All but four members of the Icepicker guild passed the initial trial. As it turned out, anyone who managed to improve three or more of the presented items was allowed to continue to the next round. In fact, a large number had failed to fully mend the rusty item, making Dallion and a few others the exceptions to the rule. Ironically, that only made things more difficult for him. According to Bel, who had relatives pass through this, the overachievers were always pitted against each other in the preliminary rounds, while the rest were paired amongst each other. Given that there were no particular benefits being first, most of the applicants preferred to hide their strength and do the minimum necessary to reach the real rounds.

However, Dallion didn’t feel cheated in the least. If anything, he was glad to test himself against other strong awakened. There was a thrill to it all, a desire that had sparked deep inside, like a gen flowing in a pool of water now that most of the much of his flaws had been removed. That only further inspired him to go through his next level up.

Halfway there, Dallion sang to himself. Living on a prayer.

That’s a bit dark, Nil commented.

Don’t worry about it. You won’t understand, Dallion smiled.

That might be so, but just be careful not to overcompensate by rushing forward blindly. Recklessness isn’t a solution. You don’t want to go back to the problems you had when you first came here.

I know. I’ll be cautiously reckless now.

The annoyed grumble suggested that Nil didn’t appreciate the joke.

By the time Dallion got back to the Gremlin’s Timepiece, customers had already started to gather, despite it being still afternoon. Word of the inn’s performance had reached most of the city, even bringing in the occasional wealthy patron. Some of the people had a similar air to the general. Thankfully, that one had undertaken any additional actions to get Dallion to explore his items. As much as Dallion hated the thought, more and more it was looking like he’d have to do that on his own accord if he wanted to get his hands on a copyette-finding artefact. The prospect wasn’t an enjoyable one.

“What cat died for you to be here so early?” Hannah asked with her typical tact as she passed by, carrying several crates of supplies to the kitchen.

“I just finished all my chores,” Dallion replied with a smile. “Let me help you.”

“Nope.” Hannah instantly pulled away as Dallion reached to lighten her load. “I got this. If anyone should be helping me it’s Aspan, that lazy imp.”

The innkeeper’s reluctance to receive help was quickly sensed and noted by Dallion, who calmly took a step back. To each their own, as his mother back on Earth would say.

“Have you seen the Luors?” Hannah asked as she vanished into the kitchen. “Would have been nice to have them here about now.”

“I’ve no idea where they are,” Dallion said, even if he had his suspicions. More than likely Dallion was going about being an attention magnet and Gloria was at her secret theatre, raining. “I can serve the customers instead.”

“It’s not about that,” Hannah’s muffled voice came through the kitchen door, followed almost immediately by an argument with Aspan. At times, Dallion had no idea how the two managed to run a business together. It was a real miracle wrapped in a mystery within a paradox. “I’m sure they’ll be here by shift time.”

“Good,” someone whispered over Dallion’s shoulder, making him instinctively split into two instances and turn around. In each of the cases, though, he saw the exact same thing.

“Jiroh?” he asked, almost in disbelief.

“How are you, Dal?” The fury smiled. “I hear you’ve been holding down the fort while I’ve been gone.”

The fury looked the same she always had, even wearing her usual non-adventure outfit. It was almost as if she had never left. In truth, she had been gone for weeks, far more if Dallion counted true time. Seeing her brought a flood of memories back, as if a dear friend had returned. Actually, she was just that. If it wasn’t for her, Dallion would never have joined the Icepicker guild or gotten his harpsisword back. Also, he wouldn’t have met Eury.

“You definitely have grown a lot since I’ve been gone,” Jiroh said. “Hannah, is it okay if we have a drink before work starts?” the fury yelled.

“Just don’t take too long!” came the reply.

“I take that as a yes,” Jiroh winked. “Pick a table, I’ll get the drinks.”

In less than a second she had gone and returned, holding a large pitcher of lemonade and two glasses. Meanwhile, Dallion had just taken a step to the nearest table in the inn.

“So, tell me. What sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into while I was gone?” Jiroh placed the pitcher and glasses on the table. At that point, Dallion used his increased reflexes to pour her a glass, then one to himself.

“This and that,” he replied, then took a sip of his drink. The lemonade was cool and perfect, the way just Aspan could make it. Apart from the expected flavors, Dallion could taste the bouquet of spices that made the drink better than a five-star cocktail. “I learned a few skills, had a fight with the Star…”

The comment made Jiroh tense up slightly. As a hunter, she had dealt with plenty of creatures that had been created or corrupted by the star as well.

“I’m also going out with Eury now,” he added. A touch of guilt passed through him as he said that. It had been Jiroh who had first introduced them to each other.

“Really?” Genuine surprise emanated from her. “Who would have guessed.”

“Yeah. What can I say? Sometimes things just happen. What about you? Did the hunt go well?”

“Okay, not as good as I hoped. Maybe next time I’ll be luckier.”

“Job went bad?”

“Oh, the job went well. I just didn’t find what I was searching for. As they say another dead end. But let’s talk of happier things.”

“Two of my friends from Dherma came visiting,” Dallion changed the subject. “They’re actually staying here. Hannah got them to work for the inn as well.”

Both Jiroh and Dallion paused, expecting another yell from the kitchen. This time, the innkeeper didn’t have a reaction. Possibly, her discussion with Aspan had made her miss the comment.

