The next morning arrived peacefully, a bit too much so.
I opened my eyes and as the blur fades from my sight, I felt something heavy on my body. It was warm, smooth and … fuzzy?
I looked down to notice Kuroha snuggling beside me.
It was a nice comforting feeling, one I haven't felt in a long time. Personally, I wish I could abuse this situation as much as possible, but that would be wrong for me to do.
As her ears flicked around brushing against my face, her eyes opened up and looked up at me. It was almost enchanting the way her eyes peered into me.
"Morning my lord. I see you're not one to shy away from such company."
"Why would I? This is the best kind of feeling to wake up to, however I don't feel great since you're looking for something I can't give you right now."
She ignored what I said and got up and mounted my. I felt like I was about to be in a rated R movie, or better yet, just straight por-
"MOM! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" Mika's voice rang out as she stepped into my room. She was set up in her shinobi shōzoku, her ninja attire.
"Oh, good morning honey. I was just waking my lord up as you can see." She started to gyrate a little bit and the disgust on Mika's face was palpable.
"This is NOT the time to be doing this! Lord King has training to get to." Mika's face was more red than pomegranate seeds. It was either due to an innocent mind, or the fact she is witnessing her mother nearly eloping with someone.
"Oh boo, you're no fun." Kuroha pouted as she got off me.
Her body was absolutely stark, and the view was great for any man or woman to enjoy. She waltzed over to the closet to grab her gown she threw in last night supposedly, and then turned back to me. "Well my lord, if you ever feel the need to release some stress, you know where my quarters are."
Kuroha then walked out, like a temptress nine tails demon. It was a complete one eighty from what I used to know from her, but it wasn't a change I didn't like, until hearing her cheering like a girl getting a chance to touch her celebrity crush.
It was a bit loud, and I doubt she knew my doors didn't have sound proofing on them.
Mika comes closer after shaking her head in disbelief then sits down on the end of the bed. "How my mother ever got to her position is beyond me."
"Well, she is a deadly assassin that can fight equally well in full on wars, so I think there's enough there to warrant her status."
Mika turns to me curious. "What was my mother like when she was younger?"
I start to think about it, as it never really dawned on me how childish she was back then.
Kuroha was a lethal ninja and the best spy that any nation could call an ally. The only issue with that, was that she pledged her loyalty only to me.
It was a series of events that led her to be who she became, starting from the rescue I made on the raid, but then I started to see her more often.
Return to magic always had ways to make an npc seem more valuable than they were when you met them, like a relationship was building between you and the coding that you perceived.
Considering now that I know the 'npcs' are actually real beings with their own motives and pursuits, it makes far more sense now than it ever has.
Kuroha followed me often, even when traveling to other cities. She became like a pet cat that I never really wanted, but didn't have the heart to toss aside. Eventually, she became much more comfortable around me, and ended up joining my guild.
Even as a kitsune, she was very hyperactive at times, but she still had that 'cat' mentality. Too much love was annoying to them, but not enough and they'd scratch you, that was Kuroha. It seems with her age, she became far more calm and collected.
I told Mika about how I met Kuroha and how she came to be one of my closest comrades at just the age of seventeen. Well, now she was at two seventeen, which is a crazy number to think about since it felt like a few weeks ago since I saw her young form.
"So I'm still not sure how to act around her since she was younger than me, but is now much older. I guess it's fine right?" I try to find a way to reason with this new reality.
〈Is this jail bait, or am I in the clear? I mean, she is mature now, but it feels so wrong since I knew her as a teen. Literally a month ago.〉
Well, the fact is, she is a woman now, in fact even older than I was or am, so I don't see any reason to be hesitant.
"Are you thinking of something naughty?" Mika points an accusatory finger at me.
"No, it wasn't perverted, but I mean I guess I'm trying to justify having those thoughts I guess."
"Lord King!" She exclaimed with beet red cheeks.
It was fun to poke around Mika and her innocent like reactions.
Mika then stood up and adjusted her outfit. "Well, we wasted enough time chatting, I'd rather not hear about any fantasies with my mother."
"Unless you'd like to be a part of them too." I blurted out without thinking. I covered my mouth instantly.
"LORD KING!?"
Suffice to say that she was very caught off guard.
