Chapter Thirteen

The time I spent with Rex and Azurda in the world of Alrest wasn't filled with the kind of crazy adventures I know awaited us in the future. We still had adventures of course, but they were of the more normal sort. As normal as a fantasy RPG world can get, anyway. Not that I was at risk of falling in that pitfall you read about every now and then in fanfiction about a character getting isekai'ed into a fictional world they know well and then still treating everything like it was fictional. Until their eyes are forcefully opened, often violently so.

Maybe if I was alone and the beginning was relatively risk-free it could have happened to me, I do not pretend I am a perfect human being. But I had the Gang in my head to keep me grounded: as much as they were difficult to deal with at times, they were responsible and mature adults. No matter how little they showed that particular side of their personalities.

Now, let's talk about Salvaging. In the game all you needed were Cylinders, finding Salvage Points and then hitting the right buttons in sequence. Simple. Easy. Game-like.

In real life? I already knew scuba-diving carries some very dangerous risks like decompression sickness: when you breathe compressed air at depth, your body tissues absorb extra nitrogen; when you resurface, if your tissues have absorbed too much nitrogen the reduction in pressure can turn that gas into bubbles. That's incredibly painful, and can even cause death. That's why you descend and resurface slowly, to give your body time to adapt. I also knew about barotrauma, the internal injuries caused by changes in pressure.

Rex was more than happy to explain, in great details, how forgetting to breathe normally while diving can result in an air embolism: because of the differences in the ambient pressure and the pressure in the lungs, ascending while holding your breath will result in the air inside the lungs expanding and causing serious, or even fatal, damage to the lungs. Which will then also possibly cause bubbles of air to form inside the arteries.

Following that we had nitrogen narcosis, the feeling of drunkenness divers feel at deeper depths that can seriously impair your decision making ability. Oxygen toxicity, the result of breathing too much pure oxygen at increased partial pressures. And also high-pressure nervous syndrome, which is caused by diving too deep while breathing helium: nobody used helium anymore, but apparently it was a Salvager tradition to pass on the follies of their predecessors to apprentices.

What followed were the possible consequences of diving equipment failure, environmental hazards, the dangers of pre-existing physical and psychological conditions and how everyone could make a mistake, especially the people you were relying on to dive safely.

By the way, the underwater monsters you occasionally encounter while Salvaging? They are counted among the environmental hazards. Because, apparently, fuck-huge crabs with pincers that can cut through iron are no more dangerous than stuff like hypothermia.

Salvagers were badass. I could cheat by channeling people like Laharl and Issei, but they only had their own human bodies to rely on. Ranma observed most of them were unconsciously using Ether to strengthen their bodies, especially the older and more experienced Salvagers, but the risk of death if something went wrong remained high.

That was why solitary Salvagers like Rex were rare: you needed to collaborate with people you trusted implicitly in order to maximize the odds of going back home at the end of the day. In the brown-haired boy's case it was a mixture of youth's pride and necessity, since joining any other existing group would severely limit the amount of money he could send back to his village. But he had Azurda watching over him, so saying he worked alone before I came along was a bit misleading.

So! After that lovely talk, and before I could begin my Salvager training, I needed a suit of my own. Which was a costly investment, Rex had to work several months as an assistant to other Salvagers and assemble various knick-knacks together to obtain his own specialized salvager suit. The brown-haired boy had a few spares, another necessity in this line of work, but since I was taller than him none of them fit my body.

Luckily Sachair and Spraine, a pair of senior Salvagers, had a suit of my size that they didn't need anymore and so gave it to me with a hefty discount: all they asked in return was some of the stuff that Rex found within his usual hunting grounds, which the two senior Salvagers needed but couldn't obtain themselves because they had to take care of an important commission elsewhere. Peripheral vision was awful with the helmet, it was hard to move around without channeling Ranma's Chi and by the lingering smell before I scrubbed it clean either Sachair or Spraine had an unhealthy obsession with onions, but it worked well. Rex called it 'old-fashioned but solid, the type that lasts for decades'. Good to know, onions aside.

