Chapter 144 - 138

Nick had the good sense to wait until he was home before taking out the package. He showed even better judgment by doing so only after he had carefully carved purification and protection circles around it. He didn't necessarily expect it to be a trap. Marthas wouldn't have needed to go through all this effort, especially not when he was already at the center of his power. However, he had died the last time because he hadn't been meticulous enough in checking every single component of a ritual, so he had no intention of leaving his life to fate again. I might wake up again in another world, but there are no guarantees that this is the case. I certainly didn't notice anything strange in my astral form when I last left my body. He had taken the long way home through the town to make it seem like he wasn't in a hurry. He didn't know if anyone was watching, but with his senses still limited, he wanted to minimize suspicions as much as possible. It also allowed him to get to the mourning feast, where he found his parents holding court. His mother, in particular, had seemed like a shark in the middle of a fish school, weaving in and out of the area, exchanging a few words here and there while stopping to offer a kind smile to anyone who appeared to be left out. It was a fascinating side of her he hadn't seen before. He knew she had been an adventurer, of course, and he was aware of her caring side, but this social butterfly had surprised him. Eugene had been hard at work as well, bringing people from every background together in conversation, and Nick had the weird thought that he might have underestimated his parents after all. He had left shortly afterward, having made sure to reveal enough of himself that no one would assume he had skipped out. The "reward" had burned a hole in his robes the entire time, and now he was finally about to discover what it was. Feeding a trickle of mana into the circles, Nick stepped back. He hissed as the soreness in his coils made itself known, but he was careful to only use a gentle touch. After all, he was just being paranoid; there was no need to go all out. A moment passed in silence before he finally received feedback. The protection was active, though it would only shield him for a second. It will have to be enough. Any more would require me to provide the mana constantly, and I can't do that yet. The purification matrix, on the other hand, encountered a problem. It didn't need to know what it was affecting to do its job, but it first had to locate the item. To Nick's surprise, whatever was in the box was completely invisible to his magic. He pursed his lips, thinking. This seems like a passive effect. The sensation of absence is remarkably similar to what ghostgrass feels like to me. It's probably whatever is wrapped around it that is causing this. At first glance, the cloth didn't appear to be anything special, but despite Nick's persistent poking, he couldn't seem to penetrate it. Even when he manually activated the purification magic, it still had no effect. He did notice that the minor ritual came very easily to him despite his current difficulties. I wonder if it is due to [Arcane Circuitry] or if the Philosopher's Stone purification did something to me… Still, his curiosity was overwhelming. If he had to wait two days until he fully recovered, Nick was certain he might die from curiosity. It would be the wise course of action, especially considering how suspicious he was of anything related to the temple of Sashara, but his gut told him it would be fine, and he had no intention of actually using whatever had been given to him. Not without a much more thorough examination. This is just a preliminary check. Yes, that sounds convincing. With that, Nick stepped back into the circle, feeling the thin currents of protective mana swirl around him. He carefully unwrapped the package, finding that the cloth came loose surprisingly easily and that it resembled a synthetic material more than anything natural. Inside, it revealed a simple lacquered box. Committed to this course of action, Nick opened it and almost flinched at the sound of a latch releasing. He half-expected it to explode, but after a moment of silence, he slowly opened his eyes to find a simple medallion resting on a red satin cushion. Atop it lay a piece of parchment that bore the words: "I used to take this [Compass of Interesting Times] everywhere when I was young, but unfortunately, it only works based on the bearer's strength, and anything considered interesting for me would be far too dangerous for my surroundings. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did." Nick felt his eyebrows raise in surprise. This was certainly not what he had expected when Marthas gave him the present. He didn't know exactly what he had believed he'd been given, but his thoughts had been more in line with a religious artifact or a wand to replace the one he had lost to Sashara. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "But then again, he wouldn't try to undermine her punishment," he murmured, picking up the compass. Now that he was looking, he could see a needle under the thick crystal casing, and with a push of his finger on the lock, it opened. The interior was crafted from silver, and Nick was surprised to find that he had been mistaken in his earlier assessment. It wasn't the cloth that concealed mana; it was the compass itself. Even while holding it in his hand, he couldn't sense a single mote of power within, yet as soon as he opened it, the needle began spinning. It took a minute before it finally slowed down, leaving Nick with the vague impression that it had completed its attunement. Ultimately, it stopped, pointing to the southeast. It must operate on a different principle than the Healer's anatomical bust. Blasphemy didn't interfere, so it likely doesn't need to interface with me. I wonder how it works… Suppressing the urge to dismantle it, Nick waved a hand to disperse the circles, once again noticing that the mana reacted almost instinctively. Poking the medallion didn't seem to change anything; in fact, no matter how he moved or shook it, it continued to