Chapter Nineteen: Things Will Happen While They Can

With a firm grip on the handle, Marc brought the axe down. He had gotten used to this action over the last week. Repositioning, he swung the axe again.

“That should do it.” He said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

He brought the axe down again, lodging it into a stump, then gathered up the cut wood in his arms and walked back over to the cabin. He placed the wood into the shed attached to the back of the cabin and wandered back towards the garden.

He had been systemically going through the various fruits, vegetables, and herbs that were growing there, querying information about them with his interface. Luckily it would tell him if a particular plant was poisonous so he had yet to cause himself any serious harm, but it didn’t give him much information regarding taste.

More than half of the plants had some relation to things he was familiar with, but some were quite interesting. The large bush that had large berries that tasted like lemons for example. Rynan had explained that once the bush reached a sufficient age, at least thirty years or so, it would develop its own Mana stone in its roots. Berries from a plant like this can have interesting properties and uses.

He plucked off one of the berries and stared at it closely.

SAMPIT BERRY: A FRUIT FROM THE SAMPIT BUSH. CONTAINS AN ENZYME THAT EFFECTS THE ABSORPTION OF MANA CRYSTALS. A PRIMARY INGREDIENT IN THE PRODUCTION OF MANA REPLENISHMENT TONICS.

He carefully opened up part of the peel of the berry and lifted it to his lips, sucking out the meat and juices. The sourness was potent and caused his face to contort and his lips to pucker, and then a strong salty/savory wave hit while the sourness slowly receded. Marc was reminded of the salty lemons that they used to chase cheap beer with down in Juarez. He had to admit that the flavors were intense and yet pleasing. Maybe he could try this with some Charnall tea sometime. Then a voice called out from the cabin.

“Marc? Are you stealing food from the garden again?” A female voice called from the doorway.

“Uhhh. Just picking out some carrots and potatoes for the soup.” He yelled as he ditched the rind from the berry.

“Just stay away from the Sampit bush. We’ll be selling those to the apothecary in the City and those berries are worth their weight in gold twice over.” Rynan appeared at the door.

Crap. She knew. She always knew what he was up to. He didn’t know if it was Magic or some crazy level of intuition of the fact that she was so old and wise that she could just anticipate things, but she always seemed to know everything about her environment.

It was so annoying he thought to himself, more respectful than truly annoyed.

“Right.” A weak smile plastered on his face. Then he gathered up a couple of large potatoes and three small carrots, brushed them off, and walked back towards the cabin.

In the week that he had been living here, Marc was surprised at how easy it had been to adjust. He had never been much of a camper. The desert is full of snakes, scorpions, coyotes, and such. Once when he was very young, his father had taken him up into the Rockies to camp. It was… awkward. They hardly said a word to each other for the entire weekend.

This was far more comfortable than he would have expected, considering the lack of electricity, plumbing, or modern materials. The wooden cabin was extremely well built, double layer walls insulated the structure and kept out the cold and the wind. Under a hatch in the utility room that had become Marc’s bedroom was a stairway down into a cold storage cellar where meat and other perishables were stored. There were no glass windows, but wooden covers that could be easily closed and sealed kept out the light in the morning. Lanterns and wax candles were the primary source of light at night, and once the sun went down they usually just sat by the fire and talked until it was time to go to sleep.

Marc was starting to appreciate this slow life. There was little to do other than the basic upkeep. Cleaning, cooking, gardening, and so forth. Still, there was one area of frustration. His skill development was not going very well at all.

At first, just by pitching in with the chores and the small tasks, Marc quickly brought up his Interface to Level 2. But the new level didn’t bring the big changes that he had hoped. Aside from seemingly increasing the amount of information he could pull out while using his appraisal skill, nothing much had changed.

He had figured out that the information provided seemed to come from two sources. One was his own mind, and the other was from the environment he was in. The first part was somewhat useless to him now but came with another revelation. He now had a photographic memory, not just the ability to memorize anything he saw or heard, but he could also recall every detail of everything he had ever done, every place he had ever been. He could quote back from every book he had ever read. This made asking the interface any questions about something within his own experience particularly annoying as it would often just throw dictionary definitions at him when his questions were too simplistic or even rhetorical.

The interface was also able to somehow absorb knowledge from the immediate environment he was in. That is why he could use it to identify objects or plants that did not exist in his old world. Basic information could somehow be extracted from the target object itself, other people nearby, or even objects. After his interface reached level three, he started getting considerably better information for his queries. When he asked it, it was even kind enough to explain that local information sources had been found and absorbed. He learned that the “sources” described were in fact the small collection of books that Rynan kept in her room. There appeared to be books on a variety of topics, from botany to history, even Magic. The interface could now reference any piece of information from those books. Marc made it a priority to visit a library or a bookstore somewhere.

