Chapter 6

The next day Chalamar had been in a wonderful mood. Saranie chuckled softly as he did his stretches really fast. It was strange to her being the teacher, but after last night he clearly had a talent for it.

Mana worked for him and when his spell was cast, a puddle of water fell on the floor. But the shocking part was that he didn't have a mana pool. All of the mana he consumed for the spell came from her, to which she shared with him.

After a few more spells, Chalamar asked her to teach her how to use lifeforce. Yes, even though he initiated it, he was still hesitant to prick his finger with her dagger. Just like before when she healed him… Once he did, the spell didn't catch right away so he had to try again, four times, before it sparked forth with a rainbow weave of magical energy. Even though they had suspected it, it came from her. Not entirely like the mana, but it explained why her lifeforce was stronger. Assuming her lifeforce was connected to him, which it seemed like due to the power still coming from her.

"Magic is so cool!" He laughed as he walked out of the room, before turning around and going back in. "For now, can you undo whatever you did to make yourself visible?"

Saranie understood what he meant. It was also waning a bit too, so recasting it would be best. Afterall, now that she knew how to do it successfully, she could do it again and better. Longer duration and less time to cast. She nodded and they took care of their morning business.

---

Chalamar was in a good mood. He could really use magic. It excited him to try out a bunch of things, but there wasn't anything he could use it for in his daily life. Sure he could now cast a simple water spell with mana and lifeforce, thinking about the atomic structure of it, but he was afraid to test something like fire in his house. So even if he could cast water and drink from it, it really provided him nothing when he could go downstairs and refill it with ease.

The only thing he could think of that would make it useful would be healing magic. If his mother got sick, he could heal her up. But he would need to practice a lot before he would be confident it would work and ask more questions to Saranie.

To which he looked at her as he walked back in his room from breakfast and said his goodbyes to his mother. Saranie didn't have nightmares, but that might have been because she had slept a few hours before and only took a nap before his alarm went off.

He thought it to be a good idea to have a little fun.

Turning on his computer, waiting, then loading up a small 2D platformer game, he presented it to her.

"Saranie, try this out. Video games are fun and since you haven't played any yet, why not give it a try."

He picked out this game because it was easy enough for his mother to play it before. Chalamar asked his mother to play her first game on his stream one time. She accepted and actually had a lot of fun. His Dudes were encouraging her, even though she couldn't see it at the time. Since it taught players the controls and was easy to get into, Saranie shouldn't have too much trouble.

---

"If you have any questions just ask me." Chalamar said from behind her.

Saranie was looking at the 'main menu' in front of her. 'Start Game', 'Options', and 'Exit Game' presented themselves below the title of the game, 'Little Poilu'. Pressing 'Enter' on the keyboard, she watched a small 'cutscene' of a very cute elven kid? She guessed the boy's name was Poilu considering what she read in the title and was proven right when text appeared on screen.

It told of how Little Poilu found his mother sick one day. After remembering a story his mother had read him, he went searching for an herb that could cure any illness. That was her goal she guessed.

On screen, it showed Saranie that if she wanted to move her character now, she needed to press the 'D' key. Strange how she was somewhat familiar with this by now and pressed down the key. Little Poilu moved to the right on the screen. The character she was moving was still in focus, like he was being followed by Saranie as she watched him cross a small bridge over a river.

A rock appeared in her way and she pressed 'SpaceBar' to see Poilu jump up, but didn't move over the rock. So she pressed down on the 'D' key and 'SpaceBar' at the same time and then it moved over. A smile found it's way on her face.

---

It had been an hour by now and Chalamar was happy watching a newbie play a game. Saranie was still getting used to a keyboard, but instead of typing and moving the mouse, she was doing much better using it to control her character in game.

He watched her go through the first puzzle in the game. Her character would need to make certain jumps over a hill. It would bring her up above the boulder she normally couldn't jump over, then she would need to push it down the hill, allowing her to traverse an underground river.

The only question she asked was what the glowing green coins she picked up were. He explained that they were collectables for players who wanted to go for the secret ending.

So as that hour progressed, Saranie got really into the game. To which he laughed when she asked him if she could finish the part she was on. It wasn't like he wanted to kick her off, because training in a new gamer sounded fun to him, but he needed to start streaming soon.