______________________________________________________________________
Mika and I took a tour around the base again, this time focusing on the mini-spaces I saw in the vent. They were like illusionary worlds but were actually real.
I was told these spaces were made using space magic, which I speculated before, but it was actually done by a very legendary mage's apprentice.
It essentially makes it to where you can create a miniature world within a respective enclosure and that space overlaps our world as a sort of pocket dimension, in a sense. The only difference is that this space isn't less than our dimension. To make it easier on myself, I pictured a sandwich, each part of a sandwich is a different dimension, but as a whole, it's one sandwich, nothing greater nor inferior.
We walked into a large open dome, which seemed to be themed as a training ground. As we did, it felt like my magic was loosening up and dispersing, unable to fully grasp it.
"Most shinobi or warriors tend to use this for personal closed door training, but this is the highest level for that." Mika looked back at me, who had a curious face. "It's not that it's difficult, it's that it has the highest level of protection and authority. It allows you to use all your energy and not one person outside would be able to sense it."
"What is this hyperbolic time chamber shit."
"The hyper-what?" She tilted her head in confusion.
"It's… uh, wanderer stuff… yeah."
"Hmm, alright. I won't pry."
Good thing she understands my intention there.
We situated ourselves in the center of a raised platform in this open expanse. It was a prairie world, and there even seemed to be animals far off in the distance.
The level of detail here was insane to say the least. It made me question whether this was actually an illusionary world or a full on pocket reality.
Mika sat down on the platform, and the door to the dome closed with two guards on standby. Now it was just me and Mika here.
"You ready?" She looked up at me expectantly.
"Well, ready as I'll ever be."
I followed suit with her and sat down. I looked towards her as she began to move her arms like people in those Kung Fu movies.
She took a deep breath as she swept one hand upward and the other down, locking them into a Heaven–Earth seal. Then her breath steadied.
With her eyes closed, she spoke to me. The issue was however, even when I saw her, eyes locked on her body, I could "tell" where she was. My sense of smell was no help either. It was an eerie feeling, which must be how they enact their missions as stealthy as possible.
"Firstly, in order to reduce your aura, first you must learn how to reduce your presence. Considering these concepts would be equally similar, figuring out how to manage your presence would naturally allow you to hide your aura. Follow my movements."
I locked eyes with her moves, she was careful and considerate, flowing like a calm river, then a moment of her movements felt like she was morphing a ball of snow within her arms.
Following her moves were better said than done. It was a difference in precision between me and her. I was stiff with how I moved, and she took note of that.
It wasn't like I was doing things poorly, but I couldn't get the feeling of a natural flowing movement.
"Stop!" She yelled abruptly, nearly making me tip over. "You are too stiff my lord." She begins to ponder about something.
With an idea popping into her head, she looked back to me. "What do you feel about the movements I made?"
〈Is she asking me about how it looks? Or how it makes me feel? I'll go with the former.〉
"Well, it looks like you are flowing, like a river. A dancer who knows how to let her body move on its own."
She leaned in, "But how does that make YOU feel?"
Putting emphasis on the "you" part makes me even more confused.
"Well, I mean…" I sat there to think.
〈What do you mean how does it make me feel? I don't know. I looked like a flowing river. Am I supposed to say calming? Or relaxing? That's the typical response for something like this right? Oh Mika, don't look at me like that. I'm not a genius.〉
I continued to sit there and wonder what she meant.
"C-calming?" I finally said, "It was relaxing. Well, I'd be lying to say thats how I felt. Because it was more so confusing, like I knew what it looked like but, knowing and understanding are two different things. So I really don't know"
Mika sat there with a big smile. "And that's okay. In fact, that's a better answer than most people can give."
〈Huh?〉
I sat there even more confused now.
"Most people my dad taught always said something they 'think' my dad wants to hear, never what they truly thought. That's a step most people can't figure out."
Trying to grasp what she meant by that was starting to hurt my head a little bit.
Then she continued, "If you know how it truly makes you feel, then you know what needs to happen. With you, it's an understanding of what the 'flow' you speak of means. Everyone has a different way of looking at things, multiple perspectives, none of which is inherently wrong, if of course there is no objective truth… but that's the beauty of magic and martial arts, there is not one correct path to take. Shortcuts, long formulas, even just picturing a dog and grabbing a feeling from that. That's all magic is. You don't need to think, just do."
