Honesty, TM

It had been nearly two hundred years since anyone had declared Article Two at Al’Magi. This was in no small part thanks to some ridiculous politicking and red tape that I added to the story on a whim. Because of that and the Two-Generation War, it had become nearly impossible to find the original articles of establishment for the academy, even when I roughly knew where to look. But I did eventually find that one copy of the original Magicis Carta, which I snuck onto Rionriv’s person before I was carted away from her.

Because of its obscurity, the teachers had no idea how to handle the declaration of the ancient incantation or whether it was even still acceptable under the current curriculum. As a result, this led to a prolonged post-exam debate with the Deans of each of the five Schools at Al’Magi, who then took that information to the Magicis Praefectus. It took nearly a day of deliberating before they returned with a resolution.

In simple terms, the Magicis Carta revealed the following information to be true within the grounds of the academy. First, Article One stated that all students must regularly pass magical aptitude tests before progressing to the next level of learning. This was to guarantee that they were adequately understanding the fundamentals of magic and acted as a two-factor authentication that professors were also actually doing their jobs. Article Two, on the other hand, clarified that a group of three or more students could choose to opt for trial by combat to achieve the same outcome. This guaranteed fairness for student groups containing two or more experiential learning students.

Article Two presented exceptionally difficult mock battles that were based on the assumed ranking of the average student at their current level of education. They were meant to challenge and be nearly impossible to defeat, allowing only the most coordinated and capable teams to progress forward. They did not, however, account for three months of grinding down vermin and ‘monsters’ into a delicious slop of real-world combat experience, which was a relatively new addition to the curriculum.

Because of that exploitable feature and thanks to all the training we had been doing in preparation for solstice, while the triop was technically at the end of the first semester of their second year, their adventuring rank was at or beyond second-semester goals.

This meant that when the teachers closed off the Rag-Tag field and summoned monsters meant to challenge E-Rank students, the triop not only destroyed everything thrown at them, but did so without breaking a sweat. And I know this because I hid in the shadows watching every second of it, quietly cheering them on with every beast slain.

In the days following the magical finals, rumours had begun to spread faster than a wildfire. Allegedly, students had found out about the trial by combat and spread tall tales of how the misfits had gone rogue. Due to the stunt I had pulled, I had inadvertently made them even more notorious among the Second Years. Whether that was good or bad was still to be seen.

Yet, even with everything that had happened, my thought process was singular. Between them passing their tests and the student body now casting a spotlight on their power, the only thing I cared about was that they would forgive me. I didn’t even care about the solstice quest, them graduating, or whether or not they were popular. The only thing I wanted was for them to come by, hang out, and listen to music with me one more time.

I hoped for that every minute of every day that I waited behind the cash wrap of Phyllis’ store, watching people come and go. With every swing of the door, I anticipated them walking through, only to grow increasingly disappointed. It was a feeling that I would continue to feel up to the day that we had been set to leave for Ter’aquit on our Solstice Dungeon Dive.

“Oh, sad baby,” Phyllis mumbled as she floated beside me. "Did someone's whee-whee get a boo-boo?"

I was again leaning on the cash wrap, waiting for the three of them to show up, in a real déjà vu moment.

Ugh, my life story is turning out to be so cliché. I thought to myself as I ignored Phyllis. It’s so boy meets girl. The boy waits for the girl. Boy blows it. The boy tries to make it up. The boy waits for the girl just like at the beginning of the story.

“But will she show up?” I mumbled to myself like some fantastical protagonist trying to be profound.

“Which she?” Phyllis answered, refusing to be ignored. “You’ve got three shes! In fact, why don’t you grab a few more? Say two more, make them powerful, but then make them weak around you. You’d like that, wouldn’t you—fuggin’ chauvinist.”

Drawn from my fantasy by Phyllis’ assault on my character, I shook my head in disbelief.

“W-what?” I spoke, turning to the uncomfortably close lich with genuine confusion. “What are you even talking about?”

“Ooh, make me one of your harem, Izzy baby. I’ll be your little plaything. Say the word, and I’ll take out my dentures and suck a golf ball through a garden hose for you.”

Phyllis drew even closer with her bony, pinchy fingers that had gotten me too many times to count in the recent lonely weeks.

