Ben nodded.

Blue had just finished recounting the events that had occurred in the desert. The two knights stood there, wide-eyed, with their mouths slightly open, as if what they heard was impossible.

Le’Vieux glanced at Ben. “You have a large pair of steel balls to take on an entire nursery like that.”

Ben scratched his head, “I wouldn’t go that far. They started the whole thing. All I did was defend myself. Then, things got out of control when those riders showed up. I would have been toast if Blue didn’t also turn up.”

“Lucky for you, Blue here has many agreements with the civilizations of this world. You’re lucky one of them had enough common sense to summon him to extinguish the flames of that situation.” Le’Vieux explained, then shrugged, “I’m still trying to work out how you, a level one, managed almost to slaughter an entire nursery by yourself. That’s completely unheard of. How did you manage that?”

What? Does he also have access to a system? And how on Earth does he know I’m a level one?

Besides that, Ben was starting to think his system was broken. It had worked perfectly fine when fighting the smaller scorpions, but it stopped giving him level information when the riders showed up.

I’ll have to ask about that later. Maybe they know more about it.

Ben cleared his throat. “Erm…I ran them over with my van,” he said, glancing through the little slits in the wall behind Le’Vieux.

A frown filled Le’Vieux’s face. “A Van? That’s another thing I’m unfamiliar with. Is it a weapon?”

Alfred interrupted the conversation with a cough, “Sir, what he means to say is a caravan. Maybe they call it a ‘van’ where he’s from.”

Le’Vieux squinted and looked more confused than he had been a moment before. “That’s absurd. I still don’t understand how he could kill a horde of scorpions with a caravan.”

“Sir, it’s not like the ones we use. It’s more like a large metal box on wheels, considerably larger than our military transports. Another interesting thing to note was that it ran without horses. A few of my knights were almost squashed when it came through the portal.” As Alfred explained, he motioned out a rectangular shape similar to the van.

Le’Vieux stroked his beard and said, “Interesting. I’ll have to look at this ‘van’ sometime. It sounds like something that could be useful in combat situations.” He then turned to Ben, “Alfred said there were no horses. Does it run on magic or something else?”

“It might look like it runs on magic, but it’s just a mechanical machine that requires fuel to run… Well, it has some magic abilities, too. So, technically, you can say it also runs on magic.” Ben explained, but he wasn’t sure if mentioning the artifact and the class it had granted him was a good idea. Before disclosing more information than necessary, he wanted to understand what these people were about.

Le’Vieux nodded. “I bet my mages would love to see how it works.” He then turned to Alfred and asked, “I’m curious, how big is it?”

Alfred glanced at the ceiling, “Compared to our military transport carts, the width is two side by side, and the length is three when placed the long way. And you could stack three of our carts to be approximately the same height.”

Le’Vieux nodded. “That’s larger than any vehicle in our inventory… I can’t wait to see the quality of the craftsmanship. I hope our engineers can learn from it one day so we can also make machines of such stature.”

Blue took a few steps forward. “It always has to be about size… Come now, put your measuring sticks away. I don’t have all day to waste here, and we still have more important matters to discuss.”

Le’Vieux cleared his throat. “Alright, let’s get to it then.”

Blue positioned himself in front of Le’Vieux. “Do you remember the whole plan with the artifact on Earth?”

“Of course I do. We put a lot of resources into getting that here. Why? What’s happened?” Le’Vieux questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“You won't want to hear this, but he,” Blue pointed at Ben, “used it to get here. That's how he ended up in that nursery.”

Le’Vieux started to fume like a kettle. His face turned red, and he started to get irate, as if someone had poked him with a hot glowing iron rod. “What? That can’t be right. How did that happen?”

Ben started to get bad vibes from Le'Vieux's death stare. He took several steps back in case he tried to attack him but doubted he could do anything against someone who had trained all his life in the art of war and combat, even though he was an old man. Without the van, he couldn’t even try running him over.

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Blue glanced at him and gave him a reassuring nod with a hand motion. “Grand Marshall,” he exhaled, “you should calm down before you pop a vein in your head. I have no reason to believe Ben has any bad intentions. The thing with the nursery was plain bad luck, no fault of his own, and his explanation of events that got him there all seem to add up. I brought him here for a reason, and if there were any ill will, I would have left him there in the wasteland.”

Le’Vieux took a few breaths and calmed down before speaking, “Alright, I trust your judgment enough not to question it, and the whole scorpion situation is making more sense now. With the artifact's power, it was no wonder he could do what he did. So, how did it come into his possession?”

“Ben was a courier on Earth, and he was tasked with delivering it somewhere when it activated. As you know, these things don’t just randomly activate by themselves. It must have sensed Ben was worthy of its power.” Blue explained.

