[Hero Level 5!]
[Skill – Instinct obtained!]
The words that had been spoken to me as I went to bed were repeated when I woke up - as they always were.
Instinct?
What did instinct mean, and what would an [Instinct] skill do?
Could it possibly be a Thinker power? Something that provides a 'gut' feeling?
Hm...
I did feel... 'sorta' strongly like that was the case. It was vague, but it was there. Once again, it was something that was hard to quantify, but I think I was on the right track. I mean, what else could it be?
Finally, I'd gotten an information gathering [Skill]!
...Possibly.
Oh well. I shook my head as I stood up. No point in over-thinking it. If it's good, I'm sure to notice it working. In any event... I pushed mana into Threat Sense. No one was watching me.
Good. Not that I expected anyone to, but activating it when I woke up seemed like a good plan. Who knew what might happen while I was asleep? I then started sorting through the video feeds my cameras were providing.
Everything looked normal. No rampaging Cognita or armies of golems.
I smiled.
My cooking had been a good distraction. Furthermore, Cognita had actually enjoyed it! I'd thought it was a long shot, but Zelkyr had apparently granted her the ability to taste things. It seemed she really was like the Siberian in regards to my food. I'll have to make something else for her... but not just yet. I don't want to push things too fast, plus she'll need time to get used to one of her restrictions being removed.
'Want to help Zelkyr.' - That was the command I'd erased. I'd had plenty of time to make sure the mana that composed it was removed and released innocuously within her core. It had worked with the mud golems, so I was confident that there wouldn't be any adverse effects on Cognita.
However, there was always the possibility that it might reform. Zelkyr was apparently a master of his craft, and I shouldn't underestimate him. It was just another reason to wait and see how she reacted or changed.
Her other two shackles would be a bigger hurdle. 'Love Zelkyr.' would have to be left for last. It was too fundamental. Cognita would definitely notice it being gone, which meant that the ground work had to be laid before then.
People fell out of love every day, but it was a gradual thing. Similarly, if I could remove her imposed desire to help Zelkyr, then the rule that she trusted him... She'd slowly change. Hopefully enough that losing the 'Love Zelkyr' command wouldn't be too jarring.
Ideally, I'd want to spread these changes out over a long time, but I'd been in Wistram long enough. I'd accomplished most of my goals. I now knew a great deal more about magic and this world. I had a position of power and could thus shield any Earthers. Finally, I'd made a decent sanctuary for anyone I brought here.
Speaking of which, it was time to check on my base and add some more defenses.
...After visiting Viltach that was.
...
I appeared inside the base I'd built underneath the sea floor.
Well, 'built' in that I'd come up with the design and created the seed. The nano-bots, or the nano-bots that my Crafting power mimicked, did everything else. They absorbed materials into their mass and then converted them into walls, electronics, an other things.
I released all the air I'd Inventoried.
It wasn't much. I'd filled up the vacuum that had existed inside of the base before, but it was still expanding. Thus, I needed to release more every so often. There was an oxy-generation unit that I'd incorporated from a design from Dragon - no idea where she'd gotten it from. However, it wasn't turned on yet. Gamer's Body negated my need to breathe, and the base could only store so much MP. It was better not to waste it on unnecessary things.
I set down the two mud golems I'd been carrying. I couldn't Inventory magical items - except for my Mega Buster, so I'd had to carry the golems with me when I teleported.
The base didn't need them for defense, but it should be sufficiently far enough away from Wistram to avoid Cognita. I wasn't sure what her range was, but I knew that she could access all the golems inside the school in some fashion. Hopefully a few miles of water would both put me out of her range, and/or block it.
The golems themselves were un-impressive, but that wasn't the point. Rather, it was that they were capable of independent action. Without Boo and his clones, I lacked pilots for my various drones. Sure, I could issue commands to them, or even control a few manually, but that wouldn't be enough in a large-scale battle.
So, while the mud golems weren't much physically, that could be compensated for with a judicial application of technology.
The down side, of course, was that I didn't trust the golems. Archmage Viltach had made them, which was strike one. Furthermore, they were still largely a black box, which was strike two.
