Origin ARS 4 Page 5

  “I think I understand. It’s like how you are currently yourself, but you’re using the body of an avatar named Rhea Ardente.” said Scott.

  “Exactly! We can play at being other people, or even entire races of beings, but ultimately we are always the same exact person. We are limited in the scope of our mental capacity and ability to adapt.” said Rhea.

  “How am I different?” asked Scott.

  “True humans, like you and those of your world, are more advanced than my people. We are older than your species, but we look up to you and worship you because of your advanced nature.” said Rhea.

  “That seems backwards.” said Scott.

  “Only from your singular perspective. The truth is that, your species is multiversal and multi-dimensional in nature. You can literally have an infinite number of highly variable expressions of your existence occurring simultaneously.”

  Scott looked at her then tilted his head. “Are you talking about that whole, dimensional analogs and a different me in every universe theory thing? You know, the one that fanfiction writers use as an excuse to insert themselves into their favorite series?”

  “Yes, more or less. There are an infinite number of Scott’s in an equally infinite number of universes. Each of them is a unique gem, a singular pristine existence. Yet, each of you is formed from the exact same soul spread across the vastness of the infinite cosmos.”

  “Wow, so I’m the force?” asked Scott with a silly expression on his face.

  “The force?” asked Rhea.

  “You know, the whole connects everything and is part of everything deal. Part of the whole Star Wars thing? Little green dude, speaks weird. The main character makes out with his sister and his daddy cuts his arm off because he won’t stop thinking naughty thoughts about her while he’s in the shower?”

  “I am familiar with Star Wars, Scott.” said Rhea acerbically. She then said, “Though, some of what you said sounds different than I recall.”

  He shrugged then said, “Oh they’re always coming out with a new director’s cut. Even you might not have seen them all.”

  Rhea snorted at him then shook her head. She loved him, but she knew he was full of shit at the moment. Though, she had to admit that she was curious to see if that director’s cut actually existed. It would explain so many things, even as it added in new concepts.

  “Seriously though, you think humans are more advanced than gods?” asked Scott, his voice heavy with doubt.

  “Yes, creative potential dictates it if nothing else. Your people create gods all the time, but we have trouble crafting even the simplest of human-like souls.” she said.

  “Where do all the human souls here come from then?” he asked.

  “Them? Oh, we import them wholesale because it takes most of the residents of a city-block to create even one realistically human soul. Even then, the result is highly limited compared to the genuine article.” said Rhea.

  “Would it make my brain hurt if I asked you how you import souls wholesale?” asked Scott.

  “No, no. We just contact one of the gardeners to see if they have any souls who are interested in trying a different world and lifestyle.”

  “Gardeners?” asked Scott.

  “Sure, like the gods who created your world, or the guy who sold off that community service world Shara is working at.”

  “Ok... What?” asked Scott. What was she on about now?

  “Ah, I see. You don’t even know that much.” she said.

  “Why would I? This is not exactly something that gets passed around in pamphlet form back home, you know.”

  Rhea grinned. “I understand. Basically, gardeners are gods, or sometimes highly advanced beings similar to gods but not quite human-level themselves, who take the time and energy to nurture a world so that human or human-like life can evolve.”

  “So, gardeners plant the seeds of life and eventually humans sprout up like weeds?” he asked.

  “Something like that, though it’s more like a hermit crab sort of thing I guess.”

  It was Scott’s turn to grin. He had understood the reference. “Human souls are out there searching for a proper shell and if they find one they move in?”

  “Exactly! We use the word human, but it’s not always physical humanity that occurs. You could be a cat person, or a dragon person. The actual shell varies a lot, but the soul itself can exist as all of these things.”

  “How do you do the wholesale thing, then?” he asked.

  “Ah, that! You want to know?” she asked.

  “Yep, sure do.” he said.

  Rhea smiled at him then said, “When a hermit crab moves into its shell, it will stay there until it is ready to move on altogether. Sometimes these hermit crab souls swap shells many times in that reality.”

  She took a breath and continued, “However, over time they might grow bored with their garden home and want something else. So, after they discard their recent shell they speak to the gardener about other accommodations and that deity sells the matured souls off in bulk lots to interested parties.”

  “The souls don’t mind this?” asked Scott. He was not sure what to think about it to be honest.

  “Would you? Didn’t you jump at the chance to leave your old life behind and move to a new and more personally interesting location?” asked Rhea with a sweet smile.

  “Ah, so it’s more like the souls want to leave anyway so the gods arrange the travel accommodations?” asked Scott.

  “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but that does sum up the process nicely.” she said.

  Scott nodded to her then grew silent. He still had a lot of questions to ask, but he was not certain where to start. Before he could ask another question, Rhea began to speak.

  Rhea smiled lightly at him then took a deep breath, “Long and long did Tsun Jae dance in the rhythm of the wind. Swift and graceful were his feet upon the surface of the lake. Furious and overwhelming was his strength under the angry mountain. Gentle and nurturing were his fingers upon the land.”

  Scott blinked at her then quirked his left eyebrow. “What exactly are you on about now?”

