Tenner dragged after Gi, eyes shining from the sights of Realm 224.

Black marble tiles made up the streets crowded with people, some of whom wore CHEKs while countless kept their faces free. Creatures too had their place on the street. There were a few typical animals Tenner had known for most of his life, a few he’d come across on his journey here and countless unfamiliar ones, of odd shapes and vibrant colors. But all had some sort of purpose. The tamed moronos carried heavy crates and helped with hard work while their sweat drenched owners bore massive lava lamps and commanded them around. Smaller creatures, like dafas, were most often pets.

“So.” Gi eyed Tenner. “Gonna explain anything?”

You should be explaining all this to me, Tenner thought. After getting all the events in order, he did Gi a service and let his tongue tell the story whilst his eyes wandered off.

The ground level was lively and bustling, even though the peoples’ faces were gray. Some stared at Tenner like at an alien. He guessed they were as amazed at this stranger’s wonder as he was amazed at this place. All sorts of vehicles floated above the streets while a few landed and made their way through the masses. As the people thoughtlessly cleared to make way, Tenner finished his story.

“Huh. Am I the only one who thinks,” Gi said, “that bounty of yours was called Dafalegs, but couldn’t bear a nickname that brought such coolness so he had to change it to something like Desertlegs?”

Tenner laughed. “You might be right. And he sorta ran like a dafa too.”

Face now as bright as his heart, Gi glanced over his shoulder and slowed down. “You can barely walk.” There were at least three meters between him and Tenner. “I can carry you.”

That’d be great, Tenner thought. But how would it look? “I can make it by myself.”

“One hell of a lunarist you are...”

“Not dead, nor the greatest bounty hunter in the world so no reason to slow down.”

Gi asked about said goal then wondered about the loot of the levita. After that, he mentioned how young Tenner looked. In response, Tenner died inside almost three times and explained how quickly he had to grow up. They talked, shooting questions one another’s way all while more novelties of civilization opened themselves to Tenner.

When he first got the CHEK, its personal holograms left an incredible impression. Now, a city full of them, where most buildings were either covered in neon ads or holograms, recaptured that magic. Yet the illusions of the outside world didn’t. They were acceptable, but uncanny -- any sight that wasn’t Realm 349’s golden skyline or the rusty desolation seemed off.

Gi wouldn’t say so. He never ventured out of the Realm. It seemed odd to Tenner, though the man explained that the Realm contained everything he could need and sprawled so far that it never bored him. He’d only leave if the desire for some unusual sights appeared in him. Tenner nodded along.

Gi led them down a simple route.

The canal located itself in the southernmost part of the city, scarcely surrounded by grey buildings. An alley led north from the canal to a main road going west. That road opened up an incredible view of the city, and didn’t have any intersections, only lined by buildings. Unless Gi suddenly turned to one of them, Tenner could keep up.

He checked his character, noting to ask Gi about the CHEK. He’d gone through some intense shit to get a level up and hoped the gains were worth it.

[Name: Tenner

Username: Tenshot

Class: Bounty Hunter

Health: +

Money: 143C$

LVL: 4

LVL EXP: 68

BP: --

Intelligence: 7

Charisma: 3

Luck: 9 (+1)

Eyesight: 7

Reaction: 5 (+1)

(-)Dexterity: 7

(-)Stealth: 6 (+1)

(-)Strength: 5

(-)Endurance: 7 (+1)]

[Perks]

[Way of the Door Opener II (?)

Bonus: +1 Reaction; +8% chance to succeed in picking a lock; A greater understanding of opening doors]

[Fate Is My Weapon II (?)

Bonus: +1 Luck; 2% chance to impair surrounding CHEK’s physical skills; The ability to do the impossible]

[Predator I (?)

Bonus: + 1 Stealth; -2% to the sound of footsteps; ?????]

[Tenshot (?)

???????; ?????]

[I Fight Or I Die I (?)

