The answer was simple: go with the guaranteed kill shot.

  He knew that.

  He knew it, and yet that didn't stop him from selecting The Upper Hand.

  [You have chosen: The Upper Hand. The cards may change, but you will always control the game.]

  Justin felt at peace with the decision. The only real reason to have chosen A Gentleman Never Misses was to deal with a hypothetical problem that had yet to occur.

  So far, his Sapphire Gambit hadn't missed. Could it one day? Sure. But the flexibility and shorter cooldown of The Upper Hand meant it would get far more use.

  Plus, it was the only way to get more than one Sapphire Gambit in a day if he chose to burn his Advantage charges to gain the cooldown reset.

  The skill's utility would only increase down the line when he presumably unlocked the even more powerful skills of his Advanced Class.

  Plus, the Advantage mechanic sounded like it could actually be fun. Justin looked forward to using it.

  He checked his status screen for his new experience total.

  Justin Talemaker

  Class: Socialite

  Focus: Gentleman

  Experience to Level 20: 8,400/22,000

  Still 13,600 experience points to get to Level 20.

  But that wasn't so bad. It was three Vault Mimics worth, though Justin didn't want to go through something like that again.

  He now understood what the Voice meant about why so many journeys ended at Level 19. People were tempted to take some big risks to close the gap.

  The Voice had urged patience and care; Justin would do well to remember that.

  Level 20 would come on his terms. It was best not to rush things.

  Justin once again looked outside the cave, surprised to see that it had brightened. It wasn't evening, as he had first assumed.

  Such had been his weariness that he had slept the day away and then through the night.

  Justin rose, Atlas shifting on his spindly legs at his movement. His central crystal blinked orange.

  "Time for a top-up, huh?" Justin asked.

  Atlas gave an affirmative chirp that had a slight edge to it. It was strange to think the machine got "hangry," but that's how Justin interpreted it.

  "Hold on a minute."

  Justin headed to the fire, which was now down to coals. Eldrin, thankfully, had the foresight to leave out a crystal.

  Justin handed it to Atlas. "Bon appétit."

  Atlas whirred and twisted the crystal close to his central core, completely draining it of energy before handing the empty husk back.

  "All better?"

  Atlas whirred and spun his drills a bit. The central crystal now glowed a steady blue.

  Justin put the spent crystal back where he had found it, then summoned Atlas's interface.

  Companion: Atlas the Guardian Construct

  Tier: Gold

  Ether Units: 400/400

  Platinum-Tier Progression: 5/8

  Skills:

  Environmental Shield (50 Ether Units): Reduces damage from the Fire Element by 50% for thirty minutes, and all other Physical Elements by 25%.

  Twin Drill (40 Ether Units): A powerful attack with both drills that ignores enemy armor of gold-tier or less.

  Drill Charge (60 Ether Units): Launches a devastating forward assault with rotating drill arrays deployed, delivering double damage to all enemies in its path, with a chance to stun.

  Boons:

  Adaptive Carapace: Reduces all incoming damage by 20%. Stagger-proof.

  Adamantine Drill Core: Increases the damage of all drill attacks by 30%.

  Justin nodded in satisfaction. With Atlas's recent upgrade, plus his own, things were definitely starting to look up.

  "I unlocked a new skill, Atlas," Justin said. "Let's just say it's going to make things a lot more…interesting."

  Atlas gave a curious beep, cocking his metallic head to the side a bit.

  Justin glanced over at Eldrin and Lila, both of whom were starting to stir. After sleeping for twelve hours or more, his bladder was about to explode.

  "Be right back," he said.

  He stepped outside toward the designated area. The air hung warm but not yet scorching. He had just finished his business when rocks clattered behind him.

  He whirled, cane raised and in quite an exposed state, to find Emberlyn watching him.

  "You humans have much to learn about Solanis," she said, her flames flickering with amusement.

  Justin hitched up his pants. "Say something next time, will you? This is not becoming of a Gentleman!"

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "Bad timing for you," Emberlyn said. "Good timing for the village."

  "You got through the World Gate?"

  Emberlyn's fiery eyes drifted to the rock wall Justin had used. "Perhaps...we should discuss this inside."

  "Good idea," he said. "And for the record, wait until I'm finished before sneaking up. I almost wasted an important cooldown thinking you were a threat."

