PftA Book 4 - Chapter 48 - Making Plans

“Why are you even helping her?” Bell asked with a mix of anger and frustration when I told her about Anya’s request. “It’s obvious that she’s a schemer. I’m starting to think that everyone with a Fate affinity is.”

I pressed my lips together at her reaction. I understood why Bell might react that way toward Anya, especially knowing that the Fate Mage had foreseen Justin’s death and said nothing.

“I’m helping her because it’s the right thing to do,” I said after a moment. “Also, helping her now will benefit our family later.”

“So she says,” Bell sneered.

“True,” I conceded. “Still, it is a small thing for me to help her. It doesn’t put me in any real danger.”

“Unless she stabs you in the back,” my sister-in-law muttered.

Though unlikely, Bell’s comment wasn’t without merit. Being isolated in a challenge rift with Anya would provide the woman ample opportunity to attack if that was her goal.

It seemed a bit far fetched, all things considered, but it was worth keeping in mind.

“I’ll be sure to add a mutual protection clause into the contract we’re signing,” I said.

“Wait, really?” Bell said with obvious surprise. “You’re going to going to sign a contract just to delve together?”

“Of course,” I replied. “The reward is valuable and our agreement involves her giving the valuable reward to me or my designated heir once she’s reached the Pinnacle. Why wouldn’t we have a contract for something like that?”

Bell’s head bobbed unconsciously as she thought through the argument.

“I guess I missed the part about you getting the reward later. Even so, I agree you should add a stipulation to prevent any betrayal. You know, I’m not sure why such contracts aren’t more common among adventurers, especially with pickup groups. It would prevent some abuse and misbehavior.”

My mind immediately went to the incident on Pylos during the first timeline. I’d naively trusted a pair of adventurers and gotten myself robbed and abandoned in a higher-tier rift.

It was a little embarrassing to think that I’d almost died to a Tier Two rift while at the peak of Tier One. I really did have the worst luck when it came to challenge rifts.

It made me wonder why I’d so readily agreed to enter another one. I guess I was hoping that the third time would be different.

“They probably should,” I agreed. “It would probably help some of the naïve beginners survive a little longer.”

While I didn’t think murderous adventurers was a huge issue, it was still definitely a thing that people had to be wary of. It wasn’t just human nature, either. Other races did the same kind of things.

“So, how long are you going to be stuck in the rift this time?” Bell asked. “If it’s going to take a while, we should get started on the formation now. I want it ready in less than a year.”

“Why the rush?” I asked. “I know you miss him, but don’t you want to spend more time with your kids and maybe meet a few grandkids before you potentially die in this timeline?”

Bell visibly hesitated before replying, “You said the changes to the formation would reduce the potential soul damage enough that it shouldn’t kill me.”

“Shouldn’t. That doesn’t mean it’s safe or that nothing can go wrong,” I answered her implied question. “This formation is much stronger than the one I used. Quite honestly, mine should never have worked. This one, I’m almost certain, will work.”

“Right,” Bell said as if I’d made her point. “The me left behind will be mostly fine, and the me going back will get to experience the kids growing up all over again. I don’t really see a reason to delay. I’ve already waited long enough.”

I frowned, though I could understand her point. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was causing me so much trepidation about the formation, but something about it that made me uncomfortable.

Had we designed it too strong? Would the force propelling her back in time result in unforeseen consequences?

There was simply no way to know until we crafted the formation and used it.

“Well, the delve should only take a few days, at most,” I said, returning to her question. “We’ll be on Sira, so the added time dilation will help there.”

“Another challenge rift on Sira?” Bell asked. “I thought those were really rare.”

“They are. Whoever set them up must have had a preference for puzzles,” I said. Seeing Bell’s curious expression, I added, “You know that Sira is a true Tier Ten planet, right? There are no lower-tier zones or areas where weaker rifts would naturally form. All of the rifts below Tier Ten are artificial.”

“Really?” Bell said. “I had no idea. I’d bet most people don’t know that, either.”

I shrugged. “I only learned about it because it was mentioned in one of the Portology manuscripts I read. The author referenced the difficulty of subjugating the world because every rift was Tier Ten. It made the whole process more difficult because there was only a small area protected from the roaming rift beasts. I think it was the area directly around the dungeon’s entrance, but that’s just supposition. The dungeon is never actually mentioned in the document.”

“Speaking of things that should never be mentioned,” Bell said with a glint of mischief in her eyes. “My Interface Assistant just picked up a rumor about the Alliance’s second newest tri-affinity mage.”

“Second newest? Who is that? Suni?”

Bell laughed. “No! You, silly! You didn’t know a new tri-affinity was discovered?”

I shook my head. I really hadn’t been keeping up with Alliance news lately.

“Well, there is. He’s actually one of Suni’s children. It looks like the whole selective breeding thing worked out for Rhona’s family.”

“Good for them, I guess,” I said awkwardly.

I honestly didn’t know how to feel about the news. Breeding people like animals just sat wrong with me, though I knew it had been done in some form or another for most of history.

“That wasn’t what I wanted to talk about, though,” Bell said with a grin. “According to rumors, a certain tri-affinity mage has two exceptional affinities. I feel a little hurt that you never told me that. I distinctly remember telling you about my affinity ratings. At least now I know why you were so cagey at the time.”

