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The rest of the evening passed peacefully, and the night was lovely. Vincent and Irene were now relaxed enough to engage in lovemaking. And it was lovely. Despite sleeping little, Vincent still got up early and ate in a hurry, intending to go around the town and check the damages done by the Calamity.
Thug, the only person present, approached him at the buffet while Vincent grabbed some food. “I have a question.”
“Sorry, man, I forgot about your class.”
“It’s OK, I took Ronin Thug. The question is about… sex,” the man whispered.
“What about sex?” Vincent frowned.
“There’s a rumor among the boys… that because of Mana, we could… you know… perform better in bed… Is it true?”
Vincent slackjawed for a second. “I won’t discuss private things!” he hissed back. “You’re a terrible friend. You know what? I know somebody who can answer that. Hi, Barbara,” he welcomed the woman who had just entered the cafeteria.
“Hi, Vincent,” Barbara said. She was a scary image, a head taller than both and clad in metal armor, her zweihander on the back, maybe going or returning from guard duty.
“Thug here asks if sex is better because of Mana.”
“Yeah,” she said, filling a plate with food. “Providing you’re over twenty-five in Body. Any more questions about my private life?” she frowned at the merc, leaning forward and towering over Vincent’s friend.
“No, we’re good,” Thug pretended to smile, and Barbara went away. “Dude, you want me dead?” Thug yelped at Vincent.
“Pretty much,” Vincent said, carrying his food to the nearest table. “You and the boys should concentrate on the important stuff, not sex.”
“How’s sex not important?”
“Get over it already. How’s your class?”
“Super… Customized stuff, uses all my skills…”
A notification arrived, making Thug’s words fade from Vincent’s attention.
You are summoned in two minutes to the plains next to the western bridge for a lesson with Grand Archetype Elkandaros. Use your transporting skills so they can be evaluated.
“And two swords,” Thug concluded his presentation.
“I’m glad for you, man,” Vincent said, slapping his friend’s shoulder. “I have to go.” Eating a pancake in one bite, he jumped to the assigned destination. The one who summoned him was waiting in the middle of the field, floating above the ground.
The Grand Archetype’s voice booming outside and inside Vincent’s head: “Your speed is satisfying, and the precision is perfect. The cost for local jumps is at a minimum. I detect inter-reality travel cost is too high.”
“Good morning,” Vincent bowed.
“Maybe,” the man answered.
Adventurous and wise, Grand Archetype Elkandaros, the Boundless Voyager, was a wanderer of worlds who imparts wisdom from endless travels, guiding others to embrace the unknown with courage. His Personality Imprint is now reviewing your performance. Act and answer honestly to gain his endorsement.
OK… so he is, like Hubris said, a sort of personality software for the System… Good to know…
The thunderous voice, the oppressive presence, and the weirdness of the mixed colors in the notification were convincing arguments for treating the Archetype with respect and caution. Vincent had felt a different vibe With Kaira, Hubris, and even Raven. More… humanlike.
“You are new on the path and miss the most important part about Karma. You are doing it but not feeling it. I will give you three assignments to be done within a month. Do you have a true love?”
“I do… err… maybe two girls?” Vincent confessed.
“True love is fate bringing two people together, and fate is related to Karma. The first assignment will be to detect wherever the one you love is and go to her by using your skill.”
Vincent wanted to argue, but there was a certainty in the air that the Grand Archetype wasn’t the type to allow protests.
“The second assignment is about feeling the world. You are good at anchoring yourself to places you see. Explore without using your senses, only Mana. Learn to feel a location you have never seen or been to, and go there using your skill.”
Shit…
“The last assignment is to feel objects. Artifacts have a powerful impact, thus, karma. A powerful artifact lies in the vicinity. Recover and identify it. We shall see each other again when all three assignments are completed.”
The Archetype disappeared, and it felt like the place the man left had become a void. It was like an afterimage, but not in his eyes, in his soul.
