Chapter 1058: The Good News is That You Were Right (Patreon)

Humphrey sat on a hillside in an alpine meadow situated in a broad valley. Patches of wildflowers were scattered around and a stream meandered from the lake at the far end of the valley. He took in the vista, seeing in a way that he never had before. The power of perception that a diamond-ranker had was astonishing, extending into spectrums normally unavailable to humans, if he wanted it to. Most people suppressed that aspect of their vision as ultraviolet and infrared were a bombardment of sensory input best reserved for tactical use. If nothing else, they would spoil the tranquillity of a place like this.

Even without expanding his vision into other spectrums, his senses still provided a richer experience than ordinary humans could enjoy. Colours were astonishingly vibrant, while scents painted a picture of the world so detailed that he could have navigated with his eyes closed. The air on his skin carried more information than he would have imagined, just a touch of the breeze telling him the tale of the day’s weather.

Reaching the peak of mortal power truly did make Humphrey feel like a different kind of being. It was a blessing, but not the only one he enjoyed. His exceptional eyes picked out Sophie and Melody strolling in the distance while a moustachioed puppy at their feet bounced up and down in the long grass. As if sensing his gaze, Stash stopped and turned to look at Humphrey. The puppy transformed into a swift, the bird darting toward Humphrey only to turn back into a puppy mid-air. He crashed into Humphrey’s chest, Humphrey laughing as he set Stash on the ground in front of him.

“I’m not going to tell you how to live your life,” Humphrey said, “but you’re not a boy anymore. You haven’t shown me your true self since we reached diamond.”

Stash tilted his puppy head adorably, but all that got from Humphrey were raised eyebrows. After a little whine, the puppy transformed into a man who looked like Humphrey, but with darker skin, silver hair and matching eyes. Humphrey smiled, got to his feet and collected Stash in a hug.

“It means so much to me that this is how you see yourself. But you have a true form, Velitraxistaasch. Would you be willing to show me?”

Stash stepped back, uncertainty on his face.

“Are you going to send me away?”

Humphrey put his hands on stash’s shoulders.

“A long time ago, our parents made an agreement. That you and I would grow up together, and we’ve done just that. If you want to leave, it’s not for me to stop you. If you want to stay together, I will be profoundly grateful. I don’t know what intentions your mother has for you, now that you are fully grown, and whether you agree with them or not, you will need to face her, sooner or later. And I’ll be right there with you, if that’s what you want.”

Stash stood looking at Humphrey for a long time, his eyes trembling, before he snatched Humphrey into another hug. He then ran off, leapt into the air and exploded into the form of a titanic dragon. His many-coloured scales blended together in a glorious rainbow, the sunlight reflecting off their glossy sheen as if a stained glass window was shrouding him in light. He let out a thunderous roar that echoed through the valley, Melody and Sophie clapping up at him and letting out cheers as he flew over them.

***

If the city of Arbour had more inhabitants than a bunch of one-day-old pubescent messengers and adolescent lehenik, one of the more prestigious neighbourhoods would have been the waterfall gorge. The gorge walls had trees stubbornly growing right out of the rock, with homes built into the walls amongst them. It offered some of the most visually appealing real estate on the planet. Each of the homes had a deck with impressive views, including the one that Jason reserved for himself. He sat with Belinda on a porch swing while Neil was at the deck bar making sandwiches. Jason and Belinda sipped at drinks, hers amber coloured and dignified, offering the ideal balance of smooth and fiery. Jason’s looked like a clown had exploded and someone had scooped it into a glass before adding a little paper umbrella.

“How did you know it was me?” Belinda asked. “My Captain Clintock disguise was perfect, but not only did you see right through it, but you locked onto me like a homing pigeon.”

Jason made a flicking gesture and a system window appeared over Belinda’s head.

Belinda Callahan

Species: Human.

Rank: Diamond.

Essences: Magic, Trap, Adept, Charlatan.

Condition: Mildly inebriated.

Belinda tilted her head back to look at it.

“Now,” Jason said. “Turn into the good captain.”

Belinda’s figure blurred and she took on the form of the pirate captain from Jakaar’s fleet. The window above her head distorted briefly before clearing up.

Johannes Clintock

Species: Human.

Rank: Diamond.

Essences: Gun, Vast, Adept, Onslaught.

Condition: Mildly inebriated.

“You’ve learned to disguise yourself in the system,” Jason said, “which is very impressive. But while you can hide in the system, you can’t hide from the system.”

He flicked a finger at the window and it distorted again.

