A/N: At this point I only put these here in all my stories because it feels wrong to not have them here.
Wilhelm's current stats
Gamer Magic: Level One ~ 578/1000 XP
Strength: 4
Speed: 3
Agility: 3
Stamina: 4
Endurance: 7
Stealth: 5
With that, Wilhelm was left alone in the street, the feeling of fogginess leaving his head. He blinked as he questioned the sensation, and began to go find the Inn.
Wilhelm found the Inn shortly after with ease. The building itself was twice as large as the one he stayed at in Kiten, most of that doubled size working story-wise. Upon entering the place and introducing himself to the Innkeeper, Wilhelm was guided to his room, on the third of five floors that the building had.
Now, a while later, Wilhelm was sitting in his new room, sitting at a small desk while looking at his new sword. He had taken the sword out of the sheath and placed it on the desk to inspect it. Thinking about the sword made him puzzle the full use of the magic item. It was supposed to be able to absorb mana, of anyone that touches it. That part was sensible and he had already seen Selena touch it to know that was for sure the case. However his thoughts turned to the opposite of absorption, to release. Was the sword capable of releasing the mana he took with it? Did he need to to something to actively release the mana? Could he release it with a swing motion or something?
With little thought to the consequences, Wilhelm stood up, grabbing the sword with both hands as he moved to the middle of the room. Facing a wall of the room that was on an empty side of the room save for the window, he raised the sword with effort over his head. Before the teen could make a downward swinging motion, the weight of the sword made him falls backwards, the teen crashing to the ground as the sword dropped and impaled itself in the floor next to him.
Wilhelm stayed there on the floor for a moment, looking up at the ceiling with a look of annoyance as he processed the chain of events. In that moment he forgot about the weight of the sword. He sat up and locked at the sword, letting out a sigh at how it had cut into the ground. He heard a fluttering sound and Wilhelm turned to see that bird Nero sitting there on the desk, giving him it's seemingly permanent bored look.
"Shut up." Wilhelm spoke to the bird, despite it not being able to speak back. "That look is annoying." Nero continued to give him that look, which made Wilhelm give a look of annoyance back. A second later he realized he was in a staring match with a bird and stopped looking at it, opting to go back to his sword.
Making sure to note that he should apologize for the floor later on, he stood up and pulled the sword from its spot, an action that took effort. Once the sword was placed back in the sheath he took a moment to think and decided that even if the sun was setting withing the hour he would go work out, possibly at the coliseum. He wanted to be strong enough to learn how to use the sword properly.
With that thought in mind, the teen left his room and made for down the stairs, the bird flying after him and landing softly on his head before he began descending the steps. He moved past everyone and went for the front door, which was propped open. As he tried to walk through the doorway, the teen, who was admittedly speed walking, crashed into someone. Due to the sudden impact he fell backwards, the weight of the sword in his back taking him to the floor.
"Ah, Wilhelm. I was just coming here to retrieve you." The voice of Fuegoleon made Wilhelm look up from his position on the ground to see it was the captain that he knocked into. The man hadn't fallen over like the teen, who he held out a hand to, helping him stand up before continuing to speak. "The Magic Emperor said he'd like to meet you now if possible."
"What?!" Wilhelm gained a shocked expression, as well as several people who were within earshot.
"He has stated interest in you, and if convenient like to have a conversation with you."
Wilhelm was silent as he stood completely up, his head gaining a foggy feeling like when he saw that necklace that Selena had. It felt like it was directed at Fuegoleon, but only for a second though before the feeling was gone. "Yes. I mean it's convenient."
Fuegoleon nodded as he turned for the door, but stopped as he saw Nero. "You have an anti-bird on your shoulder."
"It has been following me since the coliseum and won't leave." The teen reported.
Fuegoleon raised an eyebrow and as he studied the bird, which was giving him it's signature bored look. "Hmmm... Interesting. Normally these birds avoid those with more than amounts of mana."
"It doesn't seem to care about that, and just follows me everywhere. It pecks me whenever I try to get rid of it." Wilhelm didn't try to hide his annoyance with the subject.
"It seems like the bird has chosen you for whatever reason. I suggest leaving it to it's musings until it leaves then. Now we head to the castle." With that, the man began walking down the street and Wilhelm followed.
As they walked Fuegoleon spoke again. "I now do want to question your having a blade. Don't recall you having that earlier today."
"One of the Blue Roses gave it to me. It's a sword that absorbs mana and they thought that since I have no mana it suits me."
"That indeed does sound suitable. Are you able to release the taken-in mana?"
"I actually wanted to test that earlier, but the sword is too heavy for me to use for now. I was going to go try and increase my strength stat when you came."
"That may be your most important stat, alongside stamina. I would focus on those two if it were me."
Wilhelm took a second to think before replying. "I thought that endurance may be the most important."
It was Fuegoleon's turn to be silent for a second while he thought. "Now that it's mentioned, I believe so to a degree. Your ability to endure is what kept you pushing during your encounter with that Diamond mage, and affected the outcome. However do not let any stats stagnate at all."
"I don't plan on it." Wilhelm nodded.
The rest of their trip to the Magic Emperor was quiet, which didn't bother Wilhelm. The teen was mostly taking in sights as they went, admittedly wowed by some small acts of magic done by street vendors and people as they went about their business and days. Everything was more vibrant and lively than the drab, horrible city he grew up in.
People kept looking at them as Wilhelm and Fuegoleon walked past, mostly looking at the latter. People saying greetings happily or just showing enthusiasm at seeing the magic knight among them. The man also responded kindly to most if not all of them. Wilhelm got odd looks however, and he knew that on first impressions it was everyone seeing his different clothing and finding him out of place. His clothing having tears and rips didn't help either. However the looks weren't immediately hated by Wilhelm, as he considered it better than how he was normally looked up, if at all, up until the last week; like trash.
Fuegoleon stopped as they were close to the center and top of the royal capital. They were by a decently size gate that looked like the only way farther up the mountain the city was built on top of, and past this gate and high walls was a castle. Four people, Wilhelm wanted to assume guards, were by the gates which were currently open. They all had the same full body cloaks. All four turned to acknowledge the two.
"Sir Vermilion." One of the four spoke a respectful tone as the man approached.
"I have returned with the foreigner." The man indicated to Wilhelm with a wave of his arm. "I know the King is currently fretting over security but the Magic Emperor has requested for his presence." The guard who spoke nodded, and Fuegoleon walked past, Wilhelm following behind him quickly.
