Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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/After a somewhat awkward meeting…/

/Step.../

Dale and the Elders returned to Resko, full of sand and complaints but with a new perspective for the future.

With everything Dale shared and knew, they had much to prepare and think about, as such, most of them, or better said, they unanimously decided to go about their ways first and meet again another time, their thoughts sorted and their ideas written down to be discussed at a later date.

It was around this time Dale handed over some of the items he got from Babylon to the Elders, things he got from the Loot Boxes and Missions he had no purpose for.

The scales he ripped from the beasts he slew, the ores he mined as he went on with his contracts, and the miscellaneous things he drew from his Loot Boxes, although most of those worked better as gifts than anything else.

He even had a bottle of perfume, something he was thinking about who to give it as a gift...

When he realized just how many people he had to consider, his forehead tensed...

All of this was something he had already done in the past timeline, aside from the perfume as he forgot about it.

He was just doing the same now, crossing off another line in his to-do list.

Don't forget, he even had a few Loot Boxes to open...

But before sorting those things… He decided to change something first…

"Teacher, can you wait a bit. I need to talk to you." Dale said in a low tone as he patted Testros' left shoulder

"Hm? Oh, of course... In fact, I'm glad you approached me, I've been thinking about it and I think I wasn't quite considerate of you last time we had a proper talk."

"... We'll be on our way then, don't forget Dale, tomorrow we'll talk again about all of this, but for now… I believe we all need some time to think." Sarferato said as he looked around

/Nod…/

Everyone nodded, it was an expected outcome, they were baffled by this sequence of events and although they had recovered somewhat, it was clear they needed some time to think.

They were old and mostly wise, but the older one gets, wouldn't this increase their surprise upon learning something new? Even more, if it was this ridiculous?

Aside from that, Dale also needed to share with them his knowledge of the future, whatever little it may be.

So with that, they dispersed, going each their respective ways, some together, like Sarferato and his son, some on their own, Like Barme who immediately returned to his forge, leaving behind Dale and Testros at the gates of Resko.

"Before anything… I think we should move somewhere else. There's too many eyes around here." Testros said as he looked around

To no surprise, all of the Elders gathering together at the gates of the Village would attract quite the attention, from both players and Villagers alike.

Immediately after they moved to an alley near the gates, going through the cleared ruins of several houses before climbing a set of old stone staircases, climbing to the top of the wall, standing before the vast expanse of the golden desert.

"... /Clears throat/… Ahem, as I said before, I've been wishing to talk to you like this."

"Last time we spoke together… Was it when we welcomed those poor people? I have to apologize, I've been too focused on my thoughts to sit down and talk to you… No, anyone even."

"And the few times we did speak… Well, it wasn't exactly pleasant, dealing with the issue of the Village's management and all…"

Dale nodded, it wasn't outside of his expectations.

In the alternative timeline, Testros would remain in his own 'bubble' for a little longer before deciding to do something to help the Village.

While Sarferato was busy teaching mostly Dale, he would take it upon himself to teach several teenagers together with several others.

Resko needed proper combatants, and now it didn't lack candidates.

Of the 5000 or so newcomers, there were over 1000 underaged adults, and they needed to do something.

The young children could just go play and socialize, there were many housewives to help take care of them as Illia alone wouldn't be enough, and regardless, she was now busy with her restaurant.

As for the rest, those who could do something could help a little here and there with little tasks not overly dangerous before going back to play, such as helping the adults clear a park so they had a space to run around.

There were many little tasks left for them to pay attention to and oftentimes, Dale felt he wasn't doing much, instead, it felt like he was giving them more trouble...

"... That's okay, everyone was busy, including me, so don't worry, it's just how things are."

"To me, I think it's good you focused on yourself, everyone needs time off from time to time, especially after all that mess on the Horizon Forest."

'And well... I'll need everyone in their top-notch conditions for what's to come.'

/Chuckle…/

"Are you sure you aren't just trying to get yourself a vacation?" Testros asked with a sly smile as he looked at Dale

"Was I too obvious? I've been running here and there every time and not that recently I've been bombarded with two months' worth of knowledge, I would like to just sit down and rest."

"So do so, no one would complain about it."

"No no, I can't... If I don't give Tina some attention she's going to duke it out with everyone else."

"Ohoho..."

Testros laughed a little before he looked to the distance, his expression turning serious as he placed his hands behind his back.

