The next morning Colin was awoken to the smell of eggs fried with pepper and ham. It had the right amount of grease in the food to make his mouth water at just the thought of it, then wake up at having some. He sat up from his spot on the floor and found Nox and Rielle on the couch, eating plates of the confection. Joy filled Rielle's expression as she ate with gusto.

"Any of that for me?" Colin asked, standing up and groaning at his aching body.

"Course, DevilWalker. Here you go," Nox said, gesturing to a plate that sat uneaten next to Rielle. But before she could move more than a little to pick it up and give it to him, Nox created an arm of ethereal shadow and picked up the plate. The shadow lengthened and slithered over to Colin, ambient cold followed the arm as it held the food out to him.

Colin took the plate and the fork that was impaled on a thick piece of ham and started eating. Moaning a little at the taste. After a few more bites, Colin took a second to let it work into his body and looked down at the sitting Fey woman.

"So Rielle, have you given any thought to what you wanted to do?" Colin asked, wishing he had a little orange juice to help wash the food down.

She looked nervous for a moment, then looked at Nox. The Gobin gave her a little nod, and she turned to face him, "I have been talking with Nox, Walker. I think… I-I want to go with you and help you how I can. Maybe I can grow stronger with you, too," she said, her words quiet at the end.

Nodding as he shoveled another portion of food in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully as he observed the woman. There wasn't anything physically different about the woman, but something had changed. She was still nervous, but she was more sure of herself, maybe. Admittedly, Colin had expected to have to babysit her for a few days until he figured out what to do with her.

Swallowing, he responded with, "great! Welcome aboard, Rielle. But I have to ask, why did you decide that? You seemed more unsure last night." Colin stated, resuming his morning meal and actually loving it for a change.

"I've been talking with Nox here for a little while, and he tells me that you are an… interesting person. But someone who respects people and their choices. Right?" Rielle asked, her eyes seeming to alight with hope.

"I do, but why did he tell you that?" Colin asked, pointedly to the Goblin.

The Goblin only smiled as he stabbed a puff of egg and peppers, shoving it into his mouth happily. "She deserved to know more about you. You saw her as well as I last night, DevilWalker. She was nervous to talk to you. Now she's more at ease. I helped," Nox said, defending himself.

"Did you not let Nox follow you around and help him out of the Dungeon that resurrected him?" Rielle asked, expectantly.

"Yeah, I did," Colin said, shrugging.

"He also told me about a mother who tried to give you her daughter," she said, looking at him with big eyes.

Shaking his head, Colin groaned, "I'm married in my world. Neither of you have met my wife, but let me tell you, she'd kill me, literally, if she knew I got married here."

"I didn't tell her anything untrue or secret, DevilWalker. Although, you could tell her if you wish. I finished going through that contract, and the girl was right. As long as you state that something is secret, she can never tell anyone else unless you say so," Nox informed him.

"You sure?" Colin asked, giving his Goblin friend a bit of a stink-eye glare.

"Absolutely," Nox confirmed.

Nodding, Colin looked back at Rielle and stated, "what I am about to tell you is a secret and never can be spoken to anyone. Is that understood?" Colin asked, gaze holding her eyes.

She nodded her understanding.

Then he told her everything. How the prompt about the final Demon Lord Candidate a few weeks ago was about him after he and Nox left the Dungeon. How he was an Outworlder, who was stuck in their world by a being who calls itself the 'One God Above All Others' and how he hated it. Colin even told Rielle about their mission in BriairThorn, to rescue a demon from the Church of Anaheim.

She took his story in without speaking, allowing him to finish within a few minutes compared to the hours it might take if she asked questions. He ended with his robbery of the Prince's home and the girl Daphne's rescue the night before.

"I-I'm not sure how to take… all that," Rielle said, seeming to look past Colin, processing everything he'd told her.

"Well, you take a few minutes while I finish eating. This is delicious, did Henrietta bring this down here?" Colin asked, pointing at the food with his fork.

