Part 1 - You Don't Find Her
The guild was quieter this time. It wasn't empty, just noticeably less chaotic, which for a place like Stonehollow usually meant something was wrong. Adrian leaned against the counter for a second, scanning the room. There was no sign of Lyra, no shouting, and no—
"...There you are."
Raaandy was sitting in the far corner of the room, looking very much like he owned the entire space. It wasn't in an obvious or loud way; it was just that no one else in the entire guild hall dared to take that seat.
Adrian walked over and dropped into the chair directly opposite the massive orc. "...You charge for conversations too, or just information?"
Raaandy didn't look up immediately. "...Depends," he said, his voice a deep rumble. "Is what you're about to say a waste of my time?"
"...Probably."
Raaandy gave a slow nod. "Then yes."
Adrian sighed. "...Fair." He leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the table. "I'm looking for someone."
That finally got the orc's attention. It wasn't dramatic, just a slight, deliberate shift in his posture. "...You usually are," Raaandy said.
"...That's concerningly accurate." Adrian paused, bracing himself before giving the name. "...Her name's Elena."
Silence fell between them. Raaandy's thick fingers tapped once against the worn wood of the table. "...You don't find her," he said flatly.
Adrian blinked. "...That's not exactly helpful."
"You don't find her," Raaandy repeated, deadpan. "She allows it."
The statement sounded entirely too familiar. "...Right," Adrian muttered, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. "...Of course she does."
Raaandy leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharpening. "Shadowfen moves. Paths change. Creatures follow."
Adrian narrowed his eyes, catching the shift in tone. "...Follow what?"
Raaandy held his gaze firmly. "...Something new."
It wasn't just vague; it was entirely worse. "...Define new," Adrian demanded.
Raaandy leaned back in his chair again. "Stronger." He paused for a beat. "Wrong."
Adrian exhaled slowly. "...Yeah, I've been getting that exact feeling."
Raaandy studied him intently for a long moment, reading the determination on his face. "...You're going anyway."
Adrian gave a firm nod. "...Yeah."
"...Then listen." The sudden gravity in the orc's voice changed the entire atmosphere of the corner. "Do not chase the forest. Do not follow sound." He leaned in just a fraction more. "And if something stops running—"
Adrian frowned, interrupting him. "...That's bad?"
Raaandy's stoic expression didn't change a bit. "It means it's not afraid."
A heavy beat passed between them. "...Good talk," Adrian muttered, pushing himself out of the chair and standing up.
Raaandy didn't stop him, nor did he offer another warning, which somehow made the silence behind him feel so much worse.
"...Yeah," Adrian said under his breath as he pushed through the guild doors and walked out into the street. "...Definitely going to ignore at least one of those."
Shadowfen greeted him with a sudden shift in atmosphere. The moment he crossed the threshold into the woods, the air changed not necessarily becoming colder or darker, but noticeably heavier. Adrian stepped carefully through the dense treeline, his eyes scanning the shadows and his movements tightly controlled.
"...Alright," adjusting his gear. "No chasing sounds, no following weird things, and absolutely no bad decisions." He paused, letting out a breath. "...Let's see how long that lasts."
It lasted for about ten minutes.
The first sound came from his left. It was high-pitched, incredibly fast, and there were far too many of them. Adrian stopped dead in his tracks and closed his eyes briefly. "...Yeah," he sighed. "...Not following sounds. Got it."
A second later, another sound echoed from the right, much closer this time. "...Okay," he added, keeping his feet planted. "...Still not following sounds."
Then, the third sound came from everywhere at once.
Adrian snapped his eyes open. "...Yeah, I think they followed me instead."
They dropped from the canopy above, clawed their way out from the undergrowth, and appeared from places they absolutely should not have been able to hide. They were Chrizzlings, and there were dozens of them.
"...Alright," Adrian said, rolling his shoulders slightly to loosen up. "...Round two."
