He woke up.
What woke "him" up was the swaying of the carriage, the rough riding on the road. Not only was it the middle of the night, after the events of the past 24 hours, his body was exhausted. After dragging Baby away from them, then having him subjected to ‘that’, only to be taken by Dungeon Master 02 and 20 to Dungeon Master 07 and provide ample explanations as to what happened, only to once again be dragged by Dungeon Master 02 to Dungeon Master 00 to provide these explanations for the second time, followed by a decision being made, after which "we" and Dungeon Master 07 were teleported by Dungeon Master 02 to one of Dungeon Master 07's estates, from which we took a carriage to our next big destination, it was understandable that, even though it was me who was in control of his body, he was exhausted.
Having refused Dungeon Master 07's offer to rest in his mansion before heading for the next destination, I, who declared I'd be completely fine, ended up dozing off to the horse-drawn carriage swayings. Under normal circumstances, what I went through should not physically impact me in any way, but right then, in his body, I felt completely exhausted. I guess a child's body can only carry me that far.
It was in one of those rough carriage sways that we woke up, well "he" woke up before I did. Stirring himself to a sitting position, rubbing his eyes, his sight stumbled upon the two people sitting across us in the carriage: Dungeon Master 07 and Dungeon Master 02. At that moment, Baby's reaction to Dungeon Master 07 was confusion, but his reaction to Dungeon Master 02 was fear and panic, which allowed me to finally gain back control over his body, as for some reason I wasn't able to after he woke up. Most likely noticing that I regained control over Baby's body, Dungeon Master 02 said, "I take it that you're back then, or am I still dealing with the child?"
"It's me," I confirmed.
"I see," he said, before adding, "from the look of it, it doesn't seem like the control of this vessel of 'yours' is like what you've described to us."
Seeing where he was heading with that, I immediately corrected, "I was just a little groggy, which is why he woke up instead of me. I'm the one in control." Dungeon Master 07, from his seat, simply stared at 'us' with an indecipherable expression before simply saying, "Is that so?"
"Yes, it is."
After what happened in the forest, it seemed that I was made into a parasite to Baby. Well, from what I've gathered so far, this looks more like coexistence than parasitism, but having had my body once and knowing full well that this body belonged to Baby and no one else, I couldn't help but feel like a parasite of some sort. Staring at 'my' little hand, I had the interface appear in between.
________________________
Name: ???
Level: ???
Race: Verdenkind
Class: Classless
Title: Monster Slayer / Kinslayer / Champion
Experience: 17 / 780
[Status]
- H.P: 12 / 12
- M.P: 28 / 28
- S.P: 7 / 7
- Fatigue: 63%
- Defense: N/A
- Offense: N/A
[Skills]
- Swordsmanship: Level 1
- Martial Art: Level 1
- Heightened Physique: Level 1
- Elemental Infusion: Level 1
- Identification: Level 1
- Appraisal: Level 1
[Abilities]
- Spawn: Unlocked
- Memory Manipulation: Unlocked
- Monstrous Resilience: Unlocked
- Feral Instinct: Locked
- Monster Slayer's Mark: Unlocked
- Death Dealer: Locked
- Weapon Enhancement: Locked
- Bloodlust: Locked
- Extract Dungeon Core: Unlocked
- Baby
『Expand』
_____________________________
What happened back then led to him and me inhabiting the same vessel. I'm not sure of what exactly happened to my body, but the fact remains that there's only Baby's available for me to use. If I were to describe how it felt, it was akin to him and me being two distinct liquids contained in a container that simply did not mix together. The two liquids were of the same volume, if anything, mine was slightly bigger in volume than his, and thus the only factor deciding which one of the two liquids does not mix with one another, which one would be on top and which one would be pooling on the bottom, was the way the container was positioned. On that aspect, what I can do to make sure I come out on top was stir either the liquid or the container. The latter might be a little complicated but I don't struggle much with the former given Baby's reaction to the foreign environment he found himself in each time he is given control and also, of course, the sight of Dungeon Master 02, who along with Dungeon Master 20 with what they did to him, left him completely terrified of them, allowing me to swiftly take control.
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Just thinking of that very container analogy, I could infer that it was precisely to fit that container that my skills and abilities became what they became: the former reinitialized and the latter having some of them except the very basic and innate abilities locked. It was as though I was brought back to my most basic status, which I guess has been the case. As for why, my guess is that it was to match "his" level and allow this—me sharing his vessel—to be possible. I could think of no other or better explanation.
