When Eric finally crossed the border to Ashland, a number of extremely pleased-looking Blue Corp representatives were waiting for him, in addition to his mother and her assistant Annika Drevyn, standing dutifully by her side. Annika flashed him an impish smile, pinning Eric with her warm brown eyes. Eric sighed when it immediately became clear that any chance of him discretely slipping into the five star inn his familiar had hyped up was virtually non existent.

And the way his mother and the others kept staring at him and the bunny on his shoulder left him feeling so awkward that he was halfway tempted just to turn right around and sprint back the way he had come.

“You actually did it.” His mother’s words instantly cooled his racing thoughts, allowing his exhausted mind to focus once more.

He couldn’t help flashing a cheeky smile. “You’re damn right I did,” he said, ignoring the cold sweat prickling his forehead at the thought of facing yet another pack of Shadow Raptors, quickly suppressing the memory of the fucking awful birds viciously shredding his most personal bits, for all that they were utterly restored once more.

Eric was no longer lost in a haze of madness, fury, and a dark zen that had left him fearless and utterly one with his environment, glorying in playing the hero, awakening a corner of his mind that few of his kind would ever be able to set free. During those mad days of peril, glory, and the sweet hot frisson of melding his mind with a girl whose hunger for growth, power, acceptance, and love he had understood so well, he hadn’t at all feared the death grinning so wide on his shoulder. Almost welcoming it. For with peril had come the opportunity to forge himself into a being beyond even his wildest dreams. Right before an unexpectedly precious dream had been torn free of his grip for all time.

Eric was almost surprised to see the unexpected thawing of winter’s icy cold gaze, as if perhaps his mother could understand his loss… assuming it had ever been real at all. And that possibility bothered him more than any other.

How much of what occurred in delves resonated with hidden meanings and transcendent truths that could unlock so many paths to power, and how much of what was experienced amounted to the mere whimsy of living dream?

He flinched and looked away when his mother’s too knowing stare made it clear she had seen truths he’d rather keep well hidden. Her voice, however, was still filled with more than a twinge of disbelief. “You cleared and entire Orange tier territory and a dungeon you were in no ways prepared for, occupied by horrors best faced in a group of a dozen with champions twice your...”

She shook her head in awe, eyes widening as she took in just how much he had grown. “Twice your former level. And somehow, by some inconceivable miracle, you infused our reality with a legend lost, centuries ago.”

“The Lost Towers of Zor,” Lady Genevieve Gilderstrom said with more than a bit of reverence. “The ultimate training grounds for the Destined of countless clans, all but assuring the resources and path forward can be found to bring even the most hopeless scions to the glorious depths of Bronze… eventually. And for those with true talent, Silver is within their grasp.”

“Even Gold,” whispered Annika, gazing at Eric with a strange mixture of awe and disbelief. “At least, according to the legends. And more than a few clan elders attribute the breakthroughs made in the towers as a crucial step in their eventual ascension to what most of us would consider, well...”

“Godhood?” said Aurelia with a tight hard smile. “Golds are indeed transcendent. Able to destroy entire worlds, should they so choose. But forget not the Jade and Platinum beyond even them. And still further up those rungs of unspeakable power are true immortals of Diamond tier. Just the first jeweled rung of those who would shape the fates of entire galaxies to their will.”

The Winter Queen smiled into the breathless silence, dipping her head Eric’s way. “Congratulations as well to your other notable accomplishment, my fine young son who managed to ascend from the thirties to level fifty four in less than a week.” Her smile hardened. “Facing perils I shudder even to catch a glimpse of, filling me with bitter fury for your foolish idiocy, even as I glory in your exquisite triumphs! For what you have done is beyond the pale, my child. And ascending to the top tier of the local Stat boards is truly just the least of your accomplishments.”

Eric furrowed his brow, giving his mother a curious look.

She smirked at his expression. “Don’t tell me you don’t know. You have checked your Interface character sheet, haven’t you? It’s how both you and Elonia ‘keep score’ with its unique ability to allow you to shape your potential exactly as you see fit. Why do you think I allowed you and your sister to waste so much time on those foolish games?”

Eric chuckled softly. “Because they weren’t games at all. They were training exercises in strategy, tactics, and how to develop the character sheets of our souls.”

