Marcus had a lot to prepare for his duel. After his meeting with Harados, he had briefed Nadia and Zoey as to what had happened. Zoey was not happy about the outcome. Something about Marcus’ wish and his duel troubled her but she did not say what. Instead she instructed Marcus to update his gear.

Marcus understood her request but he was not sure about the funds. He had received quite an amount from The Treasure Hunt Quest but he had used a majority of it in paying off his debt to NAIF. He was quite low on funds now. He had enough to live in a town for about 10 days, and that was not counting the supplies he needed to replenish.

It was Nadia who gave him the idea and he did not like it.

“A loan from NAIF!” exclaimed Marcus, “I just got out of debt from them.”

Nadia shrugged and said, “You can take it from a bank but then they charge interest while NAIF doesn’t. NAIF only has a fixed markup which I am sure you would pay it back fast.”

“No, I won’t”, said Marcus, “I have been adventuring for quite some time now Nadia and I have found it to be an expensive endeavour. Between buying equipment, spells, supplies and daily requirements of life, I usually have no or minimal savings. And going into debt again does not make sense to me.”

“Oh, get off your gorking high horse. Just take a loan from NAIF. It will not kill you. The whole system has gone out of whack because of this demon invasion thing and NAIF is not doing anything. The least they could do is give out cheap loans. Do not worry about them. Gorking use them.”

Marcus frowned. Something about what Nadia said triggered a memory within him. He remembered his labyrinth prize and what he had asked of Leyda Lightweaver. He checked the calendar and groaned. In five days, he would be visiting Melancholia and examining the contract the Game Masters made with Umaru.

That did throw in a bit of hindrance to his preparations that he needed to make to defeat Harados. He was not completely sure how he would do it. He needed to sit and think this through.

Marcus said, “Very well. I will take a loan from NAIF. But not today. Today, I need to think. Today I need to form a plan to at least try and defeat Harados.”

Nadia clapped Marcus’ back and said, “Good. I like this confidence. Keep it up. And we will be there to support you. Even if you do not manage to kill Harados, we shall have a group of adventurers witnessing the duel so that we can kill him if he kills you.”

Marcus paled a bit at that and nodded. He would revive after dying, he knew that, but he was not happy with dying. He hoped all would be alright.

***

Kyrie mostly kept people away from Marcus the next 2 days. After Marcus’ meeting with Harados, Marcus had decided to plan how he would attack Harados and he needed complete peace and isolation. He had assigned Kyrie as his bodyguard, making sure no one disturbed him. Kyrie was happy to comply.

However, Kyrie was bored with this job. Marcus had holed himself in their room at the inn and Kyrie was simply sitting outside the door most of the time. They had breakfast, lunch and dinner in the room itself.

All of their team members came to visit Marcus but they normally talked with Kyrie and after understanding Marcus’ need for privacy left him alone. Nadia simply told Kyrie to tell her when Marcus was ready to buy some supplies.

She also gave an update on what was happening. The hellhounds seemed to have disappeared. No one was finding anything in their search and there was still no sign of Harados even after some of the adventurers using the [Detect Magic] spell.

As a result, Zoey had started reinforcing the towns and the city of Artorios. Zoey had also sent a team of five in each of the villages, but most of the adventurer force was being divided between Treedos, the capital city, and the rest of the towns of the landmass. They would soon be joined by a few more adventurer teams.

It seemed that Zoey was suspicious of Harados’ motives behind the duel and felt that he was planning something big which he would execute on the day of the duel.

Kyrie considered this as a long shot but did not argue. She did not understand how one could make a connection like this. Maybe Marcus could, but he read a lot and he would have further information that links hellhounds disappearing, a duel between a demon lord and an adventurer and a plan of something big, whatever it was.

It was on the third day when Marcus emerged from the room. He looked haggard according to Kyrie.

Kyrie said, “Good morning. Or should I say, afternoon. Do you want to grab some lunch?”

Marcus nodded and said, “I am rather hungry.”

Lunch was meat stew, Kyrie did not know which meat it was, bread, cheese and orange juice. Kyrie did not drink alcoholic drinks but Marcus did. He was having red wine with his lunch. He did not drink much though.

