Chapter 25
Neither of the two spoke as they descended the steps leading up to the palace. Arriving at the bottom, Cecily took a quick glance around, before she led Lucy over to a building at the edge of the open plaza surrounding the place of power. Their destination wasn’t anything special, a tad bit more extravagant perhaps, but nothing that screamed wealth and influence.
More like a high class inn. And it didn’t look too dilapidated–at least compared to the rest of town–which was all that mattered right now.
Entering, they took a moment to glance around, before they wordlessly began to make their way through the still intact parts of the building. Cecily avoided the right side of the building nearly entirely, despite the fact that most of it didn’t look too bad, which Lucy took as a sign that it likely wasn’t nearly as stable as it seemed. She stuck close to her escort, until they eventually reached a room towards the end of the building that hadn’t been destroyed yet.
Of course, it hadn’t escaped carnage entirely, but at least the walls and ceiling held. The window was missing, but at least the window covers seemed to be mostly functional, which was all that they needed. It wasn’t as if they would run into lots of strangers in this town.
After they had cleared a bit of the debris, the two sat down. Miss Cecily on the bed, while Lucy took a seat at the small table. Only one of the chairs was still intact, so the adventurer wouldn’t have been able to join even if she wanted to.
Both remained silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, until Lucy let out a long sigh.
“Just what the hell have I gotten ourselves into this time,” she muttered, placing her face into her hands, slowly shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Miss Cecily. I should’ve listened to your advice about that shortcut.”
The swordswoman sighed as well, not replying immediately. Lucy could hear some rustling, although she didn’t bother to look. Eventually her companion spoke.
“It’s alright. I won’t deny that your luck is slowly getting on my nerves, but it’s not like you could’ve expected… this.” The sound of her voice made it clear that she had taken off her mask. “I’m just not sure what to do from here. Even if we reject Vuthe’s wish to join us, we still need to cross the cursed lands and find our way back to the main road.”
Lucy nodded slowly, before she finally raised her head and rubbed her face. Turning to the swordswoman she couldn’t help a small smile. “True. But look at the bright side: We can now cross ‘meeting a Goddess’ off our bucket list.”
Miss Cecily snorted in reply, shaking her head. She did carry a small smile, though. “Yeah, sure… If we survive this ordeal.”
Her emerald eyes locked onto the courier, the smile quickly fading, replaced by worry.
“I don’t think that’s too much of a worry,” Lucy ventured, even if she didn’t sound nearly as convinced herself as her statement might imply. “So far she didn’t seem overly hostile… Okay, save for the moment you mentioned Chatan. But that wasn’t directed at us.”
“Ever the optimist,” Miss Cecily chuckled. Sighing, she turned and laid herself down on the bed, placing her hands behind her head and staring up at the ceiling. “I just can’t help but worry. I might not know your weird ‘System’ or whatever those numbers mean, but I can estimate enough by her mentioned rank alone.”
In reply, Lucy smiled self-consciously. “Yeah… I probably should’ve given you your and my profile before at some point. Just so you have some idea of how it looks for normal people.”
“Oh, I don’t blame you for that,” Miss Cecily said almost immediately, giving her a reassuring smile and a glance. “Information is power, and your way of getting said information is very… unique. Being able to quantify danger like that is insanely helpful, even if it’s not always accurate.”
“Under normal circumstances it should be pretty damn accurate,” Lucy explained, shifting in her seat to be a bit more comfortable. “Vuthe is just a very bad example. I think it’s also why she has two rank equivalents listed. I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit ever since we left, and something she had said stood out to me. Now, of course, this is just my theory, and I can’t prove anything. The System might be knowledgeable but it doesn’t always share that knowledge with me, as you know. Regardless, she’s listed both as Diamond and Singularity, right?”
Again, Miss Cecily snorted, shaking her head slowly. “Yeah. Diamond would already be ridiculous enough, but I guess if you’re a goddess you don’t do things by half measures.”
Lucy had to giggle at that. The adventurer wasn’t necessarily wrong, but she actually had a different theory. “Speaking of that. I actually think she’s closer to Diamond than Singularity. Remember what she said during her explanation of the rank equivalent levels? Leaving aside how awfully convenient it is that the System so neatly follows that scale despite not being present here, she said very clearly that Rank takes into account more than just mana density. It also includes your skills and your expertise. That’s why I’m Copper rank, despite being level 26, which should place me in Iron.”
“Yeah, I remember that,” her companion agreed with a nod, following along.
“She also said that Singularity is a mostly theoretical rank. Which could imply that she wasn’t aware that she qualified for it. Of course, it could just be that she was bluffing, trying to downplay her own knowledge or whatever, but it didn’t feel like that to me. And I don’t think she actually considers herself that rank either. You said that this Chatan guy was Diamond rank, right? And she made it clear that while she was powerful enough to beat him in a one versus one, she wasn’t able to do so with another person on the battlefield.” She paused for a moment, letting that sink in, while she shifted in her seat again. “Now, I’m not a fighter, but from how she said it–and before you say it, I’m very much aware that her story is anecdotal and might not be the truth, but it’s what we have so far–it sounded like she could’ve dealt with either of them on their own without too much trouble. That means that this second person, this former student of hers, couldn’t have been too much stronger than Chatan, meaning also probably around Diamond rank. Ergo, if two Diamond rankers were a problem for her, but one on their own wouldn’t have been, it makes sense to me that she would just be a slightly stronger Diamond rank.”
