Bon and his friends looked at their phones, except for Toby who was driving. Bojana was riding shotgun. He kept trying to look at her phone’s screen but she wouldn’t let him.

“Keep your eyes on the road,” she said sharply, while staring at the live stream.

Bon used the link to enter the stream and saw a Fighter massacring a horde of goblins.

“She’s pretty good,” said Bojana.

“She’s more than just good,” Bon replied. “How do you know it’s a she? The person is covered in armor.”

“The comments. One of her friends is online. The Player’s name is Nikita.”

“Where is this anyway?” The battlefield was in the middle of several warehouses. It looked like it could have been anywhere.

“Melbourne, Australia,” Bojana said, as she scrolled through the chat.

The drone recording the battle kept its focus on Nikita. Whoever was controlling it was doing a great job.

“Someone who was there said that the portal appeared inside the warehouse. She just happened to be passing by when the goblins rushed out,” Bojana turned her head to look at Bon. “The battle has been raging on for half an hour. What do you think? Is she better trained than us?”

“She’s a natural,” Bon watched her movements on his phone. She was cutting a path through the goblins with her swords, while they tried to overwhelm her with sheer numbers. Once she reached a choke point between two warehouses, she drank some potions and then resumed fighting. The goblins were mad, as though killing her was their primary goal in life. None of them retreated, no matter how many goblins she cut down. There were pools of green goblin blood splattered across the ground, but she didn’t slip once. Her every movement was efficient and precise.

“Give me a play-by-play,” demanded Toby, as he drove on the empty road.

“She’s just chopping goblin heads off like cauliflowers,” said Bojana. “There’s nothing else happening. They can’t get close enough to her to attack.”

“What do the goblins look like?”

“They look the same as the ones in the Tower. They’re about half her size and green. They’re armed with shields and swords. Some of them are wearing leather armor, but most of them are naked. There are some with spears. No archers or mages yet.”

Ten minutes later, a band of Players arrived at the scene. With a mage now joining the battle, the remaining goblins were dealt with quickly. The drone then went into the warehouse and focused on the portal. It looked just like the portals in the Tower, a shimmering blue circle which was as thin as paper.

Phil studied the picture carefully, “This must be a portal to a dungeon.”

It could have been a portal to anywhere, but Phil had been right so far, so there was no reason to doubt him.

“The Melbourne Players responded pretty quickly,” said Bojana.

“They were lucky,” Phil gazed out of the window, “If Nikita hadn’t been on the scene, the goblins would have overrun eight or ten blocks. I just hope the next portal doesn’t open up in San Francisco. We aren’t ready at all. LA’s got three guilds, so they should be fine.”

They drove back in silence. Toby dropped Bon and Errel off first. Back in his flat, Bon opened his laptop and searched for any material posted by Summoners. Summoning was something he had never used until they started their training in the woods, and he realized that it had a lot of potential. There wasn’t much material online, but the little that Bon found was useful. Many Summoners had experimented with modifying their skills and they had made their new methods known to the public. Bon planned to post all his experience in skill modification as a Mage.

He read up on Summoning the entire night, and in no time at all it was time for breakfast. They had bacon and eggs. Just as Bon was about to immerse himself in his study materials once again someone rang the door bell.

At the door, there were two Asian looking gentlemen, dressed in suits.

“Mister Bon Taraka? I am Du Feng,” said the taller man.

“Ai Peng,” the shorter man bowed his head slightly.

Du Feng said, “We came here to discuss the cultivation classes you have started in Seven Chakras Yoga Studio. Your father said that it would be best to talk to you about it.”

“Come on in,” Bon opened the door wide. They glanced curiously at Errel, who was engrossed in a video. They only sat down on the sofa after Bon nodded that it was okay. “What’s this about?”

“We represent an ancient Chinese sect,” said Du Feng. “Our members have been qi cultivators for at least six thousand years. We saw your online video, and the cultivation manual you posted along with it. The method was sheer genius. You could have become very powerful if you had kept it to yourself.”

