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Venturing the Worlds (Second part of Venturing series / World Hopping)

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Chapter 60
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    • Venturing the Worlds – 60


    Magnus eyed Monty's house, though that was an understatement. The man lived in a veritable mansion, which he was sure was ninety percent empty, or ninety percent filled with trophies of all kinds; he leaned to the latter.

    Four floors high, a massive entrance with Greek-style columns and a door large even for the man. Magnus chuckled as he could see the magic weaved around the construction, aimed to keep the place from being broken in. He found it funny because he could have slipped past, but he was here as a visit after all.

    So he just stepped forward and rang the bell.

    Monty didn't make himself wait, the mountain of a man opened the door. "Magnus, come inside." He gestured, making him follow.

    The inside of the mansion was more or less what he expected, wooden floor, darker than it appeared given the amount of windows. And just as expected, it was filled with trophies and artifacts, from normal animals to many impressive monsters, from pieces of art to highly magical, ancient artifacts.

    The man guided him to a study room, taking a chair for his size and inviting him to sit too, which he did.

    "Thank you for seeing me this quickly." Magnus said.

    "It's not a problem, now that I've left my position to Gina I've come to find myself with a lot of free time." Monty said in good humor, but quickly turned more serious, "I should have known you would be the first to stumble onto that particular secret."

    "Unfortunately Lies and such don't work on me." He admitted. "Like how you're not what you show to be."

    Monty went stiff for a moment before breaking out in laughter. "I should stop underestimating you when you say you can see through all lies."

    He shrugged. "I am the Titan of Truth and Lies." His voice reverberated in the room for a moment. "It comes with its perks and problems."

    The man nodded. "Ayane's situation is a particular one, as far as we know she's the last survivor of a race that died a long time ago, the Amonians." Magnus could feel the honesty in his words. "For a long time she had been sealed, but a few decades ago my grandfather found a way to give her a normal life, or at least a chance at it.
    "Normally she would have long since gone crazy from the Psionic Venom released by their creators. But Exthilion managed to find a way to give her a human body. All that was left was the Curse in her eyes."

    "It's not a Curse." He quickly corrected him. "There's something in her eyes, something old and hateful. It's actually impressively strong given that it's completely sealed and still affects things like that."

    Monty grumbled and rubbed his chin and beard. "That… that would explain some things."

    "I can understand why you would call them cursed, but they aren't Curses. They are tools of domination, hate and enslavement."

    "And how exactly can you know that?" Monty asked.

    "Because I, or at least my original, have been to my uncle's royal treasury; though it's more of a vault of the trash accumulated from the previous kings." He answered. "I've seen very ancient and evil things. Tools of domination, torture and worse."

    Monty grumbled, rubbing his chin as he looked half in anger and half in understanding.

    "I will need to speak with my grandfather, it angers me that the nature of her predicament was hidden from me, though I understand why he didn't tell anyone. Unfortunately the Psionic Poison still exists, A'Monn'Rah was a downright son of a bitch." He grumbled.

    "Unfortunately if it's psionic it's outside of my repertoire of abilities." Magnus could feel himself grumble too. "For that you need my brother, Milo's the psychic and healer of us three. Other than him the next one is my older sister Amber, but I don't think you want an invasive species like her." He laughed awkwardly.

    "And now I'm curious to ask."

    "Amber's one of my father's first creations, a queen bee that is psychically active and connected to every member of the hive." He explained. "Of course, like most things my father creates he goes overboard. Amber's in charge of half a dozen biospheres, connected to about ninety percent of insects around and capable of pushing that combined might to alter reality."

    The man snorted. "Reminds me of some of the species that live in Jade." He offered.

    "Ah, before I forget." He hadn't, but it felt correct to say it. "I finished dealing with the items you left for me." He retrieved a suitcase, it had been enchanted to have some extra space inside, enough to hold each of them.

    "Excellent, I hope you're not insulted if I check properly." He said. "But if all is as I expect you'll have done me a great favor by soon disposing of some much more dangerous items."

    The large man carefully picked a tiny monocle and placed it on his eye. The sheer size difference made it almost invisible as he slipped a pair of enchanted gloves before taking the objects inside the suitcase and checking them one by one.

    "Well, well, well, color me impressed, you really dealt with these nasties quite thoroughly," he praised.

    "Thank you, it certainly helped me get a few ideas for Curses of my own." He grinned.

    "Excellent." Monty pushed himself off his chair. "Follow me."

    Magnus nodded, following the mountain of a man through the mansion. They made their way to the basement before Monty pulled his shotgun from his pocket space. He couldn't help but to feel awed the man had gone and turned the massive weapon, which he wielded single-handedly with ease, into a magic focus, and a quite potent one at that.

    He pushed the muzzle against a particular brick before pulling on the trigger. Along with the explosion there was a click before the wall slid aside, revealing a path downwards. Fun fact, it wasn't the only secret door he could see in the room.

    Magnus kept silent as they went down, the path curved and snaked around before opening to a massive underground cavern, one large enough for a truly titanic dragon along with the riches that said individual would hold.

    He just raised an eyebrow as he looked at Monty, the ex-Dragon chuckled. "I collected a lot during my years, would you believe me the biggest catches didn't come until I was like this?"

    "Yes, yes I would. As much as Dragons are greedy, Humans have such untainted curiosity and Luck to wander into treasure that just having been made in their form can have an effect." He answered, and it was True. It was one of those funny things across the Worlds.

    He wouldn't go out of his way to call it a balance thing. It was just a quality of what made Humans Human. That curiosity, that will to discover, that thing that pushed them further and allowed them great things.

    "Over here." Monty pointed as they walked past mountains of treasure and riches.

    Piles of objects that would make a man rich for multiple lives, and none that truly called to Magnus in any way shape or form. Gold, precious stones and other pieces of art were fantastic, but completely empty of worth for him; he could certainly do much better than most things around.

    The magic items held some more interest, but at the end it was an academic interest he held in them. At most he was interested in their material composition if it was rare enough. But it would feel shameful to destroy them, even if they were just collecting dust.

    The further they walked the smaller the piles became, slowly shifting into glass cabinets, either just for better show of their contents, or outright containment.

    They soon reached a junction, to one side he could feel incredible Power, to the other he could feel the Curses. They obviously headed for the latter, as much as he would have liked to poke at those in the first direction.

    They soon stepped into a small room carved into a side of the cavern. It was obviously not natural as he could sense the reinforcements that kept the chamber up and everything inside completely contained. The Curses were strong enough that a normal person may have straight up died from being this close. Even Monty appeared a bit uncomfortable, to Magnus it looked like a buffet.

    "Okay, you've got my full attention."

    The man laughed. "As you can see, I've made sure to keep more than a few troublesome things off the wild in these many years."

    Magnus eyed the cabinets… Well, it was the wrong way to call them. Each was more like a maximum security prison. He could feel the Cursed ones actively wanting to break out, though not all of them were Curses.

    "Uh, what's that one?" He pointed to a completely blacked container.

    "I don't honestly know, but the crystal seemed to grow when watched," Monty answered, sounding a bit frustrated, "since it went from a pinky's nail to the size of a football in the matter of a few seconds, I decided it would be bet if I just placed it somewhere it wouldn't be seen."

    Magnus nodded, that sounded like a gray-goo scenario just waiting to happen if all it needed was to be observed. He restrained himself from trying to see through the container and let the thing lie. Honestly, he could say it was quite impressive that the magic in the container had kept everything inside from being observed by somehow nullifying Light and Dark. But he would not be bringing such a weakness to himself up to attention if possible.

    Instead Monty guided him through a few very cursed weapons, that while incredibly Cursed, weren't exactly special in his eyes. It was incredibly easy for him to devour Curses of Bloodlust, Berserker or Blooddrinker. They were the bread and butter of Curses for Weapons, you slapped them on a weapon and in exchange for your sanity or morality you got a huge boost in power. They also tended to grow stronger the more used, ending as terrible, terrible things like those he was dealing with.

    Some other Curses actually took time and work. While Souls was definitely not his field of expertise, he could certainly, though carefully, break a series of chained spirits that had been twisted together into some sort of spirit/mind for a similarly Cursed set of armor.

    Thankfully the main Curse wasn't aimed to meld them together, meaning that while not in any way, shape, or form to be restored, he could allow them to pass on. It would most likely take a good chunk of their time in the cycle of reincarnation before they untangled. But it was best to leave it to nature to deal with rather than forcing things.

    The worst was a Cursed cannon that fed on innocent Souls to unleash a massive and incredibly destructive spell. The really worst part was that it didn't force its user in any way, instead it had been knowingly used so many times that it was Cursed from the sheer wicked use.

    The sentiment had been shared by Monty who had utterly destroyed the thing once the Curse had been dealt with. The sense of gratitude they felt was hard to ignore, but all they could do was hold a moment of silence for all of those that now had found some sort of peace.

    There were also a small number he had to leave as they were, mainly those that had Souls too deeply embedded in the Curse or were practically living things that were held alive and in comma by the Curse. Those unfortunately would need his brother's help to deal with.

    And then were the ones that just weren't Curses, just like the unnoticed crystal.

    "Those aren't Cursed," he announced as he looked at the set of nine ten-sided dice, "I mean, they are so incredibly magical that I'm impressed. But they are more just sheer Randomness given physical shape."

    "Are you sure? There's a lot of registered Curses related to their use." Monty inquired.

    "Okay, I can see how that would happen. But those aren't Cursed, they are damn Wild Magic Dice, and nine of them? That's about a billion possible results, and I doubt we've the list to make sure we aren't rolling for the chance of becoming Gods."

    He wasn't lying, they weren't Cursed, but they may as well be. Someone had gone and distilled pure Chance into a set of nine dice. Rolling one most likely only resulted in almost imperceptible things, two or three most likely party tricks, four and five most likely entered in danger or funny territory. But things would quickly roll out of control from seven onwards.

    Rolling the nine Dice could end up in a cataclysmic event. Someone either was a complete asshole, or had found a way to fudge the numbers. Though he was pretty sure if it was the latter they were so dead it wasn't even funny. Chance and Karma were bitches after all.

    "So all those cases were just bad rolls?" He asked.

    "Yes," he replied dryly, "I do not want to think about the worst case scenario. But again, with nine dice? That's when the sun suddenly collapses or turns into pudding territory."

    Monty broke out in laughter. "Oh god, that's hilarious." As stomped the ground as he bent over. Magnus felt his eyes go wide open as the man had made the cabinet shake enough that nearly half of the dice bounced.

    Monty swiftly realized what he had done. "Oh fuck…"

    They watched as the dice stopped moving and starting to glow. Instantly he felt the tug, giving Monty a look. "Fuck y-"


    Monty could only watch as very powerful magic grabbed Magnus whole self and made him disappear. He winced as he could feel part of the magic, it was definitely a teleportation spell. But so rich in chaos that he just couldn't tell where the man had exactly been sent.

    He looked at the dice with a new gained fear. He thought the man had been overestimating them. But just five dice had been enough to cast a spell of that category in an instant, nine would definitely be a very bad idea.

    He would need to replace the cabinet. He had originally thought that they would only activate when actively rolled. But now it turned out that even just a shake could activate them. He would need to make sure they couldn't move at all.

    And worse, he would need to contact Diggers and tell him he had just lost his daughter's boyfriend. Not that he feared Theodore, but he had seen the kind of weapons his daughter favored. He hoped the man gave signs of life before all hell broke loose.

    Though for some reason, he didn't fear Magnus dying. No, what he feared worse was what the man would do while away, or when he came back.

    Maybe if Monty saw to talk with grandfather Exthilion before he could soften the punch. Yeah… he would see to contact the ancient dragon as soon as possible, after he made sure the dice couldn't be rolled by accident again.


    Magnus didn't finish cursing as he had been drilled by his father that the first thing you did when you were suddenly teleported against your will was make sure your arrival went as unnoticed as possible.

    A Lie swiftly wrapped around his presence and he moved away from the spot he had landed without making a noise. Unfortunately all the Chaos and Randomness from the damned Dice had made it impossible to fully hide his entrance.

    At least having moved from the spot allowed him to observe the area he was in, even as the place started to become active.

    He seemed to have landed in some kind of lush cavern, the whole area was carpeted in a soft-looking grass, gentle meadows hid a few bodies of water and the whole area was lit from some variety of magical crystal.

    The only living being he could see was some kind of Mushroom Nymph, the woman-shaped fungi had been lying in wait, or more likely at rest. They looked like massive, purple mushrooms until they had stood up and approached the spot he had arrived.

    They were sniffing the air and trying to find him, thankfully his Lie held against their attempts. The most surprising thing was the fact that they were definitely speaking English, albeit a heavily accented one. Not that he would have had much problem if they spoke any other language.

    "Something came." "I smell nothing." "Have you finally gone crazy?" "Did your roots dry?" "I can taste the magic but nothing else." "Magic, magic, magic, is that all you can talk?" "I was sweet flesh!" "Sweet flesh and warm blood!"

    Carnivorous mushroom nymphs. He didn't sense actual danger, but he had barely arrived and knew not what lay around. Even worse, the Chaos made it very hard for him to find where he was. The most he could find was that he was very deep underground.

    Deciding that staying would just be just asking for problems, he melded into the shadows and quickly displaced himself towards one of the many tunnels heading out.

    He was careful to keep to the shadows even as he maintained the Lie around him, passing by some other predators. Massive Spider-taurs, Psychodellic Slugs, what he was pretty sure was some flavor of Mindflayer, Moss Bats, Rock Rats, a whole zoo. And everything ate everything else.

    As he went by, and admired the fauna and flora, he started to put together that he was in some sort of pocket dimension, or at least one of Earth's expanded spots. The few scanning spells that worked pointed that he was a few thousand kilometers underground, an area that would definitely not look like this.

    It also felt strangely disconnected to Earth, almost as if he was actually on Jade instead. Magnus guessed that the pocket space may actually exist between both Realms as a sort of air bubble.

    The tunnel he was sneaking through soon opened to a much larger tunnel. Though it could only be called as such because it was a tube that went from one side to another. It was large enough to put a few transatlantic ships one over the other. It wasn't also a simple tunnel, he could feel in the Darkness that spread as far as he could feel that it was just one of a massive web of tunnels.

    He allowed the Lie to vanish, effectively making him visible, and without much aim he started moving. Just in case he retrieved the Sheikah Grimoire, Iris and Question. He wasn't entirely sure about having named the Ax a pun, but he felt happy about it.

    And as empty as the area had seemed, it only took a few minutes before he was jumped by monsters. Foolish of them, to not have realized he was just bored.

    It turned out that the large tunnel was indeed used as a road, and a roaming band of beings acted like bandits to any passerby. A Minotaur, a small Spider-taur, two Goblins and some kind of Hyena man ambushed him by coming out of one of the side tunnels. Not that he was sure about their species, but it was the easiest way to call each one for what they appeared.

    The Minotaur was at the front, the being was pure muscle and about three times his height, making the bovine fellow have to look down at him as he leaned on the cheap axe that was as big as him. Just behind him was the Hyena and half-hidden behind some rocks were the two goblins, lastly the Spider-Taur was keeping himself at a distance, which was smart since they held a large bow and a wicked set of arrows.

    "Fresh meat," he said and grinned, revealing very poor dental hygiene, "drop your belongings and I will make your pathetic life end quickly."

    It wasn't the first time he had been mugged, or at least attempted to be mugged. It was a matter of life that it happened from time to time when he went out. Honestly some were downright sad and more than once he had just taken the guy to a side and talked them into getting a better life along with giving them some money. Also a healthy fear of the Dark just to keep them in line.

    For these fools he instantly knew he wouldn't need to do anything. He had felt the movement coming from far-far away, the soft ground of the base of the cave shifting as a massive thing moved fast, very fast. It was like a several hundred meters long object moving faster than high-way speeds through the terrain.

    But what he really felt was the hivemind. It was a tiny speck compared to the ones he had been part of when connected to Amber's Hive, or even the normal Network he had grown in. But it felt so strangely familiar. So many specks moving with one goal.

    He saw the few faster scouts move in and quickly bent backwards. The surprise in the burly Minotaur was short lived as he got swiftly taken out by two members of the hivemind. Chaos swiftly broke out.

    He observed the attackers, they were humanoid with a heavy inclination towards speed. It wasn't just their long and thin limbs that ended in long, and dangerous-looking claws, it was the single horn growing back from their head and spines growing down their back, giving them an aerodynamic-look to their silhouette, same with the spikes growing out of their elbows. And that wasn't even taking into account the organic-looking thrusters on the back of their shoulders used to propel their movements. They were also quite colorful, their dual-color design made them look almost armored as their fronts were a matte black and the back half a bright orange.

    Magnus couldn't shake that sense of familiarity and kept his hand from dealing any lethal, or heavily damaging blows. Easily dodging or parrying the attacks by these beings.

    Same couldn't be said for the bandits. The Spidertaur was the first to fall, to large to escape these small and nimble attackers, if anything there were merciful to make their death swift, joining the Minotaur. The hyena and the two goblins weren't as lucky.

    Their smaller size, higher speed and agility allowed them to dodge the immediately lethal attacks. But that only meant they took debilitating blows, painful injuries that made them panic. One of them used a very ill-advised explosive, taking out the Hyena as the hive-connected beings had reacted with extreme speed to move away from the explosion's reach.

    Magnus felt a bit of pity, the two shorter beings, mauled more by their own hands than their attackers would die. But waiting was just asking for trouble. Iris responded to his command and with the whip of his sword two throats were severed in the blink of an eye.

    Of course, with their death he was the only non-hive-connected being in reach, meaning there were suddenly a few dozen beings focusing on him.

    "This feels strangely familiar." He couldn't help but to comment as they fell on him.

