Day 3.3

“Fascinating,” Rittan said in surprise. “What is responsible for this projection?”

August bit his lip, that meant his understanding of what was happening was far less sure than it had been. He’d been under the assumption that some unknown party had messed with his body for him to be able to see these HUD elements, but that couldn’t be the case with Rittan.

“What are you seeing?” August asked.

“Writing in the air, blue, requesting that I select a [Role]?” Rittan said, looking to him for assistance.

“I had the same thing when I first arrived here,” August said, rubbing at his neck. “What are the options?”

“[Striker], [Defender] and [Evader],” Rittan said curiously. “This is quite odd; what do each of these options do?”

No [Ruler], or [Commander], which was a departure from his own experience with this process—August wasn’t sure what to think of that.

“Ladybug is a [Defender]; she got a skill called [Brace],” August explained, “I chose [Evader], and I got [Burst] as my own skill.”

“Shall I choose the third option to round out the three?” Rittan asked, seeking guidance from him once more.

No way was he choosing for the guy—if Rittan ended up getting killed by something because he told him to choose the wrong class, then it would be his fault, at least in part.

“You choose whichever you want, man,” August said awkwardly, “I can’t help you here.”

“Very well,” Rittan said pleasantly.

August just watched the guy stand there staring at nothing at all before he nodded and met his gaze once more.

“I’ve learned the skill [Break]—” Rittan said before his hands all lit up in an ethereal white glow. “Incredible.”

Rittan shook his hands out, and a few seconds passed before the glow faded away.

“You chose [Striker]?” August said unnecessarily. “Looks a lot like Ladybug does when she uses her skill—I’m guessing it does more damage than a normal hit?”

Ladybug turned to him at the name, and he smiled at the monster.

“That may be the case,” Rittan said, staring at his hands in awe. “To be able to freely manipulate mana this way—it’s unfathomable for one of my kind to accomplish such a thing.”

“Yeah, this is new to me as well,” August agreed.

August allowed the guy his moment of wonder instead, pulling up the [Faction] menu for the second time in a minute.

Population – 1/1

Assigned – 0

Unassigned – 1

Settlements

Lakeside Hovel

His guess had been correct, and his earlier hesitation to [Summon] anything had been at least partially validated. The Voithos he summoned were not bound to him in any way; he had to recruit them to his side first. That meant that any future summonings he did carried a risk of pulling a Voithos that wasn’t as friendly as Rittan seemed to be.

Rittan was still classed as unassigned despite choosing a role, which probably meant he’d have to use [Assign Role] on him as he had with Ladybug.

“I’m beginning to get a feel for how this all works,” August said, frowning. “I think we’re stuck here for the foreseeable future—sorry for bringing you into this.”

Rittan shook his head before looking up from his hands.

“It is much more desirable than an eternity within the darkness of Limbo,” Rittan said, “To be given a chance to leave that place would be worth any dangers that could be found here.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” August said, lifting the spear off the ground, and after a moment of hesitation, he inventoried it.

The two of them stood there by the pit, Rittan smiling pleasantly while August’s awkwardness grew. Three days alone hadn’t ruined his social skills, but the fact that he was staring at what was essentially an alien with far too many arms had a way of stifling him.

“How you do—does everyone on this planet have six arms?” August said, fumbling his way through the question.

Rittan furrowed his brows for a moment, seemingly bemused once more.

“The Voithos are alone in that regard,” Rittan said gently, “August, you have a strange lack of knowledge regarding your culture—is there a reason for this?”

“I know my culture perfectly fine,” August denied, “The problem is, I’m not from here; my planet doesn’t have three moons.”

Rittan opened his mouth and then closed it.

“I—if you are from another world, how is it that you look like you do?” Rittan said, searching for the question that would reveal the mystery. “You truly do not originate from Gaia?”

“Gaia is the planet here, right?” August asked and continued when Rittan affirmed this to be the case. “My planet is called Earth, and I don’t belong to whatever species lives here; I’m a human.”

“Remarkable,” Rittan said. “It must be said then that within a group of Gaian people, you would not be out of place.”

“Humans in all but name, huh?” August murmured. “What was that PDA thing you mentioned before?”

“PDI,” Rittan corrected, “A Personal Drone Interface; it was a device linked to each Gaian that would produce a video audio record of their daily activities and provide an assortment of services—they were able to access the electronics nearby, control doors and contact each other.”

“Kind of creepy,” August frowned. “It’s a drone? Like flying around in the air and everything?”

“Yes,” Rittan nodded.

“The other word you said, the people you told me to ask for help,” August said, unwilling to say the unfamiliar word. “What are they?”

“The Molionidai is a private security company that handle distress calls within and around Hekaton,” Rittan said, one of his palms held upwards. “You’ve mentioned that this is an island? Given that the city is far inland, I do believe we are far out of their response range.”

August gripped his neck; this was getting more complicated by the minute.

“We don’t even have anything to contact them to begin with, and we’re still stranded.” August sighed, waving a hand at the camp. “If you plan on staying here with me, I’ll help you build a shelter.”

“Thank you for your generosity, August,” Rittan said, clapping his hands together again. “The monster you’ve identified across the shore—is it dangerous to approach?”

August snapped his eyes over to it, alarmed that he’d forgotten about it entirely but found that it was exactly where he’d last seen it.

“I have no idea what it can do, or if it’s aggressive, but I wouldn’t approach it,” August said seriously, “I’m fine with assuming everything on this island will kill us until proven otherwise; seems like the most sensible option.”

“Indeed,” Rittan nodded.

“Okay, we can talk more later. Right now, we need to make you a shelter before nightfall,” August said, breaking eye contact. “You’re a big dude; we’re going to need something larger than my [Lean-to].”

“I see your current shelter is made of stones, branches and vines,” Rittan said, eyeing the structure critically. “The walls aren’t supporting it, but are separate? Is there a purpose behind this?”

Ouch, the criticism stung.

“I decided to add the walls after I realised how exposed I was,” August sighed, “The next one I’m going to make will have actual walls.”

“That seems sensible,” Rittan agreed, “Shall I go collect the materials?”

August was uncomfortable with all the deference the guy was giving him.

“If that’s what you want to do, go for it,” August said, brushing it off. “I’m going to start digging some holes for the uprights.”

“Very well,” Rittan smiled, “I shall return shortly.”

Before August could say anything else, the Voithos strode off towards the treeline, his massive strides tearing up the space between. Ladybug trilled at his sudden departure, the tone warbled slightly, and he was left with the impression that the creature wanted to follow him.

“You want to go with him?” August said, waving his hand towards the trees. “Go on.”

Ladybug is no longer set to Guarding.

Ladybug, surprisingly enough, seemed to register the command and the length of her spike chain flashed through the air before it sunk into the trunk and then she was gone. August turned and faced the lake for a moment, wondering how his life could have become this strange so quickly.