Bonus: + 1 Endurance; Being can survive 1 damage attacks without losing health; ?????]

[Crafty Hands For A Crafty Being I (?)

Bonus: 2% easier for a being to come up with a crafting]

[Animal Tamer I (?)

Bonus: 10% to Non-C creatures’ liking of being; Being can call creatures]

It had been worth it. Oh how worth it. Even enticing question marks appeared after the perks. Tenner tried inspecting one.

[Way Of The Door Opener II | A perk for beings who’ve had their way in opening doors with unconventional methods]

Finally, he thought. It’s giving me some clues of what is going on.

[Tenshot | ????????]

Like expected. He growled. The only interesting one is kept hidden…

Nonetheless, the numbers grew and the perk list got longer -- a success in his book. Such a success that the screens took up almost all of his vision.

The second Tenner dismissed them, he bumped into a pair of shady individuals carrying huge worms above themselves.

“Watch where you’re going,” he mumbled and got out of their way. Then he froze.

This was an unfamiliar part of the road. And Gi had disappeared. Maybe I should’ve watched where I was going.

The man’s shining bald head stuck out in the crowd -- he’d gone about thirty meters ahead.

Tenner couldn’t run because of falling from the fucking sky, nor slice the gap in any other way. To his right, a levita floated by. He hopped on the vehicle's side. After riding for a moment, he hopped back off, landing beside Gi.

“Ah, so that’s where you went,” Gi said, turning left.

“Yeah, I’m taking in the sights,” Tenner responded.

The man laughed.

“After climbing atop a Realm and fighting blakills, this is what amazes you,” he said. “I thought how much I’d like to give fighting one of those slime things a shot. A second reason why I’d ever leave this place.”

“Yeah, I’d love to go back and teach them a lesson, but they’re powerful,” Tenner said. “And full of tricks.”

“Tricks make a fight a fight.” Gi stopped and pointed ahead. “Without them it’s just a boring kicking that’ll get done within half a minute.”

At the end of the road stood a small, brick wall, smokey chimney bar with a single neon sign staining the whole street yellow.

“The Wonderful Yellow?”

“The best place in the whole world.”

***

Tons of people--some drinking in front of the bar, others dealing and playing cards in the darkest corners--crowded the place. The holographic cards flickered and tainted the interior of The Wonderful Yellow blue, the jokers and aces on them fighting one another.

Tenner limped towards the bar, looked over both his shoulders then, tilting his head, returned to Gi.

He had walked straight past the crowded bar, not giving it even a single glance. His face contorted in ways only a face trying to contain intense laughter could contort. “Huh, what’d you stop for?”

“Isn’t this the place?”

“No and yes -- we’re almost there. You’ll see.”

Tenner sighed and used the very last of his energy to hop after.

Gi entered a hallway under a stairway going to the roof. A dark corridor led to a few steps which abruptly ended with a steel door. Gi banged on it and a peephole opened.

“Password!” a gnarly voice said.

“Password,” Gi retorted.

The peephole shut and the door opened.

That’s one complex code. Tenner followed Gi into a smoky room and stopped, confused. “Wasn’t there someone asking for a password?”

“There was,” the man pointed behind Tenner.

There stood an almost meter tall little creature with red limbs and a black, furry body. Its eyes were big and its tongue stuck out once every couple of seconds.

[Name: Tamed Dedodoon

HP: 25]

[Non-C creature]

“Hey--”

“Fuck off,” the dedodoon spat out.

“What did you say to me?!”

“Fuck off.”

“How dare--”

“Stop it.” Gi grabbed his shoulder.

Tenner squirmed from the pain, forgetting his fury for a moment. That little fucker had no right to say what it did. And Gi had no right to tell him what to do.

“You heard wha--”

“That beauty only knows two phrases -- ‘password’ and ‘fuck off.’” The man laughed and waved after himself. “It doesn’t know who you are or even what it’s saying, just doing what it knows-- “

“Who taught it that?!”

