Sulika ignored the weakness in her legs and stomach while passing the threshold of the portal. She’d always hated the feeling that accompanies leaving a dungeon, like a cross between motion sickness and a wicked hangover. It was no wonder most rookies would end up losing their lunch the moment they– her eyes widened, and she quickly told the others to step aside.

  The sphere emerged after Sulika, pushing right into the spot she’d been occupying. She sighed in relief upon seeing them no worse for wear. Well, they were still unconscious and on death’s door, so it wasn’t like there was too far to fall. Still, she would’ve felt guilty if their conditions got worse after leaving the dungeon.

  Maybe the sphere protected them from the aftereffects?

  She motioned for Derrik’s help, and the two of them worked together to push the sphere off to the side. “There, now Aldritch should have enough room to - Damnit.” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

  “Did you forget to warn the Giant?” Ralocan asked with a note of amusement in his voice.

  “This oughta be good.” Zarud chuckled and took a few extra steps back, just to be safe.

  The four of them waited for Aldritch to emerge with varied expectations between them. Sulika was concerned for his well-being. She’d been a firsty before, it wasn’t an experience she wished on anyone.

  Zarud was excited to see the giant dickbag taken down a few pegs. Just picturing him weakened and hurling his lunch all over his robes had brought a twisted grin to his face.

  Ralocan was feeling something similar to Zarud. He wasn’t sure why, but something about the giant’s attitude had rubbed him the wrong way. He planned to cast a weakened healing spell to help Aldritch calm his guts, but not before watching him suffer a bit.

  Derrik was also smiling, but not for the same reasons as his comrades. He was smiling in anticipation of his friends’ utter disappointment. Aldritch was a dwarf, a fact the other men seem to have forgotten. Dwarves were experts at drinking enough booze to kill a human and then going to work the next day. So, the odds of him reacting the way they wanted were next to none.

  Aldritch emerged from the portal fifteen seconds after the sphere and, like Derrik predicted, he showed no discomfort on his face. Derrik shot Zarud and Ralocan a cheeky grin and winked at their displeasure.

  They deserved to be upset after wishing pain on a newcomer - Even one as ‘impressive’ as Aldritch.

  Completely unaware of the feelings going through the minds of the others, Aldritch was focused on something else entirely.

  There was a massive glass ceiling high overhead. Through it, Aldritch could see a pitch-black sky and countless stars floating in the void… How long had it been since he’d last seen the night sky? How long since he’d studied the constellations, or just slept in the cool moonlight?

  A smile came unbidden to Aldritch’s face, one he did nothing to hide.

  “Did you already get a message from the system Admin?” Sulika asked as she approached from Aldritch’s left.

  “I’m sorry?” Aldritch asked, showing Sulika a look of confusion.

  “Thaniea - the system of the gods?” Sulika explained and waited for Aldritch to understand - but the confusion in his eyes didn’t dissipate. “Okay…” She said and scratched the back of her head. “Not really supposed to do this, but-” She lifted her right hand in front of her and positioned it like she was reading from a sheet of paper.

  Aldritch’s eyes widened imperceptibly at the sight of a transparent sheet of blue glass appearing in her hand.

  “I’ve never seen that spell before.” Aldritch tilted his head to the side and peered at the glass from a few different angles. No matter how he looked at it, it just looked like a plain piece of glass.

  “You didn’t see anything like this?” She asked, waving the ‘glass’ through the air incredulously.

  “No, can’t say I have. May I?” Aldritch asked, motioning for the glass.

  “Sure…” Sulika replied and cautiously placed it in his outstretched hand.

  When it touched his skin, Aldritch was surprised by the feeling. It was cold, freezing even, and felt like it weighed a couple dozen pounds.

  He flipped the sheet of glass over in his hand and read the ‘writing on the wall’ so to speak.

  “TOS?” Aldritch asked, pulling his eyes away from the glass.

  “Thaniea operating system.” She explained. “It’s the name of the system that gives us our powers.”

  “Gives you your powers?” He repeated in a confused tone. “What does that mean?”

  “Exactly as I said. This-” She motioned to the system in Aldritch’s hand. “The gods created it to allow us to fight against the monsters and dungeons. It’s what allows us to use magic, skills, and become more effective hunters.”

  Aldritch gave her a stupefied look before sighing. “Could you throw a punch before the system?”

  “What?”

  “Before you got the system - Were you able to throw a punch?”

  “Of course.”

  “Could you swing a sword?”

  “Yes.”

  “Could you speak? Communicate with other hunters?”

  “What’re you getting at, Aldritch?”

  “If you could do all of those things before the system, and I believe you could. Then it wasn’t this ‘system’ that allowed you to fight back. You could already fight against the monsters, the ‘system’ merely made it easier… Which I’m not sure is a good thing.” He said, mumbling the last part under his breath. “Do all of you use this system?”

  “Yeah.” Zarud replied in an annoyed tone.

  “Yes.” Ralocan said before muttering something about “Dumb dwarven resistances.”

  “Aye, we all have the system installed on our person.” Derrik said with a smug grin on his face.

