Shortly after visiting Yaresh, Jason and Sophie had participated in a fighting arena. The venue, like most of the city, had been wiped out during the messenger invasion. As part of the restru, the old arena was repced with a massive mirage chamber. The domed building, structed from hexagonal segments of stained gss, was a ndmark that curved high over the trees.

  Mirage chambers created false enviros where people could be projected into as illusionary doubles of themselves. Because these illusion bodies were made using soul proje, the real body could experience everything their replicas did. This meant that pain was real, but the only actual harm they faced sychological. The doubles could be injured or evehout the real body suffering the same.

  Smaller mirage chambers were used for training purposes, such as the o the Geller family trainire ione. Massive arena venues, like the new one in Yaresh, were designed for public spectacle. These were magical colosseums where the dead gdiators respaw the end, ready to fight another day. The gdiators here were also not sves. Dedicated mirage fighters were akin to sp stars oh, earnih and fame for their skills.

  Despite the existence of such celebrities, however, the biggest spectacles came from the inclusion of famous adventurers on the drawcard. Whether against one another or the local professionals, adventurer participation alulled in crowds. This ly demonstrated by the full seating around the arena, despite the short notice of the curre.

  The Duke of Yaresh was in the rgest of the VIP boxes. The size of a ballroom, it had one gss wall that looked out onto the arena, and could also serve as a proje s when powers and the enviro obscured the a. It wasn’t the fighting that the duke was here for, however. Ihe rht now was arguably the most prestigious gathering the city had ever seen. With Yaresh attempting to re-establish itself as a regional power, social gathering like this would help mark it as a pce of influend power.

  That Yaresh had not just o two resident diamond rankers was an incredible boon. Lord Charist was the more social of the two, but it was the more reclusive Lady Alyeth who graced the room with her preseoday. Around her was the team she had raised up herself, Moon’s Edge, now famous in their ht. pared to some of the others present, however, they were practically anonymous.

  The duke had — in private — ughed like a madman as iionally famous adventurers desded on his city, oer aeam Biscuit has been on the rise for years, much of their early reputation built right here in Yaresh. Not only were they known for their success in the field, but also boasted many impressive members.

  Gellers were always noticeable, of course, especially the son of Danielle Geller. They also ted the Archcellor of the Magic Research Association in their number. He was famous as much for the Magic Society’s hatred of him as the success of his fledgeling anisation. Then there was a former holder of the Hurrie Priitle. Zara Nareen wasn’t teically a princess at the moment, but anyone who thought she was genuinely ostracised from the Storm Kingdom’s royal family olitical buffoon.

  In the cavalcade of famous adventurers desding upon Yaresh, Team Biscuit was only the beginning. Team Blood and Gold had a husband-and-wife duo from the Remore family, plus the vaureasure hunter, Emir Bahadir. Team Shining Scabbard was a well-known group arently keam Biscuit from years earlier. They also had royalty in the group, although that was less impressive with the Mirror Kingdom’s surplus of princes and princesses. That said, the duke admired the administrative prowess of Prince Valdis in assembling the are ihan two days.

  There were others as well. Danielle Geller was talking with the enormous Adventure Society official who mercifully hadn’t brought his axe. There were also some local luminaries, although they seemed less impressive in this pany. Notable in their absence were certain members of Yaresh high society known for letting their petty pride create diplomatic issues. The duke leasantly surprised at not only their absence, but their failure to e to his door, pining at their exclusion. If he got nothing else from the night, he inteo learn how Prince Valdis had mahat minor miracle.

  The duke moderated himself while cirg amongst the visitors. As valuable as these es were, he was isant of this being a genuine social event. These were actual friends, reuniting after a long time apart, not a calcuted political exge. The inclusion of select locals demonstrated the political dexterity of the Mirror Kingdom prince.

  The duke was diligent in his attention to all the attendees, not just those who were famous adventurers. This proved wise when the fashion desigurned out to be one of those octuplet sets that every major city seemed to have one of. The duke was careful not to offend any gods, let alone one as important as Fertility, and it reminded him to be wary ons lurking around Jason Asano.

  The person this gathering had been arranged for was the ohe duke khe least about. He had heard a great deal, but little of it seemed reliable. The stories surrounding Asano were tradictory, nonsensical and often straight-up unbelievable. Even so, he was uo dismiss them out of hand. Too many had been firmed by people whose judgemerusted.

