Chapter 76


    Chapter 76


    Back in his world, Xakor was a scientist. An inventor. A medical doctor. He had many professions. But being a [Chef] was brand new to him. However, in this world, people only ever knew of him as ‘that otherworlder who could cook very well and also had four arms’. So whenever he tried to show off his other skills to most people, they would be skeptical, or even downright outraged.


    “No, wait, don’t—” Jerome sputtered, waving his hands in protest.


    But Xakor just yanked the splinter out of the man’s scabbed knee. Jerome howled in pain, and the ragnarian dusted his hands off.


    “Xrr… good as new.” It was a simple concept— cleaning a dirtied wound before letting it heal. Most healing potions would simply mend the flesh, but any debris trapped in the open skin would remain.


    However, it wasn’t exactlymon knowledge here in Vacuos. And even though Xakor had done Jerome a favor…


    “You should’ve let a [Healer] handle it,” the human man sobbed as he clutched onto his leg. “You’re a [Chef]— look at what you’ve done! I’m bleeding again…”


    It was the oddest aspect of this world. Xakor shook his head and dabbed a cloth in some healing potion. He softly applied the liquid to the wound, letting the injury heal up once more. He hadn’t understood it when he first arrived. Everyone seemed to be so hyper-fixated on sses for every little thing. Certainly, anyone could cook, but only a proper [Chef] could cook in restaurants.


    There were definitely advantages that came from having a cooking-rted ss, Xakor ultimately didn’t think that it was enough topletely discount the capabilities of those who were without a ss, just like Amelia. And yet, he remembered the report he received from Evan. She had beenpletely dismissed back in Windrip— partially because she was an adventurer, but mostly because she wasn’t a [Cook].


    Unlike her, Xakor had readily epted this world’s rules. Being from Krakos, he had known better than to reject the cultural or societal norms of a foreign. He had traveled the gxy, and he had seen very many different things. While what he saw here in Vacuos was the oddest of them all, it was to be expected from an entirely different universe.


    He stepped out of the room, leaving Jerome behind to recover alone. Xakor paused for a moment as he stared at the closed door— he saw the wooden floorboards, then cast his gaze down the narrow corridor. It was evening now, and the house was illuminated only by a few magicalnterns. An alien sight to the ‘alien’.


    “This world… it is so simr, yet so different from my own.” He harrumphed as a soft hissing noise left his throat. “Xrr, healing potions just like the karn balm. Enchantments just like nanotech. But something as simple as cleaning wounds is not ubiquitously-known.”


    Xakor murmured under his breath, recalling Krakos. It had been decades since he first woke up here in Vacuos. He had been the very first otherworlder to arrive in this century. And, perhaps, it was his sudden appearance that spurred the summoning of both Kallistus and Zilter on. As for Amelia’s appearance…


    The [Chef] raised his head as he heard a voiceing from down the corridor.


    “—the System offered me the ss of a [Hero].”


    And Xakor peered over the corner, eyeing the two young human women standing by the kitchen window. His ck eyes fixed onto a head of brown hair.


    Amelia.


    A [Hero] ss, huh? He stared at her, utterly intrigued. Even the [Hero King] hadn’t been gifted such a powerful ss when he was summoned over. Whatever it was that brought Amelia here to Vacuos… it was evident to any observer that her circumstances were vastly different from the rest of the otherworlders. Even Xakor, who had mistakenly torn through the fabric of spacetime and ended up in this world, knew that she had a very unique experience.


    And he wanted to help her limate to her new life in Vacuos.


    —--


    “Yeah… I’m sorry for lying about it,” I said, shifting back.


    Noele just stared at me, wide-eyed. She didn’t say anything. There was nothing for her to say. I felt kind of bad about it, but I believed it was better for me to y my cards close, especially in a new world. And I still thought it had been the right decision to hide this fact until now.


    I wasn’t sure how the blonde girl would take it. Her gaze darkened as she lowered her head. Seeing that reaction, I felt a little bit guilty about lying. I opened my mouth to exin my reasoning—


    And Noele just nodded. “That’s… huh. Well, that exins a lot.”


    I paused. “It does?”


    “Well, I have never heard of anyone ever receiving no ss options from the World System,” the blonde girl said as she tapped a finger on her chin. “Although… I have never heard of anyone being offered only a single ss, either.”


    She frowned as I stared at her. A moment passed, and she shrugged weakly.


