Unisekai
A LITTLE IMPROV LIT-RPG FANTASY STORY
By Arne, 2023. Ver.0.962
Editor: No pass yet.
A man of dubious character is reincarnated in a fantasy world after getting hit by a white truck. By chance he comes across a young woman in trouble and inadvertently changes not only her fate, but that of the entire world.
––o––
Author's brief notes: This is my third attempt at writing one of these things, and also my third attempt at writing stories in general.  Expect some grammatical errors, structural oddities and the usual amateur mistakes. Written by hand in TextEdit on a mac, RTF-mode. Page size is pocket book, 110x178mm.

Chapter 1 : Prey
As far as Gods were concerned, Yarth-3b was a rather ordinary system world. Its three continents rose, twisted and crumpled on their great tectonic journeys through a great blue ocean. North of the equator and halfway shrouded in the white of winter laid the ragged expanse of land simply known as "The World" to its human inhabitants.
Near the centre of this continent stretched rather ordinary country with ordinary struggles. Arumeni suffered the occasional war, internal power struggle and inexplicable monster flare up. In its recently forested midlands stood the city of Breccon, once also of average size and noteworthiness. However after catastrophic mine collapse – following a still persisting bore-worm infestation 70 years back – the city had diminished in importance and since bled both coin and people.
But it was still beautiful. At its centre gathered elderly buildings of cold pale stone, their finely crafted arches and columns remaining defiant, speaking of noble glory in past centuries. Here and there squat circular towers wore their snow-capped conical wooden roofs and ornamental metal crests denoting some waxing or waning noble house or trading company. Further out though the buildings transitioned into simpler stone and wood.
––o––
A young woman ran barefoot through the fresh snow carpeting the sparsely populated and messy outskirt streets. She weaved between abandoned carts, loitering pigoids in winter fur, and scattered remains of empty wooden barrels and crates.
Recently she had felt less bothered by the cold. Last week she managed to trap and kill a winter slime and reached level three, which must have increased her overall resilience. However, now she had lost her ill-fitting shoes in a section of deep snow and the cold was quickly getting to her. She clutched the lucky blue glass bead dangling on a string around her neck, just to check if it was there. It had been a present from her mother and she treasured it dearly.
One of her hideouts was up ahead but upon seeing a man exiting a building she quickly detoured into a dirty alleyway. Here the snow turned into slush the colour of her rags. The whole city was looking for her. They had put up wanted posters with her face, somehow making her appear worse than she already looked. The posters, titled "Wanted: The Wretch of Breccon", showed caricature of a woman with long ragged black hair, a dirty scabbed face, mad gaunt eyes and missing front teeth. 
Technically all true, but still. It was not how she felt on the inside. Not how she had looked. Zhoey clearly remembered herself before the infection. Early on it would've been easy to cure for most – just a silver coin for a potion – but that was more than her family had or could easily earn. Her father had died in the bore-worm infested mines and her mother became a legless cripple after yet another cave in. So, they never earned that silver coin.
Trapped in poverty Zhoey had survived doing a mixture of theft, begging and dirty menial work. The former always proved more profitable. Few acknowledged that the blue scabs weren't really all that contagious, but an infected at her stage just looked very nasty so people kept their distance – all but the lone decrepit temple monk holed up in the temple monastery outside of the city.
She exited the alley and crossed another disused street, turned to look, then noticed red footsteps in the snow. Her numb feet must have stepped on a broken bottle somewhere. She swore and panicked, realising that she'd lead the pursuers right to her hideout.
The whole thing didn't make any sense – she was a level three and the murder victim was probably in the thirties and immune to any sort of damage she could dish out, not to mention difficult to sneak up upon. Most likely the city lord himself had done it. The city had a tradition where anyone could challenge the city lord for the position, but certain rules had to be observed with both parties agreeing to an open duel – often resulting in a dead body, sometimes two. However, rumour had it that the current city lord preferred to safely and quietly dispose of potential threats preemptively... something which certainly would be frowned upon if done blatantly. To turn down a duel from a strong opponent also counted as cowardice from a weak city lord.
Thus, Zhoey had been framed for a murder. It didn't matter how likely it seemed; it was a distraction, and her execution would be entertainment. The city would be rid of a pest. Everyone would be happy.

Chapter 2: Truck'd 
Brad Bradington Jr. pulled the car window down and flicked out a half finished cigarette onto someone's lawn. He drove his SUV forward a bit, stopping again outside one of his own properties just in time to see a panicked single mother carrying a cardboard box. She was flanked by the two rough looking enforcers Brad had hired.
	"Be seeing you, leech!" he leaned out and shouted, putting on his best shit eating grin.
The woman had been weeks overdue with rent and he'd rather get paid than doing charity. As the woman entered her little car, Brad craned his neck and stuttered his SUV closer until its massive front grill just about nudged the trunk of her car, actually obscuring most of it. He momentarily shifted his gaze to admire the airbrush job adorning the hood – a giant stern looking eagle he had specially commissioned but managed to dodge paying for.
	"Yeah off ya go, off ya go you little parasite..." he half seethed and half chuckled to himself as the woman finally drove off nervously. He did not notice the child in the back seat shooting daggers through little wet angry eyes.
After giving a thumbs up to the enforcers Brad fell back into his seat with a satisfied sigh, then snatched up his phone. He had to message the new tenant but ended up tapping a casino app instead. Clutching the steering wheel, phone, and a new cigarette, he slowly drifted onto the road and into an intersection, eyes glued to the "7, 7, ?" which had appeared on the slot machine.
Then a big white truck T-boned him at high speed.

Chapter 3 : Limbo
Brad's soul was adrift – a glowing orb adrift among countless others in an omnidirectional void. He swooshed around, making little loops and zig-zags but quickly got bored and just floated in place like the rest. Were they all waiting for something here?
As if to answer, a large, luminous white tentacle breached the void, scooped up a soul and retracted into nothingness. Then it happened again, and this time closer. Then a pitch black tentacle appeared. Were they feeding on souls? Brad had no way of knowing, but was about to find out as both the black and white tentacle seemed to be coming right at him.
He sped towards a cluster of other souls, managing to bump one into the grasp of the black tentacle. Sucks to be you, he silently jeered. Unfortunately the collision sent him into the path of the other tentacle and he was caught.
With a flash of light he found himself standing in front of an indistinct, yet distinctly godly figure.
	"Hello there~" the figure thundered, concentric ringed auras chiming and pulsing with each syllable. It reminded Brad of the effects in those old music players on the computer.
Brad had questions, but before he could ask the entity continued.
	"You will be reincarnated in a fantasy world... reincarnated... with benefits. Do you wish to start as a baby or young adult?"
Reincarnated? Hold on, in a fantasy world with magics, like in games and movies? That could be cool...
	"Uh, not a baby!" Brad answered without much hesitation. He certainly didn't want to spend years trapped in a baby's body, pooping all over himself, flopping about helplessly.
	"Adult it is. Now, do you want to play the gacha, or use the default loadout?"
The word loadout stimulated Brad's imagination. His cape fluttered in the wind. Rows of very tacticool daggers were strung across his chest. He held a magical katana glowing hot orange, or perhaps icy blue, and to each of his legs clung a women clad in only-
The god entity coughed lightly.
	"...so, to elaborate, the default loadout is all medium grade rare and noble items, and you'll start with level of 45. It's the safe bet. The gacha is a gamble. Items may be anything between common to super and even godly grade though the latter are more unlikely draws of course. On average it is a fair deal compared with the default loadout. In any case, you will be given one system ring which is a godly grade item, and a set of ungraded fashionable clothes."
The whole thing seemed a little complicated, but Brad chose the gacha, again without hesitation, because he would definitely win big.
Going over his draws a minute later, he felt he had done pretty darn good. No magical swords or anything but he had never won this big before. He looked at his final loadout.
• Ungraded fine clothes.
• Godly grade system ring, its dimensional storage now containing...
• Rare grade draw: Self purifying canteen "Refreshing Spring".
• Common grade draw: 100 Silver.
• Noble grade draw: Set of 5 System grade minor healing potions.
• Super grade draw: One epic level up pill worth 120000 experience.
• Common grade draw: Set of 3 extremely tasty loafs of nutritious bread.
• Noble grade draw: Set of 3 minor level up pills worth 6000 experience each.
• Common grade draw: Lewd figurine. 
• Rare grade draw: Enchanted leaf cloak.
• Rare grade draw: Iron skin scroll.
• Rare grade draw: Strength scroll.
• Noble grade draw: Master Smith scroll.
The god entity estimated the overall value as just about passable. Still, it was always interesting to see what gambler types got. The god entity had made the gacha truly random so even he was unable to predict the outcome and could enjoy a little excitement. True randomness wasn't easy to set up so he was quite proud of it.
	"Oh, right, I'll need your new name too."
A new name? This time Brad did hesitate. He had difficulties coming up with names, but wanted a cool one. A really cool one. After six minutes the god entity got irritated and kicked the guy out. What a dumb name.

Chapter 4 : A Hero to the Rescue?
She had been caught by the guards and thrown into the city lord's dungeon. Her cold cell reeked. The rib where a guard had clubbed her was probably broken. Her feet were frostbitten and the cut likely to get badly infected. Not that it mattered. At third noon she'll be put in the fall-blade and days her mother will likely starve to death.
Sometimes she likes to imagine a dazzling knight finding her, proclaiming she was actually of noble blood, worthy of some great castle full of treasures. She could use that knight right about now.
Suddenly she heard a voice, turning her attention to the pair of small barred windows up on the wall. She turned a chamber pot upside down and stood on it, peering out along the ground in an alleyway, only seeing a pair of legs. Apparently the cell was in the basement of the city lord's manor, but faced out towards the public street.
	"I'm... Star Eagle. Star Eagle Godborne. Well met, kings, nobles and princesses- oh, please remain seated. No applause. You may call me... Master Star Eagle Godborne, blessed... by the gods. Now, let's get some dancing bitches in here!"
The man strutted about gesticulating strangely, apparently talking to an appreciative invisible audience in an exotic dialect. As he came into full view, Zhoey stared at the splendid looking man in awe. But when she reached out through the bars with a trembling arm towards him, he shrieked in horror and took several steps back. 
	"Disgusting! Keep that rotten garbage way from me."

