“It’s been here as long as I can remember.” Ask anyone about the tomb, and that is the response you’ll get. There are no records of it in our history books, but even the oldest of our citizens I could interview claimed it has been there at least as long as they have.
Given that they had recently celebrated their 126th birthday, it would stand to reason that the tomb should be at least that old.
However, I was not satisfied with such a simple line of reasoning. Instead, it was essential to ask the follow-up. “When did you first visit it?”
Many people claim to have visited it decades ago, but the only ones able to give a solid retelling of their entire trip have been recent. Very recent. Just a few years or a few months ago.
So, for those who say that [Queen] Armstrong’s resting place feels like it exists in a realm of timelessness, I would argue that those findings refute that. It is still anchored, at least somewhat, in time.
I will, however, concede that time behaves strangely in there. Take two identical watches, synchronize them, and bring one into the tomb. The watch you brought in will be off when you come out. Just a second or two, inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but still enough to be noticeable. The effects also seem more pronounced towards the briar where the [Queen] rests. And strange temporal magics are as good of an explanation as any for why her body lays there so well-preserved.
Though, I will say this to those who claimed that they have seen her resting form, entombed in ice, breathe.
Our best [Healers] and [Doctors] have examined her. She is most certainly dead.
- Excerpt from “The tomb of the First Queen, a Gertian mystery”
I trusted her. No, even worse, I let myself develop feelings for that… that… monster.
I can never forgive myself for what happened because of my blindness.
Half of my squad lies dead. The [Demon Lord] has regained his armor. And worst of all, the [Hero], no less than a young girl, is no more.
She was entrusted to my care. I was supposed to protect her. Instead, there is not even a body left for which Placeholder can mourn her.
I expect no forgiveness for my actions. I only beg that this transgression lie buried with me alone and that it not be placed upon my parents or siblings.
-Full text of a note found next to [Commander] Lee Hartfield’s body
-------
What the frickin’ hail, Envy? I groaned inwardly as I found myself floating in a familiar sea of nothingness. You sure you weren’t actually the [Demon Lord] of spite or something?
If I had a face, I would’ve palmed it as I continued thinking about the last battle.
I know that I wanted to die. And I know that Erica had to do it. And I even know that I had to make it at least somewhat convincing. But did you really have to force her to use a Heroic Sacrifice skill?
I quickly opened up one of the [Scrys] on my array to look at the battlefield. Erica was missing, which was expected, but still enough to put a damper on my mood.
Great. You killed her. Orr…. Maybe she just got sent home instead? I tried to think back to what I saw during the fatal blow, but that was a bit difficult. It was mostly just bright light.
Well, either way, I guess just add that to the list of atrocities I have to fix with [Restart].
That was a depressingly long list. And with the [Scry] still on, I realized that it might be added too soon.
With Erica gone, [Survivalist Party] is a no-go. I thought as I watched a few [Soldiers] trying to give emergency aid to the others. Everyone who is downed is dying now.
I took a brief look to see that Lee was one of the ones up on his feet, and then I shut off the [Scry].
How did they recover in the first place? I asked myself. Oh. Right. They were in the party that killed the [Demon Lord]. They probably leveled up to 25 and gained enough HP to get back into the positives.
However, that didn’t explain the [Commander’s] sneak attack on me.
He was downed. I’m sure of it. I thought as I replayed that scene in my mind. You can move while downed with tremendous effort, but there’s no way he was strong enough to just power through that and attack me.
I initially thought it might have been some [Commander]-specific skill or something, but I figured out two other options that seemed more likely.
If he could manage to move enough to get a health pot to his lips, that would do it. Or, I guess if he had chugged a regen potion before he got downed, it might have still been going and brought him back up to his feet.
I mentally kicked myself for not getting a stockpile of those potions when I had the chance. And I also added a note for any future fights.
I can’t trust that people who are downed will stay down. I thought grimly. That means if I’m ever in an actual fight for my life again… coup de grace it is.
To add to my self-flagellation, I had let myself get buddy-buddy with the [Hero] yet again. I couldn’t believe how stupid I was.
This next life… I’m done. I’m casting it.
I went through the mental checklist of everything I thought I could need. I have a super staff. I have top-tier armor. I have the ritual. And if my trade deals with the fey work out, I can even have the mana to power that ritual.
