Unsurprisingly, it's dark out. I'd estimate it to be well-past midnight as well, which doesn't surprise me. After some thought, I know I probably spent fourteen or fifteen hours in the Trial, maybe longer. That would put it to be a little after midnight right now.

Four tents have been set up in the clearing, each one around six feet across and eight feet in height, hexagonal in shape. I can see the remains of a fire, with a table set up near it, five chairs placed around it. We didn't bring any of those, so I make a guess that Silvia salvaged them from somewhere. The mismatched chairs suggest that they couldn't find a full set and had to scavenge whatever they could find that was still functional.

Silvia and the twins aren't visible, so they're probably sleeping in their tents. I'm feeling quite exhausted, myself, but want to get at least a little food in my stomach first, so I walk to my tent and enter it.

They've put down a rug to cover the cobblestone floors, with my pack resting on the left side of the tent and my bedroll resting on the right. I remove my boots and leave them on the boot mat in here, then step over to my bag.

First things first, I change into a pair of shorts, leaving myself in just those, the amulet key, and the bracelet now around my right wrist. It's a simple silver band with a dark blue crystal set into it, and it's the storage device for my Trial rewards.

Ignoring it, I pull some food out of my pack as well. Dried fruit, some cheese, some bread, and a roll of sausage. I slice off some cheese, sausage, and bread and wrap them back up, placing them back into my pack. That along with with a handful of dried fruit and magically-created water makes up my meal, then I look at my bedroll.

Before I go to sleep, I want to pull out the reward. If I stop standing, even for a moment, I'm going to fall asleep. That's how exhausted I am at the moment.

Touching the bracelet with my left index finger, I find nothing happening. Maybe it's the same as the tree?

A pulse of magic sent into the bracelet confirms this, a message appearing in my vision.

Would you like to remove your Trial rewards? Yes No

The bracelet glows upon my confirmation, then a small sphere forms in the air in front of me. I place my right hand under the glowing sphere, which couldn't be more than an inch in diameter. The action was just in time, too, for the glow disappears after only three seconds.

My reward drops into my hand, a black band ring with a violet line streaked around it on both sides. As I slip it onto my right ring finger, I confirm that it's just my size.

Though I already know what it does thanks to the reward choice system telling me, I still look at its information, anyway.

Ring of Safe Teleport Grade: 7 For a cost of 5 Mana, this ring allows the wearer to teleport to the nearest enchanted tree they have touched. For an added cost of 5 Mana per person, they can also choose to bring people in physical contact with them when they teleport. For an added cost of 25 Mana per person, they can also choose to bring people within 49 feet of them with them when they teleport.

There seems to be an instinctive understanding of how the reward items work as well. It's not that I can choose whether or not to take someone, but rather, I can choose who comes with me. So if Terrence has his hand on my shoulder while I'm ruffling the twins' hair, I can teleport and take only Terrence with me if I want. It won't take all of them just because I wanted to take someone, I actually choose who comes with me, not just that anyone touching me does if I choose to take someone with me.

Maztlit told me I didn't need to perform the Second Rank Advancement Trial to get home. That's more information than I've managed to get so far.

Level 200 is the highest I'll need in order to open a way home. It may even be significantly lower – could I open the way home now? Perhaps. But I know that I can open the way home because Maztlit told me so.

Sure, he didn't directly say that, but he did say it's not necessary for me to do it to go home. If he's the Patron God of [Archon]s, and [Archon]s never stay here, then it would stand to reason that he was telling me what's necessary to go home.

This ring being in the rewards cements that to me. It had the highest cost value, making it the only reward I could take. Why would I need any other reward, though, when this one will grant me what I want?

How can it do that when all it does is teleport me to the nearest enchanted tree that I've touched? That's actually quite simple.

Closing my eyes, I access my magic, tapping into my Mana Gate – and my Mana Core. The elements flow into the core, infusing my Mana with it. My Mana flows out of it and forms the gate that links them all together. At the same time, my Mana flows out of the core and through my body, filling me with power.

I open my eyes and inhale deeply as I tap into my Mana itself rather than just the elements within it.

Then I begin to float.

[Flight] learned!

This isn't an air spell, this is magic. No manipulation of the wind to lift me up, nor is it a manipulation of gravity. Magic doesn't need to obey the rules of science, it can simply do as it wants. That's why I can make [Air Orb] process unbreathable air into breathable air.

[Flight] is an application of magic itself.

I honestly could have done this days ago, too. As soon as Silvia taught me about the Mana Gate, I knew I could do this. The only reason I hadn't was because I wanted to become more familiar with using my magic first.

Her cloak uses this spell, rather than air magic. All I needed to do was to focus on sensing the magic in her cloak, and I figured out the spell. Though I did need for it to be active so that I could observe it properly.

I cancel [Flight] and lightly land on the ground, then examine the ring again. All I need to do is focus on sensing the magic of this ring as it teleports me to an enchanted tree, and I'll be able to figure out how to teleport.

Knowing the basic form of the magic will help me figure out other dimensional magics, which will lead to me finally learning how to open a passage home.

