Return to Form!

Mark Nicholson

"I believe that you have great potential if guided properly. The guilds have forsaken you, and even your lord has turned his back on you. He has turned his nose up at you, and yet demands tribute for your work. In a way, you and I are the same."

Little did I know, those words at that moment would help shape our world forever. 

"Fuckin' hell. What kind of shit has these people cooked up in their history?! Demonic cleansing? For the great of the nation and prosper of their world?! Kitsunes are disaster incarnate?! God damn-"

Those blasphemous accusations were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the despicable writings locked within the Holy Book of Cyto. In truth, it was more akin to a Hitleran manifesto. Pure bullshit to the Nth degree. One may wonder why I would subject myself to such cancer, and that would be simple. I have to.

Knowledge is power as they say, and I once lacked it. It had been about two days since Q had embarked on his journey with Claire, and honestly, I was a bit concerned. I had not heard from my friend since then, but I had faith in him. Although we had formed this impromptu alliance with Claire, I was not foolish enough to simply trust her fully. If one is caught unprepared, then their life would be forfeit.

It is my job to make sure that things do not come to that, and thus that places me in my new room. Truth be told, living in this new world is rather tedious. The innovation in this world is rather low, so I could only assume that Astana is a bit far behind.

I am not the homesick type, but I do miss the convenient access to electricity that Earth has to offer. I also find myself reminiscing about my previous home which was specialized with all the anime posters and figures that I spent my hard-earned money on to collect. Not the mention the manga and novels that I had lining my book shelves.

"Man- The things that I would do to get my hand on the next volume of a shonen manga. It blows this pathetic dogma out of the water. No contest."

I typically sat at the desk offered to me when I sequestered inside of my room. The once barren desktop was now covered in various books penned in this region's language. At first, I imagined that it would be difficult for me to grasp, but it was revealed to be the opposite.

While I don't have a doctorate in the English language, I was extremely proficient at it more so than the average person. The reason was unclear to me, but the moment I laid eyes on those books I could understand them as if it was English. It was the same with the sign on the road to Astana.

It was a blessing. I deduced that I have a universal translator plugged inside of my kitsune brain. I don't know how exactly I came to get it, but I know better than to question it. After all, it doesn't matter how I obtained it. It only matters how I utilize it. It's best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

There were a plethora of things that I managed to learn during my studies. Firstly, I learned the reason why Kitsunes are so despised in the Cyto religion. That was the first thing that I prioritized in my pursuit of knowledge. Long ago, about… four hundred years… give or take… there was a huge conflict that shook the very core of Tenumi.

Reading that completely floored me when I learned that because I actually participated in that conflict. Back when Q, Bonner, and I were playing Infinity Unleashed, there was this relatively insignificant event that transpired. An elven farmer from the Tenumi countryside quickly rose to power in a weak nation.

I did my research when that event was starting, and learned that this was a canon event in all servers. Many players stomped him out for their ambitions, but my server was different. There were a couple of guilds that served as superpowers due to their influence and player power.

They were so massive that many of the nations that resided there employed them as mercenaries, and others formed states of their own. Often players with similar races teamed up with the NPCs that shared their race. It wasn't uncommon to see that.

What also wasn't uncommon was the dissatisfaction of the people damaged by those bloated power struggles. There was one thing that I treasured during Infinity Unleashed and it was those power struggles.

I loved more than anything to participate, but I was always the small-time player. I loved affecting the outcome in the background while building up my regime. A regime built around our trio's strength. 

It was after an event that brought those bloated superpowers to my domain that I decided to square the debt.

It was only after crossing the information from Cyto's Holy Book and the books that Herald brought to me that memory returned to me.

"Bud. Ya think it's a good idea to square off with those guys again? I mean I like a good fight as much as the next guy, but there are stronger guys than the ones we managed to repel last time. We got lucky."

The rapid flaps of Brass' fairy wings erupted from behind me. The man pushed open the door to my office, and with him was the tall, lean figure of our elven comrade. His emerald eyes lasered in on my location and a swift nod confirmed his agreement with Brass. It was only natural since he made a valid point.

My bushy tail pushed me from my chair and stepped from behind the comfy desk. My arm was placed behind my back as I approached the two men. I didn't answer them immediately and instead walked past them.

"The Moonlit Guild, Gold Coin Brigade, The Nightraiders, River Mount, FlyRiderz, and the State of Tenu all have begun making their moves. Many of them have tried to seize Stormpass as you may know, but that is merely the beginning. It makes sense that you believe that. In a way we were lucky, but I decided to take some liberties since then. In fact, I was waiting for the two of you to log in and arrive."

I led them to a place that wouldn't have expected; the farmland just outside of Stormpass. There would be a man tending the land with the locals. His golden hair was tied with a thick blue headband. Dirt and sweat caked his figure, but still, he toiled with his fellow man.

"You mention that we were lucky, right, Brass?", I asked him.

"Ya'. I'm not sure if we have the strength to overcome another raid on that level. We'll be sent on the road again, and we just started building this shit up.", Brass responds. 

I glanced back at the man and noticed the concern coloring his features.

"Then our next course of action is simple. We must increase our strength and our numbers to prevent that, but I propose that we leave Stormpass with a new governor in our place."

"Is that why we are here…", Vigilis mutters. His eyes drank in the scene before the man stepped forward.

His usual cool and collected expression was warped. His mouth was left agape as he understood where I was going. "Can't be… No shot."

"I am a man that gets shit done, Vigilis. You should know that!", I declare, puffing my chest out.

Quickly I turned to face both of them and gestured towards the man in the distance. That moment was instrumental in changing the world, more so than I could have ever imagined.

"I present… Cy of Tocorant! The man that we will back once we return from our level grinding!"

"Starting tomorrow, after work, we'll supercharge ourselves in the Hidden Grotto, and then bring ruin to the bastards who dared stepping foot in our territory."

To bring about a change in the world is something that any honest person would desire. To prove that one is beyond mediocre is what makes someone human. Infinity Unleashed allowed me that outlet. As I sit at my desk inside this new world, Cy of Tocorant fills my mind. I wondered just how new it actually was.