《Centifire: Deciphering Magic》


 1 - Lark Rune

    To my grandson: For us inventors, the progression of humanity wanes when we can¡¯t imagine. We put a man on the moon and made him fly, both feats, once thought impossible, became reality. Merging the stars and skies won¡¯t be an easy feat, similar to the burdens I¡¯ve left behind. But in my inventor¡¯s heart of hearts, I believe you¡¯ll figure out why the world has changed or how it¡¯s always been¡­ began the will.


    Lark debated the wisdom behind his grandfather¡¯s last words while waiting at the bus terminal. He had to figure out what to say to his family¡¯s lawyer about how he¡¯d be divvying out his grandfather¡¯s inheritance, which entailed not only money but his legacy as well. Almost a year had passed since the funeral, and he was still dealing with this¡­


    After inhaling a mouthful of autumn air, he released a chilled breath into the busy sky and watched the wispy vapor carry into the chorus of thrumming engines. A dull crescent-moon laid barely visible behind the colorful blur of vehicles zipping around skyscrapers. Friday mornings always felt far-off, just like his missing bus.


    Forget it, by the time humanity manages to merge time and space together, the bus will still be late.


    As leaves raked across the streets, Lark hid his back behind the portal-terminal. The thin metallic post shielded his body poorly; wind chaffed at his ears. Rummaging his hands deep inside his leather jacket for the umpteenth time, he hugged his sides and buried his neck under the layers of his infinity scarf. The soft cotton-like material radiated heat to his skin through smart threads, an ingenuity developed by his grandfather¡¯s company, Runetech.


    Even at the turn of a new millennium, Runetech was at the forefront of technology and fashion. But failure was often common: His grandfather¡¯s infamous feather-hair braider, for example, tapped them out of millions, with good reason. An accessory designed to style faux feathers with the client¡¯s hair actually replaced the hair for feathers. It wasn¡¯t until their next hit: light-bread gloves, which sold well in the Japanese markets, did Runetech claw their way out of the red.


    Still, he couldn¡¯t help but stress over their finances. Runetech couldn¡¯t compete with innovations like flying vehicles or teleportation terminals. Those cutting-edge products, described as ¡°out-of-this-world,¡± were dubbed as alien-technology by the public and could only be sold by certain power-houses. Because the markets for alien-technology would not release information on how they were produced, any attempts to reverse-engineer these products resulted in costly failures(or so the R&D department reported).


    The prevailing theory was that alien-technology came from Area 51; and like all conspiracies, convenience exempted answers.


    Speaking of inconveniences, Lark peeked at his smartwatch, where a plain screen with a circle frame revealed the time in a black, blocky font.


    7:36


    The bus should''ve been here a minute ago! He shivered underneath his makeshift scarf mask, half-regretting not taking his set of gloves: a pair of toasty, smiley-faced buns. Who cares if it¡¯s designed for girls? He was cute and cold!


    His live-in caretaker, Wangshi, usually drove him to school. Well, everywhere actually. Lark missed the blacked-out windows, his heater, and the personal space of his own car. However, his caretaker claimed he needed the day off to rest, which would¡¯ve been fine except that he noticed not only his caretaker gone but the car too.


    He sniffled. A beep from his watch alerted him to his ride approaching; the bright-red city bus passed over the west block. Finally. He pressed the circular ring inside the terminal and when the synthesized voice reported, ¡°Bus pass detected, entry accepted,¡± a white halo sprung around his feet. Moments later, the outline turned green as the bus went overhead. In a zap, he found himself sitting on a cushion. Chills ran down his spine as he reoriented himself.


    Portals took ten seconds to work. For nine, his body disconnected from the world without knowing it. And for one, he felt annoyance.


    Stupid, cheap terminals.


    He unwrapped his scarf; at least the bus had the heater on. Tapping the face of his watch, a holographic keyboard pulled out above his forearm and a menu with circle-shaped applications appeared on a floating screen. The holograms drew in envious looks from fellow Dubois High students, which he was used to. But a grandma-looking character, who sat across from him, tilted her head with her eyes growing as big as saucers. He coughed and hurriedly tapped on settings to turn on the barrier which erected an invisible sound-proof wall around him. Glad to be free of prying ears, he closed the settings and noted an ad crawl across the bus interior for Soko¡¯s Auction House.


    A year ago, Soko¡¯s revealed their alien-technology catalog beside their usual antique shows¡ªairships, hoverboards, and more were up for grabs at the right price. But Lark only had eyes for the Trinity Watch, which was appraised for its ability to transform, sound-proof technology, and holographic properties.


    Though there was one feature he hadn¡¯t been sold on, which was soul-bounding.


    Omniscient power to locate the watch with his mind? Sole ownership of the watch based on soul criteria? Unlockable functions through soul growth?¡ªit read off like a game mechanic instead of an upgraded software feature.


    It wasn¡¯t a function listed in the brochure, and he would never have learned about it without the auction company rearranging a one-on-one meeting with the inventor. He felt indebted to his VIP status until he learned the spiel was absolute psychomancy. Had security not cleared the sellers, Lark might¡¯ve thought the inventor was a lunatic or even a cultist.


    He would¡¯ve been okay if the conversation ended with, ¡°Just kidding, never take it off if you don¡¯t want to lose it! Sucker.¡± But the inventor insisted on giving him a booklet that reminded him of an instruction manual from a certain Swedish furniture store. ¡°It¡¯ll come in handy one day,¡± the inventor said mysteriously and left the room like a caped crusader.


    A lunatic it was.


    But he had no issues with the smartwatch since then. He tapped the microphone icon on the interface and voice-texted to his best friend, ¡°The bus was more than a minute late. Where can I lodge a complaint about this?¡± He added a pulsing red angry face for dramatic effect. Satisfied, he sent the message and the illuminated keyboard dissipated.


    His watch beeped a minute after, notifying him of a recorded message. After tapping the message icon, a defined image of Sky¡¯s slanted jaw came into view.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get so lazy in our last year of high school!¡± the boy on the floating screen scolded. A sharp gleam rolled off his glasses that only evil geniuses could pull off. ¡°Also, don¡¯t bug me about being late, you ass. I only got like four hours of sleep last night because you wanted to tease us instead of focusing on the damn group assignment!¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The sound of a motor engine revved up off screen and Lark rolled his eyes. Sky¡¯s parents hated that motorbike, but they let him do what he wanted since starting senior year.


    ¡°You see this,¡± Sky pointed at the dark circles under his eyes. ¡°I look like a fucking panda and I don¡¯t own expensive concealer like Mishka, so you better stop this shit and tell me what you want.¡±


    Lark ran his tongue under his teeth, holding back a laugh.


    ¡°Otherwise, I will sick your biggest fans on you. They want to test out some new toys mom and dad got ¡®em.¡± Sky burst out laughing and eyed the camera sidelong.


    His knee itched. Sky¡¯s siblings, Cloud and Teddy, were twins. They were at the cute age of six and acted like angels when they wanted to; little devils when ignored. Whenever he would come over, the twins subjected him to hours of torturous playtime. In their last bout where he played the dashingly-handsome, evil dragon, the twins chucked legos at him endlessly. A lego-shaped bruise was left on his leg after tripping on lava last week.


    His panda-eyed friend waved into the camera and donned a black, cat-eared helmet. ¡°Enjoy your ride with the commoners. Meet ya later at Fuego¡¯s.¡±


    He swiped the screen away and looked over the air traffic. Boat-sized airships dominated the skies to skinny motorbikes on the lower channels. A scooter much like Sky¡¯s sped over short-stacked shops, while his bus and other transport vehicles like shipping trucks and trailers migrated across channel two. On the ground level, there were a few pedestrians, college students on their hoverboards and a couple of exercise maniacs on their pedal bikes.


    He reached out to the fogged-up window, pressing the moon under his finger, while the cityscape melded underneath. His grandfather never talked about the skies or the moon much that he could remember¡ªthat was more aligned with Sky¡¯s interests¡ªbut surely, his grandfather¡¯s will alluded to the origins of alien-technology. Knowledge he could use to vastly improve Runetech¡¯s capabilities.


    If his family were still alive, he wouldn¡¯t feel the need to keep looking over his shoulder. But life kept advancing beyond death; that was the truth. And he was stuck on its ride, slumming it on this bus with people he didn¡¯t know.


    Then, he had a thought: If the bus suddenly braked and he flew out the window, how close could he get to the moon before having his limbs lopped off by oncoming traffic? Though, he supposed it would be ironic if his detached arm landed on the billboard advertising prosthetics at Friledaux hospital.


    Wondering what his therapist would say, Lark continued to draw a smiley face onto the panel. The tip of his finger tingled as a fine crack appeared under the dotted eye.


    Huh?¡ª


    Tremors reverberated through the bus and his hand recoiled to the splitting pain in his ear. The floor swayed, lurching everyone out of their seats. With quick reflexes, he planted his leg against the chair to stop himself from tumbling forward. The granny across from him flipped onto her back like a stranded turtle. All the circular buttons for activating transfers flashed red and they suddenly stopped moving.


    An emergency stop? Passengers groped their way off the floors back to their seats, confusion etched on their faces. He picked up on their gasps and groans despite one of his ears ringing. When did the sound-barrier cancel out?


    The granny yammered into his bad ear as he leaned over to pick her up. She tapped on his shoulder repeatedly until he finally turned to the front windows. In the channel above them, red-robed figures stood on the front-end of the Redlines¡¯ airship. A large tear in the starboard-bow revealed its massive metal skeleton frame. The ringing in his ear became louder.


    ¡°Oh fuck, it¡¯s anti-alien cultists! They¡¯re still kickin¡¯ it!¡± someone from his school shouted and a few more curious passengers crowded to the front. Lark¡¯s watch emitted a buzz. A notification from the news app: Breaking News: AA Cultists Sighted in Sa¡ª


    Lark swiped away the notification, deeply unsettled. Why were they here?


    Cultists waged attacks against supporters of new technology, and the culminating fear helped establish the Allied Agency to fend off the terrorists worldwide. In horrible, but expected fashion, the Internet ridiculed the cult-like terrorists as anti-alien and clickbait headlines emerged: The AA Cultists versus the AA Agents.


    Don¡¯t wanna be on the wrong end of that meeting, but someone should take charge.


    The mockery drew short though when the cultists evaded annihilation since their debut in 2050. Their objectives remained unclear as their activities declined over the years and infrastructures rapidly integrated alien-technology.


    They aren¡¯t looking for me, are they? He glowered and squeezed the strap of his backpack. Instead of worrying, people like his schoolmates pulled out their phones. Getting stuck on top of the channel ramp gave the cameras an almost perfect angle of the catastrophe.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the ship look like it¡¯s sinking?¡± a passenger raised their voice. Channel three vehicles were heavyweights, as per protocol, but Redlines prided in their cruise-like airships. The behemoth tipped nose-first down into the second channel, where at least three car lanes fell under its shadow.


    The atmosphere strained as people realized those in the trajectory of the downed airship were waiting inside floating coffins. ¡°Why aren¡¯t those folks at the Allied Agency evacuating everyone?¡± a terrified passenger yelled at no one in particular.


    Lark dug his fingernails into his palms. The trapped cars were within reach, but he didn¡¯t have the power to do anything, except watch everything unfold.


    His attention shifted to the radio: ¡°Attention passengers, this is Agent Farrows speaking from the Allied Agency. There¡¯s been an incident with an airship in channel three. Please remain calm until all channels clear for safety.¡±


    No one spotted where the agents were, but a large elastic bubble encapsulated the entire airship, stopping it from descending further. The cultists withdrew a couple paces, perhaps not expecting this countermeasure and began fleeing the scene by foot.


    What¡¯s that bubble made of? Lark wondered as he yawned; his lack of sleep catching up to him. The granny raised an eyebrow at him and he couldn¡¯t look her in the eye.


    ¡°They¡¯re making a quick getaway,¡± an onlooker remarked. Lark caught glimpses of red cloaks fluttering in the wind. Are they using airboots?


    The cultists skipped over the frozen vehicles like stepping stones, but he couldn¡¯t see if their feet propelled off of the hunks of metal. That is to say, normal shoes couldn¡¯t do those dance tricks.


    But one wrong move and they could slip and fall to their deaths. Lark watched in amazement as one cultist had already reached the edge of the airspace with an unnatural burst of speed and looked ready to charge into a skyscraper.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Passengers who were cramming their phones to the top of their windows lowered their devices to eye-level as two bodies dropped in front of the bus. One culprit fainted inside the same bubble that was encapsulating the airship, and the other one landed on top of a double-decker tour-bus further down their lane. Blood leaked everywhere from his head to his shoulders. Considering he fell from channel three all the way down to channel one, it was a miracle his body was still in one piece.


    The sleepiness fled Lark¡¯s clouded vision when the granny suddenly yelped. The culprit who was supposedly down for the count had his arms raised like a zombie rising from the dead.


    ¡°H-he¡¯s got a gun!¡± the elderly passenger gasped and then fainted while clutching one hand to her chest.


    Lark caught the fainting woman before she went completely limp in his arms. His heart thundered as he looked outside again for the gun. All he could see was a red, metallic surface over the terrorist¡¯s hands. Gloves?


    The passengers that heard her, leaned against the walls to make themselves appear as small as possible. But there were others, like his schoolmates, who kept recording.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright? He¡¯s not holding a gun. It¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not?¡±


    The old lady cracked an eye open and looked out the window.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bomb!¡±


    She fainted once again, this time with two hands stitching her chest together.


    Hey now¡­!


    ¡°Get down!¡± the loudspeaker rang. The roof rattled.


    From the shocked faces of the trapped travelers in the surrounding cars, everyone inside the bus could safely assume, someone was indeed on the roof.


    The zombie-looking cultist swiveled his torso in the direction of their bus and his palm was outstretched in an awkward high-five. Lark¡¯s arms tingled as he instinctively shielded his face. For some reason, the cultist¡¯s palm felt dangerous even though they were more than ten cars apart.


    And he was correct. In the next moment, a steely sheen coated the cultist¡¯s palms and rising from it, he saw purple vapors. Then all the smoke converged into a singular form, condensed and blazing with energy.


    Lark shoved the old lady under his arms and pulled his coat over her as a fiery ball blasted out of the cultist¡¯s hands.


    He really shouldn¡¯t have taken the bus today¡­

 2 - The Smell of Fuego

    Purple flames hailed towards them. The crowd of onlookers stood by oddly entranced by the colored fire as if they were watching fireworks, but once everyone shared the exact terrifying realization their bus would soon be consumed by flames, they ducked behind chairs and phones clattered to the floor. Their natural instincts told them to get out, flee, but waiting outside was over seventy feet of air and asphalt.


    In midst of all the unintelligible cries inside, Lark found himself freezing in the face of death, again. He urged his body to move. Do something! Anything! Or you¡¯re going to die here!


    His blood ran cold as he saw the burst, burn so bright, the flicker of heat distorted the air.


    Air left his lungs. It¡¯s over.


    The bus shook and more passengers screamed, but it was lost on his ears when he saw the same bubble that saved the Redlines airship emerge in front of them.


    A bubble with the texture of bubble gum expanded from the top of the bus and met the flames head-on. If a sword were the equivalent of the flame, the sword would¡¯ve pierced through the bubble. However, not only did the bubble block the attack as a shield¡­ it ate the fire.


    <hr>


    Squeaky sneakers slid across the court and his entire hand twitched. He looked at the late pass in his hand. It felt sticky against his fingers. Before he entered through the double doors, he tilted his head up into the sky. Air traffic resumed about forty minutes after the attack and their bus dropped everyone off at its usual stops as if the incident was just a minor inconvenience. The channels streamed across the skies like layers of a braided rope. Wide, colorful, and knotted in his mind.


    Lark sauntered into the school gymnasium when he was tackled by a majority of his classmates. His back landed onto the blue, rubber flooring, and he groaned from pain and laughter as he received several noogies.


    ¡°Ahaha, this bastard stealing all the glory!¡± one voice above him roared, while the others agreed.


    ¡°Gerroff me!¡± Lark struggled under the dogpile. ¡°I don¡¯t want all your sweaty balls on my face.¡±


    A burly man with wavy gray hair strode over to their corner on the mat and blew the whistle around his neck, causing all the boys to scatter. Instructor Fuego ran a hand through his well-kept hair, showcasing a perfect right angle from his mid-line to his taut biceps in black spandex.


    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s best about youth?¡± Fuego tapped his clipboard and twisted his back again before raising his arms in a herculean pose. ¡°Your sweat sparkles!¡±


    Some of the male students howled with laughter.


    ¡°Twenty more laps! Move your flabby butts!¡± Instructor Fuego blew his whistle again and they winced.


    Lark shrugged his shoulders. He couldn¡¯t say Instructor Fuego had no sense of humor, but it was strange. As for why a world-renown athlete ended up teaching at their school, it must¡¯ve it been due to his odd personality.


    But even in retirement, Fuego trained daily. His resting heart rate was still in the 40¡¯s last Lark remembered when they compared their activity trackers.


    Lark checked the data from this morning; the spike in his heart rate reached over 120 - a new record. It was now at a steady 70 beats per minute average. As he stood up the instructor slapped his back. ¡°You alright kiddo?¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°Good, then get out there too!¡± Fuego beamed. ¡°We can¡¯t let the hero skip training!¡±


    What? He must¡¯ve worn a shocked expression because Fuego kicked him into the running lane and his classmates roared with laughter again.


    Lark tossed his jacket and backpack off to the side when Sky jogged up next to him.


    ¡°You bastard, everyone was so worried about you when you didn¡¯t show up this morning. What happened?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± Pumping his legs harder, he bumped shoulders with other students.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡± Sky pushed the frame of his glasses up, even though they barely slid down his nose.


    Lark turned on his heel. When could this skinny bean catch up with me¡ª?


    ¡°It¡¯s all over the web. But when we didn¡¯t see you this morning and heard about the attack, Mishka constantly checked with her contacts to make sure you were alright, you ungrateful¡ªugh!¡±


    Sky broke rhythm, and Lark shot back, ¡°Don¡¯t talk so much. You¡¯re gonna bite your tongue.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, why are you so nonchalant¡ªthere¡¯re leaked videos of a guy blasting fire from his hands! But you¡¯re acting all hush-hush like the agency.¡± Sky panted as they made another turn. He lifted his glasses as sweat rolled off his nose. ¡°Everyone¡¯s cheering nobody got hurt, but what about that freakn¡¯ fireball!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still trying to wrap my head around it, too.¡±


    ¡°Really, now?¡± Sky smirked. ¡°Your quick reaction earned you some fame. And the granny was cute. It looked like she had a heart attack¡­ from how cool you were.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, you talk too much.¡± Lark shouldered him.


    Sky flexed his bicep and bragged, ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to push harder than that now. I may come from a long line of Professor Laytons, but look at these guns.¡±


    ¡°Ridiculous.¡± Lark snickered and sped up his pace a second time.


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m still working on my quads. D-don¡¯t run so fast~¡±


    <hr>


    By the end of class, his entire body ached. Popping the joints in his shoulders relieved some of the tension, and he let a cool towel hang over his neck. He hadn¡¯t run that hard since he quit soccer, but Sky looked ready to pass out on the floor.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing better than I thought you would,¡± he said, tossing a water bottle. ¡°The reason why Instructor Fuego likes it when people call him Fuego is cuz it literally means fire in Spanish, and he likes to light people¡¯s asses on fire.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh you jerk.¡± Sky struggled to open the cap and clutched his abdomen. ¡°Did he tell you that? Or are you making shit up again with your one-year of Spanish?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll never know,¡± he answered with a dry laugh. ¡°Maybe if you get on Fuego¡¯s good side, he¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Every time I catch him looking at me, it¡¯s like he wants to snap me in half,¡± Sky said, faking a shiver while stretching his white lanky leg in front of a mirror.


    The two walked through the back door of their next class: Intermediate Coding. The computer lab consisted of forty newly installed touch-screen panels, but their class had about half that many students enrolled.


    Sky rolled out two chairs near the aisle and spun in one of them with his arms raised above his head like a little kid. ¡°We¡¯ve risen from hell to the heavens.¡±


    Lark rolled his eyes and finger-swiped the glass monitor, revealing a digital landscape. An information box loaded on the screen and he logged in with his school ID and password. Spreading two fingers across the monitor, he widened the window browser. Blue hyperlinks about the Redlines incident reflected in his gaze.


    Sky drummed his fingers and opened similar reports. ¡°I wanted to ask you this morning, but are you going to Samuel¡¯s funeral this weekend?¡±


    ¡°Wangshi can take us if you want to go,¡± Lark answered and his jaw locked when he accidentally pressed on an ad. He lifted his fingers off the glass, leaving a cloudy trail. Brushing his hot palms against his pants, he forced them to still.


    ¡°Up to me, huh?¡± Sky murmured as he clicked on a news link.


    All the headlines applauded the Allied Agency for capturing the cultists. They all echoed the same sentiments: the anti-alien faction would be seeing the end of their so-called ¡°tech raids.¡±


    There were still ten minutes left of their break before the bell would ring and their teacher hadn¡¯t walked in yet. Mishka was probably running late from her Physics class.


    The two scrolled through the search engine when Sky cleared his throat. ¡°Are you sure you want to go? It hasn¡¯t been that long since your grandfather¡¯s¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been over a year already. I¡¯m fine.¡±


    First the cultists, now funerals he wanted no reminders of. Lark dug his fingernails into the crook of his neck, his mind flashing back to when he ripped apart the invitation from Sam¡¯s parents.


    Samuel was their senior by a year and the previous soccer captain before him. Last they saw Sam, he was this baby-faced college freshman who just moved into his dorm during the summer.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    No one knew where he was now.


    ¡°He¡¯s only been missing since the start of the quarter. Only a few weeks later, and they¡¯re already giving up? If it were me, I¡¯d never¡­¡± Lark gritted his teeth.


    Sky slumped in his chair and curled his fingers under his chin. ¡°His parents are oddballs. People don¡¯t normally send invitation cards to funerals. They actually wrote in there that God told them he¡¯s no longer in this world.


    ¡°But you know, Lark, it¡¯s not like your father¡¯s case. The police suspected foul play in Samuel¡¯s disappearance. I think this is more for them to have closure.¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s no proof. No body. Just rumors.¡±


    Morosely scrolling through the twenty tabs he opened, his eyes dimmed. Sky was right; no one corroborated the release of purple flames from the cultist¡¯s hands. All the videos captured a bright white flash and then the bubble enveloped the attackers. The only sources talking about the flames were those supposedly at the site. Like himself.


    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t look so good. You sure want to continue class today?¡± Sky leaned in and pressed a hand against Lark¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Who do you think is causing my bad mood?¡± Lark palmed Sky¡¯s face away when another hand pinched his ear.


    ¡°Who gave you permission to touch my boyfriend?¡± Mishka wiggled the shell of Lark¡¯s ear. She wore her usual white-striped cat hoodie and danced around his chair, whipping his infinity scarf around his head into a turban.


    Sometimes, he wondered how a free-spirit like Mishka would be interested in a no-nonsense, study-type like Sky.


    ¡°I would rough you up, but by the cat gods, what would your fangirls do to me if I messed up your hair.¡±


    As she did one look-over at Sky, she pinched her nose. ¡°Are you wearing cologne? Like a lot of it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the smell of Fuego.¡± Sky beamed as their professor, Mrs. Zayne, walked into the room. Her long legs effectively shut down every conversation in the classroom. Unlike other electives, Professor Zayne only accepted students who mastered their prerequisites. As long as no one caused a ruckus, they had the freedom to talk while working. Plus, she was a little sweet on them after they won last year¡¯s robotics competition.


    Sitting down on Sky¡¯s left side, closest to the wall, Mishka sprayed sanitizer over her hands, keyboard, and mouse. ¡°Hey, panda eyes over here.¡±


    Sky slid his chair next to her and pulled down her hood till it covered her nose.


    Unable to look away, Lark caught a glimpse of her knees wobbling as his best friend pecked the top of her nose and whispered sweet words into her ear.


    Stuck as a third wheel to the horrors, he kicked Sky¡¯s chair.


    ¡°Ouch, hey!¡±


    Mishka reached for her boyfriend¡¯s cheeks and pulled them in different directions.


    ¡°W-wait! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow¡­¡±


    ¡°Lark¡¯s finesse with words is rubbing off you. This makes me worried.¡±


    Sky released her from his embrace to tend to his loved cheeks, while she folded her hood back. Loose, golden hair curled down the sides of her flushed face.


    Lark hugged his shoulders. ¡°This is too much PDA in the morning.¡±


    Mishka fixed her hair and asked, ¡°Should I introduce you to someone?¡±


    ¡°No. Please, no.¡±


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s talk about that new piece from Soko¡¯s.¡± Her familiar catty smile appeared.


    It¡¯s been over a year since the half-a-million purchase and Mishka still looked at him sometimes as if he were one of the jarred lab specimens in Mr. Zayne¡¯s Biology classroom. A goose-flesh impression erupted along his arms, which he often experienced when hearing Mishka¡¯s love for the unexplained phenomena in their world. One of which was alien technology.


    Lark pretended to not hear her as he shot a glare at Sky, who double-teamed in silliness with his girlfriend. They both tried their best to cutely pout.


    ¡°Mishka is our leading expert on alien-technology, you know that. And you wouldn¡¯t hide something from me if it was something you could easily search online for,¡± Sky said stiffly, facing forward.


    ¡°To call her an expert is overkill, but you just had to ruin the surprise,¡± Lark snorted, and refreshed the news cycle. His eyes widened at the latest headline: Loose Cultist from the Attack on Redlines Airship?


    Mishka¡¯s fingers flew across the keyboard. Seeing as no students were notified of the possible danger, Lark guessed she was making several inquiries to her contacts.


    ¡°The bomb went off at 7:45 and there were zero reported injuries from the blast. All passengers on the Redlines¡¯ airship were safely encapsulated from the debris as the vehicle went down. It looks like there¡¯s only minimal infrastructure damage,¡± Sky read off the link. ¡°Three cultists were immediately apprehended within five minutes of the attack, but some are speculating there¡¯s an insider. Whoa, there¡¯s a lot of comments about you again. Some of the comments are asking who is the handsome guy in the second row.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? What trashy news cycle are you reading this from? I¡¯ll have to unsubscribe.¡±


    Mishka hadn¡¯t stopped typing when the teacher came by their row to hand them their new assignments.


    ¡°Hey, Professor Zayne. Did Mister Zayne get those beautiful trilliant cut earrings for your anniversary?¡± Lark¡¯s voice oozed with charisma.


    One of her hands brushed against the sapphire studs as if she almost forgot they were still there. Her lips pushed to one corner as if to say, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°Professor,¡± Lark began seriously, ¡°Did you hear anything about the AA attack this morning?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Her response wasn¡¯t fast, nor slow. She raised an immaculate eyebrow that reached the height of her brown curled bangs. ¡°Didn¡¯t you receive a notification from the school administration when they were caught?¡±


    ¡°No, we didn¡¯t get a notification that it even happened on our phones. We just heard about it from our teacher during first period.¡± Sky piped in. ¡°And the news is saying that there¡¯s a possible fourth cultist on the loose.¡±


    Professor Zayne nodded, but her smile pressed into a thin line¡ª Is she worried?


    ¡°I¡¯ll let the staff know during lunch that there¡¯s probably an issue with our servers. Here, pass these down.¡±


    It was only after the professor went back up to her desk that Mishka shared any tidbits of reliable information.


    ¡°My contact at the Northshore Express confirmed there¡¯s a loose cultist but no other leads...¡±


    Following the warning, the bell rang and Professor Zayne booted up the screen in front of the classroom. It displayed all their hard work from last night. Diagrams and formulated scripts filled the wall.


    Thumbing the edges of his wristband, Lark didn¡¯t even notice the professor handing him another assignment until Sky elbowed him. For the rest of the class period, they didn¡¯t talk about the AA topic, but the image of the purple flame remained stuck inside his head.


    <hr>


    Thinking too much made him stressed and hungry; lunch became an escape from his turmoil. The three met up again for lunch in the school library. Not many libraries allowed food near literature, but since people were sneaking in snacks the Dubois High librarian sectioned off a small area for eating.


    Lining his back against the pillar, Lark emptied the lunch bag Wangshi packed for him.


    Mishka, sitting next to him, dove into a burrito and crossed her ankles.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold? I feel cold lookin'' at you,¡± he said, staring at her lightly exposed skin. Her skin tone wasn¡¯t as pale as Sky¡¯s, but they were on the peachy side compared to the tan that he got from running outside so often.


    ¡°Hey, stop staring at my girlfriend¡¯s legs.¡± Sky eyed the two from the trash can, stopping midway from peeling his banana.


    Smirking, she trailed her fingers up to the curb of her black shorts. Lark shifted his gaze back to Sky, who nearly popped his banana into the trash.


    ¡°I have smart threads running through them. You should know better than anyone how they work.¡± She giggled.


    ¡°Since I¡¯ve answered your question, you have to answer one of mine.¡±


    ¡°Shoot.¡± Lark washed down the last bite of his sandwich with some OJ. He reached towards his sling backpack to prepare himself for the barrage of questions related to the piece of alien tech.


    Might as well show it to her now¡­


    ¡°I want to know what happened to you, can you tell me?¡± Mishka¡¯s tone was light and borderline nice, but he knew it was calculated.


    ¡°You¡¯ve had this self-destructive look on your face since third, but it seems more than just nerves from this morning,¡± she added as if to explain her sudden questioning.


    His head ached. Really, she was becoming more and more like Sky, he thought. When did they start watching him so closely?


    Sky sat beside her and chided, ¡°Mishka, we¡¯re making him uncomfortable. Can¡¯t you see? He¡¯ll tell us when he¡¯s ready, you can¡¯t push him like this¡ª¡±


    It¡¯s fine. Deciding to open the lid a bit more, he thought, maybe, all the emotions he contained would be easier to process.


    ¡°Sky must¡¯ve told you some of it. My grandfather on my dad¡¯s side passed away during the spring of our Junior year, which made my exit as captain of the soccer team very dramatic.¡± The library was brightly lit from the open bay window, and cracks weaved through the floor like a river. He casted his story from the least unpleasant part. ¡°The suddenness¡ª he was just so healthy before it happened. But Runetech needed to live on even without the brains behind the whole thing. Everyone knew that¡ª¡±


    A chuckle almost escaped him. He shouldn¡¯t be laughing; death wasn¡¯t funny. Mishka¡¯s expression was exactly like his old teammates when he quit soccer. She¡¯s probably thinking, like what the hell is wrong with this guy?


    He covered his mouth and fixed his expression before continuing.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it was a joke on his part or the company¡¯s, but in his will, he wrote out specific measurements to cremate the lower half of his body, while his top-half was to undergo cryogenics.¡±


    Why would he want that?¡± Mishka asked.


    Lark just shrugged. ¡°It was a ridiculous request. But I loved him. He was all I had after my father went missing. Now all I have is Wangshi and the company.¡±


    His gaze darkened.


    ¡°You know money makes people do crazy things. So, while I was dealing with the inheritance, people targeted me¡­¡± and tried to assassinate me, he wanted to add.


    A sixteen-year-old controlling the company¡¯s assets angered a lot of people. Splurging on the Trinity Watch didn¡¯t do him any favors and he unknowingly entered a dangerous situation. He couldn¡¯t trust anyone.


    ¡°I¡¯ve known Sky since we were five. It¡¯s hard to keep secrets between friends who¡¯ve been together that long¡­ But how long have we¡¯ve known you? Four years? Since freshman year?¡±


    He knew he sounded cold, but the paranoia wouldn¡¯t stop. It seemed to build inside him, like an angry spirit fanning the flames.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re not an ordinary person. You¡¯re someone with connections, so you should already know important people are questioning Runetech¡¯s value. And as the heir apparent, I stand to gain or lose more than the average person. So, what is it exactly that you want from me?¡±


    Ignoring Sky¡¯s hostile stare, Lark observed Mishka¡¯s reaction. He needed honesty, not fake pleasantries. If she was anything like Daisy, he could never show her the inheritance.


    ¡°You are not wrong,¡± she spoke slowly as if walking around eggshells.


    ¡°Since Runetech¡¯s CEO passed away, everyone¡¯s more cautious. That¡¯s a no-brainer whenever big waves happen in the biz. But, you¡¯re smart. Maybe, not smart in the way Sky is, but you¡¯re capable in other ways.


    ¡°I¡¯m not dating Sky to get to you. I just want to help. You don¡¯t trust me right now, but have I given you a reason not to?¡± She bit her lip. She wasn¡¯t teary-eyed¡ªbut her voice quivered and guilt gnawed at his stomach. Everything up till this moment was draining; life-sucking. His friends deserved better from him.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t.¡±


    He rubbed the back of his shoulder. ¡°Whatever, you know about the company¡¯s instability. I did my best to please everyone. But after my grandfather¡¯s funeral, a cultist tried to kill me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The two jolted up from their seats.


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Wangshi, I¡¯d be dead,¡± Lark continued. ¡°But he got away and we couldn¡¯t figure out the reason behind the attack. Runetech doesn¡¯t sell alien technology and my grandfather never produced anything on the same level¡­but then I found this in his possessions.¡± He reached inside his backpack and Mishka squeaked, instantly recognizing the alien-tech.


    In his hand sat a mysterious pyramid. The artifact was small, only half the size of a gambling die. He didn¡¯t tell them yet, but occasionally, gray lines would appear on the sides and glow.


    The truth was mostly out in the open. He scooped it back inside his backpack after the warning bell rang much to Mishka¡¯s chagrin.


    ¡°I¡¯m not even sure if the cultist was after this, but it didn¡¯t feel like a coincidence that they chose somewhere so close to attack.¡±


    ¡°No-no. I get it. We¡¯ll figure something out,¡± Mishka said, eyes gleaming. Her hands pawed at his backpack.


    Lark ruefully grinned. Alien tech was like catnip to her.


    Suddenly, Sky sandwiched everyone into a big hug.


    ¡°Why is everyone so touchy today?¡± Lark protested as he wiggled out of the hold. For the first time in weeks though, his chest felt lighter. Then he sneezed when Sky¡¯s arm hooked around his face. ¡°Oh god¡ªwhat is this smell!¡±


    ¡°Shh...shh... it''s Fuego.¡±

 3 - The Cyan Cottage

    Lark eased inside the sleek, black vehicle. Darkness enclosed him and he could breathe easier. The leathery cushions softened into a perfect mold of his tired butt.


    Air Travel magazine rated it number two on Best Luxury-Living SUV; one of the best alien-tech cars money could buy. But he had enough flying for the day and asked Wangshi if he was up for driving home.


    He poured himself a cup of ice-cold water from the ice chest and a trickle of water splashed over his calloused hands. Lark hummed. ¡°Feeling better?¡±


    ¡°Yes, young master.¡± The chauffeur replied, tipping his navy-felt hat. He peered in the mirror watching Lark¡¯s face through the black divider. ¡°I heard you had an exciting day today.¡±


    The ice cubes in the glass cup swirled as he settled it into the cup holder. ¡°Did you hear about the AA on the radio?¡±


    ¡°AA? Are you insinuating that I might be an alcoholic?¡±


    Hearing a chuckle, he chided, ¡°Waaangshi.¡± His caretaker¡¯s humor hadn¡¯t changed in the last ten years or so; the older he got, the more the old goat teased him.


    ¡°It was on the radio this morning. Luckily, no one got injured.¡± Wangshi adjusted the mirrors, peeking into the rear view every so often. No one else was on the road except for them.


    ¡°Mishka said one of the assailants escaped the authorities. Though none of the links I¡¯ve read mentioned an escape, just a possible insider.¡±


    Lark had no clue what that girl was thinking sometimes. In their four years of friendship, he hadn¡¯t asked about her connections. All he knew was that she had an ¡®in¡¯ with the press.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Mishka is a lovely lady. Though I think she¡¯s dating your best friend, young master.¡± The driver¡¯s black bushy eyebrows creased in a straight line. Fake concern laced his voice.


    ¡°You¡¯re in a good mood today,¡± Lark remarked. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose your cold has affected your jokes¡­¡±


    Wangshi was acting a bit too playful today, he thought and sank deeper into his chair.


    He took a sip of his ice-water. That was the nice thing about using large ice cubes, they took a longer time to melt and condensation was minimal. No small chunks of ice would slip down his throat either. But, they also cooled hot metal.


    He opened the chest once more and cold smoke rose to his cheeks. ¡°I thought you said you would be resting today.¡±


    All traces of laughter gone and a shiny gleam reflected Wangshi¡¯s one glass eye.


    ¡°I¡¯m always nearby. And I saw that someone needed a taste of their own medicine.¡±


    ¡°Without anyone noticing?¡± Lark cocked a brow and slammed the lid shut.


    ¡°I¡¯m that good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not praising you.¡± Lark sighed. Squinting at the surroundings, he searched for any signs of police cars. ¡°Did you really have nowhere else to hide it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s temporary! Temporary!¡± Wangshi whined.


    Lark had no words until an oncoming bicyclist raced down the lane from the opposite street. The biker bypassed the stop sign. ¡°Watch out!¡±


    Wangshi hurriedly pressed the brakes, when something slid against the rough carpet in the trunk.


    A thud echoed; silence engulfed them.


    Safe from being squashed meat, the bicyclist raised his middle finger at them, while Wangshi continued driving. ¡°See, you don¡¯t get this kind of attitude with air travel.¡±


    Lark¡¯s water teetered in the glass; the large ice cubes blocked it from spilling over. ¡°You¡¯re sure no one followed you?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m a professional.¡± His driver made a fist and thumped his chest.


    Lark took a deep swallow, but it didn¡¯t help; the car felt too hot. He sank down and adjusted the cooling temperature of the seats. His back leaned into the leather spine which separated him and the answers he was looking for. He imagined the tied-up hostage, screaming against his gags. Though, Wangshi¡¯s methods of capture were quieter than that. He couldn¡¯t even hear a muffle.


    ¡°You really do take your care-taking services too damn seriously.¡±


    <hr>


    Other than the cyclist, it was a smooth ride home. He faced the upward slope of his house as Wangshi parked on the curb.


    His family owned apartments, townhouses, and a mansion but their home would always be their little Cyan Cottage. It was the first house his grandparents were able to afford.


    The backdrop of the blue walls against the white tiled roof captured the heart of his grandmother¡¯s imagination or so his grandfather used to say. She especially loved the two dormers, etched with bird-shaped carvings, facing the eastern side. His grandfather agreed to buy the house only if he had the towering octagonal turret for personal use. It was the only area of the house that had blacked out, arched windows and faced a corner of the front yard.


    Lark slammed his car door shut. He walked up the sloped pavement and turned to his driver. ¡°Do you need any help?¡±


    ¡°Not necessary.¡± Wangshi took off his felt hat and tied back his black hair into a short pony-tail. Reaching into his coat pocket, he took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up. He puffed on the filter once, and exhaled two smoke rings, before the filter crumpled unto itself. Lark frowned at Wangshi¡¯s bad habit.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold today, so I¡¯ll go park in the garage.¡± Wangshi shook off his coat and rolled up the cuffs of his white sleeves.


    Of course, you will¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll set up a pot of your favorite Black Rose tea in the dining room. Drink it when you¡¯re finished.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll have a gift ready for you after I¡¯m done,¡± Wangshi exited with a bow and went back inside the driver seat before the car disappeared instantaneously.


    Wangshi¡¯s penthouse was attached above the garage. It was only in the later years of Runetech¡¯s success did they attached guest rooms for overnight visitors. When Lark was five, the penthouse became Wangshi¡¯s permanent residence.


    Lark milled around the porch, enjoying the view of his grandmother¡¯s front-yard garden. Though his grandmother took credit for the design, his grandfather often complained he was the sweat and tears behind it. A medium-sized cherub fountain set in white granite stood as the centerpiece. Colorful perennials circled the baby angel statue.


    With a sharp intake of the fresh fall air, Lark sucked in all the sweet smells of the garden. Vanilla, oak, and cherry-scents assaulted his olfactory nerves. Although he didn¡¯t have many memories of his grandmother, he felt like he could connect to her through here. Her garden. He would have to rethink saving a conversation with the peeing cherub another day for when times were really rough and he finally lost it.


    Finished stalling for time, Lark scanned his iris through the peephole of the front door. Never questioning the functionality of his grandfather''s inventions, it still surprised him when the door clicked open considering he was wearing grey contacts.


    Lark hung his coat and scarf on the rack next to the door and made his way towards the kitchen. There, he set the water to a boil and searched for the Black Rose tea leaves inside the teak wood cabinets.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He grabbed a teapot off of the mounted shelf and settled it onto a flat bamboo tray. Bringing the tray into the dining room, Lark also prepared a snack platter, while helping himself to some sample bites.


    Smoked salmon sandwiches with cream cheese and sliced cucumbers decorated the lower layer of the porcelain 3-tier cake stand. He piled on fruit-topped angel cakes bought from the famous Michi¡¯s Bakery on the upper levels.


    After he deemed the set-up to be satisfactory, Lark poured himself a cup of tea. Contrary to its floral name, the Black Rose tea filtered through his system like a fiery current. It nearly set him into a tea-coma, but he had things to do, and things that worried him to no end.


    He passed by the charcoal-toned couch his grandfather died in. A morbid thought crossed his mind and he wondered if, in old age, he would die in the same house too. It was both comforting and unsettling


    From the dining room to the living room, different decor his grandparents and parents collected from all over the world found its place. His favorite was the red bottle of Mars dust, his father sent to him when he was seven. It sat on a large, steel bookcase next to the T.V. alongside many other antiquities.


    He tapped the underside on one of the shelves and the floor rotated him into his grandfather¡¯s study.


    Mishka and Sky would arrive in one hour, Wangshi had to force that cultist to talk before then and then get rid of him. Lark¡¯s knuckles clenched into a fist, only to unravel at the sight of his grandfather¡¯s outline on the arched window greeting him.


    ¡°Hello Lark, how was school today?¡±


    ¡°Enjoyable, grandpa.¡± He smiled. ¡°I only have so long to go through your documents right now. Sky and Mishka are coming over today to help me analyze the thing you left here.¡±


    ¡°Is that wise?¡±


    He held back a frown, the image in front of him was not his grandfather, but it had the same voice and face. Unlike his real paternal grandfather, it repeated pre-set messages and was blue. But it was better than nothing, and one of the closest things to family he still had.


    ¡°I trust them,¡± he answered.


    ¡°I love you, Lark. Don¡¯t work too hard.¡± The outline held up a pixelated red heart and then disappeared from the window.


    Lark sat before his grandfather¡¯s lab bench. There were tinkering tool sets and a very large computer monitor on a U-shaped desk.


    Originally, Lark did not have permission to access his grandfather¡¯s secret laboratory. Growing up in Cyan Cottage, he had never stepped a foot inside, nor was he ever invited, even though everyone in the household knew about the room. Even regular people outside could see how secretive it was!


    When his grandfather disappeared for long hours, it meant he was inside the lab. But on that fateful day, he was able to say, ¡°I¡¯m home,¡± to the dead man on the couch.


    After the funeral, determined to see what kept his grandfather locked in, Lark went inside unannounced.


    The first thing he saw and heard was the hologram on the window.


    ¡°If you¡¯re here, it must mean that I¡¯m dead and now you have to carry the burdens I was unable to solve.¡±


    Sifting through the laboratory, Lark figured how his grandfather was able to run a huge company. It was because he was a madman. And all madmen had disorganized workspaces.


    It took months for Wangshi and Lark to sort through the mountains of bills, documents, folders, weird inventions, toolkits, and other objects Lark termed as miscellaneous toys. If a person walked into this room, they¡¯d say, ¡°Wow, it¡¯s a cyber-punk themed room,¡± instead of a hot mess.


    But even with intense clean-ups after almost two years, he still found surprises. Had he not accidentally drop a heavy toolkit near his grandfather¡¯s desk, he wouldn¡¯t have uncovered the alien tech hiding in the small pigeonhole underneath the wood. Moreover, had he never entered his grandfather¡¯s laboratory, the passions his father and mother enjoyed during their lifetimes would¡¯ve stayed hidden from him.


    He flipped through a moleskin notebook; one of the very first things he discovered, as it was one of the very few things that hadn¡¯t collected dust on his grandfather¡¯s desk. It contained a series of newspaper clippings, pictures, journal entries and postcards from his father and mother. They met as archaeologists in an expedition across the middle east desert and married a year later. From his grandfather¡¯s stories, Lars and Kendra Rune weren¡¯t interested in running Runetech, but they received a lot of funding from the company to support their little expedition crew. That¡¯s how they met Sky¡¯s parents, who were researchers working on their thesis in the middle east.


    Their traveling expedition crew¡­ Lark ran his fingers through the faded pages.


    Both his mother and grandmother died when he was three. They got involved in a cultist attack at a shopping mall during their mother and daughter-in-law bonding vacation, while Grandpa and Lars Rune took care of baby Rune. The attack was during the height of the agency¡¯s all-out confrontation against their organization. And like cornered rats, the cultists retaliated by bombing highly populated malls. Hundreds died during the week-long attacks.


    It was the year of 2087, but he couldn¡¯t exactly pinpoint if that was when his father became withdrawn and dove into archeology work, and when his grandfather became closed off within his laboratory. But he blamed it all on this tragedy. It was one reason why he was sure AA cultists were somehow involved in everything that went wrong in his life. And another reason why he couldn¡¯t simply unload everything onto Sky and Mishka.


    On the flipside, Wangshi was the only fruitful outcome of his father¡¯s long-term expeditions. His finger traced over the photograph dated: Feb. 2088. Two men huddled under a green canopy, resting arms over shoulders like brothers. His thumb brushed over the sunlight-streaks blurring their faces. They were archaeologists, not photographers, unfortunately. A postcard written by his father laid next to it, explaining how ¡°adopting¡± Wangshi in the middle of the Sierra desert came to be.


    The expedition crew made a pit stop at an oasis to refuel, and that¡¯s when he appeared to them, wrapped in bloodied bandages while talking haphazardly in an unfamiliar language. Lars guessed it was Chinese. Before a translator arrived, Wangshi had passed out in front of them. The expedition crew stayed at the oasis and gradually nursed him back to health on Lars orders.


    Long story short, Wangshi stuck with the expedition crew for two years, learning how to speak English and helping them out. Wangshi never recovered his memories to explain what he was doing banged up in the desert (that was noted in the journal). Afterward, Lars sent him on a one-plane ticket home to the Runes¡¯ household with a letter explaining to his father that Wangshi insisted on repaying him through lifelong servitude. Lars advised his father to hire him on as Lark¡¯s caretaker.


    Grandpa Rune was distrustful of having an older, male babysitter, but he was busy with Runetech. Eventually, he saw Wangshi¡¯s dedication as a reason for trust. A replacement was never mentioned, and Lark was very glad about that because Wangshi¡¯s true talents came to light after the funeral.


    Assassination.


    Placing the journal away, Lark sat in front of the computer monitor and voiced in several instructions from his watch. ¡°Load videos from this morning to the database. File under the folder called ¡®Attacks¡¯ with today¡¯s date.¡±


    The screen pulled up a processing bar along with several files opening images and videos. In the folder called ¡®Attacks¡¯, a long list of files appeared dating from the year 2050.


    Unnecessary windows were clicked out and scenes from this morning replayed from when the cultists appeared to when the purple flames were extinguished by the agent¡¯s bubble capsule.


    ¡°COSMO, I want you to prepare a summary of these videos, and extract links from news reports and pull quotes regarding why the Redlines¡¯ airship was attacked.¡±


    COSMO was the name of the artificial intelligence, otherwise known as an A.I, his grandfather had programmed. It was another uncovered secret on top of many, but a useful little thing, which Lark installed into his watch and SUV. The strange thing that happened with the watch though was that it asked him if it was okay to take 1 of 4 slots. He had no idea what that meant, but pressed OK anyways, figuring he would deal with it later.


    ¡°There are over 3500 articles and posts, over 300 recorded videos, audio, and images. It will take approximately 120 minutes for me to compile all the data.¡±


    Too slow. Sky and Mishka will already be here before then.


    ¡°Fine. Delete the videos with the lowest quality or too shaky and filter out articles with unverified sources. I¡¯ll go through those myself.¡±


    ¡°Deleting low-resolution videos¡­¡±


    Rectangular windows opened and closed in a rhythmic pattern with consistent point and clicks.


    A passenger ship carrying over a hundred passengers¡­headed towards a conference tour throughout East Asia. Taiwan. Malaysia. Singapore. Japan. Korea¡­.


    New technology to aid and develop aquatic cities¡­


    Passengers were uninjured¡­no idea what caused the tear in the ship¡­police suspect a bomb¡­


    The Allied Agency has declined to comment due to the pending investigation.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a bomb,¡± one passenger says. ¡°It was something unnatural.¡±


    ¡°A bomb would leave shrapnel and people would see an explosion of some sort. This was a clean tear. Like scissors against paper. But loud. I haven¡¯t seen anything like it.¡±


    Lark¡¯s body sank lower to the floor as he stretched his legs. His hand was still on the mouse as he kept an eye simultaneously on the videos replaying on the background. No one had a clean capture of the cultist blasting the purple flame, because the agent had used that bubble material to quickly swallow it. Although no one had managed to record where the bubble came from, they could assume it was from the agent protecting them. But where did he procure it from? Why does it seem to appear out of thin air?


    Why was there so little information?


    The mouse flew from his grip when his watch suddenly beeped. It was a quarter to four, the time Sky and Mishka would be arriving. He hoped Wangshi was bloody done.


    When the bookcase flipped around, his trusted caretaker sat at the dining table, calmly inhaling steamfrom the teapot.


    ¡°Your tea-making skills show improvement, young master.¡±


    As expected, he couldn¡¯t get over how fast Wangshi operated.


    Before passing his congratulations, a shiny ring flew across the room into his reach. It was cold to the touch and at a glance, it was no bigger than a quarter. Distorted dark green waves decorated the sides, reminding him of a junk mood ring.


    ¡°Your gift. I smell alien tech on it. I''ve already turned him to the agency to collect the bounty. He won¡¯t remember anything about the ring and lucky for us, nor will the agency.¡±


    Lark acknowledged the crafty look on Wangshi¡¯s face, silently thanking him before the doorbell rang. With no time to examine the ring further, he tucked it inside his pocket and opened the door.

 4 - Alien Technology

    The three sat on the living room floor. Sky and Mishka loomed over the artifact, which rested on a coaster. Gray, geometric lines decorated the triangular sides and for a brief moment, they lit into a white hue. Getting up on their knees, the two rustled even closer and Lark chuckled.


    ¡°You guys should look at a mirror. Sky might need another set of eyes ''cause they''re are about to fall out.¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable. I don¡¯t really want to know how your grandfather got his hands on this ¡ª if your watch was worth half-a-million dollars¡ªthen maybe this could be worth millions if you can figure out what it does¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel too jealous now, what would your younger brothers think of having a green-eyed monster for a brother,¡± Lark said.


    Wangshi pursed his lips overhearing the conversation as he made his way to the kitchen.


    Sky shook his head. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re not allowed to threaten me with my own siblings. That¡¯s my privilege of being the eldest. They adore me.¡±


    Lark chuckled and then lowered his voice to ask, ¡°So you guys think it¡¯s alien tech too, right?¡±


    ¡°Not a hundred percent sure, but it certainly has the form. The gray lines that glow and the vibe I¡¯m getting.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going off of a vibe?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Sky admitted. ¡°It reminds me of an electronic, but the glow-y, abstract patterns on the sides tell me otherwise. Does that seem sound to you?¡±


    Mishka held up a hand. ¡°Alright, no more talking. I need to concentrate.¡±


    She secured her Magpower eyewear tech over her black hoodie, making herself appear as a sort-of strange cat engineer. It slipped over the triangular ears and strapped to the back of her head like a science-lab goggle. The instrument telescoped her vision so that she noticed even the smallest of details. Lark remembered her wearing it during their robotics competition last year when they were putting together small, complicated bits.


    She adjusted the magnification power lens on her right eye, while she used her free hand to sketch.


    Her left hand looped several times before Lark realized she was outlining the path of the gray lines.


    As she pressed down on a switch on her glasses frame, the 100x lens slid up, while the 1000x winded down. A yellow light embedded on the right side of the frame followed her head movement.


    In between the gray lines, she added octagons. Unlike bold stop signs, she drew them as if they were moving. Some of her lines curved and in other spots, she scratched in shadows. ¡°Absolutely, fascinating,¡± she mumbled, while Lark and Sky tilted their heads.


    The two observed her work in silence for the last half hour, so when she removed her headgear, he immediately asked her what she thought. She passed over her sketchpad to him and answered, ¡°Honestly, I have no idea.¡± She helped herself to a tea-cake, while Lark cradled his head against the table to keep it from exploding.


    Perhaps used to Mishka¡¯s senseless honesty, Sky patted Lark¡¯s shoulder. He leaned in from the side examining the intricate lines drawn. ¡°You have to ask the right questions, like why does it look like there are shapes moving inside it?¡±


    ¡°Excellent question.¡± Mishka sat up with her back straight and held the pyramid in her palm. ¡°Imagine this is currently in an ¡®on¡¯ state rather than an ¡®off¡¯ state. Take it as energy running through it. I have no idea what kind of energy it is, but the moving shapes remind me of the Trinity Watch¡¯s transformable states such as manual to digital or digital to sundial and vice versa.¡±


    She looked expectantly at Lark¡¯s wrist.


    Rolling his eyes, he propped the Trinity Watch up against the table. He tapped three times on the face of the watch and a holographic menu popped up with a list of applications. He chose settings and tapped for sundial mode. After making his selection, the menu disappeared, and the watch sat still for three seconds until a halo formed around it.


    Maybe it was because they were all studying it so closely now, but he had never realized how the halo wasn¡¯t a perfect circle. Its sides bent at certain corners; not as straight and dented like a polygon, but certainly not as rounded as he used to believe.


    Within the burst of light, Mishka shook Sky¡¯s shoulders and wagged a finger at the device, ¡°See! It¡¯s starting!¡± and stray lines rose from the halo partially veiling the smartwatch.


    Lark recalled the time they were back at the auction house catching glimpses of the smartwatch coming undone before reassembling. Their expressions haven¡¯t changed since that time. Catgirl was at the edge of her seat, while Sky followed in deep concentration, not wanting to miss a single detail. It was the same for him too.


    As soon as the auction host wore the mechanical version, a projection hovered above the gallery capturing the moment the host tapped on the square frame and selected digital mode from settings. Mesmerized by the small burst of light that covered the watch; the audience sat buzzed by the excitement in the air. Pieces of the watch linked and unlinked like a puzzle before coming together into one circular frame. The starting bid began at $50,000.


    ¡°What an idiot. Should¡¯ve spent that money on a flying car,¡± some would say, but he ignored the jealousy and envy talking. Life wasn¡¯t fair. And when it isn¡¯t fair, you splurge without thinking of the consequences. A little over half a million dollars up front and he won the exclusive, alien-tech smartwatch.


    He clasped his palms together, rubbing out the sweat while watching the curtain of white light weave over the circular frame.


    Rest periods were required after transformations, so Lark didn¡¯t often use this function. Nor did he use this setting in front of others; it was just too eye-catching. Allowing the face of the watch to vanish and reappear in a different state¡ªwho would even notice moving shapes in the light¡ªbut even with a close eye on the veil, he barely caught the light fracturing into moving shapes before a sundial-designed structure emerged in all its glory.


    Sky smushed his hands in his face; his eyes red from not blinking. For Lark, it was as if a flower sprouted on top of his head when Wangshi entered the room with a fresh pot of tea.


    ¡°The transformation state is one example of how it¡¯s ¡®on¡¯. Others would be when you use applications such as the sound barrier or holographic properties, but it¡¯s difficult to see the moving shapes during those. So that¡¯s why I asked you to do the transformation. It¡¯s also more flashy.¡± Her eyes twinkled at the last bit of information.


    Lark drank until only the wet twigs and crushed petals were left on the bottom of the cup. He had to figure out why his grandfather squirreled alien-tech away inside his study¡ªbut there were some answers you couldn¡¯t have just by asking¡ªlike what was it for, were the cultists looking for it, and how in the world did his grandfather procure it?


    He cleared his throat and asked, ¡°What do you think this tech does?¡±


    Mishka answered his question as if it came out of a textbook. ¡°Form follows function. You see this principle in biology, architecture, and even robotics. But, we live in a generation where alien technology exists, which threw common sense out the window. So your guess is as good as mine.¡±


    His head thumped again.


    ¡°But now that I think about it, from what we¡¯ve seen, alien-technology act like support beams to already made structures like your watch or cars. It¡¯s possible to add functions like anti-gravity and sound-proofing, but we¡¯ve never seen how it''s been done. It could be that¡­ this is a source of those functions.¡±


    She paused as that information settled in everyone¡¯s minds.


    The source? Was it really a clue to reverse-engineer alien-technology¡ªa part of the missing link? So he was right, his grandfather did know something about the origins of alien-tech.


    Wangshi stood up and retrieved a sheathed sword from behind his back, his eyes scanning the room as if he saw something that wasn¡¯t supposed to be there.


    Sky gripped Mishka¡¯s hand and held her close to him.


    Where was he even keeping that? Lark¡¯s heart turned cold. He felt the same death-defying pressure when they faced the assassin at the funeral home.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry young masters, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Wangshi raced to the bookcase with the sword and rotated into the study. Mishka¡¯s jaw dropped, while Sky looked at Lark with an eyebrow raised. Like Lark, he knew about the secret laboratory but wasn¡¯t allowed inside. However, Lark was more focused on what Wangshi saw or more like sensed.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    He raced to the curtains and closed them.


    The sword was Wangshi¡¯s only remnant of his unknown past. Even when he was only all skin and bones, he would eat and drink with one hand, while keeping a firm grip on the sword with the other. Sleeping was the same. The sheath contained a flawless black coating, and its blade fiercely sharp. Lark would never forget the moment Wangshi first pulled it out to demonstrate how to kill someone.


    Gray skies and a mournful atmosphere surrounded him from that morning till afternoon. Solemn meet and greets felt tedious when he didn¡¯t know anyone from the company and attendees who claimed to be personal friends with his grandfather. Without a body to bury, the expedited funeral process was like a reprieve to him.


    Holding the urn in his arms, he made way to the parking lot when a person dressed in all black blocked his path. Thinking it was someone who stayed after the funeral, Lark told him the usual ¡®thanks for coming,¡¯ speech until he came face to face with a gun locked between his brows.


    He hadn¡¯t tried to run at all, which may have been stupid thinking back to it now. But it was as if his entire body turned into a statue and all he could hear at that moment was his heart pounding up to his ears.


    Instead of the ringing gunshot, he expected to end his life, a clear, smooth ¡®shiiiii¡¯ buzzed through the air. The force behind the sound was so sharp and concentrated, it sliced the cultist¡¯s hand in half. He would never forget that sound, like the dense timbre of rain, splattering against the pavement.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Sky hissed and Mishka¡¯s expression contained a million questions, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he could answer any of them.


    Before he could say anything, Wangshi returned from the secret laboratory. The sword was still sheathed, but his hand never left the handle. Wangshi directed his gaze from Mishka first then to Lark.


    ¡°Young masters, this matter of the alien object is very dangerous. You all must maintain absolute secrecy for your safety. Otherwise, you two will become walking targets and the enemy is not constricted to cultists, but others who want to covet pure alien technology. As far as I know, this object is one of a kind, which makes its possession even more invaluable.¡±


    Mishka nodded, but her eyes were glued to Wangshi¡¯s sword. Lark wasn¡¯t sure if she was going along with Wangshi¡¯s words out of compliance or fear.


    Then Sky sighed and fished for his motorbike key. ¡°I can¡¯t say I like the sound of this, but I never signed for normalcy when I became your best friend.¡±


    Lark cracked a smile. ¡°You¡¯re stuck with me and my paranoia. It¡¯s kinda too late to say sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Sky snorted and looked at his smartphone. ¡°It¡¯s already getting late and I need to take Mishka home. But you owe me one for nearly giving me a heart attack though.¡±


    ¡°Sure, another date with the twins this weekend? I have a surprise for them, which I''ve been meaning to show you guys too anyways.¡±


    ¡°Great. More secrets.¡±


    Mishka nudged Sky in the ribs. ¡°More alien-tech?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually something magical.¡± Rendering Mishka speechless with her usual as curious as a cat gaze, he closed the door in glee and sauntered over to the couch, rolling over it like a dead log.


    Fingering the edges of the ring in his pocket, he wondered if it fell under the same category as the pyramid. He took it out and held it up to the light. The distorted lines didn¡¯t appear to have the same freaky luminosity as the pyramid. But if what his grandfather hid in the desk was pure alien-technology¡­ did Wangshi mean this ring was impure?


    Form follows function¡­Mumbling to himself, he slipped it around his middle finger and rubbed his thumb against it, hoping it would at least change colors. Nothing happened. Even though rings were commonly used as status symbols, there was nothing noteworthy about its design.


    Maybe the cultists used it as a way of recognizing other members?


    Remembering the ring¡¯s former owner, he quickly took it off.


    For a terrorist group to be so against technology, the anti-alien cultists sure seemed to use a lot of it. But what did they want from him? There¡¯s never been a documented case against individuals. Was the plot against him simply an anomaly or did they want something specific from him or his family like the pyramid? And if they sought alien-technology, why denounce them? But above all, the agency¡¯s role in dismantling the group was most peculiar. They could appear within minutes of the attack and restrain the cultists, but even after fifty years, the group hadn¡¯t been obliterated¡­


    As soon as he saw the bookcase revolve, he shoved the ring back inside his pocket and scampered to the kitchen. His chest ached. It was obvious, his grandfather and Wangshi made an arrangement without him. But what could¡¯ve been so important that they felt the need to hide it?


    Wangshi relaxed his shoulders into the snug armchair, watching Lark wiped the sides of the teapot with a small cloth. He raised his cup as a steady mixture of reddish-brown liquid stirred inside. Thick steam wafted into his nose, and the mature caretaker stilled, the warm-savory scents inculcating his palate with milky modesty. ¡°It would appear our roles have reversed, young master.¡±


    ¡°Considering you¡¯ve taken care of me for almost over a decade, it¡¯s only fair that I should take care of you in your old age,¡± he teased.


    Wangshi¡¯s goatee shook over the tea. ¡°If you say so young master Lark, but I bet you¡¯ll have to work hard for the next couple hundred years.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it,¡± he answered, revealing a small wisp of a smile.


    <hr>


    A group of red-robed figures stood knee-deep in stagnant mud, which stretched in fields. Clumps of green plant filaments clung to their clothes as they marched towards an exposed cave. One member used their long hanging sleeves to partially cover the opening in their hood.


    ¡°Can¡¯t handle the dankness, my dear?¡± a roguish voice crooned.


    There was a brilliant flash of blue under the pale moonlight as the figure¡¯s hood fell upon slender shoulders. With arms still raised around their face, a flash of metallic silver glinted within the gaps of their sleeves.


    ¡°Do you feel like dying tonight?¡± The reply, soft like a tickle, had anything but sweet undertones.


    ¡°Save the dirty talk for dinner. Though I¡¯d say this place smells better than the pot roast you cooked the other¡ª¡±


    Murky water split in waves across the quagmire. In a second, the member appeared before the rogue, and the glint of silver was nowhere to be seen, but a tear in the rogue¡¯s shoulder said otherwise. The rogue cupped his wound and hissed, ¡°Bitch.¡±


    He licked his lips and moonlit rays caught a spear of blood-red light on his hands. His opponent crimped the corners of their mouth into a tight smile; elbows tucked in, ready for a second clash. A muddy wave kicked into the air, but a second later the water stilled into a brown-green film after a large figure loomed over the two.


    ¡°Keep it in your pants, ya two!¡± A giant, over seven feet tall, towered menacingly over them. But rather than looking up, the two instead looked straight at the person leaning on the giant¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Ten yars ayn¡¯ y¡¯all still don¡¯t git alawng.¡± The leader shook his head side-to-side, waving around a mop of greasy hair. He used the back of his hand pushed the wiry strands out of his eyes. Unlike the other three¡¯s dark-metallic green rings, his index finger held a dark blue ring, a color most similar to the bottom of the ocean.


    He splayed his fingers, and shaped them in a way that turned the crescent moon into a full-circle. ¡°Awders done came. We do ayn¡¯ follow. Y¡¯all hear?¡±


    The question followed with a daunting silence. But the rogue grunted and placed his hands behind his robe and turned away from the Bitch.


    ¡°That¡¯s darn gud,¡± he said, showing a bright row of crooked, yellow teeth. The giant did not keep the same faith and stayed in between the two.


    With a hearty guffaw, the man hungered for the night sky, stretching his head as far back as he could to catch all the stars within his gaze. Nothing about nature is sensible; the same logic goes for this world too, he thought. Soon, the promised day will come. And with that, his hand crushed the moon.

 5 - Twins

    ¡°LARK!¡± Two bear cubs rammed into his gut like a bullet airship. Teddy¡¯s dark brown hair hung upside down as he latched onto Lark¡¯s arm like a monkey, while Cloud, as curious as a cat, poked various spots on his ribs.


    ¡°Help! The dragon is getting abused,¡± Lark cried out through the doorway, trying to keep the two misfits away from his surprise.


    Mishka came to his rescue or so he thought. ¡°My minions we haven¡¯t finished building the thing, let¡¯s regroup inside and attack him after he¡¯s offered his treasures. You know, dragons collect the most delicious and expensive kinds of treasures.¡± She winked.


    ¡°Yes, Cat Princess.¡± The twins saluted and returned inside. Lark could hear their Lego box jingle as it slid across the kitchen floor. Hugging his box tighter, he looked over Mishka¡¯s shoulder wondering what they were up to.


    ¡°Hey, no peeking,¡± Mishka warned.


    ¡°Is that so, Cat Princess?¡± He repeated with a drawl. ¡°Ha. Should ask them to call you their Cat Goddess.¡±


    ¡°Should I tell my heroes their Cat Princess is getting bullied by the evil dragon?¡± She pouted, putting a hand on her hip while holding the door for him.


    Lark shook his head and stepped inside to set his box on the kitchen counter. The twins were nowhere in sight; they must¡¯ve moved their base to the living room.


    ¡°It¡¯s true what they say about couples, they start to think alike. Maybe look alike¡­¡± With a smirk, he took off his aviators and placed them over her eyes.


    ¡°Now with your two fingers touching the middle of your face like how Sky does it¡ªexactly like that¡ªRepeat after me: Laaark, you¡¯re awesome. And cackle or add in a ¡®nyahhh.¡¯ Whichever.¡±


    One of the cat ears drooped as she stood in the center of Sky¡¯s kitchen.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that, but thanks for the aviators.¡± A wide grin spread across her cheeks, laughter whistling between her teeth. She stepped back, pulling the rim downward, allowing Lark to see burgundy liner intensify her already striking blue eyes.


    ¡°See, I don¡¯t think Sky would¡¯ve done that,¡± Lark said, scratching the spot behind his ear. She twisted away from his reach and waltzed into the living room, where the sound of mischievous giggling could be heard.


    ¡°Heroes,¡± she sang, sending a thrill down his spine. He couldn¡¯t see past his black tinted shades, but he knew her eyes were overflowing with a devilish thrill.


    Oh, he was in for it.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    Bird-sized balls whizzed past his ear. A catapult that barely reached the twins¡¯ shoulders was tucked near the stairwell. He ducked behind the armchair as Teddy reloaded, but lying in wait was Cloud. Buckets of lego fueled ice-bolts rained over his head and shoulders.


    ¡°Argh!¡± He covered his face with his hands and roared, ¡°Delicious humans! I¡¯ll roast them up for my dinner!¡±


    ¡°Roar!¡± Lark pretended to breathe fire and rolled towards one side of the room. The plastic edges of the ice-bolts stung into his arm as he crawled to safety.


    Cloud, out of ammunition, placed the empty, plastic bucket over his head like a helmet. Lark snickered, bundling the struggling boy in his arms and tickled him all over his belly.


    Cloud screamed-laughed maybe? It was hard to tell which as tears formed in his eyes. His legs kicked the air and he giggled while calling for help.


    ¡°Teddy, Cat Princess, I¡¯ve been captured¡±¡ªLark carried Cloud over the couch while blowing raspberries¡ª ¡°He¡¯s eating meee!¡±


    Unlike Teddy who looked similar to Sky, Lark couldn¡¯t help but think that Cloud looked more like himself. They had matching blond hair and less violent tendencies. Teddy would be punching him by this point.


    In his best villainous voice, Lark announced, ¡°Ahhh! The sweet taste of victory.¡±


    ¡°Unhand him at once,¡± Mishka threatened, aiming a cardboard machete at his neck.


    Lark dropped Cloud onto the couch and the Cat Princess held him there until Teddy arrived with two more swords, laying them against his stomach.


    Lark raised his arms weakly. ¡°Mercy?¡±


    ¡°Nevarrr!¡± Teddy roared and dual wielded the cardboard into his appendix.


    When did Teddy become a pirate? Lark clutched his abdomen as he rolled half-dead over the couch. Seeing Mishka unable to keep up with the twins¡¯ antics, a wolfish plan materialized in his head.


    Revenge!


    ¡°Ahah! Heroes, you leave your princess ripe for my taking.¡±


    Lark cackled and dove towards Mishka.


    Caught by surprise, she squealed. Lark¡¯s arms tucked under her bare legs and shoulders into a princess carry. She had to stabilize herself by wrapping her arms around Lark¡¯s neck as he ran around the living room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat her!¡± Teddy protested.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, dragons don¡¯t eat princesses,¡± Cloud said while casting red-colored legos on the floor.


    ¡°Put me down!¡± Mishka flicked Lark¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Want to give me back my sunglasses now?¡± He backed into the wall, watching the twins corner him in. Encased by lava(red legos), he couldn¡¯t escape!


    ¡°Nevarrr.¡±


    ¡°Release her!¡± The twins shouted.


    Mishka¡¯s arms around his shoulders tightened.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he whispered.


    She only cackled in return. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sky emerge from behind the backdrop of the catapult.


    ¡°Shiii..shishkabobs!¡± Lark corrected himself. ¡°She¡¯s mine!¡±


    The jelly monster saw them in a dubious couple pose. Mishka giggled and he rolled his eyes.


    Though the thought was tempting, he couldn¡¯t just drop her. Could he?


    ¡°You leave me no choice. I will use an ancient dragon spell to put your princess into a deep slumber.¡± He kicked away the red legos and plopped the princess onto the recliner.


    The twins followed him with their brows creasing, probably wondering why the plot-line changed from defeating the dragon to waking a sleeping princess. Then they saw their brother and pushed him forward to help them get their princess back.


    Lark rolled the lever on the recliner back till Mishka faced the ceiling like Sleeping Beauty and his hands hovered above her face. ¡°From the Greek ancients and their madness for tragic star-crossed lovers, humana-humana, la princessa es en deep dormir! Dormir! Dormir!¡±


    Mishka¡¯s folded arms twitched and her straight-lined lips crinkled on the edges.


    ¡°Now only a true love¡¯s kiss can awaken her! If you can do that then I¡¯ll relinquish my treasures! But this is an impossible task! Mwahahaaa¡­¡±


    ¡°Brother! Brother! Kiss her already! I wanna get Lar¡ªthe dragon¡¯s treasure box!¡± Teddy and Cloud prodded a pink-faced Sky up to the task. ¡°Do it!!!¡±


    Under his brothers¡¯ pressuring shouts, Sky took off his glasses and leaned in to kiss Mishka¡¯s forehead, while whispering to Lark, ¡°I¡¯m so gonna kill you after this.¡±


    Before Mishka could open her eyes, Cloud chipped in, ¡°Hey, why¡¯d you kiss her forehead? A true love¡¯s kiss is on the lips!¡±


    Nice play! Lark winked and threw a thumbs up at Cloud, who only had a very pure and innocent expression. Sky sighed, while a deep red blush suffused over Mishka¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°C¡¯mon Cloud, it¡¯s just kissing.¡± Teddy and Cloud brushed her dark blond curls away from her face. Puckering their baby, pink lips, the two pecked each side of her cheeks. She jolted up from her fake sleep and embraced them into a fierce cuddle. ¡°My cute heroes.¡±


    Sky, slack-jawed, reached for Lark¡¯s collar. Running away while howling with laughter, Lark flew to the kitchen where he left his surprise box.


    ¡°Alright, heroes, you¡¯ve shown your worth. Your prize is here,¡± he announced, unveiling Runesteam on their coffee table. Weighing the helmet in his hands, he showed them the mask inside that was programmed to listen to voice commands and was the gateway to the virtual world. The console also came with two gloves and a black box with the Runsteam logo on it.


    ¡°The newest toy from Runetech industries - that''s not being sold in stores yet!¡± he pitched.


    The twins jumped on their toes, itching to play as they cleared away space in front of the T.V. Lark pressed a button on the black box to turn it on and attached a cable from the T.V. monitor to it.


    Mishka, who sat in Sky¡¯s lap, widened her gaze at how the helmet buzzed in reaction as a light on the black box turned from white to green.


    ¡°Who wants to go first?¡±


    Teddy leaped up, snatching the helmet from Lark. It covered his entire face.


    ¡°Oh-my-gosh. This is so cool!¡± Teddy squealed as soon his eyes adjusted to the screen inside the helmet. A wide, panoramic view of grassy hills rolled into a seaside cliff showed on the T.V. screen. The view bounced, matching Teddy¡¯s head bobs.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Outside, Lark adjusted the straps and added the finger-padded gloves. ¡°This will allow you to touch things. Try clicking on something.¡±


    Teddy bent down and picked something off the ground. ¡°Hey, a bunch of words showed up.¡±


    ¡°What did you do?¡± Sky asked, watching Teddy arch his shoulders.


    ¡°I picked up a flower and the words are telling me a lot of things about it like its¡­Geh-nus? Jee-nus? Whatever that means. But oh, it¡¯s so pretty.¡±


    ¡°Teddy if you clap your hands, the mode will change into a game mode,¡± Lark said.


    Teddy put his hands together and exclaimed, ¡°Oh-my-gosh, how do I turn on the lights? Wait¡ªI see a lady talking to me. She¡¯s telling me to hold out my hand¡ª¡±


    ¡°Listen to her then,¡± Lark interrupted.


    Teddy obeyed the voice in the helmet. He held out his left hand and shouted, ¡°Firebolt!¡±


    The finger pads on the left glove glowed red, while Teddy whooped. ¡°I exploded the wall! To smithereens! You gotta try this Cloud!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Teddy, we can see what you¡¯re doing on the T.V.¡±


    ¡°You can?¡± Teddy excitedly asked as he waved his hand. The T.V. caught the motion capture of a ¡®hand¡¯ moving in the environment. Currently, Teddy was inside a fortress near the seaside.


    ¡°Hey, Teddy, try saying, ¡®Earthquake¡¯!¡± Lark said.


    Teddy followed his orders and shrieked in the next second. The entire camera view shook.


    ¡°My screen is turning red!¡±


    ¡°It means you¡¯re in danger. You¡¯ve unlocked a hidden boss. Be careful!¡±


    Teddy squeaked as he twisted his entire body to get a good view of the fortress he damaged.


    ¡®Danger¡¯ flashed on the T.V. monitor. The woman on the screen sprouted whiskers and tattered dog ears. She rushed at the screen and Teddy died before being able to cast firebolt.


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad, Teddy. Alright let Cloud have a turn now,¡± Sky said.


    ¡°No fair,¡± Teddy moaned, taking off the helmet and gloves, ¡°If Lark hadn¡¯t told me about Earthquake that mean old lady wouldn¡¯t have killed me.¡±


    The rest of them laughed and Cloud brushed Teddy¡¯s brown helmet hair. For the next few hours, everyone took turns practicing different spells inside the fortress, exploring, and then started to hunt small monsters like diseased rats, skeletons, and evil stone gnomes.


    ¡°The twins are getting really attached to her,¡± Lark said to Sky, noticing the two shaking Mishka¡¯s hands and pulling her into different parts of the castle.


    ¡°Did she watch the twins while we were at Sam¡¯s service this morning?¡±


    While the twins were distracted by Mishka¡¯s gameplay, Sky leaned in. ¡°Yeah, she did me a really huge favor today since the ¡®rents were busy doing something related to the university. I wouldn''t have been able to go without her help.¡±


    Lark nodded, suddenly feeling tired.


    Sky waved a hand over his face. ¡°Don''t get so glum now, Samuel wouldn''t want that. You know what¡¯d he¡¯d say: Lark, you can''t steal girls with that attitude; never mind the ball.¡±


    Lark laughed through his nose. ¡°I feel like he did say something like that before.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was during your practice match.¡± Sky grew closer to his face. ¡°Hey, when did you start to wear colored contacts?¡±


    ¡°You''re acting creepy,¡± he countered, swatting Sky¡¯s face.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s hiding something again,¡± Sky chortled, but his arms were folded, a signal to Lark that a line had been crossed.


    ¡°Oomph. I need a break.¡± Mishka took off her equipment and passed it onto Cloud. She made her way to her boys, and Lark scooted to the side.


    Just as she was about to sit down, she said, ¡°Wait,¡± and rushed off to the dining room where she stored away her backpack. She came back into the room, holding out her sketchpad.


    ¡°I forgot to give you the sketches from last time. Things had gotten so hectic, I just remembered them today.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± He¡¯d forgotten too.


    She sat in between the boys and rested on Sky¡¯s shoulder when she brought up a strange topic she heard yesterday.


    Mishka worked as a Teacher¡¯s Assistant for Mr. Zayne, their old Biology professor and she would gossip to them about the Zayne¡¯s potential marriage troubles.


    Mrs. Zayne¡¯s wardrobe varied from slacks to skirts, but her husband was never spotted without his lab coat. The two couldn¡¯t be any more different, in fact, no one wouldn¡¯t have known they were married if not for their identical last names and matching wedding bands.


    However, this time she told a different story. ¡°You guys remember hearing about the bat population decreasing last week?¡±


    The two boys nodded and she continued. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone this yet, but Mr. Zayne said the Night Watch will have to be canceled this year.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡ªthat sucks.¡± Lark bit his bottom lip, recalling theirsophomore year. Sky and Mishka had just started dating, his grandfather was still alive, and he was still playing soccer. It was a happier time.


    The Night Watch promised a romantic opportunity for the new couple and he didn¡¯t waste any time teasing them back then. But between the teasing and more teasing, there was something about observing natural life that felt sacred, or sobering. Even if the three weren¡¯t natural-life experts, they could tell the phenomena was a great dilemma. For future students not to have that same opportunity felt like a huge loss.


    ¡°Are you crying?¡± Lark asked Sky.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s just some dirt in my eyes...shuddup.¡±


    Mishka slapped Lark¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Where¡¯d that come from?¡± He frowned, tending to his shoulder.


    ¡°You insensitive jerk. I just remembered - How could you ask the missus about their anniversary?¡± She poked his forehead repeatedly. ¡°She bought those earrings for herself because he forgot.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Sky joined.


    ¡°Because there was an expensive receipt on his desk from a super fancy restaurant. You know the Gold Leaf restaurant downtown?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the one daddy took mommy before right?¡± Cloud asked cutely before sitting on Lark.


    ¡°Yes. Oh so, are you saying he took her there to make up for their missed anniversary?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. And you bringing it up, you idiot, is gonna put her on our bad side.¡± All three began to prod Lark¡¯s face.


    ¡°This looks fun!¡± Teddy climbed next to Cloud.


    ¡°You guys¡­Rawr!¡±


    ¡°Ah! The dragon is back!¡±


    Not long after, the lovers passed out on the couch. Mishka¡¯s head laid on Sky¡¯s shoulder, while his head rolled so far back, his neck was exposed to her drooling.


    Lark snickered and passed two tens over to the twins for a job well done. Teddy broke into a wide grin, looking at Lark and then at the two sleeping. He rubbed the bill in between his palms and ran upstairs to stash it away, while Cloud slipped it into his pocket.


    He scooted up the couch and wrapped his tiny arms around Lark¡¯s waist. ¡°Thanks for the present Lark.¡±


    He tussled the kid¡¯s hair. ¡°You stay out of trouble and out of Sky¡¯s room, you got it?¡±


    Cloud smirked, but nodded anyway and let go of him. ¡°You coming again next week?¡±


    ¡°Maybe? I¡¯ll have to check my schedule,¡± Lark replied hesitantly, checking his watch. He usually visited the Laytons¡¯ often on the weekends, but Samuel¡¯s memorial took an unusual toll on him as well as Runesteam¡¯s production beginning to saddle up. Besides he didn¡¯t want to cut in Mishka¡¯s time to bond with the twins. However, before he could produce the app, Cloud nudged him in the stomach and took off like a bandit after his brother, laughing in hysterics.


    Cloud didn¡¯t pack a punch as hard as his brother, but he somehow managed to tackle the same spot as earlier. Lark rubbed his tender appendix and stepped on another stranded lego.


    Ffffuckrocks¡ªfiretruck. Oh, what¡¯s the point?


    He peeked around the living room. Making sure, the couple continued snuggling, and the twins were still upstairs, he quickly hopped to the sliding patio door, which faced the backyard and touched the glass with his bare foot. The coldness soothed the pain slightly. Maybe, it¡¯d work on his torso too, he thought and tried to lean his stomach into the window frame. It was dark outside, so hopefully, none of the neighbors were snooping and as he was checking for this, Lark noticed a dark spot, blotting out the moon. It hung there in a way¡­clouds really shouldn¡¯t.


    Weird. Maybe he should get the space enthusiast to take a look. But when he blinked again, the spot was gone, and so was the moon in a curtain of darkness. If it weren¡¯t for the faint pouches of lightened grays, he wouldn¡¯t have even believed the moon was still there.

 6 - Caught

    It was Monday morning and Lark marched from his car like a zombie. He passed by the LED school-board advertising Dubois High¡¯s motto: School of thought.


    Obtaining information that couldn¡¯t be gained from solely studying was the principal¡¯s main gimmick for attracting students and donors. Expanding electives instead of focusing on standardized tests allowed for more student freedom, which allowed funds to shift into clubs and specialized classes. Though it wasn¡¯t surprising that the more traditional organizations received more allowances than others such as Varsity sports.


    A part of his noise-canceling headphones knocked off his ear as a train of students rushed passed him. The captain of the martial arts club chanted through a voice modulator, something about showing school spirit, but he quickly moved away from the scene. The music clubs blasted instruments on the side entrances, staging impromptu performances. It was definitely a more eye-catching and tactful recruitment strategy compared to the musclehead''s screams.


    It wasn¡¯t until he saw a flock of students wearing shorts and cleats in front of a recruitment table full of ¡®Go Vikings¡¯ accessories did he remember why he didn¡¯t want to stick around for Spirit Week.


    Please, don¡¯t find me. He weaved around confused, lost freshmen and made it past the cheerleaders when someone shouted his name.


    ¡°Lark. Over here!¡±


    Just two more seconds¡­He inwardly sighed, freezing in place as soon as he heard his name called. The soccer coach¡¯s natural voice sounded volumes louder than the voice modulator. Grimacing, he turned around.


    ¡°Coach... How nice to see the team together. Nice-looking visor, by the way,¡± he spoke, forcing a smile as he walked up to the recruitment table. The coach always wore visors even when the sun barely peeked out like today. Lark¡¯s eyes squinted at the coach¡¯s new visor with the printed Runetech logo.


    Stay friendly now. Lark rested the headphones over his collar and waved hello to his old teammates.


    ¡°Boys, meet our newest sponsor.¡± The coach¡¯s gleaming teeth blinded Lark and he couldn¡¯t tell who had the faker smile. Coach¡¯s tanned arm jostled his shoulder as he was pushed closer to the table. He toured the table like a shiny trophy on display. His old teammates'' cold stares burned through him like a second-place medal; all the hurt glares pierced through his winning smile. It didn¡¯t take him long to headhunt the new team captain, who was handing out free water bottles. His old camo-green sweatband with the bold. yellow ¡®C¡¯ wrapped around Wei¡¯s wrist.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you like the visor, Coach, and this way¡­¡± Lark grabbed one of the water bottles. ¡°It¡¯d be like I¡¯m always with the team.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± the student manager, Daisy, spoke up. ¡°No one¡¯s been able to pull off that super cool tail-spin strike like you! Are you sure you don¡¯t want to play for our last season¡ª?¡± Her hand inched over to the sign-up sheet.


    The new captain placed a hand on her shoulder while sizing him up. Another junior Lark recognized had also placed his elbow on the clipboard.


    Lark¡¯s heartbeat kicked up a notch. Shit Daisy, you¡¯re really living up to your carefree name.


    ¡°If I have time, I could stop by practice and maybe give a few pointers and demonstrations,¡± he said, fixing the water bottle into a free pocket on his sling backpack. ¡°You still have my number, Daze.¡±


    Halfway turning to match Wei¡¯s angry gaze with a smirk, he didn¡¯t miss Daisy¡¯s grin crimping shyly.


    ¡°But the team should be in good hands with Wei. Oh yeah, what did we call you in that game back in regionals with that body feint, Makeweeeei.¡±


    Only the seniors and Daisy cracked a grin, while Wei¡¯s expression seemed stuck between fuming and shock. The coach coughed and slapped Lark¡¯s back playfully.


    ¡°Drop by the field anytime.¡±


    After a quick retreat and waving goodbye, his watch alerted him to an incoming call from Sky.


    ¡°Please, tell me you weren¡¯t watching.¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh no. I didn¡¯t see shitty Daisy try to recruit you back into the fold, and her fawning all over you. Ha! And the look on Wei¡¯s face too! You do hold a penchant for making frenemies.¡±


    Hearing the sound of Sky¡¯s derisive laughter echo across the hallway, he ended the call and walked up to the boy wearing straight cut jeans and a collared cardigan. With one hand barely keeping a lid over his mouth, Sky waited next to the stack of gray lockers. Their shared locker was conveniently located at one end, so they didn¡¯t need to hover in between other students.


    ¡°Stop laughing already,¡± Lark quipped, placing his lunch bag inside the locker.


    ¡°Can¡¯t help it, you always do something so¡­ unorthodox. Besides, I can¡¯t stand the sight of her all over you like you¡¯re still together with her. It makes me want to punch her in the face.¡± Sky smiled innocently.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°When you say it, it doesn¡¯t sound like a joke anymore. It makes me wonder where Teddy gets it from.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not thinking about getting back together with her, are you?¡±


    Before he could answer, Sky shook his head as if saying ¡®never mind, you¡¯re hopeless,¡¯ and jabbed his shoulder before tearing off like a kid who did something bad. Lark trailed after him, shouting, ¡°Your quads are in for it!¡±


    This is how it should have stayed. Laughing over stupid high school relationships, planning prom, graduating from the class of 2100, not what was about to happen to them next.


    <hr>


    Danger did not always lurk in places where people perceived security as a square deal, but when it did, the exposed underbellies of society made a great bullseye for chaos. Wangshi understood this principle since his time immemorial. Riskless jobs never existed. This felt especially true for him, and his instincts told him this likely had to do with his previous life, the time before Lars found him.


    Wangshi waited outside in front of the parked SUV. All morning he felt a disturbance in the air, but he hadn¡¯t let it shown on his face as not to further his young master¡¯s worries. He lit up another one of his cigarettes; it was his third one that morning.


    His old bones shook.


    He remembered this exact feeling during the day of Sr. Rune¡¯s funeral. It was also the first day in ten years that he wielded a sword. He couldn¡¯t exactly remember how he¡¯d done it, only that his body remembered the movements for him.


    Ever since the senior¡¯s passing, he never once let down his guard. Sr. Rune¡¯s death was a shameful mark on his promise to Lars Rune. How could he face Lars, wherever he was now if he let anything happen to his savior¡¯s son. That would be a fate worse than death.


    Wangshi wasn¡¯t born omnipotent and had hoped his feelings of danger were more from the imagination than reality. However, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case today. The police chatter on the radio went haywire and sirens wailed in the distance. It seemed whatever trouble was happening, it was all over town.


    Brandishing the sidearm he took back when the cultist fled, he relocated to a vantage point between the school and the car keeping camouflaged by sliding from shadow to shadow.


    Glimpses of fighting in total darkness often came to him through dreams. It happened more often since the funeral and looking at Mishka¡¯s drawings. The sequences of how he worked often went like this: silence, dispose and repeat. Whether or not those people in his dreams were real had no effect on him. Just like that cultist the other day.


    He discovered the sewing needles Sr. Rune¡¯s wife left in the house were of good use for information retrieval purposes. Truthfully, he doubted the cultist would know that something big was going to happen. A lowly figure in the AA cult definitely wouldn¡¯t be given a lot of information, but that didn¡¯t stop his prodding.


    Unfortunately, for that cultist, Wangshi recognized the type of gun they used. Unable to explain the weapon¡¯s distinctive appearance and alien tech applications, the cultist surrendered upon questioning and the gun fell into Wangshi¡¯s hands. What the incompetent agency didn¡¯t know wouldn¡¯t hurt them.


    A sword cutting a person¡¯s hand at a distance was unheard of. But he managed it somehow and that ability was able to save his young master¡¯s life. Even if he received that gift from the devil, it would be acceptable to him as long as the young master¡¯s life was okay.


    He snapped the revolver¡¯s chamber open. Empty. Still, he aimed it at the roof of the building, feeling energy being sapped from his body. As he thought, these were how cultist guns were used.


    A sharp wind brushed against Wangshi¡¯s pony-tail. He could sense their arrival; wings beating past 100 mph and other horrible, foul-smelling abnormalities.


    As he scoped the distance between the SUV and the school, a single, red dot appeared in his vision. Wangshi¡¯s glass eye worked a little bit different compared to other artificial eyes. It allowed him to see what others could not.


    One finger held the trigger. Then a few red dots lined up around the first one. They multiplied until a few hundred encompassed the buildings from the air.


    With fatal precision, he let his ranged weapon open fire onto the high school¡¯s rooftop. The pierced monsters let out an animal-like cry, alerting the mob to impending extermination.


    From this distance, he estimated, he could take out a portion of their defensive line with that move. Wangshi withdrew his side-arm and grabbed the hilt of his sword.


    On that fateful day, he spoke the words from his heart and soul that could save Lark. His brain couldn¡¯t remember where they were from, but again it didn¡¯t concern him for the time being. As long as he had the will to keep standing, he would fight any enemies!


    Power rose within himself. It wasn¡¯t the same kind of strength he was used to like lifting groceries, but a cross between a brain freeze and sailing on a roller coaster. A youthful rush!


    He flew from his hiding place, launching a surprise attack onto one side of the encirclement. From five hundred yards away, his sword encased in a green glow and he stabbed the air with quick precision. With the naked eye, one wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell how many stabs there were, but judging from the screams, it was well over a hundred. Their malodorous bodies rained towards the ground with a cushioning splat.


    The tiny red dots in his vision disappeared, but a hundred more replaced them and a good portion flew out to intersect him.


    Good thing he hadn¡¯t used his most draining attack yet. He needed to find young master Lark and his companions fast, he thought, as he slashed in horizontal and vertical strokes. His faraway attacks enhanced by the wind energy penetrated the dense pack of flying monsters. They flew towards him, dripping sticky, translucent fluid along the way.


    <hr>


    Lark yawned as he packed his things to go to the fourth period. Sky had already ditched him after a quick shower to meet up with Mishka.


