It took two days, and eating through my entire supply of food, to completely recover from my injuries. I slept as much as I could but awoke often from the various nightmares that plagued me. I burned with embarrassment at how close I had come to dying. It was a disturbing experience, especially when it was the result of my own mistake. I felt like I understood humans a little better: the drive to better oneself, the frantic search for security and comfort, the raw power of anger and the unquenchable drive to survive at any cost. These were all things I had thought I understood before, but now I felt them on a deeper, more instinctive level. The human mind and body worked as one when it came to survival, and they would do anything to survive.
I spent my time replenishing my bullets from the iron I had stored in my villa. I also inspected my revolver carefully after a night of using it so frequently. I found that the bullets had slightly warped the barrel of the gun, and the rifling inside was becoming worn, likely because I was using steel bullets instead of the much softer lead that most bullets were made from. I had my nanobots return the gun to a perfect condition and then I carved the Durability rune into the grip, empowering it with a blue orb. It glowed faintly now, the Durability rune looking rather striking set among the polished wood and steel of the revolver. That should help prevent further wear and tear.
I spent a lot of time thinking about my choices and my goals here. I could recognize now that my decision to come here was a bit reckless. I had been grieving the loss of my only friend and hadn’t been thinking clearly, something I thought I was immune to because of my nature as an artificial intelligence. That was naive of me, though, since I was fully aware I could experience emotions similar to a normal person. There was no reason to think those emotions couldn’t influence my decision-making in the same way they would influence a human being’s. I had ignored the signs, throwing myself into my work and my rash plan to come to a world like this.
Now that I was here, though, I needed some long-term and short-term goals. My first short-term goal was to find a way over to Sycae, the merchant enclave, and check out their markets. I had acquired enough wealth to get myself the Enchanter class and maybe some skills or another class if I could find one. I hoped that by learning the Enchanter class, I could enhance my revolver and grenades in some way, making me even deadlier. My second short-term goal was to level my Archer class to level 20 to see if I could get a class evolution of some kind. I hoped that my use of a revolver instead of a bow or other, more traditional ranged weapon would be unique enough to get me a powerful evolution.
After that . . . I wasn’t sure. Find a real place to call home? Find out more about this world? Make friends? Explore beyond the city? I felt a bit lost when it came to thinking about my long-term goals. One of the things that had drawn me so thoroughly to the idea of finding a world like this one was that the pleasure of gaining power, levels, skills, and magic acted as a panacea on the real things that bothered me, allowing me to ignore how adrift I truly was by focusing on the next power-up or interesting bit of magic I found. I recognized that such a feedback loop was one of the reasons I enjoyed playing virtual games with Michael so much; the escape was addictive in many ways. I just couldn’t live like that forever. I needed to figure out what I truly wanted from my life. For now, that was too big of a question to answer, so I would just focus on my short-term goals and figure out the rest when I could.
To get into Sycae, I could think of a couple of different possibilities. I could try my luck with the Emperor’s enclave and hope I had enough to bribe myself through. In the same vein, I could try bribing one of the fishing boats to take me across, which would probably be cheaper and safer than trying to deal with the Emperor or his nobles.
Another option was that I could use my newest perk, Swimmer’s Body, which increased my eyesight underwater, reduced the resistance of the water I swam through, and significantly increased the time I could hold my breath. The danger with that option was that I knew the water contained monsters; I saw one when I first spotted the bridge city and its fishermen. On the other hand, I had been able to outswim the sharks in the island dungeon even before receiving my perk. It was possible I could outswim whatever lived in the water around here as well.
The water could also provide me a way to test my Dash again, this time with—hopefully—more than enough free space around me. Part of me balked at the idea of using the skill again, but I refused to give in to that cowardly part of my mind. I would learn to use the skill no matter what. I just needed to be smarter about it now that I understood how insanely high it scaled off my physical attributes.
I made my way north, avoiding the area around Perama so I wouldn’t see another person. I approached the seawall that ran from west to east and protected the city from the channel that separated the city from Sycae. Wealthy houses overlooked the water, many of them ransacked and destroyed. Signs of monsters were everywhere, and I couldn’t help but think that if the people or Perama could clear a few of these areas out, they would face fewer attacks at night. The army could probably do it, but for some reason, it refused to protect the enclave.
I found a spot along the seawall where the channel was the narrowest. The water still stretched about a third of a mile from the seawall to the docks of Sycae. I checked my surroundings to make sure nobody was watching me, and then I climbed the seawall and crouched on top of it. I was only a couple of feet above the water here, the waves lapping against the wall below me. The docks across from me were mostly empty. There were only a few people on the shore near the docks, busy with their own business.
Before I could second-guess myself, I leapt forward, activating my Dash skill and launching myself off the seawall. I flew forward like I had done last time, unnaturally floating above the waves as if I was hovering in the air. There was no air resistance, so I felt strangely undisturbed as I flew across the water. My clothing didn’t even whip behind me, my vision unobstructed even though I was moving extremely fast. I dashed over halfway across the channel before my body stopped in midair, my momentum ceasing completely. I hesitated, completely surprised by the sudden cessation of movement. After a moment of stillness, gravity reasserted its control over me and I crashed into the water below.
I gasped as the cold water swallowed me, sucking water into my mouth and lungs. I coughed, which only sucked more water into my lungs. My damn body was drowning itself in its confusion.
