One of the best treats I found in the summer kingdoms is made of raptor eggs and honey. The locals call this sweet Meringue, and there’s a premium version using honey left to soak for a century in a mana-rich environment along with eggs of manabeast raptors.

  — Excerpt from Around the Empire in Two Years

  Day 212, 5:01 AM

  The most important thing I learned in my loops as an aspiring scribe was that making anything too much of a focus would change my class. And Mageknight couldn’t be re-entered. I confirmed that with enough certainty never to play with it again.

  So, the level-up notification was really nice.

  [You have defeated an opponent more than one realm ahead of you.

  You have leveled up.

  Select a skill within sixty seconds or a random one will be assigned to you.

  Master Body Reinforcement - Your physique increases, transcending the confines of your realm.

  Expert Realm Sculpting - You sculpt your realm extraordinarily proficiently.]

  While Barb was smoking on the floor, I read my options. Another two-step increase, once more of skills I had. Unlike with other classes, which allowed me to catch up with missed opportunities, the mageknight class seemed focused, which was great. Better yet, Master Body Reinforcement was an upgrade to a skill I had before entering the class.

  As for the choices themselves, Initial Realm Sculpting was around a five percent boost. If expert went to fifteen, that was a nine and a half percent increase compared to what I had. While good, I hoped to lead a long life rather than one of race against time, since Redo would save me from the most critical errors which other awakened faced.

  Master Body Reinforcement, on the other hand, permanently improved my body and scaled with realm, compounding upon my strength. Power equaled resources, but resources without power were easily lost.

  I made my choice, and the world suddenly released its shackles on me. My body felt impossibly light and firm, like I could run through walls. My stats made me roughly four times as strong as an average person, my realm adding the strength of another ten to eleven regular humans. If my newest feat doubled that, which is the least I expected based on the sudden surge in strength, I could probably duke it out with an initial fifth realm mageknight or crush the same realm knight.

  All in all, I was a slightly stronger gnat than expected in the eyes of someone at the seventh realm. With my mana purity comparable to someone a realm beyond me, my only problems were my mind keeping up, and the amount of mana I had.

  Mage classes back on Everrain offered increased mana pool, so I could only hope. Besides, having eight elements effectively doubled my mana pool, matching someone a realm above me.

  I felt proud of being an especially tough gnat and checked my level-up condition.

  Sculpt your realm beyond your kind’s ability. Sounded preposterous, like something you should give up on, but I was fairly certain that even as it was, my realm was close to being beyond human limits. I just needed to push it a bit further.

  Something worth investigating. Another thing worth considering was my Anarchist class. My stupid plays with the law didn’t yield any result, and I think the reason is that the world only has one authority - the Emperor, and all others are a mere extension of their will. Their own private corruption wasn’t the corruption of the world’s sole authority. I could try bringing an injustice to their attention, but I don’t believe it would work.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  I knew what bastard BSD was, and I knew that to level up, I had to force a tenth realm mageknight, the strongest in the world, to obey my will and fix the injustice. Something I would never have dreamed of doing before reaching the peak of the ninth realm, since it was suicidal.

  But if forcing them through means other than force could work… It was an option worth testing once I had enough influence in the world to move royal families and to sway the public opinion. Possibly forcing them through the popular opinion would work as well, but I also needed to find a just cause, something the people would be sympathetic too.

  “Do you have a healing potion stashed somewhere?” I asked Barb. Could’ve mentioned I was a healer, but didn’t.

  “No,” the crisp human croaked.

  “All right, then. I’ll come by in a week or two to see about that seal you can teach me. Should I send Dolorna over?” I realized I had fucked up, but didn’t change the tone or pause at all. He could guess Dolorna introduced herself or something even if he had the spare capacity to consider how I knew the clerk’s name,

  “Yes,” he wheezed, and on my way out informed Dolorna that the guildmaster had suffered an accident at the proving grounds.

  The world was my oyster. I was looking for somewhere safe where I could unwind for a loop or two, and only one place came to mind. A moon of wasting manarium like there was no tomorrow passed, and with it some of the mental strain bled out of me, and I could go back to being a robot in the eyes of the world.

  The question was what to do as I left the scribes’ guild for the third time since incinerating the guildmaster.

  Four weeks had passed, and the memory of smoke leaving his mouth like in a cartoon still brought a smile to my face.

  All right, batteries recharged, what now? I was a decent enough blacksmith, herbalist, pharmacist, physician—learning proper magical healing seemed like a worthwhile cause. While I was at it, I decided to search out independent masters of various elements and throw money at them to help me refine my skills.

  Getting their names and locations was something for the rumor house, but buying such information with Redo on cooldown was out of the question. Who knows if there are any standing kill orders if someone pried into things they shouldn’t.

  The one person I could safely ask was Fivesnake.

  “An awakened healer? There are several.” He nodded as we walked around the clinic. “The best is Herald Brightshine.”

  “Is she related to the citylord?”

  “He’s her son.”

  I’m so glad I didn’t go to the rumor house!

  “He is a pure and innocent soul who helps those in need, but you have to pay off several people to get access to him, but if you’re desperate, he’s the best healer in a thousand miles, possibly more.”

  “Anyone else?”

  “Jade Tenson, she’s a fourth realm independent mage who runs the best hospital in the city. A close second pick to Herald. She’s approachable and expensive. Healing is a job to her, and she doesn’t do voluntary work. Considering how many seek her day and night, it’s no wonder. I think she works more than I do.”

  I followed his advice and an hour later found myself in front of a bright, shiny building with a large tropical garden surrounding it, despite the season. Runic seals kept the garden’s temperature pleasantly warm, with an artificial breeze carrying faint herbal scents.

  Most wouldn’t catch it, but there were a number of medicinal herbs revealed in that fragrant whiff. The whole place screamed wealth, and since I had manarium to spare, I confidently strode towards the main entrance.

  “Good day, Sir,” a first realm deck clerk greeted me inside a tastefully decorated lobby. “What can I do for you?”

  “I would like to schedule a meeting with the owner. I will pay as much as she asks for fifteen minutes of her time.” As I spoke, I couldn’t help but compare the palace I was standing in, built to heal the elite, with the one where the slummers went to die more often than anyone there would have liked.

  I always knew it, but the difference in how two opposites lived was startling. And this was a place for second, third, and fourth realm awakened to receive healing. What did the imperial palace look like?

  “Certainly, Sir, a short examination is one hundred second realm crystals paid upfront.”

  Well, forget that bit about second realm awakened being able to visit this place.

  I placed a third realm crystal on the counter, and she gave me nine pouches filled with change.

  “Please wait. Healer Tenson should be here shortly. Her next appointment is late.”

  I didn’t feel like sitting in one of the throne-like chairs, and instead stood in the corner. I expected Jade Tenson to be like Barb, advanced in age, possibly grouchy due to the nature of her work.

  When a stunning woman with raven hair, full breasts, and long legs walked over to the counter, I would have dismissed her, if not for the surging watery aura of a peak fourth realm awakened. She glanced at something, and without even exchanging words with the receptionist, she approached me.

  “Good day, sir,” she said with the same professional voice as her assistant. “I’m Healer Tenson, please follow me to my examination room.”

  She spun on her heel, and I followed without saying a word, my eyes pointedly not drifting down at her swaying hips as her legs ate up the distance to her office. While she was a beauty, I wondered what her personality was like.