In the end, Gabriel did strike a deal with Long Dozen. It took him over an hour, but he managed to lower the prize to 90k units of Mana, which in turn would leave him with less than 10k; however, he would have also to bring any sort of peculiar leather he found to him first.

Long had taken an interest in him, that much was clear, but to be safe, they had stricken a Binding. Gabriel would pay 45k upfront and 45k on delivery. Then another Binding for the selling of leather products which lasted a whole year.

In the end, he had spent more than ninety percent of the Mana on the Card Gaia had gifted him, and he had yet to find a job. It was almost six in the evening; at seven was his lesson with Grogi, which meant that he had to go and take a look at this Essence hunting Nikki had talked him about. Of course, before doing that, he had actually to find who dealt whit such things.

In Kanceldom, he had learned that permits were needed to hunt in Dungeons, and he lacked both that and the knowledge about them. So it was time to fix it.

It took him less than five minutes to discover that there was an actual Dungeon Delver guild in The Cradle, and it dealt exactly with permits.

"2k…" Gabriel pinched his nose in frustration. The she-orc at the sober building at the front desk, which was the Dungeon Delver guild's acceptance hall, had informed him that he would need to pay 2k a month for a permit, plus 500 units of registration. If he paid, it would leave him with less than… Four thousand units… Plus daily lessons of one hundred fifty units each, if he'd take them for three days a week, it would last him for roughly… less than a month, if he spent nothing at all anymore. He could forget any dreams about repaying Olivia.

Should I have waited for the armor, Liz? What do you say?

Liz, however, shook her head.

Is safe better than sorry? Yeah, I guess.

At that point, as he left the building to head to the Veins, he heard a voice he already knew.

A group of four people was leaving the inner area of the guildhall.

A tall man in armor and with three shields, one each arm and a big one on the back, a tall blonde with disheveled air, a small Indian girl barely dressed, and an Asian man with a howl perched on top of his enormous longbow.

They were about to pass them by when Gabriel stopped them.

"I know you," he said, "you're the cosplayers!"

"The what?" answered Greta turning with a nervous twitch from her brows.

"The cosplayers, yes."

"You are… Gabriel Walker," it was the Asian man whose name he had never learned.

"The He- the little lizard guy!" This was Greg. Or was it Ed?

"It really is him!" Exclaimed the little girl.

"Yeah. Fancy seeing you here," said Gabriel, a plan already forming in his head. "How are you doing, guys? I'm doing wonderfully."

"I bet…" said Jed.

"I don't remember all your names, though. I remember the grumpy blond; you were Greta, right?"

She growled a submissive yes.

"Ed?"

"It's Fred actually," Oh, right!

"I'm Sato Yamamoto. A pleasure meeting you again." That last name? Where did I hear it?

"Prisha! How are you doing Gabriel, where is your little lizard?" She asked, her frog sprouting out from her head; it croaked a second then disappeared inside again, only to jump out of her.

"There she is. She's grown a lot."

Liz was climbing on the counter, pointing at a glass of a drink she had never heard.

"What!?" Greta exclaimed more than asked. "That's that lizard? What level are you!?"

"Oh, you want to find out? I was just looking for a party myself. What do you say?"

"You're in," Sato said, right away.

"What?" Fred.

"What!?" Greta.

"Really?" Prisha.

"Sato… may I speak to you in private for a minute," Fred said.

"Yeah, sure."

As they got away, Gabriel could hear Fred whining about his impulsiveness, about how even if he was the leader now, he had to ask them about such important decisions at least. Then Fred launched a look at Gabriel and lowered his voice.

Gabriel gave him a few seconds, then he randomly said, "I've got Enhanced Senses."

He could hear Fred hiccup from there, so he chuckled to himself.

"Alright," said Sato, "It's a deal then. Objections?"

Greta ignited like a missile, "Of course! We don't even know the guy, what he can do, what he can't do, and by the way, just because Nastia appointed you to-"

"I see no problems then!" Sato shouted, entirely ignoring Greta, "Welcome on board, Gabriel Walker!"

"Yea!" Prisha said, jumping up. Only to receive a nasty look from Greta, a nasty look that turned entirely ridiculous when she noticed her Spirit goat lick Gabriel's hand."

"Bjorn!" She said with dread. And why she said it, with that level of emphasis, Gabriel had no idea. But Prisha laughed, and Sato said, "See? We should have him answer for you."

Fred sighed. "Well, we might as well invite him to a drink. Are you free Gabriel, there's the Singing Leg, a nice place to spend the evening. Do you know about it?"

