33 - A False Peace

“Let’s see… Nuudle, ‘explain reasoning recurring dreams’?”

Twelve types of dreams and why they happen-

“Oh, that doesn’t sound right. Uh… Nuudle, ‘how stop recurring dream’?”

Thesis by Dr. Yohannes, an academic paper on the science behind-

“How many pages?”

Four hundred and sixty-five.”

“Oh geez, umm… let’s just try the source. Nuudle, ‘same dream why’…?”

Now showing one-hundred and twenty thousand results for-

“I give up.”

“Hoohoot…”

I lay on the carpet, the screen blindingly bright against the unlit walls of my mind palace.

I found it increasingly difficult to search for relevant answers to my otherworldly questions, despite my best efforts to narrow it down. Of course, looking up the effects of god planting and removing memories from your head wouldn’t get me anywhere, so I tried getting as close to Earth’s reality as possible, but…

“Hooty, how do you feel about scouring through one-hundred and twenty thousand search results?”

“Hoo.”

“Alright, I get it. You don’t have to show such disdain.”

“Hoohoo-”

“Whadaya mean I can’t do it? I’ll have you know I’ve matured lots over the past year, my attention span’s much better now!”

“Hoohoohoo-”

“It wasn’t much to begin with- alright. Whatever you say.”

I bounced to my feet, grumbling as I made my way towards the exit.

“No sense staying around here, I’ve got work to do…”

“Hoot.”

“Hmm?” I turned around, surprised at Hooty’s remark. “I haven’t been here for some time, you say? Mmm, I can’t really practice much in here, can I? It’s not like battle simulations are gonna help me speak better. Conjure up a copy of Estelle? Well yes, we did manage to copy everyone’s data by asking them to spar, but they don’t speak at all in here, they’re like empty shells.”

“Hoo…”

“… Ah, I get it,” my lips curled up into a cheeky, wide grin. “You miss me, don’t you Hooty?”

“Hoot!”

“Hehe, didn’t think you’d be such a tsu- hey! Alright- quit pecking me! Geez!”

The ruffling of feathers was a rare sight; Hooty seldom displayed his raw emotions, so his aggravation was quite a surprise.

“I’m sorry, Hooty. It’s… things are quite busy right now. I promise I’ll visit more often when spring arrives, alright?”

“Hoohoot.”

“You want me to- four hours a day?! That’s pushing it!”

We argued for a bit, and I ended up promising we’d watch some movies together as a compromise. In exchange, Hooty will help research my condition.

I woke up in the real world, seated on my bed. There was some chatter outside, no doubt from Mars and Estelle as they worked on the barn.

“Are you done with your meditation, Riko? Let’s begin today’s lesson, shall we?”

“Yes, Edel. But first, cook lunch, feed Woolie.”

A month had passed since the incident. The Forehaven people left on that day, back to whence they came. I couldn’t understand the finer details, but it seemed politics in Forehaven were messy, and the captain—Basil—was of an opposing faction looking to pave a road of peaceful co-existence with Rustal.

Apparently, bumping into Estelle and the others suited their agenda much better than making direct contact with Rustal officials; avoiding as much attention and contacting them indirectly was the goal, thus the perilous trek through the highlands. Since Estelle and the others reported directly to the Adventurer’s Office, Basil saw his mission complete.

As for Estelle’s group, they decided to stick around for the winter. Edelweiss caught a fever that very same night, no doubt the aftershock from her poisoned wound. However with care she recovered a week later, and wanted to stay to ‘conduct research on rare species of wildlife in the mountains’. She also took up the task of being my tutor, drilling the Saintword language into my brain.

I had a feeling they simply wanted to keep me company, something I couldn’t say no to. Edelweiss also started calling me Riko like Estelle, but Mars insisted on calling everyone by their full names.

As a result, I can now speak the language. At the level of a child, at least. Stringing together sentences with full context was still a challenge, so I made do with simpler words, caveman style. I could understand the language far better than I could speak it, learning quickly and efficiently with the help of a tutor.

But speaking proficiency came only with diligent practice.

Edelweiss said something about my ‘gift for language’. Unbeknownst to her, it was thanks to an entire civilization’s worth of information in my head. Though Saintword didn’t exist on Earth, a ton of linguistic acquisition tips and tricks exist on the internet, and those were universally applicable regardless of what world I found myself in.

“Edel, teach magic?” I asked.

“You want to learn magic? As I said before, you have little to no aptitude for manalogy, and that’s about all I can teach. It’ll be a humongous challenge for you to even cast a single fireball spell. Are you sure?”

I nodded, refusing to give up on the chance I might have a magical breakthrough.

At my request, I’d gotten Estelle and Mars to spar a few rounds. I watched them carefully, burning their exhibition into my mind palace for future use. I felt a little guilty about stealing their techniques, but it was clear from my fight with Basil; I needed to learn as much as I could if I want to be confident in my survival.

