Chapter 1
Notes:
Hope y'all ready for this long fic featuring shenanigans and world-building. Should be fun!
[EDIT] We have fan art!!! A massive thank you to raylight (raylight_y on Twitter) for their lovely drawing of Fungus Kaveh! He's so adorable!
If you would like to share fanart, please ping me on Twitter @iambgtea!
Edit April 15, 2024 - the betaed version has been posted for Chapter 1! Many thanks to Kourt for her hard work in polishing my draft!! If you guys want to read her wonderful writing, you can check her out on her Tumblr! She writes Honkai Star Rails and Genshin shorts.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part I. The End
If there’s one word Kaveh could use to describe his life, it would be “ordinary”. Sure, the start of his life looks more like a sad drama movie. At the tender age of 10 years old, his father went on a business trip and tragically died in a car accident. He had been on his way back to his hotel after getting the souvenir Kaveh had begged him to buy. The sudden death of his father had not only caused Kaveh to be riddled with guilt, but also devastated his mother to the point where she had simply shut down. From then on, he was shuffled from one relative to another like unwanted baggage until he became old enough to attend a local community college.
This tragic start quickly tapered into, well, boringness. He worked hard in school, having chosen to get a business degree, which was a good, sensible choice, one that would allow him to slot into the workforce seamlessly so that he could start supporting himself as soon as possible. The topic wasn’t particularly riveting (if anything, he was far more interested in his minor in Architecture and had even demonstrated that he has quite the eye for designs), but it was practical. Besides, a job as an architect was hard to come by in his country, and he couldn’t afford to pursue his passion.
He graduated. His ceremony was a quiet one with no family members in attendance to watch him on stage as he was handed his diploma. At that point, he hadn’t really spoken to any of his relatives in years and, last he heard, his mother had moved to a different country and gotten remarried. It was fine though. It was probably better that way. Less baggage and awkward interactions.
He was able to land himself an office job quickly afterward—an ordinary nine-to-five corporate position with his half-hour lunch, three weeks of vacation, and benefits. Working day in and out at his little cubicle was not at all the pinnacle of excitement; he would count down the hours until he was off work, and then would repeat this cycle again, again, and again. The pay was enough for him to afford rent and groceries, so he wasn’t complaining.
He led a quiet life. Maybe it was a bit lonely at times since the only friends he had were from work, but it wasn’t bad. He even got to put his talent for design to good use by styling his little apartment, and when he ran out of ways to zhuzh up his living space, he turned to designing in the game world, so he got to flex those creative muscles a little.
“My Little Aranara Friend” was not a game marketed towards his demographic (a grown-ass man in his late 20’s). How he even came about this game was sheer serendipity; he had seen it on Steam and it was marketed using lots of sweet pastel colours, bubbly letters, characters drawn in a very kawaii style. The game involved helping tiny, plant-like, fae creatures with adorable smiling faces and heads adorned with flowers, mushroom caps, and little leaves as hats called the “Aranara”. He didn't think too much of the game at first. His first impression was that it was a slow-paced, soothing, town-building game where players get to slowly renovate the Aranara’s village while fighting back a mysterious malevolent force called the “Withering”. Everything was very cutesy, which was all fine and good but not when he was looking to download a first-person shooter to let loose a little.
But then, he saw the gameplay and all the customization options for the Aranara’s homes—and not just the flexibility to build a house of any shape and size, but also to personalize the interior down to details like picking out the door knobs and wall trim—and he was sold. His mouse flew to the download button and a few minutes later, he was loading the game.
He spent that first night designing the head of the village’s home to perfection. And then, he spent many, many, many more nights slowly and lovingly building his little village to suit each of the Aranara’s needs.
He may have gotten a tad obsessed, but the game was super relaxing and super fun!
Until the Withering struck.
It was horrifying seeing this dark, whispy, evil magic spread throughout the land, turning the once-green grass brown with decay. Kaveh’s little village had sat on top of a charming cliff with a perfect view of the peaceful, crystal-blue lake below. He had taken a painstaking amount of time to choose the location too.
It took all of five minutes for the Withering to wrap its dark tendrils around the base of the cliff, choking out whatever flora and green magic that had kept the Aranara safe. It took another three for the cliff to crumble beneath the village, sending all the houses—and Kaveh’s hard work—down into the now-murky, tepid water below.
Kaveh may or may not have screeched in outrage in real life when he witnessed the travesty. He may or may not have been tempted to rage quit.
But then, little Arama—one of the kind Aranara that acted as the player’s main guide—popped onto the screen.
“Nara friend! That was so scary! Arama is glad that you are safe!”
The little creature’s feet made little pitter-patter sounds as he walked closer.
“It is okay though! Arama and friends have prepared flowers. Lots of flowers as gifts to Nara friend so that he will not be afraid anymore. ‘Fear is not good’, Arana said. ‘If you are afraid, you will believe in the power of fear!’ so we mustn’t let fear win!”
Arama reached behind him and pulled out a large bouquet of yellow daisies. He brought the bouquet towards the screen.
“So cheer up, Nara friend! We can always rebuild, and our new homes will be better than ever! So long as we have each other, all will be well! We believe in you, Nara friend!”
There, sitting in his apartment by himself, his face illuminated by the computer screen, Kaveh felt himself go still, his mouse hovering over the exit screen button as a funny lump rose in his throat.
This was the first time that anyone had tried to console him since his father passed away.
This was the first time that anyone had given him flowers.
And despite this being a game made of nothing but 1’s and 0’s, of pixels on a screen, those words and gestures had struck something in him.
It was stupid. He was being stupid. He couldn’t believe this of all things was getting him sentimental.
Arama was looking at him on the screen. He was still holding out the bouquet of flowers.
Kaveh sighed and moved his mouse. He clicked on the bouquet.
Arama beamed at him. “Let’s go rebuild our new home, Nara friend! Can you help us find a new place to settle?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kaveh mumbled, but his tone was more resigned than angry. Him and his soft heart. “Let’s go rebuild our new home.”
The way Kaveh dies is exactly like the way he lives: ordinary and a bit tragic. He had been driving home one evening after work, minding his own goddamned business when a car that was running a red light slammed into him at full speed. It T-boned his car and sent it flipping in the air before landing with a crunch.
Kaveh dies on impact. He didn’t have time to register anything beyond shock and a flash of pain and a sense of weightlessness before a loud crunch. Then, everything goes dark.
Which is why it’s such a surprise that when he blinks, he finds himself surrounded by blue light and the sound of excited murmurs amongst the crackles of lightning.
“It’s working, Grand Sage! The portal is working!”
“The parameters are inputted correctly?”
“Yes. The great hero should be arriving in three…two…one!”
Plumes of purple smoke billow from where Kaveh is standing as the lights and sound die. The sounds of choked coughs surround him and Kaveh blinks again.
W-what is…what the hell is going on?
“Quickly, open the windows!”
“Yes, Grand Sage!”
Aren’t I dead?
“Can you see anything? Is the hero here?”
“I can’t see a damned thing through this blasted smoke!”
“A-ah, great hero! If you’re here and if you can hear us, please do not be alarmed! We mean you no harm—huh?”
The smoke clears and Kaveh can finally see his surroundings.
His first impression is that everything looks…big. He’s in a room with impossibly tall ceilings and stone walls with long green and gold banners hanging between ornate, arched windows. The place looks medieval, almost fantasy-like in the sense that everything looks far too ornate and colourful compared to the sleek modern decors of the 21st century. The figures surrounding him wearing long green and blue robes definitely add to that vibe, all of them, giants looming overhead.
Is he at a convention or something? Or maybe, did he accidentally crash into someone’s LARP session? But how does he explain how impossibly big these people are?
Also, again, isn’t he supposed to be dead?
Nobody’s saying anything though. They’re just staring at him with wide eyes and their jaws dropped open.
Then, the figure at the front with a funny hat and the most ornate robe of the crew breaks the silence.
“What in tarnation is this?!” he thunders, his face becoming an ugly shade of puce. He spins around and jabs his finger towards the nearest person. “You said you summoned a great hero! What is this Fungus doing here?!”
“A what?” Kaveh exclaims.
Or at least, he tries to. What ended up escaping from his mouth were a series of chirps and trills not unlike those from baby chicks.
He claps his hands over his mouth and he looks down.
He doesn’t have hands.
Instead, he sees two tiny, beige nub-things over his mouth. Eyes wide, he continues to look down slowly.
More of that same beige extends down and down until he sees two other tiny beige nubs where his legs and feet are supposed to be.
He screams.
“What the hell?! What the actual hell?!”
A mechanical sound chimes in his ear and what looks like a computer message suddenly materializes in front of him. He leaps back and screams. Again.
“Welcome, User Kaveh!” a robotic voice speaks in his mind. As it does, the exact same words appear on the window screen. “Do not be afraid! You have passed away in your old world and your spirit has been transported to the magical world of Teyvat where you have been assigned a new body!”
Do not be afraid?! With that message? That is the most terrifying thing he’s heard in his entire life!
The message continues. “I am the System, tasked to guide you on your journey as you explore this bountiful world before you! As you have noticed, you are now inhabiting the body of Legendary Spiritual Floating Fungus, Level 1!”
He has to be dreaming. None of this is real. What Legendary Spiritual Floating Fungus? What are these words?
“But before I can continue giving more details, I would advise User to run.”
…What?
He ducks on instinct as a large hand sweeps over him.
“Catch it! Catch the Fungus!” someone yells.
“He may not be a legendary hero but he can still be harvested for our elixirs!”
Fuck that shit, Kaveh’s out.
With another scream that translates into distressed chirps, Kaveh runs as fast as his little stubby legs can carry him, which is to say, not very quickly. Still, his new small size—because he is a Fungus(!!!)—allows him to duck, dodge, and weave between the legs of the robed people trying to catch him. Another hand swipes at him from the left and he rolls, the momentum letting him bounce back on his feet and heading forward.
He needs to escape. He needs to escape! Where can he go, shitshitshit—
“Open window detected, 3 meters to your right.”
Kaveh spins around and—there! And it looks like it’s leading outside to some forested area too. Perfect!
He pivots, dodging another pair of hands trying to grab him, and runs—
A foot slams into his side with the force of a swinging sledgehammer. He lets out a pained cry as his body sails through the air and lands on the floor, bouncing a few times before coming to a stop.
Ow! Owowowow—
“HP reduction. 10 HP remaining. User should escape from the confrontation.”
“What do you think I’ve been trying to do this whole time, you shitty System?!”
“Ha! Not so slippery now, are you, you little shit?”
The robed figures gather around him, their expression menacing.
“Say, that’s a funny colouration for a Fungus,” one of them notes. “Do you think we accidentally summoned a rare breed?”
“Hey, you’re right! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Fungus that looks like that!” Kaveh backs up a few steps but there’s nowhere to run. He’s surrounded. “I bet a rare Fungus like that would make our elixirs extra potent!”
“System?” Kaveh screams. “System, I don’t like the way they’re looking at me. System, oh my god, help, I’m going to die again! System!!!”
“Would User like to activate Tutorial Mode?”
“I don’t care what I’m activating just get me the fuck out of here!”
“Understood. Tutorial Mode activated!”
The same blue screen from before appears in front of him, floating in the air, with the words “Tutorial Mode” written in white, cheerful fonts. The System speaks.
“Your Fungus body possesses unique traits with defensive and offensive capabilities. For example, please activate ‘Bubble Shield’.”
“Activate!! Activate!!”
A shimmering blue bubble forms around him and he’s lifted up so that he’s hovering a few inches from the ground, just in time to counter the large hand swinging down to grab him. The hand bounces harmlessly off of the shield with a soft, “ping”.
“What the—”
“Ah, it shielded itself!”
Kaveh opens his eyes—he hadn’t even realized he had clenched them shut.
Holy shit! He’s alive!
Another mechanical chime sounds out and a new message appears on the floating screen.
“Your Bubble Shield has a durability of five minutes though its strength will grow as you level up. While activated, it also grants you a temporary power of flight. Now, let’s try your offensive ability. Please activate ‘Seed Bullet’.”
“A-activate Seed Bullet?”
A small green glowing orb appears a few inches in front of his body. It glows brighter and brighter, then it shoots forward so quickly that Kaveh can only see a trail of light it leaves behind.
It hits the person who was reaching for him right between the eyes and the man drops into a crumpled heap of limbs on the floor.
Cries of horror rise among the captors.
“Amir!”
“Archons above, is he dead?”
“A critical hit,” the System chimes in. “Depending on where User targets the bullets, he has the ability to incapacitate an enemy although, at his current level, it is not enough to kill anyone. In any event, User should take the opportunity to run. Open window detected, 5 meters to your right.”
He doesn’t need to be told twice! Kaveh spies a gap between his captors’ legs and dashes forward.
“It’s getting away! After it!”
A flurry of hands smack against his Shield, sending more soft “ping” sounds raining around him like pebbles bouncing off of glass. With his ability activated, Kaveh finds himself moving much faster than before, no longer having to rely on his tiny, stubby legs to cover the distance. He zig-zags like a fighter jet navigating around mountains, spinning around the air, angling himself to the right, to the left, then right again to avoid feet and hands aiming to kick him or catch him. One of those hands tries to reach for him and on pure fear-driven instinct, he fires a bullet.
It smacks against the flesh and the hand flinches.
“Ow! That really hurts!!”
“Stop your yapping!” the person called the Grand Sage screeches from somewhere behind Kaveh. “Why is it taking so long to catch it?!”
“With respect, Grand Sage, we’re scholars, not athletes! This is the most exercise any of us has done in years!”
“Open window to your right, 2 meters remaining.”
Screw this, I’m out!
Kaveh goes full Rambo. He spins around and sprays the room with bullets as if he’s bringing a bullet hell game to life. The seeds fly everywhere, hitting the captors, smashing into glass, destroying delicate instruments, and denting wooden furniture. His captors dive for the ground, screaming as they desperately try to shield their heads with their arms.
“Ahh! Mercy! Mercy!”
“Not the face!”
He does not let up, floating backwards while the barrage of bullets continues. He only stops when he gets on the ledge.
“Good!” he yells, though it comes out as a series of affronted squeaks. “And you can stay down!”
With one last bullet barrage, he turns around and zips out towards sweet freedom.
“AHAHAH! DID YOU SEE THAT?” he yells into the open air the moment he’s gotten further away. “I did it! I kicked their asses! I WAS AWESOME!”
“Congratulations on completing your first tutorial fight!” the System announces. “For your victory, you have gained 100 EXP. Continue to work hard and grow strong!”
Kaveh whips his head towards the screen. “Continue to grow strong? Nah, screw this. I want to go home!”
“Unfortunately, that is not possible. You have died in your home world. Also, User, you should know—”
“Wait, hold on.” Kaveh stops flying and lets himself hover in the air. “So what you’re saying is that not only was I forcefully transported here, but you also stuffed me into the body of…of…this??”
He waves his little arms around in an attempt to gesture to his body. Although he can’t see what he looks like, he knows from context that he’s some sort of small creature thing, which is 100% not okay.
“User has been assigned the body of a Legendary Spiritual Floating Fungus, Level 1. But User—”
Oh, hell no. “I don’t care if it’s called the—the Legendary Spirit Fungus thing,” he snaps. “I’m a human being! A human man! I want my old body back and—oh god, I don’t have a dick! What did you do to my dick, you sick bastard?!”
“User, please listen.”
The bubble around him shimmers and then fades. Kaveh feels a split second of weightlessness, followed by the single thought of: “Huh.”
Then, in the next second, he’s plummeting towards the ground.
“AHHHHHH! Activate Shield! Activate Shield! Activate Shield!!”
The System’s window, oddly enough, is falling at the same rate as he is. “I was going to tell you that your Shield is about to run out. Unfortunately, your Shield ability is in cooldown,” Kaveh hears the mechanical voice say in his mind. The fucker has the audacity to sound exasperated too! “You will have to wait five minutes before you can use the ability again.”
“System,” Kaveh screeches. “You useless piece of—!”
The rest of his rant is cut off by a large splash as he slams into a body of water.
Part II. The Beginning
Good news: he didn’t die. Turns out, his new body as a…a…Legendary Spiritual Floating Fungus or something is extremely buoyant, so after that initial splash from him falling into the meandering river below, he quickly bobs back up and floats merrily downstream, following the gentle currents of the water like a floating barrel or some equally rotund object.
As he’s lying in the cool water on his back, watching the lush green forest slowly pass him by, he takes the opportunity to think. Really, really think.
First of all, he’s dead in the other world. The System has confirmed it multiple times just how truly and utterly dead he is. His human life is gone. No more. Vanished the instant his body was crushed in that car accident (and fuck that driver who killed him. Kaveh hopes that person burns in hell). But no matter his frustration and outrage, the fact remains that he’s dead.
Second, his spirit has been transported to this new fantastical world called Teyvat. Judging from the outfits those captors wore and the room he was in, it appears this Teyvat is some sort of medieval high fantasy world like one would see in games or animes, although for some reason, the name Teyvat sounds oddly familiar.
Third, and probably the most worrying of all of his discoveries, he’s inhabiting the body of a mushroom creature thing. Sure, he may be a cute mushroom creature thing with beige colouring, a short stubby body, and a large round mushroom cap with delicate flower patterns on the crown. He’s even got this tendril thing sticking on the side of his mushroom cap in the shape of a feather and in bright teal that adds to the charm of his appearance. But at the end of the day, he’s still just a mushroom creature. A mushroom creature thing that has no dick.
“What is even the point of living this second life? Just to suffer?” he asks out loud. The sky above him is blue with a few fluffy clouds drifting listlessly just as he is in the river. “Is there a hole that I can just…crawl into and die?”
“User Kaveh has a lot to live for!” the System says, clearly panicked. “User Kaveh’s current form may be what it is but as he levels up, he can take on a more evolved form, including one that is humanoid and much more powerful!”
Kaveh snorts. A calm breeze blows through the air, caressing his skin. Skin? Does he even have skin anymore? “And how long is that going to take? Like 20 years? If I can only level up by fighting, I’d probably die before I even get there.”
“There is a much faster way to level up and that's by completing this game's objective!” the System offers. “In fact, this System hasn’t had the opportunity to go over your Main Mission, which is sure to intrigue the User! It is after all the main reason why User Kaveh has been chosen to be sent to this world!”
Another snort. “Doubt it, but I might as well hear it.”
“Your Main Mission is to save the village of the Aranara from the Withering!”
Kaveh’s eyes go wide.
“Wait, say that again?”
“Your Main Mission is to save the village of the Aranara from the Withering!”
Shit. He didn’t hear wrong. The System did say Aranara…as in…
“Son of a bitch! Am I trapped in ‘My Little Aranara Friend’?”
That can’t be. Kaveh doesn’t remember the game having characters like those weird cultist captors, or that one angry leader called a Grand Sage. Then again, now that he’s thinking about it, the game world is called Teyvat and the Aranara had referenced towns and cities beyond their village so, there’s clearly more lore hidden in the game. He’s also read online that the game really opens up after the player has been attacked by the Withering a second time. There’s something about having to discover and stop the cause for the Withering, and about temporarily leaving the Aranara to trek to some Great Library. Unfortunately, he never got to that part of the game. He’s been so focused on rebuilding the village and making it bigger and better after the first Withering attack that his game progress has stalled.
“User is partially correct,” the System says, interrupting Kaveh’s train of thought. “The world he is in is similar to the one from the game ‘My Little Aranara Friend’, but the world is much more complex and fleshed out. However, you will also find that there are core elements of the story in the game that will also be mirrored here, including the looming threat of the Withering and the need to stop it before it wipes out the Aranara. Your experience in the game would be vital in this world!”
“No,” Kaveh says, crossing his little arms over his chest. “That can’t be right.”
Silence.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, why me?” Kaveh asks. “I didn’t even finish the game!”
More silence.
“You never…finished,” the System intones. “Surely, you must have been close to finishing the game?”
“Nope, not even close. I didn’t even get to the second Withering event.”
“But…but…out of all the players, you alone scored first in the number of hours spent! Nobody came even close to your score!”
“I spent all of my time building houses and making the village look pretty! It’s important to me!” Why is he feeling so defensive? He does not have to explain himself to this disembodied voice.
Kaveh activates his Shield and floats to a nearby bank. He stops when he finds a sunny spot to dry on.
“I can’t believe that’s the metric you used in selecting a person to come to this world,” he mutters. “Well, it looks like you got the wrong person, so now what?”
“No matter!” the System says. “The fact that you have invested so many hours into the game speaks of your love of it. That is the type of behaviour needed to complete the mission!” When Kaveh remains silent, the System adds quickly, “You said you enjoyed building the village? You will have the opportunity to do that in this world too! If you introduce yourself to the Aranara, I’m sure they can use your expertise in building and making their homes a safer place!”
The image of Arama and his bouquet of flowers comes to mind.
As if sensing his hesitation, the System continues. “After you are done with your mission, you will have the freedom to do anything you want in this world! I can help you! Was there anything that you wanted to do in your previous life?”
“I wanted to be an architect,” Kaveh admits to his chagrin. “I did a minor in school but I never got a degree or formal training in it. It’s why I spent so many hours playing the game and building the Aranara village. I really enjoyed the design and planning aspect of it.”
“You know, the country you’re in is known for its famous school. One of the disciplines taught there is specifically geared toward what you would call in your world Engineering and Architecture. You can be formally trained and get your license! Coincidentally, this school is also where the Great Library is, which you will need to get into for information about the Withering.”
Kaveh gives the System window a look. “I don’t like how you’re talking as if I’ll accept this mission already.” He has to admit that this possibility is an attractive one though.
“Don’t you want to at least try?” the System prods. “Don’t you want to at least give this second life a chance to do all the things you never could? You’re no longer tied to your past here.”
All his life, he’s gone with the motion of just surviving. When he was younger, his goal was to not get underfoot lest he be kicked out of his relatives’ house. He’d keep quiet, keep his head down, and just do what he needed to do to achieve independence. The moment he became an adult, that goal merely shifted to add self-sufficiency.
Perhaps it’s because he had viewed his old life with such joyless tedium that he’s not feeling all that sad knowing that he died. It’s not like he lost much aside from his sweet apartment that he finally got just right. Hell, his greatest regret is probably not being able to finish building that Aranara village in his game.
Maybe the System has a point. Maybe he should at least try to complete the mission. Besides, it’ll be nice to meet the Aranara for real and build their village with all the beauty and splendor they deserve.
Kaveh sighs. “Fine, I’ll give this a go. But you have to help me with getting stronger. I want to have a human form again.”
The System’s screen practically lights up with joy.
“Yes! I will help User Kaveh! We will get you levelled up in no time!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kaveh mutters. He looks around and sees wilderness spanning in all directions. “So, what’s next?”
“You should head to the Aranara's village! Hopefully, along the way, you can run into some Aranara and make friends with them. The navigation has been set!” A smaller window appears with a map and what looks like GPS tracking. “Follow the path on the screen and you’ll get there in no time!”
As they head towards their objective, the System takes the opportunity to run some more tutorials for Kaveh. Through those, he’s able to learn that his Fungus body is quite robust despite its tiny size.
“Your form can heal by consuming Dendro energy. An abundance of Dendro energy exists in nature, especially in dense, leafy forests like the one we’re in, so you can draw that energy from nature! To activate this ability, simply shout or think, ‘Absorb’!”
It is a helpful skill although a slow one. Kaveh suspects that like everything else, this ability will get stronger once he levels up.
“You also have other special abilities due to your unique classification as a Legendary creature. These include Manipulate Plants, Detect Poison, and Poison Immunity. Oh, you also smell nice. Like flowers.”
“I—” Okay? Kaveh’s not sure about that last one, but sure? “Most of these are pretty self-explanatory. Why don’t you walk me through the first one?”
It turns out Manipulate Plants means he can get a plant or parts of a plant to grow as big as he likes. He can also control the plant so that it wraps around his target.
“The effectiveness of this ability lies in how well you can manipulate Dendro energy, which improves either from levelling up or from practice! Your Absorb ability works similarly! So, if you want to improve, you should start practicing!”
“This is starting to sound less and less fun by the second,” Kaveh mutters. He stops his complaining when he hears some rustling noise nearby.
