OVERPOWERED CHAPTER 9: THE JOURNEY BEGINS
THE MONARCH'S TANTRUM, OUTER REALM OF MONSTERS AND BEASTS
Felix awoke from his slumber unsurprised at his state of unconsciousness from exerting himself after his test yesterday. " I wonder if getting knocked out all the time made me develop a skill to stop it from happening." thought Felix as he rose from his slumber and headed towards Jasper who was packing up the camping equipment. He remembered that they would finally be leaving the forest today and heading out to the world outside it.
"On the bright side we're finally leaving this dump. As much as I like breathing fresh air and seeing trees after a lifetime of toxic fumes and grey buildings the forest scenery has lost its appeal."
The young adventurer walked towards his mentor who was finally finished packing up their stuff. He saw both his sword and folded red travellers' cloak neatly packed nearby Jasper's own large pack and rune sword. It seemed that his teacher was kind enough to help clean up his student's only possessions. Once again, his teacher's large repertoire of skills was shown when he performed a cleaning spell that not only cleaned up their clothing but all their equipment from the cooking utensils to their weapons.
"Thanks for packing up everything and letting me get my beauty sleep. So how did I do yesterday old man? I was a bit preoccupied being unconscious to know the results." Felix began helping his master pack up the rest of the equipment and asked his teacher's final verdict on his abilities.
"It's not problem lad. A young man needs to get plenty of rest to perform his very best the next day. You passed with flying colours! Forget my earlier estimate on you being an orichalcum adventurer my boy, your abilities would be enough to be classified as a seasoned adamantite adventurer!" Jasper once again had a bright smile and gave a thumbs up to his apprentice, reassuring him that all his efforts were not in vain.
The traveller's apprentice let out a sigh of relief at not having to spend another night in the forest and finally getting to see the world he found himself in. But he did wonder what to expect at having the strength of an adamantite adventurer since the only way he could measure his strength is by sparring with his teacher, who is obviously too strong to be gauged accurately using the standard adventurer ranking system.
"Say old man, how would you measure up against adamantite adventurers? I know you can kick their asses as easily as you do mine but is there anyone out there you would have trouble fighting?" Based on what he had seen and experienced, Jasper must be one of the strongest people in the New World with such a large array of skills in magic and physical combat. Remembering his teacher mentioning something about a "realm of heroes", he believed his teacher must be one the rare few to reach that level of strength.
Jasper ruminated on the questions raised by his apprentice for a few minutes before answering. "Wouldn't hurt to let you know what your old teacher can do since you need some reassurance that I won't keel over if some fledgling decided to pick a fight with us while we're on the road. I can confidently say that my abilities are beyond what regular adamantite adventurers are capable of, but I don't think my capabilities would compare to the heroes of legend."
Jasper looked pensive and continued answering. "Well, there is a member of the Thirteen Heroes Lady Rigrit. As I mentioned she extended her life with magic to live hundreds of years past the normal life span of humans thus acquiring a wealth of experience that trumps mine. Her only equal in art of magic would be the Baharuth Empire's greatest wizard Fluder Paradyne, who is also hundeds of years old and dedicated his entire life to unravelling the mysteries of magic."
The old traveller paused to finish packing up the last of the equipment for their camp as he hefted his pack and carried it on his back. "I doubt comparing myself to legendary figures would be fair so there are a few more I could list out. The adamantite team named Blue Rose have members that possess power and equipment to outclass anyone. But once again, I am making an unfair comparison as Blue Rose's strongest member Evileye was also a member of the Thirteen Heroes like Lady Rigrit, however her involvement with the Thirteen heroes were omitted since she is a vampire."
Jasper's usually jolly attitude dampened in mentioning the discrimination against non-humans even though some of them also helped in saving the world like Evileye. His sad expression then turned grim as he finally revealed the ones who surpass him.
"But I suppose there is one group of people who not only surpass me but the entirety of humanity. I once mentioned the Slane Theocracy didn't I? Well let's have one final history lesson in this forest before setting out." Jasper gestured for his apprentice to put down all the packed equipment while he set down his backpack and sword, getting into a comfortable sitting position for another lecture.
