Chapter 21: The More You Know

The desk attendant, "Odesta," had led me and Clivent behind the counter, down a flight of stairs, and through a huge vault door.

It hadn't crossed my mind at the time but maybe I should've been more concerned about walking into a basement with two people I just met.

I trust Adi, but "two strangers"? Wait a minute? Do I even know Adi, If I'm being honest my trust in him was completely reliant on my parent's words rather than the voice in my head. And I would rather trust Odesta's heels clicking down the stairs than my sense of judgment.

The three of us stopped for a moment at the vault door. Having no trouble seeing through the vault I could decipher what lay beyond this point. Clivent hadn’t clarified what we were doing here but there was no need to be nervous. If I was to guess Odesta was escorting us to the Adventurer's Hall library. The specks, "Matter" had the shape of shelves, books, and chairs. It had to be a library what else could it be?

That intertwining of brown and white jammed into so many crevices. "Pause," Sksksks okay focus.

As Odesta finished waving her arms around like some damsel in distress over the vault door. 'Mime," like some type of perfectly groomed, hay-haired, snatched waist Mime. The vault door slid open bringing forth the smell of books, old and new pungent paper parchments. I guess to say it smelled like books was an oversimplification. The place smelled how it looked, like a big cohesive ball of boredom. The air in the room was perfect for keeping books free of mold while wooden bookshelves lined each row of every wall. If it wasn't me getting this tour or whatever you want to call it you'd be bound to get lost.

Curiosity got the best of me as soon as the vault opened. Peering past the wooden brown shelves I noticed one dark figure tucked away in the stacks minding his business. I would do well not to disturb him, she, it, them. I put on a smile because, from the looks of it, this was going to be one taxing day.

Odesta, the beast Kin woman, assistant more like it had escorted me and Clivent to a round table. I'd grown tired of her dark blue heel clacking down the rows of stairs, though I tried my best not to show it. She told me and Clivent “The books will be with you shortly” in her calm and collected voice without batting an eye. There were no green specks to speak of so I took her word for it, that whatever ill will she had towards Clivent had long passed. I'm not the best at gouging other people's emotions. Though Papa would probably say otherwise. 'Huhh, Papa.' I miss him.

Odesta had already sent for the books that would help me in my quest for knowledge.

Turning to the seven-foot wolfman sitting in front of me not paying me any mind. A dull atmosphere was left over from Clivent and Odesta’s awkward interaction from a few minutes ago.

Breathing in trying to let out some of the discomfort that had built up “How long are we able to stay down here?” My voice didn’t echo as it would have at the Mabtali Estates library. Magic must’ve been at play, sound after all was supposed to carry. My voice was the only one heard in Adventurer Hall library and it didn't go far seeing the silver specks float from my mouth and stop a few feet away from the table. This place was weird I knew that much.

Clivent had communicated to me that we could stay as long as we liked, and I would take his word for it. Thirty minutes of waiting and Odesta came back with a wagon full of books it had taken but a moment to notice the one book that stood out the most. An Ominous book covered in gray mist and engravings of blood red. I would be sure to save whatever that was for last.

“I’ll be off,” Odesta said as one of her ears bent in our direction as she exited the library.

“Clivent how come you're so trusted here?” I spit the words out a little worried that I was asking the man too many questions in a day. He raised his clawed hands and told me “That a debt was owed in his favor that gave birth to something of a friendship.” That was all I needed to know. A part of me didn’t want to think about what Adonin had done to gain this Monster. 'My bad, "person” favor.

All this time I still hadn’t adjusted to the Beastkin's presence. Embarrassing on my part. An Otherworlder, "Outworlder" with prejudice towards anything with sharp claws and fangs.

Breathing out I grabbed a book off of the cart Odesta had wheeled over before she left.

I read the title “Candralt’s Calculated Compass, "The cover looked like it was depicting regions and lakes which was exactly what I was looking for. At the moment I was only sure of two things relating to my whereabouts in this world that I'm currently residing in Fallohar City. A city that leads to a larger Kingdom located below the city. Clivent wouldn’t lie about that information. Adonin told me he wouldn’t, but it's safer to confirm that for myself instead of the Wolfman I had just met.

