The pain didn't last that long, probably even less than an hour, that assumption comes from the fact that Naela's still sleeping. I was now under the blanket, alternating between deep in thought and the opposite.

Can't believe how many mistakes I did since appearing in this world, first not giving thought to the possibility magic might not be easily accessible, after that stating myself as a half dryad meanwhile I could've just told about eating out, then the two errors during the boss fight, the issue is my lack of planning.

To combat that, I actually spent the time I have now considering possibilities for the future. Mainly ways to get richer, to be able to afford the land for my base, expensive rune materials. Stealing from the wealthy wouldn't work, they're influencial and could trace their goods back with an army of investigators, don't know if those even exist here, but everything that can go wrong, will go wrong - believing in Murphy's law is something that can keep me alive.

Maybe I could just build the base far away from civilization to not have to worry about having to buy the land? Though, that way there'll be the danger of encountering much more dangerous beasts, what will rocks do against a dragon? That's stretching it a little most likely, but it's only an example.

I have a new plan. I'll train until I'm capable of taking on at least a bear with minimal difficulty, then venture into the wilderness, making use of tools I'll buy with the money saved up from working in the bookstore. Creating a working base of operations shouldn't be that difficult when I don't have any needs, and can theoretically work for days on end.

Getting up from the bed, stretching, putting on a sweater and woollen pants I bought three days ago, and getting out of my room, I go to the reading corner on the roof, bringing an interesting book and a blanket with me.

Even though I have done many dungeons, this one was by far the most intense, that 'adrenaline' effect wasn't just a pain nullifier, it was actual adrenaline. Now it feels odd to be in such a calming environment after the boss fight and later suffering, heavy rain pouring outside, being in comfy clothing sitting on an armchair under the blanket... I guess there's something to the saying about banging yourself fifty times on the head with a hammer, it feels good after it stops, the same with purposefully carrying stones in your boots.

-x-

Getting lost in a good book is something very easy to do under the right conditions, and with the level of comfiness the environment was radiating, it was inevitable.

The thing I was reading about was the shenanigans of a lizardman traveller, got to the part about him adopting a baby hydra before it stopped raining, leaving a dark grey sky. I couldn't tell what time it was, but by the chatter I was hearing from below, it was apparent that the city has woken up.

Naela probably as well.

I begrudgingly got up, stored the blanket in my inventory for easier transport, and came down to the main store area, where I witnessed something unexpected- A very strange customer, clad from head to toe in heavy, silver, shining armor, browsing a shelf frantically.

I took notice of Naela sitting on a stool behind the counter, and shot her a look. She shrugged, indicating her lack of knowledge of the situation.

He picked a thick tome, one of the newer books we have. After paying Naela five times the cost, he evacuated the store as fast as it was possible without running.

"What an odd fellow" I commented.

"Yeah, something must've happened to put him in that pitiful state, to wear full body armor everywhere... I'm sorry for him, whatever it is." said Naela, with the money still in her hand, looking at the door to which the guy exited.

Then she turned her eyes to me, frowning slightly, she started saying,

"Reminds me of..." Here she didn't continue, seemingly caught in thought.

He reminded me of something as well, it was more of a deja-vu, like I knew him for so long, yet nothing comes to mind. Maybe it was Indess? No. There's no possibility that she crossed as well, she left the game.

But maybe?

She was an elf, a caster, and that man's helmet didn't have any pointed ears poking outside. He's a guy, assuming from the body posture, and he wears armour - there's no way that it was her.

Then who?

I didn't manage to see his face, the helmet was blocking it, I wonder what's inside, who could it be?

Truly, it's the strangest thing to recognize a person, and yet not have any idea who they are.

"Maybe I know him from one of my past reincarnations?" I tried to joke, only for that to come as something to consider - the Game is real, and I got transported to a world where magic exists, reincarnation is not so farfetched anymore.

