“For a moment, I thought you had e to kill me,” Adam said, sipping the e juice the Chief had offered. They were sitting in the Chief’s gazebo. Iromin had told his assistants to step out, and had motioned for those lurking in the shadows to leave them be.

  “I apologise for interrupting your time with your children,” Iromin said, reag for his dried dough snacks, which were lightly salted, just as he preferred.

  “As long as you uand it was something bad, then it’s fine,” Adam joked, sipping more of the e juice. It was was sweet and pulpy, with the slightest tangy after taste. ‘These es are defihe freshest.’

  “Does it pain you to stay out of trouble?” Iromin asked, staring down at the boy. “Is it a hobby of yours to try a yourself killed by speaking so terribly?”

  “I o make sure you have some spi your life, Chief.” Adam chuckled lightly, his lips f the most pyful smile.

  “There is enough spice within my life now that the Iyr’s gates are closed.”

  Adam’s lips quickly dropped, and he sipped at his e juice awkwardly. “Yeah, and I really appreciate what you did for me.” Adam pced down his cup, staring at it for a moment. He realised that he should be a little more serious now that he eaking to the Chief, especially sidering they were alone. “I won’t fet that the Iyr did me a great favour.”

  “That is how our retionship is.” Iromin pushed the jug of juice closer towards Adam. “We do not fet the favour you have shown us, and you do not fet the favour we have shown you.”

  “Right, right.” Adam poured more juice for himself. “Thanks for accepting everyone else within the Iyr even though it closed its gates.”

  “The gates are harder to open, but as long as the Front Iyr Elder agrees, it is little issue,” the Chief stated, though his tone of voice was serious.

  “Elder Lykan holds that much power?”

  “Each Great Elder holds supreme authority over their domain,” Iromin expined. “Elder Gold over the wealth of the Iyr, used for the Iyr’s sake in internal aernal affairs. Elder Forest over the resources of the Iyr to build the Iyr, for infrastructure and so on. Elder Teacher, who guides over the geion. Elder Peace, who decres wars, and Elder Wrath, who ands the army during times of war.”

  “You tht?” Adam asked. He khe general authority of each of the Great Elders, but had no idea how some of the other psuedo Great Elders.

  “I hold great authority in all matters, and allow each of the Great Elders to work smoothly in their own domains. The position of Chief, in some ways, may be the seost important position in the Iyr. The position of Elder Peace, though, is the most difficult.”

  ‘I guess Elder Peace being the most important makes sense, but what about Elder Story?’

  “The Front Iyr Elder, and Elder Shaman, each also hold great authority over their domain,” Iromin tio expin. “Elder Shaman, though not a Great Elder, is in charge of the Shamans of the Iyr. We defer to their authority in most matters, but they are least free when it es to their authority. The Front Iyr Elder is important too, for reasons I am sure you uand.”

  “It’s the first line of defence?”

  Iromin smiled, bowing his head. “There are votes to veto against the supreme authority of the Elders, but it is easier to veto the likes of Elder Shaman and the Front Iyr Elder, than it is to veto a Great Elder. A veto against a supreme decision also forces that Great Elder to step down, even if they believe in their heart that they were correct.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” Adam said, quietly. ‘So if the Great Elders need something to be dohe Front Iyr Elder ’t choose to cause trouble. If every reat Elder refuses the Chief’s order, then it means that his decision was too risky, and so he’d o step down? They’ll want someoh a clear vision, one which agrees with theirs, and so that they will accept it as theirs wholly?’

  “The Iyr has evolved its ws over time, and has been able to react accly to the great camities which have e to pgue the world,” Iromin said, hiding none of the pride he had for being an Iyrman. Iromin recalled the times when the Iyr had reacted to the camities, and had ehem before they had even surfaced. They may have been good stories, but if Elder Story stated something o be dealt with, it was dealt with, with Iyrman efficy.

  “You have to be that good if you want to survive beside great kingdoms and empires,” Adam stated, nodding his head slowly. “The Iyr’s influence probably ’t be uated across the nd, though I’m sure you keep it as invisible as possible so you aren’t bothered by the other kingdoms.”

  Iromi slip a smile, one which Adam was certain he showed on purpose. “Perhaps that is the case.”

  “Yeah, perhaps,” Adam replied, recalling how terrifying the Iyr was. A bead of sweat formed down the side of his forehead. Adam uood that if the Great Elders all decided to kill him, they could vote against the Chief and deal with him. ‘I really gotta be careful…’

  Adam sipped more of the drink, but could no loaste the sweetness. “So, what did you want to chat about, Chief?”

  “Do you wish to return to work?” Iromin asked.

  Adam go the side to check his XP.