By studying the material he could now access with the interface, Marc felt he was making some progress, but there had been a definite issue with diminishing returns. At first, he had been able to level up his interface quickly. He received several easily handled quests and with each completion, he got closer to a level up. But the tasks had been quite mundane. Cleaning, gathering plants from the garden, even cooking. He had received some achievements and skills as well. For cleaning, gathering, and cooking. Chopping wood was the newest skill. They were all useful in their way he understood, but hardly the killer self-defense skills he had envisioned. It seems the quests only came when he needed to do something, and things were very comfortable now. With no new quests, he had been stuck at level 4 of his interface for the last few days.

The other big disappointment was magic. Specifically, his inability to use it. Rynan and he had spent each evening discussing how magic worked and how to use and control Magic and spells. He felt he had a grip on the theory, somewhat. Then they would go out in the morning and she would demonstrate various spells. But nothing worked for him. The skills helped, but they seemed to just enhance his pre-existing abilities. The interface-related skills he was so excited by before worked, but were arguably limited in what they could do. He even accepted the prompt to absorb the Personal Space skill into his interface, but that did not work either. It appears he still needed his Space Magic ability to advance to a certain point before he would be able to use it. Despite everything they had tried so far, not a single of his Magic affinities had been unlocked.

Rynan had cautioned him to take it slowly. The information she had on travelers was limited, and there were certainly risks involved with Magic experimentation.

She was right of course, and this relaxed pace was more like a vacation for him than any he had ever taken in his previous life. Marc cleaned the vegetables and gathered the other ingredients in the kitchen. With his BASIC COOKING [2] skill and his research on the ingredients that Rynan had on hand and in the garden, Marc felt he had become quite a good cook. Tonight he was planning to make beef st… bear stew. He expertly cut up the meat and vegetables and marveled at his movements. The FOOD PREPARATION [1] seemed rather mundane at first, but watching his own hands slicing and dicing like in the TV commercials was very gratifying.

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“Hmm. Something new?” Rynan asked as she sniffed at the large pot he had placed most of the ingredients into.

“Yeah, a recipe from my world. Nothing fancy, just a bear meat stew.” He said a bit shyly. So far Rynan had been nothing but supportive. She answered as many questions as she could and had given him the run of her modest home. Taught him the basics of this world’s common sense when the opportunity came up. He wondered if she had any family, but considering what little he knew of her history, he felt it best not to pry too much.

“How’s the magic going?” She lobbed the question in like a hand grenade, waiting to see if he exploded in the middle of her kitchen.

Marc set the knife down where he had been mincing herbs. “Nothing… I got nothing.” He dropped his head crestfallen. “I just have no idea what I am doing wrong. My interface won’t help me. I have access to Mana but no magic? How is that supposed to work?” Disappointment oozes from every word.

“Be patient. I told you, take your time and it will come.” She looked at him thoughtfully.

“Marc, I haven’t asked you before, but are you religious? Do you believe in God?” She inquired politely.

“HA! God?” He exclaimed, surprising Rynan. Then he looked at her.

“Sorry, I guess the answer is not really to the first question and definitely yes to the second.” He said bitterly.

“I mean, We do have religion, in fact pretty much everyone has some kind of religion. Practically all my relatives on my Mom’s side are Catholic. But my Dad’s people are kinda mixed. I never really gave it much time or thought. Until I actually met God I suppose.”

“You met God?”

“Well, on the way here I guess. I met a woman who claimed to be God. Who said she was sending me here.”

“I see,” Rynan answered thoughtfully. “I think we will need to revisit that part later, but the reason I asked was I want to understand your beliefs and motivations.” She said as she walked over to the pot, now simmering over the fire.

“Mmmm. Smells very nice Marc.” She complimented. “Here we also have religion, but because of the Towers providing Magic throughout the world, you can understand that Churches are particularly focused on the Towers.” She stirred the bubbling stew slowly.

Marc walked over and added some flour slurry to the pot to start it thickening. “I guess it is easy when you have undeniable evidence in front of you.”

“Yes, it would be. Except that long ago, I mentioned this before I think, long ago there was a disaster that killed millions of people. At the center of that disaster were the Towers and…” She looked up at Marc, holding her gaze until he looked back at her. “The Towers and Human Greed.”

“It’s a very long story, but to summarize it, Some rulers tried to use the Towers to gain more wealth and power. They did it for thousands of years getting richer and richer. The country and its people prospered in ways unimaginable today. There was technology and wealth beyond any nation or people today. But that greed turned against them causing a disaster more horrible than you can imagine. Millions of people, more people than exist in the world today, and an entire continent vanished in a single day.”

