The High Peak of Brenn [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1794.01.09]
Zeph was observing a caravan from his sitting spot on a small hill. Sparse trees and bushes hid him from sight on all sides except directly from the road below. A heavy blanket of snow was covering everything – even the pass was little more than a track of hard-packed snow.
This exact road was rarely used in the past, but in the wake of the massive exodus caused by the commotion in the forest, the main road would soon be jammed. Not to mention, no one was keen to make a camp in a random field, away from villages. As so, most caravans were moving through less-frequented roads and settlements.
It took him almost three hours to get here by foot, trudging through the snow-covered hills, but Makani had informed him that their ride wouldn’t be moving for some hours still.
He already changed his armor for simple winter clothes – courtesy of Makani – and covered most of his face with protective goggles and a scarf. His new, white cloak helped him stay warm despite the lack of any source of heat while he was waiting. Although, it was only possible because he could construct Heat Spells under it. As the sundown was approaching, the temperatures were getting painfully low.
His spear and backpack were with Makani. His only baggage – armor wrapped in a blanket and a simple sack – was lying by the tree behind.
I really hope we didn’t get lost… he thought ‘loudly’ with slight worry. The caravan was moving past fast and he still couldn’t spot his ride.
Gre! his companion shrugged mentally.
Well, it would be a pain to explain it to Aisha… Oh, there he is. He sighed with relief.
One of the wagons moved to the side and started slowing down, disappearing further down the road. This happened sometimes when someone had to relieve themselves – the wagon would catch up with the caravan and stay at the back. He did notice Makani sitting by the coachman, though.
He quickly lifted his possessions and started to half-walk half-jump down the slope, maneuvering between the trees and snowdrifts. He decided against using stilts like Makani, mostly because he would have a hard time moving down. Waiting for him for too long was more conspicuous than his height, at least in his mind.
By the time he reached the road, the last of the wagons moved past his position, leaving a cloud of white dust behind.
His transport was standing on the side of the road a little further into the forest path. Makani stood right at the back of it and waved his hand as soon as he walked out of the bushes.
As he trotted to the wagon, Makani opened the fabric flap at the back for him. They didn’t waste time to speak and simply bumped their arms in a greeting before jumping inside.
After securing the flap in place, cutting off the remnants of the daylight, Makani shouted to the driver that they were ready. The wagon started moving once again, quickly gaining speed.
Makani started unfurling a thick, wool-like material from above, covering the back of the vehicle with an additional insulation layer. Meantime Zeph took a seat at a nearby crate and looked around.
The place was cramped, but not overly so. Yellow, muted light from the phosphorescent lamp illuminated the interior. Crates were piled up all around them, covering the walls and blocking the way leading deeper into the vehicle. A few of them were left on the ground, probably to be used as furniture by the passengers. The ceiling was flat and made out of wood, which meant there was more cargo space above, as the wagon had an arched top covered in fabric.
All of that left them with a few square meters of free space to work with, but it was enough for two adults to sleep comfortably side by side on the floor – more than enough for people with their height.
Zeph looked around and refrained from speaking until he felt the familiar sensation of Air Sphere brushing over his Veil.
“Finally,” he murmured while mass-producing Heat cantrips all around. He was sure Makani would isolate their part of the vehicle. Giving away that they were Manacasters wasn’t in the plan.
I swear, next time I will pack up a properly enchanted Heat plate! he thought with irritation while uncovering his face.
Because his Primitive Enchanting was easy to recognize, he couldn’t just make an imitation and pretend it was not just that. If someone asked him to lend it, or even just examined it closely, unwelcome questions would be quick to follow. Which only irritated him more.
“I was starting to worry there for a moment,” Makani said, giving last touches to the insulation layer. “You certainly took your time.”
“I just wanted to stay out of sight, that’s all.” He shrugged. “How’s the situation in the settlements?”
“Strangely calm, despite what is happening,” he started while admiring his work and nodding to himself. “Without any alarming signals coming from Custos Naturae, the locals didn’t panic.”
Zeph’s stomach clenched when Makani mentioned the Onji’s name, but he ignored it. The stress of the last few days was immense, so he wasn’t that surprised at his body’s reaction. For the first time in days, he felt like he was in a safe place, and he knew well that his body would need to work itself out of the state of high alert.
