Eric loved seeing the excited twinkle in Rica’s eyes when he told her his plans for the day, after the sweetest breakfast in bed he could have ever asked for, and in short order they were dressed and presentable before Eni at the downstairs concierge desk once more. Her warm smile of welcome quickly turned to a surprised blink when Eric made it clear he’d like to take a look at several other hotel suites, in addition to the multistory condominiums they had available.

Their concierge’s eyes never lost their warmth, but Eric could definitely see the savvy behind Eni’s gaze when she didn’t hesitate to bow her head and bring over an officious looking elf who nonetheless maintained a polite smile when Eric made his request known.

“Forgive me, dear patron. Is something amiss?”

Eric quickly shook his head. “Not at all, sir. If anything, I’m amazed by the quality of your facilities, and I’d love to see what the suites and condominiums of various price-ranges look like. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll be coming again or, should I obtain the means, be interested in making an outright purchase.”

The manager chuckled politely and with genuine warmth, Eric gave him that, not hesitating to dip his head and gesture for them to follow.

“We always delight in showing off our engineering marvel that is the Blue Palace. Did you know that the Topaz alloy this was constructed from, besides being absolutely delightful in terms of lustre, brilliance, and of course, loyal to the colors of our corporation, also has a guaranteed durability of three millennium?”

Eric had jerked to a stop at those words. Because it was one thing to front and pretend sophistication or calm, but sometimes it was best to be genuine, and every pour on his features, he was sure, radiated the same surprise he felt, hearing those words.

“Wait, wait, hold on… you’re saying that topaz can be used in an alloy? And three thousand years? Old Earth skyscrapers should have lasted a few centuries certainly, with any kind of maintenance. But with rust, earthquakes, general wear and tear...”

He sputtered to a stop under the managers indulgent smile. “Yes, we’re aware of both the miraculous wonders and egregious flaws of late 20th and 21st century engineering, reliant as it is on electromagnetic power sources and mundane alloys alone.”

He gave Eric a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “You lived in a time of wonders for your culture, compared to only a few centuries ago. And it truly is miraculous how quickly sophistication can accrue when engineers only have to worry about two mostly complimentary theories of everything, and stable physics. Things get much… trickier when multiple arcane forces and fields come ‘on line’ as you might put it. Yet in learning how to cope with multiple competing formulae and theorems one can simultaneously apply to almost everything, our engineers have come up with any number of marvels. Our aluminum-topaz ally, with a healthy infusion of what, for the sake of brevity, we’ll call a patented formulae of arcane catalysts, means that after decades of trial and error, Blue Corp holds the patents for a revolutionary construction material we are putting into actual use here on Earth!”

He positively beamed, gesturing wide to the entire grand building. “You, my boy, and everyone else making the Blue Quarter of Freetown their favorite destination spot, get to be on the cutting edge of engineering technology, and what a grand time it is to be alive!”

And here is where Rica chuckled, flashing the beaming elf a jaded smile. “In other words, we’re the guinea pigs. The test dummies to see if this questionable new construction and manufacturing process is safe and viable for the galactic populace as a whole.”

And Eric felt nothing but pride for his girl, even as he returned her gentle hand squeeze, doing his best to regain his composure as the manager coughed and cleared his throat. Eric was curious as to what tact the elf would take, offense or bluster, but the man actually bowed his head.

“That is a fair point, milady. Though our best minds have done all they can to assure it’s safe… and the material composition itself is both alchemically stable and far stronger than your steel reinforced concrete. Even better, it's capable of a subtle form of self repair such that normal architectural degradation might never occur here, there are still questions that must be answered. Are there unexpected repercussions centuries or millenia down the line in the populace as a whole with even the mildest of electromana resonance that our Alutopaz buildings radiate? In truth, we don’t know.”

Eric nodded solemnly. “So there are risks. As with all things. I take it that that risk is reflected in the asking price for anyone bold enough to outright purchase one of these units?”

The manager blinked, carefully looking Eric over before flashing a brilliant smile. “Indeed they are, young adventurer. And who more suited to take that risk than those who embrace perilous odds as a matter of course, even as they push themselves to glorious heights of strength and power? Accruing greater mastery over their bodies and minds and all the potential locked within than sages or sword masters who study and train for decades, if not centuries, without embracing peril’s path. And best of all, should there be even the tiniest of...drawbacks, your natural, nay, supernatural resiliency allows you to regenerate from almost any wound with a single night’s sleep. That’s how it works for recently evolved humans here on Earth, is it not?”

