"What do you mean?"

You know what I mean. Out. Now!

Bathilda demanded, not quite sure herself whether the stranger's voice could be removed from her head or not.

"How do you expect me to leave?"

I don't know? The same way you got in perhaps? I thought I was talking to myself, which isn't the best thing to do I'll admit, but now that I know you're someone else, I don't want you in my head. It's just... Wierd. Now out!?

"I don't know what to tell you, Bat. You're sort of... Stuck with me."

What do you mean? And don't call me Bat either. Goddamn, Florence.

Bathilda couldn't help but ask as a new source of panic was beginning to sink in.

"Well, to cut a long story short, I was one of the first men to join God's Utopia. Believe it or not, it's a lot harder for men to get in to Paradise than it is for women."

Really? Then why did you leave? As far I could see, it was a straight up fantasy land. Especially for men.

Unable to accept his answer, Bathilda questioned the motives of the mind invader calling himself Hiro.

"Yeah, I thought that too, but you saw how good looking God was right? And I mean, he is God. Omnipotent. Omnipresent. Omnieverythingelse. He's just It. The creator of everything. Women fawn over him all day long, or for eternity if you want to be specific. How was I supposed to compete with that?"

I don't think it's supposed to be a competition, but then again, what would I know? I got suckered into reincarnating as a bat.

"Right. The time I spent there was more of a solitary existence than anything and after a while, I just couldn't take it anymore. Nothing ever changed in Paradise either. Nothing. Everyday, which was all the time by the way, was always the same. The same clouds. The same waterfall. The same stupid jacuzzi and women."

Bathilda heard herself sigh. Which wasn't really her, but the one inside her.

"I'm telling you now, no one knows how monotonous the afterlife is going to be until you die. You're lucky that you decided to go down the reincarnation route, rather than eternal servitude on The Cloud. When I saw you make your decision without any hesitatation, I just sort of hitched my soul onto yours and... Well, here we are. I thought that I might have been of some use to you, especially if we managed to reincarnate on my world, but that didn't happen. If it had, I didn't think you would mind a little help. I couldn't ask infront of God either, I didn't want to seem discourteous by throwing his offer back in his face."

Are you fucking joking me!? I'm grateful for you pushing me into the fight earlier, but how dare you assume that I would be okay with this. If you would have asked God, he might have even let you go through the reincarnation process yourself. Without me! Did you even ask him?!

"I was going to and I thought about it, I did. It just... wasn't the right time. I had to sharpen my sword and then there was my training..."

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Oh my God. You're more full of shit than Gemma at work. She was never going to last at the hospital, before it was destroyed that is. But still, that bitch had an excuse for everything. I can't make it in today, my car has broken down. I can't push trollies today, my back is playing up. My grandma has just died, I need some more time off work. I don't know how many Grandmothers Gemma has, but after the fifth one, it became almost comical. Especially when she took a holiday each time to cope with the 'tragic' loss. There's only so many times you can help a person. Never mind her though. Out. Now!

"I... can not."

Why?

Still annoyed, but ever the understanding nurse, Bathilda asked the question even though she already knew the answer.

"I don't have a physical form anymore and, as such, I am now a part of you."

I don't think so, mister. You are most definitely not a part of me. There are skills and other crazy things in this world. First chance I get, you're outta here.

Bathilda placed the clawed tip of her wing against her skull.

"I see. Well I will not begrudge you that offer. I would very much like to possess my own body again."

Good. Now that we're agreed that you will be leaving my mind at some point in the near future, what did you mean earlier when you said I could have earned more XP?

"Some of the rocks, those with a fair amount of weight that you rolled over the edge, managed to land on a few Barts. With gravity adding more speed and force to the already hefty blocks of stone, I dare say a good dozen or so were crushed."

Really? I didn't see those notifications.

Bathilda brought up her status to see if what the mind invader said was true.

Name: Bathilda

Race: Poisonous Bat

Class: None

Title: Rodent Slayer

Level: 15 (MAX)

XP needed until next Level: MAX

HP: 94/94

MP: 94/94

Skill Points Available

Evolution Available

Holy shit. When did that happen?

Excited and confused over the opportunity to perform her second evolution, Bathilda couldn't help but ask the obvious.

"As I just said, it happened when you were dropping large stones out of the entrance."

Yeah, I know. I'm just psyched up about getting stronger. Hopefully, I won't have to worry about dying to these stupid rats anymore. But that still doesn't answer my question completely.

"You killed several Barts after you reached max level. The XP that would have normally gained from that was wasted due to you not being able to exceed the limit."

Bathilda face palmed with her wing. That had been common knowledge on some of the games she had played in her youth. Why had she not realised?

How do you know that if you were in God's paradise for so long?

"I picked up a variety of knowledge over the course of my time there. What I know will be invaluable to you, until you help me acquire a body that is. Also this world is not that much different from my own."

I think you mentioned that before, but you're not from Earth?

Curiosity got the better of Bathilda and she couldn't help but ask.

"Earth?"

Yeah. That's the planet I come from. What about yours?

Almost forgetting that Hiro was hitchhiking mind leech, the fact that he was from another world intrigued her and Bathilda wanted to know more.

"My planet was called Tiar and I couldn't possibly tell you how long it has been since I was there. I have knowledge on skills, classes, and rank ups. Your evolution and the rank up system I am familiar with are remarkably similar. Imagine a tree. Its branches are the routes that allow us to rank up, or evolve in your case, growing stronger in the process. Each one follows a different path and there are many unknown outcomes of what a rank up may entail."

On he went, explaining a great variety of subjects that Bathilda was clueless too. After she had listened to Hiro explain numerous systems, she had many questions. However, the question she asked wasn't related to any of the subjects he had broached.

Instead, once he was finished, Bathilda asked the question at the forefront of her mind.

Why did you wait so long to speak to me?