Nero was astonished by how fast they rebuilt Tyre's tent. While war raged outside, the savanna shelter was calm if not for the tension and weariness of Tyre's knights. The invaders were not as strong as the fifth and sixth-tier defenders in the prince's personal retinue and both sides withdrew with little casualties.

It was one facet of high-leveled combat that one had to focus on defensive abilities. The attacks from both monsters and people were too deadly and while the surviving warrior had to survive all his battles, the monsters were plentiful, replenishable, and needed to get lucky only once. Only they could focus all their abilities on offense. That caused high-level battles between people to take longer and have fewer casualties if both sides were balanced. May the heavens have mercy if they weren't.

In this particular attack, most of the invaders were fourth-tier but they were in big numbers and had the advantage of surprise. Once the tide started to turn, they fled in an almost choreographed maneuver. The defender's biggest concern was to secure their stronghold and they let the enemy get out scot-free.

Now it was time for the purge. Everyone in the castle was being interrogated, trying to excise the canker that was count Honeywitch betrayal. Tyre's castle went from being a bastion at the border to an isolated outpost victim of a pincer attack.

Nero learned all that in a very peculiar situation. As far as the world's measurement of power went, he and the women in a separate room in the huge pavilion tent were of the same strength. Everyone else in the shelter had a level - not a cap but actual levels with all the baggage that came with it - above two hundred.

Tyre leaned forward on his throne and stared at the young minnid. "Are you with us, Nero?"

Already used to dealing with people of unsurmountable power, Nero's gaze didn't waver. "Of course I am, your Highness. I still need a good review in my guild employment history."

"You were friendly toward Honeywitch before," Mayleefa accused.

"I'm not three months past my coming-of-age ceremony, captain," Nero replied. "And my village is in Honeywitch's territory. That was just me being diplomatic."

Mayleefa checked some documents. "You visited his cousin's card shop before we departed. Why?"

Nero raised his palms. "Because it was the only bloody shop open and I needed to buy cards. Trust me, I wanted to murder her because of how much she jacked up the prices because she was the last shop in town. Guess I now know why."

Tyre chuckled. "The kid didn't betray us, Mayleefa. I trust him. What does he have against us?"

"Besides the fact his family is sheltering the princess that triggered all this?" The buffalo-kin retorted.

Nero clenched his fists. What triggered all this wasn't Crystal, it was the jerk sitting on the throne. "Leave my family out of it. She renounced her station, even her old name," Nero barked at the knight captain, causing the guards in the room to prepare for trouble. "My sister just wants to be left alone. Why would she want to return to a family that hired ten scores of thugs to attempt to murder her inside a Dungeon?"

The prince slapped his knees, chortling. "See, Mayleefa? The kid has spirit and bravery. I bet he has some cat-kin blood in him. I like you, Nero Zero. He's right. Serena, or whatever peasant name she goes by now, wants nothing with her birth family."

"All for a bunch of cards," Nero shook his head.

"Yeah," Tyre agreed. "That's just up their alley. She was given to me as a peace offering. Or maybe a trap."

Nero looked down, unwilling to show his face. 'A trap because they knew you were a sexual predator, you royal piece of shit', he cursed the prince in his mind.

"But that is not important now. We are moving our timetable ahead. We won't stand and wait for them to toss a hole mountain our way. heck, they might build another ramp out of boulders alone," Tyre declared. "We are going to strike at the heart of the enemy's camp. That's where you'll help us, Nero. Listen to me.

"I am going to write your so prized review now. A stellar one. I'll have all my captains sign it with me, including Valanaegornif. You can keep the advance payment and go home once we're finished. This will end this conflict in one swift strike," Tyre was maniacal at the end. He even cackled a bit.

He stood up, brimming confidence and pride. "Yes. We are going to strike unannounced in the middle of their defenses. They'll never expect us. And you, young man, is the key to my plan's success."

Nero didn't like anything that came up until now. He was sure everything including the ring of poop that fell around him would smell like Rafflesia's glade if Tyre was going to say what he hoped he wouldn't.

He did. "We are going to hide inside this shelter of yours. You will infiltrate the enemy camp and open a portal next to their command tent."

With his jaw unhinged in shock, Nero let out a low groan. "Your Highness, it is impossible for me to infiltrate a camp full of people with high-tier Classes," He finally replied. "It is suicide."

"Do it for your country, boy," Tyre replied.

There was something mesmerizing in his voice, but Willpower was Nero's highest Attribute, high enough to compare to third-tier mixed-purpose spellcasters. Not pure spellcasters, though. Nero felt a fog cloud his mind but it soon passed. He felt good. Yes, that would be a good thing to do. Go home earlier.

"I'll need to outfit myself with a stealth build. The ones I have aren't up to par," Nero replied.

That was just a little job. He wouldn't have to fight. All he had to do was to open a portal and go home. Then he wouldn't have to see Tyre ever again. He smiled at the prince. Tyre's majestic leonal form and charming personality were worthy of following. For the glory of Bast, Nero had to defeat the enemy.

