Feeling like a much, much older man, Zach yawned and thought about slipping into bed as he opened the door and returned to Angelica's, stepping inside. It was just about midnight Elendroth time and several hours after that in North Bastia. With the thrill and excitement of forming a raid now behind him, Zach had been mostly bored as he, along with hundreds of others, had made a mad dash towards Mushkie's to "resupply," as Jimmy had suggested they do so before heading out.

Much to Zach's surprise and annoyance, however, there had been a line literally out the door and wrapping around three blocks to get in as soon as it had reset. Almost every adventurer in existence had been waiting, and so were more than two-hundred green- and white-cloaked Elves. It was here Zach had come to learn that Fylwen had actually met Mushkie a few days prior at the behest of Kalana, and after witnessing the item shop for herself, she had decided to recommend it to her kin. Thus, there had been a veritable parade of human and Elvish lining up outside the old school to get in.

"Everyone, please, make sure you wait your turn so we don't have any overcrowding," Zelina had said. Zach remembered her from Archian Prime. She was that cute little Elvish girl who had taken Zach's 10k gold when he'd been on his way to Shadowfall Coast. She must've been good at her job, because the child and her older sister were now stationed there to help manage the crowds. It'd gotten really popular.

And the Elvish, as adaptive as always, had established a queue system to prevent the kinds of fighting and impatience Mushkie had warned about. They'd also disgustingly upped their cost of passage from 10k to 20k gold, but even then, most people gave more, and even the Elves themselves had to pay. For his part, Zach had needed to borrow 20k from Jimmy, which he then paid back after selling all his "vendor trash" to Mushkie once he'd finally gotten inside almost two hours later.

Jimmy just had to spill our secret, Zach recalled thinking grumpily to himself as he'd been forced to wait in line for so damn long.

Things at Trials of Nolak were so different now. The Elvish, looking to head off any possible chaos, had instituted a "one-item-per-category-per-customer" rule for the non-weekly items. Basically, aside from the weekly items, everything else in the store only replenished once per week, and so to prevent one individual from going in and buying up literally everything from the food aisles or whatever else Mushkie had, the Elves had begun passing rules about how to behave in "their" dungeon, which the adventurers had agreed to happily.

Technically, the Elves couldn't actually stop someone from violating the rule once they were within the shop, but they could prevent someone from returning on the next trip if they caught wind of any violators, and Zach certainly didn't want to be in the position of having to fight through Elves to get inside, so when it was his turn, he resisted the temptation to buy up everything he could. But honestly? It was only the weekly items he cared about anyway.

This week, there had been nothing in the way of surprise or excitement. Mushkie's weekly items included one red stone, two yellow, two purple, and one escape rope. Zach had just enough gold to buy everything on offer, and with that, he'd headed back to Angelica's, where he now took a seat at a small table with Olivir, Kolona, and Tyson, who had entered on his insistence. Zach had asked the two vampires to keep an eye on the man, and thankfully, from what Zach could tell, Tyson hadn't been messed with, though many adventurers did continuously give him dirty looks.

"Well, guys, I'm officially broke," Zach said as he pulled out a chair and sat down. Olivir, as considerate as always, had ordered Zach a cherry cola ahead of time and had it waiting for him. Olivir, however, along with Kolona and Tyson, were all drinking rum. Angelica was strict about enforcing age limits, so Zach didn't even bother asking for one. Not that he would, anyway, as alcohol tasted gross to him. It also cost more points, though thanks to that little dungeon Jimmy had discovered, he now had more points than he knew what to do with. His balance was 95,322, and it only cost 300 a night to stay here.

That's because points are really meant for building a home, he reminded himself, wondering if maybe he should start working on his own secret lair.

Having promised Jimmy that he wouldn't sell his inn room, Zach knew that eventually he would start using his points to build something amazing. After all, eating and drinking in Angelica's was incredibly cheap compared to how many points one could rack up running through a dungeon. But buying furniture or expanding the dimensions of your room could cost a fortune in points very, very quickly. For this reason, adventurers never seemed to worry about drinking to their heart's content while in Angelica's. A single dungeon run was enough to afford as much as they could desire for a good long time.

"I'm glad the big guy is letting us drink tonight," Kolona remarked with a smile. "I hear he's usually pretty strict about drinking and raiding."

"Eh, it makes sense if you think about it," Olivir said. "There's almost no chance any of us will still be drunk by the time we end up running into something."

Initially, Donovan had been against the idea of letting the adventurers drink tonight if they were going on Zach's raid. But since it would take at least days—if not dramatically longer—to actually find anything, he had reconsidered.

Assuming there even is anything to find, Zach thought to himself nervously. He stirred uncomfortably in his seat from pure agitation, as the idea of leading everyone for days into nothingness to no avail caused a pinching sensation to form in his belly.

Olivir, whose boyish face concealed his far older age, made a slight chuckle and asked, "Thinking about your finances, Zach?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Your face," he explained. "You look really nervous."

Zach laughed. "Oh, that's not because of money. I'm worried we won't find anything and that I'm about to waste everyone's time."

Olivir downed his rum in three big gulps and then gently placed the glass on the table. "Don't worry about it. Exploration is about answering questions, and 'no' is an answer just as much as 'yes' is an answer, isn't it?"

"I guess, but there's a lot riding on finding Albion-4, so even aside from the idea of embarrassing myself, there are a bunch of other reasons I'm dreading being wrong."

Olivir raised his index finger as Angelica walked by, and then he smiled at her as she brought him another rum and cola. To Zach, he said, "At least you're focused on something important. I'm actually relieved to see you're worried about Albion-4 instead of money."

Zach groaned. "Actually, I'm worried about money too. Just not as much. Like I said, I'm flat broke right now. I only have 80g left to my name. I'm almost as poor now as I was when I started adventuring. Well…at least in terms of gold. I guess in assets I'm way richer than I ever dreamed I'd be, but I want gold!"

Olivir made a humming noise as though considering something. "Well, since you brought it up, I have to ask you: how are you so bad with money, Zach? It's your favorite thing."

"You think I'm bad with money?"

"I mean…how are you always struggling with gold? You should be rich by now."

Zach breathed out a sigh. "It's because nobody ever seems willing to let me make any money. And saving is all well and good, but obviously I can't not buy everything at the item shop. That would be insane."

Tyson, who had been kept here while the rest of the raid went shopping, opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it as if changing his mind. Zach couldn't be sure, but he thought he had a pretty decent idea of what Tyson wanted to ask about: the item shop. Right now, everybody in the adventuring community aside from Jimmy wanted to keep him in the dark for the time being, Zach included.

"I know what you're wondering about," he said to the man, "and I promise you I'll tell you really soon. I just can't right now. We don't want the political guilds to know yet."

"I understand," Tyson replied, bowing his head. Lowering his voice so that it was barely audible, he said, "I've always known that my kind and adventurers aren't very friendly, but I have to say, the adventurers hate us way more than we hate them."

"That's true," Zach admitted as he sipped some of his soda through a plastic straw. "I've noticed that as well. The political guilds view the adventurers negatively, but uh, not with anywhere near the same level of hatred as the other way around."

"Why is that, Sir Calador?"

"I honestly don't know. Maybe Olivir knows."

At this, the vampire shrugged. "I don't know either."