Du Feng was trying to use his aura to discommode Bon. Errel was sweating from the pressure, even though he was not its focus. Bon knew that this was a test. Du Feng wanted to know his cultivation level.

“The Invasion has begun,” said Bon. “It would be foolish to hoard power when the entire planet is threatened. After the Tower Event, this world has changed. It’s about time we humans changed as well.” Lately, people had taken to calling the day the towers appeared as ‘The Event.’

“What you say is correct,” Du Feng nodded, “Which is why we hope to partner with you and bring your teachings to the entire world. With an army of qi cultivators, there will be far less chaos, whether from monsters or from Players. Your cultivation technique is both simple and powerful. Many people will be able to practice it, up to the middle Foundation Building stage.”

“The cultivation method is online. You could just claim it as your own and do whatever you like with it. You don’t need my permission. Why did you come to me?”

“It wouldn’t be right doing it that way.”

“How are you planning on proceeding?”

“We will provide many trainers. There are many different combat techniques in our sect’s library that we don’t mind making public. Training qi might make one a little stronger and live longer, but it doesn’t help one cope with the coming threat without the proper combat training.”

“You’ll do all of this for free?” Bon felt that this was too good to be true.

“We want a stake in your qi cultivation pills when they are ready to be mass produced.” How had they found out about that? “With our help you will be able to fast track all the necessary paperwork. Without our help you will probably never be able to start production. The legal work, the inspections, the trials, they all require a big team to handle, and political clout if you want to do things quickly. We also have certain expertise in manufacturing medicine. Our alchemists can help you.”

Bon had thought about this. He knew they were right. Sarah would take a while before the pills were even ready for clinical trials, and the monsters were already here. “And you want to set up production in China?” He doubted that any Chinese sect had much say in the FDA.

“China, America, Europe, India, what does it matter where? This is a global fight where the human race must stay united. We will set up factories in several countries, where regulations don’t get in the way of our progress. Once the qi gathering pill is ready, everyone will want it.”

“I’ll have to talk to Sarah about it. This is her pet project after all. She won’t like giving it up.”

“As you wish,” Du Feng gave Bon his card. “Let us know as soon as you can. Sarah can still stay on as head of research. We’ll arrange it so that she doesn’t even need to leave the city. We can also make your problem go away. We helped when the authorities wanted to make trouble for the yoga studio.”

“What problem?” Bon asked.

“Someone powerful is targeting you. They tried to close down your father’s business. That’s all I’m allowed to say for now.”

“Someone powerful?” Bon couldn’t think of anyone like that who would want to do him harm. His dad didn’t have any enemies either. He walked them to the door and then suddenly thought of something. “You wouldn’t happen to be able to fix this ring, would you? It has an independent space within in.” He showed them the ring.

“A celestial artifact,” Du Feng gasped. “Did you get it in the Tower?”

“Yeah.”

Du Feng looked at it closely and shook his head. “This is way beyond our understanding. We can’t help you. If you ever plan to sell it though—”

“I’ll let you know,” Bon responded. After they had left, he called Sarah and relayed everything that had just happened.

“So, do you think we should go for it?” she asked him. “They’re right that it’ll probably never get to the clinical testing stage if I do things on my own.”

“I hadn’t thought of mass production,” Bon said to her. “I thought that we’d just give some pills to a few gifted students after making them sign a disclaimer. There would be very few people who would break through to Foundation Building that way.” Sarah was now near middle Qi Condensation stage, which according to her own metrics was level four. His parents were at level two. The first three levels were very easy.

“Let me hammer out the details with them,” said Sarah. “Send me their number. I’ll get my cousin to come along.”

“The one who’s a lawyer?”

“Yup. We’re basically just giving the formula away if we do this, but I’ll make sure we get something in return. My cousin will take care of things so that they don’t screw us over.

