“Anything to distract from the pain.”

  Labyrinth City bonus:

  Architect's Insight

  You are currently the least knowledgeable about this city’s layout and hidden passages.

  City Bonus: This bonus allows anyone within the city to access a communal map that can be updated as the city changes.

  Leader Trait: You gain an innate understanding of the city's layout and hidden passages. You can navigate the city with ease and uncover hidden areas that others might miss.

  Merchant's Favor

  You are the richest person alive within this city and have never given a bronze coin to any of the inhabitants.

  City Bonus: This bonus allows a higher tax rate to be imposed on the residents before triggering an uprising.

  Leader Trait: Receive better prices and exclusive deals from all merchants within the city. Your enhanced negotiation skills enable you to squeeze every last coin from them.

  Tongue of Babel

  Not every person who has followed your lead can speak the same language.

  City Bonus: This bonus allows anyone within the city to speak any language that you have previously demonstrated proficiency in.

  Leader Trait: Any language in which you have demonstrated proficiency will be fully understood by you, even if you are not a native speaker.

  Bloody Charm

  Your rise to power involved the ruthless elimination of the previous leader and a violent purge to enforce a new ideology.

  City Bonus: This bonus compels others to respect the city's leadership hierarchy more readily.

  Leader Trait: You radiate an aura born from the blood you have spilled. This presence affects others, making them either respect, fear, or distrust you. Depending on the individual, this influence can facilitate the formation of alliances and the negotiation of peace treaties.

  World's Haven

  Your longing to return to your own world and reunite with your people drives you.

  City Bonus: This bonus enhances the healing factor for anyone from your world while they are within the city.

  Leader Trait: You receive a 1% boost to all attributes for each person from your world who is nearby.

  I didn’t even know what to think about the choices. I felt like, while all of them were bad in one way or another, the way they said things only made it worse.

  For instance, the Bloody Charm bonus framed me as waging a genocidal war to change ideology, which, while painfully true, lacked context. I was fighting to free an enslaved class, without any peaceful alternatives for power transition. It was disheartening to think that future generations might remember me more for the lives taken than the freedom I fought for.

  Merchant’s Favor seemed almost laughable. It criticized me for not giving money to the city’s residents, yet I had only been here for a few hours and had already given all the knives I had stolen earlier that day. Choosing this perk felt like it would unjustly rob the people of their wealth, which wasn’t my intention at all. It had nothing to do with the people of this city already being poor.

  World’s Haven initially caught my attention because it referenced my own world, recognizing my desire to return. Sadly, it was pointless as I hadn’t met anyone from my world here, nor from any other world. This bonus would be useless unless I found my people.

  That left me with Tongue of Babel and Architect's Insight as options. Neither seemed particularly good, but they appeared to be the better choices compared to the rest. Architect's Insight felt almost silly since we could produce a communal map on our own. However, its leader trait intrigued me, suggesting that I could discover hidden passages. While I was uncertain about its overall usefulness, the prospect of uncovering valuable loot hidden throughout this ancient city was tempting.

  Conversely, the Tongue of Babel presented the opposite problem. Its leader trait would allow me to speak any language in which I had previously demonstrated proficiency. In my world, I would have loved it. I could learn enough of a language, and then it would magically translate once I got a small proficiency. However, with Rabbit acting as my constant translator, this feature was essentially redundant.

  The city bonus was extremely interesting. It would enable anyone within the city to understand any language that I had demonstrated. This wouldn’t make much difference in a city predominantly inhabited by Goblins, who all spoke the same language. But the presence of a group of Dwarves, whom I had freed earlier and who had been contesting this city for some time, changed the equation. If both Goblins and Dwarves could understand each other, it could potentially halt their ongoing conflict. Particularly with the Union exerting pressure on this region, it was necessary for both of them to survive.

  “Do you think Tongue of Babel is the right move?” I asked Rabbit. He hadn’t tried to convince me either way, so I knew it wasn’t his plan to push me toward what he wanted.

  “I think you might not survive the year without it,” he replied matter-of-factly. “The Union is going to be furious, and you'll be at the top of their hit list.”

