While that sounded strange, I hadn’t had any bad experiences so far, and I thought, 'Yes.' A sense of power rushed through me. Once the shock finished, I wondered if the sensation had to do with the power of the object you were soul bound to?

  Warning: The control room security system has been activated. Do you wish to deactivate it?

  Yes or No.

  Considering the Goblins were chasing me in those hallways, I chose ‘No.’

  I didn’t want someone coming up behind me and slitting my throat while I was helpless.

  Labyrinth City specialization:

  You may choose a specialization now or later. The specialization of the city is concentrated within and dissipates with distance from the city. These powers cannot be used in the substrates of the Labyrinth but only in the city. Only one specialization may be chosen and, once accepted, cannot be altered until the soul bind is changed. Choices are made based on the soul of who is bound to the city.

  Level 1 choice: Profession Tree.

  Level 2 choice: Skill.

  Level 3 choice: Spell or talent.

  Level 4 choice: All or specific.

  More energy is required for different combinations. Strength may vary depending on selection.

  Confused, I clicked on the Profession Tree, but I only saw one option that said ‘Mage’. I didn’t choose anything but went down to sub-skill and checked there, and saw an extensive list of skills.

  Time Magic.

  Spatial Magic.

  Life Magic.

  Fire Magic.

  Light Magic.

  Profession Tree is not available at this time for:

  Herblore, Tracking, Swordsmanship, Archery, Sewing, Sneaking, and Analysis.

  You may choose one of these and receive the bonuses available when reaching a Profession Tree, or none if it is never made.

  I chose swordsmanship, and then another prompt showed up:

  You do not have any level 3 talents that match with Swordsmanship. No additional bonuses will be awarded at this level. Would you like to award it to all people and creatures, or to specific individuals and creatures?

  I thought, ‘specific,’ and the results popped up.

  Based on your maximum potential in the skill, your city will be rewarded a two-times bonus in Swordsmanship for those chosen by you. Swordsmanship 3x.

  Do you wish to accept this? Yes or No.

  “Wow, double the skill,” I exclaimed. “I can see why other cities chose the warrior path.”

  “Actually, it would be three times the skill. The bonus is double, plus your original skill in the path,” Rabbit corrected.

  “Weird, but that might make sense if the city gives you a certain multiplier, but you have your own skill as well,” I replied.

  “Let me review all the options,” Rabbit interjected, cutting me off. As he spoke, the interface windows flashed open and shut faster than I could track, like strobe lights. I was surprised I could even perceive the rapid changes. “That saved some time. Here's the breakdown of what's available.”

  It took him only a second to sort through all the options. There weren't many, given my current level of skill and limited array of spells, but it was still impressive.

  Rabbit started explaining, "Each level effectively doubles the bonuses. So, for example, if you wanted to establish a city of healers, you would start by selecting the Mage Profession Tree, which doubles the power of magic. Next, you'd focus specifically on Life Magic, doubling that power. Then, you could either choose to double the power of a specific Healing Spell you possess, or keep it open to any Healing Spell without an additional bonus. Finally, you can decide whether to apply this to a specific group or to anyone. Choosing 'anyone' would double the effects again. I figure it works like this because it is harder to differentiate between certain people.”

  To clarify, I asked, “So if I chose life, I could have all Life Magic be four times as strong for my selected people or eight times as strong with one specific spell?”

  “Yep. That’s right. Obviously, your spell is garbage, so I wouldn’t choose that,” Rabbit advised bluntly.

  "Okay, so most cities favor the Martial path. My city seems only to have a doubling bonus. How powerful are other Martial cities, then? People say they are tough to conquer, but are they really eight or nine times stronger than any other warriors?" I asked, trying to grasp the full implications.

  "Ha, I doubt they're that powerful," Rabbit chuckled. "Remember, your bonuses are capped by your potential in the skill. For instance, if you were still your old self, before receiving the soul fragment, and maxed out your Time Magic at level 1, you'd only see an 8% increase in your skill if you chose specific people. From what we've gathered, most individuals aren't proficient in everything. It seems that people choose the martial talent in which they excel. Someone proficient with spears would likely opt for that path. Unlike you, most don't have a full affinity for every skill. I'd guess if they max out at level 50, they might see a 50% bonus at the first level, 100% at the second, and 200% at the third."

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  I summarized his points to ensure I understood correctly. "So, you're saying most cities might have a 200% bonus on their martial skills, plus their original skill level. This means they could be up to three times stronger. And choosing a specific talent or spell would be too limiting since it would reduce the number of people who could benefit from these bonuses?"

  “Maybe,” Rabbit replied, considering the possibilities. “That would only be if they could reach something like level 50. Some rulers might strategize differently. For instance, if you have a ruler with a level 50 in spears or hammers, they might recognize that their potential with swords is lower. However, their people might have varied proficiency across all warrior skills. If that ruler is strategic, they might choose not to specialize further after the Profession Tree of Warrior. This approach would grant a 50% bonus to all warrior talents rather than focusing narrowly. They would miss out on a 100% bonus specific to spears, but this broader strategy would allow a greater number of people to benefit from the bonus. It’s a trade-off between maximizing their own power and enhancing the collective strength of their followers.”

  “So, should I wait until I have a Talent Tree?” I asked.

  “If you were aiming to generalize as a warrior, you would need to wait. For now, there’s no need for that. For instance, if you chose Swordsmanship, when you reach level 20 and gain the Talent Tree, it would naturally double by itself while in the city,” Rabbit explained.

