"Silvia!" Terrence exclaims as we land in the clearing. "Big news! Massive news! News that will make even you go 'what the ancient fuck?' in response!"

I still haven't gotten a name for the last god who appeared while we were trying to sell our loot, but he was the last god. Before he left, I heard a voice in my mind, too. It said "I'll tell them to stop, [Archon]". It's easy to assume that he was referring to the divine appearances which had happened repeatedly up until him, seeing as they ceased after.

At least I managed to get Terrence to put on the amulet, he'd placed it into his bag because "it ruined his look". I pull mine out from under my tunic and examine it as Terrence just repeatedly tells Silvia that there's massive news. The wolfkin woman just stares at him in mild amusement.

She's the one who made these amulets, and they're the keys to enter her territory. The chain itself is just gold, while the talisman hanging from it is a silver ring with a golden fang set into it and seven dimensional crystals spaced evenly around the ring, an amethyst set into the top of the fang.

Without this amulet, we'd have never managed to arrive here – or even see her clearing from outside. Terrence has already taken his off and is holding it in his hand as he chatters. The twins are getting excited because of Terrence's excitement, and it's kind of cute to see.

Especially because they don't know why he's excited, they just know he is.

"Terrence," I say. "It might be more helpful if you actually tell her what the news is. Silvia, all seven elemental gods made an appearance, along with another god."

"Really?" She asks. "At the pits?"

"No," I shake my head. "We went to town. After we finished gaining Levels, the wyvern you were concerned about attacked us. A mysterious being – which I don't believe is a god, by the way – shielded us and gave us a Blessing which raised our stats up to 2,500 each. After killing it, we got loot from it and then took the loot to town to sell. It was while we were there that they showed up. First the god of fire, then the god of water, then the gods of earth and air, then the gods of light and shadow, then the god of lightning, and finally, the eighth god. I've no clue who he is, and everyone was in too much shock by his presence to actually tell me. Even after we'd finished our business."

"It was Maztlit!" Terrence exclaims. "He showed up! Himself!"

Maztlit? All four of them seem excited now over that news, so instead of waiting for them to finish being excited, I pull up his information in the System.

Maztlit Type: Godprince of Yggril One of the three godprinces of Yggril, Maztlit is the third-most powerful god of the world, standing behind only the God of Order and Chaos and the Goddess of Life and Death in terms of power. He is the first of their children, the God of the Arcane, the Patron of Magic itself. His rare presence before the mortals of Yggril is a sign of special times. [Blessing of Maztlit] [Gift of Magic] [Gift of Knowledge] [Gift of Charisma]

That was the third-most powerful god of this world? No wonder he was able to stop the other gods from appearing. It also explains why he had no qualms being obvious about looking at me.

"Silvia," I say. "There's more to it than them just appearing."

"What do you mean?" She asks, and Terrence gives me a confused look.

"Unlike others," I say. "I actually looked at the gods' faces while they were there. Every single one of them was looking at me. They were surprised by my presence, as if they didn't know I was here until Aizdelin saw me."

Silvia frowns a little at that, then asks me for as much information as possible about the gods' presences. She also asks for as much information as possible about the mysterious boy deity, showing a lot of surprise when I mention the crest on the barrier.

"So the gods weren't aware you were here?" She asks. "Not even the Patron of the [Archon]s?"

It's not surprising to me in the slightest that the God of the Arcane is also the patron god of the beings who can use all magics. What's surprising, though, is that even he seemed surprised by my presence.

That really does suggest it's a being other than the gods who brought me here. Who was it? That mysterious boy deity seemed to know.

"No," I answer. "He wasn't. There's more to it, though."

I tell Silvia about the mysterious about deity and his information box, and she muses to herself about this.

"There's nothing I've ever found," Silvia tells me after about a minute. "That mentions such a being. You said he said your arrival was unavoidable?"

"And the wrath for my death, something to avoid," I nod. "Which means that he knew about me, probably from the start, and he knows why I'm here."

"Most likely," Silvia nods. "But since you're here for the Slip-"

"I don't think I am," I interrupt.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"Unless the world has an automated-[Archon] summoning for major disasters," I tell her. "I'm not here for the Slip. I'm here for some other reason."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because," Terrence adds from where he's wrestling the twins. "The mysterious boy deity said that his coming here was unavoidable. That suggests it wasn't something that could have been stopped, even for a deity that can change their Blessing at will."