Staring at the interface before me, my gaze was fixed upon the "Baby" ability listed among my abilities. While the act of passing control over translated into the interface through that ability, which would have the effect, upon activation, to hand over control over the vessel to Baby, I could also do it without the interface, making it a lot like some sort of "superpower;" which I guess makes the process that allows either taking or surrendering control feel a lot like a byproduct or effect of an authority. In fact, all of this reeks of authority. Dungeon Master 07 most likely felt that, which is most likely one of the main reasons he decided to take this matter to Dungeon Master 00.
Despite our initial assessment that a world filled with so many illogical things like monsters, otherworldly races, and magic was bound to be chaotic one, which I guess was a right assessment, however, as chaotic as it is, there is a certain metric, mechanics involved which came in the form of the existing and all-balancing interface, which made it so that as chaotic as this world was, once the rules were understood, the chaos, while not exactly becoming order, became logical, understandable, predictable. That applies to all things ruled by the existing system, which means everything in Fiendfell.
However, there were only two exceptions to this rule. One was Dungeons, but the way Dungeons were the exception was that they, in appearance, played by the rules set by the system, making it as though they abide by the rule when in truth they don't. We were well-suited to know that they don't; they play by their own rules, with their own interfaces, outside the control of the all-controlling system Fiendfell operates under. The other exception was authorities, and by extension, their wielders, who with their authority were able to make changes to themselves, to the world, to the system that were out of the interface's control or even detection. Against authorities, the system is helpless, leaving it no other choice but to work around the results of the authorities' doings, trying to apply its version of order upon what it can apply it to. What happened to us without a doubt looked like the result of some authority's doing, and yet clearly no authority was involved. I was there, so of course, I could tell. I still am not able to accurately tell what exactly happened back there which allowed this to be possible, but I have no doubt when it comes to that.
Making the interface before me disappear, I lifted my gaze from my hand to the two people seated across from me. Dungeon Master 02 was gazing into the horizon from the window on his side of the carriage. I could tell he was not looking at anything in particular outside; he was just doing so to avoid looking at me—or to be exact, the child under whose appearance I now existed. Dungeon Master 07, on the other hand, was sitting across from me, legs and arms crossed, staring at me intently with a solemn expression on his face, as if waiting for me to do or say something.
It was while still staring at me that he asked, "Are you still not able to remember any detail of what you've done back then?" He directly asked.
‘What I've done, huh? You sure don't mince your words, Dungeon Master 07,’ I thought to myself.
But I guess he's right. I might have voiced it in front of him, Dungeon Master 00, and the others as though it was a case of "something happened," but it was just as he said: it was a case of something I did. As to what it is, "No," I shook my head. I rose my hand to, out of habit, nudge my glass only to realize that it was missing.
He continued to stare at me with the same apprehensive expression on his face, as though he didn't believe any of what I just said and was seeking proof of that on my face. Eventually, he stopped staring and said, "Is that so," before adding a few breaths later, "try remembering it. What happened to you...two never happened before. Whatever happened back then, it was akin to an authority power, and on top of that, it was felt by all of us Dungeon Masters. Whatever happened leading to your current state must be understood."
Hearing that last sentence, my body instinctively stiffened for some incomprehensible reason. We Dungeon Masters were deployed to Fiendfell for a very simple reason: because there was something Dungeon Master 07 needed help with, and since there was no one here in Fiendfell he could trust to entrust this duty of helping him out, he instead had one of us be unleashed upon the world via the Greed and Resurgence authority. While it was not initially the purpose for which she was summoned to Fiendfell, there was no Dungeon Master among all of us who was better at figuring out the rules of this world than "her"—Theta, Dungeon Master 08. If there was something to be understood, there was no one better suited than her to figure that something out, for a very single reason: she would simply stop at nothing.
As a mental image of that psychopath manifested in my mind, a shiver uncontrollably ran down my spine, one that almost prompted me to relinquish control to Baby. However, I quickly managed to find solace in hearing that he at least didn't say at the end of his sentence: at any cost. "Lunary Grace... The place you... two will be sent should be the perfect place for you to figure out what happened," he continued.
