That night, Noah dreamt of Hoomtree, and of Chastity. He was standing in an ornate, light-coloured wooden church. The church was filling with black smoke, and flames licked the windows from the outside. There was an audience of unconcerned-looking dark-skinned elves, and Noah was at the front of the church, standing by a wooden table, upon which lay Chastity, gagged and bound.

Noah was tying her up, as she squirmed and tried vainly to resist. Noah looked down at her and saw the fear in her eyes. He tied her tighter. He had to. She couldn’t be allowed to leave him. The elves in the pews watched, disinterested, as the room filled with smoke and the roof started to cave in.

As the flames circled around Noah and Chastity, he backed away from them, getting closer to Chastity. Her muffled screams grew louder. He looked down at her tear-filled eyes with pity. Suddenly, Noah felt a hand – not Chastity’s, but someone else’s – push him forward, into the flames.


Noah woke up covered in sweat. His room was dark, but he could see that outside his window, beyond the darkness of the black antimagic star, were slivers of blue sky, and he knew that it was morning. His heart was beating loudly in his chest. His dick was hard, too, which made him not want to get out of bed right away. He had taken off his dirty clothes before getting into bed, and his room had a large window facing the courtyard. After waiting for his arousal to die down, he got out of bed, pushing the plush blankets aside.

He covered his genitals with his hands, and waddled over to an outfit someone had left out for him. They also left him a note:

I dost hope thou art feeling better this morn, Noah. Prithee, bathe and dress thyself, then join me in the dining hall. It is visible from the courtyard. - Berenice

Noah was slightly surprised Berenice could read and write. He did as she recommended. The large room had a freestanding bath with running water, and Noah figured out how to use it. He cleaned himself. He then dressed in the royal blue and white outfit Berenice had brought for him at some point while he slept, and left his room.

It wasn’t hard to see where the dining hall was. Through the dark courtyard across from his room, he could see large stained-glass windows, and behind them, the magnificent dining hall, and lots of people walking around and seated inside. Walking through the corridors around the courtyard, he found his way in and went to get some food and drink.

“‘Tis safe to drink,” replied one of the sheeple cooks when asked about the water. Noah sighed in relief, drank an entire glass full, and then took another glass. The breakfast was a buffet, and Noah took a few bites of a bunch of different things, filling up his plate.

He had spotted Berenice on the way in, and he walked toward her once he had his food. The dining hall had three long, black stone tables with chairs along the sides. At the front was an area Noah guessed was reserved for Antimogne’s litter, but the Emperor was not present. There were empty seats around Berenice, and he sat next to her. Graven was seated across from her and was talking to her, but when Berenice saw Noah, she turned and smiled at him.

“Noah! Thou dost appear most keen! I knew blue would become thee! How art thou this morn?”

Noah sat down beside her, nodding at Graven. “Hi. I’m alright. Better than last night.” He spoke in a muted voice. He was still feeling sad about Chastity. But the night’s sleep had helped him feel a bit better.

“Good. Eat well! Thou dost commence thy training today, dost thou not?”

“Yeah. I still don’t know how to feel about that. I’m dreading it.”

“With whom are you training, sir?” asked Graven. “With the guard?”

“I don’t even know. I think so.”

“Ah. You will be okay. You look like you could use the exercise, buddy!” said Graven teasingly.

“I know, I know. That’s why I’m doing it. I am weak. I’m a piece of shit. But I need to get stronger somehow. I don’t know. I hope I’m making the right decision.”

“Thou art, Noah! I am full of pride for thee! ‘Tis most fortunate the Emperor hath taken pity on thee and hath chosen to have thee trained. He must verily perceive thy potential!”

“Yeah. Thanks Berenice. I’m not sure what he sees in me. Besides my level, anyway. Maybe it’s just that. Is being level four at my age really that impressive?”

“Yes, sir,” said Graven. “Most your age are barely third level. I myself am only fourth level, and I am much your senior. I am sure you have the potential to become one of the Emperor’s champions, if you train hard, and you show courage.”

“Courage?” asked Noah.

“Yes, sir. You must have courage in order to level up. You cannot level up if you do not face real danger. That is the only way. Training will help you to survive, but to level up, you must experience real combat.”

“I see.” Graven seemed to know a lot about levelling. Noah decided to ask him more between bites of his food. “Is there a max level?”

“A maximum, sir? I do not know, though many say the maximum level is ten. I think that they are confused by the fact that they have ten fingers on their hands. Why should there be ten levels, just because there are ten fingers, so we count one, two, three, up to ten? In any case, sir, the highest level I know of is Emperor Antimogne, who is level eight. Given that the Emperor is only level eight, I cannot imagine how powerful someone level ten must be!”

“The Emperor is powerful? I mean, besides being an Emperor?”

“Of course. You see that antimagic star? Who do you think put that one there? The Emperor is very powerful. He is a Heretic of the Foot, if you did not know, like many of my people. But none of my people have reached level eight.”

“He’s a Heretic of the Foot? What abilities does that give him?” Noah was fascinated to hear more about the Emperor.

