NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30 – Architect
Melina kneaded the dough, preparing one of the many batches necessary for tomorrow. <Rhythmic Kneading> kept her hands steady and precise, helping her exert less energy on the arduous task. But the whole time she was working, her mind went back to Alistair's letter which Master Gilbert currently held. She wanted to know what was written there and to see whether she could help.
[Your skill <Rhythmic Kneading> has ranked up. It is now Rank D.]
[Rhythmic Kneading – Rank D: Decreases the kneading time required to prepare the dough and improves its quality.
Duration: 15 minutes
Cooldown: 4 hours]
Oh, this is good. I was wondering when it would rank up. How long will the cooldown be at the highest rank? Something like 30 minutes would be great, but I feel like that'd be too generous. I'll have to keep working and see.
Master Gilbert was also hard at work, kneading a different batch of dough. They'd been working in silence for a while, and Melina wondered whether she should broach the subject of Alistair's letter. Gilbert hadn't looked very enthusiastic about dealing with this problem.
"Master…" Melina began, throwing a glance in the old man's direction. He didn't look at her, instead focusing on his work.
"What?" He grumbled.
"W-What do you intend to do with Alistair's letter?"
There was a moment of silence as Gilbert continued kneading the dough without saying a word. Almost a minute passed, and Melina thought that he just wouldn't answer, but finally he said. "Nothing. I'll just ignore it."
"Ignore it?" Melina's eyes widened in surprise. "Master, you can't just ignore it."
"I can. For the time being at least. It would take some time for the letter to travel to the other side of Alemahria anyway. A week, maybe two. Perhaps it might have gotten lost along the way," the man shrugged nonchalantly.
"Wouldn't it be better if we checked it now so we can find the answers Lord Sinclair seeks?" Melina protested, taking the prepared tub of dough to the storage room.
"I don't intend to play detective for that noble brat."
Melina returned to the kitchen, her arms crossed over her chest. "Master, would you please stop calling him a "noble brat". He protected us diligently on our way to Pertia and back. Do you really think that the regular adventurers from the Guild could have dealt with that Hobgoblin like Lord Sinclair did?"
Master Gilbert finally looked away from his dough and peered at Melina, as if trying to find something in her expression. "If you have a crush on that boy, then abandon it now. He lives in a completely different world from us."
"I am well aware of that. I have no intention of pursuing him romantically, you don't have to worry about that." Melina scowled.
Gilbert assessed her for another moment, then sighed. "So you do have a crush on him?"
"It has nothing to do with the matter at hand," she said stubbornly and grabbed a clean tub to start a fresh batch of dough.
Not sure if crush is the right word, but whatever I feel towards Alistair, I've had for over a decade now. I've long since learned to temper these emotions and keep them hidden deep within.
Gilbert sighed again, looking at Melina with piteous eyes. "We'll take a look at that letter in the evening. I know that you're dying to know what's in there. If I didn't show you, you'd probably try to snatch it away and read it in secret."
Master knows me too well because that's exactly what I would do.
"I would not. I am merely trying to help," she said, measuring out the water needed for the dough.
"Don't lie to me, girl! That's one thing I won't tolerate from you," Gilbert snapped, forcing her to look at him. She hung her head low in shame and nodded.
"Sorry…"
"As long as you understand. Now back to work. If you want this bakery to thrive we need to make as much dough as possible," Gilbert took his tub to the storage. While he did that Melina was reminded of a skill she was offered by the System before.
"Master, skills can be unlocked by doing certain things right? Like I unlocked <Rhythmic Kneading> after working on the dough," Melina asked. She already knew the answer to the question and merely used it as groundwork to set up her next question.
"Yes," he replied, hobbling back to the kitchen.
"When I reached Level 10, System offered me three skills to choose from and one of them was <Food Manufacturing>. Would you know of a way to unlock it?"
"<Food Manufacturing> you say? I've never actually unlocked it."
"Wait, really? I expect that it'd be really useful for owning a bakery."
"When I started as a cook, I focused on individual pastries. I focused strictly on quality and not on quantity. Even after I opened the bakery, I merely sold as much as I could make and never thought about expanding. It just wasn't my goal."
Melina paused thoughtfully. "Do you think I could unlock it if I focused on making as much bread as possible?"
"It is likely. You're welcome to try," Gilbert said. Melina nodded resolutely.
That evening she made four more batches of dough, until her hands completely gave out from exhaustion. In all honesty, Gilbert had to finish that last batch for her as her flimsy arms didn't have enough strength to knead it properly.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Do I really need to invest more points in <Strength>? But it seems like such a waste. No, I'm playing the long game here. I'm sure my natural muscle strength will increase with time.
Later that same evening, after Melina and Gilbert had finished eating dinner, they sat in the living room, Alistair's letter sitting on the table between them. Melina eyed it nervously, eager to read its contents. However, she didn't dare to touch it before Gilbert gave her permission.
The old baker could undoubtedly feel her anticipation, raising his eyebrow at her. She gave him a toothy smile, hoping to soften his disposition. He sighed and pushed the envelope towards her. "Read it aloud. I don't feel like pulling out my reading glasses."
Melina nodded, grabbing the envelope and carefully opening it. As she unfolded the letter inside, she saw Alistair's familiar handwriting.
It appears it didn't change much as he aged. Always perfectly neat and without silly embellishments or unnecessary lines.
"Good day,
You do not know who I am and neither do I know who you are, as we are communicating through our shared acquaintance Gilbert Backus. I hope that setup doesn't put you off and I will understand if it does, however, I nonetheless would like to ask for your help in the form of advice. Specifically, advice about the System.
