Deketer wasted no time at all in delving into the customized Instance. Going into the aperture in space with a smile on her tubular seahorse face and not a single care in the world.

And of course, I wouldn't be held liable for any physical or psychological damage done to her because she'd leapt in on her own volition. Without a single threat being uttered on my part.

I turned towards Sky Heart.

"Are you sure you want to follow her?"

He stopped. Looking at me with the eyes of an abused puppy begging for help.

"I have to. I'm supposed to help her."

"No." I wagged my finger at him.

"Hazimon told you to keep her safe. Those are two very different sentiments being expressed. One has to do with making sure she doesn't get herself killed by, say, The Seeking Drake. Or myself. Or my grandfather. Or my girlfriend. Or her brother. Or any of the many, many people here who could rip out her spine and use it as a backscratcher."

He swallowed. Hard.

"But like I said, the instance is completely safe. It is quite literally impossible to die. No matter what you decide to do. At worst, a few dozen Intruders might manifest in there and throw her out of the building. And even then, she'll have to push really, really far in order for that to happen."

He seemed to hesitate.

"How does it make you stronger then? You made it sound as if it was some revolutionary training method." He paused to take in a deep breath. Steadying himself.

"Granted, I do know about a few ways that one can combine abilities without having to fight, but those are usually not instances. You have to have a master guiding you through the process the whole way through. And even then, it could take years upon years to make any real progress."

"This is something a bit different." I informed him.

"Her grandfather already went through it and he didn't have to fight even once."

I smiled warmly. Subtly twisting my human features so that they would be more pleasing and less unsettling to the seahorse man.

"And he gained over 90 levels in Telepath in just 6 real-world hours."

Sky Heart choked on empty air.

So did Vince for that matter.

"Wow! Vince had no idea that Sully had something that good!" Vince called out happily. "Vince will leap in to the shiny portal right now!"

I thrust out a hand to stop him.

Vince stared at me in confusion. Face still smiling.

"No my friend." I said calmly. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because my friend. While it isn't dangerous, that doesn't mean it's pleasant."

I then turned to Sky Heart.

"Now, hear me out. Why did you come here?"

"Uh." He spoke.

"Because Hazimon asked you to watch out for her, right?"

He didn't say anything.

"Because he wanted you to help keep her out of trouble, right?"

He still didn't say anything.

"Now, think for just a second. Consider your options with me and stop me if you think I've said something wrong."

His eyes stayed still. Waiting.

"You have come here to help keep Deketer safe. Not from enemies, but from the consequences of her own actions. You have so far been brutally beaten down, captured and tortured for no good reason. All due to her foolish decision to attack my mother out of the blue. You didn't do anything. You didn't even want to come here. And when you came to save her as she was being crushed, you yourself were crushed. Again, all for no good reason. Every time you've been made to suffer for her own incompetence. All while she ignores all the good advice you've given and all the instructions that Hazimon left you with."

I waved over at the Instance portal.

"She isn't in any danger in there. But it will not be pleasant. If you must know, it is an Instance that forces the people who go through it to wait. To be patient. To relate to the manufactured characters within the Instance and to try and learn what makes them tick. You have to not only read their mind, but honestly feel the ways that Psy fluctuates and wanes around different people with different resistances to Telepathy."

I could see the gears turning in his head. Though I could also see Vince looking eagerly at the portal.

"Vince can do that. Vince thinks it sounds easy."

"No Vince." I told him again. "Trust me. It's not easy."

I addressed Sky Heart once more.

"The final point that I will make is that this Instance will squeeze all the pride and the individuality out of you. It will grind down all the self confidence you have until you accept that you are mediocre and that the internal workings of that world are designed to reward mediocrity. To reward people who are not individuals, but rather, cardboard cutouts of stereo types. Cogs in a big machine turning and turning with no other purpose but to keep the larger cogs running. It will destroy you. Because that system is designed to destroy you."

I clasped him on the shoulder.

"More importantly, it is designed to destroy her as well. I can see the future better than anyone else you've ever known. Better than most people you've ever heard of. And I can assure you that Deketer will come out of that Instance without your help. In roughly one or two real-world days. And when she does come out, she will be a completely different person. Humble, patient, nubile. She will know that you were right and that you earned her grandfather's respect. She will know that all she has is her family's name and not much else and that she must work long and hard in order to be acknowledged. Everything her grandfather wanted her to learn, she will learn. Everything her mother wanted her to be, she will be."

