The second exploration mission was much less eventful than the first. Unlike last time, three of the four levels had been cleared, leaving Dallion’s party to mop up things. Like last time, Dallion had been paired with Janna and Kallan. Unlike then, he had left his harpsisword for a shield—after all, he could make just as much use of his music skills using the standard lyre.

The first three floors were done without a hitch. With everything lit up, it was a simple matter of making their way to the guardian chamber and defeating the creature.

Dallion had asked to do a full exploration of the levels, possibly even to map it. His microtransaction mind considered selling the sketches along with the sketches to any would-be customer in order to increase the price. The suggestion was quickly shot down—in this world people didn’t have items improved because they were interested in the process, all they were interested in was having the item fully functional.

With the exception of the guardians, all enemy creatures were similar to those that Dallion had seen before: rats, roaches, butterflies, and goblins. While it was still early, it could be assumed that most of the sphere items would have enemies of the sort.

The final guardian ended up being what Dallion could only describe as a razorblade butterfly. While annoying, ranged weapons had proved to be quite efficient from point blank range. It had also helped that Dallion had used his music skills to freeze it for a second, giving the siblings ample opportunity to dispatch it.

Pay was a third of what it had been during the previous job, but the food was the same, and there was another celebration. As it turned out, the guild didn’t need a reason to have a fun feast, only an excuse.

Sadly, Dallion’s skill numbers had remained the same—a reminder this was what he’d remain until he went through his next awakening. The only thing he had to look forward to was save, learn and train.

Hannah had become somewhat more supportive of Dallion, despite the customer flow being reduced almost to pre-Dallion levels. Apparently, a lot of the competing inn-awakened had started copying his style, and while the trend had made a lot of people throughout the city happy, Dallion could no longer be considered special. His daily earnings had dropped to roughly twenty silvers per day, which was the standard amount from what Jiroh had told him. The fury herself was earning less than five, though somehow was still able to buy anything she wished. Dallion was certain she had a secondary source of income, even if he remained clueless as to what that source was. Both Hannah and Jiroh were very tight-lipped on the matter, and he had decided not to pry.

As the days went on, Dallion focused more on his guild work and training. Under the recommendation of Nil, the daily allowance for learning and training had been reduced to ten hours, and furthermore, he was forbidden from taking more than one guild job per day. The restrictions seemed annoying, but considering they had come from Captain Adzorg’s echo, they carried a lot of weight.

And still, despite all these efforts, Dallion’s savings were growing tremendously slow. There was a time when he would have considered a gold coin profit per day to be the high-life. Now it means that he’d need over a week for his first attempt at reaching level ten. And that didn’t even account for the sudden expenses. The more Dallion spent time going about the city, the more fashion became a thing.

No longer was it enough to wear something “nice” as he had upon arrival. The clothes also had to fit in with the city itself. A large part of the unspoken rules were starting to become clear, in large part thanks to Arthurows. Wearing clothes that would identify someone as an awakened wasn’t so much for the awakened to be aware of one another—they had the perception to do that anyway—it was for the ordinary people to know. And while there wasn’t that much of a difference in attitude towards the awakened, there was a distinct difference in the services offered. Even in common shops and stalls awakened were given a selection of the best merchandise, for a much larger price, of course. Unable to see, taste, smell, or hear what the awakened could, normal people would be content with lesser quality items that cost roughly a fifth of the price.

The best way Dallion could describe life in Nerosal was a system of strict guidelines everyone was free not to follow. He himself had tried to resort to wearing “ordinary clothes” in a bid to save money faster. The itchiness that came with them quickly made him rethink his idea. Even after improving a shirt five levels, his increased perception found the difference so negligible that he had returned the clothes to the shop the very next day without asking his money back. The fact of life was that the more he increased his attributes, the more expensive clothes he would have to buy… which meant once he reached double digits, his expenses were going to skyrocket.

After Dallion’s fifth successful exploration mission, marked by another celebratory meal, he was given a contact ring. A simple band of metal, the ring had an echo of Estezol inside that would constantly keep him apprised of guild jobs, and inform him if he were needed for a job. The only request was that Dallion enter the ring several times per day to check.

Great, I’ve been given a company phone, Dallion thought. Or rather he had been given a company email, but without the option of instant net access. It wasn’t too much of a bother, especially since Dallion had already gotten into the habit of talking to Nil whenever he had a question about the world. And yet, there was one thing that concerned him.

“Shield, are you always awake?” Dallion asked, lying in his room after a rather uneventful day.

Guardians never sleep, the dryad replied. Despite chatting with Dallion every chance it got, it refused to give him its full name, preferring to be addressed only as “shield.” At least not in a way to get caught.

“What is it like being a guardian?”

I don’t know. What’s it like being human? The dryad laughed. It’s actually very much like being a person, but in a much smaller world. Imagine spending all your time in your room. That would be close.

“A guardian once told me it’s very boring.”

It could be. All depends on where the item is. I get to see everything that happens around me, within limit. That’s why it’s really annoying when I get put in a box. Keep that in mind—keep all your items in the open, unless you’re bathing or in the bathroom.

That much Dallion had quickly figured out. Even with the lax privacy standards in this world, there were some things he couldn’t completely come to terms with.

If there’s anything a guardian misses, it’s talking.

“I can tell.” Dallion smiled. The copyette had said the same thing. That was one of the reasons the creature hadn’t attacked Dallion outright during his selection trial. “What happens when you’re improved?”

