Chapter 46: The New and the Familiar [½]

[You have been granted access to the portal world Endless Horde of the Sunken Land by an administrator.]

At that, Scarlet looked at the Historian, then down at herself, before turning to face the outer edge of the gaping pit.

Sunken land indeed.

Kilometres apart and arranged around the pit’s perimeter were what looked like different dwellings. Some were permanent fixtures like cabins and houses, others were obviously temporary dwellings, and a few were completely foreign to her, like the one that hovered in the air. A quick Inspect told her it was a ‘Tier 3 Hover Home’, whatever that was.

What was more interesting to her however was the actual dirt the pit and surrounding land was made from. Despite the entire place resembling a barren wasteland, the information from the Resource Tome she’d absorbed before was telling her that the soil here was a phenomenal material for planting.

She must have been projecting because Maus blinked from her shoulder to the ground then back before announcing that ‘the dirt here feels all wiggly wobbly’.

‘Wiggly wobbly?’ She inquired.

‘Yeah Boss. It’s shifty!’

‘Shifty…’ Shifty, barren dirt that was also great for planting? She tried Inspecting it, but it felt almost as though the Skill was having difficulty focusing. The info-layer was also somewhat unhelpful. It felt like trying to read a book through frosted glass. The words were there, she just couldn’t quite make them out.

The Historian brought them to one of the more modest villas within the Vulpian faction’s territory, and Scarlet shelved her musings for later as she refocused on her surroundings.

“We’ll be staying here?” she asked.

“We will be staying here,” the Historian said, pointing to himself and the irate Tareth-cicle. “And you will be staying down there.”

Scarlet stared at him expressionlessly. “In the Sunken Land with the Endless Horde.” It wasn’t a question, not that the Historian was paying much attention.

“Before that, I have so many questions for you. Come, come. To the study!” He walked a short distance away and only turned back when he realised she wasn’t following.

Scarlet looked down at herself and let her incredulity show.

“Right, right. Take tonight; rest and recover. Answers can wait for tomorrow.”

‘Answers tomorrow, he says,’ Scarlet sent to Maus.

‘Answers tomorrow?’ her bond- No, her Familiar sent back. His confusion at her displeasure was endearing enough that most of her bad mood was dispelled.

Shaking her head, she thought about all the information she’d be sure to extract from the Historian. The library was in a distant world now, one she didn’t know when she’d be able to return to. That information was vital, and if she couldn’t get it from the books, she’d extract it from the Historian himself.

If he thought he was getting a scrap more out of her before he shared what she wanted, he was mistaken.

She took a deep breath and re-centred herself.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ she told Maus, as a floating orb bobbed into view and pulsed once in front of her.

“Hello, honoured guest. Please allow me to escort you to your resting accommodations.”

The voice was androgynous but surprisingly melodic. The orb itself was metallic and covered in those enchantments that fascinated Scarlet. She Inspected it.

[Tier 1 Assistance Orb ⅛: This orb was created by Gek Smithson (T1) of the FelisCanis Enchanters Union. This is a single part of a larger unit enchanted to act as housekeeping and general aid within remote and unoccupied dwellings…]

The information went on, but Scarlet was most interested in what this FelisCanis was, as well as how to obtain more information on enchanting. If it could create such objects, and even deemed them so low Tier, the potential applications back on Earth were nearly endless.

Scarlet sank into thought as she allowed the floating orb to guide her to another suite. Once more, a door took her mana signature. This time, however, she put a sliver of psionic energy into it as well. In the information layer, she gave the energy an instruction. It wasn’t anything complicated, she didn’t have that kind of power yet. Simply dissipate. When it triggered, the mana signature would be destroyed, and because the psionic energy was hers, she could do it from a distance… she hoped.

<-…->

The bathing facilities in the room were no less luxurious than the previous ones, and Scarlet was taking full advantage.

‘Maus, come scrub,’ she told her companion.

‘Boss,’ he tried to negotiate. ‘I swim?’

‘Only after you scrub. You were in that water with me,’ she replied as she vigorously scoured herself with a net sponge and soap.

‘Boss, I can clean with my mouth.’ He tried again.

Scarlet paused and gave him a look until he obediently scampered close enough for her to set him on her knee. He had his own little pet-set and fur shampoo, and it took barely any time for her to lather and rinse her Familiar into a sopping wet, but incredibly clean, mouse.

“Now you can swim,” she told him aloud. Before she’d even finished the words, he’d already Blinked into the large recessed bath. Sighing, she continued scrubbing herself down while checking her notifications. There were a lot to go through.

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