116: Catching Up

“I should be asking you the same thing!” Evan replied back, also taking a good gander at Aidan. “Man, you look so different, but you kinda look the same too!”

“I’m guessing Charisma might have something to do with it,” Aidan suggested. “That, and you know, I fucking aged back to being 21 again.”

“Shit, you too?” Evan brushed his black colored hair. It was tousled and reached his ears, and to Aidan’s shock, large floppy ears were beside it. “Guess that means I’m not your oldest brother anymore.”

“Dude, what the fuck? You got dog ears?!”

Aidan couldn’t help but ask, which Evan only realized that he was just casually rubbing them aside like he did with his hair.

“Oh, yeah,” Evan said, as if realizing it himself. “When I first came here, my entire race changed. I’m now what the system calls Humanoid (Kitsune Variant).”

“Kitsune…”

Aidan had to go all the way back to his days watching anime, hearing enough Japanese dubbing to understand that kind of word by heart.

“Doesn’t that mean fox?”

“Yep,” Evan nodded, showing a pleasant smile. “I’m a Fox god now.”

Aidan scoffed. “Yeah, right. Guess that just makes me a regular god, seeing that I’m a Spirit Variant.”

“A spirit?” Evan asked. “You sure don’t look like it.”

“Shit, never mind that–what happened to you when you got here? Did you also just appear in a random forest totally nude?”

“Dude, yeah!” Evan nodded, pointing at him. “Man, that was fucking brutal! You have any idea how terrible that… oh, right, you did.”

“So, what, human beings from earth just randomly get reincarnated here totally nude in this world?” Aidan asked rhetorically. At this point, there was no way Evan would have that kind of answer, the same as him. “Where’d you end up in?”

“In a place called Raknar, a city close to the border of the Federation. That’s actually where I landed after getting a god-awful starting tutorial.”

“Did you also get harassed by monsters? That’s how I learned about my talent.”

“Same here,” Evan nodded. “I can only thank the times I spent playing video games and listening to LITRPG audiobooks to get me used to my new reality. Oh, that reminds me–what kind of talent do you have?”

Normally, it was the kind of question that he would avoid answering at all costs. Unlike Nina who can immediately know about it with her own talent, it was dangerous to let anyone know about your talent and its secrets.

But it was his brother, so naturally he told him.

“It’s called the Path of Harmony, and it’s absolutely wild. Here, the description.”

Aidan pulled up his talent’s description, letting Evan read it. He wondered if perhaps sharing that kind of thing to someone who is obviously a helper to Nina’s despised sister might be troublesome, but he just can’t bear holding back when it came to his brother.

“Damn, that is wild,” Evan said, his finger propping up and dragging the air. “Here’s mine.”

As expected, Evan wouldn’t hold back on revealing his own talent. Taking a good look, Aidan widened his eyes. 

Talent: Path of Conversion

What others hold in their hands, you can change to an ideal. What others revere as an idea, you can manifest it into reality. You are able to change and convert the very essence of anything you come across, shifting the core to anything you desire.

“What the hell…?” Aidan muttered. “So you can just change anything you want into something else?”

“That’s what I took from it,” Evan said. “But what the hell does your talent even do? It’s kinda confusing.”

“It basically lets me control… everything? As long as it’s natural,” Aidan mused. Even he didn’t really have a good grasp on what exactly harmony was, but he knew it had something to do with any type of fabric of reality. “Within limits, of course.”

The two brothers continued talking for a good bit about their talents, with Aidan explaining how it affected how he learned his spells and skills. That’s when he also got a good grasp of what Evan was doing with his talent.

Thanks to his talent, he is able to actually shift any kind of energy source into another, and that conversion doesn’t always result in the same outcome. So, Evan had the bright idea of actually converting that dangerous hell mana into a workable energy source.

Despite the clear danger, hell mana is abundant and dense compared to other mana types, so once converted into literally any other type of mana, all that volume ended up getting carried over, resulting in a massive amount of energy piled up for Evan to take advantage of.

Aidan knew that his brother could be somewhat reckless at times, especially since he knew how he usually is back in their old world, but this was the one type of gamble that really worked in his favor. Considering how massively potent hell mana was with his own experience, as long as Evan can actively change the fundamental nature of hell mana into something safer, he had all the power he could ever want.

