Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1794.01.22]

“You are going with me,” she growled, grabbing him under his armpit before he could comprehend what she was trying to do.

He had no chance to resist as the world spun around. A silent scream could have – possibly – escaped his tightly-closed mouth.

With a high-pitched wheeze coming from his lungs, he landed back-fist over her shoulders. In a grotesque imitation of a firefighter carry, nonetheless, where his position on her back was reversed.

The strain on his spine made him believe this was actually a subdued attack technique.

“Why?” he managed to wheeze out. Although he wasn’t in much pain, he wasn’t able to speak properly when bent like that.

“Oh, you can still speak?” She asked flatly before increasing the force on his arm and legs, bending his body even further.

The gurgling noise he started to emit seemed to placate her somehow. He knew, because the force she used started abating slowly.

“Stop talking,” she said with slight irritation in her voice when he tried to move. “Don’t ask questions. Not now.” She put more force on his body once again, just when he was about to plead to be released.

Breathless, he cursed the idiotic Priestess. It was more than simply embarrassing to be carried like that when naked. But he couldn’t even protest.

Gathering a few surprised glances along the way, she brought him to a nearby room where she had a set of clothes prepared for him., thankfully…

~~~

The silence was becoming awkward in Ghrughah’s carriage. The giant was still playing with the settings of the safety enchantments.

Aisha was sitting nearby, still angry for some unknown reason; her warhaxammer entirely too close for comfort. While they were waiting for their ride, she used it a few times to make sure he kept his mouth closed.

Besides them, only Kwan was present.

After a few minutes, Ghrughah started scratching his long beard instead of playing with the controls.

“Can we finally talk?” Zeph asked, nervously glancing at Aisha.

Her hand twitched.

Jesus… why are you so tense, woman? he involuntarily thought… which was probably the reason for her triceps to spasm this time.

“Not really,” Ghrughah said stoically, turning away from the panel intersected into the wall. This one was different – green in color and hidden deep inside the multi-layered carriage’s wall. The sheer fact that he showed it to them openly was enough proof that he was taking this seriously. “I have readings of random signals piercing the Mana constructs. Undecipherable signals…”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything against the Onjis!” he voiced his statement in a firm voice but knew nobody would listen to him.

Those readings mean one of two things – they were either bugged with technology from a higher stratum, or a certain class of beings was interested and Ghrughah managed to notice their meddling.

Both options were ridiculous, but the latter was more probable. With Ghrughah’s contamination and abilities, the possibility of a spying device that couldn’t be found physically and yet could be detected this ‘easily’ just wasn’t reasonable. And if someone was using Skills or Spells, they would notice – the space of the cabin was packed fully and uncomfortably with their Veils. Any foreign Mana would be immediately noticed. Zeph was sure that the carriage itself was saturated with the giant’s Mana as well.

“That may be true,” Kwan commented and sighed. “Still… We won’t have a better place to discuss the situation, won’t we?” she turned to the Omni-Blacksmith.

A slight shake of his head was all the answer they needed.

A moment later, she had her fan waving in the air.

He understood. They were to use the code. Still, he was sure that whoever was listening would be able to decipher it in time.

The beings involved even allowed them the privilege of knowing that they were doing so. Zeph was sure they had more subtle methods, like paying for whatever the System was able to gather. But maybe he was wrong.

Nonetheless, they started using the misleading wording at that point.

______________________

This chronicle will omit the specific wording for two reasons. One, to preserve the sanity of the potential readers. Two, because those are the foundation of a new secret language that thrives to this day.

Please understand. Revealing that much would do an injustice to people who worked hard while creating one of the most difficult and complex languages in this cluster of universes.

This knowledge isn’t a part of this chronicle series. If you were looking for it specifically, good luck next time!

Best Regards, Z. the author.

______________________

“First of all, Zeph,” Aisha started, massaging her nose. “For a period, you are under a probing and protection protocol. Of at least two Onjis.”

““What?!”” Kwan and Ghrughah shouted simultaneously. Their shock was evident even on their stoic faces.

Zeph, though, just tilted his head in confusion.

“That is a thing?” Kwan was the first to recover, leaning back on her seat. “A direct protection?” she asked silently.

Aisha grimaced, more in impatience than irritation. “That is not something you ask about. And especially NOT something that you,” he pointed at Zeph, “should ask the Onji directly! Learn to read the mood, you dritt!”

Kwan and Ghrughah shut their mouths. They took her warning seriously, it seemed.

Zeph, on the other hand, finally understood why she was angry. She was in a similar situation as him – directly negotiating with an Onji and building a closer relationship. Something that the beings didn’t want to advertise, if he was going by the System Onji’s words and warnings.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

As for ‘reading the mood’, he lost that ability a long time ago. At least when interacting with the System. He got used to negotiating with the being during each meeting, something that should be blasphemous. Probably.

Aisha’s dissatisfaction meant that she was either forced or coerced to play the role of mediator in his case, showing her hand to the partial bystanders like Kwan and the Ghrughah.

He just couldn’t understand why she was doing that in the first place.

“So what?” he asked, frowning. “If nobody was going to explain it to me, how was I supposed to know?” It was, indeed, very not System-like behavior – to coat their words to such a degree.

“Did you read the notifications deeply?” She asked in a hard tone.

Well… He did not. And the notifications weren’t accessible in his Interface.

Taking a step back and reflecting on her words, he noticed an important bit of information. “Protocol of two Onjis, you said…” That was the reason, most probably. The communication between him and the System wasn’t private, if he had to guess. “But why two?”

The spectating duo smartly kept silent.

“Because you were under their direct scrutiny at the time, and yet you took a mortally dangerous Nether attack that could have been prevented.”

And this time, it was a shock for Zeph. Wasn’t Alex mistaken after all?

