To her surprise, Vuthe laughed out loud at that, mirth clear in her tone. “Oh, Lucy, my sweet, summer child. Don’t worry about that. I’m not going to be mad at you for what the system tells you. What’s the saying, don’t shoot the messenger? I’m more than aware how the System works, and that it’s not your fault if it paints me in a bad light. If anything, I’ve only got myself to blame for that.”
Interestingly enough, there was a strangely self-depricating undertone in that last sentence that didn’t seem to fit the rest of the statement, but once again, Lucy decided not to comment.
She was still terrified by the prospect of actually speaking aloud the words she had read from the system, some sort of strange fear that until then it might just be wrong. Even if that was a silly notion at best.
But the dragoness had asked, and it would be an extraordinarily stupid notion to deny that.
“Alright… I think… Uhm… Here goes nothing, I guess?” And with that she took another deep breath and pulled up Vuthe’s status once more.
[Goddess of the Shadow Armory]
Major Titles:[???], [Divine Authority: Shiarex of the Shadow Armory], [Soul Fragment: Indomitable], [Abyss Touched], [Otherworlder], [Daughter of Destruction], [The Living Nightmare], [Blade of a Thousand Screams], [The Bloody Queen], [Dragon Queen of Thelvadore], [Conqueror of Fendalyr]
Minor Titles:[78 Items - Expand List]
Race:[True Blooded Shadow Dragon]
Age: 3590
Level: 1341 (Rank Equivalent: Diamond/Singularity)
Job: [Order of the Scythe Matriarch]
Health: 451666/451666
Mana: [ERROR]/[ERROR]
Stamina: 748405/748405
Strength: 10760
Agility: 72430
Vitality: 10325
Intelligence: 174888
Wisdom: 169348
She felt absolutely stupid reading it aloud to a being who could, by all accounts, remove her from existence before her brain even had time to think about it. Especially given how… messed up the status was. Miss Cecily might not have been able to understand the full extent of the insanity, but even she seemed quite alarmed at what she heard.
And why wouldn’t she?
Vuthe de Thal was a being so beyond comprehension that there were absolutely no words to describe it. Everything about her profile was just… Insane. It opened with the titles, which on their own were complete insanity, yet–somehow–still not even the second most insane thing to be found on the status page!
That spot definitely belonged to the level. 1341!
Lucy Kallen didn’t come from some prestigious or rich family, but unlike many of her peers she had been able to enjoy a decent education once her family had moved from the small village she had been born in into a bigger city, and had also been able to learn some history. Such studies were supplemented during her travels where she had ample opportunities to learn the various different myths and legends common among merchants, adventurers, guardsmen, and common townsfolk.
As much as the written record was important and thoroughly studied–oftentimes with the help of the System–a lot of common knowledge and mythical accounts were still primarily distributed through the spoken word. Since time immemorial people liked telling stories, and many stories–while irrefutably embellished–held at least some kernel of truth somewhere. In Lucy’s experience, oftentimes far more than most people gave credit for.
From everything she heard, the highest recorded level any humanoid in Calon history had ever reached was somewhere above the Level 400 mark. The exact number wasn’t clear, but it was somewhere between Level 400 and Level 430, according to the most common telling of the myth. The highest level period, according to those same legends, belonged to an ancient dragon more than twelve millennia old, who had peaked at just over Level 600. And he had been so powerful that he had shaped the fate of the rest of the world through that feat even after his death.
Vuthe, though? She had more than double that, despite the fact that she was only three and a half millennia old. For a dragon that wasn’t particularly old. Not exactly juvenile, but definitely not as ancient as most dragons of legend were. According to the system, dragons could easily grow beyond a hundred thousand years of age. There were many historians on Calon who postulated that the Dragon King would’ve likely been able to crack the level 1000 mark if he had lived longer than he had.
Then again, that was hard to tell, given that his death had been a sacrifice made by him to save the world from imminent disaster.
Lucy also hadn’t missed the fact that according to Vuthe’s own words, anything beyond Level 750 would be considered equivalent to the rank of Singularity. Which was listed in the Rank Equivalent, but it wasn’t the only listing, and that confused Lucy greatly. Diamond, while still an utterly ridiculous notion, at least sounded more believable. It was the first time since she had come here that she had seen two rank listings on a single profile.
Yet, somehow, even that unbelievable reality was still not the most absurd thing about Vuthe. And despite the insanity of the second and third spot, the winner of that particular medal was so insane that it made the other two look tame in comparison.
That medal, of course, belonged to her mana.
[ERROR]/[ERROR]
Error. As in, the System was unable to properly quantify it. It was the first time Lucy had ever seen or heard of an error on a status page. The only times she had encountered errors before was when trying to identify objects that were so thoroughly destroyed as to lose all their original meaning and significance.
It didn’t just leave her without words, she was genuinely unable to wrap her head around the implications of that. It was just too much, to the point it just… kind of bounced off of her and settled itself somewhere far beyond her logical understanding in the realm of ‘Why the fuck not?’ The very idea just broke the spectrum of unbelievable, looping around all the way back to just silent acceptance.
