Greeting the stealthed supposed patroller scout, Rune awaited an answer. The fact that they hadn’t been attacked had nearly confirmed his theory that he was really a scout anyway.
“And who are you?” An answer sounded from nowhere for Arik and Astryde, even Rune’s perception couldn’t find any link between this voice and the hazy figure he could “see”.
Perception-based stealth users were the most mainstream stealth users anyone with a minimum of knowledge would know about, and for good reasons.
Compared to Rune’s cosmic mist-based stealth, they had the ability to do anything he could, like manipulate, block, or disrupt. But as they didn’t do it from a medium like him, their control and panel of choice in how to manage any situation was much larger.
A simple example of that was the number of primary specializations that were categorized under “perception-based stealth” in the IGS guide, they could hide anything they wanted.
That’s how this supposed patroller scout talked without exposing his position, though it probably wasn’t an entire specialization that allowed him to do that but simply a bit of practice with his main stealth specialization. If he only had one and not multiple, of course.
“An adventurer group heading to site 19. I intercepted you in case you were heading to where we just had a fight, which you seemed to be doing.”
“I was indeed doing that,” Rune perceived a slight head movement he interpreted as a nod, “If you’re really going to site 19, then please do. Make sure no monsters are following you as the whole site has been occulted but the protection is very fragile, and these pests are too sensitive to vibrations.”
“We already read about that in the front base's network so you don’t need to worry. Unless something changed during the past 2 weeks?” Rune inquired about this non-zero possibility on a whim.
“I didn’t receive any such info, so I would say nothing changed. And I’m still in the middle of my patrol, so I need to continue, have a good rest at site 19.”
As soon as he said that, he exited the cosmic mist bubble and didn’t even look back.
‘Well, it looks like Astryde archaeologist, Rune intent creator, and Arik drink maker will soon find new and interesting jobs!’
“I wasn’t that far in my estimation, right?” Not letting any of his inner thoughts in the open, he boasted about the fact he had correctly got them to site 19 in a mostly straight path.
“For my greatest happiness, you weren’t! I’ll show you around site 19, there’s a reason it’s the first site I wanted to go to!” Astryde hyped herself up in an instant after she received confirmation they were nearing their destination.
“Mmh!” Even Arik appeared interested in finally reaching site 19 as he grunted very firmly.
Two weeks of adventuring in a tier 4 heartland, in a completely foreign environment, with completely new monsters… They had a hard time becoming accustomed to all those changes, so they welcomed the imminent stop with gusto.
At the same time, it also wasn’t just a question of having a break to relax, each one in the group had a clear goal they had in common when they established their wants list.
They were all interested in the ancient civilization and what happened to it.
So, with one of their major items just before them, they departed with haste in their steps.
…
The concept of security perimeter had changed a lot starting from the moment a single scout became able to sweep enormous swaths of land without any supplies and at a minimal amount of risk to his own person.
At least that’s the only reasonable explanation Rune came up with that explained why they had to remain at 800 meters per second for a few minutes before they found signs they were dangerously approaching the site itself.
There were no monsters and no patrollers, only obvious signs like craters that battles once took place there.
But even then, when the GPS he was using told him they were at their destination, he didn’t find anything in his perception.
Only a relatively flat rocky ground of grey rocks with a few craters.
Not having to worry about attracting monsters, he scattered his whole cosmic mist bubble.
“The IGS did a good work on this one,” he said to Arik and Astryde, “Can’t find the site even with my perception, I think we need to be invited or walk haphazardly around here until we go through something.”
“We are where we should be, so let’s just wait,” Astryde gave her opinion.
Arik didn’t say anything and remained immobile, only his connected screen being used indicated he was doing something.
The group was proven true when a few minutes later, small energy spheres condensed by themselves in the air, forming a line.
Not bothering to explain they needed to follow this obvious invitation to each other, they followed it and passed through what had completely rendered Rune’s perception useless.
