Leveling up the World

Time was never enough, even with eternity at one’s disposal. The joke that Dallion was starting to fully appreciate was that there were three things an awakened could never have enough of: food, time, and levels. Half into his lunch, he had jumped back into the awakening realm of his form and went through a series of improvements, improving it to full platinum. The immediate goal was to reach the level cap of his art skills, which he had been outright neglecting as a hunter. Normally, they weren’t something that could be useful outside a tailor shop, but when combining them with full combat skills changed things quite a bit. At present, he had upped them to thirty-six, which gave him a real chance of hitting the eighty level cap in another day or two.

Nil had gone back to complaining, pointing out that the sudden boost wasn’t as beneficial as one might think, but was ignored. The reason Dallion wanted to up the level was because it would provide him more options, and when facing an opponent such as Arthurows options were key… as long as the general came through. As sad as it was to put the fate of the world in the hands of a spoiled, snobbish black marketer, it wouldn’t be the first time. The general was driven by extreme self-interest. That’s why he had helped Dallion save Nerosal from Star and also why he was going to help out now.

After rendering the fork platinum, Dallion had quickly wolfed down the rest of the food in front of him and then gone back to the realms where he had taken on an awakening trial. The combat had been brief but impactful, forcing him to use every trick he knew—and discover a few new ones—in order to claw his way to victory. The challenge was a simple test of combat skill, in which Dallion had to face an echo of Aspan.

Going all out against a copyette was precisely the thing that Dallion needed to sharpen his skills. Even so, in the back of his mind, there remained a fear that it could well end up being too late. The worst part was that there was nothing that Dallion could have done. While it was easy claiming that he should have leveled up more, it wasn’t like he hadn’t done so out of laziness. Real world combat was important too, and had served him when facing low level nobles.

“One more,” Dallion said, pushing the empty plate towards the Aspan that was sitting at the table. “Does the fork cover it?”

“Now I’ll need to buy a new fork,” Hannah huffed. “I should slap you at the back of your head. You think we’re your servants?”

Dallion was tempted to say “not yet” but he held his tongue.

“And you pick the worst time to come for food. Lunch draws in the crowds, and not thanks to you! Di has been working her ass off, keeping the inn clean, and doing your job as well. The girl’s barely a double digit and look what she’s achieved.”

“I’ve achieved a few things as well.” Dallion closed his eyes for a moment. After leveling up to seventy-one, he had increased his body trait to forty-two. He’d also managed to gain an achievement, but that had just boosted his mind by two. Frankly, he would have very much preferred to get his body into the fifties.

“Ha! All you’ve achieved is to reopen your wound.” Hannah noted. “Probably you’ll order that I patch you up as well?”

“It’s a permanent effect. I’m used to it.”

To Dallion’s surprise, that didn’t earn him the response he expected. The woman didn’t shout, nor did she criticize him, as she usually did when upset. Instead, she went next to him and grabbed hold of his right shoulder. Pain shot through Dallion’s entire body, making him flinch. Seeing that, Hannah let go.

“What’s the effect?”

It took Dallion a few moments to fight through the pain and restore his breathing to normal.

“There are two,” he said. “Pain and bleeding.”

“How long will they last?”

“Don’t know. Lux keeps things in check.”

“That’s just patching up. Once you geta rest, visit a shrine to find out. The Order’s good at that.”

“Can’t you fix it?” Dallion turned to Aspan.

The copyette shook his head.

“I’ll deal with it then.” Or not.

The bleeding wasn’t too much of an issue, but the pain was getting more and more distracting. Adrenalin numbed it enough to take off the edge, sadly never completely.

Another pile of food was put in front of Dallion.

“Eat up,” the copyette said. “And level up more today.” He placed a new fork on the table. “And don’t ruin any more forks.”

The rest of lunch passed in relative quiet. Hannah left the kitchen, getting back to her usual duties. Aspan merged back into one, then shouted for Diroh to serve the orders. Back when Jiroh was here, the fury would go in the kitchen in person to take the dishes. Her sister seemed to value efficiency, using air currents to do the same without even setting foot there. It was also possible that she was doing that on purpose so as to show Dallion how much she didn’t want to see him.

You didn’t get hit once during your improvement fights. Funnily enough, it was Nil who broke the silence. That’s a massive improvement in how you used to fight before.

Dallion nodded as he ate. Initially, he had hoped to manage to pass a trial without having to rely on Lux for healing or flying. Reality quickly showed him that it was too early for such aspirations. Maybe in time he’d be able to achieve such a feat.

Two more servings vanished before Dallion’s cravings were gone. Carefully, he rolled up his right sleeve and unrolled the bandages. Scar was still there, going all the way to his elbow. It seemed quite fresh and shallow. As a permanent effect, it was going to remain in its current condition for quite a while. There was no universal standard for how long the effect would last. Supposedly, clerics and mages were able to tell, as were some magic beings. The aetherbird would only be too happy to tell Dallion, as long as he set it loose.

“Tell Di to see me later.” Dallion stood up. “I’ll go rest a bit.”

“Bleeding like that?”

“I have bandages in my room. If it’s still my room.”

“Don’t give her more grief. She was mad at you that you left like that, but that’s it.”

