The [Depth Witch] made us go back to Rubicon’s office with all haste, not particularly caring of the fact that I was still rapidly blinking, futilely trying to dispel the headache that was trying to push a dagger through my frontal lobe, but the only thing I accomplished in the process was to earn another round of weird looks.
“It’s totally unfair that after all the superhuman upgrades I still get to have migraines. Like, how does that even make sense, man!”
Rubicon and Prise were still in the office, along with a bunch of other familiar peeps, but Merga didn’t seem to care about their affronted looks when she barged in and forced us to get in with a single look. Then, surprisingly, it was none of the big shots that broke the silence first.
“I- uh… we don’t. What’s a [Fulcrum], why doesn’t the [System] give us [Information] about it, and why did Dulcet suddenly shine like an over-used [Heart of the Temple] after simply hearing mention of it?” Cherry got her hand up and politely asked for her and her [Party]’s sake to be brought up to speed with the others.
Rubicon looked at the [Tree Elf] with what briefly looked like surprise, but he quickly schooled it down thanks to years of experience acting like a hard-ass in public, but he still couldn’t hide the shame that he felt for having forgotten about her presence from my [Aura].
I’m not saying that he forgot that Cherry and the triplets were here, but he was probably unused to explaining things normally where I was involved: I had subverted the norm so much in these cases that Riverfist didn’t even consider that someone else needed to be properly enlightened.
The situation was only exacerbated when one took into consideration that Sheeno, someone who was raised as a [Royal], and Merga, possibly the most powerful mortal in the [Nexus], were in the room with us. They definitely skewed the ratio of people that were ‘in the known’.
Merglobth and Doris were there too, with a bunch of scholars, but I have no clue where they stood on this spectrum- actually, I don’t know why the [Scholars] were still here at all…
Oh, right, they still need to discuss what is happening with us.
“A [Fulcrum] is someone that will prove themselves pivotal into the future of a determined moment in reality: The fact that Darwin, a newly [Transferred Human], is a [Fulcrum] strongly indicated that his entire [Race] might be implicated in the turbulent twist of Fate that is waiting to happen”, Merga was the one that explained the situation for the less informed people in the room, and I must admit that her specific insight hinted at some extra stuff that I had yet to figure out on my own.
“So… he’s an important weirdo then”, Cherry nodded resolutely.
“Hey…” I tried to complain, but seeing the same expression mirror on pretty much everybody else, including the [Scholars], made the word die before I could give them birth.
“Lightheartedness aside, the magic show proved, without reasonable doubt, that he is indeed a [Fulcrum], which means that everyone that seemingly got involved with him by mere happenstance might actually be more important than anyone might imagine”, the [Witch] continued, earning troubled looks by the other [Party].
“What exactly-“ Cherry tried asking but was interrupted by a rapidly fired question from below.
“Does that mean that I’m the better sibling?” Twid asked with complete seriousness.
Once he noticed that everyone was staring at him he decided to continue, “I mean, he said that I was his favorite among my brothers, so it only makes se- Ow, quit-! Stop it!”
But obviously, Twad and Twud would not take it standing down and started a slapping match with the supposedly better brother, and although he fought back valiantly, it was two against one, so he eventually ran for it, outsmarting his brother around Cherry’s long legs.
Which clearly infuriated the Elf, who promptly smacked the back of their three heads almost at once, fast enough to knock down their pointy sky-blue hats to the ground through wind pressure alone.
“Enough tomfoolery. This is serious”, Rubicon barked, and most stood a little straighter afterward. I obviously wasn’t amongst them, but not because I had resisted the slight [Word of Power] infused within his tone, but because I was still surprised that he had actually used ‘tomfoolery’ in a phrase.
Like, who does that?
…Probably someone really old, and he definitely fit the bill, as far as I knew.
A spike of amusement from Merga told me that she was still somehow listening on to my thoughts.
“Any idea on how to help with that?”
Honestly, she is just that scarily powerful: Hurry up and gain [Lvls] to get strong enough to resist it on your own.
You could waste time and effort to make a [Spell] that could work to that effect, but keeping it activated would certainly prove itself straining soon after.
“Damn…yeah, you’re right.”
To be fair, this last excursion to the [Wild Area] was meant to get me stronger faster, but then this whole mess happened, and the most it ended up doing was getting us here.
