There were only two improvement requests during lunch and about half the number of usual mendings. For Dallion, however, the shift couldn’t end fast enough. All the time he kept thinking about his new powers, jumping between his desire to learn forging and going further in his own dungeon.

Falkner stayed a bit longer, barely saying a few words now and then, mostly when Dallion was passing by. For some reason, Jiroh’s presence made him uneasy, causing the boy to tense up every time she walked near. On several occasions Dallion could have sworn he saw Falkner reach for a dagger. Considering how cheerful and easygoing he normally was, that was very untypical. Then again, maybe there were things about furies and hunters in Falkner’s city that Dallion didn’t know about. At one point the boy just stood up and left, leaving a generous tip behind.

That one might be trouble, Nil said in Dallion’s head.

“I think he’s alright,” Dallion whispered as he went to get a glass of water. “He loaned me ten coins.” In fact, Dallion still wasn’t sure whether that was a gift or a loan. Just to be on the safe side, he planned to pay back the money first chance he got, or at least offer to.

That’s precisely what I meant. For now, you’re fine, but in time people will start noticing you, and then you’ll be reminded of this favor.

“That’s generally how it works.”

At the end of the shift, Dallion was tempted to ask Hannah for permission to eat in his room. One look at her severe expression was enough to instantly give up on the notion and quietly gulp down his food. As it turned out, the innkeeper was having some trouble of her own. The Nerosal Competitions were approaching—a three-week event during which awakened of all guilds, plus a few that weren’t, would participate in a series of events for prizes. From the descriptions it sounded like the local Olympics for awakened.

Created in honor of Archduke Lanitol, the games were to mark the end of the Wars of Succession by Count Priscord. Since then, the Priscord family had kept the tradition, adding more and more fanfare until it had become the highlight of the province. Those three weeks saw the city double in population and prices jump twice. In some cases, especially when it came to awakened goods, prices jumped even more. It was this event that earned half of the inn’s yearly profit, sometimes more, and also the original reason that Hannah, and the owners before her, had invested in rooms for awakened customers, not to mention hiring a cook such as Aspan.

When Dallion finished the last of his meal, he made a point to thank and compliment Hannah as the shield had suggested—which earned him a very suspicious look—then rushed off upstairs.

“Everything alright in there, Nil?” Dallion asked as he barred the door.

Why shouldn’t it be? The echo asked. I’m in your awakening room, not your mind. I still can’t believe you have a crackling here. Have you told anyone about this?

“No, it hasn’t come up.” Not to mention that no one other than Dallion seemed to be able to see it. “Why?”

I’d keep it this way. Some people might not be as open-minded as others on the topic. In any event, I can see from where it takes its stubbornness.

“Stubbornness?” Dallion felt a chill run down his spine.

I’ve tried to teach him a few tricks, but he refuses to listen.

“You’re trying to teach Nox tricks?”

What else is there to do here? It’s not like I haven’t read every scroll in the library twice. One of the differences between echoes and originals, as you should recall, is that we have an unlimited learning capacity.

“Right, right.” Dallion picked up his harpsisword and went to the bed. There was no reason for him to sit down before entering an awakened realm, but lately Dallion preferred it. Somehow, it made the transition easier. “Just don’t make a mess, you’ll be having company soon.”

Item Awakening

Dallion was at the golden tower again. He could hear a faint melody coming from above. His music skills told him that the melody contained a large amount of sadness, enough to make him feel worse about recent events. Ideally, he should have checked on her more often after the mugging, but at the time Dallion thought it would only serve to remind how weak he still was.

“Hey,” he said, starting his climb to the top of the tower.

The music paused for a moment, then continued. That didn’t seem like the best sign. Still, there was no backing out now.

Upon reaching the top, Dallion found the nymph playing her harp as she always had. For over a minute he stood there, listening to the flow of the song, unable to interrupt. Finally, when the song came to an end, the guardian looked up at him.

“Hey,” Dallion said once more, with a slight wave of his hand. There were a lot of things he could say. He could ask something on the lines of how she was doing, but all that would sound hollow. “I broke through my level cap,” he ventured at last. “I suppose you know, since you helped me do it,” he added after a while.

The guardian smiled and waved for him to come over. This time, a stool of water emerged near the harp. An interesting ability, although it seemed that everything non-human in this world had extraordinary abilities.

Sitting on it felt comfortable, as if he was made of hard rubber.

“What do you think about my fights?”

The nymph held her hand horizontally then tilted it left and right, displaying the universal sign for “meh.”

“That bad?” Dallion shook his head with a smile. “I thought I did pretty well.”

The guardian tilted her head forward, indicating that she strongly disagreed.

“Okay, maybe not that well, but better than what I used to be.”

Thinking back, Dallion could only cringe at his past performance. Back in Dherma he could barely keep up with the markers, thinking it an accomplishment when he managed to complete a full sequence. In a word he was a naïve semi, thinking that he could take on the village chief on stubbornness alone. Given the option now, Dallion would have done a lot more research on Aspion’s skills before starting the fight. The only reason he had won was due to the punitive restrictions placed on the old man. Without that armored echo, things would have ended very differently.

