Chapter 15: Art of Transposition

“Thou misfortunate soul who know the pain of losing a loved one, what is thy wish?”

The ghastly voice echoed. Compared to before, the chalice was now much smaller in size and could be held in the girl’ small hand. However, its frightening bearing did not falter one bit. From within the cup, a dark ooze was boiling, almost overflowing and emitting a purple smoke. Astora had no idea where this thing came from or how it ended up in her possession in the first place. The thing did mention something about knowing the pain of losing a loved one and it only appeared after her mother’s death. Could there be some connection? The girl decided to ask the chalice.

But unfortunately, her question went unanswered. The grail only repeated the same line over and over. It seemed that this artefact did not possess an intelligence like Grimora who was self-aware. Instead, it worked in an automatic manner which complied to some already set in commands. It looked like whatever secret this thing held, Astora would have to find out by herself. As she contemplated about the true nature of the grail, the girl noticed a strange occurrence taking place right in front of her.

The purple mist from within the chalice was reaching out toward the carcasses of the monsters she slew and pulled out some tiny sparkles of light of various colors before dragging them back into the chalice. Receiving these mysterious glitters, the chalice glowed faintly while the bodies started to decompose at an accelerated rate and turned to dust.

“Essence of slime acquired.

Essence of goblin acquired.

Essence of horned wolf acquired.

3 low grade souls acquired.

Art of transposition is now available at the shop. Please contact the shop keeper for further information!”

Things just got weirder. Not only did Astora unlock something, she was supposed to contact some kind of shop. But what shop? What kind of establishment would deal with this kind of level of oddness? Then, a thought struck her mind. She did know about one ‘shop’: the one in that world of darkness. The girl did want to go back there but she never knew how to go back actually. Suddenly, Grimora shined brightly, indicating the manifestation of a new power within himself.

A new entry has been added to the collection.

Name: Nil Gate

Class: Alpha & Omega

Description: The one and only entrance to the Nether World. The Nether World serves as the nexus of the infinite cycle between creation and destruction. Possessing no one true form, this realm is constructed according to the desires of the Champion and is dedicated to help the Champion in his mission.

Oh great Champion, complete the cycle! Only then, will you be reunited with Nil. And once again, the cycle shall begin anew.

As Astora touched the worn paper of this new entry, two stone serpents came out of the book. They flew around before joining together by biting each other’s tail and formed a circle. From the center, a vortex of white and black appeared. It swirled rapidly as its speed increased and sucked both Grimora and Astora into it before collapsing on itself, leaving no trace behind.

* * *

“Mistress! Mistress! Wake up!” Astora heard a voice calling out to her. But it was the voice that brought her back. For some reasons, she felt an irrepressible itching on her nose. 

“She is waking up. I told you. This works every time.” A female but strangely mechanical voice spoke out.

“Can you hear us, Astora?” an old voice this time. All of them sounded so familiar. “Give her some space!”

The girl slowly opened her eyes as her body adjusted to the light on the ceiling. Looking around, the girl found herself once again at the place she wished to be, surrounded by Grimora along with two familiar faces. However, something seemed to have changed in this place. It appeared to be slightly larger in term of surface area compared to last time Astora visited this place. Or was it always like this?

“Hi!” the female android said casually while waving one hand while holding Grimora to her metallic chest with the other. The white feather in her hand seemed to be the cause behind that irritation Astora felt just now.

“How did I end up here again?” asked Astora.

“The Nil Gate.” The old man spoke as he sat down on a wooden chair. “You came back much sooner than I expected.”

“My eyes never deceived me.” The android said proudly. “Since I won the bet, you are in charge of cleaning the storage.” She smile deviously.

“Fine fine.” The old man scratched his bald head with annoyance but nonetheless accepted his loss. Then he turned toward the confused girl. “So, what can we do for you today?”

“You can start by telling me what this place is. What is the Nil Gate? What is a Champion? What is the cycle?”