Speaking of the fey, I wondered if I could contact them while I was dead again.
It might be a good idea to see if I can learn a few more spells before I respawn. I thought. [Major Illusion] is still on the table. Are there any other ones I want? I asked myself. I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head, but I had up to 50 years to think if I needed that much time. I was sure I would come up with something.
I made to move my [Scry] over there, but I belatedly realized something.
I’ve never tried to [Scry] a fairy directly. I wonder if that even works? I gave the mental equivalent of a shrug and then tried it out. [Scry] Secondavia! I ordered the scrying array.
When nothing happened, I chuckled softly to myself.
Yeah, figures. I mean, it probably would have irritated her more than anything. The fey don’t seem to like being [Scried] unannounced.
And that gave me my second lightbulb moment.
She taught me [Advanced Message]… which can work across dimensions… is there any way I could use that from here?
System : Interdimensional communication spell detected. Added Advanced Message to the list of spells available to cast
Heck, yeah! I internally fist-pumped. Let’s do this!
However, before I did, there was one last thing to check. I flipped open my status, and my name was still listed as Titania.
Drat. I guess it goes off what I was the last time I died… However, that didn’t worry me too long as I remembered one of the other functions of my new spell.
[Advanced Message] Secondavia. Alias, Titus. I cast with a mental grin. Hey, I died again. Could I drop in with a [Scry] and maybe exchange some stories for more spells?
I almost started that out by saying I didn’t have anything better to do at the moment, but wisely decided to withhold that information at the last second.
No need to let the fey know that I’m kinda bored…
Secondavia: Only if thine stories are worth the intrusion.
I was about to answer her when a second reply came in.
Secondavia: And wherefore art thou unable to be [Messaged] thineself?
Wherefore?... Oh. That means why. Hmm.
[Advanced Message] Secondavia. Alias, Titus. I cast again. That’s a secret. I might be willing to reveal it to you… for a price. I paused. And if you take an oath not to use it against me.
Secondavia: Nay, we hath long learned our lesson. We shan’t be making more oaths with thee, even should it grant us the world
Darn. I bet I could’ve gotten something pretty good out of that trade. I paused. But it would also require giving my full name to the fey. I might have just dodged a bullet… that I shot at myself.
Clearing my head of that tangent, I decided to go ahead and [Scry] the Fey Forest. I didn’t even need to look all over the place for it since it was still in northeast Dryadal where I had last left it.
I met the usual resistance when I tried to punch through, but eventually, I was met by a frowning Secondavia.
“Didst thee have to knock down the door ‘ere thee entered?” she asked.
Oh. I guess this is kinda a rude way of getting in touch. I thought.
However, that’s not what I sent.
[Advanced] Message Secondavia. Alias, Titus. I started. However, I added yet another nice option that the new spell afforded. No reply. My apologies. If I’m going to tell you a story, I didn’t know a better way to do it than this. I paused as I had another realization. Oh. Is this even going to work? Primavia was the one who teleported me last time… and do you still know how to do that thing with the doll?
“I shall confirm with mine court, but I believe that all of that still lies within the realm of our capabilities,” she replied. “[Scry Lock],” she cast, and my [Scry] was stuck in place. “Remain hither, and we shalt have a moment of discourse.”
She flew away, called all the other fairies with her, and left me twiddling my metaphorical thumbs.
Fortunately, she didn’t keep me waiting for long. The fey flew back, and Secondavia spoke again. “We hath decided. We shalt bring thee hither as we once did. Thou hast best repay us with stories worth the trouble.”
Thank goodness. I thought.
[Advanced] Message Secondavia. Alias, Titus. No reply. I cast once again. Don’t worry. It will be worth it. It’s a tale of terrible tragedy. The story of the 8th [Hero] of Placeholder… and a young girl who conquered her fears.
“I beeth intrigued. We shalt hear thy tale anon!” she paused. “However, we shalt need thee to consent to being brought hither. None amongst us are proficient enough to teleport thee against thy will like my own [Queen] was.”
I sent a quick confirmation that I was willing with another [Advanced Message], and then some of the gathered fairies giggled.
Uh oh. I had time to think. I fired off several more messages after that revoking what I said and saying that maybe I wasn’t so willing after all.