His mother nodded. “Precisely. So why haven’t you been keeping track of your own?”

Eric smirked. “Yeah. I’ll level with you, mom. I’m not blind to my own stat bonuses. My 30% boon to all future boosts to Quickness and a 20% boon to all future Spiritual Energy Reserves is beyond sweet. But the last thing I want to do is worry about the Terran Stat Boards, local or otherwise. My own gifts make it clear that the minute I focus on those, that’s the moment I become a ‘public persona’ and a snapshot of my soul will actually be made available to the common eye.”

Eric adamantly shook his head. “I’m taking a hard pass on that. Because I have enough on my plate without worrying about jealous scions and petty ‘young masters’ looking to pick a fight with me just because they can. I have enough blood on my hands from idiots who in any other time and place I might have gamed with, or even called friends.”

Eric blinked away an unexpected sting in his eyes, gazing at his own clenched fists. Why were they shaking?

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “The fuckers in that delve… they just didn’t stop. They kept coming. All those terror birds. And those Ice Walkers. And those carnivorous plants. And so many of those fuckers could ambush like you wouldn’t believe.” He flashed a bleak smile. “And I couldn’t summon forth a single revenant. Not one! My vaunted Master Necromancer Class was absolutely worthless in that portal.”

He sighed in exhaustion that went far beyond physical fatigue. “I really shouldn’t even be alive, I don’t think. The gravity was over quintuple Earth norms. Had I not benefited from inhuman strength and an intuitive understanding of gravity...” He swallowed and shook his head. “Anyway, what I could really use right now is a good night’s sleep.”

His mother’s icy gaze froze him where he stood. “Correct. You dared to take on a Level 70 dungeon without a band of 12 stalwart companions of equal level, one for each node that your royal bloodline allows you to claim. You should be dead a dozen times over. And what a fool anyone else would be, had they dared to walk in your shoes. Your odds of survival in the goblin betting pits were at less than 20%, my glorious, unspeakably talented son. Certainly no one actually expected you to actually clear it. And how grateful I am that you achieved so many accolades and titles while lost in that pocket realm, having hidden from so many prying eyes until this very moment that your Quickness has just broken all records, in this tiny corner of the world, at least.”

Gazing at his mother for long moments, he did just that, already knowing what he would see. Yet somehow it was different, glimpsing how miraculously far he had come while breathing deep of air smelling of jasmine, honeysuckle, and the enticing perfume of more than one fetching elf maiden gazing so intently his way.

His growth was absurd, perhaps, but not surprising, considering all the high level horrors he had to cut down just to get back here in one piece. Only now, coming completely off his battle high, still mourning what he had lost, could he fully appreciate just how close he had come to getting himself killed far too many times over the last handful of days containing such peril and wonder in equal measure.

_____________________________________

Eric Silver Level 54 Primal Adventurer

Rank 27 Cultivator (Death’s Disciple)

Level 31 Master Necromancer

Physical Characteristics

Strength – 262

Vitality – 278

Finesse – 195

Quickness – 348.1

Appearance – 24

Mental Characteristics

Scholarship – 23

Perception – 186

Willpower – 76

Charisma – 13

Potency Pools

Arcane Potential – 161

(Mana Pool = 1932)

Spiritual Energy – 232.4

(Qi Pool = 2788.8)

Psionic Potency – 11

(Psion Pool = 132)

Soul Reserves – 103 (95)

Stamina – 2570 Points

Health – 3553 Points.

Resistances & Recovery

Physical Resistance – 47

Physical Regeneration – 25.3 health per second

Elemental Resistance – 27

Qi Resistance – 42

Mental Resistance – 27

20% Bonus to all Spiritual Energy points above 200.

30% Bonus to all Quickness points above 300.

Physical Age = 17 Years (+ 32 years, 10 months, 12 days, & 4 hours that Arcane Magics cannot restore! Superhuman vitality allows you to keep your youth, even if you’re now burning your candle at both ends! Note! Your meridians now anchor 12 Divine Tier Spirit Peaches. Life expectancy has increased by 12($%^&^%) years!)

