Things changed once I learned how to sense auras. No more running around. No more inventive deaths. For the next twenty-four hours I was locked in my room while Persephone watched me like a hawk in her cat form. If I tried to leave or do anything other than attempt to shroud my aura, then she would pounce on me like a fluffy death machine.

I’d thought that being in that smaller cat form would put her at a disadvantage, but she was still incredibly fast, strong, and was able to make herself heavier without changing her size. In short, I only got beat up a couple of times before I gave up trying.

Persephone was, however, a little more helpful with this part of my training. She told me to begin by watching my own aura and the waves of color that radiated off of me. These were surface memories and emotions that anyone with Aura Sense could read. Shrouding one’s aura suppresses these waves by clamping down on the aura sphere inside one’s self. There were further levels to shrouding one’s aura, but she said I didn’t need to know those yet and that we should focus on the most basic shroud first.

That was good with me. The idea that so much of my inner thoughts had been open for scrutiny since the System arrived made me uncomfortable. Plus, the sooner I learned to shroud my aura, the sooner I could return to the tower.

My breakthrough occurred while I was sitting on the floor with my eyes closed. It was the moment when I could not only see the waves coming out of my aura, but feel them pulsating. It was like my aura had its own heartbeat and every wave was a vibration. Mentally, I took hold of my aura and held it still. The waves suddenly stopped.

Persephone opened one eye and grunted. “So you finally did it. Good, because you were almost out of time. Let’s go.”

“It’s strange. I thought I’d feel different since I stopped my aura.”

“You haven’t stopped it. All your emotions, thoughts and memories are still swirling around inside of it. By performing that basic shroud, you just lowered the volume on those things.”

“How long do I have to mentally keep holding it like this?”

The cat scratched one of her ears. “Forever.”

“Forever?!”

“Or at least until it becomes second nature and you start doing it subconsciously. Now we better get a move on or we’ll be late.”

She was talking about the party that was happening tonight. I’d thought it was tomorrow, but it was so hard to keep track of time in this place. God, I miss sleep. Not for its restorative benefits. I felt perfectly awake and alert thanks to my blood healing. No, I missed sleep because it would psychologically mark the end of one day and the beginning of another. A definitive cut off point that allowed me some mental space. It was one of the things I was looking forward to doing again once I got back to the tower.

“Come on. The party is about to start,” she said as she approached the door. Rather than shapeshift into a form with opposable thumbs, she opened it with telekinesis. I’d asked her once why she often chose the form of a cat since it seemed more inconvenient. She told me it was none of my business before kicking my ass again.

When I didn’t immediately follow her out the door, she looked back and narrowed her eyes. “Your attendance is mandatory.”

I looked down at the dried, blood-stained clothes I was wearing. “Shouldn’t I change first?”

The cat brightened up. “Nah, you look perfect. Let’s go and meet the others,” she said before walking away.

“Others?” I asked, as I hurried after her.

As we crossed a hallway covered in glass windows, I spied a large purple spaceship touching down.

“Who exactly is coming to this party?” I asked.

“Oh, a few people from here and there. It’s considered rude to travel here by portal so they use the ships even though they’re slower and more inconvenient. It allows the host to sense their approach before they enter the planet's atmosphere. It’s kind of like knocking on one’s front door before entering.”

“And portal travel is like climbing through a back window?”

“Precisely.”

More and more ships flew in. Each one was a unique color and size.

“You still haven’t told me what this party is for or why I’m going to it,” I said.

“Because you don’t need to know.”

We walked slowly across the vast manor. Persephone set the pace and my guess was that she didn’t want us to be too early.

As we approached a set of double doors, the cat stopped me. “The important thing to remember is that anyone in that room that’s not from Earth is incredibly dangerous. They are older, wiser, and stronger. You are not smart enough to outwit any of them. Be polite if they talk to you. Speak clearly, but remain vague if they start fishing for information.”

I nodded and reached for the door handle when the cat stopped me again. She sighed. “Look, you’ve done… okay here so far.”

Okay? I don’t think I’ll ever set foot in the water again after what happened in the pool! If I did sleep, I’d probably have nightmares about it.

“In this room are some of the most notorious liars, thieves, and murderers in the universe. Be on your guard at all times and don’t stop shrouding your aura. Trust me when I say that you don’t want anyone in there reading you.”