    Their coordination amazed him, the quickness of their learning on his movements that forced him to adapt to them. His main advantage was that he was one and they were many. He wondered if he could get them tired enough for parley, he really wanted to know who they were.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 61
  • Threadmarks

    • Venturing the Worlds – 61


    Magnus hadn't stayed in one place for long, the hivemind's transport was quickly approaching and it didn't seem like it would slow down. He had started to move while dodging the attempts to grab him, just fast enough to slowly allow the transport to shorten the distance between them.

    Said transport turned out to be a giant mollusk, a psychically active one that was definitely bound with the Hivemind. It wasn't too surprising, such a relationship was definitely beneficial for both parties.

    Though it wasn't the strongest psychic signature he had ever felt, he could easily feel a stronger signal riding on the mollusk. It was most likely the hive's leader, and his target if he wanted to parlay.

    Of course just jumping onto the transport and trying to contact them would go badly. They were still trying to snatch him and so far he had managed to keep them from doing more than just touching him. The hardest part was not inflicting any severe damage, but they were learning and it was becoming harder to just dodge them.

    The true problem was that he hadn't had touched his psychic gift, even his original always found Magic to be easier and more to his style. Even the most basic Telepathy had always felt awkward, and right now he needed to dust off said ability if he wanted to communicate properly.

    He noticed another of the beings approaching him from behind, they were using some kind of stealth to keep themselves from being noticed. It wasn't magic nor technology, instead an application of psychic power. But to Magnus it was like they were under a spotlight.

    He shifted to dodge another attack before turning to face the invisible being and quickly booped them on the nose, the action simply stunning them to a stop.

    "I see you." He whispered and moved over them. Funnily enough, the connection had made such surprise spread through the hivemind, giving him the opening to prod at the suddenly stalled network.

    "Hello there." He sent through the network and watched the fireworks. It came through more like a message etched on a brick and thrown through a window than a letter slipped through the door. It was a rustic greeting, but it worked.

    In his -original's- experience, Hiveminds tended to become isolated from other species as they saw anyone that didn't share their connection to be less, or at least be an other. Meaning that his contact with their network, even if completely superficial, had sent every individual into total confusion as he had practically stepped into their community and said 'hello fellow kids'.

    Having touched the network also gave him the ability to observe it a bit better. He could see how it wasn't a single mind, but a few thousand individuals following their Queen. The more he observed it the more he felt a familiarity with them.

    The Queen's voice started to come in stronger, reigning in all the other minds back as Magnus took full advantage to climb his way onto the living transport and sit on one of the armored shells to watch them talk.

    "Target. Equals. Untouched. Target. Equals. Not enemy?"

    "Speech. Equals. Hive. Target. Equals. Us?"

    "They play. Not hurt. Equals. Enjoyable."

    And then there was the Queen, "Silence. Patience. Hear me." Her command seemed to calm down the chaos in a swift fashion.

    It also allowed him to find her, much larger than him, somewhere between three and four meters in height. She wasn't just matte black and a bright yellow, there were also red lines of glowing power that appeared and disappeared from her form. He saw them spread over the mollusk, most likely a sign of their connection.

    His attention upon her didn't go unnoticed. The Queen turned to him, her gaze showed wariness and curiosity.

    "Stranger. Equals. Danger." The Queen's voice sounded feminine to him, or maybe he was comparing her to Amber.

    "I've not hurt any of yours." He sent back, projecting the Truth of it. "I seek communication with you."

    Her glare was accompanied by two of the larger brutes moving to her sides.

    "Human. Equals. Food." She projected. "Mana. Equals. Nourishment."

    He took her words in, giving the mollusk a careful look. The being was definitely too large to live on just food, or at least normal food. It most likely fed on the magic of individuals the rest fed it. Even as constrained and hidden his power was, he would still be a strong magic user to their senses.

    "I'm not human, and your kind reminds me of family." He replied. "I can teach you many things, I can provide many useful things, I seek to learn and teach."

    That little nugget at the end seemed to startle her enough that the whole hive went stiff for a moment. Her whole posture shifted a moment later, guarded but hopeful. Though that wasn't all, he noticed the large being they were now riding say something to her, something he couldn't hear. But it was enough to earn him a chance.

    "Prove it." He understood that she meant the second part. But he had also stated that he wasn't human.

    He stood up, wiping the nonexistent dust off his clothes before he looked straight into her eyes before he started to shift. First into his Zoroark form, sharp teeth, long ears, purple claws and dark fur. She may have seen Werespecies before, so he didn't stop there, his posture shifted as his size increased further.

    It wasn't just in size, yes his body grew almost ten times in height. But it was more than that, his small Titan form was more than physical. His presence spread out, a Lie having less effect especially as he was being observed by enough individuals to see he wasn't mundane. Power flowed from his body, saturating the area around him.

    And once he had fully transformed he sat back down, facing her fully.

    "I'm Magnus, I seek to learn and to teach." He let the Truth flow through his words.

    As much as he could make a Lie sound like the Truth, he could make Truth undeniable. The Queen was taken aback by the honesty in his words, or maybe it was his sheer Titanic presence. But she quickly recovered herself and moved forward.

    "I am Queen Ibis. This. Equals. My Brood. Psi-Kobold." There was pride in her voice, even when faced with such a stronger being. She gestured downwards. "This. Equals. Home. Friend. Psi-snail. We will give you a chance."

    Internally he raised an eyebrow, the pride in her was an impressive thing. Even now he could tell she was looking for an opening to take him down. But maybe the offer was enough to gain him the chance, or maybe it was his personal power, or the words of support the Psi-snail may have given for him. But he could tell that she wasn't lying about wanting to learn.

    He still didn't know where he had ended up exactly and hopefully Queen Ibis could help with that. But it didn't mean he couldn't work in gaining some new allies to their side.


    Genn put the phone down and wondered if it was wrong to feel like she was being punished for having a good life. Magnus had been teleported in a small accident with a magical item and there was no clue of where he ended.

    It felt like a personal insult to her, she was feeling better and suddenly things were coming down once more. She believed her brother was okay and would come back. But she now needed to at least contact the Diggers, hopefully Dr. Diggers could help.

    Unfortunately when she arrived the house was a battlefield. Dao was looking bruised and scuffed when he opened the door. It had been some time since she had seen the Djinni, he had shifted further into looking like a human, only the four arms indicating his non-human nature.

    "Dao?! What happened?" The surprise of seeing the hole in the living room leading down into the lab gave her vertigo.

    "Madrid." The single word explained so much and soured her mood.

    "What did mo-… that woman do?" She growled.

    Dao let out a tired sigh. "She convinced me to turn her into Gina, she used that to trick all of us." He slowly explained, his tone showing his dejection. "She somehow subverted Gina's Hurtbots and network. That and the confusion allowed her to escape to Yl'Dahjim. Seance, Brianna, Britanny, Penny and Charlotte headed in to catch her."

    "And Gina?"

    "We decided she was too emotional and kept her here. But it's been a few hours already and I think we may have to go in." He answered. "What brings you by?"

    She winced when she remembered why she had come. "Magnus was teleported in a magical mishap while he was away. I had come to ask Dr. Diggers for help to find him."

    Now it was Dao's turn to wince. "Mr. and Mrs. Diggers are over in Jade and won't be back for a few days."

    They arrived at the lab where Gina was being held in a force field bubble by one of Brianna's Peebos.

    "Genn! Please tell Dao to let me out! It's been two hours and they haven't come back!" She cried out.

    "Don't worry, Gina, I already decided to let you out." The Djinni man said as he reached to turn the small, floating robot off, allowing the blonde to land safely.

    "Good, I don't trust the others to deal with Madrid after what happened. Unfortunately she put all of my Hurtbots out of commission." She said as she quickly worked on one of the computers. "Dammit!" She punched the table.

    "I will go with you, Gina." Dao said. "I'm a Djinni too and Yl'Dahjim was my home too once upon a time."

    "I'm going too." Genn's words made both of them turn to her. "I don't think I can help when dealing with Madrid, but I know her and she would have taken Seance and the other's attempts to stop her personally. I want to help them."

    "Okay," Gina said, "go pick up the first aid kit in the infirmary and be back in five minutes."

    It only took her three minutes to pick the first aid, and one minute had been making sure Strypp was okay. Seeing the man's state made her understand how far her mother had gone. It only made her more sure to help.

    Gina looked at both of them. "Get ready, the transport beam's fully charged and coordinates are locked in, be ready for anything once we land." Her tone was hard and Genn felt a shiver at seeing her like this.

    Still, Dao and her nodded as the blonde woman hit a large, red button and suddenly the laboratory was replaced by a ruined plaza lit in an orange light under a cloudy sky.

    Instantly Genn felt her heart freeze and clench as around them were their friends, laying still and grievously-

    "Seance!" She felt her eyes quickly moisten up even as she wanted to deny what she was seeing. The half-burnt form of the man she loved just laid on the ground.

    "Wha- Genn?!" Seance opened his eyes. "False alarm, it's not Madrid."

    She felt like she was about to sob, the bounce from having thought him dead was making her heart ache.

    "Genn, what happened?" Gina prompted in a hard tone, practically ignoring his looks.

    "We're trying to ambush Madrid." Penny answered for him, her missing pieces making her look grizzly. "Let the illusion go, Seance, the plan's over."

    Genn was feeling conflicted, listening as they retold the events after they had come in. How Madrid had used Gina's Beta Technology to beat them before retreating further into the city and they had decided to set an ambush to deal with her.

    She had moved over to Charlie and was wrapping the Harpy's wounds while she listened. It surprised her that it didn't make her hate her mother, but it was more like she felt disappointed in her.

    As she worked she looked at the are they were in, it was obvious it had been beautiful once upon a time. But now it was reduced to ruins and dust. The orange light cast by the old Magic Sun only added to the depressing atmosphere.

    She had moved to treat Penny's few injuries as the woman tried to stop Gina from heading ahead.

    "Are you nuts, Gina? Madrid has your Beta tech Generator and has no problems using it." Penny called out. "What can you do about that?"

    "I can shut it down." Gina answered, showing her a small metallic object. "I brought the key. Dao, let's go." She told the Djinni and looked at Genn. "You will be leaving with the rest?"

    Genn nodded slowly. "As much as I would like to give my mother what she deserves, I'm just not a fighter. Good luck, Gina, and send her my regards."

    She watched Gina and Dao head up the stairs towards the tower, turning to the rest.

    "Let's go back, staying here won't do us any good." Penny decided before taking them all back to the lab.

    Penny and Britanny quickly left towards the infirmary as Brianna turned towards her, and asked, "Genn, where's Magnus?"

    Genn flinched when she remembered why she had come in the first place. "He… he was out helping Monty with something and there was a small accident with a magical item." She carefully answered. "He was teleported away and now we don't know where he is."

    "…what?" Brianna froze.

    "I only came over to ask Dr. Diggers for help in finding Magnus as Monty says the Chaos released by the Magic Item made it impossible for him to track him." She explained.

    The color on Brianna's face told her exactly what she was thinking. Genn hoped Magnus was okay and could get in contact with them quickly before the blonde did something rash.


    Magnus had been chatting for a few hours with Queen Ibis, learning more about them and their home and transport. They were usually referred as Psi-Kobolds, or just Kobolds, and the being they entered a symbiotic relationship was a Planar Psi-snail.

    It was impressive how deep their relationship went. The Kobolds got a mobile home capable of traveling all kinds of terrains and realm, and the Psi-snail got not only the protection of the hive, but they also became stronger, growing armored panels that doubled as homes for the Kobolds. Effectively becoming a living fortress.

    Though as much as they could communicate, it felt stilted. His Telepathy was too rough from not having ever been used. And he still couldn't make contact with the Psi-snail.

    "This has been informative, but I think there's an easier way to communicate." He offered.

    "Interest me. Continue."

    He nodded and concentrated, this wasn't a spell, technology, or even a psychic ability. It was instead a feature of his mind's architecture. He relaxed and slowly opened the door, inviting the Queen in. She took a moment before taking the invitation.

    His perception split, half remained in the real world while the other stepped into the first layer of his Mind. It was interesting to see that it had taken the appearance of a Hyrulean field, sans monsters and corruption, most likely an effect of the growing Spark of Creation. There was even a shadow of Hyrule castle in the distance, even if he had never visited it, the building was just that iconic in Hyrule.

    The Queen glowed with her power and the support of the hive and the Psi-snail. She looked surprised by his representation as just a mask.

    "This. Better not. Equal. Trap. Deception." The sound of her words stunned her into silence after speaking.

    It was an honest reaction, in his mind, thoughts may as well be plain speech.

    "Don't worry." He said kindly. "Welcome to the first layer of my mind, this area's been used by my family as a way to communicate for a few decades. It allows a better sharing of memories and experiences without touching the actual dangers of our minds."

    "Your implication. Equals. Danger. Trap." She pointed out.

    "In a way it is." He honestly answered. "But not one for you. This first layer is for this, for socializing, talking, sharing memories and experiences. The second layer is for close family, those of us who share similar make. The third is the real danger, where the true nature of our minds reside. That's where the trap is, anything that wandered that deep in search of knowledge would be trapped, incapable of escaping, destroyed by the same thing they desired."

    "Your Intention"

    "Connecting like this allows me to bring up memories in a way that would be impossible in Reality." He answered as he drew a memory from his original.

    She quickly took shape, a regal woman that appeared to be thirty years old, honeyed hair and yellow eyes. She wore a beautifully crafted dress that further added to her appearance.

    "This is Amber, and just like you she's the psychic Queen for her hive, in her case her hive's comprised of insect-kind." He explained, slowly feeding the Kobold Queen his memories and experiences connected with his older sister.

    He observed Ibis, who was still unused to the extra honesty provided by the type of communication, as she was showing open interest and wonder at what she was observing.

    "Just like me, Amber's not human." He explained as the image of his sister shifted, her figure grew a meter in height and half in width, practically a monster compared to her human form.

    A figure covered in golden armor panels, phantasmagoric wings hanging from her back and an even more powerful regal aura, it was transmitted even through his second-hand memories. Her presence was accompanied by her royal guard.

    He, or his original, had only ever seen them once. They were four meters tall, psychically-enhanced weapons of mass destruction. As dumb as a rock, but that meant nothing when all they had to do was follow the hive's commands.

    "Those are just two of her personal soldiers," his words were followed by the many other specialized units, not all of them as dumb, actually most had long since become as intelligent as any human or more, "you can see why I saw a similarity between you and her."

    "You. Not equal. Her." The Queen pointed.

    "I'm not, and even what I can show you about her is what I've observed." He admitted, not seeing a reason to Lie. "But I can teach you about enchanting, magitech and other things."

    He watched as the Queen took in his words and considered them thoroughly. He was glad she wasn't jumping to it. She thought about them for a few minutes, most likely commiserating with her hive and the Psi-snail, before she spoke once more.

    "Then We will learn from. Teacher."

    He felt the chime as the Title clicked into place and instantly the representation of the first layer started to shift. A quake that shook nothing, the Hyrulean plane morphed and twisted.

    "Deceit. Trap!" The Queen let out with more emotion than she intended.

    "You gave me a Title." He answered and couldn't help but laugh a bit at her confusion and panic. "Oh, don't worry, this is just the result of a fitting Title. You see, for my kind Titles are primarily boons, though they bring a few disadvantages. They form our way of thinking and further align us with their concept, on the other hand they restrain us slightly in those actions that go against our Titles."

    The green fields and gentle meadows were now filled with libraries, chalk boards and amphitheaters all aimed to teach and share knowledge.

    "I've always been one that looked for knowledge, but I've enjoyed teaching, the Title Teacher does fit me." He smiled and thanked her once more. "So let's get down to Teaching."

    His grinned to himself and usually wondered, what was his original doing.


    Magnus took a moment to sip some of his tea. Ruby had gotten the leaves by exchanging some of her own with the Dryad, it had a bitter and astringent flavor strong enough that most people would simply reject it. But the powerful perfume it released balanced it quite well and he had never been a picky eater.

    Of course it wasn't the reason they were currently sitting around the same table. Laura was eyeing Ruby in a combination of befuddlement and frustration.

    "What do you mean you met the Boss in the Underground Jungle?" She asked, for the second time.

    Ruby nodded patiently before speaking, "I felt its call and decided to check it out. The Boss turned out to be a massive carnivorous plant." She explained. "Thankfully given that I was accompanied by a pair of Dryad Magends I could primitively communicate with it instead of fighting it."

    "And the seed you mentioned?" Laura prompted.

    "A few Queen Bees attacked while I was there, I took two out and the Boss took the other two. If because of those actions or simply because it felt like it, it handed it to me."

    "You know the danger it presents, right? Because I'm pretty sure I described it pretty well when we're talking about the Mechanical Bosses." Laura said, sounding exacerbated.

    "I know, but I want to study it further." She replied evenly. "I'm pretty sure I can keep it from being affected by the entity behind the Bosses in this World."

    "That's… how would you even do that?" Laura asked in a confused tone.

    "Our ship's capable of traveling outside of the World, we're not from around here." Ruby answered patiently as Magnus made sure there was a potent Lie over them, just in case anyone was trying to peek.

    "That's where my title of Traveler comes from, we travel from World to World, learning, sharing, teaching and such." He added his side of the thing. "We'll stay here for some undefined amount of time before leaving again, taking to the immaterial and exploring further."

    "Does that have to do with the fact that none of you is human?"

    "Not really? More of a funny coincidence, it has more to do with who my father is. But that's a story for another moment." Magnus laughed softly.

    "...you're right. What matters at the moment is that I get ready for a battle with that Boss." Laura said. "I'm really not looking to fight such a massive monster. What can you tell me about it?"

    "I wouldn't bet on it remaining stationary, those vines it used to capture the Queen Bees were definitely strong enough to drag itself around." Ruby answered. "Even then I doubt that's all it can do."

    Laura nodded. "Most Bosses have some sort-of ranged attack. I could see a plant spitting seeds or using pollen."

    "I could enchant an accessory to deal with those." Magnus offered after hearing their talk. "I'm thinking of something that reacts to projectiles by proximity, though it could also be hunting out for them."