Primal Adventurer Powers

Runic Lore - Rank 26 (Soul Infusion, Tier 2 Runic Spell Evolution, Runic Focus)

Greater runes known: Wood (herbam), Wind (ventus), Fire (ignis), Wrath (iram), Dominion. (dicio) / Lightning (fulmen) / Blood (sanguis) / Gravity (gravitas)

Lesser runes known: One (unus), Many (plures), Now (hodie), Sun Duration (dies), Weaken (debilito), Strengthen (roboro) / Resilience (mollet) / Freeze (Congelo) / bend/curve/warp (incurvo) invert/reverse/turn upside down (inverto) / attention duration (attentio)

Unified Restoration – Rank 9 (This Power allows you to infuse your body with your own spiritual reserves whenever you take an injury for near immediate healing, over and above your basic regeneration rate!) Runic Spell Forger – Rank 8

- Inevitable Doom (105 Mana & Qi) - Rank 6

- Hell Vines (140 Mana & Qi) (You can direct this spell!) – Rank 8

- Lightning Bolt – Fulmen – (30 Mana & Qi) – Rank 11

- Blood Lighnting – Sanguis Fulmen – (30 Mana & Qi, 1.5 SR) – Rank 9

- Fire Bolt – Ignes Pilum – (15 Mana & Qi) – Rank 8

- Psionic Rupture – Fragor – (30 Mana & Qi & 4 Psion) – Rank 5

Cultivation Affinities

Wind / Wood / Fire

Qi Skills

Fire Fist – Rank 8 (10 Qi)

Windfire Strike – Rank 13 (30 Qi & 3 SR) – Bloodfire Strike – Uses elements. Pierces resistance and armor and Soul Wards. You heal for a portion of the damage done. Necromantic affinities possible

Necromancer Perks:

Basic Class Perks

All necromantic (and blood magic) skill use is modified by Master Necromancer Level.

All Summoned & Forged undead have their potency enhanced by Master Necromancer Level.

All spells conjuring forth any number of creatures have summoned total modified by Master Necromancer Level.

One additional enhanced class perk is earned every 2 Master Necromancer levels.

Enhanced Class Perks:

Soul Orb: Tier 1 Undead Legion: Tier 6 (Up to 3,200 revenants may be risen after each battlefield victory!) Undead Tactical Interface map access. Vampiric Restoration Mixed Unit Tactics Mark of Resilience Call to Battle (500 mana cost to summon ½ UL max at any time on the battlefield, but never more than the number of fallen bodies or remaining adversaries.) Death March Undying Phalanx Enhanced Legion (You can safely raise undead up to level = Adventurer + 2*Necromancer level ) Crimson Orb: Soul Orb upgrade (Soul Orb potency now includes blood magic. ½ cost to all soul point using feats!)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Interface Recognized Skills

Acting – Rank 6

Bardiche (Unified) – Rank 21 (Cleaving Blow, Battleforged,*Piercing Strike)

Blade and Shield – Rank 11

Boar Riding – Rank 7

Bow (All Types) – Rank 19 (True Strike)

Crossbows – Rank 16 (True Strike)

Small Blades – Rank 4

Demolitions – Rank 14 (Path of Mastery)

ESS Manipulation – Rank 11 (19) (Arcane Resonance Mastery)

Find Weakness – Rank 24 – (Spell Cleave, Qi Perception, Additional Magus/Cultivator Bonus, +5 Vs Dragons)

Flail – Rank 5

Identify – Rank 1

Gunnery – Rank 10 (Cautious Gunner)

Healer’s Aid – Rank 3

Iado (Fast-Draw) – Rank 17 (Doom Flurry)

Javelin Throwing – Rank 21 (Piercing Strike, Void Piercer)

Negotiation – Rank 12 (Intimidation)

Repair – Rank 1

Sling – Rank 17 (Precise Shot Adv.)

Spear – Rank 25 (Piercing Strike, Battleforged)

Stealth – Rank 15 (Hunter’s Grace)

Swordsmanship – Rank 30 (Doom Slice, Battleforged, Cultivator’s Fury (+50% potency Qi attacks) *Piercing Strike *Cleaving Blow)

Swimming – Rank 2

Unarmed Combat – Rank 15 (Empty Fist)

Essence Related Skills:

Burst of Strength – Rank 15 (Path of Mastery)

Dominion’s Resilience – Rank 3

Dominion’s Command – Rank 6

Heat Surge – Rank 12 (Path of Mastery)

Unified Perception Rank 23 (Sense Heat, Spiritual Energy, Magic, & Qi Flow.)

