After arranging for Athelei's wellbeing in the camp, Knight Harley immediately left to make his report. It left Athelei in a state of being completely healed up yet totally exhausted. The young boy was drained of energy both in mind and body.
His consciousness, however, had different ideas.
The thrill of discovery compelled him to play with what he had just received. A few of his questions had been answered while the newly formed ones gnawed at his mind to be solved.
And so, Athelei gave in to his curiosities. At least, he wanted to.
His temporary home was a one-person tent with a mattress, a desk, and a chair. It was made for an adult so it was spacious for the young child. A pang of loneliness smacked Athelei as he saw this sight and sighed.
His family's mementoes were still in his pockets and it brought him spiritual comfort. The presence of those trinkets soothed his heartache and kept the tears at bay.
Athelei then laid down listlessly on the mattress to recollect himself,
'If I already feel this lost, I do wonder how normal children go through something like this,' thought Athelei as he played with Alice's necklace. 'Humans... oh humans...'
The young boy then closed his weary eyes. The shimmer of his obsidian pupils was snuffed out as Athelei allowed his mind to recuperate.
His consciousness separated from his mind while it thought, 'Mist Pine had been attacked, and among the possible culprits, those three strangers who visited my house are the most likely to be involved, at least with what I know.
'This is a fight between humans, thus other humans are automatically suspected no matter what... is this logic sound?' Athelei contemplated. He hadn't seen enough of human society to know, but with the way his parents had to suspect both him and his sister for stealing cookies, he felt it was a good argument.
'It should be. After all, adults like to watch things and keep things under control. They're most likely watching me somehow, so displaying my multi-coloured Cosmic Interface might get me in trouble.
'Mom, Dad, and Alice all had Nebula Gems and therefore, they had Cosmic Interfaces. But they hadn't told me much about it. Is it an age thing? Am I not... responsible enough in their eyes?'
Athelei really wished to open his Cosmic Interphase right now but his logic and human gut feeling didn't want him to. He felt danger awaiting any brash decision he would make—dangers that would lead to endings he didn't fancy.
It was at this moment that Athelei also recalled the bottle he had brought with him, 'This should be risky to bring along as well, judging from sir knight's reactions to that weird green object... I'll wait until later tonight deal with it. Perhaps what those strangers called an Analysis Skill could help me...'
Deciding on a short-term course of action, Athelei swiftly enacted it. His mind and body were already fast asleep, and he let his consciousness do the same.
Hours passed throughout the night as the hustle and bustle of the military camp dwindled into a calm silence.
Athelei, who had been observed to be fast asleep due to exhaustion, awoke in the dead of night. He stayed as motionless as he could as he whispered in his native tongue,
"Appear," A garbled word was pronounced as three lights materialised in front of Athelei's eyes. The lights formed a stable trinity as a screen bearing information appeared.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
=} User: Athelei (Tier 0 User) {=
=} Interface Authority Level: 0.35 {=
=o=o=o=o=
=} Skills {=
- Cyan Analysis Skill: Examine (Level: 1/5)
- Purple Analysis Skill: Appraisal (Level: 1/5)
- Orange Analysis Skill: Judgement (Level 1/5)
- Trinity Analysis Skill: Inspect (Locked)
=o=o=o=o=
- Uploading basic information into User's memories...
- Upload complete.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
"...Status close," Athelei commanded in the Illyasian tongue after being supplied with the basic information.
He then breathed as excitement coursed through his veins.
"...I see how this works. So straightforward in answering my questions, aren't you, Cosmic Interface." Athelei giggled as he recalled the right Analysis Skill to use. Aside from the information he needed most now—which were the voice commands and Skill descriptions—he learned of the one-Colour-per-person rule of thumb. People could only bind themselves to a single gem colour. The reason for why was not given, unfortunately.
Speaking of the single colour rule, Analysis Skills—first and foremost—were the starting points of a skill tree. And each colour bore different strengths and natures as one progressed through the skill tree. For example, if Athelei had been bound to a Purple Nebula Gem, he could only use the Skills related to that colour. The learning of new skills worked the same way.
To get more skills, one would need to achieve a higher User Tier and the first step to doing that was to max out one's Analysis Skill.
Looking at such mechanics, Athelei's Trinity Gem allowed for quite a few obvious privileges which almost made the little kid jump up in the hype.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Analysis Skill: Judgement
- [Active Effect] Judgement accesses the Information Network when executed. Supplies information.
- [Passive Effect] Judgement allows Users to access the universally accessible Information Network through the Cosmic Interface and Nebula Gem.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Athelei discreetly took out the small bottle from one of his pockets and triggered the skill execution.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Potion of Nightwalking
- Beneficial to the User
[ +3 Exp to Analysis Skill: Judgement (Current Exp: 3/1000) ]
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Despite the availability of only two lines of information, Athelei inwardly nodded. These few words already made it worth the risk.
Furthermore, he was a bit smug about the fact that his Trinity Gem was a combination of three Nebula Gems. It placed his Authority Level at a sufficient enough height to give him a more comprehensive information delivery.
The usual trend for Authority Levels dealt with the Nebula Gem's size and clarity. Larger and clearer gems would grant more Authority until a certain level.
His Trinity Gem was Marble-sized and Opaque, thus granting him 0.3 and 0.05 to his Authority respectively.
As such, Athelei eyed the bottle in his hand and thought to himself, 'If it's beneficial, then it is beneficial. Whatever happens, I'll roll with it.'
And so the young boy chucked the entire item into his mouth: stopper, bottle, and liquid altogether. The entire thing melted in his mouth and left no evidence save for its possible effects. It was a magnificent way to partake of potions that really left those not in the know questioning your sanity.
Now, all Athelei could do would be to wait—and sleep was the most wondrous way to do such a task.
'My life as a normal human child stops here... I wonder what beautiful endings await me from now on.'
.
.
.
{[ Year 102 A.A., February 21, Sunday, Later that Night ]}
{[ Planet Oxhor, Holy Nation of Illyas, Ruins of Mist Pine Town ]}
{[ Harmonic Knight Camp ]}
Knight Harley was standing with his back as straight as a rod. His eyes were unwavering as he waited for the commands of a woman who sat behind the desk before him.
"Your report was timely, Knight Harley. The priests made in time before the Spirit Shard disappeared into thin air. If not for you, our investigations would have met a dead end." The woman's voice was easily recognisable despite the lack of its earlier grim tone. It was the same leader that Athelei heard when he found himself outside Mist Pine.
"Get yourself some rest for the night and your merits will be duly awarded." The woman paused as she grabbed a small scroll from a jar on her desk, "This is for that boy. He has good senses to have spotted a Manifestation of Spirit. Leave him to his own devices and let him make his own choices after you give this scroll to him."
Knight Harley took this opportunity to clarify, "Is it because of his affinity with mystical, Captain Yan?"
Captain Yan nodded and placed the small scroll where it was easy to grab. She then stood up, bowing her head ever so slightly, "May we all hang in the balance,"
"Now and forever," Knight Harley finished the prayer as he bowed in reply.
Shortly after which, he straightened up and struck his scabbard onto his iron greaves in a showcase of the Harmonic Knights' salute. As he did this though, Harley inwardly worried for the kid.
'Orien just lost his entire family and is less than seven years of age. Could he really make good decisions in that state?'