Still annoyed, I pondered over Gallas’ question. He had mentioned the Outer Realm during his previous visit as well, but even with the new knowledge in my head, it wasn’t ringing a bell. I guessed that it was a place the gods or the architects resided in, but that was just my own conjecture. At the very least it felt good to be able to think clearly about it, however, unlike right before Tomar and I collapsed.
“No, I don’t remember,” I responded.
“That’s unfortunate,” he said. “But your other memories are back? You remember our last conversation?”
Yes, I thought, my memories are back, but... why?
It almost seemed like he had triggered them. They returned when he used that term. Foobar. A keyword I had once decided to use in a hypothetical situation that I didn’t think would ever actually occur. If I was the creator of this world, could I have made it so that I would remember things when I heard that word? But in that case, why didn’t it do anything before? This was a chance to get some answers, now that he was back and I was thinking clearly, but before that, we needed some privacy.
“Hayla, could you leave us for a moment?” I asked, glancing at her behind me.
“Eh?” Full of confusion, she stepped closer. “Wait, what’s happening here, Tomar? Who is that? He doesn’t seem like a god!”
She was right, and I had to assume that people weren’t familiar with this look of his. All the times we had seen the gods before, they were shrouded in something of a visible mana coat, creating the appearance of a heavenly glow. Not to mention his attitude.
“No, I know. But that’s difficult to explain right now.”
“Okay, but... Can’t I stay?” she asked, looking around the room.
She was the only one I was asking to leave. After I just proclaimed to Berla that we didn’t need to keep things from her, she must’ve thought that I trusted her now. I did in fact have a feeling that our relationship had deepened a little over the past few hours, but I wasn’t sure how much to show and tell her.
I already explained that I’m not actually a Sourcerer to her while I was out of it... I’m lucky that she has no idea what that means exactly.
No, I didn’t want her to know more about me and everything that was going on just yet. As I was looking her in the eyes, however, sadly peering back at me, it was difficult for me to tell her that.
Come on, shake it off... You just thought you liked her, because of that stupid contract...
“I’ll explain what I can later, okay? Please,” I said, gesturing towards the door.
Frowning, she said, “Alright, I... understand.”
That’s what she said before... But she appeared much more understanding then. This situation must really suck for her.
Holding her head high, she walked past Hati, Berla, Riala, and Gallas as she left the room. I waited a moment after the door closed, until Gallas nodded, indicating to me that she had moved away far enough.
“I do remember our last conversation,” I said, finally responding to his question. “I also remember how you disappeared in the middle of answering a question. Next thing I know, I collapse and a dungeon appears!”
“My apologies, Master. I’m trying my best not to alert Shae of my actions, and I might need to go unexpectedly when I hear of her returning to her post.”
“You’re not doing a good job of conveying that urgency... You let Tomar ask you a bunch of unrelated questions. Press the important topics.”
“Judging time in the Inner Realm is a complicated matter to us, but I will attempt to improve my ways. With your permission, I will get to the reasons for my visit then.” With little to no warning, he started firing off information in rapid succession. “The moderators were dispatched and will presumably arrive here within one weeks time. The environmental magic is ramping up, and dungeons have started to appear, though not many villages have been overrun yet. Monsters aren’t affected by the magic yet, but they will grow stronger in time, and new variants will come into existence, together with an increased number of anomalies. The transitioning process would go over quicker if more magic users existed, but unfortunately I was forced to prevent two Callings of this nature in other towns today. No other measures have been taken by Saharl and the others, however, which means you still have time. And then—”
“Whoa! Give me a second...”
“Of course, Master.”
He waited obediently while I took a moment to process everything he had just thrown at me. I was able to follow what he was saying, but with half of the information unknown to me, I needed to also sort it all into appropriate boxes in my mind on the fly.
“Okay, go on. Just a little slower.”
“Understood,” he said, continuing at an almost relaxed pace. “Lastly, I must tell you about Arax.”
My ears perked up. No matter what he said was coming our way, the silvery wolf was still my main concern.
