POV: Finn The Human
Finn wondered why the man bug looked so familiar.
As if he knew of him from someplace other than the adventure time world, he was very aware of.
Finn was confident of his knowledge of this world. He might not known everything but he knew enough.
And he had never seen a character like Cornifer in this world nor had he heard of a mapper in adventure time. But this was the real world now. Anything could happen.
But if not adventure time which world exactly could it be that Cornifer was from?
Someone such as Leo had always prided himself on his good memory; he could say he possessed, in a way, a sort of perfect memory.
The sort that he could remember things he thought were important with a perfect recall and things he classified as unimportant, he would have to go through his entire memory to search for them.
And at the moment,t as he perused his memory, more so those based on the different movies, games, and animes he had watched.
And with the addition of the character's name and features he was looking for.
It did not take very long once Finn classified what he was looking for.
Named Cornifer, he has a sort of bug physiology, wears glasses, and looks to be proficient in map-making.
The answer was quick to come.
' Wasn't this guy from the game HollowKnight ' Finn thought.
But worry was rising in him as he double-checked to make sure his eyes were not deceiving him.
He blinked once, then twice, and accepted what he was seeing on the third blink.
Truly, what he was seeing was reality. There was no illusion.
' How unfortunate! ' His worry about meeting such a character stemmed from multiple reasons and possibilities his presence here represented.
One, it meant, in a way, the HolloKnight world could be interconnected with the Adventure Time world.
Two, there was the possibility that the Hollow Knight world was only a separate dimension but still connected to the Adventure Time world through a sort of portal.
And three, Cornifers presence could also imply the presence of another character or a lot of characters Leo was not pleased to know could exist.
For one, the Radiance was a being he wanted nothing to do with, and her infection was another worrying fact.
The thought was both worrying but, there was a certain good thing about this all.
His worry was reduced for this one explicit reason.
' This is the adventure time world ' That was the main thing that made Finn less worried.
Weren't there other equally horrifying existences in this world that were equally or more dangerous than the radiance?
And if the radiance did exist in this world, didn't it mean she would also have to follow the rules of this world?
Yes, the fact that other dangerous monsters existed was not very pleasing, but you don't always win in life.
You have to also accept your losses.
What was the existence of one more monster in a realm that countless other ones existed?
Finn's thoughts were more of a way of deluding himself into a sort of comfort.
Leaving in fear would do him no good.
But this was merely speculation on his part after seeing a character who he believed was not supposed to be present in the adventure-time world.
And at the moment, this same speculation of his could only be answered by the same named person.
' Ding ding ding.' He rang the bell placed on the counter, and luckily enough for Finn, this managed to wake up the sleeping bug man Cornifer.
Cornifer first yawned, clearly confused by his abrupt waking, and then he flexed his arms as he looked around in confusion.
Finn studied the guy's features, from his long nose which he was now noticing to his pale slightly grey skin and then the round glasses supported by his nose and finally his chubby body
.' Was the Cornifer he knew? ' His features were familiar, his name was familiar and the fact that he was a mapper only solidified that thought further.
But the question that needed to be answered was whether Cornifer was from the adventure time world.
There was the possibility That he was from this world and he just looked like a character he knew of. Finn could not dismiss that line of thought.
But confirming whether Cornifer was of this world was a secondary objective. What Finn had come for was a map and a map he would get.
POV: Cornifer The Mapper
' Did I hear a Bell ' Cornifer asked himself as he managed to get himself to a sitting position.
what a wonderful dream he had been having.
But he was sure he heard the familiar ring of his counterbell.
And finally came face to face with a customer . . .
' Wait, a customer! '
This was the first customer he had had in a while, and for him to be met in such an embarrassing position.
How truly unprofessional of him; what would his sweet wife Iselda say?
He would make sure to visit her on the next festival night.
But she did not have to know about this embarrassing moment.
But he was the great mapper Cornifer. The charter of unknown lands and the escaper of all dangers.
This was just a passing moment in his otherwise great journey to map every land he walked upon.
A small embarrassment to one day make the greatest map ever.
" Cough Cough "
A sudden cough from the customer in front of him pulled him from his thoughts, and he quickly composed himself.
He was growing old at this rate if he continued to be so easily distracted by his thoughts.
He felt the color rush to his head. For him to daydream while a customer was waiting was truly unbecoming.
He studied his newest customer noticing how weird he looked.
From his blonde hair to his blue eyes and, finally, his weird skin color.
Cornifer had never seen anything like him, and he had walked in weird and unknown lands.
But what he could tell was that this creature was a child, and that only meant he had to do his best to offer optimum services.
