Performers Plaza was always quite full, especially after sunset, when it transformed into one of the city’s entertainment areas—very much to the city guard’s annoyance. The lord mayor, of course, had ordered that things be “kept civil” after midnight, which was his way of saying that he wanted the ruckus to be moved indoors.

With the festival approaching, the place was absolutely packed. Musicians, acrobats, and dancers trickled in matching their skills with those present, along with people who came to witness the sight.

When Dallion got to the plaza, he could barely recognize it. There seemed to be almost as many people in the air as there were on the ground. Before his very eyes, new poles were erected to hold lines for performers to sit on.

And this happens every festival? Dallion asked.

Now you see part of my reservations, Nil grumbled. A huge waste if you ask me, but who am I to judge? According to the new governing theories, this is the best way to increase city morale, gain finds, and show off to the rest of the nobility in the empire.

I take it you don’t agree?

Dear boy, when someone comes to you with a solution to all your major problems with no disadvantages, better hold tight to your coin purse. There’s bound to be a price. We just don’t know it yet.

“Having second thoughts?” Euryale asked.

Initially, Dallion thought that having her around would attract attention or make people somewhat nervous. Turned out he was wrong on both counts. At most, someone would give her a glance before continuing on their way or directing their attention to the various performer spots.

“Didn’t think there would be so many,” Dallion admitted.

A lot of people would help Dallion check out some and direct enough attention to himself to make the copyette tip its hand. The problem was that with this many people, he would hardly be noticed by anyone, regardless of what he did. Even so, he still had an ace in his sleeve.

“I think I’ll go there,” Dallion pointed in the highest line crisscrossing the plaza. It had to have been built recently, because there were only a few people standing in various parts of it. “Will you be joining?”

“No,” the gorgon replied. “I’m not in the mood for dancing today.”

“Okay?” Dallion was somewhat surprised that she could dance and hadn’t told him. Then again, she did have the skills for it.

“I’ll find a good spot to keep an eye on you, and several more on the crowd.”

More like several dozen more, Dallion thought. A pity she couldn’t use her skills to search for the copyette.

Making his way directly under a line, Dallion leapt up, then up again, like a circus acrobat. The entry got some momentary attention, along with mocking whispers of him being an amateur. Ignoring them, Dallion kept his balance on the top line for a few seconds before starting his routine.

The first thing was to take out the kaleidervisto box and hang it round his neck. Euryale had done a great job making the box as exotic as possible and equipping it with a leader trap in accordance with Dallion’s instructions. Glancing at the ground, Dallion was easily able to stop quite a few echoes within people of the crowd. At a brief glance, one in every fifteen people in the crowd had an echo either in themselves or in an item. In contrast, seven of every ten people on the lines had at least one.

The skilled ones are out, Dallion thought.

That was good—it meant that if he managed to impress them, word about him would go out faster; and what better way to impress than to play an instrument that was an actual antique.

Slowly, Dallion put on the rings, making it so that as many people as possible could see, then he started playing. The sounds disappeared in the noise and dozens of other melodies in the plaza, but those with improved perception were quick to notice. A few heads started turning his direction. Taking that as a good sign, Dallion increased the tempo. This was the point at which he cursed himself for not investing in more points in reaction. Despite improving in a lot of other areas, playing the instrument proved just as difficult as it had the first time he had tried, and the sporadic practice sessions he had held in his awakening realm hadn’t done much to change that. The only saving grace of his level was that it allowed him to use combat splitting in unusual ways, correcting any and all mistakes he made during play.

Wow, this really is humiliating, Gen said. Glad I’m not the one out there.

After five minutes, the people paying attention to Dallion started to grow. The dozen became two, then three. It was the sight of the instrument that caught a person’s attention. Once they were looking, the people then paused for a moment, wondering if the ring chord actually let out any sounds. That was how Dallion got them, that and the curiosity he put in the melody.

Soon a number of other musicians started playing along to Dallion’s melody. Knowing what caught the crowd’s attention, they were quick to jump on the bandwagon, though none of them added any curiosity of their own. Apparently, they either didn’t have music skills, or they were of a far lesser skill than Dallion’s.

I really doubt you’ll achieve anything, Nil said once an hour had passed. I would tell you the chances of you finding a person in a million-large city, but that would be a waste of time.

It was your idea to boost me past one level, Dallion reminded. If it weren’t for that, I’d still be listening to your advice.

Listening and hearing are two entirely different things, dear boy. You should put some effort into the latter.