Kyrie put a piece of meat in her mouth and chewed. It was delicious. She was a water nymph and could survive on liquids. She did not need to eat food. She could simply survive on water. But she enjoyed eating food. Especially delicious food such as this meat stew.

They did not talk while they ate. Marcus was eating slowly and deliberately. Kyrie wondered why he was doing that. Then she realized that he was still thinking about something. Mostly his duel with Harados.

After their lunch, Marcus leaned back in his chair and let out a content sigh. Then he looked lazily at Kyrie and grinned.

“This was fucking delicious”, he said.

Kyrie nodded and Marcus continued, “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

Marcus started to talk. He talked about some subconscious or spell of him known as Memory which was in his mind, his reward from Leyda for clearing the labyrinth and that he had to go to Melancholia for a day to read the contract.

Kyrie digested the entire information. She thought about what Marcus had said. It must have been hard for him to tell all this. Somehow, she felt okay with this information. She had a feeling that Marcus was hiding something from her but then, she had not told much about her life to Marcus too. They had not talked much socially as they had discussed earlier.

Kyrie said, “So, you are saying you did this to yourself. Caused amnesia in yourself.”

“Yes.”

“And you left a sort of spell which would help you get your memories back, but you do not know what would trigger getting your memories back.”

“Yes.”

“And you believe reading this contract would help in taking a step in getting some of your memories back because the spell told you so.”

“Yes.”

“You do realize this is sounding mad and suspicious?”

“Sort of.”

“And you are still going to go ahead with it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I can’t stop you. But tell me, in the long run, will this affect our partnership? The adventuring partnership?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“I can see that you are disturbed by this information considering your short replies and lack of swearing.”

“Yes. A little bit.”

Kyrie thought about it. She sighed and said, “I don’t think we can do much about it right now. Go, read your contract. Then we will see. However, you do need to be prepared for your duel with Harados.”

Marcus nodded. He said, “Let’s go meet Nadia. She can update us about what has been happening.”

Kyrie updated Marcus regarding what had been happening as she had been getting updates from the rest of their hunting team. Marcus listened carefully to what Kyrie had to say and then decided that he needed to go shopping.

They first went to visit Nadia who tasked Nassir to help Marcus get the right equipment and resources for the fight. She was busy arranging the defence of the city, not a small task, but Zoey had put her in charge of protecting Galados.

“Alright”, said Nassir, “Before we start. Can you give me the description of your equipment?”

Marcus shared the status screen of all his equipment.

Shimmering Twinblade

Physical Attack: Base 50 + Strength*1 + Dexterity*3

Magical Attack: Base 50 + Intelligence*5

Special Attack: 10% chance of Blinding Enemies. Levels up with Twinblade Proficiency

Block: 20%

Critical Attack Chance: 5%

Critical Attack Damage: 20%

Requirements: 10 Strength, 25 Dexterity, 25 Intelligence

Description: A rare twinblade with Magic attack. Scales more on intelligence and provides high magical damage. The blades of this weapon are made with glimmerstone which also causes temporary blindness amongst the enemies.

Arachne Silk Robe

Physical Resistance: 50

Magical Resistance: 50

Description: An armor made from the silk produced by the arachne found on Una. Stronger than spider silk, the armor has defensive capabilities against both physical and magical damage.

Hard Wraps

Physical Resistance: 20

Magical Resistance: 20

Description: Wraps made from the leather extracted from the magical beings - Kanashis. Strong and light, the wraps provide defense against physical and magical damage.

Aduminotium Bracers

Physical Resistance: 100

Description: Bracers made from aduminotium, one of the hardest metals found on Una. They are made with master craftsmanship such that they are light in weight but provide maximum protection.

Circlet of Hope

Physical Resistance: Wearer Level

Magical Resistance: Wearer Level

Spell Slot 2

Description: A Legendary Circlet once worn by the King Ganamush the Benevolent. The wearer of this circlet would be blessed with the King’s protection giving them resistances equivalent to their level. It binds to the wearer who wears it and can only be given to a non adventurer after the adventurer is done with it.

