Part Sixty-One

It took five minutes before my body settled down. Even after the pain faded, chills had wracked my entire body, causing goosebumps all along my skin. Clearly I’d been close to screwing up again, though I was confused as to how something so comforting, could hurt me so badly.

And yet, I could still feel the warmth from that little sphere. Whatever it was, was still there.

What do I do? It seems like a good thing, but what if it’s the equivalent of a magical tumor? Something good shouldn’t have hurt me that bad just by tugging on it a little. Maybe, maybe Insight can tell me something? No, probably not. Insight is supposed to be for stuff connected to the System, and while I have managed to learn things only remotely related, this is probably too far off. Damn it. Though maybe my first guess was right, and this is my life force.

Though I do have one clarification from all this. Considering the way my mana crisscrosses through that little sphere, they’re probably connected in some way. Heck, this energy may even be what helped me to finish the glyphs for Kalia’s Ritual the other day. I never did figure out what happened, though I was busy right after all that happened.

So the main takeaway is that I found this strange new energy inside me, but it hurts when I try to touch it. Insight is useless in explaining it, so I’ll need a different source to fully understand what happened. And I’d like to see if I can utilize it somehow, though I’ll hold off on that one. It hurt too much to try experimenting with it now,

*Beepbeep beepbeep* *Beepbeep Beepbeep* *Beepbeep Beepbeep*

Oh, guess it’s almost time. I should hurry back. I don’t want to hold us up. That would just be dumb.

***

“So let’s go over this again. I’m supposed to go up to him, and directly tell him I need to talk with him? Wouldn’t that just put him on-edge? I don’t want to do something that’ll turn him off from talking with me.”

*It should be fine. He’s not that obstinate. If you take the time to pointedly tell him you want to talk, then he’ll come to you, no matter how grudgingly.*

“Okay. Then I can do this.”

The two women walked into the room housing the fort's teleportation array, scanning the crowd for Michael.

“I don’t see him. He is coming, right?”

*He’d never miss something like this. He might just have lost track of the time momentarily. He’ll be here before long.*

“Ah, all right. So I just wait for him. I can do that. Oh look, it’s Cameron!”

“Kalia, Alicia. Where’s Michael?”

“He hasn’t arrived yet. Alicia thinks he’s just running a little behind.”

“It would be like him to get too wrapped up in his preparations. He’ll be here soon.”

A thought occurred to her. She’d only asked one of the people closest to Michael about how do reconcile their situation. Why not ask the other?

***

Eugh, it’s still there. I could still feel the ball of energy, though now I was hyperaware of it. It was like when you notice a mosquito bite, and it starts to itch uncontrollably. All I’d need to do was just forget about it, but that was hard when my every breath and heartbeat seemed to emphasize its presence. I might want task around and see if anyone else knew what this thing was.

Who could I ask? Kalia would be a good candidate, but considering how I left things, it might be better not to. I could ask one of the NPCs, but that kind of sounds like it could lead to more trouble. Again, I want a User’s manual..

Ideally, I’d like to get this mystery wrapped up as quickly as possible, but without any leads, it looked to be impossible. I’d need to look at this from another angle if I wanted to solve the mystery.

And with that shoved to the backburner, can now move onto the next problem: the Orc General. I’m not letting that damn pig survive this encounter. It dies, today.

With that thought, I finally reached the teleportation room, which was nearly full now. This was undoubtedly the biggest group to be sent on a single mission. And because of the size of the crowd, it took me a few minutes to find Alicia and Cameron, though I received a shock once I did.

Why is Kalia with them!? Why and how did she get to talking with them? I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

I almost hesitated to walk over to them, but it wasn’t like I could just ignore them. It would be better to just get this over with.

“There you are lad. I was getting worried.”

“Sorry I’m a little late. Something came up that I had to deal with.”

“Nothing dangerous I hope?”

“I don’t know. It’s something about myself that I’ll need to work out on my own. Could be nothing though.”

“Well alright. If you need some help, you know where to get it.”

“Thanks.”

It was nice to know Cameron was still willing to help me. I thought that most people would be more upset by the whole incident. Like Alicia. She was currently glaring at me again. Kalia stood beside her, gently whispering to either Alicia, or herself. After a few more seconds, she finally decided to make her way over to me, causing me to stiffen up.

I certainly hadn’t anticipated this. I thought she’d try to keep her distance from me outside of dangerous situations, not come right up to me.

“Michael? I want, no, I need to talk with you. I know you might not want to, but I really think this might be in both our best interests. Just, please just try.”

