Yuki was gazing at the pair of smiling predators in dismay. Jack and Marsha were staring at Morlekai and his sister with expressions that were equal parts fear and fascination. “You guys actually want to do this mission with us? You do know it’s for um… students, right?”

  “That won’t be a problem,” Eric quickly assured. “Elonia made it clear that they were more than welcome to join us for VIP admittance to the school. In fact, they’d earn a considerable amount of school credits, titles or no.”

  Yuki furrowed her brow. “Seriously?”

  Eric grinned. “You better believe it. We’re about to enter serious negotiations, and few people are better at negotiating, or helping to facilitate our negotiations, than my dear friend Alice, here. And Morlekai makes a fantastic scout!”

  Jack furrowed his brow. “Really? In that blood red shirt?”

  “Carmine,” Eric said.

  Jack snorted. “It’s blood red and he’s glaring at me right now like an 18th century vampire debating whether or not he should bite my head off. Ha ha. Now don’t get me wrong, he looks lit as shit. Almost as good as me! But still.”

  Morlekia smirked. “Don’t flatter yourself, boy.” His gaze flattened. “And I expect that any secrets revealed here will be kept in strictest confidence.”

  Jack quickly nodded, putting down his perfectly made pastrami sandwich. “Of course! We’re not stupid. We wouldn’t dare break any oath given, especially not as students of… holy fuck, did you just form a bloody crow on your shoulder?”

  The crimson crow in question tilted its head, cawing at his bemused master.

  “You do have a penchant for the obvious, don’t you, Jack? A very… orcish trait.” Morlekai quipped, earning snickers from Marsha and Yuki.

  Jack crossed his arms and glared. “What of it? I call shit like I see it, and I survived. Most didn’t.”

  Morlekai nodded. “You did what you needed to, to survive. As did we all. And you’ve enjoyed fortuitous encounters along your path, which is why you’re here savoring the bounty of our table, and why my sister and I are here, offering to do our part to assure that your mission is a successful one. And unless I’m mistaken, regardless of your dislike of unknown quantities… the more territories claimed by negotiation, the larger a boon you and your fellow aspirants will receive. Correct?”

  Jack scowled, but didn’t dispute it.

  “He’s right, Jack,” whispered a shy-looking Marsha who had hardly touched her beef stroganoff. “If he and his sister can actually help…”

  “I know. But what exactly can they do?” Jack’s breath hitched when Alice was suddenly before him, stroking his cheek and smiling with her ruby red rips as he shuddered at her touch.

  “We can do all sorts of things, Jack,” she assured, whispering in his ear before giving him a wink. “And we can very, very good at persuading people when we need to be.” He shuddered when her lips were just a hairsbreadth from her own, fingers stroking his cheek. “So how about it, Jack? Have I… persuaded you into giving us a chance?”

  Yet before he could do more than gasp and Yuki glare, Alice had flowed out of his seat and was standing with a sultry smirk by her brother’s side once more.

  Eric grinned. “So… yeah. Diplomacy mission. Am I right, guys? And Morlekai’s crows make escellent scouts. So it’s a double win that costs us absolutely nothing. But Elonia did want to run it by you guys first, and make sure we we’re all cool working together.”

  Yuki and Jack, caught between ire and the bigger picture, paused.

  “Well, I think it’s a good idea,” Marsha declared, before flinching at the look her friends were giving her.

  “What? If she can seduce whoever’s in charge of a territory, that equals titles and training sessions for us! And wouldn’t you rather the vampire be on our side and not against us?”

  Eric cleared his throat. “No one ever actually said my friend’s a vampire. He’s just a snappy dresser.”

  “Who likes blood red shirts, tight-fitting slacks, and 18th century sabers,” Yuki pointedly noted.

  “So, he’s got style. I like those things too! Sometimes.” Eric eyed a bemused-looking Morlekai’s 1796. “Though I’m more an 1821 man, myself.”

  Yuki took an angry bite of her sandwich. “Fine. They can come. Let’s get going before the day gets any later.”

  Eric smiled and communicated with his closest companions who he had already formed a party link. “You guys okay? I’m grateful to have you, but Jack and Yuki have been a bit prickly today.”

  Morlekai snorted. “They’re high-strung children feeling their own utter powerlessness.”

  “Probably.”

  “It’s alright, Eric. They’re children. My brother and I have no intention of devouring them,” Alice assured.

