Chapter 85
Thessia Academy Twalo
After our week together, Jess and I bonded. I began to think less and less, that her opinions and feelings for me were constructed or somehow influenced by Celestials. Instead, I slowly felt my own mind relaxing around her. We weren’t what we were, but then again that technically never happened. That or if it did happen, it has all been erased. Now I must start over, which is good.
I know I asked for just such an opportunity numerous times in my past life. Just the chance to start over, to start fresh with Jess. The sad part was, we would. Once or twice, Jess’ affection for me was enough to counter my brother’s mind raping skills. Of course, this would likely mean that my brother would come down with an even stronger hand, when next he saw Jess.
This time, things were different. My brother was fixed, and he never even knew it was me. I’ve decided to make this my new standard, less mess, for me. I still sort of wonder what happened to the girl he was with. The girl he no doubt intended to mind wipe and make her forget they had ever been together. Thinking about that makes me smile.
I also realize that with me, officially being listed as deceased by the human military, I cannot contact home.
It is odd. For only now, once I can’t contact my parents do I feel like I should reach out to them. Though only now do I realize how much I have changed. When I first got back, or re-awakened, I was mad at my parents as well. They always took my brother’s side in every divorce. Then they all seemed to imply, or flat-out state that it was the way I treated Jess that made her run to my brother’s arms. All mind manipulation, that much was obvious, looking back at it now. But those lifetimes made it hard to trust their opinion.
Now that I know the truth, I feel I should go back and change things. But it is too late for such endeavors. The die has been cast, as they say. Or the winds of change have already started blowing, as the Endarians like to note. Either way, we are here, at this point.
“There are a few things that I should point out.” Jess says, she is getting in that hot lecturer mode. She always does this when she is nervous and wanting to fill time. This is fine, as I am currently flying an electric shoot-me-now lime-green 2521 civilian-model flying fortress towards Endarian space. Since I am literally her captive audience right now, she continues. Though again, I might be biased, I find it somewhat attractive that she is the one telling me how this will go.
“First is that I am your Twalo, meaning you are the full Endarian Citizen. As such you are supposed to have a job. Your job is listed as World Tree Guardian?” She says, as she is clearly reading through a list of legal documents that she is trying to go through as quickly as possible.
Hearing that I smile and reply. “Yes, that is the tree I spoke about planting with Rayquel.”
“You planted them with the two different Rayquels from the two different universes? Four were planted in the alternate universe, and one in this one?” She asks.
I nod, “yes.”
She takes a moment to pause and think. “And you feel a connection to those other trees as well, even though they are in the alternate universe?”
I nod again.
“Does that mean we could travel there using your Total Recall ability?” She asks.
“We?”
“Well yeah, I am coming up with contingency plans, for in case the Prolaxians do something stupid and end up wiping out half or all of the universe.” She states.
I pause as I turn to look at her. While I am technically driving, this is space, meaning we have area to move around in, also nothing is even remotely close to us. So yeah, I take my eyes off of the open route before me. There are what can be noted as lay lines of power in space, more commonly referred to as hyper tunnels. If you enter these tunnels, you can go hundreds of times faster than normal travel, but only in set directions. While this does make it so the area one can move around in is limited, like the place where the Beastkin Admiral and his troops ambushed our milk run, in the last loop. Most of them are wide enough to allow for multiple vehicles to travel through at different speeds.
Now the deeper question of why there are lay lines in space? How they always seem to lead directly to a temple, places of power that can be run by us mortals for fun, profit, and Attribute points and other changes are unknown. In fact, there are many questions about who the initial race was that placed all these ancient locations and structures that have managed to survive the eons.
Hmm?
Jess makes an inquisitive sound, and I realize I totally spaced out on my answer to her. Thinking back, I try to go back to what she last said. Then I respond.
“Was I supposed to ask what type of contingency plans?” I ask.
Hearing that, Jess lets out an annoyed sigh, before shaking her head then continuing.
“Why yes, I am so glad you asked. Yes, I have been thinking about contingency plans. Especially with me now having been awakened as a Mage as well.”
This likely requires a bit of a back story. Jess and I of course won the full complement of 500 certs from the MAC charity event. This was not including the initial two certs we got for just entering. So, 502 of 1,000. Now here is where the math gets wanky. Since they offered up to 1,000 certs by law, they had to give out all 1,000. The only problem was, we got them all. Worse, we also generated a LOT more certs from our battles. Certs that then had to go to the charity auction. Well, all but ten percent to the registered fighter at the time. Each of the humanoid combatants generated close to one thousand certs. All of which were Magically oriented, as I used their own arcane magic spells to kill them all.
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So, to make a long story short, we ended up earning a lot just from the championship. Jess not only unlocked a Mage class but managed to progress both her Mage and Psychic classes to Omega, or the highest-level rarity. Then following my instructions. She used one thousand, or roughly all her earned certs from the championship and her ten percent cut to spend one thousand Mage certs on unlocking her first Mage spell.
What was her first mage spell? Well to explain this, I must first remind everyone that the fifth and eighth spell are generally considered passive effects. For my Mage class, my fifth slot is Healing Aura. For my Psychic class, my fifth spell slot is for Mind Shield.
Her Mage class also plays a large part in her spell selection. And her ultimate evolution of a Mage class is as follows.