“If you have met her, she will have asked you about Omega. Regardless of how you got out of that situation, she will undoubtedly return. When that happens, Master, I must advise you to flee for the time being. Until you regain more knowledge about scripting, I can’t be certain whether you will be able to deal with her. And if you were to fall, the world would be doomed to continue in its misguided ways.”
A god was advising me not to fight Arax. This should’ve carried a lot of weight, but I already knew that she was powerful. The new information that crept its way into my brain had me wondering about something though.
“How does Arax compare to an enraged Kobold King?”
“A... Kobold King?” he asked in confusion. “Master, have you fought one of these monsters? Don’t tell me the dungeon appeared right here! Ugh, Celeth really could have mentioned that...”
I stared at him pointedly, waiting for an answer.
“Oh. Ahem. A Kobold King in that state is not to be underestimated, but they don’t compare to Arax at all.”
“Can you put it into levels?”
“You know about levels now, but not the Outer Realm? How peculiar. Levels are a concept you introduced into the world early on to compare the strength of entities, but it turned out to not work very well. A single, numerical value could never encapsulate the complex considerations that go into estimating a being’s power. That being said, the system still evaluates everything and everyone. A Kobold King is a level twenty boss that is elevated to forty during a dungeon rupture. Based on her physical characteristics, Arax is considered to be level one hundred eighty three.”
I didn’t remember designing this world, but I could practically feel the thoughts that went into it when Gallas talked about it. As a fan of RPGs, I would’ve tried to incorporate some defining, numerical value, but I could also see how quickly that would fall apart in a real world scenario. One such value couldn’t possibly evaluate tactics, strategy, luck, advantages, and so on. Not to mention magic and especially the use of raw mana, which broke that scala entirely. At the very least, it was an indicator for someone’s physical strength though.
“Just for fun: what about me?”
“Master, I... I couldn’t...”
“Come on, out with it.”
“According to the system... you would be considered level five,” he said, and continued in a panic. “But like I said, that doesn’t mean—”
He immediately stopped when I broke out laughing. “Hahaha. Wow, that’s low. What about her?” I asked, pointing down at Riala by my side.
“Huh?” She looked at me in confusion.
“Uhm... Level two,” he said.
Gallas didn’t seem to understand why I was amused, but how could I not laugh? It was hilarious if you considered that I was fairly sure even Riala could deal critical damage to Arax with the right approach. This really drove home how useless levels were. And possibly how far outside the normal system we were operating.
“What’s a level?” Riala asked curiously.
“I’ll explain it later,” I said with a chuckle before turning back to Gallas. “Alright, anything else?”
“No, that was all. But, Master... Are you perhaps not afraid of Arax? Do you know something I don’t?”
“Maybe. What can you tell me about the abrasive properties of mana?”
“I don’t know what that means.” His inhuman eyes appeared to shine in wonder about me potentially knowing something he didn’t.
“No? That’s very interesting.”
He waited a moment, perhaps hoping for an explanation, but even if he was on our side, I wouldn’t go and blab about it just yet, not knowing who he might tell.
His head suddenly jerked up and he only said, “I’m sorry,” before disappearing without a trace. Whatever system they had in place to call each other, he apparently had to always leave as soon as he got some kind of signal.
After staring at the empty space for a few seconds, I turned around. All of a sudden, we were alone, and I finally had some room to breathe. It seemed ridiculous how much had happened in the span of just one day. Acting all-wise, I had told Tomar that things don’t happen in neat little arcs earlier that day, but this was ridiculous.
Tomar...
Surveying the room, I got marginally confused looks from Hati and Berla, while Riala looked at me with wide eyes and a bright smile, brimming with curiosity and begging to hear more about what just happened.
I took a deep, deep breath and my eyes settled on Berla.
“Hey,” I said, a smile creeping onto my face.
“Miles?” she asked, full of hope.
“That’s a good question... I barely feel any different.”
“What about Tomar?” Riala asked.
“I haven’t heard a word from him... and I’m a little afraid to check. But... Tomar?” I asked.
I waited for a response. I didn’t know what I expected to happen, but it was possible that he had been sleeping while I didn’t have my memories. Maybe he was just quiet for some reason. Or maybe he couldn’t speak, but would give me a signal in the form of a headache. Something. Anything. Moments passed, and in the end I got...