Makani turned around and sat at a crate opposite Zeph.
“Some see the disturbance as a sign of greater changes approaching, so they opted to move to the city. At least for the winter. Most don’t have enough money to do so, though, so they will wait until the announcement from the investigation team. Lurona should send one soon.”
“No rumors?”
“Certainly not about any expedition going into the forest. Our presence here is unknown, only people at the coast could tell, but…” Another pang of uneasiness made Zeph grimace. “Something’s wrong?”
“I just need some sleep… I feel exhausted. Especially mentally.” He shrugged. “You were saying?”
Makani shook his head but dropped the topic. “I will bring you a big dinner tomorrow. Anyway, our stalker and our stalker’s stalkers came here undetected. People are more inclined to believe that it was some high-level beast coming down from the mountain than anything else. As for the ride, we are scheduled to arrive in Lurona around midnight tomorrow. We will only rest tonight, for about 6 hours.”
“That’s fast… although we are moving down the slope… Anything more I should know about?”
“Just that I will be staying here with you. We have some other passengers behind that improvised wall,” he said, pointing with his thumb at the wall of crates. “Your presence is known, but it’s best to keep quiet. I said you are just someone who leveraged an old favor from my family to move to the city, so we are—supposedly—not on the best terms. I am here to make sure you behave, not to make small talk, so let’s keep quiet. Also, because we are strangers without any meaningful backing, it is expected that we will keep to our small room here and just wait until we arrive. I have paid quite a sum to the leader, though, so I can at least request some good food.”
“Understood.” Zeph nodded. “What with my armor and where is the rest of my equipment?”
“You are sitting on it. The spear is in that long crate near the ceiling.” Makani pointed behind him. “They will do a standard check on the cargo weight when we arrive, so we will have to take those crates with us. Also, stay in your current clothes for now. We have some kids in the caravan; they are sure to spy on everyone and everything when we stop for the night…” He paused and seemed to ponder over something for a moment. “Actually, don’t change until we arrive at the Guild. I would rather not leave any rumors behind, even in the city.”
Zeph’s eyebrow rose. “Not going to flail your amulets around this time? Scared much?”
“You are the one to talk,” Makani grumbled angrily. “Just do as I said. The fewer clues we will leave, the better our chances at coming out of this fiasco without a headache… or worse. And make us some better stilts, preferably from wood this time.”
“Yes, yes. Whatever you say, boss. I am going to sleep now, though,” he waved him away, standing up.
They quickly made some room for the blankets and prepared for the night. Makani opted for a nap, too. He would be responsible for getting them more food during the stop, after all.
Because Makani wouldn’t be able to keep the warm air in place while asleep, he instead ventilated the room a little and deconstructed his stabilized Spells. The resulting temperature wasn’t horrible. Definitely unpleasant, but their cloaks would be enough to mitigate that problem, as they were made to double as sleeping bags.
Before allowing himself to fall into the blessed unconsciousness, Zeph decided to deal with the few free points he had to allocate. He still had an impression that his Passive Enhancements weren’t working as they should, not to mention his body was still painfully reminding him just how badly it was hurt, but he only had 9 points to spend.
And besides, the training Perk works best when you are unconscious, he thought merrily, changing the Perk to the Flexibility training and adding the points.
[https://i.imgur.com/dCcJFuf.jpg]
[Table version:]
Name: Zeph Einar Perk: Body fluidity auto-training Race: Human (type 6671: 'Earthling') Passive Enhancements: Power 60 Intuition 228 Flexibility 50 Memory 68 Regeneration 50 Greater Willpower 76 Basic properties: Resource: Total: Available: Reserved: Matrix Space: 233 72 161 Mana Capacity: 1_543 1_531 12 Mana Generation [/s]: 207 166 41 Class: Level: Unallocated points: Matrix space taken: Force Generalist [Seeded] 14 0 141 Profession: Level: Unallocated points: Matrix space taken: Shaman 35 0 9 Soul contamination: Details: Space (type: B5001) 5.22%, slightly increases [Matrix space] Will (type: H1) 8.73%, enhances interaction between Will and Mana Iron Isotope Alloy (type: ZW1) [Soul] imbalance detected! Natural [Soul contamination] balance not achieved!
