Cass’s guide led him through a few turns, walking at a steady pace as they fast left the golden Atrium behind. Though Cass tried to be polite and make small talk, the young man only gave clipped answers that didn’t allow for a true rebuttal.

  It’s like he’s scared to talk to me. But why? He seemed normal in the Uncalled Way.

  After walking another five minutes, they climbed a short flight of stairs to a small metal alcove. The young man walked in and then gestured for him to do the same.

  “Why? The tunnel ends here.”

  Jamison nodded and dry-washed his hands, “You’ll understand in just a moment, sir.”

  Shrugging, Cass walked in. Two metal doors he hadn’t seen closed on their own, locking them in the room.

  We’re trapped!

  Bending his knees with his hand already halfway reaching into his bag, Cass was fully prepared to fight anything that might come next. But then, Jamison pushed a glowing button.

  Miraculously, he felt movement as Battlefield Memory told him they were heading up.

  “What is this?” He asked warily, hand still in the bag.

  “It’s called an elevator, sir. The tower has four, one for each branch of the Guild. The QuestWright elevator is the southernmost and will take you as high as the twenty-eight level. Anything above that is reserved for Guildmaster use only.”

  Cass pulled his hand out of the bag to touch the cold, reflective metal. “And it just moves on its own?”

  “Yessir. Our System Engineers are the finest in the world. This all runs on System energy, captured from the essence of monsters within the local region.”

  The moment the elevator slowed, and the doors opened, he walked out of it as if everything were normal, so Cass moved up beside him again.

  “You said four branches. Can you identify them for me?”

  “Y-yessir, of course. The first branch is the QuestWrights, those gifted with the ability to grant extra experience to the world. The second is the Mages, they who use the power of magic to tame the world. The third are the warriors, the second scariest group if you ask me.” He stuttered for a moment before going on, “And last are support Callings like mine. Our section is the one to the north.”

  “Why break it down that way? One Guild, one team, right?”

  Jamison pursed his lips as they turned a corner and stopped at a door with the number fifteen above it. He seemed relieved to find it, “Ah, here we are. As a Junior QuestWright, you rate a second-tier room. Just press your thumb against the metal apparatus there, and the room will be claimed.”

  Cass looked at the handle where a blank slot rested on the top. Pushing his thumb on it caused a sound to jingle, then it opened inward on its own.

  He stepped over the threshold and was shocked at what he saw, “This place is huge!”

  Ceilings far overhead held soft ambient lighting that splashed across a room so filled with grandeur that he didn’t know what to think of it. Everything looked precious, as if it would break at the slightest touch.

  The area they immediately entered had a long, L-shaped piece of furniture that looked like it could seat ten. In front of it was a smooth, white-wooded table with expensive-looking trim rounding it out. In the center sat a bowl of ripe fruit glistening in the light, an open invitation waiting for anyone to snatch it up.

  After a long time not eating, it was hard to hold off as the fruit seemed to whisper, ‘come and eat me, I’m delicious’. But as Battlefield Memory reminded him with its continued activation, this was not a safe territory.

  Everywhere he looked, it was a mix of white and gold, with a large tiled area to the right, capped by a giant metal rectangle standing upright. His eyes traveled across the room, landing on the left, where a portrait photo showed a smiling, bald man with thick eyebrows looking back at him. The bottom said, ‘Guildmaster Erelle.”

  Cass put his hands on his hips, “This can’t all be for me.”

  “Yessir, it is. As a Junior QuestWright, your rating allows for a room of no less than 3,000 square feet. Once you move to the Journeyman level, you’ll rate a third-tier room, with the option of moving up to the thirtieth floor should an Under-Guildmaster decide to mentor you. That’s when you gain a second servant.”

  That threw a monkey in his wrench, “I have a first?”

  “Of course, sir.” Jamison gave a nervous laugh, “Every Junior QuestWright has a servant.” The laugh cut off with a sputter, “Sir, at this time, is there anything else I may provide for you?”

  Cass looked around one more time, “I don’t see an Annex here.”

  “No, sir. All Annexes can only be found in the Guildmaster’s quarters or within the Department of Quests. I’m afraid, as a Junior QuestWright, that isn’t provided for you.”

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  “So all of this,” He gestured around the room, “is just for me.”

  It’s big enough for a family of six. More even.

  Jamison gave him a confused smile, “Yes, sir. As you’re new, you probably don’t know that most QuestWrights gather for the morning meeting at 10 a.m. sharp. I’ll make certain your servant is aware after they’re assigned, and that they’re to guide you to your new Department.”

  “Okay, thank you, Jamison,” Cass said in defeat, still not sure what he was doing in this room. Compared to Hollis’s monkish hideout in Liora, this was a travesty on par with war crimes.

  Jamison didn’t help much after that, so to the young man’s relief, he sent him on his way.

