Tom lay on the stone, breathing heavily and revelling in the fact that he was alive. Whatever that monster had been, it had been way too strong even for a teenager to fight, let alone a five-year-old. He had survived because of the precautions they had taken, the emergency necklace on his neck that Dimitri had insisted on, and all the fate Tom had personally put into guaranteeing his survival.
But despite all that, it had been too close.
He had received a new skill, and had deliberately triggered the rage curse. His danger sense had warned him of impending attacks multiple times. Despite all of those advantages, he had been seconds away from dying. A few points less fate, and Tom knew he would have been dead.
He began shaking. It would have been an inglorious way to fail. If he died, he wanted it to be when he was making a difference, not battling an insignificant monster that he was only facing in the first place because it was a training obstacle.
He had gotten so incredibly close to dying. It was a major screwup, of that he was certain. But he didn’t know who, where, or how.
“Hang in there,” Dimitri said kindly.
A heavy fabric landed on him, and, before he could respond, he was being bundled up in it.
“Don’t struggle. Don’t talk.” Dimitri ordered. “I know this is undignified and most likely uncomfortable, but it’s necessary to protect you from observation until I get you into a safe spot.” Dimitri cleared his throat. “It is unacceptable for you to be using these facilities dressed like that,” the man scolded loudly. “I’m going to make sure you never do it again.” The way the words were almost shouted told Tom that it was for the ears of any curious listeners. Dimitri probably didn’t believe they were there, but it was always better to playact mistakenly than to not be acting the one time you needed to be doing so.
The older man didn’t say another word to him. He was picked up and carried for a period, then dumped haphazardly on the floor. A few minutes passed, and he was moved again, then dropped. This time, there was the sound of a muffled conversation. Tom strained his ears but magic, whether from Dimitri or from the cloth, stopped him from hearing anything. Then there was more movement. Finally, after almost half an hour of being carted around like a sack of potatoes, he saw the thick fabric opening up.
Tom crawled out of the fabric, conscious of the blood covering him and the fresh sweat which had turned it into a disgusting slurry. It had been hot in there.
Dimitri was waiting. He stood straight-backed, looming over Tom, his arms crossed and an angry scowl on his face. They were in the office, the runes glowing brightly to guarantee privacy.
He smiled weakly up at the other man.
“What were you thinking?”
“That I had training to do.” Tom answered, tired. He didn’t want to deal with this overprotective bullshit. He would rather work out what had gone wrong and make the required adjustments going forward.
“But you started so sensibly. When did you stop wearing armour?”
“A few weeks ago. It was necessary to improve the skill acquisition rate.”
“I warned you of the danger.”
Tom knew the other man had a point, but he also didn’t. “Stop gaslighting me. Armour would have done nothing against that. Don’t pretend otherwise. How the hell was something like that in a lair designed for kids to fight in?” he pressed. “It was ridiculous, I’m a rank-nothing, and it must have been rank-seven. Probably nine in terms of deadliness, once you factor in the elevated fate pool and that tier-two venom. Rather than focusing on unimportant stuff, can you tell me how did I run into something like that?”
“I told you there were risks, but you raise a good point.” Dimitri massaged his brow and looked at Tom strangely. “You’re obviously very experienced. That was a very good estimate. Not perfect, but good. With the venom, it would be classed as rank-eight, but I don’t know why you think it had an elevated fate pool. It didn’t. The pool was full when I got there, and it was used automatically to stymie my attack. But your analysis is right. Something stinks.” He waved at the cloth he had been wrapped up in. “Hence the extra security. We sweep lairs daily, and I personally went through the bat lair an hour before you got there. That monster was manifested freshly.”
Tom couldn’t help but scoff at that suggestion. “That’s not possible. It was way too strong to be new.”
“I know. I agree, and we’re looking into it. Eden’s on the way. She’ll do a sweep before anyone wakes up, but I don’t think she’ll find anything. There hasn’t even been a flicker of a fluctuation in the wards.”
Tom reassessed the other man’s body language. The folded arms weren’t expressions of anger, but of concern and worry. So was the raised tone. The older man was actually shaken by that bat’s appearance.
“Do you have a theory?” Tom asked quietly.
Dimitri exhaled. “Only bad ones.”
Tom mentally reviewed everything that had happened, including that cloud of hostile fate he had burnt away. What would it mean if that hadn’t come from the bat? That felt like a clue. “If the wards weren’t breached, then what? Does that suggest the creature appeared by random chance?”
Dimitri nodded.
It was Tom’s turn to exhale. “Fuck. What’re the chances of that?”