Nassir read the descriptions and stats of each of Marcus’ equipment in detail. Then he looked at Marcus. Then he read the descriptions again.

“Is this all?” asked Nassir.

“Yes”, replied Marcus.

“You sure you are not gorking hiding any equipment from me?”

“Why the fuck would I hide anything from you. I need your help after all.”

“You are level 100 and you do not have any necklaces, rings or artifact equipped. Only weapon and armor. What should I think?”

Marcus started to reply and then closed his mouth. He frowned and then said, “What the fuck was I thinking. I completely forgot about rings, necklaces and the artifact. Oh! And I also have these gloves which simply add 4 spell slots to my current 2 slots from the Circlet of Hope.”

Nassir growled, “Of course you gorking did. Now come. We need units first. Then we go for equipment. We are in Galados. There is a good market here, if you know where to look.”

First, they went to a NAIF facility where Marcus got a plain silver looking card. He examined it to find only NAIF written on it.

The NAIF personnel explained, “Use this card whenever you buy anything. It will count all the units used and when you return it. You will need to pay a fee of 20 percent of the total spend. Hope you understand this all. The card is valid for two days only.”

Marcus told the NAIF personnel that he understood and then they exited the NAIF facility. Kyrie looked at her companions as they exited. Marcus was examining the card as if it was something which would explode at any moment while Nassir was looking for something on the map.

Kyrie was now examining Marcus more closely. What he had revealed earlier still disturbed her. She had told him that she was okay but in truth she was not that okay. She needed to think. She needed to clear her head. Maybe a dip would help.

As Nassir led them towards a shop Kyrie said, “Hey, is it alright if we split? I have got a thing of my own.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow but then he nodded. He understood what Kyrie meant.

Nassir shrugged and said, “I have to primarily get equipment for Marcus. We could have gotten you some equipment too but considering your lack of equipment, I am assuming there are some restrictions?”

Kyrie grimaced and said, “Something like that.”

Nassir nodded and said, “If you do not want to come, no one is stopping you.”

Kyrie thanked Nassir. Then she summoned her mount, her water wyrm, Nalana and shot off in the air. She always enjoyed flying on Nalana just as Marcus always enjoyed flying on his mount Lara. Nalana seemed to have levelled up too. She was now at level 20. Her growth could be felt in her speed and stability.

Kyrie flew for some time and then selected a destination. It was a part of a nearby river with a small waterfall. When she reached there she smiled. She had chosen a good spot. She dismissed her mount and jumped into the water. Heaven. Bliss.

Here she would rest. Here she would think. And here she would decide if Marcus was still the adventurer, she wanted to have a partnership with.

***

The next day Marcus was up early in the morning. He got ready fast and had an early breakfast. Today was the day he would go to Melancholia with Leyda Lightweaver and read the contract between the Game Masters and Umaru. He was feeling nervous and anxious. To distract himself he looked at all the equipment he had bought the day before.

Twinblade of Feast

Physical Attack: Base 75 + Strength*1 + Dexterity*3

Magical Attack: Base 100 + Intelligence*5

Special Attack: 10% chance of healing 25% of the damage caused

Block: 20%

Critical Attack Chance: 5%

Critical Attack Damage: 20%

Requirements: 15 Strength, 25 Dexterity, 40 Intelligence

Description: A rare twinblade with Magic attack. Scales more on intelligence and provides high magical damage. The weapon also hungers for enemies and gives the adventurer a chance themselves to heal with each strike.

Moon Vest

Physical Resistance: 100

Magical Resistance: 100

Description: Armor made from silk and enchanted under the pale light of the moon to give a balance of both physical and magical defence.

Greater Hard Wraps

Physical Resistance: 50

Magical Resistance: 50

Description: Wraps made from the leather extracted from the magical beings - Kanashis. Strong and light, the wraps provide defense against physical and magical damage.

Titanium Bracers

Physical Resistance: 150

Description: Light weight and high resistance providing bracers made from Titanium for good defence and providing expert movement to adventurers.

