Frostbound

Chris

After getting the skill, I realized what time it was. While I was forging it felt like only a few minutes had passed but the sun betrayed that sentiment. It was in a markedly different position than it once was.

At least a few hours had passed from what I could tell.

Oh shit, I was going to be late. Not only did I completely miss the procedure Mitchell was going through, but the start of the lecture that we had scheduled. It was another information package that some people got together to pay for.

I didn't have time to clean up so hopefully showing up covered in grime and sweat wouldn't be too big of an issue.

Cypteris (Alien teacher from Before)

Life had been going well for Cypteris so far. Usually, as a researcher, there were times when work got tremendously boring but, luckily, this wasn't one of those times. A once-in-a-lifetime event was taking place and Cypteris actually got to participate.

Well, participate was a strong word. There wasn't much that a person outside of the newly integrated universe could do but he was one of the few who got to do anything.

Becoming a pseudo-teacher wasn't the most well-paid job but it was fascinating. He got to see the newly integrated before anyone else and witness what was left of their culture.

Usually, by the time scientists arrived on newly integrated worlds, everything was too far gone. The written word didn't last through the terraforming and mana ravaged any record of civilization. There were records of grand civilizations that crumbed to ruins when they couldn't handle the change. Entire cultures wiped out due to their failure to adapt.

This was one of the few chances to get a primary source of information. Humans were common enough in the multiverse that it wasn't a huge deal, but Dwarves certainly weren't. Dwarves were rarely seen outside of their mountain homes and they were a race Cypteris had little interaction with. The closest Dwarven planet was in an entirely different sector from his home planet.

It wasn't surprising to have hundreds of species involved in an integration and Cypteris was lucky to have two different ones for his classes. The Great System usually limited a scholar to only one. Having only humans would have been a bit of a bummer when more esoteric races were in the newest integration.