It wasn't anything that I couldn't fix. Power Drain and my Babel Perks let me understand most of the programming that existed within a golem's core. Creating one was far outside what I was capable of - even with Optimize's help. That didn't mean I couldn't understand their orders, or that I couldn't alter them.
After all, I'd done so with Cognita, and she was vastly more complex than the mud golems.
Thus, I was confident in usurping Viltach's control. The strand of mana that connected the golems to him had snapped from the distance. Using Power Drain to take its place was a simple matter.
Too simple, really.
No. These golems were more of a proof of concept than something I'd equip with anything dangerous. A weapon someone else could commandeer wasn't reliable.
But... I had to start somewhere.
That led to another issue - the fact that Viltach had made them with a [Skill].
The differences between the mud golems, and the permanent ones that existed within Wistram were obvious. The cores of the mud golems were... more ephemeral. Their mana was constantly leaking out. They wouldn't normally last a long time on their own.
In fact, golems #8 and 9 were already lifeless blobs of mud.
I shrugged. It wasn't like I'd expected anything else. It had happened with all the previous golems I'd left here. #10 and 11 might do better, but I wouldn't bet on it. I reached out to #10 with Power Drain and started molding the mana within its core.
I was attempting to fold it in such a way so that it mirrored what I'd seen in carved golems that had been made to last. I had no idea what I was doing, but I kept Threat Sense active just to make sure I didn't blow something up.
While I didn't really have any idea what I was doing, I was slowly learning. The mud golems wouldn't have died in vain.
Probably.
Eventually.
In any case, I finished my modifications before Inventorying the now non-magical remains of their predecessors. I then teleported out of the base and onto the ocean floor. The island of Wistram looked more like a pillar from here. What little of it I could see. It was mostly vertical, only being around twice the circumference at its base.
I had no knowledge of continental formations to say if that was normal or not. Besides, this wasn't Earth. So any facts that I might've known weren't exactly relevant.
I looked away from the 'island' and scanned the 'horizon'. There was nothing but water for as far as I could see - which wasn't much since there was virtually no light down here. It might be different outside of Wistram's weather shell, but inside there were no fish or anything else of interest around me. I made sure to look anyways. I'd feel stupid if I got attacked by some magical shark or something.
I didn't want to meet the fish that could survive the pressure on the ocean floor.
I un-Inventoried the mud... and then the weapon I'd gotten from Dragon.
*Apprehension negated by Gamer's Mind.
I'd been putting this off for too long. I needed to let it grow if I was going to use it.
I mentally sighed before swim-walking away from the base. I'd plant it outside of Wistram's weather shell - just to be safe.
...
"I made some more empowered food. Would you like to try it?"
**Cognita loves Zelkyr.
**Cognita trusts Zelkyr.
**Cognita is eager.
**Cognita is excited.
"Yes, I would Pixel." Cognita paused before asking a question. "While I enjoy it more than I'd thought I would, is it acceptable to you to continue making such things for me?"
I blinked, not that she could see it behind my helmet. "What do you mean?"
"This is the fifth time you've offered me food. Given the multiple day-long interval between them, and the quality of the effects, I was under the assumption that it is an involved process to create such things."
"Well..." I frowned. "You're not entirely wrong." I could get food items to use as Crafting materials easily enough, but I was spacing giving her the final products so it was both still a distraction, and frequent enough that she wouldn't (or shouldn't) be able to associate eating my food with any swings in her personality. There would be a clear correlation if I didn't do anything to hide it.
"Furthermore, you've stated in the past that you made this sort of food for a... friend of yours." She crossed her arms. "While I appreciate it, I do not wish to form such a relationship with you."
"What?"
*Surprise negated by Gamer's Mind.
"No, no." I held up my hands. "I like cooking, and I like people enjoying it." Goodness knows that Aaron, Jiahao, and Michail had all eagerly eaten... most of what I'd made for them.
