"What the hell?!" Shane exclaimed, immediately dropping the talking ball.

"Wheeeeeee!" She said as she fell towards the tiled floor, only stopping herself right before impact.

Shane couldn't tell what kept her from falling, nor could he see what now made her float in front of his face.

"I'm so glad you found me, Shane."

Before he could ask her any of the ten different questions he now had, Alabaster came running into the room.

"I heard a noise and—what in the seven holy swine is that thing?!" Like Shane, he almost dropped what he had been holding.

Shane was about to tell him about Liz when curiosity got the better of him. "Seven holy swine?" He asked, giving Alabaster an incredulous smirk.

Quickly losing composure, Alabaster blushed and turned around. "It-it's a saying I like t-to sometimes say." He stammered. "It's a vampire culture thing, n-nothing more." His voice wavered with embarrassment.

Shane wanted to laugh at the absurdity but didn't want to be rude. So he simply introduced Liz, the floating machine, to change the subject. She flew over to Alabaster and bobbed up and down with excitement.

"Oh wow, a vampire! That's so great you're a part of Shane's party!" She beamed at him, her digital eyes sparkling. Alabaster flashed a quizzical look as he regained some of his regal composure.

"Why yes. I suppose I am!" He sounded almost triumphant in his statement.

Upon hearing that, Liz spun in place, giggling with great joy. Alabaster slipped past the spinning ball and handed Shane a small rolled-up scroll pierced with a gothic-looking insignia adorned with all sorts of small gemstones.

"This is for you, Shane. It is an extension of the thanks I wanted to show you for both before and for helping me find my Master."

"Before I accept this, I have to know. Do you and your master murder people in cold blood and steal their things afterward?" Shane asked as he motioned from one side of the room to the other.

Alabaster's eyes narrowed as his posture stiffened somewhat. He broke eye contact with Shane and flicked his orange irises from one item to another as silence passed. Then he looked at Shane again and told him the truth.

"My kind aren't exactly in good relations with other humans. There was a time when this very castle was besieged by humans until my master ended up wiping them out and forcing them to relocate further east. Most of the things you see here are from that very encounter," said Alabaster as he mimicked Shane's earlier sweeping motion.

"I won't lie and say every human we've devoured deserved it, but I can say that with you around, it won't have to be that way again."

Alabaster gave a sheepish smile as he handed Shane the scroll once more.

Shane nodded in thought and turned to Alabaster. "I can accept that. If you need blood, I hope you will drain it from those who deserve to part ways with it if you get my drift."

"Drift?" Alabaster asked curiously before shaking his head and ignoring the word. "I will do my personal best to adhere to that standard, Shane."

Alabaster bowed once more with the scroll in his pale hand still sticking out. Shane accepted the scroll and gave the vampire's empty hand a firm handshake to seal the deal.

Upon touching the scroll, a spell window materialized.

-Minor Self Empowerment-

(Common Light Spell)

Boosts the strength and agility of the user's body by 20%

Cost: 10 Mana per second

Range: Self

Duration: Until Turned Off

Cooldown: Instant

Requirements: 5 Intelligence/22 Wisdom

"Alabaster, this is fantastic! Is this what I think it is?" said Shane, his mouth, an ear-to-ear grin.

"Indeed! This is the base version of the spell I used while fighting you!"

"So, you what, started with this and then trained to improve it over time?" Shane asked.

"That is certainly the case, young Shane, fifty years of use brought it up to the Major rank it is today." Said Alabaster proudly.

Shane was surprised it took him that long to evolve the spell a couple of times. He couldn't wait to show Alabaster what a week of leveling and soul point grinding could do to his. Shane opened his inventory and put the scroll inside for safekeeping. Figuring the insignia would count towards completing the optional portion of his vampire boss quest where he needed proof of being inside.

When Liz stopped spinning and giggling and began floating towards Shane, he quickly but politely brushed past Alabaster and grabbed the ball with his hands.

He began addressing her directly. "Liz, what exactly are you, and how do you know me?"

Her eyes smiled, and she seemed pretty happy to answer.

"I am an artificial intelligence personality construct given to you by the Director to help and guide you through this world."

While holding Liz, Shane arced his head towards Alabaster and gave him the kind of look that seemed to ask, "Why do you have this?"

Alabaster seemed to pick up on this and raised one hand while resting the other on his chest. Is this his "truth-telling pose?" Shane wondered while innerly smirking.

"A few days ago, I saw…Liz floating around near the portal we came in from. I figured she was made of magic. So I got closer to inspect her, but she dropped to the ground and covered herself in that strange metal. So I moved her here hoping my Master could figure out what…she was."

Shane could tell Alabaster felt out of his depth with Liz and felt a little bad that he was the one who thrust him into a whole new worldview against his will.

He nodded towards Alabaster and felt satisfied with the string of events that led to this moment so far. He let go of Liz and watched as she continued to float, her gaze shifting between the two of them like a happy family dog's gaze would.

Shane bowed to Alabaster and thanked him for sharing his castle's hospitality, the gift of the new empowerment spell, and inadvertently helping him find Liz. The three of them decided it was time to head out and leave via the portal on the balcony.

Shane was going to ask to use the bathroom before leaving but realized for the first time since being reborn in Endless Veil that he didn't need to go for anything. The idea that he was data and the repercussions of that truth solidified further in his mind, making his back break out in a cold sweat as they walked.

The three of them made it through the portal without much hassle, aside from Liz. She wouldn't stop gasping at the luxury of Alabaster's furnished laboratory and study. It had been afternoon when Shane and Alabaster went through the portal initially. Now it was closer to evening with the sun beginning to set.