However, I get the distinct impression that because Secondavia was “busy casting,” she “didn’t see them.”
I grew increasingly worried and was starting to be concerned that they had found a way out of their oaths to harm me. However, they finished casting before I could stew on that too long.
“[Grand Teleport]!” she said.
I was prepared for the worst… but instead, things went pretty much like the last time. I found myself inhabiting that same wooden doll with a dunce cap that I had used during my last ghostly visit to the Fey Forest.
I looked around at the gathered fairies and then sighed. “Alright, what’s the joke? Or what’s the catch?” I asked.
“We hath expended a great deal of effort to bringeth thee hither,” she proclaimed. That was kind of true, but I could also tell it was a good deal of theater on her part. “Therefore, we shalt expect compensation.”
I tried to frown with my wooden doll face but found that it was incapable of that particular facial feat. Instead, I settled for a sigh. “I thought you still owed me from all the help I gave with the ritual.”
“We hath repaid thee in three as expected. Once and twice with the knowledge of a new spell, and thrice with a cast of our greatest magics to expedite thy saving of thine party,” she stated. “Our accounts are now squared. Tis thee who art now in our debt.”
The gathered fey laughed and cheered while I just groaned. “So, you want me to pay the price for teleporting here… and let me guess, you also will want me to pay the price for when you send me back?”
Secondavia nodded. “Indeed! Twill be quite a steep price, but I’m sure that we shall be able to settle accounts… with 333 stories for the first, 333 stories for the second, and 333 stories for whatever spell thee wished to learn from our vast knowledge of the arcane.”
“Though, that latter art the base price,” another fairy piped up.
“Aye! Verily a more difficult spell will increase the margin more,” a third added.
This was rapidly approaching the point of not worth it.
“So, what would it take to just get me out of here?” I asked.
“Thou would need to settle accounts first. Thou art missing 333 stories, thrice,” Secondavia proclaimed.
“But I didn’t learn a spell yet,” I protested.
“Well, I hath determined that thee must payeth for thine spell ‘ere thee payeth for thine return,” she stated. “So, thy balance is still fully in the red.”
“Great,” I stated through grit teeth… or teeth that were as grit as I could make them. They had me over a barrel, and they knew it. When I was in that state, I had no mana of my own to cast. I couldn’t get myself back if I wanted to.
Even worse, keeping me there forever was well within the words of their oath not to harm me. So, at the end of the day, I just had to accept that I had gotten a much worse end of the deal and endeavor not to do it again.
Those little… amoral… greedy… capricious… sits. Well, I had to accept it. That didn’t mean that I couldn’t be ticked about it.
Also, there was a part of me that realized that those three traits were basically the only reason I had ever been able to keep up any sort of treaty with them at all.
I was still the big bad of the entire world of Placeholder. Even “trade partners” were hard to come by.
“I will accept those terms as long as you offer them on oath,” I finally stated. “I don’t want to find that the price suddenly increased to 3333 stories once I’m most of the way through.”
I could have sworn that I heard a fairy tsk after I said that, which 100% meant that at least 1 of them was planning something like that.
“Very well,” Secondavia stated. “We shalt come to an accord via binding oath.”
“333 stories for bringing me here,” I stated. “333 stories for sending me back. And 333 stories for teaching me [Major Illusion].”
She shook her head. “Nay, tis a powerful spell. I’m sure its valuation beeth higher than such a trifling number of stories.”
The gathered fairies agreed, and I kept my mouth shut.
Don’t let them see that they’re getting to you. I said to myself as I tried to think of what else I could do. Since they’re intent on the sets of threes, just haggle them down to a small spell.
“Hmm, I don’t know, [Major Illusion] doesn’t seem to be as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be,” I lied. “I’m sure I could pick it up on my own if I gave it a try.”
“Then thee art welcome to try, knave,” Secondavia mocked.
Strike 1. Well, what other spells were there… I recalled a few more that Primavia had cast the first time I had been there.
So, in keeping with the rule of three, I made my second offer, the one I wanted less.
“If that’s the case, I suppose I would be willing to settle for [Link Sight],” I stated. “Then maybe I could actually enjoy the Fey Forest for once.”