**Cognita loves Zelkyr.
**Cognita trusts Zelkyr.
**Cognita is glad.
"I see." Cognita nodded. "If that is all, then I would enjoy trying your latest creation."
"Good. I'll return momentarily." I then teleported to the room below the hallway and un-Inventoried the Floating-Flank Steak I'd made, alongside a homunculus of myself. [Construct Vessel: Human] was one of the most useful [Skills] I'd gotten - if for no other reason than I could use the results for Crafting materials.
Without Sibby around, I couldn't easily use my own chopped off limbs. Man... I'd gotten faaaar too comfortable with her ripping them off and regrowing them.
I could've used one of the other homunculi I still had as a body-double, but Cognita might notice the change in my body's shape, even under the armor. Or, more likely, its voice. It was better to play it safe.
The armor it wore possessed a teleportation module, which I activated to return it to Cognita's side.
"Here." It offered the plate. "This should reduce your weight by one quarter."
"Interesting." Cognita picked up one of the slices between two of her fingers, and brought it over her head before lowering it into her mouth. "Yes, it tastes... lightweight for lack of a better adjective."
While she thoroughly chewed her meal, I sat and waited for Expansion to extend Power Drain's range far enough. Once it had, I connected with her and moved through her core to where the commands were written.
Love Zelkyr.
Trust Zelkyr.
'Want to help Zelkyr.' was still gone. I didn't detect any mana where it had been, so was hopefully proof that it had been permanently deleted. I moved Power Drain to 'Trust Zelkyr' and started pulling a small amount of mana out of it, before releasing the mana back into her core.
I tried to target 'empty' spaces, as I could possibly cause untold damage if I altered any other part of her mind.
Something felt wrong.
Was it the mana in her core? Someone coming down the hallway? Something else?
My homunculus didn't have Threat Sense, so I couldn't be getting anything from it... Still... I felt like something was about to...
I cut off Power Drain.
A moment later, Cognita jumped into the air. Wistram tended towards large spacious rooms, and its hallways were no different. Not only did they allow for enough room for Cognita to move around, there was a couple of feet between her and the ceiling.
Normally, that was. Now, there wasn't any at all.
That was because she'd flipped in mid-air and 'landed' upside-down.
"Interesting." She looked down at my double. "Very interesting."
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yes. This is something that I could almost do before, but floating isn't the same as being pushed away from the ground."
"I see."
"How long will the effect last?"
I frowned and thought for a moment. "I'd estimate about ten minutes per slice eaten."
"Excellent." She smiled as she gracefully flipped down from the ceiling and landed in front of 'me'. She then took the platter from my hands. "I think I shall observe my castle from a new vantage point tonight. Sleep well, Pixel."
"Ah, uh, good night, Cognita."
**Cognita loves Zelkyr.
**Cognita trusts Zelkyr.
**Cognita is glad.
Okay... so I hadn't expected that. Good thing I cut Power Drain when I did. But why had I...
Oh. Of course.
Instinct.
My newest [Skill] was not as detailed as Threat Sense, but seemed to be... wider in scope? Definitely an information gathering ability, and a useful one at that.
Now the question was: should I use it as it is, or sacrifice it?
Decisions, decisions.
...
"Here." My homunculus offered the plate with the [Spicy Sushi]. "These should reduce any damage that fire would do to you."
**Cognita loves Zelkyr.
**Cognita trusts Zelkyr.
**Cognita is excited.
"I see." She took one of the morsels and placed it in her mouth. "This is a dish from Drath, is it not?" She frowned slightly as she chewed. "No, you haven't visited there, have you? That would mean another similarity between this world and yours."
'I' nodded. "I notice more and more of them as I learn about this world. There are far too many such shared food, phrases, or other things for it to be a mere coincidence."
"Indeed." She took another piece of sushi from the plate. "While I do not need an increased ability to withstand flames, I find the taste quite different, but pleasant."
"I'm glad."
After she ate the last one, Cognita nodded at me. "Sleep well, Pixel."
"Goodnight, Cognita."