How to describe the depths of the Cloud Sea? I couldn't: not because there were no words, but because there were too many. Even moving a single mile in any direction resulted in a drastic change in the seabed, to say nothing of the water's colors and the fauna present. During my first long dive Rex showed me vast underwater plains covered in green algae that made me seriously forget for a moment I was swimming under the sea and not trekking on a mountain. The currents even made the algaes move like tall grass under the wind! Once we moved closer I was also able to spot several schools of fish similar to rabbits, at least in the form of the head and the way they swimmed in arcs reminiscent of jumping bunnies.

It's there that I met for the first time the family of monsters known as Aligo, which are basically sharks with funny colored scales and a pair of arms that allow them to walk around while out of the water. In the water, however, said arms are yet another weapon they can use in their attempts to pry open the metal cans containing delicious surface meat. I.E., Salvagers like me and Rex.

Beside the Aligo, other common types of critters often encountered while Salvaging included: Crustip, large lobsters with sharp pincers; Lysaat, underwater insects; and Medooz, flying jellyfishes. Medooz could be encountered even outside the water, schools of them periodically attacked the Guild's harbor in search of food, while the Lysaat were ambush predators that could remain perfectly still for hours while waiting for a prey, their exoskeletons camouflaging perfectly with the sand, or they simply waited within ruined underwater buildings.

Yes, there were entire cities under the Cloud Sea. Never a full one, only a few buildings survived the long passage of time, but every time I saw one I had the impression someone tossed me into the distant future, thousands of years after the Apocalypse wiped out all intelligent life from the face of the Earth. Which was exactly what happened.

Scary. It was, without a doubt, a scary concept I had to wrap my head around: not an enemy I could defeat, but a fact I needed to accept because there was no changing it. Even if I had the ability to travel through time, stopping Klaus before he could activate the Conduit would mean erasing every single person born after the fact. That, I could not accept: so I made peace with Alrest's past and resolved myself to face its future as best as I could.

Luckily I had my new career as a Salvager and the occasional Heartless attack to distract me. They attacked at least once a week, a Corridor of Darkness always opening in my vicinity, but their numbers never went above two dozens. They were a lot more vicious compared to those I fought in Rito's world, and positively stronger, but I could still manage them without much problems so I treated it like another form of training.

Naturally keeping the Heartless hidden from Rex and Azurda was impossible, so I ended up giving them the same explanation I gave Lala and Haruna. Much to my surprise both of them quickly accepted my words as the truth: when I asked Rex why he told me that, since the Heartless appeared only around the Keyblade, then it made sense the majority of Alrest's population was unaware of their existence. The brown-haired boy was under the impression my 'predecessors' did a very, very good job.

Clever. Also wrong, but definitely clever. Rex had all the traits of a shounen protagonist, but it didn't mean he was not smart: he just wore his emotions on his sleeve, and sometimes acted impulsively because of them. His young age also played a big part in it, and yet who didn't go through the same? I remembered when I was his age, I wasn't much better.

Azurda was the one who asked me more about the Heartless. I could tell the notion that they stole the 'hearts' of people to make more of themselves didn't sit well with him and what it could mean for Rex. I tell you, Protective Grandpa Dragon is no joke. I asked Riku about it and he told me that, just like Donald and Goofy, people fighting together with a Keyblade Wielder receive a passive protection against a Heartless' touch: it was not an immunity, but it made them able to fight the Heartless and dispel their forms. The original wielder of Braveheart also told me the Light was strong within Rex's heart, to the point it might be possible for him to wield his own Keyblade: great news, but sadly that required finding a Keyblade without a wielder or a wielder willing to pass on his role to Rex. Neither of which was available in Alrest, even my powers weren't able to create from nothing an artifact crafted through methods now lost.

Of course, there was the matter of Axel gaining a Keyblade to act as a counterargument: not received or found, but manifested through the strength of his heart. Admittedly Axel and Lea were a very special case, by what I remember there was a great deal of time fuckery involved, but they are a precedent. Besides, Keyblades have always been objects guided by emotions, not logic.

"Just blame magic and leave it at that." Ranma said. "It worked for me and everyone else in Merima."

