“You’re back!” exclaims Jeff as I suddenly appear in the combat training ground within his Castle. He’s watching what’s going on with a few of his Knights, and when I look around at the strange combination of Camelot and Sci Fi that surrounds us I shake my head with a grin. Jeff’s taste is always unique and I never get tired of the surprises and weirdness.

  “It’s done, at least for the foreseeable future” I tell him. “One last thing to do before I rest.”

  The entire solar system is now under control, to the extent that it threatened Earth. There are still plenty of dangerous land-bound creatures on planets and moons, but nothing I can find with the ability to attack us directly. It’s been a mammoth task. It’s unbelievably good to finally feel that the Earth is secured for the future and humanity only seems to keep getting more powerful.

  The other Knights around us watching the training shift uncomfortably and I remember to dial everything down so they can relax. Five months of intense focus in combat with my senses and time slowed down by Perfect Focus, only occasionally taking the breaks I promised myself, has left me with some readjusting to do. This last segment of the trip I really pushed it and didn’t stop for almost a month, constantly driving myself to finish, especially when my new Skills accelerated the pace I can go at.

  I’m looking forward to a holiday soon, but it was well worth it!

  The constant combat against Monsters between Level 250 and 450, plus my XP bonuses and the way my Class works, have combined to get me eight Levels and skyrocket my power. I’ve continued to split my free Attributes between Constitution and Aura, and my Aura has climbed to almost 1500. The connection with Dark Mana and my ability to draw on it keeps increasing the higher my Aura goes and the more I use it. Five months of drawing on it continually to boost my Evolved Skills has left me in the place that I can feel it just under the surface all the time, a raging torrent in easy reach. My Health is now over 18000 and Stamina is twice that, giving me a massive pool to draw on, plus the Evolution of one of my Tier 2 Ascended Class Skills now basically gives me a roughly self-perpetuating destruction cycle against high densities of enemies.

  Tempest Siphon (Dark Mana Knight Skill - Tier 2) (Evolved)

  Driven by the incredible density of his core and the destructive energy at his command, the Dark Mana Knight is able to rip Mana and life force from his enemies.

  Synergies: Sentinel’s Fury

  Effect: an overwhelming flurry of attacks that siphons vitality from foes to boost the Dark Mana Knight and his allies

  Enhanced effect: the Dark Mana Knight can channel the vitality where he chooses

  Cost: 5000 Stamina

  The massive advantage I have of getting 4 Class Skill points per Level has meant I’ve been able to Evolve all my Tier 2 Skills already, and they give me powerful new options, mostly centered around combat and movement.

  Dimensional Step (Dark Mana Knight Skill - Tier 2) (Evolved)

  The Dark Mana Knight is a Universal force unto himself, bending space and time to be wherever he needs to be, powered by the deep energies within.

  Synergies: SMI, Omnipresent, Dimensional Manipulation Affinity

  Effect: allows instantaneous movement across distances and between planes

  Enhanced effect: can Step other beings for an increased Stamina cost

  Cost: 1500 Stamina

  Iron Mandate (Dark Mana Knight Skill - Tier 2) (Evolved)

  On the battlefield, the Dark Mana Knight reigns supreme and dictates terms, leveraging the power of the mind and flows of Mana.

  Synergies: Psychic Eruption

  Effect: enforces unbreakable laws on the battlefield as dictated by the user

  Enhanced effect: significantly increased ability to overcome defensive measures

  Cost: 15000 Stamina

  “You guys finish up here,” Jeff says to the Knights around him, mostly Mythic Class with a few high Level Advanced Classers. A powerful group that looks united and in good spirits. After a couple clarifications from Jeff, he gives me a tilt of the head and I follow him inside. We walk past some stables where not just horses, but all kinds of exotic animals are housed. Some of them look fierce but they seem calm enough at the moment and the facilities, like everything else a strange mix of medieval and sci fi, are clean and surprisingly the smells are muted; then again, with all the technological and magical wonders we have, am I actually surprised?

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Hey Bronwic,” says a tall, lanky Knight with blonde hair and a beard who looks like he’s built for speed. “Thanks for everything.” The rest of the group is nodding and watching me closely. For some reason this simple act of thanks hits me hard, maybe because I’m a bit ground down and haven’t been spending much time with people. It’s not the first thanks I’ve ever gotten of course, far from it. But coming from the Knights and right at this time all the struggles I’ve been through pile in on me a bit.

  “No worries. Thanks for what you’re doing too,” I tell them, then gesture to Jeff that we should get going. A bit more time to wind down is definitely in order. I follow Jeff behind us and to our right. We pass through the Great Hall with its towering stone pillars and ribbed arches. The walls are a mixture of smooth, ancient stone that truly looks like it’s from a proper historical castle. However, instead of torches or chandeliers, luminescent energy conduits line the surfaces and holographic banners showing the different Knight factions and various leaderboards hang. I see with interest that Brodie, the Reaper who’s accompanied us a few times, is at or near the top of almost every list from highest Level kills to number of invasions repelled and missions completed. All of Jeff’s former Drumheller Demons are in the top ten of most of them, but he’s not on any of the list. Maybe he’s exempted himself since I know for a fact that he’s killed Monsters with higher Levels than anyone on the list.

