Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Understanding the Situation

The air around the guild hall / tavern was thick with the smell of ale. It brings back memories of the time I'd been here with my father. He said that the barkeeper was actually alcohol-aligned, and uses his power to attract people in for a drink. I'm pretty sure that he was just messing with me, and the alcohol-alignment doesn't exist, but I have no proof.

I resisted the urge to stop by for a drink first (mainly because I don't have any money, and don't know how to crystalize mana yet) and strolled up to the IGAG desk. There were only two people behind the desk at this time of night: an orc lady, and a human male. The human was helping another party turn in their quest, so I approached the orc.

She was lounging in her chair, back facing the desk, and reading a book. Without looking up, before I even had a chance to call out for her, she spoke. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah. I recently got my powers, so I need to register. Also planning on joining IGAG."

"Fill out the registration sheet over there. Since you just got your powers, we can skip the rank verification test. Unless you've already had a breakthrough?"

"No. At least not that I've noticed."

"Oh, you'd have noticed," she laughed.

I sat down at a barstool while I filled out the paperwork. I answered honestly for most sections, but I vastly oversimplified and left out most of what I knew about my specialization. Humans, Dwarves, and Elves have come a long way since the war of humanoid equality, but their desire for knowledge and expansion can still cause issues. Such an unusual specialization like mine may attract unwanted attention.

'

Name: Sylas Terrarium

Age: 18

Race: Half-Dryad

Rank: E

Class: Blue Mage

Alignment: Space

Specialization: Transformation

Deprivation: Original body

'

I turned in the form, and she seemed to be reminiscing over something when she looked over my sheet.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Not really. Just remembering the old days, back when I was an adventurer. I used to know a Terrarium. Any relation to Hald?”

“He’s my father, actually.”

That got her attention, and she finally stood and faced me. She was tall, almost eight feet tall, but rather skinny for an Orc. But the skinniest Orc is till buffer than most people of any other race. Her hair was in a long pony-tail, black with a few specs of gray from age. Her skin was light-brown. Like most Orcs, she had red eyes and two underbite fangs.

“So you’re Hald’s son? It feels like only yesterday that he gave up adventuring so he could get married. How has he been? Has he talked about us?”

The orc in his party was... “You’re Roshanee, yes? He’s told stories. We came looking for you when I was here a few years ago. Nobody mentioned you worked here.”

“I only started last year, actually. I’m too old to adventure now. But I’ve got this sweet gig. Decent pay, great benefits, and no constant fear of death. Well, maybe there is. These useless daily meetings will bore me to death, I swear. But anyways, I see you’re following in your old man’s footsteps. What made you choose IGAG?”

“The benefits, freedom, and lack of registration fee. I kind of didn’t prepare money before leaving home, and I don’t have any education on my powers and whatnot.”

“No education? But you’re already 18!”

“I’m kind of a late bloomer. Just got my powers a week ago, actually.”

“I see… Well, if you want education, our system works on credit. Do community service, or finish a quest, and you’ll be eligible for a class at least. Since you’re Hald’s son, I’m guessing you want to skip the usual progression of schooling before adventuring?”

“Crap, am I really so like my old man? Yes, sign me up as an adventurer now. I still want to learn, but I need to make up for lost time. I’ll drop into a few classes every once in a while. Hopefully when I find a team, they’ll be okay with taking time off every once in a while.”

“Actually, you might be in luck there. We offer mentoring services to certain qualifying individuals. Usually those who can’t find a team on their own, or have other special considerations. As I’m sure you know, Blue Mages often have their own… circumstances, and therefore qualify for it. Normally we’d put you with a random instructor, but I think I can get you someone special. As a condolence for having to deal with Hald’s shit all those years. Just make sure you stop by from time to time to give me those juicy details of what shenanigans he’s pulled over the years.”

“Really? Thanks Roshanee, you’re a lifesaver! I’ll make sure to stop by occasionally. I'll kind of have to, considering this is where the job board is.”

We continued talking for a bit about her good old days, and the story of how Hald told me about the alcohol-aligned bartender, and my 8-year-old drunken tirade. She confirmed it was true that the bartender was alcohol aligned. I don't believe her, either.

I also asked her if she knew anything about the second cataclysm. She either had a very good poker face, or she didn't know anything. Likely the latter, or else there would have been a lot more panic in the streets. I'm not sure why Rhannu or my parents would be privy to such important information, but maybe it has to do with being close to a high ranking seer.

Afterwards, she told me to return in the morning for my adventurer’s card, along with an introduction to my party and mentor.

