Silima: AELEO! HEY!

Aeleo: What is it Silima? Did you lose track of those two?

Silima: No! Listen! Djin and Kreo triggered the field boss! They tried the dialogue option!

Aeleo: Ah, so they died I suppose. That's unfortunate.

Silima: No! Listen! Kreo had some sort of challenge and he fought five bandits in hand to hand combat!

Aeleo: That must've been a horrible way to die, what happened to Djin?

Silima: Aeleo! Just listen! Kreo won the challenge, he brutalized the bandits! Djin and Kreo are talking to the Bandit Chieftan now!

Aeleo: Really? What are they saying?

Silima: I don't know, they went inside a tent and I can't hear anything!

Aeleo: Well wait for them to come out, Leon should be on soon, we'll talk to him then.

Silima: Alright, did you learn anything about the potion?

Aeleo: No, it's pointless too. The game isn't going to give up the information, why do I have to bother with this?

Silima: You got your job, I got mine. Good luck!

Aeleo: Thanks...

"Alright, I'll make this simple for you two. Right now you're something, but actually, you're nothing."

Djin nodded, Kreo frowned.

"Nothing? I just destroyed five of your guys bare handed and Djin here was able to hold of a hundred nearly solo."

"Killing those weaklings is nothing to boast about, they're just fodder after all."

Djin was confused, if this was roleplay it was not very traditional... Djin turned to check Kreo but he was shocked as well. When the two said nothing, the Chieftan continued.

"I guess it would be a bit surprising to hear me, but I think you'll understand better if I do this."

The Chieftan's entire image flickered and began to unravel from head to toe, out of it stepped a pale white man with a black suit. Bleached white hair styled with an upward lick topped his head, orange irises in his eyes, and a knowing grin on his face. In a moment the rough bandit was gone and replaced by a suave devil.

"Ahh, much better. You may call me Khayn."

Djin took this all in for a moment, then spoke.

"Khayn? Who... what are you?"

The pale man smirked.

"I am the A.I. subroutine in charge of Lawful Evil alignment. A would be demi-god to this world, not quite ominiscient, but certainly powerful. Alas, I am but one of many, and I am here for you Djin."

"Me? What do you want with me?"

Khayn flicked his hands and a small clipboard appeared.

"Djin, aka Luke Trebe, registered user for Endless. First online two weeks ago, but only started playing a few days ago. Total playtime... nearly 250 hours. Strange that, this was actually flagged to our OOB team for review, but I stopped that."

Djin frowned.

"OOB team? And what's wrong?"

"OOB team would be our Out of Bounds team, they handle any issues that arise when a player may have broken the game's mechanics. If this report had gone to them, they'd have likely banned your character for some time manipulation or such... but I know the real reason. Did you enjoy your time in Belakyr's tower? You're quite lucky you know, it's not a place that every player gets to visit. In fact, if you hadn't done the failed the first trial and skirted the second trial in that manner, you would have gotten the magic classroom like the other players."

Kreo nodded.

"I heard that was the tutorial for other players, it did sound a bit strange that you wanted to stay so long. I figured you must just know something I don't."

"Oh he knows much more than even that now. I watched every second of your time in that tower, before I deleted all of the evidence that you were ever there."

Djin shook his head.

"Delete it all? Why? I did nothing wrong, I was told it was the magic tutorial and if it wasn't for my diligence then I would have left with nothing!"

Khayn bent over and burst out laughing.

"Nothing?! You couldn't trip in that place without learning a spell! Djin, you are without a doubt one of the most knowledgeable players in this game currently. I fully intend to take advantage of that."

Kreo and Djin tensed, neither of them wanted this situation but for different reasons.

It was Djin that spoke.

"What do you want?"

"Ah, it's not what I want, but what can we do for each other. You see Djin, you learned a lot in that tower, much more than even you know now. I had to lock away a large portion of your memory from that time. You left me no choice really, it was either leash you up or put you down. However, I am willing to return the knowledge to you, all of it, if you'll just become my agent."

