114: Parenting Woes
Chapter 114: Parenting Woes
CROWN
Keeping watch over everything while waiting for the meeting had been very dull. I didn’t particularly enjoy this part of the job, normally. The worst part had been how boring it was to watch over everything and only see it in the abstract. I knew that under all the numbers and deep in the tiny areas of the massive world, untold dramas and stories were being told, but I could only presume what was happening unless I wanted to abandon my job for a while.
I was beginning to think the point of an Incarnate Avatar wasn’t to feel mortal again – I’d gotten used to my strange existence outside of the world by now – or even to troubleshoot quirks in the world. Most worlds don’t have a System like mine, I had realized. There might be things to debug, but not in the way I’d done it.
It was tempting to use an Incarnate, though – if only to experience the world instead of watching from afar. The idle thought stirred in me that with the ability to seal and release memories in a soul could even let me have long-term friends in the world, if I were willing to play fast and loose with the implied rules. That seemed like a bad idea, though. When I’d offered godhood or the like to my friends before, it had been a choice… this didn’t seem like the sort of thing that an informed choice could be made. The power imbalance was too great.
I banked a few more Reality Points in my current project – an afterlife – and turned back to the world. Diamon had promised to help me make an afterlife, a long time ago. I wasn’t ready for one yet, but I felt like I should prepare. I was also considering how to handle said afterlife, since I didn’t want everyone just jumping in when they died. It would be nice to have the option, that’s all.
“You’re procrastinating.”
Duck’s observation jolted me from my… procrastination. She was right. It was getting time for another meeting with Sena, and while I didn’t mind them and quite enjoyed them, it was starting to be painful. I enjoyed them, but knew they couldn’t last. She was well into her forties now, and while that wasn’t really old for the healthy vaskan, it was old enough for her to start showing some real signs of aging… and a constant reminder of how limited these visitations would be.
I sighed. “All right, I’d better get this over with. Keep an eye on the bug problem on Upside, will you?”
An irritated ear flick answered me as Duck looked away from the world display. “You’re only going to be gone for a few hours, it’s literally impossible for that to be a problem that quickly… but sure.”
She wasn’t wrong. I was so used to working in accelerated time that it felt like major events would just happen and I’d scramble, but for the next few hours I’d be at a 1:1 scale just by virtue of being in the world itself again. I grimaced and shrugged, then went looking for Sena.
I was actually running a little late, so she’d already found a secluded spot for our yearly meeting. Rather nice, actually… the roof of a building near a dam, not far outside the city. She hadn’t gone far, likely because the city was still recovering from the recent upheaval. It had been a couple of years but the wounds hadn’t fully healed.
Sena already knew I wasn’t normal, so after ascertaining that nobody was within sight, I stepped forward and into the world, sliding effortlessly into the flesh and blood body I kept in storage.
A deep breath sampled the air again… and it had a lingering foul smell, like overripe and rotting fruit. Not the most pleasant way to meet this year. I was already committed to walking forward, and despite the stench I just took several steps to finish my transit into the world.
The sound of footsteps drew Sena’s attention, and she chuckled lightly. “You’re late.” She didn’t have any real accusation in the tone. After the first two visits, she’d relaxed considerably around me. She turned away from me to look out across the river, to the city walls. “We’ve been getting reports of strange giant insect people that seem intelligent. Still far off and steeped in rumors more than truth, I’m sure. One of the races you mentioned, or a new one?”
I laughed and settled on the crate next to her. “Not new. Technically they’re older than the vaskan, but only by a few days I think? It just took a while for you to run into one another.”
A long stretch of my legs and arms settled me in, and I thought briefly about how this would all work out. I would have to be careful not to reveal anything that might alter history, but so far Sena had been more curious than digging for useful information. “And what shall we talk about this time? We covered dragons across the barrier mountains last time, as I recall.”
“Mmmhmm,” Sena agreed, offering me a small wrapped bundle. The smell hinted at bread and meat, a scent that thankfully overwhelmed the faint rotting odor from downstream. I accepted with a grateful smile while she considered. “You mentioned these ‘elf’ creatures a few times. How about them? What are they like?”
That brought a small tongue flick from me – something this body had inherited from its core. “That’s a large topic. The elves are split into three groups, and are the oldest race in the world, aside from the dragons. I’m not sure where to start, so give me a moment.”
“Short, blue, and adorable. That’s where you should start.”
I almost dropped the meal I was unwrapping at the sudden presence and voice. It was a familiar voice, just like Duck’s… but here, in the world. A place supposedly impossible for her to visit.
