Chapter 18: Eat It While It’s Hot
Noah woke up in an unfamiliar room. A wave of pain immediately crashed through his head, but his first thought was that he was still alive… right? Was it possible that he had actually died, and that he had somehow gotten resurrected a third time in another world or something?
“Noah! You’re finally awake!” Sophie cried.
Noah winced, grunting as he turned on his side. His friend was sitting on a stool by his bed, relief etched on her face.
“Where am I?” he asked, giving his surroundings a quick scan. It would've been hard to make the room out if not for the two lamps gently illuminating the area, given how dark it was. A window to the side also revealed that night had fallen.
“We’re back at the guild,” Sophie said. “But before that, what’s your health looking like?”
Noah activated his Vitra. “I’m at…full health?” he murmured.
Sophie sighed. “Okay…thank God the health potions worked.”
“What happened?”
“Carter and Kiera would do a better job in explaining, but they’re currently in a meeting with Tanna."
“Are they in trouble?”
Sophie bit her lip. “Well, Tanna was pretty upset that they had disobeyed her orders. But to be honest, she seemed more focused on the incident itself—you know, the part about the Diamantises spawning in Layer 3. I feel like that occurrence took priority for her.”
Noah understood where Tanna was coming from. Now that they had all made it back without any missing pieces, their leader was already moving on, trying to identify what caused the issue in the first place. The appropriate punishment would probably be meted out later.
“Speaking of Tanna, she’s the one who carried you all the way back here,” Sophie said, breaking his train of thought.
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Remember when you and Carter ran back into the Pit to save Kiera? I stayed outside and tried calling her with the Echoband, but for some reason, I couldn’t get a signal. So I ran as fast as I could back to the guild to tell them what was going on.”
She continued, “Fortunately, I managed to establish a signal about halfway back. I told Tanna about the incident, and she and some other guild members immediately rushed over. But by the time they arrived, Carter and Kiera had already carried you out of the Pit. You were unconscious, though.”
Huh. So all that had happened while he was out…
“What time is it now?” he asked. As if on cue, his stomach rumbled.
“Okay, so apparently this world uses a time system similar to ours: the 24-hour clock. Right now, it’s almost 10 PM, so you were out for quite a bit.”
She stood up. “I’ll go let the others know that you’re awake. You stay here, okay? Don’t get out of bed!” she warned.
As she closed the door, Noah lay back down, resting his throbbing head. Even though he was back at full health, he could still feel the aftereffects of the encounter. He stared at the ceiling and sucked in a deep breath, letting his thoughts roam free.
Wow. I can’t believe I actually survived that.
Now that the danger was over, he couldn’t help smirking as he thought about the day’s events.
Yeah, I actually survived Layer 3 of the Pit. And not just Layer 3 alone… I had even killed two more Diamantises and outmanoeuvred another. How many magicians in this world could say they had done the same at Level 5?
He calmed himself down before arrogance could take over. Relax, you’re still in this insane world. You still don’t know most of what’s going on, and death can still happen at any time. This is not the time nor the place to get cocky.
The door swung open and four people barged their way in. Noah recognised Franco, their escort, as one of them. Sophie followed them inside.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Good on you, kid! You’re finally up!” Tanna roared. She immediately bowed her head in apology. “My bad, I wasn’t expecting the expedition to be so… eventful. And I apologise on behalf of my guild members who—“ She turned to glare at Carter and Kiera, who were standing awkwardly by the door, “—can’t seem to follow instructions.”
Kiera pushed forward, clasping her hands as if in prayer and lowering her head by Noah’s bedside.
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” Her voice was heavy with regret. “I shouldn’t have acted so impulsively. My own selfish actions put the rest of you in danger, and I’m so, so sorry for that.”
“Sorry man,” Carter joined in remorsefully. “Yeah, we should’ve done better.”
The sudden barrage of apologies was a little overwhelming for Noah, who was still feeling all sorts of murky.
“Oh, uh… no worries guys. At least we all made it out alive.” It was a lame response, but he didn’t really know what else to say at the moment.
“I hope—forgive—” Kiera tried to continue, but she was getting choked up, prompting Carter to rest his hand on her shoulder.
“I think he deserves to know about our past,” he said. He turned to Noah. “Would you like us to share it with you?”
Noah thought the offer was a little sudden, but he felt it would be impolite to decline. After all, their history was a sensitive topic for them. And if he was being honest, he was admittedly curious about their upbringing. Perhaps he could find out more about the world as well. But right now, what he really needed was food.