    For a split second, he thought he could see the gray lines glow red. But it was only for a split second. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was seeing red because he played too many Runesteam games, or if he was going crazy. Everything about the pyramid was strange. Almost as strange and mysterious as his grandfather.


    He brought the pyramid with him to school, as dangerous as that may be, but he needed their help to brainstorm, and maybe assure him he wasn¡¯t going crazy. He sat on the bench, examining the pyramid in his backpack when another unexpected event occurred.


    ¡°Hey, Lark!¡± Wei called him. ¡°Instructor Fuego wants to talk to us for a minute. He promised to write us a note for fourth-period if we¡¯re late.¡±


    ¡°Kay.¡± Lark nodded as he slid his backpack on. The two headed towards Fuego¡¯s office and a deep awkward silence hung between the two.


    A voice, muted like a distant radio, whispered in his ear. ¡°Danger!¡±


    And without anyone noticing, the pyramid started to emit a strong, red light.

 7 - Fight

    Lark shook off the vague voice in his head, chalking it up to spending too much time on Runesteam.


    Instead, painful memories resurfaced from Junior year as he walked beside Wei. Of course, he hadn¡¯t wanted to quit at a critical juncture of their play season, but the team should¡¯ve understood family deaths took precedence over everything else.


    ¡°Do you know what Instructor Fuego wants?¡± Lark asked, shoving his hands into his pleated pant pockets.


    ¡°No idea,¡± Wei replied, his expression cold. And clearly, unaware of the mess inside his head.


    The deafening silence returned and Lark tried to think of something to say for the minute when instead Wei told him to wait.


    ¡°Hey, man, let me be the first one to apologize. I know the way I acted earlier was not right to you.¡±


    Lark tilted his head. Wei wasn¡¯t way out of line for an apology and it''s not like he didn¡¯t understand how the team felt about him quitting last year.


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. Compared to what I did to the team, I should be the one to apologize.¡±


    Thinking the weird tension would blow over, Lark continued walking.


    ¡°¡ªThen why haven¡¯t you?¡±


    A pause in his stride and he turned back with an equally as cold face. ¡°You know how it is. Words can¡¯t resolve loss.¡±


    Wei lagged behind as if in deep thought. Not knowing whether this was an acceptable answer or a genuine response, the two walked with complicated feelings into Instructor Fuego¡¯s office.


    Inside the surprisingly uncluttered room, Instructor Fuego sat on his swivel chair, clicking away on his desktop. Lark saw the title at the top of the browser: Martial Arts Tournament.


    ¡°Great timing, I just printed these forms for you to sign.¡±


    ¡°Hold up.¡± Lark laughed as he perused the documents. ¡°I¡¯m new at this whole sparring thing, but are you actually recruiting us for a competition?¡±


    ¡°You two have the best potential in this school,¡± Fuego said with a glint in his eyes that was not missed by Lark.


    ¡°Be honest,¡± Lark encouraged, raising a brow.


    ¡°You¡¯re a sharp one! I knew I was right about you.¡± Fuego slapped his thigh, chuckling. Wei took a step back as spittle flew towards him. ¡°I made a bet with a friend of mine at another school. C¡¯mon, help me out here. It¡¯ll make you and me look good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll sign up.¡± Wei suddenly cut in, grabbing the form in front of Lark.


    ¡°Let me think about¡ª¡± Lark was about to make a polite refusal when a small rattling sound passed underneath their feet, then a low whine followed. The three looked up at the walls, it sounded like it was coming from within the bathroom.


    Instructor Fuego walked up to a small doorway representing the staff restroom. ¡°You felt that boys? That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard the toilet make such a rumble. I wonder if Coach is still in there?¡±


    Instructor Fuego winked and knocked on the door. ¡°Everything alright in there Coach?¡±


    A louder gurgling sound answered through the door and Lark glanced at the ground. Water began to leak through.


    ¡°Phoo, Coach, you¡¯re flooding the room,¡± Fuego said he grabbed his restroom key and unlocked the door. Then he tried to push against the lever, but the door wouldn¡¯t budge. He tried again with all his strength to push until his trapezius and other back muscles scrunched tightly against the spandex.


    Something that sounded like a foot crunching a plastic bottle caused Lark to step back. Water poured from the sides of the door and a large deep crack encircled the frame.


    ¡°Get away from the door!¡± Lark shouted, but it was too late. Water crashed over Instructor Fuego like an opened floodgate. Splintered wood and debris dropped on top of the instructor, and gray water continued to gush out. The room flooded inches above their feet, but their jaws dropped at the sight of Coach with his pants unzipped, punching a giant blob of moving water as it slowly hugged him in. They could see the whites of his eyes roll to the back as he passed out inside it.


    Instructor Fuego heaved the board off of him and laid it horizontally in the doorway. ¡°You kids get away from here!¡±


    Lark shuffled out of the room, tagging Wei¡¯s shoulder. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡±


    As Wei staggered, Coach disappeared in a shower of white light and another two of those gray blobs climbed out of the toilet.


    <hr>


    Shit. Shit. Shit. What the shit was that toilet monster? More importantly, was that actual shit in the monster?


    Lark rushed into the gym¡¯s storage room. In every fiber of his being, he knew somehow the cultists were behind this. His hand reached out for a wooden bat when Wei stumbled in.


    ¡°It got Coach,¡± he said exasperatedly.


    ¡°Here.¡± Lark threw a bat over.


    ¡°You want to fight it?¡± Wei asked, eyes widening, letting the bat clatter to the floor. ¡°No way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for protection. Don¡¯t be stupid,¡± Lark said as he peered out into the open area for sparring matches. If Wei was here, the monster shouldn¡¯t be too far behind. Right on cue, a gray blob entered the arena. Its belly full of suspended pencils, staplers, and other office supplies, the slime rolled across the rubber mats in search of more victims.


    Ugh. So gross.No wonder Coach passed out; that smell is insidious. Why did the kidnappers have to be made of toilet water?Lark suppressed a gag. He didn¡¯t want to find out where the monsters took Coach, but he heardWei sneer and huffed under his breath. ¡°World-renown, my shit. It hasn¡¯t even been a minute.¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Seems Fuego didn''t make it. Lark racked his brain for a solution and spotted a cart holding rows of soccer balls. He whispered to the still fuming Wei. ¡°Do you remember play five with the fake and sprint? You handle the striker position and get to the fire alarm.¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Wei whispered harshly back.


    ¡°Stupid enough to escape a storage room. Look we don¡¯t have time. No one else seems to know that there are weird toilet monsters kidnapping people. So are you in?¡± Lark repeated.


    Wei gritted his teeth, grudgingly picking up the bat. ¡°I¡¯m in.¡±


    ¡°Okay, one, two, three¡­go!¡± Lark jumped out, dribbling a soccer ball. He kept an eye on the blob that hung out in the epicenter of the arena. Wei followed right behind him as they sprinted in a zig-zag pattern.


    As if unable to decide whom to go after first, the blob hesitated, staying rooted in place. But its body focused on Lark and began inching forward similarly to a slug, but not at all sluggish. Lark shuddered as he passed the ball to Wei. Lark noted the blob¡¯s movement switching over to Wei. Taking advantage of the distraction, he raced forward, swinging his club in a wild arc.


    His bat sank into the target, but instead of creaming the monster, it felt like slugging through watery clay. The swing lost tempo and he heaved the bat out of the fluid-filled cavity.


    The bat dripped gray sludge across the floor in a sticky mess. His hit shaved off a fourth of the monster¡¯s original volume, but it was still moving energetically like it didn¡¯t take any damage. Evidently, using blunt force was a weak tactic, but he didn¡¯t have anything with a sharp edge on hand. If he had a knife, he could dice up this abomination like jello.


    Lark circled the slime, backing away at an arm¡¯s length when Wei entered his blind spot.


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Ready!¡± Wei yelled, striking the ball. Lark jumped to the side as the ball zoomed past his waist; entering the strike zone with a powerful force.


    Wei¡¯s strike power improved. The soccer ball lobbed true and through the thickness, exiting the cavity with a few pens. Without giving time for the blob to potentially regenerate, Lark followed up the kick with another heavy swing as Wei sprinted towards the fire alarm and pulled it down.


    All buildings in the vicinity blared.


    Their combined attack dislodged another third of the slime¡¯s body, but the slime acted as though it wasn¡¯t a big deal that its body turned smaller. Frowning, Lark tripped up on his feet and stumbled. His sneakers caught in a wad.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Wei shouted.


    Unfortunately for Lark who was paying more attention to the ground, the slime charged. There was a sharp increase in its speed, now that it lost more than half its constitution and was able to come within a foot of him. As he yanked his feet out and shuffled around the arena, the slimed curved its reach as well, nearly catching hold of his shirt.


    Get rid of that guy¡ªhe¡¯s distracting you.


    Lark¡¯s eyes darted around the room. That voice¡ªwhere did it come from? Was there someone else in the gym with them? Other than Wei, who was standing oafishly to the alarm, there wasn¡¯t anybody.


    Wei looked at him with hesitation, the bat shaking in his hands. Lark turned back to the slime and directed, ¡°Get outta here.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m gonna get help,¡± he heard Wei say, before dodging another lunge from the slime. The gym doors swung behind him and his watch beeped, giving him a small scare. An image of a computer and the words ¡®meet¡¯ came from Sky.


    ¡°Lucky me.¡± He pointed the end of the bat at the slime and announced its defeat. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to play around with you, so I¡¯m ending it here with my next attack.¡±


    The blob¡¯s sides thrashed. If the gray blob had a face, Lark imagined it scoffing. He charged forward, aiming his swing at a light-colored disk inside it. ¡°Your nucleus is mine!¡±


    As if sensing danger, the slime did a strange dance. Shifting its body proportions around like a belly dancer, it squirmed.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use!¡± His legs bounced from a forward position to the back of the slime. ¡°Fakes are my specialty.¡±


    His posture shifted as he wounded up his swing and poured all his weight against the viscous fluid.


    Reach it! He pivoted his foot and twisted the bat all the way through until the lighter portion of the slime tore like a flattened baseball.


    His shoulders sank in relief, watching the pens and staplers clattered to the floor along with the dissolved slime.


    And a thousand EXP points goes to the evil dragon, he thought with a laugh. A toilet slime is nothing in front of an all-powerful dragon. Mwahahaha.


    Toilet slimes...nope. Still gross.


    As Lark stood there role-playing in his head something glittered in the gray puddle.

 8 - Confessions

    Looking at slime guts on his shoes, Lark grumbled about getting new battle armor, before glancing further into the pile of office supplies. There he saw the shiny monster drop. His blood boiled as he walked towards his reward.


    The crystalline object was cold to the touch and rough. He noted the pattern looked similar to a polished ore with a green spiral design.


    He observed it for another couple seconds before, rushing into his bag to retrieve the ring he got from Wangshi. While holding the two objects side by side, he swallowed hard.


    The color and patterns were eerily alike!


    Though the ring seemed to contain a darker shade of green mixed in with black streams.


    He drew in a deep breath. His nerves were still shot from all the adrenaline as he noted his accelerated heart rate on the Trinity watch.


    Now that he had time, he should let Wangshi know he¡¯s alright. But knowing Wangshi¡­his caretaker was probably already aware.


    Better safe than sorry, he thought and sent a quick text to Wangshi about the school being under attack by slimes the size of refrigerators. He ended the message by writing his goal to meet up with Sky and Mishka at the computer lab.


    He tucked the jagged edge crystal into his bag and wore the ring on the same hand as his Trinity watch. Surely, AA cultists were behind everything. If he saw any of them, the ring could provide protection if he could pretend to be one of them. Furthermore, they must have used this green crystal to make the slimes. Probably? But he couldn¡¯t remember seeing it anywhere inside the slime¡¯s body during the battle.


    He rolled his neck and shoulders to get rid of the creaks. Thinking, while under stress was not his forte. Better go ask Mishka in this type of situation. Speaking of which, he wondered how they were faring with the toilet monsters. He hurried to retrieve another bat for Sky and departed.


    <hr>


    Sky wondered why the school hadn¡¯t fixed the servers yet. He and Mishka were with their fourth-period class taking an excursion to the library to begin research on their three-hundred point essay. The couple used the computers when Mishka received a notification from her contacts that the state capitol was defending attacks from an army of bats, particularly abnormal bats made of slime. Again, like the loose cultist plot, none of the students received notifications of the apparent emergency.


    ¡°Slime bats?¡± Mishka asked again to the person on her phone to make sure she wasn¡¯t hearing things. After confirming, she hung up and grabbed Sky by the arm. ¡°We¡¯re getting out of here.¡±


    He had finished checking up on the news when he readily agreed. This time the AA cultists used new tricks. But to genetically alter the composition of a bat was a new low for the terrorists. An army of slime bats could potentially be a small sample size of a new type of biological weapon, Sky reckoned.


    Mishka and Sky ran up to their substitute teacher, who got upset by their disruption. ¡°You two, go back to your studies.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, we¡¯re all in serious danger,¡± Sky explained.


    The teacher looked down at their own phone. ¡°I¡¯ve just gotten word from the principal that Dubois High will be entering lockdown. It¡¯s happening sooner than I thought it would.¡±


    ¡°Huh, what are you saying¡ª¡± Sky began to talk loudly, attracting the attention of the other students.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry students¡± ¡ªthe teacher showed a devious smile as the large bay window behind her vibrated ¡ª ¡°You¡¯re all here to witness a very special event. One that is only done once every fifty years¡­¡±


    A large crack jittered through the glass frame as a viscous gray body came into view and slammed its entirety against the building.


    ¡°The Culling.¡±


    Mishka took Sky and dove behind a bookcase as chunks of glasses blew into the library.


    Some students, too curious for their own good, got a face-full of glass fragments. Others, too slow to respond, had bloody cuts running up their limbs.


    Moaning from the pain and cries from embedded glass shards in their skin could be heard. But luckily no had died from what Mishka could see. The AA cultist was nowhere to be seen, but a resounding siren echoed on school grounds. Mishka frowned, the school district acted too slowly. Chaos was already here!


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna escape through the window,¡± Mishka said as she pulled down her cat hood, revealing a metal headband encrusted with bright red gems. Off to one side of the headband, a faceted flower contained a smooth stone with a strange character carved on it. For lack of a better word, it looked like a rune to Sky.


    ¡°Grab some books to throw at the cultists and whatever slime creatures we saw earlier, and message Lark! We¡¯re meeting him at the computer lab!¡± Mishka ordered as she donned on a green ring from her backpack.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Sky grew wide-eyed. The ring¡¯s design was similar to the sketches Mishka drew of Lark¡¯s pyramid alien tech; green hexagons looped over the silver band like a race track. He texted Lark first on his smartphone and then grabbed a dictionary.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain this as we go, but right now trust me,¡± she said as she hauled Sky by the arm towards the broken window.


    ¡°Alright m¡¯lady.¡± Sky smiled as they rushed towards the window. ¡°But just so you remember we¡¯re on the second floor, and I would rather jump to my death than let you get hurt¡­oh¡­oh-no¡ªAHHHHH!¡±


    Mishka held his hand, and together they jumped across the bay window¡¯s threshold. She moved her ring-equipped hand in a flashy pattern, ¡°Wind-walker!¡±


    ¡°Bulbaulaubaaa¡ª¡± Sky made a whirring noise as the sides of his mouth hung open. It complemented his feelings of someone taking a leaf-blower to his face as Mishka raced them across the schoolyard and into another building.


    ¡°Sky, did you see that? We¡¯re surrounded!¡± Mishka said as they took cover inside a portable.


    ¡°Surrounded by what? You know I¡¯m only slightly distracted by the fact you can fly.¡±


    ¡°That was not flying, that was more like falling with style.¡± Someone snorted behind them.


    They turned around with surprised relief.


    It was Lark!


    <hr>


    Lark couldn¡¯t find Wei anywhere within his view and figured Wei must¡¯ve hidden somewhere from all the swooping slime bats. Because that¡¯s exactly what he was doing right now!


    Peering from behind a stone column, Lark felt his heart drop as countless bats circled overhead, dripping slime guts. A drop of it almost hit him in his hiding spot in the outdoor hallway.


    Lark suppressed a gag by cupping his mouth. The stench of a thousand toilets filled the air.


    Holy shit, did they use sewage water to make these gross slimy creatures? The last time he smelled something so putrid was during freshmen year at the wetlands, which were located conveniently near a water treatment facility. The monsters were even green-colored like the algae.


    Oh no. Lark wanted to roll his eyes to the back of his head when his eyes began to burn as he made his way to a broken, floor-to-ceiling window. Leftover gray fluid settled on the sill. He used one of the bats to scrape out excess glass shards and entered the room.


    The room contained office supplies and a computer desk. Whoever used this office left in a hurry, Lark suspected, noticing the toppled over picture frames and the oozing slime trail to the door.


    His heart squeezed again as he heard a terrifying scream outside. He wielded the two clubs in his arms in an ¡®x¡¯ formation awkwardly as he peeked out the window to see who was in trouble. His eyes bulged at the sight of Mishka and Sky falling from the second floor. He wanted to cry out until he saw a green glow wrap under their feet and the next thing he knew, the two were zipping through the air.


    Lark¡¯s adam apple drummed. He walked out the door and followed in the opposite direction of the slime trail to meet up with Sky and the teenage witch.


    <hr>


    ¡°And are you alright?¡± Sky looked down at Lark¡¯s dirtied sneakers. Sky already explained the ordeal at the library with the information they learned prior. But Mishka had yet to say anything about her extraordinary gifts.


    ¡°I took out a toilet slime and it melted on me,¡± Lark shrugged it off, but Sky knew these pair of shoes were a birthday present from Grandpa Rune.


    ¡°Oh yeah, it dropped this crystal looking thing.¡± Lark pulled out the monster drop out of his pant pockets.


    ¡°My goodness, you¡¯re always carrying strange things,¡± Mishka said with a puff, pulling back one side of her lip in a pout. Her blue eyes flamed with jealousy as she examined the crystalline object.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do a careful analysis right now, but I¡¯m assuming this is the monster core. The thing responsible for its existence as its energy source,¡± she said in deep wonder. She soon snapped out it, when the trio heard screams echoing from outside. From a window, they could see students fleeing from slime bats. The two-story high slime Sky mentioned to Lark, couldn¡¯t be seen, but feeling the wa the ground shook, it was moving around the campus.


    ¡°Why did you two want to meet up at the computer labs anyway?¡± Lark asked as he kept an eye out for any troubling slime monsters in the hallway.


    ¡°It was the first place that came to mind.¡± Her cheeks turned pink. ¡°Anyways! How come I don¡¯t get a bat?¡±


    Lark tutted. ¡°The mage wants a bat¡ª I think you¡¯re gonna destroy the party balance if you take Sky¡¯s.¡±


    Mishka bit down on a corner of her lip as she looked guiltily at them.¡°I guess I should explain a bit¡­¡±


    Sky fixed his glasses, which surprised Lark to see not a scratch on them, as he held up a hand. ¡°Wait, let me clear the air for a second about some thoughts I¡¯ve had for awhile.¡±


    ¡°Mishka, love of my life¡­¡±


    Oh my god, this is not the time¡­


    ¡°Since I¡¯ve met you, I¡¯ve always been drawn to you like a puzzle. And that hasn¡¯t changed. But there were moments when I felt like I was close to solving Mishka the enigma, but it seems like you¡¯ve always hidden a part of yourself from everyone. Not just magic. But I¡¯ve never been to your place. Never met your family. And I just don¡¯t know much about your life besides robotics and before freshmen year.¡± Sky¡¯s wishy-washy, sentimental expression morphed into a forlorn one.


    Mishka¡¯s eyes beaded.


    Lark agreed with everything Sky had to say. Although he understood the necessity for secrets, there were still very few things he knew about Mishka.


    Catgirl was a nickname, he and Sky coined up for her when they first saw her in their beginner¡¯s robotics course. She stood out with her cat-like eyes and her cat hood clothing line. Sky was the first to talk to her when they ended up together in the same row(they still used those seats.)


    And could she chatter!


    Catgirl introduced herself as Mishka, and she was a foreign exchange student from where they assumed was Russia. They hadn¡¯t asked and she didn¡¯t tell them for the last four years.


    The couple held both their hands together, and Sky gazed into her crestfallen eyes.


    ¡°I admit this bothered me for a long time, but I was truly happy with all the moments we¡¯ve been together as friends and when we started dating¡­ But I realized after the get-together at Lark¡¯s place last week, maybe why you hadn¡¯t been so forthcoming with your past is because of your family business,¡± he said with a straight face.


    Please don¡¯t say her family is the mafia or some underground shit. They already had enough drama with toilet monsters, he didn¡¯t think he could handle it.


    Mishka finally shed tears and cried out to them that she wanted them to know. But everything was too complicated. Or that¡¯s what Lark interpreted through the hiccups.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand how hard it was for me to convince my dad to date you and stuff. But I made our relationship sound plausible enough for me to blend into society.¡± She hiccuped some more before Sky pulled her into a hug.


    ¡°Mishka¡ªdo you know you¡¯re starting to sound like an alien?¡±


    She sobbed even harder into his shirt and balled her hands into tiny fists.


    ¡°The truth is¡­alien-technology is magic.¡±

 9 - Hope

    Even though nothing is ever as it seems, the full impact of Mishka¡¯s confession, and the truth that she was hiding it, didn¡¯t happen until after the immediate danger was over. However, the truth is, this secret took too long to come out. People couldn¡¯t reconcile or adapt to what was originally seen as really advanced human technology to what it actually was, magic. And this blip began the greatest human tragedy.


    Meanwhile, the boys¡¯ brains seemed to short-circuit after receiving excess data and not knowing where to sort it.


    The table Lark leaned on rattled and their eyes glazed-over at the view; a two-story slime rolled towards the epicenter of the schoolyard. More than fifty of their peers slept inside the slime¡¯s body. Sky huddled Mishka into his chest as they hid behind the window column, observing the slime up until it rolled over another unconscious student hidden under a pile of slime bats before it disappeared in a white light.


    Lark shuddered while gripping the baseball bat. He wouldn¡¯t allow himself to get captured in that thing even if it meant dying.


    Suddenly the circling bats converged together to create another slime building. Oh, so the worst wasn¡¯t over.


    Lark looked around the corner of the door, where a refrigerator slime roamed. Goddammit, he cursed in his head. Don¡¯t roll around so lazily like you¡¯re on a school tour!


    Mishka saw the ring on Lark¡¯s finger as he held the bat close to his face and exclaimed, ¡°Where did you get that?¡±


    ¡°Wangshi gave it to me. Just thought it might be useful if we ran into a cultist.¡±


    She quickly wiped her face into Sky¡¯s shirt and hurried to over to Lark¡¯s side with a face that said, ¡°Who cares?¡±


    ¡°Hurry and perform a blood rite,¡± she ordered as if it were normal.


    ¡°Oh yeah. Okay. A whaa¡ª?¡± The tiredness in Lark¡¯s eyes showed as the bottom of his eyelids sagged. ¡°You want me to give it my blood?¡±


    Mishka replied only with her face again that screamed, ¡°Hurry up!¡± She passed him a small needle she kept in her knapsack.


    ¡°It¡¯ll hurt less if you poke the side of your finger.¡±


    Lark followed her advice and pricked the side of his thumb. It took him longer than a second to drill the silver point through his skin, due to the callouses he developed from gripping the bat. Though it hurt less than digging out a splinter, he still clenched his teeth together.


    ¡°Drip the blood over the ring and we¡¯ll know what kind of magic it contains.¡±


    He guided his perfect dome-shaped blood bubble to the ring. Once, it made contact, a spiral of green and black smoke rose into the air to form a sphere.


    Mishka¡¯s face brightened, but her voice hinted disappointment. ¡°Good, it wasn¡¯t soul-bound. But it¡¯s a low-grade storage ring using spatial magic. Not bad, but not very useful in our situation¡ª¡±


    So this is magic, Lark thought as he gazed upon the contents inside of the sphere and what looked like a storage container to him.


    The small hairs on his neck raised, realizing the ring formerly belonged to an AA cultist. Not only did he learn alien-technology was magic, but the cultists were also magic users!


    Which means¡­? He looked at Mishka, his heart thundering. The Allied Agency also knew about this and they knew how to utilize magic too!


    To cover his shock, he pulled something at random from the floating sphere. A gold coin appeared in his hand. One side of the coin had the face of a woman with runes circling the edges. The other side had a creature that looked like a cross-bred creature with goat-horns and a fishtail.


    ¡°That¡¯s a coin!¡± Mishka¡¯s eyes bulged as she grabbed it from Lark.


    ¡°And?¡± Lark raised a brow.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very special coin.¡± Mishka rolled her eyes and sunk one hand onto her hip, Sky shook his head, lips pulled to one side. ¡°My father would know something more about where this coin came from, well which world, anyway.¡±


    She winked. ¡°I did say I was a foreign exchange student.¡±


    ¡°We thought it¡¯d be like Russia,¡± Sky said exasperatedly, running a hand through his unusually unruly hair. ¡°Not another world. Or worlds, whatever that means.¡±


    Lark peeked at the classroom door. The slime was sure taking its time.


    ¡°Anything else in there?¡± She looked at Lark¡¯s storage ring.


    ¡°Weird-looking apothecary bottles,¡± Lark answered, ¡°But I¡¯m not going to waste any time taste-testing them.¡±


    ¡°Old magic¡­¡± Mishka muttered and revealed the bottles were likely potions or tonics.


    Lark nodded, playing along with Mishka¡¯s ¡®it¡¯s not a big deal¡¯ attitude. ¡°Cool. It doesn¡¯t look like there are any weapons in here.¡±


    Lark swung his bat at the sphere and Sky let out a gasp as it appeared that half the bat disappeared from view.


    An idea struck him. Taking off his backpack, he stuffed it into the sphere.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll store our stuff in here, so it¡¯ll be easier to run.¡± He grunted as he took their backpacks and tossed them into the sphere. ¡°What did you have in your bag?¡± He glared at Sky. Rocks?


    ¡°A magic-less dictionary. We can¡¯t all be lucky. But I suppose a bat deals more damage than a book.¡± Sky swung the bat around as if he was a natural.


    ¡°How do I cancel out this thing?¡± He asked Mishka, while waving at the sphere. Unlike his phone screen, it wouldn¡¯t go away when he swiped at the rotund smoke.


    ¡°It should act according to your will.¡±


    The sphere dissipated as soon as Lark twisted his ring and said, ¡°Off.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do it like that. There¡¯s no on or off button on the ring.¡± Mishka teased.


    ¡°It worked, didn¡¯t it?¡± Lark shot back.


    ¡°We need a break-out plan,¡± Sky said as he crossed his arms.


    ¡°I need new shoes.¡±


    ¡°If you wash the goop off later, you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°No, I need new shoes or I¡¯ll be forever tainted by the memory of getting slimed. There should be a back to school sale downtown, right?¡±


    ¡°God. And Mishka says I sound like a woman,¡± Sky said while putting his hands on his hips.


    ¡°You know me, I¡¯m only highly motivated by the state of my emotions,¡± Lark said with a smirk.


    ¡°Back on point,¡± Mishka clapped to get their attention. ¡°Break-out plan: I¡¯ll take out the slime that¡¯s guarding the exit with a rank D fire spell and I¡¯ll activate the spell, wind-walker. Then we¡¯ll rush to the parking lot.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain it all later, once we make it out of here,¡± she said, huffing at their clueless faces.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then, we need to leave campus somehow,¡± Lark said, edging his feet towards the door. ¡°That thing is kidnapping people for no reason and then disappearing off to god knows where.¡±


    He received a timely notification on his Trinity watch from Wangshi.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    After opening the message, Wangshi¡¯s haggard face appeared in front of them.


    ¡°Young master, thank goodness you¡¯re still here¡ªbut you must hurry to escape the premises. I¡¯ll be waiting for you at the twelve o¡¯clock entrance.¡±¡ª The tendrils of a slime bat swooped above his face before it got minced by Wangshi¡¯s sword.¡ª¡°Make haste!¡±


    The transmission ended. The 12 o¡¯clock entrance was the parking lot where Wangshi would sometimes pick them up for their long-hour lunches on Wednesday.


    ¡°Good-timing. Now, we have our getaway driver.¡± Sky grinned.


    Lark peeked out the door again. ¡°Not good.¡±


    There were two slimes now. Both guarding each end of the hallway.


    ¡°It¡¯s like they know we¡¯re in here.¡± He frowned. They spent too much time talking.


    Plop. Plop.


    The three jerked their heads to the computer monitor in the corner of the room. Stringy silver slime fell from the air vent. Then its entire body descended onto the computer desk, swallowing the monitor into its transparent body.


    Sky, who was standing closest to the monitor, tripped over himself after getting away from the slime that hopped down to the floor.


    Unlike the refrigerator slime Lark fought earlier, this slime was a lot smaller; it was barely the size of a newborn. The baby slime jiggled its body, wiggling the glass panel inside its ¡®stomach.¡¯ They held their breaths, watching the glass bubble into foam, and the slime bounced onto another screen.


    Lark gritted his teeth and moved towards the slime with his bat raised close to his ear. ¡°Stop looking at it! Go!¡± he shouted, putting himself between the slime and them. It reacted to his voice, he guessed, and it lobbed overhead.


    ¡°Hey, come back, here!¡± he said, watching it disappear, hidden underneath the desks.


    Then he heard a loud crunch. Both Mishka and Lark shouted, ¡°NO, Skyyy!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay. Broke my glasses with my foot.¡±


    Lark groaned and treaded carefully to the row where he saw the slime vanish. ¡°How am I going to recognize you?¡±


    Sky gave him the finger as he and Mishka retreated to the door.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, remember to look where we¡¯re going,¡± Mishka said.


    ¡°How will I ever manage that without my eyes?¡± Sky retorted. Only things that were far away looked blurry to him. Fortunately, a wall would not become his enemy today!


    Smirking, Lark swept the club under the table, seeing the slime glued to side of the desk. At the last second, it flattened itself like dough onto the floorboards causing his swing to meet head-on with hard metal.


    The missed strike burned through his hands. He needed to pinpoint it in place. As if reading his thoughts, the slime weaved over and under the computers.


    You wanna play? Then let¡¯s play!


    <hr>


    Mishka unlocked the door and stepped into the hallway, focusing on the slime covering the back exit, while Sky protected her back.


    Holding one hand on her headband, and the other aiming at the approximate direction of the slime, she spoke with confidence, ¡°Rank D fire spell: Blaze!¡±


    A red glowing magic circle in the shape of six petals formed underneath the refrigerator slime. From each petal erupted a burst of red-hot flames. The circle covered a wide area, so other than the melting slime, it destroyed a large portion of the building too.


    ¡°Amazing,¡± Sky breathed. Though his vision was a bit fuzzy when he looked down the hallway, he could see and feel the heat from the firepower.


    ¡°Lark, hurry up in there!¡± Mishka yelled, raising her arm with the enchanted ring.


    ¡°Coming,¡± Lark responded with a light tune.


    ¡°How did you deal with the slime in there so fast?¡± Sky inquired, with a confused look.


    ¡°I dealt with it in more ways than one.¡± Lark¡¯s cunning grin startled the two. As soon as Mishka finished chanting her wind spell, they escaped from the last pursuing slime in the hallway.


    He could get used to flying, Lark thought, as the trio soared(more like glided) towards the parking lot. Unfortunately, the spell only lasted ten seconds before they had to look for cover around the cafeteria.


    ¡°I can recast wind-walker again in five minutes,¡± Mishka said as they hid below a table from patrolling slime bats.


    ¡°So weak.¡± Lark pouted.


    She snapped, ¡°It¡¯s only a rank F enchantment, of course, it¡¯s not going to be so great!¡±


    As they sneaked their way from the cafeteria, Lark regaled about his ingenious idea, while impersonating his evil dragon persona. His left hand was stretched out with his fingers wide open, as though he were a proud bride showing off her engagement ring.


    ¡°Inside this is a slime.¡±


    Sky gasped, while Mishka shook her head pretending to cry. ¡°I guess that¡¯s one way to tame a creature. Just so you know, all the items in the storage ring will probably get eaten by that thing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re worried about your laptops, right? I¡¯ll just make Gushi spit it out later.¡±


    ¡°You named it!¡± the two of them exclaimed at the same time.


    ¡°What? It¡¯s kind of cute, and didn¡¯t smell that bad.¡± Lark said with a frown, looking kind of hurt that they didn¡¯t like the idea.


    ¡°Stop,¡± Mishka motioned to them. A crowd of slime monsters blocked the path. Five bats and a refrigerator slime.


    She hurried to cast Blaze, effectively eliminating all their enemies, while Lark slipped all the monster drops into his spatial ring: a slime crystal and five slime bat wings.


    After making it across another few yards, the second group of slime creatures appeared. This time three refrigerator slimes and seven bats.


    Mishka used Blaze once again, destroying the refrigerator slimes and six bats. Lark got the last one with a fast swing and watched it splatter against the stone wall. He collected the three slime crystals and seven slime bat wings.


    ¡°What are these things?¡± Sky mumbled as he landed a clean hit on another swooping slime bat. The explosive sweep drenched his baseball bat in slime guts. It was a slime bath.


    ¡°Goop. It¡¯s exactly how it sounds like!¡± Lark shouted over to Sky. In the middle of the frantic walkway, Lark batted away one of the silver bats. Its body splattered translucent goop onto a locker.


    They were a little more than halfway to the parking lot when they got swarmed by a bat colony. This was their fourth run-in with monsters since leaving the cafeteria, and the situation got worse when Mishka said she could only cast Blaze one more time. Sky and Lark hadn¡¯t noticed the petals disappearing from her headband each time she used the fire spell.


    ¡°Hold off on using it till we¡¯re in a crisis,¡± Lark said. ¡°We¡¯re still too far away from the parking lot.¡±


    ¡°Is this not a crisis though?¡± Sky said a bit desperately, hacking a slime bat to the ground as he protected Mishka, who stood in between them as their guide.


    ¡°Forty more seconds,¡± she reported while keeping her back close to Sky¡¯s.


    Lark estimated that the enchantment would break them out of the entanglement, but it would be a gamble to see how close to the parking lot could they reach in ten seconds. At this rate, they didn¡¯t have much to lose, except for their dignity after all the struggles they went through to get here. What worried Lark, even more, was that the masterminds behind this smelly plot haven¡¯t revealed themselves yet. Which could mean a lot of things?


    One, they could be watching all their struggles from elsewhere.


    Two, the AA cultists were finally being intercepted by the agency.


    Or three, this was all just a dream.


    Option three sounded the best, honestly.


    After getting rid of one bat, another one dove towards his arm, taking a nip at his windbreaker jacket. Lark flinched at the small tear at the seams.


    ¡°Goddammit, these flying shitbags think they¡¯re so cute. This jacket¡¯s worth a hundred bucks!¡±


    He took a swing at the bat who bit his jacket with its gelatin-like teeth. It exploded dramatically and fell to the cement ground amongst other strange gray fluids. Only this time, the slime bat left behind a different drop other than batwings. It looked like a crude piece of paper with a black circle and a shape of a bat in the center.


    ¡°Bat signal?¡± Lark wondered and passed it over to Mishka. ¡°Something useful for once?¡±


    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s a summoning scroll,¡± she said, her face in smiles. She placed her hand on top of the circle, fingers spread out. ¡°I only know a lesser summoning art, so it won¡¯t come out to its fullest potential.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t really matter now!¡± Lark said as he counted his fifteenth kill.


    ¡°I also need all the batwings you collected.¡±


    ¡°Fine! Extort me out of my dragon treasure while you¡¯re at it!¡±


    While swinging a bat with one hand was difficult, fiddling with sticky bat droppings was a whole other level of difficulty. He tossed her at least twenty wings that somehow produced goop even after shaking them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back appropriately after this is over,¡± she said once she pressed down on the paper. Black ink moved off the page and seeped into the ground. Dark spots covered each of her five fingers as she tapped on five points on the paper in the shape of a pentagon. ¡°Five-point Summoning: Dark Array. Creature of the night, please lend us your speed and power as we take flight!¡±


    The scroll shriveled up in purple smoke after the chant.


    ¡°Do the summoned creatures like it better when you rhyme Cat Princess?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    Out of the ground, where the black ink ran, a phantom hand emerged to take the twenty-seven batwing offerings. Sky, who watched on the other side of Mishka, couldn¡¯t help but feel his blood run cold at the ghastly spectacle. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he would¡¯ve thought Mishka practiced necromancy. Which could also be a possibility considering how little they knew about her home life.


    After eating the sacrificed batwings, the phantom hand broke into purple and white particles.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lark said as he blocked a slime bat from going after Mishka.


    ¡°Look with your eyes,¡± Sky said, keeping up with blocking three bats. ¡°I¡¯m on twenty. You?¡±


    ¡°Thirty.¡± He lied. His arms felt as heavy as lead, and his swings were getting slower.


    ¡°It¡¯s transforming,¡± Mishka cut in. The broken particles assembled together, shaping into a purple Phantom Bat.


    If the slime bats were level one mobs, this huge purple, smoky bat with a wingspan of almost five feet was like a level five boss!


    Mishka only had one order for it as she prepared wind-walker: Cover them!


    The greenish glow whipped around their feet, and they all dashed to the entrance with the Phantom Bat charging ahead. Unlike the slime bats whose main attacks were scratching and blinding, the Phantom Bat used its large wingspan to slice through the slimy crowd like pudding.


    Lark turned on his spatial ring and combed through the fallen slime bats. He picked up whatever he could, but nothing like the bat signal scroll appeared after the Phantom Bat mowed down over fifty of them.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a free-rider.¡± Sky booed while gliding over a picnic table. In over five-seconds, they transversed over a hundred meters before they could see a small figure consistently evading slime bats at nearly the same speed they were arriving at.


    Wangshi!


    A wave of hope spread from his relieved smile down to his toes. Feeling a burst of power, he dashed faster with Wind-Walker. As he raced along the surface of a wall, he couldn¡¯t help but admire the versatility of movement magic. Albeit the fact that they were being chased did put a damper on things.


    Nearing the ten-second mark, the team was another fifty meters away from the entrance. And they could see Wangshi fighting valiantly against the bats¡­and a five-story slime!

 10 - Trickster

    Four police cars parked outside the entrance, appearing unable to break through the slime bat barricade and crumbling under the pressure from the towering slime. Two of the officers disappeared after getting encased by the slimes.


    ¡°Wangshi, hang in there!¡± Lark thought as he landed on his feet. Mishka¡¯s magic dispelled and they were back on the ground running.


    ¡°Mishka, you KO that thing, otherwise we¡¯re never getting out of here!¡± He roared over the dead slime-bats.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me. I need to get closer!¡± Mishka called back as she paced behind the slime killing machine.


    ¡°You can do it, darling,¡± Sky cheered after smacking down another slime-bat.


    She blew a kiss. Following the Phantom bat, they both raised hell in Wangshi¡¯s direction.


    The officers and Wangshi, surprised by the appearance of a ghostly, purple bat, almost changed their shooting targets from the giant slime to the Phantom Bat until it entangled itself with the slime. Instead of slicing through the transparent slime like butter, its wing collided head-on with the slime¡¯s body and got stuck. Unlike previous opponents, the giant slime¡¯s gelatinous structure gave it a solid defense in face of the wing attack. The giant slime boasted its super big body composed of something akin to a frozen, viscid fat. Struggling to free itself, the Phantom Bat¡¯s wing sank deeper and deeper within the giant slime¡¯s body.


    While the giant slime encroached the wing deeper into its gelatinous mass, Wangshi readied his next sword move. Aiming his sword like a cannon towards the slime¡¯s nucleus, a cloud of dust whirled around his feet. Now that the young master and his friends were here, they were leaving! A green glint rose in his good eye.


    Sensing it couldn¡¯t break out freely with physical force, the Phantom Bat opened its mouth and screeched.


    Lark¡¯s vision fluttered and his brain scrambled like his first time at a rave concert. Fortunately, no one was in direction of the piercing screech, which directed oscillating waves to the sticky patagium. Loosening its wing just enough for round two, the Phantom screeched one more time before return to its master side.


    One side of the towering slime melted like mush, but it was still going strong, trampling over the police car. The two remaining officers ran back to the second car.


    Mishka steadied her right hand into an L-shaped bracket where she kept the giant slime within the frame. This was the last boss she had to defeat so that she and her friends could finally escape. Her focused and resolute gaze beamed an impression of a fiery, yet icy storm brewing as her left hand settled on the last petal.


    Lark could hear every beat his heart made as he overheard the two powerful spell chants fused into one fatal strike: Blaze! Wind Blade!


    A large red magic circle surrounded the target. For the last deadly petal, hoof-shaped flames sprouted on the outer ring of the circle, facing six directions. Twizzler-like vines shackled the slime as Wangshi¡¯s Wind Blade stormed in scattering the fire like blooming cherry blossoms.


    Offset by Wangshi¡¯s sword skill, Blaze¡¯s firepower sharpened into a dazzling, helix pattern. The light-blond hairs on Lark¡¯s forearms singed as he watched the firestorm spin around the giant, shriveling body. Mini-explosions went off inside it, causing massive damage towards the once fortress-like slime king.


    The three teens fell to their knees as the Phantom Bat took care of the straggling slimes. Even Wangshi knelt on one knee next to them, feeling exhaustion and perspiration hit him all at once. His usual, orderly ponytail unfurled, and his long, black hair swept past his shoulders.


    ¡°Young master, let¡¯s go home,¡± Wangshi said while sheathing his sword. Unlike all their clothes, his sword remained in immaculate condition.


    Sky buried his hands in his hair while gulping in deep breaths of air.


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re going to figure this out. This is gonna end like one of those trashy animated sequels your brothers¡¯ like, where everyone¡¯s happy and shit at the cost of how ugly we all look. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie, you like to watch them too,¡± Sky said, lifting his face up. ¡°I have no idea why I trust you so much. But I believe you.¡±


    ¡°Do you think Michi¡¯s Bakery is open?¡± Mishka wondered aloud, with a dream-like laugh and rosy cheeks. Lark turned to her, wanting to flick her right in the forehead. How could someone like Mishka, who was mostly all elbows, be such a glutton at times?


    Sky rested his head on her shoulder, while she gently patted away the dust accumulated from all the running off his brown hair.


    ¡°I suppose you will suggest karaoke next?¡ªHmmph!¡± Wangshi grabbed Lark¡¯s shoulder away from the center and the two tumbled backward.


    In the split second when she saw the blob rush to them, she pushed Sky off her. The transparent slime swallowed her into its body like a fallen strawberry into the mouth of a chocolate fountain.


    ¡°NO! MISHKA!¡± Sky bellowed, only half-awake from the sudden disappearing comfort. His scratched-up arm reached out to her heart-stricken face inside the silver body.


    Even if she wanted to tell him she was okay, she couldn¡¯t fight past the gelatin-like sound barrier.


    His hand barely reached the sticky substance, when she gave him an encouraging, yet brave smile. Like countless others, Mishka disappeared in a white light.


    ¡°No. No. No.¡± Sky smacked his hands on the spot where she disappeared. A ripped up piece of paper replaced Phantom Bat since its owner disappeared.


    Wangshi stabbed his sheathed sword into another sneaky slime, while Lark scrambled for his bat and scanned where the new enemies were coming from.


    While they were resting, a dome made of slime mounted over the entire campus. Unable to recover from the trapping view, a dress-shoe flew under his chin while he was picking up his bat. The toe cap skinned the tip of his nose as he had enough sense to roll away. Still, the pain seared from open skin to air.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    As he knelt on the ground, bat in arms, he realized how come after a large battle, there was no aid. The cop cars were just there for show. From the looks of it, all those who survived fighting the giant slime were wearing red robes. AA cultist editions.


    The person who kicked him spoke in the worst redneck accent he had ever heard in his almost seventeen years of existence.


    ¡°Whut does we haf har? A survivo''!¡±


    ¡°Tim, stop talkin¡¯ like that! If you and your worthless slimes were faster, we would¡¯ve been outta here ages ago instead of dealing with a few measly kids and an old man,¡± the second man scolded as if he were late to a date due his best friend¡¯s stomach issues.


    Lark gripped his bat tighter. It was the slime master! Judging from what the second man said, no one from the school was able to escape. On one side of him, Sky was still out of it, while Wangshi was busy dealing with the four cultists.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about mah pets like thet. Thet old man an¡¯ gal did some pecooliar magic too.¡± The man called Tim, stomped his foot in a fit of rage. Drool dribbled down the sides of his cut lip. Then he looked at Lark with one eye bigger than the other. ¡°Look at th'' pore thin'' shakin''. Like a houn''dog waitin'' t''be put down, as enny fool kin plainly see.¡±


    ¡°I said stop your foolin¡¯,¡± the second man barked and held Lark at gunpoint. ¡°We have to bring em¡¯ in.¡±


    Something in Sky snapped as he turned to the cultists and raised his baseball bat with one hand. The other hand reached towards the middle of his glabella. Lark gulped. Sky still retained that weird habit of his, even when his glasses weren¡¯t there anymore. But if looks could kill, Sky¡¯s onyx eyes drew out a terrifying darkness so deep, its silent anger could almost be heard. He dashed forward, eyes red to the rim.


    ¡°This hyar one feisty!¡± Tim spoke with a terrifying glee as he silly-walked away from Sky¡¯s raging swings. As he dodged the mad swings with unnatural flexibility, he took out a pill and swallowed it. His face seized up, while his nose ballooned out of proportion and with a heavy gulp of air, snot flew out of the cultist¡¯s face like endless, thick silly string, giving birth to two, new refrigerator-sized slimes.


    Lark felt his nose instantly dry up. The man who scolded Tim earlier remarked, ¡°Nasty! Fool, stop messin¡¯ around.¡±


    ¡°Aim for the nucleus!¡± Lark shouted. Even without Lark¡¯s advice, Sky already took one slime apart and mowed down the one behind him. Two slime crystals fell to the ground.


    Amazed by Sky¡¯s aggravation, Lark sat dumbstruck.


    ¡°Who told you to talk, boy?¡± The man holding the gun kicked him in the stomach till he laid flat on his back.


    ¡°Hey professo''s, take this hyar kid. He''s sumpin special, ah reckon.¡± Fascination laced Tim¡¯s voice as Sky¡¯s attack speed and power rose after Lark got kicked.


    Two cultists pulled away from their fight with Wangshi and headed towards Sky. But not without resistance from Wangshi, who clipped the back their hoods before resuming his fight with the two cultists who were also slime summoners, trying to overwhelm him with numbers.


    With their identities revealed, Sky only blinked a few times before readying his stance again. Darkness seemed to leak from his entire being.


    Lark hoped his eyes were playing tricks on him, or that the two cultists were evil clone versions of the beloved high school teachers. Mrs. Zayne still wore the sapphire earrings he complimented days back. And Mr. Zayne¡¯s white lab coat almost touched the ground underneath the red robe.


    ¡°But why? After all these years, we trusted you! Stop this!¡±


    The professors'' expressions hadn¡¯t changed and Mrs. Zayne¡¯s dagger grazed Sky¡¯s shoulder. The brown cardigan tore off at the seams as Sky ripped it off and blinded a few slime-bats behind him with it while continuing to swat away the cultists.


    Ignoring Lark''s pleads, the professors continued to pull Sky deeper into the chaos and the giant man kicked him in the sides again, telling him to shut up.


    He wanted to throw up; his intestines twisted like soggy noodles. No longer caring about the handgun pointed at him, Lark twisted the ring on his finger to his ¡®on¡¯ position and reached for the muzzle, pulling it into the storage space. Before the cultist could realize what happened to the gun, Lark crushed the side of the bat against the cultist¡¯s temple. A tingling sensation ran through his fingers as he swung down again and again.


    Until the cultist made no effort to rise, Lark switched out to the handgun in storage and aimed at their general direction. Pressing the trigger against his index finger without hesitation, the bullet shot out, containing all his hatred. His wrist wore the brunt of the recoil, but all the lies that were spun to this point, he didn¡¯t care anymore.


    Wangshi decimated over fifty refrigerator slimes and a hundred slime bats. A bloodied arm, torn from the shoulder, laid on the ground, but the slime summoners continued to replace those numbers with some type of summoning scroll that gave birth to plenty of slimes. Sky was calmly evading five refrigerator slimes and three taunting cultists when Lark made his move.


    The surprise bullet left a chunk missing from Mr. Zayne¡¯s ear. He delivered a boisterous yell, while a holding a hand to his ear to staunch the blood flow. Lark shot another two rounds; one clattered Mrs. Zayne¡¯s gun and half a finger to the concrete, and the other decimated one of the slimes surrounding Sky.


    ¡°T''other interestin'' fella.¡± Tim smacked his lips, not showing any concern. He swallowed two more pills, and slimes oozed from his nose and ears. ¡°Th'' gods will be pleased durin'' this hyar pickin¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Pick your own damn nose!¡±


    The handgun went off in Tim¡¯s direction, seemingly about to strike his thigh until a slime blocked the trajectory.


    Bullshit! Get out of my way! He pulled out the bat from the storage ring and used a one-handed swing to destroy the oncoming slime¡¯s nucleus.


    Wangshi could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage and somehow remembered a line from his past: An assassin should never start his fight with a direct confrontation. He slightly frowned for not thinking of a better plan in the beginning, so that this kind of situation wouldn¡¯t have risen. He fretted being able to run over to help the young masters, but his body was simply out of practice. After twenty bats left his navy uniform in tatters, the refrigerator slimes bounded on top of him. But like young master Sky, he somehow believed Lark could win-out the AA cultists. Even if he was no longer there.


    ¡°Time to end this then,¡± Tim spoke in a normal, even voice, which even threw off his followers.


    White spores fluttered down from the top of the dome in a way that was beautiful, yet deceiving like ashes in the snow. The two teens covered their nose and mouth with their arms, but it was too late. Poison already entered their systems. Sky succumbed first to the numbing poison, his swings missed their targets and then dragged on the floor before he collapsed in a hopeless heap.


    Following soon after, Lark¡¯s body doubled over. Trying to force his body awake with each breath, more agonizing and constricted than the last, the numbness continued to spread as if his body submerged in ice. He couldn¡¯t feel anything from his fingers to his toes anymore. His vision swayed side to side. Pain and regret beat him down till it all poured out of his chest. Wangshi, Mishka, Sky, Instructor Fuego...everyone! Give them all back!


    ¡°It¡¯s not over.¡± Lark gritted his teeth, clinging to hope instead of fear. He wouldn¡¯t let them have that hold over him and gave one final glare before sinking into a gray slime with his eyes closed.


    ¡°The Wishes of the People haven¡¯t seen saplings like you in a long time.¡± Tim looked at the sleeping figures of Sky and Lark. Though it wasn¡¯t quite a smile on his face, his expression held a feeling of very deep satisfaction.


    ¡°Luckily, or unluckily for you, we won¡¯t be taking the old man with us. So that fulfills one request,¡± he said in a tone, low and mocking, ¡°But that also means you won¡¯t be seeing him ever again.¡±


    A moment later, the dome whisked everyone and everything under its ownership away in a radiant light.


    <hr>


    With the midday sun raised at noon, Dubois High was eerily silent and solemn. Not a trace of teenage giggling or grumbling could be heard within its once rambunctious halls and walkways. Even the hard-working staff members that exercised good thoughts and practices were missed. It was as if there was a lull within Dubois High that not even the sensible silence of a library could withstand.


    A group of men in tactical gear arrived at Dubois High; all strapped and ready to go for a big gunfight. Each tactical team arrived at each entrance, only to find the school entirely empty except for one sleeping boy.


    Five yards away from the school parking lot, men in masks peered down at the unconscious Lark Rune.

 11 - Knock Knock?

    Can you believe in something you don¡¯t see and does that belief or disbelief make it real?


    Lark believed his friends and family were still alive somewhere. Out there. But it was a wish, a hope with a dash of unrealistic rationalization. Considering he was in a dream.


    People are allowed to share the same dreams.


    At least Sky thought so.


    Sky shared this theory on the day of the Runesteam play-date. We were not only made of things like DNA and all that physical flesh but a soul; something we could not see.


    Something Lark couldn¡¯t wrap his head around. But this subject greatly intrigued the fanatic known as Mishka, who rested her head on Sky¡¯s lap, and whenever she felt annoyed by Lark¡¯s interruptions her socked foot would toe his face. The three were on Sky¡¯s couch talking about stupid things. Teenage things.


    The future, one of many teenage topics, never felt like the present even with the flying cars and other alien technology. It was a shapeless introspection, imaginative anticipation, a dream. When was it did they share their aspirations, again?


    Like observing a memory from the outside of a snowglobe, all walled-out and fragile, Lark¡¯s mind hazed.


    Mishka¡¯s foot hit his cheekbone the second time when he said Sky¡¯s dreams of piloting to a new planet in this lifetime was almost nil seeing as currentspacecrafts hadn¡¯t even reached further than Uranus.


    Then Sky asked him what he wanted to do.


    Reiterating the canceled bat field trip with Professor Zayne¡¯s class, Lark said he wanted to be a field scientist like Mr. Zayne. He did inherit some adventurous blood from his parents. But Runetech was his priority, Lark answered.


    Mishka? If she somehow mutated herself into a cat-human, Lark wouldn¡¯t be surprised. But she surprisingly said, she didn¡¯t know. Although the future was limitless, she felt like she didn¡¯t have many options like them. Not willing to talk about her own future, she expressed support for their dreams.


    ¡°If you ever find Planet X, you have to promise to take us too,¡± Mishka told Sky. She played with his hands, puppeteering them over an invisible steering wheel.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Sky looked at Mishka, then to Lark and said, ¡°If I could participate in your dreams too, I¡¯d be very happy.¡±


    Lark wanted to push his hand through the wall to hold them. Feel their realness for a moment longer. The instant his finger touched wonderland, everything splintered, and his surroundings changed back to his latest memory.


    Wangshi who he always relied on since a kid, disappeared with his hopes for a turning point. Mishka, the girl he thought he somewhat knew, sacrificed herself along with whatever secrets of the other world she grew up in. Sky, his best friend for a very long, long time, changed into someone he didn¡¯t recognize.


    And then, himself.


    He bashed a person¡¯s head apart.


    He used a gun to shoot his professors.


    And then he asked a slime for help.


    A red hood, a snotty nosed man, the atrocious accent. It was a blur.


    Shock.


    Snow. Slimes.


    Shock.


    Sky. Snot.


    Shock.


    Sapling.


    Lark¡¯s grey eyes peeked open to an almost blinding fluorescent light until the room came into focus. No windows, a table next to his bed full of basic toiletries, and the air smelled like Mishka¡¯s sanitizer spray. Gorilla-like shoulders stuffed in a black suit blocked the opened door. The gorilla-man faced the hallway, so he hadn¡¯t noticed Lark¡¯s awakening.


    Wiggling his fingers and toes, Lark felt relief; he could move. A finger pulse oximeter monitored his oxygen levels and heart rate, while something cold clamped down his feet underneath the blanket. He raised his right arm over the blanket, realizing they undressed him down to his boxers and a short-sleeved, over-sized hospital gown. On his left arm, his Trinity watch was turned off, which wasn¡¯t a big deal, but the spatial ring was gone. A slight jolt showed on his heart monitor. It hadn¡¯t alerted the guard nor staff, yet.


    He closed his eyes and controlled his breathing; slow in and out breaths, which were shallow enough to not clue in the guard something was amiss.


    The room looked small and crowded with hospital equipment, therefore he must be in some type of medical facility on Earth. He hoped all the familiar hospital equipment meant he was still on his home planet.


    Squinting his eyes, he took a second look around the warm room. His feet weren¡¯t the only things hidden under the layer of white blankets. It appeared there was a silver restraint tugging around his ankle.


    There was a red button on the bar next to his bed, with a bold ¡®help¡¯ indicator above it. He ignored it and pressed the blue button at the top of his bed.


    A rough shuffling of feet atop smooth, flooring reached his ears. The back of the gorilla-man twitched, as he glanced at Lark¡¯s obvious smirk. In five seconds, a shaky, female nurse pulled into the room with the crash cart. Two other nurses behind her, a male and a female, raced into the room, looking wildly at very much alive, and still breathing Lark. Then the person who Lark wanted to see the most, someone had more authority than a doctor, stepped into the room. Unlike the others, the agency¡¯s director was less frazzled compared to the staff, with sharp blue eyes, and gray-streaked on golden hair that could compete with Instructor¡¯s Fuego¡¯s fabulosity.


    ¡°Hi, which hospital is this? And do you mind removing this.¡± Lark made a show of his imprisoned leg, rattling it against the bar. ¡°You¡¯re breaking more than a few codes of ethics.¡±


    The director had an impassive face. Looking down at the youth before him, his hands knotted together behind his back.


    ¡°My Mishka always said you were impressive.¡±


    ¡°She was the impressive one.¡± Lark put down his leg and leaned forward with a serious, yet distant look. ¡°So what do you know?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know too.¡± The man made no further statements and beckoned over the gorilla-man to unlock Lark¡¯s restraints. The staff left the room, seeing as it wasn¡¯t an actual emergency.


    The medical facility Lark was in was none other than the expensive research and medical center, Friledaux Hospital. Famous for its billion dollars worth of medical equipment and leading medical experts in various fields, it boasted very high-rates of patient satisfaction and recovery rates. It also helped people to trust the government more, when Friledaux Hospital was a government-funded branch that not only took in government-related clients, but also regular members of the public into its domain.


    Before today, Lark only heard rumors of the architectural beauty of Friledaux hospital. Everything from the interior to the minuscule details in the door frames invited Lark to its smooth, fluid structure.


    Back in his washed clothes and goop-less sneakers, Lark followed his guides to the director¡¯s office. As the director, gorilla-man, and he walked, Lark couldn¡¯t help but look out the large, jutted square windows. Dark clouds paraded the sky, covering the half-moon¡¯s visibility. Lark inwardly winced. How long did he sleep for?


    His gaze drifted down over the dim city lights. They were on the outskirts of the state capital. While the city didn¡¯t appear to be in ruins, a mournful spell was cast over them all. Over a hundred thousand citizens disappeared within an hour across the globe. It wasn¡¯t a number that could put a dent into the world¡¯s growing population, but it was a significant number nonetheless and the targeted areas were all random. Cities, small towns, resorts, islands, villages, anywhere that a push-pin could¡¯ve left a tiny hole on a map. It left the impression on everyone¡¯s mind that nowhere was safe.


    Mishka was the agency¡¯s director¡¯s daughter. There was a photo of her on his desk, a workspace clear of clutter and cold like the temperature in the office; it sat right next to a floating desktop panel.


    Gorilla-man stood by the door, while Lark sat adjacently from the director. The director¡¯s office was as he pictured it, minimal and bare like there weren¡¯t any secrets here. It had to be a lie.


    Lark had a sneaking suspicion, the three were not alone in the vast room. But he was unarmed. Not that he could do a thing against a team of potentially armed, and camouflaged soldiers. He drummed a hand against the opaque desk, not liking the silence he received.


    ¡°What are we doing here?¡± Lark asked. As he recalled, Sky had said before to ask the right questions, not questions they didn¡¯t have possible answers to. And he got the feeling he was going to be heavily interrogated under the watchful noses of anyone involved with the agency.


    ¡°Talking in private,¡± Mishka¡¯s father said, his voice tense and tight, his hands clasped together on the top of his desk. The C-shaped chair scraped its wheels against the floor as he leaned in to match Lark¡¯s focal point.


    ¡°A lot of us are in the dark about what happened today. The agency already made the announcement across the globe that thousands are dead due to the massive scaled attack from the cultists. In our best rescue efforts, we only managed to save a handful of hundreds from the thousands lost today. And to show for it, we¡¯ve lost a lot of resources. But you, Lark Rune, are the only true survivor we¡¯ve seen in all the chaos that has unfolded within the last thirty-four hours. Even my talented Mishka was taken away from me.¡±¡ªThe wrinkles on his hands ran deep and taut as his knuckles blanched¡ª ¡°What we¡¯d like to most is how did you live?¡±


    ¡°I got lucky.¡± Lark didn¡¯t blink, keeping an eye on the director¡¯s bent head. He couldn¡¯t tell if the sag beneath his eyes were from old age or tiredness. But it definitely wasn¡¯t from grief. ¡°Mishka used magic today to rescue me and she sacrificed herself so that I could get away. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re familiar with that term magic because the things she could do was more than any normal flying car with alien-technology. She exploded walls and monsters.¡±


    The director¡¯s resting hands moved from the table to right below his chin. Lark worried because he recalled the magic Mishka used were from the items her father had given to her. Or did he remember wrongly, because it seemed like the director had no idea of his daughter¡¯s abilities?


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re wrong about that. Our research center studies advanced alien technology. She must¡¯ve stolen the items and figured how to use them all on her own¡ª¡±


    ¡°You must think you¡¯re a slick old fox, but you¡¯re lying,¡± Lark¡¯s grey eyes gleamed. ¡°Mishka wouldn¡¯t lie about her old man giving her a few magic tools.¡±


    The old man stiffened.


    ¡°Now that I think about it¡­¡± Lark turned to the half-smiling gorilla-man at the doorway. ¡°Mishka¡¯s pointy nose looks a lot more similar to yours, the real Mr. Fedorov. Can¡¯t say it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you though.¡±


    A soft whistle left his nostrils; Mr. Fedorov even snorted the same way Mishka did, sending a painful pang into Lark¡¯s chest.


    Mr. Fedorov switched places with the golden-haired man. The C-shaped chair seemed to be built for Mr. Fedorov¡¯s size and somehow the atmosphere became more intimidating as Mr. Fedorov took his rightful seat. His protruding forehead cast a shadow over his already heavy eyelids. As Lark saw it, the man before him had the heart and face of a father who lost his daughter, simply distraught and angry.


    ¡°I¡¯ll spare you of asking how you found out, Mishka did pick her friends well. Regretfully, we couldn¡¯t start our conversation earlier.¡± He spoke with a thick, Russian accent. ¡°For that, I am deeply sorry. But the agency is no more, we were destroyed from the inside-out.¡±


    Lark didn¡¯t show it on his face, but Wangshi was right, the agency was indeed incompetent. They had let spies infiltrate them.


    If the agency couldn¡¯t help him track down anyone, then he was wasting time staying in their headquarters. But he still asked, ¡°So what does that mean for us now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you all that I know about the Wishes of the People¡­so that you can help me find my daughter.¡±


    Not daring to frown, Lark agreed and Mr. Federov returned his spatial ring. His tongue soured at the new arrangement though. Mishka¡¯s father was going to be used as a scapegoat for the government to use as the face behind the failure to stop the AA cultists. Meanwhile, there was no new plan to pursue the terrorists, because they had no means of knowing where they went. All previously captured terrorists disappeared along with the spies who freed them. It was as if they all disappeared from the face of the earth.


    ¡°The Wishes of the People are composed of individuals from different worlds whose main interest lies in uprooting people from their homeworlds and sending them off to places unknown to see how they will survive. They¡¯re an organization that thrives on live experiments. The way that they function is comparable to a mad scientist. For the sake of seeing something interesting, they¡¯re willing to create havoc. But they have a lot of supporters, especially from powerful people, because of an old legend.¡±


    It was a lot to unpack, but oddly enough, the way Mr. Federov spoke about the Wishes of the People, it reminded him of the mysterious inventor he purchased the Trinity Watch from. Not because they were the same person because they definitely weren¡¯t. But the way they talked so fervently about the topic was a bit off like there was a layer of excitement underneath all the information.


    ¡°Before I go into the Wishes of the People¡¯s goals, you must know that Mishka and I originate from a different world known as Terragon. I was a part of the event known as The Culling fifty years ago; I was maybe half your age when it happened.¡±


    Lark¡¯s forehead wrinkled. The numbers didn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡°Do you know the saying you can take a person out of their home, but you can¡¯t take their home out of them? I¡¯ve never forgotten about Terragon, and Mishka may be a denizen of Earth, but I¡¯d never let my flesh and blood forget about their birth roots.¡± He tapped his ring finger and nodded towards Lark¡¯s spatial ring. ¡°Like magic.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°It¡¯s true then, what¡¯s being marketed as alien technology is actually magic.¡±


    ¡°When you¡¯ve lived as long as I have, you will realize how often knowledge is watered down to calm the masses. Even things like the Internet, you could claim also works like magic. But true magic isn¡¯t like the objects we wear or use, it¡¯s in how we use the strength inside of us to turn the tables.¡±


    Lark didn¡¯t even blink when it happened. While Mr. Federov¡¯s eyes twinkled with mischief on the opposite side of him, Lark sat on the C-shaped chair. The sudden change in perspective sent his heart into overdrive. He saw the golden-haired man smile and Lark couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    ¡°I¡¯m intrigued. So Mister fake director are you a denizen of Terragon as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the golden-haired man answered. ¡°Unfortunately, I was just a part-timer in a magic scroll shop. I didn¡¯t have a lick of talent towards using battle magic and neither does Moritz, who was only eight years old. To explain what just happened, Moritz used a simple spatial spell called Transfer, which only works within a small range. Though I suppose if he tried harder, he could reach to where I¡¯m standing only.¡±


    ¡°Nevermind Bon.¡± Mr. Federov waved off his comrade¡¯s attitude and turned to look at Lark, who couldn¡¯t figure out how to sit without feeling he was about to fall. ¡°So now that you know there are numerous other worlds, it must mean that there are many world travelers who bring otherworldly knowledge such as flying enchantments, certain medicines, and as you are aware special, deadly weapons. The spatial ring is one such special product that I¡¯ve only seen on the cultists, which is why I was very shocked to see you had one.¡±


    Lark¡¯s hands felt tied. Surely it would hurt Mr. Federov¡¯s feelings if he said Wangshi kept it for him because he was sure the agency wouldn¡¯t know how to use it.


    ¡°I picked it off a cultist and Mishka told me to use Blood Rite on it to help us turn the tables so to speak. Now, I suppose I should let you know how I escaped them.¡±


    With those last words, everyone¡¯s interest piqued.


    Turning the ring to his ¡®on¡¯ position, he said, ¡°Gushi come out.¡±Gushi, the buoyant slime, materialized out of the ring, enveloping the back of Lark¡¯s head like a second head. The sensation tickled the back of Lark¡¯s neck like a water pillow.


    ¡°So this is Gushi, the slime I met during the fight with the cultists.¡± He wore a weird grin on his face while feeling the cool, pleasant sensation of Gushi¡¯s gummy body massaging away the strains in his neck. Mr. Federov and Bon had fixed gazes; though not maybe the strangest sight they have ever seen, it''s certainly the first time they¡¯ve seen a slime glomp a human.


    Gushi gelled through Lark¡¯s blond hair, pulling strands forward until it formed a mighty, yet small horn. Proud of its aerodynamic creation, Gushi bounced on Lark¡¯s head as if telling him, ¡°My masterpiece is complete!¡±


    Lark stared up at the slime sitting on the top of his head. Gushi had no face, so he couldn¡¯t tell what kind of expression the slime fiend was showing, but what a little mischievous personality he had befriended.


    ¡°Stop messing around up there,¡± Lark said.


    As if laughing, Gushi wiggled its body and untangled the unicorn hair and smoothed back Lark¡¯s hair. Slick, slime-gelled back hair projected a simple, clean look that said Lark was here to get shit done. Gushi hopped onto Lark¡¯s shoulder and then onto the table to greet Mr. Federov with a dance Lark thought was comparable to a jiggling pudding.


    Bon spoke up, ¡°How unscientific. I¡¯ve heard of monster corpse collections in storage rings, but never live creatures staying in there though.¡±


    Lark was about to say he got the idea from watching a popular monster-collecting cartoon he watched as a kid until Mr. Federov asked a question. ¡°The slimes that were used by the cultists to capture people were as big as airships, so how is this Gushi so small?¡± Currently, the cute, buoyant slime was the size of the computer monitor it swallowed when it met Lark and his friends; about eighteen inches wide, and twelve inches tall. Mr. Federov couldn¡¯t resist poking the side of Gushi¡¯s cheek.


    Sensing a trifling remark about itself, Gushi vibrated, causing the fluid in its belly to bubble. Like steam carried off boiled water, Gushi¡¯s body ballooned.


    Bon clambered over to the table, where Gushi the mini slime king stood at over five feet tall, and remarked, ¡°A slime used a body tempering skill! Incredible! Truly unscientific. I don¡¯t really know which art it is, maybe Body Expansion or Boiled Body or even Pliable Body! But Mr. Rune you do own a remarkable slime.¡±


    Lark nodded in agreement. While he was happy to learn about Gushi¡¯s ability that tricked the cultist known as Tim, at the same time he couldn¡¯t help but feel saddened by the way Bon talked. He recalled all the times when Mishka spoke in a very fast-paced manner like Bon when she saw things she couldn¡¯t understand. Considering how close Bon was to Mr. Federov, Lark guessed Bon¡¯s relationship with Mishka would be similar to either a godfather or uncle. Uncle Bon had a better ring than Godfather Bon though.


    ¡°Thankfully, Gushi helped me trick the cultist into thinking I was taken in by one of their slimes when actually Gushi came out of the spatial ring and saved me at the last minute,¡± Lark said, observing Mr. Federov through Gushi¡¯s transparent body. Tired of showing off, Gushi shrunk back to its comfortable size and repeated its jiggly dance to the very fascinated Uncle Bon.


    ¡°I want to rescue both Sky and Mishka,¡± Lark continued. ¡°From your experience, however, it sounds like after The Culling all the kidnapped victims would be transferred to other worlds immediately. Do you know if all the victims from Terragon ended up here fifty years ago?¡±


    Mr. Federov reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a paper filled with names of less than a hundred people. ¡°Throughout my time on Earth, I¡¯ve only managed to reach out to a few real foreigners. Most of them are regulars I grew acquainted with at Soko¡¯s. Some are from Terragon, and some are from other places like Pantheon or Volaria to name a couple.¡± The hopelessness in Mr. Federov¡¯s words showed and Lark felt a hammer strike his heart. But it did not stop there after Mr. Federov told Lark to take a closer look at him and Bon. ¡°We look the same age, yes?¡±


    Lark tilted his head but agreed anyway. The two men were well past their prime and had white whiskers combing the sides of their face.


    ¡°Bon was his in mid-twenties when the Wishes of the People took him. I was eight. We shouldn¡¯t be the same age, yet here we are both at the age of fifty-eight.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± His fingers flattened against the opaque desk.


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure how the Wishes of the People can conduct a large-scale transfer at different location points, but one requirement is time and matter. When I transferred over, I was still eight years old with my original body. Bon arrived on earth fifty-eight years ago as a mere babe.¡±


    Soon the light left Lark¡¯s eyes. It was as if he was experiencing the kidnapping for the second time.


    His mouth opened and closed. Twice. The words wouldn¡¯t come out.


    This knowledge wouldn¡¯t change a thing, temporarily. Moreover, Mr. Federov nor Bon seemed aware if it was the time that shifted or if it was was their physical bodies that changed. For instance, if they were transferred from Terragon at the same time and Bon arrived first as a baby, then did that mean his time reversed or did his physical body itself changed? Mr. Federov, on the other hand, held the same appearance but came eight years after Bon first arrived. So where was he for eight years?


    Lark laced his fingers together. If they arrived here at different points in time, then would Sky and Mishka experience similar issues? Would he find them ashe remembered them?


    Mr. Federov removed a flash drive from his computer. ¡°Now that you know the truth, I want you to have this.¡±


    Gushi looked up expectantly at the flash drive in Mr. Federov¡¯s hand. The old man squinted his icy, blue eyes and chuckled when placing the drive on the table. Gushi rolled up the drive into its slimy body and bounced over to the surprised Lark. Gushi spat out the flash drive that was free of any goop and wiggled happily when Lark patted its head for a job well done.


    ¡°What¡¯s on it?¡± Lark asked while examining the unexceptional black flash drive the size of a rectangular lego block.


    ¡°More information, I¡¯ve compiled over the years that I think may help you find your friends.¡± Mr. Federov said as he stood up straightening his coat.


    Lark looked inquisitively at the solemn Mr. Federov and Bon. ¡°Are you giving up?¡±


    The two men had walked over to an empty area of the darkroom close to the wall.


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan to stay on the planet, in which I feel so alienated. And I don¡¯t wish to see what the government will do to maintain an information blackout.¡± Mr. Federov said as he initiated a program order on his smartphone. Outside of the large windows, steel beams cascaded down, keeping the room under lockdown.


    True, thousands of citizens were taken without a show of resistance. People were scared. And angry. Who better to blame than the system that promised them a free, yet safe society.


    ¡°We¡¯ve also acquired a safe passage home to Terragon.¡± For the first time since their conversation began, Mr. Federov sighed and Lark tensed. Gushi jumped in front of Lark as the camouflaged guests in the room revealed themselves.


    ¡°I was wrong about you,¡± Lark growled, seeing the identities behind Mr. Federov and Bon. Beyond his wildest imaginations, he wouldn¡¯t have guessed the AA cultists or he should refer to them now as the Wishes of the People were the hidden ones in the room. ¡°You really had me going. The agency was actually working with the organization they promised to take down. Laughable really.¡±


    Lark gritted his teeth, seeing the person he least expected to be there still. Tim.


    Using the same hideous accent, Tim greeted Lark, and then said, ¡°You are somethin¡¯ special. Able to fool me, a high-ranking member of the order.¡±


    Lark¡¯s eyes narrowed but said nothing.


    ¡°Naww, can¡¯t have you be angry like that ¡ª I did say I¡¯d fulfill one of your requests.¡± Tim released a high-pitched giggle and the sea of black, robed cultists parted for him to walk to the wall and knocked twice on the steel panels.


    Tim had a playful look on his face, eager for Lark to amuse him. ¡°Knock, knock?¡±


    Lark¡¯s trigger finger twitched. He had caught the faces of the traitors in the crowd. But he kept his anger bottled in, and played the game. The sooner this was over, the better.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡±


    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t go who?¡±


    Tim¡¯s clown-like grin grew wider if possible, and a white magic circle appeared under his black gloved hand. It had a complicated star formation within several concentric circles. The white lines, forming the stars, withdrew from the circle and formed an archway.


    Bon gasped. ¡°Constellation arts!¡±


    Lark stood up immediately and retrieved the handgun from the still opened sphere.


    ¡°No more funny business¡ª¡± He stopped midway, holding the gun at eye-level towards Tim. His eyes widened at the sight of the archway barreling a tied up Wangshi towards the room.


    ¡°Wangshi!¡± Lark shouted. In a moment of distraction, a cultist whipped the gun out his hand. The vine-like movement lashed against his arm, before his loyal caretaker¡¯s body shot out from the doorway and into his open chest. With quick thinking, Gushi jumped up, taking the initiative to be the cream of the Oreo, and lessened the impact between Wangshi and Lark.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go gettin¡¯ your knickers in a knot!¡± Tim slapped his thigh with a high guffaw. After retrieving the gun, the cultist who lashed out retreated into the archway before the rest. Mr. Federov and Bon were about to follow suit when Lark shouted.


    Lifting the unconscious Wangshi off of him, Lark held their gaze. ¡°Did they promise you Mishka¡¯s safety? Is that why you¡¯re willing to go with them?¡±


    Mr. Federov answered. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s supposed to be arriving in Terragon. That was our arrangement with letting The Culling happen.¡±


    Anger and relief flashed through him. His mind was in so much turmoil from all the recent events and information overload, but even so, he spoke calmly to Mr. Federov. ¡°If you see her¡­tell her not to worry about Sky. I¡¯ll find him.¡±


    He paused and promised one more thing, ¡°And you, I better not see you ever again or else.¡±


    Mr. Federov turned away from Lark¡¯s piercing gaze, while a conflicted look washed over Bon¡¯s face as the two walked towards the lit path. He whispered to his friend Moritz, ¡°Why did you tell him the truth about letting The Culling occur?¡±


    The two were now well beyond the arched doorway and inside the tunnel of light.


    ¡°I wondered if Mishka picked the right son-in-law,¡± Mr. Federov said, no longer hiding a smile. ¡°And anger is a good motivator for starters. It¡¯s not like they promised we¡¯d see her right away and Terragon is twice the size of Earth. You could say, I¡¯m counting on the stars of their friendship. Our reunion may occur quicker in time if they can find each other again.¡±


    The only cultist left in the room was Tim, who stood captivated by all the unfolding events. Lark Rune came way out of his expectations, but finally, the Wishes of the People¡¯s plans were back in order. Unfortunately, Lark Rune would no longer have a role in their project.


    ¡°You¡¯re not here to kidnap me?¡± Lark asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m ¡®fraid not today. You see we could¡¯ve done great things together, but you messed up your one and only chance to be part of the order!¡± Tim shook his head with a pitiful look directed at Lark. He looked at an invisible watch on his wrist and exclaimed, ¡°Oh look at the time, Star Tunnels have a time lapse, so I better hurry, but before I go, I¡¯ll tell you this¡­¡±


    Lark¡¯s brows furrowed. Just go!


    ¡°You have no chance of finding either of them if you can¡¯t leave this world.¡± Tim took a single step into the white tunnel. Unlike the mocking tones Lark was used to, Tim¡¯s voice contained sinister confidence that tempted Lark to beg.


    He refused to give in. ¡°I told you, it¡¯s not over. I¡¯ll find them myself, and I¡¯ll end you.¡±


    If he believed his own words, he¡¯ll make sure others do too! Looking in deep thought by Lark¡¯s harsh words, Tim made no further comments and left. The tunnel collapsed unto itself like a dying star, leaving Lark with his unconscious slime and caretaker.


    He looked around the room and wondered how he could leave.


    Luckily, the door he came in with Bon and Mr. Federov was still unlocked. He placed Gushi back inside his storage ring and carried Wangshi on his back.


    For someone who got discharged only hours ago, he wasn¡¯t sure if he was supposed to be doing some heavy lifting, but there was no other choice. Wangshi looked like he was still in a deep sleep, and would not wake no matter how many times Lark prodded his cheeks and pulled on his goatee.


    In one of the many hallways in Friledaux Hospital, he found a wheelchair for Wangshi to sit in. He didn¡¯t think the billion-dollar healthcare enterprise would mind if he took one measly wheelchair. In fact, it should be their duty to care for the sick and unconscious elderly he reasoned. Besides none of the hospital staff questioned him wheeling away a sleeping old man in tattered clothes. Maybe it was due to his handsomely good looks, he hoped.


    Once he reached the outside of the building, Lark reached inside his storage ring to see if he could fish out the bus pass Sky had lent him days ago. He had ¡®forgotten¡¯ to return it. He frowned when he realized he left it at home and wondered how long it would take to walk home in the dark while wheeling a sleeping old man.


    Taking a few strides towards the parking lot, he saw his SUV and he hurriedly ransacked Wangshi¡¯s waistband for the keys.


    He buckled Wangshi on the passenger side and rolled back his shoulders. Seriously, how were his arms moving, he wondered and sat in the driver¡¯s seat. Wangshi¡¯s legs were longer than his, so he had inched forward the seat a bit before starting up the vehicle.


    COSMO, the voice navigator greeted him and said because Lark was a minor without a license the vehicle would not be able to move.


    ¡°I¡¯m invoking the law for minors to drive with an adult.¡±


    ¡°Your guardian is currently incapacitated to monitor your driving, so this solution is unacceptable.¡±


    ¡°Then invoke an emergency right that the adult is incapacitated.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re already at a hospital sir.¡±


    ¡°DAMMIT. COSMO just auto-pilot us home!¡±


    ¡°¡­Okay. Routing the fastest home¡­Unable to route, please turn on theignition.¡±


    Lark slammed his head on the steering wheel.


    He rifled through the medicine cabinet back in the Cyan Cottage and popped a couple of pain-killers before finding the strong-smelling liquid medicine.


    He took a quick whiff over the bottle and his eyes watered. That¡¯s how you can tell it¡¯s the good stuff. He doused the medication over a hand-towel and waved it over Wangshi¡¯s sleeping face while chanting, ¡°No more dormir, no dormir, no dormir. Buenos d¨ªas, se?or.¡±


    Maybe it was the ridiculous chanting or the squeezed lemon face Wangshi made that caused Lark to burst into laughter.


    The caretaker¡¯s eyes stung and his nose felt like it had been dipped into a bowl of foul perfume for days. After hacking up a storm and rubbing the sides of his temples, his body urged to go back to sleep. But his mind was restless. With the splitting ache in his chest and mind, he groaned into a pillow.


    Worried, Lark rubbed Wangshi¡¯s back.


    Like waking up from a hangover, Wangshi made more garbling noises before recognizing his surroundings. His green eyes sharpened as he expressed his shock. His hands gripped Lark¡¯s shoulder, pinching them till Lark was sure they would bruise. But he didn¡¯t complain. Like Wangshi, he wanted to be sure of the reality they survived.


    ¡°Welcome back to Earth, Wangshi. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here.¡±


    Choked with emotion, Wangshi swallowed down the pain stuck in his throat as he smoothed his wrinkled hands over Lark¡¯s wet eyes and pulled him tightly against his weak bones. A measly sob of frustration escaped him.


    He had failed. Failed miserably even and had let the young master save him instead. How could he face Lars at this rate?


    The night was long but short for reunions. A fragile peace could not last when Lark still had to look for all his friends. Wangshi had calmed down once Lark poured him his favorite cup of Black Rose tea.


    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid, young master? From the sound of it, the Wishes of the People is a powerful organization with mysterious backers. Mr. Federov even forgot to tell you their goal.¡±


    ¡°Sky often repeated this phrase: ''Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not.'' Now I know we are not alone. So, why should I be afraid?¡±


    He removed his contact lens and wobbled over to his bed. Rest and time to think, he needed those to be ready for a new day. He felt ready to escape into dreamland until he remembered what Mr. Federov mentioned about real foreigners.


    ¡°Book an appointment with Soko¡¯s. We need to verify if Mr. Federov was telling the truth and if magic is actually being marketed as alien-technology.¡±


    ¡°Yes, young master.¡± Wangshi bowed out of the room after Lark wished him goodnight. Unable to fall asleep immediately, Lark turned on his spatial ring and brought Gushi next to him. Feeling immensely better, Lark turned to the silvery moonlight pouring from his window. The pale moonlight harmonized with his paired orbs as sleep caught up to him. In the darkness, a happy picture of graduation floated up into his mind and then became a blur with the headache that followed.

 12 - Old Magic VS New Magic

    Far away, in a distant world, a group of people in red robes convened inside a tower, one of many hideouts for their order.


    ¡°Tim, that was cutting it close. The Star Tunnelalmost warped you,¡± a member of the order spoke. His hood hung haphazardly off his neck, and underneath the red fabric, a white lab coat nearly touched the floor. He removed a bandage from his almost scar-less ear. Giving it one rub over, he let his hand fall to the cold exterior. For a mirthful name such as Wishes of the People, their sense of decor spoke otherwise.


    ¡°I wanted to have a word with one of your star pupils. It¡¯s not good manners to leave without saying goodbye and a present.¡± Tim perched himself on a massive chair made of brown and black twisted wood.


    Resting an elbow on the circular table, the man responded with a dry hack. By returning to the order, he had already renounced his previous occupation; but somehow he couldn¡¯t let go of the lab coat, which felt perfect on him.


    ¡°The decennial census of the order always wishes to recruit fresh talent. It¡¯s unfortunate that the one-time transmigration magic didn¡¯t include Lark, but perhaps that is fate.¡±


    ¡°I, for one, am glad! Did you see that bloodthirst?¡± A woman no longer hiding behind her facade of a teacher, jeered. The index finger that was shot off during the battle was already reattached with no lingering scorch marks. The crimson-colored handguns, which the order used, delivered an extra burn effect with the psionic bullets. It was as if she hadn¡¯t lost a finger at all, save for some phantom pain. ¡°Blew it right off like it was nothing! You outta know, I was like a mother to that boy.¡±


    ¡°Goo''ness gracious, that¡¯s a helluva mother.¡± Tim cawed like a crow and withdrew a bottle of liquor with a mysterious purple tint to it from his ring. The label on the high shoulder bottle read: Fae Blood. No one in the order could ascertain if it was the actual blood of a fae, but its sweet scent was reminiscent of the nectar in Ambrosia. And it was only its distinct whiff that the other members could taste. If only being near the liquor could enrich the soul, then imagine drinking it!


    ¡°A drink to saintly mothers,¡± Tim raised the bottle to his lips, while the others swallowed their mouth water. Fae Blood was as rare as a white stag, and only certain magic merchants could sell them for an astronomical price. Not even all the stars you could grab with one sweep of a hand could afford one bottle of this special liquor.


    Mrs. Zayne coldly harrumphed as she ran her tongue over her dry bottom lip. ¡°Never mind about losing a precious piece, what about that present you decided not to bring with us.¡±


    ¡°Oh? The strange assassin butler?¡± While Tim laughed, some purple liquid flew out with that spittle. The other red-robed members could only feel a splinter of their heart break. Some even had devious thoughts of coveting the special Fae Blood but held it down due to the status of Tim¡¯s ring. Unlike their green spiral rings, the dark blue ones were awarded to those who met certain, unknown requirements of the order. In other words, they¡¯ve risked their lives to complete a quest that greatly benefited the upper hierarchy in the Wishes of the People. Of the thirty present members, Tim was one of ten members they¡¯ve seen with the special ring, and he was one of the more pleasant kind in spite of his strange quirks.


    Tim cradled the bottle of Fae Blood in his arms like a strange instrument and sang like a drunken muse in a bar.


    ¡°The convergence of Celestia,


    Sacrificial lambs to Gaia,


    And lost herds to Volaria,


    In search of a myth


    And what do have here,


    Only memories and broken meridians.¡±


    He spoke in rhyme and riddles to the headache of his co-workers. Tim touched his forehead with three fingers and traced them around his face down to his chest.


    ¡°Three broken foundations,


    And forced awakenings


    Will lead to corruption,


    And untimely endings,¡±


    Taking a break from his refrains, Tim pressed the glass bottle against his cheek and spoke again with clarity in his eyes this time. ¡°My present should break the boy¡¯s heart all over again, and I wish I could¡¯ve stayed longer to see it. The sadness, the anger, and then the spike in his growth.¡±


    He commiserated over the loss and took another swig of the half-empty Fae Blood when his ring glowed.


    ¡°The recipients of the transmigration spell have all arrived in their new respective homes,¡± he said to everyone in the tower. ¡°And oh, what¡¯s this?¡±


    Within the ring, a message that only he could see showed the bright iridescent soul of the other star pupil. He winked at the Zaynes.


    ¡°When one old star dies, the universe dims for a moment until a nascent supernova appears! Finally, something worth celebrating!¡± Exulting in whatever he saw, he downed the entire bottle of Fae Blood like water to the upset of the party.


    <hr>


    It was getting worse. Lark rubbed the morning crust off the corner of his eyes as he planted his feet on the ground he couldn¡¯t see. He could feel the yellow, grained threads brush in between his toes, but when he looked down only a moldy cheese entered his sight. His hand inched over to the nightstand, where he kept his prescription glasses.


    Like a windshield wiper mopping off the condensed murkiness from the morning air, his vision refocused on his feet entrenched in his grandmother¡¯s favorite daisy carpet. He looked behind him on his bed and saw Gushi flattening himself over his duvet.


    ¡°Morning Gushi.¡±


    Reacting to his owner¡¯s voice, Gushi bounced up from its strange stretch and bounded like a puppy onto to Lark¡¯s lap. Lark picked up Gushi like how Mishka cuddled cat plushies and smothered him with love, cheek to cheek. ¡°How do I get my skin so supple like yours?¡± Lark murmured as he held the squirming Gushi. ¡°Yeah, you hungry? Let¡¯s go see what Wangshi cooked!¡± He beamed.


    Gushi could only look at his owner with a slight head tilt.


    Lark brushed his teeth, took a shower, and inserted two, fresh contact lens over his cornea. He hated the feeling of poking his own eye, but seeing as his old contacts slipped out of place, he needed new ones to see clearly. Checking to see if they were fitted on correctly, Lark zoomed in closer to the bathroom mirror. The grey color of the lens shimmered in the reflection, and Lark winked at himself.


    He jogged down to the kitchen with Gushi stuck on his back. Wangshi was nowhere to be seen, but the dining table was filled with toast, jam, tuna, and other toppings. Gushi flew off Lark¡¯s shoulders and landed on the table, observing each goodie. Lark told the slime to help himself, but mind its manners and don¡¯t eat the plates.


    Lark bit into a piece of toast and turned on the T.V. next to the bookcase. Almost all the news channels repeated the same things: deadliest terrorist attack in the world, floating questions about what happened to the specialized government agency meant to counter the cultists, what was the government doing, memorial services, and survivor testimonials. Then there were also the conspiracy theorists gaining traction for asking, ¡°Well, where are the bodies?¡±


    He clicked to his favorite local channel where the two news anchors were both camera-friendly, and intelligent. Benny Holland and Paula Watts were his favorite charismatic reporters, maybe its because they had actual news-reporting experience in the field that translated over to their opinion pieces.


    Benny already began the morning news segment with his opening statement: ¡°Morning California viewers, it¡¯s been three days since the event the world is calling ¡®The Worst Global Terrorist Attack.¡¯¡±


    Followed by Paula¡¯s sensational input, ¡°That¡¯s right Benny, over tens of thousands people from across the globe reported to have been lost due to the unknown objectives of the Anti-alien cultists. I can¡¯t even wrap my head around that astronomical number. Benny, people are so scared to even look out their homes.¡±


    ¡°I know, and many people are asking what in the world happened. Even our local high school, Dubois High, was not left unscathed. Over two-hundred families have been tragically affected by what was supposed to be a normal day at school for their loved ones. Meanwhile, the state capital of California, Sacramento, has also made a statement about lost staff members and expressed that they¡¯re doing everything possible to learn about the incident. Meanwhile, the Governors of every state are adjoining an emergency meeting with the federal government, and the federal government is convening a meeting with other world governments. Paula, this fiasco goes so high up the ladder, it¡¯s hard to predict what will come to pass.¡±


    ¡°What I don¡¯t understand, Benny is how nobody knows how these people simply disappeared. In the modern age of information processing, smartphones everywhere, and alien technology¡­how is it that no one captured anything?¡±


    ¡°Well, for one thing, these were all isolated incidents. And people were complacent with the support of alien technology. Do you remember that incident with the Redlines Airship? Zero casualties and all the perpetrators in the event were caught due to the might of alien technology safely engulfing the riders into a nearly indestructible capsule. While the government agency swiftly caught those behind the attack. For the years to come, I have to say not just America, but the entire world has to stay vigilant.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t agree more,¡± Paula said to Benny, and then faced the camera with a poised look. ¡°Coming up, a Dubois student¡¯s harrowing tale of being one of the few survivors in one the deadliest attacks in history.¡±


    A picture of the female soccer manager floated up to the right corner of the screen and Lark¡¯s toast fell out of his mouth. Daisy survived? Her crying face popped onto the screen as she told the world how she was at a doctor¡¯s appointment and didn¡¯t feel better until after lunch hours when she decided to go back to school. She blew her nose, wailing how she thought it was so strange no one was at school and that she thought the school was playing a strange prank on her.


    He promptly turned the T.V. off. The lucky survivors of the incident were only a handful of students who had excuses not to go in the morning. So what was his story? Did Mr. Federov already come up with a cover-up to explain how he lived? Lark rubbed the side of his neck, as he considered how the information blackout was progressing. Paula raised good points and the conspiracy theorists were gaining a reputation. How long could this be covered up to keep the calm?