Rica’s eyes lit up, she jerked Eric to a halt as the man continued to lead them down a spacious corridor complete with glorious murals of forests and fields in a world that wasn’t quite earth, lit up by chandeliers overhead radiating a pale blue-white light giving the richly appointed corridors a hauntingly beautiful glow.

“Wait, sir...are you saying that it’s not that way on other worlds? That Classers there don’t shoot up in skill ranks as absurdly fast as my beau, or heal up all their injuries after a single day?”

The man froze… then sighed, and bowed his head, as if in apology. “I do apologize, milady, but I am not permitted to say.”

His frank candor made Rica blink and pause. “I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”

The manager laughed it off. “Quite alright. And to answer your earlier question, dear sir, yes! These Blue Palace units, exclusive to Earth, with our guarantee that no construction will be blocking your view of our quarter’s parks or the forests, fields, and lake in the distance, save in times of war, of course. And each and every one of them are being offered at a glorious discount compared to anywhere else in the galaxy! A standard unit, complete with two bedrooms, full-sized bathroom, spacious living room connected to the balcony, a fully kitted dining room, and a modest-sized training room, can be yours for a mere million credits! And that includes the electromana entertainment center with access to over a thousand different animated movies popular in both former Japan and the Americas! We were able to claim copyrights for almost every animated cartoon made in multiple nations, and our animation wizards are not only fans, but dedicated artists doing all they can to preserve the original palate and perspective, despite the three-dimensional holographic interfaces we use.”

Rica couldn’t hold back her smile, after she and Eric had spent more than a bit of time watching and laughing at their favorite Super Punch Man episodes before being distracted by other more intimate adventures the night before, once little Ria was happily asleep. “I still can’t believe you have the whole Super Punch series, and fuck did I miss watching that and everything else!” She chuckled softly. “I kind of developed an addiction to anime while I was pregnant. A good way to decompress and relax and smile after a stressful day.”

“Of course!” The manager positively beamed. “And thank you for that wonderful feedback. I shall be sure to let our animators know that their work is appreciated by even elite tier adventurers! Now, if we’re bold enough to increase the price, we enter the realm of full sized condominiums like the one you share with your friends and family. And for an upgraded units like your own, that includes exclusive access to technologies so very like your, ahem… how shall we put it… role playing games? A fantasy genre that has a well-established precedent where you may spend endless hours role playing as a standard Warrior, or Arcanist or, of course, for the sake of verisimilitude, a near perfect version of yourself, should you consent to having our sparring chamber interface upstairs measure and translate your stats and abilities for direct download into your system.”

The manager’s knowing smile matched Eric’s own, even as Rica gasped in awe. Because after her worries regarding the peril of the unpredictable nature of the pair of dungeons that allowed for unlimited adventurers, being able to test oneself in a mock battle against any range of expected foes would allow one to prepare for any number of scenarios, and turn what would otherwise be an extremely perilous adventure into one that was almost… safe.

And if said arcane computer could actually input skills and abilities demonstrated in the dueling chambers, then that would allow for as realistic a measure of testing ones abilities, and likelihood of survival, as anything else possibly could.

“Wait, but that, that means...” Eric squeezed her hand before Rica could say, it, the manager wincing and looking away.

“That means that our condo is equipped with a state of the art gaming center that would have made our friends jealous, even when Earth was at the peak of its power!” Eric loudly said. “And I can only imagine how much such a suite would go for.”

“A very reasonable two million credits and the entire unit is yours,” the manager said, professional smile firmly in place, not missing a beat as a flushing Rica nodded.

“And of course, for those who purchase units outright, there is no upkeep or additional fees to worry about! You’re free to purchase your own food and cooking supplies here in the Blue Quarter or Freetown proper, if you trust those goblins… or make use of what we humbly think is the best dining facility you’ll find in a hundred miles. The Blue Cafe below.”

Eric grinned. “We ate their last night. Absolutely fantastic. Are there any larger or smaller units available?”

