Raiden came back over, frowning at Edgar. He strode back and forth across the small space, stroking his chin. A bead of sweat rolled down Edgar’s forehead as Raiden took off his apron and hung it on the wall, cracking his knuckles. As Raiden finally rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and approached, dragging over a second chair to sit in.

He waved a hand at each door. They swung closed, glowing with yellow magic. The magic filled all the cracks and crevices of the wood, as well as the key hole and all the space between the door and its frame. When the process was complete, the sounds of the rowdy tavern and the kitchen disappeared.

“That will keep out any eavesdroppers, at least for a few minutes.” Raiden grumbled, staring at Edgar.

Mirai laid a protective hand on Edgar’s shoulder. “Uncle, please.”

“What?”

“You’re going to give the boy a heart attack.”

Raiden exhaled a long breath, staring at Edgar. “There’s something off about you, isn’t there? I’d like to ask you some questions so we can all get to the bottom of this. Can you swear you’ll answer truthfully? And, fair warning, I'll know if you don't.”

Edgar coughed, startled by the threat. “I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you have, sir! And I’ll answer them as well as I can… It’s just that I’m relatively new to… well, absolutely everything… But yes, of course, I promise I’ll speak truthfully…”

Edgar hesitated. “Honestly, I’d love the chance to ask you a few questions in return, if that’s alright?”

“Fine, a question for a question. You did save Mirai’s life, after all. Even if you are a bit odd.”

Mirai nodded, satisfied. She gave Edgar’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze.

“Deal. I mean I could go all night, but I’ll take what I can get.”

Raiden narrowed his eyes. “So, first question, what’s the Network?“

Raiden and Mirai stared at Edgar as he thoughtfully considered his answer. As the seconds dragged on, and he didn’t respond, he could sense Mirai’s mouth falling open and realized he was failing a test of some kind.

He cleared his throat and answered confidently. “It’s Pharaoh’s thing that he wants to expand.”

“You’re kidding, right? What kind of answer is that?” Mirai gawked.

“Whoa, whoa. A question for a question! I’m gonna go ahead and rule that your questions are counted with his questions for that particular rule, Mir.”

She flinched at his use of her pet name.

Raiden cracked the barest hint of a smile, gesturing for Edgar to go next.

Edgar cleared his throat again and shuffled in his seat. “My turn, ok... How about, well, what’s the Network?”

Mirai harrumphed.

Raiden just laughed, “I don’t think I’ve ever had to explain the Network to anyone other than a young child.”

“That’s perfect, actually. Explain it like you do for them.”

Raiden ran a hand over his face, “Sometimes puppet shows are involved. Would you like that too?”

“Ha, ha. Very funny…”

Mirai glanced from Edgar to Raiden and back to Edgar. “Wait just a minute. You really—honestly—don’t know what the Network is?”

Edgar opened his mouth, but Raiden cut him off with a raised a hand. “No, no. We had a deal, Mir. A question for a question. Besides… I think I’m starting to understand.”

Mirai just continued gawking at Edgar.

Raiden cleared his throat. “The Network is a collection of worlds, connected by portals. A world of worlds, if you will-”

“A multiverse?”

“I’ve never heard that word before, but it’s definitely multiple universes,” Raiden nodded. “Pharaoh and the other Great Ones rule over sections of the Network, known as Empires, and compete to have the biggest portion under their control.”

Raiden gestured at their surroundings. “The town we're in is called Clifton and the world we’re on is known as Black Mountain.”

Raiden paused. “Satisfied?”

“Yes, the floor is yours.”

Mirai opened her mouth to speak, but Raiden beat her to it.

“What’s a Riftling?”

“Me, obviously!”

Raiden sighed.

Mirai deflated, “What kind of answer is that?”

Edgar shrugged, “Don’t blame me. The system’s description is really vague. ‘One born in a rift.’ I’ll give you another question, if you want…”

“It’s fine. Your turn.”

“Ok, my turn… What’s a rift? That’s where Mirai and I met. Are those also worlds in the Network? And why’d it look like Dracula’s castle? I was expecting vampires to pop out or something-”

"Whoa! At least give me a chance to answer your question!" Raiden waved his hand, cutting off Edgar's rambling. “A rift is a hole that opens into the space between worlds. The interesting thing about rifts is that—when certain conditions are met—clearing the rift can open a second hole somewhere else, on another world, and zip the space in-between, forming a portal.”

Edgar’s eyes went wide.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“So, when a portal connects a world in the Network to one that isn't, the Network expands. The rewards for expanding the Network are hefty. The System, the Kingdom, and sometimes even the Great Ones themselves will grant rewards for expanding the Network.”

Edgar’s mouth hung open, “I think I’m following? So ’clearing a rift’ is basically what we did, right? The Prince of Imps had a challenge, we passed the challenge, and then the rift let us out. So, how come it didn’t create a Portal?”

“You would have needed to stabilize-” Raiden froze. “Was the ‘Prince of Imps’ a monster you came across inside the rift?”

Edgar nodded.

“You don’t usually hear longer names like that in a level one rift. What level were they?”

Mirai answered in a small voice, as if she were expecting a scolding, “…five?”

“A four level gap?! It’s a miracle you’re both alive!”

Raiden turned back to Edgar, his face looking like he couldn't decide whether to be angry or amazed.