Arcane Skills

Elemental Wands – Rank 11 (Insightful Caster)

Advanced Arcane Weapons (Blaster Rifle) – Rank 9

Necromancer Affinities & Skills

Blood Mastery – Rank 30 (Blood Claimance, Lesser Healing, Essence Infusion, Vampiric Drain)

Spirit Mastery – Rank 30 (Tier II Path of Dominion, Forced Obeisance)

Rituals of Summoning and Binding – Rank 31 (Tier III Path of Dominion, Ritual of Greater Spirit Summoning, *Instant Transcription)

Flesh Sculptor – Rank 23 (Tier II Path of Dominion, Basic Revenant Preparation)

Blood Ward – Rank 2

Potency Binding – Rank 4

Necromancer Spells

Unorthodox Abjuration – Rank 20

Interface Enhancements

Full Neuro-Linguistic capabilities

Extradimensional Storage Space

Essences Claimed:

Fire – Blazing - (Rank 3, White Tier)

Wrath (Rank 1, White Tier)

Dominion (Rank 1, White Tier)

Path of Endless Bounty – Rank 14 (Crimson Balance, Evolution’s Crucible, Oblivion’s Mercy)

You may consume the potency of any tile you claim for a 50% bonus to baseline Strength and Vitality earned while granting 3 Lesser Bounties of your choice! (Note. These bounties increase in significance when claiming territories of orange tier saturation or greater!)

___________________________________

His mother flashed a brilliant smile. “There is so much I could say. So much I am forbidden to say. But what I will say is there is no point to striving for 300 in Arcane Potential.”

Eric blinked as her mother’s smile slowly widened.

“Or 500. They are both already spoken for. As your sister can tell you herself.”

Eric’s awed gaze locked with his mother’s. “Are you going to tell me she now gets a 50% bonus to every point she puts into Arcane Potential?”

His mother chuckled throatily, stroking his cheek. “I cannot tell you how relieved I am to see you among the living, my unforgivably foolish and absolutely brilliant son. With a better appreciation than most for the glorious opportunities this world offers those who manage to fuse daring and competence into a unified whole.”

Eric gave a bitter chuckle. “Because everyone else is either too frightened to move forward, or they’re already dead.”

“Precisely,” his mother said with an approving twinkle in her eye.

Eric gazed at his mother for long moments, ignoring the too-intent stares being sent his way. “Are Strength and Vitality already spoken for?”

His mother shrugged. “I can only tell you what is already in the public record, which you refuse to look at altogether, my darling, and I can’t even say you’re a fool to do so, as it keeps your identity hidden as well, though I knew it could only be you who had achieved such a remarkable milestone in the attribute most vital to anyone who would dare the deeps alone.”

“Quickness. Getting the drop on your would-be killers before they get the drop on you is absolutely everything, when going in underleveled and with no idea of what you’ll face or what to expect, especially if ambush predators are in the mix,” Eric confessed, earning a nod from his mother.

“However, anyone with access to the local stat boards could freely tell you that the boons for both the first and second threshold with each of those stats were earned quite some time ago.”

Eric swallowed the sudden surge of hunger he felt, as exhaustion and humility earned at death so narrowly avoided turned to a growing pressure to hunt again, as so many things became clear. Because he had received no first achievement boon for any of his 100 point stats. And only Spiritual Energy was open at the 200 mark. Which meant that competition was fierce and there were any number of gifted prodigies making the absolute most of what fortuitous encounters they could even here in this tiny corner of the continent, just as he was.

“How about the second and third threshold boons for Perception and Finesse. Have they been claimed?”

Aurelia flashed an almost predatory grin. “On that, I can say absolutely nothing at all.”

He swallowed the shiver of excitement caressing his soul, gazing off into the distance once more. Suddenly feeling so eager to push up his Strength and Vitality beyond 300 via drinking deep of the crimson cup of endless bounty, and ranking up Finesse and Perception to 200 as fast as he could. Because as sweet as his Quickness boon would be, those other two stats needed to be at 50% of the former at least, if he were to continue to benefit from battle-time, able to react to threats just as quickly as he could unleash death with his blade. An odd gift that worked even better the closer his stats got to a 2/3 ratio.

