Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1793.12.22]

The cart quickly slipped through an opening the hangar’s doors have made, and the screeching of its own skies ceased immediately. A clacking sound of doors’ mechanism and the muted hum of Mana jet engine disappeared, muffled by the falling snow powder that still harassed the city, and replaced by the loud howling of winds rampaging on the streets.

Sitting inside the warm, cozy cabin, unperturbed by the mayhem outside, Zeph couldn’t stop himself from breathing a sigh of relief. The not-so-small, over-enchanted cabin gave him a sense of security he so badly lacked in his current life.

I hope Makani makes it in time. I miss the wilderness… he thought, closing his eyes and allowing his body to relax, sinking a little more into the soft cushions of the seat.

“Grau!” his companion vibrated naggingly, waking him up.

“Ugh… Right, we still have work to do…” he shook his head and slapped his cheeks to focus. He decided to not use forced stabilization on his mind again, as he needed to test the natural capacity of his body next. The description of Willforce Morphon still didn’t change; the ‘Unknown’ parts mocking him and his efforts.

“Gra!” it vibrated in encouragement.

“Thanks, buddy, but I don’t think it will be that easy to uncover all applications of that ‘Body’ property… We didn’t even touch the pain mitigation, not to mention the more complicated, emotional reactions,” he said with weariness. He wanted to finish the ‘mental endurance’ tests as soon as possible, the main reason he started with sleep deprivation – because they were directly responsible for his survivability. But the idea of testing his new pain thresholds horrified him.

Zeph hoped that those details would be discovered naturally during their excursions into the surrounding lands. Self-harm was an option if it failed, but he was sure that at this point, he would have to break his bones to really test his limits.

He would rather try it when directed by his survival instinct, training, and the Will to live. When fighting for real, either for survival or for a cause. It was one thing to consciously harm oneself while observing everything in detail, and another to fight for one’s life. He was trained in the latter and determined to protect his beliefs. He could think critically and make hard decisions, even the most painful ones, but such situations engaged a different part of his being… of his brain and Will.

Moreover, he suspected such choices had an additional weight in a world where Will manifested physically. Self-harm could be the greatest way of achieving complete self-awareness, or the fastest way to break his Soul. It all depended on perspective and his accumulated life experiences.

And taking into account his current Soul fragmentation, the dread he felt was almost self-explanatory.

“I am more surprised the System didn’t finish other calculations. How is it on your side, Gru?” he asked, opening the detailed description of his full-body Modification once again to confirm.

Willforce Morphon

[Extended Will shielding]

[Growing]

Will/Soul/Body [Enhancement] integrated into Soul-Body metabolism and ‘information cloud’ of [Will]. Powered by [Willforce], applications can be further strengthened by spending [Will]. Shields [Body], [Soul], and [Will] by linking their [Energetical Resources] in new exchange pathways. Effects:

* [Will/Soul/Body]: Enhances Greater Willpower effects. [Unknown] effects on external Mana manipulation.

* [Will]: Slows down [Will] depletion in all possible cases, prevents full dissipation.

* [Will]: Speeds up [Will] restoration. Can instantly reform [Will] by spending [Energetical Resources], but requires fully-functional [Brain] and [Soul].

* [Soul]: Enhances overall Memory and Intuition effects. Can enhance [empathy], [past-life memory reading], and [Unknown] by directly engaging [Will].

* [Soul]: Shields and obscures [Soul] interactions with matter and [Will]. Slows down [Soul fragmentation], can recover recently lost fragments by directly engaging [Will].

* [Soul]: Speeds up a natural recovery process by [Unknown]. Speeds up an accumulation of Body-related [Soul contamination] by [Unknown].

* [Body]: Permanently boosts Power, Flexibility, and Regeneration by [20%]. Speeds up natural metabolism [20%]. Enhances natural regeneration [20%]. Has an [Unknown] effects on Flexibility physical effects and internal Mana manipulation.

* [Body]: Mental states don’t reflect on [Will]. Balances mental state between [Body], [Soul], and [Will] influence. Can forcefully [Unknown] mental state by directly engaging [Will].

* [Body]: All body parts can regrow. Can restore most of the damaged-brain physical memory. Actively counterforce physical damage on a cellular level, increasing toughness by an average of [50%].

Nope, no changes at all, he thought in disappointment.

“Graaaaw,” Gru shrugged his imaginary shoulders while giving him access to a series of short Soul memories and sending a few impressions. At least the ‘silent period’ was useful for training their communication. The vocal component was still necessary, but only for much more detailed information – something they couldn’t do earlier at all.

“Nothing new, either? Well, expecting anything after just a few weeks is unreasonable. But it’s a shame we didn’t produce any new knowledge for the System…”

“Grah!” it ‘spat’ to the side.