"Sorry, I'll let you play after I finish streaming." To which she nodded and thanked him for letting her play the game.

Taking the seat from her, he sat down and cleared away the things on his computer stream and got to work. Yesterday, he had a little time to clear up the files for Treyllo. He was going to start a fresh run of the game. Sure he was a little hesitant to go back in the game, but knowing Saranie wasn't a threat helped him. Afterall it was just a game… As long as no one like Saranie pops up.

---

Saranie was now looking at Chalamar sitting in the chair like he was asleep. He wasn't moving, just breathing. The device he put on his head was intricate and strange. 'Wires' as she had learned connected to the computer.

On the computer screen, Saranie could see 'Xercoid' speaking with a young boy who was sniffling next to a destroyed Carriage. Suddenly the boy turned into a vampire, as explained by chat, who knew this ahead of time. It was just over two meters tall and had little flesh on its body, but the muscles stood out underneath as black and red veins pulsed with a glow.

Xercoid, an elderly man wielding magic, fired lightning bolts and fired at the vampire. The Vampire was stunned a bit, before it had a red haze spill out of it's hand and wash over the battlefield like a fog. On the screen the red bar, was Chalamar's health he explained before, slowly started to go down. A wind gust from Xercoid cleared the area a bit, before he washed the area in a giant ball of water, then he used his wind magic to jump in the air before firing a lightning strike into the ground. The Vampire, hiding in the haze, shrieked, before the haze cleared unnaturally. As Xercoid landed back on the ground he walked over to a now dead Vampire.

It was strange to see everything from up and behind Xercoid.

"It makes it seem less real… Oh so that was what he meant." Saranie mumbled as she realized what he had meant before.

Sure she understood him about her not being real, about the people who inhabited the world of Treyllo. It did make sense, if vague. But now that she was experienced with games, in a small sense, she could recognize it as a game. It wasn't real at all.

---

"Alright Dudes, I'm gonna take a break. When I come back we'll continue the quest and find that staff. Thank you again for joining me. Also check out Gennt's mods when you get a chance." Chalamar saved his game, logged out of the game, then took his headset off. Before Saranie could say anything, he pressed a button on his computer to pause his steam. "So what did you think?"

"You make it seem fun." He could see her face conflicted, so he urged her to continue. "It's like everything I went through, seeing how close it is to my world… Was all of the… terrible things I went through even real?" She was still looking at him, but her head was hung low.

"For what it is worth, you memories, real or not, are real to you. They made you who you are today. Even the magic you taught me… But I understand how seeing the game portray violence could make it seem like all the pain you went through was just a joke. I can never say I know what it felt like to be in a situation where you fought in a war, against others, and… well… I just don't know. I can never really know no matter how many times I play this game, because that is all it is, a game." Saranie was looking at him, taking in his words. So he offered one last bit he could. "If you ever want to talk about it, I can listen."

"Thank you for your offer." She didn't say anything else and just opened the curtain and walked over to his bed and sat there.

Maybe he didn't word what he meant right, but he could tell that she was really thinking about what he said. Either way it was time to take a break.

---

Chalamar brought in lunch for Saranie. She took the container in hand and then looked back at him who had his own container.

"You're eating with me?"

"I told Rashva that I would be eating up here without him today. Tell me how you like the food and I'll let the cook know." He gave her a smirk.

It was a salad with a dark blue dressing on top. She took a bite of it and found that the sauce was salty and sweet at the same time. She nodded towards Chalamar before expressing how it tasted.

"This is really good. What is this sauce?"

"I mashed some nuts together with berries. Simple and easy. My mother also praised me for this simple idea. Trust me, she is serious when it comes to cooking."

"You made this up on your own?" Saranie guessed and then he nodded. "Thank you for lunch."

"No problem." He paused for a moment before asking, "Would you be interested in testing out something later?" The way he asked her wasn't of joy or curiosity like when he asked about magic. It sounded like he was regretting even asking her the question. "You wouldn't have to do it if you don't want to. Especially after our talk just a little bit ago." Then he waved at her to stop. "Never mind, it's a stupid idea. If you want more, there is some extra downstairs, I'll get it for you if you want."