  I responded quickly, without thinking, “Them and the Black Rock Islands.”

  “Yes, but they don’t have active military forces in the region. Plus, you let Saresh leave with plenty of information about you, something those islanders don’t have.”

  “True,” I acknowledged, considering my predicament.

  "The reason you wanted to choose it was so that the Goblins and the Dwarves could communicate and stop fighting, which is crucial for them to avoid falling victim to the Union. What you don’t realize is that the women can’t hold the city by themselves. If they elect a weak Goblin, they will quickly lose their power. If they elect a woman, then it will be even worse. Soon, they will realize that you are the only choice, and they will ask you to be their leader.”

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  Would the women want me as a leader?

  That seemed unlikely based on our previous conversation, but Rabbit was pretty good at modeling large events like that. But if I assumed that it would come to pass, one real question remained. Did I even want to be their leader?

  “The Goblins are weak. I’m no warrior, but I could overpower any of them. I'd essentially be their caretaker without gaining anything in return. I’d rather leave than lead them.”

  “But you’re only seeing half the picture,” Rabbit countered. “Consider the Dwarves being able to communicate with the Goblins. If you were the leader here, you could also leverage your position over the Dwarves. They’ve been at war so long they’d serve as a counterbalance to the Goblins, preventing either group from overpowering the other.”

  “Assuming that’s true. Let’s also assume they want me to be their leader, which I doubt will happen. How does that benefit me?”

  “Let me ask you this,” Rabbit posed, “Why did you help the Dwarves?”

  “I didn’t want them to end up under the Union’s control, stripped of their choices.”

  “The Union is advancing, ready to take this region piece by piece. These people, united, could stand against that. You’re already a target. Why not continue what you’ve started? Help strengthen them. Unite the Dwarves and anyone else you can, so they won’t need rescuing in the future.”

  I didn’t know if the women would even want me as their leader. I guessed that if they never asked, it wouldn’t even be my problem. Unsure if I could do it, but swayed by Rabbit's reasoning, I chose Tongue of Babel. I wanted to ensure they had the best possible chance for survival, even if I wasn't there to witness the outcome.

  As I dealt with the prompts, I gradually began to heal myself. This was the third time I cast the Healing Spell, each session spaced out to align with the slow recovery of my mana and the lapse of the cooldown periods. Initially, my skin had a cottage cheese-like appearance, a disturbing reminder of the severity of my injuries. With each application of the spell, however, the texture improved significantly.

  In that moment, as I reflected on the changes that had occurred during these healing sessions, I noticed that my skin had transformed into a translucent, veiny texture. Although it was still far from normal, this marked improvement was a relief. The pain, once unbearable, had subsided to manageable levels through repeated healing. Each cycle brought not only physical restoration but also a slight easing of the agony that had dominated my senses.

  Eventually, I grew tired of lying there. I stood up, cast the Healing Spell again, and gritted my teeth through the discomfort. My body had reached a fragile equilibrium as it wouldn't heal on its own, but at least the Biodium wasn't causing further harm.

  The residual weight of the armor that had fused into my body made me feel sluggish and encumbered. Although I had worn heavier armor before, the sensation of being weighed down while almost naked was unsettling. Expecting to see my body completely bare, I glanced down and was surprised to find that I wasn’t entirely naked, as a pouch hung at my side and a quiver was securely strapped to my back.

  "Why did my quiver and pouch remain? Shouldn’t they have melded with me?" I asked.

  Rabbit thought for a moment before responding. "I think it's because of their properties. Both are tied to your bag’s folded space, so they can’t meld with you. How would they blend with your body if they’re essentially in a different space and time? Plus, the spell specifies that only normal objects meld. Since they aren’t normal, they remained separate."

  “Do you know why I’m still white? I feel much better. Shouldn’t I have returned to gray?” I initially focused on the items that hadn’t transformed, but then my attention shifted to my skin. It was noticeably lighter than usual. The color change didn't bother me, but I was accustomed to a darker gray.

