41 Gusto

I had reached level 1000 and gained back all the memories of my previous lives, as well as the memories from those souls I've absorbed since coming to this world… I had also gained a new physical companion. Thankfully my own experiences seemed to trump out, so I'm still me. It's weird. I feel different from before, in both bad and good ways. I can see so much and understand so much now. The wisdom from my past lives seems to be part of the deal, as well. I've lived several times in worlds with mana before, so control doesn't seem to be an issue any longer. I also have the ways to make thousands of spells and skills work in my mind.

The first issue at hand was finding clothes for RED. Luckily we were in a dungeon so finding monster drops with armor and clothes didn't take much time at all. He ended up in a sultan-like outfit. It was a fitting style of design considering the dungeon was in a desert.

RED himself was rather strong compared to the people of this world. His level was 142. It makes sense, though, when you consider the people of this world all begin at level 1 because no one reincarnates. They're all fresh souls just starting out on their first journey. RED, though, is from different planes where reincarnation was natural… Just like me.

The more times a soul passes through the cycle the stronger it becomes. They become Tempered by this process. They grow strong, and, once they reach a certain point, they transcend their old form and become one of the Fae.

Nox's words played in my mind time and time again. I could finally understand everything he'd been talking about. I could feel the runes drawn onto this reality, preventing souls from entering the reincarnation cycle. They were like wires clawing and grasping at everything. The first thing I did when I noticed them was to blow away the ones strewn across me.

There were seven other Fae, counting Nox. I needed to prepare an army to fight them. Reaching their levels wouldn't be feasible, but if I raised enough men and women past level 1000, it was possible.

I can't quite explain it, but I was certain Nox wasn't watching me at this time. Now that he delivered his spiel to me, he was off scanning other dimensions for Tempered Souls to bring back here to fill out his army.

He'd certainly be gone for some time. Three was the magic number. If I could take three level 1000 companions with me, I could fight off and potentially bring an end to Nox. I could feel the strength of my soul very clearly, now. I could understand just how much it would grow in six hundred levels.

By my estimate, I'd have two years to raise my warriors. I certainly wasn't going to go along with that damned Fae's plan. He's already proven himself a traitor to his own Covenant, who's to say he won't betray me next? His influence over RED has already been cleansed, meaning RED won't be signalling him any more about what I'm doing. To be safe I could even craft a fake signal for RED that sends a message claiming that I'm slowly grinding levels like he hoped I would…

I called RED over and performed the deed quickly. The ability to manipulate souls was astounding and also rife for abuse. I held RED's entire consciousness in my hands as I crafted a fake signal.

"What did you just do to me?" He asked, though in a calm and trusting tone. It was a bit weird hearing him speak in something that wasn't monotone, like a computer.

"Nox had you outfitted with an automatic reporting feature," I replied, "It would send messages to him about our activities. I've given you one that sends fake reports. We can't have him knowing how quickly I've leveled up."

"You're not planning to… Calliope, are you planning to turn against Nox?" Asked RED.

"Yes."

"Then let me help you. I know this world, and I know quite a bit about him. The knowledge Nox gave me is still ingrained within my mind," he said as he bowed forward in a grandiose manner.

"RED," I said, taking a deep breath, "I need you to understand just what helping me entails. When I ascended, I came close to losing myself. Memories of my past lives and memories of every life I've ended since coming to this world flooded through me. They're still inside me, now. Your soul is considerably… Younger than mine. If you level up most of the memories you'll retain will be from souls you absorb. I don't know if you could even stay you after it happens. You could lose yourself, and forget about everything that's happened."

RED looked at me and tilted his head to the side, as if I had just made a joke.

"Trust me, Calliope," He said with a blooming smile, "There are some things a man will never forget."

It was decided rather easily. Far too easily for my tastes, though. RED would be one of the first I leveled up. He was already fairly high leveled for this world, as it stood. His knowledge would be necessary to make this happen.

"Okay, RED. First thing's first, though, we need to find a way to heal Lily. Even with my newfound control I don't trust myself to attempt it. For now, let's get out of this damned dungeon." I said as I cleaned myself up as best I could.

Zombie blood and bone powder covered me. I looked like some kind of tribal warrior. RED, on the other hand, looked absolutely perfect. His body was brand new, though. Still, I felt the tiniest pangs of jealousy. He now possessed the body I originally wished to be in… Though after gaining memories of my past lives things such as gender, sexual orientation, or body image have started disappearing from my thoughts. It all just feels so irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, now. Bodies are just husks programmed to feel physical attraction, but true emotional affection brews in the soul. It's all a bit daunting, in the end.

I don't know why Nox chose to recruit me. I don't know why any of these things happened… But I do know he has made a fatal error in underestimating me. If there's one thing the internet taught me, it's that people with no lives are a powerful force when it comes to breaking the common sense of game designers. I don't know how Saga Heroes Online came to exist in my world, but I do know that the methods I used in it are effective here.

They called me a power-leveler in my old world. I think it's time to earn that nickname here, too.