PftA Book 2 - Chapter 41

Chapter 41 – Parental Discontent

“Where’s Justin?” Mom blurted.

I nodded. It made sense that she’d focus on that after my parting comment. I quickly explained the basics of what had happened, my involvement in facilitating Justin’s early awakening, and the fact that I’d been the first native to awaken ‘naturally.’ Aside from my experiences in the other timeline and the fact that I’d time-traveled, I didn't try to hide anything.

When I described the deal I’d made with the elf, Bell recoiled. She’d intentionally avoided asking about the deal I’d made to secure Justin’s return, but she had to have suspected what I’d done. Bell knew the elf had initially targeted me, and only my position as Master Kairos’s disciple had kept me relatively safe from him.

“Emie Lynn, why would you do something like that?” my mom asked with a tone of exasperation. “Why would you risk your safety for a promise you can’t enforce? What if he takes both of you now?”

“But it will be enforced, Mom,” I argued. “It was a system-enforced contract. That means the system itself will ensure nobody reneges on the agreement.”

I didn’t have much experience with such things, but I still felt confident any contract made through the system would be upheld. I didn’t think Master Kairos would have agreed to it otherwise.

“If this elf is as strong as you claim, how do you know he won’t find some way around it?” Dad asked skeptically.

It was a good question, especially if one didn’t understand how magic and the system worked. Powerful people had always been able to manipulate agreements, even after they were seemingly completed. I could understand their concern.

“Because the system is beyond anyone in this realm,” I replied before adding. “And also, Master Kairos is also Tier Ten, just like Sir Eri’Non. I don’t think he’d allow the Researcher to go back on his word, even if there was a way.”

A strange look appeared on my Dad’s face, and he suddenly became very focused. “Please explain who Master Kairos is and what he has to do with this.”

Realizing I hadn’t covered that aspect of the story well, I briefly summarized what sects were and my understanding of their place in society. I then told them who Master Kairos was and explained our relationship, which I felt made it obvious why his opinion would matter.

Dad looked particularly displeased by the new information, though I was unclear why. It might have been a cultural thing. I doubted many parents within the Alliance would react negatively to hearing their child had become the personal disciple of the Patriarch of a powerful sect. Dad likely had a slew of misconceptions bouncing around in his head.

“If he’s so powerful, why couldn’t he just demand this Serinon guy return your brother?” Mom interjected.

“Why would he make such a demand? What authority would he use?” I smiled sadly. “Master Kairos was actually against the trade. But, thankfully, he didn’t say anything to the elf to counter my proposal. Master Kairos thought it would be better for me to accompany Justin instead of cheating him out of the opportunity. He said my demand was short-sighted.”

I frowned, recalling how angry Master Kairos had been when I went against his wishes. He didn’t express it overtly, but I’d spent enough time with the man to sense the shift in his mood. Afterward, he’d become much more involved in my lessons, no longer allowing his servants to handle the bulk of my training.

“What opportunity? It sounds like a death trap!” Mom exclaimed a touch shrilly. “I don’t want either one of my children to take part in some sick elf’s twisted dungeon game. Why can’t he just do the normal study and let you come back instead of sending you there? It seems cruel!”

“It’s…” I struggled to explain because I still didn’t understand the ancient elf’s motivations. I’d been told he was struggling to ascend, but I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t just challenge a rift like a normal person. If he wasn’t a fighter, he should have taken care of the ‘one-per-tier’ rule as soon as he reached Tier Ten.

I wasn’t even sure it wasa hard rule since I’d never tried to advance tiers without gaining experience from both crafting and adventuring. I always saw it as more of a guideline that at least one level per tier needed to be obtained using a method other than your primary.

For adventurers and other fighters, they’d focus on their profession for a level. For people who primarily relied on their profession(s) to gain experience, they needed to challenge rifts or find other ways to earn experience that wasn’t related to their profession.

There were a few methods, like gaining experience through skill acquisition (which fulfilled the requirement in Tier One), crafting without a crafting profession, or more esoteric methods like reaching enlightenment or gaining deep insights. But most professionals just paid an adventuring party to carry them through a few rifts once they crossed tiers.

As long as the person being carried participated, it counted.

“The dungeon is seen as a coveted challenge,” I said after a moment. “People – elites, usually, actually petition for entry. Paired with the spatial treasure each participant gets, it’s a pretty big thing. I can’t even find a proper comparison.”

“If he has so many people lined up to participate, why send the people he kidnaps there?” Mom spat angrily. “He sounds more like a mad scientist than a researcher.”

I shrugged. I didn’t have a rebuttal for her comment. Sir Eri’Non did sound a lot like a mad scientist.

“Are you going to get a spatial treasure too?” Deni inquired.