“Say, System, you hear that?”
He doesn’t have to wait long to get his answer. A man and a woman come stumbling out of the tall grass, waving their arms to clear a path forward.
“Nothing!” the man says with a grimace. “We’ve been looking for ages! I can’t believe we still couldn’t find the little brat!”
“We wouldn’t have lost him if you hadn’t let go!” the woman snaps. “How hard is it to hold on to one annoying kid?”
“He bit me in the arm like an animal! You try holding on to him!”
“Fine! When we find that shitty kid, I’ll make sure to knock him out so that—oh, hey, that’s a weird-looking Fungus.”
Kaveh finds himself staring up at the two humans. They’re dark-haired with tanned skin, dressed in loose, baggy clothing in tans, reds, and whites. Unlike the scholars from before, these people also look strong, their bodies toned and scarred, and, judging from the long weapons sheathed at their hips, they're capable warriors.
Kaveh has a very bad feeling about this.
“Uh, System? Activate Bubble Shield.”
The blue bubble simmers into existence. The woman does not seem scared though.
“Hey, Umair, you think the boss will pay us extra if we bring him this Fungus?” she asks. “You know, as an apology gift for losing the target. The boss is one of them researcher types so he’ll probably find good uses for unusual specimens like this little guy.”
The man shakes his head. “I don’t know. I don’t want to have to look after two kidnappees. Let’s just leave the Fungus and find the kid. The boss will have our heads if the kid ends up dead.”
“Oh, come on! How much trouble can one little Fungus cause?”
She reaches down to grab him.
Kaveh fires a Seed Bullet.
It hits her in her face and sends her stumbling back.
“Ow! What the hell!” she cries, her hand flying to her rapidly swelling cheek. Her face twists into an angry scowl. “That little shit hit me! Oy! Come back here!”
Kaveh does not. He’s too busy zipping away as fast as his powers allow.
“After it!”
“Really, Jamila?”
“The faster we get it, the faster we can go back to finding the boy!”
They give chase, which is all fine and dandy since Kaveh has the advantage of being small and agile. He ducks between downed branches, zips through hollow trunks, and flies through the thickest, densest shrubs, using Plant Manipulation to carve out a path for him.
He also uses the ability to make sure branches smack his would-be kidnappers in the faces.
“Ow! Ow! What’s with this cursed forest?”
“C’mon Jamila! Let’s just stop already! We’re wasting time!”
“No! But I’ve had enough playing around. Let’s see how it handles this!”
A gust of intense heat blasts over his head, seconds from where he was. The System’s mechanical chime sounds out.
“Warning, User Kaveh! As a Fungus, you are extra sensitive towards fire!”
“Was that what that was?” Kaveh curses and spins left, missing another stream of fire licking through the air. “Holy shit! It is!”
“It is imperative that it does not hit you! One hit and your Shield dispels!”
Another stream of fire, this time aimed for his right. He yelps and turns, but he can feel the residual heat sapping the strength of his Shield, making it shimmer.
“Fuckkkk! System! Find me an exit!”
“Exit calibrating!”
Behind him, the woman cackles. “Ha! Not doing so hot now, are you?”
“Please, Jamila, you’re mocking a Fungus…”
“I’ll show your face mocking if you try to sass me again!”
“…What does that even mean?”
Throughout their fighting, the fire blasts continue and it is nothing short of a miracle that Kaveh manages to dodge the attacks.
“System! Help!”
“Exit found! Cave entrance, 4 meters in front. Look down.”
“Where? I can’t see—ACK!”
Heat cuts through the soothing coolness of his shield and the bubble around him pops. In the next second, he’s plummeting, but rather than falling straight down, the momentum from before is sending him arcing through the air in a parabola, crashing into leaves and branches, blinding him completely.
“AHHHHHHH! SYSTEM!!”
“Cave entrance, 3 meters…2 meters…1 meters…Success! You have arrived!”
The only indication that the System isn’t lying is how his surroundings go from bright to dark in the blink of an eye. He lands on something hard—rocks—and bounces, rolling down like a football and hitting more dirt and rocks on his way.
“Ow! Ow! Ow! Shield! Shield!”
“Your Shield is in cooldown. 4 minutes and 52 seconds remaining…”
He lands on the ground with a small thump, kicking up a small cloud of dust around him. It takes a few seconds for the dizziness to fade and for his eyes to focus.
“Owwwwww….” he wheezes. He squints up at the spot of light above him. The cave entrance.
“Holy crap, I fell from all the way up there? How am I not dead?”
Naturally, the System chimes in. “You have 5 HP remaining.”
Jesus. That’s a close call!
A familiar voice drifts down from the entrance. “Hey, did you see where that stupid Fungus go? I could’ve sworn I managed to hit it.”
“It must have fallen around somewhere here.”
Shit. “System, Plant Manipulation!” Kaveh hisses. “Hide the cave entrance!”
Thick vines that are curled around the mouth of the cave start to pulse. Then, they wriggle outwards until they wrap around each other to form a mass of interlocking mesh to seal up the exit. Only a small beam of golden light is left to pass through.
“Anything?” the voice asks, now muffled by the fresh vegetation. “It’s like that little shit up and disappeared!”
“It couldn’t have gone far. Maybe it went that way.”
Kaveh keeps himself totally still. He hears the sound of footsteps and rustling plants getting closer and closer.
“Nothing. Just more jungle.”
“God, I hate it here. I can’t see anything past all this…this green. This wouldn’t be a problem if we were back in the desert!”
“It’s a beige Fungus, Jamila. We would’ve had a harder time seeing it given how—ow! What was that for?”
“What did I say about sass?”
More rustling and heavy footsteps. Then:
“I think we should call it quits. It’s going to get late and we still need to find the brat.”
An aggravated sigh. “Yeah, yeah, stop nagging already. That little fucker is lucky to have escaped these flaming fists of fury!” The voice grows louder. On purpose. “You hear me, you little shit? You got lucky but you won’t be the next time we cross paths!”
“Jamila, please...that’s a Fungus…”
The footsteps begin to fade away. Still, Kaveh doesn’t move until all he hears is silence.
“The enemies have gone, User Kaveh. You have gained 20 EXP for your encounter.”
“Oh, thank god!”
He rolls himself up and teeters on his tiny legs before he finds his balance. He looks down and grimaces at the dust and dirt staining his once-pristine body.
“Urgh. This is awful. I need another bath.”
And a proper rest.
“Shall I activate Absorb? It may take a bit of time before you’re at full health though.”
He looks around. The cave appears to wind further down but he can’t see past the rocks in front of him. “Yes, please even if takes time,” Kaveh answers. “I’ll just stay in the cave and wait for Absorb to replenish my health slowly. Do you know how far this cave goes?”
“This cave is part of an extensive network of tunnels that stretches underground from where you are all the way to the forests to the north. There shouldn’t be any monsters where you’re located, so please feel free to go further inside. There should also be more Dendro energy and shallow pools of water should you wish to speed up your recovery and clean up.”
Both of those things sound delightful to him.
He follows the curvature of the tunnel with slow pitter-patters of his feet. Sure enough, the cave opens up to an area lit up by bioluminescence. Sparkling blue clings to the ceiling, the walls, and the ground in patches, some of which seem to stem from glowing vines and flowers spread out amongst the rocky surfaces. The blue glow does a good job of highlighting the pools of crystal-clear water gathered near the center.
Kaveh happily frolics over and jumps into a nearby pool.
“Clean once more!” he exclaims when he resurfaces, gently bobbing up and down in the water. “I guess that’s another thing I don’t have to worry about in this body. I don’t need to feel warm at all!”
He paddles around the pool and activates his Absorb energy. As he luxuriates in the water, a funny sight catches his attention. It’s almost hidden in the back of the cave.
“Shield,” he murmurs and he’s lifted out of the water. He floats closer.
“Huh, are those a…tent and logs for a campfire? What are those things doing here?”
The mechanical chimes of the System’s notification rings out.
“In this world, there are a group of people who work as professional Adventurers. Their objectives include mapping out all the regions of Teyvat and exploring all the hidden depths the land has to offer. The Adventurers tend to leave behind things like an extra tent and camping supplies for other Adventurers who may find themselves lost and in need of them.”
“That’s surprisingly collaborative? Wow.” In the real world, explorers were hardly that nice. Historically, they were so hell-bent on being the first to reach a certain destination, they’d sooner sabotage each other than provide help. “I wonder what sort of things are left behind. I think I see something in the tent!”
He floats inside, swerving a little to avoid the pole propping the tent up. There are a few small chests, some books, and an oddly-shaped lump wrapped up in a blanket. The lump is at least twice the size of him. Maybe there’s something good hidden underneath.
He floats down and tries his best to tug at the blanket, but his little stubby limbs are, unsurprisingly, not the best at grasping things. After a few tries, he gives up and uses his Plant Manipulation ability and directs a nearby plant vine to do the work for him.
He peels the cover off and he immediately dashes backward, eyes wide.
“Holy shit! Is that a k-kid?!”
It looks like a kid—a boy around eight years old with pale blond hair, so pale that it looks almost silver-grey in the blue light. He’s huddled in a ball, his skinny arms wrapped tightly around his legs, and his eyes are squeezed shut. His clothes also look like they’ve seen better days; his shirt sleeves and pants are ripped and caked in drying mud.
He looks miserable.
This close to the boy, Kaveh can hear him mutter under his breath: “Please go away, go away, go away…”
Realization dawns on him. Ah, shit, this must be the kid those two were after.
Just as he’s about to make his observations known, the System’s familiar chime sounds out.
“Congratulations, User Kaveh! You have encountered a new character! Your records have been updated to include information on Protagonist Alhaitham!”
“…The who now?”
Notes:
Eyyy thank you kindly for reading the first chapter! Do let me know what you think and if you want to go yell at me, you can find me on Twitter~
Chapter 2
Notes:
Please enjoy more Fungus Kaveh! Also, a massive thank you to raylight (raylight_y on Twitter) for their lovely drawing of Fungus Kaveh! He's so adorable!
EDIT April 15, 2024 - The betaed version has been posted! Many thanks to Kourt for her excellent editing!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part III. Protagonist Alhaitham
Despite the words still showing up on the System window, Kaveh has zero idea just who “Protagonist Alhaitham” is. He knows that in “My Little Aranara Friend”, the original game is supposed to open up after the second Withering event, allowing the player to explore the world outside of the Aranara’s village, but that’s the extent of his meta-knowledge.
Still, “The game has a protagonist? I thought the protagonists were the Aranara!”
He hears the chime of the System.
“The original game indeed has a protagonist! Players will meet this character after leaving the Aranara’s village and reaching the Great Akademiya of Sumeru. Protagonist Alhaitham is the very first researcher that the players will befriend although this first meeting is supposed to happen when Protagonist Alhaitham is an adult!”
Huh.
“So, what I’m hearing is, ‘Make a good first impression and be nice to the kid’. Cool, cool, cool.”
Of course, Kaveh was planning to do that already. Protagonist he may be but Alhaitham is also a little kid who clearly needs comforting. Poor thing is terrified out of his mind. He’s still huddled in a ball with his eyes clenched shut, shaking so hard that he could send the ground beneath him tremoring.
But what can Kaveh do to get the kid to stop shaking like a chihuahua?
“User can try tucking him back with the blanket!” the System offers. “And maybe cook something delicious!”
“Where would I even find things to cook with?”
“User should look around the tent for resources!”
It’s as good of a plan as any.
He floats back towards the boy and gently adjusts the cover so that it’s just below his chin. Then, he dispels his Shield and pats the kid on the cheek with his little nubby hands.
“There, there,” he says awkwardly though it comes out as (admittedly adorable) little squeaks. “Uh, don’t be afraid?”
The kid flinches. Okay, let’s move on to Plan B: Cooking.
He steps back and beelines for the boxes. Luckily, none of them are nailed shut, so opening the lids is possible. Sure, he has to body slam against them to nudge the lids ajar enough for him to fit his body inside, but he gets the job done.
“Let’s see, let’s see—oh, there are some bowls, some pots, oh, there’s some barley, some salt, and some spices, but what the heck can I make with that?”
“User can supplement the dish with edible plants and mushrooms in this cave! User can also use the fire lighter to the left. Just channel some of your natural Dendro energy to activate it!”
“I guess that means we’re having barley and mushroom stew!”
He takes the material out slowly using his Manipulate Plant ability on nearby vines so that they can act as an extra set of hands that can help lift the heavier items. One of the things he ends up lifting is the iron cooking pot; he manages to get the vines to burrow inside the box, push the pot out, and then dump it into one of the nearby pools of water. Once it’s filled with water, he gets the vines to lift that up and carry it back to the fire pit outside of the tent. With lots of additional patience dealing with his vine-wrangling powers, he manages to get the pot set up filled with fresh clean water, some barley, and salt and spice, over a cozy fire.
“Alright, time for some foraging. System, you have to let me know what’s good to eat for humans.”
“Understood!”
It turns out that, unlike the real world where colourful, strange-looking plants tend to be highly toxic, the reverse appears to be true, at least in this cave. After being warned to stay away from what looked like boring, harmless plants, Kaveh ends up collecting a selection of glowing, colourful, and, frankly, gnarly mushrooms and vines to add to his stew. He tries to chop them to finer pieces, but his control over the vines is not good enough to get them to wield a knife. So, he ends up body slamming against the plants, mushing them into sad splotches before unceremoniously scraping the bits and dumping them into the pot.
The end result is…interesting to say the least. The colourful plants and glowing fungi add a strange nuclear glow to the soup and the mushed-up plant pieces float in unappetizing, uneven chunks. But the pot smells alright, courtesy of the spices.
“This is so sad,” he mutters. He’s stirring the concoction by using his whole body to push the stick while flying slowly in a clockwise motion. So much effort required for such a simple task. “I will pay so much money for my old body back. At the very least, give me back my hands!”
“Work hard to level up in order to achieve a humanoid form!”
“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters and changes the topic to something that reminds him less of his dickless state. “Say, System, what’s Protagonist Alhaitham supposed to be like? With a cutesy game like ‘My Little Aranara Friend’, I’m guessing that he’s the helpful older brother with a can-do attitude and a heart of gold?”
“User Kaveh is correct!” the System answers. “Protagonist Alhaitham will grow up to be a strong, smart, and dependable character who will help solve the mystery behind the Withering! He is also voted as number 1 in character popularity for his charms, looks, and sexiness!”
“Sexiness??” Kaveh splutters. “Oy, System, are you sure you got the right game? This is a game about cute Aranara! What sexiness? Isn’t that too much of a deviation from the genre of the game?”
“Sexy characters sell,” the System replies wisely. “Since the introduction of Protagonist Alhaitham to the marketing material, the game has experienced a 15,000% boost in sales! The developers are very pleased and have encouraged users to create and share fan content of this character. Would you like to see?”
“Most definitely not. I know what the internet is like.” And how perpetually horny everyone is.
His conversation is interrupted by the sound of quiet footsteps. From the corner of his eyes, Kaveh spots a pair of green eyes peering at him through the flaps of the tent.
“Looks like our protagonist has finally decided to join us!” He stops stirring and activates Manipulate Plant on some nearby vines to have them slowly hand him one of the bowls.
Of course, the next challenge is using the big ladle to spoon that soup into the bowl. He tries using his Plant Manipulation ability, but he can’t quite get the vines to wrap around the handle without slipping. Giving up, he decides to lift the ladle with both of his tiny hands instead.
He makes a heroic attempt as he strains to fly over the pot of bubbling stew. Slowly, gently, he lowers himself until he’s able to sink the spoon into the liquid.
Unfortunately, he did not account for the added weight of the soup plus the ladle. Still gripping the spoon, he tries to heave himself up, struggling a few times unsuccessfully and huffing and puffing over the pot.
“C’mon, Kaveh. You got this,” he grits out as he pulls and pulls and pulls. “C’monnnn, work those stupid mushroom muscl—ah!!”
His grip slips. The spoon clatters into the pot while he goes flying backward, his float ability and bubble dissipating as he does. Thankfully, the tent behind him serves as a safety net to catch him. With a breathless little “oomph!” he lands on the tarp and slides down, dizzy but unharmed except for his dignity.
He hears a gasp and the sound of pitter-patter footsteps towards him.
“A-are you okay?”
Hands lift him up gently. It takes a few seconds for his vision to focus but when it does, he's staring into the worried eyes of young Protagonist Alhaitham.
This close, Kaveh can clearly see just how adorable the kid is. He’s got large expressive eyes, a cute button nose, and rosy, chubby cheeks that make Kaveh want to reach over and pinch them. With his silver-blond hair and sweet face, the little protagonist looks more like a cute cherub.
He’s also being very gentle with Kaveh, his little fingers barely clenching onto him even as he’s slowly turning his mushroom body around to inspect for damages. Truly, the making of a great and empathetic protagonist as expected for a soft, feel-good game like “My Little Aranara Friend”.
“I’m alright, I’m alright,” he says automatically, realizing a second later that his words merely come out as little incomprehensible squeaks. For added measure, he reaches over and pats the hands holding him, hoping the gesture will drive his message home.
Miraculously, Alhaitham looks relieved. He puts him down.
“Um. Were you making food for me?” he asks, his voice shy and sweet.
Such a cute kid. Kaveh nods and gestures to the pot.
Eat, eat! he thinks. Uncle Kaveh made tons!
Alhaitham totters over and peers down.
And proceeds to scrunch his nose in disgust, making him look less like an angel and more like a gremlin.
“I don’t like soup,” he says in a whiny, snooty voice that is decidedly not cute. “The soup also looks wrong. None of my books ever said soup looks like that!”
The boy takes the ladle and scoops up the mashed-up veggies.
“Ew. Why do they look so ugly?”
Whatever charity Kaveh feels in his heart dissipates in an instant. He crosses his arms over his chest and levels the boy with a look.
“I didn’t slave over the pot for you to sass me!” he snaps. “Eat the soup, you ungrateful little shit!”
Of course, his protests come out as nothing but a series of squeaks but his tone and body language are enough for Alhaitham to clue in on his offense.
“Just because you don’t like the truth doesn’t mean I’m wrong,” the boy grumbles. “Grandmother says denial is a tool only wielded by the weak-minded.” But he ladles the soup into the bowls and lays one on the ground for Kaveh.
The kid plops down beside him, sitting cross-legged, soup bowl cradled in his hands. “I’ll eat it only if you eat it too!”
“Fine! Geeze! Suspicious little shit,” Kaveh huffs out. He stomps towards the bowl (as best as his little feet can stomp anyway) and plonks down. The bowl is almost as big as he is, which makes it hard for him to sip out of.
Alhaitham sighs. For such a small kid, he has no right to look so put upon. He puts his soup on the ground, ducks into the tent, and reappears with a little plate. Then, he heads towards Kaveh, takes his bowl, pours out a splash of soup onto the plate, and puts it down, nudging it towards the Fungus.
“There. Now you can eat without falling into the bowl.”
Kaveh doesn’t say thanks even if the gesture is a kind one. He turns away with a huff and leans over the plate to drink the soup with as much grace as he can manage.
Despite its bizarre appearance, the food ends up not being half bad. The mushroom lends a nice depth of umami flavour and the mashed-up plants add a certain sweetness, like carrots, that melds well with the spices. It scores a solid 7/10 of all the meals he’s prepared for himself (with 1 being the epitome of lazy single-man “cooking” featuring funnelling cheerios into a half-empty jug of milk, shaking it around like it owed him money, then chugging it down in one sitting).
As Kaveh finishes the plate, the familiar chime of the System’s notification sounds out.
“Stats update: You drank Mysterious Mushroom Soup. This Mushroom Soup is made with the sweat and tears of one (1) Legendary Fungus using the finest magical glowing mushrooms and vines, so the drinker better savour it or else!! Health point increase, +10. Since you are already at full health, the item’s effect is null.”
A health potion? He can make those?
Wait. If it’s a health potion, does that mean that it’s affecting Alhaitham too?
“Oh.”
Kaveh looks up at the soft exclamation.
The boy looks better. Healthier, less pale, and more alert. He’s also staring at the soup with wide eyes before glancing at Kaveh.
“You healed me,” he says. “Thank you.”
Kaveh puffs out his chest. That’s right! The kid should be thankful! Uncle Kaveh’s soup isn’t half bad, now was it? (Nevermind the fact that he had most certainly accidentally created the health potion but whatever, he’s taking the credit for this!)
“You’re a funny mushroom,” Alhaitham adds, his voice gentle. At least he’s eating his soup without making any more faces now and the fear from before is gone completely. “I don’t think I’ve ever read anything about a Fungus that looks like you and can cook things that heal people. And I read a lot of books you know. Mother and Father left a lot behind.”
Kaveh pauses. There’s something funny about that phrasing. What did Alhaitham mean by “left behind”?
“Maybe you’re a new type of Fungus?” Alhaitham continues to muse. He squints at Kaveh. “Your body sort of looks like the floating type, but the colours are different. You’re pale like sand. I read in the books that animals develop the…the…characteristics to blend in with where they normally live. It’s called…camouflage? Are you a Fungus from the desert then? Are you beige so that you can cam—camouflage with the sand better? But what about that funny green-blue patch? Does that serve a function too?”
Hey System, how old is this kid?
A ping chimes out. “Protagonist Alhaitham is currently ten years old!”
Jesus. Just what sort of upbringing did this kid have at home? What elementary school kid talks like some stuffy researcher?
“Hm, but you can make a Bubble Shield, which is a water-based ability, and you can make those plant vines move. Also, you smell like flowers. If you were from the desert, wouldn’t it make more sense for your abilities to be more…Pyro -like? So maybe that hypo—hyp—hypothesis isn’t right either.”
Little Alhaitham taps a finger against his chin. “I will need to read more books,” he concludes with a little nod.
This kid is supposed to grow into the charming, charismatic, good-looking hero that boosted sales by 15,000%? Kaveh isn’t seeing it at all. At this rate, the kid looks more likely to grow up as a massive nerd.
They finish their food in relative peace with more mutterings from Little Alhaitham and a valiant attempt from Kaveh to ignore him. As much as Kaveh would like to save some of the potions for future uses, he does not find any vials or bottles in the tent’s supplies (not like having those will help because the kid ends up inhaling everything despite his initial protests). So, Kaveh does the next best thing which is to ask the System to record the recipe so that he can make more when he has the time and resources.
Once the plates and bowls are empty. Kaveh activates his Shield, picks up his plate, and floats towards Alhaitham.
“We wash up,” he says. Why he’s still choosing to speak despite knowing full well that Alhaitham can’t understand is beyond him. Call it a force of habit. “And then, we pack these things up neatly for the next person to use.”
At Alhaitham’s confused look, he floats a couple of paces away before stopping and turning around to stare pointedly at the child. After making sure that the kid is still watching him, he goes to a nearby pool and lowers the dish into it. He dunks the dish a few more times, making a show of washing it, then floats back to Alhaitham to show off the clean plate.
“Oh!” the kid says. “You want us to do the dishes. You really are a weird mushroom!”
What’s weird about cleanliness?
The kid does as he’s told though and diligently cleans the bowls while Kaveh uses Manipulate Plants to take the now empty cooking pot for a good soak. They make short work of washing up and set the pot over the fire again, this time, with a fresh pot of herbal tea brewing. Kaveh makes sure the kid is settled down by the fire before activating his Shield and Float ability once more.
“I’ll be back, kid,” he says, definitely more out of habit than anything. Maybe one day, he’ll be able to speak for real and in a way that others will understand. “Gonna check around to see if there’s another easy way out.”
“This network has multiple exits,” the System interjects. ”Would you like me to locate the nearest one?”
Oh, sweet. “Yes, please! One that’s safe, too.”
“Calibrating…closest exit is located 400 meters away. Please follow the light on the ground to reach your destination.”
Kaveh moves to follow the light.
“W-wait, where are you going?” Little Alhaitham calls, scrambling up. “You’re not leaving, are you? You can’t go. It’s not safe out there!”
“Kid! I’m just scouting!”
Alhaitham shakes his head, his green eyes huge and his lips wobble. It does something horrible to Kaveh’s heart.
