Time ticked by as Tate and Lexie stared at each other. He was frozen at the entrance and she was frozen sitting on Isaac's table. Slowly, the shock melted off his features and only mild amusement and irritation remained.

He walked in and closed the door behind him. Isaac, clearly oblivious to the tension, called out, "You got stuff for me?"

"Not yet," Tate responded, tearing his eyes away from Lexie. "Soon. Came to see if you could fix something."

"You gonna pay for it this time?"

"Eventually. I always do."

"He really does." Isaac shot Lexie a wry look. "It's your lucky day, kid. Looks like you got to meet the Finder after all."

It took a second for his words to hit her, but when they did, it was like a freight running right over her head. The Finder. That was who Isaac had told her could get rare artifacts and weapons for a fee.

He was Tate Reynolds.

The astonishment spiraled through her mind, turning it inside out as things began to click into place. Of course, the Finder was Tate. He probably found those rare artifacts in the dungeons he raided, and he could exchange them for other things he wanted. Or maybe he could use them to create other things. She didn't know how it worked, but apparently, Tate did.

And it looked like he'd been doing this for a while too, seeing as how the boys in the shop all recognized him and eyed him with respect, nodding their greetings. Though they were significantly older than him, they didn't treat him like a kid, like how they treated Lexie.

Lexie understood why because the more she learned about Tate Reynolds, the more she was in awe and suspicious of him.

Just how had he managed to do so much in such a short time? Is it because he had a guide who'd probably helped him out along the way?

In the meantime, Lexie's guide was nowhere to be found. She was still salty about that.

As Tate approached the counter, her piercing gaze followed him. He was pointedly avoiding looking at her but she didn't care. He'd known she was looking for the Finder, and he'd explicitly avoided her. Why? Why did he feel like he needed to keep this a secret from her?

Lexie drowned out most of the conversation between him and Isaac as they shared greetings and Tate mentioned some new mech he wanted.

It was funny. Lexie thought that the Finder would be a tall imposing figure, a wise old man, or even a dark seedy figure like Naem. She didn't think of…Tate.

She didn't know whether to be impressed or disappointed.

Tate sent her a glance before averting his gaze again. She kept staring at him, dead on. She didn't stop no matter how uncomfortable he started to look, to the point where Isaac and the boys on the couch finally noticed the strain.

"Lexie, do you have a problem with our little buddy over there?" Wes called out. "You keep eyeballing him."

"No," Lexie responded. "But I think he might have a problem with me, seeing as how he never told me about his secret identity."

Her response was met with puzzled silence. At least Tate had the decency to appear a little bashful but he covered it up with an arched brow and a tart look.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," she said.

Isaac finally looked up from whatever mech Tate had given him and considered their expressions carefully. It slowly dawned on him. "Wait, you guys really, really know each other. Like you're friends and stuff?"

"Oh that makes sense," Wes said, tapping his forehead. "That's probably why he called that one time and told us to let her go."

"Which one time?"

"The day we almost snatched you and your friend up."

For the second time that day, it was like a bomb was dropped on Lex.

Her jaw came unhinged. She gaped at Tate who was glaring at a chuckling Wes.

So Tate had been the one who'd called that one time when she and Xena were almost kidnapped. He was the one who called in the favor, not Isaac. Which meant he saw her that day, but decided not to let her know. Instead, he'd helped her covertly by calling off his friends–who happened to be criminals by the way–and telling them not to hurt her.

Of course. Why didn't she think of that?

Because, well, it sounded insane.

"That's how you..." She shook her head, her confusion making her annoyed. "Wait, was that the first time you saw me? Did you follow me there or was it a coincidence?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Tate drawled. "I live in Old Moulding, remember? You were in my neighborhood. How was I supposed to know you'd show up?"

"I'm supposed to believe that? The same way that I'm supposed to believe that you didn't know I would be at Conrad's dojo?"

His face heated and he tore his eyes away again. "No. I knew you would be there. I saw the videos."

"I didn't see yours." She hadn't bothered to look up any of the other Fighter's because, well there had simply been too much going on in her life for her to be interested in that. She'd wanted to see Tate's but it had been difficult to find. Another suspicious thing.

