Returning to reality after a leveling was unlike what Dallion had experienced so far. After a while every awakened developed the ability to switch effortlessly between awakened realms and the real world. Naturally, the longer the time spent in the awakened realm, the more difficult it became to remember all the details after returning. That was one of the main reasons why most guild jobs had all participants sitting or lying down to diminish the confusion.

Personal leveling was completely different. Not only the world seemed different, but so did Dallion’s point of view. It was like returning home after decades and going through his childhood toys. Everything in the room was the same, but it also seemed different. The items, the way he arranged things, the condition of the floor and bed… it all seemed as if they were from a past life.

Congratulations are in order, Nil said. And in more sense than one. I see you’ve finally made your very own echo.

Thanks, Dallion replied. How much of the fight did you see?

In one word, none. I might be linked to you, but I remain a foreign echo. There are certain things in your realm I can’t see, especially if you don’t want me to.

That was a relief. The experience was something Dallion didn’t want anyone else seeing, at least not immediately.

Echo? Dallion asked. Thinking about it, he hadn’t even given his echo a name. From what he had seen, most people didn’t bother to, but he felt that was the least he could do. Kraisten?

Not the most appropriate name, considering, the echo replied. And I’m fine. Like you, I have a lot to go through.

Right.

The echo was the epitome of Dallion’s change. In that regard, it was no wonder that he was still confused. In time things would probably settle down, just as they would with Dallion himself. For the moment, though, the echo could use a bit of time alone in the new space of the awakening realm.

Gen, Dallion said. Short for General.

Aren’t there a bit too many generals in your life lately?

I only count those who deserve it.

There was a moment of dry laughter. After the moment was gone, Dallion started thinking back to events in the real world. He was supposed to be on his way to the guildhall, along with Gloria and Veil. Last he remembered, he had come up to his room for a moment. The moment had passed, so now it was time to go back down. Before that, though, Dallion went to inspect the stone orchid. The plant had remained unchanged ever since he had bought it. At present there seemed to be slight lines along the stony surface, like petals preparing to bloom. Maybe it was Dallion’s new level that had prompted the change, or maybe increasing his perception to sixteen let him see what was always there. Either way, it looked much more beautiful than before, almost delicate in a way untypical for a stone.

“Any idea where I can get more of these, shield?” Dallion asked. “I think my brother would appreciate one.”

There are far more interesting stones you can give as a gift, the shield replied. You’ll have to find them on your own, though. Most of them are only in the wilderness. Or if you get your gorgon girlfriend to get one for you.

“Thanks. I might do that.”

Getting his gear ready, Dallion spent a few more moments getting reacquainted with his room, then went out.

The Luors were still at the table when he got back. Strangely enough, there was still a large amount of food waiting for him, despite Hannah’s earlier threat. One glance at her was enough to see that she knew exactly what had happened.

“You took your time,” Veil said, tapping on the edge of the table with his thumbs.

“Is everything alright?” Gloria asked. She too had noticed a change in Dallion’s attitude, although she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Everything’s fine.” Dallion smiled and started eating.

Never before had food tasted so well. It didn’t take long for him to finish the dish in front of him, then continued with whatever other remains were left. Hannah’s judgment was spot on—the food was enough to make Dallion feel better, although not to completely fill him up. Maybe he’d have more at the guild—there was always an excuse for free food there.

You’re supposed to get some pointers from Vend, Nil reminded.

“Ready to go?” Dallion looked at Veil and Gloria.

“We’re the ones waiting for you,” Veil grumbled.

“Then let’s get going.” With nothing but that, Dallion stood up and went outside. Veil was first to follow, bringing both his swords, of course. Half a minute later, Gloria also showed up.

Dallion had no idea what she and Hannah had spoken about, and for once he didn’t care. All those minor fears and concerns he had in the past seemed so trivial after his personal awakening.

Is Vend still at the guild? Dallion asked Nil.

Indeed, he is, dear boy. And he’ll be there for quite a while. It seems that dear March is upset with him about something, so they are having a long discussion on the matter. One thing I find amusing about her is that she always prefers to have her arguments in real life. Not very cultured on her part, but interesting nonetheless.

More guild politics. That was something Dallion could do without. Still, it was curious to know what March was angry with his mentor. Was it something to do with the world item, or something more mundane?

The guildhall was fairly full when Dallion and the Luors arrived. As before, Gloria and Veil gathered a large amount of attention as well as a few requests to join a few teams as packrats. All attempts were completely ignored as the trio waited patiently in the line to reach Estezol.

Finally, fifteen minutes later, it was their turn.

“Back so soon, Dal?” Estezol asked, somewhat confused. “Anything the matter?”

“They’re here for their pay,” Dallion clarified.

“Ah.” The bearded man’s expression instantly changed from confusion to understanding. “Of course. Just give me a moment.”

The man went away, only to return shortly after with two rather large pouches.

“Sorry about that. We’ve had a lot of cob completions today.” He took a few silver coins from one pouch, then counted eighteen from the other, arranging them in two piles. “Here you go.” Estezol smiled. “And thank you for splendid job.”

Mentally, Dallion laughed. Seeing Estezol starstruck was somewhat amusing. One of these days maybe Dallion was going to look into the mystery why were pure blonds so revered.

“Where’s Vend?” Dallion asked.

“Ah. Well, he’s somewhat occupied at the moment. Why?”

“I was thinking he could do some mentoring. The last fight showed me I still have a few things to learn and—”

“Just a moment.” Without explanation, Estezol rushed off and up the staircase. This was fairly unusual behavior. Dallion looked at his friends, who only shared a shrug in response.