The swarm rushed him all at once. They were fast, chaotic, and completely uncoordinated, but their sheer numbers made them overwhelming. Adrian stepped forward instead of back and raised his hand. The air around his palm tightened and sharply shifted.
"Slicing Wind."
The invisible arc of pressurized air cut forward with a vicious slice. Three of the creatures dropped instantly, killed cleanly by the blow.
"...Okay," Adrian quickly adjusting his stance as the blood hit the dirt. "...That's better."
But more of them kept coming. There were too many to count, and the swarm didn't slow down for a second. He moved through the chaos with controlled precision no longer flailing or guessing, but making every single movement deliberate and every strike sharper than the last.
Even so, the sheer volume of the swarm didn't stop. "...Yeah," he said under his breath, dodging a lunging creature. "...This is still a major problem."
One of them slipped through his guard, then two, and then five. Sharp claws scratched across his forearm and tore at his shoulder. None of the wounds were exceptionally deep, but it was enough to draw blood. Adrian forcefully stepped back to create some distance, his breathing steady but his mind racing.
"...Too many targets," his eyes darting across the encroaching wave. "...Need more space."
He raised both hands, pulling the surrounding air inward to prepare a massive blast. But before he could release the magic—
THUNK.
A lunging Chrizzling was knocked clean out of mid-air by a flying projectile. Adrian froze.
Another sharp THUNK echoed through the clearing, and then another. Each shot was incredibly clean and perfectly precise.
"...Okay," Adrian said slowly, lowering his hands just a fraction. "...That's definitely not me."
The remaining swarm faltered. It was only for a split second, but that brief moment of hesitation was all Adrian needed. He stepped forward to seize the opening. "Slicing Wind!"
A much wider arc of razor-sharp air tore violently through the front line of creatures, cutting a clean path for escape. He moved instantly, breaking through the gap and creating a safe distance between himself and the swarm. Seeing their numbers decimated, the remaining creatures hesitated for a final beat before scattering into the deep undergrowth. They were gone.
Silence returned to the forest. Adrian exhaled a long, slow breath. "...Alright," he said, looking around the quiet clearing. "...Whoever that was...thanks."
There was no immediate answer, of course. He frowned slightly, sensing a sudden presence nearby. He felt a gaze from above and looked up into the canopy.
There, perched high in the branches of a massive tree, was a figure. She was completely still, silent, and watching him intently. She had dark hair, sharp features, and her bow was already lowered.
It was Sylra Veythorn.
"...You're welcome," she said calmly from her perch.
Adrian blinked up at the branches. "...You've been up there the whole time?"
"Yes."
"...That's incredibly comforting."
She studied him for a long moment, her sharp eyes measuring his stance and the scratches on his arm. "You're reckless," she said flatly.
Adrian exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "...I'm starting to hear that a lot lately."
"You fight noise," she continued, her voice cool and steady. "Not patterns."
A heavy pause hung in the air. "...That feels an awful lot like criticism."
"It is."
Adrian nodded slowly, accepting the critique. "...Fair."
A brief silence settled between them before Adrian spoke up again. "...Name?"
She hesitated, her gaze lingering on him for a beat longer. Then, she answered quietly, "...Sylra."
There was no last name and no further explanation. Before he could even formulate a response, she moved. She didn't dramatically jump or clumsily climb down; she was just suddenly, seamlessly gone.
Adrian blinked, looking up at the empty branch once more. There was absolutely nothing there. "...Right, Of course she does that."
He stood alone in the clearing for a moment, letting the silence wrap around him as he processed her words. "...Fight patterns, not noise," he repeated quietly under his breath.
He turned his gaze deeper into the dark, shifting forest of Shadowfen. "...And somehow find someone who doesn't even want to be found." He paused, a wry smile touching his lips. "...Yeah. This is definitely going to take a while."
Part 2 - Deadlines and Excuses
Earth felt... slower. It wasn't slower physically, but everything just took entirely too much time. Adrian leaned back in his chair, staring at his laptop screen as if it had personally betrayed him.
"...You had one job," he muttered to the monitor.
