Bet's End

Chapter 81: Bet's End

/The dwarves of history. People say that a whole lot without knowing much of what it means. My auntie Berganra was a dwarf of history, for example. Old hag survived for more years than she could count, and we dwarves are fine at accounting.

That's also throw around a lot. "We dwarves". What's that supposed to mean, are all of us carbon copies of each other, hm? You think we all look the same? Can't tell a Gronbar from a Lirgrob? That's called being a racist, piece of shit.

And also, there seems to he a misconception that we're all midgets, which is bullshit as well. Look, I, as a dwarf, am sick of this. Let's set things straight.

The dwarves of history are old bastards who think tradition goes above everything, yet the tradition they come up with is stupid, 'cause they got dementia. We stick them into retirement homes. Most of the people making actual rules in dwarven society are well under their 400s, so really, thinking that all of us are just sticking to tradition is dumb. If you only hear the stories we tell as jokes and believe them, we don't wanna see your idiot head around these places.

See, us dwarves, we're an innovative folk actually. Most of us are different, though we share similarities. Our beard hair acts like a filter, not allowing stone dust into our lungs, so our miner's don't have the luxury of shaving 'em. And most of us like to mine. Most others like to craft. But what defines us most isn't our passions, because people like different shit and that's fine. What most of us have in common is patience and dedication.

We finish what we started. We put the time needed into construction, art, mining, trading, and whatever. If you made friends with a dwarf, you'll be lifelong buddies, and if you start a fight, it'll be seen through until you give up, because our heads are hard as rock. Just take the loss, drink a pint, and be on your way.

Finally, ancient dwarves are small, sure. Can't walk upright anymore, 'cause of their bad backs. But most of us are around 1.60, some taller and some smaller. Our average height is only a little smaller than ye human and knife ears', so stop looking down on all us just because we live underground. Racists!/

"Clearing up Misconceptions about Dwarves!" by Fingir Inkwraith, dwarven artisan, artist, and writer.

- - - - - -

[Evolution confirmed. Engaging. Please pick an option to evolve the Skill into. The price will be the same, no matter which you choose.]

[1. <Accelerated Thought>

2. <Sharp Intellect>

3. <Enhanced Parallel Processing>

4. <Vast Mind>

5. <Split>]

Well, as per the usual, <Appraisal> would make its appearance in the depths of unknowing.

[<Accelerated Thought>: Upon engaging a state of focus, the individual's thoughts begin to accelerate, seeming as though time were passing more slowly around them. This increases the drain on mental stamina, however, and cannot usually be maintained for long stretches of time. It may lead to even faster thought processing in the future.]

Hm. It sounded good, but not quite good enough, really. Sure, being given more time would be great, but increasing the drain on his stamina? He didn't know if he could stomach it...

[<Sharp Intellect>: This passive Skill will permanently, and at all times, increase the user's capacity to intake, comprehend, and memorize new information. All mental processes will take less time and be less draining, albeit only slightly. It also removes the option of actively engaging heightened focus to any degree other than the basic Skill.]

This one seemed like an upgrade all across the board. Faster thinking, easier time learning, could have some synergy with <Talent>, too. But not being able to increase the active part of the Skill until probably the next evolution? A big downside that Mercury would rather avoid. Well, time to move on, then.

[<Enhanced Parallel Processing>: A Skill which perfectly supports <Multitasking>, allowing the individual to have a much easier time engaging in two different activities. It eases the splitting of the mind, and allows both parts to work better individually and in cooperation.]

While this one didn't outright state any negatives, it also didn't tell him many positives. Honestly, if it didn't improve his focus at all, but instead just improved his capacity for doing multiple things, that didn't seem like as much bang for his buck as he was hoping for. Surely, something to consider, but if this was what he would settle on, it would be begrudgingly.

[<Vast Mind>: Unlocked through the individual's particular tenacity, this Skill allows for greater focus when activated and passively in effect. Additionally, it gives the user enhanced perception from their astral body, and allows for greater ease when interacting with mana outside their physical circumference. Yet, its main point is to expand the mental stamina of the individual by many times, allowing them to stay focused for much longer and increasing their capacity to pick up new things for the same duration. In the future, this Skill seems promising.]