“No, Phyllis! Personal bubble. My bubble!”

“Get over here, bubble boy. I’mma pop’yuh!”

I swatted at Phyllis as she floated ever closer, the ancient pinchers looking for their pound of flesh on my body. That was when the chime at the front of the store sounded.

Looking up, three familiar women stood on the threshold, watching the spectacle before them. They wore travel clothes, thick leather boots, and their own unique brand of confused expressions.

“Is this a bad time?” Rionriv asked from the front of the group. She crossed her arms and smirked at me. “I thought we were supposed to be going on an adventure. Or should we come back?”

“Ri, Aes, Zin—” I rushed out from behind the counter, palming Phyllis’ face and pushing her away like a deflating balloon.

Approaching them, my chest began to swell as a wave of emotions overtook my psyche. In an instant, I felt a new life fill me. Even though it had been no more than a month, I had missed having the three of them with me. But that wasn't even the extent of it. It was more than that. Every moment that we had been apart, there had been a deep void within me. A void that I had known before in another life. One that was hidden behind a mental dam I had grown to fear as I poked and prodded the wall, seeing how close to the truth I could get without breaking it.

In that moment, as I looked between the three of them, I realized something. Something complex yet simple. Of all the things I was doing in this world—setting up quests, freeing my soul from Phyllis, searching for a place to hide from the coming cataclysm—a new purpose had taken shape. And that was to have friends, in particular, the triop of misfits that had taken me into their group. I yearned for their companionship. Their friendship. 

And, as my heart raced with excitement, I realized there was something else that I longed to experience. Something more than friendship. But before I could begin to process that emotion, I felt something else. Something that splashed onto the fabric of the shirt, concealing my racing heart.

Wait, am I crying? I thought, wiping at my face as tears rolled down my cheek.

Without a hint of hesitation, Aesandoral broke past Rionriv and rushed up to me. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and another around my head, pulling me into a tight hug. I could feel her racing heart pressed against my heart. The thudding against her chest as she experienced something similar to me in this tender moment.

“It’s okay,” She whispered, her voice sweet and wavering with emotions, bringing forth more tears. "D-don’t cry."

“I’m so sorry,” I whimpered loud enough for them all to hear me, “Pl-please forgive me. I—I fugged up. I realize that. Will you forgive me?”

“We’re here, aren’t we?” Rionriv huffed as she came up to Aesandoral’s side. "The answer should be pretty obvious, don't you think?"

With a thud, I felt her gently knock her fist to the top of my head. Her face lowered in, inspecting mine from the bosom I was buried in before continuing.

“But no more lies, ‘kay?”

Peeling away from Aesandoral, I rubbed my hands over my face before looking at Rionriv, agreeing with ease. Someone had once taught me that honesty was the best policy, a fact that I remembered thanks to a hazy memory breach a few weeks prior. I recalled someone talking to me, their voice distant and garbled, but those words clearly ringing in my ears. And while the dream had, for some reason, hidden who had taught me this and the context of how I learned it, it was true. Awakening from the shock of the memory, I promised myself that I wouldn’t make the same mistake again. 

That said, there was one catch, though—

—How will I explain the whole ‘I wrote the world’ thing? That’s not a bomb you drop in the middle of a convenience store at nine in the morning.

“So, is there anything else we should know?” Sharzin asked as she emerged from a nearby coatrack holding a bucket of Tennessee Fried Chicken.

Eeep—Et tu, Sharzin? Wait, when did she get the chicken?

“I’m,” I started talking before I could even think about what I was going to say. The words flowed from my lips as though fate had predestined this moment. “Not a real oracle.”

I waited for the blowback, instinctively wincing in preparation for a slap from Rionriv. A slap that never came.

“Yeah, obviously.” She instead spoke matter-of-factly.

“Yeah,” Aesandoral joined in. “We all knew that.”

“Yeah, y-you’re a b-bad liar,” Sharzin added as she munched on a drumstick. "Like, really bad."

“You all knew? And still agreed to work with me?”

“I mean, you did know a lot of really random crap,” Rionriv spoke up once more, inspecting my face closely before poking my forehead. “So that made up for it. Which begs the question, though. How do you know so much, oracle?”

