Matt felt a familiar sensation on his wrist. The same wrist with the sign that had appeared when he had first learned [Mend]. He took a look only to see the previous one getting rearranged into something else.

  Lines appeared, others disappeared, and some bent to form completely different shapes. It was fascinating to see as the green shimmer danced on his wrist, only for it all to come to an end a few seconds later, giving way to a brand new sign.

  What had been a serrated knife blade had turned into what resembled an inverted table with three lines coming out of the tabletop and to the bottom of the circle.

  Author note: this webnovel is freely available on Royal Road. Please support the author by reading only on that site.

  He’d been wondering about what any of it meant, and thankfully, he had someone willing to answer his questions, or at least some of them.

  “Hey Tara, do these signs that you get when you learn a skill mean something?” He asked.

  “Everything in the system means something,” Tara answered cryptically.

  “Okay…? And…?” Matt questioned the cat who had decided not to clarify further.

  “And you’re tier 9. That’s tier 6 territory,” she replied unhelpfully.

  “I’m not asking for a course, just an explanation of what it does, or means,” Matt pestered, refusing to let it go.

  Tara sighed. “Fine. It’s a skill’s engraving. It’s a representation of a skill’s pattern of origin. Tier 6 is when you can withstand altering a skill’s origin and core pattern to better fit your path,” she explained in as little detail as possible.

  Yet that had been enough, as Matt’s eyes shone with excitement at the thought of being able to alter his skills. “How do I do that? What do I need to get started?” he asked excitedly.

  “You need to make it to tier 6. Preferably alive,” she answered, refusing to budge.

  “Even as my gift?” Matt tried to bargain with the cat.

  “You want your gift to be information you won’t be able to use for decades to come and will probably find out on your own anyway?” she questioned, looking at him like he was an idiot.

  “You don’t know that. I could find a use for it,” Matt defended his idea.

  “You can’t. It’s impossible. You would die, and not even in a spectacular way. Ever heard of the term? Dying?” she mocked, refusing once more. “Stop overestimating yourself and trying to outsmart systems that have been in place longer than your little planet, that’s how you end up with a short, uneventful life. Even shorter than that of a normal healer,” she scolded, mumbling that last part.

  “Geez, fine. It was just curiosity, it never killed anyone,” he muttered, raising his hand in mock surrender, before chuckling at what he felt was a witty joke.

  Tara either didn’t know or chose to ignore it as she simply gave him a look that questioned his sanity. “Well, at least you seem to be in a better mood now,” she commented before asking. “Ready to continue?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” he answered, jumping up to his feet. “By the by, where did Kara go?” he couldn’t see her anywhere and was wondering where she had gone. She seemed to disappear when things had calmed down between him and Tara.

  “Her residence, tending to her fur,” Tara answered, as she tapped the still passed out Lara with a paw which resulted in a shimmering ball of, what he guessed was mana, covering her, and carrying her prone body towards the lake at the center of the temple.

  Magic truly is amazing, he thought, staring at what looked like a flying cat in amazement before following Tara, who was already a few steps ahead of him.

  “So, should we get back to the whole Lara thing?” Matt reminded the cat.

  “Right, auras and presences,” she answered tentatively. “Simply speaking, a presence is a representation of someone’s power. The more powerful you are, the stronger your presence will be. A lot of things can affect it, but once again, you’re tier 9. When you become an Adept at tier 7 you’ll have some control over its manifestation, and thus better understanding overall,” she explained.

  The only thing that caught Matt’s attention was her talk about the tiers. “Wait, so you guys are tier 7s?” he asked, surprised that the cats were 2 tiers above him.

  Tara chuckled. “Oh, please, who do you think we are?”

  Matt breathed out in relief. He didn’t know the difference between tiers, but he had gotten a huge boost when he went from tier 10 to 9, so being 2 whole tiers up would’ve meant they were leaps and bounds ahead of him, and not only in power.

  “We are Guardians, in both title and rank,” she finished.

  Matt’s eyes went as wide as saucers on remembering that Guardian was the name of a tier. He quickly opened his status to double check, his fears soon realized.

  Tier 10 - Unknown

  Tier 9 - Initiate

  Tier 8 - Novice

  Tier 7 - Adept

  Tier 6 - Guardian

  Tier 5 - Champion

  Tier 4 - Master

  Tier 3 - Grandmaster

  Tier 2 - Supremacy

  “You’re tier 6?” he finally asked in evident disbelief.

  “We are guardians. I’m not sure where the surprise is coming from. It couldn’t have been more obvious,” Tara responded, astonished that it had taken him this long.

  “I thought it was just a title… like the skeleton fish…” Matt muttered, trying to refocus. “Wait, why can’t I feel your presence then?” he asked.

  “Because I’m controlling it,” she explained, before adding, “walking around and blasting your presence is rude. It’s mostly a tool of intimidation, or to project power.”

