Albert learned that when he set himself up to do a task, important like escaping Bastion without complications, he could be strikingly effective. He was so dead set and laser focused that he momentarily overrode his brain’s quirks and used all his arsenal do the maximum effect, following Jeff’s logic and making the AI quite happy in the process. Only once he was out and safe in the wilds did he return to his usual self, and while he did not see his use of copied skills as evil, he knew that he would not have done so under normal circumstances.
They stopped to make camp in a small glade under the shade of a group of trees. It was not very hot, but there was a sense of safety under the conifer trees that could not be found in an open field. Before long a small fire was crackling and spreading comfortable warmth, and water had been created out of thin air with a simple expression of will and a not-so-faint headache.
Thinking back to what the guild master of Bastion had said, about karmic threads and absence of mana, Albert thought about his Power for a while. Jeff was still running calculations in the background, and each expression of Albert’s will upon the universe was punctuated with a different amount of mana, Intent and Power according to what Jeff thought was the best way to secure data and efficiency both.
Of course, this only applied to important things. Most of the time Albert did not actually listen to Jeff. For instance, he felt rocks poking his back when he sat down, and he decided to make them softer and more comfortable. He also made the ground, almost frozen as it was, less offensive to his warm-skinned sensibilities. None of which was done like Jeff would have liked, but they weren’t important things, and the headache was only minor.
Not enough to grow in Power, as gains were only there when Albert pushed beyond his normal limitations.
Albert also decided to check on Scrappy, who had been woefully silent ever since their escape.
“Hey.”
The boy simply looked at him. For a moment he felt guilty, he was the reason Scrappy had to flee his own hometown, but it didn’t last long. He was, despite everything, giving the boy a much better life than that of a beggar and he knew it. Still, he wanted to make sure he wasn’t forcing another person to do things they would otherwise not do.
“I’m sorry I dragged you into that mess at the guild. If you want, I can take you back to Bastion and make sure nobody comes after you.”
He didn’t expect Scrappy’s eyes to fill with tears at hearing what he said. The boy threw himself at Albert, wrapping his thin arms around him.
“No!” He cried. “Please! Don’t abandon me! I’m sorry I lied to you!”
“Huh?” Albert cocked his head, completely dumbfounded. “What are you talking about?”
It was Scrappy’s turn to be confused. “You… you aren’t mad because I lied? I thought you were sending me back as punishment…”
“No?” Albert said, the statement sounding more like a question. “I was only giving you a choice. What do you mean you lied?”
“I’m actually a girl… I think? Not a boy, that’s for sure, that I know. I didn’t say anything because, because…” She trailed off.
She thinks?
Albert did not show his inner puzzlement. Chuckling, he shook his head. “So what? It doesn’t really change anything for me.”
Her eyes brightened. “Really? I can still come with?”
“Of course. But,” Albert knew that he needed to pretend he was punishing her for her ‘lie’, or she would never fully forgive herself. Clearly it was an important matter to her, and he wasn’t about to discard her feelings. “No more secrets, okay?”
“That I promise, kind Sir. No more secrets!”
She shuffled on her feet as she said it, making Albert smile inwardly. It seemed that she did have more secrets, but he was perfectly fine with letting her come to terms with them, and come to trust him before she revealed them. She would feel extraordinarily bad afterwards, guilty for not having been honest and whatnot, but he could tell that she was a good person and meant to ill will. The incident that morning was proof enough of that.
It was a while later, after some idle chatting over lunch that Albert sorted through the many papers Scrappy had taken from Bastion’s Guild Master’s office. It only took a glance for him to commit everything to memory, now that he could simply pass information to Jeff. Before long, they knew where they needed to go: the north. There, beyond the marching army about to attack Bastion, there was mention of a particular artifact that might or might not be compatible with the Kirkesis Core.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
There was no direct reference to the name, of course, and Albert had no real information about what the core was or how it looked like. This sort of informational vacuum forced his hand somewhat, and until he had more information the only thing he could do was press forward. He tried to ask the Universe itself, but the amount of Power such a question demanded was not something he would have available for a long time. So, with what little he knew, he could only set off and hope he wasn’t wasting his time.