"Chalamar, you didn't even say what it was."

"Don't worry about it." He took a bite of his salad.

Saranie's curiosity wanted her to know, but decided it was best to avoid asking… At least until she had to know.

"Just tell me."

"Uh… well… You were once in Treyllo… So could you go back? If so, could you bring things from there to here again? I know how painful it was for you to come here… Again, you don't need to agree, just a thought."

Saranie thought about it for the rest of her meal. She was curious if it was possible, but she really didn't have a reason to agree. So before Chalamar sat down in his chair, she asked him.

"I don't really know how it happened the first time, but is there even a reason to test it?"

---

Chalamar wanted to respond with a 'yes!', but he needed to actually think about that. Weapons weren't needed here. Clothing might be interesting to test, especially if he downloaded mods for modern clothing to be in the game. Something that could be worn outside in the real world would have purpose.

He looked in the corner of the room where Saranie's armor sat. It was here in the real world and her clothing that she wore when she got here, those medieval rags, were able to appear on his phone. Well, for now maybe clothing would be the best choice. Because there was the case of artifacts in game that could, in the lore, end the world. So sticking away from those until it was fully tested would be best.

He went over to his computer, gesturing for Saranie to come over, and went on to the website that hosted the mods that he could download and add to the game. He did a quick search and found the modern clothing mod.

"Well if it does work, it would be a way to get you free clothing. If you like these clothes, we could give it a try for them." There were some that showed a lot of skin, but he made sure to show her the others that weren't like that. He saw her looking at the closet, towards the clothes he bought for her, so he added on to his statement. "I have the money to spend, so it's not necessary for you to go to the game."

Saranie looked to be really thinking about, until she slumped her shoulders. "It might not even work, but we won't know until we try."

His mouth moved into a wide grin. "After my steam, we'll try it out."

---

Later that night, as Chalamar said, they were going to test it out. Saranie was holding onto a small bobble, an 'anime character' he said. To test if things could be brought into the game from the outside.

Chalamar also mentioned a few other mods he wanted to test as well and would be setting it up so they would be in a safe environment.

"So last time, you held on to me when I logged off. Then we just have to try it the same way to get you inside. Wrap your arms around me… if you are comfortable with that." He did a very fake cough before leaning back in his chair.

She walked over and put her hand around his head. He gulped and she noticed his hands were trembling. "Sorry about that." Then she just went to hold his hand.

"Um… Let's start I guess."

A searing hot pain covered Saranie as her teeth chattered like in the cold, before landing on a wooden floor. Her insides turned inside out covering the floor in front of her in mush. She could feel a pressure, like hands, touching her as she screamed. There was a massive pressure on her head. It was the only thing she could really feel so it stuck out to her. It was difficult to think. To even understand what was happening.

Eventually her eyesight came back and Saranie was able to see. She could feel sensations on her skin and eventually calmed her breathing. Her mind caught up with her and she was able to realize that spell she tested before coming here that would help prevent the 'issue' she just faced had failed.

"…you…?" Chalamar was near her speaking. Saranie had to wait longer for her ears to restore back to normal.

Focusing on her breathing, finally most of the effects subsided.

---

"I'm good now." He could hear Saranie breath out.

They spawned in one of his older saves. He had beaten the game with this character, so he had lots of money and supplies. The home they were in, was more of a mansion. He had all the companions here roaming the halls. A few had already come in to ask if everything was alright, but he pushed them away. The main reason he still had Gennt's mod that made the AI better still installed.

He had easily raised Saranie off the floor, with his maxed out stats, and put her on the bed. The bed was huge to her size, even if she was tall enough herself. It was comfy and he sat next to her seeing if there was anything he could do to help her.

Once again Chalamar had to recognize that she attacked him while going through 'that'. He looked back to the floor where the contents of her stomach were. He could see colors of the salad and the smell was recreated which partially fascinated him.

---

After Saranie collected herself, she did a lot of collecting from there on. Like Chalamar said before, this place was safe. Not just the manor, where all of his items were stored, but even the city where they were located. She was thankful she no longer had to run away from anyone.