  “Lara had directed some of hers onto you, but your high Spirit and Willpower, along with your willingness to die for nothing, had made you able to resist her presence,” she explained. “She increased the intensity, you resisted, she got pissed and added an aura of intimidation and one of terror to her presence, effectively turning it into a tier 8 attack.”

  Matt was laser-focused on every word Tara was saying. Information was a luxury for someone like him, and right now anything could be the difference between living and dying in a future encounter.

  “You continued to resist, damaging your soul in the process, which turned what would’ve been a minor punishment for Lara, to… well, what you saw,” Tara finished her explanation, eyes shifting towards him as he processed all what she’d just said.

  “Is she gonna be okay?” Matt asked, causing Tara's eyes to widen in surprise ever so slightly. She must’ve thought I held a grudge or something, he said to himself.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Nothing permanent. She should be awake soon but will remain weakened for a while,” Tara answered.

  Matt simply nodded. He didn’t hate the annoying cat. She was annoying and a brat, but he didn’t feel like she had tried to harm him. He probably had done so himself by resisting like his life had depended on it, but he also couldn’t let her think she could get away with intimidating or bullying him.

  Bullies were the worst. He had spent a lifetime bowing and avoiding confrontation. Letting the worst of the worst walk all over him and get away with it.

  It was a different life… a different time. He had tried since to be different himself. To stand his ground. To be proud of the life he led. To never bow down or let people walk all over him. Which was why he had pushed himself so hard. He might not have been in any danger, but his whole being would’ve collapsed if he had bent that knee, or shifted his gaze. He could feel it deep in his bones. Right now he was holding on by a thread, the thread of being stubborn. If that last thread snapped, he feared he would just revert to his old self of cowering in fear.

  Guess I still have a long way to go… he said inwardly, only for Tara’s words to break him out of his thoughts.

  “You’ll also receive increased rewards in the reward room as an apology. The temple is a safe room under the protection of the goddess and the pharaoh, which is why Lara received such a harsh punishment,” Tara elaborated.

  Matt instantly perked up upon hearing there would be more rewards, which made him wonder. “How much longer? It feels like we’ve been walking for an hour.”

  Tara smiled at that. “I’m glad you asked. We’ve actually been here for a while, I just… extended our walk so as to not interrupt the conversation,” she simply said, not elaborating further.

  Magically extending a walk was not something he had expected to happen when he had woken up earlier that day, but neither was anything that had happened so far, so he simply chose to let it go and focus instead on the important part.

  It was finally loot time, he thought with a smile, rubbing his palms in anticipation.

  True to her word, Tara pointed towards the large slab of stone next to them. “Your compass is the key. Touch the door with it and it’ll recognize the signature,” she told him.

  Matt did as he was told, taking off his new makeshift necklace and touching the wall with it.

  A tense second passed with nothing happening before lines of blue light extended from where he had placed the compass, lighting up the rectangular slab of stone. A breath later, a grinding sound echoed as the makeshift stone door slowly opened, revealing a sight Matt hadn’t expected to see in an ancient Egyptian temple.

  “You do know that this room isn’t historically accurate,” Matt stated, leaning his head towards Tara, never taking his eyes off the room.

  Tara did the same as she answered. “If you’d prefer an accurate, uncomfortable room, that could be arranged.”

  Matt snapped his head towards Tara, who was now grinning at him. “Touché,” he simply said before turning his head back towards the room.

  “Also, you’re still limiting your own perspective,” she added. “Bastet is an actual goddess with genuine powers and real followers across the initiated and uninitiated universes. The room is accurate. It’s just not one from your own planet,” she finished explaining.

  Matt honestly hadn’t given it much thought. He was never a believer himself, so it hadn’t mattered to him before, but even now, after discovering gods did indeed exist, he felt like nothing had changed for him. He had never received any help, guidance, or protection from any of them, so he had no reason to revere, thank, or worship said deities. At least that was how he saw it.

  Still, even if he wasn’t a believer, he had to keep an open mind. While he might not be the receiver of any help nor protection, others might. And whether that person was a friend or foe, Matt had to be ready, even if it did create its own set of problems.

  “Sounds like a problem for future Matt,” he muttered, taking a step into the room.

  The reward room was… incredible. It was way larger than it had any right to be. While the distance between the different slabs of stones on the outside had been around twenty feet, the room itself was double that in width alone. Lengthwise, on the other hand, it seemed to extend endlessly.

  Flickering torches illuminated the room as rectangular tiles covered the floor, placed at an angle, where their sandy color seemed to darken and lighten at different points, creating a beautiful contrast.

  The walls continued to resemble the temple’s, as beautiful carvings, drawings and reliefs adorned it, depicting Bastet doing… everything. From the mundane, like simply walking amongst the populace, to more spectacular scenes, like her standing against an army of hundreds of humanoid figures that resembled nothing he had ever seen. It was magnificent in its beauty, and so was the rest of the room.

  Podiums with different display cases stood in front of the walls. An endless row of them, all proudly presenting the treasure that they held.

