PftA Book 2 - Chapter 43

Chapter 43 – Six Weeks

“I feel bad for everyone left without power, especially those living in extreme climates,” Bell commented as she handed me a hot chocolate. “Especially the children.”

We watched Amie play with a few neighborhood kids as we sipped our warm drinks. As the children laughed, I glanced at the changes that had already manifested around us.

The playground was still in the center of the three large towers making up our housing complex. However, the complex and the nearby Atlas office were now surrounded by a twenty-foot wall of stone-like material. The wall was neither stone nor concrete but had been created by Earth Mages, so I was confident it was similar.

Most of the parking lots had been removed, with the one that remained only holding a few vehicles that had been modified with enchantments to work after the reintegration. Any now useless vehicles had been moved to a nearby parking garage, where they were slowly being consumed for material.

The large lot that used to separate the Atlas office from the apartment towers had been repurposed into temporary housing for the refugees who had flocked to the Atlas Headquarters hoping to find aid.

The newly strengthened HT2 rift and its buddy PT1 rift were separated from the rest of the newly established complex by a separate wall that was fused with the Medical Pavilion. Consequently, the Medical Pavilion served as part of the wall separating the rifts from the residential area, granting access to potentially life-saving magic from either side.

There was still a rift in the basement of the Atlas building, but it was not being publicized. I doubted many natives had any idea the MT3 rift even existed. I wanted to challenge it after things settled down, but the waiting list was already weeks long.

The power had gone out around the world a few weeks earlier, but there was little difference for those living in Atlas-provided housing. Every apartment had been enchanted with the basics when built, though the controls had been hidden behind a small panel. With the loss of mundane technology, the panels had been revealed, allowing those living in the housing towers to maintain a comfortable standard of living.

The large, multi-building apartment complex had already been filled to capacity by the initial rush of refugees before the power even flickered. More housing towers were being constructed nearby, but the flow of refugees had only increased with the loss of electricity and mundane technology.

Some were turned away.

It wasn’t because there was no room – which would only be a temporary thing with experienced Earth and Nature Mages working on the issue – it was because they had bad intentions. One of the best things about the apocalypse was that it brought magics like Detect Lie, Speak Truth, and Sense Intent. It was a simple matter to have someone with one of those spells question potential residents to determine if they planned to steal from or harm other residents.

Those who failed the questioning were politely told they were not welcome and were marked as such. Even without using inspection-type spells, residents of the newly established community could easily tell who was welcome and who was not. It was pretty hard to miss a bright red aura, after all.

It was a little ‘big brotherish,’ but that seemed like a small issue compared to the risk involved with allowing those with ill intent to enter the community freely.

“I feel bad for them, too,” I said after carefully sipping the steaming drink. She’d added whipped cream instead of marshmallows, just how I liked it. I sighed. “Thanks,” I added, lifting the cup slightly.

“I wish we could have made enough enchantments for everyone,” Bell lamented as she watched the children play. “It sucks having the skill to solve a problem and not being able to do anything.”

I looked at my very pregnant friend. “You did a lot. You literally made thousands of devices to improve the standard of living for others,” I said gently. “Every adult has access to magic now. It’s not a bad thing to let people solve their problems. If everything is handed to people, they won’t grow or learn. Just look at how quickly some of the people here have adapted.”

I motioned toward the wall and the Medical Pavilion. While most of the construction had been done by experienced Alliance personnel, there had been several natives involved as well. Many locals had sought out Alliance personnel as mentors and trainers to help them shift their skills from the simulated game environment to the real world. Several were already working as apprentice Smiths, Woodworkers, Tailors, and a variety of other professions.

Atlas, or rather, the Alliance, had turned the second floor of the Headquarters office into a Crafting Hall and was allowing anyone to rent space for relatively little. Of course, with the previous economy destroyed, only Alliance currency – interface credits, coins, and mana cores – and crafting material from rifts were accepted as payment. It also motivated people to kill creatures that had escaped from failing rifts or to challenge the rifts themselves.

Everyone with a bank account had their funds converted to Alliance credit after the power went out. It was offered before (at higher conversion rates) but was automatic once people effectively lost access to their electronic funds. I was pretty sure there were government deals to trade the precious metals in the treasury for credits, but that was well above my pay grade.

Rhona had, in true Administrator fashion, taken charge of the community and now handled most of the job assignments and logistical matters. I was glad not to be involved with any of it.

“I have to go see Master Kairos soon,” I said a few minutes later.

“More secret disciple training?” My temporary roommate asked with a tired grin. I’d already used Diagnosethat morning, so I knew she was just tired from lack of sleep. The babies were both doing well.

“Super-secret disciple training,” I responded jokingly. “I’ll be back late. I’m meeting with Stella afterward, and I don’t know what she has planned. We haven’t gotten a chance to do much training since everything kicked off.”

