Daniel ducked under the swipe, grinning wildly. He wouldn’t have expected to be pressed this hard, but mortals, mortals who weren’t overconfident coddled weaklings, always posed a greater threat than monsters. They had more powers and experience than monsters who didn’t survive more than one encounter with Blessed on average. Despite his current opponent having just reached level 2, she was putting up a better fight. Actually-


    “Don’t pull your attacks,” Daniel said as he performed a short Jump back, sure he hadn’t moved in time to avoid a hit. “I can heal.”


    The spearwoman paused, the grip on her weapon not relaxing. “You move well enough, but you only react. I can surprise you too easily with a power. You’re too used to monsters.”


    “Maybe.” Daniel’s opinion of Janice was surprisingly unchanged between his two forms. The different perspectives could lead to different impressions, though in her case there was a sense of practicality mixed with wallflowerism that led to a generally bland, if positive, picture. This sparring match was at his prompting after the encounter with Kahvin had made him worry about duels with people who wouldn’t leave it at just one punch. “You don’t fight much of either.”


    “I train. Helps me advance.” Janice shrugged, and Daniel had to admit that was true. She was like Khiat in a way, skilled with her weapons beyond his ability. Whereas the dusker had natural talent, the Martialist’s was honed after years of following her class’ alternative method to power. Similar to Gadriel, if without the rabid drive to clear out the countryside of monsters. “You want to see a power?”


    “You want to hit me with it?” Daniel answered snarkily, putting Flash Jaunt away as he prepared to dodge manually. That got a smile from his opponent and she shot forward, though not toward him. He’d seen this ability before, Chain Strike. It allowed the Martialist to make a series of committed attacks, though she was only forced to complete the one she was currently in before deciding on continuing or not.


    Janice flashed around the courtyard in a series of linear motions, speartip out in front of her. He’d thought he was onto her when a sudden shift brought her towards his right rear, but when he stepped aside and prepared to counter she’d triggered another attack with a turn made in less than a second. The back end of her spear struck him in the chin and sent him reeling. “Now who’s holding back?”


    “I can’t rely on just my powers,” Daniel grunted, rubbing at his fur and the bruises slowly forming and being healed at the same time. “Damn it. You could’ve killed me there.”


    “Probably not the best move for me long term. You really fought a level 5 Berserker to a draw?”


    “It wasn’t a real fight.” Daniel waved that away, grumbling. “You’re sure you don’t want to hunt with us?”


    Janice looked up and then shook her head. “Not while you’re flying. I’m not the best in the air. Trying that move off the ground doesn’t end well.”


    “Makes sense.” He took in a deep breath, and decided it was time. The fur of his cat form shed, turning to dust just like his tail did, starting from the tip.


    “Want to try it now?” Janice asked, looking with some interest as he shifted.


    “Only if I want to get beaten up again. Cat mode is for close combat. I’d go for it if you wanted to walk a few minutes that way before we get started.”


    “I’d almost take you up on that, but I should get back to my patrol.” She started walking away before performing a tight turn, scanning the sky and the buildings around the courtyard. “I still can’t believe you bought this place.”


    “Everyone needs bags of holding.” Although if I keep doing this, I am going to crash the market. Daniel spent a second retagging Janice before taking a steady breath. He was still a little tired from the spar despite shifting forms.


    It was almost a week since his ‘amicable departure’ from Aurus, and following the Commander’s advice seemed to be the way to avoid major trouble. He wouldn’t be content to stay here forever or let the matter go unsettled, but it was also important to keep sight on the bigger picture. Get stronger, find my friends, explore the ruins, and get Hunter back. At least his friend, and who he and Cloak thought was the fallen god of the Astral, had followed them to Pinion’s Point.


    The large town and almost city was built on a wide stretch of floating land northwest of Aurus, toward both Aughal and Kallical. In normal times it would see a lot of land travel from the region, but everything was locked down due to the changes in the world. It had a few of the ballista that were scattered across the capitol, though most of its defense had relied on the buffer its large population gave it against monster spawns. They hadn’t had a direct incident yet like Aurus had had, but there had been several instances of monster attacks. Before the Collapse, this would have only happened if the hunters had all but ignored their region’s population.


    Now, there was a standing guard at all times. Janice was one such individual, whereas Wingcraft went out and tried to stop threats from getting too close. They weren’t the only team in town or the most powerful, but they did well enough. With the evacuation of part of the town, mandated or otherwise, there was a small housing surplus the wealthy could exploit. Having claimed the bounty from Aughal he’d been owed, as well as offering enchanting in trade, Daniel had been able to outright buy a small compound on an elevated section near the road to Aurus.


    It was only three medium-sized buildings about the same footprint as a regular house around a courtyard, but it meant Khiat could sleep uninterrupted and everyone as a whole got more space. Each house also had an interior courtyard giving them a rectangular donut appearance from above that left little interior space shielded from the sun, but that was what blackout curtains were for. There was privacy either way, which was personally important to Daniel as he’d become the most popular person in town.