Looks like Naela was thinking the same thing, her lips carried a smile that wasn't reaching her eyes.

"...I'll go get the broom" Normally I would've cleaned the shop earlier, just after leaving a dungeon, but this time I battled the boss, and wanted to laze around a little longer after all that chaos, let my psyche rest some...

The customer though...

Probably someone I'll forget about, and remember in the most unconvenient moment, when everything becomes clear.

-x-

Later in the day, I was carving a rune on a field near the city, it got dry after the rain pretty quickly.

It wasn't one of the usual five rune programs I make every day, those were made when I was still in bed. Instead, the rune represented my favourite band from back home, one which carries much nostalgia, as it helped me get through difficult times - Aether Realm.

I sighed, looking at the carved rock, illuminated by gray light, filtered by dark clouds which still persisted long after rain has gone.

I truly wonder what future has in store for me, with all the crazy things that have already happened, it's gonna be a wild life, no matter if it lasts the regular human 80 years, 200 years with being killed in the battle or infinite, I'm kind of excited.

Storing the rune in my inventory, I start walking around the city. It's something I've been doing to calm the mind, although there's no longer a way to get truly tired physically, gamer's mind doesn't protect me from getting temporarily tired mentally.

-x-

Three weeks pass with the same monotony, dungeon and inventory training at night, tending to the bookstore and wandering either the forest or city at day, with a few visits to a local sauna I discovered, the closest it will probably ever get to properly cleaning myself in this world.

The ID setting itself didn't change much after my victory against the boss, but the zombies were thrice as fast, thrice as durable and hit thrice as hard, the first few sessions were reasonably difficult, but I managed, while getting stronger and stronger, so it got easier with time.

Within the span of the past month, I leveled quite a bit, estimating I'm about half way to peak human, or athlete level, in physical prowess alone. Although my main goal is to be a mage, being too much of a min-max may prove catastrophic. To be mauled by a wolf, all the while being capable of vaporizing mountains.

Name - Suisei Kyoryokou

Title - The Gamer

Level - 11

Class - Runecrafter - LVL 1 [12%]

Race - Human

Rank - Mortal

Allignment - True Neutral (Path to Evil)

HP - 300/140 [3 per minute]

MP - 370/370 [6.4 per minute]

SP - 300/140 [3 per minute]

STR - 21

END - 30

DEX - 25

INT - 37

WIS - 32

CHA - 21

LUK - 17

Other than the growth of my power, Naela has become much more open, getting over her personal problems, a cheery personality has revealed itself.

Though, something alarming has happened yesterday - I think I caught the attention of some noble, noticed someone in the clothing of a herald going around, and asking about 'a pale woman with a scar, red eyes and long black hair'.

I wanted to leave for adventure, start living in the forest, as soon as my magic gave me the ability to easily defeat a bear, don't know if that's the case now, but what I do know, is that I need to disappear from the city.

The only reason I waited a day is because Naela was meant to pay me today, and she did, a few gold coins.

So now, I'm sneaking the more interesting books into my inventory. Won't be coming back any time soon, counting on people to forget about me if I do. I'll just need to avoid this particular shop.

Weeks ago, I wouldn't even consider abandoning my stable life like that, but now, with this danger looming over my shoulder, and with my greed nudging me, it came to this.

Sorry Naela, but this is for the betterment of the omniverse; how would a person that's been a slave to some noble for half their lifetime get as strong as a person who's been power-leveling the entire time? Also, I'm not progressing enough with only the dungeons, the many possible beasts within the forest will make it much faster. Hopefully.

Checking if I have everything I need, all the borrowed tomes are there, the few rune programs, a few hundered rocks, the money, and a knife I bought two weeks ago for when magic runs out. All possessions in my inventory.

And so, I leave.

