For the next seven hours, Nick slept like the dead, taking advantage of the opportunity to rest and recover well past the minimum required by his trait. After all, who knew how long it would be before he was able to enjoy another full night’s sleep? Close his eyes and let go, without having to worry about being attacked while he was helpless or a fresh disaster descending upon his head.
Warm and clean, body nestled between the soft sheets, he spent the night dreaming of Angie and his parents. His brother and his friends. Of smiling faces and good times in the company of the people he loved, many of whom he would never see again. Of a way of life that was lost forever and a world that was so far away.
Nick woke up feeling remarkably refreshed, despite some lingering sadness, ready to spend his final hours in the safe room laying plans and preparing his gear. To get his head back in the game before facing the danger that was certain to be waiting for him once he set foot onto the bog and the tower beyond.
He watched his final sunrise over the vast cloud ocean, committing the moment to memory to call upon when he needed a reminder that for every new horror the multiverse threw his way, there was a mind-blowing new wonder to match it.
After a quick shave, a cup of coffee, and a hot breakfast, he began his day with a final round of skills training, followed by a lengthy meditation session to focus his will. By the end of it, his mind felt clear, and his thoughts were sharp. He was ready to turn his attention to the task at hand and ready himself for the long road ahead.
He turned on the alien music player, enjoying his last hours of listening to compositions composed on alien worlds while he went about his day.
He stopped to eat a light lunch, then moved on to his next objectives, pillaging the safe room and preparing himself to survive the threats of another alien world. His first stop was raiding the kitchen. Nick was relieved when the food in the fridge disappeared into the maw of his magical backpack, along with a full pitcher of water.
He put in as much as he thought he could eat before it went bad. This would start him off with a few days’ worth of food, and having familiar foodstuffs from Earth was comforting in a way that he hadn’t anticipated. Unfortunately, the System drew the line with the rest of the objects in the luxury suite.
The cutlery and cookware he’d selected flat out refused to go into his pack, as well as his pillow and bedspread. They treated the open flap as a solid object, which left him feeling both frustrated and idly curious as to how all the magic worked behind the scenes.
He had been fantasizing about being able to sleep on a real pillow every night, no matter how rough his surroundings, but it seemed that he would be propping his bag beneath his head for the foreseeable future. With a sigh of resignation, he abandoned his efforts and moved on to more fruitful pursuits.
After all, none of that was what he really wanted to take with him. He’d been saving the best for last to keep the dream alive. The true prize of the safe room, an item that he would be willing to trade almost anything for, was the magic canister that refilled itself with fresh coffee every morning. It hadn’t gone into his backpack either, but that didn’t mean he was going to give up without a fight.
He didn’t think that it would work, but just in case, Nick wrapped the coffee canister and the pen he had found inside the blanket from his bed, then set the bundle beside his pile of gear. He was planning to carry it with him when he stepped into the next portal, on the off chance that the System would let him keep them if they were carried on his person, even though he really doubted it at this point.
With that out of the way, it was time to maintain his gear as best he could, then repack everything in preparation for his departure.
After washing out his canteen with soap and hot water before filling it to the brim, Nick started cleaning and repairing his gear, glad that a few of his belongings were able to maintain themselves. As he scrubbed blood and grime from the crevices of his old dagger and sword, using his bedsheet to polish them out of spite, he began grappling with some of the bigger questions posed by his new reality. Events that had shattered his understanding of the universe.
He was still coming to grips with the fact that the fate of his home world was resting in the hands of a madman. An insane deity who seemed intent on trampling the hopes and dreams of billions just for kicks. Ending countless lives on a whim, for what seemed to be idle entertainment.
Nick had formed a tentative theory that the System was inherently fair. Remorseless, brutal, and drenched in the blood of the weak and the unfortunate, but honest and direct in its methods. Taltos, however, represented an entirely unknown factor. The Mad God was able to hack the System under certain circumstances, like when he had stolen the Earth from the stewardship of the Green Mother, and later, when he had blocked Nick from receiving a reward for defeating the Fallen rhino.
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However, it had become clear that Taltos’s control was far from complete. Nick had witnessed the System fight back and win a number of their disputes. He had the sense that the System was the more powerful entity, but that Taltos was able to bend the rules when certain conditions were met. Not that Nick had any clue as to what they might be.
