This isn’t coffee! What is wrong with this place? Why would anyone consider this coffee?
My deprived body could feel the caffeine, but this beverage tastes nothing like coffee; it feels more like a fruity tea. Why would my translation ability consider this “coffee”?
“Excuse me,” I called the bartender, who was chatting with a barmaid opposite the counter I was sitting at. “Could you show me the herb you used to brew this coffee?”
“I assure you we are using the best fruit around, my lady,” hesitated the man.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to question the quality of your goods, it’s just that I’m not from here and this drink tastes different than what I’m used to.”
“I see…”
Hesitantly, he showed me a red fruit-looking cherry. I blinked twice with trepidation and ripped it in half to find the familiar-looking bean; technically, they are seeds, but everyone knows them as coffee beans. They don’t extract the seed; they also neither roast nor grind them.
You would think someone would think about doing that, but I guess it’s not as intuitive as one would expect. I could teach them how to make real coffee, but that’s not something to share lightly. I would rather have Louis profit from it.
“With growth magic readily available, why is this fruit so expensive?” I asked instead.
“The fruit is a fairly new discovery, and the tree is not native to the Contested Realm. I also heard that the trees stop production even when the ability is applied and have to be regrown from a seed,” replied the bartender.
“Thank you, Mister...?”
“Lark, my lady.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lark. Please, get me a second one,” I said, finishing my first cup.
I could probably increase the production of coffee cherries by showing them how to re-sprout the trees. I wonder if they know about greenhouses. They probably do, Louis told me bread is dirt cheap because they grow wheat all year long using the Growth Soulbook here in Hano. I’ll think about the coffee problem later.
With a fresh “cup of coffee,” I turned my back on the bartender to observe the Lounge. It was a chic establishment with plenty of light from big glass windows and a magical chandelier filled with glowing gem lights. The Lounge was occupied by a couple of dozen people; half of them were grouped together and were dressed in similar armor, giving an air of a standard military squad. The rest were sitting alone or in smaller groups of twos or threes, and they were dressed in a mishmash of clothing similar to the people training outside. I took my time observing the people in the Lounge while slowly sipping my coffee, trying to find someone friendly enough to approach.
The blond archer on the left seemed like a nice enough fellow; he was pretty animated with a constant smile. His friends, on the other hand… One is a handsome, broad-shouldered man with well-defined arms, but he seems rather taciturn. The other one had blue hair, indicative of his Soulit origin.
That also rules out the boy and the girl with similar hair color on the right, since everyone had been warning me about Soulit's arrogance.
I wonder if it’s a good idea to approach that man sitting alone… he looked rather sinister.
Damn it! Maybe I should try my luck in the main hall… the people here look above my pay grade.
I was rescued from my indecision by the arrival of Nakera. She approached the bartender, asking for a drink, then noticed me.
“Hey! Alice, was it? What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I joined the freelancer guild today,” I smiled at her.
“What about Vena? Did she join, too?”
“Not yet! She’s busy with cleric stuff.”
“Yeah, they’ve been healing people like crazy in the slums; I hope nothing nasty is spreading around.”
“I hope so too… So what are you doing here?” I quickly changed the subject since I couldn’t tell her they freaked out because I got sick with the red death.
“Oh! I came to check the special mission board,” she nodded toward an ornate bulletin board.
Curious, I stood up with her and checked the board.
There were a lot of old missions that looked absurd and felt like they’d been there for ages.
- Kill the Colossus, reward 100,000 gold coins.
- Clear the dead zone and end the Undead plague southwest of the continent. Reward: ownership of the newly freed land (approximately 1,000,000 km2).
- Kill Agro the Nullifier, reward 50,000 gold coins.
...
“Don’t look at impossible missions; no one is clearing those, they’ve been sitting there for hundreds of years,” interrupted Nakera.
Of course, a mission where the reward is a territory the size of Egypt would be impossible.
“This one looks interesting, too bad it would take a month to complete. I don’t think I can do it right now.”
- Travel to High Rock and check rumors about increased activity from the Old Realm cult. Reward: 1 gold and 30 silver.
“This does pay well. Why is that?”
“Well, High Rock is a rival state to Hano since they control the rift gate to the Kindred realm. You would be investigating behind enemy lines.”