Annoyed, I forced myself to stop panicking and kicked upward, breaching the water above me and coughing to clear my lungs as I desperately sucked in as much air as possible. I couldn’t afford to sit still in the middle of the channel, so I forced my breathing to slow and dove downward, checking the water around me for anything that might be nearby.
The water below was crystal clear to my improved eyesight. It was like looking through a clear glass bowl, slightly distorted but still clear enough to see all around me. I saw several sea monsters swimming in the channel, but none of them were near me. I also saw a monster closer to the Sycae shore, a grotesquely large crab walking along the seafloor, but it wasn’t looking upward, too busy with whatever giant crabs did.
I could see out into the main body of water that separated the western and eastern parts of the city. I saw a huge sea serpent, the size of a modern submarine at least, that had a faint golden glow around its body. It had a long, prehensile neck and short fins on each side of its body, but it seemed unconcerned with its surroundings as it swam lazily north along the waterway.
Seeing my path was clear, I rapidly swam forward, my newly strengthened body cutting powerfully through the water. My perk made the water less resistant to my movement, making me feel like a dolphin as I swam. The water was almost welcoming me with open arms as I let loose and used all my strength and speed to propel myself forward. After just a few moments of swimming, I crossed the rest of the channel and stopped next to one of the docks that jutted out of the merchant enclave.
“Did you see that?”
“What was that? Was it a monster?”
I heard a number of people talking above me. I reached upward and grabbed the edge of the dock, pulling myself up and rolling onto the wooden boards above me. Several people stood nearby, having noticed my approach.
“It’s a person!”
“Sir,” a man said, approaching me. “Are you okay? Did something happen to you? Did your boat capsize?”
I stood and ran my hands through my hair and clothes, shedding as much water as I could. “I’m fine,” I told the man who had approached. “Thank you, though. Just taking a bit of a shortcut across the water.”
I searched the crowd but thankfully didn’t see any guards or other authority figures that might try to question me further. I bowed slightly to the crowd and the man who had approached me before I walked rapidly past them, ignoring their looks of shock at my sudden appearance.
“A shortcut? He must be mad!”
I almost smiled at the flurry of speculation I left in my wake, but instead, I focused on sending my nanobots to quickly dry and clean my equipment so I didn’t bring too much attention to myself by appearing soaking wet. Once I was out of sight of the people at the dock, I ducked into an alley and waited patiently for my nanobots to finish their job. Once I was dry and looking a bit more respectable, I exited the alley and began to explore Sycae.
The first thing that struck me about this side of the city was the number of people. Perama had felt crowded, simply because it had so many people packed into such a small space. Here, there was significantly more space, but somehow, it managed to feel even more crowded. Away from the docks, the streets rapidly filled up with people hawking wares, cooking food, carting goods across the city or carrying them by hand, or acting busy with other work that sent them rushing through the streets.
Shops were everywhere, selling all kinds of goods. I saw actual restaurants serving food, as well as carts selling produce, street food, and other perishables. The city was loud. My ears, which had become used to the silence of the city across the water, were overwhelmed by the sounds of so many people talking, bargaining, laughing, yelling, and so much more. I grimaced, frantically trying to manage the sensitivity of my ears, feeling a headache develop from so much noise all around me.
The people were a mix of ethnicities. Like Mehmet from the bar back in Perama, a large number of people were darker-skinned, while others were the more common olive-skinned people that filled Perama.
What was especially interesting about the mix of ethnicities in this part of the city was what it implied about the history of this world. In my world, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire. In this world, something must have occurred to change the course of history since the city was still in the hands of the Byzantines. At least as much as the city was in the hands of anyone. The people who were darker-skinned looked like descendants of the Turkic people that ruled the Ottoman Empire. Given the population of their descendants in the city, it implied that the city had had some contact with the Ottomans at some point. I was very curious about what had happened.
As I wandered the streets, I observed plenty of guards patrolling and keeping the peace, unlike in Perama. Toward the north of the city, I could see a wall much like the Theodosian Walls that protected the western part of the city that was controlled by the army. This wall, though, also had a shimmer rising above it like at the priests’ enclave. Did the merchants here get a hold of whatever magic protected the priests? Or did the priests buy the magic from the merchants somehow? If so, why didn’t the rest of the city have such defenses?
The other odd thing about the mass of people here was how . . . normal they all seemed. It was as if they were all pretending that nothing was wrong with their world. They went about their day, gossiping, shopping, eating, laughing, living their life as if nothing was wrong. After weeks of surviving in the ruined part of the city just to the south, it was disconcerting. It was like entering a bubble that was determined to pretend the rest of the world wasn’t failing all around it.
I spent a few hours exploring the enclave. I found a large temple near the wall that seemed to be occupied by several priests. I considered trying to sneak to see if I could learn more about the mysterious barrier that protected the enclave, but I put it out of mind when I saw how many priests were coming and going from the temple. Maybe if I had a way to resist their spells, I could risk it, but for now, it wasn’t worth it.
There was no palace or sign of a central government, although a number of large estates dotted the city. Each estate had its own walls and guards in unique livery. I suspected the estates represented the merchants that controlled the enclave, although I couldn’t be completely sure.
After I was done exploring the city, I returned to a respectable-looking inn I had seen near the center of the city. There, a kind older woman rented me a room and sold me a meal for four copper nummi a night. I accepted her offer, despite not needing to sleep right now, to avoid any issues with the guards as night began to fall.