“Slow down! Easy with the questions.” The android said. “Let’s just start with a proper self presentation! We didn’t manage to do it last time. I am Sona, the caretaker of this emporium. This is Durin. He will be in charge of forging your equipment. As for….” Sona glanced at the corner of the shop. In the dark edge of the emporium which was inexistent the last time Astora was here, a new stall now stood imposingly. A charcoaled cauldron hanged above an intense fire. Unlike the flames of Gehenna, this flame did not exert any heat nor burned anything or even touched the wooden rocky chair near it. It exuded a calming aura, one that could touch the very soul of a being. But it was the person sitting on that creaky chair that seemed more out of place who was facing the cauldron. Wearing a red hood so long it reached the ground, the person hid their face but still let out some part of their skin: a wrinkled old thing with long nails in their hands. Whoever this person might be, it appeared to be an old woman. The scene reminded Astora of the witch in the fairy tales her mother used to tell her. But where did this woman come from? She wasn’t here the last time.

“Who is that?” asked Astora.

“How am I supposed to know? This is your world, remember? Your mind defines this world. Everything here is a reflection of your true self and your sub-consciousness. As for her, she just arrives here a moment ago, just before you come.” Answered Sona.

“Arrives here? How?” Astore inquired.

“Like *pouf* and she is here.” Sona made a funny sound.

“…. That is not a very good answer.” The girl said.

“Well I don’t know about you but that is the best I can do. If you want, you can go ask her yourself.” Said Sona.

“Wait, what about my questions?” asked Astora.

“What question?”

“The ones from earlier!!!”

“Oh, those…do I really have to answer them though?” Sona turned to the bald old man.

“It is not like we are hiding anything from you. “ Durin addressed. “However, our knowledge is limited as well. All we know is that we exist to serve the Usurper in their mission until it is completed. In this case, it is you.”

“The Usurper?” asked the girl.

Sona replied. “The Usurper is the Champion chosen by the Will of the Multiverse in order to complete a certain task. What this task is however, only the Champion would know.”

“What is this Will of the Multiverse?”

“It is what its name says it is. Supposedly, the multiverse, which comprises of all worlds in existence, has a will of its own. Most of the time, it doesn’t interfere with people’s lives. However, on rare occasions, especially in dire time or events that could disturb the balance of the multiverse, it will act and tries to fix the anomaly. However, it can only act via a medium by choosing a Champion among the living lifeforms inhabiting across the countless worlds that exist.” Explained Durin. “But the Champion cannot do everything by themselves. Like all heroes in the tales of yore, the Champion has with him a band of loyal followers who will assist him in his task. That is where we step in.”

“So you are my followers?” the girl said.

“In a way, yes. Strictly speaking, no. Followers are those you meet in your adventure who will dedicate their lives to your ideas, as a servant or a friend. However, me and Sona, along with that lady over there, are merely projections of the way you perceive your realities. We can provide you with all our help but only from here. In the real world, that is where your true followers come in.” said Durin.

Astora thought hard about what she just learnt. She did remember something about her being called the Usurper by the Gods back when she was chased by them. But what exactly was this Usurper business? Astora couldn’t recall anything that could mean her being chosen to be this Champion or meeting this Will of the Multiverse. Could it be that the reason she was hunted down by the Gods was somehow linked to her being chosen as the Usurper? If this was true, then ….did her mother die because of her? The girl clenched her teeth in anger.

No, she could not afford to think like that. Whatever the case, the Gods has made her their enemy by killing her mother. She must become stronger and avenge her. But now was not the time yet. Astora realized that she was still far too weak to be even considered as a proper foe. From the events that took place, she already concluded that this place was not under the influence of the Gods and the people in charge of Valhalla, the Pillars, were capable of repelling them. Their last confrontation suggested that this was not the first time the Gods attacked Valhalla. Else, they would not have time to prepare such a complex defense system. In conclusion, Astora should be safe to train in this world until she got stronger.

Stolen novel; please report.

But there was one problem with this situation. Astora refused to be a part of this ‘holy’ mission. She has been long a prisoner in her old world, cut off from the outside while rotting in that underground cell for the amusements of those scientists. Now that she has come to this world, she would not become yet another prisoner of fate. What or whoever this Will of the Universe was, Astora would not follow their order but only her heart and where it showed her to be.

“Anything else you want to ask?” inquired Sona.

“A lot actually but somehow I feel I won’t getting any concrete answers.” The girl said with a doubtful expression.

“All the more for you to discover yourself! Isn’t that great?” the female android spoke cheerfully with a wonderful smile. She handed over Grimora for the girl to hold. “I will give you back your precious companion. Keep him close! He will be crucial to the success of your journey.”

Astora took Grimora in her hands. “By the way, you said you are the shop keeper right? I received a notification about the art of transposition being available at the shop.”

