Accidental Champion of Earth - Chapter 15: Kvothe? Gandalf? Dumbledore? You Know, Something… Fantastical?

The tavern was quite large. There were enough tables and chairs to seat at least five hundred people. Several fireplaces burned bright, wood stacked beside them, making the room warm and toasty. A lit candle sat on each of the heavy wooden tables—tables that looked to be bolted on the ground. In case of a bar fight?

Xavier’s gaze trailed around the place. When he’d opened the door, this had been the last thing he’d expected. There was a long bar at one side of the room, a single barkeep standing behind it, idly wiping down the wood.

This is straight out of a fantasy novel. Xavier didn’t know whether he should be excited or confused.

The barkeep looked up at him, eyes widening in surprise when he saw Xavier. Then he smiled. “Welcome!” He motioned toward all the empty chairs. “Looks like you’re the first one here!”

Xavier’s brow furrowed. He doesn’t seem like a threat. He tried to scan the man, like he would one of the goblins.

???

A sharp pain stabbed his head. It’s blocking me? He put a hand to his forehead, but the pain passed quickly. Besides, after all he’d just been through it was barely a blip. Though perhaps that had something to do with his higher Willpower.

The bartender chuckled. “Sorry about that. I’m sure you won’t be the only one.” He tapped a finger on his forehead. “Can’t scan someone of my level. At least, you can’t.” He beckoned him over with a sigh. “Something tells me you haven’t been through orientation.”

The tavern wasn’t the only thing that looked like it was from a fantasy novel. The guy behind the bar had a heavy beard and burly arms. His clothes were of good quality, but clearly medieval chic. Like I can talk, wearing this grey robe.

Xavier walked over, hiding the hesitation in his steps. “Orientation?” he said, thinking, like at a university?

The barkeep sighed again and shook his head. He took a mug and turned, pulled ale into it from a barrel stacked against the wall. “Ah, Champions from baby worlds… the System really doesn’t do much to prepare you, does it? Just…” He waved a hand. “Throws you straight to the wolves.” He placed the mug in front of Xavier and nodded at one of the stools in front of the bar. “Take a seat. Maybe I can give you some answers.”

Baby worlds? Xavier got the sense he was being talked down to, but the man’s manner was easy and casual as he did it, so he didn’t feel offended. Besides, none of what the man said was wrong. The System hadn’tprepared him. It wasn’t as if he had a clue of what was actually going on yet.

But, the way he talked… Xavier took a seat. Grabbed the handle. He looked into the cup. Probably not poison, right? One way to find out. He took a sip. He’d never had ale before. He frowned. While he didn’t think it was poisoned, it also wasn’t very strong, and it had kind of a bready taste. That’s weird.

Xavier looked at the barkeep. “You’re not from Earth… are you?”

The barkeep chuckled, tapped his nose. “You’re a quick one, then. No. I’m not from Earth. I’m from…” He frowned. “Well, that doesn’t much matter.” He waved a hand. “Would probably just confuse you at this point.” He put a hand to his chest. “I’m human, though, same as you. That’s why I’m here, actually. To make you feel at home.”

Xavier looked around the tavern, and thought about his small apartment across the river from his school. “This is nothing like my home.”

The barkeep opened his hands. “But it’s cozy, right?” He wrapped a knuckle on the bar. “Classic architecture. It’s a part of your history, and mine. Many places in the Greater Universe still look like this.” The man was smiling. Beaming, actually. He seemed happy to talk. Xavier wondered how long he’d been waiting behind that bar.

Xavier, on the other hand, wasn’t the biggest talker. I’m a writer, not a talker, was something he often thought. He looked down at the ale, realised he hadn’t paid. “I’m sorry, I don’t have anything—” He paused. Looked down at his Storage Ring. He focused on it and searched the space within until he found one of the goblin purses. He wasn’t sure how to summon something out of the ring, but apparently it only took a thought, because suddenly it was sitting in his hand.

“A Storage Ring, huh? Must have been a reward for your first quest.” The barkeep had a brow raised as he looked down at the purse. “Don’t worry, first drink’s on the house.”

Xavier nodded. “Thanks. But… I was wondering if you had anything stronger?” He still held his staff in his left hand, but it no longer felt appropriate. He eyed the man for a moment before leaning it on the bar. He could have placed it into his Storage Ring, but thought he would be faster at grabbing it than summoning.

Though, to be honest, he didn’t feel like this man was a threat to him. And even if he was… If I can’t scan him because he’s too high level, would I even have a chance at defeating him? What level could he be? 20? 50? 100? He didn’t know if there was a level cap in this… he almost thought “game,” but he had to remind himself that this wasn’t a game.

Thinking that way might just get him killed.

The barkeep raised a finger. “I’ve got just the thing.” He pulled a bottle from one of the shelves. Took a glass from under the bar, a tumbler—which didn’t really fit the theme of the place. He poured a mostly clear, brownish liquid into the glass, filling it with about two shots.

Xavier tilted his head, looking at the bottle. “Jack Daniel’s?” out of everything else that had happened that day, somehow this was the most perplexing. “How do you have… Jack Daniel’s?”

“As I said, I’m here to make you feel comfortable.” The barkeep slid the glass to him. “Making food and drink from your world is a part of that.”

