Octan and Lena.
Lena wakes up used to the setting she finds herself in, It's only been a couple of days, but to her staying at the same place for more than a day was quite the achievement. She yawns as she lifts her upper body to a 90 degree angle, Looking around she sees Octan is still deep asleep on the ground.
She gets up unknowing of what to do. Should she wake Octan up, or leave him sleep some more? They had went to sleep at the same time if her memory serves her right, so does that mean that's enough sleep? She stares intently at the man's sleeping face. Octan then yawns as he wakes up himself.
'Was I staring that hard?' Lena thinks to herself.
He licks his dry lips and itches the back of his head. He says nothing as he stands up and then notices Lena's presence.
"You really stayed..." He says disappointed.
"Yeah, you said we were going to spend today together." Lena says confused by his tone.
Octan sighs.
"Well then, what do you want to do." Octan stretches his arms.
"I don't know..." Lena gets out of bed.
"Even that..." Octan says as he slumps his body in disappointment.
"How old were you again?" Octan asks pointing at lena.
"I should be 25 soon..." Lena says tilting her head.
"Good, Let's go have us a drink!" Octan declares with a fist to the air.
Octan then walks towards Lena's armor piece and throws it to Lena.
Barely catching it Lena asks "What do I do with this?".
"As you please." Octan said leaving.
Lena gazed upon the armor piece that used to be almost as tall as her. Thank's to Octan's modification it became a lot less cumbersome to wear and carry around, but now with her not needing it to stop the pain anymore was it really necessary? Octan had took it off for her, but she herself never taught of taking it off.
Lena slid on the armor piece, It fit perfectly, and hurriedly followed Octan.
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Walking through the town everyone keeps greeting Octan, while most ignore Lena.
"You sure are not popular, huh." Octan says to woman following him from behind.
"I'm a Terran, right?" Lena replies to Octan's comment.
"So am I right?"
"I don't know, are you? Cause you sure don't seem that way."
"Hahaha..." Octan laughs nervously.
"Here, why don't I tell you something interesting?" Octan said pointing at the 'sky'.
"Have you ever looked at the sun before?" Octan asks as if hosting a quiz.
"Yeah, it hurts quite a bit." Lena answers not playing along.
"Well then, have you tried looking at the 'sun' here?" Octan asks pointing towards the 'sun', It was a ball of light that was shining bright at the top of this hole.
Listening to Octan's question Lena wondered, How was the sun was even visible from down here?
Doing as the question asked Lena stares at the 'sun'.
She keeps staring.
"It doesn't hurt right?" Lena couldn't see his face from behind, but seeing how he has been acting recently she imagines a massive smirk on it.
"Yeah..." Lena keeps staring at the sun as she walks behind Octan.
"It's because that's not the sun, It's simply a simulation, a projection, of what the real sky is like outside at the moment." Octan lowers his index finger and walks as he explains.
"A projection?" Lena asks as she looks at the entire 'sky'.
"Indeed! Have you ever heard of spatial magic? Stuff that let's you go, poof poof, all over the place! Teleporting and stuff!" Octan says as he trys to visualize a poof with his hands.
"Isn't that something only the 2nd highest ranked adventurer, The Mana king, Can do?" Lena asks.
"The mana king...? Is that really his name...? God, I hope he didn't pick it out himself..." Octan says disgusted.
"Anyway, There are 2 more people who can do that if 'The mana king' really can, and those are: The superior and myself." Octan says raising his index and middle finger.
"Though the superior's spatial magic is a lot more convenient than mine... You see spatial magic as a concept is pretty impossible for anyone other than the superior. Mana particles are like humans, Each is unique, well when you go really deep into it that is, but anyway what I'm trying to say is not all mana is the same. If we are talking about their usage for magic and such, then no they do not differ, but in their makeup and structure they do." Octan kept on going.
"W-what?" Lena got extremely confused.
Octan sighed.
"Just think of it like this. There are 2 humans, both can eat, walk, run, stand, jump, sleep, etc... But they both look completely different. get it?" Octan dumbed it down as much as possible.
"OOOhhhh that makes sense." Lena crashed her fist onto her palm.
"Ok so to make a portal that makes u go poof poof, you need to find two completely identical humans, so 2 humans who do the exact same things, and look exactly the same." Octan kept dumbing his explanations.
"And why's that?" Lena asked.
"The bond with them is always existing, no matter how far, and no matter how many stand in their way. 2 mana particles that are completely identical have an unbroken bond, and using that bond you can create a wormhole. A wormhole that will get you between those 2 particles' locations, That's how spatial magic works." Octan said.
