On the first day of March, Rowan decided to have fun driving instead of teleporting, so he took his car to the former Tucker County. Parking it down the road, near another car with an unusually high driver seat, he ran the last mile uphill. A blinking dot appeared at the edge of his screen, and in no time, he arrived at the starting point for his quest, where two people waited for him: Thomas and none other than Wurf the Goblidog.

  “You’re skipping school again?” was the first thing Rowan asked.

  “I’m on a school project with one of the teachers,” Thomas said, gesturing toward the goblinoid.

  “Goblidog Wurf the third, esquire,” the monster spoke like they had never met before and offered a handshake, for which Rowan offered a shaking, limp hand, not believing his eyes.

  “E-esquire?”

  “Esquire,” the creature nodded. “The Town's Council awarded me a title of nobility for my heroic acts of saving the priest’s life. Your Lordship signed it, but I guess you have thousands of papers to sign, so I'm not offended if you don't remember,” Wurf said with a slightly dismissive tone.

  Rowan struggled against his wish to smack the Goblidog over the head. “Where's Hubert? Aren’t you two linked together?”

  “Not for quite a while. I lodged a System lawsuit and won my emancipation. I’m a school teacher now, for extra-curricular projects.”

  “You’re shitting me!”

  “I assure Your Lordship that I’m not defecating on any part of your body. Do you wish me to do so?” the Goblidog asked with a lofty tone. Rowan could swear the monster knew exactly what the expression meant and was purposefully sarcastic.

  “I’m good, thank you very much. Why are you here?”

  “To help you clear the core quest and get Thomas extra credits.”

  "What quest?" Thomas asked.

  Rowan covered his eyes with his right hand, massaging them. It was still early, but all of a sudden, he felt tired. “Remember our fight against the special forces? The incursion?”

  “Yeah.”

  “There was a guy who technically surrendered, a Tamer. After that, he found an abandoned hut in the woods and moved in.

  "When the County expanded, he was granted ten acres of land around his hut in a program destined to encourage private initiative and entrepreneurship. By happenstance, he found a core. Nevertheless, he refuses to sell it to us and makes his bear attack any trespasser. He's kinda dumb."

  "So much for entrepreneurship," Thomas joked. "But cores are a matter of state, why don't you get it by force, is he strong?"

  "No, he's not, but this punk here, Wurf, bought himself a lawyer diploma online and got a System restriction order against us."

  "Of course, the bear’s a System protected species," Wurf said. "But as long you don't hurt Teddy and his master, the System allows you to sneak in and get the core."

  "I don't get it," Thomas said. “You helped the crazy dude get a restriction order and now you're helping Rowan solve the problem you created?”

  “Of course. By defending the dumb dude and his pet's rights, I earned two APs. By helping you to learn about mana bio-diversity, I will earn a third, and by helping Rowan complete the quest, a fourth.”

  Yet again, Rowan felt the urge to strangle the Goblidog, but Thomas’s presence made him calm down. Oblivious to his fortunate continued existence, the little monster spoke on:

  “The plan is simple. The Tamer trusts me. I bring them treats, from time to time. I’ll engage him in conversation, and Thomas will taunt the bear. Kids do cruel pranks on animals, that’s the pretense. Count Allinder sneaks in to steal the core, replacing it with a copy. Ready?"

  “Go ahead.”

  “A moment,” Thomas said, pushing himself on his toes to whisper in Rowan's ear: “Let me be crystal clear. I gave you a pass about Cora, but if you dare to look at my two betrothed, I’ll cut your throat in your sl—.”

  “And who might the chosen ones be?” Rowan crossed his arms with a strong intuition about where this was going to end.

  “Nottie and Norie, of course. We’re soulmates.”

  “Do they know you’re soulmates?” Rowan tried to repress his giggles.

  “Fate knows, and that’s enough."

  “Do not tarry, they know I'm here and will get suspicious,” the Goblidog said. “Remember, you’re not to harm either the bear or his owner. I go in first.”

  A minute after the Wurf the Third, esquire, disappeared into the forest, Rowan let out a faint Cold Breeze. Sonar created a short movie in Rowan's mind in no time. The Goblidog shared a jar of moonshine with a large man, while the bear was scratching his back against a tree, a little farther away. The cabin was fifty yards behind.

