Even with a Perception accolade, the flavor of cold custard was confusing. Rain wrinkled up his nose, trying to pick apart the disparate flavors and assign them to buckets. There was a hint of citrus that could have been rock melon. The custard had a rich, buttery aftertaste. Both were overpowered by flakes of what was clearly pepper, and there were salty chunks that he’d thought were bacon. Upon tasting them, he’d discovered they were clearly not.

Maybe they’re some kind of capers? They’re red, but... Rain worked his tongue, squishing free one of the tiny bits to try and get a read on it in isolation. No, not quite. What ARE these?

“If you want some of mine, just ask,” Ameliah said, pulling free the wooden spoon from her mouth with a contented sigh. She smiled at him, refilling the utensil with a glob of nice, normal chocolate. “You should have known something called ‘Monster Guts’ would be bad.”

“But it’s not bad, that’s the thing,” Rain said, swallowing and licking his spoon. “It’s just a lot. What do you reckon these red things are?”

Ameliah shrugged. “Spoon for a spoon?” she asked, sliding her wooden bowl toward him. “I can’t say I’m not curious.”

“Careful, that’s what got me in trouble,” Rain said, filling his spoon with chocolate ice cream. “On three.”

“Three,” Ameliah said, waving a spoonful of red-speckled green dessert at him before sticking it into her mouth. She made a face almost immediately, speaking with her mouth full. “You weren’t kidding. Why is there pepper?” She swallowed, licking the roof of her mouth a few times before tilting her head. “Why does it work?”

Rain was busy licking his chops too. He spread his arms helplessly, then went back to sorting through his feelings on the chocolate. The base ice cream had the same strange buttery twang. It was sweet—too sweet, in his opinion—but also flat...or something. “Vanilla,” he decided, pointing at her bowl with his spoon. “Needs vanilla.”

“I can’t say I’ve ever had that,” Ameliah said. “I’ve heard of it, though.” She paused. “Where have I heard of it?”

“It comes from a bean,” Rain said with a shrug, taking another bite of his own ice cream.

“Bean ice cream?” Ameliah said incredulously.

“It’s better than it sounds,” Rain said, laughing. “It was basically the default flavor where I’m from. People call vanilla boring, forgetting that there’s a reason it’s number one. Anyway, every chocolate ice cream recipe I’ve ever seen has vanilla extract in there too. Tastes weird without it.” He stuck another spoonful of Monster Guts into his mouth. “Not as weird as this, though.”

“You’re still eating it,” Ameliah observed.

“I am,” Rain said with a smile. “Wish I knew what these red things were.”

Ameliah chuckled. “Don’t look at me. Closest thing I can think of are corpse berries. They grow around the Bloodmarsh. Those are pinker, though, and they’re mildly poisonous. Just go ask the guy if it’s bothering you that much.”

Rain waved his spoon dismissively. “Eh, maybe I’m better not knowing. Anyway, I was surprised when I learned ice cream was a thing here, which was silly in retrospect. Magic changes things, you know?”

“Mmm,” Ameliah said. “Would be nice if it wasn’t so expensive, though.”

“Tell me about it,” Rain said with a grunt. “Four silver for this tiny bowl.”

“And you picked Monster Guts.”

“I did.” Rain nodded sagely, breaking out into a grin.

This feels...normal.

It’s nice.

True to form, the universe’s reaction was as harsh as it was immediate.

“Found you!”

Rain turned his head to look down the street, then choked, spoon sticking out of his mouth. He hastily pulled it free and jammed it into his ice cream, then lowered his visor. Not only had he recognized the voice, but he’d also realized that he’d been feeling a familiar soul approaching for a while now. He just hadn’t been paying it any attention, too enthralled by Ameliah’s smile.

Everiss bore down on them, the leader of Barstone’s Guild wearing the same sleeveless jacket she had been on their initial meeting. With his new skills, he could see her metallic-red soul clearly. It didn’t seem so intimidating as it had when he’d only been able to feel it. Maybe that had something to do with the souls he’d seen since.

