Was Spartacius' theory correct? Was Cala now a dark elf? Was she no longer able to 'join the game' as herself?

“What level should our dark-elf-Cala reach to be able to say a spell of this magnitude?” - Alice wondered - “I mean, to get us out of here. Would a wolf level be enough? Or bear level? How long does it take to grow to bear level? Years?”

"Maybe she can ask somebody else to do it for her?" - Spartacius tried to suggest but was ignored as Tina rolled her eyes and pointed towards Alice.

“Oh, stop with that peasants' classification! It is stupid and confusing.”

“What do you mean?” - the Lynx asked, intrigued.

Tina took a deep breath.

“Look, the kingdom uses the military classification, which is clear and more straightforward. You have novices, trainees, and veterans. Everybody understands this.

Now each class can be split in two. Each except novices. Higher-level veterans are also named hardened veterans. Some people get confused about which is better: first class or second class; that's why hardened is the preferred denomination instead of second class. You have novices, first-class trainees, second-class trainees, veterans, and hardened veterans. Above them are the elites. Simple and clear, and you already speak of people with a higher level than wolf level, bear, or whatever other animals.

All officers must train to become at least veterans, as all nobility does.”

Alice raised a brow and watched her askew with a smile on her lips.

“Speaking of nobility, I have the feeling that you somehow missed those elite classes!”

Spartacius huffed, but Tina rolled her eyes and sighed:

“Oh, well... There were two ways I could have gained power, as a cleric or as a sword warrior. Can you imagine me sweating in a stinking room with those ruffians and some mana crystals? No? Me neither! Or me praying for days on my knees in the same room? They do not open the windows, afraid that too much mana could get lost! As if mana cannot pass through walls and windows? Oh, I could have tried as a paladin too, but they said I had no talent. They wanted to make me a cleric. No, thank you! But I know how they work.”

Alice wondered. "What about archer?"

Tina shrugged.

"Bows were not my friend."

“But why did you not try to learn to fight?” - Spartacius asked - “At least to be able to defend yourself?”

Tina sighed:

“I always had pa's lieutenants guarding me. Do you think I could become better and stronger than them? No? Then why should I do that? When you fight, the risk of getting hurt is bigger than when you don't.”

“And yet you ran from home to learn magic?” - asked Alice, now really wondering.

Tina sighed again.

“Magic is different. I always dreamed of becoming a witch. But it was forbidden. Hey, we were talking about power classifications!” - Tina said, no longer feeling at ease with the turn of the conversation - “What I wanted to say was that the popular classification is incomplete and covers only lower levels. They stop at bears, which are strong but puny in comparison with Cala or you, Alice.”

Alice nodded: “Lions, but still true.”

“What level would a bear-level fighter be?” - Tina asked, turning towards Spartacius.

“Bear-Level?” - he wondered, trying to answer. It was clear that his mind was not on the conversation.

Tina rolled her eyes:

“I mean, in your adventurers' guild classification!”

“Oh. That would be something about thirty-five, I think. But it varies from place to place.

Tina nodded and then turned to Alice:

“And what level are you, Alice?”

“Cala said that I am level eighty-four.”

“See! That was my point.” - said Tina with a grin - “The popular animal scale stops with the lion level. What level is a lion-level Spartacius?”

“Ahm, I think forty. But is your kingdom's classification better?”

“Oh yes. As I said, simpler, clearer, and better. Hardened vets are already lion-level and above, then you have the elites! So simple and efficient: novices, trainees, veterans, elites.”

“And where does Alice fit in this classification? Is she elite?” - the Lynx asked.

“Ahm. Alice and the like are outliers. I don't know. I guess she would be legendary...” - Tina said hesitatingly.

“Then where do you put Cala and the Lynx?” - Spartacius asked with a burst of laughter – “not to talk about Sid?”

Tina huffed.

“Are we talking now about dragons and other monsters?” - she asked with a shrug.

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“More cookies, please?” - Sid-the-monster asked, poking Tina gently.

Alice sighed.

“Sid, I wonder if you did not have too many cookies?”

“There can never be too many!” - Sid protested with a note of worry in his voice.

“Oh, come on!” - the Lynx said in Sid's defense - “you need to multiply everything by one hundred if we talk about Sid's food!”

“I am not against you talking about my food, but you should not talk about any limitations. You know nothing about what and how much I can eat!” - Sid mumbled with fake outrage.

The conversation turned to cookies and what quantity would be too much. Spartacius stood up and walked a bit as if to stretch his legs. Alice watched him going further away. After a while, she stood up at her turn and walked closer to him.

“Do you want to be alone?” - she asked as she reached him

“No,” - he answered - “just wanted to stretch my legs and think about things!”

She smiled:

“That was a good idea you had with the dark elf being Cala. I think you are right about your theory. I did not think at it!”

He gave her a sad smile in reply.