    “Nevermind. That exins nothing. But I do think it was the right decision for you to keep it a secret. You barely even knew me, and being a [Hero] is kind of a big deal.”


    “I figured as much,” I said as I took a step back. I was d to see that Noele wasn’t upset at me over this. But I still had a lot more exining to do. “My ss offer was kinda… special, too.”


    Noele watched as I slumped back into a chair and crossed my legs. She nced past me, towards the nearby corridor at the tall purple figure.


    “I get that you trust me now, Amelia. But are you sure you want to say that all out loud? I mean… Xakor is here too.” She nodded at him. “No offense.”


    “Xrr, none taken,” Xakor said.


    “He’s fine.” I waved a hand off, ncing back at the otherworlder. “He’s not from Vacuos, like me. I trust him enough to not stab me for rejecting the System or whatever.”


    “I don’t think most people would particrly care.” Noele shook her head. “But why did you reject the [Hero] ss, anyway?” She peered at me.


    I pursed my lips, ncing between the blonde girl and the alien. They waited expectantly. I folded my arms.


    “Well, initially I rejected the ss because I was tired of fighting,” I exined. I turned to Xakor, waving a hand dismissively. “You weren’t here for this exnation— but I basically fought off the Void for a long time.”


    “The Void?” He furrowed his brows. “Xrr… do you mean the Sect of Abyssal Thorns?”


    “Something like that.” I turned back to Noele and nodded. “Anyways, another reason why I rejected the ss was because… of the details.” I wasn’t sure how else to put it.


    The blonde girl raised a brow. “The details?”


    I closed my eyes, sighing. “It’splicated. But… it’s as I said, I don’t want to be beholden to anything for the sake of power ever again. And the ss option—”


    I paused as I recalled the words of the System. You will forever devote your life to protecting the System, or so it said. It reminded me of the Voidgod. The ss offer was no different to what I was given while trapped in the Fractured Realm. I opened my eyes and held Noele’s gaze.


    “It wants me to be the [Worldwalker Hero of Vacuos]. And let’s just say I get bad vibes from that,” I finally said.


    “Bad… vibes?” She blinked.


    “Yes.” I gave her a t stare. “Is there something wrong with that?”


    “Like… what kind of bad, uh, vibes?” Noele prodded me. “That doesn’t really exin anything.”


    I shrugged. “I feel like the System is trying to enve me. That’s it, really.”


    Noele narrowed her eyes. “Enve you? But why would the World System ever do that?”


    “Xrr, I believe that is a valid fear,” Xakor was the one to respond. He drew forward, raising one of his four hands to his chin. “I, myself, feared such a bacsh when I first became a [Chef]. You must understand, Noele the Noble Spellsword, but wee from non-System worlds. The concept of an omnipresent World System is… jarring for us.”


    The blonde girl scratched the back of her head. “I… see?”


    “It’s pretty fucking weird, at the very least.” I snorted. “I’m pretty sure Grat-ra’zun would try to kill me for sphemy or whatever if he heard me say this— but the more I learn about the System, the less I trust it.”


    “Why?” She stared at me quizzically.


    “Other than the ss itself… do you see this, Noele?” I said as I gestured at my cloak. “Does anything seem wrong to you?”


    Noele snapped her brows together. She leaned forward, and her eyes went round. “Wait, that’s—” She drew forward, blinking a few times. “That’s right! I forgot to ask you about it! Your cloak is… broken?”


    She stared at it, utterly puzzled. I looked down at my cloak. It was torn and tattered— practically shredded. Holes of various sizes ripped through the cloth, and kes of the fabric floated just off the ground. It shouldn’t have remained intact, but it somehow didn’t fall apart.


    Xakor rubbed his chin. “Xrr, I did notice that. But I assume it was a result of some simple magic.”


    “I noticed it too. But… I forgot about it?” Noele creased her brows, still staring at the cloak. “I don’t get it. How did I forget about this?”


    I wagged a finger at her. “Exactly.”


    I got back to my feet as my cloak whipped behind me. She just stared for a moment, and I started towards a window.


    “But that’s… it feels…” she trailed off.


    “It’s Void-touched,” I said simply. I came to a halt right before the windowsill. “Or at least, I think it is. I found it in the Fractured Realm.”


    “You did?” Noele looked up at me.


    “I found it along with this sword.” I tapped the hilt of my rusty de. “They don’t belong to me, so I’m going to assume they belonged to the Voidgod.”


