Chapter 72 – Complications?

AG. Sorry about the missed days. What ever it was hit me hard. I couldn't do anything for like five days straight (Two of them were over the weekend. ) I'm still not fixed and I haven't started tomorrow's chapter but it will come even if it is a few hours delayed.

Two days had passed since he had the dual successes of Instant Strike and Touch Heal. Their addition had been sufficient for him to be offered a chance to compete for the Divine’s Champions Trial.  Since then, he had spent a significant amount of time in what he was calling his contender room. It was superior to the pseudo-system room alternative, but only in the sense that the limitation of the time dilation did not apply. All the other features of the pseudo-system were available, including the monitors, but there were no extras.

He had hoped that it would give him access to browsing the experience shop and auction house. Basically, he wanted what he was due to receive at age ten; but, unfortunately, that was not to be. He was still locked out from his status; however, having the time dilation penalty removed was significant. With audio and screens moving in real time, he could do his thinking in here without penalty, while his body did the mundane boring things like walking from spot to spot or sitting at the reading lessons.

Not for the first time, he glanced over at the new message that came with the room.

Contender Challenge Starts in:

21 days, 12 hours, 16 minutes and 51 seconds. 

Despite him having searched for it, he found no other data about what the contender challenge actually was, either here or in the isolation rooms. He hadn’t had an opportunity to interact with Corrine, who was the one person he knew had the answers to his questions. While roping in Dimitri to get the answers for him was an option, he had abandoned the idea as stupid. Tom was sure that the caretaker could track down the truth, but getting him to do so would be problematic. One, because abusing the fame he had from his past life felt wrong; two, because he didn’t want to misuse the emergency signal protocol that they had set up. All Dimitri would be doing would be satisfying his curiosity, and it was unlikely he’d be able to divulge anything helpful. After all, not only was it possible - it was also likely that the GODs didn’t want him to know any more than what was displayed. If that was the case, he might end up sitting in front of Dimitri, unable to speak. He has had a first-hand experience with how powerful Geas could be. That risk of his reaching out failing utterly meant that trying to use an emergency session was not sensible.

All contact with adults beyond the normal potentially marked him as reincarnator and was worth avoiding, unless it was absolutely necessary.

That meant all he knew about the coming challenge was that it was going to start at around five a.m. in the morning. At that point, something, he didn’t know what, would occur. He could be dragged into a trial physically, or it might be a virtual outcome. Tom was uncertain about how it would go, which, in turn, meant he would need to be in an isolation room when the time came around.

So that’s what he would do.

Luckily, unlike with the others, the illusion magic that impacted everyone else using the corridors at night didn’t affect him.

He left the contender room and continued almost jogging toward the dining room where he was going to meet the others.  

“Well, if that isn’t my little troublemaker.” A very familiar voice yelled from behind and made him almost jump in surprise.

“What? What’s happening?” Tom spun around, and saw Maurice striding toward him.

She had a smile on her face. “I have a bone to pick with you.” She said happily, her tone not matching the more sobering contents of the sentence. Unable to prevent it his mind flashed to the history between them - the trait stone that she had inexplicably gifted him.

It was the only reason he had got this invitation to try out for the Divine Champion’s trial, but it had been at the expense of Boreas, her son. He hoped the adventurer was not regretting that decision. 

She smirked, and he could see the crow lines on her eyes. She was someone who smiled and laughed a lot. “You’re so adorable. You look like you’re about to burst into tears.” 

“What did I do?” he asked and, while he couldn’t bring himself to regret using the trait stone, he prayed he hadn’t created an enemy by accepting it. Having an adventurer as powerful as Maurice having a grudge against him would be problematic. Even having allies such as Dimitri and Everlyn on his side wouldn’t negate the problems someone like that could create for him. 

“It’s okay, dearie. No need to panic,” she said hurriedly. “You’re my little troublemaker because Eden of the Green got word of the stone. She was extremely irate when I told her that not only did I no longer have it, but witnessed it being absorbed. For an instant, I thought that crazy bitch was going to kill me.” 

“Eden?” Tom asked dumbly, knowing full well why Eden had been looking for such a trait stone. “Eden… as in the…”  

“Yes, yes. That Eden. Don’t look so wide eyed and amazed. She’s not actually that impressive. Take away the heroes of humanity bit and that spat she had with the wador, and she hasn’t done much more than me or any of the other top elites.” 

Tom clutched onto the unspoken context eager to change the subject. “You’re very powerful, aren’t you?” 

She scowled slightly. “Very? I’ll have you know I’m much more than just very - I’m extremely powerful, incredibly so. Officially, I’m only a twenty-third on the ladder, but I haven’t had anywhere near the number of lucky encounters as the rest of them. Combat-wise, I’m top ten for sure.”

“That’s...”

“She still told me off. Can you believe it? The nerve of it. I’m my own woman, I can do what I want.”