The blinking cursor didn't respond.
He sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes. "...Right. Writing requires... actual writing."
Four days. He had four full days to kill on Earth, which meant almost an entire month was passing by in Eryndor while he sat here.
"...I should be using that time," he said quietly to the empty room. "...Instead, I'm actively arguing with a blinking line."
From the kitchen, his grandmother's voice drifted in. "Adrian, are you actually working in there, or are you just talking to yourself again?"
"...Both!" he called back.
A brief pause hung in the air. "...At least you're consistent!"
"...That's not comforting!"
He rubbed his face to shake off the lethargy, then leaned forward toward the keyboard with renewed focus. "...Alright," he muttered, cracking his knuckles. "...No distractions."
Ten minutes later, he was staring blankly at the wall. "...Okay, mild distractions."
The News
The TV clicked on in the background, but Adrian didn't look at it at first until a specific phrase caught his ear.
"...And in local news today, another strange incident occurred at a downtown construction site..."
Adrian froze and slowly turned his head toward the screen. On the display, reporter Job Lack stood in front of a fenced-off perimeter, microphone in hand.
"...Reports claim a massive section of scaffolding fell, yet absolutely no impact damage was recorded," Job continued. "...No debris, no structural collapse. According to multiple eye-witnesses, the heavy metal just... stopped mid-fall."
Adrian leaned back slowly in his chair. "...Yeah, That's not suspicious at all."
The broadcast cut to shaky, vertical phone footage of confused construction workers talking in a huddle. "No one was under it," one worker explained to the camera. "It should've smashed straight through the platform, but it just... didn't."
Adrian looked down at his own hand. He flexed his fingers slightly, and a faint, liquid ripple ran across his skin, barely visible but definitely there.
"...Right," he said to the empty room. "...We're absolutely not doing that in public again."
From the kitchen, his grandmother's voice suddenly called out. "Adrian!"
"...Yeah?"
"Weren't you working at that exact site this week?"
He paused, calculating his reply. "...Define 'working.'"
A heavy silence followed. "...Adrian."
"...I heard about it," he said quickly, raising his voice so it carried. "...I was carrying materials on the completely opposite side of the lot. Didn't see anything."
There was another long pause from the kitchen. "...You're sure you're alright?"
He smiled faintly, keeping his tone reassuring. "...Yeah, Gran. I'm good."
"...You sound tired."
"...That's just because I'm writing."
"...Ah," she said knowingly. "...So you're suffering."
"...Exactly."
Deadline Panic
Adrian turned his focus back to his laptop. The blank page was still open, practically judging him with its emptiness.
Then, it hit him.
"...Wait." He sat up completely straight, his eyes widening as the pieces fell into place. "...Wait, wait, wait. Eryndor."
He paused, a brilliant, frantic realization taking over his mind. "...I can cheat."
Stonehollow Library
The smell hit him first: old paper, heavy dust, and the unmistakable scent of passing time. Adrian stepped inside, his eyes scanning the quiet, cavernous space.
"...Okay," he muttered to himself. "...A fantasy world library." He paused for a beat, letting his eyes adjust to the dim candlelight. "...If there's not at least one ancient, forbidden secret hidden here, I'm going to be deeply disappointed."
There were no glowing books on display and no mysterious whispers echoing from the shadows. There were just shelves...shelves upon shelves stretching up into the gloom.
"...Alright," he added, pulling out a chair. "...We'll settle for 'productive' instead."
He sat down at a heavy wooden table and laid out his materials: a thick stack of blank parchment, a well of dark ink, and a feathered quill. He stared at the setup for a long, painful moment.
"...I really, really miss keyboards."
He dipped the quill into the well anyway and pressed the tip to the parchment. He started writing. At first, the process was slow and incredibly awkward as he fumbled with the flow of the ink. But then, a rhythm took over. He grew faster. The words flowed effortlessly, the scenes built themselves in his mind, and the dialogue snapped right into place.
She Only Teases in French.