**Cognita loves Zelkyr.
**Cognita is happy.
Two down, one to go. I think I need to wait longer before disabling her final hidden shackle. I'll probably do it right before I leave. I know it's not very responsible of me to fundamentally alter the most dangerous person in Wistram before going away, but I'm getting anxious about searching for Riley.
The days were passing a lot quicker now that I no longer had to spend them impersonating other people. Between my experiments with golems and magicore, I was spending a lot of time with Archmage Viltach. He... wasn't so bad.
As far as magical things went, he was knowledgeable. Not that most other [Mages] in Wistram weren't. Heck, if I picked any one of them at random, they'd probably know more about magic and mana than I did. It was more like Viltach's specialty worked well with what I was able to do.
Or, rather, the foundational part of his specialty.
I knew that he was more focused on making high-quality magical items, and that his experiments in producing high-quality materials was just a means to an end. It still dovetailed nicely into what I could do. More advanced things were beyond me, but with Power Drain modifying mana directly - I was both providing a useful service and learning.
You had to be a skilled electrician to wire a house. It took a lot less knowledge to repair what was already there - or break it in a fundamental way. Besides, learning the rules to a game was always the first step.
Aaron yawned as he walked back to his room. He no longer had an escort, and he kinda missed Teura. Especially on nights like tonight.
The Winter chill had reached its peak. Wistram's weather magic was still working, but it was an undeniable fact that it had been getting colder and colder. The halls were eerily silent as he walked down them, and the shadows seemed both longer and deeper somehow.
The only other things moving this late were golems, and even they seemed more quiet and... stiller somehow.
It was magic, he guessed. An experiment gone wrong. Something in the air. Or something in the mana. Or something in the mana that was in the air.
...Or he might be projecting his mood. He still hadn't been able to get a magical battery working. He'd made a shock orb with Archmage Nailihuaile's help. It might be a first step, but it wasn't useful for anything more than electrocuting people as it currently was.
He'd ruined one of Jiahao's hand consoles beyond what [Repair] could fix by connecting it to the orb.
His friend had been enraged and hadn't spoken to him for a week after that. It was a good thing that Pixel had given the Asian [Gamer] a super-tech game console in exchange for all of this Earth electronics months ago. If he hadn't, then they might no longer have been friends.
To Jiahao, the Vita had been a collector's item, but it was no longer necessary for playing games.
Thus, it was nice to have, but not an essential part of being a [Gamer].
Aaron put it out of his mind as he reached the door to his room. He glanced to his left and right before spinning around to make sure there wasn't anyone behind him...
Nope. He was alone. It was just nerves making him think he was being watched and followed. He still opened his door, slipped in, and quickly closed it behind him.
"[Light]."
A glowing orb appeared above his hand. He raised it up, and left it hanging in mid-air.
It wasn't enough.
His room was still too dim.
"[Light]. [Light]. [Light]. [Light]." He couldn't direct the balls he made without physically moving them, so he had to walk around placing them one-by-one. There. That was the living room done.
Aaron swallowed as he looked at the doors leading to his bedroom and bathroom. They were still cloaked in shadows. The darkness seemed to resist being pushed back by his [Spell].
"[Light]. [Light]." He cast it twice more, so that he had one shining sphere in each of his hands. Aaron then slowly walked towards his bedroom - which somehow seemed much, much more foreboding than it had ever been before. His magic pushed back the gloom and revealed a strange man waiting for him!
!
Aaron's breath caught in his throat before he realized it was just his dirty robe he'd hung on his bed post. His heart raced as he forced himself to breathe. He placed his two light-sources in the corners. "[Light]. [Light]." He then created two more for the other side of the room. That way there wouldn't be any shadows that someone could hide in...
But there was the bed.
Specifically, there was underneath the bed.
"[Light]." He was being stupid. He knew it. No one was waiting for him underneath his bed. Even if they were, what would they be waiting for? To ineffectively grab his leg while they were prone? No. He shook his head. It was a ludicrous idea.
...He still bent down and rolled one final orb under there - just to be sure.
No one was there. No [Assassins]. No [Slavers]. No goblins. No Samara.