For those of us working for the Alliance, a transition to the five-day week made sense. It was how the rest of the Alliance measured weeks, and once the transition period was over, it was how Earth would measure weeks as well. Not everyone would catch on, but anyone interacting with the Alliance would be forced to adapt eventually.

Regardless of what the rest of the world was doing, those living inside the Atlas compound were already trying to adapt. That meant for every four days dedicated to work, one was set aside for rest. I’d only gotten one rest day since the apocalypse started, and it had been filled with missed lessons and training.

“If we’re not here when you get back, check the beach. Your parents and I were talking about maybe taking Amie to the beach now that the water is warming up. Today seems like a good day to go,” Bell said, glancing at the clear sky.

“I doubt I’ll be back before dark,” I replied as I headed back to the apartment to change into my robes. I could have equipped them from my ring without leaving, but I still didn’t like drawing attention to my advantages.

As soon as I was dressed, I teleported to Master Kairos’s island.

= = =

“Mage Stella! I didn’t expect to see you here,” I said when I saw her waiting for me.

“We’re back to ‘Mage Stella’ now?” the older Space Mage smirked, causing me to flush lightly. In the years we’d been training together, I’d shifted to mostly addressing the woman by her name, but it felt inappropriate to do so in such a setting.

Before I could respond, one of the servants appeared and guided us to Master Kairos’s office. I was glad my sect under armor had [Maintain Temperature] enchanted into the pieces since the heat during the short walk between buildings would have been miserable without it, even at Tier Three.

Unlike the last time I was there, Master Kairos was not sitting behind the large desk. Instead, he was standing next to an opening in the wall. I hadn’t noticed it before, but I’d been too preoccupied with my brother’s disappearance to be particularly observant.

“It’s nice to see you again, Miss CaerAsper,” Master Kairos said to my Space magic mentor with a nod. His greeting highlighted her heritage, once again reminding me that she, like Rhona, was the child of an Alliance noble. It was easy to forget, given how casual both women usually acted.

Stella returned the nod, though hers was more of a shallow bow. “And you as well, Patriarch Epikairos.”

I glanced between the two, observing their little political dance with interest. It was something I should probably practice doing, but I doubted I’d get much of an opportunity, given my current plans to spend most of my foreseeable future in a dungeon.

Technically, my name was no longer Emie Mercer. It was Emie deEpikairos. I only knew because my status had changed shortly after making the deal with Sir Eri’Non. Master Kairos had warned me about the change eventually happening during one of my lessons, but I’d expected it to happen after I moved to the sect or did some kind of ceremony.

I wasn’t sure why making a deal with Sir Eri’Non would have triggered the change, but I didn’t question it. After going against Master Kairos’s wishes, the last thing I wanted to do was draw his ire.

Like a noble identifier, the name identified me as a ‘named’ disciple of the sect, meaning I was either a core disciple or the direct disciple of an Elder (which the Patriarch counted as).

We followed Master Kairos through the opening and into a spatially-expanded workshop. On the center table was a crystal that looked similar to an augment but was about three times the size.

Master Kairos glanced at Stella before turning his attention to me. “We are only six weeks away from opening the portals.” Another glance at Stella had her nodding in agreement. “The announcement will be made any day now, and I wanted you to know that your recommendation was heard and influenced some changes.”

Seeing my eyes light up in interest, Master Kairos continued, “As I told you when you brought it up, the idea of requiring Tower Training before allowing natives to leave Earth was not new. However, it was always dismissed as unnecessary since those who leave will most likely have undergone Tower Training within the game. After having the simulation’s guardian share the actual statistics, including time spent at the Tower and the classes taken, every previous dissenter quickly agreed to the proposal.

“While there will technically be no delay in native travel, it will come with the requirement that interplanetary travelers undergo assimilation training before leaving,” Master Kairos said before smirking. “Knowing how adverse Earthborn are to the term assimilation, it’s been deemed “cultural training,’ though the function will be the same.”

I had mixed feelings about the news. I was happy that my recommendation was being implemented since I believed it would make a big difference in the amount of trouble Earthborn caused through ignorance. But at the same time… six weeks.

It was too soon. Six five-day-weeks. Thirty days.

I took a deep breath. It was only a little sooner than the last timeline. Given my work on the portal project, I shouldn’t have been surprised that the timeline had slightly advanced.

“Anyway. Your Space mentor and I felt it was time to give you your inheritance,” Master Kairos said, pulling me away from my thoughts. I was surprised to hear Stella had something to do with the inheritance Master Kairos had mentioned. I’d thought it was something he planned to do as part of the sect.

When my eyes found the violet-haired Mage, she smiled brightly. “What? You didn’t think I would let you leave without a full education, did you?” Stella shook her head in mock disappointment. “You’ll be competing with – and likely fighting – elites. They will be highly educated and well-trained in their elements. While you’ve come a long way, there’s still much you can learn.”

