“Any world?” Dallion asked. “If I go to a world with no humans, will I change bodies again?”

The fury laughed.

“You’re afraid to be the only one of your kind? Eury didn’t seem too bothered. But no, you’ll remain what you are—human in every way. That means you won’t be able to use magic like the race that inhabits the world. Sometimes you might risk being killed or captured for research. After all, what would happen if I suddenly appeared in your world?”

That was a good point. If an elf appeared on Earth, the world would go mad. With everyone having mobile phones, such an event would break the net. Following that, most likely the elf would be captured and taken away for research. That’s how it happened in nearly all games and movies, and there was no indication real life would be any much different.

“Going into a world other than your own comes with its risks. There’s always the chance you get lucky, although don’t count on it too much. Your luck won’t be as good as it’s here.”

“There’s a hidden luck stat?”

“No,” Jiroh laughed. “There might well be, though. The Moons grant greater luck to the ones they find interesting. Haven’t you noticed how easily you found certain things? Your harpsisword, for one thing. By now, you probably know you don’t have nearly enough money to buy that. Even the general will have a difficult time finding one. Not to mention your familiars, and all the times you survived when you shouldn’t have. The Moons don’t want to carry a person too much, but every now and again they give a substantial shove forward.”

Entering an unfamiliar world with no special items, skills, or luck… not to mention that he’d be treated as a monstrosity. Then again, maybe it would be a place worth visiting. The sad truth was that he needed to know a lot more about the worlds before venturing there.

“There’s always the possibility you will manage to find your way back here,” Jiroh continued. “Personally, I’d advise against venturing into another world. Not unless you have a very good reason.”

“What’s your world like?”

The fury sighed, her clothes changing color to the point they became pure white.

“You know I can’t tell you that? In the end, I’m not Jiroh, just your mental image of her with a few pieces of information given to me by the Moons. I know as much about the worlds as you see. I can tell you a lot about your own world, though.”

Funny, Dallion thought.

He spent a while going from door to door. From what he could see, every world seemed a hospitable place, with the exception of that belonging to the dwarves. Underground tunnels were just not Dallion’s thing, and if he had to spend the rest of his life there, things would be pretty dark in every sense of the world.

Any advice you can give me, Felygn? Dallion asked.

If there was any time for the Moon to be helpful, now would be it. However, after waiting for several seconds, Dallion found that this time he was on his own.

“What about Eury’s world?” Dallion asked once he got back to the door he’d come in from.

“No one can return to the gorgon’s world. Why do you think she’s so set on staying here? It’s not just because she has achieved something. There simply is no way for her to do so. She used to search, hoping that she’d find a way. After a while, she just gave up.”

So going with Euryale was no option. That was unfortunate. Her world was one of the ones Dallion wished he could visit, only with her, of course.

“Can I take Eury to my world?”

Jiroh shook her head. The offer, most probably, was only for the awakened taking the trial. Both Jiroh and Eury had been offered and had rejected it, for whatever reason. Maybe that was why the fury had been searching for a way back—half a lifetime of regrets for not making the choice when she had the chance? Either that or she needed a while to prepare for losing her awakened abilities. There was no argument, having the powers felt good. Losing them was a sacrifice in every sense in the word. Until now, Dallion had been spared the dilemma by the fact that the choice never existed.

“What if I don’t choose?” he asked.

“You can spend the rest of your life going throughout the world trying to find an alternative way to your world. There are a few. I assume the Moons like to offer their favorites a way out. After all, what more interesting than watching the strives of someone?”

So, there still was a chance for Dallion to get lucky. Or maybe he’d keep on living with regret. One thing was rather interesting, though: why was this challenge given to him now and not on the next trial? This sounded like a gate challenge: a choice that he had to make so as to continue with his advancement.

“I just walk through?” Dallion asked.

“That’s the idea.”

“Is there a time limit?”

“Nope. You can stay here for centuries if you wish. It doesn’t change the fact that you’ll have to return to a world, whether it’s the world you are in now, your own, or one completely different.”

Waiting wasn’t going to help Dallion make his decision. Even so, he did that anyway. Hours, possibly days, passed with him looking through the arches at the worlds that could be. Little new happened as he watched. The weather changed in a few of them, as did the day and night, though again there was no telling whether he was seeing the actual world, or what he imagined it would be like.

After all that time, Dallion had cut down his choices to three. He could go back to his world. That was the safest bet. Everything experienced would have been like a dream, although his memories and the flaws he’d defeated would be the same. In a way, it would feel like having a second life: knowledge he’d acquired through experience would be available to him while before college. Dallion had chuckled at the thought of starting college after already having saved a city.

