“Rose, when I tell you, grab your brother and run,” I hissed.

  She hesitated. “Grind—”

  “As if running would save you,” the Core whispered, licking his unsettlingly bright lips.

  Junior squirmed. “Don’t do that.”

  “My lips are chapped.” The Core stated. Then he had a cup in his hand. “Thank you.”

  Where did he get that from? Had he moved that fast, or did he summon one?

  I realized the cup was gone.

  So far I hadn’t sensed any magic. And monsters don’t have inventories.

  That…was bad. That was really, really bad.

  The Core reclined on the couch, rubbing his hands together. With every movement, his skin paled and his eyes faded, until he much more closely resembled his true self.

  “Now, as I was saying, you have to be very careful with the wording of a promise, especially in the second area.” He held up four hands, making finger quotes and sign language. “When you say, ‘don’t move,’ for instance, I could interpret that as ‘don’t change the fixed location of your center.’ This would make sense as you move a very small amount while breathing during your turn. So, I may move my arms. And if that arm happens to detach itself from its body and then grows another body which buys a suit and wanders up to your apartment, well that’s all fine because my core is actually right where I’ve left it.”

  “How did you find this place?” I asked. “Did you follow us?”

  “The union keeps a record,” the Core chuckled. “Not that I needed it. You have a certain stench about you, my good sir.”

  Well, I haven’t showered in this lifetime, and I tend to get a lot of sweat and blood on my clothes—

  And now I’m self-conscious about how I smell. Great.

  “That wording goes double for the whole ‘you can’t fight anyone until it’s your turn” point of yours,” he continued. “If I punch somebody for no reason, is that fighting? What if I kill them in a single blow, before they strike back? What if I don’t do damage? There’s too many holes in such an important piece of reasoning.”

  Was he being serious? One move of his and everyone in this building would die.

  “Is that a threat?”

  “Not yet,” he chuckled back. “Wanna find out?”

  I scowled. “No.”

  “Really?” The Core asked, raising eyebrows. “Huh. Why not? I figured you’d be the kind of fellow with a bucket of screws loose.”

  Rose grabbed my arm, shuddering in fear. Junior was beside me, hands on his hips, struggling to appear brave.

  I moved between them and the Core. “So what?” I asked. “You’re going to kill us now?”

  “Kill what exactly?” The Core frowned, clicking his tongue. “I have no quarrel with Npc’s. Besides,” He glanced directly at Sern, breaking into a smile. “You are NOT worth the effort. Speaking of effort, I’m getting tired of all this shaking and crying,” he sighed. “Hey kid, want some candy?”

  Junior perked up. “Wait seriously?”

  Rose glowered. “Junior don’t you dare—”

  “Have some candy, fun size,” the Core said, waving his hand. The entire wall behind Junior collapsed, pouring out an assortment of prepackaged goods.

  What.

  Was.

  Happening.

  “What is it girls like?” The Core grumbled. “Candy? You like candy too, right?”

  Rose yanked a chocolate bar from her brother’s hands, flinging it out the window. “Don’t you lay a finger on my family.”

  “Shoot, I’ve never had much experience with women folk,” he said, looking at Axel, who had his arms around Sern. “Got any advice?”

  “If you’re not here to kill anybody, then why are you here?” I hissed.

  “Ah! Right, so I’m under the impression that you’re either an uncharacteristically stupid human, or you’re a relatively average human who got dumped a bunch of power beyond your grasp and now you don’t have any clue what’s going on.”

  I clenched my hand.

  “Whoa whoa, calm down, would you?” The Core groaned. “For crying out loud, if I wanted to hurt you, then you would be dead, and then you’d never fight me, and I’d be stuck in this stupid capital for the rest of eternity. That would be bad, right? Riiiggght?”

  “So this is a threat,” I stated. “You need me to release you. If I don’t, then you will ‘inadvertently’ kill my friends and family?”

  “Oh I’ll do that anyway. Maybe like, next Tuesday,” the Core shrugged. “Not today though. I’m just bored.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Excuse me?”

  “Yeah, so, not a lot of people come to my dungeon,” the Core sighed. “And they all die anyway so it’s not that much fun. Of course, if I made my dungeon more alluring to adventures, then they’d send in the big guns, which, don’t get me wrong, would be fun, but then I’d totally also die. So either I die of boredom, or I just die die.”

  “Tragic.”

  “Right? Anyhoo, I want to train you.”

  A moment of deafening silence filled the apartment.

  “You’re joking?” I grunted, aiming Crapshoveler toward his neck.

