Leveling up the World

Chapter 972: Invisible Lighting

One of the things that separated Earth from the awakened world was that the mundane had the scary ability to fade any experience faster than a limiting echo.

The first few days, Dallion’s thoughts were still focused on his predecessor. Seeing the pinnacle of an awakened showed him what Simon could have been had he kept his nerve; it had shown him what Dallion had accidentally become, despite not being adequately prepared. “Jimmy” was someone who had fought his way to the top, then deliberately chosen to lead a normal life. He had developed a few of his abilities, though never abused them.

After a week, Dallion’s focus shifted to finding the means to find other awakened who could potentially help them. Atol had decided to keep her TA role, leaving Dallion to do what he wanted. Gradually a routine formed composed of studying, hanging out with his friends, as well as trying to develop additional skills.

The process was a lot more difficult than he initially imagined. Apparently, while earning damage was an obligatory part of restoring a skill, it didn’t guarantee it. It had taken Dallion ten days of fighting his phone until he finally restored his attack skill. Thankfully, the phone was very understanding, often ending the fight at Dallion’s request. In turn, Dallion made use of his mending ability to partially fix the phone’s issues, even if the screen stubbornly remained cracked despite his efforts.

“Dude, how did I get a B on that?” Dallion’s roommate whined. Compared to the majority of the cohort, that was a rather good result. Yet, that didn’t change the fact that everyone in the friend group had As.

“You’ll get the next one.” Dallion hardly paid attention. He had his own problems to deal with, namely getting all four common skills restored.

“Easy for you to say. You’ve got photographic memory.”

“I don’t,” Dallion lied. “I spent as much time studying as you.”

“Yeah, right.” The roommate tossed his test score on the floor. “By the way, you should talk to Jen more.”

“Huh? I talk to her every day.” Dallion looked up from his laptop screen.

“I mean talk, talk, dude! You’re talking with us. I mean, you should talk to her alone. Girl’s been miserable ever since you went on your mysterious trip.”

It was just as Dallion feared. He had tried to break it off, even asked Atol to convince the girl to see him just as a friend, yet it was always a temporary solution.

“I’ll talk to her,” he said, meaning it.

How the heck do I tell her I’m married? He wondered. That was even worse than saying he was several thousand years old. For one thing, no one would believe him. For another—it wouldn’t matter in the least. The only way to deal with emotions was to use other emotions, for which he needed magic or music skills.

“I think I’ll go out for a bit.” Dallion closed his laptop and left it on the bed.

“Good on you, dude!” His roommate gave him the heads up. “Call if you need a wingman.”

“No way.” Dallion let out a snort and left his dorm.

The outside was full of people. With the first series of exams over, everyone was doing what they did best—namely, not study. People were sitting on every large patch of grass, walking about aimlessly, or discussing things in the parking lot.

After some consideration, Dallion decided to go to his new car. Atol had parked her right next to the muscle car, almost making for a comical situation. If guardians had the ability to talk to one another, like in the awakened world, there’s probably talking non-stop. Given their nature, Dallion wouldn’t be surprised if alarms started going off at random times of the day and night.

Hey, girl, Dallion said, tapping her gently on the hood. How are you?

Bored, the car replied. I like you, sweetie, but you barely drive me. Remaining in the same spot isn’t what I was made for.

I get that. Don’t worry. Once I get a few things sorted, there will be lots of driving.

Good to hear, sweetie, the car said in a warm tone. I know it will be worth the journey.

Dallion looked up at the sky. There were several hours until evening, but he could still see the white crescent of the moon above. He couldn’t be certain whether that was Astreza or not, but either way, all his prayers, awake or in dreams, had been ignored. As far as the Moons were concerned, he was just an ordinary person.

“Many would say that talking to your car is a sign of overcompensation,” Atol’s voice sounded a short distance away. “In your case, you probably get to lead a meaningful conversation.”

“Tough day?” Dallion gave her a quick glance.

“I really don’t know how anyone can survive without music skills. If I actually had to listen to all the crap people wanted to say, I’d fucking—” she stopped, leaving the sentence unfinished. “How’s the skill recovering going?”

“Slow,” Dallion said. “Still missing athletics.”

“Fuck you,” the woman said, her voice streaming with envy. “A damned architect. I had to go through hell to get one single skill. No splitting, no talking, no entering realms. You got all that in less than a month and it’s still not enough.”

From an outside point of view, she was right. Compared to everyone else on Earth, Dallion had achieved a lot in a remarkably short period of time. Even in the Awakened world, it had taken him way longer to learn what he had re-learned so far.

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“How exactly did you get your skill back?” he asked.

“I told you. Keep on humming and—”

“I’ve been humming, singing, whistling and all that for weeks.”

“Well, you’re just fucking slow,” Atol said in a measured tone. “It’ll either come to you, or it won’t.”

Earring, Dallion said, addressing the woman’s piece of jewelry. How did she learn to sing?

Hmm, sing you say? The earring replied in the voice of an old woman. If Dallion had to guess, it had to be over a century old—probably a piece of family jewelry the woman had been given by a grandparent. She’s always been able to sing.

But not as good as she suddenly got.

Well, yes. She did improve a lot at one point. That’s when she became special.

“Hey!” Atol said, seeing what Dallion was looking at. “Tell me you’re not talking to some item I wear.”