With that, the cat stepped aside.

I wondered what kind of party this was? Was Samara recruiting the worst of the worst for some kind of army and, if so, why did I have to meet them?

The doors opened up into a giant ballroom. Soft orchestral music was playing in all directions in the background, but there was no sign of a band. Crystal chandeliers floated above, twirling slightly while orange aliens in silver tuxedos moved around the room with trays of drinks and hors d'oeuvres.

The party guests varied wildly, with some looking human, while others were clearly alien. I almost didn’t hear my name being called because I was too busy staring at the seven-foot tall, red lizard man in a black trench coat. He grabbed an entire tray of food and wandered outside.

Persephone’s claws sank into my ankle and I yelped.

“Don’t make her repeat herself,” she whispered and pointed.

 The person who’d called my own name appeared in the form of a kind old lady knitting while wearing an Easter Sunday bonnet. She waved me over, and I forced a polite smile as I went over to say hello. Luckily, Persephone stayed by my side as I greeted Gundred, the goddess of Conquest.

“It’s nice to see you again, dearie,” she crooned.

“Er, likewise,” I said before looking at the young man who was sat next to her in full plate armor except for the helmet. He was blonde, good-looking, and in his mid-twenties. He reminded me of a surfing model with his tan, and my first instinct was to dismiss him.

But then again, Gundred wouldn’t be his patron if he didn’t have something beyond his looks backing him up.

Though he took one look at me and sneered. “Couldn’t you have changed for this? Or did you think any of us would find the blood stains intimidating?”

I smiled. “I could say the same about your armor. It looks a little uncomfortable to wear to a party. If you’re scared of being attacked, you should know that the security here is excellent.”

The knight stood up, his face contorted with rage, until Gundred gently rested her hand on his arm. “It’s a little early for all that, Jason.”

He nodded. “I’m going to go get a drink.”

As he left, I looked down at the cat and whispered, “was that okay or did I cross a line?”

“Actually, antagonizing other Earth champions is sort of encouraged here,” she whispered back. “Just don’t kill any of them at the party.”

Jason returned with three drinks and set them on the table. I’d thought the third one was for me until Persephone hopped up onto the table and started lapping it up. I ignored the insult and sat down.

“I hear that Jason has amassed quite the reputation,” said Persephone.

Gundred nodded. “That’s right. Why don’t you tell them?”

Her tone was friendly, but I got the impression that the goddess of Conquest didn’t make requests. Jason didn’t seem to notice and was more than happy to launch into a tale of his deeds.

“So there I was as the town founder, when the rest of the town turned on me and I—”

“You were town founder?” I interrupted.

“Yes, of town six,” he replied tightly. “Now, as I was saying, when the System quest came up to discover the town founder, naturally suspicion fell on me.”

“Naturally,” I replied.

“So I had to kill them to retain my title. Well, most of them anyway. The survivors fell in line once they saw that opposing me was useless. But what about you, Lucas? Tell us, how did you handle your town?”

“I wasn’t the town founder.”

He arched an eyebrow and acted surprised, despite clearly already knowing that information. “Really? That’s strange. The System told me that they picked the strongest and most capable person in the area for the job. Maybe it was just trying something different with your section of floor 98.”

I smiled. “Maybe. Or maybe it knew that I’d be too busy descending floors and getting stronger to care about managing a town?”

Jason clenched his jaw. “You think you’re stronger than me?”

Before I could respond, a drunken voice bellowed out from across the room. “Eh! Who’s claiming to be the strongest?”

The voice belonged to a massive man in animal skins with wild, unkempt hair and beard. It looked like he’d just crawled out of the prehistoric era and was clearly drunk as he swayed several times as he awkwardly made his way over to us.

He plopped himself into an empty chair with a heavy thud and asked, “so, who thinks they're the strongest?”

Gundred turned to Persephone. “This is the Bellicose Hammer’s champion, I presume?”

The man nodded. “Roland is the name, and I didn’t waste my time in some soft town. Ever since it began, I’ve been hunting monsters and smashing them to pieces with my own two hands.”

Jason and I shared a skeptical look.

“I know there are some pretty tough monsters on floor 98, but they don’t compare to what I’ve fought on the lower floors,” I said.

“Same here,” said Jason

Roland frowned. “What’s floor 98?”