Chapter 42: 42. Nobody Peeping

When the fellowship returned to the apple orchard there was devastation enough to make them all fear the worst, although Harold did have a vague sense that life remained in the house even when he was hundreds of meters out still. Finding Kalle slumped over with a smile on his face was a great relief, and made them joke about how he must have taken the opportunity to throw himself a party.

Once he finally woke up to explain the state of the yard it all made a lot more sense after the lack of any blood or ant warrior bodies left them confused initially. All but a small portion of the giant stack of firewood had been turned to wood chips that were going to get wet and rot as it were. They could gather it up and leave it to dry, but nobody wanted to have nothing but that to burn for warmth all winter. Ella shared a knowing look with Kalle, if the stack had been any smaller they would have been left with nothing. The rest of the yard was no better, when the ants felt on fire they had rampaged senselessly with no rhyme or reason. The result was pandemonium.

The rest of Salcret was no better off. In the following days the whole community came together to clean up and repair the town and rid themselves of the insect corpses. At the end of that week was when Livia had a surprise visitor during the night, she had now spent 85 days on planet Ross.

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[Check one, two. Check one, two.] The noise startled Livia awake. First she thought she was gaining a level, or a new Skill or something. Then a horrible realization dawned.

[I see we meet again, Livia.] It was the voice of the gray beard, with the magic hat. "No, no, this can't be happening. You are not here to take me away again right as I get settled, I'd rather fucking kill myself!" She nearly screamed the last bit and woke the others, but the voice interrupted just in time.

[Whoa, nothing like that, calm down.] It took her a few minutes but she eventually managed it. Livia could not figure out how the others hadn't awoken, only Kalle slept in the main house with the old couple. She had been whispering, but the [System] was speaking as clear as day, so she finally just asked. "Why can't the others hear you?"

It took a couple of seconds to respond, as if it was thinking, but eventually it said: [Congratulations on making it past 85 days, according to our calculations you should be established enough for a reasonable chance at survival by this timeline.] The words did not make sense to Livia, at all. [Now that your Mark has matured and your every action has a reasonable chance of changing the future, to some degree, we are authorized to provide you increased resources.]

"Now hold on a minute, what the hell, who is this we, are you really who I talked to back then, are you the inventor of the [System]?" Livia was still groggy from her sleep and the voice sounded familiar yet not. The words seemed to make the voice pause to think yet again.

[I don't see why you feel the need to waste time at all, but if you insist I suppose explanations are in order.] When Livia refused to react with anything but silent agreement the voice went on. [I was assistant to the genius of our age; Professor Silversteine, who led the project to create the Temporal Magi Class. Her other great accomplishment was the first successful modification of the ancestral System, and this is where I come in. I have been made part of the spell, or a piece of my soul has. A much smaller piece was what greeted you upon transfer, still me, albeit a six months younger version.]

The speech explained a lot of things Livia had been thinking hard on with nothing but frustration to show for it. It also explained why this version sounded different, six months may not sound like a lot but Livia recalled it was six months of Humanity under siege.

[Now if that satisfies your curiosity enough to proceed, then may I present your choice of options that your upgraded Mark are to provide you: A Quest system, an Enchanting system for high level gear and last but not least, a Merger system. The Quest system works as you would imagine, it enhances your intuition and memory, allowing you to piece together where to find rare resources or gear and might even add on to the rewards upon success. Now, the Enchanting system is also what it sounds like, build a suit of armor or a weapon or whatever other gear, and our pre-set enchanting templates will be applied to it. Now, the quality is superb so this one will have the absolute fewest uses, but it's a rather obvious choice if you ask me. And the last one is also self-explanatory and I can tell your attention is already drifting so I will just let you make your choice.]

It was true, Livia had been sent here to start some form of business, or something, to stand the test of time after all. The confusing part was Mr Beard saying that the additional [Enchanting] system was the obvious choice. She nearly said as much, but she realized this was not a negotiation.

[Which will you pick?] Livia responded quickly. "The [Quest] system, please and thank you." The voice actually spluttered. [What are you saying, do you understand the level of enchantment we had achieved in our age, you won't find anything like it among Humanity in the age where you find yourself.]

Livia did indeed understand that, but she also understood a couple of other things. Materials that could handle such enchantments for any duration were rare, and not least, expensive. Second, since the uses were limited it meant that the benefits would all land in the lap of a very few chosen guild members, and third, the gear could be lost at even a minor setback. Battle, assassination, even thievery all had an added risk when carrying such items, despite the power they granted. If Harold had been the one questioning her then she might have explained all this, but this [System] voice would be gone again in the morning so Livia couldn't be arsed, as Harold liked to say.

"I would like the superior choice please, the [Quest] system, please and thank you." She was growing annoyed with the voice's impertinent tone, but there was no reason not to be polite. Yet.

[I see what's happening here. You know, the System was made for the elite.] Livia did indeed recognize that fact, it wasn't like the very thing she had decided to try and build wasn't an institution that created the elite. When there was no response the voice kept going. [Enchanted gear of a sufficient level doesn't just grant protection and greater offensive power, it can grant status of every kind, make you react faster to attacks and come to decisions quicker in everyday life. Even increase your natural life-span or give you powers of detection. You're a level 3 Guild Master, just because you have a certain background does not mean you can just disregard hundreds of years of precedent regarding what it means to build strength!]

The tirade finally ended and Livia found that despite the provoking words she did not have much to say. "No, you don't see what's happening. That's exactly what I am here to do, and I have made my choice. [Quest] system, thanks." When the voice took its time responding she finally snapped and woke the room. "Your enchantments were not enough to save you, were they? You're not the boss of me!"

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Harold awoke and lit a magic light with his hand, looking around with sharp eyes. Livia's face reddened in mortification. She hadn't said something so childish in at least 5 years. She immediately threw herself into bed and hid under the covers.

Harold was still trying to figure out what was going on. "Uh, Livia, did you say something?"

"Just a bad dream, sorry." Was heard from beneath the bed covers so Harold obviously shrugged, turned out the light and went back to sleep.

Livia waited for ten minutes and then acted like she needed the outhouse. Once she would be able to respond again the voice finally returned.

[You are indeed correct that my role is advisory. I was out of line, but I won't be able to stay completely silent if I believe you are making a mistake.]

As it turns out Livia really did need to use the bathroom, so she went to sit while she explained herself, slightly. "It's not that I don't see how strong that gear would be, I just happen to resent the idea that resources should be pooled with those showing potential the earliest. Even the greatest genius can be struck with tragedy at some point, that's not an issue exclusive to the poorly talented. I just don't want all my eggs in one basket,"

[That's fair enough I suppose. Do you have to do that while we're talking?] Livia had only been peeing but she flew up like a snake had bit her. When she had her pants pulled on and was out of the shitter she nearly yelled. She definitely shouted. "You can fucking see me?"

[Only through your eyes! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!] Livia was breathing heavily, trying to glare at the voice until she decided the most sane option would be to just close her eyes. [Again, I'm sorry. You've made your choice, I'm going to let you get back to bed.]

And with that the usual version of the [System] arrived.

[Class: Guild Master. Quests unlocked.]

[Skill added: Basic Quest]

[Skill added: Rare Quest]

[Skill added: Epic Quest]

[Skill added: Mythic Quest]

When breakfast arrived and then went, Liam discreetly pulled her to the side to assure her that he had taken a look around after waking to her shouting, and that he was pretty sure nobody had been peeping, but that he would endeavour to make sure if she still felt uncomfortable. She did indeed, but she declined the offer.

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