This was his normal weapon and armor. He still had his Circlet of Hope which had not changed much. Then he examined his two new necklaces and rings.

Necklace of Agility

Gives the adventurer a 10% chance to dodge an attack which would otherwise have hit them.

Necklace of Health

Increases the Health of the adventurer by 25%.

Ring of Stamina

The adventurer can fight longer without getting tired. Its boon increases if the adventurer has [Well Rested] skill active.

Ring of Physical Resistance

Increases the adventurer's physical resistance by 10%.

Ring of Magical Resistance

Increases the adventurer’s magical resistance by 10%.

Ring of Magical Sharpness

Increases magical damage of spells by 10%.

This was strong equipment increasing his attack and defence considerably. According to Nassir this was normal equipment for a 100 level adventurer. They had not bought an artifact as Nassir had advised that Marcus get an artifact from a quest rather than buying it. In that way the artifact would be much stronger.

Marcus hoped that this would help him defeat Harados. They had also replenished his supply of Health and Mana Potions. Marcus had also bought two new spells he could use.

[Force Pull]

Pulls the enemy with a force which would pull him towards the adventurer. The distance the enemy gets pulled from depends upon the weight of the enemy. Does not cause any damage. Mana cost of 10. Cooldown 30 seconds.

[Trap]

Lays an invisible trap on the ground. Enemy stepping on the trap gets hurt with Dexterity * 5 points of damage. Mana cost of 20. Cooldown 30 seconds.

He had them both equipped. Now he knew 6 spells and had all his spell slots filled. He checked his stats.

Name: Marcus Blank

Race: Human

Designation: Adventurer - Rank 3

Age: 25

Current Location: Fontaine

Adventurer Statistics:

Adventurer Level: 100

Experience: 14,000 / 29,800

Strength: 20

Dexterity: 40

Intelligence: 50

Vitality: 50

Agility: 40

Wisdom: 39

Luck: ???

Health: 500

Mana: 256

Active Effects:

None

Passive Effects:

Stamina Regeneration - Level 8

Well Rested - Level 4

Twinblade Proficiency - Level 12

Alcohol Tolerance - Level 3

Stealth - Level 5

Description: The anomaly has now become a better adventurer. With a little effort people may forget he is an anomaly after all.

Spells known:

[Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap]

Spells Equipped:

[Enchant Weapon: Holy] [Whirling Weapon] [Force Push] [Detect Magic] [Force Pull] [Trap]

Spell Slots: 6

Physical Attack: 255

Magical Attack: 420

Physical Resistance: 470

Magical Resistance: 307

Critical Attack Chance: 45%

Critical Attack Damage: 90%

Status:

None

It was all good. After he was done examining everything, he looked up to see Kyrie looking at him with a weird expression.

“What?” asked Marcus.

Kyrie said, “It’s so early in the morning. What are you doing dressed up?”

“Do you not remember? I am going to Melancholia today to read the contract.”

“Yes, but do you have to do it so early?”

“Yes.”

Kyrie shook her head slowly. Then she went back to sleep. Marcus decided to wait in the common room of the inn. As he was about to enter the common room he saw an elf talking with the innkeeper. Marcus was sure he was getting used to the ethereal beauty of the elves but the elf standing there floored him. He shook his head after a moment and started to enter the common room but then he heard his name.

Marcus looked at the elf. She had spoken his name. Marcus went up to her.

Marcus said, “Hello, I am Marcus Blank. Are you looking for me?”

The elf looked at him and he examined her name.

Tasha Lightweaver

Level ???, Health ??? / ???

Tasha said, “Yes, you are Marcus Blank. And I am Tasha Lightweaver as you can see my name, I believe. I was sent to get you to the capital. I believe you have a contract to read.”

Marcus gulped for some unknown reason and then nodded. Tasha smiled, a bright smile which somehow filled Marcus with light, or at least that is what he felt.

Tasha extended her hand and said, “Well, I don’t like wasting time. So, grab my hand.”