"Wait..." The teen matched pace with his guide. "There's a king and emperor?"
"Your home country has those roles as well?" Fuegoleon looked intrigued by the idea.
"My home country has presidents, but other countries around it had kings and emperors, but they didn't have both."
"I see. The King is the ruler of the kingdom, born of the royal family and given the title when his father before him passed away. Magic Emperor is a title given to the strongest Magic Knight in the kingdom, and he has just as much military authority as our king. It's a title that's earned instead of a birthright." Fuegoleon explained as they walked up the path.
Wilhelm nodded in understanding and then took in the sight of the castle. It was definitely the best castle he has ever scene, not that he has seen any in person before. The castle was divided into three sections, surrounding a central area that the path from the gate led to that had branching paths to the three grand houses. In the middle of the central area was an insignia of a three leaf clover, like the one on Wilhelm's grimoire, etched into the ground. Above that pattern were three men talking. Wilhelm studied all three men and tried to figure out which, if any, were the Magic Emperor before they got close to the men.
The man on what was the left of the group from Wilhelm's perspective was a man who looked close in age to Fuegoleon, who Wilhelm assumed to be in his late twenties, with an average height and a lean build. He had an odd helmet, or mask which sounded more fitting, that obscured the upper half of his face. The mask was very elaborate, and was made up of a large gold piece covering the area around his right eye, and a smaller blue piece covering the area around his left eye. The helmet had white and red patches of fur on the back edges, and two white feathers that stick up on the left side. His outfit consisted of a white double-breasted, long-sleeved shirt with a high collar and blue covering the center of the shirt, with gold trimmings and buttons on that portion. He also wore white pants and a pair of high black boots. This man had a different squad robe than what he has seen so far. The robe was gold in color, and in a similar fashion to the other squads covered his torso. It had a blue-colored fur trim around the border of the hood and a pair of red ropes, which come from the left shoulder and connect to the gold-colored button on the right shoulder. At the left-hand side was the insignia of the squad, which was a golden sun rising over a horizon.
The man had a peculiar appearance, just because of the mask, and Wilhelm halfway wanted to just assume he was the Magic Emperor since he had never seen a mask like it before. However he decided to study the other men too.
The middle man was a slender person with narrow purple eyes, and pale, silver-white hair worn in a very odd style by Wilhelm's opinion. The man had his hair long and straight at the lower back, the top and upper side portions of his hair heavily styled and swept back into a long spiky fringe. None of that was really odd though, it was the man's bangs, which were long and styled into a braid that hung between his eyes and down to the tip of the nose, where a small purple pendant was attached. The choice of hairstyle was odd to Wilhelm, who also thought he wasn't one to judge style given his clothing that was a mess. Speaking of clothing, the odd-haired man's outfit consisted of a loose fitting shirt with a high collar that was kept closed at the top by a gold band but was left open below to expose his collarbone. He also had loose pants, with tight bands just below the knee, and flimsy sandals. This man also had a different robe than what Wilhelm has seen before. A white robe that was feathery around the collarbones down to halfway where other robes went, and dropped the rest of the way to the seemingly standard magic knight robe length with sections. The design of the robe's sections seemed like feathers almost, which fit with the insignia of the squad being a badge that was silver and had a eagle on it.
The man had noticed Wilhelm a second after Wilhelm looked at him, and the man had a judgemental look as he studied the teen, definitely taking notice of Wilhelm's torn apparel and the bird on his head. The look didn't sit with Wilhelm, who wanted to believe that one of the other two was the Magic Emperor. Wilhelm looked at the last man as they got closer.
The last man on the right was a tall, middle-aged man with short messy blond hair and purple eyes. He very noticeably had a blue six-pointed star on the left side of his forehead. His attire was the most stand-out-ish of the three and On top of everything, the man wore a long red robe that covered his entire body. The part of his robe which covers his torso is decorated with white fur. On top of the fur, a gold necklace and a couple of medals were worn. The red robe only had a single sleeve for his right arm, leaving the left side open and allowing his clothing underneath to be seen. The clothing beneath his red robe consisted of a shirt and pants of similar color and designs. The white shirt has a high collar with black fur at the end, and intricate gold and purple-colored designs on its edges.. The shirt also has long sleeves with light purple cuffs, which have similar black fur and designs. A pair of gold ring-shaped ornaments are also decorating the upper and lower parts of each sleeve. He had brown pants which were complimented by a pair of high boots of similar color, which had black fur at the collars as well.
Out of all the men, Wilhelm believed he was definitely the Magic Emperor. He seemed more royal in appearance to the other two in Wilhelm's opinion.
"I have returned." Fuegoleon announced his presence and the three men turned to look at him and Wilhelm.
"Wonderful," The third man was the one to speak. "So this is the Wilhelm I have heard has been causing a stir in Kiten?" He looked at Wilhelm indicating for the teen to speak.
Wilhelm was about to speak but his mind pulled a blank, the odd feeling he has had clouding his head since bumping into Fuegoleon getting worse. He ignored the sensation and spoke. "Yes, I'm Wilhelm."
The man gave a nod. "I am Julius Novachrona, the Magic Emperor. I wanted to see you for myself, it's a rare occurrence for a foreigner to wash up on the beach here in Clover."
"I heard it only happened once before." Wilhelm replied.
"That is true. His name is Yami and since arriving in Clover he has become a Magic Knight, and in recent years a Captain." Julius paused for a second, before his eyes lit up and he leaned forward enthusiastically. "What is your magic?!"
"Huh?" Wilhelm was thrown off by how eager and overly enthusiastic the man asked that. It was almost child-like how he asked about Wilhelm's magic.
"I'm sorry. It's just that Yami has a unique magic so I assumed that the other foreigner would also have a unique magic, and got excited at the possibilities." The Magic Emperor explained.
"Oh, my magic is called Gamer Magic. It's just a page that gives me scores for physical capabilities on myself that I could improve like stats." Wilhelm had pulled out his grimoire and opened it to the man, once again forgetting that only he can read the contents.
Julius ended up taking the book to hold and looked at the page regardless, and his enthusiasm didn't drop like Wilhelm honestly expected when he told his magic's nature. "That's amazing! Is it possible to improve these numbers past what can be achieved by natural means then?"