"...You're welcome, future readers," he muttered under his breath, scribbling down another line.
Hours bled into days, and he barely even noticed the passage of time. The system flickered faintly in the far corner of his vision, remaining silent as always. There were no interruptions, no texts, and zero distractions. There was just pure, unadulterated focus.
"...Okay," Adrian said, pausing to flex his aching hand. "...This is actually working."
By the time he finished, he leaned all the way back in his chair, completely exhausted but thoroughly satisfied.
"...Done." He paused, letting the sheer absurdity of the situation wash over him. "...I just wrote an entire light novel volume in a medieval library." He paused again, staring at the massive stack of hand-written parchment in front of him. "...What is my life right now."
Back to Earth
The transition back felt much smoother now—less jarring and far more natural. Adrian blinked, and he was back in his bedroom. His laptop was still open on the desk, and the cursor was still blinking in the exact same spot.
"...You waited," he said to the screen. "...I respect that."
He cracked his knuckles and began typing. He was fast, efficient, and incredibly clean. Within minutes, the handwritten manuscript he had composed in the library was fully digitized, formatted, and ready. He hovered the mouse over the send button.
"...Alright," taking a deep breath. "...No take-backs."
Click. Sent.
Adrian leaned all the way back in his office chair, exhaling a long, slow breath. "...That," he said to the empty room, "...is the most illegal-feeling productivity I have ever experienced in my life."
From the kitchen, his grandmother's voice drifted in. "Did you actually finish your work?"
"...Yes!"
"...Already?"
"...Don't question miracles, Gran!"
There was a brief, dry pause from the hallway. "...I raised you to have better sense than that."
"...Debatable!"
Time Realization
Adrian smiled faintly, folding his arms as he stared up at the ceiling, thinking it through. "...Okay," he muttered. "...This completely changes things."
The time difference between worlds wasn't just a strange quirk anymore; it was a powerful tool. He could train longer, work faster, and build up his skills with an unmatched advantage.
"...Yeah," he said quietly. "...This is going to be incredibly useful." He paused, his smile fading slightly. "...Also incredibly dangerous."
If he started relying on it too much, the boundary between his two lives would completely blur. "...Let's not spiral," he added quickly, shaking the thought from his head.
Dinner
An hour later, he sat at the kitchen table, eating quietly while his grandmother watched him from across the rim of her glass.
"...You're thinking too hard again," she noted.
"...I do that sometimes."
"...Not like this, you don't."
Adrian paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. "...Just work stuff," he lied smoothly.
She didn't look convinced for a second, but she chose not to push him on it. "...Eat your food," she said instead.
"...Yes, boss."
Decision
Later that night, Adrian stood alone in his bedroom. His hand rested lightly against the handle of the closet door, the quiet weight of expectation settling over his shoulders.
"...Alright," he said softly to the dark room. "...Back to chaos."
A faint ripple of golden energy moved through his skin, humming with the secret magic he was slowly mastering. "...And maybe, just maybe, fewer near-death experiences this time." He paused, a familiar smirk touching his lips. "...Though I make zero promises."
The wood of the door shimmered with a sudden, localized fold in reality, and Adrian stepped straight through.
Part 3 - Mud, Milk, and Bad Decisions
The guild hall was loud again, which meant everything was back to normal. Adrian stepped inside, his new cloak settling around his shoulders the high-quality one that Borin Ironroot had crafted for him. It still felt completely weird to be wearing something that actually mattered.
"...Alright Money first, survival second." He paused for a beat. "...Ideally both."
"Looking for work?"
Adrian turned around to find three people standing behind him. They all looked like they didn't fully trust each other, which, honestly, felt like a pretty good sign in a place like this.
The first one stepped forward. He was tall, lean, and his eyes were already judging Adrian's entire existence. His name was Eggnog.
"...You look like you rely entirely on instinct," Eggnog said flatly.
Adrian blinked. "...You look like you say things no one ever asked for."
A pause hung in the air. "...Fair," Eggnog admitted.
