At some point, Krelnar began a story of their pilgrimage, starting in his home city of Drakonhelm to the southeast. Their ultimate destination was an ancient Dread Fort in the Dragon Ridges, a few days north of here.

"...and so, we made it to the Hollow-Trunk tribe. That was a little over a week ago. " the priest finished.

"Then like, why are you still here? Uh, no offense Grunt. Your home is super lovely. But you should have totally summoned as at the Dread Fort. " said Bubbles.

Krelnar bowed his head. "Indeed, Your Dreadliness. That was our intent, but alas, after the ambush, many of us fear to travel further into human lands without protection."

"And that's... us?" she asked.

"Indubitably, your Dreadliness"

Alex set down the bone fork he'd been using and turned to face the priest head-on.

"Krelnar, there's something we need to discuss."

"My lord, I live to serve."

"About your summoning..." he searched for the correct words. "how, exactly, was the spell meant to work? How does it specify which Dread Lord to summon?"

Krelnar leaned forward, excitement shimmering in his eyes. "Ah! Indeed My Lord. The spell was copied directly from the Tomb of Prophesy itself! While many tribes claim to hold a prophecy about The Return, the specifics have blurred with time. Our humble order, however, has been doubly blessed; we alone uncovered both the true prophecy and the means to summon The Savior who would realize it!"

Alex felt his heartbeat quicken. "But how does the spell work? How can you be sure we are the ones meant to become your... Savior?"

"Deepest apologies, Dread Lord. such workings are beyond this one's humble ken. However, the prophecy stated that The Savior would be a veteran of many wars against the vile humans in his own world."

Internally, Alex groaned. This world's technology appeared primitive; whatever guiding algorithm the spell used, it was unlikely it had accounted for the Virtual Reality games of Earth.

"OMG, Azzy! that's totally us!"

Krelnar perked up at the Dark Fairy's words, "So it is true, you are great war heroes in your land?" he asked.

"We..." Alex began uncertainly.

"Of course! Those puny humans never stood a chance against my strategies. Why, just before we were summoned we crushed their biggest, whitest city... what was it called again, Azzy?" She asked "Pastabowl? Bass Town?"

"...Bastion" Alex corrected.

"Bastion! That's it. So, I was in the palace, and Grull—that's my pet troll—Grull ate the Queen, and then the King was pleading all like 'I surrender, take my life! Take my life, but save the children.' Such a downer. So anyway, Grull decapitated him, and I was just on my way to show Azzymoth the head, and that's when you summoned us!" she said, indicating their surroundings.

The table was quiet, all stared at the grinning fairy.

[Alex] Bubbles... that's... that's terrible.

[Bubbles] I KNOW RIGHT. And we didn't even get an achievement for it.

Alex made to respond further, but was swallowed by a wave of sudden exhaustion.

Pushing up from his seat, he addressed the gathering "Thank you for the food, Krelnar, Grunt. But I am very tired. Perhaps we could find a place to rest, and continue this discussion in the morning?"

"Of course, my Lord. We have prepared a room nearby. Please, follow me." The Kobold slid from his perch and gestured for Alex to follow.

[Alex] Coming, Bubbles?

[Bubbles] You go ahead!

She replied and began to cartwheel across the table, much to the amusement of the Orc child.

Alex followed Krelnar out of the hut. In the skies above, the sun had given way to the first flickering stars. Alex wondered if they were the same as those on Earth. 'Am I still in the Milky Way? Is this even the same universe?'

They arrived at an unoccupied hut, with piles of animal furs that served as a bed. Alex waved off Krelnar's offers for servants to assist with removing his armor, and the Kobold headed back toward the feast hut.

As soon as Alex was alone, he unfastened the buckles securing his breastplate and set it by the bed. Immediately, he felt a little lighter.

'Do the enchantments not work in this new world?'

In Abyssal Reign, the Dread Lord was a hybrid caster-tank class, so his armor was enchanted to grant a mix of strength, defense, and magic amplification.

'Without the helmet, I'm missing out on the set bonus, but each piece should still be giving me a huge strength buff.'

And if the armor's magic was no longer working, it raised the issue of whether his own magic would be similarly impaired. He certainly didn't feel like he had any of his avatar's powers. Shouldn't he be able to see or sense magic, at the very least?

Finally away from prying eyes and listening ears, it was time to experiment.

"Inventory" Alex began.

-

Seresha left the dining hut with her belly fuller than it had been in weeks. It had been a dark few cycles after the ambush, but things were looking up. Most impressively, Krelnar had succeeded in summoning not one Dread Lord, but two of the powerful beings!

and oh what power!

Before the summoning, she had woven a translation spell around herself and Krelnar, hoping it would allow them to communicate with whoever, or whatever, they summoned.

She was quite proud of the spell; by necessity, her people were well-traveled and spoke many of the most common languages and trade tongues of the continent. The spell, using her as a fulcrum, drew on this knowledge to allow others to speak with each other without her needing to actively translate.