Wilhelm wanted to point out that he also questioned that possibility. "I haven't been able to change any of the stat's values yet. Training with Sir Fuegoleon has gotten Stamina closer to that though."
"Interesting..." Julius began to sound like he was muttering to himself about the magic.
"You have an anti-bird on your person." The man with the mask spoke as he saw Nero on Wilhelm's head.
"It has been following me all day and won't leave me alone." Wilhelm responded.
"Is this really the time to talk with the foreigner?" The final member of the trio spoke, looking at Julius. "The castle is still under heightened security after the attack just earlier."
"We have plenty of knights in the area after earlier's incident, it should be alright." The masked person waved it off.
"I forgot my manners." Julius coughed as he handed Wilhelm his grimoire back. "These are William Vangeance," He indicated to the man with the mask. "And Nozel Silva," He indicated to the man with the odd hair. "They are the captains of the Golden Dawn and the Silver Eagles respectively." William gave a small nod to Wilhelm while Nozel didn't respond at all. "Wilhelm, do you want assistance returning to your homeland?"
"No, that is not my home." Wilhelm didn't mean to sound rude about it, but his words did come out with venom regarding that place. He had so far had a far better life here in Clover in the last few days than the last fifteen years of his life.
Luckily Julius knew the venom wasn't aimed at him and nodded. "That means you are allowed to stay in Clover, as a complete citizen. May I ask what you want to do here in Clover?"
"I..." Wilhelm paused as he thought about it, a process that was hindered a bit by the sensation clouding his head. He pushed past that sensation that over time kept getting louder and worse, and thought back to his outburst at the grimoire tower. Did he really mean what he said earlier that week? Was it even realistic to say something like that with what magic he had? Did realism even matter anymore? What was realism for him more than a week ago was tossed aside once he washed up in Clover.
With that thought in mind Wilhelm looked at Julius. "I am going to become the Magic Emperor."
The area was silent for a moment, all the captains giving Wilhelm mixed looks while the Magic Emperor himself gave one of curiosity.
"Oh? You want to take my role?" Julius asked with a small grin.
"That's my plan." The teen answered firmly. Wilhelm had a feeling that the guy was about to laugh just like everyone at the tower did, and was trying to prep himself to not lash out over more ridicule.
"That's quite ambitious. It's a role that only one person in every generation can hold." Julius was still holding that smile. "Aiming for that spot is an ambition that most Magic Knights should hold too."
"Most of the captains hold that ambition." Fuegoleon added.
That sensation in Wilhelm's head got more intense, making him have to work harder to just ignore it and have a conversation. He managed to speak without showing that his mental state was getting chaotic. "What does it take to be the Magic Emperor?"
Julius gave Wilhelm a look, studying the expression on Wilhelm's face and in his eyes before letting out a chuckle. "No hesitation to learn the steps you have to take? That drive will do you good when you become a magic knight. As for becoming the Magic Emperor, there is only one true requirement to achieve that rank. It is the only thing that matters on the path. It's Merit. The Magic Emperor is someone who stands at the top of the Magic Knights and is responsible for the actions of all the factions in this kingdom. Pride and strength mean nothing if you do not have trust in you to lead that role well, and trust does not come without reasons to have that trust placed on you. Merit; actions and feats that prove you stand at the top and are someone the people can confide into get the job done, that's what is expected of every Magic Emperor. Produce results, place feats and achievements to your name that make people know your place and that's how you become the Magic Emperor." He finished his speech.
The mana-less teen pondered the words for a moment. It was simple, in order to rise to the top, he had to prove himself as someone who could stand at every step it took to get there. Something that would be impossible back in his original life. Even with no mana he felt that he wouldn't just take any step on the path as the final step he'd take. It had to be the top.
"Then that's what I'll do. Gain merit." Wilhelm stated.
"That road is not easy, especially for someone with no mana." Fuegoleon stated. "As much as I myself am working to get to that spot, I will gladly offer you my assistance." He held his hand out to Wilhelm.
The man easily became Wilhelm's favorite captain with that. The man had already trained Wilhelm once, and instead of forgetting about the kid or laughing off his insane goal, the man instead offered to help Wilhelm. Something he never really received before this last week. Maybe it was Selena's influence on his previously horrible ability to accept help, but Wilhelm too Fuegoleon's hand. "I acce-"
The teen couldn't get through his sentence as the odd feeling he has been ignoring made itself impossible to ignore. The sensation got dramatically worse and became like what he experienced while drowning. An intense sound like a humming engine blocking out noises filled his head. His chest began to burn, and not just because he wasn't properly taking in oxygen due to his hyperventilating. The teen fell to his hands and knees as he lost the ability to stay on his feet.
"Wilhelm?!" Fuegoleon was the first to react, in shock and confusion as he knelt next to the teen.
That action, unknowingly to Fuegoleon, made Wilhelm's situation worse. The intense humming got louder and began to sound like a roar next to him. The teen begin to lose his ability to breathe, whatever happening to him taking away his unconscious functions. Wilhelm turned his head as he felt a presence, the source of whatever he felt was causing this, and saw a gem on a chain around Fuegoleon's neck he didn't recognize before. Before he could properly register another thought his arm had shot out and grabbed the gem in a vice grip, catching everyone surprise with the action.
An unconscious action he instantly regret, it sending a pain filled shock through his body, making his loss of air worse as he began choking. After grabbing the gem, it had began glowing, as did Wilhelm but he wasn't processing that.
The humming sound was no longer just in Wilhelm's head, as everyone heard it. The air felt alive with energy before a booming sound erupted from the gem, and a wave of mana burst out of it.
No one got touched by the explosive mana, Julius using his magic and quick reaction time to move the men away in time.
As sudden as it all was, that situation was over. The mana in the castle center was still vibrant, but now dormant. The men had been moved away towards the gates and what was left in the center was Wilhelm, who Julius had left behind since the explosive mana was coming from the gem and somehow him. It left Julius with no option other than do this, or to use a spell to pause Wilhelm, but he doubt that the spell would have completely stopped whatever this was and would've just temporarily stopped it. As for Wilhelm, the teen has completely collapsed, unconscious.
"What was that?" Nozel was the first to speak.
Fire.
Bodies.
Blood.
It all surrounded him. The sounds of fire. The sight of dead people all around him. The smell of blood. It overwhelmed him as he struggled up from the ground, his own blood spilling out from injuries over his person.