Suddenly, the second member of the trio popped up from behind his tall companion appearing completely out of nowhere. Literally.
"...Hi."
Adrian flinched slightly, stepping back. "...You were absolutely not standing there a second ago."
JJ the Milk Man grinned, his eyes gleaming. "...I usually am not," he whispered mysteriously.
Adrian's eyes dropped down to the stranger's gear. There was, in fact, a small specialized pouch fastened to his belt. "...Is that—milk?"
"...Always," JJ said proudly.
"...That explains absolutely nothing."
"Explains everything," JJ corrected smoothly, before taking a slow sip right from the pouch.
Adrian rubbed his temples. "...I heavily regret asking."
The third member of the group didn't move, didn't speak, and didn't blink. He just watched Adrian with a cold intensity. His name was Zero.
"...He talk?" Adrian asked JJ quietly.
"...Sometimes," JJ said. "...Usually only when it actually matters."
"...That's deeply intimidating," Adrian murmured.
Eggnog loudly cleared his throat to get them back on track. "...Focus."
Right. Work.
"...There's a boar," Eggnog explained. "...It's not technically a high-tier monster, but it's becoming a massive problem."
JJ nodded in agreement. "...The farm is a total mess. The guy cried."
"...I don't think I trust that specific detail," Adrian said.
"...You should," JJ said with utmost seriousness. "...He had goats."
"...That somehow makes it worse."
Eggnog continued, ignoring the banter. "...Its hide is too thick for standard iron weapons. We've already tried cutting it."
Zero finally spoke, his voice deadpan. "...It doesn't break."
Adrian tilted his head slightly, thinking of his growing arsenal. "...So we just need to hit it harder."
"...We did," Eggnog countered. "...It didn't care."
A heavy pause settled over the four of them.
"...Alright," Adrian said, a familiar smirk playing on his lips as he tightened his cloak. "...Let's go meet the problem."
The Farm
The ground was already completely torn apart when they arrived. Fences were shattered into splinters, and the heavy dirt had been churned into a chaotic mess.
"...Yeah," Adrian muttered, surveying the wreckage. "...That's not exactly subtle."
A low, guttural grunt echoed across the field, and then the beast stepped out from the shadows of the broken barn. It was massive, thick, and packed with dense muscle layered beneath an armor-like hide. Its heavy tusks looked less like bone and more like curved, wicked blades.
"...Okay," Adrian said slowly, widening his stance. "...That is definitely a problem."
The boar snorted, kicking up dust, and then it charged.
"MOVE!" Eggnog snapped.
They scattered instantly. The ground shook violently as the monster slammed right through the exact spot where they had been standing a second prior. JJ vanished from sight—literally—while Zero stepped forward into the beast's wake. Air kicked sharply beneath Zero's foot as he launched himself upward into the sky. He came down with brutal momentum.
CRACK.
The strike landed perfectly, but the boar didn't even flinch.
"...Cool," Adrian watching the attack bounce off. "...Love that for us."
Eggnog planted his staff firmly into the ground. "Sand surge!"
The earth shifted violently, rising up to wrap tightly around the boar's massive legs. It held the beast for a fraction of a second before a loud BOOM echoed out. The boar effortlessly shattered the earthen restraints.
"...Okay," Eggnog said, his voice entirely calm. "...Adjusting my expectations."
Adrian stepped forward, his focus sharpening as he raised his hand. "Inferno Ball."
The fiery sphere formed instantly now clean, stable, and humming with heat. "...Progress," he muttered. He fired the projectile.
BOOM.
The explosion hit dead-centre. Smoke and flame engulfed the beast, but a moment later, the boar stepped right out of the clearing smoke, completely unbothered by the flames.
"...I officially hate this thing."
Suddenly, JJ reappeared directly on the creature's back, his daggers flashing in the dim light. CLANG. The blades struck the thick hide and immediately deflected.
"...Yeah, no," JJ said, already leaping off the thrashing monster. "...I am absolutely not built for this."