His battle-trance was further aided by his Speed Racer title boon, which gave him a definite edge when maneuvering, actually able to manipulate his own inertia to a limited extent, and a huge advantage when it came to countering air resistance when darting across the battlefield. A damn useful talent to have and to push just as far as he could. But considering that Quickness only went so far without Strength to make use of all the force he’d need to generate to achieve a given velocity, such as flinging cast iron balls from his sling with the kinetic force of cannon shells… he knew that was just one of many stats he had to develop.

Quickness, Finesse, Perception and Strength all had their place. To say nothing of all his Spiritual Energy or Arcane Reserves, so vital for casting the runic chants and spells he was just beginning to truly understand. And there was the ever growing importance of his Soul Reserves, now necessary for his preferred Qi attack and his exquisitely deadly Blood Lightning… not to mention all of his weapon feats, which synergized so well with his Cultivation path.

And now he had yet another recently revealed potency pool to somehow develop, forbidden from even putting level up points within it, for all that it gave him access to a runic spell attack that was as close to a Psionic Shout as he suspected any elf would ever be able to make use of. And somehow, he needed to take all his skills and abilities and form a cohesive unified whole before he dared any attempts at breaking through to Bronze as a Classer. All of which served to emphasize a truth his mother had drilled into his head countless years ago.

Balance in all things…

And specialization in a precious few.

Before certain priceless opportunities were lost forever.

He blinked at the touch of his mother’s soft hand upon his wrist, gently leading him to follow her with a smile.

Her grip was like steel.

“Come, my lastborn son. You have walked among titans this day, forging legends by skill, daring, and madness. But now it is time to rest. And recover. To process all you’ve learned, and folly so narrowly avoided. Only then will it be safe, or prudent, for you to adventure once more.”

She turned to a solemn-faced Lady Genevieve. “I believe my son needs rest and rejuvenation more than anything else, after daring Death’s embrace so vigorously.”

She tilted her head thoughtfully, flashing the woman an oddly knowing smile. “But you are more than welcome to join us, Jinni. As my personal guest. Please feel free to discuss whatever matters of business you like… once we are in more comfortable surroundings.”

Jinni gazed at Eric’s mother for long moments, cheeks flushing for some odd reason as she gave a deferential nod, a dazed Eric only now noting that her Blue Corp uniform was hugging an unexpectedly lithe and graceful form. Her pale features, no doubt the result of too many hours locked inside going over endless balance sheets, were given warm cheerful life under the light of the afternoon sun.

Eric shook his head, choosing to be amused as exhaustion broke down so many rigid barriers in his own mind, only now admitting how pretty he found his strictly professional business associate... though he did smirk at the way her breath hitched when his eyes caught her own.

“Really? The Towers of Zor are that remarkable?” He chuckled at her poleaxed expression. “Yeah, I definitely got double twenties when I rolled that sweet, sweet setup into existence, didn’t I?”

Jinni continued to gaze at him with an intensity he couldn’t quite figure out. Though she didn’t seem angry or displeased, from what he could tell. A few whispered words to a serious-looking middle-aged elf standing dutifully by her side earned her a solemn nod before the elf turned to address the half dozen blue corp assistants standing at polite attention, all those present turning to salute Jinni before racing back toward the city hall, the middle-aged elf leading the bureaucratic charge.

Eric nodded approvingly. “Assistant managers, I take it?”

“Indeed,” Jinni said, her voice strangely husky. “They will take care of your properties… I mean, our properties, as if they were their firstborn children. I swear it.”

Eric nodded, more than pleased to hear it. Annika gave a low, throaty chuckle, brushing Eric’s now flushing cheeks with crimson tipped fingernails before winking at a flustered looking Jinni. “So, you’re joining us then?” She gave the curiously blushing Blue Corp administrator a thorough once-over before nodding in odd approval.

“You’ll do,” Annika declared, and Eric couldn’t help but snort when she teased him with her grin again. Because he’d be cracking jokes or slipping out just as fast as inhuman stats and a growing knack for slipping past air resistance would allow if he wasn’t so tired and if Annika wasn’t quite so pretty, with a wry sense of humor and a Charisma clearly higher than his own.