In the meantime, Jeff had come up with yet another experiment to increase his Physical Power.
Are you sure it’s going to work?
You don’t have magic, and likely never will. However, I have established with good margin of error that the workings of you Power change reality itself.
Duh? I know that. It’s called reality bending for a reason. So what?
Reality gets changed in a way that suppresses causality. I noticed it for the first time when your working snapped Konstan’s karmic threads. Whatever you do when you Bend, the Universe treats it as normal afterwards.
Albert’s eyes widened. This was huge. This meant that he could simply decide that he was stronger than he actually was, and as long as he had enough Power behind him… then it would be true.
Let’s try it then.
They did. Jeff couldn’t do much, for this was mostly the work of Albert, but he helped where he could. The faint hint of a headache appeared. Albert pushed through. Then something, a metaphorical barrier, shattered.
The backlash was enough to make Albert stumble, eliciting a surprised and worried sound from Scrappy. He waved it away, forcing a smile, but inside his head was throbbing with pain and it took all his concentration to keep walking as normal. He didn’t want to give her the impression that he was carelessly experimenting with himself, even though she had no idea what he was doing.
After he recovered enough, some long minutes later, Albert examined the changes.
Reality Bending Power: 40 -> 42
Physical Power: 2
We… uh… clearly failed somewhere.
Indeed. I will run more calculations.
Despite everything, it still felt like Albert’s Power had grown in quality somehow. Like the barrier that was shattered was one keeping him from realizing more of his Power’s true potential. And, if his hunch was correct, there would be more barriers to come.
***
A cold wind blew from the passage between the mountains leading to the north. It felt like the very ice that capped the height of the mountains wished to descend upon the valley, like a herald of the troops waiting to attack Bastion. Troops that Albert very much wished to avoid altogether, but the passage was thin and narrow and there wasn’t a good path anywhere else unless they were willing to travel many days.
With a timer to the end of the world, they could not afford the detour.
***
Kainen stared down at the bear of a man sitting at his old desk, recalling his old acquaintance. Calling him a friend might have been a stretch even back in the day, but now the man was looking at him with hatred in his eyes and little else. The amount of paper stacked on his old desk had not diminished, if anything it was more, but the man behind the stacks had the presence to tower over them that he lacked back in the day.
“I have been told you have a message for me. About a mutual friend of ours.”
Thomas snorted. “I might, but what makes you think I will tell you?”
Kainen looked at the new guild master who had come to replace him in the eye. “Because he’s gone insane. We need to stop him.”
“As if I am going to believe you over him. Last time I saw him, he was just a scared kid. You, on the other hand… you left with him, and now he’s on the other side of the planet. Clearly hurting and broken. What did you do to him?”
Kainen scoffed. “I am honored and offended both. What makes you think it was me? What about the elves?”
“What about them? It was you who left damaged and came back whole, without the kid. Now you tell me he’s become a danger to the world? You are scheming with that other guild master, trying to tie all your loose ends. You need him dead.”
“Oh, that I do. I’m not doing this for me, old friend… I’m doing this for humanity whole.” Kainan added, staring at the good man in front of him.
Thomas looked tired. His eyes were sharp, but his face was tense and tired. “What do you mean?”
“You think you know what I did. You think I tried to kill him.”
“I know you failed.”
“You blame me for trying, you think it’s because of me that he’s gone. It’s all true, but you are missing some critical information. You think I am a monster, and perhaps I am. But if I am a monster, then he’s a bigger one. Let me tell you why I had to kill him. Or try, at least.”
Kainen was a smart man. He was a selfish man. But having understood what Albert wanted to do and the implications it would have on his world, even he found it hard to just stand by and let it happen. In fact, as desperation settled in, he found himself much more capable than he thought. Now healed, he gathered allies and turned Albert’s friends against him. None wanted to see their world vanish. Not even Thomas who, reluctantly, agreed that the kid he thought he knew might not have been the kind of person he thought he was.
Together, they made sure they were ready for his eventual return. They all knew Albert was going to find what he needed and once he had it, he had only one objective after the Core: Sitea.