“Nothing.”
Their heads drooped.
“Did you become one person?” Riala asked.
That would be one conclusion, but something seemed off. I felt the same as before. A smidge different, yes, but the reason for this might have been that I was alone in Tomar’s body.
I distinctly remembered the feeling I had while we were on our way back to the temple, however. I was certain we were merging. And whichever way you looked at it, you would expect a merge to actually have a noticeable effect. Even in the sense of Callings. If Tomar was merged into me as my Calling, because I was the one in control, I should’ve received some knowledge or abilities. The things candidates typically talk of, but I didn’t notice a thing. Except for these pieces of new information, which certainly didn’t come from Tomar.
“I’m sorry, Ria. I don’t know what happened to Tomar.”
If he’s actually gone... that’s another host I have on my conscience.
Nobody wanted to say anything after that, but Berla eventually broke the ensuing silence. “And what was that with Gallas right now?” Berla asked. “He seemed... changed.”
“I wanted to ask that too!” Hati added. “Was that an administrator?”
“Yea, it was. And yes, that was him. Actually, there’s a lot I have to explain to you guys. It’s a bit of a wild story, but if it’s true... Well, it’s quite something. Before we get to that though, could you do me a favor and stand up for a second, Berla?”
A little perplexed, she stood up, balancing herself on one leg, as I walked over and embraced her. “I’m sorry I pushed you away earlier.”
“Miles...” she whispered. I couldn’t see her face, but the strength with which she hugged me back spoke volumes.
Whether Tomar was merged into me after all, or he was eradicated entirely... I didn’t think I’d be able to do a thing about it either way. I didn’t feel great about it, but I wouldn’t act as if I wasn’t happy to still be here either. To still be able to feel her, as well as the young girl who decided to not get left out and wrap herself around my waist. Pushing away any negative feelings of potential loss and guilt, I just enjoyed this moment of peace.
“Welcome back,” Berla whispered.
“Thank you.”
Still annoyed, I pondered over Gallas’ question. He had mentioned the Outer Realm during his previous visit as well, but even with the new knowledge in my head, it wasn’t ringing a bell. I guessed that it was a place the gods or the architects resided in, but that was just my own conjecture. At the very least it felt good to be able to think clearly about it, however, unlike right before Tomar and I collapsed.
“No, I don’t remember,” I responded.
“That’s unfortunate,” he said. “But your other memories are back? You remember our last conversation?”
Yes, I thought, my memories are back, but... why?
It almost seemed like he had triggered them. They returned when he used that term. Foobar. A keyword I had once decided to use in a hypothetical situation that I didn’t think would ever actually occur. If I was the creator of this world, could I have made it so that I would remember things when I heard that word? But in that case, why didn’t it do anything before? This was a chance to get some answers, now that he was back and I was thinking clearly, but before that, we needed some privacy.
“Hayla, could you leave us for a moment?” I asked, glancing at her behind me.
“Eh?” Full of confusion, she stepped closer. “Wait, what’s happening here, Tomar? Who is that? He doesn’t seem like a god!”
She was right, and I had to assume that people weren’t familiar with this look of his. All the times we had seen the gods before, they were shrouded in something of a visible mana coat, creating the appearance of a heavenly glow. Not to mention his attitude.
“No, I know. But that’s difficult to explain right now.”
“Okay, but... Can’t I stay?” she asked, looking around the room.
She was the only one I was asking to leave. After I just proclaimed to Berla that we didn’t need to keep things from her, she must’ve thought that I trusted her now. I did in fact have a feeling that our relationship had deepened a little over the past few hours, but I wasn’t sure how much to show and tell her.
I already explained that I’m not actually a Sourcerer to her while I was out of it... I’m lucky that she has no idea what that means exactly.
No, I didn’t want her to know more about me and everything that was going on just yet. As I was looking her in the eyes, however, sadly peering back at me, it was difficult for me to tell her that.
Come on, shake it off... You just thought you liked her, because of that stupid contract...