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Vincent was convinced he’d be able to solve the tasks in no time—at least the first one—and the Grand Archetype would be impressed with him for the speedy completion. Reality slapped him in the face when he could not feel anything, no matter how hard he tried.
“I know!” Vincent told himself. “I have to let my instincts work for me. I want to go where Irene is!” he yelled, and Strode. He appeared near the Guild. Vincent was about to gloat, but the lack of notification tempered enthusiasm, and the young man entered the tree, uncertain of his success. Irene was not even in the building, as he found out after searching. Lila was, though, speaking with Selim, the old man, and Nina, her ex.
“Hey, Vincent,” Nina said.
“Hi! Did I enter the wrong room?” Vincent looked around. The door, as far as he recalled—a matter of thinking back a few seconds—had been the right one, yet the interior had changed. It was more spacious and had a window toward the hills to the south.
“The core made some improvements,” Lila said.
Progidia Guildchy Core: You have an extra room now. I hope you like the furniture. Lila opted for a style you call Art Nouveau.
“I like Art Nouveau,” Vincent said aloud to compliment Lila. There were lean, elegant armchairs around a table tall enough to eat lunch on yet sufficiently short to have a comfortable coffee. A deep dark green moss was replacing cushions and carpets, but it was so deep that sinking in it was a pleasure. “Talking to the core,” he explained as the women looked at him a bit befuddled. “So…. Is Hubris or Selim in there?” he looked at the old man.
“Both,” the old man said. “Now, it’s Hubris, but Selim will be able to act independently by tomorrow. His Body and Spirit stats are approaching the normal now, allowing him to use his Mind, too.”
“Selim will join you on your trip to Pragwyn,” Nina said.
“Oh, fuck, I forgot about that…” Vincent whimpered. The last thing he wanted to do was to join some boring meeting.
“Anyway,” Nina frowned, “Selim was a statistician in economic risk management before he retired. We badly need his knowledge.”
“I worked in Turkey,” the man’s eyes brightened, indicating he was now speaking for himself. “There’s no place better to learn risk management… every investment is risky there. But also can earn you a lot.”
“He’s rich,” Lila said. “So, he’s good.”
“Well, nice to have you with us, Selim,” Vincent offered him a handshake. “I guess I’ll walk around the town and see if I can help.”
Progidia Guildchy Core: Pragwyn sent a hundred builders to repair and clear the debris, but they don’t have heavy equipment. You could transport the rubble in the crater of the nuclear explosion. Then I’ll shove earth above and grow grass.
“I’d like to build a monument to the fallen,” Vincent said. “A reminder of their sacrifice. Nothing big, just symbolic.”
“It’s a kind thing to do,” Lila said, thinking Vincent had addressed them. He kissed her, nodded to the others, and left.
----------------------------------------
Irene’s place had changed as well, but instead of a large additional room, there were two, of which one study. There was a nook arranged for Cupkake in the living room and a latch on the bedroom’s door, meant—as the Gia the Core said—to prevent the pet from disturbing the two in their intimate moments.
And those moments Vincent was eager to have. He showered fast but thoroughly and appeared in the bedroom, ready to enjoy love in its carnal form. Irene threw an ice bucket on his expectations. “You mind if I call Mom for a minute?” she asked.
“Oh, my God!” Vincent facepalmed. “Baby, I’m so sorry! I totally forgot!”
“It’s OK, darling,” she fondled his cheek. “I had a busy day too. But… let’s get it over with and get to the nice part of the evening,” she said in his ear, biting it.
Vincent projected his will into the ring, and surprisingly, his phone also showed an outgoing call. The intranet had been restored, but he had no idea it worked with his communication perk.
“It’s Vincent!” his mother yelled.
The screen activated, like for a video call. Behind the woman, who was holding her smartphone in hand, were Ludwing and Irene’s parents, all in the Velasco family apartment in Prague. Elina and Karl were wearing elegant house robes.