  “Speak for yourself,” Morlekai silently quipped as his crow cawed, making Jack flinch, much to Morlekai’s bemusement.

  “Control your fucking bird!” Jack huffed, rubbing his head and glaring as they made it back to the levimobile without further incident, Drake opening the gate for them once more.

  “Good to see you again, Boyscout,” Drake cheerfully called, waving them through. “I know Louie will be pissed he missed you twice over.”

  Eric chuckled. “Tell him we’ll definitely catch up next time! You have any interest in joining a magic academy?”

  “Me? Nah, sorry, Eric. I’m a man who knows his strengths. You want an ace safe-cracker or a professional in construction who can put your house together as sturdy and pretty as can be? You come to me.” He gestured toward the magnificent gabled manor a full five stories high. The light glittered like jewels from the upper story stained glass windows while a procession of fledgling Necromancers exited the open french doors. It was as finely constructed as any house, or college dormitory, that Eric had ever seen.

  “Made that with some helping hands in fourteen days time.” Drake grinned at the looks of awe this earned from Jack, Yuki, and Marsha.

  “Seriously?” Jack uttered. “Shit, I’ve worked construction. I was sore after every shift, before I embraced the deli life. Even with a Warrior’s stats… a building like that’s no joke!”

  Drake grinned. “Thanks, kid. It certainly helps if you’re in the zone and you got the gold to make sure your suppliers don’t hold back on lumber, stone, and steel support beams. Assembling it was a treat! I could feel the whole structure gaining strength when I poured my heart into it. The stained glass windows were something I actually dreamed up! I dreamed assembling them all just as pretty as could be, and when I woke up to Alice’s cursing the next day, would you believe they were there? So… yeah. I guess I do got a dash of magic of my own. But if you want someone who can sling lightning bolts or cast spells that will turn the tide of a fight, like you did so damned well with that zombie incursion back in Junk Town? Yeah. I think Alice and Morlekai have you covered on that one, Boyscout.”

  Eric chuckled. “Fair enough. And that’s a fucking beautiful house. Take care, Drake!”

  “You too, Eric.”

  Eric smiled fondly at his friend closing the gate, before turning to Jack. “Alright, now lets head to the financial district.”

  Jack scowled. “Seriously? We haven’t had enough delays?”

  Eric grinned, sharing a smile with Morlekai, now casually seated beside Marsha who was gazing in rapt fascination as Alice whispered who knew what into her ear. “Sorry, Jack. Last stop before we leave Freetown. Promise.”

  And a short time later saw Eric, Morlekai and Alice leaving the Blue Corp Savings and loan with a trio of exceedingly full tactical backpacks filled to the brim with one of the most valuable elements in this brave new world.

  Morlekai exchanged a hard smile with Alice as the pair of power-armored sentinels, Bronze-tier mercenaries hired to guard the bank since the terrorist attacks, gave Eric and his companions a respectful nod, their T-2 Plasma Blasters held at the ready.

  “Easiest score we ever made, hey, brother?”

  Morlekai chuckled. “And Strength over thirty makes the weight a breeze.”

  Alice flashed a sad smile as they made their way back to the levi, the vehicle swaying for a moment as near half a ton of weight made themselves comfortable once more. “All those points in my Mana Pool, and my heritage blossom decides to boost my physical attributes instead.”

  Morlekai shrugged, paying no mind to the awed look Yuki was giving all three of them. “It’s served us well enough in our delves. I told you learning the art of saber and bardiche would serve you well.”

  Alice pouted. “I hate having to rely on anything but my wand.”

  “Yet you slice as well as any berserker, when your blood burns hot.”

  This earned a snort. “And you know damn well how jealous that made my Louie… until I made it up to him.”

  “Jeezus. How heavy are those bags?” Yuki said in a hushed voice. “Are they really filled with—” Her words cut off with Morlekai’s glare, before Alice gave a suddenly trembling Yuki a soft brush of her finger tips.

  “Loose lips sink ships and all that shit, you know?”

  Yuki paled, before giving a quick nod.

  Jack furrowed his brow at Morlekai’s glare, though his temper was mollified by Alice’s husky soothing voice. “That shit has to weigh, what... Two hundred fucking pounds per bag?”

  “A little over three hundred, Jackie boy,” Alice said with a sultry smile.

  Jack scowled, shaking his head as they picked up speed, carefully making their way for the Freetown highway. “Fucking insane. We’re lucky this is a full-sized levi. Almost identical to the one…” he scowled, shaking his head.

