Rex awoke from his rest the following morning. At least, it was what he guessed was the morning for there was no natural light in the Buried Caer.
There was not much to do in his room except to eye the bucket at the foot of his bed suspiciously
Is that really where I'm supposed shit?
Rather than contemplate toilet logistics in the fantasy world, he slipped out and began to explore. At first Rex was frightened, for there were soldiers walking around in these narrow underground halls. But Rex soon realized that the best place for a person to hide was among many persons, and he could move about as he pleased. Maybe even in places Gemini, Mathilda, and Caliban would rather not have me be.
Rex pushed past swordsman and spearmen and strode through each windowless room. The barracks, the cafeteria, the library, the council room, the storeroom, the training grounds, everywhere he went there were black flags labelled THE UNDERGROUND.
Must be the name of this group, thought Rex, as he weaved around yet another armored man. A group of sweaty people crammed into a tiny space. Why does this remind of high school?
But this is much smaller compared to my school. Just three more doors to explore...
....this room here is just a closet. This room here - Rex shut it after taking a whiff - it's a latrine. And this, this is what I was looking for.
Rex sat at the foot of a spiral staircase.
The stairwell.
Rex looked at the stairs. He gazed at the stairs too.
He even stared at the stairs. The stairs stared back at him.
A rule once broken cannot be unbroken. But isn't breaking a world's rules a protagonist's job?
Rex put one foot on the steps. The another, and another and soon he was climbing, but inexplicably the staircase ended in a ceiling. He pushed it and felt the ceiling lift slightly.
Gemini lied about the second rule, Rex realized. It's not the stairwell that's forbidden, but the exit to this place.
He pushed again, and slowly, painfully, the trapdoor began to lift. Sunlight streamed in, illuminating both Rex and a familiar face, peering inside.
"I can explain," said Rex. "It's not what it looks like. The reason I climbed these stairs-"
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Mathilda put a finger on her lips.
It echoed, bouncing from the top of the stairs into the world down below.
"You were lost Rex, I understand. Follow me so I can take you to your training for the day... and before someone else sees you." She whispered.
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"Tutoring with me. Magic testing with Gemini. Combat testing with Caliban," said Enna. "Reminds me when I was young."
Rex and Enna were sitting across from one another at a library table. Mathilda had lit all the candles and torches and left the room.
"Don't worry if you fail the combat test," said Enna, as she shuffled some papers. "Caliban is tough."
"Speak for yourself," Rex said. "I'm going to ace everything."
Enna frowned, then shrugged.
"Does this mean we're cool now?" said Rex. "I don't want to get electrocuted for another misunderstanding."
"I was excited to finally do something useful for the Underground." said Enna. "That's not an excuse, but my emotions and expectations were running high, and I didn't expect to summon a boy like you."
"I'm not a boy," said Rex. "I'm the chosen one."
There was a silence. Pencil scratched against paper as Enna took notes and prepared to teach Rex.
Does she not know I can read words that are upside down? thought Rex.
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Enna's Teaching Plan
Teach about the world of Omniscia
Teach about the races and species
Make sure to leave time for questions
Ask about council
Be nicer to 'Rex' and apologize for yesterday
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Enna looked up.
"....When you were meeting with Caliban, Mathilda, and Gemini afterwards, did they praise me?" said Enna. "Say how amazing I was for summoning someone with thunder magic of all things?"
Rex thought back to the council meeting.
"No," said Rex. "They..."
Enna slumped.
...did more than praise you. They were celebrating." said Rex, tasting a sweet white lie as it left his lips.
"T-T-hey did?" Enna said. "Wow...." a smiled bloomed.
"Thank you Rex," Enna put on a pair of reading glasses. "I needed a pick-me-up today," she said. "Now let's get started."
"There are four realms in this world. The land, the sea, the sky, and Hell, each with different peoples." Enna said, sketching a map as she spoke, with stick figures for each species. "The land has the most varied races - orcs, elves, dwarves, humans, and beastkin. There's Cloud City in the sky where the Dragonkin rule with vampires as their servants. Then the ocean is almost entirely populated by Merfolk.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"And what about the fourth?"