“Oh that. You have to see the old lady over there for that.” Sona pointed at the figure sitting near the cauldron.

“What exactly do you do again?” the girl asked disdainfully.

“Being the beautiful counter lady is a tough job you know.” The female android sat behind the counter, smiling brightly while doing absolutely nothing.

“I see…”

It appeared that Astora wouldn’t get any concrete answer from these people so she decided to take her chance with the only person she has yet spoken to in this place. Slowly and carefully approaching the hooded person from behind, Astora took the initiative.

“Hello!” she said.

But the person in question paid her no mind. Astora decided to come even closer and this time stood in front of the old person.

“Hello!” She saluted firmly.

“…..” Still no answer. Astora was simply ignored.

“HELLO!” the girl spoke loudly and crouched down to see the face of the hooded person. Only now when she was so close to the lady, she could see their poor old state. Dry elderly skin with long fingers and nails, this person bore the exact features Astora would assume a witch would look like in her childhood. The only question was: was this old lady as evil as the villainous infamous witch from her fairy tales?

“I can hear you, urchin.” The old woman spoke in an aged irritating voice. A few strands of grey hair could be seen from the dark hood that showed only half her face. The frail thin arms with only bones and skins waved from left to right, like shooing away the inexistent insect around her. Of course, to the woman, there was only one insect in front of her that was disturbing her rest. “What do you want?”

“Urchin? Excuse me! I know I am small but I am almost an adult in term of age.” Astora retorted.

“Even in a thousand years, you are still an urchin to me.” The woman calmly answered, ignoring the irritated face of the young girl.

“I am not an urchin.”

“So a scrub then. What do you want from me, scrub?”

“I am not a scrub either.” The girl shouted.

“An imp?”

“NO!”

“Just pick one already! You are being childish.”

“You are the one who is treating me like a child.”

“Is that not what you are?”

“This is getting nowhere….” Astora sighed desperately. “Fine, call me whatever. I am here about the art of transposition.”

“Oh that.” The old woman spoke with an disinterested voice. “I suppose all Champions have to do it, one way or another.”

“What exactly is a Champion?” asked the girl.

“A Champion is a Champion. Nothing more, nothing less. It is best you think not too hard of this and just go with the flow. It is for your own good.” The old woman said. While her eyes could not be seen because of the hood, the woman stared at the fire below the cauldron, reminiscing something from ages past.

“That doesn’t really answer my question though.”

“Then I suppose you will have to find it yourself, just like your predecessors did.” Said the old woman.

“So there are other Champions before me?” the girl inquired.

“Yes. A funny bunch, really. Each of them was so unique. Even one was never a living being to begin with. But alas, in the end, they all perished after completing the task assigned to them by Nil.” The woman said.

“Nil?” Astora recalled the name Nil being mentioned in the description of the Nil Gate. Instead of just a common word, Nil seemed to be the name of a person. But who? The description also spoke of being reunited with Nil after the Champion completed their task. So a thought came to her mind. “Was Nil the name of the Will of the Universe?”

“….” The old woman stayed silent. It looked like Astora has hit the jackpot. She also noticed Sona and Durin frozen upon the mentioning of the name. They were all on edge. It seemed that she should not pursue this matter any further, at least for now.

“What can you tell me about the art of transposition?” Astora changed the subject as the others resumed what they were doing.

“The art of transposition allows one to transform the nature of an item and turn it into something…different.  It is an ancient and lost technique that few today would even know about, not to mention to be able to master it. More often, it is used to craft the legendary unique weapons. But it has other uses.” The old woman explained.

“Other uses?”

“Let me ask you something! Where do you think life come from? How did the first lifeform in the entire universe come to exist if nothing exists before it?”

“Are you saying that the art of transposition can be used to create life???” Astora uttered in shock.

“ *chuckle* It is up to your imagination, scrub.” The old woman chuckled. “I can say this at least: it is the most powerful technique that one could master. Creating life is not easy but it is certainly not impossible. With it, one could create the world…and destroy it.”

“So how do I use it?” Astora’s eyes shined brightly with excitement.

“You don’t. With your current level, it is impossible for you to do it yourself.” The old woman bluntly said.

“Then how???”

“That.” The woman raised her skinny arm and pointed at the charcoaled thing in front of her hanging to the chimney above the blue fire. “It is but an old scrap thing but it has its uses. Just put the materials in there and you will be good to go.”

“Materials? What kind of materials?”