“Welcome to site 19, a relatively unimportant and understaffed site overall, but at least it exists,” someone welcomed them the moment they arrived, “One of you is Astryde Sirle from the time watcher association I presume?” And he looked at Astryde who wasn’t really as recognizable as Rune was.
“Yes, hello to you too, though I don’t know your name or why you know me,” Astryde took a step forward and greeted back.
“Your passage through the front base’s association didn’t go unnoticed. As you should have already seen, the civilian presence in this region is non-existent at best compared to the military presence, and even the time watcher association has very few slots to give to their members,” he appeared a bit too solemn for the group’s taste as he said that.
“Can we go to the site now? I have to do a lot of things prior to doing deep rewinds,” Astryde didn’t pursue the subject and tried to make them move as fast as possible.
He nodded, “Follow me, I’ll escort you to the archeological site.”
With a guide, the group quickly followed a seemingly random path and soon passed through yet another perception protection layer, this one allowing all of them to see something that was worth being called an “archeological site”.
Remains of walls that created square-ish rocky mounds, straight paths squaring different areas, a few buildings even remained standing, appearing as if they had just been built and only missed painting, electricity, and furniture.
Around the site itself, rows of tents were placed surrounding everything, patrollers were training, playing, and a few gatherings that talked about the history took place here and there.
“Site 19 is something akin to an outpost, as I said it’s relatively unimportant compared to the few sites that have entire cities to excavate, but the existence of this outpost tells us a lot of things that can’t be found in the massive cities,” the guide introduced them to site 19 in the most simple way.
‘At least that’s an easy and safe one, good for Astryde and us to practically learn what we’ll have to do when we end up alone in a completely new site.’
Each with their own thoughts, the group kept silent as the guide led them to an unoccupied tent reserved for “eventual civilian arrivals”, and it seemed they checked the mark to get one.
It was everything they got as the guide left them soon after, the exploration of site 19 was completely left to them.
“I and Arik are adventuring in the 3-dimensional reality, you are in the 4th one,” Rune said as he looked at Astryde, “I’m sure each have their own challenge, so don’t hesitate to take your time. We already made our choice anyway.”
“Humph!” She didn’t take him seriously at all, “I’ve watched so many science popularization videos I can even explain to you the analysis of the complete dynamic made by the Grey Order between an Endless region and one of its linked dimensions if you want!” She sounded very confident, nearly arrogant when it came to her specialization.
“She prepared herself for months before coming, let’s just let her do her own things. The site is so small we can see each other anytime, so I’m out, I need to create this damn artificial taste construct!” Arik cursed before going into the tent, ignoring them completely. He was clearly motivated as he started manipulating his energy to do strange things as soon as he created himself a comfy mat.
“I’m going too!” Astryde nearly couldn’t hold her strength as she quickly departed to enter the site itself, she was that excited about finally being here.
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Seeing them like that, Rune asked himself whether he wanted to do some intent tinkering or go listen to stories about the ancient civilization that created this site, or this small outpost, from what the guide said.
‘I just arrived, so it’s obvious I need to listen to something that amazing!’
He took a solid step forward, wanting to join a gathering inconspicuously.
‘Ah. But I’m on a solid streak on my intent tinkering, I have so many insights to concretize! I can just ask later.’
So he stopped, ready to turn and go find a corner where he would tinker and get his 1st stage back to a power where it could even block his perception.
‘And I’m already here, it would be a waste to lose this opportunity. There’s a clear gathering, I have tons of questions, and once I start on my tinkering…’
He took another step forward, this time pondering a bit deeper.
Then he stopped.
‘But if Astryde was there, I wouldn’t have to bother with all the blabla… And starting to write my own version of an adventure diary starting from this site, I’ll need to do an introduction… Let’s just do that later!’
He turned, having convinced himself that going now wasn’t very efficient in the end, he would need much more than a simple gathering.
‘And what would I even ask? I’m new here so tell me everything you gathered from the beginning?’
Two solid steps back towards his lone haven were taken.
‘But I’m curious…’
He stopped.