  “Okay, so if I chose Swordsmanship, I could have a two-times bonus now, and eventually, I could get up to a four-times bonus over time. If I wait, I could receive a two-times bonus in every warrior talent,” I mused, pausing to think it over. “Assuming others specialize and secure a doubling bonus to maintain their cities, then we don’t need any more than they have. If I wait, this city could be as strong as any other without needing to specialize in a particular area. That soul fragment really tipped the scales.”

  “Exactly, but I think we should consider specializing a bit more,” Rabbit suggested.

  “You want me to wait until I get the Martial Talent Tree and then choose a specific talent? Wouldn’t that limit our options?” I questioned, trying to understand his strategy.

  “That is not what I was thinking at all.”

  “Well, there is no point in raising the multiplier by allowing everyone to have the skill increase. If every warrior in our city had it, then an invading army would benefit from the bonuses, too, right? What would be the point of having a warrior talent if we just gave the bonuses to everyone?” I questioned, trying to make sense of the strategy.

  “Very true, but that only applies to the martial talents,” Rabbit responded, his tone suggesting he had a revelation. “Here's what we should do. We choose the Mage Skill, select Time Magic with the spell Fast Time, and give it to everyone,” he proposed, as if unveiling a masterpiece. His suggestion left me puzzled.

  “What would that even accomplish? Would a spell become more potent when cast?”

  “Actually, since this spell imparts a passive effect, it wouldn't work like that. If you used something like your Fire or Healing Spells, those would indeed become stronger when you used them. However, Fast Time would continuously affect the entire city and everyone in it passively, without needing to be cast,” Rabbit explained.

  “So, time would move faster inside here? How much faster?” I questioned, my mind reeling as I tried to calculate the implications. Despite the lessening pain, my thoughts were growing increasingly foggy, and my healing was minimal.

  “One day outside would translate to 17 days inside,” Rabbit revealed, and I was taken aback. “Each level doubles the effect. Since your skill abilities are now unlimited, the increase at each level has become enormous. Most choose only the first two levels because the third is too specific, and they only want the last one to help their own people.”

  “So, what would happen if we chose the first three levels?” I asked.

  “It seems that isn’t allowed to grant the same bonuses,” Rabbit explained. “I tried selecting that, but it limits the options to producing a time dilation effect, similar to what you experience, or increasing spell power for anyone who uses the spell. Since no one but you can cast this spell, that wouldn’t be beneficial. The reason why specific people don’t get the bonus is that it is harder to localize bonuses than to allow everyone to have them.”

  I began to review my options, and it seemed that Rabbit had really found the most optimal choice. But I wasn’t sure if it was the right choice. Sure, time moving at seventeen times the normal rate was powerful, but it would also affect any enemies.

  I wondered if it might be better to choose a less optimal path. Every level had a doubling effect, and I was starting at a significant multiple to begin with.

  The first level offered a 200 percent bonus, followed by 400 percent, 800 percent, and finally 1600 percent at level four. However, if I chose just Mage or Martial for level one, both I and my people would get the 200 percent bonus plus their regular strength in that category. That bonus would apply to all martial skills, not just Swordsmanship.

  Alternatively, I could choose Swordsmanship, and the bonus would increase to 400 percent, in addition to their regular skill level. Whether that was a good thing or not would depend on the city's makeup.

  I spent some time going back and forth, weighing my options, until Rabbit finally broke my deadlock.

  “I’m calling in my marker. We are choosing the time spell. You would have gotten there eventually, but your waffling is annoying me,” Rabbit said flatly, the sudden shift catching me off guard.

  “What marker?” I asked, confused.

  “During the battle in the Goblin leader’s room, you promised me anything. This is what I want,” he reminded me. In the heat of that fight, I had made that offer without thinking it through.

  “What happens if I refuse?” I asked, though I wasn't planning to. I had already been leaning toward that option. Besides, I had made a promise. Even if the agreement was made under duress, I intended to keep my word.

  That was to Rabbit. Someone I didn’t trust as much as him. Probably not.

  “I would choose the ones I want, and then I wouldn’t trust your word in the future,” Rabbit intoned.

  I wasn’t sure he could make the choices by himself, but since he could flick through the prompts with remarkable speed, I assumed he might be able to. “Yeah, I figured as much.”

  I pulled up the prompts and made my choices, as he told me before.

  Level 1 choice: Mage.

  Level 2 choice: Time Magic.

  Level 3 choice: Fast Time.

  Level 4 choice: All.

  Based on your maximum potential in the skill, your city will be rewarded with a sixteen times bonus on the power in the spell Fast Time for those chosen by you. Time will pass at a rate of 17 to 1 relative to the time outside the city.

  Do you wish to accept this? Yes or No.

  Yes.

  Time will pass at a rate of 17 to 1 relative to the time outside the city.

  Leader bonus: The leader’s domain incorporates in any instance of the labyrinth and applies the same 17 to 1 temporal shift.

  Note: Only one bonus can be applied.

  Leader's bonus?

  It seemed like in the Labyrinth, time would be slowed down for me as well, but I wasn’t sure how that would be helpful yet. I would need to experiment with that more later.

  I started to think about how I could abuse that bonus until my next prompts showed up:

  You have gained levels 24 through 26 in Time Magic.

  Skill points earned: 390.

  Total Skill points: 1,576.

  “Damn, that is a lot of Skill points,” I said.

  I hadn’t expected an increase in my skill just by choosing it for the city. On top of that, it boosted my largest skill, awarding me more points than I had imagined.

  “And the bonuses keep coming!” Rabbit said with excitement. “There is one last prompt we can choose from before you are well enough to check out the controls in this room. Do you want to do it now or later?”

  “Now,” I replied, eager for the distraction from the slow healing.