After he agreed, there were no more words spoken between the pair as Marin led Jayce into the denser part of the village. By now, the square was empty as everyone had retreated to the warmth of their homes.

Jayce noticed that the air around Marin had changed now that her family wasn’t around. It wasn’t a large change, but it was enough that even a stranger could sense it. Jayce had once observed a similar change in Mize after she left her father’s throne room. Like Mize, Marin seemed more relaxed or even relieved when she was away from her family, but there was also a subtle gloomy vibe coming from the blue-haired girl. This made it harder for Jayce to start a conversation, but he wasn’t in the mood to talk with her anyway.

It didn’t take long for the pair to arrive at a rectangular building that didn’t really stand out amidst the legion of similar dark silver structures. Its most distinguishing feature was a signboard above the door that was covered in unreadable characters. These runes seemed to shift as Jayce looked at them, making it impossible to get a clear grasp of the text. Despite this strangeness, a clear message blossomed in Jayce’s mind. He understood that this store was owned by a rune technician and that they would consult with clients, repair faulty artifacts and inscribe runes into premade vessels. Jayce shook his head and the knowledge at the forefront of his thoughts was easily dislodged.

He shuddered to imagine what would happen if human society got their hands on this technology. Ads and popups would reach a whole new level of intrusiveness.

Going through the door, they entered a small waiting room with a door behind the counter and a set of stairs in the back corner. Jayce followed Marin up the stairs and through a locked door that seemed to open with mental energy. Inside was a basic living space that was divided into two areas. The first area was a living room with a connected kitchen and the second was a bedroom that Jayce could only glimpse through an open door in the back. In the living room, there was a table, some chairs, a couch, and other amenities. Perhaps because they were both humanoids, Jayce could recognize most things in the room by his second glance. Most of the furniture was a mix of wood, leather, and furs, but the design and craftsmanship were not primitive in the least. Jayce continued to look around like a wide-eyed tourist while Marin walked through the living room and patted the coffee-colored leather couch.

“Naturally, I don’t have a spare room. You’ll have to survive the night on this.”

Jayce scoffed, much to Marin’s surprise. From his clothes, she had the impression that he was used to luxury. However, when Jayce compared this couch to Mize’s bracelet or the cold stone floors he had rested on, he wanted to weep tears of joy.

“Is there a bathroom?”

Marin paused and Jayce suddenly felt anxious. Fortunately, his greatest fear was alleviated when Marin led him past her bedroom to a modest space with a sink and a toilet. Oddly, there was neither a shower nor a bathtub, but Jayce didn’t think much about it because something else made a much larger impression on him. The toilets on this planet were much more aggressive than what he was used to, possibly because many of this village’s inhabitants were much hairier than humans. After wiping his wet bottom, he decided to just be grateful that he was in a world where toilets existed.

“Here’s a spare blanket. If you feel too cold, you can always crawl into my bed.”

Back in the living room, Jayce wondered if his translator had broken down. He met Marin’s eyes and she showed him a cheery server’s smile.

“I’ll help you to not feel anything ever again.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Jayce smiled stiffly while Marin vanished behind her bedroom door.

Plopping himself on the couch, Jayce wasn’t ready to sleep yet. An excited smile crept across his lips. Now that he finally had some time to himself, Jayce could do something he had been wanting to for ages.

‘Status, open!’

Name: Unnamed

Race: Human (C-Rank)

Gates Unlocked: 0

Gate Abilities: None

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[Classes]

Bloodrager: 11/20

Abilities: Bloodrage, Bloody Vitality, Flesh Control (Lesser)

------------------------

Marksman: 11/20

Abilities: Keen Eye, Acceleration Tag

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Soul Forger: 1/20

Abilities: Soul-Guided Forging, Sense Aspects (Area)

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[Energies]

Mental Energy Grade: F- (20)

Mana Capacity Grade: F (35)

Vital Energy Grade: E (45)

“Man, I already knew it, but Mize really never learned my name…” Jayce sighed to himself before changing his name with a thought.

As a plus, his Marksman class had gained a level during that chaotic fight with Mize’s siblings.

Looking over his status, Jayce realized he’d gained quite a few abilities despite his low level. This was mainly because special classes gave out two abilities just for unlocking them. A normal person might only have two or three abilities at his level, but he had seven. The only problem was that these seven abilities didn’t synergize very well with each other.

In fact, Jayce’s three classes seemed to directly oppose each other. A close-range berserker, a long-range gunner, and a craftsman. Jayce felt a headache when he thought about how to use these disparate identities effectively. Out of the three, Soul Forger was the toughest nut to crack. As someone from Earth, learning a craft centered around an entirely different scientific system was daunting. Whether it was finding a teacher or gathering materials for his Soul-Guided Forging ability, Jayce didn’t have a clue where to start. There was too much that he didn’t know about this village and the Upper Bound in general.

