The Fool's Freedom

Mr. Muge’s new hall was reminiscent of the first as if the [Enchanter] and his crew had somehow picked it up and transported it toward the center. Alan wasn’t sure if he could map out the old Sanctuary or estimate how much had changed, as even the land seemed to have shifted a bit. Some things seemed to have been preserved with quite a bit of effort though. Everything was just much closer to the World Temple.

The smithy was not just a shabby attachment anymore. It was still glued to the side but was not a square monstrosity. Failed products were embedded in the walls as if someone had done it in anger or as a statement. They included swords, daggers, arrows, pieces of armor, and simple misshaped scraps.

He was excited to see what the [Enchanter] had gotten up to. The flask Alan had gotten from him had started showing signs of deterioration just last night, while he was busy chatting with everyone about his Fractal shenanigans. He didn’t share much of his own changes, but freely spoke of the world and cultures outside. He had also wondered where Turtle was, but the man was apparently in a ‘closed door’ session with his god, whatever that meant.

Alan eyed the large man leisurely sitting in front of the hall and smirked. His first few interactions with Tullis were certainly memorable. He doubted it was the same for Tullis though, as the man was larger than life and didn’t seem to sweat the small stuff. He didn’t seem to have changed much, although he was larger, almost rivaling Emerson, and his sword seemed to have grown too. There was magic in it. Strong magic.

“Hello,” Alan said. The man eyed him lazily up and down and having sensed something straightened up. His sword was almost as tall as Alan himself, and he wondered if there was a method to the madness or if it just crushed things with weight and strength alone. It seemed pretty dull.

He could feel the brimming vitality of Tullis, and he could feel the strength behind the armor that had gone through a few rounds of improvement since the last time. It too, was enchanted.

“Sup –, I mean, hello. Welcome to the Enchanter’s Bane. What can we do you in for?”

Ah, the same old greeting. That brings me back.

“Hello, Tullis.” Alan smiled, “You’ve been doing well, it seems.”

He sensed the shifting mana and winked at the shadowy corner between two nearby buildings. He couldn’t recall the name of the other guard Mr. Muge employed. It was a crossbolt wielder with the ability to go invisible, or at least blend in.

Alan sensed the tension in Tullis and saw the man grip his sword as if preparing for an attack. There was an acute sense of revolving mana from the shadowy corner.

“Come on, man, don’t you remember me?” Alan asked with a grimace. He was different, sure, but was he that forgettable?

Tullis frowned. He thought for a few long tense moments.

“Nolan?” the man asked uncertainly.

Close enough.

“Alan.”

Tullis frowned further. The effort of thinking seemed to be almost painful.

“Didn’t Alan die? And then… another Alan died. Are you a third Alan?”

“The second one didn’t die, I just went on an adventure. Sure, I might’ve changed a bit but it’s still the same old me.”

“Ah, why didn't you say so?” All tension disappeared and Alan felt the mana in the corner subside. Was that enough to convince him? Damn.

“Is Mr. Muge in?”

“Sure man, Alan. Go in. You look great. A bit pale… you’re smoking from your skin from time to time too.”

“Thanks, Tullis, it’s an issue I’m working on. Genetic.”

“Ah. My aunt had one of those. She didn’t bathe for months on end. The smell was terrible.” The man shook his head.

Alan raised an eyebrow and then laughed, making Tullis give him a confused look. The large man didn’t seem to consider anything he had said funny and Alan moved along to dispel the awkwardness. It felt good to be among normal people.

“I’ll go see Mr. Muge. Nice seeing you, Tullis. And you too, crossbowman.”

There was a sigh from the corner as Alan waved at it, aware that might hurt the ego of the one there.

The insides were somewhat similar to before but worse. All kinds of materials, monstrous remains, bundles of grass, and other weird mushy things littered the floor, creating a labyrinth. Alan adeptly weaved through until he reached a counter that had little to no empty space, apart from the middle which was obviously left to deal with clients.

He saw Mr. Muge in the corner, fiddling with some strange triangle. The [Enchanter] looked up, scowled, and then continued his work. Alan grinned. Not all has changed. He was thankful for Mr. Muge and his guards as everyone else seemed to be carrying burdens weighing them down. All Mr. Muge cared about was his work.

The triangle was a curious thing. Alan could sense some mana coming off of it, but as to what it did he had no clue. A few moments later Mr. Muge cursed and threw the thing in a pile of similarly shaped metal. It gave off some sparks and then the magic left it just like that.

“What can I do for— I know you!” the older man exclaimed. He rushed toward the counter and fixed his new glass with a jerk of his hand, before glaring at Alan as if he was a piece of enchantment ready to be dismantled. “W-What are you?” the man whispered.

“Hello, Mr. Muge. I’m back.” Alan grinned. He was enjoying meeting all the people in the Sanctuary greatly.

“Alan boy? You’re alive! Tell me what happened! Where did you go? How were their enchantments?” Mr. Muge quickly spoke. He almost jumped the counter but failed and instead grabbed a bottle and two glasses before kicking away some of the things littering the room on his way to a table Alan hadn’t noticed.