“I’ll explain what I can later, okay? Please,” I said, gesturing towards the door.
Frowning, she said, “Alright, I... understand.”
That’s what she said before... But she appeared much more understanding then. This situation must really suck for her.
Holding her head high, she walked past Hati, Berla, Riala, and Gallas as she left the room. I waited a moment after the door closed, until Gallas nodded, indicating to me that she had moved away far enough.
“I do remember our last conversation,” I said, finally responding to his question. “I also remember how you disappeared in the middle of answering a question. Next thing I know, I collapse and a dungeon appears!”
“My apologies, Master. I’m trying my best not to alert Shae of my actions, and I might need to go unexpectedly when I hear of her returning to her post.”
“You’re not doing a good job of conveying that urgency... You let Tomar ask you a bunch of unrelated questions. Press the important topics.”
“Judging time in the Inner Realm is a complicated matter to us, but I will attempt to improve my ways. With your permission, I will get to the reasons for my visit then.” With little to no warning, he started firing off information in rapid succession. “The moderators were dispatched and will presumably arrive here within one weeks time. The environmental magic is ramping up, and dungeons have started to appear, though not many villages have been overrun yet. Monsters aren’t affected by the magic yet, but they will grow stronger in time, and new variants will come into existence, together with an increased number of anomalies. The transitioning process would go over quicker if more magic users existed, but unfortunately I was forced to prevent two Callings of this nature in other towns today. No other measures have been taken by Saharl and the others, however, which means you still have time. And then—”
“Whoa! Give me a second...”
“Of course, Master.”
He waited obediently while I took a moment to process everything he had just thrown at me. I was able to follow what he was saying, but with half of the information unknown to me, I needed to also sort it all into appropriate boxes in my mind on the fly.
“Okay, go on. Just a little slower.”
“Understood,” he said, continuing at an almost relaxed pace. “Lastly, I must tell you about Arax.”
My ears perked up. No matter what he said was coming our way, the silvery wolf was still my main concern.
“If you have met her, she will have asked you about Omega. Regardless of how you got out of that situation, she will undoubtedly return. When that happens, Master, I must advise you to flee for the time being. Until you regain more knowledge about scripting, I can’t be certain whether you will be able to deal with her. And if you were to fall, the world would be doomed to continue in its misguided ways.”
A god was advising me not to fight Arax. This should’ve carried a lot of weight, but I already knew that she was powerful. The new information that crept its way into my brain had me wondering about something though.
“How does Arax compare to an enraged Kobold King?”
“A... Kobold King?” he asked in confusion. “Master, have you fought one of these monsters? Don’t tell me the dungeon appeared right here! Ugh, Celeth really could have mentioned that...”
I stared at him pointedly, waiting for an answer.
“Oh. Ahem. A Kobold King in that state is not to be underestimated, but they don’t compare to Arax at all.”
“Can you put it into levels?”
“You know about levels now, but not the Outer Realm? How peculiar. Levels are a concept you introduced into the world early on to compare the strength of entities, but it turned out to not work very well. A single, numerical value could never encapsulate the complex considerations that go into estimating a being’s power. That being said, the system still evaluates everything and everyone. A Kobold King is a level twenty boss that is elevated to forty during a dungeon rupture. Based on her physical characteristics, Arax is considered to be level one hundred eighty three.”
I didn’t remember designing this world, but I could practically feel the thoughts that went into it when Gallas talked about it. As a fan of RPGs, I would’ve tried to incorporate some defining, numerical value, but I could also see how quickly that would fall apart in a real world scenario. One such value couldn’t possibly evaluate tactics, strategy, luck, advantages, and so on. Not to mention magic and especially the use of raw mana, which broke that scala entirely. At the very least, it was an indicator for someone’s physical strength though.
“Just for fun: what about me?”
“Master, I... I couldn’t...”
“Come on, out with it.”
“According to the system... you would be considered level five,” he said, and continued in a panic. “But like I said, that doesn’t mean—”
He immediately stopped when I broke out laughing. “Hahaha. Wow, that’s low. What about her?” I asked, pointing down at Riala by my side.