Chapter 5 : The Call of...
Satan-72's golden eyes peered into a desperate soul that trembled in front of her throne, then she frowned and deflated with sigh. After what must have been long seconds for the soul, she gathered herself up with a long breath, crossed her legs the other way around, and hushed her moaning skull throne to silence. Lithe muscles played under the red skin of her nine foot frame as she twisted to the side and reached for a rotary phone in black and gold, bringing it into her naked lap. Squinting down at the rather dainty phone she awkwardly dialled 4 6 3 7 2 with a clawed finger.
	"Hello, God-72? This is Satan-72."
	"Yeah I'm good, but listen, I've got a monk soul here and I think there has been a mixup."
	"Uhu."
	"Right... why didn't you check the guy's history though?"
	"Was probably a just random truck and not one of ours."
	"From the Earth in weird timeline you say?"
	"Uhu."
	"You sent him where?"
	"..."
	"Can you get him back, or should I?"
	"Yeah, sure, sure. You'll owe me though."
	"Oh. No. Monk here was destined for Nirvana, not blessed reincarnation. I'll send the monk off, there's no setup for that stuff. They're just a little spooked when a devil does it, but it can't be helped now."
	"Don't worry, these things happen."
	"Bu'bye."
*click*

Chapter 6 : A Series of Fortunate Events
Star Eagle Godborne watched the diseased arm of the wretch slide dejectedly back into the cell... sewer, whatever it was. Quickly returning his attention to the ring, he trembled with giddiness, feeling that perhaps this entire world would soon be satisfying his every whim. First he would have to leave this stinking alley though. He'd open the ring somewhere safe, like at an inn or whatever.
Twenty meters away around the corner sat the manor's gate guard on a stack of wooden floor planks. He wasn't supposed to sit while on duty, but the worm eaten wood had been conveniently dumped here outside of the gate during manor renovations. Despite his level the man shivered slightly in the winter cold, his hands cupped around a steaming soup bowl. He hoped the pippin soup would get his blood circulation going. Tucked precariously in his arm fold rested a spear bearing the banner of Breccon – a silver snake wiggling around a black mace, against a noble purple background.
He tried to catch a glimpse of the serving girls in the diner across the street, but his view was suddenly obscured by a horz drawn white carriage coming to a halt at the gate. He recognised the emblem on the side – it belonged to one of the lord's degenerate friends, very likely here for today's sudden execution. As the carriage door swung open the guard stood up, defiantly deciding to hold onto the warmth of the bowl. 
At this point a pebble mysteriously dislodged from the top of the manor's outer wall. A second later it splashed into soup bowl causing the guard to drop it with a startle and some cussing. The spear had tumbled out of his grasp too, tripping a servant boy just exiting the white carriage. The unfortunate boy fell onto a plank, which pivoted, catapulting a snow ball mindlessly prepared earlier by the guard. It flew right over the horzes, just missing a head.
Observing from afar in her realm, Satan-72 cursed, but then suddenly grinned in realisation. She could still salvage this.   
A gust of wind altered the snowball's trajectory ever so slightly. It hit a rotund man just exiting the diner right in the face. The man fell, dropping a small barrel of wine which then rattled noisily across the cobblestone directly towards the horzes. While this carriage was a military model, complete with extendible wheel scythes sometimes used by its sadistic owner, the two horzes in front were more for show. So upon seeing the dangerous ground creature attacking them, the fine horzes were panicked. They immediately took off, carriage in tow, distressed voices coming out a flapping door while the the horzman struggled and failed to gain back control. 
The carriage veered into the wall of the manor. The door tore off with a crash and one of wheel hubs scraped against the stone. This dislodged the sprint locking the wheel scythe in place. 
Just then, Star Eagle Godborne came around the corner, entirely focused on his ring. He had no time to react as the carriage swerved and the wheel scythe fully unfolded in a horizontal position. The carriage took another turn, carrying mangled pieces of his corpse back into the alley in a whirlwind of crimson.
	"Score!" – Satan-72 made a small fist pump, then snatched up the soul as soon as it entered limbo. She could have just directly killed the guy with a boring inferno spell of course, but it was these sort of minimalistic intervention event chains which really got her going.

Chapter 7 : What Slithers in the Dark
The unpleasant man's hand had skid to a halt just within reach so she had grabbed it though the bars. There was a nice ring on it and quickly snatching unguarded things was a reflexive compulsion she had developed.
She discarded the bloody hand and held the ring up in the light. A little too discrete and ordinary looking, but perhaps worth 30 copper if she could find the right buyer. Well, she couldn't now of course so she just mindlessly rolled it back and forth over the callouses in a palm, then finally decided she'd wear it for the execution, at least looking a bit nicer.
She slid it on and held up her hand to admire it. The ring faded away. A voice spoke in her mind, or was it text?
Godly grade system ring. This gives you access to the system HUD and dimensional storage. This ring will remain invisible as long as the wearer is alive. There are currently zero other active system ring users in this world.
This ring contains the following items:
• Self purifying canteen "Refreshing Spring". It is currently full. May only store water. Volume: 5 decilitres, dimensionally boosted to 60.
• 100 Silver.
• Set of 5 System type minor healing potions. Cures lesser poison, paralysis, confusion and other effects. Excess healing power can be used to restore lost organs and limbs of low level users. Cannot be diluted or split.
• One epic system type level up pill worth 120000 experience. Can raise a hero to level 59.
• Set of 3 extremely tasty loafs of nutritious bread. Filled with herbs, appfele and smoked pippin meat. Temporarily increases stamina.
• Set of 3 minor system type level up pills worth 6000 experience each. These are suitable for raising companions and pets up to level 20.
• Lewd figurine. A novelty item, valuable in the right situation.
• Enchanted feather-leaf cloak. Makes user lighter.
• Iron skin scroll. Single use item. User's skin will temporarily harden when attacked. This effect stacks with normal toughness level scaling.
• Strength scroll. Single use item. User's muscle strength is scaled not by their current level but eight levels above.
• Master Smith scroll. Single use item. User gains the instinct and ability to craft enchanted weapons, armours, amulets and other items.
She looked around, feeling that someone would appear out of nowhere and snatch it from her. She still vividly remember having found a pouch with six silvers on the street, only to immediately receive a club to the face... which was how she lost a few of her teeth.
There was some noice out in the alley, from the freak accident. Some noble was very angry. Zhoey couldn't imagine them having any business in her cell though, plus, the ring was supposedly invisible. She stepped back, carefully peering out from a distance. A guard walked by and text briefly flickered in the air.
	... Norell, City Guard, Level 8 ...
This was all she had time to read, so she kept watch until another man appeared.
	"Ouff – I really oughta talk to lord Mavruc about the odor right outside his manor." the man mused, apparently having found some social ammunition.
	Tondor Seck, City Lord of Hask, Level 26
Zhoey pondered. Hask? Ah, that's the next city over. A noble here for the imminent execution spectacle, perhaps? Would it get delayed? It was almost third noon. She moved back into a dark corner of her cell and sunk into a sitting position, wincing at a sudden pain in her ribs. She had become pretty good at ignoring discomfort, but this went beyond normal for her. Was she hungry too? Probably.
Focusing on the ring, she tried to bring out an "extremely tasty loaf of bread", curious to find out whether it was actually true. Her whole situation had been surreal lately.
A golden brown piece of crispy bread appeared in her hand and she immediately brought it into her mouth, biting awkwardly into it using her molars. Then she cried. It was indeed extremely tasty, filling her with a warm buzzing sensation. Nobles would pay gold for it, and here she was, having a private feast in a stinky dungeon.
Then she brought out the "refreshing spring". The water was also as advertised, very refreshing and slightly bubbly. Suddenly this had turned into the best day of her life. How could it possibly get better than this?
Then she remembered the other stuff in the ring. It was true too? Magical potions which could cure any condition? She had only heard about such things in stories. Commoners who were a little better off had access to expensive healing and specialised curing potions, but nothing with miraculous effects. 
Bread and canteen now relegated to her lap, she stared at the glowing red potion that appeared in her hand. She had seen a few lesser healing potions in a store display, but they were all a milky dull pink.
	System type minor healing potion. Cures lesser poison, paralysis, confusion and other effects. Excess healing power can be used to restore lost organs and limbs of low level users. Cannot be diluted or split.
She brought the small pear shaped bottle to her cracked lips and drank the whole thing in one swig. She felt nothing at all. Felt nothing as the scabs fell off her skin. Felt nothing as her teeth grew out. The background noise of pain was gone, too. So she felt nothing. She tried to stand up but sunk right back down, blinking in confusion. Her hands were smooth and pristine, full of vitality. She ran a finger over her new teeth, then took another bite of the bread. It tasted even better now. Divine. 
Having quickly finished the whole loaf, she then took out the 100 silver. It would take a commoner family years to accumulate this wealth, yet somehow it just seemed a little like dead metal to Zhoey now. With a serious expression she put it away. The scales had shifted.
Just as the voices outside seem to move off, a wheezy, yet powerful voice spoke out of the darkness in the cell.
	"So are you going to use the epic pill, or just laze about? Hurry up now lady... your time draws dreadfully short. No time for bread and coin."
A talking white snake slithered out of the darkness, startling Zhoey upright with a jerk. She put everything out back in the ring and looked guarded.
	"Relax, I'm just a little snakey snake, here on behalf of my mistress. Here to keep an eye on you, and ask a small favour, or two. Three, in fact.", the snaked spoke while weaving and undulating hypnotically. 
	"Do these favours three, and you may keep the ring, contents and all. Such is the deal."
	"Wh-what favours?", Zhoey stuttered.
	"Kill Mavruc Moor. His soul is ripe and delicious."
	"Kill Tondor Seck. His soul is ripe and delicious."
	"Kill the pottery worker with the dumb green hat, at the southern gate. The blaspheeeemer!"
	"Smash his misshapen statue! Grind it into dust."
Zhoey blinked, then a wrinkle formed on her brow. Those were four favours. Would the list grow further?
	"Well, I know the first two – the city lords – but uh- who is the last guy?", she queried hesitantly.
	"A blight!", the snake immediately responded, " He must die. Die die die. Mistress ordains it, as do I and every creature of her nine realms."
	"Now eat the pill!", the snake hissed at her before turning to slither back into the darkness. "Then use the scrolls.", it flicked its head around to add.
Then it was gone.
This just keeps getting stranger and stranger. Who was the mistress of this snake creature? The whole thing seemed a little ominous, but that feeling was entirely dwarfed by the prospects ahead.

Chapter 8 : Third Noon
The guards brought the woman out, kept at a spear's length. A few thought something looked a bit different about her.   Had she smeared herself in mud and filth? The wretch must be deranged.
The disheveled criminal limped barefoot in the snow all the way to the city town square where the execution platform had been hastily erected. A lot of people had gathered, despite the short notice. The fall-blade was a relatively new invention garnering much interest. It consisted of a three meter tall and 60 centimetre wide wooden frame. At the top, locked by a trigger mechanism, rested a massive, thick rectangular iron blade, likely as heavy as a man. 
The device could easily kill a level 30 criminal, assuming he was kept bound. No restraints seemed necessary in this case though. No one dared approach the filthy woman – besides, she was about to lay down willingly. Murmurs arose as she twisted around to instead lay on her back, facing the blade suspended far above her neck. The guards shrugged and just kept their spears loosely pointed at her.
Ten meters off to the side of the platform stood a line of small throne-like chairs, all occupied by two city lords and a few nobles. Ready to speak, the city lord rose, hand hoisting up a parchment which unrolled. 
	"We have gath- gathered here... to-"
At the moment he glanced at the woman, she twisted her head and peered back madly into his eyes, causing him to stutter.
	"...to..."
	"I. Challenge. You.", she interrupted, still remaining frozen in place.
There was a moment of silence.
	"Well then.", the city lord replied, slowly rolling his parchment back up.
	"Your position seems a bit... disadvantageous. Why don't we give you something sharp to fight with?"
	He then nodded at a man standing ready on the platform holding a rope. The audience leaned forward as the man gave it a small tug. 
With a clack, the massive blade fell.
The woman's gaze never left the city lord as she quickly raised an arm 90 degrees straight up, catching the blade's edge in her palm with a thud.
	"Thanks."
Then she tore the blade out of the frame in a shower of splintered wood, spun into a standing position and hurled the massive thing at the city lord in one smooth motion. It was not a clean edge-on hit so he simply disappeared with a loud *DONG* having turned into a cascade of giblets and red mist. 
Zhoey got a message.
	You have defeated Mavruc Moor, City Lord of Breccon, Level 31. 173 experience points awarded. System quest 1/4.
Commoners, nobles and guards alike scattered in a chaotic panic. Zhoey meanwhile snapped into focus. There were at least one other target here she couldn't let get away. Stepping forward, she dropped off the front of the platform and onto the town square cobblestone, then crouched and tore a fist sized stone out of the ground. Hefting it, she noticed her target cowering behind a wooden throne. The stone went right through it. 
	You have defeated Tondor Seck, City Lord of Hask, Level 26. 110 experience points awarded. System quest 2/4.
Her system HUD really helped with making sense of the chaos. No pottery workers in dumb green hats anywhere around though. The highest level she had seen was a level 25 adventurer, and an old lady who was level 24. Many were about level 10 and under. Zhoey hadn't had much time to look at her own stats and abilities yet.
Soon the town square had emptied and she stood alone with the corpses, feeling somewhat cathartic.

