While the notice of me repairing the generator was interesting, my lack of Utility Access kept me from discovering what, if anything, that meant.

I suspected the time I’d spent in my ‘test’ hadn’t been purely simulated, as I’d originally thought. My guess was that it really had purged the ocean and the reactor was running again.

When I checked the scan of the surrounding area, I confirmed it. The Sahevin within a dozen miles of the Golden Halls had been… well, I wasn’t sure what exactly had happened to them, but the ocean was empty of them.

No sign of what else fixing the reactor might have done though.

With my updated status, my next stop was Inertia.

There was a lot of knowledge I’d picked up during my visit to the Dauntless. Most of it required materials we didn’t have access to. The Dauntless had used a surprising amount of tier-4 and tier-5 materials. Still, several of the simpler concepts would be useful for the airship. As would the latest favor from Conflict.

When I arrived, Conflict held up its hand, stopping me as I was about to request more materials.

“Your work with the reactor has earned you more than a lesser favor. You now hold one major favor. Do not spend it poorly,” Conflict warned, its chains raising up in the air as if to strike me if I did ask for something unworthy.

“What even was that reactor?”

“An answer for once you have gained the privileges required,” Conflict reminded me.

“Right. So… how major are we talking here? If I wanted you to build those rails I was showing you, how much of the network I’ve laid out would you complete?”

“The entirety. I would also supply the materials required. Not only that, I would advise adding two additional rings that run along the edge,” Conflict replied. “And even then, it would be insufficient.”

That… was frankly incomparable to a regular favor.

Yet that wasn’t the most tempting of its offers.

“I can also fabricate affinity materials, in quantities you would find hard to use in the next year. While the rarest affinities, such as Worlds or Granitas are outside my reach, simpler ones such as Water or Air are now possible. Thanks to our proximity to proper sources, I can even produce limited quantities of Ocean or Storm.”

And Conflict still wasn’t done.

“However, if you want my recommendation, you will acquire proper protection,” Conflict said, the chains that had been rattling behind it finally moving forward. In their grasp was one of its bots, though it was far bulkier than most of them.

It also didn’t look like it was designed to roll.

When the chains set it down, a hiss escaped it and the front folded open.

“You can… make me a battle suit?” I asked, staring at the obvious padded interior and the mounted chains on its back. And the arm that looked like some sort of cannon.

“This is a simple prototype I produced after your success yesterday. Please step inside,” Conflict said, placing a hand on the suit’s shoulder. A shoulder that sat on the same level as the twelve foot tall being’s own.

“Uh… not sure that’s wise,” I said, suddenly aware I’d come to visit it on my own.

“I will be unable to optimize it to preserve you, if you do not test it. And how will you be able to make a reasoned decision if you do not?” Conflict asked, its voice getting weirdly soft.

Almost like it was… trying to be gentle.

Not Conflict’s strong point.

“Testing it won’t count as the favor, right?” I asked, swallowing. I did want to take it for a test drive.

“No. As I said, this is a crude prototype. I will need to build a proper suit for you for it to balance the scales,” Conflict replied.

“Right,” I said, tugging the muscle that let me fly, flipping around as I got in front of it.

A second later, the suit hissed, then started closing around me. I was so busy thinking about what the suit would have to do to outweigh a full train network across the entirety of Cape Aeternia to be worth choosing it that I was surprised when it went dark.

It was several seconds before a set of screens flickered to life in front of me. The controls weren’t particularly intuitive either, despite literally wrapping around my arms and legs.

There were levers and pedals in the arms and ahead of my feet. Still, it wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever operated. We’d had a 82 Ford stick shift with a burnt out clutch as a shop truck. That thing had been a beast. The old man had sold it off shortly before his death, and I never did find out what happened to it.

Yeah, a few suboptimal controls were easy to work around compared to that.

“Excellent. Attempt to walk to the door and back,” Conflict instructed.

Not so much as a please.

Making it clomp forward, I almost felt like Inertia for a second. Then I tripped, smacking into the ground. The padding was so thick, I barely felt it. Getting the arms to cooperate with standing up was-

I hit a trigger that seemed to be for the cannon on the right arm and the next second I was laying on my back, staring at the gantries that ran along the ceiling.

It was easier to move into a sitting position than it had been to attempt a push up. Swinging the cameras over to where I’d tripped, I found a mess of twisted metal, still glowing red.

