Walter neatly folded the edges of the thick sheet over the floor and bowed before leaving. While he left, Teddy walked in.

"Walter says you needed me?"

I tossed him the letter from the king and knelt down. With a wave half a dozen of the monkey corpses plopped onto the sheet.

"Glib-libs? Aaaah I see. The extractors would be perfect for them." Teddy examined the letter, running his thumb over the seal with a frown. "Are you planning on making combustibles?"

"Your knowledge on alchemy is always surprising," Khrem said with amusement. "I will set aside some of their heartfluid towards their creation. The rest is to see if I can produce a residual aerosolized agent emphasizing the wind-aspected mana suffused throughout the glib-libs oil."

"Are you trying to make a powder that turns you streamlined? Or wind resistant? I think Sturmrorex can help you test it," I cut in.

He nodded. "He was in mind when I thought of creating this. Watching you in the arena proved useful. If you can better learn to control the wind-cloak you utilize while under Sturmrorex's invocation, it could help in expanding the skill towards a party-wide buff. Or so is the plan. It'll take considerable testing to see what is capable."

I whistled and patted Khrem on the back. "And this is why I'm willing to fatten you with gold. Now let's see what Erebus can extract. Are you cool with giving me the bones? He doesn't like hollow ones as much but they're still a treat."

"More than fair compensation if he provides alchemic reagents."

Teddy had already scanned through the letter. The message was disgustingly short. But ever the gentleman, he stood in silence and waited for me to finish. From the outside, you'd think Teddy was fine. Except he didn't bother hiding the fluctuations in his mana.

With a quick flush, Erebus appeared and I caught him in my palms. He waved a bony appendage and turned around. Without a word, he launched off my hands and dived straight into the nearest corpse.

He returned with a loot orb and waited for me to take it before diving into the others.

"I'm surprised you can manage this many. Is he pulling from your mana?" Khrem asked.

"Not yet. Maybe on the sixth one. Ever since the dive into the arena and my tier up, things have been easier. Something he did when we fished the shadelings out of the ground helped him refine his technique. That or who knows what with all the weirdness lately. "

One by one, the orbs piled into my arms. As predicted, on the sixth Erebus tapped into the connection and siphoned mana. I noticed as he left each corpse had fewer bones than before. His thoughts were too garbled for me to understand specifics, but it wasn't hard to tell he enjoyed the meal as he worked.

I grabbed two for myself and forced Sereza and Khrem to take a pair each. Erebus clicked his mandibles in excitement on my shoulder, urging me to continue.

"Alright, alright. Cross your legs, enchanted loot time!"

"Skriiii!"

The first orb revealed a small box of thin paper about as large as my palm. On it's side was a crude drawing of a glib-lib midflight. I opened the top to reveal a half-dozen grey pellets. With a shrug I handed it to Khrem who had two pouches in one hand. Sereza copied me, handing over a glass vial filled with what looked like hair and a small marble.

"Here goes a second try!"

It popped and out tumbled a clear gemstone made of grey-green glass.

"Is that a skillstone?" Sereza asked.

I tossed it to Khrem and smiled. "Let's see what Khrem says."

He pinched the crystal between his fingers and activated his skill. The first time I met him, I wasn't able to detect it, but with my improved senses I caught the nearly imperceptible pulse of mana funneling into his head.

Khrem lowered his hand and put the skillstone on the table next to the other loot.

"It's middle quality, but strange. Your skill continues to fascinate me."

"Well? What is it?" Sereza demanded.

"It's an air and… oil affinity. I've heard of ink, and lots of water skills native to our island employ fluid secretion-esque skills. But never oil. Here let me write down the system's notification."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Slippery Simian

A passive skill that empowers one's body with the agility of a greased primate. Increase aerodynamics and flexibility.

"I mean… It's not bad?" I offered.

"It's not. But I've never heard of such a skill. Will you keep it?"

I pocketed the stone. "Maybe. Who knows who can use it though. That second affinity requirement has to be rare."

The others returned noncommittal shrugs. While Sereza and Khrem were busy with identifying the rest of the loot, I motioned to Teddy. He walked over to a private corner and sighed once we were alone.

"Do you know how you want to respond?"

"My first instinct was to tell him to shove his apology up where the sun doesn't shine. Then I thought about it, and honestly it might actually shine up there. King of the kingdom of light and sun? Who knows what the king gets up to," I joked.

Teddy frowned. "You're acting strange again."

It was turn to sigh. "My emotions are still weird. I'm working it, you know that. It's been a good day so far. Relaxing even. I didn't want to ruin it."

The tell-tale signs of a barrier appeared around us. Subtle, only strong enough for me to notice.

