After I collected my 600 crystals in the form of two-thirds of a large tray at the guild, I tried to get to Fahria, but she had left. Disappointed, I just trundled back home with the hopes that Bonnie and Clyde hadn't destroyed all my stuff. Before long, my thoughts returned to Fahria. Fahria and Nerry were probably the only two people in this entire world whom I would consider friends, so potentially ruining a friendship was not something I wanted to do. But in all honesty, I was not sure why Fahria was upset. Like sure I was irritable because of how overwhelmed I had been but I hadn't been rude, at least I didn't think I was being rude. It was Fauna Archive who answered for me. Phoenixes were haughty and did not tolerate anything other than utter subservience. And from that, I could figure out the rest. Fahria told me the night before the big battle that she had recently awakened her bloodline and that it was affecting her judgment. Not unlike what I had been dealing with but without even Cold Blooded’s stabilizing influence. She was just worried about me and it was after a battle so emotions were running high.

  In retrospect, I could figure it all out and it didn't look good on my part. I was not a complete idiot about social niceties, people, even those that I liked got on my nerves after a point. That had been the case even before my skills.

  I really needed to apologize to her. But maybe I should refrain from mentioning that Fauna Archive was letting me know her emotions.

  ‘Mother’ Medea rasped in curiosity.

  ‘Mother, why do you insist on finding yourself at fault?’ Do I?

  ‘I don't. I'm just being honest with myself. Even Fahria should be able to see that I was compromised. Also so you hear everything I think to myself?’

  ‘No. There is an open passage between this one’s mind and yours. Mother can close it if she desires.’ I did just that. I did not need to corrupt my adorable little baby man-eating spider monster to be corrupted with my evil thoughts.

  The Exchange was where you went if you wanted to have your small Aetherites exchanged for larger denominations and vice versa. Since every large Aetherite was worth 30 small ones and most things didn't cost didn't have costs in convenient multiples of 30, I had to go and get some of the 20 big crystals exchanged.

  It was a white building reminiscent of a small bank branch with vaults full of the crystals. People carried carts and wagons full of crystals to and from the place casually. For a moment, I wondered if it was really the most convenient way for currency to work when large amounts were involved but then I remembered that flying demigods with inhuman strength were not uncommon in this place. And while I didn't see anyone flying in with a truckload of crystals, the building was massive and it hid a significant amount of the sky behind it.

  I had 5 of my 20 big crystals exchanged for 5 trays and then put everything in my backpack. I should probably get something else for carrying all my money but things in New Delport were expensive, doubly so if you don't want garbage that was meant to break down after only some rough use. And rough use was a given with classers.

  Grumbling at the sleaziness of it all and struggling with a noticeably heavier backpack, I didn't notice the thief until the world froze all around me and Medea pointed her out to me.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” I muttered while skipping forward and by the time I had turned around, my assailant had scampered off.

  I jumped on to my bed happily, sinking into the soft mattress that I had missed so much. And then… I realized that I wasn't feeling particularly sleepy. Oh well, I had a conversation partner for once.

  ‘Medea?’

  ‘Mother.’ Riveting.

  ‘Do you know how much more food you need to get to tier five?’

  ‘Forgive this one, mother, but I don't. All children of the First Mother are bound to the lower echelons. To grow to the fifth echelon is not impossible, but is hard. But this one feels that it is already on the verge of it. It is the sixth or maybe the seventh echelon that will forever elude us using the First Mother's method. That was the agreement the first mother negotiated with the ruthless Heavenly Ones for our continued existence.’

  Shit. That was a problem. Not an immediate one but if Medea was going to be stuck at a bottleneck then it was going to be holding me back. Was that why my upgraded bond skill let me have any insectoid in the swarm and multiple generals? Was I supposed to replace Medea?

  Maybe it was kind of stupid but I didn't want to have to get rid of Medea because of Knife's nonsense.

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  ‘Hang on. You said that you can't go up a tier using the Third Calamity’s method. What is that?’ I had my suspicions that it was just how Medea absorbed stuff from what it ate but I couldn't be sure and it was best to be sure.

  ‘The First Mother's method is how this one steals power from its prey.’

  ‘Does that mean there is a different way to grow for you? You don't have classes, do you?’ Medea did not answer for a solid minute before it spoke in my mind again but it was slow, as if thinking the words hurt it.

  ‘N-no. The First Mother may have left a loophole behind before she departed. It is not my place to find it, reveal it or even partake of it.’ Hmmm. That sounded like something was preventing Medea from doing it. Great, maybe I could get around it.

  ‘Tap the floor with your leg once for yes. Twice for no. Don't say anything if you have trouble speaking about it. Can you do that?’ One tap. Perfect.