"The mystery of your arrival grows deeper, then," Silvia says. "If that's true and a being more powerful than the gods called your arrival unavoidable, then you're right. Either the arrival of [Archon]s – and their departures – are something innate to the world, or you're an exception."

"With so many gods coming to look at me," I say. "I'm inclined to believe I'm the exception."

"So am I," she says.

"Which means," I say. "I'm unlikely to be returned home after the Slip and the gods won't be able to send me back. I'll need to learn dimensional magics and figure out how to bridge the gap between worlds on my own. After that, I'll have to hope I don't just get summoned back here."

That, by itself, means I'll need to figure out why I was summoned here. The gods now know I'm here, and though they didn't know I was here before, it's possible they know what caused me to arrive here.

So after this Slip ends, I'll be going to the Shrine of Illusions to ask them. Depending on their answers, I'll need to work on my plans. One of those will no doubt be looking into ancient ruins that are further out than any spotted before.

I can't be the only [Archon] to have found himself here in this way, and if Silvia's found records of things like the Experience Point theory and the crest on me, then someone's going to have records of my situation. This can't be a unique situation, it has to be an extremely rare one.

Ancient records are definitely the way to go if the gods won't help.

"If only," Silvia says. "The tower of the previous [Archon]s wasn't gone."

"Terrence mentioned that," I say. "There was one in the fields outside of town, right?"

"Yes," Silvia nods. "It was near the edge of the forest. Based on where you told me you appeared, you actually appeared on that spot. I haven't found any records from any civilization mentioning the location for other [Archon]s. It was always that they appeared, did their work, and then disappeared."

"So you think," Terrence says after tossing Sol and Shade into the pond. "That the location of the tower may be the usual location for them to appear?"

"It may be," Silvia says. "Though why their tower would vanish when they left…"

"Are we sure it's an actual, physical tower?" I ask. "Could it be a metaphor for something? If previous [Archon]s always appeared on that spot, then it may have been a metaphor for where their base was. Hasn't that region been forest for over a thousand years, up until after the previous Slip? There's no way to know for sure, right?"

"It's an actual tower," Silvia says. "Though there was a forest there before, the tower of the previous [Archon]s was well-known. It did exist for two hundred years. Kings and princes would visit it to receive wisdom from the [Archon]s or request their age, aspiring mages would go there in the hopes of learning things. It was, essentially, a sacred structure. And the pair of [Archon]s who built it ensured that no one was able to lighten the path there. Their magic ensured the forest remained as thick as ever, and they would bring in monsters if the power level was getting too low."

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I get the feeling that the [Archon]s were trying to send a message. Everyone ignoring the very clear "please stop coming to us, we'll come to you" message is probably the reason they left.

"And when they left, they took their tower with them," I say.

"Yeah," Terrence nods. "I heard that when the area was cleared up after the Slip, they found the space where the tower had once been, still empty of trees. Which, now that I think about it, suggests our theory is right. That's the spot [Archon]s normally show up in, at least for this continent. Whatever magic draws them here no doubt keeps it clear so that they can have a starting base."

"And the previous pair used it as their base for two centuries," Silvia says. "I'll see if I have any texts that can help. Is there anything else you can remember of either encounter?"

"No," I shake my head. "I told you everything I can think of."

"Okay," Silvia says. "I'll make us all dinner, and I'll look through my things after."

"Yay!" The twins jump up and down. "Can we have a boar for dinner?"

"I'll see what I can get," Silvia tells them. "And before Terrence starts throwing you into the pond again, go get changed into your shorts. Terrence, where did you-"

"It's there," I indicate the key amulet sitting on the nearby table.

"Terrence, don't lose that," Silvia tells him. "I'll pluck every bit of fur from your tail if you do."

"Yes, ma'am!" Terrence salutes. "Come on, boys, let's go get changed!"

Terrence and the twins run into the house, and Silvia just shakes her head as she follows behind them. I open up my pack and go through it. Since everyone is inside, I quickly change into a pair of shorts that I'd bought while we were in town. Terrence and I did a little bit of shopping, and he retrieved the stuff that had been left behind when Silvia took us here.

After slipping on the shorts, I place my pants into the pack and my tunic and belt beside it, then lay down on the grass. The cool spring air feels nice, and I bask in the feeling of the sun's gentle rays on my skin.

Half an hour after I lie down to relax, I get up and go inside to try to find out why Terrence and the twins didn't come back out to go swimming. I learn the reason almost immediately.

