I slowly walked back toward the crater. Walking through the dark grass as the sunlight started to slip beneath the horizon. I reached the crater’s edge and looked over. I saw Goldwill’s body still standing, though the only thing missing was his head.

I slid down the slope and walked over to it. His armor was relatively destroyed but somehow his body was still in good condition.

“What an absolute monster…”

I smiled lightly.

||STORAGE||

The gray screen appeared before me as I picked up and tossed Goldwill’s corpse into it. It took him in with ease… now with his corpse gone, nothing else remained in this deep rigid crater.

<So is that what ‘Nuclear’ is?>

Ah-

Shit I forgot this was nuclear. I started running toward the top of the crater, I hopped up the side before hearing metal clunking from the other side. The knights had arrived with some adventurers. Of course they were late… I guess Goldwill had them leave so he would be the only one in danger.

I slipped away as they rushed down into the crater searching for any remains of the captain. I got back to where I left Esther. She was sitting on a stump, her head leaning on her hand as she watched me approach her.

“We’re all set. Though we should move further out, the knights and adventurers are now there.”

“It’s dark now, it’s dangerous to travel.”

I looked at her.

“I thought there were no monsters for the most part?”

She put her finger up, before speaking.

“No big monsters. Things like goblins are still out there since they reproduce quicker than they can be killed off, not to mention they’re more than enough to kill us while we’re both low on mana.”

I paused for a second before processing what she said.

“Wait, how low is your mana right now?”

She blushed and looked away.

“That’s none of your concern-”

“You went below fifty thousand didn’t you?”

She jolted for a second before trying to lightly laugh it off.

I sighed and put my hand behind my neck rubbing it.

“We’ll rest tonight then move in the morning, are there any other towns nearby?”

“Hm… well there’s Alfresco, it’s a plateau city to the west. About a two-day trip if we walk.”

“What about flying?”

She thought for a second.

“Maybe a few hours at full speed?”

“Alright we’ll go there tomorrow morning.”

Esther looked at me again.

“What about tonight though? Where are we sleeping?”

I extended my arm out, releasing some slime that shifted into a small tent.

“In there.”

She looked inside, there were two things on the floor resembling beds. She laid down on one of them and closed her eyes.

“Night~”

<She went to sleep really quickly didn’t she?>

I went into the tent and laid down on the other sleeping bag, I put my hands behind my head and closed my eyes. I had a sudden thought. I remembered what ‘Noyade’ meant… ‘execution by drowning’. Kind of ironic for the town named after it. Drowning in mana. 

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

The next morning, I woke up to Esther laying on her side staring at me.

“Morning.”

I looked into her eyes. Her voice was a little dull for some reason, not like it was remotely comparable to Six’s tone. It’s just she didn’t sound as upbeat.

“Morning…”

She sat up and stretched before leaving the tent for some fresh air.

Next up is the town of Alfresco I guess.

<Cyn.>

“Hm, yeah?”

<You should probably start searching for the other variants.>

“Any hints?”

Ode scrolled through his screens, Six and Four sleeping behind him.

He landed on some sort of radar. Ode put in a few commands and a blip appeared on the left side.

<You’ve got one to the west in a city.>

“Lucky me then~”

I got out of the tent and straightened my coat. I then stretched a little before reabsorbing the tent, and catching up to Esther who already started walking.

“Today seems pretty nice.”

“Yeah, just a little.”

“Are elves in this world fond of nature?”

She was silent for a moment before responding.

“Not at all.”

“Heh- really…?”

Esther continued as we walked.

“The only elves that you could say are ‘fond’ of nature would be the ones not on Chroterr.”

“What’s Chroterr?”

<It’s the Elven continent.>

“Oh- thanks Ode.”

Esther looked at me for a second.

“Who are you talking to?”

Ah… she can’t hear them since they’re in my head.

“Um… how do I explain this… y’know how all Regulus monsters have a unique skill?”

“Yeah?”

“Well mine makes… well would it be makes? Whatever, it kind of creates these split-off versions of me that have different personalities.”

She looked at me with a straight face.

“Split-offs? What… so clones?”

“Not exactly-”

I felt my hand tingle as the slime created this white orb with a yellow-gold ‘444’ carved into it. 

Well, I guess Ode is just going to explain himself. The orb started shapeshifting into Ode’s human form.

“Hello Esther, I’m Ode. It’s nice to make your acquaintance.”

He did this sort of noble bow. Which matched all too well with his attire, afterall he looked almost like some sort of royal librarian.

“Huh- uh same here… so was Six also a variant?”

“Yep!”

She then paused to think for a second.

“Then what about that one that took over your body?”

“Sadly yes.”

I shrugged as I replied.

<I heard that.>

“Oh- looks like he’s awake.”

Ode then intervened.

“I came out to answer any questions you have Esther, ask away.”

He seemed quite happy to be able to answer some questions. 

…

Wait- he didn't do that for me.

“Um… how many variants are there?

“Nine hundred ninety nine.”

Ode and I said in unison.

“That’s…”

She started counting on her fingers before reaching her conclusion.

“A lot.”

Esther spread her arms wide as she said it.

“Then are all the others inside of Cyn?”

“No, because he released all of them-”

“It was an accident.”

I firmly interjected.

“He caused a thing known as a ‘Rupture’, it’s when none of the variants are outside.”

“Ooh… so that’s what that large beam was before.”

Ode nodded his head.

He seemed quite pleased that Esther could keep up with what he was saying. Maybe that’s why he was more hostile toward me.

Well actually, I did kind of fuck everything over by causing the ‘Rupture’...

“Hmm. Alright I have one more question.”

“Shoot.”

“What’s your goal?”

She asked it in an abruptly hostile manner.

