I gave the Epic Lone Dungeon Diver's Token a small rub for good luck, then held it up high.

"Is the Dimensional Guild Master aware that he doesn't need to raise the tokens in such a dramatic fashion to claim them?" Hoot asked.

"He's aware," I told Hoot. Then I made a few unnecessary, ritualistic hand gestures just to get under his feathers before finally touching the token with mana.

"Congratulations! [Iron Armor Crate (Epic) (Iron)] has been upgraded to [Exotic Armor Cache (Legendary) (Iron)]."

The heavy chest thumped down in front of me. "No fucking way. Again?" I asked myself.

"You are… displeased with your good fortune?"

"In disbelief, actually," I whispered. "How often does that happen? Random token upgrades, I mean. I think I've had one upgrade almost every single time I've claimed loot."

"Well," Hoot said, raising a long feathered finger. "The question could be examined from a few logical standpoints. One, do you typically claim such a large number of tokens at once?"

"Hmm…" I said. "I guess it does tend to be a bit of a haul every time."

"Then your statistical probability of earning an upgrade in each looting session would be higher due to your habits as a token hoarder. If you struggle with basic mathematical principles, I could educate you."

I glared at him. "I'm good. And it's not that I'm hoarding them. I just get busy. Trust me, I claim these things as soon as I'm able to."

"There is another factor that could influence the number of upgrades you seem to get," Hoot said. "The 'why' and the 'how' of the rewards from the dimensional realm to your realm and others are mysterious, however—"

"Wait," I said. "There are other realms that get rewards like this?"

"Of course," Hoot said. "To a degree, at least. Astral Custodians are not only assigned to this realm. Though, I must say, the chaos in some of the others makes me somewhat glad I have landed here in this realm you call Eros."

I chewed that information over for a moment. I supposed it made sense, but it raised so many more questions. I knew from my vision of the Crystal Court and The Nine that rifts led to other places. I hadn't quite known what to make of that, but the bits and pieces I heard made it seem like things could come through those rifts into our world, too. The natural assumption was that entire worlds or "realms" existed on the other sides of these rifts.

I guess I just hadn't thought too hard about whether those other worlds would play by the same "rules" as Eros. "Does it work the same way in these other places?" I asked. "Like they get reward tokens and class corestones and everything we have here?"

"All the realms are… related. Some closely, like brothers. Others much more distantly. They're all fragments of a whole, if you will. To say more would be to violate the sacred trust of the Astral Custodians."

I frowned. "So this Astral Keep you come from… Is it within another one of these realms?"

"Yes," Hoot said. "And some fragments are smaller than others. Ours is rather minuscule, I'm afraid, but still deeply impressive. Your fleshy eyeballs would likely melt out of their sockets if you were to gaze upon it."

"Hmm," I said. "And the dimensional realm? It's just another one of these realms? But it seems like they have way more power than the others."

"The dimensional realm is unique in many ways." Hoot leaned closer, eyes sparkling as the galaxy-like patterns within them swirled. "There are… whispers, of course. But it would be rather improper for an esteemed Astral Custodian such as myself to repeat mere rumors to my Dimensional Guild Master. I wouldn't dare." He waited, eyes darting down, then back up to mine. "Unless, of course, I was commanded to dare by the Dimensional Guild Master."

"You have to follow my commands? Like the terminator, or something?"

"No, of course not. I only obey if I wish."

"But if I command you to gossip, you'll do it?"

Hoot puffed up with indignity. "I would indulge your idle curiosity if you truly wished it. Yes."

"Alright," I said. "Hit me with the gossip, then."

Hoot sighed in a way that seemed very fake, then shrugged his big, rounded shoulders. "Since you insist on twisting my wing, then." He clapped his wings together with a whispery sound, gave them a rub, and the small mouth beneath his beak curved upward. The big bastard was loving this. "Now," he said, voice low and dramatic. "Bear in mind these are only rumors. These rumors come from a time before the fragmentation, and even then, these stories were old, old tales."

"Very old," I said, feeling slightly impatient. I wanted to learn more, but I also had a legendary Iron loot box sitting in front of me. I wasn't sure how much I could endure before I just cracked it open and started looting while I listened. But Hoot was also shedding light on things I had been wondering about since my first days here on Eros.

"Yes," Hoot said. "Tales so old, they would—"

I cleared my throat.