Another pause followed as she let the other woman digest her words. The theory was very much based on very little, and could very well be completely wrong. But so far it seemed to work out, at least in her mind, if she followed the logic.
“Unless the scaling of the ranks is completely backwards, I would imagine by the increase in respective levels to get there, that someone of Singularity rank, even if they just hit level 750, would be able to wipe the floor with Diamond rankers without even trying. Then there’s also her weird mana. I hope I don’t need to say this, but an Error reading on a status page is not normal. Not even remotely. It’s the most insane part of her entire status by such a margin that the rest of the insanity is almost insignificant in comparison. So, here’s my theory.” She smiled, feeling almost giddy. “I think the System just can’t handle that mana value. She said level is basically exclusively dependent on mana density, which is probably why her level is so insanely high. It would make sense, because the way you normally level is by defeating your foes or performing relevant achievements for your own path of advancement. And those basically always involve some variety of mana absorption, or at least condensing your own mana density. With how much mana she has–enough to make even the System give up on trying to assign a number to it–her mana density has to be high for it all to fit within her being. Even with mana ignoring most constraints of physical space, you can only cram so much mana into any given space. And I’d wager that she’s basically at the peak of what she can hold. Which would mean that she has very high mana density. Which in turn would artificially increase her level, which in turn pushes her Rank Equivalent up quite a bit.”
“So, if I get you right,” Miss Cecily said, sounding thoughtful, “You think that the Singularity Rank isn’t her actual rank, but the rank given based on her mana density?”
“Precisely! It’s why she has two ranks listed. I haven’t seen that ever before. Granted, I’ve only been in this world for a couple of months, but we’ve seen quite a few people and monsters along the way. Not even that Wyvern had that, and he was about the highest level we’ve seen, save for Vuthe. Given how weird Vuthe’s status is, it might just be that the System couldn’t decide which of the Ranks was more accurate, so it displayed both: Diamond if one were to put less focus on mana density and include her skills and expertise, and Singularity if one were to base the Rank on mana alone.”
She thought for a moment, another idea occurring to her. Her companion noticed the sudden shift in expression, and didn’t interrupt, giving her the time she needed to work through this new possibility.
“Actually, I think it’s less that the System based the Singularity rank on mana alone, more so that, if one were to take the mana value at face value, it would just overshadow everything else. Error means it has to be a lot.” She shook her head, focusing back on the swordswoman still laying on the bed. “Anyway. Whatever the exact mechanism behind it is, the core point remains the same. And I think it makes sense.”
Silence reigned for a long moment as they both digested this, Lucy patiently waiting for Miss Cecily’s reply. Eventually, the other woman sighed, using one hand to rub her eyes.
“It makes sense, from the little that I understand. Still, it’s… a lot to take in. And it really doesn’t make much of a difference, does it? The ant does not care if it’s faced with an elf or a dragon. Both are equally lethal if they step on it.”
The Catkin sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “Maybe. But I feel a lot more comfortable with the idea that she’s just a Diamond ranker capable of rewriting the continent’s history, than a being that’s exceeded the very concept of power. Although, given that she’s a Goddess, I’m not sure how much of a difference it makes.”
“Oh, the difference is immense,” Miss Cecily replied, finally getting up and turning to sit at the edge of the bed, her legs dangling off the side. “I don’t know much about divinity, but I’ve learned a little thanks to my Lady. From what I understand, Divine Authority is basically completely separate from personal power. I don’t know how it works, my Lady is rather secretive as you may know, but she did once mention in passing that one of the gods was just a normal human being, not even ranked. Like… Less powerful than you.”
“Huh…” Lucy didn’t quite know what to say to that. “That’s interesting. And not what I would’ve imagined.”
The other woman shrugged. “I don’t know more than that. Although, given who it was that said it, I doubt that she lied. The Great Lady values the truth above all else. She might often speak in riddles or leave out a few things, but she never outright lies. That said, I’m pretty sure gods have some ways to enhance themselves with their divinity. Would only make sense in my mind.”
Lucy nodded her agreement. “Yeah. I doubt Vuthe would need to, though. Especially given her titles.”
“That reminds me,” Miss Cecily turned her attention away from whatever she had been thinking about a moment prior, looking at Lucy. “What… purpose do these titles actually have, do you know? I get that most titles are names given to people or things that did something worth remembering, for good or ill. But I’m confused as to why the System actually lists them.”
The courier nodded, getting up and stretching this way and that, before she put her hands to her hips and regarded her travelling companion with a nod. “That is a very good question. And one that has a rather complicated answer. You no doubt have noticed that Vuthe’s titles are separated into major and minor. That doesn’t always happen. Take our statuses, for example.”
She quickly pulled a piece of paper and a graphite stick out of her bag, and began writing down her own status, as well as the status of Miss Cecily.
Sorry for the delay, may or may not have potentially forgotten to schedule the chapters >.> Next chapter is gonna be the last chapter from Lucy's POV (And the last with status screens for basically all of the remainder of Book I). Hope you enjoyed the change in view!
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