I could see his eyes wavering. Moving between me and the portal as it shrunk.

"And she will become all of that while also reaching the very tippy top of her current Tier when it comes to Telepathy. (Gnome), she might even be able to break through into the second Tier. All while you don't have to do anything."

Vince stepped closer to the portal again.

"Will it help Vince too?"

I sighed and turned back to him.

"Yes. But if you enter, the instance will reset its own difficulty to your own Tier and your own level in Telepath."

"Ooooohh. Like level-scaling in an MMO."

"Exactly like that." I confirmed. "Now, that wouldn't be a problem for you, but poor Deketer will then have to grind out her own exit in an Instance catered for a Tier 5 instead of a Tier 1. And while it will still be safe and while it does sound kind of fun…"

'For me at least.'

"I really do think that it will be just a bit too much. My goal here is to give Deketer a bit of a leg up before I offer up the boost again. To make her become more reasonable before helping her jump all the way to Tier 3 or 4. Not to drive her insane. I reckon the Dragon would not like that very much."

"And he'll like her being beaten into submission?" Sky Heart asked.

"He will appreciate that it had to be done." I told Sky Heart bluntly. "I mean, I don't know for sure since I can't predict anything specifically tied to his person, but I do know that if I don't do this, then Deketer will inevitably get herself killed within a decade or two. Either through fumbling a combat instance out in the Labyrinth or annoying another Savant so much that they decide to do away with her. It may take some time, but it will happen."

I waved at the portal.

"Unless of course she changes her wayward ways."

Sky Heart then looked at me more closely. Focusing more on the way I was addressing him. The way I was presenting myself. How my subtle movements differed from those of my peers and my parents.

"You mentioned the boosts." He said. "Like the way you helped master."

He nodded to himself.

"The boost was always the way to progress. You just made it seem as though the Instance would provide more assistance in order to get her to go."

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"True. On all accounts." I admitted. "The Boost is immediate and I am able to bump people up through several Tier at once. For someone without any prior experience with Psy, I am able to take them as far as the Third Tier without them dying or going irreparably mad. For someone who has at least a few years under their belt, I'm able to take them as far as this guy."

I waved over to where Luigi was standing. A half-eaten pork chop in his hand.

"Just look at Luigi over there. Started out as a Tier 1 Projector with only two Types. Ended up all the way up on the sixth. Well, with a couple of Tier 6 combined abilities and on the third Tier, but that's just semantics."

I got closer to him and wrapped my arm around his shoulders.

"Why, with someone like you, I might even get you into the sixth Tier for real. Maybe even with a Tier 7 combined ability. Or perhaps something greater."

"Master is going to kill you."

….

….

No one said anything. Indeed, after that comment, one could have heard a pin drop across the other side of the darkened sea.

Everyone just, stared.

Eyes laser-focused on Sky Heart and each minute movement he made.

"Yeah. I figured." I admitted. Smiling at the young prodigy.

"If I'm being honest, I never really needed to predict Hazimon's future or read his mind in order to figure out what was going to happen. It's a little thing called empathy. Not my combined ability by that name mind you, but the normal empathy everyday humans have."

I patted him on the shoulder. Not unkindly.

"Hazimon values hard work and perseverance. He despises those who take the easy way out and those who abuse their power willy nilly. He believes that the process of levelling and obtaining new abilities is just perfect as is. Because he believes the struggle to reach the top ensures only the most hardworking and deserving make it to the top. Because he believes that anyone who got too much help from their faction or from their elders did not have what it takes to level the normal way. He sees it as a failing of character, as well as strength. He believes they will be destined to be bullies and thorns on the side of people who level the right way. Through their own struggles and tribulations."

I kept nodding. Willfully ignoring the way Sky Heart was trying to retreat out of my reach and the way Dusty, Slab, Charlie, Monique, Boris, Vince, Thunder Fist, Mittens and Randall were all readying themselves for a confrontation.

"He would never allow someone who could just help people skip Tiers like it was nothing to live. I mean, it was just never going to happen. No matter what he said. Hazimon will try and use me to the best of his abilities and then he'll do away with me the second I am no longer useful to him. It's why he changed his mind so quickly about our deal and wanted me to give him access to Shifter and Projector right away. Before I even have a chance to exit the Tutorial. I mean, yeah. He doesn't think I'll help boost the Drake, and of course I won't. I'm not (Gnome)ing stupid. He's an absolute menace and he could never be trusted to ascend to a Divine. But the Dragon also knows that there are hundreds, if not millions of people just as messed up in the head as the Drake who hold themselves back from causing chaos and mayhem for fear that someone with real power will show up and turn them into a stuffed head on a wall somewhere. If I am allowed to roam free, there's no guarantee that one of those people won't shoot up through the Tiers like a rocket. Moreover, there's already no guarantee that one of my friends here won't misuse the great power I've already given them."