The second option would be to forego his chance of going home and continue in this world. He already had an established path, and he had achieved a fair number of things. The only issue was that he had no idea what the future held. If the Star ended up being successful, there was the risk that another race—possibly humanity—would end up banished. In that case, he’d be stuck as an item guardian for a very long time.

Finally, there was the wildcard option: going to the world of the furies. While he would be the only human in that world, the general similarity between him and the locals would allow Dallion to remain undetected, at least from a distance. That was also the option of relying on Jiroh for help and shelter. The fury was more than likely to make it there as well, so if the standard rules were anything to go by, her entering her own world would happen the same time as Dallion, regardless of how many years had passed.

No, Dallion thought. While there was some minor attraction, that wasn’t the world for him. The only other-race world he really wanted to go was that of Euryale, as long as she came along.

“You’ve come to a decision?” Jiroh asked. All this time, she had remained in the room, sitting quietly in the center.

“You’re an echo, so you know I have,” Dallion replied.

“I still have to make sure it’s final,” the fury insisted.

“I know. There’s no turning back. But does that make it a trial?” Dallion asked. “No matter what I choose, I’ll succeed.”

“In a way. If you show your dedication to this world, the Moons would have considered you making the correct choice and will reward you. In all other cases, your leveling will end and you’ll lose all that you’ve achieved. That’s clearly a loss, I’d say.”

From the view of this world, it was. At present, Dallion had to agree.

“Thanks, Jiroh,” he said, then split into a dozen instances and walked out with two of them the same way he had come in. The fury didn’t attack, but surprisingly, the moment one of Dallion’s instances walked past the door’s threshold, he was forced into it.

You’ve broken through your thirty-ninth barrier.

Your level has increased to 39.

Choose the focus that will serve you best.

So, it was a trial of logic, Dallion thought as he increased his perception.

Are you confident in your choice? Nil asked. You could have returned home.

Maybe I could have. But there are more things here than back on Earth. For now.

As long as you’re confident in your choice, that’s what’s important.

Were you given a similar trial?

Something of the sort, the echo replied evasively. All I can say is that your decision was a lot better than mine.

Not wishing to have a long conversation with his guardians, Dallion returned to the real world. The trial had been completely non-physical, but he still felt starving. Apparently, he had spent more time making his decision than he originally thought.

Since he was still a bit low on funds, after his sky silver purchase, Dallion went to Hannah’s inn to get some food. The usual long conversation with Aspan followed, during which a lot was discussed about life and the various worlds.

Aspan’s home world was at the same time far more technologically advanced than Dallion’s and far less. Physics, molecular biology, and genetics—as far as Dallion could make out—had reached their pinnacle due to the copyette’s nature, allowing for the creation of non-sentient automated devices in society. Electricity and electronics remained largely ignored, even steam was regarded more as a means of amusement than anything serious. However, that didn’t stop from a bustling entertainment sector to focus on organic computers and displays, using a combination of vibrations and pheromones for “wi-fi.” On Earth that would have created huge lags, but having entities that created copies of themselves for thousands of miles provided a pretty good equivalent. Aspan referred to it as the “copy-network” and it allowed virtually anyone to interact with one another via pools that constructed physical, organic copies of the person in question. The closest thing that Dallion could imagine was virtual reality, but in which everything was real. In turn, Dallion explained the wonders of the internet and electricity. Aspan seemed to get a general grasp, but didn’t see the technology as impressive or even remotely suitable for his world.

Shortly after noon, Dallion left and went back to the forge, where he spent the day mostly doing nothing. There were a lot of things he could forge, but he had no desire to. After everything he was feeling anxious, waiting for midnight so he could complete his final leveling before the gate.

If you aren’t working, why drag me here? Onda grumbled.

Because he enjoys your company, the armadil shield said. Also, he wants to show you off. Doesn’t that make you happy?

The hammer guardian didn’t respond. Slowly, he had started getting used to the banter of Dallion’s inner realm. For the most part, he’d started to feel at home, although he was still extremely cautious in front of Harp. One might also say that he behaved as if in the presence of royalty. However, Vihrogon was close to that as well, and didn’t receive the same reverence.

“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty to do in a bit,” Dallion whispered, looking at the sky through the small window.

Three of the Moons were up, including the Green Moon. Soon they would pass the point of the sky marking the midnight hour, and then the final trial could begin.