“I let you train in the lair, so my assumption would have had that this probability is at zero. Especially since you would have had pre-emptive fate in play. Tom, you did have pre-emptive fate in play didn’t you?”
“Yes, of course I did. Half my fate pool, as agreed.”
“Which means… its appearance, its manifestation means it got past that fate. You see the problem, don’t you, Tom? We can’t ignore this, and it means I have to ask you hard questions that I would usually avoid. As I understand it, you were a member of the heroes of humanity. Could you be targeted specifically because of it?”
“What, through time? Or do you think they’re doing a ritual every year just in case I’ve been reincarnated?”
“Yes.”
“Yes? Really? The cost of doing something like that is astronomical. Are you serious? You’d have to piss off a GOD to do that.”
“Deadly serious,” Dimitri answered. “And you heroes did annoy two GODs. Our priests and others all confirmed that.”
Tom bit his lips, worriedly. “What are you implying? That they target every reincarnated hero of humanity?”
“No, this is unusual.”
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There was a lot to unpack in that statement, but Tom was able to read between the lines. There had been other people reincarnated from the group who had uneventful childhoods.
“Tom, you said you had holes in your memories?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“And I’m assuming that enraged state was somehow related?”
Tom’s breathing quickened. He didn’t like the conclusions he was drawing from these questions. It felt wrong to delve too deeply into the speculation on where that problem came from. The answer he felt had weight. An eldritch truth that could have literal physical consequences. It was something that touched upon the very GODs, and that was terrifying. His instincts told him this was not something to explore lightly.
“I don’t know. Dimitri. I don’t know, what do you think memory holes are? All I know is that when it activates, I’m consumed by uncontrollable fury. Its main trigger seems to be when I feel there is an injustice and, today, I exploited that. When I couldn’t stand because of my wounds, I deliberately triggered it to allow me to stay alive for a few extra seconds. I’m certain my attributes rise when it happens, and that gave me strength to move despite my injuries.”
“You sound like you understand it. Do you have a sense of how it might be stemming from your past life? Like, is it some kind of weird trait or skill?”
“No. Nothing. None of my previous memories had this. If I was to guess, it’s a blessing that I received during one of my blind spots.”
“A blessing?” Dimitri raised his bushy eyebrows.
“Yes. You know, the ones GODs can give.”
“No need for the attitude. I understand what blessings are, but they’re rare enough to be basically a myth. I’ve never met someone with one.”
“Yes, you have. I have one confirmed, and this maybe is a second one.”
The silence was deep enough to hear a pin drop. “Of course you do.” Dimitri’s voice almost squeaked as he said that.
“That one was from Sanatories. This new one… who knows.”
“Tom, I have to know: are you important enough to have GODs going after you once you’ve been reincarnated? Because if you have a confirmed blessing, it sort of implies that you are.”
He shrugged. The holes in his memories were significant, but he couldn’t quite see how the gaps could align to a role which would have made him noteworthy. It wasn’t like he was the glue that held everyone together, and in that final battle it had been Rahmat and Clare who had been critical to killing the dragon. He had not played a role in the plan that resulted in slaying it, or at least not a significant one beyond Clare abusing his purchased trait. Though he could guess that the giant had actively targeted him, which suggested some value. He opened his hands up helplessly:
“I don’t know.”
“Can I ask Eden?”
Tom stared at Dimitri, not quite understanding the question, and also recognising exactly what that request implied. He swallowed, as his brain briefly shut down.
“Why? Is she reincarnated?” He asked to buy time.
Dimitri snorted. “No, she was a fellow hero of humanity. She might be able to explain some of your memory holes.”
“I don’t understand how you’d be able to consult with her. Doesn’t my title protect me and stop you from revealing who I am?”
“I can’t do that, not in as many words. But I can ask for more details about the names of the heroes and the roles they’ve played. That, in turn, might let me know if you were likely to be targeted specifically.”
The other bit of him, the man in him was screaming at him, demanding that he find out, that he pick at the open scab. He licked his lips.
“Who is Eden? I don’t remember anyone with that name.” It was possible that it was one of Jenny’s crew, because he hadn’t known all of them, but he didn’t think so. If she was a member of the heroes of humanity, then Eden had to be Everlyn, and that idea terrified him. The myth around Eden’s actions fitted how he could see her reacting to his death and eventual reincarnation. But why she would have changed her name was a mystery?
“All the heroes were tight-lipped. But she was definitely one of you. I can guarantee that.”
“Does she have red hair?”
“Yes.”
He bowed his head, his gut a spinning whirlpool of emotions. That was not a welcome complication.
“Are you okay, Tom?”
He waved the question away. “I’m good. Just an unwelcome memory.”
