"Show me around," said the alcoholic.
"What do you want to see?" Alain asked with a sigh.
"Cleppé seems like a good place to visit."
They took two horses and set off. The horse struggled under the weight of Rargnes. Alain led the way, controlling his horse and occasionally looking back.
"So, what happened to your height?" Alain asked.
"Like I'd know."
"But you've clearly grown by at least three feet."
He had never understood this measurement in feet. Oh well.
"Have you never seen such a phenomenon before?"
He shook his head. "Never. Even when we eat demonic creatures, I've never heard of anyone gaining such power."
"Wait, you can gain powers by eating them?"
"If you're lucky, yes."
"And what do they look like?"
"They're animals, usually. Sometimes, they take on a human appearance, but they've patched themselves with body parts from other animals all over. The result isn't pretty."
As he spoke, he controlled his horse with one hand and nearly fell.
"Whoa... that was close," said Alain.
"Can I gain a power here?" the alcoholic thought. Maybe the three theoretical powers originated from here, like the noble: the power to steal, analyze, and live. Yet his own power of memories proved that there were at least four powers, and with the one of his last life, there were already five existing powers.
If one could obtain one here, that would explain, more or less.
"What kind of power is it then?"
"Improved defenses, muscle reinforcement, a bit of magic."
"That's it?"
"That's it," Alain nodded.
"Have you ever seen a mage's scepter?"
Alain blinked. "Never seen one."
They arrived at Cleppé. The town was small, stinking, and filled with mud and shit on its roads. He saw someone throwing a bucket of shit into the streets at a person who raised their fist, cursing. The argument escalated.
"I'm following you."
He led him to a street where the atmosphere changed dramatically. More and more people had swords and shields. They didn't wear helmets, of course - nobody would bother with that, no matter how unsafe the city was. As the bow could modify the arms of its bearers, the helmet weighed on the head.
"This is where we raid," Alain explained. "They prepare here if you want to see the demonic creatures."
"Why did you bring me here?" the alcoholic asked. "You could have just stayed in the village. I wouldn't have done anything to you."
"Don't want you to harass me in future lives."
Alain didn't seem to care that he knew nothing. He might as well ask everything in this case.
"What's this talk about future lives? Of eras and all that?"
"Come on, let's not talk about this here."
The street was crowded, with prying ears. Nobody liked their future death talked about in Cleppé, even if it was obvious.
They found a somewhat more secluded street.
"What do you want me to tell you? Demonic creatures come from the Endless Borders. They come as the red star descends in the sky. It gives us an idea of the progression of the apocalypse."
The alcoholic looked at the red star, which seemed rather close, closer than the moon.
"And where are we now?"
Alain looked up in turn. "A little over halfway."
It was his fourth life. Three lives were gone. Did he ultimately only have six or seven lives? It didn't matter. Only this life was truly his. But if that referred to time, then with twenty years gone, he would only have a little more than twenty left - he would only be in his fifties then.
That wasn't acceptable.
He'd have to find a way then. He wasn't fast enough.
"How long has it been?"
"We're at the beginning of the sixth year. Normally, it's once every ten years, but the time changes each time," Alain replied. "They say those who face demonic creatures only strengthen and anger them, so we die faster. But if we're going to die, we might as well fight. The pain is the same anyway."
"And... have you died before?"
"An incalculable number of times."
Was it really him, then?
"It's our essence," Alain said. "We have more or less energy based on our results. I was one of the strongest in the village. My results were the best. I was right! The king made sure I was one of the strongest warriors."
Now, that was but the past... Alain occasionally looked at his missing arm, which still hurt.
The alcoholic wondered. Was he really Rargnes? Wasn't this world just an illusion? A dream brought on by too much wine drank?
Both were living through an apocalypse, after all.
"And what do we know about the king?"
It suddenly came back to him. If anyone could change all this, it would be the king or at least someone who could kill him.
Alain shrugged. "I saw his throne; he's not there."
He pointed. "There."
The alcoholic looked, squinting. A figure appeared in the sky. A gigantic throne, at least hundreds of meters high, maybe thousands. No human could sit on it.
"The king needs to wake up," said Alain.
[Mission: wake up the king.]
He no longer remembered what had been said at the end of the tutorial, but he remembered that there was a link with the king. That they were doing this for the king. Was the king watching the world in which they lived and their own apocalypse?
He refused to believe that the system had done all this for nothing. There had to be an explanation. Then, he remembered Redstar's story about the king and the prime minister.
All the clues pointed toward the noble, the prime minister, and the demons. Besides that, he had to inquire about the goblins and the demonic creatures. They were the only magical creatures, one in each world.