“Who knows with any luck I could be having one huge grand delusion,” I thought. Adonin commented on my thoughts with a “No.” forcing me to confront my unpleasant reality. Maybe it’s not so bad, I'm not starving somewhere trapped in a cave or being ripped apart by a space vortex or kidnapped alone and afraid. Things are looking up, I'm still alive!

[*Bing* Achievement Unlocked: You have survived a space vortex though the effort isn't yours alone you persevered. Fortune favors you even at birth the system would like to reward you for these grave feats Congratulations!! {System Reward} Title ~ {Lass of Luck}

What the heck is with these so-called "Titles” it's my second one why would a human even require a Title? I'm not a book.” Noticing that I was rearing way off track I started reading the book that was now sitting in my lap. “Lucky me” the first two pages didn't have a table of contents but an actual map. The last book I had read on earth was on world history, seeing I was no longer on earth the benefits of reading a stolen. "Cough, borrowed” book from fathers' study had dwindled to none.

It was kind of freaking me out being fluent in a language when I didn’t even recognize the language I was reading. “Clivent” I voiced looking to my left at the mountain beside me.

“Is there a problem?" he asked.

“I’m looking at this book called “Candralt's Calculated Compass”, but the map shown is far less detailed than I thought a place like this would offer. This map only depicts the region and a few other places. "Shouldn't there be more to look at, don't you think?” Standing up and leaning over the wooden table I showed him the rather disappointing drawing.

[https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=3326cc5cbd&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1757957467042765287&th=18658500915459e7&view=att&disp=safe]

“The Kingdom of Fallohar has restrictions on information released to the public. That was my fault for not remembering such a fault in this city’s governing you get used to it. The Dwarves try their utmost best to keep citizens from relocating to other cities not to mind Kingdoms. You would think they would open the gates to the inner city more easily but no, they choose to treat other races as outsiders-"

'Was that it', Clivent stopped mid-sign.

"Out there in the Human lands.” That was a new word for weird. Can't think of one. Taking a long pause, Clivent signed again “Here's a more detailed map from the Elven lands.“ Reaching his huge arm into his Spacial storage he pulled out a more detailed map. I was used to the trick by now.

"So, this is a Map of Candralt. A bit underwhelming." Candralt as in the "planet", barely showed the continent.

The 17th century sucks.

[https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=3326cc5cbd&attid=0.2&permmsgid=msg-f:1757957467042765287&th=18658500915459e7&view=att&disp=safe]

Looking over the Parchment it was evident that Candralt paled in comparison to Earth's landscape. Then again maybe it's just this city or these terrible drawn-out maps.

Continuing “Candralt's Calculated Compass” a book that still had its use I read about the nearest kingdoms. The joke was there were no nearest kingdoms, at least from what I could see the Human and Elven lands were far away halfway across this continent to be exact.

“Clivent why is it called the Sea of Misery? And what’s beyond the map?” The Wolfman looked at me in wide-eyed confusion, maybe I wasn’t specific enough thinking to myself about what I should say to properly communicate my questions since I wasn't the best with the words he signed.

“The Sea of Misery is filled to the brim with monsters of unspeakable power. Any ships that set sail for exploration never return to shore and as far as the map indicates this is the only continent inhabitable both of these are topics of mystery to the average citizen. The map lacks information on Human lands by the way. Is that all?” He turned back to his book and kept reading.

"Can people not fly in this world," I asked.

"Going too far out into the sea of misery is questionable. No one ever returns, that is the word." He went back to reading after picking up his book.

Taking my time looking through the book "CCC" for short I started getting the Idea that it was stripped of what I would assume to be, valuable information. Besides the recurring wars between elves and humans, the book is void of information. Literal words and paragraphs, entire pages are missing from the book, and some pages were just blank. I was once again disturbing Clivent, hoping that he wouldn't lose his patience with me. Grabbing his attention with a nervous smile, I showed him the blank pages.