He fell over, tripping on his own feet. Pushing back up he kept moving, limping towards a specific body. He had to get to them. He had to believe they had not died yet. He had to make sure he could save them.
He yelled their name, indiscernible to even himself at that moment, hoping that they'd defy the odds and reply back. "53581!"
Wilhelm shot up, covered in a cold sweat, his heart racing as he mentally caught up to himself. He looked around and saw that he was in a decently sized room, decorated with things that made him think he was definitely in some rich person's place. He saw a window and saw that it was well into night time currently.
A jab to his hand made the teen yank his hand upwards and look at where his hand had been, to see the bird Nero sitting on his bed.
Wilhelm gained a slightly irritated look. "You're still here?"
The bird gave him a look, that same bored expression it always had. Instead of pecking him or anything like usual, it hopped off of his bed and onto a nightstand next to the bed, where Wilhelm's sword had been placed. The bird stood on the sheath and looked at it before back at Wilhelm.
"What?" The teen asked the bird, and it gave him that signature look of its. "Yes that's my sword." The teen responded, and the bird gave him an annoyed look in return. Wilhelm ignored the bird as he moved to the edge of the bed and dropped his legs to the floor. For the next few minutes he sat there and questioned what had happened.
For starters, why did that gem Fuegoleon have cause all that weirdness in Wilhelm's head? Why didn't it react when he had been around the man for several hours at the coliseum? Did it have anything to do with that gem Selena had?
Wait.
Wilhelm remembered Selena mentioning that Diamond was after magic artifacts, and that they believed one to be around Kiten. Searching for one there, implies a whole collection of these artifacts. Was it possible that the gem Fuegoleon had, and the one that Selena had, were a part of this set? Very very doubtful that somehow it was the same set of magic objects, but on the off chance they are one and the same, that meant Diamond would come for them also.
Disregarding that troubling thought for a second, the teen thought about one of the two other important questions about this whole thing.
Why did the gems have some weird pull on him? He doubt that it was normal for jewelry to cause people to go through an experience like that, even in a world of magic like the Clover Kingdom. Did this connection have anything to how he ended up in Clover? To begin to understand these stones he'd either have to learn more about magic gems in general, or learn about why he really got this second chance at life. Out of those two things, the former sounded far easier to achieve.
Finally his thoughts went to that... memory? Vision? Incredibly realistic nightmare? Whatever it was, it felt too real, even for that single moment of it that he experienced. He felt what was his own blood pouring out of wounds he didn't know how he got. He smelled the smoke and death around him. He felt the genuine panic and stress of trying to move towards one specific body in that field. To Wilhelm, it was real, but at the same time it didn't feel like it was him. That wasn't an experience he had had, in this life or his original life. It confused him trying to figure out what the reason for that experience was, and that confusion kept going until he heard a door open, and the teen turned to see a man enter.
This man had simple grey clothing with a white coat, short grey hair and squared glasses. He was calm for about a second until he noticed Wilhelm sitting upright and jumped a little.
"Oh! You're awake!" The man moved with urgency to Wilhelm. "How are you?"
"Where am I?" Wilhelm asked his own question, never one for the question he was asked.
"You're in the castle, House Vermilion specifically. You fell unconscious earlier so Lord Julius had you moved to the closest place for me to come inspect you."
"What happened exactly?" Wilhelm hoped this guy knew what that stone did.
Instead the man gained a regretful look. "We don't know the specifics. What is known is that you and Sir Vermilion's jewel had a reaction to each other." He pointed a hand at Wilhelm and the man had a grimoire with a blue glow open. "Give me a minute while I check again that nothing bad had happened to you."
The man's magic manifested, into multiple large jellyfish, all in a bubble that surrounded the two. Inside the bubble felt like they were underwater, but without being underwater. It was as if the water was just around them, without any of the natural events of being underwater taking place. The jellyfish all extended and poked Wilhelm in several spots, him feeling an odd sensation from the connection. He gave the whole display of magic a slightly unnerved look, only because he didn't like being under even this pseudo water.
"Do magic gems normally do that?" Wilhelm asked, focusing on anything but thinking about water and what happened to him at one point while submerged in it.
"I have never heard of anything like this before. It was theorized that maybe it was a reaction die to you being a foreigner, different continent and maybe different ways that magic interact and all that. However something like this was never seen with Yami." The man spoke while working his magic.
Wilhelm didn't ask another question, since now he was questioning why the magic stone did that to him specifically.
After a minute the man turned off his spell. "Well, there are no major issues. However I noticed you have a poor diet and irregular and chaotic sleep schedule. I recommend fixing those if you want to do well as a magic knight. Final thing is that I noticed your eyesight is not perfect, and that you need glasses, dunno if you have those already."
"I never wore glasses before." Wilhelm replied. He wasn't aware he needed glasses before, his eyesight definitely wasn't perfect but the teen never was in a place to be able to notice or care about it. Especially given how he had numerous other issues going on at any given time.
"I can make sure those are made and given to you." The man reassured him, before standing up. "I should probably let Sir Vermilion know you have awoken in good condition."
The man then left the room, leaving Wilhelm alone. The teen took that as a chance to stand up, noticing his boots were gone, which made since given that he was placed in a bed. Not only that but his clothes looked different, not as in he was in different clothing entirely, but that his own clothes were altered. Someone had fixed them, the teen no longer saw blood stains, or rips, tears or anything. His clothing was repaired and didn't look like they belonged to some kid who had worn them every day for months while being homeless. Most importantly he looked and found his windbreaker placed on a chair not far from him. The teen didn't hesitate to move to and put the jacket on, feeling more at ease once it was on.
Wilhelm felt something poke his chest, coming from the inside pocket of his jacket. Grabbing what it was, he found a folded piece of paper with his name on it.
Wilhelm, I noticed the condition of your clothing was not exactly the best, and had one of the mages here in the castle use his magic to repair them and keep them as close to the original intention (we assume) of the design. ~ Fuegoleon.
That now counted two people who were generous and giving to Wilhelm, and the teen felt he had done nothing to really deserve it. However he appreciated it nonetheless, especially given the repairs of his windbreaker.
The door to the room was opened again, and this time it was Fuegoleon followed by the man who just checked his health.
"Wilhelm, you are okay?" Fuegoleon was the first to speak.
"Apparently." Wilhelm wasn't sure if it was okay after a colored rock made him lose the ability to breathe for a bit. "Do magic gems normally do that?"