Was <Appraisal> getting more self aware again? Well, no matter. This was most likely the Skill he'd land on. By now, his head was reaching its limits, and although he would push himself to the brink wherever possible, there was only so much <Limitlessness> could do. Still, there was one more to check.

[<Split>: This Skill permanently splits the individual's mind in two. Both of these parts can develop on their own, as one will control the body while the other will be able to do only mental tasks.]

Yeah, no. Given the difficulty of splitting his mind, that one was attractive, sure, but really, them developing individually? No. That seemed excessive. Maybe his own mind would feel trapped by himself, screeching at him to let it out, or develop some complexes. Or maybe they couldn't even communicate, and he would be left with someone just being stuck in his head. Or the control could be swapped, and he might be taken over by... himself?

Too dangerous, too unknown. <Vast Mind>, pretty please.

[Evolution selected.]

[The individual has acquired the Skill <Vast Mind> through Skill evolution!]

The effect was immediately noticeable. Mercury's head which he might have thought was about to split before felt... lighter. Not light by any means, it still felt like he was balancing a stack of rocks on his head, yet at the very least, he wasn't about to crack anymore.

The cat smiled as he noticed the effect. This was perhaps enough for him to keep this up. After the moment's break, Mercury closed his eyes again. The mana around him had been left alone for a couple of minutes, and that by itself was perhaps already enough. Once again, with his zeyj and ystirs, gripping all the mana that was around him and dragging it in with all his force.

He visualized it to make it a little easier, using some capacity to imagine himself as the center of a whirlpool, something of a black hole, willing the mana to fall towards him as he reached out, grabbed it and like a glutton stuffed all of it within his core. His breath was quick and deep, supplying his mind with as much oxygen as he could, or perhaps that by itself was just an illusion.

This was his astral body, after all. Did it need air? No matter. It helped him focus, and so his lungs heaved, the stamina rushing through him as he supplied every smidge of energy he could to thinking. That was all that mattered, all that he needed was to win this bet. He could not owe Dreamweaver another debt, he didn't want to give up anything.

It was greedy. He knew that much, he was certain of it, yet that was of no consequence. He was never noble, he never did things for the sake of another. After all, this was for his happiness, for the things he didn't want to lose, didn't want to give up.

As he thought those things, a smile snuck itself onto Mercury's face through the aches. He had so little room for thought, yet he knew his unconscious swirled around with emotion. He was afraid of losing again, he was happy to have made progress, he felt a rush of adrenaline from the debt, and a mounting pressure to succeed. The way he thought about it, telling himself it was selfish, certainly wouldn't be seen like that by others.

Yet that didn't matter. To him it was selfish. This was for himself, and that was why he could lay everything he had down. There was no way he would risk something like this secret for someone else, purely for himself. Mercury knew that he was greedy, he had always been. Greedy for attention, for love, for money, for respect, for freedom. And now, he was greedy for friends, and that resulted in greed for mana. He would take it all, every little drop of mana there was, until the point his head split and he won the bet.

With a pained smirk, the hours passed. First only a couple, then a handful, then a dozen, when his head began threatening to split again. But the cat didn't stop, refusing to let go of what he wished for, refusing to give up even the slightest bit of mana, all to win that bet.

After a total of 32 hours, Mercury had to admit that things were not looking great for him. He still needed to rest occasionally, but not yet. He could rest after this whole thing was over. There were another 40 hours to go, and proper sleep could wait. Well, his brain in the outside was resting anyways, the lazy bum. Perhaps he could use it to think as well? No, that would wake him up, and cost him the extra time he had been gifted.

Slowly, Mercury shook his head, smothering his thought with <Meditation> as he tossed himself deeper and deeper into absorbing mana. Another hour, another dozen hours. No rest for 44 hours, and his mind was beginning to slip from his grasp. As the symptoms appeared, mercury grit his teeth as hard as he could. The warning bells in his head were ringing, his <Intuition> telling him he was taking it to far, yet with <Limitlessness>, Mercury pushed himself just that step further.