Marcus felt a bit confused but he grabbed her hand nonetheless. The world shifted and then righted back again. He was not at the inn in Galados. He was someplace else. He had a moment to orient himself before he vomited all over, was that carpet? Why was there carpet here? And for that matter, where the fuck was here?

Tasha said, “I am sorry. I did not realize teleportation would affect you so. I mean, you are an adventurer after all.”

“How many times must I tell you”, said another voice, “Adventurers get teleportation sickness too.”

Marcus looked up to see Leyda Lightweaver walking towards him and Tasha. She was accompanied by someone who was frowning at Marcus. Based on the images he had seen of him, it was Rauros Shadowfang.

“Well, well, fucking well”, said Rauros as he and Leyda reached Tasha and Marcus, “The legendary fucking anomaly.”

“I have a name”, said Marcus, “It’s Marcus Blank.”

“I know”, said Rauros with a slight grin on his face now, “It’s ridiculous. I love it. Come on then. Leyda says you need to read a boring contract. Come on.”

Marcus started after Rauros who had already started walking. Leyda and Tasha followed him too. Leyda and Tasha seemed to be having a whispered conversation behind Marcus. Marcus tried to listen but was not able to do so. Must be some sort of a spell.

Rauros led Marcus through some passageways. The floor was carpeted. The ceiling was high and decoration lay on the walls and along the walls of the passage. There were doors, closed and various passages connecting to the passage they were in.

“Where am I?” wondered Marcus aloud.

“You are in our palace in Melancholia”, replied Leyda from behind Marcus.

Marcus raised his eyebrows. He was in the palace of the Game Masters. Then his eyes fell on Tasha who was looking at him with a curious expression on her face. Marcus wondered who she was so closely associated with Leyda. Then he remembered her last name. Most likely Tasha was the daughter of Leyda.

They finally came to a large door, although, compared to some of the other doors he had passed, Marcus considered this to be a smaller door.

Rauros opened the door and led them in. It looked like a bedroom. There was a single queen bed to the left of the entrance at some distance. There was a door on the right which Marcus assumed led to the bathroom. In the front of the entrance, at the wall there was a closet and to the right of that was a desk with a large window. The ceiling of the room was high and the length of the window was from the ceiling to the desk.

A huge stack of papers was placed on the desk. Looking closely, Marcus saw that it was a very thick book. Rauros walked up to the book and then said, “Well, here is the contract. As per your agreement with Leyda, you need to read this in a day which is thirty hours. It is currently three thirty in the morning. I will come back and take it out of your hands tomorrow.”

Marcus gulped and said, “Can I make a copy of it?”

“No.”

“You expect me to read such a thick book by tomorrow?”

“Yep.”

“It is not possible.”

“Hey, it was your fucking reward. You could have asked for something better but you wanted to fucking read. So, go ahead. Fucking read.”

“No need to get angry, Rauros”, said Leyda in a soothing voice, “He is only going to read. There is not much harm in that.”

Rauros snorted and left the room in a huff. Leyda and Tasha looked at Rauros leaving and shook their heads in a similar way. Then they turned to look at Marcus.

Leyda said, “I will be off too. I have a Gameworld to run after all. My daughter, Tasha, will keep you company. If you have any questions, you can ask her. She is able to answer a majority of them. Goodbye for now, Marcus Blank. I will see you tomorrow.”

Then Leyda left too.

Tasha said, “Do you need anything? To help you read.”

Marcus shook his head and made his way towards the desk. The book had a title, The Contract involving the Game Masters Rauros Shadowfang and Leyda Lightweaver with the Chosen Representatives of the Umaru.

That was a fucking long title. Marcus flipped through the book and groaned. It seemed that it was about one thousand three hundred and thirty-two pages long, with two columns on each page and tiny font size. It was going to be rough reading this and he had only thirty hours. It was impossible. How was he fucking going to do this? And where was Memory for that matter?

Marcus decided to contact him when Tasha said, “Are you okay? You are not reading.”

Marcus looked up to see Tasha had walked over up to him. He started and fell out of his chair. When the fuck had she gotten here? And why was she hovering?

“You can sit over there”, said Marcus slowly pointing at the only bed in the room, “Please do not startle me like that again.”