    "… you can do that?"

    "Yes, I think I said I specialize in crafting weapons, armor and other accessories." He answered. "You should see the gun I made for this woman a couple Worlds ago, it could destroy a moon."

    "He's leaving out that it worked because of the woman." Ruby quickly added. "Not that he can't create some impressive pieces."

    Magnus gave Laura a look. "I'm thinking of some semi-autonomous constructs, while I'm terrible at crafting Life, nothing says I can imitate it. Do you have any kind of favorite bird?"

    "I… I don't think so?" His question took her by surprise.

    "Don't worry then, I will work something out." He had a few ideas, and that always put him in a good mood.

    And if one of those constructs allowed him to gain some information about the monsters she fought? It was hurting no one.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 62
  • Threadmarks

    • Venturing the Worlds – 62


    Terrel's talk with his younger sister had been… interesting.

    Sharia had always been a wild soul, never further than a few meters from a pet or critter practically since she could walk. She lacked any and all fear for any animal, wild or tamed, and that lack of fear was shared by most animals in kind.

    She practically slept on the family's old dog rather than on her bed, she sang with the birds and fed her leftovers to the mice living in the garden. Similarly she ran with the wolves in the nearby forest, got fish with the bears and cuddled with the snakes on cold days.

    The first few times had been heart stopping for their parents. But with time they all had learned their sister was just connected to the wild in a way none of them could approach. And then the accident had just solidified it.

    With time they had gotten used to it too. The main difference between the before and after was mainly the fox features, the hairy problem during full moons and the fact that his sister preferred to be away from society more than normal. If that had been because she didn't want to pass the curse or an effect of it none of them ever asked.

    So it was rational that he would feel a bit conflicted when someone appeared out of nowhere and offered to modify her curse as if it was nothing and not a part of her.

    He hadn't marched to the house the man occupied with his trusty gun in hand. Instead he had thought about and taken five minutes before approaching him; it certainly had been a sobering thought to know that he had taken a Mechanical Boss alone and without problem.

    The front door was unlocked and the man was inside, Terrel wasn't sure what he expected. A charlatan? A snake-oil seller? A twisted individual who used curses? Instead he found a man hunched over a table working. The only sign of acknowledgment was a raised hand asking for a moment while the other continued working on something.

    An exotic, bird mask appeared on his hand and just like that it was flicked off into the air. In front of the eyes a shadow took shape, colors filled in the silhouette and there was suddenly a black and purple feathered fellow who looked at him with sharp eyes.

    "I apologize for that," the bird, harpy, man said, "my original's currently busy with an important part of the crafting process, would it be okay if we moved outside?"

    With a gesture Terrel accompanied them outside.

    "Let me present myself, I'm Magnus the Traveler, or at least one of his Shadows."

    "Terrel the Arms Dealer, and what do you mean by Shadow?"

    The birdman thought about it before answering, "I, and by that I mean both the main body and me, have a very deep connection to the elements of Light and Darkness. The mask that you saw works like an outline or silhouette, the original casts Light and we're the Shadows that are created."

    "So you're not real?" Terrel asked, skeptically.

    The birdman laughed. "Oh, I'm plenty real." He said with what Terrel was sure was a grin, hard to tell with a beak, and poked at his chest with a large, feathered finger. "But we've gone off on a tangent for too long, what did you need?"

    "I wanted to talk about the offer you gave my sister." He quickly answered.

    "What I offered was pretty straightforward. Her Curse is pretty basic and her connection to Nature seems to have helped her achieve a balance with it. What I offer is an alternate version that gives her further control over the forms." He explained. "It comes with a list of other goodies too."

    "And what do you get out of it?"

    Magnus just shrugged. "It makes me feel good? Honestly I'm just passing by and I like to help as long as I don't clash with people." He replied in full honesty. "It costs me literally nothing more than a few minutes."

    "Just out of the goodness of your heart?" He asked, skeptically.

    "More or less, consider it an act to fit in better." He answered before looking as if something had cheered him up. "Looks like my original's finished with his work."

    And with those words the first Magnus stepped out of the house, in his hand was the bird mask and on the other a beautiful green flower pendant. Terrel hadn't even seen the second one disappear.

    Terrel quickly looked back and forth, surprised. "… what's that?" He finally asked.

    "It's an accessory for Laura, it should be capable of keeping pests off her." He explained just as the woman landed without a noise.

    "Magnus, I came as fast as I could." She said before turning to look at him. "Terrel! I'm sorry that I didn't see you from above."

    "It's okay, I was just a bit surprised." He quickly waved it off.

    "Here you have." Magnus handed the pendant to the woman that practically had built and protected their settlements. "And here too." He added, handing her a few colorful bottles. "Some potions for good luck."

    Laura nodded resolutely. "Thank you again, Magnus, I will head out, I want to deal with this Boss as soon as possible." She turned and nodded to him after speaking, a moment later she was back on the air and flying fast enough to be gone in seconds.

    He noticed Magnus looking in the direction she had left. "I should really look to get some of those Soul of Flight to tinker with." He muttered just loud enough, he then turned to him. "As for the Curse, it's really no problem, if you want to know more look for the other three that came with Ruby and I, they are Wererats and have been so for all their lives. They can tell you more of how it is."

    He thought about it for a moment. "I will see to talk to them, but more importantly, it won't hurt Sharia, right?"

    The man just snorted. "Look, I may not be my brother, he's the healer. But there's no one as good as me with Curses in my family, don't worry about me hurting her, that would only happen if I wanted to."

    For a moment Terrel wondered if he was being threatened, but there was nothing in Magnus' current vibe that wasn't friendly. He still thanked the man as he walked off, he would still ask for the trio. But at least for now he felt like maybe this wasn't the worst that could have happened to his sister.


    Magnus watched the man walk away and quickly turned his attention to something else, primarily he wanted to grab a few of those Souls of Flight. Laura had explained they were only acquired from fighting the Wyverns high in the sky.

    The Rito mask reappeared on his hand and placing it on his face allowed him to quickly take to the skies. He went higher than he ever had flown in Hyrule, leaving the clouds below, feeling the air quickly thin out. The altitude and his vision allowed him to quickly find once again those islands he had seen before.

    Thankfully as he had theorized from Ruby's own experience, the few Harpy Monsters that lived that high up ignored him, considering him akin to them and giving him free passage through the region. The most he got was a curious look from a few that appeared younger.

    Still, he was on a mission and his first target was one of the floating islands. He landed carefully on the edge, worried about the cloud-like material that covered its bottom. It was unnecessary as the material was hard enough for him to step and remove his Mask.

    This surprised him enough that he saw to collect about a cubic meter of the material for further study. At first look it appeared to still be suspended humidity, but there was more than just magic holding it together.

    It was also hard enough that an island had with time grown on top, most likely the winds depositing dirt that turned into mood when in contact with the very moist material. This collected more and more dust, the fertile stuff soon forming a layer thick enough for a passing seed to take root.

    The area was large enough that a small copse of trees had grown and even a house had been built in the past. A small house built from some kind of blue and yellow ceramic; he took a small sample more out of curiosity than anything else. The inside was empty and given the closeness to the town, Laura had most likely passed by long ago.

    He heard it coming before he saw it and quickly jumped away as a long, serpentine creature flew out from behind some trees. About a dozen meters long, serpentine, wingless dragon. It had pure white scales and a seafoam green mane.

    It roared as it coiled on itself before shooting in his direction once more. It soared through the air like a guided missile, maw fully open and all teeth and claws ready to try and tear him apart.

    Tenlight was unsheathed and held parallel to the ground. The edge of the blade hitting the Wyvern right in the throat and allowing its speed to do the work against the sharp blade. The Monster was dead before it finished being split in half.

    Just like other Monsters around, there was no blood spilled and he could easily harvest the materials before they started to dissipate. He wasn't too lucky as there were only two of the Souls he had gone out to search for.

    He would need to hunt further out, from Laura's own experience the Wyverns were territorial and would hoard as much of the sky as they could, only sharing it with the Harpies.

    He put the Rito Mask back on before once more taking to the skies and flying further away. Just by chance he flew in the direction of the Jungle when a massive roar shook the island. If it meant Laura had found the Boss Monster or had already beaten it he wasn't sure and would most likely not know until Ruby or one of the others got wind of the results of the fight.

    Thankfully he saw another Wyvern in the distance, it would be a bit harder to fight it in the air. But he was up to a small aerial conflict. And once he had enough of those Souls he could return and see how things had gone.


    Romeo swiftly channeled a Cleanse Spell through the connection the three of them had slowly forged and even now strengthened every time they could.

    The effects of the curses, poisons, burns and other maladies that were being pelted in their direction quickly dissipated before their already boosted regeneration took care of the damage.

    "Fuck! What happened?!" Lydia cursed as she pumped enough magic into her blade to scorch the dark brick walls near black and reduce the skeletons wandering their way into carbonized smears. "It wasn't this hard until a moment ago!"

    He could feel how much that last attack had drained her, he quickly downed one of the Mana Potions they had acquired in town and let it trickle in her way.

    "It was that damn roar." Moisha cried out as she concentrated for a moment while the two of them protected her. "Jupiter's Wrath!" They moved as she released the spell, a pillar of plasma burnt a hole through the mass of Skeletons clogging their way out. "Fuck this sucks!"

    "You don't have to tell me that." Romeo groaned, his stomach sloshed with the contents of a dozen or so potions he had chugged.

    He once more tried to use a drain spell on the Monsters, but their Undeath seemed to stop the effects from latching correctly. He really needed to fix that shortcoming or turn it from a Drain Life into a Drain Energy.

    As another enemy was defeated a wisp of blue light rose and shot in their direction. He quickly slashed it with Icy Moon. The spirit falling in two frozen, pieces.

    "Move!" Lydia ordered and they followed, taking advantage of the hole left from Moisha's attack.

    Thankfully their Systems kept a perfect map of the area and they could easily find the way up, the number of monsters reducing the further they headed up. They finally reached the surface and the dimming sunlight of the afternoon was a relief.

    "That was… fuck, I did not expect it to go so out of control so fast." Lydia cursed and Romeo could tell it was mostly at herself for not having adapted well enough.

    "That's enough, sister." Moisha spoke up. "We're in this together and we could all have spoken up to make up for any order you gave if it fell short. We screwed up because we didn't think it would suddenly turn harder."

    "She's right, I could have aimed my buffs for speed and evasion so we escaped faster. Or weakened our enemies to make them more fragile." He offered. "We're in the back foot because we got complacent, if we rested and went down right now we would do better already."

    "Face it, Lydia, you either didn't screw up or we all did. But we're out, safe and ready to learn from our mistakes." Moisha said. "So once more we lick our wounds, prepare and face it again."

    Lydia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Okay, let's head back to town, I'm sure they will want to know the Dungeon's now a lot harder." She said,

    "At least we got some interesting things." Romeo prompted in good humor.

    "You weren't picking up stuff?" Moisha laughed out loud.

    "I think you may like this one." He handed her a book with a green cover.

    She picked it and quickly eyed it though. "Magnet Sphere? Uh… it actually is pretty good, looks like a shoot and forget spell." She described after a bit.

    "Cool, anything I could use?" Lydia asked. "I would certainly like something nice after that experience."

    Romeo checked through his inventory and retrieved a massive, red pitchfork. "Here." He threw it over.

    "Oh… nice, very nice." She waved it around. "Shit balance, but…" She stabbed forward and a fireball flew from it, exploding into a small inferno when hitting a tree. "Not terrible, I can do the same… I may ask Magnus if he can do something with it, a spare weapon wouldn't be terrible."

    "Did you get anything else?" Moisha asked.

    "Let's see… I found a massive key and a yo-yo?" He retrieved the latter object. He had honestly set his System to collect the loot so they wouldn't trip on it, most were just charred bones. But there were a few things. The toy was actually quite hefty and he could feel the string was reinforced metal. "I think it's a weapon, but I honestly have no idea how to use one as a weapon."

    He put it on his finger before trying to throw it down. The blue disc hit the ground hard enough to create a small crater and keep spinning. "Okay, definitely a bit more dangerous than I thought." He tugged it back into his hand. It didn't hit as hard, or at all, it was almost like it was responding to his will.

    "You may see about keeping it, I don't doubt most would underestimate such a weapon." Lydia offered.

    He nodded absentmindedly, there was something about the Yo-yo, the more he looked at it. It didn't have an Element, it wasn't like Icy Moon. But it didn't mean he couldn't combine things in interesting ways.

    He channeled some of the Ice from his blade into the weapon before swinging it against a tree. The wood exploded into a rain of splinters and ice. He gave the two others a smile.

    "Definitely keeping it." They chuckled to his words as they continued their walk back.


    Magnus was surprised when he acquired a new perk, he been doing nothing related to crafting or similar, not even butchering one of the wyverns he hunted. Instead he had been flying back when it slotted into place.

    But a closer look revealed why he had been awarded with it. The Perk was about bestowing his creations with a little spark of Potential, a tiny seed that would feed on the deeds the item's user carried when using it. That seed would sprout into abilities related to it, for example a shield that was used to block all attacks aimed at their user would block better, or maybe become easier to parry with. There was a small sense of irony about bestowing his creations with a seed of potential when it had been a plant that was killed to tip the Perk's acquisition.

    And it wasn't as if it would stop there, if the deed became a legend the power would only grow stronger, similarly if more deeds were carried with it, feeding that growing ability and turning it into something deserving the legendary trait. It would cover more than just material things, stories, songs and even magic he created could be further improved.

    It wasn't hard to figure out why he had acquired it. It didn't take long for him to find Laura once he returned to town, or for her to find him; he could feel the ability already thrumming in the accessory he crafted for her.

    "Magnus, what did you give me?" She asked, dryly.

    "A necklace that created a few insect-shaped constructs that intercept projectiles heading in your direction." He answered, honestly a bit confused.

    "Magnus," she cut him off, "this thing created a swarm of butterflies that practically solo-ed the Boss. Projectiles? Sure the seeds and the other things it tried to spit at me, but it also cut off its vines, tore its thorns and practically presented the monster on a silver plate for me to finish it."

    "So it worked." He noted with a smile on his lips.

    Laura looked at him in silence before grabbing the bridge of her nose and sighing. "...yes, it worked."

    "Excellent, tell me if you need something else, creating that necklace was quite fruitful for me too." He said. "Oh, before I forget, you should name it."

    "Name it? … I will think about it." She just wandered off, looking exhausted.

    He made a note to check the necklace again before they left the World. It would be interesting to see how it improved. He would also have to bestow that spark of Potential to all of his other creations, and head out to beat more monsters.

    But as he was getting ready to start the door of the workshop opened and in came the three Wererats, once more looking haggard. "This World's really surprising you, no?" He joked.

    Lydia just flipped him the bird. "The Dungeon's much more dangerous than we're told, and it happened while we were inside. We already told the Guide, so we're heading back to rest for now." She said before the three of them stepped through the portal right to the ship.

    He also noticed a pile of drops appear in his inventory, the three rats having sent them directly to him.

    Though before he could get into it he was interrupted again, thankfully this time was just a knock at the door.

    "Come in." He called out and Sharia stepped in. "Good evening."

    "Hi, Magnus." She approached him. "I decided to take your offer with the Curse."

    "Then we can move forward with it." He gestured to one of the chairs. "Please sit down as the process, while painless, can be a bit disorienting."

    He noticed how her tail waved nervously as she sat down. He smiled softly and placed a hand on her shoulder.

    "Will it be okay?" She asked.

    "Yes." He answered quickly before deciding to explain things better.

    He took another chair and sat in front of her, looking at her at the same height before speaking, "What I will do is remove the Curse first, thankfully it's a pretty standard version of the Curse, no traps, no side effects, nothing else."

    "Curses can have traps?" She asked in complete surprise.

    "Oh, totally, I've made my own a few times." He laughed, seeing no reason to lie. "Curses are sort of like contracts, they exchange things of a value for an effect, usually a detrimental one." He explained. "Your Curse mainly puts you closer to Nature in exchange for distancing you from Humanity, with the whole added effect of the Full Moon and the threat of going wild and passing it."

    Sharia nodded understandingly.

    "Now, sometimes like contracts, there can be clauses and stipulations, these are the traps and side-effects some Curses may have. From breaking a Curse too early or just the act of trying to remove said Curse between many others. Thankfully your Curse, as I said, it straightforward," as he spoke he reached for her forehead and with his Darkness he reached deeper to grab the Curse.

    It was like a loose, but sticky, fabric wrapped around her self. He easily tugged it off, a quick yank and he threw it into his mouth to digest.

    "There we go, it's gone." He declared and Sharia quickly reached for her ears.

    They were human instead of fox, though slightly pointed at the tip, similarly her tail had disappeared.

    "I don't feel too different." She mused as she checked herself.

    "You lived with that Curse for a few decades, its effects go further than just the Curse itself." He explained as he reached for the crown of her head.

    He had Lied, not from the start, he had meant to lay upon her the same type of Curse that Lydia and the others held. But something had held him back. It was a memory that he had promised to use less Curses, or at least try to use Blessings too.

    He started by going the complete opposite direction to Curses, instead of Darkness he searched in the Light. Blessings usually came from the Divine, but had not a drop of godly in him. He was a Titan, a more primordial being… no, that was a Lie, the Truth was that he held a tiny bit of Divinity, three of them and a bit more actually.

    He reached for Farore, Goddess of Courage and the Wild. Of course the Goddesses was nowhere, but that bit of Blessing he had imparted on him resonated with his goal and with the woman in front of him. The Blessing quickly dug through the knowledge from Hyrule and found something he recognized.

    The Twili had been once another inhabitant of Hyrule, and so he understood how they saw the Touch of Twilight turning them into beasts instead of spirits, a freeing experience. He built on that.