Secondavia thought about it, and I panicked slightly, but she eventually shook her head. “Nay. We shalt not be teaching thee yonder spell.”
“Fine,” I replied a bit too quickly. Calm it down, Titus. “Then I suppose I shall settle even for the lowest of lowly spells… [Appraise].”
“The fool wants that spell?” one fairy exclaimed.
“Doth he think us imbeciles?” another asked.
Secondavia held up a hand for silence. “I shall allow it! The only condition being that thou must swear upon oath that thee shalt not use that spell against me or mine court.”
“It’s a deal,” I stated, sticking out my hand. “333 stories for bringing me here. 333 stories for sending me back. And 333 stories for teaching me the spell [Appraise].”
The Fairy [Queen] flew to me and shook my wooden hand. We would then swear the oaths just like we said we would.
… Though, we both had to correct the wording on the other’s oath at least once before we were satisfied. It turned out that at the end of the day, both of us were still trying to get one over on the other.
-----
In not-so-shocking news, a thousand stories is a lot. That stint in the Fey Forest gave me a newfound respect for the woman in “The Thousand and One Nights” who kept alive by telling a compelling story with a cliffhanger every night for… well… a thousand and one nights.
Not that I made sure that my stories were compelling. No way in Earth, Hell, or Placeholder, would I waste a story like that in a storytelling marathon.
Instead, to the chagrin of the Fey, I simply told whatever stories I could remember.
Half-remembered and incomplete ones. Boatloads of direct rips from other sources. And then, finally, Earth history.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
The last one actually generated some interest.
“Gather around, gentlefey,” I stated as we started our 323rd story time with Titus. And you better believe that I was keeping track. “Today, we shall talk about World War 1.”
“World War 1?” one fairy asked.
“Tis it fantastical, or historical?” another asked.
“Thou blind and dumb fools!” a third scolded them. “With a name that beeth like world war the first? Tis fantastical! No mere mortal of Titus’ home world would have the foresight to name it that!”
“You actually have a point there,” I replied. “I suppose at the time it was named the Great War or…” I smirked. “The war to end all wars.”
“Fat lot of good that name was!”
“Spoilers! Thou hast spoiled just with the name!”
“Silence! I wish to hear about a war made out of the entire world!”
And so I would have told them everything I remembered about that conflict… if we weren’t interrupted by a neigh coming from the sky.
“The noble beast hath returned!”
“Prepareth him some fodder. He hath been gone for too long!”
“I missed thee and thy glorious mane!”
The final fairy shouted that as she flew up into the sky. I watched her path and saw her meet… the unicornisus.
It flew down and landed gently in the clearing and was immediately fawned over by all fey present. They nestled in its mane, petted its head, and one even brought it food.
“Greetings, Skyquake,” Secondavia stated as she flew in front of it. “Thou art a welcome guest as always! Please, stay a while ‘ere thee depart once more.”
The winged unicorn… horned pegasus-
Still going with unicornisus.
-bowed its head to Secondavia and then whinnied in a tone that somehow came across as deferential.
“Great,” I snorted. “That thing’s here.”
Its head instantly snapped in my direction.
“Uh oh,” I stated.
My concern was warranted. It shook the fairies off and charged in my direction.
“Nice horsey! Good horsey!” I said as I sprinted from it as fast as my two-inch legs would carry me.
Unsurprisingly, the white-maned beast caught me within seconds.
It trampled me to the ground.
“I didn’t mean it! I love horses!” I lied.
It smashed me underfoot again, then, when that didn’t seem to be working, it bent down and picked me up with its teeth.
“I… don’t like… where this is going!” I managed to sputter out as it spun me in circles and then threw me into a tree.
It then thrust its horn directly through my tiny wooden body for the killing blow.
I went limp.
Satisfied that I was thoroughly defeated, the unicornisus pulled its horn out, let me fall to the ground, and then turned around and kicked a bit of dirt on me for good measure.
With its vengeance complete, it returned to being pampered by the fey.
Is it safe to move yet? I asked myself as I watched the beast from a distance. None of that had actually done damage or even hurt, but I didn’t want to find out what would happen if the beast managed to destroy my temporary body completely.
“Titus, didst thou survive?” Secondavia asked as she flew over.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Don’t draw its attention. I don’t know if I can hold up under another one of those.”