Nox nodded, "yeah, she said it was-" His voice changed to mimic Henrietta's default tone, annoyed. "On the house for killing one of those Fey Bastards." Nox chuckled, returning to his normal affectation, "I like her. Can we try staying here for a bit?"

"I can ask, she seemed pretty adamant on us leaving though," Colin said, shrugged, and finished his plate in quiet contemplation.

Nox did the same as he stated the old phrase, "it never hurts to try."

Shrugging, Colin walked over to the couch and set the plate and fork down. He looked at Rielle, who was still taking a moment to parse over his backstory. Colin shrugged and pulled out his Drench Enchanted Dagger and started practicing his Frost Shaping Skill with it. He wasn't expecting a level out of it but hoped to get a little closer to leveling.

And so he practiced, creating water to freeze in specific patterns and think of interesting new ways to shape it. He started with a simple ice pick spike to a corkscrew and all the way to a 3D stick figure that he tried to make look like Nox. Instead, it just looked like a squat ice blob. Apparently, his Frost Shaping level wasn't high enough for that level of detail.

It had been almost twenty minutes, and Colin had a dozen various Frost Shaped melting items on the floor. Colin looked at his mana and sighed, it was down to about a quarter of its maximum but was refilling fast, courtesy of his highest attribute wisdom. He looked back at his logs and found what he expected, the more complex the thing he was creating, the more mana it cost. It made complete sense, but it was nice to see the evidence.

Bringing all the creations into a single pile, Colin activated Frost Shaping one more time and merged them all into one solid block of ice. Which he then picked up and set inside a vase that was tucked in the clutter. No one would notice, right?

"W-Walker?" Rielle said, getting his attention. Colin turned to face him, and she continued, "I'm not sure how I feel about the Demon Lord Candidate thing, but I do think you are a nice person. A-at least, from what I've seen so far, I think so."

Colin nodded, "good to know how I come off. You do remember how you found me last night before stopping me from killing Noitra?"

Suddenly a little shy, Rielle looked away and looked at the floor.

"You know DevilWalker, you really need to work on your conversational skills," Nox shot out, cackling at Colin's choice of words.

Colin sighed and shrugged, "so Rielle, does that change anything? You still want to go around with me?"

Rielle nodded.

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I have some negotiating to do with a possibly hostile woman," Colin said, walking to the door and stepping out. Only to return ten minutes later, face flat and eyes glassy. "She said no."

"Just no?" Nox asked.

"She was very… emphatic," Colin said.

"Indeed, we heard a little of that from down here," Nox confirmed.

Rielle, evidently recovered from Colin's earlier words, asked, "what's a pillock?"

Nox answered with a chuckle, "an idiot."

"Don't worry, we will figure out the living arrangements while we get Rielle a class, weapons, and some new clothes. Something more fit for combat," Colin told them. "But I do have good news, Henrietta did agree to help us fence or meltdown everything that would be too trackable to sell normally. That's why I was gone for so long, I gave her everything I wanted to be sold, and she promised that she'd only keep fifteen percent of the money made from the sales," Colin told the two.

"Is that good?" Rielle asked, confused.

"Pretty good," Nox answered. "I think I like her a little more, DevilWalker."

"Come on, it's time to go before we burn more daylight. I'm hoping to attempt that Dungeon again tomorrow," Colin told them. Maybe with a little assistance from our new friend here, e can beat it this time."

"This time," Rielle squeaked.

Nox's smile widened, "he died last time."

"You died!"

Colin shrugged and answered nonchalantly, "I got better."

For another time this morning, Rielle was stunned silent by the two and their general attitude, words, and general tone.

After giving Rielle a minute to relax again, the trio left the 'Skillets of Power' restaurant basement and nodded to Henrietta. She returned it and went right back to work serving food and taking orders, not giving Colin another look. He knew that she was annoyed with him, given how much trouble he was giving her. However, he still didn't appreciate the annoyed glances.

Having explored parts of the city before, Colin had an idea of what he was looking for when it came to Class trainers. He knew where to find the Mage Trainers, the Warrior Trainers, and a few other none rare class trainers. After Rielle had stated what class she wanted to take, Colin let out a happy sigh that she didn't ask for the Druid Class Trainer or the Bard Class Trainer. He wanted to see her succeed so that he would have an easier time succeeding, and Rielle getting her first choice would help there.