Chapter 9 : Afternoon Aftermath
The 120000 experience pill had elevated Zhoey from level 3 to level 59. The effect wasn't instant though. Every 5 levels a random ability could be accepted or rejected. Some people would of course insist that abilities were not randomly chosen but especially chosen for each person. Nobles would often buy expensive pseudo-rational books, such as "Abilities: Methods for prediction and influence, by Rhon. L. Quak".
Zhoey had gotten 11 abilities in total, but had to reject two. When an ability is rejected it turns into an ability scroll. There were prisons, orphanages and low paying jobs where people were "encouraged" to reject their first level 5 ability, which were then sold to nobles for a lot of money. At higher levels these abilities were apparently more likely to be rare, so this type of farming by nobles did generally not yield powerful abilities but a lot of duplicates of the stat boosting minor abilities. 
Sometimes poor people also rejected abilities which might not be useful to them, either saving the scrolls insurance for later in life as, or giving the to their children. Zhoey's mother had gained the Minor Resilience ability at level 5 before she got Zhoey, and thankfully kept it. Increased resilience helps in childbirth, and likely also later saved her in the mine collapse.
The reason why Zhoey had to reject two abilities was because one of them was useless Gauge ability – she should already use the system ring to get exact data on her targets. Supposedly gauge just gives a vague feeling of weight, sort of like trying to guess the weight and contents of an enclosed urn. Guards with this ability were often hired to work at gates and receptions. 
In order to trick the guards that she wasn't a threat while they conveniently escorted to her victims, she had turned on a system ring feature called Spoof. It made her appear as a level 3 to anyone using gauge on her. Now she had switched it off however, as she didn't want to be disturbed.
The second ability Zhoey rejected was the somewhat common Minor Strength. Many abilities come in four grades: Minor, Normal, Greater, and Master. She had the more powerful Strength scroll in her ring. She could opt for merging the abilities, but there was only a very small chance that the two would become Greater Strength given that one was minor. It would likely just be wasted and she wasn't much of a gambler. 
Still standing there on the town square, she looked at herself.
	Name: Zhoey Garnet
	Status: Commoner / Prospective City Lord
	Level: 59
	Profession boosting abilities:
	• Master Tea party
... Zhoey sighed seeing that one. She got it at level 55. Getting a master grade ability was extremely lucky, but why would it have to be tea party? She chuckled a bit though, thinking about some big buff knight getting it after decades of grind.
Profession boosting abilities did not make one instantly adept at them, rather, they just made certain things easier to learn and master, some aspects feeling instinctual. She continued going over her information. The next one was more interesting.
	• Restoration
According to the system description, this profession ability related to fixing worn or broken items or buildings. While Zhoey might no longer be short on money or the capacity to acquire it, she could see this one coming in handy sooner than later. Looking at the next set of abilities, some of these had already been very useful.
	Special abilities:
	• Iron skin
	• Poison immunity
	• Death glare
	• Projectile awareness
	• Graceful motion
	• Shroud
These abilities weren't supposed to have grades, however,  since Zhoey had heard of poison resistance she guessed poison immunity was a more complete version of this ability.
Death glare she had used on the city lord. This active ability was perhaps a variant of the more common oppressive glare which she had been subjected to on multiple occasions. That was a psychological attack which unsettled weaker targets, often making them back off in fear. Death glare had an additional effect – it sneakily inflicted a temporary status ailment which disabled all abilities, passive or active.
One reason why she had used death glare was because she had also gotten projectile awareness and though there was a chance that the city lord had it too. This passive ability allowed the user to sense incoming projectiles and take action, assuming they had the physical capability.
She had used graceful motion as well. It was another passive ability, one which made movement transitions more intuitive, economical and measured. As a side effect, the user was less likely to sprain an ankle, pull a muscle, fall out of bed and such things. 
Finally, shroud was an active ability which could make the user blend into the background and escape indirect attention.
Next up were the basic stat boosting abilities. These just made certain stats abnormally high, scaling them four levels up for minor, eight for normal, and twelve for greater.
	Stat boosting abilities:
	• Strength
	• Minor Resilience
	• Minor Agility
  
	Temporary boosts:
	• Stamina from bread (4 minutes remaining).
Zhoey was about halfway to level 60 now, which would give her another ability, but the state of her mother was of course the more pressing matter. 
––o––
Maynor Rhemott hid behind a roadside barrel, panting and peeking out at the lone figure standing in the abandoned town square as if deep in refection.
Once he had made the mistake of using gauge on saint Alana after spotting her at a fancy social gathering in the capital. It made him made drop his plate with refreshments, causing great embarrassment. Saints were the most powerful people in the country, likely level 42-48. Breaking level 50 was unheard of. A moment ago he had used gauge on this woman and his knees just buckled under the weight.
Now he was doing breathing exercises. What kind of monster was she?
His eyes narrowed. Was she perhaps equal threat and opportunity? Maynor's older brother had been the previous city lord before, but his life ended in the duel which had brought the current city lord into power. Maynor suspected foul play though – his brother had been poisoned ahead of the duel and his wife had also gone missing the night before, likely kept as leverage, then killed.
The city lord manor had previously belonged to the Rhemott family but had been siezed, so it technically belonged to either the Rhemott family, or Mavruc Moor's relatives. It really depended on who could best enforce their will.
Maynor built up his courage, forced himself erect and walked out towards the scary woman, back initially straight.
––o––
	"Salutations, new city lord!"
Zhoey turned and looked down at the little chubby nervous man. He was somehow shorter than her own five feet. He wore an fine clothes and an enormous frilly collar. She didn't recognise him.
	Maynor Rhemott, Nobleman, Level 18
Not much of a threat, then. City lord huh? That had just been an idea she got in the spur of the moment. She couldn't even imagine being a city lord. She had other stuff to do right now. Growing annoyed at the holdup, she frowned at him as he continued.
	"May I inquire into what your plans are for the city lord's manor? You see...", the man paused and glanced at the grim scene near the wooden thrones, then continued, "...the late lord's manor is in a state of disrepair. If you need a property manager I'd gladly offer up my services to-"
Zhoey had no fond memories of the place, but then again she had only spent time in the dungeon.
	"Whatever, do with it as you wish.", she interrupted, having turned to look at a point in the distance where her mother was hopefully safe and waiting.
Remembering the feather-leaf cloak, she made it appear. It was a pristine white, made out of hundreds of featherlike scales. She put in on with a graceful motion, suddenly feeling rather light. Her takeoff was a bit less graceful though, not being used to either her strength or the effect of the cloak.
The man fell on his butt as the cobblestone quaked from her jump. He quickly got back up, looking for witnesses – not for him falling on his butt, but rather getting permission to seize back the mansion. The woman was had disappeared making fantastic skips across rooftops in a bizarre mix of clumsy and graceful.

Chapter 10 : Reunion
	"Honey, you're home. Where have you been? Did you run into trouble again?"
Her mother's sad and tired little smile turned into an expression of concern, then full on confusion.
	"You look different.", then she wrinkled her nose, adding, "But you smell quite bad."
Zhoey sat down on her mother's rather short improvised bed in the small shed. She was still caked in mud and filth aside from the fingers which she had cleaned in the snow, but her mother had perhaps seen through the disguise. 
	"Don't worry about it. I've brought some bread and water. I think you'll like it.", she said, placing a loaf of bread and a canteen on the layered blankets that kept the cold away.
Zhoey knew her mother hadn't eaten while she was gone. In fact, they had been low on food this whole week. Her mother sometimes did some easy crafting work earning a few copper, but without any legs she was quite limited.
	"Oh my, this bread looks amazing. When did you learn to bake Zhoey?", she jabbed, knowing full well that her daughter probably nabbed it from a food stand.
No matter how bad things got, they'd often joke and play little pranks on each other to keep their spirits up. This time Zhoey would make a very special joke.
	"Oh my goodness... Oh my goodness this is great."
Zhoey grinned at her mother chewing wildly, inadvertently letting her perfect teeth show.
	"Zhoey... what happened?"
	"I really do smell – I should go wash up, this is a special day. Please drink this medicine. Do it in one go and don't spill any. It's expensive. It will help with the phantom leg pains."
Zhoey promptly left after leaving a healing potion on an old empty crate serving as both nightstand and crafting table.  She washed up in a nearby stable which had a well. The water was very cold. When she returned to the dilapidated shed her mother was standing awkwardly stomping and in complete disarray. Her pants looked comically short now, revealing naked calves and feet which took all of her attention.
	"What the hell Zhoey these are legs! I grew legs!"
	"Probably took out a few wrinkles, too.", Zhoey added after taking in the sight for a while, finally attracting the attention of her mother.
Her mother stood silent, frozen, staring at her beautiful daughter, free from disease.
	"Happy birthday, mom. I love you.", Zhoey said, choking slightly from pent-up emotions.
It wasn't actually anyone's birthday, though, it was just something dumb they said on the rare occasions something good happened. It took them both twenty minutes to stop crying and hugging. Zhoey had tried a few times to recount what had happened during the day, but she just made a mess of it.
As it was getting dark they decided to light a little candle that they had been saving. In candlelight illuminating the cramped shed, Zhoey eventually managed to lay out a strange series of events. Given what had just happened to her legs, her mother seem to have no trouble believing all of it, but she made many strange faces.
After sitting silent for a while, Zhoey looked at her mother with a strange face.
	Thama Garnet, Commoner, Level 6
	"You know that part where I wondered if things could possibly get any better?"
She then made a pill and the 100 silver appear out of nowhere.
	"Oh, that's so much money! Is that the ring's doing?"
	"Yes. I want you to eat this, too.", she said firmly, pushing the pill forward with a finger.
	"Does it make me grow more legs? I think two is quite enough."
	"Just eat it, mom.", Zhoey rolled her eyes.
Then she watched with anticipation, observing her mother's face as she dutifully swallowed the pill.
Thama Garnet's eyes opened wide in surprise.
	"This thing... it's from when I got my ability! Aah! A new one appeared! It's Minor Heat resistance. Do I keep it? What do I do?"
	"Definitely keep it."
	"Ok. I did it. Wait- it happened again! Another one one appeared! It's something called Evaluate. It... uh, allows me to estimate the value of merchandise?"
	"Keep it."
	"It's not stopping, I just got another one. It's Minor Strength."
Zhoey sighed a bit, since she had it as a scroll already.
	"Well, keep that too."
	"Are you sure? These can be sold for a lot of money I hear."
	"Very well. Oh, I think they stopped coming. Oh, oh, I think I'm level 20. I just noticed."
Zhoey quite enjoyed taking in the face of her bewildered mother. Then she took out a second 6000 experience pill and placed it on the surface between them.
	"Are you pulling your poor mother's regenerated legs right now?", Thama gasped, making the candle light flicker.
Zhoey just stared her mother down.
	"Here we go then... Ah, this time it's Alchemy. Says it's beneficial for professions like potion making and, uh, chemistry something. I took it. Now I'm level 27."
	"See if this one brings you over level 30 then.", Zhoey grinned, taking out the third and last 6000 experience pill.
Thama opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it, then she opened it again, stuffing in the pill. 
	"Charisma. Took it. Wrinkles gone? And I'm Level 31."
She narrowed her eyes to and give her daughter a stern look, and the aforementioned wrinkles temporarily returned.
	"So is it over? Are we done?"
	"Well, yea."
At that her mother seemed almost relieved, perhaps wanting a respite from all the excitement.
	"Wait, no. I almost forgot".
Zhoey brought out the three scrolls she had been saving. Master Smith, Gauge and Minor Strength. At that her mother huffed out so much air the candle went out and Zhoey noticed they were down to their last match. She looked into the fire.
	"I don't think I want to be a smith and you're more of a crafts person, so you should use this. The other two would be completely wasted on me and we ain't selling them"
Thama sighed, picked up the first scroll, then looked briefly confused before managing to accept it's effect. The scroll disappeared burning with a strange blue flame.
When she finished the final scroll, Minor Strength, she frowned.
	"Nothing happened. No message."
	"Aww, that's a bummer."
Thama leaned forward, as if to close the conversation.
	"Well, I'm going for a short walk to clear my head, and you know, actually walk. And do the thing."
When Thama got up she held onto the corners of the crate, unwittingly crushing the wood.
	"Oh."
	"Yea, be careful with your new level, mom. Don't launch yourself into the air when you get back up from squatting."
They later spent the rest of the evening making plans for tomorrow, and perhaps the rest of their lives. Having eaten the bread, neither of them were the least bit hungry for the first time in recent memory.

