“Nice.”
“What’s ‘nice’?” Asked a confused Sheeno, and I could feel the same unsaid question hanging from Undine’s lips from my other side.
“I… honestly don’t know. Just felt the random urge to say it”, I replied with a single-shoulder shrug.
My girlfriend grunted in affirmation and thankfully left it there, with even the blue Nymph leaving the matter be.
It probably was an error on my part to satisfy such a ‘spur of the moment’ need, but it was only me saying ‘nice’, so how bad could it actually be?
I had just come out of the shop of the twin grannies, after finding out that Sheeno had already paid in full the necessary coin to settle the transaction, because of course she did, my personal deal excluded, when this time I was unabashedly met by the two women waiting for me right outside.
“Now, were they not around the first time I came out in a fit of rage by mere happenstance, or did they know that was going to happen, so they made themselves scarce for that occasion? I almost don’t want to know, actually, now that I’m ruminating about it.”
We were walking down the market’s road, this time letting Undine tour the various stalls and shops more freely, where I also caught the occasion to see if I could identify anything that stood out among the exposed merchandise: Like a sealed [Legendary] sword, that for all intents and purposes looked just like an ordinary tool when [Inspect]ed by a lesser [Ability], or maybe a rare medicinal plant capable of disguising itself into a more mundane weed, and making it so it was in turn heavily discounted compared to what could have been a fair price for the thing.
Unfortunately, that was all wishful thinking on my part, since it became clear pretty soon that one didn’t make business with adventurers if you weren’t 100% sure that you were the one benefitting from the deal. Did you want this shiny new sword? Well, you might as well pay it just as much regrowing the arm that you could have lost while using a more sub-par item. Do you need this panacea to cure an especially rare cursed infection? Well, that just means you’ll be paying it at a premium, doesn’t it?
[Merchants] were extremely callous, almost cruelly so, barely above profiting over other’s misfortune, but I guess it wasn’t too different to how governments back home would mark up the price of anything in order to profit on everything, and then if you weren’t able to keep up with the inflation of prices that was just an excuse for them to slowly strip away every comfort you had; and if that wasn’t enough, they would also ruthlessly rob you of all the essential until you were homeless and penniless.
…
Was it obvious that it almost happened to me? I managed to avoid such a fate only because I had loving parents, but the event still caused me to hate most of how my old society was structured. Because, if it isn’t yet clear, I’ll literally tell you that governments, as a whole, just became corrupt oligarchies that preyed on their citizens, but somehow people grew desensitized to it since the corruption crept in little by little, and nobody noticed until it was too late; like a frog in a pot.
Ok, Anarchist, calm down.
“Yeah, yeah, just derailed a bit when Jeoff also came to mind and reinforced the idea that [Nobles], [Royals], and [Polititian] are a multiversal error in the distribution of power.”
Coming off a bit strong there, do you not think so?
“Nah, not really.”
“He’s frowning a lot, and his lips are slightly pursed, so I bet he’s thinking about overcomplicated bad topics”, I caught the tail end of what Sheeno was saying.
“I’d say you’re right, if it wasn’t for the fact that the corners of his mouth twitched upwards a little at the end, so I think it was something more bitter-sweet”, Undine responded; apparently she had grown tired of the market, and decided to switch to observing me at some point.
I had vaguely felt their attentions and actions, but here in public I was more preoccupied with every other person we were passing by, so I had mostly isolated them out of my perception with but a thought, prioritizing a general scan of the surroundings than eavesdropping on them.
“Is my face really that expressive?” I asked the two women.
“Yes”, and as it had become their usual, they responded in sync, followed by a small round of giggles.
“Arr arr, how very funny”, I drolly commented, trying to get my sarcasm across as hard as I could. “Anyway, now that I have my new clothes and armor, which none of you commented on,” I continued, pulling the edge of my new bleached leather chest piece and showing a bit of the black shirt underneath, “should we give Merglobth a call and tell them that we’re ready to depart?”
Yes, I had also gotten my new set of clothes and armor out of the deal with the two dastardly crones, one set of which I was wearing, while the other two were sitting in my bulging backpack. For now, they were all [Enchanted] with [Ever-Clean] and [Self-Repair], with the leather pieces also having the basis for protection against the elements and physical blows, just like my cloak. I will naturally improve them later on, but with all the practice I got with Sheeno’s weapon I was confident that it wouldn’t take long.