  “You did want to know more about the true nature and lore of the sorcerer class, right?” asked Rhea. It was a worthy attempt at a topic change and she intended to give it every chance to succeed.

  “Well, yes. Now that you’ve reminded me, I did want to know more about It.” said Scott.

  She grinned at him. “The first sorcerer in the world, as the lore goes, was a man named Tsun Jae. Don’t try to determine what language that name is from, it was just a fitting name for a martial arts sorcerer and isn’t really using an Earth basis.”

  “He was named that in the lore because it sounded cool?” asked Scott incredulously.

  “Yes, exactly.” said Rhea.

  Scott smirked in amusement. “Seriously...”

  She grinned at him then said, “Let me finish!”

  “Alright, go ahead.” said Scott. He sat up straight and lifted his head in an approximation of a studious appearance. “I am prepared to receive your wisdom, oh goddess of backstories.”

  “Thank you... Anyway, Tsun Jae was a mage and an unarmed martial artist. He struggled to understand the best way to combine the two arts. Eventually, he learned the rhythm of nature and found a way to become closer to the spirit of all things.”

  “He merged unarmed combat and magic.” said Scott.

  “Yes, he did. The resulting fusion allowed him to wield fewer spells overall, but he had such a mastery of them that he was a force to be reckoned with. He went on to define the higher sorcerous arts and when he finally passed from this world and became one of the gods of ARS, he left behind the secrets of true mastery.”

  “He joined your people?” asked Scott.

  Origin snorted. “No, of course not. Though, he does exist and is one of the people you will eventually have to meet in the classic server if you want to find the path to true mastery of your class. That is, if you dec
ide to continue with it once we reincarnate.”

  “So what was that business about him becoming a god?”

  “ARS god. That’s just a planetary deity, not a true celestial. It’s like how I have an Origin avatar for this world because attempting to enter this plane in my true form would cause catastrophic damage to the world.”

  “Continents would sink, dogs and cats would live together in sin...” said Scott.

  “Yeah, but I don’t think a giant man made out of marshmallow would show up.” said Rhea cutely.

  Scott snorted. He raised one hand up and opened his eyes wide before he spoke in an authoritative and ham-fisted tone of voice. “There is no marshmallow, only Zuul.”

  She giggled loudly at him “You goofball.”

  Ero whimpered cutely then sighed. “Oh goodness...”

  Scott and Rhea could not help but laugh at the exhausted little thing. Scott had filled her with his experience and she had loved it just as much as she usually did. Still, her response had certainly included good timing.

  Chapter 6: Fairy Friend with Benefits

  Several long hard days of doing the worst sorts of jobs had passed. The trio had undertaken many monster subjugation missions, a few item gathering quests, and a bandit extermination request. They had finally reached a point where the government had decided that they could be given a chance to earn their Writ of Meritorious Service.

  Scott refilled Ero’s cup of tea then smiled at her. Rhea had to deal with a little offline work today since they would go on their final quest to acquire the writ tomorrow. The sorcerer and his fairy best friend decided to take the day off and get a bit of rest.

  “Thank you fairy much.” said Ero cutely.

  He snorted at her then grinned. “You’re going to keep doing that when you talk, aren’t you?”

  “Yes! I think it’s fairy cute.” said Ero with a smile.

  Since they had awakened earlier Ero had decided to replace the word very with the word fairy. Scott still had no idea why she had made such an arbitrary decision, but he had written it off as just one of her quirks.

  Ero took a deep breath then released a happy sigh. “This is nice.”

  “The tea?” asked Scott.

  “Everything.” said Ero.

  “Yeah, it is nice to just relax a little. We’ve been training a lot.” said Scott before he refilled his cup of tea.

  “True, but that’s not what I meant.” Ero dipped a spoon into her tea cup then used it to take a drink once more.

  “What did you mean?” he asked her.

  Ero smiled up at him. “I love Rhea, but it’s nice to spend time with you like this.”

  “Am I really such good company?” asked Scott.

  The fairy laughed sweetly then nodded. “Yeah! It’s like we are on a date...”

  Scott reached over and extended his pinky. She clasped his offered digit happily in her hands then smiled at him once more.

  “Yes, it is now that I think about it. Was there anything that you wanted to do today?” he asked her.

  “Are you fairy certain that you want to ask me that question, Scott?” asked Ero.

  “I choose to live dangerously.” he said with a smarmy shake of his head.

  The fairy chuckled softly then lifted his finger up. She looked at him with a soft and gentle expression. Her lips parted slightly and she tenderly kissed the tip. “In that case.... I want it.”

  “Hmm? It.” he asked her curiously.

  “Yeah, It. What you promised me...” said Ero.

  “What did I promise you again?” he asked her.

  “Two cookies and a massage!” she exclaimed.

  Scott blinked at her. When had he promised her that? He asked her about it and she leveled a devastating pout in his direction.

  “Remember when you sat on me? We were in the boat...?” Ero shook his finger in annoyance.

  He stared off into space for a moment. It did not take long to remember that promise. He still had not properly made good on it despite the various snacks that he had gotten her.

  “Is that really what you want?” he asked her.