"Not from what I have seen before. I wasn't aware that the gem in my possession was a magic jewel of any kind up until this."
That didn't help Wilhelm at all. "So my seeing things was also not normal?"
"Wait, you saw things?" The water magic user asked. "What kind of things?"
"It may help us understand what happened." Fuegoleon mused.
"I saw death... I was in a field with other people, but everyone was on the ground and dead. I was barely able to stand because whatever happened to them, I felt like it happened to me also." Wilhelm paused, feeling some sort of pained emotions just trying to recall the event. "It didn't just feel like a memory, it felt like I was going through that moment but I know that I never experienced something like that before."
Fuegoleon was silent for a moment, cupping his chin while thinking. "Have you felt anything since that vision?"
"No." Wilhelm shook his head, before thinking for a second back to something important. "But that feeling I had with your gem was the same feeling I had with another one!"
"It was?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Where is this gem?"
"It's with Selena..." Wilhelm paused, thinking maybe that Fuegoleon didn't know Selena. "So on its way to Kiten."
"Did you touch that one also?"
"No, I was just close to it. I felt light headed near it, and also drawn to it."
"These jewels have a connection to the lad then." The water magic guy spoke. "I think that he may uncover more of this vision if he comes into contact with the other gem."
"That is likely." Fuegoleon nodded. "I'll send a message to Charlotte in the morning. Whatever connection you have to them, it may be wise to uncover that."
"Can't we head that way right now?" Wilhelm asked. He couldn't explain it, but he believed he felt the pull from the gem as they spoke. It was small, but he could feel the pull.
"I'm sorry but no. I have my duties here in the capital, and it is also the middle of the night. Lord Julius put you under my watch and for now I believe you should stay here, in the castle."
"But-" The teen tried to argue.
"This isn't a debate." Fuegoleon shut it down immediately. "I understand your desire but right now is not the time. For now get rest, the gem business will sort itself out tomorrow."
Wilhelm really wanted to argue, he felt like he absolutely had to get to that gem. At the same time however he knew he shouldn't argue with the man who had been generous with him so far. "Fine. Wait. here?" He pointed to the bed. "As in I am to stay here in the castle? Not the capital?"
"I thought your arrangements needed changing after the incident with my gem. For now you will be here in House Vermilion until the magic knight selections in April." Fuegoleon explained.
The teen spent about ten seconds trying to question how in the span of a week, he went from homeless, to dead, to living in an Inn in a small town, to almost killed again, to now in a castle because a rock messed with his head. The logic felt flawed somehow so Wilhelm responded to Fuegoleon simply. "Okay."
A few hours later Wilhelm couldn't sleep, that sensation from the gem nowhere near him made the teen unable to let his mind relax. Even pacing the room wasn't helping him feel tired at all.
After more pacing he moved to sit at the chair in the room and sighed. He was too restless and it wasn't going to change at all that night. The gem that Selena had was seemingly calling out to him. That and once Wilhelm learned he had to stay in the castle, he felt confined and that feeling was something he didn't like.
The teen made a groaning sound and hit his head against the desk lightly a few times. "Come ooooon..."
He felt something land on his head, Nero, and the bird pecked him. He raised his head to get the bird off him, and saw it hop onto the desk and look at him.
"What?" The teen didn't question his continued talking to a bird.
Nero turned to the window behind it, and then back to Wilhelm.
"You want out?"
The bird responded by pecking his hand that was on the desk, making the teen pull his arm back and wince.
"Pecking won't help you get your point across. Raise a wing or something since you seem to understand that."
Nero flew across the room and landed on Wilhelm's sword, pecking it before flying back to the desk and last it to land on the windowsill, facing Wilhelm.
The mana-less teen stared at the bird for a solid few seconds. "You want me to throw my sword out the window?" He asked sarcastically.
That question resulted in Nero flying at the teen and pecking him hard on the cheek, before landing back on the desk.
Wilhelm rubbed his cheek. "You're asking for me to use the sword on you at this point." The bird gained an irritated expression, and flew away from Wilhelm to somewhere else in the room.
Wilhelm didn't know what to make of the interaction, past the fact that the bird definitely was annoying. The teen went back to his thoughts, and that gem that was probably back in Kiten at this point. He didn't know if it was even some magic jewel that would give him more of that vision, so he didn't know if it would be best to force Selena to bring it back to the capital, or have to send it there. It made sense to him that if he wanted to check the gem, that he should go to it.
At that thought, Wilhelm got an idea that definitely wasn't the best, but was what he may just end up doing.
Wilhelm was going to make his way to Kiten on his own.
A while later Wilhelm took a wrong turn out of the castle, evident by ending up on a large patio area that overlooked the capital below. He did actually stop just to take in the sight of the city below, all the lights that shined in the dark showing that this city was active at night. He leaned on a railing as he looked down.
"Couldn't sleep either?" A voice made Wilhelm jump, it coming from his right. He turned to see it was the girl Mimosa, who has on a night gown and was sitting at a table close to him. At his jumping she shook her arms. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you!"
"I didn't see you there." Wilhelm exhaled, really thrown off by somehow not seeing the girl there at all. "Wait, why are you in the castle also?"
"I... I'm from House Vermilion?" She replied with confusion.
Wilhelm then felt like an idiot, he had heard Fuegoleon say her last name was the same as Fuegoleon's own, so of course they were family, and would be in the same house. "Oh. Sorry I forgot."
"It's okay. You did just come to the capital so it takes some time to learn things."
"I don't think that excuses asking a princess why she lives in her own castle."
Mimosa turned red. "I'm... um I'm not a princess."
Wilhelm felt awkward. "I'm sorry! I thought that-"
Mimosa cut him off by accident. "I mean I am royalty but I'm not a princess. There aren't any princes or princesses in Clover really."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." He apologized again, not sure if he offended her.
"It's fine. It's fine." Mimosa waved it off. "I just got surprised. It's not common to be called a princess." Wilhelm didn't respond, looking awkward as ever, and Mimosa looked at him and his apparel. "Why are you in all your stuff?"
That was a question Wilhelm probably shouldn't answer, since he was technically running away. However there had to be some sort of reason he'd have to state for why he is walking around at night with his sword strapped to his back. Wilhelm's quick wit kicked in and responded for him. "Uh... I... sleep with the sword?"