“Oh! Spy work!”
“Yeah. It requires a lot of political shrewdness; not everyone would be accepted for a job like this.”
“Isn’t it ill-advised to post this kind of mission publicly?”
“Well, this is just a call for volunteers. The real mission parameters would be discussed with Captain Yoka in secret.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Other than that, the rest are standard missions.”
- Dragon hunt: reward 6 gold coins per dragon (10 if the body is fully intact).
- Escort caravan to Port Waystrong: reward 2 silver.
- Find information about the vigilante known as the Holy Crusader: reward 5 silver.
“Isn’t the Crusader associated with the Holy Temple?”
“Probably, no one really knows about them. The only information we could get from the temple is that a couple of years ago, someone ascended to Crusader with a divine mission to hunt down rapists. Guards have been finding bodies ever since.”
“Just like that. I guess Crusaders are half Justicar, so they can always confirm guilt.”
“Yeah... the streets have been much safer, but the freelancer guild can’t really tolerate someone making their own law in Hano; this is why information about him is on the board.”
“Can’t they pressure the temple to give away their identity?”
“The temple claims ignorance.”
“Hum,” my eyes drifted back toward the board.
- Lesson: sword and shield, Sergeant Daz, price 1 silver a month.
- Lesson: spear, Sergeant Edmund the knight, price 1 silver a month.
- Lesson: hand-to-hand combat, Lieutenant Khoka, price 5 silver coins a month.
- Lesson: How to survive your first year as a freelancer, Sergeant Yon, price 1 silver a month.
“Hey, do you know where I can find Yon?”
“He’s probably doing a mission right now. You can always catch him training his band of misfits every 1st and 4th Fireday.”
For a world that feels similar to Earth, the Contested Realm is confusing when it comes to its day and night cycle. In my week of quarantine, I learned that the 1st morning with the yellow sun is called Fireday, and the 2nd morning with the blue sun is called Waterday. With a year having 6 months, and the month having 6 weeks, today’s date would be the 2nd Fireday of the 5th week of the 2nd month of the year 1872 since Hano’s founding.
“I probably should visit him and see if he could make a true fighter out of me.”
“Yeah, Yon is a great teacher, but make sure you don’t end up like most of the group of idiots that follow him around,” grumbled Nakera.
“Yeah...” I sighed. “I’ve at least met one of them.”
“And since you can afford it, being a San and all, make sure to pick up at least one more Soulbook other than the pre-required ‘Perfect State’ book.”
“Oh, I completely forgot to pick up the Perfect State Soulbook,” I gasped. “I should go see Sara and try it out.”
“You’re telling me you haven’t tried it yet?” said Nakera with a sinister grin. “I have to be there when you do it.”
“Why are you smiling like that?” I asked, concerned. “Is there something I should be worried about?”
“Don’t worry about it!” laughed Nakera. “Let’s go see Sara!”
Sara’s Soulbook shop, being near the entrance of the freelancer guild, was an easy walk from the Lounge. Sara was manning the shop with a Soulit teenage girl with clear cyan hair.
“Oh! Alice, how are you!” said the redhead with a big smile. Then she noticed Nakera, and her smile turned a bit awkward. “Hello to you, Leader Nakera.”
“Hello, Sara, I’m doing great,” I answered. Nakera just nodded.
“What can I do for you today?”
“I just joined the freelancers,” I showed her the badge. “I was told I should claim the Perfect State Soulbook.”
“This is great! Ki’i, would you mind getting the book?” said Sara to the younger girl. “I would tell you to make sure you have someone on hand to help you out when you try it for the first time, but I guess that’s what Leader Nakera is here for.”
Nakera nodded again.
“You’re making me worry. Is there something bad about the book?”
“No, no! It just takes some getting used to,” reassured Sara.
“I’ll explain all the abilities to her and have her test them.”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Perfect! Leader Nakera has experience leading novices, and you’ll be in good hands.”
By that time, the teen girl had returned with an enormous book and a needle, and Sara opened the book to a half-full page where a list of names was written.