    Light and Darkness mixed to obtain that Twilight that fueled the Blessing, taking the concept of a fox and some of the abilities the Were curse he constructed something new. It repeatedly grew complex and Magnus was forced to simplify it, each iteration growing better and better until it clicked.

    He pulled his hand back as the Blessing slid into place, becoming a part of the woman, her ears once more two furry triangles and a tail waving idly behind her back.

    "There we go." He announced.

    Sharia quickly checked herself. "All went okay?"

    "Yes, just ignore the third eye." He joked, making the woman quickly stop and look at him in fear. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, the only thing is that it ended up being a Blessing instead of a Curse, so no passing it in any other way than by family line." He explained.

    "Wait… what?"

    He felt like chuckling, but instead sat down to gently explain to her why she may have been marked by a Goddess of the Wild that didn't exist in their World.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 63
  • Threadmarks

    • Venturing the Worlds – 63


    "Are you sure everything is okay?" Sharia asked as she observed her half-transformed arm.

    An orange-red fur covered from her elbow down, turning whiter around her wrist and stretched to the tip of her fingers.

    "Yes, don't worry, while I said you were Blessed by a Goddess, it's more like I built the Blessing I laid on you from the knowledge I got while I stayed in that World" He explained as he pointed to the green symbol on the back of his left hand.

    "A Blessing by a Goddess of the Wild? Is that why you can turn into a fox?" She asked.

    "Oh, no, I've been able to do that my whole life, that's something I inherited from my father. Though it's more like he decided to give my siblings and me that ability since he and my mothers had it too." He explained.

    "So what did her Blessing give you?" She asked, ignoring the rest as it made her feel like it was too much to unpack at the moment.

    "Farore is known as the Golden Goddess of Courage, the Wild, Wind and Lightning. She's the Goddess of Heroes and animals, when I got her Blessing I got the abilities and knowledge of all workers on her land." He explained. "One of her heroes was once Cursed to turn into a spirit, but her Blessing took over and he instead gained the ability to shift between human and wolf."

    She thought about it. "… wait, that doesn't make sense."

    "I skipped a few steps, sue me." Magnus laughed. "But the exact explanation of how I got from one point to the other would take too long to actually explain, telling you I used that Blessing as a base along with the knowledge I learned from observing the Curses to create the Blessing you've now. The only loss is that I toned down the long-term regeneration a bit, you will live a long life, but not on the level of the Wererats who are looking at thousands of years of life."

    She nearly yipped in surprise. "Wait, what?!"

    "Oh, you will live at most a few hundred years, but you would most likely have lived that long already." He answered.

    "Not that, though I didn't know I would live that long. What I mean is how will they live that long?" She repeated.

    "Oh, is not that rare, practically everyone on our crew will live that long, if not longer." He said. "Ruby's technically a few thousand years old already, though she only has memories for a dozen or so years."

    "I-I'm sorry…?" She felt distraught.

    "Don't think too hard about it." Magnus waved it off as he got up and walked to the small house's kitchen. "It's our lives and we already know it."

    She watched as he brewed some tea while she tried to think about what he had said. For some reason the idea of someone living so long had shocked her, in her life most of those she dealt with lived shorter than her. She had seen dozens of animals die from old age or other, more succinct, ways.

    She thanked Magnus as he handed her the mug of tea, taking a deep breathe from it and enjoying the mix of scents. Her nose easily picked the tea leaves the Dryad used along with some spices and some honey she had never smelled before.

    The moment of silence and thought also made her realize she couldn't hear much from the wildlife that usually ran around.

    Her surprise may have been visible, because Magnus spoke up, "Everything okay?"

    "It's nothing… I just can't hear the animals outside." She answered.

    "Oh, that's most likely because of me, I tend to have that effect on most wild animals, they find me too scary to be around." He answered readily.

    "What did you do?" She asked before she could think about it, causing him to laugh out loud. "What?" She asked.

    "Nothing, nothing." He quickly calmed down. "It's just that normal animals can sort-of feel my True nature and don't like it, or maybe it's because they consider me a dangerous predator." He shrugged. "I honestly can't say, I usually use this," he gestured to a bracelet, "it keeps the worst of the aura down and imperceptible. But if I take it off all animals around would run away, and most likely even you would feel unnerved by my presence."

    Before she could say anything the door opened and Ruby walked through, instantly Sharia couldn't help but think back to what Magnus had said, even when to her eyes the woman didn't look a year above thirty at worst.

    "Sharia." She greeted her and for a moment Sharia was surprised by the fact that she ignored Magnus in her greeting. Though from the way they eyed each other it didn't seem that way. "I see your Curse was dealt with."

    Her ears stood up. "You can tell?" Sharia said in surprise.

    "It would be terribly short-sighted of me to not be able to after training with Magnus for so long." She answered. "It's been what? Seven or eight months already?"

    "About that." He nodded.

    "I've observed him using Curses on others and even been targeted myself a few times during our more serious sparring sessions." Ruby explained. "When you're as magical as I am, you get to learn to feel those kinds of things."

    Sharia thought about it, she could kind of get it if she thought about Curses as poisons. She hadn't told many how much she knew about those, one couldn't wander the wild and not get poisoned at least once, even if just out of curiosity or ignorance. By now she could smell most poisons even from a distance.

    "I think I understand." She said,

    Ruby nodded as Magnus handed her a mug of tea. "To me it feels like something not entirely you was replaced by something that fit better and will slowly become part of you fully."

    Sharia was pretty sure she had long since stopped fully understanding what they were talking about. But the two of them were so friendly she couldn't deny their invitation to stay for dinner.


    Magnus and Ruby had decided to head down into the Dungeon once night had fallen. As dangerous as the spot had apparently become after the defeat of the Jungle's Boss Monster, the two of them together were bordering on ridiculously overdoing it.

    The dungeon was a dry, dark and evil place, Undeath had sunk deep into the very bricks that had built the place. The only good thing about it was that the Monsters that spawned inside couldn't escape, they seemed to be confined to the inside and couldn't escape.

    "The Underground Jungle was dangerous, but didn't feel as unnerving as this place." Ruby observed.

    "Did we confirm the change in difficulty was related to the defeat of the Boss Monster?" He asked.

    She nodded and answered, "The Guide confirmed it."

    "Yeah… him." He didn't shudder, the Guide was a very curious individual, if they could even be called that.

    "What about them?"

    "They aren't human," he easily answered as the first of the Armored Skeletons started to appear around the corners, "they are more like a part of the World or a constant in it."

    "Oh, that's why they always know things." Ruby guessed.

    "Yeah, he's a strange extension of the World, in a way he's human, but on the other he's a terminal for the World's Akasha." He added as Tenlight easily took one of the large floating skulls out.

    She nodded understandingly. There were plenty of curious things about the Guide, no one seemed to notice the weirdness, how he was always around when someone needed it, always knowing exactly how to use any material. Even if it was completely impossible to craft them at the moment.

    His nature was also why his life had been used to seal many things, good and bad the same. Forces had been working for a long time to break that seal. Laura had explained that she had found a number of devils carrying Voodoo Dolls made in his image and accidentally dropped one when she killed the Monster carrying it.

    That had released the guardian of the seal, the twisted monster had decided she was an enemy and she had been forced to kill it, effectively breaking the seal and releasing the Hallow between many things. No one had even batted an eye at the previous Guide dying and a new one reappearing a few days later.

    By now she understood she had been sort-of guided, though not by the Guide, to release the many seals that existed in the World. Something was coming and all she could do was keep popping those seals and get as ready as she could.

    Magnus thought that it would be fun getting in a fight with whatever was coming.

    Graceful cut through the air and pancaked a number of skeletons against the hard walls of the Dungeon as Ruby kept the rest at bay with a few well placed spells.

    "So why are we heading in? Besides the combat experience."

    "Various reasons." He answered. "Yes the experience's good, plus it helps me see about refining some of my weapons against more deserving targets."

    A Blink put him in close quarters with a Skeleton wielding a shotgun and riot gear. He put his glove-covered fist through its face, the fires of Close&Personal charring the Monster into cinders. He quickly caught the weapon and threw it into his inventory.

    Ruby wasn't too far behind, one of her Mage Magends created a magic circle that quickly started spinning before high penetration light shots were unleashed at Minigun speeds. These bullets tore through the unprotected enemies and slowed the armored ones.

    "It's certainly a target-rich environment." She laughed softly.

    "The second reason is the Loot." He explained as their Systems were quickly snatching anything moderately valuable as it fell on the ground. "Third is because I want to study this World's Debuffs. Romeo noted he was having troubles with them, so I want to see them by myself."

    He was already thinking about studying them well and turning them into spells and enchantments. There was apparently a large variety of them and some similar ones even stacked. He had been pretty straightforward with the effects of his weapons, so maybe enchanting them to wither armor or weaken the blows could be an interesting addition.

    He noticed a Skeleton wearing a purple robe and swiftly sent Dexter&Sinister to capture it. The monster struggled but a quick Curse left it incapable of attacking. He quickly slipped a Curse of Friend-to-Foe under it and replaced the first one for a Curse to make it incapable of teleporting away; he had seen them popping around before.

    The monster instantly started to attack the other enemies, apparently inflicting some kind of slow down effect on them. It was impressive that it wasn't a Curse, but certainly acted like such. The main difference being that the effect was timed and would run out once the spell's energy wore off.

    It certainly gave him ideas of what to try next.

    Of course the poor monster didn't last too much longer, the main Curse seemingly eating away at whatever was powering the Undead. Or maybe it was the massive hammer crushing it into bone meal.

    The source of said hammer was quite the eye-catching figure. Dressed in a full set of tarnished gold and silver armor, the monster appeared almost like a holy figure. But he could feel the Undeath lingering under the armor.

    "Big one incoming." He warned Ruby and swiftly intercepted the next thrown hammer with Graceful.

    The mace's increased mass being just enough to stop the golden hammer, and whatever passed by intelligence in the Undead sharpened at the act.

    The hammer reappeared on its hand as its massive shield was held close to its body before it started to run in their direction. The act barreled through the monsters in their way, its size and weight crushing more than one of those skeletons.

    Magnus didn't doubt it for a moment and rushed forward, intercepting the monster with his own body. One hand shifted into fur and claws, digging through the ancient shield to get enough purchase as the other grabbed the monster's wrists, stopping them from smashing their hammer on him.

    This close up he could practically taste the Undeath wafting off the monster even if its helmet only showed a deep, dark depth. It wasn't Darkness, it was the Necromantic energy, so deeply saturating the inside of the armor it added to its might.

    The brick ground cracked under his feet as the monster managed to push him back a tiny bit before he dug in place and truly started to push back.

    "Nice try." He grinned, heaving the monster up and over.

    As much as the monster seemed incapable of being pushed back, it was much less prepared for someone to lift them off the ground and quickly supplex him back. Magnus' body bent into a bridge posture and the Undead Knight's helmet was crushed against the hard Dungeon floor.

    Tenlight, Forward and Horizon swiftly skewered the monster. Two of them pumped Light under its armor to burn away at the Undeath before Magnus brought Graceful down and finished the job.

    "Think there's more like that one?" Ruby asked.

    "I don't know, possibly with how Monsters spawn out of the energy. I'm worried that there may be more dangerous ones." He said.

    "It didn't look like it was that hard to take out." Ruby noted as she eyed the spot it had been driven down into.

    "I couldn't push it back." He noted. "It was as if I was pushing against the ground itself."

    "… oh."

    "Yeah, that's what worries me, it was actually immune to getting pushed back. It wasn't strong enough to force me once I started fighting back, but for a few moments it was advancing steadily." He explained as he focused on another of the monsters as it was trying to darken his vision.

    "I think Laura mentioned something about an accessory that did something similar." Ruby mused.

    He would have to check on that, for the moment they headed deeper into the Dungeon. It stretched so deeply into the World, almost reaching the so-called Hell. He could feel how the energy in the structure pooled into the depths.

    Along with the many types of Skeletons, there were also Slimes and Traps, both more of an inconvenience than anything else, and the spirits that were sometimes released when the Undead died. It didn't mean they could just ignore them.

    The further they went the more he could study and the more they collected, especially the Ectoplasm dropped by the spirits when defeated. The semi-solid material was quite interesting and just like most of the stuff in the World, led itself to crafting very well.

    And no matter how much they killed, there were almost more Undead. It was an unending horde, respawning over and over again to try to get them. Instead they got reduced to bone splinters and Loot.

    So much killing was starting to give him an idea of how many of these items were dropped as not every drop was something the Monsters carried. Wielded weapons and materials were logical, but some other things seemed to be a sort of reward system the World had baked in and most likely not replicable on a large scale; though no one said he couldn't see about developing a Blessing, Curse or Spell to do it.

    Unfortunately he would need to find a better way to observe the effect as it appeared to work under Reality and not observable. It sort-of reminded him about the RPG System as Loot would only drop when a Monster was killed.

    Horizon stabbed through a gigantic, floating skull. He felt another Debuff trying to latch on him but failing as he wasn't holding his weapon. He was starting to get the hang of it, the effect was aimed to stop him from using certain objects, but he couldn't exactly tell what category it covered or how it categorized things.

    Still, it would take time to properly study these debuffs. They would be inside for a few hours before heading back out, rich in items and knowledge.


    Laura was confused, but also glad to have Lydia, Moisha and Romeo going into this with her. After the defeat of Plantera, the Underground Jungle's Boss, there had been a Key as part of the Loot.

    She had ended up asking the Witch Doctor about the item and had been told it was to unseal the Temple that lay in the depths of the Jungle. She had luckily stumbled across it before and hadn't had to go out to hunt for it. Zop'A had warned her about what lay inside, those that lived underground but worshiped the sun and guardian at the center.

    With such dangers in her way, she was glad to have some solid back-up for once. She would have wanted to have her new armor enchanted by Magnus, but the man had headed down into the Dungeon with Ruby for the day. She made a note to visit the place, but so far she was leaving it for later as she didn't want to test how much more dangerous it had become after the defeat of the plant Boss.

    She looked over her shoulders. "Ready?"

    She had been surprised by how easily the four of them had managed to fall into a good rhythm on their way down the Underground Jungle. Lydia, Romeo and Moisha had shifted into her Wererat form the moment they had walked away from the open sky. She had visited Sharia during the full and blood moons, but while the woman turned bulkier, the three of them seemed to thin out.

    It was especially noticeable by how they used very tight clothes and how agile and acrobatically they moved. And if they weren't in hostile territory she may have enjoyed the view of at least one of them a bit more.

    "Yup, go ahead, sister." Moisha answered her question and Laura pushed the ancient key into the lock.

    Instantly there was a massive click and the doors in front of them went wide open. The air that came out was warm and dry, the second part in contrast with the humidity of the jungle behind them.

    She wielded the reforged Excalibur the sword had taken Chlorophyte very well and while it wasn't directly more damaging, the wider blade seemed to reach even further away than before. Her other hand already throwing a bunch of Glow Sticks, they bounced on the ground, spreading their green light.

    "Let's head in." She announced, already flinging a few Glow Sticks deeper, she bought them by the hundreds from the Merchant. If they weren't ten coppers a piece she would be definitely wasting a lot more of her earnings.

    The moment they stepped inside she felt the atmosphere change, it was indeed dry inside of the Temple and she could hear slithering and clicking in the distance; not lost in any of them.

    "Sounds like lizards and snakes in there." Lydia said as her blade glowed enough to light the area around them.

    Though that fact didn't bother Laura as much as how each of their weapons had an eye each and seemed more than capable of looking around by themselves. They seemed to be connected in some way as the three had looked at her before deciding to ignore her as a threat. It was slightly insulting in a way.

    Though she quickly rethought about it the moment the first enemy appeared in their path. The small group of flying snakes were swiftly cut into pieces as the three Wererats moved faster than she could.

    "Weren't we going?" Lydia asked in a smug tone.

    She snorted. "Sure, sure, tease me, let's see who's tired when we are done here." Laura rushed forward, swinging her blade and hitting one of the Lihzahrd foes. The reptile monster took the blow face on, being a surprisingly tough cookie.

    She pivoted on her feet and spun, the edge of her blade extended as she brought the weapon around once more. The continuous attack hit every enemy in her reach, sending the Lihzahrds flying back.

    She grinned as she reached into her inventory and pulled one of the potions Magnus had gifted her. It was hot and spicy and made her feel as if her whole body was sweating under her armor, but the improvement to her strength was more than worth it as she quickly took out the few reptile Monsters the moment they came scampering towards her at a higher speed.

    "So you can fight too, eh?" Lydia teased, making her snort.

    "I would have long been dead if I couldn't." She said with a small grumble at the end. "This is just the first time I'm not fighting alone, summons are never too interactive." She explained as she threw another handful of Glowsticks down the stairs.

    "Then let's get used to fighting together before we hit the Boss." Lydia said.

    She nodded as they moved deeper down. The aim to coordinate their skills was harder than expected, in this situation she was the outsider as the three of them already worked together seamlessly. Not that she didn't get comfortable after an hour of slow advance through the temple's long hallways and trap-filled rooms.

    A good thing about the Temple turned out to be the small variety of enemies, just flying snakes and Lihzahrds came at them. It was practically non-stop and spawning from both ends, but being four they kept the deluge of enemies at bay quite well.

    Besides a good number of silver coins, they seemed to only be dropping fragments to some kind of stone tablet and some kind of energy-storing crystals. Even the few chests they found only carried more of the same.

    Their advance soon left them at a dead end, she could feel they were at the deepest part of the ruin, a massive room with an ornate altar at the center.

    "I think this is the Guardian's spot you were told about." Romeo said and she nodded.

    Laura quickly moved around the room, setting a number of torches to cast enough light so she could see easier. Unfortunately she had forgotten to prepare more Night Owl Potions. With better light she could also see a slot in the altar, one that would fit those energy crystals pretty well.

    "Okay, I'm ninety nine percent sure that whatever the Boss is it will pop out the moment I activate this." She said out loud.