  “I think I can guess why their mana isn’t moving as it should.” Aldritch sighed to Oakairo and went back to inspecting the system. He scanned the screen from corner to corner, edge to edge, and saw nothing else of note. “What a disappointment.” No hidden messages, no strange symbols, nothing.

  It was an utter disappointment.

  The so-called “gods” of this world had developed an impressive tracking and information system, but apparently didn’t care enough to mark it with the symbol of its creator? What kind of message did that send to the recipients?

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  “Don’t judge them by the standards of our world.”

  “I’m not. I’m judging them by my standards. If you don’t mark your creation, how can you expect to be contacted if someone has an issue with your creation? The creator’s mark is how we receive feedback, or if our product fails, learn about it and either refund the purchase or make adjustments. Not marking it is no different than washing your hands of the issues that are sure to follow with something of this complexity.”

  “Maybe that’s the idea? Not everyone can be as serious about the exchange of gold as the dwarves were.”

  “Is customer satisfaction really a dwarven preference?”

  “Not in my experience. Dwarves were simply more serious about it.”

  “Of course we’re serious about it. A single gold coin is a matter of life and death for a dwarf. It’s how the common folk ensured they could feed their families, and the nobles protected their lands by paying soldiers, issuing bribes, and reinvested into the communities. If a dwarf tried releasing something without a creator mark, they would be branded a swindler and excommunicated from the community. And if someone outside the community tried this shit, the king would have them blacklisted and no dwarf could do business with them again, without risking excommunication.”

  “Are you okay?” Sulika asked, drawing his attention away from his inner turmoil and back to reality. “You seem upset? Did the portal make you feel sick? Do you need a potion?”

  “I apologize for making you worry, but no, I’m physically fine. I’m merely concerned over the creators’ lack of forethought and care regarding the system.”

  Sulika’s mouth dropped slightly out of shock. She stared at Aldritch like he’d just grown a second head or proclaimed himself a god-king. The TOS was created by the gods of their world, and he was criticizing it? What kind of lunatic did she bring back with her? “I see…” She scrambled for anything to say, but her mind had emptied when she needed it most. “I’m sorry?” She muttered, for lack of anything else to say.

  “Why are you apologizing?” He asked seriously. “Are you the god who created the system?”

  “No, but-”

  “Then don’t apologize. It was not your error that concerned me, and the blame does not land at your feet. Rather, whoever designed this ‘system’ needs to beg for forgiveness from everyone who’s been forced to use it.”

  “I think that’s a bit of an overreaction, no? What’s so wrong with the system that you think they need to beg for forgiveness?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with the system itself - at least, none that I can see at this moment. It seems to have completed its function wonderfully. It’s the lack of a maker’s mark that concerns me.”

  “I don’t follow. Is that a dwarf thing?”

  “No, it’s an artisan thing. Anyone who can create such a marvel of magic engineering as this-” He shook the system plate for emphasis. “Is clearly a master of their craft, who’s, without any doubt, devoted their lives to the art. But the lack of a maker’s mark shows they didn’t care about the creation. Which, to me, shows there are undoubtedly several errors involved in its make-up that inhibit the efficiency of the system’s functions. This contradiction shouldn’t be allowed to stand. If the creator didn’t care about the creation, then why allow others to be forced to use it?”

  Sulika frowned at his words, they were making a strange kind of sense that she didn’t know what to think of. “Maybe they just forgot?”

  “It was definitely intentional.” Aldritch said without hesitation.

  “Now, hang on. You don’t know that. Everyone forgets things all the time. Why attribute malice to something that could’ve been done out of ignorance or just forgetfulness?”

  “Ah, my apologies. It seems I wasn’t clear.” He said, bowing his head to show sincerity. “I attribute no malice to the creator’s intentions. I doubt this was an elaborate ploy to harm anyone, after all, the system still performs its functions without issue - right?” He asked and Sulika nodded in agreement.

  “However, the lack of a maker’s mark is cause for some concern. Makes one wonder why it’s missing - did they not want their name attributed to it? And if so, why? Now, I would never claim to know a god’s mind. However, I do know that praise and worship are like oxygen and water for us mortals. Their existence is tied to these two things, and I don’t believe there exists a god who would turn their nose up at the praise and adoration sure to follow an achievement of this magnitude. After all, they single handedly gave the world the ability to save themselves - yes?”

  Sulika listened to Aldritch’s explanation without a word. This was… absolutely ridiculous. No, seriously, these were the thoughts of a mad man. Her mouth twitched out of sheer incredulity, and she had to look away or risk doing something that might offend the giant.

  A few seconds later, her eyes landed on the rest of her team waiting nearby. They were watching the conversation with equal parts amusement and annoyance on their faces - Sulika’s mouth dropped slightly at the sight of Oladi standing beside Zarud; the elf druid’s eyes were scanning the giant from head to boot.

  An idea occurred to Sulika at that moment and quickly thought of a plan to switch topics without potentially upsetting the giant. She waved Oladi over, beckoning her over with a fake smile on her face. “Aldritch, allow me to introduce you to the final member of my team: Oladi Aspenspark.”

  Oladi’s eyes narrowed reprehensibly and Sulika could tell she’d be hearing from the druid later.