I panicked for a moment, unsure what to say. Then it dawned on me—a revolutionary idea in this moment of vulnerability.

I’ll continue to be honest! Sort of.

“I’m a Kalish-nik. My soul was reborn into the body of Ishara. I have a strong understanding of this world and its functionality.”

Rionriv withdrew slightly, looking to the others and then back to me. Reaching out, she poked a finger at my forehead as she leaned over to meet my eyes.

“That makes sense,” She nodded, inspecting me intensely. “Though, I feel like there is still more you’re not telling us.”

Good, gods! Rionriv, you’re so persistent. Crap, I really don’t want to say anymore. But I don’t want to lie, either.

“Hey, I just awoke three months ago in a body that I technically stole from this boy," I replied, swatting at her hand. "I’m still working through some trauma, ‘kay? Lay off for a bit.”

“Now that’s honesty.” She looked away from me with a smirk. “So, I guess that’s good enough for now. But I expect answers someday, mister.”

“And you’ll get them. You’ll all get them. I promise.”

And like that, the tension was released. It was as though everything, all the hurt and betrayal, disappeared, and we were able to be ourselves again. Unlike anything I had ever experienced in my past life, it genuinely felt like they all forgave me the minute I was honest. And, what made it better, was that it felt like true forgiveness, not being manipulated into a false sense of security. Suddenly, the world felt right and as though nothing had ever happened. My heart swelled at this, and I immediately felt as though I wanted to cry once more.

But I held the tears back because, with the weight lifted, we began catching up on each other’s lives. We talked about what we did over the last month, all the while pushing a shopping cart down the tight aisles of Phyllis's shoppe, picking up the various necessities for our adventure. Bottomless bags for everyone, low-grade magical equipment, mundane supplies, food rations, everything we could think of and afford.

At one point, as Aesandoral and Rionriv disappeared to pick out new travel clothes, I observed Sharzin trying to find ways to bring the mall's fried chicken on the trip. Unfortunately for her, though, Phyllis' food couldn’t leave the confines of her shop dimension.

"What do you mean?" Sharzin asked, looking into the bucket of chicken.

Reaching in, I grabbed chickenwing and held them aloft for her to see.

"The food is magical," I explained, taking a bite and pulling the meat off the bone. "And sure, it fills us up and gives us all the nutrients we need to be healthy, but the minute we leave the shoppe with it, it ceases to exist."

With a flick of my wrist, the half-eaten wing flew towards the exit, tumbling past the saloon doors and exploding into a cloud of pink sparkles. By the time they reached the ground, even the glow had faded, leaving nothing but the memory of its existence and the satiation in my stomach.

"But how are we supposed to enjoy this food on the road?" She asked.

"Well, with my do-it-yourself alternative, of course!" Phyllis announced as she approached our conversation. "While the actual recipe is a Proprietary Phyllis Trade Secret, feel free to purchase a Phyllis Brand Spice Pouch, now with a bottomless amount of twelve different herbs and spices to season any meal on the go!"

Reaching out, she pulled a small purse from thin air and placed it in Sharzin's grasp. Immediately, the lich smiled, extending her hand out to accept payment for the miracle item that could achieve the rogue's desires.

"And this..." Sharzin hesitated, pulling the spice pouch close and investigating it. "Has everything I need?"

"Everything, except the love you get from a home-magic'd meal. Or hate. Or spite. Whatever emotional state you like to cook in. It's missing that bit. But it's got all the spices. And it could be yours! For fifty gold."

"Are we ready to go yet?" Rionriv asked, returning to the group with a new pair of travel leathers and blouse already on her body.

"Yeah, let's do it," Sharzin replied, gripping the spice bag firmly. "I've got everything I need."

And with that, we gathered up everything we had selected and paid for the goods. Phyllis made sure to give us the employee discount, albeit after I called her out for trying to charge us full price plus a surge charge. But, to make amends for the mistake, she provided each of us with a handy How-To guide to get the most out of a Bottomless Bag. With a cock of my eyebrow, I flashed Phyllis an unimpressed look before tossing the book into my bottomless bag and turning to the triop.

"Alright," I said with a smile to them. "Shall we be off?"