Devin dreaded his soul being taken by Valkyries, or being told to walk into the light, but nothing like that happened. He felt … something. Like someone was watching from a long way away. But that could have been his imagination.

  Rainford, sir, he thought. If you’re really out there, I met one of your healers. Casey Bailey. I was hoping you could help me. This is weird for me, and I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to be disrespectful. I’m not really into gods or religion and I don’t want to join up or anything. I just want to get my shards. Can you help me?

  Devin felt a warm glow in his chest that lasted an instant. A bunch of little shards appeared a few inches above the ground before him and then tinkled down into a jumbled mess.

  Achievement Unlocked! Wing and a Prayer – You’re not much of a believer, but you managed to pass the most basic step of completing a transaction with a power greater than yourself.

  Reward: A reminder of just how insignificant you are in the grand scheme of things.

  The pile of shards wasn’t what he expected. They were glass-like and about the size of matchsticks. They glowed in different colors like they contained tiny LED’s.

  He touched one, and an update appeared.

  You have 3 Matter shards, 6 Life shards, 6 Universal Knowledge Shards, 5 Fundamental Forces shards and 1 Elemental shard.

  Devin separated them into neat stacks without thinking about it. Apparently, enhancement hadn’t turned off his OCD. The Matter shards were orange, Life were green, Universal Knowledge were violet, Fundamental Forces were indigo, and the Elemental shard was yellow.

  Devin read the description of his Kwaku’s Compass Boost again. He picked up one of the violet shards and focused on it. The shard glowed then dissipated into nothing. He felt a small surge of energy, and two alerts popped up.

  Kwaku’s Compass has marked a location on your Automap at the cost of 1 Universal Knowledge Shard. The next use of this Boost will cost 2 Universal Knowledge Shards.

  Achievement Unlocked! Powered Boost – You used a shard to power one of your Boosts. You’re starting to get the hang of this.

  Reward: Small Shard Pouch (Container, Dimensional, Silver, Rare)

  This item holds up to 500 shards of each shard-type. Shards in the pouch can be used at will as long as the pouch is on your person. You can also set this pouch up to allow other party members to use shards.

  The pile of shards disappeared, replaced by a pouch about the size of a can of Diet Coke. Devin opened the top flap and spotted the glow of shards within. He passed the new information along to Milo and Casey.

  Milo – Good work. Now open your map.

  Devin already had. It was like a video game map with only the known areas showing. The ‘locations of interest’ were stylized gray outlines of castles, forests and towns. A white arrow pointed east. He scrolled the map and found a compass floating above the Winsley Farm, where he’d arrived in this world.

  Devin – So that’s our next destination? Back where we started?

  Milo – Apparently.

  Devin – Lame. What next? Should I use that Victorious Transmutation Boost now?

  Milo – That would be my suggestion.

  After reading the description again, Devin understood why Milo had wanted to use the Compass Boost first. The transmutation Boost used a variable number of shards, and for all he knew it might have emptied his entire supply. He held the pouch and focused on the Boost.

  A swirling, reddish-tinted fog covered everything on the floor of the room for a second. When it cleared, all the armor and weapons had vanished, leaving the bodies dressed only in ragged clothes. On the floor in the center of the room lay five items.

  Victorious Transmutation created 4 items. The total cost was 1 Matter Shard.

  Devin - That’s not what I expected. Does it make things out of thin air?

  Milo - It transforms the essence of your vanquished opponents into something your party can use, or at least something of value to you. A lot depends on the strength of the opponent, but there’s randomness, as well.

  Devin – Which is great news to my lucky self. So, how the hell am I supposed to hide this Boost?

  Milo – We’ll do our best, but again, we can’t hide everything.

  Devin – I’m surprised it only cost one shard.

  Milo – It appears none of the items are magically enhanced. I suspect that’s because of the weakness of these opponents.

  Devin – You ‘suspect?’ You don’t know?

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  Milo – My knowledge is not infinite. These Boosts are as new to me as they are to you. If you recall, they are not common.