“Everiss?” Ameliah asked in clear confusion. “What are you doing here? Did the Empire attack Barstone?”

“No,” Everiss said with an annoyed click of her tongue, crossing her arms as she planted herself beside their table. “They scampered, just like this asshole. Can’t say I’m upset to not be homeless, but some action would have been nice.” She fixed Rain with a glare. “Who agrees to a duel, then runs away? Do you have any idea how annoying it was to track you down?”

“Who agreed to a duel?” Rain asked flatly.

“You did,” Everiss countered. “For a thousand points, remember?”

“I remember you challenging me,” Rain said. He glanced back at Ameliah, then down at his melting ice cream.

Everiss snorted. “Oh, so you’re saying you’re too busy to fight me, is that it?”

“Actually, yes,” Rain said, looking back up. “We’re kind of in the middle of something here. Believe it or not, I’ve got better things to do than throw down in the street.”

“No need to be rude, Rain,” Ameliah said, laughter in her voice. “She came all this way. Besides, I wouldn’t mind a little entertainment.”

“I don’t fight,” Rain said stubbornly. “I either win, or I don’t. It’s just mathematics.”

“What?” Everiss asked.

Ameliah laughed. “New catchphrase?” She nudged Rain’s foot under the table. “Come on, do it. Duel her. It’ll be fun.”

“Damn it,” Rain said with a sigh. Shaking his head, he reached for his spoon. “Fine, Val, but I’m finishing my ice cream first.”

This is not how I saw this afternoon going.

An hour later, Rain was fighting not to grind his teeth as he listened to the roar of the crowd, waiting his turn in the staging area. A massive set of stone doors stood in front of him, glowing with elaborate runes that he had no hope of understanding.

Unlike the indoor ring where he’d dueled Thrast, the Guild of Eastspar had pulled out all the stops. The arena was meant to contain golds—well, golds that weren’t deliberately trying to break it down. Even a silver could manage that much, given time.

The cheers suddenly swelled, then a bell tolled, signaling the conclusion of the match.

A man with a slate standing beside the door waved, catching Rain’s attention. “Get ready,” he said, raising a single finger. “One minute for them to clear the floor.”

Nodding in acknowledgment, Rain again wondered how he’d gotten himself into this mess. Yes, defeating a powerful person like Everiss in public would go a long way toward convincing people not to mess with him or Ascension, but he wouldn’t have agreed if he’d actually seen the arena beforehand.

Val said it was big, not that it could seat half the city...

That was an exaggeration, granted, but Detection couldn’t tell him the number of people in the stands. The wards felt just as impenetrable to his probing as those on the vault below the Bank. These didn’t block sound, though.

“And now, good people, a surprise!” the announcer’s magically enhanced voice boomed. “Before our next scheduled bronze match, with special approval from Guild Leader Rovert, I give you...a clash of silvers!”

The crowd gave a bloodthirsty roar, already amped up after a day of violence.

Rain tapped his fingers against his thigh, more worried about being on display than anything Everiss might do to him.

I shouldn’t underestimate her, but I feel like... I feel like I’ve got this. Why do I feel like I’ve got this?

“And not just any silvers!” the announcer continued. “In the gate of Me’ke, our first contender!” The ground began to rumble. “I give you, the Wolf of the Valley, the Flickerspear, the reigning champion of Barstone AND ITS GUILD LEADER,” he paused as the spectators lost their minds, “EVERISS!”

Rain’s ears would have been ringing if not for his Endurance.

That Speaking Stone he’s using’s got to be twinned to a Speaking BOULDER.

“And in the gate of Ember, a newcomer to the arena!” the announcer continued. The man with the slate touched a spot on the wall, and the rumbling became much closer. The enchanted stone doors began to move, grinding slowly open as the announcer continued. “I give you a man whose name has been on every tongue in the city since his frozen ship sailed sailless into the harbor! A man so TWISTED that he WILLINGLY tore apart a Dunch with his BARE HANDS!”—Rain paled—“I PRESENT TO YOU NOW, THE CLEANER OF THE NIGHT! DEA—urk!”