    "We've checked and disarmed the traps that were around the room." Lydia said. "Given the size, we're going to fight something pretty big."

    She nodded, the size of the chamber felt too purpose-built.

    "Good, let's chug any potion and let's get ready." She said as she started to fill her stomach with the ones she had prepared, watching the three Wererats drink a few of their own.

    With a nod of agreement she retrieved one of the crystals and slotted it into the altar. The object melted down and a glowing sun lit up above the altar. A rumble shook the chamber as a giant made of stone emerged from the wall, as if the solid surface was just water and it had been lying underneath.

    "Ready or not." She called out and jumped forward, her three companions not staying too far behind.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 64
  • Threadmarks

    • Venturing the Worlds – Chapter 64


    Lydia could admit the giant golem was a tough cookie, if the cookie had been made from reinforced concrete and severely overcooked. Whatever it was actually made from was much tougher than the ruins around them and at the same time much poorer at dealing with their hits.

    While it seemed immune to elemental effects, as they had even tried to freeze it down and heat it up repeatedly to crack the stone, Kinetic damage was doing the job quite well. It seemed that whatever controlled the Golem from the inside wasn't properly insulated against that kind of damage.

    So as much as they could strategy about how to tackle the Boss, it had come down to not getting hit and hitting it back as hard as possible. It was working too.

    Laura jumped away and called out a warning, "It's getting serious!"

    A moment later the head of the Golem detached, it rose into the air, keeping away from their reach. The head opened its maw and released fireballs that bounced around the room erratically.

    "Aim for the chains connected to the fists so we can take the torso much easier." Lydia suggested and everyone reacted.

    They had mainly aimed towards the head and torso so far, trying to rush to defeat the monster and ignored the arms as none of them had found it hard to dodge those attacks. But now the Boss' pattern had changed and was even starting to shoot lasers from its eyes.

    Lydia and Romeo quickly took the right fist first, the metal chain being much more susceptible to the damage by temperature shock. The fist just flew wildly and landed in a corner, thankfully it didn't seem to affect the monster's pattern even as Laura and Moisha took out the other one.

    Without its limbs, the torso became an easy target even while the head kept shooting at them. As much as it could move around the room and bounce much more agile than expected, the four of them were quickly chipping away at its life.

    She watched as Laura took the last hit, with a mighty cracking sound the Golem went stiff. The light from its eyes faded and the floating head came down like a rock, cracking and breaking away as the rest of the body started to break apart too.

    Lydia let out a sigh of relief, it had been quite tiring at the end as the fight had been almost a quarter of an hour of non-stop fighting even with the four of them. Laura and Moisha were already checking what it had dropped as Romeo seemed to be checking them out.

    He just gave her a small nod of acknowledgement as everything was okay. She relaxed a bit, thankfully most monsters didn't seem to invade the chamber, even with the Boss having been defeated.

    "Wait, this altar's still here and we've got more of those crystals, does that mean we can, like, fight the Boss again?" Moisha asked.

    "Yeah." Laura answered readily. "Most Boss Monsters have a way of being fought repeatedly. I've only done so a couple of times, once by mistake, the other because there was a piece of Loot I had wanted and the Slime King wasn't too dangerous."

    Lydia winced at the idea, they were all tired. Even if the fight had gone pretty well and they would know what to expect, going for a second round was asking for troubles.

    "Maybe we should leave it for another time." She offered and Laura nodded.

    "For now we should head back." The woman said and retrieved four cyan potions. "Here, these are Recall Potions, they will take you back to the town safely." She showed by downing one and disappearing in a small shower of sparkles.

    They just shared a shrug and followed. Lydia found the taste a bit fishy, not a problem, but left her wanting some proper seafood afterwards.

    Just as advertised, the four of them were now standing by the Pylon at the center of town.

    "I will go ask the Guide if he has any idea of what to do next, the Golem didn't drop anything specific outside of a stronger Pickaxe." Laura said. "Thanks again for helping me down there."

    "Don't worry." Romeo said. "We're going to head back and relax until Magnus' back, so there's no rush."

    Lydia nodded to his words while Moisha leaned against him. The way she was pressing her body made it pretty clear to Lydia what her teammate wanted to relax.

    "Romeo's right, rest well, after that fight we've all earned it." Lydia said as she sneaked a smack on Moisha to get her to behave for a little longer.

    Laura nodded and wished them well as the three of them started to head back to the house they were occupying. Lydia couldn't help but to snort as the look Moisha gave her, like she would let her have Romeo all for herself.

    She hoped Magnus and Ruby took their time to return from the dungeon.


    Magnus had spent the last few days learning from the Kobolds and teaching them in kind. The Kobolds turned out to be excellent students, their hive mind allowing them to quickly share their understanding through the members in a way that reminded him of the Metaloids, on top of having an amazing ability to learn to begin with.

    The Queen had specially surprised him by being incredibly inventive and quick-witted. She had been the leading member when learning new aspects of enchantment and sharing them down. Even the Psi-snail, who Magnus could still not establish communication with, had learned a few things and reinforced their shell.

    He was moderately worried about how things were going back in the Earth Realm, but he couldn't do much more than wait at the moment as the Queen had offered to take him to a set of ruins that may contain something of use.

    But that had to wait as they were first raiding one of the other tribes that lived in the way there.

    Over the time he had spent with the Kobolds he had been carving a new Mask, having studied them enough, especially Ibis, he had slowly put what he had learned in the Artifact.

    The angular mask had been made from a piece of the Psi-snail's armor, a very old piece that had been shed to make way for the new, reinforced shell that he had helped create. The material had a long history with the Kobolds that inhabited the Psi-snail, making it an excellent material for this particular Mask.

    "Query. That." The Queen prodded him with a surprising familiarity.

    "This is one of my original's creations. It's a Mask that complements my ability to Transform." He explained. "Normally I can't access a Race's abilities, but with this I can effectively become what I would be if I had been born as part of them."

    "You. Equal. Us?" She asked in a clearly stunned tone.

    "Yes and No, at the end it would still be a Lie," that single word shook the Queen just as the first time he had said Truth and Lie, psychically it was just impossible to hide his connections to them, "but for a bit, I would make it Truth."

    He put the last details into the Mask as they talked. He could practically taste the change in the air as they approached their target, one of the many underground oases. These patches of vegetation were highly coveted as they were a source of food and comfort, but just as many dangers.

    Some of the most fruitful ones would be too heavily protected, the groups that took over those had had a long time to properly entrench themselves. But the one they were aiming for was smaller and changed hands almost weekly. Not like the Kobolds were interested in taking it for themselves, the Psi-snail provided too much comfort and it needed to be on the move most of the time.

    He felt the being message the hive mind about their approach to the oasis and he simply slid the Mask in place. He felt the change go through his body as a Lie and his ability mixed to take in the qualities and characteristics inscribed in the Mask.

    His body lengthened, almost-human proportions but a little more, as if someone had stretched his outline up. He easily surpassed the two and a half meters in height, definitely one of his largest forms so far.

    His index and middle finger melded together and stretched into claws, growing more dangerous, but keeping their dexterity. His clothes molded to his body, turning minimalistic as his skin adopted a pattern similar to the rest of the Kobolds, black and purple. His braid melded into an extension of his head, keeping the threaded design.

    Finally he felt the connection to the hivemind, becoming enough one of them that he slotted in; even when he kept a tiny sensation of still being the outsider. He could now see their surroundings like the rest of the Kobolds did, as if his vision had become a compound of all Kobolds and the Psi-snail's own perception too.

    "Welcome, friend." The voice of the Psi-snail surprised him, but quickly recovered and returned the greeting.

    Magnus could even see their target and how the scouts had moved on ahead, already taking a few look-outs and breaking the area into chaos for the rest of the hive to fall into the place, taking just enough to last until their next hit.

    He nearly missed how the Queen had scooted closer to him, her body not looking as large now that he had almost doubled his size. He wasn't blind to not understand her sudden attraction, making him wonder if he had ended up transforming into a possible mate or simply a potential one.

    He felt a bit conflicted, it wasn't as if he couldn't see how attractive the Queen was for her Race. But he was also going out with Brianna at the moment, not that he couldn't see how her eyes wandered when any attractive male passed by.

    As the attack finished, the Kobolds picked up what they wanted from the cave. He decided to leave responding to the Queen's advances at least until he could contact Earth again.

    After their visit at the oasis they would head straight towards the ruins. Unfortunately most beings kept their distance from them, meaning Magnus would have to explore them alone.


    To the naked eye the ruins appeared to be not only empty, but also bereft of any interest. The walls and the ceiling were made from roughly cut stone, while the floors were mismatched tiles of a similar material. This was all a Lie.

    The more he studied the place from the entrance, the more Magnus became assured that the place had been originally constructed to look like this. The dull stone appeared no different from untreated granite, but a closer inspection revealed it was some kind of processed alloy, and every imperfection on its surface was instead part of some trap of mechanism.

    The mismatched tiles on the floor were traps, but not straightforward. Instead it was as if the whole floor was instead a massive keyboard and depending on the input a different kind of trap would be activated. This was devilishly ingenious, any intruder would most likely overestimate themselves as nothing would happen until they were half-way into the room, and by then any step would result in their death.

    It also wasn't as if one could fly over, the whole room would notice that and react accordingly. What it did exactly he had no idea, but it was obviously not a nice thing. Even teleporting through would most likely result in the person's death, the architecture seemed to force space to twist, and so anyone that tried to push through.

    What stumbled him the most was that there appeared to be no safe way through. The closest way was either to stumble through the activating traps, or know them by heart so they would neutralize each other upon activation.

    It was basically an assured death, a clear reason why the place had never been raided by anyone. Or at least raided and lived. He would bet something in the whole death trap and also made sure to clean the place up.

    Just to try, he trick shot a stone through the tiles, as if skipping stones it hit a series of tiles almost at random. On the fifth bounce two of the walls seamlessly opened up and lasers shot out to obliterate said stone into dust.

    He tried a few more times, finding the result to change. Even when he repeated the first test it came up with a new result. It was either random or there was a cycle that would take way too long to learn.

    As much as Magnus would have wanted to play it safe, there was only one thing he could do, outside of turning around. He took a few steps back before running forward and letting lady luck choose.

    The death trap was prepared for it too, because the moment he stepped on the first tile the ceiling slid open, huge axes came swinging down. With the second step flamethrowers came out from the walls. On the fourth large buzz saws slipped out between the tiles. And it only got worse from there.

    The only saving grace was that as dangerous the traps were, they weren't following his movements and mainly just being a dangerous spot. His perception of time slowed as enough of his Domain expanded out. The Sheikah Grimoire popped out and a number of its pages were torn off, Runes inscribed on them and shooting out to intercept the most dangerous traps as he moved through.

    He managed to reach the other side of the room and all traps instantly deactivated, leaving the room empty and ready for its next victim. He had honestly expected a shower of confetti for the success. But seeing that another room rested on the other end of the hallway after the first room, he knew it would take him some time to get through.

    He hoped it was worth it.


    Unfortunately, the death trap he had wandered into didn't contain any riches, at first sight. Once he had gotten to the deepest part of the trap he simply had started to pull it apart from the inside out.

    Of course it hadn't been easy, the whole thing hadn't been designed to be ever taken apart. Fortunately all machines could break one way or another and the correct pressure in the correct place could easily become catastrophic. Impressively enough, even some of the parts left over had turned out to be traps in themselves.

    It had become incredibly obvious that whoever had constructed the place was a twisted son of a bitch, a sadist of the largest order and at the same time a massive genius. Especially because it was obvious the death trap he had wandered so happily into was a basic one, some of the components showed signs of much more advanced construction practices that should have led to much deadlier traps.

    Magnus wouldn't complain, he had acquired enough materials and processed things that putting together a proper Magic Sun and a Mater Synthesizer should be possible.

    He stepped out of the now empty ruin to find the Kobold Queen waiting for him.

    "You life. Equals. Good. Your loss would be unfortunate." Her tone attempted to be detached. But to him it was clear as the day.

    "Don't worry, while dangerous it wasn't as deadly as I had expected. I will be able to put together what I want." He reassured her as they moved back to the Psi-snail.

    The being had stayed in one place long enough, unless it was hurt it was usually on the move. It wasn't just freedom, it was how it lived. He felt a sense of kinship, even if he was now the Teacher, he had been part of the Traveler before.

    However, as much as he wanted to start with the Magic Sun, there was one other thing he had to do first.


    Brianna couldn't help but feel frustrated and powerless.

    It had started with Madrid getting one over all of them, she had made everyone believe Gina and her had switched spots and they had so easily believed her.

    She hadn't believed her own sister, it made Brianna feel like a screw up. She hadn't even been able to deal with Madrid once the whole thing had been revealed, even with some of her best weapons the Djinni had easily trounced all of them.

    Gina and Dao had been the ones to finally beat her. She and the rest had been forced to retreat back from Yl'Dahjim. And then she had learned that Magnus had been teleported away to who knew where.

    Genn had barely managed to soothe her down so she didn't march over to Monty and told the man a few things with one of her biggest weapons. Seance had no idea how to search for Magnus, apparently the effect that had teleported him away was pretty particular, to the point even her father may have a hard time looking for him.

    She had tried to see if she could do better, putting her nose to the books, she did have access to some of her father's library. But without a proper teacher most magic was just too esoteric and it added to her frustration. She would have asked Seance, but she wasn't going to interrupt when the man appeared to have finally gotten his head out of his ass and had finally stopped pinning for Gina.

    With Britanny busy with married life, her parents away and Gina busy rebuilding her lab, and the house, Brianna could only try again and again. Once she had calmed down enough she had called Monty and asked to be explained what had happened exactly.

    That was how she had learned about Chaos Magic and how someone had created something that could cause anything from the apocalypse to setting up a birthday party for anyone who was born on seven forty seven exactly. This meant that the effect that had teleported Magnus was the definition of random and he could be anywhere and even anywhen.

    She doubted that time had been fucked because no one had come knocking yet. So he was still alive and just somewhere that was most likely not Earth.

    "If it was me I would just go to his house and throw all those dice! I would show them who's the boss!" Peebri said.

    "I would, if that wasn't going to cause more problems." Brianna said, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Not only because Peebri hadn't paid attention to her and instead went off on some tangent, but also because it felt like she was really not making any progress with understanding magic.

    A small pop made her turn her head. "Peemag, what are you doing here?" She asked.

    The foxy Peebo was a curious one, not only it was the only one she hadn't constructed alone, it was also the only one that had decided to not say a single word since its creation. It also liked to disappear and appear at random to the point she wasn't entirely sure where it spent most of its time when it disappeared off the lab.

    The Peebo shivered, its digital eyes closing as it concentrated before a small spark above its head spread, growing wide and tall to show an image of Magnus.

    "...an you… Brianna! Excellent, I was hoping I could contact you once I got something going." His voice felt strange as a low buzzing in the back kept trying to be louder.

    "Magnus? Magnus! Where are you? Can you hear me?"

    "Calm down, I can hear you well," the noise in the background lowered until it was almost nonexistent, "now you should hear me better. I'm not sure where I am, it's somewhere between Earth and Jade, more on the Jade side if I had to say, it's deep underground and most locals are pretty aggressive over all. Thankfully I've managed to ingratiate myself with a pretty strong group in exchange for some knowledge."

    She watched as the image panned to show a colorful race, she made sure to take a few pictures of what she saw to question those that may know more about them. She was surprised to see that whatever they were on, it was moving quite fast by how the background passed by.

    "They are Psi-Kobolds and," Magnus stopped and turned to look at the winged figure that wandered close.

    Brianna was a hundred percent sure that the being was looking directly at her and judging her. But she didn't say a thing.

    "No, it can't transmit psychic signals, it's already a miracle I managed audio and video." Magnus spoke before sighing. "They have a hive mind and don't speak normally." He explained.

    Brianna raised an eyebrow, she didn't need words to understand the Queen's intention when looking at her. Especially when the Queen opened her mouth and spoke slowly, "Maineh nohuw."

    She felt like jumping and screaming, but thankfully Magnus reached and gently pushed the Queen back by her forehead.

    "She's become a bit infatuated, anyways, I'm not sure when I will be able to get back home. Please tell Genn that she can keep living at my house, it's hers too. And I missed you, how're things over there?"

    "Bad, then good, and now just frustrating." She answered before going over the events of Madrid's trick and attack. "So now Gina put her in one of her observation moon bases, she should be okay there for some time, hopefully will remain in there too."

    Magnus nodded, though she couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't too surprised.

    "Well, at least that way I won't have to deal with my threat on her, and if you want to know just ask Genn."

    "Yeah, I'm not bothering neither her nor Seance." She said with a small smile.

    "Oh, did he finally realize? It was time, I'm happy for her, she deserves that happiness."

    "Yes, it will hopefully last." She felt bittersweet at the moment. "I don't know how much longer you have, but really no idea of how fast you can come back?"

    He waved a hand back and forth. "I could force things, but that would be big, noisy and very noticeable for the things that exist outside the Realms. Right now I'm not in danger and should be back in a few weeks to a month, at least I can keep in touch. I will try to get some more information of where I am exactly and maybe your dad knows something or someone."

    "He and mom should be coming back later today or tomorrow. I will talk with him… I missed you too." She whispered at the end.

    "Don't worry, I will be back sooner or later and… Sorry to cut it here, but looks like we're coming to a dangerous place, most likely I will need to help. I will contact you tomorrow." He spoke quickly, ending the call before she could even say much, leaving her frustrated about something else.

    Especially because the Queen had remained in the back, eyeing them both.

    With the image disappearing Peemag yawned before closing its eyes and popping over to the charging station.

    She got up and stretched her limbs, yes, she felt frustrated. But wallowing in it would do her no good. If her father was returning soon she would make a list of questions to ask him.

    She grabbed the magic book she had been reading, a pen and a notebook to start working on it.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 65
  • Threadmarks

    • Venturing the Worlds – 65


    Brianna had rushed out to receive their parents when they returned. She was glad to see the way her mother was leaning on him, she was also surprised by the three other figures that had stepped through with them.

