Chapter 10

The Great Hunt. 

A story of a man that is, well, being hunted. It is about a son's path to revenge, specifically avenging the murder of his family. With only a sword in hand, he cuts his way through hordes of men sent to kill him, eventually making his way to the Underboss, the man who ordered the death of his family. In a final climactic duel, with the odds stacked against him, the hero of the story slays the villain at the cost of his own life, ridding the underworld of its most cruel tyrant. 

A story that might seem less of a tragedy and more of a triumphant one to most people. However, the book it's recorded in is called The Book of Tragedies for a reason. The tragedy lies in the villain's fate. 

A man of extreme wealth and power, feared and respected by those he ruled over. Yet, in the end, his empire was toppled by just one man. What bigger tragedy is there than that? A ludicrous scenario, even as stories go. Except this is not just a story. Somewhere in the infinite of existence, this all went down, and the book was there to chronicle it. 

The Book of Tragedies—a book that captures a villain's desire in their very last moment and turns it into a power for the reader to wield. A straightforward affair at first glance. 

The catch? 

The chronicler book, in all its foresight and reality-bending power, will never state what that final wish is. It is up to me, the reader, to approximate what the villain's final desire might have been in their last moments. 

So how did my first crack at it go? After perusing through the wealth of stories I was given, I decided on picking The Great Hunt. 

The villain of The Great Hunt: The Underboss. 

The man who conquered the underworld and wielded its power tyrannically. The king below, known for his brutality and savagery. Someone who lived by the sword and died by it. 

His last desire before forever closing his eyes in a final duel of crossing fates… 

"I should have just shot him? You have got to be fucking kidding me." 

All that buildup, conquering the underworld with the blade, known for his strength and savagery, the climactic sword fight against the protagonist—and his last thoughts were about guns? He really deserved to lose everything. With that kind of thinking, how did he even become the Underboss to begin with? You would think he would wish to be better with the blade. 

No, it was my fault. If I had held off picking a gift until I figured out how mana fully worked, I wouldn't have chosen a story that might affect my choice of weaponry. Maybe I would have set my sights on stories with more metaphysical themes like loving yourself or the joy of helping others. 

It is all in hindsight now. 

"It is less about the story but more about the lessons one can learn from it," muttered the Servant, his deep voice amplifying the profundity of his words. 

"You are right. No use crying over spilt milk. Will I be able to choose another story?" 

"The book will know, and it will call for you." 

-0-

Citizen I.D. - Mana Adapter (Learner)

Please keep this on your person at all times.

**Rell Zorias** 

*Born: March/17/653 (18 Years of age)* 

*Authority: Harbinger* 

*Mana: Mono - Fire Class* 

As I lay in my bed, looking at the electronic identification card in my hand, I cannot help but think of how long I have been here on Earth 2. What my being here means to the people I have left on Earth 1—the people of Earth, my Earth. 

Does Marcus know where I am? Is he involved in this? How is this all even possible? A plethora of questions and nowhere near to answering any of it. It is making my head throb. 

Upon flipping the card over... 

Registered Gifts (2) 

**THIS IS PRIVATE INFORMATION.** 

*Vengeful Flames* 

*A Swordsman's Lament* 

To my questions that need answers, there is only one place where I could start: the existence of Arcus. An aspect that is unique to this world, separate from the books my son wrote. 

And in order to learn about Arcus, I would need to connect with the other races that worship him. The elves, with their hyper-religiosity, are my best bet. While at the same time, I also need to make sure that Rowan is on the right path, capable of defending the world and humanity from annihilation. 

An easy juggle, I am sure, with Rowan's victory already penned down on paper—quite literally—and my rough idea of what to expect. What could possibly go wrong? Well, according to Murphy's law, everything. 

With my thoughts unsettled and sleep evading me, I decided to better use my time. 

Abruptly standing up from the bed, I made my way toward the wardrobe. Grabbing a notebook from the inner chest pocket of the suit I was wearing, I set myself at the bedside table. 

Once seated, I opened the notebook and locked in on the issue at hand. 

Which novel of his am I in? 