A little semplicistic, but to be fair magic in Ranma's world was fucking nuts. Also used mostly for comedic purposes but Riku, Laharl and Issei confirmed that attempting to replicate the Jusenkyo springs with their own brand of magic would, in their honest opinions, require a lot of specialists and years of study. According to what they knew at least: all three of them focused on straightforward damaging spells, curses and the likes were outside of their expertise.

====

"Do Rex and Lee know? Nopon Salvagers quite rare. Like Nopon Drivers. Nopon who is both? Almost unique."

Razzlydazzly was one of the few Nopon Salvagers, the race as a whole preferring to do less risky jobs. That was not to say you couldn't find the little furballs in any profession, from soldiers to sailors, it's just that the percentage for jobs where some amount of martial prowess is required was skewed towards humans. Some may tell you Nopons loved money too much, but I was of the opinion they just preferred peace over war. That didn't stop many merchants in Argentum from taking advantage of the rising tensions between Mor Ardain and Uraya to make a profit, but that was simply life: stop one and another would take its place. It was better to do like Rex and refuse to be involved. Or, like I planned, stop the hostilities altogether and thus remove access to said profitable field.

"Is that so?" Rex asked. We were taking a break after a gruelling day of work, so we chose to spend some time among the other Salvagers of Argentum. Who needs a TV when you can listen to veterans telling you all the cool stuff they did during their careers? Even if some tales were obviously exaggerated it didn't detract from the fun.

"Me tell little story of amazing Nopon Driver, name of Noporikh." The green-furred Nopon flapped his wings. Other Salvagers started to pay attention: some obviously knew the story already but didn't mind listening to it once again, and others like me and Rex were hearing it for the first time. "As me just say, Driver Nopon quite rare breed. But Noporikh not just Driver. First and foremost, was great Salvager. He use power of Blade to defeat many monsters that attack while salvaging. Such amazing work, was known for time as Legend Salvager."

"Yeah, but also as Noporikh the Calamity." Another senior Salvager added, smoking from a pipe that released a greenish smoke. It wasn't tobacco, but the flowers of certain water lilies coming from Gormott that smelled, of all things, like a mexican salad. "They say that everywhere he went incidents and bad luck always followed: if it was sunny it rained, delicate objects would fall and shatter, and if you traveled outside in his company monsters would inevitably attack."

Oh? That sounded familiar. Very familiar, in fact. I stopped eating my sandwich and focused on the discussion.

"And through it all, Noporikh would come out without even a scratch. Monsters and people with a grudge against him always had it the worst, so people started saying he found a method to weaponize bad luck."

"Weaponize bad luck?" Rex sounded sceptical. "Sounds like poppycock to me. Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you're not: that's just how life is. I don't believe it's something you can influence."

One on hand, not relying on luck or blaming fate for bad things was a good attitude to have. But on the other hand, I could say for certain that the power to influence luck existed and was capable of many, many things. Why? Because I had the living proof in my head.

"You're welcome." Rito said, a smile on his lips that told everyone he had mixed feelings about said topic. To be fair, I didn't imagine all those adventures were good for Rito's heart.

"Rex is thoughtful boy. Very good, very good: do not listen to bad rumors, skills of Noporikh were many and great." Razzlydazzly waved his stubby arms, very much getting into his tale. "But life not always go same as plan. It happen on day of bright blue sky, look like perfect salvage weather. Suddenly dark clouds cover blue sky. Then mist cover ground, hail fall down and even snow pile up. Ever since that day, nobody see Noporikh again."

Upon hearing those words Rex's certainty was mollified by a noticeable amount. "Alright, I admit that sounds pretty unlucky."

No shit. As far as I remembered only Tantal suffered from cold weather, and that was only because the entire kingdom was self-contained within their Titan. From what I learned during my stay in Alrest seeing snow fall was almost unheard of, though not so rare most people didn't know about said phenomenon: it was seeing snow that happened every once in a blue moon, and only in certain locations.

But it also pretty much confirmed what I already suspected: Noporikh was the former Driver of Kasandra, a Blade who was famous in the game for spreading misfortune around.