I left to go find an inn to spend the night at, but they all threw me out due to my lack of currency. I tried to find an alley to sleep in too, but each time I did someone found me and told me to go to the slums with the rest of the homeless. Eventually, I complied.

The slums were built at the western wall of the city. Apparently, whoever made the city wanted their poor, homeless, and destitute as far away from the average citizen as possible.

The first thing I noticed about this area was the lack of light. Unlike the rest of the city, not a single person had produced a ball of light to illuminate this part of Aurelia. It was obvious why. Nobody used their powers here, as no one here had any powers.

There was always a use for a powered. Even if their specialization was worthless, they still had their class and alignment to provide them value, or they could get by on crystallizing their mana. But a powerless? They couldn’t even provide enough value to justify spending taxes on homeless shelters. Sure, the city had programs to house minors who wouldn’t have manifested powers yet, but by the time they were 18, they were kicked out of their orphanages and told to find jobs. But who would hire them? To the city, and those who inhabit them, they were worthless. Burdens. Powerless.

The politicians and citizens considered them an eyesore. A stain on an otherwise great city. But people couldn't justify throwing them out like the elves had during their “great cleansing” during the Age of Armies. And so, rather than find a use for those without skills, Aurelia decided to outlaw “loitering” outside of this one designated area.

I had parents to shelter me, so even without powers, I would have been fine. But most powerless are descended from other powerless, and they had no such hope.

I shut my eyes, and tried to ignore the poverty around me. I am no saint nor savior. I can do nothing for their struggles but sympathize, for all the good that does.

Just before I fell asleep, I felt something strange. I couldn’t quite describe the sensation, but it felt familiar. Not something I’ve felt before, but close to it. Light? Photosynthesis? Mana? The realization jolted me awake, and the feeling went away. Was it just my imagination? Why would I have suddenly felt mana, and why did it feel so different?

The only time I’d been able to differentiate between different types of mana was when I was in the Barbearian’s form, and when Gweledydd worked her magic on me. Hold on, why could I detect magic only at those times?

The only times I’ve sensed my subspace before were when I was in a state close to sleep. When I first detected the Barbearian’s mana, I had just transformed, which usually knocks me out for a short period while it happens. Gweledydd put me to sleep as well. So maybe that state is linked to my mana detection. It all fits together.

I once again closed my eyes, and tried to fall into a state of near-sleep. Every time I got close, I would sense it for a moment before losing it. The harder I concentrated, the less I felt it. Just another sensation that will take time, I suppose. One of many, but at least I have a start to this one.

It’s a bit unusual for a blue mage to be able to gain the powers of another humanoid, but if I can take his body, of course I can take his mana detection too. What else can I do?

The simplest thing to test was Rhannu’s spear-arm. I tried reaching out with my right arm, but that wasn’t working. I need to pump mana into his body like a warrior does, but I haven’t done that before. Transforming myself or phasing, both parts of my specialization, are instinctual. The portal took time, effort, and luck to learn to make, and I didn’t have any control over the Barbearian’s mana, which just constantly pumped out mana.

I really have to get a handle on controlling my body’s mana, though that’s just yet another of the many things about my powers that I have to figure out. But at least I’m heading in the right direction with mana detection. Maybe that one should come first?

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t be doing it in Rhannu’s form. All other forms are expendable, but I can’t do anything to risk Rhannu.

That reminds me. Maybe I can’t do anything to help these Powerless that inhabit the slums, but there is one person that I can help. No, one person I must help.

I wasn’t able to fit the Barbearian through my portal, but maybe I can do it with a smaller form. I transformed into a frog, and spent nearly half an hour opening a portal. I had a great deal of trouble keeping it stable, so it collapsed several times. Each time, I had to start from the beginning of the process. Finally, when I managed to keep it open long enough to make an opening big enough to fit me, I hopped in.

Now that I think about it, I’ve never actually used this method to go inside my subspace before. My subspace is a part of me, so going inside of it feels a bit like I’m trying to swallow myself. Like an Ouroboros. My insides become my outsides, and it feels like my body is simultaneously expanding to fit myself in, and shrinking to fit inside.

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My body couldn’t retain its shape through the process. By the time I was fully inside my subspace, I was already in my “subspace-entity” form. It’s a bit weird that this transition only works like that one way. Then again, I don’t think becoming that “subspace-entity” is possible in the outside world. At least it hasn't worked when I've tried it.

I looked around Rhannu’s bubble, and noted the changes. The space hasn’t increased noticeably since I’ve last been here. I guess I haven’t eaten any monsters since then, so there weren't any massive mana intakes I could have unconsciously spent to increase its size.