Once again, he was in a situation where he wanted to go just that extra mile, just that bit beyond. And then, when he had walked a step more than what was safe, he wanted to take another one, battling with every second, every moment, and every triz he reached out to. There was no way he could falter now, he had just barely made it across the halfway mark, and there was still so much time left for him to go on.

No, there was no option to lose. Nit even a moment to consider pulling back. As Mercury continued to pull in more mana, all he could see was a path forward. Taking a step back now was the same as giving himself up, and this was one time he could not afford to do so. Perhaps there was one thing that he could still do to pump up his mana and mental stamina...

Intelligence: 53 -> 87

Instantly, Mercury felt the mana flooding his core, and his mental stamina refilling just a little. 170 extra points, now that was a big chunk. Once again, Mercury bought himself another bit of forward momentum, refusing to let it die yet. Without hesitation, he threw himself back into the effort, enduring as best as he could for another half day.

It had been 56 hours in total. Then, eventually, Mercury made it past the 60 mark. With a smile, he embraced the final stretch, redoubling his efforts, disregarding the pulsating waves of pain and pressure throughout his body.

He didn't retreat, didn't take a single step back, and eventually, the time had passed. His eyes on the outside opened and he felt... light. Incredibly light. Of course, his brain had been resting, but still, this felt strange. Perhaps it was because his mind finally went to sleep, but even though he felt light, his thoughts felt more muddled than usually. He felt drowsy, but even more than normally after waking up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Mercury pushed himself up and stretched his back, feeling his spine crack a little.

"Aaaah, it feels good to be back," he said, wearing a self-gratifying smile. He had done everything he could, and now all that was left was to see if it had been enough. All the pressure faded, and he knew it more than well, since the face-stealing bastard in Iris' skin was also standing already.

"We have finished," it said.

"Yeah yeah, give me a minute," Mercury said, before letting out a deep yawn. "Man, this sure went a little far for me man. Fuck. Seriously, I dunno if I could've gone on any longer."

"You slept," Lucia hissed at Mercury as soon as he turned around, causing the cat to flinch. "Mercury, you bet the life of a friend for a stupid word, and then went to bed, are you in your right goddamn mind?"

He could see that his companion already gripped her sword, her expression furious. For a moment, he looked around, seeing Lucia and Iris simply sitting without any hope.

"Oh, shit, whoa, you guys. Man, I must've worried you. Don't worry, I can think faster when asleep, wakes my mind instead of my brain," he said, giving them a crooked smile. "I just decided that it was more efficient, since this way, I wouldn't actually need a break to sleep."

"We have heard enough. Simply state your progress," the monster said, twisting Iris' kind smile into a sinister one.

"Ah, yeah. Right. Can I prove this somehow? Yo, system, any way I can pull up my old stats?"

Almost immediately, a panel, visible to everyone present, appeared in the air.

[Mp: 325 -> 632]

"Ah, I believe that's a good 95% or so? What did you guys get?" Mercury asked, looking around to find jaws that had hit the floor. "Guys? What's going on?"

"Impossible..." the monster said. "This is... simply impossible. How did you do it? Why was your mana before so low? What is this trickery?!" The thing huffed as it spoke, its flesh beginning to deform slightly.

"Whoa there, buddy, that's a step too close," Mercury replied calmly, while retreating a little. "I just used everything I had available to me. Nothing more, nothing less."

"In... In a single day?" Yvette stuttered looking at the numbers.

"Ah, yeah. Look, I can go into more detail later when we're riding back. Not gonna reveal the secrets of my mana gathering method to an enemy."

"We- This! Hrm, it is difficult to accept such a loss. We have only managed an increase of 20%. But we have watched you during this entire ordeal and could not detect any special tampering. No outside influences acted upon you. There is nothing to do but gracefully accept- what is that noise?"