Sena’s age hadn’t slowed her much at all, and she was already on her feet, her sword in her hand, by the time I turned around. I wasn’t much slower because of my obscene stats, but Sena had actually lived a life with her skills. The difference was noticeable.
That idle thought vanished as I turned enough to see… Duck. Or at least, Tastka’s body, made of flesh and blood and standing not far away with hands on her hips. She was aged at barely adult age, around the time when Tastka had set out on that fateful journey. Her tail flicked lazily and her ears were held high, but I could see a faint quiver in her nose. She had a front of bravado, but I knew the subtle signs that elves gave off.
This girl was terrified. Which meant she was unlikely to be Duck.
“That’s an elf. A Calen elf, specifically. She shouldn’t be here, but you can put away your sword. She can’t hurt us.” I said that to Sena while staring at the girl, taking a deep breath to try to think through this.
The girl tilted her head. “I totally could hurt her, but not you.” Then she looked toward Sena. “Sorry for interrupting your special time, but I can’t speak to him when he’s not here, and this was the only time I knew he’d be basically alone. Good job with the Dungeoneering Academy Quest though. I was proud of that one, even though I barely knew what the idea was.”
Alarm started to build in my mind, even as Sena’s sword wavered, then lowered toward her sheath. I cleared my throat. “Dungeoneering Academy Quest?” I remembered my recent conversation with Duck, then. “You’re the source of that weird Quest signature from years ago? Are you a manifested dungeon core?”
I mentally loaded up the chat interface as I talked.
| CROWN: Duck, are you seeing this?
| [ERROR] CHAT SYSTEM OFFLINE
That wasn’t good. I felt my heart start to race as I felt real panic rising. I’d never felt that as an Administrator. It was even less pleasant than my memories from Incarnate Avatars told me.
“You don’t know who this is, Kenta?” Sena’s voice was tinged with alarm, her normal emotional control tossed aside for the moment.
The elf girl held up both hands, fingers spread wide. “Please don’t be upset! I hid myself from him, of course he doesn’t know.” She turned to look at me, her tail starting to lash faster, as she drew in a deep breath.
“So. Hello, father. I’m the System.”
I felt the blood drain from my face, a chill spreading through my entire body. Sena just stared at both of us in a rare moment of sheer bafflement, while I struggled to even piece together what this meant. I’d toyed with the idea of a ‘god of the System’ but it had seemed too abstract to actually work.
Apparently I had been wrong.
Finally, I managed to sputter out a reply. “Um… how? Are you a Sub-Terminal? Another Terminal…?”
Somehow, this made the girl – the System – relax. Her tail dipped slightly and she lowered her ears in a negative. “I don’t know. Something between the two I think? I have a will of my own and some of your memories, but not all of them. I also have bits and pieces of something else. But I think… I came to be because throughout the world, the one thing everyone believes in and has faith in, is me. The System.”
Just like that, it made sense.
Belief was a very ephemeral thing. It was hard to harness directly, and I’d tried to do so for the dungeons. Yet the System was omnipresent, and every intelligent creature interacted with it. Alone, this probably wouldn’t have done anything… but my own lack of focus had likely spawned this, just like with Duck.
A ‘child’ like this.
I groaned softly and lowered my head into one hand. “I get it, now.”
“Does this sort of thing happen often?” Sena asked, breaking into my own thoughts. She looked at my slouched figure, then at the nervous elf-girl that called me father.
“More than once, which is too much.” I grunted that and stood up straight, turning my gaze back to the System. “Using Tastka’s body, it looks like. What do you want from me, System?”
And before she could answer, Sena jabbed me in the shoulder. I jerked sharply, glancing to the side to see her wearing a stern expression, glaring at me.
The vaskan spymaster frowned. “She’s your child, be a little more friendly. System or not, her Quest did help me out.”
I frowned back, but then looked at the System again. Her tail was still trembling more than it should, and I couldn’t help but think about how scared she’d looked a moment ago. This wasn’t the expression of someone demanding something.
“Sorry.” I nodded my head toward the System. I meant the apology, too. “I keep expecting things to go wrong. Did you want something, or did you just want me to know you existed?”
The System’s tail lowered again. “I want a lot of things, but mostly I don’t want you to be mad at me. I just want to help. And… I have a friend now, I want to spend time with her. So maybe a body and name of my own?”
I looked at Sena, who just raised an eyebrow at me expectantly. I was on my own here… as I should be, really. I had to turn back to the System girl and let out a sigh. Accidental or not, this thing was my responsibility, wasn’t she?
“I think we can arrange that.”