I laughed aloud.

"I mean, just take a look at Henry! I have literally given him everything he needs to arrive safely at the 4th Tier. The man is a monster by the standards of the wider Labyrinth and he is nowhere near the strongest person in this difficulty right now! Vince and Thunder Fist could very well form a faction all on their own! No strings attached! And don't even get me started on Mittens!"

Mittens stepped closer. The white sands beneath his feet shifting slightly as he bent forwards. Ready to pounce. Ready for the kill. His face already salivating as white drool fell down Anezka's lovely pink lips.

"No sir. No matter how you look at it, I am much too dangerous to be left alive. Hence why I needed contingencies."

I waved over at the portal as it finished closing.

"Deketer will get her humility. And she will get her boost. If the Dragon changes his mind and lets me go in peace, he can have everything he's wanted for the past few years. His granddaughter set on the right path. Her gaining enough power that she won't get herself killed even if she makes a major misstep. And of course, the Drake's head on a spike."

I let go of Sky Heart and stood in front of the place where the portal had been.

"And all it'll cost him is to keep his word. That's it."

Sky Heart took a few steps back, saw that he was surrounded, and sighed.

"It isn't enough." He said with resigned conviction. "He will still try to kill you. You are too big a threat. Even if you somehow kill me and Deketer as your hostages, which I doubt you can do after the contract you signed, the implications of you being alive are too great."

He relaxed and stood there in a much more casual way.

"Even if you somehow contrive to elude my master, you will still be hunted and you will still be killed. The Divine of Singing Metals will want your head regardless. She is master's pupil and she won't stand for you to live. She and master are too much alike. I've never actually seen her in person, but even I know that much."

I laughed in his face.

"Oh don't you worry your pretty little head my little Sky Heart. I've already got contingencies for her."

It was such a simple statement. Such a simple collection of words. But the effect they had was starling to behold.

Sky Heart went from resigned to stunned to terrified and shaking within half a heartbeat.

"You… you're lying." He said. Though he didn't seem to believe in that statement enough to stop shaking.

"If you say so." I answered him. "I guess we'll have to see won't we?"

Somewhere in the distance, Granny Golden devolved into hysterical shrieking once more.

"How?"

"How indeed." I cut him off and waved him away.

"Don't worry about that too much for now. Either I am right or I am wrong. It isn't anything you can change at the moment. So let's all relax and calm down okay?"

I turned around as the window to the DMV opened.

"Let's all take it easy and see this through one day at a time."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I saw Deketer finally begin to take in her surroundings.

"Oh yes. All will be resolved in due time."

Deketer looked perplexed as she took in the lines. Just as with the Dragon, time was purposely confused in there. A single minute might have been ten or twenty or even an hour. A single second might be a whole day. A day might have been an eternity or no time at all and so on and so on.

The building was huge, just as it had been when the Dragon last saw it. In fact, it was about 20% larger now. At least on the outside. I'd taken the initiative to change a few things in preparations for a few things that were coming.

When the Dragon first appeared, he'd waited in line for a few hours on his side before speaking up. Deketer saw no need to do such a thing. She proudly waltzed right up to the first desk she saw after getting her bearings. Turning up her seahorse nose at all the dirty plebs staring back at her audacity.

In a way, it was sorta refreshing.

She saw an opportunity and went for it.

Letting Buddha take the wheel, so to speak.

And then a security guard arrived and backhanded her. Sending her tumbling to the floor.

Apparently letting Buddha take the wheel wasn't very wise, as he had recently stumbled out of the bar after downing three full bottles of Bacardi.

Deketer then tried to fight back against the guards. So, the guards kicked her in the face and hit her with the stun batons. Which were coincidentally all possessed by Intruders I'd created.

Buddha now pulling out a crackpipe and taking two massive puffs, before then going 140 kilometers per hour beside a school for the blind.

Deketer still didn't relent. Letting loose a [Force Bolt] and activating all her active Enhancer powers.

Buddha now taking off his shirt and fighting the cops who pulled him over. After splattering little Timmy against his windshield and dragging his intestines behind his bumper for thirty minutes on the highway.