Almost immediately Mimosa gained a look of disbelief, and Wilhelm did not blame her at all. "You're leaving aren't you?"
"What? No." He lied. "I'm just..." Wilhelm tried to think of a good excuse, and couldn't think of anything at all.
"You're going to Kiten for the gem." The girl said what he was actually up to.
"That's not- Wait, how do you know about the gems?"
"I- don't." Mimosa definitely lied.
"Then how do you know it's in Kiten?"
"I wasn't eavesdropping." She lied again, the girl turning red from the revelation.
"Yes you were. So you know why I'm leaving."
"I also know that Fuegoleon told you to stay here."
"I'm not staying. I have to go find out about it myself."
"Fuegoleon said he'd work things out about it in the morning."
"I already left a note saying he doesn't need to tell them about it. I'm already going to Kiten." Wilhelm began to walk away, thinking he should definitely go before someone notices the two and their conversation that's getting slowly louder.
"You can't leave!" Mimosa ran to catch up to the mana-less teen, who inwardly groaned.
"Why do you care?" Wilhelm kept walking as he tried to go for a door away from the patio area.
The girl got in Wilhelm's way, blocking the door. "You can't leave!" She surprisingly, to both of them, sounded panicked about it.
Wilhelm stopped moving for a second and looked at her, something not sitting well with her looking stressed. "Why?"
"I- I don't know." Mimosa admitted. "I have a bad feeling and I don't ever get those! Don't go. Please."
For another second he was silent. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"
"What?"
"Reincarnation, that when you die in one life, you are born again in a different life."
"What does- I don't know."
"Neither do I. But right now I think that the answer to that and why I am even here is with that gem. I would get an explanation to why any of this has happened to me." Wilhelm explained. "Standing around in a castle is something I can't do while I know that the explanation for my life is in a place that I know it is. I have to go learn why I am alive." Wilhelm saw another door off the patio and made his way to it.
Mimosa stood there for a second while he walked off. She couldn't shake that bad feeling and knew she had to stop Wilhelm from leaving the castle. With that in mind she did a motion with her hands and her grimoire, which had a green glow, came flying to her from a doorway and opened to a page. Plants appeared around Wilhelm's feet, who's instincts made him jump to the side and narrowly avoid vines that burst from the plants on the ground that would have ensnared him.
"What are-" Wilhelm tried to speak but was cut off."
"I'm sorry Wilhelm but I can't let you leave!" Mimosa wasted no time in making more plants appear where Wilhelm was standing.
Once again he barely had time to move before more vines grabbed at the air of where he just was. The teen cursed as now it was an altercation using magic, leaving him at a huge disadvantage. He knew full well that he had the mana absorbing sword, but no way would he actively use a blade on Mimosa. Hurting her was definitely not on the table, especially since hurting a royal would probably cause half the magic knights to slam the wrath of god upon him.
However, Wilhelm wouldn't lie and claim to not want to do anything of the aggressive kind of reaction, especially since this was someone trying to force him to be somewhere he didn't want to be. He'd restrain that anger though and go with a plan that would not harm Mimosa. "I'm not staying here against my will!"
"I'm not letting you do something dangerous!" She made plants begin to cover most of the patio to give Wilhelm nowhere to go before she could bind him.
"You don't know that it is!" Wilhelm tried to dodge all the vines that grabbed at him, but failed to completely avoid them as his left ankle got ensnared. His momentum from trying to dodge was about to bring him falling over, but more vines grabbed his other leg and his waist, keeping him upright. The vines twisted to make him face Mimosa.
"Wilhelm, I'm sorry but you can't leave." Mimosa actually seemed upset over having to use force to stop Wilhelm.
The restrained teen gained a scowl, he should have known it would be tough once someone who didn't waste time in using their magic on him encountered him, it would be over quick. However, he was incredibly stubborn and refused to just take things. Wilhelm used his unrestrained arms and grabbed his sword, unsheathing it and holding it in front of him. "I am not staying here." He swung the sword and cleanly sliced through the vines holding his right leg. He didn't get time to raise the sword again before more vines grabbed his arms and his leg again. Wilhelm cursed as he was completely screwed now.
Mimosa exhaled. "I'm really sorry."
Wilhelm looked at her and saw her wince at his glare, an expression he lost after that. He realized he only had one way out of this and sighed. "... No. I'm sorry."
That caught Mimosa off guard. "What?"
"I was just being impatient and thoughtless. I can't even last ten seconds against your plants so what can I do if someone who isn't trying to not hurt me decides to fight? I should stay here. You are right." Wilhelm's expression softened completely.
"Really?" She had heard of what he did in Kiten, and how driven he was, so to Mimosa it was weird to see the teen give up easily.
"Really. Can I be unbound so I can put the sword away? Would look bad if I had this out and someone saw this situation." The bound teen moved his head to indicate to their current positions.
Mimosa looked at all the plants covering the patio area, and the guy she had bound with vines who had a sword in his hands that were tied together. "Right! Sorry!"
The vines unwrapped themselves from Wilhelm and he stood up properly, putting his sword away. "No need to apologize." He looked at the patio. "These plants disappear after a bit right?"
"They only last for a moment if I am not actively putting mana through them. Then the plants quickly wither away."
Wilhelm bent down to pick up a vine, noticing how long it was. "Interesting." He stood up, still holding the vine.
Mimosa turned slightly pink. "It's not that interes-" The girl stopped as she saw Wilhelm do something crazy.
In Wilhelm's mind, even he considered it incredibly stupid but he also was an orphan from alleyways with no proper education, so he believed it was an average thought and action.
Holding onto the vine still, Wilhelm had ran and jumped off the patio, right off the side of the castle and down a very long drop before he would hit anything.
A very stupid and crazy action.
However it was one that worked, the vine actually having stable connection above him as the teen gripped the plant and swung with it as it stretched all the way out, still a distance above any roof that would leave him decently injured. Wilhelm took his chances and slammed his feet into the stonework wall, stopping his swinging and effectively put him in a still position. He looked up to see Mimosa had gone to the edge of the patio and was looking down at him.
"Wilhelm!" She tried to speak to him, get him to stop.
Except Wilhelm wasn't letting that opportunity come as he grabbed a part of the stonework that had enough space to grip and let him hold anything but the vine. He was going to scale down the stonework and hopefully be long gone before anyone can stop him. He found a second grip and grinned as he began to slowly move down the wall. It wasn't fast by any means, especially when he had to make sure of having places for his feet and hands before he can move another one. If he didn't do that, he'd definitely slip and fall, mostly due to the weight of the blade on his back.
