By the time Ms. Davis finally led Nero to the room where the staff had placed Jennings, Nero was utterly and quite thoroughly lost. His estate was just as large and confusing as he remembered it, and without using his link he had no idea where she was taking him.

  Truthfully, he still found it more than a little weird that he’d somehow ended up owning a place like this. Hopefully, now that he was back, he’d have a chance to spend some time wandering around his estate just so he could get a feel for it. After all, there was nothing better than claiming all the bathrooms in a new home to make him feel like it was his.

  ‘Probably has something to do with my animal brain or something,’ Nero thought to himself while nodding in thanks to Ms. Davis as she held the door open for him.

  Walking into the room, he saw Jennings sitting comfortably on a fancy couch. The man’s ornate but comfortable robes made him fit in with the decor in a way Nero doubted he ever could, no matter what he wore. The archmage's entire presence just reeked of class.

  “Sorry for the wait, we got lost in the gardens on the way here. Did you know I have gardens? They’re very nice. If you stop stealing my bodies and return my ruggedly handsome satchel, I’ll let you visit them. I’ll even have the staff offer you some refreshments. Imagine having a nice lemonade while enjoying the butterflies… just give me back my bag, ” Nero said while plopping himself down in a chair across from him.

  While Nero took advantage of the presence of the coffee on the aptly named coffee table between them, Jennings replied, “If I recall correctly, that ‘bag’ was given to you by me.”

  Shrugging as he sat back in his chair with his cup halfway to his lips, Nero replied, “Sure, but you gave it to me. So now it's mine. You can’t have it back. Besides, all my books are in there. You wouldn’t deny a magic student his study materials, now would you? What kind of archmage are you?”

  Nero watched as Jennings chuckled happily in reply. Something about the archmage was different from what he remembered. Something had changed. It took a few seconds for Nero to realize what it was.

  ‘The poor guy looks like shit. Even massively powerful archmages can get overworked it seems. I bet the poor guy didn’t get any sleep last night,’ he thought to himself with a smile as he reveled in how completely rested he felt.

  Letting the silence linger for a moment, Nero waited patiently for Jennings to get to the reason he was here. Likely he just wanted to get Nero back in the lab for more tests or something, but something in the ether gave Nero the feeling there was something else at play here.

  When Jennings finally broke the comfortable mood, he did it with his typical directness.

  “Nero, I’m not sure you realize how much trouble you’ve brought down on yourself with your recent actions,” he said plainly.

  Sighing lightly, Nero wished for a moment he’d not bothered getting out of bed this morning. “Alright, hit me with it. What’s going on? This about the nobles, the Populators, or the dwarves?”

  Leaning back on the couch and crossing his legs comfortably in front of him, the archmage placed his hands on his lap and suddenly became utterly serious.

  Jennings began, “You may not believe this, but the kingdom doesn’t know everything. The scientists in the capital are al-”

  Nero interrupted with a snort, “Of course they don’t. Who would believe that?”

  Jennings paused for a moment before chuckling. “Right. I forgot for a moment who I was talking to. Forgive me. Let me start again.”

  Locking eyes with Nero from across the coffee table, he said, “Most people in Oglivarch are under the impression that the capital is a bastion of all the knowledge in the world. All of the secrets of the universe are at their disposal. Therefore, if and when someone discovered something the capital didn’t know, then they would earn rewards commensurate with the accomplishment.”

  Nero understood that. Or at least he thought he did. He could imagine how most people here could believe that load of propaganda. After all, the government purposefully restricted knowledge of almost everything in their cities, preferring to have the citizenry rediscover everything on their own. With the way leveling worked here, he even understood the why of it. But, they’d already talked about this, hadn’t they? So, what was the old man getting at?”

  Jennings continued, “I believe I’ve gotten to know you well enough over the past few months to guess what you’ve been thinking. You likely believe that you’re in danger of being carted off into some dark lab where powerful people will take you apart so that they can study you. Am I correct in that assumption?”

  Nero shrugged uncomfortably while nodding. “Seems like a possibility. But you and Vera stopped them, right? That’s not going to happen?”

  Jennings replied, “No, but that’s my point. That was never going to happen. That’s the point I need you to understand. You’re not in danger of being dissected, you never were. Your preconceptions are interfering with your ability to recognize the real and relevant danger that you’re in.”

  Nero leaned forward in his chair to set down his cup on the table. “OK. So what’s the real danger that I’m in?”

  Jennings replied firmly, “The artificial narrowing of your path.”

  Nero looked over at the man with a blank expression on his face, indicating clearly that he didn’t get it.