“Well, if you’re sure there’s no issue here, can I ask her for more details?”
He wanted to say no, but knew that was not practical. “Fine, I’ll let you ask. But I have one condition. I’m going to get spear mastery soon. When I do, can I practice against the orcs?”
Dimitri’s mouth literally fell open. “That’s ballsy. But no. No, you’re banned from the lairs. I’m removing your access permissions.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you recklessly walked into the centre of the lair without even wearing your protective uniform, or maybe it’s the fact your presence made a monster manifest that shouldn’t have done so.”
“I was training.”
“You were being an idiot.”
“I had to push myself to earn entry into the divine champions’ trial.”
“I don’t care if DEUS…” Dimitri forced himself to stop talking. If he had finished that statement, both of them knew it might have been considered blasphemy. His face flushed. “As I was saying, if you’re going to act like a child, then I’ll treat you like one.”
“That’s unfair. I was only at risk because of a freak occurrence, and it wasn’t wasted. I earned a skill out of it.”
“I’m blocking access until this situation is resolved. Potentially for longer, depending on how I feel about your recklessness.”
“I’m close to general combat two. If I got danger sense today, I’m basically there.”
“Bullshit. Do you have any offensive skills or spells?”
Tom stopped talking. He knew that answering no to that would doom his argument.
Dimitri had taken off his backpack, a small inconspicuous article that was so common it could almost be considered part of a uniform. All the adults had one because after the tutorial, it was second nature to possess a spatial backpack or other device. If you could carry all your stuff around with you and you were used to being attacked by monsters at any moment, it was a hard habit to break just because you had been living in a semi-peaceful town for a decade.
Now he was rummaging in it.
“Sorry Tom. I’m making an executive decision. Once you’ve got spear mastery and another offensive ability, I’ll give you access to the bats and the orcs. Until then, you won’t be allowed in.”
His hands pulled out a familiar looking bulky box with a screen. “Let’s see what you got?” the big man placed the status ritual contraption in front of him.
By rote, Tom activated it, and focused his mind on extracting the ability he had most recently obtained.
Skill: Psychic Tracking – Tier 1
Psychically track a known entity. Duration one minutes, range twelve metres.
“Not bad, but not great,” Dimitri said over his shoulder.
“It is great. It’s already kept me alive once.” Tom said trying to project happiness and to hide his disappointment.
“That it did, and, with it using psychic energy to track the entities, it’s powerful in its generality. Very few things will have a defence against it. Repeat stealth attackers will be hard countered by this, and, if you manage to upgrade it, then the skill starts to predict where an enemy is going to be. At that point, it might address speed monsters as well as stealth specialists.”
“Yeah, it’s great. But I wanted Danger Sense, and I felt it was close, and really thought that was what the ding was.”
“I’m sorry Tom, but you have to understood that acquiring skills is capital D-difficult. And if it’s done in battle, you’re likely to get something more randomised; something great for the specific situation, but with a potential poor fit for the build you’re aiming for. This one at least has great long-term utility.”
“I know. It’s just that I thought I had Danger Sense. When fighting the boss, I felt precognition guiding me. The only reason I survived was that I was often dodging before I should have known where it was.”
Dimitri paused. “That’s terrific news. It sounds like you’re right on the cusp of getting it then. I have a question. Honestly, do you think you can get into divine champion’s trial?”
Tom sighed. Dimitri had a habit of asking hard questions. After a moment’s consideration, he decided he had to be truthful. He didn’t really know what skills Dimitri possessed, and if he had the wrong ones, then anything other than complete honesty would be more trouble than it was worth.
“I don’t know.” He admitted, and then recounted all of his conversations with April.
“And what skills and spells have you earned?”
Tom explained his five crafting skills, being very careful not to mention the titles, even if he deliberately stated the tier level of each skill so that Dimitri could do the calculations himself. Dimitri did not blink. His expressions did not give anything away, either.
“As for spells, I’ve only focused on healing so far.”
“Cuts, Purge Foreign Substances. I’ve seen you use both. Do you have any more?”
“Yeah, Body Restore and a couple of the precursors to Heal Organs.”
Dimitri nodded. “Very impressive. I’m not promising anything, but when I talk to Eden, I’ll see if I can get you that trait stone.”
That offer was completely unexpected. “Thank you- thank you so much,” Tom stammered.
The day was a success, apart from one thing. He studied Dimitri and figured there was a weakness there.
“Can we negotiate a compromise on lair access rather than banning me? The bat lair was really helping me. Maybe the answer is not to ban me, but instead to include some extra security to manage the risks?” Without compunction, he leant on little Ta's skills to look earnestly adorable.