I sensed his presence before I saw him. The hairs on my arms stood on end, as if a tiger had crept up behind me. It felt similar to the mace-wielding cadet, but much—much—lighter.
Kate and I turned at the same time.
He didn’t look like a traditional Chinese shifu with a long beard and bushy eyebrows. Though his hair and beard were white, both were neatly trimmed and carefully groomed. If anything, he looked more like a European general—tall, broad-shouldered, with sharp, chiseled features. His eyes were cold, analytical, piercing. And he wasn’t wearing a jumpsuit. Instead, he had on black trousers, a black vest, and a white shirt with the top button undone—no tie.
He was probably the oldest man I had seen on Verdis. Both in appearance and, most likely, in actual age. Though I couldn’t verify the latter—the interface refused to provide me with any information other than his name. He looked to be around fifty.
"You’re a little early," he said, offering me his hand. "Vaclav Novak."
"Jake Sullivan," I replied, trying to shake the feeling that I was clasping the paw of a tiger.
"Forgive us, Master," Kate said apologetically. "We both decided to come ahead of time. I thought it wouldn’t be a problem."
"It isn’t," Vaclav replied. "Please, have a seat." He gestured toward the chairs around the table. "I’ll brew some tea."
"Do you have yellow pine blossom?" I joked—only to be met with an unpleasant, wary stare.
To be fair, the look itself was ordinary. What made it unsettling was Vaclav’s presence. It’s one thing to get a displeased look from a cat—quite another when it comes from a tiger.
I hurried to smooth things over.
"Just joking! It’s just… when I went for my medical exam, the doctor was drinking that tea. He refused to pour me some."
"Did he not mention it might be dangerous for you?"
"He did," I admitted. "Like I said, just a joke. Seems like it’s hard to come by."
"And you decided to test whether I had something so valuable?" Vaclav raised an eyebrow.
A drop of cold sweat rolled down my back.
"I don’t," he admitted. "That tea is made from the discarded blossoms. I prefer more efficient blends—ones that use only the highest-quality flowers."
He gestured to the chairs again. "Sit down." Vaclav left the room.
Kate caught my gaze and tapped her forehead meaningfully.
Yeah, I agreed. I shouldn’t have said that.
We stepped toward the chairs, and I picked the one facing the window—but before I could sit, Kate smacked my hand and pointed to the seat across from hers. The one with the direct view of the window remained unoccupied, clearly meant for the master.
She shook her head in disapproval once again.
Vaclav returned a few minutes later, carrying a black lacquered tray. His movements were smooth, almost feline—not what you’d expect from an elderly man, even a well-trained one.
On the tray sat two porcelain teapots and three small handleless cups—delicate, white and blue, adorned with fine, intricate patterns. The teapots were different: one was deep green, with a subtle relief resembling pine branches, the other nearly white, its design swirling like gusts of wind.
As Vaclav set the tray down, a rich, multi-layered aroma filled the air. At first, I caught a faint herbal bitterness, then a soft astringency, and at the very heart of it… something familiar. Pine and apple?
I narrowed my eyes slightly, inhaling the scent.
"Does this blend contain yellow pine blossoms?" I guessed.
Vaclav smiled, then nodded.
"Correct. This is Yellow Mountain—one of the finest teas for purifying qi. It contains yellow pine blossoms, but for a first-stage cultivator, the dose must be minimal. A single drop—no more."
He picked up the white teapot and poured a golden liquid into his own cup. Steam curled upward, carrying an even stronger fragrance.
"As for you and Kate," he continued, reaching for the dark green teapot, "I’ll serve a different tea. One better suited to your current condition."
The tea he poured us was a light amber shade, with a soft, unobtrusive scent—notes of citrus, a touch of honey, something refreshing, reminiscent of mint but gentler.
I lifted the cup and took a sip.
The liquid was hot but didn’t burn. Instead, it spread through my body, wrapping every muscle in warmth and lightness. The lingering fatigue from the Flow Chamber, buried somewhere deep inside me, slowly began to dissolve. My mind grew clearer, my breathing easier.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I hadn’t even realized how tense I’d been—until now, when I felt myself unwittingly relax.
"Impressive," I admitted.
Vaclav smiled slightly, just the corner of his lips curving upward.
"It’s often drunk before cultivation or after training. Helps clear the mind, relax, and recover faster."
Kate nodded and took a calm sip from her cup. She had clearly been here before.
I set my cup down and looked at Vaclav. He had finally taken his seat as well, holding his own cup—but instead of drinking, he simply stared at me.
"Why did you choose Kate as your mentor?"
I took another sip, recalling the events of the past few days.
"Why not?" I tapped my forehead. "I have no idea how things work here, so I turned to someone who does and got a recommendation."
"Fifteenth Diego..." Vaclav nodded. "Doesn’t it concern you that he’s a thinhorn?"
"If anything, it’s an advantage. No one pays attention to slaves. And slaves see everything."
"Jake!" Kate warned, her voice sharp.
Whoops. Looks like this tea hits the brain just as hard as alcohol.
Vaclav silenced her with a lazy wave of his hand.
"Let it go, Kate. I appreciate honesty. Thinhorns are not slaves," he said, turning back to me.
"Uh-huh..." I decided to agree.
Vaclav didn’t buy it.
"What do you really think?"
"I don’t think Diego has much of a chance to buy his freedom and settle down in a nice house somewhere on Earth," I answered honestly.
