Auril Gavis was a figure from at least 150 years ago. When I once asked Raven to discern a year, a document from that time was found in the Complete Book of Cracks, making this even more surprising.
Is that bastard alive?
I thought he was dead. Of course now I didn't know why I thought that. He was the creator of Dungeon and Stone, and most likely the culprit for sending countless players into this world, including myself. This place was literally a fantasy world, the word itself. Of course there was a chance he was alive. Even the dragon tribe lived for hundreds of years.
Hit!
When I realized this, my heart raced rapidly. It was a different emotion than when I first heard that name, a vibration that contained anticipation rather than shock.
Hit!
If that son of a bitch was really alive and if I could just find him, there might be a way to return to my original world. A clue to the ambiguous return hung before my eyes.
...Calm down.
I suppressed my heartbeat and regained my calm. Later, before going to bed, I could inflate my expectation and consider hopeful scenarios. Right now, I had to pay attention.
«Barbarian, you are truly unique». Amelia looked at me and said something enigmatic. For a moment I thought I had discovered the lie in my previous excuse. «Should I say shameless? To think that you can joke in front of me after those events... Aren't you afraid of me?».
Now that she saw him, she was fascinated by this situation. Or she felt uncomfortable with this conversation, since she had never met someone like me. The important thing was that it was a nice salvo. This was why people needed to live a little unscrewed all the time, so that no matter what they did, no one would look at them strangely.
«What are you talking about, human woman? I am Bjorn, son of Yandel, not Barbarian».
«Okay, Bjorn Yandel». Amelia giggled. For me, that was a sign that I could relax.
In that sense, my next question was: «Is Auril Gavis a man or a woman?».
«Is a man».
«Could he be dressed as a woman?»
«I don't think so. Records show that he was a man with a severe male supremacy complex».
«So he wouldn't do something like that regardless of his ability. So what about a child? Can he dress up like that?»
«...He wouldn't dress up too young.»
«Your base?»
«Because he was a person who valued the face».
«I see.» I nodded and clicked: «But why are you looking for him?». It was a follow-up question after the easy questions I had no choice but to answer. I read it in some book. Asking the questions in that order appeared to increase the chances of getting an answer, although it was not clear whether it worked in practice. Still, there was no reason not to try.
In fact, the answer came shortly after. «...It's a personal matter».
Moderns used to use that excuse to draw the line when they didn't want to respond or wanted to deny a connection. It was also used to ignore the answer. But as Amelia said, it was difficult to know.
«That's not your place to know».
«Why should I answer that?»
He could refuse to answer like that, but he had never lied or tried to hide anything. Was that why? Maybe it wasn't a Noark order, but really a personal matter.
Well, that's not important now.
If Auril Gavis was really in Bifron, he had to find him. I had a mountain of questions I wanted to ask him.
***
After the conversation, Amelia said she would stop by town and come back at night. Apparently he had business there in the afternoon. At first that seemed so natural to me that I accidentally nodded. «Wait a minute, how are you going to get into the city? Is there a way to avoid the guards?».
«There is a secret passage under the sewers».
I would have regretted it if I hadn't stopped him from asking. A secret passage that leads to the city! «Can you also show me where it is?»
«Hmm.»
«What are you contemplating? As if it were an onerous request».
«...Well, I'll tell you».
When I reminded her that I was helping her look for Auril Gavis, she informed me of the passage. She seemed relieved to do so. Did that mean his debt was paid?
Thanks to that, I learned something useful.
I had a ticket to Bifron to use whenever I wanted. Of course, I had no intention of using it during my exile. He was aware that he stood out from the crowd. If they ended up fucking me, it would be a headache. The gentleman who brought me here even warned me. He said he could do whatever he wanted except escape.
«Then see you later.»
«Hey?»
«Didn't you say you'd be back later tonight?»
«True, I did...»
To see the location of the secret passage, I went with Amelia under the sewers and said goodbye. Looking at the time after that, it had already been three hours since the meeting order was given. And so, asking for directions along the way, I headed to the meeting place, the Plaza de la Dimension, which would once be packed with explorers.
«Hey, do you know something? Why has the boss suddenly called everyone? And what are those Western Alliance bastards doing here?».
«I am not 'hey'. I'm your boss».
«What are you...?»
«Replication is not allowed». I made my way through the crowd towards the center.
In the middle, members of the Western Alliance recognized me and greeted me. «Greeting!»
Yes, I liked this better.
«What the hell...?» The members of the Western Alliance knelt before me and those from the East stood with perplexed expressions. They had the good sense to make their way to make it easier to get to the center.
«boss, the stage is there».
After reaching the center, I headed to the stand with the help of Jingjing. Apparently he prepared it in advance, thinking he might need it.
He is good at his job.
Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to use him as my butler outside. With the secret passage now, it would be a waste to take him here alone. Although I wouldn't just end up with a fine if they caught me. With those thoughts in mind, he was about to take the podium.
Crunch.
The staircase made of wooden planks broke. These thin planks couldn't support my weight and that of my team. Unable to hide my devastation, I said: «Jingjing, how did this happen?».
«Sorry».
He immediately apologized without question. That eased my mood a bit, but the manufacturer of this podium certainly hated barbarians. Otherwise, they would have designed these ladders to be able to hold one. «This podium is dangerous».
«Yes boss. I'll burn it right away.»
