It turned out that combining two emotions at once was not, in fact, easy. Cass worked at it for over an hour before giving up and turning in for the night.

  Lying down on the too-soft bed, he tried not to think about Bella and his friends. Tried not to consider the city and environment he found himself in. Tried not to think at all.

  That too wasn’t easy.

  After restless turning back and forth for a time, he finally settled into a dreamless sleep late in the evening. When he awoke, an expected notification struck his screen.

  Cassio Vale, will you accept a new Exponential Daily Quest?

  “Yessir.” He said to the ceiling as he hopped out of bed with gusto.

  The new daily Quest was relatively simple, all told. Knocking out thirty push-ups came and went in the blink of an eye as he didn’t even break a sweat. Cass spared a thought for how difficult this had been at the start, when he was still in his pudgy phase.

  Now, it was as easy as breathing.

  Between all of his enhancements, including the new one to his constitution, he popped up after with a burst of energy, ready and raring for more. It’s like his body barely felt any of the efforts he’d just put it through.

  Exponential Daily Quest Complete]

  Time remaining: 22 hours, 13 minutes, and 15 seconds…

  Reward: 4.2xp

  “Exponential indeed. That’s a bit more than I saw yesterday. If it keeps going like that, I’ll be swimming in experience in no time flat.”

  Smiling at the forthcoming experience he was going to gather from those who received the Cornerstone Quest, he looked at the clock, “Oh shit, it’s still early morning. But,” Cass looked back at the bed, “I feel like I got a full night of sleep. Is this…normal?”

  What even is normal now, anyway? I heal fast. I’m getting stronger by the day. I have a horse that talks to me. So…

  Cass shrugged, “Oh well, this is my new normal. Not that I ever was before.”

  Putting his mind to the day's requirements, he decided to rebuild his token total. With all of his extra time, and with the upgrade to Copy and the addition of Tempered, Cass was a token building monster.

  He could now complete four Stalwart and a single Tempered if he used Copy twice on the first Way he’d ever unlocked. Throw in the fact that more steps on each unlock additional dailies, and things were looking up.

  “It’s a good thing I don’t need as much sleep as I used to.” He lamented quietly as he ran through an intermediate Stalwart focused on the trunk.

  “I’m betting that, umm,” He pushed through another deep squat, a heavy vase likely costing more than all of Common Solutions held in his arms. “Another upgrade to Constitution will be a little nutty. Not that it’s coming anytime soon.”

  Cass knocked out a second Daily before doing his first new Exponential Stalwart Quest in a good, long while. He pushed through it at a steady pace, not wanting to tire himself out and working on form as much as anything else.

  The lost System Reputation from each was something he would have to keep an eye on. He didn’t want to suddenly run out and suffer whatever consequences that might bring to his here and now.

  But at this moment, the burning feeling of his workouts was a welcome callback to a friendlier place.

  Finishing up the last rep before the timer ran out, Cass looked over the results.

  [Stalwart Way Daily Quest Complete]

  Rewards: 8.4xp, 2 Stalwart Tokens, 1 Survivor Token

  [Stalwart Way Daily Quest Complete]

  Rewards: 8.4xp, 2 Stalwart Tokens, 1 Survivor Token

  [Stalwart Way Exponential Daily Quest Complete]

  Rewards: 15.1 xp, 5 Stalwart Tokens, 3 Survivor Tokens

  Note: Rewards increase based upon recorded gains…

  Pain is in the Proof activating…

  +2 Stalwart Tokens, 1 Survivor Token

  Cass sat on the ground, the burning feeling in his arms disappearing far faster than he was used to as his lungs caught up. “That’s a huge jump in experience from my last Exponential attempt.” Shaking his head at the accumulated rain of experience, he stepped into Tempered and activated the initial step for the first time.

  The quill faded back to nothingness as his screen updated.

  [Tempered Way Daily Quest]

  Cassio Vale will hold a stable low stance for 3 minutes, complete twenty slow, controlled steps across a narrow surface, and evade ten thrown objects without blocking or striking back (another may assist).

  This must be done before the day is over.

  Cassio Vale

  Liberty Guildtower

  QuestWright

  Cass learned in that moment that when the System said low, it meant low. The timer counting down didn’t activate until his butt was so close to touching the ground that it didn’t truly seem to matter. As for the holding of it.

  He didn’t know if the System was being funny or just being mean after giving him a low-hold objective after a series of lower-body building Stalwart requirements. But that didn’t stop him from persevering through, even as he grit his teeth and did his best not to fall over.

  As for the second and third objectives.

  Setting up a gauntlet of narrow surfaces in a room filled with furniture worked well in a pinch. What didn’t work was the Quest’s requirement for what "slow" and "controlled" meant. Adding in that he was forced to spin at two points to keep covering distance, and you wound up with multiple falls and resets.