= BOOK II =

Chapter 11 : Acting City Lord
The morning sun rose over the horizon. Maynor Rhemott  hadn't slept one bit. Several people had approached him after the incident at the town square yesterday. A few adventurers and nobles had also used gauge on the woman after the savage outburst which had ended two city lords in seconds. However, the onlookers had all chosen to stay hidden, unlike Maynor.
What had the two talked about? Was she a saint in disguise, here to sort out the Moor family situation? Or was she some sort of high level hermit? Could she be the legendary witch Death-eye who was last seen a thousand years ago? Perhaps it was all a fluke, some sort of trick or illusion?
Maynor kept it cool and said very little about his conversation with the woman. They had come to a potential agreement regarding the manor ownership, that was all. People didn't seem to have a problem with the manor falling back under the Rhemott family's control. Many citizens were well aware of old city lord disputes such as the Rhemott-Moor drama, and the former had at least been somewhat well liked, in hindsight. 
Now Maynor stood frowning at some vulgar paintings in the manor's reception hall. They would have to be replaced. The Moor family people had understood the atmosphere, leaving the manor in a hurry, not quite having time to grab everything of value. The question was, what would placate the woman if she showed up?
––o––
Meanwhile, a certain mother and daughter walked towards the southern city gate. They had spent a few copper visiting the nearly empty public bath first thing early in the morning, then spent a whole two silver on nice new clothes and shoes. The nervous looking shop owner had given them a substantial discount for some reason. 
It was weird for them to be out walking in public like this, but they felt somewhat defiant and confident given recent events. Plus, Zhoey had a few important errands. She fortunately hadn't seen the embarrassing "Wretch of Breccon" wanted posters still up anywhere.
The pair came to a stop outside of a quaint looking pottery shop. Zhoey had been confused about the quest given by the mysterious white snake, but upon seeing the shop window she gained some insight. There were a lot of sculptures on display. The pieces weren't bad, except for one. It was a figure of a hideous demon woman, really quite unflattering. Seemingly intentionally so.
Thama didn't seem to notice it, but Zhoey stared at the thing. Could it possibly be a blashemous portrait of her benefactor? Well, Zhoey didn't like the statue either.
Inside the store a man wearing a large conical green hat snuck forward, rolled a three-sided sign in the window from "Open" to "Closed for lunch". Strange – it was still morning. Zhoey would have to return later anyways. Perhaps after dark.
Their last errand drew them towards the manor. When they approached at the gate a large man on guard rushed in and a much smaller man rushed out, but then immediately shifted to cautions steps. Zhoey recognised him from yesterday, but he seemed to struggle. Then he suddenly became unsteady and had to support himself against a pile of wooden planks. Looking somewhat stricken, he faced Zhoey, cleared his voice and put on a smile which seemed somewhat genuine.
	"We meet again, city lord."
––o––
The woman looks completely different! What's going on? Maynor had no clue, and he wouldn't pry. He'd take no chances or he'd turn into minced meat. He'd have to give her the manor if she was interested, but yesterday it didn't seem like it. Did she change her mind?
And who was the other woman? It didn't matter. She was probably incredibly dangerous too. None of them wore any cosmetics or perfume but rather oozed of high level vitality.
	"This is where you issue papers?", the unknown woman asked with a neutral but pleasant voice.
	"Certainly. What do you need them to say?", Maynor quickly responded, deciding to be very flexible.
	"Identity papers. We... unfortunately lost ours years ago."
	"Ah, right. Yes, we can issue those from here, no problem!"
It wasn't quite true. The city lord would just sign documents, but the work was done in an building elsewhere in the city. Maynor made an inviting gesture towards the still open gate.
	"Would you like to step into... the manor.", he caught himself, keeping ownership neural.
The fall blade tossing monster looked hesitant but once the older woman walked right in she quickly followed. Now when he thought about it, it seemed like they could be closely related. He caught up and lead them past the outer garden, underneath which the dungeons lay, and towards the inner manor and one of the offices.
"I am Maynor Rhemott. My family was deeply wronged by the previous city lord, too...", he tried, before shifting focus, "Now, regarding the identity papers, I would need... the names you want to appear on those. And some other minor details." 
Would they give their real names? He didn't care. Didn't care at all.
	"Right, I am Thama Garnet and this is my daughter Zhoey. We're soon moving to the capital where we have roots. We just need to tie up a few loose ends here."
Maynor didn't recognise the names but nodded politely at  them while quickly reshaping plans in his head, hiding both his excitement and dread. He wasn't one of the loose ends, was he?
	"Ah, I see, I see. So...the city lord does not plan to stay in the city?"
	"No.", the daughter answered simply.
	"...but you will perhaps need an intermediary to handle the position?", Maynor said with his most relaxed, by-the-way tone.
	"Sure, whatever."
Maynor beamed a smile and held open the door to the main office, waited for the two to enter then made wild silent head gestures towards one of his maids who had kept out of the way so far, hoping she got the signal.
	"Then let us discuss that and sort out your papers."
In the room stood a fancy table and a few comfy chairs. On the floor laid a thick red rug with elaborate golden patterns. The paintings on the wall had just been replaced with some from his collection, showing saints and various historical figures. He caught up again, jogging in a half circle around them in order to present their seats, except he gestured at all of the seats as he'd simply pick the one left over.
Moment after they were all seated, the maid appeared carrying a tray with the finest refreshments, straight from the bakeries. One by one she placed small plates and glasses down on the table. The daughter seemed to pay great interest to the procedure.
Maynor was relieved to see a second servant appearing with writing instruments and paper, having picked up his cues.
	"I'll just quickly take your details then."
The two women women answered his series of questions while engaging the refreshments with more interest. Maynor had crossed his legs and wore his scholar face, only briefly looking up.
	"..and how do you spell that?", "...Uhum.", "Interesting", "Right.", "You have some relatives in the capital you say.", "Ah, you don't know? That's fine, we don't need to bother with this minor detail, I'll have it sorted out later.",  "Should I put... City Lord of Breccon on social status?", "Great – that was the last item."
He handed the papers to a servant on standby, uncrossed his legs then slapped and clasped his thighs, discretely wiping off some sweat.
	"We'll have the papers done by first noon at the latest I should say. Now, regarding the city management, I happen to have some experience myself. Usually, this position is called Acting City Lord' when the actual city lord is away on business.", he explained, then quickly added, "But all power still rests with the actual city lord if when or if she returns, of course."
	"That's fine.", the city lord answered, then shifted to a complicated expression for a while, "Do... you have a library in the manor? We're looking for some books. Alchemy, Smithing... and, uh..."
	"Etiquette.", the mother added.
Maynor tried to repress his joy, and was momentarily stumped by the new problem. The manor did have a library. Not all of the books had been taken. However, he'd simply grab some books from his own collection or- suddenly he got an idea.
	"Well, unfortunately the previous last city lord made a bit of a mess here, why don't we head over to a book store and pick them up? Don't worry about the cost – it's on the city."
	"Right now? Why not?", the mother responded.
Fabulous! This way he would be seen escorting them in public. The word would spread. It would essentially be a ratification of his position, and protection – who would dare to challenge this menace of a city lord, even indirectly? It would be pure insanity. Also, some of Maynor's enemies would no doubt get curious and gauge the woman.
But the best part about all of this was that with the city lord eventually over in the capital, well, he was just the acting city lord, wasn't he? At level 18 he was five, ten, fifteen levels short of most city lords and challengers. However, he would just redirect them. Ah, you seek to challenge the city lord? She's in the capital on business but I'll send a letter. By the way, she's probably over level 50, ask anyone here. Oh, you lost interest right now? That's good, We really don't want to trouble her unnecessarily, do we? 
Such little fantasies played in his head as he escorted them out of the manor. He then took the most advantageous route he knew to reach the book store. He walked them past the Adventurer's Guild, stopping to casually in line of sight to comment on something, then the entourage proceeded to the street with Ms. Echelzin's tea house and Madame Emmeroo's Emporium. He knew the rich wives would notice and talk most of all.
By making careful conversation he found out that the mother had some talent as a smith and wanted to open a shop, whilst the daughter likely lacked, well, formal education, and was apparently seeking a place of learning. He would arrange transport, a small budget for the smithy, and an- uh, impartial letter of recommendation to the capital's academy. It would temporarily eat into his private savings, but it was well worth it.
The clerk in the book store was a tall lanky man who had no problem reaching the top shelves. He approached Maynor with long eager confident steps, stroking the long whiskers of his waxed mustache. Maynor introduced the women before the man could speak.
"Good morning bookman Tahler. This is Zhoey Garnet, our new City Lord.", he almost spelled the last part out as he knew the clerk didn't have gauge, "...and her esteemed mother, Thama. We came here to browse your store and make a small purchase."
	"Ah? Oooh. Oh! I see. It's... it's a pleasure to meet you."
Maynor chuckled inside as the man pieced things together and went through a variety of expressions, finally settling on an unsteady smile and a hasty little double bow.
They ended up getting a few extra books about this and that which seemed to interest the pair. They had gotten "The Art of Alchemy – Volume I", "Smithing. By Dorf", "Etiquette and Vocabulary by H.Clinkette", "Ammott's Everycraft Handbook – third edition", and finally "The Household Encyclopedia and Dictionary".
Fortunately, upon settling the bill Maynor found it perhaps expectedly easy to negotiate a small discount for the city lord.
When they parted for the day, and Maynor was a little sad he hadn't managed to escort them by a few more places.
––o––
"That went... pretty well.", Thama voiced after a moment of contemplation as they prepared to stroll back towards their hideout shed in the outskirts. Thama quite needlessly carried a bag with five heavy books, but at her level it didn't bother her in the least. 
Up ahead, a young man – likely with cold resistance as he wore almost nothing – had jumped out of a deep snowbank to play a stupid prank on some ladies. In this part of the city most adults near level ten were only wearing light winter clothes, often quite colourful and with fur elements more for show than practicality.
Thama continued, "...I thought maybe they'd make a big fuss and a bunch of guards would come running waving spears. Instead everyone just looked a little cautious. You must have put on quite the show yesterday, you silly girl."
She ruffled Zhoey's hair, then frowned.
	"But we need to do something about this mess."
They managed to get directions to a barber shop. Upon entering it they were greeted by a puzzled man with a finely braided beard.
	"Oh, I want those!", Zhoey quickly exclaimed, pointing at the beard.
When hearing women's voices, all of the customers spun their heads to look. A man in the process of getting shaved nearly got his neck nicked.
Thama looked back and forth between the barber's beard and daughter.
	"Hmmm. Well I don't think a beard would work, but those sort of braids might really suit you."
The barber wore a troubled expression.
	"Apologies, but this is a barber shop... for men. M-mostly for men?", the barber trailed off.
Thama squeezed her daughter, as if presenting her.
	"Aww... can't you make an exception? She really likes the braids, did you do them yourself or was it someone here?"
Soon, Zhoey sat in a chair getting her hair finely braided. It all happened in complete silence. Were barbershops usually this quiet? Perhaps men just don't talk much.
It was meticulous work taking almost an hour, and they ended up paying 45 copper, which was a lot of money to spend on hair but they were both in such a good mood. 
Then they stopped by a bakery, but the bread really wasn't all that given their previous experience with the system bread.
By the time they got home it seemed to be almost first noon already, so they had to make an awkward u-turn back to the manor to sign and pick up copies of their identity papers. They also received a 140 silver sponsorhip, a letter of recommendation for Zhoey and another one for the estate agency of the capital. A travel-carriage had been also arranged to stand ready before noon tomorrow.
Maynor Rhemott sure was a quick worker. Perhaps he'd make an decent acting city lord. Otherwise Zhoey would have to return and tap him on the head. 