“Don’t be like that. It just means we aren’t inventing anything new.”

“Graaahar!” Gru vibrated spitefully.

“Yea?! And what exactly did you create in all that time?!” Zeph asked impatiently, aggressively tapping the top of the table before him. “The internal enchantments aren’t working. Influencing Source Net was a failure. An internal capacitor is but a dream right now. Testing your internal Manasolid is impossible. And we aren’t even able to store Phleya inside of you,” he paused dramatically, waiting for an objection. There was none. “The skin tattoos, your bodily improvements, and even the flying technology we just presented – they were all studied or are already in use. There is nothing new about them,” he reasoned. “Calling it an ‘arbitrary process’ is too much, my guy. I don’t trust the System fully, but they were clear at least about one thing – they are looking for new applications of knowledge. Our performance is lacking,” he finished his tirade with a sigh. He hoped to at least have the explosives count as new data, but because he wasn’t working on them personally, he didn’t gain any UP. Another reason to treat carefully with the information he had. At least in the case of the flying prototype, he was one of the creators. As such, any System bonuses should be shared directly with him.

But any piece of knowledge he gave away without working on the solution himself was a free give away in the System currency and favor. Aisha’s teachings started to make sense, finally.

Haah… Well, at least I am not a poor man anymore… he tried to console himself.

“Gru!” it barked indignantly.

“I have a long list of experiments to come, so don’t worry about that. Better train in your specialization. Sooner or later, we will meet fully formed Netherers. I would rather get ready and not lose a part of my Soul during our first encounter. I am not even sure how much I can shield you…” he said, trying to encourage his Bond to work on his own defenses.

“Grrrraaaa…” if vibrated with resignation.

Zeph smiled slightly and nodded. “Good.”

They would visit the System Shrine soon, but it was proved already that the System didn’t have any means to protect people against the Nether. Zeph had, though, and Gru could learn.

Ignoring the silent grumbling of his companion, he took out a file containing the records of the prototype testing. The information was spread between their early tests and the ones done in the twins’ hangar, the latter much more detailed thanks to the controlled environment of the air tunnel.

He read everything carefully, comparing the results and double-checking the math.

Half an hour later, he was sure. A new venture was possible.

It’s hard to believe, he thought, straightening up and leaning on the seat’s backrest. They should have discovered it a long time ago… How come?

The math wasn’t lying. Wings? Parachutes? Where were they?

I get that after 300 Flexibility the free-fall stops being a death sentence, even at terminal velocity, but isn’t it the domain of people at higher strata? Even physically-inclined individuals would need at least 100 levels to reach that much Flexibility… In normal circumstances.

Manacasters didn’t count, as they would have their own means of slowing down their eventual descent or shielding themselves otherwise, but what with low-leveled people on the first stratum? How come no one tried to put into use a simple glider the size of small, human-sized wings as a security measure on the aerostat?

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

It was such a simple solution, too. Just power the enchantment on a small, stiff contraption to condense the air under the supposed wing or wings, and suddenly there is no risk of falling to one’s death. The theoretical size of the construct was so insignificant that it wasn’t even a question if someone would be uncomfortable with it. The mass a one-meter wingspan could theoretically support, in the context of slowing down the descent, was 1 to 50. Assuming his design, but that was beside the point. Even without any knowledge of aerodynamics, constructing a parachute equivalent should be an easy task – the materials were the problem, not the specific shape of the wings.

That meant a contraption of, at most, three kilograms, which even kids with power above 10 should be able to carry without problems. People with Classes concentrating on physicality at levels 50+ should have around 100 Power at the very least, which meant four times their normal strength. Let’s say that along with their belongings, they weighed 150 kg – his design would weigh 3 kg. Divide that by four and effectively, it was less than one kilogram on your back.

Why? his mind scrambled and searched for an answer, but came up empty. Something’s not right here, he came to a conclusion. Am I missing something important? I refuse to believe no one made calculations on the small-sized, enchanted wings…

In the end, after triple-checking everything, he decided to just leave the topic and test his idea later.

Aisha would be ecstatic to try one, I am sure. Even if she doesn’t really need it, freefalling would rapture her Veil. Ugh… I feel like my main goal is to please my guildmates, now. Is this how the Quartermaster in James Bond movies felt? It’s terrible. He placed the documents back into the file and smacked it close. He had enough for today.

Looking out of the window, he was happy to see they were close. Up ahead, multicolored lights from illuminated buildings broke through the white veil of falling snow. It took them almost two hours, but they finally reached the Temple District. It was the most diverse part of the city, in all aspects possible. Be it architecture style, ethnical diversity, or business types – no other place could boast such complexity.