It wasn’t fair. I could with all kinds of emotions directed my way. Spite, fear, malice, anger, they’d all roll off of me, but this? Sincerity was the hardest thing for me to shrug off.

“……Fine. Fine, but after this. We don’t have nearly enough time for this.”

“Okay. And thank you.”

I’m not sure what you’re thanking me for. I don’t think this is a good idea in any capacity, but I don’t think I have much choice.

I was quite right about not having time now,, as no soon after Kalia returned to Braddock and the others, the Archmage began to speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? What I am about to tell you is of the utmost importance. What you are about to undertake could very well determine the fates of everyone residing within the fort. This battle will be a tipping point, with the victor grasping the momentum of this war. I will personally ensure that whoever takes the Orc General’s head will receive the highest honor this fort can bestow on someone.”

The Archmage’s final statement sent ripples through the crowd. The rewards from completing missions were already coveted, so the promise of even greater rewards spurred the others on. Though some realized the difficulty of the feat, as I saw a few glance towards me. This was the same monster I’d tried and failed to kill earlier, and had suffered nearly fatal injuries for it. The General wouldn’t go down easy.

“I’d like to say a few words as well.”

It appeared we were in for a second speech, as Braddock spoke up before the Archmage began his spell. With his helmet off and a look of pure determination, he easily affixed everyone’s gazes onto himself.

“Listen, what we’re about to do is far more dangerous than anything any of us has ever done. This won’t just be a battle against a single powerful monster, but against a whole group of them. If we don’t pool our strength, we’ll be picked off one-by-one and slaughtered wholesale. These are enemies that most of us have trouble fighting in groups, let alone in one-on-one combat. What I’m saying, is that we should throw away our petty desires in favor of the greater good. If none of us are alive, who stands to benefit? Definitely not us.”

Splendid, splendid. I couldn’t have said it better, not that I would’ve even tried. His speech was enough to bring even the most stubborn of people to his side, at least temporarily. Looks like we’ll be united for this battle.

“I know we don’t have enough time to learn how to work together effectively, so all I’ll ask is that we all help one another. Aid those in danger, fight the stronger monsters together. Without that, there’s no tomorrow for any of us.”

Aaaand there’s the rub. I have absolutely no intention of sharing the pig with anyone. It’s my kill, and my kill alone. But how to keep the others out of the fight? Hm, wasn’t the Orc….? Yes, that could work.

With his plea made, Braddock turned control back to the Archmage, who graciously accepted and announced that he was about to begin casting. That meant we had about five or ten minutes left. We were forced to wait for the moment. Cameron and I stood together, while Alicia stood a bit off to the side. I wasn’t sure if it was because Observer’s effects were still active, or if she was still mad.

“Lad. Alicia’s still upset with you.”

Did I say that out loud? No, I didn’t. Maybe my expression gave it away?

“I noticed. She’s been glaring at me nonstop for a while now, and I think she may have gone and done something to trouble me. Can’t say it’s not deserved, but it is overkill. By the way, are you alright to be up yet?”

“All the mages cleared me. Said that the poison was completely flushed from my system, and that so long as I felt alright, I could fight if I wanted to. So here I am.”

“Well alright then. Got to say, it’s good to have you back. Fighting with just the two of us is a lot harder. Having you around really helps to alleviate the difficulty of battle.”

Cameron didn’t respond to that, but looked towards the Archmage, who was just finishing up his spell. I’d noticed Cameron had been acting odd here and there, but didn’t take much notice of it. Everyone was dealing with their own demons right now, so I figured he was too. But now, I was starting to get worried. He seemed more preoccupied than normal, and I didn’t like the way he reacted to my praise. Did I say something bad?

I didn’t get a chance to ask, as the Archmage finished just then. Just before the spell fully activated, he yelled one last time.

“I’m sending you a short distance from the clearing! The mages with you know the way, so let them guide you! May fortune bless you all!”

And with that, the spell activated, turning the world white.

***

It was almost time. Ever since that battle, all of the urges it felt had been directed towards one human. It was almost painful. The desire to rip him apart consumed his every waking thought. It was so bad, that it had been forced to use its influence to force the humans into a desperate battle, all for the chance to finally settle this burning grudge it felt. And now, he could feel him ever so slightly at the edge of his consciousness. It didn’t even care that other humans were with him. They were just obstacles to the true fight it was destined for. So long as they didn’t interfere, it wouldn’t care even if every other monster died.