    ¡°Gushi, come over here.¡± Lark beckoned the slime, who stood over a fried egg. As if growling, Gushi expanded and wiggled its body over the yellow yolk, before slinking away to its spot on Lark¡¯s back.


    The bookcase flipped over and Grandpa Rune greeted Lark. ¡°How was school Lark?¡±


    ¡°Ditching,¡± Lark answered.


    ¡°Very good,¡± Grandpa Rune said before disappearing. Was he playing hooky too?


    Lark settled himself in the chair and cleared some space for himself on the U-shaped desk, while Gushi settled himself on a workbench next to the coffeemaker. Lark turned on his spatial ring and pulled out all the materials inside including the flash drive, their backpacks, slime crystals, batwings, a few coins, the unknown plant filaments, and scary-looking potions that came with what looked like a potion-making tool-kit.


    First, he emptied Sky¡¯s and Mishka¡¯s backpacks. He took his own flash drive and downloaded whatever files they had on their laptops to his own. He would finish what they started and give the information back to Mishka whenever he makes it to Terragon. He placed their backpacks away in the room and moved on to the flash drive Mr. Federov gave him.


    He clicked it open on his grandfather¡¯s desktop. A list of files appeared on the screen, each categorized by worlds and what looked like lesson plans. The worlds were listed in descending alphabetical order: Avalon, Celestia, Pantheon, Terragon, Volaria, and Zzz. Lark squinted at that last one, who named their homeworld three letters, or maybe it was a lost in translation thing. Avalon and Pantheon sounded like familiar places on Earth, and a quick search engine prompted links for legendary places in books. He frowned as his head buzzed over whether or not these worlds related to Arthurian or Roman legends.


    He clicked on the file labeled Terragon and hundreds of documents lined up for him; likely lesson plans Bon and Mr. Federov combined together to teach Mishka about her magical roots.


    A document titled, Old Magic and New Magic, piqued his interest.


    ¡°Lesson 1: What is Old Magic?


    Old Magic or what we called in our native tongue, Wicca Vicar, sacred magic that began since time immemorial includes ancient artifacts, inscriptions, scrolls, grimoires, runes, mana, spiritual powers, natural energy, potions, enchantments(blessings), and lost arts. Each listed item will be discussed further in future lesson plans.


    Lesson 2: What is New Magic?


    New Magic, known as the generational term encompasses new experimental types of Vicar. To best describe it, New Magic explores a new type of energy known as psionic powers. These psionic powers were once thought to be demonic. People would hear voices, believe they could move objects with their mind, and so on. The last generation of Terragonians discovered that psionic energy could manifest itself as ¡®matter.¡¯ An example of this is the recent innovation we¡¯ve seen on Earth, the sound barrier¡ª¡±


    Lark stopped reading and sucked in a deep breath. The Trinity Watch had so many mysteries to it, and he wondered it had contained other magical properties before reading further.


    ¡°¡ªwhich uses psionic energy to materialize a thin layer around the user. It shows an illusion of not allowing sound to pass through an invisible membrane, but it¡¯s actually a thinly veiled layer of psionic energy that can easily be broken by stepping into the user¡¯s personal space. Other forms of new magic include cosmic energy, pill creation, and technology from power crystals(RGBIV). Please ask Bon, if you have more questions.¡±


    Lark¡¯s head felt like scrambled eggs by the end of Lesson 2. If this were a textbook, no doubt the entire document would be highlighted with random questions and doodles on the margins.


    He clicked out of the document and typed in ¡®spells¡¯ in the search engine.


    There were over three hundred entries, but he clicked the first one that talked about magic circles. After perusing the document, Lark discovered that spells were categorized by ranks and affinities.


    Branching off the Old Magic system, affinities were based on natural energy from the environment. This included what Lark imagined to be the ultimate goal of mortals on Earth, which was to have full control over the environment. Control over water, fire, air, and earth were common affinities. Uncommon affinities included thunder, metal, wood, and ¡®others.¡¯ Rare affinities occurred only in 1 of 100,000 individuals and they were often protected by the state. These individuals would have affinities with either darkness, light, or astral. People could also develop more than one affinity, which was uncommon, but not unheard of. The extent of how many affinities one could handle remained unknown.


    Diving in further into the text, spells were ranked by difficulty and rarity. Known magic spells were ordered from F, being the least difficult, to A, the most difficult and rare kind of magic spell. Other spells that could not be categorized by this system would be assorted into another ¡®box¡¯ under research.


    And by the Old Magic system, all these spells required mana, a type of magic force prevalent in nature that the user would gather inside themselves or an object before casting a spell.


    Lark stopped staring at the screen and pinched the bridge of his nose; he felt like he was receiving a head rush. It was the beginning of the 22nd century, and the world still hadn¡¯t figured out how to download information straight into their brains yet.


    He whistled over Gushi, who played with all the toys in the laboratory. Gushi spat out the fox-ear hearing aids, before jumping into Lark¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Hey Gushi, I couldn¡¯t find anything about slimes on the flash drive, but do you think you could absorb these crystals and batwings to power-up or something?¡±


    He had just finished reading a section about power crystals that magic practitioners used to expand their pool of mana. The power crystals had more uses that Lark had yet to read about, but he wanted to test out the idea right away.


    Lark swept his arm across the goods and brought them closer to Gushi, who seemed to like the experiment. The silver slime quickly engulfed 40 slimy batwings, effectively cleaning the goop off the table and 22 slime crystals. Lark felt a bit strange with the last one, thinking maybe it wasn¡¯t such a good idea to practice slime cannibalism, but Gushi seemed okay, cheerful even. And then Lark suddenly felt fearful of his slime pet.


    Exercising the same move that expanded its body to great heights, Gushi¡¯s body boiled, and all the suspended materials dissolved.


    Lark couldn¡¯t tell what changed inside of Gushi, except that maybe the slimy coat became shinier?


    Noticing his owner¡¯s curious eyes, Gushi performed his jiggly pudding dance and glowed!


    ¡°Whoa.¡± Lark pulled his face back, thinking Gushi was undergoing some sort of monster evolution.


    When two tiny, tiny wings emerged on the side of Gushi¡¯s silver body, Lark cupped a hand over his mouth to prevent the sound of laughter escaping him. Gushi bounced around the desk very satisfied with the extra limbs, then he glowed again and the wings disappeared. A short antenna-looking bubble formed over Gushi¡¯s head instead.


    Lark nodded as if he understood all the mechanics behind Gushi¡¯s body. He patted Gushi¡¯s head but inwardly cried having no idea if eating the crystals was actually a good thing or not. He resumed back to examining what was left on the desk, temporarily putting Gushi¡¯s new abilities in the back of his mind.


    Looking at his over-shoulder backpack, a flashbulb went off in his head as he dove towards it. The pure alien object Grandpa Rune hid was still inside there!


    Just as he first found it, the gray pyramid with weird lines sat in the middle of his palm. Mishka had said before, he could perform a Blood Rite to discover what properties it had. He wondered why she didn¡¯t say it during the day she and Sky came over.


    He typed in ¡®Blood Rite¡¯ into the search engine. An entry popped up under ¡®Old Magic.¡¯


    ¡°Lesson 34: Blood Rites


    Blood Rites are one way of preserving ownership over a piece of magical equipment. The history of Blood Rites goes back eons¡­¡±


    In other words, Uncle Bon and Mr. Federov had no idea how it worked.


    ¡°By dropping the user¡¯s blood over the magic equipment, they are able to bind it to their physical body. Blood Rites also allow others to covet other magical equipment as long as they are not soul-bounded(refer to Lesson 40). If a user performs a Blood Rite over a soul-bound object, that user may undergo spiritual attacks(refer to Lesson 88), which can cause soul-death(Lesson 89).¡±


    That did not sound good. Lark looked at the gray pyramid again to weigh the risks. But before he looked for Wangshi to plan out the highly risky Blood Rite, he searched for Lesson 88 and 89.


    Turned out Bon or Mr. Federov didn¡¯t have much information on matters of the soul, except that soul-binding was a complicated process that required a high-level magician adept with Contract Magic. Lark guessed the mysterious inventor behind the Trinity Watch was some sort of hidden expert, or a magic merchant if there was a job like that. Soul-death, on the other hand, sounded scarier than physical death. Upon soul-death, reapers from the underworld would gamble over your soul to become one of their minions. At least with physical death, your body could be revived with the right timing and magic or you just simply die. That¡¯s not too terrible¡­?


    Lark turned off the monitor, which bleeped off like his mind, and went outside with Gushi to look for Wangshi.


    The kitchen was unusually absent of pungent tea and it was nearly noon, which worried Lark, seeing as none of the breakfast trays were touched after he and Gushi left. Wangshi would never leave dishes sitting out in the open for so many hours. Unease settled in as he walked outside.


    The front door to Wangshi¡¯s penthouse was unlocked.


    Lark whispered to Gushi, ¡°Stay close.¡± He reached into his spatial ring for the baseball bat.


    Pushing the front knob, Lark took the first step inside. His heartbeat quickened as he saw the deep cuts embedded along the walls and the imported zebra-print carpet his grandmother loved was in pieces.


    His jaw tightened at the sight. Walking between the strewn white, and black fabric, he noticed pieces of china and jewelry his grandmother collected also broken; so that meant whoever did this, did not intend on robbing them.


    The cuts along the bare walls grew deeper and longer as he approached further inside. If walls could bleed, they¡¯d be screaming.


    Gushi and his bubble antenna bounded up ahead to the next room before Lark could say stop.


    ¡°Gushi!¡± Lark ran after him. ¡°Careful!¡±


    Rounding to the open area in the next room, Lark stood frozen, feeling his breath leave him.


    Lying paralyzed on the floor with his eyes closed was his caretaker with frothy, blood still spooling out of his mouth.

 13 - Blood Rite

    All his life, the Cyan Cottage gave him a place to feel sheltered, but it no longer felt like a home without anyone to live in it with him. Slowly, since childhood, the familial warmth drained like a withered tree without color. If Wangshi died, so would this house.


    ¡°NO. Wangshi!¡±


    Gushi engulfed the broken pieces of ceramic glass as Lark knelt down and palpated the side of Wangshi¡¯s windpipe.


    Unable to feel a steady rhythm, Lark cried as he felt his hands shaking.


    ¡°Wangshi, I need you to open your eyes¡ªc¡¯ mon!¡± He wiped away the red froth on Wangshi¡¯s chin onto his flannel shirt and rolled him onto his side. Wangshi¡¯s white dress shirt had dried blood on the chest area, while the grey vest and pants had none. With a glance over, Lark could not determine if Wangshi any hidden cuts, but all the signs pointed to an internal injury.


    ¡°Please, Wangshi, you need to tell me how to fix you. I need you. I can¡¯t do anything if you¡¯re not here.¡±


    Wangshi''s frozen posture made no movement, and his green eyes were unblinking. Lark¡¯s body rocked back and forth as the uncomfortable truth settled in his mind; the only dependable person left in his life was about to leave him and once again, he wouldn¡¯t understand why.


    Gushi rammed into his side, and bounced to the end of Wangshi¡¯s naked feet as if trying to say, ¡°Hey! There¡¯s something here!¡±


    Placing Wangshi¡¯s hand down, Lark rushed down to look at Wangshi¡¯s feet. Seeing the clean, clipped toenails of his caretaker was a bit freaky since they usually wore slippers in the house. But on the soles of Wangshi¡¯s feet laid a circular, white patch two inches below the second and third toe. Both feet mirrored each other with the one patch on each foot. Taking a closer look, Lark thought they were biopatches, a type of medical product that promised various effects such as pain-relief, lowered cholesterol levels, heat-inducing, fever reduction, and more depending on the biopatch materials. Lark moved his hand to remove one of them when Gushi¡¯s antenna bopped him.


    ¡°What was that for?¡± Lark sharply turned to the protesting slime, whose antenna turned from silver to red.


    ¡°So what if you can change colors, too? That¡¯s not helpful!¡±


    Gushi rammed his gut, and Lark groaned from the impact. ¡°This is not the time to play around¡ª¡± Lark growled rubbing his stomach. He was about to pounce when he saw the pyramid fall out of his pocket. ¡°This¡­¡±


    Like Gushi¡¯s color-changing antenna, the silver pyramid shined bright red as if a flame ignited inside it.


    Lark scooped it off the floor and talked to it as if it were a sentient object.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but if you can help me, please do it already!¡±


    Desperate, Lark ran over to the white, glossed island in the kitchen and pulled a fruit knife out of a drawer. He placed the pyramid under his thumb. With a steady exhale, the knife sliced over the tip of his finger. The stinging of the sharp blade didn¡¯t hurt as much as the burning nerve pain from only cutting the top of the epidermis. From the one centimeter red line, a pennyworth of blood fell onto the glowing pyramid.


    He sucked off the excess fluid from his thumb, looking expectantly at the drop of blood staining the eye of the pyramid. Good grief, the first Blood Rite was instant, so why was nothing happening?


    ¡°Put me on top of your watch,¡± a familiar voice said. It was the same faint voice he thought he might¡¯ve heard, but forced himself to ignore or reasoned was only inside his head when Wei called him.


    Lark looked inquisitively at Gushi, and Gushi stared right back as much as a slime could without eyes. The antenna on Gushi¡¯s head still glowed red, and at that moment Lark wondered if it was the slime that was talking to him telepathically.


    ¡°You¡¯re wasting time staring at a disappointingly weak slime,¡± the voice deadpanned. ¡°But then again, you¡¯re even more of a disappointing owner.¡±


    Lark then looked at the pyramid. The voice, it definitely came from there. ¡°Hurry, if you still want to save him¡­¡± the voice warned, impatient by Lark¡¯s inaction. Remembering his immobile caretaker, Lark moved the pyramid over his Trinity watch, when a blue screen from his settings menu popped up in front of him.


    ¡°Would you like to pair with [SIM]? This action will take up 2 of 4 remaining slots.¡±


    ¡°Yes/No?¡±


    Lark pressed yes on the blue screen. Hundreds of questions and a thousand surprises eventually lost its effect on him.


    ¡°Good. Caution burns profits.¡±


    With wide eyes, Lark watched the Trinity Watch absorb the pyramid into a triangular capsule, taking its place next to two empty sockets.


    Once the pairing finished, the triangular capsule disappeared and the face of the watch returned to digital mode.


    Now what?


    As if on cue, the voice still spoke inside his head and said, ¡°Place a hand on Wangshi and say scan.¡±


    Following the order, Lark walked back to his caretaker and flexed his wrist. In a bold and confident voice, he repeated the order. ¡°Scan.¡±


    A bright white flash crossed his vision, and he doubled down to his knees and elbows while covering his face as if he just saw the sun up close. He pressed his arm against his eyes and punched his chest while taking deep, sharp breaths to get oxygen flowing back into his lungs.


    ¡°You used pain to calm yourself¡­interesting. But open your eyes already, dumbass.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Slowly peeling away his arm, Lark squinted, feeling as though someone had just used a hundred camera flashes on his face. ¡°How are you communicating with me?¡± he croaked as nausea swirled inside his chest when he saw faded black squares in his vision. ¡°What am I supposed to be seeing, where¡¯s Gushi and Wangshi?¡±


    Hearing its name, Gushi hopped and nudged Lark¡¯s legs.


    Lark reached out to the spot near his feet where he felt Gushi¡¯s cuddly attention. His hand pressed against the cool plasma coat; the tactile sensation for some reason felt completely different from when he could actually see. And that¡¯s when a cold sweat swept over his back, the black squares hadn¡¯t gone away, and he was losing daylight. Closing his eyes, Lark asked again, ¡°How are you communicating with me?¡±


    ¡°Think of me as a superconscious,¡± the voice replied. ¡°And your conscious often advise you to do things, so listen to me, when I say you should open your eyes to see what¡¯s wrong with Wangshi.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t see anything!¡± Lark said, gripping the fabric of his pants.


    ¡°Try again until you¡¯re successful. You¡¯ve got nothing to lose, except the life of your servant,¡± the voice answered plainly.


    ¡°He¡¯s not a servant.¡± Lark inhaled through his nose and exhaled before opening his eyes. Still, all he could see were blurry black boxes, but before he could complain, words appeared on the black boxes. Soon, he could see the edges of his surroundings like the cuts on the floor to the fallen furniture in the room. The black boxes stayed in position when Lark turned his head and saw Gushi hugging his leg. Looking back at the black boxes, he realized they were hovering over Wangshi¡¯s body in several locations: feet, chest, and head.


    He crawled over to where the biopatches on Wangshi¡¯s feet were and a black box showed him the information he already suspected and more. The black boxes were exactly like the blue holograms on his watch, except they were black, blocky and filled with knowledge he wouldn¡¯t have known about such as the ratio of material used to make them, the company that made them, the serial numbers on the package, where they were bought, its uses¡­ Too overwhelmed by the wealth of information, Lark stared blankly at the black box before the voice caught his attention.


    ¡°You¡¯re a student, so figure out how to separate the useless information from the pertinent ones. Ask yourself the right questions, and the answer will appear before you. You¡¯ve confirmed what they are, so what else do you need to know?¡±


    ¡°Why are they on his feet?¡± Lark wondered.


    Like the storage ring, the black boxes performed under his thought directives. It scrolled through words like a database and highlighted relevant pieces of text: acupuncture, increase memory, increase blood flow, increase energy, and meridians.


    ¡°How could the biopatches be used in that way?¡±


    Once again the text shifted, opening another black box of a diagram of the human body with red, orange, green, yellow, blue, and violet lines that seemed to map out various regions in the body.


    ¡°Kid you¡¯re moving too slow. At this rate, you¡¯re really going to let the old man die while you play doctor. Just extract all the information by grabbing the box.¡±


    Unsure of how it would feel, Lark hesitated to interact with the strange magic from the moment he could see, but remembering that Wangshi¡¯s life was at stake, he forced himself to reach the illuminating black boxes by Wangshi¡¯s feet. As soon as his fingers touched the screen, it reacted. At first, the blocky exterior felt like touching the touchscreen on his smartphone, but then the white floating text entered his brain as it disappeared from the disintegrating black box, and instead, he turned into the smartphone. Figuratively anyways.


    He tagged the other two floating black boxes above Wangshi and learned that his caretaker did indeed suffer a serious internal injury from placing RBC-stimulating biopatches on broken meridians. Moreover to his shock, he discovered pins on Wangshi¡¯s head and chest, which were connected to the three broken meridian pathways. What Lark saw on the diagram correlated with Wangshi¡¯s placement of the pins and biopatches. The orange lines represented meridians, and inside Wangshi, the three pathways related to his memory and flexibility were severed for sixteen years. Lark frowned as he pictured his caretaker enduring pain by forcibly fixing his broken meridians through basic acupuncture.


    As for what spurred Wangshi to do this to himself¡­ Lark swore to finish off the Wishes of the People. Without Tim¡¯s present, Wangshi would have never tempted retrieving sealed memories through primal means. According to what Lark learned from the black box located above Wangshi¡¯s head, Tim left a magic seal that would unlock upon twelve passing hours and leave knowledge about Wangshi¡¯s three broken meridians, while giving him false hope of fixing it.


    The RBC-stimulants were purchased online this morning after breakfast and Wangshi placed them on acupuncture points ascertained to help improve memory while sticking needles into the places where the magic seal said would be beneficial. However, this was not the truth. The RBC-stimulant caused a blow-back to occur with the red-lines, causing the meridian pathways and arteries to entangle. With the blood traveling from the feet up to the chest area and nowhere to go due to the entanglement, it forced its way out through the closest orifice. The needles on Wangshi''s head were supposed to maintain immobility during the recovery process, hence the paralysis and extra damage caused to the meridian pathway. It was a setup.


    ¡°Wangshi¡­¡± Lark murmured and frowned even more after learning the self-inflicted injuries were fatal. ¡°I can¡¯t fix you.¡±


    As soon as the words left his mouth, Lark was ready to have a breakdown.


    ¡°Kiddo, calm yo¡¯ self. If I said you can fix the old man, you can fix the old man. Stop jumping to conclusions and think for once in your life.¡±


    Angry, Lark vented to the only other viable character in the room. ¡°If you¡¯re so great, then stop playing mind games and show me!¡±


    Hearing its owner¡¯s loud voice, Gushi flattened itself like pizza dough.


    ¡°W-wait, sorry I didn¡¯t mean you¡ª¡± Lark reached out.


    ¡°Good, now scan.¡±


    Out of reflex, Lark raised his arm to block out the burst of light he experienced during the first go around, but this time only the one black box sprung up. On one face of the box, a 3D model of Gushi appeared in lines that reminded Lark of 3D animation. The other faces of the cube contained tabs on Gushi¡¯s skills, condition, and something akin to an apocalyptic journal.


    ¡°Day 1: [Slime from Zzz] summoned by the [Wishes of the People] came to Earth to help capture humans. Slime from Zzz battled [Lark Rune] of Earth. Slime from Zzz used innate skill [Flexible Body] to dodge blunt attacks! Battle ended with capture inside a rank E [spatial ring]! Slime from Zzz is renamed [Gushi] by its owner. Frightened by a dangerous presence in its owner¡¯s spatial ring, Gushi avoided absorbing materials. Summoned by its owner during a battle with Wishes of the People, Gushi absorbs owner with its special ability [Engulf] and [Boiling Body], enabling them to escape from the organization''s grasp. Once safe, Gushi returned inside the spatial ring.


    Gushi performed in stealth mode, raising DEX stat from 15 to 16.


    Day 2: Summoned to a meeting between Lark and two denizens of Terragon, Gushi used Boiling Body to show off its prowess. Happy from the attention, Gushi performed a special slime dance from Zzz known as [Giga].


    Boiling Body skill raised from rank F to rank E.


    Happiness level raised from 95% to 99%.


    Gushi received knock-out damage from a flying human and fainted!


    STR stat raised from 8 to 9.


    Day 3: Gushi restored full health after a good night¡¯s rest on its owner¡¯s bed. A stand-off with [Fried Egg] leaves Gushi feeling irritated. Gushi absorbed 22 rank F [monster crystals] and 40 [slime batwings] and learned [Transform]!


    Gushi used Transform to grow wings.


    Gushi used Transform to build an antenna, and learned [Perception]!


    INT stat raised from 19 to 20.


    Gushi and owner enter penthouse owned by Rune proprieties and searched for owner¡¯s servant. Using Perception, Gushi finds the unconscious servant. Gushi used Flexible Body after heartless owner verbally lashed out!


    Happiness level dropped from 99% to 90%¡­


    [To be continued]!"

 14 - Origins

    Gushi¡¯s origins weren¡¯t as surprising compared to the game-like status screens he was looking out now.


    ¡°For a person who performed a Blood Rite, you¡¯re awfully quiet now.¡± His inner voice spoke, or his superconscious, or the pyramid¡­He hadn¡¯t decided on the correct title yet.


    ¡°Better yet why don¡¯t you call me your inner goddess? You could even imagine me swooning over your clueless tendencies on a grey chaise lounge.¡± A wicked laugh echoed in Lark¡¯s head.


    ¡°Is that it? Are you some kind of deity? The dangerous presence noted in Gushi¡¯s journal?¡± Lark asked aloud. Gushi¡¯s antenna bobbled at the sound of its name.


    ¡°If I were a god, wouldn¡¯t it be easy for me to resolve all your problems right now instead of putting you through a trial?¡±


    The voice was better at deflection than he was.


    ¡°And do you think you still have the time to dilly-dally with my existence? I¡¯ve already provided a big hint for the clueless you.¡±


    Lark pressed his injured thumb against his whitening knuckles. The concentrated pain drove him to ignore the voice as if it were a figment of his imagination. Without wasting any more time, he reached out towards Gushi¡¯s box.


    The black box disappeared under his touch and Gushi¡¯s dossier appeared within the sea of his consciousness as a dry sponge dropped in water. Imagine a handwritten case file that might have taken days to comb through by a detective. Somewhere in those documents contained damning evidence to put away the criminal, and instead of taking days or weeks to create a murder board, it took only a second to compress and compile all that data with a simple search, leading Lark to find the clincher!


    Gushi¡¯s Stats


    Title: Converted Buoyant Slime


    LVL: 1


    Happiness: 90%


    STR: 9


    DEX: 16


    INT: 20


    MG: 14


    SPT: 2


    LUK: 12


    Gushi¡¯s Skills


    1) Engulf: Innate Skill - Rank E - User can swallow and hold any material with an upper limit of 120 lbs. Effects: Absorption or storage.


    2) Flexible Body: Innate Skill - Rank E - User can maneuver without restriction from bone structures.


    3) Boiling Body: Innate Skill - Rank E - User¡¯s body burns hot! Effects: Burn damage around the user for two seconds. Body expansion up to three times the original size. Skill in effect until cancellation. Cooldown: 5 minutes.


    4) Transform: Magic Skill - Rank F - User can modify up to one structure of their body. Effects: Lasts until the skill is canceled. Cooldown: 1 minute.


    5) Perception: Magic Skill - Rank F- User can sense an object¡¯s nature within a 50-foot radius. Effects: Gushi''s color changing antenna. silver - neutral, red - danger, green - magic treasure, and blue - spirit treasure.


    Apart from Lark¡¯s curiosity towards Gushi¡¯s unique Perception skill, his mind drew closer towards the Engulf skill and its absorption effect.


    His heart thundered. If what he proposed could be possible to save Wangshi, then the Engulf skill was more special than what he initially thought.


    ¡°Gushi¡­¡± Lark started in an apologetic tone while bundling Gushi up from his doughy state. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for yelling, but I really need your help.¡±


    Shaping itself into a respectable slime, Gushi hopped out of Lark¡¯s arms and stood upright in its delectable pudding pose. Pleased by his slime¡¯s intelligence and sensitivity, Lark couldn¡¯t hold back an appreciative smile. But knowing that time was of the essence, he quickly commanded Gushi to first use Boiling Body. Steam emitted off the refrigerator-sized Gushi as he towered over Lark and Wangshi.


    ¡°For now, I need you to Engulf him like how you saved me last time from the bad guys.¡±


    Following Lark¡¯s order, Gushi compacted himself horizontally and rolled over the unconscious Wangshi.


    Trusting his companion to not suddenly absorb his butler like a slime crystal, Lark directed his attention towards his Trinity Watch.


    ¡°Scan!¡±


    Another black box appeared in front of the Gushi-Wangshi flavored jello. Unlike the other boxes before, this one contained limited information, and surprisingly there were options listed.


    ¡°Item: Slime-engulfed human. (Trash)


    Your slime engulfed the damaged butler, so here we are.


    Options:


    A) 100% Absorption: Gushi eats the butler and absorbs all the experience points. Depending on the slime¡¯s intelligence and analysis, he can gain unexpected abilities.


    B) Partial Absorption: Gushi eats away the parts you direct it to. Same effect as above.


    C) Damage Absorption: Gushi absorbs and stores damage. Available due to unique properties in slime fluid. Stored damage can only be used on anything that touches the slime. (Will not resolve Wangshi¡¯s paralysis state due to limited rank)


    D) Store Wangshi into a chamber for later use. (No time limit).¡±


    E) Spit out Wangshi like a human cannonball. (Learn the attack skill: Propel!)¡±


    ¡°While all these options look so tempting, I think I¡¯ll go with option C.¡± He frowned at the watch.


    ¡°Your loss. I thought option A was the best,¡± the voice replied.


    ¡°Gushi, can you absorb Wangshi¡¯s injuries?¡± Lark asked.Stolen story; please report.


    Once again, steam raised out of Gushi¡¯s body. The viscous fluid inside Gushi foamed over Wangshi¡¯s body like a cleanser, lifting away the dried blood from his skin. From what Lark could tell, the foamy substance stored away most of the trauma caused by the acupuncture process. Seeing that Wangshi was still in one piece, Lark announced the next step, ¡°This part is tricky, but use partial absorption on the biopatches on Wangshi¡¯s feet, chest, and neck.¡±


    Then he noted grimly, ¡°Simultaneously, otherwise, he will suffer another blockage.¡±


    Without breaking a sweat, Gushi activated his Engulf skill and the biopatches seamlessly melted away. A new box popped up next to Lark, notifying him that Gushi learned a new skill called Patching.


    Patching: Magic Skill - rank F - A quick fix. User can ¡®patch¡¯ up physical damage. Effect: Pain-blocker and speeds up natural healing.


    Nice! Unexpected, but awesome nonetheless. At the moment though, he didn¡¯t have enough information to compare the efficiencies on healing between ¡®Damage Absorption¡¯ and Patching.


    ¡°Great job, Gushi! Next, I need you to absorb and store the tiny needles from Wangshi¡¯s body. There are three located on his head and chest area. Also use your new skill, Patching, instead of Damage Absorption.¡±


    Lark used scan again on the human-slime combo, and a black screen popped up with an item description and similar options.


    ¡°Item: Slime engulfed human. (Trash)


    Updated: After removing the items used for acupuncture and using both damage absorption and Patching, your butler is no longer in pain caused by his internal injuries and there¡¯s no scarring caused by the needles. However, due to the hemorrhaging and broken meridian pathways, your butler suffered a significant amount of spirit damage, which caused his paralysis and unconsciousness.


    Options:


    A) 100% Absorption: Gushi eats the butler and absorbs all the experience points. Depending on the slime¡¯s intelligence and analysis, he can gain unexpected abilities.


    B) Partial Absorption: Gushi eats away the parts you direct it to. Same effect as above.


    C) Store Wangshi into a chamber for later use. (No time limit).¡±


    D) Spit out Wangshi like a human cannonball. (Learn the attack skill: Propel!)¡±


    E) Rank up the Patching skill to Rank E. (Will allow Gushi to quick fix spirit damage.)


    Lark¡¯s jaw clenched, but he swiped away the black boxes anyway. He looked at his Trinity Watch and asked it, ¡°Do you know how I can quickly rank up Patching?¡±


    The voice replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you keep looking at the watch when you can clearly hear me in your head and stop referring to me as ¡®you.¡¯ It¡¯s rude. If calling me your inner goddess is too embarrassing then give me a good name. But anyways, let¡¯s take a step back. Rank ups from the lower levels are easy but can take time and luck. Here¡¯s a hint: Take a closer look at the other options.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m not going to let Wangshi get eaten¡­¡± Lark frowned and sat down on the floor to reconsider all his options.


    ¡°Good. Relax. A little meditation can help clear your mind.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure if soothing was the voice¡¯s strong suit, but he took the advice and crossed his legs while closing his eyes. Knowing Gushi and Wangshi couldn¡¯t go anywhere and that the danger passed, he took several deep breaths.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯s done meditation. Once, he tried it at his therapist¡¯s encouragement and the other time was during Instructor Fuego¡¯s martial arts class. Both attempts made him sleepy, which was a good thing considering how stress made him into a zombie for a while. Now, wasn¡¯t much different until he heard the peal of a bell. His eyelids sank and his breaths turned slow yet rhythmic. Even if he wanted to yawn, he could not. That¡¯s how enchanting the sound of the bell was to him.


    Deeper and deeper, he felt himself let go, chasing the sound of the bell with his ears at first and then his eyes wanted to find the bell too. So he opened them, searching within for the sound. While he could hear the sweet chime, he still could not see it.


    It was scary not being able to see. Unable to tell what was up and down or left to right, how could he find the bell?


    ¡°Colors, forms, depth, text, pictures¡­ Eyesight is necessary to perceive the world,¡± the voice beckoned. ¡°Give me a name and you will be taken to harbor.¡±


    ¡°A name for a sentient pyramid, who speaks with hints and sarcasm?¡± His wonder and enthusiasm for meditation ebbed. ¡°The great mythological Sphinx of Egypt reminds me of you. So, I will call you Sphinx from now on. Acceptable?¡±


    ¡°Not bad. I was found in the desert too once upon a time, but maybe you knew that already.¡± Sphinx¡¯s crisp voice penetrated the white space Lark found himself in. True to his words, the Sphinx harbored Lark in an unfamiliar location deep in the recedes of his conscious. At the mention of the desert, Lark could see his feet buried in the white sand. He looked around and saw that the sand stretched for miles in all directions.


    ¡°Where are you, Sphinx?¡± Lark spoke, feeling his lips move and his throat throttle. ¡°Actually, where am I?¡± Staring upwards, without a sense of measure, he saw no ceiling nor did he feel a sense of ending. The world was as blank as a canvas; a white expanse.


    ¡°You must keep calm or the world will splinter and kick you out,¡± Sphinx said. Turning his head towards the sound of Sphinx¡¯s matter of fact tone, he saw a humanoid dressed in white robes sitting on a white, bricked wall. In this colorless world, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lark could sense distance, forms, and textures, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell where things began and ended; it would¡¯ve looked like one huge white blur.


    ¡°Sphinx?¡± Lark walked towards the brick wall that was no higher than three feet. The person he called Sphinx smiled, but Lark was unable to see the rest of Sphinx¡¯s face that was hidden by his hood and whitish hair. Oddly, the person he was looking at felt both unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. Lark curved his head down to see the rest of Sphinx¡¯s face.


    Seeing and believing are two different things as many might intrepidly say. There hardly ever comes a time when this saying might go into use, but now was one of those moments.


    Unmoving like an ice sculpture, Lark could only stare at what would be almost a mirror image of himself if he fell into a bucket of white paint.


    ¡°I thought I told you to stay calm,¡± Sphinx said as one brick fell out of place. He looked at the shocked expression on Lark¡¯s face and sighed. ¡°Too much? Unfortunately, I¡¯m no god. But I am you and you are me; I¡¯m just the better-looking one.¡±


    The clone even had the same humor as him.


    ¡°I am a reflection of who you are and who you are afraid to be.¡± The clone¡¯s intense, ghostly orbs caused Lark to take a step back; it was as if they could pierce through him. Another few bricks fell onto the white sand. Lithe limbs dropped onto the sand; it was a graceful and even beautiful movement in Lark¡¯s eyes. Quiet steps, yet a powerful presence drew closer to him, and all he could do was continue to stare, mouth gaping.


    ¡°This place is desolate, my owner, why don¡¯t you conjure up something for us to sit and talk comfortably,¡± Sphinx said and stood at a distance that didn¡¯t invade his personal space. Sphinx¡¯s hood was no longer on, and Lark could see Sphinx¡¯s hair styled in the same messy, aloof way he liked his own hair.


    But he didn¡¯t like this. Whatever this was. He pressed his thumb against his knuckles, but he didn¡¯t feel the pain shoot up his arm like before. The cut on his thumb was gone.


    ¡°While pain makes a good distraction, you¡¯ll eventually become numb.¡± Sphinx folded his arms together as if he were a professor of great insight. ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll do it for you.¡±


    With a wave of his white-clothed arm, the Cyan Cottage appeared in the white desert. From Grandma Rune¡¯s flowery scented garden to the blacked out curtains of the octagonal turret; it was all here. Even the water flowing from the cherub¡¯s penis was not lacking.


    ¡°The things you¡¯ve seen, scanned, and analyzed will all show up in this chamber for you (or me) to study. Exciting, right?¡± With those words, Sphinx walked up to the doorway and placed his eye in front of the peephole. In disbelief, Lark watched the door click open.


    With a crafty look, Lark was sure he couldn¡¯t pull off himself, Sphinx entered the doorway with an all-knowing smile.

 15 - Even Gods are Lonely

    ¡°This is fine. Even gods are lonely.¡± This was Sphinx¡¯s icebreaker as soon as tea was served. Lark still had a hard time believing he was inside the Cyan Cottage serving tea to Sphinx. He couldn¡¯t decide which was crazier: his home appearing in the middle of the desert or serving tea to someone who looked like him.


    The kitchen, he was in before, was organized to Wangshi¡¯s taste, the tea packets were in the same order, and as if he were in his actual home, his hands routinely prepared the tea for the two of them. The last time he went through an existentialism crisis was when he had to read novels exploring the meaning of life and death during Junior year. Toilet plunger aliens were beginning to look preferable to whatever situation he was in now. Feeling the precursor to another panic attack, Lark cradled the warmth emanating from the teacup and Sphinx spoke again.


    ¡°It¡¯s what I told myself when I waited alone in this white expanse, for my sake and the person who created me,¡± Sphinx said as he inhaled the steam rising out of the teacup. ¡°And because of the Blood Rite you performed, my physical form manifested to match yours. I¡¯m sure you have many questions and this was the easiest way for us to communicate without you having to yell at the watch. By the way, if you keep doing that in the future, people will eventually notice and try to steal me away. That¡¯s how much you should value me.¡±


    Sphinx ran his pink tongue over his pale lips and hummed. ¡°Wangshi is correct, you do know how to prepare good tea.¡±


    The tea scalded Lark¡¯s palate as he saw the red and white contrast and Sphinx looked at him with amusement in his cheeks up to the silvery eyes where Lark had trouble confronting.


    ¡°Are you blind?¡± The question came out in a choked whisper.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    It was a simple and direct reply, yet it did not uncomplicate things for him for Sphinx was no longer a figment of his imagination, but an unavoidable future.


    ¡°Why?¡± He blurted, unable to hide the hurt in his intonation.


    Sphinx¡¯s expression remained unchanged. Though his silence seemed to confirm Lark¡¯s fears.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have better questions to ask me like what can I do or how can I help you resolve Wangshi¡¯s crisis?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet!¡± The table quaked from slamming his cup down. Looking away from the table, Lark resumed in a low voice. ¡°Please, I just need to know.¡±


    ¡°Teenage angst is never in short supply.¡± Sphinx took another sip, before replying. ¡°My answer won¡¯t change what your doctors already told you. You¡¯re losing pigmentation in your both your eyes and you¡¯ve been on enough WebMD sites to know that what¡¯s happening to your eyes isn¡¯t normal¡­¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s an idea, if you want to know what¡¯s happening to your body, why don¡¯t you scan yourself?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just tell me?¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡± Sphinx inquired, resting a palm under his chin. Unlike Lark¡¯s stiff, leaned in position, Sphinx sat on the dining chair like a frog resting on a lily pad.


    ¡°Because that¡¯s your power¡ª you know things¡ª all the floating boxes have information that I certainly wouldn¡¯t know about. And it¡¯s game-like interface¡­¡± Lark said slowly. ¡°¡­You inspired Runesteam, Grandpa¡¯s latest invention.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that? Have you not considered the way you perceive the world as an extension of yourself? You, who always resigned to place in second, pretending this is all a casual game sounds like a coping mechanism you would use.¡± Sphinx gave a little sigh and continued. ¡°The way I am and the way this world appears is affected by all your worries. I¡¯d only be able to tell you what you already know, Lark, since it¡¯s about yourself and not I. In order to obtain more information, you got to use the ¡®scan¡¯ skill. That¡¯s how I¡¯m able to gain knowledge. If you¡¯re too scared to do it, shall I?¡±


    Lark held up a hand, having enough of the bullshit talk over tea. The pot ran dry by the time Sphinx spoke again.


    ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to talk about yourself anymore, I¡¯ll talk about myself then. Starting from the obvious, Earth is not where I originate. I was developed in a place called Pantheon. Judging from my own creation, you can tell the level of sophistication between here and there are worlds apart. And when that world was undergoing a type of apocalypse, I randomly ended up in Sierra Desert. The last thing I remembered after the sky went up in flames was being discovered by your father in the scorching summer of 2088.¡±


    That was around the same time as when dad found Wangshi, Lark thought. It appeared that the Sierra Desert held several pieces of the puzzle: What was Wangshi doing there? How did the pyramid arrive? Where exactly is his father? And how can he leave Earth?


    With a wry grin, Sphinx walked up to the partially curtained windows in the living room.


    ¡°I hope you know that the Sierra Desert is not the same place as the Sahara Desert in Africa. It¡¯s actually in our backyard of California to Nevada, as in the Sierra Nevada. You¡¯ve been imagining the wrong place where your father went missing.¡±


    ¡°I knew that.¡±


    ¡°Sure you did,¡± Sphinx hummed, and in the reflection of his eyes appeared a mountainous, snowy terrain.


    Faintly annoyed by Sphinx¡¯s overbearing attitude, Lark walked up to the curtains and looked out the window.


    ¡°If you¡¯re blind, how can you tell what¡¯s around you?¡±


    ¡°While we rely heavily on sight to see the world, when we become sightless it doesn¡¯t mean the world disappears like how we know the stars are still there even in the morning sky. Blindness isn¡¯t an end-all when you understand there¡¯s more to the universe than reveling in its colors.¡±


    ¡°A sixth sense?¡± Lark guessed, not able to follow Sphinx¡¯s train of thought.


    ¡°I am your sixth sense, Lark Rune, but I can¡¯t see for you. For better or for worse, if you¡¯re so scared of change, why don¡¯t you try to stop it?¡± Sphinx turned his head to face Lark.


    He couldn¡¯t get over Sphinx¡¯s uncanny ability to see through him. Now, that magic existed, there was a real possibility of fixing his eyesight without needing to buy more expensive contacts. So what was holding him back?


    Lark flexed his left wrist and hesitated.


    ¡°Come, it appears that you¡¯re still not ready,¡± Sphinx said, walking towards the entrance to Grandpa Rune¡¯s secret laboratory. There wasn¡¯t a hint of disappointment or rush in his voice, but Lark walked at a pace slower than normal.


    The two stood in front of the U-shaped desk, when an image of Grandpa Rune greeted them, ¡°Lark, how was your day at school?¡±


    It¡¯s always the same question. Come to think of it, did he still need to go to school after what happened to him? Everything in his life came to a halt after everyone got kidnapped. Subsequently, living an ordinary life with college applications and Runetech did not seem like an option. Though before, he could return the greeting with his usual terse response, Sphinx answered for him.


    ¡°Grandpa Rune, how did really you die?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think we decided on heart failure,¡± Grandpa Rune said.


    We? Lark raised a brow at his grandfather, then at Sphinx.


    ¡°Wangshi and I made a contingency plan in my old age that if I ever passed away it would be due to heart failure. But the truth is probably over-work and looking for your father.¡±


    Of course, his grandfather and Sphinx would get along with their misleading comments. Lark frowned feeling both relief and agitation as he eliminated further conspiracy theories. He flexed his wrist again.


    ¡°What about your will to cut your body in half, leaving the side of your brain in a cryogenics lab, and the other in an urn?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well. I hoped one day in the future with my preserved brain, I would be revived. Or as a ghost, I wouldn¡¯t have to use my feet to move around.¡± Grandpa Rune released a hearty laugh.


    Several loud pops let off from Lark¡¯s wrist sought Sphinx¡¯s attention as he waved Grandpa Rune merrily away.


    Lark stared at Sphinx then at his numb wrist. He really couldn¡¯t feel any pain in this world. Chewing his bottom lip, the Trinity Watch weighed down on his arm.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Now that you know about your grandfather, what about your grandmother and mother? I know you haven¡¯t been in their rooms since their deaths. You should see to it before you leave. But, what else is holding you back?¡± Sphinx asked, sitting on the cleared workbench. He lifted out Mishka¡¯s and Sky¡¯s backpacks from a drawer.


    ¡°Surely, it¡¯s not these two, because they¡¯re ahead of you,¡± Sphinx spoke, unzipping the leathery, brown backpack and pulled out the weighty dictionary Sky borrowed from the school library. ¡°Is it uncertainty?¡±


    Lark¡¯s eyes widened as Sphinx¡¯s Trinity Watch emitted a white light over the book.


    A landslide of the English vocabulary bulldozed through his stored memory, unbidden. Uninvited punctuations to the party of A¡¯s to Z¡¯s up an inclination. If words were made of sand, he saw a beautiful construction of un-bid-den grains overflowed like water cresting over each other, depositing layers atop layers.


    ¡°A practical test,¡± Sphinx announced, opening to a random page in the dictionary. ¡°Page 108, what¡¯s the first word on the page?¡±


    On the spot, Lark answered, ¡°Ataraxy.¡±


    ¡°Definition?¡±


    ¡°Noun. A state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquility,¡± Lark recited flawlessly. It was as if he pinched the precise amount of sand from the sandbox by eye measurement, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile from his good fortune. Even if it was only sand and not pearls.


    Snapping the dictionary shut, Sphinx lectured, ¡°You seem happy, but textbooks can only guide you so far. During an open book test, not everyone can find it in themselves to go beyond the words or read in between the lines. That¡¯s where your intuition comes in.¡±


    The eerie look in Sphinx¡¯s gaze returned when he tossed the book over to Lark and asked, ¡°What else can you learn from the dictionary?¡±


    All the words in this volume, he could say he knew by heart after Sphinx¡¯s display, so what would happen if he were to use that skill? Lark bit his lip as he held the thick spine and before the word could leave his mouth, a black box opened before him.


    ¡°Item: English Wordbook (Used)


    A collection of English words arranged alphabetically. This edition was found in the Dubois High School library.¡±


    Sphinx offered another piece of advice. ¡°What if you thought of it as a weapon?¡±


    Another black box appeared.


    ¡°Item: Heavy Tome (Used)


    Durability: 12/15


    Bore your enemies with the English language. Can cause a short period of confusion if thrown correctly.¡±


    Lark squinted at the two different pieces of information used to describe the same item.


    ¡°You see Lark, there are many possibilities in this world. You¡¯re not limited to choose one path when you have me acting on your intuition like a needle on a compass.¡± Sphinx sold himself well but complimented Lark¡¯s ability to handle himself. ¡°How we¡¯ve come so far is based on your own intuition. Like letting Gushi eat the monster crystals or how you defeated the refrigerator slime by aiming at its nucleus. That was all you.¡±


    Sphinx gave a cat-like grin.


    ¡°Intuition seeks out the answers not given. So will we climb forward or despair?¡±


    Lark shook his head and settled the dictionary on the U-shaped desk. Ready, he stood before Sphinx and flexed his wrist to face himself. Closing his eyes, he said, ¡°Scan!¡±


    He felt the white light wash over him; the feeling significantly different from undergoing a transfer. Somehow his body warmed and a fresh feeling perfused him like the time when he shaved most of his hair during soccer season, light and airy.


    ¡°Lark Rune


    Titles: [Survivor][Trickster]


    Happiness Level: 70%


    STR: 18


    DEX: 20


    INT: 18


    MG: 0


    SPT: 0


    LUK: 15


    Skills - None¡±


    Lark flushed. Despair chose him. No wonder Sphinx said he was weaker than Gushi. At this rate, his slime would definitely eat him for as a snack rather than for nourishment.


    ¡°Body conditions:


    Deteriorating vision caused by ??? genetic condition.


    Blisters on hands and knees. Bruised ribs. Injuries caused by the previous battle with the Wishes of the People.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re indeed capable of surprising people, Lark Rune.¡± A flash of amazement fluttered through Sphinx as he raised a hand up to his chin. ¡°Even my database from Pantheon doesn¡¯t have enough information to discern what¡¯s causing your eyesight to go bad.¡±


    Lark didn¡¯t say anything. Not only bothered by the fact that it looked like he still needed to wear expensive contacts, but he¡¯d also sooner die in the process of rescue with these trash stats. It was clear that the Wishes of the People didn¡¯t aim to kill, using slimes to capture them rather than shooting them dead. But maybe that goal would change in the future.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine if you keep treating your body like a temple.¡± A hand patted his shoulder, and Lark turned his head at a cunning Sphinx. His sudden appearance chilled Lark. Although he was distracted by his trash stats, he couldn¡¯t have been so blind to let Sphinx sneak up next to him.


    ¡°The reason for your low stats is due to you providing a low amount of feedback to the SIM and also leaving me inside your stupid spatial ring during your battles. So, once you get into action in the real world, these numbers and skills will explode. As for MG and SPT, that¡¯s another story. Having not learned magic or spirit energy, how could you even have a point in them?¡± Sphinx laughed without care, dispiriting Lark further.


    But then Lark raised a point. ¡°So without magic, how do you explain the ¡®scan¡¯ skill and this place?¡±


    Sphinx nodded. ¡°Good. This is your intuition speaking correctly. Of course, all this is not possible without magic or spirit energy. But you are not the source. Rather the energies come from SIM or the thing you¡¯ve been referring to as the pyramid, which is an infinite duality tool that was created in hopes of developing a type of simulator for training purposes. To bring in another item you¡¯ve scanned just imagine it or if that¡¯s too difficult, you could say ¡®print said item.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Print Gushi,¡± Lark said and his favorite silver slime materialized. He picked up the slime, and just as he remembered, the coat felt cool and gel-like.


    Being picked up by his owner like a small puppy made Gushi happy, and he wiggled his body, tickling the nerves on Lark¡¯s fingers.


    Chuckling, Lark placed Gushi down and the black box containing Gushi¡¯s status and skills appeared in front of him. Nothing changed except for a 5% increase in Happiness.


    ¡°Ask him to eat the dictionary and see what happens,¡± Sphinx offered as he wandered about the laboratory.


    Lark nodded and repeated the order to Gushi while placing the dictionary in front of the slime.


    Gushi automatically ate the book and absorbed the browned pages into nothing. There were no noticeable changes.


    Lark hanged his head when Sphinx said, ¡°Success comes from failure,¡± as it were a well-timed saying.


    Then Lark said, ¡°Print dictionary,¡± and the same dictionary that Gushi had engulfed before reappeared in its normal slime-free state. This time, he told Gushi to contain the dictionary without absorbing it yet. Looking at the floating book inside Gushi¡¯s stomach, he recalled one of the options to learn the skill, Propel, and looked for somewhere in the room to aim.


    ¡°Spit the book all the way to the end of the room,¡± Lark suggested and waved his arm towards the far end of the room cluttered with office boxes.


    A moment after Gushi aligned himself in the space between the desk and the wall, the dictionary hurtled into the air from its slime-filled captivity and shot over twenty-five feet, knocking into the opposite wall behind the boxes.


    Two black boxes appeared in the air notifying Lark of changes in Gushi and the dictionary.


    Propel - Attack Skill - Rank F- User can catapult objects. Effects: Distance of thrown object is dependent on the weight and strength of the user. As STR increases so will the range and damage of thrown objects.


    ¡°*Updated Item: Heavy Tome (Used)


    Durability: 2/15


    No longer readable. Missing pages. Could be used as kindle.¡±


    ¡°Not bad,¡± Sphinx observed from behind the desk.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re like a really sophisticated multi-functional printer that lets me scan items, copy them into here, and experiment without getting hurt. Can I take out the copied items to the real world?¡± Even Lark could tell how stupid he sounded, but he didn¡¯t know how to phrase it any better.


    The enigmatic smile swept over Sphinx¡¯s pale features dampened when Lark minimized SIM¡¯s abilities.


    ¡°Unfortunately, not. My current capabilities are like a typewriter compared with a 3D printer. It gets the job done, but could be improved.¡±


    ¡°Do you think we could upgrade SIM in the future?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. The world began with sticks and stones.¡± Sphinx said and his eyes, as ghostly as they were, reminded Lark of how old men looked at their chess games in the park. ¡°But let¡¯s talk some more before we get into the scheme of things¡­¡±


    Suspicion dawned on Lark. Beyond Blood Rites and Contract Magic, he had read about instances of slavery through puppet spells and other means he didn¡¯t get the gist of yet.


    ¡°I have no thoughts of coveting you, my owner, that¡¯d be like stealing candy from a baby. Wrong and immoral.¡± While Lark¡¯s face flushed, Sphinx¡¯s hands laced together in a way Lark saw Wangshi do many times with him when he did troublesome things like buying a half-a-million watch or not eating breakfast.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried about you having no ambition. You quit the soccer team after Wei made a body feint that you were not capable of. And after you scored lower than Sky and Mishka on the SATs, suddenly college became a no-go¡ª¡±¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Lark interrupted, somehow not surprised by Sphinx¡¯s sudden fervor. In the back of his mind, there was an hourglass running out of sand to spill.


    ¡°I know you,¡± Sphinx said evenly, and Lark couldn¡¯t muster the fight to argue. His alter ego was a stick in the mud, he decided warily.


    ¡°But because you have the power to answer the prayers of thousands with SIM, I need you to crave desperation. That¡¯s the only way we can move forward from here. To move, even when you can¡¯t! To breathe, even when you¡¯re drowning! To be wracked with desperation until you impose your will upon the world! That¡¯s willpower!¡± Sphinx imparted sharply, raising his arms, as black boxes full of runes and strange shapes blotted the room in a swirl of white glow and darkness.


    Swept in by confusion, Lark shielded his face from the spiraling boxes. But he could feel all the experiments and scans Sphinx had done were being put inside his brain. Overhead, he could hear Sphinx shouting.


    ¡°You know you¡¯re okay because you are doing your best and you¡¯re still breathing! Don¡¯t give up!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­I won¡¯t!¡± Lark agreed in a whisper, realizing their short time together was at an end, for now, as he heard another bell chime. While he was unable to see Sphinx¡¯s broad-sweeping grin, the feeling was still mutual.


    When Lark¡¯s body exited the white space, Sphinx settled back down onto the U-shaped desk. His white eyelashes fluttered, moving in a manner similar to a butterfly beating its wings.


    A few moments later he reached over the workbench for a toolkit and repeated, ¡°yeah,¡± while he picked up a hammer and saw.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon, Lark.¡±


    This was the first time Lark felt his energy sapped from completing meditation. He awoke groggily in the same room where he left his slime and Wangshi. Gushi didn¡¯t move when he woke up and instead waited patiently for orders.


    Lark looked at his Trinity Watch and was surprised to see only a minute had passed after he fell into a trance. It must¡¯ve been at least two hours he spent with Sphinx. The thought of something like a time chamber arose in his mind. Unlike the times before, his new acquaintance didn¡¯t add any input.


    He rose to his feet and walked to where his slime and caretaker were. He rubbed the side of Gushi¡¯s slime coat in an affectionate manner.


    ¡°I need you to store away Wangshi,¡± he said, and his grey eyes bored into Wangshi¡¯s limp body similar to how Sphinx gazed upon him for the first time. The feeling of anticipation and yet vast profoundness could be found beyond sight.

 16 - Alchemy

    There were days when Lark would look out into his grandmother¡¯s garden and wonder what he was doing with his one shot at life, but not today.


    With Gushi back to his normal size, Lark hid his pet under his arm like a stuffed toy and made sure none of the neighbors looked too closely at his estate before exiting the penthouse. Instead of going to the front door, which was closer, he made his way to the back porch. Unlike the front door, the back door didn¡¯t require a key so to speak when a rock sufficed.


    Lark¡¯s backyard was not as grand as the front yard and filled with less of his grandmother¡¯s color. The trimmed, green grass stretched from the bottom of the deck to the fence that separated the property line. In this neighborhood, everyone respected privacy and a row of palm trees enforced this unspoken rule on the other side of the fence.


    Sensible patio furniture decorated the oak deck including an umbrella shading a few chairs and a table. Next to the furniture was the back door. And guarding the back door was a mechanical gnome holding a golf club in front of one of his grandfather¡¯s inventions.


    Lifting a stone from the walkway, Lark placed it atop a crude scale made of zen stones. On one side of the see-saw contraption, a stack of three stones weighed down on the wooden plank. The ribbed, sediment appearance of the rocks set side by side with the smooth carved cherry wood gave off a feeling of imbalance. As soon as his heavy clay rock sat on the opposite end of the wood, the stacked rocks raised as if controlled by an invisible string.


    Once in perfect, straight alignment, the back door swung open. Lark rushed inside when the back door swung closed behind him. A moment after the door closed, the gnome moved. It swung down the golf club in its chubby, little hands against the rock, and shot it back to where it came. With the rock back in its place on the walkway, the back porch returned to its seemingly untouched state.


    Upon entering the kitchen, Lark shouted, ¡°Scan!¡±


    Feeling his voice vibrate like waves attacking the walls, he ignored the passing black boxes and tagged them as he went through, absorbing each piece of information. They told him where his kitchen knives were bought, how much damage they did, and from which part of the world Black Rose tea leaves were grown and what was the optimal amount of time to soak them. Other pieces of data he gathered weren¡¯t necessarily helpful, nor useful at the moment, but it didn¡¯t hurt to know.


    Gushi jumped out of his arms and hurried over to the dining table, while he picked up an eight-inch kitchen knife with Asian characters inscribed on the silver steel. Besides being one of Wangshi¡¯s favorite knives to debone meats with, according to Lark¡¯s data, it dealt the most critical damage with the best bleeding effect out of all knives in the knife block including the big, fat butcher knife. It also came with a sleek wooden box with a velvet in-line, which Lark tossed together inside his spatial ring. Aside from the knife, Lark also grabbed a funnel, a pan lid, an apple timer, and raided the fridge for honey.


    While eating the rest of the food on the dining table with Gushi, Lark checked the calendar on his Trinity Watch, which read: Saturday, 02:32 PM, September 26, 2099; it¡¯s been three days since the attack on the world. Meanwhile, Wangshi had successfully booked them to go Soko¡¯s by Sunday at 3:00 PM. That would give them three hours to tour the wares before the auction began at 6:00 PM. And if he was successful in his endeavor, then Wangshi could drive them to the black-tie event.


    <hr>


    ¡°Your legacy¡­¡± a whisper from Sphinx curled around his ears as the bookcase twirled him and Gushi into the secret room.


    Lark scanned all the items inside the laboratory and tossed Gushi a few of his grandfather¡¯s inventions he believed might be promising. As Sphinx calculated, Gushi would have a 56% chance in learning new skills from absorbing his grandfather¡¯s second-hand inventions. If not, he could always buy more.


    When Gushi absorbed the fox-ear hearing aids and underground-ostrich binoculars, a black notification list of Gushi¡¯s skills appeared.


    1) Engulf: Innate Skill - Rank E - User can swallow and hold any material with an upper limit of 120 lbs. Effects: Absorption or storage.


    2) Flexible Body: Innate Skill - Rank E - User can maneuver without restriction from bone structures.


    3) Boiling Body: Innate Skill - Rank E - User¡¯s body burns hot! Effects: Burn damage around the user for two seconds. Body expansion up to three times the original size. Skill in effect until cancellation. Cooldown: 5 minutes.


    4) Transform: Magic Skill - Rank F - User can modify up to one structure of their body. Effects: Lasts up to 10 minutes unless skill canceled. Cooldown: 1 minute.


    5) Patching: Magic Skill - rank F - A quick fix. User can ¡®patch¡¯ up physical damage. Effect: Pain-blocker and speeds up natural healing.


    6) *Perception: Life Skill - Rank F- User can sense an object¡¯s nature within a 100-feet radius. User can track movement within a 100-feet radius.


    Effects: Gushi''s color changing antenna. silver - neutral, red - danger, green - magic treasure, and blue - spirit treasure.


    *Changes: Perception changed from Magic Skill to Life Skill due to its hunting qualities. 50 feet to 100 feet increase in radius.


    +1 INT went to Gushi¡¯s status screen, totaling Gushi¡¯s intelligence to 21 points.


    Lark nodded at Gushi for doing a good job, but at the same time felt dismayed by the missing Propel skill. Any changes he incurred in the white expanse with Sphinx did not carry over into reality like teaching Gushi Propel. However¡­he picked up the dictionary on the desk and remembered every single word from every single page.


    He scanned the dictionary. Not learning anything new, he gave it to Gushi and reconstructed the scene, enabling Gushi to learn Propel. Gushi then engulfed and absorbed the damaged dictionary.


    Meanwhile, Lark scooped up the flash drive given to him by Mr. Federov and a dossier of all the lesson pages appeared in his mind as if it was there the entire time. Lark couldn¡¯t be sure, but perhaps the swirling black boxes Sphinx produced before he left the white expanse transmitted all experiments and investigations on all his personal possessions inside the Cyan Cottage. It spared him some time. Sure. But the unease in his heart caused by the fast changes in his life made his hands shake.


    Cracking his knuckles, as if to wring out the worries under his skin, he focused on several objectives. One, he needed to find and rescue Sky as his long term goal. Two, get stronger in any sense of the word. And the immediate priority, to fix Wangshi and recuperate any helpful memories.


    He tossed the flash drive into Sky¡¯s backpack and poured out the contents from his spatial ring. He scanned the items from the kitchen and the loot he hadn¡¯t yet examined from the ring.


    First, the pan-lid from the kitchen. It was a sixteen-inch, lightweight, aluminum lid he randomly took off a skillet. In addition to the universal use of protecting cooks from splattering oil, the acquired knowledge from scanning gave it another purpose. With durability at 10/10, the pan-lid could be used as a trash shield. Gripping the black plastic knob, he beckoned the slime to bounce against the make-shift shield.


    ¡°Go on, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Lark said, crouching, as he held the lid three feet off the ground. Noticing the slime¡¯s reluctance to attack him, he added with a toothy grin. ¡°Unless you don¡¯t think you¡¯re strong enough to push me back?¡±


    Gushi jiggled his body rising up to the challenge. The slime rolled at a distance of five feet away before pouncing! Acting in a similar motion to the Propel skill, Gushi catapulted himself into the lid. Slime against aluminum met and a small squish could be heard.


    That¡¯s it? Lark thought as he noticed the small drop in durability from 10 to 8. He joggled the dented shield, noticing Gushi still stuck on the inside of the lid.


    When Lark didn¡¯t move back and shook the pan-lid, Gushi slid down the steel-colored plate and deflated like a flat tire.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Everyone needs some practice. You did very well for your first try!¡± Lark carried Gushi in his arms, comforting his shocked pet.


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s do it again. Only this time, try hardening your body like how you did with Boiled Body and use your Patching skill to lessen the impact on yourself. Also, don¡¯t stick to the target after you hit it.¡± He coached, lifting up the pan-lid against his body again.


    Preparing its second attempt, the reinvigorated slime wiggled its translucent coat as steam shed off its body.


    Less than a second later, Gushi collided against the aluminum lid and Lark yelped, feeling his fingers burn on the hot metal. Fortunately, Gushi listened to Lark¡¯s directions and already bounced off the lid before it clattered to the ground.


    Lark winced and sank his singed fingertips against his T-shirt as if pressing them could smolder out the burn effect. But his one opened eye twinkled at the three notification boxes in front of him. One showed the pan-lid¡¯s decrease in durability from 8 to 0. Clearly not usable, he thought, as he saw the warped surface of his fry ware.


    The second showed a screen of Gushi¡¯s updated Propel skill and a reward of +1 STR to his slime¡¯s stats.


    ¡°Updated! Propel - Attack Skill - Rank F- User can catapult objects and itself! Effects: Distance of thrown object(or itself) is dependent on the weight and strength of the user. As STR increases so will the range and damage the user will impose.


    The last box posed one sentence and an odd question: ¡°You¡¯ve acquired a new title, [Beginner Monster Tamer]! Would you like to equip this title?¡±


    He told the sparkling slime to use its Transform ability and imitate the shape of the pan-lid in order to learn a defensive skill, while he dealt with the title-wearing situation.


    After relocating to the cordoned area in front of the birdie-feeder to practice, Gushi blocked Lark from leaving. He bounced onto Lark¡¯s chest, who then had no choice but to catch the jumpy slime with his hands. Without being ordered to Gushi engulfed his lobster-red fingers.


    Lark¡¯s hands now submerged in ice-cold slime fluid, felt cool relief wash over the small burns. Gushi¡¯s current form was like a very malleable water-pillow and his glowing silver body flickered intermittently between white and green hues, exhibiting the healing skill Patching. Through his slime¡¯s transparent coat, Lark could see patchy spots of red on his fingers slowly disappear. He whispered a quiet thank-you to the slime when the light brown cut on his thumb began to fade.


    <hr>


    Ignoring the vacuum sounds behind him, Lark sat behind the U-shaped desk, examining his status screen from the app on his Trinity Watch called SIM. The SIM app icon had a likeness to the silver pyramid¡¯s shape and an unhelpful interface, a likeness Lark attributed to Sphinx.


    So far the new application on his watch displayed a black screen with all his stats and non-existent skill-set. There was no ¡®help¡¯ or ¡®settings¡¯ menu or even a creator¡¯s note. Then again, what should have he expected from pure-alien technology otherwise known as a magic object free of earthly influence?


    Lark looked quizzically at the floating black screen with his stats he pulled up from SIM. Thinking the screen worked similarly to his holographic keyboard, he tapped on [Survivor]. As expected, a box of information dropped down underneath his title.


    [Survivor]


    Gained title after battling the Wishes of the People.


    Passive: Grants the ability to cope with unfamiliar surroundings and the ability to plan in the face of unknown dangers.


    Active effects: +5 STR, +5 DEX, +5 INT, +5 MG, +5 SPT, +5 LUK.


    [Trickster]


    Gained after a wonderful display of stratagem and last-ditch efforts.


    Passive: Improves your ability to swindle.


    Active effects: +5 DEX, +5 INT, +10 MG, +10 LUK


    [Beginner Beast Tamer]


    Fulfilled requirements: capture monster without help, creature listens to commands, and tamer teaches pet new skills.


    Passive: Increases the ability to communicate with non-humanoid creatures and their fondness.


    Active effects: +10 STR, +10 DEX, +15 SPT


    The Beginner Beast Tamer title granted the most overall points with a sum of thirty-five, while the other two titles gave out thirty points. This information wasn¡¯t wholly helpful until he figured what these stats determined and how the numbers factored into them.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Exiting out of the title screen, he tapped on his strength tab, which revealed the descriptions he was looking for.


    [STR: 18] - Strength: Represents physical power. Influences carrying capacity, defensive ability, health, physical damage, and martial arts skills.


    [DEX: 20] - Dexterity: Represents physical nimbleness. Influences agility, reaction time, aim, and stealth skills.


    [INT: 18] - Intelligence: Represents capacity for thought. Influences insight into the five senses, mind attacks and defensive capabilities, memory recall, and spell casting skills.


    [MG: 0] - Magic: Represents capacity for magic power. Influences magic attacks and defense capabilities, affinity for elements, mana accumulation, and use of objects with magical properties.


    [SPT: 0] Spirit: Represents capacity for spirit power. Influences psionic energy, soul energy interlinked with meridians, use of objects with spiritual properties, and communication with beings of large spiritual power.


    [LUK: 5] Luck - Represents an individual¡¯s luck line. Influences contact with rare objects, success rate, fate line, and how much the world wishes success upon you.


    Around this time, Sphinx¡¯s voice suddenly interrupted Lark¡¯s studying. ¡°You want to aim past 200 stat points in total, which is the build of a typical adventurer, who wants to get anything done at least.¡±


    ¡°Where have you been?¡± Lark thought.


    ¡°Observing you, of course, and experimenting with the alchemy set the cultist brought from another world. Also, don¡¯t touch the contents of the dust inside the purple pouch. It¡¯s a cursed item. Hence, why you haven¡¯t heard from me in the last thirty minutes because my fingers were busy recovering for the last two and a half days earth-time.¡±


    ¡°Recovering from what exactly?¡±


    ¡°Well, I spent too much time playing with the contents of the bag, and my hands shriveled up to the bone due to the curse. So, it took some time to reorganize me.¡±


    Lark swept his gaze across the table for the terrifying bag. For a deadly object, Lark was horrified by its unassuming appearance as the pouch sat nestled against one of the green potion bottles. One might¡¯ve mistaken it for a balloon weight anyone could find at a party store. He scooped the purple pouch into the mortar and gently tossed it inside his activated spatial ring.


    ¡°The material inside the bag was Vampire Dust. A very rare item, but I wouldn¡¯t handle it until you achieve significant progress in alchemy. In fact, why haven¡¯t you started making the recipe I shared with you to cure Wangshi?¡±


    ¡°I was training Gushi when the black box¡ª¡±


    ¡°Alright, no need for the back story, kiddo. Once you practice alchemy, I assure you, you¡¯ll know more about SIM¡¯s capabilities, which go far beyond a mere printer.¡±


    Lark, as patient as he was, fumed at the unhelpful voice in his head. Turning his head to the materials in front of him, he picked up an apparatus part of the alchemy set. The toolkit before him reminded him of Mr. Zayne¡¯s science class mixed in with apothecaries from ghost-towns. Every Spring, since the start of freshmen year, Professor Zayne would take the students in his class on a field trip. In his freshmen year, they went to the Science Academy of Arts in San Francisco. Sophomore year, they ventured into the hot springs of Lake Tahoe. During Junior year, they hiked along old trails where nineteen-forty-niner miners panned for gold. His favorite superstition was how the miners would hide their riches in all sorts of places - under fence posts, big trees, rock outcrops - anywhere that they could bury under the noses of bandits. Not that he¡¯d need the gold, but it did gnaw at his ego if he¡¯d be the one to find treasure.


    Frowning, his fingernail scratched the glass as he placed it down and picked up the small leather bounded notebook.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you scanning anything?¡± piped in Sphinx.


    ¡°I want to see what I can learn by myself first,¡± Lark responded, furrowing his brows as he turned over a page in the notebook. Shoddy drawings of craft items and potions lined the pages with short descriptions. Lark couldn¡¯t make out the slanted characters in the margins, but the centered titles on the top of the pages were neatly written in comparison. In total, there were about fifty used pages of text and drawings, while the rest were left blank. Whoever wrote in this notebook hadn¡¯t used it in quite some time, Lark noted, feeling the age on the parchment.


    ¡°For future purposes, I hope you know it¡¯s not wise to look through a sorcerer¡¯s belongings. There could be all sorts of hidden enchantments or dangerous objects like the Vampire Dust,¡± Sphinx warned airily. ¡°Luckily you have SIM, so you won¡¯t die easily.¡±


    Lark scoffed, but stopped leafing through the notebook and settled it down next to the alchemy kit. Inevitably, black boxes showed up in front of him.


    ¡°Item: Portable Celestian Alchemy Kit (common)


    Tools in this set: Simple mortar and pestle, Simple pathfinder, Simple spirit lamp, Simple cauldron, 3x glass flasks, 3x purifying crystals, quartz knife, quartz rod, and one sachet.


    An oversimplified alchemist laboratory set sold in Northern Celestia for 100 credits. Only able to process simple tonics, potions, and salves.¡±


    ¡°So then the potion we¡¯re making is actually a very simple one?¡± Lark inquired.


    ¡°Don¡¯t simplify everything,¡± Sphinx said and Lark imagined Sphinx¡¯s colorless eyes rolling in their sockets as he spoke, whilst drinking tea.


    Lark sighed and moved onto the next piece of text.


    ¡°Item: Stolen Notebook (unique)


    Original owner: Cornelius Goodwing.


    A collection of findings from the author, Cornelius Goodwing, an apprentice of the Alchemy Association of Celestia.¡±


    In another separate box like when he attained the [Beginner Beast Tamer] title, two messages for him appeared with an attached suggestion:


    <Unlocked the Celestian language!>


    <Unlocked the Celestian language of runes!>


    <To unlock more knowledge of Celestia, go scan a Celestian Wordbook!>


    At this, Lark rolled his eyes and he took another look at the notebook. This time, he understood the hazardous writing and Cornelius Goodwing was definitely a person of narcissistic taste as the carefully written title of each page was of his own name instead of the subject matter. Lark never had a huge interest in literature or linguistics, but his interests didn¡¯t matter anymore in the wake of SIM¡¯s abilities to translate and pull up significant pieces of text. A super printer indeed. He acknowledged every note and description written by Cornelius, or Corn for short, and could probably pour a couple of hours into reading Corn¡¯s observations on the movement of the two moons in Celestia, random sketches of plants and ramblings of his aspirations to find legendary alchemy ingredients. Some ingredients like monster teeth and blood Lark heavily squinted at, but others like Dragon¡¯s Claw or Faerie¡¯s Tears set his treasure-seeking heart on fire.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew,¡± Sphinx spoke again in the same nonchalant manner. Lark grounded the back of his teeth as he approached the supplies. It was unnerving to have someone always peering over his shoulder, watching his every move.


    ¡°As for your titles, I would go with ¡®Trickster.¡¯ Having more LUK might help you out, childish owner,¡± Sphinx lamented. Sphinx didn¡¯t speak up for a period after that. Maybe he bit into some Vampire Dust, Lark wondered or even hoped. But after some careful consideration, he followed Sphinx¡¯s advice and tapped on the [Trickster] title.


    A black screen pulled up from his watch asking in white letters, ¡°Would you like to equip [Trickster] as your main title?¡± with a small ¡®Yes or No¡¯ panel shortly following.


    After equipping the [Trickster] title, Lark didn¡¯t feel abundantly different about himself - and he had to admit, he had some expectations - but it was a good start to his once null MG stat.


    ¡°Lark Rune [Trickster]


    [Survivor][Beginner Beast Tamer]


    Happiness Level: 75%


    STR: 18


    DEX: 20 (+5)


    INT: 18 (+5)


    MG: 0 (+10) ,


    SPT: 0


    LUK: 15 (+10)


    Larked picked up the item known as a Simple Pathfinder, which was one of the more common tools Mr. Federov wrote about to begin the alchemic process. Referencing the lesson plan on alchemy in his head, he placed the hooped instrument over the Simple Cauldron. According to the notes, a pathfinder was used to attract Ley Lines, which gathered forces to power up the cauldron. Dependent on the shape, size, and material of the Pathfinder, the nature of the Ley Lines would change.


    The lustrous forged steel ring surrounded the cauldron for a couple of seconds when a certain buzz fluttered in the air that was not quite there before and Lark could feel it - on, under, over, all around him - like a wind current. Then he saw it. The pot began to smoke.


    ¡°Old magic Alchemy focused on potions, salves, and tonics while alchemy with new magic focused on pill-concoctions. Like any medication from this civilization, this art could produce a panacea to cure the sick. And in different doses and combinations, medicine can kill.¡±


    This passage, written by Mr. Federov, was unlike any other lesson plan Lark read about. A forewarning, he surmised, and the message ran its course at the first sign of invisible fire.


    He picked up a blue spiral carapace as thick as an eggshell and threw it inside. Taking a step back when the pot immediately produced a poof, he steadied himself and read the contents on the black box.


    ¡°Item: Deep Sea Chitin (herb) (spirit) (uncommon)


    A blue fibrous substance found naturally in the deep waters of Celestia. Often houses small water sprites or sea creatures. A rank D spirit material, often used for warding against fire sprites.


    This Deep Sea Chitin was harvested approximately 1000 Celestian days ago and then dried for storage. Harvested by the Alchemy Association in Celestia using the cloud fishing method with help from the Ulu clan.


    Found in the southern waters of Celestia.


    Bought by the cultist named Joffrey Gullivan for 1 Celestial Coin.


    Known uses: warding, alchemy, food.


    Joffrey Gullivan? The previous ring owner, Lark guessed, his eyes narrowing as he grabbed another ingredient from the pile on the desk.


    ¡°Item: Yellow Grass (herb) (common)


    A yellow plant fiber often used for making tea, which helps replenish stamina.


    Found in the northern wilderness of Celestia.


    Picked by Joffrey Gullivan.


    Known uses: alchemy, cooking.¡±


    Taking a quick peek at the pot, he nearly dropped the bundle of grass in his hand. The hard blue shell turned into a mesmerizing, aquamarine liquid at the bottom of the cauldron and a puff of smoke sprouted from the cauldron, hitting him squarely in the face before dancing back into the pot. Licking his lips, he pictured a large, blue ocean as his tongue rolled in briny salt. His cheeks suddenly hurt as if they were sunburned and wind-chapped. Maybe his imagination was in overdrive, but that breeze flying up his nose felt so real, he could hear seagulls in the same wind chirp by. He scratched his butt, itchy from the sand grains rubbing against his bare legs and he looked up, holding his tiny arms out, asking to be carried. Two arms swooped down and wrapped around him, while another pair of hands, wrinkled but warm, patted his face. Their twinkling smiles alight around the bonfire. If he could reach through¡ªOma, Mom¡ªit¡¯d be like they¡¯re still here.


    ¡°Two minutes and thirty seconds,¡± Sphinx¡¯s voice snapped him to attention; the potion was still brewing, but somehow that smoke made him relive a short memory. It didn¡¯t matter though, they weren¡¯t coming back.


    Jerking his head, Lark raced to his apple timer to set the countdown. He placed the three purifying crystals in a triangular position inside the perimeter of the pathfinder and used Wangshi¡¯s knife to chop the yellow grass into one-inch sized stems. Putting aside the cupful of herbs, he reached out for another ingredient and switched cutting blades. With the quartz knife, he pressed down on the sides of a thick root. Grimacing, he finally pushed hard enough for the celery-like material to leak teal-colored juice.


    ¡°Item: Elf Stem (herb) (magic) (rare)


    A blue-green stem used to hang on doors to ward against dark magic. A rank D magic material. Once part of the Elf Tree, this stem retains some of the magical properties of elven magic.


    Found in the northern fields of Celestia.


    Grown by the Aapa Clan.


    Stolen by Joffrey Gullivan.


    Known uses: warding, alchemy, cooking.


    He liked this person named Joffrey less and less. His lips quivered, wondering how much this Elf Stem was worth to be stolen. A part of him may have felt bad for the Aapa Clan, but Wangshi¡¯s life took priority. If in the future he ran into a member of the clan, he would try to pay them back. But that was a concern for future Lark.


    The apple timer jingled. After scooping the grass into the cauldron, he squeezed the bruised stem over the pot until three drops fell in.


    ¡°Lick your fingers,¡± Sphinx ordered.


    ¡°What?¡± Lark asked as he put away the Elf Stem into storage and teal juice stained his fore-fingers and thumb.


    ¡°Don¡¯t question me, just do it!¡± Sphinx said sharply. Apparently, he learned something new in the last five minutes. No longer bothering to ask, Lark did as he was told albeit with hesitation.


    His tongue traced over the blue-green residue, picking up the leftover juice like a thirsty dog. Somehow, he was glad Wangshi was inside Gushi¡¯s magical time chamber for this part. The Elf Stem juice tasted neither bad nor good. Strange didn¡¯t describe what his tongue was feeling either, but an odd sensation sat on the tip of his tongue and he wanted it off rather than in.


    ¡°Sphinx, what did you make me do?¡± Lark stuck his tongue as far out as he could and looked down the bridge of his nose. As he suspected his tongue was doing something weird¡­normal tongues didn¡¯t change colors this quickly even with food coloring. Instead of a turquoise color, his tongue was dyed in a rich orange palette, and then switched to dark green, and switched again to a bright blue hue.


    ¡°Let it work its magic.¡± There was a musical amusement in Sphinx¡¯s tart reply.


    ¡°Whaaa¡ª¡± Lark sounded with his jaw squared and jutted out. Squirming at the sudden fiery-and-cold sensation over his tongue, he closed his mouth and swallowed air. The lumpy feeling traveled down his throat and boiled under his collar bone. Slapping a hand over his T-shirt, he pulled down and saw the newly formed tattoo on his chest. He almost passed out at the mark branding his thievery until Sphinx called him back to the cauldron.


    ¡°Honestly, the flower of life pattern looks good on you, but worry about the Aapa clan later. If they protected their possessions more carefully, then this wouldn¡¯t have to happen. Better you than Joffrey.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m working with someone that doesn¡¯t have a conscious,¡± Lark muttered, spooning a handful of honey into the mix.


    ¡°But I¡¯m your conscious,¡± Sphinx pointed out.


    Not bothering to give a response, Lark stirred the pot with the quartz rod, watching the colors bond together. No longer puffing, the bubbling liquid inside was almost ready according to Sphinx and he readied the funnel over the glass flask. With a few more flicks of the rod, the potion inside completely stilled.


    Grabbing the sides of the cauldron, he poured the contents into three bottles. One for Wangshi, another for Gushi, and one for a rainy day. A waft of sweetness tickled his nostrils, no doubt the honey did the trick.


    ¡°Item: Elven Spirit Recovery Potion (rare)


    A minor variation in the traditional alchemic spirit potion. This solution will heal all conditions(paralysis, sleep, burn, poison, freeze, curse, infatuation, memory loss, fear) caused by an accumulation of spiritual damage.


    Has the taste of the Celestian seas; sweet fragrance of honey and elven trees; and healing ability equivalent to a rank B healing spell.


    *May have unintended benefits due to the minor variations.


    Ingredients: Deep sea chitin, yellow grass, elf stem, and honey.


    12 fl oz.


    Created by Lark Rune.¡±


    Two beeps from his watch disturbed him from his first successful potion-making session. It wasn¡¯t the kind of ringtone that notified him of incoming messages - not that he had anyone available to message him except maybe his therapist, and god forbid Daisy - but a system update.


    The first notification box informed him that he achieved another title, [Beginner Alchemist]. Unlike the time, he got the [Beginner Monster Tamer] title, this box was in blue.


    ¡°[Beginner Alchemist]


    Passive: Improves your ability to craft potions and salves.


    Active effects: +5 DEX, +5 INT, +10 MG, +10 SPT +20 LUK.


    Wow! A total of fifty points in exchange for three potions!


    After switching out titles, he moved onto the cog wheel with a red circled number above it and another blue screen pulled out to his forearm.


    ¡°You¡¯ve achieved over a hundred item scans! The settings menu is now available and you¡¯ve been given (1) [Location Scan!] Click ¡®OK¡¯ to proceed with the update!¡±

 17 - Wangshis Past

    Without much of a choice, Lark accepted the update. A loading bar appeared above the SIM app icon and disappeared in three seconds. Well, that was fast.


    Opening the app, Lark realized the user interface underwent some superficial design changes. There was now a menu screen with several tabs named: Current status, Monsters, Locations, Items, and Settings.


    The ¡®Current Status¡¯ window retained all his information from before including his name, titles, stats, and unavailable skills¡ªactually, he did have one!


    ¡°Alchemy - Life Skill - Rank F - User can craft simple potions, salves, and tonics.


    Effects: As the user discovers and crafts more products, this skill will help produce more potent effects. As DEX increases so will the user¡¯s flexibility in handling craft materials.¡±


    His heart galloped as it dawned on him; he was an alchemist! And he could picture Wangshi praising him with adoration, ¡°You¡¯re an alchemist, Lark!¡± If only the Trinity Watch could print him a certificate, then everything could be all official, he giddied.


    ¡°Getting so excited over one simple skill?¡± a voice cut through his self-exaltation. Lark could imagine Sphinx sprawled over the workbench like a bored cat, wearing a long-suffering smile.


    Lark snorted and carried off to the next screen, Monsters, which branched out to two tabs. One was N/A, while the other had Gushi¡¯s name on it.


    Nothing new was listed on Gushi¡¯s status screen and skill set. But additional information was compiled under a pet journal, continuing off of Day 3, which recounted Gushi¡¯s activities with Wangshi, learning propel, and so forth.


    Unable to access the ¡®Locations¡¯ tab, Lark pressed on ¡®Items,¡¯ which basically was an itemization of the things he had scanned. Categories were separated by Magic, Spirit, and Quest. Going deeper, the items were ranked by rarity, beginning with the least common.


    For example under Magic, the order went from Elven Spirit Recovery Potion, Elf Stem, to Deep Sea Chitin. Under the Quest tab, Lark guessed it kept track of the miscellaneous objects he had scanned such as Corn¡¯s notebook, the portable Celestian alchemy set, and stuff from the kitchen.


    For the last tab, Settings, Lark paused as he stared at the options for background music and available color options. With an unsteady hand, he pressed on background music and was immediately disappointed by the response he received: ¡°No available playlist, go scan first!¡± Putting the BG music on hold and ignoring the color chart, Lark stretched his hands over his head, feeling the tension release from his back and shoulders. He rubbed the sides of his head and called Gushi over.


    The last ¡®voom¡¯ from the automatic feeder stopped, and Lark could see his transparent slime hop over to him with a belly full of badminton birdies. Learning the skill, Slime Shield, was a temporary failure.


    The fact that Gushi was unlike any slime Lark saw with the Wishes of the People organization both amazed and worried him. Aside from the obvious size differences and maneuverability, Gushi did not have a visible nucleus. Which meant, at least to Lark, Gushi only had one weakness: total obliteration. Like the slime bats he destroyed together with Sky and Mishka, the monsters only stopped chasing them after a complete splat down. The same thing would happen to Gushi if he didn''t learn any defensive skills, hence the worrying.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try again later, fella.¡± Lark leaned down and patted the top of Gushi¡¯s slime coat. ¡°It''s time to release Wangshi from the time chamber now.¡±


    <hr>


    The time chamber wasn''t a special ability belonging to the slimes, but unique to Gushi¡¯s innate Engulf skill. Luckily, Wangshi weighed less than 120 pounds.


    Forming a donut ring on top of the leather cushion, Gushi¡¯s silver coat glowed white as he materialized the caretaker - well more like spat out - onto the couch from its slime chambers. Wangshi¡¯s sleeping body laid sideways while Gushi made an excellent lap pillow. Rolling out from under Wangshi, Gushi bounced to Lark¡¯s side and awaited orders.


    Lark patted Gushi and handed him one of the three Elven Spirit Recovery Potions. Immediately, Gushi transformed the top part of its body into an antenna and waved the silver bubble over the blue-green restorative, when it lit up into distinct blue and green halves. Since the potion contained both magical and spiritual essence, it made sense Gushi¡¯s antenna would react in this way. But in the back of his mind, Lark wondered if the blue and green colors were only a coincidence.


    In high spirits, Gushi wiggled and gobbled up the potion into its body. Upon absorption, the suds Lark was used to seeing clean Wangshi¡¯s wounds, dispersed around the glass flask. The soap-like bubbles emitted wisps of smoke until Lark¡¯s first potion completely dissolved and then he received two black boxes, notifying him of the changes within Gushi. The first box explained Gushi¡¯s raised stats.


    ¡°The Elven Spirit Recovery Potion produced mild benefits on Gushi, raising its intelligence, magic, and spirit capacity by ten. Certain skills also experienced a rank up. Also, Gushi is extremely satisfied with this reward.¡±


    Gushi


    [Converted Buoyant Slime] LVL 1


    Happiness: 100%


    STR: 10


    DEX: 16


    INT: 31


    MG: 24


    SPRT: 12


    LUK: 12


    The following skill changes¡­


    1) Engulf - Innate Skill - *Rank D. User can swallow and hold any material with an upper limit of 300 lbs. Effects: Absorption or storage.


    2) Transform - Magic Skill - Rank E. User can modify up to one structure of their body. Effects: Lasts until skill canceled. Cooldown: 1 minute.


    3) Patching - Magic Skill - Rank E. A quick fix. User can ¡®patch¡¯ up physical and spiritual damage. Effect: Pain-blocker, speeds up natural healing, recovers accumulated spiritual damage and restores spiritual stamina.


    4) Perception - Life Skill - Rank E. User can sense an object¡¯s nature within a 200-feet radius. User can track movement within a 200-feet radius.


    Effects: Gushi''s color changing antenna.


    Silver - neutral


    Red - danger


    Green - magic treasure


    Blue - spirit treasure


    Black - Dark magic


    White - Light magic


    ¡°Not bad,¡± Lark said, hugging his slightly stronger slime. While Gushi did its pudding dance on the coffee table, Lark pulled out the potion meant for Wangshi. Tilting his caretaker¡¯s head back, Lark dripped the brew down the sides of Wangshi¡¯s lips until the flask was nearly empty. Spreading the last drops of the potion onto Wangshi¡¯s forehead, Lark watched the blue-green liquid seep into his caretaker¡¯s wrinkled skin. More amazing than any skin care product, the potion penetrated through Wangshi¡¯s dry, tough skin, softening it like butter. With a serious look, Lark quickly fanned out the liquid, rubbing the area under Wangshi¡¯s eyes fervently. Like magic(cough), Wangshi looked ten years younger.


    Perhaps, this was one of the unintended, but lucky benefits, Lark thought.


    ¡°Rejuvenating youth effect,¡± Sphinx muttered. ¡°Not bad, but hopefully that wasn¡¯t the only benefit.¡±


    Lark sat criss-cross on the floor like a small child, waiting for Wangshi to awake.


    <hr>


    Light sweat slicked down the black-haired man¡¯s sideburns. Dressed for desert wear, the man had tan robes on and hidden light armor underneath that was causing uncomfortable friction. A thin, long sword hung sheathed by his side; the black as night sword cover overlaid his rolled up robes. The leather grip ready to be pulled out at a moment¡¯s notice if he were not distracted by the greenish tint in the ebbing waters below. He stood on the edge of a bluff hovering over a once popular oasis. Now, there was a fusty-verdure tint to the water making it undrinkable and his sharp, green eyes couldn¡¯t see past the surface. If he were to drop his sword into the water, there would a low chance of recovery.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    This oasis was once the epicenter of a great civilization. Jade City was its name. Written in the annals of Celestian history as one of the most prosperous and thriving cities, Jade City was the place to be if you wanted elven grimoires, dwarven crafted weapons, riches. But that was all before the Astral apocalypse. Overrun by astral beasts, the once great city fell to ruins and now only decay remained along with the scent of fire.


    If not for the rumors of ancient treasures or astral cores, why would anyone set sights on this arid land, he thought. Crumbling buildings and dry desert plants surrounded the lake, which no longer held the mantle to the name Jade Waters but instead was known by travelers as the Cursed Spring. Every so often, a rumor would reach the royal capitals in the north and south of a beautiful maiden luring travelers into the water. This so-called beautiful water maiden was described by every stretch of the imagination, and her appearance would change to the gossipers¡¯ tastes from a striking hourglass body to having arms as thick as logs. In any case, whatever form the maiden took, she was able to bewitch innocents to their deaths. There were also claims that the rescuing parties would only find a small number of limbs, but never a complete body.


    The man spat into the lake disgusted by the tall tales. But now he was living in one, helping to search for a high ranked officer of the Adventure Guild who went missing around these parts. If an adventurer with the caliber of two affinities, water and lightning, could get done in by a water maiden, what chance did any of them have? Yet there he was, dragged out to the rotting ruin by the orders of the main branch who enlisted to be part of the investigation team set up by the royal families. It wasn''t a fancy mission where every elite group sent out their strongest players, but a show of support. A very flamboyant show. However, he wasn''t scripted to be part of this play by the royal family, instead, he was ordered by the head of the Shi clan to protect Master Huan Shi from any potential dangers.


    The young man sighed and rubbed the sand out of his left eye. Master Huan Shi was the second eldest child of the head. Master Yazhu Shi, the eldest by three years, accomplished more than a normal wind magic practitioner by being the reigning champion in hand-to-hand martial art competitions as well as dabbling in enchantments. Not to be outdone by his older brother who would be the next head, Master Huan Shi practiced two affinities: wind and water.


    While the man judged Huan as part of the spoiled sort, he did have the talent to reach intermediate levels of both water and wind magic. And by being a water magic practitioner, it justified Huan¡¯s reason to be chosen for this mission. The man sighed. Huan only relented to participate not only to best his brother but for the rare Celestial coins given by the royal family for partaking in royal missions. These coins were worth thousands of credits (if someone were stupid enough to sell them for normal currency.) The real worth of Celestian coins was to trade them in for valuables inside the royal treasury. And Celestia had two royal treasuries. One in the north, which was guarded by the northern royal family. And one in the deep south, guarded by the southern royal family.


    At least that''s what the man heard from rumors. And everyone dreamt of getting a glimpse of at least one vault! Stored inside were relics of the past and mysteries too dangerous for a simple adventurer to handle.


    But the man also heard that his head clan member achieved a total of fifty Celestial coins in the past and made off with a treasured sword, which made the vaults sound less mysterious than before.