Aaron swallowed and returned to the living room. Speaking of Samara, there was still the bathroom.
He NEVER should've watched that film with Jiahao. A fun little movie his ass.
"[Light]. [Light]." Armed with more sources of illumination, he braved the darkness again. He most definitely didn't let out a small scream when he saw himself in the mirror.
Aaron took a deep breath. Wistram might have plumbing, or the magical equivalent, but his bathroom was still bare-bones compared to what he'd have on earth. It consisted of little other than a bowl used for a sink, a magical faucet, a mirror, a shelf to hold toiletries, and a toilet.
There were no cabinets. No shower. No places for anyone to hide. There wasn't even a place beneath the bowl. He had to manually empty it into the toilet.
The toilet...
"[Light]." One final orb went there. It was fine. No long, dark hair climbing up it. What could even hide there?
Rats?
Aaron nodded his head. Rats.
He took the bowl and placed it on top of the toilet to block off any wandering rodents. "Wait. I'm being stupid." He put the bowl back under the faucet, turned on the water, let it get half-way full, then put it back. "That should stop 'em." Besides, he wouldn't have to wait for the bowl to fill up to flush in the morning.
Aaron walked back to his living room, and spun around when he heard a knock on his door.
He put a hand on his chest and breathed deeply. He was too jumpy. He could feel his heart beating quickly, and felt silly. It was probably just Jiahao - coming over to play some late night games. Aaron groaned. He was tired, and he didn't have a skill to let him stay up all night like some people.
He let out a sigh and went to open the door. Some company and a few games might be fun.
There was no one there.
Aaron poked his head out the doorway and looked left and right. Nope. No one. No golems. Just shadows and barely flickering torches. "Hello?" Was this some prank? Was he imagining things?
"Greetings and Hello, Blackmage." The voice came from behind him!
Aaron spun around. There was a man standing in the middle of his room. He was tall, but hunched over. He wore robes that looked like they might've once been magnificent, but it was hard to tell in the gloom. His thin arms held a faded and worn book that looked even more ancient, and his eyes gleamed behind a pair of spectacles.
"Who-" Aaron stammered. "Who are you?"
The man nodded his head. "I am but a teacher, looking for a student. You, Aaron Vanwell, are a seeker of knowledge. I can impart a great deal to you."
"Me?" Aaron's head swam. "You're a teacher of Wistram? I've never seen you before."
"I have taught here, but not for many years." The man stepped forward and extended his arm. "Come, take my hand and let me guide you."
"Uhm..." Aaron started forward. He should just take his hand. A handshake was the polite thing to do when meeting someone. That was a thing in this world? Right? He thought he remembered that...
A chill breeze flowed over his back.
Aaron shivered.
He'd left the door open. That was wrong. He turned around and closed it. When he looked back into his room, the man was still there. But... hadn't he been closer a moment ago?
Aaron shook his head and stepped closer to one of his balls of light that still hung in the air. It seemed dimmer now. "So you're another Archmage? And you can teach me magic?"
"Magic?" The tall man's pale eyes gleamed. "Yes. I can teach you such magic!" He shook his head. "But you are not ready to learn it yet."
"Oh. Okay." That made sense, he guessed. He was still a novice.
"But, I know more than magic. Much more. I am a scholar without peer." He held out his hand again.
A scholar. Yes. That was right. He looked like a scholar. A scholar, a historian, a teacher - those words described him perfectly. Even 'Archmage'. Aaron had thought that Feor had looked like Dumbledore or Gandalf, but he now thought that Dumbledore and Gandalf looked like... like...
"I didn't get your name." Aaron blinked in confusion. Also, the man didn't have a beard, but that somehow didn't feel wrong.
"My name has been forgotten." The man slumped. "It is Emerrhain, but I shan't expect you to remember it."
"Emerrhain?" Remember it? Aaron felt strange. Like he was dreaming. So he guessed it made sense that he'd forget stuff. "How can you teach me if I forget it?" He was confused.