In what way?

“The whole dying and being reborn thing. Is it like a phoenix?”

Not sure what a phoenix is.

“It’s a type of firebird that rises from its own ashes.”

If you say so. The guardian sounded skeptical. It’s nothing like that, though. And it’s not dying… It’s difficult to explain. I don’t think you’ll be able to understand even if I did. Not yet, though.

“Fine, be like that.” Dallion turned on his side. “I’ll get some sleep. Turn the chatter down.”

Sleep well. Don’t dream of anything I would.

The night passed incredibly fast with dreams of Dallion back on Earth. When he’d had his first dream back in Dherma village, Dallion had been freaked out about it quite a lot. Lately, he had gotten to accept, even welcome them. With all the real fighting and exploration taking place, a dream of Earth was always welcome, especially since it involved the most trivial things: riding a bus, walking in a park, fixing a vending machine… small things that Dallion had never thought about before, and all of which he had taken for granted.

The next morning, it was back to the usual routine.

“I can give you a few gold coins,” Jiroh offered at breakfast. “It’s not a big deal. You can pay me back whenever.”

That’s another keeper, the shield said. And a free fury, at that. If you haven’t better make your move before someone else does. Furies don’t tend to remain free for long.

Dallion grumbled mentally. This was the reason he didn’t bring his shield to breakfast. However, Estezol’s echo had told him about an urgent job ten minutes ago, so he had brought it down to save time.

“I still owe you for the armor.” And the boots. “I’ll be fine. I just need a few more jobs and I’ll get there. Besides, I need the practice.”

“Didn’t you say you no longer added points to your skills?”

“Yeah.” Dallion didn’t remember having this discussion with her, but with days stretching into weeks, he might well have forgotten. “I gain knowhow. Watching the rest of my team fight gives me ideas I try out on my own.” Often to the disapproval of Nil.

The old echo was by far more conservative when it came to teaching methods than Dallion thought. Questions and new approaches were fine, but only as long as Dallion mastered the basic elements of a skill, along with their history. There was no denying that it was through this training that Dallion had memorized over three dozen attack and defense sequences, and was able to chain them freely without relying on markers. In many aspects, it was like learning chess. Back in his village, Dallion had learned some of the basic rules; here he was memorizing strategies so he wouldn’t have to waste time thinking about their execution.

To win a battle, one has to be proactive, Nil had said, and that means picking the correct initial sequence that would close off any viable options for victory the enemy had. Attacking a golem was very different from attacking a firebird. The only drawback to this method was that it left nothing to the imagination.

“Maybe I can spar with you sometime?” Dallion asked.

It’s good to be subtle, but that’s way too subtle, the shield said. This time Dallion couldn’t help himself from giving it a firm tap with the side of his boot.

“I doubt you can handle me,” Jiroh replied.

Partially due to the shield’s way of thinking, Dallion wasn’t fully certain in what context to understand that.

“When you boost your reflexes another ten points, maybe.”

“I thought you weren’t awakened.” Dallion’s eyes widened.

“Whether she is or isn’t is none of your business!” Hanna said sharply, arriving from the kitchen. “And she’s not, she’s just faster than you’ll be. And just because you’re awakened doesn’t mean you don’t have to clean your room. That’s not included in the price.”

“I clean it every day.”

“It’s cleaned for you every day.” The innkeeper crossed her arms. “I let Jiroh clean the rooms to keep in shape, but the way you’ve been throwing things on the floor, I’m thinking of changing our arrangement.”

Dallion was just about to say something when Hannah continued.

“At least you put in some effort tidying up. I guess I’ll let this go for the moment because of your trial. When you get your proper emblem, though that’s it! No more slack! You’ll be taking care of your room like the rest of us!”

Dallion was tempted to ask who the innkeeper was referring to, but decided against it. He had gotten used to Hannah’s morning grumbling, even if today she seemed a bit on the grumpy side.

“And don’t neglect your sword,” Hannah added. “The weapon’s too much of a masterpiece to be treated in such a way.”

“I’m not neglecting it,” Dallion protested. “I’m very careful with it.”

“You keep it on a piece of cloth beneath the floor.” Hannah narrowed her eyes. ”To a weapon that’s neglect, it’s bad that you can’t use it properly, but you’re not even taking it with you lately.”

“I’m just a packrat. I don’t need to carry it. Most of the time I don’t even fight.”

“Then why bother with a shield and armor?”

She’s got you there, the dryad chuckled.

“Honestly, sometimes I think you just refuse to learn! You spend every day worrying about the forks and glasses at the bar, but you don’t talk to your own sword.”

“I don’t spend every minute talking to them.” Dallion felt himself fluster. In all truth, he’d actually had a few conversations with a few of the glass guardians. Some had even gotten to recognize him. “It happens on occasion. And it’s not like they can talk back.” It would have been interesting if they could.

“And have you tried talking to your sword?”

Dallion raised a finger about to make a counterargument, then slowly lowered his hand. Hannah was right—he hadn’t bothered talking to the sword, not even once. Maybe it was because he had relied on it in battle so often, maybe because, unlike the shield, it had remained silent… but not once had the thought cross his mind. Possibly it was the level that intimidated him, but that was no excuse not to enter its realm and have a conversation with its guardian.

“I will,” Dallion said in a low voice. “Right after I come back.”

“You better. A sword that doesn’t trust its owner is certain to betray him in battle,” Hannah said.

In his heart, Dallion agreed. A visit was long overdue.