    She easily recognized Gar, the Wereleopard was currently in his human form and sporting the same set of training clothes that the two other women that had come through were. It wasn't too hard to put two and two together, she remembered that Gina and Britanny had a similar set for training under their mother when they were little.

    The two women appeared to be of the same age, young, pretty and quite well trained. One of them had long, blue hair while the other had short, brown hair.

    "Brianna," her mother greeted her, "I hope all was okay while we're away."

    She winced at the tone she took. "More or less?" She answered awkwardly. "How about we head inside, do the presentations and get comfortable to see what we've all been to?"

    Her mother just raised an eyebrow, but finally nodded and led everyone inside.

    "You already know Gar, but these are Luan and Carla." Julia presented the brown haired and blue haired women. "Master Leep asked me to take them under my wing as I qualify as a Master of the style now. We came across Gar while visiting some other acquaintances and he wanted to finish his apprenticeship under me, with the situation in Jade calm he could take a break from working with the Edgeguard."

    The two young martial artists bowed. "It's a pleasure to get to know teacher's family." Carla said.

    "Yeah, it'll be nice to train somewhere else for an occasion." Luan said and Brianna didn't miss how her eyes wandered over Gar's figure.

    "They have never been out Jade, right? We'll need to ease them in then." Brianna said.

    Her mother gave her a look, one that pointed out that she knew the poor girls would get thrown in the deep end if Gina, Britanny or her were the ones welcoming them to Earth.

    "I will ask Genn about that." Julia said and Brianna grumbled internally.

    "And what happened to the house?" Her father asked.

    She sighed. "Madrid happened." She proceeded to retell the events of that day, the exact way she was taken care of could be explained better by Gina or Dao as they had been there. She explained that Gina was still in her lab busy with cleaning all the damage the Djinni had left in her systems. "And then there's the fact that Magnus' missing, apparently he got teleported away by a set of Chaotic dice."

    Theodore's eyes opened and his reaction caused Julia to give him a look. "I take that's not a good thing." She said,

    "No, though I never thought they actually existed." He answered.

    "I talked with Monty, he admits he thought they were just another Cursed Item given the few recorded results." Brianna offered.

    Her father nodded solemnly as Gar and the others watched in silence.

    "As far as I knew they were considered more of a thought exercise than anything real. Chaos or Wild magic is very powerful, but in exchange it becomes very unpredictable. A magical object created with just Chaos Magic would be able to do anything, but no one would be able to predict the result." He explained.

    "I only had a bit of experience with a few Wild Mages raid parties while I was in the Edgeguard." Gar spoke up. "They were quite harrowing and it wasn't rare that their mages hit their own allies as much as their enemies when they got going."

    Her father nodded. "I assume that the teleportation was impossible to trace?"

    "That's what Monty said, thankfully Magnus was able to get in contact a few hours earlier, apparently he allied himself with one of the locals." She answered.

    "That's good, I don't doubt he can survive on his own, but finding someone non-hostile is a good sign." His father said as he smiled. "Who was it?"

    "He apparently found some Kobolds." She answered, her words stumping his father.

    "Ko-kobolds?" He stammered, even her mother looked surprised by the name.

    "Is that wrong?" She quickly asked.

    "Kobolds, or Psi-Kobolds, are usually considered a barbaric and nomadic race, they inhabit Psi-snails with whom they psychically merge for a symbiotic relationship. They are a hive mind centered on their Queen and are quite capable of battle enchantments and psychic boosts between other skills. They mainly live underground and feed on Aura-rich targets." He explained. "To them, Magnus would be a feast."

    She rolled her eyes. "Given how the Queen was looking at him, I think she would prefer to eat him in a completely different way." She said and quickly blushed as she hadn't thought that through.

    Theodore coughed on his fist. "Well, in a way then he's safer than having them hunting him." He said. "And if he can contact us it means that it should be possible to follow the signal back."

    Brianna facepalmed. "I can't believe I forgot I could do something so obvious."

    Her father laughed softly. "We all forget things when we're stressed." He turned to look at Julia. "I can't count the number of times your mother reminded me I had spells capable of taking care of some problems."

    She chuckled and spoke up, "I'm sure I could remind you of those, but I will get Gar and the girls settled in the house." She stood up and led them out of the room.

    Her father smiled towards her. "I think I've a few books about tracking that may come in use for this."

    His words made her smile. "I think I may have grabbed at least one of those, I wasn't having luck but I got a number of questions."

    "And I will gladly answer them." His tone reassured her.

    She would get her boyfriend back and kick that hussy Queen's ass if she had to.


    The Queen felt the curiosity of their Home as they watched the strange being work through her eyes. Not that she wasn't as curious, there was something hypnotic in how he worked, in the way the materials in his hand just shifted and fit together, how magic followed his will.

    His project wasn't any larger than her torso, but even now the hive's memory could recognize it was like nothing they had ever observed before. It was a six-sided figure formed by two equilateral triangles attached to opposite faces of a square; a clear diamond had been placed in the center of the square.

    Thankfully, they were currently moving through a low-threat area, meaning they were the most dangerous thing around and the few that moved around preferred to keep their distance than bother them; because she just couldn't pull her eyes away from Magnus' work.

    He appeared to be completely ignoring everything but his work. But she could see how he was still answering questions through the hive's network. And not just one question at a time, his mind seemed to contain a multitude because each Kobold that asked a question got a personalized answer.

    "You appear to be deep in thought, my friend." Their Home spoke in that teasing tone that made her want to deny everything.

    "Even now. I learn." She replied succinctly. It wasn't entirely a lie, there was much to learn from watching him work.

    "That I won't deny. In my many years of life I never saw an artisan like him, he treats metal like clay and shapes marvels." The Psi-snail said with a good amount of awe. "But that's not all the reason you watch him. You're frustrated about him having a partner already."

    She huffed and ignored the last part of the comment. She knew she was just a better mate.

    "...and done." His voice surprised her, it felt like she had gotten distracted just for a second.

    "Query." She said, asked, prompted.

    He laughed softly and she felt their Home laughing at her reaction. She internally growled, to think she was being compared to a nubile queen, she had left that stage of her life plenty of time ago.

    "I know you wanted me to explain, but I think you wouldn't have believed me if I told you." He said and tapped the object.

    A small spark lit inside the transparent diamond before it spread to fill the crystal. The glow grew until it was nearly impossible to observe and then dimmed to a comfortable warm light. That's when she felt it. It wasn't her that felt it first, instead it was their home that breathed in as the object was radiating Aura and it didn't seem to have an end to it.

    "Explain." She asked, she wanted to order, to force him to explain, and maybe drag him to her nest afterwards. But she had learned by now that Magnus enjoyed explaining, he had happily explained it was partially an effect of the Title she had bestowed upon him.

    "This is a Magic Sun. It's an endless source of magical energy. With this your Home will never go hungry ever again." He explained. "It will also power my next project, which should provide a way to create materials for free."

    Before she could even say something about it, their home shifted, creating a way for the Magic Sun to travel down and be stored safely inside their body. A moment later she could feel the happiness and gratitude of their home as their body quickly took the endless fountain of energy to heal some old injuries. Little things that had never been worth the expenditure on their reserves, always being delayed and slowly accumulated.

    The sense of relief spread through the whole hive and instantly their Home started to shed some of its oldest armor to quickly replace it with new. This surprised the Queen only for a moment before she was having the whole hive move to help in the process and keep their homes safe too.

    Magnus had promised this, but she hadn't truly believed him. She had thought it would be a battery, or something that would with time run out of power. But seeing was believing and now their whole life would shift. It meant no longer having to hunt for nourishment, no internal threat of injuries being too much for them to bear. It meant the development of the hive and their Home, or maybe leaving the underground for more interesting places.

    The gift and knowledge Magnus was giving them was worth many more times the amount of nourishment eating him would have given them. Not that she believed they would have ever been able to defeat him.

    She had observed him during the two spars he had carried with her hive, he had been playing all along and still had gone out practically untouched. Was this the right of the powerful? Was she feeling jealous? The power to be merciful was almost an alien concept for her and the hive, for them everyone was a threat or food, and the former many times ended up as the latter.

    She didn't see them changing that much, even with his influence, even as she practically could see the way every one of his touches and words sank in the hive's experience. But it didn't mean they could adapt and expand their understanding, maybe there was more in the world other than threat or food.

    She turned to look at Magnus, the man had spent only a moment watching the shift in routine around him and moved back to his project. Already a new machine was taking shape.

    Why did she still want him? The private part of her mind felt in turmoil, even now when he looked like one of those filthy apes, he's such a desirable one. And she would not discuss the panicked scramble she had sent some of the members of the hive when he changed into a Kobold.

    Now if he didn't already have one. She had seen how that female had looked at him, how she had looked at her. She would make him understand she was the best mate he could wish for.


    Magnus did his best to ignore the undercurrents of lust going through the psychic network. The Queen may become a problem, though the kind of problem would have to be seen.

    The Magic Sun had been successful and now the Matter Synthesizer would go next, he was starting with a medium sized one that would provide enough to construct more if necessary. As much as he got from the death trap, some very rare stuff was still very rare.

    "You've my gratitude." The Psi-snail's voice sounded much clearer after he had used the Kobold Mask, not as much as when he wore it, but it had become easier.

    "It's not a problem, though, will Ibis' situation be a problem?" He asked in such a way the network couldn't overhear him.

    They let out a conspiratorial laugh. "Hmm, don't worry about her, I will keep her at bay until you're ready."

    Magnus felt like sighing. "I've no problem with her, putting aside that she's a good example of her race, I've enjoyed teaching her. The only thing that keeps me from responding to her advances is my relationship with Brianna." He answered. "And unfortunately for Ibis, I don't see Bri wanting to share. Though…"

    "I've seen those that look like you looking exactly like you're now, you're thinking something dangerous, most likely to yourself." The Psi-snail said knowingly.

    He chuckled softly as he worked. "Well, there's one way I can make it so there's a Magnus for each, after all, I'm not the first Magnus either."

    The Psi-snail stiffened in surprise, but quickly hid the fact from the Queen by shaking and shedding some shoddy armor plating.

    "I see you're also enjoying what I could teach." Magnus discreetly changed the subject.

    He practically felt them snort before answering, "Yes, but until you created the Magic Sun I would have taken months or years to properly replace all my armor."

    "Speaking of the Magic Sun, know that you will have to keep its existence a complete secret, many covet it and would stop at nothing to acquire it." He warned.

    "I would like to see them try once I've finished healing and replacing my armor… but I will take your warning in heed. It's true that there's many beings that are more trouble than they are worth fighting." The Psi-snail said and Magnus felt like he was being referred to.

    "I'll move ahead with some stealth enchantments I had planned to teach you later anyways." He decided as he continued working.

    The matter synthesizer was both more and less complex to build than the Magic Sun. While the latter had a higher difficulty of construction given the enchantments that went into it, it was very solid, not as much as the MS. The former had a large number of moving parts as it needed to adapt to the possible materials being created, shapes, states, etcetera…

    The Psi-snail was quickly shedding their old armor and regrowing a darker one. It was matte black and several times stronger than before, and that was before the enchantments and psi-reinforcement came into place.

    As he worked he felt a strangely familiar poke. He quickly erected a potent lie, moments before Old Gina stepped through into Real Space, exactly in the cloaked spot. He quickly created a second Lie, a more modest illusion only visible to her.

    "Hello Gina, I've to be honest I wasn't expecting to see you so soon again." His illusion spoke to her, and only to her.

    She gave him a silent look and then looked around. "Only you would have found a way to end with this bunch." She said before sighing. "And yes, it's good to see you're still alive. What happened? It took me quite a bit of work to find you."

    "Wild Magic Dice." His illusion answered as he continued working. "Dropped me somewhere in this labyrinthine place. I found Queen Ibis a short time later."

    "Only you…" She sighed.

    "For the way you spoke you know about them?" He asked.

    Gina nodded. "It would have happened in about a year, some bad luck would have had the Psi-snail injured and Dreadwing taking advantage of the Queen. She would have later gotten some revenge in stealing a particular artifact he worked hard to get. But outside of that they would most likely live their own life." She quickly explained, obviously leaving a lot of information out.

    "So did I-?"

    "No, thankfully that particular plan was already discarded even before you came on board. Honestly having her as an ally would be quite useful, Psi-snails have some of the most untraceable planar jumps. When you add the skill of their assassins they make excellent helpers."

    He snorted. "Any idea of where I am exactly?"

    "You were right about where you landed, this is the Labyrinth, it technically exists in the Earth Realm. But it's been sealed for a long time." She answered. "It was created to secure, contain and preserve the more dangerous magical denizens that lived in the Earth Realm during the last Age of Magic."

    "So I ended up in the world's most dangerous wildlife preserve?"

    "More or less, the Psi-Kobolds are near the top of the feeding chain with only a few extremely dangerous beings and monsters surpassing them. But those rarely leave their lairs deeper down." Gina explained.

    "You said the Psi-snail can jump out? So all I would have to do is convince Ibis?" He asked while he fiddled with the Matter Synthesizer.

    "While normally I would say it's not that easy, you've definitely earned her interest and providing the Psi-snail with a Magic Sun may curtail any opinions they have against moving from this prison." She answered before chuckling and adding, "I hope you know what you did when you handed such treasure."

    His illusion smiled. "Oh, I've a pretty good idea, but I can't help but feel a familiarity to the Psi-Kobolds, they are just too similar to Metaloids and to my older sister Amber's Hive." He said in full honesty. "It also wouldn't the first time my family gained allies of races considered dangerous."

    The old woman rolled her eyes, but smiled kindly. "I won't deny that you definitely have established a good rapport with them, and unless you do something very stupid you will most likely keep them on your side." She admitted. "I just want to warn you, don't assume they think like humans."

    That made him roll his eyes. "And I want to remind you that neither do I." He said. "I was never human and never will be, my way of acting is more than half an act. If I acted like I thought, Reality would be strained around me… much more than it actually is."

    He really wasn't anything close to human, he relied on a lot of protocols to interact with them, to the point it wasn't hard to forget it; especially when a Lie was laid on top of the act. "In many ways I've more to do with the Psi-Kobolds than most of humanity."

    "… just don't hurt Brianna." Old Gina warned.

    "Don't worry, I do like her and if she's interested I would like to take things seriously with her." He reassured her.

    "Here," she retrieved a small storage device and handed it to his illusion, which was quickly put in his inventory, "some information on a few safe spots in Jade you may offer to Queen Ibis as better places to reside than the Labyrinth."

    "I thank you for that, anyways, I heard about Madrid, I assume that was part of the plan?"

    "Yes, I had to force a few things, but luckily enough your small accident allowed things to run smoothly and managed to get the results I wanted." She said, evenly.

    "I still don't like that part of the plan much." He said.

    "I don't either, but unfortunately for present Madrid, future Madrid will be much happier from having gone through this. My mother's trip to Jade was also successful." She added. "I would like to say that you being away is helping keep things in order, but I would prefer if you aim to return faster than taking your time, there's a few things I would like you to do."

    "Okay, I do have a few other questions, but they can wait. I should finish this and Ibis may notice my mind partition if I'm not careful. It was good to see you doing well Gina, and don't doubt in asking for help more often." He shot her a smile.

    The ancient and tired woman blushed in surprise, quickly covering her face with her hat. "… thank you, and I will contact you once you're back on Earth proper." With those words she stepped out of synch with reality, effectively disappearing from the spot she had occupied.

    Magnus was left chuckling to himself as he finished the MS, it would be nice to start properly teaching the Kobolds some more advanced enchanting. He couldn't wait to see what they got into. And talking about getting into, he wondered what his original was doing.


    Magnus observed the very obvious cultists outside of the Dungeon. Dressed in blue robes with blue trimming they stood right outside the entrance, a small congregation of them organized around a glowing sigil with an almost familiar face etched on it.

    Laura had mentioned two of the first Bosses she had taken out where related to Cthulhu, their eye and brain. But he hadn't expected it to be so literal.

    "Should we interrupt?" Ruby asked.

    Thankfully her words and their presence was hidden under the Lie that kept them from being noticed, giving them a freedom to observe.

    "I'm conflicted, on one hand it's obvious they are carrying out a ritual, on the other there's little for me to observe so I can't tell what it's doing." He answered and added, "For all I know it could be sealing whatever evil it's etched there. Though given our luck that's not likely." He laughed softly.

    "We should head back and ask the Guide about it then, they will most likely know what to do." She noted.

    He sighed. "You're right, better not invite pro-" his words died in his mouth as he felt the change in the air.

    All the cultists but the masked one brandished daggers and plunged them into their chest and necks. Even from the distance he could see the blades were enchanted, causing blood to practically gush out of their bodies and spray all over the floating, magical sigil.

    The head cultist started to laugh as a call came from the beyond, it swept over the area and Magnus barely managed to keep the Lie hiding them in place. But it wasn't enough to keep their presence from being noticed, the stealth of the Lie had been mainly aimed at mundane and magical ways of seeing them.

    The head cultist was floating with eldritch energies, his form barely kept its human shape as those same energies mixed with the magic in the air, twisting it and creating spell-like effects that were thrown in their direction.

    Neither waited a second to react, jumping away as Magnus allowed the Lie to get torn apart.

    "Looks like the option's out of our hands now." Ruby said as she summoned a number of her Magends in their unleashed form.

    He couldn't help but to chuckle as he retrieved Gentle Lie and Hard Truth. "And we can't hold back much." He said and moved.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • thanks for the chapter and for writing. i hope bri is open to adding ibis to the coupling cause damn if the queen isn't cute
     
    Chapter 66
  • Threadmarks

    • Venturing the Worlds – 66


    Magnus felt his true Nature try and bubble up to the surface, without his input his Domain expanded out to repel the disgusting Reality the Head Cultist was trying to force into existence.