Xercoid, as known here, brought her to a merchant selling clothing. Walking in she saw a lot of mundane clothing on the wall around, like in the mall, but there were mannequins that had clothing from that 'mod' Chalamar had shown her.

"Try on this leather jacket!" He grabbed it off the mannequin to show her. "Wait, not here. I'll find you a place so you can try everything on."

So for the next hour, Saranie did. She tried the clothing that was in the open, before Chalamar brought in more clothes for her to try.

She found a nice few outfits that worked well for her. Especially the jacket.

"Now, I don't want to leave you here. So we should head back and have dinner. You will need to get something in you. The rest of the clothes you will need to carry in that backpack." Chalamar took a moment before speaking again by taking out two daggers out of the bag he was wearing. "While we are mainly testing clothing for you, I also want to test items. This dagger here is a 'joke' item and has fake green flames that are just cosmetic, but this one here takes a constant pull of mana from the player to manifest real flames. I know it will be dangerous, but we should know before hand."

"Weren't we going to check with those boots you got me that were enchanted?" She pointed to the ones she was currently wearing that he had picked out for her.

"Yes, well more to test is always nice."

"Alright. Going now?"

"Yes, I already messaged my mother that I would be late, but it is getting too late. We need to go now."

---

Chalamar saved the game while holding on to Saranie and logged out. She popped back out on the floor. In the same kind of pain as before. There was nothing he could do at the moment to help her, but he needed to make sure of something before he went further.

This time he logged out like normal. Not a forced log out. He grabbed his phone and pointed it at her, and found her still invisible. He was kind of hoping that she could be seen.

He waited with her. Taking the time to lay her on the bed and wait for her to get better. Eventually she righted herself into a sitting position and once he asked if she was okay, he asked if she was willing to try those daggers.

"It looks like you were right." Saranie commented on the two daggers in her hand. One shone with green flames that produced no heat and another that had red hot flames licking near her hands.

"That is cool. At least we came back with clothing for you as that is the most important thing for now." Well he did hope the pain she experienced wouldn't come back. It did and at each destination. The only reason for Saranie to go back in the game is if it was super important, which he could think of a few life saving items they would need to get that can be used as many times as needed. Most being overpowered modded ones, items created by the community.

"I'm going to take a nap for now. I'm a little tired." It was quite obvious that travelling from this world to the next had messed her up. He would be sure to bring up extra food and a dessert. This whole deal was his request after all.

---

The next day, Saranie woke up with a stretch. Chalamar was currently still asleep on the ground. He let her sleep on his bed last night. He must have felt bad for having to watch her when she got back in this world.

Looking out the window, the sun had just started peeking through the curtains. Since he was still sleeping, Saranie didn't want to wake him yet. Though she was aware that if she left the room alone, the 'cameras' in the hallway would see her interacting with objects. But Chalamar had mentioned that if it was an emergency she could go out of his room. To which it was.

Saranie had slept a little too long and her body needed to 'go'. So she opened the door and walked into the hallway. She twisted the door knob, only to find it locked.

"I'll be right out." It was Chalamar's mother.

Saranie moved quickly as she could to get back in Chalamar's room. Unfortunately his mother opened up the door at the same time she did too.

The good thing was that his mother wouldn't be able to see her. The problem was the sleeping Chalamar on the ground… and Saranie really had to go. So as Chalamar's mother walked past her and into his room, Saranie sneaked by her and went into the bathroom, closed and locked the door.

---

"… morning?"

Chalamar opened his eyes to his mother in his room. That quickly alerted him as he sat up.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" He asked her as he blinked his eyes to clear up.

"Chalamar… I said I was coming out, no need for this." She gave him a big smile. "But why are you on the floor?" She then looked over at his bed, which he followed her lead, to an empty bed. Though it was clear someone had been sleeping there.

"Yes, I'm just being silly. Good morning mom. Any plans for your day off? I got some time before my stream. We could go to the park or maybe somewhere special for breakfast." He thought it best to distract her for now.

"The park sounds lovely. I'll go and make breakfast. After that we can create lunch together and have a picnic there with Pentaask and Rashva. Sounds good then?"

"Of course mom." Just as she turned around, she paused for a moment looking towards his open closet. He panicked for a moment. "I'll be down shortly mom."