"How much of that is a front?" he asked seriously.

"I couldn't tell you if I wanted to."

"As long as you know I'm here for you. So are the others. Even Isaac."

"Gross."

He laughed and the barrier dropped. "The letter requests your presence with the king. He even went as far as to offer you a choice from the royal vault as an apology. The smartest move would be to avoid him at all costs."

"Buuuut?"

"I don't think that's entirely possible. He is a king after all."

"So I'm screwed?"

"Didn't say that," Teddy said with a grin. "My parents don't want to admit it, but they've been avoiding you."

"I've gotten that feeling. They haven't been around lately. Not after they marched into the castle."

"I still don't know what exactly was told to them but I know they weren't happy. In protest they openly threatened the court with blowing up the castle. They even went as far as to say they would openly challenge any noble house that thinks they and I quote: 'have what it takes.'"

"That… Sounds like them. It's good to know they weren't fully complicit with the mind reaper business."

Teddy scowled. "They would never."

"I know," I said placatingly. "It's probably like Myol. Bound by oaths and promises. Duty and all that. I don't blame them eitherway. They didn't hire Vell."

"Good… Good. Back to why I'm mentioning them. They weren't able to step in and stop the mind reaper, but they are still infuriated. Since you want to avoid the king but can't, I propose this." He pulled out a sheet of paper and started scribbling on it while talking. "Have them act officially as your representatives in receiving the apology. Uncle Aleron might try to deny them but mother and father won't be so easily persuaded. This way you avoid direct interaction with the monarch of a kingdom while also reaping what is owed to you!"

Teddy's voice contained a restrained heat filled with vitriol. I raised an eyebrow but he kept writing. Walter appeared at the door and by the time Teddy was done he handed over the letter, freshly sealed with a golden envelope.

I shook my head and patted Teddy's back. "Thanks. Now it's my turn to ask. Are you okay?"

His shoulders dropped and he had the decency to not flash me his fit-for-hollywood smiles.

"I am fine all things considered. It's just that being forced to watch all that has happened to you since coming to the city… It's a failure on my part. I said it before. We came here to relax. We're adventurers, we are use to hardship and pushing ourselves. We did push ourselves. The rifts take their toll, you know that better than most."

"Unfortunately."

"Yes. It's why I am angry." His expression contorted. For a moment, he looked constipated before his mana rippled underneath his fingers. The glimmering golden light flashed like runework in his hand, forming a lattice of angry sigils. "It's unfortunate but I am my parents child. To come back from life and death. I'd rather face the mawed beast with only my pants then return to the full brunt of politics. I thought I knew how the nobles played their games. And I do. But I was naïve to think that they wouldn't stoop so low."

There was a lot left unsaid. It was hard to imagine Teddy as anything but the perfect knight. Charming, strong, courageous and stalwart. He was leader who led by example while always putting his best foot forward.

Even his boiling anger didn't hide the stresslines around his eyes or the tension in his shoulders.

I copied a memory, one that I had been subjected many a times before. With my left hand, I reached out and firmly yet gently gripped Teddy's shoulder. Flashing my best smile, I tried to project my mana like his. Unflavored it radiated out, but colored with my intention more than a direction the way a skill forces.

"Well, Teddy. Know that I'm here for you. As your friend, you can rely on me. Whether it's to vent, share a drink, chatter about useless things… Hells, even if you need a body to beat up, I'm here for you," I spoke, adding a deeper register to my voice. With a final, cheeky grin, I squeezed. "Remember, you have all your friends and companions here for you. That's what we're for, right?"

Teddy's expression softened and his mana cooled. A loud boisterous laugh erupted from his belly and carried throughout the house. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it back.

"As Uncle Brelten always said: you know you're a good teacher when your students can correct you with your own wisdom."

"I don't know. Sounds like something that'd be followed by being beat you up twice as hard," Sereza added.

"Also true! We love our uncle, but he beat us black and blue! In Igas' case dark, dark purple."

We shared a laugh. Over dinner Khrem catalogued the rest of the loot, noting that all the other loot orbs produced alchemic ingredients. All except my own. It turns out they were candy. Gross, oily candy that made your breath reek–but candy nonetheless.

As we all retired for the night, I sank into the confines of my bed and stared at the ceiling.

A good day. A good, damn day. Hells Cyrus, it's been a good week.

The king's note flashed to mind and I bit back the rising heat.

Oh well. Hopefully Nathan and Anastasia can get something out of the bastard. What would I even want?

I shook my head and dived under the pillows. That night I dreamed of monstrous cake creatures unleashing hell. It would be a funny skill to acquire after all. Who knows? Maybe a rift would reward me an additional slot in the future!

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