Once my lodging was secured, I made my way to a shop in one of the richer parts of the city. The street the shop was on was beautiful. Pristine stone buildings lined each side, each one adorned with ivy and flowers in vibrant abundance, and the shops all had large glass windows to allow in plenty of light and to display their goods to those that walked the street outside.
One of the shops was a bakery, and the smell was so distracting that I couldn’t help but stop and buy a few pastries. It was my first taste of freshly prepared food, and it was delicious. My mouth ached painfully as the smell of the pastry reached my nose, and I found myself consuming the pastries so fast I barely registered anything but the sensation of pleasure from the taste of them in my mouth.
I looked up, slightly embarrassed, sure that someone must have seen how hastily I consumed the pastries, but nobody was looking at me. I brushed crumbs off the front of my cloak, coughing slightly to cover my embarrassing behavior, and then walked briskly to the shop that had brought me to the area.
“Be with you in a moment,” a young boy called out as I entered. I stopped inside the shop, glancing around to see a large number of books displayed on shelves all around me. The young boy who had called out was behind a counter, talking with a richly dressed man in a robe of fine silk. I waited patiently for them to finish their business, nodding at the man as he passed me on his way out. The man ignored me, giving me only a brief, dismissive glance as he left.
“Welcome,” the boy said after securing the money the older man had paid him. “What can I do for you today?”
The boy was dressed well but modestly. He seemed to be in his early teenage years, around fifteen or sixteen at most, although it was hard to tell, given how different the people of this world were compared to my own.
“I’m looking to buy a class,” I told him, stepping toward the counter. “I’m looking for an Enchanter class if you have one available.”
The boy turned and grabbed a book off the shelf behind him. “Easy enough,” he said, placing the book in front of him. “My grandfather finished one a few months ago but we haven’t had any buyers yet.”
I inspected the book he had placed on the counter. It was finely made and bound in thick leather, just like the Archer book I had purchased from Momma Lena.
“You understand this will only teach you the class, sir? We are not responsible for you learning the trade itself. That will be your own responsibility.”
“Yes,” I said, “I understand that.”
“Great,” the boy replied, giving me a professional smile. “Sometimes people think a class will teach them everything, but that’s not how it works. We just like to make sure you understand so you don’t leave disappointed.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. “How much for the class?”
“Rare class like this?” the boy replied. “It goes for 150 blues, minimum. A fair deal, that is.”
I could afford the class but had learned my lesson to always bargain by now.
“It’s a rare class,” I agreed, “but my understanding is that most people learn it by working the job, since—as you say—it is almost impossible to use it otherwise. And you said it has been sitting on your shelf for months. Surely, that means the class is not in that much demand.”
The boy didn’t blink, only waited for me to finish speaking, clearly comfortable with negotiating prices. I found myself impressed by his maturity.
“That is true,” he said, giving me another professional smile, “but you should never underestimate the whims of the merchants and their rich families in Sycae, sir. I can see you are from across the way. A scavenger, if your cloak is true. We appreciate what you do for us over here and I know my grandfather would want to recognize your good works. I can sell you the class for 140 blues. Surely that is not too much for a successful scavenger such as yourself.”
He patted the book in his hand fondly as he spoke, like it was a particularly good book that just needed a loving person to take it home with them.
“I do appreciate that,” I replied. “And yes, I’m a scavenger, although I am pretty new to the profession and haven’t made a lot of currency yet. If you sold me this class, it might make a big difference in my survival across the water. Maybe someday I could supply some goods that help keep Sycae supplied. Who knows? Although if I died, the city would win once again.”
The boy glanced down at the book and his smile slipped for the first time. I could tell I had caught him out, and my own smile grew.
He gave me a more genuine smile, recognizing my sappy response for what it was. “I can sell you the class for 125 blues, but no lower. My grandfather will already have my hide for such a deal.”
Sensing I wasn’t getting any better deal, I agreed.
“A fair bargain,” I said, withdrawing six gold orbs and five blue orbs from the pouches on my belt. I handed the currency to the boy and he handed me the book. Even though I had completed ten dungeons and collected a fair number of orbs after my disastrous night trapped in the city, I was left with only a handful of gold orbs and around seventy blue orbs. I would need to replenish my reserves soon if I wanted to make more expensive purchases in the future.
“Thank you for your business, sir,” he said, bowing to me slightly.
“Thank you.” I tucked the book into my backpack and asked him about his other classes for sale, but none of his non-combat classes would be useful for me right now, and the combat classes had a lengthy waitlist, similar to Momma Lena back in Perama. I thanked the boy again after we finished talking and turned to leave.
Outside, the streets were still just as busy as before. I had a few hours left before the sun started to set, so I found my way to a street that had several enchanters on it. The shops there were also manned by younger boys and girls, likely all apprentices or family of the crafters themselves. I wondered if they all had some kind of Merchant class. It would make sense to have a family member specialize in making more of a profit while the crafters focused on their specific class.
My main goal was to buy some kind of compendium of runes, but every shop I visited claimed such a thing didn’t exist, and no enchanter would share their runes without a formal apprenticeship. They all seemed to be following the same script, claiming it was too dangerous to just hand out such knowledge. I didn’t doubt that it was for most people, but even when I offered to pay a significant amount, they refused to sell to me.
Slightly annoyed, I returned to the inn I was staying at, ate a fine dinner, and then made my way to my room before night fell. In my room, I took out the class book I had purchased and made myself comfortable on the small bed. I opened the book and began to read.
Class unlocked: Enchanter.
Pooled experience detected. Experience applied to your Enchanter class.
