Chapter 324: 324. Talk with a Table

Seeing the whip blade prominently displayed in Dallion’s awakening room was quite the sight. It was the first new exotic weapon he had managed to obtain. However, as much as he looked at it, he could also see the invisible strings attaching him to the general once more. In theory, nothing stopped Dallion from returning the weapon this very day. The new deal had been entirely in his favor. From here on things could only get better. At worst Dallion would have to forge a weapon on his own, at best he’d keep the one he had and officially make Gleam its guardian. And still, in the back of his mind, he had the strong feeling that he was played.

“Staring at it won’t help,” Nil said. “If you want to learn more about it, go to the guildhall and ask for some instruction scrolls. My original would be the first choice, but you can pester one of the other captains… even March if you have to.”

“What are the chances of me ending up with such a weapon right before the start of the tournament?”

“Given who the general is, quite high.” The old echo smirked. “He’s already had dealings with you before. Not to mention that he’s probably keeping an eye on all the wildcards. Oh, and one other thing. Did you notice that you cleared an item of his for free?”

“I know that, but it’s not his yet.”

“Possibly. You can still earn it through your fights. However, can you imagine how many other items the general will gain if you make it to the top eight on your first go? I wouldn’t put it past him to have found an item with a hidden realm on purpose. That way he always wins.”

“Well, in this case I win as well.”

Dallion left the realm, returning to his room. Even with his awakening powers, there wasn’t enough time in the day. It was almost ironic that in Dallion’s effort to compose the perfect plan, he had put more on his plate than he could handle. It had all started simple enough—get Lux to light up the kaleidervisto during his fight at the arena and, in doing so, reveal the chainlings hiding among the crowd. The expedition was supposed to help him gain valuable knowledge and experience that would help when facing these chainlings. That plan had failed when Dallion had discovered that two thirds of the realm had been flooded. At the same time through the expedition, he had obtained a key with the power to take things between realms. That, in turn, had led to questions relating to the eighth Moon, which was all the more reason that he did well at the arena in order to win favor from those who could give him an answer. And all that was before his arrangement with Fire Sky and the general. Now, Dallion had two days in which he had to learn forging to the necessary degree to create a temporary home for Lux, find out how to use that to use the firebird’s healing boost in the real world, learn to fight with a whip blade… and finally complete enough achievements to raise his stats.

If the whole thing wasn’t as serious, Dallion would have laughed that all he was doing was stacking up quests.

I’ll manage, Dallion told himself. I just need some proper rest. Tomorrow I’ll go to the guild and get everything I need to be ready.

Alas, sleep didn’t come easy. Dallion was either too excited about the things that had happened, too anxious about the things to come, or thinking about Euryale. It was a given that he missed her, but it was in moments like these, when Dallion allowed himself to relax for a bit, that he really felt her absence. To a degree, he was tempted to sneak out of the inn and go to the gorgon’s workshop. At one point he had almost done so but reason had prevailed. In the end, Eury had more than enough things on her mind as well.

Sleep came abruptly several hours after. One moment Dallion was thinking about all his plans in the inn’s bed, and the next he was doing the same, sitting at a wooden table. The transition was such that for a long period of time he didn’t even realize this was a dream.

“Always needing hints, don’t you?” a voice asked.

Dallion turned to his right. A large man with bright ginger hair and beard sat there enjoying a mug of beer.

“Havoc?” Dallion blinked.

The last, and only, time he had seen that person was during the chainling hunt back at Dherma village. Havoc was another volunteer, supposedly from another village. Judging by his behavior, though, Dallion suspected there was more to it. Unlike everyone else, the large man seemed to know quite a bit about the chainling’s nature.

“Didn’t expect to see me?” the man laughed. “Should I be hurt?”

“I thought you were back—"

“In the middle of nowhere?” The man finished the sentence. “Most probably I am. To be honest, since this is a dream, I’ve no idea where I am.” He laughed again, then finished his drink.

The scene changed again. The table was still there, but this time it was located on the top of an impossibly tall tower in the middle of Lastport.

“Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink,” Havoc said, looking into the horizon. “It’s impressive that you managed to get from one part of the realm to the other. It would have been more impressive if you had found the remaining seven temples, though.”

“They’re gone,” Dallion replied. “Sunk underwater.”

“Just because they are underwater doesn’t mean they are gone. You’ll just have to work harder to get there.”

“You’re telling me to fight on the bottom of the ocean?” Dallion asked.

“That’s a simplistic way of looking at things.” Havoc stood up and went to the edge of the tower. “Come here and take a look.”