Ameliah’s voice took over, amplified by the presumably stolen Speaking Stone.

“CAPTAIN RAIN!”

The thunderous cheers rose again, this time accompanied by laughter and applause. Rain walked forward, feeling like he’d rather be sinking through the floor.

Damn it.

Blinking as he walked out into the open, he looked around with a sigh. He’d gotten over his shock when Everiss had dragged him to the administrator’s booth overlooking the field, but it was still impressive seeing it from ground level. The arena floor was far from the level dueling ring he’d expected, instead hosting what could be described as a constructed disaster zone. There were cracked boulders strewn everywhere, as well as splintered tree trunks, stacks of smashed crates, deep pits, towering piles of sand, and even a few strategically placed chunks of metal. The rusted iron barriers were obviously intended to provide cover against mages.

Not against me, though.

Rain lifted his eyes to the crowd, scanning over all of this until he found Ameliah through the barely perceptible blue tint of the barrier. She waved, looking cheery beside the ruffled announcer.

I’m glad one of us is having fun.

The announcer cleared his throat, the sound booming through his reclaimed Speaking Stone. “I remind all spectators that ability use in the stands is prohibited, as is assaulting arena staff.”

He shot a glare at Ameliah, who raised her hands, backing away as the crowd laughed.

The announcer sighed, then continued in a long-suffering tone that said this kind of thing happened often. “Contenders, please proceed to your marked positions.”

Not having stopped walking in the first place, Rain continued his way through the rubble until he emerged into a relatively clear spot at the center. Everiss was waiting for him, and his jaw tightened upon seeing that her vest had been replaced with a heavy-looking suit of scale mail. The overlapping segments reminded him of the Sparkscales he’d fought below Vestvall, and they were supplemented by solid metal plates covering her forearms, thighs, and shins. Sabatons, gauntlets, and a closed helmet completed the set, offering significant protection.

She didn’t have a backpack, so that’s Heavy Armor Inventory. If she has Mana Vent, I’m boned, or at least in for a slog.

“This is an official, Guild-sanctioned duel under Osaran rules!” the announcer boomed as Rain found his painted starting spot. “Victory will be declared when one party yields or is rendered unconscious! This is NOT a duel to the death. Killing your opponent will result in immediate forfeiture of your Guild Plate, so be careful! Should the barrier turn red, or should the bell sound, you must stop immediately or face disqualification! As the arena is sealed, there is no ring-out! Raise your right arm to indicate that you understand and agree to these rules!”

Everiss raised her right arm, as did Rain a moment later.

“Competitors, walk forward!”

Rain walked.

“Clasp hands!”

Rain clasped.

Through the air slits in Everiss’s visor, he saw her smile as she did her level best to squash his radius and ulna into a single bone. With Tactile Transference on, he felt the powerful pressure of her fingers, but the adamant plate protecting his forearm didn’t flex in the slightest.

“That’s not steel,” Everiss said.

Rain rumbled, doing his best impression of the armor’s maker.

Everiss’s smile widened. “Let’s give them a good show, yeah?”

“Remember, you asked for this,” Rain said by way of reply.

“Break and return to your marks!” the announcer called.

Doing as instructed, Rain looked up at the stands, searching for Ameliah again and finding her beside Val—because of course Val was here. He sighed, returning the duel maniac’s thumbs-up, then turned to face his opponent. Everiss had summoned her spear and was whipping it around her in a fancy pattern, finishing with a flourish.

Well, here we go then. How should I play this? How much can she take?

“Begin!” The announcer shouted, and something poked Rain hard in the center of the chest.