I was surprised to realize that my prior crafting must have actually been pooling experience for me; it just wasn’t announced in the way that killing monsters was.
Congratulations, you have received enough experience to level your Enchanter class. You are now level 1.
Congratulations, you have received enough experience to level your Enchanter class. You are now level 2.
Congratulations, you have received enough experience to level your Enchanter class. You are now level 3.
Please choose a level 1 class skill:
Efficient Enchanting: Your enchantments require less power to activate.
Empowered Enchantments: Your enchantment effects are more powerful.
Lasting Enchantments: Your enchantments last longer and are resistant to damage from external sources.
Copy: You may make a perfect copy of a prior enchantment that you crafted once per week onto an item of your choice.
Learn Rune: You may select one rune of your choice. Learn that rune. You may pick any concept of your choice to learn.
Now that was interesting. I could, essentially, form my own rune if I went with Learn Rune, but if I chose that option, I would lose out on the long-term benefits from some of the other skills. I could sense that I was able to learn all of the enchantment skills; none of them would require me to activate my own mana since enchantment used external magic to charge runes, not internal magic. Copy was a waste since I could already mirror runes perfectly with my nanobots. Efficient Enchanting would save me money in the long run, but that wasn’t an immediate concern. Lasting Enchantments would help me enchant more lasting items, but again, that wasn’t an immediate concern.
That left Empowered Enchantments or Learn Rune. I had any number of concepts I could potentially unlock with Learn Rune, but given how rare getting skills was, I didn’t want to waste a skill on just a single rune in case I could find what I wanted elsewhere first. Maybe after I had done an extensive search and collected as many runes as possible, I would use that skill if I got it again as I leveled.
For now, I selected Empowered Enchantments. The knowledge of the skill flooded into me. I learned that all of my enchantments would be empowered from now on, meaning my bullets and grenades would do more damage or be more powerful, giving me a nice boost in power across the board.
Memory +1
Memory +1
The attribute enhancements for reaching levels 2 and 3 rolled through my mind. I didn’t feel any different from having a boost to my memory, but with my enhanced mind, I was already capable of remembering everything I had encountered, so I wasn’t sure what good a higher memory actually did me.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
After the class announcements faded, I took a deep breath and stood up from my bed to stretch. Night had fallen and the class book had faded just like the Archer book had after I finished learning the class. I was happy with my purchase. It had given me a very useful skill that increased the power of both my revolver and grenades. Overall, a very good investment, for sure.
I realized as I stretched that I had been hearing a dim commotion around me for a while now, but only after I finished gaining my class did I realize what I had been hearing. Down below, the sound of music and a crowd was filtering up to me from the common room of the inn. I frowned, surprised to hear so many people out and about now that the sun was down.
I unlatched the shutters on the window of my room and looked out upon the city. Night had set over an hour ago, but the streets were still full of people—maybe even more full, if that was possible. Food was still being served, and numerous inns and bars around me had patrons coming and going, even at night. The streets were illuminated with magical blue light, and the city had a festive air, as if there was nothing dangerous about the night at all.
I was shocked, my senses rebelling at the idea of anyone being out at night, but I soon realized this city must be so secure that they didn’t need to hide indoors at night like everyone else. How fortunate for them that they were free to celebrate while the rest of the city fought for its life every night, just hoping to see another dawn.
I made my way downstairs and found a lively scene in the common room. The large room was full of patrons, and a musician was playing a large wooden instrument of some kind in one corner. The tables were packed, and several staff were bringing drinks and food to the patrons.
“Grab a seat anywhere, sir!” a woman yelled at me as she saw me standing at the foot of the stairs.
I scanned the room and found a table that had an open chair. It looked like people shared tables here, even with strangers, so I wound my way through the crowd and sat down. The woman who had spotted me came over as I sat down, and I ordered a beer from her.
As I sat down, the men at the table turned and looked me up and down. There were three of them. One looked like a young merchant or a merchant’s son. He was dressed well, with a bit of a spoiled look to his face, as if he felt he was better than everyone else in the room. The other two appeared to be friends of his, but their clothing was not as fine and showed signs of some mending, unlike the other boy’s clothing, which was spotless and new.
“A scavenger?” one of the friends asked as I looked back at them. I was regretting even coming down here, uncomfortable with the situation. It was clear the men at my table had already had a few drinks and I didn’t feel adept enough at social situations to handle three young, intoxicated boys.
The rich boy elbowed his friend. “Now, don’t be rude,” he said, raising his voice to make sure I could hear him. “You know we rely on scavengers for many things. They are the workers that keep our fine society afloat, aren’t they now?”
This caused the other two to laugh, and the rich boy got a smug look on his face.
“My good man,” the boy continued. “Tell us about yourself. Regale us with your stories!”
I ignored the boys and scanned the room for another place to sit. When another moment passed and it was clear I was ignoring them, the rich boy got an ugly look on his face.
“Come now,” he said, leaning toward me. “Tell us what you scavenge. Are you a cloth scavenger, bringing us dirty laundry to clean for you? Do you scavenge rags for us to wipe our arse with, then, Mr. Scavenger?”
His two companions laughed uproariously as if he had made the funniest joke they had ever heard.
I sighed, now fully regretting my choice to come downstairs. Before I could respond or hear more from the boys, my drink arrived. I paid for the drink and then spotted an opening at another table occupied by an older man and what looked like his bodyguard, a grizzled veteran carrying a large sword across his back, even inside the inn. They seemed like better company than these foolish boys.