Finally, there were his three energies. Jayce had gotten a basic primer about them from Mize. As a general rule, the Nexus system didn’t express a lifeform’s basic abilities, it only multiplied them. That was why there were no stats such as strength, agility or intelligence. Those were determined by one’s race as well as their fitness, and the system would only enhance them through abilities. In that regard, the three energies were an exception. Two races might have differing levels of intelligence, but they would both be born with the same mental energy grade. The same was true for vital energy as well as mana capacity. In a sense, these energies were modifiers governed by the system. Having more mental energy improved one’s concentration and helped them think more nimbly, more vital energy improved one’s stamina, etc. At the same time, they were also resources for class abilities.

Jayce knew it wasn’t a coincidence that his mental energy, the one that he had never raised, had the same score as his level cap. If one’s energy grade didn’t match their class level, then they would have trouble paying the cost of certain abilities. Of course, if one’s energy grade was above their class level, then they could use their abilities much more freely. When he considered the ‘massive’ boost to his vital energy that he had received from his Bloodrager class, Jayce concluded that special classes had an advantage here too.

With a sigh, Jayce sat up on the couch. There were still a few other things he wanted to do. He closed his eyes and turned his senses inward. In his core, Jayce saw that the glacial worm’s soul had already vanished. Shifting his attention to the tiny black coal, Jayce used his mental energy to coax out his soulfire. The flame responded, making Jayce feel both delighted and apprehensive. He had certainly become its owner, but it was a tool that he did not know how to use. Because he knew how terrifying this fire was, Jayce’s first instinct was to weaponize it. The first step was allowing the flames to leave his body, so Jayce moved them out of his core. A familiar pain wracked his chest and he quickly retracted the fire.

Soulfire wasn’t a flame that could only burn souls. Instead, it was a flame that could even burn souls. Although it didn’t char objects or create smoke like a real fire, it was definitely hot. If that special coal hadn’t been obstructing it, Jayce’s body would have melted along with his soul during the Soul Forger ritual.

It seemed that the first step to controlling this fire would be learning how to manage its temperature. Jayce was fully capable of controlling the soulfire’s heat with his mental energy, but it wasn’t easy in practice.

Over an hour later, there was a warm pulse from Jayce’s chest that spread heat through the rest of his body. It took several painful experiments, but Jayce managed to allow a small portion of the fire’s heat to leave his core without burning him. He couldn’t move the flame through his body yet, but letting some heat leak out was a start.

Jayce felt his concentration waning as he became sleepier, so he stopped his practice there. At the very least he knew what was possible because of his Soul-Guided Forging ability. Back then, even though it stayed on the surface of his palms, the flame had traveled through his body safely and even affected something other than himself.

Still a bit reluctant to sleep, Jayce tried activating his sensory abilities again. Using his soul, he was able to sense Marin’s soul in her bedroom. Of course, the only thing he could glean from this was that she had likely fallen asleep. Jayce activated Sense Aspects and thought about examining some of the home appliance artifacts that were around, but he suddenly stopped. Jayce’s breath caught in his throat as he noticed something hovering above him. It was a long rope-like object cloaked in black aspects of concealment.

Jayce’s concentration was shattered, and his eyes snapped open. Whipping his head around, Jayce failed to find anything behind him. He squinted at the empty space, remembering what it felt like to look at Erilin when she was invisible.

Whatever it was seemed to have sensed his attention and moved, because Jayce could no longer feel its presence. Shifting his eyes, Jayce noticed that the door to Marin’s room was cracked open a sliver. It was a quiet night and he hadn’t heard it open, so she must have never closed it to begin with.

Lying back in the couch, Jayce decided against examining the rest of the room. After some consideration, he also decided against running into the freezing night screaming bloody murder. He eventually fell asleep, but his dreams were anything but peaceful.

---

Several images flashed through Jayce’s mind at rapid speeds. Sometimes he saw himself bleeding out of every orifice while his organs curled around like snakes. Other times he was lying on the ground, shooting the masked man repeatedly. There were also images of his spasming figure wreathed in purple flames. These images shattered like a mirror as Jayce sat up on the couch. He was breathing heavily like he’d just run a marathon while sweat and tears rolled down his body. Grasping his head in his hands, Jayce waited as the fear and pain from his nightmare dissipated under the morning light.

