“So, you gave up two thousand HC’s to someone who tried to inflict bodily harm to you just to tick off the guys who helped you win?” “Yep.” “Why?” “I wouldn’t have been able to keep them without seeing them as a burden because I would have won them at the cost of my principals, which is too high a price to pay.” That... sounds exactly like something uncle Mohan would say.

They were eating lunch in their room. Yohan was eating one of his favorite dishes, spiced chestnut and pumpkin soup, which was better than any he had before due to his uncle’s cheapskate habits when it came to how he himself lived. Nick was eating redbrair-style roast pheasant, a meal he said he always wanted to try.

“I’ve alway been able to make them, and as I’ve grown I’ve been able to make more, today I can make about seven handfuls. They’ve never been useful though.” “Keep honing your Aura, eventually you’ll eventually develop something, especially with your lineage.”

Yohan was half faeman, and as such had a very high natural affinity for PK. Like all faemans, he had developed a supernatural trait called a Trick in early childhood that his family named Leprechaun’s Cornucopia. He could create small gold-colored pearls that were as light as tin. He could telekinetically manipulate them, but they exert no force on anything they collide with. He had started actually training his Aura about five days ago and according to Nick was on the cusp of developing his first Power which could happen the more familiar he grows with his Trick. As for Nick himself, he had holed up in the room in a state of near-constant meditation to regenerate all the Aura he lost in the Master Game five weeks prior. Yohan kept bringing him meals and chamber pots from an unusual vending machine with a typewriter that made slips of paper that the machine accepted in place of money and gave out anything on the paper as long as it wasn’t alive or supernatural.

“My Dad said that if I keep fighting with PK, I’ll learn to accelerate my Aura output mid-battle instead of having to meditate to restore it.” While Nick was in their room, Yohan had taken several classes and had effectively increased his HCs from the first class they took tenfold.

After tearing a piece of his pheasant with his teeth, Nick said with a full mouth “How are you doing with finding a contract that both of us can do together? I know you’re terrified of monster hunting and find conflict with mortals nauseating but what other kinds of jobs are available for students at the Master’s Academy?” “First off, can you watch it with the blunt honesty? Second, I managed to stumble upon this when I was wandering around the three commons areas I found.” From a pocket in his coat, Yohan drew out a paper and handed it to Nick.

Come to Aoe’iei’ouy! Recently our entertainment dimension has been lacking in profits, so if you would stay here for three months and encourage our patrons to spend money on tickets by participating in our many game shows, we will pay you half your weight in gold every time you come in first place! Also, we’ve been having trouble keeping our population of fairy beasts under control, so for every one you cull, we will pay you your entire weight in gold! You will stay at our finest hotel with every modern convenience at your disposal and have unlimited free access to all our food stands. All of this for the measly price of two hundred HCs per group member, and since you will receive double your HCs back no matter what, you’ll have nothing but gains!

“Seems good, but not completely legit.” “What do you mean?” “My dad told me, ‘If someone is telling you that a deal has nothing but benefits, then it has a cost that they’re not telling you about.’ Plus, if they don’t care about the skill level of the students, then why charge so much per person as the insurance fee?” “Huh... now that you mention it, they do sound a little desperate just for some extra profits. So, should we do something else?” “Nah... it’s too sweet of a deal to pass up. Plus, I’ve never had the opportunity to hunt fairy beasts before, so I’ll be able to expand my own capabilities in addition to getting paid a lot of money!”

Fairy beasts are a classification of monsters known for their innate supernatural abilities. They receive hate far and wide because their preferred prey is mortal children.

“Are you sure you’re up to it? You seemed to have expended a ton of effort only to lose to one student, how do you know that you’ve completely recovered?” “My dad told me, ‘Among Masters, we have a saying: Iron sharpens iron, it’s an unfortunate truth that the ultimate method for honing one’s capabilities is conflict with others, but even losing a fight against a worthy opponent and surviving to fight another day can and will greatly amplify the effectiveness of one’s PK and their capability of using it.’ I’m guessing that the idea behind having the option for students to fight each other for HCs was that afterward, both students would end up better. The only reason why I lost against Alzolami is that I only have experience with hunting monsters while she must have spent years fighting other students. I’m happy that I was able to drive her into a corner and would have been satisfied even if I would have ended up owing her all those HCs.” “Wow, you really don’t get worried or depressed at all, do you?” “Nope!” said Nick with a smile. I really wish I were more like this guy. Thought Yohan, reminded of his imperfections.