Perhaps ‘poked’ was not the word. Everiss’s spearpoint landed with such force that the dirt behind him was blown back in a cone while his cloak whipped like a flag in a hurricane. Rain himself barely swayed, his Myriad Plate’s Kinetic Conversion having triggered, shifting the bulk of the momentum to Force damage to be subsequently absorbed by the armor. Force Ward hadn’t engaged. It was active, naturally, but Tallheart’s work was more than up to the task for which it was designed.

dmgnum.sh version 0.5.2

Physical Damage Detected

Kinetic Conversion Triggered

Armor Durability: -2,493

Armor Saturation: +6

Armor Charge: -6

Hardness + Force Resist: 7,500 (capped)

Original Damage: ~9999 (capped)

Dismissing the dialog, Rain glanced at his vitals, noting that the tiny buildup of saturation had already dissipated.

Health

12,400 / 12,400

Durability

599,551 / 602,044

Saturation

0 / 154,209

Charge

185,494 / 185,500

Stamina

1,714 / 1,720

Mana

234,500 / 234,500

“Not steel,” Everiss repeated, slowly and casually retracting her undamaged spear point.

“Was that Quickstep?” Rain asked, picking at the tiny scratch where she’d struck him. “I didn’t know it went that far.”

“Something like that,” Everiss said, vanishing again. Rain felt a series of strikes, precisely once per second, proving she was no stranger to fighting on the surface. Everiss struck for perceived weak points—the back of his knee, his armpit, his neck. Each time, the result was the same—a sharp poke, trivial damage, and nothing more.

If she only has physical attacks without piercing, I could endure this basically forever. A fifty-fifty split of Force Ward and Winter would let me regenerate faster than—

Rain hissed, jerking his hand away as Everiss’s next hit struck his fingers—specifically, his rings. Thanks to the Metallic Unity enchantment, the damage was spread across his armor as a whole, and the hit hadn’t hurt any more than the others so far, but still.

That crossed a line.

Rain’s retaliation was interrupted by the tip of Everiss’s spear shattering his potion-glass visor insert. Not technically part of his helmet, it didn’t benefit from any Hardness enchantment but its own. Force Ward intervened—too late to save the glass, but not too late to stop the spear point from digging into his eyeball.

dmgnum.sh version 0.5.2

Physical Damage Detected

Mana: -884

Force Ward: 200%, 0.6 tick

0.353778 mp/dmg mitigated

Hardness + Force Resist: 7,500 (capped)

Original Damage: ~9999 (capped)

Already having been about to do so, Rain let loose.

Immolate

focusboost.sh: 550 points shifted to Focus from secondary stats

focusboost.sh: Focus: 970

modmon.sh: ['aura compression', 'channel mastery']

autocompress.sh: Target: 10 meters

autocompress.sh: Compression Applied: 77 meters

autopower.sh: Target: 9999 dps

autopower.sh: Target not met

autopower.sh: CM Setting: 200% 0.2s tick

Immolate (15/15)

4716.95-5390.80 heat (fcs) damage per second to foes and environment

2358.47-2695.40 heat (fcs) mitigation per second to friends

Sufficient damage causes ignition

Range: 10 meters

Cost: 150 mp/s

The striving spear point vanished from his helmet with a “Tch,” Everiss appearing a moment later and skidding to a stop just outside the tightly controlled aura radius. Red interference clung to her mail, already dissipating.

Rain let the magic fall, curling his fingers around to inspect them in the heated air. “Going for my rings? Really?”

“You’re worried about your rings?” Everiss asked, incredulous. “What, are they more expensive than your eyes?” She laughed. “What was that skill? Not the weak-as-shit fire blast. I didn’t even feel that. The other one. That was Force Ward, wasn’t it?”

“You’ve been doing your research,” Rain said, tilting his head down to shake the shattered glass free of his visor. His mana was back at full, so with nothing else to do with it for the moment, he started recharging his armor. His eyes would be visibly shining through the gap, but he found he didn’t care.

She’s no more threat to me than Thrast. Not on the surface, at any rate.

He smiled, struck by a memory.

