The night lasted for close to a week. Dallion spent days improving items to increase his skills. The targets of his actions were the sheets, pillows, and blankets. The goal was to get his music skill to eighty. The moment he reached seventy-three, though, Eury grumbled at him to get some sleep. Since Dallion had failed to obtain any new skill combo achievements, he decided to do so, entering a weird series of dreams in which food was the main focus. Leveling up without eating wasn’t the best of ideas, even if his current body level allowed him to handle it.

At four o’clock in the morning, it was time to get up again. Dallion’s experience as a hunter allowed him to wake up before the gorgon’s hand reached his shoulder. However, as he saw, despite that, he hadn’t felt her waking up and slipping out of bed in the first place. Clearly, he had room for improvement.

“It’s time,” Eury whispered.

Dallion nodded, then stretched, and left the bed.

“How many levels did you gain?” she asked as he went to the water bowl to wash his face.

“Just one. I upped my music a bit. A few more days and I’ll hit the eighty cap.”

“Don’t rush things. We’ve got time before we get to the sword.”

“You think there’ll be more twists to this mission?” he glanced over his shoulder.

“I’m not sure. March seems to think so.”

“Did she say anything?”

“She didn’t have to. She let us go out to the city on our own.”

Ten minutes later, Dallion had gone through the inn’s restroom—which was a lot more sophisticated than anything he’d seen in Nerosal or anywhere else for that matter. If he didn’t have his memories of Earth-style bathrooms, he’d almost consider it a luxury. The room even came with running water, allowing him to wash up in the same room before leaving. Refreshed, dressed, and geared up, he joined Eury, who was waiting for him in the inn’s main room.

“Hide him somewhere.” She pointed at Ruby, who had just landed on Dallion’s left shoulder.

The shardfly sighed.

Sorry, buddy. Dallion gently took the creature by the wings. You know that people aren’t always glad to see you out and about.

The creature was placed in the backpack, near the dryad bowl. At least that way Dallion knew that Ruby would have someone to chat with.

“Anything else?” he asked, trying to sound as accepting as possible.

“No. Let’s go.”

The streets were unusually full for that time of night—or early morning, depending on the point of view. Having all the inns, guilds and taverns clustered in one place created for heavy nightlife. The noise levels were remarkably low, though. Knowing that every word could be heard by the entire block tended to make people whisper a lot more, especially awakened.

Eury navigated through the streets and sections of the platform with the certainty of a local. What Dallion found more interesting was that no one was particularly taken aback by her being a gorgon. Back before he had become an official apprentice hunter, he had seen people view her with curiosity, fear, dislike, or all three mixed in one. Here, she seemed to be considered normal, which meant there had to be a sizable gorgon population within the city.

After going on through over a dozen streets and a few wooded sections, the two found themselves in front of a rather majestic building. Even in a city as magnificent as Lanitol, it stood out from its surroundings. For one thing, it was alone, located in the middle of an urban forest. Decorative columns of gray marble blended with walls and archways rising up to a statue covered dome, three stories high. Large circular windows were all over the upper floors, tinted almost black.

“We’re here,” Eury said, making her way to the large wooden door.

As Dallion approached, he sensed something he hadn’t since arriving in the city: the building had an area guardian.

Nice to see some variety, the buildings said with the tone of an old veteran. Judging by the slight accent, Dallion could tell that it was a copyette. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone with empathy.

Dallion stiffened.

No need to be worried. Nothing bad will happen to you. You’re among your own.

“This is a hunter’s guild?” Dallion asked, glancing at Eury.

“There’s no hunting guild,” the gorgon replied, opening the door. “It’s just a place we gather. This one is more permanent than others.”

The description reminded Dallion of Jiroh’s old inn, currently run and owned by her sister. Things in her city continued to be tense, now more than ever with the poison plague going on. Sadly, with tensions between the empire and its neighbors increasing, Dallion hadn’t had a chance to see her. He had used the services of the Nerosal furies to send letters, but none of them had been answered. The only thing he knew for certain was that she had been alive as of two months ago.

“Come, I need to introduce you to someone.”

The inside of the building was composed of a single vast open space. Weapon racks, shelves of scrolls, and furniture mixed in one, giving it a very medieval look. Sets of stairs went along the walls, leading to a ring on the second floor containing a series of small rooms, likely sleeping quarters judging by the cots.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” a fury in an outfit of green leather said across the hall.

Half a dozen people of various races turned around, giving Eury a glance. Furies were the most prominent, followed by dwarves, and lastly, humans. However, there was also another gorgon present. He was much taller than Euryale, spending his time reading several scrolls at once.

“I thought you said you’d never come back here.” The fury who had spoken before disappeared, appearing a step away from Eury. The wrinkles around his eyes suggested that he had to be well in his fifties.

