(Zack)

"What do you mean?" Nik asks. "Why do you think you saw everything, and what do you mean by that?"

"I mean literally," I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and slide off, stretching. "The universe itself. I think my power of foresight enhanced the vision from Power Jump to the point that I literally saw the creation of the universe itself. So, unfortunately, I didn't get to learn how to use a new Skill or unlock a new type of Class. Sadly. I was hoping for something awesome, like 'Embodiment of Destruction'."

"One," Nik laughs. "You weren't expecting anything, considering you didn't even know about Power Jump when it happened, and two, that sounds more like something you want to be described as, possibly have as a Title."

"Oh!" I grin at him. "That sounds like an awesome Title to earn! Imma try to get it."

Nik chuckles, shaking his head.

"So," he says. "What are you going to do now?"

"What's-his-name," I say. "The prince guy? Gonna let him know I met his challenge head-on and came out the victor. Do you think he'd mind if I showed him the head-butt I gave it? As a bit of a demonstration?"

"Please don't head-butt the prince."

"Why not?"

"Please… don't."

"Okay," I say, then look at Gold, who's been standing there, silent, his head tilted slightly to the side. "Do you like it here, in the Dark Temple?"

He hesitates, but I can sense how much he likes being here, partly because there are so few others around, but also because Nik and I treat him vastly different from pretty much everyone.

"Instead of needing to receive permission," I say. "From Nik or me every time you enter, if you take on Dark Squire, you can do it on your own. The three things it requires are Sword Mastery Level 1, Rage Level 1, and Intimidate Level 1. They're relatively easy for you to obtain – the first two, you can actually acquire at the same time."

Gold tilts his head to the other side, his eyebrows narrowing in confusion as he frowns a little bit.

"You won't have to fight for real," I tell him. "And you won't have to pick up a sword again, if you don't ever want to. I know how much you don't want to, but if you do it this one time, you'll be able to enter and exit the Dark Temple as you wish, and not have to get permission every time. You're still welcome to live with me, though, if you wish – I'm not trying to get rid of you."

Gold thinks about it for a few moments, then shakes his head. He doesn't want to leave me – at least, not right now. Eventually, he'll accept my offer to teach him how to obtain those Skills, so he can stay here instead.

Big Flame's constant presence here is comforting to him, though my presence is even more so, likely due to what I mean to him, as his savior and the one who gave him the unobtainable access to the System.

"Alright," I say, then look at Nik. "It's about twenty miles to the other side of the valley, but closer to thirty-five or forty to reach the ends – to reach Praevar and Talorn. Normally, that would mean a trip lasting twenty or more hours for just the walking, not factoring in rest, since you're traveling through forest most of the way, right?"

"Yes," Nik smiles a little. "So you've finally wondered?"

"Do you guys just run there?" I ask. "Aren't you exhausted by then?"

"Most of us heading to the mines," he says. "Have been around long enough and are powerful enough that it isn't an issue for us. Some of us can fly, as you know – doing so, I can cross the valley in just minutes.

"There's another way, though," he says. "At least, for those within the Order of the Dark Flame."

Right! Nik's mentioned that to me before, as did a couple of my prophetic dreams – any active Dark Temple can be teleported between by Dark Knights. We just need to stand on the sigil out front and focus on the Dark Temple we wish to arrive in – the City's name is needed for it – and we'll receive a message asking if we wish to teleport there. It's cost-free, and we can take our parties with us.

That must be why Nik's gone so much – he must be acting as the transport for most people here, adding them to his party, taking them there, then returning. Or maybe he stopped that? Isaac and Theodore – the other two Dark Knights – are still around, so they might be doing it as well.

Nik's still the official Guild Master of the Dark Knights for Maelnor, though, which is awesome.

"Oh," I say. "That's cool. So – theoretically – we could reach Talorn easily that way?"

"Yes," he nods. "Though due to no one feeding the fire or living there, the Dark Temple's gone dormant, and we've sort of lost the method of waking them back."

I've seen that happen in one of my visions, though I'm not sure how much of it was actually necessary, and how much of it was just me being me.

"Ever tried asking Big Flame?"

"He's cryptic about it."

"Hey, Big Flame?" I say. "How do you wake up a Dark Temple?"

"You just need a sacrifice of some sort," he responds. "A prayer usually helps. The bigger the sacrifice, the easier it'll be to wake it up. Multiple smaller sacrifices work as well. Announcement to all Dark Knights: do not call it 'activating a Dark Temple', call it 'waking up a Dark Temple'."