" Hello. I'm Cornifer. I'm a mapper by trade. How may I assist you, Customer? " Cornifer hoped his introduction was good enough.
He had learned from Iselda how to properly introduce himself. This was mostly her job and he had to do it for now as she was still back in Dirtmouth.
To keep a constant customer, he needed to be professional and at the same time welcoming, and by the curiosity in the child's eye, it had worked!
" Hello to you Cornifer. My name is Finn, a human. I'm an adventurer by trade. I would like to buy one of your many maps. "
Oh, what a joyful day! For someone to finally want to buy a map! It was truly joyous.
Most people in this land, as he had come to know, did not buy maps; only the rare few who came by bought one.
He did remember that one black-haired girl with sharp teeth wanted to buy one.
Something about going on a journey to discover herself. He hoped she was okay.
But what had he heard, had the child called himself a human.
But what was that? Weren't humans extinct?
Did he not hear this from his journey in the crystal dimension?
Cornifer was as much a historian as he was a mapper.
One of the lands he had managed to visit was the Crystal Dimension, where he was able to study the Rainicorns and their history and, most importantly, their diet, which had been mostly eating humans until they were extinct.
Why Cornifer studied the Rainicorns diet. He had to make sure he would not be treated as their next meal.
But that period of their history was a long time in the past, as their history said, and the Rainicorns had moved to eat other alternatives.
He looked at the child in pity but he quickly masked it. It was a conflicting emotion?
Should he let the child know, or should he let him continue in bliss? Unaware of the potential danger he could face.
Sometimes leaving in ignorance was truly the best for people.
As a potential, last of his race, wouldn't he be hunted by those Rainicorns as a source of food?
For now, if the child had been alive for as long as he was, that could only mean that he was safe.
For now at least. Cornifer also believed it was partly because the Rainicorns mostly stayed in their dimension.
" I sell the best maps, Finn. You will be sure to love all my products. " A map of the kingdoms of the land of Ooo, the yellow forest, the haunted swamp, the desert lands, the grasslands, and even the lost cliffs.
Cornifer had wished that he was able to make a complete map of the entire land, but that had also proven difficult to do.
Harsh climates he was unable to breathe in, and violent enemies had made his journey very difficult to accomplish no matter how hard he tried.
The fire kingdom was such a place. The conditions there were too dangerous for him to do a proper investigation.
And the paper he would use for drawing would burn frequently in that area!
The good thing was that he was very proficient in running away, and he had done so countless times.
His escaping ability was something he was very proud of. Sometimes you had to know when to pull up your pants and hit the road.
" Don't you have a complete map? " The child Finn asked him as he looked at the different maps he had presented and Cornifer could only look down.
He immediately broke down as he told the child all the difficulties he faced.
Like how his paper would burn in the fire kingdom and how he had to run away because of a group of oozing creatures.
If only this child knew he had tried to do so. But some places were just impossible for him to map!
Oddly, he felt a little better finally getting that off his chest, and the child, surprisingly was a good listener.
" No, I don't. But I do have an incomplete one. It lacks many things but it has a general landscape of the land of Ooo. If only I had some help in more dangerous places "
That was the best he could do and that was not good enough for Cornifer.
He knew he could do better!
Or he could go back to Dirtmouth and rest for a while before coming back once again.
Maybe he could even bring Iselda with him this time. She did say Dirtmouth was too gloomy sometimes. Maybe she would like this place more.
He saw how his words looked to have sparked something in the child as his eyes looked to be sparkling.
Oh, what had he missed?
" Hey Mister Cornifer, maybe I could help you. You know I'm an adventurer, right? It wouldn't be too hard for me to assist you in making that map. "
Cornifer thought about it and it was a good idea.
Hadn't the child said he was an adventurer?
Couldn't he get him to work like some bodyguard or his sort of assistant?
The plan was very possible and he liked what he was hearing.
Maybe he could make a map of the whole of Ooo!
. . . . . .
A/n
Before I say anything else, let me thank my very own first paid patron member, Jose Martinez!
I was hesitant to release early chapters on Patron for this adventure-time fic, but now that I have my first Patron, I feel motivated!
I'm not yet sure how many chapters ahead of the web novel the patron will be, but I will do my best to ensure you all have a great experience.
I introduce to you the lovely Cornifer, the great mapper, on his journey to explore every land and make the best map possible.
I'm not sure between making Hollowknight a separate dimension or simply making it part of the adventure-time world.
And yes, for those wondering, Hollow Knight is the first world to be introduced.
Many others will still arrive.
And yes adventure time remains the main focus of this story.
Once again, please donate to my Ko-fi. It helps a lot in motivating me