Chương 64: Utterly Familiar & Completely Strange

The room Scarlet found herself in was both utterly familiar and completely strange. Was this the feeling people meant when they described returning to a childhood bedroom for the first time after gaining independence? She was in the same chamber she'd entered when she'd first met the Historian, or a duplicate so precise it mimicked even the stale scent of her own old sweat and abandoned bandages. It was poetic, really, that the place they met would be the place they parted. Then the Historian appeared.

Exactly as he had that first day. While Scarlet had let go of her resentment sometime around when she'd reverse-engineered the mana bracers, received the potion from the System, and contacted the other Factions, Scarlet couldn't say she was nostalgic to see the mercurial vulpian had followed her here. However, a deal was a deal. She'd promised to tell him how she survived long enough for the knife in the dark, and in exchange, hopefully bought herself some peace.

"Mental influence doesn't count as an attack," she began slowly.

"Not if there is no intent to harm. In fact, if anything, what I gave him was a buff."

"A buff?"

"He didn't just hate me, he hated my potential. He feared what I could become, but not who I am now. So, he was confident.

"His confidence fuelled his arrogance, and his entitlement fuelled his hate, which fuelled his fear, which fuelled his hate." Scarlet raised her hand so her index finger was parallel to the ground, then made a circular motion.

"It was a destructive cycle. I simply used my power and boosted that confidence, boosted that entitlement, boosted that hate. It didn't take much before it drowned out the fear and caution." At that the Historian nodded.

"Yes. Under normal circumstances it would be a boon for an overly cautious warrior to fight without reservation. But conviction without caution is just arrogance. You turned confidence into recklessness.

""I did not." She shook her head.

"My Skill wouldn't let a Tier 0 implant emotions into a Tier 2. What I could do was play into his own desires and fixations. In the end, he was effectively blind to any potential threat outside of losing.

"I stifled his caution."

"Ah, you didn't supress him, you overwhelmed him," the Historian said, and Scarlet nodded. He could guess the rest from there. That sort of mental influence took a while to get its teeth in, especially with such a disparity of Tier. But once it was there, she just needed a foothold. It was a level of subtlety and power that went beyond the 'Skill' she was claiming. In fact, she likely wouldn't have achieved it if she hadn't already been at the Attunement level. The Historian sighed, his expression dropping.

But his aura didn't read disappointment, it read excitement. She felt the emotion flare through his entire being, and something told her that, even if only incrementally, she'd helped him advance again.

"So, no enmity. In good faith then, yes?" He barked out another laugh.

"In good faith. Yes, little human, no enmity. Though perhaps one day I could record more of your story."

"Perhaps one day," she concluded. It was evident, at this point that she and the Historian had nothing left to share. Well, nothing either side would agree to. There were many notifications she needed to check, and the Historian had responsibilities of his own, especially with the death of his disciple. Yet it seemed they'd come to the unanimous conclusion that it could all wait. That they need not rush this sweetest of sorrows.

For perhaps the first time ever, the two of them simply shared a tension free moment in silence. Then the moment past. Instead of saying goodbye or see you in the future, the Historian simply started spouting practicalities, much as he'd had a penchant to do during their lessons. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Your Portal World is connected to our Nexus World. I'll have you know that it is possible for other administrators of the Nexus World to access it.

"That access does not Extend to your homeworld, and it can be revoked by the administrator of the Portal World.

"Luckily for you, so long as the origin point of a Portal World is on a world undergoing the Adaptation Phase, only people from that world can claim it." It went without saying that the Historian would absolutely have claimed the Vixen's Vice if he'd been able.

"Of course," he continued, "this won't stop others from entering the worlds or clearing their Trials. Only they won't be able to receive any clear rewards until an administrator has been assigned." He paused.

"Unluckily for you, this is likely not the only world attached to a Nexus. In fact, from what you've told me about Earth, you'll likely have more Portal Worlds than average." He gave her an unusually solemn look.

"Some advice, if you'd take it.

"Your highest priority, outside of establishing a Faction, should be to monopolise as many of these worlds as possible, as quickly as possible," he offered. Scarlet just looked at him.