He felt his cheeks flush as he settled in the back seat of the velimobile, Annika on one side, Jinni on the other, both leaning against him as if it were the most natural thing in the world when they eased back in the plush leather seats. And much to his surprise, it was the cheeky ranger he had met just two days ago who was their driver, now gazing back at him with a hungry grin all her own, her inviting smile all the excuse Bunbun needed to hop onto the girl's shoulder and flash Eric an equally cheeky smile.

“Ooh, I like these girls, Eric. And this sweetheart gives excellent scritches! She’s clearly had a pet rabbit before, and clearly doesn’t give a shit that I’m dead. Sort of. Am I technically alive yet? Anyway, you should keep all three!”

Eric snorted. “Harem much?” Earning a bemused chuckle from none other than the Winter Queen herself as she took the passenger seat in front, favoring them all with an oddly indulgent nod as she handed Eric a silver flask.

“Black label, darling. By all means, have some. You’ve pushed yourself to the limit, and you deserve to relax.”

Eric smirked, took a sniff of the sangria-like drink, smelling so strongly of strawberries, grapes and peaches, and felt his smile freeze on his face, as it all suddenly clicked.

Three beautiful young women staring at him so intently, so hungrily, as her mother played the polite hostess.

And this wasn’t the first time she had spiked his drink, either. Leading to vague memories of wild adventures and having a really good time, and awkward tabloid headlines that always managed to drown out Elonia’s own escapades. Fortunately, his nerd gamer habits and being a male had spared him any real negative social consequences, save for corp mates glorying in tabloid exploits he’d rather forget about while they were focusing on raids.

Eric sighed, giving a disappointed shake of his head, not quite sure why his mother was so eager for him to lose himself in this scene yet again. But having just lost a girl that might have been no more real than a dream, he was in no mood to play along.

“Everything okay at Elonia’s end?”

His mother’s professional smile hardened for an instant. “She is absolutely fine, Eric, and grateful, as indeed we all are, that she has a brother as upstanding and dependable as yourself. She has, however, chosen to sequester herself for an extended training regimen. Thanks to your exquisite taste in revenant test subjects, the Sylvan Alliance now has the breathing room necessary to regroup, reorganize, and recover from what has been a very grueling ordeal for all of us. Now enough shop talk. You deserve a vacation every bit as much as your sister, and this is the perfect opportunity for you to relax and make some new friends of your own.”

She smiled and gestured at the young elven woman who was now driving their velimobile.

“This is Sufia, Eric. An extremely talented ranger with a great deal of potential. I’m quite pleased to say that she additionally has a near perfect Royal Configuration, save for a single sealed node. A node I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find bursts completely open with her offspring, assuming she finds herself the right man.” Aurelia gave a satisfied nod. “All in all, our dear Sufia is beyond remarkable, for a girl whose noble roots are lost to time.”

Sufia blushed at those words. “To be honest, I never gave it much thought, my queen. I’ve always lived for the hunt, and the thrill of competition and challenge. Never in my wildest dreams did I think my mother’s mystery lover had an ancestor that was a member of your royal court, and my mother and I will never be able to repay you for the opportunity to be part of the conquest of…”

“Defense and enhancement of!” Aurelia cut in with a cool smile.

Sufia winced before quickly nodding her agreement. “Defense and enhancement of Earth.” Sufia winked back at Eric, even as she shifted gears and zoomed through the plains, Eric’s interface making her destination clear. “But we both know what it’s really about, don’t we, hero?”

Eric grinned back. “You came here for the thrill of battle and conquest. I get it. I would too, if I were in your shoes, after a certain shopkeeper let slip that anyone who comes here to level up will do so a hell of a lot faster on a newly ascended Earth, than on any stabilized world. Of course, I’m betting it’s even faster if native blood flows through your veins, which is why I’m guessing so many roadblocks are conveniently put in the way of people like me.”

His gaze hardened. “All I’d ask in return for welcoming you all with open arms, if you care about my opinion at all, is that you never aim your bow at human civilians who never asked for their lives to collapse into living nightmare, especially if they have no hope of leveling up.”