“Ah, the Emperor is quite a genius. While most people say you should only take levels in one branch of your class’s ability tree, the Emperor said no, hell to that, and he took two levels in the Technophobe branch, which gave him the ability to destroy artifacts for bonus experience. Then, he used that ability to propel himself to level eight, putting his next six levels in the Finder subclass. Everybody else said Technophobe was a dead branch, and it was not useful. Now, everybody is taking Technophobe if they have the riches needed to afford lots of artifacts. But nobody has riches like the Emperor.”

“Wow,” said Noah. “What does the Finder branch do? That’s what let him make the antimagic star?”

“Indeed. I do not know the path that deep into the ability tree that allows him to do such a thing, but I know he has taken the Antimagic sub-subclass. Antimagic is what is created by the antimagic star. It infuses artifacts within the limits of the Toldenhold with negative magical energy. Normally, mana is rare, and requires expensive, slow-charging mana batteries. Unless you have an artifact which generates enough mana to power itself. But you cannot use a ring of strength to power an airship! But the antimagic star creates plentiful anti-mana. For some technologies and some artifacts, this is worse than useless. But for some, it is very powerful. His airships are all powered by antimana.”

Berenice asked, “I presume ‘tis why mine artifact functions not correctly here?” Graven nodded.

“The metalskin ring? Why, what does it do?”

Graven said, “When infused with anti-mana, artifacts have the opposite effect. Let me guess… No, don’t say it! Let me guess… It turns you into the opposite of metal. Into mud, maybe! Or into water!”

“Nay,” smiled Berenice. “Behold!” She slipped the metalskin ring onto her slender black finger, and instead of Berenice turning into metal, the metal ring turned into Berenice. Or rather, it turned black, and matched the soft texture of her skin.

“Wait, it turned into your flesh? Eww,” said Noah.

Graven laughed. “I see. Instead of turning you into metal, it turned metal into you! Ha! These anti-magics are so hard to predict sometimes.”

Berenice took the ring off. “Aye. Not much use.”

Noah thought of his own artifacts. Noah thought Berenice must have the flesh printer in her room, because he hadn’t seen it in his, but the Tesla rod was attached to his belt. He unhooked it. It looked normal. It was a long brass rod with a copper sphere on top. He waved the back of his hand past the surface of the copper sphere. Normally, he would have felt static electricity pulling the hairs on his hand. But he felt nothing. “Hmm…”

“It normally shoots lightning bolts? Maybe it pulls lightning bolts towards it. Or maybe it shoots darkening bolts.”

Noah shook the rod slightly. Normally, this would have the effect of shedding a few small electric sparks. Instead, however, a few droplets of water coalesced on the copper surface and sprayed gently off the side of the rod.

“Ah! I see! Water!”

Frowning, Noah hooked the Tesla rod back onto his belt. “Not very useful either,” he said.

“Well, who knows how much water it could shoot out! And if it’s clean, drinkable water, I bet the artifact would be precious within the city for that reason alone.”

“I guess so,” said Noah.

“The Emperor would buy it from you too, of course, though the Empire pays less for artifacts than other buyers. After all, all they are going to do is let the Emperor destroy them for level experience.”

“I think I’ll keep it, but thanks,” said Noah.

“Of course, sir.”

“Anyway, Noah, before you arrived, I had but inquired of Graven how he fared in his meeting with the Emperor.”

“Ah! Good, very good. The Emperor is sympathetic to the cause of my people, and so he has agreed to increase our funding. I knew he would. There is no kinder soul in the Empire than the Emperor himself.”

“What’s your cause?” asked Noah.

“Ah. The Golgotha are a religious people. We worship the Eye, indeed, but we also worship the Foot. Even those of us who are not Heretics. And it is the goal of the Foot to destroy advanced technology, including the other patrons.”

“Huh?” asked Noah. “Technology? They’re not Gods?”

“Ah. Divinity. Magic. Technology. These are all terms for the same phenomena, correct? They are words used to describe powers beyond our knowledge.”

“I guess so. I mean, not really. But why do you want to destroy them?”

“It is the will of the Foot. We obey. Every year, my people build a tower high into the sky in an attempt to reach the Patrons. But every year, if the Eye is dissatisfied with the quality and majesty of our tower, the Eye destroys it.” Noah recalled the absurdly tall, thin tower, which stretched like a string into the sky, and he also remembered it fading away while he was on the ferry. “We get higher and higher each year, but without the Eye’s blessing, we will never reach the other Patrons. So, we must get the design exactly right, and build it fast.”

“I’m confused. The Patrons are in the sky?”

Graven frowned at Noah. “Of course. Do you know nothing, sir? What do you think those things are up there, floating around in the sky, around the Eye?”

“What? You mean those planets? Those are patrons?”

“Yes. And centuries ago, my people destroyed one. The Tongue. You can see his shattered remains in the sky. Once, Heretics of the Tongue were among the most common and powerful of Heretics, but now, the Tongue is dead, and none remain.”

“Whoa! So that planet in the sky that’s all shattered, that was the golgotha who did that?”

“Yes, sir. It is a part of our holy mission.”

“Wow. So, which one is the Heart?”

