Chapter 4.

CHAPTER 4.

Amber immediately backed off from the person-thing before her. All of her hairs were standing on end, every single one of her survival instincts told her to accept her death. Running was an impossibility; moving her body was incredibly difficult. Even Cursed Momentum activated as she took another step back, and the being before her, smiled.

“Oh, how long has it been since I saw one of your kind,” it⁠— he spoke, an ethereal quality to his voice. “Not just a Berserker but a Cursed Berserker.”

The being took a step forward, and the ground cracked. Amber stepped back.

“You know, that class. It was last seen about three centuries ago. It’s a rare one, especially with how the world favors mages more than ever due to some…” He tilted his head. “Developments.”

Amber continued to try to back off from the figure, but he followed at the same walking pace, the ground continuously fracturing in his wake. The being’s blue light illuminated the once dark and dreary room.

“It’s so strange really.” The being smiled. “I mean, you intruded upon my tower in a blink.” It opened its hand, pretending its an explosion. “Poof, just like that. Came into existence. A phenomenon I have never seen before, but not only that, but now you have an extremely rare class. Isn’t that interesting?”

There was a silence before it continued.

“Isn’t that right?”

Amber swallowed, still trying to back off. “I-it is interesting…”

Then he vanished.

“Glad you agree.”

And Amber squeaked as she collided against the figure. She turned and was forced to look at its almost expressionless face⁠— no eyes, no hair, it just had a mouth. Like a mannequin of light.

“So, well I’d like to run some tests. To see if I can keep pushing you and get you an even rarer class. Of course, you’ll most likely die.” He smiled. “But maybe if you have something interesting to tell me, I’m willing to reconsider. Perhaps how you snuck into my tower?”

Amber at that moment, realized she could reason with him. So, after a breath she spoke.

“I do not know how I invaded this space, but I can tell you the things I know,” she said as steadily as she could. “All that I know,” she corrected in a whisper.

“All that you know?” The being raised its brow-bone. “What could you possibly know that I don’t?”

Amber chewed her lip. If it had been looking at her this entire time, then it probably knew about her phone⁠— hell it probably knew that she was from another world⁠— except… he didn’t so much as ask about any of that or even allude to it? Amber wasn’t completely sure, but she had a feeling that the being hadn’t been watching her the entire time; otherwise he’d know just how lost she was based on her own mutterings.

She hesitated but ultimately spoke.

“I’m sure we can figure it out if you listen to me. Maybe you’ll figure out how I got here in the first place from listening…”

The being immediately frowned. An oppressive aura filled the room as Amber instinctually shivered, and the being⁠ stepped forward⁠— and slapped the air to the right of her. A booming sound echoed in the room along with the following of wet objects hitting different parts of the room, Amber saw a chunk of flesh fall at her feet.

“Lowly monster, thinking you could interrupt my conversation when I made you.” The being scowled. “Even if you had been level 200 instead of 100, the result would’ve been the same,” he said in annoyance.

Amber blinked, and the being turned to face her. This time, his mood was evidently much worse.

“I’m listening human, what’s the most outlandish thing you can possibly tell me that will pique my interest?”

She hesitated. Would me saying I’m from Earth be enough, is there something else I can tell him⁠? No⁠— I don’t have anything else⁠—

“Well?” the being asked with a sharp voice, taking a step forward.

Amber took a breath and squeaked. “I’m not from this world.”

The figure paused. Even his light seemed to flicker for a moment. She couldn’t tell if she made him confused, or something else, but⁠—

“Interesting!” he exclaimed. “That is the most outlandish and ridiculous thing someone has ever said to me! Do you have a way to prove your words?”

Amber hesitated but nodded. The figure paused for a moment, his demeanor seemingly turning more serious.

“Very well, then we shall talk.”

He turned and clapped. A moment later, the darkness of the room was purged by fixtures of light that appeared all around the floor. The moss and plants growing immediately disappeared, however what caught Amber’s attention wasn’t any of that, it was the monster that had been in the room.

She stared at it, it was less than a meter away from her and it had clearly been wanting to attack her— its legs were facing her, standing to her side. However, the rest of the monster was… it was a blood splatter that went to the end of the room, chunks of flesh and bone lay lining its path.

Level 100…? Died just like that…?

Her mind paused but the rumbling of rock made her turn as two stone chairs emerged. The being gestured at her.

“After you.”

She gulped, uncertain of the future.

⁠* * *

Amber sat there, looking at the ground as her mind raced. She was afraid of what would happen to her, she was afraid of everything, she didn’t know what the being before her even was. Still, she had to talk, all to spare her life.

“I can see the gears turning in your head,” the being said, crossing his legs. “If you truly aren’t from Vir, then I’m sure I have knowledge you’re interested in. So, let’s trade. Relax, I won’t kill you. It would be no fun for the tower master to interfere after all.”