“You have to drop blood here,” said Sara, pointing at the bottom of the list. “I understand that you’re cagey about using a shared needle. But I have talked about it with my superior, Lord Ko’i, and we decided that at least one staff member with the Clean Soulbook should be on hand.”
She picked up the needle, and a glow of light emanated from it.
“Thank you! I’m glad you’re taking my concerns seriously.”
“Yeah! I consulted with Lady Sana, and she trusts you.”
I was planning to use the rubbing alcohol I just bought from the alchemist, but the cleaning spell should work better, I guess.
Oh well, let’s do both just to be safe.
“In cases where someone doesn’t have a cleaning spell, you can use alcohol to clean the needle,” I said, extracting the wooden container and generously pouring some of the alcohol on the needle tip. “The cleaning spell is probably better, though. I doubt this alcohol is more than 50% concentration.”
I used the needle to extract a drop of blood from my arm and put it in the book.
Don’t use the finger, that’s needlessly painful and inconvenient, especially when you don’t have access to magical healing. God! I miss having Vena around.
Just like last time, my blood turned into my name written in English, but then after that, Sara wrote my name and the date next to it in the common script.
“There we go!” said Sara. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No, that’s all!” I replied.
“Don’t be a stranger! You can visit me for a chat whenever you want.”
We bid Sara and her assistant goodbye and walked in the direction of where I had seen a group of people train earlier.
“You seemed rather tense in there,” I hesitantly asked. “You don’t get along with Sara?”
“That’s not it...” answered Nakera. “It’s just kind of awkward right now since I asked her out on a date and was rejected.”
“Oh... sorry about that.”
“By the Firebird! Every girl I find attractive ends up being a Holy Faithful.”
“They’re probably just your type.”
“Lucky me! I have the most challenging type ever.”
I wonder… Do the Holy people have a problem with homosexuality? Better to be careful when treading on those subjects.
We arrived at a small field near the Lounge that looked like it served as an open-air gym. Not far from it was what I could only call an obstacle course. I almost lost myself watching the inhuman feats of agility when Nakera cleared her throat.
“Before I show you what the Perfect State Soulbook does, I would like you to show me how strong you are!”
“You want me to fight you?”
“Not yet!” Nakera shook her head. “I don’t think you’re ready for that.”
Not yet… does that mean she intends to beat me up on a later date?
“First, let’s do some standard testing.”
First, she had me sprint a few laps at my maximum speed. I felt somewhat faster and had higher stamina compared to what I was used to back on Earth, but it wasn’t too much of a change for me to suspect anything. It was when she had me do some jumps while standing next to a wall and marking the highest point I could reach with a piece of chalk that it finally hit me! The gravity in the Contested Realm must be lower than Earth’s, maybe even lower than Venus! I almost jumped my own height; I was nowhere near that good back home. How didn’t I notice it earlier?
For the final exercise, she had me ramming a few training dummies with my shoulder. I managed to slam the first two into the ground, and I struggled to fell the third, but the fourth was too heavy for me, and the fifth didn’t even budge.
“Not bad! You did way better than the average Mythic or Soulit woman,” nodded Nakera. “Do you have Kindred blood?”
“I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
“Well, each person has a natural limit to their body, which mostly depends on two factors: having good health and strong parents. Going beyond that limit would normally only get them hurt. Except for Kindred people like me, when we push ourselves, we go through an evolution that extends the limits of our bodies. The Bloodlines go through something similar for their innate abilities.”
“That sounds overpowered.”
“Yes! Since I already evolved twice, it makes me physically fitter than any non-Kindred male,” grinned Nakera, and then jumped.
I mean, if you could call it a jump… because the girl flew at least ten meters high, doing multiple backflips, then landed without making a sound or disturbing the ground too much.
The blond archer from earlier poked his head from one of the Lounge windows and mockingly shouted, “Show-off!”
“Fuck off, Hans,” shouted back Nakera. “Anyway, as you can see, the difference between someone with a couple of evolutions is astounding. That’s why I asked if you had Kindred blood; the fact that you’re stronger than average makes me think that one of your parents or your grandparents had a few evolutions under their belt.”
Well, I probably do have a few evolutionary advantages from being born on a planet with high gravity, but it was gained through thousands of generations, the Darwinian way, not instantly, the Pokémon way. But I’m not going to explain that theory to Nakera. It’s much safer to let her think that I’m a Mythic and Kindred half-breed.