  Devin found it weirdly comforting that Milo didn’t know everything. He took a moment to adjust the interface to report how many shards were used by his Boosts, then he moved over to study the five items. There was a dagger, a short sword, folded-up robe, a belt with numerous pouches of different sizes, and a …

  “Is that a dog brush?” Devin said.

  “A cat brush,” Milo said.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s what we get?” He stared at Milo. “You had something to do with this, didn’t you?”

  Milo stuck his nose in the air and walked away. He spun around at least six times and lay down next to the couch without looking at Devin.

  Devin took in the items.

  Dagger (Weapon, Common)

  This is a simple dagger.

  Short Sword (Weapon, Common)

  This is a short sword.

  Fine hooded robes (Clothing, Uncommon)

  These finely made robes of gray silk are tailored for Priestess Casey Bailey. They have been treated to make them water-resistant and stainproof. The robes include an insulated lining to keep the wearer comfortable in any weather. They’re embossed with the holy symbol of Rainford, and they even come with a hood in case you need to hide your identity.

  These ropes are considered clothing and do not use an equipment slot.

  Carry-all belt (Waist, Common)

  This large belt has several clasps for attaching bags and other items. It can hold two large pouches, two medium pouches, four small pouches, a knife, and sword frog.

  This belt is considered wearable equipment. It occupies the ‘Waist’ slot.

  Cat Brush (Miscellaneous, Common)

  This is a grooming tool for a grumpy feline companion. Use with caution. Cats are sharp.

  Devin gathered the items up and handed the robes to Casey. “These are for you,” he said.

  “I don’t need them,” she said.

  “You’re covered in bloodstains,” Devin said.

  Casey tilted her head. “You’re not one to talk. You’re bloody, too, and I’ve never seen a tunic quite that ... orange. I had no idea colors could be that bright.”

  Devin winced. His neon muscle shirt was covered in holes and blood stains, and his pants weren’t much better. His socks squished with blood every time he took a step. He took them off and tossed them aside.

  “I’ll change as soon as I have something to change into,” he said.

  “All right,” Casey said. “I’ll be right back.” She took the robes into the small room and closed the door behind her. As soon as she was out of sight, the name ‘Casey’ appeared in his vision above an arrow pointing at the door.

  Handy, he thought.

  Devin arranged his new belt. It already had one large pouch attached that contained rations. It wasn’t much but it was still a nice bonus. The shard pouch fit on one of the hooks, and the bag with the light globe on another. He stuck a dagger in one sheath. It took him a few minutes to figure out how to attach the short sword to the frog. When he was done, the belt was as crowded as a cop’s utility belt.

  “I need to find some clothes,” he said. He looked over at Milo. “How do I get more shards? Are these achievements the only way?”

  The cat ignored him.

  “Milo?”

  Milo’s head turned the other way, still not looking at him.

  “Why are you … it was the brush comment, wasn’t it?”

  “Of course not. That would be petty and ridiculous. It’s simply that I can’t focus on your questions with my coat in this much disarray.”

  Devin sat down on the couch next to Milo and started brushing him.

  The door opened. Casey hesitated, then stepped through in her new robes. “Well?” she said.

  Devin raised an eyebrow. “You look like a queen,” he said.

  “I agree,” Milo said. “It suits you.”

  “I … thank you.”

  Devin smiled at her then resumed his brushing. “Do you have any water? I need to get this blood out of Milo’s fur.”

  “I have something better,” Casey said. She moved to the closet and filled a large beaker from a cask. She handed it to Devin. “Cleansing potion.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Milo said.

  “Do you want this blood out or not?” Devin said.

  Milo let out a long sigh. “I suppose a clean coat is worth a little torture.”

  Devin opened the beaker and poured the liquid starting with Milo’s head and ending at his tail. Milo hissed, then sighed again. Wherever the potion touched, blood and grime vanished.