  Turning around as the door closed, he found a cubby that puzzled him for a moment. That is, until he found a pair of fluffy white slippers within. Pulling off his old shoes and filthy socks, he put them in a faraway slot and walked further into the room to look around some more.

  The metal object in the tiled area turned out to hold quite a bit of food. And what's more, it was cold.

  “What the heck is the point of that?”

  He grumbled to himself while moving around the large area in search of the bathroom. Then, he grumbled a bit louder when there turned out to be two.

  Shrugging away the uneasy feeling all of this posh and comfort brought to him, Cass disrobed, hung it up out of place among all the pristine white robes in the closet, took the warmest shower he’d ever had, then lay down to stare at the ceiling.

  This bed is too damn soft. It feels like it’s eating me. White robes? What’s wrong with brown? At least I’m finally alone and can do what I’ve been holding off on. It’s time to make some choices.

  Before jumping into the reputation screen or the tutorial, Cass had close to six thousand experience to burn. 5 thousand, nine hundred and ninety, plus twelve-tenths, to be exact.

  He didn’t like where he was. He didn’t like the kid who’d brought him up here suddenly acting scared the moment he found out Cass was a QuestWright. And he really didn’t like the Under-Guildmaster’s smile.

  But he would find a way to matter. Here, or anywhere else. It was something that was built into the core of his being. And to do that better, he needed to unlock a few things that would help him along the way.

  Logistics still held the majority of its nodes. Now that Cass had an overabundance of experience, he finally got to pick and choose what nodes to unlock and what patterns to take. Because, to the right of his open path, sat a little button.

  Free minor node unlocks available: 5

  He hadn’t spent a one of them since first seeing the Initiate QuestWright rewards.

  Come to think of it. I haven’t seen an Apprentice series either. I wonder if it’s skipped or if I need to complete Initiate first? I know for a fact I got initiate before the basic set was done.

  Oh well, we’ll see what happens when Initiate finishes. For now, I need to make a few choices.

  Logistics has four major nodes left. Standard, which lets me put marks on the map. Recall, which adds details for failed and abandoned Quests to the ledger. Quota, which passively increases my Quest issuance limit every day I don’t lose System Reputation, and Tiering, which will give me a preview in the outliner for what the expected Quest tier will be.

  He looked at them, knowing what he was going to do, then smiled to himself, “Why not all of them?”

  “I’m sorry?” He heard only a few feet away.

  “Good God!” Cass yelled out, slapping away the screen from his vision and locking eyes with a terrified older woman standing only feet away from his bed. From the look in her eyes and the way she was gripping the plain white dress covering her body, she was about to relieve herself on the plush carpet.

  “Who are you?” Cass asked as gently as he could while sitting up.

  “I’m Ana Renae…your servant?”

  It only took him a moment to see what he needed to do. He started by offering a hand,” Hi, I’m Cassio Vale. It’s nice to meet you, Ana. Or is it Mrs. Renae?”

  “Ana is fine, sir.” She said with a trifling smile, one that told him some finesse would be needed.

  “Ana…”

  How to do this?

  “Look, Ana, I just got here. I’m new to Liberty, and I don’t really know how any of this works. You say you’re my servant?”

  She nodded, dark eyes looking at him worriedly as a few small spools of nut-brown hair spilled out from the bun she’d put it in, “Yes, sir.”

  “Call me Cass,” He replied with a smile he hoped was light. “What exactly are your duties?”

  “Cleaning clothes, making the bed, cooking any food you’d like. Cooking is a specialty of mine.” She seemed to grow more lively the longer she spoke. “Waking you up at any preset times you’d like, and preparing your room for possible visitors. We have a weekly Crest allowance of two hundred-”

  “Two hundred Crests a week?” Cass interrupted her. “That’s almost more than all of the money I’ve earned in the last month!”

  Her confidence wavered, then she seemed to see something in him. “You really aren’t from Liberty, are you?”

  “No, ma’am,” Cass said with a shake of his head. He hadn’t meant to call her ma’am, but she was at least three times his age by his guess. He’d always been taught that older women should be treated with respect.

  “I’m from Liora. Got sent this way for…well, it’s a long story. Let’s just say I learned a few things that forced my immediate transfer.”

  “I see.” She seemed to come to a decision, and blessedly, she seemed to relax a little. “What time would you like me to wake you up…Cass?”

  “Mmm, let’s say 8 am. I’ll likely wake up before that, but it’s good to be prepared.”

  “Understood. I’ll close this door now. If you need anything, there’s a button on the nightstand to your right. Push it, and I’ll come over right away.”

  “Where will you be?” Cass asked, curious that he had an on-call servant ready at a moment's notice.

  “There’s a shared servant room near the stairwell on this floor. I’m only a button away.”

  She closed the door after that, its seal silently forming as he sat up on a bed near the size of Hollis’s office.

  What the hell is wrong with QuestWright’s in this city? There’s something seriously off here.

  One thought led to another, but then, he smiled again.

  I think this place could use a little hope.