Chapter 444 : Lost in Translation

I wasn't sure whether I should be happy or not that Vee and Keldenar were hitting it off, since their shared origin world gave them a lot to talk about.

On one hand, I was glad Vee was opening up a bit, especially after she had literally only me and, well, other mes to talk to. Sure, there was Leon, but his antisocial nature meant they never really bonded, and his quick departure after being "banished" was proof of that failure to connect.

Yet on the other hand, it was making me feel like a third wheel. As the pair of them continued to talk, more and more of what they were saying was being distorted. Given that they kept talking uninterrupted, it was clear their words were being censored only for me. An uninteresting conversation was one thing, but being unable to even understand it was another, and I was quickly growing bored and soon found myself sitting in the corner tinkering with magic.

I was unsure how much time had passed, but my current project was interrupted by Vee repeatedly poking me on the forehead. I looked up and saw both her and Keldenar with curious gazes at what I was holding.

"It's times like this I'm jealous that I don't truly have normal magic," Keldenar sighed.

"You have an army of golems; what do you have to be jealous about?" I retorted.

"I guess the grass is always greener," he chuckled.

I had a [Sub-Core] save my progress and stood up, where I was informed we were invited for dinner. I accepted since I could feel the excitement leaking from Vee, and, to my surprise, it was not just the three of us. Keldenar, Sylthaeryn, and one more were invited… The infamous Adrith.

Seriously Sylvester, you're jealous of a kid?

Unlike Vee, this was a genuine kid, maybe fourteen at most, and yet apparently he was Keldenar's greatest apprentice. My two personas were understandably quite surprised by Vee's new appearance, as I hadn't shared that information so they could witness it for themselves, and both congratulated her, leaving Adrith quite confused.

"Adrith, this is Syl, an extraordinarily talented Riftmancer. And this is Vee, her apprentice," Keldenar explained.

So that's the cover story we are going with… I guess it makes sense.

"[Dimension Magic]!?" the boy practically shouted, his eyes looking like they were going to fall out of their sockets.

Keldenar smiled and made a zipping motion across his lips. "I hope you can keep the secret. You know how rare it is."

"Yes, Master, I won't tell a soul," he swore and then turned curiously at Vee. "Does that mean… You are also a Riftmancer?"

"Maybe someday," Vee replied, humoring the kid.

"Wow!"

The dinner was a bit weird with Adrith's presence, but the same could probably be said of my two personas. I had to assume that Keldenar often had dinners like this with anyone labeled important in his city, for appearances' sake.

Or maybe he invited Adrith to show me that he trusts me? Since I showed him, Vee?

I felt like that could be the case, but maybe I was overthinking it. Especially considering that I knew Sylvester and Adrith interacted with one another consistently. Feeling a headache brewing as I was pointlessly overanalyzing a rather mundane interaction, I decided to let it go and just go with the flow. Adrith was a bundle of curiosity, and he was given permission to ask me questions; they came out like a flood.

"Can you nominate apprentices? Can you teleport anyone or anything? Do you have a maximum distance? Have you tried making teleportation platforms?"

"No. As long as they don't resist, or are connected to something too large. Technically no, as long as I have the coordinates. And no…" I answered in order.

His questions rekindled my suspicions until I received a secret message from Sylvester that no, this was just how Adrith behaved. I supposed having boundless curiosity was a good thing, as I could certainly relate, and it must have been one of the reasons why Keldenar took him under his wing.

"When you're done getting your promotion, I'd love some help in researching teleportation platforms," Keldenar said.

"Yes, there's only so much help I can provide," Sylvester said in agreement.

Ah, right, he did mention that, didn't he?

"It should be much easier to handle when I have both a class and profession," I replied.

Keldenar nodded. "Oh definitely, the loss in stats can be extremely difficult to overcome; it's one of the reasons I've been pushing you to get it as soon as possible."

He was pushing me? I don't feel like he has…

I didn't think he was lying, but I still found his statement a bit weird. If anything, I was pushing myself, but maybe he didn't see it that way.

"How does a second class work in that regard? Do I get both?" I asked curiously.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Your first class, which is usually your combat class, determines your stat modifiers and such, but you receive all expertise bonuses from the second class," Keldenar explained. "Combat classes usually have far better stats, which is why I said they are usually your first class. Of course, there are exceptions; I've seen a few weirdos who put their profession as their first class."

Keldenar actually gave a few examples he'd witnessed, such as one mage who abused enchanters having a much higher Mana bonus to achieve more than he could with his sorcerer class. Naturally, I asked why a sorcerer had two classes, and the answer was "nobles". I had almost forgotten that they would pay a fortune in wealth or influence to get carried through the challenges.

The thought crossed my mind of using my own wealth to do so, but I quickly rejected that idea. Why would I ever want someone to take the fun away from me? And I'd miss out on all the glorious experience and proficiency earned along the way.

Adrith also pleaded to witness some [Dimension Magic], to which I agreed, and I spent some time teleporting a few objects around the room, and even Adrith himself, after receiving Keldenar's approval. Vee also ended up showing off a bit, earning quite a round of applause from the enthusiastic boy. That was until I stole the show by revealing [Exchange] and having several of us magically switch seats. I even swapped positions with myself and Keldenar, earning quite a look of shock and surprise from the golemancer king.