He led them through the city streets, past creatively armored people he assumed were players, ordinary city people, Guards, and the random more noticeable NPC. None of the NPC's paid either of them any mind, but the player's eyed Rielle with a look that made Colin's blood boil. He was literally this girl's keeper for the moment, and these idiots staring made him contemplate mass murder.

But he held himself in and reminded himself of his current endgame goal. "Murder and mayhem, murder and mayhem," he repeated to himself anytime someone leered at Rielle. She seemed to wilt a little under their gazes, but Colin stayed next to her and hoped that his presence would help keep her calm.

After a while of navigating, Colin found the building he was looking for. A little hole in the hall sort of bar set between a brothel and a pharmacy called Saaresto's Pub. It was a little bigger than the average American one-story home and had a small basement used for booze storage. The interior of the place could quickly and succinctly be described as 'Unpolished Chic'

Pressure-treated wood tables, floors, and chairs filled the empty places between the bar counter and the walls. All the original colors from the wood had been removed or covered over by time, spill stains, and bloodstains. Two women walked around the establishment and gave the day drunks their paid-in-advance drinks. While one man stood next to the door quietly grumbling while Colin entered, and another was looking through his small kingdom of alcohol. None of them wore matching uniforms, but all wore name tags that clearly marked them as employees of the place.

Colin and Rielle walked past the grumbling bouncer and headed straight for the bar, the bartender was always the one to talk to first. The man was around five feet tall, wearing a black vest, black tie, and a white shirt tucked into his dark slacks. He turned to face Colin and Rielle with squinted, glaring eyes that left little to the younger man's imagination of how he felt.

"What. Can I. Get. You?" The tall Barman asked, his words short and clipped as if he had to hold in some incomprehensible rage.

"I'll take some bourbon, she'll have… actually, do you drink Rielle?" Colin asked, turning to look at her.

"I haven't had alcohol before," she said sheepishly.

"Do you want some?"

"Not particularly," she answered.

Colin nodded, "just the bourbon then. Also, I'm looking for a Rogue Class Trainer. Any of them in?"

The Barman grabbed a glass from under the counter and a dark stained bottle that looked pleasantly filled. He poured it in and stopped after a few seconds, recapping the drink with practiced hands. It was then that Colin observed his hands, both were calloused around the palms, and had plenty of small, thin scars. His face had several small scars as well, and the look in his eyes was continually probing the environment.

Coming to a conclusion, Colin waited to see what he'd say.

"No Class Trainers today. Try again tomorrow," He stated. "4 CB for the drink."

Colin withdrew the money and handed it to the man, then showed him a smile. "Are you sure that you aren't a Rogue Class Trainer?"

"What makes you say that?" he asked, squinting at Colin.

"A few things. Your hands are scarred and calloused, most likely from hours of knife practice. Your fingers move in ways that suggest that you are used to moving with more precision than the common person would ever need. Then there are your eyes, you cannot focus on anything. You are too busy keeping a good eye on everything at once. A good habit for the less than common scoundrel," Colin stated.

"AnythingAnything else? The man asked, his squint turning into a glare.

Colin nodded and gestured to the man's sleeve, "I will bet you a Copper Coin that if you were to roll up your sleeves that, there'd be a personal blade up one of them. It's just a precaution, I'm sure, but I'll sure you won't take this wage. Am I right?"

The bar man's gaze shifted from annoyed to suspicious, then a broad smile cracked along his face. The look of it was like a statue moving and giving him the thumbs up, it just looked that unnatural on his face. When he showed his teeth, they were pearly white and a set of fangs set next to his canines in his mouth.

"So tell me, who sent you?" the man asked, his voice no longer flat and seem to hold anything back. It now lilted with a little something of a refined brogue, but still easily understandable like a professor.

Colin shrugged, "no one. We just need that Class Trainer."

