Alphonse's party spent four days traveling to the capital after their battle against the ogre outside of Lamfell.

The flood had receded when they left their shelter the next morning, but much of the area was still difficult to traverse with the fallen trees and earthen spikes from the strange surge. When they returned to the road where their battle took place, the body of the ogre was gone, replaced by a black scar and some of the hardened sludge-like substance.

Seeing the tall mountain over the pass also left the party more than simply bewildered. They had stared in total shock – completely paralyzed when it was clear that the mountain had replaced where the village once resided. The ominous black ring gyrating around its peak seemed to issue a warning to anyone that dared venture too close.

After taking in the overwhelming sight, the party had proceeded into the forest away from the pass. They were in no condition to take on any serious threats, and their journey back to Forgedalk would be slowed by their injuries. Circumventing the natural rock formation added an extra couple days to their trip as well.

A few stray deirgu patrols had sighted them, but their hostilities amounted to little more than taunts and harsh cackles in their clicking language. When Alphonse and company had rounded the edge of the rock formation, they proceeded to the dead, open landscape. Their apprehension intensified when they stumbled upon more deirgu corpses littering the road. Thanks to his and Ash's perception, they were able to discern a puddle of familiar black sludge a few dozen yards from the road. Resting next to the puddle was a spiked club, similar to the one wielded by the ogre they'd fought a couple days earlier, along with a layered, wooden shield.

It didn't take long for them to form a couple theories. Clearly, another party had fought a similar foe, but what it meant in relation to the gaping mountain was another discussion entirely.

They chose not to linger and hastened down the dirt road as fast as their weary, injured bodies allowed them.

The open area outside Forgedalk's southern gate was a bustle of activity when they arrived on the fourth day. After some inquiries with the city guard and a few helpful attendants who served the straggling nobles, they had learned of the growing discontent within the city's walls following the rise of the dungeon in Lamfell.

Thankfully, the public outrage and riots in the capital had died down somewhat by then. Casualties were relatively nonexistent with only some minor injuries, and most people had returned to their daily lives since most of the retreating nobles had left for the coastal city of La'abrine to the southeast.

Evidence of prior violence was palpable in the streets. Merchant carts were tipped and broken beyond repair, some storefronts had their doors off hinges with barren interiors, and black scars marred the cobblestone from fires. Most of the damage was concentrated in the lower district and the entry areas to the middle district.

Emily and Liam were the first to break off from the party and profusely apologized for their sudden departure. Alphonse understood their apprehension. If the riots had been mostly focused in the lower district, then it was understandable that they worried for the safety of their mother and father.

Ash retired from the group shortly after when they entered the plaza in front of the Guild Union. Alphonse's scarf had already been replaced by the spare bandages fashioned into a makeshift sling for the fox woman. After all, the scarf was the main part of his outfit that concealed his profile information from appraisal spells, so he couldn't afford to have it off in populated areas.

Alphonse would never forget the solemn look on Ash's face when she handed it back to him before they entered the city. He didn't quite understand what her expression meant, but he planned to ask about it one day.

Alphonse, Kirie and Asa returned to their rented living space behind the Guild Union headquarters. The somber mood shifted drastically when they opened the door to their room. The beastkin were positively ecstatic when they saw the plush mattress, soft sheets and pillows.

After cleaning themselves off and throwing on a fresh change of clothes, the catgirls collapsed onto their beds.

They fell asleep within minutes.

---

“I invoke the Construct Contract.”

Alphonse held his hands out and watched as the glowing particles manifested in front of him. They swirled around him for a moment, as if individually examining his body to ascertain any changes with his physical form. Some of them joined together in a cluster a few inches from his eyes and bobbed up and down, nodding to themselves in what appeared to be some sort of contemplation. Alphonse wouldn't have been surprised if this was actually the case, considering the contract's strangely sentient nature.

After another few seconds, the remainder of the particles merged together, burst in a cloud of fine powder and revealed the heavy book with black binding. Alphonse caught it when its form fully instated and submitted to gravity.

He stared at the plain cover and carefully rested his hand over it. He brushed the soft leather and marveled at the strange artifact's unassuming appearance. It was a parasite that disguised itself as a tome meant to provide knowledge. It was something that took information. The only function it seemed to serve as a normal book was that it allowed the user to write thoughts inside for later reference. That in itself was pretty useful, and it didn't seem like the book had a finite number of pages.

