Grim walked between the rows of desks until he stood behind a nervous-looking boy who, like the others in the class, was out of their seat and looking around, trying to spot him. He glanced to where Maxwell stood with the others and caught the smirk on Miranda’s face. He couldn’t blame her; it was supremely satisfying knowing that he could move from one point to another without being noticed.

  ? He’d chosen this spot because there was an empty desk behind the boy. Sliding into it, he deactivated his Camouflage and waited. After about a minute, the students’ energy died down quite a bit, and they were left muttering, wondering where the hell he was. Just as impatience started to tinge their curiosity and excitement–and they began to drop back into their seats–he tapped the nervous boy on the shoulder. He gave a small start, then turned to face him.

  ? “Where did that guy go?” Grim asked, grinning broadly. “Do you see him?”

  ? The boy gave a quiet yelp and jumped out of his seat away from Grim, his eyes wide. The nearest students looked around at the commotion and spotted him. The entire room erupted in noise as the others gasped, cried out, or shouted questions that couldn’t be distinguished from the general chaos. Still grinning, Grim slid out of his seat and patted the nervous lad on the shoulder, then disappeared again.

  ? He didn’t keep them waiting nearly as long this time, both out of concern for the peace of the classroom and his mana pool, which was at half capacity by the time he returned to the podium and became visible once more. “Yes. As you can see, my bloodline skill, Camouflage, makes me intangible.”

  ? “Not invisible?” One of the students asked, leaning forward eagerly.

  ? “I am invisible when I use it,” Grim agreed. “But it’s much more than that. Master Maxwell, may I use you for a demonstration?”

  ? “Of course!” The monk-like figure stepped forward eagerly. “What do you have in mind?”

  ? “I’m going to use my skill, then tap you on the shoulder,” he explained. “Just to show them the difference between invisibility and intangibility. For theatrics’ sake, try to tell me which shoulder I touch.”

  ? Maxwell nodded his approval at once, and Grim used Camouflage. The entire class’s attention switched to stare at their teacher, and Grim moved to stand right in front of him. After three seconds, he revealed himself again, touching the tip of Maxwell’s nose. The administrator gave a small jump and took a step back, his eyes wide. “Miraculous! I didn’t feel a thing!”

  ? Grim smiled, knowing he was explaining through his reaction for the sake of the students. Grim turned to face them once more, then gave a mock-bow. “Invisible just means you can’t see me. Intangible means that you can’t feel me either. I poked Maxwell on the nose for at least two seconds, and he didn’t realize it until after my skill ended.”

  ? A student’s hand shot up, and he pointed at them. “That’s incredible! How long can you stay intangible like that?”

  ? Grim only smiled and put a finger to his lips. “That’s a secret. We never know if or when we’ll be competitors.”

  ? Most of the class chuckled at that, and then another student asked, “Does that work on monsters too?”?

  ? “Hasn’t failed me yet.”

  ? “Do your attacks work while you’re using your skill?”

  ? “Ah, that’s a good question. I wasn’t sure at first, but yes. It just so happens that they get the wound without realizing it. They just feel the pain.”

  ? The class didn’t seem to know what a Krynth was when they asked what monster had created his bloodline, which surprised him. Even in his first year of studying to become a delver, he knew of the Krynth, including its appearance, weapons, and most common tactics. Were there just no Krynths in Ironmarsh? Maxwell stepped forward and helpfully explained it.

  ? “The Krynth is a monster that is almost exclusively found in forests,” he replied. “Dungeons that spawn in or around a forest will have a high chance of spawning a Krynth. We have no such dungeons within the region that the city controls.”

  ? “There are plenty of swamp Krynths out in the wilds, though,” Miranda put in, giving him a wink. “So don’t worry, you’ll get to kill plenty of your ancestors.”

  ? “Right, thank you for that,” he hissed at her, then returned to face the class once again. “Any other questions?”

  ? At the end of the fifteen minute period, Grim stepped back to his place in the line, satisfied that it was over. The class offered some polite applause. As Miranda stepped forward to take his place, Maxwell told him he could leave now, if he wanted. Grim decided to stay, as he was interested in hearing about the powers of the others. Even Miranda hadn’t fully explained her bloodline to him. Sadly, nothing new came out during her demonstration of both the ice mist and her enhanced ice skills. With a shrug, he decided to try to find out more later.

