Gabriel opened his eyes to a slight headache.

  What the hell… give me a break. I was having such a beautiful dream…

  In his dream, he was sitting at the royal table in his restaurant's royal seat. Not that it was a seat for royals… but it was the most oversized and most comfy table they could offer. But that was of no meaning because the good part was that he was not serving. He was being served, or serviced was maybe the right word. As serving him, were most of his female aficionado clients, and some more among them. Like a topless cougar of a she-orc, and an entirely naked Olivia leading acting as head-waiter. The only symbol for her grade? A bow-tie at her neck.

  What would Commodo say if he knew how often I think about his wife? Gabriel shook his head, amused. He really wanted to get back to sleep and have one nice happy ending to that dream.

  As his eyes focused, he had a bit of a startle when he noticed that he was sitting on a lonely tile of the chamber, in the middle of nowhere. Darkness was everywhere around him. But something was weird. Though there was no source of light, he could see the tile as if it was still lit as day. Noticing that, he extended his hand on the darkness where the pavement should have been and felt it still there.

  It's some sort of trick… or maybe it's waiting for me. Gabriel shook his head. The Challenge would have to wait a bit more before it finally got rid of him.

  His thoughts now, were all about Lizzy.

  Little girl, are you ok?

  A vibration came from what, he now could tell with certainty, was his Spirit.

  "Come out then, sleepyhead," He called.

  Liz appeared out of his stern, materializing and solidifying in mid-air.

  They shared a look of complicity and one big smile. Gabriel was not overly comfortable with physical expressions of closeness among the family. Though extremely loving of one another, he and his mother had lost that with his father and sisters’ disappearance in the accident. Lizzy, though, was not like that. She was the opposite, so as she had already done before, she launched at him, tackling him in one big, weird hug.

  She tried to snuggle against his chest, scratching and tugging at his now destroyed armor chest piece. Gabriel was surprised by her strong emotions at first, but then he let himself go, embracing her tight in turn.

  They shared a long moment of happiness before Gabriel let go. His eyes were happy and glimmering with unshed tears, which he promptly drained with the back of his hand.

  Lizzy smiled at him, then curled up in his lap.

  They stood like that for a few more seconds, finally basking in their freedom. Then Gabriel broke the silence.

  "That son of a bitch made all my equipment unusable…" he said, removing his perforated bag, the one Commodo had gifted him with. "The only thing left is the Sk'rayr spear… really, God bless that spear. If it wasn't for that, we'd be dead."

  The man, feeling only nodding from the lizard on her lap, which just wanted to snuggle and wasn't intent on talking, focused inwardly. It was soon apparent that the Anchor tried to bomb them with notifications.

  Alright, it's time. Anchor, show it to me.

  “Man, that’s sweet… I wonder what that prize is. Hey, Anchor, can I receive the prize first?”

  There was no answer from the Anchor.

  Chronological order, figures…. alright, hit me!

  Alright, this is not really a tough one. Follow me on this, Liz.

  So, we already got Enhanced Senses. I guess Enhanced Perception is a plus for those things that lurk in the shadows…

  Life Tank is… probably not suitable to our situation, though I can see its use for people who depend on Life to live. Which leaves us with Mana Sight, which is something we already wished we had.

  So I think Mana Sight is the way, are you ok with me?

  Liz nodded.

  Good. Because I'm counting on you, your choices have saved our hides up 'till now.

  Confirming his choice, Gabriel was, once again, crippled by immediate pain. It attacked his skull the moment he confirmed the choice.

  Bringing his hand close to his face, he could see the blood dripping from his eyes, nose, ears… really, his training had been a blessing and a curse... a curse for obvious reasons, but a blessing in which it let him build a considerable tolerance of physical pain.

  He did not roll into a ball whenever something like this happened, now. He retained his control; though the pain was excruciating, his training allowed him to retain focus and the ability to strife. Though, as good as he had become in maintaining his self-control, he couldn't help but blackout, not for the pain but because he was required to.

  When he opened his eyes again the world around Gabriel was a new one.

  From the darkness all around him, he could see shapes that first were not there.

  Shapes, in the outlines of what once were tiles, had appeared all around him and under him. He could see the outline of the chamber's floor and wall tiles in an azure dim brilliance. The ceiling was instead made of sparkling dust. It was everywhere upon him.

  "Wow…" Gabriel murmured.

  Liz raised her head in search of what he was looking for, there was nothing. She seemed to look back at him and around her again, as if to ask: 'What? What!?'

  The Perks did not apply to her, sadly. Nor could she make use of them, hose applying to her where Spirit Perks, of which he would soon receive another.

  "I hope this will not stop me from falling asleep." Mused Gabe after a few minutes of indulgence into his new Mana senses.

  "Onward!" He said, raising his arm.

  Right… what should we do now?

  Go with Epiphany, you say? He asked Liz, feeling her nudge.

  Let’s go with Epiphany then!