〈That's easier said than done.〉
"What the hell does that mean? Am I supposed to just not think?"
"Sort of, but it's not that you aren't thinking, just that you are… nnh, like a, ooh! Like a quatzlik fly, which can-"
"Stop, wait. I don't know what a quatleflick fly is."
"A quatzlik fly." Mika said in defense.
She paused a bit and looked at me with a tilt of her head, she was waiting till it clicked in my head.
〈The hell are you waiting for? I don't know.〉
Is what I would say if I didn't want to be mean to her. "I come from Ikoth, not Primora. So I don't know about that."
She realized and her expression changed to someone saying "Oh" but extended it.
"Well, how about then-"
"Think of holding your brea-" A voice cut Mika off before she could finish her sentence… again.
There as the doors to the dome began to close, an equally stealthy figure in full get up from head to toe stood. The figure was very slim, but I wasn't too sure if it was a man or a woman.
Their voice was deep but it also sounded like it was edited in a voice recording. Seems like there was some sort of magic modifying their speech.
"Nyvara!" Mika jumps up and gives this person a bow.
I look confused, trying to assess the situation. I assumed this was one of Kuroha's children, so I waited till Mika wanted to introduce me.
"This is King, Lord King. The one and only that mother speaks of." Mika presented me as I stood up to see this child eye to eye.
In a moment, the very one I took to blink, she disappeared from my view. Then a tap on my shoulder occurred at the same time I looked over, then back to see that she didn't move.
〈Was that just raw speed? Or an illusion. It could be either considering her occupation. But there's no smell that she was nearby, but what if this illusion is that good? And I also thought you couldn't use magic here.〉
〈Wait…〉
I looked around the realm, and I tried gauging the situation. It wasn't that she used a trick on me, it was real, but then it wasn't after she vanished.
Multiple reasons come up in my head, and the way this person is looking at me makes me believe this is a test of some kind. Maybe they want to figure out if I'm the "real deal" type trope.
〈Ooh, this is fun.〉
"So what do you want to test me for?"
When I spoke up, Mika seemed confused. The figure, although I couldn't see their face, seemed as if they smirked.
"Nothing much, but it should be a bit of a hint on how to control that aura seeping out of you."
I started to doubt whether or not I had the right answer. I was assuming this could be a space created by them and thus they have control over what happens using space magic.
〈Or maybe that's it.〉
Space magic acts as an inverter, a sort of negative wavelength against the other forms of magic. That's why utilizing it so much can hide even the most intense sensations anyone could know.
〈So would that be it? But that wouldn't answer how they did such inside the dome. Unless… Is it that since it's negative wavelength already, utilizing spatial magic again, reverses the negative energy into positive, allowing for only the use of spatial magic inside spatial magic. What if it's both.〉
My eyes snapped open when I realized. "You manipulated your relative time!"
The figure looked somewhat shocked. "Well, you came to the answer quicker than I'd thought you would, but you didn't explain why."
I sat to ponder the way to explain it in a way that makes sense. "Hmm, pretty much how I envisioned it as, if you are in a place which already bends space, which by proxy bends the wavelength of magic and time, then all you need to do is just bend it back. The only way to do that is using a wavelength of equal strength in the opposite direction, which in this case was spatial magic. Since space acts as a negative wavelength to other magic, then it's no wonder only space magic is usable to correct it. So you essentially changed your relative position, because you bent space to revert time flow back to its initial state, which made you seem faster."
The others stared at me stunned. It seemed they were at a loss for words.
"Your understanding is so profound, Lord King!" Mika exclaimed with gleeful eyes. She looked as if she received enlightenment.
"Yes, I should say that answer even caught me off guard."
"Well, I think that deserves an answer to a question. I'm assuming you are a child of Kuroha, care to finally introduce yourself?"
The figure seemed to consider the situation, like trying to gauge whether or not this was a good choice.
"Fine." The figure then snapped their fingers together, revealing a satyr woman.
She was just as beautiful as Mika and Kuroha, but instead of dark hair, she had long curly reddish orange hair. She had pointed ears like an elf and freckles running over the bridge of her nose. Her horns form nearly a crown but multiple protrusion like antlers stuck out. She had a slightly darker complexion than Mika, as if she tanned a lot.
"Illusion magic and spatial magic huh? Interesting."