"The last one is hell. Hell is overrun with monsters. And Hell is underground, everywhere"
Enna scribbled over her artwork with jagged violent lines.
"Shame that the 'monsters' took over the paper," said Rex. "that was a good drawing."
"D-don't try to be as smooth as an angel man." said Enna. "That species doesn't exist except in romance novels, for lonely teenage girls. I'm twenty now so I'm mature enough to know that they don't really exist."
She looked for a brief moment like she was about to cry, but then gathered herself again.
"Right!" said Rex. "I'm obviously going to need more details about all this stuff. What's the most important things to know for someone who's fighting the Demon Lord?"
"We can go over some monsters, more maps, magic... "
Her words now rolled over Rex as the open books multiplied before him.
...the capital city of Lorn is ruled by a wise and powerful king...
...dragonkin can detect magic but they don't have a normal sense of smell...
...What do you mean by catgirls? Are you talking about beastkin? If you want to talk about that particular race...
....asking about cat-eared beastkin again? Maybe we'll talk about them next time...
*Thump!* Before Rex knew it, Enna shut the last book and the study session was over.
"In the end, what I've taught you might be different than what's happening in the world outside." said Enna. "These books were written about one-hundred years ago. And while I've been through the entire library I've never left the Buried Caer."
"You haven't been outside in two decades," said Rex. "and you're happy with that? You've never left home and you're already old!"
"Mathilda said the outside can be dangerous for mages," said Enna. "And this 'old woman' has been outside in the woods a few times, just not in the cities."
"You can shoot thunder from your fingertips! Does that council give you any freedom at all?" said Rex.
Enna began to chew on her fingernails, little sparks coming from them with every bite.
"They tell me some important things," said Enna. "Like how I'm supposed to keep the situation secret from you for security reasons... ouch!"
Enna snapped her hand away from her mouth after a sudden volt.
"Go on, finish your thought." said Rex. "I'm listening."
"That I can't tell you what we are or where in Omniscia is the Buried Caer." she muttered. "That it's... and..." Enna looked at the library door, wide-eyed.
"And it's great that Miss Thunder is so good at keeping secrets." said Gemini, stepping into the room. "Are you still mad that we treat you like a hatchling? Because that's what you are. "
"Yesterday you praised me for summoning Rex!" said Enna.
"Did I?"
"I, I can shoot thunder from my fingertips." Enna said. "I'm strong."
"And so am I." said Gemini. "I'm strong, I'm smart, and wouldn't you say that I'm pretty too?" She put a hand on her hip. "What do you think Mr. Chosen One?"
"Don't respond to her provocations," muttered Enna. "If you think twenty years is old then forget about her."
"I'm just teasing him." said Gemini. "I don't have time to daydream about romance. Follow me - it's time for your magic test."
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"Isn't this a closet?"
The door ground shut and It was as if Rex was under a blindfold. No candles, no torches, no light.
"This is the magic testing room." said Gemini. Rex felt her hot breath as she spoke. "Airtight, warm, and empty, the conditions are perfect."
"Okay," said Rex. "So I'm in the magic testing closet. Is this darkness supposed to allow me to focus? Is the heat supposed to put pressure on me to do well? I'm ready to ace this test and get the hell out."
"There are two kinds of magic," Gemini said, voice echoing.
"A blessing is a gift that allows someone to cast elemental magic. It could be thunder like Enna's, fire like the Demon Lord's, or aether like Mathilda's. There's only one person in the world who can wield each element, so there will never be two Thunder Mages at the same time.
If someone isn't blessed, they can still use catalysts - objects that when held allow you to cast certain spells. But learning to use one properly takes years."
"So what will we do?" said Rex. "Should I try to conjure water? Summon a spring breeze? Manifest a boulder? Maybe even all three?