  Hundreds upon hundreds of Skills paved in front of him, giving him quite a headache.

  Alright, stop, stop! Gabriel mentally screamed at the Anchor. Show me only the rarest I can afford!

  The list shrunk to exactly five Skills.

  Five Skills. The first four were tied to the monsters Gabe had come to know so well.

  Why? Gabriel couldn't help but ask himself.

  Was what he had seen in The Memory true? Had it really happened? Had those monsters created the, now, main sources of Dark Magic?

  But all that didn't matter because Gabriel was drooling at the idea of having the fifth Skill.

  Not only it said had a different, seemingly higher rarity, but it also had one more question Mark in its description, which most probably meant that the Skill had one more perk than the others.

  Gabriel cleared his throat without even thinking. He took a haughty pose, his nose perked up.

  "Anchor. If you'd be so kind as to bestow upon the present, the Skill named: Whispers of the Old God, I would be very appreciative of your efforts," he said with a little bow.

  Liz raised her head from his lap, her mouth opening wide. Then she rolled out of his lap for the yapping-laughter.

  "What!?" Gabriel asked, trying to contain his own laughter, "It was a solemn moment!"

  Turning his head to think about the ramification of such a choice, Gabriel swiftly decided that he did not really give a fuck about it. So, shrugging, he quickly chose yes.

  Warning, warning, warning! Just give me the goddamn Skill already!

  Gabriel focused on his new Skill to gauge its effects.

  Lost Dark Arts Jack-Magician… that’s the lamest thing I’ve ever heard of…

  Gabriel was taken aback by the sudden change. He remained silent, a bad aftertaste from his new class name in his mouth. Liz, though, emitted a peal of silent laughter.

  There hell you laughing about; it’s not funny at all...

  He sighed but let himself focus on other things.

  Sub-Skills. Let’s see the Sub-Skills; they must definitely be worth it.

  My goodness… this changes everything…

  Gabriel and Liz exchanged a surprised glance.

  “I’m almost afraid to continue with the other Skills, Lizzy,” Gabriel said, shivering from excitement.

  The man let himself calm a little before continuing.

  Once he was ready, he already knew what to choose. Toughen, the Basic Resilience Skill.

  “Finally… I waited so long for that. I’m gonna become tough as a nail, you motherfuckers!”

  He was about to dance, but something stopped him, a prompt from the Anchor.

  Gabriel felt a pang of pain in his Spirit, it almost made him choke for a couple of seconds, but it soon dissipated.

  The very moment he chose Toughen, it’s Spirit Resilience bonuses made Liz grow by three inches, then her scales immediately grew tougher, denser.

  “Well… it’s your time to shine, Liz. You deserve it! So get ready!” He said. “Your power was the highest Attribute after Resilience, so we’re gonna get a Power Skill selection, or maybe one for Alacrity? Since it was the second to last? Let’s see.”

  Anchor, show it to us!

  Eight Skills, all of them bound to Alacrity, appeared before their eyes.

  "Few! That's a tough choice… though something tells me where your thoughts are leaning," said Gabriel.

  His head, in fact, started right away, aligning with Liz's desire. She wanted something really bad, and that was the ability to stand like a human. Yes, she did stand. But, always standing was not something her legs would allow. Her weight and constitution did not allow her to remain standing for long.

  For that very reason, it did not come as a surprise when he found himself pushed to accept Powerful Legs. The simple Skill stated that her legs would support her weight more easily, which in turn allowed her to have thicker legs with muscles able to sustain her standing up weight; with some luck at least.

  They made their choice right away.

  "We might get the best of both worlds once we take my last Basic Skill," Gabriel said to the now standing up Lizzy.

  Her legs, twice as thick now, easily allowed her to walk around only on her hind legs. Yes, she was still wobbly, but that would be about her stability, something she had to work with by herself.

  Gabriel smiled.

  This is so damn exciting!

  Next will be a Spirit Perk, let's see them.

  "Hey! Spirit hiding is what we did to defeat the Tyrant! Was that a lucky fluke? Could we make that happen again?"

  Liz shrugged. Even if she had an idea of how it worked, she felt it was only probable from determined, extreme circumstances.

  "Bulk could be useful. Fade has real ninja vibes to it, but your Resilience is there for a reason. You should attract attention, not divert it on me... Hiding has definitely been a great help. But it states nowhere that we can share control of our bodies like we did. So it's definitely hiding something even more useful... I think the choice is pretty clear at this point."

  Liz vigorously nodded.

  Anchor, go with Spirit Hiding!

  After they chose that, Gabriel felt no pain, only something coming from a distant place, nevertheless managing to reach his souls and try to attach one of those peculiar tethers. Needless to say, the tether bestowed him with the Perk, but he could not feel it bind itself to his soul.

  "I think we might definitely evolve your Burst Attack now. You ready little girl!?

  By his side, Liz started running around him, falling on the floor more than once, with her weird wobbling.

  Chuckling, he recalled the Anchor once again.