After 30 minutes of him meditating, the city mage and his assistants fiddling and studying with various complex looking devices, the ‘Inspection’ ends.

“Well, that confirms it. Your EC-Organ is developing slowly. The good news is that I just confirmed its growth, but the bad news is that it may take longer than we anticipated at this rate. But that is why I’m here. Like I mentioned earlier, yours is not entirely a unique case. Let’s keep that aside for now. How do you feel Mr. Inan? Anything worthy of note during that short session?”

“Yes. The slight prickle I felt during my name registration was much more intense, as it was way easier to ‘focus’ on that connection.”

“Hmm that’s good. So, you will have all of your meditation training over here every day. That will make your already strong points even stronger. We’ll use that additional stimulation to support our artificial growth of the EC-Organ, by using some magical potions. If I’m not wrong, it shouldn’t take longer than 2 months to develop the full organ and firmly establish your connection to the system.”

“W-wait. Wait, Artificial growth?! Potions?”

The mage gave him an unamused look at the comment he blurted out.

“Mr. Inan, I did mention you I’ll be personally helping you train and develop the necessary organ. Why do you sound so doubtful about my abilities? I made sure all of the procedures are absolutely safe during the development of this method.”

“No, it’s not like that Mr. Devian. I fully trust in your capabilities. My apprehensions come from my old world. I would feel a lot better doing this if you could give me a little bit of explanation.”

“I see. I apologize then. I can get behind not putting things into your body without understanding them beforehand. Even though I say artificial growth, it is a sort of a system assisted growth process. We use a certain potion to stimulate the ethereal aspects of a physical body and based on the person, the system assists automatically in the natural growth process. While it’s not a finite increase, it will definitely be faster than normal. I would like to give you a preliminary dosage of the potion and one small session of the meditation, to see if the standard potion works with your Alien biology, and if so, how much improvement we can expect.”

[That explained nothing as far as I’m concerned but I’m sure Devian wouldn’t put me in any questionable procedures. Best I play dumb.]

“I see. That certainly sounds a lot less artificial but what do you mean by the last part?”

“The standard formula may not be the most effective, based on the individual. So, it’s just a normal procedure to narrow down the most effective one. I promise you. No harm would be allowed to come to you. I have a full team of healing ready to aid you in the worst case, but I have never once needed them in all my time.”

[Well, no need to be a p***y about it now.]

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

With a firm acknowledging nod, the mage goes to his assistants and proceeds to order them around to help make the necessary preparations. He was allowed to rest in an adjacent room and was given a light snack and some refreshing tea like beverage.

A full hour later, the mage has his entire team assembled, in that previous room, with a potion in a small vial, placed on a table in front of him.

“Everything is ready Mr. Inan. We’re ready to go when you are. Drink the potion and sit at the same spot you did earlier.”

“I’m ready but I must say that is an ominous colour for a drinkable liquid.”

The man resigns to his fate and proceeds to drink the pale blue glowing potion in one gulp and takes his position quickly before he has a chance to think about the taste of the potion.

He immediately feels a big difference. The meditation is no longer quick. It’s near instantaneous. And once he is focused on the connection with the system, the prickly sensation from before is also very intensified but it’s not painful or unbearable. He soon got used to it. That was when he started experiencing strange sensations in the part of his head that doesn’t exist. In fact, he felt like his perception of the pricking sensation was outside his head, just in front of his forehead. He was soon woken up by someone calling his name from a distance.

“Huh?!...”

He opens his eyes to find a room full of people with wide eyes and giving him constant stares. If looks could poke, he would be hurting all over by now. Apart from them, there is the mage standing over him with an intensity in his eyes and very ragged breaths.

“Is something wrong? I hope everything went okay.”

Says the man with some tone of concern in his voice.

The mage seemed to not have noticed that part as he completely ignored his concerned tone.

“Okay?! This is beyond okay. It is fantastic!!”

“T-That should be good news right? Why do I have the feeling I’m not gonna like what ever is about to happen?”

“Of course, it is good news. This might even be fantastic news if it was any other normal circumstance…. Mr. Inan, I need sometime to gather my data and collect my thoughts. Please take a rest in the adjacent room till we’re done here.”

“Okay I will wait there.”

As soon as he leaves the room, there is a cacophony of sounds from the previous room. He nervously waits in the room he was left alone in.