Leaving the bookstore behind, I don't look like going anywhere far away, nothing on my person, like if it was just a simple walk through the street, as I've done many times before - to put off pursuers that may get their information on me from questioning passerbys, so they believe I'm still within the city, while actually being so far away. This'll work for a few days at most, if it even does, for some people may tell them they saw me on the road. But if it works, that amount of time is more than enough.

In a few minutes I'm outside the city, still going on the road, far foward.

A few hours later, I heard a familiar voice calling my name.

"...isei! Suisei!" the tone felt slightly annoyed.

Turning around, I see Naela running towards me from the distance... wearing a leather cuirass?

As I stand there, she nears my location, stopping, and wheezing for air.

"I want to come with you!" she said, looking at me from her sulked position, tired from running.

"I know, sudden, but let me elaborate." Naela straightens herself, "When you weren't anywhere you'd normally be, and some of my books were missing, plus it being the day of your first pay, I connected the dots. I originally wanted to chase you down for stealing one of the books my dad wrote, after seeing it as one of the many you took, maybe get back the cash and other books as well, but some time into this journey, it being the furthest I've been from home by far, a realization hit me - your love for books is so great, that you would carry so many with you, after remembering which ones were missing, you were supposed to be burdened with about 50 large tomes, carrying what amounted to almost a small library through forests and mountains. And yet you aren't, I feel like I know the answer to that, but there's nothing in my memory." she paused for a second, and continued, "I'm still gonna come with you, it's too late to back out now."

I stood there for a second, processing what has occured.

Game, is there a party option? Can I add Naela to my party?

[...No]

Well, alright then, can work without that.

"Why'd you forgive me so quickly? Also, not questioning the disappearance of the books?" It was confusing to say the least, to think that the timid owner of a shop would drop everything and leave, chasing after a thief.

Maybe I don't know her so well after all, it's only been a month.

"My father's always been interested in adventure, he... he didn't return from a dungeon hunt one and a half months ago, leaving the shop, along with a few other things, to my care. As I said, at first I just wanted to get the stuff back. But along with your greed for knowledge, you also reminded me of him, so I kept walking, only set with a different objective - I wanna come to have adventures, as well as you're literally the only person I now know personally"

"That's... Certainly new." I didn't expect, nor plan for this kind of situation. I did go through an alternate version of it, where she chases me with the intent to take back her books, but that's about it.

"Guess there's no other way, come, we have the journey of a lifetime ahead of us." Not gonna send her off when the city's hours away now, and some company is good to have, regardless of Gamer's Mind.

Her face brightened at that,

"My full name is Naelane Hiilanori, thank you so much." She bowed lightly, almost a nod, yet her expression made it seem like she wanted to make it as deep as possible. I don't know why she's been hiding that, nor why she told me now, maybe telling the full name and nodding is some cultural custom?

Gesturing her to come, I turn in the direction I was going, and continue walking.

[I have made an update to the System you are using, now you may add people to your party, decide which parts of the System they gain, be able to see their status, along with current thoughts and emotions. You may have two members for now, every month the amount will increase by one.]

Hm, thanks Game.

How do I do it though?

[Say 'Party', it shows a window, where you may search names in a search bar, and all entities within a hundered meters from your location will be searched for that name, an icon with their face will show up, and YES/NO buttons will appear below - if you want to add them to your party, click yes, if you want to customize what parts of the system they get, click the icon with their face.]

And is it possible to remove people from the party?

[Yes.]

Good.

"Party", I mumbled, so that Naela doesn't hear me.

"Before I try it, will she see anything? Any pop-ups asking her to join the party?"

[No, unless you give her permission to use the parts of the system that are visible.]

Well then,

"Add Naela to the party, give her Gamer's Mind and Body, along with health and stamina regeneration factors like mine." I whisper, this way she won't be as much of a burden as she'd be otherwise.

[Done.]

