I stared at the small golden crack that had opened in my soul tree, it pulsed slowly. Silver sap bled down from the crack like a fresh wound. My chest tightened. I turned to Lawson, my voice barely more than a whisper. “What have I done?”

  Lawson stepped closer, his expression unreadable, and reached down to help me to my feet. The moment his hand touched mine, warmth surged through me. I felt the cold that I hadn’t even realized had been around my bones recede, and the searing pain that had been tearing through me dulled to a heavy ache at the back of my mind.

  Behind us, the vast chamber of my inner soul was still and silent, the air filled with a faint shimmer of drifting motes of light. The crack in my tree shivered, then closed slightly, as if soothed by his presence.

  “You’ve overstressed your soul,” Lawson said quietly.

  I swallowed hard, eyes flicking between him and the glowing fissure. “Can it be healed?”

  “Yes,” he said, folding his arms. “This one will mend in a few days. But continued use of that new Talent, Regalia, combined with your Limit Breaker Slash will eventually form cracks that won’t be repairable.”

  A chill ran through me despite the warmth he’d given. “What do I do then?”

  Lawson’s gaze softened, though his tone remained firm. “Your class and soul are… unusual. They allow you draw from several attribute pools at once, enhancing your attacks far beyond what your level should allow.”

  "Isn't that a good thing? I asked.

  Lawson sighed, shaking his head. “It is," he said, then pointed at my tree. "But even a class and soul designed to do what you do will eventually break if stressed too far."

  Before he could continue, I felt a tug, my body shifting in the real world. My vision blurred, the soul?realm threatening to slip away.

  Lawson’s hand clamped down on my shoulder, steadying me. “Calm yourself. Balt is with you. He’s moving you into the village as we speak. But right now, we need to fix some things, and I need your full attention.”

  I forced myself to breathe, to trust him, to trust Balt. The panic ebbed, and I refocused.

  “Your class is called Limit Breaker,” Lawson continued. “And it is true to its word. That alone would be fine. But your desperation to grow strong enough to face a foe so far above your level has shaped your System’s Talent growth. That’s why the System gave you Talents like Regalia.

  Lawson raised one hand, palm flat, and with the other pointed above it. “On the surface, yes. You just defeated a mini?boss over twenty levels higher than you, in under a minute.”

  Then he lowered his finger beneath his palm. “But beneath the surface, your soul and body cannot withstand the strain of Limit Breaker Slash and Regalia together. Even with your sound foundation, the cracks will spread. And if we continue down this path without a solution…”

  His eyes met mine, unflinching. “…you won’t break your enemy. You’ll break yourself instead.”

  The truth of the words resonated with me. My need to get stronger, the constant overpowering moves that left me out of energy. I had fixed up some areas with my Aura training and actual sword forms, but I was still a glass cannon at my core.

  “What can I do?”

  Lawson placed both hands on my shoulders and locked eyes with me. “You are a good man, Riven. You help people without thought of reward, and I, for one, believe you will save that Dungeon world when you return. If I can help you overcome this problem, I will. That’s why I’ve asked the System as an Overseer to make an exception. The System will allow you to access the System Store while you are still in the Tutorial.

  My eyes widened. Balt and I had talked about the store often. He’d said you could find anything there if you had the credits. But only certain hubs in the Tutorial allowed access, and we had been nowhere near one.

  Lawson’s voice dropped, deliberate and measured. “You will have access to purchase a Passive Talent called Resilience. It is a legendary passive. You will pay every credit you currently have for it, and you will owe the System ten percent of every credit you earn until you repay the ten million debt. I’ve already set up the exchange. All you have to do is...”

  “Ten million?!” I cut him off, the words exploding out of me.

  Lawson smirked, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. “That is a heavily discounted price that only a System Champion qualifies for.”

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  I blinked, trying to wrap my head around it. I didn’t fully understand credits as currency yet, but that number sounded higher than an eagle's ass. Still, the more I thought about it, the more my panic ebbed. Ten percent of future earnings wasn’t actually that bad.

  What Lawson didn’t know was that back in America, a single man’s taxes were far higher than that. Hell, compared to that, this deal was practically charity. No interest. No hidden fees. Just ten percent of my future income for a Talent that would keep me from killing myself with my own class mechanics.

  A grin tugged at my lips. “I’m in.”

  Lawson’s smirk faltered. His arms dropped to his sides as he studied me, his expression caught somewhere between disbelief and amusement. “I have to admit, I thought you’d panic a little more than that.”

  I shrugged, then launched into a quick explanation of my world’s tax system. As I spoke, Lawson’s face twisted in mounting horror.

  “My goodness,” he muttered when I finished. “That’s… mugging. Mugging with extra steps.”

  I barked a laugh and shook my head. “As good a description as I’ve ever heard.”

  Lawson pointed toward my anchor, his expression neutral. “Activate it. A prompt will appear to take you to the System Store. You will have limited access, but it will give you access to get what you need.

  I did as instructed, pressing my hand against the anchor. A faint hum vibrated through my palm, and a translucent prompt shimmered into existence above it, an icon shaped like a small shopfront.

  I willed the answer, and the word Yes lit up.

  Instantly, a flood of text scrolled into view above the anchor, cascading like a waterfall of glowing script. My eyes darted across the words; terms and conditions, restrictions, and the exact details Lawson had already warned me about. I scrolled to the bottom, heart pounding, and pressed Accept.

  A sound like breaking glass echoed in the chamber, and then light flared all around. The air rippled in front of me, and from the ripple a book materialized, heavy and bound in silver?etched leather. I snatched it before it could fall, the weight solid in my hands.

  Behind me, a chair appeared out of nothing, its form coalescing from strands of light. Another manifested across from me, where Lawson promptly sat, crossing one leg over the other with casual ease.

  “Alright,” he said, gesturing to the seat. His grin was sharp, almost mischievous. “Take a load off, open it up, and let’s get this party started.”

  I set the book on my lap, its cover warm beneath my fingers. The moment I cracked it open, blinding light spilled out.

  Knowledge flooded into me. Not words, not lessons, but raw understanding, sinking into my bones, threading through my veins, etching itself into the very core of who I was. My soul tree shuddered in response, the golden crack glowing brighter briefly, then dimming as the new power wove itself into the fracture and every aspect of my soul tree.

  I gasped, clutching the edges of the book as the torrent of energy surged higher. My muscles trembled, my vision swam, and I briefly thought I might be torn apart. Then, just as suddenly, the storm settled, leaving behind a feeling of steady, unshakable strength in my chest.

  A translucent message burned across my vision:

  The words lingered, before fading into the ether. I exhaled slowly, the ache in my chest easing, replaced by a deep, enduring steadiness. I felt, for lack of a better word, sturdy. I focused on my new talent and read the Lore text, and it was the longest one I had ever seen.

  Across from me, Lawson leaned back in his chair, a small, knowing smile tugging at his lips. “Now,” he said, voice calm but edged with satisfaction, “we can begin.”