Still Deketer beat them and began ripping off legs and sending out [Mental Bolts] at the same time as she let loose other Projector abilities. Using her Presence powers to demoralize the guards while her Enhancer powers ate up more Psy. Trying the same thing on the Intruders that began manifesting next to her.

Buddha now leaping over backyard fences in a state of disrobement. Running away from the scene and into the first suburbs he could find next to the highway. While a helicopter followed him from above. And nearby neighbors shot at him with their small sidearms.

Alas, the Intruders eventually overpowered Deketer and threw her outside the DMV building. Where she now needed to fill out an apology form and get it signed by booths outside before even getting back on the line.

Sky Heart turned to look at me.

"I thought you said she wouldn't get hurt."

"No. I said it was perfectly safe. By which I meant she wouldn't die." I corrected. "And she won't. She literally cannot die. The Intruders will actually heal her if it ever comes close. And before that point, they will never target vitals with enough force to leave lasting damage. Also, the Veil is degraded in there. Like, a lot. Her [Regeneration] is working overtime. Even when she doesn't have any Psy, she's passively regenerating enough to stay alive."

Vince was staring all this time, and now he turned his head like an owl. Eyes wide with curiosity.

"Is this all there is?" He sounded disappointed.

"Vince could have handled this. In fact, Vince thinks it would have made for good training."

"You can go after she's done." I waved him off.

I turned my head slightly to the side, to where mom was coming over. To her right, was Granny Golden. Weeping profusely. To her left, was dad. Still wearing that haunted expression on his face after being next to useless.

"Son." He began.

"Dad." I retorted.

He craned his head to look at the window, to where Deketer had spent some 12 hours on her end trying to make her way to one of the outside booths.

Unlike the Dragon, she had some experience with Telepathic powers, so she didn't have to go through that initial period of utter demoralization.

However, it would seem she was hitting a wall now that she found someone who was resistant to her wiles.

"What do you mean you can't stamp my form!?" She bellowed. Slamming down her hands on the counter with all the force of a Tier 1 Enhancer.

The fat guy in front of her didn't even flinch.

"Because the form is filled out wrong."

She raged at him.

"What do you mean it's wrong!? What's wrong about it!?"

The fat guy pointed.

"This is the request of re-entry form." He said. Then pointing at his desk. "This is the request of re-entry verification desk. We only take the re-entry verification form. Not the request of re-entry form."

He pointed to another line snaking its way over by the horizon.

"That's the desk you need to go to."

"I already went there and they told me I need to come here to get the form signed by you first!"

"Nu-uh."

She stopped. As if someone had punched her in the stomach. Her mouth tube struggling to draw in a breath.

"What do you mean, nu-uh?"

"Nothing. Just nu-uh. It's wrong. You're wrong."

"I've had to come back here three times!" She shrieked. "Three! Three! Three!"

"Ma'am. Please don't caw like a bird in front of me. It's not nice."

"Are you stupid!?"

"No, my name is Hifis."

He pointed at a name tag on the left side of his shirt. Above his heart.

"See. Hifis. That's my name."

She begun hyperventilating. Her face going through all sorts of colors. Then she started flexing her Psy. Trying to use [Friendship] on him. To little effect.

"Okay. Okay. I'm calm. I'm calm. Look. Hifis."

"Yeah. That's my name."

Deketer held herself back from saying something mean and picked up her form. Showing it to him with both hands.

"This is the request of re-entry form."

"Yeah. I can see that." Hifis said. His body unmoving and unperturbed in the monotone cement field outside the main DMV building. The colorless surroundings of the parking lot and the gray sky somehow making him seem like a creepy ceramic doll.

"And this little square is empty."

"Yes, I can see that." Hifis confirmed.

"And below this square, there's a sentence that says the re-entry verification desk worker needs to stamp the square."

"Okay. With you so far."

Deketer nodded. Getting her hyperventilating chest under control.

"So, it stands to reasons that you, the re-entry verification desk worker, needs to stamp this square before I take the form to the other booth."

"Makes sense to me." Hifis said with a straight face. His eyes devoid of any emotion.

"So stamp it for me."

"Sorry ma'am. This is the wrong desk."

"You little piece of (Drake)!" She howled with rage. Launching herself at his throat.

Hifis de-materialized and a dozen Intruders materialized in his stead. Beating her to unconsciousness with their batons once more.

I turned to dad.

"Glad you could come over. So, tell me. What's on your mind?"

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