It looks like my theory was correct; I can effectively "throw my dimensional weight around" to brute-force my way through others' resistance.

"When did you get that?" Vee whispered, clearly surprised.

"Level seven," I whispered back, earning a determined look from Vee.

I was glad she was suddenly motivated, as I wanted her to progress in her magic, but I was also curious whether Vee could abuse it the same way I was. For all I knew, the spell made it easier for the user to swap with someone else, and my dimensional weight had nothing to do with it. Of course that chance was slim, but I still wanted to confirm it.

After that, our evening drew to a close, marking a very successful end to Vee's first official day out. I could sense how happy she was to be treated like a person, not a monster or a pet. Yes, she had received practically royal treatment from the elves, but Vee clearly craved to be treated as just a normal girl.

I made sure to thank Keldenar again, and after saying goodbye to everyone, we started making our way back home, using the express route thanks to my [Rift Beacon].

"That was fun…" Vee said moments before she shifted back to her Arachne form. "Also, I can see why you like to blob out from time to time… Walking around with human legs is great and all, but, and I hate to admit it, this feels more natural."

I nodded. "With me it's maybe a little different. I still find my very first long-term disguise something special, and I can slip into it like a glove. But that still doesn't beat just being a slime."

"Is that why you sometimes mix the two?" Vee asked.

"I do?"

"You sometimes look like that, but melted. I thought it was from being tired, but maybe it just feels more comfortable?"

"I… Honestly didn't notice. Maybe I was tired? Then again, if I'm relaxing, it's possible… It's just weird; I usually have perfect control over my form, especially after evolving, so maybe both are right?"

Vee could only shrug in response before we moved on. I pulled out her numerous purchases, much to Sylbera's shock, who had come to greet us and was no doubt going to be roped into helping organize it all.

"Kevin seems kind of nice, although he's actually a big nerd," Vee said while admiring some of her purchases.

"Who the heck is Kevin?" I asked, visibly confused.

"Oh. Sorry, Keldenar. Kevin was his E4r7h name… Although he asked not to call him that."

"Maybe I'm not one to talk, but why even have two names?"

Vee giggled at my joke before replying. "Well, he said Kevin didn't sound very fantasy-like for his new life, and so he borrowed one from one of his games."

"Considering I know a lich named Simon, what's wrong with Kevin?"

"Didn't you say he hates that name?"

"I mean it's still his name…"

"I don't know. Maybe he just wanted a fresh new start? I wonder what my name was before all of this."

"Veronica? Maybe Vicky?"

"Why the hell would you pick those two names?"

"Well, I figured since you picked Vee, and he picked Keldenar, I just thought it made sense."

Vee groaned, shaking her head. "Forget I asked. I'm happy to just be Vee at this point."

I smiled and patted her on the head. For a moment, she looked like she was going to complain, maybe even lash out, but instead she just let me keep patting her.

"Thanks again, Syl."

"Anytime, Vee."

***

Despite being raring to go to the final labyrinth, I still had a few quick things to take care of before I departed. For one, I promised to show Vee [Exchange] after my dinner demonstration, and she was quite eager to try to replicate it.

Unfortunately, in this regard, we failed to brute-force her early, as the construct was just far too perfect to crudely imitate. This meant Vee had no choice but to legitimately level up her [Dimension Magic] and unlock the spell that way.

"Stupid spell… I bet Mother did this on purpose. Also, it should have been called [Swap], not [Exchange]..." Vee grumbled in frustration.

To cheer her up, I told her about my theory of "throwing my weight around," and it did have the intended effect: the spider laughed hysterically for a good few minutes before finally settling down and admitting that I was probably right. This revelation only made her desire for the spell burn even brighter, as apparently her own dimensional weight had been increased after her evolution.

"Isn't that really bad for you?" I asked with concern. "Your Mana isn't as limitless as my own, so any increase in expenditure is terrible."

Vee nodded before revealing a mischievous smirk. "I'll have you know that it wasn't just my pretty face that received a makeover… Firstly, my Mana has received a significant upgrade thanks to my evolution. Secondly, my body's natural affinity with dimensions has also skyrocketed, making my teleportations so much more efficient."

"I guess you weren't kidding about species evolutions being a big upgrade."

"Of course, look at what you got from yours! I'll probably need days, if not weeks, to discover all the new bonuses I got. Not to mention if there's any differences between my three forms."

I knew exactly what she was talking about, and while I had doubts it would be as crazy as my own, I figured she was in for quite a journey of self-discovery. Heck, I still hadn't figured out all the nuances of [Primordial Slime], and I was likely on the verge of adding a new slime type to my collection.

A juicy gray slime core for my collection… But first, I need to make my travel arrangements.

I opened [Map] as well as [Landmarks] and sighed. During our dinner conversation, I'd learned that the closest major landmark to this labyrinth was Dhoggurum, which was quite a distance away. I could teleport there directly, but no doubt the city would detect me and their invasion siren would blare. I was positive I could escape the city with the help of some apertures, but it felt needlessly reckless, and I had a much more realistic solution instead.

It's time to finally put all the pieces of my puzzle together and make version one of my personal [Triangulate]!