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s the kind of treasure that can’t be given away once received. Justin will keep what he was given, and I’ll go without.”

“Won’t that put you at more of a disadvantage?” Dad asked.

I chuckled and removed a plush lounging chair from my ring before sitting. Deni and Ger were immediately interested in what I’d done and the implications involved. I could tell they were eager to ask how they could get spatial storage.

Natalie and her roommate had already purchased storage bags through one of the local merchants, so neither seemed as interested. I wondered if they would feel the same if they knew Bell and I had crafted most of the bags being sold – including theirs.

Applying our game idea in real life had given both of us a decent boost in income, even with most of our buyers being other awakened natives.

I grinned. “Even if I didn’t have this handy dandy ring Master Kairos gave me, I’m an Enchanter with Space magic. I can make my own spatial devices.”

Though my mom seemed impressed, Dad didn’t seem moved by my ability in the slightest. Instead, he seemed even more upset.

“Even if you can make storage devices, I still can’t understand why you’d think you had a better chance at surviving something like that than Justin. Your brother has military training, even if he didn’t use it for anything other than playing games,” Dad said, grumbling the last bit.

I tried to keep from laughing at the comment, especially with how upset he seemed. Unfortunately, I failed at that endeavor, which further strained the mood. It was wrong to laugh… so wrong – like assuming I was inherently weaker than my brother after everything I’d said.

I was pretty sure my uncontrolled laughter was a manifestation of the stress I felt having this conversation with my parents. Dad’s comments weren’t really funny, yet I laughed so hard tears were rolling down my face. Had I just awakened like most of the world, I’d probably be gasping for breath.

My parents did not like my reaction at all, though Bell, Natalie, and her roommate seemed at least a little amused. Bell and Natalie had seen some of what I could do, and I was sure Natalie had told Jessica some of it.

When I finally got ahold of myself, I wiped my face and took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m sorry,” I said, holding up both hands. “I know you didn’t mean it to be funny – or patronizing – but you have no idea how wrong your perception is,” I said lightly. “Think about the game. It was designed to train us. Do you really think Justin’s Fire affinity and military training has an advantage over an Enchanter with Time and Space affinities?”

I shook my head, not letting him answer. “That’s not even considering the years of specialized training I’ve had from professionals, both martially and magically. I guarantee you, I’m better trained and more prepared for the Realm Dungeon than Justin. So, yes. I dothink I have a much better chance of surviving. If I didn’t, Master Kairos wouldn’t have let me go.”

Both of my parents made a face at the last sentence, but neither said anything about it.

“I don’t want either of you to go,” Mom said with a sniffle.

“I know,” I said softly. “I’d like it if you guys—” I looked at Deni and the others “—you included… I’d rather you move to one of the stable Alliance planets instead of staying on Earth. We’re in a weird transition right now, but once the power goes out and guns stop working, the government will lose what little authority it has. It won’t exactly become a might-makes-right situation,” I paused, reconsidering, “…or maybe it will since the Alliance has all the might.”

I shook my head and continued, “Regardless, the first few months will be a bit lawless, but I’ll be here to help until the portals open. At that point, I think you’d all be safer if you moved to a more established planet where the citizens aren’t struggling to adapt. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. It’ll probably be a while… like decades…”

“What?” Mom gasped, drawing Dad back to her side from where he’d been pacing.

“It’s not a super big deal since you’ll live a lot longer once you start tiering up, so make sure you progress so you’re around when I get back. I’ll be upset if you guys die while I’m gone.” I added the last bit with a smile, but nobody returned it.

“Why would it take decades?” Deni asked.

“Well, I have to reach Tier Ten to leave the dungeon. Even with a base of five times time dilation on Sira – which I suspect is a low estimate if each floor works like a rift – it’ll still take a long time to gain levels.”

“Do you have to reach Tier Ten, or is that something this Kairos guy wants you to do?” Dad asked gruffly, making me cringe.

“Please don’t be disrespectful toward him, even in private. I have no idea what kind of abilities someone that powerful has. You might want to think of him as a demi-god. It probably wouldn’t be very far off,” I admonished before saying, “And to answer your question, it’s possible to leave the dungeon sooner, but part of the agreement was that I’d stay until Tier Ten.”

They didn’t like that, and the conversation devolved into a circular argument about how I should – but wouldn’t – try to get out of the agreement or leave the dungeon early. Eventually, they accepted that I would leave Earth after Justin returned and that I’d try to complete the dungeon as quickly as I could safely manage.

Nobody but Jessica was keen on leaving Earth right away, but they all agreed to at least consider it. I knew they’d likely be more willing to consider safer options as the danger increased. To ensure they understood the new world dynamics better, I turned the television back on, splitting the screen between two news stations.