“Ah. Except for the Fist, the Foot, and the Brain, none of the others are visible in the sky. They are behind the Eye, or too small to see, or somethings like that. Why do you ask, sir? That is your patron? Are you a Heretic?”

“Yeah,” Noah admitted.

“I see. I do not know much about the Heart. She does not allow the killing of others of human birth, correct? Or even those people not of human birth? She is a rare patron. You must have been lucky to have her choose you.”

“Wait, what do you mean? I chose her.”

“Of course, sir. I just mean, you must have been lucky to have such a rare patron offer herself to you. Normally, Heretics are offered by only a few patrons. The Fist, the Foot, and the Sperm always offer themselves. Others are more rare. Were you offered by any others?”

“Uhh,” Noah thought back to when he chose his patron. There had been a cacophony of voices in his head. A bunch of patrons had all tried to fight over him. “Yeah, there were a lot of them.”

“Truly? Are you lying?”

“He is extraordinary, Graven,” said Berenice. “He is a true human, methinks.”

“Yes, that could be. What other patrons were you offered?”

“The Womb,” said Noah. “I remember her.” She had spoken to him seductively, offering him powers of seduction. She had even caused him to become wildly horny for a few seconds.

“Who?” asked Graven.

“She was speaking to me all sexy, trying to seduce me. It was weird. And then there was the crazy guy. The Smile. And the Ear. I remember there was an Ear.”

“The Ear, I know. The Smile I have never heard of.”

“Uhh, also the Fist and the Foot, like you said. Who else…” Noah tried to think. “Oh, yeah. The Brain.”

“Ah, you must be very smart! The Brain only offers himself to intelligent Heretics. I am surprised you did not take up the opportunity.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’m smart. I certainly wasn’t smart back then. My Intelligence stat was only ten, which I guess is probably average.”

“Ah. Yes, sir, everybody starts at ten. But what ten means to you is different than what ten means to me, or somebody else. Ten is just your baseline. Ten for a genius is different than ten for a moron. I have met many people who have maxed their Intelligence stat, and I could swear they were instead under the effects of an Intelligence penalty!”

“Really? And wait, there’s a max?”

“Yes, sir. You cannot raise your Intelligence above fifteen through normal means. Some classes give Intelligence buffs, however, which can surpass this limit.”

“I see,” said Noah. It was disappointing. He was hoping he could just keep putting points into Intelligence as he levelled to become less of an irresponsible, unthinking moron, but apparently, that strategy would have its limits. But, at least, Intelligence as a stat was not the be-all, end-all of intelligence. He could still get smarter, even if he couldn’t raise his stat any further.

A sheeple, most likely a slave or a lowly servant, came and quietly cleared Graven’s plate from the table, as he was finished eating.

“What’s your class?” Noah decided to ask Graven.

“Ah. Bladedancer. It is a subclass of Fighter, if you did not know. It allows me to fight with many blades.”

“Right, I saw your ability. It was pretty cool.”

“Ha! Useless against that wind elephant creature! If only I had an artifact as powerful as yours. Then I would be a veritable Artificer, and wouldn’t have to worry about my levels or class!”

“Still, I bet it’s useful in normal combat.”

“Much combat in this world is not normal, as you know, Noah,” replied Graven gravely.

“I wish I were of human birth,” lamented Berenice. “Being Otherborn doth vex me. Classes and levels seem fun!”

“Aww. Sorry, Berenice,” said Noah. “But you’re pretty badass now with your metalskin ring. Outside of the Toldenhold, that is.”

Berenice exclaimed, “Verily, so I am! Let the creatures of the dark deeps gnaw on my iron posterior!”

Noah smiled and shook his head. Graven laughed out loud. Then, someone took a seat next to Graven, across from Noah.

“Greetings, Noah.” The woman spoke in a slow but powerful and sensuous voice. It was a woman with turquoise skin which shone like glass. She looked like she was made of glazed clay, but her body moved like it was flesh, reminding Noah of Clyp, though she was clearly a different species than the gemfolk. Her eyes looked realistic, though made of glass, and her irises were turquoise also. Her hair consisted of hundreds of purple beads on black strings. She wore an exorbitant black dress that had to be worth a fortune.

“Uh, hi. Who are you?” Was this the same turquoise person Noah had glimpsed in the throne room? Or were there more of her species here? What did she want?

“It is a pleasure to finally get a look at you, outside the visual pull of the Emperor. My name is Tatiana Feroza. You may address me as Mistress Feroza. You look… somewhat pathetic. I do not see what he sees in you.”

“Uh, thanks?” said Noah.

“Even so, you possess unique and powerful artifacts. How did someone like you come across such treasures?”

“We found them inside the Rainbow Mountain. We almost died. There was this weird metal person in an engine room or lab or something, and it attacked us, and we had to kill it, and the gemfolk escorting us found these artifacts in the room.”

“Interesting…” The turquoise woman, Mistress Feroza, seemed genuinely interested and leaned closer to Noah, putting her elbows on the table and resting her chin on the tops of her hands.

“Excuse me, sir, but I thought you were not allowed to kill, because you are a Heretic of the Heart?” asked Graven. Noah noticed Mistress Feroza look sidelong at Graven, annoyed at the interruption.