“You shouldn’t leave! My friend told me to stay put until it’s safe. He said he’d come back to get me! You should wait here with me.”
His friend?
Hey System, do you have any idea what he’s talking about? Is there another kid missing in these caves somewhere?
“Unfortunately not. Although this System is knowledgeable about the world and the general storyline of the game, this meeting deviates from the original story so we’re sailing through uncharted waters!”
Great. Shit. Well, as the only adult here, he can’t in good conscious rest without trying to look for this potential missing kid.
Kaveh flies over and dispels his Shield once more. He reaches out and pats Alhaitham’s shin twice.
“I’ll come back, kid,” he says, “I can look for your friend too.”
When Alhaitham doesn’t let up his (devastatingly) sad expression, Kaveh sighs. Okay, is there a way he can try to communicate—oh, he knows!
He steps back and mimes out his plan. He places his hand over his eyes, shielding them as he peers out into the distance, slowly turning from left to right then left again, pretending to be looking out into the horizon.
An understanding look appears on the kid’s face.
“O-oh. You want to look around?”
Fantastic, he gets it! Kaveh pats the boy’s shin twice for yes.
“Well, if you’re leaving, then I’m coming with you!” Alhaitham says with a stubborn pout. “Grandmother says that there is strength in numbers, so…so, two is stronger than one!”
Kaveh sighs again and concedes, reaching out to pat the kid twice once more. Honestly, with logic like that, who is he to refute?
He floats ahead as little Alhaitham follows behind him. Luckily, the path is relatively well-lit by bioluminescent plants and easy to traverse. The route is mostly flat land except for a few ledges which require a bit of climbing. To make life easier for the kid (so that he doesn’t fall and crack his skull open), Kaveh uses his ability to get nearby vines to grow into a makeshift ladder.
There’s no sign of this friend anywhere along the way though. The dirt path is free from any tracks and the plants growing on the side of the road look unbroken and undisturbed.
Kaveh turns around and mimes a shrugging motion. Alhaitham frowns.
“Maybe my friend used magic to get out,” he murmurs. “He did say he’s a spirit.”
Kaveh feels the worry leave his body.
A spirit? Interesting and Kaveh would be lying if he denies being curious about what this friend is. But being a spirit also means that this friend must possess some kind of magical ability and can probably take care of itself.
They keep going and they reach the exit. To Kaveh’s disappointment, he’s greeted by the sight of a silver crescent moon hanging from the dark sky. The forest outside is shrouded in shadows to the point where it is impossible to see a few feet ahead of them. There’s no way they can step foot outside without tripping or becoming horribly lost.
“It’s so dark,” the kid says. “Does that mean we have to stay here tonight?”
Kaveh leans over and pats his shin twice.
Yes, better to stay the night and leave tomorrow morning when it’s light outside. They can also search for the friend then and figure out how to get this kid home.
They trek back to their campsite, the kid much more subdued than before. The warm tea and the cozy fire help, as with discovering some thick blankets for bedding and some soap, toothpaste, and toothbrush. As Kaveh watches Alhaitham dutifully brush his teeth while he fixes the bed, he can’t help but think back on his day.
What a day that had been. First, he died. Then, he became a mushroom thing who had to run for his life, twice. Afterward, he ran into this kid and proceeded to spend the evening playing babysitter.
Seriously, what the fuck is going on? Are all of his days in this brave new world going to swing this wildly in terms of excitement, because no lie, this is going to get exhausting real fast. He’d rather settle down somewhere quiet and live his life already.
“User Kaveh can definitely live a peaceful life once the Withering is resolved!” the System unhelpfully says. “Once this detour is taken care of, you may resume your journey to the Aranara village!”
“Say, I have a question. How much time do we have left until the first and second Withering events?”
“User Kaveh has eight years until the first Withering event, and another four years until the second event.”
“At least I have lots of time to find my footing,” Kaveh says. In the meantime, he can work towards levelling up as well.
The sound of footsteps interrupts his musing. Alhaitham has crawled into the tent and is looking at the little bed Kaveh has set up for him.
“Thank you, Mister Mushroom,” he says, his voice quiet. “Um. Is it okay if I sleep with you tonight?”
He wants to say no. Not only is he planning to use the time to explore more of the cave, he wants to take the opportunity to test out the extent of his power, but when he’s about to shake his head, he pauses.
Little Alhaitham is not looking at him, his gaze is towards the ground, his face screwed, and he’s hunched over a little as if trying to make himself look smaller. His hands are also balled up to his sides and they’re shaking a little.
Geeze. For how weird the kid talks and acts, he’s still just a kid. He’s put up a brave front so far, especially after meeting Kaveh, but the loneliness and terror are probably catching up to him now that he has to stay overnight.
Kaveh can relate a little too well to how that feels.
“Me and my soft heart,” he mutters but he toddles to the bed and sits down. He pats on the bedding beside him.
“C’mon, kid. It’s bedtime for you.”
Alhaitham doesn’t need to be told twice. He dives into bed and wraps himself in the blanket. Once he’s comfortable, he snakes his arms around Kaveh’s middle and pulls him towards his chest, hugging him like a teddy bear.
“Thank you, Mister Mushroom,” he mumbles into the back of Kaveh’s mushroom cap. “Good night. Have a good sleep.”
Kaveh pats the kid’s hand twice.
Yeah, yeah. Good night, kid.
Kaveh surprises himself by dozing off. He isn’t sure that he even needed sleep but tucked in the protagonist’s arms and buried under the warm blanket, he becomes so comfortable that he ends up drifting off without even realizing it.
He only snaps awake when he feels little Alhaitham’s arms tighten around him as he nuzzles against the back of his mushroom cap.
“Smells good,” the kid mumbles before going still once more, his breathing slow and even.
Ah. That’s right. He’s still playing the role of the protagonist’s teddy bear.
Awake but unable to move, Kaveh resigns himself to a quiet morning of grilling the System for answers instead while familiarizing himself with the User interface. The insanity of the previous day means he didn’t have the chance to ask about the mechanics of this world, so now that he’s got some free time, he’s adamant to know exactly what he’s dealing with.
In addition to fighting and finishing the story-based quests, are there other ways to gain experience? he asks in his mind.
“Yes!” the System answers cheerfully. “Experience points can also be gained from performing certain activities related to your core attributes of Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, but those activities tend to generate a low number of experiences. Alternatively, you can complete activities that are deemed extraordinary or heroic feats! This is to encourage the User to work hard and be the best Legendary Floating Fungus that he can be! Preferably one that can resolve the slowly encroaching, country-ruining Withering event before it can devastate the lands and its inhabitants, killing millions! But of course, no pressure. No pressure at all!”
Kaveh chooses to ignore that statement. Wait, I’ve been using the Manipulate Plant to help move things around. Aren’t those activities related to my intelligence or something?
“Indeed they are! For every instance where you used the ability to problem-solve, you’ve gained 1 EXP, and for every instance you’ve physically carried items or body-slammed into the plants, those also count towards your experience. I haven’t updated you every single time you gained the experience point and was going to present you a summary once you’ve accumulated 100 EXP. Would you like me to update you more frequently?”
No, it’s fine. Getting pinged for every 1 EXP would drive him insane. How many experience points do I need to get to the next level anyway?
The window refreshes to show Kaveh’s stats. At Level 1, his stats are unsurprisingly sad, especially his HP at a measly 20 points. The one positive is that he’s almost at Level 2.
Satisfied with the result, Kaveh moves on to the next question. So, are there, like, thresholds I need to hit when it comes to levelling up to unlock things like special powers, abilities, and a human body?
“Yes! From Levels 1 to 10, every time you level up, all your abilities and base stats will grow. When you reach Level 10, you will have the opportunity to specialize in a special class, which means you can gain a humanoid body at that time!”
What kind of classes are available?
A separate window appears in the air. It’s filled to the brim with different icons and, judging from the scroll bar, there are many, many options available beyond just that first page.
Which among these will grant me a human body? Kaveh asks.
The window updates and the options are down to two pages.
Huh. That’s still a lot of options.
“I can help group these classes based on broad categories if that helps with decision-making.”
That’ll be helpful, thanks.
The window refreshes. Now, the icons are grouped into different sets of coloured bubbles. Kaveh looks at the first bubble and reads its title: Fighters and Warriors.
“This class predominantly relies on Strength! If you choose to specialize in this area, you will set yourself on the path to becoming the greatest fighter of all time!”
Wouldn’t that also mean that I’ll be expected to fight at the front lines? No thanks! Kaveh counters quickly. There is no way I’m levelling into a class that goes against my core objective to just chill and build things.
“If you wish to ‘chill and build things’, then I can narrow the class options even more. Would you like to eliminate the other options?
Yes, please!
The window refreshes once more. This time only three icons are coloured while the rest of them are greyed out.
“You have three Builder classes available. The first is the Blacksmith, whose job is to design and make weaponry, armor, and other equipment that can bolster the strength and help protect any fighter. The second is the Alchemist, who is responsible for crafting unique potions and magical items to enhance the magical capabilities of sorcerers. Alchemists can transform objects like lead into gold, or create chimeras. The third class is the Engineer, who is responsible for designing and constructing larger structures for urban development and increasing the defensive capabilities of human settlements. Things that an Engineer can build include fortresses, houses, bridges, dams, and roads.”
The Engineer looks good, Kaveh thinks with a nod. Once I’ve picked a class, what comes next?
“In addition to being granted a new body, a new series of skills and abilities will become available to you. These abilities and skills will grow as you continue to level up. Once you’ve hit Level 30, you will have the chance to further specialize into what you want. For the Engineer, there are a myriad of specializations available including a class that will allow you to recoup your material and costs, a class that greatly reduces construction time, a class that allows you to be a master at fortification thereby increasing the endurance of all of your builds, etc. Would you like me to pull out the options of classes?”
It's fine. I can decide what I want then. No point in scrolling through everything now when he isn’t even close to Level 10 yet. Does the game cap out at level 30, or is there more?
“At Level 50, you’d be able to dual-class, so you’d be able to pick another class from the Engineer list. Level 100 is the highest you can go, and you’d become the master of all masters in your field, with all of your skills tripling in effect.”
Welp, that sounds good to Kaveh. I’d like to pick Engineer, please.
“Understood! Setting course for Engineer as class designation. You will be prompted once you’ve reached Level 10 to confirm your class decision.”
The body behind him shifts and Kaveh hears Alhaitham yawn. He reacts by patting the boy on his hands twice.
“Morning, Mister Mushroom,” the kid mumbles. “Wha’ time is it? Is it light out yet?”
Welp, that’s as clear of a sign as any to get the day started. Kaveh wriggles out of little Alhaitham’s hold and yawns, stretching his arms and back. It’s probably a placebo effect but his body feels better afterwards.
First things first, breakfast. He heads out towards the tent and uses his Plant Manipulation ability to get another pot of fresh water boiling. Little Alhaitham leaves the tent and washes his face and teeth. He appears behind him once he’s done.
“We’re having more soup?” he whines. “Is there something else that we can eat?”
“If User prefers, you can try searching near the exit of the cave to see if you can find some eggs and fruit!”
Now there’s a thought. Kaveh nods and pats Alhaitham on his shin twice. When he has the boy’s attention, he makes the gesture where he’s looking out once more.
Alhaitham frowns. “You want to go outside to look? For what?”
Kaveh thinks. Hm, how can he mime an egg and fruit?
He glances down onto the dirt ground and inspiration hits.
Hang on! Maybe this will work.
With his feet, he begins to write the words “Eggs” and “Fruits”, except instead of the words coming out in the language he’s familiar with, they appear as symbols made up of a mix of elegant curves and dots. He knows he’s never seen that type of writing before, but something in his mind registers what those words mean, just like how his body knows automatically to make those symbols.
“To help User Kaveh transition into his new life, this System has ported over knowledge of the common language in this world!” the System helpfully summarizes. “User Kaveh should have no issues reading and writing any language in Teyvat!”
Meanwhile, Alhaitham’s expression brightens and he bends down to pick Kaveh up, holding him out like one would their beloved pet.
“You can write! Mister Mushroom, this is amazing! I definitely have never read about monsters and wild creatures that can write! Wait, does that mean you can read too? What kind of books do you like reading?”
Ah, this kid. He really does have a one-track mind. Kaveh pats him on his hand and points back down to the words he wrote.
Focus, child. Focus.
Alhaitham’s gaze flickers to the ground. “Oh, you want to look for some breakfast! Okay, I want to come with you!”
He hugs him and proceeds to head towards the tunnels. “It’s faster this way,” he announces as he keeps Kaveh squished to his chest, but Kaveh knows better. From the way the kid is squeezing him, it’s evident that he’s become his favourite plushie.
They follow the path they took the night before as Alhaitham launches a million questions related to his ability to read, including whether it’s the norm for Fungi to be able to read. (Kaveh is fairly sure it isn’t so he answers with a shake of his head. Poor kid looks disappointed for a split second but he bounces back with another question.)
When they finally get to the exit, Kaveh is relieved to see the golden rays of the early morning sun pouring into the cave. Stepping out further into the wild reveals a sky that is still a rosy hue while the plants around them are spotted with sparkling morning dew. The air feels crisp and fresh against his body, tinged with the smell of earth and fresh grass. Sounds of bird calls and animal cries echo in the forest as the forest’s inhabitants are slowly roused from their sleep.
Hey System, what’s the closest source of edible fruits and eggs?
A soft chime sounds out and a map appears on the window hovering in the air.
“I can mark the locations where you may find breakfast. 2 meters to the right left should be a bush filled with edible berries.”
Kaveh taps Alhaitham’s hand twice and points to the bush on the right.
“Oh, you want me to go there? Alright. Say, Mister Mushroom, did you learn to cook from reading books? Is that why you were able to make healing potions?”
Kaveh sighs. Are all children this rambunctious? He’s never babysat so he has no frame of reference to rely on.
They gather some fruits, nuts, more mushrooms, and a couple of eggs with ease, with Kaveh pointing them in the general direction they should go, and Alhaitham following his direction. Maybe it’s because the kid has a direct hand in procuring their food but he seems to be much more willing to devour his food when they got back to the fire and cooked their meals.
“We should go find my friend,” the kid declares after they’ve eaten and washed up. “We separated when some…some bad people tried to catch me. My friend told me to hide while he tried to find us a safe path to take. I don’t think he should be far from here.”
Kaveh picks up a stick and writes on the ground.
Why were those people after you?
Little Alhaitham scowls. “They wanted some kind of research notes my papa wrote. Grandma wouldn’t give it to them so they thought they could steal me away and trade me for the notes. They also wanted money.”
Wow. Kaveh regrets not firing more of his Seed Bullets at those people. At the very least, he should’ve gotten the lady in her eyes.
But aside from the regret from his loss of opportunity at righteous violence, something in Alhaitham’s words is bringing up a nagging sense of unease, like he’s missing an important detail—the fact that it’s, once again, the Grandma who is at the helm, handling this situation just like how it seemed like she was responsible for the kid’s upbringing.
Where are Alhaitham’s parents?
Hey System, he asks in his mind. Are his parents okay?
“Canonically, Protagonist Alhaitham’s parents passed away when he was a young child. His grandmother became his caretaker.”
Aw, geeze.
Kaveh walks over and pats Alhaitham’s shin. There, there, kid. Life can suck real hard sometimes.
“It’s okay, Mister Mushroom. I’m okay,” Alhaitham answers, his lips curling up into a sweet smile. “Does that mean you’ll help me find my friend?”
Kaveh uses the stick once more to write on the floor.
Sure, let’s go find your friend. What does he look like?
“Um, he’s small, like your size! Except he’s green and he has hair but it’s leaves and has a bright yellow flower growing from his head!”
Kaveh blinks.
Oh. Shit. Is that—
He writes quickly. Is your friend an Aranara?
Alhaitham nods enthusiastically. “Yes! That’s what he calls himself! He also said his name was Arama.”
Excitement bubbles within Kaveh. Holy crap, he’s going to see Arama again!
Do you know which direction he headed off to?
Alhaitham’s expression drops. “I-I don’t know. But I know he couldn’t have gone far!”
The kid is right. Arama wouldn’t have left him alone while he wandered far away. He pats on Alhaitham’s shin again.
Okay, he scratches into the dirt, let’s head back to the entrance and see if we can find his tracks.
They return to the cave entrance, Kaveh tucked in the kid’s arms once more. This time, they try paying close attention to the ground for any clues, but the dense lush bush and verdant green vegetation are spread everywhere, making it hard to find signs of disruption or footprints.
System, Kaveh calls in his mind. Can’t you tell me where Arama is located?
He hears a soft “ding”.
“System can calibrate for Character Arama’s location but User would forfeit the experience points gained from successfully finding him on his own.”
How many points will I lose out on?
“User will miss out on 500 EXP.”
500 EXP?! That’s enough to get him to level up and then some!
Okay, how about this: System, will you be able to give me a hint that won’t cost me any points?
“User should try using an ability that allows him to draw Dendro energy from local sources.”
Huh. Clearly, the System is referring to his Absorb ability but how will that help?
Whatever. A hint’s a hint. He’s not going to challenge it.
Kaveh closes his eyes and activates Absorb. Immediately, he sees spots of green flare up in his mind—the large trees surrounding them that are slowly pulsing green energy, the smaller bushes littering the ground that are shining less vibrantly—nothing interesting so far.
He expands his energy outwards, creeping past more trees and tall grasses, then—
Green. Bright and shining like the north star glittering in the dark night. A very powerful source of Dendro energy pulses from somewhere far to his left and it feels overwhelming. Almost as if it’s the embodiment of the forest itself from how rich the energy is. This source is also surrounded by a ring of smaller, less powerful glowing green orbs that are, strangely enough, moving.
Kaveh opens his eyes and cancels his Ability .
Right. The Aranara are forest spirits so of course, their Dendro energy would shine like a beacon, and Kaveh has just figured out the perfect way to track them.
He pats Alhaitham’s arms quickly and points to the left. “This way!”
Alhaitham runs. Every now and then, Kaveh would have to activate his ability to confirm the location, but he would quickly pat the kid’s arm and direct their course.
We’re getting close! he thinks. Just a little more!
Alhaitham crashes through the bushes with a single-minded focus before Kaveh can get him to stop. His abrupt entry startles a ring of four Fungi a few paces away from them, and they turn towards them as one.
Ah….shit!
Kaveh wiggles out of Alhaitham’s hold and puts himself in front of the kid, throwing up his Shield without a second thought.
“Alright, assholes, I’m warning you! Leave the kid alone and nobody gets hurt!”
The Fungi show no signs of understanding him, but the figure huddled in the far back—a green little blob that had been curled up into a shivering ball—uncurls itself. As it does, the familiar yellow flower springs up from the top of its head.
“I-I can understand you!” Arama says. “Arama never knew a Kavaka that can speak the common language!” His little eyes go wide. “Ah! Watch out!”
The wild Fungi attack. Luckily, the group is made up of Dendro and Hydro-based Fungi, so their attacks are easy to counter (unlike enemies that are Pyro-based). They spit out a barrage of water bubbles and Bullet Seeds towards him.
Activate Plant Manipulation!
Vines extend from nearby plants to build a makeshift wall in front of him. The seeds and bubbles smash against the vegetation harmlessly. With another command, Kaveh directs some of the vines to strike the nearest Fungi.
He floats above the wall to gain a better vantage point. Arama looks unharmed, but it doesn’t do well for him to stay there.
“Master Aranara,” he calls out. “I will summon more vines to deflect their attacks. Please use the opportunity to run towards us!”
Arama nods. “This Arama understands!”
System! More vines! Use them to whip the enemies!
“Understood. User Kaveh has reached the maximum number of vines that can be summoned, however.”
Four vines shoot out from the ground like striking cobras. They lash at the Fungi, drawing them back from the Aranara. The Hydro-based Fungi draw up their own shields and try to return fire with water bubbles, but the vines pop them with ease.
“Now! Run!”
Arama gets to his little feet and “runs”, in that he does this little floating hop-skip thing while his feet make cute pitter-patter sounds with every step he takes. As adorable as it is, the movement is also clumsy and slow.
It is also during his attempt to escape that one of the Fungi weaves around his vines to fire a volley of seed bullets.
“Shoot—”
Kaveh zips in front of the Aranara and counterattacks with his own bullets. The projectiles crash against the enemy in a series of soft ping-ping, safely deflecting them away.
“Go, go, go,” he hisses to Arama as the little forest spirit cries out in fear. The wild Fungus doesn’t give up; it rears back and launches another volley of bullets.
Kaveh retaliates and redirects a vine to smack the Fungus for good measure.
The hit misses but it disrupts the seed bullets. The Fungus dodges at the last second, spinning in the air with a surprising amount of grace like a twirling ballerina, and then, in the next breath, it charges towards him with the ferociousness of a raging bull ready to disembowel a matador.
“What the hell!”
Shit, it’s moving too fast. There’s no time to react—
“You leave Mister Mushroom alone!”
Alhaitham leaps and lands in front of him like the hero that he is, his fingers curled around a thick branch as tall as he is. He draws the branch back and swings hard.
The makeshift bat connects with the attacking Fungus with a hard “thump” and Kaveh catches the glorious moment the hit connects—one second, the Fungus is charging towards them, then its eyes widen as it registers the bat and in the next, its body is flattened against the unforgiving wood before the force of the blow sends it arcing into the air like a baseball. It flies up and up and up into the air, then disappears out of sight.
If Kaveh can whistle, he will. That was a perfect home run. “Wow, kid. You’ve got an arm on you! Have you considered becoming a professional athlete?”
Naturally, Alhaitham doesn’t understand, but he’s also busy posturing with his bat. He raises it up in the air and waves it threateningly towards the rest of the enemies.
“There’s more where that came from! Who wants some?”
The rest of the Fungi most definitely do not want some. They see the bat and Kaveh gearing up for another barrage of Seed Bullets and decide to make the best decision they’ve made all day.
They flee.
“That’s right! Keep running, you little shits!” Kaveh cries after them as the System awards him his sweet 500 EXP plus another 100 for all the times he used his abilities to problem-solve.
“Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations! User Kaveh has levelled up twice. You are now at Level 3! All base stats have been increased.”
Kaveh puffs his chest. The announcement is like the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae.
“Arama, are you alright?” Alhaitham asks, bending over to greet his little friend. “Those monsters didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Arama shakes his head. “No, no, luckily Silver Nara and Kavaka came just in time! This Arama is sorry to have taken so long to get back to you. I hope you spent the night safely in the cave!”
Alhaitham grins. “Mister Mushroom found me and stayed with me! Did you know that he can read, Arama? That’s so neat!”
“Ah, again with the reading,” Kaveh mutters. His Shield sputters out and he lands on the ground softly. “Honestly, kid, you and your one-track mind.”
Arama nods. “Silver Nara is very fond of reading, that is true! Every time Arama visits him, he’s always tucked away somewhere surrounded by tomes!”
Alhaitham looks between Arama and Kaveh. “Wait, is Mister Mushroom talking to you? He can talk too?”
“Yes, Kavaka can talk!” Arama answers. “All creatures can in their own languages, but Arama seems to be able to understand this Kavaka’s speech. Most fortunate!” He turns towards Kaveh and dips his head. “Very nice to meet you, by the way. I am Arama, one of the Aranara. I am glad Kavaka is a good seed!”
“A-ah, nice to meet you!” Kaveh returns the little bow. “My name is Kaveh. I heard from the kid that you were both being chased by some bad men. I’m sorry you had to go through that. I too ran into them and they tried to take me. It’s how I managed to find the kid. I was hiding out in the same cave that he was.”
“Those two Nara Valuka are bad seeds!” Arama agrees. “They seemed to have left this area though so for now, we are safe.” At Alhaitham’s curious look, Arama explains, “Kavaka Kaveh was explaining to me how you two met. It seems like he was also running away from the bad Nara!”
Alhaitham looks even more confused. “Kavaka Kaveh? Wait, is Mister Mushroom’s name Kaveh?”
Kaveh nods and pats the boy’s shin twice.
“That’s so neat!”
“Now that those two kidnappers are gone, I think we should bring the kid home,” Kaveh suggests. “His grandmother must be so worried.”