  “I’ll find you some clean clothes, Devin,” Casey said. She headed out into the hall. Devin frowned – don’t split the party was the number one rule of adventuring, after all – but Casey seemed capable of taking care of herself. If she got in trouble, she could call him over the chat.

  Devin turned his attention back to Milo’s coat.

  Milo yawned. “Your apology is accepted,” he said. “Don’t leave those socks here. Someone could use your blood against you.”

  Devin winced and retrieved the bloody socks. He stuffed them in his only empty pouch.

  “What about the blood on the floor?” he said.

  “If only you had some way to clean it up,” Milo said.

  Devin poured the rest of the vial on the floor. The blood vanished.

  “In answer to your previous question, there are other ways to get shards,” Milo said. “In the larger realms, you can trade for them. Right now, achievements are your best bet.”

  “Is there any rhyme or reason to them? Some of them seem ridiculous.”

  “That’s something I can’t really help you with,” Milo said. “I’d suggest you focus on things you can control.”

  Devin grunted. “Fair enough. How do you think I did in that last fight?”

  “I didn’t witness the fight, as you know,” Milo said. “However, you killed a Silver-level enhanced while fighting off several Copper levels, which says good things about your performance.”

  Devin nodded. “The Silver was the only one who put up much of a fight.”

  “Not surprising. The difference between enhancement levels is huge, even at your level, and it just grows the higher you get.”

  “What is it about enhancement levels that makes such a difference?” Devin said. “I can see how exponential growth in power would take over eventually, but I just started out as a Silver. I shouldn’t be that much stronger than a top-level Copper.”

  “It’s a lot of factors, but it’s mostly bonuses,” Milo said. “Bonuses increase by several times at every new enhancement level. At Copper, your Attribute-increasing Boosts would be +1 instead of +5. You get more abilities and more Boosts, and many of your other Boosts increase qualitatively. It gets even more lopsided at higher levels, but that’s because of structural differences.”

  “Tell me about those structural differences.”

  “You wouldn’t get it.”

  “Just tell me. If I’m not smart enough, no harm done.”

  “It’s not about how smart you are. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. I assume you’re familiar with Dunning-Krueger?”

  “Everyone from my world is familiar with Dunning- Krueger. It’s one of the most overused arguments on the Internet. But I don’t see how it applies to … I’m doing it, aren’t I? I’m proving Dunning-Krueger.”

  Milo sniffed.

  “Fine,” Devin said. “I’ll accept your arguments, for now.”

  “Your acceptance of reality is quite gracious.”

  “That’s not what I … gah. Are these structural differences really things I wouldn’t understand, or are they things you don’t want to tell me because ‘it’s better if I learn it myself?’”

  “Yes.”

  Devin took a breath, counted to four, and let it out. He was about to use the excuse of searching the room one last time to end the conversation, but he thought of something else.

  “What’s the Order of the Caduceus?”

  “That’s a question better answered by Priestess Casey, once we’re away from here.”

  “You could save us some time and tell me now.”

  “I think you should quit while you’re behind. Even for us cats, playing with our prey gets old eventually.”

  Devin shook his head, then laughed. “You would be a terror on social media, you know that?”

  “I am a terror under any circumstances,” Milo said.

  Casey came in carrying a fancy uniform. It was blue with red vertical stripes, trimmed with gold and silver cuffs and a neck ruffle.

  Formal Court Outfit (Clothing, Uncommon)

  This outfit is the height of Tethian Court fashion – such as it is. You could stroll right into Patriarch Felle’s throne room and be the envy of all. At least, for the two seconds before you were chopped to pieces.

  “I found these in the Prelate’s room,” Casey said. “Seems like he left in a hurry.”

  “That’s … colorful,” Devin said. “Wasn’t there anything less flamboyant?”

  “Everything else was clerical robes of you-know-who.”

  Devin sighed. “Did you find anything else valuable?”

  “A lot of statues and paintings,” Casey said. “Nothing we could carry. If he had any smaller valuables, he took them with him.”

  Devin nodded. He retreated into another room to change clothes while Casey sat down and finished brushing Milo.