Chapter 36: None of That Was Meant to Happen

The two vulpians stared down at Scarlet’s body in disbelief.

“I knew her WIL must be high for her tier, but this…” He waved his hands about. “Well, she needed the rest, regardless.” He looked over to see his assistant and protégé just sort of standing there gormlessly. “Go readjust the formations.” He shoed him off.

Tareth spoke as he moved. “Was that what you intended to have happen? I admit, I have never undergone any of the STR conditioners or testers before. I can say that none of the examinations had looked like that?”

The Historian waved him off with impatience. One clawed hand tapping staccato against his slim stone tablet, while the other shoed Tareth away.

Tareth adjusted the final marker set into the stone floor, straightened, and turned. “Why do you think the test malfunctioned.”

“I don’t know that it did. It appeared that the energies were having some trouble interacting with her body. A curious phenomenon.” The Historian was pacing. His tail moving in sharp agitated flicks.

Tareth watched him go for a while before he folded his arms. “Master.”

The Historian stopped, then looked up as though just remembering there were other people present. “Yes?” He asked.

“She passed out.”

“Yes.”

“What should we do now?”

“Tareth, my dear boy, we mark down the anomaly, then see if we can’t replicate it, but on purpose.”

“I thought we were doing Stat testing and boosting. Besides, I doubt she’d be a willing subject for this new testing.”

“We’re working on Stats first, of course. The rest can come later, when we’ve built up some trust.” The Historian said. Face in his tablet, and completely unaware of the incredulous look the younger vulpian was giving him. I mean, just think of the unique information we could gain. Just what unique variables must exist on that newly integrated world to produce someone like that. There is no reason the technology should have reacted in that way.” he lifted the tablet dramatically. “That is a System created formation in a System created training room. The only reason it might need recalibration is if it’s encountering something entirely new.

“Either this new world is going to be incredible, she is a complete anomaly, or both.” The Historian stopped again. Then pointed at him. “You know I’m never one to encourage gambling. However, I would consider putting even a greater credit on it being both.”

“A greater? Truly.” Tareth was taken aback. Even for one such as the Historian. A greater credit was no small sum.

“Truly.” The Historian clarified.

“She has not crossed the first threshold,” Tareth said. “You said so yourself.”

“I did. I could feel as much when I did that first scan. Imagine her potential for future development, if we can get even three or four stats to full saturation. Let alone the potential future development for her world.

“Even if she is the strangest member of her species, she still emerged from that species, on that world. The underlying developmental conditions capable of producing her exist.”

“So, what does that mean for our stay in the tower?” Tareth asked. The Historian responded by giving him a look so disdainful the younger vulpian nearly flinched. “I suppose we would be heading back to inform the colle-”

“Of course we are returning to the college. There is a newly integrated world, and it has yet to pass its seclusion period? While I must protect the young lady’s information, nothing in our agreement prevents me from capitalising on general knowledge that will no doubt be among the greater Network sooner rather than later. Even then, the information I gain from her can be expanded upon without her direct input or reveal.”

“You suspect there are more interconnected portal worlds on the human’s planet?” Tareth said, snagging onto the first part of his Master’s statement.

“I think the odds of that are much more likely than that she stumbled on the only one less than a month after Integration.”

“Less than a month!” Tareth blurted, head whipping over to see the Historian nodding, a tad smugly as well. “I see.” he said, drawing the last word out somewhat.

“I suspect you are beginning to, yes.” the Historian said, pointing dramatically toward the unconscious human. “That is one very interesting individual.”

Tareth looked over.

Scarlet was still out. He had expected the Historian to wake her immediately as their intent had never been to knock her out in the first place. Instead, his master had insisted on documenting everything first.

“She is injured,” Tareth said.

“She is.”

“Master.”

“Oh, don’t make that face. I told you about the strange energy, I can’t just go poking at her with foreign mana trying to fix something, only for it to end up hurting her more,” he said. “We’re lucky the mana document worked. Truly, considering the principles it works on and the way healing spells are formed. Well. Trying to cast a healing spell on her would be–” He cut himself off, his face going vacant for a moment before he looked toward Scarlet.

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“…What if I.” He approached the unconscious human, crouched, and held one clawed hand just above her sternum. Mana shimmered faintly between his fingers. Tareth felt it immediately. A controlled healing construct.

Something so standard and basic he could recall it just by the feel of the ambient mana as the spell was being formed. Only right now…

“That is odd,” Tareth said.

“Mm.”

The Historian adjusted something within the construct and immediately the resistance coming from the now-lying-more-comfortably Scarlet decreased.

The Historian tweaked something else in the spell. The resistance weakened again. For a few minutes the Historian worked with his spell, and Tareth watched. Then, all in one go, the resistance seemed to vanish.