Oops?

Nik buries his head into his hands, shaking it a little and letting out a long breath.

"Dammit," he says after a few seconds, then looks at me and sighs. "Of course you get an answer."

"Probably because I said 'please'."

"You didn't say 'please'."

"Maybe not verbally," I say. "But the request had the 'please' implied into it."

"Actually, it didn't," Big Flame says. "But there's no use in stopping you guys from waking up a Dark Temple, if it's Talorn. Anyway, gotta go, before Big S yells at me again."

Big Flame stops talking, and Nik gives me an incredulous look.

"I have no idea why he's getting yelled at," I shrug. "Do you have a map of Talorn?"

"Are you planning on going there?" He asks.

"I've taken out several large settlements of the Goblins'," I nod. "Once I take out a few more and gain a few more Levels, I'll probably start hunting there. Considering how long it's been since anyone has, due to how lacking a use Talorn is, it's probably got quite a few Level 10's, Classed-, and specialty Monsters, in addition to the Elites and Bounty Beasts being numerous.

"I'm going to be careful," I hold up a hand to stop him from protesting. "If I have to get there through the long walk, I'll stick near the gate leading out. If I can manage it at the Dark Temple, then I'll stick near it – close enough to whichever to quickly flee, if it's too much.

"That said," I say. "I'm going to need to fight tougher monsters, with how strong I am, now. Except for Perception, all of my stats are triple-digits, and my Overall Class Level is as well. Fighting the Dungeon-Rank monsters will be what's needed in order for me to really gain more Experience.

"Continuing that," I hold up a hand as he starts to talk again. "I do need to learn at least one or two more Skills before going there. I have two in mind specifically, though you'll need to tell me if one of them does exist. If it doesn't, then I can abuse Adventurer's Tier II added bonus."

Nik sighs, then nods, asking me what they are.

"Since I'm a Dark Lord," I say. "That means I can learn Crimson Wall, right? I know it sacrifices Health, but in return, it generates a powerful barrier, right? Can you teach it to me?"

"Yes," he nods. "What's the other Skill?"

"Other than Drain Life," I say. "Is there a Dark Knight Skill that will let me heal?"

"No," he answers. "Our only recovery Skills are Drain Life and Absorb, unless you count Dark Vengeance."

"Alright," I say. "Then I'll have to seek out that old priest and ask him to teach me Heal. His name was Adrian, right?"

"Dark Knights can't use holy magic," he tells me, narrowing his gaze. "Unless that's what you were referring to, when you mentioned the Adventurer Tier II added bonus?"

"It is," I grin at him. "Adventurers who reach Tier II of that special Subclass aren't blocked from using Skills locked due to Classes, which means that as a Dark Knight, I can use Heal, Cure, and the like. Actually, learning Cure might be a good idea as well. Is it just one Skill, or are there different Skills for different ailments?"

"Different Skills for different ailments," he answers. "Though High Priests and higher also have access to Remedy, which can do a variety of ailments, and for a slightly-lower cost. Remedy can also help with simpler illnesses, such as the common cold."

"The flu?"

"No."

"Okay," I grin at him.

"If you get it, I'm staying far, far away from you."

"I don't get sick," I tell him. "We can learn Crimson Wall tomorrow. Gold, why don't you come with me?"

Gold looks hesitant, but nods, and follows me. We leave the Dark Temple and walk between the giant walls of snow to either side. It'll be awhile before it starts melting, considering it's a little less than zero outside, which means we're well under freezing.

I mostly wanted to escape before Nik pressed me more on what I meant by 'everything'. I'm sure that he'll try to push me more about what, exactly, I saw, but I'd successfully pulled him away from that topic.

Once he's sure I'm ready for Talorn, he'll probably let me look over the most recent map of the place. That said, he's probably going to head there to awaken the Dark Temple, since he'll want to keep me from having to do that long trek.

Since I'm at Dark Lord, I'm going to go say "hello" to Prince Joseph, to let him know that I did it ahead of schedule. With a little less than two weeks left here, I managed to do it much sooner than anyone probably expected.

Mostly because of that weird Dragon, but I doubt I'd have failed without his help.