“Does having strong parents influence the floor of physical strength or only the ceiling?” I asked instead.
“Very nice question!” smiled Nakera. “Although people speculate that having a higher limit leads to more natural talent, even the son of Ion the Firebird would be weaker than I if he never trained a day in his life.”
“I guess there’s no substitute for hard work.”
“Exactly!” nodded Nakera. “Even though you’re quite fit, I can tell you aren’t even close to your limit yet! Maybe after a year of the harshest training and you could attempt your first evolution. But we aren’t there yet.”
Could I? I’m not from the Kindred Realm, and neither are my parents. Is the Darwinian evolution that was noticed back home part of the same magic that rules the Kindred Realm? If so, maybe I could evolve here in a world where magic is stronger.
“We’ve been through enough tangents. Let me show you the ability you’ve gained once you subscribe to the Perfect State Soulbook.”
“Yes, please!”
“First is a simple energy bolt.”
A tennis-sized ball of bluish energy appeared in her hand. She threw it at the first dummy, and it exploded on impact. The dummy fell to the ground but wasn’t damaged. She threw a couple more at the second and third dummies, but the former shook for a bit while the latter barely moved at all.
“While you can make them stronger than this with a lot of practice, it’s mostly dependent on Kinetic affinity, and I don’t have any,” added Nakera. “It’s still a useful ability to have and adds a little bit of range to my arsenal.”
“This is still amazing!” I exclaimed. “So this is why you made me shoulder-check those dummies! How many balls do I get to throw around?”
“Again, it depends on your Kinetic affinity. I can only do five per hour, maybe six if I space them a little. You should try and see for yourself.”
“How do I do that?”
“Static Soulbooks are quite intuitive. Think about doing it and you will.”
I raised my hand, and just like that, a bolt of energy appeared. Similar to my translation ability, there was an extra layer outside of the mind that was doing all the heavy lifting with minimal control from me. Unlike my dynamic Soulbook of Lightning, I doubt I could change anything about the spell form. The bolts were similar in size and strength to Nakera’s, and I was only able to throw six. Maybe with more practice, I could do better, but I doubt it. I, too, have no Kinetic affinity.
“The second ability is an adhesive band that lasts for around 30 minutes. You can use it to snare an opponent or even as a quick bandage if someone is bleeding out. The length and sturdiness depend on your Life and Earth affinities. I can only use it once every couple of hours, so better watch carefully.”
She crossed her arms, and a two-meter-long golden ribbon covered in a sticky substance appeared and tightened around one of the dummies.
“It uses Earth and Life affinities, not Kinetic?” I frowned. “I thought all abilities in a Soulbook would share the same affinities.”
“Yeah, this book is special. Apparently, a Soulscribe from the Outspring family here in Hano discovered how to make a book with multiple Souls, and they gave the freelancers exclusive access to it in exchange for protection from Treegate and the Soulit realm.”
I think I understood half of what she said… I need to look at a world map and a list of all the influential families in Hano before I make a fool out of myself. So I just nodded, then crossed my arms and cast my adhesive band. A similar thing happened to the second dummy, except mine was black. I approached it to study it closely. The slimy substance felt similar to pine resin and glued well.
“I can’t believe I just created matter from nothing,” I murmured.
“Actually, the band isn’t real matter. It will disappear after half an hour or if you choose to dispel it.” With a snap of her finger, the golden band exploded into separate individual threads that slowly started to dissolve.
I looked at the disappearing golden threads, then at Nakera… I looked at my spell, then at my hair…
“Is the band made of a facsimile of our own hair?” I shouted.
“So you have noticed,” laughed Nakera. “The spell is made using the Soul of a Hair Ooze, a common monster in the Blackmarsh that entangles its prey by extending itself. The Outspring family pays good money each year for soul-trapping them.”
With a snap of my fingers and a slightly disgusted face, I also dismissed my hairy abomination.
“Next ability seems to be an easy one to learn, but it’s actually one of the hardest to master,” informed Nakera. “It allows you to dash really fast in a straight line.”
“That is very useful.”
