Seconds after Dallion returned to the real world, the fury’s smile waned. She already knew what had happened, and what was to follow, but the show had to go on—for the sake of the customers, she had to be both surprised and thrilled by Dallion’s success.

“Done,” Dallion said as he placed the dagger in its place on the table.

Pleased with himself, Dallion then stepped back. He could feel a flash of annoyance flicker through the fury. His winning wasn’t such a big deal looking at it logically, but it was likely to upset the owner of the Drum. Then again, the money they made from the bets was certain to make up for that. In part, at least.

“Our challenger has put the item on the table!” The fury continued with the performance. “What does this mean? Could it be that he had completed the gauntlet? Is it even possible? The long-time valued customers would remember that there was a similar case seven years ago. However, since then many have tried and none succeeded.”

Seven years ago? Dallion thought.

That sounded vaguely interesting. It was curious to find out who it was. Could it be Adzorg? That would explain why he wasn’t welcome here anymore. The thought made Dallion remember the old man who had tried to get him to lose.

Damn! Dallion looked at the exit.

Thinking back, only a few minutes had passed in real time since the attempt, but by the looks of it was probably already too late. Even if Dallion received his prize now, he would be hard pressed to catch up to the mage. That was one of the problems of doing realm exploration during something else—after a week of true time, details became vague. Only the overall goal of what Dallion was doing remained clear: get the kaleidervisto, find the copyette, and find a way to let the local authorities know.

“The moment of truth is upon us.” The fury went to the table and picked up the final item. The black grime still covered the dagger. Holding it high in the air, the woman pressed against it with her thumb. The black grime fell off, revealing a fully fixed object. “It looks like our challenger might have done it.”

She continued cleaning the weapon. Each time a larger piece fell off, half the crowd held their breaths. With the amount of money bet on this, their reaction was understandable. When the entire item was revealed, a wave of disappointment filled the room, making Dallion stop using his music skill. This was the first time he had felt such intensity coming from so many people at once.

“It’s unbelievable! We have our first victor in seven years! I know that some of you might feel somewhat disappointed, but this is history in the making! Who knows when someone else will be able to achieve such a feat? Or maybe it’ll happen tomorrow? In the Drum no one can say for certain!”

Hushed laughter filled the air.

“Thank you all. Please go back to enjoying your games. And be sure to order a glass of your preferred drink on the house. After all, we too have to mark this momentous occasion.”

Disgust was the first emotion that came to Dallion’s mind after hearing this. It was outright impressive how the fury managed to control the mood of the room with her performance alone. She wasn’t even using awakening powers as far as Dallion could tell. There was no doubt about it, the non-human races were outright scary.

“Come along,” the fury whispered to Dallion, then made her way towards the staircase.

Dallion followed. None of the muscular waiters followed, which meant that the fury was confident she could take him on her own, if the need arose.

Silently they made their way to the floor above, then continued upwards until they reached an ornate metal gate. As the fury reached towards the handle, the gate unlocked seemingly on its own.

“Nice trick you did down there,” she said, pulling the gate so she and Dallion could pass. “What trick did you use?”

“This and that,” Dallion smiled. “You don’t expect me to reveal all my secrets?”

“Actually, it doesn’t matter. I was just curious. Challengers don’t normally fix the last one. Well, unless they use magic, but you don’t look like someone who had magic.”

“Can you tell?”

“People who have magic don’t need to beg for artifacts. They come and take what they want.”

“Like the old man?”

The question filled the fury with an air of defensiveness. If she was willing to chat before, that inclination had quickly disappeared. At the same time, Dallion was fairly certain that she didn’t know anything about him. Or maybe she had sensed that he was capable of magic?

“Is he a regular?” Dallion pressed on.

“That is not your concern. As I said before, we’ll take care of that.”

“It’s your house.” Dallion shrugged. “As long as I get what I was promised, I don’t care how you run this place.”

The top room of the building ended up being the equivalent of a large vault. Shelves of artifacts filled the room. It was nowhere as impressive as the general’s collection, but the place was built to be practical. All rows of the items had a blank sheet of paper next to them—likely a description, price amount, or both.

“Belaal won’t join us for this?” Dallion asked.

“Why should he?” The fury smirked. “He’s not one to waste his time with unpleasant things. Had you lost, he’d probably spend an hour with you drinking tea to enjoy your failure.”

“Ouch.” That person had issues, Dallion thought. Leveling up was probably going to be extremely painful for him.

“All great people have their shortcomings,” the fury acknowledged she didn’t particularly like her boss’ habit. “That’s your prize there.” The woman pointed at one of the shelves. “You’re welcome to get it.”

“Just like that? Aren’t you afraid I might take something else as well?”

“Please.” The fury smiled. “If you had it in you, I wouldn’t have invited you here.”

“Then why did you?”

“To let you know what else you can get in exchange for a service here and there. You’re skilled. Still a bit low, but you’ll get past the next gate. I can see the drive in you. When that happens, it would be better if you keep the Drum in mind.”