"Hey, stop distracting and hand over Iris. We won fairly!" Yvette said, moving closer to them with her sword drawn.

"Ah, yes, it must have been my imagination," the thing replied, giving a small bow. "We respect this loss," it said, and with a wave of its hands, Iris was unshackled and handed over, immediately running into a hug with Lucia.

"Mopaaw," the thing continued, "we-"

"Zip it," Mercury said, his ears twitching. "First of all, my name is Mercury. Second, I won fairly, so piss off. Third, I do not care who you are or what kind of revenge you swear upon me. I don't give a fuck about you, or your problems and- seriously what the fuck is that sound?"

When the cat pointed it out as well, slowly but surely, gazes were slowly raised to the sky, where after a couple moments, everyone could clearly see... something approaching.

"What the hell...?" Yvette muttered to herself, before quickly snatching up Mercury and standing besides the other women as her aura flared to meet the thing in the sky.

"AAAH, HOW DARE YOU?! LET ME DOWN THIS INSTANCE VILE-!" Mercury screeched immediately, only to have his complaining drowned out by the growing hissing in the sky. Before he even had a chance to wring himself from Lucia's grip, the earth shook as something crashed down, making his very skull ring and throwing up a thick cloud of dust, as the remains of the watchtower turned into nothing but a pile of rubble.

"Hey, can everyone hear me? I came down a little harder than expected, sorry if any clothes got dirty," a man called out from the middle of a crater. His voice was dull from the ringing in the cat's ears, and Mercury could see him wave his hand in a poor attempt to clear the smoke.

"Why is everyone so quiet? Did I come at a bad time?"

"Fucking let me- Yeah, you did," Mercury said, after fighting his way back to the ground, his hearing recovering bit by bit. "We're kinda in the middle of something."

"Ah, that's unfortunate. Sorry, but I promised to smash through any obstacles in my way, so please finish it up quickly or I'll have to intervene," the man continued, and as the dust began to settle, Mercury could start making out his features. Was that... red hair?

"What are you doing here?!" Lucia suddenly shouted, hiding Iris behind her.

"Hm? Oh, just delivering a message. Otto asked to meet up again, Lucia. How about it, you got time right now?"

Mercury could begin to fully see the guy now. His skin was pale, and his hair fire red, looking a little tacky as it was partially gelled back. He wore high, white boots, and straight pants, akin to what one would wear with a suit, except his torso was covered by a loose, long sleeved, and equally white shirt, though it was a little dusty. He even wore white gloves.

All of it would have seemed tacky to Mercury, if the guy didn't have the looks to back it. It was perhaps the most handsome, dreamy man he had ever seen, and if he were still human, his cheeks would've flushed red.

"Zyl, you could have written a message..." Lucia said, not even having the chance to fully enjoy her reunion.

"You seemed in trouble, so I came as quickly as possible..." he said a little dejectedly, focusing his eyes on the skin-stealer that had been there before, yet they had already disappeared by now. "Well, it seems like I harmed the floor for no good reason. I'll take care to fix it, apologies. Take as much space as you need."

"Lucia, you know this guy?" Mercury asked, trying to sound as casual as one could after having witnessed a man drop from the sky.

"Yes, I have the displeasure of doing so. He's a rash, impatient man, with little ability to read the room. He's-"

"I can very well introduce myself," the rash, impatient man fittingly interrupted. "My name is Zyl. I'm a long time friend of Lucia's. According to my titles, I'm also one of the three walking disasters, but I'd disagree," he said, before kneeling down and working on fixing the grass.

At the same time, Yvette's jaw, once again, opened up wide, and she simply began stuttering.

"My name's Mercury, pleasure meeting you. Though as another one of Lucia's friends, I'd have to ask you to give her a moment to reunite with Iris. They haven't seen each other in a while, you probably know how they are," Mercury said. "Why don't we just chat in some other ruins to give them some time to catch up?"

"Certainly," Zyl replied with a smile as he patted down his clothes. "Want to explain what happened here?"

"Sure, we'll get to things."