I stood and began to make my way toward the other table when the rich boy grabbed my arm. I looked down at the boy, surprised at his audacity. He tugged on my arm, and I was surprised to feel he had a bit of strength. He must have a class, if not several.
“Now, now,” he said, trying to brush off his insults with a false smile. “Don’t go. I didn’t mean anything by it. We need a good drinking companion and want to hear your stories. Sit and tell us what you do, scavenger.”
I reached across with my other hand and placed it over the boy’s where it grasped my arm. I began to squeeze, feeling his hand give to my greater strength. I knew I was handling the situation poorly, but his attitude reminded me too much of Michael’s father, and I found myself growing angry at his arrogance.
“Fuck!” the boy yelled, feeling my strength crushing his hand. I pulled his hand away from my arm and let go before doing any real harm to him.
The boy glared at me, anger clear on his face, as he shook out his hand. I could see he was about to say something especially stupid to assuage his wounded pride, but I silently turned away from him and made my way over to the other open seat I had seen. I had no time or energy to deal with such fools tonight. I had just barely survived being stuck outside at night in the city, and here was an entire enclave partying every night. These people were so full of arrogance that they would lay hands on me without permission as if it was their right to stop me when I tried to leave. It infuriated me.
I sat down at the table with the older man and his bodyguard with a grunt, trying to dispel the anger that lingered in my mind. The man nodded at me and his bodyguard scanned me up and down.
“Alright if I join you here?” I asked, my voice rougher than I intended.
The man nodded again and then turned to watch the musician play, leaving me in silence. I turned to take in the music as well, sipping my beer, grateful for the peace. I could feel the boys at the table I had left staring daggers at me, and I heard them muttering to themselves as they continued to drink, but I did my best to ignore them. I figured at most they would wait outside for me, thinking they could exact some petty revenge when I left, but when I failed to leave the inn, hopefully they would just leave disappointed and drunk and forget about the whole thing by tomorrow.
I drank in silence, trying to enjoy the music and the crowd of happy people. The beer wasn’t particularly intoxicating with my enhanced body, but the crowd and atmosphere cast their own kind of spell, finally letting me relax a bit. The frantic pace at which people drank, danced, laughed, and partied made me realize I had been missing something when I initially judged the enclave. The people weren’t all like the boy who had grabbed me, arrogantly enjoying the luxury they lived in without a care for the outside world. Instead, they had found a different way to cope with the constant tension and fear. The people around me were drinking far more than was good for them, their celebration almost manic. Their cheerfulness had a tinge of desperation and madness to it, something I hadn’t noticed at first. After watching them for long enough, I realized they weren’t unaware of the danger of the world around them; they just tried to drown their fear in drink and celebration to make themselves forget for a moment what awaited in the night if their wall ever failed.
I watched, fascinated by what I was now seeing. I couldn’t help but admire the human ability to cope with fear and stress, how people found release in the strangest ways, even if that way was probably unhealthy.
I was so distracted by my new insight into the people of Sycae that I was caught by surprise a few drinks later when the boy from the other table had gotten behind me, shoving me hard enough to jolt me out of my chair and almost spilling me onto the ground. The man at the table with me frowned as I recovered, standing quickly and turning to glare at the arrogant boy. The bodyguard stood aggressively as well, staring daggers at the boy.
“You ill-mannered rat!” the young man said, spitting on my chest. I looked down in disgust at his actions. “You—” he tried to continue when I interrupted him by slapping him across the face. My slap was so hard the boy spun to the side and slammed down on a neighboring table, spilling the patrons’ drinks and sending the men and women who had been sitting at the table backing up quickly, their chairs overturning as they retreated rapidly.
His two friends were standing behind him and charged at me as they saw their companion struck down. They yelled in outrage and raised their fists, but the bodyguard stepped forward and kicked one of them in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him folding over backward. I grabbed the other one by his outstretched hand and stepped to the side, wrapping his arm across his body and spinning him around with a jerk before picking him up in both my arms, turning him sideways, and slamming him into the ground. He groaned in pain as his back slammed into the hard wood of the inn’s floor. I waited to see if he would stand again, but he seemed happy enough to roll around on the ground, groaning and crying. I left him to it.
I turned and eyed the young man that had started the whole brawl. He was slumped on the ground where he had fallen after sliding off the table he had landed on. I grabbed the one I had body-slammed by his foot and dragged him over to the arrogant brat I had slapped, then grabbed him as well. I dragged both of them across the floor and dumped them in the street in front of the inn. The bodyguard escorted the other young man outside as the boy cradled his stomach. I stared at him as he passed me, not meeting my eyes.
The bodyguard and I reentered the inn together to an awkward silence as everyone stared at us.
“Let me buy you a drink,” I told the bodyguard as we both stopped, staring back at everyone that was watching us in silence. Apparently my words were enough to get the party started again, because the patrons of the inn gave a cheer, raising their mugs toward us, and went back to celebrating. The bodyguard turned to me and grinned, his weathered face breaking into a surprisingly kind smile.
“A man after my own heart,” he said, laughing. I smiled back at him.
I ordered the next round for the bodyguard and the other man at the table. The brief fight seemed to have broken the ice between the three of us and we spent the rest of the evening drinking together and talking. Their names were Romanus and Valens, and they were actually equal partners. I had originally thought Valens was Romanus’s bodyguard, but it turned out that wasn’t true.