And I also wanted to use the occasion to better study this [Improved Adaptability] that I was unfamiliar with.
Honestly, I had underestimated [Enchanting] initially, thinking that it was so easy that I was wasting time if [Enchanting] took me more than a few minutes, but now, thanks to Flaminia and Lavinia, I knew of the unforeseen depths that I could embark on if I so chose.
Now, did I want to?
Kind of.
It was interesting, for sure, and a true and tested path to power, but I already had [Spell-Weaving] as my main thing, with a bit of [Soul] engineering on the side that already felt so vast that, if I really started to dedicate myself to it, it wouldn’t leave me any time for anything else.
At least, that would have been the case, if it wasn’t that [Levelling Up] slowed the normal process of aging, meaning that if I reached a high enough [Lvl] fast enough I could become virtually immortal, with a hale [Body] and a sane [Mind], meaning that I would have all the time in the [Nexus] to study and practice anything, for as long as I wanted to.
What a scary thought: Immortality.
Well, pseudo-immortality, since you still could get killed, but my point still stands: Immortality is scary, because living beings capable of sentience aren’t made for it.
We are simply not made to see everything that we’ve ever experienced and loved turned to ash right before our very eyes.
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Is that how [Gods] and alike get so quirky? Probably, but one has to remember that the [System] they created is meant to facilitate growth, and one of the points it focuses on is mental evolution, which is probably meant, at least in part, to fight the fear mentioned before.
Sometimes I’d like for a certain [Goddess] to pop up and tell a yes or no about these things, but it seems like she appears only when she pleased, and explaining to me the inner-working of the minds of those that achieved immortality wasn’t among her favorite topics, it seemed.
“You’re doing it again. Is something wrong?” Sheeno asked with loving concern in her voice, whilst also activating her [Pyramid of Privacy].
Undine had sprinted away when she had noticed a [Botanist], and she was still there having a heated discussion with the poor sap on how he shouldn’t leave the water lily, that she was vehemently pointing at, out in the sun. It was a weird flower, completely mundane to normal eyes, but mine could see how it somehow ‘wafted’ in intervals some light-blue [Mana].
“Nothing in particular, it’s just that now that I have time to decompress, and have already exhausted my anger against a couple of elderly ladies, my mind just travels on those topics that I don’t normally want to think about because I’m normally too busy to get depressed”, I explained while awkwardly scratching the back of my head.
“Anything I could help you with?” She bumped her hips into me, as if to remind me she was right next to me, ready to help.
“I… don’t think so? I’m mostly fine, and I’ve internalized just about as much as a healthy person could. But I wouldn’t refuse a kiss”, I decided to unashamedly ask for some public effusion, knowing that she wasn’t one to shy away from it.
In fact, after a light snort, she bent down and gave me a soft peck on the lips, all without breaking her stride.
“Better now?” She asked, in an attempt to tease me.
“Actually, yes”, I readily answer with a big grin.
“Dork”, my girlfriend snorted again
“And that’s another ‘yes’ from me!” I tried to imitate a game show announcer.
So, this was nice. We were just walking about the market, slow enough that Undine could peruse around, but fast enough so that the people behind us didn’t try to step over me to go faster. That is a thing that happened once, but after that guy got a staff to the nuts nobody ever tried it again.
Mostly, I was surprised that I was having an actual good time around so many people.
…
Was I the problem all along?
Yes.
And if so, what changed?
You got laid.
But, most importantly, was this change for the best?
Absolutely.
And am I happy with it?
Are you?
…
“You know what? I think I am.”
I kind of wanted to snap at [Buddy] for it kept intruding in my inner monologue, but I’d be lying if I said that its assertions that I was on the right track didn’t make me feel sort of happy.
From the tallest dude with a lizard’s head, to the tiniest Fairy with skirts made of leaves, I did not care.
“I think I finally found my pla- oh, motherfucker!” I wasn't even done with the moment of impromptu fluffiness, when I detected a [Priest] of [Purity] trailing us with malevolent intentions.
“What’s wrong?” Sheeno asked, noting the anger in my voice.
And as if she had also detected that something was wrong, Undine quickly made her way to my other side, abandoning a befuddled merchant mid-discussion.