  Matching his body language, Jennings sat forward on the couch and explained, “In life, a person begins with a great many possible paths forward. Careers that they could pursue, subjects they could study, and personal avenues they could explore. As a unique, you could go anywhere, and do anything. The entire kingdom is at your disposal. Even money wouldn’t be an issue for you.”

  Nero replied, “Right. Sounds great. So, what’s the catch?”

  “You’re too powerful for your level. More than that, you’ve demonstrated that you can do things that aren’t scientifically explainable. People will want that knowledge. But not in the way you likely think. They’re not going to try and take it from you, they’ll instead try and use you,” Jennings warned Nero, his tone utterly serious.

  Looking somewhat confused, Nero replied, “Uh, is that supposed to be a surprise? Because I think that should have been obvious. I mean, that’s why you're here, isn’t it? You said you came here to watch over me, but you really wanted to study me or something? You’ve just been watching me from a distance to learn from me in what you think is my natural environment or whatever. Right?”

  Visibly wincing, Jennings replied, “Of course, you’ve already realized the deeper implications. Why wouldn’t you have.”

  Sinking back into the couch cushions, Jennings added, “It’s very difficult for me to imagine how you see the world. Your actions don’t match what I’d assume a person living under a microscope would do. Being monitored so closely, most people would react poorly.”

  Nero replied, “But why? And you guys have microscopes here? Nevermind that. Aren’t they all used to being watched by the Thought Hub and whatever other magical fuckery there is out there? Don’t people realize there isn’t any point in worrying about it?”

  Jennings chuckled. “There is that, I suppose. But even nobles have privacy shields that they can rely on, along with a sense of simply being one of the many, not worth the effort of paying attention to. But, when someone realizes that they are being singled out for something in particular, they typically feel hunted. You, however, don’t bother with privacy shields. You don’t bother with anything. You’re constantly displaying your abilities openly, for all the world to see as if you couldn’t care less about the consequences.”

  “Maybe I’d be more worried about it if I hadn’t gotten used to it. But what does this have to do with anything? Get to the point man,” Nero said, making it clear that he was already getting bored with the conversation.

  Jennings replied, “I’m trying, Nero. Be patient. There is a lot of information you don’t have which makes things difficult to explain.”

  Rolling his eyes, Nero replied, “Fine. Just hurry it up. You’re dancing around saying something, and it's making me twitchy.”

  To Nero’s eyes, Jennings was being overly dramatic. He was acting like some emo kid who was convinced that whatever sexual tension he had going on with the bi-sexual bass player in his garage band, the one dating their lesbian keyboardist, was the end of both the band and the world.

  “I’ve told you that I came to observe you. And that’s true. But I never explained why, at least not directly.” Jennings said.

  Taking a deep breath, Jennings visibly calmed himself. “You don’t know enough about ascending tiers to realize what your existence might mean for a people nearing level 100.”

  Nero replied, “Tiers? Like that section on my identity panel which doesn’t seem to do anything?”

  “Yes, Nero. Tiers. Things on this plane of existence are stuck at Tier 1. This is a Tier 1 plane. By leveling to 100, a person ascends to Tier 2. The only being we know of who is Tier 2 and still on this plane is the great dragon, Plastia, she watches over us all and guides us. This is her plane,” explained Jennings.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “So, then what happens when someone reaches 100? They leave the plane right, don’t they become gods or something? I’m pretty sure I already heard about that. Or maybe I just read about it,” admitted Nero.

  “Usually,” Jennings replied before adding, “but not always. You see, a perfect ascension requires a person to be completely balanced in a way that is hard for me to describe. It’s not just having their stats all equal, or their confluence high enough to bind them sufficiently together. True unity requires a person to have all aspects of their existence truly in harmony. It’s been theorized that a person who could accomplish that would move on to a higher plane and begin their journey there as a more powerful incarnation of themselves. It’s also likely that they could self-actualize themselves back into this plane of existence as a being on the same level as Plastia herself.”

  Nero was pretty sure he was following along. It didn’t seem all that complicated compared to some of the stories he used to read. But, he could tell from Jennings’ tone that this must be some sort of big secret or something, so he let the man continue.

  Sighing dramatically, Jennings said, “The gods are a result of people failing to fully ascend. Their unity was flawed, and they remained tethered to the plane. With nothing better to do, they create their afterlives and manage what followers they have after they die. Their actual ability to do anything is limited. It’s not an existence I believe I would enjoy.”