    As for why he, a lowly branch member, could come along and get paid with Celestial coins was because he achieved outstanding accomplishments in the yearly Shi clan festival. In the main hunting sport event, he helped the head, track a rare Thunder Stag in the southern forests. While body-guarding beat butchering animals and cooking them for the clan, Wang Shi felt awfully nervous near the vicinity of the Cursed Spring. As much as he boasted to the other branch members about his prowess, he only accomplished two offensive C-ranked skills, Wind Needles and Wind Blade. From what he heard, the adventurer had several rank-A spells under his belt as well as magic tools. If he ran into the water maiden, he didn''t know if he could even run away properly. Not that the chance of confronting the maiden was high due to their party¡¯s nature, he still worried.


    The investigation team of ten(not including himself and other servants and familiars) consisted of strong and well-known members. The two leaders from the north and south respectively were Silvina Wheatley, a Fire-sword expert (and rumored beau of the second prince/captain of the royal guard, Prince Balto) and Jaime Graham a rare Light Enchanter.


    The other four representatives of the north were: Aulo Horn, a Metal-Spear expert, Dula Aapa, a member of the Alchemy Association, Vick Sparks, a member of the Adventurer Guild who brought the Cursed Springs situation to the royal families¡¯ attention(and possible friend of the lost adventurer), and Huan Shi.


    Salene Peyton, a well-known diplomat as well as a Water-Dual Blade expert, Arelli Ulu, a talented member of the Ulu clan known for their water experts, Henry Gullivan, an elite member of the Gullivan House, and Rhea Smyth, the only dwarf and blacksmith in their team, represented the southern faction. Arelli and Henry, both from famous groups were outstanding in their own right but likely held expensive treasured objects to bolster their survival. This is what the man suspected since he knew Huan Shi was given something similar by the elders in their clan.


    Five from the north and five from the south. A balanced party sent to discover the cause of death behind the missing travelers and find the whereabouts of the missing adventurer; a rank B mission. Moreover, all these talented people were younger than him by a good two decades. The youngest official member was Huan Shi, at seventeen years of age.


    In his forties already, the man felt the world rush by him, yet at the same time, it still presented challenges to him. He grabbed the hilt of his sword to calm himself. The metal warmed to his touch and the heart palpations lessened. His poor father, who had some connections with the dwarven blacksmiths in the city, gifted him this sword before he left. And his wife, Yaling, the only beauty in his heart, pulled together his desert garb, which protected him from the scorching sun and sandy wind of the Eastern deserts. He had yet to use the sharp sword on a monster, but he liked the way it cleanly sliced through desert cattle.


    As he peered into the spring¡¯s depths, lost in thought, a strong force of the wind pushed him in from behind.


    Plunging into the murkiness headfirst, he twisted his body around to see who had pushed him into the unforgiving waters; only to see that it was the person he was tasked to protect, Master Huan Shi, who wore a very devious smile.


    His eyes squeezed shut as the milky-green freshwater drilled into his ears, nose, and mouth. Struggling to resurface, Wang Shi kicked the water hard in the direction he thought was up when something yanked his foot.


    <hr>


    Lark saw his caretaker¡¯s hand twitch first. Then the eyelids fluttered intermittently as if he received electroshocks.


    Worried, Lark clasped a hand over Wangshi''s chest.Is it a heart attack?


    ¡°I believe he¡¯s unlocking his memories,¡± Sphinx said inside his head. ¡°Give it some time, his body is reacting to the magic in the potion.¡±


    Frowning, Lark steadied Wangshi¡¯s hand with his own and then he saw the magic seal that Tim left on Wangshi¡¯s forehead surface.


    ¡°Scan!¡±


    ¡°Item: Rank D Magic Seal (uncommon)(enchantment)


    Caster: Tim Wiles, high ranking member of the order: Wishes of the People.


    The original enchantment sealed with a rank D magic sword was meant to provoke the meridians related to memory and provide misguided instructions to further corrupt Wangshi¡¯s amnesia and produce fatal injuries. Upon death, the rank D sword would materialize next to the body, hiding any trace of body tampering and give an illusion of suicide.


    Now that the seal has surfaced you have options on how to take care of it:


    A) Order Gushi to absorb the seal. (Learn a debuff skill but lose the sword.)


    B) Wait for Wangshi to overcome the seal¡¯s enchantment (takes 3 days).


    C) Unlock the seal by entering Wangshi¡¯s Mind Space (dangerous but rewarding).¡±


    While option A had fewer risks, Lark didn''t want Wangshi to lose his precious sword. And he couldn''t wait three days since the auction was happening tomorrow. Which came down to option C, the one that was giving him the most headache!


    Lark asked Sphinx what he meant by ¡®Dangerous but rewarding.¡¯


    ¡°The Mind Space is the harbor to a person¡¯s mental facilities just like the place where you and I could meet or what you referred to as the white expanse. Its dimensions and capabilities are easily changeable according to one¡¯s current mood or state of mind so to speak. So, if we were to enter another person¡¯s Mind Space, we could be seen as a threat and be exposed to Mind attacks. But that''s if we are seen.¡±


    ¡°What would we be looking for in Wangshi¡¯s¡­Mind Space?¡±


    ¡°Since he¡¯s experiencing the past first-hand, we¡¯ll be looking at glimpses of his memories. And in order to unseal the enchantment, we either need to wait for your caretaker to recover all his memories or we speed it up for him. To do that, we need to look for the sword used to anchor the enchant in the first place. Find the sword, we free your caretaker. Don''t find the sword, and we can cause irreparable harm to his mind.¡±


    Lark¡¯s heart sped up when he heard a gurgling groan. Wangshi¡¯s face paled and Lark asked in a hurry, ¡°What''s happening to him?¡±


    ¡°Nothing serious, just reliving the past,¡± Sphinx replied, disinterestedly. ¡°You want to hear the benefits?¡±


    Lark fiercely nodded and listened closely to Sphinx¡¯s instructions.


    An individual¡¯s mental powers are interlinked with intelligence and spiritual capacity. Highly sensitive people tended to have a higher talent for mind skills according to Sphinx. Their awareness of themselves and others¡¯ emotions also impacted their abilities and skill set. For instance, if a user could interpret a person¡¯s fears and anxiety, that user could exploit that person''s weaknesses and crumble their mind and spirit, allowing them to control that person¡¯s body in some way such as the magic seal on Wangshi. The only way to defend against a mind or spiritual attack is by having a more capable Mind Space or with a spiritual treasure that protects the wearer.


    As for exploring Wangshi¡¯s Mind Space, all he had to do was touch the magic seal this time and Sphinx would handle the channeling. There were other ways of gaining access, but Sphinx believed they would give them a lower chance of success for obvious reasons. Lark could agree. He didn''t have the best of stats or experience in this kind of affair.


    After entering the Mind Space, Lark could learn about the state of affairs in Celestia, scan both items and monsters, find out about his caretaker¡¯s past, and most importantly¡­ discover the location of not just one hidden dungeon, but two and a world transfer gate.


    Lark gulped. Somewhere in Wangshi''s memories contained a clue that would lead them to another world. Before touching the seal, Sphinx advised Lark to wear Gushi over his head like a bike helmet. Incredulous, Lark asked why and Sphinx responded plainly, ¡°Safety first."

 18 - Mind Space

    Because their relationship was based on a Q&A session, before Lark could even question what Sphinx meant by safety, Sphinx already told him to think about it first.


    Looking over to Gushi, who was practicing a defensive stance on the coffee table, Lark whistled him over. While patting his light-blond hair, he said, ¡°My stylish slime come over here.¡±


    Remembering the first time Gushi played with his hair, Lark laughed as the slime bounded jubilantly onto the top of his head. He wondered what kind of hairstyle the slime would finish by the time he and Sphinx were done. Not forgetting why his slime was sitting on his head in the first place, Lark hummed thoughtfully as he perused through Gushi¡¯s dossier on the SIM app.


    The only reasonable explanation for Sphinx¡¯s insistence on ¡®wearing¡¯ Gushi was due to the Patching skill. If Gushi activated the Patching skill throughout his time in the Mind Space, then he would be impervious to spiritual and mind attacks. And it''s not like he would be able to use Gushi¡¯s other skills whilst in someone else¡¯s Mind Space. Could he?


    ¡°Ding-ding!¡±


    He winced at Sphinx¡¯s overjoyed voice.


    ¡°So you can think,¡± Sphinx teased and all Lark could do was look at his watch in confusion. The word, impossible, may not have been the right word he was looking for given the existence of magic, but magic wasn''t supposed to be this one-size fits all kind of explanation. For now, he had to rely on the magical voice in his head to explain it to him.


    ¡°You¡¯re on the right idea that Gushi¡¯s Patching skill can provide you with realistic and outside protection. I''ll give you that. But here''s where your brain stopped working¡­¡± Without stopping to make fun of Lark¡¯s soured face, Sphinx kept chattering. ¡°When we enter the Mind Space what do you visualize yourself wearing?¡±


    Lark opened his mouth for a few seconds before closing it. When he entered his own Mind Space, he was wearing the clothes he wore right now: a simple T-shirt and pleated pants. He also had the watch and spatial ring on. Humming thoughtfully, he answered,¡°What I wear matters before going into a Mind Space because I can use them in that space.¡±


    ¡°Let me fix that sentence for you,¡± Sphinx said delicately. ¡°It''s what you own that can go into the Mind Space. The watch and ring are seen as a part of you due to the magic in them. Gushi wouldn''t be able to enter the Mind Space separately unless the slime is hiding a Mind technique, in which case the slime¡¯s intelligence would be insanely higher than anyone in this room. But not to stray off topic¡­ only one ¡®entity¡¯ can travel inside the Mind Space. You. And what is recognized as a part of you, can go with. Before you can say that Gushi is a part of you like some weird metaphor I can''t understand, he isn¡¯t entirely yours until you perform a binding agreement with him. This can happen in various ways, but the easiest would be to get a Pet Contract. But since we don''t know anyone with Contract Magic, we can get away with wearing Gushi and have the magic channeling acknowledge you and him as one entity.¡±


    Lark reflected on what Sphinx said, and recalled that the ¡®scan¡¯ with Gushi and Wangshi was recognized as one item. Then he asked about weapons. ¡°If I wanted to bring other forms of protection with me, what could I bring?¡±


    ¡°Since this is a stealth mission, I wouldn¡¯t recommend bringing anything to load you down.¡± He could hear a soft tinge of annoyance underneath Sphinx¡¯s advice. ¡°¡­But here¡¯s the deal, if you bring in something that is potentially dangerous like a weapon or poison, there¡¯s a higher chance of being discovered due to the Mind Space¡¯s acuteness to danger. It¡¯s hard to explain, but there¡¯s an extra function or invisible membrane that tries to protect the Mind Space homeostasis.¡±


    In another effort to lessen the confusion spreading on Lark¡¯s hard-pressed face, Sphinx continued. ¡°Change is difficult to process. And the Mind Space likes stability. Anything that threatens the equilibrium needs to be assessed, hence there¡¯s an undeveloped mind defense that can at least alert the person of any changes in their mental state, forcing the Mind State to either adapt or attack. Currently, Wangshi is restoring memories, in other words, adapting to the magic his Mind State openly acknowledged and accepted. During this period of recovery, his mind is in a vulnerable, but stable state.¡±


    Stable vulnerability? Lark clicked his tongue. Not only concerned with his caretaker¡¯s health, he worried about what would happen to his own state of mind if he ran into some unforeseen trouble.


    Familiar with role-playing games, Lark was unprepared to roll the die. Dungeons lured adventurers with shiny shit and other shit that could kill you like monsters and traps with the gambling promises of more shiny shit. But never mind the dungeon dwellers. Lark looked at Wangshi¡¯s pale face. He was more wary of the people surrounding his beloved caretaker; basing his belief on that Wangshi was found in the Sierra Desert with bloodied clothes and bandages, clearly, Wangshi did not travel through the world gate willingly.


    ¡°Are you ready to risk taking a dangerous, but rewarding path?¡± Sphinx ventured, and the Trinity Watch transformed. Taking on its sundial appearance, the watch materialized roman numerals and etched them atop the brass baseplate. A copper gnomon cast a shadow onto the chapter ring. As the sun passes over the sky, the thin rod would shadow over the numerals throughout the course of the day. A solar-powered watch was not as convenient as a digital one, so while Lark was not used to using this mode, there was a distinctive change from the previous times he showed it off in front of Mishka and Sky. Instead of the compass rose hidden under the magnifying glass in the center, Lark saw the pyramid glow in silver light and watched it illuminate the numerals on the outer ring.


    ¡°That¡¯s new,¡± Lark remarked. Unperturbed by the design changes in his watch, Lark stared blankly at the silver pyramid.


    ¡°Well, I told you I would guide you like a needle on a compass¡­ You could act a bit more excited!¡± Sphinx said, dissatisfied with Lark¡¯s lack of shock, then added, ¡°While you¡¯re in the Mind Space, it¡¯s best if you and Gushi don¡¯t separate.¡±


    Sphinx¡¯s warning neither dismayed nor heartened Lark¡¯s concerns. In fact, he stiffened all over with only Gushi gelling around on his head.


    Raising his head after a brief moment of indecision, he reached towards Wangshi¡¯s face and said, ¡°It¡¯s now or never.¡± As his hand connected with the glowing square on Wangshi¡¯s forehead, he felt an immediate calm wash over him, pulling him into the deep chambers of sleepiness.


    If he could describe the experience as a color, it would be a mix of yellow and blue. Once his hand made contact with the seal, a tidal wave rushed towards him and from himself, sunlight burst forth, tangling the two energies together until they became one current. And once again, Lark heard the bell. Straightway like a call, it jolted him into the current.


    <hr>


    Monstrous vibrations decreased gradually as Lark found himself kneeling on a grassy clearing surrounded by trees and blue skies.


    Despite the greenery, the air tasted dry and arid as he sucked in a deep breath. Making sure Gushi was still glued to his head, he tapped the sides of the smooth, silver body. When Gushi squirmed, relief flushed through him. ¡°Glad I''m not alone here pal.¡±


    ¡°You still have me! We¡¯re about a kilometer out from where the events are taking place,¡± Sphinx quipped and the numerals on Lark¡¯s watch glowed. The ¡®X¡¯ letter on the sundial ring was in red. ¡°Go in that direction. Your caretaker is in danger.¡±


    Sprinting into action, Lark ran in between the dark green trees and shrubs, scanning them as he went. As the knowledge filtered through him, he learned that the trees and plants he was passing by were all over hundreds of years old. He was in a place known as the Ancient Jade Forest, where many areas were left untouched due to the rumors of haunts and curses. This rumor was largely perpetuated by the fact that while the forest was unaffected by the Astral apocalypse, no one could find any evidence of survivors seeking refuge here or any creature for that matter. Furthermore, all daring adventures who ventured inside ended up missing for days, until they came out using the same entrance, relatively unharmed and amnesiac.


    Suddenly, Lark¡¯s legs pumped faster¡­ what the hell was he doing in such as scary-ass forest?!


    Back in Fuego¡¯s class, he could finish a mile in less than six minutes. Calculating as he jumped over a fallen log, he should be out of here in about four minutes, hopefully.


    There were three kinds of trees in this forestry named: Maila Logs, Birdsong, and Kirkswood. As for shrubbery, there were over twenty species. Each one with a commonality for surviving on little water and lots of sun. And as the rumors went, no living souls were in these parts.


    ¡°Hang on, Gushi!¡± Lark mumbled as he dashed down a rill, a narrow channel that had flowing water.


    ¡°Follow the current,¡± Sphinx ordered. ¡°It¡¯ll lead us out of the forest quicker.¡±


    Complying with Sphinx¡¯s request, Lark traveled aside the stream. Scanning the water, it appeared to be connected to a larger body of water known as the Cursed Springs. With fists clenched, Lark¡¯s heart thundered furiously as he cursed this wretched Mind Space with scary settings. What the hell was Wangshi doing here?


    It took a few twists and turns, but finally, Lark exited the dense forest and appeared before a large flat area covered in gray sand when Sphinx warned him not be seen by Wangshi¡¯s comrades. In a timely fashion, he ducked behind a rock formation as a group of people and a really big looking dog carried a man out of the water.


    ¡°Quick use Perception!¡± Sphinx said.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t explained how I can use Gushi¡¯s skills,¡± Lark complained in a low voice as he peeked at the group. There were women, men, and animals berating a boy that looked almost the same age as himself.


    ¡°Tell the slime to do it already! The effects don¡¯t have to be explained!¡± Sphinx scolded.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Lark mumbled and asked Gushi to use his skill. Forming an antenna, Gushi¡¯s silver bubble bobbed up and down in Lark¡¯s field of view. Different from the scan skill, Gushi¡¯s Perception didn¡¯t feed information straight to his brain, instead, Lark just felt its powers. Everything from his sense of smell, hearing, and sight heightened. If a blade of grass twitched from the wind, he could feel it whistle through his ears, feel the dancing motion with his eyes, feel the scent of the dry wind carry flames to his nostrils. Whilst estimating its distance to himself, he could also tell of the object¡¯s nature. For instance, the Birdsong trees behind him contained spiritual properties and he could also tell that the wind stopped short in front of the ancient forest as if there was an invisible barrier it couldn¡¯t push through. But rather than going around the barrier, the flow of the wind disappeared. Just like that. Poof.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Shivering from this newfound knowledge, Lark shifted his focus to use the skill on the crowd. There were fourteen living beings in front of him, all with neutral dispositions. He could hear what the older woman with flame-red hair and a broadsword on her back was saying to the boy with silken green robes.


    There was a guilty, and apologetic look on his face, while the woman¡¯s face knitted together like an angry kitten. ¡°What were you thinking, pushing your uncle into the Cursed Springs?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding,¡± the boy said, as he fanned himself with a vibrant paper fan and stepped away from the growling, seven-foot tall dog next to her. ¡°I was practicing some wind magic and didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be so unguarded.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± the man laying on the floor croaked as he coughed up water. Another man with hair as white as snow bent over him, whispering in a language Lark couldn''t understand. White glowing hands passed over his chest, and his pale, blue lips turned pinker in every passing moment. ¡°It was just a prank, I remember being mischievous in his age.¡±


    Lark¡¯s eyes widened at the soaked man. He looked exactly like Wangshi! With the goatee and tied-back black hair and everything! A slight difference, however, was Wangshi¡¯s left eye; the glass prosthetic wasn¡¯t there, and this man¡¯s eyes were a deep shade of brilliant green. At his hip, Lark saw the object he and Sphinx were looking for. The sword!


    ¡°Item: Jian (magic weapon) (uncommon)


    +15 STR, +25 DEX, +20 MG


    +2% Bleeding effect, +1% Critical damage, +Bonus Wind damage, +Flying ability


    Durability: 79/80


    Belongs to Wang Shi of the Shi clan by contract.


    Graded as a rank D weapon, this double-edged straight sword was created with wind-specialists in mind. Its light weight allows the wearer to handle both flexible and explosive sweeps.


    Attached to the open pommel is an enchanted embroidered tassel. Carved into the hilt is a green power crystal with one Celestial rune that strengthens wind-techniques.


    The dark scabbard is dressed with inlaid cloud stones and an artistic rendition of the mighty Quilin lays in the center. The lines of the creature¡¯s mane are painted in red, while its hoofed feet and scaly body is textured in pure white.


    The blade has been tempered and layered over a hundred times. Its sharpness and elegance comes from the fine hammering techniques by the blacksmith and engraved onto the blade are Celestial magic symbols that allow the user to fly whilst in use.


    Craft material: Green power crystals, silver ore, iron ore, crimson dye, pure white dye, and cloud stones.


    70cm. 1.2 lb.


    Created by Gaijan Poes(Blacksmith) and Aisha Sicility(Rune Artisan, Jeweler, Contract Mage)


    Paid by Ba¡¯in Shi with 25,000 credits.¡±


    ¡°Item: Love Tassel (accessory) (enchanted) (uncommon)


    A red tassel patterned with a symbolic infinity loop. Made with a woman¡¯s feelings of love. Protects the wearer against dark magic and evil intentions.


    Craft material: Ice silk


    Created by Yaling Shi¡±


    Wang Shi? Ba¡¯in Shi? Yaling Shi? Lark wanted to bury himself in a hole. Wangshi wasn''t a singular name it was a first and last name! Ahhh! How could he have gone on for so long with this misunderstanding? He pouted. Wangshi probably thought it was cute that his five-year-old self didn''t know any better.


    But who were Ba¡¯in and Yaling? Were they his family members? According to the item descriptions, they were the ones who gave Wangshi all his garb and weapons. Even Yaling¡¯s gift, the Love Tassel, was not so simple. Assuming a woman¡¯s feeling of love was one of the romantic kinds¡­ then wouldn¡¯t Wangshi¡¯s life turn out tragic as he had not seen the woman who loved him for over ten years?


    Huffing, the flaming female swordsman did not give up condemning the boy. ¡°Need I remind you, we are not here to fool around? Your prank puts us in a difficult position when we need to dedicate our resources to finding our missing adventurer rather than fighting tentacled beasts! Arelli, why don¡¯t you say something? You¡¯re the one who had to rescue his helper!¡± She snapped and the blue-haired man she called out, shrugged in response.


    ¡°Cheh!¡± Slapping the fan into his palm shut, the boy snorted. ¡°We¡¯ve been here five days without leads, at least now we have a clue due to my actions.¡±


    ¡°Which is what exactly?¡± The swordsman folded her arms across her shiny breastplate.


    Fishing from his sleeves, the boy pulled out a blue-coated weapon with a golden handle. At this, all the disinterested members of the party suddenly perked up.


    A man in the group with spiky green hair, exclaimed, ¡°Where did you get that?¡±


    ¡°It was embedded in the rocks where we pulled out Uncle Wang,¡± the boy answered.


    ¡°Item: Jitte (weapon) (spirit) (rare)


    +15 STR, +15 DEX, +50 MG, +150 SPT


    +15% Magic Defense, +25% Spirit Defense, +10% Poison


    Durability: 49/50


    Graded as a rank B weapon, this jitte came in a set of two. This weapon is suitable for battling monsters with a high spiritual base.


    The range of the baton is 18 inches, but its short, blunt-edged appearance is meant to be deceiving. Hidden inside the steel baton is a second, pointed blade dipped in venom meant to paralyze the victims.


    One-pronged tine, about 5 cm long stretches just above the hilt. Its function is meant to hook onto things. As for what things¡­you can leave it up to your imagination.


    The hilt is made of gold, mostly as a display of wealth, but it is often said that the spirits are most fond of shiny objects.


    1.8lbs.


    Craft materials: Gold ores, soulsteel, spiritual essence, and blue power crystals.


    Crafted by Grandpa Willowham.


    Gifted to Vick Sparks.¡±


    While Lark¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out at the given stat points, the man with the green hair had the same look. His expression was one mixed with apprehension and sadness. Taking the Jitte away from the boy, the man grasped it with his own hand and took out its twin from his pack. As mana enveloped the two weapons in a blue hue, tears poured out of the man¡¯s eyes. Squatting, the man scrunched his face together as if twisting in pain.


    ¡°Vick, what¡¯s the matter-an? another feminine voice asked. A heavy-set armored girl, carrying a battle-ax, rubbed his shoulder. She didn''t need to bend down like the rest because Vick was squatting right at her eye-level.


    Lark bit his lip from trembling; he was looking at an actual female dwarf! And her armor alone could smash him with its weight; never mind the double-edged ax and steel shield she carried on her back. He wouldn¡¯t want to be the one on the opposite side of her.


    ¡°I lent this Jitte to Maddox before he came here because he wanted a spirit weapon just in case. But if he doesn''t have this on him¡­I fear the worse has become of him.¡±


    Another boy with brown hair and a tanned face whispered to the man holding the spear, ¡°Aulo, brother, does this mean the first part of the mission is done?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps so, but we still need to find the root cause,¡± the man, who was lightly dressed in only pants answered. Every part of his face to his torso was covered in silver tattoos.


    The boy with a similar angled face and a singular tattoo on his shoulder frowned. Worry evident in his deep-set eyes, he spoke while gripping his brass knuckles, ¡°Aulo, a rank A adventurer is likely to be dead, what makes you so fearless?¡±


    ¡°Don''t be afraid Brother Quichu. I''ll get whatever is killing these innocent people and I know everyone here will have our backs.¡± The man referred to as Aulo spoke with a grim understanding and his arms tightly flexed. Lark gaped. This Aulo dude looked like a bull without horns and bigger than any football player he''d ever seen.


    ¡°Brother Quichu, these tattoos on my body all tell our clan¡¯s stories of overcoming trials. After this mission, you¡¯ll get this one.¡± He slapped the giant sun tattoo on the side of his abdomen and beamed. ¡°A trial against fire. To live and to fight amongst these burning plains, you show aptitude and grace towards the fire spirits. Although this mission may not end with the best outcome, we¡¯ll do what is right by the adventurer and avenge his honor!¡± He spoke fervently, with his gray eyes alight with passion, and it appeared the rest of the group heard him as they all closed their eyes in a moment of silence.


    Vick, standing up now, moved over to hug the boy in green robes. Despite making a sour face, the boy allowed Vick to communicate his gratefulness with a one-second hug, and then Vick held the boy¡¯s shoulder in a serious manner.


    ¡°Thank you for retrieving this precious item. You''re right. It does give our group a new lead that my friend, Maddox, may be dead¡­¡± Vick paused and his head shook violently.


    ¡°Vick! What are you doing?¡± The boy struggled as Vick¡¯s fingernails dug into his shoulder blades. ¡°Argh!¡±


    ¡°Young master, get away from him!¡± Wangshi shouted, flinging the red tassel at Vick¡¯s thigh. The green-haired man screamed in pain as the impact burned the spot on his leg.


    ¡°Lark, quick! Scan everyone!¡±


    Without hesitation, fourteen black boxes appeared in front of his hand. But one box had an annotated red exclamation mark at the top next to the name Vick Sparks.


    What the¡­ what''s a Cursed Abomination?


    The man who was fixing Wangshi, quickly swiped his palm at Vick, whose face was contorted into a hideous ghoulish figure. The bright flash of light hit him squarely in the chest and blew him over twenty meters in Lark¡¯s direction.


    What¡ªshit! Lark headed back into the rill and climbed up to get away from the fight. Grimacing that he was back inside the Ancient Jade Forest, Lark crawled on the ground behind elderberry bushes and peeked through the leaves.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening to Vick-an?¡± the dwarven girl named Rhea Smyth shouted as she brandished her battle-ax.


    The dual-water blade user, Salene Peyton, answered, ¡°He¡¯s been cursed!¡± She examined Huan Shi¡¯s arms and was relieved to see that his shoulders were only bruised and nothing looked necrotic or broken. She quickly deployed a water-based healing spell, while the red-haired swordsman bellowed orders to the surrounding members. The boy named Huan Shi shooed away Salene with his long sleeve and said that he could heal himself. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like a kid! Just go!¡±


    ¡°Arelli stay behind and protect the injured. Henry with me! Everyone else form a circle around him - Don¡¯t let him escape! Jaime, buff and barrier!¡± Silvina leapt on top of her Ice Wolf and charged towards the wailing Vick while a dark-blond haired man trailed behind her on his Griffin. Their entire group sparkled like diamonds in Lark¡¯s vision, literally, due to Jaime¡¯s light barrier and buffs.


    ¡°Lark, focus on that man¡¯s spellbook!¡±


    He had already noticed the grimoire in Henry¡¯s hands even before Sphinx said so. Henry recited a magic spell that unbuckled the leather bindings and floated the book in front of himself. The leather bounded book was a lot smaller than the dictionary Sky borrowed from the library. Lark could feel the crisp papers rustle in the wind and magic power flowing out of the runes.


    ¡°Item: Earth Grimoire (spellbook) (rare)


    +25 DEX, +100 MG, +50 SPT


    +25% Magic Defense, +25% Magic Attack, +Bonus Earth damage, +Bonus stats if equipped with staff


    Durability 55/55


    Graded as a rank C magic book, this book contains twenty spells divided by (5)charms, (2)summoning, and (13)battle magic. All spells use earth as its base affinity.


    0.75lb.


    Craft materials: magic paper*, magic ink*, leather


    Crafted by XXXXX


    Belongs to the Gullivan family


    Lark licked his dry lips. This was the second time the scan skill had blurs. First with his genetic condition and now he couldn¡¯t identify the crafter of the spellbook, nor could he tell the specificities of the craft materials.


    Sphinx explained, ¡°The original crafter, didn¡¯t want the recipe to be leaked and used some sort of cloaking spell over it. Which I guess is fine, because I don¡¯t really care about how to make a grimoire. We¡¯re more interested in the spells, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    Lark¡¯s back shivered as he imagined Sphinx winking at him.


    Returning his focus to the battle on hand, he noticed that the person named Vick finished his transformation into a Cursed Abomination.


    Cursed Abomination (monster) (rare) (dark)


    Conditions: The person named Vick has been taken over by an abomination and has turned into a ghoulish creature! His consciousness is fading!


    Title: Cursed Human


    LVL: 1


    Happiness: N/A


    STR: 100


    DEX: 100


    INT: 10


    MG: 200


    SPT: 10


    LUK: N/A


    Vick was on all fours and his eyes turned blood-red. His clothing ripped apart as his body engorged with black fluid. His blue veins changed into a thick brownish red and his once full head of green hair stood out in black clumps. Now, over eight feet tall with spider-like limbs, the abomination roared with a cry that sent chills down Lark¡¯s spine and prompted the dwarven girl to freeze up. Sensing the girl¡¯s hesitation, the monster dove for her first. With an inhuman speed, the monster ran on all fours, mouth slobbering, and plummeted its long legs right into her robust steel shield. Sand sprayed into the air from the kickback, caking the view of the battlefield into gray grime...

 19 - Investigation Team

    Thinking the dwarven girl was done for, Lark balled his hand into a fist and slammed it into the ground, not minding the mud smearing onto his skin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let him escape!¡± Silvina shouted again as her mount rushed towards the abomination.


    Giiirl, who the fuck cares about Vick? Why aren¡¯t you checking on the dwarf? Lark seethed for a second. His jaw dropped open as he saw the dwarven girl standing her ground against the massive creature¡¯s assault. Unlike the other members of the party, Rhea could not gather mana. This was apparently common for many dwarves, but to make up for their lack of magical abilities, their innate strength was unparalleled.


    ¡°Sorry about this Vick-an!¡± Rhea yelled and slammed her heavy shield down onto the monster¡¯s naked foot.


    Yelping, the creature bounced backward once Rhea released her shield and she nicked its slender arm with her ax. Lark felt nausea swirl in his chest as he saw black fluid drip like sludge onto the sand. It reminded him of the first time he saw motor oil in a museum, crude and smelly.


    ¡°Henry! Now!¡± Silvina shouted and the person behind her had rocks circling around him.


    ¡°Mountain Capture!¡±


    Spiked stones erupted from the ground, throttling the creature until it formed a mini mountain range with abomination screaming in the center.


    Remembering the first time Mishka used Blaze, he compared their looks against the enemy in his head. Mishka was bright and fierce, but this guy looked like a provincial European marshmallow out of a history textbook. The grimoire mage had a prominent hooked nose and clothes that reminded Lark of the phrase: coat of arms.


    Long black boots, green breeches, white stockings, and an over-sized vest with too many golden buttons to count was the Gullivan House style with the crest of a white griffin on the lavish coat.


    Joffrey Gullivan, the previous owner of the spatial ring as well as a thief, had the same surname. Lark wondered if the Aapa clan knew of the thievery, but the alchemist in the group, Dula Aapa, didn¡¯t appear to have any rifts with Henry as he supported Arelli Ula as a medical backup.


    The sidelined members: Wangshi, Huan, Arelli, and Dula watched with trepidation as the flaming swordsman leapt off her mount.


    ¡°Flame Tunnel!¡± The leader took action and directed her broadsword at the abomination. Standing tall beside her, the Ice Wolf, named Jenna, shot icicles from her mouth. The icy ammunition pierced into the abomination¡¯s necrotic flesh. Ice frosted the ground under the monster¡¯s feet, paralyzing it for an extra second, giving enough time for Jenna¡¯s tamer to unleash her skill. Sparking from the ends of the broadsword, flames flew forth like a fiery serpent and wrapped around the abomination¡¯s rock cage.


    Although Lark was over fifty meters away from the battle, he could smell the burnt flesh carry over to his nose and his eyes watered. He watched in horror as the flames continued to feed on the monster¡¯s flesh and blood.


    Then the monster roared, dispersing the flames from its body with wild swings of its arms and legs. It crushed the spiked rocks to smithereens, pelting the burning debris towards Rhea and Quichu.


    Aulo stepped in front of his brother and the dwarf like a castle wall. Spinning his spear, it deflected all the jagged rock missiles.


    Lark had to wonder if it was Aulo who was incredible or the spear. He didn''t have enough time to decide as a dense metal material covered Aulo¡¯s entire body. The new Aulo looked shinier than aluminum foil and harder than marble. This skill was known as a body tempering skill, Metal Body!


    Quichu exclaimed looking at his brother from head to toe, ¡°You¡¯re able to use Metal Body to this extent, Brother! This is too incredible!¡±


    Rhea snorted. The air left her nose like a cute sneeze, and Aulo gave a strange metallic smile as he raced towards the abomination.


    ¡°Salene!¡± Silvina called out and the female combatants traded places.


    ¡°Got it!¡± The water from Salene¡¯s short swords extinguished the flames on the abomination¡¯s body. Unlike Silvina¡¯s overwhelming, frontal assault, Salene¡¯s attack style was more fluid and what Lark imagined to be like fencing. Quick on her feet and with graceful movements, Salene appeared to be engaged in a dance with the ugly creature.


    Her upper light blue armor had a steely bodice that protected and accentuated her elegant torso line. Lark imagined how much practice she must¡¯ve gone through in order to move so fluidly while wearing that. It was also the area with the most defense, whereas her steel boots and long white leggings did little to hinder her movements.


    While Salene had the monster distracted, Aulo suddenly pinned the monster to the massive rock wall Henry erected a moment ago.


    The giant Ice Wolf carried Silvina and Jaime closer to the abomination without getting in the way of Aulo and Salene where the two combat specialists were going toe to toe with the monster.


    Although Aulo¡¯s hardened body appeared overwhelmingly tough and solid, the abomination was able to kick Aulo a few meters into the air. Columns of sandstones rose from the ground, blocking the monster from chaining attacks. Henry was keeping complete control over the battle¡¯s pacing with his earth elemental magic stabilizing the flow and direction of the attacks.


    Meanwhile, Salene went after the monster¡¯s opening with a quick double slash towards its midsection aided with hydro-power. The water magic plowed against the creature¡¯s wrinkled body, causing its skin to flap haggardly. But it did little to hinder the creature¡¯s defense as it dove against the waterfall. The abomination¡¯s long fingers sliced through the current like a spear and rushed to Salene¡¯s outstretched sword. She parried the sudden attack and swerved to the left. Her feet moved lighter than air and she seemed to have the upper hand in speed until the abomination¡¯s face head-butted her right sword out of her grip. Surprise drew on her face. Her short sword, while not as grand as Silvina¡¯s crimson broadsword, was still coated in mana!


    With the sudden connection to her sword cut off, she winced as the normal steel blade snapped in half under the abomination¡¯s stomp. She had underestimated its strength and magic power!


    Biting her lip, she taunted. ¡°I still have one good sword. Come!¡± Waving the sword with one hand, she flicked off the creature¡¯s black blood onto the sand.


    A fierce feeling rose inside Lark¡¯s chest. Salene¡¯s azure hair loosened out from her ribboned braids, her face disheveled with mud, and her bangs wild and unfurled. Lark couldn''t help but cheer for her inside his heart.


    Taking the bait, the creature ignored the two men and rushed towards her.


    After aiming her sword towards the ground, she gave a cursory glance towards Henry and that was all they needed to end this farce.


    As the monster was about to seize her, Salene stabbed her one short sword into the ground and ducked under the monster¡¯s reach.


    Alarmed, Lark gripped the sides of his hair. Where the hell was she aiming?


    Salene stabilized herself a few feet away from the confused abomination; her hand was coated in blue mana as she directed her energies toward the steel sword in the ground. With an icy voice, she quickly bellowed, ¡°Water Fissure.¡±


    Lark could see both Huan Shi and Wang Shi look on with surprise at this skill. Wang Shi mumbled something along the lines of a rare rank B skill. Water Fissure was not a simple water-affinity magic skill, there were elements of earth in it.


    Deep cracks appeared in the hardened gray sand and Salene¡¯s sword splintered into dust. Crisp sand flew into the air from the sliding ground, and water gushed out, flying up like a geyser. The abomination¡¯s long limbs caught hold of the hot steamy water bath instead of Salene¡¯s head. Cracking a triumphant smile, Salene withdrew, switching places with Henry.


    This mysterious Water Fissure skill was not all the team had up their sleeves. The runes in Henry¡¯s opened grimoire glowed as he bellowed a string of phrases. His skill had been prepared as soon as Salene gave him that look. A magic circle appeared around the howling monster. Coupled with the bleeding cuts Salene made on its tough skin, blisters had formed on where the scathing water touched it. Giving one last strangling cry, it wanted to tear Henry and his griffin apart, only to suddenly fall down into a sand tomb. It sank deeper like quicksand into the pit Henry had structured out of Salene''s Water Fissure skill. Unable to climb or jump its way out, the monster roared non-stop and the area around the pit trembled unceasingly.


    As the two team leaders approached the trapped abomination, Silvina spoke in Jaime¡¯s ear. ¡°Is there anything we can do for Vick?¡± she asked the Light Enchanter.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I do not know Silvy. The best I can do is restrain him for now and liaise with Dula for potential cures,¡± he answered while observing the dark pit. Their bodies bumped into each other as the wolf zig-zagged around the rocky terrain. Henry effectively transformed the sandy plateau to his own rock-filled sandbox.


    Jaime¡¯s hand brushed against Silvina¡¯s studded pauldron made with the fur of her Ice Wolf and silver chain links. The white fur decorating the shoulder wings, separated in between his fingers like snow flurry. Letting go of her shoulder, he smiled as he climbed down the mount to settle the score with the abomination. Silvina¡¯s eyes seemed glued to the back of his head after he left her side.


    The two were whispering much too close for comfort. Thinking maybe he saw something he shouldn¡¯t have seen, Lark was reminded of a certain incident in middle school between him, Daisy, and Sky. A dark incident, in which he promptly wiped away from his mind.


    Jaime pulled out a wooden wand from inside his robes and drew runes in the air as if there was a piece of paper in front of him. Lark could make out five characters before Jaime¡¯s enchantment was finished. The Celestial runes glowed bright yellow as they encircled the pit and formed several sharp light spears in the air. Turning his back away, the yellow spears darted inside the darkened pit. Black blood spewed upwards along with blood-curdling cries, each becoming more human-like as they carried on. Then, Vick¡¯s voice pierced through the battlefield


    ¡°Someone¡­Maddox¡­it''s so dark¡­Argh! Rhea, please find me!¡±


    ¡°Vick-an!¡± Rhea, the dwarf shouted when Jaime stopped her.


    ¡°It¡¯s an abomination, it''s in their nature to trick us,¡± he told her. There was an ongoing struggle between Jaime¡¯s words and whatever Vick¡¯s friendship meant to her. Lark and everyone else could understand when she slammed her ax into the ground and buried her head in her hands. It was hard to ignore a friend in need, even if that person¡¯s appearances changed.


    ¡°We¡¯re all hurt by Vick¡¯s unwanted transformation, but if we want to find out how to possibly cure him, we need to discover what did it in the first place.¡±


    Rhea remained unmoved.


    Seeing that his words had no apparent effect on the dwarf, the white-haired man twirled his Light Wand around her. It was a little swish and flick, and Lark could only capture a tiny light, which lasted as long as a firefly hovering over a frog pond. Her complexion instantly brightened and the dwarf girl looked wildly at Jaime, whose mirthful golden eyes said everything.


    ¡°Light magic has its benefits.¡±


    The lines on Lark¡¯s forehead creased. What on earth was that bippity-boppity shit there?


    Throughout the battle, Gushi¡¯s antenna changed from black to white depending on who or what Lark focused on. Currently, the bubble was in a white hue as he looked at Jaime¡¯s pale face, oddly reminiscent of when he first met Sphinx. And like Sphinx, Jaime had an otherworldly presence; upon closer inspection, much of this heavy intimidation came from those piercing, golden eyes. Everything about this Light Enchanter was suspiciously too radiant, like a vampire in disguise.


    ¡°What? Can¡¯t stand competition?¡± Sphinx cooed. ¡°By the way, the sun and moon have this strange power to bring happiness to people. People cannot live without light.¡±


    Smug, Lark watched the group walk back towards the embankment where the sidelined members were. They all ignored the abomination¡¯s cries in Vick¡¯s voice.


    The battle persisted longer than he thought it would, but it wasn¡¯t the event that explained Wangshi¡¯s transfer to Earth. Lark examined Wangshi current condition and compared it to his father¡¯s account. The Wangshi they found was confused, wrapped in bloodied bandages, and speaking in a language unfamiliar to them¡­ Lark paused there. Was it that Wangshi of then was speaking in Celestian? If so, how was he able to understand the currently spoken language.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°It''s simple really.¡± Sphinx coughed. ¡°I''m the translator.¡±


    ¡°You understand Celestian?¡±


    ¡°I have a wide vocabulary. How did you think, I, a creation of Pantheon, could speak English?¡±


    ¡°Magic, I suppose¡­¡±


    ¡°Then magic it is,¡± Sphinx said with a laugh. ¡°Truly, you will have to learn the language on your own one day in the future. Or like I said before, scan a Celestian wordbook for starters.¡±


    Lark twisted his lips in the same aggrieved manner when he learned he had homework on the first day of class. ¡°Say, Sphinx, could you perhaps give me subtitles instead of translating over what they''re saying?¡±


    If he learned anything from taking one year of Spanish, it was that foreign films were easier to watch with subtitles(easier to understand that way too.) Plus, it was a great way to pass the time before the school holidays. Two weeks of winter vacation? Okay, let¡¯s watch a movie instead since no one was going to remember their verb conjugations.


    Lark could hear a sigh from Sphinx. He was like a house cat that wasn''t satisfied with its canned tuna. ¡°I said I understood English.¡±


    Lark blinked.


    ¡°They¡¯re speaking in English.¡±


    Lark blinked again.


    An exasperated sigh this time knocked the canned expression off his face. ¡°You''re telling me that the Celestians are speaking English, like plain English?¡±


    ¡°Oh no. It¡¯s not the kind of English you eat.¡±


    Lark¡¯s head didn''t exactly hurt, but Gushi somehow felt heavier than before. It was disorienting enough to not know anything about Celestian¡¯s magic system, but it was even more disorienting to learn he knew the language already! Why couldn¡¯t learning magic be this easy?


    ¡°So what did you mean by being a translator?¡±


    ¡°Well, it''s true that they''re speaking in English, but some of the spells they were using were not, and I went by the sorcerer¡¯s notes. So things like Jaime¡¯s magic or the spells in Henry¡¯s grimoire, I need more time and information to decipher.¡±


    So even Sphinx had a limitation on his knowledge base, Lark thought, but that still didn''t change the fact that Celestians spoke English rather than some fantasy language like Elvish.


    ¡°Not to be rude, Lark, but the Elvish language does exist. Remember the history of Jade City? Elven artifacts used to be sold here. Also, you''ve seen the dwarf speak with some sort of dwarven accent. There are a plethora of cultures in Celestia¡ª-¡±


    ¡°So that would mean the same thing for magic. They might be using different kinds of magic with their own languages. I saw Mishka do her summoning spell before.¡±


    ¡°I''m glad you''re starting to think about this. But it''s a yes and a no. First, there are no ¡®different kinds¡¯ of magic. Magic is what it sounds like¡­ doing the impossible, bending reality, or whatever. While the definition of magic may vary cross worlds, it¡¯s still a system defined by a consistent set of rules. That said, any race or culture could make their own modifications to interpret the components in the system. For instance, we know Terragon has magic that is ranked by rarity and arts and formulas. In Celestia, there are definite similarities with the ranking system, but we know there¡¯s a variation in using Celestian runes as a template for doing magic as well as affinities to different elements. Also, there''s elven magic which has its own secrets.¡±


    At the mention of Elven magic, Lark briefly rubbed his chest where the Flower of Life tattoo formed after sucking on the Elf Stem liquid. He still hadn¡¯t figured out what having the tattoo meant yet. But like any world, tattoos were often something of significance. Lark recalled that during the battle, Aulo¡¯s tattoos had merged with his metallic body. Perhaps they were also somehow being used as a template for magic. The two brothers, Aulo and Quichu for the moment were towering over the two Jitte weapons Vick dropped before he had transformed.


    ¡°But like any variants of a recipe; Terragon Magic, Celestian Magic, Elven magic, is all still magic. A fruitcake or a wedding cake is still a cake in the end.¡±


    ¡°Then what about a pie?¡±


    ¡°What about a pie?¡±


    ¡°You know! Ugh never mind! I''m confusing myself.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you''re asking me what I think you''re asking me¡­ if we had a pie instead of a cake, then you''re not doing magic anymore. Are we?¡± His voice low and ambiguous.


    Lark couldn¡¯t help but think that his choice of name, Sphinx, was so fitting. While a sphinx was a mythical creature with a head of a human and body of a lion, the image of a cat kept popping up in Lark¡¯s head when he pictured Sphinx. Perhaps, it was because of the sphinx¡¯s nature: intelligent, inquisitive, and beyond a doubt¡­annoyingly cattish.


    ¡°So you mean if it¡¯s not magic, it¡¯s something else?¡± Lark wondered. ¡°Like spiritual power and psionic energy?¡±


    ¡°Ding-ding!¡± Sphinx replied in a musical voice. ¡°Now, you¡¯re getting it.¡±


    Lark rubbed his eyes, somehow feeling tired. The abomination¡¯s howl shook him awake as he realized he was still hiding in the creepy forest. He went back to his place behind the rock when the two leaders held a meeting at the lake.


    Jaime¡¯s hand was shrouded in a yellow hue as he held one of the Jitte weapons. Huan Shi already clarified that it was the one from Vick¡¯s Item Bag and not the one he discovered in the water.


    ¡°This is the dark magic object that has a powerful curse over it, even now it''s still struggling against my light magic. Only a high ranked dark mage would be able to produce such a remarkable weapon. Maybe a tier 3 or 4 mage.¡±


    Silvina coughed.


    ¡°Tier 4?¡±


    Then she kicked his shin and took over the proceedings. ¡°Excuse his poor choice of words, but what Jaime means to say is that the object is very dangerous. We¡¯re unsure if this was given to Vick before he came here or if¡­ the culprit is here.¡±


    A strange sense of unease loomed over the group.


    Lark chewed his bottom lip. There was truth in what the leader was saying, but it wasn''t everything because he recognized that hidden discomfort in her voice and eyes. It''s what he did to his friends before everything happened, telling half-truths.


    If he had to make a guess about what she was worried about, it would be about having a possible traitor in their midst!


    He scanned the weapon in Jaime¡¯s hand.


    Item: Cursed Jitte (dark) (enchantment)


    Durability 10/10


    The dark magic has turned the spiritual weapon made by Grandpa Willowham into a cursed object!


    Effects: Turns the wearer into an abomination under the enchanter¡¯s control.


    Enchanted by XXXXX


    Gifted to XXXXX.


    Well, that¡¯s helpful, Lark muttered uselessly. Like Henry¡¯s grimoire, he couldn¡¯t understand certain parts. There was not even an ingredient list on this information box.


    Though he was able to gather two hints from this item description. One, the crafter and gifted were two different people. Essentially, he had to be wary of more than one person in this group. The other clue was that the abomination was under the enchanter¡¯s control. How much control the enchanter had over Vick¡¯s cursed body was hard to gauge, seeing that part of Vick¡¯s consciousness was still there. A fading consciousness, but nonetheless, he wasn¡¯t completely won over by the enchanter.


    Lark recalled the abomination had called out for Maddox and Rhea to find him. So, for now, the dwarf and the missing adventurer were at the top of his list of possible suspects.


    ¡°Did you discover anything from their status screens that were off?¡± Sphinx asked.


    Lark frowned. He had forgotten about the investigation team¡¯s status screens due to the impending battle.


    ¡°This is why your intelligence is lower than a slime¡¯s.¡±


    Lark¡¯s frown could not grow any deeper. Ignoring Sphinx¡¯s sarcasm, he deferred to his Trinity Watch, forgetting it was no longer in a digital app mode, but sundial mode. Sphinx reminded him that all he needed to do was impose his will onto the watch to open up SIM. It was a magic/spiritual object after all. Suddenly, an image of Mishka popped up in Lark¡¯s head. She wore her fiery flower headband instead of cat ears and his heart ached temporarily as he remembered how she also told him the spatial ring should just act accordingly to his will. If all it took was willpower to do magic, why hadn¡¯t anyone done it sooner?


    ¡°There are several reasons. One being, Earth is void of organic mana. And two, people did not inherit the arts.¡± Sphinx answered casually. ¡°Also magical objects are not native to Earth¡¯s environment, they were brought to Earth through organizations like Wishes of the People and other magic merchants.¡±


    Sphinx¡¯s casual answer only opened another can of worms that Lark could not wait to ponder on as the group dispersed.


    Shit. He missed some parts.


    The group still waiting by the lake were Huan Shi, Wang Shi, Arelli, Aulo, and Quichu.


    Jaime and Dula were conversing in front of the pit, while the others appeared to be heading back to their campsite on the other side of the bluff.


    Okay, so they were keeping to the plan of maybe curing Vick and still looking for Maddox it seemed. Lark rolled his eyes. Being a spy was difficult. How could one person keep track of everything going on?


    Not knowing much about the alchemist, Lark decided to eavesdrop on Dula and Jaime¡¯s conversation first.


    Dula Aapa (human) (Alchemy Association) (Aapa Clan)


    Titles: Tier 3 Alchemist, Friend of the Merchant Guild, Royal Scholar


    Known affinities: Wind, Earth


    Age: 28


    Lvl 2


    Happiness: NA


    Conditions: Limp leg(birth condition)


    STR: 50


    DEX: 20 (+30)


    INT: 350


    MG: 500(+15)


    SPT: 200(+15)


    LUK: 10(+10)


    Skills


    Earth Magic - Golemancer


    Wind Magic - Wind Walker, Wind Shield


    Alchemy - Poison Arts, Potion Arts, Transmutation, Pill Concoction


    Contract Magic


    Magic Craft


    Metallurgy


    Warding


    After reading the status screen, a message popped up in a separate black box: ¡°If you want to learn more about a person 1) Increase their Happiness level towards you. 2) Add their friend code.¡±


    ¡°Friend code? What¡¯s that Sphinx?¡± Lark¡¯s brows dipped forward.


    ¡°It¡¯s part of the SIM experience! Adding friends via their unique mana signature or mana identification card, it was all the rage in Pantheon,¡± Sphinx spoke like an advertisement.


    Ignoring the friend code, for now, Lark learned the function behind the Happiness level he had been seeing on his and Gushi¡¯s status screens. Having a higher happiness score enabled him to attain more information about that person.


    Lark looked at the man¡¯s legs that were covered by thick black boots and a heavy white robe. The leg limp was unnoticeable as the man walked around the pit with Jaime, observing the abomination inside the pit. Each step looked even, but at around the tenth step, Lark saw an unnatural double-step, as if a rock had stubbed the left foot. This pattern repeated after several turns, and Lark had no doubt that the double-step was related to Dula¡¯s birth condition. The scan skill was simply incredible!


    ¡°The red-eyes and shrunken flesh are undead characteristics. I¡¯m afraid soul purification won¡¯t be much help here unless we can reverse death itself.¡± Dula remarked. As he spoke, a feather-quill pen copied down his words inside a journal.


    ¡°What if I used a light purification spell to reverse the dark magic effects?¡± Jaime countered.


    Dula shook his head. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t help much. It¡¯s already reacting badly to your light spears. I¡¯m afraid using more light magic will destroy Vick¡¯s body instead as a result.¡±


    ¡°Dula! Is that you? Please help me, I¡¯m begging you,¡± the abomination screamed.


    ¡°How unsightly. Is this a normal behavior pattern for an abomination, Jaime?¡± Dula asked, folding his hands behind his back. An embroidered golden scale flashed in the sunlight.


    Item: Hooded Golden Scale Robe (clothing) (magic) (uncommon)


    +15 MG, +15 SPT, +10 LUK, +15% Magic Defense, +15% Spirit Defense, +10% Heat resistance


    Durability: 25/25


    Only high ranking members of the Alchemy association can wear this special robe. It represents a respected status and reputation of the wearer. Will allow the wearer to gain access to special laboratories and discounts at ingredient shops.


    Craft material: Golden fleece and Fire-Salamander skin.


    Crafted by: Gigi Lodestone (tailor)


    Sold to the Alchemy Association for 5500 credits.


    Gifted to Dula Aapa.


    ¡°To be honest Dula, exorcism isn¡¯t an art I¡¯m highly adept in. I have less experience with this type of situation compared to others in the Sanctuary.¡± Jaime touched the locket hanging over his heart.


    Sanctuary? Lark wondered. What¡¯s that supposed to be something like a church?


    He pulled up Jaime¡¯s file, while also scanning the locket.


    Jaime Graham (human) (Southern Sanctuary member)


    Titles: Tier 3 Enchanter


    Known affinities: Light


    Age: 19


    Lvl 2


    Happiness: NA


    Conditions: none.


    STR: 80


    DEX: 80


    INT: 300


    MG: 300


    SPT: 400


    LUK: 100


    Skills


    Light Magic - Light Spears, Light Sword, Lightspeed, Light Barrier, Light Heal


    Purification


    Enchant


    Exorcism


    Warding


    Alchemy


    Sword Mastery


    Sniping Mastery


    Item: Jaime¡¯s Memento (accessory) (unique)


    A waxy golden locket holding nothing inside!


    <Added to Quest Item>


    And the previous option from before repeated itself.


    ¡°Wow, he has a lot of skills,¡± Lark mentioned as he closed out of the SIM app. The first skill he read about, Light Spears, must¡¯ve been the one he used to entrap the abomination. But these other skills seemed impressive as well. Lark swallowed air before resuming to spy. This Jaime guy was the most suspicious so far! Not just because he knew the most about abominations, but because he was an enchanter! For all Lark knew, Jaime could¡¯ve been acting like a good guy this entire time just to get away with it¡­ but to get away with what exactly?


    Dula flipped his gray textured hair out of his eyes, and said, ¡°But this is not an exorcist case, Vick¡¯s been taken over by dark magic. Not a maligned evil spirit.¡±


    Jaime pulled out his light wand and waved it around casually. At first, Lark almost laughed because he thought Jaime was berating Dula like a kid would, acting all self-important and haughty. But after the wand-twirling, a screen full of text and pictures encased by yellow glowing rods appeared. ¡°This is from the Great Library in the southern capital. It¡¯s the information about what I know of regarding abominations. Unfortunately, I¡¯m not all-knowing about these creatures except what is common knowledge in the Sanctuary since I only joined recently.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Dula peered into the screen and then touched it. Like how Lark could absorb information from his black boxes, the yellow screen seemed to go inside Dula¡¯s fingertips like a fish returning to the sea. ¡°Thanks for giving this information to me. I know how valuable texts are from the Great Library.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I just want us to have an option to save Vick. I wouldn¡¯t be so stingy with books,¡± Jaime answered. ¡°If you have anything you¡¯d like from the Southern Capital just ask.¡±


    ¡°My thanks to you.¡± The two shook hands. Dula then continued the conversation asking, ¡°What about your light enchants? Could they possibly reverse the ghoulish effects?¡±


    ¡°As you can see from the Light Spears, that¡¯s already been taking effect, by giving the abomination more human-like attributes. While I can also somehow tell Vick is still there, at the same time the dark magic still possesses him. I fear that using light enchants would fight against the curse in a brutal way. It¡¯s a last resort if we can¡¯t fix him using alchemic ways.¡± Jaime¡¯s rich, wine-colored robes fluttered from the sandy wind.


    Dula rubbed his gray-stubbled chin. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the light purification and soul purification method. At first, I thought your light spears were damaging Vick. While his cries seem more human. They just sound like womanly screams to me¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait¡ª you can¡¯t understand what he¡¯s saying?¡± Jaime asked.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s strange. Earlier he called out to Maddox and Rhea for help. I assumed she heard the same thing I did. And just now, he heard your voice, and asked you to help him.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The latest information seemed to stump Dula as he peered back into the pits.


    ¡°Vick? Can you hear me?¡± He shouted boisterously.


    ¡°Yes, is that you Dula? It¡¯s so dark. I don¡¯t like it!¡± the abomination screamed. Dula covered his ears.


    ¡°I guess he can understand me. But I can¡¯t seem to understand him,¡± Dula remarked, rubbing his chin again. ¡°What did he say this time?¡±


    ¡°He said ¡®yes¡¯ he could hear you. And he¡¯s been repeating that it¡¯s so dark where he is. Earlier he asked Rhea and Maddox to find him¡­¡± Jaime muttered. ¡°Perhaps, as I thought, he¡¯s trying to fight the curse¡¯s effects.¡±


    ¡°So why is it that you can understand him, and I am not able to?¡± Dula wondered. His quill pen writing more furiously than before.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ll go ask Rhea as well. For now, let¡¯s try the soul and light purification method after convening with the group.¡±


    Dula nodded. Before he and Jaime left though, Jaime shouted into the pit. ¡°Vick, we¡¯re going to come back and save you!¡±


    A loud roar emerged and the sand trembled more violently. A serpent-like voice arose from the pit. ¡°Jaime? Jaime? Jaime? Jaime¡­ I¡¯ll kill you first!¡± Hisses that sounded like tongues made of sandpaper whipped around the two men.


    Dula paled. ¡°I understood that,¡± he said, wiping his brow with the sleeve of his robe. ¡°Whoever cursed Vick, must be out for you.¡±


    Jaime frowned and replied, ¡°You¡¯re probably right. The dark enchanter must be nearby.¡± Waving his wand again, light-colored runes surrounded the pit and light shot up into the air, forming a cylindrical cage. ¡°For now, no one goes near him.¡±


    While watching the two men retreat to the bluff-side, Lark asked Sphinx, ¡°Why did Dula say he couldn¡¯t understand? Rhea and Jaime could.¡±


    Sphinx was quiet for a moment. For a second, Lark thought his question finally stumped the intelligent magical voice in his head, until he heard the unbelievable.


    ¡°It¡¯s likely you can understand the undead. What an interesting little human you are.¡±


    Lark¡¯s blood ran cold.

 20 - Underwater Dungeon

    If he could understand the abomination, then in a sense, he was smarter than the alchemist with over three hundred points of intelligence. This caused a feeling of achievement to gush inside him. Both terrified and happy of himself, Lark knelt his head against the rock and hugged his stomach.


    ¡°It¡¯s very interesting how someone like yourself with almost no magic or spiritual abilities can understand the undead. More or less, only those with high spiritual powers can usually communicate with the undead. I wonder if it¡¯s related to the Elf Stem properties. But it shouldn¡¯t be¡­ considering that communing with the undead is a spiritual trait and not a magic one,¡± Sphinx said, not too happy with Lark¡¯s self-assessment. ¡°I recommend hiding this ability when you figure out how to leave Earth.¡±


    While Lark nodded his head, his eyes were focused on the four conversing next to a dead monster. An eye-catching, gaping hole laid in the center of the creature¡¯s orange mantle.


    Okto (monster)(common)(water)


    Conditions: Killed by Arelli Ulu¡¯s Water Spear.


    <Added to monster tab!>


    Item: Okto corpse (monster drop)


    This corpse is like new! Can be used or sold as an ingredient for various activities. Once a long-living dweller of Jade Waters, this unfortunate octopus tried to eat a human, only to get killed instantly by a magic user¡¯s Water Spear right through its head.


    70lbs


    Found in Jade Waters


    Killed by Arelli Ulu


    Known uses: cooking


    Lark balked. This world ate monsters? He rubbed his chin and peeked at the giant octopus carried over Arelli¡¯s shoulders. Right now, although the Okto looked slimy and thoroughly dead like the first time he saw a dead squid on ice at a fish market, Wangshi could transform it into something delicious. His mouth watered, remembering the last time Wangshi fried calamari.


    Wang Shi (human) (Shi Clan)


    Titles: Shi Clan Cook, Survivalist


    Known Affinities: wind


    Age: 41


    Lvl 1


    Conditions: Recovering from drowning. Swallowed inked water. (Will take three hours to heal).


    STR: 50 (-10)


    DEX: 90 (-10)


    INT: 80


    MG: 90


    SPT: 90


    LUK: 40


    Skills


    Wind Magic - Wind Walker, Wind Needles, Wind Blade


    Cooking


    Farming


    Alchemy


    Tracking


    Sword Mastery


    Sniping Mastery


    Knife Mastery


    Lark had guessed right. This was Wang of ten years ago. A shiver spiked down his arms, raising up the light-blond hairs like pickets.


    Huan Shi (human) (Shi Clan)


    Titles: Celestia Academy Student with honors


    Known Affinities: wind, water


    Age: 17


    Lvl 1


    Conditions: None


    STR: 80


    DEX: 120(+30)


    INT: 200(+100)


    MG: 200


    SPT: 200


    LUK: 20


    Skills


    Water Magic - Healing Water


    Wind Magic - Typhoon, Typhoon, Wind Shield, Wind Arrows


    Cloud Steps*


    Sniping Mastery


    Magic Craft


    Enchant


    Lark clicked on the star next to Cloud Steps. An explanation appeared underneath the box. The movement skill was a combination skill of both Wind-Walker and Water Steps.


    He eyed the seventeen-year-old holding a paper fan. The same creature that was designed on Wangshi¡¯s sword showed over the folds.


    Huan Shi reminded Lark of Wei. The two had a likeness for competition and an attitude that forced others to keep their distance. They were also both honor students, so that could¡¯ve played a factor in how their noses seemed to stretch over their mouths.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not biased towards Wei because he¡¯s dating your ex-girlfriend?¡± Sphinx asked, taking Lark by surprise.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later.¡± Lark shot back.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you said to Sky remember?¡±


    Lark said nothing and pulled up Arelli¡¯s file from the SIM app. His eyes bulged from reading the list. It was by far the most written out of all the people scans so far.


    Arelli Ulu (human) (Ulu clan) (Mariners Guild)


    Titles: Celestia Academy Graduate, Diver, Friend of the Selkies, Friend of the Water Nymphs, Loved by water sprites, Enemy of the Vodianoi, Kraken Slayer


    Known affinities: water


    Age: 23


    Lvl 2*


    Conditions: Cursed by the Vodianoi (debuffs spirit and luck line). Suffers from joint pain, visual disturbances, and formication when near the Vodianoi and Vodianoi-crafted items. Blessed by the water sprites(buffs in magic and spirit.) Born with above average luck due to being a beloved godson of the Ulu clan guardian. Mute(birth condition.)


    STR: 150 (+100)


    DEX: 150 (+150)


    INT: 300


    MG: 200 (+500)


    SPT: 300 (+500) (-100)


    LUK: 300(-100)


    Skills


    Water Magic - Water Conduit, Water Spear, Water Cleaver


    Cloud Mining


    Cloud Fishing


    Cloud Shaping


    Perception


    Selkie Tears*


    Sprite Magic*


    Water Tyrant*


    Spear Mastery


    Warding


    Sculpting


    That Arelli was too damn impressive! The dark-skinned man with blue hair didn¡¯t seem too imposing with his thin frame and gaunt face, especially when standing next to the Horn brothers. But his titles and skills told another story.


    Magical creatures gifted Arelli the starred skills, and could only be activated under certain conditions. The Sprite Magic was able to rank up Arelli¡¯s level if he activated it, hence the changeable state in his level.


    Lark rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming. How long would it take him to have amazing abilities and stats like everyone here?


    Sphinx yawned.


    <hr>


    ¡°Young master Huan, you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± Wangshi asked.


    ¡°Are you sure you should be asking me that after you almost let yourself get eaten by an over-sized zhangyu?¡± The boy with green robes rudely replied, fanning himself with the paper fan he always carried around.


    Wangshi chuckled half-heartedly, tying his dried, black hair back into a ponytail. ¡°That''s right. If it weren''t for Arelli, I would''ve been in deep trouble with that damn octopus.¡±


    Huan ignored him and the stoic Arelli only nodded as if to say it wasn''t a big deal.


    Wangshi spoke to Aulo and Quichu. ¡°So you two are descendants of the Minotaur clan?¡±


    ¡°Cheh! We''ve been with them for almost a week and you haven''t figured that out yet?¡± Huan said.


    Aulo puffed his chest, strong and proud. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I know our clan name has fallen in the last few decades. But my brother and I will revive our clan¡¯s sacred magic.¡±


    ¡°So, I see. The Metal Body was very mighty looking.¡±


    ¡°That''s right, brother!¡± Quichu said. ¡°You''re the only one in our clan that has been able to use it not just on a specific limb, but all-over!¡±


    Aulo slapped Quichu¡¯s back. ¡°It''s not enough! Once I master another body tempering skill, I will be able to really demonstrate the Minotaur blood in our veins.¡±


    ¡°How admirable,¡± Wangshi rubbed his goatee. At this Lark smiled. Wangshi apparently always had that habit of stoking his facial stash when he was impressed.


    Arelli stood up and carried the lake monster¡¯s tentacled limbs over his squared shoulders. The slimy, bright orange tentacles had suction cups hanging over his bronze-tanned skin.


    ¡°What will you be making for us tonight Wang?¡± Quichu asked, his mouth slightly salivating.


    Wangshi inspected the giant orange octopus; it''s rubbery skin flaccid and dried out under the desert sun. ¡°Maybe, a seafood salad or stew? Flamed zhangyu is also not a bad choice.¡±


    ¡°Is that what you call octopus in your clan¡¯s language?¡± Quichu asked.


    Wangshi nodded kindly. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back to camp and eat! Oh, the other two already left.¡±


    Young master Huan and the silent Arelli were already halfway towards the bluff using movement spells. Lark recognized the green glow under Huan¡¯s feet as the wind movement spell, Wind Walker. Unlike Mishka¡¯s spell, however, it appeared that Huan did it chantless.


    ¡°Arelli¡¯s been like that since we¡¯ve met him,¡± Aulo remarked. ¡°Also, we will catch up with you later Wang, I wanted to give him some pointers before we go back to the group.¡±


    ¡°No problem. Take your time.¡± Wangshi waved, but before he trotted few steps away, Quichu clambered after him. ¡°Wait, I picked this up for you.¡±


    The love talisman was clutched in the boy¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Aiya!¡± Wangshi cried. ¡°That''s my wife¡¯s gift! Thank you for getting it back for me Quichu.¡±


    Quichu shyly scratched his cheek. ¡°I saw it burn the abomination and picked it up afterward. That must be some special gift.¡±


    Wangshi reattached the tassel to his sword. ¡°It is to me. She made it when my daughter was born. She made one for me, herself, our daughter, and our parents.¡±


    ¡°You have a very talented wife Wang, whatever enchantment she used on that talisman did more damage than what I and Salene could do to it.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± There was a mix of pride and surprise in his voice.


    ¡°None of our attacks made it scream with pain, except maybe Rhea¡¯s and Jaime¡¯s,¡± Aulo said respectfully.


    ¡°My Yaling is quite good, isn''t she? Wangshi rubbed his chin and then chuckled uncomfortably. ¡°I better go prepare the meal first, Huan can get moody if he doesn''t eat.¡±


    Aulo Horn (human*) (Minotaur Tribe)


    Titles: Celestia Academy Graduate, Heir to lost Minotaur Culture


    Known affinities: metal


    Age: 20


    Lvl 1


    Happiness: NA


    Conditions: Unawakened Minotaur blood (birth).


    STR: 150


    DEX: 80


    INT: 80


    MG: 150


    SPT: 100


    LUK: 30


    Skills


    Metal Magic - Magnetic Rod, Metal Horn, Metal Body, Metallic Darts


    Rage


    Bull Run


    Metallurgy


    Sculpting


    Magic Craft


    Knuckle Mastery


    Spear Mastery


    Quichu Horn (human*) (Minotaur Tribe)


    Titles: Celestia Academy Student, Part-timer at the Academy Cafe


    Known affinities: metal


    Age: 14


    Lvl 1


    Happiness: NA


    Conditions: Unawakened Minotaur blood (birth).


    STR: 80


    DEX: 50


    INT: 70


    MG: 70


    SPT: 120


    LUK: 30


    Skills


    Metal Magic - Metal Body, Magnetic Rod


    Bull Run


    Magic Craft


    Metallurgy


    Cooking


    Compared to Arelli, these two didn¡¯t have amazing titles and stats, but Lark noticed the asterisk by their racial category. As explained by their unawakened birth condition, the minotaur blood in their veins ran thick. If they could awaken their bloodline, they would unlock minotaur racial traits.


    When Wangshi was out of earshot, Quichu said to his older brother, ¡°Huan is only three years older than I, but he can already use a movement spell without chants.¡±


    ¡°Although he acts with arrogance, he has the mental fortitude to back his ego like his brother. You must learn from him in the Academy,¡± Aulo confirmed.


    ¡°From him?¡± Quichu¡¯s face soured and he crossed his arms together.


    ¡°I''ll admit he¡¯s good, but the Shi clan has another promising talent who is not your so-called rival. In fact, I¡¯m sure she will outgrow Huan and Yazhu in the next few years and I''ll bet you''d be surprised at who it is.¡± Quichu¡¯s gossip was not so subtle with its information passing.


    ¡°Who?¡± Aulo¡¯s large forehead protruded.


    ¡°It''s Wang¡¯s daughter!¡± Quichu laughed and smacked his brother¡¯s glistening forehead. ¡°Surprised, right? Yuuna''s only ten, but she¡¯s already acquired two affinities: wind and fire. And she¡¯s a natural born acrobatic warrior,¡± Quichu spoke as if they were his own accomplishments.


    ¡°An acrobatic warrior? That¡¯s uncommon,¡± Aulo remarked and faced the green water. Memories from his youthful years at the Celestia Academy seemed to flash through his grey eyes. ¡°Quichu, while I want you to grasp every opportunity you can from these famous clans since they all have something we can use to raise our own clan¡¯s reputation, I also want you to have a happy childhood.¡± He turned and placed both hands on Quichu¡¯s shoulders.


    Quichu looked away. His face was the same as when Huan shooed away Salene. ¡°I¡¯m only doing the part-time job at the cafe not just because we¡¯re poor, but because Yuuna likes sweets!¡±


    It was weird seeing the giant Aulo laugh. An itchy feeling warmed around his neck. He would¡¯ve had a different upbringing if he had an older brother like Aulo, Lark thought warmly until he remembered Sky and the twins. Cloud and Teddy must be feeling terrible about the loss of their older brother. Since he awoken at Friledaux Hospital, he hadn¡¯t contacted anyone and having Wangshi back was already a godsend. Before going to Soko¡¯s, he promised himself to visit the twins.


    ¡°What?¡± A light blush warmed through Quichu¡¯s olive skin and he stomped on the sand, kicking the grey particles over his strapped sandals.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Aulo laughed again. ¡°I wanted to show you the new technique I was working on!¡±


    Quichu¡¯s eyes sparkled the same way Cloud and Teddy¡¯s eyes did when they saw Lark coming over with Wangshi¡¯s treats.


    ¡°The skill is one our sacred clan skills. Rage!¡±Aulo balled his hand into a fist and Quichu¡¯s lips made a big ¡®O¡¯ shape as a red glow enveloped over the fist. The red energy had a misty appearance and the blue veins around his wrist turned black!Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Hey! He¡¯s not turning into another one of those cursed abominations, is he? Lark feared. But that mist¡­ He recalled this incident with the Redlines Airship. That zombie cultist had purple vapors wrapped around his hands as well.


    Thinking similarly to Lark, Quichu asked his brother worriedly, ¡°What¡¯s going on with your hand?¡±


    Aulo smiled in that strange manner, where one could tell he was lifting the corners of his lips, but it more or less stayed within a flat line. He turned to face the water and widened his stance, while bringing the red-coated fist to his side. His left hand, palm open, seemed to hold down the water with the pressure-exerting from his body. Pitching his right leg forward together with the red fist, a powerful force launched behind his elbow and extended through his fingertips. The red energy parted the water like a razor blade shaving through the middle of a man¡¯s hair, unrestrained and wild with power!


    Aulo¡¯s powerful strike extended over ten yards and Lark could see the bottom of the Cursed Springs. The bottom was not much different from the top. The gray sand was muddy instead of dry and there were building materials swept in from the ruins. Driftwood made from the Birdsong and Kirkswood trees were down there too. As the milky, green water began to recede, Aulo threw out another red-coated punch!


    The second attack breezed past ten yards and exploded across the water. Plumes of water rose in the air as the crackling energy from Rage tore through the Cursed Springs, destroying all the driftwood sitting on the bottom of the oasis.


    ¡°Amazing!¡± Quichu clapped at Aulo¡¯s demonstration as he saw the second punch continue to tear through the water. As Aulo released his stance, his attack reached the epicenter of the lake and stopped. It was as if time stopped when the crashing plumes of water faded to silence.


    Frantic looks of horror drew on Quichu¡¯s face as if he saw something unbelievable either coming out of the lake or something inside the lake. Lark hoped it was the latter. The epicenter of the lake was out of the range for Gushi¡¯s Perception skill, so he could only rely on Sphinx¡¯s better nature to warn him.


    ¡°Aulo has revealed the underwater dungeon.¡±


    Lark nearly fell down to his knees, his heart pounding fast. It¡¯s here, at last, the first dungeon!


    ¡°I think there are two options for you,¡± Sphinx said. ¡°One, we could travel through the woods, and go to the bluff where the group is meeting. Then sneak into the dungeon at night. Or two, go through the battlefield and sneak into the dungeon now after Aulo and Quichu leave. What do you plan to do?¡±


    He peered around the rock to see where he could hide to get a closer look at the dungeon. The rugged landscape was full of Henry¡¯s cone-shaped rocks jutting up from the ground, and the unmistakable twenty-feet in diameter hole encased by a cyclical light barrier. Yeah, he was in no way going near that Cursed Abomination.


    The brothers stood dumbstruck in front of the water until Aulo activated his Bull Run skill. His entire body was covered with both a metallic sheen and a red glow. Two curved horns protruded from where his ears used to be. Landing on his hands and feet, he tossed Quichu onto his back and carried him away towards the campsite. With Bull Run, Aulo ran at a speed that matched the Cursed Abomination.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll go to the campsite to see what they know about the underwater dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡ª¡±


    ¡°After I take a look first.¡± A triumphant smirk relayed on Lark¡¯s face, after momentarily stunning Sphinx.


    ¡°That''s not a bad idea,¡± Sphinx said and Lark could imagine him grinning as wide as the Cheshire Cat.


    <hr>


    Comparatively to all the elite members, it took some time for Lark to maneuver through the uneven terrain. As he brushed aside the mountainous rocks, he flinched as the pointy ends were as sharp as the edge of a serrated knife. While he was used to trampling on flat, grassy fields, he had a harder time creeping over the sand and rocks, which were not at all like the beautiful white sandy beaches he was used to. Though if he were tired enough, the Cursed Abomination¡¯s cage could pass as a strange halo. As he went around the light barrier, he could hear Vick talking to the strange serpent-like voice as himself.


    ¡°Why are you doing this? Please don''t make me kill anyone. Jaime is a friend. No, he''s not. Yes. No. Foolish. He''ll die first. Haha. Stop laughing you damn lizard. You¡¯ll do my bidding you stupid human until you die¡­¡±


    A bead of sweat rolled from his forehead down to his chin. It¡¯s too hot to listen to crazy talk, he thought. Aulo and Huan reached the camp in less than thirty seconds, but he was only halfway to the shoreline after two minutes of running and hiding. Once, he got some points in magic, he¡¯ll definitely invest in some type of transportation magic, Lark thought to himself tiredly.


    It took another few minutes of running before Lark reached the calm waters, which parted in the middle. The milky green waves separated into two distinct sides as if a comb paved over a watery midline. Seeing the bottom of the oasis bridge over to a large marble platform, which held up a doorway encrusted with green gems, Lark found it hard to believe something so ornate could have been submerged underwater for so long without anyone discovering it till now.


    A pop-up message appeared from his Trinity Watch: ¡°New Location added to SIM.¡±


    Lost Gemma Temple (Dungeon) (location)


    During the Astral apocalypse, a few hundred Celestian years ago, many of the residents fled to the temple that was once used as a place of worship. As it appears, the temple somehow sank into the Jade Waters, burying the souls who sought refuge deep into the murky abyss.


    Once known as the temple of the Goddess Gemma, lover of all shiny material goods and a symbol of wealth, the residents and merchants of days past brought luxurious offerings in hopes of attaining the Goddess¡¯s blessing that would bring them prosperity in their endeavors.


    Do you wish to discover the mystery behind the sinking of the Gemma Temple or loot all the valuable offerings for yourself?


    Warning!


    The Dungeon Master has awakened after a long slumber! Because someone has disturbed the tranquility of the dungeon portal, monsters will be more active.


    The big-eyed Lark gobbled up the sight of the ancient temple. Beyond the arched door, which was mysteriously clear of any rubble, a silvery mist swirled interspersed with signs of flitting gold and blue.


    ¡°Sphinx, do I need to enter the portal to use the scan skill?¡± Lark licked his dry lips, feeling a thirst to walk across the beach-sand pipe version of the red carpet and towards the clean-cut, stone platform before the gem-lined door frame.


    ¡°Well, if you want to experience the fullest capabilities of the location scan, you better hurry inside.¡± Even the usually refined Sphinx couldn¡¯t hold back the pleasure of greed in his voice.


    This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance; a lucky event! Lark took a step in between the columns of green water, whispering in his heart, ¡°I¡¯ll just a quick peek and then leave!¡± Without breaking his pace, he made it five feet across, when the columns of water began to recede back into a flat lake. It lapped up to his ankles and then all the way to his thighs as he quickly jogged backward, watching the portal disappear under the opaque water. Before he could even ask why an explosion in the distance whipped the wind behind his ears.


    Turning his head, he saw the bluff blow rising smoke towards the oasis and like before, the Ancient Forest remained untouched.


    He jetted through the field and made a beeline towards the closest forest trail. Wracked with worry for the adventurers, but mostly Wangshi, he hadn¡¯t realized the barrier around the pit lifted.


    <hr>


    Running uphill turfs was never Lark¡¯s favorite conditioning exercise because it felt like he was aggravating gravity and gravity always won. Someone like Huan, who could bypass the uphill trail with their movement skills, wouldn¡¯t be able to understand the agony Lark was going through.


    Although Sphinx mentioned one could not feel physical pain in the Mind Space, Lark still felt exhaustion and heat expel through his muscles. Never mind the fact he was back inside a creepy forest, he couldn¡¯t even get a nice breeze to cool him down. At least, Gushi who was still keeping him company felt like a cool ice pack on his head. Still using Gushi¡¯s perception skill, he could tell the adventurers were engaged in a heated confrontation, while he was still running in the forest. Wangshi¡¯s band of adventurers situated their campsite on the bluff, which oversaw the oasis and was somewhat near the Ancient Jade Forest. It was also the closest spot to the city¡¯s ruins, which laid east of the lake.


    At least he was close enough to tell that Wangshi was safe elsewhere in the camp with Rhea, Dula, and Arelli. The four were safeguarding their food storage and weapons locker.


    Aulo seemed to be knocked out with his brother caring for him, while Jaime and Silvina fought together against what looked like small, green-skinned creatures that were carrying all sorts of shoddy shields, spears, and crossbows near the entrance of the campsite.


    Goblins! Another well-known fantasy creature, Lark thought.


    As for Salene, Huan, and Henry, those three were at the opposite entrance, also fighting against a group of angry-looking goblins and a giant sandworm.


    Redcap Goblins (monster) (common) (cursed)


    Foul creatures sent by the dark enchanter to rid of the adventurers. Careful, these Redcap Goblins have a taste for human blood!


    Conditions: Frenzied! These creatures love the scent of raw meat, so much they go into a frenzy for it and may attack each other.


    Averaged stats


    STR: 20


    DEX: 30


    INT: 5


    MG: 20


    SPT: 10


    LUK: 5


    While those stat points were undeniably pitiful compared to all the elite members, their group numbers were above fifty. With Gushi¡¯s Perception skill, Lark was able to discern the goblin¡¯s reddish brown-colored hunter caps that fit snugly over their large pointed ears. The caps had a really odd stench about them too.


    Sandworm (monster)(earth)(common)


    Lvl 1


    Titles: None


    Lives in desert habitats and eats unsuspecting, wandering travelers and creatures.


    Conditions: Blind (Birth condition). A heightened sense of smell.


    STR: 50


    DEX: 100


    INT: 20


    MG: 30


    SPT: 20


    LUK: NA


    Skills


    Desert Swallow


    Bone-splitting Bite


    Not much could be said about the sandworm, except that it lived up to its name. Unlike worms on earth, this worm had triangular-locked teeth like a shark¡¯s where its face should have been. Lark guessed the other end was where the nose would be¡­


    Lark neared the edge of the forest when Wangshi jumped into the thick of the battle with Huan. He recognized the green-glowing twirling blades, recalling the time they combined with Mishka¡¯s fire spinning attack, as they sliced through the sandworm¡¯s thick pinkish-brown skin. Without the scattering fire though, the welts developing on the creature''s body were unpleasant to see and made Lark want to close his legs as he felt something like an unbearable pinch attack his nether regions.


    A strange cry echoed from the Sandworm¡¯s mouth and it buried itself under the sand.


    Huan side-stepped Wangshi with a scowl on his face and raised his paper fan in the direction where the ground was rumbling. The closed fan jutted out from his hand like a staff, and this time Lark noticed the runes engraved on the wooden guard. When it flashed open, the painted Quilin rose from the slips of paper and transformed together with the black painted characters, turning into a scaled beast.


    The summoned creature¡¯s state was not fully solid, but still had shape and form and was almost gaseous-looking. Rather than getting blown away, the winged beast pierced through all the Redcap Goblins! While avoiding Salene and Henry, who were shocked by the spirit creature¡¯s sudden appearance, the Quilin raced deftly like a wind current and rushed through glued bodies. Lark shivered as he watched the harrowing Quilin swallow down purple-colored orbs it received after going through the goblins¡¯ bodies. Only half-satisfied with the meal, the Quilin sent out a chilling growl. It whisked away into the burrow where the Sandworm hid.


    Item: Small Quilin Fan (weapon) (ancient) (rare)


    +25% DEX, +100 INT


    Durability: NA


    Graded as a rank A weapon. Contains both spiritual and magic properties due to housing a medium-grade spiritual beast. Requires a high level of magic and intelligence to wield. Consumes high amounts of spiritual essence and mana.


    Obtained through the Shi Clan Treasury.


    <Unable to identify craftsmanship due to its ancient nature.>


    Sweat rolled down Huan¡¯s forehead, sticking the dark hairs of his bangs together. The effects of using the ancient weapon were beginning to show.


    A small tremble startled the group, as the Sandworm reappeared from a new hole next to Henry. His griffin squawked as it used its wings to shield Henry from the billowing sand. Wangshi and Salene readied their swords at their sides, but the Sandworm made no movement. Its mouth was closed when it came crashing down on the goblins bodies, silent and a more spineless version of its former self. The now quiet Quilin sat on its hind legs like a majestic dog next to the beaten Sandworm and licked its paws.


    With a ¡°Hmph!¡± Huan retracted the fan and the creature was recalled. Its painted form returned to the paper slips. He dusted off his green sleeves and continued to fan himself as if nothing happened at all.


    The other group also finished fending off the invaders around the same time. But their side had more damage done to their housing and the dead goblins¡¯ numbered over a hundred.


    Silvina looked away from the burnt tents as Salene came crying over the ashes of her belongings. The Ice Wolf snorted through its pebbled black nose.


    As Wangshi, Rhea, Arelli, and Jaime extracted useful materials from the Redcap Goblins, Dula revived Aulo from his slumber by using a strong smelling potion. The alchemist wafted the spherical bottle containing a purplish brew under Aulo¡¯s nose. Like a zombie coming to life, Aulo¡¯s dark brown eyelashes fluttered before the sudden opening of his eyelids. His big grey eyes reopened with a small fog in front of them until Quichu jumped on his back. Scolding his older brother for being careless, he reminded Aulo to thank both Jaime and Silvina for rescuing them. Apparently, as soon as Aulo canceled his Bull Run skill, he fainted in front of the swarm of approaching Redcap Goblins. Luckily, Silvina and Jaime made it in time to stop the impending attack.


    Rubbing the back of his neck guiltily, Aulo had no choice but to listen to Quichu''s reproach. Then, he glanced in Silvina¡¯s direction with a serious expression.


    Rhea and Wangshi helped Jaime collect all the de-weaponed goblins and the one giant Sandworm into a giant pile in the plateau away from the campsite so that he could dispose of them using light magic; meanwhile, the others were having a meeting headed by Silvina about the appearance of the underwater dungeon.


    Both groups were still within Gushi¡¯s range, so Lark could simultaneously listen in to their plans. But he already predicted Silvina would want to explore the dungeon. Not just because it might be related to their royal mission, but because it was a dungeon meant to be discovered and excavated by adventurers!


    Rhea Smyth (dwarf) (Artisan Guild)


    Titles: Rank 2 Blacksmith


    Known affinities: None


    Age: 25


    Lvl 1*


    Happiness: NA


    Conditions: None.


    STR: 700(+100)


    DEX: 200


    INT: 70


    MG: NA


    SPT: 10


    LUK: 10


    Skills


    Metallurgy


    Blacksmithing


    Shield Mastery


    Axe Mastery


    Warhammer Mastery


    Wait, Rhea was 25! She¡¯s older than himself by almost ten years? Lark looked on with disbelief as the petite, doll-faced dwarf walked next to Jaime. Rhea had a duller shade of red hair compared to Silvina, but her rosy cheeks and aptitude made her seem like a cute child if not for the overbearing battle ax and shield hanging on her plated back. Compared to Salene and Silvina who adorned their armor with different materials like fur and cloth, Rhea wore an all-metal chest plate and bracers for her arms and legs. But there was something else on her person that gave her a boost in strength! A magic amulet!


    Item: Strength Amulet (accessory)(magic)(uncommon)


    +100 STR


    Durability: 15/15


    A magic crafted accessory that grants the wearer super strength!


    Craft materials: Demonic bear paw, demonic bear tooth, silver ore, cloud string


    Crafted by Vick Sparks


    Gifted to Rhea Smyth


    While the demonic ingredients worried Lark, Gushi¡¯s bubble antenna turned black.


    As Jaime prepared his light spell, he asked Rhea, ¡°About Vick, when he changed into an abomination, did you hear him say anything to you?¡±


    Rhea¡¯s posture slouched. ¡°He called out my name for a moment in a very scared voice. But then, you stopped me, remember Jaime-an!¡± She puffed up one side of her cheek and Jaime pushed it back in with his wand, smiling.


    ¡°Never mind, then,¡± he said, and the end of his wand lighted up as he drew runes into the air. Wangshi tossing the last of the bodies onto the pile retreated to Rhea side and watched the light enchanter work his magic. As the light energy took the shape of a net, under the pile of dead monsters, dark magic escaped from the ground and encroached over them.


    Jaime''s golden eyes sharpened as he shouted at Wangshi and Rhea to run. Whether it was Rhea¡¯s amulet that caused Gushi¡¯s bubble to turn black or the massive pile of bodies being revived or perhaps both, Lark would have to sort it out later as the mob of creatures merged into one!


    Zombie Mob (monster) (undead) (uncommon)


    The hordes of monsters killed have been fused together into an ugly abomination!


    Condition: Revived by the dark enchanter. Mindless. Impervious to mental attacks.


    STR: 500


    DEX: 200


    INT: NA


    MG: 300


    SPT: 300


    Skills


    Poison Sludge


    The giant pile of goblins turned into a gooey, green mess. In the center of the blob were three holes that looked like the face from a famous painting, The Scream. Green mist expelled from its body disintegrating the worm into a pile of green dust.


    When his light net cast over the green blob, halting it to where it stood, Jaime quickly shot a red shooting flare into the sky.


    Although Jaime told them to retreat, Rhea and Wangshi stood by his side. As soon as the Zombie Mob overpowered the net, Rhea spun on the axis of her foot and threw her steel ax at it. The broad ax spun wildly through the air and cleaved through the monster''s face. It tore through the three holes and landed over a meter behind it.


    A strangled groan erupted from the monster as it reshaped its ghoulish face. Rhea pouted again. Her brutal strength clearly ineffective, and all Lark wanted to do was squish her cheeks.


    Next, both Wangshi and Jaime combined their magic skills: Light Spears and Wind Needles. Green energies paired with yellow spears as they soared together through the air and pierced the monster¡¯s sludgy body from multiple directions.


    The yellow rods held down the Zombie Mob up until back up arrived. Henry, Arelli, Silvina, and Dula were the first to arrive on the backs of the Ice Wolf and Griffin.


    Not needing to ask what happened, Silvina asked both Arelli and Dula to set up a warding spell to entrap the monster.


    Nodding, Arelli took several ingredients out of his waist pouch and showed them to Dula, who then gave Arelli a thumbs up.


    Explaining to the others, Dula said, ¡°We¡¯re going to set up an undead-based warding spell, which should undo the creature''s fusion. Arelli also has his hands on some rare Vampire dust which should just completely eat up the flesh. Also, we¡¯ll be collecting the green dust to study.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Silvina approved the plan. ¡°I will go back and update the other four and make sure nothing happens to the camp, while you all deal with this!¡±


    After receiving her orders, Henry and his beast took off into the skies, circling the Zombie Mob overhead. Silvina made a hasty retreat on her Ice Wolf while Jaime singlehandedly occupied the monster. Wangshi and Rhea stood behind Jaime without worried looks on their faces, in fact, they looked somewhat bored. With Jaime¡¯s lightning quick spell casting and Henry hovering over them, they couldn¡¯t play a strong role in this third fight. Rhea, almost wanting to bellow a yawn, was suddenly yanked to the edge of the forest by Wangshi. Green smog covered the sludge monster¡¯s body; the Zombie Mob was about to execute its first skill.

 21 - Ambushed

    ¡°Thanks, Wang-an!¡± Rhea said, no longer feeling sleepy. Wangshi had carried her safely over fifty feet without much trouble despite her heavyweight gear.


    Wangshi grunted in reply as he watched the sludge ooze from the Zombie Mob¡¯s body. It lobbed volley-ball sized goo in every direction, melting everything it touched into a green paste.


    After narrowly dodging these terrifying spitballs, Henry spell-casted the same pit-making skill from earlier, however, without Salene¡¯s Water-Fissure skill, the sand churned slowly under the monster''s shadow.


    ¡°It¡¯s not gonna fall in!¡± Wangshi murmured, his eyes narrowing as the monster approached Jaime¡¯s position. The light-haired enchanter summoned yellow pointed spears directly above the monster, dropping them as soon as the creature spat out triple sludge balls.


    ¡°Jaime-an! Watch out!¡± Rhea shouted, watching the balls fly toward their team leader. ¡°No! Why is he just standing there?¡± Rhea stomped her foot and braced her shield in front of her until Wangshi stopped her.


    ¡°He¡¯s using Light Speed!¡±


    The gooey ball blasted through a phantom image of Jaime. Lark watched, impressed, as the scattered image shattered into light particles and the enchanter appeared uninjured behind the monster. Brandishing his wooden wand again, Jaime pointed it at the stirring trap pit. ¡°Volo celero.¡± Lark could feel the air vibrate as if there was static in the space between the wand the ground. The monster¡¯s body fell three feet deeper into the sand, but its ghoulish face made a fuss by spraying acid up into the air. Henry¡¯s griffin retreated to the area above Wangshi and Rhea.