Bon didn’t think a legal contract would help if the sect people decided to renege on the deal. The way they talked it was plain to see that they thought themselves above the law. If it were under any other circumstance, he would not have done business with them. Maybe he was overthinking it and the Chinese sect leader really was a philanthropist, working tirelessly to save the world.

“Is the formula you’ve come up with as good as the pills Wheeler gave me?”

“Not by a long shot. My pills only have forty percent efficacy. There are some side effects too. Increased metabolism, among other things. They’re a long way off from a finished product.”

“With more people working on it you’ll progress much faster,” Bon assured her.

“That’s if I’m still on the team.”

“They promised me that you would head the research. It’s getting late. I’ve got to go.”

“Good luck with joining Hunter’s Paradise.”

“Thanks.”

Bon and Errel left the apartment, and took a bus to the Hunter’s Paradise office which was in the Financial District. He planned to eat some Italian cuisine in North Beach afterwards. He had always loved eating there as a kid. China Town was close-by too, in case he changed his mind, or some clams on the pier if he didn’t mind a half hour walk.

“You’re thinking of food again, aren’t you?” Errel asked as they flashed their cards and took their seats at the back of the bus.

“Of course not,” said Bon. “I’m completely focused on the task at hand. They will probably have all sorts of physical and mental tests. Are you nervous?”

“No. Their tests can’t compare to our experiences in the Tower.”

“Good,” they relapsed into silence.

The bus soon reached their destination. “Thanks,” Bon said to the driver, and jumped out the door. Errel followed closely behind. Hunter’s Paradise was a ten story building, made up of tinted glass windows. There was a banner at the entrance with the guild’s emblem and name. The emblem depicted a swordsman fighting a bear. The figures were all silhouettes with a red background. Bojana, Phil and Toby were waiting for them on a bench by the entrance.

“Finally,” said Phil. “Let’s go.”

The lobby was large and there were at least a hundred people there, most of them filling in forms.

“We’re here for the recruitment,” Phil said, to a woman behind a desk.

“Please fill in these forms,” she pointed at a stack of paper. “After we process them we’ll call you for the next round.”

Phil handed each of them a form. Bon filled up Errel’s form first. It only asked for basic information—name, age, sex, address, class, and level. When Bon filled in his own form, he put his class as Bard and his level as two hundred and fifteen. That was high enough, probably in the top 10,000 in the world. They shouldn’t reject him.

They waited near the girl while she processed their forms.

“You can all go up to the next floor now,” she said, “Except for Mr. Bon Taraka.”

“Why can’t I go up?” Bon asked.

“Your application has been rejected by the system. They must not want to hire more Bards.”

“I’m a mixed class,” said Bon. “I can fight too. I should be able to pass the next test with flying colors.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, “But I can’t let you go up.”

At that moment, Bon saw Jim and Aisha walking into the lobby.

“Is everything okay here?” Jim asked the girl at the desk.

“Jim. It’s me Bon,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey Bon. Long time. I’m in charge of Hunter’s Paradise,” said Jim.

“I thought you were with Steve’s group.”

“This is an affiliate of The Ascended. I’m sorry to say that we can’t hire you. Steve’s blacklisted you.”

“Why the fuck would he do that?” Bon asked. He was starting to get a little angry. “I didn’t do anything to him.”

“He thinks you betrayed him, by lying to him about your level. I have no idea why he took it so hard. I’m sorry, but there’s really nothing I can do.”

“Would any of you have believed me if I told you my real level at the beginning?” In fact, he had done precisely that.

“Steve’s the boss,” Jim sighed. “I’ll talk to him.”

“I’ll talk to him myself,” said Bon. “Is he in The Ascended headquarters? With his ego, I’m guessing his office must be the entire top floor.”

“Yes, but—”

“Thanks Jim. I know this isn’t your fault.” Bon began to walk out of the building.

“Bon,” his friends ran after him. “Cool down,” said Bojana.