"Really? You point out every noticeable detail just to get a Class? The Rogue Class isn't rare or unique. Why not come back tomorrow or later for one of the more official Class Trainers. I don't do this shit anymore, Sir," he stated.

"Why not?" Colin asked, "I have money to pay for the Class."

"It's not that," the man said, waving a hand dismissively. "It's a bit of random trivia that Class Trainer's give a few their experiences to the one they train. Do you know what that means? It means that if your choices as a Rogue have been… affected by other forces, then the class that you pass on will get affected that way too."

"Really, so it's sort of like you can teach a variant of the class?" Colin clarified.

The man shrugged his shoulders, the movement bringing images of a jungle cat getting ready to pounce. "Close enough, but it doesn't matter. I don't train people in Classes anymore."

"May I ask why?"

"Too many complications," the Barman stated but did not elaborate.

"Then let me ask you this, what would it take to have you teach her-" Colin pointed to Rielle. "The Rogue Class."

The man seemed to consider this for a moment. He looked over the two one more time, and his eyebrow raised up, "that depends. I require something, a new blade that isn't tied to any nefarious dealings. Preferably high quality and unenchanted. Do you have anything like that?"

Colin mentally ran through everything he had and found only one item that matched what the man was asking for. He was hesitant to give up the blade he'd gotten from the Surtr in the Dungeon under Willows Cross, but this was more important.

Reaching to the small of his back, Colin removed the Heavy Dagger with its sheath from his belt and handed it to the Barman.

The man took it and removed the blade, his eyebrows raising at the smoky red blade and the handle's design. He took long moments to look at it as if looking for some kind of fault or curse that might explain why this man before him was giving him this weapon. The longer the man looked at it, the more agitated Colin was starting to look, and the man took the hint and nodded, "Surtr make?"

"Got it off one of them, yeah," Colin answered.

After a few more seconds, the man said, "Good enough," then put the blade back in its sheath and set it under the counter. "So, you said it was for her to learn the Class, correct?"

Colin nodded, and the man walked around the counter, his every movement was smooth and graceful as he approached Rielle. He was a yard away from her when he stopped and looked up into her face. "Miss, what is your name?"

"D-Darielle," she muttered, the man before her starting to make her nervous.

He couldn't blame her if every warning bell in his head was evidence that this man was dangerous, then he'd grab the girl and run.

"Darielle, it's quite a pretty name," he responded, smiling kindly at her. "Tell me, do you want to be a Rogue? A Rogue walks in the shadows, abhors the limelight, and dislikes direct confrontation compared to ambushes or backstabs. Does this sound like something you'd like?"

Her expression blanched just a little, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Then, by my right as an experienced Rogue, I, Slaghtaverty Dolmen, give you the Rogue Class. May you honor its path, and it shall grant you the same, Daughter of Feyfire," the man said, his voice speaking in recitation as a bloody red light appeared in his eyes and was mirrored in hers.

She took a step back as what Colin assumed was prompts appearing in her vision startled her. Rielle's eyes glazed over as she straightened up and started to work through the many prompts. She was nodding as she read, her lips moving a little as she read.

"So, Slaghtaverty Dolmen, was it?" Colin asked, his gaze suddenly hard.

"Indeed, why?" the man said, grabbing a bottle from under the counter and pouring Colin another drink. "Free of charge for the exceptional blade."

Colin took it and swigged it, "I've been there. It's a place in Ireland's legends back home," he stated while racking his brain for the details.

"Is it really?" he asked, grinning wildly now. "A happy coincidence, I assure you."

Then Calin remembered something from the legend of Slaghtaverty Dolmen. It was supposedly the gravesite of a dangerous creature. The name was spelled weird, but Colin remembered one of the translations for the beast inside that grave, "Avartagh."

The man stiffened and looked at Colin with a look that froze him to the core. It was like a statue was staring at him, but the moment he looked away, it would try to kill him. It was unsettling on a visceral level, and Colin felt himself tense up and reach for his Xiphos. It felt like it took an enormous effort of will to not draw it on the spot.

Then Slaghtaverty Dolmen broke the granite stare with a smile. "Let me give you one warning, Sir. Don't ever mention that name, or I will have some words with you. Is that understood?"