There was a moment of hesitation, but Dallion did as he was asked.

“What do you see?”

“An ocean,” Dallion replied. “An endless ocean that continued up to the horizon.”

“Why are you sure that is the horizon?”

“Because I see it?” Dallion wasn’t sure how to answer.

“The point at which water meets sky. It goes on and on and on beyond the end of this world. But does it really? You’ve been in a similar situation before. I would have thought you’d have learned from it.”

Dallion thought back. He remained unconvinced that this was a dream. At the same time, he didn’t see any point in Havoc’s reasoning either. The large man was telling him to search beneath the sea for the temples, but also that the horizon wasn’t real.

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“Are you referencing the realm of well?” Dallion asked. The only thing special there was that the final fight against the guardian had taken place on top of the central mountain. “Do you mean that there’s a passage that leads down from the third temple to the fourth?”

“Dal.” Havoc placed his hand on Dallion’s shoulder. “You really must learn how to think straight. There is no hidden passage beneath the mountain. At least not as far as the temples are concerned.”

“Then what do you mean? I hate water! The only realms I’ve been to that had lots of it were the well, one of the ones at Dherma’s awakening shrine—"

“The mirror.” The large man. “I’m talking about the mirror.”

“Huh? The lake in the hand mirror? There was nothing special about that. It was just a lake. All the fighting was done above the surface.”

“Well, of course it would be. What is a lake but a mirror with a bit of illusion cast on it?”

Finally, Dallion realized what his friend was trying to say. The reason that nothing happened in the lake was because it couldn’t. By the same logic the ocean they had crossed during the expedition wasn’t an ocean. Was that possible, though? Even if Dallion was tricked into believing it was an illusion, what about all the rest? The guild’s elites were all experienced, not to mention higher in level than him. There was no way they would have fallen for such a simple trick. If they had, though, that means that the remaining temples had been beneath them the entire time. That would also explain why the sword had retained its normal shape while filled with so much water.

Two-thirds of a realm hidden beneath an illusion. It made perfect sense.

“So, I use the key to break the illusion, right?” Dallion asked, brimming with enthusiasm.

“What key?” The large man looked at him with a confused expression on his face.

“The Vermillion key. Wasn’t that the reason it was left at—"

“Who would place a key in front of a locked door?”

Dallion could think of many people that did just that back on Earth. The important thing was that he could see Havoc’s point. There was little logic for the Vermillion ring to be left there. Finding it was just a lucky break that had nothing to do with the fake ocean.

“So what are you telling me?” Dallion asked.

“I’m telling you what you should be doing, not how you should be doing it. Sheesh, even helping you is a burden. It’s a wonder that you managed to achieve as much as you did.”

The surroundings changed again. Dallion was back in a large hall, though not one he had seen before. Massive windows of stained glass depicted scenes from the Seven Moons Dallion hadn’t seen before. Looking around, there were eight in total, although one of them was painted completely white.

“Remember, you must separate the things that are important from those that aren’t.”

“Everything’s important,” Dallion said out of habit.

“Everything is important, but not at the same time. You’re focusing on things that are important for a minute or two, gambling that they will help you save time on what's really important.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“How should I know? It’s your dream? I’m not even here.”

“If this is my dream, I must be talking to myself,” Dallion concluded.

“Who knows? Maybe this is another vision sent to you by a Moon? Or maybe the Star is trying to trick you? Who knows? Certainly not me.” Havoc laughed again.

That was no longer helpful. Dallion felt as if he were on the verge of grasping something profound, only to be dragged away by unintelligible gibberish. He no longer had any idea what Havoc was talking about. The important thing was to remember the hint about the ocean. That made sense. Everything else… not so much.

“You’re thinking of leaving, aren’t you?”

“I have a lot of things to do,” Dallion said, although right now he couldn’t remember a single one. He was sure he had a lot of tasks waiting. “I promise I’ll stay longer next time.”

“You always say that… and always do. Take care and try to be less reckless. It’s not only about you anymore. Now that you’re a big shot, a lot of others are depending on you as well.”

“You can count on me.” Dallion smiled. “Just one question, though. If this is a dream, why haven’t I seen you here before?”

“Ah.” The large man grinned, then leaned forward. “The reason—” he whispered “—is because I’m not really Havoc.”

Suddenly, Dallion found that he was the only person at the table. There was no sigh of Havoc or anyone else, for the matter.

“I’m reality, I’m just a table,” Havoc’s voice echoed. “But I still wanted to help. You’re one of those that deserve it. Many have come and gone, many have failed. I’m hoping that you won’t.”

A moment later, it was morning.

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