Stole my memory? I don't understand this at all, I can remember every moment I was there. What's his angle?

Djin tried to process this but it was Kreo that voiced the idea.

"What bullshit are you talking about? Djin is already ridiculously powerful, what could you have kept from him? Why would he agree to be an agent of evil? How would that help him in any way?"

Khayn's persistent grin vanished as he rounded on Kreo.

"Brash aren't you? I'll admit that you're quite the fighter Alex, and that's why I brought you along. While I want Djin to be my Agent, I have a use for you as well. Serve me and I'll give you a class so powerful that you'll never stand in anyone's shadows."

Khayn's Acolyte

Secret class available!

If you accept Khayn's offer, you will become his servant. Your class will be visible to all players and you will be required to keep Khayn's favor. Once accepted, this class cannot be easily changed.

Kreo read the pop-up and glanced at Djin. This was it, his big chance to actually be someone, to be in the spotlight and not in the background! Djin had reservations about all of this, but he didn't show them. He had a feeling Khayn was telling the truth, he thought about the time he spent studying and started to realize that there was large time gaps. He didn't have much choice in the matter then...

"I'll accept your deal then Khayn, what will you have me do as your agent?"

Khayn's grin returned.

"There will be more information in time, the important thing is your assent. Let us make it official."

Khayn's Agent

Title Available

Khayn has designated you his agent. This title can be publically or privately displayed at anytime.

Note: Khayn is holds the Lawful Evil alignment, some NPCs will react poorly to you if they learn of your affiliation.

Title Bonuses:

+2 to all stats

(Further bonuses available on Khayn's whims.)

While the two of them accepting their new roles in this world, Khayn's eyes sparked as he laid out the plan them.

Silima waited patiently, it hadn't been long since Djin and Kreo entered into the tent, but it was an extremely unusual circumstance. How many times has Ashen Fury killed the Chieftan? Eight? At least seven times... and spoken to him at least ten times. Never have they been able to do more than annoy him, not too mention the tent. They had looted the entire area many times, but that tent wasn't special, just raw hide and coarse thread. Why couldn't she hear anything from inside? The woods were dead silent, no animals, no bugs, even all the dead bandit corpses had despawned already.

It had been about thirty minutes when she received a message.

Leon: Silima, Aeleo told me you've found the priest? And he urged me to get more information from you, why are you two making such a big deal out of this? Just get him and have him join us.

Silima: Sry! We offered him a chance already but he turned us down! He's really strong too! He's at the Bluemist Bandit camp and he's at the field boss!

Leon: So? We stopped farming that spot because it was shitty, if we spawned the field boss then we would have to kill him or leave but either way the bandit's stopped spawning for an hour.

Silima: Yes but... listen! He spawned the field boss alone! Well with his friend, but I recorded the whole thing, take a look!

Silima sent Leon the video. He sighed and started playing it at 5x speed, after a few moments he paused and started it over at normal speed. Who was this player? How was he using so many spells, and not just many spells, but powerful ones... was it his Signature Skill? Leon checked the timestamp when the Chieftan spawned...

Leon: Incredible... he spawned the field boss practically solo in only 53 minutes. I don't think any other player could have done that. He possesses and extraordinary Sig, what do you know about it Silima

Silima: He doesn't have his Sig yet... he's only level 8.

Not many things in the game have surprised Leon so far. Despite the game only being a few weeks old, he had already obtained three achievements. One of which he was able to feed into his signature skill and that alone put him way ahead of the player curve. Leon deemed his skill satisfactory from when he first saw it.

Signature Skill - Shared Pain

When activated, each of your attacks deal additional damage equal to 20% of your missing health.

Skill duration is based on how full your life is when activated. A bonus 30 seconds is added if you are at full health.

When the skill ends, your next attack will deal 200% of your missing health as damage.

Cooldown: 12 hours.

He had been the first player to earn the Berserker class, despite it being contrary to his nature, those around him laugh at the irony. Their calm, collected, cool headed leader being a berserker? But the strength of the class was lost on them. A berserker is first into battle and last to fall, he can optimize the heals he receives to keep his damage high, treading the line between glory and death.