Despite what she was saying, she sounded very defensive.

“You’re not in trouble, are you?” 

“No, dearie, I’ll be fine. Eden’s more bark than bite. Anyway, I have a wayward son to do some training with.” With a wave of her hand, she quickly marched away while Tom stood there, watching.

Part of him wondered if he should tell Dimitri to pull off the search, but then again, given his aims, he would have been silly to pass on the opportunity to gain another trait. No, he would let it continue because who knew what Everlyn might find for him with her riches and connections? Her giving some of that to him now when he could leverage it into something even more substantial was probably going to be the best use of her funds.

In the dining hall, he met with the others, and they ended up playing bubbles. The tag was very different from the first time he had played it. Back then, they had operated at a distance from the machine, never getting within fifteen meters of it. Now that they were older, they played far closer, and joined into a game with eight- and nine-year-olds.

Overall, they lost, and there was a number of older kids they couldn’t touch. At least one of them was reincarnated, as he discovered when he was tagged. Not that he could tell the others to make them feel better. Briana was not happy at all about losing.

They were, however right there when dinner was served, so they were first in line.

As a rule, Tom disliked meal times. Except for Kang and Briana, he didn’t want to get to know any of these kids, and, as a result he and Kang were the active loners of the year level, and they would have had basically no contact with anyone else. That was but for the fact, that amongst kids her age, Briana was a social butterfly and, because of her, Tom found himself learning the names and starting to feel for the other kids. It was frustrating, but there was nothing he could do.

Briana was a mystery to him. She was weirdly confident and outgoing with other children, even if the moment an adult got involved she would clam up. The contrast was amusing.  

His eyes scanned the general bustle of activity, showing disinterest to dissuade Josh from talking to him. He noticed Eloise slipping through the doors. There was something about how she was carrying herself that piqued his interest. Despite trying to be sneaky, she walked with purpose, and there was a threatening glint to her eyes.  

He was instantly on guard, especially when he observed that she was heading straight for Joseph.  

Kang had stopped him from interfering last time, but from what he could gather, the back and forth between Eloise and that group had been continuous ever since. Eloise was not one to surrender, and this appeared to be another escalation.

His instinct was to intercede and prevent the confrontation, but she was moving too fast. By the time he gauged her destination, it was too late, so he sat and observed.  

Kang’s hand abruptly gripped his arm, his strength surprising. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other boy shaking his head. He had noticed the emerging issue, probably by tracing Tom’s focus, and was taking steps to prevent Tom from exploding.

Tom was torn about the best way to react. The logical action was to dampen his senses for a minute until the situation blew over. Close his eyes and ears and wait for Kang to shake him to tell him to come back to the real world. But he also wanted to watch what was about to happen. He needed to see how Eloise planned to strike upwards, and her picking on Joseph was not something that could spark his rage - only if the fighting went the other way.

He could, at a minimum, watch the start safely, and then turn away if it got out of control in the other direction.

Completely unnoticed by anyone at Joseph’s table, Eloise snuck up right behind him, and then, with a savage smirk, poured a vial of liquid down the boy’s back.  

The reaction was comical.

First, Joseph slapped his neck, and a look of surprised shock transformed his face as he obviously confirmed the spreading wetness. For a moment, it looked like he was struggling to understand what was happening. His nose wrinkled, and, curiously, he sniffed more deeply, before immediately gagging like you would if you entered a particularly smelly alleyway, and one contaminated with rotting fish at that. A look of puzzlement crossed his face, and he moved his hand from his back to in front of his eyes. As he did so, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, agitating the clear liquid on his fingertips. Then he lifted the fingers toward his nose.

Tom cringed in sympathy. He could see what was happening. With fingers just centimeters from his nose, Joseph inexplicably breathed in deeply. This time, he almost vomited in an involuntary reaction, and his tongue stuck out of his mouth as he gagged. A look of disgust crossed his face and deep-set confusion. It was like his mind was incapable of interpreting what was happening.

He thrust his hand away from his face in disgust and then stared dumbly as it began to sizzle. Then the full implications of what had been done to him registered. He roared and jumped up, only to get tangled with his friend who had the same idea.

They both crashed to the ground.   

Eloise, meanwhile, was running away while laughing in delight. She was making a beeline for the nearest door. Presumably she had a bolt hole she had set up.

Joseph scrambled to his feet and turned in her direction, but it was too late. Foam was boiling out from the back of his top and the hand that he had smelled was on his friend’s waist in the midst of a similar reaction.  

“What’s happening?” Kang demanded having stood. Tom realised he was also on his feet.

Eyes wide, he stared in shock at Joseph, and then relaxed slightly as he processed what he was observing. Unlike what he had briefly feared, it probably wasn’t an acid. Then, because he was always aware of his surroundings, he noticed who else was standing; Corrine, the guy who did his last testing, and a couple of other older kids that he had tentatively identified as reincarnators had also jumped up. 