He wasn’t the slightest bit surprised.

“I told you the Fallohar Kingdom limits. No, restricts information given to the outer city’s citizens. For the past fifty years, the city’s been on a decline. I’m unsure of why the dwarves have become so prejudiced against the other Elvenoid or should I say non-human races but sooner or later these thoughtless decisions will come back to bite the city on its stone-covered ass, even a fool knows that history is destined to repeat when being covered up and ignored. Sorry, I'm a little invested in the well-being of some of the city’s people. If you have any other questions about the city’s history, just ask me. I should know enough to inform you on such matters.” His claws were quick when it came to signing.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I was getting tired of watching the guy communicate with me. That was a handful. And on a reflex, “Candralt's Crummy Compass” almost went flying but old habits die hard. I should stop throwing books. Placing the useless book back on the cart I grabbed another but before reading I figured I might as well get a couple of questions off my chest before more pile up. Taking another deep breath which felt like the thirtieth deep breath today, I got ready to grab the Wolfman's attention.

Tapping my fingers against the random book cover I spoke, tired of hearing my own voice. “Clivent what year is it? How do you measure time here in Fallohar? How many days are in a week? Is time here even divided by days, weeks, and months? Are there any historical events I should be aware of? Any laws, rules, and regulations I should be aware of? What did you mean when you said history would repeat? Oh, and are there any safe places outside of the city I’m thinking of learning about magic?” Adena you idiot, maybe I went overboard with the questions. Practically vomiting all those questions out. 'There’s no way he’d connect the dots and find out that I was from another planet. Am I deluding myself?'

Trying not to panic I smiled and waited for his reply which was soon to come. He was giving me his undivided attention. He closed whatever he was reading and looked at me with curiosity. His eyes looked like they were watering the seconds were ticking by and there was still no response.

“You're joking right?” He raised his hands and spoke in the way only a mute fur-covered muscle wolfman could. And being a scatterbrain didn’t help. I was starting to think about ninjas.

“Pay attention.” Adi to save the day.

“I'm serious. The City is new to me. Can you explain everything to me, like I’m a child learning it for the first time, please?” I squinted my eyes and gave my best easygoing smile trying to downplay the current scenario.

I turned my body inward in the chair since we were both facing outward towards a bookshelf while the table stood between us. Clivent had been turning his neck in my direction the whole time and it looked uncomfortable. The situation was already awkward as is, I wanted to show that I was willing and ready to learn. Clivent blinked, looking me deep in the eyes. “You're not planning on taking Adonin are you?” Signing, he looked worried or concerned, Clivent was talking as if he had lost touch with a long-time friend quite odd, the two only met each other three days ago, right?

“What do these questions have to do with Adi?” Failing to see where the conversation was headed, I tilted my head in confusion. My black curls fell against the edge of the round table and I was thankful for the comb left in his washroom.

“Magic” he stated with those sharp claws of his.

“Okay?” I said, failing to find the relationship between Adi and me wanting to learn magic. “Adi goes wherever I go. That's a fact, it's not really up to me whether he follows or not.” I didn’t want to lie or seem suspicious, so I said what came to mind.

“Who decides where he goes?” He responded and if I didn’t know any better, he seemed nervous then again, I’m not the best at reading people or Wolfmen in this case.

I was looking at Clivent but something being Adi was telling me to remain silent. Doing so Clivent answered on his own.

“I’ll have that discussion with Adonin later then.” the wolfman signed, now seeming a bit down but he would still answer my questions, I could tell.

“I guess you will,” I responded, trying to cheer him up. A part of me wanted to say you're not talking to a kid; Adi was older than me in this situation. I was the youngest mentally who was I to speak on his behalf? 'His sister? Yeah, that's right!' But I’m not willing or brave enough to play telephone with Papa’s Doppelgänger.