[I hope I don’t just get dropped more devastating news. I just want a normal start where I just integrate with the world and can travel in search of my answers. Besides, I’m pretty sure hiring a bunch of mages to merely help me with this trivial task wasn’t exactly cheap, let alone free. I already owe them too much. Do they really have good intentions for me like they seem to appear? No evil plans to make use of my alien self to do their shady stuff? I really can’t afford to increase my debt to them.]

Almost an hour later, one of the assistants take him to the previous room where the city mage is giving some final instructions to a couple of his assistants and telling the rest of them to go home for today.

He nervously approaches the Mage once he seems done talking.

“So, Mr. Devian, ready to tell me now? Is everything alright?”

The mage takes a deep breath before saying,

“Everything is fine Mr. Inan. You have nothing to worry about. In fact, everything is going beyond perfect for you. Let’s go upstairs to my study. We can discuss in a more relaxed environment and some privacy.”

Now it’s just the 2 of them walking upstairs. They reach a study room with a table and chair, Lots of shelves of books and a comfortable looking couch on one side. They both take a seat on the couch and are served some more of the tea like beverage. Once they are left alone, the mage starts.

“First of all, I’d like to apologize for keeping you so late. I have asked my servants to prepare dinner for you as well. I remember your stamina being already low from earlier in the evening. Are you okay or do you want to do this tomorrow?”

“No need to apologize for that Mr. Devian. You are the one helping me. And I feel fine. I can do this now. Actually, I feel fantastic, physically at least. I was more tired earlier in the evening.”

“That’s… interesting. I suppose not too significant of an anomaly compared to what I’m about to discuss. So, do you remember what I said about the growth rate varying based on the individual?”

“Yes, I do. What of it? Is something wrong with my growth rate? But this was just the first attempt as you told me. Surely, we can improve or fix it with some modifications, right?”

“Yes, it is related to that, but no there is nothing wrong with your growth rate. There is no need to find a better stimulant variant. The growth rate increase can vary hugely but even in extreme cases, the record for the growth rate is 2 times the natural rate. In your case, that number is 10-20 times the normal rate. Which, I’m sure you need not be told, is absurd! These kinds of extremes are simply unheard of. To say that we mages have tread new ground in collecting the data from todays event would be an understatement. Although we have made incredible advancements since the first discovery of the system and magic, the field of the ethereal is a very elusive topic to say the least. This data can leapfrog our research efforts enormously-”

“I understand your enthusiasm Mr. Devian. I really do. I was a researcher myself in my previous world. But I must ask how that is my business. I really would like to avoid becoming a guinea pig for your tests.”

“I…apologize Mr. Inan. It seems I might have given you the wrong idea by letting my enthusiasm for the field talk. To clarify, I have no intention of putting you under such difficult circumstances. The city lord has been clear about you being completely independent and to take care of you to our best of abilities. If it was hard to tell, we don’t do this sort of aiding to any simple person. The city lord has taken the responsibility the goddess SAM has entrusted him with, very seriously. In fact, we aren’t allowed to collect any personal data without the express permission of you. That is exactly what I meant to ask for in this discussion.”

“That…is very reassuring. But what did you mean by the responsibility part?”

“I’m sorry. You will have to ask the City lord when you meet him after this training period.”

“I see. Okay, coming back to the matter at hand, what would entail your data collection, if I chose to give my permission?”

“We will take the data recorded about the way your body is able to interact so thoroughly with the ethereal, and the process, if we are able to note any, by which your growth rate is pushed up so high. I promise that the at most priority will be given to your personal safety and the process of aiding you. Since this is a trade on a personal level with the mages circle, you can feel free to name your price for this, within reason and legality of course. I want you to once again understand that this is very important for our circle and that you do not waste the opportunity it provides by choosing some nominal payment.”

“I see. Thank you for being forthright about how much it means to your ‘circle’. I appreciate that. First of all, I want you to keep all identifiable information about me off the collected data. They cannot have anything about my ‘unique situation’ either.”

“Done!”

“Second, you will give me access to it and any relevant data in the future if I ever become able to comprehend it or make use of it. I want your personal word on this one, Mr. Devian. I trust you more than I trust the mysterious circle of mages you belong to.”

“I will ensure that happens. The mage circle I belong to isn’t a particularly mysterious one though.”

“As for my price, any material or manpower payment is meaningless to me in this world. I ask only one thing. Information. I want you to teach me or explain to me everything I would like to know about this world. I know that the system courses are divided into Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Restricted levels. I also know that some of the information is restricted from the public. I want access to that restricted stuff too. That, would be my price.”