Not to mention… a highlander’s duty…

*

“Hmm… let’s try something a little different, shall we?”

After I delivered Woolie’s meal, Edelweiss brought me outside. She didn’t bring along her staff, which confused me.

“Edel, no staff?”

“Staff? Ah, you mean my wand. No, we’ll try something else. You have no aptitude for magic; to be precise, you have no aptitude for manalogy, the study and control of natural elements. So let’s try the… shall we say, unnatural elements. Ahem!”

Edelweiss cleared her throat in a dramatic fashion, taking a deep breath before facing the battered training dummy.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!”

Edelweiss screamed, her voice seemingly bending the air in front of her, sucking it in like a vacuum before shooting it all out with a burst. The training dummy swiveled violently, clinging onto the ground while piles of snow were thrown into the air, exposing the dark dirt beneath.

What the heck?!

The blast soon dissipated into a waning, shrieking noise before expiring, leaving me gobsmacked.

“See- cough-! Oh geez…! Cough! Cough-!” Edelweiss spluttered as she spoke, no doubt having strained her voice from that unbelievable shout. “Magic!” She raised both arms in triumph.

How’s that magic? That’s just… screaming really loudly!

“Uh…”

“You must be asking yourself, ‘how’s that magic?’ right now, eh?”

How’d she know…?

“It’s unorthodox, yes. Originally created by the bahamun- sorry, dragonewts, it’s been passed down to other races over the years. Mages who excel at it are rare, but they certainly do exist. Vibramage, and their pursuit of the study of vibration magic.”

“… Really? Like dragonbor- nevermind. Nothing.”

“You doubt me? Then see for yourself. Circulate your mana like you do with your martial arts, and you’ll surely understand it is also a form of magic. From what I’ve seen, you have no issue controlling your mana—just unfortunate to have manalogy locked away for you.”

“Okay, Riko try.”

“Excellent. We’ll take it easy for your first time; we don’t have dragonewt throats to cushion the strain of vibration magic. Now then, do it just like regular mana control… circulate… but focus on the throat- here… let it flow- imagine a river… yes! Now… that’s right, very good… then you do this… imagine it like- excellent, now all you need to do is… shout!”

I took a deep breath-

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGgggGgHHhhh-!!”

I did my best to mimic what I saw from Edelweiss’s demonstration, screaming at the top of my lungs with the burst of mana I stored up. I kept it up for a good two seconds, a powerful surge of wind blowing up more snow than Edelweiss’s shout did, but I faltered at the end, my voice petering out into a shaky, pathetic fizzle.

“Ho!” Edelweiss was beaming, shielding her face from the strong winds with the sleeve of her robes. “Well done, Riko! Well done!”

“Riko- cough! Do it?”

“Indeed! You didn’t manage to keep it up at the end, but for a first-timer, excellent!”

“How, get stronger?”

“Scream louder.”

“…”

“I’m not kidding, Riko. It’s why only dragonewts can truly master vibration magic. Our anatomy simply doesn’t allow it.”

“Ehh…” I frowned. “Then why teach Riko?”

“It’s the only other form of magic I know.”

“Riko thought Edel prodigy.”

“I’ll have you know my professors did indeed refer to me as a prodigy! I simply haven’t had the chance to study other forms of magic yet. I’m only seventeen myself, I’ll have you know. Hmm? What’s with that look? Why are you gasping like that, Riko?”

“Edel… seventeen?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Edel prodigy, so Riko thought Edel thirty.”

“Wha- do you really understand what ‘prodigy’ means? Are you confusing it with ‘experienced’?!”

This misunderstanding was probably my fault; the only other faces I’d ever seen prior to hers were my mother’s and Granhilda’s.

“Riko only see mama and elf before, dunno how young look.”

“Hmm? Ah, if elves are your only metric for what youthfulness is, I can see how you’d misunderstand. But make no mistake, I’m still seventeen. SevenTEEN, see?”

“Oh… Edel not adult?”

“I am an adult.”

“…”

“Fifteen is when everyone comes of age, regardless of their race. You’ll be no different, Riko.”

Allstorian culture is so confusing.

“Hey!” Estelle called from inside the barn carrying a staggering amount of wood on one shoulder. “What’s with all that shouting?”

I’d previously assumed Mars was the muscle of the group considering his burly build. I was wrong; it’s definitely Estelle. Her strength was abnormal, even more so than mine. She also ate an obscene amount of food, having to go out on regular hunts just to keep my kitchen stocked, immediately answering my question of where she got all that energy from.

“Just teaching Riko some magic.”

“Trying to make Riko into a vibramage, Edel? Don’t listen to her, Riko. Vibration magic’s a dead end if you aren’t a dragonewt.” Estelle popped back inside the barn, not bothering to wait for a reply.

I stared at Edelweiss, wordlessly asking for an explanation.

“… Hey, gotta start somewhere, yes? How about we do a little studying now-”

As Edelweiss pushed me back inside, I couldn’t help but wonder if this whole vibration magic thing was truly useful, or if Edelweiss had simply been humoring me.