“I did.” A woman walked up from behind Gi. She wore a red trench coat, a pair of white shoes and short hair -- not only Tenner found this cut efficient.

“Why would you?!” Tenner said, clenching his fists.

“So low levels like you would fuck off from it. It’s there to gatekeep, not to make conversation with,” the woman said, annoyed. “And why are you here, Tenner?”

“He’s with me,” Gi said.

“I do have eyes and a brain, so why the fuck would you think I don’t see that? No one wanders in here for no reason.”

“He fell from the sky.”

“Because I have brains doesn’t mean I’m a poet -- the fuck does that mean?”

“That… he fell from the sky,” Gi said. “As literally as you can imagine. He needs patching up, a drink and a showing around. We’ll make it up to you.”

“I still don’t get it… you know, forget it.” The woman waved and turned back to Tenner. “Good to meet you Tenner, I’m Chisel and have not a second free, so goodbye and don’t screw anything up.” She ran off.

“So Chisel owns this place?” Tenner asked, following Gi. The backrooms were full of people, machines and little creatures, all seemingly doing different, yet related tasks. He really chose this instead of a bar counter with a pleasant bartender and good music… He’s a monster!

“Gives me work in exchange for materials.” Gi stopped in a small room full of barrels, pipes and a machine covering a whole wall. “She’s got connections with almost everybody.”

“What a friendly boss.”

“She’s a friendly friend -- this ain’t my work.” Gi slapped the machinery, connected a few wires and pushed a button. A half empty bottle of wine shot out of it. The man walked into another room full of crates and bags, and grabbed a medkit.

“I’m supposed to drink and heal myself?” Tenner took the things.

“The CHEK does the regenerating for you, but you shouldn’t be relying on it ‘cause it can cause mutations,” Gi explained.

Tenner popped open the wine and took a big gulp. Once the maroon drink went down his throat, he closed the bottle back and shivered. His fingers popped the kit open.

Gi crouched and started tinkering with the machine. “I’ll start the working while you do your healing.”

“Work??”

“Don’t worry. Just a small chore so Chisel doesn’t die from frustration,” Gi explained.

“Alright." Tenner nodded and started drinking the medkit’s potions, applying the bandages and odd creams. “Have any clue what a Muted Realm is? Been hearing that a lot…”

[Health Immensely Increased: +70 to Health!]

“A Realm where everything is provided. Your purpose was to wait until the world’s a better place. Everyone else, me, and now you, is supposed to survive and clean the world. ”

“The world really used to be like on TV…”

“Huh, and it probably died like shown there.”

Tenner started, a question popping to his head. “Have any clue how these things came to be?” He pointed at his CHEK. “And where do people get them from? I guess you don’t go around killing random hobos.” People would run out of hobos crazy fast…

“I don’t remember how I got mine. No one does.” Gi’s tone subdued. “But it’s all thanks to the Corporation.”

Tenner’s face shifted into an “I just fell from the sky, I have no clue what that means” expression.

“The Corporation is, by my guessing, God. It put the Realms here, it created the CHEKs, the temples where the CHEKs are given out, and controls the Workers, who secretly oversee everything. I don’t think man could do that,” Gi continued. “The CHEK’s meant to help humanity survive these conditions. It divides us into the most productive classes and gives us supernatural perks to boost our abilities.”

“That’s all?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. There’s a whole lot of things it can do, but the main features are information, classes and perks. Maybe a lot more stuff opens up when you’re high level.” Gi opened a big hatch in the machine and stuck his head in. “There are three classes: hench, bounty hunter and mastermind.”

“I know. You’re a hench?”

“Like most people. Some choose mastermind, very few -- hunter. Though most people these days listen to bullshit and stay classless. Unlucky lunarists have to deal with rejection.”

“It’s when you feel intense pain from level ups, right?”

It might’ve been because Tenner was unconscious, but the level up after his fall--and when he already had a class--didn’t seem to hurt at all.