Zeph observed the changing styles as they moved deeper into the district. Around each temple, production and commence centers supporting their endeavors were blooming. Of course, no one was outside in the hellish weather, so the place lacked its typical, multicultural bazaar feel. That didn’t change the fact that each area was built differently.

Block after block, they passed through different words: Medieval-like stone city neighboring cylindrical structures made from gleaming metals; Egyptian architecture invading the territory of Chinese-like pagodas; Leafless, snow-decorated orchards surrounded by food and paper industry buildings.

The last one was an indicator they were close to the Temple of Library. He knew for a fact that paper was not the only material able to store information that was available in this civilization, and yet books were the preferred medium of the Temple. Whatever the true reason was, it influenced the rest of the market in a major way.

But because the Goddess was, supposedly, able to manage all the written information by herself, there was no risk of books being destroyed or forgotten. As long as she existed, that is. Zeph hoped she had some sort of a backup because, from what he inferred, the ‘gods’ weren’t exactly unkillable.

The architecture started changing once again, taking on a gothic style. Decorated by the snow and illuminated by a multitude of faint lamps, the complex texture of the buildings’ facades was even more breathtaking than usual. Long shadows cast by ornaments added an eerie edge to the scene.

It didn’t take them long to reach the central cathedral. Zeph could see a huge part of it from the side window, as its size started dominating the view up ahead. It was monstrous in scale, the highest towers easily 50 stories high. The bottom floor seemed to be open for traffic, forming long arcades along the walls.

Their cart silently slid through one of the entrances, going straight at the internal crossroad and into a long tunnel leading further into the building. A row of columns, supporting a rib vault above together with pilasters set in the walls, separated the two avenues. Despite the relative calmness in the tunnel, strong winds managed to push the snow inside and cover the surface of the road with it.

Or, maybe, someone helped the process slightly. Because when they reached the next intersection, the side avenues turned out to be fully cleaned. As the cart slowed down, Zeph saw a woman wearing a black, elegant coat waving her hand from behind a glassed window, set between pilasters on the other side of the branching avenue. Her room was bathed in a warm, yellow light, and filled to the brim with books and papers.

No gothic outfits? A shame… he thought in disappointment while stepping down from the cart. We could open a tailoring department in our Guild, tho… Meh, too much work. I would have problems even describing what Earth’s garments looked like.

The room was at the corner and he quickly found a door on the cleaned walkway’s wall. Stepping inside, he breathed in relief because of the warm air. The temperature outside was dropping to dangerous values.

The room smelled of paper, ink, and old books. The howling of winds was almost unperceivable, too, the silent atmosphere a pleasant change.

“Welcome to Togana’s Temple,” the woman greeted in a quiet and calm voice. She was sitting behind a small counter that was set perpendicularly to the window. “We will take care of your wagon for the duration of your visit.” Zeph glanced outside and noticed a man in heavy winter clothing instructing his coachman through half-open doors to the front cabin. “Can I see your membership amulet?” she caught his attention again.

“No, umm… It’s my first visit.”

“Oh, in that case, please read the base rules and information first,” she said, gesturing to a pile of papers lying neatly on the counter. “I will make sure your wagon waits until you finish.”

She stood up and waved to the two people outside to get their attention.

Zeph walked to the counter and took one page from the top of the pile, scanning it quickly.

The code of conduct was typical for any library. Eating and especially drinking were allowed only in designated areas. In public areas, one was to keep quiet, but conference rooms were available. What followed were instructions for people interested in different services and commissions, like buying copies of books, having a series of analyses on a topic done by the Temple, rules for accessing potentially harmful books, joining the Temple, etc.

Some strange options gave him pause, though. The Temple offered all manners of bookmaking tools, materials, and even financial support. Literacy clubs for readers and writers were also supported directly. Sorting knowledge, consolidating data, recording services, it had them all.

From more cleric-like fields, they offered truth reading, training for Memory PE, medical consultation for the System-disturbed (especially the Memory-disturbed), and a number of Interface upgrades allowing fast access to the written knowledge.

The last one was pricy, though. Each upgrade had an upkeep cost in Mana and the last one would require 500 Mana per second. He doubted anyone would choose it, at least on this stratum, only to have remote access to books. But even the most basic one, the notepad function the System suspiciously lacked, had an upkeep cost of 50 Mana per second. That would leave him with a Mana generation of 36, which would be crippling. He couldn’t afford to backtrack so much.

“Uh, are there Interface upgrades with a smaller upkeep cost?” he asked dejectedly.

“There are, but you would have to negotiate with our high priest,” the woman answered calmly. “Those aren’t available without proper payment to Onji Togana.”