Jingjing brought a torch and lit the podium. When he poured a liquid that I assumed was oil on top, the flames shot up and instantly covered the three-story podium. Now it looked like we were making a bonfire or something.
Whoosh!
My heart warmed with the heat of the fire. I didn't have anyone by my side then, but now? He had more than a thousand subordinates.
«So what will you do?»
«The opening ceremony will continue.»
«Opening ceremony... Yes, I see. That's why you brought everyone together...»
«Isn't it obvious?»
«Sorry.»
As a sign of forgiveness, I patted Jingjing on the shoulder and used the Leap. My destination was the roof of a nearby four-story building.
Kwaaang!
A crack formed in the roof, but fortunately it did not break. I was glad. If I had fallen off the roof after that cool jump, it would have been too embarrassing.
That's why position makes the person.
I was trying to maintain my dignity without realizing it.
«Ahem.» Anyway, as I headed towards the railing I could see the crowd packed into the square, creating a spectacular view. The time had finally come to begin the investiture ceremony. «Behell-aaaaaaaaaa!» i started.
«Behell-aaaaaaaaaa!» The members of the Western Alliance chanted immediately. Those from the East just blinked, as if wondering what kind of crazy spectacle that was.
I clicked my tongue. «Tsk.» There was still much to teach.
***
Once the investiture ceremony was over to print the face of the new chief, I called Jingjing and Calvo to give orders. «Check the backs of everyone in Bifron. And bring me all the tattooed ones».
Of course, this excluded women, and children under fourteen who did not yet have credentials. A total of thirty-seven suspects were dragged before me before the end of the first day.
«This is not the tattoo». Upon returning that night, Amelia checked each of them and shook her head.
Yes, it couldn't be that easy. To increase effectiveness, I reprimanded the deputy heads of the «Behel-la Alliance», Jingjing and Calvo, and many more suspects were captured on the second and third days. Of course, the person we were looking for did not appear again.
As quantity increased, quality decreased.
«This is a birthmark, not a tattoo».
«He says it. How did this happen?»
«I will correct it».
Simply put, these guys reprimanded their subordinates to increase efficiency as well. I guess the reprimand worked because the tattoos started to look more like tattoos. Two more days passed like this. Again, not much was gained. Anyway, it was ridiculous to think that Auril Gavis could be found with such a simple and ignorant method.
But what can I do? I have to try something. It's not like there's a better way.
Searching for a needle in the desert, if that needle would take me back home, it was worth a try. So I continued my search. Of course, I changed the method a little. Not much, I just added a reward.
«Anyone who doesn't meet their daily quota receives mental training that night».
You might wonder how this was a reward, but happiness was always relative. Simply put, being better than others was a reward in itself. Do you think primitive people weren't happy just because they ate raw meat and slept naked in caves?
Three more endless days passed. However, Auril Gavis showed no signs of appearing and I also began to bend my expectations. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, as this was the first clue to my return, but the real reason I was helping Amelia was something else, so I decided to focus on her: none other than Amelia Rainwales. Who the hell was this woman? Using Auril Gavis as a point of contact, I gathered information from her every day. Surprisingly, he answered my questions well, although he limited himself to minor information.
«I don't eat foods that contain wheat. For some reason my skin itches».
The fact that he had an allergy to wheat, or that his hobby was just reading; While he answered those questions without problems, he avoided questions like who the barbarian he was indebted to was.
«You don't need to know that».
«But I'm curious. For a woman like you to be hanging on to him, he must have been a great warrior! Tell me what kind of person he was».
«...If I had to describe it, I was a bit like you».
Although he added an uncharacteristic comment, it was not significant information. We were both barbarians, after all. Of course it had seemed. Anyway, the casual chat continued like this, letting our guard down a bit.
«Why do you loot? To be honest, nothing hits you».
«Doesn't it hit you?» Instead of getting angry over a question that might be a little sensitive, Amelia expressed a question instead.
I spit out the lines I had prepared without difficulty. «Since then, I have met many looters besides you. After that, I became more confident. You're not one to kill people for money».
«...That's laughable. What do you know about me?»
«Nothing. But at your level, I know there are many other ways to make money».
Amelia was silent for a moment and briefly explained her circumstances. «...Normally I don't».
«And then?»
«Those guys... committed a sin worthy of death».
«Do you mean it was a personal grudge?»
«Yeah.» As if evoking a distant memory, Amelia responded with a lost look. I was curious about the deeper circumstances behind it, but I couldn't dig that deep. Amelia had come to her senses. «Why am I telling you this?».
«Don't give it so much importance. Anyway, in a few days we will separate. There are things you can only tell strangers».
«Things that are only told to strangers, eh?». She meditated on those words, which seemed to leave an impression on her, before smiling and getting up. «It's late. I should go now».
«Will you come tomorrow at the same time?».
«Maybe».
Amelia disappeared from sight, silently as she came. Was that all for today? I went out to the terrace to cool off for a moment. The night view in Bifron was totally different from that of the towns in the district outside it, streets and buildings buried in darkness without a single light.
There were only a few days left.
I sat blank in the rocking chair on the terrace, gazing into the darkness as I organized my thoughts. I didn't know how much time had passed like this. I checked the time on my watch and headed to the bedroom. It was 11:57 p.m., bedtime. Although it was going to take me a long time to fall asleep.
[Your soul has resonated and is drawn to a specific world.]
Hopefully, everyone had connected today.