Colin nodded and looked back at Rielle, who was still looking through her prompts. After another minute of silence, she looked towards Colin and cocked her head to the side, "everything okay?"

Slaghtaverty Dolmen nodded, "Yes, young Fey. We are fine. Unless there is anything else, get the fuck out of my place," he told them, pointing to the bouncer. He took a menacing step towards them, and Colin took the hint.

"Thank you, sir," Colin said, stepping away from the bar and heading out the door. Colin could feel the Barkeep's gaze fixed on him the entire time he was within sight.

The dread feeling didn't leave him for several more minutes as they waded through the busy morning streets. He had their next destination in mind, so he started them towards the adventurer's market place. This was the street where he'd picked up the throwing knives he'd used for enchanting practice, and this was where Colin was planning on having Rielle pick up part of her new wardrobe and her new gear.

Along the way here, Rielle had tried to get him to choose what Class ability she'd gotten with her level 5 Rogue Class. Colin waved her off and told her to decide for herself, again telling himself that she would be more effective if she wasn't forced into a path.

Apparently, at level five, she was given a choice between three abilities. Poison Training, which made sure she couldn't poison herself when applying poisons. The Trap Finding Subskill for Perception adds a bonus to passive and active perception when it involves traps. Last was the Otherworldly Steps, which increased the Rogue's chances to dodge things that others could not see coming.

She ended up choosing Otherworldly Steps, and she gaining the skill. Other than that, she spent her six levels of attributes on wisdom, intelligence, speed, and dexterity. All were attributes that would play with the strength of the class and her own innate powers. Which was something that Colin could agree with. Adding points to intelligence to increase her mana pool and wisdom to increase her refresh speed, both useful for her Heavenly Blight skill.

He led her to one of the few permanent stores on the street, a store with enchanted glass windows that showed off some of the wares at all times. He hadn't been inside the store yet, but he already knew that it would be part of today's plan. Outworlder clothes, he'd heard, were geared towards being practical and fashionable. He needed something to help Rielle with her class choice.

They walked inside the store, called 'Sam's Custom Clothes,' and were immediately approached by a woman in a navy skirt and blazer. She navigated the displays, shelves, and racks with various clothes, with the two in her sights. She smiled primly the whole time she approached them and kept smiling professionally as she stopped in front of them.

"Hi, welcome to Sam's, how can we help you today?" the woman asked, her gaze turning between the two, not saying another word until they addressed her.

Behind her smile, Colin could see a glint in her eye that implied that she was looking down on them. That she was better than them but refused to vocalize it for reasons that he could only speculate about. So Colin only smiled back at her and told her, "yes, you can. My new companion here needs some clothes for adventuring, and I know very little about women's clothing. Would you mind assisting her?" Colin asked, pulling a prepared Copper coin from his pocket and handing it over to the woman.

She took the Coin, looked it over critically, and then slipped it into her bodice, "yes, Sir. I can take care of it. Do you have any specific enchantments or treatments to be done to the clothes?"

"Her clothes, her class, her choice," Colin answered, showing her another Copper Coin. I can pay for whatever we need as long as it isn't too high end, so no tier five mage armor cloaks," Colin stated, "alright?"

"Yes sir," she said, excitedly. Gesturing for Riella to follow her, "Come on, young lady. We have work to do and money to spend."

Rielle looked back at Colin, her expression terrified as she started after the woman. She was slow enough to move that the woman grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along, happily smiling as they went to the opposite end of the store.

Colin grinned a little as she was moved away and decided what to with himself for a bit while the woman dealt with Rielle. He looked around the store himself, finding the men's section easy enough and perusing the section for a few minutes and even finding a few interesting items. A pair of slacks made from Ghost Silk that improved Stealth based actions, jeans prepared to give fire resistance, button-down shirts created to enhance mana regeneration, and many more. He considered that working on his wardrobe might be best when a tall, anorexically thin woman walked up to him.

"Are you looking for anything special?" she asked, her pale blonde bob swishing with the movement. She wore a simple, quiet green dress that left very little skin to be shown and leather gloves that moved went halfway to her elbows.