The woman walked to me, a stern gaze constantly on me. She seemed more calculating, more defensive.
She sat down and gestured to us to do the same, so Mika and I followed suit.
"So now that I gave you a hint, what do you think?" Her voice was the complete opposite of her illusion. It was soft and smooth with a higher pitch.
Again, my mind drifted to solve this.
〈She's implying that negative energy multiplied by negative energy would have something to do with what I need to figure out here? But what about what Mika said? About the river and what I need to feel instead of what others do. Do all these pieces of advice correlate?〉
〈…Wait…〉
〈What I feel should correlate to what I want at the time. I want the feeling of holding my breath. People don't understand the connection between what they want and what they are currently feeling, but if I want the feeling of holding my breath, it would make sense. That means the flow of the river correlates to the spatial magic, in order to… reverse the flow. Aura is seeping out of my body, but if I reverse that flow using aura, an extension of my will, I need to use what I want to feel, right? Well, let's try it!〉
I try to calm my nerves, visualizing a calm lake.
No waves.
No ripples.
No activity.
I breathe in deeply, trying to find the feeling of pulling back all the water in the river, joining it back into the lake.
Mika and Nyvara locked their eyes onto me, astonished.
It felt natural, not like I knew completely how to make this possible, but also guided by some other feeling. It's a feeling I've felt before, a natural instinct.
I remembered back when I was being chased by Shade, the feeling of being hunted, I then reversed that feeling.
It was like a tape being rewound in my head, I traveled back to the point of me sitting with Rak. After that, I was reminded back to me exiting the temple and then… darkness of the tomb.
Darkness…
It's a terrifying concept, seeing nothing, but it wasn't just nothing, it was whole. It was together.
There's a feeling of comfort in knowing that it's all together, nothing else but darkness.
〈But isn't that just the absence of light? It's opposite, yet without light, it's just the… depth under the light.〉
My body felt like it was floating, so I swam.
I swam higher and higher. Looking forward towards the distance, seeing a dot of light.
I reached it.
It was the lake. It was calm, together.
It was whole.
Instantly, my senses went wild. I was smelling things I couldn't before, hearing noises my ears never picked up prior, and sensing.
I sense them, Mika and Nyvara.
I couldn't understand it.
〈Why would suppressing my aura, or my presence result in sensing-Wait? Negative energy? Is there such an element?〉
It felt as though applying negative energy to my aura, and reversing the effect, caused me to not only suppress my presence, but allowed me to sense those who already have.
Then I heard a sound, like if a metal thread was cut with scissors.
My mental space was empty. There was nothing around to make such noises, it confused me, but maybe it was just me being too focused and a noise outside entered my thoughts.
I then opened my eyes.
"How can I sense you both though? I was just meaning to suppress myself."
The two looked at each other in an even more shocked expression, which seemed impossible.
"You actually managed to master suppressing your aura and presence to a degree that I, a spatial master, can't even do." Nyvara rubbed her nose.
"WHAT?!" Mika and I both helped out when hearing that. The moment I lost concentration, the feeling left me.
"Well, it doesn't look like you can do so subconsciously yet though. But I would pray you couldn't yet."
Well, that's somewhat expected and unexpected. "How does that work?"
"When you suppress your presence, and aura, you allow no medium between you and other things. This medium, we call the spirit barrier. Its shape is different depending on the person, and the size greatly relies on the strength of the soul. Some people's spirit barrier could branch out like an ant hill or tower up like a tree trunk."
〈Is this soul eater or something?〉
"Only the person who possesses the soul can see their own spirit barrier, or beings who specialize in sensing that itself. It's also directly connected to your aura. Which is why suppressing it, allows you to suppress your presence and simultaneously allows no barrier to stop your own senses."
"Then how do I keep this on at all times?"
"Change the shape."
〈How the hell do I do that?〉
I looked at her as if a coach said to "just win".
"Don't look at me like that. It's easier for you than anyone else. You've already grasped the idea of moving your aura, reversing it at least. That was the most difficult part, now all you need is to use that to solve for shaping it."
Before I even responded, my belly grumbled at me. The others looked over and giggled.
"Why don't we grab something to eat, it has been a few hours." Mika said.
"Hours?" My mouth agape in shock.
"Well yeah, you've been in thought for quite some time, but it should be lunch about now."