    The Commander hadn’t been kidding when she’d mentioned keeping people off of him before. Once the town had figured out he was an Artificer and, more importantly, where he lived, there’d been various requests and offers for his time. Some were pretty tempting too, but living a life halfway between hunting and crafting left him with little in his schedule for commissions. There was that, and the fact that he’d lost access to the material markets in Aurus. Until he could trade there again he could only enchant with what he salvaged from kills.


    There was one major exception to that in the power Daniel had gained from his advancements from the whitespring hunt. When he’d asked, Cloak had said it all but confirmed Daniel could gain any power known to the Octyrrum.


    <hr>


    Your Intelligence is now 26! You have gained Ability: Flash Craft.


    -


    Flash Craft (Ability, Intelligence, Spell, Domain: Enchanting, Incantation, Level: 2):


    You possess the Power to rapidly construct an Item based on Formulae known to you for a moderate Mana cost. This power also requires utterance of Incantation: Flash Craft, and cannot be used if another item you have created through this power still exists. Items created through this power persist, and do not require materials to create. You may only use formulae that you can make yourself. This is a Magical Ability that does not function in an area of Magical Suppression.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    <hr>


    Lograve had mentioned abilities like this existed as a contrast to his class. In fact, he’d somehow acquired the signature power of Star Clerics despite neither worshiping the god nor being a Cleric. The ability created an item instantly without any possibility of failure, though there were downsides. He couldn’t attach any affixes and the item didn’t benefit from material bonuses, though Invest Affix was a workaround in the first case. The mana cost meant he couldn’t use it as a reliable way to generate ammunition, but he’d found another use for it.


    “Never thought I’d have to turn to this to own real estate,” Daniel muttered to himself as he walked into his house.


    …


    Later that night, Daniel prowled through the streets in his feline form. It was safer this way even though he got looks, since most assumed he was channeling a combat power on patrol or that he was weird. The people hunting him hadn’t yet figured out he could change his appearance since whole body transmutation wasn’t common to the Artificer class.


    As for why he was doing this? Fun and training, mostly. He’d noticed in Aughal that Hunter’s senses could detect crimes as well as monsters and the thought of being some kind of vigilante had briefly been appealing. In Beast Mode, Keen Senses made his smell and hearing almost as good as Hunter’s had been. That had turned into a somewhat embarrassing mistake as he tuned his senses into the nighttime activities of the town and found less crime and more private moments.


    He had that power turned off now, and was instead attempting to hone his senses without the enhancement, as well as get around without being noticed. The color of the fur armor from the wolves blended well into the night, better than his own. Even with the divide between his two forms, it was still him. He wouldn’t benefit from the powers he had now while human, but the experience would cross over. It was why he’d gotten slightly better at dodging despite not having the better instincts of his current body. There wouldn’t be a repeat of the ambush in Aughal if he had anything to say about it, and improving stealth would make it easier for him to sneak up on kills. So far, no one had seen him-


    “Hey.” Daniel jumped, and almost Jumped, as someone spoke behind him. “You know they’re changing the rules. You’re a Rogue, right?”


    He turned and saw an avianoid that had practically materialized behind him in the alley, like how Cloak appeared. “That’s a new one,” he sighed.


    “What?”


    “Nothing.” The woman didn’t seem hostile and as he flicked on Keen Senses, he didn’t smell anything on her that belonged to him. Even with the enhanced senses he could hardly hear her as she shifted. “What rules?”


    “About theft. It’s coming down in a few days. That’s a weird disguise power by the way.” She brushed at one of his arms with a hand and stiffened when the fur moved. “Wait, what?”


    “How long have you been following me?” Daniel asked instead of answering, frustrated that someone had yet again gotten the drop on him. At least he got the feeling this was someone on his level. The Rogue class was predisposed to stealth and his current ‘class’ was… well, he wasn’t sure. Aside from being awesome at murder.


    “Haven’t, just noticed you.” The Rogue was still puzzled by his appearance, though he could barely make out her eyes. She was wearing the typical cowled cloak favored by both her class and Rangers. Leather armor in general predominated Threst given heavier material stifled flight, though he’d seen some Knights wearing variations of reinforced wooden breastplates and leggings. The arms were always free, though in this Rogue’s case she had light sleeves covering hers that would be pushed up if she Grew Wings.


    “Ok.” He wasn’t feeling too hostile towards this person as it became clear she’d neither stalked nor stolen from him. She gave off about an eighth of a Tlara’s worth of a vibe and presented as a few years younger than the real deal, at least from what he could hear and see. “You part of a team?”


    “Yeah.” She didn’t say which one, and still hadn’t introduced herself. Which was fair all things considered. “What are you, Totem Warrior? You don’t advance this way.”


    I don’t seem to advance most ways either, Daniel mentally complained. It hadn’t escaped him that he’d earned nothing from the laborious process of making the blast bow. Cloak had mentioned the Collapse tilted experience gain dramatically towards hunting and that other methods would grow weaker, though he wouldn’t say why. The other methods would still work to some degree, but it had been a while since he’d gotten anything except from hunting. “It’s good practice. Had one of you backstab me before.”