"And you're also the Finder who I'm looking for. That's three big coincidences in a short period and I'm not sure my suspension of belief stretches that far. I'm sorry but it's just an awful lot of occurences pushing us together and I'm not sure where it's stemming from." Internally, Lexie wondered if that was part of the game too. Was all this premeditated? Is that part of what the guide is supposed to tell me?

"Wow," Tate responded thoughtfully. "I never pegged you as the type who believes the world revolves around them. Guess I was wrong."

Someone snickered from the couch, but when Lexie glared in that direction, they fell silent. Isaac was quiet too, watching their exchange with extreme interest.

"You really live in Old Moulding?" Lexie asked.

"Yeah," Tate responded.

"Where?"

"Why would I tell you?"

"You know where I live."

"Oh so it's like that," Wes murmured, but when Lexie shot him another look he simply put a finger over his lips.

"I live in Old Moulding," Tate admitted. "But if it makes you feel better to know, I'm not from around here. I'm originally from District 8. From a small town full of practically no one." At everyone's stare, he added, "It was one of the places hit the hardest by the last war."

"Ah, tough shit," Oliver said.

"It could be worse," Isaac spoke up "You could be living in the mana-less wasteland that is District 1."

"Or a virtual jungle in District 2," Lenny added.

"Actually, the jungles in District 2 are quite nice I've heard. Their biophilic buildings are unlike anything I've ever seen. It's why it's more expensive to live in the jungles than in the city."

"How do you know all that?" Tate asked.

"I did my research. I considered moving there at one point but then I changed my mind. "

"Did you ever consider telling me that you were the Finder?" Lexie asked Tate.

Tate rolled his eyes. "You're still on that."

"Yup." Lexie wasn't truly upset at his secrecy. Well, she was upset, but only because she felt hoodwinked and stupid, and she didn't like feeling stupid.

On the other hand, she understood why he hid it. Tate didn't owe her anything and used secrets as his defense mechanism. They were all he had. But the fact that he was hiding so much didn't make her trust him any more than she already did. And it made her more desperate to figure out who Tate was and why he was here.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

It also reminded her that she'd died and ended up in the mess after getting involved with Tate.

Was that intentional? Was he stuck here like she was, or did the ISTS use him to get people into this world?

Was that why he couldn't talk to her about it?

She needed to know and the only way she could find out was to get closer to him, enough to trip him up. Guilt was one way to do that, and so she pretended to be more upset than she was, crossing her arms and giving him a hurt look.

She knew it was working when Tate sighed in resignation. "What do you want? An apology?"

"No." She made a face. "What am I going to do with that? I want a freebie."

"He doesn't do freebies," Isaac, Wes, Oliver, and Lenny all chorused at once. It must have been something that came up frequently in the past because it sounded almost rehearsed.

"You sure that's a good business move?" Lexie mentioned. "You might get more clients if you let people test the goods first."

Tate shook his head. "Nope. I find that clients who want things for free hardly ever become well-paying clients."

"Oh, and your one year of business experience taught you that?"

Tate gave her a bemused look and she realized that technically, he did have more than one year of business experience. He used to run his dad's deli back on Earth 2.

"Anyway, don't let me distract you,'" she told Tate. "You can go back to your criminal activity. I'll just be here sulking." She waved her hand at him. Both he and Isaac gave her amused looks.

"It's not criminal," Tate said. "Only a little illegal."

"Spoken like a true boss of the underworld. Did you know your friends over there are kidnappers?" She gestured with her head over to the couch.

"Former kidnappers," Oliver said.

"More like failed kidnappers," Isaac murmured, and Lenny flashed him the middle finger.

"That has nothing to do with me. And what I do with my time is no more criminal than what you do with your cards. Because I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to be used like that."

Touche. Except while not advisable, she was pretty sure she couldn't be arrested for playing around with card magic.

"Oh by the way," Tate's head snapped back to Isaac. "I want you to look at something else for me."

Tate then unzipped the pouch around his waist, reached in, and pulled out a long sword that had no business fitting in that thing. The pouch had to be magically reinforced to have more space on the inside than it appeared. Her Uncle Max had a backpack like that, and she'd once seen him put an entire bazooka in that thing. It didn't even bulge once he was done. It was amazing. Just like Tate's pouch.