"A secret has parts that are both known and unknown." Emerrhain drew closer. "It is the way of knowledge. Great discoveries persist, even if their source fades from the collective memory. Sage Grass. Stichfolk. Naq-Alrama. I know where they came from. I know who invented them. I can share that with you. Does it matter if you forget some details as long as the important part remains?"
"I guess not?" Aaron took a step forward and started to raise his hand... but he hesitated. "I wouldn't mind learning about those things." A secret was a secret in Wistram. "But, they aren't very useful to me personally..."
"Then, how about hidden rooms within these halls where you'll be safe? The inner thoughts of the so-called 'Archmages'? I can lay their schemes bare to you!" Emerrhain smiled. "I know the secrets of lightning and currents. With my help, you can combine magic and your 'electronics'!"
"Really?"
"Yes." Emerrhain loomed above him. "Just take my hand."
He was really insistent about that, but it wasn't THAT strange. Lots of people had customs for greeting others. Why shouldn't Aaron shake his hand? It was only common courtesy. Some teaches demanded bowing, or pledges, or other things. Taking his hand would be a small price to pay.
Aaron reached out... and jumped when there was a knock on his door.
He glanced at it, and then back at Emerrhain. The tall man was now back in the center of the room. Or had he always been there? Aaron frowned a little and tried to think. The knocking repeated, and he turned to open the door.
"Hey! Blackmage!" Jiahao brushed past him while looking down at the video game console Pixel had made for him. "I found great new game! You like! We can-" He looked up and saw Emerrhain for the first time. "Who that?"
Aaron followed behind Jiahao. "His name is Emerrhain, and he's a..." What exactly was he? An Archmage? No, that felt wrong. Too dismissive. An [Archmage]? That couldn't be right either. There were no more [Archmages]. Something else? Like a [Magical Teacher]? That felt more fitting, but now that Jiahao was here, Aaron took a closer look. The light around Emerrhain was noticeably dimmer. It even felt colder from his direction. In fact... Aaron didn't think he was breathing. "A ghost?"
Hogwarts had ghosts. Surely Wistram did as well.
...Although Aaron had never seen one before.
"A ghost?" Jiahao looked at Emerrhain, who seemed to... wilt along the edges. The [Gamer] grabbed part of Aaron's currently disassembled iPhone and tossed it underhanded towards the middle of the room. "Catch."
Emerrhain did just that. His hand that wasn't holding the ancient book darted out as quick as a snake and plucked the plastic shell out of mid-air.
"I have much that I can teach you." The not-ghost examined the outer section of Aaron's phone. "Much that would intrigue you." He held the casing up. "Your world is one of great knowledge, and such things are more than the sum of their parts. Just think what you can accomplish with my help! The wonders of combining technology and magic! Mana and electricity! It will be a new dawn, and you'll be the foremost pioneer! All you have to do, is take my hand!"
That... that sounded nice. Aaron reached out again, but Emerrhain's hands were full...
"Yeah, yeah. What bout games?" Someone spoke from beside him. Aaron turned. Oh, right. Jiahao was here.
"Games?"
"Yeah, video games. Can you make those?"
"I..." Emerrhain seemed taken aback. "Why do you pursue such... ah, I see. You wish to become a [Gamer] do you not? Such a unique [Class]. And one so hard to make out." His pale eyes squinted like he was trying to look at something that wasn't in focus. "It is new. Its role is still evolving." The not-ghost smiled. "However, I can tell you secrets about [Classes] that not even the Emirs know of. Details that even the most learned of men have only brushed up against. With my guidance, you can have all that and more, if you but take my hand."
Jiahao tilted his head. "So, like a walkthrough?"
"It would be more than patrolling a city or house. I can lay bare the inner workings of the Great Design!"
"Yeah..." Jiahao was smiling. His arms fell to his sides, and the game console slipped from his fingers. "That sounds good." He took a step forward, then another and another until he was right next to Emerrhain.
"Yes." The man smiled. "Just take my hand." The iPhone case was gone. Aaron hadn't noticed where or when it had vanished, but Emerrhain's right hand was empty again. His long fingers extended and a look of greed passed over his face as the two reached for each other.