"We covered the basics of the Slane Theocracy in our early lessons. A human nation that was established over 600 hundred years ago by the Six Great Gods, powerful beings that shepherded humanity from extinction to become a dominant presence in this world. They were also famous for introducing tier magic, the ubiquitous mystic art that surpassed the native magics of the New World for its versatility and availability to many races besides humans."
Jasper started reaching for his pack to bring out supplement material for our history lesson on the Slane Theocracy, his face maintaining the grim visage when he started talking more about this human nation. They must have been huge assholes to upset the usually chipper old traveller. Jasper proceeded to bring out a map detailing the Slane Theocracy's geography as well as other miscellaneous information including the earlier chart that he wrote about the Six Great Gods.
Another map had a larger perspective aside from the Theocracy detailing more nations close to it. Felix made out several names of the nations he assumed were dominantly human. From the Re-estize Kingdom to the Baharuth Empire, and nations that didn't belong to humanity such as the Argland Council State to the north of the Re-estize Kingdom. In large letters above the map, it wrote; THE INNER REALM OF MAN.
On another large map he saw The Monarch's Tantrum on it that detailed the outer realm of monsters and beasts. Jasper really wasn't kidding when he said both of them are in the "outer realm", their current location being at the far east of the predominantly human area. The closest nations that could be considered civilization were non-human nations, the respective countries named The Troll Kingdom and Great Minotaur Nation. Felix's basic knowledge on trolls and minotaur is that they have a great relationship with humans… as their favourite snack.
The other non-human nation that he thought to be less hostile was called the Beastman commonwealth. From some scattered notes that came with all the maps this nation was home to demi-human tribes that formed a country after allying with other tribes. It appears that there were many other concentrations of beastmen nations dotting the surrounding area that weren't part of the commonwealth. These beastmen nations had people with animal traits, so he pictured cute bunny and cat girls. However, it seems that the beastmen were worse than the minotaurs because while the minotaur use humans as slaves, the beastmen still view humans as food with foetuses being a favourite dish in all the demi-human states. Felix could only guess that the Trolls probably enslave and eat humans in equal manner.
He pushed aside the unpleasant thoughts on the treatment of humans in the non-human nations to focus back on his lesson of the Slane Theocracy. Once Jasper arranged the various maps and notes regarding the human nation, he continued his lectures regarding them particularly this mysterious group his monstrously powerful teacher is wary of.
"Regarded as one of the oldest and most powerful human nations, the Slane Theocracy's rise to prominence was not only due to the protection of the Six Great Gods but also their well-trained armies who possess the highest number of tier magic users than any other nation in the New World while also possessing great skill in martial arts and various talent holding soldiers. However, the Theocracy's true strength lie in the six elite military forces that they command known as the six scriptures." Jasper ended his explanation with the mention of the scriptures, spitting out the name as if it the words were poison.
His teacher appeared to try and collect himself before showing a piece of parchment that had the names of the six scriptures written on it. The names that listed were Black, Sunlight, Windflower, Clearwater, Holocaust and Ashendust.
"The scriptures were named after the colours of the Six Great Gods as well as their respective domains. Not only that but their beliefs, doctrine and function were also based on the god that a scripture was named after. But the same belief in human supremacy over other beings are a constant no matter the scripture."
Jasper needed to change his quill as the one he was holding finally snapped from the force of his grip. His teacher nonchalantly threw away the snapped quill to fish out a spare one from his pack to continue writing on the papers, adding more notes to the words written about the scriptures.
"Quills are so flimsy nowadays! Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the scriptures. Each of the scriptures are specialized in a field to make optimum use of the members in their ranks to tackle any operation that the Slane Theocracy sanctions. But the scriptures are also known to cooperate with one another on a task if the difficulty proves too much for just one unit or manpower and resources needed to fulfil a task exceeds what a single scripture can bring to bear.
Once again, Jasper continued scribbling down notes on the various operations of the scriptures. But this time he seemed to circle two specific ones from the list. Felix could only guess if the formidable beings his teacher mentioned belonged to one of the scriptures or both.