“Wait! How am I unscathed if I received a Nether attack?”

“Are you, though?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, making him pause. His Soul was scarred, after all. “It’s as much for your protection as it is to make sure you aren’t infected.”

Her words send a cold chill down his spine.

“The System said it couldn’t see anything…” he tried, looking down.

“They detected a flash of Nether energy just after the attack had landed, and right after Gru’s intervention brought you back,” she explained in a much calmer tone. “We don’t know what happened, but your informant was right. At least partially.”

He glanced up at her. “I understand, but… Shouldn’t I be dealt with instead of receiving this... protection?”

She shook her head. “You know why that won’t happen this easily.”

He understood, but didn’t believe in that possibility. He was sure the System would obliterate him as soon as they deemed him compromised, the deals notwithstanding.

“On a more positive note,” she started, releasing a heavy sigh, “Your privacy is now boosted. And this situation is better for all entities involved. If you have anything worse than a Netherling inside of you, they will know. The procedures developed were never working properly on Netherlings, but that can’t be said about other Netherforms.”

She turned to Ghrughah. “Also, that’s the most probable reason you were able to detect those intruding signals. The Onjis’ attention is on us, and that should be a sign of it.”

Just as Zeph had expected.

“Then why we are using this parody of a ciphered language to speak?” the giant grumbled with disappointment and dissatisfaction.

“And why are you telling us all this?” Kwan added, her eyes squinting in suspicion.

Aisha shrugged impotently. “Because the Onjis with the active protocol aren’t sharing everything with each other. It’s better to try and hide at least some of the details regarding the System Onji’s meddling, at the very least. As to why I am explaining it all with you aboard… You would notice, sooner or later. That’s all the reason you need to have.” She sent them a hard stare to make a point.

And none of them objected. But Zeph suspected her reasoning had a deeper meaning. That she simply didn’t want to clue how deep her personal involvement in all of this was, especially to other Onjis.

Seeing that they understood, she nodded to herself. “He wouldn’t be able to keep that under wraps without your help either way,” she nonchalantly added, pointing at him with her thumb. “At the very least, explanations regarding his last Duel will have to be handled to the city’s Council and the Landlords. Similarly, his recent health issues are being put into question. We simply can’t do that without working together anymore… You need to be aware of the situation.”

“Well, yes. You may be right on that front,” Kwan said, lightly patting her fan on her cheek as she was thinking. “Especially if his protections can be as direct as I think they would…”

Ghrughah also nodded with understanding. “He needs to disappear. For how long?”

Zeph was already lost, so he raised his hand. They ignored him.

“Unsure. Until more information is given to the Onjis, I believe.” Aisha glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. She seemed to be evaluating something for a moment, but still ignored his raised hand. “I would suspect no more than a few months,” she advised, talking slowly and without confidence.

“That’s doable,” Ghrughah admitted.

Just as Zeph’s patience was about to dry up, Kwan took pity on him and answered his unspoken question.

“Your social status is quite different now than before the Tournament,” she started, looking into his eyes. “You are somewhat recognizable and infamous. To the populace and to the higher echelons – all the same. That comes with respect to your position in our Guild – for example, all claims regarding your or your Department’s inventions were unanimously withdrawn by the offenders themselves. But that doesn’t mark the end of the dispute. Meetings, negotiations, spying, and confrontations. For a time, we will need to cover for you in case of more… direct approaches. If those were to be mysteriously impaired in your presence by the Onjis...”

It was his turn to sigh with impatience. “Yes, yes. Very informative. I know already what comes with a respected, higher position. I have enough examples around myself,” he huffed, crossing his arms. “That doesn’t change the fact that I destroyed my reputation during the banquet, and that I could simply disappear for a time in the wilderness. What has changed?” he asked, looking at each of them in turn.

“Two consecutive freak accidents during your Duels, that’s what,” Aisha said, shaking her head. He made a sour face hearing that – he had no counterargument for the facts. “Even your first fight can be considered as such. You weren’t supposed to recover that quickly from the Will-targeting injury. At least we can cover for that with our Medical Team – their capabilities aren’t clear to the others yet.”

That explained most of it. He would have to find a really good excuse to be able to leave the city in these circumstances. If he wanted to stay unharassed, that is. And even then, it would be risky. But that reminded him of another, more mundane question. “What happened to my last opponent?” he asked, mostly because he knew the man was still alive. No new notifications from the System was a proof enough. “And how was P’pfel’s last fight?”

This time, Kwan smiled broadly. “Your opponent is alive. Barely. From what we heard, most of his body was destroyed. He is still in the Shrine. P’pfel won. It was a boring match, once again. His opponent was trying to unseal his air-pollution protections. You can guess how good that idea was.” She laughed a little saying that. “Our champions bade worse. All in all, we lost three Duels in the Tournament.”

“You don’t seem that bothered, though?” he had to ask, noticing that her smile didn’t change at all when giving the bad news.

“That last attack on you was their undoing,” Aisha interjected before Kwan could continue her explanation. “It fired automatically after the conclusion of the Duel, breaking the most basic rules. Also, the people up high were informed it was of a Nether nature.” She also started smiling slightly after saying the last part.

“Does that mean…?” he asked, looking at Kwan.

Her smile stretched even further. “Welcome in the fold of a Landlord, my retainer!” she exclaimed playfully.

He also smiled. “How’s the land?”

Her smile changed to a predatory one. “We squeezed every possible copper from them for the destruction they brought to us.”

“We will keep all of the land,” Aisha explained with a bored tone. “And our not-so-well prepared evidence of their activity preceding the Tournament was accepted. There is a lot of political pressure put on them because of the Nether fiasco.”

Zeph couldn’t hear her clearly anymore, though.

Finally, some cash for my department! he thought excitedly.