  “The one that Richard drove?” Eric quipped with a smile.

  “Yeah, exactly,” Jack nodded, before grimacing and cursing as the car lurched, Yuki glaring Eric’s way.

  “Stop fucking with him, Eric!”

  Eric smirked, raising his hands with a shrug. “What did I say?”

  Yuki scowled. “You’re poking at shit that maybe we should just let go. Don’t you think?” Her eyes narrowed. “Because I could be asking some pointed fucking questions too, Eric.”

  “Such as…”

  Her scowl turned to a smirk. “Such as how the fuck were you carrying a tactical backpack weighing over three hundred pounds like it was nothing?” Her smirk turned to a wide grin when Alice and Morlekai’s expressions turned deadpan neutral. “Hell. You carried it easier than your goth friends with Strength that’s at least in their thirties, and I could say mine was over double that, not too long ago, but that doesn’t mean shit now. Question is, how the fuck were you lifting it so easily, Eric? Boy of leisure from Freetown who never did anything save study and master some diplomatic mercantile profession that let you become part-owner of a fucking bank, despite all the second-life bullshit you tease us with. And you reset yourself just like Jack and I did… right? So how the fuck are you actually strong enough that you can walk out with the fortune now filling our car?”

  Eric gazed at his friend for long minutes before flashing a smile. “That’s a very good question, Yuki. I’m glad you asked.” He patted the bag. “You see the runes here?”

  Yuki furrowed her brow. “There are no…” She blinked, eyes widening. “Fuck, there are! I… with this body, I can actually feel the magic radiating off them. What do they mean?”

  “It just so happens that I know runes to warp and mitigate gravity. And it just so happens that those runes are on my tactical backpack.” His eyes twinkled with playful mirth. “Any more questions?”

  “Actually yeah, you cocky… can you teach me?”

  Eric’s smirk turned to a genuine smile. “I’d be happy to, Yuki. Just as soon as this mission is over and we’re all safely back at Mistridge.”

  Jack scowled through the rearview. “You’re teaching me too. Because we were friends once, right?”

  Eric solemnly nodded. “And I hope we will be again. You bet.”

  Morlekai was giving Eric a pointed look. “You’re using blood magic. With your Runic Lore.”

  “Pretty much, yeah.”

  Morlekai shook his head as they left the city behind, the scents of dust, broken rubble, and the faint happier odors of a prosperous city were soon replaced by the sharp clean scents of pine, forest loam, and wildflower-filled fields of grass waving gently in the breeze.

  “If I didn’t know better, with all the wild currents of power flowing through it…”

  “Yup, cobbled it together myself,” Eric freely admitted.

  Alice snorted. “Come on, bro. We both know better than to underestimate Boyscout with all we’ve seen, half-forgotten shit I remember so clearly whenever our favorite boy comes into town. And Grim’s no fool. He wouldn’t have such a soft spot for blondie here if he wasn’t worth our time.”

  Morlekai shrugged, giving Eric a bemused smile. “Grim made his stance clear enough. Only a fool ignores the guidelines that have stood our kind in good steed for centuries... Fools, or geniuses who can do more than simply follow magic’s currents, compelling them down tributaries never dared before.”

  “Which is fine, so long as it doesn’t blow up in our faces,” Yuki snorted, before giving Eric a hard look. “So, can you honestly say that your magic… shit, your blood magic, never blew up in your face before?”

  Eric gave a rueful chuckle. “Actually, it has. More than once. Me pushing myself too hard once cost me over twenty years of my life.” He sighed at the look of horror he saw flash across all three of his youngest companion’s faces, even if Morlekai and Alice wore the sympathetic, solemn expressions of fellow practitioners who well understood the perils of their darker craft.

  “But, yeah. Apart from the humbling fuckups of a student first learning his craft, I’d say my arts have served me pretty damn well, so far.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “That they have, Eric,” Alice said with a husky smile, her lush ebony locks blowing in the wind, revealing creamy white skin utterly free of flaw and blemish. “And anyone who fails to see that… well, that’s on them.”

  Jack cleared his throat. “Yeah well, be that as it may, first stop of the day is coming right up.” He slowed down at the boarder between Freetown and Ashland, which Eric could sense both from his DI map and the sudden soothing warmth of rich Spiritual Energy caressing his skin, the lush trees in the distance seeming somehow brighter, more vibrant, the air fresh and revitalizing, even their levimobile seeming brighter and more colorful somehow.