"I could go on with explaining each scripture but for now we will discuss these two, The Sunlight and Black scriptures…" The new quill Jasper used to replace the old one would follow the fate of its predecessor as his teacher wrote down both the names of the scriptures before it snapped in his hand. At this point his teacher realized he'll run out of quills if this keeps up and stopped writing, deciding to just continue his lecture without writing anything down.
"The Sunlight scripture is regarded as one of the most 'honourable' among the illustrious six scriptures. This is because they mainly operate as an exterminator group for non-human races. It didn't matter if the targets were hostile or not, anything that was not human was an abomination that needed to be cleansed no matter the cost. This also includes the destruction of 'sinners' who sides with the enemy and humans that have a mixed heritage of other races." Jasper seemed to spit venom with every word he spoke about the Sunlight Scripture. He knew the Slane Theocracy was a bunch of fanatics, but these "sunny" guys take the cake in asshole of the year award.
"Aside from perpetuating the genocide of other races, the Sunlight Scripture are also known participate in operations to sabotage and weaken foreign nations in the interest of the Slane Theocracy." His grim teacher reached for a few notes written beforehand on the Sunlight Scriptures hierarchy and functions as well as notable members of the scripture. One name that stood out was a man named Nigun Grid Luin, the captain of the Sunlight Scripture.
"Members of the six scriptures have abilities exceeding the strongest adamantite adventurers in both combat ability and magic. In fact, it's quite common for members of the scriptures to be well versed in tier magic up to the fourth tier. In terms of equipment, they are armed to the teeth with various magic items. While the chances of us facing off with their captain is low, we might be seeing the Sunlight Scripture quite often as most of their activities are done in the outer realm."
"Finally, we reach the last and unarguably strongest of the six scriptures: the Black Scripture. The individuals in this unit are regarded as one of the most powerful among the forces of the Slane Theocracy and the whole world. Their strength easily dwarfs the military might of a country, and they are equipped with artifacts that belonged to the Six Great Gods themselves. Even the most famed warriors in the world would be swept aside with little effort when facing off against them." Jasper showed the notes on the Black Scripture just like he did with the Sunlight Scripture, a name written in eye catching red ink that spelled out "Antilene Heran Fouche; Certain Death". Well that just sounds ominous and edgy. They have a member whose code name is literally certain death, probably not much of a sociable guy or gal whoever this Antilene was.
"The Black Scriptures strongest members are both it's captain and the extra seat named Antilene Heran Fouche. Be very, very careful if you somehow come across the Black Scripture Felix. All of them are leagues above what I am capable of and possess skills and equipment that can wipe out teams of adamantite adventurers and the armies of even the strongest nations. All the members are confirmed to be in the realm of heroes and possibly beyond, with the capability of casting magic above sixth tier magic along with talents regarded as the strongest in the world."
Holy shit. So now there's an entire squad of religious wackjobs who can cast magic equal to members of the Thirteen Heroes and that Fluder dude. So even humans can be just as monstrous as the literal monsters?
Jasper finished his lesson on the scriptures and started gathering all the implements and papers used for the lesson. He still had the depressed aura around him, and it doesn't seem to be letting up as quickly as before. Felix wanted to just let this slide and leave him be, but if they're going to be travelling together for who knows how long they need to have no secrets between them. As Jasper finished organizing the notes he used for his previous lesson, Felix decided to finally bite the bullet and ask for the full truth from his mentor.
"Thanks for another enlightening lesson teach! Look I know that we only know each other for a few weeks and I'm probably pushing my luck in asking you this, but who are you really? With how you shrivel up and turn sour like a prune whenever these religious nutjobs are mentioned, I'm guessing you were involved with the Slane Theocracy? Were you a soldier of their military? Felix voiced out his opinions and theories before preparing to be chewed out or getting slugged for being a busy body.
The old traveller was frozen with indecision and let out a deep sigh. He faced his inquisitive student before answering with a sad smile on his wrinkled face. "Right on the money lad. There's a reason why I can do the things you've seen and the information I seem to parrot out to you as well as my understanding of the Slane Theocracy. Jasper looked around for a comfortable spot to plop down and spill the beans about himself. He found a patch of grass and sat down, resting his creaking bones and aching muscles before telling his story.