“Tis nay a problem,” she said with a wave. “I have us hidden. And behold, tis actually a grand opportunity to perfect thine spellcasting. You are forsworn ‘gainst casting [Appraise] ‘pon me and mine court, but there tis nary a word in the oath against casting against yonder fellow immortal.”
She had a point.
“Alright, how do I cast it?” I asked.
“The spell beeth formed as yonder,” she stated. “[Appraise].”
I followed along with the spell cast much better than I expected. It was a good thing too. As soon as she finished casting, she turned back to me.
“Now, tis thine turn,” she stated as she sent a few points worth of mana over my way.
“Alright,” I said while turning the spell over in my mind. “[Appraise]!”
Status
Name
Skyquake
Level
25
Race
Alicorn
HP
2000/2000
MP
0/0
SP
4512/5000
Oh. So it’s called an alicorn. I was internally debating whether or not I was willing to call it that when I got distracted by the next line.
I whistled out of reflex. “Dang, that’s a lot of HP,” I stated. “But… wait. No mana? It can fly with just stamina usage?” I asked.
“Twould seem so,” Secondavia stated. “Tis a feat that is quite impressive and not one that my court could replicate. Though, tis strange that System states that a magical beast has no mana.”
“Maybe it’s just innate magic and not anything more than that?” I offered. “If so, maybe that’s just covered by its HP and SP.” However, I realized something else that was slightly more important. “Wait, is that all the information that I get? Name, race, and resources?” I asked. “Didn’t Primavia get more info than that?”
Secondavia nodded with a smirk. “Indeed she did when she casteth yonder spell upon thee. However, that is merely the difference in thine power as a spell caster. A few centuries more experience, and thee might approach half of what mine [Queen] didst receive.”
With that, Secondavia flew off to chat with Skyquake once more. However, our talk reminded me that I hadn’t checked on my status in quite some time. I had done a lot of traveling, a good amount of fighting, and I had learned several spells since then.
I flipped open the spell list just for a refresher. It was getting quite long, and, as I expected, I had completely spaced on the existence of a few of them.
Spell
Identify
Summon Dave
Hell Blaze
Message
Summon Heavenhound
Ah, yep. All the ones I got in my first life… I haven’t summoned a heavenhound in ages, though.
Mage Bolt
Heal
Cure
Fire Bolt
Air Bolt
Earth Bolt
Ice Bolt
All pretty standard stuff. [Mage Bolt] has definitely been nice.
Get Date
Always nice to have the date…
Summon Infernal Dire Snail
I wish I could ever have enough mana to summon a dire snail. That would be the best mount ever.
Foresight
Port
Zap
Attract
Temporal Slow
I snorted. If [Foresight] hadn’t been useful for training [Temporus], that entire section would be garbage. Instead, it’s just… mostly bad.
Scry
Teleport
Disguise Self
Ah, yep. The fantastic trio of social intrigue. Glad the fey were willing to teach me the first two so long ago.
Shock Bolt
Ritual of Vengeance: Elemental Cataclysm
Lightning Spear
Probably not going to be casting the first two again. Well… maybe the first one. If I ever need to cast the second, something has gone terribly, horribly wrong.
And [Lightning Spear], I love you. Never change.
Fireball
Strengthen
Temporal Anchor
Another set of spells I probably won’t be casting much. Well, I picked up [Fireball] in case I need to impersonate an adventurer again, but… I think it’s time to stop playing around.
Control Z
Advanced Message
[Control Z]. Undo something that happened in the past. I stopped and really thought about that for a moment. At the very least, it’s a tiny proof of concept that the ritual works. However, I really need to give it a stress test. How does it actually work? What are its limitations? How much mana does it cost to do things?
My only cast of it had been in a do-or-die situation with Gertrude’s axe headed towards my head. That wasn’t exactly an ideal scenario to gather data.
There was one inconsistency that I noticed immediately, however.
I used [Control Z] to undo the boss’s cast that put my abilities on cooldown. I thought. However, if it had gone back in time and done that, Gertrude wouldn’t have attacked me, right?
I scrunched my eyebrows as I tried to work through that.
So, it undoes something that happened in the past… but doesn’t take away any of the things that it caused… except for at the present onward?