It seemed like every reincarnator had reacted, and none of the normal children. Tom could feel his cheeks reddening in communal embarrassment.

It was terrible.

Forcefully, he grabbed one of the jugs of water and pretended that he hadn’t stood in response to the commotion, but rather everything he had done was just a normal part of his day. He had stood up because he was thirsty, and the tables were too large for a six-year-old to reach the vessels when they were placed in the center of the tables like they were. Messily, he poured the water into a cup and drank it, and then immediately retreated into the contender’s room. He would play it by ear, but this was intended to be a brief visit. He just wanted to do a sanity check on how everyone else was reacting to the commotion. His eyes were fixed on the main monitor, and he was unsurprised when his avatar stared at the unfolding drama around Joseph with unabashed curiosity.

Focusing on the drama was going to be seen as natural. His perfect acting self was doing it, as was everyone else who were busily staring and laughing at the unfortunate kid. With the path forward validated, Tom took control back. 

Joseph was, of course, distressed.

Only a few seconds had passed, and the foam had expanded far enough to start inhibiting his range of motions. Tom had a suspicion about the nature of what Eloise had used, and he suspected that Joeseph’s problems were only going to get worse.  

That minor consideration aside, the memory of how many of the reincarnators had reacted troubled Tom. It made sense, he wasn’t disputing that, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t problematic. The only positive bit about the situation was that Danger Sense had not triggered. But just in case, and conscious of both his known and unknown titles uniquely positioning him as the first line of defense, he scanned the rafters. Nothing was lurking up there unseen; at least, nothing that he could detect.  

Given his many advantages, he was confident that the room was safe. 

Kang sat down heavily next to him, a grimace briefly on his face before it vanished. Tom knew what he had done, and he agreed with it. These sorts of situations, where someone was being laughed at rather than with, was not one that was easy to act appropriately in. Tom took the hint Kang had given him, and retreated into his contender’s room, this time intending to stay until the scene fully played out. His body was laughing at Joseph, who was by this point completely cocooned. 

Joseph’s face was making interesting distressed expressions that alternated between annoyance at the constraints and reaction to the stink which had cleared everyone else away. Despite how quickly the foam had spread, neither him nor his friend appeared to be in any danger. Something, probably community fate, had left the area around his face clear but it was also possible that one of the many adult volunteers had interceded magically to prevent any issues.  

Tom didn’t care. Internally, he was cursing his own quick reaction. It was not acceptable. He needed to do better, and, if he got alone time with the others, he would remind them of that, too. Eloise had played a simple prank, and it was almost enough to reveal their identities.  

Collectively, it was a debacle. His reaction had been too fast, but Corrine and the other older kids doing the same was worse. Tom at least had the excuse that Eloise was something of a friend, and so, of course, he was going to be more cognisant of her presence. 

He watched as Dimitri approached the two boys who were encased in foam. The chief caretaker did not look happy.  

“Dimitri, can you fix this?” Joseph begged. “She sucker-punched me.” 

The older man frowned down at him. “No, Joseph, you should have known better. I don’t condone what Eloise did. But there are rules.” He shook his finger at the trapped boys. “If you’re going to pick on someone from a younger year level, you need to accept the consequences. I have no idea who Eloise sourced this from, but it was clearly from an adult.” 

“Her not-parents.” 

“Not them,” Dimitri interrupted. “They’re over near the wador territory, and, given their contribution to this town, if they had done this, I would not reprimand them. They have a right to look after their daughter. But no, it wasn’t them. But I know what this unpleasant stuff does.” He tapped the substance that constrained them. “It’s called Aerated Hardening Foam, and was only recently added to our shop. It’s a mostly-failed combat potion with a well-known half-life. Give it two hours, and this should unstick enough for you to pull yourself out.” 

“It’ll be sleep time by then. Can’t you make it go faster? This is unfair.” 

“Yes, it will be late,” Dimitri agreed. “Consider that your penance.” With a jaunty step, he walked away, having clearly enjoyed the interaction.  

“This isn’t fair,” Joseph yelled. “She blindsided us. Let me out of here. Please, I need to get out.” He struggled, but apart from causing veins to pop out on his face, his attempts were having no impact. The foam was even stuck to the ground, so he couldn’t even rock from side to side.  

While they begged, threatened, and carried on, dinner continued as normal, with the exception of two whole tables being abandoned because of the apparent smell the foam gave off.. At some point, one of the adults used a silencing spell which helped. Whenever Tom looked at the two trapped boys, all he could see were red faces and open mouths as they tried futilely to get attention.

Eventually, it was time to sleep. He went into the contender room and looked at his status sheet. It was one that he had constructed manually by incessantly using the ritual status screen every opportunity he had.  

The errors and holes in his understanding were glaring but, given the constraints, he thought he had done a good job.

“Display my created status on the wall,” he ordered.