Bell didn’t look like the news bothered her, but I suspected her comment had some truth to it. I probably should have confided in her and the rest of my family. I didn’t like that they’d learned something like that from the media.

“Well, the rumors aren’t totally accurate,” I pointed out. “I only have one exceptional affinity. The other hasn’t reached that level. Besides that, how did the media manage to already find out? It’s barely been an hour!”

“You know how rumors spread, and I guess it makes sense. Why else would you have been the first to naturally awaken on Earth? Except…” I could see the connections being made as her expression shifted from playful to something a little more serious. “It’s from time traveling, isn’t it?”

“That’s what I suspect. My affinities also weren’t quite as strong in the other timeline. And Space was higher, not Time.”

“What were your ratings back then?”

“I think I started with a Time rating of sixty-eight and a Space rating of seventy-six. The trip flipped those and added some. That’s something you definitely can’t ever share,” I said, fixing her with a pointed look. “Some people would go to extreme lengths to learn how to artificially raise affinities. Do I need to remind you about Sir Eri’Non?”

“No, I understand the danger. I get why you never mentioned it,” she replied casually. “So… will my affinities get a boost when I return?”

“Maybe. Probably,” I guessed with a shrug. “You’ll be absorbing a chunk of extra soul, so gaining a few points of affinities is definitely possible. I’m not sure if Time or Space will bleed in, given the circumstances. It might even be possible for you to suddenly awaken a third affinity.”

“Or a fourth,” Bell said with a sly grin.

I chuckled. “I doubt that. I’ve never heard of something like that happening. I’m not sure it’s even possible.”

= = =

“You’ve received 93 requests for comment and 6,814 messages from unknown senders,” Lisa informed me when I returned to my demesne a short while later.

I looked up at the purple-skinned avatar and shook my head. “Already? I don’t even know how to respond to that. Isn’t it a bit much?”

“Might I recommend you reach out to the sect? Their public relations personnel have also sent a few messages.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” I nodded. “Please schedule a meeting.”

While Lisa handled the arrangements, I reviewed my copy of the formation blueprint. If Bell was intent on using it within the year, I wanted to make sure it was ready for her.

I also wanted to try to figure out what was bothering me about the new design. The old one hadn’t given me the same feeling of discomfort, but I’d also been fully aware that it was only a work in progress.

Several subjective hours later, Lisa informed me it was time to meet with the sect representatives. Less than half an hour had passed on Aegeas since she made the request, which spoke to how anxious they were to meet with me.

I quickly equipped a set of sect robes and exited my personal dimension. I’d stopped wearing the white robes as general attire, but it seemed appropriate for the situation.

The outfit would also allow me to blend in better within the sect, which was important for my mental well-being.

I really didn’t like a lot of attention. It made me feel like a zoo animal or something.

“Elder Momentia, welcome!” a bowing disciple exclaimed when I entered the building that housed the sect’s public affairs department. They didn’t call themselves that, but the categorization fit.

“Thank you,” I said as I allowed myself to be guided into one of the offices. Once I got settled, I said, “I’ll jump right to the heart of the matter: I have no idea how to handle the added interest in me. After my time in the dungeon, I’m not the most social person. I’m not really sure I was all that social before, honestly.”

“That’s fine,” the public relations person told me. “It would be nice if you were willing to make a few public appearances, maybe do an interview or two, but that’s certainly not necessary if you don’t feel comfortable with it.”

She tapped her tablet, sending a prepared statement to my interface. “This is what we have so far. If you’d like us to change anything, just let me know.”

I read through the statement. It basically admonished the leak and the breach of privacy while also declaring the sect’s continued support for and affiliation with me.

“This seems fine. I’m really not sure about doing an interview or anything,” I said uncertainly. “Would it really help the sect?”

“Not enough to justify doing it if you’re uncomfortable with the idea. Don’t worry about that,” the woman assured me. “I would like to point out that we’ve received thousands of requests for information in the last couple of hours. The public clearly wants to know more about you.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to strengthen our wards to keep people out. Do you feel confident in the security of your apartment, or would you feel better moving somewhere more secure? There are several highly rated residential towers located nearby. The sect wouldn’t mind footing the bill to prevent any mishaps.”

I wondered what kind of threat the woman – or the Fate Mages in the sect – saw that caused them to offer something so expensive. Truly reliable security in a world of magic had to be hard to come by. Even with my experience, I wouldn’t feel confident in crafting a truly secure ward. Some affinities were really hard to counter, after all.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. I spend a lot of time away from my apartment anyway. I doubt any intruders would find much.”

Honestly, it was hard to tell that the apartment suite was even ‘occupied.’ Aside from a few knick-knacks I’d intentionally left lying around, there were no real signs that I lived there at all.

Probably because I didn’t. It was really more of an anchor point for my demesne than anything else.

“Still, it might be worth at least moving to another apartment. We can obscure the records to minimize potential intrusions.” The woman looked a little sheepish. “I want to say that our compound is more secure than anything you might find outside, but after what happened on Hadier…”

I understood, and I didn’t blame the sect for the Assassin’s access to my quarters. He was a Tier Ten Time Mage. The security on the Tier Six world was never going to be enough.