Etzel woke to three messages. That was rarely a good sign.
He stared at the ceiling for several seconds before reaching for his communicator. The first was from Maerin:
Maerin: Rhel Vasken was taken into custody.
Etzel sat up. His first thought was not the bounty, nor the fight, nor even Borrowed Tomorrow. He typed immediately:
Etzel: The woman?
The answer came less than a minute later:
Maerin: Safe. Treated. Statement taken. No serious injuries.
Etzel exhaled. Only then did he notice Sivenne had joined the conversation:
Sivenne: Also, congratulations.
Etzel narrowed his eyes. That sounded dangerous.
Etzel: For?
An image appeared with official formatting:
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [WANTED HUNTER — RHEL VASKEN] │
│ STATUS: CAPTURED │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
Beneath it was a bounty figure. Etzel stared, then stared harder. “Oh.”
DK, seated near the window, looked over. “What?”
Etzel turned the screen toward him. “Apparently morality has a price.”
DK examined the number. “That is not morality.”
“I know. I was trying to make the moment poetic.”
“It failed.”
Etzel sighed. Then Maerin sent another message:
Maerin: You can’t claim it.
Etzel’s face went blank. He looked at the bounty again, then at Maerin’s message, then back at the bounty. “No.”
DK waited. Etzel typed:
Etzel: Explain.
Maerin: Claim requires verified identification. Hunter Registry identification or authorized civilian claimant record.
Etzel slowly lowered the communicator. “I am beginning to take registration personally.”
DK looked back toward the window. “You chose not to register.”
“That does not mean the consequences are allowed to inconvenience me.”
“It does.”
“Your perspective lacks compassion.”
The bounty did not simply disappear. That was the good news. The less good news was that none of it was becoming Etzel’s money.
Maerin checked the process. Part of the case qualified for victim compensation, and additional support could be issued depending on the woman’s statement, medical evaluation, and the charges added after Rhel’s arrest.
Etzel read the explanation:
Etzel: Can she get some of it?
A pause:
Maerin: Not the bounty itself. But she qualifies for compensation.
Etzel nodded:
Etzel: Good.
Sivenne answered immediately:
Sivenne: You said that suspiciously fast.
Etzel: I legally cannot touch the money. This is generosity under duress.
Tessa appeared:
Tessa: You could just be happy she gets help.
Etzel considered:
Etzel: That sounds emotionally mature.
Sivenne: So not happening?
Etzel: Correct.
He smiled despite himself. Then Maerin sent one more message. This one had no joke attached:
Maerin: There is another issue.
Etzel’s smile disappeared. Of course there was.
Etzel: How bad?
Maerin: Not bad.
Etzel waited:
Etzel: That answer has never helped anyone.
Maerin: She gave your name in her statement.
Etzel stopped. Slowly, he looked toward DK.
DK looked back. “You gave it to her.”
“I was being human.”
“Consequences.”
Etzel pointed at him. “I preferred you before you learned that word.”
DK’s expression remained unchanged. Etzel returned to the communicator:
Etzel: My full name?
Maerin: No.
That helped. A little.
Maerin: Just Etzel. Unregistered spear user. Young male. Traveling with a silver-armored man called DK.
Etzel closed his eyes. “That sounds significantly worse written down.”
DK said: “It is accurate.”
“That is the problem.”
Maerin continued:
Maerin: No Registry match. No surname. No verified image attached to the public case file.
Etzel opened his eyes. “So I’m officially a rumor.”
DK considered. “Possibly.”
“I can live with that.”
For now. Somewhere in the Hunter system, there was now a report about an unidentified fighter named Etzel who had helped capture a wanted Hunter. That could become a problem later, or a very funny conversation. Possibly both.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Borrowed Tomorrow stayed in Etzel’s thoughts longer than Rhel did. That bothered him. Not because he cared about Rhel, but because the ability had been extraordinary.
Etzel opened the combat record again:
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [SKILL RECORD: RECORDED DATA] │
│ Title: Borrowed Tomorrow │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
He could not see Rhel’s private mechanics—only what he had observed. Speed. Technique. Strength. Durability. Different possible versions of a future self, pulled temporarily into the present. And then the debt.
Etzel looked at DK. “How strong could that ability become?”
“I don’t know.”
“Useful.”
“It is honest.”
Etzel leaned back. At F Rank, Rhel had already been able to temporarily become a better fighter than he actually was—not in one fixed way, but several.
The problem had not been the ability. The problem had been Rhel. He had used tomorrow as a weapon against today. No patience, no control, no reserve. Whenever the fight turned against him, he borrowed more. Then more. Then too much.
Etzel looked at his own status: Limited Necromancer. An ability many people had apparently failed with. Not because it had no potential—because decisions mattered. Choices mattered. Understanding mattered.
He frowned slightly. “A great ability can still have a terrible user.”
DK looked at him. “Yes.”
“And a terrible-looking ability…” Etzel smiled. “…can have me.”
DK stared. Etzel waited.
“You were supposed to agree.”
“No.”
“Cruel.”
But the thought remained. The ability did not decide everything. The user mattered. Maybe more than people wanted to admit.
Etzel opened the Witness record next:
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Event
Flaw Witnessed
Status
Recognition Confirmed
Data
Debt-Followed Performance Collapse