    ¡°How long is the warding spell going to take Henry-an?¡± Rhea asked.


    ¡°Anytime now I suppose. The mute won¡¯t speak, and Dula talks too much. So they balance each other out like this ugly mess and the smooth hotshot over there,¡± Henry remarked coldly, his blue eyes traced over the numerous phantom images Jaime left on the field and the sinking Zombie Mob then closed his grimoire. He lightly tapped the side of his griffin¡¯s ear and landed in front of the pair.


    Lark didn¡¯t need to be close by to see how both Rhea and Wangshi kept silent in front of Henry¡¯s red-hot jealousy. He had answered more than what they cared to know.


    ¡°A charm spell,¡± Rhea figured, her lips twisting into another pout once the three stood together and watched the Zombie Mob sink another three feet.


    ¡°Where are they - Arelli and Dula?¡±


    ¡°Underground,¡± Henry nonchalantly answered Wangshi while brushing sand off his green frock coat. ¡°They¡¯re forming a basic penta-ward with Vampire Dust as the base material if you must know that as well. In any manner, you two should go. Your presence is unneeded here.¡± The white griffin beside them snorted in agreement. Its long feathery neck stretched up, tall and elegant; in the exact bearing fashion as its owner.


    Meanwhile, due to Gushi¡¯s Perception skill, Lark was notified of other presences hiding in the forest with him. Though they were closer to the team than him.


    Rhea¡¯s bushy eyebrows dipped low and her cheeks reddened like pink lollipops. The dwarf girl had an image of candy red apples, but a sour apple suited her temper. As unbelievable as her adult age was to Lark, he could believe in her raging strength as she threw her shield with tremendous force behind Henry''s griffin.


    Henry pressed a hand to his ear that got partly grazed.


    ¡°What was that Henry-an?¡± Rhea smirked, after retrieving her steel shield that laid atop an unconscious Redcap Goblin. He pressed his thin lips together in a flat line, and after taking one look at the goblin, he kicked his griffin¡¯s shin. ¡°Wretched bird. Useless.¡±


    That was uncalled for. Both Wangshi and Rhea were frowning as well. But this griffin was no pushover. It waited for the opportune moment to unfurl it''s large wing after Henry spotted a strange device in the goblin¡¯s hand. The bird-kicker landed face-first into the sand, while Rhea picked up the disk-shaped item.


    ¡°Wang-an, what do you think?¡± She held it up to the light and swirls of black and green appeared in the glassy reflection. The same colors as Lark¡¯s storage ring from Wangshi.


    ¡°Item: Simple Scrying Glass (magic) (uncommon)


    A low-grade medium used for sending messages through encrypted images. Not a reliable form of communication.


    0.3 lb


    Craft materials: glass powder, darkroots, green dye.


    Sold/Crafted from the Magic Oddities Guild.


    Sold to Joffrey Gullivan for 200 credits.¡±


    Lark¡¯s heartbeat quickened.


    Joffrey Gullivan?


    He¡¯s here?


    Ever since the scan skill enabled him to identify the previous owner of the storage ring, he hadn''t forgotten the name, Joffrey Gullivan, who had also inadvertently became the closest link he had to finding the Wishes of the People.


    With one look at the scrying glass, Wangshi said, ¡°It appears that we¡¯re being watched from the shadows.¡± Reaching for his sword, everyone shifted their focus beyond the trees and didn''t notice the dire situation unfolding behind them.


    ¡°Arelli! Dula! Is the ward ready?¡± Jaime shouted into one of the tunnels Dula made with his Earth golem. With the Zombie Mob buried eight feet underground, the ward spell should''ve been ready to go. Sinking deeper into the sand, the monster did not give up using its venomous body to spray acid into the air, which bounced right back into the pit due to the Light Net.


    ¡°Dula?¡± Jaime shouted with more urgency and peered into the darkness when a plume of water shot into the sky¡ª the air pressure knocked him backward. Using a hand to flip himself right-side up, he skidded to a stop on a slope. The flat expanse of the plateau tilted after the reverse waterfall demonstration.


    ¡°That was Arelli¡¯s Water Tyrant¡­they must¡¯ve run into some trouble,¡± Jaime said. ¡°Wang, Rhea, Hen¡ªwhere did those three go?¡±


    Unable to see where they went, the Light Net suddenly broke and the Zombie Mob began to lob miniature versions of itself outside of the pit.


    ¡°Not good¡­¡± Putting away the wooden wand into the rope belt around his waist, a light flickered under his right hand from which a golden sword materialized.


    Gushi¡¯s silver body rumbled on top of Lark¡¯s head, pulling up strands of hair like carrots.


    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± He patted the slime, who then jumped off his head and over into the deeper part of the woods with its bubble antenna blindingly white. Scrambling after the bounding Gushi, Lark wondered, ¡°Is it Wangshi?¡±


    ¡°There are some peculiarities with the enchanter¡¯s magic. Better get to a safer distance,¡± Sphinx warned.


    ¡°What the hell does that mean?¡± Lark raised a brow.


    ¡°You¡¯re within his range of attack.¡±


    ¡°All the way out here?¡± Lark wondered. Without Gushi on top of his head, he couldn¡¯t accurately tell where they were anymore, but they were approximately two-hundred feet away from the main battle and less than fifty feet away from Wangshi¡¯s group until they split after the hidden spies.


    He kicked a branch out of his way and ran after the jumpy slime. Looking at the sundial watch, he asked Sphinx another question, ¡°Is it possible to use the location scan here?¡±


    ¡°I suppose so, but it would only be accurate to areas only Wangshi has been. Also, if you were to revisit this place in the future, the map would be inaccurate. Though you could always update the map, so I don¡¯t see why not¡­Hey! You¡¯ve already used it!¡±


    Unblinking, Lark watched as a holographic, three-dimensional map appeared above the watch. A forest textured environment was shaped in a green crescent around the bluff and oasis. A tent representing the adventurers¡¯ campsite was on the bluff and on the opposite side of the oasis were models of destroyed buildings sticking out of the sand. Beyond the oasis, the map was blacked out. Squinting at the map with a slightly disappointed look, Lark remarked, ¡°Why is the map blacked out around the edges?¡±


    ¡°Nothing to worry about,¡± Sphinx quickly answered. ¡°The Location Scan can change into a two-dimensional map and keeps track of areas you¡¯ve been to and haven¡¯t. It also can tell you, where your allies and enemies are. There¡¯s more to it, but I¡¯ll leave it up to you to figure it out.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°You know your facial expression and the clear lack of joy really doesn¡¯t match with what you¡¯re saying.¡±


    That was kind of the point, Lark thought, as the textured map changed into a flat gray screen with himself and Gushi as blue dots running in a lightened portion. In the surrounding areas, there were five green dots. One that kept moving around in the plateau and four traveling in the same forest as him in the darkened portion of the map. Unbeknown to the four, they were getting closer to an opened door.


    ¡°Is that supposed to mark the second dungeon? Why is the door open?¡±


    ¡°What an interesting development,¡± was all Sphinx would say on the matter.


    Without warning, the air around Lark thinned and a shiver ran down his neck. Gushi jumped back onto his head in time for him to hear a loud boom like a firework overshoot them; another round of red flares shot into the sky. Wangshi¡¯s group had reached the door, but the four dots were surrounded by many red ones.


    <hr>


    Pendulous Birdsong branches poised over the decrepit door, which was covered in moss and soot. The laden artwork hidden under the dust was not yet to be admired by the three investigators as they were kept busy by the sudden reappearance of the Redcap Goblins.


    The dwarf¡¯s steel armor brushed up against the feathery wood and the friction caused an ear-scraping sound, setting off nearby goblins into a stampede. Equipped with her round steel shield, she dashed into the fray headfirst.


    ¡°Rhea!¡± Wangshi called out in a hoarse cry as the Red Goblins swarmed the two remaining members.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Stone-faced, Henry had his grimoire float in front of him. Now that the grimoire mage was standing with the rest of them, Lark could see a magic circle envelope Henry¡¯s waistline.


    Henry Gullivan (human) (Gullivan House) (Friend of Royal Family)


    Titles: Celestian Academy Graduate, Beast Tamer, Rare Tome Collector


    Known affinities: earth


    Age: 22


    Lvl 1


    Happiness: NA


    Conditions: *Depression


    STR: 70


    DEX: 50


    INT: 80


    MG: 160


    SPT: *20(-10)


    LUK: *15(-10)


    Skills


    Earth Magic - Earth Float


    Beast Tamer


    Staff Mastery


    Tome Mastery


    Contract Magic


    Alchemy


    On the bottom of the black screen, it explained Henry¡¯s mental anguish was spurred on by a recent heartbreak decreased his luck and spirit values. Lark couldn¡¯t help but feel a slight pity for the grimoire mage, though it wasn¡¯t anything more than a singular sorry thought, which quickly went away.


    ¡°Imp fulgur besatia.¡±


    Unusual blue electricity crackled around the griffin¡¯s collar after a red light flared from what appeared to be a small crystal atop his staff. With a sharp cry, which Lark imagined what a choking pigeon sounded like, the griffin dove like a speedy arrow towards the ground, hurtling the goblins away from Wangshi and Henry.


    ¡°Why would a Beast Tamer need a control spell? ¡± Lark murmured as he scanned Henry¡¯s magical weapon.


    Item: Earth Staff (weapon) (magic) (rare)


    +50 MG


    +15% Magic Attack, +Bonus Earth damage, +Bonus stats if equipped with tome


    Durability 40/50


    Graded as a rank D long magic staff. Inlaid with dusky-colored gems on the ovoid head and detailed with hand-painted gold on the sides, gives the impression of expensive aesthetics than practicality. But nonetheless works. Embedded within one of the gems is a contract spell between Henry Gullivan and Beast the Griffin.


    3 lb.


    Craft materials: Acorn Wood, gold paint, grade D dusk gems.


    Crafted by Henry Gullivan


    ¡°Nothing to be too upset about,¡± remarked Sphinx. ¡°Where I¡¯m from, controlling beasts through fear and pain are common methods for training and obedience.¡±


    Disgusted, Lark remarked, ¡°It¡¯s inhumane.¡± He checked the scan information for the proud griffin.


    Beast the Griffin (Contracted Pet)


    Happiness: NA


    Lvl 1


    STR: 50


    DEX: 120


    INT: 80


    MG: 70


    SPT: 50


    LUK: 20


    Skills


    Wind Magic - Tailwind, Air Slash, Iron Dive*


    Iron Roar*


    Flight*


    Tracking


    ¡°Keep in mind, I never said, the people who control their beasts through pain are any good. But in some form, the beast needs to recognize its owner.¡±


    Lark patted the Gushi-helmet while continuing to jog towards the team. He was some ways out, but he made sure to circle around the main battle area. ¡°Owners should be responsible for their pets like bathing them or feeding them. But more importantly, I don''t want the kind of relationship that uses people and cuts them off when they no longer are necessary.¡±


    ¡°Yare yare daze. My owner is naive and a big softie.¡±


    ¡°What was that you said just now - yare yare daze?¡±


    ¡°Good grief, you don¡¯t even know this popular catch-phrase?¡±


    This insufferable¡­


    ¡°Pay attention!¡±


    He was about to scold Sphinx for nearly giving a heart attack for raising his voice all of a sudden until he realized it was actually Rhea who called out.


    The female dwarf picked up a fallen crude shield and bashed it against a team of goblins closing into Henry¡¯s and Wangshi¡¯s location. Nearing the end of its durability, she launched the half-broken shield at the attackers behind her.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Wangshi muttered and released Wind Needles onto a separate pack of Redcap Goblins. The frenzied monsters teemed for blood and turned on their companions riddled with holes. Henry recalled his griffin and began preparing his Mountain Capture spell.


    ¡°Wang-an, did you see who set off the red-flares?¡±


    Wangshi shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone.¡±


    Rhea looked at Henry, who only scowled. She swung a one-legged goblin back into the fray and mud-carved spikes erupted from the ground, knocking back the invaders.


    ¡°You two, get on¡ª¡± Henry slapped the rider¡¯s seat on the griffin¡¯s back.


    ¡°But Henry-an, what about the flare?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obviously a trap! We¡¯re surrounded¡ª¡± A high pitched scream echoed through the forest causing the three to cover their ears, while the griffin slammed its talons to the ground and tried to cancel out the scream with its own furious roar.


    ¡°It¡¯s Vick,¡± Lark muttered, looking at the map where the team of four green dots were approached by a dark entity. ¡°How¡¯d he get out?¡±


    ¡°The dark enchanter, probably,¡± Sphinx answered. ¡°The better question is, how¡¯d he find them?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s calling someone, ¡®master¡¯¡­Should I be really just watching this Sphinx?¡±


    ¡°What we¡¯re part of is like a movie, kid. You can¡¯t change the script anymore,¡± Sphinx pointed out. ¡°Besides any reckless behavior in here will lead to mind-memory alterations. You know that?¡±


    In response, Lark made a fist but remained crouched behind some trees near the giant stone rock housing the opened door. The scream continued to hurtle down at the investigation team, paralyzing them in place, as the Cursed Human walked closer with its mouth unnaturally unhinged.


    ¡°V-vick-an, fight it!¡± Rhea shouted and punched apart one of the jagged, mud columns with her bare hands. The impact caused the mud to splinter into a thousand pieces and specks of dust billowed creating a dust-cloud. The female dwarf heaved the spear-end of the mud-rock across the field like a javelin, while Wangshi coalesced wind energy around his feet and carried out precise footwork. Dust particles collected around them like a small whirlwind.


    As one of its spidery arms slapped down the projectile like a fly, the monster released an enraged, guttural roar; all its anguish from sloughed-off skin to its human dignity fading into one cry. Lark swallowed; the Cursed Human was more terrifying to gaze upon up close. Its red eyes looked runny like uncooked eggs, and the rotten flesh did not hold well. Silvina¡¯s fire magic and her wolf¡¯s ice attacks left the Cursed Human riddled with bubbling blisters and open wounds. Each step it took sounded like a grunt of pain; Lark couldn¡¯t bear to look at it anymore, not able to believe magic caused a human to transform into such monstrosity.


    ¡°Huo-fang!¡± With a fluttering kick, Wangshi forced the wind-energy to fan out like a sandstorm. The monster thrashed its arms at its face as sandy dirt whipped around its eyes and into its throat. Various Redcap Goblins flung into the trees and never got back up.


    ¡°Get on!¡± Henry ushered the two towards the white griffin. Wangshi picked up Rhea and placed her on the rider¡¯s seat with Henry. With the griffin barely lifting three feet off the ground, Wangshi leapt off. ¡°You two leave first. I¡¯ll hold him back.¡±


    ¡°Wang-an!¡± Rhea shouted in the distance as the griffin took off into the skies. Lark watched as the three dots left the map; Henry didn¡¯t command the griffin to go back and instead shot off for the tents. Lark wiped the corner of his eye with the back of his hand¡ªapparently, Wangshi has always been like this, always trying to play the cool guy.


    This is how you always find trouble, he thought.


    ¡°It takes one to know one,¡± Sphinx said with a chuckle. Lark ignored the comment and focused on Wangshi¡¯s sword. The jian was indeed a beautiful weapon; his caretaker had its clean blade pointed at the slowly approaching Cursed Human. Unlike before, Wangshi was handling the jian with one hand instead of two. His right hand gripped the handle with an unnerving calmness, while his left retreated to the side of his waist.


    Lark raised a brow. Besides wondering how Wangshi would fight, he also questioned how he could get hold of the sword without anyone noticing to complete the unsealing. Then he noticed the green power crystal glowing on the hilt of the sword, the runic characters on the blade began to activate.


    The Cursed Human growled, mouth dripping with sludge from its purple tongue, and its runny, red eyes suddenly blew out red mist. Lark nearly bit his tongue as the abomination charged madly. Ignoring the effects of Henry¡¯s spell, it plowed through the spiky terrain into Wangshi¡¯s territory.


    The calm caretaker hadn¡¯t stepped an inch away from his original position, but his arms bulged and strained. A sudden, diagonal slash swept through the air, and behind it, the wind roared fiercely as the first sword strike reached the trees. The barks of trees ripped from the roots up, and branches tore off into the wind current. As ungraceful as the abomination was, it dodged the scissoring wind by hurtling itself down and through the mud spikes. Self-inflicted injuries were apparently the least of its concerns.


    Wangshi inhaled through his nose and synchronized his next few movements with a loud exhale. In the next moment, his entire body lifted into the air, and again he reused the same fluttering footwork to gather wind energy around his body and sword. Lark secured Gushi to the top of his head as he felt drawn in by the energy pull. Clenching his jaw, Lark squinted into the windy battle. Wangshi¡¯s definitely going to use Wind Blade, he believed, because his caretaker¡¯s current stance was similar to when he and Mishka took out the giant slime. However, the younger version packed a tougher, more refined sword posture. Once Wangshi had risen more than five feet off the ground, the Cursed Human was no more than a quick sprint away.


    ¡°Gua-feng!¡± With a thundering shout, Wangshi¡¯s movements slowed to a halt. And for a second, Lark thought the abomination had stopped too until its long legs sped through the air about to meet head on with the pointed blade.


    It¡¯s gonna snap like a toothpick¡­ Lark¡¯s heart stopped when the spidery limb squared with the thin steel. Instead of hearing the same, jarring metallic snap as Salene¡¯s short sword, an explosive burst repelled the abomination further than the starting line. The monster¡¯s body curled up like a dead spider, as it rolled and tumbled more violently than a pinball machine. However, Wangshi didn¡¯t stop there and continued with a different set of footwork. His left hand retrieved the Love Tassel from his wife and as if praying, his left hand straightened with his thumb pressing down the red strings against his palm. He waved his flattened hand over the jian when the dark creature released an anguished roar.


    ¡°Silence you, I¡¯m not good with enchantments like my wife,¡± Wangshi muttered under his breath while going through the motions of blessing the sword. ¡°This battle won''t end unless I recapture you, or you end up killing me, which I intend not to happen!¡± Grounding his teeth together, he bit into his thumb and dribbled blood down the blade.


    Blood Rite? Lark¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually a mix of a charm and enchanting,¡± answered Sphinx. ¡°It¡¯s also likely that it¡¯s magic exclusive to the Shi clan.¡±


    The bloodstains absorbed into the metal and Wangshi wore an expression the equivalent to: Oh my goodness, it¡¯s working!


    Once again, the Cursed Human returned running on all its limbs, except this time it crept over the spikes like a cautious insect, peeking its head in and out into the clearing before moving onto the next stack.


    ¡°Hiding won''t help you!¡± remarked Wangshi as he readied into position. The Love Tassel floated next to him, while a blood-colored mist enveloped the jian. Two hands held the hilt of the sword as he raised it overhead and swung down like an executioner. The wind cleaved a straight path through the forest, but the red mist traveled outward binding unconscious goblins in a shimmering rope. Releasing a shriek, the dark creature dodged the oncoming strike by burrowing itself behind a wall of spikes, but the mist was still gunning for it.


    Lark scratched his chin. The original Wind Blade had a spectacular helix spin to it, but this time Wangshi had shouted ¡®gua-feng¡¯ which sent the monster spiraling backward instead of upwards. Why was it different?


    ¡°No, that won¡¯t do. I already promised Mother, I wouldn¡¯t hurt perfect little Henry. But¡­his teammates are still game.¡± The man crunched on an apple lazily as he sat atop the stone rock, where the second dungeon was hidden. Lark¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief, instantly recognizing the Gullivan-House crest on his black robes.


    Joffrey Gullivan!


    He hurriedly outstretched his hand and whispered ¡®scan.¡¯ A black box appeared to the right of his head, but as soon as the information fed through his brain, he looked back at the battle and Joffrey had disappeared.


    Joffrey Gullivan (human) (Wishes of the People Member)


    Titles: Celestian Academy Graduate, Exiled From Gullivan House, Prodigy, Thief, Tier 4 Enchanter


    Known affinities: Astral


    Age: 21


    Lvl 2


    Happiness: NA


    Conditions: *Sanity


    STR: 100


    DEX: 100


    INT: 320


    MG: 200


    SPT: 200


    LUK: 100


    Skills


    Astral Magic* - Blink, Star Tunnel, Projection, Psionic Shield, Soul Dagger, Divination


    Dagger Mastery


    Tome Mastery


    Contract Magic


    Alchemy - Poison Arts


    Enchant


    Warding


    Astral magic! Didn¡¯t Mr. Federov¡¯s notes say only 1 in 100,000 people were born with this kind of magic? Lark sucked in a chilling breath¡ªWangshi¡¯s in trouble!¡ªhe left his hiding spot despite Sphinx¡¯s protests ringing in his ear.


    I¡¯ll be damned if I let him get manipulated by that piece of shit in front of me again. Lark began sprinting down the narrow space in between the trees and over the spikes. Joffrey used that move, Blink, he guessed and surely he appeared in front of the Cursed Human and disabled the red misty chain with a bluish purple dagger.


    Only spiritual based skills can cancel out spiritual attacks. Wangshi frowned and called out, ¡°Dark mage, you best stop this foolishness now and return my comrade.¡± The old caretaker didn¡¯t have a very good poker face nor could he bluff or buff his way out of this one.


    ¡°Garbage,¡± Joffrey spoke in a sinister tone. He was dressed in a long black robe, but Lark spotted the green tinted ring hanging loosely on a chain around his neck. The shape of his dagger changed into a brightly lit arrow. ¡°Aquila, go.¡±


    Emerging from the eight, connected dots, an eagle the size equivalent to Mishka¡¯s Phantom Bat appeared. Its wings spread out into a shallow ¡®V¡¯ as it charged alongside the abomination.


    Wangshi harrumphed while widening his stance. His last remaining trump card was ¡®Wind Blade.¡¯ What he used earlier were basic sword art forms of the Shi Clan supported with wind magic. However, betting a magic skill against constellation arts? He wouldn¡¯t win in a million years, never mind, using a C-ranked wind spell against the highly sought after astral magic. Although he knew this¡ªhe gripped the hilt with both hands¡ªhe had to try.


    Lark could read Wangshi¡¯s determination and that¡¯s why he had to jump out in front of him.

 22 - Familiar pt1

    A young man, who you¡¯ve never seen before, jumps out in front of you to protect you from a scary terrorist. Such an unlikely scenario would shock anyone. Adding a slime on top of it is just asking for more confusion. But all Wangshi had to say to this extremely confusing event was: ¡°Kid, shove it!¡±


    Wangshi?¡ª Like a boat with the wind knocked off its sails, Lark fell back into the bushes with his leg still up in the air.


    ¡°Stay down!¡± roared Wangshi, who released his final trump card. The sharp wind traveled mercilessly, tearing up what was left of Henry¡¯s Mountain Capture, and transformed the terrain into a wide tornado alley. Wangshi hovered above the ground, watching his skill sweep through the forest until the Aquila bypassed the blades effortlessly. Only the Cursed Human got captured inside its unrelenting matrix and flew out of the forest.


    ¡°You think wind magic can dispel my astral abilities? My-my, they¡¯ve chosen weaklings for this mission.¡± Joffrey laughed with a crazed look in his eyes that drew in a desire for destruction. Losing one henchman didn¡¯t matter to him; all that mattered were the results. His head bent low at an odd angle. ¡°The royals are playing a fool¡¯s errand. Bind him, Aquila. We can always use another puppet for the cause.¡±


    Wangshi retrieved the Love Tassel from his waist and tucked it against his heart. The eagle grazed his shoulder with its long talons and started moving in circles around him. Hobbling slightly from the attack, Wangshi reformed his posture and slashed the air once again with his sword.


    Argh! That tea-loving old man! Lark grunted, trying to free his legs from the thorny elderberry bushes.


    ¡°That was a very bad idea Lark!¡± Sphinx scolded. ¡°This is someone else¡¯s Mind Space, not yours! Never mind the lasting damage on their mental health, but your well-being will be jeopardy too.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ve mentioned,¡± Lark replied. ¡°But how else am I going to get close to that sword. I have to reveal myself at some point.¡±


    ¡°But not during a battle!¡± aggravated Sphinx. Lark could hear Sphinx take in several breaths before continuing. ¡°What¡¯s done is done, and your servant has taken your presence quite nonchalantly, which is good for us. I¡¯m slightly worried though about this Joffrey character though as you clearly have his ring.¡±


    ¡°I have some questions about that too, but this ring was given to me by Wangshi after he interrogated a cultist.¡±


    ¡°He interrogated Joffrey?¡± The incredulous disbelief was evident in Sphinx¡¯s tone. ¡°Impossible¡­unless.¡±


    ¡°Unless what?¡±


    ¡°I can think of two scenarios, one of which you¡¯re not gonna like,¡± he mumbled that last part. ¡°If Joffrey had recently come to Earth and was shocked by the lack of organic mana, it would make it easier for Wangshi to capture him. Or¡­¡± Sphinx sighed.


    ¡°Less hanging and more talking,¡± Lark retorted as he finally untangled himself from the thorny branches.


    ¡°This is a very elaborate setup by the Wishes of the People,¡± said Sphinx. ¡°In which they allowed Joffrey to be captured.¡±


    Lark let himself fall onto the ground and resumed his crouched position. ¡°You¡¯re right, I liked scenario one better. Any idea why they would let their member to get captured?¡±


    ¡°To learn about you,¡± Sphinx answered and chills ran down Lark¡¯s spine. Gushi jiggled on the back of his scalp, which helped calm him down.


    ¡°Scenario two actually makes sense, considering the state we found your caretaker in and how warped his mental facilities got. Besides Tim¡¯s present, I¡¯m getting traces of other soul and mind manipulations. I believe that once they captured you, Joffrey¡¯s items would return to him. But you¡¯ve performed blood rite and successfully escaped, thus they no longer had that option and had to resort to some other punishment since you¡¯ve thwarted their efforts.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°¡­And because by that time, the agency had been infiltrated.¡± Lark finished and cracked his knuckles. ¡°Is it possible that Wangshi is being controlled?¡±


    ¡°Possible indeed. But nothing of the sort showed up on the scanner¡ªwait, Lark, head to the door! There¡¯s something coming.¡±


    Emerging from the brambles, Jaime¡¯s lightsword came into a blinding view behind Joffrey¡¯s ear and the lightsword fiercely clashed with the brandished soul dagger. However, the weight of their opposing forces didn¡¯t feel heavy like usual fights in movies. It was almost electric like a duel between two snakes, where one¡¯s waiting to bite off the other¡¯s head.


    In unison, the two sneered each other''s names¡ªJamie¡¯s lightsword pushed forward and Joffrey snickered, retracting the dagger back into his chest where a hole appeared.


    Unable to comprehend the man¡¯s chest cavity opening and swallowing back in the soul dagger, Lark felt a wave a nausea wash over him.


    ¡°Hurry to the abandoned dungeon!¡± Sphinx urged as the two felt a low hum run up Lark¡¯s arms. Gushi¡¯s antenna began to glow into a blinding white light as Jaime doubled back and recalled his lightsword with a wave of his hand. His snow-white hair seemed to rise slightly once he put one arm in front of the other.


    There was also a quick change in Jaime¡¯s face, Lark realized while peering into the depths of the serious light enchanter; his gold eyes turned into an icy bronze tone, darker, yet richer than gold. Sprouting from his fingertips was a trail of sun-glowing thread. Once, Lark spotted the curiously, quiescent string linking together like cat¡¯s cradle, he heard Sphinx¡¯s tongue click not just once, but twice.


    ¡°KID!¡± Wangshi¡¯s clawed up face suddenly appeared in front of them. Before Lark could reply, Wangshi grabbed his collar and took him under his arm as a green glow whipped under his feet.


    He¡¯s taking me with him? Lark¡¯s vision of the ground heaved up and down as Wangshi escaped the battle between the two enchanters. However, the Aquila still followed them with its incessant caw-ing. As one talon came close to Lark¡¯s face, Wangshi blocked it with his arm. The Aquila¡¯s talon sheared through the leather sleeve in one sweeping stroke.


    ¡°Blasted bird,¡± Wangshi said as he shook off the attack by coating his arm with green-colored mana. Temporarily, the Aquila retreated back into the trees¡¯ shadows.


    ¡°Put me down, I can run¡ª¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Wangshi abruptly answered. ¡°I can¡¯t let a witness go.¡±


    ¡°Witness?¡± Lark asked.


    ¡°My comrades are from the capital investigating a string of disappearances in these parts,¡± Wangshi said. ¡°But we¡¯ll talk these points later once we¡¯re away¡ª¡±


    Lark frowned, unable to wriggle out of Wangshi¡¯s grip. The old man was strong as fuck. ¡°Dammit Wangshi, just listen to me.¡±


    ¡°¡­How do you know me?¡±


    Before Lark could think of an answer, Joffrey¡¯s voice suddenly shrieked from the woods as a ghostly manifestation of himself swooped over them. ¡°Don¡¯t think of escaping, puppet!¡±


    ¡°Astral body¡­¡± The shock in Wangshi¡¯s voice matched his blood-drained face. Then Jaime reappeared adjacently to them with several light spears circling around him. One spear flew out to intercept Joffrey¡¯s floating body. The phantom dodged the first strike, but more and more strikes followed, chasing Joffrey¡¯s ghastly image away.


    ¡°I lost his original body when he Blinked. Get to the rock quick, while I have him distracted.¡± Jaime calmly ordered and then whispered, ¡°Dula will meet you there¡­Go!¡±


    Wangshi quickened his pace and flew towards the rock Jaime mentioned. It was the same one on the map with the door opened, or what Sphinx called, the abandoned dungeon. However, despite the boost in speed from Wind-Walker and the jian¡¯s flying ability, the Aquila managed to catch them in surprise. Wangshi hoisted Lark from his hold as the Aquila took a blow to his head.


    Shit, what do I do? Lark rolled onto his sides in front of the door, while Wangshi collapsed next to him, head-bleeding.


    ¡°Dula, grab ''em!¡± Jaime called out, still throwing spears down in a fence-like pattern. Under Lark¡¯s palms, the dirt quaked and piles of grains lifted, forming a log-like arm. Two coal-like eyes looked at him, somewhat coldly before it hugged them into the earth. Hard soil smothered Lark¡¯s nose for a few seconds until it released them into a wide tunnel.


    Lark patted down his sides and made sure Gushi made the trip to hell alright. The slime¡¯s antenna was no longer a glaring ball of light, instead, it reverted to its neutral silver color.


    ¡°Good slime,¡± Lark said, rubbing the silver slime¡¯s shiny coat. It squirmed in response and it¡¯s antenna bubble suddenly turned into a blue hue, casting a cool, azuline radiance around the earth.


    ¡°You¡¯ve entered the abandoned dungeon. New location added to SIM.¡±


    ¡°Abandoned Mines (Ancient) (Dungeon) (location)


    Leafy underground tunnels connected by earthen dwarves before the Astral Apocalypse and hurriedly abandoned during the Centifire plague.


    Here, there are many rich ore veins and fallow gardens, which begs the question of why this place was abandoned and forgotten. Careful, there are hints of spirit law at work. The dungeon master must be a high-level being.¡±


    Lark picked a piece of mud out of his nose while basking in the afterglow of his first time in a dungeon. Then he remembered Wangshi and looked over his shoulder to where the golem would¡¯ve dropped him. What he saw next, nearly popped his heart out of his chest. They weren¡¯t alone.

 22.5 - Familiar pt 2

    ¡°It¡¯s a maze down here,¡± remarked the brooding alchemist. A dim, spherical light emitted from the top of his feather pen, while it jotted down scribbles on a piece of parchment paper. Meanwhile, Dula¡¯s golem attended to Wangshi¡¯s wounds. It was having difficulty wrapping the bandages evenly. Lark¡¯s caretaker sat with his back to the wall, eyes still closed, but at least the head wound sealed.


    Why aren¡¯t they reacting to me, Sphinx? Lark bit his lip and sidestepped to the edge of the tunnel wall where he could keep an eye on Wangshi, but not stare directly at Dula and Arelli.


    You¡¯re not supposed to exist in the first place, this is just a continuation of the events.


    ¡°Sorry, my friend, before I can fully help you recover Jaime¡¯s asked me to discover the spy within our group¡­and well to do that I need to take a quick peek at your memories¡­Don¡¯t look at me like that Arelli. He¡¯s my patient. I have to disclose the truth within the bounds of my contract.¡±


    It suddenly clicked with Lark, that this is how Sphinx sensed other mental manipulations. Dula¡¯s quill flinched, no longer writing anything down and moved horizontally in broad strokes like a paint brush.


    ¡°And we¡¯ve all signed the contract in regards to the royal mission to agree that we must not engage in treason, I¡¯m merely enforcing the rules.¡±


    Arelli jutted his jaw, but looked away and walked a few feet down the tunnel, where shield-shaped plants were sprouting at the top. After the quill pen finished drawing a rectangular square on the parchment paper, Dula placed his and Wangshi¡¯s hand on the paper scroll.


    That¡¯s similar to how Mishka did her summoning. Lark remembered her placing her entire hand on the bat signal scroll.


    Brace yourself, the Mind Space is shifting dimensions, Sphinx warned. The advice came too late as Lark was no longer standing in a damp, tight space, but rather he was back outside in the arid weather with his eyes spinning.


    Ugh, that felt worse than taking the bus. Reeling from motion sickness, Lark sat on the gray sand and applied pressure the bridge of his nose.


    Hey, that¡¯s the red-haired broad with the light enchanter. They¡¯re meeting awfully late, reported Sphinx.


    Lark glanced at the surroundings; the terrain was a complete reversal of when he first arrived. The skies darkened and the opaque lake looked more menacing in the night. What was more charming, however, was the light of the purple moon casting dancing shadows over the crumbled city as if to show the ghosts who still roamed here.


    Silvina and Jaime patrolled the outskirts of the camp with the light enchanter torching marks every few yards or so. From far away, it looked like the enchanter left beads of fire (instead of candlesticks) on a moonlit walk between two lovers. The atmosphere between the two starkly contrasted with the eerie surroundings and Lark could hear the woman begin small talk in front of the black tides with the help of Gushi¡¯s Perception skill.


    Silvina idly fiddled with the charm on her bracelet. ¡°What about Rhea?¡±


    ¡°Too short.¡±


    ¡°Salene?¡±


    ¡°Too tall.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± The last answer almost came out as a squeak.


    ¡°Just right.¡± Jaime sniffed the ends of her hair as if he were inhaling a lovely rose; her face flushed darkly.


    Goodness, this kind of torture was worse than watching Sky and Mishka flirt. In some ways, Jaime reminded Lark of Samuel. Athletic and smooth, the makings of any leader or Casanova. The gloomy thought pushed down when Jaime leaned in for a kiss and suddenly the scene faded to black. Back in the underground tunnel, Lark groaned again, but this time was joined in by Dula.


    ¡°What a femme fatale.¡± The alchemist heaved a sigh and scratched the gray stubble on his chin. ¡°The Shi Clan doesn¡¯t have any implications to betray us, but he did see something that could hurt the royal family, in particular, the second prince, Balto.¡±


    Lark couldn¡¯t tell if Arelli heard Dula¡¯s rumblings, but the blue-haired man was frowning at the plants growing on the walls of the tunnel. Out of the corner of Lark¡¯s eye, a shadowy figure prowled on the canopy-leaf right of Arelli¡¯s ear and without warning a sickening crunch followed. The strange creature, smaller than a mouse, bit on the shield plant in front of Arelli¡¯s face, however, it wasn¡¯t receiving any reaction from the mute, who continued to stare deeply at the plants.


    Lark raised his hand. ¡°Scan¡ª¡±


    Even before the creature laid its glowing blue eyes in Lark¡¯s direction, a snippet of Sphinx¡¯s yelling ¡®no¡¯ cut short into nothingness. Swiftly as the call had come and gone, as though someone had suddenly lowered the volume all the way down to zero, Lark knew he¡¯d been trapped by the mysterious prowler.


    ¡°Little one, what do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± it spoke, but all Lark could see was its two, beady eyes that had no pupils. They were just staring at him like floating orbs atop the canopy leaf.


    ¡°Sphinx?¡±


    ¡°No?¡± it answered. ¡°Is that your familiar?¡±


    Lark returned the same curious ¡®no¡¯ followed by an uneasy silence and then another daunting crunch of the leaf and another; he couldn¡¯t even hear himself breathe. No one else in the room was moving either. For the moment, time had stopped and Lark felt the sense that he had returned to somewhere homely, but at the same time, ancient. The prowling shadow hopped onto another canopy leaf and renewed chewing.


    Lark deciding to answer the creature¡¯s first question finally said, ¡°I wanted to scan you if that¡¯s alright?¡±


    The shadowy ball gave a coquettish chuckle, which sounded oddly similar to a parakeet; Lark felt a sense of dread overcome him, feeling both a tight squeeze on his heart from fear and cuteness. ¡°A polite human¡­ been a while since I¡¯ve seen one of those,¡± it answered, somewhat lively. ¡°Go ahead. See for yourself what I really am.¡±


    Lark raised his trembling hand in the direction of the canopy. Before the black box appeared, the mystical creature said, ¡°So I see, you¡¯re a world traveler? The second one I¡¯ve seen apart from my previous master.¡±


    ¡°Guardian Forest Sprite (Dungeon Master)


    Skills


    Shapeshifter¡±


    Lark gulped. Somehow having this minuscule amount of information was worse than having question marks on his screen. Clenching his jaw, he hurriedly took the frozen Gushi off his head and placed the slime behind himself.


    ¡°How is it that you can see me?¡±


    ¡°The better question is how you can see me?¡± said the sprite. ¡°I sense you¡¯re relatively unaware of the dangers in the Mind Space; no one likes having their secrets exposed and you just happened to stumble upon me, a creature with an ungodly amount of spirit control. Frankly, something like this isn¡¯t common, but you¡¯re within the Palace of Memories. When you use a deciphering skill like the one you used just now, I was alerted to it is all.¡±


    Lark hit a blank. There were so many things he had just learned about today; curses, seals, enchantments, mana, and spirit power. Never mind about how the scan skill works. But assuredly, he committed something grave against this spiritual creature. Going with his gut, he apologized for peeking at the creature''s abilities and began rambling about what he was doing there, and how his caretaker over there(the one wrapped in bandages) was set up by an organization called Wishes of the People back on Earth. His story lasted approximately twenty minutes before the sprite laughed again.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°An amusing tale. But don¡¯t think, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re up to, stalling for time. I¡¯ve been watching you since you¡¯ve arrived, skittering around like a lost bug.¡±


    Did he look so easy to squish? Lark glanced at his spatial ring on his finger¡ªwould he have to fight for his life so soon?


    ¡°I noticed you¡¯ve put away your slime, why?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to hurt him,¡± he blurted.


    ¡°And what if I asked for him in return to guarantee no harm will come to you?¡±


    Lark hesitated¡ªthe sprite was toying with him. ¡°I would¡­hypothetically¡­¡± he shuddered. ¡°Politely refuse.¡±


    ¡°Ha-ha!¡± The shadowy ball bounced from the canopy to the walls in excitement. Lark¡¯s eyes trailed its movement until it landed the floor, it¡¯s true form materializing into a mouse-like creature with purple fur. A kidney-shaped body with the lower half decorated with runes wiggled madly on a stringy tail.


    ¡°What about another proposal?¡± it''s colorful two-toned body hopped side to side. ¡°Little one, I¡¯ll help you speed up the process of eliminating the curse from your caretaker¡¯s mind and guide you to the world gate.¡±


    ¡°And in return?¡± Lark asked, doubting the strange-looking mouse¡¯s promises. Despite the creature taking the appearance of a rotund, field mouse, perhaps its true form was something more sinister.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask for much.¡± It stretched out a tiny paw. ¡°Make a contract with me.¡±


    Lark wanted to frown, but felt afraid to do so and forced his knees to bend down. As soon as his left index finger pressed against the cold paw, he felt a warmth enter his palm. It¡¯s reading me, he realized when he felt energy recirculating inside his body and the bridge between their fingers turned from hot to cold in a matter of seconds. Unable to jerk his hand free from the binding magic, he furiously demanded, ¡°Let go.¡±


    ¡°No one goes around giving freebies.¡± It snickered like a rat and the area around his hand began to freeze-burn.


    Shit¡¯s hot! Lark seethed but closed his eyes recalling the feeling of Gushi¡¯s Patching skill over his lobster-red hands. Maybe, he imagined it for a second, but his palm did feel cooler until it didn¡¯t. Again, he tried to pull his hand away by jerking his entire body, and in the freak-out, panic attack he somehow managed to turn on his spatial ring. Between the shaking and desperation, a coin dropped out of the sphere and landed on the mouse¡¯s head. Its perked up ears, flattened as if it suddenly became depressed and the energy between their fingers became warm again. Unfortunately, they were still stuck together so he couldn¡¯t relax yet.


    In midst of his sloppy victory, he was able to put together the words ¡®thot¡¯ and ¡®shit, why¡¯d you do that?¡¯


    ¡°Y-you, pesky, tiny human, dare drop a Celestial Coin on my head!¡± Big, droopy tears leaked out the corners of the mouse¡¯s eyes.


    It¡¯s crying? He felt like crying too. ¡°You tried to freeze my hand off!¡±


    With its other paw, it grabbed the coin, shaking it like a tambourine. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can try to bribe me with my goddess¡¯s coinage. I need at least half your soul for my cooperation.¡±


    What my what-what the fuck? Lark¡¯s eyes peeled back. ¡°You give me half of your soul then.¡±


    It shook the coin more madly. ¡°Little one! You jest! You have nothing else to negotiate with.¡±


    Lark¡¯s tongue clicked and he wagged his free hand at the mouse. ¡°Don¡¯t lie, I see you holding onto the coin like a piece of cheese. Scan!¡±


    ¡°Item: Celestial Coin (currency) (rare)


    Also known as the goddess¡¯s seal. These coins were crafted by descendants of the goddess to celebrate her memory, and forever preserve her beauty and power. Only those with the royal bloodline can make these. It¡¯s said that the Goddess Celestia was the offspring of a powerful elf and human, hence the spiritual and magical properties hidden inside the coinage.


    Given to Joffrey Gullivan by Cornelius Goodwing¡±


    Its mousy face twitched. As Lark suspected, it really didn¡¯t want to let go of the coin, so he grinned like an evil merchant. ¡°How about it? In return for your help, I¡¯ll pay you with Celestial Coins.¡± Although the coins seemed really valuable, for the time being, his soul was more valuable to him!


    The sprite¡¯s paw trembled. ¡°You have more?¡±


    A couple more. ¡°Absolutely, more!¡± he replied without hesitation.


    ¡°Okay, fine!¡± it huffed, but Lark noticed its tail springing. ¡°An eighth of your soul, then and a hundred Celestial Coins! I still need to make a living¡­¡±


    You still want my soul? Don¡¯t pull that pouting face at me. Lark bit his lip. ¡°Fine¡­¡±


    As soon as he acknowledged the deal, the energy inside his body reheated until his hand returned to the freezing-about-to-fall-off sensation. Unable to hold out, he affixed another term to the contract: ¡°In installments!¡±


    The bridge between their fingers cut off and Lark pulled back his wrist, where there a new mark formed.


    ¡°Y-you trickster! Pesky! Human!¡± The mouse waved its two front paws up and down, and its button nose twitched madly.


    ¡°Ugh. I feel like I made a deal with a demon.¡± He pushed his wrist up against his forehead.


    ¡°Don¡¯t compare me to those spirits in Daefaelium!¡± Skittish, it jumped into Lark¡¯s shirt pocket. ¡°I accepted an eighth of your soul already and I will take the coins in installments, pesky little one. I¡¯m watching you.¡±


    Lark looked down at where the sprite was nesting. ¡°Are you freezing time?¡±


    ¡°I exerted my soul force over your channeling system to slow the progression.¡± The mouse held up three claws, then two, and then one.


    ¡°NO. Don¡¯t scan¡ª¡± Sphinx¡¯s panic-stricken voice entered Lark¡¯s head.


    ¡°Shut up. I¡¯m alright.¡± I guess. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to knock back a few at this point. Lark rolled out the creaking in his neck, while putting the petrified Gushi back on his head and looked at both the mouse in his pocket and the Trinity Watch. ¡°What now?¡±


    No one answered him immediately. Gushi stretched out a slime arm and patted his nose.


    ¡°Thanks, bud.¡±


    Sphinx¡¯s voice boomed inside his head with disbelief mixed with sheer awe. ¡°You made a familiar pact with a legendary sprite?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m in the habit of hoarding monsters and new tats, Sphinx,¡± Lark answered warily. The new mark on his wrist matched the two-toned runes on the mouse¡¯s body, which were blue squiggly lines.


    ¡°And don¡¯t forget little one, I have an eighth of your soul - so I can hear the conversations you¡¯re holding inside your head,¡± the newest member of his party squeaked.


    ¡°Dungeon master¡­¡± began Sphinx.


    ¡°Nympha,¡± it said. ¡°Just call me Master Nympha, little ones.¡±


    Lark didn¡¯t know if Sphinx felt rattled by Nympha putting them together as little ones, but he did simmer and casually said, ¡°We¡¯re not on the same level, Master Nympha.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see when you can take your protege over to Celestia first. Remember, you will free me as a priority when you arrive.¡±


    ¡°Before we get into the minute details,¡± Lark cleared his throat. ¡°You said this place was called the Palace of Memories, is that different from the Mind Space?¡±


    Nympha¡¯s long tail scratched its ear. ¡°You really are new here, little one. How dangerous and irresponsible.¡±


    Lark squinted; Nympha was looking at his watch rather than at him.


    ¡°To begin with: the Palace of Memories is a branch of the Mind Space. But its depth is connected with the Spirit World. Everyone is made unique by two things: soul and time. Because we exist in one point of time or another in the passage of history, we can access the Spirit World which is unaffected by age through our conscious. Doing so allows us entry to everyone¡¯s memories of the time and place. From what I understand, you¡¯ve gained entry through channeling this man¡¯s spirit. Now, you¡¯ve slightly altered his memories of the events as well as others ever so slightly ¡ª but you haven¡¯t affected the past, only the memory of it. But just because we can, does not mean we do because it¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°What about it¡­ is exactly dangerous?¡±


    ¡°For starters, me.¡± Its blue eyes blinked innocently. ¡°And other things like the fog around the conscious. If you go in, you won¡¯t come out. It¡¯s a place for lost souls to get eaten by Spirits.¡±


    It¡¯s a buffet out there. Lark too looked at the Trinity Watch with an unamused face. The blacked-out areas from the Location Scan must be that fog Nympha was talking about.


    ¡°But the Palace of Memories is also dangerous for Spirits. While we¡¯re not always in the Spirit World, many like to roam in the place where they feel the strongest emotions and we may not want to leave. When that happens, they will haunt that spot for all eternity.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying, that¡¯s why I need to free you because you¡¯re haunting the mines?¡±


    ¡°In part, yes. When a Spirit haunts a location, that place typically becomes a dungeon and the dungeon master, me, cannot be free until someone finishes the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Lark nodded. It was vaguely making sense to him.


    ¡°Not to worry though, little one! Since we¡¯re in a pact, sweeping the dungeon will be easy.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it, Master Nympha. You picked up a newbie, who hasn¡¯t even learned real magic yet.¡±


    Nympha¡¯s whiskers straightened as its nose sniffed all over Lark¡¯s chest. ¡°Don¡¯t lie. I feel elven magic on his person.¡±


    Lark heard a loud scoff in his head. ¡°He drank liquid from the Elf Stem. Its magic hasn¡¯t manifested yet.¡±


    ¡°It looks to me that the Flower of Life is only at its budding stages and will surely awaken the chosen¡¯s abilities when the timing is right.¡± The mouse sprite closed its eyes. Perhaps, the sprite was regretting the decision to ¡°help¡± him, Lark thought, however, its eyes reopened and looked right up at him.


    ¡°My goddess had an elven heritage and she only awoke her elven magic at a time when she couldn¡¯t express her human magic. But she used to say, magic or spirit power was not important as long as a person has noble intentions. That¡¯s what my goddess believes, and so I too will follow through with my promise.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Master Nympha.¡± Lark beamed and patted the mouse¡¯s head. Expectedly, the mouse sprite¡¯s soft fur hummed pleasantly under his fingertips. ¡°Good human! Now, let¡¯s go kidnap your caretaker!¡±


    Is that something a legendary sprite should be saying?

 23 - World Gate pt 1

    Dula and Arelli had left the starting area with the bandaged Wangshi and traveled deeper inside the abandoned mines. Tailing them was no problem with the Trinity Watch¡¯s soundproofing function, but Lark¡¯s nose itched after each turn down a different corridor. Mixed scents entered from all directions. Lark licked his index finger and pointed it above Gushi¡¯s body. No wind. But the tunnel they were currently in smelt of salt and baking sand, different from the earlier room, which had an ashen taste.


    Gushi¡¯s antenna bobbed up and down, changing colors between green and blue, but the investigators had not shown an interest in stopping. Lark glanced around with Gushi¡¯s Perception skill. The canopy-type plants Nympha snacked on earlier were highlighted in a blue hue, meaning they had a spirit nature, but where was Gushi¡¯s green light coming from?


    His shirt pocket rustled. Nympha was snickering. ¡°Ulu¡¯s chosen is really loved by the water sprites, however, only fire sprites like the lower caves.¡± Bright blue eyes shone in the darkness, sending a chill down Lark¡¯s spine.


    A mark of annoyance passed over Dula¡¯s brow as they halted in front of a caved-in passage. Dula¡¯s golem placed Wangshi back against the wall and punched its large log-like arms at the dead-end, paving a way forward.


    ¡°It¡¯s time, stay back.¡± Nympha jumped out of Lark¡¯s pocket and scurried alongside the wall closest to Wangshi. Without any given warning, the earth began to give off heat in the same area as the golem.


    Dula immediately casted Wind-Walker on himself and shouted for Arelli. The alchemist¡¯s alarmed voice was enough to spur Lark to jump back.


    ¡°Set up a fire ward,¡±¡ª Dula waved his quill again, sending a spell to protect the defenseless Wangshi just in time before the gravel beneath their feet melted into a small pool of lava¡ª ¡°now!¡±


    Magma sputtered out of the golem¡¯s body through small cracks in its armor. Dula¡¯s golem didn''t look in pain to Lark, but its coal-like eyes were bleeding red. With another wave of the quill the golem dissembled back into the earth, but molten red continued to spread across the chamber and lava seeped out of the sealed passage, torching both rocks and plants into flames. A line of smoke rose to the ceiling of the tunnel and Nympha could no longer be seen in the stygian blackness.


    Dula retreated next to Arelli, who had pulled out the spear behind his back. He dug a line with it, separating the distance between them and the lava flow. The spear tip scratched along the walls too as Arelli thrusted it into the ceiling. He placed two reddish stones inside the holes and stepped away. The ward was set; out of the carved line, horse-shaped figures made of red dust raced over the fire in waves. The liquid lava, which once bubbled like an angry swamp, settled into layers of dried, black earth.


    Dula flipped the gray hair out his eyes, watching the blaze settle into mere ash and smoke. ¡°I forgot you aren¡¯t much of a fire specialist. But, this is good enough.¡± Then he looked behind them and dispelled his Wind Shield. The windy sphere dissipated and a bandaged bundle fell haphazardly onto the floor where he summoned another golem to lift it like a large package. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. Something doesn¡¯t feel right.¡±


    Where was Nympha? Lark watched the investigation team leave through another corridor with baited breath. They¡¯re taking him away!


    ¡°Worried, little one?¡± The shapeshifter appeared at the sealed passageway, holding a heavily bandaged Wangshi in its mouth. Slightly bigger than Silvina¡¯s Ice Wolf, Nympha stood over the mound of dried lava and gingerly dropped the caretaker in front of the surprised Lark.


    Lark sat next to the unconscious Wangshi and asked, ¡°If he¡¯s here, what did Dula and Arelli take with them?¡±


    ¡°The two humans?¡± Nympha asked, its purple fur shrunk back to the mouse form, while placing canopy leaves all over Wangshi¡¯s body. ¡°Oh, I left a Duplicate, a fake substitute.¡±


    ¡°Originally, all three humans eventually returned to the surface by force.¡± Nympha balanced on its stringy tail, while dousing the unconscious caretaker with the leaves¡¯ extracts. ¡°I remember it like it was just yesterday. Ulu¡¯s chosen summoned a water dragon, but it was all for naught when they met with the dark enchanter and his army back at their base.¡±


    The green, canopy leaves covered Wangshi¡¯s entire body, except for his head. Nympha took away the sword(that somehow managed to be bandaged to his hip) and dragged it next to Lark, who picked it up. He had expected it weigh a few pounds, however, it was like he was holding a cloud. It¡¯s lighter than the twins¡¯ cardboard machetes¡­ he juggled it between his hands.


    Nympha stared at him and he cleared his throat after putting away the sword. ¡°Sounds serious. Did somebody die?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    If only Lark could read the underlying emotion behind Nympha¡¯s gaze, he would¡¯ve understood, then and there, his new familiar was no stranger to death and all its accompaniments. Pressure in the room dropped with a flicker of Nympha¡¯s tail slapping the ground; Gushi¡¯s antenna changed colors from blue to green when the sides of the wall opened, and an outpour of bones, leather scraps, and ornery equipment piled onto the floor. Lark paled, covering his nose. He could¡¯ve sworn even Sphinx held back a nauseated groan. A metallic, six-fingered glove tumbled with a big-boned skeletal hand still attached. Hundreds must¡¯ve died here.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be wrong,¡± Sphinx reassured. ¡°The bodies smell like the grease off of roasted pork¡­ Orcs? Surprisingly, I also smell salt. I suppose someone thought they could¡¯ve used a lil bit of seasoning.¡±


    ¡°The Vodianoi¡­salty fiends,¡± Nympha scowled and retrieved a green-coated scepter from one of the headless, blue-skinned bodies. Unlike the six-fingered skeletal hand, the Vodianoi didn¡¯t wear much armor with their outer bodies looking like an empty crab shell; pincer-like arms and carapace torsos strewn across the tunnel floor, but their legs, where were they?


    He looked at the scrappy magic armor and weapons riddled with holes and dents. The six-fingered glove must¡¯ve belonged to an orc; only the dead orcs wore heavy equipment. It was their blood and guts staining the insides of these leather scraps a brownish red, he thought with a dry hurl.


    ¡°When the dark enchanter killed one of their comrades¡­the one with all the runes on his body. Pity. And then this one fell down here again. I thought he¡¯d be absorbed into the dungeon walls like the others before him, but his will to survive enabled him to find the world gate.¡±


    The scepter taken from the corpse dimly glowed; its jewel encrusted head couldn¡¯t match the reflection in Nympha¡¯s eyes. ¡°The will to survive and surpass is not easy as the dead regret. Are you prepared?¡±


    I can save him. Fake bravado wracked in his ribs in front of the littered corpses. Wangshi looked almost like half of a corpse. Lark gripped the sword, steeling his mind. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever I can for him.¡±


    ¡°Stab the sword straight into his forehead,¡± Nympha ordered with eyes as cold as ice. Lark felt his soul leave his body, immediately thinking: You¡¯re kidding? An edge of panic followed when the connection between him and Sphinx cut again. Or, Sphinx ignored his calls for help. All this nonsense of danger and reward was completely that fake¡¯s fault¡ªall contingency plans can go straight to hell!


    ¡°Hold it upright.¡± Nympha gestured, continuing the conversation without doubt he would follow the command. ¡°And pierce it all the way down till nothing is left.¡±


    His sword grip tightened as he tried to clamp down the rising frustration like a bitter pill. The black scabbard dropped to the floor and the blade rested painfully bare against Wangshi¡¯s pale skin. Shockingly, he did not tremble as he thought he would, but his heart beat unceasingly, pulsing against his throat. Wangshi better live through this.


    ¡°I get the idea,¡± Lark snapped, guiding the tip across the surface of thin, black hair until it reached right between his thick, bushy eyebrows. A lash fell out of line. It rested slightly off-center on the top of his eyelid. Wangshi¡¯s eyes remained motionless, but looked as though they could awaken at any moment and they could be brought back to the real world. Out of this nightmare-like state. Lark kneaded the sides of the rough leather hilt, while raising it higher. His hands formed a tight knot above the hilt and his thumbs rubbed against each other; they circled as if rolling back in time to when he didn¡¯t make the choice to save time. The moment never arrived.


    And it sunk down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t close your eyes, little one.¡± Nympha waved a paw, signaling the start of unsealing the curse. The crashing feeling didn¡¯t stop and his palms fused with the hilt until they collided against a barrier; the jian absorbed into the space created, impaling the foundation. Then he let go, watching the sword hilt disappear completely into Wangshi¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Stand back. I¡¯ll do the rest.¡± Nympha leapt up above Wangshi¡¯s head, the scepter was held by the tail until the jewel came out with a small pop. With a wild swing, the scepter chuted into the corpse¡¯s chest, crumbling the shell into pieces, but Nympha kept the dimly lit jewel in its paws and settled it in right above the opening in Wangshi¡¯s skull.


    Lark had already fallen on his butt when Nympha took over the proceedings; unable to stand back up, he kept an eye on the strange gem and the blue-green energies rising from the gap he made.


    ¡°Hate when it does that: spirit compression.¡± Sphinx¡¯s voice returned to him, abnormally out-of-breath. ¡°Master Nympha is a bag of tricks. The curse seal is transferring into the magic gem.¡±


    ¡°You may refer to me as a she, not that I identify with any human generated genders¡ªbut my goddess was once a girl too,¡± Nympha retorted, holding the gem now swirling with raw energy. She passed the gem shaped like a marble to Lark, who caught it with his bare hands.


    ¡°Is this okay? Me holding it like this?¡± Lark¡¯s eyes shifted to the gem warily and a new black box appeared.


    ¡°Item: Cursed Memory Gem (magic) (spirit) (uncommon)


    A rank D cursed object. Curse will activate once gem is in use.


    Effects: Paralysis. The afflicted will relive their worse memory during the duration of the effect.¡±


    Master Nympha¡¯s whiskers shook and her nose crinkled with wrinkles as she took back the gem. ¡°Perhaps, it is too soon to give this to you. No matter. I have other gifts.¡±


    She took off into the darkness carrying the gem with her and Lark stared at Wangshi. Despite the numerous corpses surrounding them, the scenery was not at all drab; after all, by overcoming this trauma he was finally able to cure Wangshi. It took some time, but he did it.


    ¡°What a pure smile,¡± Sphinx remarked. Something about the way he talked sent a chill inside Lark¡¯s heart, as if it wouldn¡¯t be long before his happiness could disappear.


    ¡°And you have no idea what you just did,¡± Sphinx spoke again.


    Why does he sound so pleased? Lark didn¡¯t have time to wonder because SIM reacted with a new notification: ¡°Holder¡¯s stats have updated!¡±


    ¡°Lark Rune [Trickster]


    [Survivor][Beginner Beast Tamer][Familiar*]


    Happiness Level: 80%


    STR: 18


    DEX: 20 (+5)


    INT: 18 (+5)


    *MG: 15 (+10)


    *SPT: -100


    *LUK: 35 (+10)


    Update: Due to the powerful familiar contract magic casted upon user: Magic power has increased by 15 points, Spirit power has decreased by 100 points, and Luck has increased by 20 points. Stats will remain permanent until the Familiar status has been removed.


    [Familiar]


    Bound by spiritual contract magic, the holder, Lark, has suffered a severe penalty of losing an eighth of his soul to the dungeon master, Nympha. Until the agreements of the contract are completed(holder must give up 99 Celestial coins, and complete Nympha¡¯s request), the holder will be subjected to harsh spiritual training as deemed necessary by SIM to recover and strengthen soul properties.

 23.5 World Gate pt 2

    Harsh spiritual training¡­in other words, punishment. Lark squeezed his knuckles. ¡°Sphinx, you didn¡¯t plan this. Did you?¡±


    ¡°I told you this excursion would be dangerous but rewarding. However, Master Nympha¡¯s presence came as a surprise. Fortunately, there was no need to resort to drastic measures. Your trickster behavior helped. The penalty is less severe than I imagined.¡±


    Lark touched his chest. The loss of a piece of his soul didn¡¯t feel as dramatic as he imagined, but now his stats were in the negative. He got nerfed with stats lower than a peasant which virtually was unheard of. Imagine if he traded half of his soul¡­


    ¡°The solution is simple: you just have to squeeze your soul a bit to recover,¡± Sphinx answered his worries, but Lark returned it with a lemon-face. ¡°And all is not lost. Your spirit familiar will save you if you¡¯re in a tight spot.¡±


    Yes, his new tattoo reminded him of this new obligation. Mr. Federov¡¯s notes didn¡¯t include information regarding Familiars; so he did what he usually did with matters he had no knowledge of, which was to ask Sphinx.


    ¡°Familiars are partnerships that can be established by numerous rights; divine, blood, or spiritual to name a few. The overarching law behind Familiars though is essentially Contract Magic, but that¡¯s not to be confused with Pet contracts because the owner establishes dominance. In a Familiarship, there¡¯s an equal agreement as you¡¯re familiar with.¡±


    Lark numbly shook his head, while rolling his eyes.


    ¡°Master Nympha showed some trust in you for whatever reason by marking you. Anyone like that light enchanter or that water-spear guy could¡¯ve helped her since they had enough spiritual power to sense her presence...¡± Sphinx hummed. ¡°She could¡¯ve noticed your hidden potential though.¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Did I say something?¡± Sphinx acted coy.


    Don¡¯t try to be cute. Lark folded his arms when the sound of scurrying feet caused him to straighten his shoulders.


    ¡°Little one, I¡¯ve returned with a more appropriate gift,¡± the mouse-sprite said, holding said present within its paws: an egg-shaped box. Or maybe he hoped it was a box.


    He tilted his head, curious to see what was inside, but before Nympha could open it, Sphinx raised his voice: ¡°Did my ward seduce you? Why on Pantheon are you giving him that?¡±


    Master Nympha¡¯s tail flickered and Lark held back an uncomfortable laugh when her hamster-like cheeks turned into a violet color.


    ¡°Lark, hurry and scan it before she¡ª¡± Sphinx¡¯s voice muted.


    Nympha¡¯s tail curled to her ears. ¡°My goddess imparted this gift to me before she headed to the Upper Worlds. It¡¯s a Cosmic Egg; a divine object. I want you to have it.¡± She paused, folding in her ears. ¡°Because I¡¯m not a heartless Familiar. And it¡¯s definitely not because I like you! But, if you use it, you may be bestowed with extraordinary powers¡ª.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m grateful you find me¡­worthy of receiving the Cosmic Egg.¡± Lark hurriedly knelt to Nympha¡¯s eye level. ¡°But I¡¯m afraid, I¡¯m not ready, or at least my heart isn¡¯t prepared, you see,¡± he began floundering for words to show his sincerity. Sphinx¡¯s reaction set his brain on fire, but Nympha¡¯s actions made his heart squeeze from responsibility. What did they see in him, that he didn¡¯t?


    Luckily, Nympha¡¯s face brightened as if she couldn¡¯t care less about him rejecting her offer. ¡°If that¡¯s so little one, I¡¯ll save it until you are ready. In the meantime, I¡¯ll give you this instead.¡±


    She shuffled behind an orc and picked up a rock with a silvery-white surface. Lark immediately understood what it was upon closer inspection: a spirit stone!


    ¡°I believe you¡¯ll find this helpful,¡± she spoke with glee and hopped from the dried mound onto a canopy leaf. ¡°With our exchange established, let¡¯s head to the world gate.¡±


    Lark ordered Gushi to store Wangshi before leaving the area.


    ¡°Convenient,¡± Nympha remarked, watching the slime absorb Wangshi before climbing back onto Lark¡¯s head.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to think magic makes things more convenient,¡± Lark replied, sidestepping a blood-stained boot. ¡°Just like how you¡¯re quieting Sphinx.¡±


    Nympha gave a little cute sigh. ¡°The convenience doesn¡¯t last long.¡±


    As soon as they exited the sealed passageway, Lark¡¯s eardrums split to the sound of Sphinx¡¯s stifling groan.


    Lark¡¯s new party traveled through the dark depths¡ªhe might¡¯ve thought it impossible to navigate the darkness without Gushi¡¯s flashy antenna. For Wangshi to have made it this far with his injuries¡­ Lark¡¯s stomach dropped at the thought, the struggle for survival when all else succumbed to death was too devastating to believe.


    How¡¯d he do it? He patted Gushi, who squirmed in return.


    After several turns, the incline slanted upwards and Nympha raced over new plants with a fruit shaped like persimmons on a vine.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat those,¡± Nympha warned as Lark stretched out a hand.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t going to, but thanks for the warning?¡± He eyed his surroundings warily.


    ¡°Siren¡¯s Treat (spirit)(rare)


    An illusive fruit which weakens wills.


    Found in the southern wilderness of Celestia.


    Known uses: alchemy, warding, cooking¡±


    Lark arched a brow. It didn¡¯t cease to amaze him that the magical world used strange materials for crafting.


    ¡°What a delight. They used to serve these to Pantheon prisoners,¡± Sphinx said, smacking his lips.


    ¡°Smart,¡± Lark retorted, brushing up his pace alongside Nympha. If he fell some paces behind, she would give off high-pitched squeaks louder than a windshield wiper. He couldn¡¯t tell if that meant she was eager or annoyed. Better not ask.


    Within a minute the tunnel¡¯s ceiling shrunk to only a foot higher than his Gushi helmet; looking ahead, if he walked with his arms spread wide, his fingertips would be able to touch the walls. Different from the dead-end passage of volcanic ash and salt, the skinny line to the world gate was cooler and the shadows created by the Gushi¡¯s orb light fell over him like a splash of water. The crunch of gravel slowly silenced into powder. A gradual change from brown to pure black sand - didn¡¯t become apparent until another light source revealed the new landscape.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    An inhale, an unexpected breath of fresh air came into his lungs, later, an excited exhale spread over the loamy soil. Clumps of grass topped with flora covered the floor. The opening from which they came through carved into the walls that stretched half-way up into the sky. Spires of brown, whittled stone protected the space like an outer shell, while inside the center, an obelisk lightly covered in dust stood alone, magnifying the room with simply just its presence.


    Lark crouched, sweeping his hand across the grass, while Nympha looked at him curiously. ¡°The ground here is elevated from the rest of the cave.¡±


    He trained his eyes onto the walls and up to the white pillar. Moonlight filtered through the skylight, revealing the numerous craters suffered through weathered age, but brightened its smooth, mysterious structure; the obelisk seemed like an old sentient being waiting for the party to approach it. ¡°This place, it¡¯s man-made.¡± Then he looked back at Nympha; the forest sprite had nothing to say and only beckoned Lark to follow her.


    Upon closer inspection, scrollwork covered the obelisk¡¯s entirety. Missing characters were only obscured by the damaged caused by the depressions in the structure; none of the etchings appeared worn nor rubbed out, meaning human-hands or otherwise had not defiled it. He wished he had gloves to examine it further.


    ¡°Are you forgetting we¡¯re in the Palace of Memories?¡± Sphinx inquired. ¡°Nothing you do here will affect it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be wrong there,¡± Nympha suddenly joined in, holding one of the flowers Lark had seen growing along the cavern walls. ¡°World Gates are protected by strong spirit guardians. Ancient as they may be, they know fates worse than death. Fortunately, this one likes me.¡±


    Nympha dropped the flowers in a clay bowl sitting on the hexagonal pedestal. Numerous, dull gems were encrusted inside the silvery base in a zig-zag pattern, reminding Lark very much of a constellation pattern. Once upon a time, he could imagine a fiery sparkle inside those crowns, but their current state needed more than a shine to relive those glory days.


    ¡°Take your caretaker out. It¡¯s time to return his memories.¡± Nympha nodded at Gushi and then pointed to the flattened grass.


    Gushi hopped onto the floor following Nympha¡¯s directions and repeated the process of Boiling Body, enabled its Engulf skill to spit out Wangshi from its slime chambers. With the caretaker no longer inside it, Gushi rolled back onto Lark¡¯s head, reclaiming his rightful spot and was rewarded with a head-pat.


    Lark rubbed the back of his neck. Wangshi¡¯s situation was almost identical to his sleeping princess scenario, except that Wangshi was an old man with a goatee and fortunately, there were no dragons or kisses involved. The instant Nympha touched the obelisk with her paw, another old man appeared, a very old and bald one at that, sitting next to the bowl as if he¡¯d been there from the beginning.


    Thick, white eyebrows covered his nearly closed eyes; and his long beard reached the bottom of his white robe. On the outside, the spirit guardian had an unassuming presence; quiet, maybe sleepy, but certainly not frail. His eyes smiled and a rosy tint colored his cheeks, watching the little mouse sprite run up to his hand. ¡°Little Nympha, you¡¯ve come.¡±


    ¡°Were you expecting me, old man?¡± questioned the sprite.


    ¡°Did you forget were in the domain of prediction?¡±


    ¡°Predictions can¡¯t be scheduled in, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not on my list of appointments today,¡± Nympha quipped and the old man¡¯s bushy beard shook like the wind tickling treetops.


    ¡°This was more of an unscheduled stop.¡± Nympha¡¯s tail swerved in both Lark¡¯s and Wangshi¡¯s direction. The old man looked down at the still unconscious caretaker and the frozen solid Lark.


    Pulling his ¡®stache, the old man recognized the sleeping man on the ground and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s a no return policy Little Nympha.¡±


    Immediately, Nympha slapped her tail against his robes. ¡°Stop joking old man. He¡¯s clearly a returner. So return his memories.¡±


    The old man smoothed out his robe and pressed a hand to his knee. ¡°Little ones can¡¯t take a joke these days, isn¡¯t that right young lad over there?¡±


    Lark¡¯s eyes became a bit bigger with the expression of: You talking to me? Oh yes, you must be, because there¡¯s nobody else here.


    He lifted his shoulders, shrugging. ¡°We didn¡¯t get a receipt.¡±


    ¡°Crafty.¡± The old man¡¯s beard shook again and he pulled on it. Buried in all that eyebrow hair, Lark could see it, an eye. The sundial glowed red.


    ¡°Tell me, what is it that you truly desire?¡± An almost crystalline light could be seen in the man¡¯s irises.


    ¡°Resist it,¡± urged Sphinx, the sundial glowed even brighter, but all Lark¡¯s focus trained on the old man¡¯s face. Even then, all he felt was mist.


    ¡°I¡­ resent being forced to do things.¡± His mouth moved like a puppet.


    ¡°You¡¯re deluded.¡± The old man¡¯s sudden callousness caused Lark to stiffen.


    ¡°You¡¯re not resentful because you¡¯ve been thrusted into uncontrollable situations. Your resentment comes from everything before that, the constant questioning and worrying, but in fact, I believe you¡¯ve come to enjoy the process, immensely.¡±


    Perhaps, he had forgotten he wasn¡¯t speaking to a regular human being. He was talking to someone who¡¯d be acquaintances with Death.


    ¡°You¡¯re clever. But you haven¡¯t fully answered the question: what is it you truly wish for? Love, wealth¡ª?


    ¡°Already have it,¡± Lark interrupted. His gaze hit the floor upon where Wangshi laid. ¡°I came here to fix him. That¡¯s what I wish for.¡±


    ¡°A temporary measure,¡± the old man replied but relented. ¡°You¡¯re really different from the others¡¯ who¡¯ve come here before, making a wish on someone else¡¯s behalf. Even this man here was only thinking of his own survival.¡±


    This conversation seemed to be heading in a strange direction.


    ¡°Allow me to rephrase,¡± Lark said.


    Off a cliff.


    ¡°I came here to see the world gate, but all I see is an old man mouthing off at me to see if I ask for three more wishes like an idiot. If you¡¯re gonna continue wasting my time, maybe I should just leave.¡± With my insanity.


    ¡°Hold on¡ª¡± Nympha interjected, but the old man stopped her.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ve figured out this little one¡¯s character more or less.¡± He brushed back his beard and let it freely flow over his robes.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame you weren¡¯t here¡ª¡± the old man paused, leaning into the pillar while counting his fingers¡ª¡°two millenniums ago. A pitifully rare specimen like yourself would¡¯ve been swept to the Upper lands with the other pure souls during that time.¡±


    Lark couldn¡¯t actually tell if the old man closed his eyes and pretended to recall a past event, but the old man¡¯s lonely expression echoed the same sentiment he first heard when he met Sphinx. ¡°Even gods are lonely,¡± he quietly said. When the old man made no reproach, the sundial dimmed.


    ¡°I believe you¡¯ve passed his trial¡ª¡± began Sphinx until, without any indication, the old man raised his arm and smashed his hand against the pillar. A bell-like sound rang out instead of a thundering clap; nonetheless, for the first time since entering the Mind Space, Lark felt pain.


    Clutching the side of his head, he peered up at the godlike figure standing on the pedestal, where the jingling sound echoed loud and clear. The old man looked at the mouse beside him and said, ¡°Your partner has quite a bit of wisdom kept in his young soul.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s from forcing him to grow,¡± said Nympha, who looked at the old man¡¯s rare smile. ¡°You don¡¯t want to talk to him some more? He¡¯s someone I picked after all.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be back,¡± the old man reassured. ¡°He¡¯s got the same bright-eyed look as Celestia, and he¡¯ll know by then he has to let something go in order to move forward. ¡±


    Slowly, the old man¡¯s body began to fade to transparency and Nympha began to wave good-bye. Gushi¡¯s body that had been strapped to his head from the beginning of this adventure disappeared after the second calling.


    ¡°Wait¡ª¡± Lark fumbled over the pathway, ignoring the heavy notes lifting through him as if they were seeking release.


    ¡°It¡¯s been done. I¡¯ve returned his memories. But he isn¡¯t able to come through here with you, he¡¯ll need to find another way back¡­Eventually, though everyone will meet back up.¡±


    Lark continued to stand at the base of the pillar with his hands on the sides of his head, resisting the enticing call of the bell. ¡°H-how do you know?¡±


    He tore off one hand to reach towards the old man, anything to stop him from forcing them back. There were still so many questions he wanted to ask, so many things he needed to know! Wangshi¡¯s family, how would they get back here, who was Celestia? Why wasn¡¯t there ever enough information!


    No, not yet. His mind weakened, but before leaving the Mind Space, he vaguely saw the old man¡¯s lips move. ¡°I just do.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± He roared. His fist plowed through Wangshi¡¯s forehead. The top part of the sundial scratched the bridge of his nose, causing the caretaker¡¯s face to scrunch up in pain.

 24 - Bonds

    Stupefied, it took Lark a moment to realize they were back inside his living room and quickly got off of Wangshi. Gushi bounded up to him not long after.


    ¡°Scan!¡±


    A new information box loaded:


    ¡°Updated! Wangshi (human) (Shi Clan)


    *Titles: Caretaker, Returner


    Known Affinities: Wind


    Age: 55


    Lvl 1


    Conditions: Head pain. Causes 1) Owner. 2) Recently recovered memories. (Will take five minutes to heal).


    STR: 50


    DEX: 100


    INT: 100


    MG: 100


    SPT: 100


    LUK: 50


    Skills (magic proficiency will slowly recover.)


    Wind Magic - Wind Walker, Wind Needles, Wind Blade


    Cooking


    Farming


    Alchemy


    Tracking


    Sword Mastery


    Sniping Mastery


    Knife Mastery


    ¡°Wangshi? Speak.¡± Lark shook his caretaker¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°What? Am I your mutt?¡± Wangshi groaned as he slid up the couch, curling his knees up to his chest. ¡°I haven¡¯t felt this terrible since I had drinks with your dad. Were pants always this tight? Was this couch always so hard? And when did the day get so dark¡­Lark?¡±


    His caretaker peered at him from his half-asleep position. Lark had taken refuge near Wangshi¡¯s feet and had cupped his hands over his face. The tips of his ears to his chin flushed in a dark-pink shade.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay.¡±


    Lark¡¯s reply was met with silence and for the first time in his life, Lark couldn¡¯t decide if five minutes felt too long or too short. He smoothed his hands over his eyes and hair which was matted with heavy sweat and got up from the couch. ¡°I¡¯ll go prepare some tea.¡±


    If Wangshi heard him, it didn¡¯t show. Lark stepped out of the room, walking briskly to the kitchen where he could do the same routine. Boil water. Get tray. Seep Black Rose tea leaves. For about ten years, he¡¯s practiced this method to give back some happiness to Wangshi. Admittedly, he started off clumsily since he was only six years old when the custom started, but it felt natural. Routine.


    Now, his hands shook over the porcelain cups as if he were six again.


    Ten years. That¡¯s all the time he spent watched over by Wangshi, which was even more than the combined company of his birth parents. In Lark¡¯s mind, this was considered normal; and how it would always be. He never gave it a second thought, except for the fact that they weren¡¯t blood-related, but Wangshi was always there for him in his brightest and darkest moments. The reliable, ninja caretaker: Wangshi.


    Now, Wangshi was not all just simply that. His caretaker had his own family to take care of. Twelve years on Earth, after separation by both family and homeland; it was unfathomable.


    Of course, he needed to reunite them. He had to.


    Gushi made an effort to comfort him by patting his hair dry. Lark took Gushi off his shoulder and held him up where he thought the armpits might be. ¡°Has Wangshi seen you yet?¡±


    ¡°Young master Lark!¡± Wangshi called out. Lark hurried back to the living room, where his caretaker was holding up his sword. ¡°You were there with that slime of yours¡­ during the mission. You were a witness. But how could you be? I¡¯ve watched you grow up since you were six.¡±


    Wangshi suddenly smacked the sword¡¯s handle against his head and scolded himself. ¡°Remember!¡±


    He¡¯s regaining some of that monster strength. Lark squeezed his lips together in a wry frown. Fortunately, the sword was still sheathed and Lark jumped in with Gushi to prevent Wangshi from hurting himself anymore.


    ¡°I¡­was there.¡±


    His caretaker looked up. ¡°You were?¡±


    ¡°Many things happened when you were unconscious,¡± Lark remarked solemnly, nodding to Wangshi¡¯s shirt, which was still stained with dried blood. ¡°The cultists realized you had transversed worlds before. If they had let you returned to your home, you¡¯d been marked as a Returner and regain your powers, plus more. So they created an elaborate mind trap to kill you.¡±


    Wangshi¡¯s eyes glazed over for a second as if remembering the events of this morning.


    Lark raised the Trinity Watch to Wangshi¡¯s eye-level. ¡°This, and the pyramid from grandfather¡¯s lab, helped me save you. But everything came at a cost.¡±


    He pulled his shirt down to show the pattern carved over his heart and heard a strangled cough from Wangshi¡¯s throat. If he was concerned about the tattoo, or if he recognized the symbol, Lark wouldn¡¯t know until later. ¡°Sphinx, the sentient being inside the pyramid, hasn¡¯t explained what it all means, but if I learned anything from today, it¡¯s that magic is dangerous.¡±


    He knew alien-technology brought about convenience. It made everyday tasks easier, faster, and safer. The truth of the matter though was that alien-technology was not from Earth. It was brought in under the guise of super-advanced design. Moreover, no one was upfront with this truth.


    Misinformation caused suffering; but at its core, magic did this horrid transformation. In spite of the potential danger, Lark needed its illogical powers to save everyone because after he discovered the World Gate through Wangshi¡¯s memories, it became painfully clear, there was more to this diabolical scheme, which involved Earth¡¯s exposure to magic and shifting people across worlds.


    Wangshi sat back on the couch in deep thought. ¡°Young master¡­Lark. I had a daughter your age, no, that¡¯s not right, she would be about your age now. Twelve plus four¡­ ¡± he began counting his fingers and then scratched his head. ¡°Never mind that. The point is, I remember.¡±


    Lark stared at Wangshi¡¯s bloodstained collar, anywhere but his caretaker¡¯s eyes. He sensed the frustration behind the words. Remembering, or not remembering didn¡¯t erase the fact he¡¯s been away from his real family for far too long.


    ¡°And then I think about what if your father wasn¡¯t there when I arrived on Earth? If someone else had found me and taken advantage of me, or if I became lost to exposure.¡± Wangshi¡¯s voice trembled.


    ¡°But if you hadn¡¯t saved me today, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to remember them, nevertheless know I had a chance to go back to them.¡±


    Bitterness entangled with sorrow and joy fought in Lark¡¯s heart and like how he usually dealt with complicated feelings, he wanted to mask them with pain. As he was about to wring out his tense shoulders, Wangshi wrapped an arm around his head and pressed it against his chest.


    ¡°You give me the highest honor of knowing you, Lark Rune. Your father would be very proud of how far you¡¯ve come.¡±


    Then Lark entered one of the strongest bear-hugs he¡¯s received since he was a kid. It felt a bit awkward now that he was older and taller, but he didn¡¯t refuse it, knowing tears were about to stream down his face.


    ¡°Hell, I think my father would be proud. Did you see that sandworm up close? I¡¯d rather take on fifty Redcaps than deal with that creature again.¡±


    Lark muffled a laugh as Gushi bounded up to him and wiped his face dry again.


    ¡°You also owe Gushi some of your thanks. I couldn¡¯t have done a lot without him.¡±


    Wangshi rubbed his goatee while examining the slime. ¡°Intriguing, he doesn¡¯t have the same stench as the other ones. Even Celestia had some colored-slimes, but it¡¯s my first seeing a silver one. He¡¯s almost transparent.¡±


    Then the caretaker poked the sides of Gushi¡¯s smooth, silvery coat. ¡°This sensation¡­is oddly familiar.¡±


    Lark coughed into his fist. ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s recap.¡±


    His eyes pointed down to his wrist. The Trinity Watch maintained its sundial appearance along with the pyramid as its centerpiece. ¡°Sphinx, show yourself.¡±


    Responding to his request, the pyramid glowed in neutral silver light, and inside his head, Sphinx instructed him with more cues. Stifling a groan, Lark grumbled in front of a confused Wangshi, ¡°Summon, Master Sphinx.¡±


    In the same manner as his holographic applications, his look-alike appeared, floating above the sundial watch in all his mysterious glory. Though the three-dimensional graphics couldn¡¯t quite capture Sphinx¡¯s complete quintessence.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about this function earlier? It would¡¯ve been a lot easier to communicate with you like this.¡± Lark frowned and yet his mysterious guide only replied with a lazy eye roll.


    ¡°Because, you¡¯ve only recently unlocked this function through soul growth, haven¡¯t you learned anything?¡±


    Lark paused at Sphinx¡¯s words. Soul growth? The game-like requirement he needed to access advanced functions hidden in the Trinity Watch¡ªthat soul growth?! Wait, what about his agreement with Nympha? He wished to ask but Sphinx zipped a finger across his mouth.


    Wangshi squinted, pulling his lips back into a thin, flat line as he leaned in to meet the sentient creature living in Lark¡¯s watch. ¡°When did your watch produce an A.I. hologram? And why does he look so much like you?¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Sphinx isn¡¯t an A.I. like COSMO, he¡¯s real. Like you and me. After you fell unconscious, I was desperate and used Blood Rite on grandfather¡¯s pyramid. And after, he took on my appearance and has been¡­helping me since through these game-like interfaces.¡±


    Lark raised his hand above Gushi and said, ¡°Scan.¡±


    As expected another black box appeared with all of Gushi¡¯s updated stats and Lark prodded the screen quickly absorbing its information. Cupping the black cube above his hand, he showed it to Wangshi, who only looked back him with a blank face.


    ¡°You don¡¯t see it¡ªdo you?¡± Lark sighed. ¡°It¡¯s like an information box that tells me a person¡¯s skills, base power stats, and in Gushi¡¯s case, an event log.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Wangshi rubbed his chin and curled his thumb over his sword¡¯s handle. ¡°What do you see in my box?¡±


    Lark lightly scratched his ear. ¡°Your stats are average, and your known affinity is wind so your skills branch from that. There¡¯s some other stuff about cooking, farming, masteries, and clans, but this box also lets me see a person¡¯s conditions¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the clan must¡¯ve acted upon my disappearance. I wonder if Yaling and Yuuna are okay.¡± Wangshi sat back down on the couch, looking deeply unsettled with the information relayed. ¡°Young master Huan Shi was alive last I saw. But if he succumbed to the battle, my family might be in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Nympha told me only one other person died, the really big dude with tattoos.¡±


    ¡°¡­Aulo? But how? He was supposed to be at the base when the dark enchanter ambushed us with his army in the forest.¡± The old caretaker squeezed his eyes as if searching for answers inside his mind. ¡°Something must¡¯ve happened between the time I was knocked unconscious and when we resurfaced. Dula forced me awake with an innocuous potion and Arelli was already fighting waves of Vodanoi and orcs. But before that, I remember Jaime said ¡®Grab them.¡¯ Does that mean he saw you, too?¡±


    Sphinx was the one who replied. ¡°I¡¯m the one who channeled Lark and Gushi into your Mind Space. The matter is actually more complicated than the first layer of Mind Space, where one just interacts with their own imagination and memories. But because you were poisoned with a rank D mind curse, in order to undo the seal, I used spirit channeling which delves deeper into the Mind Space and touches upon the Spirit World and into a space known as the Palace¡ª¡±


    ¡°The Palace of Memories!¡± Wangshi¡¯s eyes widened from shock. ¡°That¡­ even it was to save me...is incredibly dangerous. My ancestors warned of the Spirit and Mind Eaters which roam there, but it isn¡¯t just that, our memories can alter if things that were seen weren¡¯t supposed to be there.¡±


    ¡°Lark was more than ready to accept the consequences if that meant waking you up faster. ¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t trust if my memories are true or not anymore. And anyone else that saw you will have their memories altered as well because the palace touches upon everyone¡¯s memories in a given time and area to create consistency.¡± He looked sharply up at Lark and then at Sphinx. ¡°If we were in Celestia, there would be huge consequences for this. Not many people can channel into the Spirit World and those that can usually reside within the Sanctuary.¡±


    ¡°What in heavens are you?¡±


    Without missing a beat Sphinx answered, ¡°A lonely god¡¯s creation.¡±


    Sphinx wouldn¡¯t budge more on the topic of his origin or relay any more information than what he had already given Lark. Instead, he returned his form inside of the watch after saying, ¡°Personally, I think we¡¯ve gained a lot of out this trip, and I¡¯ll be analyzing this information until further notice.¡± A bzzt later and his hologram disappeared.


    Lark frowned and reverted the sundial watch back into digital-mode, where the pyramid reappeared inside a circular icon next to SIM. The calendar said it was still Saturday and the time read: 8:45 PM. Only about five hours had passed real time even though it felt like ten.


    These spirit and mind ventures were moving at one to two ratios with the real world. Lark noted while relaxing his arm. On the other hand, Wangshi wore a heavy expression, not at all put at ease by Sphinx¡¯s input. Lark thought he would¡¯ve felt the same had he been in Wangshi¡¯s shoes though.


    He¡¯s trembling. Lark noticed Wangshi¡¯s hands gripping the sword again.


    Oh shit, the tea! ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Lark moved off the couch, but Wangshi held his arm back in a vice grip and flipped Lark¡¯s palm faced up.


    ¡°Your body is unique. I should have realized that sooner. If I had paid more attention to your fate lines, then maybe you would¡¯ve awakened your latent talents and adapted better,¡± he said and traced the diagonal palm lines. Wangshi smoothed over the lines with his thumb and pressed into the meat and bone whenever a new line crossed over. It was a crude method of palm reading, he learned from his wife, a talented follower of the Oracle studies. Now he would pass on all his knowledge to someone he considered to be like a son.


    ¡°Talented. Creative. Brave. You¡¯re lacking in strength, but you will make up for it in abilities.¡± Not once did Wangshi frown as he assessed Lark¡¯s palms, but his caretaker looked him in the eye tentatively, which frightened him.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to protect you or your friends. But I hope, you¡¯ll still consider me as your protector and now, teacher.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to teach me magic?¡± Lark¡¯s heartbeat quickened, mixing the news with both fear and joy to his head.


    ¡°Basics,¡± Wangshi said. Lark caught a wisp of a smirk before Wangshi let him go to retrieve the cooled tea.


    <hr>


    9:15 PM ¡ª Lark didn¡¯t feel tired at all. Excitement rose in his chest as Wangshi cleared out the garage for them to practice. He had changed into his exercise clothes when Gushi leaped onto his head. The springy slime decided to style his hair in the same manner as Wangshi, but his bunched up hair barely produced a one-inch tail.


    ¡°Although I said I would teach you, magic isn¡¯t prevalent on Earth, do you know why?¡±


    Lark shook his head slowly. ¡°Sphinx mentioned something about it, but I didn¡¯t really get it.¡±


    ¡°In Celestia, magic comes from external and internal mana. Internal mana comes from our bodies, and external energy we take from outside or refine our internal mana. Take electricity, it can be stored in wires and batteries, but lightning is its unrefined form.¡±


    Wangshi swung his sword. A light-green sheen enveloped the outer layer. ¡°This is an example of internal mana becoming external mana. I¡¯m constantly releasing energy to produce a coat of protection around my weapon. The color is green because that¡¯s my inherited qi essence of wind. Others may call it different names though, like elemental affinities or attributes, my clan calls it qi, for our inner life force. If you recall, others can produce a host of other colors, each embodying a different nature like ice or fire.¡±


    Lark nodded recalling various instances of the water dancer¡¯s swords coated with blue mana, the light enchanter¡¯s golden sword, and Aulo¡¯s shiny, metallic spears.


    ¡°But packaged mana is also known as external mana.¡± Wangshi waved a hand over the inlaid stones. ¡°These are cloud stones with imbued magical essence. They lighten the overall weight of the sword and aid in wind damage. They also, allow me to fly with certain limitations.¡±


    A cool air whipped under Wangshi¡¯s feet as he spoke and Lark could see him hover an inch above the ground.


    ¡°Earth doesn¡¯t have the correct environment to allow people to manifest internal qi to its greatest potential as I¡¯m showing you. However, as you might¡¯ve noticed. Earth has external energies such as ley lines which power magical tools. Now that I¡¯ve regained my memories, it¡¯s clear to me that alien-technology like your air traveling car or airboots collect power from ley lines.¡±


    ¡°The potion I made, also used the ley lines'' energy,¡± Lark added, raising his hand.


    ¡°Ehmn, yes. Thank you for that.¡± Wangshi scratched his cheek. At the same time, the green mana dissipated and he landed on the balls of his feet. ¡°As you see, one needs complete concentration to maintain mana-coating or anything which requires internal mana like charms and enchants.¡±


    ¡°So Wangshi, does this mean I can¡¯t use magic like you?¡±


    ¡°Right, because you haven¡¯t produced enough qi essence.¡± As disappointment was about to de-motivate Lark, Wangshi followed with, ¡°However, your spirit qi is stronger than average.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lark asked in disbelief. When he checked his stats after forming a contract with Master Nympha, his magic was about 25 points, while his spirit power dropped into the negatives by a hundred points. Sphinx had mentioned something about soul growth earlier though. Did something happen between accepting the Familiar status and coming back to the real world? Lark inhaled a shallow breath and then lifted his watch again. Scan.


    With a simple thought, several information boxes loaded and he gasped.


    ¡°Trinity Watch level up!¡±


    ¡°Item: [Trinity Watch] (accessory) (living)


    Lvl 2


    Bought from the mysterious inventor at Soko¡¯s Auction House. Imbued with soul and magic properties. Functions remain hidden until the user has experienced the required soul growth amount.


