CH53

“What are you staring at low-worlder?” Was the first thing to come out of the creature’s mouth, making Ben realise he’d been a bit rude.

“Sorry about that, your appearance caught me a little off guard was all.”

“You ain’t too pretty yourself,” It said while looking Ben up and down.

“Globolgork, stop being a dick. You know exactly why he’s staring, maybe if your people didn’t suck so much he wouldn’t have reacted like that,” Karly told the grey, apparently Globolgork, off.

“Um, these are both of our nation’s summoned heroes, I assume mother?” Thera asked. “What exactly did his people do?”

“Wait, he was summoned as well? So does that mean…” Ben trailed off, but Karly knew exactly what he was asking.

“Well it’s a little more complicated, but basically yes. He’s actually one of the aliens people would see on Earth, instead of the language system making appropriate connections between a race and a preexisting concept like the succubi,” His former classmate explained to him.

Ben rested his arms on the table and placed his head in his hands. “I really, really hate this world sometimes,” He could only be grateful that he wouldn’t have to suffer through all the crazies who thought they’d been abducted feeling like they were right.

God, for all I know they really were right.

“Ben, come on, what’s wrong?” Thera asked again, looking for an answer from someone.

“Remember we once spoke about a race who discovered that one of the creatures from their legends actually existed? I’m currently going through that.”

She still seemed confused, so Karly took over the explanation. “You’re Thera right? I’m his old classmate. Anyway, He’s probably just a little uncomfortable about the fact that this assholes people occasionally stop by Earth to play pranks on rednecks and military pilots instead of actually making contact. At least that’s what bothered me when I found out,” Karly explained, shooting the little alien beside her dirty looks.

As an answer it gave a very human-like shrug. “What’s the point in making contact with a bunch of low-worlders? Not like you lot have anything to offer but entertainment.”

Instead of giving a response, she kicked out his knee and walked over to the table as the small alien fell to the ground. “Pelenia, Abrus, thanks for having us for dinner.”

Thera’s parents didn’t seem to pay any attention to the little alien on the floor and immediately started to talk with Karly about how the day’s been while Thera and Ben could only watch the exchange.

“So his race exists in your world then?” Thera asked Ben.

“I guess? I mean, not my world, but looks like we share a universe.”

“Still wrong!” Globolgork yelled as he pulled himself up. “My people exist in a much higher plane of reality. We aren’t stuck in some pathetic lower level of existence.”

Thera turned to Ben. “I’m pretty sure he’s insulting you,” But Ben couldn’t give much of a response, this was a lot to process.

“Oh well, he’s stuck in this universe too… Wait,” He turned to the alien he decided should be referred to as Glob for the sake of convenience. “Does that mean your race can travel across universes? Could you bring us home?”

The room fell silent when he asked it but he had to know. Unfortunately he got the answer he was expecting.

“Every one of you asked the same thing. No, do you think I’d still be on this doomed garbage planet if that was an option? Our bodies were remade from the materials of this universe,” The small alien said dismissively. “Even if the language system makes connections to materials from your universe when naming it, the finer properties like boiling point, melting point, atomic mass, and a bunch of other things are going to be slightly different. Not to mention my people don’t travel across universes. We manipulate energies to create illusions to make people see us while peering into other realities ourselves.”

“I see,” Of course there was no going home. If there was, why would Glob still be here if he could get out? He felt a hand squeeze his under the table and looked to Thera and gave her a small smile, before turning back to Glob. “So why do your people do that anyway then? If not establish contact then what’s the point?”

Glob gave him a look as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s fun to fuck with low-worlders, obviously.”

Ben looked at him incredulously before turning to Karly, who could only give a shake of her head. “I wanted to be sure this prick wasn’t just messing with me so I asked for this to be confirmed with some of the others he was summoned with. Unfortunately it looks like the answer to why we haven’t heard from other intelligent life is because it sucks.”

“Cool cool cool. Don’t mind me, just going to use my favourite strategy to avoid an existential crisis,” Namely doing his best to not think too hard about it. “Karly, how have you been? How’s working with the succubus kingdom?”

“It’s not too bad. Being teamed up with this guy sucks but it’s pretty exciting in its own way and the money’s good. Training every day can be exhausting but it’s nice to keep busy. Other than that not much I can say. How about you? What have you been up to since… Well…”

“I’ve been working as an apprentice craftsman,” He said, trying to move past the awkward conversation of him being left behind as fast as possible. “I do a bit of adventuring on the side too with Thera, the last few months actually ended up being pretty fun minus a few hiccups.”

“I’ll bet. So you find yourself a job and end up friends with a princess, not too shabby,” She said with a grin that he returned.

“I’ll say, maybe the universe felt it owed me a little luck or something,” When he thought about it the few connections he had in the world were apparently a bit more powerful than he had initially thought. Thera and Sonya being related to royalty, even if they technically weren’t royal themselves, was pretty cool. It also meant his teacher probably had some interesting things going on in his past to be close enough to an earth spirit and queen that their daughter thinks of him as an uncle. He was definitely going to have to probe him for information at some point.

“So you’re one of the folks that decided not to take a kingdom’s offer?” Glob asked curiously. “Thought you could make it on your own huh?”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“No, no nation made me any offers,” Ben awkwardly explained, causing Glob to immediately break into laughter.

“Wait, you’re the forgotten one? Ha oh man, it sucks to be you!”

Karly went to punch him, but a small forcefield seemed to materialize in front of her fist before it could reach his face. Though the queen’s death-glare couldn’t be stopped.

“Globolgork enough. Ben is currently a guest, and if what he’s created works he’ll have done a far greater service to the people of this world than you could have a chance to until the invasion starts. Mind your manners.”