  XP: 9 700

  “Yeah,” Adam replied, simply. He still wasn’t sure if he should admit to the Iyrmen what he could do, especially sidering how dangerous his new ability was.

  “Your bdes have aued well,” Iromin said. “At least two thousand gold for each bde, but most have aued freater than three thousand.”

  “Damn,” Adam whispered. ‘I’m rich!’

  “Damn?”

  “I mean, a good damn,” Adam replied, scratg between his lip and nose. ‘Damn! So what, I probably made sixteen thousand, after all the fees and the Iyr’s cut? Did I just double my money?’

  “Will the recipe be pleted soon?” Iromin asked, staring down at the Half Elf, seeing how his eyes were full of gold s. ‘He made over ten thousand during the tour, but he spends his gold quite freely.’ Iromin decided against thinking about how dangerous it was for Adam to create these recipes.

  “I think I o ent two more?” Adam said, gng to the side. “It shouldn’t take long.”

  “Six days?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Is something the matter?”

  “ly?” Adam tio think about how to work his new abilities. “ht. I was chosen by Baktu, or something like that?”

  “I have heard, yes.”

  “So does that mean you’ll think twice about killing me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good,” Adam said, clearing his throat. “Well, then I suppose I should inform you that I ent passively now.”

  “Passively?”

  “I don’t o roll well to ent, I just kind of… do it.” Adam shrugged his shoulders, unsure of how to expin what he do.

  Iromin wasirely sure what Adam was getting at. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the Half Elf, giving him permission to tinue.

  “You know, before, I could ent a on if my luck was det, and I o actively focus on the enting,” Adam said. “However, I still o pass a certain amount of quality with my… luck? Anyway, now I kind of just… do it. I ent a Basic magical on in the course of about three days, a Basihanced reat on in about a week or so.”

  “I see,” the Chief said, still irely sure how things had ged. “You mean to say that you do not need luck to create Basic ons, and that Basihanced ons take longer, but you need no longer be lucky to create such ons?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I see…” Iromin thought. Didn’t that mean that Adam could now ent whenever he pleased. “ you ent an item and pick it up ter?”

  ‘Bell?’

  [Most likely.]

  “Most likely,” Adam replied.

  “What of ical items?”

  “Most likely,” Adam stated.

  Iromin csped his hands together as he fell deeper into thought. “Then, is it easier for you to create recipes?”

  “I think so?” Adam replied. ‘Bell?’

  […]

  “I’m not actually sure,” Adam tinued. “Speaking of recipes, I’m hoping to create recipes fs of prote, and other items that might be useful. I think there’s also gauhat be ented for defence, and also archery too? I think they might be useful. Certain other items that are less about beating people up and more about utility, like things that could allow me to fly, or other stuff…”

  Iromin was certain he couldn’t allow Adam to act too freely to create such items, or he really wouldn’t be able to stop the Great Elders from wanting to kill him. It was a good thing Elder Wrath was out leading the one hundred Iyrmen.

  “Right now the goal is Basic ons, armours, and stuff like rings of proteaybe even cloaks of prote too,” Adam admitted. ‘+1 ons, +1 armour, rings of prote, those three alone are enough for a pretty basic set of gear.’

  “You wish to create recipes for such items?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which you will gift to the Iyr?”

  “Of course.”

  Iromin remaione faced, but Adam could see the question fsh within his eyes.

  “Obviously, I’ll grant many such recipes to the Iyr,” Adam said, quietly, sweating a little harder. “I know how dangerous these items would be, but I’ll pass them to the Iyr, so they be kept safe.”

  “No,” Iromin said. “The existence of such recipes could be too much for the world.” They already existed within the world, and the Iyr already possessed many, but having more copies, each a different recipe, may lead to unintended sequences iure.

  “Then I guess I won’t make recipes for it, since I just passively ent?” Adam said, tilting his head.

  Iromin was gd Adam had picked up on what he was thinking about. The Chief sighed. “Adam, should I keep you alive?”

  “You’d really kill me after my children’s first birthday?” Adam joked.

  “You’re aence which threatens this world more than any other,” Iromin stated.

  “I heard you guys hunted Gods before,” Adam said, meeting Iromin’s eyes with his own. “If I get out of hand, you just ask me to calm down, and I’ll probably do it.”

  “Are there times you will not give in to the Iyr?”

  “Sure, probably.”

  “What are those times?”

  “If I’m too angry, to say it lightly. It really does depend, though, but there isn’t a lot that would make me go against the Iyr.” Adam smiled, sipping more of the juice. “Anyway, doesn’t the Iyr have access to my weaknesses? All six of them?”

  Adam trying not to die seems a lot like him trying to live.