  Emberlyn's flames danced. "Come. Days are short here for you humans. I want to share our news and reach Charr before nightfall."

  Charr. Justin supposed that was the name of the town Emberlyn was from.

  She had also spoken in Aranthian. It seemed the Vault had supplied her with a language stack she had gotten to keep afterward. That would make things easier down the line.

  They gathered inside the cave, Lila and Eldrin already preparing the group's breakfast. Thankfully, Emberlyn didn't share Justin's embarrassing moment with the group.

  Per usual, they got their skills out of the way. Eldrin shared his new Level 19 skill, a Rare one called Alchemical Affinity. For 60 seconds, any potion that buffed Eldrin would buff Shadowflight in the same manner. More than that, the bird would gain the status effect of any poison Eldrin used on his weapons. This included weapons that were already poisoned, including his Sunrot Blade. It sounded quite powerful to Justin, a way to easily buff Shadowflight and deal extra damage.

  "This means I should be able to summon Shadowflight here," he finished. "I've brewed up a dozen Heat Resistance potions that last eight hours. That will allow Shadowflight to bear this weather. I can brew more if needed."

  "It'll be good to have him back," Justin said.

  Lila went over her boon upgrades. Her Level 6 boon, Descant Defense, had upgraded to reduce party-wide damage by 10% while singing instead of 5%. Furthermore, the Minor Regeneration effect of the boon would persist on the entire party until combat ended. Before, there had been a 15-second duration effect. That meant everyone would get passive healing at all times as long as she was singing.

  Combined with Justin's Ring of Regeneration and Lathalon's Grace, minor injuries would heal quickly. The only thing they'd have to worry about was crippling attacks. And even then, Justin had some insurance with his ring, which gave one insta-heal every few minutes.

  Lila's Level 9 boon, Unbroken Melody, also upgraded. Originally, it had maintained the buffs of her songs for an extra 5 seconds after she stopped singing. This upgrade extended that effect to 10 seconds. More than that, it gave her resistance to the Bound Voice status effect. Justin could only assume that it was some sort of spell that silenced Bards or magic users who relied on cants.

  "And you, Justin?" Lila asked, turning to him.

  Justin hesitated. Every other level seemed to grant him a Rare ability, and he'd already received two Mythics. To reveal he'd obtained an Ascendant skill seemed excessive. Of course, it was because of his Prismatic Core, but if he revealed to everyone that he had an Ascendant skill, would Emberlyn question him?

  He decided to withhold the full truth, at least for now. He could tell Lila and Eldrin later when it was appropriate.

  "I got something called The Upper Hand," Justin said. "It gives me access to something called Advantage."

  Eldrin's eyes widened. "Advantage? That's...surprising."

  Justin frowned. "Why? Do you know what it is?"

  "Aye. It's an Aspect, typically reserved for Charisma-based Advanced Classes. You shouldn't have access to it this early."

  "Interesting," Justin said, keeping his tone neutral.

  "What does Advantage do?" Lila asked, leaning forward. "I've never heard of it."

  Justin explained the mechanics. "I get three charges of Advantage, each giving +1 to all my attributes. I can spend a charge to guarantee a dodge, hit 50% harder on my next attack, or boost my speed by 15% for sixty seconds. Or I can use all three to reset all cooldowns except Upper Hand."

  "That's powerful," Lila said. "You have all the luck!"

  Justin shrugged, trying to play it off.

  "Three free charges of Advantage," Eldrin said. "Just like that?"

  "Seems so," Justin said. He was more than ready to change the subject.

  "A Rare skill, then," Emberlyn said, studying him with renewed interest. "My congratulations."

  Justin nodded without clarification. "Thank you. I look forward to testing it. Now, what's the news with your tribe? Did everyone make it through? How did you know we were here in this canyon, anyway?"

  "Yes, everyone made it through," Emberlyn said, her tone brightening. "I knew from Eldrin's new armor that this would be the closest shelter he'd steer you to. These caves are a common campsite for our people."

  "And what about Baron Valdrik?" Lila asked.

  Emberlyn shook her head. "As for your Necromancer friend, no sign of him. None of our scouts reported anything unusual."