That's why Maztlit was telling me it wasn't necessary to pass the Second Rank Advancement Trial. This ring will allow me to begin figuring out dimensional magics, and the way home must be within my power when I have 4,200 Mana and 4,200 Magic.

Either that, or I won't need to go higher than that to deal with what the Slip throws our way, and I'll still end up home after the Slip. But I'm certain of the theory that something else brought me here, not a summoning to deal with the Slip.

Rather than focusing on that, however, I go to my bedroll and lay down.

----------------------------------------

Considering the burning fire and playing wolfkin boys, I'm going to assume this isn't the same night I fell asleep in. Did I sleep through the whole day? Or did I sleep even longer than that?

"Rawr!" Sol exclaims as he tackles his brother.

"GRRR!" Shade growls back as he pulls his brother to the ground.

They probably noticed I came out of my tent, though they're too into their play-fight to stop. I know it's just them playing because they keep giggling at each other.

Silvia doesn't look like she's around, though I doubt she'd have just left the twins here on their own, so she's probably in her tent.

That's confirmed when she steps out of hers, a small smile on her face.

"We heard you breathing in there when we woke up," Silvia tells me. "I don't know when you came out of the Trial, but you slept the entire day."

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"I didn't think it would exhaust me that much," I realize I'm scratching the back of my head and drop my hand back down to my side. "Even with [Mythic Beast Killer], the Trail was easier than I expected."

"It probably made the final fight more difficult," she tells me. "But I'm not surprised you found it easy."

"Because I'm an [Archon]?" I ask.

"No," she answers. "You seem to adapt to combat situations quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if your tactic against the boss was to lock it in some way so that you could just repeatedly attack it."

That's… actually exactly what I did. Rather than stun-locking it like in a video game, I light-locked it. The beast couldn't attack because of the bright flashes of lights, which were causing it immense pain because it couldn't close its eyes. If I hadn't thought to do that, then I probably would have needed to spend a lot more effort and energy on killing the beast.

"We checked on you after we noticed you," Silvia says. "Well, the twins rushed in to check on you, and I wasn't quite fast enough to stop them. Fortunately, you didn't wake up from that. While I was pulling them out, we noticed your ring. Considering what it does, I'm guessing it cost 13 Points?"

"Yeah," I nod. "You didn't have it in yours?"

"The list varies from person to person," she says. "They cater to the individual. Most of my rewards were focused on granting me additional offensive abilities or utilities that I lack due to my affinities. This cloak, for example, granted me the ability to fly. I guess that a teleport ring works out better than the storage ring."

"The what?"

"Everyone gets offered that," she tells me. "It's a ring that has a dimensional storage space inside of it. The ring costs 13 Points for everyone, and I was expecting you to go for it. I know you figured out the flight spell from my cloak, learning how to manipulate space like that seems like it would be a good starting step to learning how to bridge the space between worlds. A teleport spell does as well."

"Everyone gets it in their list?" I ask.

"You didn't?" Silvia asks.

"No," I hold up my right hand. "This ring was the only item in the list which had any form of dimensional magics. At least, as far as I can tell."

"That's odd," Silvia says. "Maybe it's because you're an [Archon], so the list had a different pool? But still, everyone has that ring in their list, so why wouldn't you?"

"Maybe I interfered again," the voice of the boy deity whispers into my ear, and Silvia's eyes widen as the twins stop playing, looking over here in confusion. "But it will be the last time. The consequences for doing so again could be disastrous."

"That… that's the boy deity you mentioned, wasn't it?" Silvia asks.

"Yeah," I examine the ring. "So he can interfere with the rewards for the Trials?"

"And he swapped the dimensional ring for a teleport ring," Silvia says. "I knew the gods had some ability to observe and interact with the Trials, since they show up at the end and discuss it with us, showing us what happened, but… I'd never dreamed they could interfere with the rewards."

"We do it all the time."

Silvia and I turn to find Maztlit standing there, his outfit shifting a few times before settling on what seems to be his normal one.

"Though not the way that he did," Maztlit says. "It's more that… we get a say in what those rewards are. Thirteen of them are chosen by the god who appears before you at the end. Thirteen of them are randomly chosen from a pool of rewards, and the items in that pool are determined by the stages you went through. Each stage has its own pool, and they get added together to become the pool that it's pulled from. As for the final thirteen, that's determined by your affinities, with the dimensional ring and two other items always being present."

So some of the choices are set, based on one's affinities. Three items are always present? I make a mental note to ask Silvia about that later.

"There's also no need to bow," Maztlit says as Silvia and the twins overcome their surprise and remember that they're supposed to bow before him. "This isn't one of the more formal appearances. The rules of the appearance in the Trial made it difficult to say stuff. I'm glad you understood my hint, Reid, I wasn't too sure if I was clear enough on that or not."

"I did doubt it," I nod. "So I won't need to go higher than Level 200 to open the passage home?"

Maztlit is quite for a few moments, looking quite contemplative.

"I'm still restricted in what I can say," he tells me. "But I can say that you're now powerful enough to actually open the passage. Keeping it open, on the other hand… that depends on how skilled you are with the spell. You may manage to open it and go home before the Slip ends, or it may take you longer. It depends on how quickly you learn and improve the right spell."