That made Vaclav smile.
"People fear them. Many believe they’ll betray us when the demons come… What do you think?"
"It’s entirely possible. There’s no value greater than freedom. If the demons promise them that…" I shook my head.
"For someone with amnesia, you think quite rationally."
"I don’t think amnesia affects rationality. It’s more about the amount of data my rationality has to work with."
"We could try expanding that amount. Try to recover something."
"Doc already tried."
"Doc relied on standard procedures and didn’t have my resources. Besides, I’m not promising success."
I shrugged. I wanted to remember at least my own name.
"What do I need to do?"
"Finish your tea," Vaclav said, reaching for my cup.
I swallowed the last drops and handed it over.
Vaclav let a single drop of his own tea fall into the cup, then left the room. When he returned, he gave the cup back to me. A few tiny drops of liquid had gathered at the bottom.
With a slight gesture, Vaclav ordered me to drink.
Did I really have a choice? I doubted it. Despite his ever-present smile, Novak’s eyes remained cold.
What could go wrong, right?
I tilted the cup back. A thick drop rolled into my mouth and burst against my tongue. A wave of cold and bitterness spread through my body, making me shiver.
"Jesus!" I said, stopping myself from cursing.
"It’ll pass soon," Vaclav assured me. "Kate, would you mind waiting outside?" he asked. "Jake might not behave… appropriately."
Like me, Kate didn’t have much of a choice.
The tea hit almost instantly.
At first, it was just a light tingling in my fingers. Then it crept upward—along my arms, across my shoulders—as if my nerves had suddenly decided to test their sensitivity. Then came something deeper. A wave—heavy, deep, but somehow gentle at the same time.
I slumped back into the chair. My muscles relaxed so completely that I felt like I might melt and spill onto the floor. My head grew light, my thoughts drifting one after another, clinging to nothing.
I didn’t even notice when I closed my eyes.
Darkness flickered behind my eyelids. Spots of light flared and faded, shifting into something else—moving, changing shapes, like a blurred reflection in a puddle.
It felt as if I were floating inside my own mind, dissolving into the space around me. The sensations were so pleasant that I didn’t even feel afraid.
"Relaxed?" Vaclav’s voice reached me from somewhere far away.
I opened my eyes—and realized nothing had changed. I was still in the chair, still here… and yet, at the same time, I wasn’t.
Slowly, I turned my head toward Vaclav.
"So, Jake… Is your name Jake?" he asked.
"No."
The cup in Vaclav’s hand cracked. Shards scattered to the floor, and his gaze turned sharp, almost hostile. It broke my heart.
"Are you a demon?"
"No."
Vaclav’s white eyebrows shot up.
"Are you human?"
"Yeah."
"Do you work for the demons?"
"No."
Vaclav leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together in deep thought.
"Let’s clarify… You’re not Jake, and this isn’t your original body."
"That’s right," I confirmed.
"Then who the hell are you?"
I wasn’t sure...
"I…"
"Who are you?! How did you end up in this body?!"
"I was at war… I died…"
"What war? Who were you fighting?"
"Orcs."
"Orcs?!" Vaclav repeated in surprise. "Like in books and games?"
I hesitated before answering—because those orcs weren’t like that...
"No..."
The heavy wave of relaxation began to recede, and with it came a new sensation—sharp, insistent, cold, like an icy wind cutting through me.
I blinked.
The floating feeling was fading. My head no longer felt light, and my thoughts… they had stopped flowing freely, as if something had dammed them up, trapping a tangled mess inside my mind all at once.
What the hell was this?
I looked at Vaclav.
He was still sitting motionless, fingers laced together, his cold gaze drilling into me. But now there was less hostility in his eyes—more curiosity.
I took a breath. A metallic taste coated my tongue.
I’d been drugged. But that wasn’t the worst part. I was completely at this man’s mercy.
My eyes narrowed instinctively, and I gripped the chair’s armrests tightly. The warmth that had wrapped around me just moments ago was slipping away, leaving behind the faintest tremor in my fingers. The deep relaxation had fully vanished, replaced by tension. My heart was pounding faster now, as if I were waking from a heavy sleep.
Vaclav noticed the change—but didn’t even blink.
I clenched my jaw, bracing for his next move. This man was dangerous.
Then, suddenly, through the chaos in my head, I grasped the most important thought.
"Shit! They’re already here?! I thought we had forty years before the raid!"
Novak tilted his head slightly, watching me like a test subject in an experiment.
"Are you sure you’re human?"
I nodded.
"Orcs aren’t real."
"Maybe not on this Earth," I shrugged.
"You’re saying you’re not from this one?"
"My mind is a mess, but I was sure qi was a myth… and that there was only one moon."
We stared at each other for a long moment.
Then Vaclav stood up.
I instinctively pressed back into the chair. Not out of fear. Well, okay—partly out of fear. But mostly so I’d have a better push-off if I needed to run.
I didn’t need to.
Vaclav stepped away, picked up a tablet, tapped a few times, then turned the screen toward me. An image appeared—a planet with multiple moons.
And the moment I saw it, I knew.
"If that’s Earth, it’s not mine."
Vaclav sat back down, fingers lacing together once more. He was silent for a few moments, lost in thought. Then his gaze flicked toward the door.
"Tell Kate she can come back."
I exhaled.
This was definitely not the kind of meeting I’d been expecting.