The further Dallion went up the mountain, the more difficult it got. That was until he came to three simple realizations. The first one was that parts of the mountain were made of solid metal allowing him to see their composition and weakness. The second was that using his Nox dagger, Dallion could easily etch footholds in certain spots—and that wasn’t exclusive to metal—in order to help him climb faster. The third, and most important of his discoveries, was that there was no rule or reason preventing him from having Lux fly him up to the first mountain platform. In fact, that was exactly what was expected of him.

The lieutenant had no idea that Dallion’s familiar was capable of this, but he didn’t have to be. All he wanted was to see Dallion adapt, and Dallion had.

“Did you have to wait till now to do that?” the lieutenant asked once the party had all gathered. That was as much a compliment as he was capable of. However, it was also a very valuable piece of advice. In the realms, the only fairness was the proper use of skills. In normal circumstances, a guardian wouldn’t hesitate to attack. Thus, there was no point in holding back.

Not every place is an awakening shrine, Nil said. Use what you have to the best of your advantage.

Right. This wasn’t school, it was real life… Well, sort of. There were still a few limitations and safeguards. The most important of all were the Seven Moons. From what Dallion had made out, they acted as benevolent dictators of sort, enforcing rules that were slowly revealed as people increased their level. The good thing was that they didn't seem to meddle in worldly affairs beyond that.

“Healing, flight, and music.” Spike grinned. “You’re like a bona fide mage. Any other tricks, you know?”

“I’m learning to cook,” Dallion quickly changed the subject. At this point, he definitely was going to keep Nox a secret for as long as possible.

“Save me a portion.” Spike said. Everyone in the group stared at him. “What? With so many hidden skills, maybe I’ll get lucky and the food will do something.”

If there was a moment for a mass sigh, this was it. Despite his good combat qualities, Spike’s humor remained terrible.

“Seriously, Spike…” Alera shook her head. “Level up.”

“So, what now?” White asked. “Seventeen percent is pretty thin.”

“The usual. We scout, then move to the next platform.” The lieutenant glanced at Dallion. “You’re good at finding cracks, right?”

“Sure.” Dallion nodded.

“Think you can spot moldlings?”

“The plants and the bog? Yeah.”

“What about rustlings?” June asked.

Nil, what do those look like? Dallion asked.

Dear boy, not recognizing a rustling is like walking past a ten-foot walrus, Nil replied. The problem with them isn’t that they're a difficult spot, it’s that they are more difficult to get rid of. Kill them carelessly and a fragment breaks off, giving birth to a new one. It’s one thing dealing with them in an item. When they speak in an area, though… Well, let’s say that some prefer to just replace the affected section altogether and rebuild afterwards.

That sounded outright scary, even if it was an extremely rare occurrence. Of course, Dallion knew perfectly well why both Nil and June were bringing it up: the world item remained an item, but with the properties of an area. All rust, corrosion, and other effects were likely to take form in an area setting, and that would make the exploration significantly more dangerous.

“I’ll be able to spot them,” Dallion replied with a confident smile.

“Good. You and June go counter. Alera, you’re clockwise. The rest of us will head for the next platform. Let the rest know if something happens. If not, we’ll meet at nightfall.”

An interesting approach, no doubt. If it were up to him, Dallion would just have the entire group spread out and continue clockwise in parallel. While they were technically on a mountain, the area was still huge, likely a third of the area below, and that itself had been enormous. Granted, it was smaller than the Stone Garden—that realm would have taken weeks to cover without Lux’s help.

After a few follow-up instructions, the party split up, each group continuing its respective way. Initially, Dallion was afraid that June wouldn’t be able to keep up with him, so he had Lux move him forward in small bursts. That proved ideal, as it matched the woman’s running speed.

Looking from Above, Dallion was able to see the differences and similarities between the first level of the mountain and the plains below. Both were made of bricks, but those on the mountain had a more elaborate design on them. Going up high enough, the whole thing looked like one giant mosaic, although much to Dallion’s disappointment, there were no hidden clues or messages written on it.

The further they went, the more it became clear that the realm wasn’t supposed to have plants. That was somewhat unusual. While on the first floor it was normal to expect that the swamps, feeds, and even the large tree-like plants weren’t supposed to be there, on the first mountain level—which corresponded to the ground floor of the house—even beautiful single trees, bushes, or patches of grass were mercilessly sliced up by June. The fact that they quickly poofed out of existence indicated that the decision had been correct.

“Those are moldlings?” Dallion asked while they were taking a quick break.

“Some. The rule of thumb is when in doubt, attack it. If it’s not meant to be here, it’ll react. And if it is, you’ll have a bit of repairing to do.”

There was no denying that logic.

“Are there any other ways of dealing with such creatures?” Dallion asked. “Offering a truce or something?”

“Offering truce to a stinky?” June stared at him. “That’s weird. Ever tried it?”