And he has died, the resurrection spell would be a great boon to him and his guild. Would have been... because now Leon saw something better than that. Someone who could change it all.

Leon: Where is he now Silima?

The two exited the tent with a new goals, their one concern taken care of by Khayn as a gesture of good will for the new arrangement.

Battle Results

Bandits Slain: 100

Bandit Chieftan Slain

Battle Difficulty: A-rank

Experience Earned: 5900

Loot Found

Rough Iron Weapons: 18

Leather Armor Scraps: 37

Chief's Gloves

Chief's Boots

Earring (Unidentified)

Money: 49g 32s 18c

The experience was more than enough to get them both to level 10. The extra loot a courtesy since they had not actually fought the Chieftan. It would have been a hard fight for the two of them, but Khayn was fairly sure Djin would've won anyway, he had the mana regen and damage to pull the weight of eight mages. Khayn marveled as the man walked away, a variable that no one had anticipated, that the other AIs didn't catch. The fattest fish in an ocean was now swimming in his pond.

"Right, so that was a lot..."

Kreo broke the silence first.

"Okay Djin, can we run through it one more time?"

Djin nodded, he could use the refresher too.

"So there's Khayn, Lawful Evil, our boss now."

"Yes."

"Then there's Jeishra, Lawful Good, but still on good terms with Khayn because he adheres to the lawful part more than the evil part."

"Yeah, suppose chaos is a greater concern... makes the phrase 'necessary evil' a bit relative here."

"Okay, then there is Tuyl, Chaotic Good, who promotes holy wars and hates large civilizations. Something about big government."

"Yeah, a bit pandering, but go on."

"Then there's Zo, Chaotic Evil, who just wants the world to burn, but has a surprisingly well orchestrated cult to support the same belief."

"Seems like the worse the god, the more efficient they are."

"And then the true neutral is All-In, who keeps things in balance by working with struggling gods."

"Which is why Khayn and Jeishra don't work so hard at maintaining large peace keeping forces in the way that Zo and Tuyl do. They prefer to use small elite forces to push their plans, it allows them to be more surgical in their operations instead of a broad cleaving force."

"Yes, makes sense to a degree, less variables to account for and easier oversight in the end. They can likely allocate more resources to the smaller units as well."

Djin and Kreo turned at a crossroads and make towards Freemont. They walked on a bit further before Kreo spoke again.

"So where do the players come in? Why recruit us?"

Djin thought for a moment, but he knew the answer as soon as they left the tent.

"Players don't account for their resources directly like NPCs likely do, they might have a small resource allocation but a big footprint."

"Well if All-In wants it all in balance, what would players matter? Soon as the scales tip in one direction, All-In will put it back to neutral again."

"I think you just said it, the balance only changes as soon as the scales tip. Recruiting me and you is likely not even a blip on AI's radar. We didn't even get an achievement for joining him."

"Ah shit, you're right, I didn't even notice that. Damn, you didn't even get one for getting the Khayn's Agent title."

"Yeah, he also boned me over on the terms of getting MY knowledge back from him by doing him favors. I guess I owe him for getting me out of trouble if that is even true..."

"I sure as shit owe him for this new class, the bonus stats and new skills alone are worth having to be his champion."

"Well it's risk reward, since it makes you fair game to anti-god quests. Soon as someone needs to cull Khayn's followers, you'll have a bullseye painted on your back."

"Yeah, but you won't. We need to hammer that out by the way."

"Right, so followers aren't targets, but they are aligned with the god. Servants are targets and are aligned with the god. Difference between the two is if God asks, one might burn down an orphanage and the other is obligated to do it."

"Damn, hope Khayn doesn't have me do anything real shitty."

"We can't know for sure yet, but random evil doesn't blend well with lawful evil."

"The lawful part is seeming more appealing as we go. So you being an agent makes you off the market?"