  Yuki and Jack both took deep breaths, eyes widening as smiles involuntarily flickered across their tense faces. “You can taste it,” Yuki whispered. “Something spicy in the air.”

  Eric nodded. “Yup! This is a high Spiritual Energy zone. And since you both have a Qi Pool and the potential to become cultivators, even if it’s currently locked because your meridians are clogged as shit and you’ve never cultivated a day in your lives… your body senses the potential here.”

  Yuki glared. “And how the fuck do you even…”

  Jack shook his head. “No time. We better make our declaration before trouble comes… shit!”

  His words cut off with a wheeze when an eight foot tall giant of a man covered in exotic polymer alloys that shined like silver steel crashed to the ground after ripping across the sky with a levitating flight pack.

  Eric held back a smile at the showy entrance, already outside the veli and leaning casually against it as the armored merc stepped free of the now cratered soil, holding his T-III Hyperion Blaster in a menacing grip.

  “You’ve crossed our borders without authorization,” the man’s tinny voice crackled in the air. “And there’s at least one Contender among you. Unless you’re here to join or hire, you’ve got thirty seconds to leave this territory.”

  “We’re diplomatic envoys!” Jack frantically said, holding up one Elonia’s carefully penned missives in a panic.

  Yuki’s eyes widened, holding a missive of her own. “Jack, that’s the wrong—”

  The power armored figure sighed, moving too fast for Jack to even blink before reaching out to grab the missive, glaring at what he read as his face-plate slid up, revealing a purple-eyed man with roughened, scarred features who nevertheless radiated the vitality of a Contender who had broken through to Bronze and ascended all the way to Rank 10.

  Just his scowl was enough to send the trio of mortals in the car in a swoon, a frowning Morlekai and surprised Alice propping them up before they could collapse and strain their necks.

  Even the mercenary looked displeased. “Are you serious? You think this is Grimtooth territory and you’re offering us silver and all the food we can eat if we vacate?” The man shook his head with a disbelieving smirk. “Your Queen sent Level 0 fresh-bloods to a Bronze-claimed territory? Is she insane?”

  Eric sighed, carefully clasping the correct missive from Yuki’s trembling hand.

  “Sorry about that,” Eric boldly said, not hesitating to hide the scowling mercenary the correct letter while reclaiming the one for Grimtooth boldly enough that the merc scowled.

  Eric could sense the man trying to get a read on him and not liking what he sensed. “There’s no way you could be level 1.” He scowled. “You don’t look like you fear me at all.”

  Eric shrugged. “I’m just here to deliver a missive to your faction from the queen of New Arcadia. Hopefully, what this one offers is more to your taste.”

  If anything, the man’s feature’s grew increasingly disdainful as he read the missive. “Are you serious? Your queen expects us to give up prime real estate and a rift filled with high quality beast meat, Mana-infused fruit, and a potential fortune in beast hides? For what, to join her cult academy as religious converts?”

  Eric slowly shook his head, his Know the Score and What the Other Party Wants Perks tingling as he took a good look at the man’s discontented face, filled with the odd sense that he could so easily imagine exactly what it was like to wake up just a few days ago in a magnificent new world… that suddenly turned out to be free of resources, challenge, or anything but what appeared to be an absurdly easy delve with over eight hundred square miles, even as he sensed Morlekai’s crimson crows doing reconnaissance and Alice waiting for the signal to embrace another approach.

  The only question was… had they found the portal to the next level? And if they didn’t know where it was… how hard would they search with so much ground to cover? Not even knowing what they were looking for? Because if they understood Ashland’s greatest secret… there was no way he was shaking them free. But if they didn’t…

  Eric cleared his throat.

  “What Queen Elonia Silver is offering is access to a Legendary-tier academy. An academy that might just unlock arcane affinities and Elite tier classes, even Bronze Elite classes that you won’t have a hope of unlocking anywhere else in the sector, I’m guessing,” Eric said, giving the man’s stony countenance a thoughtful look.

  “Let me guess. Bronze, around Rank 10? It’s not too late to advance in another direction. Tell me that’s not the real reason why you haven’t ascended any further?”

  His lips curved in the tiniest of smiles when the man’s stony expression cracked, replaced by a scowl.

  “You’re a level one noob of a clueless savage. How the fuck can you sense anything about me?”

