(Zack)

I didn't receive a vision warning me of his coming. Does it only happen for those outside the Boundary who will be on my team? Will I receive visions of my other two teammates, before we're all assembled?

The beastborn showing up was probably a sign, despite what the Crystals tell me. I probably was losing myself into the training. Fighting, killing, gaining what little Experience and what Skill Levels I could, attempting and failing to trigger my ability to shapeshift into a dragon… that won't bring Braden back. It won't bring Bryce back, either.

Braden's Fallen Adventurer form didn't make an appearance, so I'm sure it's hiding for now. If it's on its own, I could purge it, but I can't. Not right now. Once I'm strong enough, though, I promise that I'll release your body from that horrid curse, Braden.

Sighing, I look at my new teammate, who's following me dutifully. He still thinks he's a slave.

"Here's the house," I stop outside it, and he looks at it. "Come on, let me show you the bath, you need one."

Like most slaves, he probably had minimal washing. My newest teammate follows me to the bath, and I strip down.

"Ever taken a bath before?" I ask, and his face lights up as his tail wags in happiness. I'm pretty sure the answer's 'no', he's just excited at the idea of helping his new master. "Okay, then. You're taking a bath, not helping me. But you can scrub my back if you really want to."

He does, and I pretty much have to wrestle him to get him to wash himself, though I do scrub his back, which confuses him a bit.

"I'm not your master," I tell him. "I'm your teammate."

That still seems to confuse him. Once we're both clean, we soak in the bath, though he seems nervous.

"Okay," I say after several minutes of his unease and tenseness filling my mind. "You've got to stop that. You aren't my slave, you're my teammate. You're a member of my-oh, for goodness's sake! Big Flame! Wake Big S up!"

But he's so cute when he's sleeping!

"He's napped long enough," I tell him. "He only needs to wake long enough to connect my teammate to the System."

My teammate gives me a bewildered look, his mind filling with confusion. He's heard the myth that a beastborn has Access, but like most, he doesn't believe it.

He needs a name.

"He already has one, it's 'Big S'."

No, the beastborn. He needs a name before he can be connected.

I look at my teammate, who's looking at me in even greater confusion.

"I'm talking to Big Flame," I tell him. "Who you probably know of as the Crystal of Dark of Fire."

He can hear me, that's probably part of where his confusion is coming from. I am a disembodied voice. You do not see me, you do not smell me, you do not-

"Wake him up, Big Flame."

Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!

His presence disappears from my mind, and I hope he actually does wake up Big S.

"Max," I point at my teammate. "How does that sound for a name?"

He's not sure why he's getting a name.

"Do you like that for a name?" I ask him. "Max?"

He decides that if that's what I want to call him, then he's not going to question his new master.

"I'm not your master!" I tell him, and he gives me a bewildered look again. "I can understand beastborn-talk, even though I'm not one."

His face lights up in realization and amazement. Did he really just now figure out that I could? He could already sense my mind as I try to interpret his thoughts.

"Now," I say. "Do you want to go by 'Max'?"

He nods happily, and I can tell his tail's flicking under the water, even if most of it is pressed between his back and the walls of the bath. Just the tip's flicking, creating a minicurrent.

"Well, then," I say. "Welcome to my team, Max."

Just as I say that, his Status appears in my vision.

Max Level 0 Health: 10 Mana: 30

Max yelps, jumping into the air.

Nice timing, Big S.

He said he did it, Big Flame tells me. Then passed right back out and said to wake him up in a hundred years.

"He'll wake up sooner than that," I roll my eyes. "Welcome to the System, too, Max."

He also said you owe him big-time for this.

"Yeah, yeah," I wave a hand dismissively. "Stop drawing on him."

Big Flame's presence stills for a moment, then disappears entirely, and I snort.

"Now," I smile, leaning forward. "You can talk, right?"

He tilts his head to the side.

"Like humans do," I say. "You can talk, right?"

He nods, looking scared.

"No need to be scared," I say. "Can you talk for me?"

"Yes, Master!"

"And don't call me Master!"

"Yes, Boss!"

Sighing, I lean back and stare at the sky. I suppose that will do for now.

"Alright, Max," I say. "So here's the deal. You can be a part of my team, or do whatever you want. Does that sound good to you?"

"Me Boss slave! Boss master!"

"No," I say. "I'm not your master. "If you're on my team, I'll be your leader, but not your master. You won't have to clean my clothes or cook my food or anything like that. You'll eat with the rest of the team, and share in the chores with the rest of the team. Everyone participates.

"If you team up with me," I continue. "You'll be allowed to hunt monsters, obtain your own loot, own your own property, and so on. You're free, Max. Free. And I'm welcoming you into my team, if you wish it. Do you?"

Max nods.

"Can you say that with your words?"

"Me serve Boss!"

"You're not serving me," I say. "You'll be a part of my team! You-oh, for the love of the Crystals. AURUM! GET YOUR SCRAWNY BUTT OVER HERE! I NEED YOUR HELP WITH SOMETHING!"

