6 Information and 'education'

The caravan leader sat there staring at me, shocked. He simply responded by saying "Who, or what, are you... only wizards can even hope to do this, and its very hard for them anyways, requiring days of rest... are you a mana monster? Or are you worse..." I was shocked at this, and also very confused. I then asked what he meant by this, and he simply said that I was either some form of mana creature trying to lure them in, or I was an idiot. He then asked if he could come in, and I consented, helping them take their stuff in and took it to the barracks. I then asked the leader to 'educate' me on this world, saying I would explain my unique situation after.

He then gave me a description of the world and the way it works, saying "The world we are in is an unnamed land, full of mana, monsters, which are sometimes called mobs, life, death, and strange happenings. Mana is the lifeblood of the world, the source of life, and an eternal source of enlightenment and power... for those who know how to use it. A few lucky creatures, and rarely even people, become infused with mana, gaining unprecedented manipulation of mana... at the cost of being corrupted and made evil. Most believe the world to be flat, but a few people, myself included, know that can't be true, even if we don't have proof. Now, this is all I will tell you until you tell me this... truth."

I was somewhat surprised, but accepted it as it was a description from a native in the current time, meaning it probably wasn't too far from the truth. I then told him "First, you are correct about the world not being flat, it is in fact round and if it were somehow flat it would be unable to contain an atmosphere or heat, making it impossible to live on. As for the truth... I'm not from this world. I was a member of law enforcement focusing on foreign criminal investigation and capturing, which is just a simplified version that I'm still not sure you'll understand. I was with fellow team members when I triggered something that sent me to this place, and I still don't understand how or why I'm here. I am able to store basically anything in what seems to be a quantum storage which I -with the advanced knowledge from my world hundreds of years in the future compared to you -, barely understand. It's basically a large chest that's invisible and untouchable to only me, limited only by how many things are in it, rather than how heavy it is. I can also place or use these items rather freely, limited mainly by how solid they are and whether they are a ground 'block' or a piece of food or equipment. Its very weird, and I don't expect you to understand."

He, and at this point, the other two - who had started listening to us - were silenced. They sat there, contemplating it, mulling over it in their mind. I left them to it, as I myself was near that state from what their leader had told me. I walked over to my bunker after leaving three keys to the barracks for them, went inside, and sat on my bed, thinking.

I woke up to a knock on the door, realizing I had fallen asleep trying to think things through. I then went over to the door and walked out of it, seeing one of the new people, not the leader, at the door, their fist slightly raised to knock on the door. They then told me that they were interested in the mine, wondering what it was. I then told him it was my mine, and that I would decide if they could go in and out of it freely later. They shrugged and asked what my name was, as other than wondering about the mine they were just trying to introduce themselves. I told them my name - Tyler, I didn't mention the little nickname/code name I also had. - and they introduced themselves as Linkon. I then asked if they wanted to see the mine, and they said that they would enjoy it, as they had actually been a miner in their old village, even if their mine was less fancy at the entrance. I then guided them over, unlocked the door, and went down.

When they followed me in, they audibly took in a breath at the mine. I suppose it would be fancy compared to medieval time mines. It was a large tunnel, wide and tall, with even corners, a slope to one side with the rest of the tunnel being small stairs, the start of a small mine cart rail at the top of the slope, and it was all well lit. Linkon then told me that he was impressed, as the mine he had been in wasn't anywhere near this well built. I just responded by jumping on the slope at an angle which, other than for holes meant for nails and rods for the planned tracks, was very smoothed and polished.

Oh it was smooth and polished all right, because I was succeeded in my attempt, and started rapidly sliding down the sloping track, sparks occasionally leaping from my armoured feet. I heard a second scraping sound start, looked behind me, and saw Linkon following me in the same fashion, although I could tell he didn't know what he was doing. I just grinned and waved at him, and he shakily returned the act. When we reached the bottom, he probably expected to have to jump off, but to his surprise, the slope just went and smoothly - if quickly - leveling out before becoming a smooth area for a track not yet installed. I simply started walking away when I heard a crash and looked back, seeing Linkoon picking himself up and dusting himself off. He had clearly tripped, but I had no idea what he had tripped on.

I gave him a chestplate, pickaxe, and helmet, and started giving him a 'tour'. I showed him areas where I had first found various minerals, showed him areas where there had been the largest veins of these minerals, and showed him a material I was unsure about. He, upon seeing it and how much there was, gasped, telling me that it was 'Redstone' and that it was used for what seemed like basic electrical systems. I then mined it up, and was surprised to get multiple pieces per chunk of ore, which he confirmed was normal.

We continued on, me occasionally pointing interesting things out, and when he saw the ravine somewhat near the area I died, he was simply in awe. However, when I told him about the strange creatures and how I died to them, he was not only incredibly surprised that I can die without noticeable problems, but he was... scared.

Specifically, he was scared of the creatures, and he told me that they are 'Dark Elves', a form of Elf that was corrupted by some form of dark, evil entity and spend their lives worshiping it and sacrificing things to it. I mentioned that what seemed like a chieftan said something along the lines of 'kill the dark one', to which he said "First, you die and simply come back to life on the surface. Second, you can understand the Dark Elves, who literally use void mana to communicate, making them unintelligible. And finally. Dark One? What?" I responded by saying "I don't get a bit of what they said, and my memory is fuzzy and fading quickly. I was clearly so traumatized my brain is suppressing the memory, meaning we have to learn as much as we can before its all gone."

He sat there in silence. Finally, he said "Maybe... maybe your the 'Dark One' they were talking about... it could be something about you coming from another world means you absorbed any and all mana in an area around where you entered... and if the Dark Elves are here, it means there's a weak spot in the Bedrock put in place to keep their evil lord away... which would allow void mana... hmm... I don't know..." I asked him what Bedrock was, and he responded simply by saying "Long ago, nobody quite knows how long ago, but long ago, there was a great war. On one side were the civilizations of that time, using the power of Light for good to bring peace and prosperity, but on the other side... He came. Nobody who ever found out His name still exists, as they were hunted down ruthlessly. Even mentioning Him is still dangerous, and so this is the only time I will tell you anything. He was using the power of Darkness, and some say He was made from it. He ravaged our lands, killed countless people, and it took all of the wizards, mages, and mana users still around just to perform one last spell. It didn't matter what creature the mana user was, everyone, across the whole world, agreed. He had to be stopped. So together, they united their power, and then... Nobody knows what happened, but it banished Him to the void, and placed the bedrock over it. However, all mana usage was completely reset, meaning all records of how to use mana were destroyed, nobody with mana in them survived... we have had to relearn everything."

"It was horrible for our people, and I can only pray that He doesn't ever return."

I sat in silence. I didn't know whoever it was he was talking about, but he sounded like Hitler. I then said "Heh, who knows... maybe with my knowledge of science and the workings of the universe, we can set up a proper defense against this guy. Maybe we can even kill this person someday too." He then said "You don't understand, it took countless mana users and all the mana accumulated in the world just to banish Him, and the world is only a tiny bit recovered. We will have to wait until the next 'mana age' for even a hope to repair His prison, and if he gets out before then..."

"We will all die."