I learned a lot from the two of them about Sycae as we drank together. I also learned that even with an enhanced body, enough alcohol could get me drunk. I had planned to stay up all night crafting new bullets with my Empowered Enchantments skill, but instead, I found myself staggering up to my room late into the night, where I immediately passed out on top of my bed.
I awoke late the next morning. My body, thankfully, had healed enough for me to avoid the worst feelings of a hangover, which, I was aware from the information I had gathered on my Earth, was a very unpleasant feeling. By the time I made it down to the main room of the inn, my head only pounded a little. I found Romanus and Valens enjoying a full breakfast. They waved me over when they saw me.
“A fun night,” Romanus said with a smile, gesturing for me to join them. “We must thank you for the fine entertainment.” Valens’s weathered face broke into a smile as well, and he nodded in agreement. I sat down and ordered breakfast as well.
“Thank you again for the help with those young men,” I said while I waited for my food to arrive.
Valens waved away my thanks. “You thanked us enough last night,” he said in his deep voice. “This city has become infested with the cowardly, hiding here behind the walls and pretending nothing is wrong. It’s good to remind them that real strength is required to survive in this world.”
“Their parents buy them classes,” Romanus said, “and they think they are strong because they get a few enhancements and a skill or two. They have no idea what it takes to really fight anymore.”
I had learned that Romanus had a combat class or two, but he didn’t share the specifics. Valens was a Warrior and had revealed he was level 20 in his class and had been for many years. I was surprised to learn that the two of them hunted in the wild north of the enclave, bringing down monsters outside the city. According to them, it was dangerous work, but profitable. Given how dangerous the city was, I could only imagine what the wilderness outside was like.
I was interested in learning about his non-combat class, but I wanted to focus on my Enchanter class for now rather than get distracted with another class. I was sure it would take time to learn the different ways to harvest monsters, but I was interested in learning at some point so I didn’t leave so much money behind me when I went hunting.
We made small talk over breakfast, enjoying each other’s company as we ate.
“Alexander,” Romanus said as we were finishing our breakfast, “have you ever left the city?”
“No, I haven’t had a chance to yet. I have been too busy.”
Romanus looked over at Valens, who nodded back at him.
“Would you like to go on a hunt with us?” Romanus asked. “We have been tracking a profitable monster north of the city, but it may be too strong for us. It would be good to have someone along that can handle themselves. And it would be a good learning experience for you. Get you out of the city, see some of the world that isn’t fully destroyed yet.”
I was tempted, but I worried about revealing more about my firearm and its capabilities, although I felt I could trust these two men.
“Hmm,” I said, buying time as I thought over my options. “I’m interested. Can you tell me more about what it’s like? I only have experience with scavenging in the city itself.”
“Outside of the city is different,” Valens said. “The monsters are stronger, larger, and smarter. Especially smarter. The ones in the city are idiots compared to some of the monsters outside.”
“But there are less of them,” Romanus said, “although that only makes them more dangerous. They are territorial and are not afraid to come out during the day. Much of our work is knowing where not to go, to avoid the monsters we have no hope of fighting.”
“The further from the city you get,” Valens said, “the worse it becomes. Monsters only become more powerful further from the city for some reason. It’s dangerous work, but very rewarding.”
The two of them had a funny way of talking, bouncing off each other’s sentences. It was clear they had spent a lot of time together. I found it endearing.
“I would be happy to go with you,” I said, deciding it was worth revealing more about myself to learn how to survive outside the city, “but I have to warn you, my way of fighting is a bit . . . strange. I would ask you two to keep what you see to yourselves if I go with you.”
“Oh ho!” Romanus replied, smiling. “A unique class of some kind? Those are very rare these days.”
“It’s complicated,” I replied, smiling back at him. “But I would appreciate your discretion.”
“Of course,” Valens said. “You have nothing to fear from us. Romanus may surprise you as well, if he ends up having to get involved.”
Romanus scoffed as if he had no clue what Valens was referring to.
“Well,” I said, smiling at their antics. “Then I am happy to go with you. When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Romanus replied. “We need to resupply and sell some goods here before we head back out. You’ll get an equal share of any loot gathered. I would recommend you prepare yourself for at least a week’s travel.”
We discussed the details a bit more, and then the two invited me to go with them to sell some of their goods. I agreed. They went upstairs to gather their goods and I waited for them in the street out front.
Part of me expected to encounter trouble when I stepped out of the inn, worried I’d find the three boys waiting for me perhaps, but thankfully nobody paid any attention to me when I walked outside. I hoped the young men had learned a cheap lesson from me, because I knew others might not have been as forgiving.
Romanus and Valens joined me a few minutes later, each of them carrying a large backpack on their backs. The backpacks both looked overly full, with goods strapped to the sides, back, and top, making them look twice as large as they should be. It was clear that they had strength enhancements just to be able to carry the backpacks so easily.
We made our way to a street a few blocks away, where the hammer of blacksmiths and the sounds of other crafters filled the air. Romanus led us to one such shop. An open area surrounded by a low stone wall sprawled next to the small shop, the open area filled with forges, anvils, and several people working at them. Romanus led us inside with no hesitation.
The two of them approached the counter while I lingered at the entrance to the shop, just watching. They dumped their backpacks onto a large, clear section of the counter. The young clerk clearly recognized the two of them because he turned and left through a doorway behind him without saying a word. He came back a few minutes later with an older man who sported a large gut and an even larger mustache.
“Ah,” the older man said upon seeing Romanus and Valens, “my two favorite suppliers!”