"I don't, and I'd gladly join you, but I've got a Magic Lesson to follow, so I need to leave right away."

Fred shrugged, but Greta had something to ask, "You turned to a Magician? Already? That's not very wise for an Assaulter unless the Reevers back you…"

"Mmh, partly, to both. You'll see it next time we meet, I guess. By the way, when will it be?"

"Tomorrow at eight, here," Sato said. While they talked, he had walked away for a moment.

"Nice, I'll go register then."

"About that, there's no need to. It's already taken care of. With the hunt for essences here, it's costly. So it's on me."

"Really? Well, I'm really thankful, but I can't accept it." Gabriel shook his head.

"Oh, it's not free; you'll just repay me with ten percent of your share until you're done. It won't take long at all."

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. Is this how it usually works?

"See you tomorrow then."

As they left, Gabriel watched them go. And he witnessed Prisha come speed back with a dash. He could perfectly follow her. "Oh, we're kind of a big deal around here. So news will spread, you just try and not believe about them. It's all envy. By-eeee!"

Gabriel found himself with a ridiculous smile, especially since Bjorn was still munching at his hand, then Greta turned around to shrill at him, and he started galloping toward him.

And yet… I already heard that phrase. I just can't place it.

Anyway, that turned out rather fine. I guess this Herald thing paid out at least a little.

The Veins were deserted. If it wasn't for the brazier's fading sound, even he, with his Enhanced Senses, couldn't hear anything. Not a soul could be seen around.

"No, Liz. No. That's not creepy. Don't judge a book by its cover."

Yet the lizard did indeed cower behind him as much as she could.

"You know about this place as much as I do; no reason to act that scared."

It took them five minutes to reach the place. Gabee was slightly early; in fact, he could witness the little thing closing his store.

There he is.

"Gorgi! I'm here!" He shouted from the back alley.

"Oh, Gabe. You are… early. Perfect! I like people who are early!"

Gorgi seemed satisfied, and he had even finished closing the shop. "Come," he said, "Follow me in the shop. We do it in the back."

"Mmh, that's nasty. But if you like, who am I to judge?"

Gorgi looked at him weirdly. Then he shrugged and signaled him to follow.

I guess it flew right over his head.

"Tell me, Gorgi. Is it always so… silent here at this hour?"

"What? Oh, yes. Work hour end at six. And people here are not party mongrels like down in The Cradle. Now, come, I've already got everything prepared. Oh, and the Omnicircle you'll be using is that one for beginners. You said you had a basis on runes, yes?" Gorgi asked as he let him in the back of the store. It looked… petite, but comfortable.

"I did not say, actually. But yeah, the basis of the basis, of the basis," he admitted.

"Well, we shall see, now sit. Sit. And have your spirit sit in the center of the Omnicircle on the table."

Gabriel sat, "Hear that, Liz? Hop on."

The Runic Omnicircle was exactly what the word said; a magic circle. However, it was inscribed in a metal frame, still inside the foldable still frame, but outside of the circle was placed rune sets that could be shifted around and brought inside of the circle. It was not possible to create each and all combinations, but it seemed to be rather easy for one type of Magic to be reproduced on it.

"I guess we're starting with Dark Magic by the looks of them," Gabriel said, referring to the runes.

"Exactly," Grogi said. "You will learn how to produce shrouds, scrying rituals, essence absorption, temporarily empowering rituals, and with time, maybe even Attributes shifting. Oh," Gorgi said, seeing the look on his face, "I guess that picked your interest."

"It did indeed," answered Gabriel shifting on his way too small chair. "Is that what I think it is? Is it permanent?"

"With Dark Magic? No, however, with Shaman magic? It becomes a possibility. Mind, it's not something that can be abused; most end up dying by shifting Attributes too much, or simply without caring about their balance."

What I could do with that is…

"Could it be used on Spirits too?"

Gorgi laughed darkly. "Shaman Magic is based on Spirit manipulation, Gabriel. Now, without further ado. Let's commence."

***

"I can't believe you let him in like that, Sato… It's inconsiderate. We came back the other day, for crap sake! And we almost... do I have to remind you how Prisha and Fred almost died because of our lack of trust and… chemistry?"

"No, Greta. You don't, but we're talking about the Herald here. He's maybe the most important pawn of the current powers in The Cradle. And sincerely, he was level one last month, Greta. One. I can't stay what happened to him during that time, but his growth must mean something. No?"