At present, he had no idea what to do with this information. How he could use it to eke out even the slightest advantage for his people. The dynamics of the multiverse and the greater entities that called it home represented a situation far beyond anything he had ever imagined. Nick knew that he could only perceive what was happening on the smallest possible level.
It was like trying to understand the structure of the cosmos by staring at a single grain of sand. Both the System and Taltos were so far above him that influencing either of them to the slightest degree felt like an ant trying to deadlift an aircraft carrier. He hoped that over time, such insights might offer clues that could give humanity an edge in their future dealings with the Mad God and his minions.
Nick took off his clothes and washed everything in the shower, leaving them to dry in the sunlight so they would be ready before the portal opened. Next, he took everything out of his pack, to refamiliarize himself with his complete inventory and to check each item and ensure that it was still in working condition.
He spread the full collection out along the kitchen table, grinning as he examined his haul. Every item was connected to a story of his adventure. While not everything had an obvious use, he was hoping that some of the resources would be valuable to the right buyer. When he was finished organizing everything, he prioritized them by order of importance, deciding which he would keep no matter what, and which he was willing to let go of if his pack became too heavy or he found something better. Then it was time to put it all back.
He repacked his toolbelt first, putting each item into the proper pouch with each tool snug behind its strap. He slid his old dagger into the sheath beside the one he had gotten from the arena, then clipped his canteen to the belt and slid his elixir into its loop. Satisfied with his handiwork, he put everything else into his pack and set it beside his belt, ready to be grabbed when the portal opened.
The last thing that he needed to do before he was ready for his next adventure was get his body nice and limber, in shape to spend hard days living in the wilderness while fighting for his life. After making sure that he hadn’t forgotten anything important, he lay face down on the floor and started stretching out.
He hoped that some yoga could finish the loosening of his muscles that his bath and a full night of sleep had begun, draining his body of the final pockets of tension that his weeks on the Searing Isle had pounded into his tissue. While he stretched, Nick moved on to the final stage of his review and planning session, creating new contingency plans for every situation he could imagine. Strategies and tactics based on his new gear, powers, and what little he knew of the challenge to come.
He knew that he couldn’t always have a plan ready to go for every conceivable encounter. That had been true enough back on Earth, and was even more so now that he had become part of a magic-saturated multiverse. Additionally, relying on prepackaged plans could potentially backfire, robbing him of the flexibility he needed to adapt on the fly to an evolving situation.
But having a basic strategy in place for various possibilities was a valuable tool in most cases. Having a plan ready to go gave Nick a clear direction in the heat of the moment, rather than having to rely on the product of his split-second reactions.
With a grunt, he flipped onto his back and started loosening up his legs and hips, contemplating beasts, traps, and natural dangers of every shape and size. What should I do if I’m swarmed by hundreds of tiny creatures? Attacked by flying beasts like the frostfury wasps? How can I increase my chances of surviving if I’m surrounded, or am forced to face an overwhelming enemy like the lurk or the fallen rhino?
As Nick’s spine lengthened with a series of immensely satisfying pops, he pondered how he could combine his primary tools, his blade, wand, and mana dart, with the new capabilities offered by his Kineticist class and flask of restoration.
He was dying to try out piercing ray as soon as possible, but it would have to wait until he found a substantial shelter to hole up for the night. It would be nice to start testing out his new spell right away, but he couldn’t afford to explore a hostile world without a full tank of mana. That insight brought Nick to the end of his checklist. He was as ready as he could possibly be to face the challenge ahead. He decided to spend his final moments of peace listening to one last song on the alien music player.
He rose to his feet, turned on the speaker, then went to gather his equipment. He enjoyed a rousing melody, fierce and wild and free, as he put on his armor, then strapped on his belt and donned his magic pack. As the final notes faded from the air, the System prompt that he had been waiting for finally appeared. He grabbed the bundle holding the coffee container, then read the words floating in front of his face.
System update
Your time in the safe room has come to an end. Everyone who accepted Taltos’s challenge will be transported to the outskirts of Blackmist Bog. All contestants who declined to participate will be sent to Earth to begin rehabitation. Please gather your belongings and step through the portal.
With no further warning, the closest wall flashed orange, then a circular portal shimmered into existence like a mirage in reverse. He took one final moment to ready himself and strengthen his resolve, then began walking toward the radiant ring.
With a shrug, Nick drew his sword, hefted the blanket bundle over his shoulder, and stepped into the glowing circle, ready to embark on his latest adventure.