  “The Biodium was originally white before you applied it. It adapted to blend with your skin tone," Rabbit explained. "Now, your body color has reverted to a mix of white and gray. Technically, they're not colors but shades.”

  After examining my body once more, I couldn't help but feel disappointed despite some apparent advantages. My skin appeared thicker and tougher, almost resembling armor, but I had yet to determine how strong it truly was. Curious, I reached into my quiver and drew out an arrow. I pressed the tip against my skin, which, unlike hard armor, was soft and pliable. To my surprise, although the arrowhead pressed into my skin, it did not penetrate or cause any damage.

  “I think you'd need to swing something sharper, like a knife, or need to propel the arrow with more force to penetrate your skin,” Rabbit suggested. I remained silent, continuing to examine my altered body. Sensing my distress, Rabbit added, “I’m sorry about what happened. It was the only way to save you. I didn’t anticipate these consequences.”

  I sighed deeply. “My passive healing isn’t helping anymore. Even though I can withstand more damage now, it feels like a major downgrade.”

  “It’s helping plenty. With the damage you’re taking, you wouldn’t be alive without your passive healing. But I understand. The Biodium is undoing your healing as fast as it happens. It’s almost as if you’re healing at a normal pace now, and that rapid recovery is what kept you alive up until now. However, remember that you couldn’t learn new skills before. Now you have a Healing Spell, giving you the ability to heal yourself and others.”

  “That’s true, but it’s hardly ideal,” I replied, my tone reflecting my disappointment. “The cooldown is way too long for urgent situations, and it consumes mana. Now that I'm slower, I need all my mana to maintain my Time Spell, to keep up with everyone else.”

  “Let’s check out the city. Maybe there are some more benefits we can access that might make up for this.”

  Ignoring my body, I finally got up to look around. I realized the room resembled the command center of a warship rather than a simple control room. Several chairs were strategically placed around the room's perimeter with monitors in front of them, offering a clear view of the chaos unfolding throughout the Labyrinth City.

  Goblins clashed in fierce street battles, while other areas appeared untouched, as though they had been abandoned for years. At the heart of the room stood a padded chair, surrounded by an array of intricate controls. Though no screen accompanied the command station, there was a colossal wall at the far end of the room that everyone could see.

  I ambled over to the padded chair and settled into it, finding, to my surprise, the first truly comfortable seat since arriving in this world. Though the cushions were thin, the chair's metal contours embraced my body, allowing me to sink into a cocoon of comfort.

  A smile graced my lips, despite the lingering pain. As I placed my hand, adorned with the ring, on the table in front of the chair, the controls around the room illuminated. The screens, which had previously shown only security footage, now seemed capable of displaying much more.

  Unlike other consoles, which displayed on a typical screen, mine popped up directly in front of me with menu options, likely because I was soul bound to the city.

  Time Portal now closed.

  Warning: Not all immortal subjects have been transported. Analysis confirms shielding and lack of mana prevented a proper transfer.

  Warning: Power extremely low. Bridge operations will resume when power is restored.

  Rebooting system.

  Do you wish for randomization of Labyrinth? Yes or No.

  No response detected. Resuming normal operations.

  Void incoming expected in one hour.

  Void incoming expected in thirty minutes.

  Void incoming imminent.

  No Void detected.

  No Void detected.

  Time expected until Void incursion ends in two hours.

  No Void detected.

  No Void detected.

  Exhaustion weighed heavily on me after a restless night and a day filled with constant activity. An incessant stream of prompts had been appearing for a while, and for the first twenty minutes, I diligently read through them until boredom overwhelmed me. Unsure of the age or relevance of these alerts to my current situation, I gradually lost interest.

  Too tired to keep my eyes open any longer, I silently signaled Rabbit to take over. He eagerly took up the task, his enthusiasm to sift through the details clear. With Rabbit occupied and alert, I allowed myself to relax.

  I closed my eyes and I could faintly hear the chaos from the monitors in the background as Goblins clashing violently with each other. The noise became a distant murmur as I drifted off, the sounds of conflict fading into a blur as sleep enveloped me, offering a much-needed pause from the day’s chaos.