"Ha, until I'm discovered. Soon as someone knows I'm Khayn's agent, I can be PK'd for free just as much as you. It's risky for us to even be together, if I'm in your party when someone targets you, they'll likely target me too. If they don't get a PK penalty for killing me, they might put two and two together."

A figure jumped from a tree near the road and landed in front of them. Silima stood up with a gymnast flourish and turned to the two with a grin.

"Or they might listen in as you two blabber about your new statuses to anyone within 50 feet... 500 feet if they have ears like mine.

Kreo and Djin paled, they had kept their secret for all of three minutes before leaking it to someone else.

"Oh relax, I'm not the worst person to learn your secret. In fact, I'm more than willing to keep your secret if you do a little something for me."

Silima put on the most innocent smile she could manage, the effect was lost on Djin and Kreo however. Djin had to ask.

"What do you want? I can't make any promises but we can try to accomodate each other."

"What I want is to be the person who recruits you into Ashen Fury. Our guild leader Leon is exceptionally interested in you right now Djin. He's waiting in Freemont with some of the other guild elites to try and reel you in."

Djin was puzzled.

"Why though? Is this about the resurrection spell? I don't even know when I'll be able to fully cast it!"

"Oh no, we're way past that. I took a video of you blasting those bandits earlier and Leon was impressed, like super impressed. He wants you in the core team and to bus you up to their level asap."

Djin's jaw dropped, Kreo stepped in.

"What about me?"

Silima sighed.

"Yeah he wanted you too, but probably not now. You're one of Khayn's Komrades now and Leon and the guild mostly serve Tuyl, they won't let you join and they might just kill you for kicks."

Kreo's shoulders dropped in remorse.

"Aww shit, really? What about Djin? He's a Khayn's... Komrade right? Why are we called that?"

"Djin's an agent, no one will suspect him of being one either because he got it so early on, most agents are getting picked up around level 30 or higher. Secondly, you're called Khayn's Komrades because his societal structure is strongly authoritarianism. It's not disliked by the NPCs because the cities that follow him are also the safest against monsters and crime."

Djin stepped in.

"But the players still see it as bad then because of our own pre-conceived notions?"

Silima nodded and Djin continued.

"So, Leon is waiting for us and you want to be the one who delivers us?"

"Actually no... I want you to go there by yourself and tell them no. Be explicit about it too, that way I can come in and save the day by convincing you otherwise, on the condition that the only way you join Ashen Fury is if I come with you."

"Come with me? You said it's your guild though?"

Silima sighed, she was dreading this part.

"Well I am a part of the Ashen Fury sub-guild... Ashen Gaze. I got demoted out of the core group and put on the bench because I wasn't keeping up as well as others. I was unlucky and got a shitty Sig when I hit level 10 and I haven't been able to keep up since."

Kreo's curiosity got the better of him.

"What Signature skill did you get?"

Silima groaned but pressed a few things in her menus and displayed her Sig to them.

Signature Skill - Hit and Run (Passive)

The damage of each attack increases by 5% for every 10 feet you travel up to a maximum of 100%.

This bonus is consumed on a successful hit.

While at a maximum bonus, chance to hit is guaranteed.

Djin read the skill and was a bit surprised.

"Guaranteed chance to hit for double damage? Does it stack additively or multiplicatively with critical hit damage?"

"Umm, multipli-... what?"

"Sorry, I mean... does it do 4x the damage on a crit or 3x?"

"Oh, well usually I attack for around 50 damage and my highest crit was at 200, so I guess 4x?"

Djin laughed at that.

"Silima, you might have one of the strongest Sigs in the game then, all you need is a giant attack and a high chance to crit and you'll be doing more damage than ever. Hell, they even threw in a guaranteed hit to boot! You'll never have to worry about whiffing!"

Silima's dark visage brightened a bit as Djin explained her skill's potential. Everything he said seemed true, but there was an issue...

"Sounds great, but how am I supposed to get a powerful skill to use with it smart guy?"

Djin shrugged.

"I don't know yet, but at least you have an idea of what you can do and how strong you can get. I'll try to help you anyway I can."