“Wow! Praise from Alice! Thank you! Well, it was easier for me to think at it, as I am one of those getting possessed, so I know a little how it works.”

“Are you angry?” - wondered Alice.

Her blue eyes lit when she looked at him. He shook his head:

“Angry? No. Why should I be angry?”

She furrowed her brows:

“Well, about Michael possessing you? Is this the right word? How do you cope with it?”

He gave a chuckle in response, his eyes towards the dark part of the cavern.

“Oh! No.” - he answered, turning towards her - “Interesting, but I am not angry. I think possession is the right word, even if, you know, I am at the same time also Michael?”

He gave a sour laugh.

“I was complaining that I am not even a spawn! Well, I found out that I am a spawn, so why should I be angry?”

He looked at her. As she did not say anything, he continued.

“I was a twenty years old man some time ago. Then Michael came, and now I am a twenty-year-old man with the mind of a fourteen-year-old boy,” - he sighed - “Do you know that I had a girlfriend? Rosa was her name! We wanted to get married! I wonder what is she doing now? I left her. I left her in that quiet little village where nothing ever happened and went adventuring.” - his eyes became glassy as he tried to remember - “I wonder what did I forget about her and about my life. You see, I was twenty. Did I ever have sex?” - he shrugged - “I do not remember. Maybe I had none? Oh well. And yet I am not angry. I was a boy in a village somewhere in an obscure kingdom. Michael... took me over, and I became an adventurer. A warrior. I learned the skills of a warrior and have seen half of this continent already. Before Michael, my world was just that little village. Now I know that the world is far bigger. I would have never done this, so I have to thank Michael that he opened my eyes. To thank that part of me that is Michael because he is part of me.”

He chuckled again, looking down, then he raised his eyes to watch her.

“But on the other side, I lost that life, and nobody asked me if I wanted or not. What Manchua the priest had said is... well, it is not so far away from reality...”

“What do you mean?” - wondered Alice balancing on her feet.

He shrugged.

“Devils. It fits perfectly to the description of devils coming from another realm to torment us.”

As he said that, he was watching her intensively. She asked, surprised:

“Devils? You do not think you are possessed by a devil... or do you?”

He laughed.

“Oh no. I was just explaining that I understood why Manchua, the priest, came to this conclusion. Michael is an innocent kid if I can speak so about myself, but the truth is he comes here to play. For them, this is a game! Do you understand? For me, this is a game. For the Michael-me. But this is not a game.”

“Yes,” - Alice nodded with a sigh - “This is what Cala had also said!”

“True, but you need to understand what this means. I'll explain it to you.” - he made a couple of steps and then continued - ”I thought about this when I found out that I am no longer protected. That's when I understood that it becomes really scary.”

Alice raised a brow, but she let him continue.

“See, on one side, they do not feel pain like we do. Pain is, for them, much attenuated. On the other side, one of the reasons why this game is very popular is that here everything is possible. You can do anything you want in this game. You can live your fantasies, and some people have very dark fantasies. There is no limit to anything, including cruelty and gore. Slaves? If you have gold, you can buy them by the dozens. For them, it is a game, but for us, spawns, this is not a game. We get to feel it; we get to feel the pain.”

“So you are afraid? Cruelty and deadly acts were plenty in this world, even without adventurers! Cannibalism, slavery, torture, mutilation, gore, and mayhem exist, and I do not think the adventurers are the driving force in any of it. Most of them fight against it. Do you doubt this?”

“No. I just realized that it becomes more personal, I guess.”

“Is this why you got away from us? You thought we would look at you as a devil-possessed spawn?”

He chuckled:

“No. I was wondering if there is no other way of getting out of the cavern. You see, I wonder why Cala did not put a portal in that damned ring. The escape would be so simple! No, she sends us a ring and will try to pull us away! To pull us away with a spell is a feat of an archmage. How should she be able to do that if she is only a low-level elf?”

“Do you doubt Cala?”

He shook his head:

“No, but I doubt that she can perform miracles. She might need weeks, months, or years. Do we stay here and wait for her to do the work, or do we try to escape?”

“Escape? How?”

“I think I've seen a couple of smaller tunnels when I went last time around. I plan to explore those; maybe I can find another way out.”

“But you might get stuck in those narrow tunnels! Besides, even if you are lucky to find a way, you'll probably end up caught by those orcs and killed. It is dangerous. Didn't you say something about gore and torture? What do you think the orcs would do to those that try to escape? If anybody is going to try something, I should try. I am nimbler and stronger, but I would like to give Cala time. We are not pressed by time here.”

“You do not know what may happen and how much time we have. Besides, you cannot be the one to leave. You have the ring, and you have to bear it to load the portal. You have to stay where our people are. I do have some orc or goblin disguises in my inventory; I could trick my way with them if it comes to that; I did it already some time ago. Anyhow, first I'll just inspect the tunnels around to see if they lead anywhere, then we'll talk.”