  ‘Hypothetically, would eating a tier 8 work?’ Double tap. Then Medea spoke.

  ‘No, it would only net me small growth within the current echelon. There is no actual limit within echelons but every increase would diminish until it is negligible even in aggregate.’ Dammit.

  ‘What about if a creature had a different method of growth?’ The leg twitched but it did not do anything. Perfect. Wait. How had no one else figured it out?

  ‘The Heavenly One who watches over mother saw fit to grant this one sapience. This one's siblings are not so fortunate. The Heavenly Ones took from us and the Heavenly Ones saw fit to return what was taken, in the form of a new mother.’ Alright so Medea could speak again, nice.

  ‘What mother seeks to do is not possible within the realm of the First Mother's method. To consume one with a different path to ascend would not accomplish anything. A crippled method may not grant access to an unrestrained one. That was one binding that the Heavenly Ones foresaw.’ Did that mean that there was a different way to do precisely that?

  ‘Would this limit still apply if you break past the bottleneck the gods have imposed through something else?’

  ‘This one thinks that it would still prevent echelon ascension using the First Mother's method but—.’ Medea stopped speaking before starting over, very deliberately. ‘It is folly to build too quickly. A building without a solid foundation will topple. What is crippled by the heavens is still excellent for building and solidifying a base. Maybe once two become one, when the beast and its shadow have unity, discrepancy may be excised in unity as something new is hatched. Until that moment and now are the same, this one lacks the will to gaze towards it, let alone climb.’ Alright. Eating is still the best way for it to grow within a tier or echelon and if both methods are combined then it would be ideal. Simple enough I guess. And that Medea can't do it alone. Too bad I have a skill that lets me possess Medea. Hivemother's Shattered Dominion was a skill intended to let me go around this limitation. I just had to take over Medea and forcibly push it past the limit.

  Another thing to worry about in the future. Medea could still go up a tier and grow massively within that tier for now. With a vague awareness about a future problem that I was probably not going to run into anytime soon, I closed my eyes and let myself drift off to sleep.

  I dreamt about teeming hordes of feral rats overrunning everything and an outline of something else made from the congealing mass of rats at the center of the wave.

  The next morning I decided that it was not a coincidence that I was being more irritable than usual. I needed a break. I had not been able to relax for ages and that was fraying my patience. I had money so not killing slimes for a day or two would not make me unable to pay rent or anything like that. I decided to stay home.

  That was a bad idea. Or maybe it was better that the bandage was ripped off sooner.

  "Good morning, Miss! Protection fee is now doubled." Fim announced gleefully after violently knocking on my door early in the day

  I blinked at him, pretending to be slow to think of a plan to get out of this mess. "What?"

  Fim’s grin widened as he rocked back on his heels, arms crossed, looking for all the world like a man delivering fantastic news. “As I said, the protection fee is doubled as you are now a premium customer who has met Lady Hinara herself. We couldn't possibly give you anything but the best security money can buy.”

  "Look, you caught me on a very bad day last time, and I acted out of pocket, but please— be reasonable, Fim."

  He let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking his head like a disappointed teacher. "Miss, I don't know what you’re even talking about. This order came from up above." He tapped the side of his nose and then chuckled. "You are a reasonable young woman, and you should know how generous the price is, considering what we protect you from."

  “What we protect you from.” A neat little phrase that meant a hundred different things. A hundred little threats veiled in just five words.

  I folded my arms, mirroring his stance. "Really? So if I were to ask a neighbor, would they also admit to paying double?"

  "Nope! It is only for some select customers as I said."

  My jaw tightened. "Look, I said I’m sorry."

  Fim blinked, all wide-eyed innocence. "Once again, I don’t know what you are talking about." But his smile told me otherwise.

  I exhaled sharply, forcing my voice to stay even. Shouting would only make things worse, much worse. "Dude, please, I’m already in debt."

  Fim’s smile twitched wider, almost pitying. "Then you’d better start paying up faster, huh?" I knew he was enjoying this.

  And so the argument continued until Vinni, the mute ice girl, held up a hand and words formed from ice appeared before her. Words that glinted in the air and I had to squint to even read.

  “Just let it go, Fim.”

  Fim glared at the ice, not at Vinni, before groaning and running a hand through his hair.

  “Aargh, fine. Change of plans, your fee is reverted to the old amount, miss. You owe Vinni one.” He pocketed the ‘fee’ while I walked up to Vinni.

  “Thanks.”

  She didn't not reply but made a gesture that either meant “no biggie” or “it's alright” in Dellish society. Not long afterwards, the two left.

  Wonderful start of the day.