Stopping and turning back to face her, I say,

"Hey, Naela, do you mind if I place a blessing of the forest upon you? You won't have to eat, nor will you ever get tired from walking." Even though the lie I told her weeks ago was idiotic, it's become an inside joke. Now that we're away from the scheming of politicians, I can let loose a bit more, give her an actual blessing of sorts, make it less of a joke. If Game's a god, then there's no reason this can't be a kind of blessing right?

She will notice something's off in some time, then remember when I said this to her, a joke will become reality. Can bet it'll be quite amusing to see her reaction once she learns the 'truth'.

I can turn this Dryad mistake into something useful I think - make two layers of secrecy. On the surface there would be the human adventurer Suisei, one level deeper a half-dryad takes her place, and at the bottom all my things concerning Game. Revealing one level of secrecy satisfies people, and keeps them from delving further, it's what I originally wanted with the lie. Maybe I'll make more layers to this in the future, should it prove to be a good tactic.

"Yeah, just make sure not to turn me into a tree in the process." Naela retorted, her tone of voice indicating she's smiling, me not needing to turn around to see her expression.

It was a good decision to let her go with me, even though Gamer's Mind made me immune to madness, that doesn't mean I can't get bored from being on my own for months, and with the fact that Naela kinda reminds me of Indess...

"Let us go." I say. Can't wait to see what awaits us in this world - I thought I left because of the issues concerning the interest of powerful figures in me, but similarly to Naela, the real reason for this sudden decision is my greed - it craves the riches of ancient civilizations, the EXP of killing dragons, the knowledge I will obtain, the experience that comes with traveling, and many more - an uncountable amount of types of riches.

...And the 'spirit of adventure' I guess.

-x-

An hour later, on a small trail between the trees, Naela has joked that my blessing worked, as she didn't feel any fatigue, thanks to the SP regeneration the party member status granted her.

I doubted for a second if revealing that layer of secrecy was a good idea, but then discarded that worry, I've been living with her for the past month, plus she's been acting a bit inquisitive, probably heard rumors of some power I possess, not unlikely someone has seen me doing something supernatural.

Time to satisfy her curiosity.

-x-

Two more hours, now walking in complete wilderness, she asked me if the blessing was actually real.

"Yep" was all I replied, not stopping in my pace.

I stopped hearing her footsteps, she's likely shocked.

Turning around, smiling, I lightly gesture her to say something.

For all those weeks Naela thought I was just joking, 'there's no such thing as 'half dryad'... or is there?' is what she's probably thinking right now.

I'll be damned if her expression isn't enjoyable to witness, the look of revelation on her face...

"You're still... fooling around right? I'm exhausted, I know it." She denied, even trying to breathe deeply, to simulate being tired.

"Nope, here's some more proof." then I took out a rune program, and shot a missile at a nearby fallen tree, making a few cracks, and causing splinters to fly in all directions.

"This is nature magic," I continued, "by focusing the essence of life into form, I can enforce the will of light, in other words Mother Nature onto my surroundings, making constructs such as that spear. I need mediums to do that though, rocks are sturdy enough to withstand the power, and have a deep connection to life, being soaked in it for many ages in forests and rivers, they are the best of mediums to channel the energy through." It's more possible she'll believe me this time, the demonstration should help with it.

Hm, to think about it, I've only made runes on stones, I haven't tried any other materials like tree bark, glass, or even giant stationary runes on the earth itself.

Well, once we stop for the night...

We don't have to stop for the night.

Eh, it's still good not to travel at the time when moving things become easy prey for dark creatures that may or may not inhabit this giant forest.

Not powerful enough to stand a chance against dragons, maybe wraiths of some kind, or other monsters of such caliber, yet.

I still need to hide under the thick foliage, get more experience fighting wolves and bears, which I think it's possible to take on with my current skill set, magic and the likes.

Naela's quietened, she has much to think about.

Hah, maybe I really am a spirit of the forest? In all but class? I did want to choose druid in my character creation, wondering if there's a subclass to that, a dryad...

Once I max out Runecrafter, my next class will be one of those, depends on what's available.