He nodded, somewhat reassured, and finished reading the paper. There was a price of 10 gold per month to gain basic access to the library, too, but it could be paid back by submitting valuable texts. Some were required to gain higher access permission or to even start the negotiation process for whatever reason.

After a moment of consideration, Zeph concluded that most of the organizations had a person, or even whole departments, dedicated to publishing their records, findings, and texts. The Library was an alternative source of knowledge to what the System provided, just dedicated to public sharing. He started to understand why the two Onjis were dividing the field. As much as the System was trying to support civilization, it was mainly concerned with individuals’ potential and objective information transfer, while the Library Goddess concentrated more on mundane information mediums and making sure knowledge could be shared without limits.

It was a good system. Much better than he expected, really. The Library even weeded out the incorrect or dubious information, but still kept the copies for future peruse. Even more, they accepted records of failed experiments and tests, too. Data consolidation was taking those into consideration as well.

Scientifically, in his opinion at least, it was a much better solution than rejecting ‘failed experiments’ like it was happening with publications on Earth. It was one of the reasons it was so hard to find the limits of a scientific method. People were repeating their mistakes too many times.

But he also noticed another, essential truth. If knowledge sharing could be done by mundane means, it was almost certain other Onjis used them, too.

Zeph caught himself brushing his medium-sized beard with his fingers. The clerk was silent and waiting, it wasn’t a time for contemplation.

“So, I suppose I would like to negotiate?” he said hesitantly in her direction, placing the paper back on the pile.

“Please keep it,” she stopped him. “It’s here for our guests to take.”

She turned and made a waving gesture in the direction of his cart. After a moment it started to move forward. “I hope you have something valuable to exchange?” she asked, turning back to him.

“Yes, I have plenty,” he reassured, patting the primitive suitcase at his side. He didn’t trust the organization enough to leave his papers inside the cart. On the other hand, they wanted to publish their findings at some point. It was a good bargaining chip.

“No problem, then,” she said, smiling slightly. “One of the unwritten rules is to not ask for names, but in this case, I will have to ask for one before informing the high priest.”

Heh, otherworld security measures are kind of strict… he smiled internally. I wonder if her visage isn’t masked somehow. Hmmm. Whatever, my name sounds like a pseudonym already. And I need the ‘card’ to be in my real name. “Zeph Einar,” he said after a short pause.

The woman stiffened for a moment, closing her eyes suddenly.

Her smile grew even wider when she finally opened them. “Zeph Einar Tabitalo, the Temple expected you,” she declared in an even tone, standing up.

He blinked in surprise. “I was expected?”

“Indeed.” She nodded, reaching for one of the books behind her. “Togana Onji waited for some time now. You should have visited us earlier.” Her finger touched the spine and after a moment a few things changed.

The window became opaque black, the doors locked with an audible click, and shortly after one of the bookcases slid downwards, uncovering a short tunnel.

“If you allow, I will guide you to the speaking room,” she said firmly, using the word in an old Rui dialect, indicating it would be an audience with a ruler. “She has a proposition for you.”

“What if I refuse to go?” he asked indignantly. The whole transformation scene unsettled him.

“Then, you will miss an opportunity,” she deadpanned, shrugging. “It’s not every day the speaking room is in an operative state. You don’t even have to pay for it.”

Gru sent him encouraging thoughts, trying to mitigate his paranoia. The more time he spent in the city, the more ridiculous his reactions were becoming. He shook his head and forcefully stabilized his mind, immediately centering himself.

As much as he hated it, continuing with his mental experiment would be detrimental if he was to negotiate with a Goddess.

Gru used a few tricks to stimulate his internal organs to balance the hormones and enzymes in his blood, giving his body a small respite. It would come at a cost, but only after a few more hours.

“Lead the way,” he said, nodding slightly.

A wide smile still on her face, she guided him to an elevator. After a much-to-long ascent and a few hallways, they were standing before much-too-big double doors.

They never met anyone while walking here. The dissonance between the clerk’s outfit and the gothic-like decorations gave him the creeps. Zeph felt as if he was entering a nest of vampires, or something.

The woman fiddled with the enchantments on the doors for a moment and they started to open slowly.

She turned back sharply. “I am not allowed to enter. Dear customer, I wish you the best during the negotiations.” She bowed deeply and walked away hastily.

Zeph looked at her for a moment, before turning back to look at the darkness behind the doors. There was no light inside and the light from the hallway wasn’t reaching inside.

Probably some enchantment… he thought uncertainly.

Gru pushed his imaginary back and he took a step forward, entering the ominous area.

After a few steps in total darkness, he heard the doors closing behind him. Before he could panic, though, an unfamiliar screen emerged before his eyes.

Finally! Took you long enough, HUMAN!