  When the first two objectives were finally done, more than thirty minutes had passed, and his clothes were so thoroughly drenched in sweat he’d been forced to remove them. He was starting to think about how he would complete the third objective when the front door opened on its own.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Standing at the entrance to his domicile was Ana Renae, mouth open as she looked around a room filled with knocked-over furniture and a mostly naked young man looking back at her.

  “Sir, are you okay?”

  Cass looked down at his state of undress before looking around the room, then back at his servant. “I’ll be honest with you, Ana. This is not likely to be the worst thing you ever see me doing.”

  Mouth still open, her expression remained unchanged, “I see.”

  “And call me Cass, please. Sir is going to get tiring if you keep calling me that.”

  “Yes, of course.” Finally stepping past the threshold, she looked around a second time, “Is this to be a normal occurrence?”

  Cass scratched the back of his head, “I’d love to tell you no, but there are a few oddities you’ll learn about me. In fact.” Stepping over to the untouched table holding fresh fruit, he picked up a bunch of grapes and separated them from the vine. Counting out twenty, he held them out to Ana.

  “Here, do me a favor and close the door then stand there for a moment.”

  “Okay, Cass, as you wish.” Shutting the door, she stood still, grapes clutched in both hands as Cass moved to the opposite side of the expansive room. “May I ask what is happening now?”

  “Throw them at me,” Cass replied, opening his stance. When she lifted the whole bunch, he put his hands out, “Oops, sorry. Bad instructions, especially from a QuestWright. Throw them at me, one at a time.”

  “And you’re sure that this is what you want?”

  “Yep,” Cass nodded, then smiled in encouragement. “Think of this as cathartic for you. Consider all of the QuestWright’s and Guildtower people who have been mean to you, then chuck it right at me. It's just grapes.”

  “As you wish.” She smartly placed the grapes down on a small table near the door, then lifted a few in one hand before placing a single in her right. Lifting it up, she waited for Cass’s nod, then threw the grape at him.

  It reached less than halfway, causing Cass to laugh. He more than halved the distance, then said, “Try again.”

  Ana was unperturbed as she transferred another grape and threw it at him. He hadn’t known she’d be so accurate, as it nailed him right in the forehead.

  “Damn, good shot.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, sir.”

  “Cass, and no worries. I’m working on my, uh, evasion skills. Let’s go again.”

  For five minutes, Ana and Cass played a game of dodge the grape as his Quest counter numbered down in the corner of his vision. When the tenth and final dodge out of fifteen completed the set, the notification streamed in.

  [Tempered Way Daily Quest Complete]

  Rewards: 6xp, 1 Tempered Token, 1 Survivor Token

  Cass pumped a fist, “Yes. Alright, thank you, Ana. Let me fix the room up; that shouldn’t be a part of your job.”

  “It’s not a bother, Cass.” She replied, picking up grapes off the floor and transferring them to a nearby silver bin. “That’s my duty as your servant.”

  Cass tapped his chin twice, “Yeah, I don’t think so. We already had this conversation last night. I’m not the usual QuestWright.”

  “I do not doubt that, Cass.” She placed a few more grapes in the trash, then tried to move up the loveseat but struggled under its weight. Ana jumped just a little to the side when she felt Cass’s hand on her shoulder.

  “Ana, I’m serious. I’ll fix up the furniture. How about this? You said cooking is your specialty. Do you have anything planned out for breakfast?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Cass.” He reminded her gently.

  “No, Cass.” She amended, adjusting her dress.

  “Well, what options do we have for breakfast?”

  That put a little life into her, “I have the materials to make omelettes, pancakes, a flaky cereal purchased from the tower commissary, and the fruit bowl is only missing its grapes, so I can-”

  “Porridge?” Cass asked, interrupting her with a fervent light in his eyes.

  “Yes, I can make porridge. But I would need to collect the materials from the servant quarters if you don’t mind waiting.”

  “Sure, and since I don’t want to take from you guys, make sure the funding for it comes from my weekly allotment. I’d like porridge each morning.”

  “I understand. What would you like me to bring you for lunch?”

  “Mmm, a balanced meal is always best, according to my father. So, bits of fruit, maybe a light salad, and some kind of meat?”

  “Absolutely, thank you, Cass. I’ll go get the materials now.”

  “Thank you, Ana,” Cass said, and the moment she left, he fixed up the furniture in the room, then hopped into the shower.

  Bits of leftover gunk were still clinging to the bottom that he’d missed the evening prior, so he spent a little longer than normal scraping it off. He didn’t want Ana to come in on her normal cleaning duties and have to deal with whatever grossness had flushed itself out of his body last night. That taken care of, Cass walked over to the closet and sighed when all the white robes caught his eye.