    Holding 2 of 4 artifacts


    Craft material: ???, soulsteel, ???, ???, ???


    0.4 lb.


    Created by ???


    Paid by Lark Rune with 558,000 U.S. dollars.¡±


    ¡°Unlocked functions:


    Upgraded navigation system: Combined with SIM¡¯s map-making abilities. The navigation system will allow the user to store digital maps of places already visited.


    Manifestation of Captured Spirits: Trinity Watch can now manifest holograms of captured spirits, pets, and familiars through soul link.


    Soul power gift: As a reward for entering your first familiar contract without dying, the Trinity Watch has rewarded you with increased soul power! Please, don¡¯t die so soon.¡±


    His stats menu changed once again with only modification to his SPT points. They were now permanently changed to 200 points, which meant the soul power gift had rewarded him with initially 300 points.


    Does that mean he narrowly avoided SIM¡¯s harsh spiritual training? A shiver tingled over his ears as he imagined a whisper from Sphinx, you wish.


    ¡°Naturally, many would be jealous of your spiritual base,¡± continued Wangshi. ¡°In the clan, increasing spiritual power was harsher than increasing one¡¯s mana pool. Unlike inner mana pools, which can increase with diligent use, spirit power won¡¯t rise if one simply practices with it.¡±


    With a pause in his speech, Wangshi retrieved a gun from inside his inner pocket.


    Lark couldn¡¯t breathe. It was the cultists¡¯ gun. The same cold, red surface glistened under the garage¡¯s fluorescent lights. Locking his eyes on it, he saw Wangshi open up the cylinder. Zero bullets. Then snapped it back in.


    ¡°Sharpshooters aren¡¯t that common in Celestia. Bullets were considered a waste of materials. And if you missed your targets¡­¡± Wangshi looked down the barrel. ¡°That¡¯d be like watching money drain out of your pockets.¡±


    ¡°Keep it. Impressively, you managed to shoot out psionic bullets without anyone teaching you.¡± He tossed the revolver to Lark who caught it like a hot potato.


    For a moment, it felt right in his left hand like how he would feel about a pair of well-fitted shoes or jeans. When he steadied the handle with his right hand, it burned. The flaps of skin between his fingers stung and his throat suddenly felt dry. How many times did he shoot with this thing? Maybe eight rounds?


    The first time he held the revolver, absolute fury empowered him to lock onto his goals. All he wanted to see was the bodies of his enemies drop dead. Now, that he was calmer, it gave off a completely different impression like his fear was fueling it to burn him. Was it all just in his head?


    ¡°Scan.¡±


    ¡°Item: [Revolver](spirit weapon)(uncommon)


    + 25% Burn effect, +2%Critical damage, +15 MG(if user has Fire affinity)


    Durability: 40/40


    Graded as a rank E spirit weapon. Simple to use and versatile weapon to use for beginners. Fire runes are inscribed within the chamber to add fire damage upon the target.


    Craft material: lava stone, soulstoul, silver ore


    Created by the Wishes of the People


    Given to Joffrey Gullivan


    Stolen by Cornelius Goodwing


    Given to Wang Shi¡±


    ¡°Cornelius Goodwing?¡± Lark spoke aloud. Unwilling to hold it any longer, he placed the revolver back inside his storage ring and directed his questioning to Wangshi. ¡°Where¡¯d you get this gun?¡±


    ¡°As you recall, I collected two guns. One from the assassin at the funeral, and the other from the air traffic incident. The cultists took the one I had brought to the school, which was the one from the funeral assassin. This one is from the more recent one.¡±


    ¡°You mean the one you kidnapped here?¡± Lark¡¯s eyes grew big and he hurriedly looked down at the Trinity Watch. ¡°Summon Sphinx.¡±

 25 - Training

    ¡°What does this mean?¡±


    Lark would¡¯ve preferred the usual Chesire grin to answer his question, except Sphinx pursed his lips as if he were confronted with a ridiculous riddle. ¡°Given the context, I would presume Joffrey Gullivan and this Cornelius Goodwing had a prior relationship. If you recall, the notebook once belonged to Cornelius, except that it was once stolen by Joffrey along with the other contents inside the spatial ring and you haven¡¯t actually figured out why they attacked the airship that day¡­ Have you scanned the spatial ring yet? It may give us more pieces of the puzzle.¡±


    Lark wanted to hit himself. Why hadn¡¯t he done that yet?


    He held a hand over the ring. ¡°Scan!¡±


    ¡°Item: Spatial Ring (magic)


    Storage space: 35%


    A storage ring made to hold user¡¯s items in a bound pocket dimension.


    Crafted by: Pantheon


    Original owner: Joffrey Gullivan


    Stolen from Cornelius Goodwing and given to Wang Shi¡±


    Absentmindedly, Lark began to twist the ring around his finger. The spatial ring¡¯s information was clearly lacking compared to previous item scans.


    ¡°Pantheon¡­that sounds familiar,¡± he said.


    ¡°It should be,¡± Sphinx said. ¡°I was created there, which means the Wishes of the People have connections with the Immortals.¡±


    Wangshi drew closer to Lark¡¯s side to examine the ring. ¡°As I thought, this ring was indeed special.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, even before you recovered your memories, you knew it was alien-tech, or in other words related to magic. How?¡±


    Offset by Wangshi¡¯s confused expression, Sphinx quickly answered Lark¡¯s question. ¡°Silly. Don¡¯t you remember his skills? Even if he got amnesia, his skills weren¡¯t erased. He must have sensed something with his tracking skill.¡±


    It was a good enough answer for Wangshi, but Lark recognized Sphinx¡¯s scheming expression. There was something more to the ring he wasn¡¯t revealing yet. ¡°Never mind, tell me more about these Immortals, who are they?¡±


    ¡°Something in your tone that tells me you really don¡¯t think much of them, but you should be terrified.¡± Sphinx¡¯s holographic figure wagged a finger. ¡°Immortals are the closest figures to a god in terms of power. They all have long lifespans and most are just interested in fighting to cure their boredom.¡±


    At this moment, Wangshi surprisingly confirmed Sphinx¡¯s explanation. ¡°This stuff about Immortals I vaguely remember learning about as a boy. They were stories told to us as children and repeated as legends that humans could achieve immortality by practicing their spirit qi to a master level, but those who could master this left the realm ages ago and before I left, only the head clan member reached an expert level.¡±


    Lark met Wangshi¡¯s eyes, and his caretaker blushed. ¡°I¡¯m prattling, sorry, I¡¯m not too knowledgeable as I wasn¡¯t really involved with these clan matters since I didn¡¯t have the potential when I was younger to be trained.¡±


    Wangshi, my assassin-caretaker didn¡¯t have potential? Lark looked at Wangshi in disbelief.


    ¡°This is probably true,¡± Sphinx muttered. ¡°Judging from your caretaker¡¯s status, his spirit power wouldn¡¯t be acknowledged compared to a talent like Huan Shi¡¯s.¡±


    Wangshi shamefully bowed his head.


    ¡°But it¡¯s quite silly, the discrimination that is. Because even if kings want to becomes gods they cannot.¡±


    Again. There was that look, like a dead gray-bottle left in a cold room, which glazed over Sphinx¡¯s eyes. A familiar spine-tingle ran over his back as he asked for more clarification.


    ¡°Without a god¡¯s bloodline, humans will only achieve an Immortal status in their lifetimes, while True Immortals are descendants of gods. You notice in SIM you are able to quantify stats.¡±


    Sphinx held up five fingers. ¡°Once a human has reached over 5000 accumulated stat points, it means they have achieved expert status and probably considered high tiered in whatever field they contribute to.¡± Then he held out both hands. ¡°Once a human has reached over 10,000 stat points, they¡¯ve reached the pinnacle of an Immortal status. However, numbers you can¡¯t possibly fathom exist for gods. Such a system is probably unheard of in Celestia, but are quite common in Pantheon.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The word confusion couldn¡¯t be enough to describe Lark¡¯s current state of mind. ¡°You want me to learn about an entirely new world but I barely even lived this one,¡± he muttered to himself.


    A smirk formed on Sphinx¡¯s pale lips. ¡°Who was it that wanted to get his friends back and return the servant to his homeland?¡±


    Lark¡¯s frown deepened as did Wangshi¡¯s, but Sphinx continued on in his usual arrogant tone. ¡°This is important information you will have to learn sooner or later.¡±


    Not that he couldn¡¯t disagree with that, but holding off of that god-leveling bullshit, he still couldn¡¯t even use magic yet.


    Sphinx tutted. ¡°You¡¯re better off knowing now than living in ignorance. But let¡¯s put it aside for now, get back to me when you¡¯re done training.¡±


    Sphinx¡¯s hologram returned to the watch and Wangshi leaned over Lark¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve been through a lot. What did you say he was again?¡±


    ¡°A guide or something.¡± Lark dropped to his knees in a low squat and ruffled a hand through his hair, banishing all the stress that seemed to steam from the roots. ¡°Let¡¯s get on with training then and figure out all this cultist business later.¡±


    ¡°First thing first, let¡¯s go over your status screen,¡± Wangshi began with a serious face.


    Lark proceeded with his lowly two digit stats(except for SPT) and the titles he attained. As he thought, Wangshi acted surprised at his beast tamer and alchemist titles. While going through Lark¡¯s Trickster effects, Wangshi released a long tunnel of air through his nostrils. For later reference, Lark texted this information along with Gushi¡¯s and Wangshi¡¯s own statuses to Wangshi¡¯s smartphone.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± Wangshi rubbed his chin once again. ¡°You started with absolutely zero points in spirit power. But you were still able to fire psionic bullets at the school.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking about that too.¡± Lark crossed his arms. ¡°When the professors¡¯ identities were revealed, I felt a wave of heat come over me like more than normal rage and I was suddenly not really thinking anymore. Looking back, it felt like my body moved on its own out of desperation, even after beating up the giant, fury just kept rising in my chest until I pulled out the gun¡ª¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Wangshi pressed his palms together. ¡°Yes! There¡¯s the hint. You must have a latent fire qi.¡±


    I was not thinking that at all¡ªso it wasn¡¯t because I was so pissed. Lark covered his shock with an excited smile. ¡°That means I can make fire with magic right?¡± He chuckled and imagined himself raining fireballs in every direction.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not get too ahead. Like I said before you don¡¯t have enough qi essence, and it¡¯s a latent affinity, which means you were able to use it on accident, but you have the potential to truly unlock it. Lastly, your magic power is too low compared to your spirit power. You were probably imagining attacking someone with a fireball like in that game. However, mana doesn¡¯t completely work like that. A lot of powerful spells need the user¡¯s mana as well as the external mana ¡ª remember the Flame Princess?¡±


    ¡°You mean Silvina?¡±


    ¡°Yes, many refer to her as the Flame Princess because of her sword arts, that and supposedly she''s been blessed by the fire sprites. The point is though, when she used her specialty move Flame Tunnel, she first enveloped her sword in mana before casting. Think of the sword like a catalyst for manipulating mana.¡±


    Lark nodded. Sphinx mentioned this before about Celestia¡¯s magic system. It made more sense now that he had experienced more battles. Then he remembered the runes, which appeared in Henry¡¯s grimoire and decided to ask Wangshi about them. ¡°What about Celestian runes? How do those work?¡±


    Wangshi scratched his cheek. ¡°I¡¯m actually not sure.¡±


    Lark tilted his head, and Wangshi gave a quick explanation. ¡°The study of runes is limited to though who study at the academy so their knowledge base is wider than mine. But my guess would be that they¡¯re necessary for users who use wands, staffs, or grimoires to fight. There are also runes exclusive to the language of elves and dwarves and other races that I don¡¯t know much about.¡±


    Oh. Lark cast his gaze back on Wangshi¡¯s sword. ¡°Never mind. Teach me sword skills then.¡±


    ¡°With pleasure, young master.¡±


    Lark¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°You stop that. I¡¯m not like Huan and you¡¯re not my servant. You¡¯re now my protector and teacher you said. So remember that!¡±


    Wangshi caught himself in mid-bow and chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re correct. Old habits die hard.¡±


    Standing with his back upright, Wangshi spread his feet apart and squatted down till his knees bent into a perfect 90-degree angle. He beckoned Lark to copy with a wave of his hand and began the lecture. ¡°What I¡¯m teaching you is the basics of the Shi Clan¡¯s cultivation technique of qi. In other words, gathering spiritual energy and refining it. It¡¯s a process of five steps.¡±


    Wangshi smoothed out the crease in his pant leg from his waist. ¡°This stance is called the ¡®zhan-uma¡¯. Translated it means war-horse, which embodies balance and strength in immobility.


    To be unshakable. Got it. Lark nodded in understanding. He instinctively balled up his fists next to his side, remembering the horse stance Fuego taught at school. It¡¯s pretty similar, isn¡¯t it? Lark thought to himself at first, until Wangshi told him not to do that.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Your hands must be loose to gather qi, like this,¡±¡ªhe forced two palms in the space in front of his chest¡ª ¡°powerful, but not a lot to strain yourself, and smooth like grabbing a fish out of water.¡±


    ¡°¡­Alright,¡± Lark said, slightly bewildered, but copied Wangshi¡¯s style, ¡°Is this right?¡±


    He heard Wangshi¡¯s small grunt of approval, and the two finally started the first step of identifying qi. Their eyes were both closed by this point when Wangshi told him to control his breathing inhaling through the nose and out through the mouth, then in reverse, inhale through the mouth and out the nose. By doing this, they would be mimicking the movement of qi which flows inside and out and reuses the same energy.


    Lark practiced the breathing exercise for ten minutes, while Wangshi talked over their practice with his knowledge of mana and spiritual energy. Lark pictured mana like water in a bowl. Its use limited by the amount of water inside. When the water resource depletes, one needs rest to refill it once again. Wangshi said it was theorized that the more one drinks, the more water that is replenished over time.


    In comparison, qi would be the bowl rather than the water. The bowl can be empty or filled by your own means. When one wants to strengthen their qi, it¡¯d done by either enlarging the bowl or reinforcing it to contain larger amounts of qi or higher-graded qi.


    One connection between mana and spirit qi is its unique color based on a person¡¯s affinity, which explains both Wangshi¡¯s green colored mana and qi based on his wind affinity.


    After his breathing exercise reached the point of over twenty minutes, a calming effect washed over Lark. His scalp tingled and his grounded feet actually felt lighter than air. However, without him noticing, Wangshi suddenly arrived in front of him, pressing a single finger against his forehead.


    ¡°It is said that all mental energies gather here, but is refined here.¡±


    Lark felt another finger prod at his solar plexus but kept up with his breathing pace.


    ¡°Do you feel anything different?¡± Wangshi asked, keeping both fingers pressed against his skull and chest.


    ¡°I feel lighter and the back of my head feels slightly static-y.¡± Lark couldn¡¯t help but answer in a questioning tone, wondering what was happening to his body. It didn¡¯t help that Wangshi didn¡¯t reply either. Truthfully, he wasn¡¯t sure if was identifying qi properly. Perhaps, that¡¯s why Wangshi was keeping silent because he had no remarkable talents to show for.


    Thirty minutes had gone by, and Lark thought he had messed up his pattern of breathing once or twice, but Wangshi didn¡¯t say anything nor did he remove his hands from his body yet either. Was he measuring something, Lark wanted to know, and almost opened his eyes when Wangshi suddenly ordered him to keep them closed and continue. He took his hands off Lark¡¯s forehead and chest and instead moved them over Lark¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Focus on the tattoo on your chest, visualize it in your mind¡ªcan you feel the energy residing there? If you do, try dispersing it.¡±


    Bewildered, Lark almost forgot the mark he received from drinking the Elf Stem. He remembered it was shaped like the Flower of Life, he had seen before in his geometry textbook, except it was more or less an inferior version beginning with the singular flower trapped by six outer rings.


    He also recalled the peculiar fiery and cold sensation of the Elf Stem juice he swallowed, which was beginning to reform under his skin. Lark stopped breathing. A fire seemed to light itself under his breast bone, while his neck all the way to his collar felt chalked with ice. He pushed Wangshi¡¯s arms off.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Lark choked, finally opening his eyes to the horror of his tattoo glowing. Oddly reminiscent of the time he contracted with Master Nympha, his newly acquired familiar spirit, Lark thought he was losing a portion of his soul once again. He still couldn''t run away again as his legs locked into place, still maintaining the war-horse stance, while his hands flapped uselessly.


    The top three petals glowed in an ultramarine light, while the bottom three blazed hotter than burning iron. All the while, a light blue-green tinted energy raced around the circles, tracing the tattoo pattern. Wangshi¡¯s hand hovered above Lark¡¯s chest, his face also bewildered but not in a panicked way.


    ¡°The mark¡­it¡¯s purifying your inner qi into three elements. Amazing, it¡¯s actually the power trinity.¡±


    Certainly, the news of obtaining three affinities rang like jackpot bells to Lark¡¯s ears, however, he was still in a bind. ¡°Wangshi¡­help. It hurts.¡± Lark¡¯s voice turned hoarse. His throat swallowed down the little saliva he had under his tongue before it seemed like an inferno, a glacier, and static gripped his windpipes like a mountaineer stabbing screws into a cliff for footing.


    Lark¡¯s entire body loosened and sagged against Wangshi, who caught him and pressed a hand against his forehead. ¡°Your energies are condensing, you have to bear with it. Don¡¯t let it consume you. I believe in you.¡±


    Wangshi¡¯s voice fell over him, which he latched onto like a security blanket. As the torment prolonged, however, with each ascending prick against the back of his throat, his mental anguish wailed a cry louder than the last.


    ¡°It hurts.¡± Lark¡¯s mind screamed.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re imagining the volume increasing,¡± a familiar, childish voice said. ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been a minute and you¡¯re already bawling.¡±


    This hurts. This really hurts.


    ¡°Ignoring me, my child?¡±


    Can¡¯t. I can¡¯t breathe. I¡¯ve forgotten how to breathe ¡­huff¡­huff¡­gak! The awkward, swirling energy inched closer to the roof of his mouth, blocking the openings.


    ¡°What a pain, I can¡¯t let you receive any more mental damage than this. You might break. Tsk. It was really too early for you to consolidate spirit power. But with this, you¡¯re able to call upon me. Don¡¯t forget.¡±


    ¡°¡­huff¡­huff¡­¡± The instant he felt the pain lessened to a mere sore throat, Lark felt the small mouse¡¯s tentative paws climb into his shirt pocket. With a doubtful frown, all his strength left him before passing out.

 26 - Taste of Death pt 1

    The pain from consolidating spirit energy was gone, however, Lark seemed to found himself in another dimension again.


    Am I back inside the white expanse? He dipped his hand under the white sand and realized he actually could feel its grainy texture fall between his fingers. That¡¯s different. Before, Sphinx said the Mind Space blocked all sensory functions like pain.


    How did I get back in here though? Was it after passing out? He cupped the sand in his palm and threw it against the nearest brick wall. Stacks of shadows appeared after the anticlimactic splash. Piercing sun rays blocked his vision and it sorta burnt him, reminding him of summer heat waves in the Las Vegas desert. Patches of slick sweat formed under his chin as he continued surveying the area.


    Gross. Lark swiped back his hair, raking his fingers against his oven-ready scalp. He barely took another twenty steps before giving up. Unable to spot where the Cyan Cottage was, he called out for Sphinx.


    ¡°Sphinx are you there?¡±


    Surrounding him was only sand and decrepit brick walls, which his echo bounced from. It was kind of creepy, how quiet it was inside his head, but it wasn¡¯t just that. Somehow the arrangement of the abandoned posts gave him a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Then it hit him. It was because he had seen it before in Wangshi¡¯s memories. He did a 180, and what he saw shouldn¡¯t have been surprising, but he still gaped dumbstruck at the Ancient Jade Forest. What was he doing back in Celestia?


    ¡°We¡¯re inside SIM.¡± Sphinx appeared relaxed, lying atop the brick wall. Lark shifted his gaze to the robed version of himself.


    ¡°What am I doing here?¡±


    ¡°Did you forget already?¡± Sphinx said sarcastically, ¡°Your spirit training.¡±


    ¡°I thought the Trinity Watch already helped me recover that¡ª¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t get out of this if you want to get stronger,¡± Sphinx ended over their conversation with a simple fact. ¡°You can¡¯t get anywhere without power. I¡¯m sure you already realize this truth.¡±


    Lark grimly smiled. Although it was true, he still didn¡¯t want to hear it from him. ¡°Alright. I get it. So how I do go about this¡ªshould I run laps?¡±


    ¡°Humans are a summation of parts,¡± Sphinx said, ignoring Lark¡¯s somewhat earnest reply. His voice filled with callousness, yet warmth emanated as his eyes peeked at Lark through thin gray slits. ¡°In order to look at the big picture, you must decompose.¡±


    A new fear, which ran deeper than Lark¡¯s initial meeting with his look-alike, caught him off guard. This Sphinx, full of complexity and skewed words, was truly scary. It didn¡¯t help that Sphinx looked at him strangely.


    ¡°Go die, please.¡±


    Excuse me?


    ¡°Print Jaime Graham.¡± Sphinx held his hand over the ground, where the dust unsettled and immediately Lark spotted a white circle with a small circumference comparable to a teleportation terminal. Without hesitating, Lark drew as much distance as possible between him and the white circle.


    Right after he moved, the ring turned red. An ¡®x¡¯ cut through it.


    ¡°Too weak, huh?¡± Sphinx lazily noted and Lark could only breathe a sigh of relief until another white circle appeared. This time a lot closer to him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try a monster then. Print Sandworm.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The white light contracted again and grew wider in diameter.


    Crud, it¡¯s coming. Instinctively, Lark rushed to hide inside the Ancient Jade Forest.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how long you can hold out.¡± The cackle in Sphinx¡¯s rotten voice pushed Lark to dive deeper and faster into the Birdsong trees. He had no time to plan ahead when he heard the bone-chilling Sandworm roar. The earth trembled as the chase began.


    He¡¯s a psychopath! Lark cringed as a stray tree branch swatted him across the cheek. Fragrant wood sliced the top of his cheekbone, leaving scathing red welts. He pressed the back of his hand against the cut but didn¡¯t stop running.


    ¡°It¡¯s about twenty meters behind you,¡± Sphinx''s voice traveled like an announcer¡¯s voice inside a stadium. Lark shuddered and ducked through another set of trees. How could he fight back? Wangshi hadn¡¯t taught him any sword skills, nor did he have a weapon and it was impractical to fight against that thing barehanded. Not to mention, Huan was only able to kill that thing with an Ancient beast. Did Sphinx really want him to die?


    ¡°By the way, the current sensory setting is logged at 75% realism. Soon you¡¯ll feel the effects of dehydration and hunger. Careful.¡±


    That annoying piece of ¡ª ¡°Argh!¡±¡ª He tripped down a hidden rill. Rolling onto his stomach, Lark felt the rocks quake under him.


    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s almost here.¡± He clenched his fists. Wait, I still have a chance!


    He flipped his spatial ring ¡®on.¡¯ All he had to do was capture it like what he did with Gushi¡­ but would the Sandworm fit inside the storage space? As he was pondering this, nearby trees were uprooted and sent flying into the air.


    ¡°Argh! Whatever! You better explain yourself, Sphinx, cuz after this, I¡¯m gonna kick your ass!¡± Lark shouted and grabbed Wangshi¡¯s kitchen knife from the sphere.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± came Sphinx¡¯s overjoyed cheer. ¡°In reality, no one will explain why you have to die. So deal with it to the best of your abilities, please. Figure it out on your own. I¡¯ve already given you too many hints.¡±


    He¡¯s explained nothing! Were life and death just a game to this psycho? Lark growled and traveled over the rill to the opposite side of the exploding trees. Lark¡¯s breathing grew haggard as he kept going straight. Just what can I do to win? Escape? Fight? It seems like he really intends for me to die before I can figure this out.


    But what he can do, I can too. Lark stretched his knife-wielding arm out. ¡°Print Gushi!¡±


    The knife pointed towards a small stump, where a white circle contracted and produced a small silver slime. It worked. Hope flooded in his veins as he ran to his summoned beast.


    For a dull moment, the forest was quiet, but his breathless lungs disturbed the air around him. Then, he felt it- a magnitude of chaos erupted below him. It pierced skyward, spewing gray dust in all directions. Blood drained out of his face.


    ¡°Gushi¡ªget away!¡±


    Tiny wings sprouted on the sides of the buoyant slime and they flapped momentarily before being sent into a spiral of sand. It wasn¡¯t his first time seeing the Sandworm, but he had underestimated how enormous and terrifying a slithering body over twenty meters actually looked up close. He barely had time to see where his slime landed before the blind worm burrowed its head back into the sand, indicating a second attack to come.


    His heart raced. How far away was Gushi? Gray dust hung heavy in the air and natural light barely pierced through its density. The slime¡¯s shiny coat barely stuck out from the forest canopy, hanging arched like a strange fruit. Five yards up?


    Lark traipsed around the dugged-out hole before climbing the tree Gushi was stuck on. This was a bad idea calling out Gushi like this, he should¡¯ve timed it better so that the slime could¡¯ve enabled its Boiling Body for a better defensive maneuver.


    ¡°H-hang on. Almost got you.¡±


    The slime¡¯s antenna slowly moved to the sound of his voice. It drooped back down as soon as the sandworm emerged from the gravelly pit.


    It¡¯s brownish pink body spread out over Lark¡¯s eyes like a ceiling and its hungry mouth opened wide. At first, Lark couldn¡¯t believe it¡ªcoming so close to danger¡ªso unreal. Yet, he couldn¡¯t pull his eyes away from the dark cloud over him. He saw the patches of skin embedded with gray sand and dirt, ribbed, and squishable, furiously moving towards Gushi.


    Chills shot through his body as he grabbed a hold of its messy flesh by the nails. His grip weakened, however, he stabilized himself long enough to swing his other hand holding the knife into the source.


    He screamed, louder than he ever thought possible. Feeling the shiver of rippling meat under the knife¡¯s blade, he screamed more and more as if he were the one being stabbed.


    The monster bucked him as he slid down its body. Bolts of pain went through his arm when the sandworm launched its tail towards its own gaping wound. This was it, he thought, noticing the tail coming for his face. He pushed the knife¡¯s handle deeper into the red muscle and pulled the loosened flesh to the side before dropping to the ground with a thud.

 26.5 - Taste of Death pt 2

    It missed his head. But now, he was completely and utterly exposed with no tree coverings. The sandworm¡¯s entire body was entirely viewable to the near-death Lark.


    His vision blurred and he couldn¡¯t lift his head up. He definitely broke something in his handsome face. Jaw? A piece of his common sense? But at least Gushi was safe. The sandworm¡¯s attention was all on him. He would be its meal instead.


    Somewhere inside his stomach, echoed a pitiful laugh, knowing all that energy on screaming went to waste. He had landed on the side of his face and was staring at the butt-side of the sandworm. Or what he guessed was the butt-side without razor-sharp teeth¡ªwham!


    His body suddenly barreled through the air. A huge rock ceased his flying as pain slammed from behind his back.


    It¡¯s not good to play with your food, dammit! Then as he thought a laugh was bubbling out of his chest, what regurgitated out of his throat instead was a steady stream of blood. Oh great, he was hemorrhaging. Lark wore a shit grin as the second tail flick came for him. Carefully, he scrunched his neck to his knees and rolled under the tail swipe, which blasted through the top-side of the rock formation.


    I¡¯m in trouble now. No longer able to move, Lark came face to face with the sandworm¡¯s food chute. Its teeth angled in jutted triangles along the rim and something scarier lurked inside, a tongue. Supposing snake tongues were cute, a sandworm¡¯s was the complete opposite. It appeared like a second body akin to a caterpillar, lumpy with tiny hairs, but scaled like a lizard.


    Sphinx, I¡¯m going to kill you twice over, you fucking sadist. Lark closed his eyes and waited for the bite that never came.


    <Soul Link established with Pet: Gushi>


    ¡°In this state, soul-linked parties will be able to gain experience simultaneously in SIM as long as parties are participants.¡±


    In the bleak, sorry state Lark was in, he still was able to hear the robotic voice of his A.I. COSMO? Although the AI was paired with his smartwatch¡¯s basic functionalities, he didn¡¯t remember connecting COSMO to the SIM app.


    ¡°I took the liberty of doing that,¡± Sphinx said. ¡°The little guy makes a good assistant.¡±


    Shortly after hearing the return of his guide, Lark¡¯s face hurt. He still couldn¡¯t move, but he was alive?


    Lark¡¯s chest heaved. Hopefully, it was just a bruised rib, he thought, before trying to lift heavy eyelids. The mammoth of a monster was grotesquely covered with dirt and putrid blood. All the adrenaline in his body shortly rebounded in his heart once he saw who was clinging between life and death in the Sandworm¡¯s orifice.


    ¡°Gushi?¡±


    The tiny slime transformed into a larger version of itself and was currently holding apart the Sandworm¡¯s mouth with raw strength. Lark rolled on his stomach and coughed. Pain and pain and pain. Every bone in his body freakn¡¯ hurt! But Gushi wouldn¡¯t last long at this rate. Just remembering numbers, the Sandworm¡¯s strength stood at 50 points compared to the slime¡¯s measly 10.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    He inhaled, breathing in sand and blood(most likely his nose broke), and ignored all the flashes of prickling sensations inside of him. ¡°Gushi¡ª¡± he breathed out. ¡°Patch yourself up and get outta here.¡±


    His eyes wanted to roll to the back of his head as soon as he finished speaking. Never mind basic martial arts training and all these nonsensical breathing exercises, he couldn¡¯t even get back up after one hit. Cough. If he slept now, could he pretend none of this ever happened?


    That sounded nice.


    It was getting too hard to breathe anyways, he conceded.


    Next thing he knew, he awoke to the sound of a watermelon exploding above him. Something cold, and wet drizzled down his cheek.


    ¡°No?¡± Lark muttered blankly. Instinctively, he knew what had happened. An oddly, familiar goopy sensation traveled over his skin, the same way his hands first quivered against his first monster kill.


    ¡°No?¡± repeated Sphinx. The ground thumped. A second later, the sand slithered under his bones.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good enough Lark.¡±


    He could envision that smirk and shake of that devil¡¯s head even with his eyes closed. Still, not an inch of him could move anymore.


    ¡°Spirit training will be very harsh on you at this rate.¡±


    Soon, he wasn¡¯t lying on anything anymore. Unending darkness confronted him. Hot air encased his sides, burning his ears, the rest of his body he couldn¡¯t feel. And as quickly as he imagined it, his arm ripped away from him, hanging at the jaws of the Sandworm¡¯s mouth. Worse than a hacksaw job. Of course, in his Mind Space, it was difficult to separate the arm from the body. Arm from body. His arm unattached. Armless.


    At last, death was unavoidable.


    The caterpillar tongue ravished him, skinning his clothes into tatters, and finally tightened around his waistline. He wondered why his head was left unbroken still. Or maybe it already was? None of this felt real. Real.


    If all he had left was his head, where would the Mind Space go? Would this nightmare end?


    ¡°You should know by now, just punch-harder tactics won¡¯t work in unreasonable situations.¡±


    The voice of his guide was always unreasonable. How could anyone think clearly in this kind of situation, when all only felt was despair? Unreasonable despair, which kept spiraling down with him. Strange enough. This was the exact feeling he had on his bus ride. Contained chaos.


    His left arm, still with him, grappled the slippery, scaled tongue, which slowed his descent down the pipeline, but undoubtedly the worm did not like it. The dark tunnel quaked.


    An unbearable quietness settled in his head. Quiet did not mean calm, and there was no way he could silence the anger unraveling. The spatial ring¡¯s storage space appeared next to his waist and with his free hand he pulled out the gun.


    How else can I say that exist? His teeth clenched. It¡¯s this!


    The symbol on his chest glowed as if it lit on fire. Raw energy shot down his arm and into the gun.


    Several shots immediately collided against the monster¡¯s thick, throaty walls. Fleshy, pink gums sizzled. A moment later, the scaly tongue tightened even more against his ribcage. A squelchy sound escaped him before he spat out what he believed to be bile. Surely, more blood spurted out.


    Then he aimed lower at where it was holding him. Perhaps, the loss of bodily fluids was getting to him, so his grip loosened, and only a single shot fired.


    Luckily, or unluckily, it was just enough to fling his body upwards into the monster¡¯s jaws where light filtered through the gaps of its teeth. There wasn¡¯t a wide enough gap for his body to exit. He had to press it further, but his gaze scrambled. Eyes unfocused, Lark¡¯s gun rang out wild shots with the singular intent to pierce a way out.


    A tooth broke off. The jagged edge cut into his cheek. More light poured through. Finally, the jaws opened.


    However, Lark was no longer going ¡®up¡¯ but rather, the sandworm¡¯s cavernous throat had shrunk and twisted. It began to writhe in agony.


    The worm¡¯s actions told him, he¡¯d won a point against it, but his body could no longer endure the thrashing and screaming. Out of breath, and out of mind, his body tumbled into a gravelly path. His vision wore out not long after he felt the sand fall between his fingertips, and soon after, absolutely nothing.

 27 - SIM

    COSMO¡¯s cold voice sounded in his ears. ¡°Vital signs lost. Rebuilding user in 10¡­9¡­¡±


    An intense pain swept over his torso, arm, and head. 75% realism Sphinx had said as a matter of fact. It felt pretty terrible¡ªdying that is.


    ¡°Survival duration: 5 minutes and 14 seconds.


    SIM reports user has gained several achievements: First Death, Sacrificial Lamb, and Perseverance of Wills.¡±


    ¡°Barely unlocked that last one.¡±


    The second voice jolted Lark¡¯s brain awake. Sphinx.


    He got up, not knowing how he returned to his living room couch. The damn demon was nowhere to be seen. It appeared that their voices resounded from an unknown speaker in the sky.


    ¡°So? How was it, your first taste of death that is?¡±


    Immediately, Lark¡¯s left arm swerved, patting up and down his right side. Breaking a few bones here and there was one thing, but it was the first time he had experienced losing an entire arm. A shadow from under the curtain flickered. His heart thumped as he looked up. Just a branch.


    He took quick peeks around the room, checking to see if he was alone. Although the battle was over, it didn¡¯t feel that way.


    An appalling hunger settled in the back of his throat. He hurried to the kitchen sink. Brushing his lips under the rushing faucet, he ballooned his cheeks with tap water and gulped incessantly. But it was not enough, not even when he thought his stomach would burst.


    His head pooled to one side of the counter, intently listening to the sound of draining water. Gurgling pipes concentrated deep into his psyche, but the memories were inescapable even when his eyes were wide open. He couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened. In the solace of his home, all he can see, hear, and feel, were the transpiration of the last five minutes. All the events turning in motion. Vivid. From the exact moment, he summoned the slime, it was a chain reaction of non-stop horror. Bits of cold gelatin pelted into his mouth, and although he hadn¡¯t meant to, his tongue had instinctively licked it. The astringent taste sprinkled across his tongue, then it laddered down the sides until it completely coated his mouth in its flavor.


    Lark¡¯s hands ran up the sides of his head.


    Water was still running.


    There was a knock at the door, and then another.


    Sphinx. His eyes narrowed as he grabbed a kitchen knife.


    It was then, Lark realized something was wrong with him. His hands were no longer trembling as they were in previous fights, nor did he feel any trepidation. It was a feeling that this action was necessary. To kill.


    Once that piece of understanding locked into place naturally with the order of things, the tightness in his throat cleared. He forgot how he answered the door. Was it natural? Did his face show any anger? How did he act¡­?


    He might¡¯ve forgotten himself, but his lookalike greeted him with all-smiles as if he knew Lark would react in this manner. That justified the reward, Lark supposed. A life for a life.


    ¡°SIM alert: User has killed an administrator.¡±


    ¡°SIM reports user has gained an achievement: First kill.¡±


    ¡°Please check inbox for rewards and status screen for skill updates.¡±


    ¡°Survival duration: 3 minutes and 10 seconds.


    ¡°World reset in 10¡­9¡­¡±


    Lark laid on his back and stared at the ceiling, then to T.V. in his living room. The news from the previous day was replaying. Benny¡¯s voice, mixed with both solemn and playful tones with each segment. ¡°Seriously, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°See it¡¯s fun, treating everything like a game!¡± Sphinx had taken Wangshi¡¯s chair and said, ¡°So how was it? Killing me?¡±


    Talking to Sphinx and trying to understand him as best as Lark could put it, was like taking one of the thousands of various sized gears in a machine and spinning it. The other pieces would simply be forced to move by physics. Although he might¡¯ve thought there was any semblance of understanding before, he was quite wrong. These other 999 pieces, he still needed to figure out.


    He blinked and returned to facing the ceiling. ¡°Uneventful.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Sphinx sounded disappointed. He was unpredictable like that.


    ¡°Your body is weak.¡± A sudden turn in his demeanor told Lark they were moving onto the next phase. An apple materialized in Sphinx¡¯s hand. He rubbed the apple¡¯s skin against his white robe. ¡°I died easily because your hoo-mun body is squishy.¡± Taking a large bite into the apple, Sphinx''s mouth covered with juice and flaky yellow meat. Lark closed his eyes at the nauseating sound.


    It¡¯s only been a (very long) day since Lark learned of Sphinx¡¯s existence, yet all his idiosyncrasies very much annoyed him. It was worse that Sphinx even looked like him.


    ¡°An apple, really? Isn¡¯t that kind of cliche, even for you Sphinx?¡± Lark retorted, not even bothering to glance at him.


    ¡°Oh, finally talking back. I thought puberty was almost over for you. I guess not.¡± A second fruit materialized in his hand. A fleshy tomato, which was bustlingly ripe ¡°A single stab and twist.¡±


    Sphinx played with the tomato in his palm like a strange hackey-sack till the green stem suddenly popped out. Lark¡¯s eyes widened. Did the tomato just pulsate?


    ¡°Too easy! And I get easily fatigued in this body!¡±


    A soft sigh floated up to Lark¡¯s ears.


    ¡°It¡¯s no good if we keep playing like this.¡±


    White as snow nails dug freely through the red, tomato skin. Each finger carved out raw tissue and seeds till his entire palm drenched in the tomato¡¯s carcass.


    ¡°I¡¯m not cleaning up that shit.¡±


    Sphinx¡¯s silvery irises shook, but the usual Chesire smile overlapped his expression.


    ¡°I think¡­ three more rounds should do it¡­¡±


    COSMO¡¯s voice reentered the room. ¡°World reset in 3¡­2¡­1!¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Lark¡¯s eyebrows lowered. ¡°Bring it on.¡±


    Normally, there should be consequences for killing people just as there should be equal consequences for dying, however, SIM looked at these conditions as achievements. Not that he had time to ponder over why that was, but Lark found himself in the middle of his high school, where he automatically thought about the philosophy behind his so-called training.


    Lark gritted his teeth, already tightening his hold on the revolver. Although he could make several guesses as to why Sphinx was torturing him like so, it¡¯d be helluva a lot easier just knowing. One, was he really getting stronger? And second, was Sphinx really trustworthy?


    ¡°You know Lark,¡± Sphinx¡¯s timely voice sent a cold sweat behind his ears, ¡°when you¡¯re confronted with that option to fight or flee, I definitely don¡¯t want you to freeze. People are clumsy, more so when they¡¯re in a panic. They slip on shit, fall down awkwardly, sprain limbs, and get tired quickly. A build-up of mental fatigue so to speak can happen in a snap. These exercises are to prevent that.¡±


    Above Lark¡¯s racing heart COSMO¡¯s voice entered from the school¡¯s speakers:


    ¡°Survival countdown 1 hour.¡±


    Lark cocked a brow. ¡°I have to run around for an hour this time?¡±


    ¡°Just try to.¡± A crackled laugh dispersed as the speakers cut out. Lark hurried to find a place to duck into. This time he was familiar with the terrain, after all, he only attended this school for the last four years. He cut over the lunch tables when a hail of spears launched at the deck in front of him. ¡°Holy shit¡ª¡±


    Lark swerved his gun to the closest Redcap and fired three times. The psionic bullets quickly decimated its face, killing it. With his free hand, he summoned Gushi behind him. Meanwhile, he heard COSMO¡¯s voice with a new announcement: First monster kill.


    ¡°Gushi! Boiling Body! Propel!¡±


    ¡°First party kill.¡± A second goblin fell.


    ¡°Damn right,¡± Lark said, squeezing the trigger in front of the third target. The psionic bullet spun a spiral of flames, which pronounced a large flaming hole on the Redcap¡¯s shabby shield. It chucked the shield onto the goblin next to it as soon as its arm caught on fire.


    ¡°Not very smart, are they?¡± he muttered under his breath, and then he directed his gaze upon his slime. After using Boiling Body, Gushi¡¯s strength was on par with a Redcap.


    ¡°Gushi, eat up, but save some of the pointy stuff,¡± he quickly ordered. The slime bounded on top of a dead goblin, and then another till the lunch deck was cleared out of dead goblins.


    ¡°SIM reports user has unlocked Sharpshooter Mastery skill.¡±


    Lark tilted his head. He can unlock skills inside his Mind Space? Did they translate to real-world skills or like Gushi, did he need to relearn them?


    ¡°Live through this round, before you ask so many questions.¡±


    Gushi¡¯s antenna flashed a red beam. Lark didn¡¯t have time to sigh at Sphinx¡¯s interference nor check his updated status because an army of slime bats arrived. More than forty minions surrounded them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother talking, if you¡¯re not gonna answer.¡±


    Instead of using the revolver right away, Lark opened his storage ring and pulled out a kitchen knife.


    ¡°Gushi, shrink back to normal first, then fire back at them,¡± Lark said as he jumped onto a table to gain higher ground. In a second, Gushi transformed back to his usual size and rolled forward like a ball before bouncing. The slime¡¯s body slammed against three bats in a row, then ricocheted off a wall and continued propelling back and forth between monsters.


    ¡°Nice,¡± Lark cheered. He threw the knife into the most condensed population. The slime bats screeched horrendously, having their wings sheered. He pulled out a second knife immediately after and shot off another five rounds before any of them could get any closer.


    Lark noticed his aim centered better than before. Compared to his first knife throw, the second one sailed through at least four bats and the knife held steady instead of wildly swinging like a boomerang. Even his psionic fire bullets had a more punch to them than before. The blast area effect had a wider burn range. It must be because of the new skill¡­


    He let out a low whistle. ¡°Gushi. Spear please.¡±


    The slime quickly spat out a dull brown stick with a leaf-like blade at the top. Amusingly, the Redcaps might''ve been better off fighting with bare hands. The spear¡¯s stats were lower than a tree branch.


    Lark picked it up nonetheless and swung it over his shoulder. He imitated the throw like how¡¯d he had seen the track and field guys do it. The spear flew faster than he had expected and it lobbed a messy hole through another set of bats. ¡°Speed is nice,¡± Lark said to himself until he saw what remained. The spear tip splintered off as soon as it collided with the locker. Then he shrugged. ¡°As I thought, it¡¯d be better to just dice¡¯em up.¡±


    Gushi had put over twenty slime bats to rest, while Lark dealt with the remaining three using the last of his kitchen knives.


    ¡°COSMO how much time remaining?¡±


    ¡°Forty-four minutes and fifteen seconds¡­¡± the robotic voice reported from his smartwatch.


    Lark stretched his hands. They were beginning to stiffen. He¡¯d underestimated how unreliable his stamina was in a prolonged fight. Gushi noticed and bounded up to him, extending his antenna over his hands.


    He titled his head in surprise as a black box notification popped up. ¡°Y-you¡¯ve figured out how to use Perception in this way?¡±


    It read off Gushi¡¯s updated use of Perception extended to pinpointing weaknesses of creatures. In its owner¡¯s case, Gushi examined Lark¡¯s hands to note where the damage had occurred, be it overuse of his strength or torn muscles.


    Quickly, Gushi swallowed Lark¡¯s hands inside its body. Lark didn¡¯t squirm as much as he did before the first time Gushi had done that, but this time a bubbly, viscous fluid coated the webbed space between his pointer finger and thumb. A mix of soapiness and medicinal ointment tickled his nerves. What was this feeling close to, he wondered, a sponge bath?


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Lark said after Gushi released him. His treated hands felt fresh out of a spa. The slime saluted him with its antenna. For the time being, the antenna remained a neutral color, meaning no enemies were withing 200 feet of them. Before facing off with a new potential threat though, Lark checked his status.


    ¡°Lark Rune [Trickster]


    [Survivor][Beginner Beast Tamer][Familiar*]


    *Happiness Level: 30%


    STR: 18


    DEX: 20 (+5)


    INT: 18 (+5)


    MG: 15 (+10)


    SP: 200


    *LUK: 35 (-0)


    Happiness level has a direct relationship with LUK.


    Remember: Happiness has little to do with luck, but luck comes to those with happiness.¡±


    Lark grumbled at the message noted at the bottom of the screen. Another five percent immediately deducted from his happiness level screen.


    ¡°Fortune cookie nonsense,¡± he said. There was no one to argue with though, so looked at the skills he obtained next.


    ¡°??? - Innate Skill - User can understand the cursed/undead creatures for reasons unknown.


    Alchemy - Life Skill - Rank F - User can craft simple potions, salves, and tonics.


    Effects: As the user discovers and crafts more products, this skill will help produce more potent effects. As DEX increases so will the user¡¯s flexibility in handling craft materials.¡±


    Sharpshooter Mastery - Life Skill - Rank G - Training this skill will lead to more sharpshooter related focuses.


    It was mildly interesting to learn he now possessed three skills. One of which SIM couldn¡¯t identify, yet marked as an innate skill. Lark couldn¡¯t help but assume there might be a strong possibility, this condition was related to his failing eyesight. It wasn¡¯t that far-reaching that both coincidences could be linked since both had unknown causes and failed to be determined by SIM¡¯s scanning abilities. However, this lack of information also revealed SIM wasn¡¯t omnipotent, it was assessing him and his surroundings constantly before delivering information.


    Lark put the thought temporarily behind him as he examined the Sharpshooter Mastery skill box.


    When he tapped it, the skill transferred him to an outlined shape of an octagon. A picture of a target centered inside of it. Attached to the left side of the octagon was a line trailing to circle with a palm print inside it.


    ¡°[Steady Hand] - Increases precision and accuracy.¡±


    Although it was a strange-looking flowchart, Lark immediately thought of Runesteam and the game he played with the twins. In the beginning, Teddy only knew how to use fireball, but after he killed a few minions with fire magic, his character learned how to use firebolt, which was an evolved form of fireball with a faster hit rate and increase in critical damage.


    ¡°It¡¯s a skill tree¡­¡±


    Upon closer examination of this branching skill, he noticed something odd. ¡°Where did the rank go?¡±


    His questions would have to wait. Suddenly, Gushi jumped onto his head, entire body shivering. The shared Perception skill activated. Approaching from behind the school¡¯s cafeteria was the disfigured humanoid. All traces of its previous human container gone, fully blood-red eyes and gooey black skin with brownish, popped out veins, no visible green hair nor any semblance of human conscious.


    Lark inhaled through his nose, faintly recalling the smell of seared flesh when Silvina¡¯s attack blew across the battlefield. He tapped the top of Gushi¡¯s slime coat.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you die again,¡± he promised. ¡°I have an idea.¡±

 27.5 SIM pt 2

    SIM was a tool developed in Pantheon to reinforce the user¡¯s Mind Space through a dream-like simulation, where freedom reigned and everything was only limited by creativity. However, an object this powerful drove Immortals mad.


    They remained hostage to the illusions SIM granted them. Envision reunions with passed loved ones, an endless supply of treasure and money, defeating enemies effortlessly, and so on. SIM granted all these wishes and the countless scenarios fed into endless lust and greed.


    For whatever reason, these users never left, finding a fake paradise inside SIM. Eventually, the inevitable occurred. Thus, Sphinx was hidden away inside SIM for a period of time until the apocalypse came to Pantheon. Or so Sphinx had wanted to explain earlier until Lark had killed him, followed by a thorough sass session.


    ¡°What will you do, my ward?¡± Sphinx peered down from a makeshift cloud chair. He floated above the scenery with a pair of fox-ear hearing aids and underground-ostrich binoculars. ¡°I¡¯m oh so, so curious.¡±


    It appeared only the Cursed Human spawned nearby, however, Lark glimpsed back every few steps to make sure he wasn¡¯t followed.


    Sphinx feigned ignorance earlier, but Lark was sure the callous attitude came from dying. Even now, he couldn¡¯t forget that utter despair he continuously felt at random moments. Gushi¡¯s death. His arm and then his own death. And finally Sphinx¡¯s death. The latter having the most chilling effect on his mind. A chill brushed under his arms and ran deeper into him like a cold sting.


    It was easy dying. Not so easy surviving. The fact he was immersed in a world set with 75% realism kept coming back to him and what it really meant¡ª were their deaths were 75% real or had a 75% chance of occurring in a forced setting, or what did Sphinx really intend to show him at 100%?


    Agitated, Lark nearly bumped his shoulder against a random locker. The rusty metal bracket caught onto his sleeve and left black marks while skinning the top of his skin. He hissed. Gushi bent its antenna downward as if looking in his eyes then to his shoulder. Next, it bobbed up and down in an understanding manner and a piece of the slime split away, the same way a crumb would fall from a cookie.


    To Lark¡¯s immediate shock, the dislodged piece went under his shirt on its own to where the scratch occurred and began healing him.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t know you could do that. Very cool.¡± Lark patted Gushi, who seemed to believe he needed the blob of slime left under his shirt for the time being as it was in no hurry to reattach itself.


    Lark stepped out in front of the library porch. The Cursed Human currently walked in circles in front of the cafeteria. Low growls echoed from inside its chest once it reached the edge of the building, then it turned around, acting like a haughty security guard.


    Normally, when school was not in session a metal fence would block out the front entrance which was wall to wall with glass windows and an automatic sliding door. Normally that is. From the adjacent school building, Lark could see the doors ding open and shut every time the Cursed Human walked close to the sensors.


    ¡°It''s walking in loops just like how a monster would in a game.¡± Lark¡¯s eyebrows raised in annoyance, and then he ducked behind a low-rise bush debating if the Cursed Human was under SIM¡¯s control or if it acted naturally like that.


    He brushed the back of his neck, forgetting his hair was tied up, and he let out a depressed sigh. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he said and poked Gushi¡¯s body. ¡°I will protect you, this time.¡±


    A hand pressed against over his wrist, where the blue tattoo wrapped over his skin like a vein. That¡¯s right. I¡¯m still connected to her, right?


    His eyes cooled in front of the empty library porch. Sphinx couldn¡¯t summon Jaime earlier to possibly try to kill him, which meant SIM was too low level to bring out certain¡­subjects. But he had to test his own limits.


    ¡°Print Master Nympha.¡± A tiny white circle dotted the ground and instantly turned green.


    ¡­It worked!The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    A feeling of triumph flushed through his cheeks as a tiny purple mouse materialized.


    <Soul Link established with Familiar: Nympha>


    ¡°Finally, remembered me, little Familiar? You smell stronger.¡± The shapeshifter¡¯s whiskers shook. Her nose pointed up. ¡°The other one is just watching you¡­ what a troublesome protector.¡±


    Lark snorted. ¡°Protector, my ass.¡±


    Nympha made a little swish of her tail, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Lark, and her crystal-like eyes trained on the sky.


    ¡°Wait for me, have your gift out before I return.¡± Her form curled into a ball which then shot straight up. With no clue with what just happened, Lark stood there with Gushi wiggling on his head. He hadn''t planned on using her again to get out of this mess, but it would''ve helped if she had insisted. A tight frown screwed on his face.


    ¡°That didn''t work at all,¡± he murmured. Gushi comforted him by patting his nose again.


    He pulled out a circular, white stone from his shirt pocket. It was the spirit stone Nympha had given him after he rejected the Cosmic Egg. It was also a small consolation prize in return for taking an eighth of his soul.


    Its ovaline and white surface reminded him of a hard-boiled egg. While it felt hard and cool to the touch as most gems were, it was also springy to his surprise. ¡°Scan.¡±


    ¡°Item: Spirit Stone (spirit) (rare)


    +10 LUK


    +2% Healing and calming effect


    A raw material used for various crafts.


    Some places take this rare ore as currency.


    Can be used to passively restore spiritual energy.


    Hidden energy can be felt while holding the spirit stone.¡±


    Lark smirked and raised it above his head. ¡°Hold onto this for me Gushi.¡±


    The slime stretched over his hand, careful not to knock off the stone, and quickly absorbed it inside its slime cavity.


    ¡°Do you feel any different?¡± Lark asked and Gushi¡¯s body twitched. Its antenna glowed white for a second before it returned to a neutral hue. To answer his question, Gushi acquiesced the blob of slime it had lent to him earlier, then repeated its splitting. This new piece of slime bubbled over his chest in a similar action as before except this time, the slime was a fluffy white color and was as soft as cotton.


    Gushi wiggled again as if asking for a compliment. Lark chuckled, unable to put words to the short bursts of energy he felt through the cotton slime. Weightless against his chest, the cloud blob didn¡¯t impede his ability stoop close to the ground. ¡°I see what you mean. It¡¯s good. Very comfortable.¡±


    Gushi combed through Lark¡¯s hair, apparently pleased. They proceeded to watch the Cursed Human while waiting for Nympha. After three minutes, however, Lark decided Sphinx must''ve kept her occupied somehow and said to Gushi, ¡°Sphinx said I only had to survive an hour, which means I don''t have to fight, but I know he wants me to¡­and¡­I gain experience and bonuses for defeating them. You do too¡­¡±


    He hesitated, picturing his arm again in the jaws of the monster, and the astringent taste came back on his tongue. To fight or to avoid¡­ which one was the correct path?


    <hr>


    Far above the duo, another pair faced off above the clouds. Their eyes matched one on one, unshakable dueling ideologies could be seen on their faces, neither wanted to yield in their current stare-off.


    Sphinx began, ¡°You¡¯re not going to help him?¡± The question started off with a curious tone, but ended on a sour note and rather glaringly when Nympha¡¯s tail swished.


    ¡°I am,¡± she said, ¡°I need some answers though.¡± Unlike Sphinx who sat sprawled across a cloud cushion, Nympha hovered in the air as if she were standing on an invisible plate. Sphinx, the disinterested party in this discourse, ran a finger through his white hair strands and pulled it back over his ear.


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    Nympha broke eye contact first and her tail flicked behind her ear. A thin, silver needle produced in her tail¡¯s grip as if it appeared out of thin air. It shot out faster than Sphinx could blink and when he looked over at the hole in his cushion, he blinked twice. ¡°Rarely am I surprised,¡± he said, still eying the state of his cushion, ¡°but you shouldn''t have missed at this distance.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m testing something,¡± she said, her tail now carrying a stack of needles. ¡°You didn¡¯t even try to dodge.¡±


    Neither moved and the distance between them did not lessen.


    ¡°No wonder the soul contracts turned out so well, you and my ward would rather keep it inside your heads than to ask directly. Identical behaviors lead to the same mind.¡±


    ¡°The snake and the crab.¡± Nympha lowered her tail and jumped forward. She landed on another invisible plate, and then another, seamlessly arriving before Sphinx¡¯s side without pause.


    ¡°I prefer the more modern idiom, the pot calling the kettle black, at least no one dies in that one.¡± Sphinx cruelly laughed as a needle lodged into his shoulder. No blood spurted out, it simply stayed under his skin. Another impaled his foot, then both his knees. Nympha showed no sign of stopping until her body grew five times in length, taking on the dog-like form she used to carry Wangshi. Her tail, thick and rough like rope, wrapped around Sphinx¡¯s neck. Tight enough to threaten his air supply, but loose enough for his mouth to talk.


    ¡°Tell me, why I can¡¯t exert my soul force here.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s all you wanted to know you could¡¯ve just asked¡­¡± Sphinx swallowed as the squeeze around his throat tightened. ¡°Jokes aside. Do you know where ¡®here¡¯ is, to begin with? I¡¯ll give you a hint: it¡¯s a Mind Space, but it doesn¡¯t belong to Lark¡¯s. It¡¯s an Immortal¡¯s plaything.¡±


    Nympha tilted her head.


    ¡°Oh wait, I just gave the answer away. My bad.¡± Sphinx replied with a wink. ¡°We should talk to get to know each other more, don¡¯t you think?¡±

 28 - Path of Least Resistance

    SIM can reproduce knowledge in a fake world. Realistic, yes, but nevertheless fake. Sphinx greatly emphasized the latter.


    ¡°You, me, and everything else simply exists in this bubble like specks of dust moving with a current. But we are here, and there, at the same time. It¡¯s the very pinnacle of connecting the mind with the physical,¡± Sphinx relaxed under Nympha¡¯s chokehold.


    ¡°But the copies can never be reproduced in the physical world unlike knowledge, which can be exchanged both ways. Nevertheless, I never expected Lark to be capable of achieving soul link so soon.¡±


    ¡°Soul link?¡± Nympha asked in a strange intonation. It was the first memory she had established since entering this world; words that appeared on a screen in front of her. She could feel her presence in a soul form, split from her physical body which was still left in Celestia, obviously similar to how she wandered through the Palace of Memories except not completely. Comparing this to then, her body was somehow renewed or reissued and she could not fully exert herself.


    After connecting to Lark through their Familiarship, she realized Sphinx was not so easy to handle after all. From the beginning, she understood Lark¡¯s guardian enabled them to enter the Palace of Memories. It was inconceivable at the time that there was another method of channeling without the user having enormous spiritual powers¡ªyet it wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Master Nympha,¡± Sphinx drew on a smirk. ¡°You should realize this place isn¡¯t entirely what it seems. Energy forms, breaks, and retraces. That¡¯s why until Lark can handle the amount of energy inside SIM, there are restrictions in place.¡±


    So, there were restrictions placed on her. She let go of his throat and coldly spoke, ¡°Anyone that can place restrictions inside a barrier is definitely somebody who''s traveled to the Upperlands.¡±


    Sphinx nodded. ¡°Hmm. Yes, I suppose Pantheon has been called the Upperlands or Upperworld before.¡±


    ¡°Then you should know what happened to my goddess?¡± Nympha returned to her mouse form. ¡°There¡¯s been no contact with the Upperlands since the Centifire plagues.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in the same boat as they say here on Earth¡ªI¡¯ll tell you what I remember though, which is not so different from what I already told Lark¡­¡± Sphinx recounted the time he was discovered by Lark¡¯s father in the Sierra desert. ¡°Lark doesn¡¯t know the story before the apocalypse. You''re the first I''ll be telling it to, my true origin and purpose.¡±


    Sphinx''s eyes locked onto nowhere in particular as he talked, his focus trapped between the past and present. ¡°I was locked inside the pyramid for the sole reason of saving the Immortals¡¯ inheritance.¡±


    ¡°You mean all their cultivation techniques and skills were saved?¡± Upon hearing this, Nympha transformed into a puffer-fish.


    He shook his head, indicating her idea was wrong and waited for her to deflate before continuing.


    ¡°My one creator¡¯s legacy was that he was known as the Librarian. Maybe you¡¯ve figured out already, but one of SIM¡¯s prized functions is scanning¡ªa highly advanced appraisal skill¡ªthis skill was created out his thirst to create the universe¡¯s largest library. He also designed a sandbox-like world, within it, he was capable of anything. I was the last to be created and shortly locked after since the real world was coming to an abrupt end. A lonely god, I¡¯m sure he was.¡±


    ¡°To answer your question, I¡¯m not sure of any other Immortals like your Goddess. I only know of my creator¡¯s soul and will. He wasn¡¯t the type to play with others.¡±


    Sphinx hesitated before revealing another dark clue.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°One piece of the puzzle, I haven¡¯t figured yet, is Lark¡¯s Trinity Watch. Without a living accessory, there¡¯d be no way for him to access SIM, which to me must mean¡­ there¡¯s an Immortal living on Earth. Maybe they''d know what has happened to Pantheon.¡±


    While waiting on Nympha¡¯s slow return, Lark had printed out numerous other items including Wangshi¡¯s jian, the love tassel, Salene¡¯s pair of short swords, Henry¡¯s grimoire and staff, Rhea¡¯s battle-axe and shield, Silvina¡¯s broadsword, Dula¡¯s battle quill, and Jaime¡¯s wand. A small success really. He had really wanted to print Dula¡¯s robe and Huan¡¯s Quilin Fan, however, those options had failed. Also, he¡¯d learned he couldn¡¯t reproduce their skills such as Dula¡¯s golemancer. COSMO simply interjected ¡®no¡¯ after three various wording attempts. There was also no way for him to summon other people¡¯s pets (without their permission COSMO added in.)


    He tried lifting Rhea¡¯s shield. Upon realizing it was heavier than a pile of bricks, he let go of the idea of using it. The battle-axe never registered. Dula¡¯s battle quill only worked as a pen. He couldn¡¯t get it to work in the same way as Dula had done, writing in mid-air or summoning a golem with it.


    ¡°No golems,¡± COSMO repeated.


    Similarly, Henry¡¯s staff and Jaime¡¯s wand didn¡¯t react either after some more attempts to conjure magic. He must¡¯ve pronounced the spells wrong or maybe there was a lack of rhyming. There was also the issue of him knowing zero magic as a prime factor.


    Oblivious to COSMO¡¯s sighing, Lark decided to not try using magic against the Cursed Human after realizing all the scripts in Henry¡¯s grimoire were unreadable and untranslatable.


    Next were the swords. At this age, Lark never once thought about becoming a swordsman, but in the depths of his heart, this was actually something he¡¯d been waiting to try since his caretaker¡¯s fight. Wangshi, Salene, and Silvina¡¯s weapons were in pristine condition; durability maxed out and debris-free. Looking at the twin short swords, however, Lark felt a reluctance to use them. Salene almost lost her match due to her swords breaking on impact, clearly, the monster had overpowered their abilities. The jian was the only sword he had some prior experience with. It''s lightweight, therefore easy to carry and swing, probably the easiest sword for him to use here.


    If only this was a ¡®the weapon chooses the master type kind of deal,¡¯ he¡¯d have a less difficult time picking. When he shifted his position towards the broadsword, something inside him told him to reach for it. He picked up the hilt, his heartbeat quickening the same way he would react to making a goal, and whilst admiring the rugged, black grip, the blade¡¯s spine shivered. Or maybe, it was his spine shivering, because it made no such movement again after he swung it up and down. Unlike the other swords, which were straight and aligned with the hilt, the broadsword had a swelled tip similar in structure to a scimitar. Also, the longest sword out of the four and carried its weight more to one side, revealing its unbalanced design. Lark frowned, hinting a sign of disappointment with the sword¡¯s craft.


    He referred again to the item¡¯s scan.


    ¡°Item: Broadsword (weapon)(magic)(uncommon)


    +40 INT +30 MG


    +25% Magic Attack, +Bonus Fire damage


    Durability 70/70


    Graded as a rank C magic weapon.


    3 lbs.


    Craft materials: silver ores, soulsteel, and red power crystals.


    Crafted by Fergusdam


    Obtained through blackmailing.


    Gifted to Silvina Wheatley ¡®forcefully.¡¯¡±


    The redhead¡¯s got a real temper and personality to match. His ears overheated as he held down a chuckle. Then his neck tingled. Not in the good, ¡®oh what a nice, passing breeze on a hot summer¡¯s day,¡¯ kind of sensation, but a prickly cactus tingle climbing up his neck.


    Using Gushi¡¯s perception skill, he sensed changes happening all too fast within the Cursed Human¡¯s body. Blood mist spread from its eyes and it''s already engorged veins doubled in size. Instead of walking like a bi-pedal human, it crouched on all fours and slid across the concrete as if it were a spider on ice. No longer patrolling the cafeteria¡¯s windows, it went down the pavement used for wheelchairs.


    ¡°I know. I know!¡± Lark whispered harshly to Gushi, who was beginning to pull his hair by the roots. He didn''t know what had caused this sudden change or if it had seen them, but they retreated towards the library. Lark scooped up the remaining swords inside his spatial ring when the monster released a gurgling roar. All the hairs on his arms raised. It was in the air, blood mist and all, gaping with its eyes torn out of its sockets before landing again on its feet. The arms acted as its forelegs as it rolled on the ground like a beetle and hastened towards them.


    A paralyzing fear bit at Lark¡¯s ankle as he twisted to get back. It still slid, growing closer, and every bone in its body crunched in a way that told Lark, it was worse than snapped tendons.


    Gushi let go his head and bounced up, prepared to attack, while Lark clenched the back of his teeth. ¡°Here goes nothing.¡±

 28.5 - The Path of Least Resistance pt 2

    An instant nightmare. In a single bound, the Cursed Human had transversed over five feet, leaping into the air above them, carrying with it a mass of pulpy meat and hanging limbs. It was also in this moment, in which time seemed to have stopped for Lark as he watched it¡¯s jumping motion move slower and slower until it paused mid-motion.


    His heart thundered against his ribs. Looking into the pitch black holes where its eyes should have been, Lark couldn¡¯t help but remember the Sandworm¡¯s throat squeezing against his body. The broadsword was at his side, hanging limply, little hope that the monster would just fall through the tip and die.


    Huuuuu¡­.


    Although its mouth hadn¡¯t moved, he heard it whisper. Garbled.


    He should¡¯ve taken this chance to cut it down. Take advantage of this weird glitch in this system which froze the monster in place. However, the hoarse whispering continued, this time loud and crisp: ¡°You can hear¡­me.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t his imagination, but suddenly Sphinx¡¯s fake smile had replaced the monster¡¯s mouth and the sword had plunged through several folds into its neck. His breath caught up to his actions as a mix between a yell and gasp left him. Thirty-two minutes left, with a slime, in a world almost as good as reality, and he was stabbing the shit out of someone¡¯s face.


    Only, no sign of blood had sprayed out.


    And again, it spoke to him, ¡°You¡­have to slash with a curved sword¡­more effective,¡± as if giving him advice.


    Wide-eyed, Lark could only gape back at the monster who didn¡¯t move an inch after being stabbed. Gushi¡¯s body also had stayed afloat.


    What it said though wasn¡¯t unreasonable, his thrust felt awkward and clumsy. He might¡¯ve hurt his wrist. Without moving a muscle in his arm, he asked it, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°My name is¡­Vick,¡± the voice said and then he pleaded, ¡°Kill me.¡±


    The blood-red particles began to drop with the slow shake of the monster¡¯s head.


    Horrified and acting on impulse, Lark pulled back the sword, slicing a thick cut into the monster¡¯s shoulder. This time, blood did spray all over his sword arm, but the monster was nearly on top of him. Its back leg kicked out, knocking the scabbard into his abdomen.


    All the muscles in his body tightened as he was drop-kicked onto the ground. Gushi barely made it in time, careening into the side of the monster¡¯s skull as it was about to slap Lark¡¯s head around.


    The broadsword dropped somewhere, so Lark pulled out the revolver from his spatial ring, and took aim, letting one, then two shots rip. Fire burned on the leg that kicked him, but the other shot missed. With a ragged shake, the fire went out like a light, and the monster focused back on him.


    Too fast¡ªshit¡ªone, two, three, four¡­five bursts of flames shot forth¡ªthe last one, barely sparked an ember against the monster¡¯s chest. The burnt smell drew to his nostrils and Lark¡¯s stomach recoiled. He wrapped an arm around his nose just as the Cursed Human shrieked.


    Underlying the sinister-sounding scream, a solid cry resounded in Lark¡¯s ears. ¡°Why can¡¯t I die?¡± It was the same weepy voice that had whispered to him earlier. Because of this, Lark would say later, he didn¡¯t see the flying kick coming.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The revolver flew in one direction, away from him, and his body flew in another, crashing through the library¡¯s windows. Wooziness invaded his brain and glass spilled all over him as expected when a fifteen-feet-tall monster tosses a normal person into a building.


    A loud boom from around the corner told him it had knocked down a row of bookshelves. Gushi was trying its best to run and hide while lobbing small-sized dictionaries at the monster¡¯s head.


    Lark opened his spatial ring once more and pulled out the roped pouch along with several apothecary bottles. So much for his plans. His gaze burned, blood seeped from his upper eyelid, as he shook one of the bottles and popped off the pressure seal on the other. A hard-smelling liquor filled the room.


    ¡°Item: Red Potion (magic)


    A lesser restorative health and stamina potion.


    To use: pour over the wound to recover health, or ingest to recover stamina.


    Ingredients: Red vine, red snail shells, green snail shells, and tomaberry juice.


    2 fl oz


    Crafted by Cornelius Goodwing.¡±


    What a mad mixologist. Lark¡¯s shoulders tensed before raising the bottle, the size of a shot glass, over his head. Cold, red liquid splashed onto his hair and dribbled down his forehead where the cut seemed to stem from. Sweet-smelling fragrance came and evaporated as the liquid did too after completing its task; taking all the hurt, and the pain away.


    ¡°Gushi!¡± He yelled, pitching his arm with the half-consumed bottle. The slime came squirming down the hall and jumped into the air, receiving the leftovers. Books and tables flew right behind Gushi, as well as the giant monster who flipped over everything in sight. Gushi¡¯s body flashed a quick green light then it disappeared into the ball of its antenna.


    ¡°Down!¡±


    Gushi reacted to Lark¡¯s command, curling its body into a flat disk and landed onto the floor behind some desks. Not far behind, the monster barreled its tumorous-looking arm into a pile of books, where it last saw the slime.


    ¡°Sip on this!¡± The unopened potion bottle spun through the air and cracked upon hitting the back of the monster¡¯s hip. It wasn¡¯t where he was aiming for, which made his comment a little nonsensical. Nonetheless, the reagent began to show its effects. A pool of green liquid had splattered onto the muddy-colored skin and dripped onto the floor, where it turned into several small pebbles. The ex-human snapped its neck in Lark¡¯s direction, rather than at the thing which hit it and began to move. Once its leg extended though, the pebble sprouted into a large, twisting vine.


    ¡°Item: Slender Vines Green Potion. (magic)


    Offensive binding magic. Strength of seedlings and their roots will depend on the type of plant bristle used. After locking onto the target¡¯s scent, their roots will bind and siphon energy.


    To use: Pour liquid over the target.


    Ingredients: Green flower, cactus nectar, plant bristle, and vinegar


    6 fl oz


    Crafted by Cornelius Goodwing.¡±


    Before it knew what had happened, the monster¡¯s legs were wrapped tight by thorns. Half its body fell to the floor atop magazines and fallen chairs.


    Lark smirked. ¡°Gotcha.¡±


    Gushi hopped out the woodwork, taking a split second analyzing the situation between the monster and the strangling vines, before delivering a rapid face-slap. Meanwhile, Lark picked up the revolver which had fallen outside of the library¡¯s doorsteps. His grip changed from cold to warm in a matter of seconds. To explain the sudden feeling, he fired once at a pile of filing cabinets with papers strewn about. As a result, everything lit into a sudden bonfire. It seemed like Gushi¡¯s present had recharged his power.


    Lark tilted his head to the side. Who would¡¯ve thought carpet flooring was extremely flammable? The flames licked through the ugly gray threads and climbed over the wooden furniture in less than five seconds. A column of smog rose to the second story ceiling, here, the fire sprinkler system activated. Out of the six nozzles dispersing gallons of water, one was right above Gushi and the Cursed Human.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not good.¡±


    Fat raindrops splattered everywhere. Despite the heavy downpour, Lark noticed, where the thorns once were, pink buds began to bloom. Growling, the monster whipped an arm at a nearby chair, causing it to roll and fly over Gushi¡¯s head. The vines weakened. Another arm managed to slip through, now only its legs were still stuck.


    Lark pushed past the clutter, picking Gushi up under his arm and hustled a good ten feet away when a loud roar followed. Then several snaps.


    It was free.

 29 - A Reminder

    Pulling a blank is the worst, something Sky once said, because it often occurs at the worst possible timing. Empty eye sockets, which eerily glowed red, and a face like dried leather despite the fake rain, zoomed next to his beating soul.


    Again, he drew the revolver and shot once, twice, and thrice¡ªits arm curved inches away from his face¡ªthe flames only licked them. He thought he could aim at its neck where the sword had cut through it earlier, but for some reason, the gash around its neck closed. Dammit, once more! One, two¡ªa disarming clap made his vision freeze and a black notice went up to the side of his head¡ªthe gun¡¯s durability reached zero, furthermore, it shattered apart before delivering the second round.


    SIM wouldn¡¯t allow him to print another one. A big red ¡®x¡¯ blanketed both Lark¡¯s mind and heart, so much so that he lost his balance. His knees spun on the ground once they passed the doors. This was the opposite of a touchdown.


    The narrow, marble lane in front of the book returns and library counters flooded. Luckily, the Cursed Human hadn¡¯t grasped the true nature of a slip and slide yet and crashed into a glass stand. Minor burns and cuts covered its arms. Still, it was only one or a half-bound away. Unable to breathe at his sheer luck, Lark¡¯s legs and arms grew numb. All he could think was how stupid of him it was to test out the gun like that and why¡¯d he even do that. Not even the sound of grinding glass could snap him out of it.


    Gushi jumped out from under his arm. The bubble of its antenna glowed red, swinging over his shirt pocket. Then the slime bounced out of sight, steam rising off its coat.


    Only then, did Lark remember how to breathe. He fanned his arms to no avail. ¡°No!¡±


    His voice came out neither strong nor confident, a failure of a beast tamer for sure, but desperation called for a second chance.


    About the same size as a home refrigerator, Gushi¡¯s stature came up short against the freakishly tall abomination. Faced off with the wiggling slime, the abomination growled, knees bent low and back hunched. Cautiously, it lunged forward, striking an arm out. Gushi moved to the side and spat a brigade of various paperback books and magazines. They rifled into the air with furious ¡®vooms,¡¯ yet bounced off the monster¡¯s skin like ping-pong balls. The cracked spines and ripped pages splayed out across the floor. Annoyed, the abomination crouched, then sprung up high above the flying textbooks, back-flipped off of the countertops and delivered a crushing blow. The effect of the high-powered kick swept the fallen books into the air.


    Something like a smug grin showed on the monster¡¯s twisted mouth until it grunted looking at its stuck leg inside the library wall. A small Gushi hopped on its tiny four appendages and bopped the abomination¡¯s out-smarted face with its antenna before scurrying upstairs.


    Anger seized it as the abomination roughly pulled itself out of the wall. Loud-curling screams, each possibly angrier than the last, followed after Gushi.


    Hair wet, clothes drenched, and refraining from shitting himself, Lark finally gathered enough courage to stand up. Sprinklers had stopped, and for a while, he thought it meant it was almost over until COSMO reminded him there was still twelve minutes left. ¡°Dammit,¡± Lark hissed, balling his fists. He thought he¡¯d changed, but still Sphinx was right. Weak. Clumsy. Stupid. He was all those things.


    Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted where he¡¯d dropped the broadsword. He stepped towards it, but then halted, seeing as Master Nympha appeared in front of the sword.


    ¡°You, where¡¯d you go?¡± Without realizing it, tears had stung his eyes as he hurriedly swiped them.


    The purple mouse answered, ¡°I was with Sphinx, looking for an explanation. Now, you, I¡¯ve been watching you¡­what were you hoping to accomplish by hesitating?¡±


    Lark lowered his head. ¡°W-what are you talking about¡ª¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Master Nympha¡¯s voice rose sharply. ¡°If I weren¡¯t here, you would¡¯ve walked even slower to pick up this sword. Where did that boldness I witnessed from the dungeons go?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong!¡± His fingers curled, snapping each knuckle. ¡°I was never like this, looking for fights to kill myself or anyone. I¡¯m only like this right now to get stronger for Wangshi¡¯s sake. To get him home. I didn¡¯t want to learn how to shoot guns or do these try not to die challenges. Sphinx¡­Sphinx, he¡¯s trying to turn me into someone I¡¯m not! ¡±


    ¡°And your friends? Gushi?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Breathless, he ran a hand through his hair. ¡°I¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Your goal is too large, too abstract. Save friends, return father-figure, protect slime¡ªbut exactly how will you accomplish that? You cannot compete, you cannot even finish what you started.¡±


    Lark could only grind on his teeth in response.


    ¡°Although I don¡¯t agree with Sphinx¡¯s methods, I agree with him on one thing,¡± Nympha continued. ¡°Recklessness. Carelessness. And hesitation. These mistakes can kill you.¡±


    A silent moment passed. Nympha gave a dejected sigh, displeased by his lack of a response.


    ¡°A familiar¡¯s job is to ensure both parties don¡¯t die, otherwise it¡¯ll hurt their collective soul growth.¡± Her cold eyes pierced through him. ¡°So, just sit back for the next ten minutes. I¡¯ll make sure your slime doesn¡¯t die too.¡± She disappeared in a flash.


    Lark looked up into the darkening sky, wishing all his burdens would go up in smoke. How many times did he have to beg for it to come true? Everything just stopping for the sake of just stopping. Even if it was just a fluke earlier, he shouldn¡¯t have hesitated, chopping that thing¡¯s neck off when he had the chance. Nympha was right. Sphinx was right too. Wasted opportunities were mistakes.


    He rolled his shoulders, but the tension never left completely. All his pent-up frustration lingered inside his chest like a thousand ants biting their way into his heart. What would Sky do in this situation? He couldn¡¯t help but wonder. Sky was the smart one, the one who wasn¡¯t afraid of anything, and the one who got the girl¡­ He should have disappeared instead.


    ¡°Excuses.¡± The voice he least wanted to hear was back. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know the answer by now? Why do you keep running away from it¡ªresponsibility I mean¡ªand by running I mean, standing in place like you¡¯re lost still.¡±


    Lark¡¯s brows knitted together. ¡°Sphinx.¡±


    ¡°Careful, we¡¯ve only got about seven minutes left in heaven.¡± A row of white teeth gleamed in the pale gloom of dusk. Sphinx used the same movement when Lark first saw him; quiet, soundless footfalls walked across the cement. ¡°Wanna try to kill me again? It might make you feel better,¡± he offered, lifting the broadsword naturally.


    ¡°Or are you still too scared?¡± His smile froze, and his pale eyes moved ever so slightly following Lark¡¯s movements.


    Lark rocked back on his feet, noticing Sphinx¡¯s presence coming closer to him, although it appeared he wasn¡¯t moving at all. The curved blade had a likened smile to Sphinx. Sharp, crazed, and a little bit scary. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to run, try dodging.¡±


    Actually, a whole lot scary.


    Lark heard the strange chuckle first, then saw the blade charge with a fearsome thrust. A fistful of thunder roared inside his chest as he took several steps back. His left arm tucked to his side as the spatial ring activated. Both hands quaked while pulling out the twin short swords.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, other than pain, your body should react to fear,¡± Sphinx said while diving down with a swing and another laugh. ¡°Oh, a beginner trying to parry?¡±


    The heat and clangs of metals rang next to Lark¡¯s head. He¡¯d used both swords to block. It took both hands to block. Not realizing how long Sphinx¡¯s reach was the broadsword had grazed his cheek.


    The wound wasn¡¯t deep, but it wasn¡¯t light either.


    Heavy. Lark cringed. He tried to push the sword away, but Sphinx was intent on pushing the blade down without much effort at all. No time to breathe. Lark lunged forward with all his might. Screeching metal and the sound of his heart pounded in his ears.


    ¡°Rule one¡­¡± Sphinx seemed to relent as Lark forged forward. ¡°Don¡¯t mess with a magic sword unless you know magic.¡± Then he smiled. A sign, which immediately told Lark to get the hell away from Dodge.


    When Lark moved, so did Sphinx. Blood-red sparks erupted from the broadsword¡¯s tip, hot and sizzling like firecrackers. The rest of the blade did not immediately have that red aura like Silvina¡¯s Flame Tunnel, but Lark wasn¡¯t going to wait to find out. He held steadfast to the sword closest to Sphinx, and angled the other to redirect the pressure, slicing apart the small burst of flames. Doing so, cracked the sword¡¯s blade, but enabled Lark to counter the heat and forced Sphinx to stop pressing him. After the sparks died down, Lark risked pivoting his body to use the same sword to aim towards Sphinx¡¯s chest. He spun with such a speed, it outmaneuvered his special tail-spin kick.


    ¡°Hmph.¡± His so-called protector pulled back in time, adjusting his stance so that blade sailed above his head. He retracted the broadsword behind his back, turning away from Lark¡¯s follow up strike. ¡°That¡¯s right. Create space between yourself and your enemy.¡±


    Lark stilled, holding himself back from striking again. Every time Sphinx spoke, he was always calm, never showing a shocked expression, other than the time Nympha revealed herself. Lark used to think it was arrogance that Sphinx carried himself with, however, it was becoming more like¡­ how Samuel, his soccer mentor, used to talk to him. Sometimes joking, and sometimes serious. Close, but never close enough to get the real him.


    ¡°At least your instincts are still working.¡± Though Sphinx said that in his usual sarcasm, his grin disappeared. An almost forceful, bored tone followed. ¡°When are you going to finally be who you¡¯re meant to be?¡±


    Sphinx withdrew the broadsword to his side, pointing it downward.


    Forfeiting? Lark wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, except a second later, the sword crackled with a different type of energy than before. A cold, blue hue rose from the chunk of metal, resonating a dizzying and ominous vibe.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡±¡ªjust stop with the riddles for once¡ª ¡°this is just your twisted method of training.¡± Lark raised his sword, accepting the challenge. ¡°I¡¯m going to win this round.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m going to remind you¡ª¡± Sphinx blinked and was gone from Lark¡¯s line of sight. Lark bit down hard on his bottom lip, drawing out blood, to keep himself calm.


    A cold wind flicked behind his ear. Lark twisted his body, at the same time brandishing Wangshi¡¯s jian out of storage.


    ¡°¡ªwhy you¡¯re here.¡±


    Clang!

 30 - Awakening

    Using the jian¡¯s scabbard, he deflected Sphinx¡¯s sneak attack with a quick swipe. The cold blue hue raced with static. A mixture of frost and energy crackled upon contact. If Sphinx was shocked, he didn¡¯t show it. Instead, he returned it with impatience


    ¡°Hmph.¡± He pressed down again, shoving Lark towards the floor.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a cheat. But I got my ways too!¡± Lark slammed the short sword into the ground, the same way Salene had done it, and it stuck inside a small crack made from the abomination¡¯s earlier stampede. The metal attracted the electricity shimmering off the broadsword.


    Sphinx smirked. ¡°I see...¡±


    Using the short sword as a post, Lark swung out with a rapid kick. The sole of his shoe, which knocked Sphinx¡¯s footing, became covered with ice. Letting out a hiss, Lark stomped the floor and rotated out the sword to throw it as an electrified dagger. It traveled like a magnet to another magnet, and Lark rushed in after, arms raised¡ªhowever.


    The short sword smashed into pieces upon contact and Sphinx, without letting Lark unsheathe the jian, shot out, kneeing him in the stomach.


    Stars flitted behind Lark¡¯s eyelids. ¡°Urgh¡ª¡± Holding onto his side, he grunted, ¡°You fucker¡­¡±


    Sphinx peered down at him. ¡°Get up.¡±


    Lark¡¯s once firm and handsome face suddenly twisted into a feral scowl as he broke free from the floor. No trace of caution in his charge; the veins in his neck bulged, and he lunged with such ferocity, surely, the light and thin jian would break within one use. A swift slash and he found himself matched with a half-amused Sphinx, their swords agleam in the dead air.


    Dammit, he was going wipe that grin off that face! Sweat trickled down the middle of his forehead. His brows pinched together while holding the jian at a stalemate.


    How''s he so strong!? Even with his longer reach, he couldn¡¯t push back, and his own back was nearly breaking from the pressure. He forced more power into his lunge while surging energy from his chest into his arms. His feet barely scratched the pavement and still¡­there was that damn grin.


    ¡°Rule one point five: a thin blade like a jian should really be used with only one hand and the scabbard for support. It shouldn¡¯t be used for a full-on brawl.¡±


    ¡°Argh! Enough with your fake guidelines,¡± Lark roared, feeling his anger pulsate from his bruised rib. He knew he wasn¡¯t thinking straight, but Sphinx had a knack for getting him riled.


    ¡°Rule two,¡± Sphinx continued with his chin up as if taunting ¡®can you really handle the next part?¡¯


    It was his last chance. Lark braced his sword arm when Sphinx¡¯s eyes closed and began unzipping his shirt pocket. His heart nearly popped out his chest, realizing something off was happening with Sphinx¡¯s grip when it loosened.


    ¡°Use magic.¡±


    Sphinx¡¯s eye color changed into a fiery blue tint. ¡°The difference between normal and abnormal, you should realize it soon.¡±


    Before Lark could even form words, the broadsword radiated bright waves of cold-red crests down the sword¡¯s edge.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t even do this, the starting line will be further, and you will be set on fire¡­careful.¡±


    Inside the floating, cold-red waves, plumes of heat like lava gushed forth.


    Based on hard science and empirical knowledge, one will often pull away when touching something painful like a hand on a hot stove. Out of reflex, the receptors in our skin detect a stimulus, creating an impulse which then sends a message to the brain to get the fuck out before you even feel pain. Yet, Lark glued to his weight, knowing if he backed away, Sphinx would butcher his arms.


    Fear mounted in his shaking limbs as the red aura reached the inflection point between the jian and the broadsword. The defining moment came in waves, which swelled and laddered down the sides of Lark¡¯s hands. Screams paralleled the blurring script on steel, which melted into obscurity.


    The broadsword sliced through the middle like a hot knife through butter¡ªand Sphinx didn¡¯t dare to hold back, slashing down with preternatural ease. No hesitation present in his eyes.


    Ah. So this is why Wangshi wouldn¡¯t let me hold a knife for the longest time¡­Lark couldn¡¯t help but gaze down at the gash running down his abdomen in disbelief. The pain hadn¡¯t registered, despite having half his stomach split open and a puddle of blood began to form at his feet.


    ¡°Y-you w-won¡¯t even give me a hint?¡± The last part came out as a low hiss. He had snorted through his nostrils while spewing blood which seemed to drip from his brain. With a thud, his body folded over down to his knees.


    Sphinx kept his word. All the excess heat seemed to come from out of nowhere, transforming his body into a landscape of flames, interspersed with mild transitions of an extreme chill. Electricity seemed to dance off his skin.


    God, the pain of molten-level burns would kill a normal person. There was a 75% chance that, just maybe, SIM was forcing him to live through these excruciating moments, so that he can experience, live maybe while enduring the exposure¡­he was so fucked.


    ¡°Even when you die, and you don¡¯t understand a thing, that¡¯s just the outcome. Don¡¯t waste time concentrating on living when you¡¯re hopeless.¡± The anomaly in Lark¡¯s life said, rather coolly. Silver irises returned to Sphinx¡¯s normal face. He sheathed the blood-stained sword back inside its case. Without batting an eye, he chided, ¡°You lose this round, Lark. Two more to go.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Lark¡¯s face paled almost to the color of Sphinx¡¯s milky skin as his vision telescoped. Even so, he held his head up high, so that he could breathe slightly and not be smothered by his own blood. The splitting pain kept him awake for a while longer. A mingled expression of wonder and terror stirred inside him; the same feeling he got when he saw the mixed magic combination of Wangshi¡¯s Wind Needles and Mishka¡¯s Blaze tear apart the five-story slime. Well, he was the unlucky slime in this story.


    I have no idea why I trust you so much. Sky had said to him after that match.


    You really shouldn¡¯t have believed me when I said everything is going to be okay¡­ Lark recounted the moment before Mishka disappeared in front of their eyes. I¡¯ve lived a mostly spoiled life when I could have anything I ever asked for, but when it counted the most¡­


    He didn¡¯t have the power to reverse the situation. An outpour of guilt crashed over him as in his final moments. The feeling of going under numbed his limbs to his core like taking a cold bath in the middle of July. It¡¯s happening again, he thought as he shut his eyes to sleep, mentally preparing himself for COSMO¡¯s reload screen.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡± The familiarity of Mishka¡¯s voice resounded in his head. ¡°It should act according to your will¡­¡±


    Mishka? His eyes rolled, not quite open.


    "When will you be back Lark? Bark bark bark."


    The cute, young voices of the twins floated up to his ears. ¡®I don¡¯t know, but soon,¡¯ he wanted to reply. Lark coughed, choking on his own blood, the back of this throat gurgled like coffee grounds grinding in the mud.


    Their barking slowly muted, then came the low, murmur of a wise old man. Wicca Vicar¡­ it¡¯s how we use the strength inside of us to turn the tables¡­


    Strength? Did he have any¡ªhe wondered.


    It¡¯s actually the power trinity¡­ I believe in you.


    Wangshi¡­That¡¯s right. People were waiting for him. He was their hope, and they were his.


    Bounded to his hand was Wangshi¡¯s half-broken jian, and with the little power left in him, he clenched the handle.


    He cried out.


    ¡ªRrraaaaaaaaaaa!


    ¡°¡­Very well, you finally got the response I¡¯m looking for¡ªthe master worthy of SIM.¡± Sphinx said no more. His thin smile explained the rest as he watched the mark on Lark¡¯s chest glow with reverie.


    Lark¡¯s entire body dripped with sweat. His gray shirt hung open from where Sphinx had cut him and one could see a small patch of slime, which could easily be mistaken as a large cotton ball, overlay the large gap. Above the trauma, his tattoo glowed bright red.


    Aside his grilled arms, to say the least, the sword was also doing something strange. The last character on the blade activated. Its fine boxed strokes lit up; two squares linked together as if completing a puzzle, and a small burst of light covered not only the sword but all of Lark¡¯s blood on the ground. Within the burst of light, straggled lines formed a magic circle. The wind lightly scattered around him as the light veiled his wounds. Every single drop wrapped in the dense white light sucked back inside his body.


    Color returned to Lark¡¯s face and he was already standing up. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to remember, a sword injury like this is survivable.¡± He gestured to his filleted body. Wiping his chin, Lark spat out a clot of blood stuck in his throat.


    ¡°We¡¯re not in a medical drama.¡± Sphinx laughed in a sing-song kind of way, which meant he wasn¡¯t going to bother to explain what just happened, and asked instead, ¡°But you¡¯re out of weapons, what do you plan on doing?¡± The broadsword jutted halfway out of its sleeve.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but right now I feel I can do about anything,¡± Lark boasted and proceeded to take on the training stance Wangshi had taught him earlier. Feeling the surge of heat expand inside his chest, a rugged smile curled on his lips¡ªthis was the strength he needed. ¡°I think I get it now¡­ the difference.¡± He imitated Salene¡¯s grand gesture with the melted sword. ¡°Ready?¡±


    Sphinx¡¯s approach remained impassive. Nonetheless, both their swords laid out in the open. Of course, they were and were not evenly matched. Sphinx had Lark¡¯s body type and stats, but he had the experience and knowledge which Lark lacked. Despite this, he didn''t feel discouraged. In fact, the newfound energy roiled inside his chest, threatening to tip over like ships in a storm, and he found himself slightly drunk from its power.


    Suddenly, a chair flew out of the large bay window on the second floor of the library. It crash-landed only a few feet away from them, followed by a deafening roar. The three monsters were on a rampage it seemed.


    ¡°Don''t get distracted.¡± Sphinx pulled in next to Lark, rotating the sword hilt.


    Lark dipped low avoiding the swipe by a hair¡¯s breadth. ¡°I wasn''t.¡±


    Two forward steps, then one back-turn, and Lark was able to dodge again. It was like keeping the ball away from a defender, he thought, except he had to keep Sphinx¡¯s claws at bay. Sphinx drew into his pace.