  The Great Hall has a symbolic round table in the middle with no chairs; it’s obviously just a symbol, but a powerful one that in some ways conflicts with the hanging holographic banners that rank people. Like most things in life, I guess everything’s a balance and many things can be true at once. Part of me feels like needling Jeff, but it’s so good to see him that there’s no energy behind it.

  We walk through to one of the rooms that’s got a lot of sturdy, comfortable furniture. There’s also a machine that I know from previous experience will construct any kind of food or drink we want with unmistakable accuracy.

  “Generating a lot of Credits now?” I ask Jeff as I gesture to the machine.

  “Got to keep my Knights happy!” he exclaims cheerfully. “Have a seat, dude. Take a load off.”

  I do as he says, since I’d like to take a load off. I feel happy and tired, plus maybe a bit jaded and affected by the last few months. I’m hoping a bit of a break can fix that.

  “How you going, Jeff?” I ask him as I crash down into an oversized, comfortable chair and put my feet up.

  “Fucking great, bro! It’s all good now. I mean, there’s still the occasional thing that’s really dangerous we have to go take care of, but mostly there are Level appropriate hunting Zones almost everywhere you go. Some new MIS Hubs have even started springing up in places near the higher Level Zones. They’re attracting lots of Crafters and Merchants to supply the high Level Adventurers that visit, or camp out to hunt and keep things under control. It’s been great for pushing people’s Levels up without exposing them to the kind of danger that gets them killed.”

  “That’s awesome to hear,” I say, and I mean it. This is what we’ve been striving for, what we’ve been through all the pain and suffering for - to get to this kind of a situation.

  “How are you holding up?” he asks with uncharacteristic seriousness. “I can see in your eyes it’s taken a toll, dude.”

  I take a deep breath in and blow it out.

  “Ok, I think! Nothing a bit of a break won’t fix. Five months of mostly fighting with Perfect Focus dialed up is more like five or ten years of elapsed time, and that’s a loooong time to be riding my Evolved Skills to the red line and then pushing them further. I’m tired, Jeff, and relieved that the job seems to be done. It’s what we wanted, finally here.”

  “Shit yeah! It totally is. Remember ambushing those Oblivion Shroud fuckers in Queenstown and then battling away all over the place, not even knowing if every fucking person on Earth was going to become some Galactic slave?” Jeff slices his hand across his body in the air like he’s decapitating someone. “I don’t miss that shit, except the satisfaction that we were punching them right in the mouth.”

  I laugh and can’t help but agree.

  “How the heck are we still alive?” I ask him, and pull some dried fruit and cheese out of my Inventory. With my levels of regeneration I’m never going to starve, but it’s still good to fuel up and I find it relaxing. Normal.

  “Your Class, dude. And all the messed up shit we got into that drove our Levels high enough. Most of the time, at least.”

  We both sit in silence for a bit, remembering Hvitserkur and Jon and so many others that died that day.

  “I’m going to go get him,” I say quietly to Jeff.

  “I figured,” he says, nodding slowly. Then he looks at me and grins. “Hope you don’t mind if I sit this one out.”

  “All good, mate. All good.”

  “You get anything that will help? I can’t even see your actual Level anymore.”

  “Yeah,” I answer, and deactivate my altered Status, then send over the notifications for Tempest Siphon, Dimensional Step, and Iron Mandate.

  Jeff whistles as his eyes flick through the notifications.

  “When do I get to see these in action?” he asks. “They look sick. I imagine Tempest Siphon does a shitload of damage? I can’t even figure out what Iron Mandate does.”

  “Tempest Siphon, yeah - a lot. It’s actually even better if I’m fighting in a Party because the vitality it drains gets passed to my whole Party and my regeneration is so high I don’t really need it. Iron Mandate is a full on psychological domination that can make a whole battlefield surrender, change my opponent’s formation or direction, or anything else I can think up. I’m still not sure of the limits of it are, since I was mostly fighting smaller battles with really high Level Monsters. And Dimensional Step gives me instantaneous movement anywhere I want to go.”

  “Think it will be enough?” he asks.

  “I’ll find out pretty quick, and I’m not intending on sticking around if it looks like it did last time. At least I’ll be on my own, and not rallying heaps of friends and allies to their deaths.”

  “That’s still not on you,” he says with a frown.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I reply with a wave. “I could leave and let live, Jeff. But I don’t want to. I want to kill that fucker even if he didn’t ask to get transported to Earth. I still see Jon’s broken head and body on those rocks in Iceland way too many times in my head. More than I’d like to admit. And Robb, and Kyle, and so many others.”

  “Ok. I get it.” He pauses for a while. “I think if I had the ability to try, I would too.”

  That makes me feel less like I’m doing the wrong thing because I can’t let go of it, and that’s something I really appreciate.

  “Time for a beer, though, before you race headlong into fighting one of the most powerful beings in the Universe again?”

  “Definitely! And when I get back, let’s talk about putting together a team to explore more planets for humans. Without the SSA and all the extra fluff this time.”

  “You better get your ass back here then. I absolutely, categorically forbid you to get killed, dude.”

  “Roger that,” I say with a salute.