“Another fucker from [Purity] is following us, but at least he’s alone- wait, no, it’s a she”, I informed them, quickly correcting myself when changing my parameters on [Unavoidable Detection] to further hone in on them and get a few more details; she wasn’t like those two idiots that tried to ambush us in our residence, with the help of a [Hunter], without properly investigating the property beforehand, but she was aptly following us from surprisingly far away, while disguised as a [Priestess of Creation], and nobody dared look at her long enough to notice the discrepancies in fear of incurring the wrath of the mightiest of the [Gods].
Or at least that was the impression I got by reading the emotions of those that took notice of her.
“Is [Creation] known for being vindictive, or something?”
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again:
You should stop insulting Gods as if it was out of fashion.
*wink* *wink**nudge* *nudge*
“Oh, now you’re responding to me!?”
I waited for a comeback, but I was only met again with radio silence; and apparently, I waited for so long that Sheeno started shaking my shoulder with urgency.
“Darwin!? Talk to us! Do we need to find a place where we won’t involve bystanders and call for Prise?” She harshly whispered while slightly bent down towards me.
“What? No, no. If anything, being around other people might be safer for everyone. For now, she just seems to be scouting us out, so maybe we could trick her into following us towards the teleporter, where we could have some [Guards] ambush her”, I responded, quickly devising a plan on the spot.
“Ok, that’s fine, but I’m still contacting [Knight] Prise directly since she could help with coordinating with the [Guards]”, and so saying Sheeno took out her [Guild] card and started staring off in the distance, leaving me wondering when and how had she gotten her contact.
“What about me, how can I help?” Undine seemed almost frustrated that she didn’t already have a role to fulfill.
“Say, as a fellow [Priestess] of a higher grade, could you perhaps feel out if anyone in the crowd is currently communicating with a [Demi-God], or something similar?” I asked her.
“Yes; in fact, you are, from time to time. Why?” And she just dropped a bomb on me.
What the hell! [High Priests] can just feel that!? Whatever, I’ll save the discussion for another time.
“Well, just keep an eye out for communications with [Demi-Gods] directly behind us, a kilometer or so away”, I instructed her, and with a resolute nod, she also started staring ahead, using whatever sense was unique to her [Job] to fulfill her new role.
Meanwhile, Sheeno seemed to have finished communicating our situation to Sir Prise, because she lightly nudged my shoulder to catch my attention, which she followed up with an almost too subtle nod.
Slightly relieved to know that our plan was working without hitches for once, I walked more confidently towards the teleportation hub, flanked by two, as beautiful as they were ready to throw down, women.
“When did that happen?”
* * *
{PRIESTESS OF PURITY’S POV}
She had finally located those blasphemous mutants.
After days of having lost communication with the more overt of their members present, she started working in the shadow to find out what exactly had happened.
Two [Anomalous] and [Aberrants] filths had happened: Those two had ambushed her fellow believers during an exploratory mission of enemy territory and then handed the two poor souls in the hand of the [Guild]’s miscreants.
Unacceptable.
Thankfully, the two lost lambs weren’t very high in their hierarchy, barely initiates really, so they wouldn’t be able to disclose anything about their glorious machinations that would soon engulf the impurities of the [Nexus] in the [Light of Purity].
A deranged grin, together with a madden gleam in her eyes, appeared on her face for just a fraction of a second, momentarily giving away her inner thoughts, and making those close to her keep an even bigger distance between them.
The only worse thing than a [Priestess] of the [True Gods] was a mad one, after all.
Fools, all of them; why would they fear those overgrown masses of [Aether], when they couldn’t do anything to the true believers like her? That obviously meant that her [Patron] was already on par with them, and time now was the only factor left before he could grow strong enough to thwart their hegemonic hold on this world.
“With [Purity] in our hearts and minds, we will make the [Nexus] a cleaner space, one filthy speck at a time”, she thought, fervently believing in the truth of those words.
Karen, which was the real name of the [Priestess of Purity], was so immersed in her monologue that she didn’t notice the [Guard] circling her.
But once she did notice, a mask of fake authority fell over her face.
“What is the meaning of this? Do you have any idea of who I am-!” Her self-important rant was cut short by a swift blow to the back of the head, immediately knocking her unconscious.
“Save it for somebody who cares”, came the monotonous reply from the [Knight] now looming over her body, who had peculiarly vibrant red tuff of fur jutting out her helmet.