“Those lunarists feel that pain most of the time. It’s like a disease that always ends up killing.” Gi stuck his head back out. “You’ve gotten Crafty Hands For A Crafty Being, huh?”

“Yeah, wasn’t a pleasant experience.” Tenner finished healing himself, and then the rest of the wine. “But I saved my life crafting.”

“Good. Though mine’s at level 19, I need you. It’s not anything related to Crafty Hands -- I just wanted to feel good about my perks,” Gi said. “Drop that bottle and get in this hole while I go to the production room: something’s wrong there.”

He’s doing me a huge favor. Tenner conceded and crouched. I’d be evil not to do him one in return.

“What’s my purpose in this hole?”

“There are a few strands of wires -- connect them with one another. Then, there’s a button and a light in between the wires. Press it when the light’s blue. If it flashes red, be careful. If it flashes twice, run for your life.”

“Got it.”

Tenner stuck his head in the machinery and waited. It stunk of alcohol and burnt plastic, while soaked wires dripped oil onto his legs.

The light turned blue.

His hand jumped, but froze a millimeter off the button.

The color disappeared before he could press it.

His hand retracted. He’d wait until it was blue again. Then, a drop of sweat ran down his face.

The light flashed red and started flickering.

That’s not good.

A moment later, it stopped, turning red permanently. Tenner slid out of the machine and towards turned the exit. The door slammed shut right in front of his face, hitting his forehead.

[Warning! Damage: -1 to health]

A centimeter of the peephole opened.

Tenner looked around, wondering what happened. Did some lunarists--whoever the fuck they were--attack? Did Gi and his nineteen levels of Crafty Hands For A Crafty Being accidentally destroy the machine? Was this all an ambush to kill and rob him? Well, if it was, he wouldn’t go down so easily.

There wasn’t another way out of the tiny room: he had to break out. Tenner backed off, wary of the machine's red light and dashed at the exit. The door opened. Gi stood in the doorway, laughing.

“You really freaked--”

Tenner couldn’t stop. In fact, he didn’t want to. A prank like that had to be repaid in full, ideally with a swift jumpkick to the face.

Gi’s hands rose and his jaw dropped, but even the CHEK Extensions weren’t fast enough. Tenner’s boot sunk straight into his face, knocking the man to the floor. He lost his balance a moment later and fell on him.

“Fuck.” Gi groaned and pushed Tenner off. No matter the dozen damage sustained, he remained cheerful. Tenner not so much. Dizzily, he got to his feet. A wide circle of people formed around them, drawing quite a lot of attention. In the front of the crowd, eyes shut, laughed a young black woman. She noticed Tenner: one hand covered her mouth and the other glided through her silver afro. “I don’t think it worked, Gi,” she said through her fingers.

“I doesn’t work only if Chisel notic--”

A loud “What the fuck is going on” echoed from the other end of the crowd. The prank had indeed failed. Gi hopped to his feet, wiping his bloody face then pulled Tenner up and hid him behind himself then pointed for the black woman to find her own way out of the backrooms.

Tenner snuck into the crowd. Gi followed.

“You got the same idea as me?” Gi said.

“That you’re a fucking idiot?”

“I’d prefer if you’d call me a fucking lunarist. But I was thinking that we shouldn’t show ourselves to Chisel anymore today.”

“Oh… that too.” Tenner nodded and sneaked over to the Dedodoon guarded exit.

“That was supposed to go completely differently.”

“You’re dumbass brain was supposed to go completely differently.”

Gi laughed for a few seconds. Definitely a complete dumbass. After a moment, he realized how loud he was and covered his mouth.

“Password.”

The little creature unlocked a pair of metal locks and grunting, opened the door.

Gi walked out of the dark corridor, over to the bar, his menacing voice cleared a trio of seats and his head nodded for Tenner to sit beside him.

“Close call,” Gi said.

“I’ve had closer calls,” Tenner spoke.