Eh, I don't really know, it's possible the need for some other class may arise, but if not. then I've already chosen.

-x-

Two days later, still walking as the sun rose between the trees, shining an orange hue, changing the deep mist engulfing all, creating a mystic atmosphere, the trees gaining the illusion of being etheral pillars.

Naela has come to terms with my supernatural side, opening up yet again. It brings me happiness to see that, although not as much as first time, three weeks ago, after the death of her loved one. This may be the work of the 'path to evil' thing that's always been next to my allignment.

I may be gradually becoming evil.

That's a fact I accepted long ago, but now I see there's still much to do, when I have yet to become completely damned - make new friends, maybe even find love... I'll have to distance myself from all these things once 'neutral' changes to 'evil' in the chart, better taste them when I still can.

Or even, not taste them at all, cut off from all contact, save for myself the pain of becoming something I wish not to be. Don't know if that's possible, Naela is this world's equivalent to Indess for me, as I've earlier noticed similarities.

There are no physical similarities between them now, to look at her more, it's a mental thing. Everything's reminding me of old times, of the calm life as a programmer on the edge of a city, on a doomed planet. It's been a whole month since my arrival, yet it seems all the same as the very first day. Damned time, why does it have to be so confusing?

-x-

Later that day, we're nearing a village, from a hill it can be seen quite clearly. A few hundered houses, all completely wooden, sit along a river, a broad river, almost strange for being in a mountainous area.

There are a few people out, going about their business, not paying attention to the many dangers I was extra conscious about when entering the forest. Can bet there's an unexplained disappearance every year.

...Or not, maybe I'm overthinking things, maybe there aren't dragons in this world, maybe there aren't any supernatural threats sneaking through the darkness.

Who am I kidding, there probably are, but they're so rare they aren't considered a valid threat by the people - this is a world of magic, so there should be some dark monsters, but if people build villages like this, then it can't be too bad, right?

Let me go down there, see if my theory's true.

-x-

Entering an outer part of the village I'm immediately noticed, a few people; an older woman and man, a few children, a guy roughly my age are in view. All the inhabitants know each other very well, and any stranger doesn't have the privelige of anonymity. It would be much more difficult to blend in if I planned to stay for longer than one night.

I don't necessarily have to make a stop in this particular settlement thanks to all the benefits of the Game, but it's always nice to learn of the history, myths and other such stuff, get to know the people- advance morally instead of physically, discover cultures. It is something I didn't get the chance to do in person back on the old world, Wondering if it'll slow down the speed in which I'm becoming evil. 'Being near good people changes you' is what I once heard from an old man on Earth, he seemed, excluding an obvious factor - his age, quite wise- hoping his words are at least half true, halting the damned 'path to evil' would make for an ecstatic day, week, month and a year. It's of course impossible, as Game's power supercedes any weak mental trick, but slowing the process down isn't as undoable as fully stopping it. I hope.

Of course, a secondary reason for stopping here was getting rarer rocks for runes - someone may be selling necklaces made with shiny stones from the river, and those have a high probability of being rare, unlike the fake stuff in the city. Other than rune materials I want to get my hands on tools, like an axe, maybe a sword if there's a blacksmith, would be better than the knife I've had until now.

I didn't make many friends in the city, as I wanted my identity to remain relatively unknown, knowing its dangers.

That was the case with my previous life as well, the only reason I wasn't as paranoid back then is that society advanced enough for rulers to not have concubine slaves, and I didn't have magic.

One could argue that my job as a programmer on modern earth was as good as being a mage on a fantasy world, but this society isn't as advanced as Earth, morally. There may be magic which changed architecture, quality of life and warfare, but it didn't change the people's world view- this is still a medieval civilization; slavery isn't abolished, many more wars happen here than on the old world, there's a lot of danger in being someone useful on this planet.