"The truth is I'm not a retired soldier or adventurer travelling to live out my final years in peace. I'm out here in the outer realm to atone for sins I have committed in the name of my country and the gods that I worshipped."
"I didn't live in the more affluent parts of the Slane Theocracy like most citizens, my place of birth was a small outlying village far from the sprawling and developed cities of the Theocracy. It wasn't an easy life when you had to do everything by hand without the aid of magic, but our village was able to get by and prepare the tributes for continued protection of the Theocracy."
"I never knew who my father was but from what Ma could tell me he was a soldier in the Theocracy's war machine, fighting to not only keep us safe but also humanity as well as honouring the Six Great Gods we worshipped. While I lacked the memories of who Pa was, Ma was always there to remind me of his memory and his deeds."
"While my mother was a fervent worshipper of the Six Great Gods like any other citizen of the Slane Theocracy, she didn't agree that non-humans were deserve being exterminated. She said that it was strange for the world to be so big and have so many people of different races and cultures for us to need to slaughter each other just to have a place in it instead of sharing it."
"Ma was particularly sceptical on what the big wigs and priests of the gods claim what heroes were. 'Heroes are always humans who have awakened power blessed by the Six Great Gods to cleanse the world of inhuman filth and monsters. It is the manifest destiny of mankind to rule this world, and our true test is our ability to reach that goal by removing the filth that populates the world'.
"I remember the last day that I saw my mother and the last words she told me before I was one of the many children drafted by the Theocracy's recruiters that possessed talents to determine the potential of others in magic and battle. 'No matter what happens, please remember what I'm about to tell you. Doing what a hero would do is never the same as doing the right thing'.
"To this day I never knew what happened to Ma after I left the village to join the Slane Theocracy's military. I don't really remember the village that I came from aside from the vague location of being a small outlying settlement. But from what little information I was able to scrap by any villages located in the previous area was either moved or destroyed by Demi-humans or rival countries."
"I don't really remember much about my mother. Her voice and face are nothing but a blur in my memories. The only thing that I recall is the smell of food cooking and burning wood from the fireplace, and a warm smile on a sunny afternoon after a hard day of work. I developed my cooking skills to remember that smile, and maybe even hear a voice or remember a face…" Jasper looked misty-eyed as he paused his storytelling. He sighed deeply before continuing his story.
"The only memories that I unfortunately have clarity over is my time in one of the academies prepping young hopefuls to be soldiers who would live and die on the Theocracy's words. I tell you now lad the trainers themselves were not very nice, especially for country bumpkins who happen to have a speck of talent to ever consider rubbing soldiers with proper citizens in the nation's developed areas. But the recruiters really did know their stuff and I proved to be above average in ability, possessing the rare ability for casting tier magic and an affinity for martial arts as well."
"The years went by, and I eventually had enough strength be to admitted into one of the scriptures…" Jasper paused to take a swig out of his canteen of water, he looked like he wished the water was something stronger before continuing the story again. "… The first scripture that I had qualified to join was the Sunlight Scripture, experts in non-human extermination and expanding the glorious influence of the Theocracy in lands populated by inferior beings."
"Daily life in the scripture responsible for genocide of all creatures deemed abhorrent to the principles of the Theocracy was surprisingly not that bad. Better living conditions and treatment by being a part of the elite of the nation came with many perks. The respect of the common folk, fame and fortune as well as learning techniques passed down by the great deities who founded our nation. The bliss of it blinded me to the screams of the many creatures I was forced to eliminate just for having the audacity to be born human, and I embraced the excess of having power and status to silence my mother's last words and my weak conscience."
"A few more decades went by, and I was reaching my breaking point for the wanton slaughter that the Sunlight Scripture sanctions on those not human. It was one thing to fight against beasts and monsters who try to kill you, but to storm undefended villages and killing women and children regardless of them being human. But the worst one I had to witness were those involving the elves…"
Jasper looked like he aged years and was about to keel over. I had a sick feeling about this part of the story and swallowed any bile threatening to rise from my throat as the repentant old man found the nerve to tell his gruesome tale.