“This Arama agrees. It is bad for this young seed to be away from home for too long. Luckily, I know where he lives so I can guide him there. Would Kavaka Kaveh like to help us?”
The System’s chime sounds out. “If User Kaveh accepts this mission and succeeds, he will gain 500 EXP.”
Well, it wasn’t as if he was going to say no to begin with. “Sure, I’ll help.”
Alhaitham, who’s clearly clued in from context, pouts. “Aw, do I have to go already? I just met Mister Mushroom Kaveh!”
Kaveh sighs. “Just Kaveh is fine. No need for the Mister Mushroom part.” After Arama relays his message, he adds, “And yes, it’s time for you to go home but I can come visit in the future.”
With Arama’s expert navigation, they successfully emerge through the dense forest and arrive at a dirt road. They follow down the path, heading southeast with Arama taking the lead and Kaveh perched on Alhaitham’s shoulder. The kid has taken a shine to his large branch and is using it as his walking stick, swinging it once in a while as if mimicking sword slashes.
“I’m going to read so many books on how to master a sword,” he mutters as he delivers a downward slash. “That way, monsters and bad people can’t bully us ever again.”
Kaveh taps on Alhaitham’s cheek. “Grow strong, kiddo. Listen to your grandmother. Do more than just read books all the time, okay?”
Arama repeats Kaveh’s words and the kid grimaces. “Why do you sound like such an old man, Kaveh? I’ll be fine!”
The sass earns the kid a cheek pinch. “Little brat! Respect your seniors!”
It takes them a half day of travelling, mixed with snack breaks before they begin to see signs of civilization. Simple wooden houses appear on the horizon, their green and blue thatched rooves made of grass and leaves add to the charm of the round building with its circular windows and its decorative arched awnings. They’re a few steps away from entering the village when Arama stops.
“This is as far as Arama can go! Will Silver Nara and Kavaka Kaveh be alright to continue?”
Alhaitham nods. “I can go the rest of the way. Kaveh, you should stay here too. I don’t want the villagers hurting you.”
He picks Kaveh up off his shoulder and carefully puts him on the ground beside Arama. “You two get back safely, okay? Stay away from the bad men!”
“We should be the one saying that,” Kaveh says, which Arama promptly translates. “Be good to your grandma and I’ll see you again.”
“In five days!” Alhaitham announces. “I want to meet again in five days! I will be waiting here and…and I will bring books so that we can read together!”
Kaveh chuckles. Really, this kid. “Sure, sure. Let’s meet in five days and you can bring your favourite book. Pick one,” he adds quickly. “Don’t bring the entire library!”
With a happy wave and a last round of goodbyes, Alhaitham turns around and heads into the village. Kaveh and Arama watch as one of the adults drop their basket of fruits when they catch sight of him, before rushing over and drawing him into a long hug.
“Where have you been? The whole village has been looking for you! We’ve been so worried, child!”
“Some bad men tried to take me but I ran away and hid!”
“Bad men?! We’re reporting this to the Village Head. Let’s find your poor grandmother first.”
With that, the kid is led to the safety of his home and family.
“Off he goes,” Kaveh says. “I’m going to miss that child.”
“Silver Nara will be back soon, do not be sad, Kavaka Kaveh. But now that the seed is safe, you too should return home!”
“Ah,” About that…. “Unfortunately, I don’t have…one. It got…destroyed? By the bad men?”
Sure, let’s go with that. It’s a lot easier to explain than his whole transmigration situation.
The System’s ping chimes out. “This is a good opportunity to mention that User Kaveh is forbidden from mentioning that he is a Transmigrator. All attempts will be censored. Thank you!”
Why is he not surprised?
Luckily, the simple explanation is enough. Arama looks at him with huge, sad eyes. “Oh, no! Kavaka Kaveh has no home? Where will Kavaka Kaveh go then?”
Kaveh shrugs. “No idea, to be honest. I was trying to find a new home. Do you have any recommendations?”
Please let him stay at the Aranara village. Please let him stay at the Aranara village…
“This Arama has an idea!” the forest spirit says. “Why don’t Kavaka Kaveh stay with us Aranara at the village? Kavaka Kaveh is a very good seed and he is good at fighting monsters. The other Aranara will be relieved to have help against the bad Kavaka!”
Score! Kaveh does a little fist pump in his mind.
“I’d be happy to help. Thank you for the offer!”
Arama beams. “Good, good. This way then. To the village!”
Notes:
Author's Notes:
Kavaka = Sanskrit for Fungus. A lot of the Aranara language is also inspired by Sanskrit terms.
Here's a fun summary of some of the words used by the Aranara: https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Aranara_Language
Thank you for reading! If you want to see what I'm up to and/or hear me ramble, feel free to follow me on Twitter @iambgtea!
Chapter 3
Notes:
Enjoy more Fungus Kaveh, now with PLOT! Let's goooo! 8D
Also! Shout out to raylight (@raylight_y on Twt) for their precious drawing of Alhaitham and Fungus!Kaveh for my other story: I Reincarnated as a Fungus When I Only Wanted to Be an Architect, where Kaveh is transmigrated into a game world but in the body of a Fungus. They look so cute in that drawing, I love them so much. Found here: https://twitter.com/raylight_y/status/1703792630910636429
EDIT April 15, 2024, this chapter has been betaed! With thanks to Kourt!
Chapter Text
Part IV. Kaveh’s Adventures in Mahavanaranapna
When Arama said: “This way to the village”, Kaveh had pictured a charming adventure where they would navigate down quaint roads that would take them through the thick tall grass and the hollows of fallen tree trunks before dipping underground to traverse through caves filled with glowing ores and shimmering pools. He was expecting a bit of harmless fun like one would see in movie montages of people traversing through great distances before the film cuts to their final destinations. Maybe, there’d be some light fighting and at least a night out camping in the wilderness under the stars.
What he wasn’t expecting was for Arama to lead him to this large radish-looking plant with a glowing swirl in the middle after five minutes of light walking.
“Why are we stopping?” Kaveh tilts his head and looks at the plant. “Is there something interesting about this?”
“This is a Silapna!” Arama says. “Arama will now sing a special song!”
Okay, sure?
Kaveh settles back and watches Arama trill out a catchy tune. When he finishes the last note, the swirl pulses, throwing out more green lights.
“Here we go!” he says, and before Kaveh can ask further, the world wavers in a swirl of psychedelic colours until all he sees are streaks of rainbow. The environment transforms as those colours settle into blobs of hazy greens, pinks, and blues. Shapes begin to emerge, growing clearer by the second to reveal a land filled with green grass and pools of clear blue water from which large stalks of pink and white lotus flowers stretch upwards, their petals open in perfect bloom. Above him, the sky stretches on and on in warm amber as if someone has applied a sepia-hued filter to the canopy above them. He couldn’t make out a single detail—no clouds, no birds flying, no sun—just endless sunny yellow.
“Where are we?” Kaveh marvels, spinning around and absorbing the sights around him. “Are we still in the forest?”
“You have entered the Dream Land!” Arama explains in a sentence that explains nothing. “We Aranara find it easier to traverse through the land of dreams since here, this is a world we can control. Outside of it, there are many more unpredictable threats to the Aranara. Bad, bad seeds.”
System! He calls in his head. What kind of an OP skill is this? You mean the Aranara could teleport to an—an alternative universe or something? Was this a thing in the game?
The familiar ping sounds out in his ears.
“If User had bothered to play the game, he would have discovered more lore about the Aranara. But to answer your question, yes, the Aranara possess the ability to traverse through a dream version of the forest.”
He rolls his eyes at the sass but refrains from snarking back. What about their village? Why is it in the real world, then?
“It’s both in the real world and the dream world,” the System corrects. “The Aranara have a village in the real world that serves as a front while using magic to hide their real home in the dream like overlaying an image with a filter. The real-world version of the village also serves to help anchor the magic to sustain the dream world, making the dream stronger and longer-lasting. In the game, however, the village from the real world and the one from the dream are overlapped in the same user interface for better user experience.”
Huh.
“Also, the Withering impacts the dream version of the village, so beware!”
Really? Even in the Dream Land? Is nothing sacred anymore?
“This way, Kavaka Kaveh!” Arama calls out, waving from a few paces ahead. “We must follow the nadī streams flowing between the great padma to lead us home!”
“We must follow the what between the—oh, okay, you’re just going to move on ahead, huh? Sure. Lead on, I guess.”
Kaveh supposes that despite not having a movie-style travelling montage, this Dream Land presents him with plenty of fun adventuring. The water feels gentle and cool under his soft Fungus feet and the plants feel soft, almost velvety in texture. Even the air smells sweet and pleasant, fresh and crisp like after a spring shower. More importantly, there are no other enemies—people or otherwise—in sight.
It is also in this peaceful haven that Arama begins asking questions. The little spirit must have been saving them judging by how excited he sounds.
“I have never met a Kavaka like you before, Kavaka Kaveh!” he exclaims as they hop down from a lotus flower petal to a mossy stone. “Where did Kavaka Kaveh learn to speak?”
“Friendly reminder that User Kaveh cannot divulge that he is a Transmigrator!” the System warns.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
“I woke up like this,” he half-lies instead. “I found myself in a strange environment surrounded by men. I understood them to have malicious intent towards me. They wanted to harvest me and see how powerful I am as an ingredient, so I ran.”
Strangely enough, his not-answer seems to satisfy Arama, who’s nodding along.
“Kavaka Kaveh must have absorbed enough of the Great Forest’s knowledge to become Awakened,” he surmises. “To go from simple Kavaka to becoming an Awakened Being is no small feat. Kavaka Kaveh should be proud of his hard work!”
Sure. Let’s roll with this lie.
“I don’t remember what I did or anything in the past, but I’ll take your word for it.” He follows Arama and crosses a few shallow streams, balancing over a few stray fallen logs before asking, “So, are the Aranara Awakened Beings as well? Were you once seeds?”
Arama shakes his head. “The Aranara are the Aranara, and have always been. We are spirits created by the great Goddess meant to preserve the wisdom and memory of the Great Forests. We are sprouts from the seeds of pomegranates borne by the Ashvattha Tree. Our tasks include safeguarding our land from the danger that threatens to choke the life out of the Forest.”
Uh oh, Kaveh knows where this is going. Still, he asks, “Are you talking about that evil black energy that turns the land brown and rotting? I think I’ve heard humans call it the Withering.”
The flower on top of Arama’s head droops. “You have seen Marana. Yes, that is the biggest threat we are currently facing. For hundreds of years, we Aranara have helped keep this evil under control but its power seems to be growing more and more as of late. It is best if you stay away from it, lest it turns your mind against you.”
Kaveh stops in his tracks. “Wait, it can do that? I thought all it could do is eat away at the land.”
“It renders creatures stronger and insatiable for violence,” Aranara warns. “Though this Arama does not know what effect it will have towards an Awakened Being such as yourself. Still, it is best to stay away. Nothing good can come from being around it.”
“But what about you guys? You guys are the ones trying to stop it. Won’t it hurt you?”
Arama totters over and pats Kaveh on his mushroom cap. “We have more resistance towards its evil, you need not worry for us. Your concern is appreciated though. Kavaka Kaveh is a very good seed!”
Kaveh takes the pats with grace and dignity even if it does feel like he’s being consoled by a parent indulging their child. From a creature that’s roughly the same size as he is, it’s all very strange.
They walk past a couple more giant lotuses before reaching the bottom of a giant tree with a large knot on its trunk. Arama taps on the knot three times, then hums a little tune.
The tree trunk begins to glow green, throwing lights from between the ridges of its barks.
“We have arrived,” the spirit says just as the world dissolves in a whirl of rainbow colours. “Welcome to our home, Mahavanaranapna!
In “My Little Aranara Friend”, the player has unlimited possibilities on where they can start their first village. Kaveh had picked a beautiful spot on top of a cliff that sat above a serene lake, one that granted him the perfect view of the sunrise and sunset over the vast green nature of his surroundings. In addition to the amazing aesthetic, he figured that the Aranara would appreciate the openness of the space and the cool breeze that cut through the sticky, humidity. Who would say no to having lots of sunshine and fresh air all year round?
Apparently, the actual Aranara would say no because their actual village is located in—
“Wait, are we underground?” Kaveh looks around frantically. He’s not imagining it. There’s a rocky ceiling overhead with stalactites and walls with crawling glowing vines on both sides. Clearly, they’re in some sort of a tunnel. “Is your home located in a dream cave or something?”
Aranara nods. “Correct! Mahavanaranapna is built in a series of connecting tunnels. There are spots that are open but our homes in those areas are hidden by large leaves that give us plenty of coverage overhead! Kavaka Kaveh does not need to worry. We will be safe even in these outdoor spaces!”
“Aren’t we still in the dream world though? Shouldn’t we already be safe?”
“Even in the dream world, certain creatures and monsters can manifest, like the Apshvaana or Kavakas!”
He’s not sure what Apshvaana means but he recognizes the word for Fungi. Great. “Life sure isn’t easy for the Aranara.”
He looks around again. He doesn’t see any houses in his immediate surroundings but he’s guessing that he’ll find them when he ventures further inside. “By any chance, have you considered building your homes like, say, on top of a nice cliff surrounded by a lake? Does that sound appealing to you?”
Arama taps his chin. He shakes his head after a few seconds of deliberation. “No, no, no! Underground is best! It is safe and very cozy. Besides, seeds grow best beneath the soil! Too much sunlight and seeds can become dry!”
Huh. He’s never thought of it this way before.
“Well, I’m looking forward to seeing more of your home,” he says. He means it too. He wonders how different the village’s design would be from his own. “Lead the way, Arama!”
He follows Arama around on the tour of the village and it’s immediately apparent to Kaveh that Arama is clearly downplaying his description of his home. The Aranara had made it sound like it’s a quaint little place but in reality, it is far from little.
“This place is huge! This is a city!” Kaveh exclaims. So far, he’s passed through what seems like endless twists and turns of underground tunnels that finally open up to a large cavern that can easily fit a four-story building. At the center sits a huge turnip-looking plant nestled in a half-broken shell made of thick, jagged barks. The plant is glowing a mix of white, blue, and purple and from the bulb sprouts tall, lush leaves that brush against the cave ceiling. The whole room is cast in a mystical glow that reminds Kaveh of a galaxy-themed mood light being used.
He looks around the room some more. “Say, where is everyone? I thought I saw a lot of houses but I haven’t seen a single soul.”
He’s come across lots of giant radish plants of various plumpness with large circles carved into the bodies, covered up by leaves or large pieces of bark—they’re probably doors. A few radishes also have little window holes adorned with unpainted wooden trims. Some even have cute, rustic wooden balconies hanging from the second or third floors with an assortment of potted plants lining against the railings while others have green moss crawling all over the walls.
The houses are very simple and rudimentary but charming to look at. They’re also very different from the ornate wooden houses Kaveh painstakingly made in-game. In his virtual village, every house is painted and extensively decorated with flower-themed ornaments. They each have a front porch with twisting swirling vine-like banisters, a cute little lily-of-the-valley shaped lamp dangling from the ceiling, and little furniture to fill up the empty space. The doors are arched-shape and the windows are round stained-glass, featuring more plants and wildlife images. His Aranara village is a lot more Art Nouveau in style, which, in contrast to the village he’s seeing, seems almost too lavish.
But hey, maybe the Aranara enjoys Art Nouveau. If he can design something for them, he can try to incorporate some of that style and see if they’re interested. Hmmm.
“The Aranara are shy,” Arama answers. “Normally, Kavakas are…mean. They like to swarm us and attack us whenever we go out, but seeing this Arama talk to you will help make them feel better. Meeting Araja will help too! We’ll go after you have received the blessing from the Great Vanarana Tree.”
Now that’s a familiar name! If Kaveh remembers correctly, Araja is the village chief. He’s a stout brown Aranara with a mustache and a little cane. But it’ll probably look suspicious if he appears like he knows who that is, so he asks, “Who’s Araja? Also, what blessing?”
“Araja is an ancient Aranara. He holds many memories of the forest and has witnessed many seasons pass. Due to his wisdom, many seek his counsel and he is the one to guide the Aranara in this village. As for the blessing…”
Arama toddles over and plucks a large leaf from a nearby bush. He hands it over to Kaveh. “In order for Kavaka Kaveh to be welcomed into the village and be accepted by its magic and protection, he must make an offering to the Great Vanarana Tree. It must be a gift picked with your own hands or one that you created and it must be offered with sincerity. Place the gift on this leaf and then, place it on the base of this tree!”
Kaveh nods. “Right. A gift.”
System, he screams once more in his head. What gift? What do I do?
“You heard from Arama! It is a gift that you can either pick with your own hands or you can create it!”
Okay but can’t you give me a few examples? Maybe some suggestions here and there?
“ ¯\_( ツ )_/¯”
Then: “Good luck, User! Also, I forgot to mention: If you succeed, you will gain 300 EXP! If you fail, not only will you get 0 EXP but the difficulty of your Main Mission will increase by two-fold!”
Kaveh almost spits out blood , he’s so mad. What the hell, System?! You can’t just drop that bombshell on me last minute like that! And you’re not even going to give me any hints?!
“No pain, no gain!”
He curses in his head. With no help forthcoming, Kaveh decides to look around the cave to see what he can pick. Unfortunately, there’s nothing he can see that he likes and would warrant a proper offering—no berries or flowers, just more bushes and grass. He’s contemplating checking around the cave some more when a thought enters his mind.
Wait. Created. He can create something. As in, he can use his ability!
Hmm, what can he use? Plant Manipulation? He can make one of these plants and grow super large and offer that? But what’s so special about a super large plant though? It seems like a pretty meaningless gift. Wouldn’t he want to give something that’s…more personal? Something that embodies what he can do and his values or something?
Wait, wait, wait. He’s got a better idea—
“Activate Seed Bullet! Just the one though!”
A single seed materializes in a glow of green light and lands on the open leaf in his hands. It’s not particularly interesting to look at. It’s oblong and brown with ridges running along the length of its shell, but it’s much more than just its unassuming appearance. It’s a symbol of his ability to fend off threats and protect Alhaitham, Arama, and himself from danger. It’s both his sword and his shield and he’d be happy to use it to aid the other Aranara fight off other monsters and creatures that are seeking to harm them.
Arama leans closer, looks at the seed, and nods with approval, the flower petals on his head fluttering a little from his movement. “An excellent offering! Kavaka Kaveh’s seed has helped defend this Arama against bad Naras and Maroli. It is a symbol of his strength and courage!”
He doesn’t know what a Maroli is but Arama’s heartfelt sentiment and insight are enough to make him feel bashful. “Aw, Arama…I’m glad you think this is a good offering. That’s what I was hoping this seed would represent too.”
With his gift approved, he heads towards the tree and carefully places the seed at the base as instructed. The moment his offering touches the ground, the tree lights up like a giant glowstick. It’s so bright that Kaveh has to close his eyes and turn away lest he be blinded, but even then, he can get a sense of the brightness from the inside of his eyelids. He only turns around to look when the flare of light dies.
The tree is glittering. Thousands of tiny pinpricks of sparkles flutter around the round trunk, drifting and swaying in the air seemingly without a care in the world. At the spot where Kaveh had put down his offering lies nothing but his leaf plate devoid of the seed.
Arama pats him on his mushroom cap, the flower on his head spinning in excitement.
“Congratulations! The Great Vanarana Tree has recognized you as a friend of the village and has accepted your gift! You are welcome to stay here for as long as you need!” He takes a step back and glances around. “Look, look! The other Aranara have arrived as well!”
Kaveh has no idea where they came from. He could have sworn there was nobody there a second ago, but now, he finds a good crowd of these little forest spirits peering at him from the perimeter of the cave. They appear in various sizes and colours, some looking more elongated with triangular mushroom hats while others look more rotund with leaves on their heads. All of them are waiting around silently.
Nobody looks afraid of him. That’s very good.
He waves. “Hello. I am Kaveh! Arama brought me here because my old home is gone. It’s nice to meet all of you! Thank you for having me here in your home.”
He bows low and the Aranara erupt in murmurs of excitement.
“A speaking Kavaka!”
“Arama brought him here so he must be a good seed!”
“The Varanara Tree has accepted him!”
“He is an Enlightened Being and has given a very good gift to the tree!” Arama, the best wingman, explains. “Please come closer and meet our new friend!”
Those words are what was needed to finally break the ice. Little pitter-patters of feet fill the air as the Aranana flock towards him at once, and Kaveh is surrounded by a group of eager seed-like plant faes.
“Greetings Friend Kavaka Kaveh! Welcome to our home!”
“Welcome! Welcome!”
“What did Friend Kavaka give to the tree? The tree seems really happy!”
“How did Kavaka Kaveh become Enlightened?”
“How did he meet Arama?”
“Will Kavaka Kaveh help fight the bad seeds?”
“Oh! Kavaka Kaveh can also help fight other Maroli too!”
“Uh!” Kaveh looks around. Which question does he even answer first? There are so many thrown at him at once! If he could sweat, he’d be doing that out of nervousness right now. “Um, hello…thank you…sorry could you repeat the first question, please?”
“Now, now, give our new friend some space! How do you all expect to greet him properly if you swarm him like this?” A new voice calls out and the Aranara part like the Red Sea. A brown Aranara—Araja! What a sight for sore eyes—slowly hobbles towards him, cane in hand. Despite his chastising words, there’s no disguising his curiosity and excitement either, not with the way the flower on his head is spinning.
“Welcome, new friend!” he greets once he’s standing in front of Kaveh. “You are an Enlighted Being, yes? You must be the first Enlightened Kavaka I have ever met! How extraordinary!”
Kaveh bows. “Greetings. My name is Kaveh and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Kavaka Kaveh helped fend off some bad seeds when they were attacking me!” Arama chimes in. “And that was after Kavaka Kaveh helped keep my friend little Silver Nara safe! Unfortunately, Kavaka Kaveh lost his home to bad Naras and he has nowhere to go.”
The Aranara around him make sad little “Ahs” in sympathy.
“We know all too well what it is like to lose your home,” Araja says with a sad nod. “The Marana has destroyed our ancient homeland. It was through hard work and tenacity that we were able to find a new place to settle.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. That must be painful,” Kaveh says, feeling suddenly guilty for his lie. “I may have lost a home but, um, losing a homeland can’t even begin to compare.”
“No comparison is needed. A loss, no matter how great or small, is still one that wounds the heart,” Araja answers. “Besides, although the loss was great for us Aranara, so long we have each other, we can always rebuild. New seeds germinate from scorched lands and the forest begins anew. So must we Aranara learn to keep growing and keep persevering.”
Ah, that’s similar to what Arama had said in the game, and judging from the cheerful ways the other Aranara are responding, it’s a widely shared sentiment.
“I am humbled by your resiliency and your generous spirit.” Kaveh says, bowing lower than before. While his heart aches for these little forest spirits, there’s also something incredibly inspiring to see them forging onwards, trials and tribulations be damned. “Thank you for welcoming me here. I’ll do my best to help.”
“You will always find a home with us!”
He’s so glad that he’s decided to come here.
Kaveh spends the rest of his day meeting everyone, going from door to door to have little chats as the Aranara eagerly show off their homes. Word clearly has spread around the town of his arrival (and acceptance) because the once desolate streets are now filled with Aranara milling about, eager to say hello. Arama and Araja also take the opportunity to finish showing him the rest of the city he hasn’t seen, including a beautiful garden filled with purple glowing flowers and several lakes, underground and aboveground.
“We have a few houses that are empty. One is outside by the big lake and the other two are located in a cave near my home,” Araja explains. “Which would you prefer? Of course, do not at all feel obliged to stay in those houses if you would prefer to grow and nurture your own house eventually, but you are welcome to keep this lodging if such time ever comes.”
Kaveh pauses. “Grow your own lodging?”
“Yes! Our homes are built out of the roots of giant padmas that were nurtured since these flowers were seeds. Through tender care and patience, these flowers grow strong and tall, and their roots grow large and sturdy to form the shell of our homes!”