I'm not as wary as I was at first though, realizing I have the System, and IDs, it's guaranteed that no matter what happens, how powerful of a monarch takes away my freedom, I will always free myself given some time to gather levels.

Still rather not get caught, it'd most likely be highly unpleasant to spend most of my years on the cold, hard ground of a cell, and not being able to benefit from killing other things, like how the abundant warthogs in these parts helped in my leveling.

Combining EXP from dungeons and the forest almost gave me an extra level in the span of two days, all the while each one requires 50% more EXP than the previous, so that's about five levels if going by the requirements of LV 1.

It's almost twice as efficient as only IDs, even if the harder zombies give more EXP, I knew leaving the city was a good idea, regardless of being searched for, but had no idea it'd be this efficient. If only I knew that from the start, ahh the power spike I could've gotten in the past month, maybe it would even rival the speed in which some of the quick-paced planeswalker power fantasy gamer system fanfiction characters grow in strength.

Huh, the Gamer genre is quite niche, haven't paid any mind to how many key words there actually are.

Back to reality, an older woman in what was almost rags came up to me.

"Why have you come?" She asked in a raspy voice, some heavy accent within her voice.

"I'm an adventurer, and I wish to stay here for a day or two with my friend here, if she agrees...?"

Naela sends me a questioning look, but still nods.

"Yeah, she does" I continued, "Where can I find an inn, or at least a place to sleep?"

"Rael should have a spare room, his house is right there" she pointed to a nearby house, relatively large for for being in such a remote village.

"Great, tell him we'll come in a few hours. Thank you."

The woman smiled and nodded, we entered the village. Going through alleys, which aren't even that tight, the houses being built in a completely random fashion, without any sort of plan, it added many small interesting places to the village, as I've noticed in my short walk. I looked around, no pavement, patches of grass near the buildings where people don't often step, a few chickens walking around, even trees here and there, chaotically growing between the houses. The wooden buildings seem quite worn down, having likely gone through many decades, or even a century of usage.

There's a wide river flowing, cutting the village in two, the scent of fish coming from the buildings near the riverside.

Other than that, the clothing people wear here is almost the same for every person, they can't afford to be 'fancy' while struggling to feed themselves during winter due to the river freezing over, or something like that.

Let's go look around see how life goes in these parts.

-x-

There's one smith, one small local jewelery 'shop', selling mostly self made necklaces and bracelets made with the rocks that the river current brought here. Don't know if it can even be called a shop, more like a community project...?

Also a fish butchery, which is basically a stand with a few kinds of fish that can be caught in the river.

If this village was situated near the sea, it'd be an almost perfect picture of a small low-medieval fishing settlement, the only thing missing being sail boats.

As I look upon the relatively calm, but probably deep water, flowing almost lazily, I wonder if this river is connected to the small stream I saw on my first day here.

There is a small rowboat me and Naela could purchase to travel quicker down the river. The offer's been out for almost a decade, the seller, a short, bald carpenter with a long, grey beard, said so. It's not that the price is too high, noone wants to buy it within the village, as their lives are stable, and most people who need a boat have one already, and there aren't many visitors. After considering it, I decided there's no need for a boat, we want adventure, so why skip it, letting the waters carry us? Don't want to miss any ruins or abandoned houses, walking is also less noticable than a brown canoe on bluish green water.

I'll keep this in mind, if the noble pursuing me reaches this place, the first thing to do will be buying the boat before the carpenter finds out powerful people are after me.

I'm not that paranoid, System can help me get out of the hands of most individuals, and the pursuer hopefully believes I'm still in the city, all the while I'm chilling in an isolated village far away from any important road. No doubt however that they'd find me after a while, that's why the plan is to stay here only till tomorrow.

The local folklore states that there exists a gem, the gift of a god, one of the six great deities that ruled this world hundereds of years ago. I've read about them in my time at the bookstore, they seemed to be Gamers as well, or at least transported from the Doomed Earth. There are a few references, one as obvious as making the rubik's cube a relic, and a few others, not nearly as clear.

