I was about to continue my story, but.

“””800 years?!?””” The people around me were flabbergasted. Silence fell onto them. I was about to give a brief history of recent times that leaves out any involvement with the hero.

“Anyway, I registered at the hunter’s guild and sta-“

“Wait!” It’s Patir, who cuts me off. “I can’t just let his slide. I don’t believe it. Do you have any proof?” I’m surprised. I had thought that they may not believe me, but not about a part that was true.

“I, uhh..” I start to think how I could prove it, but Yasia cuts in.

“Were…. Were you ever married?” She asks me. I simply shake my head and she breathes a sigh of relief… I feel a bit hurt that she is essentially happy that Atna died, but I shake it off, knowing she doesn’t mean ill by it.

“Is that where Dixy comes from? Far in the past?” Kassa asks. Shit, I gave off the air of wanting to tell everything, so she must have thought I was getting to Dixy.

“Dixy?” Patir is curious. I was about to pull up some excuse, but he clearly phrased the question to Kassa instead of me and she answered.

“This annoying, talking book, Yian has.” Is the answer. Shit.

“Really?” Patir is not looking pleased. “That is even more unbelievable. But if it is true, you can show us, right?” He turns his head to me. I sigh and surrender, I feel like I have been cornered.

“Right.” I say as I go fetch Dixy. As I pull her up from the bag, I whisper to her “Don’t mention God or me being immortal, please?”

No response. I sigh and prepare myself for the worst as I bring her to the others around the fire.

“This is Dixy, my magic and reading teacher, say hello Dixy.”

I give the introduction, but nothing happens. I am a bit confused. Yasia and Patir look incredulously at me.

“She’s also a real bitch.” Kassa adds

“You are the bitch!” Dixy retorts.

“It really talked… You are not using some kind of trick?” Patir asks as he looks at the book.

“Wah? Whose voice is this? Did the worms stealing away your free time multiply?” Dixy’s behavior has been growing increasingly awful in regards to other people, as I stayed in the village, but that was just talking to me and Kassa. I was sure she would be on better behavior when actually talking to them.

I shut the book. “Sorry, she’s a bit crass.” I say. I had the habit of opening Dixy before I talk to her, so I somehow thought for a second that it would keep her quiet, but she protests anyway.

“You should all leave him alone! It was much better when it was only the two of us!” I try another tactic.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Dixy! One rude word more out of you, and I am leaving you in the bag tonight!”

No answer rises from her. I sigh a little.

“A bit crass is an understatement.” Patir answers with a chuckle.

“Right?” Kassa seems to enjoy the approval, as I often defend Dixy.

“Why is it a woman’s voice? Why is she so set on monopolizing you?” Yasia asks with suspicious eyes.

I brush it off, it feels like we have a Dixy number two in the making and I don’t want to feed it.

“Dixy is not that old.” I answer. “She comes from the bottom of a dungeon.”

“A dungeon?” Patir asks. “You can find manufactured items like a book in the dungeon?”

“Right.” I say. “But only at the bottom and..” I was just about to specify being pulled to this world by God, but I kept it in me.

“How deep is a dungeon?” Patir asks me.

“Honestly it’s hard to keep track off, but from what I have seen, I think it varies but is at least a hundred floors.”

Patir whistles “A hundred floors, huh? And here I have heard gruesome stories of going down twenty floors and being lucky to live to tell the tale.”

“You said it varies… Does that mean you have beaten more than one?” Kassa inquires and I nod.

“What did you get from the others?” she continues. It shocks me a little. I only have two things from dungeons, since Dixy got upgraded one of the times. I walk over and pull out the cape from my bag. In the end, I haven’t used this thing in forever.

“This here cape I got from… the only other dungeon I have reached the end of.” I was about to say my first dungeon capture, but changed it.

“What’s special about it?” Patir inquires. Right, I will show them. I don the cape and kick off the ground, before circling them as I slowly glide down.

“AMAZING!” Patir bursts out, Kassa too looks excited, but Yasia… It is difficult to tell from up here, but she looks a bit crestfallen.

I suddenly get an idea. I have struggled with levitation magic for a while, but isn’t this cape a perfect complement to it? I try applying the difficult patterns, and I manage to stay completely level. I can actually sort of fly now! I feel happy, but I cut it short and descend down.

“Can I try?” Kassa asks. Huh, I guess she can. I hand the cape over to her and she puts it on. Then, she makes some weird movement and poses.

“What are you trying to do?” I ask her, as she clearly seems to exert herself.

“Trying to go up, like you did!” She is shouting a little.

“I just jumped, though.” Baffled faces turn my way once again. “That was a jump?!?” Kassa seems lost.

“Ah, but I can probably throw you.” Patir is shocked.

“That sounds dangerous, you better not!”

“No, no take-backsies! Throw me!” Kassa exclaims, the cape should keep her safe, so I think ‘why not’ and bend down. I lift her on top of one palm, lifting her by the legs with my other arm, before putting strength in and throwing her.

She really went flying! I can’t jump that high without trashing my legs! She appears to be merely descending slowly at first, but then she figures out how to glide and squeals of delight sound as she plays her way down.

Kassa is cheering in delight and exclaiming “Yes! That was fun as hell! Hey, Yian, throw me again!” but Patir intervenes.

“Do you think I… no, nevermind, I am too old for this.” Or so he said, but he looked mighty interested. After a bit of convincing, Patir is launched to the sky.

“Arghhh! Help! HOW?! Why!?!?” He struggles. He can’t seem to glide and he is even getting turned around, spending as much time with his head down as his feet. The cape works nonetheless and he safely descents slowly.

“Argh, shit, I thought that was the end of me” He protested as he couldn’t wait to get the cape off of him. The three of us had a great time. But someone is left out. I turn to offer Yasia a ride, but as I turn, she is gone from her previous position. I quickly look around and see her sitting in the cart. She is looking mighty depressed.

I guess she really did get disillusioned with me and is regretting being brought along… And I can’t bring her back, since my sense of direction is shit, I’d never find the cart again. We could all go back, but I don’t know how troublesome it will be. I sigh a little inwardly, let Kassa and Patir study the cape as I proceed back to the cart. Guess I will try to cheer her up a little.