“Oh, yeah. She didn’t like that. She screamed at me, and now I have a penalty.”

“Ah! How unfortunate! Is it bad? Will it clear when you level, or is it permanent?”

“It’s pretty bad. I can’t use any of my abilities, and I have a penalty to my Luck stat. But it should go away when I level up.”

“Ah, that is fortunate, at the very least.”

“Yeah.”

“Please. Tell me, Noah,” asked Mistress Feroza in her sultry voice, “did you find any other artifacts, besides those you brought to the Toldenhold? Did your escort, by chance, keep any artifacts for himself?”

“Oh, yeah. He found this pair of metal rings big enough to stick your hands through. They form a portal between them.”

“A portal?”

“Like, if you stick your hand or an object through one, it comes out the other.”

“Very interesting. And this works even if the rings are some distance apart? For example, on opposite sides of the room?”

Noah nodded. “Yep.”

“And what if they were separated by an even greater distance? Like, on opposite sides of the Rainbow Mountains, or in different cities? Would they still function?”

“Clyp seemed to think so. That was his name. I think he said he wanted to use them to communicate between the gemfolk settlements on either side of the mountain.”

“I see. Hmm… Well, that is an interesting tidbit of information. I am always interested in learning about newly discovered artifacts, especially ones of such power, so please inform me immediately if you discover any such news.”

“Okay, sure.”

“What use would you have for such an artifact?” asked Graven. “It likely wouldn’t function within the city.”

Mistress Feroza turned to Graven, looking annoyed again. The beads on the strands of her hair rattled a bit as she did. “Not every artifact has to be used by its anti-function. Such an artifact would be invaluable for its normal functionality. I could imagine, for example, that the Emperor could use it to open a direct line of communication to the Southern Nations. “

“The Emperor would not consent to using ancient technology for its normal functionality. It is against the will of the Foot.”

“The Emperor does not share your religion, golgotha.”

“You are saying he does not care about the will of the Foot? Then why does he fund our people’s project?”

“I am sure the Emperor has his reasons. He is a shrewd and practical man. Which is why he would not object to using such an artifact. The Emperor’s army has several artifacts in its possession which are used for their normal functionality outside of the city limits.”

“Then he blasphemes the Foot.”

“Perhaps he does. Who cares?”

“Who cares!” Graven shook his head, looking away from Mistress Feroza in anger. She turned back to Noah.

“Don’t listen to this zealot. The Empire has use for any powerful artifacts, both for their anti-functionality, as well as their normal functionality. The Empire will use whatever tools it can to expand its glory. For example, that organ replication artifact in your possession…”

“Whence cometh thy knowledge of Noah’s artifact?” asked Berenice in surprise.

“I am a Seeker, sheeple. I am the Royal Seeker. It is my business to know. I know about your ring that turns your body to metal, your lightning rod, and your organ replication artifact. All puny anti-artifacts within the limits of the city, but all quite powerful artifacts outside it. I was hoping we could come to some arrangement. Noah?” She turned to look directly at Noah and leaned closer to him. “Do you find me attractive?”

“What?” exclaimed Noah. He wasn’t expecting her to say that. She was very attractive. Her boobs were huge. Aside from that, her face, her proportions, everything was beautiful, and complimented well by her tight black dress. “Yeah, I guess so, yes. Why?” he asked skeptically.

“Oh, I was just thinking about how you seem to appreciate the female form. Given the drama I witnessed in the throne room yesterday. So sorry about that, truly. To have the woman you love turn against you is pitiful. And to have your sins dragged out in front of the Emperor, I can only imagine. It must have been quite distressing to have the Emperor himself ridicule you for fornicating with a sheeple!”

“Yeah, it wasn’t fun. No offence, Berenice.” Berenice wore a neutral expression and didn’t seem offended.

“In any manner, with your elf gone, and with the Emperor’s insistence that you cease fornication with the sheeple, you now find yourself without any female companionship, correct? Perhaps I could be of service.” She saw Noah’s eyes briefly wander down to her body. “Don’t worry. While most of my body is hard like ceramic, I assure you that down there, I am entirely soft. And wet…” Noah swallowed. Graven groaned in annoyance at Mistress Feroza. “I would offer myself to you in exchange for your organ replication artifact. Our army has dire need of such a device. Not just once, either. I would service you many times in exchange for the artifact. Do we have a deal?”

How did every woman Noah met in this world end up offering him sex? This time was different, true, in that Mistress Feroza didn’t seem to be attracted to Noah. In fact, she seemed to look down on him. She did call him pathetic. She was attractive, but Noah wasn’t tempted. He thought of Chastity, and he was resolute.

“Uhh, no, thank you. Sorry.”

“Do you not find me attractive? I could offer you another of the Emperor’s concubines.”

“No. No, thank you. I’m not going to have sex with anyone but Chastity. I’m gonna get her back. Whatever it takes. Sorry.”

“Not even myself?” asked Berenice. “Never? Alas, I was starting to enjoy it.”

“No, sorry. I can’t keep sleeping with other people if I want to get Chastity back.”

“Alright, Noah.”