“You don’t know an awful lot of thing, do you? Didn’t Nil teach you this?” once again the mention of this name turned the atmosphere in the building tense.

“Like I said, I don’t know who this Nil person is. I have never even met the guy.” Said Astora.

“Is that so?” the woman cackled. “How strange! But I suppose there is nothing we can do about that, scrub. I will teach you the basics.”

To put it in simple words, the art of transposition transformed the formal properties of the materials put through a catalyst and transposed them into new ones. However, all objects were defined by its own characteristic properties. For example, stone would be solid and made from soil under heavy pressure. Water would take the form of its container. In short, the properties of an object would define its true nature and made it what it was. However, if the properties were changed by some external influence, then the object would no longer be the same as before, according to the rule of this universe. However, while it did sound like this technique was extremely potent, it did impose in return conditions and limitations. One could not simply just turn water into fire for example. But according to the old teaching since ancient time, if one was able to master completely the art of transposition, he or she would be able to create anything, even life.

But one of the most difficult aspects of applying this technique was the gathering of materials. Most importantly, the quality of the material in question. Like a stone could not be turned into gold just like that. Other materials were also required to complete this transformation and figuring out what would be crucial. Unfortunately, most of the art have been lost in the passage of time. It was up to the Champion to figure out the correct combination and formula. And there was only one way to do it: test.

After a long lecture about the basics of the art of transposition, it was time for Astora to put the theories into practice. The only problem was, she did not have any decent material in her hand.

“Use the chalice, scrub! Take it out!” said the old woman. Following the instructions, Astora took out the unholy grail. “Now expel the materials it has absorbed before.”

“How do I do that?”

“Command it in your mind! It will obey.”

Just like the old woman said, a few orbs of light of various colors flew out of the dark ooze from the chalice and floated on air. In fact, unlike one would expect, the most powerful ingredient was often not a precious gem or any physical item but a soul or essence. The stronger the soul, the better the result one could expect from the transposition.

“I get the soul idea. But what exactly is an essence?” asked Astora.

“A living being is composed of three different elements: the body, the soul and the essence. The body is what allows one to get in contact with the physical world. Without it, it is practically impossible to physically interact with the world. The soul is what defines a person. Memories, personalities, the things that make a person who they are. A soulless being is just an empty vessel devoid of all emotions, unable to have a will of its own. Finally the essence, this is what gives the power of an individual. It determines their affinities, type of power they will get and won’t. Those with talents are those who possess an essence of that talent.

More often, it is difficult to distinguish the soul and the essence as they are often intertwined. A powerful person will have a powerful soul and essence. However, let’s say this person dies and you get his soul. Some secret art will allow you to use the power of this person, like necromancy and such. The reason is because their power in their former life became part of the memories that form oneself. But that is the limit of what you can do with a soul.

However, it is different for the essence. You will get the same power as you do with a soul. Although, by absorbing that essence, you can continue to grow the potential hidden in the essence that the dead person was never able to achieve in their life.

A simple example would be. A sorcerer was born with talent for fire magic. From his essence alone, it is certain for he would achieve greatness in his life. However, due to circumstances that took place in his entire life, he was never able to cultivate to his maximum potential. So at the end of his life, the sorcerer can only use at most mid-level fire magic. Having this person soul would allow one to cast mid-level fire magic and that is it. However, if you have the essence, it is technically possible for you to reach ultimate fire magic level even though the original possessor of that essence never did.

Do you get what I mean? In term of potential, the essence is the most desired thing.”

It took some time for Astora to take in all these new conceptions but eventually, she got it. Perhaps it was due to her upbringing that allowed her to understand this so quickly. Reading complicate books and figuring things out herself were how she passed time, even during her imprisonment.

“Okay I got it.” Said the girl.

“Alright then, try it! Let us see first what we have for materials!” The woman examined the dots of light floating. A total of six could be seen. However, they were not all the same. Three of them shared a resemblance to a tiny blue flame while the others three exuded a warm aura of light in the form of a miniscule golden orb. “I see essence of slime, goblin and horned wolf. And three low level souls.” The old woman counted. “Not exactly decent stuff we have here.”

“So the chalice can be used to gather materials?” asked Astora.

“For the soul and essence, yes. As for physical materials like precious gems or stuff like that, you have to bring it here yourself. This will help you in transporting them.” The old woman handed over a small old red pouch. “Don’t judge it by its cover! The pouch has an infinite space within it and can be used a storage area. For larger items, you can change the pouch size like you do with your grimoire. Although, you can’t put any living being inside it.”