And it also doesn’t just do that. He can just as easily convert materials into something else, almost like alchemy where he could change anything into anything else that he desires. In his words, he could change a copper coin into a platinum coin, something that’s worth almost a hundred gold coins in current circulation that would immediately let him purchase a big house in Forontia with just that singular copper coin.

It might as well be as overpowered as his talent that allowed him to create any item he desired just by changing the materials into whatever he desired to. He was surprised by how similar their powers are despite the core functions acting totally different.

“Aidan, can I see your status sheet? If you want to, of course,” Evan said. “I wanna see how you build yourself up like that.”

“Yeah, and you do the same.”

Aidan agreed, and so did Evan as they both lent each other their status pages to view for themselves. Seeing his status sheet, he wasn’t surprised at all that it was quite numerous, just like his own status page.

He had plenty of skills that were based around crafting items, and around a dozen spells for him to use. One of them was the chains he usually used, done so by converting the available mana around him into chains that constricts and paralyzes a weaker-willed opponent.

His Class also provided plenty of abilities that were similar to his own, especially a few abilities that were the exact same as his own.

“You picked a Mage Class too?”

“Duh,” Evan scoffed. “It’s a fucking mage class, who wouldn’t want to use magic?”

“You can actually learn how to use magic even without picking a Mage Class, did you know?”

“Yeah, that’s what I learned too, but you know how my talent works. So I picked a Class that worked well with it.”

“True, true.”

Aidan nodded in understanding. They could be somewhat different, but in the end, they were brothers. They were always interested in playing video games and interested in fantasy that revolved around gamer logic, so it was natural that they got a good inside look at how to make their personal builds.

“Wait, a trait? Demonic Aspect… dude, how the hell did you get this?”

“That’s actually your fault,” Aidan accused, actually surprising Evan before explaining further. “I literally just got it after healing up the cursed energy, or hell mana, you just put in me.”

“Dude, I’m so sorry,” Evan said, regret coating his words. “If I had known it was you, I’d…”

“Dude, it’s fine,” Aidan said, shaking his head. “I don’t mind. I mean, I do, but I get it. And… well, now I gotta ask–how do you know Selene?”

He reverted the conversation to how he first met Selene, which he can only surmise happened the same way he did with Nina. Evan looked at him questioningly, then put on a complicated expression, something that Aidan understood all too well.

“Well… it’s kinda complicated, but we kinda ended up on equal terms–a partnership, you could say.”

“Did she use a binding contract on you?” Aidan asked. That prompted Evan to widen his eyes.

“Whoa, no, that’s… wait, don’t tell me you’re under contract?!”

“Uuh, not really, but my boss doesn’t know that,” Aidan said the last part in a whisper, almost conspiratorily so. “So I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone else.”

“Ah, gotcha,” Evan nodded. “Only reason why I’m working with her, or since you can guess, kinda working under her; It’s all because she provides me with tons of help that really did me a solid when I was getting my feet wet in this world. But she also knows that I bring a lot to the plate, so she signed me up as her personal bodyguard and trusted partner.”

“Same goes for me, but she’s got a trust issue,” Aidan shrugged.

“Nina, right?” Evan asked. “I was surprised to find out that Selene’s got a sister, and that you of all people are working under her. Tell me, is she as bad as the rumors made her out to be? I keep hearing that there’s this Albatrox chick making a lot of waves, enough to get Selene on her toes cuz’ she thinks that would bring more enemies to her rather than to Nina.”

“Shit…” Aidan cursed. That would make a lot of sense, which explained the hostility Selene was showing. However, one doesn’t need to check their background to realize a lot of baggage being present. “I can’t exactly say that she’s wrong. Nina’s just got a lot of plans in store.”

“And you’re helping her,” Evan stated. Aidan decided to go with an agreeing shrug. “She doesn’t, like, own slaves or something, right?”

“Uhh, define ‘slaves’...”

“Dude…!”

“Look, it’s not as bad as you think it is,” Aidan raised his hands defensively when Evan placed his palm across his face in exasperation. “They’re not really slaves, but she’s got a habit of putting people she doesn’t trust in binding contracts to make sure they don’t betray her. One thing I can say is that she doesn’t put slave collars on them.”