“Mom, Papa!” Irene yelled, starting to sob.
“Sweet kitty,” Karl yelled back. “You look so pretty in your new form! I’m the luckiest dad alive.”
“I am,” Vincent’s father protested.
“We love you both!” Elina shouted.
Ludwing just rolled his eyes behind everyone, mimicking a vomiting gesture.
“Sorry for not calling earlier… we had a busy day… things are under control now,” Vincent said. “We have a meeting with the local king tomorrow—”
“Are you two engaged?” Vincent’s father asked, probably noticing the ring on Irene’s hand.
“We are!” the girl yelped, showing it to the screen. “I’m so happy!”
On the other side of the screen, a raucous choir of cheers erupted, everyone hugging everyone, Ludwing being the target of the hugs too, a thing he tried to escape, but for naughts.
“Did you set a date for the wedding?” Karl asked.
“We… didn’t…” Irene said with a low voice, averting her eyes.
Vincent could read her mind like an open book. She wanted to throw herself into the relationship with all her being. Still, she thought he was reluctant and willing to keep the fiance status indefinitely.
“I love Irene with all my heart,” he said. “As soon we’ll get the change to come there or bring you here, we—”
“There’s no moment like the present,” Ludwing said, making his way forward by pushing the others aside. “We’re there in spirit, if not in person. I’m a king! Turning your illicit concupiscence into a legally binding relationship is within my powers. Do you, Vincent, want to take Irene as your spouse?”
“S-sure,” Vincent stuttered. “I mean, I do.” This is Karma payback for rushing Bee into matrimony, he thought.
“Do you, Irene—”
“I DO!” she yelled.
“Keep it quiet!” a voice yelled from the room below, followed by a broomstick hitting the ceiling. “I’m trying to sleep. Dragon out and over.”
“I pronounce you husband and wife,” Ludwing said.
Vincent had the distinct impression that the king was sneering and had flashed the middle finger at them. Irene kissed him, and he returned the kiss while in Prague, their parents were crying like there was no tomorrow.
“I’m happy you were all together,” Vincent said. “How—”
“Your parents were kind enough to allow us to stay for a few days,” Elina said. “We couldn’t go… err… back before we talked to you.”
“Praytell, Guildcher Vincent, and Guildchess Irene, do you have any news about my daughter?” Ludwing asked.
Oh, I get it. That’s why he’s so mad… We thought only about us… He’s a father too… “She’s fine—” Vincent started when Irene gave him a discreet elbow hit in the ribs.
“She stays in Pragwyn now,” Irene said. “They made Hungary into a Constitutional Monarchy too… and… err…” she stopped for a second, “you are still in charge of the army and trade… There’s a temporary substitute—”
“Sorry, man, it looks like she’s only partying,” Vincent said, deciding a father must know the truth. If someday he would have kids, he would have appreciated such a favor, no matter how bad the news. “The mansion in Pragwyn looks like a dump. I took your grandfather's book and photo with me for safety. I’ll return them as soon as possible.”
“Good. The book has secret spells written with invisible ink. Whisper Corvinus on the last hundred pages, and they’ll reveal themselves.”
“Thank you!” Irene clapped her hands.
“Do you want me to tell her something? Like, get yourself together, stuff?” Vincent asked Ludwing.
“She’s probably trying to project a soft image to lure our political opponents into making a move,” Ludwing waved his hand dismissively. “Then…” he made a throat-slitting gesture with his thumb. “She’s shrewd.”
“If you say so,” Vincent shrugged. To him, the parties and drinking looked more on the real side.
“Let’s let the kids sleep,” Vincent's mother said, winking at least ten times to the ones in Prague. “They must be tired.”
“Right, right,” Elina gasped. “Bye!” she waved her hand, then the call stopped.
“Oh, my God…” Irene sighed, hugging Vincent. “I hope we’ll not be so soppy when we get old.”
“I hope we will,” Vincent smiled, taking her into his arms.