    Slide back, back, step and turn¡­


    Duck, duck¡­and goose¡ªLark paused mid-step, allowing Sphinx to cleave his shirt wide open.


    ¡°Y-you¡­¡± Sphinx stuttered when Lark stopped moving suddenly. This time, blood spilled from his collar bone down to his hip. His gray shirt soaked in red.


    The wound left on his belly hadn''t completely stitched together and now, there was another one, leaving a deep gash in a seatbelt impression. This, Sphinx simply couldn¡¯t understand. Why he¡¯d stop, and why he was so happy about being cut open again?


    ¡°You look confused¡­¡± Lark said, meanwhile the contents of his shirt¡¯s pockets spilled out.


    ¡°Let me tell you, I used to be the ace of my soccer team. It''s easy for me to do a bait and release and see through your simple attack patterns.¡±


    He pointed at his flesh wound, letting the blood drip over the sword. The uneven edge of the jian still sharp.


    All the gears in Sphinx¡¯s head looked like they were spinning uncontrollably and a trace of concern fell over his face.


    Eyes tinged red, Lark retracted the weapon behind his shoulder, eying the spot where a part of his shirt fell.


    The difference? Sphinx wasn''t talking about normal versus abnormal, not really anyways, but just now, he might''ve figured out how to separate mana and spiritual energy. His revolver borrowed spiritual energy to form flame-like bullets, which felt raw and cold as when he gave over his soul to Nympha.


    Magic felt airy and swishy. It affected the very air around them, making it bend, shape, and appear with radiant colors. As long as he could visualize what he wanted, he felt in total control¡ªnevertheless¡ªit was just an educated gamble. Before Sphinx realized what he was up to, Lark sliced down into empty air; the half-bladed jian vibrated with energy.


    ¡°Burst.¡±


    A jet of hot air blew over¡ªkicking up the pile of coarse, sparkling sand hidden underneath his shirt.


    ¡°Item: Vampire Dust (magic)(rare)


    Cursed magic object. Must be handled with care, less you want to decay your fingers.


    Attracted to blood. Decaying effects avoided by feeding users¡¯ own blood to it.


    Can be obtained when a vampire or monster with vampiric qualities is killed by fire magic.


    Purity: 70%.


    Harvested by Arelli Ulu


    Known uses: alchemy, warding¡±


    ¡°Aren''t you forgetting that we have the same blood type?¡± Sphinx¡¯s voice remained calm, despite his robes fluttering briefly as the dust climbed over his skin.


    ¡°I¡¯d pay closer attention,¡± Lark said and flashed a low-mocking grin. ¡°There''s a slight difference.¡±


    Sphinx¡¯s flesh began to crack at Lark¡¯s words. ¡°What a nasty guy.¡± His voice held nothing but shock and admiration.


    ¡°I hope you really know who you''re dealing with Sphinx. Once I go for something, I won''t let anyone else have it.¡±


    ¡°I know. Looks like, you don''t need to do two more rounds. I¡¯ll let COSMO handle the rest¡­¡± With those final words, Sphinx¡¯s body fully disintegrated, disappearing into the dust itself.


    The bloodless jian shattered in Lark¡¯s grip. In return, he bent over to pick up the broadsword. The gap between his broken skin completely closed and the soft, cotton ball slime couldn''t be seen. ¡°I really have to thank Gushi again.¡±

 31 - Achievements (pt.1)

    He looked upon the scatted dust, currently whipping along the ground¡ªand wondered how long it took to accumulate these tiny specks of dust into one clothed ball. It didn¡¯t appear that after one-time use, they would neatly bundle up again. While he pondered about what to do about the mess, a searing pain raged across his abdomen. His entire body twitched up and down as he got down on one knee.


    Fortunately, there was one more red vial left inside his spatial ring.


    Before he could access the spatial ring, the Trinity Watch vibrated with several notifications and COSMO¡¯s voice entered his head:


    ¡°SIM alert: User has killed an administrator.¡±


    ¡°SIM reports user has gained several achievements: Brink of death kill, first-time magic-user, and lucky strike.¡±


    ¡°See inbox for rewards and status screen for skill updates.¡±


    ¡°Countdown: 3 minutes and 32 seconds left.¡±


    It took only four to five minutes for such a heated battle to start and be over with? That¡¯s how long it usually took to make tea¡­No way¡­


    He slapped his face to wake up his senses. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me? I¡¯ve gotta get Gushi,¡± he said to himself and drank the vial, which tasted strangely like tomato juice.


    Across from him sat the crushed-up chair, drawing his attention to the second-floor windows. A creeping reminder of that day flew back to him as Mishka and Sky fell through the same way.


    Lamenting the fact that he still did not have a movement-based skill like wind-walker, Lark held in the pain as his breathing pinched his sides. An entire bookcase fell over to the ground just as he stepped inside.


    A low hiss echoed. ¡°Fiend.¡±


    It had a cute, squeaky final touch despite the overlaying threat. Nympha? Lark¡¯s head turned for a split second when the ghoulish figure came crashing down. Thin silver needles embedded in its skin; some all the way through, others not so much. The abomination¡¯s restoration speed applied as some skin overgrowth crawled over or around the penetrated openings.


    On top of the monster¡¯s skull, a poor little slime hung on for dear life.


    ¡°Gushi! Watch it,¡± Lark hollered, tossing a wayward dictionary at the vile thing¡¯s backside. It slow-turned at the sudden arrival or his re-arrival to battle. All its misshapen fingers lowered to the ground near its hide like a strange crouching dog and its neck cocked around like an owl¡¯s, folding its reddish-brown skin into rolls of matted flesh. A strange gaping smile met Lark¡¯s gaze as the monster¡¯s head tilted, chin to chest, and finally, the once empty eye sockets returned with its iconic red glow.


    Hypnotized by fear, Lark nearly took a step back only until he saw Gushi freeze in place and found his voice again. He warned Nympha, ¡°Careful! There¡¯s vampire dust.¡± He hadn¡¯t quite figured out where she was yet, but he had heard her earlier which meant she was nearby. Surely, she could hear him.


    Immediately, a fence of silver-pointed needles stacked the ground, separating the abomination and them from his match with Sphinx.


    ¡°You¡¯ve grown stronger again, my little familiar,¡± she said. Her tail flicked his butt. She was in her dog-like form, circling the air.


    ¡°¡ªHey!¡± He jumped forward, frowning. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to my familiar?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in a partnership. Give and take. The titles do not matter, little one.¡± There was a smug grin crossing her purple cheeks, but her eyes weren¡¯t focused on him.


    ¡°Okaaay. So what¡¯s with them?¡± Lark nodded towards the monster pair, where Gushi was sticking onto the Cursed Human like a jello parasite.


    ¡°It¡¯s honing its instincts¡ªthe blood lust craze temporarily boosts its mobility and power, but once that¡¯s over, it devolves with a brain of an insect, an overly large one at that.¡±


    Nympha hadn¡¯t shown any inclination to move, neither did his slime nor the Cursed Human, who was still looking at them oddly enough.


    ¡°Is Gushi alright?¡± Lark cautioned.


    ¡°The slime learned a new skill¡ªit¡¯s currently siphoning energy, weakening it. Just analyze the skill later. I¡¯m going¡ª¡± She raced forward. Her leopard body deftly circled behind the abomination. Needles materialized out of thin air at her sides.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Lark¡¯s eyes widened. She didn¡¯t need to say anything for that to happen¡ªcould it be a psionic skill? Curious, he edged closer. The broadsword stood ready in front, just in case.


    What could be said about the current abomination was that it skirted like an over-sized spider. Its arms and legs extended and clicked the ground in what could only be called a nightmarish wrangle after Nympha¡¯s needles pierced through its tough skin.


    Sludgy blood splattered like inkblots and a cry from its jowls sent Lark into a daze. For a moment, he thought, it almost sounded human. Then it bolted away from Nympha and changed directions towards him.


    Once he saw it gunning for him, his senses reawakened. As he took a step forward, ready to swing, Nympha came in front of him. ¡°Get back!¡± An invisible barrier produced between them and the charging monster. Gushi nearly flung back from impact as they collided.


    Nympha¡¯s canines, which were larger than Lark¡¯s thumbs, bared fiercely forth like fangs. From the back, he noticed her tail stiffen. It curled in a way unnatural to her usual legendary self. Had she barely managed to repel the attack?


    ¡°What happened to me just taking the backseat, Master Nympha?¡± Lark readied the broadsword next to his hip. No way he was going to let his points go after coming this far. They only had over a minute left.


    The purple creature snorted. ¡°My strength was lowered excessively¡ªif you don¡¯t believe me, then scan.¡±


    Oh? He didn¡¯t know SIM could do that.


    ¡°Nympha


    [Guardian Forest Sprite][Dungeon Master]


    Happiness: 80%


    STR: 50


    DEX: 50


    INT: 50


    MG: 50


    SPRT: 50


    LUK: 50


    Skills


    Shapeshifter¡±


    Fifty''s slapped across the board, which totaled to about 300 stat points. In comparison, the Cursed Human stats hadn¡¯t changed since their journey in the Palace of Memories.


    ¡°[Title: Cursed Human]


    LVL: 1


    Happiness: NA


    STR: 100


    DEX: 100


    INT: 10


    MG: 200


    SPT: 10


    LUK: NA¡±


    Surprisingly, the abomination was considered a level 1 type creature and, indeed stat-wise, Nympha fell behind by 120 points. The freakish thing still retained its mobility, while Nympha¡¯s slackened, but her movements weren¡¯t discernible to Lark¡¯s eyes at all. The way she moved was still faster than what he could comprehend, especially when she and Sphinx did those disappearing tricks of theirs.


    ¡°You¡¯re still growing little one, can¡¯t handle me at my best yet,¡± she chirped in her cute parakeet kind-of-way, while still holding up the square-like barrier as the monster pounded against it. Similar to those air needles she used, the barrier had a white, silvery tint. The coloration wasn¡¯t a hard-white like paper, but rather translucent like an almost see-through glass box.


    ¡°I see a calling for battle in your eyes,¡± she looked at him. Her blue eyes not as cold as they were before.


    Without waiting to hear Lark¡¯s response, Nympha, with all her strength propelled the barrier towards the library¡¯s walls. Her pebbled nose slicked with sweat.


    Gushi, noticing the subtle changes in Nympha¡¯s attitude, scurried off in a hurry, backpedaling off of the monster¡¯s head and over the barrier to where Lark stood.


    Lark called its name in relief, hugging the slime in his arms. The little bugger slapped his cheek playfully as if saying, ¡°What took you so long?¡± Either that or, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± It was still hard to tell without a face.


    With a shaky breath, Nympha tossed Lark an impatient look. Taking the cue, both beast tamer and slime lined up next to Nympha, watching as the translucent barrier echoed its final crack in its defense.


    She reverted back to her mouse form as the Cursed Human emerged: tall, dark, and angry. Blood-mist shrouded its face and a cruel snap of its bones hinted it was no longer processing pain normally.


    ¡°Sphinx should be really the one teaching you this.¡± Nympha retorted, marching up onto Lark¡¯s shoulder. He made no comment, gripping the hilt of the broadsword till his knuckles burned white. Gushi climbed on top of his head, activating Perception. About thirty to forty feet away, the Cursed Human¡¯s coal-like eyes stared back, mouth slobbered. One thought shuddered through Lark; it was looking at them like prey¡­


    Her mousy whiskers poked the sides of his chin. ¡°You ready?¡±


    As if on her words, it began to zig-zag towards them. Each wave of its limbs meant it covered a distance of more than three feet. Buckets of drool slopped the pavement. It¡¯d reach them in less than ten seconds.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Lark bellowed, raising the handle with both hands. He had more than enough time to end this farce! Energy coiled down to his fingertips and extended over the blade. ¡°Burn it all down,¡± she ordered.


    At last, its legs came barreling towards his face. Heat sprang from his poised fingers like offshoots of a tree. In a swift movement, it blew away the red fog allowing Lark to sidestep without visual impairment.


    He pivoted, committing himself to the final swing. Moments before the strike, he brought down the heated blade in a way a logger would with an ax. This was his new normal and his heart rate sped up seeing the burns and dried, black blood overlay poorly put-together skin. It was clear as day and a sensation like no other except maybe a hunter¡¯s dagger through a pig¡¯s heart.


    A clean, yet tragic execution.


    He remembered Sphinx¡¯s blank gaze when he delivered the first cut¡ªwas he like that too? He wondered as black fluid spurted out. It rolled underneath him, burning holes into his mind.


    As the head and body turned to cinders, Vick¡¯s voice carried to him. A dry whisper. ¡°¡­Thank you.¡±


    ¡°World reset in 10¡­9¡­¡± A curtain closed, where not even a stray sunbeam could enter and Lark waited in the darkness till he could think again about whether or not that was the right thing to do.

 31.5 Achievements pt 2

    His back laid against the charcoal-toned couch. The blue walls of his home missing. They were outside as if on display to his house¡¯s corner street. Something squirmed in his remade gray shirt, so he peered inside his unzipped pocket, where a tiny mouse laid sleeping.


    Gushi bobbed up and down on the coffee table.


    The first thing that came to mind though was where¡¯s Sphinx?


    ¡°Yes?¡± His guide took on an unearthly appearance, looming on a white lounge seat made of puffy clouds. More than half his appearance looked dusty as if someone took an eraser to his skin. ¡°I¡¯m recovering from the decaying effects.¡± He didn¡¯t need to say that, but Lark took it as a sign that he was willing to talk now.


    Their conversation began as usual with Lark shooting questions, but for the first time, Sphinx answered them in a direct manner.


    Talking from experience and seemingly taking his time, Sphinx first mentioned the restrictions placed in SIM to prevent future casualties. As an administrator, he obtained a wide range of control over SIM such as delegating the number of ¡®printable¡¯ objects and people. Second, he could change the settings of the world: temperature, environment, and set durations and goals for the user to complete. However, some of these restrictions were affected by the user¡¯s overall abilities and actions.


    One, SIM required ¡®scans¡¯ - after all, they can¡¯t print something from nothing and secondly, the user needed to obtain physical experience and train their physical body before unlocking higher-graded conditions. Third and the most important fact here, the holder needed a living article that could house artifacts like SIM. That¡¯s where Lark¡¯s Trinity Watch came in.


    ¡°So how did I end up here?¡± All he remembered was trembling in Wangshi¡¯s arms, and a separate voice soothing him to sleep.


    Sphinx flexed his left arm where his own version of the watch was secured. ¡°Perfect timing when you passed out after consolidating spirit energy. In your heart, you were thinking of someplace safe¡ªand often times more than not¡ª we think our minds are our own safe havens.¡±


    A carefully laid smirk raised on his lips. ¡°Clearly, you were not ready to face the challenges ahead if you fainted so easily. That¡¯s why you¡¯re here: To train and test how far you can go with your current abilities in SIM.¡±


    Lark returned the grin with one of his own. ¡°And the verdict?¡±


    ¡°Passable.¡± Sphinx shrugged and coughed into his fist. He stretched like a lazy cat over his cloud lounge.


    ¡°Out of good will, I¡¯ll answer another question you probably haven¡¯t thought of yet. Have you wondered why were you chosen by SIM and the Trinity Watch? Did you think it was because of your uniqueness¡ªedginess¡ªno, it¡¯s all been driven down to this point in time because of your grandfather, Senior Rune.¡±


    ¡°My grandfather?¡± Lark lifted a brow. ¡°What¡¯s he got to do with this?¡±


    ¡°What? Do you think he kept SIM for himself, for the butler? No, it¡¯s your inheritance. Take it as part of your destiny. Now, without a living accessory like the Trinity Watch, SIM would never activate. Do you realize what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    As Sphinx had explained, living articles were rare even in Pantheon because it meant that either lots of ¡®souls¡¯ were used in the process of making one or the creator sacrificed their own soul power to create it. It wasn¡¯t difficult to understand that the creator must¡¯ve been a highly talented individual in the first place to create a living article. The strange inventor, could he be an Immortal?


    ¡°You think the inventor knew who I was,¡± Lark said finally in a questioning tone while folding his arms.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible with certain certainty.¡±


    For the most part, Lark was quiet, all the events leading up to this point blurred his thoughts. If he pressed further about this at Soko¡¯s tomorrow, what would he learn? Did he even want to know? He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d had to meet up with the inventor again in this lifetime and sighed within his heart.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Some questions only you can find the answer,¡± Sphinx cut into his anxiety. ¡°I can¡¯t stress this enough that SIM¡¯s job is to set up programs and simulations up in a way that makes life easier for the user (and hope they don¡¯t die).¡± He muttered the last part under his breath, while Lark rolled his eyes. ¡°But when you use up your limits and start over again¡­the hope is you will be a little stronger than the last.¡±


    Lark bit his bottom lip. The truth couldn¡¯t be denied, he did gain a lot despite the traumatic experience. ¡°So all these ¡®points¡¯ they come from either SIM or the Trinity Watch¡ªis that right¡ªso then, that must mean their powers must¡¯ve been passed into these artifacts in order for me to use them.¡±


    Since completing the survival duration, Lark opened the SIM app, where dozens of notification sprang into the open.


    First, he checked his status screen where his jaw unhinged.


    ¡°Lark Rune [Trickster]


    [Survivor][Apprentice Beast Tamer*][Familiar][Inheritor*]


    Happiness Level: 50%


    *STR: 20


    *DEX: 25 (+5)


    *INT: 30 (+5)


    *MG: 25 (+10)


    *SP: 35 (+250)


    *LUK: 40 (+10)¡±


    Update: These limits will pass over into the real world, therefore, physical growth was limited, but high retention of skill knowledge allowed improvements. Passive strength increase by 2, dexterity increases by 5, intelligence rounded up over 12 points, magical knowledge and usage increase by 10. Result of spirit training: 35 points. Unexpectedly, LUK increase by 5 due to achievement: lucky strike.


    In total, his base stats accumulated to 175 without the bonuses given by the Watch and his equipped title.¡±


    Next, he went over his list of achievements.


    ¡°[Abomination Slayer] Defeated monster than thy self.


    [Brink of Death Kill] Awarded for surviving match with administrator despite fatal wounds.


    [First Death] Sad.


    [First-time Magic-User] Congratulations, you¡¯ve unlocked mana properties in your body.


    [First Party Kill] Good teamwork.


    [Goblin Slayer] Heinous, devious, murdering bastards.


    [Lucky Strike] Avoided death by counterattacking.


    [Mob Slayer]Makeup numbers in an army.


    [Perseverance of Wills] You keep breaking but keep trying.


    [Potion-User] Wannabe alchemist.


    [Sacrificial Lamb] Pet sacrifices life for the beast master. Title upgraded.


    [Scanner] Scan more to upgrade SIM and gain gifts.¡±


    Reminder: Achievements are nothing more than ego-boosts. Unlock more for gifts.


    Accumulation of more than ten achievements including First Death and Perseverance of Wills, SIM has recognized the user as the Inheritor - a new title granted.


    The Inheritor? Is this what Sphinx meant¡ªhe was now the true owner of SIM? He checked his new titles:


    ¡°[Apprentice Beast Tamer]


    Fulfilled requirements: Pet considers beast tamer as a priority over self. Listens and obeys commands.


    Passive: Increases the ability to communicate with non-humanoid creatures and their fondness.


    Active effects: +15 STR, +15 DEX, +25 SPT


    [Inheritor]


    Fulfilled requirements: Over ten achievements unlocked including First Death and Perseverance of Wills.


    Passive: Unlocked The Library.¡±


    ¡°The Library?¡±


    At that, Sphinx suddenly clapped his hands, causing Lark¡¯s eyes to shoot up. Beams of white light staggered across his vision, and suddenly they were in another room grander than the most famous architectural sights on Earth.


    Filled with numerous archives from floor to ceiling, Lark stood at the epicenter, surrounded by the heavy scent of old paper and candles.


    Even though he had shoes on, the floor gave off an icy feeling in its pale slab of turquoise-blue. Blue green vines infused with the walls, which seemed to be made of marble, the leaves on the vines intermittently changed colors like lights on a Christmas tree.


    Magical columns of violet light stacked across one side of the room. Beyond it, he could see more rows of books, but it didn''t seem to be accessible at the moment.


    Standing in front of him was Sphinx, who gazed at the shelves and wayward plants with heartfelt adoration. The torches which hung overhead under the high arched ceilings illuminated his already beaming face.


    Sphinx grinned from ear to ear. Lark, visibly shocked by the genuine happiness lighting up his face, gently coughed, destroying the ambient silence in the room as if to announce there were now visitors roaming its halls.


    ¡°At last.¡± Sphinx waved at the torches and then the shelves. He announced slightly miffed, ¡°Unfortunately, this room is un-scannable.¡±


    Confused, Lark asked why.


    ¡°You remember that boy¡¯s grimoire? Well, it''s essentially the same thing. The Librarian used an anti-appraisal ward around his collections. Now what I say next might confuse you...¡±


    Lark sighed. There was a never ending supply of Sphinx''s secrets. ¡°Okay?¡±


    ¡°Unlike other objects that you can reproduce in SIM, you can actually bring out a book into the real world.¡±


    ¡°Like checking out a book from an actual library?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but only one at a time.¡±


    Dubious, about this offer, Lark took a second sweep across the great room. A single book of maybe the thousands of texts here¡­ how could he choose?


    Just as he thought of this, the floor quaked under their feet¡ªturning the circular pattern on the floor clockwise¡ªa strange, twisted tower rose from the ground. All lit in bright-blue, the magical spire beckoned him to it like a moth to a flame.

 32 - The Void Crystal and Gushi (pt 1)

    While Lark treaded forward, both curious and reluctant to figure out what this new thing was, Gushi popped out from behind Sphinx, unnoticed. The slime grappled onto Sphinx¡¯s back and then leaned over his shoulder, observing with a perfect degree of stillness until Sphinx moved his head against it. ¡°Oh, Lark¡¯s right, you do feel like a water pillow.¡±


    Unseen to the naked eye, a little blob of sweat trickled like a tear under Gushi¡¯s antenna.


    Inches away from the spire, a furious flutter grew from Lark¡¯s stomach to his chest. The strange formation had just opened from the ground up like a mechanism one would unlock in a game once they entered an unexplored map. But he couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that someone was watching them.


    It wasn¡¯t as tall as he first thought, only reaching slightly above his waistline. As he took his time looking over the blue conical tower, light shone from sparkling geodes embedded on the sides. Could they be mana-stones? He marveled at their iconic crystalline shapes.


    Behind him, Sphinx said, ¡°They say blue is the natural state of pure mana crystals. The blue-er they are, the higher the purity or so I¡¯ve seen in books.¡±


    Lark turned around and saw Sphinx dutifully dusting a desk lined into the wall.


    ¡°Well, go on Inheritor,¡± he urged.


    As usual, Sphinx was no help, but rather to bother him with more questions, Lark re-examined the formation. It¡¯s not like there were any instructions nor any impressions of handprints telling him what to touch. Though, there was something on top of the spire¡­ or rather inside it.


    The top half of the mound dipped into a bowl. Geometric shapes and patterns decorated the inner sides, which were in a shade of a darker blue. A glass sphere nestled in a swirl of fine, powdered gray sand on the bottom. Should he pick it up?


    This time he asked Sphinx for help.


    Sphinx peeked from behind a giant, standing sextant in another corner of the room. The device pointed outside to the giant hole in the wall. ¡°Huh? Oh, that¡ªyou haven¡¯t finished yet?¡± There was a degree of nagging in his voice and a hint of ¡®don¡¯t make me come over there.¡¯


    Exasperated, Lark asked once more, ¡°What do I do with it?¡±


    ¡°What else do you do with a ball? Pick it up, then put it down - just be gentle with it, there¡¯s only one void crystal like it in the world.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so mister-know-it-all says you¡¯re a void crystal,¡± Lark murmured to himself and rolled his palm over the shiny ball. Contrary to his expectations, the glass wasn¡¯t at all cold to the touch. In fact, it felt rather comfortable, inviting even. He held it up, eye-level, bewitched by what was occurring inside: Thin filaments of lightning rapped the dome of the sphere, a layer of ice sliced the mid-line, and below them was a spinning inferno.


    Then he shook it, trying to see if it was a snow-globe. Nothing changed, but the tips of his fingers felt some slight zaps. Sphinx swooped in next to him. ¡°Stop that, you¡¯re not a kid.¡± He grabbed Lark¡¯s wrist, and together they settled it back inside the pit, where eddies of the gray sand began to circle it. The void crystal remained still compared to the action surrounding it. One circular motion became three rings. To Lark, the movements were as enchanting as watching a river ebb and flow.


    In the eye of the dancing gray storms, shiny rocks unearthed from the gravelly sand.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t those mana crystals?¡± Lark asked Sphinx.


    All four of them peered inside. Nympha squeaked first, nearly giving Lark a heart attack. ¡°Almost forgot you were here¡­umm¡­how was your nap, Master Nympha?¡±


    Miffed, Nympha ignored him and directed her gaze at the three newly formed crystals sitting at the bottom of the chamber. ¡°As I thought, little one, you¡¯ve grown up a bit in a short time.¡±


    When the dust settled, each one of them grabbed a piece. On the outside, they all had the same color, a crystal clear blue, but they had very different shapes and textures: one was smooth and disk-shaped, another a perfect marble-sphere, and the last had jagged edges like rock-candy.


    Nympha explained first. ¡°Mana crystals given by the Void Crystal are a bit different from ones you¡¯d find produced by nature or refined at smithies. These¡ªshe cradled the disk one in her paws¡ªdefine potential. And while they contain some energy, there¡¯s no true arcane energy stored in them. So, I¡¯ve seen humans turn them into pendants, seals, and other scultpive pieces.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°I think you could add this one into a wand or a weapon¡­or maybe it¡¯s a bit too small for that,¡± Sphinx added, looking at the spheroid crystal like it was some sorta sad pebble.


    Lark very much liked the one he held in his palm. It oddly reminded him of the meteorites Sky collected in his room, which were often rough around the edges and banged up obviously from hurtling through space and into the ground. Sky used to say it gave them ¡®character¡¯ to their magnetic personalities. This charming character he picked up also turned out to be the biggest out of the three.


    After rotating it a bit more, he let out a small gasp. Encased inside the transparent blue, a spark of ember ignited in the center. It was barely there, but he could see it trapped inside, burning softly.


    ¡°This is very peculiar,¡± Nympha finally pointed out to Sphinx. ¡°What kind of testing crystals are these? Celestians tested at birth tend to produce crystals of varied color such as red for fire affinities or green for wind, or even odd colors like pink and silver if there¡¯s an uncommon affinity.¡±


    She held up the crystal as a steering wheel with both paws. ¡°It¡¯s small, but there are floating slabs of white and snow-capped mountains in here.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not entirely sure,¡± Sphinx said.


    Nympha blinked twice and went back to gazing at the disk¡ªher attitude suggesting: You? Honest? Please.


    Strangely pouting to himself, Sphinx dropped his hands to his sides after giving Lark the marble crystal.


    ¡°The Void Crystal setup you have here is different from the ones appraisers use in Celestia,¡± Nympha continued. ¡°It¡¯s not usually orb-shaped, and the sand here is also devoid of color.¡±


    She looked at Lark to explain further. ¡°Typically, appraisers from the royal capital carry a large apparatus to different towns and villages. I¡¯ve never seen one up close, but they¡¯re designed so that a child can be placed inside an open box.¡±


    Lark pictured a coffin and shuddered. Nympha seemed to notice this and squeaked. ¡°Nothing bad happens to the child. Anyways, the Void Crystal is held inside a pendulum, which the appraiser handles and guides over the child¡¯s head and chest.¡±


    ¡°It is said that spirit and mana forces can be measured by a Void Crystal, which was given by the gods and the child must make contact with the crystal so that it will absorb their energy. The appraiser will then place the crystal in a bowl of gem dust.¡± She looked down at the basin. ¡°I cannot say for sure if this is gem-dust, but the sand they used had every color in nature: garnet-red, sapphire-blue, emerald-green, rose-pink, black-pearls¡­well, you understand.¡±


    Lark nodded and Nympha went on.


    ¡°When the appraiser buries the pendulum under the sand, magic stones are produced in the appropriate colors which coordinate the child¡¯s affinities as we¡¯ve seen. The size of these stones is also said to be a measure of their mana pool at birth.¡±


    ¡°So, how would their spiritual power be measured?¡± Lark asked.


    ¡°That is secretly observed by the appraiser, who usually has a background in fortune-telling or astrology or both. Then they reveal their findings to the family, the town¡¯s guild, and then finally report back to the royal family. However, the only exception to this would be the star children.¡±


    ¡°Children with astral properties such as dark, light, and spatial are taken immediately to the closest royal capital and they stay there until adulthood.¡±


    Lark¡¯s head tilted to the side. Why did this sound so familiar?


    Sphinx nudged him. ¡°The notes left behind in the flash drive mentioned this too before.¡±


    Oh, that¡¯s right. The one-in-a-million cases.


    ¡°Not that a person with three affinities like yourself would be ignored, however, star children are placed on a different kind of pedestal,¡± Nympha said then focused back on Sphinx. ¡°I digress. The matter at hand here is what exactly are these?¡± She shook the disk at Sphinx.


    ¡°Well, what can I say? Pantheon is bound to do things a bit differently.¡±


    Nympha¡¯s head jerked slightly as if realizing where she was for the first time. Sphinx offered her a smile.


    As the seconds ticked by, her jaw dropped. The information finally sinking in. Sphinx rushed in with another explanation. ¡°The Upper-lands is only limited to this space I¡¯m afraid¡ªthis is where the Librarian did his research.¡±


    ¡°The Librarian?¡± questioned Lark. It was his turn to ask questions as Nympha seemed out of order.


    ¡°How do I say this?¡± Sphinx slow-turned his head to look around them. ¡°He¡¯s the creator of SIM, in other words, your daddy.¡±


    Lark¡¯s eyes narrowed at Sphinx¡¯s attempt to joke. ¡°He¡¯s an Immortal too then. You haven¡¯t exactly told me how SIM ended up on Earth or my grandfather''s lab.¡±


    ¡°That is something you will have to ask him, not me.¡± Sphinx offered another one of his smiles before turning away, done with the conversation apparently.


    Nyphma jumped onto Lark''s hand to drop off the crystal disk. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to him,¡± she said before scurrying over his shoulder to chase after Sphinx.


    Now, all three of the mana-crystals sat on the base of his palm. ¡°Let¡¯s see, Wangshi said I had the power trinity¡ªif I were to guess, he meant: fire, ice, and lightning.¡±


    All three natures reflected in his gaze. Truly, at that moment, he felt powerful. Then Gushi¡¯s antenna bopped the back of his head. ¡°Gushi? When did you get there?¡±


    Happy to be finally noticed, Gushi reclaimed his spot on Lark¡¯s shoulder. The slime fidgeted and poked the side of Lark¡¯s cheek. ¡°What¡¯s up buddy?¡± He put away the mana-crystals inside his pocket.


    Gushi bounced off his shoulder and onto the rim of the basin. Slowly, an orb squeezed out of its body. Lark¡¯s eyes widened as he lowered his back, making sure the other two didn¡¯t notice. ¡°Gushi! When did you pick that up?¡±


    Its antenna swung to the left, imitating Lark¡¯s head tilt.


    ¡°Alright, never mind. Go on. Put it back quickly before Sphinx sees.¡±


    Gushi gave the best shrug a slime could do and rolled the orb down the rim much to Lark¡¯s horror. The void crystal looped around once until it magically rolled back into the exact center and before Lark could breathe again, the gray sand rose.

 32.5 - The Void Crystal and Gushi pt2

    His exhale knocked into the back of his throat. It didn¡¯t just work on humans, the void crystal could sense the potential of magical beasts too.


    Emerging from the gray pit, a singular shard formed with a pen-sized diameter that reached about half-his pinky. He scooped up the shard for Gushi and together they examined the piece. Diamond-speared and prismatic, this crystal had a more formulaic appearance to usual fantasy-designed pendants. Unlike the outer layer of blue on Lark¡¯s crystals, Gushi¡¯s had a bluish-silver coating and inside there were bright camera-like flashes.


    What could that mean?


    Puzzled, he half-turned towards Sphinx to reveal their little ruse when a small splitting crack could be heard. He really did not want to turn back around, but little, innocent Gushi tugged his shirt.


    Lark puffed in his cheeks and peered down into the pit. ¡°Oh¡­ Gushi.¡±


    The evidence looked though someone had taken a laser to cleave an orange in half and they fell skin-side; two perfect domes laid side by side. A clean-cut down the center concealed any rough play, but the we-are-so-in-trouble groan escaped him. What are we going to do, now? He looked at Gushi who looked back at him, and at the same time, they both sagged their shoulders.


    ¡°Sphinx?¡± he called over. ¡°The Void thing broke¡­ by itself.¡±


    Sphinx who was touring Nympha around the star-gazing machine, cried out, ¡°It did what?¡± The two rushed over, perplexed by the sudden splitting.


    ¡°Also, this is Gushi¡¯s.¡± Lark mildly handed the blinking crystal over to them. Nympha swooped it up first. Her glowy-blue pupils squeezed shut as she attempted to study the phenomenon. She held it away from her body, giving it to Sphinx no less than a moment after she went temporarily blind. ¡°Unusual. Could be that the slime has an affinity to light though.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem right,¡± Sphinx muttered, smacking the pieces together as if they could be glued back.


    ¡°Do magical beasts get aptitude tests in Celestia?¡± asked Lark.


    ¡°Normally, no.¡± She cleaned her face with her paws, rubbing her teddy-bear ears back. ¡°Beasts typically have a clear lineage because they don¡¯t go out their way to cross-breed. In highly unusual cases though, beast tamers will identify their pets affinities if they show unusual skills. One noble house known for doing this are the Gullivans as sometimes their griffins will show affinities for metal, wind, or rarely lightning.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a Void Crystal breaking though,¡± she quietly added.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Meanwhile, Lark had propped Gushi back on top of his shoulder and the two looked over the now empty basin. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s empty!¡±


    A loud ¡®what¡¯ screeched from both Sphinx¡¯s and Nympha¡¯s mouths. All their faces hovered over the basin. ¡°How could the gem dust disappear too just like that?¡± Nympha said, her tail swung back and forth faster than a turbine. She sat on the rim with her paws faced forward and sniffed. ¡°Is that¡­water?¡±


    ¡°You smell water?¡± Lark interrupted.


    ¡°No, though I probably could. You see there¡­¡± Her tail twirled down into the side of the basin, sliding down the geometric lines, then came up to smear something wet across Lark¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°It¡¯s starting to fill in.¡±


    While waiting for the water to finish running its course, Sphinx interjected, ¡°Well, something had to keep the plants alive here.¡±


    Around the library, there were at least five different species of plants and trees. Some branches infused with the bookshelves and others held up lights like lamps. Only one was near the strange spire and it housed a small, empty birdcage. Whatever lived there must¡¯ve lived a pretty nice life, seeing as its cage was clean and plated with gold and silver. The librarian must¡¯ve cared dearly for it too because there was a large pillow in there (for a bird), which strangely was shaped just like Sphinx¡¯s makeshift cloud chair. Since, coming here though, Lark had tried not to look at it too much because it reminded him that this place was ancient, and surely, the bird was long gone.


    Or was it?


    He squinted and the open cage door, finally feeling where the stares might¡¯ve been coming from since they arrived. Feeling stronger with his familiar at his side, he said in a low whisper, ¡°Nympha, is something over there?¡±


    She shushed him, impatient to see what would happen next. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    Filled to the brim with very pure water, the geometric lines inside glowed and the light raining down from the chandeliers reflected off the surface and bounced towards the plants in the room. A miraculous light show, Lark would¡¯ve said, if not for the two pair of yellow eyes staring at him from the cage.


    He gulped, pretending to be focused on the dancing lights in the room. ¡°H-hey, Nympha you know what¡¯d be so funny?¡±


    She barely listened to him, while nodding at the glyphs inside the basin. ¡°If you¡¯d go check out that cage over there, it¡¯d be like a perfect fit for you.¡±


    Nympha turned to him with a very crossed look on her face and he smiled weakly. ¡°Is something bothering you, little one?¡±


    Lark puckered his lips, nodding shamelessly and laser-focused onto the cage.


    She sighed, taking a quick glance at the moving lights, and said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a temporary thing and the basin will return un-flood later.¡± Nympha relaxed and tugged on Lark¡¯s finger. ¡°Go with me.¡±


    Grimacing immediately, his head shook no, but he was being pulled towards the cage anyways by an invisible force like a master guiding a pupil into a dark forbidden forest.


    She stopped about halfway between the spire and the densely wooded tree. Long, broad trunks seeped into the wall, making cracks where it liked and in the center, a hole carved out like a willow tree sat the intimidating, empty birdcage. Sure, it was empty inside now, but there were two, yellow beady eyes perched above the cage¡¯s jeweled bauble staring them down.


    ¡°Sphinx!¡± A growl lingered after calling his name. ¡°Who is this?¡±


    The self-claimed guide and protector was back dusting the desk, which faced the other side of them. ¡°Huh? Oh him¡ªPisces¡ªHe¡¯s the Librarian¡¯s spirit familiar.¡±


    The strange flutter in Lark¡¯s stomach returned, when the two keen, circular eyes thinned into crescents. A wisp of silver outlined the creature¡¯s feathered body. ¡°Wel¡¯comes to the Professor¡¯s library.¡±

 33 - Pisces and the Library

    It spoke? Not that he should really be surprised anymore since Nympha could talk too, but this bird barely had a corporeal form to it as though its body could pass through solids. As he suspected, the bird named, Pisces sank through the thin metal bars, and flew through the open door. Wispy white wings settled on top of the spire and as its neck shook, vapors like white smoke dusted off its body. Pisces crooned, ¡°Wel¡¯ come on over, I¡¯ve had en¡¯of hide an¡¯ seek. We¡¯ve got things to sort ot¡¯ and books to peck.¡±


    The bird¡¯s head rotated far around its neck, very owl-like, and its eyes changed back into those crescent shapes as it laughed at them. ¡°Hurry now.¡± Its beak pecked the rim of the spire. Tic-tic-tic.


    Several thoughts ran through Lark¡¯s head: one, Pisces seemed very casual in nature, but the strange, little bird had been watching them since they arrived like a predator, and two, why did Sphinx do another casual bomb drop? This Librarian guy stored both Sphinx and his spirit familiar inside of SIM for what could¡¯ve been all of eternity if they weren¡¯t awakened by him and the Trinity Watch¡ªand if Pisces was the Librarian¡¯s spirit familiar, what did that make Sphinx? Another familiar?


    Sighing helplessly, Lark had no choice but to go ahead by himself as Nympha seemed to be staring daggers into Sphinx¡¯s back. She kept her distance away from Pisces and watched over them from the tops of a nearby plant stalk. Lark couldn¡¯t help, but feel that she looked cozy in her natural habitat.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the one who in¡¯herited SIM and now the library. Your name, please?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know it?¡± Lark blurted.


    Pisces sheepishly waved his wing over his snowball-sized body. ¡°Un¡¯like that unique crea¡¯ture over there, I don¡¯t say I boast appraisal powers.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see¡­¡± Before they could encroach the next subject, Pisces became overwhelming flustered. His eyes went big, and tips of his wings shook. ¡°And-and while I do say, we were play¡¯ing hide an¡¯ seek, I-I was seeing if I could catch your name like the others, but they never said it,¡± he swung a wing over at Sphinx and the other at Nympha. ¡°I did he¡¯ar this fellow¡¯s ¡ª Gushi. You said it. I heard it then.¡±


    Lark didn¡¯t find an opening to interrupt, so he let the strange snowball carry on with naming the mouse over yonder, Nympha, and the Librarian¡¯s subject¡¯s new name, Sphinx.


    ¡°What was Sphinx like before?¡±


    ¡°Same as he is now, I sup¡¯pose, with a bit less pieces,¡± Pisces answered and strange chuckle with his lisp cackled in the quiet library. The two of them looked over to where Sphinx was, hunched over the same desk he cleaned prior.


    ¡°You said he had an appraisal ability, isn¡¯t that SIM¡¯s thing?¡±


    ¡°The Professor once said, ¡®inspiration comes in many forms,¡¯ the one you call Sphinx was merely a stim¡¯ulus that one could paint over and SIM, the brainchild of master¡¯s lifelong work, the final art piece.¡± He flapped open his wings, eagle-spread, proud of his grand proclamation.


    When Lark smiled back at him like a parent to a child¡¯s wild imagination, Pisces hopped around the rim and avoided eye contact. ¡°Let¡¯s move on, shall we?¡±


    His wispy body dipped a tiny claw into the pool of water. ¡°C-cold!¡± The layers of silver vapors splashed water against the floor before he completely dived in. Several concentric rings rippled out, then stilled. Pisces never surfaced.


    Lark tipped over the rim, looking for a single trace of the strange bird, but the bottom of the water was spotless. To his right, Nympha didn¡¯t say anything, and to his left, Sphinx was still preoccupied at the desk. So, he looked at the slime on his arm. ¡°Gushi, you saw him jump in too, right?¡±


    The slime¡¯s antenna swung up and down to answer ¡®yes.¡¯ It landed down onto the rim, taking a closer look to prove its point. Their reflections painted over the water. Then Gushi drew his antenna into an arc as if fishing for the drowned bird.


    A sheepish giggle treated their ears as a column of water spouted into the air. Gushi pulled back, flinging beads of water like a sprinkler before Lark scooped it up by its tiny appendages. The fearful slime snuggled into his chest and the two retreated a few feet away from the geyser.


    As the rush of water abated, bubbling into what looked like sea foam, Pisces reappeared in a form of a floating fish. Then the spire shook again, widening the base and another platform raised from underwater, protruding four green columns capped by a dome-shaped slab. Flowing water cascaded out the sides until it stopped growing.


    From a distance, it would appear that the spire transformed into a freestanding mountain with a mini temple at the top. Dashing, curving lines of gold overlaid the smooth green columns, etching waves, scales of fishes, constellations and harp strings. The vaulted structure housed Pisces, who swam within the perimeter of the four structures, tapping each one with a fin and at every passing stroke, they would ribbon out, showing their long, paper-thin textures. After a tap, another part of his body glowed into a golden orange, granting him a stronger shape and mass.


    Thinking it was okay to proceed(now that everything stopped shaking), Lark carried Gushi on his shoulder as the two made way up a short staircase to the round platform under the conical building. He could catch a portion of the dome¡¯s top, which halted a bit over his head. Next, he waved to Pisces, who was now at face level with them.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Instead of the yellow, piercing eyes of a ghost, Pisces¡¯ gaze mellowed out into roundish beads with the color of pond water. In place of the feathers were sunset-rich scales and his beak replaced by fish lips. A bubble flushed out of those puckered lips and it popped open in songs unfamiliar to them.


    Lark closed his eyes, relaxing to the unusual sequence of sounds; it wasn¡¯t exactly opera with stretched out trills but rather string-like as if someone were plucking their voices and then letting them vibrate with the crescendo of epic waves. Below the chorus was the melody of humming beach noise.


    Nympha reappeared beside them. ¡°Mer bubbles.¡±


    While still wary, it seemed she couldn¡¯t contain her curiosity. ¡°It¡¯s said that the Mer have the blood of ocean dragons and an Immortal. Their ichor, fluid said to be in the veins of the gods, allows them to breathe underwater.¡± Her eyes traced the golden lines covering the green. ¡°All things pretty, however, tend to die quickly.¡±


    A second bubble emerged and popped. ¡°How was the present?¡±


    ¡°Very beautiful,¡± Lark answered to the fish, while Gushi mimicked the bubbles floating.


    Pisces rounded out eyes fluttered into a satisfied smile as he dove deep back down into the pool, disappearing once more. One by one, the pillars fell in order into a small square and the dome came undone, crushing them down till the water could no longer be seen and the dome covered the spire.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Lark reached out, shocked. ¡°Hey, is he going to be okay?¡± he asked Nympha. Her earlier words had terrible timing, after all, they had just met and he was finally learning the purpose behind SIM. His familiar merely shrugged. She didn¡¯t know how other spirit familiars were supposed to act. Though she added, ¡°I heard the merfolks were sundered by discord, the purity of their bloodline diminishing with each generation. They were already a dying breed long before my time in Celestia. He must be a remnant of a generation, now long gone.¡±


    Like an egg cracking on the edge of a frying pan, the dome suddenly split open, revealing a dark-colored pearl. It sat on a bed of seaweed, with a perfect, unblemished countenance. A deep-space kind of black, which gave off a polar opposite vibe from the void crystal despite their similarity in size and shape. If this were to be sold on Earth, Lark was sure its opulence would attract the greed of any collector.


    ¡°Truly this unique goddess is know¡¯ledgable.¡± Nympha¡¯s cheeks darkened. Pisces spooked them from behind in his non-corporal form. ¡°This is my one and only keeper of my soul. As the goddess has spo¡¯ken, my kind has been absent from the world for a while now. Our flesh separated, but our sou¡¯ls intact due to the ichor. Many of us have hidden away in such fine gems, waiting until the right person comes alo¡¯ng to reclaim us. For me, I cho¡¯se the Professor.¡±


    Lost in thought Pisces rattled on while resting on atop the pearl. ¡°He co¡¯llected my container at an ol¡¯d witch¡¯s stall¡ªshe sol¡¯d me at a lower price seeing as my pearl did not work as intended. After that, I was left at his research table for many long nights. He didn¡¯t keep me hidden away, and I sat in an open jewelry box. While he was out, I was free to roam the library. Reading was always a pleasure of mine, you see, but I can¡¯t touch things with this ghostly form. However, he¡¯d have these magnificently large books open to pages full of color and script and there was one book always turning the page.¡±


    Pisces squinted beyond the purple line and soft, blue tears welled up in his eyes.


    ¡°A bond developed between us, I would like to be¡¯lieve, but he was mostly a strange person talking to himself into the inky night. And he would often say to me, as the pearl, that I reminded him of the unknown. The Pro¡¯fessor would go on and on about exploring truths and to understand those truths we must take the light into our hands. Vague, yes?¡±


    To this Lark nodded and with encouraged bravado, Pisces rapped his wing against the pearl. ¡°I thought to myself that night: Yes! He¡¯s the one! To take the light, meant he would take it from others who¡¯d dare hide it. He could reclaim my kinds¡¯ truth, the truth that we were betrayed, outnumbered, and rallied to our deaths!¡±


    Beside himself with grief, Pisces¡¯ small body trembled. ¡°What the goddess said was true, our communities were divided by not just coastal territories but pride. Oh, we were so foo¡¯lish then to believe we were an almighty race that our powerful ancestry allowed us to be above others. So many of us then were tricked. Humans, Beastmen, the Vodanoi¡ªugh! Especially the Voidanoi! They banded together flushed us o¡¯ut of our territories under the guise of trade, parties, treaties, any reason you could think of¡­and hunted us for our flesh and scales¡­our beautiful scales.¡± Pisces wept into his wing.


    Flesh? Scales? Hearing all of the above made Lark¡¯s stomach feel queasy. The first pang of guilt as a fellow human, and truly humans had a history of having no moral standards when it came to territories. The second pang of guilt, that he too, liked eating fish. Sky¡¯s and Mishka¡¯s favorite foods consisted of raw fish and rice. Thirdly, he almost forgot how these new worlds¡¯ inhabitants tended to eat each other. Orcs, giant octopi, and now merpeople. His mouth souring, Lark dry heaved to the side.


    ¡°It was as if the Professor understood my plight, so I dared revealed myself to him in my bodiless form, whilst he was stargazing. And to my o¡¯wn surprise, he was already aware of who I was. As a scholar, he knew of the tragic history of the Mer and proclaimed to me, he would his utmost best to right the wrongs and as a starting point he offered his reputation as the Librarian and presented the shrine of Koi.¡±


    Koi? Like the Koi fish found in those Asian ponds? More confused than bemused, Lark looked around for Sphinx. Apparently, his guide hadn¡¯t moved from the same spot, yet he intently listened from afar and winked at Lark.


    Shuddering, Lark turned his head and continued to listen, while connecting that the collapsed green temple must¡¯ve been the shrine of Koi.


    ¡°To o''thers he had a re¡¯known title as the Librarian. He was a master scholar, a teacher, and to me he¡¯ll always be the Professor because while he could teach many areas of worldly subjects, he humbly spo¡¯ke that he was a learner, a student, and the greatest respect of all would be to be given the o¡¯pportunity to learn from other experts.¡±


    Doesn¡¯t that mean, he wanted to take advantage of you, Pisces? Lark lifted a brow, quiet. The bird gave off a chuckle.


    ¡°Although his intentions to seek out the Mer wasn¡¯t for the sole purpose of retribution but for his own enlightenment¡­¡± as Pisces explained, a map of the Celestial stars covered the windows, ¡°¡­I still felt he was the right person for this lifelong quest of mine. In exchange for his promise to me, I gave him my gem of Mer.¡±


    Nympha whispered under her breath, ¡°The black pearl!¡±


    Pisces flew to it and said, ¡°Co¡¯me here, inheritor. I will be doing your reading.¡±

 33.5 Pisces and the Library

    Lark extended a hand over the dusky gem and curled his fingers around it, only to find it slowly deform from where his fingers sank in. Bewildered, he pulled back. ¡°That-that¡¯s suppose to happen, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± After Pisces assured Lark he didn¡¯t do anything wrong, the pearl crumbled into several misshapen stones. They rotated on their own while Pisces studied them with complete focus.


    Lark caught a few words the bird mumbled with each passing turn. Steady hands. Handicraft. Skill passover rate¡­75%.


    When the stones stopped moving into different formations, they assembled back together into a sphere. Not a single piece out of place. Finished with the reading Pisces announced to Lark, ¡°I will be recommending three books to your current level with a 90% chance or higher of obtaining attunement.¡±


    ¡°Attunement? Is that a skill?¡±


    Pisces let out a long ¡®ah¡¯ and Nympha shook her head. ¡°I can see why you think your guide is useless.¡±


    While Pisces let his ¡®goddess¡¯ explain to Lark what attunement was, he went over to where Sphinx was, flapping in his face till they went off together in search of the texts.


    ¡°Little one, attunement is basically understanding and mastering the principle behind a skill. From what I gather, Pisces says these books have a high chance of teaching you the basics and obtaining attunement. But ultimately, it¡¯s up to how far your talents will go.¡±


    Lark rubbed his chin. ¡°I sorta get it. Attunement is just being on the same wavelength with a concept. Being like one with all. Something like that.¡± Then he wore a smug face with his eyes closed.


    ¡°Based on your earlier performance, he could be choosing a book about sharpshooting, or particular crafting skill.¡±


    Lark finger-gunned random objects, while pursing his lips. Nympha¡¯s gaze drooped, clearly worried.


    He turned to where he thought Pisces and Sphinx might be looking. To be honest, what he wanted the most instead of learning another skill would be an encyclopedic explanation of the world if that was feasible. There was too many things he didn¡¯t know about the world of magic.


    The slime patted his nose. Only Gushi seemed to understand him. He peeled the slime off his shoulder and nuzzled his face against the slime¡¯s plasma coat. ¡°Such a good pet, caring for me.¡±


    This time Nympha let out a sigh and by the time Pisces returned, Gushi looked squished out. They walked over to the desk Sphinx had cleaned. The three books of varying lengths laid out. Coincidentally, their covers synchronized with starter elements: red, blue, and green. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t a yellow-covered book in hiding. The only yellow thing in plain sight was the gleam in Pisces¡¯ gaze. He stared down Lark with the utmost serious expression a ghostly bird could muster.


    ¡°I will n¡¯ow explain them. Starting from the left, we have: A Study of Volcanic Ruins Part One, Volume One of an Ice Practitioner¡¯s Guide to the Frost Mountain, and Volume Two of Study of Hands.¡±


    A part of Lark¡¯s face fell. Sphinx laughed.


    Pisces partly perturbed, leered at Sphinx to shut up.


    Obviously, he had something else in mind when Pisces said these books were going to help him learn attunement with his skills or more specifically, he thought they¡¯d be more like skill books acquired in games. Clearly, he had some real reading to do.


    Recalling that he could only take one back with him, Lark leaned in closer to examine each book. Gushi followed his actions, jumping onto the desk to take a closer look as well.


    ¡°Do you have an immediate preference?¡± Pisces asked.


    ¡°Not particularly, but I am wondering why there¡¯s a volume two here.¡± He pointed at the green book. It had the thinnest spine of the bunch and Lark had an inkling it mostly contained pictures judging from the square pictograph on the cover, which was of a hand with two fingers pointed up.


    ¡°The Professor never got around to collecting volume one, so it remains missing to our collection. But since you asked about this book first, I shall explain why I¡¯ve brought this one.¡±


    Pisces flipped to a random page. Outlined on graph paper was a shaded-in drawing of a pair of hands crossed in front of each other. ¡°Tell me what do you notice from this page?¡±


    Oh no, a pop quiz. Knowing he shouldn¡¯t answer with the first thought that crossed his mind, Lark took a few more seconds for himself to assess the picture. There were no scripts to be found in the margins to describe in concrete details what they were looking at, but the hands were drawn and shaded in with such detail, they looked very realistic.


    ¡°The artist used a female model to draw. You can tell because of how slender the fingers are. Their nails are also manicured to show that there¡¯s no dirt under them. Plus, guy arms tend to be hairier or bulkier, but up to the elbow here, there¡¯s no trace of hair and the muscle looks rather soft and the lines become delicate, or less shaded in. I cannot say why the hands would be drawn crossed over like that, but it could be an imitation of someone carrying something over their chest.¡± Lark stopped himself there as Pisces hopped over to him.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°My, if you weren¡¯t the inheritor, you probably would¡¯ve made a fine art historian from using so many words.¡± Chuckling, Pisces closed the book and moved onto the next one.


    Too embarrassed to ask if he said something wrong, Pisces already began to go through the middle book. This time the book had no cover picture, but the sides pattered with seams of dotted blue triangles.


    ¡°Consolidating, pacing, melting¡­there¡¯s a lot of properties of ice you can learn from this book.¡±


    And he hopped to the last book. ¡°Likewise, this book will suggest different properties of fire, both magical and non¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Lark cupped his chin. One of his eyebrows raised higher than the other. To be honest, he wanted to learn fire magic as soon as possible after watching Mishka¡¯s Blaze. His belief that it was powerful power was reaffirmed after Silvina¡¯s Firesword style. So, his eyes lingered over the red book longer than the rest and his left hand reached over until Gushi tapped on the hand modeling book. An extension of its slime appendage repeatedly poked the side of the book as if enraptured. A wave of its bubble antenna in front of Lark¡¯s face couldn¡¯t make it more obvious that the precious slime wanted its owner to choose this book.


    ¡°Is it really that interesting to you, Gushi? You don¡¯t even have hands.¡± Sphinx muttered hiding a smirk.


    ¡°Do you sense something special about this one, bud?¡± Lark leaned in and Gushi tapped his nose. Smiling, Lark turned to the odd bird and made his decision. ¡°I¡¯m going to take this one.¡±


    ¡°You sure then?¡± Pisces presented the loosely bound book. ¡°Although, you can always come back to exchange it for another, at your current spiritual level, your access to this library is about once per month.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure I get it, but it has something to do with SIM¡¯s powers, right?¡± He turned to Sphinx, who gave a half-hearted shrug.


    ¡°As long as you understand,¡± Pisces continued and proceed to kick away the other two books once the green book was placed in Lark¡¯s hands. ¡°For the remaining am¡¯ount of time we have left is there anything else you¡¯d like to know?¡±


    A wave of shock came over Lark as he realized Pisces was actually quite a reasonable fellow compared to the guide he¡¯s been stuck with. In this moment of hesitation, his once in a lifetime opportunity was swooped by the purple furball.


    ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°We are in a section of the Memory Palace before the Librarian¡¯s research center was destroyed. Relatively, we¡¯re¡­ if my memory serves me co¡¯rrectly, in the southern region kno¡¯wn for its warm waters and clear skies.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a name? Or any other information about this place?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve never been ou¡¯tside.¡±


    ¡°What do you know about the Centifire plague or the whereabouts of Goddess Celestia?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, the inheritor is not strong enough to receive this privileged information.¡± He gestured to the purple glowing partitions. Nympha¡¯s ears gave a small twitch and she turned to Lark, who immediately shrank back under her stare.


    ¡°Simply put, it¡¯s too early for him know,¡± Nympha said in resignation. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say at his current gro¡¯wth rate¡­in about ten years, he can unlo¡¯ck the seco¡¯n part o¡¯ the library.¡±


    Lark¡¯s entire body stiffened. Sphinx laughed in his ear. ¡°You have to think long-term, inheritor. It¡¯s a long game.¡±


    In that one statement, Lark felt he had aged, looking for a path beyond what he could see.


    ¡°Better ask what¡¯s on your mind fast, your body is beginning to fade.¡±


    Lark flipped over his hand. Both his clothes and shape of his arm were see-through. It was like that time when Sphinx sent him back with the knowledge of how to make Wangshi¡¯s healing potion.


    ¡°Already?¡±


    ¡°The library swallo¡¯s up more energy than SIM to maintain, but we¡¯ll always be in this point o¡¯ time and place.¡± Pisces looked ready to take a snooze with his beady eyes drooping halfway closed.


    ¡°W-wait, how do I come back here? And ten years¡­I don¡¯t even know where I¡¯ll be then.¡±


    ¡°Every thirty days, you can access the library through SIM. It¡¯ll show up in the menu bar. As for where you¡¯ll be in ten years¡­¡± Pisces folded his wing over half his face. ¡°I don¡¯t kno¡¯ because I¡¯m not all-kno¡¯wing .¡±


    Lark shook his head; eyes to the floor. ¡°That not what I meant.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± The bird puffed up his feathery chest, taking in a deep breath. ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get there. Your short term go¡¯als may end up further than you can imagine.¡±


    With that final response, the wonderful bell struck in Lark¡¯s mind, and he vanished alongside the slime and mouse.


    The bird released a chirpy yawn and hopped off the table, making a beeline towards his cage only to collide into Sphinx¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go to sleep yet, Pisces¡ªwhat¡¯s the deal with the ball?¡±


    ¡°S¡¯o not even your prideful appraisal abilities can see through this one?¡± Pisces flew around him to sit on a twisted tree branch.


    ¡°I¡¯m not totally omniscient either,¡± Sphinx lips contorted into a nasty grin. ¡°Oh wise Pisces, please do tell how the Void Crystal broke.¡±


    Pisces faced forty-five degrees away while ruffling his feathery coat. ¡°The slime¡¯s abilities are unnatural. SIM¡¯s data collection said it¡¯s from ZZZ, but it doesn¡¯t show its affinity baseline. You¡¯ve spent more time with the inheritor, don¡¯t you have an inkling why?¡±


    Sphinx crossed his arms, thinking momentarily before another smile sprouted and he said, ¡°Oh-hoh. You mean to say, this could be a unique slime.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying exactly that, but as for the Void Crystal, it¡¯ll be repaired slo¡¯wly as long as it absorbs the sand for a while so no need to be so emotional.¡±


    ¡°Is that all? I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Sphinx said smiling. ¡°I wanted you to know that the gift for the inheritor was the closest to a cosmic symphony I¡¯ve heard.¡±


    ¡°Liar.¡± Pisces turned his face forty-five degrees again. ¡°Be sure you can protect the master this time.¡± As soon as he said that he hurriedly hopped away into his cage, closing his eyes peacefully.


    Sphinx scoffed. No one trusted him. What a surprise.


    Lark should be close to waking up, he thought to himself, yet he couldn¡¯t bring himself to leave. For the longest time, he didn¡¯t turn away from the wooden desk. It might as well have been covered in dust again. How much time had passed since he studied here? Hundreds? Thousands of years? Less than a decade perhaps, since Pisces still acted energetically.


    A small part of him felt he owed an explanation to the familiar, but if he or Pisces said anymore¡ªabout the Centifire plague, surely their wills would crumble just like this wonderful place. Ten years from now, he will witness the inheritor overturn fate.


    And someday, he¡¯d return here.


    Light from the magic lanterns gleamed green tones over his lone figure. He saw the books on the floor and placed them back onto the table. He too, then hopped onto the desk before the thick black walls and pallid blue floors weaved together and the hidden instruments in the room, which the Librarian spent so much time and money collecting, dimmed in his view; the face of his previous master replaced by the inheritor.


    Truly, Lark¡¯s actions managed to stun him once again. Yet, no matter how many times he had to reset, each simulation only further affirmed his belief that Lark would only grow stronger with each experience and sacrifice. He had to trust his ward.


    ¡°Rest well Pisces,¡± he said while closing his eyes. This was enough - for now.

 34 - Return Home

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 35 - Winds of Change (pt 1)

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 35.5 - Winds of Change (pt2)

    7:00 AM ¡ªAfter a repeat of the breathing exercise, Lark did not collapse into a coma this time; all the while maintaining his posture with the sword facing forward instead of his hands. Half the time, he fidgeted, but somehow managed to keep his arms up without letting go of the sword. Wangshi neither approved or disapproved, which was the same business as usual.


    ¡°Ok, broomer. What do you¡¯ve got for me?¡± Overstating confidence was another business acumen he picked up from elitist meet and greets, but the perspiration brimming down his forehead and forearms did not lie or missed by the ever-watchful caretaker.


    ¡°How do you feel?¡±


    This question again. ¡°I feel¡­fine?¡±


    Wangshi kept himself at arm¡¯s distance. The lines between his eyebrows creased. With a small ¡®hmm,¡¯ he paced around Lark, continuing with a thorough examination. ¡°And¡­ did you pick up the difference between spiritual qi and mana?¡±


    ¡°I¡­uh¡­how do I explain this?¡± He stalled. The truth was, his focus shifted to holding his posture instead of his breathing. The previous lesson did not stay inside his head. At all.


    Wangshi didn¡¯t sigh but looked at Lark with a knowing look that he could do better.


    ¡°Hold on. It¡¯s that when I was training with Sphinx, I managed to pull off both magic and psionic attacks. If I had to say what the difference is¡ªspiritual powers feel intensely hot or cold like shooting energy out of my arms. Whereas magic feels like I¡¯m speed-painting something that is like really airy or light¡ª¡± he swished his hands the way a conductor would at a crescendo.


    ¡°I was overcome by rage when I pulled those attacks against them. Hurt by their betrayal, my entire body felt like it was burning up and with the gun, I knew I could hurt them back and it felt like all my problems went away.¡±


    ¡°The second time, I was so¡­so desperate.¡± He unconsciously tugged at his arm. Wangshi visibly tensed. ¡°Furious too, asking myself, why am I here? To just die like this?¡±


    ¡°So when I used the swords¡ªit was like this unimaginable power rushing through my blood. A bit different from the gun, because it felt like I was attacking them indirectly. ¡±


    ¡°The fiend and Sphinx?¡±


    Lark nodded.


    ¡°If I had to guess, what happened there ¡ª you were borrowing external mana from the equipment rather than using your own qi or mana. Just using the jian will produce wind qi, just as using the broadsword will amplify burns.¡±


    Lark nodded once more until the end of the broomstick stopped him under his chin. ¡°But Burst is neither of those things. And the healing spell you activated was from the last character of this named blade - hui - which means return.¡±


    He unsheathed the jian for Lark to take a look at the etchings on the blade. ¡°Together these characters say, Fanhui. My family¡¯s meaning of the name was so that I could return home or fly home.¡±


    ¡°So, this sword can make you fly and it also heals?¡± Lark asked, confused.


    ¡°That¡¯s not quite right.¡± Wangshi dropped the broomstick to the floor and balanced his feet on the end. ¡°Even without external mana, I can make objects hover with the use of my qi, it only¡­takes a lot more effort!¡± With a light stomp, he managed to summon a green glow under his feet.


    ¡°That looks like wind-walker.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it, a magic skill,¡± Wangshi confirmed.


    ¡°What? That¡¯s it? You don¡¯t have to do some crazy hand motions or chant?¡±


    ¡°No?¡± Wangshi rubbed his goatee, while Lark looked more confused than ever.


    ¡°I see what you¡¯re thinking,¡± the caretaker spoke with a sudden epiphany. ¡°Don¡¯t get it confused with Terragon Magic. What Mishka likely did was borrow energy from those items to pull off Blaze or Wind-walker. I¡¯m teaching you what I know from Celestia, although there is some cross-over. Remember, what I told you about mana-coating and affinities?¡±


    ¡°Sorta.¡± Lark wore an expression that said he would go back to it later.


    ¡°Affinities give a substantial boost in power. A person with a water affinity naturally can summon water without much thought if they¡¯re capable. Otherwise, they would need to say something like ¡®water,¡¯ because ¡®calling¡¯ powers up mana. Like so¡ªWind-walker!¡±


    A thicker film of green-colored mana summoned under Wangshi¡¯s feet. ¡°And my speed increases with it.¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying is if I practice twice as hard, I can summon fire, ice, or lightning with just the snap of my fingers. And if I wanted them to be bigger I would have to add chants.¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes¡­Truth be told though, I¡¯m relaying basics. A proper mage would be a better fit to teach you.¡±


    "Okay! No take backs!" Feeling more excited than ever, Lark went into the first sword stance Wangshi showed him.


    Gua-Feng. A push back move.


    Both his arms and legs swept across the floor in one circular, continuous motion as the sword pretended to ward off an incoming attack.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Wangshi tapped on the sword from the side when Lark¡¯s arms stiffened from the impact. ¡°Your arm strength must always stay constant,¡± he remarked, making corrections to Lark¡¯s stance. ¡°Then when you¡¯ve gathered enough qi, what do you do?¡±


    Lark focused on the target, one of his grandfather¡¯s half-torso mannequin, and stomped on the ground, yelling (in an embarrassed voice), ¡°Gua-feng!¡±


    ¡°Could be louder, but pass.¡± Wangshi picked up the fallen torso and moved on to adjust the birdie feeder next to the mannequin.


    ¡°Question,¡± Lark raised his hand. ¡°When I gather qi, why can''t I collect it externally?¡±


    Wangshi paused, to look up at him, then said, ¡°You could. The method I¡¯m showing you uses internal qi, but it¡¯s possible to also collect the surrounding energy. But¡­¡± He posed his lips in a dubious smile. ¡°That¡¯s a technique more difficult than mana-coating because you have to focus on two things at once, an inner you and outer you.¡±


    Lark¡¯s face was blank and Wangshi looked back at feeder. ¡°That¡¯s why I said it¡¯s too early for you¡­¡±


    ¡°But which is better though?¡± Lark continued to ask. ¡°External energy or internal?¡±


    ¡°External,¡± Wangshi answered without hesitation. ¡°That is because your internal energies, qi and mana, are always being molded by outside forces. The reason why Earth cannot use mana is because... there are no spirits who can help create the bond between elements and spiritual energy.¡±


    ¡°So even though there are Leylines, I can¡¯t use that energy?¡±


    ¡°You know how there are different kinds of batteries for different things, Lark? The energy for Leylines is specific in that way too. It¡¯s used to power up¡­materials rather than people.¡±


    Lark nodded, thinking back to the transporters, flying vehicles and alchemy pot¡ªwhich he made sure to put away this time¡ªthen he asked another question, loosening his stance. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you guys make your own transporters?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something related to magic law¡ªeven I at this age don¡¯t actually understand it, but there are some things too powerful to comprehend,¡± he answered and pushed Lark back into the center. ¡°Now go!¡±


    A birdie flew out, hitting Lark awkwardly in the leg as he attempted to deflect it with the sword and Wangshi chuckled.


    ¡°Take it more seriously. Will you?¡±


    Lark toughened his stance once more. ¡°Gua-fff¡ª¡± another birdie managed to punch him squarely in the jaw.


    ¡°Your timing is all wrong. Focus!¡± This time Wangshi barked at him. Gushi, who was on standby, swung its antenna back and forth as if to cheer for him.


    The young boy snapped out his stupor, gearing up for the third shot when a cold chill crawled out from under his gut. Lark frowned as the ¡®voom¡¯ zipped past his ear and his back straightened instantly. He missed the bird again, but the jian instead blocked the wood that was about to slam against his ribs.


    Wangshi pulled back the broomstick and turned off the feeder. ¡°You were actually able to sense intent.¡±


    An icy dread poured down the back of his neck as he watched Wangshi take off his jacket. Before now, he had never noticed how buffed Wangshi¡¯s arms actually looked. To the average movie-goer, his caretaker could play the role of a mafia member. He gulped, but his arms were no longer moving haphazardly like earlier and his body unconsciously adjusted to Wangshi¡¯s movements.


    ¡°It seems like I was treating you too much as a child¡­¡± Wangshi cracked the tension and whipped the broomstick in front of himself as if it was a real sword. ¡°For someone who gains experience through trial and error, this is the best method for you to learn.¡±


    A green flash entered Lark¡¯s vision before he realized he was viciously kicked in the stomach. ¡°By beating it in you it seems!¡±


    ¡°Why does everybody gotta cheat¡ª¡± Lark¡¯s eyes flashed dangerously as he got back on his feet. He shifted onto his side and jumped back once he saw the stick swing out. ¡°¡ªtoo close!¡±


    ¡°Until you can use the first form¡ª don¡¯t even think about taking a break.¡±


    Without a moment to spare, Wangshi went after him again with a powerful swing from above.


    8:15 AM ¡ª Barely keeping up with Wangshi¡¯s collected expressions, his entire body drenched with sweat. Even as exhausted as he was now, he could tell he was close to gaining something. The way his caretaker came at him from different angles made him remember how he¡¯d tried to protect the ball from defenders in soccer. Those who had tried to steal the ball from him regretted it.


    Their weapons collided once more and Lark felt his arms shake from seeing the green-colored mana condense over the broomstick¡ªone of the reasons why the plain jian hadn¡¯t sliced it in half already.


    ¡°Am I reminding you of the times when we practiced your shoot style?¡± Wangshi asked rather cheekily, coming close to Lark¡¯s rear.


    He grimaced while scrambling for a strategy. Wangshi wasn¡¯t allowing him any time to gather qi nor even enough time to catch his breath. How could he use a push back move if he kept getting cornered like this? How could he create distance in a small space such as this? His past couple tries for a fake kept getting seen through and Wangshi moved faster than he could predict.


    ¡°Yikes!¡± He dodged once more into a short tumble. The narrow escapes continued for nearly an hour and he was getting sick of it. If he couldn¡¯t be tricky, then he¡¯d have to just go for it!


    Wangshi reappeared in front of him and pulled the broomstick back for a spear-like thrust. In that split-second, Lark saw himself side-stepping the lunge, and pictured the form¡¯s steps: one, step in and sweep. Two gather qi. Circulate. Breathe. Finally, three¡­Release!


    ¡°Gua-feng!¡± He shouted as their swords crossed paths, neck to neck. The broomstick never touched his, and instead, Wangshi took the hit to the shoulder. Green-mana covered the caretaker¡¯s arm as he retreated several steps from the blow. It wasn¡¯t the explosive kickback Lark wanted, but this should count as a successful counter.


    The old coot smirked and pinched the side of Lark¡¯s face. ¡°It is a bit sloppy, but you may be a late bloomer.¡±


    Actually, this could be the one moment Lark believed he had ever seen Wangshi smile so brightly.


    ¡°Every day from this moment forward, I want you to promise me you¡¯ll swing this sword with the same passion you had for soccer. In fact, I bet you¡¯ll use the next form the most.¡±


    Huo-feng. The second form, which used kicks for a fiery offense.


    Lark watched in awe as Wangshi demonstrated the move with such ferocity and technicality. It as if he could hear the sharp, razor wind fan out from Wangshi¡¯s continuous footwork. More impressively, the series of smooth movements traveled with the sword at the same time, making it hard to defend against. Any of those small kicks could become the final strike too.


    ¡°The room feels warmer,¡± Lark remarked after Wangshi¡¯s foot stopped mid-motion in front of the torso.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you noticed. This technique releases hot air, in fact, it¡¯s best used with whirlwind type kicks. It takes a lot of work to maintain balance from spinning too much, but you¡¯re used to that.¡±


    Wangshi seemed to have the wrong idea about soccer and rotational kicks to the actual body twirls. Though, admittedly, he did steal the ball from opponents in that low arched position before.


    Lark tested his first step. He crouched to the ground and stuck out his leg into a large, smooth 360-degree sweep.


    ¡°Wrong. Again.¡± Wangshi straightened his foot, and Lark lost his balance, falling onto his elbows for support. ¡°Again,¡± Wangshi repeated.


    Lark practiced the process again and again till his footwork got noticeably faster and smoother, but even if his body felt more fluid, all Wangshi said was ¡®do it again¡¯ without even a hint. He wouldn¡¯t comment if the posture was correct or wrong this time. Frustration built up inside his head and Lark pushed his body to go swifter and harder. Over and over he made the same movements until he felt it - the air around his toes wavered.

 36 - Call Signs

    What could have he expected after a hard training session? Apparently a shower after an already much needed one. How unremarkable, the rain was, charming the afternoon with gloom. Lark cast his eyes on the pavement and set out under an umbrella to the car.


    The quiet neighborhood was swallowed in mist and light rain.


    ¡°How eerie,¡± Lark commented. With the timely darkening weather, he could reenter society incognito as no one would want to go outside. That was the hope at least. There were people he didn¡¯t want to meet at Soko¡¯s given their unsavory personalities. However, even combined with the recent attacks, it would be unlikely they could inhibit their greed to buy alien-tech¡ªor rather magic.


    Exactly how many people knew, for a fact, what they were buying was magic disguised as advanced tech? He needed to figure it out if he any chance to find Sky and Mishka. From Wangshi¡¯s memories, he gathered they needed to find a ¡®world gate¡¯ to leave this planet at the very least. Someone ought to point him towards a direction at the auction. Again another faint hope, but not as implausible if Cornelius Goodwing dared to show his face.


    As soon as he got inside the car, he summoned a spirit from the Trinity Watch. ¡°I need a favor Master Nympha¡ª¡± Her holographic figure rested on the curve of his knuckles. ¡°¡ªYou look different¡­more real?¡±


    ¡°Not surprising since your spirit power has gone up.¡±


    Nympha¡¯s tail swished through his fingers and he felt a chill go through them.


    ¡°So what¡¯s this favor?¡±


    It was a few minutes before Wangshi got inside the car. Gushi returned inside the spatial ring, which was now hanging around Lark¡¯s neck by a chain. To keep the slime occupied, Wangshi packed some of what he thought was the slime¡¯s favorite snacks such as fried eggs and leftover pudding.


    ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll get you something better,¡± Lark coaxed the ring, which was feeling jumpy under his shirt.


    During the car ride, Lark checked his stats. Sword mastery was added to his slowly growing skill list.


    ¡°Lark Rune [Trickster]


    [Survivor][Apprentice Beast Tamer][Familiar][Inheritor]


    Happiness Level: 75%


    STR: 20


    DEX: 26 (+5)


    INT: 30 (+5)


    MG: 25 (+10)


    SP: 285


    LUK: 45(+10)¡±


    ¡°Skill list:


    [???]


    [Alchemy]


    [Sharpshooter Mastery]


    [Steady Hand]


    [Sword Mastery] - Life Skill - Rank G - Training this skill will lead to more sword related focuses. Currently learning Wind-style sword arts.¡±


    Compared to the Celestian investigation team, Lark knew his overall combat abilities were lacking and he began contemplating if he should swap his Title for Apprentice Beast Tamer. He tapped on their names, refreshing his memory on their stat bonuses.


    Apprentice Beast Tamer would put his spiritual power above 300 if he changed it, which would be on par with most of the investigation team¡¯s stat average. He thumbed his lower lip, reading over the passive ability of the Trickster title. It might help him one-up others on transactions at Soko¡¯s. Not to mention, he had the ¡®scan¡¯ ability to look through the quality of an item up for auction. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t like he was expecting a fight to break out either that he would need the extra DEX or STR boosts.


    As he continued mentally listing the advantages of each title, the Layton¡¯s home came into view. Lark stared out the window at their brown slate roof. A portion of it was remodeled after Sky asked his parents to carve out an opening from their attic for stargazing purposes. Now that his best friend was gone, who would use the attic? Would that room collect dust without his presence or would they find some other use for it? Such thoughts made his pause and the entire street felt emptier than usual.


    ¡°They¡¯re rather unguarded, aren¡¯t they?¡± Sphinx¡¯s voice surprised him as his fingers fiddled with the band of his watch.


    ¡°You¡¯re the type that comes and goes when they please.¡±


    ¡°Like a cat. I suppose.¡± His loud chuckle made Wangshi turn around from his driver seat once they parked.


    ¡°Everything okay back there? I don¡¯t need to separate you two, do I?


    Lark scoffed, shaking his head and reached for the door handle. ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡±


    Making his way to the small porch, Sphinx butted into his thoughts again. ¡°I know I told you before when we first met, you should cut loose ends. Is this how you want it to end though?¡±


    ¡°Quiet,¡± Lark hushed, stubbing his foot on the brick stairs.


    ¡°Also all passive traits don¡¯t need to be equipped to be applied. So that¡¯s why your hands are so steady right now even though you¡¯re shaking in your boots.¡±


    ¡°I said, be quiet.¡± His hand reached for the doorbell.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say, I didn¡¯t tell you so if you come to regret your favor.¡±


    Lark stopped mid-motion. For a moment, he forgot how to exhale and what came out was a choked up hiss. Sphinx had retreated to whatever crawlspace he came from. Good. What kind of guide pops in and out just to annoy people to death?


    Inhale. Another try. Okay. He couldn¡¯t back out now. He knocked thrice and waited for someone to let him inside. To take shelter from the rain was his ploy to get in, but once the door opened the sense of devastation and shocked faces of the Layton family hit him all at once.


    ¡°May I come in?¡± he carried his basket of baked goods from Michi¡¯s Bakery up high.


    ¡°Lark! You big dummy!¡± Both the twins tackled his gut.


    ¡°Ah! You guys got me. I feel like I¡¯ve been hit by a meteor.¡±


    They looked up at him with hurt expressions. He said something, he shouldn¡¯t have. That was usually Sky¡¯s line. His face froze when the twins heaved off of him and stepped back quietly behind their parents.


    When Mrs. Layton approached him with a helping hand, it sent off a decisive signal for the twins to sprint up the stairs.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lark, they didn¡¯t mean anything by that,¡± Sky¡¯s mom began as she looked over her shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. They miss their big brother.¡±


    ¡°As do we. I¡¯m sure.¡± Mr. Layton patted Lark¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come in. I''ve set some hot cocoa on the table. What¡¯s that you got there in the orange packaging¡ªpumpkin spice cakes?¡±


    Sky¡¯s mom shook her head warily. ¡°Dan, it¡¯s red packaging. Honestly, stop wearing your son¡¯s glasses. They¡¯re making you blind.¡±


    ¡°If only they made me deaf too, right Lark?¡± He winked, putting on the same smile he did during the holidays. He took the basket from Lark, ushering him to the direction of the kitchen.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in trouble if I agree with you.¡±


    ¡°The worse she can do is remind me of how old I am these days.¡± He made a show of cracking his back.


    ¡°Stop doing that, you¡¯re going to damage your joints!¡± she scolded. Her angry beaming stare pierced both their backs. With a sigh, she added, ¡°I¡¯ll go see what I can do about Theodore and Cloud. Lark, you know the drill, make yourself at home.¡±


    As soon as the basket settled onto the counter, Mr. Layton¡¯s face turned grave. ¡°They told us, he was dead. Everyone was dead.¡±


    His voice was low enough to tell Lark that this was a conversation only meant for the two of them.


    ¡°Who told you this?¡±


    ¡°The police. Those agents.¡± Mr. Layton¡¯s eye bags showed under the light. He folded his arms together, shaking his head as he recounted what happened in city hall.


    ¡°They rounded all the families affected to those big auditoriums for a debriefing. It was all utter fucking bullshit. They wouldn¡¯t tell us what exactly happened. For now - they said - we should treat all those missing as dead.¡± He turned to Lark, looking him straight in the eye.


    ¡°They don¡¯t have a ducking clue, Lark. Where¡¯s my son? Where were you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Suddenly Lark felt like he was a tightrope. How much should he tell without complicating things - did he have to tell them about Mishka too? The Zaynes?


    ¡°I was with them.¡± Lark measured his gaze with Mr. Layton. ¡°It¡¯s true. The school was attacked. Some were kidnapped by the cultists¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªSo they do have a chance of being alive, don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­what I think too. But it¡¯s complicated.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to grill you on my kitchen stove Lark, but I need you to be straight with me, please.¡± The ¡®please¡¯ sounded more like an afterthought, but Lark continued trying to keep his message as brief as possible.


    ¡°The agents had traitors within their ranks.¡±


    ¡°Allied Agency? Corrupted?¡± His face dropped.


    ¡°Yes. We thought we were being rescued, but they turned out to be on the same side. I managed to get away, but Sky¡­tried to rescue Mishka.¡± Lark steadied his tone. A white lie. ¡°I passed out somewhere on the road when I got saved by the real agents and they kept me in a hospital till recently.¡±


    ¡°Friledaux, right? I heard they¡¯re keeping an eye on the other survivors there too.¡± Mr. Layton closed a fist under his cheek.


    So, there were others. Lark made a mental note of this fact.


    ¡°What I don¡¯t understand about this though, is how did they manage to kidnap everyone? I can¡¯t imagine these cultists had all these white vans parked outside.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Now the trial to maintain the white lie. Lark cracked his knuckles. ¡°That¡¯s right. Not everyone was kidnapped.¡± His hands weren¡¯t shaking, but Mr. Layton¡¯s were and he perfectly timed his moment to look away. Avoiding Mr. Layton¡¯s wide-eyed shock, he could sell his guilt more easily that there was a possibility that they all saw death.


    ¡°I know what I¡¯ll say next might not be much comfort, but they didn¡¯t kill many of the students. We saw many of them get taken. And from what I heard in the hospital, the agents did recover some people involved. Or so they said. I wouldn¡¯t trust them a hundred percent.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s your plan, Lark?¡± The hopeful look in his eyes reminded Lark of Sky when he promised them all, everything would be okay in the end. He smiled, eying down Lark¡¯s outfit. ¡°You¡¯re dressed for action¡ªI can¡¯t help but think you¡¯ve got a better handle on things.¡±


    ¡°You sound like Sky, Professor Layton.¡± Lark scoffed, stuffing his hands into his suit¡¯s pockets.


    ¡°Professor Layton? Now to whom are you addressing Mr. Rune?¡± Mrs. Layton walked into the living room with Teddy and Cloud in tow. Both huddled close to their mom.


    ¡°Please, stop teasing me. We all know you go by Dr. Layton these days.¡± Lark pouted and nudged the man next to him.


    ¡°Well, one of us had to make that sacrifice.¡± Sky¡¯s father shrugged and stepped towards the couch. ¡°So what do you rascals say to Lark?¡±


    ¡°¡­Thank you, Lark,¡± the twins said in unison.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°¡­Sorry.¡± Cloud hid a part of his face behind his mom¡¯s dress, while Teddy looked like a wide-eyed puppy with his ears drooping.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, really.¡± Lark grabbed a couple of treats from the basket as bait for the twins to come up to him. ¡°You¡¯re good kids and good kids deserve some snacks. I know I won¡¯t be around after today¡ª¡±


    ¡°Lark,¡± Dr. Layton¡¯s voice rose sharply. ¡°What are you saying?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to go traveling. Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll bring back some souvenirs for you two.¡± He rubbed the back of the twins¡¯ heads.


    Dr. Layton looked to her husband for help, to which he merely sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s what he¡¯s set his mind to. Stubborn as a mule, like his father.¡±


    Dr. Layton scoffed. ¡°You sure, it¡¯s not from his mother?¡± Then she rushed Lark into another hug. ¡°It¡¯s okay darling, we know Sky is out there somewhere. We¡¯re not going to give up hope. You don¡¯t have to do this.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this got to do with Sky?¡± Teddy asked.


    ¡°Nothing sweetheart. Take some of the snacks with your brother and go play in your room. The adults need to talk for a moment.¡±


    A vague look crossed Cloud¡¯s features, but he was the first to move and got Teddy to follow him upstairs with a handful of cookies. Once Sky¡¯s parents were sure the twins had closed their door, they marched Lark to their garage.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re traveling, this might be useful.¡± Mr. Layton stripped down the coversheet, exposing the dusky blue and black motorbike.


    They gestured again to the bike with big smiles and Lark stood in their garage speechless by the offer. Even if the words were unsaid, he knew they were going to say Sky would¡¯ve liked him to have it.


    ¡°Sky never finished paying it off, so we¡¯re grief-ing his debt onto you. Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡± Mr. Layton wrapped his arm around his wife. Lark could vividly remember the day she freaked out after Sky brought that motorbike home from Soko¡¯s auction. Now, she was attached to it or rather the connection between the bike and her son - Lark could see it. Was she really okay with it?


    It appeared he had his own expression read when he hesitated, and she waved her hand in a ¡®go¡¯ motion towards it. ¡°We¡¯ll go back inside if that makes it easier for you. Okay? Dan, c¡¯mon let¡¯s go back in. I¡¯m getting cold or rather our drinks are getting cold.¡±


    ¡°You heard her. You have to follow the doctor¡¯s orders.¡±


    Lark ruefully smiled, taking the hint. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll take it to the car now.¡±


    Before Mr. Layton stepped back inside the house, he opened the garage door for Lark. ¡°Close it after you¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Lark patted the seat of the motorbike and began wheeling it to the SUV. ¡°Wangshi, open up.¡±


    His caretaker was taking a smoke break under the umbrella. ¡°It would be easier to put it inside the ring.¡±


    Lark seemed to only realize this option and sighed. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you even know how to ride it?¡±


    ¡°No, but where we¡¯re going. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need a license either for it.¡± He opened up the ring¡¯s storage space and maneuvered it over to the motorbike. ¡°Gushi, move out of the way,¡± he said. Soon, the entire engine disappeared without him lifting a finger.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got another hour before our appointment.¡± Wangshi reminded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I just need to settle one more thing.¡±


    Back inside the Layton¡¯s living room, Dr. Layton shot him a strange look. ¡°Where¡¯s the bike?¡±


    ¡°Already in the trunk.¡±


    The couple both made a face that said ¡®really¡¯?


    ¡°It¡¯s a deceptively big trunk.¡± Lark joked. ¡°I have to go soon. Wangshi is waiting for me in the car, but may I take a look at Sky¡¯s room before I go? I feel like I may have left something important there last week.¡±


    ¡°Sure, go ahead. We haven¡¯t touched anything in his room yet.¡± She became quiet after realizing what she said. Lark paid no mind to it and instead gave her an assured smile and trudged up the stairs to the attic space.


    The ladder was already pulled down in the middle of the corridor and the twin¡¯s voices could be heard as well as the crackling static of a radio.


    ¡°Hello, come in Jupiter. Over.¡±


    Lark¡¯s chest tightened. They were using Sky¡¯s call-sign.


    ¡°Are you out there? This is Sun and Moon calling. Over.¡±


    The twins hunched over the analog radio on Sky¡¯s desk. He¡¯d bought that for one of Sky¡¯s birthdays when he went into an alien phase. They were not much older than the twins when they pretended to go alien-hunting. Did Sky show them how it worked?


    He knocked on the door, letting them know he was coming in. ¡°Sun and Moon, Earth is here, wondering why you two aren¡¯t in your rooms. Are you bored of Runesteam already - should I file a complaint to my toy factory workers?¡±


    Cloud shook his head, while Teddy let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°I¡¯d wish he¡¯d answer already.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be fine - I¡¯m going to go find him and bring him back to you.¡± Lark crouched down to give the twins another big hug. Their warmth gave him the assurance he was doing the right thing. He didn¡¯t want them to spend their time growing up, wishing that their big brother would come back.


    ¡°Your parents are looking for you. Tell them I need a few minutes up here.¡± He slipped them another two twenty¡¯s into their hands.


    Both their eyes lit up. ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡±


    He heard them giggling all the way down the corridor not long after shimmying down the ladder. This is why they liked him better than their brother. Greedy rascals.


    ¡°About that favor?¡± he spoke to the watch, and the shadowy form of Master Nympha appeared.


    ¡°Your spiritual power rose again.¡± Her normal two-toned body was less murky than before. She looked out the trimmed out window on the ceiling. ¡°Fog. You¡¯re in luck. Find me an object to contain the seal and something to draw on the ground with,¡± she said while sniffing the air.


    ¡°I have one in mind,¡± he answered, climbing over the pull-out sofa. He lifted the throw-blanket and uncovered a sketchpad. Mishka had given him it the week before and he¡¯d forgotten it again soon after their stargazing session that night.


    In addition to Mishka¡¯s sketches of the alien pyramid, more pages were filled in by Sky¡¯s sketches of the moon and constellations in deep, blank ink. Lark couldn¡¯t be masterful artists like them, but his presence was noted by the stick and point caricatures or what he called highly advanced doodles taking up the corner spaces.


    He couldn¡¯t help but be slightly hurt as he leafed through the drawings. Mishka had lied to them by omission, pretending not to know about how their lives were changing or going to. What else had she kept from them? He couldn¡¯t help but ask the notepad as if it could tell him the answers he was looking for like the skill book.


    He prepared the sketchpad and a box of sidewalk chalk in front of Nympha. She pointed her tail at the opening.


    ¡°Close it. We need the circle to be in the center of the room.¡±


    He nodded and began pulling up the ladder slowly as to not alert the Laytons. In thirty seconds, he was in the clear and the entrance to the attic had been sealed. Nympha directed him with the chalk and he made a wide circle around the square.


    ¡°This is stronger concealment magic, little one. There¡¯s no reversing this decision on your own.¡±


    Lark agreed. ¡°I know Master Nympha. I¡¯m making this choice without their input, but I want them to live easier. I owe them that much for letting Sky get taken in front of me.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s proceed then.¡± Nympha clicked her tongue and ran along the circle once before hopping into the center. Her form scattered for a second before a crowning, blue-colored stone produced in her paws. The Cursed Memory Gem, Lark left behind in the Palace of Memories.


    ¡°You learn here, little one, we¡¯ll be altering the uses of this spirit gem to not hurt the dwellers.¡± She pointed to the floor with her small paw. The family below them blissfully unaware of the dungeon master¡¯s presence.


    Next, she told Lark to open the window. ¡°The first step is using the environment rather than thyself.¡±


    Fresh, cold air rolled into the room, misting his face. It had stopped raining and a faint light pushed through the dense clouds. Lark blew on his chilled hands. ¡°What next?¡±


    ¡°By transferring the gem¡¯s powers into an object, we lessen its effect.¡± She lifted up the airy blue orb and placed it over Mishka¡¯s drawings. The ball balanced on a gray hexagonal ring. ¡°The dwellers are not required to touch the object to fall under its powers because, in a second, we¡¯ll use a concealment charm.¡±


    Lark knelt beside Nympha¡¯s figure and ask if she needed blood.


    ¡°No. Don¡¯t be silly. Can¡¯t have you shedding blood over their good wood.¡± She shook her head and clicked her tongue to hurry him. ¡°Even though your magic power is low. This much should be okay enough for it to work. Repeat after me: Lateo en caligo.


    ¡°Lateo en caligo,¡± he repeated. Nympha didn¡¯t click her tongue at him, so it must¡¯ve meant his pronunciation had passed.