"Tensions between the Elf Country and Slane Theocracy had existed for quite some time after the elf king kidnapped one of the Black Scripture's strongest members, spiriting her away and raping her. While the rescue of the member was a success, the insult could not be forgiven and a cold war brewed between the two nations since an all-out war would result in the destruction of one country and leaving the winner vulnerable to a myriad of threats."
"As a result, an official decree of war and attack on the elves were prohibited under normal circumstances, but any eager fanatic of the Six Great Gods would do anything to earn favour in not just the eyes of the gods but to the top brass by earning victory against a hateful non-human enemy. This is when the previous captain of the Sunlight Scripture ordered an 'unsanctioned' attack on the outer territories of the Elf Country."
"We attacked fiercely with a flurry of powerful spells and mass number of summons. The scriptures are also well versed in the art of summoning magic, with the mass summoning augmented by rituals performed in groups for more powerful summons to unleash hell on the elves. The Sunlight Scripture also got a hold of many magical artifacts from a 'mysterious' source, bolstering the offensive with plentiful resources. The fighting was bloody on both sides but for every human that fell in the attack, ten more elves were felled in turn."
"I had thought the bloodshed and suffering would end there, but I was sorely mistaken. It was an open secret what the foolish elf king did to the woman he kidnapped, and several members of the scriptures had an idea to bring 'justice' to the degenerate elves… by committing the same heinous actions that the elf king did and inflicting it on his people…"
"Oh, for fuck sakes Jasper…" Felix was horrified and disgusted to learn this. Humans truly are depraved fucks no matter the reality Felix will find himself in. Depravity was not new to the displaced player since he saw plenty of it on the streets and the state of Earth a monument to how shitty humans are, but the things Jasper saw and hopefully didn't partake was just...
Jasper's once bright blue eyes looked hollow as he started talking again, his voice as silent as a whisper. "…I try to convince myself I was better than the animals that committed those disgusting acts. My inner voice drowning out the screams begging for mercy and moans of lust and uninhibited desires. Everywhere I walked was like hell had manifested on the spot, grotesque scenery of debasement that followed the slaughter. It didn't matter if the elves were willing or not… alive or dead."
"… The elves took pride in the strength of their own soldiers did you know? Elven warriors are perhaps many times stronger than a regular human soldier and the Elf Country had a sizeable army consisting of these warriors to defend the nation and fight its wars. So much pride in the strength of their soldiers that there were no specialized bases for the elven warriors, so their numbers are mingled together with the civilian populace. In fact, the village that we attacked contained many elven warriors as well as civilians. The suffering of those who could fight back was over, and the those who couldn't now had their turn…"
Jasper's hollow eyes lit back up again, but this time with a fury he had never seen in them before. His bright eyes turned into dark pits of the abyss as he recalled more of this traumatizing tale. "There was now a fresh source of bodies for the army to inflict suffering, and I once again stood by the latest acts of brutality. But at that moment clarity returned to me in startling fashion when the new voices I heard were small. Not a whisper but the owners of those voices were so small…so innocent."
"These innocent voices belonged to those precious ones in every part of the world. Their smile and laughter meaning true prosperity in a nation, their very existence being the future of all people and cultures regardless of race or religion… And now these voices scream out in horrendous pain. Pleading in voices that couldn't understand why this was happening, asking for help to whoever was listening."
"The screams reverberated in my brain, eventually the tremors started travelling out into my whole body. My muscles stopped being frozen and I could finally move command them, and my vision cleared up only to be tinged in red. Everything I saw was red but at the same time I was seeing it in such clarity and detail."
"I suddenly felt a surge of power that answered this rage. I didn't even notice how fast I withdrew my sword from the sheathe and the multitude of spells being weaved in the other. The Martial Arts that I had in my arsenal was activated all at the same time and gravity didn't exist to me, I just glided through the air and decapitated the first of many in my unit. These men and women that I called my comrades for years were reduced to bloody carcasses as my extermination ended, and the only one left was the Sunlight Scripture captain."