She paused for a moment before nodding. “So this world is Vir?” She was met by a small nod. “My world is called Earth, it’s… vastly different to Vir.”

“Different how?” the being asked, raising its brow-bone.

“There are no monsters for instance.” She closed her eyes. “Nothing like Scraper Frogs or Stone Golems, no Juggernauts or anything. All we have are animals.”

“Interesting, but there is a tiny problem with your information.”

Amber paused as the figure rested his head on the palm of his right hand.

“How am I supposed to believe what you are saying if you don’t have any proof? I’m sure your claims would hold a lot more weight if I had been observing you, but truth is: I only observed you when you arrived, then assumed you’d die so I stopped looking. And now, your rapid descent has caught my attention again. So: you said you could prove it. Honor your word.”

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She blinked hearing his words, and taking a very deep breath she reached for her pocket. She took out her phone and held the power button for what felt like ages. The being watched with interest and then⁠— the screen turned on.

“That thing is not magic.” The being frowned. “An artifact from your world?”

“A phone, or a cell phone or… smartphone?” Amber hesitated. “They get called lots of things. But I’ll tell you all about my world as I said, and using my phone I’ll try to show you some of it. However, before that I do want to ask; who are you, or… what are you?”

The being smiled.

“I’m a Primordial Spirit.” There was a pause as his non-existent gaze met hers. “A god.”

Amber paused, and nodded, deciding to trust the Primordial Spirit’s claims. She blinked and realized that the being was now leaning over her shoulder, looking down at her phone.

“Go on, show me your world.”

* * *

Amber began by showing the spirit pictures from her gallery. Some were of food, others of notes from her school, some were of places around her neighborhood and animals, and yet even though they were mundane things the Primordial Spirit was incredibly interested, asking questions along the way. Of course, sometimes Amber struggled to explain concepts of Earth in great detail at times, but the spirit didn’t seem to mind as it kept asking questions.

“You said there was no magic, this device you call ‘cell phone’. How does it work?”

Amber hesitated. “It’s very complicated, but it runs on electricity.”

“Electricity?” The being seemed confused. “Isn’t that basically Lightning Magic?”

“Not magic, it’s what you see in thunderstorms. While I don’t understand how it works, through centuries of combined efforts, humans created something like the cellphone. A device that can do complicated mathematical equations, communicate with loved ones across oceans, store memories in the form of pictures, and do a myriad of things,” she explained.

“You did say that…” The Primordial Spirit appeared seated in front of her. His chair skidded on the ground, until their legs were almost touching. “You even said humans went to the moon.”

“I did, apparently this cell phone is numerous times more powerful than the computer that achieved that,” she explained before deciding to correct herself. “In its ability to process problems I mean.”

“All of this is… hard to believe, and yet you have proof,” the Primordial Spirit said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And you tell me that without magic humans rule the world?”

His tone was one of disbelief.

“Yeah…”

“How did you all kill the gods?” he asked in a whisper. “They wouldn’t have allowed everything you did. Was there some sort of agreement?”

Amber paused and after a moment of hesitation she answered his question. “There are no gods.”

The Primordial Spirit paused. “... there are no gods?”

She shook her head in response.

She couldn’t see his face, but for a moment she imagined the face of a child hearing something ridiculous. She couldn’t tell if it was sheer disbelief or something else.

“So you’re telling me humankind conquered their planet and even their moon, created weapons of mass destruction, tamed nature itself and harnessed its lightning; all without the help of gods?”

She solemnly nodded and the Primordial Spirit leaned back, staring at the ceiling in disbelief, before leaning forward and nodding furiously.

“That’s it, I’ve decided. I want to see it with my own eyes. Let’s go to your world; take me there Amber.”

Amber blinked. “I was actually hoping you could tell me how to go back.”

And then, there was silence.

* * *

“I may be a god, but I’m not omnipotent. While I can certainly tear a rift into space and go to a different world, the chances of ending up on Earth are near zero.” The Primordial Spirit said after some time, breaking the silence. “There might be other Primordial Spirits that may have an answer for you, however.”

Amber nodded slowly. She was slightly disappointed the Primordial Spirit had no clear answer for her⁠—

“I will say that, you can return to your world. Just not right now, and not any time soon,” he said, shaking his head. “I will however say that I appreciate all this information you’ve given me. It brings me great joy, Amber.”

“Right…” She processed his words. “How do you even know my name?”

“It’s in your status,” the Primordial Spirit answered simply. “But no gods, huh? That is interesting. So how did you end up here, tell me about that.”

Amber nodded and began regaling her tale, mostly about her last day on Earth and her experiences in Vir.

* * *

“Can’t say your circumstances differ from what I’ve heard about creatures of other worlds. Most of the time they just appear here, out of thin air. Though, I’ve lived for millennia and I’ve heard of only a handful of others coming from another world. So, you are quite special Amber.”