"How? You said hours so lunch should've been about noon which should be at least two hours ago."
Then Nyvara chimed in. "Well, time acts a bit weird here. Since space is being distorted more than usual, time seems to slow down. A mage explained this to us, so we usually come in here when we want to practice for a long time while things outside are progressing slower."
〈I guess that makes sense, it seems the theory of relativity also exists in this world. With gravity and space bending allowing time to act slower, so this space must be bending even that further to create its own space.〉
"These domes are going to be your best friend for practice and training. It gives you all the time in the world. But that also means your body will feel the influence of the space as well. That's why you're hungry when it's only been about thirty minutes or so outside."
I'm assuming that's speaking on how our concept of time differs from the flow of time inside, but our body operates on whatever time flow we are situated in.
〈Interesting…〉
______________________________________________________________________
Once we stepped out of the dome, we made our way to the mess hall.
It was through the labyrinth of tunnels that we had to wander around in order to get to, and before we got there, I saw him.
Rak and his group walked out of the mess hall. Me and him made eye contact, he was stern but definitely not wanting to disrespect me, he bowed.
I didn't want to look at him directly, so I didn't even try to acknowledge him being there, until Mika stormed passed.
"Uncle Rak!" She went over to give him a hug.
Rak reciprocated it, and he actually looked like a caring guy for a second. Although I knew he was, it was my own bias keeping me from recognizing him as a decent person.
"How come you and Lord King are so distant? I heard about you surviving together and hunting that damn wolf you kept talking about."
Rak was surprised but also looked like a father trying not to upset his child. "It's complicated Mika. I ain't got no ill will against em, I just made a decision towards my own goal."
I gritted my teeth.
It wasn't a bad move, so I can't fault him for doing what he needed to do, but the betrayal still stings. Anyone else would be salty at that.
We've had our issues before, and I didn't want to make things a big deal, but like usual, my mouth follows my mind immediately without a filter.
"Was I 'just a decision' to make?" I blurted out. Nyvara and Mika stood back a bit worried. "Look, I don't disagree with what you did, but that doesn't mean what you did was right either."
"We rescued ya at the end of the day, so what's that gotta do wit anythin'?" Rak seemed annoyed but kept it in when responding to me. It was like he was being put on trial for something dumb that he didn't do.
"The result isn't was import-"
"RESULTS ARE WHAT MATTER!" Rak yelled back. It made me angry that he could dismiss what I've gone through. This immediate deflection seems like he is annoyed that he had to apologize about what he did, or that he was being lectured about it shouldn't be happening.
It was so out of the norm, that it pushed me even closer to being angry. He obviously has been thinking about it, and this is the result and conclusion he came up with?
〈So he wants his side to make the most sense to himself. He isn't taking any other possibilities into account.〉
"What if you couldn't follow them, huh?" I snapped back. "You could've fallen off their trail, and lost the base. It's not like you are dealing with nobodies here!"
Reason grit his teeth, but quickly moved back a little bit, like he realized something. He shook his head then came back. "It don't matter, WE SUCCEEDED."
I took a step back in disbelief. "You don't even know how you kept up with them. You found me by luck didn't you?"
He seemed to not be able to respond at first, then came back. "Maybe it was the god of wind that helped us. Pushed our ship to ya. Ya should be thankin' the divines for us getting to ya." He leaned in close after his sarcastic remark. His jaws a few inches from my face.
"Why don't I send you to that god so you can thank him yourself for easing your troubles. Seems like you needed to get to where I was too."
Rak did not like those words. "WHAT WOULD YA DO 'N MY PLACE. What if yer goal was 'n ya hands, ya had a way to finally achieve it. Ya'd stop at NUTHIN', 'n order teh grasp it." His accent started to slip in harder.
"I COULD SAY THE SAME THING ASSHOLE, what if YOU were the one about to be hanged, with the threat of death?! You telling me that 'what if' bullshit isn't right."
"Ya started it, Kra'ssil." He looked at me with scorn as some lizardman chuckled at his words. Thraz was a bit worried however.
Thraz stepped up, "Boss, maybe we should-" Rak threw Thrazs arm away as he placed it on Raks shoulder.
I stepped up to Rak, near chest to chest if he wasn't so tall. My fist tightened, I wanted to slug him, but knew it'd only hurt me more.