My head was starting to hurt, so I decided to move on. [Advanced Message] was going to be a game changer, I was sure of it, but the next spell was the one I was most excited for.
Ground
Appraise
[Ground]. Plant a foot on the ground, spend 100 mana, and be invulnerable to lightning for 2 seconds. My wooden face split into a grin. That is perhaps the greatest lightning magic enabler in existence.
And then, last but not least, was the spell I had just finished learning. [Appraise].
It is helpful information. I thought. But I’m not sure how much I’ll get out of it… Actually, even if I just cast it at whatever party comes to kill me in my next life, that will be a huge help in the information war. Nevermind. Seems good.
I shot a glance over at the fey, who were now laughing and being chased by a playful Skyquake, and I shook my head.
Move on to skills, then.
Skill
Type
Level
Reflect Attack
Active
DEMON LORD
Disrupt
Active
DEMON LORD
Martial Arts – Way of the Adaptable Fist
Passive
8
Flash Step
Active
8
Elemental Strike
Active
7
All skills that are basically stuck right where they’re at. I thought. [Martial Arts] has been good to me, but it’s seeming like I need to start finding other ways to get stronger. I doubt that I’ll be able to progress any of those without Lindsey to teach me.
Athletics
Passive
7
Sneak
Toggle
6
Pack Mule
Passive
5
Another pair of three that haven’t moved in centuries. I think I’m capped on the first two… and I refuse to spend any more skill points on [Pack Mule].
Detect
Passive
3
Survivor
Passive
4
I mean. I get that I’m not always the most observant person, but does [Detect] really have to be capped at 3?
As my eyes glanced over [Survivor], I barely held in a burst of laughter.
Oh, [Survivor]. The most useless of skills because I enter my 2nd form when I get low on HP anyway. I guess you were just waiting for me to nearly die to my own spell in order to give me some XP, eh?
I couldn’t help but chuckle because any life that would cause me to level [Survivor] from 1 to 4 could hardly be called things going to plan.
Temporus
Passive
5
Spatius
Passive
4
And [Temporus] is finally ready for an upgrade. About frickin’ time… But not [Spatius] yet. Dang it. I need to spam [Teleport] more…
Swordsmanship
Passive
3
Am I just… Not good with a sword? I tried to use it a lot, but… I guess I keep ending up punching things or zapping them with lightning.
Cast From SP
Toggle
6
Electricus
Passive
5
Overchannel
Active
4
Hey, a few levels in those! I’m glad that nearly frying myself fighting bosses was worth it.
However, [Electricus] sitting at 5 did mean I had to make a tough choice.
… No, I won’t upgrade that one first. [Temporus] has priority. If I’m casting the ritual this life, then I need as many levels in time magic as possible.
Ignis
Passive
5
Frigis
Passive
3
Aeris
Passive
2
Terris
Passive
4
… I don’t think any of those have moved in ages.
I guess that makes sense. I don’t use them much, and the last experience I gained with them was from that giant ritual.
Spell Scholar – Temporus
Passive
3
Oh yeah, almost forgot about this one. I think it might lowkey be the MVP of last life. Not sure I would have been able to slap together [Control Z] without it.
That was the end of the list… or at least, it had been until recently.
These are new…
Communicatio
Passive
1
Deprendio
Passive
1
[Communicatio] is… a spell school for communication? How do I- Oh, I guess I have both [Message] and [Advanced Message] now. Hmm.
But [Deprendio]… [Deprendio]… what could that one mean? Wait. Is it because I picked up [Appraise]? So, it’s magic for detecting stuff?
I thought that over, and it seemed to track. [Scry], [Appraise], and even [Identify] all had a similar magical feel to them, so them being the same school would make sense.
[Identify] must not count towards “know two spells and be able to unlock the school,” I guessed.
So, what other spells schools am I missing? I asked. Oh. Right. The one for illusions. Did I ever even learn what that one was named?
Eventually, I shrugged my tiny wooden shoulders. Eh, doesn’t matter much. I would still need to learn another spell, and it’s not like I’m willing to pay the fey to teach me. I snorted. Which is a shame. I mean, it would be super easy for them. I would just have to observe… them casting… it.
I trailed off mentally as I realized I was a complete idiot.