Relaxing in his chair, Zach looked around and let his eyes wander about the inn. They had a little bit of time to kill as they waited for the others to come back from Mushkie's. Many people were starting to return now, but they would likely have to wait a bit longer for a number of raiders who'd gotten stuck near the end of the line, such as Maric, Alixa, Fluffles, and Kesten. But most had already returned, including a man Zach had been hoping to catch up with.

"There you are, Zach," a voice said from behind him. Zach turned around and smiled at the sight of an elegantly dressed Elvish man with a sword on his back as well as one on each hip. It had been a bit since Zach had last spoken to him.

"King Vayra," Zach said, getting up and bowing.

At this, the man winced and shook his head. "Zach, please, don't. I'm Eldora, and I'm no king. I've devoted my life to adventuring just like anyone else in here. Besides, I knew you since you were in your early teens. It's weird hearing you call me that. Nobody else here does."

As if to illustrate his point, a chubby man wearing chainmail armor from the GSG slapped Eldora on the shoulder and said, "Hey, Eldy, let's get a fucking drink you old son of a bitch."

"Give me a few, Sel."

"Yeah, yeah."

Eldora looked at the table where Zach was sitting. "May I?"

"Of course," Olivir said right away.

Kolona, practically insisting on it, got up and gave her uncle a big hug. "I haven't gotten to see you enough," she said to him as she pulled out a chair for the man.

"I've been raiding a lot," he said as he joined them at the table. "I've really taken to the adventuring life."

"So have they," Zach said, referring to Olivir and Kolona. "I'm surprised you guys don't end up in the same group more often."

Olivir chuckled. "Kolona and I have been doing a lot of adventuring on Archian Prime, and Eldora seems to want to avoid going there."

"Can you blame me?" Eldora asked. "I went there for a quest last week, and I made it all of ten steps before a 'royal guard' of white-cloaks started following me and my guildmates everywhere we went."

Zach sat up straighter as he listened to Eldora speak. "Did you say 'guildmates?' Wait, are you…?"

"That's right. I've been accepted into the God Slayers Guild. I'm a full-fledged member now. I've cast aside any duties to the Elvish people much to my wife's ire."

No wonder Kal has been grumbling about him under her breath lately, Zach thought. So that's why she's gone from being mad at her mom all the time to being mad at her dad.

Almost as though he knew what Zach was thinking, Eldora said, "Kalana doesn't need me anymore. She's become her mother's daughter. I'd be there for her in an instant if she ever found herself in trouble, but ever since her mother returned from Archian Prime, she has had little need for me."

Zach thought about telling him how wrong he was. He thought about explaining to Eldora that Kalana badly wanted him around but that she wanted him to accept his role and position as an Elf. Ultimately, however, Zach realized it wasn't his place to speak for her, so he merely nodded as the man stood back up, hugged Kolona, shook Olivir's hand, and lastly gave Zach an affectionate squeeze of his shoulder before leaving the table.

"Oh," he said right as he began walking away, pausing for just a moment. "I'll be accompanying you on your journey. I've decided to tag along."

Zach smiled. "Having an Elf around is always reassuring. I'm so glad to hear that."

With that, Eldora joined his fellow GSG members at another table and began to engage in laughter and crude discussion with his guildmates about a variety of raunchy topics. Zach, meanwhile, took another sip of his cola and then sat back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment—one that turned into several moments. Before he realized what was happening, he was dozing off.

And then he awoke suddenly and rudely as a powerful and painful slap on his back sent him speeding back towards full wakefulness.

"The hell you doing dozing off, kiddo," Donovan said to him; he was clad in his midnight black armor set with a fresh new helmet to replace the one that had been destroyed on the previous raid.

Zach, rubbing the sore spot where he'd been slapped, craned his neck to look at the man. "I'm tired," he said. "Actually, I'm thinking maybe we don't have to leave tonight after all. It's like 4AM local time now. Maybe we can call it a night and—"

"What are you fuckin' nuts?" he asked. "You got everybody all riled up and now you wanna go home to bed? Start waking your ass up, kiddo. Everyone who says they're coming on the raid is back, and we're all waiting on you and the vampires."

Zach, rubbing his eyes, could now see that a whole bunch of men and women were staring at him from the very middle of the tavern where they were gathering together. Rian and Lienne were with them as well, along with Ishina, the 15-year-old girl who happened to be the youngest known human adventurer aside from Pete, though Zach wasn't sure whether or not it was premature to call the boy an adventurer even though he'd inherited the buff from his father.

Notably absent were Trelvor and Seiley, who despite being ordered by Kalana to "have fun with Rian and Lienne," had actually refused her order, for which Zach was both grateful and surprised. It was a rare sight to see them defy their princess, but Trelvor had actually demanded he be allowed to rejoin her company, saying that it was a matter of honor and dignity.

Kalana, in a display of her own exhaustion, had relented fairly quickly, and while Zach had grown attached to those two Elves and would definitely be sad at not having them around, he'd much prefer they were there for Kal, to keep her company and support her in any way that they could. She…really needed them right now.

For their part, Zach knew that both Trelvor and Seiley had been feeling increasingly guilty at leaving her to fend for herself. Ever since Kalana had met the two and formed a bond with them, they had unofficially become her "royal guards." Even without any order from Fylwen, it just sort of organically happened, and nobody questioned it. It was therefore understandable that they wanted to join her in Shadowfall Coast.

I should be with her too, Zach thought. I don't even know how long it's going to be before I see her again.

Feeling a bit groggy, Zach got up from the table and headed towards the others. But he paused when he noticed a commotion forming right in the center of the tavern, and then he frowned when he realized that the person causing the commotion was none other than Jimmy. Blinking, Zach rubbed his eyes to ensure that he wasn't hallucinating, as it seemed that Jimmy, a person who was usually one of the smarter people in Zach's life, appeared to be up to something so egregiously stupid it bordered on suicidal.

Is he…is Jimmy picking a fight with Angelica?

The cat-eared, ultra-high-level NPC was standing perfectly straight with her arms crossed, and she was glaring at Jimmy with a no-nonsense look that became sterner by the second. "It doesn't matter how many times ya ask me, Jimmy Green. You're not drinking! You have to be 21. Thems the rules!"

"Okay, but hear me out, what if you just poured me one drink to help me clear my head? Just to keep me level."

"I said no!"

"But what if—"

"Jimmy," Donovan growled at him, marching across the tavern and grabbing him by the shoulder. "Are you a fuckin' idiot? Don't go provoking Angelica. Did you hit your head or something?"

Jimmy, clearly ignoring Donovan, stood upright as if to match Angelica, and while facing in her direction, he said, "This is bullshit. I only asked for one drink. Just one."

"Well, you're getting zero in here!" she insisted. Then her name flashed red—and the entire inn quieted.

Jimmy, in a sanity-questioning act of impossibly stupid defiance, still refused to back down. In fact, if anything, seeing her name turn red actually appeared to embolden him. "Hah. That doesn't scare me, Angelica. I could easily solo you."

"Oh yeah?" she asked him. "You sure about that?" Now, her name not only flashed red, but it stayed that color, too. She was now an aggressive, hostile NPC. "Are you really sure?"

"Yeah, I just need a really open space and—ahh, wait!"

