PftA Book 2 - Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – A Mild Interrogation

I was surprised to see Stella standing beside Rhona when I arrived at Rhona’s office. There was a tension present that I was unaccustomed to. Neither woman showed any outward signs of stress, but I’d activated the active form of Sense Intent, so I knew something was bothering both of them.

While I’d normally make do with the passive version of the spell since a low-key danger sense was usually more than enough within the Atlas Headquarters, being summoned immediately upon my return had made me wary.

“Ladies,” I said with a pseudo-curtsy and a tired grin, hoping to lighten the mood, if only a little. Now that I knew Rhona was a princess, I couldn’t help but poke at the baby-crazy woman. I’d found the Mind Mage in the nursery more often than anywhere other than her office, which somewhat explained Amie’s familiarity with the woman.

Rhona groaned quietly as Stella’s face broke into an amused smile. “I can’t believe you told her!” Stella said, turning to the Administrator as she stepped into the office.

“No, Elder Kairos did when he used my family name. Emie recognized the royal identifier. She probably knows about you, too,” Rhona pointed out tiredly.

I shrugged and nodded slightly as I followed the duo. Stella waved a hand dismissively. “I never cared about hiding it. But that’s beside the point. The poor girl looks exhausted,” the violet-haired woman said with a worried frown as she guided me to one of the plush chairs. “Time dilation?”

“Yes,” I nodded, grateful for the seat. “That and mana fatigue. I’ll be fine once I eat something.”

Thankfully, gaining access to the small cafeteria on the restricted side of the building meant I no longer had to cook my own mana-infused foods. I still did, occasionally, especially when Justin and Amie came over for dinner. We’d started rotating between the two apartments each week, and I’d taken to cooking more often when the two came over. It might not make much of a difference, but any advantage I could give my family was worth the effort.

“I’ll be quick then. I just wanted to remove your Fitmon. I should have done this when you became a regular employee, but it slipped my mind,” Rhona said as she slid her seat closer and reached for my arm.

Seeing no reason to resist, I held out my left arm, allowing her to cover the band with her hands. Within seconds, I felt a light pressure release. She lifted one hand, and the crystalline band I’d worn for over a year and a half fell from my wrist in two pieces. The broken Fitmon promptly disappeared.

Rhona smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. It was obvious that something was bothering the women, and removing my Fitmon didn’t seem like something that would have caused Rhona to immediately summon me upon my return. It felt more like an excuse, but I couldn’t understand why.

Maybe they just wanted to reassure themselves that I was okay.

That possibility didn’t seem likely, given Rhona’s apparent familiarity with the sect Patriarch. She hadn’t seemed worried when I left, so I doubted they were concerned for my safety with him. Unless there was something else…

I shook my head. There was no reason to dig too deeply into their motivations. Sense Intent assured me they were only concerned for my safety and well-being, though there was a lot of underlying stress. Still, that didn’t mean it had anything to do with me. It wasn’t like I was really all that important in the grand scheme of things.

I was probably just reading into things. A nice mana-infused meal would likely help. I wasn’t quite hangry, but I could tell my mind was not functioning at its best. Food and a short meditation were what I needed to recover. I could ponder the implications of the day another time.

= = =

I didn’t bother swapping to my Tier Two Atlas persona for the trip to the awakened cafeteria. I rarely bothered with the [Disguise] amulet unless I was leaving the local area. Its primary purpose was to keep facial recognition software from identifying me in another location when I should be in Florida.  I hadn’t really considered the implications of having other newly awakened natives in the building, so I was surprised when Lisa informed me that I’d been identified moments before someone sat nearby at the long table I’d chosen.

It wasn’t uncommon for Alliance personnel to Identify others, but it was normally only done with new people. It had been months since the spell had been casually used on me in the restricted area of the building. Most employees were already familiar enough with me that the effort was unnecessary.

Seeing the new addition to my table was unfamiliar and likely the source of the notification, I returned the action.

[Human – level 2]

I smothered a groan. Though I didn’t know the individual, it didn’t take much to deduce his identity. There was only one local newly awakened Earthborn.

Xavier Armsfield.

Though theoretically possible for the man to be someone else, I was pretty sure those who had been forcibly awakened were not a part of Atlas in any way. Therefore, they should not have access to the restricted portions of the building. A newly awakened Alpha Group member, though…

“The food in this cafeteria is way better than what they serve on the public side,” Xavier said conversationally. I debated ignoring the man, but that response wouldn’t make sense, given the situation. Instead, I gave the confident-looking man a nervous smile.

I estimated his age as around thirty… plus or minus five years. Age was hard to gauge after living on magical worlds for so long. The man was fit but not muscular. His dark skin contrasted nicely with his blue polo, which also served to accentuate his striking blue eyes. I wondered if his eyes were that color before his awakening or if they were a manifestation of his affinity.