Of course! They’re casting illusion magic 24/7 here! As long as I pay attention, maybe I won’t even need a tutor!
I had initially regretted my overly long stay in the Fey Forest, but I was sure that I would be able to come out of it ahead. At least…
Once that stupid horse leaves. I muttered internally.
------
Skyquake did eventually leave for parts unknown. And thank goodness for that because I don’t know how long I would have been stuck there otherwise. It was long enough with 999 stories to tell.
However, my lengthy stay did have one upside. It gave me time to analyze the illusions the fairies cast near-hourly, and I was pretty sure I had it figured out.
I didn’t have the mana to cast it, and I wasn’t about to indebt myself to the fey again just to try, but I felt pretty confident.
Then, finally, with my 999th story told, my time with my fellow immortals drew to a close. We said our goodbyes and good riddances, and I was teleported back to my nice, cozy void where I could [Scry] on people.
… And yes, it was concerning that I was now finding that place cozy.
I was about to just turn the speed up to max and get to my next life immediately, but that was stopped by a groundbreaking discovery.
-----
“Brothers and sisters of the flame!” the speaker raved. “We are gathered here to discuss our vengeance against the heretics who dared to raise themselves against our glorious leader!”
Yeah, yeah. I thought as I watched on. I would rather you not waste time on vengeance and instead try to do what I told you to do.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a good way to tell him to stop. While I could send him an [Advanced Message] if I knew his name, I, regrettably, didn’t have the name of every last speaker memorized.
… Okay, I didn’t even remember most of my speakers. Sue me.
It would be easier if they didn’t go and die off every century or so.
Anyway, long story short, I didn’t know the guy’s name, so I couldn’t send him a message. Except…
Wait. I can cast [Advanced Message] through this thing… can I cast [Appraise]?
System : Advanced Identification spell detected. Added Appraise to the list of spells available to cast
Heck yeah! [Appraise]! I cast.
It gave me several pieces of information, but only one mattered.
[Advanced Message] Travis Beck. Alias, Titus. No reply. I cast. Stop wasting time on vengeance. I have more important things for you to do.
I didn’t know a man’s eyes could go that wide. “M-m-my liege!” he sputtered. He addressed the congregation. “Our lord has spoken to me from beyond the grave! Quiet, everyone! I must relay his words!”
I mentally rolled my eyes since he was literally the only one talking, but I just went with it.
[Advanced Message] Travis Beck. Alias, Titus. No reply. I cast again. During my next life, it is finally time. I am going to cast the ritual.
I let him relay that to the gathered cultists before continuing.
So, what I need from you is not vengeance but preparation. I need you to prepare for the ritual’s casting in several decades.
He relayed that to the audience, and then I continued.
Do not relay this next part to the others.
He repeated that before realizing it, and I desperately wanted a face to palm.
Dismiss the crowd. I need to talk to you directly.
After he did so, I continued.
The official story I want to be passed on through the Embers is that they are working on a ritual to purify the deathlands. That will be the cover for doubling down on the magicite gathering.
“Of course, your lordship, it shall be done,” he whispered.
And now, I’m going to test some things with you that may make that process easier for our people.
He stood there patiently as I tried to work out exactly what I wanted to try.
[Advanced Message] Travis Beck. Alias, System. No reply. I attempted. What does this appear as?
There was no reaction, but that made sense when I got a notification from the System.
System: Error. Invalid use of reserved name. Message not sent
Drat. That would have made this entirely too easy.
However, that wasn’t the end of my tests.
My next attempt was to make system with a lowercase s. I tried saying “System with a lower case S,” “System all lower,” and even just “System” while thinking really hard about making it lowercase. Unfortunately, those all came through verbatim, except the last one that failed again.
Since Admin’s exploit wasn’t working, it was time to go for AltSys’s.
When “System space,” “System with a space,” and “System non-breaking whitespace” all failed, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to do the cheese I wanted after all. However, there was one final thing to try.
[Advanced Message] Travis Beck. Alias, System period. No reply. I attempted. And what about this?
The speaker blinked. “My lord… this looks nearly the same as a message from System. How were you able to-“
Don’t worry about it.
He nodded his head. “Of course, my lord. Now, is there anything else this servant can do for you?”