I’m not trapped in here with her. She’s trapped in here with me.

Everiss twirled her spear and beckoned. “Guess it’s time to get serious, then.”

“Guess so,” Rain said, widening his range to encompass the entire ring and bringing Ethereal Aura online. He crossed his arms. “Let me know when your armor saturates.”

Fulminate

“I still can’t believe you did that to her!” Val said through his tears, still struggling to suppress his laughter even though it had been a full ten minutes since they’d left the arena. “You didn’t even MOVE! That is so much worse than that spinning bullshit you pulled on me back when you were running around in chainmail. You just crossed your arms, like—” He paused to demonstrate, stumbling as he tripped on a loose cobble.

“Careful,” Ameliah said.

Recovering, Val covered his face with a hand, still laughing. “And you did it to a branch leader! I’ve never seen such disrespect!”

“She didn’t seem to take offense,” Ameliah said, smiling as she walked on Rain’s other shoulder with her hands behind her back. “If anything, I think his nonchalance got her more fired up. No, what shocks me is that she challenged him to a rematch.” She shook her head. “It’s a bad matchup. Without a piercing skill, it’s just not happening. I’m sure her build’s fine against anyone who has to actually, you know—”

“Aim?” Val interrupted.

Ameliah pointed a finger at him. “Yes, aim. Against Rain, it doesn’t matter how good you are at dodging.” She inhaled sharply, as if realizing something. “I’ve got it!” She cleared her throat. “You can’t dodge Rain!”

“That’s great!” Val burst out into another laughing fit, slapping Rain’s armored back, which was otherwise bare, yet another cloak having perished. “Can’t dodge Rain, ha! Because his name means—”

“Yes, yes,” Rain interrupted. “If that becomes a catchphrase, I’ll tie you both to Kettel, then dump all three of you in the ocean.”

Ameliah controlled herself after a moment, then reached out to touch his arm. “I hope you don’t actually mind how things went today,” she said, her tone earnest. “I had fun, even if it wasn’t quite what we had planned. Didn’t you? Can’t you admit it was a little satisfying? Taking Everiss down a peg?”

Rain smiled. “Okay, maybe a little. Dueling is just...not for me.” He shrugged. “Not with my magic being the way it is. I don’t see the point.”

“You just need to try a less lopsided format,” Val said. “Maybe a chasm duel or a scored contact spar or something. Something with strict rules. Something about skills, not Skills.”

“If I had the time for it, and it wasn’t quite so public, I’d be fine with that,” Rain said, thinking fondly of his occasional sparring sessions with Ameliah—if you counted having his ass handed to him as ‘sparring.’

“Hey, it’s people,” Val said suddenly. “Oh, it’s the away team. Did we come to see them off?”

“Don’t you say a damn word about the duel,” Rain hissed. “I don’t want them distracted.”

“Captain!” Samson called, waving to them, standing with a full party of white-cloaked Ascension members beside the arch to the teleportation complex. Mlem and Ava were there, plus Lyn, Mahria, Belson, Corrin, Lago, and Stint—the last sitting atop Dust. Temerity had originally had a sort-of cargo lift on its top deck that they’d used to get the horse below, but the mechanism had been smashed in the attack on Three Cliffs. Rain didn’t actually know how Stint had managed to get the horse back out again.

“Is this everyone?” Rain asked Samson as he reached them, nodding to the group in greeting.

Samson nodded. “You said a full party, so I brought eight fighters, including myself.”

“Hey!” Ava shouted. “There are nine of us! I count as nine!”

“You’re too short to count, dear daughter,” Mlem said, stroking his mustache.

Ava tried to kick him in the shin, but Mlem dodged, clearly having anticipated her reaction.

“I wasn’t about to ask him to leave her behind,” Samson said to Rain, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword.

“It’s fine,” Rain said, watching the girl chase her father in circles. “Ava can handle herself.”