  “Yes, I want that fairy, fairy, much.” she said.

  Scott lifted up his hand and she clung to it for a moment. She fluttered her wings then rose up with his hand. She looked at him cutely then grinned.

  “Right, so how do we do this? Do I get you a dish towel to lay on or something?” asked Scott.

  “Actually, I... Have something to show you. Don’t be mad because I haven’t told you yet. Ok?” said Ero.

  “Sure.” he said.

  She gripped his finger then tugged gently. He let her lead him away from the table then through the dining room area. They returned to the room upstairs.

  Once inside she pulled him over to the bed, sat down, then fluttered over to shut and lock the door. After doing so she turned in the air then flashed him a pretty smile.

  “Ero...?” asked Scott curiously. What exactly did she intend to show him? He was certainly curious now, and possibly a little terrified.

  She held up her hands then pressed them forward. “OK, so after I reached level forty I realized that I could do this, but still I can only do this once every few days. Even then it won’t last that long.”

  “What are you about to do?” asked Scott. She had literally reached level forty yesterday. All of the constant fighting and questing had paid off in massive amounts of experience. He had held off on raising his level until she had reached the same milestone that he had.

  Ero took a breath then giggled a little before she stretched out her arms. Her body began to glow brightly. Prismatic spears of light shot out at various angles. The background music changed to a soft and quirky musical score that gave off the appearance of an old school magical girl transformation sequence.

  However, instead of Ero reappearing while wearing a cute outfit, her body began to grow at an alarming rate. When the rapid growth stopped, the glow also ceased. The customary spectacularly naked form of Ero was revealed in all her expanded glory.

  “You... You can grow to normal human height now?” asked Scott in surprise. She had not mentioned it at all. Sure they had gained levels rapidly in the last few days, but this was something he had not expected to see occur. She had not grown to this size since the incident in the cave not long after they had first met. It was too hard for her to do it frequently, and had only used it that one time when unleashing her [Storm of Emotion] greater power.

  “Yes, is it OK?” she asked him gently. Her voice was now much more resonant and carried a hint of passion that he could not deny.

  “Of course.” said Scott softly.

  Ero’s cheeks reddened then she skittered nervously over to where he sat on the bed. Behind them Rhea snored loudly. She was busy offline, but her body was left behind in their room. While she could have logged off entirely, she liked to leave her body behind for various reasons.

  The fairy girl sat down next to Scott then clasped his hand tenderly in her own. “I’d love that massage now, but really I just wanted to show you this.”

  Scott smiled at her. “I’m happy for you. How long will it be until you can do this at will, for as long as you like?”

  Ero shook her head. “I don’t really know. I think it won’t be long now. Everyone else seems to have things happen at level one hundred.”

  “Well, that would make sense.” he said.

  She leaned against him then sighed in contentment. “You have no idea how long I have wanted to do this when we were awake.”

  “I could guess.” said Scott.

  She kissed him softly on the shoulder then said, “No, it doesn’t really matter. I’m just glad to be able to sit next to you like this and also...”

  She held up their hands and then looked at him. “You and Rhea hold hands a lot. I finally get to do that with you when we’re awake.”

  Scott squeezed her hand softly then kissed her on the side of the cheek. “You’re a sweet, far too naked girl
, Ero.”

  She laughed musically then placed her chin on his shoulder. “You don’t like me when I’m naked?”

  “I’ve only ever seen you with clothes on once.” he replied. He also made a concerted effort not to gaze upon her gloriously nude form. The three of them were in some sort of loving relationship but things had not really progressed past the acceptance stage.

  Honestly, it was a little awkward because he felt as though he would hurt one girl or the other if anything more in-depth were to occur. The girl who spent that sort of quality time with him second would no doubt feel like he liked her less.

  Ero giggled sweetly. “True, though that outfit was so sheer that you could see through it when it was wet.”

  “Yeah, it was more difficult to deal with that than when you’re naked.”

  She leaned away from him then pouted. “I’m difficult?”

  “You’re adorable is what you are and we both know what I meant.” said Scott.

  The fairy reached up and casually pinched his shoulder. “Never tell a girl it’s difficult when she’s naked. I’ve been trapped in a cave for years and even I know that much.”

  Scott rubbed his shoulder a little to massage out the pain then said, “Fair enough.”

  Ero guided his hand down to her left thigh then had him rest it there gently. “I’m not going to push anything. Honestly, I can’t.”

  “You can’t?” he asked.

  “No, I can’t.” Her eyebrows pressed inward gently and she sighed. “Even now I feel my energy levels dropping. Soon I will return to my normal size.”

  “I see. That’s too bad. It’s nice to be able to give you a proper hug now and then.”

  Ero slipped in sideways. She wrapped her arms around his chest before resting her cheek on his shoulder. “Yes, it is. Though, I did not take this form just to cuddle with you this time.”

  Scott performed a maneuver of his own then wrapped his right arm around her slender waist. “Why do it then?”

  Ero was quiet for a moment then she released a slow, labored sigh. “Scott, you know that Rhea loves you fairy much. Right?”

  “Yes. I do.” he said simply.