No. Dismissed.
With that final message, I moved the [Scry] away.
It’s time for a bunch of people to get a revelation. I thought with an internal grin.
It took several days to get all my [Scries] locked onto the appropriate targets, [Kings], [Queens], [Archbishops], and even a [Martial Elder] from Besti. Then, it was time.
Activate Temporal Controls.
System : Moderate Temporus skill detected. Temporal Controls limited between .25X and 50X speed.
Dang, that’s a lot more range than the last time I checked. But that was what I was hoping to see. Activate a quarter speed.
Then, going to my first target, I sent out my prepared text.
The deathlands are an abomination in my sight, and I will not tolerate their existence for much longer. A ritual will be given to the Ember’s by divine revelation. Provide them with what aid you are able. Reclaim the deathlands before the 5th century is complete.
And all of that, of course, was sent with an alias that would show up as
System.:
I repeated that to leader after leader as fast as I could without making a mistake.
My goal was to make it seem that the System had sent out the message to all of them simultaneously, and, given their response, I think I got it close enough.
To say that my messages caused a stir would be… well… an understatement. There was even a bit of panic in some places as people were terrified that System was angry and needed appeasement.
Anyway, the end result was that I got a lot of support for my goal.
… But it wasn’t enough.
Magicite was expensive, and I knew that I would need at least double what I had used when I tried to cast the ritual as Pride. To give myself a good overhead, I was planning for at least 4 times.
After checking with my speakers, I learned that we weren’t anywhere close to that yet.
… Actually, we weren’t even close to the original amount.
I could have put the squeeze on the nations by making more demands as “System,” but I was a bit leery of doing that. The more messages I sent and the more out of character I made them, the more likely they figured it out and ruined everything.
Fortunately, I still had one revenue stream that hadn’t been tapped for a while. It just required finding some low-down, scum-of-the-earth racketeers.
In other words, that other evil organization that I had started oh so long ago.
Checking accounts, the Syndicate hadn’t been paying my 10% for the past several decades, at least.
It was time to remedy that.
-----
Romeo Sharp was a [King].
… Well, not exactly. He certainly wasn’t a noble, and he was doubly sure that he didn’t have the class, but that didn’t stop him from living like one.
He owed it all to the Syndicate for teaching him that the best way to earn money was through other people’s hard work.
He leaned back in his chair while mentally thanking the world for making so many suckers when he got a [Message].
The Boss: My, my, it seems someone has been busy
Romeo shot up in his chair. He had to be seeing things. “The Boss” was just a myth… a legend… a-
The Boss: I am most certainly real if that is what you are wondering
Romeo chuckled. “This is… this is just some kinda prank. Some [Wizard] found a way to game a [Message]. The Boss doesn’t exist.”
The Boss: Oh, I exist. I exist, and I want my money. Where’s my cut, Romeo? You know the deal. 10%.
“Oh yeah? And what if I don’t?” Romeo challenged. The [Message] was… unnerving, but a man in his line of work couldn’t let something like that get to him. “What’re you gonna do about it?”
The Boss: … You’re going to regret this
And just like that, that was the last Romeo heard from the strange messenger all night. He hired some mages to check out his office for anything strange, and even went to a [Priest] to get [Restored] just to be sure, but neither of those turned up anything.
He was willing to chalk it up to a daydream when he saw his office going up in flames.
The Boss: This is just the start if you cross me. But, fortunately for you, you’re better off for me alive at the moment
Romeo could feel an icy sweat down his back but didn’t let it come out in his voice. “So, 10%? That’s all you’re after?”
The Boss: 10% of every gold you’ve earned through the Syndicate. Don’t even think of cheating me. I know exactly how much you’ve been making.
Romeo’s mouth dried out a bit. “That… may take some time to get you those funds,” he stated. “I don’t exactly have that kinda cash on hand.”
The Boss: That’s no matter. I’ll be… lenient
For some reason, that word choice did not exactly inspire Romeo’s confidence.
The Boss: Though, it wouldn’t be fair of me to come back and take my money without offering something in return. Something that should earn you, and the rest of the Syndicate, enough gold to swim in.
“Y-yeah? What is it?”
The Boss: It all begins with a story of a simple man… named Charles Ponzi