Hoot ruffled his feathers, glared, then continued his story. "In the beginning, there were only the two primordial gods: Creation and Destruction. Creation sought to make a universe of endless life, glory, and happiness. A world where nothing died, grew old, or faded with time. Everlasting perfection.

"Destruction saw Creation's vision as a kind of hell. To Destruction, real perfection came in the beginning and end. It was the ending that brought true meaning to existence.

"For eons, they waged a pointless war. Creation hid away worlds matching its vision, endlessly building new peoples and systems, always searching for perfection. Destruction found them, bringing balance in the form of an ending. It is said this battle played out until the number of worlds would dwarf the stars in the sky. But eventually, the primordials struck a bargain.

"A unified world was created. A compromise was reached. Creation agreed to let death and decay come to this world, but only under one condition. The people could pass parts of themselves on in the form of children. Though it wasn't the immortality Creation always sought, it seemed to bring something like peace for a Golden Age. All things came, and all things went." Hoot paused for a moment, eyes down.

"What part of that is a rumor?" I asked. "It sounds like… an origin story of some kind?"

"Most of what I just shared is widely believed," Hoot said. "Though the recent emergence of Nine divine beings in this realm did create confusion. Some have begun to believe The Nine are embodiments of the primordial gods of Creation and Destruction. Others believe they are the new gods. When eight of The Nine disappeared hundreds of years ago, some even speculated that they ventured into other realms to seek out lost fragments of their primordial power."

I narrowed my eyes. Given what I knew, none of that last part seemed entirely correct. If anything, The Nine had seemed fearful of something. Could it have been these primordial forces? "So that's the rumor? That The Nine were fragments of the primordials?"

"No," Hoot said. "You have interrupted my dramatic pause, which was about to lead to the portion of the story that is shrouded in rumor and speculation."

"Oh," I said. "Sorry. Go on."

"It is not known why or how, but the Great Golden Age ended with the fracturing. The once perfect world was split into countless fragments. Even the primordials themselves and traces of their influence seemed to fragment along with the world. Some say the primordials lost their power or even their lives in the fragmentation. Others think they were stripped of their power and cast into one fragment or another, forced to live mundane lives. There are also those who say the power of Creation and Destruction itself was sent to reside in one of the small fragments of reality, waiting to be claimed."

"You brought all this up when I asked about the dimensional realm," I said slowly. "Does that mean you think Creation's power is what lets them provide us with rewards like this?"

Hoot clicked his beak and rubbed his hands down his rounded belly. "I did not say or imply any such thing. I simply presented what is spoken about and what is rumored. You are free to draw your own assumptions."

"Hmm," I said. "So the primordials themselves could still be out there in some capacity? Even after all this time?"

"Anything is possible," Hoot mused. "Though if they intend to make themselves known, they do appear to be working on very slow time scales. The fracture is said to have occurred in the very long, very distant past."

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I let out a breath. Damn. If Hoot was right and these beings still existed… My mind went straight to Destruction. If that power was out there for someone or something to claim, it could explain why The Nine were so terrified. Even a fragment of primordial power was probably enough to terrify what would essentially be some upstart gods, if Hoot's timeline was anywhere near correct.

Or worse, could Destruction itself still exist in some form, just waiting to be unleashed?

If they were alive after all this time, it would likely mean they hadn't completely lost their power. But what reason would they have for remaining hidden, when it seemed like they were operating with relative transparency before?

My thoughts were still spinning when Hoot reached out and tapped his finger on the chest. "I nearly forgot to answer your original question about your luck in earning token upgrades. There are rumors that members of the dimensional realm must sponsor individuals, so to speak. Not much else is known, except that some cases of extreme luck or extreme misfortune seem to be tied to a happy or unhappy sponsor."

A sponsor? Was that who always spoke to me through my helmet when I earned accomplishments? Or were they something else entirely? "What would a sponsor want with me?" I asked.

"It's impossible to know," Hoot said. "But the simple explanation may be that your sponsor likes you and has found a way to tip the scales in your favor. Though, I must admit I cannot understand what you've done to impress them. You appear rather ordinary by my initial observations. And your featherless body is quite grotesque to look upon."

"Thanks, Hoot," I said, still too distracted to really care.

"I have not given you a compliment. In fact, my words were meant to convey mild disgust by your appearance. I should note you do not appear to have bathed in days. Perhaps weeks."

"Trust me, I know. Bathing is high on my priority list."

"Very well. Please, proceed with the looting ritual. I am quite excited to see the contents of such a large, shiny chest."

