Chapter 22: Apocalypse Stone (1/2)

“I need a shower,” Jason said.

“You just had a shower,” Rufus said.

“I need another shower. The stink won’t go away.”

“Oh, we’re aware,” Farrah said.

After waking up Jason had been fed a stamina potion and pointed in the direction of one of the manor’s bathrooms. After washing away the gunk that had oozed out of the very pores of his skin, he had changed into fresh clothes.

“What was that stuff all over me?” Jason asked.

“We told you,” Farrah said. “Reaching iron rank made your body advance closer to a state of perfection, which included purging your body of impurities.”

“There is no way I was that impure.”

“It did seem like a lot,” Gary said, wrinkling his nose. “Maybe he should have another shower.”

“He still has awakening stones to use,” Rufus said, “and I want us out of here and on the trail by noon.”

Jason frowned as Rufus took out a pocket watch to look at.

“You have noon in this world?”

They explained timekeeping in their world to Jason as they went back outside. To his surprise, it seemed exactly the same as in his own. He couldn’t be sure how close their hours, minutes and seconds hewed to the ones he knew without a clock from his own world, but the were at least close.

“It’s weird they’re the same,” Gary said.

“Suspiciously weird,” Jason said.

“What about the calendar?” Jason asked. “Is that the same too?”

The local calendar, as it turned out, was similar, but not the same. although not as close as the time. There were twelve months of thirty days, divided up into early, mid and late stages of each season. There were five additional days that didn’t count as days of the month, for the solstices, the equinoxes and the new year, which was at the beginning of spring.

“It still seems strange that we keep time the exact same way across two worlds,” Jason said.

“Well, maybe someone from your world came here,” Gary said, “saw how we do it and took it back to yours.”

“Or someone brought our system here,” Jason said.

“Nah, that doesn’t sound right,” Gary said.

“Are you saying your world’s better than mine?” Jason asked.

“We have magic,” Gary said.

“We have internet porn,” Jason said.

“Will you two please stop?” Rufus asked. “Gary, go check on Anisa. Tell her she needs to finish up in the next couple of hours.”

Rufus, Farrah and Jason went back outside, the others giving Jason and his lingering smell some distance.

“Did something happen to you?” Jason asked the others.

“Like what?” Rufus asked.

“I’m not sure,” Jason said. “I’m getting a weird vibe from the two of you. From Gary as well. It feels… I’m not sure how to describe it. Dangerous, maybe?”

Rufus laughed.

“That feeling is our auras,” Rufus said. “Now that you’re iron rank, you can sense them. We’re both bronze rank, and not that far off silver, so we’re a lot more powerful than you. That’s the danger you’re sensing. You’ll soon learn to differentiate strength, and tell a monster from an essence user from a regular person.”

“So it’s like a warning,” Jason said.

“Yes,” Farrah said, “but it isn’t completely reliable. Some monsters can hide their auras. People can too, if they have an aura power.”

They arrived back on the lawn outside, staying upwind of where all the Jason goo was still laying in a puddle.

“You’ve already used an awakening stone, right?” Rufus asked. “Was it much different to using an essence?”

“It was easier,” Jason said. “You need a ritual for those as well, right?”

“You do,” Farrah said. “Well, not you, apparently, but everyone else. How many stones do you have?”

“Six,” Jason said.

“Good thing you can just use them, then,” Rufus said. “Going through a half-dozen rituals would take hours.”

“Wouldn’t be that bad,” Farrah said. “I’ve done a bunch of them, so I can knock them out fast.”

They sat down on the soft grass and Jason took out his awakening stones, laying them out in a row.

“Where did you get all these?” Farrah asked.

“The feast stones were on those cages they had us in.”

“In those ritual bowls wired into the top?” Farrah asked.

“Yeah,” Jason said. “I snagged them up as we went.”

“Sometimes awakening stones get used as part of a large-scale ritual,” Farrah explained. “Even essences, sometimes.”

“They did make an apocalypse monster,” Rufus said.

“Could that thing have really wiped out the world?” Jason said. “Not to say it wasn’t scary, but it didn’t seem up to the task of global annihilation.”

“They would have had to feed it for a long time before it became a genuine threat,” Farrah said. “They people probably intended to keep it somewhere isolated and supply it with a steady stream of victims. Killing it as soon as it emerged was like smashing an egg before it could hatch into a dangerous animal.”

“Even if we hadn’t,” Rufus said, “there are people far stronger than us that could deal with it. Even if it became truly powerful, there are diamond-rank adventurers out there.”

“Is that the highest rank?” Jason asked.

“It is,” Rufus said, “but you don’t see them very often.”

“Or at all, if you’re most people,” Farrah said. “I’ve only met one because of Mr. Fancy Britches, here.”

“I don’t wear britches,” Rufus said.

“Rufus’ grandfather is diamond rank,” Farrah said. “He’s chancellor of the academy his family operates.”

“Diamond rank essence users are the peak of mortal power,” Rufus explained. “The Adventure Society likes to keep two or three in the biggest cities, in case a diamond rank monster shows up. That rarely happens, though, so they largely go unseen. When you’re that powerful, the idea of a higher authority is laughable. Mostly, diamond rank adventurers are mysterious figures pursuing goals known only to them.”

“And there aren’t that many diamond-rankers in any case,” Farrah said. “The only reason they exist in the numbers they do is because they live so long.”

“They live longer?” Jason asked.

“All essence users age slower,” Rufus said. “At iron rank you wouldn’t notice the difference, but bronze rankers can live well past a hundred. Silvers can double that; reach silver rank young enough and you’ll look young for decades. Gold rankers live for centuries, and I’m not even sure diamond rankers can die of old age.”

“They’re immortal?” Jason asked.

“It’s a rumour,” Rufus said, “but a persistent one. There’s kind of an unwritten rule that diamond rankers don’t tell the rest of us the limits of their abilities.”

“So, am I going to get super old now?” Jason asked.

“Keep raising your rank, and yes,” Rufus said.

“Wow, that’s actually quite the bombshell,” Jason said.

“What’s a bombshell?” Farrah asked.

“It’s a weapon that causes a great big explosion. Imagine shooting Farrah at people.”

“We kind of do that already,” Rufus said.

“So how do I raise my rank?” Jason asked. “I want some of that sweet immortality action.”

“How about we walk before we run,” Rufus said. “You can’t even properly progress toward bronze rank until you awaken every essence ability you have. That’s all twenty. The first step is using those awakening stones.”

Jason nodded, picked up the first stone and took a deep breath.

“Here we go.”

The stone melted in his hand, sinking into his skin with little fanfare.

> You have awakened the blood essence ability [Leech Bite]. You have awakened 2 of 5 blood essence abilities.

“That’s it?” Farrah asked.