Every time Alphonse called upon the contract he wondered why Rinka had described it as a gift. She had specifically called it a “precarious gift,” which held a far more prominent denotation, but it was still something Alphonse considered malicious in nature.

He wondered if the true gift was the special function the contracts provided to each user. It didn't demand payment like the deceptive equivalent exchanges added by the ancient alchemist Rinka mentioned. The unique ability of his own contract remained a mystery, but it had something to do with who he was as a person, and he didn't truly have a grasp of that just yet. His mind had been occupied with other things. He spent more time thinking about the people around him.

Alphonse placed the book on the mahogany desk in front of him and scanned the small meeting room. The long table that could seat a large number of guild members was empty. The other desks along the opposite wall were barren. The board on the wall for planning and strategy remained blank. Shadows danced around the room in competition with the aid of two candles lit on either side of the desk where the book waited patiently for its owner.

It was strange not having his companions with him.

He took a few steps and rested both hands on the table at the room's center and observed the shadows. Their movements no longer resembled a dance as he scrutinized and interpreted them based on the recent events that transpired. One of them took the form of a familiar shape: a Siren. Another assumed the shape of an ogre, with the deep black of further shadows instilling an eerie consternation. The candles formed another shadow with his silhouette in the fuzzy shape of a regular person. He fed various features to the shadow as he pictured certain individuals in his mind. One of them was the cursed archer that betrayed him.

Eventually... Alphonse thought simply.

He tore his gaze away and focused back on the illuminated space of the room. He didn't feel the anger he once harbored. It was replaced by ardent resolve.

He had planned to converse with Kaede or Cynthia about details concerning the archer's documents that were under scrutiny by the field agents working for the High Council. He knew the information was a crucial piece of the puzzle that would reveal the reason for his betrayal; however, the receptionists that he trusted, especially Kaede, were unavailable at the moment. After all, they couldn't be at the Guild Union all the time.

A part of him wanted to seek them out, but if Field Master Hanlon's warning held merit, then it was likely the High Council had people watching him. He didn't want to involve the receptionists and put a target on their backs if it seemed like they were giving him any special treatment. Alphonse had confidence in his sneak and perception stats, as well as his own personal ability, but if there was anyone among the High Council's underlings who possessed similar talent to Ash, then he'd be in serious trouble.

There were a few tasks to take care of while he recovered from his injuries.

Alphonse waved a hand in front of him as he sat down at the desk. The profile with his stats and other information appeared on the transparent screen:

Name: Alphonse Kneller

Class: Scout

Identification: Human

Mana regeneration: N/A

Health regeneration: .8/s    combat exclusion= 2.7/s   

Stats: Vitality - 11      Endurance - 12       Agility - 15             Dexterity - 18      Sneak - 26      Perception - 32      Proficiency - 10     

Resistances: Poison - 17      Paralysis - 14      Bleed - 14      Fortitude Debuff - 16      Curse – 13

Alphonse released a heavy sigh when he looked at the blank spots where his other stats once resided. The stats now belonged to Kirie and Asa. His focus was on the party as a whole, and he understood that it wasn't a major sacrifice on his part. A scout didn't have much use for strength, constitution and intelligence. There was a mostly accepted theory concerning focus, stating that it assisted spellcasters with conjuring images of spells in their mind's eye for better casting. It didn't seem like it had anything to do with observation since that was reserved for perception, so he had decided it best to transfer it to Asa when they were at the Submerged Oasis.

The stats worked much like in the role-playing games (RPGs) he'd learned about. He only received information about video games during his time at the facility on Earth, since he'd spent most of his years isolated from society in the mountains with his father, but he had enough of a grasp to understand that certain ones were much more useful to his companions.

All outworlders had started with a base of five points in each stat upon arriving on Hovestile. Alphonse gained thirty-four stat points since his time at the Submerged Oasis a few months ago. Most of these points went into his sneak and perception. It was tempting to apply them in other areas such as agility and dexterity, but those stats didn't complement the future plans he had for his guild.

GRIM wasn't comprised of just individuals. The guild was a unit, and if Alphonse wanted this unit to reach its full potential, then he needed to make sure that his observations and decision-making were in top form.