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
[Synhronization] detected! [Soul contamination] instable!
2.97%, stabilizes I.I.A. ZW1 in Mana environments Planaria Ferrium Fullerene (type: CON8795-XA65) [Soul] imbalance detected! Natural [Soul contamination] balance not achieved!
[Synhronization] detected! [Soul contamination] instable!
0.12%, [Unknown] effects.
Oh shit! Oh no! he immediately panicked.
Congratulations! [Flexibility] [Passive Enhancement] milestones achieved!
You gained one [Energy Enhancement] from [Flexibility] milestone!
He was so tired that he forgot one important fact. His Willforce Morphon was giving him an effective 20% to all 'physical' PE. Thanks to that his Flexibility jumped not by 9, but by 10 points.
Where are warning notifications when you need them?! he screamed internally just as a first wave of pain from his Soul arrived. Gah! Motherfucker, I knew it!
He never felt anything when the milestone Energy Enhancements were applied. It was an almost instant process that was hard to notice without mastering internal Mana perception. Or Soul perception, for that matter. But with the current state of his Soul, his body, and his Will, he just knew some issues would surface.
Because milestone Energy Enhancements were not only physically applied to his body. They were also being inscribed into his Soul.
He could feel a numbing sensation rolling down his spine, just to spread to every corner of his body from there; eradicating his control over muscles; stealing their strength; and leaving him helpless and unmoving. His heart rate and respiration slowed down as his barely-recovered body was being stripped of resources. He longed for the darkness that was slowly consuming his consciousness, but it was not to be.
The next wave of pain from his Soul would make him scream if his body wasn’t in a catatonic state, but it surely left him fully awake.
Meanwhile, his Will started depleting, again.
He could feel Gru waiting patiently for the situation to unfold, and, at that moment, he hated him for that calm demeanor. No matter how right it was.
His silent suffering lasted for a few more seconds before he was finally released from the clutches of the System’s automatized enhancement process.
Instantly, his battered mind fell into the—seemingly his preferred—state of unconsciousness…
~~~
He knew he was waking up the moment he finally noticed that his surroundings didn’t make much sense. Not only the surroundings… but the logic of the world by itself – as he understood in a moment of a brilliant inspiration that illuminated the soil around.
The Netherbeing shouldn’t be speaking, the Adeptus shouldn’t look like a rabbit, and he himself… definitely shouldn’t be able to dive underground as if it was water.
Opening one eye, he was ready for any warning notifications and any form of pain. At the same time, he tried to get rid of the remnants of the dream from his memory. It wasn’t a nightmare, not really. But he would be glad to forget all about it from sheer embarrassment.
He never expected that his mind could produce such foul pictures and scenarios by itself.
After a moment of stillness, he blinked and opened his eyes fully in confusion.
There was nothing. No pain, no notifications, no screams. Just a dark ceiling and an almost-dead phosphorescent lamp.
Hoh, that’s a first. Did I manage to break my bad karma finally? he thought mirthfully.
His body relaxed as he looked at the exit.
A white dot, drown on the canvas of reality, somewhere behind the fabric flap of the wagon, is what he saw.
Panicking, he tried to stand up and move away, but after looking back, the dot was gone.
His panic didn’t subside, though, as he pressed his back against the crates with enough force to move them. His eyes were scanning the surroundings wildly, trying to find the enemy. Gru woke up with a start, receiving Zeph’s internal scream unfiltered.
“What in the Chasem?!” came a startled shout from behind the wall of crates in an accompaniment of muffled gasps. The man’s voice quickly changed the tone, though. “We are trying to rest here, you idiot!” The man pushed from the other side, moving the crates back and making Zeph stumble forward.
He got down on all fours. His breath slowly stabilized as he tried to calm down, Gru using a weak resonation to help him with that after confirming that they were safe.
“What the fuck…” he mumbled to himself, rasping for air.
He couldn’t tell what he was feeling. It was similar to his auguring bad premonitions, but it was more visceral. Less substantial. More physical.
Or maybe just.. more mental… he thought, looking around once more. There was nothing of note, though.