“I see. In that case, perhaps you would be swayed by money? The Emperor’s coffers are overflowing with riches. I could pay you, say, ten thousand gold coins? You could take that to the market and buy a number of strong personal artifacts. I could even escort you and help you find good deals.”

That was a more appealing offer. The flesh printer was a powerful healing artifact, but it wouldn’t help him avoid outright death, and there might be many artifacts that would be more useful to him. Magical armour? Who knows. Another metalskin ring? But he wasn’t sure what the flesh printer was actually worth in terms of gold coins. Was ten thousand enough? Was she lowballing him, or offering an extremely high price, since the artifact is so valuable to her?

“Ten thousand gold coins, huh? It doesn’t sound like a lot.”

“What! That’s an outrageous sum of money! Few besides the Emperor have such wealth!”

“Hmm. What about… a hundred thousand.” He said it calmly, trying to play it cool.

Graven’s eyes went wide as he watched the negotiation. Berenice had a similar look.

“Oh, now you’re being ridiculous.” Mistress Feroza stood up. “If you’re not going to be serious, I’m going to leave.”

“Hmm,” said Noah. So a hundred thousand was too much, even for her. How much would she pay? “Well, what’s the most you could do?”

“Fifteen thousand, at the very most. Any more than that would be robbery!”

“Thirty thousand.”

“Deal.” She reached out her hand to shake Noah’s, and he accepted. “Perhaps you are not as stupid as I thought. You will not regret this, boy. If you like, we can get the funds and go straight to the market. I can show you the best places to shop, and help you get good deals.”

“Alright,” said Noah. That sounded like a good idea. He had no idea what things were worth. Better to bring an expert. “Are you guys coming?”

“I would prefer if we go alone, Noah,” said Mistress Feroza, “Navigating the markets with a group is difficult, and the merchants are wary of dealing with large groups. We’ll be back shortly; we won’t be gone long.”

“I cannot come anyway, ma’am. I must return to my people,” said Graven. He stood, said goodbye to the group, made a peace sign, and walked off, leaving his empty plate and glass behind.

“What about you, Berenice?” asked Noah.

“‘Tis well, Noah. Go. I shall await thy return. May the Eye watch over you both.” She dragged two of her fingertips down over her eyes, closing them briefly in a religious gesture.

“Are you sure? Okay. We’ll go now? I’m done eating. I guess I’m not that hungry.”

“Yes, we will leave now. Come, let us visit the treasurer and withdraw your funds.”

Noah said goodbye to Berenice – mimicking Graven’s peace sign – and went with Mistress Feroza. As they left, Noah saw a sheeple slave, a young sheeple girl with a bruised eye, come and clear away their plates. They walked from the dining hall through a maze of halls to the treasury. Noah was told to wait in the hallway, and Mistress Feroza came out soon after, rolling a metal cart on top of which sat eight silk bags.

“Here you go, boy. I trust you won’t run off with the artifact now that you’ve been paid?”

“No, of course not.” Noah peered into the sacks. They were full of gold coins. Thirty thousand gold coins was a lot. He didn’t think he’d be able to lift that much gold. He tried to lift one. It felt like it was around twenty or thirty pounds. “How are we going to take all this to the market?”

“You intend to spend it all at once?” asked Mistress Feroza, raising her eyebrows.

“Uhh, I guess not. But what if I find a really expensive artifact I want to buy?”

Mistress Feroza rolled her eyes. “Then obviously, you would have to arrange a meeting at the palace – with guards present – to make the exchange.”

“Okay, sure. Should we wheel this to my room, then?”

“Very well. Is that where the artifact is?”

“I don’t think so. I think Berenice has it.”

“She had better,” said Mistress Feroza.

“She does. I think it was in her backpack before. We can get it from her later.”

They took Noah’s fortune to the room he had been assigned, leaving most of it behind. He was assured it would be safe from theft in his room. He took a few handfuls of coins with him, and Mistress Feroza led him out of the palace and into the streets.

The street was not at ground level. The ground was blackiron, and Noah could see down through grates at the side of the road that there were levels to the Toldenhold below where he was, with many layers of streets and buildings beneath. He was on the top level, however. He had come to the palace from the port through a long tunnel that ran under the city, so he was seeing the streets of the city for the first time. It was an ugly and dark city, made darker by the black aura of the antimagic star. The street and the buildings were built mostly from blackiron, that dark, black metal Noah knew little about other than the fact that it was everywhere in the Toldenhold.

The streets were crowded, and the buildings were tall and interconnected. Blackiron towers stretching many floors high reached out to each other with bridges, forming a confusing network of passageways. The streets and the bridges above them were lit with street lamps, even though it was day, to counteract the darkness of the black star, which hovered slightly above the city center.

The streets were not only crowded with buildings, but also people and small vehicles like scooters and motorized bicycles. The black vehicles glowed blue internally, and Noah was sure they didn’t run on gasoline. There were people everywhere. Mostly sheeple. A few other species. Noah spotted a family of veggiefolk walking around, as well as a female golgotha, who was gray and had holes through her palms like Graven did. Twice, the crowds Noah was led through parted to let pass a longfolk noble laying on their litter, which was carried by sheeple slaves. Noah saw the first longfolk female he had ever seen. He couldn’t say she was attractive. He didn’t know longfolk could be overweight until now. The sight of the fat longfolk being carried in a reclined position kind of reminded him of Jabba the Hutt.