Angelica did something. Zach wasn't sure what. But it caused Jimmy to fly upwards, spin around, and then hang suspended upside-down midair while screaming in horror. Zach, completely powerless to physically intervene, became tense and alarmed as he wondered what he was supposed to do in this situation. He'd heard stories of Angelica killing adventurers who pissed her off. In fact, supposedly, two years ago, Angelica had killed an adventurer who'd grabbed her ass while she was passing by. Whether or not Jimmy's disrespect rose to that level, he did not know. But he knew that this was a situation where there genuinely wasn't a thing he could do to help.

"Hey, Angelica," Zach said, holding out his hand and approaching her cautiously. "Jimmy has a problem with drinking, so please don't—"

From out of nowhere, there was a "poof" and a puff of smoke above Angelica's hand. Now, she was holding what looked like a feather duster. And all at once, the stern frown fell off her face and was replaced by something closer to a look of mischief as she used her opposite hand to pull off Jimmy's boots one by one, and then his socks right after.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he shouted at her. "What are you—ahahahahah! Stop! Stop! Aw, shit! Oh hell nah—hahaha!"

In what had to be the craziest torture Zach had ever seen, Angelica began tickling Jimmy's feet with the feather duster while he floated immobilized a few feet above the floor with his head pointed down. At once, he began squirming and writhing in the air, clearly unable to move his limbs, all while her name remained in red. "You'd better apologize," she said. "You pestered me. I don't like that."

"I'm sorry!" he shrieked. "Ahhahahaha! Make it stop! I'm laughing but this shit is worse than death. Ahahaha! No more! No more! I'm sorry! Yahhhhh-hahaha! I'm suffering! This is torture!"

Having opted for a much less ruthless form of punishment than everyone knew she was capable, the other adventurers were quick to settle down and even quicker to begin laughing at Jimmy as he must've been close to peeing himself. Alternating between his left and right foot, Angelica mercilessly tickled his bare feet with the feather duster. "Someone help!" Jimmy cried. "I can't take no more! I'm sorry!"

"Are you gonna keep pestering me and my patrons for a drink, Jimmy?"

"No!"

"Are you gonna never bring it up again until you're 21?"

"Yes!"

"Okay then."

And just like that, her name reverted to green, and Jimmy fell down onto the wood flooring with a plop; afterwards, he groaned as he tried to pick himself back up. Zach, hurrying over, extended his hand, which Jimmy took, and he helped his friend to his feet. "Are you an idiot?" he asked. "Did you seriously just say you could solo Angelica? Are you nuts?"

"That was dumb of me. I realize that."

"Yeah, no shit," Zach said to him. "Even Rian started to sweat for a minute there. He's laughing now, but we were all worried. Why would you do that? For a stupid drink? I don't get it. And another thing, how can you even—"

Zach wasn't even close to done berating Jimmy, but he was forced to stop as Donovan decided it was his turn. The man backhanded Jimmy, hard, right across the head, making Jimmy groan in pain. "Jimmy, the fuck was that?" he shouted. Then he lowered his voice so that only he, Jimmy, and Zach could hear what he had to say. "How many times do we gotta tell you this ain't some 'simulation game?' Keep fuckin' around like that, and you're as good as dead. Do you have any idea how lucky you were just now? I've seen Angelica rip a sonofabitch apart for getting on her bad side. If she didn't like you, she would've killed you."

Jimmy nodded. "I said my bad. I just really need a drink, and ya'll ain't listening to me. I don't want one. I need one."

Donovan looked like he had more to say, but Tyson, who hurried over with a horrified expression on his face, interrupted him. "Jimmy, what happened?" the man asked. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you? You looked like you were in big trouble there."

"I was," he said to Tyson.

"Why? What happened?"

"I wanted a drink and she said no."

Tyson nodded as if it all made perfect sense to him. "Ah. I've been there before. Well, you may want to avoid drinking in this tavern in the future. That awful mob looked like it was going to kill you."

"She is not a mob," Donovan grunted as he regarded Tyson with nothing but raw disdain and hatred, his lips curling at the mere sight of the younger man. "And you can fuck off. I'm trying to have a talk with one of my own. Get lost, parasite."

Tyson, reacting to the sheer intensity of the dislike in Donovan's eyes, turned himself around and went right back to the table with Olivir and Kolona—in a hurry, too. Zach, watching him scurry away, felt badly for him. And not just because of the tooth he'd knocked out of the man's mouth, but simply because he was so detested by so many people that it was hard not to feel sorry for him. In some ways, Zach was beginning to think Tyson wasn't all that terrible, just misunderstood. Just…someone who was really lost and troubled.

Donovan, muttering vile words at Tyson as he retreated back to his table, eventually looked away from the man and instead addressed the adventurers in the tavern. "I know a lot of you'd like to tag along with us," he said aloud. "But we're keeping this raid limited to 75 people for a reason. The hall is narrow and if there actually is something to be found, it's gonna be hard enough dealing with it as it is even at our current size." He cleared his throat. "For those of you coming on the raid, make sure you've packed any extra food or sleeping bags or whatever-the-fuck you need. Every step we take is a step we're gonna need to walk back with or without finding anything. We could be gone awhile."

Listening to Donovan speak, the last bit of fatigue and sleepiness fled Zach's body. The spirit of adventure filled him instead. He was finally going to see if the hall was truly infinite. Of course, even if he failed, it still wouldn't definitively prove it wasn't. It would only mean he'd run out of time or food. Actually, come to think of it, it was technically impossible to prove that the hall was infinite. It was only possible to prove that it wasn't. Because no matter how far they ventured, there would always be the possibility of the hall ending just a little farther down.

If I had the time, I'd try to walk down it for at least a month, he thought to himself. But I have to be back for my meeting with the world leaders.

Ideally, Zach would go as far as he could possibly go before losing his sanity. But with time constraints, he'd planned for them all to head down the hall for about a week or so before turning back. This, naturally, would leave him unsatisfied if they found nothing, and he realized this; still, it was worth the attempt to try. No one else would've been willing to do it without his insistence, and this was because almost nobody believed he was correct.

From the chatter Zach had been eavesdropping on, most of the adventurers, including even those in the Explorers Brigade, who whole-heartedly supported his expedition, did not expect to find anything. Their support appeared to be rooted in the sentiment of what Zach was trying to accomplish as opposed to any genuine belief that they would discover something new. Hell, even Zach was beginning to doubt his own self. Still, unless somebody had a better idea, there was no reason not to try this.

It's starting to seem crazy to me now, though, he thought. Everyone knows the hall is infinite. It's like common knowledge.

With final preparations having been made and everyone back from Mushkie's, it was now just about time to set off. The only thing that remained was to work through what appeared to be a last-minute change of leadership. Jimmy, who had been fine all day long, was now showing serious signs of withdrawal, and without even putting up a fuss, he allowed Donovan to casually announce that he and Zephyr would be leading the formation instead of him.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," Jimmy said. "I'll get the next one."

"Hey, are you all right?" Zach whispered to him, becoming concerned.

"I don't know."

Zach regarded him. He was sweating profusely. He was also shaking a bit, too. "I thought you'd be through this by now, Jimmy. It's been more than a week since you last had a drink."