The mage goes silent from his words, seriously considering something.

“That is a very wise choice Mr. Inan. I was expecting a lot of things but nothing like that. But I cannot promise you every restricted piece of information there is, nor can I teach you about things that you cannot yet comprehend. I will try by best to honour the spirit of your words. First of all, you would really not fit with the standard course levels. You are a unique case and it had already been decided that you will be provided a more personalized training and education. Now, it’ll just have to be expanded upon on both size and scope. If you’re okay with these limitations, I will be happy with such a trade.”

“…you actually agreed. Well, that is more than I was hoping to get out of it. So, I’ll happily agree to that trade.”

The mage instantly reveals a wide smile and obvious delight at those words.

“Excellent! I’ll be really looking forward to working with you Mr. Inan!”

“Like wise.”

“So that out of the way, let’s talk about things that pertain to you individually. Going back to the individual differences in the success of the procedure. To properly understand that, let me quickly explain somethings. The attributes are somehow quantified by the system. Even the most seemingly illusory ones are sometimes given a number. For example, ‘Luck’ attribute. You can view them on your status screen once you have fully awakened and finished the growth phase. But there are other attributes that are harder to access without mastery in specific skills. These are called hidden attributes. They may vary in terms of how accessible they or their values are. One of them is a hidden attribute that is called ‘System favour’. It’s an informal name we use. It can be called differently in different circles. It actually doesn’t have a listing on your status screen, even with all the mastery in those secret scrying and divination skills. It is an attribute that is determined to exist through heavy observation of data for hundreds of years. These hidden attributes aren’t mentioned in the basic level course.”

After saying that, he lets the information he gave out sink in for a bit.

“I…see. No wonder it wasn’t part of the basic course. They constantly praise goddess SAM for making life easier by turning it into a single sheet of numbers.”

“Well, it is a Basic level course for a reason. The advanced one may not reveal this particular hidden attribute, but it will introduce others, easier to access. Anyway, this attribute is attributed for seemingly random events that happen in the world that either go in or against the person. For example, seemingly random events involving nature or inanimate objects, ‘inadvertently’ helping, or hindering a person. Almost like the system either favours or dislikes them. The exact cause of this attribute is very much unknown, and there are all sorts of absurd theories, but I’m sure none of them are correct. But it is believed to be a major factor in determining the growth rate of the EC-Organ during the aiding procedure from earlier. You surviving the 10-day trip from the deep green, was an obvious indicator that you are watched over by the Great Goddess herself. This just proved how much she favours you.”

The man shifts uncomfortably after hearing those last words.

“I’ll be honest. I’m not sure how I feel about someone constantly watching over me and manipulating my surroundings to their whim.”

“That is a strange take away from that big revelation Mr. Inan. Maybe you would be at ease to know that this entire world is in a way part of the system or the Goddess, no matter how you call the entity. None of our actions can escape its gaze. But how much those actions matter to it is a different story though. In this case, it is a very good thing to have such a high system favour. You will understand eventually why. By the way, all the divine beasts are extremely favoured by the system. Which is how they are believed to have gained so many miraculous traits and always seem to work in favour of the world.”

“You’re saying they’re the agents of the system?” says the man, narrowing his eyes.

“Eh…in a sense I suppose. But they aren’t chosen to be the agents, rather just their favour with the system climbs high enough for them to change the fundamental relationship between them and the system.”

[I can’t help but recall that Albino deer from back then at the mention of the divine beasts. But it didn’t look any different from a normal deer. It looked more normal than my Wolf for being such a magical creature.]

“Anyways, so, todays attempt showed us that we do have a need to make changes to the potion. So, I would like for you to come here in the morning.”

“Oh! So, it can potentially be even faster?!”

“No! I have decided that going beyond todays growth per day, will be too out of the norm from normal. I have decided to settle on a more compatible potion that we can dilute to keep it safe for you. It still shouldn’t affect our data collection too much.”

“Thank you for keeping an eye out for me Mr. Damien.”

“No need to thank me. It is my duty. I think we should have our dinner before it goes too cold.”

Says the Mage as he gets up, beaconing the other towards the dining room.

After the dinner, on the way to his home,

[That was a lot of information to take in on one day. But the gains today are totally worth 10 headaches like these! I finally feel like I’ve made the preparations to take my first step in finding my answers.]

-To be continued.