“Keep up, boy.”

Noah had to shoulder his way through the crowd to keep up with Mistress Feroza. Suddenly, she turned into an alleyway, and they were walking down a set of blackiron stairs, which clanged underfoot. They emerged into one of the lower levels of the city, where it was even darker. This area of the lower level was primarily lit by neon signs, promising paid sheeple companionship, or a chance to win big at a casino.

“Hark, lord!” spoke a sheeple woman to Noah as he passed, grabbing his arm. She spoke in a gritty voice that didn’t match her beautiful appearance. “Dost thou wish to take me in the urethra? Desirest thou to witness mine tears of agony?”

“Back off, whore,” shouted Mistress Feroza, slapping the sheeple prostitute across the face.

“Mmm, I like it when you hit me! Can I call you mommy?” She bit her lip in an attempt to be seductive.

“Disgusting underling! Ignore her, boy. Follow me.”

They shook off the prostitute and carried on. Noah followed her more closely than before. This area of the city was clearly poor, and the people were dressed in rags and behaved erratically. Noah saw a sheeple woman chasing after a man who looked to be made of mud. Noah couldn’t tell what she was angry about, but she threw something at the man, which sunk into his mud skin.

“This way. Come.”

They turned again into an alleyway. Mistress Feroza stopped, and turned to face Noah in the dark alleyway. She smirked slightly, and drew a bright red knife from her dress. She lunged toward Noah. She tried to stab him in the heart.

“Dash!” he yelled reflexively as he stepped back, but it didn’t work, of course. His class abilities were all disabled. “What the fuck are you doing!” He barely grabbed the wrist of her knife-hand before the knife plunged into his chest. The knife had just barely cut through his silk clothing and scratched the skin of his chest beneath before Noah stopped it.

Her face turned to anger. Clearly, she had been expecting him to die right away. But she didn’t look scared. With her front leg, she swiftly kicked Noah in the groin.

Noah let out a restrained groan, and his knees buckled. He still held the knife hand with both hands as his knees fell to the ground. “Why?” he groaned.

Mistress Feroza grunted, trying to force the knife toward Noah. “Die, you useless rogue!” The point of the knife came to Noah’s neck. Her dense, living-ceramic body was stronger than his. Noah struggled in vain as the knife came to touch his throat. He thought about what he could do to get out of it. He couldn’t move the way he was kneeling. He was already leaning away from her. He thought about his Tesla rod. Maybe he could blast her with water? But the instant he took one of his hands from hers, she would overpower his remaining hand, and spike him through the neck with her red knife. Was there anything else he could do?

Maybe he could reason with her. He couldn’t think of anything else. But what could he say that would stop her? She wanted artifacts. Maybe he could lie about a powerful artifact? But he already told her about all of the artifacts he knew about! She wouldn’t believe that he didn’t tell her about one before. What could he say?

Running out of time, as the knife slowly pushed into his skin and blood started to trickle from his neck, he yelled out the only thing he could think of. “Antimogne wants me alive!”

“Yes, boy, but I don’t! You are a threat to him, whether he knows it or not. Now die!”

She was going to kill him. Noah couldn’t stop her. But suddenly, Noah felt his arms jerk forward as the force pushing on them decreased. He watched one of Mistress Feroza’s ceramic arms melt off her body. She screamed a blood-curdling scream, looking wide-eyed at her molten arm as it spilled onto the ground. The red knife, too, clattered to the ground. The part of her arm near the shoulder quickly cooled and hardened into a twisted, uneven shape. She looked at Noah, and then behind him.

There was Berenice, holding Noah’s flesh printer. She had used it to melt Mistress Feroza’s arm off. Normally, it created organs, rather than destroying them, but the antimagic of the Toldenhold reversed its function.

“Away, thou glass harlot! Else, I’ll melt thy visage as well!”

Holding her melted stump in pain, Mistress Feroza stepped back in horror, turned, and ran.

“Just shoot her, Berenice! Kill her!”

“Nay, Noah. ‘Tis not just.”

Mistress Feroza rounded the far alleyway corner, and was gone.

“I guess you’re right. Thank God you were here. Jesus.” Noah stood up, holding the shallow cut on his neck. “Why are you here? I thought you were gonna wait in the palace?”

“Ah, I did follow thee.”

“But why?”

“The glass lady did make my wool bristle. I held suspicions of her. It seems I was correct in mine worry.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Thanks, Berenice. So you did have the flesh printer, after all. I didn’t see it in my room.”

“Aye,” replied Berenice.

It didn’t take Berenice and Noah long to realize where Mistress Feroza would run to, and they decided they had to beat her. They retraced their steps back to the palace, sprinting the whole way. They received angry looks from the people they pushed past, but nothing more.

