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if you only want to read the chapter, same as always...

AN: here it is, one week early, chapter 12. I may write a new chapter next week, or I may not do so. My PC's condition is getting worse, and that's ruining my writing mood.

(Seriously.. I just created a few new things, and there's already a secret organization after me? Well, since that's how it is, I'll have to deal with it. I wonder what will happen to the village now that I'm gone..

Near the elven forest..

One could see beautiful plains basking in the remaining sunlight of the sunset. The land seemed fertile, the location ideal.. one had to wonder why there was not even a village build to exploit those resources. But such a village would be build soon enough. People who had lost it all would be forced to become farmers.. and exploit that land. A noble that lost a powerstrugle in a big city would become the lord of that small village.

It wouldn't take long for Aspertia to be created.. again.

.. at least I was able to teach Keith a few things. Maybe he'll be able to reverse engineer the machines I've left behind? I told him to do so to learn.. so he shouldn't hold back even if he sees them as divine artifacts. Anyways.. magical steampunk technology and dwarwes? Just where.. don't tell me..)

Help: Yes, they may be the “dwemer”. However, as it is highly unlikely for this to actually be the case, I estimate this is but a coincidence.

“You awake again? Not going to use a skill? Looks like you learned your lesson. Sorry for knocking you unconscious, but you would have gotten us into big trouble.”

“Is this one of your schemes again?”

“Does it look like this is happening because I want it to?”

Deep under the surface of the earth, a rather strange vehicle was moving through a tunnel that had just about its size. Within that vehicle where the five dwarwes and, “captured” in the back section, Quintus and Carmela. They had been cuffed, but that was nothing but a symbol.. Mana could open the locking mechanism whenever she felt like doing it.

“Well.. I have to admit that it doesn't. Just what's going on?”

“Wait a second.. HEY, HOW LONG UNTIL WE ARRIVE?”

“It should take four days.”

“That should be more than enough time to tell you the whole story.. well, let's start with the beginning...

...and that's how we ended up here. Any more questions?”

“No but.. could you tell me more about your old world?”

“Sure.. but I kept it brief for a reason. Anything specific you'd like to know?”

“You said you were able to prevent Quintus from poisoning himself due to knowledge you gained there, so this world should have similar diseases and cures..”

“So it's about medicine? I don't know that much.. if you think I know the recipe for some miracle cure-all, forget it. But it's true that we are much more advanced then you are.”

“Could you give an example?”

“Hmm.. I rarely saw elves get sick, so I wouldn't know just how bad the situation is here.. but judging from what I could read in your books, we have a much deeper understanding of the causes for sicknesses. And thus we are able to cure them more effectively. Honestly, I can't really find an example.. but concerning injuries, I can. For example, if someone looses a limb, it is possible to replace it with an artificial one. That technology has not been perfected yet, but it had already reached the point where one could move the fingers of his artificial hand when I left.”

“Replace lost limbs?!”

“Yep. The body is like a complex machine.. and if you know how it works, you can produce spare parts.”

Those words were followed by an eerie silence, only broken by the sounds made by the machine moving forward. But it did not take long for Carmela to recover from what she had heard. Even so, she did not dare ask more about this topic.

“You knew what sickness Quintus mother had, and how to cure it.. in this case, what was the cause?”

“In my world it's called “Anemia”, and it's what happens when your blood lacks a certain component called “Hemoglobin”. It.. you could say it makes breathing less effective, so at some point it will be like you had a really hard time breathing, resulting in having a weak body and falling unconscious as soon as you make the slightest effort. The lacking component can only be produced if you give your body the right materials from food, and meat contains those in relatively large amounts.”

“Blood component?”

“Just about everything in this world is made of small parts, this includes blood. There are many different things in your blood.. but honestly that would be going pretty deep into the details. Do you really want to know? I've already been talking for hours.. and you should get some rest. Look at Quintus, he's asleep already.. If you really want to, I can continue tomorrow?”

“..okay.”

(This girl really is a curious one.. but while that's not a bad thing, one shouldn't overdo it. Now then, it's one more night during which I wont be able to do much... Help?)

Help: I finished scanning through the vehicle, weaponry, tools and other equipment. Steam has a major role in their technology, astonishingly to the point it is even used when there are obviously more efficient methods. Judging from their equipment, they should also be aware of those methods, at least they do posses the technology necessary.

(So steampunk it is.. what else?)

Help: High level of metallurgy, high level of craftsmanship.. the abnormal focus on steam aside, efficient methods. However.. even thought the designs are efficient, there is a needlessly high amount of ornamentation.

(Efficient, simple tools with way too many ornaments even thought the design itself is kept simple? Steam? Dwarwes? And people warping to another world? This is getting pretty close to the borderline of being a coincidence.)

Help: Even I have to admit that the ornaments used show an astonishingly high similarity to those I was able to see within your memories. Yet I believe that this is simply too unlikely to actually be true. While I would consider this scenario, I would not base my estimations on it. Even if it is the case, as the system behind magic is different in this world, they would have had to adapt to new circumstances, eventually leading to a different culture.

(Well, there's honestly no use speculating too much about this right now. You found out the function of all of the new runes?)

