"Excuse me?" Els stared up at the two people in the strange room. His 8-year old mind could barely process the grandeur of the room. Stone floors with no seams, a high ceiling, light with no visible torches — he could only guess that it should be a place for nobility.

The two he approached didn't appear to be nobles. The man was wearing a plain dark robe, perhaps a sign that he was a spellcaster. The woman — he couldn't figure out. At first glance, he thought she was naked. On closer inspection, she wore tight clothing that almost seemed like a second skin. Lines of light flowed across the strange clothes with the woman's every movement, making her seem more mysterious than the man.

The woman stared at Els and smirked. "You're a little too young to be here. Unless you're one of those who look like children all their lives?"

"I'm eight," Els answered. "What is this place?"

"Should I even bother, Casel?" the woman glanced at the man. "The kid's probably a one-off."

"That might not be the case, Nyl," Casel replied. "He did come to us."

"But nothing's changed. No bookshelves, no floating panels, no talking devices...."

"He's a child." the man insisted, "The only way kids his age learn things are by asking adults - unless they know how to read. Can you read, boy?"

"It's Els — and no, I haven't started my lessons."

The man snickered, "Well that'll be a surprise."

"Wait," Els interrupted before the conversation drifted once more. "Where is this place?"

"Nyl, care to do the honours?"

The woman shrugged. She turned to Els with a smile and spread her arms as if to encompass the room. "Welcome to the Trove, the repository of all human knowledge across the cosmos."

"The Trove?" Els asked.

"Eh, we just call it that. Some call it the Akashic Records, the Hivemind, the Omniscience, the All-Seeing Eye the Magic Mirror — the Trove is just easier to say. It's shorter and it gets the message across."

"All human knowledge?"

"And some that aren't so human."

Els paused, uncertain at how to react. He hadn't even learned his letters and he was much too young to awaken into magic. Now, he was offered all the knowledge in the world!

"So, Els... what do you want to learn about?" Casel asked.

"Sparks!" Els blurted out. Little was known of the commoner's magic - but he had seen the lines of light more than a handful of times when he touched metal.

"Do you mean ?"

"I don't understand."

", boy," Nyl tried to explain as she approached Els.

"I don't understand what you're saying," Els stammered, a hint of panic running through his mind. He wondered why he even understood the two people in the first place. They looked like foreigners and the language they spoke were alien to him. Was it some kind of spell?

"It's when lines of jagged light come down from the sky when it ," Casel explained, trying to calm him down. "Sometimes the light sets things on fire. It can even kill you if you get hit by it."

"Sparks can travel that far? And they can kill?" Els asked in shock. "Wait, i don't understand what means."

Nyl gave an exasperated sigh as she glanced at Casel. "It's when water falls from the sky. Do you live in a desert, boy?"

"Desert? No, I live in an island town," Els answered. "And water doesn't fall from the sky — it comes from the ground."

Nyl and Casel glanced at each other, pondering Els' words.

"An otherworld," Nyl sighed. "The boy's world would be far different from own."

"Is it really, Els?" Casel looked at the boy with curiosity. "Isn't your sun hot - especially when it's directly above?"

"What do you mean? The sun is always directly above."

"It doesn't move?"

"My father says it turns," Els explained. "which causes night and day."

"Otherworld," Nyl chuckled. "Maybe one of those hollow ones. Do you see , kid?"

"I don't understand."

"See," Nyl glanced at Casel with a satisfied smirk. "No , central sun - all the trappings of a hollow world."

"We can't be sure," Casel pressed his temples with two fingers. "Unless...." he raised his head with a smile. "You said you lived in an island, Els?"

Els nodded.

"So you've seen ships sailing away from your home?"

"A few times."

"Then, do they vanish into the or do they just sort of rise when they get too far?"

"They rise," Els answered, confused at Casel's questions. Everyone knew that ships climbed the slopes of the sea. It was funny that they even asked.

"I told you," Nyl cried triumphantly. "Hollow world — that's the third, right?"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Fourth, if you include Foyle's"

"Tsk," Nyl rolled her eyes. "That's a sphere. Artificial worlds don't count.

Casel squinted his eyes at Nyl before turning to Els. He knelt on one knee to bring himself face to face with the boy. "Hollow world, eh? Magical or ?

The last word rang strange to Els. His mind was telling him it was something like mundane knowledge that was like magic of sorts.

"We have magic," he answered. "I'm just too young to access mana."

"Magic it is!" Casel laughed. "Are you sure you want to learn about sparks? A magical world means no , no prehistoric flora — so no fuels. I suppose you can use waterfalls and rivers to power a generator if you have them. Then again, you can always make a steam engine."

"We have waterfalls and rivers — but what's a steam engine?"

"It's when you burn fuel to make water boil and the steam creates power, " Casel replied. "Here, I'll show you."

Casel waved a hand into the air, summoning a screen that depicted a moving train. The scene changed into the locomotive's engine room and to the man shoveling coal into the furnace to fuel the fire.

"That's not possible...." Els whispered in disbelief.

"Technology, right?" Casel smiled. "Who would believe steam can move a thing that big?"

"That's not it," Els asserted. "Fire can't boil water!"