  ? A whole month, he thought, only half-listening as the others gave their presentation. He’d officially been in Ironmarsh a month now. He’d been so busy with his training, delving, and other activities that he’d actually missed the date completely, only coming to the realization the previous day. It felt as if he’d been here a whole year already. And yet, at some times, it felt as if a week had just flown by, and he was still scrambling to land on his feet.

  ? Growing bored with Steven’s explanation of his skill and how his bloodline affected his life–he used his stone-like skin for defense and to not need a hammer or pick when working with materials–Grim looked inward at his cores. He’d changed his distribution of essence a little since arriving in Ironmarsh, but it still looked similar. About half of his essence went to his body, enhancing his Agility and Endurance. Another quarter went to his Mind, to improve his Perception, Focus, and Control. The last share pooled specifically into his soul to sharpen his Insight. That particular change had been made after he learned of his bloodline and his ethereal connection to dungeons.

  ? He was so close to level four… Seven dungeon runs in two weeks had filled him nearly to the limit. He could actually feel how little space there was left. Just one more dungeon, he thought. One more dungeon would settle it. He just hoped he had enough money to upgrade his equipment as well. The bow… He’d gotten better at wielding it, but he had no clue how to level it up. He knew that boons were different from other gear in how they progressed. He couldn’t simply trade it in and purchase an upgrade with gold. Maybe it took a specialized craftsman?

  ? Miranda yawned beside him and gave him a nudge in the ribs, breaking him out of his thoughts. “I think Grim and I will go now. Long day, you know. I’ve got a delve slot early in the morning, and I need my beauty sleep.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  ? “Yes, very good,” Maxwell said. Even he looked tired, Grim thought. Poor man still had to stand in that position for at least four more presentations. “Thank you again for your time. I look forward to our next chance to collaborate.”

  ? Strangely, he looked at Grim as he said that. Wondering at the reason, he followed Miranda through the door and down the long turns of the hallway once again. He was glad that Miranda managed to lead the way perfectly, because they saw no sign of other people in the building from whom they could have obtained directions. Only once they were outside the gate of Blackthorne Academy did Miranda let her cool mask slip. Yawning again and stretching, she let out an impatient whine.

  ? “I’m hungry,” she said, seizing him by the elbow. “And it’s hot. You’re buying me ice cream.”

  ? “Am I?” Grim asked dryly, though he didn’t refuse. He knew it would be pointless, and she’d wheedle him into it eventually. So he just mentally accepted it. The ice cream was completely worth the cost as they ate it under some shade. He had to finish his fast because the heat was making it melt alarmingly fast. Miranda cheated, of course, using some ice skill to keep hers at the perfect temperature to continue eating.

  ? “Do you actually have a delve slot early in the morning?” He asked her, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. A breeze was whistling between two buildings nearby and blowing directly into his face in the most satisfying way.

  ? She let out a high-pitched giggle. “Not at all. I’m going to the spa.”

  ? “Spa?” He opened one eye and glanced at her. “What’s that?”

  ? The look of horror she gave him almost made him think there was a monster sneaking up behind him. “You’re joking, right?”

  ? At his slight shake of the head, she rolled her eyes to the heavens. “Oh, for crying out loud. You delve-maniacs are all the same. The body needs maintenance if it’s to stay at it’s best, you know. You have to take care of yourself. Or rather, you have to let professionals do it for you.”

  ? “Okay,” he said slowly, not sure why she was getting so worked up. “I agree with you there, to a point. But you still haven’t told me what a spa is.”

  ? She took in a deep breath, then let it out in an exasperated sigh. “The things I do to educate my juniors.”

  ? “A spa is a place that focuses on relaxing and nurturing your body. It’s got all kinds of things in it. Mud baths, massages, specialty potions designed to cure old wounds, special creams to make your skin shine, soaps and shampoos that smell so good you relax at a spiritual level… the list goes on and on. All these people are masters at working the body. An hour under their hands, and you won’t recognize yourself.”

  ? “Hold on,” he said, holding up a hand and sitting straight. “Back up a second. Mud baths? You bathe yourself in mud? How is that relaxing?”

  ? “It’s not actually mud,” she retorted, rolling her eyes so hard he was surprised she didn’t simply flip out of her chair. “Well, it is, but it’s so much more. It’s full of potions and herbs. It can actually heal you on a minor level.”

