Chapter 32: A Normal Coversation (Part 4)
[Clock - 01:06 | 01:06 AM]
[Calendar - 17/02/2003]
[Location - Croc Kingdom (Name Pending) - Old Gotham, Gotham City, New Jersey]
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Atlas settled down on the table before him. The intricate tower-like building that he had build, the beautiful Learning Palace of Thoth. Atlas had spent hours on making the second floor of the tower-like building through meticulous use of [Transmute Earth], [Move Earth], and even a few other spells to carve the rock with beautiful detailed drawings of a beautiful Egyptian Lotus- in fact, the "reception" of this tower (That Atlas planned on making a library in the future) had a big Egyptian lotus as a seat for the receptionist. Right behind it were the stairs that you would take to go up the second floor, where Atlas planned to put various bookshelves of various books he has read- In fact, as he finished the book he was just reading, a book called [Famous Mages of the Forgotten Realms and What the Fuck were Wrong with Them (Spoilers: Many of them were racists, misogynists, and slavers! But hey, they brought the good magic to our library, so I guess fuck 'em, right?) By Topics of Attention and Interest] a rather interesting book detailed the atrocities commited by many mages through their lives in the world of the Forgotten Realms, which was kinda like the "main" world for the Dungeons and Dragons Multiverse.
With this book finished, Atlas closed it and- "Here it is."
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[New Perk Unlocked]
100 Books Read
[All Tongue]
You can speak, read, and write in every single language. Upon coming in contact with a language you do not speak, instantly learn how to read, write, and speak said language. Can even learn non-verbal communication such as Telepathy, Empathic Telepathy, and other types of language that human bodies would never be able to speak.
[Perk Upgraded]
[World Book - Encyclopedia]
(Objects) - (10 Book Perk)
Open a book. This book contains information about every single object within your world, their location, abilities, owners, creators, and any other information available about them.
(Living Beings) - 100 Books Upgrade
Open a Book. This book contains information about every single living thing within your world, their location, abilities, powers, association, health, and any other available information about them.
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"Hah..." Atlas sighed softly as a smile grew in his lips- It seems his life has just gotten way easier, huh? He can now track, in real time, anyone! As long as, of course, they're on the same world as him. "This can be very, very useful..." He opened the book- a pale, snow white book with black pages appeared in his hands, and as he willed it to, the pages turned as if they were being blown by an invisible and fast wind- And then they stopped. Golden ink started to write in a gorgeous and legible handwriting, it was weird because he knew it was in a language he didn't know, but his brain started to automatically fill in the gaps and he clearly understood this language! This was a precaution, because anyone could see his book and what was written on its pages, but without his permission to actually read the book they would see symbols and random words, and even jumbled messes. This was a very effective Eldritch Language spoken by a single entity- The Endless Library.
He just learned Eldritch Librarian.
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Book of Living Beings
Name: Bruce Wayne
Secret Identity: Batman (Breaker of Knees, Bane of Criminals, Shadow of Vengeance, Bitter Leather Daddy, ...)
Affiliation: Justice League of America, Bat Family (Under construction)
Race: Homo Sapiens
Age: 25
Sexuality: Bisexual
Height: 6'4 Feet (1,95 Meters)
Weight: 303 Pounds (137 Kilos)
Writing Hand: Ambidextrous
Blood Type: O+
Health: Overall Healthy, Strained Muscles from overuse, Fatigued.
Mental Health: ...go to a therapist, bitch.
Real Time Localization: Batcave, beneath Wayne Manor
Analysis: Bruce Wayne is a very (attractive) paranoid man. Be careful around him and do not try to (seduce) instigate him in a fight unless you feel (sexy) confident in winning. He has about 1,056 plans- 1,057 plans on how to stop every end of the world scenario he has thought of.
Other details: ...
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There was more to read, but this was seriously very detailed! "Interesting, and very, very useful..." He was half tempted to take a look at Waylon's page, but he didn't do it because he respected and trusted Waylon. He was searching for Poison Ivy right now, and he will most likely have found her by this point. 'I should set up a meeting room, I plan on adding a few other peeps that would benefit from me reaching out and that the Kingdom could find a good use for... I wonder how V-' His thoughts were stopped as the rock on his pocket grew warmer, warning him of an incoming message- this was a [Sending Stone], connected to another [Sending Stone] that would receive messages from anywhere in this world. He pulled out the rock and waited until it stopped feeling warm to the touch, soon the message played-
"I have found her, she has agreed to come for a meeting. We will be heading back now, I expect at least a thank you." 25 words exactly, Waylon must've really heard his explanation of how the rocks work, huh? He will thank him, and if the meeting goes well, he will give a special thank you too. He easily prepared everything he needed to prepare, and now, he just needed to wait.
Of course he sent a an answer back to Waylon! He wouldn't forget that: "Very well, please escort her to the Learning Palace of Thoth, the tower looking thing, it's pretty easy to find. Thank you, see you soon." There, 25 words right back- is this their first time texting each other? '...holy shit.'