The three of them began to chat, making small talk and discussing the two men’s most recent expedition out of the city. I turned away and looked over some of the goods in the shop as they talked. Several different sets of armor and weapons were displayed on mannequins or on tables and shelves. As I inspected them, I realized why monster parts were in such high demand: they could be used to craft high-level items like the ones in this shop. I saw armor made from monsters’ scales, swords made from unfamiliar glowing materials with no visible enchantments, and many other items clearly crafted from exotic materials. When I read the brief description next to each item, it claimed that the armor or weapon was made from various parts of monsters that gave the weapon or armor different powers or resistances, depending on the monster it was made from.
I inspected a set of leather armor the description claimed was made from the scales of a monstrous crocodile. The description said it was highly resistant to piercing attacks and granted the wearer the ability to hide in marshes with near-perfect invisibility. I wasn’t sure how the armor could determine what a “marsh” was or if anything that was close to a marsh qualified. And how did the crafter know what each piece did? If the claims were true, it must have taken years of experimentation to learn what different monster parts did when turned into a piece of armor or a weapon.
One of the swords I looked over claimed to be enhanced by a sprite’s winter breath, which made the sword inflict ice damage. There were daggers made from the bones of a shadow creature, granting the blade some form of shadow magic, boots enhanced with the speed of something called an Aurumvorax, and plenty of other exotic items with equally extraordinary enhancements.
I was shocked at the prices but even more shocked to learn that such things were possible. It appeared that I had just scratched the surface of what this world had to offer when I took up enchanting. The other crafting professions produced items of equal or greater power, at least here in Sycae.
Romanus and the shop owner finished their bargaining, and I watched as he and Valens finished unloading jars, hides, and a number of carefully wrapped and preserved body parts onto the counter. The shop owner, in return, handed him a handful of golden and blue orbs. I had only a second to count, but it appeared to be at least ten gold orbs. Harvesting monsters turned a very healthy profit, it seemed.
I considered buying an item, but most of it was out of my price range right now. My funds were depleted after I bought my Enchanter class and spent a night drinking with Romanus and Valens. I was down to just four gold orbs now, although I had a fair number of blue orbs and some silver and copper left.
I also needed to spend some more on traveling rations, a second canteen, and a blanket for the trip out of the city. I wished I had time to return to my villa to gather more iron to make into bullets, but since we planned to leave tomorrow morning, I had my nanobots working to re-forge all of my bullets and grenades, except for my Penetration Bullets, which I couldn’t afford to reforge quite yet. The newly forged bullets and grenades were more powerful thanks to my Empowered Enchantments skill. I had my nanobots working throughout the day, taking apart the enchantments on each bullet and grenade and then reforming them. It would cost me more blue orbs to recharge the enchantments, but it was worth it to make them more powerful.
The next morning, after another filling breakfast with the two men, we headed north toward the wall that protected Sycae. Romanus led us through the city until we reached a large gate in the enclave wall. A number of guards stood on the wall above the gate, but none seemed particularly worried. The shimmer of a barrier arced up from the wall, protecting the enclave better than a handful of guards could ever do.
“Do you know what makes that barrier?” I asked the two men as we approached.
Valens shook his head, but Romanus replied, “I’ve heard it’s some Patriarch magic. The merchants council pays the priests well to maintain it.”
“Interesting,” I said, staring upward as the shield stretched high above the enclave.
We approached the gate. When we got close, one of the guards recognized Romanus and opened a smaller door in the thick wooden gate, letting us outside. We stepped through and I took in my first view of the world beyond the city.
More of the city continued north, but this part of the city was even more ruined than the areas inside the wall. The buildings were fully collapsed, bits and pieces of stone and wood scattered and covered by grass and small brush that had grown over the area. The cobblestones of the road were cracked as if large creatures had fought over the area, shattering the ground underneath them. Plants and grasses grew wildly as far as I could see, working to reclaim the area for nature.
We made our way through the abandoned streets, the three of us watching warily for signs of any monsters nearby. As we progressed, the ruins of the city fell away and the cracked streets turned into abandoned farmland. A few remaining crops grew here and there, but they were no longer domesticated. Cottages and larger manors dotted the area, all of them long since abandoned.
After traveling for an hour, I stumbled as an announcement suddenly intruded on my mind.
Congratulations, you have earned the achievement Survive a Safe Zone. For reaching level 10 in a class, completing a dungeon, killing at least 20 monsters, and leaving a safe zone, you have been rewarded. You receive +1 to all attributes. You have unlocked the quest system.
“Whoa,” I said.
Romanus and Valens both stopped and turned to me. Seeing me in one piece, Valens turned to keep an eye on the surrounding countryside while Romanus approached. “Everything okay?” he asked me.
“Yeah,” I said, still examining the achievement in shock. I rubbed my forehead with one hand and looked over at Romanus. I debated whether I should ask him about achievements or not, but I decided if I was already trusting him with my revolver, I could trust him with more information.
“Have either of you ever heard of someone earning an achievement?”
“An achievement?” Romanus replied, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Like,” I said, trying to figure out how to explain, “if you do something unique, you get a notification that you have earned an achievement and you get a reward. Sort of like earning a perk or experience.”
Valens turned back to stare at me, and Romanus raised an eyebrow in surprise at my question.
“You know,” he said, “your question implies you have earned a perk, something that almost nobody in Sycae has earned in a very long time.”
“Well,” I said, “if you think that is strange, then achievements are going to be an even bigger surprise. I just got one when we traveled far enough from the city. It’s called Survive a Safe Zone and I received +1 to all of my attributes for achieving it.”