Belinda Callahan (disguised)

Condition: Pulling a shifty.

“Are you telling me that you could feel me masking my system description from across the planet and used that to find me?”

“I don’t know what the absolute range is. Theoretically, I could pinpoint anyone in the cosmos through the system, but actively examining the whole cosmos would crack my mind like an egg. If I know where to look, and don’t go into too much detail, I can cover a planet, but I can’t just pluck people out. That’s still too much information. Instead of looking for the people I know, I can sweep for anomalies or specific, unusual traits, and then focus on that. A shapeshifter spoofing the system descriptions stuck out.”

“It still sounds like cheating.”

Jason raised his eyebrows and Neil almost choked on his food.

“Aren’t you the one who says that if you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying?” Neil mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich.

“I don’t cheat,” Belinda shot back haughtily. “I innovate. And lie and steal. And cheat.”

***

Clive, Rufus and Taika leaned on the railing of a tree house balcony, watching as one of Arbour’s avatars lead a trail of rabbit-like children down the street.

“The others have reached diamond,” Clive said. “We need to figure out what is holding us back from crossing that final threshold.”

“I liked being at the Imperial training centre,” Rufus said. “I know that I was learning, not instructing, but it felt like I was really finding myself there for a while. I’m certain that teaching is the key for me.”

“I don’t know, bro. Is there something in your background that would make you lean in that direction? Maybe something your family does?”

Rufus levelled a cold stare at Taika but didn’t rise to the bait.

“I thought the high level of training at the Imperial centre would be the answer,” he continued, “but something was missing. Whatever I’m looking for, it’s more than just elite education programs.”

“Maybe that’s a red herring, bro.”

“Red herring?”

“It’s narrative device designed to mislead or distract the audience,” Clive explained. “The term originated with a story by Englishman William Cobbett about using a kipper, a pungent smoked fish of coppery colouration, to distract hounds from chasing a rabbit.”

Rufus and Taika both stared at Clive.

“What? Clive asked.

“My point is, bro, that maybe it’s not about training the very best to be the very bestest. You taught people back on Palli, and then on Earth. What made you happy doing that? More importantly, what was the most fulfilling? Was it teaching the people with the most talent how to wring out every drop of potential, or was it something else?”

Rufus rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“It was never that,” he mused. “I’ve done that, and it’s satisfying, but it was never what got me up in the morning. After Farrah died, I gave up adventuring for a while and taught in Greenstone, establishing my family’s joint training annex with the Gellers.”

“Why does your family have a joint whatever with the Gellers?”

“Because my family…”

Rufus scowled, jabbing a finger at Taika, whose expression was so innocent that butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. Rufus shook his head and continued.

“And after Gary died, I went to Earth. Built a proper training program for the first generation born into the newly formed Asano Clan.”

“In both of your examples,” Clive pointed out, “you stepped in where the existing instruction was either inadequate or unavailable.”

Rufus nodded thoughtfully.

“What I really needed at those times wasn’t to help the people who were already well on their way. They’d do fine with or without me. What drove me was helping the people who really needed it. The ones for whom even a little proper instruction could be the difference between coming home alive and dying alone in the mud.”

“Then you should follow that instinct bro,” Taika said, and pointed to another group of lehenik being taken on a walk. “Maybe you can find someone else in need of guidance.”

Rufus stared at the children going past, then at a cluster of messengers flying through the trees. A smile played across his lips.

“I think you might be right.”

He turned to the others, his gaze settling on Taika.

“What about you?”

“I’m still not sure. I like being super strong and protecting people. Kicking some deserving heads, yeah, but every adventurer likes doing that. If getting to diamond was that easy, they’d be running around everywhere. I might need someone to help me find a path forward. I’ve been thinking about looking for my bro Garuda. He basically is my confluence essence, and he kind of rules, and he don’t take no guff. If anyone can show me the way, it’s him. If I can find him.”

“I imagine Jason can help with that,” Clive said. “While he was off by himself, he probably met a princess who knows him.”

“Sounds about right,” Taika said. “What about you, bro? What’s holding you back from diamond?”

“The way Rufus described his situation largely applies to me as well, but my key is research, rather than teaching. Although I’ve been adventuring for most of my life, a critical part of that was discovering new avenues of research. Natural arrays, the messenger trove Jason captured, the dimensional bridge. The whole reason I specialised in astral magic was that it’s so underdeveloped on Pallimustus.”

“Bro, you have a specialty?”

“You didn’t know that?”

“You kind of do all the magic, bro.”

“I dabble in other fields.”