All of the trees I sent to the subspace were in this bubble in one form or another. Hopefully that means I’m able to consciously choose where things go, but it might just be a fluke. I'll need to figure out how to manage the subspace while awake.

Rhannu had already started to warp the trees into the shape of a shed. It was thin, not enough to be considered real shelter, but enough to keep most of the light from the void out. Now that I think about it, it’s also rather weird that the void is always so bright. Where is the light coming from? I don’t see any sun inside the void, and the void looks infinite. Maybe there are walls somewhere, and I just can’t see them. I’ll have to investigate this at some point.

As for the water and small mound of dirt, Rhannu seems to have mixed them together into some pool of mud that he built the shack next to. That must assist him at least a bit with eating and drinking. For the rest of his sustenance, there’s still a few deer and hogs for him to eat, though they may starve now that the fruits and vegetables have already been eaten. I should transfer some grass or something into this terrarium when I get the chance.

Rhannu was in the middle of some exercise ritual when I came in. Jabbing with his spear-arm until he could reach no further. Spreading his branch-arm until it could spread no further, then extending that as far as he could. Splitting his legs as many times as he could, making denser and denser walls of roots. Then, when he could stretch and split no further, he reverted his limbs to their normal shape. This continued until he was out of mana, and he laid down from exhaustion.

If Rhannu is exercising his powers, then he must be bored. There’s basically nothing else for him to do here. And the ambiance is still atrocious, especially for a Dryad. I still need to fill up the entire floor with dirt, make a pond, get an actually sustainable ecosystem going, and find something more entertaining for Rhannu to spend his time on. Maybe farming? Wine-making? Company? Would it even be moral to go around looking for the recently dead, then resurrecting them here without their permission?

Was it moral for me to do that with Rhannu?

Regardless, I’ll want Rhannu’s input on entertainment. There’s no need to make any decisions for him. But first, while I’m still in space-entity form, I want to check on the Spiderilla.

Now let’s see what we have he- Oh come on! Everything? This gluttonous, murderous brawn-for-brain killed everything that I kept in his dome. Now the only carnivores I have left are the foxes and the owl I left in Rhannu’s space. And that little fucker looks so satisfied, picking its teeth with a wolf’s splintered bone.

No, no. This is on me. I put multiple animals into the same cramped space as a territorial monster, and expected it not to go on a murderous rampage. Great thinking, Sylas.

Well, at least it won’t have to worry about food for a while. But if it can’t play nice with others, then maybe it doesn’t deserve so much space.

I’m going to need space anyways for when I start collecting more monsters. I was planning on having one space for dangerous animals and monsters, and one for everything else, and just expanding the spaces so whatever I put in there can coexist. Clearly that won’t work. I’m going to need to make separate, curated spaces for every monster species I collect.

I split off about 3/4ths of its space, making three more terrariums where I’d put other monsters in the future. For now, since I needed to keep something inside each terrarium so they don’t explode, I took a few things from Rhannu’s terrarium, using a portal to connect the terrariums as-needed.

In one terrarium, I put the Ostean Giant Flytrap, which was thankfully still alive, unlike all the other plant life in there. I had to scoop out some of Rhannu’s mud for it, and I’ll need more dirt and water for it in the future. I’m not sure about sunlight, but if it’s still alive now, it must be getting sunlight from somewhere. Maybe the void light counts? Convenient. Way too many things about this place are way too convenient. Something’s up, but I can’t put my finger on it. I’m too tired to think right now.

In the other two domes, I put the remaining locusts and a few of the Spiderilla’s kills (to its protest).

This left the Spiderilla just enough room to move around in, about 500 square feet. Significantly less than what it gave me for absorbing it, but it will get some of that back when it learns to behave. Or when I have more to spare. Okay, let’s be honest, I’ll give it back when I feel more forgiving. Maybe I’ll spend some time making the space more livable for it later. We’ll see.

I moved back to Rhannu’s terrarium before shifting into his form. Rhannu was still awake, but was clearly preparing to sleep. He fashioned a deerskin as a blindfold, and was about to put it on when I materialized from seemingly nothing, scaring him momentarily.

“By Vorfahr’s beard, Sylas! A little warning next time please. Where did you even come from?”

“Sorry, uncle Rhannu. Just came to check in on you. How have you been?”

I could see it in his eyes. This place was a prison to him. A prison of my making. Of course, he put it much nicer than that. “A little bored I guess. I can see you’re trying, though. Thanks for the trees, by the way.”

Leave it to Rhannu to always see the good in people, even where there was none. “Yeah, I can guess why. Any advice on what specifically I can get you? What are you interested in? What kind of a vibe do you want for this space?”