Honestly, if Nina was the sort to put slaves to action like a horrific slave driver, Aidan wasn’t sure whether he would support her as much as he did now. The way she worked, while it resembled ruling with an iron fist, actually did well for the populace in Forontia. Having Yin, a former slave, acting as a surrogate governor was also proof that she isn’t as cruel as the rumors made it out to be.

Evan looked back at Aidan, seeing that he was honest in defending Nina’s honor. “Look, I’ve just been hearing a lot of things. I can’t help but get worried, you know? I’m still your older brother, even if we’re the same age now.”

In response, Evan gestured between the top of their two heads, showing that they were at the same height. Back then, he was about a few inches taller, to which now he realized why he had such a hard time recognizing him.

“Yeah, yeah,” Aidan swatted the air around him, keeping the chuckling Evan’s hand away. “Ugh, man, I feel like we got a lot of work cut out for us.”

“What’d you mean?”

“I mean, we can’t exactly say that we’re not fighting each other any longer cuz’ we’re brothers, right?”

“I mean, can they blame us?”

“Well, we’re not exactly on good terms,” Aidan suggested.

“Yeah, but Selene’s reasonable,” Evan said. “I’m sure if we–”

Before Evan could explain whatever his plan was, a loud explosion echoed from the distance. The brothers looked back at the direction where the sound came, only for Aidan to recognize the direction’s path.

“Hey, isn’t that where we left the party and the cursed relic?” Aidan asked.

“Yeah, but they wouldn’t be fighting each other yet, would they?” Evan asked.

Aidan closed his eyes to send out a ripple of his vibration outward, clocking in the surroundings with Sense Vibrations. All at once, hundreds of thousands of vibrations returned back, forcing him to open his eyes in shock.

“What the–they’re facing a whole horde!”

“What?!”

“Now that I think about it, we kinda blew apart the whole place… maybe all that energy from the cursed relic got out and got the monster’s attention,” Aidan guessed.

“Shit, we gotta bounce then!”

Evan knew the issue first hand and revved up his jet boots. Aidan crafted the air around him to lift himself up into the air along with his brother.

While he was ecstatic to reunite with his brother again, it would seriously put a hamper on things if his comrades were taken out in return. That was the last thing he wanted to happen as he hurried himself forward.

…..

Van let out an exhausted roar before swinging his sword straight down, ending the life of the mole that had just come up to bite him. What was left was enough experience to level him up on top of an aching knee dripping blood.

He ignored the pain entirely, half-mindedly putting points into Vitality for a quick boost to his health. While putting in Strength would make fighting this rising horde easier, what he needed now was endurance to withstand the sudden upkeep of numbers that seemingly had no end.

Everywhere he looked were monsters of different make and type trying endlessly to get to the cursed relic. It would’ve been in their hands by now if it wasn’t for the two parties working side by side to ensure that wouldn’t happen. Such a thing felt strange to him, considering that their best fighters were currently facing each other as enemies.

But in the end, both Nina and Selene realized the danger of having monsters get their hands on such a powerful relic radiating such malicious power. He was more than glad to have a current truce if it meant avoiding another disaster such as the demon attack on Forontia. At the moment, Van took the frontal assault while his sister hung back, releasing arrows with frightening precision and power.

They weren’t alone in this either. Van had a lot of help from the back as both the wolf man and the young girl fought off the horde with their fighting styles.

The wolfman was like a white blur, instantly taking down one monster after another with careful hand strikes and impressive kicks. Each impact sent a shockwave that could break steel, bones shattering and spines breaking every time he took a step forward.

The young girl was more ruthless than the wolfman, to everyone’s surprise. She swung her axe with abandon, not caring at all about precision as she used her momentum to swing her blade across an entire array of smaller creatures like a scythe through wheat. When a taller monster approached, a bulky two-headed reptile standing on two feet, the girl just swung down straight between the heads, splitting the entire body apart before it could even try to attack her.