  ? “Huh.” He sat back again, mulling that over. With the exception of the mud, that all sounded quite comfortable. “That sounds like a lot, though. How much does that cost?”

  ? “Well, it depends,” she said, frowning thoughtfully. “The higher level treatment you get, the more expensive, because they have to use stronger potions and whatnot. They treat all the way up to level twelve. After that, they can still do it, but it requires a lot of prep time, and you have to front the cost of the materials yourself. At level four, I think they charged me… forty gold? Somewhere around there.”

  ? Grim gaped at her in astonishment. “That’s insanely expensive!”

  ? She shook her head at him, looking disappointed. “You can’t understand it from the outside. Tell you what. I’ll take you with me tomorrow. I’ll even cover your first time. Then you can tell me if you think they’re charging too much.”

  ? In the end, he agreed. Because, as with the ice cream, he knew she’d continue to pester him with the idea until he finally capitulated. Why not potentially suffer in the short term to avoid a longer period of suffering? Satisfied, she finished her ice cream while he dozed lightly under the effects of the breeze. The cold ice cream had only stimulated their appetites, however, and they agreed to visit the food stalls in the Quay rather than going back to the guild for dinner. Grim just hoped that Frankie could forgive him for skipping out on the meal and sampling more exotic foods instead.

  ? The sun was well and truly down by the time they made it back to the guild hall and took a bath. Grim had become accustomed to sharing the bath with others now, even those of the opposite sex. Everyone was nonchalant about it and respected his need for privacy at the beginning, and he’d gradually grown to the activity. Now, he could carry on a conversation in almost complete comfort with anyone mere feet away from him–even Miranda. His only negative experience had been when Veyra finally demonstrated her ability to see through the mists and had wolf-whistled at him as he got out one evening.

  ? But no Veyra today, he thought, letting out a sigh of appreciation. He’d thought he was done with heat that day, but Gerald had done something different with the water. Though still steaming, something in it seemed to replicate the effect of that breeze earlier, cooling any part of him that touched the water. He even dunked his head under for a minute or two at a time to immerse himself in the cool feeling, but stopped after Miranda offered to ‘help’ by outright chilling the water with her ice magic.

  ? Toweling off and donning his night clothes, he spent a little time drinking some tea with a group of guildmates. Garf had come back from his last delve with hair sprouting out of every square inch of his body and was sharing the tale of how he’d gotten that particular curse while the others laughed at his predicament. The potion he’d taken was actively balding him, but it apparently itched like hell, because the others had bound his arms to his chair to prevent him from scratching. Grim joined in the others’ laughter as they watched hair slowly falling off of Garf’s body into a small pile around him.

  ?? It had been a good day, he thought, finishing his second cup of tea and deciding to retire for the night. To his surprise, Veyra was back from her trip to fetch the new guild member and waved him over for a quick chat, asking what he’d been up to in her absence. As he told her about the class he’d helped with, she nodded in approval.

  ? “You might actually have a gift for teaching,” she said. “I might make you an instructor one of these days… years.”

  ? “We’ll see,” he replied, in good humor. “I’m still a little traumatized by my own time in that kind of organization. I want to focus on myself for a bit before I start looking after others.”

  ? His night of surprises wasn’t over, however. As he stumped his way up to the second floor and his room, he passed others who were just leaving and exchanged some pleasantries. He got his door open by way of body weight rather than careful interaction and stumbled in, the exhaustion almost pulling him magically to his bed. But he froze halfway across the floor, as his eyes fell on the other bed in the room. It was no longer empty, he noticed.

  ? But what was even more surprising than the prospect of a roommate was the fact that she looked… familiar. Silver hair and a small, lean build. He couldn’t see her eyes as she was currently deep asleep, but he somehow knew, in every fiber of his being, that if they were open, they’d be yellow. Had he seen her before? Or was it just the fact that she had silver hair that made her so familiar? There were plenty of other survivors of Evandross, after all, and he hadn’t seen many of them. Maybe this was just one of them.

  ? Whatever, he told himself tiredly. He could ask them in the morning. He didn’t even have the energy to question why they’d put a woman in the same room as him. To his knowledge, there’d been no comment of coed habitation. But he was just too tired. Settling down on his bed, he remembered only at the last second that he’d forgotten to take off his boots. But as he thought to sit up and untie them, sleep claimed him, and the world went black.