***

“Is this it?” “It has to be, it’s the same number as the one on the ticket.” replied Yohan. After going to a contracting office that they were directed to by people who seemed to admire Nick in the nearest commons hall, they exchanged the paper and four hundred of Yohan’s five hundred HCs for a ticket that the person manning the office told them to tear into two and throw into the empty alcove with the same number that was written on the ticket itself. After wandering around and telling multiple people that he was friends with the man that beat Alzolami, several of the students had told him what they knew about the general idea behind locating individual objects. Using various information, Yohan had been able to piece together that the first portion of numbers represented latitude, the second portion longitude, and the third portion distance relative to the ground. When he tried to explain this to Nick, he suddenly looked in pain and told him to stop in the middle of his sentence. “I hate dealing with numbers! If I wasn’t so good at all the other subjects in high school, I probably would have flunked out in my freshman year!” Yohan had a hard time understanding this because his skill with numbers and mathematics were able to earn the respect of his uncle.

They were in the middle of a circular terrace with twelve empty alcoves standing in front of gold plates set into the ground with a different number on each of them. Yohan tore the ticket in two, crumpled them into balls, and tossed them into the alcove with the matching plate. Suddenly the two halves erupted into flames with distorted colors that began to spread up the edge of the alcove and encircle it, after which a veil-like substance appeared within the circle of flames with the image of a hallway leading to a door. “After you!” said Nick to Yohan. Gee thanks, you polite jerk. thought Yohan who was concentrating on not shivering.

Yohan stepped through the threshold with only a light headrush sensation that ended once his entire body was on the carpeted floor. Once Nick had passed through with his bag, the portal back to Helgram faded and a chain of lights appeared in the hallway, leading to the door. When they walked down the hall and entered through the doorway, a surprisingly average-looking reception area greeted them with a bored-looking secretary sitting in front of the window that perked up at the sight of them. When they approached Nick said, “We’re from the Master’s academy for the contract.” The secretary pointed to a door on the right and said, “Go through there and speak to the boss. We got a call that you were coming and he’s expecting you.”

They proceeded through the door and found a room that was a stark contrast to the one before. Framed posters featuring advertisements for attractions and performances throughout history and small trinkets lined the walls. They walked up to the desk in the back placed in front of a large portrait of a clown. Sitting at the desk was a plain-looking old man dressed in casual business attire. The man looked up from the paper he was signing, smiled, and said, “Hello! You must be Nicholas Xed and Yohan O’Mann! Come, have a seat!” The man gestured to two rolling chairs to the side of the desk. After pulling the chairs in front of the desk, the man said “It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Zolliki Workle the fourth.” Nick giggled a bit and said, “That’s a really silly name for a businessman!” Nick! Don’t make us look bad in front of our employer! Thought a freaking out Yohan. But Mr. Workle chuckled in response and said, “Well it should be! My great-grandfather, the founder of this entertainment dimension, was a renowned circus clown who worked half his life humiliating himself daily to afford this whole place! Aoe’iei’ouy used to be a wasteland only populated by monsters until Zolliki Workle the first decided to use it to invest in a commodity that kids and adults alike spend half of what they make on, fun! He founded it on the belief that everyone deserves to take time for themselves to forget their troubles and live in a fantasy world of games, good food, and wacky entertainment! But apparently hard times fall on even our industry occasionally, which is why you’re here! People talented enough to make it in the Master’s academy would be bound to draw in crowds to compete in games of skill! And then there’s the monster problem I mentioned earlier.”

“Monster hunting is what I do best! Do you have a list of the different species and a range of ranks I can go by?” Mr. Workle started to look depressed and said, “About that, it seems that the local monsters have evolved specifically to ambush wayward children in our dimension. The only known species we’ve found are karni-klowns. Karni-klowns possess the ability to warp and stretch their bodies in a wide variety of shapes and forms, most of them lethal. There is an innumerable amount of subspecies that can transform their bodies or body parts into different kinds of unusual weapons. The more assorted the colorful patterns on their bodies, the higher their rank with F being the lowest and C being the highest. Normally, they lurk within a system of underground tunnels and ambush their prey if it wanders off, and they have a radar-like sense for joy and laughter. However, if the ball-like extremities hanging on their bodies are damaged, then it appears to cause great shock to the karni-klowns, which can be lethal if you destroy enough of them. It’s unfortunate that because of their resemblance to clowns that we had to ban acts involving them from this dimension, which hardly does my great ancestor’s memory any good.”