"Good. Mayleefa, go with Nero and talk to the quartermaster. Get him the best stealth Skills and Class, and make it at least purple. That's for the mission, so write it off as an expense."

Mayleefa saluted and Nero felt natural to do the same. Tyre smiled and they left the shelter. There was some damage to the castle from the fighting but it showed that Coriander wanted to capture the building, not bring it down. A castle here could become the lynchpin for a new province. They reached the quartermaster and Mayleefa negotiated for Nero's new stealth build. The dwarf was clearly disgusted and Nero couldn't help but wonder why. They were under the glowing sun that was prince Tyre. Everything was going to be fine.

"Good. Let me deal with the boy now, Captain. I believe you have a palace to fix and traitors to hunt," the dwarf expelled the captain from his office. After locking up the door, he looked at Nero. "Say, kid, I know you can change Classes and you might have quite the toolbox with all the cards you traded and bought. I need to test a new kind of magic, do you have anything that can resist magic?"

Oh, Nero got it. The quartermaster wanted to make sure Nero could perform the mission with the best results! He nodded. "Of course I do. I have a build made to resist magic."

"Good. I know an illusion or two, could you please help me test it? You now those conniving nereids, they are masters of illusion and mental manipulation."

Nero switched to the build he created when he was afraid Serena would control his mind, back in Rafflesia's Meadow.

The dwarf started to chant and soon said, "Not enough. Can't you get stronger? This way you'll fail Tyre's mission!"

That was terrible. Nero would rather die than fail his prince. Nero cranked up and poured all of his hundred points of Stamina into resisting magic. He felt as if a box of glass around his mind shattered. Including the shards cutting him. Nero screamed and fell down on his knees.

"What the fuck did he do to me?" Nero cursed after he recovered his senses.

"Tyre has a spell in his fifth-tier Skill build, boy. It is called [Commanding Suggestion]. It only works if the target thinks Tyre can boss them around but is bloody damn effective and almost impossible to escape. He can add his Agility to Charisma for that one. You must've raised your resistance to around two thousand points to break that," The dwarf said. "That idiot of a prince will be the doom of us all. Let me tell you. I know you have an escape plan. Your eyes just now confirmed it. I want in. Take me with you when you escape. Do that stupid mission for Tyre. I'm going to help you survive."

Nero nodded. He would help the dwarf just for breaking the suggestion spell. He also had to believe Tyre wasn't his boss, employer, or anything. He was scum and if Nero could, he'd "rule-three" him.

"I'm in. What can you get me?"

The dwarf chortled and grinned. "Give me your full Attribute values. You don't have a limiter, so surprise me, level Zero."

Nero dialed his screen to show his raw Attributes without an active Class.

Strength: +67

Vigor +96

Endurance +81

Agility +63

Dexterity +99

Reason +99

Willpower +108

Perception +77

Charisma +62

"Bloody demons, that's seven hundred and fifty-four," The dwarf cursed. "Yeah, let's work with that." He spent a good twenty minutes rummaging through his box, pulling cards out. "Okay. This should work. Tell me what do you think."

Nero looked at the cards. An orange Class, three orange Skills, and three purple ones. "I can't even do the math to see what this would look like. And I'll need a movement Skill. I don't care about the resource costs, it just needs to give me the most speed possible."

The dwarf shook his head and showed him the Class card. "Don't worry. You'll be fast enough."

[Rogue] - orange Class. Requires Level 40. Agility +50. Dexterity +50. Perception +20

Agility +15

Dexterity +15

Perception +5

"Keep the enemy in the dark about where and when you'll strike."

Special: Your skills and traits are not limited by how fast or slow you move.

Special: Increase your Perception by half your Agility.

Special: Increase your base move speed by your Dexterity.

Special: Reduce the Perception of those trying to detect you by scent or hearing by your Perception score.

Special: When attacking a target unaware of you, add your Agility to the damage and ignore 25% of their defenses.

Nero laid out the cards in front of him. With a piece of paper, he calculated how that would work with his Attributes. He found one very curious one. "I thought you said that was out of limits for me," He pointed at the [Fool's Prowess] Skill.

[Fool's Prowess] - purple Skill. Requires Reason +20. Willpower +20.

+9 Reason

+9 Willpower

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."

Effect: Permanently set your Reason and Willpower to +10. Increase each of the other Attributes by a fifth of the lost Attribute points, rounded down.

"No, I told you it was not for sale. Still isn't but it's a request from His Highness' survival now. He's the one that's paying now. Come on, check the rest of the cards."

[Erase Presence] - purple Skill.

+5 Strength

+5 Agility

+5 Dexterity

"I'll give you death you won't see coming, with a sound you won't hear."

Effect: As long as you move at less than half of your walking speed, reduce the Perception of targets attempting to sense you by two-thirds of your Dexterity.

[Detect Presence] - purple Skill.

+30 Perception.

"Knowing your enemy is half the battle."