Does that mean they have real coffee? Xavier shrugged that thought away and upended the contents of the goblin’s purse with a clatter of coins. The coins were round and thick, larger than any he’d used before. They were silver. And were they… glowing very slightly? He picked one up, inspecting it. The coin had an odd weight to it, and there was something about it that felt oddly familiar. “How many of these do I need to use?”

He counted what he had in small stacks of five. The goblin’s purse had twenty-five of the strange silver coins.

“Five Lesser Spirit Coins should be plenty.”

Xavier held one up. “And that’s what these are?”

The barkeep smiled. “Indeed. That’s what those are. Spirit Coins are the main currency of the Greater Universe. Suppose you haven’t got the Identify skill yet, then?”

For a moment, Xavier wondered how much he should reveal to this stranger. But he saw no reason in lying. He wanted to learn from him, and keeping things from him didn’t seem like the smartest way to go about that. “I haven’t learnt any skills at all, though I do have one skill point. I gained it from the quest I just completed to get here.”

Xavier pushed a stack of five Lesser Spirit Coins toward the man. He could tell me any price and I’d just have to believe him, not knowing what these are worth. Though if each of those goblins’ purses had roughly the same amount of Lesser Spirit Coins within them—and they had all weighed about the same—he would have over a thousand of them now. Not to mention, if he was able to sell the eighteen weapons he’d looted from the last goblins, he would be able to gather more.

The barkeep tapped a finger on the stack and it disappeared. Then he offered a hand. “Sam.”

“Sam?”

The barkeep chuckled. “My name.”

Xavier raised an eyebrow. Took the hand a shook it. “I was just surprised your name was so… normal.”

“What were you expecting?”

“Kvothe? Gandalf? Dumbledore? You know, something… fantastical.”

“Well, Sam is a nickname for Samericalian, but most people just call me Sam.”

Xavier frowned. “I don’t know if you’re pulling my leg.”

The barkeep blinked. “Thought I was shaking your hand.”

Xavier shook his head, let go of the man’s hand, and sighed. “I’m Xavier. It’s good to meet you. I think. I still don’t really know what’s going on.” He started putting the coins back into the purse, though he paused when Sam frowned at him. “What is it?”

“Your Storage Ring can contain your coins separately. You don’t need to keep them in purses.”

Xavier stopped. “Oh.” He tapped a stack of coins with his finger.

You have added 5 Lesser Spirit Coins to your Storage Ring.

Xavier looked inside his Storage Ring, as he did, a notification popped up along with his view of the room.

Coins

Lesser Spirit Coins: 5

He focused on the coins and willed two into his hand. The stack appeared atop his palm. “Huh.”

“If you and the person you are dealing with both have Storage Rings”—Sam raised a finger, pointed at his own Storage Ring—”then you can make the currency exchange with a shake of the hand.” He held out his hand, nodding down at it.

Xavier took it again.

Samericalian would like to give you 5 Lesser Spirit Coins. Do you accept?

Xavier thought, No, and the notification was dismissed. He took his hand back and bowed his head. “Thanks.” He grabbed the tumbler and took a sip. This wasn’t the first time he’d drank Jack straight. He remembered it having more bite. Is that… because I have more Toughness? Still, it was far better than the ale. “So… what exactly is the Greater Universe?”

Sam stood back, folded his arms over his chest, and stared off into the distance. “It’s…” He waved a hand. “Everything. At least, it will be. One day.” He furrowed his brow. “The universe is larger than any normal human can ever fathom. I believe that something your world already figured out, pre-integration. What you haven’t figured out is shortly after the universe was born, the System was too. As to knowing what the System truly is… That’s well above my pay grade.”

Xavier’s eyes widened. “The System is over thirteen billionyears old?”

Sam smiled. “Something like that, yeah. Though ‘years’ are relative depending on where you live.” He put a hand to his head. “It all gets a little confusing sometimes. Anyway, what everyone can agree on is that the System spreads out much, much slower than the universe does.” He pulled the mug of ale Xavier decided not to drink toward him and tapped the middle of the liquid with a finger. “It ripples outward from the centre of the universe, crawling over everything like a wave until all it encompasses everything.”

Xavier’s eyebrows scrunched together, recalling the first notification he had received from the System. “When the integration happened, it said… ‘Interlopers have discovered your world. Your Solar System has now been marked for integration into the Greater Universe.’ What you’re talking about sounds different.”

The barkeep’s eyes widened. “Ah! That’s how your world was integrated? Well, that… that changes things.”

“It does?”

The barkeep bit his lip. “Yes. Unfortunately. You see, usually when a new world is integrated, for the first five years, the only thing they have to contend with is the flora and fauna having been changed and evolved.”

Changed and evolved? Is he saying that plants and animals are going to turn into what… monsters? Xavier kept the question to himself, not wanting to interrupt the man.

“But now… now you’re going to have to deal with something far worse. I was wondering where you got those coins from.”

“What do you mean… far worse?”

The barkeep sighed. He pulled that bottle of Jack Daniel’s back off the shelf, took another glass from under the counter, and poured himself a drink. He took a sip, then looked Xavier in the eye. “Usually a world is integrated because of the wave I mentioned. The System rippling outward from the centre of the universe, assimilating everything into the Greater Universe. But sometimes… sometimes a world can be discovered by other means. Sometimes a Denizen of the System can reach beyond the Greater Universe and travel to a world not yet under its dominion.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means…” Sam looked down into his drink, no longer holding Xavier’s eye. “It means your people are unlikely to survive.”