Miles looked at the orange eyes open in front of him. For a second he lost his bearing and took a step back in shock. When he entered the hidden laboratory, he didn't expect to encounter a living being there. After all, that place was sealed for thousands of years. And even if there were some living beings in there, he didn’t think it would be a member of an extinct race.
“?#½>£#>” The creature inside the glass spoke but Miles failed to understand what he was trying to say. It was a foreign language to him. And he knew lots of languages. He knew English, the common language used on Earth. Coin’s coding language had grammatical rules and vocabulary that more evolved than any language ever created on Earth. He also learned the language the Athena Race spoke from the AI Necklace he stole from the alien that attacked them. He knew Monster Language as well. But this one wasn't anything like any of them. It sounded elegant and soft. But it was also magical. As if the words had charm to them.
“That is the language of the Shaman Race.” Coin’s voice reverberated in Miles’s mind through the telepathic connection the two had. In the next second, lots of words appeared in his mind. Since he had used six Mind Serums, Miles’s learning capacity was beyond any pre-invasion human could compete with. He could memorize and learn the language structure in a matter of minutes. He recalled the words the alien inside the glass uttered and understood what the alien said.
“A living being?”
“Are you from the Shaman Race?” Miles asked back in the same language. Since this laboratory was created to experiment on all the ancient Portal World races, the computer also had records of their languages. Coin conveniently sent the information to Miles.
The creatures glazed up, as he excitedly asked, “Are you part of my tribe?”
Miles didn’t know how to answer. He realized this person probably didn’t know his race had gone extinct. But should he tell him that or keep that information for the time being? Because, although it seemed impossible, it was very clear that this creature had been living for thousands of years in this laboratory. And if that was so, it meant he was most likely mentally unstable. Loneliness could do that, and so could be trapped.
“I am not part of your tribe,” Miles answered. Pondering for minutes, he decided to hear out this strange creature first. “Who are you?”
The creature looked downcasted as he heard the first part. After so long the only thing that was keeping him alive was the well-being of his tribe. He had only one purpose to live on, not that he could take his own life, but the only thing that helped him stay sane was the purpose, the goal, the yearning carved in every cell. His hatred for the monsters and his bloodlust for the person that locked him there.
“I can’t remember.” He sighed forlornly as he heard the second part. “I can’t remember my name.”
“How long have you been trapped here?” Miles asked this time. Although he had some ideas, he wanted to be sure.
“I don’t know. It has been hundreds of years. When I was first kidnapped, I tried to get out of here, but the more I stayed, the more maddening it started to become. And after that devil left to never return, I forced myself to sleep for long periods. I remember waking up from time to time, but I don’t know how long I was sleeping every time.” The creature said as he looked afar. As if he was searching for answers.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Can I call you John?” Miles asked, ignoring the devil that was urging him to chuckle.
“Whatever is fine.” The Creature, now John, tersely said.
“What is your superpower? How can you live for such a long time?” Although Miles had some theories, he wanted to be sure.
“My superpower is Immortality. Time cannot wear me down.” Immortal John said, “My element is wood, replenishing my life force, allowing me to be part of the globe we are living on. So long as I am not instakilled, I can come back from the brink of death.”
“Is that why you had been kidnapped?” Miles asked in pity. Although this character had a great superpower, it was also his downfall.
“Yes,” John said with a tired sigh. “That devil kidnapped me from C-Circle and did all sorts of experiments on me.”
“C-Circle?” Miles asked in shock. Not only because of the tier of this mysterious creature’s power. But also because of the words, he was uttering. The circles were how humanity named them. He didn’t know the ancient races of Portal World were also using the same gradings. But when he thought about it, it made sense. For example, why was the most out circle named as F-Circle? Humanity couldn’t go beyond the Endless Mountain Range, thus they were ignorant of what was beyond that. How could they know how many circles existed beyond that mountain?
Because according to logic, if the most out circle was named with the letter F, and beyond the mountain started with B, it meant that there was at least one more circle corresponding to the letter A. And maybe more. And if humanity couldn’t go past the mountain, could they guarantee that there were at least two circles there?
But it would be a different thing if the naming system was created by the ancient races of Portal World. After all, they lived on these lands even before the monsters invaded. And probably at the time, there was no Endless Mountain Range, and the land beyond was accessible. So they had a vague idea of how many circles there were beyond there.
“What is the Endless Mountain Range?” Miles asked involuntarily. It just came out of his mouth, as he was thinking about it, because he felt that he was onto something. He used the name humanity was using because he realized something. These names probably came from Mother AI, a being born in this world.
“It is the ultimate.” The creature said. Miles closed his eyes, as he processed the information. He somehow felt that the answer would be something like this. “When monsters first invaded, Gaia wasn’t divided in circles. All the creatures of this world could wander every part of it. But monsters were too strong for us to resist. We had no power, no weapon that could kill high-tier monsters.
The greatest of our heroes, from all six races, gathered together and created circles and the Endless Mountain Range. It destroyed their bodies and minds, but by sacrificing more than a thousand heroes, we were able to push back the monsters. Although we lost our strongest fighters, we could still take refuge in lower-tiered circles. No high-tier monster could pass through the mountain, and the lower a high-tiered monster traveled, the more damage it would be inflicted. That allowed us to catch a breath and cultivate new, stronger fighters.”
Miles looked at John in disbelief and awe. He already felt that so many things were conflicted within themselves. It was so convenient for high-tier monsters to fail to go down to lower-tier circles. As if this world was created especially for humanity and other alien races to temper themselves. There were also towers, allowing them to earn rewards. But it all made sense now. Everything was much clearer.
“Is it the same with Towers?” Miles asked.
“Yes. Some strong fighters, close to their deaths, leave behind their seeds to promising heroes of the future. Those seeds can increase the finder's power if they are compatible.” The creature answered patiently. Miles was the first person he had seen after such a long time. He talked without any reservation.
“Who was it that kidnapped and trapped you here?” Miles asked after he remembered what the creature said. “And how can you still live in F-Circle, despite being a mighty person with Crown-Rank power?”
“The devil…” The creature hissed these words, “His name is Dawn!”