Rak looked down and then back to my face. "Ya wanna strike me?" He turned his face to present his cheek. His eyes were still gazing at me. "Try it weaklin'."
I was frustrated. Mika and Nyvara didn't want to interrupt but Mika did look worried. Nyvara was more interested, probably wanting to see how this ends up.
I looked back to Rak, then smirked. His smug attitude sort of falters a bit. "Then let's settle this Rak. I challenge you to a duel."
He laughed, "You understand what that means? I'm stronger than you."
〈Because of me ya asshole.〉
But I knew I couldn't beat him fairly. He was high level, and I was still in my 20s.
"I invoke the rite of combat."
The hall stood still. Those who were passing by halted and those around us froze. Everyone knew what that meant.
"Ya gonna go that far kid?" Rak looked at me with disgust.
I looked at him at an angle. "Did I stutter?"
He hissed at me with spite. "Ya got yerself a duel."
"My Lord… I think it's time to eat." Mika gently, and quietly like a mouse, tugged on my arm.
"Yeah, I'm starving. I'll catch you later, Rak."
With that, we both stomped away.
The frustration and anger we both felt at the time still hung in the air. People were cautious when walking around either of us as we split.
"Hinestly, I was expecting a bit more out of that." Nyvara chimed in.
"Yeah, it looked like you wanted to see where that went." I scoffed.
"Don't be too sad, I'm only looking at it as a chance to see both you and Rak's fighting styles clash." She then shrugged, "Well, I'll see it soon enough."
As we got to the mess hall, we found our way to the line, however most of the people there gave way to us. It made sense considering our status. Two daughters of the leader and the leader's leader.
Once we got up front, behind the near storefront kitchen over the counter, I came face to face with an… Octopus person?
He had a large body and eight tentacles branching off his shoulders. Strangely he only used seven of his arms in order to prepare the dishes and cook all at the same time.
I then looked back to see another octopus person, who looked more feminine in the back also helping to prepare. She was dealing with the prep work, but utilized all eight arms.
It was a surprising and interesting duet between them. It was still shocking though.
"I'll take the usual! Moonpepper glaze please Thally!" Mika bursted out, to give more energy to the situation.
"And me, the stonebroth." Nyvara added.
They all looked at me expecting an answer. I was shocked because there was no menu and a giant octopus family was seemingly cooking my meal, it was a race I've never seen so it took me by surprise.
They didn't have mouths and other than humanoid legs, you couldn't separate them from a normal octopus. Well, they were more like elephant legs.
Too stunned to figure something out, I simply said, "House special is fine."
Thal lit up with excitement, well… however excited an octopus can look like. His arms moved wildly as he prepared food.
It seems that he hardly ever gets the house special asked for, or that he always is happy to hear someone ask for it.
〈Will this be a trope of it being tasty to them and not other people?〉
We stood at the end of the counter waiting for the food which came in under two minutes, like the process was sped up due to magic. I did see some sigils being casted while moving their arms.
"So who are they? I've never seen their species before."
"Well the front guy is Thal'Rhexis, he's a softy. And the one in the back is, Vaessyra. They're married!" She looked up to me as she said that.
"Do they not talk?"
"No, they communicate by Telepathy, but they can only talk to others of their species."
"Or others who have learned to speak telepathically." Nyvara added. "I can communicate with them, it helps with missions when you need not to verbally communicate."
"So did they say anything?"
"They weren't speaking to me."
We brought our food to a specialized table, seemingly only meant for high officials. There were whispers around the room. I listened in using my new ability plus my already great hearing.
"That's him isn't it? The guy who challenged Officer Rak?"
"Not only that, a rite to combat even."
"Isn't that dangerous? How come no one stopped it."
"It's Leader's master, of course no one will step in between him and Rak, who rose the ranks of the organization as soon as he got back from his mission."
"Well who do you think will win?"
"Well, considering what we know"
I closed off my perception. Even if I'm curious, I don't wish to know. I never needed to before, at least know my chances of winning. It would either drag on your mind, or make you too comfortable.
The three of us started talking about plans for the fight, now that it's going to happen.
"Well, I have a lot of spells, wait… Mika, was there a shard of glass found with my things?"
Mika looked up with a messy face. The moonpepper glaze covered her mouth as she was blissfully slurping down her food.