  The Core pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Look, how much do you know about monsters?” he asked. “Not ‘monster’ like a poor elven girl in street rags, but monster in the sense that they really, really like killing people. I’m a monster and I really really like when players die. And then I see a guy with what, thirteen stacks of Comostasis that he doesn’t even use? A guy who still beat me? Well that’s not the sort of thing you can pass up!”

  “How do you know about that?” I hissed.

  “He told me,” the Core chuckled, pointing at a wall.

  Junior stuffed another bar of chocolate into his mouth. “Sho arsh yoush ishanen or jusht shtupid?”

  “I’ll enlighten you,” the Core began, rubbing his hands together. “Now, Grind, When I say stacks I actually refer to additional copies of the exact same ability and not additional levels of the same ability, which is the usual outcome. In the case of levels, you pay exponential cost for at best multiplicative results, where as stacks will provide a linear amount of levels with duplicative results, as each stack is always the same level as another, and requires only the same exp as upgrading one ability, in the same sense that having the skill to throw cards is not limited by the amount of cards you wish to throw, at least in total. The higher the base number the greater this effect becomes, allowing abilities of a power beyond anything any sane person would ever use.”

  Wait. what? So if I started upgrading the stacks of power I had—

  “You see it, don’t you?” the Core whispered. “Can’t you?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “I assume you want this power for yourself?”

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  “No,” the Core scoffed. “I want you to use it properly.”

  “Because you’re just considerate like that?”

  A smug, toothy grin crawled up from the Core’s lips to the corners of his mouth. “You would stop the slave trade, wouldn’t you? Because you’re considerate like that.”

  I suppressed a shudder.

  How long has he been watching me? Weeks—no, just seeing me yesterday would be enough.

  “So?” I asked. “What’re you hiding?”

  “What is there to hide?” The Core asked. “To remove the slave trade you would have to start killing players. There’s no getting around it. And if you start killing players, other players will try to kill you, whom you must also kill, creating a delightful cycle of carnage.”

  He sat one leg ontop the other, resting his hands behind his head. “I think it’s a wonderful idea, personally. Now, you can’t do anything until you start using the stupid amount of power in your system. Out with it. How many stacks of Comostasis do you have?”

  The Core wasn’t wrong.

  But how could we have the same goals? No. I can trick him. I have no intention to kill players who oppose me. Perhaps I could trick him again? Teach myself power and then use that overwhelming power to peacefully force every other player to comply?

  That…that might actually work.

  I let out a sigh. “I have one hundred twelve—no—a hundred thirteen stacks of Comostasis.”

  The room was silent again.

  Rose nudged me in the side. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I have a hundred and thirteen copies of the exact same ability. When I try to use it, then I instantly die, so it isn’t very useful—”

  The Core was making wheezing breathy noises. “One…hundred…one hundred thirteen…”

  Junior peeled apart another candy bar. “Suit guy? Are you okay?”

  “ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN STACKS OF COMOSTASIS!” The Core shouted, falling off the couch and onto the floor. “ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN!”

  “Is that good?” Rose asked.

  “GOOD?!” The Core screamed. He started shaking, bracing himself against one of the counters. “Allow me to explain, fool. Stacks are a super-rare subtype of skill that is only gained through legendary item drops. Comostasis is similarly a legendary bonus so strong it’s literally just a skill.”

  “That’s not saying much,” I said, frowning.

  The Core continued without pause, smiling wider and wider until his silvery teeth peeled back up to the corners of his eyes. “A single stack of level one Comostasis can make the difference between a rank. A rank! An Iron can beat a Brass, and a Brass can beat a Silver! And that’s just one! But if you take a hundred and thirteen—

  “I can’t use it,” I snapped. “It kills me when it's used.”

  “Bah!” the Core howled. “You have gold and you complain of its weight! Who cares if it takes a month to use? Or a hundred years? That’s a hundred and twenty once in a lifetime kind of power!

  “I already have the union offering training,” I said. “So I don’t need your help.”

  Core flashed another toothy smile. “Really?” He looked me up and down. “Which Master?”

  I bit my tongue. “Not yet—”

  “Exactly how long have you been in the second area?”

  “Five days?” I guessed. “Maybe a little more or a little less.”

  “Well that would explain it,” the Core said. “Right now, I consider it genuinely offensive that a being of your caliber would tossed around like a sack of disappointing potatoes. I can teach you things no player knows! I have lived a hundred times longer than any of the masters!”

  “I am not going to learn fighting from a monster who kills people. Get out of my house.”

  “It’s not your house,” the Core chuckled. “It’s our house now.”