When they reached the throne room, Noah spoke to the sheeple guards at the doors. “We have to see the Emperor, we-“

He saw that one of the doors was already open, and Mistress Feroza had beaten them to the Emperor. Once Noah and Berenice rounded the door and the Emperor entered their line of sight, his visual magnetism pulled their focus, and they couldn’t see Mistress Feroza properly anymore, but they knew she was there.

“There! There they are, Your Highness! They attacked me! Look!” She gestured to her missing arm, and her messed-up glass stump. “Now! Guards, apprehend them, and have them executed before they attack the Emperor! They are in possession of a powerful artifact!”

Noah saw motion in his field of view and assumed the guards must be coming to arrest them, but then a powerful voice stopped them in their tracks.

Hold.

Emperor Antimogne paused for a few seconds. His eyes narrowed, evaluating the situation from his high position on his reclined throne, made higher by his long neck. He spoke.

I marvel much that Noah would attack; He lacks the strength and will to strike at all. Yet less my concubine, with cause so weak. He bears no ill to you and none to me. The sheeple, too, shows not malignancy.

But thou, Tatiana Feroza, aye, Doth disobey my will and harm young Noah. You know he is protected by my orders, And yet you struck at him to take his life And too his treasures and to keep me safe From strength that he may one day soon reveal. That was thy aim, nay? Hide it not, for see, The truth makes sense; the lies you tell do not.

Mistress Feroza’s eyes were wider than when Berenice had melted her arms. She fell to her knees and pleaded with the Emperor. “You have to believe me, Antimogne! Please! You’re going to side with this brat over me? I, who have shared your bed? I, who have tried to sire your son!”

And yet, thou, Tatiana, failed therein. And too, thou failed to heed mine own decree. Thou truly thought I’d save thee, wench? Think not. By rushing to my feet in plea of aid, Thou hast rushed straight to thine execution.

His voice was impassive, and his words fell like hammers on Mistress Feroza. “Antimogne, please! I love you! Do you not love me? You said I was your favourite! You said I was your one and only!”

No time nor space within my heart I hold For women who betray my simple orders. Thy glassy womb’s as barren as thy fealty. Go hence and breath thy last. Not shall I weep.

Take her to die away from here, my guards, I’ve nobler tasks than watching vermin die.

“No! No!” screamed Mistress Feroza. Noah sensed movement in his periphery. He could tell by the location of her screams that she was being dragged by force out of the throne room. But he couldn’t see her. He could only see the Emperor’s face. He wore a neutral mask, but for a second, Noah thought he could see it crack with sadness. But the sadness quickly retreated behind his intense yet stoic visage.

Fear not, young Noah, thou art free to go. Your training doth start soon, do not be late.

Noah and Berenice left the throne room. The relief of having control over their faculties of attention again was substantial.

While walking back to their rooms, Berenice spoke. “That was intense, verily. Yet once more, the Emperor hath shown himself to be just and fair, think’st thou not?”

“I guess. I thought you were against killing her, though.”

“Well, were I to slay her, I would be a vigilante. But the Emperor doth kill with the full weight and justice of the law behind his words.”

“Yeah. True. Do you think we’ll get to keep the gold?”

“I’m not certain any save the treasurer knows thou hast it. Likely if thou keep’st thy tongue in check, thou shalt retain it.”

“I hope so. We should go to the market later and buy some stuff. Maybe after my training. I’d like to see what artifacts they have at the market.” Berenice nodded in assent. “Oh! And I think I levelled up!”

“What? Art thou in jest? That’s wondrous! Thou art truly remarkable, Noah!”

“I know. Level five. Getting to level five is supposed to be hard, right?”

“Aye. Many of human birth never reach such a level.”

“Damn. I wonder why I am levelling up so much faster than everyone else. Not that I’m complaining.”

“Thou art a true human, Noah. A being known only in lore. Yet here thou art.”

“I didn’t think being a human was such a big deal. I’ve always been human, like my whole life, but it’s only once I came to this weird world that I started gaining powers. Speaking of which, I’m gonna spend some time alone in my room choosing my abilities and stuff. Okay?”

“Aye, Noah. Down yon hall and to the right lies a library. Perchance, I’ll peruse it. Seek me there if thou find’st time before thy training.”

Oh, right. She could read. Not impressive in Noah’s world, but in this one, it probably was. “Okay, Berenice. See you soon, maybe.” Berenice nodded and walked down the hallway. Noah went into his bedroom and lay down on his bed, grateful to finally be alone again.

“Okay, time to level up,” he muttered aloud.

He knew he was gonna put a point in Intelligence no matter what, so he started with that.

[+INT]

[Level up! You have reached level 5! You have gained 4 stat points!] [Penalty Heartless has been removed!]

[Level 5]

[Stats:] [STR: 10 | DEX: 11 | BOD: 10 | INT: 15 (max) | SOC 10 | LUK 13 | MAG 0 | DIV 4]

[3 stat points available] [+STR | +DEX | +BOD | +SOC | +LUK | +MAG | +DIV]

[0/0 Mana] [4/4 Favor]

[Class: Heretic] [1 class ability available] [Class abilities:] [Patron: You have a powerful bond with one of the outer gods. Your current patron is: The Heart] [Second Chance (passive) - You get a +4 passive bonus to LUK when luck would be the difference between you living and dying.] [Ether Walk [2 favor] - Your Dash is replaced with an Ether Walk, which lasts for up to 6 seconds, but does not give you any increased speed. You are invisible and invulnerable during the Walk.]