“I don’t even know how to explain to you how utterly ridiculous that is… It must have been a higher level rift than I thought. In fact, we probably don’t even want to know how high… What sort of training could you possibly have gone through to-”

Edgar cleared his throat, “ahem… how many questions are you gonna get? This is question anarchy!”

“Sigh… Fine, get on with it.”

“So the whole Dracula vibe, are all rifts like that?”

“What’s a ‘Dracula vibe’?” Raiden asked.

“Hey, it’s my turn!”

Raiden palmed his forehead. “How can I answer your question if I don’t understand it? Use normal words, please.”

Edgar frowned.

Clearly the language effects of [Friend of Pharaoh] couldn’t unpack cultural references or vernacular, which was a very reasonable tradeoff for automatic language translation. He wondered what they were actually hearing when he spoke. It definitely wasn’t english.

“Sigh… The rift was spooky, with lots of imps. Are they all the same? Is the Prince of Imps regularly poking holes in the universe?”

Raiden shook his head. “We understand very little about how rifts are formed, but you can trust me that level five monsters aren’t capable of ‘poking holes’ in the fabric of reality. With regards to the… Dracula vibe… every rift has an aspect. Where we are now, on Black Mountain, the rifts almost always have a darkness aspect. The rift’s aspect drives everything about what appears inside it: the monsters, the wild-life, any structures and architecture, and also heavily slants the rewards it will give.”

Edgar nodded.

“My turn, and I think I already know the answer. I just want to see the look on Mirai’s face when you say it,” Raiden glanced at Mirai.

Mirai glanced at Raiden, “if it somehow explains why this guy is so weird, I’m all ears.”

“I’m sitting right here…”

Raiden smiled, “are you a friend of Pharaoh?”

Mirai’s eyes widened, “no way!”

Edgar glanced between the two of them.

“I don’t know if Pharaoh and I have the sort of ’friendship’ you really hope to find, in life. I’ve only met the guy once—for like five minutes—and then he abandoned me naked in a rift, but I’ve definitely got an ability that claims we’re ‘friends.’”

Mirai shook her head, “well, that explains like… everything.”

“Sorry, what does it explain?” Edgar frowned.

“We don’t see the Friend of Pharaoh ability very often, but the people who get it are usually incredibly odd.”

Mirai was looking at him with excitement now, which was a nice change. “What was Pharaoh like when you met them?”

“It’s hard to say. They look and sound like a little kid, but they’re clearly not. Technically they did help me out when they didn’t really have to, so I guess they’re not so bad. Maybe someday we’ll be actual friends…”

“People don’t usually meet Pharaoh until level twenty-five, and that’s only if they are working closely with the Guilds to expand the Network,” Raiden scratched his chin thoughtfully.

“There are Guilds?”

Raiden nodded, “many guilds. The big three are the Eye, the Prism, and the Sword. As for the lower ones, there’s the Cart, the Craft, the Coin, the Stone, the Spoon… I’m forgetting some—”

“The Herb, the Muse, the Ink, and the Black.” Mirai finished promptly, with no hesitation.

Edgar’s head was spinning, but clearly Mirai was intimately familiar with the guilds.

“Don’t worry about that for now,” Raiden said. ”You can’t join a guild until level seven and that will take awhile. You’ve got plenty of time to learn about them, figure out what you’re passionate in, and make the right connections with the right folks to get in.”

Edgar shook his head, “oh man, can you smell that?”

“What?”

“The smoke. My brain is cooked. Put a fork in me, I’m done.”

Raiden leaned forward to put a consoling hand on Edgar’s shoulder.

“One last question from me and you can both get some rest. I’ll get you a room—”

“Ahem… two rooms, if you don’t mind?” Mirai interjected.

Raiden glanced at her and then back at Edgar, surprised.

“Parties stay together. That’s a rule to break at your own risk. Even when you’re asleep—especially, when you’re asleep. Black Mountain is pretty damn close to the edge of the Network and rifts break here all the time.”

Raiden’s eyes crackled with electricity, turning to Mirai.

“In fact, while we’re on the subject, Black Mountain is still newly settled, so we don’t really know the rating yet, but from what we have seen, it’s at least eight. You’re not setting foot outside this building except for the in-bound portal. I’ll be watching you like a hawk.”

Mirai scowled.

“Your parents would have my head for anything less!” Raiden said, which pissed Mirai off even more.

She looked like she wanted to argue, but restrained herself.

His expression turned tender, “Friends of Pharaoh usually come from worlds outside the network. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I was in a bus that fell off a cliff. My friend Poppy was with me. Pharaoh said that she was reincarnated here in the Network too, by one of the other Gods. I just hope she’s alright.”

Mirai crossed her arms. “What, so she needs saving cause she’s a girl? So predictable.”

Edgar shook his head, “I just want to know she’s ok. She was my friend. One of my only friends…”

He scratched at his face, “Bah! Honestly, she was about to almost, maybe be more than my friend!... I just hope she’s ok.”

Mirai softened a bit.

Raiden didn’t bat an eyelash, radiating confidence. “You’ll find her. It just might take awhile.”

Raiden glanced between Edgar and Mirai. “In fact, I think you two could help each other.”

Mirai and Edgar glanced at each other.

“Get a good night’s rest and find me in the morning. Oh, and—this is non-negotiable—you’re sharing a room.”

~~~~~~~~~~

* Check out the Stats Page for this Chapter here