Then they touched, and Aaron screamed as Emerrhain's face seemed to fall away. Or the magic around it. Aaron wasn't sure if he was a ghost, but he certainly was dead. His pale skin darkened until it was hard to see in the shadows. What was visible outside of his torn and ragged clothes was horrifying enough. Strings of flesh connected grime-covered bones. Straggly bits of decaying skin were mixed with what remained of his hair. His nose and lips were gone, but his eyes somehow remained. Their eerie pale color made them seem to sink deeper and deeper into his skull.
Emerrhain's rotting flesh twisted as he smiled.
Jiahao collapsed.
"Yes!" The ghoul turned to look at Aaron. "Do not worry, child. A teacher can have multiple students. I had come for you, but this one..." Emerrhain's rotting face twisted in confusion. "This one..." He let go of Jiahao's arm and it fell to the floor. "This one is an empty shell! A puppet! A hollow thing!"
"That's right." Aaron recognized that voice! He turned to look as Pixel entered the room. "You identified it, now the question is, what are you?" He was in his larger, white armor. Slots opened up on his shoulders, and twin lasers shot out and struck Emerrhain in the chest!
...To absolutely no effect.
"You dare!? You assault ME? HERE? ON THIS NIGHT? You think I cannot harm you? You... You..." Emerrhain towered over them, and the air grew thick with the stench of death. Aaron's knees gave out. He felt hot and cold. Like he was feverish. "What are you?" Emerrhain's eyes glowed brighter. "An [Avatar]?" His form shrunk. "No. That's not possible. Who got to you? Who came here first?" The ghost charged forwards with his arms stretched out to grasp them. "No one but I deserves to be HERE!"
Pixel didn't answer with words. Instead he dropped into a familiar-looking stance and swung at the lich. Unlike before, Emerrhain flinched as Pixel's fists passed through his jaw. It seemed to do no damage, but it did cause him to abort his charge and step back.
Or had he always been that far away?
The small part of Aaron's brain that could still think rational thoughts wondered how Pixel was so calm. Or why he had gone from lasers to punches. That seemed odd, despite it being more effective. The [Superhero] looked at him. Aaron couldn't see his face, but he got a distinct sense that he was worried about something.
"Stop that." Pixel spoke to the monster. "He can't stand that much mana."
"And you can?" Emerrhain's rotten lips curved upwards. "I might not have my full strength, but I can still-" A golden beam of light pierced his chest. "Wha-" His smile turned into a sneer as his hand clasped where the attack had struck. He glared at them with hate-filled eyes before...
Before...
Everything seemed so hazy...
...
Aaron opened his eyes and winced at how bright his room was. He was on his bed, and Pixel was standing over him - without any armor. "Pixel?" Had it all been a dream?
"Rest, Blackmage." The other Earther frowned. "I've drained the excess mana from you, but the debuffs..." He paused for a second before continuing. "The damage to your body remains. It should heal, but don't use any magic until you feel better."
"Oh." Was that what had happened? "Okay." Had it all been a hallucination? "What happened?" No, it had to be real, right? "What was that thing?"
"A nightmare." Pixel turned his head and looked at the wall.
Aaron followed his eyes, and saw a hole. A hole that hadn't been there before. One that went from his living area to his bedroom. He glanced at the other wall, and saw a similar hole on the other side. That had to have come from that golden beam. Just how far had Pixel's final attack bored through Wistram?
Or had he imagined that too?
Aaron struggled to stay awake, but his eyes kept closing.
He finally let his head fall against his pillow.
He immediately fell into a dreamless sleep.
What WAS that? It was a good question. A nightmare seemed like a fitting description. At least the Golden Gun had managed to drive it off - if not hurt it. If it hadn't... Well, I could always have tried activating [Thread of Fate]. I still didn't know what that [Skill] did, but desperate times... The result couldn't have been worse than... whatever that THING had been. Even after I'd sacrificed Instinct to Observe, I hadn't managed to glean any more information.
Just... that it was dangerous.