Chapter 12 : Loose Ends
	"She did what now? Do you mean to tell me they have a high grade dimensional storage item?"
Maynor Rhemott had been sitting in his comfy chair in the manor's library, just looking over some shady business documents left behind by the previous occupant. Now he was up and pacing as his butler delivered a report. Maynor had sent the man to covertly follow the women for a while – at a considerable distance, of course.
Apparently the two had briefly visited the town square in the afternoon. It had been cleaned up since the incident, but on Maynor's own suggestion the large fall blade lodged in Ms. Dart's Tavern wall had been left to deal with later. In fact, he actually wanted it to remain there permanently, as a little attraction, and a... helpful reminder not to bully him.
But the mother had apparently taken a liking to it, so she pulled it out, and after some discussion it just disappeared. Maynor suspected it all related to their interest in smithing. It was a lot of iron, after all – more than would fit in a regular storage item, for sure.
He had no clue what the pair was doing in a shed in the slums. He imagined it was an entryway to a secret underground base, like something out of the Jane Brond novels. He was used to quick adaptation but just now he felt a little overwhelmed. Still, time of uncertainty is time of opportunity. 
Additionally, some officials from Hask had shown up today asking probing questions. They had lost their city lord too, but more as a collateral event. In the spirit of cooperation, Maynor had encouraged them to appoint a new city lord sensitive to matters concerning both Hask and Breccon. He would gladly advise in the matter.
––o––
	You have defeated Slekk Puppel, Pottery Worker, Retired Serial Killer, and Ring Leader of the Alpha Cult, Level 16. 39 experience points awarded. System quest 3/4.
Zhoey had just given him a light chop on the neck as he prepared to close up the store for the night. Still under the effect of shroud, she dove in, grabbed the statue, then carried it off along with the corpse, disappearing into the evening dusk – an overlooked lone green hat resting in the snow the only witness.
As the corpse sunk into a lake outside of the city, she stood casting a long shadow over a burlesque statue on the ground, hoisting a man sized flat boulder high. It fell with a loud crack and a deep thud. She moved and spun it in circular motions for a few minutes.
	You have destroyed a blasphemous statue.  You have ground it to dust. System quest 4/4.
Suddenly a familiar spoke spoke out of the surrounding forest.
	"Good.", it wheezed, "The ring... is yours."
Zhoey spun around but cold not see the white snake, despite her keener senses.
	"See you later, Zhoeygator....", it chuckled weirdly, voice fading into nothingness. 
––o––
A little isolated but not far outside of the city an old temple monastery crowned a forested hill. As the sun set, a figure steadily climbed the final steps up with aching knees, reaching the temple grounds. His rheumatic hands crudely grasped a piece of soft bread he had secured for the toothless one, but she hadn't showed up yesterday or today. Perhaps she had finally died from sickness. He wasn't too far from death himself, despite being only 55.
Entering his simple quarters he noticed that something was off. On his table were three things: A stack of silver coins, a red potion, and the most delicious looking loaf of bread he had ever laid his still working eye upon. 
There was a note underneath.
	"Ailment for an old Monk who showed me kindness when no one else would. – Zhoey"
––o––
Satan-72 took a hell gate and strode into her fourth realm. She didn't know if she had an actual errand though, like, proper administration level stuff. Inspection was tomorrow, so she just, well, took in the sights and sounds.
It was nice. Soothing wails came from he chambers of the bankcrypt. The pools of gold were almost hypnotic. She remained a while watching the slow and methodical dipping movements of the six hundred and sixty six thousand chains, each with a flaming wriggling shape on its end. They were like golden candles being born. Beautiful. The sinusoidal periods sometimes synchronised into pattens, then fell back into discordant chaos. Both were equally entrancing.
Eventually in her meandering between sections she came across Lord Plutarch – a small, nine-eyed toad-like demon – standing atop his overseer plateau. Seemingly engrossed, he nodded in appreciation at the ocean of human shapes toiling in the roiling hell swamp below. The main attraction was the gargantuan silver wheels, thirteen hundred of them, each with more than a thousand men trudging inside, driving the wheel round and round ever so slowly.
"The friction is just perfect, isn't it?", he croaked rhetorically without turning to face his mistress, instead pointing outwards, "Ah! There's the new guy! Oh- What a doofus – a slithersquito got him. That's gonna itch for centuries."
Suddenly realising that he was perhaps making unnecessary chit-chat with his boss, he spun and looked up at Satan-72 with an air of formality.
	"Anyways, I'm happy to report that we've charged three new system rings today in this section alone. Moving some swamp up here from Fifth was the right idea, mistress."
Satan-72 remained silent for a while as if she hadn't heard him, then she finally spoke.
	"Say Plutarch, do you have any ideas for quests?"

Chapter 13 : Departure
One of Maynor Rhemott's lookouts spotted the city lord and her mother drawing close to the manor's gate. Maynor carefully timed his casual exit out of the gate, as if just happening to bump into the pair.
	"Ah, if it isn't the city lord and her esteemed mother. I was just heading out to personally check up on the status of your travel carriage, but it seems to be in top condition."
The city lord however looked distracted, squinting at something off to the side for a moment. Then she walked up the the rotten wooden floorboards piled up outside of the gate. Was she displeased that the junk was still left there? He had meant to get rid of it, but there just hadn't been time.
She hefted a stack of planks to the side with a clatter, then reached down to grab a rusty iron bar with a big lump of corrosion on one end.
	"Oh I'm taking this.", the city lord stated simply.
	"Ah, well please feel free to any of it.", Maynor responded in befuddlement.
It wasn't as if he could refuse, but why did she even want the thing? Her next words made him pale.
	"Hmm... says it's the Mace of Breccon. Ooh, like on the banner, with the snake? It has some inactive enchantments. Venom Bite, and Momentum."
Maynor almost fell over. He had assumed it was just some junk cleared out with the floor renovations. The mace was the symbol of the city, lost nearly three centuries ago and dating even further back. Supposedly the founder of the city, Lord Aram-d'brec himself had wielded it. But he couldn't ask to get it back now.
And she somehow has Identify? Unlike gauge, identify is an extremely rare ability which can give detailed information on items. Having it is the dream of merchants, along with owning a high grade dimensional storage item. Maynor had a few items he wanted her to take a look at, but unfortunately this wasn't the time nor place to hold them up as the carriage stood ready with two restless black horzes and a perturbed coachman.
––o––
It had been three days since the two women left. Maynor's scout had checked out the shed they had been seen entering, but the place was empty. No secret trap door leading to an underground hideout. Very strange.
As for the identity of the women, he had gotten curious and paid the 4 silver to query the central population registry office in the capital via tele-scroll. One of the clerks working there was an old classmate from his academy days and the guy had looked into the matter for him. The return scroll perhaps asked more questions than it answered.
Entirely focused on the scroll, he slowly sank into his comfy chair. With each new revelation he leaned further forward, face turning pensive.
19 years ago there had indeed been a young Thama Garnet living in the capital. She had married a notable city guard captain named Deth Dakulyan. However, he had taken Garnet as a family name – the reason being that while Thama had a commoner status she was nevertheless listed in the Zachroum Garnet estate's succession record, though only near the very bottom. 
Hold on- that Garnet? Of the legendary ZaGa merchant company?
Maynor remembered the incident. The Gorrun & Garnet company had risen from the ashes of a rather suspect fire which had killed most of the Garnets, including the great Zachroum himself. The official story was that there had been an accident involving a dangerous inferno stone at one of the family's auctions. Were an inferno stone to be grossly mishandled by an amateur alchemist – or perhaps a clumsy auctioneer in this case – it could erupt and cause a highly persistent fire inferno.
Maynor's contact had been pretty thorough in digging through the Garnet records, perhaps curious about the matter as well. There had only been one other Garnet left aside from Thama, and that was her cousin Stola Garnet. Despite being at the very bottom of the succession record, just below Thama, it had been him who partnered up with the notorious noble Gorrun Lethrask to create the ZaGa successor company Gorrun & Garnet, or G&G as it's more commonly known. 
To Stola's great fortune, Deth Garnet had been vaguely accused of selling state secrets to the neighbouring Drecht Empire – this soon after the great fire. Practically this lead to Thama and Deth being ostracised and stricken from from the succession record. An angry mob had even set their house on fire, destroying it completely.
Maynor's eyes narrowed at that. Another inferno? 
The couple had apparently disappeared entirely after the fire. Turned to ash? Vagabondery? Captured and sold?
Now, if Thama had survived and was as powerful as Maynor suspected – somewhere currently around, well, normal city lord level – why choose this moment to act? If she had been powerful enough back then to set up the ZaGa disaster to gain control of the company, then why get thwarted so pathetically by Stola?
And if she had been weak back then, then it seemed unlikely she could have grown so much, even if it had been 19 years.  In Maynor's experience, talent and fortune usually manifested at an early age leading to steady progress.
More importantly, why had Thama shown up here in Breccon, with an adult and very strange and powerful child? Would Deth also re-emerge, equally powerful, and cause further upset?
Maynor sank back in his comfy chair with a thoughtful expression. He had heard rumours about fairies and magical springs which bestowed the lucky finder with sudden great powers. Supposedly one such spring could be found somewhere in Breccon's forbidden mines – a blatant fabrication used by black-miners to trick hopeful paperless people desperate for work. 
When it came to levelling there were no known shortcuts. People with resources have tried creating monster and people farms, but the all knowing system always seem to nip these attempts in the bud. Experience also gradually diminishes in certain situations, like on battlefields with  lots of killing, or in repetitive jobs. On top of this, the amount of experience needed for each level grows steeply. Average people who are able to put in great effort might just reach  level 20 to 25 in their lifetime, but most commoners are busy with basic sustenance and sit somewhere just above level 10 for much of their adult life.
No, it seemed more likely that the Garnet couple had died in the house fire and these two had taken the Garnet name in some elaborate scheme or theatre beyond his understanding. But what would happen when officials in the capital found out that it was Maynor who had issued their new identity papers and recommendations? Regardless of whether they were real Garnets or not, he could get in trouble just on account of the recommendations.
Or would he? Well, he wasn't too worried; raw power can settle such matters and Zhoey was practically a monster. What was he but a mere pawn? They'd have to take it up with her, see how that goes.
Suddenly he smirked. G&G had been a thorn in his side in the past. If Thama Garnet were to... re-appropriate the trading company, wouldn't he have a better standing with it?
As for why Zhoey Garnet had so convincingly played the role of "The Wretch of Breccon", then spectacularly disposed of the two city lords, only to immediately abandon the city, he did not know. The posters had all been quickly and spontaneously disposed of after the incident to minimise any possible offence.
Gossip surrounding Zhoey's identity had only gotten wilder over the last few days. Many claimed she was a creature which had always lived at the fringes of the city. She was in fact a shapeshifter taking the form of beggars and cripples lurking in the shadows,  eager to cause minor mischief when affronted. When caught by the guards, she had finally shown her full power and displeasure. As a result of this rumour, people have since begun to treat the vagrants of the outer city with cautious politeness.
A few scholars were absolutely sure – with only an ancient portrait of dubious likeness to back it up – that Zhoey was the long forgotten vengeful deity Ushembrahel, a herald the end times. Well, she's a herald of something, that's for sure, Maynor could sense in his guts.
Then there was the man in the diner in front of the manor just across the street. With slurred drawn-out whispers he told a tale of a powerful female spirit he had seen crawling out of an empty wine urn just the other day. While its face had been hidden by a mass of tangled black hair, maybe it could have been the city lord, eh? She had forced him not to speak of it, though whispers didn't count.
Not to be left out, Maynor had spread his own little rumour, too. Zhoey was clearly an agent of a top secret royal organisation which dealt with problematic people in power. The fact that Zhoey had quickly left and Maynor seemed to many like a better option than the previous city lord helped the theory along...