“Learn one, catch one, teach one,” Eury replied calmly. “That’s the principle, isn’t it?”

“That’s it.” The fury moved from Eury to Dallion. Then, without warning, he reached towards Dallion’s neck.

Instinctively, Dallion burst into a dozen instances. Before they could fully materialize, however, the fury grabbed his shoulder, causing them to fade away.

“Testy,” he said. Dallion felt a strand of air grab the chain round his neck, revealing his hunter’s emblem. “The same that you got,” he said, clearly addressing Eury. “You must like this one a lot to give him that.”

“He’s good,” Eury said. “And yes, I like him a lot.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Dal,” Dallion replied.

“We seem to ‘ave a celebrity,” a female dwarf snorted. “The ‘ero of Nerosal ‘as come all this way to see us.”

“And anotherworlder too.” The fury took a step back, releasing Dallion’s emblem. “Must have been quite a feat. You’ll get a rank bump for sure. Maybe even two. Is that why you came? I didn’t think little Eury was interested in such things.”

“Bringing a hero helps,” a gruff-looking man laughed.

“There’s no such thing as heroes,” a sharp female voice came from the ring on the second floor.

Dallion looked up. A woman stood there, hands on the metal railing. She was in her thirties, dark-skinned and with a muscular build. A sleeveless vest of reinforced silk emphasized her muscles along with a rather large series of intricate tattoos.

“Must have taken a lot to get you back here, little girl,” the woman said. “When your mentor died, you said you’d never set foot in this place. What changed your mind?”

“I’ve come to register a friend,” Eury replied, the snakes on her head moving about.

This was the first time Dallion had seen the gorgon so nervous. It was almost like she had turned into an apprentice walking into a hall of masters. If she held them in such reverence, that could only mean that their skills had to be incredible.

What skill is everyone? Dallion asked.

Between thirty and seventy, the building guardian replied. Most of the old dogs had reached their limit, but what they couldn’t achieve through levels, they accomplish through experience.

Thirty?

You’re not the only apprentice there is. As for our very own Vela, she’s three levels away from nobility. A pity she’s reached her peak as well.

According to Nil, level eighty was the level at which nobility was granted, regardless of anything else. That suggested that the woman had to be at seventy-seven. Quite an impressive level, no doubt, but it also begged the question. With so much talent here, why did the archduke hire March and her group to begin with?

“This is who you’ve brought to register?” Vela asked. “He’s got some skills. Do you think he’s ready, though?”

“He isn’t. But he will be. I want him to decide when to take the trial on his own.”

“Do you feel ready, boy?”

“I’m getting there,” Dallion replied. “Now’s not the time, though.”

A faint smile appeared on the woman’s face. Dallion expected her to do something provocative, like throw a dagger at him, or leap down and charge in a mock attack. Instead, she calmly went to the stairs and walked down to the lower level. Half a dozen small weapons forged of sun gold were attached to her belt, none of them weapons Dallion could identify.

“He’s done a few jobs,” Eury was quick to say. “Mostly small things, but he can handle himself.”

“You’ve given him your old emblem, so I’ll trust your judgment. That’s not the reason you’ve come here. There’s something you want badly enough to return here.” The woman closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them back again. “Part has to do with him, but part doesn’t. Are you two sleeping together?”

There was no answer.

“That explains a few things, though not everything.”

“What do you want me to say?” Eury clenched her fist. “I don’t have to explain myself to you or anyone else here! I’m not “little Eury” anymore!”

“Kid, until you can handle the really big hunts, you’ll always be little Eury.” Vela’s expression became stern. “So, tell us. Why exactly are you here?”

“I need your help with something,” the gorgon said at last. “But I’ll only tell you and Lithospasia.”

Vela’s eyes narrowed.

“Litho, come over here.”

The male gorgon a short distance away rolled up the scrolls on the table before him, then stood up. It was difficult to tell what his emotions were—his expression was as expressionless as a marble mask, and similar to everyone else in the building, he was wearing a blocker item.

Are those the guild leaders? Dallion asked the area guardian.

Hunters don’t have guilds. Not officially. Vela is the prime hunter of the city and Litho is her second. You can say they are the strongest hunters in the province. Last time Eury was here was to become a full hunter. There was a lot of sympathy for her because of the death of her mentor. A few thought it was premature to have her hold the test, but she did. After it was over, she left and hasn’t been back here since. Until now, that is.

What’s so unusual about that?

Vela offered to become Eury’s new mentor. You can guess the rest.

Eury refused. Dallion sighed mentally.

Not only that, she said that she’d never set foot here. There was a bit of a scandal. Egos were bruised. Many found Eury’s reaction an insult, especially since they hadn’t been made the same offer. The guardian paused for a few moments. If she had accepted, with her skills, she could have become prime hunter eventually, but turned it all down.