Dallion looked her in the eyes without saying anything.

“Shit. You have problems, you know that?”

“Items on Earth aren’t as loyal as those in the other world,” Dallion said calmly. “Since there’s no one talking to them, they have no problem sharing everything they know. So, I’ll ask you again. How did you get your skill?”

“You really are a shithead,” Atol said beneath her breath. “Now I know what it takes to become an architect.” She turned around, as if looking at the horizon. After several seconds, she turned back again. “Lightning. I really was hit by lightning. It hurt like hell, but when I woke up, I had it.”

“You’re saying I need to zap myself?”

“No.” The woman shook her head. “I tried. I tried getting hit by a second lightning, I tried all sorts of shit and the only thing that did was almost get me in a straightjacket. Good thing I had music by then.”

Internally, Dallion trembled. Regardless of what he thought of Atol, he couldn’t accuse her of not being determined. Then again, Adzorg would probably have called her desperate.

“And now I learned that I have restrictions placed,” she added.

“You can do a lot with your voice.”

“Not as much as you.”

It all went back to pain and shock, apparently. Dallion had no intention of subjecting himself to anything as extreme. Still, he refused to give up.

“Once I figure it out, I’ll help you get another skill,” he said.

“There’s no way to know whether it’s possible.”

“It is. Magic is the big exception.”

Atol laughed. “Humble as ever. Fucking hell. So, what do we do until then? I got as many people as possible looking for weird things happening. Nothing serious so far. If they’re there, they’re hiding really well.”

“We’ll get to that. Right now—” Dallion moved away from the car “—I need you to find me a fancy lighter.”

“Will I regret asking why?”

“You said lightning was the trigger. It takes a lighter to see the principle. Once I figure that out, it’ll be easier.”

The notion was a bit of a stretch, but at least it gave Dallion something to focus on. While he was never going to admit it publicly, he was also running out of options. He still had one potential lead he could follow, but he didn’t feel ready for it. Not until he had upped a few more skills.

Combat splitting, Dallion jumped into the air with one of his instances, making a perfect somersault, before landing ten feet away. None of that became reality, but at least it proved that he could handle his acrobatic skills in the real world as well.

The rest of the day was spent searching for Jenna. Normally, she spent most of her time in the library or one of the nearby coffee shops. After not finding her in either of the places, Dallion repaired his phone again and tried calling her. This time, the only thing he got was that the number he was trying to reach wasn’t available.

“Are you enjoying this?” Dallion asked, looking at the moon in the sky. “Or maybe you just don’t—”

A bolt of lightning emerged from nowhere and hit Dallion right in the forehead. Time froze, then reality quickly unraveled, crumbling as if blown by the wind.

For a fraction of a second Dallion was able to see what was beneath it—not matter or space, but an infinite number of magic threads glowing in bright blue. Like clusters of cables, they continued along straight lines, merging into node clusters.

“Electric wires,” Dallion said. “Magic really is electricity.”

“Is that what it’s like in your world?” a familiar voice asked.

As expected, Eury had appeared in the distorted reality—the only thing real other than Dallion. This time, she was surrounded by a golden shimmer.

That’s not supposed to happen, Dallion thought. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Maybe I’m asleep, same as you. That’s how it works.”

But I’m not asleep. “How are you? How are you really?”

“Away from you.” The gorgon walked closer. Thankfully, she didn’t seem aged since the last time Dallion saw her. “Other than that, things are calm. No chainlings, no voidlings… even all the cracks have gone.”

“So, it’s fine, then?”

“I’m the only one who remembers what happened.” Loneliness resonated in her voice. “Everyone else just is, but they don’t remember anything. Veil, Gloria, Di… even your family. I went to see them.”

Upon hearing that, Dallion felt as if someone had grabbed him by the throat.

“They’re all fine. Your brother is turning into quite the adventurer.”

“But no one remembers me.”

Eury nodded.

“There are stories about the architect that saved the world, but you don’t seem to have ever existed.”

“What about you?”

“Oh, I’m revered. No one can remember a thing I’ve done in the past, but everyone knows me as the Architect’s wife—the one that was left behind.”

“I didn’t want to,” Dallion quickly said. “I’ll find a way to get back. We’ll be together again.”

The snakes on the gorgon’s head moved about.

“Have I ever let you down?”

Instead of an answer, Euryale placed her hand on his shoulder. A sharp pain went through Dallion’s body, as if something had pierced him. Next thing he knew, he was on a rather uncomfortable bed in a small room smelling of medical supplies.

“Oh, you’re up,” a nurse said. “I guess you kept your word.”

“Huh?” Dallion winced. The lights were too bright and his shoulder was killing him.

“You promised you wouldn’t visit till after your first exam,” the nurse approached. “And here you are.”

“What happened?”

“You fainted on campus. A few people brought you straight here. I did a basic blood test while you were out. Results came in an hour ago. Everything seems fine.”

“I fainted?” Dallion still wasn’t sure what had happened.

“Well, there’s that. I’d say the best thing is for you to go to a hospital for a proper check-up. I’ll call your parents, but first, let me check your—”

“I’m fine,” Dallion said. This time there was a bouquet of emotions added to his words. For the first time since he’d returned to Earth, Dallion was able to use his music skills.