Little steps

I wasn't exactly sure how I'd managed to convince them not to take me in. The meeting had taken a turn from one brimming with tension to one filled with disbelief and confusion. That had been obvious to the naked eye. The fact that they had willingly given me a chance was also out of the ordinary for me.

My explanation had been so out of the left-field that they hadn't known what to make of it. Given the extraordinary circumstances of their existence, they kept ahold of their suspension of disbelief. Though that was clearly not an easy task for many.

Make no mistake, some if not all of them believed it to be utter horseshit. Which it was, but on the off chance I was telling the truth, they didn't want to be the ones who led to unfortunate circumstances. In the end, I was allowed into the organization but under strict supervision. I had to report back to Davinci on a nearly weekly basis and would be supervised when taking on any tasks.

I also couldn't individually access their realm by myself. I had to call the offices, and then they would send someone to pick me up. I was basically was on a leash. The slightest action out of the ordinary would have them at my throat.

I didn't mind the restrictions all that much. I was, after all, just buying time to learn a bit more about the universe I had lived in for so long. Once I got enough information, I doubted I would want to stay as a part of the organization anyway. I never did well with people having more power over me.

Then there was always the risk of them getting the two others and questioning them. In which case, I would have to go with my initial plan and go on the run. Though I didn't plan on letting that happen. The Scouting excuse had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, but I didn't plan on it falling apart just like that.

Those two were competent enough to not have been caught yet. I hardly doubted that would be changing too soon.

With their access to qi and their precognitive abilities, they would be able to evade the grasp of this organization. I wasn't sure if they would be caught since I didn't know the full might of the organization, but it would take time. In that time, I planned to destroy whatever credibility they would have if they were captured.

It's had to deny you're a scout when multiple sources say that you are one. In any case, once the hearing had been completed, I had been transferred over to my room. There I was given a brief rundown on the organization by Davinci.

Currently, I was back in my cabin. Once everything had been completed, I had been escorted back. Currently, there was no way for me to contact them. I simply had to wait until I received some sort of news from them.

Though I knew that I would be supervised, I never expected it to be so blatant. There were men around the clock that were hidden away in the woods, observing my every action. A bit creepy if you ask me, but I can't complain. My routines were not affected.

It was honestly more amusing than anything.

Watching them stealth around and act all mysterious while I could see them clearly made for good comedy.

As I ate yogurt in my "pretend " form, I attempted to figure out how to make my lie real. Letting things simply run their course was absurd and wouldn't help me in the slightest. It was also the least exciting option. While I did plan on being more cautious when I did things, I was still going to have fun doing those things. What's the point of doing something if it doesn't in some way contribute to your enjoyment?

The only way to imitate an invasion was to take more souls and have them return. That was was incredibly risky given the travel times and their ability to track the disappearance of souls. Being connected to anything of that sort would immediately send up red flags.

Then there was also the issue of free will. I doubted something as blatant as removing someone's free will would be allowed by this universe. I didn't want to risk that, nor did I want to risk the consequences that would arrive if the organization found out.

No, I would have to either figure out a way of remotely snatching souls and indoctrinating them or find an entirely different method.

As I finished up my yogurt, I returned to the office room, where I sat down and mediated. A clear mind always helps with decisions.

It was several hours later that I snapped open my eyes with an idea in hand. It was one so obvious that I felt like an idiot for not trying it.

My title as pretender allowed me to pretend to be many things as long as they were not too powerful. In Malum, even after I stopped imitating Teno, the storm I created as him still connected to that form. This lends credence to the idea that while I can't pretend to be something forever, that doesn't mean that things I created couldn't stay after I made them.

There were still things I needed to know to be able to make a plan.

Firstly, how would this universe react to that? There was no doubt in my mind that my idea would be restricted in some manner. Something like that had the potential to be abused and would go against this universe's strict laws. There could perhaps be methods around that, like the rune I gave Arnaud, but I needed to be cautious when experimenting.

Having the organization know that I had extra abilities would put a solid wrench in plans. I had to experiment while looking as if I was doing the most mundane things possible. The next couple of hours were filled with failed ideas and growing frustration. However, by the end of it all, a little plan was starting to form.

All the while, the guards were oblivious, and the snow just kept on all falling. My life had changed a lot since I'd received my powers. Embracing and leading that change was the only option. I had no plans on whining about something I wanted. No matter the consequences.

.....

In this modern era going out and personally picking items from a grocery store was really only for personal preference. There was a multitude of different services that would pick up and deliver your order at reasonable prices.

Well...As reasonable a price as can be expected of Switzerland. After being in the house and being watched, I decided to come out for some groceries. My fridge and pantry weren't empty, but I needed the ingredients for pancakes.

Unfortunately or fortunately, I didn't have any of them at the house. In my little handbasket, I already had most of my ingredients. The only one missing was the flour.

As I walked up towards the baking section, I came across a man. Due to the lack of space and his sudden movement, we ended up bumping into each other.

"Watch where you're going." He looked at me with an annoyed expression before picking up the vanilla extract that he had dropped. It took me a second to translate the german that he spoke before I responded.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that." My german was broken and horrid, but he seemed to get the gist of what I was saying. Clearly, he didn't want to just let it go, but he seemed to mull it over once more before sighing in frustration and walking away.

Insults were muttered not so subtly under his breath, but I wasn't bothered. I'd already got what I wanted after all. After grabbing the flour, I paid for my shopping before calling for a taxi and heading back home.

When I reached home, I packed away the groceries before running to my room and meditating. I let the "pretend" form fall off me and allowed myself to recuperate for a while before I put it on again.

The form looked exactly like me except for one difference. With my title, I had managed to temporarily give myself powers that I wouldn't usually have.

When I had gone to the store, it wasn't only for the pancake ingredients. No, it had been part of my experiment. With a little bit of concentration and effort, my mind connected to the various people I had bumped into.

More accurately, I wasn't connecting to them but rather to the tiny mark that I had placed on them.

The marks were weak and weren't all that helpful individually. The only reason they hadn't disintegrated was that they were attached to the energies of the person they were on.

The real purpose of the mark was to make a network. They couldn't self replicate, but they could communicate with those already in existence. I planned to make use of that connection. This was only the first step. I still needed more data but so far, so good.