From the context, Kaveh gathers that padmas are the giant lotus flowers he’s seen before. That’s an interesting proposition too because it’d be the ultimate customized home. It’d be neat to see what sort of root shape he’d be able to grow—would he be able to grow one that’s perfectly spherical? No, he thinks he’d prefer something with a bit more height so that he can put in balconies. Maybe some kind of rooftop patio that’ll give him a good view of his surroundings and, oh! He can install fairy lights (if he can find some), or get a rooftop garden going. Or, alternatively, if the root has a pointy shape, he can transform the top floor into more of a turret and he can install arched windows that follow the curve of the tower to give him that panoramic view of the land he’s looking for.
Just the idea of all the options he has to play with is getting him excited.
“That’s really neat! I love the idea of growing your home! How long does it generally take?”
Araja tilts his head, thinking. “Hmmm, I would estimate that it takes…a little over one Nara lifetime!”
“Like one hundred years?” Kaveh splutters. He’d be dead before he’d see the inside of the house! So long, plans to grow his own root home!
“It’s…it’s fine,” he says, sweeping away his broken dreams in his mind, “I’ll stick with one of the empty houses, thanks!”
The house he ends up picking is the one outside by the big lake. Tall grass and thick bushes surround the house with more green vegetation crawling up the outside wall, reminding Kaveh of a smooth boulder covered in plush moss like one would find at the heart of a lush forest. Though the structure doesn’t have a conical-shaped top for him to build that turret tower, it’s tall enough for two floors, so he can still install a second-floor balcony to give him that view he’s been dreaming of. There’s also enough runway between the entrance and the lake edge to install a boardwalk and dock for him lay out a couple of lawn chairs, perfect for whenever he wants to enjoy some quiet moments in the sun.
The inside is…simple. It’s a hollowed-out egg-shaped structure with no windows. Guess he’ll have to install those himself in addition to the balcony doors, but no biggie. He’ll also have to put in some flooring, a staircase, then the entire second floor…oh, is it possible to add extensions to the building? What about the outside? He wants to give it more character. What sort of modifications is he allowed?
“You can do anything you want!” Araja answers when Kaveh asks. “However, construction will have to be done in the real world and not in the Dream Land. Please let us know whenever you need to go to the real world or if there’s anything you need! We do weekly runs outside of the village for supplies. If you would like to join us, you can as well! We always appreciate the extra help!”
“For now, we have some bedding you may use until you can procure some for yourself,” Arama says. “Or if you prefer, you can find a nice soft spot on some padma leaves for a nap. Arama’s favourite leaf is the one there, to the right. The tall one with the little notch, see? The padma leaves sway a little with the breeze so they are perfect to rock one to sleep too!”
Sleeping under the stars sounds nice, but for now, he’d prefer resting where he can get some more privacy. “Thank you, you’ve been so kind with your help. If you don’t mind, I’ll take some bedding. I’m looking forward to spending my first night here inside my new home!”
With his home picked, a makeshift bed in place (featuring leaves as a rug, a giant pillow, and a soft, cozy blanket), and an emergency door made of bark installed, Kaveh is shown a few more places—“This is where you pick the best berries and, oh, that’s Arama’s favourite apple tree!”—before finally being left so that he can fully settle himself in peace and quiet. He goes inside of his empty home. He breathes a sigh of relief.
“Welp, at least I have somewhere safe as my home base now. That’s a massive relief.”
The soft chime of the System’s notification sounds out and a blue window appears in front of him.
“Congratulations on arriving to the Aranara village and on establishing your new home base! Here are your rewards…”
Kaveh watches with glee at the string of EXP points listed out along with the notification that he has levelled up and even more stats boost.
“Ha! I’m going to get to Level 10 in no time at this rate!” he says, puffing his mushroom chest out a little in pride. “Human body, here I come!”
“This System is confident that User will reach his goals quickly too!”
He ends up falling asleep and wakes up at the sound of chirping birds. Yawning, he stretches his nubby little limbs a little and rolls out of bed.
“Good morning, User!” the System greets after a mechanical chime sounds out. “You are located in your home in the Aranara village, Mahavanaranapna! The local time is 9 a.m. While you were asleep, Arama brought a plate of fruits for you to eat but left them outside when he realized you were resting. Be sure to thank your new and wonderful neighbours!”
“Arama remains the best ever,” Kaveh mumbles, stifling yet another yawn. He treks towards the door, peels back the bark, and grabs the apples and berries on the plate.
“I guess now that we’re safe, I should focus on sprucing this place up,” he says after using his Absorb ability on his food. The bare walls are staring back at him and it’s just such a sad sight first thing in the morning. “Say, System, what do I do if I want to make this place better? In the game, if I want to try to build something, the game just tells me what my options are, what material I need to make it happen, and how much of it I need to harvest. Is it the same here?”
“You have something similar available in this world too! But it’s a bit different—”
“Oh, I’m sure I can figure it out!” Kaveh swipes across the floating screen and cheers when he finds the Construction Tab and clicks into it. He’s practically vibrating from excitement seeing all the different categories of things he can customize—doors, lighting fixtures, stairs, floors—ooh, the exterior! Now they’re talking! But wait, no, probably should figure out flooring first. One amazing customized house, here he…wait, a minute. “Huh? What’s going on?”
He clicks on the floor category and expects to see a new window brimming with even more options, but instead, all he gets is…
“Dirt floor?” he screeches. “How is that an option? That’s what I have right now!” He taps at the screen viciously, trying to scroll down but nope, that’s all he gets. Just…dirt floor. “System, what the hell? Where’s everything?”
“I was just going to say,” System interjects, its tone tired, “that unlike in the game, the options available are correlated to the skills you currently possess. Since your form, Legendary Spiritual Floating Fungus, Level 4, has zero experience in construction, your availabilities reflect this lack of knowledge.”
For the second time in short order, Kaveh feels his dream of a beautiful home shatter. “But…but…” he splutters, “What about my experience from my previous world? I have some design knowledge! Shouldn’t that count for something?”
“That knowledge has been taken into account. The fact that you are seeing so many broad categories of customization at the interface, such as flooring, lighting, wall trims, roofing, etc., is borrowed from your experience! Otherwise, that interface would be significantly more simplified and options would be much more limited.”
“That’s still not a fair deal though! What about all the practical knowledge I learned from university? I didn’t do all those courses only for that experience to translate to an expanded interface!” When the System remains silent, he whines, “C’mon, System, gimme more perks than that! Help a bro out here! Don’t you want to see me succeed too?”
“…Let me recalculate. Please give me a minute.”
Elevator music starts playing in the background and Kaveh waits nervously. Finally, a soft ping sounds out.
“System is back! After factoring in what you said regarding your education, this System is authorized to grant you the following discounts: -10% in construction speed and -25% in material consumption. Further, when learning new skills with respect to Architecture, Design, and Engineering, the learning speed will be increased by a factor of 33%.”
Alright, alright, now they’re talking! “Do those percentages increase as I get more experience with designing and building stuff?”
“Of course! As with all of your skills, these will increase based on your personal growth! As always, User is encouraged to work hard!”
“You know, System, I think this is the first time you’ve said that that actually makes me feel motivated to work!”
After playing around with his interface some more, Kaveh reaches the conclusion that the best way to start is to ask Arama for help. He finds the spirit a couple of houses away from him in a handsome round structure perched higher up on the hill and built on a series of wooden stairs and platforms. Plate in hand, he waddles up the last flight of stairs and peers at the cute windchimes decorating the door.
He clears his throat and knocks. “Arama? Are you in?”
The wooden door swings open. “Kavaka Kaveh!” Arama says, beaming. The yellow flower on his head sways with his happiness. “Good morning! I am glad you are able to find my home, hopefully with little trouble? Please come in, come in!”
Kaveh follows him inside and hands him the empty plate. “It’s no trouble at all! Thank you for breakfast, by the way! Your house is really charming!”
Arama’s house is rounder and stouter than his is, so there’s only enough space for one floor, but the Aranara makes excellent use of it. Near the entrance is a small round table with a few wooden stools, next to them sit colourful potted plants featuring tall, twisting branches hung with more windchimes. Across from this little sitting area is the kitchen, judging by the all shelves lining the walls that are filled with pots of vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Tucked away in the back, neatly cordoned off by a curtain of leaves that’s currently pulled to the side is a daybed filled with cute, colourful cushions and a blanket. On top of that is even more shelving filled with all sorts of little random curiosities—no doubt items the Aranara had picked up during his random trips outside of the village. It’s unsurprising considering Arama is an adventurous fellow and enjoys travelling around the forests.
The little house is also well-lit, along the room is a series of circle windows carved throughout the perimeter that act as a series of skylights, letting warm sunlight flood into the room. At the very top is a charming glowing flower-lamp, bracketed by leaves. How it is powered, Kaveh has no idea, but he’s curious to find out.
“How can I help Kavaka Kaveh? Hopefully, he slept well?”
Kaveh draws his attention back to the Aranara and nods. “I slept very well, thank you! I was just thinking about what I should do first and decided that I wanted to work on my home. I have a few ideas in mind but unfortunately, I don’t quite know how to execute them. Is there an Aranara who is in charge of construction and the like?”
“Yes! Arakati and Arakata are very, very good at building. They have helped many Aranara in making their homes more homey! Would you like to meet them now? I can take you!”
He’s led through a series of tunnels until he's in one of the many large underground caves. Kaveh gapes at the structure before him. Unlike the other Aranara homes, this one is huge and made of one central structure with two smaller round buildings attached to the side, serving as extensions to the main house. Or, as Kaveh begins to assess more carefully, those extensions look more like…storage garages. The structures have large doors cut into them and peering through them reveals all manners of material such as lumber, sticks, stones, and leaves. To the right of the house is a lit oven that appears directly carved into the cave wall. Before the stove was a series of workbenches and tables with all manners of tools, wood, and more leaves strewn about, except those leaves have little green markings on them. It is near those tables that they finally see the two near-identical Aranara, their mushroom caps on their heads on full display as they’re bent over, furiously scribbling more notes on leaves.
“Greetings, Arakati and Arakata!” Arama calls out. “My friend Kavaka Kaveh is looking to personalize his home. Would you be able to help?”
Arakati and Arakata jump up. “Oh, Arama!” the one on the right squeaks. “You’ve startled us!”
“You bring a new friend!” the other Aranara says. “Hello, new friend! You need help with your home, yes? We can build anything and everything!”
“We have drawings prepared already so if you want, you can pick from them!” the first Aranara offers. “We understand that not all Aranara, or in your case, Kavaka, want to go through the trouble of planning everything from scratch, so these drawings will help make your home cozy in no time!”
“Actually, designing from scratch is exactly what I want to do,” Kaveh says, “I’ve got some ideas in my mind but I can use help with making them come to life. Would you…have the time to listen?”
Arakati and Arakata perk up with excitement.
“Ooh, a design! A new design?”
“How exciting! Please, come closer! Come closer! I will grab more leaves!”
“And I will grab more berry juice ink! Kavaka Kaveh must share his ideas! The more ideas the better!”
He spends the rest of his day working with the two Aranara with Arama popping in every now and then to make sure that everything is alright. During their lengthy discussions, Arakati and Arakata would leave no stones unturned and no details left undiscussed no matter how big or how small. They would go over Kaveh’s initial ideas, and offer feedback on where the ideas would fail (“This wouldn’t be structurally sound, Kavaka Kaveh! But we can try to do this instead?”), while presenting a range of alternative suggestions to try to execute Kaveh’s vision. Through it all, they remain enthusiastic and encouraging no matter how ridiculously ornate Kaveh’s designs might be, especially compared to the Aranara’s preference for natural, rustic aesthetics.
“How was your day, Kavaka Kaveh?” Arama asks when the meeting is over for the day. They’re slowly following down a meandering path to get some food. “Were you able to get much done?”
“We barely just started!” Kaveh answers with glee. “Arakati and Arakata have so many great suggestions that I had to take advantage of them in my designs! Thank you for recommending them. They’re clearly seasoned professionals!”
“This Arama is glad that Kavaka Kaveh is enjoying himself though I never would have guessed that you enjoy construction so much!”
Kaveh nods. “I enjoy designing buildings and nice homes! Working with Arakati and Arakata had been very fun!”
Working with Arakati and Arakata was like being trained by the best professionals. It’s also bringing back memories of his college days when he slaved away in his design courses. Sure, it was a lot of hard work but at the same time, there was just something that kept him riveted.
It's hard to explain but his attention has always been utterly captured whenever he was making his many drawings. It was easy to block out the outside world with its noise and distractions to simply let his imagination run loose. Nothing else mattered, not his worries about tuition or the ever-widening gap between himself and his mother, nor the realization that he has no one at home waiting for him, that he has no one at all, really. All that mattered was the paper in front of him, that blank canvas of pristine white stretching on and on before his eyes, waiting to be transformed into something more.
All that mattered was for him to simply…create. If he could do that, then he would feel at peace.
Beyond that, the notion of creating a structure was what appealed to him the most. It didn’t matter if the building was a tall skyscraper, a glamourous museum, a noble library, or a humble home, just the idea that he could realize his creative ideas into a tangible building—one that would be enjoyed by thousands of people—brought a deep sense of satisfaction within him.
“Why does Kavaka Kaveh enjoy the work? To Arama, it seems like there was a lot of sitting around and writing. Wouldn’t Kavaka Kaveh enjoy going outside on adventures more?”
Ah, spoken like someone with a true wanderlust spirit. Kaveh grins.
“I like the process of designing. It’s very soothing. This is more so for designing buildings. I like that I can turn my ideas into something useful and I like that my work serves a noble purpose.”
Arama tilts his head, confused. “Noble purpose? This Arama is afraid that he doesn’t understand.”
Kaveh nods and gestures to a nearby Aranara house. “It’s like this: a shelter is one of the core necessities for all living creatures and we spend so much of our lives in one. Naturally, how those shelters look has a huge impact on how we live. It can bring comfort and joy and the feeling of safety. It has so much power to make you feel…”
He thinks back to when he was alive, alone in his dark apartment, seated hunched over in front of the computer screen. He had just received an email from his mother, the first in years. She was letting him know that she was starting a new family.
(He knew that the email was the final nail in the coffin of their relationship.)
He had congratulated her. Of course, he would. At the end of the day, she was still his mother and he wanted what was best for her. After sending his response, he loaded the game and spent the next five hours obsessively customizing every Aranara home to suit their needs and their likes until peace and tranquility settled over his soul once more.
He had leaned back into his chair when he finally finished Arama’s home, deep satisfaction curling in his belly and smothering the last of the lingering ache in his chest.
What was it that he had said?
“I hope you enjoy your new home, little buddy! I hope that it’ll always make you feel—”
“Welcomed,” Kaveh finishes. “Like you finally belong.”
(At least one of them will feel like they belong somewhere.)
Arama goes quiet. After a little while, he slowly nods.
“I think I understand,” he muses. “A long time ago, shortly after our ancestral land withered into coarse sand, we were starting to build this village. Many Aranara had felt that less time could be spent on the homes since much construction was needed for other things. However, Arakati and Arakata disagreed. They said: ‘Just like time must be given for roots to grow strong and deep in the earth, so too must time be given when making a home. Great care must be spent in its construction and design so that the home becomes a reflection of our spirit, one from which we can draw comfort in times of hardship, one that allows us to set down our roots and begin anew.’”
Arama turns to Kaveh. Though like all Aranara, his expression is that of a perpetual sunny smile, there’s something in the way he’s tilting his head and in the stillness of his body that makes it look like he’s staring through Kaveh altogether. Like he’s looking directly at his human soul.
“I hope you take your time to design your home and I hope you can find the comfort needed to set down your roots here, Kavaka Kaveh,” Arama says. “When you’re done, I hope you are able to help future Aranara so that they too will feel at home in this village. I have no doubt in my mind that you will succeed.”
Kaveh feels a funny lump in his throat. Huh.
But before he can process his own feelings, Arama perks up.
“Look, look, Kavaka Kaveh! We are here! My favourite apple tree! Shall we go pick some apples? I see a nice one right there!”
He zips towards his target. Kaveh hangs behind to watch for a few seconds.
“Yeah,” he says quietly with a chuckle. There’s a breeze blowing across the field, making the grass ripple like water. It feels nice and cool against his body. “Let’s go get some apples, Arama.”
Part V. Protagonist Alhaitham: Part 2
For all the fun he’s having with his home design, Kaveh does not forget his promise to Alhaitham, which is why on the morning of the day they are slated to meet, he’s knocking on Arama’s door with a few apples to share.
“Ready to greet our little friend?” he says, offering the larger fruit to the Aranara, who takes it with a happy twirl of his flower. “We probably should get there a little earlier to stop him in case he decides to go back to his home to grab even more books.”
“Silver Nara does like his books!” Arama chirps, but most noticeably, does not disagree.
They take the same shortcut used when they first arrived, travelling through the strange liminal space with tall lotus blooms, exiting upon activating the funny “Portal Radish” as Kaveh has taken to calling the magical plant in his head. It takes a few seconds for Kaveh to adjust to the real world after spending so long inside the Dream Land. Everything looks so much brighter and more sharply focused compared to the soft haze that blankets Mahavanaranapna.
“This way! The village should be up ahead!”
They know they’re reaching the right location when they start seeing evidence of human activities around them—fences lining the road next to lamp posts, the grooves on the dirt from multiple wagons travelling up and down that path, and finally, the sound of human voices getting louder with every step they take. Finally, they see a small figure waiting by the roadside with a mop of silver hair shining in the sun.
Alhaitham calls out to them first. “Kaveh! Arama!”
He grabs the large leather bag from the ground and, oddly enough, a large stick, and runs towards them. Every now and then, he would stumble a little as the weight of the bag dragged him to the ground.
“Ah, that boy packed nothing but books in there, I bet,” Kaveh says with a sigh. Still, he lets himself get scooped up by the excited child and squeezed in an enthusiastic hug after watching Arama being subjected to the same treatment.
“Yes, yes, it’s nice to see you again too!” he says, tapping the boy on his cheek. “I hope you’ve been staying out of trouble and eating well!”
“I have!” Alhaitham answers when Arama dutifully translates his nagging squeaks into the common tongue. “Yeesh, Mister Mushroom, you sound just like my grandma!”
“Your grandma is clearly a wise lady and you should listen to her.” Kaveh eyes the things the kid brought along. “I hope you’ve packed some food amongst all those books. Also, what’s with the stick?”
“Grandmother made some snacks. We can share. The stick is to fight off bad guys. I’ve been practicing a lot! Do you want to see what I can do?”
“Let us find a safe clearing so that we may continue,” Arama interjects. “Come, friends! This Arama knows of a beautiful spot by a river!”
Kaveh supposes that one of the perks of being a guardian spirit of the forest is the intimate knowledge of the lay of the land. Arama leads them to a hidden valley 10 minutes by foot, shrouded by thick trees and tucked behind a series of rocky outcroppings that make it near impossible to spot until you’re practically standing smack dab in the middle of the area. The air is fresh, clean, and quiet save for the occasional caws of toucans flying overhead or the skittering of tiny animals scrambling in the treetops. They find a dry, mossy area to set up camp and to lay down the bag of books (which Kaveh ended up carrying through the use of his vines and his Plant Manipulating ability).
It also appears that the horrors of being kidnapped have fully left the kid’s mind because he doesn’t stop talking about his week and all the books he’s read.
“Grandma’s library didn’t have any books on fighting, but I asked the uncle from next door and he let me borrow this!” Alhaitham says as he digs through the bag. With a triumphant “Aha!” he pulls out a little brown book. “Look, look!”
“’Mastering Traditional Martial Arts of Sumeru, Volume I,’” Kaveh reads out loud. He flips through a few pages (with difficulty. Damn these stubby Fungus limbs) and squints at the columns of tiny text. “Kid, this book looks hard and dense to read. You sure this is the best match for you? Don’t you want to try something that’s a bit more basic?”
“I am a very good reader!” Alhaitham brags, stuffing the book back. “Grandma says that I have the mind to understand anything no matter if the topic is too eso—esoter…um…”
“Esoteric?”
“Yeah! That! Besides, I’m almost halfway through and look what I can do!”
The kid proceeds to swing the branch wildly around, knocking a few leaves from the bush. Kaveh has to give it to the kid. If nothing else, he’s very enthusiastic even if it’s clear that whatever he’s doing cannot have come from the book. Kaveh doesn’t have to be a master fighter to know that someone isn’t supposed to be windmilling their arms like that.
“Uh, good job, kid! That was a nice one…” he says, clapping along with Arama.
“Arama doesn’t understand what he’s watching but he likes Silver Nara’s sincerity!” the Aranara adds. “What else did Silver Nara bring in his bag?”
“I brought a bunch of books on plants because I want to know which ones I can eat! Grandma has a lot of those! Oh, and I brought a book about adventures and fairy tales for you, Arama. I know how much you like those.”
“What does your grandma do to own that many books?” Kaveh asks, watching the small mountain of books grow. Arama, apparently used to the scene, merely takes his fairy tale with glee.
Alhaitham puffs up with pride once the Aranara translates the question. “Grandmother worked for the Akademiya! She was, hm, the Sage of the Darshan Kshahrewar but she also got a lot of books from my grandfather who was the Sage of the Darshan Amurta!”
“Ah, yes. Right. The Darshan of Kah-Shera—whatever that word is,” Kaveh says, nodding.
System! What the heck are those words? And why does the word Sage sound so familiar? He could have sworn he'd heard it before.
A soft ping chimes out.
“The Akademiya of Sumeru, as you are aware already, is the world’s greatest research institution and educational center. It currently offers six main streams of research—those streams are called Darshans. One of those streams is Kshahrewar, which specializes in Technology. The other Darshan is called Amurta, which specializes in biology and includes related fields such as ecology and medicine.”
Huh. So what’s the field with the Engineering and Architecture training?
“That would be Kshahrewar!”
Good to know, good to know. What does being a Sage mean?
“That would be the equivalent of a faculty head, like a dean of the faculty.”
Well, that certainly explains a lot. It’s not every day a kid knows a word like esoteric.
“I also got this book from Grandma’s library. It’s about different animals in the forest because I want to learn more about Kaveh but um, I haven’t read anything that helped so far.”
“That is because Kavaka Kaveh is an Enlightened Being!” Arama explains, still clutching to his book. “Enlightened Beings are exceptionally rare so there wouldn’t have been a lot of recorded instances of one.”
“What’s an Enlightened Being?”
“They are creatures that have ascended beyond their initial forms after being awakened to a higher level of consciousness. They become this way after absorbing the Great Forest’s knowledge over time!”
Alhaitham’s eyes go wide. “That’s so neat! How did you do that, Kaveh?”
Uhhhh. That’s a very good question. How would someone in this world do that?
System? he thinks again. Help?
“… ¯\_( ツ )_/¯”
Not this again! System, you’re useless!!
“Sorry, kid, I don’t remember! I woke up like this,” he blurts out. That was the response he told Arama, right? At least he’ll be consistent in his lie!
“Do not be too disappointed by the answer, Silver Nara! Sometimes, there are instances of serendipity that occur in life where there are no explanations,” Arama says, patting the kid on the leg. “What matters the most is that we celebrate Kavaka Kaveh’s successful awakening!”
“Hm, I guess,” Alhaitham mutters, pouting. “Well, it’s fine. I’ll just focus on trying to find answers to some other questions. I brought this book of symbols!”
“Symbols? Why would you need that?”
“Because the two bad people who were chasing me were wearing pins with some funny symbols on them,” Alhaitham answers. “I want to find out if they mean anything.”
They did? Well, shit. Kaveh didn’t even notice. “Kid, do you mind sketching out the symbol? What does it look like?”
Alhaitham picks up the big branch and begins to dig the end into the dirt. “It, um, looks sort of something like this.”
The symbol is an eight-pointed star with a tree in the middle, its scraggly naked branches stretch upwards like wicked claws. Midway on the trunk is an ellipse with a circle inside. It reminds Kaveh of an eye peering out from the depths of the tree.
Although a bit unsettling, it also looks oddly familiar. Kaveh could have sworn he had seen it before. Maybe it was in the game?
“Congratulations!” the System announces and a new window pops up. Kaveh barely stops himself from flinching. “User has unlocked the hidden Side-Quest—”
The voice distorts and as quickly as the letters appear, they go blurry before being replaced with a string of symbols. The symbols continue to take up the first line, then bleeding over to the second line, and the third, and the fourth…
System? Hey, System? What’s going on??