“Huh?” She looked at me in confusion.
“Uhm... Level two,” he said.
Gallas didn’t seem to understand why I was amused, but how could I not laugh? It was hilarious if you considered that I was fairly sure even Riala could deal critical damage to Arax with the right approach. This really drove home how useless levels were. And possibly how far outside the normal system we were operating.
“What’s a level?” Riala asked curiously.
“I’ll explain it later,” I said with a chuckle before turning back to Gallas. “Alright, anything else?”
“No, that was all. But, Master... Are you perhaps not afraid of Arax? Do you know something I don’t?”
“Maybe. What can you tell me about the abrasive properties of mana?”
“I don’t know what that means.” His inhuman eyes appeared to shine in wonder about me potentially knowing something he didn’t.
“No? That’s very interesting.”
He waited a moment, perhaps hoping for an explanation, but even if he was on our side, I wouldn’t go and blab about it just yet, not knowing who he might tell.
His head suddenly jerked up and he only said, “I’m sorry,” before disappearing without a trace. Whatever system they had in place to call each other, he apparently had to always leave as soon as he got some kind of signal.
After staring at the empty space for a few seconds, I turned around. All of a sudden, we were alone, and I finally had some room to breathe. It seemed ridiculous how much had happened in the span of just one day. Acting all-wise, I had told Tomar that things don’t happen in neat little arcs earlier that day, but this was ridiculous.
Tomar...
Surveying the room, I got marginally confused looks from Hati and Berla, while Riala looked at me with wide eyes and a bright smile, brimming with curiosity and begging to hear more about what just happened.
I took a deep, deep breath and my eyes settled on Berla.
“Hey,” I said, a smile creeping onto my face.
“Miles?” she asked, full of hope.
“That’s a good question... I barely feel any different.”
“What about Tomar?” Riala asked.
“I haven’t heard a word from him... and I’m a little afraid to check. But... Tomar?” I asked.
I waited for a response. I didn’t know what I expected to happen, but it was possible that he had been sleeping while I didn’t have my memories. Maybe he was just quiet for some reason. Or maybe he couldn’t speak, but would give me a signal in the form of a headache. Something. Anything. Moments passed, and in the end I got...
“Nothing.”
Their heads drooped.
“Did you become one person?” Riala asked.
That would be one conclusion, but something seemed off. I felt the same as before. A smidge different, yes, but the reason for this might have been that I was alone in Tomar’s body.
I distinctly remembered the feeling I had while we were on our way back to the temple, however. I was certain we were merging. And whichever way you looked at it, you would expect a merge to actually have a noticeable effect. Even in the sense of Callings. If Tomar was merged into me as my Calling, because I was the one in control, I should’ve received some knowledge or abilities. The things candidates typically talk of, but I didn’t notice a thing. Except for these pieces of new information, which certainly didn’t come from Tomar.
“I’m sorry, Ria. I don’t know what happened to Tomar.”
If he’s actually gone... that’s another host I have on my conscience.
Nobody wanted to say anything after that, but Berla eventually broke the ensuing silence. “And what was that with Gallas right now?” Berla asked. “He seemed... changed.”
“I wanted to ask that too!” Hati added. “Was that an administrator?”
“Yea, it was. And yes, that was him. Actually, there’s a lot I have to explain to you guys. It’s a bit of a wild story, but if it’s true... Well, it’s quite something. Before we get to that though, could you do me a favor and stand up for a second, Berla?”
A little perplexed, she stood up, balancing herself on one leg, as I walked over and embraced her. “I’m sorry I pushed you away earlier.”
“Miles...” she whispered. I couldn’t see her face, but the strength with which she hugged me back spoke volumes.
Whether Tomar was merged into me after all, or he was eradicated entirely... I didn’t think I’d be able to do a thing about it either way. I didn’t feel great about it, but I wouldn’t act as if I wasn’t happy to still be here either. To still be able to feel her, as well as the young girl who decided to not get left out and wrap herself around my waist. Pushing away any negative feelings of potential loss and guilt, I just enjoyed this moment of peace.
“Welcome back,” Berla whispered.
“Thank you.”