Name: Jessica Childers
Age:
18 Race: Human Mage Class Type: Primal Illusionist (Omega) Mental Class Type: Mind Sage (Omega)
With a class name like Primal Illusionist, one could expect her spells and abilities to match or at least follow the Illusionist theme. Her one passive spell follows that very path.
Illusionary Aura: 99+%
Yes, she has an aura around her that allows her to change her appearance. Given enough time and practice she can make certain changes permanent, deceiving any biometric scanner. She can also use the aura to make herself disappear. Yes, completely block out all light from refracting off of her body. At least that is the way I understand the spell, though I am probably way wrong with my understanding.
With that one passive spell, she has outclassed my entire Support Class.
Of course, the spell will still need to be practiced, and she also needs at lot more practice with just her regular Psychic abilities. Thus, why we are now heading to Thessia Academy. As my Twalo, she is allowed to attend the academy for free. She will no longer need to work hard to gain certs to evolve her classes. Which means she effectively gets to go and enjoy the Academy and use it for what it is for, as a way to network and learn about herself. Honestly, I am kind of jealous.
As for me, I am an official member of the Endarian military, but my role is far more limited. I am to be an elite guard whose sole job is to go around, level up, which apparently also levels up the world tree(s). For every five of my levels, the tree will go up by one. I assume the other four are also going up in levels, but the whole idea of experience being transferred across universal borders seems odd to me.
I of course also had to level. Though I am allowed to level slowly, the 1,000 certs, that I earned, and was so graciously allowed to keep. I used a total of 165 certs, 86 Mage certs, and 81 Psychic certs to get both of my classes up to level fifteen each. Why fifteen? Well, it was a multiple of five. This meant that my world tree was now level six, yep, each class counted separately to the total. I also now had a new 26-point cap on all attributes, sans my Power Attribute, which was still broken. Also, since I was an Omega class, I gained one Attribute point every three levels, split between the two classes meant I now had ten free attribute points. Math? Am I right that it is annoying? But here is what I look like now.
Name: Kyle Goldman Alias: Mr. Kyle Smith Age: 18 Race: Half-Human* Mage Class Type: Prime Support (Omega)
Level: 15
Certs Remaining: 0 (of 16)
Mental Class Type: Psionic Prime (Omega)
Level: 15
Certs Remaining: 0 (of 16)
Societal Occupation: World Tree Guardian
Attributes
Free Attribute Points: 10
Physical Attributes Total (Max 26) Strength 18 Dexterity 22 Agility 22 Endurance 20
Mental Attributes Total (Max 26*) Perception 22 Intelligence 22 Willpower 22 Power* 45
Certs Remaining: 835
That was a lot of certs, enough to fund a small army. Why did I need that many? Well simple, I was cut off from my normal funds. While Kyle Goldman human was listed as deceased, all his assets were being held by the government. Being eighteen, I never created a will. To my defense, what is the point of creating a will that will then be null and void with the next time loop restart? But apparently that is not a true excuse.
So basically, billions of cryptos have been seized by the government, I am effectively penniless, but will have everything taken care of and provided for me. So long as I get to Endarian space and swear my allegiance to a rebel tree. Yep, life never seems to be dull.
On the bright side, I do have a new space suit, that was one of the requirements before I traveled. I now always had to have a specially made space suit on, while traveling. This is perfect for me, as I like the suits. I like the idea that should anything happen, knock on wood, I would be fine. My wings were tested, and it was found that much like Rayquel’s wings, my wings would work and be safe from the effects of space. Again, I don’t know how such things happen, just that they do. Also, my wings make a suit simultaneously harder and easier to make.
Effectively I have a back pad that always surrounds my wings now and protects my spinal column. This back pad, which effectively covers my entire back cannot be taken off. Instead, a specially made suit will seal to the back pad, creating the airtight seal needed for space. Again, something about special space algae that link in polarizing chains. I don’t know, too long didn’t read the fine print, probably going to cost me a child in the future, you know that sort of thing. All I need to know, is that I have a fully functioning space suit that always covers my wings. I can even modify how much of the space suit I wear, so I can use it as a shirt if I want to avoid awkward situations, like the one I found myself in earlier, where a hospital gown was one of the fancier garments I could wear.
Yep, all in all, this was a pretty good gig. I was being treated as the second coming of the first tree guardian. I had not only brought back Endar Rising, but I had somehow managed to bring back the world tree to life. A feat that the world tree acknowledged vehemently. This basically meant I was Endarian Royalty, and Jess by extension as my Twalo was also afforded nobility status. Or at least the status befitting a foreign head of state.
No, so far as we were concerned, this was a great deal. We, that still makes me take in a deep breath of pride, whenever I think of it. Nope, this is a cushy gig, one that I don’t think I could get fired from, even if I tried. Not that I would want to, this should be the easy life. I can’t think of one thing that would possibly go wrong.
“Father. You have come within my range. This is good, because now I can directly link with your mind whenever I want.”
Fuck.
Yeah, I should have knocked on wood for that one too. Stupid mind, always thinking of ways to jinx me. As I am now within range to hear the ramblings of my rebel tree. A tree that has taken it upon itself to always call me father.
“Father, it is good that you have arrived. There is a development that I should warn you about.”
With those words, I feel a dense feeling of foreboding coming to my chest. As I know I will not like what is going to come next.