“If that’s what you call dabbling,” Rufus said, “then what are the other magicians in those fields doing?”

“I’m not responsible for other researchers being mediocre. Frankly, the Magic Society is. Every dedicated student of magical theory has a specialty. Many of us dip a toe or three into other fields, but if you don’t have a central focus, you become a dilettante. A broad but shallow knowledge base can be useful for an adventurer, but not someone who wants to push their field into new areas of study. Even Lindy specialises in the practical applications of improvised ritualism, even if she didn’t realise that’s what she was doing at first. The more you delve into a given field, the more you realise that even a single branch of magic has infinite depths to plumb. I’m not sure there’s an end of the road to reach even for an immortal. There’s always more to learn, and that’s what makes magical study so amazing.”

“Could that be your path forward?” Rufus asked. “At diamond-rank, you come close to immortality, which would give you the chance to see if the study of magic has an end. Is that drive enough to get you there?”

“No,” Clive said. “Taika was right in that some ideals are just too commonplace, whether it’s wanting to kick some heads or pursue magic to its limits. I’d hoped the Imperial academy system would help me, and it did, in a roundabout fashion. While it has universes of knowledge beyond anything I’ve ever seen, I realised that’s exactly the problem. Millennia of brilliant people doing brilliant work, with access to a cosmic-level knowledge base. Compared to that, the entirety of Pallimustan magical understanding is a child drawing in the sand with a stick. I’m certain that I could contribute, but I would have to spend centuries learning before I could begin to try and innovate. There’s no shame in that, and I intend to follow that path, but that’s for when I’m already diamond and have the time. It’s not enough to get me there.”

“Then what is?” Rufus asked.

“The same thing that has driven me to keep adventuring when I have the soul of a researcher: discovery. Finding something bizarre and poking it until the knowledge goodies fall out. Say what you will about adventuring with Jason, but he’s good for finding the new and strange. I need some of that, on a scale that I’ve never seen before.”

With a popping sound, one of Jason’s avatars appeared on the deck.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“About what?” Clive asked.

“The popping sound when I spawn an avatar. People keep telling me it’s creepy when I’m suddenly standing behind them without warning, so I’m workshopping ways to let them know.”

“Have you considered just appearing in front of them instead of behind them?” Rufus asked.

“Nope. Clive, you wanted something weird to research? Well, I was in this afterlife and it had a planet full of remnants of civilisations whose universes are mostly long dead, let alone their individual worlds. There are whole cities full of magitech, long lost magic, that kind of thing.”

“Jason,” Rufus said warily. “Have you been blowing up cities again?”

“No,” Jason said. “I mean, technically yes, I blew up quite a lot of them, but I only because I blew up the planet and they happened to be on it.”

“WHAT?” Clive exclaimed.

“I didn’t know that was going to happen. Remember back when you were teaching me about great astral beings? How you said that they were so powerful that if they touched a physical reality, it would destroy whole planets The good news is that you were right.”

“You blew up a planet!”

“It’s fine,” Jason assured him. “I put it back together.”

Clive, Rufus and Taika all stared at him.

“What do you mean, you put it back together?” Rufus asked.

“And did you say something about the afterlife, bro? We kind of skipped over that bit.”

“Yes, I blew up a planet. And yes, that planet was in the afterlife, with a bunch of souls on it. And Thadwick, weirdly.”

“What?” Rufus asked.

“Who?” Taika asked.

“Let’s skip that for now. The point is, I was in the afterlife.”

“Did you die again?” Taika asked.”

“No, I can’t die. Anyway, I was in the afterlife, and I accidentally blew up the planet, dragged the bits into my universe and put it all back together.”

“Put it back together,” Clive said. “What does that even mean?”

“What I said. Back together, as it was. The souls weren’t, they were physical in the afterlife and they’re all ghosts here.”

“YOU TOOK SOULS OUT OF THE AFTERLIFE?” Clive roared.

“That does sound bad, bro.”

“Don’t worry, I sorted it with the Reaper; he’s on my naughty list right now. They’ll go back to the afterlife or get resurrected, whichever they want. I saw them making the new planet there, by the way. It was something to see.”

“Well,” Rufus said in the tone of someone who’d given up on anything sane happening. “You did explicitly ask for Jason to deliver you some strangeness, Clive.”

“It is kind of on you, bro.”

“Oh, and I checked around,” Jason said. “Turns out my orc ghost friend knows Garuda, although he hasn’t seen him in a while due to having been dead for twenty billion years. He did want to know which one of you called him a princess.”

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