    "Be careful, he's not entirely in sync with Reality." He warned Ruby as they watched the robbed, masked figure flicker between different points in the air.

    It wasn't as much as teleportation as moving in an extra dimension not natural to Reality. The gibberish he was spouting was not gibberish at all, but Magnus knew better than to listen to it and swiftly cut Ruby's and his Understanding Enchantment. There was no need to invite cognito hazards.

    He quickly retrieved all of his weapon as the Cultist attacked, a deluge of frozen spikes were launched in an instant. Ruby reacted to them first, one of her most magically-potent Magends raised the staff that was on her hand and a dozen miniature suns moved into the way of the attack.

    Unfortunately the ice attack was touched by those eldritch energies and the heat from her spells did nothing, forcing Magnus to move in the way and intercept them himself.

    "Careful, they won't react as expected." He warned her again.

    "I'm sorry." She said as she moved.

    Her Magend shifted into the attack, cycling through the elements at random but kept using the fastest spells she knew. It seemed to have much more of an effect as their enemy couldn't shift between places fast enough to dodge all of them.

    Many still missed, hitting the clouds up in the air of the tall trees. The area quickly started to show the collateral damage as the trees and plants weren't as effective at surviving the high caliber spells.

    Magnus didn't stay still either, he was glad to have developed the Air Step spell from studying the Flight Souls, allowing him to stop in mid air between Blinks. He used Gentle Lie to slash through one of the afterimages they had left, the Lie affecting the original just as the illusion was cut. The Cultist screamed more garbled nonsense as his robe slices open for a moment, pale green tentacles reaching out to stitch it back together.

    In their anger they released some kind of twisted version of Ruby's sun attack, the fiery spheres floating off lazily in his direction, moving completely at random and forcing him to intercept them with his weapons.

    The Boss disappeared once more, reappearing surrounded by ghostly copies of himself around a quickly enlarging magical circle.

    Magnus quickly moved, Horizon in his hand and stabbing through two of the copies, dissipating them at the same time that Ruby launched a Light Beam spell.

    While the last copy dissipated, the spell bent around the real one just as the spell finished. A massive, ghost dragon construct erupted from the spell, flying in his direction.

    He snapped his tone and sent his weapons after the cultist as Gentle Lie cleaved the spell in half. Even as it was split in twin, both halves bent around and tried to catch him again, earning themselves a Hard Truth through the face, effectively breaking the spell.

    Ruby moved too, her Magends spread over the air to cover as much ground as possible. Just like with his attack, her spells hit the Boss multiple times, his robe starting to show the marks of the repeated fixes.

    The monster's figure started to lose that human shape, it had stopped being human a while ago, closer to a crazy conduit to some eldritch beyond. But even that was starting to fray at the edges, their damage not negligible and accumulating.

    Magnus pushed harder on that eldritch domain with his own, a Blink put him in front of the monster as Hard Truth and Gentle Lie both stabbed through the figure's chest.

    He felt the whole thing shudder and suddenly a deep, primal roar broke through the human-shaped portal.

    The weight from the impact not only dislodged him from the monster, but also forced more of his Nature to the outside. His exposed body flickered between fur, skin and something more. The True boundary between Reality and Him, something almost imperceptible but undeniable.

    He tried to pull himself back together but the eldritch Domain expanded, twisting the air and ground around them, bringing something from beyond and opening them to a second round of fighting.


    Ruby was casting a dozen spells at the same time, considering their targets, orientations, area of effect, the Magends possible in their way, keeping an overall appreciation for the fighting area and even making sure she didn't hit Magnus by mistake.

    And she was still doubting herself, even as a couple of her Magends had unleashed to keep up with the fighting, she hadn't pushed herself over.

    She hated that part of her, as much as she had done it for practice and during the sparring matches with Magnus, she couldn't bring herself now. But then she felt the roar.

    That alien and indescribable thing that was trying to push through the robbed figure. Even from the distance she could see how the mask had become its face, how it had cracked to show the unnatural beneath.

    The monster was hard to pin down, flickering over the three dimensional area they were fighting with no rhyme or reason. Releasing spells even faster than she could, with such varied effects it was impossible to fully prepare for them, and in addition they didn't even react as she expected.

    Fire froze things, electricity melted, water set things on fire and bombs exploded into harmless confetti. It was as maddening as it was frustrating.

    But that roar was pushing her past, it forced her to grab her doubt and throw it away, burn it, stamp it into the ground until she couldn't say she doubted herself anymore.

    She allowed herself to unleash her full Potential and changed, and with her all of her Magends followed through.

    Reinforced barriers sprung up all over the battlefield, blocking the tens of spells the monster was releasing at random. Explosions, shards, beams and everything else getting fully stopped as she acted.

    She was Summoner, one of the Exthilions three greatest artifacts. She knew now of the current fate of the other two, Enchanter and Magister. But she was pushing past her limits. At that moment the System pinged her, but she ignored it as she was everywhere on the field.

    Her Archmage Magend still held her staff, but it was connected to her body as a tail, her figure flickered through the battlefield as fast as the boss had done before, unleashing spell after spell. Uncaring if they missed as hitting wasn't her aim.

    Magnus quickly noticed her actions and shot her a small grin as he moved to follow her unspoken will.

    He started to harry the monster, pushing him further into the cage that was formed by the spells hitting each other and constructing a larger spell circle.

    There were spells that were nigh-impossible for a single person to cast, and even groups of skilled magic users would fail almost every time. Anyone strong enough could overpower a spell, lay waste to massive areas. But not everyone could use spells to construct complex frameworks, even less the tier of spells she was using.

    Her Dryad Magends had merged with the forest below, twisting the existing trees and growing new ones. Unseen by the monster floating above them another of the faces of the cube took shape with intertwined branches.

    It was the same on the air above, clouds saturated with her magic were being moved and shaped, hidden above a layer of normal-looking clouds another facet of the cube took shape. The Harpy Magends twisted the air as the rest of her prepared the sides of the cube.

    Magnus didn't even need her signal to move, his weapons moving to his will, as if a dozen, invisible fighters fought as one.

    The monster realized too late, if it could be said it was the Cultist and not whatever beyond that was puppetting it.

    Her Magends released the last few spells just as Magnus blinked out of the cage.

    The cube closed, walls constructed from almost a hundred different spells, her spells clicking together and the number was reduced to a single one. A massive golden prison of might and magic.

    The golden prison started to shrink, magical circles spinning on each of its facets. Its properties shifted as it closed down faster, cycling through effects, but finally locking onto the tear on Reality that the monster presented.

    It shrunk enough to start to press down on the figure and at the last moment, just as if it had been planned, Magnus stabbed through with his weapon.

    She could watch as a shudder spread through the fabric of reality, a mute scream, a wrathful promise.

    With an unceremoniously bleep the monster disappeared, swallowed in its entirety by the tear on Reality as it closed.

    Ruby turned as she felt a figure approach at a high speed, not entirely surprised that it was Laura.

    "You got here late." The Magends closest to the woman said, in particular a Dryad that practically sprouted from one of the trees.

    "Wha-R-Ruby?" She nearly screamed out.

    "Yes, we already dealt with the threat." She answered as her main body moved over to inspect the results of her spell.

    "But you…"

    Her Magend rolled her eyes. "My main body is over there with Magnus." The Dryad pointed to them.

    Laura approached them with care, looking lost and confused as neither of them looked as they normally presented themselves.

    Ruby was currently looking more akin to an imposing statue with her four meters of height, the more angular form of her body only giving way to curves to show her feminine nature and the softness of the lower half of her face. Her body was made from a strange, gray and pink material, even Magnus was a bit stumped when studying it.

    The best answer they had come up with when working together was that it was one of the primal blocks of creation from her World, the materials that put together Reality; usually out of reach from the inside of a Reality. It was Magic, Potential and a bit of everything else, just enough to allow her flexibility when utilizing her ability.

    Magnus' change wasn't as visible, it was more of a qualitative change. To start it was hard not to think about him when looking at him, it was as if his whole presence declared himself to anyone who observed him. He hadn't changed much on the size, but there was an extra weight to his form and Reality had a hard time pinning him down. It was strange to see the afterimages as Light ignored Reality.

    He also had a pair of foxy ears that seemed to have a mind of their own.

    "Magnus… Ruby…?" Laura asked.

    "Yes, sorry about this, we had to get a bit more serious when dealing with the Boss." He answered, his voice not entirely coming from his mouth as she could see Stonebell chiming on the back.

    "What's wrong with you two?" The young woman was definitely having problems with the situation.

    Ruby laughed softly and answered, "This is my true nature, I'm an Awakened Enigma, basically a living, intelligent and sentient Artifact. In Magnus' case, it's just closer to his Nature, you can most likely notice more than see it."

    "I will revert in a bit, I just need the extra senses to properly confirm I closed the tear to whatever eldritch place that cultist poked a hole into." He explained.

    "Well… that's… good, I think?" Laura said slowly. "Jonas mentioned that something was being summoned outside of the Dungeon. But by the time I arrived you were done already."

    Ruby was about to make a joke about the length of the fight and how long it had actually felt like. But before she could speak Reality shook, a quake that stretched from coast to coast. A wince escaped her mouth as an unearthly pressure fell onto all of them, Laura being the most affected by it.

    Magnus quickly caught her before she fell, their position high on the air allowed them to see four pillars rise around the island. Wicked things brought by the eldritch energy that had suffused the cultist Boss.

    "I think the ritual still managed to work." Ruby said.

    Magnus nodded as they carefully landed on the ground. "Whatever was on the other side will not be happy about our actions." He said as he helped Laura recover. "We should return to town and see to regroup, I somehow doubt those Pillars will just be standing there."

    Laura and her nodded, they would take it easy, it seemed that the woman was a bit more connected to the World's Reality than they had expected. Ruby had no problem with this, it gave her some time to check the changes to her System.

    It appeared she was up for a Job upgrade and there was a single option available. Ego Enigma Creator, just the name had brought her thoughts to a stop. It was obvious that the System was using information from her original World as the concept of Enigma was given to those artifacts that broke the rules and no one could explain, ergo the name enigma.

    Her Magends were already on the verge of the Enigma category, she was an Enigma. The idea of upgrading and pushing over meant a considerable upgrade on her power, but also on the responsibility.

    An hour earlier she would have doubted the choice, at the moment she simply accepted it, allowing it to change her as something Soul-deep in her shifted and bloomed.

    The knowledge flowed into her mind, to begin with the strength of her Magends, or well Enigmas now, was much higher, the skills could either widen or deepen. It would be interesting to see once she properly tested things.

    Another new skill she had acquired was a further understanding of artifacts and artifacts spirits, she kind of fit in the latter as she was an awakened Enigma. She would be able to operate and interact with them more easily.

    After that there were upgraded versions of many of the skills she had, the coordination, knowledge sharing and even an increase of the distance two of her could connect. Nothing between Worlds, but Realities in the same World was possible with some work.

    She would need to meditate on the changes and explore her new limits. But for the moment she walked with the others towards town, the look she got from Magnus was quite telling in that he had noticed. He would most likely want to talk about it once they were alone. She had no problem with that.


    Magnus' Soul itched, it was like the sensation of dry skin after stretching, slightly loose but not completely, and every move made it noticeable. Thankfully he had managed to get his Domain back in check before they got into town.

    Ruby had also returned to normal, or at least her new normal. He had felt the change from her Job upgrade and would have to ask her about it later.

    For the moment it was obvious the sudden appearance of the four pillars hadn't gone unnoticed, most civilians and untitled workers had hunkered down while the Title-holders kept a look out around the town.

    Jonas the Guide was just the closest to the path they were arriving in.

    "Laura, Ruby, Magnus, good to see you three are okay." The man, Magnus was still using that term loosely in his mind, greeted them.

    "Jonas, Magnus and Ruby took out the Cultist outside of the Dungeon, but…" Laura shrugged, as it was pretty obvious what had happened.

    "The ritual must have been finished." The Guide guessed.

    Magnus confirmed it, "We weren't going to interrupt, but suddenly most of them sacrificed themselves to it and then the Cultist Leader absorbed the ritual to become a conduit for whatever was on the other side."

    "I feared that, it means the Pillars have been revealed and Celestial Creatures are invading."

    "Pillars? Celestial Creatures?" Laura prompted, sounding more tired than anything else.

    The Guide nodded. "There's four of them as you may have noticed, each is controlled and protected by a different group. They are the seals, but as you can imagine, we can't leave them there as the monsters they spawn will overrun the island." He explained. "They are also protected by a shield that will make reaching them impossible, the shield is powered by monsters that spawn from the pillar, defeat enough of them and it should go down."

    Magnus didn't like how that sounded, it was practically a situation of being between a rock and a hard place, a catch 22 of damn you do or do not. If they didn't destroy the pillars it would mean four sources of inexhaustible enemies, if they did they were breaking the seals.

    On a third option he may be able to craft new seals to replace the pillars, but no one said they couldn't be corrupted and turned into new pillars or worse. His creations weren't exactly like his father's yet.

    He was considering that destroying the pillars and taking out whatever eldritch entity would be more effective in the long term; Snack could definitely deal Real damage to it after all.

    The Guide explained a few more things he should definitely not know, but no one batted an eye at it. Magnus simply assumed it was some local effect he was alien to. Once he finished he left back to patrolling the town.

    Laura also headed off to check on the other settlements around the island. Magnus imagined more than a few people may be relocating to the town as there was safety in numbers, especially when it was where the strongest people congregated already.

    Once they were alone he retrieved the Rito, Goron and Zora mask, the three of them taking shape as he used to send them off to scout the pillars, while the two of them headed back to the small house they had been given.

    "Did we screw up?" Ruby asked once they were in private.

    "… no, I do not think we did." He answered after a small moment of thought. "I would bet that these events were predestined to work, if it wasn't us it would have been Laura who fought the Boss Cultist."

    They sat down leaning on each other, a quick check through the System revealed that Lydia, Romeo and Moisha were currently back in the ship resting while Orange was just doing her thing. His sister did mention that the Long Fortune had noticed the tear in Reality, but the scans had been inconclusive about where exactly they lead.

    In her words it was something in their current Reality, but at the same time disconnected, or maybe sealed away. Which made sense given the goal of the Pillars.

    "I do not think she would have had such a problem." He answered to her worries. "In part because we definitely pushed the entity behind the ritual past whatever limits it had set, and on the other because of Laura's Title."

    "You mean the Terrarian?"

    With a small nod he explained, "Yes, didn't you find it weird? Everyone else's Titles have been descriptive, Guide, Zoologist, Party Girl, Cyborg, etcetera… But hers is different, or at least it's not immediately obvious."

    Ruby thought about it. "Terrarian would most likely be read as "That one of Terraria." She guessed.

    He nodded. "We are currently on Terraria." He explained. "She's of this world, or most likely this World."

    "She's a Champion?" She prompted. "I remember you having explained it some time ago, but I did not think we would actually meet one given how rare they apparently are."

    He chuckled. "Oh, they are that rare, it's just that we've visited Worlds with a high chance of having Champions." He explained. "For example I think we crossed pretty close to a Champion's path over in the Pokemon World, I'm ninety percent sure that one of the friends Lillie had talked about was a Champion for the World, or at least the current Reality."

    "If she's a Champion then the World itself would have helped her close that tear in Reality." She gathered.

    "Most likely," he nodded, "also why destroying the Pillars is most likely inevitable and so is her fight with the so-called Moon Lord."

    "Doesn't mean we won't help."

    He laughed at that, his arm wrapping tighter around her figure. "I do not think we could stay out of it even if we wanted." He said. "Anyways, someone changed a bit, eh?"

    Ruby blushed. "Don't tease me." She let out an adorable whine as his hand rubbed her waist. "But yes, my Job finally upgraded, now it's Ego Enigma Creator."

    That sure surprised him. "That's quite an upgrade, how are you feeling?"

    "Strange, definitely more than before, also my other selves' have definitely become more individual." She explained.

    "Wasn't that how things went for your original?"

    With a small nod she explained, "Yes, and it was for me originally too. That changed when the System helped me organize and coordinate myself to the point we were one. I think the best way to explain it is that now they are getting reinforced, so the Magends are making the jump to Awakened Enigmas and with that comes a stronger sense of self, and ego."

    "Sounds like I may need to work harder from now on to please all of you." He joked, causing her to laugh.

    "Hmm, I don't doubt you will invest the necessary time on it. We're still very much of the same mind and I doubt that will change much in the future."

    "Any other changes?" He asked as they cuddled together.

    She nodded. "There's two big things more, one is that I gained an innate ability to work with Enigmas and Artifacts, easily learning their use and interacting with them if they are intelligent. I can also turn my Enigmas into equipment to be used by other people or even my other Enigmas."

    "Even you?"

    "Yes, even I could be equipped onto someone." She answered and let out a small laugh. "As kinky as it may sound."

    "We may need to practice with it, though I doubt we will be able to use it properly once the Moon Lord comes." He decided.

    As they talked his three Shadows had reached the first Pillar. The area around the massive and twisted object was touched by eldritch energies. It was visible by how Light was tainted in an orange glow and a strange planet could be seen in the sky above.

    The area was thriving with monsters, all showing the same eldritch touch as the Pillar, their bodies twisted into monstrosities, mindlessly attacking everything that moved in the area, and their reach was slowly spreading.

    His Shadows ran a scan of the shield over the Pillar and quickly cataloged the monsters before moving onto the next, it wasn't the time to fight yet. It wasn't enough information, but it was a start.

    It was obvious that the World was much more dangerous than they had first expected, but in that danger existed reward and Magnus couldn't deny he had been gaining a lot of useful things. His next objective was to study the Purification Powder that the Dryad sold. He had only learned about it when Laura had mentioned it during their walk back to Town.

    That item along with the Clentaminator sold by the Steampunker and the associated Solutions. The only problem was that Delilah still hadn't forgiven him for his little prank, but since it could wait it wasn't too much of a problem.