"Not particularly, just looking around while my friend gets some clothes for herself," Colin said, gesturing to where he'd last seen the two. Neither of them was there now, but that didn't seem to change his point since the woman nodded.

She looked him over and nodded to herself, "are you interested in getting custom enchanted clothes?"

He thought about it for a few seconds before answering. He did need some new clothes since most of his current ones were getting a little low on durability. Nodding at the woman, Colin replied, "yeah, but I am just looking around for the moment. Seeing if anything looks good… Sam," Colin said, looking at the woman's name tag. "Are you the same sam that the store's named after?"

Yes, I am," she responded blankly, and after a moment of quiet, it was evident that she wasn't going to share her life story. Instead, she went back to business.

"May I suggest, if you are interested in truly custom clothes, I have a catalog just over there," she pointed to a counter to the right of his position. "It tells you what I offer as clothing options and what they can be made out of and what enchantments they can get. If you want customized clothing, that's where I'd start, Mister…?"

"Walker," Colin answered. "Thank you, I think I will look. It appears I have time on my hands," Colin stated, again looking around and not seeing Rielle or her saleswoman captor.

Shrugging for the moment, it had only been a few minutes, Colin with the woman a step behind him. He walked over to the counter and found a lone notebook with a yellow legal pad next to it. The notebook was easily three inches thick and, as he discovered upon opening it, was very detailed.

He skipped the first two-thirds of the book since that had to do with women's apparel, including underwear, and found the men's section table of contents.

Socks, shoes, pants of all kinds, boxers, briefs, belts, shirts of all types, jackets of all types, and every other kind of make clothing article was listed here. Nothing that was strictly armor was listed in the catalog, but some had metal plates attached. Each section had further subindexes that contained the various materials they could be made out of, and every enchantment they could take. Some enchantments were only a little different from another. In contrast, others were so alien that Colin was unsure how they could be useful.

Like how in the world would having an enchantment that slowly disintegrates you ever be helpful?

But after over twenty minutes of looking around in the catalog and writing down the order. Colin looked back at the woman who'd been watching him expectantly as he wrote on the legal pad what items he wanted. None of these items were really cheap, but as long as Rielle's stuff wasn't too expensive, then affording it wasn't going to be an issue. As long as the minimum projections that Henrietta gave panned out.

The woman looked over what Colin had written and smiled, "common choices, but at least it's for a good reason. Though, I don't see anyone choose cotton that's been treated with Celestial resin before. Interesting," the woman smiled, then started putting the prices together into one lump sum.

"That will be… seventeen Copper Coins and twenty-one Copper Bits," she said a minute later.

Counting out the coins in the pouch that he'd taken from the Prince's desk, he took out eighteen and set them on the table. "Can we put the rest of this last coin to what Rielle is ordering?"

"Oh, you mean that girl you came in with? Sure, no problem," Sam said, marking the yellow legal pad with a paid-for note and looked up at Colin. "I can have this done by… first, light tomorrow for one more Copper Coin or three days from now as is," she told Colin.

Coin paid the Coin happily.

Now he had new equipment on the way, a new companion, and she was getting ready somewhere nearby. Alright, now it had been a while.

"Excuse me, Sam. Where is my friend and the sales lady that kidnapped her?"

Sam smiled and looked around the room herself. "Ah, they are in the changing rooms right now. Shall I go get them?" she asked, seemingly happy to help.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure they will be along soon," Colin answered, as something in his phone buzzed.

"Well, I thank you for your patronage. Feel free to look around some more in case something tickles your fancy," Sam said, turning and walking towards the changing rooms herself.

Colin reached into his pocket and produced the in-game equivalent of a smartphone, his Information Tablet. The screen was lit up and was downloading something on its own titled, 'Elven Theocracy agrees to Gnome King's Peace Treaty.'

It took a few more seconds, but whatever it was finished downloading and Colin realized what he was looking at. It was a freaking video file, and Colin was just immediately jazzed that this could exist in a fantasy world. He added yet another thing to his mental checklist, find out how to take videos.