Help: Yes. One generates heat proportional to the amount of mana it absorbs, it is used to power this vehicle. Then there is a rune doing the exact opposite, used to prevent certain parts from overheating. They make use of a rune that increases the speed by anything passing trough by a certain percentage every second, as long as there is enough mana available to do so.

(I see. Anything else?)

Help: The dwarwes have a truly astonishing metabolism. The astonishing part being that they seem to have none. Their bodies are powered by mana. It would explain their ability to live underground. Their body in itself is rather strange. Such an organism would be utterly impossible in your old world. Their body is not based on carbon, most likely incredibly resistant to heat and cold, does not require food or water to function.. it's more like a machine powered entirely by mana and build from minerals and other resources than an organism. I cannot imagine them getting sick either. However I wonder what consequences injuries would have on such a body. How would the damage be repaired? Without tests, I can't say.. their skin is even more interesting, the interference from their own mana is so high that I am unable to conduct a scan on what it is made of.

(Isn't this pretty big news? Why not tell me earlier?)

Help: I was still in midst analysis.. and still am. This is truly intriguing..

(You've been doing that this entire time?? Looks like YOU found yourself something to do.. well, I'll keep myself busy somehow..)

“Raaaaaah!!!”

“PENG!PENG!PENG!”

“why.. why did you do that! Why did you have to kill her!?”

“But we did nothing.. look, isn't she just fine?”

!!!

“What, you think you would have killed us? Silly.. don't you know that death can be cured nowadays?”

“Oh Quintus, you're getting used to the new weapon?”

“..father?!? ..but.. but you..”

“Yeah, I was damaged a bit, but they finished the repairs.”

“No.. no.. this.. this is wrong! This is not how it should be! This..

?!?

“Good morning!”

“..good.. morning. What about.. ah, so.. she's still asleep. Mana?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“The more I hear about your world.. the stranger it seems. Weapons powerful beyond anything I could have imagined, building “spare parts” of bodies.. in all honesty, someone coming from such a place, over here, he has all right to consider himself a god. Just what is it you want to do with all that power?”

“I'm not almighty you know.. if I were, I wouldn't be in this situation. But I guess that's not the main issue here.. I don't know. Given my abilities I felt that changing this world was the right thing to do.. but look at what has happened because of it. I guess I have to learn more about this place before thinking about how to make use of what I have.. I can't give you a better answer than that.”

“I see..”

(Something about yesterdays talk must have been unsettling for him.. maybe I shouldn't go too far in what I tell them about at once.. let's remember to never mention nukes..)

“Good morning.. you remember our promise right? You're going to tell me more today, remember?”

(And there go my good intentions.. but honestly, how comes everyone here is so energetic upon waking up?)

“Yes, I remember. But first.. WE'RE AWAKE NOW, COULD WE GET SOME FOOD?”

...

Help: For dwarwes, beings that do not require food, to produce such balanced meals.. I would love to know the background behind that.. as always, this food is A.OK.

“It's important to start the day with a healthy breakfast.. I've got to admit that I've never seen this stuff before, but it should be good... well, looks like I didn't need to tell you that..”

(It looks like this tastes great.. hey help, could you..)

Help: Processing inputs... done.

(God.. this tastes great! How long has it been since I even tasted anything to begin with? .. aaand my

passive is ruining the fun again..)

Two elves and a spirit having a luxurious breakfast inside of a magic and steam powered vehicle driving through the bowels of the earth, towards a secret organization of dwarwes.. calling this abnormal was an understatement. But there was something even bigger happening.. perhaps just as important, and definitely involving way more people.

“I didn't sign up for this! First I'm threatened using my sister, have to stop the business I build up over years, enter a shady business where no one is to find out where the goods are coming from.. but I can take this much! I'm a trader, I'm used to risks and adapting to changes! But this.. this is too much!!!”

“Mark, if you keep screaming around like that I WILL make you shut up. This situation is already giving me a headache, and you are making it worse. I have to concentrate, there's a signal being transmitted right now.”

“How could anyone remain calm!! The sky suddenly disappeared, if I climb to the top of a roof, I could touch the ceiling!! Just whUMPF!”

“I told you to shut up.. there has been a signal transmitted to all guards, we are to assemble everyone in the center of the village. This obviously includes you, so you better come with me.”

“The reason I have assembled all of you here should be obvious! There is one other thing I should tell all of you: not only the sky is missing, Deus has also disappeared, alongside the elf! But there is no need to panic, for this is a test, a test that we can and will pass!! He has left, left behind his technology, and left us in a difficult situation! What we should do is obvious! We should use that technology to deal with this situation! For only THEN we will have proven ourselves WORTHY!!”

A village suddenly transported deep into the underground, a world in which the only light came from fire and the mana powered torches Deus had left behind, a world in which they would have to find a source of water and food before their supplies ran out.. perhaps fight for them.. this was a dire situation. But nothing would stop their faith. They had seen the heaven once, they were ready to face any obstacle in their way, until they would be able to see it yet again. They were not aware of the cruel fate of many villages, towns, cities like theirs.. but that wouldn't have mattered anyways. They were different. First they would survive. Then they would live. Two simple steps. And they would crush all blocking their path. There would be many.. but they would not be stopped.