  Nero nodded, before replying carefully, “Yeah, that sounds like it sucks. And I get why you and the other muckity mucks don’t go around telling anyone. Can’t go around telling religious people that their gods are just people who didn’t make the cut during their ascension to omnipotence. So, you’re worried about that happening to you? Because you’re like almost at level 100, right?”

  Grimacing, Jennings replied, “Yes, that’s correct. I’ve been very close to ascending for years. But it’s also more complicated than just possibly becoming a god. That’s only the most likely scenario for someone who might be capable of reaching Tier 2. Most people who succeed at reaching level 100 don’t even ascend to godhood. Instead, their ascension fails completely and they scatter their existence across the upper planes without successfully binding themselves to any of the upper planes at all. Some of the truly unlucky ones become demons. Arguably, the best-case scenario for me was to just forcefully dissipate myself and unbind my spiritual existence from the ether. Who knows what would happen in that case. That’s one of the things I’ve been trying to figure out.”

  Nero replied, “You just said ‘was’. As in ‘was’ the best-case scenario. Am I to assume that my being here has something to do with that?”

  “Yes, it does, and that’s the point I’m trying to make. You somehow naturally have the ability to actively harmonize yourself with the plane you find yourself in. What you’ve shown to everyone who was watching is that you can manipulate reality to recreate your body whenever you want. It's something that I theorized from the moment you arrived, but could never confirm. I hate to break it to you, but I don’t believe you actually have a unique ability that would merit you being raised to a unique. Instead, you aren’t technically a human at all… you just look like one,” he said dramatically.

  Nero didn’t bat an eye. As far as he was concerned, he’d already figured that out a while ago. Honestly, he’d pretty much left what little concept he had of humanity behind the first time he watched his limbs being regenerated by mages in the training rings. Humans weren’t supposed to be able to live through things like that. Not the humans he knew about at least. People here weren’t human, they were magic, and now so was he.

  “OK. So what?” Nero replied.

  Jennings looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean, ‘So what’? Doesn’t that bother you? I remember you being quite worried about not being a human.”

  Nero shrugged and replied, “Sure, back when I first got here maybe. But I got over it.”

  Trying to match Nero’s nonchalance, Jennings replied, “Alright. Well, what I was getting at is that you are able to do the things you do, not because you have a unique ability, but because you aren’t wholly attached to this plane of existence. You are merely a visitor participating in events but not one of us. I believe that if a person reaching level 100 wishes to maintain their identity upon ascension, they need to emulate that particular mindset which you have achieved.”

  While Jennings was talking, Nero picked his coffee back up and took another sip before leaning back in his chair. His entire posture made it clear that he was more than a little annoyed with Jennings at the moment.

  “That makes sense. I mean, isn’t that all that ‘being one with the universe’ or whatever is always about? Leaving your worldly attachments behind and allowing yourself to move on. Back where I’m from, people went on and on about that. Achieving ‘inner peace’ and truly knowing and accepting yourself and all that. I still don’t see why you’re making such a big deal about it. This is popcorn spirituality made manifest by magic. If you all understand so much about higher planes and stuff, then how come you have such trouble moving on? It’s not like you can really die. I mean, haven’t you lot have already proven that scientifically or whatever? You know what happens to souls and how everything works, right?” Nero asked.

  Jennings shot to his feet and walked behind the couch he’d been sitting on, beginning to pace. “It’s not that simple! Or at least it shouldn’t be, I don’t think. If what I theorize is true, then in order to know that I’m ready, I’ll have to be able to see the world in the same way that you do. And currently, I do not.”

  Waving his hand in front of him as if the subject was irrelevant at the moment, Jennings continued, “But that’s not the point. The point is that people saw what you did, and they’re going to want to study how you did it. The only way they can do that is to keep you close. That Populator who I warned you about is already contacting anyone over level 95 back in the capital. I’ve tried to handle it the best I could, but there are a great many people worried about what will happen to them if and when they attempt to ascend. They’re going to want to keep you nearby and entice you to risk your life managing dungeons and incursions. They’ll offer you riches and whatever else it takes to ensure that you put yourself in positions that will likely force you to reconstitute yourself over and over again.”

  Nero frowned in thought. “But… it doesn’t work like that. At least I don’t think it does. I was only able to rebuild my body because I had all that extra ‘soul stuff’, or whatever it is that you call it, available to rebuild myself a body. However, I guess as long as my body was still around, I could just fix whatever killed me and continue to use this one. But, I don’t think that’s what you're talking about, is it?”

  Jennings paused his pacing to look at Nero like he was an alien or a flat earther or something. “You could do that?”