He snorted. "The fuck you talking about? I got buzzed right after we left for Dragon Squire. I snuck some in the back of Tyson's plane while you were napping."

"No you didn't. Tell me you didn't."

"You want me to lie?"

Zach frowned. "Maybe you should skip this raid and wait for Tena to get back."

"Tena's gonna be with her aunt longer than we thought. She's sick and needs someone to look after her, so Tena is stuck there until her sister can fly in from Shores of Wrath."

"Can't Tena just give her a yellow stone? They're not exactly that hard to get anymore."

Jimmy sighed in a way that made it seem like he was exhausting too much energy just in speaking. "It's age-related shit," he said. "The stone isn't gonna help."

Zach, taking a moment to better consider the situation, found himself filling with disappointment at the fact that Jimmy had been sneakily drinking right under his nose.

"So you're saying as soon as I dozed off you started up again? Jimmy, that's fucked up."

"I know, man, I know. I don't need to hear it from you. Just let me be, all right?" He began tugging at his robe. "Fuck, it's like eight-hundred degrees in here," he said, visibly sweating.

Zach was conflicted. On the one hand, Jimmy not only wasn't suited to lead right now, but he probably shouldn't be on the raid at all; on the other hand, being trapped in a potentially infinite hallway was something that basically guaranteed he didn't go sneaking off to some Galterran pub to drown himself in liquor. Sure, the legal drinking age was 21, but that wouldn't matter to someone who was greater than level 1. All Jimmy had to do was tap his shoulder three times and they'd turn the whole pub over to him if he asked for it.

I need to take him with us.

"Okay, just hang tight. It should get better after a day or two."

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Jimmy nodded, though he didn't look convinced. He kept glaring at Angelica, who clearly noticed his angry staring. But rather than react with hostility, Angelica smiled compassionately. Still, Zach became somewhat nervous as she strode over. The last thing he wanted was for Jimmy to start another confrontation with her.

"Jimmy, you feeling okay, hun?" she asked him. "You're sweating and shivering at the same time." She took a wet cloth and wiped his face.

"I just need a drink," he said. But then quickly, he added, "I'm not pestering you. I know. When I'm 21."

"Actually, no," she said. "I just changed my mind. You're banned from drinking in here for life."

"W-what?" he shouted. But then he lowered his voice. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she said. "I might not have the authority to ban anyone from eating or staying in a room, but I'm allowed to ban people from drinking. Eilea actually fought to give me that permission two-thousand, eight-hundred-five years ago. Back then, you could even buy drugs in here, too." She lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. "It was a big fight among the Great Ones. Adamus wanted people to feel free to make any choice they wanted, including really bad ones. But this was one argument he ended up losing. We got rid of drugs, and I was given the right to ban alcoholics for their own good. Too many adventurers were dropping dead of alcohol poisoning."

Zach was taken aback. He had no idea she was allowed to make such determinations at her own discretion. Jimmy, who seemed to be worsening by the moment, merely nodded meekly and then turned around to face Tyson, who'd gotten up from his table and approached the three of them. "Hey, Tyson," he called out to the man. "You wouldn't happen to have anything on you, would you? I need a little something to get me through some shit."

Becoming annoyed, Zach moved to intervene, yet in what came as another shock, it turned out he didn't have to. Instead, he watched in fascination as Tyson placed his arm on Jimmy's shoulder and said, "It's best you didn't, Jimmy."

Scowling, Jimmy asked, "The fuck you mean?"

"I just mean…you're only nineteen, maybe you should slow down. I can't enable you, and I never would've in the first place had I realized the extent of your problem. You don't want to end up like me. Truly. Maybe it's best you took a break."

Jimmy didn't even reply. He simply looked at Tyson with despair for a brief moment then turned his back to the man. "Everybody is pissing me off today," he grumbled as he stormed off on his own.

Moving ahead of the rest of the raid, he darted up the soft steps that led to the second floor of the inn, and then he continued onwards, disappearing out of sight. Zach didn't worry about where he was going, though, since there was only one way he could go, and thus it would be impossible to lose him.

"He's gonna be okay," Angelica said. "Don't worry, Zach."

He looked at her, and then he bowed his head in gratitude. "Thanks for not killing him," he said. "I mean that."

"Awhh, shucks, I was never gonna kill Jimmy. Did you think I would?"

"Well…you know. It's just that I've heard that you've in the past, uh, you know…"

Angelica gave a knowing nod. "I only kill really bad men," she said softly. Then she tapped her finger against the side of her head. "Don't forget, I can see way more about a person than you can. Most of my boys and girls in here are good people. But the really bad ones sometimes come and go unnoticed. As soon as they break my rules, I make sure I get rid of them."

"I see."

Zach wasn't sure how to feel about that—or at least he wasn't until she began to actually explain what she meant by "bad men." And Gods, it was awful.

"Rapists, murderers, slaveowners, human traffickers—some adventurers are secretly really, really bad. They hide this side from their friends. But they can't hide it from me. The man I killed in here two years ago abused children. As soon as he grabbed me, it gave me the right to aggro and react however I wanted. And I did."

"Wait, Lennar did that?" Donovan asked, sounding aghast. Zach forgot he was still standing beside them. "Are you sure about that? He was a good guy. Just a bit rowdy."

"I know ya think so," Angelica said, "but he wasn't. If you want proof, his inn room expires in five months, two days, and an hour. If you really wanna see for yourself, I'll put a hold on the auto-clean and auto-purge and leave it exactly as it is. You can walk in and see some of his 'trophies.' But you're not gonna be able to sleep for a long time."

Zach shuddered, and so did Donovan. "I think I'll just take your word for it," he said with a grunt. "Anyways, I'm with the kiddo here. I'm glad you weren't too harsh with Jimmy. I don't know what's wrong with him, and I'm thinking we should just send him back to my sister for now. He's not in the right state of mind to be raiding. He's better off under her care."

"I agree," Zach said, "but the thing is we can't trust him to head straight there. If we send him to Jascaila, he's liable to end up back in some pub somewhere. At least if he's with us on the raid, we know he won't be drinking."

Donovan grunted. "Yeah, maybe, but don't forget, we got the safety of everybody else to consider, too. A raid ain't daycare. I don't think this is a good idea, letting him come along. Not if he's like how we just saw him. I think I'm gonna have to kick him out this time."

"Donovan, please don't. I really don't think that's necessary."

"Kiddo, you mean well, and so do I, but like I said, a raid is a dangerous thing to have someone tagging along who's clearly compromised."

"Well it's a good thing we're not going on a raid, then," Zach argued. "Until proven otherwise, we're going for a long walk."

Donovan said nothing for nearly half a minute. He simply stared directly at Zach, his gaze harsh and unflinching. Finally, his expression softened, and he relented. "All right, fine, have it your way."

With that, they were finally ready to begin. Donovan, maneuvering his way past the raid, who was scattered and mixed in with the rest of Angelica's, took his position at the bottom of the stairs. He turned his body to let a few uninvolved adventurers quickly move up or down, and then he raised his voice and addressed all of them at once.