...But not in a way that I could really put into words. Or, rather, not in a way that Observe put into words for me. The feeling from Instinct was deeper now that it was 'bound', but it was still just that: a feeling.
However, I had gotten the impression that it had been interested in Aaron because he was from Earth. In fact, I was sure of it.
If something like that was out there, something that was searching for Earthers, then I needed to find Riley and Sibby immediately!
*Panic negated by Gamer's Mind.
Well, I was planning on leaving Wistram next week anyways. All I needed to do was to wrap things up with Cognita and Viltach, and make sure they and the rest of the Archmages knew about tonight's intruder. Before that, I desperately needed to expel the excess mana I'd gotten from whatever attack the creature had used, and from what I'd pulled out from Aaron.
I was empowering as many of my mana-capable skills as possible, but I still needed to shove the extra into some magicore.
I teleported to my room where I had some to work on. While I fed it mana, I thought back to what my cameras had caught. I now wished I kept a recording of my various spying device feeds, but an internal one would've increased their size and cost - not to mention being an unacceptable security risk.
So, I only had my memory of what I'd seen before and during the encounter. 'Emerrhain' hadn't shown up on the data stream I'd gotten from my cameras. Instead, I'd noticed Aaron behaving strangely and talking to himself. If Instinct hadn't made me worried... then I might not even have gone to investigate.
I was already regretting sacrificing it to Observe, but it seemed like the best choice at the time. Even in the middle of the fight, the cameras hadn't seen our opponent. It had been disconcerting to have multiple points of view on the same situation and not having them show the same thing...
I pumped mana into the magicore as I thought about what to do next.
...
Finally! I'd finally bled off the excess mana. I still had far too many Oversaturated debuffs, but I'd live. Hopefully so would Aaron. I checked the feeds coming from his room. He was asleep with the lights on. No signs of discomfort. I'll go and check in on him in the morning and apply some more Rapid Regeneration.
I then checked in on Jiahao and Michail before going to sleep myself. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
I was tempted to stay awake - in case the nightmare returned, but I already had too many Tired debuffs. My Con was so low that I might literally die from lack of sleep if the Overstaturated debuffs didn't wear off quickly enough.
[Hero Level 7!]
[Boxer Level 5!]
[Infiltrator Level 12!]
[Avatar Level 3!]
[Conditions Met: Hero → Superhero Class!]
[Class Consolidation: Boxer removed.]
[Class Consolidation: Infiltrator removed.]
[Superhero Level 10!]
[Skill - Good Naming Sense obtained!]
[Skill - Energizing Touch obtained!]
[Skill - Fast Hands obtained!]
[Skill - Heroic Tolerance: Mana obtained!]
[Skill - Don the Mask obtained!]
[Skill Change – Lightning Jab → Juggernaut Punch!]
I blinked.
[Superhero]! Finally! But... [Hero] + [Boxer] + [Infiltrator]? What sort of criteria did The Grand Design of Isthekenous have for [Superhero]? And why was it green?
(And how was I hearing 'green'? Even with Ears of Babel, that was a novel experience.)
I guess I HAD used [Skills] from both [Boxer] and [Infiltrator] in the fight.
A heroic Stranger who punches people... That wasn't an uncommon skill set for a vigilante on Earth Bet. I could name a dozen capes that matched that description off the top of my head. Although... There was one other that came to mind - not because I knew him, or because he was real, but because I'd just finished playing Arkham Knight after hearing Jiahao go on and on about it...
The Grand Design of Isthekenous was clearly watching everything we did, but surely a conversation and video game wasn't enough for it to... what? Create a [Class]?
Or... was it still watching Earth Iota too?
Bios:
Emerrhain - The God of Scholars, Magic, Studies and Secrets. He is currently Dead, but not as Dead as most of the other Gods. He is a schemer and smug but also cowardly in the face of danger. Like the other Dead Gods that still exist as something more than shadows - he tried using the Winter Solstice to reach out to people that knew about Gods and Religion. Aaron wasn't his first, nor his last attempt of the night.