"Let me check the list... The Blade Kasandra, bonded to the Lucky Core Crystal." I heard Minato read out loud. "Dark Element, her weapon is a Shield Hammer. Good at drawing aggro and healing herself, also the whole party to a lesser extent, her power increases the lower her health is. Other talents include knowledge related to Nopons, vegetables and... uh, a skill to 'chase luck but find only misfortune'? I am not sure what it does."

"It's a curse, isn't it?" Ranma shook his head. "You heard the furball's tale: no way those were all coincidences."

'Yeah, she isn't aware of it but her mere presence causes misfortune to those around her.' I confirmed. 'Though it doesn't seem to affect her Driver and allies, only enemies and bystanders. Well, aside from some cases of sudden bad weather.'

Granted, Kasandra is an optional Blade so the main story was written with the assumption you didn't have her. And converting her curse into a game mechanism, like a permanent debuff... Ah ah, no. No way the devs would do that. Still, this was reality so I shouldn't assume things would go just like the game. 'Kasandra's misfortune didn't hit her past Driver until later in his career, and I'm sure Rito's luck can counter it. In the worst case we just need to become strong enough to survive everything the curse can throw at us.'

"You say curse, but all I see is an automatic delivery of EXP Piñatas!" Laharl guffawed. Go figure, the prospect of facing amazing bad luck didn't faze the mighty Overlord in the slightest. To him it probably was just another way to avoid boredom.

"Some say Noporikh try to return home but get gobbled up by Gluttonous Marrin." Razzlydazzly continued. "What me trying to say is, even most amazing salvager have bad day. So never let guard down."

"That's good advice: everyone, never forget we're doing a dangerous job." The smoking Salvager agreed. "Talking about Gluttonous Marrins, I received word that there was a big school of them around Chansagh Wastes in Mor Ardain, but recently they all left for parts unknown."

"Maybe they ran out of food?" Another Salvager asked. "Those guys have a large appetite, and the Wastes are called that way for a reason."

"Probably, yeah. If you see one don't underestimate them, they know how to put their large sizes to good use."

After the break was over Rex and I gathered our stuff, said goodbye to the other Salvagers and then left on Azurda's back for our next target: an area close to the World Tree and currently in the low tide. Not close enough to be caught in the currents or attracting Ophion's attention of course: we weren't the only Salvagers to go there searching for valuable stuff, only the first to choose that place in a while.

"If we keep this course we'll arrive in an hour, an hour and a half." Rex briefly looked up from the compass. Even after the end of the world it seemed the Earth's poles still worked as intended. "Do you think we will meet Heartless? Their last attack was five days ago."

Good question. I said the Heartless popped up once a week, but it doesn't mean they always waited exactly seven days: at times it was six days, at others eight. They didn't like the light of the sun and preferred to move at night, but it was just that: a simple dislike. If the Heartless sense a lot of weak hearts or a few strong ones they leap towards them without hesitation: they are creatures of instinct, so long-term planning is beyond them, but it makes them relentless in a straight fight.

"Maybe, I won't exclude it." I replied after thinking it over. "Just to be sure we should take a few precautions: you go down to check and I remain with Azurda to keep an eye out for threats. If we find something big that requires both of us we can always write down the coordinates and go back to it after the Heartless finally show their faces."

Rex nodded "Sounds good, let's do that."

At first glance there was nothing special about the area, just clouds and water as far as the eyes could see. A Titan big enough to count as an island decided to take a long nap there, giving up the ability to dock Azurda's body in case we needed it.

"Mmmh, mmmh… Yes, there's a ping! I have a good feeling about this." Rex consulted the instruments. "1500 peds to the east, 1900 to the north."

"Got it." While I waited for Gramps to get into position I checked the depth probe. "We need a new probe, I don't believe this one is going to last for much longer."

"Really? It has been a while since I bought it..." Rex mused, one finger tapping at his chin. "But a new one isn't exactly cheap. Maybe it can be repaired?"

I shrugged. "If we find a fixer with good prices, sure." I picked up a buoy and inflated the floating balloon, then tossed it in the water to mark our position.

I was in the middle of picking up a second buoy to do the same on the other side when the first one suddenly sank. No, it was pulled down?

Azurda yelped in pain. "Something bit my leg! Of all the rude things...!" He shook his head before proving why you don't fuck with a dragon, even a very patient. The Titan's tail rose and swatted something out of the water with the force of a train launched at full speed.