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POV Change
Waylon Jones - King Croc
"Your little boy toy seems really eager to meet me..." With her dry voice that she always used whenever she was talking to someone who wasn't her plants, Poison Ivy rolled her eyes. Her burning red hair was bright and lucious, draping over her shoulder- The moment he found her hiding on Aparo Park in Gotham Heights, she tried to use her tricks on him to seduce him for a moment so she could extract whatever information she wanted from him, but he managed to not only completely resist her temptation and control (he silently thanked Atlas for the crown), he said what Atlas told him to say and I quote-
"Poison Ivy, I've come to bargain."
-and miraculously, that worked! He then read the exact lines of the "script" Atlas told him to memorize, something about ancient trees and massive forests whispering to meet him back in the kingdom in the name of the great oak trees, the enormois pines of old, the sequoias of times before men plundered the green off of Gaea's surface. And after telling this all to her, it was like a switch was flipped on her mind, and she released him before graciously accepting his invitation like she hadn't just tried to control him like a little puppeteer.
'Wait-' The moment he thought of that word, something seemed to snap within his mind- just before he left, after memorizing the "script" way faster than he had ever memorized something before in his life (he thanked Atlas for the crown again), Atlas told him just a passing word that "Sometimes, puppeteers are just-" his thoughts went into a halt when, out of nowhere, a shadow landed right before him and Ivy. Waylon's eyes widened when he recognized the kid, even though he was wearing the ridiculous suit that Batman probably made for him. He looked pissed and sad at the same time, perhaps he was going through puberty? 'Ah, I hated puberty... Horny all the time, scales falling out constantly, growth pains, weird need to eat human flesh... normal teenage things I'm sure.' As the kid stepped out of the shadows into the yellow beam of light from the street light above, a burst of roots broke through the ground.
Waylon could only lift an eyebrow as Poison Ivy easily and effortlessly detained and contained the Boy Wonder known as Robin (to him, personally, Dick): "Little annoying pest, standing before the power and great majesty of the green-" Her pupils seemed to widen a few inches as the roots tightened their hold, tighter and tighter-
"We should leave now." He couldn't just watch the boy he had seen grow up be squished like a bug right before his very eyes! "...remember the great oaks, the promise of revival of the green, and the endless boundless bountiful of weath, torrent of vitality, and how the Green will flourish with our assistance." Atlas had told him to "Just repeat this part of the script if you need to remind her of the meeting" and he did exactly that, and he saw how the roots loosened and Robin was dropped into the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"...yes." She sighed, her pupils returning to their normal size before she motioned to him: "Lead the way, King of Crocs."
"Aye..." Without even looking back, Waylon jumped down on the open manhole. He didn't need to turn around to know Poison Ivy was following him! It took a few hours- three of them, to be precise. If he wanted to just guide her to his kingdom it would've taken not even half of that time, but because he wanted to make sure nobody could follow them, he took a longer route with many twists and turns, to make sure any pursuers would be lost.
At about [04:00 AM], they reached and entered Croc Kingdom through the special entrance Atlas had made for him that connected to the sewers, some sort of "emergency exit" if necessary. He saw how Poison Ivy' eyes widened when they stepped into the Croc Kingdom proper. The amount of stone homes were increased thanks to the constant supply of dirt and mud from the Slaughter Swamp, and even though the streets were completely empty it was still a beautiful and unexpected place to be found within an underground cavern in the city known for chaos, death, and misery... this was almost like an utopia! Finding the Learning Palace of Thoth was easier than he thought, seeing as it was the only spiral tower-like building in the entire kingdom! They went up the stairs into the second floor to find Atlas, staring at a table with... small animals?
"Ah, greetings!" Cheerfully, Atlas got up from his seat as he said: "It is good to meet you, Poison Ivy! Well, we've got much to talk to and so many topics to discuss, but first-" he guided them to the table. There, Waylon saw a bottle of wine (huh, is he planning to get her drunk or something?), a pile of papers with various words that Waylon couldn't be bothered to read, and a small crown of thorns made out of intricately carved wood that was weirdly beautiful and elegant. "-I want to speak to Pamela, not Poison Ivy." Before either he or Poison Ivy could react, Atlas reached out and a pale blue light emanated from his hand and when he touched Poison Ivy's green skin, her eyes started to glow pale blue as well and she opened her mouth to let out a silent scream, only for said pale blue light to emanate from her mouth like a beacon.
And he smiled as Poison Ivy- no, Pamela, gasped: "Greetings, Pamela Isley. My name is Atlas, and I want to become your friend." Waylon had never seen he act like this or heard Atlas sound so... comforting? He almost felt jealous of Pamela, but then he saw her pale green eyes reflect a fear that he had never seen in Poison Ivy's eyes before... And that was when Waylon remembered the phrase Atlas used in passing before he left the kingdom yesterday... "Sometimes the puppeteer is just a puppet that grown its own strings."
"...What is even going on right now!?" Did the fucking little lizard just speak?
"Ah- Right!" Atlas turned around, picked up the six small animals and placed them all on his scaled muscular arms, saying: "I'll need some time alone with Miss Pamela, go play with the gods, okay?"
...play with the gods?