Lunary Grace, huh? That's right. After I explained my case to Dungeon Master 00, he and Dungeon Master 07 came to a decision regarding what would become of me. I was not given a punishment, or at the very least, I was not given a punishment that actually felt like a true punishment. Well, actually, I almost was, but I, and I don't know where I managed to find the nerve to do that, but I begged—yes, begging, that's most likely what I looked like—to be sent elsewhere. No doubt it was a pathetic sight to beg for that, but compared to the outcome of being sent to her for her to figure out what went wrong with me, no doubt that being sent to Lunary Grace, a church-funded orphan home under Dungeon Master 14's suggestion, was without a doubt the happier, if not outright the happiest, outcome for us.
If there was anything unsettling about that outcome, it was perhaps the fact that our outcome seemed too much of a good one for a punishment. It gave me the unsettling feeling that consequences might come upon us much later. I was about to voice this thought when we heard from the carriage driver, "We're approaching the Ravenspire, Sir."
"Alright," Dungeon Master 07 simply said before ordering the carriage driver to proceed into the city as planned. Once he was done, he exchanged a gaze, then a nod with Dungeon Master 02. "He will be leaving in the city," Dungeon Master 07 explained, before adding, "So before he does, and since you lost yours," he said, putting strong emphasis on "lost."
In that moment, Dungeon Master 02 reached into the air, from which a rift opened, and he retrieved a small apple-sized golden spherical device. I recognized the device right away; I once had one. It was the device used by Dungeon Master 02 to locate us Dungeon Masters and to contact him if necessary. I hadn't lost mine, or at least not in the true sense of the word; I had left mine behind. That was the first thing I did upon leaving Theta's side, which I guess also helped create the impression that I was never missing and had always been by her side.
Dungeon Master 02 then extended his arm for me to reach onto the spherical device. As I reached for it, Dungeon Master 07 said, "Do not lose it, this time," sounding more like a warning than anything else. I nodded as I retrieved the device.
At that moment, Dungeon Master 02 spoke for the first time since the whole journey, "Same rule as always: do not, under any circumstance, summon me where or in a situation that might endanger my current avatar." Finishing Dungeon Master 02's words, Dungeon Master 07 continued, "Should such a situation arise, it is I whom you are to contact. It is I who will arrange what will need to be done," handing over another such device, leaving me now with two apple-sized devices, which, with my current size, were quite the handful. I'd expected them to hand me a spatial ring, but they did not.
Most likely guessing what I was thinking, Dungeon Master 07 said, "I have no spare spatial ring on me," then glanced at Dungeon Master 02, who replied, "Neither do I."
"Didn't you have your own spatial ring?" Dungeon Master 07 said to me, knowing full well or at the very least being able to guess the answer to that question. One of the first things I did upon leaving Theta's side was leave all that I had on me that were space-related or related to Theta behind. Both cases applied to my spatial ring; it was one created by Theta with the help of Dungeon Master 02. The only things I had on me when I left were the clothes on myself and my glasses.
"I lost it," I said, making a very clear emphasis on "lost."
"I see," he simply said, understanding what I meant.
After entering the city, we dropped off Dungeon Master 02 in the middle of it, and then proceeded out of the city from the other end towards our next and main destination, which was a couple of dozen kilometers outside the city, in a place that felt somewhat remote, but compared to where I had lived for the past three, near four years, this was still at least close to civilization. Upon arriving at the destination, or to be exact, somewhere with a clear view of it, the carriage driver, as he did for Dungeon Master 02, opened the door, allowing Dungeon Master 07 to step out of the carriage, and helped me out as well.
Finally outside, I got to fully behold our destination. I had tried earlier, but with my current size, unless I were to stand on the carriage seat, I wouldn't be able to see it through the window, so I chose not to. Now, I finally saw it. "Welcome to Lunary Grace," he declared, gesturing towards the grand estate ahead. "This will be your home from now on."
As we approached, my first impression of the place was of towering walls in bold capitals, forming an oval shape. These massive walls encircled the estate, creating an imposing boundary against the outside world. Despite its seclusion from civilization, the estate didn't evoke feelings of loneliness. Instead, within the confines of those walls lay a bustling microcosm resembling a village. However, unlike a village, which is conventionally expected to be modest, every building inside the estate was equally impressive, with towering structures clad in blue tiles. It was nothing like what it was supposed to be: an orphanage.