The culprit was a very, very big monster similar in appearance to a swordfish, the pointed bill covered by a black exoskeleton and six glowing green eyes staring at us like a hungry man who just got sucker punched by his own soup.

It was a Marrin, and a very big one at that. The now very pissed-off fish opened its mouth and shot a jet of water, Rex and I diving on opposite sides to dodge it. In response I manifested my Keyblade and fired a Blizzara, freezing both the Marrin's mouth and a good portion of his body.

So anyway, we kicked his ass. What? No way that overgrown sardine was a real threat, not with Azurda joining in the asskicking. Not exactly a fair fight, but none of us cared.

"Hey Lee, look. What's that?" Rex pointed out a big piece of the Marrin's side that was frozen and blown away during the fight. I squinted my eyes and, yes, I could see two small blue things partially emerging from the surface.

Wait, where those… Core Crystals?

====

"That's incredible! I never expected to find a Blade's Crystal within a monster's stomach!" Rex looked like a kid who had been given a big jar full of sweets and a new shiny toy. He was holding up one of the two Crystals with both hands and turning it around, trying to observe it from all possible angles. Maybe it was just an impression, but under the sun's rays the hexagonal object had a purple sheen. Just like the one in my hand had a yellow sheen when I turned it a certain way.

Scratch that, I was certain it was not an impression. Nothing in my life was that simple anymore.

"It's more likely than you think Rex." Azurda grumbled from where he was docked. "Marrins grow bigger with age, and when they swallow something they can't digest, it gets stuck within their bodies. A Marrin that big was definitely several decades old."

"I see." He looked at the Crystal some more before grinning. "Hey, everyone. Since we have those Core Crystals, does that mean both me and Lee can become Drivers now?"

"That is true." The old dragon admitted. "But only if you have the potential."

"Potential? What's that?"

"If you can't handle a Blade's power, your body will be damaged." I explained to him. "In some extreme cases you can even die. Not everyone can become a Driver, regardless of if they possess a Core Crystal or not."

"Woah, really?" The news really caught Rex off guard. "How do you know if you have this 'potential' or not?"

"From what I heard, you need to try and see what happens." I said, then grinned and pointed a thumb at my chest. "Be that as it may, I consider myself lucky so I'm 100% certain we both have the potential. Come on, two fighters as good as us can definitely become Drivers!"

"You're right Lee!" Rex made a fist pump, a determined expression on his face. "Let's do it!"

"Ah, the enthusiasm of youth..." Azurda chuckled good-naturedly. "As things stand I agree with Lee. You see Rex, I was planning to acquire a Core Crystal and give it to you for just such an occasion. That Marrin saved me the trouble, I suppose..."

"Really Gramps? You wanted to give me a Blade's Crystal?"

"You need to be a Driver to take on the strongest monsters out there. I wanted to be sure you would not be caught ill-prepared." The old dragon answered, explaining why in canon he had a Core Crystal stored away. He probably planned to eventually give it to Rex, but Torna's job and Pyra's meeting happened first.

Rex nodded, then looked at me. "Do you want to go first Lee?"

"Sure, I doubt it changes anything." Palm facing upwards, I raised my hand until it was at the same height of my chest and spread my legs to improve my balance. A bit of theatrics never hurt.

"The key to awakening a new Blade is to foster a powerful resonance with the Driver's spirit." Azurda instructed me. "Focus your whole mind on the Core Crystal as you touch it. They say the personality of the Blade that emerges is influenced by the heart of the Driver."

Oh? In that case there was nothing to worry about, because I had full confidence in my heart: after all, I was taught by the very best.

Riku snorted in amusement. "Don't waste your breath on pointless flattery."

Technically it was my thoughts, but details I suppose. Pushing that aside for later I concentrated and, like Azurda say, focused fully on the Crystal within my hand in search of a connection.

For a moment there was absolute silence, the outside world sealed behind an invisible barrier. Then I felt energy being drawn out of my body and towards the Crystal, meeting something else halfway: a powerful light began to shine from within the center, the whole structure of the Crystal losing cohesion and quickly turning into a mass of pure energy. Acting on instinct I cupped the mass within both hands and held it close to my chest, random bursts and rays of energy coming off from between my fingers like fireworks.