Chapter 14 : Echoes of the Past
1200 years ago, before Arumeni got her name, the region had just recovered from several calamities which had turned it barren and desolate. As the land recovered, plants, creatures and people returned to claim it.
Some 300km south of where Breccon would later be founded stood five men on an enormous flat top earth mound.
	"This thing oughta be nearly... an hour's walk across.", panted Iulon the Scholar, a heavy set man who was sweating and breathing heavily.
	"For you maybe!", laughed Droddak the Warrior, loudly, casually dropping her backpack to the ground with a thud.
	"It's not actually that tall, but the position up here is... say, wouldn't it make a nice place for a city, monument or temple?", mused Vellar the Wayfinder.
	"Hah, to which god? They all abandoned this land, that's fer sure.", barked Skiarn the Craftsman
	"How about to us then?", chuckled Bardh the Rogue, before pointing off to the side. "Hey all, there's a strange little pond over there."
––o––
Arumeni's capital Fivesmound had stood unconquered for 1200 years. The city itself sprawled around a 4 kilometre earthmound, ringed by a 4 meter wide and 6 meter tall stone wall which had taken a century to complete.
A perfectly circular park nearly a kilometre across decorated the flat top, defying at least the inward spread of the city. Dead centre in the park, and as if crowning the entire city, rose a pentagonal grand castle, it's corners towers each dedicated to one of the five founders. At the open centre of the castle laid a quint dried up well surrounded by five statues in mossy white stone. Frozen in time, they looked just as if they had stopped to take a break.
Scholars believed that the entire mound was an enormous mud geyser remnant which eventually it ran out of juice. Likely the spring would never return.
Fresh water was delivered up to the city via the grand aqueduct which shot out several kilometres west, past the city wall, above the city overspill and cultured fields, finally connecting to a rather clever pumping station at a nearby redirected river. 
Inside the city, near where the aqueduct terminated at the edge of the park, stood the city's Grand Academy building. In an office on the third floor sat a middleaged woman at a busy desk. Despite the cold outside and open windows, the woman had unbuttoned her the tight collar of her austere black uniform. Long naturally white hair, normally kept in a tidy bun, draped down over her padded shoulders and onto the papers on the desk.
––o––
Zabelle took in a long breath, then yawned and massaged   her eyebrows, trying to muster up another five minutes of focus. She had just about reached the bottom sediment of the midterm paperwork stack. There had only been seven new student applications. Four she had rejected, but this last one came with a curious letter of recommendation. 
To: Madame Zabelle Zhukolyan of the Academy
From: Maynor Rhemott, Acting City Lord or Breccon.
It's been a while, hasn't it? I still remember Tollbard's antics at our graduation party all those years ago! I hope everything is well with you, the academy, and our capital. I'm writing to you to recommend our young and talented city lord for a spot in this year's classes at a suitable grade. I think you'll find her quite adequate in all regards, and certainly able to pass the physical test with ease. The entrance fee of 30 silver naturally shouldn't be a problem for someone of her stature.
Best regards ~ Maynor.
Hold on? The shortie became the acting city lord of Breccon? Maynor had seemed somewhat clever back then, but lacked overall potential, in her judgement at least. His older brother had apparently been the talented one. Zabelle hadn't really kept up with the affairs and fates of her old classmates, always being busy with academy praepostor affairs.
She found the attached student application but didn't recognise the name. Zhoey... Garnet. Peculiar signature. Equally crude and elegant, just like the rest of the handwriting. She had barely filled in any of the fields, but truthfully the academy was always more interested in the practical tests, and collecting fees. 
Zabelle looked at the applicant's address. Thamaworks, Ironroad 10-2. She raised an eyebrow, then looked at the charisma ring on her finger. 
Wasn't that the place where she got this thing? The hastily renovated building where a new smith had suddenly opened up shop few weeks back? The smith was a mysterious powerful looking woman who could easily be a city lord. Zabelle had of course used gauge on her before making the 50 silver purchase.
The woman seemed to be in her late twenties or early thirties, but could be older. They had a few old geezers lingering at the academy, though it seemed unlikely that a competent smith would go back to school. She regretted not asking her name. Could it be Thama-something, like on the business sign? Likely this Zhoey was then the daughter or relative of the skilled smith, or perhaps a resident in the same building.
Zabelle looked over the application again and decided to approve the candidate for testing next week after the winter solstice break. Perhaps she could use her position as academy praepostor to get a rebate at Thamaworks and get that agility ring she wanted? The dual trait amulet would probably be forever out of her price range though.
Enchanted items were rather rare and difficult to create, apparently requiring a smith with the Greater Smith ability. To Zabelle's best knowledge there were only two such smiths alive in the entire country – one in the capital now, and then the grumpy old hermit up in the western mountains. Some countries had to make do with items created in the past, or expensive imports.
The effect from the enchantments – generally of the minor type – were far more useful at a lower level since they just added a little to certain traits rather than multiplying them like levels do. Still, every little bit counts, even at level 22. Normal enchantments were exceedingly rare and greater ones... well, that's the stuff of Saints and legends.

