”Back in Eosor,” Belinda continued, “before the portal to your world opened, it was thought that the dungeons were completely wiped out. But it seems that some survived and were brought here, to Earth. They have been dormant for so long that we were starting to doubt they had ever existed, but now, for some reason, they are starting to awaken across the planet. They are incredibly powerful, and so our agency has been tasked with tracking them down.”

”How does this have anything to do with me, or with this mansion, for that matter?” I asked. “I’m still a Level 1 cultivator after a decade of practice. Surely there are people better suited to whatever your agency is planning.”

”Didn’t you ever wonder why you were so good at enchantments?” Belinda asked.

”I’m as good as anyone else.”

Belinda shook her head. ”I don’t believe that for a second. What you did to your car was remarkable.”

”The Force Barrier was only meant to be a Level 2. Astrid somehow enhanced my chi.” I turned to her. “I don’t know what you did, but it gave a serious boost to the power of my runes.”

”That wasn’t me,” Astrid said. ”That was all you. You absorbed my chi and made yourself more powerful.”

”How did you know that would happen?” I asked.

“I didn’t,” Astrid replied. “I was just hoping to inspire you. You know, with a kiss? It tends to work for most other men. Just never in the way that it worked with you.”

“That was strange,” Belinda said. “I’ve never seen something like that before, where someone absorbed another’s cultivation levels.”

“Neither have I,” I said. “Honestly, this day is turning out to be just one crazy revelation after another.”

“It’s merely another thing that confirms what you are,” Belinda said.

“What I am?” I asked.

”Selena’s been living with you for a while,” Astrid said. “She was assigned to monitor you so the agency could know for sure what you were.”

When I saw Selena again, she sure had a whole lot of explaining to do. I wished again I could call her, but that was not going to happen.

“This is a lot of beating around the bush,” I said. “Just exactly what the fuck do you think I am?” My pulse started to kick up a notch as the implications of this encounter dawned on me. “Am I… am I an Outworlder?”

”No,” Belinda said.

“Damn,” I said. “Just a regular human, then.”