“You won’t get everything at once,” Master Kairos warned. “Inheritance crystals are not meant to be a one-time information dump like an augment. They give you what your mind can handle, usually when you tier up. It’s progressive, and the knowledge will build upon what is already there.”

“Obviously, I’m not able to give you nearly as much as your distinguished Master,” Stella interjected with a smile. “But I’ve shared what I can. We covered most of what I had to teach you already. I’m very grateful Patriarch Epikairos felt my meager additions were still worthwhile.”

The Time Mage preened slightly, which caused me to stop and re-evaluate the exchange I was witnessing. I wasn’t sure if Stella was flirting with the Tier Ten or if it was just a political maneuvering thing. I’d never cared for politics, though I did understand the value of making and keeping powerful allies.

Was that what she was doing?

I glanced back and forth between my two mentors before giving a mental shrug. “Thank you both for your guidance. I will try to use it well in my coming challenges,” I said, trying to match their seriousness.

My response also seemed to please Master Kairos, and he quickly shifted to explaining how to absorb the inheritance crystal. It was similar to an augment. I just needed to hold the item and instruct Lisa to integrate it. Easy.

= = =

I woke up on a chaise in one of the training rooms some time later. I immediately sensed I was under an extreme time effect, and assumed it was because neither of the older Mages felt like waiting around indefinitely while the inheritance did…whatever it did.

I certainly hadn’t expected to lose consciousness when I started absorbing the crystal. Even the large augment had only given me a headache. I appreciated that neither of my mentors had forced me awake, though I had no idea how long I’d been unconscious. Considering I felt perfectly fine now, it must have been a while.

Master Kairos was really efficient with his focused Time domains. I could have slept for what amounted to twenty hours, and it might only have taken an hour on the outside. I wondered if I would one day be as capable as my mentor.

Both mentors, actually.

Stella was a pretty amazing Space Mage as well. I often wondered why she was still Tier Four, but it felt rude to ask.

“Good. How do you feel? Are you up for an assessment?” Stella asked as the Time domain ended, and she appeared in front of me.

“I feel fine,” I responded. “What kind of assessment were you thinking about?”

“You’ll have to make a new storage ring. You can’t take that one with you when you enter the Realm Dungeon,” Stella said with a dramatized pout. “It’s too good. You can’t take your bracelet, either. Both are too high-tier. You can buy or make new ones within a tier of yourself, but nothing higher. It’s one of the rules of entering the dungeon.”

I frowned. “I can’t afford Tier Four materials. I guess I can delve to get some Tier Three stuff,” I thought aloud. “I know of a couple of low and mid-Tier Three rifts, but I haven’t gotten a chance to delve any of them yet.” I looked up at my Space magic mentor. “Should I ask Robert to delve with me or just buy what I need?”

Stella chuckled. “Good luck pulling the tri-fanboy away from his idol. Given his success at keeping you safe… and his repeated requests,” she added with an odd inflection, “Rhona reassigned him to Sumi full-time.” She waved a hand. “But you don’t need him. I’ll play the role of guardian.”

I tilted my head in confusion. Sure, Stella was Tier Four, which meant she could technically enter a Tier Three rift without causing any issues, but I didn’t expect her to offer to shadow me like Robert had initially.

Putting the pieces together, I asked, “Is that my assessment? You want to watch me delve a rift solo?”

“Of course! What else?” she asked like it had been obvious. “You’re about to enter a dungeon with no allies. You need to practice fighting alone. Also, it would be a great opportunity to grab the material you’ll need if you want to replace one or both of those trinkets you’ll soon have to give up.”

I rubbed my ring affectionately. I loved this ring! I really didn’t want to give it up. Even if I added [Stasis] and [Equip] to whatever I made, it wasn’t like I’d ever come close to squeezing as much storage space into a Tier Three item. I wasn’t exactly sure what tier my ring was since it didn’t show when I tried to Identify it, or rather, Assess it, given my somewhat recent spell evolution.

Continuing to share her thoughts, Stella added, “You should probably redo all your weapons and anything you plan to take with you. It might be a good idea for us to find some extra time to delve so you can collect everything you need. Six weeks really isn’t very long.” The Space Mage tapped her chin. “I’m pretty sure I can carve out some time every week now that things have started slowing down.”

My shoulders dropped slightly. I really wanted to spend as much time as I could with my family before leaving. While the portals would only open two (previous Earth) weeks earlier than last time, the change was throwing me off.

“Since you’ll be wearing your robes when you go, you should wear them now when you delve. Are you ready?” Stella asked.

“Now?”

“Now.”

I sighed and nodded my head. As she’d done in the beginning, Stella surrounded me in Space mana and teleported us to Antarctica.