  “Our house.”

  “Yes, I’m moving in with you, student.”

  I blinked.

  The Core fluttered his eyelashes.

  “And why should I do this?” I grumbled.

  “Because I’ll kill everyone if you don’t?”

  “No,” I said. “I’m getting the police. Or the union. Or whoever it is that can get rid of you.”

  The Core reappeared in front of me. “How about a nice reason? If you let me train you into a violent, volatile killing machine, then I’ll keep an eye on your family. The whole lot of them. Come’on, you can’t get a much better deal for protection than the Four star Gauntlet of the Body.”

  I blinked. “Four star?”

  The Core hesitated. “Did I say that? I meant three stars. Or…maybe you wanted five stars? Hey, I could just eat a couple officials and then I am SET.”

  I headed back toward the door.

  “Wrong direction?” the Core said. “Grind—Come’on Grind, why not?”

  “You’re dangerous and unstable.”

  “And I’m so, so BORED!” the Core pleaded, dropping to his knees. “Do you know what it’s been like for the past twenty five years? Wander around in the tunnels, find a human weaker than myself. Eat humans. Get some insignificant amount of power. Repeat until my brains are leaking out of my ears. Just put me in a contract or something!”

  “You’re bored?” I asked. “Of killing people? Am I supposed to pity you?”

  The Core sniffled. “I’m desperate, alright? Listen to your gut on this one. Power. Power. Pooowwweeerrrr. Isn’t there anything you want to do, but that you’re too weak to manage? Surely a spark of goodness that needs some muscle behind it?”

  I grimaced.

  There was that one woman. If I could just win that tournament, she’d be safe. Simple as that. No catches. With a reputation as the winner of the tournament, nobody would mess with me, and I’d get enough money to provide for my family.

  The Core appeared just above my shoulder, hissing under his breath. “I want a little bit of fun, that’s all. I want to unleash a man of conviction upon this land. Don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “How bad?”

  I shook my head. “The ends don’t justify the means.”

  Besides, that girl hadn’t even wanted my help. Come to think of it, from a certain perspective, if she was given to the strongest guy in the second area, she would be protected from all the others. So long as she was given to a good man, she’d probably be alright.

  But that’s a big if.

  “What are you talking about, kid?” the Core asked. “What ‘means?’ Who cares how or by who you were taught? Trick a devil to save some people.”

  I grimaced. “You’re up to something.”

  “Of course I am,” the Core said. “As I already told you.”

  He scratched under his chin. “How about I sweeten the deal. Want another arm?”

  Rose grimaced. “Grind? You’re not going to let that thing move in with us, will you?”

  “Hang on,” I started. “Another arm?”

  “I’m the gauntlet of the body, ” the Core chuckled. “Do we have a deal?”

  “You promise—no—do you vow never to harm or cause harm to one of the people under my protection, or to people I would want to protect?”

  “Of course.” the Core said. “Though that notion is a little vague.”

  “And you vow to protect them with your life?”

  The Core bit his lip. “Well, Mostly.”

  “That’s not a yes.”

  He gritted his silver teeth. “Well, Student, do you vow to obey my instructions?”

  “For the period of training and so long as they make me stronger, and until the point they compromise on my principles, yes, I do.”

  After a moment of waiting, the Core nodded. “Deal.”

  My chest tightened into knots.

  “What was that?” I gagged.

  “The vow, of course,” the Core said. “A vow is a WHOLE lot stronger than a petty promise.” he smiled. “Nice wording, by the way. Could use work but not terrible for a second try.” He clapped his hands. “We’ll start in five?”

  “Days?”

  “Seconds.”

  “Absolutely not!” Rose snapped. “He’s already breaking at the seams!”

  “Hence why I gave him five seconds to grab a towel or something. For his teeth.” The Core said.

  Oh.

  I stuffed a towel into my mouth.

  “Just watch,” he chuckled, waving his hands in the air. There was a fizzle of energy, and my blood absorbed back into my body, followed by sharp clicking as my bones were forced into proper alignment, before finishing with a warm human as all the cuts and breaks melded together.

  It hurt so, so much.

  And then my right shoulder split open, popping out another arm.

  “Incredible,” Rose whispered.

  “Sometimes I amaze myself,” the Core chuckled.

  I spat a bite of wool from my mouth, forcing my jaw to unclench.

  But it was worth it. Two arms—

  “Core”

  “Yeah?”

  I turned my new arm over,

  The Core glanced at my two left thumbs.

  “Whoops.”

  // {Notice} //

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