  Eric shrugged. “How indeed. You might be surprised by the answer. That answer might just hold the key to a world of possibilities that you can unlock, conveniently enough, in Mistridge Academy. An academy that allows it’s students to reforge themselves. Reinvent themselves.” Eric crossed his arms, peering up at the man. “Can you honestly say you’ve never wanted the chance to go back and correct whatever build flaws are holding you back? Tell me what such an opportunity would be worth to you. Would be worth to your captain. To your entire corp.”

  The man shook his armored head. “Bullshit. No such treasure exists. Not unless you have access to a Silver-tier heritage library!”

  Eric shrugged. “Well, if that’s what you want to assume, and your happy just chilling here on an endless field of grass for days waiting for absolutely nothing while newbloods all over the world are eager to take advantage and leave you and your peeps utterly in the dust, that’s on you.”

  Eric flashed a mocking smile, waving his hand. “Because chasing down low level beasts in a rift that’s absolutely perfect for feeding struggling communities and granting them a few early levels is the ideal place for an elite band of Bronze Mercenaries to forge themselves anew, am I right? I’m sure you’re making mad progress leveling up or intensify your core and advancing all the skills you value the most.”

  “Eric! He could kill you in a fucking eyeblink!” Alice hissed in their party link as the merc scowled.

  Eric’s smile didn’t waver. He didn’t even flinch.

  The merc before him snorted. “Pretty fucking mouthy for a fresh new classer, fragile as fucking glass.”

  Eric shrugged. “Hey, I’m just calling it like I see it. A bucolic low level hunting ground is no place for elites. And the more elites Queen Elonia gets working under her banner, the greater her prestige… and protection.”

  The merc’s cool smile matched Eric’s own. “Sure, kid. That’s what quality mercs are for. You hire us, we protect you. But we don’t do it for promises, and we don’t do it for cheap. And sure, maybe we can arrange something for credits or property, if you got nice villas you want to sweeten the pot with. But if you think we’re going to just hand over our land for a song and the promise of ‘mystical secrets,’ you got another thing coming.”

  Jack grimaced through his palor, having regained his senses. Yuki was also sitting up straight, despite the strain. She gazed down at a catatonic Marsha and shook her head in hopeless resignation. “Come on, Eric. There’s no point. Let’s just go.”

  Jack scowled. “No, this is just…” His gaze grew oddly desperate. “Look, it’s not bullshit. It’s not an act! You see me as level 0? Sure I am! But I was a half-step fiftieth level Spear Chucker just two days ago, struggling to condense my Core and ascend to something less pathetic than orc standard!”

  The merc frowned at this before his gaze filled with sudden disdain. “You’re lying. No artifact on a newly ascended world can strip your power! And even if it could… that you would be such a fool to do so makes it clear you were never worthy of those levels!” The man eyes blazed. “You think we who have ascended and broken through to Bronze would give up even one scrap of our power?”

  Yuki whimpered, even Eric sensing the man’s ire. Whatever hesitation he might have about harming what seem to be powerless and all too fragile teenagers was scorched in the heat of his alarm and contempt that there was even the possibility that he could lose his own potency, or that anyone would try to entice him to such stupidity. Eric could see it so clearly in the angry man’s violet gaze.

  Morlekai’s party link spiked with sudden alarm. Eric had the sudden sinking feeling that Alice’s desperate smile as she put on her seductress face, ready to slip out the levi… was the absolute worst move to make.

  “Relax, sugar. My Jackie was just making an offer. You don’t have to accept it. Hell, we’re all about offers, and I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot. So… maybe I can offer you something to make it right again?” She bit her rosebud lip and smiled.

  The man blanched and stepped back, eyes wide with knowing Eric wouldn’t have expected.

  “Get back in your veli now, succubus! Diplomatic envoy or no, you take one more step, and it will be the last mistake you ever make!” The merc snarled, plasma rifle glowing as a smiling Alice froze in dismay.

  “Alright!” Eric snapped, placing himself between blaster rifle and panicked friend, trying to break the sudden growing tension. “How much cold hard cash would it take you and your merc crew to leave this territory so we can hunt the fucking rabbits and deer in peace?”

  The tension spiked as the glaring Bronze radiating power and killing intent glared at the unarmed youth gazing at him so calmly. The wind blowing Eric’s locks as fiery blue eyes pinned the man’s own.

  Eric ignored his friend’s panicked party chat, keeping his breathing nice and slow.