"That doesn't sound that hard when you explain it like that, can't I make one myself?" Lena asked thinking of how a wormhole would look like.
"Sure, be my guest, but won't you have to find two identical mana particles first?" Octan said with a clear smug tone.
"And how do I find them..." Lena asked annoyed.
"You can't, that's it. Only those with extremely perfect mana flows can focus understand a mana particle's structure, and to have a perfect mana flow is like 1 in a trillion. I'm speaking not a single error, a mana flow so perfect not even the slightest bit of mana would leak. Such a thing doesn't exist except within me and The superior."
"Then what about The mana king? How did he get to use spatial magic?" Lena asks Octan.
"He is that 1 in a trillion. To be born with the perfect mana flow, it's only natural he would be in the top 3 adventurers, but not the top? I wonder how strong the strongest is..." Octan rubs his chin.
"So what? you're trying to say 2 1-in-a-trillion were born in the same life time? Just what are the odds of that?" Lena called bullshit.
"Well, Only one was born. I never said I was a 1 in a trillion, after all I wasn't born with this, my mana flow was made."
"W-what? Like what you did to me? Is that what you mean?" Lena asks baffled.
"No, no way in hell would I've been able to replicate a perfect mana flow. Such a thing is impossible... to me at least..." Octan says lowering his head.
"T-then the kid?! Oliva?! you said you gave him a mana flow similar to yours? What's up with that?" Lena stepped closer to question Octan.
"It was a mere replica, no where near the original. Lena, I know you think highly of a me, but creating a perfect mana flow is just simply impossible by hand." Octan says lowering his head.
"Then how? How were you given one?" Lena questioned Octan's logic.
"It's a long story, I will tell you it some other day." Octan repeats the same line.
Lena stomps on the ground in disapproval and stops walking while Octan continues.
"Hey! Stop! Didn't you say the exact same thing before?! Hey I'm talking to you!" Lena shouts at the ignoring Octan.
"That piece of...!" Lena follows him reluctantly.
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"Oh Mr. Octan! Welcome!" The bartender greets Octan.
"Yo!" Octan waves at him as he takes a seat excited next to the bar.
The bartender then looks at Lena with confusion.
"You're not with Mr. superior this time around?" the bar tender asks turning around to Octan.
'You're not with Mr. superior this time around?' what?' Lena is taken aback by the man's words.
'The demon lord was here before? And with Octan nonetheless? Didn't he say he escaped him when he tried to take him down in the middle lands? Then why?' Lena ponders over the man's words as she takes a seat next to Octan.
"No, no, this time I'm with this fine lady. Had enough of that old man, you know?" Octan says as he slaps Lena's back.
"Old man he is indeed, hahaha!" They both laugh together.
"So what would you like to have this time around?" The bartender asks Octan.
"Just get me the usual, for her... Let's see what would you like to drink?" Octan says turning around to face Lena.
"Just water..." Lena says not feeling like having a drink.
"Hah! Would you look at that, this girl can actually pick something for her own!" Octan says mockingly.
Lena ignores his comment.
Octan clicks his tongue.
"So, you've been here before? and with the demon lord nonetheless. You sure have made quite the acquaintance." Lena says turning towards Octan.
"Yeah I ran to him here after he had escaped me in the middle lands." Octan answered honestly.
"an- What? that's it? And what you two just enjoyed a drink?" Lena asked confused.
"Yeah, He had something to tell me so I heard him out, that's it." Octan continued.
"And you just let him leave? Even though you were going to take him down before?" Lena got even more confused.
"We made a deal, So I let him walk out."
"Are you really planning on taking down the demon Lord with me?" Lena questioned Octan's motives.
".... Yeah... I will take him down, for when we reach him my deal with him will be over." Octan says with a dark expression.
'Just what happened in the last 5 years?'
"Would you like to hear about what happened between me and the superior?" Octan asked turning his dark expression joyful.
"Wh-- Sure." Lena decide to not question the perfect timing.
"You see, Like I told you before, I once I woke up for the last time since my sleep after your visit. I decided to end it all with a visit to old man Superior. Soooooo... I went there, massacarred the monsters who stood in my way, then absolutely wrecked the old man! If you had seen me you would have called me 'The "demon Lord" lord!' That's how much of a difference there was between us! It was so easy that I had put down my guard for a second, and using that second he used spatial magic to slip away! Like I had said before The superior's spatial magic is leagues better than mine... Oh I forgot to explain that part, right?" Octan cuts his himself.
"Y-yeah..." Lena answers remembering the conversation they were having a some time ago.