Everyone had seen the press conference the President of Atlas Inc. held roughly an hour after the Apocalypse began. I didn’t get the chance to see it in this timeline, but I’d watched it in the last one. I doubted the content had changed dramatically.

There were several side conversations as images of people fighting in the streets were shown beside images of creatures spilling from unstable rifts. I shook my head at the sight. Not much had changed between the timelines, it seemed.

One of the images shifted to a press conference being held by the Whitehouse, and the person behind the podium was getting eviscerated about the government’s failure to inform the people of the impending threat. The various world governments weren’t the only ones criticized by the media.

Atlas was under fire as well.

Several riots were happening. Many were focused on Atlas stores and holdings, all appearing to have active barriers keeping the Molotov cocktails and other random thrown items from causing damage. People were afraid, and they wanted someone to blame.

Part of me thought the Alliance would have been better off enforcing the peace and shutting down those who tried to stir up trouble. A big part of me thought that, actually.

It was hard to watch how negatively the people of Earth were taking the news. Another civilization had expended a huge amount of time, effort, and funding to save us as gently as possible, and people were vilifying them for it.

It was appalling, and, not for the first time, I was ashamed to have grown up on Earth. Some of these people would eventually leave Earth and take their overblown sense of entitlement to other Alliance planets, where they would effectively sour an entire society against the people of Earth.

It was horrible… but I couldsomewhat understand where they were coming from. It was all about expectations, and experiencing a worldwide apocalypse was not something the majority of people expected.

So they lashed out.

Maybe the people of Earth needed a bit more time before they were granted access to the portals. We’d been allowed to leave as soon as they opened in the other timeline. Watching the sheer craziness on display, I decided to talk to Rhona and Master Kairos about potentially delaying any humans from leaving Earth for a while.

Perhaps they could require those leaving to undergo assimilation training first to get them in line with the rest of the Alliance. It could be something like the mandatory Training Tower experience that newly awakened get across the Alliance.

That alone would curb some of the worst issues I’d seen with Earthborn after I left. Most of the problems stemmed from the dramatic cultural differences mixed with people letting their new perceived power go to their heads. They often forgot that everyone in the universe had power now, too.

If I explained everything I’d seen in the other timeline to Master Kairos, I was sure he’d do something. I’d told him a lot of it before, but I’d mostly glossed over how the people of Earth acted on the other side of the portals.

“There’s a lot more than I expected,” Ger commented as one of the news channels shifted to a real-time monitor of spatial rifts taken from the new official Alliance website. It resembled a weather overlay but showed rifts instead of lightning strikes or tornados.

We watched as some dots waivered and blinked out while new dots appeared. I realized that, given my training, my tasks would likely shift to rift management the following day. Seeing the mess on the screen, I was somewhat surprised Rhona hadn’t asked me to start on it already.

“…As you can see, destabilizing rifts leave dangerous creatures behind as they dissipate.” The screen showed a rift disappearing, leaving several large rats and a huge centipede in its place. “With the number of rifts appearing and breaking apart, the volume of monsters being left behind is well beyond what the police or National Guard can reasonably expect to manage. This is likely why the Governor released a statement earlier authorizing civilian groups to enter these rifts.”

“I’m having a hard time understanding why he’d send civilians into these death traps to die,” a second correspondent scoffed. “I can’t see how normal, untrained people are expected to make a difference against monsters when our strongest defenders are barely managing. Is he trying to get them killed?”

“I don’t think so,” the first reporter responded. “These rifts are going to keep spewing monsters until things stabilize. We all heard Atlas President Leslie Buirch say it was important to regularly clear rifts to prevent breaks. The police and military simply can’t be everywhere at once. I think the Governor was smart to issue the statement when he did. He isn’t calling for people to put themselves in danger, only ensuring those who want to enter can.”

I tuned out the reporters, or maybe they were just commentators, as they shifted to discussing how other local leaders had reacted to the Governor’s statement. Instead, I observed my friends and family as they focused on the screen.

Amie had left the room shortly after I returned, and was currently watching something kid-appropriate on a tablet in her room.

Wanting to lighten the mood, I said, “Oh! I was going to pop over to Europe, and maybe Asia to see if I can get any grandmas to share their recipes! Now that I can promise rejuvenation treatments…”

“No, Duo,” Bell said with a smirk, cutting off my train of thought. Even after years of knowing me in person, she still called me by the nickname she’d given me in the game. “Give the poor old ladies a few days before you ask them to cook for you.”

I gave an exaggerated pout before removing the MealMaker from my ring. It was getting close to dinnertime already, and I was hungry. I was surprised Amie hadn’t come back out looking for a snack already.

Raising my voice so the preschooler would hear me, I asked, “Does anyone want some magic food?”