  To his relief, the wild-eyed merc’s features calmed. His glare turned to a smirk.

  “Standing in front of a Mark III Hyperion Blaster? Are you insane? You’re one fucking ballsy kid. I’ll give you that much.”

  Eric shrugged. “I’m just here to parlay. Seeing as both my companions fumbled their diplomacy checks something fierce… time I resorted to the classic tactic all good gamers appreciate.”

  The man actually smiled. “Charisma dump stat with a wealth perk so you can bribe your way to the next phase of the game.”

  Eric grinned. “You better fucking believe it!”

  The man sighed, actually lowering his weapon.

  Alice collapsed in her brother’s arms in relief. Morlekai’s eyes were wild with fear and fury that he thankfully kept to himself.

  “Kid, Ashland’s four hundred square miles with a high-tech treasure. It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than a handful of credits for us to give this territory up, no matter how… bucolic and peaceful the delve might be.”

  Eric allowed himself a thoughtful nod, hiding the spike of relief he felt at the man’s characterization of what might be the greatest treasures on the planet. “Sure. I can appreciate that. So, what’s the nature of this high-tech treasure? Give me a good story, and maybe I can pitch it to the queen.”

  The man snorted. “Yeah, actually… it’s sealed.”

  Eric blinked, tilting his head curiously. “Sealed? What’s sealed inside?”

  The man furrowed his brow, rubbing his temple. “We don’t actually know.”

  Eric blinked. “But wait. You’re a high level, highly trained mercenary warrior with awesome-looking magitech gadgets and armor and cool laser rifles and all those sweet looking gadgets on your utility belt... and you can’t open the thing? Whatever it is?”

  This earned a sigh. “No.”

  Eric tilted his head. “Alright then… what value could it possibly have to us?” He shrugged. “I mean… if you can’t open it, what chance do we have?”

  “That’s actually a good point,” Yuki said with a half-smile. “We’re just in it for the rabbits.”

  “And the dear and all the other game we can hunt and feed our people with,” Eric quickly added before swallowing. “I mean, we should always be honest when we negotiate, right?”

  This earned an odd smile from the power-armored Bronze before them. “You really are new at this, aren’t you? All of you! And you have a succubus… and a fucking vampire?” His eyes widened with dismay as he took in a coolly glaring Morlekai.

  “Early alliances!” Eric quickly interjected. “Look, they haven’t bitten any of our party at all! Someone told them how bad it’s going to be for them in the wider galaxy if they win by devouring the native populations, so their coven is all about good behavior so they won’t be purged when Earth finishes ascension. Trust me. They’re the best allies low-levels like us could hope for, okay?”

  The man frowned thoughtfully. “Hell, kid, that’s the most logical thing you’ve said since we started talking.”

  “Sure! So, we want the hunting grounds. There’s a good chance that beasts in delves might actually be able to sustain vampire bloodlines better than surface beasts, and we’re willing to pay good money to find out if those hunting grounds will take care of the needs of both our factions. And if you can tell us what’s in the building, we’ll pay for that as well. Otherwise… if you or your boss could give Queen Elonia a price, if attending our magical Academy isn’t something you’re interested in… maybe we can still work out a deal?”

  The mercenary frowned thoughtfully at Eric for long seconds before jerking a nod. “Sure, kid. On the off chance you could possibly have enough to pay for it... Hold on a minute.”

  Eric listened carefully as high-pitched vocalizations filled the air.

  “Captain. Party of mixed human and necromantically aligned classers is interested in buying our hunting reserve. Unusual biometrics on all of them. Sending data and convo recording.”

  The man gave Eric a look. “You all stay here. We’ll have an answer for your queen shortly.”

  Eric nodded. “Sure. No problem.”

  Jack stared agape when the power armored anti-grav pack kicked in and the mercenary soared through the air back to wherever his base camp was.

  “Jeezus.” Jack then turned to glare at Eric. “You’re fucking crazy, you know that?” He then flashed a weak smile. “Putting yourself in front of the deadliest fucking blaster I’ve ever seen, radiating so much energy that I thought my brains would melt, and I still have a headache!”

  Yuki was gazing wide-eyed. “You got fuckin’ balls of steel, Eric. I’ll give you that much.”

  “Eric, he could have killed you!” Marsha’s alarmed voice was both touching and made Eric feel the tiniest bit guilty.

  “What would have happened if that tin can asshole had just shot us? And why didn’t he just take the…” Her words cut off when Morlekai’s hand covered her mouth, his glare silencing her instantly.