Tate palmed the ornate sword that had jewels glowing on its hilt and its blade gleaming and shiny enough for Lexie to see her reflection in it. He handed it over to Isaac and asked casually, "Do you think you could extract the gems from that for me? They're Lycan crystals."

"Nice," Isaac said staring at it in admiration. "I probably could. But don't you have a blacksmith for that?"

"There's some tech at work in it, that I haven't been able to figure it out yet. A blacksmith might ruin it."

Isaac nodded, and his eyes practically glowed as he laid down the sword. It was clear that he was no longer paying attention to anyone or anything in this room, all his attention drawn to his work as he began ruffling through his pile of tools on his desk.

"Can I talk to you outside?" Lexie asked Tate in a low tone.

He looked like he wanted to argue but ultimately nodded.

"I'll be right back," Lexie called to the boys on the couch who were already making the move to get up.

"No can do," Wes said. "Your Uncle gave us strict instructions not to let you out of our sight. Said he would cut off some very delicate appendages if we did."

"We're literally right outside. You can watch from the window."

Wes opened his mouth to protest again and Oliver elbowed him in the side. He leaned over to whisper something in Wes' ear that made him go, "Oooh. Alright then, we'll watch."

Then he winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up.

Lexie rolled her eyes but didn't protest. It would be useless anyway.

Lexie and Tate closed the door behind them and descended the steps in silence. When they finally were at the base and far enough away on the empty alley so they wouldn't be overheard, Lexie said, "I'm going to accompany you for the dungeon raid."

"Exploration," Tate corrected automatically, raising both eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

"I think so." She swallowed, her hands suddenly sweaty and her heart racing. She didn't know until just now that this was going to be her answer even though she'd mulled it over for a week already. She'd kept going back and forth and she still wasn't sure, but she couldn't take it back now.

"I'll go under a few conditions."

Tate seemed to be expecting this. He nodded, crossed his arms over his chest, and said, "Hit me."

"First I need to figure out a way to…tether you to me so that in case you're in trouble I can teleport you right to where I am and we can get out."

"Teleportation doesn't work well in the dungeons."

"Yeah, with orbs and portals. But that's not how I'm going to do it."

Interest gleamed in his eyes. "How are you going to do it?"

"I'm going to explain it to you but I want to make sure it works first."

"I'm curious as to whether it works too. Last I checked, teleportation while in a dungeon was pretty much impossible."

"Not impossible." Lexie pointed out. "Just difficult and some might say dangerous."

"Some?"

"My father for one," she said. "My friend Elvira for another. But it's fine, I have good pathway control so I should be fine." At least in theory, if she got all her calculations correct.

Tate looked very unsure about everything she was saying. "If your father and your friend don't think it's safe, you probably shouldn't do it. Listen, all that isn't even necessary. I'm experienced enough to get myself out of trouble. I just need you to stand near the entrance of the dungeon so I get extra time in case I need it."

Lexie was already shaking her head. "No. I'm not just going to stand there uselessly while you're in danger. That would be such a waste. I went through a lot of trouble to save your life, you know. I'm not going to have you die on me after all that."

Surprise lit up his eyes and something else, a hidden, almost tortured emotion peeked through. But it was gone before Lexie could process it.

"I would feel terrible if that were to happen," Lexie said. "If we're going to do this, if I'm going to let you do this, then I have to make sure it's as safe as can be."

His face shuttered up again. His cocky smile was back. "Let me do this? Who says you have the right to stop me?"

"The girl keeping the dungeon door open, that's who."

"Fair, but I'm the Finder. No one lets me do anything."

"Speaking of which you couldn't have come up with a better codename than the Finder?" She frowned. "I figure you've been gaming since you were in diapers, so you've had years to think up cool names. And what you landed on was 'The Finder'? Not something with more flair and character?"

His eyebrows rippled and he appeared slightly contemplative but also offended. "There's power in simplicity."

She snorted and the offense grew.

"Anyway," Lexie said. "The second condition is that you'll drop hints about the ISTS and what I'm supposed to be doing here."

"Already said I would."

