"So can you explain about tier evolutions of spells and abilities?" I asked. "I'm trying to grasp exactly what just happened. When I got my race upgrade to tier-1 human, you said I couldn't evolve spells and abilities."

"You couldn't right away," Cyrus said. "You put the castle before the cavalry on that one by upgrading your race so soon. Usually someone must climb to between levels 80 and 100 to qualify for a race tier evolution. The success of those evolutions can vary widely."

"Figures," I sighed. Everything had to include a caveat.

"How could there not be? If someone manages to snag an evolution at a lower level when they haven't already upgraded spells and abilities high enough to be ready for an evolution too, they cannot hope to expect the same resulting power upgrade as someone who plans for a perfect evolution."

"Perfect evolution? Velexis said something about that."

"Indeed, she did. When one is preparing to evolve, the wise ones will hold off until they hit level 100 and push at least 6 of their spells and abilities to at least level 20. In this case, when they evolve their race, they can also evolve those spells and abilities. Evolving at least 6 at the same time as the race evolution results in a perfect evolution."

"Let me guess, they get higher efficiency in their newly evolved stats?" I hadn't upgraded any spells or abilities even once, let alone 20 times when I got my race evolution. That meant my evolution must have been one of the worst you could get.

"Right again! Such an evolution usually takes longer, but results in far more power growth instantly. With a perfect evolution, the individual begins the new tier at level 10 with 100% efficiency, and with at least 6 spells and abilities also unlocked at the next tier of power. That sets them up for smoother growth into the next tier."

"Huh. My evolution was pretty bad. When do I get better efficiencies?"

"At every second spell or ability evolution, you'll unlock another 20% efficiency. Once you evolve 6, you'll reach 100%. That, or reach at least level 75 when the efficiencies are unlocked by default."

That was good news. Worst case, I'd unlock my full tier power then. As usual, the system was designed to push people to fight and work harder to gain the best benefits. Taking the easy route would get there eventually, but no doubt the person who evolved so late lost a lot of other benefits Cyrus hadn't explained yet.

My tier-0 to tier-1 evolution had indeed been done backwards. Even so, I was starting to see the benefits. How would my team stack up compared to me once they hit level 100 and evolved? They'd end up with a much better tier-1 experience, no doubt. Still, I'd take the partial power-up I had already. I needed every advantage.

"So if you'd actually given me a way to push my spells and abilities to evolve to tier-1 way back on day 1, does that mean I would have been ineligible to participate in the game?" Velexis, Sixel, Alpha, and Noctarus were all forcibly restrained to tier-0 power, which gave me a partial advantage, even with my lower efficiencies.

"Exactly. Just like Velexis, you would have been forcibly downgraded to tier-0, which would have ruined our little experiment. Leveling up piecemeal like this is considered far from ideal in a non-game planet. It also bends the rules without breaking them and allows you to enjoy a bit of an initial push."

Getting an unexpected ability evolution was a huge, welcome boost. I needed to look into ways to level up my spells faster. Most were still woefully too low. Some of my abilities were doing better, especially my mana-focused abilities. They'd enjoyed that enormous boost for being the first human to get them, so maybe I could evolve some of them soon.

"How often can I evolve spells and abilities?"

"That varies widely, depending on how you progress, any training you take advantage of, and what kind of battles you survive."

That boded well for me. I ended up in a lot of crazy battles.

Cyrus added, "When you evolve 5 more spells and abilities and unlock your full efficiency, you won't believe the power difference. A fully-evolved tier-1 person could overwhelm any boss in the trial, which is why your progress has to be incremental."

Any boss. That confirmed my suspicion that the base way to defeat Marisara would be to unlock my full tier-1 potential. It sounded like it would be tough, but maybe not impossible. I wasn't about to let the improbable stop me. The fate of Earth was on the line.

Level 75 was now my goal. I'd leveled up insanely fast on stage 2. If stage 3 proved as lucrative level-wise, I might just make it. For the first time since I got the tier-1 race upgrade, I felt like I understood enough about the system to leverage it properly.

So I returned to my loot boxes with renewed optimism. The diamond Showman loot box contained 2 scrolls and an item.

"Upgrade Scroll. You did it again, Lucas. Way to keep everyone on the edge of their seats and deliver an unexpected and supremely satisfying twist finish. Plus 3 to The Show Must Go On."

Had I gotten that crazy idea to quote The Princess Bride on my own, or had my new ability helped nudge me in that direction? How about the sudden insight about using the Tidal Nexus?

I had no idea, but I guess it didn't really matter. It worked, and I'd take any help in creative thinking under stress I could get.

"Stat scroll. Round up all primary and second base stats to the next whole number. Add a round-up feature to all final stat calculations."

"Um, really?" When I first saw it was a stat scroll, I'd braced for another huge influx of energy, but that one was weird. The stupid thing just corrected math rounding errors? I mean, sure, I definitely preferred round numbers, but did the system care?

