Dix stopped laughing after a couple of minutes, but still spent the last little bit of the test just screwing around with his skills and weapons. He also kept an eye on all of the different monsters out on the field, trying to study them and learn what he could. It wouldn’t be too much help, but he could get some general ideas on many of the monsters present. When it was all said and done, only about twenty percent of the original monsters were still alive, not that it looked that way. A surprising number of the larger monsters had died, swarmed under by the massive numbers disparity. All in all, the entire shooting gallery had turned into a bloodbath, in some places quite literally.

When all of the monsters came to an abrupt halt mid motion he assumed the test was over. Glancing around he eventually spotted a portal standing a bit to his left side. It appeared to be a tear in the world, complete with hanging flaps that still looked like the area of the test. The portion that supposedly led somewhere else was a deep purple color. He wasn't looking forward to entering it, but it wasn’t like he had a lot of other options. As he approached, a fair sized table manifested next to the portal covered with small outlines of each of the weapons he was currently carrying. With a small chuckle he got to work stripping off his weapons. It took a lot longer than he thought it should.

Stepping through the portal wasn’t nearly as odd as he had thought it would be. Not even a change of pressure. It was as easy as walking through a door. Quite a nice way to travel in Dix’s opinion. Gonna have to figure out how to do that when I get to Mantra. It’s too convenient to pass up. Probably hard as hell to learn though.

The other side looked like a combination strip club and casino, although somehow less seedy. Very low lighting, round wooden tables, and red velvet upholstery. The walls had some dark colored velvet curtains, impossible to tell which color from a distance. Chairs were haphazardly scattered near a stage, with stools behind them. The stage itself didn’t have the normal pole and mirrors. Instead the back wall was bookshelves and centerstage was just a single stool. Sadly the bar was closed. After the slaughter he’d perpetrated at the shooting gallery, Dix could really use a drink.

Looking around he couldn’t find whoever he was here to meet, so he wandered over towards the stage and took a seat. They’d surely get to him eventually, and he had things to figure out. Stretching out to put his legs up on the edge of the stage, he leaned back with his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. Starting from when he entered the gallery, he slowly went over each part of what he had achieved. There was no way he could find out the official count of how he had scored or even how the scoring was done, but he could certainly analyze his performance by his own standards. Just as he was getting to the point where he started working on decapitating the gorgons, someone cleared their throat. Without opening his eyes, he waved a hand and said, “Howdy.” Maybe the lackluster greeting would drive them away. No such luck.

A rather droll, femine voice responded back, “I’ll make you a deal. You answer a few questions of mine, and I’ll open the bar.” Dix was up and moving before he even thought about it. Lighthearted laughter rang out from the stage, before it abruptly changed location to the bar. It was more than a little disorienting, but it did provide Dix a chance to study his newest divine acquaintance. She wasn’t very large, standing only a little over five foot, and slim. She did have a sort of presence to her. It was as though you knew she was there, but you didn’t really worry about it. Focusing on it caused it to become very uncomfortable as it kept trying to calm you and slip away from your mind. She was another beauty though, but maybe that was a trend with divine women. If so, Dix was looking forward to meeting more of them.

Dark black hair to mid back with a set of shorter tresses that seemed to favor one side of her face, almost hiding one of her cobalt eyes. Aquiline nose, and a mouth just wide enough to highlight what was most likely a permanent smirk. Small chin and barely enough cheekbones to let you know she had them. Small breasts and slim hips, with slender limbs, and hands with long dexterous fingers, clad in a cocktail dress the same purple the portal had been. Currently her nimble fingers were dancing over a collection of bottles that had not been behind the bar when he had checked it out earlier. “What’ll ya have?” Her voice seemed to change tone and accent with her whims, but it was always smooth and seemed to bounce back and forth between amused and chipper. She brushed the shorter lock of hair behind her ear, showing off the slightly pointed tip, a sign of her inhumanity, as she looked at him expectantly.

“Whiskey, neat, and a beer if you got it.” Deciding that trying to figure out this little goddess without her help would be impossible, Dix just went straight to drinking. She stared at him with her head tilted for a moment, chewing on her lip. It was a surprisingly innocent sight from the girl, and reminded him strongly of Beauty. Then she smirked again and it was gone. She seemed to flow around behind the bar as she whipped up some drinks. There were a rather large number of bottles involved, particularly when his order should have taken only one, two if the beer was in a bottle instead of on tap. On the other hand, she could just be making her own drink.