"… Last time, I pushed you away to Sarferato because I believed I was lacking… And although I still feel that way, I can understand that I severely undermined you."

"As I said, it's not that…"

"I know that you'll defend me, your understanding is something all are very aware of." He said as he interrupted Dale

He patted his shoulder before looking at the horizon and then back at the city.

"But I just wanted to clear things up and say that the path I'm treading on… I don't think I'm qualified to teach it to anybody, even you."

"I'm in a rush to recover what I lost and to complete that which I tried to replicate, you've already understood everything I had to teach, you're beyond what I can handle."

"From that point onwards, you needed someone else to give you directions, someone that has seen that end, that has mastered those techniques and can lead you to their end."

"To teach you how to walk so you can run on your own in the future..."

"That doesn't mean I plan to just accept my weakness, I've lived with my flaws for far too long, I've decided to turn them all into my strength, to temper them just like Barme did to my sword."

"Once I've reached that stage… Let us train together once more."

As he said that, he looked at Dale with a small, distant smile, prompting the latter to do the same, gazing at the distance as he chuckled.

"You truly are an old man."

"#!! You didn't have to put it that way boy…"

"And how else would I put it?... Here, take this."

While Testros was distracted, Dale pulled a small glass marble from his inventory and pushed it to Testros' hands.

"What could this be?"

"Something not meant for me… Though I'm not sure if I should give it to you either."

'A memory... Of a past he fears greatly.'

'There were many factors that contributed to my immensely fast growth during those two months...'

'The Perfect Self Skill, it's original and upgraded forms...'

'The teaching from two Generals of the Southern Corps...'

'The presence of great people, such as Testros, Misgurd, Barme, Tina, Jyter, Ophelia, Sarferato's son, and much more supporting my decisions and helping my manage the Village so I could focus on my training.'

'Erile and David helped me by guiding me spiritually, even if I'm not into that kind of thing very much...'

'Yumi helped with her potions, Illia with her cooking.'

'And even the players played their part, as even if manipulated by a System I designed, they brought back many materials that allowed me to ignore and postpone many issues present in the Village.'

'My augmented body, together with the items and Skills I gathered helped me grow even faster.'

'The boosts from the passive effects looming over Resko, such as the Church's Cyclical Order and its by-products from the prayers of the people.'

'Last but not least, the System itself is built to accelerate the growth of its users, even though I can't quite define how much it does so.'

'All of that together made me grow at an unbelievable speed, being hard for me to define just how much I actually grew.'

'An entire year of training in two months? Maybe more, maybe less...'

'Now, there are many things I cannot relive again as there would be no purpose for it, being merely a waste of resources or time...'

'And this is one such thing.'

...

[Memory Shard

Type: Consumable

Description:

An extremely intricate material of Arcane origins, shaped into a container to store something most precious… Memories.

Shatter its casing to glimpse into the past, if even for a moment.

]

...

"... You said your greatest regret was following the Commander's orders, right? When everything began to collapse, you ran away, becoming the only one left."

"That's... That's right. It still pains me to think about it..." Testros replied as his expression turned gloomy

"But what does this have to do with anything? I've already decided to throw it that way, to live in the present, that was my decision. I thought I had made that clear."

Although his words weren't saying it outright, Testros was clearly upset at Dale, somewhat scolding him for his lack of empathy. It was almost as if he was treating his greatest regret as some sort of annoyance.

It wasn't great to hear, it was even hurtful... Especially when he considered him to be family, almost like the son he never had.

"Sorry if I sounded rude. The thing is… I can't change the past, I'm not the Goddess…"

"But I can give you a chance to achieve a different result."

"Wh… What are you talking about Dale?"

"It's… Something better experienced than explained." Dale replied as he turned around, leaving the wall

'There's nothing else for me to see in there... In fact, I think that was never meant to be given to me.'

'I don't know who's behind the System's rewards, but if it's an AI or a Goddess, I think I can say for certain they had another owner in mind for it.'

'Memories should belong to the ones who made them, not anyone else.'

"Wait a minute, we're not done yet…"

"Once you're ready. When you believe yourself capable of facing the past… Crush the marble. And you'll understand what I'm talking about."

"A word of advice, make sure you're lying on a bed or sitting in a chair when you do so."

With that, Dale went down the stairs, leaving only a pensive old man behind.

"..."

'... Face the past... My regrets...'

'What is it that you found this time, kid?...'

For a few long minutes, Testros did not think of anything as he looked at the distant desert.

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Notes