“Yeah, sure but… I’m a little hungry right now,” he replied sheepishly. “Maybe after I’ve eaten. Sorry, but do you guys have some food?”
Tanna smacked her forehead. “Oh, yes! Of course! The rest of them have already eaten, but I didn't wanna be serving you leftovers after you saved us there, so I’ll go cook up a fresh meal real quick. Be right back!” She rushed out of the room.
Franco finally had the chance to speak. “I’m so glad you’re okay man!” he exclaimed. “As your designated escort, I wouldn’t know what to tell Alatair if something bad happened to you!”
Noah smiled politely. “I’m glad I’m okay too.”
“Let’s give Noah some space for the time being,” Sophie suggested. “It might be a little overwhelming for him to talk to this many people at once after he just woke up.”
“Of course, then we’ll come back later. Please get some rest,” Carter said, leading Kiera out with Franco following close behind.
“Thanks guys, appreciate it,” Noah said.
Sophie had one hand on the doorknob. “If you need anything, just call us with your Echoba—”
“Actually, could you stay here for a little while longer?”
Sophie was caught off guard. “Y—yeah, what’s up?” she asked, slowly taking her place back on the stool.
Noah wasn’t sure why he had just said that. Perhaps it was because he was feeling especially vulnerable, or he just wanted someone to keep his mind occupied, but he didn’t want to be alone right now. Still, the words had tumbled out of his mouth before he could think of a valid response.
“I—how was dinner? Did Tanna cook it?”
Sophie tilted her head. “...Yeah, actually. It was surprisingly good. She cooked some kind of herbal porridge, mentioning something about a ‘healthier choice’,” she smiled.
“Oh.” Fortunately, Noah suddenly thought of a question he was genuinely curious about. “Has there been any explanation regarding the Diamantises spawning in the third layer?”
Sophie frowned. “Nope, I don’t think so. They all just seemed really confused. Tanna even informed the city council about it, so I guess it was just that serious. Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask—if your Talent can alter an enemy’s statistic, can it alter yours too?”
Noah blinked. “Huh?”
“Like, can you decrease the rate of your HP drain to zero? Or change the damage you take to zero?”
Noah paused. He hadn’t really thought about it, but it sounded a little risky.
“I’m not sure… but what if I mess up? Like, what if I accidentally set my own HP to zero? That’d be a pretty bad way to go,” he said with a dry chuckle.
Sophie laughed. “Yeah, I’d prefer if you didn’t kill yourself.”
The two of them sat in silence for a while, but it was neither awkward nor uncomfortable. A couple of days ago, Noah wouldn’t have been sure how he would’ve felt if a girl he barely spoke to just sat quietly by his bed. It was amazing how just two days of otherworldly experiences were enough to bridge the gap.
A few minutes later, Tanna hurried back in, holding a tray in her arms. She set it down by a table beside his bed.
“Enjoy it while it’s hot,” she said. “I’d love to stay and check in properly, but I gotta rush to an emergency meeting with the Council. Eat up, alright?” she patted his shoulder before leaving.
Sophie got up and took after her. “I’ll leave you to it then, gonna go help with the dishes or something.”
Noah found himself wolfing down the meal. He wasn’t sure what spices Tanna used, or if he was even familiar with them, but the broth was bursting with flavour. Depending on their plans for tomorrow, he might even ask her to teach him a thing or two about cooking.
Scratch that, she would probably be busy dealing with the incident. But then, was he just gonna have the whole day free for tomorrow? It wasn’t like he could simply go back to Anna’s palace again since she wouldn’t be back yet. Perhaps he would just ask the others what they were up to.
He got up and stretched, pushing open the windows. The air was chilly, but the bustling city had quietened down, with its residents turning in for the night.
Not long after, his friends returned to his room. Was he even close enough to Kiera and Carter for them to be called friends? If they were, would that make them the first friends he made in this world?
The two of them prepared to simply sit on the floor, but Noah moved aside, making space for them to sit by the edge of his bed. Sophie meanwhile returned to her stool.
“Thanks,” Carter said, breaking the silence. “How was the food?”
Noah recognised it as the same question he'd just asked Sophie, but he understood the need to fill the awkward gap.
He nodded. “Really good.”
“Glad to hear it,” Carter smiled. Now that they had gotten the conversation going again, he began speaking. "Let me tell you about our time back in Vyxiburg, and how everything's changed for us since then."