“Wow, this is horrible,” Neth-amii said, frowning at the neon yellow pasta. “How do your people stomach this?”
Laughing, Bria shoveled more of the lukewarm mac into her mouth. Neth-amii wasn’t wrong, but there was something comforting about how simple it was. At least the soda had gone over better. Neth-amii ended up drinking the first one almost in one go, and was no doubt about to experience a sugar high of untold proportions.
“Necessity mostly,” Bria answered, now that she had swallowed. “It is cheap, and lasts for literal years on a shelf.”
“I suppose,” Neth-amii said skeptically. Instead, she opted for switching to a bowl of soup that had been simmering on the fire. Bria herself had already finished hers. The flavor was rich and hearty, and truly a delight. Neth then cracked the seal on the second soda, opting to take her time with this one. “Will you bring more of this delightful drink?”
“Oh, the mac isn’t good enough, but canned soda is?”
Neth-amii pouted. “I like how it bubbles.”
Bria sat there, letting the woman drink deep, knowing what was coming. Sure enough, as she finished and let out a contented sigh, a hiccup followed. Then, it happened. A belch of truly epic proportions tore free from Neth-amii, leaving the poor woman sitting there positively mortified.
A full bellied laugh followed as Bria had to fight to stay upright. Neth was just so cute sometimes when it came to the simplest of things. The pout only grew harsher, and was swiftly followed by a stuck out tongue which only proved her point.
“I’m happy you like it,” Bria said, wiping at her watering eyes. “I’ll bring a couple of cases over for you, assuming you have a place to store them that won’t be robbed while we’re gone?”
“Oh, right, I continue to forget you’re not from these lands,” Neth-amii said, fighting to compose herself. “My bag is spatially expanded and loaded with preservation charms. Anything placed within will stay as fresh as it was the moment I placed it within.”
Well, that certainly beats having a fridge. Bria made a mental note to add that to her list of things she needed to pick up in Brookvale. Actually, she had a notebook on her! So, she took it out of her pouch and made an actual note, then kept going by adding other items she might need as they came to her.
As Neth-amii finished, she leaned over, shoulder resting against Bria. She froze at the sudden warmth of another person leaning against her, even as Neth-amii squinted at the writing. She wasn’t used to it. Even her own parents rarely touched her unless necessary.
“I cannot read it,” Neth-amii said after a moment, “yet we can understand one another all the same. Strange, truly.”
That… Huh. The thought barely crossed her mind before, but Neth-amii wasn’t speaking English. Bria was, and yet, there hadn’t been any meaningful barrier in communication. Vaguely she could recall having a similar thought when she first woke, but there had been more pressing matters at the time.
“I just chalked it up to magic,” Bria said.
“Perhaps there is an enchantment upon the gateway that facilitates communication,” Neth-amii said. “That is worthy of study, as I believe any such enchantments have been lost to time and history.”
Fascinating, but not pressing.
“I look forward to hearing about what you learn,” Bria said.
She meant it too. Just talking with Neth-amii was soothing, in a way. Was this what having friends felt like? It had been so long that she couldn’t say for certain. Regardless, Bria intended to enjoy it for what it was. So, Bria read off her list, and Neth-amii made a few suggestions, and even crossed an item off because she had a way to deal with that particular problem. No need to pack a tent when Neth-amii could practically throw a small house in her expanded bag.
There were even weight enchantments to keep heavy items from overloading the bag! It was truly genius, but Neth-amii insisted it was fairly normal equipment for most travelers. The impact such developments must have had on trade was truly staggering. A single merchant could, in theory, carry an entire cargo ship’s worth of goods on their back with a sufficiently prepared bag.
“I hate that I have to rely on you for money,” Bria said, trying not to sulk.
Neth-amii laughed. “The monsters you killed—not even counting the Shadow Demon—had enough cores to cover most expenses on this list of yours. Do you want a sword? That knife might be better than anything we find in Brookvale.”
Did she want a different weapon? The knife was nice, but it lacked reach. Yet, staying mobile had kept her alive in both fights that mattered. In the game, her character was always an armored hero, but was that what worked for her? That would be something to figure out on the journey, and probably when actually visiting a blacksmith. She wouldn’t know until she held a sword in her hand and truly felt it.
“We can explore my options once we reach Brookvale,” Bria said. “For now, I don’t want to commit to any one style.”
“Alright,” Neth-amii said with a smile. “Just know that you’ll need to train with any weapon that you might choose to use. I doubt you know much about fighting with a knife if your skills with a stick are anything to go off of.”
“Hey,” Bria exclaimed, giving Neth a playful shove.
The woman snickered, and then Bria found herself laughing right along with her. It was so nice, and Bria found she didn’t want it to end. At least she would be sleeping over, which she should probably do soon given she needed to be awake in a few hours to get back over before anyone worried too much.
She really wasn’t looking forward to any questions, but really, Bria was an adult so they couldn’t exactly tell her where she could and couldn’t go. That was still such a strange thought, even months after turning eighteen. That she hadn’t found anyone to marry hurt, but there weren’t that many options to consider on the island. She’d been hoping for someone interesting in the latest tours, but that was such wishful thinking.
Then the whole portal thing happened and now she had too much going on to really think about it. A yawn broke free and Bria realized her eyes had grown heavy despite the light of the sun.
“Oh, you are going to suffer when we’re on the road,” Neth-amii said, gently nudging her up. “Come on, get some rest. I’ll wake you before it gets too late.”
“Thanks,” Bria said, accepting the helping hand to the bedroll. When she laid down, Neth-amii pulled a blanket up and over her. The warmth was comforting, and she almost missed the subtle song being sung as she drifted off.