Tasha laughed and nodded. She went and sat on the bed. Marcus could see that she was watching him like a hawk though. Marcus went to the bathroom, and he told Tasha that he was going to go to the bathroom. He wondered why the fuck he did that. He was not required to tell Tasha his every move.

In the bathroom he washed his face and somehow calmed himself. He was feeling a bit anxious. Then he closed his eyes and thought, Memory! Are you there?

I am here, came the reply.

The contract is very long. I doubt I can read it in a day, thought Marcus.

Hmm, mused Memory, not quite what I expected but not unmanageable. Well, my dear Blank, do you trust me?

No!

Excellent. Then when you go back to the desk, give control of your body to me. It would take me a couple of hours to read the contract. I am fast. I can feed you the tidbits later.

No way. I am not giving you control of my body.

The contract is fucking important Blank. It will help you. And don’t you want your memory back?

He emphasized on memory as if he was making a clever joke and he started to laugh. Marcus thought about what to do. He was not happy giving Memory control of his body but what if he did? Will it help him truly? Memory was not what Marcus had considered to be reliable till now but did he have a choice.

Marcus took a deep breath and thought, Okay Memory. You win.

There was more laughter. Marcus went back to the desk and sat down. He turned to Tasha and said, “Please do not disturb me. I am going to start reading this seriously now. If I want something I will tell you.”

Tasha nodded and Marcus focused back on the contract. He closed his eyes and thought, Okay Memory, you are on.

Then he blacked out. When he came to, he found that he was still sitting on the desk. However, the contract was closed, its back cover on top. He was feeling parched and he really had to go to the bathroom. He rushed to the bathroom, and he heard Tasha give a short cry.

Marcus felt as if his bladder was going to burst. After finishing his business in the bathroom, he came out and croaked at Tasha, “Water.”

Tasha handed him a bottle. Marcus drank almost all of the water, albeit a bit slowly. Considering how parched he felt, he had not drunk water for quite some time.

Marcus looked at Tasha who was looking at him verily.

Marcus asked, “How long was I reading?”

“About twelve hours”, replied Tasha.

“Fuck!” muttered Marcus. Twelve hours of reading with no breaks. What the fuck was Memory playing at. He heard cackling laughter in his head. Memory was somehow enjoying this.

Marcus looked at Tasha who took a step back. Marcus frowned and said, “Are you alright?”

“Are you alright?” asked Tasha back, “You looked as if you were in some sort of trance. I tried talking with you a couple of times. I was worried when you did not take any breaks or eat or drink or anything. You just kept on giving me grunts and continued to read. It was gorking freaky.”

Marcus said, “I am sorry if I scared you. But I am done reading. I think.”

He thought to Memory, You have read the entire contract, right?

Memory cackled, Of course Blank. However, your information regarding what the contract contained is blank. More cackling laughter. Now go. Spend some time with this lovely woman. Do whatever you want. When we get back, I will have a reward for you.

What reward, thought Marcus to Memory but got no response. Not even the cackling laughter.

Marcus said, “I am hungry now. Is there someplace I can eat?”

“It is well past lunch time”, said Tasha with a frown, “But I will ask the servants to fetch something nice and fast. You like sandwiches?”

“Love them”, replied Marcus.

Tasha rang for a servant who appeared very fast. He was an Umaru who listened to Tasha’s orders and ran off.

Tasha turned to Marcus and said, “Are you really alright?”

“Why do you ask?” said Marcus, “Is there something on my face? Do I look weird or something?”

Tasha grinned at that and said, “Alright then. Sit. It will take a few minutes for our sandwiches to arrive.”

“Our?”

“Well, I will eat a bite. I had my lunch, but it is polite to keep you company.”

“How kind of you, Your Highness!”

“Why thank you kind adventurer. I hope my company does not displease you considering how I was imposed upon you by my parents.”

“Such lovely company can never displease me.”

Tasha blushed at the compliment. Then she said, “Alright. Enough tomfoolery. Let’s sit.”