Sufia’s voice turned solemn. “I’ve never aimed my bow at innocent locals with intent to fire, Eric. None of Elonia’s sworn would do such a thing. We only scared off a few poachers, and that was after making it clear to survivors we come across on our patrols that we’re willing to trade food and shelter for work, so long as they’re willing to take a binding oath. You have my word on that.” She then winked. “And your shopkeeper let loose secrets to cute native boys that would get her killed if the wrong inquisitors found out, so please never tell me or anyone else their name, lucky hero.”

Her eyes twinkled with mirth as his own widened, noting that she was still driving while staring at him in the backseat, Eric only belatedly realizing she was navigating either by her own interface, or by his eyes.

Eric couldn’t help but be charmed by her bold daring, cheeky grin, and flawless features, her pretty amber eyes gazing so intently into his own even as she drove. In another time and place… he sighed, flashing his mother a regretful smile as they approached the border of Ashland territory.

“Sorry, mom. But this is one party I’m going to have to take a rain check on.”

He then turned to a wide-eyed Jinni, his heightened Perception now effortlessly picking up the scent of spiritual power emanating from a girl alarmed by the sudden frosty glare being sent their way by the Silver Queen in the front passenger’s seat.

Eric flashed her his best smile. “Any chance I can make use of the king suite at our recently built inn?”

Jinni opened her mouth, mind blanking for a second before her natural professionalism took over. “Of course, Eric. Normally we’d have to charge you at a discount, but as we’re keeping all of Ashland’s secrets close to our vest until we’re further along in our construction, I don’t see any harm in you making full use of it, courtesy of Blue Corp.” She pointedly glanced his mother’s way, “The hotel is currently empty of guests, though we do have a skeleton staff ready and willing to cater to your every...”

Her eyes widened when Eric abruptly leaped from his seat, lazily somersaulting through the air before his feet kissed the ground with a gymnast’s grace. He paused only to flash the velimobile full of stunned-looking girls and one irate mother a cheeky salute before spinning around and racing back the way they had come at a sprint so fast he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Air resistance, inertia, and gravity all seemed to bend to his will as the grasslands became a blur, his bunny whooping on his shoulder while his mother’s exasperated curse froze off only a few of his back hairs.

“Eric Silver! Where the hell do think you’re...” He could sense his mother’s frustrated sigh and shake of her head. “Why can’t he just once do what’s expected of him? He’s even worse than his father!”

“How the hell is he moving so fast?”

“That’s an excellent question, Annika. Why don’t you and your soon-to-be partners go back and ask him?”

Then Eric was well out of the range allowed by even his exquisite hearing, halfway certain that he had been sensing their words as much as hearing them spoken, and most definitely not curious as to how exactly he had managed the feat.

Instead, he enjoyed the feel of the gentle breeze rustling his hair and carrying all the lush fecund scents of spring, his Speed Racer feat assuring that his wind resistance was only an eighth of what it should have been, his Wood affinity and the Spiritual Energy-rich environment even allowing him to pass through grass that conveniently bowed out of his way just in the nick of time for him to reach speeds that he sensed were damn near 300 MPH.

He couldn’t help hollering for joy as he leaped for the clouds, diving through the air for exquisitely long hang times, enjoying the feel of the warm sun on his face, and the glorious sights and scents of rich green grass and countless brilliant wildflowers before turning his fall into a graceful tumble before springing back to his feet and seeing if he could leap even higher, inspired to belt out a runic chant unlike any he had cast before, this one just for fun, when he caught sight of the picturesque town now less than a mile away.

Then he was before the grand, multistory hotel built like a renaissance villa, Blue Corp clearly going for a very different aesthetic than the high tech glass and chrome wonder that was their Blue Tower in Freetown. Regardless, he recognized the same spacious lobby, wall to wall carpeting and professional smiles on the faces of the tastefully suited employees who had no doubt already been informed by hurried Interface messages of his arrival, two pretty young elves immediately curtsying before him.

“Your luxury suite awaits you, Your Grace. Please, come this way.”

Eric happily did just that, the head concierge not bothering with registration or key cards, though she was gracious enough to point out the blue-carpeted dining room giving off the delightful aroma of honeyed buttered crepes with fresh lingonberry sauce even from the hallway. He couldn’t quite hold back a smirk, his mother’s influence already evident, which, when she wasn’t trying to stud him, suited him just fine. For it added yet another layer of respectability between his independent status and his sister’s influence, even if they both knew damn well that he’d wade through rivers of blood to be by her side.