Max gives me a confused look, but shifts his gaze to the entrance of the bath when Aurum shows up.

"Nice clothes!" Max exclaims, pointing at Aurum, his eyes wide with amazement. "Like Free-Beastborn!"

"Yes!" I say. "Like free beastborn! Because you're among them! Aurum, Max is having a hard time understanding he's not my slave. Can you… I don't know… help somehow?"

Aurum tilts his head to the side.

"Yes, you can join us in the bath."

His tail wagging in happiness, Aurum quickly strips down, washes, then joins us in the bath to soak. He talks with Max through the normal means for beastborn, and I just sit here and relax, hoping that Max finally gets it.

Just as Max finally starts to understand – I think – Aurum decides he's done chatting and wants to play, and I hastily leave the bath, rinsing off, drying off, dressing, and vacating the room barely in time for the massive splashing to begin.

I need to remind Gold that his brother enjoys horsing around in the bath and is essentially by himself when Nathan isn't around – which is most of the time. Actually, I'll do that now. While I'm at it, I'll tell him he doesn't need to keep Luca and me company at night anymore, though I know he'll probably continue visiting Luca.

I'd like to visit Luca as well, and continue to sleep in the room with him while he recovers, but with Max here now, I need to focus on someone else. Make sure Max can handle himself. When I return, I'll figure out what Max wants to be as an adventurer.

When I reach the homes where the free beastborn are living, I learn from them as they play a game of cards that Gold's in the Dark Temple, so I head up the steps and enter.

Inside, I locate Gold trying to pry open the doors to the Altar Hall. He's never been able to enter that room, which frustrates him. When he hears me coming, he gives me pitiful eyes.

"Big Flame," I say. "How come Gold can't enter there?"

Oh, uh, only someone whose alignment is towards me can, Big Flame explains. Since Gold is aligned to Light of Air – Big C – he can't. While he might be able to work on shifting his alignment to fire from air, moving from light to dark is a tad more difficult.

"Why's that restriction in place?" I ask.

It's not one I put in place, Big Flame tells me. It's simply how they are because of that room's properties. It's sacred to me with a deep connection. That's what causes the block. The only way for someone not aligned with me is a theory, and that's to have such a great merging into the inner Crystal that alignment doesn't matter. Even you aren't at that point yet, we think.

"Alright," I say, then place my hand on Gold's head. "Sorry, bud. Maybe one day, right?"

His tail and ears droop.

"By the way," I tell him. "My beastborn teammate showed up. Aurum's playing with him right now. Or at least, they were when I left. If you want to meet Max, he's back at my place. Also, your brother kind of misses hanging out with you, don't forget to keep him company, too, okay?"

Gold nods, then follows me as I leave. Nik's entering the Dark Temple as we reach the doors, and I grin at him.

"Max speaks," I stick my tongue out. "Stop by in the morning and I'll prove that beastborn can!"

Gold giggles.

"Unless Gold here wants to prove it, too," I say, and the beastborn beside me blushes and hides behind me. "That's what I thought."

Nik rolls his eyes, then asks how I'm feeling.

"Sad," I answer. "Depressed. Horrible. Terrible. Frustrated that I can't just turn into a dragon and burn A'Lutar to nothing. But I need to train up my newest teammate so that something like that won't happen again. Anyway, I need to get going. I'm starving, Gold's starving, Aurum's starving, and Max probably hasn't had a proper meal before in his life."

Gold's tail starts wagging at the thought of getting to cook for me again, and I groan. The idea is that I do the cooking so that Max can see that I won't treat him like a slave.

We leave and head home, where Max and Aurum are still horsing around in the bath. I tell Gold to join them, and ask if Max can borrow a change of his clothes once they're out. He nods and runs to the bath, and I get to work on cooking dinner. Tonight, I cook a ham with a honey glaze, some rolls, mashed potatoes, some gravy, and mix up a salad, then set out a bowl of berries.

"Dinner!" I call out, and it takes almost five minutes for them to show up.

Based on their thoughts, Gold and Aurum had to convince Max it really was okay for him to wear 'people clothes'. They were both wearing them. Getting him out of the slave mindset will probably take a little bit more time. Hopefully by the end of the day.

The brothers… I start to feel myself tearing up when I think that, and force it back. The brothers sit at the table, while Max looks scared.

"Oh, sit your ass down and eat," I tell Max. "You're a part of my team, remember? That means you eat with the team if we're having a group meal. Or guests, in the case of Gold and Aurum. So sit your ass down and join us."

Max nods, then sits. Gold and I have to practically fill his plate with food so that he'll eat, but after a few minutes of nervously picking at it, Max digs in with gusto. The three beastborn converse in their way, so I just sit here and enjoy my food.

After dinner, Gold and Aurum play rock-paper-scissors to decide who washes the dishes and who dries, and Max tries to join them.