"I'm gonna be up front, Zephyr's gonna be last. Everyone, make sure you leave at least fifteen-or-more feet of distance between you and the person behind you. This is so we don't get claustrophobic. See, you might not realize it at first, but after a long enough time going down that hall, shit is gonna become real uncomfortable. When that happens, I don't want anybody freaking out." He paused for a moment as if to ensure they were all digesting his words. "Now, I'll be honest," he continued. "What we're about to do is fuckin' nuts. But since I've never done anything like it before, I say what the hell, am I right?"

His words brought about a loud cheering from not only the gathered raid but also more than a hundred of those who just happened to be in Angelica's at the moment. Zach, along with everyone around him, had large backpacks containing food, clothing, and supplies. Many adventurers were also taking along suitcases as well as other means of storage. Unfortunately, since a keycard for an inn room could only be obtained from Angelica herself, they wouldn't be able to spend their nights in any of the rooms. They'd be sleeping on the floor.

As the raiders lifted their hands and released a cheer, it once again struck Zach just how mind-numbingly stupid his idea was. Self-doubt was growing within him, and he wondered if anyone would ever trust a suggestion from him ever again if he turned out to be wrong about this. Just thinking about what this "voyage" would actually entail set him on edge. This wouldn't just be some minor inconvenience. This was going to be a hell of a trip if they gained nothing at all from it.

"Hey, Angelica," he said as Donovan turned around and slowly began making his way up the stairs. "You really can't tell me if I'm right about this?"

"Nope," she said. "Have fun." She waved at him from behind the counter as he awaited his turn to ascend.

Positioned somewhere in the middle of the formation with Olivir, Kolona, Lienne, and Rian, he placed his hand on the homely, wooden banister and began to climb. At the top, he turned to the right and paused for just a moment at the very beginning of the hallway to stare at the most infamous room in all of Angelica's: the famous, oft-talked-about Inn Room 1.

From the outside, it was indistinct and looked just the same as all others, but on the inside, it was a total mystery. Zach was sure that adventurers for hundreds—and maybe even thousands—of years had wondered what was inside. Supposedly, its rent was paid up for another eighty-five-thousand years, meaning whichever adventurer had owned this room had been so rich in points that he or she'd been able to essentially claim the room forever. Had it belonged to an adventurer dating back to the very beginning of Galterra and the system? It was quite possible.

Across from Zach, and to his right, was Inn Room 2. It was the second most-famous room in Angelica's. This one was also rented up for a good-few thousand years. In fact, thousands upon thousands of rooms were. It was one of the peculiarities of this place. The vast majority of rooms early on were claimed by people who'd died a long, long time ago, but had chosen to put an eternity's worth of points on their room, anyway.

Those were the people everybody should've been mad about. But were they? Nope. Not at all. It was Zach who they berated as each one of them passed by Inn Room 8.

"I can't fucking believe Zach stole this room," Dirvin said, flicking the door.

"Yeah," Rono agreed. "Loser doesn't deserve it."

Zach hated those two despite only having met them a few times, with their first meeting being shortly before the dragon raid. Back then, they'd accused Zach of "KS'ing" them and had even ratted him out to Donovan. What followed was a little "fight," in which they'd all rooted each other near the Moldark boss fight in Yorna's B10, but aside from that, it luckily hadn't gotten violent. The two guys were around Jimmy's age—only slightly older than Zach—and Jimmy had once jokingly referred to them as "Beavis and Butthead." Zach had no idea what that meant, but he somehow agreed with it, anyway.

Even Rian doesn't get along with those idiots, he thought.

Making his way past Inn Room 15, his feet made soft, echoing thuds against the floor, yet he could barely hear them as the raid, which extended far in front of him, was boisterous and noisy. Behind him, he realized many adventurers were only first climbing the stairs. Donovan had been extremely insistent on ensuring that enough space remained between adventurers, and so far, people were heeding his words.

"All right!" Donovan yelled from the front of the line. "Everybody should be in the hall now. We're picking up the pace!"

And with that, Zach, along with all the others, entered into a jog at a speed that had been very, very meticulously chosen by Donovan to ensure that every adventurer could maintain it. It was basically the fastest possible pace that the slowest or most sluggish among them could reasonably sustain.

"Hey, Zach," Rian called, glancing back at him from where he was jogging ahead.

"Yeah?"

"You really think we'll find something?"

Zach wanted to tell him they would, but he was seriously starting to doubt himself. He decided to play it cool so that he looked slightly less stupid when or if they failed. "To be honest? Probably not."

"You were so sure a few hours ago."

"Yeah, but now everybody's got me thinking the other way about it. Maybe it really is an infinite hall."

Olivir, who was behind him, released a pleasant, boyish laugh. "Zach, I think you're right, for what it's worth."

"You do?" Zach asked.

"Yup. For sure."

"And so do I!" called Kolona's voice from even farther behind. "Stay positive!"

"Okay, I will!"

And that was exactly what he did as he jogged. And then jogged some more. And then he jogged even more. Excitement was in the air. Adventurers were buzzing with chatter and activity. Footsteps resounded as step after step joined their chorus of laughing, jovial voices. During this time, Zach and Olivir finally had the chance to really catch up, though Olivir didn't seem to feel like talking about his and Kolona's actions in Shadowfall Coast, which was understandable. Zach, gently bringing it up, had been quickly rebuffed. So instead, they discussed Archian Prime and Olivir's various adventures with Kolona as of late.

"Wait, so you've been to that NPC skeleton village Fylwen was telling me about?" he asked them. "The one that sells flaming swords?"

"We sure have," Kolona said with a beaming smile. "Oli and I bought one just as a collector's item. We don't even fight with swords. The quests there are all way too low level for us to have gotten anything useful out of it, but we did them anyway for fun."

"Damn, I need to go there someday."

"If you ever feel like it, stop by and we'll show you the way."

Olivir gave him a thumbs-up. "Seriously, you should come visit us more. You know where we live, and now that we're at peace with Elves, you can come and go peacefully. Actually, our relationship with the Elves has improved a lot since, well…"

"Since what?" Zach asked, wondering why Olivir had hesitated.

Lowering his voice, Olivir said, "Since, you know, Fylwen started staying on Galterra. All the green-cloaks are gone now too aside from just a couple. So, it's a lot like it used to be before she showed up. We get along very well with our white-cloaked neighbors." He lowered his voice even farther, and now he actually shuffled forward a bit to close the distance between them. Grinning, he whispered, "Many of them have privately apologized, too."

This, Zach did not find to be very surprising. The white-cloaks, though duty bound to follow her faithfully, never did seem all that keen on Fylwen. Actually, this whole conversation reminded Zach that he'd had a question he'd been meaning to ask.

"Um, Kolona?"

"Yes, Zach?"

"Do you think it'd be okay if uh, you know, this winter—Galterran winter, I mean, when it's nice and warm on Archian Prime—me and Kal could stay with you guys for a bit? I want her to see Archian Prime and the Elvish villages and stuff."

Kolona, in a way that reminded Zach so much of Kalana, made a happy squeak and clapped her hands together. "Of course! I would love that so much." Then, in a way that was decidedly unlike Kalana, she said, "Excuse me," and reached into her bag, pulled out a liquor bottle filled with chicken blood, and began to drink it so fast that she had to wipe some of it off her lips with her sleeve. "That really would be great."

Sometimes I forget they're vampires, he thought.