"For what reason are you divulging this information?"

"Call it helping out a neighbour," he responded. Not a chance, Scarlet thought. She knew better than most that no enmity was not the same as goodwill, and the Historian was notoriously self serving. Even Maus could sense it.' Boss, Mr. History's being weird.'

'Yeah, buddy.' She considered the information he'd offered her and the answer became clear.

'He's being extra nice because while he might hold the key to the next phase, we could seal the door to the world and deny him access to Earth entirely.' If somebody else claimed administrative rights to this Portal World, they could seal off the Nexus World, restrict access to everyone except themselves or maybe even create one-way travel. The possibilities were numerous. Giving Scarlet crucial information was less an act of benevolence and more one of pragmatism.

He didn't want to risk that a different administrator would be less amenable to his particular brand of meddling. He was only telling her now because it was likely she'd eventually find out on her own, even if she never cleared the Trial herself. Yes. That was the Historian she knew, and if that was the case, it meant… Scarlet held out her hand palm up. Despite being expressionless, she was projecting an aura of expectance so obvious even a pre-Integration human would feel it.

'Boss, what are you doing?'

'Just watch and wait.' She looked at the vulpian who looked at her hand, then he gekkered and grumbled and eventually pulled out an object. Despite his audible complaints the Historian's own aura clearly indicated he was putting up a front. Mostly. Instead of placing it in her hand he tossed it towards her. She didn't even twitch as Maus blinked into the air, caught the object, and blinked back to place it in her hand. Scarlet's gaze dropped to the insultingly mundane-looking object.

It radiated an ethereal power that was close in strength to some of the Tier 2 artifacts she'd encountered. [Vixen's Vice: Phase One Trial Key] Investigate confirmed her suspicion that this was, in fact, the very artifact she needed to clear Phase One of the trial.

"Thank you," she said simply, then looked up at the impressively sullen vulpian.

"You had to know I'd figure it out."

"There was a non-zero chance, you wouldn't," he said. At that, Scarlet tilted her head from one side to the other.

"You're selfish, not spiteful," she said. It would've been counterproductive to his goals if he were to sour the relationship over this. Petty, and self sabotaging had been Tareth's modus operandi. The Historian was too pragmatic for that.

"Well, it has been a genuine..." His eyes darted about as though searching for a word.

"... time with you," he finally concluded. In response to the lukewarm farewell, the corners of her lips tilted into the barest facsimile of a smile.

"Indeed, our time together was… Quite relative," she replied. At that the Historian grinned back.

"Until we meet again, Young Lady Scarlet. Born of Earth. Your name shall be one I will keep." He didn't give her a chance to respond. He didn't even fade out like the – retrospectively, incredibly dramatic – assassin. Instead, he was just gone. At that, Scarlet focused her eyes on the most immediate notification in front of her. [Vixen's Vice: Phase One – Completed] [Would you like to proceed to Phase Two?] [Yes | No] Reason and necessity fought each other.

There was the growing, mounting pressure of her need to Tier up. It was both a physical and metaphysical sensation, like she was an ever-expanding balloon as all that unallocated potential built up within her with nowhere to go. The vessel she was using could no longer support it. That warred with her almost compulsive need to close the threat behind her, to make sure nobody else could access this Portal World from a Nexus or from Earth. To do that, she needed to become the administrator.

That meant clearing the Portal World. She was sure it wouldn't take long, but she was also sure it would come with the usual "perks." More rewards were normally a good thing, but with the state she was in right now, especially after her defeat of Tareth, she wondered if she wouldn't simply explode. She needed to Tier up. [No] The world phased out around her. She was deposited at the very edge of the spatial distortion, right where she'd been when the portal had swallowed her drone.

It was both bizarre and a little funny to think that had happened so long ago, and yet not long ago at all. Her interface now showed the current time on Earth. [02: 08 (LT)] About a day and a half since she'd entered the Portal World, and about three days since the beginning of the Integration. Her Perception spread out like a rolling fog. It was nostalgic, surreal, and utterly disorienting. Despite this being the real world, somehow, Earth felt thin.