~~~

The Roaming Onsen Village was full of life despite the late hour.

New decorations adorned the buildings – this time all in royal blue and gold, for some reason. Part of them was already misplaced or damaged, but the Hannyajin didn’t seem keen to remove them just yet.

The celebration that took place after the Tournament must have been of epic proportions. Even some walls were damaged in the process.

The loud cheers for their win were still echoing from the bars and streets, showing that the party was still in motion.

They had a short council meeting after arriving. The most important news for him was that Danette Gildafi was awake and wanted to meet him. Because he was out for so long, she was able to recover before they could ask for the meeting themselves. It seemed that she shared their curiosity about what happened during the Duel. The meeting was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

~~~

Landing in his bed, Zeph felt like passing away immediately. Not because he was tired, but because of a food coma.

Despite what the System has said, his muscles weren’t as developed as before his impromptu coma. His now-recovered arm was the main suspect for stripping him from his flesh, alongside the time he spent helplessly lying in bed. It wasn’t like he could replace the lacking matter in his body with energy alone and he could easily assess that by putting up his armor, which he did just for the sake of testing his equipment fully.

It was loose.

So no – the amount of food he had eaten that day was the reason for his sleepiness. He was determined to speed the recovery process as much as possible and maybe, just maybe, he overdid it a little.

He wanted to speak with Gru before the end of the day, but he didn’t feel like it anymore. There were many problems to think about. Even more to do something about.

But just then, in that moment, he felt as if he had truly returned to his home. To a safe place that was his and his alone.

Deciding to push all the issues to the future Zeph, he allowed himself to drift into the dreamworld. Feeling content and safe in a deceptively long time.