“And they’ll turn into some incredible stories once you are a great... what’s your class?”

“Bounty hunter.”

“Once you’re a great bounty hunter,” Gi said. “Even though you’re from a Muted Realm, you made it through the damn desolation. I’ve no doubt you’ll make into the top 100 of the rankings. Most people have lost hope these days. It’s actually easy -- I’m in the top 5000 henches.”

“Not a single doubt in my mind too.” Tenner nodded. “I still need to know a few things. You didn’t finish explaining before you started fucking with me. First of all, how do I get CHEK Extensions? And how do they work?”

“I craft them in my workshop, along with pretty much everything anyone wants,” Gi explained. “Yet I never fully understood the CHEK. It connects to your nerves and your brain. That’s all you need to know -- I’ve crafted hundreds of Extensions with that knowledge.”

“You could craft for me.”

“It’d cost you. Extensions usually go around for 1500C$, weapons and armor -- 500. How much you’ve got?”

“One h-- I’m pretty close, but I’ll need to do a few bounties.”

“Chisel offers anybody odd jobs.”

That’s an option too.

A shady individual with a white CHEK passed. Tenner furrowed his brow.

“You just witnessed madness. Some freaks reworked CHEKs to make them ‘do good’. They don’t. Absolute lunarists, I say.”

“You sure do love lunarists.”

“Fucking bastards. Came across ‘em once. Didn’t get a chance at revenge. Calling every fucker lunarist’s the best I got.”

Tenner cracked a grin. His ears caught the quiet background music and eyes focused on the ruckus all around them. An oddly wonderful moment. Then the silver afro lady sat down beside Tenner, shaking her head and extending her hand. “Molly.”

“Tenner.”

“Great, we’ve finally met.”

“You’re Gi’s partner in crime?”

“Used to be, then realized I really, really don’t like The Sparks,” Molly spoke. “Actually I’m a bodyguard for Chisel now. She’d end up in a restpit after tripping on one of her thousand schemes without someone guarding her.”

“You don’t look like a hench,” Tenner said. “Expected ten times more muscles. Less woman. Big mohawk. Crooked teeth.”

“And I expected a…” Molly trailed off, her eyes scrolling through invisible screens. “Ten times less close minded idiot from you.” She stated, voice deep as a moronos grumble.

Tenner sighed. “Sorry…”

“Don’t be.” Molly grinned and punched Tenner in the chest. He flew off his seat. High level people had a skill that allowed them to hit with a lot of force, but deal little pain. The shock of being flung so far by Molly’s punch froze him for a while. Then he let his breath out and clambered back to his seat.

“You’re an evil woman.”

“Thanks,” she said, shaking her head.

“What’s up with that?”

“I like shaking it, that’s all.”

Tenner threw his fists over his head in bedazzlement and grabbed a sip of Gi’s drink. The afternoon dragged on, the conversation reignited by the new topics. Even if the journey had been an absolute pain in the ass, reaching civilization was worth it.

“Alright.” Tenner stood up, hours later, feet lighter, HP higher. “What a weird world. Still, so much better than sitting on my ass in a Muted Realm. Gotta figure this city out, get the credits for Extensions and continue on my travels to greatness.”

“Great.” Gi stood up beside him. “The Wonderful Yellow is always here if you need to make connections with freaks like us. And The Sparks is where you’ll find me.”

“Time to become the greatest bounty hunter then. Mark my words. I might not know how, but I know I will.”

“Better than Black-whoever-he is?”

“No doubts.” Tenner stopped. “Actually, one more question. Completely unrelated to my balance -- how much is 143C$?”

“Two hundred eighty six loaves of bread or three days at a comfortable room.”

“Thanks.” Tenner took out the coin and handed it back to Gi.

Gi shook his head. Tenner pocketed it, gave a nod to Molly about to daze off and turned towards the exit. “May you draw all aces.” He left.

Goodbyes are useless, but luck’s always in demand. It could save one’s life from falling from the sky.