Jasper's face showed grim satisfaction and pain in equal manner as he remembered the battle he had with his former captain. "It was protocol for those who displayed strength that surpassed the human realm and stepped into the realm of heroes to be reassigned permanently into the Black Scripture, both to nurture the strength of the exceptional warrior and bolster the already powerful unit. There are rare exceptions, such as when the Black Scripture had some spare members to lend out to the other scriptures and these 'heroes' take up leadership roles in order inspire the members of the new scripture they are assigned to."
"My old captain was one of these vaunted 'heroes', him taking the reins for the entire Sunlight Scripture. I worked under this monster in human skin who ordered acts of efficient cruelty, even seeing him do it himself. This unrestrained use of his power over those who couldn't defend themselves, inflicting all manner of injustice just because the rules didn't apply to him…because of his power. Because who could stop someone as overpowered as he was? Someone who was at the level of a hero"
Jasper looked like he was holding in the urge to vomit, and the word "hero" seemed to be the metaphorical bile that he regurgitated furiously as he told his story once more. "Yes, such an honoured hero who took great pride in his ability to destroy both mind, body and soul of the creatures that demanded extermination by the will of the gods. He must have looked heroic with the blood of innocents staining his form in the view of the other members of the scriptures, with words of encouragement for the soldiers of the Six Gods to commit more acts of depravity to the enemies of man… Well, he didn't look or sound so heroic once I gutted him like a pig and ripped out his tongue before shoving down his throat to choke on it…"
Felix didn't think Jasper would even smile while telling his story ever again, but he looked very satisfied in detailing the demise of the former Sunlight Scripture captain. Good riddance.
"I blacked out after the adrenaline and bloodlust faded, before waking up back in the Slane Theocracy. The room that I was placed in had another occupant, someone who wasn't part of my old unit or anyone I recognized. This person wore an ensemble of black and white, with a delicate and young face that had a curious expression. But what caught my attention was the shape of her ears behind her multi-coloured hair, pointed just like the people that I let suffer with my inaction."
"She seemed to speak in tongues as I listened to her giving me thanks for the 'justice' that I rendered on the elves, and the 'heroic' acts I performed in service to the country. I couldn't ask any questions as she quickly informed me to get ready so she could escort me to meet with the cardinals. I can only imagine what sentence they would give me for single-handedly annihilating a portion of a scripture and killing one of the heroes of the Theocracy."
"I was brought before the Six Cardinals to hear my sentence. The surprising part is that it wasn't just me in the chamber as every single member of the Black Scripture was also there, even the captain himself despite being preoccupied with increasing the number of God kin with his wives. As it turned out I wasn't being brought to my execution but congratulated as well as being rewarded."
Jasper's suffering at recalling his painful memories seem to reach a crescendo as he explained what happened. "The cardinals first congratulated me on reaching the realm of heroes and told me of my reassignment into the Black Scripture as a new member. They then told me the aftermath of the 'unsanctioned' attack on the Elf Country territories. What I learned will haunt me for the rest of my life…"
"It seems that my fight with the captain wasn't as quick and clean as I thought it was. In my enraged state I didn't notice our fight spiralling out of control and spreading further to the other locations of the Elf Country border. The ferocity of the battle obliterating defences and killing more elves caught in the crossfire. By the time I killed the captain, I unwittingly cut a path for the Theocracy to move in their forces without wasting resources in a prolonged siege to penetrate the Elf Country defences in the first place."
"In my actions to try and save the remaining elves, all I did was signing the death warrant of every elf as the war of their extinction began thanks to my efforts. I don't how long I stood there in the chamber; the word 'hero' was the only thing I could hear until the end of the briefing…"
The old man ended his story there and gave a sad smile with the empty look in his eyes returning. "And that's the extent of my story I have the strength to tell you. I won't blame you for not wanting to associate with me anymore after this but don't worry about being left here in the forest. I'll still help you get out of here if you want my help and we can part ways."
Felix was still processing the information he received from his teacher. Jasper really wasn't a normal guy; he is someone who has transcended the limit of humanity and became equal to the godlike beings of old who conquered monsters and even gods with ease. Not only that but he also learned his teacher was one of those religious wackadoos who make the words "genocide" and "atrocity" not severe enough to detail their actions. In short, it was a lot to take in.
