World Isekai

Mori was now the one pacing around.

It all made sense.

Going there would be quite easy.

But could he trust her?

Without knowing what she had to gain from this, it could be a trap.

"What do you have to lose?" she asked.

"A lot. You've already settled here, haven't you? You'll probably try to take over."

"I could've taken over the moment you jumped here. Yet I didn't, did I?"

Mori remained silent. She was right.

"You had nowhere else to turn, and you turned to me. Made me real happy," she said, feigning a smile.

"Or, you would most likely be stuck inside this dungeon, just like me, if you were to take over completely? So you need me to actually clear it, or move into that dimension before taking over?"

"Wow. You really thought about it, huh? Stop worrying, I have no intention of 'taking over'. You are smart not to trust me, still."

"I'll find another way."

"Yeah, climb all those levels, while painfully grinding. Take a chance by cutting your arm, see if the next hex of my level doesn't take the other half available in your mind. I'd love a roomate."

He had few options; she was right.

This dungeon wasn't hard. He would've eventually cleared it, and he truly didn't understand why most people weren't able to.

A careful and meticulous approach is all one needed. Items keep dropping, even if unlucky, if you're here for years eventually something good is bound to come.

How is it, that nobody cleared it yet? Did everyone give up?

Or did everyone rush to get faster results?

He himself was guilty.

He had come close to death multiple times, and Maël being there, was a testament to his desperate attempt to go faster.

"I'll do it. I need Aura."

"No, you need me. But we'll get Aura, I guess." Your next read is at m v|l-e'm,p| y- r

She was crossing her arms on her chest again, with that same snide, arrogant smile.

"So, how exactly does going there solve my problem?" he asked.

"Well, first, let's remember something that's very important. It's located on Aura. You've given it to her."

Mori scrubbed his memory, it flashed before his eyes as he remembered everything he could.

"Ah. The brand."

"Fast. Yes, you did brand her using a hex, so I see two possibilities. You use the hex to pull her into the cursed dimension, and we find her there and bring her back here."

She was rubbing her chin while looking at Mori.

"Or, option two," she continued, "We stay long enough there so that we can leave through her brand."

And skip all the levels we would need to do? Straight to [8-0]? That would save us so much time.

"But how? Can I actually do those things?" he asked.

"You can do much more, actually. You think you're limited to what's in your list of spells?"

"I've experimented before. I know I can bypass the system, and cast spells myself. Without using the menu at all. It makes the spells better and stronger. I understand that much."

"Wow. You truly know nothing about this world, huh."

Mori was taken aback.

I know... a lot. I've played through this world.

"There. Right there," said Maël.

She got up and took a few steps toward him, leaning forward.

"You need to stop thinking you understand this world. Do you even know why everyone in the common realm uses that system?"

"That's just how it is..."

Or is it?

"You come from another realm too, so you don't get it maybe," she said.

"Another universe," cut Mori.

"Same thing," she continued. "You need to stop and think about this a bit more. You need to start seeing this place as a whole universe, the same way your own universe is... its own universe."

"You're just stating the obvious,"

"Because you don't grasp the obvious. Like everyone in this realm, for that matter. In your universe, do people die 'just because'? If something bad happens, is there no explanation? It just 'is'?"

She was walking forward, pushing on Mori's body with her index finger.

"Do you think there's a system here just because 'that's how it is'? Aren't you being extremely stupid? And you said yourself that you can cast your spells without using it. Doesn't it ring any bells that things are more than they seem?"

Mori was out of words. What could he even say?

She was right.

He knew this world from the game he played, but back there, everything is easily explained.

Why is there a system?

Someone programmed it. It's that simple. Someone entered code, then a machine perfected that code. That code is the system overlay.

Levels work the way they do because someone decided on a progression system.

Code was written in a machine to tell it how that worked.

His own mother worked on that game. He knew some of those people who worked on that code.

But she is right.

In his world, Elder Heir Online is a game.

But this wasn't just a game.

The moderator did tell him this universe was different when he first arrived.

That this wasn't the game he played, but an actual whole universe.

"I understand," finally said Mori. "In my world, a version of this one exists as a game. I assumed everything in here was normal, because of my perception of it as a game, programmed by someone. It's fair to assume there's a system in this realm for other reasons than someone programming it into it."

"Oh, no. Someone did program it into it."

Mori's eyebrows shot up. After a few second, he finally burst.

"What the fuck? Then why the hell you're telling me I'm perceiving everything wrong? You're messing with my head? Trying to make me go crazy?"

She laughed loudly, then grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back into the armchair.

"Alright. This is all too complicated for you. No worries. I'll explain it to you like you're 5."

Mori watched her drag the other armchair all the way toward him. She sat in it, leaning forward.

"This realm is the common realm. It existed for an extremely long amount of time. Magic worked normally. One day, someone very powerful said: And there shall be a system. They weaved it into this realm, and since then, this realm functions with a system."

"A God?"

"By most's definition of a God in this realm, yes."

"Is it 'Fate'?"

"That guy?! Making a decision by himself? You're fucking with me. There's no way!" she said, laughing.

She wiped her teary eyes after 30 seconds of uninterrupted laughter.

"So," said Mori, "you're saying I can create a way to her, or bring her in there?"

"As the Sovereign, there's a lot more you can do."

Mori was still looking at her, waiting.

"Yes. Yes. You can do those things," she finally said, sighing..