NOVEL SIMPLE 38 – Transfer
“It’s right here,” I announced while pointing at the floating purple crack in space.
Elyssa hummed as she narrowed her eyes and scanned the spot I indicated. “I can’t see anything either.” She nodded to herself. “I suppose the ability to see them really is unique to you then.”
I grunted noncommittally before stepping closer, putting my fingers on the thing, and ripping the portal open just like always.
“Oh my…” the blond woman exclaimed. “I have never seen anything like this… Fascinating.”
I gave her a wry smile, remembering my own and my friends’ reactions as well. Hers was by far the mildest, to be honest.
“Well, come on in… This portal leads straight to my own room, by the way,” I said as I stepped through the portal before looking back and watching the others step through in trepidation.
We knew it was perfectly safe for me, Casey, and Frank to step through, but I still had no idea whether anything would happen if Elyssa came here as well. I didn’t think something bad would happen but… I couldn’t be sure. What if the devs noticed one of their NPCs went missing?
Luckily, nothing happened as Elyssa walked through. I let out a silent sigh of relief.
The blond woman looked around the room in awe, making me feel a bit self-conscious. I hadn’t even cleaned up much beforehand…
“So this is the divine realm…” she muttered as she looked at my computer with wide eyes.
I cringed a bit at that reaction but decided to just give up trying to correct her. At this point, it almost felt like further denial just served as nothing more but more confirmation for her.
“Right… so… We made it back to Earth without anything terrible happening, which is good news,” I said, ignoring Elyssa acting like a child opening a Christmas present. “Now we just need to make it to Casey’s place. This world is, uh, quite a bit different from yours, so try to not stand out.”
“Of course,” Elyssa said with a nod, her expression still filled with awe and wonder. “I wouldn’t want to cause trouble for you when you’re doing this for me.”
“Well, you say that, but how are you planning on ‘not standing out’ with your pointy ears and suspicious cloak? If I were a policedude and saw someone in that getup walking along three kids, my alarm bells would be ringing,” Frank declared.
“Hmm, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I can simply hide my presence with magic.”
I blinked in surprise. Of course, I knew about some of the magical items from RLO that boosted stealth, but somehow hadn’t thought that NPCs were allowed to use them as well.
“Oh? You can do that?” Casey asked.
Elyssa nodded, tugged at her robes, and… vanished.
“Whoa! What the heck?!” Frank exclaimed before trying to poke the space where Elyssa was just a second ago. “Oooh! Isn’t that the… the whatchamacallit invisi-cloak thingy?”
I blinked.
Hold up. She seemed completely undetectable at first glance, but…
“It’s not perfect, though. I can still sort of tell you are there,” I mentioned.
Everyone looked at me before looking back at the spot where Elyssa was. The invisible woman in question took a few steps to the left to dodge their gaze but my eyes followed her.
“Uhh, I can’t. At all.”
“Me neither,” Casey confirmed as she squinted.
Elyssa continued to circle us and I turned as she went, still following her movements. I noticed from the corner of my eye Casey and Frank exchanging a look.
After doing a full half-circle around us, Elyssa reappeared again, her expression holding a wry smile.
“This item is supposed to completely erase all presence. Only the most sensitive magic users notice someone using it,” she explained.
I frowned.
“That makes no sense. I can’t use magic at all,” I mumbled in tired annoyance before sighing and shaking my head. “You know what? Whatever. If you two couldn’t sense her, then we should be safe to go.”
Elyssa chuckled. “I suppose it’s just another peculiarity of a divine being.”
“One more to the pile,” I muttered with an eye-roll, before turning back to the still open portal and slamming it shut. “Anyway, if everyone’s ready, let’s get going.”
After a round of nods, I grit my teeth and let go of my transformation, settling back into my uncomfortable default form. Casey and Frank reluctantly did the same. Elyssa looked on with a sad smile that told me she understood our plight.
And then, we set off. Elyssa turned on her invisibility as soon as we exited our apartment and we proceeded to exit the building.
“Let’s go. We’ll probably have to go on foot just so we don’t risk you bumping into people on a bus or something,” I said, nodding to the invisible Elyssa next to me.
I couldn’t quite see her, but I still had the impression that she was once again looking around in fascination. I briefly wondered what she found the most mind-boggling. The tall concrete buildings? The perfectly straight paved roads and regularly spaced street lamps? All the cars and trucks?
Probably all of the above.
Regardless, we slowly made out through the city in the direction of Casey’s place, stopping at times to let Elyssa reapply the invisibility in a more secluded spot since it had a time limit, apparently.
Nobody paid us any mind. Just three teenagers walking around the city, nothing to see here.
When we finally made it to the apartment building where Casey lived, Elyssa dropped her invisibility for the last time and we shuffled inside.
“Oh yeah, that reminds me… Isn’t this the first time we’re here? You never invited us over,” Frank said.
Casey blinked. “That’s… true. Huh. I thought I did at some point. Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I get it. As a pure young maiden, you didn’t want smelly boys in your room.”
I glared at Frank. Casey elbowed him.
“It’s a good thing that one of those smelly boys turned out to also be a pure young maiden, eh?” he quickly corrected, rubbing his side.
I expertly transitioned my glare into an eye roll.
Elyssa chuckled at our shenanigans.
We made it to the second floor where Casey pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and let us all inside.
Nothing exploded and nobody died.
Our rescue mission was a success.