In a room, where I got a bunch of notifications, got ‘metaphysically important’, which is a thing that can happen, and I got more passive, while others I already had got stronger.
So, not a bad haul, amputated legs notwithstanding.
“Let's get the discussion back on track before Darwin gets lost anymore in that big head of his”, Merga helped bring us to attention, although I wasn’t a fan of how she was doing it.
“Was that a jape at the actual size of my head, or the fact that I can be egotistical at times?” I asked, extremely suspicious.
“What do you think?” Was all she replied with a smug smile.
“That you’ll always give me the answer that will frustrate me the most”, I said in a resigned monotone.
And that got her to cackle like an actual witch, like one of those who wears overly bright red shoes and would melt when they got too moist.
We both looked at her feet at the same time: She wore black open boots, which almost looked more like sandals than anything else.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“How do you keep the dirt out of those?”
“Magic.”
“I don’t know why I even bothered to ask…”
“ANYWAY. Now that Darwin has been confirmed as being a [Fulcrum], we won’t be able to keep the [Army] from requesting his presence on the battlefield, at least not for long; and it’s not like I hadn’t proposed to get him to fight the [Demons] well before knowing what he was, so don’t expect preferential treatment”, Rubicon said in his usual fake-serious voice, and, after all the care that I was giving it, I lost the hold on my new degrees of patience and level-headedeness that I was developing.
“You’re a real asshole, anybody ever tell you that? Why would I ever want to get mixed into this, when there’s now two ulterior motives for which the bad guys would want me dead as soon as possible!?” I couldn’t stop myself from advancing right in his face and slamming my palms on the desk between us.
The fact that he did not react whatsoever only pissed me off even more.
“I’m sorry Darwin, but this thing is bigger than all of us: You can’t renegade the responsibility that comes with your role!” Doris interjected, and for a moment her caring voice made my resolution vacillate.
Only for a moment though, and the only reason I did not snap at her for butting in is that she had the decency to not lace her voice with anything.
“From great power comes great responsibility, huh? Well… to hell with that! I’m not getting killed for the sake of a bunch of people that never did anything for me”, or maybe I had some mouthing-off left in me for her.
“Don’t be like that Mister Dulcet, we just-“, now Merglobth tried slithering in the conversation, and now I was getting mad that nobody in my corner had yet to make themselves heard.
“Just what? Wanted to ignore my individuality because now that my [Status] says something different my rights are forfeit in the face of the ‘greater good’? How does that make any fucking sense!?” I was mad, I was aware of it, but what they were implying I simply could not stand it.
“Darwin, a [Rapist] is recognized by the [Trait] they receive after the abhorrent act: Are you saying that if there is no proof of them committing the deed, the [Trait] alone should not be enough to condemn them?” Cherry suddenly asked, a little incensed.
“Woah, woah! First of all: That’s not a suitable comparison, and you know it. Second of all: I don’t like at all the fact that you’re comparing me not wanting to fight [Demons] to a [Rapist], which I didn’t even know was a thing recognized by the [System]” I immediately got a little defensive, but could you blame me? That was a wild accusation.
“Everybody needs to calm down here: Ultimately this is a decision that only Darwin can make, and none of you force it!” My mate’s powerful voice finally cut through the haze of anger that had begun clogging my mind.
I almost wanted to shout at her ‘Better late than never!’, but I knew that wouldn’t have been fair to her: With the type of education she got, I know that if it were anybody else she would have pushed them to ‘do the right thing’; so I’m just glad that she ended up siding with me, like I hoped she would.
“What Sheeno says is right: Darwin, for hower crucial in a fatalistic way, is still a person, and should be allowed to decide for himself”, another voice of reason came from the turquoise big sister, who sported a particularly conflicted look on her face.
Because, of course, the daughter of a [Demi-Goddess] would also have been brainwashed in a similar way to a [Royal].
A lot of people have very skewed perceptions here…
Or it’s just mine that has yet to adapt, while those who agree with me are merely playing favorites?
I already recognized that both Sheeno and Undine wouldn’t have considered saying the same for anybody else, so…
“Fuck, I don’t think I will be able to avoid this [Divine Quest] for much longer.”
Divine Quest: Depose the tyrant!
(Demon Lords defeated 0/1)
Taking in so many [Humans] has greatly destabilized the [Nexus Veil], and many more [Demons] than expected managed to get through.