  Asano himself was standing in front of the gss, watg the matches below. The duke atient, and perhaps a little trepidatious, given what he wao discuss. More than just taking a measure of the man, the duke o know if Asano’s return heralded the same chaos as it had in the past.

  The duke moved to stao Asano wheocky elf he eaking with headed for the buffet table. Asano greeted him somewhat standoffishly, not taking his eyes from the match below. The duke followed his gaze to see Prince Valdis once again in a fight. Ahusiastid repeat partit, his sword master specialty excelled against other essence users.

  The prince was fast, elusive and made powerful hit-and-run strikes in a skirmisher bat style. It had proven effective in duels against even the prestigious adventurers gathered around, and made a grand spectacle for the citizens of Yaresh. Its biggest weakness was against evasion-type prote specialists, as a dark-skinned woman with silver hair was demonstrating.

  The duel came to an end, the priaking his rare loss in stride as he pyed up to the crowd. The illusionary arena of sand and stone vanished, revealing the very full stands arrayed around the mirage chamber. The duke stood beside Asano, watg the prince walk off as the challenger came out.

  “That is her husband, yes?” the duke said.

  “They haven’t married yet. Soon, I expect.”

  “Who do you think will win?”

  “She will. Humphrey is well-trained, but he’s a monster fighter at heart. He was traio work in a team, fighting hordes and giants, not people. He’s good at it, don’t get me wrong, but Sophie is something special. She learo fight in a cage, where losi waking up in a ditch, or ed to a bed. That breeds a determination to win that’s hard to match.”

  The duke found himself a little fused. Some of his advisors had warhat being in Asano’s presence was intimidating, but he found it not the case at all. Asano radiated nothing more than a polite amount of aura that revealed his rank.

  “You have a remarkable and loyal group of friends, to e running from across the world.”

  “I do,” he agreed warmly. “I simply wish I didn’t find myself removed for them for so long. Or so often.”

  The duke steeled his resolve. He’s been told that blunt hoy was the best approach with Asano, but that seemed dangerous.

  “I hope you will five my rudeness, Mr Asano, but will you be staying in Yaresh long?”

  “No. Worried I’ll cause trouble?”

  “Cause might be the wrong word, and I certainly want to make no accusations. That being said, Adventure Society branch directors have standing orders to go on low alert should you arrive in their area. That order was reissued when they got word of your return.”

  “That seems a little excessive.”

  “Perhaps so, Mr Asano. But when you went to Rimaros, the Builder almost dropped another city on it out of the sky. There’s a new isnd there now. Here in Yaresh, the messeore the city down to the foundations.”

  “The Builder attacked everywhere, as did the messengers. We only came to Yaresh because you were already fighting the messengers here.”

  “But you ot deny that both forces seem more ied in you than other adventurers. And from here, you went to the brightheart city which, to my uanding, you entirely wiped from reality.”

  “I built a new one.”

  “And a very nie it is, but I believe most people are happy with the cities they already have.”

  “Well, the brighthearts weren’t. Theirs was an undead wastend.”

  “So I uand. But the fact stands, Mr Asano, that cities have a habit of requiring signifit rebuilding after you’ve passed through.”

  “I do want to cim extenuating circumstances,” Asano aowledged, his tone weary but amused. “But there’s only so many times every city you visit blow up before people think you’re blowing up cities.”

  Relief flooded through the duke. He saw a small smile cross Asano’s lips and realised the man robably reading his emotions. It was rude, but also a little impressive. It was hard to do so unnoticed on someone of the same rank, even if the duke got to gold rank through monster cores.

  “You’ve been to Rexion?” Asano asked.

  “Many times. I was not being obsequious when I said it was a very nice pce. The retionship with Rexion was critical to feeding my people in the early days of the restru. We’re still in the process of rest the wider region, even now. Remnants of the apocalypse beasts unleashed by the messeook years to fully root out. Even now, we ever be entirely certai them all.”

  The duke shook his head before tinuing.

  “Whole towns were depoputed, and trying to get people to move in aart the farms was difficult. There was a lot of reluce, and uandably so. Whole towns full of people who died under extremes of misery and violence? Seeing family members transformed into monsters and puppets? Quite aside from the trauma people o front, those are ditions for spawning some of the nastier kinds of undead.”

  “I saw something simir in the inal brightheart city.”

  “No Uh priests here, thankfully. There were sur neancers, but the Adventure Society deal with them quite aggressively.”