    ¡°Repeat this chant over and over as you roll the ball into the papers. Remember that sensation when you stabbed the sword into your friend¡¯s forehead. Just. Like. That. Very good.¡± Her eyes traced the curve of his right hand as he drove the spirit gem into the sketchpad.


    Lark¡¯s mouth grew dry with each maintaining spell, but the orb was clearly sinking so he concentrated harder into chanting the mantra, ¡°Lateo en caligo. Lateo en caligo. Lateo en caligo¡­¡± only stopping once the ball completely vanished under his palm.


    ¡°Then finally, I¡¯ll place a barrier over this room, in which persons with no magic power can cross into,¡± Nympha said and proceeded to step over the glowing sketchpad. Her four paws dipped into the sketchbook as if it had turned into ink. The glowing material attached to her skin and with it, she left a trail of pawprints as she ran within the confines of the circle.


    She whispered, but the words were lost on Lark¡¯s ears like critter noises. Puffs of cloudy air appeared to come out of her nostrils and mouth, covering the pawprints in a layer of fog It wasn¡¯t long before Master Nympha stopped scurrying and a light, pale blue barrier settled over the attic door.


    ¡°Check it.¡±


    Lark waved his hand under it, feeling it melt over his skin like a layer of snow.


    ¡°Will it work like this?¡±


    ¡°Everything and everyone connected to this sketchbook and more strongly the dweller of the room will be forgotten only by the people who come into this home. If they try to recall or access this room, their mind will be paralyzed in a way where they feel trapped in a fog for a couple of seconds until they move on.¡± Her blue eyes gave off confidence, reassuring Lark but he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit saddened by the turn of events.


    ¡°Okay, little one, we¡¯re done here. Now, we escape like bandits into the night.¡±


    Lark¡¯s eyes threatened to cross-over, but let¡¯s not upset the legendary spirit he thought and said with a sincere tone, ¡°Thank you Master Nympha.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so formal, little one, after all this favor has cost you a couple more coins.¡±


    Yes. A couple more. His accumulated debt to the dungeon master was now 120 Celestial coins minus one. With a small sigh, he climbed out the stargazing window and disappeared into the fog.


    <hr>


    ¡°Honey, when did you get these?¡± Dr. Layton carried the basket from Michi¡¯s Bakery to the living room table where the twins and her husband sat, drinking their hot cocoa.


    ¡°I¡­I guess this morning?¡± Mr. Layton rubbed his eyes under his glasses. ¡°Man, the optometrist must¡¯ve prescribed me the wrong eyeglasses. These are making me blinder.¡±


    He placed them onto the table and reached out to pat the twins¡¯ heads. ¡°What are you two up to?¡± Then he paused and looked at the twenty-dollar bill Teddy had pushed into his face. ¡°Where¡¯d you get this?¡±


    ¡°From Lark,¡± Cloud piped in.


    ¡°From who?¡±


    ¡°Lark. Bark. Bark. Bark.¡± Teddy woofed and cutely sat in between his dad¡¯s legs. ¡°He said you wanted to see us.¡±


    Cloud laid on top of them and yawned. ¡°And he said to leave him alone.¡±


    Immediately, Mr. Layton rose to his feet and marched to the bottom up the stairs. ¡°There¡¯s a person up there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s¡­¡± Dr. Layton followed after her husband and stopped in her tracks wondering what she was about to say next.


    The two adults both looked at each other for a few seconds, before returning to the living room. ¡°What were we talking about?¡± Mr. Layton reached into the basket and opened up one of the red packages.


    Cloud laid asleep on the couch while Teddy leaned on his dad¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Bark. Bark. Bark.¡±


    ¡°Puppies? Do you want one? Let me talk it over with your mom. The house has been feeling quite empty lately.¡±


    ¡°A dog? Really honey?¡ª¡± She grabbed a biscuit and thoughtfully bit into it. ¡°Okay. I''ll think about it.¡±


    ¡°Are you for real? That¡¯s awesome, Mommy!¡± Teddy squealed and pushed the twenty into her lap. ¡°Use this to buy toys for it. Then I can go show Lark and brother when they come home.¡±


    ¡°One thing at a time, rascal.¡± Mr. Layton tussled Teddy¡¯s hair, giving a scandalous wink to his wife, at which she huffed. Teddy had no clue what they were talking about, but Lark was sure taking his time. He dipped his cookie into the hot cocoa and nodded off to sleep a few bites after.

 37 - Sokos Caped Crusaders

    Wangshi dropped Lark off first at the building¡¯s entrance. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you inside, later. You have everything inside, right?¡±


    Always such a nagger, that old goat. ¡°Yes. I have everything. I¡¯m sure if their security missed the watch last time, they definitely will miss the ring.¡±


    Wangshi¡¯s bushy eyebrows lowered as if they were staying vigilant against other bushy monsters in the vicinity. Lark brushed off the wary look with the wave of his hand and chuckled. ¡°They¡¯re coming now.¡±


    Soko¡¯s Auction House. Bright neon lights infused with the extended canopy. A line of uniformed men and women waited at the entrance like hotel staffers but their aim was different.


    One of the uniformed men dressed in a dark suit and surveillance glasses knocked on his car window. Wangshi lowered it and before Lark could say anything, the man skipped the greetings.


    ¡°Membership card, please.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t been here in some time,¡± Lark began as he pulled out his wallet and showed his ID. ¡°I have an appointment with Jody for my card renewal.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming you mean Jo Dalton. Give me a second to confirm, sir. Don¡¯t step out of the car yet.¡± The man ordered and tapped a disk hooked over his ear.


    ¡°Yes. There¡¯s a person by the name of Lark Rune who says he has an appointment with you today, but his card expired in July.¡±


    A second passed before the man looked at Lark again. ¡°You¡¯re clear to go. Do you need a valet?¡±


    The moment he said ¡®valet,¡¯ a second man walked up the car in the same attire.


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. Thanks.¡±


    Lark opened the door with one foot out, yet the man blocked him from leaving. The second person had started waving a metal wand over the trunk.


    ¡°¡­Is there something else?¡±


    ¡°The director said that you¡¯re to be guided to one of our special rooms if you will.¡± The man offered a hand.


    ¡°Is that normal?¡± Lark took it, noting this custom was different from his previous experiences. Were they on edge from the cultist attacks?


    ¡°Your chauffeur will be escorted to lobby after we check out the car.¡± He didn¡¯t answer the question. The man patted his shoulder and back, then waved to another uniformed employee. ¡°Please follow her.¡±


    Lark stepped around the security guard and headed towards the entrance where a woman dressed in a tight black tunic stood by the sliding doors. She was writing on her tablet as Lark passed by the arched stone columns. Geometric shapes lined the black metal skin of the door frame. Hints of richness and a subtle division of colorfulness separated the general public from those welcomed inside.


    So far, it was only him. Strange, as no one else appeared to be waiting in the lobby either. The time could be too early, seeing as the main event wouldn¡¯t occur until the evening. Yet, the lack of visitors made the building feel unwelcoming in a ¡®don¡¯t bother us¡¯ kind of manner. Or that was the intent behind the mirrored panels.


    Meanwhile, the SUV began moving towards the parking garage before finally, the woman said something to him. ¡°Do you have an appointment with one of our directors?¡±


    ¡°Yes with Miss Jody at 2:30.¡±


    It took a final quick double tap on the tablet until the new person walked him inside. Her heels clicked against the opaque tiles as they made way to the front desk where she showed the clerk the thick silver bangle hanging off her wrist.


    ¡°Mr. Rune¡¯s details. Check.¡±


    ¡°Check,¡± the clerk responded and raised their own silvery bangle. They clinked and issued him a new card immediately with the same information as before except with a new expiration date due next September in 2100.


    ¡°Hey, I remember you, the big baller with the watch. Planning another stunt like that tonight?¡± The lady clerk gave him a wide smile. Loose, bouncy bleached hair came to a high curl above her opened collar, yet this sexy face didn¡¯t ring a bell to him at all.


    ¡°I just might, to celebrate the turn of the century. Got any plans in the making for that?¡± Lark slid his key card inside his back pocket and glanced over the counter. A thick binder sat next to a stack of plain red envelopes.


    ¡°You know how it is Mr. Rune. We like to keep it mysterious here.¡± The clerk made a mousy face as she picked up one of the envelopes for him. ¡°Here¡¯s your lucky red envelope. Your auction number is inside. Best of luck in tonight¡¯s bidding.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your lucky number, Miss?¡± He unsealed the envelope and hid the number behind his back.


    ¡°Twenty-two.¡±


    Lark scoffed and turned around in time to see the escort signaling to the clerk.


    ¡°It¡¯s how old she wishes she could be,¡± the lady in the tunic said with a wink. The clerk hooted back.


    ¡°Please follow me, Mr. Rune.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thank you for this.¡± Lark hurried after the escort after waving good-bye.


    ¡°Still part of the VIP club, I see¡­Guess there will be a lot of people making a move for hero-boy tonight.¡± The clerk stated, but Lark had already entered the elevator with the other woman when she made the remark. With such an unforgettable presence, how could he have forgotten such a friendly face? She giggled, holding her shoulders tight.


    The upper floor of Soko¡¯s was like looking at the cells of a plant. A milky green polish weaved around big, wavy round windows like a membrane and stained blue-green glass covered the openings, which couldn¡¯t be seen through. A frosty teal light spanned from the ceiling to the floors, making the room appear stretched and impossibly wide.


    Even with hundreds of clients milling about the circular-shaped room, there was so much empty space left. And due to the natural lighting of the room, visitors felt as though they were a mere tree within a forest.


    Long rows of stairs cascaded to the stage where the wares were kept inside of glass cases, with the exception of the airships which were caged in by fancy awnings.


    This was Soko¡¯s Auction House, where anything in the room could be anyone¡¯s future purchase for the right price.


    As soon as they stepped onto the carpeted area, one of the hallway greeters went up to them with a tray of food.


    ¡°Hello there, care for some seafood? We just got some fresh finger limes topped onto the buttery shellfish we imported from Australia this morning.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Grinning, Lark bit into the chewy, raw meat and slurped up the sweet juices left in the iridescent shell. If he weren¡¯t at a high-scale event, he might¡¯ve been tempted to lick his fingers.


    ¡°For our guests who are allergic to seafood, we¡¯ve also provided some of the finest cuts of blue steaks near the bar.¡± While Lark got distracted by another tray of food, a different waiter seamlessly stepped in, switching out his plate for a glass of sparkling water.


    ¡°Refreshing,¡± Lark licked his lips lightly. ¡°Must be great working here. Do they always treat you to amazing food like this?¡± He nodded towards his unforgotten companion, who was now also holding up a flute of champagne.


    ¡°Only for special occasions.¡± She smiled, taking a small sip before handing it back to the server. ¡°Take your time, I will come back with Ms. Jody and our other director.¡±


    She had left his side for a moment when a male voice called out from behind him.


    ¡°Hey, Mr. Moneybags, enjoying the hors d''oeuvres?¡± It was a voice he expected but also didn¡¯t expect to hear from so soon.


    ¡°Carson.¡±


    The man was his family¡¯s lawyer, but actually, Carson was more than a suit and tie to him; someone whom he could call a friend and a few other identifiers.


    ¡°Long time no see.¡± Lark held up his glass, which Carson gleefully took into his own hand. Such as being a talkative alcoholic.


    Carson took a swig and his face immediately soured, looking from the bubbly, clear liquid to Lark¡¯s innocent smile. ¡°What are you like ten still? Where are the elixirs¡ª¡±


    ¡°The bar is over there, but I see you¡¯ve made yourself comfortable.¡±


    Carson¡¯s big, brown eyes softened at the edges, the magic of alcohol working away at his system A small smirk formed on his features as he wiped his bottom lip with a handkerchief.


    ¡°Clever boy. Who¡¯s my favorite VIP?¡± A clown.


    ¡°Me. Of course.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s wrong. Okay well, half-wrong or half-right. It¡¯s actually everyone in this very room.¡± The loose-lipped man, half-spun around and looked at everyone as if they were dollar signs.


    Or his favorite scrupulous businessman. That¡¯s what lawyers were good at; talking and getting paid for another¡¯s misery.


    ¡°I¡¯m jealous, Carson. I thought I was your favorite investment.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. In fact, you may be my riskiest bet, but you know I¡¯ve been holding onto you for the longest term. If you want me to compare you to the rest, I¡¯d say you¡¯re a hundred dollar bill, while the others are only ones.¡±


    ¡°God, you¡¯re such a nut.¡± Lark laughed and formed a devious plan in his mind. Now, that he had unlocked the Trinity¡¯s scan function, he could see through almost anything. ¡°Say, would you believe me if I said I knew a way for you to make more money?¡±


    ¡°With what? Besides, there are more pressing financial matters we should go over. In fact, that¡¯s why I tracked you down here tonight and wore my best shoes.¡± Carson pulled up his pantsuit and flashed his cowboy boots.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Lark scoffed. ¡°What else is there to discuss? You¡¯ve already sucked in grandfather¡¯s leftover assets.¡±


    ¡°The word you¡¯re looking for is ¡®protected,¡¯¡± he replied stiffly, holding onto his belt buckle. ¡°You could think of it this way too, without me, you¡¯d have nothing to spend in tonight¡¯s auction.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right and I¡¯m prepared to outspend everyone,¡± Lark said, adding a smirk. He already knew Carson often made more than one business plan during his ventures; last time he bought collectible daggers for other clients of his.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got guts kid,¡± Carson said, grinning. ¡°Let¡¯s have at it then. Share with me your infinite, seventeen-year-old wisdom.¡±


    As the two passed between other guests to the stage floor, new black boxes floated up to his face.


    Pieces like Mishka¡¯s gem-studded headband were inside the glass cases and there were also more prominent weapons such as guns, daggers, and swords that were made available to the public this time around.


    ¡°Item: [Imbued Rifle] (magic weapon) (common)


    +10 MG


    +10% Freezing effect, +5% Critical damage


    Owned by Soko¡¯s Auction House.


    Durability: 10/10


    Basic infantry rifle for Volarian soldiers.


    Graded as a rank F weapon. Powered by blue crystals from Terragon.


    Limit: 50/50 rounds. Will break upon finished usage.


    Brought by Volarian Merchants.¡±


    He wiped the notifications away, his heart thundering under his cool facade.


    It wouldn¡¯t stop at simple weapon collecting at this rate. People interested in the so-called upgraded-technology would not keep them only for show. The situation was evolving dangerously.


    Just as he was about to ask Carson a question about his clients, Lark couldn¡¯t help but overhear another guest speak in exaggerated outrage.


    ¡°They should have known better to install secondary security measures. If you asked me, the principal acted too lax. That¡¯s why the lot turned to cinders. I¡¯m glad my son already graduated before this happened.¡±


    The person who stood next to them awkwardly shuffled their feet, possibly wondering how the conversation made such a leap. It was because the guest talking aloud was someone Lark was acquainted with.


    His palms felt hot against the cool glass of his drink; when he closed his eyes, all he could see was the despair swimming in Mrs. Caskey¡¯s eyes when the announcement came out. Samuel wouldn¡¯t have wanted to see his mother like that, but his father was an indifferent man.


    ¡°Lark,¡± he called his name casually. A red carnation was pinned onto his charcoal-grey breast-pocket. The same flower used to decorate the pews during Samuel¡¯s memorial service. What was he thinking?


    Lark turned, pretending to be surprised. ¡°Mr. Caskey¡­ I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡±


    Sam¡¯s father looked the same as usual. His long lion mane hair was pushed back for the occasion and a crooked smile tugged the corners of his face.


    ¡°Neither did I, but that¡¯s neither here or there. How are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡±


    ¡°You know I was just talking to my colleague here about the school you go to, Dubois, and how my son went there for high school. Incredible, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Switch out a certain cultist with Mr. Caskey and he might¡¯ve not noticed any difference between their baiting tactics. Nonetheless, he had a bad feeling. ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°That you¡¯re here and everyone else you knew there is practically dead.¡±


    Lark wasn¡¯t the only one who frowned, beside him Carson had already swooped in. ¡°Easy there. The kid just got out of the hospital.¡±


    His closest friends were missing, not dead. Sam included. Lark clenched his fist, wondering how he could make this clarification without throwing a punch down first. Then he saw a security guard tapping at their ear pierce nearby, and thought better of it. He wasn¡¯t here to make a scene, but to save his friends, which required information.


    ¡°When I ask how are you doing, what I really mean is, why are you here when you¡¯ve been through such trauma?¡± Mr. Caskey spoke, his gaze sweeping past Carson. ¡°You know people often lose touch with reality after these kinds of experiences.¡±


    His nose pointed up as if deciding Lark was one of those people.


    Lark pulled back Carson, who seemed more riled up than he. ¡°I need a favor.¡±


    ¡°A violent one?¡± Carson whispered back, balling his fist.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve decided to use most of grandfather¡¯s remaining assets to take care of my classmates¡¯ families,¡± Lark announced and more than a few ears raised towards their small gathering.


    After seeing Sky¡¯s family, there was no way the other families of his classmates would remain unaffected by the ordeal. The request came from the heart, of course, but seeing Mr. Caskey¡¯s smug look disappear set in some reveling satisfaction.


    ¡°Set aside some funds for Samuel¡¯s university as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really necessary¡ª¡±


    ¡°And the one where Mr. Caskey teaches at.¡±


    Lark observed Mr. Caskey¡¯s reaction, whose smile unraveled.


    ¡°I heard some of your staff members went by the capitol that day. Are they okay?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes. They managed to escape.¡± His neck turned pink at the collar.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much of it. Anyone would want to do the same. Especially since Sam made such a big impact on my life - I want to help others too. Like he would.¡±


    Lark took a slight step back as if to invite others into the circle.


    ¡°In tonight¡¯s auction, I heard many of the proceeds will be going towards different organizations helping the families and locations involved in the attacks. I want Runetech to be involved in the process as much as possible. What do you say to that Carson?¡±


    ¡°Setting up a large scale operation is a huge ask, but not impossible.¡± Carson smiled, obviously plotting something behind his wrinkling forehead. ¡°Of course, having more contributors would be ideal in the long run¡­¡±


    Someone walked up to their group, extending a hand. ¡°Hi, I couldn¡¯t help but overhear¡ªit¡¯s awful, what¡¯s been happening to our city. I¡¯m part of the Support Inventors organization. Are you looking for patrons?¡±


    ¡°Quite possibly,¡± Carson took the hand in stride, leading the newcomer in the opposite direction. ¡°We can get the idea ball rolling with my colleagues over there, they like participating in these sort of things.¡±


    The edges of Lark¡¯s mouth crinkled as he held back a chuckle. Carson never lost the opportunity walk and chew gum; or in this case, hit on a rich, pretty woman while having her write him a check.


    ¡°You¡¯ve turned into a swindler,¡± Mr. Caskey scorned under the pretenses of a sarcastic joke. ¡°I wonder where you learned this from, that money can buy you favors.¡±


    Lark wanted to sigh, thinking back to his current debt status under his Familiar title. 1/100 Celestial coins deposited, and yet he asked for another helping hand, increasing that debt to 1/120 Celestial coins. What good was money if you didn¡¯t have any?


    Just as he was about to reply the escort came back to his rescue.


    ¡°Mr. Rune, Jody¡¯s expecting you with our other director. They would like to meet you in their offices.¡± She nodded her head off toward the side of the building. ¡°Come with me please.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thank you. Well, see you later tonight.¡± Lark gave his best business smile, leaving behind Mr. Caskey to lurk by himself, and followed the woman.


    ¡°Who was that pretentious lecturer?¡± she asked him.


    ¡°That was my friend¡¯s father. He¡¯s the Dean of Theological Studies..somewhere.¡± Lark handed off his water to a nearby waiter.


    The woman tapped on her tablet, shifting her eyes away from the congregation. ¡°That man needs to work on his prosocial skills.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not the type to care about socializing or helping others I think,¡± Lark said, walking alongside her towards the edge of the greenery.


    ¡°I find that hard to believe especially when since he called out to you first. It looked like he was trying to instigate something.¡±


    Goosebumps suddenly raised on his shoulders, a delayed reaction after realizing he didn¡¯t even hear her come from behind them with her snappy heels. How long had she been listening into that conversation?


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t mean to pry,¡± she cut in right after, mistaking his hesitation for something else. He quickly recovered.


    ¡°His son¡­ was my mentor in high school and he¡­passed away recently.¡±


    ¡°Oh my. I¡¯m sorry to hear that¡­Still, that was rude of him to act that way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing compared to high-wired bidders blowing off steam after a loss, no?¡±


    ¡°Maybe in the after-party, but not before. Even then when you work in the information industry you meet a lot of interesting people, but I haven¡¯t seen anyone talk like him in a while and lose touch with reality.¡± She laughed as she mimicked the anecdote.


    ¡°Anyways, I think you handled yourself pretty well. Standing up like that. If the conversation steered differently¡­¡± She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. ¡°Well¡­ that doesn¡¯t matter now. We¡¯re here.¡±


    The woman smoothed out the bottom of her dress before clinking her bangle against one of the oval-shaped doors, which spiraled open for them.


    The office was exactly how it was a year prior to when he met Jo Dalton and the VIP seller. A few awards and certificates hung on the curved walls. A medium-sized desk centered the room and a floor to ceiling bookcase with LED lights tucked away in the back. Similarly to the outside, there were no windows that could look out but there was enough lighting in here to see most things.


    ¡°Jody,¡± Lark said her name filled with warmth, coming into her grandmotherly arms. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    In the darkest hours of his grandfather¡¯s passing, Jo had reached out first, telling him of things his grandfather had kept secrets such as his love for safari animals, apple cider, and bakeries. When everyone else claimed to be his friend but didn¡¯t even know his passions for anything other than Runetech, she didn¡¯t push those falsehoods onto him.


    Soko¡¯s became a temporary refuge for when the rest of the world had shut its eyes to his pain. Now he needed her more than ever, to confirm the things he knew now.


    She reached up to pat his head, even though he was nearly a foot taller than her and consoled him. ¡°You took your time coming here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t use that same excuse on me, ¡®I¡¯ve been busy,¡¯ like your grandfather. That¡¯s what got him killed you know. The stress on his heart.¡± She smacked the back of his head this time, and he felt her gemstone ring bounce off the back of his skull.


    Jody looked at the escort and signaled her to leave wordlessly, then she pushed Lark towards a chair. ¡°Come sit.¡±


    Her desk was almost as sparse as the lobby. A similar binder sat atop it next to a computer monitor and a few picture frames.


    ¡°Jody, you must know why I¡¯m here.¡± He scooted in his chair closer, keeping his voice low and secretive.


    ¡°Bless his heart. You¡¯re so serious like your grandfather.¡± She turned one of the photos towards him. It was a picture of his grandfather of her smiling in some unknown bakery. ¡°You know this was taken sometime after your middle school graduation and he wanted to know where he should buy you the very best cake.¡±


    Lark flinched. Middle school sounded so long ago now that it didn¡¯t even feel real anymore; more so when everything you knew wasn¡¯t the same.


    ¡°Jody¡­this is serious.¡±


    ¡°And so is cake,¡± she smiled sweetly. ¡°Someone must have told you about the very different kinds of cake bakeries can sell. The flavors, design, and all down to the serving sizes of each ingredient.¡±


    They were clearly off-topic, but Lark felt he had this conversation before.


    ¡°I remember what my grandfather ended up buying for me. It wasn¡¯t a cake.¡±


    ¡°Yes, pie if I recall correctly. I suggested that.¡±


    Lark leaned back in his chair, straightening his jacket and looked into her deep-set eyes. ¡°Why am I here Jody?¡±


    She pushed the binder to him and a sealed envelope. ¡°To find a list of people who have been buying cakes from us.¡±


    As he thought, Mishka¡¯s father wasn¡¯t lying and the scan function was telling the truth; Soko¡¯s and every other powerhouse were selling magicraft, and not earth-made technology. He knew a fit of anger was coming, but he wanted to be understanding.


    ¡°What you¡¯re selling to the masses isn¡¯t just cake Jody, it¡¯s weapons.¡±


    A part of him wished that somehow, maybe, she could convince him what they were doing wasn¡¯t wrong. Mishka¡¯s headband alone melted a fifty-foot tall slime. How could anyone imagine putting that kind of destructive power into the hands of the populace?


    ¡°It amazes me how much you act like your grandfather.¡± She folded her arms together, blinking back tired tears in her watery, blue eyes.


    ¡°Do you know how many upstarts get their day? It¡¯s from borrowing ancient technology from a previous era, and readapting them to today¡¯s societal needs. Wouldn¡¯t you say the introduction of alien-technology is like that - something old yet new?¡±


    He didn¡¯t hesitate to say ¡®yes.¡¯ ¡°But you can¡¯t call it tech, Jody. It¡¯s magic with no known limits. I saw it downstairs and outside already. You¡¯ve equipped people with them. It wasn¡¯t like that before.¡±


    ¡°Sharp too, I suppose that¡¯s why Corn let you have his watch.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t even brought that up yet.


    The pain inside his head renewed like a clap of thunder, spreading a fire that seemed to burn down the walls he had built up whenever things didn¡¯t go his way.


    They were all plotting something.


    ¡°As far as the world knows, these are just convenient tools that work with the energy we know of - conductivity, kinetic, gasoline, etcetera. The lack of information and government cooperation for the last three days is a byproduct of a chain reaction.¡±


    Lark wanted to shake her. The world was blind to the change, even though they felt it happening slowly. But the world¡¯s problems weren¡¯t what he came to hear.


    ¡°Let me remind you of the bygone days of darkness when it was widely believed the most dangerous places were occupied by sorcerers and witches who reigned terror in the night. ¡±


    She laced her hands together over her desk.


    ¡°Everyone wants to believe that how they choose to live, is the right way. Even destined to do great things if given the chance. In all honesty, though, we¡¯re all specks of dust. You, me. In time, everyone withers and dies. But how we die is a huge significance to us.


    ¡°We can¡¯t die without fighting.¡±


    Lark reached in to hold her hands. ¡°Jody, I don¡¯t understand. Tell me, where¡¯s Cornelius? What do you mean he gave me his watch¡ªwhy did my grandfather get involved with this?¡±


    ¡°We were planning for a war that came sooner than we thought¡ª¡±


    The bookcase behind her opened like how his grandfather¡¯s one worked, and a middle-aged


    man with a white cape strode out.


    ¡°Jo, your five minutes are up.¡±


    Lark looked up in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡±


    ¡°Cornelius Goodwing. It¡¯s nice to see you again.¡±

 38 - Trust No One

    If there was a window in this room, Lark could see the edge of Mr. Goodwing¡¯s cape flap in the wind, heroic and masculine. That was not the case though. In front of him was a husk of that former glory, sunken eyes with bruised undertones¡ªa tall and gaunt skeleton with pearly-white hair, which flowed to his waist.


    Jody, who seemed just as surprised as he, said,  ¡°What are you doing? It¡¯s not the time for you to come out yet. Your appearance¡­¡±


    As she was talking, Cornelius brushed his hair back, seemingly realizing it wasn¡¯t tied and searched for something on her desk to pin it up. As soon as he found a rubber band, he pulled his hair up high into a ponytail, letting the short strands fall around his head. The style was messy compared to Wangshi¡¯s clean look.


    ¡°Time is time, yet soon is never soon enough or it¡¯s too soon. But I need to talk to him. Now.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Jody pursed her lips. ¡°Let me have one more moment, then after I¡¯ll tend to the guests.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my patience you¡¯re testing, but if you must.¡± Cornelius bowed his head politely to Lark. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡±


    The bookcase wall was left open, and Cornelius disappeared into piped green walls.


    Jody tugged his hands, pulling his focus away from the endless tunnel. ¡°When I received your call, I was shocked.¡±


    ¡°That I survived?¡±


    ¡°That you were still on Earth.¡± Her hand trembled. ¡°That you actually survived the Culling too. But that might be a worse fate.¡±


    ¡°You know about the Culling?¡± The strange cultist organization had called their massive-scaled attack as such, but only Mr. Federov gave him this information. No news outlet reported it as so.


    ¡°More than two-thirds of our clients are from other worlds. All of them have experienced the Culling or the aftermath of it.¡±


    The person in front of him felt like a stranger and Jody¡¯s eyes were void of any grandmotherly affection. Was it just a brave front, or was she really thinking they were all going to die?


    ¡°Just like your caretaker, Wang, they experienced memory loss after the transfer, but we¡¯ve been helping them recuperate at Friledaux.¡±


    Again, that government-run hospital was involved. Lark began piecing together the bits of information he received thus far from everyone: his grandfather, Wangshi, Mishka¡¯s father, Sphinx, and Jody.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the Allied Agency get betrayed? Are the people there truly safe?¡±


    ¡°Corn calculated that loss, and we¡¯ve recovered what¡¯s left. All if not most of the spies have been eliminated since that night. I can¡¯t say if everyone is truly safe, but it¡¯s safer there than here tonight.¡±


    Lark wanted to ask more questions, but Jody was quicker.


    ¡°Please understand, we are on the same side here, Lark. Your grandfather suspected something like this might happen one day and left you the ¡®core¡¯ while Cornelius chose you to inherit the watch.¡±


    ¡°Side? What side? Even though the world has been progressing towards peace during the last few decades with the help of this so-called technology, suddenly there¡¯s a war about to happen? ¡± Lark said, finally finding his voice.


    An impending war in this day and age? Impossible. Lark¡¯s expression showed his disbelief.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the kind of dramatic war you learn about in history books where nations fight each other over territory or economy. The landscape is simply changing in a way where it can destabilize society as we know it.¡± Jody didn¡¯t seem to want to argue with him and placed her words carefully.


    ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to insert a global warming joke here,¡± Lark said pulling back his hands and swiftly rose to his feet. She was beginning to talk in circles. They weren¡¯t getting anywhere. Corn had a better chance of telling him everything.


    ¡°No, this is something different,¡± She, too, rose up following him to the bookcase. ¡°The Leylines. They were always there. We just couldn¡¯t see it until one day we could.¡±


    Just exactly how much did she or everyone know?


    ¡°The system is older than me if you can believe it.¡± She smoothed over the wrinkles on her neck and touched the pearl necklace above her throat. ¡°Fifty years ago, we didn¡¯t realize a small part of the world had changed when we began using the energy to fuel the airships. But something even bigger is coming. We can¡¯t specify, but after the Culling, there are usually two results: either we fail or we thrive.¡±


    When he didn¡¯t speak, Jody rested her hand against his shoulder.


    ¡°Everyone who is here tonight is ready for that fight.¡±


    Lark¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Does that include Carson and Samuel¡¯s father?¡±


    ¡°Go talk to Cornelius, he¡¯ll know what to say,¡± They stood there side by side for a moment, but only Jody¡¯s stubbornness answered him. He had to assume everyone knew more than him.


    Lark¡¯s shoulders sagged. ¡°I won¡¯t let this slide. When I¡¯m done talking to Cornelius, I¡¯ll come back here.¡±


    ¡°Cornelius is actually more impatient than he lets on.¡± She paused and looked him straight in the eye with a wary look. ¡°Don¡¯t come back this way,¡± she said and pushed his body with a sudden strength. The bookcase closed shut.


    Flabbergasted by her change in attitude, Lark muttered, ¡°What is she thinking? I can just press the button¡ª¡±


    His hand raised to the right where his grandfather normally placed a pull-switch to open the secret door, but there wasn¡¯t one there.


    Careful, you just passed through an illusion barrier. Sphinx¡¯s voice intruded his thoughts.


    Lark turned around. A mixture of anxiety and fear swirled in his gut as he stared at what seemed to be an endless tunnel of lichen and moss. It covered the metal pipes and woodwork in green and white splotches, seemingly growing in the darkest corners of the corridor.


    A creeping onset of vertigo produced as he pressed a hand against his stomach. ¡°Must be the appetizers from earlier.¡±


    ¡°How can you be scared with me around?¡± asked Sphinx. ¡°Pull yourself together!¡±


    He tried to follow Sphynx¡¯s advice and stared down the passageway. After taking a step forward, the overhead of suspended lights snapped on and off for a couple of seconds. For a fraction of those seconds, a shadow of a man appeared and disappeared into the wall next to him.


    Unfuckingbelievable. Lark¡¯s heartbeat drummed in his ears. ¡°Sphinx, can you scan this place?¡±


    ¡°A scan of an illusion barrier will only tell you its dimensions and creator. It¡¯s up to you to find the exit.¡±


    Lark retrieved the revolver and aimed where he last saw the shadow. ¡°You mean force one.¡±


    A spiral of flames burst out, blackening the green moss and the hanging pipes. Immediately, a bubbly sac pushed out of the broken ducts, which began to revert the damage. Its elasticity reminded him of the bubble magic he encountered during the Redlines incident.


    ¡°Illusion Barrier (magic) (grade F)


    A plant-based warding spell meant to stall intruders.


    Weaknesses: Fire.


    Creator: Cornelius Goodwing¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this.¡± He raised the revolver once more. The edges of his eyes burned as he focused on the rebuilding sac. A strange wave of energy raced through him as embers floated around his arms. Several shots flew out in succession in the shape of arrows. All targets exploded on impact.


    Past the massive holes in the wall, a set of double doors hid behind the lichen. Cornelius, the mysterious inventor, greeted him from behind the fake wall. ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve exceeded my expectations.¡±


    Everything from the strange bubbly sacs to the mossy plants returned to the original landscape. The world changed instantly, casting everything in the cool, green hues. Cornelius opened the door, going in first.


    What that¡¯s it? Lark flipped the hair out of his eyes and strode into the hidden office.


    As he imagined, the author of the stolen notebook really loved books and stationery. Reference books stacked neatly up the four-walled room. A small leather couch and a couple of armchairs surrounded a coffee table. On the center back wall, appeared to be a vision board. It reminded him of Sky¡¯s room when they worked on projects together; a visual outline of their goals. Maps of different places were connected by red string rotated on thumbtacks.


    Cornelius sat first, leaving Lark standing next to the door. ¡°That guide of yours works well. It¡¯s only been three days since the major attack, and you¡¯ve already accomplished so much with your intuition.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, what are you playing me a fool for?¡± He knew he sounded cold, but the rage wouldn¡¯t stop. It seemed to build inside him, like an angry spirit fanning the flames.


    ¡°A fool? That¡¯s far from it. But I don¡¯t want you to stay upset, so let¡¯s call it even. I did save your life once.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    So, it¡¯s true then. The person who landed on the top of the bus that day and protected everyone was Cornelius. But that wasn¡¯t important right now.


    ¡°As I recall, the Redlines¡¯ incident started because of you. Everyone else got dragged into it. You should take responsibility.¡±


    A look of amusement crossed the old man¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re rather adept at bargaining. Fine. What about a gift?¡±


    Bribery? Lark really had no idea what this old man was thinking. Were all Immortals like this?


    ¡°Take anything of interest from my bookshelf.¡± Cornelius looked over his shoulder, gesturing to his large collection.


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Lark accepted and took a closer look at the range of materials. Sphinx audibly gasped in his ear, once he caught a glimpse at a mint-green cover with an unknown author. It was Volume 1 of A Study of Hands. Lark pulled the book off the shelf and showed it to Cornelius.


    ¡°Where¡¯s this from?¡±


    ¡°You sure about that one?¡± A hint of surprise came from Cornelius¡¯s tone. ¡°That a primary text of an unknown artist, I picked up from a flea market.¡±


    Somehow, Lark didn¡¯t believe the easy-going smile on the old man¡¯s face. In this transaction, he had nothing to lose, but the sudden appearance of the missing volume had him confused.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Lark shoved the book under his arm and finally walked over to a seat where he could hold an even conversation. ¡°Jody said you would tell me everything, so where would you like to begin?¡±


    The old man seemed to look at him with the expression of ¡®just like that, huh?¡¯ and Lark pulled the book out to explain his reasoning. ¡°You¡¯ve already shown me your sincerity, the least I should do is listen.¡±


    This response pulled a chuckle from Cornelius. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the ring, then. I know how it works, you don¡¯t need to be shy since I was the one who gave that to Wang.¡±


    Lark quickly tossed the book into storage after the go-ahead.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem surprised that it was me,¡± remarked Cornelius.


    ¡°We managed to piece it together after some time, but I¡¯m sure there is more to the story you¡¯d like to share.¡± Lark¡¯s gaze flickered coldly over the watch as he prepared the letter Wangshi showed him.


    Cornelius picked up the letter, smiling. ¡°Your grandfather used to tell me the visions he had while holding the core. They became more pronounced and vivid in his dreams like it was teaching him things he would otherwise have no knowledge of.¡±


    ¡°So you knew then, the ¡®core¡¯ was essentially not of Earth origin.¡± Lark cut over his comment, ¡°And the Trinity Watch, Jody said you ¡®gave¡¯ it to me. I¡¯m sure you knew they would pair.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re skipping some steps¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware we¡¯re short on time. I don¡¯t want to waste another minute on conjectures or the plans you and my grandfather thought of because they clearly backfired,¡± Lark said.


    ¡°A lot of our good work was largely undone by the cultists, yes. However, we still have many means of fighting back.¡± The old man still relaxed despite Lark¡¯s insistence on shifting topics. In fact, a strange calm spread over the man¡¯s worn features.


    ¡°Have you wondered why is Earth limited in mana?¡±


    Lark nodded, recalling his talks with both Sphinx and Wangshi. ¡°Wangshi said it¡¯s because Earth doesn¡¯t have spirits, which I¡¯m guessing are entities attracted to a person¡¯s affinities.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s mostly correct.¡± Cornelius reached over to a book on the table and flipped open to a page he had bookmarked. Various theories of human origin were discussed in the marked passage.


    ¡°It¡¯s not so different from the evolution theory of why dinosaurs didn¡¯t last. The spirits were driven to extinction by others too.¡±


    What were spirits actually though? Beings like Nympha or Sphinx? And who or what could have the capabilities of killing them?¡ªThis was a landmine of a theory. Before his thoughts got too out of hand, Lark pointed out an anomaly, ¡°Spirits or no spirits, how did a market develop for alien-tech if Earth doesn¡¯t have the materials for it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a forced revival. As you may know, the cultists have a god-complex. Just as there¡¯s interest in revitalizing fossils, there¡¯s just as much interest in practicing magic. Right now, it is limited to Leylines, just as fossils are limited to the study of DNA cloning. The day draws near when these goals will be realized...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a prime example of borrowed powers.¡± Cornelius indicated to the watch.


    Lark frowned. Of course, Cornelius would be aware that the gains from the watch were from someone else¡ªlike gifts.


    ¡°If people can borrow power from external resources, it¡¯s already a step towards that future.¡±


    The mention of resources reminded Lark of the scanned items he saw in the gallery. If the merchants were Volarians, then Soko¡¯s must have the means to world-travel to transfer the materials. Lark decided to push this topic.


    ¡°Soko¡¯s has been buying mats from the Volarians. How?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that yet.¡± Cornelius lifted up his hand. The inventor¡¯s frail frame was bonier than what he remembered from their last encounter. Lark gritted the back of his teeth. The Volarians were somehow involved, but the Trinity Watch was made by Cornelius, and to his limited knowledge there was no production of soulsteel in this dimension.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already given up so much to put my faith in you and the others. You¡¯re probably aware of my relation to Joffrey, seeing as you figured out my identity.¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± Lark admitted. ¡°The ring used to belong to him, and the contents inside were mostly stolen. I presumed you were friends until some point because of this notebook I found. ¡±


    At this moment, Lark decided to return the stolen notebook and pulled it out of storage. If he showed that he was nice here, would Cornelius tell him of the Volarians? Or was there something refraining him from doing so?


    As soon as Lark identified the ¡°Item: Stolen Notebook¡± under the Watch¡¯s quest tab, the notebook materialized on the table.


    A notification pinged to the side of the book as well. It read: ¡°Cornelius has recovered his youthful memories. His likability towards you has increased.¡±


    ¡°Wow, this brings me back,¡± he said as he picked up the book, gingerly flipping through the worn pages and patting down the slight dog-ears at the corners.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t said how you¡¯ve gotten the ring yet, but if you had the ring in your possession, why didn¡¯t you get your things?¡±


    ¡°I was mad at him. I still am since he made me this way.¡±


    What does he mean by that? Learning from his mistakes with Nympha, Lark coughed into his hand and asked sincerely, ¡°Would you mind, if I scanned you?¡±


    Cornelius wore a confused expression at first, then an excited one. ¡°This is the function of the core isn¡¯t it, a high-level appraisal ability. No wonder you knew so much about the ring¡¯s contents. Sure, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Cornelius Goodwing (Cursed*-Immortal)


    Titles: Inventor of the Trinity Watch, Secret-Keeper, The Herbalist


    Known Affinities: Water


    Age: 144


    Conditions: [Cursed Time] - Spatial and astral anomalies identified within the user.


    STR: 10


    DEX: 10


    INT: 10


    MG: 10


    SPT: 10


    LUK: -


    Skills


    [Water Magic] - [Healing Water]


    [Bubble Magic] - [Illusions] [Water-plant shield]


    [Wand Mastery]


    [Staff Mastery]


    [Alchemy]


    [Magic Craft]


    [Enchant]


    [Warding]¡±


    ¡°Your expression says it¡¯s bad. How bad is it doc?¡±


    Lark was stunned. Even Gushi, his delicate slime, could take on the old man. He gave the same explanation he told Wangshi about the stat-reading ability to Cornelius.


    ¡°The numbers are a lot lower than what I imagined for an Immortal. Can the curse be lifted?¡±


    Cornelius¡¯s miserable expression reminded him of Pisces¡¯ predicament. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It was the result of researching ways to reach immortality faster.¡±


    Lark could imagine what must¡¯ve happened. The combination of Joffrey¡¯s astral and spatial abilities got thrown into flux and it resulted in Cornelius¡¯s sometimes aged-up appearance versus his younger-looking self.


    ¡°You guys were friends, and yet Joffrey just left you like this?¡±


    Cornelius leaned his head to the side, seemingly more burdened by the question and surprised Lark with another question. ¡°If your friend did bad things for your sake, what would you think of them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d stop them,¡± Lark answered immediately, thinking of Sky.


    ¡°So we¡¯re of the same mind. It¡¯s a simple story of good intentions gone wrong. For my sake, Joffrey joined the organization we know as the cultists to collect information about possible ways to fix this. And his guilt has been so strong though that it¡¯s allowed him to commit terrible things.¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem to be a stranger to theft though.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Joffrey, now?¡±


    ¡°After the Redlines incident, I¡¯m not sure. But he¡¯s likely regrouping with his comrades to attack some of our facilities soon.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound worried.¡±


    Cornelius rested his hand on the armrest and chuckled. His bleary eyes closed into a smile. Then he looked at Lark with a glimmer of amusement. ¡°There are better, or worse-er things to worry about. Such as the questions you want to be answered. I can¡¯t tell you about the Volarians yet. But I can offer you the secret to world-traveling. Are you sure you want to hear it?¡±


    ¡°There must be something like a critical drawback if you¡¯re not being so forward,¡± Lark scoffed, hiding his worry. Was he insinuating about the secret-keeper title? The titles were something he hadn¡¯t shared with Cornelius yet.


    ¡°You have the right to be cautious, Lark, but I¡¯m afraid we don¡¯t have much time for that.¡± Cornelius stood up and dusted his robes. ¡°It¡¯s definitely something you want to know to find your friends, but the gatekeeper always asks for something in return.¡±


    A chill went down Lark¡¯s back and he heard Sphinx¡¯s voice inside his head.


    Are you still waiting for something to happen? Why are you still hesitating?


    ¡°Once you tell me, will I be obligated to join some type of secret order?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll become part of a large, collective responsibility. That¡¯s the price of knowledge,¡± Cornelius warned. Then laughed as he headed to the door. ¡°But, no, there isn¡¯t a secret order and you don¡¯t have to join.¡±


    But there is a working-behind-the-scenes group. Lark frowned, interlocking his fingers together. ¡°All I want to know is the truth. The truth of how I can get my friends back, and the truth of whatever is going on here. Being in danger is not something new to me, so please tell me.¡±


    As soon as the old man smiled, Lark¡¯s watch pinged a text notification from an unknown number. Before he could read the message, the office door opened and a woman stood in the darkness.


    ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± she said rather grimly to Cornelius.


    ¡°The granny¡­¡± from the bus, he recognized, ¡°but why are you here?¡± He gawked at her uniform, which was the same as the clerk¡¯s from downstairs.


    To Lark, both her voice and look changed instantly. ¡°Hero-boy,¡± she greeted him with pouted lips. ¡°I was sad you didn¡¯t recognize me, but now you do?¡±


    He didn¡¯t know when she did it, but an illusion spell must¡¯ve been set instantly to change her appearance from a twenty-something year old woman to a senior and back. Which was real? The picture of her youth, or her fragile, turtle-like frame?


    The clerk introduced herself briefly. Her name was Ellinor. ¡°But you, hero-boy, can call me Elli,¡± she said, winking at him.


    ¡°Can¡¯t be standing here making acquaintances though,¡± she continued, ¡°You can feel the evil energy settling in the gallery, where the new transporters are waiting, Cornelius. We need to get there, now, before they move first.¡±


    ¡°Who exactly? Cultists? Is it Joffrey?¡¯¡± Lark asked,


    ¡°It¡¯s the Volarians,¡± she said, looking at him quite strangely as if she didn¡¯t understand why he would ask her something so simple. Then she glared accusingly at Cornelius.


    ¡°What have you been talking to him about, if not the most important piece of information for tonight¡¯s mission?¡±


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t agreed yet,¡± Cornelius answered.


    She frowned.


    Their relationship didn¡¯t look so good, Lark noted, but asked anyway, ¡°Where do I fit into all this? Clearly, I meant to do something here.¡±


    ¡°Cornelius said you hold an Immortal artifact. We need that power to defend ourselves.¡±


    ¡°From the Volarians?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ellinor exclaimed, her impatience showing in her aged face. ¡°We have to remove¡ª


    Remove?


    ¡°Ellinor!¡± Cornelius took a sharp breath. ¡°You can¡¯t tell him anymore if he doesn¡¯t agree to it. I¡¯ll go with you now.¡±


    Then he turned to Lark. ¡°If you follow us, I take that as a sign of your agreement. If you leave the premise for your own safety, I won¡¯t blame you, but I will likely not live longer than tonight if you dare come back here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you two!¡± he quickly declared, heading to the door with them. The illusions around them began warping.


    Cornelius stabilized the transfer with his staff, but still, Lark felt his ears ¡®popping¡¯ as if the altitude had changed dramatically.


    They returned to the gallery where he saw a scorching trail jetting down the sky in the windows, leaving a corkscrew pattern in its wake. Black smoke twisted all the way to the ground and small sparks floated away from the area of impact. People in black robes walked into the same street where buildings laid to waste. In their arms were arsenals of weaponry.


    The sun shone somewhat to the left and behind him and brightly lit up the enormous panorama which, rising like an amphitheater, extended before him in the clear rarefied atmosphere.


    Lark couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the devastation before him and hadn¡¯t checked his ¡®ping,¡¯ either, but if he had noticed it sooner, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he chose wrongly.


    ¡°Trust no one.¡± - Unknown.

 39 - Firestorm

    Lark couldn¡¯t believe it. There was so much damage to the city compared to when the slimes attacked the school. The people who lived or worked in those buildings¡­if not already dead were going to be.


    Cornelius shook his shoulder, tapping him out of stupor. A cold sweat rolled over his back, his heart feeling ripped in half as warm air and familiar smells pressed over him. The gallery wasn¡¯t blackened by death and Carson was on the floor still amiably chatting.


    ¡°Lark, you saw something in the realm of prediction just now,¡± Cornelius said, his voice low yet familiar like the old gatekeeper in Wangshi¡¯s memories.


    ¡°Yes?¡± He glanced up at the windows making sure there wasn¡¯t a meteor about to pummel Earth and that buildings weren¡¯t about to be toppled over.


    Elli stood by the thick veil in the center as the auction host gathered everyone¡¯s attention on the floor.


    ¡°What you¡¯re about to see will enable everyone to transverse the planet in seconds. The world will belong to everyone as it was meant to be.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve developed real transporters?¡± Lark asked, a slight tremble of shock and admiration in his tone.


    ¡°Not developed, but traded for. They already existed in Volaria, so it has the right to be shared. World-traveling allows that to happen in our infinite spaces through portals. Your father found that portal.¡±


    ¡°My father?¡±  But he¡¯s been missing, Lark thought in disbelief.


    ¡°Is Soko¡¯s trading business related to my father¡¯s discovery?¡± he asked as the crowd grew larger.


    ¡°After your father discovered the Immortal artifact in the desert, he didn¡¯t return to base as asked and ignored orders to go back and open the gateway between our worlds. You see, opening the path between worlds requires a lot of energy, energy greater than Leylines, and the only energy purer than mana is spirit energy.


    One can¡¯t venture out of their own dimension without forsaking something to the gatekeepers. And the gatekeeper of Volaria is somewhat of a mean god but fair, and with your father¡¯s help, Soko¡¯s paved this trade road based on the collection of human energy.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lark¡¯s eyebrows creased together, remembering his own deal with Nympha. Was she listening to this?


    ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken. It¡¯s not death he asked for, but the conversion or manifestation of spirit energy, which can be made collectible through prayer or other methods. It was a slow, but sure process. In exchange for Earth¡¯s spirit, we received mana crystals from Volarian merchants who were made aware of this secret route.¡±


    Prayer? Was he talking about collecting energy from religious sites? What other methods could there be?


    Elli and the auction host were ready to reveal the giant mechanism in center-stage. The lighting from the ceiling dimmed as the spotlights on the floor brightened.


    ¡°And why hasn¡¯t my father come back?¡±


    ¡°The Volarian gatekeeper offered something so valuable to him, he took it, in exchange for his life.¡±


    Lark clenched his fists as the veil was taken down.


    Metal structures held up what appeared to be a mold of a giant goldfish bowl, and cloudy blobs swirled inside it, changing colors from pink to blue. One word came to mind as Lark looked upon the vibrant colors, it was absolutely magical.


    ¡°He should be living somewhere in the crossroads between Volaria and Earth, waiting for you now that you know this secret.¡±


    The silver, metal base shimmered with iridescent pink and blue hues as the blobs danced around each other. Mesmerized audience members began clapping before it turned into an uproar. Lark looked to his left where Cornelius had been standing next to him, but the strange inventor had already disappeared.


    Looking back to the stage, Elli was gone too, as the host began his impassioned speech.


    ¡®We have several of these transporters up and running with our business partners in Canada, Japan, Egypt, and Australia. Please, don¡¯t worry China, we¡¯ll have these up soon competing with your beautiful bubble tea shops. Am I right, though? If you could have one of these in your kitchens, wouldn¡¯t you just wanna take a bite out of it like cotton candy. I bet it would taste really good!¡±


    The presenter smacked his lips together as he received some laughs.


    ¡°China¡¯s at the top of our waitlist with others who we are less indebted to¡­¡±


    Lark nearly rolled his eyes at that joke, but it was surprising to learn there were other places housing such a monumental structure.


    ¡®Safe points. You heard of this term if you have played games or tag as a child. If you haven¡¯t, please decide on purchasing some Runesteam games for Christmas.¡¯


    Someone make him stop...


    ¡®The basic idea is having the luxury to be in a zone of indestructibility. No one can touch you. You¡¯re safe.¡¯


    The host pretended to be an umpire and made the sweeping hand signal for ¡®safe!¡¯ and, of course, the baseball-loving crowd ate it up.


    ¡®You can access these safe points once you define locations, in our case they are here, Ontario, Tokyo, Cairo, and¡­wait, this can¡¯t be right, is there anywhere really safe in Australia?¡¯


    Lark could hear Carson cackle with laughter near the front of the stage.


    ¡®Okay, let¡¯s check in with our volunteer there to make sure he¡¯s still alive.¡¯ Five screens came down from the ceiling, projecting a similar layout to theirs: a host and a live audience surrounding the transporter.


    ¡®Looks like our host is safe,¡¯ he said and carried his conversation to the screen. ¡®Now, do you have all your volunteers ready?¡±


    The host in Australia began rapidly blinking his eyes and the camera turned to the people standing several feet apart in a ring.


    ¡®He¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s proceed with the transfer. You have your communicator devices out, yes?¡±


    The volunteers lifted up their smartphones and the camera zoomed in, enlarging the image an application called ¡®Safe Points¡¯.


    ¡®Okay, then. Let¡¯s jump into the express lane with our technologically advanced portkeys,¡¯ their host announced with an exaggerated wink. ¡®Now if you look around the room, you will notice that the building¡¯s layout has divided into two sections. One for ¡®leaving¡¯ and one for ¡®coming in¡¯ like a subway station.¡¯


    People began murmuring with questions.


    ¡®The pink platform, on my left, is for the welcoming party, and the blue side is for the ¡®party hoppers.¡¯ The host gestured to the screen and boisterously yelled, ¡®Ready party bus?¡¯


    The volunteers on the screen began tapping away at their phones and the camera went over one of their shoulders, depicting how the app worked. The users were already registered and their passports recognized for travel. They selected their target location from the list of five given cities.


    They¡¯re really coming here, thought Lark, amazed by how streamlined the process was. The panel beneath the users¡¯ feet turned from blue to a white circle. Moments later, the white outline turned green as the metal contraption above them began spinning. Chills ran down Lark¡¯s spine as he watched all the volunteers disappear in shimmering light. It was a sight all too familiar, but it seemed like he was the only person in the room with a death-grip expression.


    Cheers erupted as the volunteers emerged in their safe point. In a zap, several white circles traced over the pink panel, and the light dissipated revealing the volunteers from Australia. Others appeared in the screens located in Tokyo, Ontario, and one in Cairo. All of this happening in less than ten seconds.


    The world was about going to undergo another drastic change. Even though nothing is ever as it seems, the full impact of the everyone¡¯s confessions, Mishka¡¯s, the agency¡¯s, and Cornelius¡­ wouldn¡¯t be actualized until the masses were convinced of it. However, the truth is, this secret took too long to come out. To reconcile or adapt to what was originally seen as really advanced human technology to what it actually was, magic, began one of the greatest human tragedies.


    Out of the bloated applause came a furious yell. ¡°This invention should be used for the people. How can you be the ones to decide it to a few countries?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right!¡± came the chorus.


    The dissension was starting and the host couldn¡¯t control the situation as more and more angry people came forth.


    ¡°For the rich, do you think this world belongs to you only?¡±


    The world belongs to you only? Lark searched the crowd, watching as people stepped away from the protesters. A tray of glass fell to the floor as a waiter was shoved.


    ¡®Hey, what do you think you¡¯re doing¡ª¡¯


    A rather large man with the mass of a bear casually hurled the host off the stage. His body violently crashed into the screen recording the live reaction of the Australian audience. The connection dropped as his body slid to the floor in a sickening thud. The same scenario of confusion and dissent appeared to be happening in Tokyo too. The audience in Cairo and Ontario seemed confused before their connections failed too.


    Suddenly, a green fog descended into the gallery and the volunteers who had transferred over had black bags placed over their heads. Several figures dressed in white and blue capes, pushed one of the volunteers down to their knees holding them down by the arms.


    A bad feeling welled inside Lark¡¯s chest as he pulled out his ring to summon both Gushi and the revolver as streams of people ran by him. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°What are you doing¡ªthat¡¯s not part of the plan!¡±


    It seemed for whatever reason, ¡®they¡¯ were having a fallout. Lark rushed into the gallery looking for any sign of Jody, Corn, Elli, or Carson. Meanwhile, Gushi stacked himself on top of Lark¡¯s head and activated Perception.


    ¡°For the people! Arise Ifrit!¡± the leader shouted as a green magic circle manifested around the stage, sprouting green flames.


    ¡°Not so fast! You¡¯re committing blasphemy in the name of the ¡®World Tree!¡¯¡±


    A separate faction hidden in the crowd revealed themselves.


    ¡°Elli?¡± The young-granny finally appeared in a military-esque uniform. A gray cloak weaved with intricate blue lines covered the mysterious potions she had hidden in her utility belt.


    Which group were they defending from? Lark wanted to ask! His heart raced as the leader of the white capes brought out a humongous broadsword. Someone could just fall on that thing and have their body sliced in half!¡¯


    Elli pulled out an average-looking staff, and stomped it to the ground, disrupting the flow of mana surrounding the hostage. Several more people dressed in similar attire jumped up into the air while throwing talisman-looking things onto the stage. Some of the pieces of paper were burnt up by a red-flame mage in the group of the unknown faction.


    ¡°It looks like a fire-warding charm,¡± a voice, Lark couldn¡¯t say he was glad to hear, but for the moment he actually appreciated having Sphinx around.


    ¡°Sphinx, any idea what¡¯s happening?¡± Lark hid behind one of the glass podiums showcasing some fine art pieces.


    Someone quickly ran up to the stage to rescue the volunteer as the cultists and white-caped faction duked it out in the open. Spells of varied elements flew around the room and as fire and ice collided, the original green flames tripled in size.


    Mr. Caskey? Lark gasped as he saw his friend¡¯s father get tossed aside by the huge man.


    ¡°This is wasn¡¯t what you said!¡± Mr. Caskey cried out as the huge man prepared his blade over the volunteer¡¯s head.


    ¡°There¡¯s part of your answer; a classic case of betrayal,¡± was Sphynx¡¯s reply as Lark took aim. The sword was about to go through the hostage¡¯s neck as several fiery shots collided against the stage.


    He heard a frustrated yell before panicking and ducking back for cover as spikes of ice and waves of flames torpedoed to his hiding spot.


    Did I miss? He made a dash for the center of the chaos where he saw something unbelievable.


    Carson was holding up a shield with a tortoise-like pattern. The deeply engraved lines lit up in a bright blue hue and sparks flew as the shield battered against the enemy¡¯s broadsword.


    The hostage was still alive! And so was Carson!


    ¡°Carson!¡±


    ¡°Lark?¡± The lawyer looked away for one second before the massive man overwhelmed him with raw strength, throwing him somewhere between the blue platform and Mr. Caskey.


    He had a clear shot! As flames dispersed from the barrel of his gun, they were blocked by the flame-mage with natural fire abilities.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± questioned the red-hat mage, who wore the same white clothes as the other fighters. He looked much younger than their leader. Maybe the same age as Lark if not slightly older.


    ¡°I should be asking you that? And why you¡¯re here causing a mess!¡± Adrenaline spiked through Lark¡¯s veins as he threw the closest thing he could find, which was his jacket.


    The preemptive throw did nothing except burn his jacket to a crisp, and he was hoisted into the air by an unknown power.


    ¡°Your people stole Volarian magic and you¡¯re acting like you don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Volarian?¡±


    The red-hat mage gave a coy laugh before tossing Lark into the bed of green flames. ¡°Face Ifrit¡¯s wrath for your ignorance.¡±


    Lark¡¯s dark suit shriveled to rags as the fire raged over his body. Gushi managed to smoke out the flames with both Patching and Damage Absorption as he rolled back and forth till the flames completely put out. The fog and green smoke were everywhere, but several black bags laid on the floor, which meant he was near the hostages.


    Fighting against actual magic-users was tougher than he expected, or maybe deep down he knew Sphinx wouldn¡¯t actually kill him so coldly like how these people were about to. Lark drew out Wangshi¡¯s prized sword, the jian, to his side.


    Lark stepped in on his toes, practicing the footwork to Huo-feng. Wangshi taught him how to fan out the flames with this whirlwind move, but he couldn¡¯t produce enough internal energy with his positioning alone, so that¡¯s where the jian came in. He quickly turned on his heel and directed a parallel sweep across the stage. A strong wind gathered in his body¡¯s center, and as soon as the white-caped persons noticed him, that power surged forth.


    Lark shouted, feeling the sword¡¯s power whoosh under his arms. The warm wind collided against the flames, smothering them out, but they blew around the man¡¯s bloody broadsword like the sea parting in front of a cliff.


    Every fiber of his being wanted to scream and run as he searched for the bloody trails leading up to the headless volunteers. It was too late.


    ¡°Cornelius!¡± Lark shouted for the nowhere to be seen Immortal, as the massive Volarian leader stuck his broadsword into the stage in reverence to the headless body moving. The situation in front of him seemed mirrored to when he encountered the Cursed Human in Wangshi¡¯s memories. The corpse¡¯s body covered in green smoke and starting with its legs, black fluid engorged the muscle until it punctured open and sprouted green flames in its entirety. Evil energy distorted the looming pink and blue hues in the metal structure, which slowly churned into a chaotic swirl of matted red and brown.


    The white-caped group raised their hands ceremoniously as their leader harrumphed, ¡°Resurrection!¡±


    It seemed his weak presence didn¡¯t matter to them - for now - as their monster summoning ritual was a success.


    ¡°Scan!¡±


    ¡°[Ifrit] (monster) (demon) (fire)


    A demon resurrected by the Volarian rebel faction, who wish to revive the Demon Towers.


    Condition: Summoned by the Volarian-rebel leader through necromancy magic. Has the innate power of flight. Weakened by lack of surrounding mana energy and incomplete revival summoning.


    STR: 100


    DEX: 200


    INT: NA


    MG: 100


    SPT: 100


    Skills


    [Fire Magic]¡±


    It was definitely weaker than Nympha, but Lark didn¡¯t have the ability to summon her again today. He was stranded on the stage between the Volarian leader and the demon known as Ifrit. It had picked up it¡¯s detached, blistering head and engulfed itself in more flames. Then with a wave of its fiery limbs, green flittering bugs seemed to crawl out the holes of its face and the heat of the green flames poof-ed them into flying creatures.


    ¡°[Flame Locusts]*


    STR: 10


    DEX: 50


    INT: 20


    MG: 10


    SPT: 0


    Skills


    [Burn]¡±


    *Green variation.


    It¡¯s not that these mobs were super strong, but coming at him in a dense pack like the devil¡¯s hand breaching out of hell, forced him to run.


    As small fiery bugs swooped overhead, Gushi¡¯s mantle began to bubble and Lark could¡¯ve sworn he heard a telepathic cry. He opened the spatial ring, ordering Gushi to go inside.


    The slime shook its antenna, activating it¡¯s Patching skill to heal itself.


    ¡°Gushi¡­¡± Slimes were weak to fire. There wasn¡¯t a point in letting itself risk danger for no reason.


    Suddenly the slime jumped off of him and dived into the green mist below the stage. ¡°Hey!¡±


    He had no time to pursue as another swarm cut his path. ¡°Argh!¡± he roared as one breezed next to his arm. A couple of hours worth of swinging the sword wasn¡¯t going to make him an expert sword-fighter, but experiencing a day¡¯s worth of life or death simulations made his confidence grow in survivability as he poised the thin blade outward and swiftly executed the next sword form. Bi-Feng.


    Out of the five forms, Wangshi showed him, Bi- Feng had the most tenacious grip that began with countering then redirecting the opponent¡¯s force back tenfold. Lark slashed wide, forcing apart several locusts, but their numbers filled in the gaps. Expecting that, he stepped into a spin and executed several more vigorous swings. His body moved forward, decapitating every insect within reach, but he couldn¡¯t see where his slime went.


    ¡°Gushi!¡±


    A blood-curling scream caused Lark to cover his ears as he looked behind him. Ifrit¡¯s body was melting into a pool of green liquid.


    ¡°Hero-boy, retreat,¡± Elli arrived carrying her staff high up in the air. She was levitating.


    Lark made the quick decision to scan her as he ran to where he last saw Carson.


    ¡°[Elli/Ellinor] (human)


    Titles: Illusionist, Con-artist


    Known affinities: ice


    STR: 20


    DEX: 50


    INT: 100


    MG: 150


    SPT: 10


    Skills


    [Ice Magic] - Frozen Steps, Ice doll*, Mirage-mist*


    [Staff Mastery]¡±


    She used ice magic to create body substitutes! He looked back at the demon as it slowly disintegrated into a pool of hot liquid and ash. Exactly what part of that was composed of illusory ice magic?


    The white-caped forces must have felt their control weakening as their magic became angrier and fiercer with spells lashing out all around Elli. Part of him wanted to go back to help her, but another part of him knew he would just get in her way, dealing with magic he had never seen before.


    ¡°Champ!¡± That was Carson¡¯s voice. Lark turned around and made eye contact with him just as a hazy figure with a battle-ax loomed behind him.


    Carson barely turned around in time to see the flaming battle ax shatter apart his blue shield. He got knocked flat onto his back.


    ¡°Carson, no!¡± Lark switched to his only long-range weapon in stock, sending shots left and right of the Volarian rebel. But the itty-bitty flames he produced were torched out by the larger gathering flames on their ax.


    Lark could only hope as he dashed forward with all his might to tackle him off the stage.


    The Volarian made zero effort to stand down and issued a loud battle-cry as his ax raised high above Carson¡¯s neck. A feeling of dread and helplessness surged inside of Lark. Would he be too late to do anything once more as his friends fell victim to his inaction?


    His legs vaulted with static as the jian rippled with electrifying energy in front of the dropping blade. Sphinx¡¯s unmistakable jeers echoed inside his head. ¡°Use magic.¡±


    So he did.


    The first sword form, Gua-Feng, he could do easily now as the energy collected around him, wanting to be released. As the sword¡¯s edge vibrated with both static and wind energy, Lark let a smirk slip and watched the thin blue-hot filaments crackle out against the green flames.


    He didn¡¯t wait for the rebel to pull away, and executed the push-back move, repelling the Volarian several feet back in seconds.


    Before his opponent had any chance to restart his attack, Gushi reappeared standing upright in its Boiling Body mode with stuff floating inside of its sac. All the tension in Lark¡¯s grip settled down, after watching a stream of water and glass shards pummel into the confused Volarian.


    With quick reflexes, Lark picked up his shaken friend before the fire spread out to them.


    ¡°You know you¡¯re in danger when everything falls apart at the seams, hey kid,¡± Carson joked as the two got off the stage with Gushi finishing the job.


    ¡°You almost died just now, you clown bastard,¡± Lark said a bit winded, wondering how they could leave with all the smoke blocking their sense of direction. ¡°How¡¯d they get in here Carson? I thought everyone was checked and where¡¯s that other bastard?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Carson shrugged while holding onto his side. ¡°He disappeared after I pulled myself together.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Lark looked worriedly at Carson who was pressing a hand aggressively to his abdomen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I hope it¡¯s my appendix rupturing instead of a fucking stab wound,¡± he said as he pulled up his shirt, where a green mark the size of a fist was growing on his hip.


    ¡°Ah. Shit. It¡¯s cancer.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Carson.¡± Lark waved a hand over the wound.


    ¡°[Carson Wiscombe]


    Titles: Lawyer, Trader, Merchant, Jack-of-trades


    Known Affinities: NA


    Age: 39


    STR: 20


    DEX: 10


    INT: 40


    MG: 10


    SPT: 10


    LUK: 10


    Skills


    [Shield Mastery]¡±


    ¡°Body conditions:


    Minor injuries caused by a battle with the Volarian rebels.


    Received the cursed mark: Marked as one of the sacrifices to the Demon Ifrit. If not beheaded to accept the sacrifice¡¯s duty, the mark will slowly eat away the user¡¯s body.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not exactly wrong, Carson, but it¡¯s not cancer. It¡¯s more like a parasite.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that? Ah. Fuck. It. I¡¯m still gonna die so young and I¡¯m never gonna live to see past the transporters or the Towers,¡± he cried, dropping to his knees and laid on his side.


    ¡°What towers?¡± Lark stopped short of pulling out a potion from his spatial ring.


    Realizing his mistake, Carson, skewed his mouth sideways. ¡°Ignore what I just said. I shouldn¡¯t have said anything. It¡¯s supposed to be a trade secret.¡±


    ¡°Tell me, Carson. Or so help me, this will be your deathbed.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Fine! Soko¡¯s is investing in these Towers to rake in more of these alien-tech goods.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! They were going to talk about it after the transporters were revealed.¡±


    ¡°Who? Who told you this?¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡± His eyes began to roll back as sweat broke out on his forehead. Lark pushed an Elven recovery potion through his mouth.


    ¡°This is gonna cost you, stupid Carson,¡± he said, leaving his lawyer-friend to recover next to the bar. Gushi climbed to the back of his head, activating Perception as he searched for the one person he came to find at Soko¡¯s in the first place.


    Jody.


    Suddenly, the ground quaked and Lark¡¯s eyes glued to the center of the stage where Ifrit¡¯s figure had fully dissolved. Volarian rebels laid on the ground, while Elli continued battling the main leader in a match of fire and ice. However, she retreated as soon as a piece of the metal structure fell to the floor. Then all of them were splitting into pieces as if the transporter became too much of a burden to uphold. Like a candy machine breaking apart, the energies spilled into the surrounding debris, eating up the flames and metallic pieces up until all that was left was a circle of matted miasma.


    Then a rift in the floor appeared, pulling everything and everyone in it.

 40 - Shinsekai [END]

    ¡°Sphynx what¡¯s happening?¡± Lark reached out to onto hold something before the void sucked them in.


    ¡°You¡¯re getting your ass wiped by these low-level guys, that¡¯s what,¡± his annoying other-self announced.


    ¡°Say something useful, please.¡±


    ¡°Well, since you¡¯re begging, if you had analyzed the hole in space, you would notice it¡¯s not just sucking things in, it¡¯s also expelling monsters out of it.¡±


    ¡°What¡ª¡±


    ¡°I SAID¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lark raised the revolver, shooting off a set of fiery spirals, which eliminated a moving yellow spider creature, but also grabbed the attention a pair of ice golems crawling out of what used to be the pink side of the platform. The blue side of the platform had already pulled in the (unconscious) Volarians to whatever fate awaited them.


    The two heavy-set golems weren¡¯t the average monster mobs Lark could face alone, normally golems of this magnitude required a party to defeat them. At least that¡¯s what his prior gaming experience fed into his instincts.


    ¡°[Ice Golem] (monster)(ice)


    They do not usually move unless disturbed from their earthly slumber.


    STR: 1000


    Dex: 10


    INT: 10


    MG: 1000


    SPT: 10


    Skills


    [Ice Magic] - Frost breath, Ice grip, Misty death¡±


    That last move for sure, he wasn¡¯t planning on grappling with death again any time soon. However, his fiery bullets did little to nothing to their ice-solid bodies. Was fire actually suppose to be strong against ice affinities? Because each golem was like a walking blizzard with their bodies putting out the fires simply by walking around.


    ¡°Sphinx, any ideas?¡± Lark muttered under his breath. He was unwilling to lend an ear to his guide, however, a monster with these stat numbers yielded for a desperate call. Plus more of them were coming.


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna die at this rate, so I¡¯m going to lift the limiter,¡± Sphynx spoke softly into his ear, giving him goosebumps.


    ¡°Limiter?¡±


    ¡°Yep, so deal with the painful backlash later.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡ª¡±


    Suddenly, Lark stood transfixed into position as the golems stomped closer and closer to where he hid. It was like half his brain turned off and only his left side could sense his surroundings.


    ¡°Sphynx!¡±


    ¡°Cool your jets, I¡¯m here.¡± Lark¡¯s mouth moved on its own.


    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t,¡± he gushed.


    ¡°But yes,¡± he gushed back.


    His right arm swung back and forth as if getting testing out his current range of motions. However, Lark still retained some power over his left side as he was still able to pinch his cheek with his hand. Then he slapped himself with the pommel of the sword as Sphynx began speaking with his voice again.


    ¡°It¡¯s better to stop resisting as I show you how to properly use magic¡­¡±


    Heat radiated off his arms as the veins in his muscles bulged.


    ¡°Learn it with your body.¡±


    Gushi jumped off his back as pulses of electricity carried him like a current into the fray of monsters pouring out of the void. Crests of red aura ran down the sides of the jian, embroiling with chaotic energy. If Lark had looked into its steely reflection, he would¡¯ve noticed his eyes transformed into an unfamiliar hue.


    Monsters, smaller than the golems, appeared from the rift. Creatures the size of rodents flitted through the stage. Some had fangs, horns, wings, and claws, but Sphynx made quick skewers out of them. His agility was imperceptibly fast. His body executed one movement after another, faster than the time it took Mishka to re-activate wind-walker. There were no cooldowns in between each movement.


    If the monsters didn¡¯t fall prey to Sphynx¡¯s lightning-fast strokes, they froze to death by the ice golems¡¯ battering strikes against the floor. One of which missed them by only inches.


    As the floor became almost completely covered in ice, more and more creatures became frozen ice sculptures. Soon, the area was dominated by the giant ice humanoids as they focused their anger upon Lark.


    ¡°How to properly fight¡­also learn it with your body, young ward,¡± Sphynx said, using Lark¡¯s body to dodge a hammering ice fist. He repelled off of its arm and jumped towards the neighboring golem, slicing through its thick neck with ease.


    Hot moisture steamed through the clean-cut as the golem perished.


    Spurred by the quick death of a formidable boss creature, Lark felt alive in a way that couldn¡¯t be articulated. Sure, how baffling it was to see, to feel, or to even hear himself talk like this, but one thing was clear. After watching Sphynx battle, he realized he was strong and capable of so much destruction.


    Magic was might.


    ¡°This is what you should¡¯ve done from the beginning,¡± Sphynx announced, directing the jian in the same stance as Silvina¡¯s Flame Tunnel sword art form, straight into the heart of the enemy. ¡°Combine the two elements together, your natural affinity for fire and jian¡¯s affinity for wind¡­and you get¡­.¡±


    The ice golem opened its cavernous mouth, drawing icicles all around its huge body and pronounced a sonorous roar. Lark clenched his teeth against the freezing gale sweeping through the room.


    A dragon.


    From the end of the jian, a swirl of fire and wind burst forward, traveling in the shape of a serpent. The cold air invaded by the brilliant, scarlet flames extinguished as the ice golem fell backward, crumbling into tiny, glacial rocks.


    The spatial ring picked up some nevermelting-ice fragments and vacuumed the next section of littered monster corpses. However, more monsters continued coming in waves from the pink platform, as opposed to the blue platform which had sucked in everything and everyone.


    A sharp pain gutted the side of Lark¡¯s head. Feeling a cluster of throbbing aches, Lark reached up to feel his head to make sure an invisible hadn¡¯t just pierced through his brain. ¡°My head Sphynx, it¡¯s about to burst.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t pass out until we reach the blue platform,¡± he said, until Gushi suddenly hopped back onto his head, reactivating Patching.


    ¡°Good slime. Always knew you were smarter than your owner. ¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t pet him. Only I get to do that,¡± Lark pouted as Sphynx vaulted his body into the air towards the opening of the rift.


    ¡°Wait, what are you planning?¡±


    ¡°COSMO, message the butler, we may not be returning.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Where¡¯s my input¡ª¡±


    They fell into the rift.


    <hr>


    As soon as the duo disappeared, the paper charms from earlier lit up in a shade of purple, trapping the beasts behind a barrier. Elli reappeared from under the ice with a humorous look on her petite face.


    Jody lifted Carson over her shoulder. ¡°That grandson of his is too generous.¡±


    ¡°It was an overwhelming situation for the kiddo,¡± said Carson who dusted off his clothes. ¡°Besides, if he didn¡¯t give me that potion, I would¡¯ve seen the shadow realm.¡±


    Jody squished his cheeks together. ¡°Don¡¯t be so dramatic. This is why people think you¡¯re such a bad lawyer cause you ain¡¯t a good liar. ¡±


    ¡°Why would I lie about it Jo, and why wasn¡¯t that flame-mage on our list of Volarian anarchists? He got my hip bone good.¡±


    Her grandmotherly act dropped as soon as she popped Carson¡¯s hip back into its socket. ¡°You tell me now, young man, what flame mage do you speak of?¡±


    ¡°The one who tossed Lark into the fire,¡± sputtered Carson, squinting in pain while waving his hand over the gallery, where Elli gathered together the surviving host and volunteers.


    She laced her fingers together as she thought about this piece of information.


    ¡°Why wasn¡¯t he on the list Jo?¡± Carson asked a bit stronger this time after noticing her nervousness.


    ¡°¡­It must have been Farrows.¡±


    ¡°Well, ain¡¯t he a convincing actor,¡± mocked Carson as he shook out his boots.


    ¡°That¡¯s just it Carson, I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s acting.¡±


    ¡°Is it because of Corn?¡± He dipped his eyes low and irate. ¡°If Lark doesn¡¯t make it because of some petty jealousy Jo¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll what? It¡¯s already too late, Mr. Wiscombe. The Towers even if we paid for them or not, inevitably would¡¯ve made it here once the rifts made by the cultists were opened and you chose Lark. We all chose him. He needs to accomplish what Mr. Caskey¡¯s son couldn¡¯t. Cornelius will keep him alive until he passes through the gate.¡±


    With that scathing remark, Elli came up to them. ¡°My assistant is missing!¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Jody asked puzzled.


    ¡°The¡­girl I work with!¡± said Elli exasperatedly, her hands shaking. ¡°The one who took Lark to your office. She was supposed to ¡®accidentally¡¯ or ¡®heroically¡¯ push him into the rift once my golems chased him there, which I know that scene just now was ¡®shocking¡¯ right? But, more importantly, I don¡¯t see her anywhere!¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Carson threw up behind the bar.


    <hr>


    As they fell through the rift, Lark could tell his troubles were only beginning. He hadn¡¯t seen Jody since their initial meeting, and what Carson had told him only partly made sense. Sure, if Soko¡¯s could get their hands on more products they would invest in that belief, but what exactly were the Towers? Were they the same things as what the Volarians¡¯ wanted to revive? The Demon Towers?


    Even though such worries were important to think about, he had a hard time focusing when it felt like he entered another world. Literally.


    The rift from the outside had looked like a formless mass of chaotic energy. Sure, it could¡¯ve been a portal to another world like what you see in games that switch to a loading screen before entering the next stage, but when he fell, it was only for a second before they saw solid ground, and by then he was already standing upright as if he hadn¡¯t moved at all.


    However, the hole in space initially had felt deeper, or longer than a drop of one second, and Lark couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that a part of his identity was missing. Whatever portal or world he jumped into looked like the second floor of the Auction House. But that couldn¡¯t be right, could it?


    Sphynx snapped a finger to his ear. ¡°Focus. Look there¡¯s an obelisk up ahead. Anything, it reminds you of?¡±


    A similar standing shrine he recalled was guarded by Nympha¡¯s old friend in Wangshi¡¯s memories. ¡°The world gate?¡± Scripts were etched into the stone like the one he saw before, however, this stone was in new condition like it was recently sculpted.


    ¡°Wait, Sphynx, why did you bring us here? I still have so many questions and I can¡¯t just leave behind Wangshi¡ª¡±


    Lark poised the jian at the obelisk, sensing movement there.


    ¡°You said you wanted to know the truth, Lark Rune.¡± Cornelius finally revealed himself, sitting on the base like the previous gatekeeper he¡¯d seen before. ¡°There¡¯s no going back.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve turned into a spirit?¡± Lark lifted a brow, observing the faint outline of the Immortal, as though he could disappear at any moment.


    ¡°As of today, yes. I¡¯ve anchored my soul here for the coming tides ahead. This world gate controls the access between all worlds, but like a small fishing boat in a storm, you can¡¯t always control where anything ends up.¡±


    ¡°Stop. Just stop, first. You owe me an explanation about what happened up there, what¡¯s happening ¡®here,¡¯ wherever ¡®here¡¯ is¡ªargh!¡± Lark pressed down the side of his head. Gushi¡¯s Patching skill couldn¡¯t keep up with the effects of lifting the ¡®limiter.¡¯ More than that though, Lark felt like he was a walking ball of confusion, questioning the existence of everything he knew.


    ¡°If you begin to wonder about all these infinite possibilities, you fail to frame what only you can control,¡± Cornelius offered this wisdom to Lark¡¯s chagrin.


    ¡°The cultists when they happened upon this world fifty years ago, cracks in this dimension appeared. Your father stumbled upon such a crack where he found the Immortal artifact, your caretaker, and the previous gatekeeper. He kept the latter a secret for many years until you were older.¡±


    Lark had found a resting spot called ¡®laying dead on the floor¡¯ as Cornelius spoke. ¡°So the world-gate is located somewhere in the desert, isn¡¯t it? How were you able to summon it here?¡±


    ¡°Gates, portals, rifts appear when and where there happens to be a large collection of convulsing energy. Leylines, mana, spirit, and miasma, a combination of these energies is likely what causes them to appear and disappear. The Volarians figured out how to do instant-traveling with a combination of Leylines and miasma. Yet, prolonged uses of miasma can cause a summoning the old books call, ¡®Towers.¡¯


    Sometimes they¡¯re called ¡®Dark¡¯ or ¡®Demonic¡¯ Towers¡¯ because miasma is the expulsion of negative energy, and they thrive on greed as the Volarian have found the Towers to be sources of great wealth.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a risk involved isn¡¯t there because these Towers are actually dungeons, aren¡¯t they, with people risking their lives to gain resources,¡± said Lark, who was finding the floor to be very comfortable as Gushi acted as a water pillow for his head. Nympha had told him, dungeons were made from spirits haunting the same place over and over because the emotions were strongest there. The Dark Towers came to be in a similar way, how would they be any different?


    ¡°Yes,¡± conceded Cornelius. ¡°Unlike dungeons, however, there isn¡¯t a Tower Master, so to speak.¡±


    ¡°Why is Soko¡¯s investing in these Towers?¡±


    ¡°There are ¡®normal¡¯ Towers that exist with the requirement of purifying the collection of miasma before it attracts dark matter and monsters. What you saw, before, in the giant structure, was purified miasma before it fell to the ground and opened the rifts.¡±


    ¡°Normal Towers facilitate instant-travel connecting the portals to each tower. Of course, it would be difficult for the average mana-user to figure out how to pick a tower and travel, so I helped design ¡®Safe Points¡¯ with my protege. Our second name for it would¡¯ve been ¡®shinsekai,¡¯ meaning ¡®new world¡¯ because of his love for¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªMaster, time is of the essence you said,¡± spoke a condescending voice.


    Lark sat up.


    ¡°You should just sum it down to the cultists causing instability with their experiments, so we copped out to the reincarnated Volarians to create Towers to control the monsters coming from other dimensions. And you sacrificed your mortal body to become the pseudo Tower Master.¡±


    Like Elli, the flame-mage, whom Lark had provoked earlier, levitated next to obelisk.


    ¡°In all honesty though, you should have chosen me for the second Immortal Artifact, Master, instead of leaving it to this sniveling kid who already misses his pseudo-father.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯d you come from?¡±


    ¡°See, he doesn¡¯t even recognize when someone else is close by,¡± he remarked coldly. ¡°Well, you got here in one piece, I suppose that¡¯s all that matters. I¡¯m Farrows, loyal apprentice to Master Cornelius Goodwing.¡±


    He gave a curt nod.


    ¡°And I¡¯m here to hunt down a rat,¡± Farrows said, frowning while drawing out his staff to redirect a hail of falling icicles. He cast a ring of floating fire orbs. They rose to the ceiling where Lark saw a woman wrapped in ice.


    ¡°Ellinor will be disappointed if she saw this. But a rat can¡¯t change its smell, I knew you were one of them.¡±


    Lark recognized her as the one he talked to earlier that night before stepping into Jody¡¯s office and he raised the jian cautiously.


    ¡°Who? A cultist or a Volarian. Hmm?¡± she coyly said to Farrows, as she played with a purple disk in her hands.


    ¡°Cultist.¡± This time it was Lark who answered with a snarl. The headache was gone as he poised the jian close to the ground, drawing energy around him.


    ¡°Always scheming to be people who you aren¡¯t. I don¡¯t know what you want, but it¡¯s not gonna go your way anymore!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how far your words will take you this time,¡± she said as she dodged the scattering orbs.


    Blocks of ice appeared in thin air and began moving towards him. Lark scanned them, discovering them to be part of the cultist¡¯s movement skill, Frozen-steps. She jumped to and fro, like an agile cat where they materialized under her feet and hands, till she made it to the very top of the obelisk.


    ¡°It¡¯s too early for the Towers, Immortal, humanity should have seen destruction before creation.¡±


    ¡°A waste of life that would have been,¡± Cornelius said but made no attempt to restrain her as she threw the purple disk into the air and shot it with her own revolver. The temperature in the room dropped drastically as the disk seemed to summon ice crystals in the room. A crazy amount of crystalline structures grew from where she shot the disk. Farrows barely moved back in time before the razor-sharp end of an ice-crystal drilled into the opposite wall.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to take more than a ¡®booster¡¯ to destroy this shrine, Miss Cultist!¡±


    Fire rained down all around her, but there wasn¡¯t a hint of fear in her expression as she coolly met Farrows¡¯ fire with ice. What she didn¡¯t expect, however, was Lark to suddenly appear at her side with the edge of his sword up to her ear.


    He grabbed the collar of her shirt-dress and face-planted her head into the ground.


    ¡°Gushi! Boiling Body!¡±


    The slime hopped off his head for a moment when the splitting headache returned. Gushi transformed into its larger size and held the Miss Cultist captive until Lark could reach his bearings.


    ¡°How¡¯s that for a change?¡± he said in front of the knocked out cultist in Gushi¡¯s body.


    ¡°Lark, watch out! It¡¯s a fake!¡±


    His eyes widened as the body inside Gushi transformed into the identity of his mentor¡¯s father. Mr. Caskey? But how?


    ¡°Careful, she¡¯s still somewhere here. I¡¯m going to take a look at his head wound¡­Lark?¡± Farrow¡¯s face stiffened.


    Too many things were happening at once, and without Gushi¡¯s Patching skill, the splitting headache was wreaking havoc on his mind.


    ¡°Oh young ward, that¡¯s what happens when you fight with an experienced opponent.¡±


    Sphynx? Were they in his Mind Space?


    ¡°Did you already forget the skill Ice-body substitute? Never mind, what¡¯s important is that you need to get rid of those crystals before they destroy the gate.¡±


    ¡°H-how do I do that when I can barely think right now? Also, why isn¡¯t Cornelius doing anything about it? I thought you said the gatekeepers were strong?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s also a pseudo Tower Master meaning he¡¯s spreading himself thin. He¡¯ll only allow you to go through the gate, meanwhile, he¡¯s holding back the cultist from leaving the rift to chase after you, understand?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t understand!¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me to understand when all these bombs feel like they¡¯re just dropping on me!¡±


    ¡°You have to adapt, young ward, or you¡¯ll die.¡±


    Lark didn¡¯t say anything more, feeling his skin burn.


    ¡°Use me,¡± Sphynx said finally. ¡°Use me so you won¡¯t die, Lark. So you won¡¯t let the people you care about die either.¡±


    ¡­


    Several black boxes popped up around Lark as he collected the surrounding information. He found her.


    ¡°Farrows, ignore him, how do we stop these crystals from growing?¡±


    ¡°Lark, the man needs medical attention!¡±


    He took a swing to Farrow¡¯s staff and the flame-mage scowled, ¡°So you¡¯ve decided your friend¡¯s father is of no use to you?¡±


    ¡°Precisely, you deceiver.¡± Lark reached for his own revolver, scattering several shots at the flame-mage.


    ¡°Are you crazy?¡±


    ¡°Farrows ¡®fire¡¯ magic is stronger than ice. You didn¡¯t want him stopping your plans so you switched appearances with him.¡±


    The jian¡¯s blade heated up as he sliced through an ice pillar aimed at him. The charade was over, as Farrows let a smile slip through the facade.


    ¡°You¡¯re bad at acting, Miss Cultist, I just met Farrows. There¡¯s no way he¡¯d call me so casually or know that I¡¯d know who Mr. Caskey is.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be surprised,¡± she said, meeting Lark¡¯s blow to her head with an ice staff.


    ¡°Careful, it¡¯s about to heat up in here.¡± Flames scorched off the ends of the sword as Lark attempted to cut down her staff. It proved to be more resilient against fire than he thought. He bit the back of his teeth. Nevermelting-ice!


    ¡°What were you going to show me?¡± she taunted, as more pillars rocked the room.


    He sliced through several more of the crystalline structures before facing off with her ice magic once more. Nimbly dodging them by a hairbreadth, he called out, ¡°Farrows!¡±


    ¡°Is that why you were so busy, chasing me around the room? To find him? Tough luck¡ªhe¡¯s trapped somewhere in one of these pillars.¡± She did a cartoonish, diabolical laugh.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you think, Miss Cultist!¡± The real Farrows swung down on his staff from behind, knocking her flat out of the air. Gushi caught her before she could escape.


    ¡°Good job Gushi,¡± Lark took a breath on the side of the obelisk as Cornelius calmly patted him on the back.


    Gushi had let out Mr. Caskey from its slime chamber and absorbed the damage so that Farrows didn¡¯t have to burn the head wound later and climbed the walls to where Miss Cultist originally appeared and found Farrows wrapped in ice, which he promptly absorbed slowly till Farrows was freed.


    ¡°Master Cornelius said you were a unique slime,¡± Farrows remarked rather impressed with the creature. Miss Unconscious Cultist was now bound by a magic skill called Fire Ropes, courtesy of Farrows¡¯ staff.


    Then he looked at Lark with his cheeks as red as his hair. ¡°You did well too, better than I did, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Thanks. But what are you going to do with them?¡±


    ¡°Interrogate them when I get back to Friledaux¡ª¡±


    ¡°So, we can go back you mean?¡±


    ¡°No, not you,¡± Cornelius interjected with his wispy floating form. ¡°Well, unless you must, but I will not be able to maintain the World Gate when you please. I¡¯m expending a lot of energy to maintain this feeble appearance.¡±


    ¡°Farrows, you are also presented this opportunity to travel through the gate to become a World-Traveler¡ª¡±


    ¡°I refuse. I know where I am needed.¡±


    Cornelius coughed into his thin robe.


    ¡°And you, Lark Rune, where are you needed?¡±


    At this question, Lark couldn¡¯t help but remember his grandfather¡¯s will: But in my inventor¡¯s heart of hearts, I believe you¡¯ll figure out why the world has changed or how it¡¯s always been¡­and when you¡¯re ready, you¡¯ll fight for humanity.


    ¡°Even when you¡¯re not here and when we¡¯re worlds apart, you still manage to haunt me,¡± thought Lark as he placed a hand over the obelisk. Gushi climbed back to its rightful place on his shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready. Take care of Wangshi, please. He should¡¯ve been the one here right now.¡±


    Farrows nodded.


    ¡°I hope it will take me where my friends are.¡±


    Cornelius didn¡¯t agree or disagree, and only advised him. ¡°Don¡¯t always leave everything to fate.¡±


    He thought, maybe he should be seeing the face of another old man gatekeeper if that¡¯s how world transfers worked. Seeing how this was his first time, he wasn¡¯t quite sure to expect. Before he could ask Cornelius anything else, a bell tolled in the recesses of his mind. It rang plainly, but the sound soothed him. For a moment, he could feel the sun on his face as he heard the feminine laughs of his mother and grandmother. An ocean breeze softly tickled his nose.


    He woke to the sight of scorching, dry sand going above the ankles of his shoes.


    This place felt familiar. Gushi hopped onto his head as they looked around. He dug his feet out from the sand, taking a few steps to the nearest tree, which was long and thin like a coconut tree. He didn¡¯t touch it, deciding to scan first.


    ¡°Item: Kurian (tree) (common)


    A tree native to the ¡®New World¡¯ village. It grows the Kurian fruit.


    Found in the central wilderness of Celestia.¡±


    He arrived in Wangshi¡¯s home-world.