They did manage to get changed into their shorts, and I guess something set off another round of wrestling because that's what they're doing… in the living room. Sol keeps going after Terrence's tail while Shade keeps trying to bite Terrence's ears, both trying to pull Terrence to the ground. The older wolfkin, meanwhile, is trying to wrestle both of them off him, but can't focus on either one for too long.

If he does, the other takes advantage of that distraction.

Watching them is kind of nice, and seeing Terrence like this makes him a little cuter. He doesn't have an issue playing with younger boys or roughhousing with them when they get excited. It kind of makes him more attractive as boyfriend material.

I can't think like that, though. I will be going home, and I don't plan on regularly opening passages between worlds. There's no telling what kind of aftermath that might have.

Whoever he does end up with is going to be lucky, though. If our quick friendship does remain the entire time I'm here… I'll see what I can do about making finding a boyfriend easier for him. From what I've seen so far, he deserves it.

There's little chance that an actual [Archon] saying something will be ignored. We're powerful beings who are believed to come from other worlds, here just to save this one. We are seen as being below only the gods.

So it shouldn't be too difficult for me to make it easier for him.

For now, though, I'll just hang out and be his friend. Let me make a bigger name as I work on getting home, to make my words more effective.

"Want some help?" I offer to the wrestling boys.

"Yes! Please!" Terrence responds.

"Okay!" I say.

Then I charge in and get inside of Terrence's guard. His eyes widen as he realizes what's about to happen, but the twins already have his arms locked as they attempt to go for his tail and ears.

Grinning at Terrence, I jump onto him, wrapping my arms and legs around him before jerking myself backwards.

"No!" He exclaims as we go down, the twins squealing.

The twins release Terrence as we hit the ground, and I quickly put the wolfkin teen into a lock that Nick taught me a couple of years ago. With my vastly superior Strength, Terrence doesn't stand a chance at breaking free.

"I got him!" I say. "Your turn, boys!"

"Yes!" The twins exclaims as they pounce on him.

Sol grabs Terrence's tail and lets out a triumphant squeal as he holds it down, and Shade grabs Terrence's ears, though he doesn't bite them as I thought he was trying to do.

"Admit that apples are delicious!" The twins tell Terrence.

Okay, that's not exactly what I was expecting.

"No!" Terrence responds. "Apples are disgusting!"

Shade bites Terrence's right ear and wiggles his head a little. It does look like he's trying to avoid using his fangs, so at least I know he's not trying to actually hurt Terrence. This is a dominance thing, though, isn't it?

"I will never give in!" Terrence says.

"Apples are amazing!" Shade says.

"The most delicious fruit there is!"

"What started this?" I ask.

"We said that we were hoping Mom comes back with apples," Sol tells me.

"And Terrence said he doesn't like them!" Shade adds.

"So we teamed up to take him down! For might makes right and we have the might!"

"Hm," I stand up. "Okay. Come here, boys."

"What is it?" The twins approach me.

"This!" I scoop them up and run out of the house, the twins squealing.

I make it halfway to the pond before I jump. With my immense Strength, my jump is very high, too. The twins squeal as we shoot upwards, retracting their statement that "might is right" and "you're very definitely right about apples".

The peak of the jump is around three hundred feet, and I lean backwards as we fall, ensuring that I'm on the bottom and both boys are mostly in front of me. Right before we're to hit the pond, I conjure an [Air Barrier] underneath me. The spell breaks the water for us as I use a slight bit of [Flight Wind] to keep us from slamming into the ground. The pond is about fifteen feet at its deepest, and we're almost there.

Water flows in over us, as the boys squeal, attempting to break free of my grip. Focusing my powers, I conjure up an air bubble around us as I dismiss my [Air Barrier], letting the water fill in all the way. Surprisingly, I get a notification for learning [Wind Barrier] when I create the bubble even though the wind isn't swirling around or anything.

It is, however, ensuring we have the air we need to breathe. I adjust the size of the bubble as the twins stop struggling, so that we can sit on the pond's bottom. Most of the pond's floor is made up of rocks and stone, and the water itself is fairly clear. A few fish swim up to the barrier and examine it before swimming around.

The twins giggle.

"This is so cool," Sol pokes an arm through the air bubble, then pulls back his now-wet arm. "Awesome!"

"This is kind of pretty," Shade waves at some fish passing by, wiggling his fingers instead of a full wave. "I'd like to eat down here sometime."

