AA. 21 (Patreon)

“Of course, I’m alive,” Nil said, rising from the hot tub. He was glad he had ignored Andrew’s suggestion to ditch the stinky swimming shorts. The chemicals had removed the stench from it and him, and his modesty was safe. “How did you find me?”

“You seem a little agitated, Nil,” Katherine stated, eyes darting between him and Andrew. “I'm not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Cool it, Sunny-boi,” Andrew hissed, kicking him. “Play it cool. There is no need to get confrontational.”

“You two can relax.” Susan chuckled. She sniffed at the air and wrinkled her nose. Her eyes lingered on Nil's rippled torso for a moment as she spoke. “Your family hasn’t heard from you for a few days, and you haven’t answered your phone. They’re scared something happened to you.” She paused, waiting for a reaction. Nil gave her none. He was mostly curious why it was her that made the visit—mostly worried that it was another recruitment attempt. Katherine seemed to read his mind. “I’m part of the Summoned Liason Committee and spotted your name on the check-in list. So, I volunteered. It's not within the junior detective job description, but I was worried.”

“You were worried?” Nil raised an eyebrow.

“We’re working together now,” Johanna added, smiling cheerfully at Andrew. Despite his cheeks turning crimson from the heat, he looked as cool as a cucumber and shot her a friendly nod. “After the incident, I decided to take a step back from the beat.” She looked past Katherine and Nil. “I'm Susan.”

“Andrew,” the other called back.

“Yes, I was worried, Mr Roy.” Katherine narrowed her eyes. “I know our last meeting didn’t go as you had hoped, but I’d like to think we left things off on a decent note. Was it wrong of me to consider us acquaintances, if not friends?”

“I suppose not—”

“So, where have you been? Why are you not calling your dad or sister back?”

“I was offered an emergency quest and took it,” Nil answered. Apparently, beginners and Mortal Realm people rarely get sent on emergency quests, and it was within the minimum rest period, so the police officers’ surprise made sense. “Things went well, and I spent the last couple of days ascending.”

“That explains the stench,” Katherine quipped.

“Ascended already? I didn’t get my first ascension token until almost a year of quests.” Susan raised an eyebrow. “Your starting attributes must’ve been high.”

“A lucky win on my first quest got me a token. I pumped all of my starting attribute bonuses and rewards since in one attribute, and the other was already at nine.” Nil grinned. “It feels good to be in the Iron Realm. I feel stronger, lighter, healthier.”

“Wait until your Bronze Ascension,” Katherine commented. “It feels like someone made a new body almost identical to yours but better and then transferred your consciousness to it. I swear I felt like an alien in my body for the first week. Was it only a body ascension or power, too?”

“I'm nowhere near ascending my power. I'm still figuring it out—”

“Looks like you've been getting plenty of practice,” Susan stated, her eyes scanning the scrap yard.

“That's not illegal, is it?” Nil asked, exiting the tub. A chair nearby held towels and robes. He donned one and slipped into sandals before approaching the officers.

“Okay. Out of the bathtub.” Katherine's smile disappeared, and she used the same cold tone Nil expected of police officers. “Hands where I can see them. No funny business.”

Nil froze. He glanced at his friend but saw no movement or reaction. Meanwhile, Susan burst into laughter.

“It's not a big deal as long as you're on private property, not hurting anyone or posing a risk,” Katherine said, chuckling. Her previous coldness melted away, and she adopted a more relaxed stance. “We'd need to get a safety inspector in to make it official, but I think that's unnecessary. Everything seems above board. Minus the refurbished aethertech, of course. You’re not selling any of this, are you?”

“I don’t answer questions unless I’m charged with something and have a lawyer present,” Andrew said, remaining nonchalant. Nil imagined he had plenty of experience with such situations.

Both police officers burst out laughing. “Not our department, and we don’t care as long as you’re not selling weapons. It's more of a safety matter, and the likes of Arthurtech are protecting their intellectual property.”

“If I were in the business of refurbishing and reselling aethertech, I’d say that it's more so they can charge you astronomical amounts for repairs and keep you buying the latest overpriced junk.”

Katherine studied Nil for a moment, face halfway between stern and amused. “You seem a bit anxious, Nil. Is there something going on you'd rather we not find out?”

“Don’t be such a cop, Katie.” Nil’s heart raced, but he tried his hardest to present a calm face. Andrew thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill, but he couldn’t help but worry about her discovering his time in the Pits. The organization only recorded events for their security. Andrew believed no one, but he had stolen the information. “I’m just surprised by you showing up here. You being in uniform and me almost naked doesn’t help.”

“I’m just pulling your leg.” Katherine looked around her surroundings. “I didn’t expect to see you in this kind of environment.”

“It's not the worst place,” Susan said. “I wish I had this kind of space. Maybe I wouldn’t have given up on trying to join the ludus and joined the police force.”