“Right.” She shifted. “Thank you for the information, but now I’d like to ask questions.”

“Of course, I’ll answer anything you want to ask.” He smiled. “You’re quite the interesting individual, it would be shameful of me to not answer your questions.”

She couldn’t tell if the Primordial Spirit was being serious or not, so she chose to ignore what he said and instead ask the first thing in her mind.

“How can I understand what you’re saying?”

“Good question, the System has given you a hidden translation skill for English to the general language of the world ⁠— Virian. Of course, you won’t understand Elven for instance,” he waved his hand.

Seems legit. Amber nodded.

“What is your name, and why does this tower have murals worshipping you?”

In response, the spirit gave her a deep smile. “I cannot tell you my name, but I can answer the second question. This is my tower. Once upon a time, before the stars began to fall on this plane, we Primordial Spirits were truly worshipped. We still are of course, but now we are like beings of myth.” He waved his hand dismissively. “In the past, before the Era of Gods, we were what every being turned to for help. This temple is but a remnant of the past.”

He gestured at the surroundings.

“Of course, some Primordial Spirits still reside in their towers; most of them are quite isolated from civilization.”

“They reside in these towers because they don’t want to be disturbed?” Amber raised her brow.

The Primordial Spirit laughed in response. “No, the reason depends on the Primordial Spirit. As for my reason? You’ll figure it out. It’d be no fun to tell you.”

She wanted to roll her eyes but decided to ask something else in her mind. “Why did beings stop turning to Primordial Spirits for help? And what did they need help with?”

“They needed help in dealing with monsters; the twisted creatures of Vir whose sole purpose is to kill. Mutated things born from the negative emotions and the released mana of all species.” Then he turned serious. “As for why they stopped turning to us? The answer is simple: we grew bored of helping so we gave them the tools to help themselves.”

“The tools to help themselves?” she repeated the question, rather confused.

“We gave the rest of the world classes; we gave everyone access to the System.”

Amber paused and watched as the Primordial Spirit seemed to have an annoyed face. She had a feeling that if she asked more about that, she wouldn’t get any more answers about that. So instead, she focused on learning more about the world in general.

* * *

The Primordial Spirit refused to answer most of her questions about the System, instead choosing to just give her a smile and telling her to find out. He was quite the eccentric being, but she didn’t actually mind it. Instead gaining other kinds of information including her location. Apparently she was in the continent of Sarliane, and the Kingdom the tower was in was called Lorisdil, though the spirit did warn that some information might be outdated.

Amber learned about magic, about mana, that there were things such as dungeons and even ancient civilizations that had long perished. And she also learned why the world apparently favored mages now.

“At first it’s not noticeable, but at higher levels the disadvantages become glaring. Mages unlike Warriors don’t have to walk a path that has already been paved. At some point the requirements to become stronger become locked behind knowledge.” He shook his head before giving her a look. “Unless you’re talented, that is.”

“What do you mean?” she raised her brow, now alarmed.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He smiled.

“You’re unbearable,” Amber finally sighed and paused. “W-wait⁠—”

And the Primordial Spirit broke into howling laughter. “A human has said I’m unbearable?” Amber felt herself growing pale before the spirit kept on laughing. Before finally managing to look at her. “You are quite something. Honestly, that is true. That’s why I built all of this for myself, to placate my boredom. And that’s why I like you! Entertain me more, mortal⁠, no⁠— Amber!”

She scowled. “I’m not a clown.”

“Clown?” he asked, confused.

“Jester, fool; I’m not your entertainer.” She frowned.

“To some extent yes, but I suppose that was disrespectful.” He tilted his head. “You are interesting. That is all.”

“Right…”

After that Amber kept on trying to gain insight about the world of Vir, but unfortunately all the Primordial Spirit could provide were tales of old that he evidently wasn’t too keen on sharing. And admittedly she didn’t care too much about legends of old either. At least not at the moment. He also didn’t seem to know about worldly stuff like currency. She, however, did ask about what his level was but much to her annoyance he answered with: “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Finally, exhausting the conversation Amber decided to make a request to the Primordial Spirit. Making sure to word it in a way that was pleasing to his ear.

“Since this is your tower, and I’ve given you valuable information, could you hear my humble request? From a mortal to a god.”

He raised his brow. “Your information was entertaining, I don’t know about valuable, though I suppose some of the technology could be replicated here,” he said before shaking his head. “Anyway, I like you enough, so I’ll hear you out. What do you want to ask for?”

“Since you’re the ruler of this tower, I have a simple request.” She took a breath. “Could you⁠ help—”

“No,” he answered, cutting her off.

Amber blinked as the Primordial Spirit continued with a smile.

“My answer is: No, I won’t help you leave my tower.”