"Basically, as I had explained, To do spatial magic you need 2 identical particles. You see, for a person like me or 'The king of mana' we need to find these 2 particles and memorize them, So we can't use spatial magic whenever and wherever, but for The superior, He can make them. He can make particles Identical, That's the kind of creature he is. He has control over even mana, the very thing that makes this world. He had prepared 2 identical mana particles between somewhere in this Zoomorn town and his castle where we were fighting." Octan explains.
"Oh, also that's how the massive projection is made from the top of this cave. Somewhere out there in the world a massive portal is open 24/7 just to project day and night light into this town to make it feel more alive for the Zoomorns, Isn't he such a nice guy?" Octan says.
"Makes you just wonder why is he hated so much by us terrans, right?" Octan says in a mocking tone.
Lena frowns at Octan's comment.
"Anyway... While fighting him He used an already prepared portal between his castle and the Zoomorn village to get away, I hadn't known of his ability to do such a thing as make identical particles, so I was taken by complete surprise. After searching around the middle lands for a whole day I got bored, and left. It was then I had remembered something my predecessor had experienced, A village with another kind of 'humans', The zoomorn village. I went there with nothing except curiosity, I had completely given up on the whole taken down the demon lord thing. So following what I had from my predecessor I got to the Zoomorn village. Surprisingly, unlike you, They treated me well even though I was a terran. I thought it was because of my predecessor's actions, but turns out it was because of what The superior was telling them about me.
After spending about a day there I stumbled upon this fine establishment where I accidentally ran into The superior. He was sitting right where you are sitting and enjoying himself a drink, When I asked him why he didn't ran away from me He said There was no reason to, This time I would be able to catch him definitely. I joined him by sitting where I am sitting right now... and we talked. He told me all about this world as I listened, He told me about it's bad, and it's good. He told me about The humans, and himself. He told me about the hidden history of this world, and I listened without much care. At that point of my life I was just searching for a way to die, so I truly didn't care. It was just more information added into this walking archive that is myself.
Maybe the next one would care? They won't because I will make sure there wasn't. At that moment I unsheathed my sword and aimed at his neck, and he so calmly continued his drink. I Told him to speak his lost words, and that's when he spoke. He spoke of the deal that gave me another reason to move, A way to achieve what I needed, but first we would have to complete the deal. I know him as a man of his word, so he won't go back on it, after that I won't have any reason for him." Octan said taking a sip from the just arriving drink of his.
"So yes, Lena. I will be taking down the demon Lord, I will be fulfilling this curse, and I want you to join me. Let's take him down together." Octan says facing Lena.
"...Ok..." Lena says unsure of what her response should be.
"Is that all you have to say? man... And here I was saying all I had on mind." Octan had another sip.
"Oh! Wanna know something else that's cool?" at some point Octan had turned into a walking trivia.
"Sure."
"You, you are, Lena jitrochi!" Octan said proudly.
"That? I already knew that, but if your saying it too I guess it really is huh..." Lena said enjoying her cup of water.
"Geh... what? how?! WHY?!" Octan was obviously maddened at his surprise getting ruined.
"This kid I met, He said it showed up on the left top of his vision. I would have called it hallucinations, but If your saying it too then it must've been real. I wonder what that whole thing was about." Lena spoke with her index finger to her chin.
"Left top of hi--- his vision?! you met with an outsider?!" Octan said surprised.
"They did call them selves that huh... Yeah I did." Lena said nonchalantly.
"And you're telling me this just now?!"
"Well, it never felt like the appropriate time to talk about...?" Lena said unsure.
"Just what have you been through the last 5 years?!" Octan questions Lena.
"You're one to talk..." Lena said with sigh.
"Like hell, So you're saying, you assassinated a king, became a world wide wanted criminal, and met up with an outsider?! And not only that, but you even almost killed yourself by taking over a dungeon boss' mana orb! what else have you been through?!" Octan says in awe.
Lena takes Octan's words as mocking as she sees he has went through even crazier events.
"Like hell! You fought with the demon lord one-on-one then won against him then went to town of an ancient race buried deep down under ground and then had a conversation with the demon lord Then spent 2 years doing whatever you want in a cave populated by animal people and after that spent the rest of your time fighting all types of monsters creatures and mythical creatures, and you call my 5 years crazy??????" Lena smacks her right arm cladded in armor onto the bar.
"Well you killed a king and became known! While I only did shit I know myself! The world knows you, and doesn't know me! Isn't that more than enough!" Octan said with jealousy in his words.
"Y-y-you... you really are something." Lena didn't know how to respond.
"I WANT TO BE KILL SOMEONE AND HAVE PEOPLE AFTER ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!!" The drunk Octan said.
"Just how strong is that thing..." Lena said staring at the very small cup he had drunk.