Most of the sun could still be visible in the distance as the top of the sky transitioned from its warm orange glow to a somber star-filled violet night. Upon exiting the portal, the unlikely trio found the immediate area to be peaceful and silent, save for the hum of the portal.

The road to Krooth wasn't too far from the portal and only about nine hundred meters away. The tallest of Krooth's buildings could already be seen from the tree tops.

Shane turned toward the friendly vampire and floating mechanical ball and pointed down the road.

"Krooth is around nine hundred meters away in that direction. If we hurry, we can make it by nightfall!" He was feeling hopeful with his two new companions.

Liz bounded up to Shane in a series of floating bounces, like an excited dog defying gravity.

"Good, you still have your 'get to Krooth' quest. There are so many interesting things to do, see, and learn once we get there!" She said, matching how Shane felt on the inside.

She floated past him and began scanning the scenery, her eyes acting like a sci-fi scanner from a low-fi 90s space-horror movie he once saw when he was younger.

As Shane watched her vision cast a digital green light on the darkening surroundings, he became distracted by a quest completion window.

-Level 5 Boss Quest Complete!-

Bonus Objective Complete!

You Have Obtained The Following Rewards:

336 Exp 15 Silver Coins 2 Gold Coins

You May Choose One of The Following Rewards:

(Rare) Replenishing Amulet of Shared Pain "This amulet allows your allies to take some of your damage and will heal you out of combat." (Rare) Restful Hard Leather Tunic of Combined Mitigation "This tunic increases your physical and magical mitigation and maximum fatigue." (Uncommon) Brass Ring of Dual Retribution "This Ring's sole focus is strengthening your abilities as you take damage."

Shane frowned; these listed rewards all had their uses. He was thrilled about the extra information added below each item. Likely from my body further acclimating to this world, he thought, which made picking one both easier and more difficult. He settled on the tunic to replace his ragged, bloody, white t-shirt.

Upon seeing it in his inventory, he opened it up, curious about how it looked and the rest of its benefits. The item's three-dimensional representation showed a thickly-woven dark blue shirt underneath a dark gray vest made of layered leather. Shane swapped his ratty t-shirt for the new tunic, which immediately materialized on his torso.

It hugged his chest and back, but not in a tight way. The dark blue sleeves extended to his elbows, while the rest felt warm, comfortable, and flexible. The leather covering his chest, stomach, and back was surprisingly firm. He was excited to finally build up some form of defense, especially if he was going to take another enhanced punch to the gut.

The rest of the benefits were better than he had hoped.

-Restful Hard Leather Tunic of Complete Defense-

(Rare)

+12 Physical Defense

+12 Magical Defense

+15 Max Fatigue

-Modifiers-

Restful: + Maximum Fatigue. Fatigue Restores Twice as Fast.

Complete Defense: +50% To Physical and Magical Defense on the Item

-Added Feat-

Splitting SwordHand Chop

(Rare Active Feat)

Performs a powerful karate chop

Damage: 1.5x Physical Attack + Strength Modifier % bonus

Cost: 50 Fatigue

Range: 5 Feet

Duration: Instant

Cooldown: Instant

Before Shane could marvel at his new feat, another window popped up.

-Congratulations, You Are Now Level 4-

You have received 2 Soul Points!

You have received 5 Attribute Points!

He immediately put one point into Vitality, one point into Intellect and Wisdom, and two points into Luck. Shane knew the Luck stat affected not only the quantity of loot but also the quality and was hoping that he could get fortunate with a rare drop in time.

Alabaster and Liz both noticed Shane's sudden wardrobe change. Liz spouted nothing but enthusiastic praise at his new look. Alabaster tried to play it relaxed and elegant but couldn't help but marvel at the supreme stitching. Alabaster elicited extra excitement when Shane told him he wanted to try a new feat he obtained from wearing the tunic.

Alabaster obliged with great interest and held up his hand. Another yellow barrier formed from the center of his palm and spread over his entire nearly seven-foot-tall body. Shane consciously used the feat "Splitting SwordHand Chop," and he could feel his body carry out the skill's practiced motion without delay.

Shane had started five feet away from Alabaster when he used the feat. He had no control of his body's movement during its use but felt himself move forward. Shane's stance felt exaggerated as his hand started near the bottom of the ground behind him. The windup took several seconds as his hand made an enormous arc over his head and crashed down on the edge of Alabaster's barrier.

To both of their shock, the karate chop cut the yellow barrier wall in two like his hand was a hot knife, and the wall was like soft butter.

10 Damage!

Alabaster's hand displayed a long but superficial cut that traveled up both sides of his forearm, finally tapering off near his bicep. Shane felt guilty for nearly ruining his vampire companion's remaining good hand, as the other was healing quickly but still recovering.

Alabaster reassured him as a teacher did a student and congratulated him on obtaining such a mighty feat. Shane felt a certain level of pride at his new ability but reminded himself it cost fifty fatigue to cast. He didn't want to be attacking a strong enemy to only pass out seconds later because he released the chop more than two times in a row.

The three of them agreed to make their way towards Krooth with the bit of daylight they had left. As they walked down the dirt road, Shane noticed a covered wagon being pulled by a horse traveling towards them. None of them paid much attention as they continued walking and talking.

"So Liz, what do you know about Krooth?" asked Shane, hoping to find out what that female bandit accused him of already knowing.

"I remember that city being mostly run by the mixed races, lots of cat folk, lizardfolk, and pack hounds. Not really the nicest place for a human, but it is for the main quest, so it must be done!" Said Liz cheerfully.

Something she said bothered him, it wasn't a big deal, but he wanted her to clarify something small she had said.

"You said you remembered the city like you had been there before. If you were waiting for me while in Alabaster's care, who did you visit Krooth with before you met me?"

She corrected him in a playful tone, "Oh, I was with you, just not the current you, of course!"