    Xakor stood off to the side, listening with slight confusion evident in his face. Meanwhile, Noele’s lips just twisted as I stared out at the twilight sky.


    “Everyone notices the cloak when I first meet them. But they always seem to take it in stride. And I’ve always found it odd. That’s part of why I don’t trust the System.” I looked down at the palm of my hand, recalling all the attempts I’ve made to get any other ss that wasn’t a [Hero]. “Not when it is imposing its will onto me.”


    The blonde girl said nothing. I just closed my eyes as I remembered both Grat-ra’zun and Nn’s exnations of how sses worked.


    “Maybe I’m wrong— I don’t know why I can’t be a [Chef] or a [Farmer]. Maybe I’m the problem.” I raised my head, turning back to face my apprentice. “But all I know is, at the end of the day, this decision is yours to make.”


    My gaze bore into her as she shifted back. I shook my head after a moment passed.


    “I can’t tell you whether or not relying on the System just a little bit more than you already have is a good idea. All I can say is that I’m not epting any ss from the System unless it’s either the [Chef] ss or the [Farmer] ss. But even then, I would think twice about it for a moment.”


    Xakor nodded from the side. “Xrr, I would be more than happy to offer you consultation as well. I can tell you that I was reticent just like you. I was unsure whether to ept the World System’s power. Of course, as is quite evident, I eventually decided the pros outweigh the potential cons.”


    “Yeah, and I appreciate that offer.” I smiled back at him. I started past Noele, patting her on the shoulder. “Whether you choose to be a [Champion] or not— it’s your choice, Noele. But if I were in your shoes? I wouldn’t take it.”


    “I… see,” Noele said softly. She looked down at herself, then nced back at me— towards my tattered cloak. “The Void— the World System… this is a lot to consider, huh?”


    She chuckled as she shook her head. I craned my neck back fractionally, looking at the blonde girl from the corner of my eye. I waited for a moment, and she sighed.


    “I’ll think about it, I guess. It’s not like I have to figure it out now, right?”


    “Nah, you’re fine.” I nodded at her, before continuing down the hallway back to my room. I passed Xakor as I waved back at the blonde girl. “Anyways, if you need my help, just ask. You know where to find me.”


    “Right.” Noele nodded as I continued on.


    Xakor eyed me as I started away from him. “You are an interesting individual, Amelia. Xrr, I am quite d that Evan introduced me to you.”


    I smirked back at the alien. “Well, don’t say that. Now I actually feel indebted to that entric guildmaster. And I’d rather not owe him anything.”


    “Agreed,” Xakor just chuckled.


    —--


    And in the distance, far from Wolfwater— far from Whiteridge— a city burned. Windrip burned. The fortress-like city had been engulfed in mes. Its stone buildings endured the heat, but its already-weakened defenses had been dismantled with ease.


    Justyn swept his gaze over the sea of fire, hacking and coughing as ash stained his skin. He stumbled to his feet as he spotted a shadow amidst the smoke. A figure that stood with a looming presence. The [Receptionist] of the Adventurer’s Guild of Windrip backed away as his eyes grew wide.


    “T-the [Hero King]...” he whispered.


    And Kallistus Kal raised his head, ncing dismissively at the watching bystander. A figure twitched at his feet. Justyn gulped and looked down. His eyes snapped wide.


    “That’s—” He stared at the bleeding figure. “G-Guildmaster Evan…?”


    The Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild of Windrip just chuckled as hey at the [Hero King]’s feet.


    “G-g-get out of here…” Evan choked. “B-before you—”


    “I am not interested in him,” the [Hero King] cut him off. “Worry not about your friends, but yourself.”


    Justyn backed up, watching the scene unfold. His breathing quickened, and he stared down at the guildmaster. Evan just returned with a weak smile, before looking back up to Kallistus.


    “I-I already told you, I’m not telling y-you… anything,” Evan spat.


    And Kallistus just shook his head. “You will talk. You will tell me everything. And you will help me find her.”


    With that, the [Hero King] drew back. A pair of royal guards seized the guildmaster, taking him away. Justyn looked on for a moment longer, before scrambling away from the burning scene.


    Her? he thought, ncing back once. He saw Kallistus Kal’s figure in the distance and pursed his lips. Is he looking for… Amelia?


    The [Receptionist] gritted his teeth. And he knew he had to warn her.


    MsD


    Thank you for getting me to number 1 on TWF again