They sat on the bed. It was surprisingly softer than Marcus had expected, and he sank quite a bit in the mattress. He observed that Tasha had somehow balanced herself in such a way that she was not sinking as much as Marcus was. She was sitting cross legged while Marcus kept his feet on the ground.

There was a knock on the door and Tasha said, “Come in.”

The servant who had come earlier was back with a few sandwiches on a tray. He put a table in front of the bed and the sandwiches on the table in front of Marcus and Tasha. Then he bowed to Tasha and left.

Marcus attacked the sandwiches. He was starving. He inhaled the first two sandwiches after which he apologized to Tasha for eating like an animal. Tasha laughed at that. Soon they were discussing their lives on Una. On Tasha’s inquiry Marcus told her about his adventures on Una while Tasha regaled, in a highly abridged version about her life of being the daughter of two Game Masters.

They ate and talked for some time after which Tasha said, “Don’t you need to read the contract more?”

Marcus shook his head and said, “I am done.”

Tasha frowned, “Then shall I get mother and father and tell them that you are done?”

Marcus said slowly, “I would be glad if you didn’t. I was hoping that you would like to stay and talk with me.”

Marcus looked at her hopefully. He realized he was crushing on her and he was really hoping that she would stay with him, at least for tonight.

Tasha smiled and said, “I would like that.”

They chatted long into the night. She left only when Marcus was starting to feel really sleepy. The next morning Marcus woke refreshed. He freshened up and wondered what to do. There was a knock on the door and Tasha came in. The Umaru servant followed her with breakfast.

Marcus and Tasha ate breakfast together. They talked till Rauros and Leyda came into the room.

Rauros said, “Are you done, anomaly?”

“Yes”, replied Marcus with gritted teeth.

“Fucking really!” exclaimed Rauros, “You read the whole contract in a day.”

“Twelve hours”, said Tasha from beside her parents.

Both Rauros and Leyda looked surprised at that.

Rauros said, “Well whatever the case. I believe our business here is concluded. Happy adventuring. Leyda will send you back.”

Then he left the room.

Leyda said, “I apologize for my husband. He is not the best in the morning. I will cast the [Teleportation] spell on you. You will be teleported outside the inn where you were staying in Galados. Please brace yourself. If you are mentally prepared, then you are less likely to suffer from teleportation sickness and feel highly nauseous.”

Marcus thanked Leyda and Tasha and told that he was ready. Leyda waved her hand. Marcus’ world shifted. He was now standing in front of the inn he was staying at in Galados. For a second nothing happened. Then he vomited.

“Fucking less likely”, muttered Marcus.

Well, he was back. Now, he just needed to focus on the duel. But first, he needed to talk with memory. He wanted his reward. He opened the door to the inn and walked up to his room. He needed to have a discussion with Memory and then with Kyrie. Then he needed to get some training done. A part of his strategy included him leveling up by one level. It was going to be long few days.

***

“So, what do you think?” asked Leyda.

Tasha replied, “I like him.”

Rauros huffed and said, “I like him too. What the fuck has that got to do with anything?”

“He is not a scion if you are wondering”, said Tasha.

Rauros growled, “Fucking hells. What is he? I just can’t seem to figure it out.”

“Well, there is something odd about him, something related to the Game Masters as you said father, but I cannot sense what. Maybe if you ask another Game Master to examine him”, said Tasha.

“You know what would happen if I do that”, said Rauros, “You know the fucking rules.”

Being a scion herself, Tasha did know the rules. She sighed and said, “I don’t know how else I could help you father. You are the gorking Game Masters. I am merely a scion.”

Leyda said, “You could stay here for some time. Keep an eye on him. Rauros has already established a task force in NAIF to do that. You can help them. I am sure you can get some time off from the Academy.”

“You will need to get permission”, said Tasha.

“Already done”, said Leyda, her eyes twinkling.

Rauros laughed and said, “Be careful of dealing with your mother Ta. She is dangerous.”

Leyda laughed and gave Rauros a playful snap. Tasha laughed with her parents and focused her attention on the file in front of her.

Marcus Blank. The anomaly. And she had to keep an eye on him. This could be interesting.