For over a minute, everyone stood there waiting. The Luors had collected their reward and started discussing what to do with their newfound “fortune.” Visiting a theatre was considered, especially by Gloria, who wanted to compare her skills with professionals. Veil, on his part, was more amused by the idea than anything and willing to spend enough to satisfy his curiosity. Metal prices were also a topic of conversation. Dherma construction was also on their mind, along with architectural styles. In his mind Dallion imagined a futuristic city made of steel and glass, like in Earth science fiction movies. As cool as it sounded, Dallion doubted it would be a good match for this world, although one never knew. With the ability to improve buildings, that was a valid possibility. All it was going to take was changing stone to glass, which was possible with enough crafting skills. Would the inhabitants appreciate it, though?

“Apologies.” Estezol rushed back close to five minutes later. “I got dragged in an impromptu meeting. The Good news is that after all that, Vend will finally start sharing some practical knowledge with you.”

“Thanks.” Dallion almost felt pity towards Vend. The “meeting” couldn’t have been easy for him, considering how much he disliked teaching. “Basement training rooms?”

“Oh, no. Vend is waiting for you outside. That was one of his requests—that he not be forced to mentor you in the guildhall. He’s being childish, if you ask me, but he was very adamant on that.”

And, of course, March agreed, Nil complained. With her real-world experience mania and all… I simply cannot understand the benefits of wasting time, while the same could be achieved in a training item. Given their youth there’s no explanation why they’re so averse to technology.

Preach to the choir, Dallion thought. He too was of the opinion that anything that could be done in an awakening realm was better done there. It saved a lot of time for one thing and also was highly controllable.

“I guess I’ll see you this evening,” Dallion turned to Veil and Gloria. “Try not to spend all of it on nonsense.”

“It’s my money.” Veil crossed his arms. “I’ll spend it on any crap I like.”

“Err.” Estezol waved timidly, interrupting their conversation. “Vend will be training all of you.”

“Huh?” Dallion blinked. That was beyond surprising.

“It was discussed—and March agreed to that—that it would be better for Vend to have more than a single trainee. Given that the three of you are already such a good team, it was only natural that you be his first group.”

Now things became much clearer. Vend probably thought that he was in hell right now, and given his reluctance to the concept it was possible that was the blocker that kept him from leveling up. In the end, of the day everyone had their fears, and elites were no exception.

The place of training chosen by Vend, funnily enough, was the Stone Gardens. With the place cleaned and mended to perfection, it had an almost mystical appearance. Of course, that didn’t make it any less empty than before. Given the crowds of the city, that was a good thing.

Vend was easy to find, leaning against one of the larger stone columns. The moment he saw them, he shook his head. That definitely wasn’t the best way to start the training session.

“Hey, Vend.” Dallion tried to break the ice. His music skills told him that his mentor wasn’t pleased with the current situation. At the same time, he had enough of a sense of duty to get on with it.

“Hey.” Vend nodded. “As you’ve learned, I’ve been tasked to train you. I won’t lie, I’m not happy with this, and it’s not something I’m good at, but it’s something that has to be done.”

“Has to be done?” Gloria asked.

“Reasons you don’t have to worry about, okay?” Vend said with a frown. “You’re free to leave at any point. I won’t give advice to people who don’t want to accept it.”

“That’s not what I meant.” A grain of annoyance appeared in Gloria, along with a walnut of fear. She and Veil were really looking forward to this lesson, although both did their best not to show it.

“Moving on, we’ll start with the basics. No doubt some of you have been taught a whole bunch of theories regarding skills, stats, and everything else awakened.” Vend looked at Dallion. It was no secret he had a low regard of Adzorg’s teaching methods. In that way he was closer to Eury in terms of thinking—more of a doer than a talker. “Well, I’m here to tell you that most of that’s crap.”

Veil snorted in agreement. That seemed to improve Vend’s mood slightly.

“The four basic stats,” he went on. “You all know them, you’ve all used them, so I won’t go through that. Instead, I’ll go right to the less obvious aspects of them. For example, the more you level up your body, the more you’ll need to maintain it with training in the real world.”

“I knew that,” Veil said confidently.

Dallion, on the other hand, didn’t. So far, he had thought that improving the stat was enough to make him stronger, and by all accounts it was. Now that his body level was at twelve, he could do much more than when it was at three. The only reason he did a moderate amount of real world physical training in his room was because the armadil shield kept pestering him that real world training “sculpted the muscles better.”

“For the most part it won’t matter,” Vend went on. “The fights you have while improving an item, and that goes for packrats, is enough to keep the body in shape. If you want to boost your physical skills, though, you’ll have to put in some real work. And that means not doing everything you could in the awakened world.”

There’s marginal evidence to suggest that, Nil countered. Although it wouldn’t hurt to do some exercises now and again.

“If you want to get smarter through stats, your safer bet is to level up reaction and not mind.” Vend paused, waiting for reactions. As expected, all three of his trainees stared at him, eyes wide with surprise. “Reaction makes your reflexes faster, which is the same as making decisions faster. I’m sure some scholar would tell you that’s not the same as making you smarter, but if it takes you half a week to come to a decision instead of a week, that’s twice smarter in my book.”

“In that case, what does mind do?” Dallion asked.

“Mind is a whole different thing altogether. It provides you with options, which in practical terms means you get to see all those shiny markers while in the realms. The higher your mind level, the sooner you’ll get to see them.”

That was a bit of a shock. All this time, Dallion believed he had improved beyond the need for markers. The harsh truth was that his mind was simply unable to keep up. Like a last generation processor trying to run the latest games, he was taking longer to see the possible enemy attack trajectories, relying on gut feeling instead.

“And one more thing. Mind is what lets you be good at splitting.”