When the black-armored Dread Lord appeared, the thin threads of her spell had reached out to him.

Normally, they would latch onto the target's outer spell matrix, creating the necessary connection. However, when they touched the Dread Lord, it had been like triggering an explosion!

Thousands of magical threads burst from him like baby spiders scattering from their nest. Then, like a swarm of seeker wasps, they swerved and honed in on her spell. They wrapped around her magic like ivy winding its way around a tree, and made straight for her and Krelnar.

They impacted Krelnar first, and using him like a nexus, exploded outwards again with renewed vigor. To Seresha's senses, it seemed the Kobold's own spell matrix had detonated; a devastating injury.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Seresha had only a split second to be horrified before the twisting threads impacted her. Then, she felt them; far from an attack, the Dread Lord's magic was warm. It lifted her own humble spell in a cradling embrace; amplifying it so that it encompassed not just her and Krelnar, but the whole tribe was connected to the spell.

And it had not stopped there. The Dread Lord maintained the miraculous spell, seemingly without effort, expending his own magical reserves so that even the lowliest Goblin would be able to communicate.

The Dread Lord was undoubtedly a master of magic, and furthermore had mastered language to a point far beyond what Seresha could comprehend...

In short, she desperately wanted to talk shop with him! However, his casual disregard for the feat had left no opportunity to bring up the matter.

Over dinner she'd listened as the smaller Dread Lord spoke of their daring adventures and conquests, picking up hints and clues at the extent of their new Lord's powers.

Any remaining doubts she'd held about Krelnar or their quest were erased, and she was excited for the future for the first time in a long time.

Rounding a hut, she heard a clack-clacking noise coming from the intersecting street ahead.

Seresha paused. The Dread Lord's hut was on that street. Was it possible someone was up to no good, trying to cause them trouble? Perhaps one of the Orcs from Grog's faction? She doubted anything in the village was a genuine threat to the duo of Dread Lords, but then again, no matter how strong the caster, if they were caught off-guard then a Goblin with a rock might crack their skull as easily as a king's or a cow's.

She peeked out from behind the hut. To her surprise, she found the noise coming from Dread Lord Azzymoth himself. He was standing in the center of the road, clacking two similarly sized rocks together.

Was it a spell? Some sort of ritual? She closed her eyes, sensing the magic around the Dread Lord. It beat in time with the rocks clacking. Yes, whatever he was doing, the aether was responding.

With one final sharp 'clack' the magic surrounding the Dread Lord flared like an angry flame.

Seresha's eyes snapped open, half expecting to see the Dread Lord's body engulfed in an inferno of magical fire... but instead, she watched as he threw the rocks to the ground.

The Dread Lord took a deep breath, paused, then picked the rocks up again. He picked up several other small, similar stones and placed them into the small leather pouch he wore at the waist.

Even after the pouch was clearly full, he seemed to be trying to cram more rocks inside.

Were the rocks valuable? They seemed like normal rocks, but perhaps he was preparing them for use with a sling.

'Or earth magic, perhaps?' Seresha didn't understand the need, there were always rocks around... but perhaps these were particularly well-attuned rocks? She would have to examine one closely later.

In the end, however, it seemed the rocks were not to the Dread Lord's liking. She watched as he unfastened the satchel and emptied the collection of stones onto the ground.

Then, lifting the satchel up, he held it out in front of him and assumed a stance.

'Oh, a martial display!' In her travels, Seresha had witnessed many warriors training. Many martial arts involve moving through a series of stances, refining one's body, and engraving the movements into one's mind at the same time.

She was excited to see the martial prowess of the Dread Lord. The armor he wore was that of a warrior. His body... 'his body...' Seresha's eyes wandered over the armored figure. She was sure underneath all that armor was a body like that of forged steel. She licked her lips, imagining bulging grey muscles, then caught herself. 'Ah, no. Seresha, you mustn't!' she felt a blush rise through her scales and chided herself with a swack of the tail for the impure thoughts.

She looked back down the street she was on, feeling suddenly ashamed of her hiding. 'It's not like I'm spying on him or anything. I'm... ' If she wasn't spying what was she doing? 'I'm studying him... No, I'm watching out for his safety! Yes. I'm guarding him. No. Other. Intentions.' That settled, she peaked her head back out from behind the hut.

The Dread Lord was still in the same stance, eyes closed.

Suddenly, he burst into action. Pushing the satchel forward in front of him with both hands, he shouted "FUS RO DAH!"

The satchel fell to the ground.

Seresha blinked. The translation spell failed to translate the words. 'A foreign incantation of some kind?' However, what was the effect? It was surely something so subtle that Seresha could not even sense it.

The Dread Lord stood still, staring at the satchel. 'feeling the effect of his spell rippling through the aether, no doubt.' Then, squatting down slightly, he sprung into the air. At the peak of his jump, he kicked out his legs again, as if trying to jump on the air itself.

He landed back on the ground.