There was also another reason for it. Alphonse didn't only consider adventuring when he decided what he wanted to focus on with his stats. There was also the human and demihuman element of this world to consider. It wasn't just about taking on quests and fighting monsters. There were enemies that walked among the populace. They hid within society. They stood out in the open with displays of power through politics. They lurked along the secluded roads with the monsters.

Need to focus more on resistances too, Alphonse thought. Maybe a bit more in vitality as well.

Alphonse swiped his hand within the floating screen and observed Kirie and Asa's profiles:

Name: Kirie Foirena

Class: Warrior

Identification: Demihuman

Mana regeneration: .7/s combat exclusion= 1.8/s

Stats: Strength – 28 Constitution - 27

 

Name: Asa Foirena

Class: Healer

Identification: Demihuman

Mana regeneration: 3.2/s combat exclusion= 5.7/s

Stats: Intelligence – 30 Focus – 24

Alphonse found their stat distribution interesting. Kirie focused on a balanced build between damage dealt and received, while Asa put more points into intelligence for assisting mana regeneration and extra spellcasting. Alphonse figured that Asa had a similar mindset to his own in regards to certain stats. If focus really assisted a person's mind's eye and imagination for spells, then this meant she relied more on her own abilities mentally. It was much like how he wanted to develop his agility and dexterity naturally, rather than relying on the actual stats to give him a boost.

He agreed with Kirie and Asa's initial assessment. Relying on stats too much could actually be viewed as a broken crutch with the wrong mindset; however, it was clear that they did provide some helpful boost. Alphonse distinctly recalled his time in the dungeon near the Submerged Oasis when he was able to pinpoint monsters after he placed extra points into perception. His awareness of the reinforcements during the battle outside Lamfell also showed obvious improvements.

And constitution probably helped Kirie during that fight with the ogre, Alphonse thought. Interesting.

The past months were also spent collecting data to find some correlation between fighting certain monsters and gaining experience. There were no numbers for determining how much experience was required to receive a stat point. But over the course of the past few months, Alphonse had taken notes on the enemies his party fought and how many stat points they received in relation to them. As they continued to fight more and more fodder enemies, it took considerably longer for the party to receive stat points for distribution, which meant that the system of Hovestile encouraged those with more stats to fight stronger enemies in order to receive points faster or at a constant rate. It made plenty of sense and seemed pretty obvious when viewing the world as a game. The Spire organization had mostly confirmed this information as well, but having a closer time frame was beneficial.

After defeating the corrupted ogre, Alphonse had noticed the next morning that he gained two stat points in one day. Granted, they had fought a large number of deirgu and a troll along with it, but he wouldn't have received even a single stat point from one deirgu quest. The ogre must have given them a considerable amount of experience.

Combat was the main factor, but there were cases he heard of where outworlders offering themselves as test subjects to the Spire had gained stat points during rigorous training tasks as well. But as outworld adventurers became stronger it would become more difficult to analyze their growth. 

Alphonse opened his Construct Contract to one of the pages near the back and added more of these findings to his previous notes.

He waved a hand over the transparent screen again to observe his profile. He stared at the perception stat for a short while.

It's necessary, he thought. He once again attempted to convince himself that his long-term plan was the best path for his guild.

I bet some people don't understand the true meaning of 'perception.' It's more than just what we see.

He knew there was more to it. If Ashliv Diavelia's abilities weren't proof enough, then he didn't know what was. Her perception surpassed his own easily, and she didn't have stats. Even after all they'd been through, he wondered if she trusted him enough with her methods.

Alphonse understood the reservations of others when it came to trust. He probably knew better than most, considering how he'd experienced betrayal more than once. The reminder nurtured his patience.

GRIM is a unit.

Alphonse rose from the chair when he finished with his notes. He leafed through some of the contract's pages until he arrived at the last page. He recalled that Rinka's contract displayed the lime-green text that showed random events that occurred around Hovestile in its strange language.

He clacked his tongue with disappointment when he saw that it was still blank.

He dismissed the contract with a wave of his hand and winced as he turned on his heel too quickly. The pain from his leg injury flared up a bit, but it was nothing compared to almost a week ago. He limped around the room a bit until he was able to find a comfortable stride that didn't irritate him too much.

Can't be too obvious, he thought as he blew out the candles.

After another quick scan around the room, he undid the multiple locks on the door and entered the hallway leading to the Guild Union's main hall.

There were plenty of things on the agenda.

But first, Alphonse thought. I need some of Kureha's tea.