“Shhh, don’t say that so loud,” Luke quickly whispered. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  Vanessa stared at him for a bit but then nodded. They walked down the steps and met the other five Jaegers in front of the shrines.

  Luke addressed them and said, “Today’s a core collection day. I want you all to get your bonus. Head west-northwest from here, clear out any monsters besides the slimes. Two hills past their territory is a small valley with red bark bushes. There are twenty or so Lightning Bats throughout the valley. Take it slow and let Bumblebee take the first shot with his Ice Bolt. Should be easy.”

  “Wait, how do you know what monsters are over there? They migrate all the time,” Shepard said.

  Luke gestured towards his magic drone that was floating by his side.

  Shepard grumbled and said, “Fine, we’ll try it your way this time.”

  The five of them jogged north to pick up the elemental weapons from Kruro before they headed out to hunt. Luke made a mental note to inscribe more of his own so his hunters could always be armed. Until they got to the village that squad only had Bumblebee’s arm mounted spell rifle for protection.

  After they left, Vanessa turned to him and asked, “Now can you tell me what that blue box is all about?”

  Luke nodded and started slowly walking north. Jinx phased out of the cat backpack and climbed up to his shoulder.

  “What you saw is the System of the World. It’s assessing you and at the end of the assessment period it will give you a magic class.”

  “I’m gonna get magic, for real? For real, for real?” Vanessa said, sounding fragile.

  “Yeah, but there’s a catch. You are going to have a fateful next few days. Literally. The system chooses people that are about to have crazy shit happen to them. How you respond determines what kind of class choices you get.”

  Vanessa looked around, as if she was expecting to get attacked at any moment. “What kind of crazy shit?”

  “It’s different for everyone. Kruro told me stories about this cobbler that made shoes for the king, this warrior that killed an earth elemental on his own, and this farmer that had a threesome for his first time. It’s not always violence, but it’s always interesting.”

  “What kind of class did that farmer get?”

  “She said he’s a clockwork sorcerer now. He had amazing timing to get the girls to agree, so he got a time related class.”

  “So if I blow up a dozen giant spiders, I might get a Fire Mage class?”

  “Maybe, or an explosion class, or an exterminator class. Think about what kinds of things you want to do with your magic and do that over the next three or four visits to Kalibutan. The assessment period pauses when you go back home to Earth.”

  “That’s so cool. So, can we go monster killing now?”

  “No. I have a meeting I need to get to and you don’t have any weapons. We are going to stay safe today.”

  “How am I supposed to get a badass class if I don’t do badass things?”

  “I’ll make you some weapons tomorrow, so you can kill monsters from a distance.”

  “Can you make me a fireball wand?” Vanessa asked and went up on her metal tiptoes to look him in the eyes.

  “You are focused on the fire thing, huh?” He gestured for them to start walking towards Bona Urbo. “I can’t make fireballs yet. I haven’t figured out how to make the Adept Fire rune yet. I can make you Ice, Lightning, and Buzzsaw spell rifles.”

  “You’ll have to show me the Buzzsaw bolt. Sounds exciting. But if you could figure out the fire rune in the next few days, your girlfriend would really appreciate it.” She blew him a kiss, which looked funny from a mech suit.

  “Is that what we are? Boyfriend and girlfriend? We haven’t really had that talk yet.”

  She looked away. “I wasn’t trying to make this more than it is. I know we’ve only been on four dates. It’s just that girlfriend is easier to say than one of the girls you are dating.”

  He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her back to him. “I wasn’t saying that’s a bad thing. You are the only girl I am dating and I would like to be exclusive. We just hadn’t talked about it yet.”

  She hopped up slightly. “I would like that, if you wanted. I know it’s kind of weird since you are my boss.”

  Luke forced a laugh. “Yeah, I think I’ll have to talk to HR about that. But as far as you and I are concerned. I would like to be your boyfriend.”

  She flipped up her helmet’s visor to reveal a large smile. “I wanna be your girlfriend too.”

  Luke flipped his visor up too and leaned in for a careful kiss. It wasn’t easy to avoid bumping metal and only bumping lips. And he really wished he could grab her butt right about now. “That’s settled then. We’ll have to do something fun tonight to celebrate.”

  She beamed up at him. “Great plan. First magic and wonder, then magic and wonder.”

  He laughed and they continued on towards the estate village. He sent out his magic drone to scout the way so they wouldn’t be caught by a monster ambush.

  ???

  “Come in, come in, Luke of Machines. I see you have brought two guests to our conversation. The animal and a lady,” Seer Theobaldine said.

