"Please don't touch anything," Rocko asked, putting his claw over the hole.

"I wasn't going to touch it," James said, affronted.

"Yes, you were," Rocko said, "But right now, we need to step back and examine our options."

"I am not taking that Amulet. It would be a death sentence."

"You're right. It would be." Rocko said, leading James back from the altar.

"Where is the guardian?" James asked, looking around.

"Don't think there is one."

"Zita told me that guardians guard all Amulets. And you have to defeat the guardian to win the Amulet."

Rocko shrugged, "The greater gods change the rules with each passing Challenge."

"Great," James muttered.

"But, the way I see it, we have four options. Some better than others."

James sat down with his back to the wall and listened to Rocko as he sipped some water.

"First option is to leave. Whether you cover it up or not is up to you, but you leave. We either come back in 3 months and get it then, or we use it as bait to kill off other Champions."

"I am not keen on hunting other Champions," James said.

"Then we give the information to the nearest kingdom and let them use it as bait. Right now, most of the kingdoms are at war with the Champions."

Rocko continued, "The second option is you to claim the Amulet and be hunted down by all the Champions in the area. I would not recommend that option."

"Nor would I," James agreed.

"Third option is to turn in the Amulet for a reward. Rocko explained that the Amulet would give you a free level, a handful of Skill points, Attributes and Free Advantage Points."

"That is not a bad option," James agreed.

"The last option is a do-over."

"What do you mean."

"Just that. You return to the Avatar Creation point. You are given bonus Character points to spend. I believe you would get 250 extra points. And you get to recreate your character." Rocko explained.

"Is this a good option? Having a few extra points won't make up for all the Skills and Attributes I would lose, right?" James asked.

"Yes, you would lose all the Skills you have right now, but the truth is, who cares. You got all those points in three days. ++This would be the change to do your character properly, instead of as a Were Tiger."

"What is wrong with a Were Tiger?" James asked indignantly.

"It is a great choice for the short term. It was a good choice if you want to make it to the top 500, but there are better choices out there. Choices I can now make you aware of."

"What do you mean, what other choices?"

"For instance. Because this is a reset, new Races are now available to you that were not available to you before. Because you have so many extra points, you would also be able to select some of the rarer and more difficult to acquire Races." Rocko explained.

"Such as?" James asked.

"A Dragon," Rocko said with a grin. "1200 points for a Dragon."

"That breaths fire?"

"Yes."

"That can fly?"

"Yes.'

"Oh, that sounds good."

"No, it doesn't. It is a trap."

"A trap?"

"Yes. The Dragon can't go into dungeons, towns or cities, it can't use equipment, and it is a target of everyone on sight."

"Hrm." James wasn't convinced.

"But, with the new Races available due to the reset, there are a couple of better options. Depending on your end game."

"Why do I feel like I let a demon out of the bottle when I gave you the option to give your opinion."

"You miss understanding, James. I have all the game knowledge. Some of it was locked away, but there are certain tricks that we can use to our advantage."

"What do you mean?"

"For instance, Dodge is a great Skill, but Evasion is better."

"Why is Evasion better?" James asked.

"Evasion allows you to avoid magical attacks, ranged attacks and melee attacks. All rolled into one Skill. You can't learn Evasion until you have learned all three, at which point, you get the average of them."

"Nice. That means I would have fewer Skills to learn. So you have an idea of a Race I should take?"

"I do, but I would like a few hours to plan it out. There is no rush that I know of, so if you are willing, I can help you create the perfect Avatar.

"That didn't work so well for Ignatius," James pointed out.

"True, but I have been watching you for three days now, so I may have a better handle on your disposition than he did."

"Granted. But what are you considering? Don't you think I should be involved?"

"Of course. That is why I mentioned the end game. If I have a better idea of what you are considering, I have a better idea of how to help you get there."

"Well," James considered, now chewing on some rations, "The primary objective of this mission is to survive long enough so that I reach Rank 500 or better. The second objective is to survive. The target of opportunity would be to get an Amulet so that Ignatius can get a promotion."

Rocko nodded, "Agreed. The world is mad with this Challenge. This Challenge has been brutal. Towns have been destroyed. Kingdoms have put bounties on Champions. You need to learn subterfuge. You are going to need to hide. I have an idea. I just need time to chisel them out."

James just nodded. Rocko had been so excited. He was speaking at a normal pace. But there was also something different about him. His eyes took on a vibrant gleam when discussing this option. "Alright, Rocko. I am going to hang out here for a bit, wait for the forest to dry up a bit, and then you tell me what you think our best options are."

Rocko smiled as he faded from view. James shook his head and continued to eat the ration. He wasn't sure what Rocko had in mind, but he was sure it would be more interesting than a Were Tiger.