“My goal?”

I looked back and forth between them quickly. 

“To assist Cyn.”

Ode took a second but that was his answer.

“Alright. Then Cyn… what’s your goal?”

Now she asked in an almost sweet tone. Ode looked toward me as well, I guess I hadn’t actually told anyone my goal. Let alone, actually think of a proper one.

“Well…”

Esther and Ode felt the air around them grow cold. The grass around me started to wither a little. My face became slightly distorted, I made a smile fit for hell as my eyes glowed a bright red.

“I want to destroy my original world.”

“Um… but how are you going to get back?”

Esther’s question had good meaning.

My demeanor went back to normal.

“Hellion’s Purgatory. If you get through it there’s that wish right? It’s a one-way ticket home.”

“That’s… a pretty good plan.”

“Yeah it’s good, but there are monsters way stronger than the knight captain there. You can’t possibly go now.”

I laughed a little catching even Four and Six’s attention.

“Of course I can’t go now- I need more skills and also more teammates.”

“So our next stop is Alfresco, where one of the variants is!”

I pointed toward a direction.

“That’s the wrong way.”

Esther chimed in.

I Then turned toward my right.

“Nope, still wrong.”

I turned again.

“This way?”

She shook her head. I then spun around fully and pointed to what I thought was west, I turned back now proud that I thought I got it. I saw Ode and Esther walking away.

“Hey- wait for me!”

After a few minutes I reabsorbed Ode.

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

Esther and I then started flying at full speed toward Alfresco. We broke through the cold misty clouds revealing the giant plateau city. It had a giant tower at the center and it seemed to be slightly more advanced than Noyade. We slowed down and just sat there.

“Woah…”

I zoned out for a second at the sight.

“So one of the variants is there?”

“Huh-? Yeah I think. Ode said that his tracker was picking one up here.”

We flew down to a nearby cliff boarding the city and landed. The area around us was a bit of a patchy forest with this mountainous rocky terrain. [Flight] wasn’t really a spell that existed so we decided to walk the remaining distance until we looked down at the main road leading toward the city’s entrance.

“Why is the line to enter so long?”

Ehh… I can’t see what the knights are doing.

I want binoculars-

Wait.

||SPELL CREATION||

…

After a few minutes of putting gears together, I was able to make a spell for my eyes. I then combined that with some binocular shaped slime and aimed it toward the gate. 

“Glimpse.”

The knights were doing this weird thing where they checked everyone’s left eye before letting them cross into the city.

I moved over to the left a little to see a poster.

On it was a sketch of me.

I was wanted for…

“T-ten platinum coins?!”

What did I do?!

Ah-

Well I did blow a town up… and kill the knight captain… and a noble merchant…

No never mind, it made sense.

<I guess word spread fast.>

“That’s a little too fast right? Phones don’t even exist in this world…”

Esther tapped my shoulder, I turned toward her.

“What’s a phone?”

“Ah-... think… How do I explain it? Long distance communication… by talking for the most part.”

“Are you talking about the dial posts?”

…

“What?”

“It’s a machine that was developed by Chroterr. They’re these little boxes all across the continent that use mana to let people talk to each other from far away.”

How did I never see one?

Did Noyade never have one inside of the town?

<Oh- she’s right.>

Ode was searching through some archives that were related to these ‘dial posts’.

<Apparently these elven dial posts are like phone booths, but mana is used to link them. They’ve been around for around seventy years now, with about… twenty three generations of them.>

What’s up with this world’s elves? Esther seems to be like what my original thoughts of elves were… but all the others?

I sighed while standing up, reabsorbing the binoculars back into my palm.

“Well our main thing is that we need to sneak in since I’m wanted now.”

“If that’s the case we need to make a list of materials. We shouldn’t just sit around, or the same thing will happen again.”

Esther pointed her finger up as she talked.

It’s true though, we should use this town as a pit stop and not loiter.

“Ode, could you make a list of everything we need?”

<Yeah sure.>

He started typing a large list of items out. When I say large, I mean it was at least five entire pages worth of items.

<Ready?>

“Huh- yeah.”

Ode read off his list as I wrote it down onto paper. Of course I made it using my slime. I had to give it to Esther though since I can’t go in the city without getting us into trouble… Well not directly at least, she went into the city’s long entrance line while I went around the side and snuck over the wall.

I was walking across the tiled roofing slowly until I heard a commotion coming from the street below me.

“Hey… fuck off~”

“Sir, you're causing a scene. Stop resisting and come with me.”

“Why~? I didn’t do nothin wrong-”

The man getting taken appeared to be quite drunk. Since he was a little wobbly, it's almost like he drank all night…

He had these bandages around his forehead like a bandana and slightly long black hair. He had clothes similar to a bartender, they looked super modern though? He had this streak of light blue in his hair and his eyes each had an aperture shape in them. They were also a light blue color… the knight started dragging him off as he stumbled along.

“We’re taking you in for some questioning. Now the faster you comply, the faster you get to leave.”

“Yeah yeah…”

<Great.>

“Huh- what is it Ode?”

<That’s our guy.>

I thought for a second before remembering.

“The variant?”

<Yeah… that’s him.>

I watched as he stumbled along the street, I slowly followed behind him while walking along the slated roofing. He didn’t look anything like me… black hair? Mine is brown… His hairstyle wasn’t remotely the same as me, how can he be a variant?

“Really…”

<Let me introduce you.>

Ode let out a large sigh before continuing.

The man’s head tilted back as our eyes locked. I saw his left eye having the same yellow-gold number as ours… but instead it was a ‘99’.

<Cyn, meet Risible. Variant ninety-nine.>

Well shit, this is complicated now…

Isn’t it?