Shortly she passed over three glasses, naming them as she set them out. “Whiskey, beer, and a surprise for when those are done. Odds are favorable that you’re going to need it.” He looked at the third drink tentatively. Drinking the night sky wasn’t something he had ever attempted doing, and he had no idea how you would make a drink that looked like it. Nevertheless, that was exactly what the third drink appeared to be. It was jet black other than the scattered pinpoints of light, and a small orb that appeared to be frozen light for a moon. Eerie, but beautiful. Apparently all of the gods in this world were annoyingly cryptic, and think they know better than me what I want and need. The fact that Roanoak had been quite helpful with his advice was ignored. Grunting, he knocked back his whiskey, enjoying the burn and the excellent flavor. Grabbing his beer, he turned around and leant back against the bar top, getting comfortable for the upcoming interrogation.

Having the tiny ebony haired trouble maker drop right into his lap and drape her arms around his neck was not what he expected. Not that he was complaining, it was just unanticipated. While his drinking arm was free, he other arm had automatically curled protectively around her lower back, laying his hand on her hip to keep her upright and tucked close against his chest. Once they were both settled, which seemed to require a disproportionate amount of wiggling in his lap, proving she was just trying to get a rise out of him, he took a drink of his beer and sighed. “Comfy?” Smiling back at her nod and smile, he continued, “Now, who are you, and what did you want to know?”

Pulling one of her hands from around his neck she started stroking his chest. “I’m the Goddess of Chance, and like many of us I go by the same name. I have a few questions about your life before you ended up here, if that’s alright?”

Giving no outward sign of his confusion and surprise, Dix just nodded stoically. Although, just before Chance started speaking again he abruptly frowned. She looked at him quizzically, so he asked, “Goddess of Chance? How does that work?”

Her laugh was low and sultry, sending tingles rushing straight to that rise she’d gotten from him earlier. “People from Earth seem to think that Fate is how reality is governed, but in truth Fate is just a concept like any other, it can provide a path for someone, but they have to take the steps. Chance doesn’t guide us all forward either, it simply presents opportunities. However, as the goddess of chance I at least know how likely it is that something will happen, but, ultimately, the Choice isn’t mine. So if you ever want to know the odds of you surviving your latest stupid decision, feel free to throw a prayer my way. I won’t guarantee that you will like the odds, but they will be precise.” The smirk she was wearing at the end was positively feral.

“Huh. I’ll keep that in mind. Go ahead with your questions.”

“Everyone we’ve ever had from Earth had problems with the first test at some point. The majority seemed to be afraid of the violence, and the rest eventually lost their minds from fighting monsters they’d only dreamed of before. You had no problems at all as far as I could tell. Why is that?”

Dix didn’t need to think of something, he already knew the answer. He did take a moment to pretend to think while he enjoyed looking over the divine girl curled up in his lap. Eventually he answered, “Hunting monsters is nothing new to me.”

Cocking her head to the side, Chance responded, “I thought there weren’t any monsters on Earth.”

“There’s almost 8 billion. You call them humans. Considering the things they are all willing to do to each other, their world, and themselves I believe calling them monsters is appropriate. I doubt you will find many that agree with me.” His entire statement was delivered in a calm, even voice. There was no hesitation or struggle in condemning his entire species.

Chance just calmly stared at him, watching his face for anything that would give away anything. Her mind, meanwhile, was engaged in a furious debate with her co-conspirators. Please tell me you didn’t find us a serial killer.

Of course not, the reply from Lust was as expected, but still not as comforting as she needed. Just ask him about it, he seems to be perfectly open about the whole thing. And even if he is a serial killer, he could still be useful. Just in a different role. Chance shuddered at the idea of using a man like that for what they needed.

“So you wanted to kill every human on Earth?” She managed to keep the emotion and stutter from her speech. Even for a god it was difficult.

Dix laughed. “There’s no need, or desire to do so. Let me explain, I can tell you aren’t too happy about it.” He downed the rest of his beer, and stretched out his arm to set the glass on the bar. As he started speaking he used his now empty hand to add a bit of emphasis to his words. “Humanity as a whole is completely despicable. War, hate, inequality, slavery, pollution, racism, the list goes on and on. And none of them truly care about anything they can’t see with their own eyes. Greed and apathy are the defining traits of the entire race.” He sighed, and rubbed his face with his free hand for a moment, then continued. “In singular, they can be quite different. CAN BE, not are, not all of them. And different doesn’t always mean good. Some humans, in a one on one situation, can display things that make them worthwhile. Love, compassion, mercy, sacrifice. Of course others will do the exact opposite, showing the absolute worst that humanity can be when alone. But no matter what they are like on their own, in groups humanity makes sheep look intelligent, and give lemmings competition for stupidest beings in existence.”

When he took a breath to continue, Chance quickly popped in a question that side tracked him briefly. “What’s a lemming?”

Dix looked confused briefly, then smiled. “You don’t have those here? Well, they are small rodents that people seem to think like to form large groups to commit mass suicide together. It’s not true, but it’s the reputation humanity gave to the little buggers. The fact that we are actually far stupider in groups just makes for delicious irony. It also brings us full circle. There is no need to try and kill the entire human race as they are doing a great job of it without me. It’s highly doubtful that they will survive the next two generations.”

