Monitor closes her claw and settles down, her eyes boring into me. She blinks slowly and takes a deep breath. “Yes,” she says, drawing the syllable out with a deeply syllabant S. “If you can present me with something new, something I did not consider, I will most definitely reward you. But engaging in this battle brings with it great danger. Because if you cannot surprise me if you lose, then there will be a penalty. A severe one.”

“How severe?” I ask.

“How much of a ...