    She took a step back. “Not me. Crest, those people are the worst. Gives the whole class a bad name. Plus Dakalos would-“ she abruptly stopped talking. “Nevermind. Look, it’s like how some Bards turn into nestwreckers. I don’t ever steal anything, I just-.” She sighed with a bit of defeatism. “At least the new way will be better.”


    “What are they doing?” he asked, and the Rogue relaxed slightly from the defensive posture she’d taken.


    “Seeding marks in villages. People with stashes and safehouses we can break into. Have to turn the stuff back in but that doesn’t affect advancing, and you won’t have innocent people’s pockets emptied.” A bronze coin appeared from nowhere and started weaving between her fingers. “Ever think about how weird it is? I don’t know why the Octyrrum would make people want to do this.”


    “Assassins too,” Daniel muttered, and the Rogue’s head bobbed.


    “Exactly. Shit, what about Tyrants? You know Aughal has one now? Feels like everything’s breaking down.”


    It is. Daniel knew why Tyrants existed now when taken in the context of what he’d learned from Cloak: they were a defense mechanism. Something to reign in a region whose population was beginning to get unruly or uncontrolled. The god hadn’t touched how Spokes interacted with the population, but from what Casia had done he could guess it was a potential weakness. Rogues and Assassins, though. Strange. “Rogues can keep people on edge.”


    “Keep people on edge’?” the Rogue scoffed. “Right. I guess the Octyrrum just works in mysterious ways.”


    “Heh.” He thought for just a moment before holding out a hand. “Daniel.” It’ll be fun when she finds out who the Artificer is. She didn’t know now, judging by how the Rogue didn’t react immediately. After a few moments, she moved a hand behind her head and brought her hood back to reveal a face of gray feathers and blue eyes.


    “Shuni.” She gestured to his armor. “You’re on that Artificer’s team, right?”


    So she doesn’t know. “Yeah. As far as I’ve heard he’s not taking orders now. He kept us waiting for weeks back in Aurus enchanting and if he keeps it up now he’s going to miss out on hunting.”


    “An Artificer who fights? That’s a first. Well, damn.” She gave him a cocky, beaked grin. “You won’t mind if I ask again next time we see each other?”


    “Next time?” Daniel asked, mirroring her playfulness.


    “Someone’s got to keep you on edge.” She flipped back, briefly touched the wall, and then hopped up to one of the nearby roofs. Shuni hadn’t Grown Wings, and yet gravity seemed to affect her at about half strength after the second jump. “I think a new cloak would be nice,” she said, more to herself once on the rooftop. Daniel caught the words as he still had Keen Senses on.


    “Alright, but if I see you first, you have to pay for it.” He only saw the gleam in her eyes before the Rogue disappeared. Daniel deactivated Keen Senses after her departing footsteps faded. When he was sure he was alone in the alleyway, he shifted back into his human form and quickly took off his leather armor. “Never said I couldn’t cheat,” he said to himself brightly. He decided he liked the Rogue, despite only talking with her for a few minutes.


    She’s better than the last one at least. Now out of his disguise, or in one depending on how you looked at it, he started walking back to his house. He could fly, the wings were folded up on his back and he was still wearing the boots, but that could be a little too obvious in case Shuni was watching the skies. It was only a couple hours past dusk and there were people in the streets, though the foot traffic was far less than Aughal without a species that only came out at night.


    He found himself in the proto-Divine Quarter of Pinion’s Point. He hadn’t heard about this until coming here, but there was a classification system the kingdom used for population centers. Every fully fledged city had to have a Divine Quarter, even if it wasn’t as big as the region’s capital. He didn’t know if this affected how the monster suppression from the Spokes worked or not, but Threst was trying to develop this place either way.


    The churches here were still being finished, nestled within the rest of the settlement rather than built off to the side like in Aurus. It had the same layout as they all did, one he hadn’t thought about too deeply. Knowing what he did know about how gods could have ‘opposites’, he saw how Hammer’s church was placed directly facing Star’s. The other two obvious pairings held true, with Hourglass’ church facing empty space.


    The Astral church. They completely scraped that out of society. The way the Divine Quarter was set up, along with what he knew about the history of the world, affirmed something he’d suspected about the Octyrrum. If the Astral god had fallen in the first Collapse, wouldn’t he have had his own Realm? Why had the Accounts of Artruz claimed Hourglass had held the center as he did now?


    To Daniel, it made more sense that the world would have been parted out like the space he was now standing in, each god having a Realm on slices of the world with the center as neutral territory. It was always possible the historical accounts were junk, but there was another possibility. This wasn’t the second Collapse. He could always ask Cloak whether his idea was right or not, but if he was, this would fall under the ‘blow up a region to keep quiet’ category.


    He was about to leave when something struck him about the Divine Quarter. His other thoughts had distracted him up until this point, but when he took the layout and the structures in as a whole, there was a resonance in his memory. A strong one. Should have thought about this before. Or not, since the hole would have been filled before I could access it. Steeling himself for what was to come, Daniel threw caution to the wind and started flying back to his compound before the lead to the past was lost.