“The catch is that the speed of your dash depends on your current speed,” added Nakera. “It means that activating it while standing still will freeze you for a few seconds.”
“What kind of affinity does it use?” I asked.
“It uses Light affinity for some reason. I don’t know why, but most speed-related abilities need a Light affinity.”
That makes sense.
I watched as Nakera started sprinting at max speed. After a couple of seconds, she exploded in a burst of light, blurred for a moment, and then appeared 200 meters away.
“Wow, that was ridiculously overpowered.”
She ran back to me with a shit-eating grin.
“I think that was a new record for me.”
“How many times can you use it?”
“Around once per hour, I would say.”
“So it’s not useful for traveling long distances.”
“No, it’s more for short engagements. There is a dedicated book for that if you want it.”
I tried the ability next, but I was nowhere near as good as Nakera. I sprinted to my max speed and activated, but it only propelled me for less than 100 meters. What was more surprising, I didn’t feel the shift in velocity while activating the spell, but more of a feeling of timelessness, as if everything around me was slowing, and not me, who was gaining speed. I also lost control of my own body. I mean, I could only keep running forward; I couldn’t even turn my head to the side.
“Can you shift the direction once it is set?” I asked once I was back next to Nakera.
“No, the only control you have over the ability is to cancel it early.”
“That’s good, you wouldn’t want to smash into a tree or something.”
“Yeah, you should practice stopping it later,” nodded Nakera. “I think you can also get a few more meters if you time it better. But for now, let’s get you to try the final and most important ability: ‘The Perfect State.’”
She smiled her evil smile again and said:
“The ability is a trump card that should only be used as a last resort; this is why I’m not going to showcase it for you. You will have to try it yourself.”
“What will happen to me once I activate it?”
“You will become stronger than me for around 5 minutes, then become so exhausted that you can barely move.”
“I see... are there any long-term side effects?”
“Not really! Except maybe the day of rest you’ll have to take after using it.”
“Okay, how do I activate it?”
“Static Soulbook, remember? Just think about it and it will happen.”
Activating the ability was a bizarre experience. I think I was tripping on adrenaline because I couldn’t remain still for a second… I tried jumping, but I flew even higher than Nakera earlier.
I started to laugh out loud while doing flips.
“I am invincible!” I shouted. “I am a god! I am Superman! How is that even possible?”
“You are experiencing what it feels like to go through an evolution,” smiled Nakera. “The ability temporarily gets to the limit of your Soul, then pushes you beyond it.”
Hearing that, I ran toward the fifth dummy, the one I couldn’t budge earlier, and slammed it to the ground.
A dozen rounds later, I was standing back next to Nakera.
“The Perfect State doesn’t only apply to your physical attributes but also to your magical abilities.”
“Really?” I turned toward the dummies, and a bolt of lightning forked from my hand and hit the four standing ones. I also tried a couple of force balls; they were stronger than usual. But it was nothing compared to my lightning. My dash and adhesive band were still on cooldown, so I couldn’t try them, so I turned toward the obstacle course, thinking I should have a go at it.
Nakera noticed my gaze and shook her head.
“No! You don’t want to do that because you have barely one minute left. I recommend you run to your bed!”
“I’m fine, I can do this all day!”
“No, you can’t. Trust me, run to your bed!”
The look she gave me sobered me up a little, so I turned toward the dorm and started running as if my life depended on it.
I just made it to the corridor near the room when the ability ran out. I fell to the ground face-first like a marionette with cut strings and remained there until Nakera came along and helped me stand.
She supported me until I reached my room, told me to lock the door from the inside, and rest for at least 30 hours.
Lying in bed, I started to question the usefulness of that ability. Not only did it give me great power, it also gave me muscle memory I didn’t have. The strength felt natural, and when jumping, I was able to land as if three-story-high leaps were an everyday occurrence for me. But on the other hand, I had lost control and gone crazy a little, I think it was because I didn’t expect the adrenaline rush. I could probably control it better with practice.
Here was the biggest question: Is it worth it to practice an ability that left me bedridden from fatigue?
In the end, I wasn’t sure if it was worth it. Especially when, to my greater shame, I ended up using the chamber pot because I was too exhausted to use the outhouse.