  “The bear is two hundred yards from us, slightly to the northwest,” Rowan informed Thomas. “You want me to transport you to it?”

  The boy shrugged the offer off. “I’m good, I have a new perk, Unobservable. It’s a sort of sneaking but for off-tanks. When we unleash our taunts, the target will be more vulnerable to crits.”

  “OK. Go, I’ll make the switch when you taunt the bear.”

  Thomas started to advance into the woods, his steps inaudible. When the boy arrived near the bear, Rowan activated his Joint Trip and ran forward. Two hundred and fifty yards meant fifteen seconds for him. He heard Thomas yelling his taunt on the way but didn’t stop to look.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  In the hut, the core was on full display, emanating a soft light. Rowan let go of the first stack of Joint Trip, grabbed the core, and put in its place a desk lamp that looked the same. Satisfied, he entered The Space again, then tried to put the Core into his inventory. It didn’t work. Frowning, he tried again, with the same result. And he was pretty sure Cores could go into an inventory.

  What the fuck? Never mind, let’s move on.

  When he exited the hut, his second stack of Joint Trip at its end, he found himself looking eye to eye with the bear. The animal was inside The Space.

  “Your kid’s very funny,” he heard the Tamer’s voice.

  “I'm not his kid. C’mon, bear! Attack me!” Thomas was yelling in the air.

  Rowan tried to run past the Grizzly and failed. He got a sharp pain in his back, plus a notification.

  Warning: A protected beast, Teddy the Grizzly Bear, has broken a claw on your scapula. You have been fined one thousand Mana Coins. Sonar check successful: Teddy is a Mythical Combat Pet (lvl. 100) that has acquired the ability to enter The Space because he had been transported through it during his first days as an Awakened Beast. Strength: Can pull targets out of The Space. Weaknesses: Sweets, She-bears.

  Fuck… Rowan cast a Combat Heal, summoned his armor, and started circling the hut, hoping that the bear would get exhausted. The animal was fast and stubborn. Rowan managed to evade the next hit, but barely. The claw hit the sphere instead.

  Urgent Quest: A previously damaged core has suffered Critical Damage from Teddy the Grizzly Bear. You have ten minutes to consume the level 80 Entertainment Dungeon: Hyperspace Racing within Cora’s County furnace, or it will explode with the force of a Tactical nuke. Important: This dungeon is empty, so no one will be harmed by consuming it.

  Reward: Continued Existence, 1 Level, 10 APs, Racing-type enhancements to Perks and Town Core.

  Fuuuuck… “Go away! Bad pet! Bad!” Rowan screamed at the bear while running away. He spewed a Cold and Darkness AoE at minimum strength to confuse the animal, failing but getting fined again. As a last resort, Rowan entered the in-between. His only advantage was he could pass through obstacles while the animal, limited either by his ability or his mind, was going around or over. A few hundred yards later, Rowan found himself on a ledge above a precipice, with the bear closing in fast.

  "Must be some eco-terrorist. There are a lot of nuts these days trying to free him," he heard the pet’s master voice far away.

  He jumped. Behind, the bear roared but stayed on the ridge. While in freefall, Rowan dismissed the Joint Trip, activated the Snowstorm AoE, thrust it downward to cushion his fall, and landed on the road a hundred yards ahead of an approaching sedan. “I need your car! This is an emergency,” he screamed, waving his hands at the elderly couple in the car.

  “It’s the Count!” the woman exclaimed. “Hurry, let him drive.” The man left the driver's seat and went in the back. Rowan pushed the sphere into the elderly woman’s hands and drove on, tires screeching.

  [Rowan to Cora]: We have an emergency. Meet me at the Core’s Control room. The core is damaged and will explode with the force of a tactical nuke in… eight minutes and a half. It’s empty, so it’s OK to consume it.

  [Cora to Rowan]: I know, I saw the notification. You’re too far… get somewhere isolated and enter The Space to avoid the explosion.

  [Rowan to Cora]: What about collateral damage? I can make it, baby.

  [Cora to Rowan]: Are you positive you can reach the town?

  [Rowan to Cora]: Absolutely. I have a car and six stacks of Joint Trip left.