The symbols do not stop appearing.
Oy! System! Stop messing—
As abruptly as the oddness begins, the cursor on the window just…stops. It sits there, blinking.
Then…letters begin to appear. A message.
“Tread carefully, User, lest you find yourself in mortal peril for being in possession of something that even the gods are afraid to acquire. Nothing will save you from the wrath of the Heavens.”
Kaveh feels his body go icy. What the actual fuck? Oy, System—
Before he can finish, the window closes and the message is gone.
Chapter 4
Notes:
Have a Merry Christmas/happy holiday season! Thank you so much for your wonderful support for this story! Please enjoy this longer chapter of Fungus Kaveh and his shenanigans!
Also, thank you purrloin77 for their lovely art of Fungus Kaveh! It's always such a delight to see his adorableness, ahahah! Thank you for sharing!
EDIT April 15, 2024 - this chapter is now beta-ed! Thank you for your help, Kourt!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part VI. Dinner at Grandma’s
What in God’s green Earth was that?!
Silence. In the background, Arama and Alhaitham are still staring at the symbol on the ground, quietly discussing what it could mean.
System! Hey! Are you there? Hello?!
More silence, and then he hears a soft chime like a bell being rung.
“Apologies, User! I seem to have experienced a minor interruption to my services. I hope you have not been too inconvenienced. Please give me a few seconds to reboot!”
Soothing elevator music plays in his ear,s and it does nothing to make him feel relaxed. He waits on tenterhooks as he thinks.
That message was obviously an ominous warning.
He looks at the symbol again.
Yep, it’s a spooky-looking design, and the more he stares at it, the more unnerved he feels. The eye in the middle of the tree trunk probably feeds into this feeling the most. Alhaitham also said he spotted this symbol on his two kidnappers, too. Maybe they’re part of some sort of secret society? An evil cult?
The elevator music stops. “I am back, User! Thank you for waiting! Now, where were we?”
What do you mean, where were we? Kaveh demands in his head. Why are you acting so nonchalant? Didn't you see the spooky-ass message that popped up?!
“…Spooky message?”
Yes! You were congratulating me for unlocking a Side-Quest, but weird symbols started to appear on the scree,n and then, a separate window popped up threatening me to be careful or else I will incur the wrath of the Heavens!
“I am going over the logs of messages and have not identified this new window. The log did say that the server experienced a minor glitch, which interrupted the Side-Quest announcement. Please see your updated Quest List!”
Kaveh glances at Alhaitham and Arama to make sure they’re still sufficiently distracted. (They are. Alhaitham has pulled out yet another book from his bag and is gesturing to it wildly while Arama is nodding along). He quickly makes a swiping motion in the air and brings out a new tab with his current active quests.
His eyes zero in on the new entry.
Side-Quest (optional): Case of the Cavorting Kidnappers (1)—Alhaitham has narrowly escaped from his kidnapping but the adventures are not over. He recalls that his kidnappers wear a mysterious symbol on their clothes. Begin your research on the origin of this symbol by perusing some academic texts and piecing together the knowledge within! Reward: 50 EXP and access to Case of the Cavorting Kidnappers (2).
Yeah, no. Kaveh doesn’t like this one bit, nor the fact that this appears to contain multiple parts. Multiple parts suggest that there’s a long, complicated mystery that can be unearthe,d and he has zero interest in doing anything except beating the Main Mission, helping the Aranara, and becoming a proper architect.
“It appears that User has unlocked the first out of a series of quests!” the System notes. “While Side-Quests are optional and failure does not lead to any penalties, they tend to lead to high rewards!”
Kaveh gives the System window an incredulous look. I was just threatened by some omnipresent voice about suffering Heaven’s wrath! I don’t care how good the rewards are, I’m not touching this Side-Quest! Refuse, refuse, refuse!
He waves the window away just in time to hear Alhaitham say: “Oh, look, Arama! The book has an explanation for what the tree symbol could mean.”
Alhaitham is pointing to a picture in the open book on the grass. Unlike the image that Alhaitham has drawn, the tree in the book is stylized with its branches curling to form pointed petals that remind Kaveh of the petals of lotus flowers in bloom. At the top of the tree is a shape made of three arches with the middle one being the most prominent. It looks like the image of a man wearing a hood, almost. The middle of the trunk has a symbol of a leaf and at the bottom where the tree roots should be is some sort of a heart.
“The symbol of the nation of Sumeru,” Alhaitham reads carefully out loud. “There are many inter—i-interpretations for the meaning behind the symbol since its true meaning has been lost in time. One of the more popular theories is that the Great Tree represents the land’s a-abundance of life. Within the tree are three symbols in honour of the Three Eternal Companion-Gods that built the nation.”
He points to the symbol at the top of the tree and continues. “At the top of the tree is the figure of a hooded man, believed to represent the Red King, Lord of the Deserts.”
His finger moves down towards the middle of the trunk. “In the tree trunk is the image of a leaf, believed to represent the Lord of Flowers and Mistress of Dreams and…”
He points to the heart symbol. “At the bottom where the roots lay is the image recognized as the Dendro element but believed to also represent the Greater Lord Ru—Rukka--Rukkhadevata, the First Archon of Sumeru.”
Alhaitham looks at the symbol he has drawn again and frowns. “But the one the bad kidnappers wore only had the tree. They didn’t have the hooded man, the leaf, or the heart. The tree also has that weird eye thing in it. What does that mean?”
“Status Update!” the System suddenly chimes out as a new window pops up. “Side-Quest: Case of the Cavorting Kidnappers (1). You and your companions have begun your research on the origin of this symbol! Progress: 2%!”
Kaveh stares at the message. He waits a few seconds.
The message does not go away.
The panic crashes into him like a tidal wave.
Wait, no! Stop! I didn’t even research anything!
“By virtue of overhearing your companion while he is researching this topic, the Side-Quest has progressed! Congratulations!”
Don’t congratulate me! I don’t want this! How do I undo this thing? Undo, System! Undo!!
“There is no undo option for Quest progression. Please continue to work hard, User!”
“I wonder if the book has an explanation for the eye symbol. Hm…”
His eyes widen in horror. No, little Alhaitham! No!
Kaveh activates his Bubble Shield and zips to Alhaitham. He plonks himself down on the book, making sure to plant his pudgy bottom down so that he covers as much of the text as possible. At Alhaitham’s protests, he waves his tiny arms and squeaks out: “We are out here to enjoy fresh air! Fresh air! Growing kids need to be, um, exercising and enjoying the sunlight and not spend their precious youth with their noses buried in books!”
When Alhaitham continues to pout (after Arama helpfully translated his comment), Kaveh adds (more desperately): “Don’t you want to practice your fighting some more? I can help set up some…uh…some obstacle courses! Right! Fun obstacle courses! That way if the bad guys come back, you can fight back or outrun them or something.”
“Kavaka Kaveh has a point,” Arama says. “Silver Nara has said he wanted to improve on fighting so this is a good chance to do so! Also, Silver Nara wants to learn how to survive in the forest, yes? This Arama can teach him some more about plants that are safe to eat and where to get clean drinking water!”
Those offers at least have Alhaitham pausing.
“I heard about this from Grandma,” he says, crossing his arms over his thin chest and nodding with an all-too-serious expression on his adorable face. “I think she calls this…field research! She says lots of important data can be gathered from the natural environment and that a good researcher should expand on their…their…re-repertoire of information gathering!”
…Seriously, what a weird kid. How exactly will he inherit the traits to become the popular protagonist he’s destined to be? Kaveh just doesn’t see it at all.
“Sure, kid. Let’s call this field research,” he answers, tucking that observation away. “This will give me a good chance to practice using my skills too.”
Although he came into this brave new world having had to use his abilities almost immediately, he’s always been flying off the seat of his plants (heh) and mostly reacting with terror. He’s never actually had the chance to truly figure out what he can do with his skills in detail.
Take Plant Manipulation, for example. He’s used it to summon vine limbs to carry stuff or grapple people, but he has no idea how strong his vines are, how well they can hold on to certain things, how long they last, and other basic details that will shed more light on the restrictions to his power. It’s the same when it comes to his Bubble Shield and Seed Bullet.
At least the opportunity has finally presented itself. He’s putting his skills to good use against one small child in a bizarre, modified game of tag. Alhaitham is running around the field trying to catch Kaveh and Arama while the Fungus zips around, testing how fast (and how high) he can fly while carrying Arama. Meanwhile, he’s summoning vines left, right, and center to try to grapple the boy, which the latter counters by swinging his stick furiously to bat them off. It’s good exercise all around, and it earns him a hefty EXP boost. The kid also seems like he’s having a blast.
After their game comes Arama’s wildlife lessons, followed by food prepared from the stuff they’ve foraged. Kaveh quickly learns that although the forest spirit is an amazing teacher with unmatched instincts in selecting the finest fruits, nuts, and other edible plants and fungi in the wild, his culinary skills are very much left to be desired.
“Is the stew supposed to be brown and lumpy?” Alhaitham whispers to Kaveh. Arama is happily stirring the mixture in the pot they’ve found from one of the many emergency Adventurer camps dotting the forest ground. He also seems completely unperturbed by how…gelatinous his concoction is becoming.
Alhaitham wrinkles his nose and continues. “It smells kinda funny and I’m not sure those things even go together…”
Kaveh only pats the kid twice on the cheek in solidarity.
They down their food, and as expected, it tastes as weird as it looks—a mix of sweet and sour with a large hit of herbaceous notes that sticks out like a sore thumb. At least Arama appears to be enjoying his food, complimenting on how fresh everything tastes. Kaveh supposes that forest sprites just have different taste buds or something.
But…he should definitely take over as the group’s chef from now. Little Alhaitham would probably appreciate that as he watches the kid finish the bowl with a grimace. Something tells him that this meal has only deepened the child’s irrational hatred of soups despite the best attempts on his part to label it as a stew to get him to even touch the stuff.
Between playtime and cooking, the rest of the day passes them by peacefully and, more importantly, with no additional progress to the Side-Quest of Doom. Soon, the sky darkens with the moon rising on the horizon, signalling the time for Alhaitham to run home.
“See you next week!” Alhaitham says with a wave after they walk him to the road leading into the village. “I’m going to look up more ways to fight, and—and I’m going to research how to stay outside without being cold or hungry! I’m also going to read up on Fungi and the different monsters in the forests and on how to build a tent and—”
“I can’t believe our efforts to get him to exercise led to this,” Kaveh mutters to Arama. “How did we manage to achieve that?”
“Silver Nara is young and excitable,” comes Arama’s quiet response, but there’s helpless resignation to his voice, too. “Perhaps a gentle reminder to slow down will help.”
He raises his volume so that he’s loud enough for the kid to hear. “Silver Nara need not rush to learn everything at once, though seeing his enthusiasm gladdens this Arama’s heart! Besides, to master a subject, it is best to focus on fewer topics to grant oneself the time needed to learn.”
So long as this topic is not on the creepy symbols again, Kaveh thinks.
Alhaitham pauses. “Okay,” he says with a slow nod. “I’ll only focus on six topics then! Oh, Grandma is coming this way! Gotta go!”
Kaveh sighs. “Kid, that’s not what we—annnddd nevermind. You’re gone. Okay then.” He turns to a waving Arama. “Bet you an apple that the kid’s going to show up with three bags of books next week.”
Arama doesn’t bother to look at him. He continues to wave when he answers: “This Arama is not foolish enough to take an obviously losing bet, Kavaka Kaveh.”
“Heh.”
Despite how surreal his new life is, Kaveh falls easily into a new and comfortable routine in the following weeks. He spends his mornings with Arakati and Arakata where they work on designing and renovating Kaveh’s new home, then having lunch with Arama to catch up on their day and to stroll around town. The rest of his afternoon is spent helping around the village with random tasks such as collecting materials for the various construction projects or chasing off the “mean Kavaka” who have gotten too close to town. The latter allows him to practice using more of his offensive and defensive skills, netting him even more Experience Points. When the sun sets, it’s time for him to grab dinner with Arama and a few other neighbours before retiring to his home to work on his home improvement projects.
Every Saturday, he and Arama would meet up with little Alhaitham. The kid would try to lug a small library’s worth of books with him, and he would proceed to recount happily all the fun things he’s learned (luckily for Kaveh, Alhaitham seems to have forgotten all about the mysterious symbol, so there’s been no Side-Quest of Doom progress). They would play (the boy would practice his “fighting techniques”) and then, they would dedicate the rest of the day to learning survival skills under Arama’s careful guidance. The day ends when the sky darkens, and they would drop Alhaitham off with a promise to do this again.
Kaveh has to admit, he’s really enjoying this new peace. He’s safe, protected, and surrounded by his newfound friends while he spends every day learning new skills in construction and design from a pair of master architects. It’s as if all of his dreams have suddenly come true; he’s getting a deep sense of artistic fulfillment without the crushing sense of loneliness that he would get had he still been alive and in the real world. He’s happy, relaxed, and eager to see what each new day will bring. The fact that he’s earning a steady stream of Experience Points only makes everything that much sweeter.
Even more weeks pass by, and soon, a whole month has come and gone in the blink of an eye. Despite the passage of time, Kaveh’s sunny mood does not wane even though he would enjoy his moment of zen way more if he weren’t constantly reminded of the looming threat of the Withering courtesy of the System’s incessant nagging.
“User Kaveh is reminded to make progress in his Main Mission to save the Aranara village from being permanently destroyed by the Withering!”
“User Kaveh is reminded that he has under 7 years and 11 months until the first Withering Event, but despite this seemingly generous amount of time, the User should still begin his work!”
“User Kaveh is reminded that he’s brought to this world to help prevent a calamity from occurring! User Kaveh should spend some time trying to achieve this objective rather than decorating his home, or sprucing up the village, or having nice walks with Arama, or attending dinners with the other Aranara, or drawing blueprints for the second floor of his house—”
Kaveh slams his blueprints down on his (newly constructed) oak table with no small amount of guilt. “Okay! I get it! Will you stop it already?!”
“This System is only giving User Kaveh a little reminder. A gentle push in the right direction, if you will.”
“This System is being a real pain in the ass!”
Kaveh sighs and leans back in his matching chair. The first floor of his house is looking so much nicer already, one that features a foyer that leads into an open living room and kitchen space that has plenty of room for his shelves and furniture. Gone are the bare, spartan walls. They have since been plastered and painted a warm cream that does wonders making his space cozy, especially when his newly installed sconces (shaped like blooming flowers) are lit at night.
He’s also switched out his shabby door with a new one made of warm oak. It features a round stained glass window near the top, one with pink and yellow tulips nestled among green leaves. Whenever the sun shone through it, colourful spots of rainbow light would dance across his new hardwood floors and fresh walls, the sight of which always brought a smile to his face.
He draws his gaze to the corner of the room to his new spiral staircase. He can’t wait to get started on the second floor so that he’ll have a proper bedroom and a study. He’s moved his makeshift bed to his new living room, and it’s been…fine, but he’d really like to have a proper bedframe and mattress. Maybe he should put in a nice four-poster bed. Hm…
“User Kaveh is reminded to make a scintilla of effort towards completing his Main Missions rather than getting so easily distracted by his renovations.”
Good mood shattered once more, Kaveh scowls. “Oh, c’mon! In the original game, the players aren’t even allowed to leave the village until after the second Withering attack, and that’s like what? In twelve years or something?”
“That is correct.”
“And the Aranara survive, right?”
“Yes. The players are given the chance to help the Aranara rebuild the village. The players are then directed to go to the Akademiya to help solve the mystery behind the calamity.”
“And that’s where the players are supposed to meet Alhaitham as well.” At the System’s confirmation, Kaveh adds, “So what I’m hearing is that the Aranara village only really gets threatened with permanent destruction afterward. I’m guessing there’s probably going to be a third attack that acts as the final boss event, so to speak. Which means I have a shit ton of time until I need to get serious!”
Kaveh may not have gotten to the second Withering event, but he’s pretty confident that his prediction is spot on. With that much time on his hands, surely, he can spare a little to decorate his house and indulge in his hobby! He’s earned it after the shitty way he died and the stressful way he entered this world!
The System has other ideas, though. “Your understanding of the game’s timeline is accurate, and indeed, a third Withering attack exists, which will serve to permanently destroy the village. However, is User Kaveh insinuating that he’s content to do nothing to stop the threat until the third attack arrives?”
Kaveh winces at the surge of guilt slamming into his heart. “No! That’s not what I’m saying! I just think I earned a moment to breathe, is all!”
“So User Kaveh doesn’t want to see the Aranara harmed?”
“Of course I don’t! What kind of a question is that?”
“If that’s the case, then shouldn’t User Kaveh prioritize trying to prevent the Aranara village from being affected by the first Withering attack rather than waiting until after the Withering has struck twice to act?”
“I—”
Fuck.
“So, pray tell, when will User Kaveh start working on his Main Mission?”
Kaveh scowls. “You make it sound like I’m going to stay doing nothing! I wasn’t going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs, but realistically speaking, what is there for me to do now? You just said that players aren’t allowed to go to the Akademiya until after the second attack, so am I stopped by, like, a quest lock from advancing?”
“This world shares similarities with the game, but it is not a carbon copy of it. User Kaveh is not restricted from leaving the village to go to the Akademiya. In fact, nothing is preventing User Kaveh from ignoring the timeline altogether and stopping the Withering early!”
“I—” Kaveh stops when he registers those words. Huh. “I didn’t realize that,” he admits after a few more seconds, though in hindsight, it makes sense. He’s already strayed from the original game’s event by meeting Alhaitham super early as a kid. “But still, just because I’m not restricted from leaving doesn’t mean I can go to the Akademiya. How will I even get there? It’s located in a huge cit,y and I look like this!”
He gestures to his Fungus body.
“The moment that I leave the forest, I’m going to be treated like a monster and be chased off, or worse, those creepy cultists who summoned me are going to hunt me down for their weird experimentations! I’d be a sitting duck in a city surrounded by people!”
He crosses his arms over his chest and sniffs. “Life is hard as a Fungus,” he mutters in his handcrafted, custom-designed oak chair. “The struggle is very real.”
“Perhaps leaving for the Akademiya is not the best strategy right now,” the System concedes.
“Exactly. All the more reason for me to wait until I’m strong enough to get a human body, which I’m working towards already. So until then, I might as well enjoy my time here and finish my house—”
“There is still something that you can do right now, though,” the System interjects. “You’re already aware that the purpose behind going to the Akademiya is to research the Withering, but nothing’s precluding you from starting the research early using information gathered from other sources!”
Huh. Again.
“There are other ways to get information about the Withering?” Of course, there are. The System wouldn’t say so otherwise. Think, Kaveh, think.
Let’s see, if he’s remembering correctly, the Akademiya hosts the Great Library, which is the world’s largest repertoire of research material. It’s an obvious choice as the prime location for information hunting but as the System pointed out in the past, this world is much more complex than the game. So, logically speaking, there have to be other libraries out there that carry some information on the Withering, ones that are more secluded and easier for someone like him to find.
“Where can I find more libraries, though?” he muses, trying to rack his brain for an answer. “Geeze, with Sumeru being a nation of scholars, you’d think it’d be easy to find one or at the very least, find someone with access to some scholar’s private collection of books or…something…”
A lightbulb goes off in his head. Wait a minute. Wait a hot minute—
There’s really only one other person who comes to mind. A precocious, tiny individual with boundless curiosity and a worrying obsession with books and research, and of course. Of course, he’s the solution to Kaveh’s problems.
After all, who could be more reliable than the one destined to save the world, Mister Protagonist Alhaitham himself?
“You want to see Grandmother’s book collection?” Alhaitham asks, looking up from his spot on the grass.
They’re gathered at the quiet, hidden spot by the babbling brook that’s become their usual hang-out location and training ground. They’re just about to settle down for a quick meal (a vegetarian wrap with grilled peppers and mushrooms that Kaveh has prepared) when Kaveh is reminded of his own research goals.
“Yes!” The Fungus answers. “I’m looking to find out more about something called the Withering.”
Alhaitham waits until Arama translates for Kaveh before asking, “What’s the Withering?”
“A dangerous disease,” Arama says. “It creeps through the great Vana and turns everything into desolate, dead sand where nothing else can grow. It makes people sick and other life forms aggressive. Mindless even.” He gives Kaveh a confused look. “Why does Kavaka Kaveh want to research Marana, though?”
“I want to know how to defend against it. It’s as you said, it’s a dangerous disease that’s creeping in the Va—I mean, the forest—and I’m trying to think of ways we can destroy it before it can infect us.”
“Destroying Marana? This Arama is afraid that such a task may be an impossible one.” Arama shakes his head sadly. “Long have we Aranara sought ways to quell this evil, but we have only managed to seal it. The seals remain strong though, so Kavaka Kaveh can rest easy knowing that the land is safe.”
Yeah, for now, Kaveh thinks, though he doesn’t voice those sarcastic words. Instead, he replies with lies. “It’s not that I doubt the, uh, seals. It’s more than I just want to learn more about the Withering since I’ve run into a dead zone and it scared the fu—the heck out of me. It makes me uneasy knowing close to nothing about its origins, so I figured I should try to learn more about what this is for my own ease of mind. And if I can happen to maybe find a way to destroy it, then wouldn’t that be even better?”
Arama makes a noise of understanding. “Kavaka Kaveh possesses a brave heart to confront his fears so directly.”
Hardly. More like Kavaka Kaveh possesses an annoying System that won’t stop nagging until he does something.
“I don’t know if Grandma’s books have stuff on the Withering, but she has a really, really big library so maybe she’s got something there that can help,” Alhaitham says. He lights up with a huge smile. “I can bring you home with me so that you can check out the library! Oh, we can have a sleepover too! It’ll be so much fun!”
He turns to Arama with literal stars in his eyes. “Arama! Do you also want to come to my house and see the library?”
Arama shakes his head. “Unfortunately, we Aranara have rules that discourage us from entering the abodes of the Nara. It's to keep us safe and hidden. The closest I can get is the outskirts of the village you call home, so Arama is afraid that he cannot join you or Kavaka Kaveh. Please have lots and lots of fun, and I shall meet you all outside the village after you’re done to bring Kavaka Kaveh home.”
“One of these days, we should figure out a better way to get in and out of the village without having you escort me everywhere,” Kaveh says with an embarrassed chuckle. “Thanks a lot for your help, Arama. I’ll pick out a fun book for you!”
They decide that the best way to sneak Kaveh inside is by stuffing him into Alhaitham’s bag. It makes for an uncomfortable trip, sitting in some dark, tight space while his body is jabbed by the sharp corners of the books with every step that the boy takes, but luckily, he remembers to activate his Bubble Shield after only enduring the pain for five minutes.
He sighs when his ability kicks in. With how squished he is, the bubble is pressed closer towards him, forming a surprisingly spongy soft padding under his weight. It almost feels like he’s lying on top of a memory foam cushion, and he wriggles a little to get more comfortable. That’s more like it!
The lack of pain also allows him to pay attention to the sound coming from the outside world. He hears the thundering of cartwheels rolling across the ground, the sound of multiple calls from merchants advertising their wares, and footsteps mixed with chatter from, Kaveh is guessing, the passersby on the streets. Looks like the village is pretty vibrant even though it’s getting late in the day.
“We’re almost there, Kaveh,” Alhaitham whispers to him through the bag. “Grandma’s house should be right around the—oomf!”
The world shakes and spins, sending him and the books tumbling like clothes in a washing machine. He cries out, somersaulting a little while his bubble shield flexes violently, stopping him from getting crushed like a bug. But even amongst the chaos, he hears a nasal voice through the cloth canvas: “Will you look who it is? If it isn’t the town loser!”
Another voice, no less annoying-sounding: “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, loser?”
“He would if his face weren't buried in the books so much!”
“He only has to do that because he doesn’t have any friends!”
“What a little freak!”
A chorus of mean laughter sounds out. Kaveh blinks.
Oh. Oh. Is Alhaitham getting…bullied?
And by possibly the least creative bullies in the entire human existence, judging by their lame-ass insults?