It was only after he calmed down that he noticed a very pleasant humming coming from the nearby kitchen. Turning his head, he saw Marin working in front of a stove. She was dressed in a light tank top and long pants, and her hips and vulpine tail were swaying to and fro as she hummed some unknown song. With her enchanting voice and proportions, it was a scene that blew away the anxiety that had gripped Jayce’s heart. It was only once she started to turn around that Jayce came to his senses and frantically wiped his face.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Marin observed before glancing away and muttering, “I didn’t hear you get up.”

“Yea, I’m up.” Jayce felt like his mind had suddenly become sluggish. “I’m going to wash my face.”

“’Kay. Just so you know, I’m cooking a portion for you as well.”

“Thanks.”

Marin turned back to the stove, but she didn’t resume her humming. While she worked, Jayce cleaned himself up despite the lack of a shower. By the time he returned to the living room, Jayce felt wide awake. Not long after that, he was sitting opposite Marin at a small table, staring down a plate of pale meat that looked a bit like steak.

‘Isn’t this a little heavy for breakfast?’ Jayce decided to leave that criticism in his head. It didn’t seem like people grew many crops around here, so meat dishes were likely over-represented in their diet. Either that, or the blue-furred race had different nutritional requirements than humans. Tapping his fork against his plate, Jayce felt both were likely to be true.

“I hope you’re thinking about where you’ll go from here.” Marin’s voice dragged Jayce out of his ramblings. “You should understand, I only leant you my couch for one night.”

‘Obviously. Do you think I want to spend another night here?’ Once again, Jayce wisely kept his retorts to himself.

Jayce met her eyes and nodded. He had indeed thought about his next move. Currently, Jayce had a few things he wanted to accomplish. First and most pressingly, he needed money. After he could afford to keep himself alive, Jayce wanted to open the first gate as soon as possible. Personal strength was important in this world, and if most adults were as strong as Marin’s parents, then he needed to improve himself quickly or else he’d be taken advantage of. Finding a way to merge the benefits of his disparate classes and advancing as a Soul Forger were long term goals.

“Marin, just to check, there are hotels or inns in this village, right?”

“Of course. This village was initially built to be a stopover point for people traveling through Life Stealing Pass.”

“Ominous name.”

“It’s a dangerous place further up north that leads to a region we call the Tip of the World. The pass was suddenly sealed long before I was born, and the Federation forgot about Snowdrift after that. The room you’re in right now used to be part of a hotel until the building was remodeled. There are other hotels that are still active as well as other places to welcome the few visitors we get.”

“Alright. Assuming I’m completely broke, how can I quickly gather enough money to rent a room?”

Jayce was half-joking when he asked that question. He was dreading having to sell one of his guns, but given the circumstances, it was either that or borrowing money. Scenes of his two weeks of combat flashed in Jayce’s eyes and he subconsciously clenched his fists. He resolved to try lowering his head to Marin’s family before giving up one of his weapons.

To his surprise, Marin was undaunted by his question. She grinned and looked him over while her pristine tail waved lightly.

“That won’t be much of a problem. There’s still a red house operating in this village. If you sign a contract with them, even a partial one, they’ll happily accept and give you a place to stay.”

“…Red house? That had better not be what I think it is.”

“It’s a brothel. With your exotic race, I’m sure you won’t have trouble finding work.”

Jayce’s brow twitched as he tried to suppress his anger. “Are you fucking with me?”

Cocking her head, Marin’s eyes didn’t show a hint of trickery or malice. This time, she wasn’t trying to get a rise out of him.

“No? In my opinion, this is the fastest and simplest way for you to earn money. Or does your race only mate during certain seasons?”

‘Different culture…Different culture…’ Jayce massaged his temples to calm himself down. His sanity and self-worth were already dangerously low. Even if Marin’s people didn’t think of prostitution as problematic, Jayce wanted to keep his Earthly morals for a little while longer.

“We don’t, but let’s forget about that option for now. What else is there?”

Marin realized she had touched a nerve, so she didn’t pursue the issue. A frown bent her lips as she thought silently. It didn’t take long before she sighed and stood up.

“Follow me.”

Jayce followed Marin out of the living space, down the stairs and through the door behind the front counter. There, he found himself in a large room filled with various tools and machine parts. Marin walked over to a two-meter tall black obelisk near the door and tapped it. Glowing white veins appeared on its body and similarly white screens popped into existence all around the room.

Entranced, Jayce watched as Marin managed those floating screens at the speed of thought. Using her mental energy, she closed most of them and pushed others away while opening a large window in front of them.

“What is that artifact?”

Marin gave him a queer look. “It’s an IC—an information console.”

‘This world has computers!?’ Jayce felt he shouldn’t be shocked, but he couldn’t help it. ‘Please tell me they have Google!’