Anyways, the gem was said to contain untold magical power, allowing for the release of a full powered sixth tier spell, for examle Control Weather, a mythical ability of making the sky bend to ones will.

Don't know the exact mechanics of that artifact, but it's still something truly worth of searching for, even long term. Don't think I'll be 'controlling the weather' any time soon.

There's even a quest, I can tell it's very long term from the EXP reward.

[Objective] -

Find the Gem.

[Rewards] -

The Gem | Name is unknown.

400 000 EXP

That reward makes sense, but it also signals that I won't reach the gem in a long time, for 400K EXP is not something game would grant me just like that.

If my power surpassed the Gems before I got it, that's not a problem - this is just a goal to achieve, something to somewhat lead my way through this world, instead of wandering aimlessly, I'll be wandering aimfully.

-x-

There are a few minor situations going on in the village, nothing worth the time - of the things I heard, a goose was allegedly snatched by a fox a week ago, a recent fishing trip went well, and a new house is being built in the outer regions of the area. 'A lot happening' is what locals call this level of activity around here. With living in a city for most of both my lives, I'm completely new to how it all goes in small settlements like this.

It's slowly getting dark, but that's not a problem, we're sitting on the front bench of the house where we're sleeping, traces of light pink still shimmering on the horizon above the rooftops. The owner wants us to pay one silver, I only had gold pieces, but Naela had a few coins of the correct value.

Naela and I don't have to worry about monsters for all future nights - as stated earlier, if there's a settlement in the middle of nowhere, then it can't be that bad with the horrors.

The existence of this village is reassuring.

The reasons not to travel at night are now that there's the possibility of tripping, and I guess mundane night predators, but those we can deal with. When there's a need to quickly run away from pursuers, traveling at both day and night is a possible option from now on.

A light wind carrying the scent of winter came through

"Wanna go inside? Getting a bit chilly out here." I asked my companion.

"Yeah"

And so we entered, the main room had a large, worn down carpet, a small fireplace for heating the house, a hunting bow, a wood log table with some chairs, and finally two doors, I'm guessing one of them leads to our room.

The fire crackled, granting the place an unforgettable atmosphere of a true home, a real oasis from the problems of the kingdom, the planet - universe, multiverse and omniverse in my case...

Can't wait until I finally get back to my old world, see Indess' reaction to my new powers, make her the ruler of that world and a few more, if she so desires.

All this, the damned Gamer blood games, the possible unending adventure waiting ahead...

The random locations, like this one, or a cute forest clearing, a river, a town square, it has this energy that compels me to wonder, maybe it's because they all remind me of classic shounen anime locations? Those places fill me with determination, as much as that sounds like Undertale, it's the truth, I feel like the main character, destined to win no matter what...?

Maybe I am? Game did mention those beings, the readers and writers. Though, it's best not to just lay down and let the plot armor do the job for me, even if that's an enticing concept, it's still probable that the author is one of those that enjoy killing their own characters, so I gotta be careful until the story ends and gives me the option to grow stronger without having to worry about some random omnipotent being destroying me just because they got burned out writing, or making me do something I wouldn't do.

If you're writing this exact train of thought, Writer, please don't kill me. I'll get stronger, give this story a happy ending, if you're set on making me evil then at least for me, and everything unimportant to your story. Also don't destroy the omniverse, if that's possible.

Am I going insane?

No, Gamer's Mind.

If you're there, and you won't stop my existence, Writer, give me a sign, let me know I'm not crazy, thinking my life is a story, fictional in your realm of existence.

I stood in the doorframe, Naela saying something to me, but I was focused on one particular point on the ceiling, by chance staring into the void between my world and the world of Writers, looking the gods right into their eyes.

A tense moment passed.

And a new notification took all my attention,

[Added chocolate chip cookie to your inventory.]