"It does look nice," I ruffle the boys' hair. "And Terrence is kind of silly for not liking apples, but everyone has their own tastes."

"Yeah," the twins nod. "We don't like cooked carrots, but Mom likes putting them in stews."

They said that in unison, on the spot. Considering that Silvia is keeping them from interacting with the outside world too much out of worry of what would happen once it's realized they're Tier IVs as well, the boys must be pretty harmonized. There's not a chance they actually practiced that.

"I don't like cooked carrots, either," I tell the kids.

"They really are disgusting," Sol says, and Shade nods in agreement. "But apples are delicious!

"Terrence is coming," I say.

The twins look up to see Terrence coming toward us in the water. Though he's disturbing it the pond with his movements, the water's clear enough for me to make out his confused expression. I guess he quickly decided to check out what was going on.

"Argh!" Terrence exclaims as he falls through the air bubble, landing on his face. "Oof!"

"It's only five feet high," I tell him. "So you'll want to sit."

"This is neat," Terrence sits up. "That's air magic, but it's not an [Air Barrier]. And the air doesn't feel off in here? I know it's got some space, but with four of us, shouldn't we start passing out soon? I don't feel even slightly light-headed."

"It's a [Wind Barrier]," I say. "With just enough pressure from the wind to keep the water from passing through. Your weight technically shouldn't be enough to push through, but it's because you're solid."

The pond's water is in a liquid state, so rather than the water pressure pushing it through the [Wind Barrier], it's instead being moved around us. A small bit of water magic on my part may be keeping it from being noticed by the others, though I'm sure Terrence noticed the oddity already.

This is a bit exhausting, though, so I finish bringing [Wind Barrier] up to Level 10, and switch to just a [Water Barrier] to create the bubble around us. As for the missing air…

[Air Orb] learned!

I work on it a little so that it continuously draws in air and puts some back out, keeping the air levels in here stable and breathable.

"Reid?" Terrence asks, and I look at him. "You looked like you were doing something, and the barrier seemed to shift some. I can't tell too well, since you were just manipulating air that was already here so there was no tint, but-"

"I switched to a [Water Barrier]," I tell him.

"Ah," he says, and his gaze shifts to the three-inch orb of violet-tinted air magics hovering beside me now. "How are we not getting light-headed? Shouldn't we be passing out with so little air in here?"

"Hm," I say. "It seems you don't know about the air gasses yet."

"Gasses?" He asks. "Like poisonous gasses? Or the lethal ones that can appear in mines?"

"Or when you toot!" The twins add. "But let's not do that in here."

"Yeah," I snort. "Anyway, I don't remember things completely, so my explanation might not be completely accurate, but the air is basically just one big gas. Or rather, a gas that's a mixture of gasses and other things, like water.

"Our body," I touch my chest. "Needs one of these gasses. When we inhale, we're taking in that gas, not just 'air', and then our lungs absorb it for us and our blood distributes it through our body. When we breathe out, we exhale another gas, one that's not safe to inhale. What causes the light-headed state is a mixture of not having enough of the gas we need and inhaling the gas we shouldn't inhale too much of.

"This orb," I indicate the floating [Air Orb]. "Performs a similar process, but in reverse. I've also been slowing improving it while we sit here, making it more efficient."

It's also only a Tier I spell, which surprised me. I suppose it's because the spell's base is simply just an orb of air, nothing else. Tweaking it so that it filters air and converts it to what we need is just considered an improvement on it, too. Surprisingly, I don't need to be experienced in science for it to work, either.

All I need to do is focus on "bad air turns to good air" and it works. Magic isn't science, so it doesn't need scientific knowledge or actions.

"Mom's said something like that before," Shade says.

"That we breathe in good air and breathe out bad air," Sol says.

"But she didn't know what it was," they say together. "Or how it worked."

"I've never heard of that before," Terrence tells me. "And I received an education in the capital. I mean, we knew we needed to breathe for some reason, but not why."

Silvia knew, but a prince receiving a royal education didn't? That suggests it's something she learned from ruins. I'll ask her later how much she knows.

"Speaking of your mom," I tell the twins. "Want to stay down here until she comes back, to see what she does? After bringing [Air Orb] up to Level 10, the combined cost for it and the [Water Barrier] is less than my Mana Regen, so it only depends on my focus."

"Let's do that!" The twins exclaim.