“Just take a breather,” Toby suggested.

“If you can’t join, then none of us will,” said Phil. “We’ll form our own guild instead.”

“Steve will shut that down too. I think he was messing with my father’s yoga studio,” Bon’s eyes softened as he looked at his friends. “Don’t worry. I’m just going to go and have a nice chat with him.”

“How are you even going to get to him?” asked Phil.

“I’ll fly.” Bon walked to the street and then took off into the air. He spread his senses far and wide to avoid collisions with birds and planes. He then cocooned himself in an aura of qi and mana so that his clothes and skin wouldn’t be affected by the fast speed, and then hit the sound barrier. He was only warming up. It took him two hours to reach Steve’s building in Washington, D.C. He had not flown at his full speed. He had to stop and check his GPS coordinates several times.

He used his telekinesis to open the window on the top floor and floated into the office. Steve was sitting at his desk with his back towards him. He was dressed in a suit and was staring at his computer monitors. He hadn’t even noticed Bon coming in.

“Steve,” Bon shouted, with more aggression than he had intended.

“Bon,” Steve jumped out of his chair and put on his equipment almost instantly. He pointed his sword at Bon, “What are you doing here? Get out or you’ll regret it.”

“I just want to talk,” Bon said, raising the effect of his aura. He had learned this trick by watching Du Feng. All the glass windows shattered. He hadn’t intended for that to happen but it had the desired effect. Steve lost his overbearing tone. He looked like he was losing his balance. He crouched on the ground and began breathing heavily. Bon made a Barrier that covered the room to prevent anyone from coming in. “Stand up,” he said. “It’s not that bad.”

“How are you doing this?” Steve gasped. He was probably talking about the pressure from Bon’s aura.

“Raw power. I didn’t lie to you about my level when we first met,” Bon replied.

“You mean, that ridiculous number—”

“One hundred and twenty five thousand three hundred and sixty.”

“Then why didn’t you assert yourself and take the lead?”

“That’s not my style. Besides, if I had killed all the Bosses myself, what sort of training would anyone else have got?” Bon asked. “I can’t understand why you’re so angry with me. Why aren’t you letting me live in peace? I’m as responsible for safeguarding our planet as you are.”

“When you joined us, all I wanted to do was to help you level up and be a part of our team,” Steve laughed bitterly. “You fooled me and were laughing at me behind my back. You made use of us and then discarded us as soon as your friends showed up. I treated you like my own brother. You expect me to trust you to be responsible? I don’t trust you at all. Who knows what you’ll do with all your power?”

Bon sighed, “Now that monsters are threatening the planet, why are you acting so petty and making things difficult for me? Shouldn’t you be concentrating on helping everyone get together and defend the world, despite your personal feelings? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Steve looked like he had been slapped. “You—Fuck you! You took advantage of us. You’re a loose cannon. You just fool around all the time. Don’t start lecturing—” He looked like he would strike Bon with his sword if the aura wasn't holding him down.

“Think what you like about me,” Bon tried to make his tone sound more reasonable, while also slightly upgrading the effect of his aura, “But we’re all on the same side now, whether we like it or not. Stop trying to sabotage me and my efforts to help everyone. I’m not your enemy. The monsters are. You had better get your shit together.”

“And if I don’t?” Steve asked.

“If you don’t, people will die because of your petty minded vendetta. I’ll stay out of your way, and you stay out of mine. Understood?”

Steve nodded, but Bon could see that it would take some time for him to digest all this information.

Bon’s sandals crushed the shards of glass under him as he walked to the window. He then took off into the sky. He felt a little guilty for scaring Steve like that. It had to be done though. If Steve didn’t comply he would come again, and he wouldn’t be so polite the next time. Steve’s power was corrupting him.

He got back to San Francisco and took out his phone. ‘Come to Pier 39,’ he messaged his friends. ‘Let’s discuss forming our own guild.’