  [Cora to Rowan]: I'm coordinating with The Butler, launching Emergency Alerts, evacuating people in the northern neighborhoods, and activating multiple forcefields. If it explodes within a forcefield containment, we'll absorb the damage.

  [Rowan to Cora]: We'll make it to the furnace, don't worry.

  “You’ve been quite busy since we last met,” the elderly woman said as he drove like mad, approaching one hundred and fifty miles per hour.

  “Sorry, do we know each other?” Rowan furrowed his brows.

  “You don’t remember us? From the Awakening day, when that ship crashed?”

  “Oh, yeah, the… nice lady next row.” The nosy and gossiping crone who was talking non-stop, he added in thought. The woman was the same lady who had tried to make conversation on the bus when the Traipenent crashed. “You’ve stayed here?”

  “Yes, we were caught inside Randolph County. Best thing ever. Jim has become an awakened Doctor, and we’re in the best health possible. Plus we got a free apartment at the resort, just for us.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “How’s your father? He’s such a darling.”

  “Busy. Don’t see much of him nowadays. Wait! You know Papa Allinder?” Rowan gasped.

  “Jim works with him in the hospital, and we play bridge together from time to time. Tell him we said hello.”

  “Sorry, I have to cut some corners. Don’t worry; everything is under control.”

  Activating Joint Trip: Warp, Rowan went directly through the hills. The speed of the car exponentially grew.

  “Rocks. Coal. Hmm… that was… quartz? There might be diamonds there,” the doctor said.

  “He’s an amateur geologist,” the woman said.

  “Thanks for the tip,” Rowan said. “Do you remember the location?”

  “Sorry, can’t take any landmark.”

  “Never mind.” The car erupted out of the mountain, and Rowan pulled the wheel left. There were only two miles to Elkins, and five minutes to go. He let the perk dissipate at the entrance of the town and arrived at the Town’s Square with four minutes to spare. Cora was nowhere to be seen. Then she appeared, running with her tongue out and bulging eyes.

  “There's no car at home, and I had to run," she yelled. As soon as she entered the Square, a forcefield appeared around.

  “Slow down, baby, we have plenty of time."

  “Don’t you forget something?” the elderly woman forwarded the core.

  “Oh… thanks!”

  Rowan grabbed the sphere and followed Cora. They arrived in the control room with two minutes to spare.

  “Where’s the furnace?” he yelled.

  “There!” Cora hit a button on the command desk, and a portal shaped like an old castle door opened in the back of the room, showing an unreal white fire. Rowan threw the core inside, and then Cora closed the door.

  Quest cleared. You have successfully averted a disaster and consumed a damaged core. +10 AP. Rewards: Your Joint Trip stack duration has increased to one minute. The achievable speeds of Joint Trip: Warp abilities have been doubled. Hyperspeed Perks are now available for the Town's Core. Get the Core from the Tamer quest has been cleared. +1 AP.

  “See? Nothing to worry about,” Rowan said.

  “How did you break it?” Cora said, letting herself fall on an armchair to catch her breath.

  “It was defective to start with. I couldn’t put in the inventory, and then that bear clawed at it. Ah, and he was able to go inside The Space. Why can a bear enter The Space?”

  Cora shook her head and turned her palms up to convey she had no idea, still panting. “Sorry… I’m not used to running… and my armor is upgrading. There were no cars left. Grace is out, and you—”

  “Oh, fuck! I forgot my car in the woods!” Rowan facepalmed. “Never mind, I'll go get it later... How's your project with the prisoner extraction?" Rowan asked, remembering about it because of the Control Room.

  “It's almost ready. We'll have to discuss it thoroughly… I identified a few problematic Cores. Two have hardened criminals in them, Assassins and Intergalactic Pirates. The third is a thespian dungeon.”

  “Thespian like in theater?"

  "Yes," Cora said. "We're talking about actors."

  "Why did they do to get in prison? Bad acting?”

  Cora rolled her eyes. "They’re not in prison. It’s an extra dungeon we were not aware of. They tried to travel for cheap and bribed someone from the crew to hide their dungeon among our cores. The Traipenent crashed before they reached their destination."

  "Hm… I guess we could hire them," Rowan shrugged. "There's a lack of entertainment in town. I bet Grace will be happy."