Regardless, it was a good look.

Given his participation as an Alpha Group member he was likely a government asset, which meant one of the alphabet agencies like the FBI, CIA, or NSA. There were loads of others, but those were the ones that came to mind. While the me of before would have been excited to meet and become friends with such an individual, the current me had little desire to make such connections.

He slid a seat closer and extended a hand. “Hi, I’m Xavier.” Sense Intent told me he was seeking intel and was infinitely more tense than his demeanor implied. I could tell that his search for information extended beyond me and the aliens surrounding us.

It was a reasonable response to finding out the game you’d been playing was a primer for the upcoming apocalypse. Especially if you happen to be an alphabet agent working on behalf of the government.

“I’m Emie,” I said hesitantly. I didn’t have to fake my discomfort with the interaction.

Since he’d already reached level two, he’d probably gone through some kind of gauntlet skill training and already had his core spells. If he was a spy of some sort, he almost had to have something like Detect Lie. Not that it mattered, but it was something to keep in mind.

After releasing my hand, Xavier turned part of his attention to his meal, temporarily decreasing the tension I felt at his presence. It didn’t last long.

“So, how long have you been awakened?” Xavier asked curiously as he leaned closer as if attempting to share a secret. “I was under the impression I was the first person to gain an interface in the area, but I can see you’re already at level two.”

I panicked for a moment before realizing I had the perfect response. “I’m pretty sure answering that would violate my NDA.” I didn’t attempt to joke or make light of the comment. While answering might not technically violate the NDA since he was also awakened, the inferences that could be made if he knew the truth could be problematic. I felt it would violate the spirit of the agreement, which should be enough to register my comment as true.

Xavier laughed as if I’d told a joke and shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. I’ve been awakened for about a week. I was one of the first people to sign on as a beta tester and have worked here for a couple of years. It was a huge surprise to find out that everything in the game was meant to prepare us for some magical apocalypse.”

He paused for a few seconds as if waiting for something to happen. “See? It’s fine. Since we’re both awakened, the NDA doesn’t apply.”

I nodded. “I just signed my new contract today, so…” I trailed off, hoping he’d make assumptions and save me from needing to explain further.

“How did you get to level two already?”

“Oh, I was part of Gamma Group. They had us practice with newly reset avatars in rifts – probably to train us for this, actually.” I looked at him curiously. “Did your group do that too?”

“All the time!” he laughed. “It was so annoying! I couldn’t figure out why they kept having us practice resetting every month. I guess now I know!”

I went back to eating, wanting to finish as quickly as possible to escape the mild interrogation disguised as a casual conversation. It almost felt like talking to my dad when he was digging for information without trying to be obvious.

Xavier was probably one of the spies Rhona had mentioned before.

“So, what do you do here? Are you still a beta tester?” he asked before taking a bite of his food. I could feel his eyes watching me closely, dissecting my reactions. His non-verbal behavior only reinforced my suspicions.

I shook my head. “No, I still have access to the expansions being tested, but my job has shifted to Enchanting. It was my focus for most of the time I was playing. I was even attending the Enchanters’ Academy in the Junction. Now, I work in R&D making low-tier enchantments that can be used once mana reaches whatever threshold they’re waiting for.” I looked at the not-so-subtle spy and tried to appear clueless. “I’m hoping the enchantments I make can keep things from getting too bad.”

It was a gamble, but I hoped the information I shared would distract Xavier from my real secrets. I could see my distraction worked by the renewed interest in the man’s eyes. “What kinds of enchantments are you making? Anything you can share?”

I didn’t sense any restriction through the pseudo-geas, so I answered. “Heating and cooling runes, enchantments to make fresh water, even some transportation stuff to keep vehicles working. It’s all really useful stuff. I’m trying to think of new ideas that might help, too.”

I tried to make it seem like I was just starting out, but subterfuge was hard. Thankfully, I was finished with my meal and could leave without it being obvious I was trying to avoid the conversation.

“Speaking of, I need to get to work. I hardly accomplished anything this morning, and I don’t think my supervisor is very happy with me.” It was a true statement. Artificer Vasilla was probably really freaked out that I’d disappeared. Happy was probably the last thing she’d feel if she thought of me right now.

“Okay. Well, it was nice talking to you! I look forward to chatting with you another time,” he said with a friendly grin. I would have believed him if I couldn’t feel his lackluster interest now that he’d obtained the intel he wanted.

I had little doubt that Xavier – and others like him – would be a constant thorn in my side for the remainder of my time on Earth. I didn’t want to need a disguise in the local office. It could even make things worse if I seemed to disappear after the conversation.

Hopefully, the information I’d shared would be enough for the guy and whatever handler he had. I’d play the part of the unassuming crafter and hope everyone saw me as unworthy of their effort. It was possible, but given Rhona’s comments, I didn’t think it was likely.