When she was finally done relaying the status, the three of them fell silent and she glanced over at Miss Cecily. The masked adventurer was impossible to properly read, although even through that she was pretty sure that the other woman had at least some concept of just how insane the being in front of them was.
Vuthe, for her part, seemed lost in thought, not quite looking at anything in particular. The silence dragged on for quite some time. The longer it stretched, the more uneasy the Catkin felt, but for once she didn’t actually know what to say to break it.
Finally, the dragoness sighed, shaking her head.
“That… Really isn’t all that different from what I had expected. The major item being my age, but given what you told me about the guild, it at least confirms my theories in that regard. Still… losing six hundred years isn’t exactly what I’d call a pleasant revelation.”
“Diamond? Singularity?!” This time it was Miss Cecily speaking, also coming out of her funk at roughly the same time, her gaze now moving over to the dragoness. “Abyss Touched? Otherworlder?”
Her voice sounded just as incredulous as Lucy felt–something rather rare, given how Cecily was usually able to retain her calm and collected demeanour.
“In the name of the Great Lady, who are you?”
Vuthe met the adventurer’s gaze with a self-conscious smile that held a hint of amusement. “Not asking me about the slew of titles relating to murder and bloodshed?”
“Those come naturally to any being as old as you. Pacifists don’t survive for nearly long enough, and even the few that do inevitably collect some skeletons. All of that is terrifying, sure, but believable. But the other two? And your rank?” Miss Cecily shook her head, throwing up her hands in disbelief. “History books speak of people of Diamond rank. Entities that influence the course of history of entire continents. The last Diamond rank individual that I know of being anywhere near the continent of Fendalyr was the Flame Dragon Chatan. And he died shortly after the guild was formed fighting some great evil.” There was a raw edge to her tone, making it sound almost manic. “And I haven’t even heard about Singularity, apart from what you explained earlier which would just… I thought Adamantine was a myth! Nevermind anything more!”
Lucy wasn’t an adventurer. She wasn’t a great magician either, and while she has had some experience being in the presence of others, she hadn’t ever really learned how to read the presences of other beings the same way as warriors typically did. Yet, even she could feel the sudden change in atmosphere.
The room suddenly felt colder, and her gaze almost snapped to the dragoness.
Vuthe’s expression had changed. The earlier smile was gone, replaced with a stoic mask that carried a sharp edge of coldness with it. Her appearance had already naturally been kind of ominous, although this was the first time the ancient eyes of the goddess showed actual displeasure. Perhaps it could even be called hostility. “Chatan? The Chatan?”
Both Lucy and Miss Cecily took an involuntary step back at the hostility in her voice. There was an edge to it that sent shivers down their spines, despite the fact that they weren’t the target of the animosity.
“Y-Yes? I only know of one, anyway,” the swordswoman replied, her hand lingering near the heft of her sword.
The hostility spiked for a moment, to the point of becoming actually terrifying. Again, they still weren’t the target of the animosity, but their proximity alone was enough to chill them to the core.
Then, the presence vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Vuthe visibly shook herself, taking a deep breath and shaking her head, a deep scowl etched onto her face. “Apologies. I didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s just… very unpleasant to think about. At the very least it explains some things…”
“Explains what, exactly?” Despite the situation, Lucy couldn’t quite stop herself from asking.
Vuthe waved one hand dismissively, before she finally turned and started walking down one of the hallways. “What happened here. Not that I’m surprised. I had my guesses and expectations, but I wasn’t willing to accept them without solid proof. Now, though, I’m almost certain.”
The two companions exchanged a glance, neither of them missing the implication of that statement. Still, after all they learned about Vuthe so far, it didn’t feel nearly as overbearing as it probably should have.
Pushing aside the spark of fear still gripping her, Lucy followed after Vuthe, unwilling to let her curiosity be left unsatisfied. Miss Cecily followed her a moment later, although the beastkin didn’t miss the lingering uncertainty of the woman.
“Uhm… Would you mind explaining that a little? I’m a bit confused…”
In response the dragoness stopped, and turned to give the courier a thoughtful gaze, her expression still quite unhappy. “That depends on you, really. I don’t mind talking, especially because I hope you can help me fill in more of the blanks, but I need you to keep some things to yourself, at least for the time being.”
That had Lucy swallow uneasily, although she did manage a nod. “I can do that… I’m a [Courier], after all. Carrying secrets is what I do.”
Vuthe studied her for a moment, then nodded. “Good enough, I suppose. Well, before I start, does the name Thelvadore ring a bell for either of you? Beyond its mention on my status page, of course.”
The two women exchanged another glance, before they both returned their gazes to the dragoness. Uncharacteristically, Miss Cecily was the first to speak.
“No? Not that I can think of, anyway. I do have the feeling I’ve heard of it before prior to today, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
Lucy, for her part, queried the System. It had become a bit of her go to response to the unknown. Being a stranger to this world, she didn’t have much in the way of common knowledge. A few months of travel didn’t change that, despite her best attempts to learn anything about this world she could get her hands on. And so the System was her best tool to gather information. Of course, it wasn’t perfect, and it didn’t always have a full answer for her. Really, it wasn’t uncommon for the System to come up blank or give only very vague hints about the topic she was trying to inquire about.
Still, it worked most of the time. And thankfully, right now was just such a moment.
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