I felt like I had taken a bite of food so large I was at risk of choking on it as I reflected on everything Hoot just told me. Primordial gods. Fragments of realms. Scattered power and worlds likely connected here by rifts. And how did this all tie back to my arrival from Earth? It was enough to puzzle over for weeks, but I did my best to push it to the back of my mind for now.

Whether I understood my good luck or not, I had a legendary chest to loot.

I cracked open the chest, which made a satisfying but probably unnecessary number of mechanical noises as the latch turned and released the lid.

Inside, I found a bed of velvety black fabric and a single, dark blue scrap of leather shaped like a dragon's scale.

I lifted it, turned it over, and studied the piece, which was edged with a rim of shining silver metal. It was thick and unyielding when I tried to bend it. The leather had a glossy sheen to it and seemed very high quality. The metal was also engraved with wavy, water-like patterns that were so fine and small I had to bring it close to my face to make them out.

But no amount of staring at the item seemed like it would tell me what purpose it might serve. I inspected it, and a rush of adrenaline spiked my system as I began to read the tooltip.

[Initiate Mana Bender's Raiment (Iron Rank Class Set, Piece [1] of [3]) (Iron) (Legendary)] Feeding mana into the scale will transform it into magical armor. This armor only protects the user while being actively fed with mana. The protective qualities and nature of the armor will increase with mana expenditure. Note: This is a scaling item that may be upgraded when the user's class rank advances. Upgrading this Class Set Item will require specific requirements to be met. Set bonuses will activate only when Class Set items are actively tethered and equipped.

[Set bonus - 1/3] The Initiate Mana Bender's Raiment will communicate with the user's Mana Sense ability, providing some assistance in the avoidance of dangerous attacks.

[Set bonus - 2/3] Inactive.

[Set bonus - 3/3] Inactive.

"A class set?" Hoot asked. His owl-like brows lifted. "I have heard of such things. Hmm. Quite rare, I believe. Hardly valuable, of course, unless you're part of a paved path. In those cases, there might be some possibility of selling the set piece to others or buying the missing pieces."

My hands were shaking as I held the small scale in my palm. "I'm not selling it," I breathed.

"As you wish," Hoot said. "Though the armor is rather small. Perhaps it is meant to protect your mating appendage? While an attack to your penis would be quite devastating, I fail to see how this qualifies as a legendary item."

I was smiling at the scale so hard my cheeks already hurt. I liked looting things as much as the average, red-blooded former nerd. But class sets? The idea alone was enough to make me giddy, even if I forgot the fact that this particular item sounded incredibly powerful.

"Yet… you appear pleased?" Hoot asked, head tilting unnaturally to one side like a confused dog. "Perhaps I am underestimating your desire to protect your sexual organ?"

"You have no idea, Hoot," I said, jumping to my feet. "Stand back. I'm trying it."

Hoot made a valiant effort to give me space, even though there wasn't anywhere left for him to move within the cramped personal space. Pebble rolled to the other corner.

I focused on the Initiate Mana Bender's Raiment. Right now, the scale was hardly bigger than my thumb, which also carried concerning implications about how small Hoot believed my penis was. It was hard to imagine the scale turning into a complete armor set, but I had seen how Lyria's Basilisk Shield expanded. Maybe this would be similar.

I pushed a mana thread into the scale, then began pumping a slow stream of mana through the thread. With its size, I didn't think I would need to feed it much mana, but it greedily gulped up the small flow like a bottomless pit, and nothing was happening.

I fed slightly more mana to the scale until I maybe gave it about a quarter of what it would take to fuel one of my spells.

The scale vibrated in my palm, but it didn't change.

I tried a little more mana, only succeeding in making it vibrate a little more and even roll over once, as if it was trying to move toward my body.

My impatience won out over my caution. I widened the flow until I fed it a spell's worth of mana about every second or two.

The scale snapped to the center of my chest like it was pulled by a magnet. A wave of electric energy enveloped my body, running over the surface of my skin with a faint crackle like sparks.

The scale on my chest unfolded in a blink, turning into a leather breastplate made of hundreds of replicas of the original scale I started with. Small, protective leather pieces appeared on my thighs and forearms, too.

I held my arms out, looking down as I kept pumping mana into the scale.

In no more than a second, the scale had exploded into a partial suit of armor consisting of a breastplate, thigh guards, and bracers. While the craftsmanship of what there was seemed extremely impressive, I suspected I needed more mana to finish the set.