"Okay," I say. "Thank you, for the advice."

"You're welcome," he tells me. "Do you have any questions?"

"Is that allowed?" I ask.

"Yes," he chuckles. "I'm restricted in what I can say to you, but I can still answer a few questions. This is a patron visiting one of his, rather than a visit to simply grace mortals with his presence."

"Okay," I say. "Can you tell me how Terrence is doing?"

Maztlit brings up his left hand, placing his index finger to his lips. This doesn't give me the impression of him telling me to be quiet, but more of him doing it as part of some sort of ritual or habit. The moment his finger touches his lips, his left eye turns golden. For a few moments, we all stand here, waiting, then his eye returns to normal and he removes his finger from his lip.

"He entered a second rest zone a few minutes ago," Maztlit informs me. "And is currently stuffing himself with food. He's only around halfway through his trial, though that doesn't speak to time as some stages can take less time than others, or they can take longer than others."

"Okay," I say. "Can I ask why the Elemental Gods were so interested and confused by me? You told me after they stopped that you'd make sure it didn't continue to happen, so I've assumed other gods were going to."

"Yes," Maztlit answers. "I am the one who summons [Archon]s when we need their presence. I selectively pick them based on their personalities, their ability to grow in magic and learn and advanced spells, how likely they are to mesh with the people who will be most important to them, and in most cases, the chances of them developing a romance with those who will be more important to them here, should they be old enough for that."

"You help [Archon]s get laid?" I ask. "Even though they're going to return home?"

"Yes," he answers. "The [Archon]s are aware of this. I always ask them if they will come to help us out. When I do, I always inform them that they will return home, whether in a week or in a month or more. I tell them that they must deal with the threat I've summoned them to deal with as well."

"What if they refuse?"

"I never make the mistake of picking someone who will lie and say they will, then not," Maztlit states. "Nor the mistake of picking someone who will change their mind after agreeing. And I remind them of the fact that they will always return home after, no matter what. Some have asked me to allow them to stay longer, but I refuse."

"Why pair them with people they will fall in love with, then?"

"The blood of an [Archon]," he says. "Will influence their children, allowing their children to learn and advance their spells more quickly. I am careful not to pick [Archon]s who will just sleep around, but ones who will pick only one or two people to sire a child with. That is, if they are to ever sire a child. And they are aware going in that they may fall in love while here. Growing attached is their fault, as they know beforehand that they must resist that if they do not want heartbreak."

In other words, he's attempting to strengthen bloodlines here, allowing at least some people to learn and advance their spells more quickly.

"If they're to ever sire a child?"

"The current [Archon] I've brought over is gay, so I doubt he'll be having children."

"But that's not me?" I ask. "I got that impression from the way the gods acted and how you started the answer."

"Yes," Maztlit nods. "I did not summon you, and that boy deity you've now heard the voice of twice shielded you from our perception. He was… scared of our reactions to learning of you."

"Why?" I ask. "Did he bring me here?"

"Your arrival is a complicated thing," Maztlit tells me. "As he told you before, your arrival was unavoidable. Even he couldn't have stopped it. As soon as he realized what happened, he shielded you. Rightly so, as we are concerned about your presence here."

So the mysterious boy deity didn't have anything to do with it. I've a feeling I won't get information about why my presence worries even the gods. That's probably not something they'd want to share with me, so I won't ask about it at all.

"As for your departure," Maztlit thinks for a few moments. "The influence and power of a god is limited in range, focused on the world they are of. Earth is beyond the range of the gods of this world. So I cannot send you home. The only way for you to return to Earth would be for an [Archon] to open the passage."

So it's not that he's truly incapable of it, it's that being a god actually stop him from doing it. That seems a bit weird, to be honest, but I guess that's just how things are for gods. They're linked to a world, not the universe, and the universe probably has rules in place to avoid gods affecting too many other worlds.

"Okay," I say. "So this is the way back for me, then. Can an [Archon] open a passage here after they're sent back home? To return to the loves they made here?"

"Of course," Maztlit says. "But they would find that this is not a world in which they can stay."

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because it is not their own," Maztlit answers. "My power shields them from it, but there is a thing called 'draw of the world'. Unless the world you're from is very far away, you will always be drawn back to your own world. It may be a few hours, or a few weeks, but never more than a few months. The more often you leave your world, the stronger this tether becomes as well, so the sooner it will happen. Eventually, you'd never be able to stay for more than a few moments. That is why the [Archon]s I summon must always return."

"But that doesn't affect me," I say. "I lived on Earth for more than sixteen years, and your words made it clear I won't be drawn back there. I can't be from here, though, can I? Since I was on Earth for sixteen years?"

"You were born on Earth," he confirms. "As I said, your presence here is… complicated. I wish I could tell you more so that you understood what's going on, but I'm unable to. I do hope I gave you enough information, though."

"You've answered plenty," I say. "Thank you."

He's also created plenty of questions, but I think that's about all I'll get. That statement makes it sound like we're done.

"Goodbye, Reid," Maztlit tells me, then vanishes.

I look at Silvia and the twins.

"Anyone other than me even more confused than they started off?"