'This must be an impressive feat among two-legged creatures. A double-flying-one-hit-death-kick!' Her awe of the Dread Lord grew with every passing moment.

The Dread Lord continued with a series of gestures and actions that Seresha did not understand. Eventually, he took notice of several orcs who had poked their head out of several different huts.

The Dread Lord waved at them, and after a second, they waved back. Then, picking up his discarded satchel, her new Lord returned to his hut.

Seresha didn't know what to make of it all. Body pressed up against the hut, she took a few minutes to meditate on what she had seen, trying to commit each movement to memory. She would repeat them later, and see if she felt anything in the aether. 'Foosh-Ro-Dah' she muttered to herself and slithered away.

-

Alex's experiments continued without success. He had left the hut to do some experiments outside, but found he drew too much attention. The Orc's curious stares were embarrassing, so he'd retreated back inside. At some point, Bubbles had returned and begun excitedly relating the happenings of the meal to him.

"... And then, I found Maya was hiding little bits of meat under her clothes, and I was like, this looks like fun. So I–"

"Character Sheet"

"—helped, and no one noticed a thing... until I tried to put the goose head down her top. Then Pedra-that's Maya's Mum–"

"Help Menu"

"—she noticed, and she got this really sad look on her face. I'm not sure why... anyway, then later, one of those ratty little lizard things—you know, the ones that look like Krelnar only smaller and dirtier—so it scurried in and–"

"Inspect," Alex said, picking up a small rock from the ground. Nothing. Not even an unhelpful [This is a Rock].

"—I was talking to Seresha at the time. By the way did you know that she has to MALT? Like, can you imagine? anyway it scurried in and–"

Alex held his right hand out in front of him, and began flicking it from palm down to palm up; the gesture to open his Inventory in-game. Nothing.

"—it started talking to Krelnar in some hissy speak. It's weird because I couldn't understand what they were saying. Then Krelnar slipped out from the table, and I just KNEW there was MAJOR GOSSIP involved, so I followed after them and–"

Alex's breastplate lay discarded by the furs. He approached and placed one palm on it. "On! ...Equip! ...Activate!"

Nothing.

"—saw Krelnar being like MAJOR AGRO with them, hitting one with that stick thing he always pretends to need. And it's weird because–”

He picked up the breastplate between both hands and pushed it into his chest. In Abyssal Reigns, such an action would automatically equip the armor.

Nothing.

"—he's always so polite with us like 'this humble one' this and 'My Lord' that. Hey, Don't you think it's weird?"

Dropping the Breast Plate, Alex placed both hands on the padded gambeson he still wore, he spoke again "Unequip".

Nothing.

"Hey, Azzy, are you listening?"

Pressing down his frustration, he pointed a palm towards the open door and tried to cast his most basic, low-level spell: "Fireball"

Nothing.

"HEY, LISTEN!"

"What!?"

"...What are you doing, Azzy?"

“I'm..." he took a breath and then continued "I'm trying to figure out how to use magic in this world, Bubbles. Nothing's working."

"Oh... OH! That...that sounds...difficult?"

"Yeah," Alex answered. She didn't understand. How could she?

Silence stretched between them.

”Oh!" Bubbles suddenly announced "You could ask Seresha! She's really good with magic, she could totally help you!"

"...I can't, Bubbles. They're only treating us like this because they think we're powerful. If they knew-"

"Sereshas not like that, she's nice! She would totally help!“

"...Can you just-"

"I mean there's the malting, but she's–"

"Just shut up!"

Silence descended between them. Then a slight frown creased Bubbles's brow.

"...I'm going out," she said and zipped out the door.

"Bubbles, wait I–" Alex began, but she was already gone.

Alex stared after her. 'I did it again. Why am I always like this...' He felt his thoughts spiraling downwards and stopped himself 'No. You know what—It's fine. I need to focus right now. I can apologize later.'

He turned away from the doorway and continued his experiments.

---

The sky faded from purple to deep blue to black without success. None of the voice commands or gestures from Abyssal Reign yielded so much as a stirring of the air. Repeatedly, his thoughts had turned to Bubbles, hoping she was OK. He had messaged her, but not received any reply.

"Damn it" he sighed and sat down on the pile of fur.

In the end, Alex had even resorted to testing various magical systems he remembered from fantasy books on Earth:

His inner search for a 'Core' or 'Qi' came up empty. Likewise, attempting to establish a sympathetic link between objects proved fruitless, and an ill-conceived attempt to imbue his feet with Chakra and scale the wall led to a near concussion.

Despite all this frustration, no anger spren spontaneously appeared, and neither did Luxin burst from his palms while staring despondently at the red walls of the hut.

His last experiment—swallowing a few flakes of steel, scraped from his armor after considerable effort—had only left him with a blunted sword and worries about potential heavy metal poisoning.

Alex lay back, looking up at the ceiling. 'What am I missing?' He closed his eyes, intending to rest them only a moment. He would continue his experiments until Bubbles returned, and then apologize properly.

'Please, be safe...' he thought, as sleep claimed him.