His return to Union Central brought more stress. More specifically, Esther lost her temper.

"Hector, what the fuck is wrong with you? Both Riley and Darius are on Tian because why? You have every right to go on your insane adventures by yourself, but dragging your friends into life-and-death situations is unacceptable. Riley isn't remotely equipped to handle violence. I can't even begin to understand what goes on in your head. Are you really this impulsive? This type of behavior is crossing the line into a mental disorder."

He bore the shouted lecture stoically, knowing he deserved it. When Esther stared at him, he understood he was expected to defend himself – if only so that Esther could tear apart his arguments. "I shouldn't have brought Riley to Tian."

"Or Darius," she insisted.

"I needed his help with a situation."

"Why were you even in a situation?"

A flash of temper got the better of him. "I was on Tian to bring back resources for your cafe."

Esther opened her mouth to argue but nothing came out. After a moment of sullen silence, she changed her attack. "Why are you always throwing yourself into messes?"

"Messes?"

"Yes," she insisted. "You were in that tournament. You went to Eden. Now you're running around on Tian. Do you have a death wish? Why can't you be reasonable like Matthias?"

"You think I should sit around and cultivate all day while the multiverse goes to hell?" Hector shook his head. "I won't do that. I can't do that. Actions matter, Esther, and sitting out the war for existence to focus on my own advancement would mean that I don't care."

"You idiot. Get strong first, then go fight."

Hector only shook his head. He couldn't articulate why what she said was wrong. There wasn't a logical argument he could offer. Just a certainty that actions mattered. If he was willing to sit on the sidelines while humanity battled for survival, to delay or avoid action altogether, then he couldn't claim to care about the outcome.

For a moment, he felt an incredible pressure build in his mind. Then Hector shook away the existential dread. He wasn't being idle. Acquiring resources for his allies wasn't a waste of time. Nor was doing what was necessary to retrieve Riley. He'd made mistakes, but choosing activity over passivity was not one of them. It couldn't be.

Rather than continue the uncomfortable conversation, Hector paid money towards all three of their room rentals to ensure they wouldn't be evicted during an extended absence. Then he procured an entire ton of flour from a wholesaler and brought it back to the location Eva had shown him in Toll Burgh.

The cavern he appeared in was deep in the face of the mountain side of the city. They reached it by means of a house built into the back of a cul-de-sac, which had an artificial tunnel extending tens of meters to reach the space. It was just outside the reach of the suppression field. According to Eva, sometimes the burgermeister's physical location would be further towards that part of town and the cavern would no longer be free of influence.

That problem didn't arise on his return. Instead, Hector found Eva waiting for him with a candle that did little to dispel the gloom of the cavern. His touch sense proved its use once more as he felt the environment around him become clear.

"The distinctive packaging will need to be removed and destroyed. I can handle that myself. I'll mix the flour with some low level core dust to disguise its lack of cosmic energy." Eva nodded to herself as she opened one of the bags on the pallet. "The quality may be too high. I can cut it with cheap local flour to disguise that."

She placed several gold bars into his hand. "This will take me some time to process. When I'm ready to smuggle again, I'll let you know. Probably sugar next time. I can obscure its origins easier."

They exited the cavern through the tunnel. Eva slid a wall panel into place to hide the hole, then hung a tapestry on the wall to further obscure her secret. "You should not speak of my smuggling cavern to anyone."

"I don't want anyone knowing what I'm doing either," he assured her.

Before Hector could leave, Eva held out her hand. "Pay me two silver, Hector."

"Two silver? Why?"

"Information you need to know."

Hector rolled his eyes and handed over the payment. He hoped this information would be worth the price. Otherwise, he would have to figure out a way to start evening the financial score with their future trades. His tolerance for her fraudulent transactions was reaching a tipping point.

"The Azure Spear Maidens aren't your main concern, Hector. They came here looking for you, it is true. They remain here because leaving is too risky. The level seven servant of the Lord Windblade, One-Shot Jerry, is in Toll Burgh. He is a known core hunter and he is aware of your existence. When you leave the city, he will follow and kill you. The Azure Spear Maidens are waiting for you to depart so that they can escape through the opposite side of the city. I suspect the maidens will not remain in Stein for much longer if they manage to survive the next few months."

A sudden chill caused Hector to shiver. He'd not been aware there was someone watching him. "One-Shot Jerry. Based on that name, I assume he uses a chaos bolt?"

"He is an infamous assassin who knows a technique to veil his presence. You will not recognize him as a threat unless your mental sense is particularly discerning."

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Hector frowned. He'd never even heard of a veiling technique. Not that it mattered considering the inferiority of his mental sense. At least he knew of the threat now. Unlike the maidens, he didn't need to leave the city through one of the gates. "I hope you will let me use the cavern when I'm ready to leave."

"Of course, Hector." Eva bared her teeth in a predatory smile. "I will also, of course, charge for the service. But surely your life is worth some gold."

He nodded. "Thank you for insisting I learn this information."

For several weeks, Hector dedicated himself to cultivation with even more intensity than before. He reduced his food intake to one a meal a day, which reduced some of the phantom energy loss he'd been dealing with. Which answered a question he'd been wondering about since he entered Toll Burgh over a month ago.

