I sprinted across the field and leaped over several giant beetles that got in my way.

A week of no contact and now Samara was back. This was my chance. Finally, I could tell her to return me to the tower.

It’s funny that not so long ago I couldn’t wait to get out of the tower and now I desperately wanted to go back. Not just because I feared the time I had left to complete the tower climb, but because of my friends. I worried about Hugo and the others. There were so many times during fights when I’d thrown myself in front of a dangerous enemy to take the brunt of the damage while they acted as support.

Huh, I guess I was sort of their tank. Only one with a low defense that bleeds and gets injured a lot.

Still, I’d been a vital part of the team in helping them descend the floors, and I was concerned about how they’d get on without me.

That was why I ran. Who knows how long Samara would stay here for? Until now, I didn’t even know she used spaceships for travel. I figured she’d just use portals for everything since that was how I arrived on this planet and how I’d watched her leave it.

The planet had seemed so idyllic at first. It was the capital planet of Samara’s territory and it was called Tanis. Though upon arriving, she was quick to point out that this was not her home world. That place, she claimed, belonged to another god, and she refused to elaborate on the matter further.

Tanis was the crown jewel of her empire. A lush, vibrant planet that orbited two suns, with one being slightly larger than the other. When first seeing it, I’d asked about the effects it had on the world. She explained that as a defensive measure, the entire planet was covered in atmospheric shielding that maintains the planet’s habitability. It turns out that the only unique thing about having two suns is that solar eclipses are much more frequent and they happened every week or so.

I sprinted past some landscapers who were trimming some hedges who briefly looked up from their duties before returning to work.

I didn’t know how many people were living on Tanis, as I’d never been permitted to leave the grounds of Samara’s estate. Of course, I’d never managed to reach the limits of said estate either. The place stretched on for miles in every direction and nobody would let me look at a map. Most of the grounds were rolling green hills and a woodland forest with her palatial manor in the center of it.

The staff that maintained the grounds and her manor were all male and female humanoids with orange tinted skin and whirling blue tattoos that covered their bodies and faces. Each tattoo design was unique, but I tried not to stare too hard at them. Apparently, they didn’t find me as fascinating as I did them. A human in their midst didn’t seem to interest any of them in the slightest, and attempts at conversation proved fruitless, as I didn’t know their language. They would, however, speak to me in English when necessary, which amounted to things like telling me when dinner was ready or that I wasn’t allowed access to the transport hub.

The transport hub was a massive, windowless warehouse that contained spaceships and other modes of transportation. I’d discovered when exploring when Persephone had grown bored with teaching me for the day. As soon as I’d learned of its existence, I’d wanted to hop in a ship and fly out into space. But no matter who I asked, all requests were denied, and I was told repeatedly that it wasn’t safe for me to leave.

With nothing else to do but train and explore, I ended up spending a lot of time in the woods that I was now entering. That time taught me that there was a shortcut that I could take to get to the manor house faster. Though this place wasn’t like the woods back in the tower or the ones that I knew on Earth.

While the place was teeming with life, it was in a way that seemed more designed than natural. Every bush was filled with colorful flowers of various species and the same could be said for the animal life. In all my time in there, I never saw a single dead animal except for those that I killed as part of my training. The place was fun to walk through, but it was like entering a carefully curated amusement experience. I found that I was never able to truly relax within it and instead I spent my time searching for new species to discover to stave off my worries and boredom.

Eventually, I reached the back of the manor just as her spacecraft was gently touching down on the well-manicured lawn. Persephone was close by, ready to update her mistress on the events she’d missed.

Rather than simply approach, I decided to wait behind the closest tree. It would be interesting to hear what they say to one another when I’m not around.

The door on the spacecraft slid open and out stepped Samara, the Red Queen. Though this time she looked more like an adventurer than a goddess or a queen, with her black and red leather armor. It looked light and flexible, but I knew it was tougher than anything I was likely to witness in the tower.

But despite her martial appearance, she appeared to be in a good mood and smiled when Persephone padded up to her.

“Interesting choice of transportation. I trust things went according to plan,” said the cat.

Samara shrugged. “Sometimes it’s nice just to take the long way home. And yes, the invitations were well received. I expect most of them to turn up. If only out of morbid curiosity. Now, how are things going here?”

“Badly,” moaned the cat. “He thinks he can eavesdrop on our conversation without us noticing. How do you think it’s going? Please tell me you’ve found a replacement for him,” she begged. “These teaching duties are far below my station.”

Embarrassed, I moved out from behind the tree and came clean.

“How did you know I was there?” I asked.

The cat tsked in disappointment. “It is obvious to anyone with Aura Sense. Something you’d know if you had it.”

“Well maybe I would’ve had it if I wasn’t wasting so much time killing beetles,” I snapped back.

The cat gasped. “You see! You see how he talks to me?”

It was a struggle to hold myself back from laughing. There was just something so comical about a cat looking offended. Samara seemed to enjoy our arguing too and felt no need to intervene.

“That’s not rude,” I said. “Rude, would be asking if there’s ball of twine you should be getting back to or if there’s a mouse you should be chasing.”

Persephone held up a paw and retracted her claws. “You’re a little small to qualify as a mouse, but maybe this time I’ll make an exception,” she said in an icy tone.

I had no illusions about who would win if we fought. Persephone was a powerful shapeshifter that could mimic the Classes and levels of others. As the closest consort of a god, she was also probably a grade A being which would kick my measly grade F self into the dust with ease.

It was fun taunting her, especially when I was certain that Samara would step in to prevent any actual violence from taking place. She’d gone to a lot of trouble to bring me here and wasn’t the type to cut her losses after a rude exchange of words. Riling up Persephone wasn’t why I was here though.

“I need to return to the tower,” I said, getting back to the issue at hand. “I’m running out of time to descend the floors. Whatever training I need, I can work on it back there.”

Samara shook her head. “You’re not ready.”

“The longer I stay here, the less time I’ll have to climb the tower. I’m not even gaining levels!” I yelled in exasperation. I paused and took a breath. “Look, the more time we waste here, the bigger the disadvantage I’ll be at when I inevitably return there.”

“I understand that Persephone can be a harsh critic, but you’re worrying too much. I’m sure progress hasn’t been that bad,” she said, glancing at the cat for reassurance.

“He still cannot shroud his aura,” Persephone said. “And he only managed to maintain the flimsiest of domain expansions today.”

The goddess frowned. “It’s that bad?”

The cat yawned and strolled behind me to lie in a patch of the grass that the sun was hitting. “He has, however, made marginal progress with his Sanguine Projection ability. His blood shaping is still crude, but it’s more effective now. Much better than the dumb stick he was using when you last saw him.”

Samara looked at me with concern. “You’re right Lucas. This is unacceptable. You’re not making progress fast enough. I’d have known that had I been here myself. In some ways, I’m responsible for your lack of advancement.”

I nodded, glad that we were on the same page. “I’ll do better once I’m back in the tower. There will be plenty of opportunities to practice there,” I promised.

The cat’s voice perked up behind me. “Mistress, might I suggest that you reconsider my earlier suggestion?”

Samara sighed. “Very well.”

Before I could ask what that suggestion was, a large spear pierced my chest from behind.

Shocked, I gasped and felt my mouth fill with blood. The pain was excruciating. I tried to grab at the spear point, but every edge was razor sharp and I just ended up cutting my hands on it.

I fell to the floor and saw Persephone, now in the form of a man, standing over me holding the end of the spear.

I tried to ask why, but it just came out as a garbled moan before I lost consciousness.