If she needed him.

For all her flaws, at least his mother had been gracious enough to assure him that no, his sister wasn’t in danger of orcs, tabloids, legal scandals, relapse, or becoming chemically enslaved to any predatory child-trafficking assholes that needed to be sent flying from the rooftops of the Twin Tokyo Towers with a shattered jaw.

Nope, he thought with a certain tired smirk while slathering his crepes with fresh lingonberry sauce, clotted cream, and oodles of honey before sharing it with his ecstatically squealing familiar who clearly had great taste and a wonderful metabolism, regardless of what any interface tab said about her now Greater Revenant status, everything was okay on his sister’s end for once, thank god.

So why was his mom trying to hook him up with three incredibly beautiful girls of the Sylvan persuasion all at once?

Bunbun snorted. “The real question is, why didn’t you imbibe some of that fancy happy-times drink and go with the flow? Believe me, lots of feelings were radiating in that car, and malice was the farthest thing from anyone’s mind.”

Eric flashed his familiar a sad smile. “I think you know why.”

Bunbun sighed, fronting no longer. “I know, goofball. I know.”

Eric smirked. “It’s stupid, I know. It’s like you said. I was infatuated with a figment of a System dream.”

“Yeah, that’s true. And your heart swelled so damned big you coaxed the System itself to give that cute little dream life, along with all 300 of her closest friends, and now they’re colonizing some Desert Dune moon orbiting a gas giant warmed by an unusually stable red star. People who are now very much among the living, having brought enough anomalies with them to potentially shake up the entire System. And they might do just that, millennia from now, or hardly make any ripple at all. All in all, I’d say you did a beautiful thing. You dreamed a bit too hard and created something truly wonderful. If you gotta mourn for a bit, that’s cool… or you can handle breakups like I did in college.”

Eric chuckled softly, preparing a second crepe for his familiar. “Yeah, I caught your day-after streams, Lilly. The college parties you attended made me feel so much better about the crazy Hollywood excess me and Elonia got into.”

His familiar managed to look embarrassed. “Yeah… the me of 18 was kind of a slutty, silly little thing. But I never had cravings, only hangovers, and at least I kept all of you guys laughing when I totally flubbed my delves.”

“That you did,” Eric said with a chuckle, gently rubbing her ears. “And I thought you were a sweetheart who enjoyed a good time, nothing worse than that. But sometimes it’s better just to process and accept, than drown your feelings in alcohol and too many boys.”

“At least I had the good taste to make sure they were all muscly gamer boys willing to do day-after-drunk streams with me!”

“I’ll admit, those were a treat. Had Elonia in stitches. She also thought you were a sweetheart.”

“Well I always knew she had good taste. And builds. It was all your attempts at ‘leet unorthodox builds that ended up sucking necro-balls. Standard popular builds were the gold standard for a reason.”

“Ouch.”

“Well not any more,” his familiar hastily amended between bites of delicious crepe. “Right now, I think there’s a damn good chance that your one of the best, if not the best necro-king around. I mean… you combined the Macedonian Phalanx with with the shock and awe of a cavalry charge using 25 foot long spears going 150 miles per fucking hour. 16,000 heavily armored units sweeping across the plains like a storm of hussars, obliterating pretty much everything over 400 square miles in an orange tier territory. All in a single glorious day!”

Eric grinned. “Yeah, that part is pretty sweet. The problem is, doing it that way might be great for throwing my Revenants some potency, but I’m splitting that experience flood 16,000 ways. The thing is, I get very little of that potency for myself, except some for my Master Necromancer class. If I’m really smart, I’ll take my time clearing out future territories, and focus much more on solo fights between myself and any new examples of ugly nasties I find to level up my Cultivation class. Once I grab a few levels there and know my foes, I’ll be best off training up my weapons and spells while blasting those assholes apart, which will also level up my Adventurer class. Because all those missed opportunities come back to bite me when I’m forced to clear the actual dungeons which are inevitably in every single orange tier territory from what my Interface tells me, without any backup at all.”

“Except for your glorious familiar!”

“Exactly.”