That’s how I got my first familiar, Dallion thought. Saying that out loud, though, was likely going to get him in trouble.

“I’ve offered a draw to guardians and blocker creatures,” he said. “Isn’t it the same with these?”

“No. There’s no trusting these. They are created by the Star. Their only role is to spread decay and ruin.”

So much for flexibility, Dallion thought.

Dear boy, not everyone has your experience, and frankly, most don’t want to. As I like to say, some things in life are an acquired taste. Not everyone is fine with having a lion in bed. That’s why the less you reveal about your realm, the better. Do you think they don’t have secrets? Nil laughed. One doesn’t become elite on luck and skill alone. The trick is not to let them show. You’re the flamboyant type, very much like March. One minute is enough for most of your secrets to be discovered. Others prefer to appear boring on the outside, while keeping their cards close to their chest.

Hmm.

Take Vend, for example. Virtually everyone knows he’s exceptional in splitting, and still did he share that information with you when you first met? Did he parade with it as you are with your music? I’ve known people with music skills far exceeding yours who pretended to be tone deaf for decades.

That’s a bit extreme.

It all depends on what circles you’re in. For the moment, you’re fine. A double digit is the start of the path. The further you level up, though, the more eyes you’ll attract. Do you think it’s a coincidence that the nobles behave the way they do?

You tell me.

The short answer is no. The long answer is: that’s something you’ll have to learn on your own when you level up.

As long explanations went, this one was rather short, but it conveyed exactly what the echo had in mind.

“How often do you get such jobs?” Dallion asked,

“Full house cleaning? One every few years. Those who can afford it prefer to deal with the problem on their own, and those who can’t… Well, they resort to other options. The guild usually gets districts or entire road sections… or sewer sections.”

Dallion instinctively winced.

“Sewers aren’t that bad. The reals are much better than the real thing. There’s a lot of hacking, though. Mostly roaches. The city made sure not to allow cracklings to gather strength in vital infrastructure.”

That made sense with one exception—as far as Dallion was aware, the city didn’t have plumbing. It was a simple slip of the tongue, but it suggested there was still a lot to the city that Dallion didn’t know… rather, a lot he hadn’t been told about. Possibly it had to do with the next awakening gate.

Curiosity lit up in Dallion, making him eager to level up until he reached level twenty.

“You’re not cut out for it,” June said all of a sudden.

“Huh?” Dallion tensed up.

“Sanitation. Mending areas is not something you’ll be happy doing. You’re an adventurer and adventures want to keep going forward.” There was a slight pause, accompanied by a smile. “And you’ll get there. You might be pathetic now, as Spike would say, but you’ve done a lot for a newbie. Match wouldn’t ask us to take you on this mission, if you didn’t have the stones to cope with it.”

“And here I thought it was all about potential.” Dallion let out a nervous laugh.

“It’s never about potential.” The woman shook her head. “It’s about the potential’s limit. Some have the ability to see another’s potential just by looking at them. The same as you see emotions with your music skills.”

That was a skill Dallion hadn’t heard of before.

Anything you can add on the topic, Nil?

The echo remained silent.

“You can see the limit of my potential?” Dallion leaned forward. His pulse had doubled as he voiced the question.

“There is no limit,” June replied. “You’ll reach far, unless something stops you.”

“Isn’t that the same for everyone? We all go far unless something stops us…”

“No. Most people have a wall they cannot break through—a limit set from birth.” A single grain of regret appeared in June’s chest. For a few moments Dallion saw it form and grow, then disappear again, hidden by other emotions. “Some try to break that limit, others don’t. In your case, you don’t have to.”

A limit that he didn’t have to break. This sounded so very different from everything Dallion had been doing until now. Everything he had learned through experiences or scrolls suggested that with enough skill, smarts, and persistence, he could fight through his flaws, becoming better in the process. The thought that there were others who couldn’t do that was outright disturbing; just as disturbing as the fact that Nil hadn’t said a word.

It’s probably one of the can’t-say-until-something things, Gen said. I thought you had gotten used to them by now.

I have. But I still don’t like it.

“Let’s get going,” June stood up. “We’ve a lot to cover.”

As they continued heading counterclockwise, a rectangle appeared, indicating that another four percent of the realm had been repaired. One of the other groups must have come across something and dealt with it. Along with the cumulative one percent that Dallion and June had cleared by destroying a stray tree or patch of plants here and there, that left twelve percent to go.

By nightfall, the number had shrunk to eight. Much to Dallion’s regret, he hadn’t gotten to see a rustling, although Nox had sniffed out a small nest of crackling rats that he had taken care of. At this point, all that remained was up the mountain—two more layers as well as the peak.

“Get some rest,” the lieutenant ordered. “Two shifts. Dallion, you'll sleep all the way through.”

“Are you sure? It’s not a problem for me to—”

“First thing tomorrow, you’ll be heading to the peak. I need you fresh if there’s anything there.”