Valens’s and Romanus’s eyes both widened. “Are you serious?” Valens asked.
“How is that possible? We have been this far out many times and never heard of such a thing,” Romanus said.
“The achievement said I had to do certain things in the city to qualify and then leave the city, which it called a safe zone.”
“Explain,” Romanus said. I told him the requirements of the achievement, and they both exploded with questions when it became clear I had to have cleared a dungeon to complete the achievement.
“We shouldn’t stop to discuss this here,” Valens said after a moment, interrupting our discussion.
“Right,” Romanus replied. “Right. We will discuss this more tonight when we find shelter. C’mon.”
The two eyed me as we continued our walk, not in a distrustful way, but they were clearly wondering who exactly I was.
We hiked down the remnants of an old road as it cut through the abandoned farmland around us. Valens guided us in a zigzag out into the countryside when we needed to avoid some of the more dangerous monsters’ territories. As night started to fall, he found us a small cottage in the middle of a lightly wooded area, and we secured ourselves inside it for the night. The cottage was made of thin, wooden lumber with poor insulation, so it wouldn’t offer much protection, but Romanus assured me we were in a safe area—at least as safe as it got out here.
After we ate a light dinner, the two of them questioned me more about dungeons, achievements, and perks. I didn’t reveal everything, but I did share with them that I had cleared a dungeon.
“I don’t want to lie to you,” I told them, “so I’m just going to say that there are some things I can’t reveal about myself right now, but yes, I have cleared a dungeon in the city.”
I told them the story of how I stumbled into my first dungeon and what the experience was like. When I was done, it was late and I could tell the two of them were tired but also excited about what I had told them.
“I had heard rumors,” Romanus said, “about how strange and powerful dungeons could be, but I had no idea. And it’s true you can receive treasure or a perk for completing it?”
“Yes,” I replied, “you can get a perk or skill stone, a magical item, orbs, and possibly more. I don’t know.”
The two of them shared a look and then Romanus turned back to me. “How much would it cost for you to take us through a dungeon? We want to get this achievement that you mentioned. A +1 to all attributes is extremely useful. Merchants would pay thousands of blue orbs or more for such a boost for them and their families.”
I shook my head as he spoke. “It’s no problem. When we get back, we can try to tackle one together. I don’t want to charge you, and I definitely don’t want to run a bunch of rich merchants through dungeons. They are dangerous enough on their own. For the three of us, it should be fine, as long as we are all careful. In there, you will need to follow my lead like I follow yours out here, though. Even though you are both clearly skilled fighters, dungeons can be strange.”
“Of course,” Valens responded. “We would not want to be a burden.”
After discussing the matter a bit more, Romanus surprised me by asking a question that had been on my mind all day as well. “What do you think it means that the name of the achievement calls the city a ‘safe zone’?”
I had wondered that exact thing, and based on knowledge from my other world, I had an idea—and it wasn’t a good one.
“I think,” I said slowly, “that it means the monsters and dungeons are meant to be weaker in the city. I think the gods, or whatever happened to create this system, designated major cities as ‘safe zones’ to try to help people gain experience in an easier area than the rest of the world.”
“But . . .” Valens said, thinking through the implications of what I was saying.
“Yeah,” I said, “that means the city was supposed to be an easy place for people to survive in, but even that was too much, apparently. Either something went really wrong in Nova Roma or whoever designed this system underestimated how difficult the monsters truly were.”
“We knew the monsters out here were more powerful . . .” Romanus said, thinking.
“Yeah,” I said, “like you said, if they get more powerful the further from the city you get, it implies that the city is supposed to be easier. And if people can’t even survive the monsters in the city, it doesn’t bode well for humanity.”
“We already knew we were doomed,” Valens said grimly. “Everyone in Sycae just pretends otherwise.”
Romanus nodded sadly at that.
I felt bad for the people who had lived their entire lives in this world. I couldn’t help but think what would have happened to me if I had entered this world ten, twenty, or even thirty years in the future. I suspected that humanity might not survive for another generation at the rate things were going now. I could have found myself in a world completely overrun by monsters, with no way for me to ever gain a class or learn why the world was the way it was. I would have likely died confused and alone, never encountering a human.
It made me realize I might need to be a bit more proactive in trying to help the remnants of humanity on this planet if I didn’t want to find myself wandering an abandoned Earth in the future. Maybe that should be one of my long-term goals. My body should, by my estimate, never die of natural causes. If the last of humanity truly died out, I could be trapped with nothing but monsters for company for a very long time. Maybe at one time I would have liked to be alone, but now I had started to appreciate being around other people. Maybe I needed to be more proactive about building friendships and connections and start thinking about ways to help humanity survive the ordeals that had brought them so close to extinction.
After that depressing line of thought, we all turned in for the night. I settled down under my blanket, pretending to sleep even though I felt no need to rest. Instead, I followed my nanobots as they tore down and recrafted my Penetration Bullets, completing the upgrade of my arsenal.
After some time of the three of us lying down, Romanus and Valens must have thought I had fallen asleep or assumed I couldn’t see very well in the dark cabin, because my enhanced vision detected Romanus reach out and grab Valens’s hand in a comforting grip. The two held hands for a moment longer, their fingers intertwined, before they separated and turned over to sleep.
I was a bit surprised by what I saw, but it didn’t bother me. I was happy they had each other to provide a small amount of comfort in their dying world.