  Justin failed to hide his surprise. "Nothing at all?"

  "You seem concerned. I sent scouts to the cavern entrance, as far as Kythralis itself."

  Justin masked his unease. If they had approached the entrance, they would have passed through the former Vault area. While the magic had absorbed the dead bodies there, the same couldn't be said for those around Kythralis.

  "I'm a little surprised," Justin admitted. "He's been chasing us for so long. It's hard to imagine him giving up."

  "I wouldn't count on it," Eldrin said. "But you have to wonder. Being the Baron of such an important territory like Silverton would be a heavy responsibility. He can't abandon all his obligations for too long."

  "Why is he chasing you, anyway?" Emberlyn asked. "If you don't mind my asking."

  There was no way Justin was revealing the full truth, or even a small part of it. "We…have something of a rivalry. I'll leave it at that."

  "As you wish," Emberlyn said. "Well, we are as caught up as we can be. Now that my people have passed through the Gate, and Pyra has led them to Charr, I suppose that means our magical contract has concluded. Though you're more than welcome to join us in Charr for a while."

  "We still need that list of locations from the Gate Nexus," Eldrin said.

  "Of course," Emberlyn said. "Pyra should have that ready for you in Charr."

  Justin wondered if that was necessary, since he could look at the Sapphire Star to know their location. He supposed it was more than useful to know which ones were too dangerous to cross.

  "I was hoping to sell off some of our loot," Lila said. "Do you think anyone in your town would be interested in buying our stuff?"

  "I'm sure. There are plenty of shops there. And the Fire Lord, whoever he may be these days, may be interested in taking some of your unwanted weapons and armor. That stuff isn't exactly common, and if it's from another world, well, that will make it even more valuable."

  Justin envisioned a future business of selling rare items between the two worlds. Interplanetary arbitrage. From the way Lila's eyes got big, it seemed she was imagining a similar future.

  "If we're leaving, we should go soon," Emberlyn said. "It's at the foot of the Emerald Mountains."

  "We saw those," Justin said. "I guess this world isn't all desert, huh?"

  "Well, much of it is, to be honest. About 90% of all life on Solanis lives a mile or more above sea level, where it's cooler. Fyrspawn like us can tolerate the hotter areas, but other races—like the gnomes and the elves—cannot."

  "There are elves here?" Eldrin asked.

  "Yes. They're not particularly nice, and we don't get along. I understand that elves died out on Eyrth, but they are alive and well here. Along with gnomes. Elves make their home in the heights of the Emerald Mountains, while gnomes live underground. Don't expect to meet any, though. They're likely to use you for target practice."

  "Point taken," Lila said. "Well, shall we?"

  They exited the cave. Eldrin downed a potion, a veil of red light surrounding him to protect him from the heat. Justin opted to keep on his Dapper Adventuring Set for the same reason, along with Lila and her Juggler's Silken Set. That way, they would not have to burn Atlas's energy. If it wasn't going to be until night that they reached this Charr, they'd have to burn through several ether crystals at least.

  Even if the Founders' Regalia was better, the gear they had picked up in the temple was more suited to the situation. The only exception was Eldrin, who would be fine with his Heat Resistance potions.

  The Ranger looked to the sky, where Justin was surprised to see a violet, almost black-feathered falcon swooping down. He alighted on Eldrin's arm with a dignified squawk. Emberlyn's fiery eyes widened at the sight. This was the first time she had seen Shadowflight.

  "Normally, we're never parted," Eldrin explained. "It's only fair that he gets to see a new world, too."

  As if in agreement, Shadowflight let out a piercing cry, spreading his wings before folding them against his sleek body.

  "Good to have you back, Shadowflight," Lila said.

  The bird's eyes marked Atlas, dark and curious. The falcon tilted his head, studying the construct with intelligent eyes.

  Atlas responded by extending one drill, then retracting it—his way of offering a handshake. Shadowflight hopped down from Eldrin's arm, approaching the construct. After a moment's hesitation, the falcon reached out with his wingtip and tapped Atlas's carapace. Atlas chirped, his central crystal pulsing blue.

  "Aww," Lila said. "This is too cute."

  "We need to move," Emberlyn said. "The desert awaits."

  Following her lead, the party exited Karesh Canyon and entered the red dunes above.