If that wasn’t enough the [Goddess of Destruction] has been growing more and more dissatisfied with the rise in power of especially cruel individuals and has decided that the incredible loss of life that it would take to exterminate them was a a price that she was willing to let others pay.
The remaining [Gods] will not let that stand:
The [Goddess of Luck] has chosen you as her [Hero], and you accepted, although on your terms.
Your sole objective is to get rid of the current [Demon Lord], so that the tear in the [Veil] it’s keeping open can be allowed to heal, and no more [Demon] will be let through.
I could not avoid looking at it again.
A [Hero]. Me? Somehow that didn’t feel right, and that’s why I refused the [Sub-Class] when I had it offered. That was actually one of the points that I had to put down in writing, otherwise, it would have been automatically assigned, even against my will. [Luck] had made a show of explaining that it gave a bunch of free [Stats] per [Lvl] that I could redistribute however I wanted, but there was no chance in hell that I was giving up on [Theocrafter].
The [Theo-] stuff strongly resonated with me, but I’m still not exactly sure why.
“You better listen here-“ Rubicon started to rant, looking kind of incensed at my response, but a more commanding voice brought him to an abrupt halt.
“No, you better listen to me, Rudy: Leave the kids alone, or you’ll regret it”, she simply said, the threat only slightly implied, but there nonetheless.
“B-but, he’s a [Fulcrum]! He has to do something significant!” The [Guild Master] looked as shocked as I’d ever seen him, maybe even more than ever actually.
“And that ‘something significant’ can only be facing a way too strong foe!? Don’t be ridiculous: There are hundreds of ways Darwin could prove useful without risking neck and skin”, the witch reprimanded him like an overgrown kid, and all he could do was try to make himself smaller on his armchair.
“Please, be reasonable: I either send him to the front line right now, when the news is still so fresh that nobody has had time to digest it, or we play the waiting game, that unhappily ends with way too troublesome people getting involved!”
This time it was Doris, who has been acting as a silent supporter for the [Guild Master] up until now, who spoke out for sending me to my destiny, which felt more like my doom but maybe that was just me, leaving me with a slight sense of betrayal.
“She is being reasonable. I said that I’m not going yet and I’ll stand by what I said.
Someone else comes running and shouting about me putting in jeopardy the whole [Nexus]? Fuck them: As Merga put it, I will be helping my own way, which doesn’t include charging into the fray against an opponent that could swat me like a fly.”
Merga spares a glance to send me a resolute nod, but I’m mostly distracted by the fact that she, of all people, is being overly serious when a bit of levity could help a lot.
…a bit of levity that I could provide myself, by forcing myself to calm down and crack a joke.
“You can’t decide just like that!” Cherry argued.
“And who says so?” I asked back, rightfully indignant.
“The [Gods], Darwin”, Surprisingly, it was Undine who answered, a small crack in her voice the only sign of a certain unwillingness to get the words out.
I thought back to the [Divine Quest], and while there was no mention of time-sensitive parts, I had no doubts that the more I waited to complete it, the more arduous it would become to accomplish.
“I don’t know if you noticed, but I talk with [Gods] more than most [Priests] directly tied to them; so don’t tell me what you think they’d want of me, because I know it”, I shot her down, maybe a bit too harshly, but I needed to cut her insecurities in the bud… or something along those lines.
“Ah, who am I kidding: Forget ‘cracking jokes’, I couldn’t even manage to calm myself down!”
“It seems to me like we’re going nowhere today. How about we adjourn ourselves to tomorrow when everyone has had time to rest on it?” The witch, once more, acted as the voice of reason in our eclectic group.
“A splendid idea, Miss Merga!” Merglobth was all too happy to catch the chance to slither out of the uncomfortable situation, or maybe he was only kissing ass to someone he looked up to, but who was to say.
You and your [Aura], maybe?
Anyway…
After another bit of bitching and moaning everyone agreed to go back home for the day, and the [Scholars] were all too happy to compile a proper report and be done with their part in this.
Although, Rubicon had one last bit of advice for me before letting me go: “I know that you don’t like to think about it on these terms, but as you said, you should consider the correlation between the powers that you hold, and the responsibility that ethically comes with them. Please, just think about it.”
That last part was said very quietly so that only I would hear it, but it was hard to dismiss a plea by a hardass like Riverfist.
Still, we made our way back, me Sheeno and Undine, that is, and one teleport later we were finally back into the residential district.