I grinned, so you really are there, thank you for sparing me, and thanks for the cookie...

Am I being controlled, made to think this? Made to accept you without any existential crisis, so the story may continue? Hm, even if that's the case, you're just doing me a favor, controlling me to lead my way to omniversal domination with the use of plot armor. This may only be you, forcing me to believe so, but that doesn't change the fact that it's true, should one think about it - it's logical.

Once your hold on me drops, I'll be nigh-omnipotent, it's like you're molding my character through this story...

"Sei, are you there?" I heard Indess say... Wait no, that's Naela.

Damn, is this how my mind longs after the Old Earth? Or did I really cherish Indess so much, that I'm mistaking names? It's the former. She was my best friend, we took kindness at each other for granted. With the path to evil, I started noticing things which were otherwise basic gestures, the possibility it's only a matter of time until I stop considering Indess a friend, should that way of thinking get stronger within me, genuinely scares me. At least once it all ends, the unimportant people's safety guaranteed by the Writer, with me continuing my existence as the wicked being I'm gonna become...

"Yeah..." I replied after a good few seconds.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, worry clear on her face.

"No, nothing" I stepped inside of the house, "...don't worry" don't think she believed me here.

An older man occupied a shaded spot in the corner, behind the chimney. He seemed to be knitting something. Looking at us, the man nodded, to indicate we can make the place our home.

"Mera told me 'bout you two." He grunted, a barely noticable smile crossing his face.

"The woman who greeted us as we entered, right?" Naela said, taking out a silver coin, putting it on the table.

"Aye, that's the one, she chats with everyone in the village, even Arlac's dogs are fond of 'er." He didn't stop knitting, he's good at the stuff.

"Well, that's good, I guess" Not that I didn't get to know a few people in the hours of my stay, but he kicked me out of the loop here.

"Hey, you know, there's a story I try to tell every adventurer that comes through the village, most of them decline, being in a hurry to hunt the monsters they've been sent to kill, or in a hurry to run from the monsters that have been sent to kill them..." He gestured to two stools,

"Come, let me tell you the tale of Voruo, a legendary fire mage, whose demise came from within his own."

We sat down at the table, and he started talking.

-x-

It took him around three hours to finish, the story came down to this - the mage could destroy mountains with his fire spells, and was 'faster than the wind'. A long, epic adventure later, he got stabbed by a random thief in a dark alley, for he did not strengthen the body, only caring for the power of his magic.

It was an interesting story, and what I could interpret as a warning to not become similar, share the same fate as the character. The radical min-max, as Indess would've called him.

Eh, again with the remembering of my past, I hadn't had this problem for a month, what's different for it to happen? Is this the change of environment? Being more 'truthful' with Naela about my power, making her seem more similar to Indess? Interacting with her more than in the shop? Or a combination of those reasons?

Putting those thoughts aside, me and Naela get out of our seats, going to the door the man pointed to.

Going inside after saying good night, there was a medium sized bed, and an old couch, between them a nightstand.

"We won't be using the bed, will we? Can you give me a few books and conjure that magic light? I'll be reading on the couch." Naela asked.

"Yeah, sure." I replied.

And I did what she asked for, taking out five random books from my inventory, not hiding it, as I've explained it to her as the 'nature dimension' yesterday. It doesn't seem believable, but without any other explanation for making things appear from thin air, and the other stuff she already associated with my dryad origin, it is an acceptable explanation.

"As always, I'll be disappearing for the night." Going to dungeons I explained with my existence being tied to the sun, the thing that keeps nature alive, and as there's no sun at night, I must stop existing for that time, and that I can keep myself from disappearing for a while after the sun sets, but that strains my magic.

The amount of bullshitting I can get away with now is astounding, psychology's an interesting subject.

Naela said bye as I entered the dungeon.

And so, the day has ended.

[AN]:

This time it took a bit longer than usual to edit the chapter, hoping it's better than the last :)