‘And learning more about this ancient civilization is more important! I’ll be able to tinker all I want once we exit the explored boundaries!’
He completely stopped and looked at the sky with his non-existent eyes.
‘I’m…’
Now that he could do 2 things that each had their own amazing reasons, and choosing one didn’t really change the fact that he would be able to do the second.
‘Undecided… Hehehe…’
He became undecided.
…
Intent tinkering won.
The process Rune got through was the same as always. He knew the answer beforehand and tried to argue against himself, but he failed to convince himself that he wanted to prioritize ancient stories over intent tinkering.
He knew that was how his mind worked, and he didn’t try to change it.
So he found a place away from the tents but not too far to start his tinkering.
‘So… Where did I stop last time? And where should I start this time? My 1st stage mainly uses the blinding, obfuscating, and interfering intent concepts, and I don’t really feel like deepening them…’
For him, intent tinkering wasn’t an activity where he could force himself. From the moment he started creating the first intents to increase his cosmic mist’s perception-interfering properties, he had gone at it his own way.
And his own way was following his feelings. This way of going at it was what he considered to be the best way to let his talent express itself.
As soon as he started he found himself in a relaxed mood and decided to check his current progress compared to what he remembered.
He got himself a cosmic mist’s orb and carefully sensed how, why, at what speed, and what passed through his mind when he created his most powerful intent.
‘The obfuscating part really hasn’t changed much… The blinding has slightly shifted now that I feel it, why did I associate it with the isolating intent of my 3rd stage? The interfering intent, however… It’s much more fused than I remember…’
Without the threat induced by being in a wild tier 4 heartland, Rune could totally focus on this one thing.
Once he finished noting the changes that happened naturally over the course of 2 weeks of intense fighting, those induced by bouts of emotions or accidents during his extremely quick infusions, he switched to understanding them thoroughly.
‘Huhu… It looks like it’s much more about deepening very precise parts? And then those deepened parts just cause chain reactions that sometimes touch upon the other stages…’
His cosmic mist element having taken its place as a core component of his new main fighting style, he had gathered a lot more practical insights about the uses he wanted the most out of it. Once he linked those insights with the changes he observed, he puzzled out things he hadn’t thought about doing before.
‘There’s even… A tangled node that isn’t chaotic? Blinding, interfering, and bending? A multi-link?’
Losing track of time, he dived deeper and deeper into the natural innovations and mutations that occurred, he was amazed by those he couldn’t understand.
‘I can’t find any problems, it’s so… All my 2nd and 4th stage’s intents are completely untouched, so is it possible to create tangled nodes without affecting the balance even a little? But I’m sure that…’
Doubting what he perceived with his mind, he opened his note document about his cosmic mist on his connected screen. There he scrolled to where he remembered doing complex theoretical intent tinkering that he read on the guide before, but as it was a crafting path, there were too many variables and he failed at a lot of things.
‘What is the difference between this tangled node and the one I created before? Why is this one completely neutral and doesn’t affect the already present simple dual links?’
Departing from his relaxed mood, Rune ultimately got back to the exact same state of mind he had when he tinkered with his intent in a cosmic mist dome back in the Undecided Train Park.
Every worry ceased to exist. The fact that he was in the bone region didn’t matter anymore as he started to organize his mind in a different way.
It wasn’t just 2 weeks of insights that started to flow unstoppably as if a dam had collapsed.
It was 3 months.
…
(When it’s about Astryde, I always have this song in my mind: Coming Home (Skylar Grey) - Diddy - https://youtu.be/WLNp0g2GBxQ?list=PLzQ3v4Ut8qOabHYZUMqk7-4LZyNePMpjK + Marc May Remix)
The flow of time rewound slowly at first.
But the more Astryde kept her energy manipulation perfect, the more it accelerated.
Becoming a time watcher was more than just getting a specialization and having an affinity soul specialty that helped at it like in her case: It was a vocation.
For her, making the decision to become a time watcher hadn’t come naturally, it was only one of the choices she retained. And she had many choices.