  Eric also gave her a pointed look, he silently gestured with his hand, revealing additional runes etched into the tactical packs.

  They were an art he had yet to incorporate into his Runic arts, yet it seemed that his blood magic was enough for him to at least make use of them.

  “What are those?”

  “Orc Shaman obfuscation sigils. I can copy them. I can use them as well, if I infuse them with the potency of my blood. But I know I’m being really inefficient. I don’t understand them well enough to make any variations or understand their fundamental components. Or at least, not yet,” he said with a sigh. “It’s something I should be taking the time to study, but somehow, there’s never any time.”

  Jack gave him a look. “How can you be worried about studying at a time like this? That Bronze-tier merc… he was Bronze, right?”

  Eric nodded. “No doubt.”

  “Yeah… what’s to keep him from bringing half a dozen of his closest friends and robbing us blind?”

  Eric smiled, pulling out one of the contracts that Morlekai had handed off to him. Just in case.

  “Turns out most mercenary companies take their contracts very seriously. If there seen willy-nilly slaughtering the natives, the natives are unlikely to want to hire them. That’s really bad for business, and even worse for their reputation on a galactic scale. Turns out that as corrupt and compromised as the powers-that-be are at allowing natives anything like a level playing field, one hard and fast rule is that mercs have to represent some faction, be fulfilling some sort of contract to do pretty much anything. They’re mercenaries for hire, and even asking for land is a stretch. Almost as much of a stretch as them having land grandfathered in, and they have to know that.”

  He scratched the back of his neck, taking a breath of spring fresh air, enjoying the scent of wildflowers on the breeze as he leaned against the levimobile. “On the other hand, if they have the chance to work for a powerful faction they have the possibility of earning both significant wealth and noble rank that’s then grandfathered into the System, they could ask for nothing better. Besides, if they’re stupid enough if they show themselves to be slaughter-happy bastards with no sense of honor at all, then Contenders like my sister will bite the bullet and hire other Bronze-tier companies that somehow ended up here to obliterate any assholes engaged in pointless slaughter.”

  Morlekai nodded. “Eric’s right. Even if mercenaries cannot be hired to slaughter natives without expending major capital in penalty fees, they can still be used as body guard units and to eliminate other Bronze-tier opponents.”

  Jack frowned. “You sure know a lot about this shit, Eric.”

  Eric shrugged. “What can I say? Word gets around.”

  “You really weren’t scared?”

  Eric chuckled. “Well I certainly wasn’t scared enough to let Mr. Hair Trigger shoot my freinds.”

  Yuki gave a sigh of relief. “So we were safe, then.”

  “Hardly,” Alice said with a brittle smile. “They could slaughter us, and no one would have batted an eye. Who cares about a handful of uppity idiots playing diplomats who are in way over their fucking heads?” This she said with a hard glare for a wincing Eric and Morlekai both. “Point is, no one’s going to wanna risk getting obliterated or shell out millions of credits trying to take these boys out, so long as any tin-head psycho keeps his kill count to scavengers and idiots and doesn’t, say, go complete murder-hobo and start attacking the nearest city or settlement.”

  Alice sighed. “So long as they keep their kill count within reason and don’t pick off anyone of importance… and especially don’t go trying to expand their territory since they’re not native-born Contenders… they can pretty much do whatever the fuck they want.”

  Yuki paled. “Okay, now I really wanna just get… fuck, they’re back!”

  His friend’s murmured conversation cut off with sharp spikes of anxiety and alarm so easily sensed as the air thrummed with mana and power. A trio of dots flying overhead, dark silhouettes against the clouds, rapidly became a trio of power armored eight foot tall figures thrummed to the ground, their arcane anti-grav packs a low whine to Eric’s Unified Perception.

  “Get in the car, Yuki! Eric, you too! I’ll floor this thing in three seconds if they get too—”

  Eric calmly shook his head. “No point,” he murmured. “You won’t have a chance in fuck of doing anything. A strong front is all we got.” He then crossed his arms an affected a nonchalant pose as the largest of the three figures, radiating the power of a deadly Bronze, approached, his visor sliding up to reveal ruby eyes peering thoughtfully from classically handsome features, free of the rugged imperfections that seemed so common in Bronze elites, no matter their monstrous Vitality.

  “Captain Arnor of the Blood Ravens. Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't obliterate you all where you stand."