Even with his piss-poor magic control, he sensed enough to learn that she was using some type of magic every time she swung her blade, making him think that it was the work of an enchanted weapon in play. Though it was clear that the wolfman was keeping an eye on her even while facing his own battles, staying around her like he was in orbit to ensure nothing goes after her.

It got so bad that even Nina and Selene partook in the battle, each using their own pacing to control the battlefield using their own cutthroat techniques. He knew Nina’s fighting style well enough that each quick slice of her dagger was enough to end the life of a single foe. As for Selene, it felt like the monsters just quickly died in front of her without her doing a single thing.

It was only after a while from the constant battle that he realized that Selene was actually controlling a set of threats that became coated in blood, revealing themselves being controlled at her whim as they sliced apart heads and other body parts with cruel indifference. While facing monsters that had a tougher body and constitution, she instead wrapped them all up to detain them before Nina came in to deal a finishing blow. Despite being enemies to one another, they worked together wonderfully as though they had been working side by side for years.

Van could only feel like he was out of depth here. While everyone was impressive in their own right and Haley being more than competent in taking out monsters with her wind magic, he felt his only worth was to be a meatshield so that the monsters’ attention would remain on him rather than to try and go after the cursed relic. Half the time, he found himself injured in more ways than one, but his tanky body was capable of lasting long in battle thanks to focusing mostly on Vitality. There was also the buckler that had saved his life more than hundreds of times by now, continuously upgraded thanks to Aidan’s magic.

Still, he didn't bother complaining. The fact that he could do anything at all was good enough. Seeing everyone tackle their side of the horde so well made him motivated enough to keep trying, and it only boosted his morale further when he was reaching closer to getting Level 50 in his Warrior Class.

“N-No way, you gotta be kidding me!”

He heard Haley shout, instantly catching his attention to look. He spotted her staring off into the distance, at the large open space that was now showing the inside of their current habitat.

While there was a decent enough horde that numbered in a few dozens already in the dome, he almost staggered when he saw the hundreds from far out into the field. His heart dropped as he already imagined his own death playing in his mind the moment that massive army came crashing into them.

“How are we supposed to fight against that?!” Haley shouted, despair already clinging to her voice. “Man, where’s Aidan when you need him?!”

“Don’t falter!” Nina shouted, her blade striking another enemy down, blood coating the blade as she turned to face them. “Keep at it!”

“That’s easy to say–I’m already running out of mana!” Haley replied.

She’s not wrong.

Van was already approaching his threshold, his body weighing him down and the injuries piling up even more. He was also suffering some debuffs that impacted his movement speed and reaction, only making him more of a target than a fighter.

Even so, Selene’s party continued to fight, with the wolfman deciding to leave the girl to take down more monsters, apparently telling her to stand back and support Selene off to the side. The young girl did as he ordered, keeping a defensive position rather than trying to thin out the numbers.

All of this seems to be pointing towards certain death, yet somehow, Van never felt like it was actually going to end. Because at some point, someone was going to notice the incredible amount of monsters approaching them, and he knew better than anyone that Aidan wouldn’t just ignore that.

Then, like he expected, the obvious miracle occurred. Suddenly the massive number of monsters approaching their location had several fireballs raining down upon them, causing massive explosions that took gouges out of the group of monsters and left behind smoking craters filled with bodies. Chains of dark matter wrapped around several dozen monsters at once, becoming so tight that the monsters became crushed under their embrace, blood spurting out in waves across the battlefield.

To Van’s shock, both Aidan and the cloaked guy he was fighting flew side by side, finally arriving to help them by taking out the massive threat approaching them. Aidan swung his hand forward and the earth followed his will, transforming into massive spikes that punctured the waves of monsters like a horrific rain of stone. On the other hand, the cloaked man released his own horde of creatures, each one metallic in nature and scattering about. Each one aimed to take out the flesh and blood monsters, becoming their own weapons of mass slaughter alongside several floating swords that autonomously hunted down every foe they came across.

The more they fought, the more Van noticed that they were working well together, which was pretty surprising considering how hostile Aidan was towards the guy. Did they come to some kind of agreement, like how Nina and Selene did despite their past together?

“Van!”

The sudden shout of his name caused him to whip his head around to find a larger than life threat, swinging its giant club made of iron straight at him.

Everything turned black in the next moment.