As they continued onwards, Zach looked around at the inn room numbers to his left and right. Having just about hit the one-hour mark, he was pleased to see that they were already passing Inn Room 14122. This meant they were moving much faster than Zach, Rian, and Lienne had been moving on their very first trip here. Back then, Zach had been assigned Inn Room 18361, and it had taken almost two hours to get there. It was also about the point where more and more free, unclaimed Inn Rooms began popping up, as Zach now learned that it was possible to tell if an Inn Room was claimed or not based on the background color of its number. If a room was taken, it was green; otherwise, it was blue.

"How's everybody holding up?" Donovan's voice boomed from somewhere way ahead at the front of the formation, much too far for Zach to see him. In response to his question, the adventurers all released a cheer.

So far so good, he thought.

And things continued to be good. There also seemed to be a palpable sense of mystery and intrigue about the place as, one hour later, upon passing Inn Room 26176, they finally got to a point where there were no longer any claimed Inn Rooms. For the past ten minutes, the green-colored backgrounds framing the number had become less frequent, then quite rare. But now, however, Zach felt it was safe to say that there were no longer any at all. In other words, it had only taken a tad more than two hours for them to venture farther than anyone in recent history had ever had any reason to go. It was cool, and it made Zach smile. He really wanted to keep things positive.

And then Lienne had to go and ruin his mood with a single question.

"Zach," she called out to him, "I just thought of something."

"What's that?" he replied, calling to her. Her brother shifted a bit in the hall so that he could see her. She spun around and began jogging backwards so that they could look at one another while speaking.

"Let's say you're right and there is something out there if we go far enough. Um, what happens if someone like, I don't know, let's say five-thousand years ago—what if they did this too? Does it still count?"

And just like that, an entirely new worry that Zach had never even bothered to consider struck him from out of the blue. "No, actually," he said, his mood suddenly turning gloomy. "We have to find a dungeon, and we have to be the first people to ever find it. Meaning the first in all of history. No one else can have ever found it before."

Lienne tried to play things off with a laugh, but Zach knew she could spot the uneasiness in his face that she'd caused with her question. She turned back around and kept walking; this, as Fluffles, who had been jumping over heads since they first set off, decided to hang out with Olivir and Kolona for a little while.

The cat was being extremely sociable today. He was going from the back of the line to the front and then back again, spending a few minutes with any adventurer who liked him, which was most adventurers. Sometimes, he skipped over people, such as Zach just now, and other times he would zigzag and pick people seemingly at random. It looked like he wanted to ride on Kolona's shoulder at the moment.

"Hi, Kolona," he said to her.

"Hi there, Fluffles," she said, her smile warm. The cat stayed with her for a bit before deciding to head all the way to the rear of the formation, likely to spend some time with Zephyr.

Well, at least everyone seems to be having fun, he thought. I'm not sure how long that'll keep going for. This could get old quick.

And it did. Things became noticeably quieter once another two hours had come and gone. Now, they were strolling past Inn Room 57431, and the predominant sound had shifted so that it became almost exclusively that of boots on carpet. There was still some chatter, as well as the occasional laugh, but the difference between now and the way things had been at the start was jarring. Yet things became quieter still as they hit the five-hour mark, and then almost totally silent as they hit the sixth.

Now, jogging past 70319, the sound of boots, sneakers, sandals, a few bare feet, and four cat paws were the only noises to be heard. Several adventurers, such as Rian and Lienne, were beginning to show signs of fatigue and labored breathing, and those who weren't seemed to want to focus on preserving their energy so they could continue to uphold their current pace.

Technically, their pace was only a "jog" by adventuring standards. By the standards of a level-1, this would be considered an all-out, wild sprint forward. Yet as things tended to be for those who'd leveled, even those among them with the lowest speed stat and the lowest stamina could still easily and effortlessly defeat a world-class marathon runner in a race. That was simply the way of things.

And so, as inn doors flashed by to his left and right, and the entire hallway seemed to take on a dream-like, tranquil scene, Zach found himself becoming mesmerized by it. The constant, rhythmic thudding of feet on the floor, the seeming blur of the numbered doors as they passed by—all of it served to make Zach genuinely question whether or not he could doze off while he was jogging. Hell, he realized he just might.

But then, he was ripped back into reality as Rian, who was ahead of him, came to a sudden, abrupt stop, causing Zach to pause behind him. "What the hell, Rian?" he asked. "Don't tell me you're tired already."

"No, dumbass. I stopped because Lienne stopped."

Leaning to the side, Zach could see that Lienne had, in fact, stopped, but so too had Alixa, who was in front of her, and Reni Sarwin, who was in front of Alixa. Zach briefly flared with excitement. "Did they find something?" he asked hopefully. "Is that why we stopped? Gods, tell me we found something! Tell me we already—"

"Kesten!" Donovan roared, a terrified quality in his voice that was so unlike him. "Kesten! Get over here now!"

"What's wrong?" Kesten called from the back of the formation.

"We need a doctor! It's Jimmy!"

What felt like a bullet traveled straight through Zach's heart. Adventurers everywhere looked at one another nervously as the sound of boots sprinting along the carpet echoed. Many adventurers, particularly the larger ones or those in large armor such as the Britethorns, hugged the right-most wall to allow the man to pass. His form came into view soon after. As usual, he looked like some kind of rock star, clad in a leather jacket, skinny jeans, and spiked bracelets.

"What's wrong?" Kesten asked, moving with the urgency of a doctor. He even shoved people out of his way, Zach included. But Zach, on the verge of panic, followed after him. Thankfully, the other adventurers were willing to let him pass as well.

Moving as fast as he was able, he darted to the very front of their formation, and once there, he saw Jimmy lying on his back, moaning. He was shaking so fiercely. His entire body…it was shaking. Like someone in the throes of a seizure, or worse, death. "Jimmy!" he shouted, running to his friend. But Kesten, almost as though he were acting on autopilot, shoved Zach back and away and then dropped down beside Jimmy.

"What's wrong with him?" Donovan asked.

Kesten, who had seemingly dropped everything he'd brought with him aside from a pack strapped to his side, opened it up and began attaching a cuff to Jimmy's upper arm; this, as he placed a stethoscope around his own neck. But even as fast as Kesten was moving, Jimmy was deteriorating even faster. He began convulsing. Foam and vomit exited his lips, and he began muttering.

"Fuck am I?" he shouted. "Who got me? Who you? Who are you? Where's mama?"

"Jimmy!" Zach shouted. "What's going on with you? Why are you—"

"Zach!" Kesten snapped. "Either be quiet or leave!"

Zach closed his mouth. He didn't take Kesten's tone personally. He knew this was how any doctor would act in this situation. Listening to his heart, Kesten began shaking his head. "Is he…is this boy going through a withdrawal?" He turned around and looked at Zach. "Is he?"

Confused, Zach nodded at him. "Well, yeah, but only of alcohol. Not drugs."

Kesten actually winced. "Zach, are you aware that, of all known substances, alcohol withdrawal is the most dangerous?"

Feeling his knees weakening, Zach shook his head. "No, I didn't know that."

"I didn't either," Donovan said with a grunt. "I wish I did before I let him come."

Kesten looked frustrated and worried all at the same time, though he now seemed to take it out more on Donovan than Zach. "Are you telling me you knew that you had a nineteen-year-old kid with you who was about to go through alcohol withdrawal and you let him come here anyway?"