    As he relaxed with Ruby before the storm hit, he planned.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 67
  • Threadmarks

    • Venturing the Worlds – 67


    Magnus' Shadows spent the night observing the Pillars, only returning just before dawn. There had been some good and bad news once morning came.

    The bad news was that the monsters being spawned in the area of influence of the corrupted pillars were some of the strongest that existed in the island outside of Bosses, and they were incredibly varied too. There was an observable theme on each pillar.

    The orange seemed to focus mainly on melee damage and high defense.

    The aquamarine seemed to focus on ranged damage and progressively stronger ones.

    The magenta seemed to focus on magic and high movement versatility.

    The cyan seemed to focus on just numbers, swarming an uncountable amount of enemies.

    The information wasn't entirely bad, the test fights they had run with a few of the monsters on the edges of the pillars' influences had given them a basic idea of what they could do, and in the situation they were in it couldn't be denied how useful it was.

    The good news was that the Pillar's influence had stopped expanding after a few hours, while not stagnated completely, it had slowed down to the point that it was clear they still had some time before they became an issue. Still many of the nearby settlements had evacuated and the next closest ones were starting to move too.

    With a better idea of what was in store for them they would need to plan how to tackle the Pillars. But that meeting was planned for later in the day while Laura and the other Title-holders accommodated the evacuees. Magnus had already sent his Goron Shadow to help with the construction of new, reinforced homes and defenses for the town.

    It helped that he had acquired a Perk perfectly aimed for the creation of reinforced buildings that could stand up to pretty powerful individuals. It was obviously coming from some kind of superheroes World as along with the architectural knowledge, there was a whole slew of knowledge aimed to decorate said buildings under the theme of a super or similar.

    It provided a large variety of ways to reinforce buildings, mixing and matching power sources, defenses, construction techniques, etcetera. It was a very broad ability that he was going to exploit in their current situation thoroughly.

    The way the numbers were increasing the place would soon become a city. That meant there would be a need to properly plan laying roads and larger community services. But that would have to wait until after the threat was dealt with.

    So while the locals were busy, Magnus had decided to put what he had learned in the Dungeon into practice.

    The status effects he had studied and recorded were varied, it was obvious they weren't all possible ones that existed in the World, but certainly set a solid and observable trend on how things worked.

    Proper study revealed that both local Buffs and Debuffs worked pretty similarly, standing somewhere between enchantments and Blessings or Curses respectively. Their main characteristic was that practically all of them were temporary unless something that kept them going existed. For example, Laura had created a lamp that provided anyone close by with a steady regeneration ability as long as they remained close.

    Funnily enough, Buffs tended to last longer given the fact that people didn't fight them and allowed them to stay active, this made it easier to lean on duration. But at the same time a mere thought could break a Buff if the target didn't wish to keep it on. Many Buffs could be easily acquired with the production of Potions, a subject he hadn't explored yet, mainly because Ruby was still building a good stock on materials over in the Garden.

    Debuffs were the opposite, they were forged to entrench themselves and fight tooth and nail to remain where they were. This cut their duration severely, but in exchange they needed special methods to remove them before they ran their course.

    Many Bosses had exclusive Debuffs aimed to keep anyone close by from running away and could be downright lethal if ignored.

    Not that every Status Effect was useful, there were apparently many that were straight cosmetic or just for the fun of it. But that didn't mean they worked in any different way.

    Magnus was aiming to work out the exact mechanics, the delivery method and resulting effect could come later. Thankfully he had been experimenting with small Blessings since helping the Zoologist, meaning he had the full spectrum to work with.

    He would need to experiment with them thoroughly, but he couldn't deny he enjoyed it thoroughly and now Ruby could help with some of her Enigmas.


    Laura hadn't slept more than a five minute nap that had been roughly cut short at four minutes when someone had shaken her to get her moving.

    She had been accompanying the evacuees from the settlements closer to the Pillars to the forest town at the center of the island. Thankfully the night was bereft of monsters thanks to the killing of the Cultist Boss and something was hunting Monsters through the night. Unfortunately she was too busy keeping the people from panicking as they trekked through the wilds.

    Thankfully she wasn't the one having to build the new houses, Magnus was raising the building himself, or at least it was one of his Shadows. She didn't entirely know what to think of the man and his abilities.

    He wasn't human, and that hadn't clicked for her until the prior day and seeing just how inhuman he could be. Just looking straight at him had made her vision cross and her headache. She couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly, outside of how his figure seemed to shift and be multiple things at the same time, or maybe it was how looking at him put words in her mind.

    She now knew more about him than that had come up in light talk with him or any of his companions. He knew he had been created, that he had two blood-related half-siblings that were half-related between them. But at the same time the three of them had been one being, making them all the kid(s) of three people. She knew that he would live nearly forever, that the extent of his Power was nearly always limited and Reality truly couldn't withstand him entirely without buckling under his Reality and-

    Laura's hand smacked her cheek, shaking her brain hard enough to break her train of thought. It was invasive knowledge that she was having a hard time dealing with.

    She walked into Lisa's place, the Nurse turning to look at her, impressively looking more tired than she was.

    "You don't look hurt." She said in a tired, sour tone.

    Laura just rolled her eyes and dropped on the chair. "Not really, but I certainly would like to know how many stimulants you can inject in me before I've to go out again."

    The Nurse rolled her eyes. "The only kind of stuff that I could give you would either be illegal or too expensive for your wallet."

    "Maybe I should take my weapons to get reforged by Magnus, Ragx's method is just a money sink." She grumbled.

    "Now that I think about it, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him yet, I should set up an appointment for a proper check up." She mused out loud.

    Laura snorted. "I wouldn't recommend it, he's… neither staying, nor human enough for you to give him a check up, outside of doing something that would get Ruby mad at you."

    "Me getting mad at who and for what?" Ruby interrupted them just there, walking into the Nurse's office.

    Laura just snorted. "Just a small joke." She said honestly as she looked at the pink-haired woman. There was something about her at the moment, and it wasn't just that Laura had seen her true form.

    Ruby just raised an eyebrow, but quickly let it lay as she turned to Lisa. "Hi, I'm Ruby, I heard about how you were getting overworked and wanted to offer my help to deal with the refugees."

    "Lisa, the Nurse. And what can you do?" She asked succinctly.

    "I'm a fully trained medical practitioner and magical healer." Ruby replied.

    Lisa gave her a long, slow look, definitely considering things. "… I could certainly use an extra pair of hands, even if all you did was hold the tools." She admitted. "If you can heal in my place I could certainly rest for a few hours. I just don't want to drop all my work on you."

    Laura raised an eyebrow, she knew the Nurse was also in it for the money. If she wasn't the one healing, she wasn't the one getting paid.

    Ruby just let out a small chuckle. "I take care of the Infirmary and the Gardens in the ship, this is also not my main body." She gestured to her sharper ears. "So I'm not doing more than what I would normally do by staying inside the main one's brain."

    "Wait, what?" Laura prompted.

    Ruby turned towards her. "I thought it had been left clear when you found us outside of the Dungeon. My Title is Summoner because I can summon copies of myself, they all exist inside my head when not out and about." She explained, for both women. "… oh right, you only saw one of my unleashed forms, that's me getting serious. Usually my forms are just me in different races."

    "That's an impressive ability, I imagine it's not all you can do?" Lisa asked in honest curiosity.

    Laura was starting to think the lack of sleep was getting to the Nurse's mind.

    "No, it's not. But I do not think it's the time to talk about these subjects. Instead I think it's time you go rest while I take care of the patients." Ruby said.

    Lisa was about to speak before a yawn overtook her words. "Damn, I think you're right." She let out with a grumble.

    A second Ruby appeared by the first, this one much more different than the first as her body was shorter and stockier. This one quickly took Lisa away, leaving Laura and Ruby alone.

    "Don't you think you have something to give me a few extra hours of sleep?" She asked, hopeful.

    "I do know a spell that will give you eight hours of sleep, but you will have to sleep for an hour."

    Laura thought about it, she could certainly see the worth of such spell. "Uh what the hell, go ahead and hit me with it."

    Ruby laughed. "Get on a bed first and I will do it, I aim to make the spell very efficient and will make you pass out the moment it's cast. Just remember to not resist."

    She nodded and followed the orders. "Than-" She didn't even get to finish her words before the spell overtook her and she fell asleep.


    He woke up and the gentle realization that he didn't remember who he was was all he could think. That and the gentle, feminine and familiar voice that seemed to speak to his very soul.

    … Open your eyes…

    He felt the memories of that warm, golden light slowly escape him like water through his fingers.

    Open your eyes…

    He did so slowly. His body felt weightless as he floated in some kind of warm pool of water. He felt the level lower until he laid on a hard, flat surface as the liquid drained away.

    Wake up, Link…

    That was his name, yes. He sat up slowly and looked around. He didn't recognize the place, but he neither recognized anything else but his name.

    The moment he stood up from the surface he had been sleeping on his attention was caught by an object lighting up a few meters away. The voice had been silent, but the message wasn't entirely lost on him.

    He checked himself quickly, he was only wearing a pair of tight, comfortable boxers and apparently what he had been lying in wasn't water because he felt completely dry.

    With little else to do, he wandered over to the glowing object. The short cylinder lit up stronger when he approached it and the central circle turned a hundred and eight degrees before the rectangular object in the center raised for him to grab it.

    That is a Sheikah Slate, Link, take it. It shall help you after your long slumber. I can only imagine how lost you're feeling, but I believe in you. Much time has passed, but many still remember you and will help you.

    The voice sounded strained to him, it still was warm and comforting. But something in him told Link that the voice was forcing herself to sound that way for his reassurance.

    A moment after taking the Sheikah Slate, the only door opened up, revealing a hallway as poorly lit as the room he was in. On the other side he found some old treasure chests with a change of clothes he quickly put on and an old, battered sword.

    It was basically a rusty piece of metal, but something in him told him it would get a few good hits in, and many times that was all one needed.

    He walked through the hallway and found another locked door, when it didn't open automatically the voice came back.

    Use the Sheikah Slate on the obelisk, it will unlock it for you.

    He saw no reason not to and moved it closer, watching both light up for a moment before the door started moving. The light on the other side felt blinding, but as warm as the voice that spoke once more.

    Link… you're the Light -Our Light- that must shine upon Hyrule again. Now go…

    The voice's last words were nearly silent and he knew that the speaker wouldn't reach them again for a long time.

    He started walking, and climbing as a piece of the stairs was missing; he wondered where the material that had made the solid stone stairs had gone to simply leave the missing chunk. He didn't dwell on it, instead walked out to the morning sun and the sprawling view of Hyrule.

    He breathed deeply in, the fresh scent of nature filled his lungs and erased the last of his sleep. Feeling completely awake he looked around, soon seeing a small camp down the hill he stood.

    He found the hooded man resting by a fire under a rocky outcrop. The figure barely acknowledged his presence before speaking.

    "Oho ho, well met, stranger. It's been a while since I've seen another soul in this place outside of the monsters that wander around."

    Link nodded, he had seen a few Moblins on his way down from the hill.

    "Who are you?" He asked succinctly, it felt like it had been ages since he had last spoken.

    "Me? I won't bother you with my life's history. Just consider me a hermit right now, an old fool who's passing time, who's been passing time for a long time." He laughed softly and rubbed his chin before using his staff to poke at the fire. "Something tells me you have a much more interesting story."

    Link shook his head, denying knowing it. "Where are we?"

    The old man let out a small chuckle. "Answering a question with a question, it's okay if you don't want to answer." He hummed. "This is the Great Plateau, a place believed to have been the birthplace of the Kingdom of Hyrule."

    The hermit slowly got up, turning to gesture to the ruins further down the hill after a small lake.

    "Unfortunately this area's been in decline since the kingdom was shaken a hundred years ago." He gestured to the distance, a castle entwined with a dark glow. "Even now the marks of that terrible event mar the land. I can't tell you what to do, but I would suggest visiting the Goddess' Statue in the ruins."

    He thanked the old man before deciding to follow his suggestion. On the way there he found an old woodsman ax he added to his small collection of weapons, of which he counted a total of two. Unfortunately a small encounter with Red Moblins took the ancient short sword.

    The old church was in heavy disrepair, large pieces of the ceiling were missing, letting more natural light in that even the large windows allowed. Nature had started to reclaim the insides, grass grew in-between the broken tiles of the floor and vines crept up most walls.

    Near the back stood the Goddess Statue, the representation of Hyrule practically glowed with the light shining down upon it. Link felt compelled to approach it.

    He expected a voice, a vision, any kind of sign coming from the statue. Instead it was his Sheikah Slate that produced a noise. Link quickly picked it from where it hung on his waist.

    The screen lit up showing some kind of map function. The only problem was that it showed nothing besides him and a glowing point some close by. It was the best sign he could get, at least it was clear of where he had to go.

    While he hoped she would get some kind of answer in his current destination, some old reflex told him it would just be the first of many, many steps ahead in his trip.


    Magnus' placing in the Psi-Kobold's pack had only solidified since he had accepted as teacher. It was becoming honestly impressive just how well the hive mind was taking every lesson he provided. Not just the Kobolds, but also the Psi-snail had improved on their skills greatly.

    The massive being hadn't only improved their carapace, but also grown in size. He had been surprised when it had come up that they had discussed things with Queen Iblis and set up a private room for him in one of the most protected places in its back. It wasn't just a place for him to live, but also to teach and work.

    It was a room tall enough for even some of the largest Kobolds to visit, even if they would need to remain sitting and slightly hunch-over. On the other hand, Queen Ibis seemed to enjoy the room enough to spend a lot of her time not actively communing with the Psi-snail there.

    Magnus wouldn't deny he enjoyed the Queen's presence, she was smart, innovative, determined and loyal to her people; all qualities he saw positively. She was also easy to rile up and quickly tried to reject any implications that she was emotional.

    Thankfully he had managed to keep her advances at bay by leaning on the fact that taking her would be similar to her betraying her pack. If he hadn't started to go out with Brianna or wasn't interested in taking things as seriously he would have certainly not been pushing her back this much.

    On the subject of his girlfriend, he had managed to contact her again during a low time between lessons. She, and her father, had both been surprised when he passed on the knowledge of his location. Dr. Diggers had only heard about the Labyrinth in passing from his teacher and in some old notes from his own father.

    Magnus had kept the fact that he was going to convince Queen Ibis to leave the Labyrinth and set up in one of the monster-infested, society-barren plains of Jade a secret for the moment. He was planning on setting up more as a chance than anything else, he was pretty sure Ibis would find it hilarious too; if he managed to convince her.

    For the moment he told them he was working on setting a way out of the Labyrinth without breaking the horrors inside free out on Earth. The two of them were working on the other way out, especially Dr. Diggers as he was reaching out to some of his contacts in Jade that knew a bit more about the prison.

    Since it would take time, he was working on some personal projects when he could, mainly working on producing his Truth and Lies swords. Those were not cooperating.

    Magnus let out a groan as the Concept failed to alloy with the metal he was using, he had thought to finally have gotten what he needed from one of the rarest samples he had harvested from the death trap. Unfortunately something in the material couldn't withstand Truth properly and declared it so, loudly and explosively.

    He couldn't deny that the Red Sand his original had used was definitely on another level. So far he was failing at bonding the Concept that existed in him and through him into a material object. It was becoming more and more obvious he would need to either cannibalize some ancient artifact or alchemically work a way to crystalize the Concept into something he could work with.

    It wasn't as if he hadn't had a few successes during the work, the most useful one was a True Death sword; a useful tool against Immortals and Undead. Even as restricted as it was, the sword had been thoroughly enchanted to resist the potency of the partial Concept and he wasn't sure it could be fully used for extended fighting, more of a coup-de-grace tool.

    The others were along the lines of Illusion breakers, transformation breakers and similar ones that pushed against Lies. On the other end of the spectrum he had managed a sword that Lied about the way that it dealt damage by ignoring most kinds of armor and defenses.

    Useful tools to add to his arsenal, but wouldn't be proper weapons like the Sheikah Grimoire, Iris or any his original wielded.

    Queen Ibis chose that moment to walk into the room. "I heard an explosion. Situation. Equals. Okay?"

    He turned to her and wiped the bits of metal off his clothes. "All is okay, just another failure." He answered.

    Ibis nodded and walked forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. It was a nice gesture, especially since she wasn't pushing against him this time.

    "Rest? Only Work. Equals. Problems."

    He chuckled. "I know, don't worry, I'm far from burning out." He smiled and noticed how she reacted, once more trying to shift back to a neutral but not managing to curtail the happiness that emanated from the psychic connection. "Have you thought about the offer?"

    "Offers. Equal. Tempting." Her first reply made him hopeful. "Unknown. Equals. Danger."

    He nodded in agreement. "The unknown's definitely dangerous, but in that danger lies Potential to be more, chances, treasures, allies," he gave her a knowing look, "if I didn't face the danger of trying to talk I would have certainly missed much and just wandered the Labyrinth."

    He watched her think about it, her silence and the sensation of them getting attention, a sign she was commiserating with the Psi-snail.

    "Offer. Equals. Good for the Hive. Growth. Equals. Power. Equals. Safety." She said,

    He nodded. "It's also not like I'll be leaving straight away. Jade's much more accessible than this locked prison." He said. "So I can keep close and look out for you."

    That seemed to push her decision over, given that the Psi-snail didn't say anything about it, their opinion may have been in agreement already.

    "Will prepare. We move soon." She announced.

    He nodded with a smile, it was going to get pretty interesting in Jade with the new neighbors.
     
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    • Jordisk said:
    You can hardly complain about not understanding part of the story when you willingly skipped the part that explains it. Go read Venturing Into the Wilds. It is basically the best Zelda fic on this site.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Not even close, Drich's "Again" is miles ahead. If you want to read a funny and good Zelda fic go read that one. It's the fic that more or less inspired me for that part of the story.
     
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