"Yes, but they have to be good ones, hints that I actually understand. Now I have no way of knowing so I'm going to have to trust you on this and trust that I'm not making a mistake by trusting you."

He pressed his lips together. He gave her a short nod.

"Okay. The third condition–"

"Just how many of them are there?"

"–is that you'll be my guinea pig."

That one stumped him. "Huh?

"I'm trying to make cards that work for mundanes," Lexie explained. "Of course, I'm pretty far off from being able to do so, but when I do, I need a mundane to try it on. I want you to volunteer."

"You're trying to make cards for mundanes?" His face pinched in confusion. "Why?"

Lexie thought about it, then shrugged. "Why not?"

Tate didn't seem to have an answer for that one.

"I don't think it's fair that mundanes don't get access to skills that they can protect themselves with," she explained. "And medicine too. Do you know they don't have vaccines here?"

"Yeah, I know. There's a reason for that," he said. "The church actively hampers the developments of vaccines and outright bans development of higher than commonplace potions outside their jurisdiction."

"Seriously?" she frowned. "Why?"

"They say it's because extended use of potions can be dangerous for pathways. They're kind of right. Potions contain mana and although it's trace amounts, too much of that destabilizes your internal mana and can lead to pretty gnarly results. It's especially dangerous for mundanes."

"Says the mundane who may potentially be experimenting with mana potions."

He didn't even try to deny it. "I know what I'm doing."

"And you're doing it with Isaac's guy? The odd duck?"

Tate smiled at the description. "That one. He's legit but he's never worked with a mundane before, so this is a first. We're taking it slow though…and he's starting with mana-infused mechs for now and then we'll soon move on from that."

"Hmm…" Lexie said. "But can he really increase your mana capacity?"

He nodded. "I've seen him do it for several people."

Lexie bit her lip in thought. Tate smirked.

"Asking for a friend?"

"No, just curious," she said quickly. She would have to do more research before she even considered doing something like that. It still seemed too far-fetched and dangerous for her. "Anyway, back to the church conversation. So they say potions are dangerous, then how come they don't fund the development of more scientific mundane medicines? Like penicillin and stuff."

"Well, they have a bunch of excuses for that too, including that those aren't really as effective against the diseases we have today. But the true reason is that they don't want to. Most of the power the Church holds is because they control access to most of the Healers and Saintesses. If Healers become obsolete, or even just less valuable, the Church loses its power. Therefore, they kill any bill for the development of mundane medicines."

"And the [Heroes] just let that happen?"

"The [Heroes] can only do so much," he said. "The Church is one of the major powers in this world, along with the Hero's Association and the political leadership of the nation. Each of those three branches influences the other, but none of them has complete control. It's an ongoing battle that sometimes benefits us and sometimes screws us over. For example, thanks to the Hero Association, Healers are no longer forced to join the Church and use their powers which is why we have a Healer shortage in several places. But in doing so, the association had to make certain concessions as well."

"I see." Lexie remembered her father telling her something about that. She wondered if it had to do with Vacek.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Lexie asked.

He shrugged. "I'm good at knowing things. Even without asking a million and one questions."

Lexie knew that was a jab at her. She took it with grace. "Yeah, yeah." Anyway. I think maybe I would need to study your mundane pathways to help me make cards that mundanes can use."

"Like what you did with Cara?"

"Yeah," she said.

He analyzed her carefully. "So you can read pathways?"

"Yup."

"Incredible." He looked genuinely impressed. "I've only heard of a handful of high-level mages with that skill. And most of them only learned it after years. How did you learn to do that so fast?"

"A great dad and a good education." It slipped out of her mouth before Lexie thought about it. It was supposed to be a flippant comment to dispel the compliment, but she realized it might sound like bragging to Tate.

He didn't seem offended.

"Touche," he said.

Lexie wasn't sure what to say next so she decided to change the subject.

"Ok," she said. "Now, I need to try something with you." Lexie had not figured out how to create a teleportation card, but she'd learned how to make a teleport-like effect using a combination of three cards. She'd done her calculations and ensured that the path was steady if extremely complicated.

Aiden would definitely not be on board with her doing this. It could damage all three cards, and potentially cause backlash to her pathways. Nevertheless, she would be fine. In theory.

One way to find out for sure.

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