"I love you Chalamar." Then she walked out, closing his door.

A few moments later when the door opened he stopped his stretches to see Saranie. He had heard the toilet flush, so he knew where she had been.

"Next time wake me up… Actually, give me more time to think about this. Uh… pick out an outfit, we are going out for a picnic."

---

Just before Saranie ate breakfast that Chalamar brought up to her, he stood across from her with a serious face.

"We should talk… I know I wanted to keep you secret… Wow, that sounds worse than I wanted. But people here would think I'm crazy if I said that an invisible woman that came out of a game is living with me. I mean it has only been a few days and I still sometimes think this whole situation isn't real." She watched him take a deep breath before taking his chair and moving it closer to her. "I want to avoid lying to my mother. I never want to do that. She saw my closet, but didn't ask me about it yet… Don't get me wrong, I've come to enjoy your company even if I'm not over our initial meeting here." She watched his eyes move from the ground to the door.

"Do you want me to leave?" It sounded like this conversation was leading towards that.

"Well, yes. Not entirely though. We haven't checked if distance from me, when you are visible or since this time… When I went down stairs, were you still visible the whole time?"

"I did get numb and transparent."

"Okay, so the effects haven't changed since you came back here this time. Well we still need to try it when you are visible to others. But if you are able to get away from me, would you want to live your life out there? I will do whatever I can to help you."

"I've only learned a little about this world and there is just too much… Too much to learn and understand that I don't think that to be a wise decision at this point. I know you have done a lot for me, but would you be willing to let me stay here, even if it is just until I can understand more."

"Of course. I don't want to throw you out on the streets with nothing, not without enough to actually function in society and this world. So I want you to know that you have a place here, regardless of the time. If you wanted to live in the game, that is fine too… Although I don't know how safe that would be for you. If my computer got destroyed, would you still exist or not… Sorry, my thoughts got off track. But if you wished to live in that world, I would do what I could to ensure you would be fine there as well."

"While it is amazing to be able to visit another world, I would like to avoid fighting. I know I've mentioned it before, but I would at least like to look into getting back to my original world."

"Do you really think so?" Saranie looked at him with a questioning glance. "I know you said you wanted to go back to the orphanage, but is that really the best thing for you? Everything I heard about that world, the war, it doesn't sound like it will ever end. You may have stopped one calamity, but what about the next time? Would you not get involved in it again?"

Saranie wanted to say no, but if she needed to protect those she cared about, she would fight again. At the cost of her own life. It was the only reason she closed the portal on her own. To sacrifice everything for a better tomorrow.

"I… I don't know." She really had no idea what to think of that. It felt like she was giving up on everything, her whole 'world'. Everything, everyone, she knew about would be lost forever if she gave up.

"Listen Saranie, I don't want you to choose now. That would be horrible to you. But I like to state my opinion. I think you should stay. I can teach and show you around. We can play games and have fun. Even make more of that pudding you like." Chalamar smiled at her.

"Oh…uh." Saranie chuckled at his outstretched hand. It sounded like he was interested in a stronger relationship, but she knew that he was just trying to help her. So she took his hand.

---

Chalamar had a lot to think about this morning. It was sudden, but a part of him was preparing for this situation. One where he would need to tell his mother the truth.

So before he did, he would like to ask Saranie about her thoughts. If she was going to leave, he didn't want to mention any crazy things to his mother. But if she was going to stay, he wanted her to know that she would have a place and he would help her.

Then Saranie took his hand. She was laughing at him a little, but he joined her. He was aware of how his words sounded, but they were true.

"Since you already said that you planned on staying, I would like to know what you think about letting my mother know. In the meantime, while you decide what to do with your life, you would be staying here and even get you your own room. There is an empty one down the hall that would be perfect. It should be in range, so we wouldn't have to worry about you disappearing."

"Yes, that sounds good. Thank you again. If you think that is for the best to tell her, then I'm all for it. Handling things, like asking you just to use the bathroom… well it's best if I can act independently."

He chuckled and stood up.

---

There was a light breeze flowing through the trees. The leaves rustled around above Saranie. She was currently walking with Chalamar towards his mother, Rashva and Pentaask, fully visible to them.