Once her lesson began however, any doubt about her competence vanished. I still remember some of my teachers back on Earth during the limited time I was able to go to school, but Edelweiss was unlike any ordinary educator.

Always calm, meticulous and patient, she’d do her best to allow me to learn on my own as much as possible, acting more like a mentor than a lecturer droning on and on about formulas and equations.

The results spoke for themselves; in just one month, she managed to take me from absolute zero to elementary level in Saintword. Not only that, I was beginning to read books. While I still couldn’t understand most of what I read, I was no longer nodding off after flipping through three pages like before.

Maybe Edelweiss can tell me something about my dreams.

“Edel, know uh… dreams? But same dream everyday… always same dream.”

“Hmm? Ah, you must mean recurring dreams, yes?”

“Reecurr-ring?”

“Yes. Here, it’s written like this… Pretty easy, yeah? Anyway, recurring dreams… unfortunately, this realm of study isn’t my expertise, but I do know a little. Do you have recurring dreams, Riko?”

I nodded. “Always same, but scary. Every time, more scary. But Riko wake up, not scary anymore.”

It was only after my memories returned that I realized it. Occasionally, I would have the same dream since the day I regained my Earth memories, but I always forgot about it upon waking up. It’s only after recalling my mother that I finally managed to remember… that dark, pulsating black void.

“Ho? Interesting. They say dreams are a natural phenomena, but there have been cases where dreams can be manipulated into nightmares. In most cases, it’s an effect from the Rinta mushroom causing hallucinations, but those are exclusive to the land around Rinta village, so that wouldn’t be the case for you…”

“Rinta-?”

“However,” Edelweiss continued. “Their existence proves nature can indeed affect one’s dreams. In your case, it is likely the source would be around the forests around here. Judging from how only you are affected and not us, we should be able to safely infer the source would have to be something native to the area, as opposed to an invasive species, over a long period of time…”

Edelweiss rambled on. Despite being able to understand only parts of her monologue, I was able to get the gist of it.

“Something the matter, Riko? It feels like you’re staring right into my soul. Are you listening?”

“… Riko just thought, Edel good teacher.”

Rather than bashfully blushing from the compliment, Edelweiss smirked and adjusted her glasses, an air of confidence around her.

“Hmmhmm, of course! You can expect nothing less from a prodigy like myself. Now then, let’s continue, shall we? As I was saying, your dreams-”

I shook my head. “It’s okay, Riko want learn normal lesson.”

“Alright, suit yourself.”

It’s fine, I can live with it.

I was still apprehensive about my own memories. To be honest, I didn’t know how I really felt about them. I longed to see my mother alive and well in my dreams, but at the same time it hurt. I was acting as if she were dead when she was in truth, simply missing.

Up in the highlands, several factors can affect one’s decision at any time; who’s to say my mother didn’t leave to find reinforcements to deal with whatever the problem was?

My mother is strong. I would know, I lived my entire Allstorian life with her. So I have to be strong too, and wait for her return.

But right now, I wanted to spend time with everyone. They weren’t going to stay forever, and soon I’ll be left alone again. I can’t leave the mountain; I have to learn what the duty of a highlander was, and take over until my mother returned.

*

Towards the end of the day, Estelle and Mars would barge into the house, making themselves comfortable after a hard day’s work.

At times, Mars would stare at my blades, asking to search for boars so he too can snag a couple of tusks for himself. Estelle would ask me to teach her how to sew, and create a disastrous mess of my wool supply.

Edelweiss would take any opportunity to show off her wand—a wooden stave with an encrusted jewel called ‘manatite’, the source of its magic power. She’d often elude to getting me a wand of my own, despite my incompatibility with magic.

When the sun went down, we’d have dinner together at the table. While I didn’t have much to say, I enjoyed listening to stories about their travels, having adventures just like in the novels I used to read.

We’d go to sleep, and I’d wake up and meditate. Estelle and Mars will help with the barn, while Edelweiss played with Woolie until it was time for my lessons. It was good times, but I didn’t have long before we’d say goodbye.

For now, I simply want to live everyday to my fullest in peace.

But peace I will not get.

THUMP THUMP. THUMP THUMP. THUMP THUMP-

That night, my nightmares recurred yet again, but this time dark and violent, much more vivid than before. I was trapped, unable to wake up from it’s clutches until-

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP-

I sat upright in my bed. As the image of the dark void swirled in my mind, I sat with my head in my arms, wide-eyed while my body shivered violently from shock.

It was already morning. Winter was almost over, but the weather was still freezing. Yet, I was sweating as I gasped for air. Slowly, I turned to the window to see a great, white fox, standing completely still with her sharp gaze fixed directly at me.

I gulped. Instinctively, I knew. It was time.

Kikko was here, just like that day.

Silently, I walked to the entrance.

And opened the door.