***
A nudge had Bria stirring awake, the dreams fleeing from conscious memory. The subtle glow of lamps cut through the darkened space, and cast a gentle orange light over Neth-amii’s face as she smiled down at Bria.
“Its about time for me to turn in, so I figured you might want to head back soon.”
Right, because day and night seemed to be inverted between the two sides. Bria sat up and stretched, once again marveling at how good she felt. Her mana wasn’t topped off, but it was sitting comfortable above twenty again, which was good enough.
“We should clear the dungeon again before we head out,” Bria said as she stretched out her shoulders. “It would be a safer way for me to practice with the knife than anything we might encounter on the road.”
Neth-amii paused in consideration, then nodded with a smile. “Plus it would mean just a bit more funding for your supplies and perhaps another level for you as well.”
Another level sounded wonderful, and he wasn’t too far off from it. Just a few dozen Green Slimes, or a few Red ones. Easy enough to have just that bit more power before setting off into the unknown. Plus, any extra power meant that she would be less of a burden on Neth-amii.
The level gap was substantial, and the knowledge of gaining a class at level ten was certainly appealing. That Ri-guy—Derick something or other—had been a Paladin despite not yet hitting level twenty, which implied that there were ways to get more than basic classes from that first unlock.
That was something to discuss with Neth-amii before setting out. If classes had unlock requirements, then she wanted to be sure to get a good one on that first round. Did they affect stat gains, or was that more intrinsic? Almost certainly they affected what abilities one got, which did suggest that everyone got access to [Heal] early on.
Neth-amii hadn’t seemed surprised by the ability, and she too had [Mend] and [Cleanse] which also appeared to be mostly universal. There was so much about this mysterious and divinely gifted system that empowered people, and Bria wanted to learn all of it. Why had some higher power created it? Were they still around? Could she just find them and ask, or had they disappeared after casting a world into chaos?
Just the idea of some passing entity deciding to gift the Earth with strange and horrifying abilities was enough to send a shiver down her spine. Yet, she still held her magic on Earth, so it wasn’t limited to one plane or another. Otherwise she might have been convinced it was all a dream.
“I might slip back over tomorrow,” Bria said, already looking forward to a shower. [Cleanse] was nice, but it just wasn’t the same. “Finish topping off my mana while I sleep if nothing else.”
“Start bringing some of the supplies over if you do,” Neth-amii said. “That way I can work them into my pack.”
“Can do,” Bria said with a grin. “I’ll see you soon.”
“I look forward to it,” Neth-amii said. “Safe travels, and be wary of false-faced friends.”
At that reminder, Bria’s expression turned grim. Right, she would be dealing with Mister Ruiz again, assuming he didn’t stay locked away in that ruin while poring over the documents tucked away. Hopefully they could find someone who could translate them in Brookvale, because she didn’t trust the man to be forthright with any information he discovered.
Then again, she was hiding information from him as well, so it really wasn’t something she should be complaining about. With one last look up into the foreign night sky and the marvels of the ringed world hanging far above, Bria crossed back over to Earth, and was immediately greeted by her father and Mister Ruiz.
“Have a pleasant trip?”
As much as Bria wished to reply with something cutting, she held her tongue. Instead, she just smiled. “Yes sir. My mana recovers faster over there, so I figured I would help it along while I slept.”
“I see,” Mister Ruiz said, apparently satisfied with the lie. “That is good then, because I would like to investigate the other ruins once more now that we know you can open them.”
Glancing at Father, Bria could see the tightness behind his eyes. “If that’s what you want, though, something tells me we won’t find anything else just yet.”
“Better to be thorough,” Mister Ruiz said with a dismissive wave. “I’ve already tasked a flight crew on the mainland with making a fresh supply run alongside a list of essentials I wish you to take. This includes a camera. I want pictures and footage of the monsters infesting this world, as well as any examples of magic you can find.”
Expected, and not at all disagreeable. “Of course. Ah, I did ask about currency. They do indeed use the monster cores. The stronger the higher they’re worth.”
“Typical,” the man spat. “Figures that a society built around the supernatural would use such trinkets as the source of their wealth. I’ll simply focus on things that might trade well instead.”
“Soda,” Bria said quickly. “They have nothing like it over there, if the Priestess is to be believed. She seemed quite taken with it.”
“Of course,” the man said, his eyes glinting. “Perhaps they lack processed sugar. I’ll see about getting a few bags added to the order for you if you can find a way to transport it.”
“It shouldn’t be too much of a bother,” she said with a shrug. “Everyone is stronger over there. Fifty pounds isn’t exactly heavy to me anymore.”
“Still, best to not overburden you if this world is truly so dangerous.”
At least he could still pretend to care.
“Are Boris and Nikolai busy?” she asked.
Mister Ruiz snorted. “Boris lost the coin flip and is watching the students as they document all the scrolls. Nikolai is staying back at the inn, resting for tonight as we’re going to switch to working shifts to get everything cataloged.”
Translation, he was keeping an eye on Mother as insurance. As much as Bria might have liked Boris and Nikolai, they still worked for the man holding her family hostage, and money talked louder than honor.
“When would you like to start?” Bria asked. “Do I have time to grab breakfast?”
“Of course,” Mister Ruiz said. “I do believe your mother is just wrapping up the second batch for the students that worked overnight. Why don’t you join them?”
Taking the dismissal, she spared a quick glance at her father that hopefully conveyed the message to take care, then hurried off to get something to eat. Hopefully the man was wrong about finding more, because she really didn’t want to fight another monster without proper support again.