  Nero shrugged. “Probably… I guess,” he replied before taking another sip of his coffee.

  Scoffing, Jennings muttered a few unintelligible curse words before returning to his pacing. “My point is that the more people who are aware of you and are interested in you, the fewer paths will be open to you. While they won’t restrict you directly, as that would be counterproductive, they will do everything in their considerable power to limit your options. You need to be careful. The only good thing about the situation you find yourself in is that they will keep the dwarves away from you.”

  Nero looked up in confusion. “Right. The dwarves want me because I can close portals, right? Something about them having a bunch of portals they’re struggling to deal with?”

  Nodding, Jennings replied, “Yes. The dwarves will demand that you be turned over to them. But don’t worry, like I said, that will never happen.”

  Nero asked, “Why not? I mean, I get that all those old guys and gals nearing level 100 will be watching me, but what’s so bad about going with the dwarves? Closing interdimensional portals and saving the world sounds like fun.”

  Jennings’ head whipped around to glare at Nero. “You want to go with the dwarves?”

  Nero replied quickly, “No. Not really. I’m just trying to understand why they and you wouldn’t want me to.”

  Replying as succinctly as Nero had ever heard him, Jennings said, “The dwarves will put you in front of their armies, having you close incursion points one after another. The danger level will be far above what you could handle. That being said, they’ll probably surround you with as much protection as they can. After all, they need you alive to shut down those incursions.”

  Having made what he thought was enough of an argument to dissuade Nero from going with the dwarves, Jennings returned to his seat. Yet, he remained perched on the edge of the couch, nearly hovering over the coffee table between them.

  “But listen, Nero. While who you are by your very nature is remarkable, the best thing for you to do is to continue building relationships with the people around you while maintaining your spiritual distance. The data I’m collecting as you progress along your path has already helped me refine so many of my theories. You could single-handedly be responsible for saving countless lives of ascendents in the years to come. This isn’t just about me, this is about the future of humanity itself,” he stated fervently.

  Nero thought he finally understood what Jennings had been up to. Considering that Nero could already rebuild himself from scratch, the archmage wanted to see how he could still do so while having emotional attachments to the plane on which he was currently living. Nero had to wonder if the man had been the one to arrange for him to meet people like Vera and Nick. Considering everything that he’d been through, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume that Jennings might have been behind a great many of the things he’d been forced to deal with. How much of what he’d been up to since he’d arrived here might be due to the archmage’s interference.

  Suddenly it all made sense. Jennings wanted him to feel human, to build relationships, and to feel like one of them. He wanted to see if he could artificially create the attachments that most people felt who grew up on this plane. That’s why he was so worried about Nero being coopted by the powerful people back in the capital. They’d be more interested in the practical applications of what Nero could do, and would therefore interfere with the man’s scientific study on practical ascension.

  Rather than feeling insulted or offended by all the possible manipulations, Nero couldn’t help but start laughing… audibly and loudly.

  Jennings stared in confusion at Nero, watching him continually slap the arm of his chair while laughing hysterically.

  Nero, appreciating the look on the archmage’s face, couldn’t stop himself from laughing louder and harder. The man looked so flummoxed, so utterly baffled, that Nero nearly passed out from how hard he was laughing.

  When he finally began calming down, Nero carefully placed the coffee cup he’d been holding back down on the table while saying, “Sorry. Sorry. Don’t mind me. I just realized something funny.”

  Nero couldn’t help but find the whole situation ridiculous. He’d been mentally beating himself up for weeks about feeling detached from the Wackos and all the new people he was somehow responsible for. He’d put so much effort into forcing himself to care that he found the man’s machinations more amusing than maniacal. Honestly, Nero had always felt more like a social outcast than a part of any group he’d found himself in. Jennings’ big experiment to make him feel like he belonged was less ‘big villain manipulating the hero’ and more ‘guidance counselor forcing him to join a school club to make friends’.

  Even the plots and schemes in this world deserve to be made into an inspirational poster.

  Nero couldn’t stop himself from grinning as he asked, “So, your big reveal is that people are going to offer me riches and women to tempt me into living my life in a way that they want me to. And that it would be better if I focused on my friendships and personal development over whatever they might end up offering me to get me to leave everyone behind and head to the capital. Also, that you’ve secretly been trying to get me to feel comfortable here so that you could learn how to attain the ‘inner peace’ which comes so easily to me while helping me make friends and become a better person along the way… That’s diabolical!”

  Trying and failing to glare at the archmage, Nero couldn’t stop the edges of his grin from slipping into his expression. “You’re a real son of a bitch, you know that? How dare you?!?”