Pulling me from my thoughts I watched Clivent’s furry hands move. “Adena, humans, and dwarves love rewriting history, burning records, rearranging the calendar. Be cautious about what someone tells you. It is the year Nine hundred and ninety-eight. The northern dwarves of Fallohum spent a lot of time hiding away in this mountain defending against those born of Ice and cold. The Dwarves barely need sunlight using a substitute in its place. This Substitute is what keeps the streets of Fallohar city warm, converging and spanning the expansive cavern in which the city dwells.” Come to think of it, for the city to be under a mountain the temperature’s just. Are we really inside a mountain?

My thoughts weren’t helping at all. I continued watching the Wolfman sign scratching my neck in boredom.

“I acquired this information on special occasions, in other words, jobs I’ve run for the Guild master. I have seen the inner kingdom in its awe-inspiring glory astonishing what real Dwarves could do. Carrying on. The inner kingdom has its sun. I don't know how it was accomplished but the nobles don’t rely on natural sunlight. A problem in itself not complying with this world's natural laws.” He sighed and stopped scratching his chin.

“The Dwarves view themselves as Gods; the artificial sun gave birth to pride, and with pride came conflict. Going further, the Dwarves came up with a unique way of keeping time but that’s irrelevant. Worldly matters can’t and won’t be ignored, therefore most and or all kingdoms besides Fallohum document that there are five seasons in total, thirty-two hours in a day, seven days a week, twenty-eight days in a month, and lastly three hundred and sixty-four days in a year.” Clivent had taken out a book and handed it over to me.

The resemblance to a modern calendar was uncanny, flipping through the pages it dawned on me that I still couldn’t recognize the seasons as is. “How many months are in a year?” I asked clueless about this planet's solar and lunar cycle.

“What's the fifth season after winter?” I looked at the page knowing well this wasn't in English or any language seen on earth just like the books I’d be lost without Adi’s help. No, really how did he learn so much in three or four days that's impossible.

“Umm Clivent that was a question.” this world is weird, so I'm not even surprised about this planet having another season. It's a blessing it had seasons, to begin with.

Blinking in quick succession, his elongated mouth and lower jaw hung open. I guess my questions were a little out of the ordinary but this one had taken the cake.

“You're not joking, are you? Adena, if you and Adi don't know what city you are in, how, how did you get here?” His hand movements made the ongoing silence in the library seem louder.

“Speak.” Adi had sensed that I was going to keep silent this time around. This situation was so unfair I had no clue what to say, how did Adi get into this city? How was I supposed to know he never told me or showed me?

“I don't know” I simply stated it was the truth I wasn’t an accomplice. Did anybody witness Adi breaking in? Did he even break in? How was I supposed to know? What even is this Clivent guy's problem? He was supposed to answer questions, not ask them.

Putting his hands up like he was caught red-handed he started signing. “Don't get mad I’m sorry for intruding on your business but I'm just concerned. The nobility. Northern Dwarves in general don't take kindly to intruders if you somehow managed to sneak into this mountain. That's an impossible feat in itself but looking at you and Adi there’s just no way.”

“Calm” Adi whispered, no help at all.

My eyes were open, and I couldn’t keep myself from shaking. [Dance of Etiquette] to the rescue, straightening my posture. I smiled and said nothing but that was the biggest mistake. I had changed my demeanor too quickly.

*Ping!* [Dance of Etiquette] has leveled up!

Just great a level for a useless skill. Ok, I’m sorry Papa I didn't mean that. Sighing, I hoped that I'd passed this conversational hurdle.

“Adena please tell me you and Adi aren’t here illegally.” Clivent looked worried, and his ears were lowering themselves.

“Should I be worried?” I thought honestly, I had no clue whether Adi snuck us in or not, this wasn’t my jurisdiction.

Opening the book in my lap I started ignoring Clivent’s hand movements if I couldn't see the words there was no need to respond.

I knew that I was being rude, but he left me with no choice. Looking at Clivents' face without even turning my eyes or turning my face away from the yellow page I could see that he was hurt, concerned, and a little worried. Well, that's what I was guessing. I'm only human after all.