Everything started on March 17. I had just returned home from my patrol at seven in the morning, exhausted and ready to go to sleep. But as I laid down I was hit with pain so immense, so strong that I have never experienced anything as excruciating before in my life. It was as if my body had been stabbed. I believe it would not be an exaggeration to say that it felt like I was dying.
However, the pain passed just as suddenly as it had appeared. As it receded a notification appeared before me saying "New skill obtained: General's Echo – Rank F". At a glance, it might seem like nothing unusual, as new skills tend to unlock at the most curious of times. Priests of the Church have told me that many times.
But the description is unlike any other skill I possess or have ever heard of. It says "You defied fate once, and fate has not forgotten. The past clings to you, buried beneath the weight of time, waiting to awaken."
When I ask the System to show me the effect of this skill, it claims that there is none. However, ever since I obtained this skill strange things have been happening to me. Visions flash before my eyes, some of them completely nonsensical. For example, one time I saw a vision of a room fully covered in slime goo, although I have never even fought slimes in the past.
There are also visions involving other people. One time I saved a woman from an evolved monster and saw a vision of myself protecting her in a different scenario, where she looked much older. Right after that particular vision, the skill <General's Echo> ranked up, making me believe that the visions and the skill are definitely linked in some manner. However, I have no idea how and whether they are just hallucinations or premonitions of the future or something else entirely.
Please, if you could aid me with your wisdom in explaining what these unusual visions likely caused by <General's Echo> are, how could I have received such a skill so abruptly, and if perhaps there's a way to get rid of it? I'm afraid if these visions continue plaguing me, I'm going to go insane. Even the tiniest clue you could provide would mean the world to me.
Thank you very much for your help and I hope to hear from you soon.
From a young and confused System user."
As Melina finished reading the letter, silence descended onto the room. She was barely able to keep her expression neutral, her heart racing so fast she could hear it ringing in her ears.
The skill <General's Echo> seems to be similar to <Archmage's Shadow> as both of these skills refer to our past before the time rewind. I remember everything likely because I was the one to rewind the time. But <General's Echo> seems to block Alistair's memory, only allowing him to remember bits and snippets. But how is that even possible? Why would Alistair have this skill? I don't understand.
And if he has this skill, does that mean that others could have similar skills that allow them to remember their past? That'd… be really, really bad… They'd start hunting me again. I'd be forced to run.
"That… That certainly is something…" Gilbert said, bringing Melina out of her thoughts. "The brat is actually going mad."
Melina glared at the man. "Master Gilbert!"
"I merely jest. You looked so tense there for a second," Gilbert waved his hand dismissively.
Wait… Master Gilbert just tried to tell a joke? That's almost more shocking than the letter itself.
"What do you think, Master?" Melina asked cautiously.
"I think I understand why the boy looked so gloomy. I've never heard of a skill like that before. I know some of the high-level bishops have a skill that lets them see glimpses of the future, but this clearly is something different."
"So… what do we do?"
What can I even do? I wanted to reply to Alistair and help him solve his issues. But I can't just reply—oh, yeah, this skill allows you to remember events before the time rewind done by this Archmage that happens to be the girl you saw in your vision. They are merely fragments of your past.
Not to mention that I do not fully understand these skills myself. I know that they allow us to remember the past, but there is definitely more to them than just that. Especially since they directly reference who we were before the rewind.
"I have no explanation for his weird visions and skills, however, there is technically a way of solving his issue," Master Gilbert noted. Melina looked at him quizzically and then realized what he meant.
"There is?" She asked, pretending not to know.
"He could erase the skill by traveling to one of the ancient temples and asking an architect to remove it."
Architect, huh? It's been so long since I've heard of them that I completely forgot about their existence. They are a rather well-kept secret in the highest echelons of the Church. The only reason I know of them is because I met one myself.
"What is an "architect"?" Melina asked, merely to keep up her ignorant appearance.
"Architects are beings that the Church deems to be closest to the System God. They supposedly know everything about the System and can even influence it to a degree. Erasing skills is one of the things they can do. Or so I've heard at least."
Wait, how does Master Gilbert know about architects?
"Where did you hear it from?" Melina asked.
"Here and there. It doesn't matter where I heard it. I'm not sure whether it's even true, but that's the best lead I can offer."
Melina nodded, although part of her wanted to prod her master for the truth. But if he didn't want to admit the truth right away, her pestering was unlikely to bring any result.
This just makes me wonder more about Master Gilbert's past. Nightmare familiar, knowledge about architects. There is definitely more to him than meets the eye.
"I'll write the reply letter, explaining what I know about architects, and give it to him after like two or three weeks," Gilbert said and took the letter, placing it back in the envelope.
"But Master, do you know where to find one of these architects?" She asked, activating <Mask of Deceit> to strengthen her naive appearance. It felt bad using this skill on Master Gilbert, but he wasn't fully truthful towards her either.
"No, I do not. I told you, that is hearsay," he grumbled and got up. "I'm going to sleep. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Melina said, remaining in the living room. There were so many things going through her mind after reading Alistair's letter. The near-death pain that he experienced at the exact time she rewound time. The skill [General's Echo] and the glimpses of his past memories. How she was a likely trigger for at least one of them and how it had ranked up his skill, no doubt giving him better access to his memories.
If Alistair really finds an Architect and deletes this skill, then that would prevent him from remembering the past. Perhaps, once the Master writes his letter, I could supplement it with the location of one of the architects. After all, one is most certainly located in this very region.