Here the manager positively beamed. “Only larger, I’m afraid. But five million credits will buy you one of our king suites! Nearly the size of the manors standing brave sentinel around greenpark below, in terms of square feet available...” He pointed to the beautiful neighborhood Eric could make out so well from the floor to ceiling windows, once more admiring how the houses melded so well with the transplanted trees, the discrete use of shrubbery, walls, and nature trails giving countless houses a sense of privacy, for all that it was still a neighborhood within a walled city surrounding what truly was a glorious looking private park complete with flower beds, playing fields, and a children’s playground. “And the same price.”

The manager played elegant host, and Eric and his girl soon found themselves whisked away to the most luxurious pad imaginable with its own in-house theater with a movie selection twice the size of the one available to the 1 and 2 million credit apartments, and, wonder of wonders, what looked to be an arcane version of a VR helmet presently charging on a crystal-latticework that would allow one to not just to play a character in a training program disguised as an RPG, but to literally make full use of the dueling chambers upstairs to mock-fight whatever monster battles one might actually face in the local dozen rifts that had formed within a 20 mile radius of Freetown.

Rica’s jaw was agape. She clearly understood just how valuable training with the VR helmet in the dueling chambers upstairs would be.

“And best of all, any owner of a king’s suite gets prioritized booking for the dueling rooms!” The man chuckled gently. “Of course, only the two top-floor king’s suits are equipped with such, their systems close enough to interface with the two dueling chambers, so when our most luxurious suites are eventually snatched up, we will ask, but never insist, of course, that the owners sync up their, ahem… gaming times so as to leave the dueling ring free for other guests who, save for our elite tier owners, must pay for the privilege.”

Eric and the beautiful girl by his side exchanged glances, Rica saying so much with the pleading look in her eyes. He then sighed, putting on an apologetic face. “Truly the Blue Palace is a marvel of Arcane technology and engineering.”

The manager put on his best smile. “Why, thank you, sir. I will take your praise to heart. We do strive to please, after all.”

Eric’s smile became pained. “Yet I couldn’t help but notice… out of the admittedly short time I’ve been here, that I’ve only seen two other adventuring parties make use of the dining facilities, and only one suite we passed by in all the time you’ve been showing us around is actually occupied.”

The manager blanched at this, Eric flashing a wolflike smile. Very few secrets could be hidden from someone with 51 Perception and Infravision evolved to the point that he could spot magical emanations every bit as well as infrared, which meant that yes, he could vaguely make out even perfectly still and quiet shapes through thin wooden doors. Of course, the doors here were all comprised of a reinforced composite that Eric sensed was as strong as steel. Which was a damned good thing, in a complex catering to the richest and most powerful adventurers.

But the bottom line that all the pretty magitech in the world couldn’t hide was that the entire Blue Palace seemed more vacant than a ghost town.

“Now, frankly, I think you’ve all got a good thing here. I’m just afraid that it might be a bit out of the price-range of most folk. Have you ever thought of lowering the prices to be market competitive?”

The manager gazed at Eric for long moments, giving a sad, slow shake of his head. “Regrettably… some things are not permitted to us.”

Eric blinked at this. “I see. Any chance you can explain? Odd as it may sound… perhaps some friendly feedback from a third party might help?”

The man gave a bemused chuckle. “If only I could. Regrettably, I am not even permitted to speak about such things.”

Eric flashed a sympathetic smile as a growing suspicion gelled in his mind, focusing intently on the elf as he did so. “Wow. I can imagine. Those goblins are absolutely great at tying people up in contractual knots, aren’t they?”

“Indeed they are, sir. The hoops we had to leap through just to get...” For long moments the manager just gazed at Eric in open-mouthed horror, going pale with genuine fear. Eric’s wolf-like grin of satisfaction turned to a wince of dismay, only realizing a second too late that in this world of ruthless robber baron capitalists and oath-bindings, even tricking the truth could have unforeseen consequences. And considering just how vile he was finding those orcs to be...

Eric faked a cough. “I’m sorry, what was that? I’m afraid I completely missed whatever you were saying! I was going to ask, could one possibly garner a discount if one brought, say, twenty condominium units?”

The manager gazed at him for long moments, caught between horror, amazement, and a desperate sort of hope. Even Rica hissed in surprise by his side.

“Are you serious?” Both said simultaneously.

Eric smirked, though he didn’t hesitate to kiss his girl’s cheek and affectionately rub her hair. “Let’s just say that I am.”