"Well, Zach said it'd be fine," Donovan replied, sounding as though he was caught off guard.

"And? Zach is a seventeen-year-old boy, Donovan," Kesten said angrily. "You are a man in your fifties. What in the fuck were you thinking?"

Zach had never seen Kesten this angry or worried, and he wasn't sure if that was because the situation called for it or because his time spent at the hospital watching people die every day from radiation poisoning had changed him. Maybe it was both. But regardless of the reason, it definitely served to send powerful bouts of racing, shooting fear straight into Zach's chest.

"I…like I said, he was just pining for some booze. I didn't think it could be this serious."

Kesten looked straight into Donovan's eyes. "Despite what you might think, there's only two substances on Galterra you can die from withdrawing off: Still Rage and alcohol. And Jimmy looks like he's on the edge of death right now."

"Don't say that!" Zach blurted out, unable to stop himself. "I have stones. Uh, the yellow, right? Or the purple."

"Stones won't help," Kesten said. "Stones can clear an overdose. He's not overdosing. He's withdrawing. Son of a bitch! I don't have what I need to treat him here."

"What's even wrong with him?" Donovan asked.

"DTs," Kesten explained. "Delirium tremens."

"The fuck is that?"

"It's a life-threatening condition that happens from alcohol withdrawal. He needs a sedative or this can turn bad very fast."

Donovan looked around. "Where the fuck are we gonna get something like that?"

"I have no idea," Kesten said. "Ironically, that street drug, Still Rage, would actually save his life right now, as hard as that is to believe." He swore. "I don't know what I can do for him. Maybe if we carry him back we can—"

"Wait, hold on!" Zach shouted. "Did you say Still Rage can save his life?"

"Yes, why?"

"Tyson!" Zach screamed. "Get over here right now! It's an emergency! Please!"

There was a brief pause. "Did you say Tyson?" Tyson shouted back. "Are you sure that wasn't a mistake?"

"Yes you!" Zach shouted. "Gods-be-damned, get over here! Now! Run like your life depends on it!"

To his credit, Tyson did exactly that. Making his way quickly through the crowd of adventurers, who thankfully did not take the opportunity to trip or hit him, Tyson appeared near a snarling Donovan and an indifferent Keston. "What is it?" he asked.

Zach stared him straight in the eyes. "Do you have any Still Rage, Tyson?"

Tyson croaked. "St-Still Rage? What's that? I've never heard that term before. Is it some kind of—"

"Tyson, please!" Zach yelled at him. "Jimmy might die if you don't."

The man narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. "Is this some kind of test?"

"No!" Forcing himself to be as calm as he could possibly be, Zach lowered his voice a touch and said, "As hard as it is to believe, Still Rage for some fucked-up reason can fix whatever's wrong with Jimmy. I swear this isn't a test or a joke. Do you have any?"

Tyson lowered his voice. "It's just you said if I had any drugs on me, you'd send me back to my uncle to be—"

"Right now I don't care, Gods-dammit! Tyson, I'm begging you. Please don't let our friend die."

At this, Tyson's expression turned serious. He removed his backpack from his back and held it out in front of him. Then he opened it, and inside he opened a secondary pouch, concealed within was a third hidden pouch, and in that one, he produced a tiny baggie containing four pills. "These are clean," he said. "I got them from someone I trust."

Kesten grabbed them. "How many milligrams are in each?"

"They're 1mg tablets."

Kesten placed two of the tablets in Jimmy's mouth, then stuck his fingers down his throat and somehow forced Jimmy to swallow them. Jimmy, even as he was rocking back and forth, muttered, "The…fuck? Somebody just give me Xanax? That taste like Xanax."

"It is," Zach said to him. But he was back into a haze of convulsions and strange body movements. Kesten then shot Zach a questioning look, and so he explained. "Where Jimmy's from, um, on his Earth colony, Still Rage is a medical drug called Xanax. That's what he says, anyway. We found that out during the Mare of the Primordial Void raid. Uh, you missed that one."

"I see."

Returning his attention to Jimmy, Zach asked, "Will those pills save his life?"

"No."

"No?" Zach exclaimed. "But you just said—"

"Four isn't enough! It might buy him some time, but for him to get better, he'd need two of these every two hours for ten hours. Where are we going to find that many—"

Tyson coughed into his fist. "I may…have a few more."

Zach looked at him. "You have more?"

"Maybe one or two."

"Tyson, please. How many more do you actually have?"

Tyson made a nervous-sounding groan then unzipped yet another hidden pouch within the hidden pouch, then another one in that one. It actually became hard to follow. Reaching inside, he pulled out a sock. "I have like a few in here." He reached inside. "Let me see how many I—gahh, wait!"

Kesten grabbed it from him and quickly turned it upside down, and then, what looked like ninety, or maybe even a hundred pills came spilling out all over the fucking floor. Zach didn't know whether to be outraged or impressed. "One or two?" he asked Tyson. "Really?"

"Look, Sir Calador, I never said I counted them."

Of all things, Zach actually laughed. His emotions were so fucked right now. He just wanted Jimmy to be okay. And it was only then that he realized Olivir and Kolona were now hovering over Jimmy.

"Oh, right," he said. "If Jimmy dies, you guys can just bring him back, right?"

"Yeah, that's why we're here."

Zach, feeling absolutely horrible for even speaking the words that next came out of his mouth, asked, "Would it be more humane if I just kill him and let Olivir bring him back?"

"Gods, kiddo, that's dark," Donovan said.

Zach ignored the remark. He was only trying to be helpful. Deep down, he felt intense guilt, as Jimmy wouldn't have even been here right now if not for his insistence. This was his fault. He didn't understand. He didn't know any better. Alcohol was legal, so how could it be that that was the drug that killed people so easily? It didn't even make sense.

"I'm so sorry, Jimmy," he whispered. He looked at Donovan. "Should we bring him back? I'll take him myself."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best."

"No need, Sir Calador," Tyson said. He bent down, scooped up Jimmy, and placed him over his back. "I'll carry him. He can stay with us. No need for anyone to go back."

Kesten seemed to scoff at this idea. "He can't come with us. He needs to be in a Gods-cursed hospital, not carried down a hall like luggage."

"I see your point," Tyson said respectfully, "but having gotten to know Jimmy recently, I suspect he'd be very upset if he woke up anywhere but this hallway or a dungeon connected to it. You said he needs two pills every two hours, right? I shall take full responsibility for him. But I will not leave him behind. I just don't think it's what he'd want."

"Oh yeah? Well, it's a good thing that nobody here cares what you think, ya fuckin' parasite," Donovan growled.

"Yes, well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but—"

"Stop talking," Donovan said. "I don't want to hear you or your bullshit. I know exactly who you are, Tyson Revel. You're a worthless, spineless sack of shit, and your mother should've aborted you to save everyone the disgrace." He scowled. "You're not even supposed to be here, bucko. So keep that trap shut. In fact, if you open your mouth one more time, I'll backhand you so hard you'll be joining Jimmy in the hospital."

"Yeah, seriously, shut your fucking mouth, Tyson," Reni said, piling on. "Like Don says, you shouldn't even be here. There's no one here who likes you or wants you among us. Honestly, it should be you foaming out the mouth right now, not Jimmy. You deserve this. He doesn't."