“What kind of Summoned are you?” Andrew asked, exiting the hot tub. He didn’t bother with a robe and grabbed a beer from the cooler by the arcade games.

“A Summoner. Unfortunately, I can’t summon my babies outside the ludus without express permission from the property owner or my superior,” Susan said, shaking Andrew’s hand. Her cheeks flushed as they spoke. Standing at six feet tall, with sharp features and perfectly groomed facial hair, he enjoyed positive attention from women. Susan turned her attention to the arcade games. “Did you fix these up yourself?”

“Indeed I did. You want to have a go?”

The pair got talking, leaving Katherine and Nil to converse separately.

“I just wanted to apologize about the thing last time,” Katherine told Nil sheepishly. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s quite alright. I shouldn’t have assumed—”

“No. You were right.” The officer appeared embarrassed. “I did ask you out. But then I made the mistake of mentioning it in the ludus cafeteria. My superior officer heard Susan and me talking and insisted that I try to recruit you. He helped me get junior detective, and I couldn’t say no.”

“Oh.” Nil wasn’t sure how to react. Katherine appeared more attractive every time he saw her, but things never worked out, no matter how attractive he found someone. Nil long had learned to differentiate between lust and genuine ‘like’. Because of his condition, things rarely got past the first. In fact, the visage now stood six feet away, studying a game of Operation, staying just in the periphery of his line of sight. The board game sat on a little table under the canopy. Andrew believed it was the best test of motor skills around. “Then why—”

“I was embarrassed and may or may not have panicked,” she replied. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”

“It’s alright. I’m flattered and would—”

“We can’t go out now, of course. It won’t look good at work, but I’d love to be friends. We don’t get the opportunity to make many friends outside of the ludus. And you have the perfect place to hang around without assholes tracking my every move.”

Friendship felt easier to manage than relationships, situationships, or whatever modern jargon people in the dating pool currently used. Befriending other Summoned felt essential to Nil’s new life. He was currently on the wrong side of the law, but the discreet nature of the Pits made his participation easy to hide. It wasn’t a permanent part of his life either. Three to four wins and a few more quests would make him enough money to get into a ludus. He and Andrew had already discussed signing up for another match.

The conversation moved on to emergency quests and feats. Nil was surprised to learn that Katherine had never been on one. Her ability and attribute distribution made her ill-suited for such jobs. She had been sent to kingdom capitals to foil terrorist threats and coups, and her expertise had also helped find a cult of Cursed One summoners but never a disaster zone. She also told him the story of how she accidentally came upon a coven of vampires and almost died. Her quest birthed a guild dedicated to hunting creatures of the night.

After much convincing, Nil got a power demonstration from Katherine. She displaced a wide range of abilities, from telekinesis and illusion magic to empathic abilities. None were her core ability, and she refused to use it because of the ethics and danger involved. Susan also put on a show by summoning a pair of wolves that played with light and shadow.

The police officers spent forty minutes at the scrap yard—ten more than allowed for such a visit—before an emergency called them away. Andrew got Susan's number and planned a date before they left. Nil and Katherine did no such thing. He appreciated the friendship and was glad she didn't bring up a date to make up for the previous debacle. He agreed to play it by ear.

After the departure, Nil and Andrew had a good time exchanging banter and playing arcade games. They also contacted the pit organizers for another match. As long as one of his attributes remained in the Mortal Realm and none crossed Iron-Two, he was still eligible for Mortal Realm match-ups. Nil hoped to use his Iron-Zero Might to get a few wins under his belt.

While they spoke to Katherine and Susan, the Thai food had gone cold, but neither man cared. They still ate it while discussing tactics and methods Nil could use to get better faster. Andrew believed that enough whack-a-mole, skee ball, and perhaps an obstacle course would help raise his Finesse score by two. Then, he'd easily deal with whatever foe the Pits threw at him. Nil disagreed, refusing to believe things would be that easy.

Before going to bed, Nil called home and told the family about his quest and ascension. He received an earful from Emily for not messaging her before voluntarily falling comatose for a couple of days. Nil's attempts at explaining that he hadn't expected it fell on deaf ears. He promised to visit over the weekend before ending the call.

“Aren't you glad you moved in with me?” Andrew asked afterward. “Imagine having to explain every little thing and reassure them while you're fighting for your life every time you're summoned.”

“They're just worried,” Nil told his friend. “After Mum's sudden diagnosis and passing, Emily just gets anxious about such things. I get it. She can't talk to Baba about her fears, and Sam is not mature enough to deal with such burdens. Telling me off helps her feel better, and I'm fine with it.”

“You're a good guy, Sunny-boi,” Andrew said. “Be careful about who finds out, though. People like to take advantage of good guys in your new world.”

“Thanks, Andy. I'll keep that in mind.”