“But I’m showing promise, right?” Dallion asked.

The response was the “more or less” sharking of the hand. Despite her smile, the guardian wasn’t pulling any punches.

“Get out of here,” Dallion said in mock anger. “The shield told me you were a combat gear. Now I see what he meant. You’ve been through a lot of battles, haven’t you?”

The nymph nodded. From her level alone, Dallion could tell that she had been defeated twice in the awakened realm. As much as he wanted to ask whether he could best her in a direct challenge, he kept his mouth shut. The answer was obvious.

“I’ll be linking you with my awakened room. Are you okay with that?”

The guardian nodded.

“Nil is already there. He’s the echo of…” Dallion stopped. “I suppose you know him already, don’t you?”

To his surprise, the nymph shook her head. So, what the echo had said was true: guardians and echoes didn’t get along, they just tolerated each other.

In theory, there was no need for Dallion to link the sword. He could freely enter it at will, and it wasn’t like his room was remotely as beautiful as this realm. In part that was why he wanted to—to bring some light to his world, a sort of beacon to mark the start.

“Nil is the echo of a guild captain,” he explained. “The old man who was supposed to test me before March did. Ring any bells?”

This time there was a nod.

“What do you think of him?”

Dallion got the usual “meh” response. Shortly after, the nymph laughed. It was a strange thing to witness—all of Dallion’s senses told him this was a laugh, he could even imagine the sound of it… however, no sound came.

“Well, he’s settled there. So, I guess you two can chat now and again. And of course, there’s Nox. He’s been a little restless lately, but still, he’s a good kitten.”

She can’t get here, you know. Nil said from Dallion’s awakened room. Guardians cannot leave the items they guard. I could go talk to her, although I don’t see why I would. Combat gears are very protective of their owners.

“It’s still better than being alone,” Dallion said.

Personal Awakening

No doorway appeared on the tower. Instead, an entire island rose from the distance. Grey and ominous, it blocked part of the perfect view, continuing into the horizon like a dark continent. There were no plants or animals on it, just an endless mass of rock with a single doorway on the face of the nearest cliff.

Not as I imagined, Dallion thought.

“Not the prettiest sight,” he said with a note of guilt. “Sorry for ruining your view.”

The nymph just made the “meh” hand gesture again. She appeared in good enough humor to accept such a sacrifice. Even so, Dallion couldn’t help buy feel somewhat guilty.

“I promise I’ll find a way to transform my room into something…” his words trailed off.

A creature had emerged from the doorway, rushing forward directly into the sea. It took Dallion less than an instant to recognize Nox. The crackling indeed shared the curiosity of a cat and was eager to explore everything new. After being locked for a month in Dallion’s awakened room, it was no wonder. Having an entire sea at Nox’s disposal was quite appealing to the point that it wasn’t bothered by the water.

Definitely not an average cat, Dallion thought.

“And that’s Nox,” he sighed. “He’s a bit overenthusiastic, so please be forgiving.”

The nymph wrapped her arms around her harp in an instinctive impulse to protect it. Cracklings were known for one thing after all.

“Don’t worry, he won’t harm anything,” Dallion said, even if he wasn’t entirely convinced. “Nox! You better not scratch anything coming up here!” he shouted. “I don’t want any claw marks on the tower! Or anything else for that matter!” He turned towards the harpsisword guardian. “Is there a way for you to bring him here? I’d prefer if he didn’t climb up.”

For the first time, there was a moment of hesitation. The nymph took one hard look at Dallion, determining his intentions. Normally awakened removed cracks from objects, but in this case, he had invited one in. On the other hand, it was a familiar—a domesticated crackling, so to speak.

“Please?” Dallion asked. “I promise nothing bad will happen.”

A few seconds later, the nymph capitulated. With a nod, she released her harp. A tube-like stream of water emerged from the sea, continuing through the air directly to the top of the tower. It didn’t take long for Nox to spot it. The cub continued eagerly swimming along its surface, in near defiance of gravity, until it managed to reach its destination. Naturally, that destination wasn’t the floor of the tower, but Dallion’s shoulder.

“Okay, enough theatrics, Nox.” Dallion said, adjusting the crackling so its tail wouldn’t keep hitting the back of his head. “Try to behave.” He glanced at the nymph.

The guardian remained a few steps away, observing the creature with caution. In the real world, Dallion would have brought Nox closer to prove that there was nothing to fear. Here, though, some distance was good.

“So, me and this little guy will be heading to clear the next level of myself.” Dallion scratched the base of Nox’s ear. “In a way, you and the shield will also be there. At least the version of you I have in my room… or will it be you?”

This was getting slightly confusing. Dallion knew that things in the real world had a representation in his awakened world and also had a copy of them in his awakened room. However, now that he had connected the weapon to his awakened room and was going to clear a level there… would the representation of the sword be the same as her?

“You know what, never mind.” He smiled. “I’m sure I’ll find out soon.”