Chapter 15 : Future Trajectories
Tarnassus Tassakyan really didn't have time to administer a test right now. He had to take time off from getting briefed on the border disputes. The Drecht Empire to the East had supposedly moved up North across the Emzon river and occupied a small piece of land belonging to Olvania, who in turn had made an encroachment movement into Arumeni territory, but just to flank the Drechts. It was temporary, they said, but had already begun to erect a fort.
Then there were the investigations of the mysterious missing cases – probably murders – here in the capital. Two pottery shop owners had disappeared, and one had been level 24... not an easy target, especially not if a member of the dangerous Alpha Cult like Tarnassus had long suspected. The man had been under surveillance but someone had apparently snatched him, unseen.
Saint Alena would have to look into the matter instead, and Tarnassus didn't like dealing with the imposing woman. 
He adjusted his uniform and brass tinted engraved cuirass before making proper strides into the snow covered central park area adjacent to the Grand Academy. He saw three applicants waiting at the testing grounds, a man and two women. It was difficult to accurately gauge the age of a high level individual due to the effects of leveling, but students generally had to be out of central school, which generally put their age at 16-20, and their level above 10 if they had talent and noble backing.
The exact level and list of abilities of a law abiding citizen could not be documented according to Arumeni law. Whatever information Tarnassus could derive using gauge and guesswork, he would have to keep between himself and the praepostor.
Tarnassus came to a halt a dozen paces from the four students, who all drew straight and alert in his presence. Then he unfolded piece of parchment he had been pinching between calloused fingers, met each of the students' gazes as if counting, then read out loud with a voice used to barking orders.
	"Buhlu Francoyan?"
	"Here.", a rather average looking young man answered in lazy and nasal monotone tone – almost a parody of nobility. 
He was wearing a fine frilly red suit. The two medals pinned to the chest meant nothing to Tarnassus. Noble families sometimes had internal award systems. Hmmm. Level 11, probably, Tarnassus estimated.
	"Wawak Mekrek...rek? Uh, Mekrekrak?", Tarnassus blundered – he really was terrible with names.
	"Here!", a short haired but girlish woman beamed back, revealing sharp teeth like those of a sand-shark.
Level 7 or 8. A little low, but she looked fit under the light prismsnake scale mail and people of her kind were hardy. They had survived in this region before it was properly settled over a thousand years ago. Some still considered them savage natives and a target for justified bullying. If not identified by their teeth or flat nose, their grey-blue hair and eyes were often dead giveaways. The Grand Academy only discriminated against poor and untalented people though.
Now, the final applicant had a rather strange aura about her. Probably level 10, but she had a penetrating and relaxed gaze, the type which usually belonged only to people who felt completely unthreatened on account of their level – like high nobles, city lords, and Saint Alena. 
She wore a white sleeveless dress which seemed to double as a light flexible armour. It looked simple but Tarnassus could tell that it was not. A hundred black braids curtained down her back and shoulders, framing a necklace with a single blue glass bead so ordinary it must be of sentimental value only. She wore a few rings which might be enchanted though.
	"Lastly... Zhoey Garnet?"
	"My name's not lastly.", was her deadpan riposte, drawing a muffled chuckle out of the shark-girl.
Then she seemed to retract and droned "Here.", like the others.
Tarnassus frowned but let it slide for some reason, eager to move onto the first physical test – which happened to be a favourite sport of his. The tests were selected at random for each test group, so it wasn't a good idea to over-focus on a particular one. The strength test could be spear throw, cube roll, boulder carry, rope-in, murder squats, or...
He indicated the first test area with where a snow capped 12kg copper ball rested in the palm of statue of an idealised man who appeared just on the verge of throwing it. 
"Alright then applicants, I'm going to assume that you've all warmed up already, so line up for the slug toss! Let's see what you can do. Enchantment items are allowed – what we're measuring here is overall practical ability. May Droddak the Warrior give you his blessings."
Tarnassus watched the applicants line up. The noble-boy rushed up in front, pushing the shark-girl aside, apparently eager to shine first. He snatched up the copper ball with a single hand, hefted it then moved to a slanted stone on the ground, put a foot on it not bothering to wipe off the snow. Stretching some hundred metres ahead was an open field, snow dimpled by potholes.
Buhlu assumed a pretty decent shooting position, froze for a moment, then exploded into movement. The ball flew in an arc, well over the 35 meter qualification mark, even reaching the 40 metre one. With a thud it added another pothole to the field.
Tarnassus noticed the noble-boy giving the shark-girl an obnoxious if not outright vicious smile, and braid-girl catching the gesture, frowning. When the noble-boy strutted off to retrieve the ball, braid-girl handed two rings over to a baffled shark-girl and Tarnassus had to step up and interpose.
	"You're not allowed to hand over enchanted items unless it's a permanent trade for the entire duration of the physical test. Then you can't use them and handicap yourself."
	"Oh, I'll be fine.", braid-girl replied with an inscrutable face.
	"A-Are you sure?", shark-girl stuttered wide-eyed. "These seem really... valuable. I don't think I should-"
But braid-girl just pushed shark-girl up towards the shooting position, where she then stood awkwardly for a while before trying on the rings.
	"Let it be so then.", Tarnassus said, raising an eyebrow at the unusual turn of events. Braid-girl sure seemed confident.
Soon the noble-boy returned with the ball, having stepped carefully around all of the potholes. When handing over the ball to shark-girl, he instead dropped it in the snow with a "Oops. Anyways, I got 42.".
Then he stood off to the side crossing his arms, as if waiting for something good. Shark-girl seemed to have shifted focus though, and just picked up the ball, carefully wiped the snow off the positioning stone, then assumed the shooting position, her form perhaps a bit crude.
The ball was sent flying. Much, much too low, but surprisingly powerful. It sped past the qualification mark and landed halfway between the 45 and 50 metre marks, carving a long trail in the snow all the way up to 60.
Shark-girl seemed a little surprised with the shot herself but quickly followed up with a second shot – a shit-eating grin full of teeth aimed right at noble-boy. The poor lad had briefly stood with his mouth agape before busying himself with nothing, pretending just a little too late to not have been seen any of it.
As shark-girl swaggered off outfield, Tarnassus was left pondering. Enchanted rings usually had a noticeable effect at her level, but how far had her shot gone if it had been proper form? The effect went beyond what two minor strength rings could do. If she had the Strength ability on top of that, that might just explain it. What are the chances of getting that right away at level 5 though?
He supposed it would become clear during the other tests later.
Braid-girl stepped up catching an arm flex and a smile from the figure returning with the ball in the distance. Her wordless reply was a strange double thumbs up gesture.
She had already assumed position and soon started making little practice shots using pretend-balls, her form improving with each repetition. She finally settled on a form similar to that of noble-boy.
Upon returning, shark-girl courteously handed over the copper ball and stepped aside. Everyone, even noble-boy seemed interested in her performance.
Braid-girl took her time, undulating and eyeing the field up ahead more as if aiming somewhere, a bit like when throwing a rotten tattertot into a waste basket from a distance. Then she made the shot.
Tarnassus could tell right away that it was looking pretty good. The arc terminated somewhere just ahead of the noble-boy's mark, much to his chagrin.
She truly didn't need her two strength rings then. Most peculiar. He jotted down his evaluations on a fresh note while the ball was being returned.
––o––
The stamina test had a similar result. Three laps around the central park equated to about 9 kilometres. The noble-boy had good form, but somehow braid-girl overtook him after half a lap and stayed twenty paces ahead from thereon despite his numerous sprint efforts. They both passed with a good margin. The clear winner was shark-girl who finished in 13 minutes and 48 seconds despite her terrible running style. It's not often applicants break 40km/h. Anyone going above 30km/h will usually qualify.
Presently they had gathered up near the weapon racks which had been brought out by the preapostor herself. Didn't she have more important things to do? Perhaps she had been observing from her academy office and the unusual results drew her down here? Now she sat on one of the observation benches some distance off, doing paper work while glancing up every now and then. So she really did have more important things to do after all.
The obstacle course which normally tested agility and  sufferance was out of commission during the winter – or rather, it was a real pain to set up for just three people so Tarnassus had to move straight to the combat test and increase the difficulty a bit.
Since the applicants had to do all tests using the same outfit, few chose to wear a heavy armour because of the stamina and agility tests. For the sparring however, the training weapon was left up to choice. There were variants of flails, spears, maces and swords – all technically clubs as they were training weapons. In case of injuries Tarnassus had received a some low grade healing potions capable of dealing with bruises and fractures.
	"Alright applicants, gather up.", Tarnassus barked, " You've all done well so far, but let's see how you handle combat after exhaustion. Grab a weapon and shield."
The noble-boy once again took the initiative, seeming to quickly recover from his exhaustion, perhaps having conserved energy a bit during the last stretch of the run. Going first would be the most difficult, so he got points for that. He grabbed a rapier-like rod and a nimble buckler rather than a heavy shield.
Tarnassus picked up the standard shield and blunted sword and assumed a defensive posture, letting the noble-boy attack first. He did not have to wait. The lad was good, but his pent up anger betrayed him at times.
Tarnassus was 15 levels above and had a lot of practical experience as a commander in the army, so he easily blocked, tested and probed his opponent. The lad really wasn't bad at all and had picked the right weapons for his situation. He also kept up after receiving a few whacks. 
Braid-girl seemed engrossed in the fight but the praepostor looked disinterested, eyes fully on her paperwork. Shark-girl had just about finished panting from exhaustion and hadn't strategised well it seemed.
Tarnassus ended the fight after three minutes, giving the noble-boy a passing grade, handing him a potion. He had done well in all three tests, even if outshone.
The noble-boy collapsed at the side, looking pleased despite today's setbacks.
Braid-girl took a quick glance at shark-girl and stepped up next, grabbing a mace and kite shield but the handle and fitting seemed to confuse her, so she grabbed a second mace instead. Then she put it back and picked a small round shield which could be held like a buckler. Then she shrugged and moved into position, somewhat mimicking the noble-boy's posture.
Tarnassus took her first hit with his shield. The shield tilted under the blow and slammed into his thigh. It rather hurt. However, her next attacks were much softer and easier to deal with.
Sneaking a peak at the praepostor, he noticed that she had put her papers aside to observe. It appeared braid-girl had been the subject of her curiosity.
The spar merited her curiosity. Whenever Tarnassus landed a blow on braid-girl, she seemed to twist and take it on her dress armour rather than on the exposed arms or legs. It was like hitting steel and he couldn't help but to wonder what kind of miracle armour that was. And no matter how he tried, he just couldn't land a hit on exposed skin.
After three minutes he ended the fight, issuing his second passing grade. Braid-girl turned down the potion and made way for shark girl, who had just about recovered.
Shark-girl immediately picked the rather unusual long flail with a spear butt. No shield. She spun it around in the air, taking out a few invisible sparring ghosts, seeming to master this particular weapon. Appearing satisfied she gave herself a wide an rather unhinged grin, making Tarnassus a bit worried. Now that he thought about it, didn't sharkies  practice wielding spiky chain weapons as soon as they could walk?
He didn't have time to ponder further as the shark-girl lounged at him, making a sweeping motion with the flail end, nearly trapping his leg. He skipped over, regaining his balance just as the butt end of the flail shot out right at his core. He turned it aside with the sword then followed up with quick double step forward and a shield bash.
Shark-girl blocked the blow with her forehead. What kind of counter was that? Was it a cultural thing? Do they have thick skulls?
No, she just got dazed and stood frozen. Tarnassus moved to punish it with a casual sword whack, only to discover that the shark-girl had played a devious trick, ducking under the strike while letting the drooping spear butt of her weapon suddenly shoot up under his chin. 
It might have gotten him if not for his experience sparring with cunning cadets. He jerked his head back in time and crouched back into wary defensive posture, shield up – completely missing the spear which had suddenly extended a foot, changed direction a snap, and came crashing down on his head. She got him good. What an unorthodox fighter.
Seeing him stunned, she spun her weapon to bring the flail forward in a devastating arc, but this was a mistake. Stunned huh? Two could play this game. She should have followed up with a quick jab - now she was left open. He stepped in close, blocking the arc of the pole weapon by putting a foot on the center, pushing it down in the dirt, then he stabbed out toward her chest.
She turned a little too late, catching it in the ribs. If not for the prismsnake scale mail letting it slide off, the strike might've cracked a rib.
Seemingly unbothered, she stepped in as well, grabbing his still outstretched sword hand with surprising strength, pulling herself in for a head butt. He swung his shield back just in time, catching the blow with a thunk.
She fell back, rolling in the dirt, snaching the pole flail back up. The fight continued until the three minutes were up.
Hardy and tenacious. She took the potion though. Tarnassus would have to give shark-girl a pass. Earlier today he gave her half a chance of passing any of the tests. 
Tests concluded, Tarnassus dismissed the applicants and began organising his messy notes, which were supposed to be turned into a report by the end of the day.
––o––
Wawak Mekrekrak stayed and talked with Zhoey Garnet about this and that for a little while afterwards, also trying to return the two rings. She had experienced firsthand just how powerful they were. While she didn't know much about enchanted items, she had been given the opportunity to try a chieftain's strength ring once, and the effect wasn't at all the same.
	"Ah, keep the rings, mom can make more. Just don't sell them.", had been the baffling reply. Weren't enchanted items very rare, expensive – a thing for heroes, noblefolk and leaders?
Her family was better off than some, but it had still taken a lot of effort to save up the initial 30 silver needed to get her into the Grand Academy. Now it looked like she had succeeded, much thanks to this Zhoey... so she'd have to stick to her like glue. She had a feeling about it.
––o––
Zabelle returned to her office deep in thought. This Zhoey Garnet was perhaps a bit... abnormal, but she certainly wasn't the undead witch monster rumours had painted her out to be. How had she become a city lord at level 10? A double? Was it one of Maynor's machinations? Was she related to the Gorrun & Garnet trading company? Zabelle could see them trying to snatch up a city, putting someone in power which made competition... difficult. 

Chapter 16 : Thamaworks, Ironroad 10-2
Walking was at a normal pace was tedious but somewhat bearable when she took a new route and had something fresh to look at. The capital had all sorts of fun buildings – both new and old. An eclectic conglomeration? Was that a thing a person would say, or was it just dictionary words? She had yet to learn.
For some reason she got an itch to do some renovation work here and there, but the smith shop at home was quite enough work as is.
Ironroad was quite homely, full of busy workshops, craftsmen, and even a pottery worker who seemed to not have made it onto snakey-snake's naughty list.
The building they had purchased was a two-story construction, with the workshop at the bottom and living quarters at the top. It had been in a sorry state when they got it.
Zhoey kicked off her shoes, walked inside the smithy where her mom sat working, hunched over some simple trinket a noble might pay a fortune for. They didn't sell weapons and armour – well, nothing which would be dangerous if turned against them, at least.
	"Hey honey, how did it go?", Thama said, still bent over her work, tapping with a tiny little hammer on an elaborate inlay of some sort.
	"I passed. It was quite difficult, but fortunately I didn't have to go first in any of the tests so I just followed along.", Zhoey replied, sinking onto a wooden sofa she had been gifted after fixing the neighbour's old loom.
	"I see. Congrats. So when are you gaining access to the library and all that?"
	"When the school term starts I guess. If I pass the theoretical tests."
Thama breathed out, looking pleased with her work. She held up a finished armlet then kicked the feet of her rotary stool, sending her body into a spin a few times around. When she halted the motion with a stomp she was looking straight at her daughter though the raised armlet, face shifting to a serious expression.
Was that a master smith ritual, or just a weird mom thing? Zhoey didn't know.
	"Hey, where are the rings I gave you? The ones with triple normal enchantments. It's not like you need them, but I still worry."
	"I gave them away to a friend at school."
Her mom perked up.
	"You've already made a friend? That's nice!"
There was a brief pause.
	"Well look at you – who would have thought that just the other month you were a... a.. what was it... ah, the Wretch or Breccon!"
Zhoey sighed and got up to head upstairs.
	"Speaking of filth, I'm going to take a bath."
Thama spun on the stool, keeping Zhoey in view with the armlet scope, then shot off a question.
	"Anyways, did you pick up the materials I asked for?"
Zhoey paused halway up the stairs.
	"Right. They were almost out of conduit stones but I got the other stuff."
Zhoey strutted back down, letting the system ring release a few piles of ore stones on a sorting cabinet with a multitude of drawers, each neatly titled by a paper note.
Thama dropped her scope and walked up to it and promptly began to sort.
	"Nice. Decent. Nice. Okay. Low quality. Nice..."
As Zhoey moved to quietly return up the stairs, the mom-eyes at the back of Thama's head activated. 
	"So, are you going out tonight? If you could hunt for some nightwyrm scales instead of clobbering pottery workers that would be nice. What's the deal with those guys anyways?"
	"Snakey snake said its mistress is looking into it. They keep making these awful statues and she doesn't know why. There might be a 'rogue god' involved, whatever that means. Supposedly this world 'changed jurisdiction' so now her hands aren't as tied."
	"Then why do you have to do it? I thought you were done with her quest."
	"Not sure. Snake said that if I do this new stuff I get three gacha draws. It's apparently quite exciting. We... could get that extremely tasty bread again."
	"Oh, my! Go get those pottery workers – the nightwyrm scales can wait!"
	"Actually, there's another... thing I need to do too, and I have to find a 'heroic weapon' somehow."
	"Aw... oh- hey, how about I fix up this rusty old thing?", Thama exclaimed, snatching up the Mace of Breccon from the junk pile, " – I could reinforce the enchantments, maybe squeeze in a new one. The corrosion could be neutralised by alchemy. This part is unsalvageable – probably. Unless I convert the material with-"
With tip-taps, Zhoey finally managed to escape upstairs.
The bath was carved from heavy stone and needed support from several thick pillars downstairs. It weighed a lot, but for Zhoey the only trouble had been to move it indoors  without destroying the house and without anyone seeing her lugging the thing around. They were supposed to keep a low profile, unlike in Breccon.
The bath kept nicely warm as it leeched heat directly from the smithing furnace. It seemed like her mother had anticipated her need as the bath was already prepared.
Zhoey undressed, sank into the bath and closed her eyes.
Then her mother stormed into the bathroom, looking eager to announce something. However, upon seeing her daughter relaxing with one eye open she quietly withdrew, gently shutting the door.
––o––
There had been a visitor to the shop earlier today – a merchant  from the Gorrun & Garnet trading company. It took Thama some effort to not eviscerate the man on the spot, not only because of their history, but also because of his awful business proposal. They'd act as a middleman selling her goods, do no actual work, and stuff their pockets. That was the long and short of it.
Thama had looked into all of the city's public archives on the ZaGa ruination all those years ago, but found nothing. It was unlikely any sort of incriminating evidence could be raised. So, they would just have to use brute force, when the time was right.