“Thank you!” Astora said.

“Pfff…I have never seen a Champion so unprepared like you. Be glad that you survive until now!” the old woman scorned. Although she might sound quite unfriendly, the woman was most helpful and did explain attentively all of Astora’s questions. So perhaps, she might not be that difficult to approach like she made herself to be. Maybe, for some reasons, she deliberately made it that way. In any case, Astora has changed her impression of this old woman and started to speak to her with more respect.

“I still want to thank you. So what do I do with these?” the girl pointed at the glowing sparks of light.

“It depends on what you want to create. You cannot just make anything just from these rubbishes. Study the properties of your ingredients and focus on what you want to create! In this case, the slime has a poisonous and corrosive property. The goblin also has some affinity with poison as they usually apply poison in their weapons. The horney wolf, which has an affinity to lightning, doesn’t really share any common attribute with the other two so you can leave it for something else. As for the souls, they are the lowest level but can be used to increase the potential of the final product so put them in. Then put your hands on the cauldron and focus! Only the Champion can use it to create items.” The old woman scolded. “Take this ladle to stir the inside! It is not that different from cooking.”

“Ok. Here I go!”

Following the instructions, Astora put the two essences of the slime and goblin, followed by the three souls into the empty black cauldron. Without warning, a strange liquid mixing the blue color of the souls and the golden color of the essences began to fill the cauldron. The fire underneath started to burn intensively. Using the long wooden ladle, Astora stirred the mixture in a circular motion repetitively. She must focus on the thing she wished to create. An image began to become vivid in her mind. The girl thought it would be nice to have a weapon of some sort, one that she could use right away despite her lack of training. Perhaps it would be a sword coated in poison? Or a bow maybe that shot poisonous arrow? The possibilities were endless as her thoughts ran wild, ignoring the advices given by the old woman just earlier.

Then, suddenly, a memory came back to her as she continued to stir the solution. It was the time when she tried to bake a cake with her mom in Astora’s childhood. It was supposed to be her own birthday but the girl insisted on making a cake for her own by herself. It turned out to be a failure. All those delicious ingredients, at the end, resulted in a charcoaled bloc of coal. Despite following the recipe to the letter, it remained a mystery on why the little girl even managed to turn it into such an offensive insult to cooking. In the end, her mother could only have time to make a pancake tower with a strawberry on top covered in cream. It was delicious though to the girl. A wonderful memory of her mother remained inside the girl’s mind. But it was only a memory, something that already happened and that time would never come again.

“SCRUB, what are you doing?” an old cackled voice brought the girl to reality. In a flip of a second due to the awakening, Astora dropped the ladle into the cauldron.

The solution inside the cauldron has turned black and exuded a toxic feeling. The ritual of transposition has been completed. Although, what the result was remained unknown. Then, a light emitted from inside the cauldron, blinding everyone in the shop and turning it into a beacon inside this dingy world.

As the light dwindled until it dissipated completely, Astora rushed to the cauldron and verified the contents. The mixture was gone. Instead, something else was there: the ladle she dropped from earlier. Did the experiment fail? Aside from the ladle, there was nothing else inside the cauldron. The girl turned back to the old lady who did not say anything. Was she too disappointed to even scold the girl?

However, something was strange about the ladle. Astora thought hard about what changed than finally realized it. The handle of the ladle has become longer and the wooden texture was replaced or coated in some kind of rough black matter. It looked as if the ladle has turned into solid coal.

“Did…the cauldron include the ladle as a material as well?” Astora uttered in shock as she picked up her creation by holding its ladle. Her eyes examined the ladle closely.

Target: Spoon of Failure

Type: Weapon - Rare

Description: All cooks aspire to become the greatest chef in history. However, only a selected few can achieve their dreams. This spoon represents the resentment and jealousy of those incompetent in the art of cooking and who failed to realize the limits in their lack of talents. Can be used to smack people in the head with minimal damage. Also apply a paralysis venom if touched by the head of the spoon.

Special Attribute: Failure’s bane - no matter how skillful the cook is or how good the quality of the ingredients is, anything cooked by using this spoon will turn into a deadly potent toxin.

“All foods are to be acknowledged, no matter how disgusting they are. If they cannot be deliciously eaten, then let them be the death of our enemies!”