Alan followed with a smile. No one’s ever been so happy to see me.

Mr. Muge seemed to realize something and he left the booze, “Sit. Sit! Don’t go anywhere.”

He rushed off toward a back room and quickly returned, carrying something in his hands.

“Here! This is for you,” Mr. Muge said. “Don’t force it too much. Use it to identify items or strange things you find. Fruit, vegetables, components. Doesn’t work on living things and might break. It’s faulty and doesn’t give much more than the name, but it’s the best I’ve managed so far. Connecting an enchantment to the System in a way that allows it to take information seems much harder than I supposed it would be. It’s all thanks to you though.”

Alan gaped. He took the offered item. It was a piece of glass-like crystal encased in a bronze frame. It was a bit smudged and didn’t look like much but if Mr. Muge said it was special then it was.

“I call it an Identifier,” the man said with a hint of pride in his voice. “If you go out be sure to test it a lot and report back your findings.”

“Thank—” Alan began but Mr. Muge waved a hand and took the bottle in hand.

“Save your thanks! Did you bring me anything? Did you find something special?” The man’s eyes were a bit scary. Damn, workaholics are a different breed. I should’ve gotten him something to study now that I think about it…

***

The forest seemed to have grown a tiny bit throughout his short stay in the Sanctuary. It was a small change, almost negligible, but Alan still felt it. It was the concentration of mana, the change in the trees and grass, and the very air.

How long would the world continue changing? Until the trees were scraping the clouds and the world was made for giants? He shook his head and went further in. The chat with Mr. Muge had been eventful. The [Enchanter] had quite a few new enchantments, but Alan wasn’t sure he needed any. He still had his daggers, although the use of his will seemed to be a better boost than anything the weapons did.

Mr. Muge had spoken highly of some of his new inventions though, but unfortunately, most had been given out or sold through the World Temple. Alan had briefly considered visiting the place, but being cooped up in the Sanctuary for two days had been enough. He still left his flask to get expanded and fixed, got a few more of the cleansing charms that had reduced in size and worked even better, and a bunch of everglowing lamps, in case he ran out of candlestones.

After that, he decided to go out for a bit.

Exploration was more fun than anything. He needed to get a general sense of the land as it had changed quite a lot. Finding the dungeon and from there the direction of the elven Sanctuary… perhaps checking out the source of rotting monsters. There was a possibility they were gone for good, but he didn’t bank on it.

He moved swiftly, using his permanent speed boost and getting used to his body. [Warlock Body Mastery] still functioned well but a boost from it was almost negligible at this point. Alan hoped it would soon advance and allow him to exhibit even more strength. After all, he was not a [warlock] anymore.

Soon he felt what he was looking for – a strong aura that seemed to match his own. He was still close to the Sanctuary, which was worrying with its lack of protection. Perhaps the presence of the World Temple still kept the strong monsters away, but even what he sensed was strong enough to give most in the Sanctuary trouble. Carefully, he stalked through the trees until the sensation grew strong enough to make even the current him wary.

The source proved to be a small den dug out in the middle of a clearing. It looked like something had simply rammed itself into the ground with enough strength to create a hole suitable for sleep.

Alan grinned. Time to see how large the change is.

He needed enemies to test things too. A boosted [Mana Zap] had been devastating, but killing Cole’s man-servant was hardly a true test.

He took out the staff and pointed toward the opening. Drawing some life force and imagining the horror on Cole’s face felt good, and soon the [Mana Zap] boosted by [Sacrificial Attack] went off like a small bomb. Just five simple points of Vitality were enough to turn the simple skill into a bomb.

There was a roar and a large horned and furless bear-like thing appeared in a shower of earth and blood. Its skin was dark and rough, and its eyes were red and savage.

Blood was pouring out the side of its head, but other than that, there were no other injuries. It seemed almost a negligible amount of damage, which was surprising.

Alan frowned. He could somewhat tell the level of his opponent from the concentration of mana now, but he had expected to do more damage if the skill was enough to obliterate a human close to level 100. This was not a simple monster over a level one hundred though. This was a beast at tier two.

It seemed that it was possible to go over level 100, without progressing through a tier. He wondered how that worked, and what the limit was. It was obvious that a fresh tier two was many times stronger than anything over level one hundred that had remained tier one.

The beast eyed him from afar. Alan had made full use of his range and now watched calmly as the monster rushed, scraping trees along the way and snarling like a rabid bear.

Alan pointed at his staff and tried to reach for the sense of emptiness he had felt a few times in the Bazaar. It was illusive, much different, and harder to catch than the flow of mana or vitality in things.

Nothing like a little pressure. He thought as the beast was almost upon him. [Mana Zap] went off again, but this time there was darkness at the center of the small mana spark. The beast tumbled as a bottle-cap-sized hole appeared on its body. It was different than the parasite’s ability from the fractal, but it was close enough. And this was just the first attempt.

Alan grinned. The thing roared again and resumed its charge. He didn’t feel an ounce of pity for the creature.

It was survival of the fittest after all.