“The pure blonds.” The fury nodded. “Hannah told me about them. I guess I’ll see them during the evening shift.”

“They’ll be ecstatic. They’ve been wanting to meet you ever since Hannah mentioned you were a hunter. Apparently being a hunter is a pretty big deal.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

Why aren’t you telling me that you’re a storm fury? Dallion wondered. He didn’t feel right bringing it up, but he couldn’t get it out of his head for some reason. A week ago, he would have let it slide. Now, though, he felt he needed to know.

“What’s a thunder fury?”

“Where did you hear that?” On the surface, there didn’t seem to be any change on Jiroh. She remained calm, even smiling slightly, casually leaning back as if nothing had happened. However, Dallion’s music skills let him notice the momentary concern that sparked throughout her like a thunderbolt, before vanishing just as fast.

“One of the general’s furies mentioned it. You remember who the general was?”

“Yeah, I remember…” The fury gulped down her drink, then poured a new glass. “It’s something some furies are born with,” she whispered in a way that only Dallion could hear. “Some say that makes them dangerous.”

“Does it?”

“Depends on the circumstances. Could be for enemies.”

“In that case, I’ll need your help,” Dallion whispered back. Even if she didn’t seem to be an awakened, he had found that her perception was almost as good as Eury’s. “There’s a copyette on the loose. I can tell you the details, but in short—”

“I know.” Jiroh interrupted. “Eury told me. And no, I don’t know more than her on the matter, nor can I find you a trinket. Everything we brought from the wilderness has already been sold. Not that it would have helped you much. The things we set out to get were very different.”

“It’s not items that I want. I need your help. I’ve only seen a copyette twice during my awakening trials. I have no idea how dangerous they are in the wild, but enough people seem to think they are. Including the Star.”

“Are you sure?”

“No.”

Nothing was certain with the Star. As far as Dallion knew, everything could have been one giant act, but there had been a moment during which he had seen real fear in Arthurows back when they had come across the copyette in the dagger. It was the only case in which Dallion had seen the Star act in such extreme fashion. Or maybe the copyette on the loose wasn’t just an ordinary copyette?

“But I think he was.”

“Must have been someone quite powerful to get such a reaction.” Jiroh took another sip of her lemonade. “Or maybe he had something that was.”

“An item?”

“Or directions to one. Copyettes were the first race to be imprisoned. Many of the artifacts we come across in the wilderness were probably made by them. If there’s something out there that could harm the Star, it could harm anyone beneath the Moons.”

A weapon that was the equivalent of an atomic bomb. No wonder the Star wanted it, and that meant that he wasn’t supposed to get it… ever.

“I’ll take care of that. You—” she pointed at Dallion’s forehead “—focus on the lesser things and don’t get involved.”

“What if I find the copyette before you?”

“Don’t face it. You don’t have the skills to win yet.”

That hurt, Gen said. She’s right, though. On that note, maybe you should level up before it’s time for dinner? If you do really well, you can try to level up again before bed.

I’d strongly recommend against that, Nil said. Taking a pause between leveling up is a must at this point. Just because you feel lighter doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods yet. You still have lots of flaws hidden deep down. Each next level is more dangerous than the last, even if it doesn’t seem that way.

That’s precisely why I need to keep pushing to get stronger, Dallion replied.

The conversation with Jiroh continued for a few minutes more. The heavy stuff resolved, they talked about more casual matters. For a moment, it was like Dallion’s first days in Nerosal, when he was so green and naïve that he’d constantly get in trouble. Somehow that seemed like a much more innocent time, before he had experienced the effect the Star had on the world, as well as seen the dark underbelly of the cities.

Once the conversation was done, Jiroh went to the kitchen—probably to end the argument that had been going on between Hannah and Aspan for the last ten minutes. In turn, Dallion went to his room and prepared mentally for a few minutes. While he wasn’t as reluctant to level up as before, he was fully aware of how difficult each level was.

“Darude,” he whispered.

PERSONAL AWAKENING

The awakening room appeared around him. It had changed somewhat after Gen’s rearrangement. All forging tools with the exception of the hammer were gone, transferred to the first paradox cube room. At some point Dallion was going to have to decide what he wanted the remaining two challenge rooms. Until then, Gen had transformed one into his own personal bedroom, and the other into Lux’s home. The firebird hadn’t been in the least impressed, preferring to spend more time pestering Nox in his domain. The crackling, on the other hand, had started spending more of his time sleeping. Clearly, he was growing up.

“Don’t worry,” a melody of sounds merged into words. “I’ll always be with you.”

“I know, Harp,” Dallion said. “I guess I’m just feeling somewhat anxious. You’ve fought copyettes before, right?”

“A few.”

“When I pass my next gate, will I be strong enough to fight one?”

“Yes, but not alone.”

That was pleasantly encouraging. Dallion already had a lot of good gear, not to mention two very reliable familiars. And finally, more and more awakened were becoming his friends. That, too, would be useful when the time came.

“You’ll have to make a deal,” the haprsisword said, using her music. “I know you don’t like it, but you’ll need to get a kaleidervisto from the general.”

“Maybe. But first I need to face my fears once more.” Dallion went into the corridor. As expected, a new door had appeared on the wall.