The Fungus rights himself and pushes some of the books aside to make more space around him. He floats up and carefully peers through a tiny hole in the bag where the canvas has worn away.
Yup. He sees them all right—a group of older and bigger kids, four of them, standing around laughing. The one in the front must be the leader. He towers over everyone els,e and he must be at least three times Alhaitham’s weight, going from how rotund he is. He’s got dark brown hair, thick, bushy eyebrows, deep-set eyes, and round, chubby cheeks that are pink from how hard he’s laughing.
Kaveh glances at his surroundings some more. Judging from Kaveh’s proximity to the ground, the bag he’s in must have fallen when those kids pushed Alhaitham over. It explains all that jostling.
Well, that’s just stupid of the kids. Alhaitham is The ProtagonistTM who will grow into, as the System puts it, a strong, smart, and dependable man. Probably one who can kick ass and take names. Those no-name side characters won’t know what hit them in the future. Hell, he can probably take them on now with all the “training” he’s had.
But Alhaitham doesn’t fight. He gets up, takes the bag and the stick he’s been carrying around like his sword, and brushes himself off before walking away.
The head leader of the group sneers. “What, you’re just going to go? What a weak baby! Weak little freak baby!”
“He probably doesn’t want to fight because he knows he’d lose!”
“Idiots,” Alhaitham mutters. When he gets far enough away, he carefully hides behind a building and opens the bag. “Are you okay, Kaveh? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
Kaveh floats up and pats him on his hand twice. He’s fine. More importantly, how’s Alhaitham doing?
He looks mostly okay. His clothes are a little rumpled, and his left knee looks a bit scuffed, but he’s not bleeding. Still, Kaveh takes a healing potion out of his Inventory and waves it to Alhaitham, clicking his tongue in disapproval until the kid takes a small sip from it, enough to heal him completely.
Those brats, he thinks as he tucks his potion back into his Inventory. How dare they hurt his protagonist? They’re lucky he’s being incognito, or else he’s going to teach them a lesson!
Alhaitham apparently can read his mind because he says, “No, Kaveh. There’s no point fighting them. As Grandma says, they’re just a bunch of stupid kids who, um, are trying to bring those who are above them down. It’s better to just ignore them and take the high ground.”
Yeah, but it’s a lot less satisfying!
There’s not much he can do, though. Alhaitham is already gently pushing him back into the bag. “C’mon. My home is over there. We should go inside before Grandma worries.”
The place Alhaitham calls home is a handsome, wood-and-stone two-story building sitting at the end of a cul-de-sac, surrounded by other similarly sized homes. Each house has its front lawn with a smooth stone path leading from the road to the front door. Little wooden fences serve as neat demarcation lines, carving up the rectangular parcels of land that each house sits on. The way everything is set up—tidy, clean, organized to the point of being a touch clinical with manicured lawns—is giving Kaveh ‘North American middle-class suburbia’ vibes.
However, the house designs carry more personality than the usual rows of cookie-cutter buildings. Rather than the standard rectangular bricks in Kaveh’s old world or even the half-domed huts like the great turnips that the Aranara live in, Alhaitham’s houses (and his neighbours’) are curved with walls that slope outwards like a crown. The roofs, made with vibrant teal tiles, are waved, ending in delicate points tipped with stone finials. Parts of the roofs extend outwards to create awnings over the side doors, and those are accompanied by curving wooden braces and decorative columns to transform the spaces under the awnings into cozy sitting nooks. Beautiful arched windows line the front of the homes with stained glass that features green and yellow patterns resembling stars and blooming flowers. The doors are similarly decorated with panels of glass mixed with twisting lines carved into wood that remind Kaveh of vines crawling up the trees in the thick Sumeru jungle.
Kaveh could’ve spent forever gushing over the houses (he’s never seen roofs done like this and he’d very much like to mimic that. They look so cool like—like lotus petals!) but Alhaitham does not pause as he cuts across his lawn and heads for the front door like a soldier on a mission.
“Grandma, I’m home!” He calls out the moment he closes the door behind him.
A little old lady steps into view, and Kaveh immediately spots the resemblance. The shape and shade of her vivid turquoise eyes are identical to the elegant slope of her nose and the curve of her thin lips. Her long silver hair is tied back in a braid, her hair as neat as the long pale robes she’s wearing. When she sees her grandson, her expression softens.
“My Little Star. Welcome home. How was your day today? How are your little friends?”
Little friends?
Alhaitham sets the bag and the branch down gently and toddles over to give her a hug. “They’re doing well. Arama showed me some interesting plants, and Kaveh made some snacks for us.”
Kaveh is keeping completely still as he tries to digest what he’s hearing. Wait. The kid told his grandmother about them?
He wasn’t expecting that. He thought the kid would keep quiet, given that an Aranara and a Fungus are not exactly the most conventional friends to have, but he supposes Alhaitham has to explain why he disappears every week to play in the woods, especially after that whole situation with the would-be kidnappers. Maybe he lied and said that they were some random kids from a nearby village and that their play dates had adult supervision. Kaveh can’t imagine how any adult would believe a kid when they say they’re out playing with a forest spirit and an Enlightened Mushroom Being.
From the hole in the bag, he sees the grandmother nod. “Knowledge of the wilderness is important. Make sure to learn plenty!”
“I will, Grandma! I’m going to do my best and conduct all the field research!”
Alhaitham pulls away and rushes back to the bag where Kaveh remains. “I, um, I hope you don’t mind that I brought Kaveh here with me, though. He wanted to see the books in the library.”
Before Kaveh can react, the bag opens, and a pair of hands lifts him up and out into freedom. Those hands are also thrusting him out like a shield, and he finds himself staring blankly at the wide eyes of Alhaitham’s grandmother.
“Grandma, this is Kaveh. Kaveh, this is Grandma. Kaveh is an Enlightened Mushroom according to what Arama says!”
“An Enlightened Being, kid!” He corrects automatically. He feels silly a second later when he realizes that Arama is not here to translate for him, so his protests just sound like incomprehensible tiny squeaks.
The grandmother’s mouth drops open even further, and her face goes pale. “Little Star,” she says, her voice thin. “Put him down and come over quickly.”
Okay. It appears that his initial assumption was right, judging by the way she’s trying to appear calm despite the building panic in her eyes. Grandma may have been entertaining Alhaitham’s stories rather than actually believing him.
The kid does not listen. He pouts. “Grandma, Kaveh is friendly! He saved me from the bad men, and he healed me, and he can read and write!”
“Alhaitham, put him down!”
“No! I promised to show him the library—”
“Young man, you listen to your grandmother!”
Ah. Here’s another similarity Kaveh is noticing. It also appears that Grandmother has a stubborn streak. Understandable, really. Alhaitham has to have gotten that from someone.
“Kid, put me down,” he squeaks, patting the boy on his hand twice. He repeats his gesture despite the sad puppy dog eyes he gets. “I’ll be fine. Put me down. Your grandmother is worried.”
Alhaitham seems to understand where he’s getting at. Though the kid’s pouting grows, he puts Kaveh down. “Kaveh is nice,” he insists with a whine. “See? He’s not hurting me and—and he smells like flowers!”
Kaveh doubts that the last point helps, but he has to give points to the boy for trying.
With a soft sigh, he takes a few careful steps towards the grandmother and very slowly, very carefully, he bows low so that the top of his mushroom cap is on full display.
When he straightens up, the grandmother is looking at him with less wariness, though the confusion is still present. Okay, he should probably do something else. What does one do to show that they’re harmless?
He hears a soft “ding” and the System’s window appears in front of him.
“User Kaveh can try giving a gift as thanks for the host’s hospitality!”
Of course.
Hey System, he thinks. Activate Seed Bullet but for just one seed!
A single beige seed manifests before him in a flash of green light. He picks it up, cradles it between his hands, and slowly ambles towards the grandmother.
“For you, ma’am!” He says despite knowing that she won’t understand but he hopes his squeaks sound adorable so that she’ll lower her guard a little more. He holds out the seed and waves it a little. “Thank you for letting me stay here and I’m sorry I’m scaring you!”
The grandmother blinks. Kaveh sees the way her mind is turning as she reassesses the situation before her.
“O-oh.” She gathers her wits quickly and walks closer before crouching down. “Is that for me?”
Kaveh nods and holds up the seed again. When she takes the seed out of his hands, he bows again.
“See? Kaveh is Enlightened!” Alhaitham pipes up. He scoops Kaveh up in his arms and cuddles him like a plush toy. “Arama says that he’s a very good seed!”
“Right, Arama.” The wheels are turning even more furiously in her head. “The…Aranara. The mythical forest spirit who’s been doing such a wonderful job teaching you about the wilderness. The one you’ve been seeing for months now. Because he’s real.”
Alhaitham, sensing nothing wrong, merely beams. “Right!”
“Huh.”
Yup. Grandma definitely thought Alhaitham was making it all up, but bless her heart, she’s clearly been trying her best to be supportive of her grandson’s imagination.
She shakes her head and plasters on a smile. “H-hello Mister Kaveh. My name is Amani. My grandson said you’ve been keeping him company. You and Mister Arama the Aranara, which is just incredible…absolutely incredible…” She trails off and clears her throat. “Nevermind, nevermind. Thank you for watching over him and for the present.”
Then, she reaches out a hand and shakes his gently, pinching his limb carefully between her thumb and forefinger.
Grandmother is doing pretty good rolling with the punches, but Kaveh just knows that the moment they leave her to herself, she’s going to crack open a bottle of wine and reassess her life views. The woman looks like her world has been rocked hard.
“I—uh—nice to meet you, Amani!” he replies.
“Normally, Arama translates for us,” Alhaitham explains. “He can’t come with us, though. He said the Aranara have rules that limit them from visiting a Nara’s abode.”
Amani makes a sound in the back of her throat. “R-right.” She eyes Kaveh again, but this time with a look of hopeless confusion. “Mister Kaveh, would you like something to drink? I think we should sit down and have some nice soothing tea, and Little Star can explain to me again just how you’ve all met.”
They get tea, and Kaveh has his in a small shot glass. After being reminded that he can read and write, Amani procures a notepad and a charcoal stick for him to use. The poor woman looks like she’s ready to faint once more at the sight of the wobbly “Hello!” he writes on paper.
“Oh goodness, you really can write!” she mutters, taking a strong sip out of her mug. “An Enlightened Fungus! I have never—this wasn’t in any research material I’ve read, ever!”
“Arama says that Enlightened things are very, very, very rare,” Alhaitham offers. He grabs a biscuit from his plate and munches on it. “He said that’s probably why not a lot of people know about them.”
“Right. Arama the Aranara. What does your little friend look like?”
“Um, he’s small and green and has a yellow flower on his head!”
Allow me, Kaveh writes on his notepad. He flips to a fresh page in his notepad and whips up a quick sketch of Arama. When he’s done, he spins the page around to show off his work.
Alhaitham looks like he’s over the moon. “Wow, Kaveh! You can draw? That looks so good!”
“It appears that Mister Kaveh is a being with multiple talents.” Amani’s expression gentles at the sketch. “It is nice to put a face to the name, and it is nice that my little Alhaitham is being so well taken care of. Goodness.”
They spend the next hour chatting. Amani spends it (politely) digging for more information about what her grandson is doing in the woods, including their first fateful meeting with the Eremite kidnappers ("Eremites" being, as Kaveh learns, the name of the desert-dwelling people). Dread and worry settle over her face anew as Alhaitham recounts their escape. It’s no surprise to Kaveh that she finally stops their conversation with a request to speak to the Fungus alone.
“Little Star, why don’t you go play in the other room? I’ll get dinner started, and I can use the time to speak with your friend a little longer. No, don’t pout at me, young man. Run along now.”
“I’ll be back,” Alhaitham promises Kaveh. To his grandmother, he says, “After dinner, may I show him the library?”
“Of course, child.” When Alhaitham leaves the table, she gets up, goes to her cabinet, and grabs a bottle of wine. The kind grandmotherly front disappears into a tired, jaded adult as she fills her glass (and Kaveh’s, to his delight) with a generous pour.
“I hope you don’t mind that I take this opportunity to speak more candidly, Mister Kaveh,” she says after draining half the glass. “When my grandson told me about his disappearance a month ago, he said that he had met a new forest friend. I…admit that I haven’t put too much stock into the second half of the story. I was more focused on trying to find the kidnappers.”
Were you able to find them? Kaveh writes.
“We caught two people matching the description my grandson gave us. Unfortunately, they refused to admit to anything, even when I questioned them about their motive. Alhaitham had said that the kidnappers wanted access to my son’s notes, but when I brought this up, they kept quiet. Ultimately, we let the guards take over the investigation, and things have been peaceful since.”
Kaveh is tempted to ask more questions, like what happened to the two kidnappers? Why were they after Alhaitham’s father’s research? What was the research about? Luckily, before he opens his mouth to ask, he remembers how Alhaitham’s seemingly harmless research had triggered the progression of his awful Side-Quest so...
Right. Better to just not ask. He does not need another cosmic horror-flavoured warning.
Meanwhile, the grandmother continues. “My Little Star is a curious boy who tends to get lost in his own world easily. He’s also very quiet, very observant, and absolutely brilliant. He takes after my son.” Her soft smile slips into melancholy. “But his bright mind and shy nature make it hard for the local village children to relate to him and after my son and daughter-in-law passed away, he became withdrawn, rarely leaving the house. So, when he told me that he met a new friend and he wanted to play in the forest, you can imagine my elation.”
She takes another sip of her wine and sighs. “Of course, I then thought my grandson made up this friend because he said an Aranara was teaching him the ways of the forest. As a scientist, I found it very hard to believe that such mythical creatures exist. I’m ashamed to admit that I continued to dismiss this possibility despite how adamant Alhaitham was of Mister Arama’s existence, but I did not want to challenge him on his lie, not when he seemed so happy.”
Kaveh feels an uncomfortable pang in his chest.
He knew that Alhaitham’s parents had passed away. The kid told him about it…but he never quite fully registered what this meant. He never quite grasped how this impacts the boy.
Seeing Grandmother Amani hunched in her seat makes it impossible to remain oblivious.
(It had been lonely for Kaveh. It was as if someone had flipped a switch when his father died. One second, his world had been filled with warmth and laughter and colour, and in the next, it was nothing but quiet, cold solemnity as his surroundings turned to ash with stormwater rapidly rising, threatening to drown him. There was nothing he could do at the moment but to struggle against the current and swim.)
Kaveh picks up the charcoal stick. He ignores the lump in his throat.
I’m so sorry. Losing your son and daughter-in-law must have been hard for you and your grandson.
“They were the only family I had. Losing them had left a hole in my heart,” she admits. “Now, it’s just me and Little Star left. Just us two in this house. And when it’s time for me to go…”
What will happen to Alhaitham?
(He doesn’t think he ever stopped swimming against the rising tide. He couldn’t afford to stop. He only had himself to survive, so he could not spare a single second of reprieve. He just kept at it until he became used to the push and pull of the water around him. Until he became used to the pressure crushing against his body, the cold freezing his skin, and the dark blinding his vision.)
(And then he died, and that was that.)
She shakes her head. “Anyway, I didn’t want to burden you with all this. What I want to say is that I am grateful that you and Mister Arama are being such good friends to my grandson. If I’m not being too presumptuous, I would like to ask another favour from you.”
What is it?
“Please keep him safe,” she says, her voice quiet. “Please ensure that he will return home healthy and hale. And please continue to be his dear friend.”
She glances towards the room Alhaitham is in, and the tired and wary façade melts away to reveal soft, sweet tenderness. It makes her seem smaller and vulnerable, but there is conviction in the steady way she holds her gaze and so, so much love in the delicate curl of her upturned lips.
“He’s a sweet boy, and seeing him smile so brightly means the world. I wish to have him smiling like this for as long as possible.”
(And herein lies the difference between his situation and Alhaitham’s. Alhaitham is lucky. Kaveh only wished he had someone that devoted to him.)
But rather than feeling jealous, he feels a deep sense of relief.
Good, he thinks. Alhaitham wouldn’t have to go through what I’ve been through.
Especially with him around.
He walks over to Amani and lays his hands on hers. He pats it twice.
“I promise,” he swears. “I’ll try my best.”
It appears that even without translations, the meaning of his action is clear. She huffs out a relieved chuckle. “Thank you, Mister Kaveh. You’re a kind soul.”
Part VII. Dish Served Cold
Alhaitham takes him to his grandmother’s library after their quiet, cozy dinner.
“Woah.” Kaveh spins around to take in the sight. “This place is packed!”
It’s a modestly-sized room, but every inch is taken up by storage for books. Floor-to-ceiling shelves line the walls, all of them packed full with some books piled in neat stacks placed in corners so that they cannot be tripped over. The room smells of old paper and ink with a hint of musk; a true haven for bookworms and introverts.
“C’mon Kaveh,” Alhaitham says. “Grandma says there might be some books on the Withering over here.”
By virtue of her husband having been a Sage of the Darshan Amurta, Grandmother Amani has amassed a collection of books on biology, ecology, and the health of Sumeru’s jungles. It’s only natural for Alhaitham’s grandfather to have collected at least a few books on the Withering, even if this wasn’t the focus of his study. Whether or not it’s an extended collection is a bit of an unknown; Amani has only read a quarter of her husband’s collection (understandable given she has her own sizeable amount of books to go through), so depending on how lucky Kaveh is, they may or may not find a treasure trove of resources.
He really should’ve expected it. He’s notoriously unlucky and it shows after they’ve spent an hour searching and only managed to find one book on the topic.
It’s okay, kid. One book is a good start, he writes on his notepad when Alhaitham looks like he’s ready to pout again. Let’s take this back to your room.
Kaveh’s childhood is filled with misfortune after his father’s passing. He never got to experience what the normal kids did growing up, like having friends over where they would stay up too late and eat entirely too much junk food.
However, even with his limited experience, Kaveh can tell that what they’re doing right now—sprawled on some floor cushion in the bedroom, surrounded by mountains of books while researching—is not an activity that normal children would do, let alone a ten-year-old boy.
This is probably the strangest sleepover ever, Kaveh muses, glancing around at the bedroom also filled to the brim with books. Then, a second thought arrives in quick succession.
Maybe Alhaitham should hang out with kids his age.
Kaveh is well aware that he literally just promised Amani to stick around and he plans to honour his words, but…is Alhaitham missing out on having a “normal” childhood? The kid is a lone wolf with a bright mind and a rich internal world, but wouldn’t he flourish more if he had other ten-year-olds to interact with and to further foster that imagination? Also, given how not normal Kaveh and Arama are, would they accidentally impact him in a negative way?
But Alhaitham looks happy and relaxed. The kid is lying on his front with a book open on the floor, humming under his breath while kicking his feet without a care in the world. This is how he’s like whenever they hang out with Arama in their secret spot in the forest too so that has to count for something, right?
Kaveh sighs internally. Look at him, struggling to figure out how to best be a friend and a good influence for the little protagonist. His soft heart is getting him into trouble once again.
The boy, oblivious to his musing, looks up from the book with a bright grin. He points to a passage. “Look, look, Kaveh! Did you know that the Withering has been happening for a long, long time? There are, um, lots of sighted recordings! According to the stories, the trees and the grass will get all brown and dead while anybody who spends too long in those areas will become sick. It’s exactly what Arama said!”
Arama also said that there’s no cure to it, at least there isn’t one that the Aranara have found yet, Kaveh writes. Instead, they’ve been keeping things under control with their powers. I wonder if these researchers have found ways to help, too.
“I’ll look!” Alhaitham writes the question down in his own notebook in neat, careful writing. “Do you want me to look for other stuff too?”
Just the general questions: What is the Withering, and where did it come from?
“Okay, got it.”
They get through a quarter of the book before it’s bedtime, their questions still unanswered. Kaveh resigns himself to being the kid’s teddy bear when Alhaitham latches on to him as they are tucked into bed. It must be his squishy mushroom body and his flower smell that make the little protagonist enjoy hugging him so much.
“We’re going to keep looking for more answers tomorrow,” the boy murmurs sleepily into his mushroom cap. “Have a good night, Kaveh. Today was loads of fun. I’m glad you’re here. ”
Kaveh taps on his arm twice.
“Sleep tight, kid.”
The next morning starts slowly but peacefully. They get breakfast and resume their research, learning more stories about the multiple Withering events that were recorded. From the data they’ve gathered, it appears that this plight manifested at random, crossing the span of the nation but stopping at the border. They also disappeared within a few days, to the researchers’ surprise, with the forest restored to its pristine verdant landscape.
“Do you think Arama and his friends did that?” Alhaitham asks when he finishes reading out loud a report of the land seemingly being cured overnight.
Probably, Kaveh answers. It’s a very good thing that they acted so quickly. I can’t imagine what would happen if a Withering Zone appeared near a village.
One downside to the Aranara’s efficiency was that the researchers had not had the chance to fully develop a countermeasure. Luckily for Kaveh, he can always ask Arama how they kept that malevolent force under control and, hopefully, he can share that knowledge with the entire nation as a stopgap measure until a more permanent solution is discovered.
“How is your research?” Grandmother Amani asks when it’s time for lunch. “Were you able to find more books on the Withering?”
“We found two books!” Alhaitham answers between enthusiastic bites of his sandwich. “There might be more information in other books as a, um, secondary topic, but it’s going to take more time to research.”
Grandmother Amani ruffles his hair. “Hard work is an excellent trait to have, but working efficiently is more important. Let’s focus on finding primary sources that speak directly to your topic rather than spending time combing through less relevant texts.”
“But there aren’t any more books like that, though!”
Amani rubs her chin. “I can write to some of my old colleagues to borrow their texts too. Little Star, would you mind delivering my letter to the post office?”
They opt to do just that in the afternoon since Kaveh needs to meet up with Arama, and he'll be passing by the post office on his way out of the village. Before they leave, Grandmother Amani gives them each a hug.
“It was very nice to meet you, Mister Kaveh. Do feel free to drop by anytime. We’d be delighted to have you stay with us for longer than a night.” She turns to Alhaitham and kisses his forehead despite his whining protests. “And you, Little Star, keep vigilant and stay safe. Don’t go getting yourself into trouble now!”
“I won’t, Grandma!”
The trek to the post office is a short, uneventful one with Kaveh once again hidden in the bag, although this time, he’s substantially more comfortable since there aren’t nearly as many books jabbing into his mushroom flesh. With permission from Amani, Kaveh gets to borrow one of the two books on Withering as well as an adventure book for Arama and a few (read: five) particularly interesting texts on architectural design that he spotted on the shelf. Unsurprisingly, he’s more excited about the design books than fulfilling the Main Mission.
“User Kaveh is reminded to keep working hard to fulfill the Main Mission and not to be distracted!”
Kaveh rolls his eyes. “Just because I got my hands on a few books on design doesn’t mean I’m going to stop working, so could you maybe ease up on the nagging? Thanks!”
“This System will have to see it to believe it.”
“Hey!”
“We can continue our research when we get more books,” Alhaitham whispers to Kaveh through the bag, interrupting the argument. The boy is armed with his usual branch and is giving it a few practice swings every few steps on the road leading out of the village. “Oh, I didn’t get to show you some of the new sword moves! There’s also this kick that I’m trying to learn, but the book says I have to spin, and I don’t know what that means. I should probably ask the uncle from next door.”
Ah. Now that Kaveh knows Grandmother Amani, he should tell her about Alhaitham’s efforts as a swordmaster and suggest that he get proper training before he hurts himself. He’ll do that the next time he visits, along with bringing some more thank-you gifts. Maybe he can craft something nice for their home. A sketch? A painting? A sculpture? Hmmm…
He registers the sounds of footsteps late, but luckily, Alhaitham doesn’t. One second, Kaveh is listening to the child’s happy murmurs, and the next, his world swirls around him violently, sending him crashing into the books. There’s a loud “clack” sound like two hard objects striking against each other, and the bag jostles a few more times until it mercifully goes still.
What the hell just happened?!
“Tch, I can’t believe you stopped that hit!” Says a familiar nasal voice, and Kaveh feels his good mood sour like curdled milk.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Not those clowns again!
Also, what was hit?!