“Well, first and foremost, I’d prefer not to be sober.” Rhannu half-joked. “Other than that, way more plant-life. The herbivores, as much as I enjoy having them around, have already gone through what was here before. As for entertainment, can I get a few books, and maybe a river or pond to fish in?”

“Sure, I’ll have to get some clay for a riverbank, and I’ll need a lot more dirt to grow and keep plants in. I’ll get to it tomorrow, or at least as much as I have time for. Mind if I spend the night here?” I asked.

“Go ahead. I could really use the company. What’ve you been up to?”

I talked about what I’d done since I'd last seen him. He got a real chuckle out of hearing how Coeden nearly tore me a new one. Or tore him a new one? It’s his body, and the injuries transfer over. After catching up, we kept talking for a bit. Nothing particularly important was said, but he needed the conversation. A while later, we both drifted off to sleep.

I felt something rather strange again, just before sleep overtook me. Another bout of unusual mana. It felt different from the other mana I've sensed. Hungrier.

I paid it no mind, though. I was too tired to focus on it.

---

I awoke the next morning, and Rhannu had already left the shack. I went out, and found him doing his exercise ritual again.

That’s weird. He used all his mana last night, and he wouldn’t have had time to photosynthesize or eat his mana back in the time I’d taken my eyes off him. Unless of course he skipped out on sleep, but it isn’t like Rhannu to do that. So how had he gotten the mana?

Actually, now that I think about it, my mana has been refreshed too. But that’s not possible. The only type of mana that can force its way into you without another person doing so is…

My eyes grew wide, and I began to panic.

“Rhannu, the mana in here, it’s—”

“Un-aligned, yes.”

“Why is there so much of it? Have any monsters spawned? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“No, no monsters have spawned yet. If any had, I’d have taken care of them.”

“But what if you couldn’t? What if they spawned in your sleep, or were too strong for you to handle?”

“Then I would die.” He said nonchalantly.

I opened my mouth to reply, but I couldn’t find words. What do I even say to that? Does he really think that little of his own life?

Of course he would. I shoved him in a glorified box, and told him he’d have to spend the rest of his life here. Why wouldn’t he stop caring? All I’ve done so far is give him the bare minimum of what he needs to survive, but that’s no way to live a life. I have to try harder to make this place better. But that might take some time, and now we've got a more pressing concern. A monster might spawn here. A monster I won’t know about, and may be beyond Rhannu’s ability to handle.

I need to make a mana well. It shouldn't need to be big, just enough for Rhannu’s terrarium. Even an E class mana-well should work, though I don’t know how to make one. Maybe I can find some answers at Aurelia’s library? Surely it’d have something.

Also, there’s one other thing that I need to figure out. There’s something deeply wrong with my powers. Too many things are just too convenient or unusual about it. This has been nagging me for a long time, but I’ve been writing it off as just a rarity. But I can’t do that anymore. Not with the facts sticking themselves in my face.

If it were just resurrection, that’d be fine. If it were just the whole “infinite subspace” thing, that’d be dandy. A convenient source of light? Cool, whatever. Immortality? Rare, awesome, not impossible. Getting cool powers at 18? Incredibly rare, especially for them to be remotely useful, but not impossible. A source of neutral mana that I can use to replenish my own mana? Wait, no that's just straight up impossible, not just improbable.

All together, this combination of powers simply can't exist. Not naturally, anyways. Though I've never heard of any successful experiments with creating artificial powers in humanoids. Powerless wouldn’t exist if there were. The closest humans have ever gotten were Orcs, and they have major restrictions on how much we can influence their powers.

But if my powers can't exist, or are artificial, then why do I have them? Who made them? Who would have given me, some random powerless from some nothing town like Norbury, all these powers? And more importantly…

I have the ability to create a space, capable of sustaining life, that grows the more I put in it. I have the capability of resurrecting, so long as I have creatures to take care of. I have the ability to hide out in my own subspace. Even my deprivation only deprives me of my mortal body…

Why is my power so perfectly tailored to surviving the end of the universe?

---

In terrarium:

• Spiderilla terrarium
  • Corpses of various carnivores
• Rhannu terrarium
  • All objects
    • Clothes
    • Bag
    • Encyclopedia
    • Broom
    • jug
    • Tree stump
    • Small mound of dirt
  • Harmless carnivores
  •   3 frogs
  • Harmless omnivores
    • 1 Owl
    • 1 Fox
    • 5 hogs
    • 2 monkeys
  • Herbivores
    • 3 Deer
    • misc. insects
• Ostean Flytrap
  • Ostean giant flytrap
  • mud
• Prepped space #1
  • Locusts, corpses
• Prepped space #2
  • Locusts, corpses

---

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