“Someone put the tray there. The building guardian couldn’t tell me who.” Dallion pulled down his sleeve. “Nothing happens here without both of you knowing.”

“This is an awakened in. Certain vows have been made to ensure that—”

“That might have worked on me a few years ago. You either know something or you suspect. Which is it?”

A flash of light went through the kitchen, blinding Dallion for a fraction of a second. His initial reaction was to reach for the nearest weapon. Thankfully, he managed to suppress it.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree. Yes, I know most things that happen here. Hannah probably knows more. However, we’re not the only people who can come and go unseen in a building.”

“The Mirror Pool won’t dare.”

“Who’s talking about them?” Aspan tossed a rather large orange fruit in the air, then shifted his hand into a knife and sliced it into pieces. The display seemed entirely for Dallion’s benefit, telling what the copyette couldn’t.

Dallion’s first thought was mercenaries. They would have the skills and the motivation. That didn’t sound right, though. Blocker rings would ensure that none of the guardians could sense someone’s presence, but they wouldn’t keep people from noticing. The only way for them to have delivered the food was to appear in front of Dallion’s door with the tray and…

You did that, didn’t you?

“How much food can you spare?” Dallion asked.

“Not enough. As Hannah said, you came at a bad time.” Aspan finished cutting the fruit and arranged it in a large bowl. “There’s some money behind the flour. Hannah keeps it for merchant bribes. It should be enough for you to get something. You’ll still need to get your effects checked.”

“Not in Nerosal.” Dallion went to the sacks of flour. The pouch was easy to spot. Grabbing it, he checked its contents—three golds and close to a hundred silvers. Hannah must have used it recently, for it wasn’t enough for a proper bribe, not in a city anyway. “I’ll still need the info I asked you.”

“I don’t know about the hunter. As for the Star, he’s always been in the neighborhood.”

“Anything more?”

“I can only tell you if you already know. Still, think about something. Of all the places in the world, why did he choose to get involved here?”

“Because Nerosal was built on the ruins of another city?”

“I’m not talking about this time. I’m talking about all the times.”

As riddles went, this one was rather good. Not that it particularly helped with things. In fact, it was almost as cryptic as if it were coming from the Moons. Dallion had been looking forward to a long talk with Hannah and Aspan, not to mention some adequate rest. All those plans had been cut short.

“Go.”

“And Hannah?” She wasn’t going to be pleased if Dallion disappeared again an hour after reappearing. Knowing her, she probably was aware of that. The sly fox knew a lot more than she let on. Sadly, it was looking less and less likely that Dallion would find out what.

“If you come back, she’ll get over it.”

“And if I don’t, it won’t matter.”

“Good luck.”

The moment Dallion got out of the kitchen, he rushed up the stairs to his room. A few of the local item guardians dared greet him, fearful of his dread aura. The door was open by the time he reached it. The place was speckless: everything was clean; the bed was tidy, and even Dallion’s belongings were neatly arranged. Most of them were clothes, ends and odds he’d gathered as a hunter, the stone orchid stone, and some musical instruments. Each object came with its own set of memories, bringing him back to a more optimistic simpler time… that was, until he saw the hand-mirror that had once been home to Gleam.

In less than a second, the chill of reality filled Dallion’s mind.

“Ruby, the window,” Dallion said as he put his backpack on the floor. “If anyone tries to spy, slice him.”

The shardfly flew off his shoulder and fluttered towards the window. Meanwhile, Dallion looked around to find his bandages. Since he’d become a hunter, he’d developed the habit of keeping a few rolls at all times. Most often they were to deal with small scrapes while taking care of animals, so he didn’t make a mess before healing himself with Lux’s powers.

Usually, there was a bowl of water next to the mirror. The bowl was still there, though it was empty. Nonetheless, Dallion took it and put it on the bed. The bandages ended up being near his clothes.

Dallion took off his shirt and whipped as much blood he could from his arm. A sudden sensation of pain reminded him of the second permanent effect. Gritting his teeth, he finished cleaning his arm, and threw the bloody shirt in the bowl.

“Lux.” Dallion sat down.

The dartblade floated off the backpack, surrounded by a blue glow, then pressed against Dallion’s wound. The scar closed again, forming a thin reddish crust. It was only going to last a few minutes—enough for him to bandage it. This wasn’t the first time he’d done it, though unlike before, the pain constantly got in the way. The minutes seemed like hours, but finally, he was done.

I need a drink. Dallion collapsed in the bed. His breathing was erratic. His body was struggling against the pain with all this might, regardless that there wasn’t a cause.

You need to go to a temple, dear boy, Nil corrected. You could have done that before, wasting hours in the kitchen.

The old echo had no memory of anything that had occurred there; none other than Dallion did—the copyette didn’t need more entities aware of his existence. For someone who avoided using magic, he put a lot of effort into erasing memories.

“I’ll do it in a bit,” Dallion whispered. “Right now, I just need—”

The door to his room swung open.

“I can’t believe you!” Diroh stormed in. “You could have at least said a few words!”

Yes, Dallion thought. I could have.

Ignoring the pain, he split into instances, leaping off the bed. Choosing an instance in which the fury wasn’t able to react, he grabbed her by the hand.

PERSONAL AWAKENING