It’s not my fault he forced this situation. Luckily, I had [Eyes of the Watcher] and could see what was going on around me. Adi knows how to pick'em.

This Clivent guy was nice and understanding when it came down to it. Nosy, but nice.

“Gift From The Gods The System Lives.” That’s a book title. Well, at least it isn’t filled with a bunch of pages. You would think writing about a topic such as the system would consist of over five hundred pages at least. A brown old-looking book that was covered in some type of leather looking a bit aged. Let's get to it, who cares if he didn't answer my question about the fifth season I’ll just find out when it comes around. Keeping my thoughts to myself. The first paragraph stood out.

“The Dwarves are the Gods of creation we pioneer in the fields of Technology, weaponry, biology, and whatever other machinations that push past the boundaries of man. The System serves us as will you. " I wouldn't want to meet this King Codomite the first.” He sounds like a fanatic. “What in the world did I just read?”. Clivent looked up from his book. I didn't expect the giant wolf to be reading a cookbook.

He grinned looking at the brown leather book in my hand. His eyes expressed a sort of glee, probably ridiculing me for even picking up the old thing.

Flipping the first page of the rough book this seemed to be a good start. “The system is compliant with the user’s demands. It is a gift given by the great Gods of Geovite for withstanding the elements of life If the user calls on a specified skill with the thought of understanding composition and creation the gods will here thy will and bestow description.” This sounds a little helpful, Fanatical but still helpful.

Let's start with [Dance of Etiquette] “Description please I want a description.” Would you look at that no description?

Thinking of [Dance of Etiquette] in my frustration at not getting what I was looking for I mentally pushed away the skill.

[Dance of Etiquette] ~ A skill taught by a master of manipulation learned through great difficulty and field experience. The General Skill is used as a masquerade when maintaining face usually in social venues. - Scales with dexterity, intelligence, and agility. SYN

“Ok, now we’re getting somewhere.'' Reading the rest of the page summarizing general skills and getting examples of such skills 'maybe the book isn't that bad.' There was some useful stuff in this dust magnet. “General skills are the actualization of carrying out tasks. Often repetition of said task results in a skill. Skills may not be rewarded by the system without a proper understanding of the task. Sometimes a skill won’t show up at all though it is uncommon. Research shows that gaining General skills helps with gaining Class skills which are far better at handling or operating specified tasks."

"Often skill names will vary depending on the user. The more common the skill name is found among the masses the weaker it should be in general. Weak general skills usually result in poor effects, most of the time. To each of their own. It is best to “Max” a general skills level to unlock a higher tier. An upgrade or evolution of a skill is rare seeing as this event requires an extraordinary feat. An example would be the skill [Pain Resistance] it is easy to unlock but hard to level seeing as the user is required to undergo endless amounts of physical pain and stress. The second tier of [Pain resistance] is not often sought after seeing as the risk of death would make the average Dwarf shy away from the reward of [Pain resistance]'s second Tier pain nullification.” That sounds cool, pain nullification sounds like a superpower- 'I’m in a fantasy world never mind, let's tone down the surprise.' Quite unbelievable though who willingly puts themselves through pain sounds crazy if you ask me.

Lifting my head from the book that was slowly becoming more interesting. “Hey, Clivent, who in their right mind would go for a second-tier pain resistance?” I laughed.

Clivent was looking down at his cookbook, but I could tell from the white matter flowing towards me from his big eyes that I had his attention. My words had been heard loud and clear but seeing the Light in his eyes dim significantly had made me feel like I had done something wrong.

“Nevermind, umm you must work a lot of jobs of labor that are dangerous. Like what Adi said being a bodyguard for that dwarf. Just ignore me.”

Gluing my eyes to the page I said, “I'm sorry.” Not completely understanding what I did wrong just knowing in my heart apologizing was the right thing to do. Flipping another page, I moved on to the topic of “Choosing a designated class.”