She quickly wiped her face. "We did recover some sort of crystal, it seemed to show us our face and writing on it we didn't understand."
"Yeah, do you still have it?"
Mika looks to Nyvara. "Would you mind calling Trish?"
Nyvara sat there in silence for a bit with her eyes closed, and then came back to. "She's on her way."
After a minute, a shadow appeared behind Nyvara. Another woman who was dressed in more of a maids outfit, stood behind Nyvara with something wrapped in cloth in her hand.
She presented it to Nyvara. Nyvara took it in hand and opened up the cloth. "Is this what you were asking for?"
The health I was given in the spipent burrow was there. It was the mirror.
I took it in my hand and tried to look at my status.
◆◆◆◇◇◇◆◆◆◇◇◇◆◆◆
King; level 21
EP: 0 (122)
Strength - 32
Dexterity - 32
Constitution - 16
Intelligence - 11
Charisma - 10
Luck - 21
◆◆◆◇◇◇◆◆◆◇◇◇◆◆◆
It was all there.
〈Level 21 huh? I need to level up fast soon.〉
The only thing I was checking for, was if it was more than my stats.
Stats in RTO were shown in the menu, or interface. Someone could swipe over to view inventory, or their skills. There were other tabs but what I needed to know was…
I swiped my finger across the surface of the shard, just hoping it would work.
The shard stayed the same. It didn't move.
I was disappointed, but if everything I tried worked, then it would be too easy in this world right?
〈But there has to be more to this shard than just my stats. It's a glass of information. There has to be something more to this.〉
"So what is it?" Mika leaned in, staring at it closely.
"Well, I got this from a very… weird guy. It was when I was within the jungle, in a spipent burrow. He gave it to me, and left."
"Left? That's weird."
"Yeah, but he was more weird with what he said, it was like he was on hardcore drugs or something. But I mean." I shrugged. "It works. But essentially it shows you your level."
"Level?" The two women said together.
"It's like a…" I was trying to figure out how to explain it. "Measurement of strength, but in totality. Typically someone with a higher level will beat those with lower levels. Although it doesn't exactly correlate to your strength or intelligence, it would definitely show how much health or mana you have."
Mika and Nyvara looked at each other as if I was speaking a different language.
"But how much mana you have is predetermined at birth, unless you are of an ancient race. They are able to gradually increase their mana the older they are, because the older the body, the more the spirit accepts mana into it." Mika explained.
Nyvara chimes in. "I've heard of methods to expand one's mana reserves, but it's been a top secret in the mages court for ages."
I continued to stare at the mirror. If it was based on touch, perhaps something more non-physical, or abstract.
〈Would thinking about it work?…No, it doesn't. This is confusing. What is the purpose of this other than stats? Or is that it? That can't be it?〉
〈Well I suppose since most people can't even increase their level due to not even understanding nor even knowing about the methods, that alone can be extremely powerful. But that can't be it, something is telling me there's more to this.〉
" Your senses are sharp. Makes sense, as they are mine to begin with."
A voice in my head rang. It was deep and guttural.
〈Rengar?〉
"..."
"WHAT?!"
The voice boomed even louder in my head. It felt like a migraine instantly. I pressed against my head with my fingers to ease it somewhat.
"Lord King?" Mika was worriedly looking towards me.
Then my eyes closed and I was pulled into my mental space.
It was the forest I remembered. It seemed the burned ecosystem turned back into a lush forest. It was tranquil, but something felt odd.
I could see mountains in the distance circling this forest, which caused the ends of this world to be lit in flames. It seems that was the influence of the phoenix.
"I thought I would have to wait longer, but it seems you already have the hang of moving into your mind."
The voice rang out again, but this time all around. I turned to see a giant wolf, the same one I saw after the grove.
"So you can talk to me huh?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be able to?"
"Well, you never spoke before, as in game. Also you haven't spoken to me yet after last time."
"There was no game. Only life, and then me. Also, you didn't need me to talk yet."
I looked around as if I was waiting for him to continue. "Well? You gonna introduce yourself or not?"
"I don't feel like it."
A face of disappointed annoyance found its way to appear on me.
The wolf smirked a bit. His teeth showed perfectly with his massive head, as he was dwarfing me.