Ava came to an abrupt stop to stare at him, her face lighting up like he’d just given her a pony. He nodded at her, then returned his gaze to Samson. “Besides, it’s not like there should be any trouble finding a good bay and a lead on some ore. If all goes well, you’ll only be on your own for few days.”

“You really think the ship will catch up to us that fast?” Stint asked, idly ruffling Dust’s mane.

“I know it will,” Rain said, smiling. “I’m actually wondering how the system will deal with the sudden change in longitude. Will it adjust the time at dawn like it did each day on the way to Three Cliffs, or is there a threshold where it will do it instantly?”

Mlem, Mahria, and Ameliah all opened their mouths, but Rain raised a hand. “Nobody tell me. You’ll spoil the surprise.”

“What the depths are you on about, Rain?” Belson asked. “Adjust the time? You can’t adjust time. Time is time.”

“You’ll see,” Rain said, not faulting him for not knowing. He knew for a fact that the former barber had never left Fel Sadanis before joining Ascension, and though he was awakened now, not everyone’s interface gave time down to the minute.

Down to the minute...

Rain’s smile became strained. He’d realized a while ago that the system’s high-resolution time zones meant the durations listed on his progress reports were subtly off.

And without GPS coordinates to fix them...

UGH! The only word is UGH!

With effort, he unclenched his jaw.

IT’S FINE. It’s not like anyone is reading them but me. Heck, even if they did, what kind of person would check the math on the DATES? A lunatic, that’s who.

“You’re thinking about something weird, aren’t you?” Ameliah asked.

“No comment,” Rain replied, turning to face her. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder toward the archway. “Anyway, you’d better get going before I ask you to stay. Also, Luna is coming toward us from the south. Atyl and I are getting close to a deal with him, but seriously, he’s so thirsty. You’d think that would make him willing to give a little, but no. You’d also think a Bank president would be better at negotiating, and I’m not one to talk, but again, no. Anyway, I’ll deal with that noise. You just go before he gets here. Be safe, and oh, I almost forgot.”

Quickly, Rain fished out a Detection anchor from his armor and handed it to Ameliah. She laughed, taking it and slipping it into a pouch at her waist. “I’ll be fine,” she said, embracing him.

“Hang on,” Val said, sounding confused. “You’re going with them, Ameliah?”

“Yes and no,” Samson said, Ameliah’s lips being too busy for her to reply. “Once we get to Yelfenn, she’ll help us find a spot to set up, then she’s going south on foot.”

“Why?” Val asked.

“Recruiting,” Ameliah said as she and Rain reluctantly pulled away from each other. “I won’t be gone long.”

“If it’s more than a week or so, I’m coming after you,” Rain said, ignoring the confused looks Ameliah’s response had gotten her. “Seriously, be careful. I’d feel better if Tallheart went with you. It will probably go smoother, too, but he’s still worried about the ship breaking, and you’ll move faster on your own. Also, there’s...” He glanced at Val, hesitated, then decided to say it anyway. “We still don’t know where Lightbreaker and his army are, and Tallheart’s a target for the Empire. North Harbor’s not far from Yelfenn, so there’ll probably be refugees and—” He stopped himself, looking back at Ameliah. “Just watch yourself, alright? Sleep with one eye open.”

“I promise I’ll be careful,” Ameliah said with a laugh. “Now, how about you promise me something. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“Done,” Rain said instantly. “I promise.”

Ameliah grinned at him. “You say that, but—”

“Ah, Captain Rain!” Luna’s voice said, floating over Rain’s shoulder. “I can see that you are busy briefing your team. However, as you are leaving tomorrow, I had hoped you would be available to continue yesterday’s discussion. Have you had time to consider my latest...”

Rain ignored Luna’s blathering, meeting Ameliah’s eyes and mouthing the word ‘run.’ She laughed, then nodded, motioning to the others to grab their things. Only once they were moving did Rain turn to face the Bank President, fixing him with a blatantly fake smile. “Why, President Luna! Fancy seeing you here! It’s almost like you’re following me!”