Chapter 17 : Change of Jurisdiction
On a throne of moaning skulls sat a large red demon woman, eyes heavy with judgement piercing through yet another anguished soul. Ever since the monk incident she had been a little extra careful with screening. The man who had just been reformed into flesh and bone had pleaded innocence and ignorance. 
	"Denied.", she rumbled, making a gesture which sealed the man's lips with skin.
A few chain-imps manifested out of the shadows to drag the man away. His eyes shot wide open in absolute panic, nasal wails and snot bursting out his nose. Satan-72 tilted her head and scowled slightly. She felt no sympathy.
This guy had insisted that there must have been some sort of mistake – surely practicing the tooteltrum was not a crime? However, Satan-72 knew the man's nightly sessions had tormented an entire city sector for years. He was a perfect fit for realm seven where she kept the obnoxious ones.
Her mind soon shifted to other affairs. Could she speed up the completion of the pain cradles? When would the maggot  fields in third be operational again? Were illusion traps a bad fit for ninth? Would she need to separate the incubus and succubus again? When would the greater portal to that new world finish linking up?
And how was her system ring user doing? 
Satan-72 had added a few subquests in just to make it seem less like her only actual concern was getting rid of the unflattering statues. She didn't really have any experience managing worlds – usually that was the domain of the God types. 
But, God-72 had essentially dumped the world on her since "she had handled the affair with the orphaned system ring so nicely". Wasn't he the one who owed her one though? Well, now it was two favours owed. She'd definitely call them in, later.
She imagined the guy was probably just lazing about right now. Gods really don't know how much work goes into managing a nine realm hell – it's not like some fully automatic farm!
She had vented to Satan-60 about it. He had suggested that when it came to managing worlds she could just keep a light touch; there was no need to micromanage. God-3 for example left a world freewheeling for 6000 years, and it did fine, mostly. Well, actually it went pretty badly, but it did run for 6000 years.
However, Satan-72's situation was different. If a rogue god was in play here like she suspected then she'd have to keep an eye open for more shenanigans. She had already found four additional cultist pottery workers making those slanderous statues. The statues even had her old name engraved on the base, in godly eldritch runes.
The system ring user had dispatched three pottery workers in total. Satan-72 had naturally tried to interrogate them after snatching up the souls, only to discover that the souls had been quite thoroughly scrubbed. Still, after overlaying the souls she had managed to gleam some fragments akin to smudged traces of a finger print.
She might be able to determine to who touched the souls once the two remaining souls are delivered, as per the active quest.
It was Plutarch who had come up with the extra quests for the system ring user. She had nixed most of his ideas. Collect 10 mystical mountain herbs. Slay 25 deep bore worms. Deliver a letter to the mountain lich.
They had settled on procuring a heroic weapon. Plausible, useful, and fairly standard fare for heroes and such, though technically this system ring user was more of a haphazard independent force.
The other quest... well, Plutarch had plucked out one of his nine eyes. The eye turned into glass, and inside the orb visions of the nine realms of hell played. If the system ring user put it into some deserving person skull, they'd turn into a tormented drone, perhaps useful for some low cost scouting.
Satan 72 thought it was a pretty fun idea so they went with it.
TO BE CONT.

Extra Chapter 4B : Fauna
ToDo: write descriptions of these animals/monsters. These go in between chapters. Not too lengthy. Related to story.
Deep Bore Worm
Desert Bore Worm
Winter Slime
Forest Slime
	Tame tuskoids:
Horz
Pigoid (cleaner scavenger, tastes bad/difficult to prep, unlike pig)
Mout

	Land Birds:
Pippin
Wild Pippin
Green Pippin

Extra Chapter 12B? : Fauna
Wild Tuskoids:
Steppe Horz
Phont
Rhunt
Bulhorn

Oil Worm
Finned Urkid

Snow Eel/Wyrm
Emerald Wyrm
Night Wyrm

Lizards:
Sand shark
Beak lizard

Pin Walker
Purple Top

Spike Shell
Greater Spike Shell

Caraptoids:
Dung Fly
Red Wing
Poison Sting
Stiltman
Skullwalker

Blue Angel 

Map

Chapter 18 : Adventure
There needs to be some monster slaying adventuring. MC hunts for materials? Quest beyond mountains, save sharkie chieftain, related to shark girl whatshername.

Chapter: Zabelle PoV
On Theoretical test: Zhoey gave dictionary/enc type replies.
ring-lusting follow up.

Chapter : School Life.

Minor tea party practice.
Level up shark-girl & Thama with pills? After quest is over.
Side hustle:

	"Aren't you close to level 60 now? What do you think you'll get?"
	"Better not be another tea party."
Tea party with lich guarding some resource for armour? Proves irresistible.
Bad guy name: Rhottimer?
Find the 1000 year old witch (corpse).
Chapter: Repercussions
Saint & police try to arrest Thama in a fancy stone building, after G&G are dealt with. They accuse T&Z.
It was me. Thama blatantly admits. She has top gear. 
Why?
Thama gives her accusation.
Saint: Do you have any proof?
Did they need any?
I thought about sneaking around, collecting proof. but at the end of the day, it was just too elaborate.
When saint tries to arrest Thama, Zhoey comes plummeting down like a comet, revealing her power. Fullplate, enchanted.
Some sort of ability, haunted decapitated heads of Gorrun & Stola speaking?
Thama offers to repair Saint's holy sword, which apparently is broken. It's a quick fix. Saint is outclassed.
Maynor surprised that T&Z dealt with G&G in such a blatant fashion. 
T&Z not actually interested in the trading company, they're just a menacing presence. If they are interested: "ThaGa". Let Maynor oversee it.
---
Foreshadow evil... invasion trouble cliffhanger
L60
+? special gift. ?Hell Snatch ability? If accepted by hell.
-Disguise / Illusion
>>> Mount/pet, then level up. Or get horse.
----
war in capital? message alarm to Maynor? Return the mace?
----
God battle, 1km tall?
Todo: Thama misread her abilities and actually got Normal Strength. Also, will they buy ability scrolls? Probably not moral. Library in house. Speed read.
----

identity papers. 90+ 140 silver , a letter of recommendation for acad + estate agency of the capital.

map, geography of region while traveling
so I'm embarrassing myself by coming here uninvited.
Still has lewd figurine (something inside? Sell to weirdo? Gag: they never manage to sell it. Turns out it's a key? Evaluated by Thama at 10 silver min, 2 gold max?) and cloak. Remember her Abilities.
Garnet is actually a nickname, Garuyannet, also the family name of the betraying cousin? Eeh no.
Gate pass stamp. Diplomat level?
Flora  & Fauna, Separate chapters
Repeat character descriptions here and there.
Thama should use her  merc powers.
Someone's forlorn
End: Replace rogue god
Write more monster killing. Do it using another party that is saved from a dangerous enemy. Sharkies. Wounded/old. Pass chieftain role to wak.
Quest reward: 1000 exp  x10, Yummy Brolicco, Minor potions. Movement item? Ablility scroll.

Zamarta's goal.
Maynor's goal.
MC goal
Tarnassus investigation, and Saint's
Release chapter 1-5 then schedule? 17:25
Capital ideas, arrival and settle:-----------------------------

Foreshadow and Introduce new greater villain.
black knights attack, or undead, but they're nice?
practice undercover, study, use shroud.
Clarify that they can both read and write but their minds are a lot quicker now due to leveling. They speed read the books in the carriage. Maybe they'd be faster on foot. Keep stuff in storage ring. 
Goto gym and lift weights secretly. Explain how performance is a mix of body & level.
Fix up mace and salvage enchantments. Use alchemy to deal with rust.
Get fake ring stolen? Could anyone? Forced to hand over?
Ask to get rid of the manor dungeon? To which degree does MC want to help others? As a survivor she might be somewhat keen on looking out for herself first.
Zhoey = Suwei?
Open a smithy (100 silver+30 renovation) in capital where they once lived. Not much ties to Breccon/this city other than old work in mine, and painful memories.
Admission fee to academy.
Go undercover in other big city, spoofing power (Level 12). Meet the saint Alena (Level 43). 
The letter of recommendation doesn't mention her level.
Go to academy, with obnoxious nobles. Tea party to dominate the nobles.
Tea party combat with an old lich.
Follow-up: Tollbard's antics.
Some great upheaval, preventing the story from going stale?Go to tech world where levels don't exist?
This is improv. There's no plan for the story at this point. Usually isekais are the most interesting during setup, I find.
Hetesha
SUMMARY: Ch.13

Zhoey Garnet, City Lord, Level 59
Exp: L3base 130 + 120000 + 173 + 110 + 39
= 120452/ 124505
Master Tea party
Restoration (fix up)
Iron skin (hardens if atacked)
Poison immunity
Death glare (turn of abilities)
Projectile awareness (sense)
Graceful motion (economy)
Shroud (blend in if not focused on)
Strength
Minor Resilience
Minor Agility

System Ring
Clothes, shoes, blue bead
5 -3 healing potions
canteen
lewd figurine
feather-leaf cloak
90 silver+140
mace of breccon
letter for academy, estate

Thama Garnet, Crafter, Level 31.
Minor Resilience +5
Minor Heat resistance +5
M+M Strength +10
Gauge
Evaluate (estimate merchandise (not identify)
Alchemy
Master Smith
Charisma 

Satan-72, Demonic God, Level 666
Couldn't see snake?
NOTES:
Enhanced Mace is a local treasure?
(MC is appointed as  as reaper, given Satan sight?)
Easter egg scene with Satan-72 casually tormenting Brad in the background.

ITEM GRADES:
• Ungraded (mass produced mundane stuff)
• 1, Common (treasures of commoners)
• 2, Rare (upper class heirlooms)
• 3, Noble (rare for aristocrats)
• 4, Super (less than a dozen in the world, some remain undiscovered or locked in vaults)
• 5, Godly
Gacha odds: Draw grade = Min( D5, D5, D5 )

MONEYS:
240 silver = 1 gold
120 copper = 1 silver
Poor person's income: 2 silver /month (not disposable)
Commoner income: 4 silver /month
1 silver = 100 euro
100 silver = 10 000 euro

EXP. thresholds:
10 For L = 1 to 60
20  E = E *1.05 +L*20
30  Print L; : Print Int(E);
40 Next