Marc stared at her with a look that said he definitely wanted to hear that story, but before he could ask she continued.

“I mentioned it because this changed the world. Not just physically, but philosophically as well. You see, the Tower Religion was also involved and later implicated in the disaster. In the thousands of years since the disaster, people have moved away from religion. Both religions and certain traits.” She looked at him kindly, not wanting to be critical.

“Ambition, Greed, The drive to succeed, progress and achievement. These are all a fundamental part of human nature. But they were also part of something that brought great sorrow to the entire world. Since then a new belief system has grown. One based on moderation, harmony with the world and other people, a path to a peaceful existence.”

She reached to her neck and pulled the silver chain that held the medallion he had seen before out from her dress. Marc looked closely. The silver amulet gleamed in the firelight and the embedded crystal reflected light making it look like a large diamond.

He turned the amulet on its front so he could see the designs carved into the back. There were many markings and characters around the edge, but in the center, there was a circle with three parallel lines crossing the diameter. The lines were not straight but had a slight wave, like an “S” curve, or a sine wave on an oscilloscope.

Rynan pointed to the symbol and explained. “This is the sign of that philosophy. It’s commonly referred to as the Path. A way of living with nature and each other.”

Frankly, Marc’s first reaction was that it sounded like some of those cooky cults. Not that he had ever talked to one of the members. As if she sensed his skepticism Rynan continued.

“I am telling you this, not because I am trying to convert you to some new belief system, but for practical reasons. You see, The Path is the predominant belief system of this and many other countries. It is especially strong here in the Mevitra Republic. I want you to be ready for how people may act differently, and react differently to how you may be used to.”

Marc started to see what she was talking about.

“So being in a rush to gain power might…”

“Might be misunderstood.” She said with a kind smile.

“I get it. I’ll be careful. I just get frustrated when I can’t do something I should be able to do. To be honest that’s been kind of a theme in my life, and I thought I finally was breaking away.” Marc stirred the pot, then moved it off the flame to let it cool down.

“It’s alright. I am sure you will get there. There is no hurry. We will figure it out. I promised as your teacher, Right?”

She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “Now I want to try this Bear stew of yours. It smells amazing!”

He smiled and went to get the bowls, but as he walked over he noticed a new pop-up had appeared.

“Oh! I forgot to mention. Grenn should be here tomorrow. I received a message earlier and he should be here after breakfast.”

The news was so welcome that he almost forgot about the pop-up. He had only known the man for a single day, but somehow it felt like an old friend was coming back. One of only two people he knew in the entire world.

“That’s great. I guess we should make a lot for lunch.” He said with a smirk as he started ladling out two bowls of stew. His eyes darted again to read the pop-up one more time.

【QUEST: WORLD: STEP ONTO THE PATH 】

YOU HAVE BEEN OFFERED A CHANCE TO WALK A BELIEF SYSTEM UNIQUE TO THIS WORLD. DO YOU ACCEPT? YES/NO

That night, Marc stared up at the ceiling in the dark room, rehashing his earlier conversation with Rynan. A new quest! But what would this lead to? He still felt it sounded kind of Cult-like. And he wasn’t sure what a no-ambition society was like. He had to admit that both Grenn and Rynan had been nothing but kind to him. Had asked for nothing in return for saving his life. Rynan had offered to teach him and protect him. He couldn’t think of anyone in his old life like this.

He asked the interface “What is the Path?”

A BELIEF SYSTEM

“Oh! Back to this again are we? What will happen if I accept?”

YOU WILL BEGIN WALKING THE PATH

This was so infuriating. “Can’t you just tell me something useful for once?”

Then the interface did something completely unexpected. Something he never would have imagined. The words that appeared next shocked Marc to his core.

YOU SHOULD DO IT

What? The interface had never given him any advice or real guidance. What was going on? It wanted him to say yes. He stared at the words still glowing in front of his eyes.

YOU SHOULD DO IT

He thought about it. Should he trust the interface? Trust Rynan? “I guess that question has already been answered, right?” He thought to himself.

YOU HAVE BEEN OFFERED A CHANCE TO WALK A BELIEF SYSTEM UNIQUE TO THIS WORLD. DO YOU ACCEPT? YES/NO

He took a deep breath, then accepted the offer.

YOU HAVE ACCEPTED AND BEGUN YOUR JOURNEY ON THE PATH

【QUEST: WORLD: STEP ONTO THE PATH 】

YOUR INTERFACE HAS LEVELED UP!

INTERFACE LEVEL: 5

INTERFACE UPGRADE AVAILABLE

WOULD YOU LIKE TO UPGRADE YOUR INTERFACE TO STAGE 2? YES/NO