"Tsk…"

The party, whose name was the Starsedge, was crashing at the Singing Leg. The pub had definitely a good provision of drinks and was frequented by good people, thankfully not all Dungeon Delvers. However, it wasn't entirely of Greta's tastes, the choice of having the waitress serve in panties. Mind, they were covered from their neck until their pelvis, but the legs had to be entirely uncovered. It was frequent that they had contests to judge the most gifted individual, blessed with the best pair of legs and or bottoms.

Fred, the man was not one to resist Enhanced alcohol much, or was it more because he chose the heaviest drinks? Anyway, he was already snoring, happy as a clam. He just loved the place.

Prisha, on her side, was dancing in the room with the umpteenth guy, deceiving this one as well in believing he had a chance at getting in her pants. Of course, she had entirely thrown away her shorts and was dancing in her panties; it was to be expected.

However, Greta did not have the strength to fight against the young girl's growing sluttiness. She was utterly dissatisfied with how the party had been conducting. At least when Nastia was there, they were respected. Now everybody talked about them like they had been some second-hand cant, thrown away for a better ride.

Although it came to her, Is this how she felt when her whole party left her behind?

Damn... And there, I thought she was just a stick in the butt.

"Greta? Are you still there?" Sato said.

"Oh, yes. Were you saying something?"

"My family sent you an invite. What will they do? Note that Fred's family is already in on the whole thing. They'll be there too."

"Like we could refuse something like that? Of course, they're coming. It's not every day such huge decisions are going to take place."

"Well, it's in a week from now," Sato clarified, sipping at his drink. "And if we don't screw this up. The presence of the Herald will only be a boon for our joining."

I should have thought about it… Damn, what am I even doing? In Greta's mind flashed memories of death and inescapable doom.

The threat of the Tyrant Boss still lingered in her heart. It had been a harrowing experience for her, and it was clear how it had scarred her for life. But this was her life. She knew she had to get a grip.

I'm Greta Wagner, for god's sake! My family owns half the Alps!

If there was something about Greta, it was her stubbornness. Whatever she had placed in front of herself by her own volition, she had reached. Well, there was something in which she kept on failing, and that was domesticating Bjorn. Alas, being the Goat a reflection of herself, it must have meant something, so she didn't give it that much thought. However, not being in control of her life and her fears was something she could not accept.

"Alright, I'm going home, Sato, see you tomorrow. I.. just hope he'll be… manageable."

"We don't need manageable, Margarete. We need strong, worthy, heavy. The rest can be worked out," answered Sato.

"Like Fred?"

"Exactly like I did with Fred. The Jansens didn't even realize how their elder son has been entirely rewritten to fit our needs."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Sato. I think this Gabriel Walker is nothing like our Fred Jansen. As you said, someone that got from level one to thirty-three in a month must have something crazy or even worse… broken, inside. Fred is… well his just a tool, good only for taking damage."

"Well, that is his role, after all."

Greta scoffed, leaving Sato to drink his juice, then she went to reclaim a definitely drunk Prisha, put her and her Frog on Bjorn, and went home.

Greta's family had bought Margarete and Prisha's apartment to accommodate the two. The view was definitely not that of the Wandering Hearth, but at least at the end of the day, they had made a deal. A room at the Hearth was just too costly, even for their own good.

Greta put Prisha in her bed, "Are you still there, mommy?" She asked again.

"Shh, yes, my dear. Now sleep; for tomorrow is another day of work, and you must be brave," she whispered to her.

Prisha embraced in her sleep, then finally let go, leaving Greta to go to her room.

She sighed. I wonder if he really was there too during that… slaughter. Sato might be made of steel, but I can see the signs of that experience both on Prisha and Fred.

Though they had warred against the Tyrant for two long weeks, the assault that followed the incomprehensible betrayer from the hands of that Paragon Tyrant was tormenting her. She had seen with her own eyes the powerlessness of even the Champions against the absurd might of that creature.

With her family, she had transferred on Alter two years prior, so she wasn't forged like Sato that was admitted whose family admitted him on Alter after following primary school in Japan. She had been slowly bending to the rules of the place. However, maybe the problem was not her; after all, both Fred, who had been through the same course as Sato, and Prisha had been chosen since she was a little girl, had been scarred by the event.

And if that wasn't enough, as they managed to get out of the Dungeon, they were faced with a Priest and Dragons conjoined assault.

She had seen more death on that day than she thought she would for the rest of her life.

"Maybe this Herald will really be a breath of fresh air," she sighed once more. Covering her head with the bedsheets and preparing for another dreamless night.