  Towards the center was a set of beautifully carved wooden chairs, each with its own set of very comfortable-looking pillows, and in front of it was a large nine foot tall stone tablet.

  Next to the seating area were two fountains depicting a smiling Bastet, pouring liquid from a jug and into a chalice held by a kneeling man. One was pouring a translucent liquid, and the other, a dark red one.

  It was a beautiful sight. One that seemed to repeat every hundred or so feet.

  “If this room was an option, why didn’t we hang out here in the first place?” Matt was flabbergasted at the thought that he could’ve been relaxing here with a nice cup of what he assumed was wine, living his best life, instead of sitting on stairs and walking endlessly in empty halls.

  “You never asked,” Tara simply stated.

  Matt closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel the onset of another headache, but he still had to ask. “How was I supposed to know that this room existed?”

  “You weren’t,” was Tara’s answer.

  Matt simply stared at the walking feline with absolute incredulity. “Fucking cats man,” he muttered, loud enough for Tara to hear, who surprisingly enough chose to ignore it.

  For his part, Matt had decided to focus on the positives and not dwell on the fact that he was expected to ask about something he had no idea existed. “So, anything I should know or do?” he questioned, trying to find out whether there was something else he was missing.

  “Nothing special,” Tara simply shrugged. “You can peruse the different display cases, or you can sit and read using the stone tablet,” she continued. “The clear fountain is water from the crystal lake, and the red fountain is wine from Lady Bastet’s own collection,” she added, emphasizing the last point.

  Matt, not needing to be told twice, started moving towards the set of chairs. “Can’t say no to wine from the goddess’s own collection now, can I?” he grinned before sitting down on the sturdy-looking chairs, slightly surprised at how comfortable they were.

  Tara motioned for him to pick the chalice held in the hands of the kneeling man, which he did–another chalice appearing in its place almost immediately–before taking a sip.

  Matt wasn’t really an avid drinker, usually only partaking in social events, but it was safe to say that the wine in the chalice was the best wine he’d ever tasted. It felt so silky and smooth as it went down, with the freshness of the fruit not lost amidst the fermentation. It was spectacularly addicting that he had to remind himself not to over indulge as to not cloud his own judgement. He should be fine with a couple of cupfuls though… probably.

  Satisfied, he sank into the comfy pillows, feeling their soft embrace on his tired and weary body, before finally taking a look at the stone tablet. And there was a lot to look at.

  The tablet had two columns, each with fifty different items arranged alphabetically, and upon reaching the bottom of a column, the list scrolled up, revealing even more items, which was beyond ridiculous. “There must be at least 300 items in here,” Matt muttered.

  “384,” Tara stated, as a chalice flew to her lying form on the chair opposite his.

  Matt ignored the odd sight of a floating chalice and focused on the first item on the list.

  Ale of a Thousand Minds (uncommon)

  Consumable

  Item quantity: 6

  Recommended race: Dwarves

  Recommended class: Any

  An ale developed by dwarf king Bernar Greybeard to help his scholars and engineers overcome mental exhaustion. Drinking this ale elevates one’s mind to a higher realm, removing any and all limitations for a short period, followed by an intense hangover that could last for many days. The concentration and strength of the alcohol in this ale makes it poisonous to non-dwarves.

  Use with caution.

  Definitely not touching that with a ten foot pole, Matt thought as he read the description.

  Even if he saw no value in the item for him, it was still information and knowledge that he never had access to before. Knowing that something like this existed was eye-opening all on its own, even if the irony of his current situation, where he sat on a chair drinking wine only for the first item to be booze, wasn’t lost on him.

  Altar of Demonic Sacrifice (rare)

  Recommended race: Demons / Any if class is Warlock or Ritualist

  Recommended class: Any if Demon / Warlock or Ritualist if not Demon

  An altar with hidden demonic powers. If an offering is sacrificed on the altar, the demonic powers hidden within will keep the sacrifice pained and agonized, unable to die for the duration of the ritual or the sacrificial process, significantly increasing the odds of success.

  “And that is why you don’t let people pick their own rewards, coz then some sick person could end up with shit like this,” Matt complained, horrified at the implications an item like this presented.

  “The altar?” Tara, who was relaxed on the chair drinking wine, asked.

  “That’s a straight out torture device. Why does something like this even exist?” he asked, shuddering at the thought.

  “Because someone needs it,” Tara simply answered, wholly unbothered.

  “And that’s enough of a reason?” he asked, the notion no less appealing.

  “It is.”

  That seemed to quiet Matt for a bit. He wasn’t gonna pretend he was a beacon of righteousness, yet he still believed that people should be able to live their best lives, and when it was their time, to die with dignity, which was why this item bothered him so much.

  He knew the system wasn’t a bright and peaceful place where you lived happily ever after, but items like this altar really hammered in the disturbing reality of things, that in the pursuit of power, some would stop at nothing to reach their goals.