Chapter 11: A Stone

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: A Stone

In the end, they made it around the mountain in a few hours. Using his walking stick, which until a little while ago had been tied to his backpack, Victor had to slow down. The same happened with his companions, who collapsed from exhaustion after so many hours of escaping.

Sitting on a rock and taking out his canteen, Ayax looked at the exhausted Victor, who had collapsed onto the ground, taking long, heavy breaths.

’These guys have way too much stamina. Damn, I feel like I’m going to die.’

Suddenly, a dry laugh could be heard. Darius, the one with the axes, was resting with his back against a tree. Massaging his bushy beard, he said:

"I think I’m starting to get used to this."

"Well, it’s not that complicated when you’re with more people," Dorian added.

With a faint smile, Ayax put away his canteen and sighed.

"We’ll need more than just getting used to this. We don’t know if the orc is the only powerful thing in this forest. It’s barely the beginning of our journey, so let’s keep in mind that there could be something even more dangerous."

Victor secretly watched them. These people seemed to get along well, and Ayax was good with words. Setting that aside, he didn’t know what to do about this System notification.

’It doesn’t look like they can see the System window, but I’m completely sure they’ll be able to see whatever I pull out of it.’

He couldn’t risk showing his power in front of these people. Besides, he didn’t even know what Paths they had.

"Speaking of journeys. Kid, what universe are you from? What is it like? My brother and I are from Andoria. It’s a land of dragons and dungeons filled with all kinds of magical creatures," Dorian said, addressing Victor.

"That’s true. Let’s start with that," Ayax added. "I come from a similar land, only without magic. If you haven’t already noticed, Dorian and Darius are dwarves, and I’m an ordinary human."

’Ordinary human, he says...’ Victor thought.

He didn’t think there was any need to reveal that information, but it wasn’t like it would hurt anyone either. It was obvious that he was a human like Ayax, but this handsome guy had the peculiar feature of having a crack-like mark across his face.

"I... Well, I come from a technological world without magic, where the only race capable of speaking and reasoning is humanity. There’s not much to say about it."

"Hmm... Can you be a little more specific? What do you mean by technology?" Darius asked.

"The concept of technology can vary between different cultures, Victor," Ayax added.

"Well... There were airplanes, which are basically giant metal birds that carry people all over the world. There were also long-distance communication devices, four-wheeled vehicles that didn’t need horses. Things like that."

The dwarf twins seemed excited as they listened to the description, especially Dorian, who said in a friendly tone:

"Man, that sounds amazing. I suppose the lack of magic forced you to advance faster than other universes."

"Yeah, I guess," Victor replied.

He looked at the ground, remembering. He had been so focused on surviving that he had almost forgotten about the world he came from.

’It’s not like it was anything special, to be honest. Even with all that technology, there were people like me who sank into despair.’

Without realizing it, he looked up at the sky.

’And those gods aren’t any different from the ones who stood at the top in my world. Maybe creations have more of their creators in them than anyone could ever comprehend.’

"We know there are many universes with many different things thanks to the System," Ayax mentioned. That caught Victor’s attention. "And it seems there are more worlds with magic than without it."

’Could that be true?’

Gods, magic, and the multiverse went hand in hand in this case. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that most universes included supernatural things to some degree.

Maybe Victor’s world did have magic, and he had simply never been able to see it with his own eyes.

Darius let out a hoarse laugh.

"Either way, I couldn’t care less. As long as we don’t run into things that can kill us, like those flashes in the sky, I don’t give a damn if they bring every kind of person from the multiverse or whatever."

"That’s the spirit, brother. We dwarves fear nothing."

Both twins laughed loudly. They almost made Victor forget that he was with people he barely knew and that, no matter how friendly they seemed, he shouldn’t trust them.

He turned his attention back to his System window. The gacha was ready to be used.

’I think I have the perfect excuse so they won’t see me using the gacha.’

He got up from the ground with one hand on his stomach.

"I think I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be nearby."

Without giving any further explanation, backpack and all, he headed into the bushes so they wouldn’t see him. Ayax gave him a brief glance as he left, but since Victor was focused on what he was going to get from the gacha, he barely noticed it.

Once he was away from the group, he whispered:

"I hope today’s pull is good. I’ll use the Summon."

The gacha activated, and the sphere appeared. Changing colors rapidly, it suddenly stopped on purple. Victor brought a hand to his mouth, somewhat surprised.

"What the hell is this thing?"

[Congratulations!]

[You have obtained: A Stone.]

[Rarity: SSR]

’How the hell can a stone be SSR?! What does it do?! Does it explode when I throw it at my enemies?!’

To make sure that what he was holding at that moment was actually what his eyes were seeing, he looked at the item’s description on the screen.

[Description: A special stone that will reveal its secrets at the right moment.]

’... What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

This had to be a joke.