"I don't remember my name. I am simply a piece to something bigger, but what that is, is something I can't understand."
Was it memory loss? That would be difficult to deal with, but I'd like to know who I'm dealing with.
"Alright, I'll give you a name."
"I would advise it being regal, and awesome."
"Okay Po." I pondered on a name.
"Po?"
I always sucked at naming things, but I based my character off of Norse mythology. A guy who used the strength of body to overcome the strength of magic, and my lycanthropy was based on…
"How about Fenrir." It was obviously based on the myth of Fenrir, which I always enjoyed. A massive wolf to start the destruction of gods, it would be fitting if I am truly up against them.
The wolf didn't seem to care about it, until he raised his head, nose pointing to the sky, and howled in glee.
His tail wagged like crazy, nearly fast enough to blow the forest away.
"A marvelous name. One that I feel fits me. So fitting in fact, it feels like fate that we've met."
〈Fate huh?〉
I gazed to the ground. It felt… good. Like I've met a friend or something, but it felt deeper even with this being the second time we've encountered each other.
"So, why did you call me here?"
"You have concerns, no? I can help you."
I concerned myself with why he wouldn't just tell me, so I'm assuming he wants something in return.
"What is it you want in return?"
"I'm most happy that my master isn't without wisdom. You are correct, I do want something in return. I have been the reason why you haven't felt any hunger pains. The reason why you have felt instinctual feelings about situations. That was me. So I'm quite due for a reward. In order to answer this question, a sacrifice would suffice."
〈A sacrifice? What is this? A ritual?〉
"May I ask why? And for the record, I won't take an innocent life."
"Of course, I know very well where your morality lies, however this isn't a body needed, nor even a "person"."
"Then what is it?"
"A soul would be delicious, but with the help I have already given you"
He then holds up three fingers.
"Three should be enough."
He wants souls, but I can't begin to know how to give that to him.
I stared at him in confusion. "How am I supposed to do that?"
"Simply killing a being with a soul is enough, I'll take care of the rest."
"Well what beings would fit the bill of a being with a soul but innocent?"
"Aren't you in a place that gives missions? There's multiple missions that probably have bandits or some other scum of the earth."
Well… he's right isn't he.
Considering I had little experience fighting while actually having this physical body, it would be a good time to practice.
That's if I don't get messed up in the fight, but my regeneration should help that.
But then…
"What happens if I'm not able to get you what you need?"
The monstrous grin on this wolf when he heard that, it was eerie. A shiver ran down my spine.
"Well like I said, you have quite the appetizing soul. I would be full for decades to come."
〈Yeah, I figured.〉
"Well… that just means I gotta win don't I?" I put on my own grin.
The wolf raised its head, still staring at me eerily. His grin was almost that of a hyena laughing.
We locked eyes, and something between us connected, or clashed. I felt something try to dominate me.
My knees almost buckled, but it felt similar to how I was able to pull in my presence.
I tried to connect to that feeling again, instead, pushing the flow of the river out like a jet. It was worth a try.
In a moment, I felt as if I was taking a shit really…
〈Why does it feel like that?〉
My aura starts to seep out and then builds into more of a torrent. It clashed back against this aura, fighting it. The wolf's pressure was still too much for me, but I had to show him I was in control.
I couldn't let this wolf try to act this arrogant when it was a part of me, a piece of my character.
His grin became wider, if that was even possible.
"You are a fun one."
He released his aura and moved his head back to level with mine. A clear sign his act of pride is done.
"Hoping you can keep that attitude up when I fully learn how to utilize this power."
"I revel in the idea that it will come to fruition. You and I are not that different, I feel as if it's the reason why I'm with you."
He leans closer again.
"Continue to impress me, let the glory of the fight consume you. Let combat be your purpose!"
The wolf's face sneered towards me, it was creepy but mostly intimidating.
〈This wolf is insane, but hey… maybe I am too. To actually be doing this.〉
With that, my body is pulled out of this realm and I slammed back into reality. "But you… didn't tell me the answer!!!"
◆◆◆◇◇◇◆◆◆◇◇◇◆◆◆
King; level 21
EP: 0 (122)
Strength - 32
Dexterity - 32
Constitution - 16
Intelligence - 11
Charisma - 10
Luck - 21
◆◆◆◇◇◇◆◆◆◇◇◇◆◆◆