point unerringly toward the southern grassland. [Compass of Interesting Times] was a fairly self-explanatory name. Nick wondered if there was a similar curse in this world as there had been on Earth. "May you live in interesting times" wasn't Chinese, as many believed, and actually came from a speech by Joseph Chamberlain, which had been misconstrued as referencing an older saying. Sometimes, there were little things like that. Turns of phrase he recognized as originating from specific events or cultures on Earth that he found unexpectedly here. It made him wonder whether humans were more predictable than they realized, if the same patterns kept repeating in entirely different worlds. That aside, he wondered why Marthas felt the need to give it to him. He knew he had done the man a favor, of course, but he questioned how much of it was a simple repayment and how much was a show for the priests and acolytes. Nick knew that people had been discussing what could have led Sashara to send a fireball at him. Therefore, he suspected that the "punishment" must have been a topic of considerable discussion within the temple. He wasn't dead, which likely meant She didn't see him as a heretic. However, he had evidently been singled out. The fact that Marthas took the time to assign him such a sensitive task and then publicly rewarded him for it was clearly part of a political ploy. It might be a way to calm things down. I doubt many people know about my wand, so by acknowledging me so openly, he will have dashed any rumors about me being an enemy of the temple. It wasn't that Nick wasn't grateful, but he wondered what had prompted the Prelate to act in this manner. Did he feel guilty about what had almost happened in the dungeon? Nick doubted it. His impression of Marthas was that he wouldn't hesitate to do anything to advance his Goddess' faith. That means that there is something else going on. The compass seemed to be the most likely suspect. Although he couldn't detect even a single mote of mana from it, that didn't mean it lacked magical properties. It was possible, even probable, that a man as powerful as Marthas could deceive his senses. But what would he gain from sending me off on an adventure? Sweat dripped down his brow, and Nick cursed the moment of madness that had led him to agree to be tortured. You'd think that with all the levels I've achieved, my body would be strong enough to get through a single training session. But no, of course, there is no limit to the strain they can put me through. "Come on, another series, and we can start the cool-down stretches," Eugene grinned, evidently not nearly as winded as Nick felt. Looking askance at the much larger boulder resting on his father's back, Nick had to suppress a sigh. He needed the air to get through this torture. Clenching his core and pushing up, he heard a groan slip through his clenched teeth and took half a second to rest before bending his arms and going back down. "Your nose should touch the dirt! And your back should be straight!" he heard his mother yell. Once more, he pushed upward, feeling the stone wobble against his back. He needed to keep his mana steady, as he instinctively almost reached out to straighten it. That wasn't the purpose of this exercise, and he still had a day left before he could use it more freely. Instead, he tightened his stance, and it steadied. "That's it, Nick. Give me four more, and you're done!" He needed no more urging and fell back down. The knowledge that he was so close to sweet relief gave him strength, allowing Nick to finally complete the last set. "Ugh," he groaned as he collapsed. The ground was dusty and uncomfortable, but he couldn't have cared less. His muscles screamed in a way they hadn't since Akari had been around, and Nick promised himself he wouldn't get suckered into training with his parents again. Not without being able to use his mana, at least. All that talk about helping Dad plan his final steps before Prestige was just a siren song to get me to agree. I've been betrayed by my own blood. "Oh, come off it. You barely did half of what your grandmother had me do," Elena said, and Nick could feel her smirk even without a sensory spell. Pushing himself up was a monumental task, but he accomplished it through sheer willpower. "I am a mage. It seems to keep escaping your memory." His grumbling was met with more amusement, but Nick didn't take it to heart. Although a physical training session wasn't exactly his idea of a good time, he still wanted to participate. If things went as Arthur seemed to expect and he ended up having to leave, he knew he would regret not taking every opportunity to spend time with them. "How does it feel?" Elena asked as she leaped onto her husband's back. Surprisingly, he didn't falter at all under the added weight. It might have something to do with the boulder the size of a small car that was already strapped there. "Still nothing," Eugene replied. If a one-ton rock didn't make him sweat, Nick had no idea what other method they could employ to tire him out. He was currently trying to maximize his physical stat gains, having announced the previous evening that, with the gains he made in the dungeon, he had finally surpassed level ninety. This was known as the last stretch before Prestige, and at Arthur's urging, Eugene had started preparing for his eventual rank-up. Apparently, gaining attributes through training after level 100 was considered impossible. Nick suspected that the methods necessary to strain such a powerful body were simply ridiculously impractical, but that didn't mean it wasn't a good idea to get all he could. Eugene couldn't exactly leave for another quest anytime soon, especially after just returning to Floria with a decimated force and the lingering tension gripping the town. His plan to simply wait until a few powerful monsters wander close enough seems rather harebrained to me. I'll try to come up with something more…efficient. At least it would allow Nick to spend some time productively. He had several theories about what reaching Prestige would be like, and he really appreciated having a test subject so close to the threshold.