“Wicked,” I muttered, my voice amplified and echoing much like Conflict’s.

Bevel would love one of these.

Really shouldn’t be a major deciding point but it weighed heavier than it should’ve.

After another minute - with no more accidental discharges - I stumbled to my feet. Then I completed the walk to the far door and back, skirting around the still glowing hole in the floor.

Conflict had thankfully cleared his rollerbugs out while I’d been making my walk.

Stolen story; please report.

“Excellent,” Conflict said as I stopped in front of it.

“So, how do I get… oh,” I said as the suit hissed open, suddenly releasing me.

Which was when I realized I’d been sweating buckets. More than I’d sweat since the first month of doing storm dancing. “It gets a bit warm.”

“An expected flaw,” Conflict said, waving it off.

“So… you want me to use a major favor on a battle suit,” I said, considering.

“One that will ensure your weak flesh survives long enough to be truly reforged, yes,” Conflict said, waving its hand. The prototype sealed itself again, shifting into what might be considered a defensive stance, its arms raised in front of it. Then another cannon I hadn’t seen was lowered into place, aimed directly at the suit. As the cannon fired, Conflict continued. “It will be able to withstand sustained damage from those within the fourth tier of Kinya, and most ensouled at Hydra-souled as well, long enough to escape.”

It stood, arms barely glowing under the sustained fire.

“I… don’t really get into fights that often. And when I do, I tend to play the role of artillery,” I said, looking at the suit which was already standing at ease, trying not to simply say yes.

It was really cool. And Bevel would absolutely flip.

“You have been lucky. The eyes of the world turn towards Aeternia. Your position will be challenged as others seek to take the riches you have uncovered,” Conflict said, bringing up a glowing image of Cape Aeternia, showing golden borders and the many lands beyond.

It was higher detail than the crystal chamber or the Golden Halls gave me, and I made sure I studied as much as I could to recall later.

“Now that you have survived your Refinement and passed the test, you must not be allowed to perish,” Conflict said. To emphasize its point, it zoomed in on one of the distant nations, showing a group of men and women fighting. They were moving at speeds I would’ve found impossible to follow prior to said Refinement. Even with my augmentation, it was difficult to follow them until I pushed the muscle to increase the distortion.

I could feel a sort of fatigue slowly building up as I did so.

“These savages come to ruin you. Others will send assassins to strike you in the night. Armor will keep them from succeeding,” Conflict said, images of unknown elves, humans and a few types of people I didn’t recognize flashed past.

“It… sounds like you want me to wear the armor in my sleep.”

“It has been forged for comfort. You fleshlings are at your most weak when you sleep.”

“Remind me to build a place people can’t walk into,” I grumbled. A proper doorless bunker seemed like a better compromise than being permanently entrapped in armor, no matter how cool it was. Nevermind the fact there was no way I’d be able to fly in the damn thing.

“That would be wise, though I still recommend the armor,” Conflict said, waving at it once more.

“What about my family? If assassins are coming after me, then won’t they be in danger too?” I asked, wondering how far I could stretch this favor. An entire squad of them might actually be worth that major favor.

“If you choose this as your favor, making a few copies for those who earn a lesser favor would be acceptable,” Conflict replied, chains wrapping around the suit and lifting it into the air.

I stared at it quietly for several seconds. Which was a subjective minute.

“I need to think about it,” I finally said, shaking my head. “That rail network would be really useful.”

Conflict shifted, its chains dragging in a circle behind it. Finally, it nodded. “Very well. I cannot force you to choose a specific favor, no matter how foolish any other choice would be.”

I couldn’t help but snort at that. “Right. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

It didn’t acknowledge me, and if I didn’t know better, I’d almost think the ancient being was sulking.

The suit was tempting. Especially for the others. Surviving attacks from a tier-4 Kinya user… that was impressive.

If only Tamrie was progressing faster along her Ensouled path. With her current strength, she’d never be able to defeat the rollerbugs to earn her way into the trials. At the rate she was improving, it was going to take her over a year to advance to Astral soul.

She just… didn’t put much effort into it. I didn’t want to push her, but it worried me, her being so weak. And she kept brushing off my concerns.

I squeezed my hand into a fist. Even if I didn’t get the suit from Conflict, I could build her one of my own. We had access to plenty of the same knowledge Conflict likely used in its suit.

