Chapter 11: 11. Midnight Meeting

Sneaking out of home, as Dallion found out, was the most difficult challenge he had faced so far. Finding himself in a strange new world with weird magic abilities, one would have expected fending off monsters or exploring dungeons to be the most challenging. Trying to sneak out unnoticed of a two-room house with a squeaky floor, proved to be an even greater feat.

Back in his previous life, this wouldn’t have been an issue. With his parents working late most of the time, Dallion could walk out of the front door and nothing would happen. Even if they were there, all it took was to climb out of the window. Here, he had to work for it.

Using the same footwork he had developed through his Guard skills, the boy leapt from spot to spot—repairing the board underneath before it could make a sound—until he finally reached the door. From there it was a quick pull and twist so he could open the door, then squeeze through the crack before it shut back again—unlike the village chief, Dallion’s family could only afford a bar to keep it locked at night.  

Good thing muscle memory is a thing, the boy thought.

Gloria had told him to be at the river at midnight. That’s why Dallion was there two hours earlier. The first half hour he spent seeking out a good ambush spot. Once he did, he hid there and waited. …and waited …and waited.

Twenty minutes later, the boy bitterly regretted his decision to appear early. Waiting in ambush, unlike the version shown in games and movies, turned out to be an utterly boring process. Dallion didn’t have a phone or book to pass the time with. The only things he did have was the skill to tell time by the night sky, something taught to him by his father, and a sky to look at.

No one came at eleven, nor at eleven twenty, nor at eleven forty. Ten minutes to midnight, Dallion was virtually hoping that Gloria would appear with a few people in her household, so the whole thing could be over with at last. She didn’t. Instead, the girl arrived at midnight on the dot. Apparently, she had far more common sense.

“Dallion?” the girl said in semi-whisper, looking around. “Dallion?”

At this point, the boy could no longer stand it. Throwing all caution to the wind, he left his hiding place and quickly rushed in her direction.

“Dallion!” Gloria saw him approach. “Why are you coming from there?”

“I got lost,” Dallion grumbled. The girl’s expression suggested that all sarcasm had been lost on her. “Anyway, I’m here. How do I improve my awakening?”

“We have to get there first.” Gloria chuckled. It was nothing but a momentary smile under the moonlight, but it made her seem like a normal person for once. For a few seconds one could almost forget she was related to the village chief.

“Where’s there exactly?”

There was a long pause.

This is stupid, Dallion thought. “You’ll be taking me there, right?”

“To a cave a short way off,” the girl said reluctantly.

“Why didn’t we meet there directly?”

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“It’s secret, alright? Only my grandfather’s supposed to know about it. Once per year he takes one person from the family there to awaken them. Everyone is blindfolded, so that only he knows the exact location.”

That sounded very much like the village chief—even the members of his family were considered a threat. It was natural for him to monopolize a cheat that would grant him awakened powers much faster than the normal way, then use it to build up his family.

“That’s how you awakened?”

“Yes.” The girl nodded. “It’s not something I’m proud of. But that doesn’t matter anymore.” She clenched her fists. “What matters is the future, and there isn’t much time.”

For the next hour, the two continued downstream along the river until they reached a rocky area. Large boulders emerged from the ground without rhyme or reason. Dallion vaguely remembered the place to be called Ogre Gorge. Ages ago, it was said, there had been a massive battle between two tribes of ogres the size of mountains. The fight had lasted for years, until all ogres killed each other, only their bones and shattered skills remaining on the battlefield. The boulders visible now were said to be scattered teeth sticking out from the ground. It was a charming story, if utterly unbelievable.

“It’s not long now,” Gloria said, walking through the clusters of rocks. “You can almost see it from here.”

“No problem.” Dallion smiled back. “One question, though. If you were blindfolded when you got here, how did you find it?”

“My awakening. When I was given the option, I chose to improve my Perception. I remembered the sounds and smells on the way back.”

Neat trick.

The cave emerged shortly later, delving in a boulder like a cavity in a tooth. Pitch dark and barely large enough to let a person pass, it continued on for a few dozen steps, ending in a large underground chamber. The entire time Dallion was forced to hold on to Gloria, after all, she was the one with the high perception. The only thing he could do in the situation was make sure he didn’t fall or bump into anything.

Upon reaching the chamber, a warm golden glow emerged, covering everything in light.

“You can let go now,” the girl said, as she continued to the center of the area, where a small altar was located.

There were no words to describe the sight. The altar was dazzling with its simplicity. Unlike anything Dallion had seen in this or his previous life, it was perfectly monolithic shaped like a simplified hex grid. Six pillars of hex shaped crystal rose from the floor, surrounding a seventh. Grey light—a notion Dallion never thought could exist—shone through them, giving off a faint, but unmistakable sensation of power, like a holy artifact low on batteries.

“What’s that?” Dallion asked.

“An altar of the Seven Moons,” the girl replied. “It must have been a shrine once, long forgotten and abandoned. Its power remains, though.”

“Its power?”

“The Seven Moons are what gave humanity the power of awakening. They can also help us grow. When you improve their altar, you actually improve yourself.” Gloria put her left hand on top of the central pillar, then turned around and extended her right in Dallion’s direction. “This is how you’ll gain your second skill.”

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