Effect: Use double your Perception to passively sense the presence of creatures, danger, traps, and hostile intent at a range of Perception yards around from you. If you concentrate for 1 second and spend 1 point of stamina, you can add your Dexterity to Perception for this test.

[Padded Paws] - orange Skill.

+10 Agility

+10 Dexterity

+10 Charisma

"Her touch was like silk. Her lips were like fire. She embraced me tenderly and I was dead."

Passive: You never leave foot or hand prints. Increase your base Agility and Dexterity by 10%.

Effect: Spend 1 point of stamina per minute while this Skill is active. Either Increase your Dexterity by your Charisma or increase your Charisma by your Dexterity.

[Skulls & Daggers] - orange Skill.

+8 Vigor

+8 Agility

+8 Dexterity

+8 Perception

"Your skull, my dagger."

Effect: Spend 1 point of stamina every 30 minutes to go into stealth mode. Reduce the perception of anyone attempting to detect you by your Agility score. Stealth breaks if you walk into bright light, move faster than one-third of your walking speed, or if you attack. If you attack an unaware enemy, add your Perception to the accuracy of your attack and multiply your damage by [ 1 + square.root(Agility) * 20% ].

[Mithril Fortress] - orange Skill.

+5 All Attributes.

"You are the indomitable fortress. Unmoveable. Unsurmountable. Standing tall against the tides."

Effect: Stand still for 10 seconds and pay 10 points of stamina. As long as you do not move no faster than a crawl, all your Attributes are increased by 20%.

"Are you sure you can hand over these cards?" Nero asked with a raised eyebrow. He could see the combo the dwarf was making, but couldn't believe.

"I already handed them over on prince Tyre's account. You're the one that didn't activate them."

"These are reserved for Royalty. Why didn't they use that?"

"Leonals," the quartermaster huffed and snorted. "Too proud to be called a [Rogue]. What about you?"

"Hell, no. I'm doing it. Last chance to take it back."

The dwarf looked at him with a serious face. "I need you alive if I am getting out of here, kid. Go ahead."

So Nero did. He summoned a bedroll from his pouch and laid down on the office's floor. He had no idea if triggering that whole build at once would knock him out or not. He triggered all the cards at once and It almost did.

[Rogue] - Bound to Nero.

+10 Strength [+5]

+13 Vigor [+6]

+5 Endurance [+2]

+43 Agility [+21]

+43 Dexterity [+21]

+14 Reason [+7]

+14 Willpower [+7]

+48 Perception [+24]

+15 Charisma [+7]

Special: Your skills and traits are not limited by how fast or slow you move.

Special: Increase your Perception by half your Agility.

Special: Increase your base move speed by your Dexterity.

Special: Reduce the Perception of those trying to detect you by scent or hearing by your Perception score.

Special: When attacking a target unaware of you, add your Agility to the damage and ignore 25% of their defenses.

[Fool's Prowess] - Permanently set your Reason and Willpower to +10. Increase each of the other Attributes by a fifth of the lost Attribute points, rounded down.

[Erase Presence] - As long as you move at less than half of your walking speed, reduce the Perception of targets attempting to sense you by two-thirds of your Dexterity.

[Detect Presence] - Use double your Perception to passively sense the presence of creatures, danger, traps, and hostile intent at a range of Perception yards around from you. If you concentrate for 1 second and spend 1 point of stamina, you can add your Dexterity to Perception for this test.

[Padded Paws] - You never leave foot or hand prints. Increase your base Agility and Dexterity by 10%. Spend 1 point of stamina per minute while this Skill is active. Either Increase your Dexterity by your Charisma or increase your Charisma by your Dexterity.

[Skulls & Daggers] - Spend 1 point of stamina every 30 minutes to go into stealth mode. Reduce the perception of anyone attempting to detect you by your Agility. Stealth breaks if you walk into bright light, move faster than one-third of your walking speed, or if you attack. If you attack an unaware enemy, add your Perception to the accuracy of your attack and multiply your damage by [ 1 + square.root(Agility) * 20% ].

[Mithril Fortress] - Stand still for 10 seconds and pay 10 points of stamina. As long as you do not move no faster than a crawl, all your Attributes are increased by 20%.

Nero stood up, shook the dizziness away, and checked his modified status with all the skills active. He could sneak up on Altia's father now.

Strength +134

Vigor +170

Endurance +147 (Stamina: 172)

Agility +148

Dexterity +321

Reason +12

Willpower +12 (Mana: 576)

Perception +258

Charisma +130

Move Speed +489

Perception penalty

- Sound -620

- Sight -362

- Scent -620

"So, how is it? Good?" The dwarf asked.

Nero nodded. "I guess I have to give you your ticket home now. Here," Nero opened a portal to the nereid shelter. It had food and water but more importantly, no outward portals he'd need.

"Thank you. I am well owed a vacation," The quartermaster said and crossed the portal.

Now all Nero needed to do before going back home was a suicide mission for a man he despised and attempted to twist his will. "Oh, great!" He groaned at the thought, oozing sarcasm.