The artifact thought I was worthy. What? I’m just a delivery driver!

“Are you sure there’s nothing you can do to remedy the situation?” Le’Vieux asked, rubbing the lines on his forehead.

Blue shook his head, “Once the artifact has melded with someone, it’s a lifelong bond that can only be broken by his death… Even then, I doubt we’ll be able to use it.”

“As much as I don’t like it, It seems we are stuck with him then,” Le’Vieux grumbled.

Blue crossed his arms and added, “You know there is nothing we can do, and you also know my powers are not what they used to be. Our enemies strengthen while we wait and see what they do next. Soon, they will overwhelm us without us even realizing it. I suggest you both get friendly and start working together.”

Le’Vieux sighed in annoyance but nodded, “Ben, please forgive my rash reaction earlier, and don’t take it to heart. It seems we have much to discuss, but before we do, let me properly introduce myself and who we are. I am Grand Marshall Rolf Le’Vieux, commander in chief of the Hollow Lands and all its military might.” He motioned towards Alfred, “That is Knight-Captain Alfred of Wesport.”

Ben nodded, “Well, It’s nice to meet you both… again.” He pointed at one of the tapestries on the wall, “That must be your coat of arms, am I right?”

Le’Vieux nodded. “That is correct. We are the largest of the five military orders in the Canrich Kingdom.” He stepped toward the map on the wall and pointed to an island a little north of the center. “This is the island of Great Malle. Our kingdom rests on the southern part of the Island, with most of the North still being wild and full of hostile creatures.”

Ben moved closer to the map and noticed that the island sat between two large continents. Without a distance marker, there was no way to be sure, but it looked like it was the size of Australia. A prominent mountain range rose from its center.

The Canrich Kingdom was marked by the five sigils of the knightly orders and their respective borders. The Hollow Moon appeared to be located northwest of the Canrich kingdom, with most of its border with the wild north and the rest with an independent duchy named Meso. Ben was surprised that the lettering was in old English and easy to read.

There’s more to these people than meets the eye. A lot of this is giving me Knights Templar vibes. I should ask about their origins when the time is right.

Le’Vieux then pointed to the northern area, “In case you’re wondering, we call it the Feruslands, based on the Latin word for feral.”

Latin? Surely, that confirms it.

Blue coughed and interrupted before Ben could say anything, “Not only is it feral and full of creatures, but also organizations in the shadows trying to plunge the world into an all-out war.”

If he’s so powerful, can't he go there and whip up a can of Whoop-ass or something?

Blue glanced at Ben and noticed the expression of confusion on his face. “I know what you are thinking. I can’t venture there because they have erected barriers that cancel my magic.”

Le’Vieux nodded. “He’s right about that.” He pointed to the independent duchy, “Around a month ago, swathes of refugees crossed the border. With them came varying accounts that all their knights and soldiers went north to fight a war…, but they never returned. Something is wrong there, and I fear they might be on the verge of extinction. With Blue’s power being blocked, he can’t go there and fix the situation like he normally does.”

“This is where you come in,” Blue added, “When you arrived in that desert, I couldn’t detect you or your magic. And I believe it will be the same for them as I believe the artifact can mask your presence at large distances.”

“Hmm.” Ben nodded, then crossed his arms and said, “Alright, I understand why this situation might be frustrating for you guys. Earlier, Le’Vieux mentioned that I was only a level one, which means he could see some information from my system. Then now, you guys are telling me that they might be unable to detect me and my system. How can I not see any of your level information? Seems the other way around if you ask me.”

Le’Vieux and Blue shot each other a glance before laughing as if a silly question had been asked.

“Ben,” Alfred interjected, holding back a chuckle. “They weren’t talking about that. Everyone’s system can see the level information of another system user when engaged in combat. For enemies that don't have a system, your system will estimate their level. For you to see level information, you can’t be more than ten levels below them. I’ll give you an example. I am level sixteen, meaning you must be at least six before seeing it. Does that make sense?”

Ben scratched his head. “Well, it makes more sense than it did moments before.”

Alfred grinned, “Don’t worry, it’s like that for all system users unless you have a skill that can bypass it. I think you could do with some training on how the system works. Even the basics would be helpful.”

Le’Vieux stopped laughing and put on a serious face. “Listen, Ben, we have the resources to help you with that and much more. As you have already witnessed, this world is full of dangerous creatures, entities, and organizations. Some will want to take the power of your artifact for themselves and will stop at nothing to get what they want. We can provide you with the knowledge and know-how if you agree to join our cause. All we want is peace in this world and to preserve our way of life. So, what do you say to that?”