The walk to the prince's mansion is mostly-silent, though I can hear Gold's tail swishing from side to side throughout. He's excited by something, though I'm not sure what. His mind's a bit scrambled right now in his excitement. Something about presents, cookies, milk-

Oh, right. Christmas is coming up, though they don't really celebrate it, not knowing about it. Why does he associate the Santa Boss with presents, cookies, and milk, though? Are those its loot? Gold did seem to come from a 'wealthier' master, so it'd make sense that he might have seen the loot, or something related to it.

I'm going to make sure he gets milk and cookies, whether or not I'm the one killing the Santa Boss. Though hopefully, everyone here is too preoccupied with the mines to take it on.

Gold and I eventually reach the prince's home, and the guard at the doors narrows her gaze at me.

"Sorry, kid," she says. "You need to have an appointment if you want to see him."

"I've already seen him at least twice," I wave a hand. "Can you let Joseph know that Lord Zack is here?"

"That's Prince Joseph," she says. "And you're too young to be any of the lords."

Gold starts radiating nervousness and fear.

"Okay," I say. "Could you let Joseph know that Dark Lord Zack is here? And that I succeeded in advancing to that about two weeks ahead of schedule?"

She frowns, narrowing her gaze at me further, and I know she's using Appraisal, so I actively do my best to resist it, as I always do when I know someone's using Appraisal to check my stats.

Appraisal Resistance is Now Level 6!

She jolts a little, and I realize that she probably only had Appraisal Level 5, which means that my Status suddenly became unavailable to her as she gawked at the fact that a child was a Dark Lord.

"Also," I say. "Please remember that the most powerful healer in the Boundary looks like he's ten."

Remembrance fills her face, and she sighs, then looks to the other guard, who looks amused. Now that I think about it, he's one of the ones I've seen with the prince, so he knows who I am. He dips his head to her, and she heads inside.

"When did you reach it?" He asks.

"A little bit ago," I answer. "I got Power Jump in the middle of the street, though I woke up shortly after Nik got me into the bed at the Dark Temple."

"You woke after only a few hours?"

"I also didn't have the typical Power Jump dream," I shrug. "I saw the formation of existence itself. I'm not exactly 'normal', you know."

"No, you aren't," he chuckles.

The lady guard returns a few minutes later, then escorts Gold and me to the prince, though she clearly doesn't seem happy about it. My impression is that she's not too fond of the Beastborn, especially not with him being clothed and clearly free.

Does she know he has access to the System as well? Probably, if she used Appraisal on him.

The prince meets us in the same room we met in last time, and greets me with a smile.

"Welcome, Lord Zack," he says, gesturing to the couch opposite him. "Please, have a seat."

"Thanks!" I say, walking around it and plopping myself onto it, then I pat the seat beside me. "Come on, Gold, have a seat."

The lady guard opens her mouth to say something, but the prince holds up a hand, and she stops.

"You may leave us," he tells her.

"It is not a good idea to let-"

"He's over Level 100," Joseph says. "And possesses Dark Knight techniques, being one. If he wanted to hurt me, we'd need several more guards in here, and of a higher Level, all with Rank 2 Classes. A Level 60 warrior won't be enough to stop him."

"Then we should-"

"Go," he says, and she leaves. "So, Zack, you reached it."

"Yes, I did," I smile at him. "I just wanted to stop by and let you know, and we had an agreement."

"Yes, we did," he smiles. "Anyone who wishes to stay and continue working the mines may. I've also put in a call for anyone deeper in who will come out here to work the mines further. We need to prepare for the battle, if the statements that it's coming this spring are true."

I can check that. Focusing, I look to the future, pressing my power until my head hurts.

"Ow," I wince, rubbing my temples. "Yeah, it'll happen this spring, possibly this summer."

"Your eyes really do turn violet," he looks stunned for a moment, then quickly recovers. "So, I assume you knew I knew about your ability to see the future?"

"Nik told me he let you know," I nod. "And that I was the one who'd warned them about the Fallen Adventurers showing up in the mines. By the way – Nik is probably heading to Talorn in the next few days to awaken the Dark Temple there. Once I've gained a couple of more Skills and am a bit better, I'm going to start grinding the Dungeon-Type monsters there, as they'll be better for my Skills and Levels."

"Alright," he says. "Have a message sent to me when you're stopping in the forest."

"I will," I nod. "Though I'm getting a team in the next few months, probably, and they'll be using the forest, so we'll lay claim to the northern section of it."

"Alright," he says. "And again – congratulations."

"Thanks!" I hop off the couch, then look at Gold. "Let's race to the Temple."