  Oladi put on her best customer service smile before approaching with an awkward smile on her face. She tentatively offered her hand to the giant to shake. “How do you do?”

  Aldritch noticed what Sulika was trying to do but said nothing about it. He turned his attention towards the young elf and responded to her gesture in kind. “A pleasure to meet you; You stand before Aldritch of clan Blackshield.”

  “Well, ‘Aldritch of clan Blackshield.” Oladi said, mimicking his tone and inflection almost perfectly “That’s certainly an interesting way to introduce yourself. Did you spend a lot of time in the courts?”

  Aldritch’s smile widened slightly in response to her question.

  “Oladi!” Sulika snapped without giving the giant the chance to respond. She placed herself between her friend and the giant. “The only thing Aldritch needs to do right now is rest. We can interrogate him for his life’s story later, after he’s gotten settled in.” Though she acted like she’d said this purely for Aldritch’s benefit, Oladi could read between the lines.

  She guessed the real reason was because Sulika wanted to spend as little time with the giant as possible… Oladi wasn’t sure why her normally kind boss seemed so wary of the giant, but she made a mental note to find out before the night was over.

  “You’re absolutely right. Sorry captain. And sorry to you too, Aldritch. That was insensitive of me.” Oladi replied before turning on her heel and leaving before he could reply.

  “I’m sorry about her. Please don’t take her attitude to heart, she’s like that with everyone.” Sulika explained.

  “No need for apologies. I don’t mind someone who prefers to get to the point. It’s actually refreshing once in a while.” He chuckled. He didn’t care if they asked him about his past, and he had no intention of lying to them, or anyone else, if they did.

  Oakairo was the Dragon God of Pride; as the high priest of such a deity, Aldritch had sworn to uphold his values above all else. Speaking untruths, acts of cowardice, needlessly besmirching someone else’s pride - these were all illegal acts in the temple of Oakairo.

  However, as Oakairo liked to say, he was a dragon long before he was a god, and dragons enjoyed wordplay almost as much as they loved gold. So long as it didn’t go directly against the truth, Aldritch could say whatever he liked with impunity.

  “Thank you for understanding.” Sulika bowed to show her gratitude. “Would you mind waiting here for a moment? I need to speak with Oladi about -” Aldritch raised his hand and silenced her.

  “No need to explain. I’ll wait over there for whenever you’re done with your conversation.”

  “Thanks again!” She said before ditching him and moving to Oladi’s side - who was speaking with Zarud some distance away.

  “No way, you weren’t there, Oli. Felt like I was standing nose to nose with a Mycocidon.” Zarud muttered, his arms folded across his wide chest and his back bent slightly to make it easier to converse with the much shorter elf.

  “A what?” Sulika asked as soon as she reached them.

  “Mycocidon.” Oladi repeated with a tense smile on her face. “It’s an elvish term for a race of highly aggressive lizards. Think crocodile, but bipedal and about three times as aggressive.”

  Sulika thought back to the bloodlust she’d felt in that just before Aldritch appeared. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end - “Yeah, I can see why you’d say that. The comparison isn’t too far off.”

  “Really?” Oladi asked, even more concerned now. “I thought Zarud was exaggerating. Is he really that scary?”

  “Well, I don’t think so.” Sulika said after a moment. “Sure, he was a little intimidating at first. But he’s been nothing but nice ever since, he even apologized for our first impression of him.”

  Oladi’s head turned toward Zarud and gave him a questioning look.

  “Oddly enough, he did. It’s kinda creepy.”

  “Oh, stop it.” Sulika laughed. “You’re just pissed because he threw you.”

  “He did what!?” Oladi slapped her hands over her mouth in surprise. “Sorry, sorry. But you didn’t tell me that.” She told Zarud.

  “Because it’s not true!” He exclaimed.

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “So, you didn’t get thrown?”

  “Of course not! Look at me - Do I look like someone who gets thrown?” He asked while motioning towards his body. With rippling muscles, a huge frame, and an imposing amount of confidence. Zarud looked like someone who’d do the throwing, not the one being thrown… Which was what made Sulika laugh.

  “It was pretty funny.” She replied, nodding in agreement.

  Zarud stuck two fingers in the air towards her before stalking off to stand beside Derrik.

  Both women snickered at his retreating back. Oladi had known Zarud long enough to point out when he was lying… “Captain, has the giant shown you his status board yet?”

  “Ah, no, he hasn’t.”

  “And you don’t find that suspicious?”

  “Not really.” Sulika shrugged. “He claims he doesn’t have a system installed. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. But even if it’s not… Why does it matter? Would you show your status screen to a complete stranger?”

  “That’s different. I couldn’t show outsiders my screen, even if I wanted to.”

  “Maybe the same is true for him? Either way, we can’t force people to show their screens. It has to be voluntary - you know that.”

  “Maybe you’re right… But even so, there’s something about him I don’t like. I can’t quite put my finger on what *it* is, but it’s there. You should be careful around him, captain.”

  Sulika nodded soberly and glanced back at Aldritch - The giant just smiled at her. “Yeah, I’ll be careful. I’m hoping not to see him too much after tonight.” She muttered.

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