  He was sitting in his office midway up the skyscraper tree in the middle of Bona Urbo. The floors higher than this one were reserved for minor elvish aristocracy. The dozen rooms of metal and glass that made up the canopy of the tree were all reserved for Lord Edobar and his family.

  Theobaldine sat at a round table near the window. The morning light bounced off his opaline skin and threw a prismatic sheen over the room. Like the other dwarves he had seen, the Seer seemed to love decorating with plants. There were dozens of them in this one room. He gestured for them to sit where there were a variety of foods laid out. The table was low enough that there was no way they could stay in their bulky exo-armor.

  Luke ignored the power move and brightly said, “Yes. My cat is Jinx, she’s the one with the magic class I wanted to ask you about. This is my girlfriend, Vanessa. I hope you don’t mind if she joins us.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “After you so graciously provided the spices for the meal, how can I say no?” the Seer said with false sincerity.

  Luke thanked him and knelt down in the corner of the room. He opened up the leaves of his power armor and climbed out, Vanessa following his example. Both of them wore the same padded blue pilot suits, and Luke felt under-dressed. He made sure to bring his cell phone to the breakfast table since it was the only way they could communicate.

  “Would you like to switch to Grunka?” Luke offered since they had been speaking elvish so far.

  The Seer gave him jazz hands and said something in the dwarvish language. Luke recognized the word for yes in the harsh language and pressed a button on the translation app. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me this morning.”

  Luke tried not to wince at the translation the cell phone spat out. The guttural language sounded like someone had kicked them in the throat and then insulted the speaker’s mother.

  “Of course. I am always happy to have a vibrant meal with Earth spices. I gave my chef your packet yesterday and he has been working all morning,” Theobaldine said and gestured towards the far corner of the room.

  An elf that Luke hadn’t noticed before moved forward and delivered four bowls to the table, one in front of each person and one for the cat. He placed a long stick near each bowl and then returned to the corner. It must be a status symbol to have an elf work for him.

  There were six dishes on the table, arranged family style. There was a bowl of spiced nuts, one of vegetables, and four of different kinds of meats.

  “Please, help yourself. I don’t expect you to replicate the proper ceremony,” the Seer said and gestured with his utensil. “By the way, congratulations on your ascension to level six. I will have to mention it to Lord Edobar when I meet with him later today. I’m surprised that Seneschal Cormac failed to mention it. It seems like he has been slipping in his duties recently.”

  Luke slashed his hands down. “The Seneschal mentioned that he was going to inform Lord Edobar yesterday. Perhaps the lord didn’t care to spread that fact around yet.”

  “Perhaps. Eat up,” Theobaldine said and gestured to the food again. He frowned as he served himself.

  Luke used his stick to spear and collect foods from each dish. He made sure not to get too much even though he was hungry. Humans could eat anything that the residents of Kalibutan ate, however, they often got severe indigestion when trying out new foods. He also made sure to dish up some food for Jinx. One of the meat dishes was raw and lightly spiced so she would probably like that.

  “Psspss, you can eat too,” Luke said to his cat and tapped the bowl.

  Jinx hopped up on the table. She ignored the bowl Luke had made for him and wandered around the table. She gave the various foods a sniff before coming back to the one Luke had made up for her.

  “See, I know what I’m doing,” Luke said to her.

  “Does she understand you already?” Theobaldine said as he served himself.

  “I don’t know. Cats are considered non-sentient pets on Earth. I’ve always talked to her, but it seems like she can understand me more every day.”

  “Her intelligence will grow with her class. She is a level three Spectral Stalker. After she reaches level six or twelve, she should be able to understand your intent perfectly. Unless you bond with her, you won’t be able to understand her though.”

  “Bond with her? Don’t you need to be a Beastmaster to bond with an animal?”

  “That is what their class does, yes. But there are a variety of ways to bond with Jinx if you are only going to have one animal companion. You could visit the estate west of here, Fekundaj Kampoj. They have a Hoard Tender there that could complete the bond for you. That would likely be very expensive since they guarantee their work. Alternatively, you could purchase a relic and gamble on a successful bond.”

  “What’s a relic? I’ve only heard of mana cores,” Vanessa said.

  He smiled and leaned closer. “Relics are objects created by the System of the World. They are magical objects in the form of tools, artwork, or weapons. Others attribute intelligence to the system because of the way the relics appear after a great deed is completed, but that is mystical thinking. The truth is the confluence of mana in the area replicates an object from our culture with a random effect. Mimicry is not intelligence,” he said firmly, stabbing another chunk of meat.

