No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out, so after a couple of minutes of contemplation, I pushed the questions to the back of my mind and glanced at Brenden and Emilia.
He was holding her in his arms and patting her back for comfort. It was clear to me by the look in her eyes that she was slightly traumatized by the whole thing, and honestly, I couldn't blame her because I was, too.
"Tay, what…cough, what the hell just happened." Coughing to clear his throat, Brenden broke the silence which had descended on the living room.
At first, I didn't respond, and instead, I opted to get up and get a pillow and blanket off the couch to make my father more comfortable. Until Brenden felt up to it and could move him, he had to stay on the ground.
It wasn't like I was physically strong enough to lift my 180-pound father, who was no different than a sack of deadweight in human form while unconscious.
Next, I went to the kitchen, wet a rag, and proceeded to clean the blood off my elderly father's face; only when I was satisfied and sure he was sleeping did I turn and respond to Brenden.
"For starters, everything that just happened was because of our bodies adapting to the introduction of Alpha Particles. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths, and you'll be able to feel something different about the room's ambiance."
"Uh…ok," Brenden responded, and after a few seconds, he opened his eyes, which now radiated confusion; seeing this, I nodded in understanding because I knew what he was thinking.
"Yeah, that's it, that weird feeling; I have concluded that it is the presence of the new energy in the air."
I know this may be a stretch, but if I had to describe the feeling, it is similar to the feeling you get when you first get home from school and walk into the house. That sense of calm…which is weird to say because for me, who spent my entire life moving from one home to another every year, I have more basis to go off of because every house I've ever gone into has a different 'Feeling' to it.
Think of it as the culmination of sensations that temporarily overwhelm your brain for a moment. Sight, smell, temperature- it all creates a natural ambiance, and now, there's something new in the air, something VERY noticeable.
Setting aside the strange sensations we were experiencing, now that my father's condition had stabilized and Emilia had calmed down a bit, some topics needed to be addressed.
"First things first, all the primary functions for Arkadia are available, but I haven't had time to go through them, so let's start here with the command 'Open Shop.'" Following my words, Brenden and Emilia opened the shop and were amazed.
"Well, there's a shop function; however, we can't buy anything willy-nilly because every purchase requires the use of a special currency, Coins, something we can obtain through an exchange rate."
"Furthermore, the types of currency and even items are categorized by rank, High-Alpha, and Low-Alpha, which are delineated using uppercase and lowercase forms." There was a lot to cover, and it took me roughly 30 minutes to go through everything I knew, including the effects of the potions, why we felt the way we did, and even the fact that we now had access to a subspace inventory.
Although I had no idea how the inventory worked, it didn't take me long to conclude it was essentially a pocket dimension linked to Arkadia.
"That said, I don't think we'll be facing any monsters right now, so if we do face any trouble, it'll be domestic," I stated matter of factly.
Sure, there was still a chance that mutations could occur within household pets or the critters living outside, but for now, it was other people we had to worry about.
"Not to throw up any flags, but thankfully, our tech, such as TV, Computers, and Phones, didn't get knocked out because of the presence of Alpha particles, so our security cams are still up and running ." Leaning back in the wooden maple chair, I began scrolling through the different options presented in the Alpha Shop.
"That means we will be able to observe the outside; we should do so in shifts; that way, we don't get complacent," Brenden added as he unlocked the tablet linked to the over 20 security cameras positioned around the outside of my house.
During the course of my monologue, Brenden had moved our father to his bedroom, and the three of us, Emilia, Brenden, and I were sitting at the kitchen table, still in combat gear, just without all our weapons equipped.
"Good idea, Bren; just because something big didn't occur when the Saturation was completed doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet." Emilia, using her nickname for my brother and feeling much better now, joined in, causing Brenden and me to share a smirk before looking at her.
"Those books Taylor lent me often have the theme of portals randomly opening and dumping floods of monsters all over the place, not to mention there is a chance said monsters would drop loot like Coins or items, and although I don't want to mix up fantasy and reality, it could potentially still happen." She added before noticing that we were giving her creepy looks.
"What…" Emilia asked with a sense of foreboding washing over her, causing her to frown. She had spent years around my brother and me and knew that something stupid would come out of our mouths whenever we linked up our facial expressions.
"Well, well, ow *how* the tables have turned; look at my lit-ill *Little* sister bein a weeb." I spat with a massive shit-eating grin on my face. I even went so far as to use a British accent, knowing it would send my brother into a weird spiral.
"Hark, brother, me-lady here is but a young fledgling fan, hardly a full weeb like us, yet the progress she doth show is extraordinary!" Brenden used a British accent and even started speaking in "Old English" as if he were a knight.