“So, it’s good for business?”

“Also, should you become a hunter, I’d like you to feel comfortable knowing that you could sell, swap, or loan your items to us. I can assure you, you’ll get a better deal than you already have with the general.”

Apparently, that too had become common knowledge. Everything considered, Dallion was surprised his guild didn’t know. Or maybe they did, but were keeping quiet about it?

Casting the questions away, Dallion went to the shelf and took the item in question. It was slightly smaller than the ones he had personally fulfilled, but the shape and composition was unmistakable—a small vase made entirely of crystal and mother of pearl.

“How do you use it?” Dallion looked inside. Nothing particularly happened.

“For what you’re aiming… no idea. If you want to see echoes—hold it in front of your right eye and rub.”

“Come on.” Dallion laughed.

It sounded too much like a joke to be true. The fury’s expression, however, suggested the opposite. Either that or she was a very good actress. Given the performance downstairs, both were equally possible. Ultimately, Dallion decided to give it a try. Lifting the kaleidervisto to his left eye, he looked inside, then rubbed the artefact with his thumb.

“Keep your other eye open,” the fury said.

Nothing happened. Dallion kept looking forward, feeling extremely stupid. He tried to rub the surface of the item more then, when that failed, he tried to rub it some more.

“Very funny,” he turned towards the fury, still holding the vase in front of his eye. “Now tell me how it really—”

Dallion suddenly noticed something different—superimposed over the fury was a minuscule figure of Belaal in her head. Quickly, Dallion removed the kaleidervisto. The figure disappeared as well. A deep feeling of dread passed through Dallion, making him freeze for several seconds. Curiosity soon took over, forcing him to put the vase in front of his eye once again. The fire was there as before, looking at him with cold annoyance.

“An echo,” Dallion couldn’t keep himself from whispering.

Was this what the artifact did? No wonder Belaal wanted to keep it for himself. It was like seeing into someone’s mind. In effect, it was close—he was looking into the fury’s realm and selectively focusing on the echo there.

Within moments, the fascination disappeared, as Dallion realized exactly what he was looking at. This wasn’t just some echo she had created to protect her domain; no, the echo was someone else’s.

“You have a limiting echo,” Dallion noted.

“Part of the cost of working in the mirror pool. The higher you want to climb, the more restrictions are placed on you.”

“Belaal is keeping an eye on you. Constantly.”

“That’s how the organization has survived for so long. Don’t feel bad, it’s no worse than having him look over my shoulder.”

That didn’t sound very reassuring. Dallion was just about to ask something when he was preemptively interrupted.

“You have your prize, now I suggest you leave.”

The hint was clear. Dallion moved the kaleidervisto away from his face. Given that the owner of the Drum was such a sore loser, it was wise for Dallion to take the advice.

“How many furies does the mirror have?” he asked as he made his way out of the room.

“Enough to be efficient. Needless to say that the owner wouldn’t appreciate you sharing what happened here.”

“Of course.” Dallion had no intention of blabbering about to the world that he had won, but he wasn’t going to hide it from the people and guardians he trusted, either. “Anything else I should keep in mind?”

Instead of an answer, the fury reached for Dallion’s face and gently removed the mast he was wearing.

“You no longer need that. Good luck in your futile hunt. And remember, if you ever want to sell your prize back to us, the Drum is always open.”

That sounded like a joke. If Dallion wanted to sell the item, he would have done so elsewhere.

The first thing Dallion did upon leaving the building was to remove his blocking ring. The next was to look around in the vague hope of seeing the old mage. As expected, the only people in sight were a few rather drunk customers who were being escorted back to the city by a servant or two.

“Thank you for your visit,” the woman at the door said with a charming smile. “I hope you come again.”

“Thanks.” Dallion smiled back. “I might.”

This has become a rather annoying habit of yours, dear boy, Nil said from Dallion’s realm. Having initiative is a good quality, but one of these days you’ll end up regretting being so reckless.

Life is a balance, Nil, Dallion replied. I have it.

You managed to get the kaleidervisto? The echo sounded surprised. I must admit, I had my doubts. And to think that a year ago we couldn’t give the things away.

Even with everything they are capable of?

I must admit back then, certain of their specifics weren’t widely known.

Another thing. What do you know about mages?

Mages? Abysmal people. They walk on a cloud of snobbery that causes everything around them to decay. Is there anything specific you’d like to know?

What are the chances of finding one in Nerosal?

Normally, none. But with the festival approaching, I suspect you’ll see one or two. The countess usually has one by her side. Maybe a few will come from the Imperial Capital, if they could be bothered. Despite its size, Nerosal isn’t viewed as particularly special when it comes to the empire.

So, there’s no chance I’d bump into one just walking about.

I would say that is highly unlikely, the echo laughed. Don’t worry, you have nothing to fear. Mages won’t dirty their hands with anything less than another mage.

That’s good, because I just bumped into one in there. And he tried to scorch me.