Chalamar had asked her to come with him to the bathroom, where she used her lifeforce to make herself visible.

"I'll ask those two to step away so we can have privacy. I would like to tell her everything if that is alright. Just want to make sure."

"It's alright. Just be sure to give her time. After all, I needed that to even understand my situation."

That was their little talk they had before stepping out in the open. It had been so long to be seen by other people. It's not something she would ever notice missing until it actually happens. At the mall people walked through her, now they looked at her before moving on like it was just any other normal day. Part of her was nervous, but at the same time thrilled. She was going to be talking to another person today.

She could see Rashva walking towards her, not Chalamar, before he walked in front of her to talk to him.

Saranie could see Gretjah, looking at her with a smile and a wave. Saranie awkwardly waved back, before Chalamar gestured to her to come forward. Pentaask understood the situation, so she joined Rashva over on the side. Close, but just out of hearing range.

"Mother, this is Saranie. Saranie, this is Gretjah." Chalamar introduced both of them.

"Nice to meet you Gretjah." Saranie gave a small bow to the woman, who was now standing in front of her.

"The same to you, Saranie." She was impressed or amused with how Saranie had bowed to her. "I hope my boy is treating you well."

Before Saranie could answer, Chalamar interjected. "Mother, there are things I need to tell you."

---

In fairness, he didn't expect his mother to believe him right away. He explained, in detail, from that day he played Treyllo about a month ago, to today. His initial meeting with Saranie, what he thought her to be, to how he was attacked… Well his mother didn't have the best reaction to that. A scowl found itself aimed at Saranie, but that was because his explanation sucked. To keep everything in line with what happened… he was doing his best. So he moved on to when they came back home. How he had thought, hoped, that everything wasn't real. Then to how he saw his mother walk through Saranie. Thinking she was a ghost, but she kept pestering him… Like a real person they had needs. Eating for example.

He did note that most of his understanding of Saranie had been a misunderstanding. How she was after answers and not initially trying to permanently harm him. He left out how he thought she was going to kill him, as for it was the best.

So he moved on to their tests, leaving out Saranie's back story for now as they would never be able to eat if he added that in. If Saranie wished to speak of that to his mother, then she could tell her then.

Anyway, he did mention how Saranie came from another world and ended up in the game. Connecting that original point. He told his mother about the food he had been sneaking Saranie, the clothes he bought for her… leaving out how they handled going to the bathroom as that could make the situation weird.

He admitted that he was afraid of her in the beginning and the bodyguards were for her, but also if she wasn't real they would protect them from crazy people. To which I made clear he wasn't. Bringing out the invisible, he checked beforehand, dagger and showing it to his mother would be a terrible idea to show her magic, the proof, that he wasn't crazy and had not joined some cult. Poor choice of words as Saranie scowled at that.

So out of the sight from Rashva and Pentaask, and low enough that any casual glance wouldn't reveal anything, Chalamar created a small stream of water from his finger into his empty glass for the picnic.

"Oh…"

"Yes, mom, I know. It's a lot to take in, but I wanted you to know." He saw her face change from that hate filled scowl to that of complete surprise. Though he didn't have it in him to tease her. "That's' the basics of the situation."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Pentaask handing Rashva credits. A bet?

"This isn't some joke or sleight of hand Chalamar?" He did wonder where she thought the water came from, but decided that denial was a better place than anger.

"It's all real. It took us a while, maybe a little less for me, but we've had time to understand the situation."

---

Saranie had listened to Chalamar's hastened explanation for everything. Actually she did flinch back as his mother looked at him. She clearly didn't like her, but it was alright with Saranie. She had done those things to her son, even worse than was said. Saranie deserved it.

But after the reveal of magic, Gretjah changed. Completely lost. The world no longer made sense. It was going to take time, but at least she wasn't hostile towards Saranie.

Rashva and Pentaask joined them for a late lunch. They greeted her casually and distanced themselves. If it wasn't for Chalamar bringing her in the conversation with discussions on different foods, she would have been left out.

It honestly made her feel great. Just talking to another person. Having them acknowledge her, made the war wash away. Of course not completely, but it was peaceful here. In this park, on this blanket, eating this food, with these people… Saranie could only smile at this world, this new life.