It was almost incredible how boring most of the people were. The kaleidervisto removed most of the colors and details, transforming a person into little more than a film negative. Only echoes brought a momentary distraction. As Dallion turned around, though, his box caught a glimpse of something unexpected—an entirely black silhouette among the crowd of pale. Noticing it, Dallion froze for a moment, then quickly turned back to the figure in question.

The person seemed no different from anyone else in the crowd—well dressed, middle-aged, carrying a basket of treats bought from one of the plaza stalls. The similarities ended there. No matter how much Dallion tried, he didn’t feel any emotion coming from the person, as if he were in his own bubble of void.

That made Dallion flinch. It was barely noticeable, not affecting his music in the least, but it appeared to be enough for the creature to notice. The person’s head turned up, staring at Dallion like a bloodhound. It was at that precise moment that Dallion realized what he was facing, and it realized that Dallion had done so.

Abandoning its disguise, the creature let go of the basket, leaping up the lines with far greater skill than Dallion—or anyone else present, for that matter—was capable of. In an instant it was less than ten feet from Dallion. Euryale was nowhere to be seen. Dallion was certain that she had seen what was going on, but didn’t have the speed to do anything about it. He himself was at a huge disadvantage without his armadil shield.

PERSONAL AWAKENING

Dallion instinctively entered his awakening realm. Here, at least he could think things through without fear of anything happening. Sadly, that wasn’t going to change things that took place in the real world.

“Nil, what was that?”

A statistical improbability, the echo replied, just as puzzled as Dallion himself. I take back everything I said. You actually managed to find a copyette among the crowd in a city this size. This could make even the blowhards in the Magic Academy rethink everything they thought they knew about probabilities.

“That’s how a copyette looks though the kaleidervisto?”

Dear boy, this isn’t an exact science. In fact, it isn’t any science at all. I’m not even awake of the last time a copyette was discovered in the wild. Not that that’s a guarantee of any sort. What we can both agree on is that your attacker definitely wasn’t human… and you’d have a difficult time evading.

Dallion started pacing through the room. Looking at the walls usually filled him with a sense of joy and achievement, though not today. It was easy to call the situation ironic, but in truth, this was exactly what several people warned about. In his mind, Dallion had seen this as a long and complicated game of three-dimensional chess—more scheming and talking than actual fighting. The copyette had put a quick end to that, choosing to end any threat at the first opportunity—in this case, three seconds after spotting the threat.

That really isn’t a good idea, Gen said, reading Dallion’s latest thought.

Dallion didn’t say a word.

“Nil, what happens if I remain in my realm after failing a leveling attempt?”

Absolutely nothing, the echo replied. You get to enjoy all the rooms you have already established, as well as anything linked, but nothing else. No matter how long you stay here, time in the real world will remain still. In turn, that means that the day you need to wait for another attempt won’t change.

“So, I’ll have to make it on my first go.”

You’re thinking of leveling up? Gutsy, as Spike would put it, but it won’t give you a tremendous advantage. Not unless you’re hoping of picking up a few achievements along the way. All in all, I’d say you have a very long shot of achieving anything.

“Not if I improve more than once.” Dallion swallowed. In all the scrolls he’d read, it was strongly recommended not to do multiple level-ups one after the other. However, as dangerous as they made it out to be, Dallion knew it was possible. He had done the same back when he had visited Dherma’s awakening shrine. Looking at it now, the challenges were elementary in comparison, not to mention that Dallion had acquired a weapon that far exceeded his level at the time.

I’d make a witty comment, but I know you well enough to tell that you’re being serious.

“You think it’s impossible?”

Three levels without a proper shield and sword? I’d say it’s highly unlikely. I see what you’re going for, just don’t forget that there are no do overs on this one.

One mistake and it was all over. Not to mention that Dallion had no idea what the gate challenge would be. What he did know was that unless we went that far, it was hopeless to return to the real world.

Four trials, one life… It was the same as playing a game on ironman mode. There was no guarantee of success, but it was the only trick that would keep him from near certain defeat. It was quite a gamble, and one Dallion hadn’t come up with entirely on his own. Back when Euryale had made the box for him, she had mentioned that as a last resort he could enter his realm if in danger and possibly improve a level to gain an advantage in the real world. However, even she didn’t expect he would go for a gate.

“If anyone can give me any practical advice, now’s the time,” Dallion said.

Don’t fail, Gen said, getting a smile out of Dallion.

Dallion waited for a while longer. When no one came up with anything else, he went into the corridor. As expected, a new door had appeared opposite his last leveling up. Gen had apparently changed that room into an inside swimming pool—something Dallion wished he had back on Earth.

“Lux, Nox,” Dallion said. “I’ll be relying on you.” He opened the door.