Chapter 45

Mikel shook his head, walking abreast with Helsket.

“It’s the dilemma we all face starting out. We train and we train and we train until we think we’re ready to take anything on. We spend years honing basic combat skills and our craft in preparation for our initiation into the adventurer's world. When we enter the initiation we’re the strongest we’ve ever been. When we leave, we’re at our weakest.”

“Initiation?”

Helsket pointed to the monitor in Mikel’s hand, “You learned the basic layout of your first Skill. Most aren’t so…” Helsket twirled a finger in the air, “Flashy as yours, but it served the basic purpose. The circuits in your body that funnel your bodily resources around; woke up. Don’t ask me any more on that topic though - that’s a Cal question for when we get to Stennin.”

“So, by “waking up” the circuits something changed. What changed?” Mikel hoped that was different enough that Helsket could answer the question.

The big warrior pursed his lips and rocked his head back and forth, “You’re really pushing up against my understanding. Like I said, I was never a big-picture guy. I was the hammer - you put a rock in my way and I’ll smash it. Put an enemy there and I’ll kill it. Put a scientific dilemma like this in front of me… Well, I’d call Calcifer.”

“Still, you’re here now. What do you know?”

“What it boils down to is that before your circuits woke up, your body was naturally limited to avoid hurting yourself. You could use Stamina in your natural day-to-day life, but it would never dip to dangerously low levels. Your body would make you stop before that - you’d puke, you’d want to quit - whatever. Now, you have complete access to the totality of your body's reserves - Stamina, Health, and in every other person’s case, Essentia. For some reason, yours is locked up.”

“That makes sense…” Mikel trailed off as he glanced at the monitor again, “So I have to be careful now that I don’t run myself too low - like I just did. The natural limits are gone… And it’s up to me to regulate everything that goes on. Gods… That sounds tiring.”

Helsket barked a laugh, “You’re not wrong, but like all other things, you get used to it. It becomes second nature just like using Skills - your self-regulation will grow as you do. Soon, you won’t even need to think about it.”

“But until then I have to be careful to avoid the adventurer's dilemma - I’m weaker until I learn to control myself.”

Helsket nodded, “And then, after that, you’ll be a force to be reckoned with. Essentia or not.”

It was then a thought occurred to Mikel - had the Essentia he’d made survived his spill?

He turned his gaze inward and was elated when he found the ten shreds of glowing blue-white Essentia sizzling in the spot he’d left them. He’d expected them to dissipate after he’d created them… This was a nice surprise.

“Okay, watch me again,” Mikel said as he fumbled the earpiece out from a pocket on his pants, “I’m going to try this out.”

Helsket rolled his eyes, “I’m telling you, there isn’t anyone within range. These are all fields when the temperature isn’t this hot. You might contact a goat though - Some nature-oriented adventurers I know say goats are actually quite good conversationalists.”

Mikel side-eyed Helsket, unsure if the old warrior was joking or not.

“I’m just going to see what happens. If I can use this for a minute, the Communicate Skill will be unlocked… Whatever that means for Communicate.”

“I suppose we’ll find out.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Mikel pushed the cold earbud back into his right ear and took a breath. He kept walking but readied himself if he was going to fall again.

He glanced at Helsket who nodded his ascent, then Mikel muttered Communicate, under his breath, and waited for something to happen.

He didn’t wait long.

The dull buzz he’d perceived coming from the earbud before bloomed into full-blown static and he winced as the voluminous assault cracked through his head. He endured the barrage for a moment and was just about to pull the earbud out when a familiar voice crackled to life over the static.

“Hello, Mikel. It’s good to speak to you again.”

“Librarian!” Mikel yelled, looking at Helsket and pointing to the earbud, “Helsket! It’s Librarian!”

“Calcifer? You got in touch with that blown-up butterball?”

Mikel rolled his eyes and pointed to the earbud again, “No! Librarian! The voice I was telling you about. From the library in The Market?”

Helsket’s eyes got wide and he nodded, “Oh - Oh! That one! Well, I’ll be damned. I thought she was dead.”

Librarian’s cool voice emitted into MIkel’s head through the earpiece, “One has to be alive to die, Lord Berserker.”

Mikel furrowed his brow at both the statement about living and dying… And Helsket being called “Lord Berserker.”

“What? Is there something on my face?” Helsket noticed Mikel staring at him and scrubbed at his beard, “Did I get it?”

Mikel snorted, “No… I mean, no - there wasn’t anything there. Librarian called you Lord Berserker. What does that mean?”

Helsket mimicked Mikel’s snort, “Well I’ll be damned. I haven’t heard that title for years. Ask her how she knows it.”

“Do you need me to repeat the question, Librarian?”

“No. I can hear just fine - thank you though Mikel. You may tell him I know because it is what he is - as I am the Librarian. He is the Lord Berserker.”

The image of Helsket morphing into the massive bear creature shot through his mind. He side-eyed the old warrior again, appraising him. Was there more to Helsket than was apparent?

“She said it’s what you are - as she is The Librarian, you’re Lord Berserker.”

He laughed again, “I supposed time only accounts for so much change. Some things never change.”

“Mind explaining?” Mikel asked.

Helsket shook his head, “Not right now. Not the time for that kind of story.”

Mikel rolled his eyes at the obvious divert and turned back to the conversation he was having with Librarian.

“I have so many questions - Where did you go in the library? What happened there? Did you know the lich escaped? What -”

“All in good time Mikel. All in good time. Our conversation has a time limit though - I assume you were only able to drum up enough Essentia for a minute of Communicate?”

Mikel’s stomach dropped - that’s exactly what he’d done.

“Yes - but -”

Librarian cut him off, “Don’t talk for a moment. Time is short and I have much to pass along. Do you know what the earpiece and monitor are?”

“The identify feature on the monitor said they belonged to you - that -”

Again, she cut him off, “They are more than that, Mikel. They are me. Between the two pieces, you hold the entirety of my being. If those two artifacts are destroyed or sufficiently damaged I will cease to be. You have to keep them safe if you value my life - if you value yours.”

“But -”

“Because you have both of them, you can -”

Librarian’s voice cut off and Mikel winced as the harsh static crackled through his head like lightning - then silence as it cut out entirely. He yanked the earpiece out and stared at it in wonder.

“That was one minute,” He muttered, processing the brief conversation he’d had with Librarian.

“You learn much?”

“Not as much as I needed to,” Mikel said as he dropped the earbud back into the pocket he’d drawn it from, “But I’m about to learn more. I used Communicate for one minute - so, that means I met the requirement for a Skill advancement. I can confirm that by -” he clicked the monitor on by pressing a small section outlined in lighter slate than the rest.

Nothing happened.

He thumbed the spot again only to arrive at the same result - nothing.

“No,” He groaned, tilting his head back against his ruck, “It’s out of Essentia.”

Helsket laughed, “You better not try to recharge anything for a while. You run your Stamina down too much, too quickly and you’ll hurt yourself. You think not being able to access Essentia is bad enough, just injure you Stamina. You’ll curse every breath.”

Mikel scowled at the old adventurer as he carefully tucked the slate into the same pocket as the earpiece.

“Is that coming from personal experience?”

Helsket shrugged and pointed ahead again, “We’ve got another couple of miles to go - I'm thinking we press to a full fifteen miles today - maybe twenty. No more time for talking - only walking.”