense or something--did that mean that she was letting me know she was there? Or was it something else?

I licked my lips and cleared my throat. "Because of the... fight I'm going to be having... I'd really like a fight trainer that is as good as that guy was. I had the thought when I was fighting them that if I had a pet or something that could do that, that was far better than me trying to... you know, make use of the corpses. Well... I don't know, maybe you don't know what I mean." I sighed. "It's... the skill name is Devil's Rebirth Contract. It's... I traded for it... previously. Um." I felt embarrassed. "I don't... want to use it, even on monsters."

The strong sense in the area peaked for a moment, and the old woman stood up from her rocker, fetching a cane that probably hadn't been there a moment before, and hobbled forward towards me. Louise's head turning is what caught my attention, and by the time I sat up to look at her, the old woman was standing there, staring at me, her face very stern and serious.

"Powers, boy, but you made yourself a nasty bargain. I thought I smelled something rotten on you." She tilted her head back to look down her nose at me, which was a contrast to her usual posture, where her head was tilted forwards, idly. "My, my. For all that you say you don't want to use it, there's no question you know what it does, now is there? Naughty boy."

I... without trying to act or anything, I just couldn't keep looking up at the old woman NPC. Genuinely, I didn't... want to have a conversation about this. It had been enough of a risk when talking to Louise; I probably shouldn't have even said it out loud. I wouldn't have, except that the Administrator wouldn't answer me.

"Very well, boy," the old librarian said out of nowhere. "I can hear old Marv telling me from the other side that I shouldn't let you be tempted. Give me the strapping young lads, and I'll see if I can make a toy out of them for you."

I should not have been surprised, but all of a sudden a very basic Quest appeared before me:

Defy the Devil Give freely that which you might have taken for yourself. REQUIRES: [ Victorian Barbarian Caesarian ] Corpse (Perfect) x3 REWARD: [ Victorian Caesarian Gentleman ]

I... well, I accepted the deal, and when the "Quest completable" notification immediately popped up, I accepted that too, watching the items pop into view and disappear into the quest box.

"Hrmmmm..." the old woman looked down at her free hand, for a moment, as though the bodies lay there between her fingers. "Strapping young lads, indeed. My, you could have been quite a troublemaker if you'd tried to be. Just like my old Marv, hah!" She squeezed her hand shut as through crushing something, and made a gesture like she was tossing the result to me, resulting in a pop-up notification that my item had been delivered. "A nasty bargain, it seems, but you did well to resist it. That kind of power is a nasty thing. Well... there are many nasty things in this world, young man." She started to hobble in a semi-circle, moving back towards her chair, but paused to turn and look at me one last time. "Be sure that you resist those other nasty things too."

I nodded at her, and immediately stood and fished the new pocket Caesar out. Like Cassandra, he was now a "Pet" item--which was nice, even though this was specifically labeled as a 'Non-combat' pet. That suited me fine; he could help me train my weapon skills, instead of being used to help clear the dungeons directly. That was more than enough.

When he appeared, he looked exactly like the Barbarian version, except that his Victorian clothes were properly sized and not ripped to pieces, and he was exactly my height, which I doubted was a coincidence. His sword was sheathed, and his shield slung over his back, and he immediately went to one knee, his head bowed until he could be kissing his kneecap. "Ah, Lord Jerald, you honor me with your presence." Instead of dwelling in that posture, he immediately looked up, and I thought his face was a little kinder than the barbarians. "I was told you were in need of a sword trainer. Is that so?"

"Indeed, my friend," I said, some buried thespian in me stirring, even as I smiled. "Not here and now, I think, but I wanted to meet you. I was... impressed by the strength of your brethren--"

"Brethren, Lord Jerald, they are not," he said, his head sliding back as he took some offense. "I am not like others of my blood, Lord. They have no loyalties at all. They are like... barbarians, uncouth and undesirable. I've no fight left in me, Jerald, or I would hunt them all down at your side, but alas, it is not to be."

I raised a hand in a gesture I thought was conciliatory. "It is nothing, friend. I will deal with the matter of them soon enough. And later, you will give me some advice, I hope."

"Of course, Lord Jerald, of course." He smiled easily and bowed his head. "Then, if you have no use of me..."

I unsummoned my "pet" and shook my head, only to become aware of a high pitched noise that turned out to be Louise squeeing in my general direction.

"Oh my god, I knew it!" she said, and she made her next sentence somehow sound like it was meant entirely and unapologetically as a compliment: "You're a LARPer!"

I just sighed at her.