There was a long silence and Rex became dimly aware that the blood rushing through his own head made a sound.
"No," said Gemini. "I want you to take off your shirt."
"Oh," said Rex, as the room continued to be pitch black.
"...When I take off my shirt, will magical tattoos start to glow on my chest? Will I hear a voice telling me, 'Rex, I have decided to bless you with unending power but only if you strip?'
"You'll see."
Rex shrugged off his top, sweating.
"Toss the shirt over here." said Gemini.
He threw it towards the sound of her voice.
She caught it even though it's completely dark, thought Rex. I would've heard it hit the floor if she didn't.
Gemini's breathing ceased, replaced by a huffffffffffff.
"Hahhhhh.... hahhhhh...." Gemini inhaled. Then she kicked open the door, and light filtered into the room.
She pulled the shirt away from her nose.
"You have no magic or magic potential." she said. "There's no scent."
"You were... smelling... my shirt?" said Rex.
"Yes," said Gemini. "I'm a dragonkin. Gemini, age 806, second child of the Luna house. Nice to meet you, Chosen."
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"Dragonkin... those that can turn into dragons, those that can scent magic." said Rex,
Rex and Gemini retired to the Obsidian chamber, the conference room. Gemini had taken her [GEMINI] chair while Rex avoided sitting in all the named ones.
"Not just magic," said Gemini. "Magic potential. And we can see in the dark too... you're kinda cute, but we need you to build more muscle. Caliban will destroy you."
"Was that the reason you had me throw my shirt and not, say, a sock? Dirty old man."
Gemini shrugged. "Shirts have the biggest surface area so it's easiest to smell!"
Rex tapped on the table with his finger tips. Once, twice, three times... ten, eleven, twelve... thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two... a full minute passed and still Gemini did continue to speak.
"So what's the next stage of the test?" Rex said. "I'm ready to chant some spells or imagine myself as being one with the World."
"You failed, Mr. Chosen One." she said. "There is no next stage."
"Excuse me?"
"You have zero elemental magic. And your aptitude for catalysts is so close to zero so it wouldn't be worth it for you to spend years learning how to do it."
Gemini put her feet onto the table and leaned back in her chair.
"But it can't be that bad!" said Rex. "I was summoned into this world to do something. I have to have some kind of special ability, something that makes me stand out from the rest. Otherwise this wouldn't be an isekai. It'd be just like if I were back in my own world."
"I want to make you aware of something," Gemini said. "Because while you've learned about Dragonkin from Enna you still don't understand them.
A dragonkin's talent for scenting magic is powerful. For the past ten years I've been smelling the same four things day in and day out, peppermint, vanilla, sulfur, and chocolate, just because that's the aroma of the elemental magic users living in this landmass.
I only use the magic room when it's hard to detect a scent, when I'm searching for specks of dust instead of grains of sand. If there was something there, I would find it."
Rex pressed both his hands to his head and sighed. "First you tell me that I can't talk to anyone... then you tell me that I can't go up some stairs... and now you're telling me I can't use magic... I just feel like every day you're suffocating me with another random rule."
"If you're keeping something secret from me," said Rex. "If there's a way for me to use magic that you're hiding or up those stairs is a sign that you're working with the Demon Lord, I will find out about it. Don't underestimate me."
Gemini just smiled. "When Miss Thunder is nervous she goes ZZT! ZZT! ZZT! and I can scent that from miles away." said Gemini. "You can say she's my favorite person."
Her eyes glowed with a cold passion that lacked love or hate.
"Dragons can't use magic, but I still see a vision of the future. Let's say you walk up to Enna - I don't care if you ask her about magic, but let's say you ask her about the rules, and ask her very forcefully. She starts to crack - she starts to shake - she starts to speak - she starts to spark.
I will be there, Mr. Chosen One. And then you can witness the full majesty of a dragon." said Gemini. "That's all."
"Now, shall I take you to Caliban? The combat test awaits."