I imagined a super nerdy math gnome somewhere in a tiny office in the core of Arasha throwing a fit and begging Cyrus to please just give the human an upgrade to round the numbers. All the fractions were so messy, they were driving him crazy.

I loved nerds.

I pulled the final item out of my inventory to inspect. It looked like a large coin, the size of one of those old Susan B Anthony silver dollars my dad liked to collect, but thicker and made out of a very heavy metal. The image of a pair of crossed swords adorned the front, while on the back alien words read "Live. Fight. Die." Identify kicked in as I studied it.

"Champion competitor token. Once you reach at least level 50, should a grand tournament be called, this token will guarantee your entrance into the competition as a beginner duelist. Death is a constant companion to all who dare tread the path of the gladiator, but victory brings unrivaled rewards and unique opportunities."

Velexis had won championships as Sixel, and it was likely Sixel had already been doing well. Getting into a big tournament sounded awesome, except when would we get to see one? Arasha seemed empty but for a few hundred Earth survivors and endless waves of monsters.

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Then again, with what Cyrus had shared, there were ways someone could travel to Arasha from higher-tiered worlds. Was it possible to visit them in turn? That would be super cool, except I'd be a total weakling compared to folks with tier-3 or tier-4 levels. Might be an easy way to get killed. I'd decide how to proceed if and when an opportunity presented itself.

As I reviewed my stat page, I noticed something else really cool. My Treads of the Luscaan Explorers boots had evolved again to include a 10% boost to movement speed. That had to be a result of dueling Sixel. That was super welcome.

I pushed a bunch more mana into the boots and said, "Keep on evolving, baby."

My last big diamond Morpheus loot box for finishing the secret quest erupted in a flash of brilliant light and a cascading fanfare to reveal a single item. A pair of big, iron keys on a huge key ring loop, like jailers always carried in the movies. One key had a symbol of a pair of crossed swords like that token I'd just gotten. The other had a symbol of a scythe.

"Keys of the Treasurer. The only way to access the pocket dimensions containing Velexis's secret vaults. One holds the wealth of the Elaris clan, the other contains treasures accumulated from a life of murder and thievery."

"Note: Each key has the soul-keyed status. Like soulbound items, they cannot be stolen or lost, but you may designate a treasurer to manage your vault for you."

For a moment, all I could do was stare, and re-read the description a few times. "Is this really . . ."

"Indeed. Velexis was a legendary thief, stealing from every target and their clans as well as her own faction."

I whistled softly and looked around. There had to be a secret door somewhere. No way I was leaving until I cleaned out her vaults. A new prompt popped up in my vision.

"Would you like to set vault access points?"

"Error. Vault design requires access points in the basement level of your Base Camp. No basement available."

"Hey! I'm not going to lose the vaults, am I?" The memory of Bristleback's Base Camp cave tumbling off the side of the collapsing mountain before I could even take a look inside popped into my mind. Stealing another cool item away before I could use it would be worse than insulting, even for Cyrus.

The AI said, "Some vaults are more flexible, but these have unusually strict requirements."

I'd bet all my mana crystals that was a twist Cyrus added to keep things 'interesting'.

"So . . ." I prodded.

"So, just relax. You have the keys. The vaults are pocket dimensions. They're not going anywhere. Once you upgrade your castle with a basement, they will become available."

"Why not just give me a one-time access point right here?"

"That's not how they work. I can't just break how an item works whenever I want."

"Sure you can."

He chuckled. "No comment. Besides, you're not anywhere near your castle. Why worry about it right now?"

I took a calming breath. "So when I return, I can buy the basement upgrade?"

"Your castle has the option available, I believe."

"It had better." I refused to even admit the possibility I might lose a prize that could have given me tons of high-tiered loot and gear.

Cyrus added. "Even if you move to a new Base Camp, you can set new access points once a month."

"Let's just drop it."

"Lucas, you're getting worked up for nothing. When life gives you lemons—"

"Lemonade won't make me stairs to a non-existent basement."

"No, but upgrades will."

That was definitely my plan. I hadn't looked into what it would cost to upgrade my castle more. I'd gotten such a huge upgrade, I hadn't planned to need more. I had plenty of mana crystals. I'd buy however many upgrades it took to unlock the basement.

That entire conversation left me feeling annoyed. I placed the keys into my inventory and scanned the loot I'd picked up from the two fallen women. At least that was something I could enjoy. It was a small list, but the individual items were pretty good. The 2 tier-7 mana crystals were always welcome. I also got Sixel's fancy plate armor, which was probably awesome.

I'd check the details later, and if it looked good enough, I'd have Jeeves get it repaired. Maybe Ruby or Jane would like it. Since it was system loot, it should auto-resize to fit them, and as the armor was rated for a tier-1 champion, it should offer way more defense than anything else we could get. I also got another weapon.