"Agreed," a bunch of adventurers chimed in.

Tyson stood where he was, still carrying Jimmy, but his eyes did moisten. He said nothing, but it was plainly clear that he was hurting. How could he not be? Who could withstand that level of vitriol and not at least feel something? The fact he wasn't bawling was actually an improvement for the typically weak-hearted man.

"Okay, guys, that's enough," Zach said, looking to put a stop to this. Yet, the abuse went on.

"You really are pathetic," Reni continued, opening his mouth and spitting in Tyson's face, almost hitting Jimmy in the process. "I'm not usually such a hateful person, but you're a fail-son and a disgrace."

"So true," another adventurer added. She laughed at him. "I mean, I hate all the political guild shit-heads, but you have to be the worst of them. I bet your father was happy to get Alzheimer's just so he could forget he brought such a waste of life into this world."

"Your criticism has been noted," Tyson replied, his voice taking on a shaky quality.

"Guys," Zach said again, more forcefully this time. "I said enough."

He didn't like where this was going. It felt wrong to him in such a primitive, deep, and instinctive way. It reminded him of why he'd saved Vim in the first place: of why he'd endured what he'd endured. It was simply a primal feeling deep within his gut, one that told him on such an innate and personal level that the primary imperative of the strong was to protect the weak, and that anyone who shirked at this duty could not be forgiven.

He'd almost forgotten it, too. Almost. But seeing them all gang up on this quivering, struggling man, it activated something inside his brain, something that was rousing a deep anger he was struggling to control. And so, he called for them to stop. But did they listen? No, they did not. They continued.

"If Jimmy is leaving," Alixa said, "Tyson should definitely leave too. Jimmy's the one who invited him, so he shouldn't get to stay if Jimmy's not here anymore. Especially since nobody else wants him here."

"I have to agree," Kesten said. "Nobody told me this creature would be here when I agreed to take two weeks off at the hospital to be here. I came here to try to get my mind off how scummy this world is, not to have a reminder of it standing next to me."

"I'm sorry," Tyson whispered, closing his eyes as though that would disguise the tears and hurt.

"You should be sorry," another adventurer said. "You're just such a piece of shit. And you know that, too, don't you? Why would you even come here? Like, dude, everyone here has made it very clear we think you're garbage and don't want to be associated with you. You're not our friend, and we wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire, so just fuck off, thanks."

"Yeah," Donovan agreed. "Tyson, you should turn around and get out of here. Because I'm sick of lookin' at you as well, and if I keep seeing that freckled-fucking-face every time I turn around, I might just—"

"I thought I told you all that's enough!" Zach shouted, launching himself back up to his feet and causing Donovan's mouth to fall open, Kesten's eyes to widen, and the ten nearest adventurers to recoil as though Zach had just pushed them away with an invisible force. Like a dam breaking, he lost his cool, and no number of breathing techniques were going to stop him now that he'd gotten going.

These people.

These assholes.

He'd had enough.

"First of all, I invited Tyson here," Zach said, his voice becoming louder and louder with each word he spoke. "Me! Not Jimmy. Me! He's my guest! And anyone who doesn't like it can fuck off, because I'm tired of this. You like being a bunch of bullies to someone who never did anything to a single one of you? Well, guess what: I can be a bully too. And if any of you have a problem with that, I'll put you through way worse than Mr. Oren did. Think I'm bluffing? Here's something most of you don't know about me: last week, I killed over a hundred people before breakfast. That's not an exaggeration. I killed a hundred people before most of you assholes got up in the morning. And I could easily kill a hundred more right now. So go on. Fuck with me and find out!" Zach finished in a scream. But he didn't stop there. He was too angry. Too aggrieved.

"I can take on every single one of you." He drew his sword. "It wouldn't even be difficult. I've killed so many people I've actually lost count of how many I killed." To prove his point, he thrust his arms out, stopping just short of Alixa's belly and causing her to howl in fear and back away.

"It'd be so easy," he said, pulling his arms back. "And in case you haven't noticed, I've gone a bit crazy in the head lately. So come on. Who wants to be my next victim? Come. Draw your weapon. I'll wait."

He waited. No one moved. So he continued to warn them.

"You see Tyson here?" Zach pointed his sword in the man's direction. "This man was left in my care by Sir Vim Alazar and Sir Abram Gespon the Virtuous. This means he's mine now. So I want you all to understand this: going forward, anyone who insults him or hurts him in any way is insulting and hurting me."

Zach looked a number of them right in the eyes, including Donovan. "Listen to me carefully. All of you! If Tyson wants to come to Angelica's, he can come to Angelica's. If Tyson wants to go to Archian Prime, he can go to Archian Prime. He can go wherever the FUCK!"—he screamed this word, the dramatic and sudden increase in volume causing Alixa to raise her hands and flinch fearfully—"he wants!"

Zach lifted his chin. "I am Sir Zachys Calador of the Royal Roses, the fourth-ranking member of the most-powerful guild in North Bastia. Striking my subject is the same as committing a crime against me and my guild, and I'm done tolerating it. SO BACK DOWN RIGHT NOW OR I'LL BE LEAVING HERE WITH YOUR FUCKING HEAD!"

No one said a word after that.

Nor did they dare trouble Tyson.

He was not bothered ever again.

But he did regard Zach with such unfathomable gratitude that somehow Zach knew that Tyson would be loyal to him for the rest of his life. He gave Zach such a devout, reverent look that Zach wondered whether or not Tyson might now be more loyal to him than his own guild.

But the adventurers? They, on the other hand, were quiet. For the moment, they refused to meet his eyes. He knew they'd get over it pretty quickly. But some of them…some of them would never look at Zach the same again.

Because in their eyes, this was the moment he stopped being one of them.

******

Eilea shot up out of bed, sweating. She shivered. Goosebumps ran down her arms and legs. That was no dream. She'd seen it clearly—could still see it clearly. Zach, standing there, his sword drawn, command dripping from every word.

Her emperor. For just a moment, she saw him. The emperor who would lead this world out of ruin with her by his side. There he was in all his glory. For just that instant, he had appeared. Finally, at long last, he had made his first appearance. And though it had lasted for but a few seconds, it was perhaps among the most significant moments in the thousands of years she had lived.

Her eyes leaking tears of joy and elation, she realized she needed to speak with Francis and share with him the good news. Emperor Calador was real as she'd known all along. And he wasn't as far away as they'd feared. His soul grew before her very eyes, and it was beautiful.

He, the young man who'd just jeopardized so many friendships, who'd just earned the fear and distrust of a community he held so dear to his heart—and all for the sake of defending just one, lone, emotionally defenseless human against their collective, misplaced hatred. There were so few who would have done that: so few who would make such a sacrifice for someone so disliked and so unpopular.

He was in there. Her emperor. He was being born, a process that was set in motion.

The greatest ruler since King Peter I was on the verge of existence.

There would be a new beginning: a chance to correct her past mistakes. To get it right this time. To finally show Adamus that he was wrong, and to bring about a world that was better than the one he'd created: his botched, forsaken creation, his prison of suffering and torment. Of injustice, cruelty, and anarchy.

Emperor Calador was real, and he would change everything.