Nyl chuckled. "Magical world, different rules."

"But the boy knows about . It can't be that different."

Els could barely make out the two's words as he stared at the moving pictures in the magical screen. The man in dark robes was indeed a mage.

"Listen, kid," Nyl swiped her hand at the screen, making it vanish instantly. "We don't have forever to teach you these things. "Don't you have crystal balls in your place? Or you can just think of what you want to know and find a book or open a screen like Casel did."

Casel shook his head. "Shortcuts, Nyl. The boy should learn at his own pace."

"We can't babysit him forever," Nyl rebuked him. "We have our own lives."

"I'm sorry," Els' gaze dropped to the floor. "How do I get back home?"

Casel sighed audibly. "See, Nyl? You scared the boy."

"Have it your way," Nyl pouted. "My drift is ending, anyway. I'll leave you two to each other."

Els was startled as the strangely-dressed woman suddenly vanished. He glanced around the room, searching for a trace of her but found none.

"She left," Casel explained. "You'll leave the same way and be back in your home in a while. Think of this as a dream."

"So I'm just sleeping?"

"Not exactly. The Trove is a real place. Your mind drifts here when you sleep — but some people can go here even when they're awake."

"How long will I be here?"

Casel frowned. "It'll be a while, kid. Your mind or soul needs to adjust to the environment. It could take a few hours."

"What should I do?" Els asked. Learning about sparks interested him, but his earlier conversation with the man made him realize it wasn't a simple thing.

"Well, I guess you can access the entertainment database and play some games. You are a kid, after all."

"How do I do that?"

"Before that, you need to figure out a way to access the Trove," Casel patted Els' head. "We can't have you bothering Nyl or somebody else every time you're here."

"I have one," Els replied.

"Can you show me?"

Els nodded his head. He closed his eyes and concentrated. "Farrow."

An unusually large crow appeared in front of Els. Its dark feathers glistened in the light and its crimson eyes sparked with intelligence.

"An interactive model. How quaint," Casel observed. "Then again, you're still a child."

"Farrow, how do I make sparks." Els excitedly asked.

"You'll need to build a generator. You'll need lodestones and copper wire," the crow cawed its answer.

"Show me."

A screen similar to the one Casel summoned appeared before the crow, though it was shaped more like a puddle of water than a rectangular screen. It showed how to build a generator simple enough for Els' age.

"That's a lot of copper," Els sighed, "and lodestones are expensive."

"Better save up for them then," Casel smiled at Els. "You're too young to be tackling , anyway."

Els frowned. The man was right. He couldn't just ask his father for money to buy the things he needed and it would be years before he could start to earn money.

"Here," Casel threw Els a coin. "That gives you access to Haru's work. He makes immersive games. Just concentrate on the coin and you should see a list of games to choose from. Just pick one that's age-appropriate."

"Thank you," Els bowed his head to Casel in sincerity, "for everything." As Nyl said, everyone had lives of their own and he didn't want to impose.

"Don't mind it, kid," Casel answered. "Everyone has to start somewhere."

----------------------------------------

Els tightened his grip on the wooden spear. After a series of horrifying deaths, he received another prompt asking him to change to an easier mode.

"How could it be? He was in a bigger body and he could feel the strength in his muscles - yet he was still dying at the hands — or more specifically, jaws — of wolves!

Frustrated at the game, he went back to the tutorial - having skipped it previously.

The environment changed to that of a courtyard. Whoever Haru was, Els thought his aesthetic sense was impeccable. The only thing that put him off were the trees and vegetation. They were too green. The trees in his world came in various colors — purple being the most common. He had never seen or heard about green trees.

The outline of a man appeared before him. It looked like a featureless mannequin with vertical lines across its body. It held a spear similar to his own.

"First strike," it spoke in a metallic voice as it thrust its spear forward.

Els mimicked the strike, going through the motions until a prompt told him he got it right.

"Second strike," the figure spoke again, this time displaying an attack from a different angle.

Els attacked the same way but the prompt he was expecting did not immediately appear. It took him a few more strikes before he realized what the lines in the figure's body meant. They were the pathways of force or power. The figure's attack started from its feet and traveled upwards, ending with the arms as it struck.

Inspired by the realization, he planted his feet properly, digging into the ground as he shifted his weight to start the attack.

"Ding."

The prompt finally appeared.

For close to two hours, the featureless spearman taught Els several more attacks as well as defensive maneuvers. Satisfied with his newly-learned spear skills, he exited the tutorial and entered the strange world once again.

Immediately after the scenery changed, a voice prompted him to action.

[Hunt 10 small wolves.]

"Where?" Els blurted out. He had stumbled on the beasts by accident a few times - but there were times he encountered their larger kin.

A small screen appeared at the edge of his vision. He instinctively knew that the small wolves appeared as green dots while the other creatures appeared as red.

Els started hunting. Whether it was his skills with the spear or the easier mode, killing the wolves seemed easier. There were also prompts that suggested plans for attack as well as survival tips.

Of course, following them to a tee was difficult for an enthusiastic child — and Els found himself back at the starting point numerous times before he managed to finish the quest.