  Luke ate as they talked, each bite an adventure. Since the spices came from Earth, there were familiar flavors, but the way they were combined and the food they were placed on was all new. The vegetables tasted like pickles and peanut butter. The dark blue meat tasted like bacon and soy sauce. The little red balls were his favorite, tasting like chocolate and feta cheese.

  “Why haven’t I seen a relic before? I’ve been doing great deeds around here for a bit,” Luke asked idly.

  “This is a low mana area, relics don’t appear often around here. You would have to kill an apex monster or unblock a major ley line to have a chance at a relic around here. I imagine Cormac collected a relic after he killed the Prismatic Hydra.”

  “I was there with him when he killed it. I didn’t see any relic.”

  “Perhaps the Seneschal didn’t care to spread that fact around. Relics take a while to form.”

  “How long does it take?”

  “About a day. It needs sun and moon light to form. The Seneschal likely returned this morning to collect it.” the Seer said calmly.

  Luke couldn’t stop a frown from forming. Cormac hadn’t mentioned that at all. He probably wasn’t going out to collect the relic himself, not with his cracked core, but Luke bet his grandson was on his way out there now.

  Theobaldine’s smile grew at the sight of Luke’s frown. The Seer schooled his expression when Vanessa gave him a sharp look.

  “Could we please talk about Jinx?” Vanessa said sweetly. “Luke is concerned about her new powers and how to deal with them.”

  Luke nodded. “I’m worried about her getting into danger. I can’t keep her safe anymore now that she can walk through walls.”

  Theobaldine glanced at Jinx again, who was curled up in Luke’s lap now. “Your animal is growing and developing. She is her own beast now. You can’t keep her in place by force, only by persuasion. You can provide entertainment and treats, enough to keep her occupied in safety. As she grows to understand you more, you can convince her to stay safe with your words. However, that would be a mistake at this point.”

  Luke stroked her fur and said, “A mistake? Why’s that?”

  “Because she is only level three. She needs to grow herself and her skills through combat. I recommend you bring her with you, give her the opportunity to fight the weak monsters by your side. It is the only way a predator like her will grow and develop. She will never understand you if she never levels up.”

  Luke looked down at Jinx. It hurt to even consider putting her into danger like that. He loved his little fluff ball. Not so little anymore, actually.

  He had to think about what was best for her. If she was going to get out and fight monsters either way, it would be best if he was there with her. The Seer’s advice wasn’t really surprising, Luke had just hoped that there was some solution he didn’t know about yet.

  Towards the end of the meal, Luke remembered there was one more thing he wanted to discuss with the Seer. How to lure Hive Wolves into a trap. They were smart enough to avoid any of the traps Luke had thought of.

  Since he couldn’t mention Hive Wolves without making Cormac look bad, Luke said, “When Jinx is smart enough to talk with me and understand complex concepts, what dangers will she still have. I’m thinking of what kind of pitfalls would a high level beast still be vulnerable too?”

  Theobaldine gave him jazz hands. “Thinking ahead, good, good. A bonded beast will be a valuable asset in most situations, but you are right, there are some situations where they could be caught out. If a member of their species goes into heat, they often lose the ability to reason and fall to their mating instincts.” He tapped his chin. “Also, most beasts will always be interested in mana. If you have a cracked mana core, the smell will drive them wild with desire.”

  “Would that be a good lure for monsters too? A cracked core?”

  “Perhaps, but it would be a wasteful lure when you could simply alert them to your presence and have them chase you into any trap you have set up.”

  Luke gave him jazz hands and went back to eating. Sounds like a cracked core would be the perfect bait for the Hive Wolves.

  Once they were done, he thanked Theobaldine for the meal and the advice and they climbed back into their power armor. As they walked down the spiral staircase around the building Vanessa cleared her throat.

  “So are we going to go look for that relic?” She asked.

  “No, of course not. It’s miles away through a monster ridden forest. Before I take you out, we’ll give you training, weapons, and have a whole crew to protect you.”

  “You don’t have to baby me. I signed up to be a monster hunter. Let me hunt monsters.”

  Luke shook his head. “It isn’t just that I want my girlfriend to be safe. Although I admit that is part of it. All new employees are going to be safe. This is a dangerous job, we aren’t going to risk anyone’s life by rushing into things.”

  They walked back to Kruro’s workshop to see if she had completed any more mech suits. As they walked up to the runewright’s building, they saw Shepard and his crew standing outside. Bumblebee wasn’t with them.