He pushed the play button on the Information Tablet, and the entire screen was taken over by a video.

A woman, around five and a half feet tall with silver hair and green eyes, stood in front of a podium erected at the top of a regally large set of stairs in front of a white marbled palace. The woman was wearing a green dress with silver trim with sleeves that ended just below her shoulders, and a sweetheart neckline that plunged until it was somewhere between classy and slutty. The caption at the bottom of the screen read; 'Her Royal Highness Princess Astra Mell' vock Idris-sasil.'

She leaned over the podium and signed something on the podium before looking up at the camera and smiling at it. The sounds of people cheering and whistle came through the video, and the woman's smile as she waved at the crowd was absolutely radiant.

Then she spoke, and her voice was like what one might expect of an Elfin Princess. Smooth, educated, sophisticated, and practically oozing charisma. "This Non-aggression treaty is the start of something great. Something long-lasting between our two peoples that will result in better security and peace of mind for the coming future. We all got the message from the universe about the final Demon Lord Candidate, and I know that all of us are scare of the future to come. But with this document that was just signed by Prince Formine and myself will help prepare us both for the times to come. I promise, on our God Weikurt's name, that I will defend us from everything that comes-

"Mr. Walker, Ms. Rielle would like to get your opinion on her choice of clothes," the Saleswoman said, standing in front of Colin. "Oh, was there a broadcast today? I must have missed the message."

"Yeah, apparently, the Elfin Princess was delivering an address after signing a treaty with the Gnomes," Colin explained, pocketing the phone. Freezing when something caught his eye.

He slipped the Information Tablet back into his pocket without leaving the video, following the Saleswoman, who continued to talk about the Elfin Princess. Gushing would be a better word as they walked towards the dressing rooms. Trying not to stare at the women's lingerie section that she led him past. Though, McKenna would look great in that.

He was led in front of the trio of women's changing rooms where Sam stood waiting for him. Her smile had changed from polite to genuinely excited, "Rielle, dear, he's here."

The door creaked open, and Rielle stepped out.

The first, most obvious change was that her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, which helped show her elegantly framed face. The thin-looking jacket she wore was zipped up, made of a material that looked like black canvas, and lined with a different white material. Dark jeans that ended at her ankles where they met the brown leather sandals that seemed to go higher up her calves.

As a whole, she looked the part of a sneaky Rogue now, minus the weapons she needed.

"So the whole thing is made of Dweller Bat leather, giving her bonuses to Stealth in both hiding and moving silently. The jacket is Enchanted to increase her strength attribute while she's wearing it. The pants are enchanted to increase base land speed by five present, and all of them have a self-repair enchantment to make them last longer," Sam explained, gesturing to each piece in turn.

"What do you think, W-Walker?" Rielle asked, her gaze aimed at the ground between her feet.

"I like them, let's take 'em and go," Colin said, his mind still on what he'd seen on that video. He paid the twelve Copper Coins and one Copper Bits for the clothes on auto-pilot as he walked out of the store.

He withdrew his phone again, and restarted the video, muting the sound to help focus on what he'd noticed. The Elfin Princess turned her head about as she looked about the crowd, and something was deep in her eyes. A piercing red glint like the center of a laser pointer could be easily recognized, and the more he focused on it, the stronger an urge inside him swelled.

Then a prompt appeared and helped the whole thing make more sense.

The eyes are the windows to the soul, and some can only be looked through by those with synergy. You recognize the light in this person's eyes as something that resonates with you on a soul to soul level. Congratulations, you have discovered the identity of one of the other Demon Lord Candidates. Her Royal Highness Princess Astra Mell' vock Idris-sasil.

"Well, Shit," Colin muttered. A Demon Lord Candidate was bad enough, in theory, but one that controls an entire nation. That could be infinitely bad for Colin. Luckily though, he had two advantages. First, she was not in BriarThorn, so Colin was way out of her reach. Two, and here's the critical part, He knew what she was, and there was no way she could understand what he was too. The advantage was evident, as well as the problem.

Committing Regicide was never a good career path.