After a minute he had gone down maybe just a few meters, and his arms were already feeling a bit strained from the workout. Breathing heavily he checked how long he had until he was at a safe dropping distance and saw he was still not close. Cursing under his breath he kept going, but did stop when he heard something above him. Looking up he saw a huge growth of plants coming down the wall and stop level with him, Mimosa standing on top of part of it.
Unlike earlier she had an irritated look, not something that Wilhelm thought was good. "Wilhelm. I am not letting you leave." She wasn't going to ignore that horrible gut feeling she had, and didn't care how stubborn Wilhelm wanted to be.
Wilhelm, looking like a deer caught in headlights, didn't respond past that expression. He really had no idea how he would work around this situation, especially since one; he was holding onto a wall that didn't have much room to work with, far above stable ground. And two; he had already used deceit on Mimosa once, and doubt it would work a second time.
Mimosa made the plants grab Wilhelm, the teen not able to move as he was grabbed from around the waist and pulled away from the wall. "I'm sorry that you are being forced into this, but I'm only doing this for your safety."
Wilhelm didn't say anything. He only mentally cursed that he was being stopped from being able to go this himself. It was a stupid idea anyways, his going off on his own. He wasn't lying to Mimosa when he said that earlier. He knew that it was something that Fuegoleon would obviously be helpful in this whole situation also.
So why was he so adamant about doing it alone?
He knew exactly why.
His mind went to all the reasons. The years of being alone, no one so much as interacting with him unless it was a shop owner beating him for stealing food just to have something to eat, people talking when they thought he couldn't hear them, saying belittling things about him but no one who ever helped him in any way. All the times he cried at the injuries, illnesses, nightmares, and horrible times he had to go through with no comfort. Seeing other kids his age with parents, where he never even got to hear a name, see a face or get to learn anything at all about the people who brought him into the world. And lastly, how he was run off a road and thrown in a river, and left to drown. Dying after living through a terrible life only to wake up in a different world where he once again was thrown to the bottom.
WHY?! Why was he even alive?! Why was he born in the first place?! Why was he forced to live through everything he did?!
He had to know why he was born, why he was subjected to what he was. He believed that these gems and those memories would tell him why. Give him reasons to explain his life and hopefully make everything better.
But he had to do this himself. After everything his life had been so far, he had to do this himself. He needed to do it alone.
Wilhelm, gaining more drive, grabbed his sword again and unsheathed it, speaking as he did so. "I don't give a damn about my safety!" He immediately swung his blade at the vines, cutting them and leaving himself in the air with nothing keeping him from falling. It wasn't a concern to Wilhelm though because he knew this would happen. He quickly twisted himself in the air to face the wall, thankfully still close enough to it that he could do what he planned. It was a half-baked idea but Wilhelm only needed it to work just enough to let him leave walking. He raised his sword as much as he can and stabbed it into the wall, not going as far as he hoped but enough that it dragged through the stone work, slowing his descent down a bit. Wilhelm looked up to see plants coming in his direction and grinned as he realized that he could use that as a better tool than the sword going barely into a wall.
Jumping at the plants, kicking off the wall and unlodging his sword to take with him, the teen reached out and grabbed a vine. Barely grabbing the end of a vine he was able to swing from it and he aimed for a nearby roof, and released the vine to throw himself at it. Wilhelm landed on the roof feet first, stumbling and falling. He quickly got back up and grabbed his dropped sword, running away from the direction Mimosa was in. Getting to an edge of the roof, he was thankful that it was a sloped roof and slid down. He jumped off the edge and dropped to a post below him and tossed his sword to the ground as he dropped to a position where he was holding the top of the post, and slid down it, reaching the ground unscathed.
However he wasn't safe, because as soon as he got to the ground, plants crashed on top of him and pushed him to the ground. It wasn't done softly either, Wilhelm ending up banging his chin on the pavement.
The sound of something landing next to him was heard and Wilhelm turned his to see Mimosa's feet. "Why are you so stubborn about being reckless?"
He didn't answer, Wilhelm once again annoyed that he couldn't get away. He looked up towards his sword. "Fine. You win. Let me put my sword away."
"I'm not falling for that again."
"Never said you had to take the vines off me, keep them on me for all I care."
Mimosa dropped her arms. "Oh. You actually gave up?"
"I can't bullshit this a third time." Wilhelm responded dryly.
"I'll- I'll get your sword." The Plant magic user said as she walked away from him and to the weapon.
"Don't touch it," The mana-less teen called out. "It's heavy and absorbs mana."
"It is?" Mimosa stopped herself from grabbing it.
"Just let me grab it."
Mimosa looked at Wilhelm and the sword, before waving her arm and taking most of the vines off of Wilhelm. She still left a few vines wrapped tightly around his waist. "Okay."
Wilhelm didn't speak as he stood up and went to his sword. As he picked it up, he checked it for any damage after he tossed it from a high distance, and luckily he found no marks. Putting it away on his back he turned to Mimosa. "So now we go back to the castle?"
Mimosa nodded as she looked up at the high wall that kept the castle separate from the rest of the capital. She was actually surprised at how Wilhelm used his wit, and what she assumed to be a certain amount of reckless ambition, to get down that far. "Why did you try this hard?"
"Huh?" Wilhelm got confused for a second.
"I don't think I saw anyone try this hard to run away and try to do something on their own like this. Why?"
"Does it matter? I didn't get to leave so that's that."
"It matters."
"No it doesn't. Drop it and take me back to the castle." Wilhelm spoke flatly.
It was now Mimosa's turn to be stubborn. "No. Tell me why you went to all this effort first."
"It doesn't matter, so no."
"Yes it does, tell me."
"No."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Wilhelm." Mimosa gave him an irritated look. "I'm serious. Why did it matter so much?"
"Because I have to know why!" Wilhelm shouted. "I need to know why I was even born and why life has always kicked me around! And to know that, I need to be someone who doesn't get kicked around anymore! I need to learn why my life has gone the way it has and I need to get that truth with my own strength!" At this point his voice had cracked and his eyes were red. "I can't just let other people tell me why everything has happened! I need to gain those reasons myself!"
Mimosa was stunned, left giving Wilhelm a concerned look as he stood there.