I was already burning through my mana fast but reached down to touch the breastplate with amazement, noting how the deep blue leather was tough to the touch and felt completely real. The only giveaway that the armor was magical came from the steady mist of blue energy drifting from it like smoke. There was also an occasional spark of bright blue energy at random points, hinting that the armor coursed with unseen power.

"It does not look finished," Hoot noted.

"Yeah," I said tightly. The effort of pushing this much continual mana into the armor felt similar to casting Elemental Projection for an extended period. It wasn't a brainless, set-it-and-forget-it kind of operation. Instead, I felt more like I was carefully pouring a large pitcher of fluid into a narrow container, trying not to pour too much, too little, or miss the container entirely.

"Perhaps you should feed more mana to the armor, Dimensional Guild Master."

"More?" I asked, feeling incredulous. At this rate, even the partial armor set would probably drain me of my mana reserves in maybe a minute or two.

"Yes," Hoot said. "I believe it can take more."

"Yeah, no shit," I said. I could feel it practically hungering for more. This thing could eat up mana like nobody's business, and I wasn't sure how an ordinary Iron was supposed to even make it work. By all accounts, my mana stores and recovery speed were far above normal. Anybody else would probably tire out after keeping this armor going for five or ten seconds.

I guessed that was probably part of how a class set worked. It was tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of the class. In my case, mana capacity and regeneration were some of my biggest strengths. An armor set that scaled with my ability to use mana was probably the best I could ask for. I wondered if the other two pieces of the sets were more armor, a weapon, or accessories to aid my mana use further. Or maybe they were something else entirely.

I was going to burn out on mana soon anyway, so I decided to give it one big push to see what happened.

The armor expanded in a rush as soon as I fed it more mana.

Blue light covered me as metallic plates formed over the breastplate, reinforcing what was already there and covering the rest of my body. Sleek, interlocking plates of deep blue metal reminiscent of Voidsteel unfolded over my arms as beautiful, elegant plate gloves flashed into place over my hands. More plates covered my legs and even snapped into place on top of my Abyss Walker Boots, bolstering them but not replacing them. My cloak flashed bright blue as waves of intricate Voidsteel scales ran down its entire length.

Arcs of blue mana like electricity crackled and snapped between my fingers and traveled across random points on my body. The air around my body distorted and rippled as blue smoke boiled away from me.

I even felt… stronger. The armor wasn't just sitting on my body. It was hugging me, clutching my limbs almost the same way the dark mana had back in Beastden, except without the nefarious implications. It was more like the armor was ready to anticipate my movements. I gave an experimental swing of my arm, noting how easy it felt to move despite the armor that should have been a burden.

After a glorious six or seven seconds, I spent the last of my mana.

The whole suit of armor snapped back into a single scale with a flash of blue and a pop of electricity.

I folded forward with the sudden sensation of loss. I gasped in surprise, looking down and feeling suddenly weak and impotent after the glimpse of such overwhelming power.

The small scale had returned to my palm where it sat, somehow still feeling as though it was hungry for more mana.

I looked up at Hoot, smiling as I caught my breath. "I have a new favorite item."

"Hmm," Hoot said. "I must admit it looks quite impressive, even if you don't appear to be able to maintain it for long."

"I'll get there," I said hopefully. I got up, brushing off my pants as I stood. "I'm the kind of guy who works best with goals, Hoot. I finally have a little time to calmly train and practice, and I've got a shit load of things to work on now. I can hardly wait. And making my mana pool even deeper just became one of my top priorities."

"Then you will begin practice right now?"

I shook my head. "Not quite yet. But soon. I still have to swing by the Arcanery to pick up my Guild Master's Trophy Token. I'll see which of my friends I can gather up while I'm out there, and we'll meet back here."

"You will ask them to wipe their feet and bring food offerings, yes?" Hoot asked. "And perhaps you could consider bathing before you return, Dimensional Guild Master."

I tried not to smile when I imagined if I ever brought the grommets here. I couldn't decide if Hoot would love them or hate them. But the little guys were always filthy with clumps of dirt tangled in their long hair and stuck between their rocky teeth. "Yeah. I may sneak a bath in real quick, too. Seems like a good chance to meditate, at least. And then I can give this thing another try. I can't wait to see Lyria's face when I show her." I smiled again as I clutched the small scale in my palm.

She was going to be so insanely jealous.

I carefully stowed the scale in my slip space alongside my other treasures, gave Hoot a wave, and headed for the door. Time to gather my friends and show them the guild hall and my own personal owl butler.

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