Like last time, he thought it was smarter to choose class abilities before allocating his remaining stat points, so he moved to the class abilities screen.

[Category: Protection] [+ Stunning Appearance (passive) - When you come out of Ether Walk, any creatures within five feet of you are stunned for 3 seconds.] [+ Crowdwalker (passive) - When you pass through a creature, your Ether Walk extends in duration for another 2 seconds, and then when your Ether Walk ends, each creature you passed through is bludgeoned and thrown off their feet. This ability will damage, but not kill. ] [+ Shadowwalker (passive) - Your Ether Walk does not decrease in duration when you are in a shadow. ]

He knew by now it was smartest to invest as deep as possible into the skill tree, rather than spreading his points around. That left him with three options: Stunning Appearance, Crowdwalker, or Shadowwalker. Stunning Appearance would keep him safe when he exited his Ether Walk. It was the maximum defensive option. Crowdwalker, on the other hand, was an offensive option. Which was more important? There was also Shadowwalker, which was a utility option that would let Noah stay stealthy and safe when in shadow.

Realistically, Stunning Appearance and Crowdwalker would both allow Noah to escape from a variety of situations and could also both be used for attack. Stunning Appearance seemed stronger, stunning enemies, but it only affected people or monsters who were near Noah right when he exited his Ether Walk, which could be hard to time if he was using it for offense, but would suffice for defense, to keep others away from him. Crowdwalker was more flexible for attack, but required him to walk through his enemy, which is the opposite of what he would want to do when trying to escape. Noah found Stunning Appearance more attractive, except for the fact that it would presumably also stun any nearby allies, which could be fatal for them.

What about Shadowwalker? Noah considered it carefully. It was a great stealth option, of course. It would potentially allow him to avoid conflict entirely by slipping past any monsters, invisible and invulnerable. Assuming there was a continuous path of shadow he could walk in to escape. And he would effectively be immortal in an environment filled with shadow, like a cave or dark room. He could stay in his Ether Walk for days, right? An enemy could make him vulnerable with a torch or glow stick, but they’d have to know he was there, and they’d have to know how to overcome his Shadowwalker ability.

Could he create shadow? Noah’s mind went to ninja-style smoke bombs, but was smoke really shadow? Anyway, he had no idea where he would get smoke bombs. Maybe they sold them in the market? Were they really as good as in movies? Also, he would be blinded by the smoke just as much as his enemies. What about other options? There were clearly artifacts that could create darkness, like Antimogne’s armour or the antimagic star, but was darkness equivalent to shadow? Probably not, Noah thought.

The more he thought about it, the more Shadowwalker appealed to him, even though it would be ineffective in combat. If it allowed him to avoid combat entirely, then that was a boon. He already had the Tesla rod for offensive capabilities, assuming he wasn’t in the Toldenhold. Did he really need another way to attack? Why not choose Shadowwalker, and try to avoid fighting? No matter which abilities he decided on, he knew this world was unpredictably dangerous, and was sure he would occasionally run across monsters that were way stronger than him. Better to turn invisible and hide than to fight a losing battle, right?

Noah decided. Shadowwalker. It seemed like the prudent choice, and it had the highest potential for abuse. If he could figure out some way to create shadow on the fly… Would an umbrella count? But then he’d have to carry an umbrella, which would be an obvious giveaway of his position, and the umbrella would probably turn invisible anyway if he was the one holding it. Anyway, he chose Shadowwalker.

[+ Shadowwalker]

Four new class abilities appeared, and the others faded.

[Category: Protection] [+ Shadow Walk (passive) - Your Ether Walk is replaced with Shadow Walk, which has the same effect as Ether Walk, but automatically activates whenever you are in shadow, at no cost, and deactivates when you are not in shadow.] [+ Shadowrunner (passive) - You have a 50% boost to your running speed when in shadow.] [+ Shadowdancer [1 favor] - Use when in Ether Walk. Your weapon or other held item becomes corporeal, but you can still hold it and use it while incorporeal.] [+ Shadow Step [1 favor] - Use when in Ether Walk and in shadow. You teleport to another shadow you can see.]

Interesting. He also noticed something else on his stats screen. A notification message.

[She is coming.]

What the hell did that mean? Who was coming? Berenice? Was she coming back to his room? Or did it mean the Heart? He couldn’t think of any other women it could be referring to. Mistress Feroza? Warily, he listened to his surroundings and looked out his window, but he couldn’t see anything happening or anyone coming.

Eventually, his paranoia receded, and he chose his stat points.

[+ LUK] [+ DIV] [+ DIV]

He decided to put a point into Luck in hopes that it would help him luckily avoid death and maybe find cool new artifacts. Divinity, he put two points into. Looking at the possible class abilities he could choose for the next level, he figured he could use the extra Favor.

That done, he decided to go see Berenice in the library for a little while. He only had a little time before his first training session.