"Piercing Gale. Longsword. Epic. This elegant blade, worthy of a tier-4 elven clan champion, declares you a contender for future titles. Once per minute, unleash razor-sharp wind attacks against your foe. Once per fight, trigger a 50% bonus to speed and agility for up to 30 seconds."

"Note: Blade tier downgraded to tier-0. Will auto-evolve upon entering higher-tiered sectors or worlds."

Interesting. Did that mean there were actual tier-1 sectors we could access? Or was it referring to the places the factions of the bosses would be allowed to visit after the game? Either way, it was nice having a blade that could auto-evolve if I found myself in another tier-1 area. No wonder Scalebiter hadn't been able to harm it. The blade was fundamentally stronger, just temporarily down-graded.

I gave the beautiful weapon a few experimental swings. Longer than my short swords, it was perfectly balanced and light as a feather, as if invisible winds helped it slice the air. No wonder Elaris had moved so effortlessly. She'd proven that someone of her skill wielding that blade was a deadly combination.

I then inspected the giant scythe I'd taken from Velexis and dumped into my inventory during the fight.

"Drinker of Souls. Scythe. Legendary. This famous scythe has been the prized possession of the Shadrael shadow hunters for 18 generations. Pierce a fallen target's heart within 5 seconds of their death to draw their soul into the blade. The target's abilities will become available to use until their soul is utterly consumed."

"That's disgusting." I shivered as I tossed the scythe back into my inventory. It was even worse than the nasty dagger of the Heartache I'd taken from Abbie the dominatrix that imprisoned souls into silk ribbons to fight as semi-sentient minions.

"It is also extremely valuable, especially to the Shadrael faction and probably some of their enemies."

That was a good point. I might find a use for it after all. I didn't like the idea of returning a soul-drinking scythe to the demons, but what would their enemies pay for the weapon? Of course, I didn't want a tier-3 faction of assassin demons angry with me either. The options were worth exploring, if I found the opportunity.

I took a deep breath and forced a smile. That had been terrifying and way too close for comfort, but I'd pulled off a win, won more levels than I'd dreamed, and scored some great loot. I would gain access to the vaults, so I counted them in that tally. And that was all in addition to finally defeating Alpha.

Using Tether Slide, I crossed the room to the huge table piled with giant-sized desserts. Some looked similar to desserts I knew. Cakes and pastries and cookies, but others looked alien and fascinating, like a glowing blue gelatin cube with swirling bands of yellow churning within. Another looked like a chocolate rose the size of my head, with streamers of silver light stretching from its core and floating around it, each bearing another rose blossom of different colors.

I plucked one of the floating roses, a dark red one, and carefully bit into it. I was immune to poison, after all. Tier-0 poison, at least. Hmm. Maybe not the smartest thing I'd done all day.

An explosion of sweet ambrosia made me gasp with delight. The rose's soft outer shell contained dozens of flavors that intermingled into an orchestra of pure delight. Inside, a caramel-like core of red sauce looked a lot like raspberry. It tasted like all the best fruits I'd ever eaten.

"Living like a champion," I grinned and dumped all 87 of the desserts into my inventory. If I dumped a few into my confection oven, could I produce more of them? Totally going to try that.

Then I made a point of returning to the entry hall to try looting the gigantic golden entrance doors. It might have been impossible except I got a prompt as soon as I touched them. As the new master of the Grindstone dungeon, I could seal them closed, equip several increasingly impervious layers of defense, or remove them from the wall.

"That's handy."

They were wicked heavy and so huge they were unbelievably awkward to pick up, but I managed it long enough to dump them into my inventory. Each one took up 5 slots. First time I'd ever seen that happen. They were indeed made of gold. In fact, they were better.

"Golden entrance doors. Epic. Tier-3 constructs, elegant enough to adorn even a clan leader's home, these doors are made of Aurelium-infused pure gold. The proprietary resulting alloy is prized across the multiverse for its durable beauty and impregnable properties."

"You're really taking the doors?" Cyrus asked, sounding amused.

"Of course. No adventurer worth his salt passes up several tons of enchanted gold."

Whistling a happy tune, I looted all 24 paintings of alien worlds and their giant arenas from the entrance hall too. They didn't seem to have any real value, but unlike my corny plaques, they were impressive enough to hang in my castle.

"I'll call tonight's work a solid win," I grinned as I headed back down through the dungeon.

Half a second later, I got a message from Burns.

Burns: "Lucas! Noctarus discovered us. We're making a run for it, but he's got more defenses than we realized." A pause, then I got another message that only contained, "How did you—"

"Shostakovich," I cursed when the text cut off. Not good.

"How can messages get cut off partway?" I shouted as I broke into a sprint. I'd totally forgotten about Burns's plan to infiltrate Noctarus's castle.

"They'll auto-send if the sender loses consciousness or dies."

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