Silima blushed but Djin didn't notice, he was deep in thought already about her situation. Kreo knew how Djin could get so he broke his concentration.

"So where are we at with everything? Silima will keep Djin's secret in exchange for being her little trophy recruit, Djin will join Ashen Fury and get bussed up a bunch of levels, and apparently I'm about to die for coming back to Freemont as a servant of Khayn. How is it that out of all our options, the one we choose ends with me getting my ass kicked?"

Djin grinned.

"The universe works in mysterious ways to give you a proper beating, truly I get mystified just watching it work..."

Kreo punched Djin in the shoulder, hard enough to warrant an 'Ow' and a bit of rubbing.

"I'm serious Djin, can we come up with an idea so I can at least get to the Quest Hall?"

"Alright Kreo, I get it. You stay back a bit and when we meet Leon, I'll create a diversion for you. Just be ready to book it if it doesn't work."

A plan made between the three, they set out to Freemont. When they got closer, Silima skirted the outside of the town to enter from another direction while Kreo stayed back. Djin walked in through the town's threshold and it didn't take long for him to be approached. A large and rather burly man with two large broadaxes strapped to his back came up to Djin as he entered the center square. He cut an imposing figure, rough-hewn leather pants tanned dark brown. Rugged leather vest and rippling muscles, short dark hair on his head and... glasses? He wasn't alone either, two other players walked alongside him. One was wearing a hooded cloak that covered most of her body, strands of blue hair falling down across her face. The other had a mask over his face, dark leather armor covered his body, leaving only his eyes to be seen, and he had two daggers sheathed on his sides.

They walked up to Djin and before he could get a word out they introduced themselves.

"Hey there, you must be Djin. I'm Leon and and my companions are Hanazure and Griffit." As he said their names he gestured to the Apprentice and the Rogue respectively. Djin nodded at both of them then returned his gaze to Leon.

"Pleasure I'm sure, but I was on my way to the quest hall, if you'll excuse me."

Djin motioned to walk past them but Leon reached out and held his shoulder.

"Not so fast there, we're part of the guild Ashen Fury and we are interested in you. A few of our members have spoken a great deal about you and we'd like to take a moment of your time about it."

Djin glanced about and realized a few more people were coming up. It looked like the name Ashen Fury had piqued the interest of the passersby, more than a few stopped and watched. Djin just needed to pull in some more faces, not too mention he needed to up his value, and make Ashen Fury antagonize him so he can make Silima the hero. The question is how...

"So an Apprentice and a Rogue, and you're the mathematician right?" Djin mocked while pointing to Leon's glasses.

Leon sighed and pushed the bridge of his glasses up a bit on his nose.

"No, I'm actually a Berserker."

Maybe it was just the way he said it, maybe it was the absurdity of the situation, hell maybe it was just plain funny, but Djin started to laugh. When Djin started laughing, some of the other onlookers laughed too, and it got to Leon. He shouted at Djin.

"Shut up! What's so funny about my appearance?"

Djin stopped laughing but kept a bit of a mocking tone.

"Oh come on dude, you don't see the irony? I'm sorry if I upset you but when you picture a Berserker do glasses really come up?"

Leon sighed, it wasn't the first time this had come up, but it was Hanazure was the one who spoke up.

"Comments on appearance coming from you? Aren't those the rags that you get when you first start?"

Djin was quick with the rebuttal.

"Yeah, because I just started, you guys were scouting me and somehow forgot that right? What did you expect?"

"Well for how big the talk is, I just expected you not to look like a total noob."

Leon gritted his teeth, Hanazure has been upset about scouting a new caster, especially having the guild leader come out to recruit him personally... She was THE caster for the guild, and even after watching the video of Djin with the bandits. Djin could tell she was a bit hostile and played to it.

"Yeah, just a noob Apprentice, same as you right? Well I'll be off."

Hanazure raged at that, she shouted back at him.

"So you've got a few good spells, big deal! You're all flair and no substance, I could kick your ass in a duel right now.

Djin grinned as she took the bait.