  “Nothing I can do about it. I need to blend in a little to set their mind at ease.” Putting on the robe felt decidedly unfun, and as his brown bag went over his shoulder, he couldn’t help but note how out of place it looked.

  Though he missed wearing the brown robes of Liora that he’d grown so partial to, he did admit that the shoes he found within were very comfortable compared to his old ones.

  Stepping back into the living room showed a busy Ana at the stovetop, a cherry-red glow emanating from just below the pot. She called out without looking at him, “Porridge will be done in a few minutes, Cassio. I’m afraid it’s just standard oats, but if you give me a day to source it, I’m sure I can find better fare.”

  “That’d be great, Ana.” Cass sat down at the table and twiddled his thumbs. “So, why are you here so early?”

  “Five a.m. is the expected arrival time for all servants unless their QuestWright demands earlier.”

  “Do many?’

  “Yes, some of the more senior ones.” She commented, stirring the pot in front of her, “But unless we’re told otherwise, five a.m. is perfectly normal.”

  Perfectly normal, right.

  “Well, I’ll probably be busy in here until, let’s say, six-thirty. Does that work for you?”

  “Yes, Cass.” She took a bowl down from one of the cabinets. “That works just fine.”

  Cass watched as she ladled a healthy dollop of porridge in, then set it down in front of him. “Is there any left for you?”

  “I normally don’t eat the morning meal,” She stated matter-of-factly, “That’s when I get most of my cleaning duties done.”

  Cass held out a hand to the chair across from him, “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

  She looked from his hand to the chair before nimbly sitting down, hands in her lap, “If you’re certain you’d like to hear about it.”

  “Haha,” Cass laughed, “I’m not going to bite, Ana. I told you, I’m not from around here. I’m in a new place, no friends to my name, and I’m just looking for a pleasant conversation to start the day.”

  The thought of Bella on the move again entered his mind and left as Ana slowly nodded at him.

  “Of course. Normally, a Guildtower servant is up, showered, and on the move no later than five a.m. It’s expected that we’ll wait at the door until the precise moment the clock strikes five.”

  “How do you know when that is?” Cass asked, taking a few strawberries and slicing them up before adding them to the porridge.

  Ana slid her dress sleeve back to show a mechanical watch, “We’re given these with the job, which is a sign of the Guild’s wealth. A normal watch sells in the second ring for more than a hundred Crests.”

  Cass whistled, then blew on his food, “That’s a lot. Are you sure you don’t want any of this? It smells heavenly.”

  She gave a non-commital grunt, “I’m not a fan of porridge, Cass.”

  He shrugged, then took a spoonful into his mouth, “Yurr choische, ma’am.”

  “Indeed. Would you like me to continue?”

  Cass gestured while taking another bite.

  “After making breakfast, we’re to see to laundry and bedroom cleaning, then wiping down all surfaces and running over the walls and ceilings for any accumulated dust. After that…”

  Ana told him about her day, including trips to the commissary, which was on the first sub-level of the Tower, and any additional duties that a QuestWright normally gives to their servant. When she was done, so was his porridge, causing Cass to pat his stomach in appreciation.

  “Sounds like you have a very busy job.”

  “Yes, we do. But it keeps us out of the fifth ring.”

  “Yeah, about that.” Cass rubbed the back of his head before standing up, Ana mirroring him. She reached out in expectation, and he sighed as he handed the bowl over to her.

  While she went back to washing the dishes, he asked, “Can you tell me anything about the fifth ring?”

  “What would you like to know?” She asked, her back to him as she emptied the pot into the trash, then vigorously scrubbed it.

  “Why does it seem like ten times the population of the fourth ring lives in there? It can’t be healthy, right?”

  “I keep forgetting you’re new here,” She replied, placing the pot down before lifting the bowl. “To enter the fourth ring, you have to either pay or have a pass. It’s as simple as that.”

  “Wait, wait,” Cass said, coming closer as she turned her head to look at him, “So the only thing keeping people in the 5th ring is money. That’s what you’re saying?”

  “Why of course,” Ana replied with a tilt of her head. “Everything in Liberty runs on how much you’re willing to pay. To even get an upgraded Calling is at least a hundred Crests.”

  Cass stumbled back two steps and sat down in Ana’s vacated seat, “An upgraded Calling? So you’re not granted a Calling based on who you are as a person?”

  “Pscch, of course not,” Ana replied with no minor incredulity. Then she realized who she was speaking to and moderated her tone, “That’s life after the end of the world, Cass. Why, do you know any different?”

  The fire that had gone out in his chest returned with a fury, “I know everything differently.”