Being the responsible father that I am, I supported Marcus with his pursuit of writing. However, I cannot say that I have been the most proactive when it came to actually reading any of his literary works. The knowledge I have comes purely from the verbal narrations that my son would give me whenever we had time to bond, making my understanding of his books scattered and fragmented. 

For the past year or so, I have been trying to recollect information bit by bit. Based on everything I know so far, there are three books that fit my scenario by process of elimination. For context, out of the twelve books that Marcus has written thus far, five were set in a modern fantastical setting. Of those five, I can further remove two of the books. 

Maxima is the title of the novel with a three-character lead. With Rowan being an important character, Marcus had to repeatedly mention his name whenever he told Rowan's story—thus making his name memorable. I do not ever remember Rowan being associated with two other protagonists in his own book, ruling Maxima out of the equation. 

The next title is At Her Cascades, a female-oriented novel led by a character named Prescilla. A type of writing that Marcus only touched on once. The book was made as a tribute to my beloved wife and his loving mother. It is the only book I have actually taken the time to read and have the most knowledge of compared to my son's other works. With Rowan's existence, however, At Her Cascades is the furthest possibility of the five. 

Now, for the last three that are on my list: A Mackle Tale, Paragon's Dream, and Portcullis. 

These three books have quite a few things in common, if memory serves me right. An arc focused on academy progression, the existence of a king figure, the story's obsession with the world's politics, and, finally, an overwhelming tide of monsters that are hell-bent on destroying everything. 

Goddamn it, Marcus... 

Maxima was a close comparison to these three novels, but, from what I could recall, it had a ruling council instead of a king and did not focus on an academic setting. The former is something I can easily confirm through the internet. The latter is a choice the protagonist has to make themselves—a choice that Rowan made long ago, a choice that I supported monetarily myself once he expressed his interest. 

A conundrum: I have one name and three books available to me. I need to figure out which of the three fits best. 

Let us start with what we know. 

First is A Mackle Tale, Marcus's second book. An honest story of a hero's journey. The twist, however, is that the actions of the main protagonist are written by an unreliable narrator—a member of his party aggrandizing his actions, vastly muddying the conflicts underlying the hard decisions the protagonist has to make at every turn. Hence, the novel's title, A Mackle Tale. A book that was meant to be a sour read. 

Second, Paragon's Dream, his seventh or eighth book—interchangeable with Portcullis, really, as these books came one after the other. The story revolves mainly around the dynamic of a master-and-student relationship, with the master being an all-powerful being—the paragon in this case—and the student being the protagonist. 

"So the master is suffering from insecurity, and the student is too shy to voice his opinions?" I believe is the abridged version I gave to Marcus. A line he thought so ridiculous that I received my very first stink-eye from him—a moment I will not forget anytime soon. 

Paragon's Dream can be easily knocked off the list depending on whether Rowan is taken in by a master in the near future. The academy would no doubt be a place for such things. 

And lastly, Portcullis, the novel I am currently hedging most of my bets on. Portcullis focuses on humanity's last stand—or impending last stand—against the never-ending tide of monsters. If I recall correctly, in this book, all the other races apart from humans were nearly annihilated, leaving the refugees to seek shelter under humanity's bastion. 

It was the book with the most bloodshed out of the three—one of the gorier and more brutal novels Marcus has written. If Earth 2 turns out to be that of Portcullis, then I will need Rowan to be the strongest version of himself. On the bright side, once one of the major races' capital cities becomes overrun, I will no longer have to doubt which one of the books I am in. 

Knowing my luck, this is the likely option. 

Fuck. 

Sigh, this is the best I can do for now. Even with all the information I have, it is nowhere near detailed enough that I can just blindly follow any one of them. Even after the point of confirmation, I will still have a lot of things to consider. 

If there is one thing that meeting Rowan has done, it is that I was able to provide him with early advantages to get himself ahead of the game. While the resources I am using came at the expense of the death of my parents—ahem, Rell's parents—their inheritance will ultimately contribute to my survival. 

I apologize in advance, Mister and Missus Zorias. Whether I am the real Rell or not—a fact that, at this point, I am not sure of myself—please rest easy knowing that I will do my very best to survive and see things through to the end. While I do plan on returning to Earth 1, I will see to it that all my affairs in this life are in order before taking my leave. 

From one parent to another, you have my word.