The further traumatized adventurer went to his teacher who was still sitting down with his head down and hands clasped together so hard they started to bleed. Felix took in the sight of his teacher's guilty form and started to think back on what he knows about Jasper. Nothing in their past interactions made him think that Jasper was bad. Sure, he sucked at offering consolations and was a slave driver when it comes to training, but he also saved his life and taught him so much without asking much in return. He finally made his decision.
[Light Healing]
Felix casted a weak but effective healing spell on his teacher's bleeding hands. The act startled Jasper slightly and made him look towards his apprentice. He unclasped his bloody hands and held them out so his student could heal them properly. After halting the spell once the old man's hands were fully healed from the light cuts made with his fingernails digging into the skin. Felix looked contemplative for a while before sighing and gave his teacher an answer on their partnership.
"I honestly have no words of comfort or any other empty platitudes to give you old man. What your past really was shit and made my childhood look like a dream. Honestly it just solidified my belief that this world really is as shitty as my original home, but instead of the threat of annihilation by nuclear fire from some government lackeys off their meds this world has anyone that can turn the world into a glass floor when they feel like it." Felix began telling his story to his teacher, from his early memories on the streets as an orphan to somehow surviving long enough to be adulthood despite the literal and figurative toxic life he lived.
The young adventurer capped off his own life story with the description of the world he used to inhabit. How the earth was as dead as everyone else still scurrying its rotting edifice, with everyone's hopes and dreams becoming meaningless in the world ravaged by pollution and overpopulation. How the only comfort that everyone had was to run away from their problems in a fake world and even then, it would still have its fair share of misery from everyone bringing their shit to the virtual world just to spread their pain to others.
"It just seems that we humans can only bring pain and despair no matter the world they live in. Your story was the grisliest tale of how humans can be liquid shits and I myself never knew the extent of just how bad we are until you told me." Felix finished off his story and stood up to give his ultimatum, Jasper looking resigned and sad that his companion is ending their apprenticeship.
But his young student shocked him by stating his verdict. "But we aren't one of those assholes anyway, and you aren't a psychopath like your co-workers from the six rolls of toilet paper. You saved my life when you didn't need to and taught me all I know without asking for much, so I think you're fine. Well, that's the best pep talk I can do, and I'm sure as hell you won't be able to teach me to do that better so how about we continue this apprenticeship for a little while try being better in the future." Felix then extended his only hand to pull his teacher up on his feet.
Jasper stared at his student before giving a small chuckle and taking his hand, hauling himself up on his feet and standing a bit straighter than he did before. "Hehe… You're right lad. I can't undo what I did in the past and just lamenting about it won't make things better. Well, I think its about time we leave this forest and head out to do something with our lives. I just hope I can exceed your expectations!"
Jasper once again became the jolly old traveller and now both teacher and student began their first steps in a new adventure together. They once again stood in a grassy field like where Felix began his adventure and stopped there. Felix was puzzled on why they returned to where it all began for him and questioned Jasper whether he forgot the exit.
"That's the fun part lad. I figured it would be a nice way to leave on the same place everything started, I'm a bit of sucker for symbolism so forgive this sentimental old man. As Jasper answered his student's question, Felix began asking what he meant about leaving in the same place since there is no exit anywhere as Jasper began casting a spell.
[Teleportation]
Felix was both shocked and amazed as a blue light began glowing around them and a magic circle started forming under them. "Holy shit old man you didn't tell me you could teleport! You gotta teach me how to do it too!" Felix continued to be at awe of the spell as it continued to gather power to teleport both companions away.
"A teacher needs to have some surprises so their students won't get bored! And yes, you'll be able to use this spell since the previous ones I already taught you absorbed the previous spells like a sponge. But it's going to take more than a single observation for you to understand teleporting as this one is a bit trickier than casting a fireball or healing spell. In fact, I have a funny story to tell about this spell! It all started during-"
Jasper was cut off from his story telling as the spell completed casting and flash of bright light signalled the departure of the pair from the forest. A gentle breeze of air followed the teleportation, making the surrounding grass sway and blowing through the trees nearby. The forest then stilled once more with no sign of anyone ever being there.