The Core Crystal phased through my chest, making me feel like I just took a deep breath of hot air, then it emerged from my back and jumped in front of me.

"Woah!" Rex gasped. "Amazing! So this is a Blade's awakening!"

The mass of energy took a humanoid shape, arcs of electricity trailing off the surface and spreading all around the area.

When the light died down I saw a young woman with yellow and orange short hair, a single long braid with three large red beads on her back. She had blue eyes, long pointed ears like an elf, black horns and symmetrical, silver lightning-shaped hair clips. She was wearing a strappy purple and gold leotard with a white half-skirt, long black gloves and thigh-high black and white heeled boots. Finally, the Core Crystal on her chest was shaped like a heart.

"Heeeere's Kora!" The newly awakened Blade introduced herself, using both hands to blow me a kiss... that transformed into a heart made of purple electricity: when it washed over me there was no pain, but I could feel every single hair on my body standing straight up. She threw a few punches in the air before winking at me, her body releasing lightning bolts all the while. "Cute! Fierce! Fighting fit! Nice to meetcha, my new Driver!"

Kora, uh? She is one of the Blade I wanted to collect so this was perfect. I knew I could count on Rito's luck stat! I grinned and held out a hand. "Nice to meet you Kora! My name's Lee: currently a Salvager and always ready to face the future head-on with a shout of challenge."

"Oooh, I can tell we're going to have so much fun! This is the best!" She accepted my handshake and vigorously shook my arm up and down.

"You were right Gramps: the personality of the Blade matches the one of the Driver." Rex nodded with a smile, as if finding something funny in the whole situation. I couldn't tell if he was praising or mocking me, maybe both. Was he always so cheeky or is it me who is a bad influence?

"Awww, you're making me blush!" Kora giggled at Rex's comment. "And you are?"

"I'm Rex, Lee's salvaging partner." The brown-haired boy gestured to the dragon at the docks. "And he's Old Man Azurda."

The electric Blade waved her arm. "Hello Grampy!"

"Grampy?! Where is my respect..." The old dragon lowered his head, suddenly looking very depressed.

"Alright, my turn now!" Rex puffed up his chest, Core Crystal clenched in one hand. I took a few steps back to give him space, Kora moving to my side as if it was completely natural. Like it happened to me the Crystal turned into energy, which Rex pushed within his chest.

Uh, I could have sworn it was a sunny day until a few seconds ago, yet now there were a lot of dark clouds. But there was no wind?

Rex's Blade turned out to be a young woman with long black hair, pale skin, horizontal pointed ears and large dark pink eyes. She was wearing a white dress over a blue skirt, as well as gold and red earrings. Her hands, arms, and legs were wrapped in bandages, with bolted gold rings attached near each pair of joints. Both her hands and partially exposed feet, the skin there colored a midnight blue, had sharp black claws in place of fingernails. Glowing blue energy lines were present on her forehead, arms and legs, while her core had a floral design.

Despite facing us I could see part of what I knew was a fox mask poking out from the back of her head, giving the impression she had white fox ears.

"Kasandra's here!" She greeted Rex with a cheerful smile. A dark aura began to radiate from her body, followed by a rattling sound and a brief flash of red light.

In the distance a patch of flowers suddenly withered before rotting away. Several rocks cracked, causing a small landslide. A lightning strike hit a lone Medooz minding his own business.

"Why does it suddenly feel like thousands of people just screamed 'oh shit' at the same time?" Tsuna asked.

Wow. This... This was more than I expected. A lot more.

Somehow both Rex and Kasandra were obvious to what was happening, though in the boy's case I assumed he was too focused on his new Blade to pay attention to everything else. Kasandra gave him a deep bow, a determined but still cute smile on her lips. "I'll work day and night to ensure our happiness!"

"Nice to meet you Kasandra! I'm Rex!" The brown-haired boy looked at me with the smile of one who just got first place in a national tournament. "We did it Lee, we're both Drivers now! This is the start of something incredible, I can feel it!"

Well, he was not wrong. In more than one way.