  “It sounds like you’ve had your work cut out for you.”

  “Indeed. Before the messengers, there were always those looking to snake my position. Sniping politis and backstabbing noble houses. Now they’ve spent a decade praying for my good health. No one wants to be duke when it means rebuilding the whole damn duchy from nothing.”

  “And now that you’re seeis, you don’t want the city destroying guy to tear it all down again.”

  “I do not mean to accuse or offend, Mr Asano, nor am I asking you to leave. But yes, I fear what your presence means for us. When fate pces someo the tre of events, it is those around them who tend to suffer.”

  “Something I have sadly e to learn. I uand, Duke, and sympathise with your position.”

  “Thank you. I won’t pretend to uand the events you find yourself at the tre of. I am simply asking if your return signals a threat to Yaresh of which I am unaware.”

  “Not that I’m aware of, Duke. But it’s the one you don’t know about that gets you, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” the duke agreed. “Yes, it is.”

  ***

  Jason watched the duke move on to other versations as Farrah took his pce. Humphrey had lost, as predicted, but had made it harder on Sophie than expected.

  “You’ve been dodging me,” Jason said, keeping his gaze fixed on the arena. “Odd behaviour for a reunion.”

  “Yeah,” Farrah ceded, more subdued than he was used to.

  “Something to do with you still being silver rank?”

  “Yeah.”

  Jason’s team had all reached gold. Rick Geller’s was getting there, with Rid his sister Phoebe both having done so retly. The rest of their team were in the upper reaches of silver.

  “We o have a det talk about things,” Farrah said. “And I suppose I have a choiake.”

  “Yes,” Jason said softly.

  “I felt it, you know? The moment you became… whatever you are now. The System showed up for everyone, but I felt it.”

  “I know. Have you talked about it with anyone?”

  She shook her head.

  “Did you know?” she asked. “When we formed that bond. Wherengthe. Did you know?”

  “No. her of us knew, back then.”

  “Dawn didn’t tell you something?”

  “I don’t think even she khere are things she told me that she was absolutely wrong about. What’s happening with me — with us — is probably not unique, but it’s rare. Even by ic standards. We’re making up the rules as we go.”

  He turo look around the room behind them, their versatio private by his aura.

  “We have this out properly when we’re alone,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “It is good having you back, Jason.”

  She walked away and Rick Geller moved to join Jason in her pce. They watched his sister walk out to meet Sophie in the arena.

  “You and me in a mirage chamber again,” Rick said.

  “Don’t remind me,” Jason responded.

  “You say that as if you weren’t the one who had his whole team stomped by someone who didn’t know magic eveed a year earlier.”

  “By running around like a fool and cag like a witch. Surely, it’s been long enough that those recs are all gone.”

  “Are you kidding? It’s required training material at the family trainire. I didn’t hear the end of it when I spent a year instrug ione.”

  Jason waved over a server, grabbing gsses of wine for himself and Rick. Then he held up his gss.

  “To Jonah.”

  Rick’s eyes soften and he ked his gss to Jason’s.

  “To Jonah,” he echoed, then draihe gss.

  Jonah had been a member of Rick’s team until the ill-fated expeditireenstohat had killed many adventurers, including Farrah. Jonah had been captured and impnted with a star seed by the Builder cult, and died in the process of having it extracted. He had been part of the group that fought Jason all those years ago, in the Geller mirage chamber.

  Riodded to Jason and then moved on. The person to circute Jason’s way was Clive, holding a notebook. He was shoved out of the way by aed Prince Valdis.

  “Jason! When are you going to get out there? Everyone wants to see how you got to gold rank when you spent the st fifteen years sitting in a magieditating or whatever.”

  “That’s not really how it worked.”

  “Then show us!”

  “Sorry about him,” Sigrid said, also moving past an increasingly ky Clive.

  “I’m not sure that me going down there is a good idea,” Jason said. “Mirage chambers are soul proje devices. I don’t know how they’ll i with my avatar, which is also a soul proje device.”

  “You’re just scared of how badly I’ll beat you, aren’t you?”

  “You got me, Valdis. I’m just scared.”

  “Or harder to provoke than a nine-year-old,” Sigrid muttered.

  Clive, watg the exge, turo the room.

  “Hey everyone!” he announced. “Who wants to see Jason Asano in a prold-rank fight?”

  Jason gave Clive a ft look as the room filled with cheers.