And there were other protections, enchanted items I could build.

With my visit to Conflict done, my next stop was to visit Keeper. I needed to know if I’d really encountered it within Conflict’s trial, and Conflict’s non-existent lips were sealed.

When I stepped into the room where Keeper was mounted to the wall, I paused. The changes to my mind made it easier to note several things I’d only subconsciously picked up on before.

Keeper’s chamber was far more confined than either Conflict’s or Tender’s. As was its actual movement.

Even more than the others, it was a prisoner. One that was considered too dangerous to give even small degrees of freedom to.

There were enchantments - ones I hadn’t recognized before my time on the Dauntless - arrayed around Keeper’s place on the wall. Enchantments that should’ve made it impossible for Keeper to move at all. It was meant to force the being to serve as a completely immobile knowledge repository, nothing more.

As Keeper cracked its way free of the wall, I watched as those runes shifted, attempting to constrain it. Seemed Keeper getting tired after my visits had more to do with its desire to make use of its limited freedom than the actual trades.

“How much to know everything about why you were imprisoned?” I asked before it could greet me.

The orange light in its eyes dimmed for a second before flaring brighter than ever. It ran its black tongue along the inside of its glistening teeth, tapping twice before it spoke. “You cannot afford such information, young omnivore. Not as you are. Complete my brothers’ request, and you will find such morsels easier to acquire.”

“And you being inside Conflict’s trial? What was that?”

“From the same plate, are the answers to that served,” Keeper replied, its eyes sparkling for a fraction of a second.

“Great. Any methods to improve how quickly I can do that?” I asked, crossing my arms.

If the Golden Halls could just blink most of the Sahevin out of existence, then getting Utility Access had a lot more importance than I’d initially thought.

“For seven shards worth of knowledge, I have the feast you seek,” Keeper replied, shifting its right hand to project a thin manual over its hand.

“That seems pretty expensive. What does that even entail?”

“It is a guide to increase your performance within Tender’s forests. How much you gain depends on your ability to digest the feast. And how much pain you are willing to endure, young omnivore,” Keeper replied, the manual flickering. “Even those with the weakest stomaches will double their growth, though I suspect you will prove… superior.”

Doubling the rate… that would make a huge difference. And maybe it would be an easier improvement for Tamrie. She was walking the path with me every day, so even if her ensoulment lagged behind, this offered her more safety.

Plus… we had dozens of Tethered running the trial as well.

“Deal, print it off.”

A second later a collection of five thin manuals flickered into existence. Even as they did, I saw the runes around Keeper’s prison flex, pulling it back into place.

While it might be dangerous, I suspected it’d be worth my time to free Keeper from the worst of its bonds. Something I was pretty sure I was capable of after my training aboard the Dauntless. Wasn’t something I’d be doing without talking to the others first though.

It didn’t escape my notice how useful a lot of the things I’d learned would be to the trapped trial-devils. To the point that I wondered how accurate the design had been for the Dauntless.

With the manuals in hand, I left Keeper behind, going to collect Tamrie. The next step was going through Tender’s trials, though I’d read the manuals first.

Each focused on one of the specializations, including the one Tender didn’t offer directly, Vitality.

To specialize in Vitality, it noted that a special bath was required. It even included a list of common ingredients. Some of which were the few Calbern had remembered for the Knight’s Exemplar’s Kinya baths. I wondered if the Vox Knights used the same. Unfortunately, the Frigid Peaks weren’t a great place for any of the plants listed.

For the other specializations, it indicated different exercises that would help with each specialty. I’d seen similar recommendations in the diagnostic center, but it hadn’t indicated that doing the exercises would produce the sorts of growth Keeper had promised.

Then again, as useful as it was, the diagnostic wasn’t a sapient creature that had been collecting knowledge for untold millennia. And that was shown by the little descriptions that Keeper had included with each exercise.

“By extending one’s limbs they better prepare for what comes, much like the aroma of a proper feast prepares one to digest it.”

The other major thing that could be done was to hold powerful catalysts while taking the trials. To my surprise, we had several of the materials required for the first tier, though they’d need special preparation to work as catalysts.

A warning was attached for the catalysts.

“An omnivore consuming a feast cooked with fire makes it safer. Yet the fire often burns the hand that wields it until the flames are mastered.”

My translation? It was gonna hurt.