Wilhelm continued his venting. "If I can't do any of it myself then I feel like my life is something that even now, in a different kingdom where everything is different, I am still the same street filth that everyone is disgusted to just know is around. If I can learn about why these visions are happening to me, and why I am here, it means I can finally be more than that." Voicing his issues was making Wilhelm's eyes water but he didn't care, it was heard to stop once he finally began to voice his issues. "I need to prove to myself that I can actually be different than what life has constantly made me out to be!" Before he could say anything more, Mimosa grabbed him and hugged him hard. The action made Wilhelm gain a look of confusion momentarily.
"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I didn't know I was ruining something like this."
Wilhelm moved his arms to make Mimosa let go of him. "It doesn't matter. I couldn't even get away from someone not trying to even harm me."
"No!" Mimosa shook her head hard "That matters more than my bad feeling! I know how you feel a bit."
"How?" Wilhelm said that with a harsher tone than he meant to. "How can some princess from a castle even know what it's like to be a street rat who has to fight just to get scraps to just live! Everything is just handed to you!"
His glare got to Mimosa. "That's exactly why I know how you feel! You want to prove to yourself that you have the strength to be more than you are! I want to just prove to myself that I can do enough to deserve to be where I am!" It was now Wilhelm's turn to look surprised. "I don't even have to say anything and I am a magic knight, I never have to worry about things like food, home or anything that most people have to worry about because I was born into House Vermillion! I hate it because I know there are so many people who put in so much effort and don't get as close to what my life has been, and I didn't do anything to deserve it!"
At that point it became silent for a moment, neither speaking. Wilhelm was the first to break the silence. "I'll return to-"
"You have to go." Mimosa cut him off, making the vines on Wilhelm release him and drop to the ground.
Wilhelm gained a surprised look as he looked at the vines. "Really? Why are you doing this?"
"I don't know when I'll be able to prove my worth but right now you have something in front of you." The girl explained. "I can't get in the way of that when I know that feeling. Go, before someone shows up and doesn't let you go."
"Thank you." Wilhelm nodded as he began to walk down a road. However he had a thought and stopped after a few steps to turn to Mimosa. "Come with me."
Mimosa, who was about to make plants that would take her back to the castle, stopped to turn and look at Wilhelm with confusion. "What?"
"I know it's weird for me to say this, but come with me." Wilhelm didn't know why he was saying any of this, but he said it either way and meant it. "You want to prove that you deserve what life has given you right? Wouldn't helping someone prove to their self that their life has some reason help prove that?"
Mimosa didn't reply immediately. "Are you serious?"
Wilhelm, not good at social cues, assumed she got offended. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to be rude."
"What? No I was just surprised." Mimosa cleared it up. "But do you really mean that? Wouldn't my going just get in the way of you proving on your own that you can do it?"
"I can't do much if every time I fight someone I take serious injuries. The last time I had to fight a mage resulted in both of my arms being stabbed with a sword." Wilhelm reasoned.
Mimosa was quiet as she thought. It was sudden but she actually was not against the idea at all. In fact she thought it was good, and mostly because she thought she could negate that horrible feeling. "Okay, I'll go." Wilhelm nodded to her and began to walk again before she spoke again. "Wait!"
"What?" Wilhelm was startled by her exclamation.
"Um..." Mimosa turned completely red. "I have to go back to the castle first."
"Why?"
"I... need actual clothes." Mimosa motioned to the fact that she had been in a nightgown this whole time.
"Okay, I'll be right here."
A bunch of plants appeared below Mimosa and lifted her off the ground. "I'll be back soon!"
Wilhelm watched as the plants carried her up the great wall, but stopped when he heard a sound from his grimoire. The teen pulled out his grimoire and opened it to see a new message at the top of the first page.
Level up: Gamer Magic is now level two
+ one skill point
+ one ability point
Wilhelm questioned the skill and ability points and checked the page to see any other changes. He saw that each of his stats were glowing, the ink of the words turned from black to gold, and got confused. Pressing on a word by instinct, he pressed the word strength and watched as the word glowed white before he watched the number by it change from a four to a five. All the other words stopped glowing and returned to regular black ink. He blinked and saw a new message at the top.
Ability: Strength; level up.
He felt his body give off a small but noticeable static feeling and made a sound of though. He guessed that the ability points went into his physical stats, and that he would get a point each level up, which was useful for leveling up necessary stats quicker. However he had no idea what the skill points went into, but guessed that maybe he had to level up more to find out. Either way he would have to wait a bit before finding out, so he closed the grimoire and put it away. Right after he did that, he saw the bird Nero fly over and land on his shoulder.
"Where have you been?" He looked at the bird, which reacted by only looking at him before ruffling its feathers. He looked up again at the plant magic using girl and wondered about her bad feeling. That feeling, alongside his vision and what he assumed to be more, made him wonder what sort of journey laid out before him. He shrugged it off and wanted to believe that it would okay.
A figure watched the mana-less teen from a rooftop nearby, making a humming sound to their self as they thought.
"Who are you, Wilhelm? Underneath that illusion that even you believe, of a mana-less foreigner." The figure thought of all the people they knew, thinking of the magic they all had, of all their faces and personalities. He knew that whatever this was, this Wilhelm, was a cover-up. "Gamer Magic... That is unique... What if you are his son?" At that thought, the figure began to think of how important Wilhelm would be in the events that would unfold in the Clover Kingdom soon.
A/N: So that ends chapter six and Wilhelm's time in the capital, at least for now. Funny story, I earlier today thought to make the chapter be cut in half, at where Wilhelm decides to leave for Kiten, only because I struggled with how to write the Wilhelm versus Mimosa situation. However I stuck through, with help from peeps on Discord, and here we are.
Wilhelm is now level two, huzzah. The skill points will come into play later, but now you know more things are to come.
I didn't originally plan on Mimosa joining Wilhelm to be honest, but he does need a medic around to prevent death since he has no real defense.
That name said in Wilhelm's vision, the stuff that was a number, is actually a character's name hidden to hide secrets. I gave enough hints to reveal what is going on with Wilhelm, props to whoever figures it out. But if you just want a hint to figure out the name, I just swapped out the letters of the name with numbers that are in the same spot if you use a phone and swap to the symbols part of the keyboard and see where letters are in position to the numbers.
As I say at the bottom of every chapter, I have a discord server with the link in my Bio.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know how it was and have a good day!