Agartha had changed drastically enough that death and taxes were no longer the reliable anchors that they’d once been.

  In my mind, there were now two new absolute’s in this world. I came up with them as I stood in line with the materials and trophies from my first hunt.

  First off, Bureaucrats were just like cockroaches, present in any time and place, in some form or the other.

  Second, anything that was worth a damn, was worth making a chart. At least that’s what I thought and society seemed to have agreed.

  *****

  ******

  After looking at the chart, that hung up on the board at the hunter depot, and having the archive confirm that there are identical charts hanging on the walls of other guilds, in the martial sects and mage’s colleges, I found myself feeling, slightly unsatisfied.

  On the one hand it was good that humanity had it together enough to build a standard that everyone agreed on.

  On the other hand, it was a standard that I and countless other abnormals in this world, could scarcely be said to fit.