"No, Max," I say. "I want to check some stuff, okay? You've got Access to the System now. And Max? That's a sure sign you aren't a slave. You have the System. If you don't believe me, well, you got a message saying you were. Anyway. Think or say 'status' to pull up your window, then focus on letting me see it."

Max thinks for a few moments, then his Status appears in my vision.

Character Information Dark of Fire Name: Max Primary Class: None Level: 0 Unavailable: Unavailable Title: None Unavailable: Unavailable Health: 10/10 Mana: 30/30 Strength: 2 Intellect: 10 Endurance: 1 Willpower: 2 Vitality: 1 Wisdom: 3 Agility: 6 Perception: 5

That equals 30 Stat Points, yet the maximum known possible for base is 25 Stat Points. Either Beastborn have a higher cap, or Max already has an additional 5 Stat Points. I look over at Gold and remember that he had Adventurer when he acquired Access. That meant he'd already had an Original Class, too.

Max clearly doesn't have Adventurer, since two of his Stats are at 1 Stat Point, unless both of those started at zero and his base equals 17 Stat Points. He has an Original Class. Thinking about what he's like, I'm guessing it's Original Ruffian.

"Max," I say. "Can you pull up Subclasses?"

He thinks for a moment, then nods.

"Is there something in there?" I ask, and he nods. "What's it called? With your words, please, I couldn't understand that."

"Ruffian, Boss!" He answers, and I notice the two dog beastborn give him startled and amazed looks.

Did they not believe me?

"Is that it?" I ask, and he nods. "Cool. Just so you know, that's a very rare, very special Subclass. Not just anyone can acquire it."

His face lights up and I can hear his tail swishing even harder at the thought of having something special. Then he thinks that I'm lying, and a moment later, I sense Gold telling him it's true.

"As far as we know," I say. "Only the three of us have it. Gold and I have another extra-special Subclass, which is even more difficult to obtain. It's called Adventurer. Do you want to try and acquire it?"

"Me special?" He asks.

"Max," I say. "The proper way to say that would be 'I am special?' or 'Am I special?', okay?"

"Okay, Boss!" He says. "Me special!"

We'll work on that.

"Yes, you're special," I tell him. "You're one of two Beastborn in all the Boundary with Access to the System. It's something that's extremely exhausting for Big S, the Crystal of the System, to do, or he'd work on connecting all of you. Do you want to go for this super-hard-to-obtain Subclass?" I ask.

He nods happily.

"With your words, Max," I tell him. "I solemnly swear on delicious things that you're free to speak. Don't be a jerk, and there won't be a problem. Just speak your mind and be friendly, okay?"

"Yes, Boss!" He cheerfully responds, then looks at Gold and Aurum. "You speak!"

They both shake their heads.

"Why no?"

"Why not," I correct.

"Why not!"

That wasn't a question, Max, that was an exclamation. I guess he's just happy to get to try out talking while supposedly not getting into trouble.

"They don't want to," I tell him. "So, want to try to obtain this super-special Subclass?"

"Yes, Boss!"

"Cool," I say. "Then whatever you do, do not take on a Class until you obtain it, okay? If you do that, I guarantee you'll obtain it."

I'm basing this off the assumption that he's pretty close to 100 Total Skill Levels. Gold was already there when he obtained Access, so Max likely won't be that far out, either.

"Got that, Max?" I ask.

"Yes, Boss!"

"Good," I say. "Now, what Class do you want to take on?"

"Me Class?"

"Yes," I say. "You can take on a Class. If you tell me what you want to be, I can tell you what you need to do to meet the requirements, okay?"

Max nods, then starts thinking. I can tell he's trying to decide between being a Dark Knight because apparently, we're pretty awesome – something I totally agree with him on – and being a magician. He knows Dark Knights use fire, but he wants to use fire. He also likes the idea of using knives, then remembers that all Dark Knights he's seen have used knives.

"Max," I say. "Once you reach Level 5 of the third Tier of the Class, you can take on a second Class. So, what do you want more: to be a fire magician, or a Dark Knight?"

He lets out a huge sigh as he tries to figure out which he wants to be more. I guess it's a pretty big decision for him.

"Novice Elementalist is easier to learn," I tell him. "It requires only a single Skill, while Dark Squire requires three. You might be able to get Intimidate and Swords Mastery easily, but do you think you can get Rage? In other words, how easily do you think you can get yourself angry?"

His tail swishes from side to side. He's pretty happy right now over acquiring Access to the System and meeting Beastborn-Hero. It might take him awhile before he can go into a proper rage, the kind that awakens the required Skill.

"Magic!" He tells me.

"Alright," I say. "And you want to learn fire, right?"

He nods.

"Cool," I smile at him. "After dinner, I'm going to introduce you to the pervert and we'll get you a staff and knife, then you can learn how to make fireballs."

"FIREBALLS!" He exclaims in excitement, then blushes and covers his mouth while giving me an apologetic look.

"Hey," I smile at him. "There's nothing to worry about, Max. You're excited, you can exclaim if you want."

"Okay, Boss!"