Am I… traumatized? Or am I… going mad? he asked himself with trepidation.
After entering this world, after receiving the full physical recovery and a partial Soul fix, hallucinating after waking up had never happened. There was never a moment of confusion after he felt fully awake.
The flap on the back wall suddenly opened, letting in some light from the fires and showing Makani’s face.
“Everything’s alright?”
He took a deep breath. It seemed that no one else saw what he saw, so it had to be a product of his mind. But that fact didn’t make him any more comfortable.
“Yea… just… a bad dream,” he said, glancing at Makani from his kneeling position.
The man shot a glance at the wall of crates with a questioning look. Zeph shook his head slightly.
But Makani still seemed worried. “I will be right back,” he said, turning away. The fabric fell down, cutting off the light.
Zeph slowly sat on the floor, massaging his face.
After another pang of anxiety, he decided he couldn’t wait any longer.
System, we have a situation, he sent through the Shrine Seed, using his Soul-memory sharing technique.
This time, the System answered almost immediately.
Yes… It seems our buzzer is working just fine.
What forced you to contact us this time, [Zeph Einar]? We surely hope you aren’t abusing your privileges. The [punishment] awaits.
Stop with the creepy wording. Your subsystem isolated the Soul fragment we took from the post-100 Manacaster. You are aware of that?
We sure are.
Is there anything wrong with it? Why is it in that state?
That fragment possesses the [Soul nucleus]. In other words, the true information of all past lives of that individual. We prioritize the transfer of such fragments in an emergency. If it manages to condense, at least.
You won’t be able to use it fully. Only the remnants from this man’s current life can be processed for your use, but you will need to go past the hundredth Soul escalation to receive that.
I know that already… Zeph sent, reading the message a few more times. The wording seemed clear, but it lacked any additional information connected to it, which was a little strange.
In the end, he sighed with relief. It seemed that not all was lost of that Manacaster.
Then he shook his head. That doesn’t answer my question. Why is it in that state? It arrived like that to us. And I know we can integrate post-100 Soul fragments safely!
And it shouldn’t. Unless you want to diminish the value of what you have done.
Why do I feel like you are creepier than normally?... No, wait, don’t answer that. Zeph sent after realizing that it was about their deal and the Universal Points. Most probably. The notifications were stripped of any additional information, so it had to be it and he just wasn’t mentally prepared for the System to work in his interest. Can I send you a ‘full Soul-memory’ of what happened, and is happening, through the Shrine Seed?
Is that really necessary? We received the most important data already.
It’s for me, not for you. He spat mentally. Explaining it would take too long, just allow it already!
… [Bandwidth] [Designation: “ZEH1”] is open.
He could feel a weak Soul-bond forming, the same as the last time. He didn’t wait and just sent the whole of his experiences through it without care. The System could sort them chronologically himself. Also, Zeph never had time to really think about his plans when in the woods, so it should be safe as far as protecting his personal information goes. Zeph would rather make the System see the full scope of the problem, too, so sending him everything was in his best interest.
If there was any problem at all, that is.
… [Bandwidth] [Designation: “ZEH1”] is closed.
Calculating…
Zeph took another deep breath. He really hoped that he wouldn’t be left alone with this… issue. The System was the best source of knowledge. If that didn’t work…
Calculations complete!
[User] capacity improved. Updating [Safety protocol] [Designation: “ZEH1”] to [version 3.1.0]…
[Mental trigger] implemented successfully!
We suggest taking an [Advanced memory scan] at your discretion at our [Shrine].
So, it was a problem, he thought depressingly, then waited for more notifications. After a few seconds, he frowned.
Hey… he sent, tapping his foot on the floor. What did you implement? And where are the rewards?
We are sorry. Those memories cannot be rewarded.
What the fuck do you mean?
Your major commissions for this and the next year are declared as [fulfilled].
Hey! Answer me!
Please visit our [Shrine] at your convenience.
The bond broke, leaving him alone in the darkness of the cabin. Only the gray notification still floated in his view.
He tried to connect to the Shrine Seed once again, but it was inert.
“Why?” he whispered in disbelief. “And what the fuck is this ‘Mental trigger’?”