Zero landed near the flank, striking out again, but achieved nothing.
Adrian exhaled slowly, his mind racing as he watched the beast wheel around for another attack. We can't break it, and we can't stop it, he realized. The boar charged toward them again. ...So we have to change the field.
He looked at Eggnog, then down at the ground, and finally at the lingering moisture glistening in the churned dirt.
"...Wait."
A sudden shift occurred within him a bizarre, deep internal feeling. It was something entirely new. His hand lifted into the air, and water began to gather. It wasn't pulling from a nearby river or an obvious source; it was condensing directly out of the humid air, weeping from the damp ground, and drawing from everything around them.
Variables clicked into place in his mind. "...Oh," Adrian said quietly, staring at his palms. "...well more new things how nice."
A perfect, clear, fluid sphere formed above his hand, rippling with dense weight. "Aqua Sphere."
Eggnog blinked, his eyes shifting from the rippling water to Adrian's face. "...You didn't have that before."
"...I didn't," Adrian admitted, his focus entirely locked onto the battlefield. "...I do now."
The armored boar wheeled around and charged down the line toward them again, its hooves tearing up the landscape.
"...Eggnog," Adrian called out over the rumbling ground, "more sand."
A brief pause hung between them. "...You actually have a plan?"
"Well...barely."
"...Good enough for me."
Eggnog slammed his staff down onto the earth with renewed force. A massive wave of sand surged forward, blanketing the field. Adrian stepped right into the path of the oncoming beast, his Aqua Sphere expanding rapidly above his outstretched palm. With a sharp, sudden movement, he forced the entire mass of water downward into the freshly summoned sand and the loose ground beneath it.
The moment the elements collided, the battlefield transformed into a treacherous pit of heavy sludge. The mud was thick, viscous, and instantly gripping. The boar hit the swampy patch at full speed and stopped violently. It wasn't completely pinned, but its momentum was utterly shattered.
"...YES," Adrian breathed a sigh of relief. "...That actually worked."
The massive beast struggled frantically, roaring in anger as it pulled against the suffocating mud, but it was heavily slowed and entirely trapped. Adrian stepped forward slowly, his breathing steady as he closed the distance.
"...Alright, This is the part I don't mess up."
He raised his hand a second time, and a bitter, biting cold gathered around his fingertips. The magic felt unstable and wild, fighting against his control.
"Ice Spear."
The weapon formed in his grip rough, cracking at the edges, and visibly incomplete. "...Yeah," grimacing at the drain on his energy, "still heavily hate this one."
The boar roared again, thrashing violently as it began to break through the earthen sludge.
"...Just hold still," Adrian muttered, lining up the shot. "...Just—"
He threw it. The spear flew through the air, wobbling and unstable, before striking its target with a resounding CRACK. It pierced deep, driving right through the creature's eye and into its skull. The boar froze instantly, its limbs locking up before it collapsed heavily into the mud.
Silence returned to the ruined farm. Adrian stood over the beast, exhaling a long, ragged breath. "...Okay," he said slowly. "...That worked way better than I expected."
Suddenly, JJ appeared out of thin air right next to him, staring blankly at the dead monster. "...You are incredibly weird."
Adrian looked at his hands, watching the last traces of frost melt away. "...Yeah. I've been told."
Eggnog walked up slowly, studying the churned mud and the fallen beast before shifting his gaze to Adrian. "...You combined elements."
"...Yeah."
"...That's not normal."
Adrian gave a tired shrug. "...Nothing about me is normal."
A brief pause hung over the ruined field. "...Fair," Eggnog admitted.
Zero stepped forward, nodding once in approval. "...Effective."
Adrian smiled faintly at the rare praise. "...I'll take it."
He looked down at his own hand, flexing his fingers as he mentally ticked off his growing list of abilities: water, ice, fire, and wind. "...Yeah, this is getting entirely out of hand." He paused, a familiar smirk returning to his face. "...Then again, in a pretty good way."