I take a step forward and meet the eyes of the giant. They’re glowing once again.

It feels as if I’m standing before the mountain itself, its whole weight bearing down on. A force of nature so great that it isn’t too dissimilar to an eldritch being beyond my comprehension. And yet, despite all that, I face it with as straight a back as I can. Sadly, I’m not immune to the pressure, so it’s not as straight as I’d like.

After what feels like minutes, or maybe even hours, but was actually more like a couple of seconds, the mountain of a stone giant that is Orok’Kove speaks. “Is that so?” its voice is a heavy rumble, like an avalanche of stone.

The pressure in the room abates and everyone else can finally also stand. Now that I think about it, how come that they can’t resist it? If they are all anywhere close to the power of that one assassin-guard, or even Croce, then they should be able to easily resist that, right?

I’m not given much more chance to ponder over this new revelation, as Orok’Kove continues.

“Well then, do tell. What is the requirement for gaining the Cognito-hazard resistance trait?”

“Ah, of course,” shit, I completely forgot about that. That was the original intention, wasn’t it? Okay, okay Ra’mon, keep calm. I’m sure you can provide a quick and easy explanation. “Actually, during our study there’s been a slight change of plans. We judged the trait to be next to impossible to gain and instead focused on the skill of the same name.”

Oh, what I’d give right now to be able to read the facial expressions of stone! Is it surprised? Angry? Uninterested? How the fuck am I supposed to know!

“We’ve managed to create a series of items that are capable of training anyone from level one up to and maybe even higher than level 100, though that’s quite theoretical.”

Silence. Thick, overbearing silence. Oh, for the love of the System, say something! Don’t tell me you’re going to imprison me again. Wait a second. This whole deal was made of my own volition. Sure, I may have been coerced slightly, but there was never, as far as I recall, an obligation to do it. Yeah! They should be thankful I helped at all!

“Hmm,” the stone giant doesn’t seem convinced though, a thoughtful noise like stones grinding against each other coming from him, “but wasn’t our deal that you’d provide the requirement for the trait? As far as I recall, you even swore so upon your name.”

Did I? that doesn’t seem right, but at the same time it feels plausible. To be honest, the specifics of that moment are a bit faint in my memory. I need to make sure important moment like that are properly preserved.

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Fortunately, I’m not the only person that has skewed their build into the mental area. A slight, and very fake, cough is all that announces my saviour.

“If I may add, lord Orok’Kove,” Croce speaks up from beside me. Truthfully, I completely forgot she’s even there! “The exact nature of the promise was, and I quote: I, Advena Ra’mon, will assist you in searching for a solution to the eldritch aura. End quote. And indeed, Ra’mon has provided exactly that. A solution that is as good, if not better, than the trait you wanted.”

Oh, Croce, I love you! I forgot how good it feels to have friends by your side. And also, nice showcasing of why mental skills are superior. I feel a bit more justified in sticking with mostly those kinds.

The stone giant sighs, at least that’s what the sound of stones being ground to dust is supposed to be, and replies with a hint of resignment, “Very well then. In that case, I suppose it’s time for your reward, isn’t it?” the giant barely pauses, not giving me even the slightest chance to reply, “You requested some information on the System and I’m certain the Keeper of Knowledge shared with you what you wanted to know. As for the more magical knowledge… We’ve judged it to be too important to share with unknown strangers.”

Ah, that’s a bit of a shame. That was one of the main reasons for doing this whole thing. Other than, you know, saving the last bastion of civilization here.

“But even though we won’t be sharing our magic, if there’s anything else, you’d like to know we may be able to arrange that,” Orok’Kove finishes with a sense of majesty around it.

Oh, okay. This is nice. They aren’t complete assholes. But what do I want to know? My goal is still to leave this world and for that I need more magic. So, what can help me with doing better magic other than knowledge on magic?

The answer is a bit more straightforward that you’d expect. By now I’m very sure that anything can act as an amplifier for magic. I’m still not sure about the degree of amplification and what it depends on, but a rough guideline is the rule of double D’s. Difficulty and directness.

In that case, what is sufficiently complex to provide me with a good boost, yet also easy to apply to magic so that I don’t lose that boost? Well, a grimoire is a classic way to channel magic power, but I’ve only come up with that and I haven’t seen signs of similar things carried by anyone here.

Better to not give them any ideas. Then how do I do this? There has to be something that’ll help me craft a better magic book. Oh, I got it!

“There may be something else I’d like to know, in that case,” I say after a small pause, “In the very first couple of days I saw a certain book in your library, a thesaurus. It was imbued with an effect that allowed any that read it to understand its contents. That is what I’d like to know. How to give objects imbuements like these.”

For the briefest of moments, I manage to catch a glance the giant throws towards Croce. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the slight nod of her head, before the giant answers my request.

“Very well, if that’s what you wish to know.” It almost seems as if it’s debating whether to say something more, but eventually decides not to. “In that case, this should be all. I understand that the Keeper is capable of guiding us through the use of these new artifacts?”

At my nod, the giant no longer replies and the glow fades from its eyes.

Finally, it’s over! I can return to my idyllic clearing with my cosy cottage! While it’s been nice to be in the midst of civilization again, it also exhausted me. I bit of relaxation is long overdue.