Nick smiled and said, “Don’t worry! Those are weaknesses that can make hunting them easy! And this guy...” Nick paused to hold up a shy Yohan’s arm, “Has a diverse range of talents that outnumber mine! So, we’ll divide the job between us and get it done better than you can imagine!”

Mr. Zolliki smiled, stood up, and said. “Thanks! Let me tell you, keep up that enthusiasm and you’ll go to all kinds of places in life!” He held out his hand and Nick shook it. What have I gotten myself into by sticking with this guy? Thought a worried Yohan.

***

Well, this is the place thought Nick. Mr. Workle marked various areas on the map he gave Nick roped off from the populace because of the karni-known infestation. Because the map had his signature, Nick could use it to get past the park attendants that kept the public out.

The attraction modeled after an old-timey frontier town whose main gimmick was to use ball-shooting pistols to knock down plywood cutouts of banditos that sprung up in windows and corners for points.

While Nick was instructing Yohan in the ways of PK, he tried to explain what he knew about the rank system used to grade the danger of various species of monsters. “It was made with judging the capability of a monster to harm mortals, their works, and the environments they inhabit. F rank monsters are more of a hindrance than a hazard, are only life-threatening in the worst-case scenario and can cause a decline in small plants and animals. D rank monsters can kill mortals but tend to do so in an individual to an individual basis and may threaten local animal species with extinction. C rank is where things can get tricky because those monsters have the capability of disrupting the functions of an entire community or establishment and are pretty much a walking ecological disaster capable of rendering large areas completely uninhabitable if left unchecked. B rank monsters can threaten an established civilization on a dimension and can disrupt landscapes, environments, and climates so bad that all but the most resilient life forms could survive their rampage. A rank monsters are the worst; a lot of dimensions end up evacuated and quarantined because of A rankers and some have been known to threaten multiple dimensions. However, the more powerful the monster, the longer it takes to revive after death, and some dimensions have been known to keep track of the rates of resurrection and have multiple contingencies in place for their most dangerous species.”

Nick was carrying a weapon called a stiffening lash, made from the remains of a reptile beast that can cause its prey’s body to solidify on direct contact called a meduse cluster. He figured that it would be a good counter to the elasticity of the karni-klowns. After drawing the lash, he decided to flush out his prey. He started doing a fake laugh, hoping it would trigger the same reaction as a real one.

After almost a minute of laughing, the first karni-klowns revealed themselves. They began crawling out from inside the windows and doors. Each of them had an eerily distorted body structure that seemed like a mockery of a human’s. One of them was so fat with limbs so disproportionately small that it rolled around on the ground to propel itself. Another only came up to his knees but had arms longer than his whole body that seemed able to bend in many directions and angles. Another had only two fingers on one hand that connected in a loop with the other hand having suction cup-like fingertips. About five more crawled out, each more odd-looking than the last. What they all had in common was pale plastic-like skin covered in colorful patterns, a weird distorted smile, and ball-like extremities covering the edges of their bodies.

Nick decided to make the first move. First, he pictured the Aura within his body, then he imagined it flowing around his body like a second skin. A moment later a clear, mist-like energy had enveloped his body and he got the sensation that he was faster, stronger, and tougher.

Nick slashed his lash to the big klown. In a single sweep, he managed to take out three of its body balls while immobilizing it. The long-armed one struck out at him with its left arm. Nick managed to jump out of the way while curling his lash around the arm. Nick pulled it taut and swung the klown towards a group of others, knocking them down. Nick felt a strong impact strike his back, after turning around he saw that the loop-fingered klown was pulling its fingers back with a stone in the loop before letting it fly towards Nick’s face. Nick twisted out of the way and slashed his lash out at the klown, smashing five balls on its chest, causing it to fall dead.

A small klown leapt from the top of a building, landed on his shoulder, and opened its mouth wide enough to bite off his head. Nick countered by growing small smothering razorvine tendrils from the hair on the back of his head, wrapping them around the klown, and pinning it to the ground before stepping on and crushing the lone ball on its chest.

A klown with thin coiled-up limbs jumped to Nick and wrapped him in its arms while another one with a log-like right arm with stubby fingers walked over and heaved it over its head, poised to crush Nick. Nick puked weasel beetle acid onto the arms of the first klown, freeing himself. He then flicked the lash around its neck and flung it at the second klown’s arm, leaving it off balance enough for Nick to lash apart the balls on its body.

Nick leapt to the remaining karni klowns and proceeded to lash apart the colorful balls on their bodies, leaving him as the last one standing as he surveyed the bodies of the dead klowns.