“But you have killed some, have you not?” Chance was still a little worried, but marginally less so.

“Oh yes, quite a few. If it’s any consolation, it was mostly in defense of myself or others. The last several were definitely proactive defense of the innocent.” The worried expression on Chance’s lovely little face was adorable, but even Dix’s amusement with the situation was getting thin. “Criminals. All of them were criminals of one type or another. Mostly murderers, rapists, and drug dealers. You see, I had a friend who was attracted to these types of men. Whenever she went looking for new ones, I went along. If they got out of hand, I took care of the situation. Sometimes they ended up dead during the altercation. When she disappeared, I tracked down anyone who might have had anything to do with it and ended them. So to answer your original question, I’ve killed a lot of monsters, so killing a few more doesn’t bother me in the slightest.”

Chance was still squirming a little, so he decided to give it one last shot. “When I was young, I read these things called comic books. Heroes with fantastic powers would go out and protect people from villains with powers. Great, fun entertainment for a kid. However, all these so-called heroes ever did was arrest the bad guys. And five issues later they would be back on the street doing it again. I always wondered, why don’t they just kill them and be done with it. They were murderers and terrorists. People who deserved death, and yet never received it.

“As an adult I would see stories in the paper or on the news of the ‘Justice’ system doing the same thing. One in particular stood out. A man had committed a gruesome murder, and been arrested. The next day he was let back out into the world after making bail. That very same night he slaughtered an entire family, then disappeared, never again to be seen by law enforcement.

“What is the right choice? To follow the laws of the land and release a murderer because he is innocent until proven guilty? Or to put down the rabid dog killing people? I don’t normally go hunting for these types of people, but if they cross my path, and show their true selves, they deserve the ending I give them.”

He seemed honest about the situation, and her friends were telling her the thoughts he was having were the same. They were following the stream, and could see his memories as he recalled the people he had killed. Apparently he really did hate humanity as a whole, but liked some individuals. A strange dichotomy to her mind. Not that she had had much to do with humans outside of the tests.

Most of her other questions didn’t matter as much in the face of the discussion they had just had, but two were still important, although for differing reasons. “How do you feel about having died?” She was completely at a loss when the man threw his head back and laughed uproariously. If he hadn’t maintained his grip on her, even sliding his other hand down to help, she would have dropped off his lap onto the floor. When she eventually got over her shock, and closed her mouth, she settled on glaring at him until he stopped laughing.

Still grinning widely, Dix eventually managed to answer the question. “How do I feel about having died? Great! Not only will I get to live again, I get to do it on a whole other world. One with magic, monsters, adventure, and hot goddesses. What’s not to love about having died? Hell, I even got my jacket fixed after it got all shot up. I didn’t leave anyone behind, and I have no regrets. It all seems perfect to me.”

Her last question would be the determining factor for her, and she hoped it worked out. The man was clearly very different from anyone she had ever met, or even heard tell of. Completely unapologetic for his murderous ways, yet still, oddly, appeared to have a conscience and morals of his own. Unlike most killers, he still seemed to be capable of empathy, and mostly disparaged humanity for falling to their darker impulses. It was peculiar that he seemed to be both a good man and a callous killer, particularly in light of the fact that he used the good to explain the bad without bringing religion or orders of some kind into it. He chose to become what he was, and that seemed to make all the difference.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, and clear her thoughts, she looked at Dix again. He was a handsome man, and the light in his eye called to her. It was a sarcastic and sardonic look that said people who behaved badly near him would suffer. There was nothing short of a second death that could stop this man from doing what he wanted, and he obviously didn’t care about the consequences. How could anyone control a man like that? Unfortunately, that was the dilemma she had.

As she was contemplating how exactly to ask the question she needed to, she realized she was going about it all wrong. Dix was valuable to them because he was different, and those differences were exactly why she was struggling with the question she needed answered. If she had learned anything from watching and speaking to Dix, it was that the man seemed completely unconcerned with what others thought of him. From his perspective he had nothing to hide. There was no need for him to lie. So she tried something as odd as the man himself. She asked him how to solve her problem. “Dix, if someone needed you to do something for them, how could they know it would be done?”

Once more the man laughed. She was starting to enjoy the sound, even though it often seemed directed at her. “Well, you’re right to ask, before you put your foot in the trap. I don’t take orders well. Or really at all. I have a small problem with authority. Friends, though? I’ll do anything for a friend. All they have to do is ask. Seeing as how we just met, we aren’t quite there yet, no matter how much I like you. So, the only other option is to hire me. I take my job very seriously, no matter what it is. Just a fair warning, I’ll do it my own way. Efficiency and communication are the keys to a good working relationship. If you have a problem with how I do the job, let me know, and I’ll move on down the road. Stand in my way though, even if you gave me the job, and I’ll end you.”