Why were his energy reserves suddenly so hard to keep up? Why was his soul saturating so heavily now – more even than when he first reached level six? He had a theory on what was happening there. As someone from an unempowered world, his body aperture was conditioned to be ultra efficient with resources. By living on Tian and consuming local food and drink, he was the equivalent of someone who had just survived a famine and been thrown a feast.

Which meant he was in the midst of a rapid growth of his body enhancement. He was level six now and his body was no longer limited to peak level five. Without potent resources, body enhancement didn't happen without drawing considerable energy from the soul reserves.

Hector decided to limit his food intake and cultivate as fast as possible. He would out-pace the drain with his restoration efforts. When he did eat, he also opted for less meat and more carbohydrates. Optimizing his meals in such a manner felt odd given how hard Xian on unempowered worlds worked to get their hands on the types of things he now avoided. Still, his priority was not body enhancement at the moment. He needed full reserves so that he could get on with his mission.

And cultivating back to full strength inside a suppression field was far safer than doing it elsewhere. Certainly he could have returned to Union Central for more peaceful surroundings, but on Tian he had the option to use aural cultivation when he needed to switch things up. Staying within this city seemed like the best option. At least for the moment.

Determined to stay the course, Hector buckled down. When he passed the spear maidens, he noticed their scowls were replaced by looks of concern. If they were waiting for him to leave as a distraction as Eva claimed, they must be worried by the indications that he wasn't leaving anytime soon. He avoided the maidens more than ever because he was beginning to feel guilty.

Eventually Eva got in touch with him to arrange a sugar shipment from Union Central. Upon his return with the cargo, he raised the issue. "Would you be comfortable letting the maidens leave the city with me?"

She looked up sharply from her study of the bags of sugar. "From here? Absolutely not. You swore to keep this place a secret, Hector."

"I haven't betrayed you, Eva. That's why I'm asking the question."

Eva momentarily looked confused. "You realize that if I approved of your plan – which I won't – the Azure Spear Maidens would have no reason to keep you alive once you brought them free of Toll Burgh? They would kill you and harvest your core once they were safely away. There are four of them, all but one your superior in strength."

"Wouldn't gratitude for having their lives saved count for something?"

"I have never met anyone so naive at your level of advancement, Hector. Does this come from traveling to soft unempowered worlds? Are you letting their soft philosophies infect your reasoning?" Eva shook her head. "I shouldn't even care what a treasure hunter does to shorten his own life."

"Of course you care," Hector said. "I'm making you money."

Eva appeared to take offense. "You think I'm immoral?"

"I think you would sell out your own mother for the right price."

The stern woman flinched. "Is that truly how you see me?"

"Tell me I'm wrong, Eva. I'd love to think better of my business partner."

"What do you think I use my profits for? Have you ever researched that?" Her laugh was as harsh as it was bitter. "Of course you have not. You somehow assumed that in a country torn apart by invaders seeking a nonexistent prize that a local woman profiting off of your kind was the monster."

He studied her closely. "Are you going to tell me what you do with the profits? Or do I have to pay for that information?"

"Do you know how many war orphans are in this city? Hundreds, Hector. I house and feed and clothe all of them. That's what I do with my profits. And the many businesses I run? Staffed by people who lost everything. I will admit that I live well enough, but most of my profits go to the most vulnerable members of my society. I'm not a monster, Hector. I merely do business with monsters." Eva handed him three gold bars with an abrupt movement. "Take your payment."

Hector grimaced as he stared at the rectangular coins placed in his hand. His impulse was to give back two of the gold bars in apology. He resisted the urge. That wasn't how he did things anymore. He'd insulted this woman. It hadn't been intentional, but she took offense to his characterization of her.

"I apologize, Eva. I was wrong to think poorly of you."

The woman's face returned to its usual emotionless mask. "I should not have grown upset. Please forget I said anything. Our dealings are profitable for both of us."

"I don't think I should forget. I try to practice respect and charity. Yet I haven't done a very good job with those things lately. I'm not a true power on Tian, so I can't do anything about the other hunters. But I do have my transit sphere. Is there anything I can do to help your cause?"

The woman's forehead wrinkled. "I will pay you a gold coin if you answer a question honestly."

Hector hesitated. "What is the question?"

"Are you from outside of Tian?"

He froze for just a second. Eva caught his reaction. He recognized he'd been caught out. Rather than admit what they both knew, he forced a laugh. "How could I accept gold that is going to feed orphans?"

"You're playing a dangerous game, Hector. Stein accepts rogues and dreamers no more than anywhere else on Tian. Leave Toll Burgh behind. Cultivate in the wilderness and fight beasts for their cores. But stay away from our cities. This is a harsh world and you're nowhere near powerful enough to survive the revelation of your background."

Hector held out the three gold pieces. "Can I buy your silence on that matter?"

"I will keep my conjectures to myself. Just consider my words. You don't want to play at being a treasure hunter. The benefits aren't worth the dangers."

"I have no interest in the life of a hunter, Eva. The lord who sent me here has a hostage."

"You have to understand that the Mother Elixir no longer exists."

Hector felt the weight of her words. "I'm aware my odds aren't good. But giving up the mission means giving up a friend. I can't do that."

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