Too many.
An affinity specialty was like that. Her affinity specialty was like that too. Energy couldn’t disobey her, she could do with it as she wished.
It often went through her mind before that if she had gone through a more energy-based path, she could have changed a lot of things, but she just didn’t have this spark about energy in her like Gar or her little brother Nelo had.
Even her affinity specialty at its beginning wasn’t something really linked to manipulating energy first and foremost, it was only a consequence.
What she was good at was making her affinity really become like a sixth sense.
At first, she didn’t know why her instinct was so much stronger than others, and she only supposed a stronger sixth sense was somehow linked to yet another hidden property of the affinity ether stat.
And then she gained access to the globalized board where billions of years of knowledge were easily accessible.
Ether reader path, energy sensor path, ether solver path, affinity-infused perception path, perception-infused affinity path, so many choices, so many different and unimaginable applications of only one of the 10 ether stats…
Other people had been like her, affinity was a stat that mainly affected energy, but it had other properties, it was that simple.
That is why she didn’t hesitate to follow what she wanted and nearly completely forgo energy attacks in her builds, it just wasn’t for her.
How she ended up choosing the time watcher path and vocation to accompany her balanced warrior path wasn’t a mystery, at least it wasn’t in the process she used to decide. She simply studied everything.
Utopia helped her a lot on that part, thanks ether rululu’s brains existed.
Combat specializations, civilian specializations, commercial specializations, crafting specializations, she already had a list and she only had to study everything.
That’s how she ended up choosing to become a time watcher.
She loved what she learned about it before she started on it, she loved it even more after she started learning this vocation properly.
With no loss of focus even after multiple hours, Astryde kept her energy revolving around her steadily in a mysterious way, using her instinct and exceptional preparation to make sure nothing went wrong.
She didn’t get to the observation phase yet, what she would see at her current rewind would only be patrollers or civilians, and it wasn’t interesting.
Soon, the rewind speed got from a few minutes every second to a few tens of minutes every second.
Astryde started to feel the great dive barrier welcome her, it wasn’t the deep dive barrier yet, but it still appeared as if provoking and daring her to break it.
And she did.
The energy kept revolving around her, her grasp on it was at a level only someone with an affinity specialty could reach at tier 4. The barrier was easily bypassed and the rewind speed passed to an hour every second.
Her perception of the present blurred as her perception sphere began to see strange things. Her spirit couldn’t handle 2 timelines so different and so far from each other, so she chose what she wanted: The past.
Every second, shadow passed and left their marks on her spirit, days rewound which soon became entire weeks passing by in a single second, then months.
The criteria to enter a deep dive weren’t related only to the rewind speed, it also needed the entity itself to have been in a time rewind state for longer than 100 hours.
It was even possible to make a deep rewind to only a few hours ago from the moment she started if she was determined enough to sit for 100 hours with a time rewind fixed at the time she wanted to “see”.
Though, she eventually learned, all the time watchers that did deep dive to investigate crime scenes in the track unit didn’t really do nothing for 100 hours as they waited for the deep dive barrier to appear, they often started exploring further time rewinds before coming back “later on”.
Luckily, for this one she didn’t need to do that, she only continued to accelerate and soon reached a year per second.
At this speed she didn’t even entertain the thought of seeing things, only chaotic flashes of color and broken pictures would reach her if she tried.
So she waited…
And waited again…
Then it happened.
The deep dive barrier appeared, prompting her to change her way of manipulating the energy revolving around her, it was the only thing she could still feel, not even her body seemed to exist.
The revolving accelerated, more energy, more impact, more knowledge, more preparation, and the deep dive barrier couldn’t resist long.
Time took another meaning for her from that moment on, the present became the future, the past became the present.
Monsters passed through the ruins of what would one day become site 19 in a few tens of years, some fought, some only passed by.
But this period wasn’t her objective.
So she activated yet more energy, more revolving, more acceleration, and she dived deeper and at a greater speed into the “past”.
The past from thousands of years ago.