Kaveh activates his Bubble Shield and zips up to where the hole in the bag is. Lo and behold, it’s that group of brain-dead bullies making their ugly appearance. What’s alarming about this encounter, however, is that the leader is carrying what appears to be a wooden sword. A glance at Alhaitham—the way he’s holding the stick out to block oncoming attacks—confirms Kaveh’s suspicion.
Those…those little sons of bitches tried to hit his protagonist while he was unaware too! They could have seriously hurt him! How fucking dare they?!
Alhaitham appears just as flabbergasted. “Why did you hit me?”
The leader smirks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I was just practicing my sword swings! Your stupid branch just happened to hit mine! Maybe you should watch where you’re going next time, freak!”
The other bullies in the group chime in with their agreement, like the useless little sheep that they are. Alhaitham doesn’t drop his stance.
“What a stupid thing to say,” he answers with a sniff oozing of superiority. “You lunged at me while my back was turned. Had your hit made contact, everyone would have known that I was attacked from behind while being caught off guard. If you’re going to attack, at least make sure to plan properly instead of charging like a-a mindless Sumpter Beast!”
Kaveh does a little fist pump in the bag. HA! Yeah, you tell him, little Alhaitham!
The leader’s face grows red. “Y-you!”
The other members of the boy band jump to his defence. “Oy! Who are you calling Sumpter Beast, dweeb? Everybody knows that you’re the freak around here!”
“Yeah! Losers like you should know their place!”
“Besides, so what if Boss tried to hit you? Who are you going to tattle to?”
“Everybody knows that you ain’t got no mom and dad, so it’s not like you can tell them!”
Alhaitham doesn’t say anything, but Kaveh can see the way the stick is shaking in his hand.
It makes something inside of him boil.
“Fuck this. System! Plant Manipulation! Time to show these brats who’s boss!”
Plant vines shoot up from the ground, and before the annoying brats can move, they wrap around their waists and hoist them high up in the air to the point where their shadows appear thin, wispy, elongated streaks on the ground.
The kids begin to scream and flail desperately.
“W-what is that?!”
“Get it off! Get it off!”
“Ahhhh! Help! Help!! I can’t—the thing won’t budge!!”
“I’m afraid of heights!”
Amidst the chaos, Kaveh hears a soft: “…Kaveh? Is that you?”
He has no means to answer beyond giving an affirmative “Yes” that comes out as a soft squeak. It’ll have to do for now, especially since he’s busy teaching those brats a lesson.
“System! Make those vines shake! If those little punks’ parents aren’t going to teach them the meaning of respect, then I’m going to shake some sense into them, literally and figuratively!”
“How would you like these children to be shaken?”
“Like a pair of maracas! But, like, non-lethal. I just want them so scared that they’ll wet their pants and feel the fear of God in their souls!”
“Understood! Let the shaking commence!”
The screams grow louder and higher in pitch, but to Kaveh’s ears, they sound like the most wonderful music.
“Stop! Stop!! Please!”
“I want my mommy!!”
“I’m going to barf!”
Light floods his surroundings as the bag opens. It takes a few seconds for Kaveh’s eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness.
When it does, it’s to the sight of Alhaitham looking down at him with the brightest, happiest, most mischievous grin he has ever seen. The kid is grinning so hard that his cheeks are scrunching up and dimpling, and his eyes are watering at the corners.
“K-Kaveh!” he chokes out. “That—that’s so mean! Can Enlightened Beings be mean like that?”
Kaveh crosses his arms over his chest and gives Alhaitham a look filled with righteousness. Excuse you! He’s not being mean. He’s dispensing justice! Justice! Of the top-tier grade at that!
Alhaitham bursts into laughter.
Unfortunately, the noise gets the bullies’ attention.
“Alhaitham! Alhaitham, you little—it’s not funny! Stop laughing!”
“Don’t just stand there, do something!”
“Help us! Help!!”
“I’m sorry for calling you a freak!”
“H-how long will this last?” Alhaitham asks, wiping his eyes.
Kaveh shrugs and gestures to Alhaitham.
“Oh. I get to decide?”
Kaveh nods.
“Hmmm.”
More wails sound out.
“Alhaitham!!”
“I’m really—I can’t hold it in!”
“D-don’t puke! It’s going to get everywhere!”
“It’s going to—to get on us too!”
Alhaitham rubs his chin some more. “Let’s give it…fifteen more minutes. That will be enough time to meet Arama and for me to run back home to Grandma.”
“You heard the kid, System! Set it to fifteen minutes before deactivating the shaking. If Alhaitham isn’t home when this time is up, then keep the brats immobile! I don’t want them trying anything funny while I’m not there to show them what’s what!”
“Noted. A fifteen-minute timer has been set.”
Kaveh lifts himself out of the bag just enough for him to reach Alhaitham’s hand. He gives it two little taps.
Message received. The boy nods. “Okay. Let’s get going!”
Without looking back, Alhaitham and Kaveh continue on their merry way to the dulcet tones of justice thoroughly served.
Notes:
If you're interested in hearing me ramble about my writing process and/or random day-to-day things including upcoming projects, please consider following my Twitter (@iambgtea)!
Chapter 5
Notes:
Hello hello! I am back! Sorry for the delay, the beginning of the year remains super busy. Here's to hoping things calm down a bit!
I'd also like to give some shout out to these fantastic fanart of Fungus Kaveh! A huge thank you to:
[1] purrloin (@purrloin77 on Twt) for their sweet, whimsical drawing of Fungus Kaveh being the best little guy![2] opera (@0peras_stuff on Twt) for this adorable drawing of Kaveh and Alhaitham. Alhaitham is a bit mischievous but who can resist bullying the fungus just a little? XDDDD
Many thanks for sharing your art! If you would like to share more Fungus Kaveh art with me, please tag me @iambgtea on Twitter, thank you!
A second house-keeping matter, if you're interested in ENNEAD, I am currently writing a story featuring reincarnation AU where Seth, the once evil god of war gets reincarnated as a mortal with no memories of his past. However, things once long buried have the tendency to resurface especially when certain interested parties refuse to let him go. Do check it out here!
[Betaed by Kourt! Thank you for your wonderful work as always!]
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part VIII. Flight Risk
Naturally, Kaveh takes great delight in recounting his adventures to Arama later that evening. They’re back home and are resting in Kaveh’s beautiful living room, sharing a pot of fruit tea accompanied by a tasteful platter of nuts and fresh berries.
“And then, I summoned those vines and I grabbed them!” He mimes as best as he can the way the vines shoot up from the ground to tangle around the bullies. “And then, I shook them!”
Arama, who’s been listening to his story with wide eyes, claps excitedly as the flower on his head begins to spin. “Oh, very good, Kavaka Kaveh! That’s very good! Those are some really rotten seeds! How long did you shake them for?”
“I let Alhaitham decide and he chose 15 minutes.” Kaveh doesn’t bother hiding the pride in his voice. There was a part of him who was afraid that the protagonist would fall into the stereotypical trap of being too nice and generous so he was half-expecting the kid to tell him to let the bullies go. He’s so glad that his assessment is wrong. “The kid wanted to make sure that he’d have enough time to go back home before the bullies were freed. It’s a sound tactic!”
Arama looks proud too. “Silver Nara is a smart one. If there is one thing this Arama has no doubts about, it’s his ability to out-think others.”
Their conversation shifts to the research Kaveh has done, or more accurately, the lack of information about the Withering he was able to find in his books.
“Luckily, Alhaitham’s grandmother is reaching out to a scholar friend of hers so we should be getting more books on the topic soon, so we’re not completely out of options.” Worst comes to worst, there’s always the Great Library, which Kaveh knows for sure will have the information they need since it’s built into the plot. It’s just getting access to those books that remains a huge question mark.
“Say, Arama, would you happen to know anything about how the Withering came to be? You said that the Aranara have been fighting it back for a very long time but what started this blight?”
Arama shakes his head and takes a sip out of his fruit tea. “Arama does not remember how Marana came into existence. It was there before Arama came to be. Araja might have a better idea though!”
Araja does not have a better idea. He does, however, remember a time when the land was verdant and untainted.
“The blight crept from the desert in the west, first devouring the grassy plains at the borders before reaching our forests,” he explains. “It spread quickly. It was insatiable. It took all of the Aranara to keep it at bay and seal it deep, deep underground. But in our battle, we lost our old home to the blight and had to rebuild from scratch.”
“It came from the desert, huh?” Not for the first time, Kaveh curses his lack of meta-knowledge of the game. He knows that in “My Little Aranara Friend”, the world opens up to the players after the Second Withering but he is unfamiliar with the extent the players can explore the world aside from being able to visit Sumeru City.
System, in the original game, is there a desert region with its own story quests in the game?
A familiar chiming sound rings followed by the System’s mechanical voice. “Yes! The original game allows players to explore several core regions of the nation outside of the Aranara village, such as Sumeru City, the southern port called Port Ormos, the vast desert in the West, and the dense jungles in the east. They each have their own storylines which can be unlocked during the Main Quest! The stories add more information about past events that shape the nation!”
Huh. Neat.
“Furthermore, the desert region is one of the most popular locations that players like to take Protagonist Alhaitham to visit. As stated in numerous survey answers and feedback reports, ‘the beautiful landscape only serves to enhance the cool beauty that is the Protagonist! I took so many pictures that my device ran out of space but it’s worth it to capture his handsome face in the desert sun from all glorious angles! ’ There have also been multiple requests for the developers to add a special feature to allow Protagonist Alhaitham’s skin to glisten lightly and for his shirt to become translucent from his sweat—”
Okay, okay! That’s enough! I don’t need to hear anymore!
Kaveh just can’t see Alhaitham as this cool beauty no matter how clearly devastating fandom finds his looks to be. In his eyes, Alhaitham is just…a nerdy, lonely little dumpling of a kid who likes to use him as a makeshift teddy bear. The idea of people salivating over Alhaitham just seems so…so…sacrilegious .
There will be no skin glistening or translucent shirts, not when Uncle Kaveh is around! I won’t let the fangirls or the fanboys get to you!
But with Araja unable to answer the question, Kaveh’s progress once again is at a standstill. With nothing else to do except to wait for the next play date with Alhaitham, he gleefully resumes his design adventures to better his home even if he can feel the System’s invisible Gaze of Disapproval (TM) burning into his skull with the heat of a thousand suns.
It doesn’t stop him from finalizing his design plans for his second floor nor does it discourage his visits to Arakati and Arakata. And unlike the System, the two Aranara are delighted by his ideas.
“We can add a nice skylight here as well,” Arakati says, pointing to the blueprint. “This will allow even more sun and at night, you may peer out and see the stars.”
“Would you like to include a second outdoor area?” Arakata asks, clearly in tune with Kaveh’s preferences after working with him so often. “Kavaka Kaveh’s plan has a nice balcony but what about a rooftop terrace? It wouldn’t be too much trouble to include something like this…”
Several hours later, Kaveh floats out of the workshop with a sunny mood, a finalized plan in place, and multiple orders for material put in. At this rate, his house will be complete in a couple of weeks’ time and then, he can start decorating the second floor. He can’t wait!
“You know, if User Kaveh is as persistent on finishing his Main Quest as he is on designing his home, the Main Quest would probably be halfway done by now.”
Kaveh lets the comment roll off his back like water on a duck. “I was ready to quit on Day 1 if not for the fact that you convinced me to give this life a second chance, remember? You said that I should stay so that I can design more homes and become an architect,” Kaveh points out. “You can’t complain now that I’m living my life and doing the two things you promised I could do. You reap what you sow, System!”
“I didn’t say that you can do those things instead of the Main Quest! I said that you can do those things after you’ve completed your missions!”
“…”
“…User Kaveh, you know I am correct. Clearly, you are being selective with—”
“Oh, look at the time! I promised Arama we’d hang out by his favourite apple tree. I should bring something to make this into a potluck!”
“User Kaveh! Stop procrastinating!”
“I’m going to make some fruit tea. Wait, better yet, I should bring some fruit wine!”
“User Kaveh!”
The week passes by quickly. Kaveh accumulates more EXP from the use of his abilities for day-to-day chores and his house-building endeavor, carrying heavy materials with the vines he summoned while zipping about Aranara village with the aid of his Bubble Shield. His offensive ability, Seed Bullet, gets used exactly once to chase away some mean Fungi who have crept too close to their village borders for anyone’s comfort. Luckily, the monsters were eager to flee the moment the first shot was fired.
He's rather proud of the progress he’s making with his stats. Despite the System’s nagging, he’s also been netting points from all the designing he’s done for his home, aided by the practical experience from working with Arakata and Arakati as well as the knowledge from Alhaitham’s books on buildings and architecture. The options for designs under his Construction Tab have expanded exponentially, allowing him to build all manners of beautiful items made of wood, vines, sticks, leaves, and clay. His goal is to hopefully unlock options made of marbles and concrete next but there’s no rush; he can do a lot with what he has already.
“Kavaka Kaveh’s home is looking so nice,” Arama praises as they wander through the shortcut to get to Alhaitham’s village. They’re meeting up with the kid for their weekly hang out. “The design is very unique! It’s a little like the Naras’ abodes but it also has a lot of curls and swirls like the clinging vines of pea plants! Did you learn from the books Silver Nara lent you?”
Kaveh doesn’t have an explanation for how he supposedly came up with the Art Nouveau style, so he answers with: “Something like that. I’m glad you like it!”
They get to the outskirts of the village when Arama stops suddenly.
“Something feels strange,” he murmurs. “Kavaka Kaveh, do you sense that?”
Kaveh looks around. “Sense what?”
“The ground. There is…humming. Like a song but the melody is off. It almost sounds…scratchy.”
Kaveh presses his mushroom cap to the ground but still, he doesn't sense anything. He looks at Arama and shakes his head. “Do you know which direction it’s coming from? Is it directly under us?”
Arama pauses. Finally, he points towards the direction of the village. “It’s louder up ahead. I think we should move cautiously.”
“Bubble Shield time?”
“Yes, please.”
Thanks to all the times they’ve played Tag with Alhaitham, Kaveh and Arama developed a defensive strategy that can maximize their escape. It features Kaveh floating in the air with his Bubble Shield while carrying Arama, which grants them aerial superiority plus pinpoint accuracy thanks to Arama’s innate sense of the land. And if for some reason they can’t outmaneuver their enemies, this strategy also allows them to fly around while buying the precious time Arama needs to charge up his dream magic spell. The latter will definitely cement their escape.
And what a fun discovery that had been when Kaveh was introduced to Arama’s magic. Turns out, the Aranara’s connection with the Dream Land translates to special powers that can be used to temporarily trap living beings in a dream. But this magic requires a lot of energy so it takes precious time to cast. It also leaves poor Arama drained for the next couple of days so it’s very much a last resort.
“Since the humming is coming from the ground, I think we should stick to trees,” Kaveh suggests as he takes Arama and floats up to a nearby branch. “This will hopefully give us some good vantage points while being hidden in the canopies.”
Even up in the trees, they don’t dare to move quickly, opting to float from one branch to another whenever the wind catches the leaves and using the rustling sound helps disguise their movements. Slowly, they creep closer, bit by bit and tree by tree, until they reach the village’s border.
“What are all the Nara doing outside?” Arama muses as a group of villagers treks towards the forest a few dozen meters away from the branch they’ve settled on. “They look a little funny too.”
The villagers are decked out in leather armour and metal braces. They’re also carrying an assortment of equipment and weapons: nets, pikes, swords, and crossbows. It takes a few seconds for Kaveh to make the connection.
“I think that’s a hunting party. They must be trying to catch something big with how much stuff they’re bringing.”
Arama makes a confused sound. “Why would they need those? There are no big monsters nearby. There hasn’t been in all the times Arama has visited this village.”
Kaveh’s not surprised. Big monsters wouldn’t come near the village, opting to hide deep in the heart of the thick jungle instead. If they do end up venturing towards a village, they probably wouldn’t be able to get very close before they’re dispatched.
“Maybe the village thinks there’s a monster nearby but there isn’t,” Kaveh proposes. “Whatever is happening, it doesn’t look like Alhaitham will be able to meet up with us judging by how security’s been amped up. I’m not seeing anyone leaving the borders except the hunting parties.”
“What should we do?”
“Maybe we can wait a little longer to see what’s going on.”
They wait. More groups of villagers come and go, similarly geared up for a hunt. They seem to be taking shifts on who gets to venture out. Kaveh and Arama also catch snippets of the villagers’ conversation as they pass under their tree.
“Anything interesting?”
“Nothing. Haven’t even found a single Fungus ever since we started patrolling.”
“I’m starting to think that whatever happened must have been a one-off freak accident.”
“Yeah, whatever that caused it probably ran off already.”
“It’s not me you need to convince but the village head. Until he gives us the order to stop, all we can do is keep trying.”
“Gods, I hope it’ll happen soon. We’ve been at it for a week already…”
“I heard the village head got some outside help to find the monster for us. They’re supposed to have some fancy gadgets.”
“Really? I haven’t seen these new helpers.”
“Maybe the village head is trying to keep things hushed up. You know how proud he is. Having to get outside help probably did not sit right with him.”
“Well, whether or not the village head got help, I hope this thing gets resolved fast. I want to stop having to traipse around the woods in shifts.”
The voices fade away and Kaveh breathes a sigh of relief.
“It appears the Naras really are trying to find a monster,” Arama says. “Even if this Arama has not sensed any big ones, whatever damage that was caused must have been big for the village to act like this…”
He frowns, worry apparent on his face. “Is Silver Nara okay? He’s not in any danger, right?”
Ah crap. Now Kaveh is starting to worry too. “I don’t know,” he answers, grimacing. “But I’m going to see if there’s a way for me to check.”
“What are you thinking of doing?”
Good question.
“I can sneak into the village,” he offers as a plan begins to form in his head. “I know where the kid lives so I should be able to retrace my steps and get to his house.”
He saw snippets of the streets that the boy took when he went back home so he has a vague recollection of where Alhaitham is located but the System can probably pinpoint the exact location for him.
Predicating his chain of thought, the System offers, “Would you like to set a tracker for Protagonist Alhaitham’s home?”
Yes, please!
“Understood. Protagonist Alhaitham’s home is located 1.3 km from your current position to the North East.”
Perfect. He turns his attention back to his friend. “Do you mind waiting a bit? I’ll try to do this as quickly as I can.”
“Be careful, Kavaka Kaveh! That strange humming sound is definitely coming from somewhere close to the village. The feeling is stronger on the ground than it is higher up.”
“I guess that means I’ll just have to keep staying away from the ground to be safe.” Which means his only option is to Bubble Shield and fly. That’s not a bad tactic. He can use the chance to travel by rooftop, like a ninja.
He scoots out on the branch, turning both ways to make sure the coast is clear. Everything is quiet. It’s now or never.
“Be back in a few, Arama! Hang tight in the meantime!”
With one last wave, he activates his Bubble Shield and zips out from his hiding spot.
There is a small gap between the tree line that skirts outside of the village to the first lonely hut after crossing the village border, so it takes Kaveh a couple of seconds to touch down to safety. As he lands on the roof, he quickly scurries to the chimney and presses his body against it to hide from view. When nothing happens after a few seconds, he breathes a sigh of relief.
Hey System, do you have any idea what this weird humming thing is?
“Unfortunately, the System does not have the ability to scan the surroundings for this ‘weird humming’.”
Kaveh suspected that’d be the case. Ah well. It was worth a shot! Okay, fair enough. I’ve got a second request. Can you set an alarm on when my Bubble Shield is about to run out? Give me 30 seconds advance notice.
“Understood. A timer has been set.”
After making sure that the path in front of the house is empty, Kaveh resumes his flight and heads for the next house.
The perk of being a Fungus is that he’s small. Added to the fact that he’s travelling through the air out of the immediate line of sight in his blue Bubble Shield, Kaveh is probably as camouflaged as he’ll ever be. The way that his journey progresses smoothly as he zips towards the village center proves his theory, and he feels the knot in his stomach unravel as he finally begins to relax.
After three more houses with nothing happening, he decides to ease up a little by enjoying the view of the village below. Oh, he thinks he remembers seeing some of those buildings. That’s the store with the interesting sloping roof that sells general knick-knacks. And that’s the store with the interesting carved columns that sells freshly roasted meat and kebabs and beside that, the store with the beautiful door that sells baked bread! He’s definitely making progress!
“User Kaveh is approximately 600 meters away from his destination. Please head eastward.”
Got it, System!
He can see a cluster of more familiar-looking houses up ahead with their charming lotus-petal-shaped roofs. Ah, from above, the buildings look even more interesting, and Kaveh can see even more clearly some of the fine details that he had missed in his last visit, like the different green tile designs and the way the roofs are sloped. He’s already borrowed a few design elements for his home, but seeing just how interesting the roofs are from this angle only encourages him to borrow more ideas. He particularly likes that one house to the side. The tiling work is exceptional. Look at the way they curve around the joint to give the building a more organic feel, and ooh, even the chimney has interesting features that line the rim! Are those little flowers etched into the brickwork? It’s small touches like that that add so much character to the houses, and he should bring this up to Arakati and—
A sudden impact sends his thoughts to a screeching halt, accompanied by an actual screech that makes his ears ring. His body bounces back as his Shield absorbs the impact, but he can’t see what he’s hit; his vision is obscured by a cloud of white and brown something fluttering all over him like snow.
It takes him a second to realize that what he’s seeing can’t be snow. It’s too warm and the way they’re falling is weird and…wait a minute.
“Are those feathers?! Did a bird explode or something?” Did he make a bird explode?
He quickly looks down. Something—a brown, oval-like blur—is dropping from the sky in a mess of crooked white and brown feathers. It takes another second to register that what he’s seeing is, in fact, a sad-looking bird and that yes, he really did smash into the poor animal. His crash must have been so hard that he knocked the literal feathers from its body.
More angry screeches fill the air. Kaveh looks up and curses. A flock of angry birds the size of seagulls is rapidly heading his way.
Ah. Shit. That bird has friends, and they’re not happy.
System, he cries out. Do you think they’d listen if I talk to them?
“It wouldn’t hurt to try, User Kaveh. But I suggest you make your decision fast.”
Kaveh doesn’t need to be told twice. He lifts his nubby hand in a wave. “Um. Hello there—EEK!”
The lead bird divebombs him and Kaveh dodges just in time to miss the vicious peck aimed for his head. Before he can right himself, another bird appears and tries to rake him with its talons. It misses by a hair as Kaveh twists out of the way.
“I come in peace!” he yells, though they translate to affronted squeaks. “Stop attacking me!”
“User Kaveh, that tactic does not appear to be working!”
More birds dive after him and with another yelp, he zips first to the right, then left, then right again. Beaks and talons are raining down on him, striking empty air from his nibble dodges. But dodging is all he can do. At his current height, he can’t summon vines to grapple the birds.
He’s not out of options though. Since these birds won’t listen to reason, what he needs is a good show of force to get them to stop.
He flips around quickly before the next set of attacks can land. “Seed Bullet!”
A flash of green light appears and a little brown seed shoots out. It clips the wing of the bird leading the angry flock and with a screech, the animal tumbles out of the air while the rest look at their fallen leader, shocked.
Kaveh cheers. Strike! “Ha! Took out your leader! Now will you sto—aaAH!”
They do not stop. The flock let out screeching cries and dive at him as one. Ah crap. Are they angrier than before? They seem that way! The flurry of pecks and talon swipes are more ferocious, and there are so many that Kaveh can’t twist completely out of the way. Some of the attacks hit the Shield creating soft little pinging sounds.
“The Shield will not hold if it continues to withstand these attacks!”
“I know, I know!” Kaveh zips up, breaking out of the flock and spins. “Seed Bullet! Seed Bullet! Seed Bullet!”
A ring of seeds flies out like a machine gun. A few birds are downed but more quickly replace them. It reminds Kaveh of fighting against a Hydra; for every head sliced off, two more would grow in its place and oh, shit, the bird leader is back. It’s zooming towards him with a couple of new shiny bald spots on its wing.
“Okay, fuck this!”
He sprays a round of bullets again and turns tail to run.
The birds give chase.
Kaveh curses, turning around to fire a couple of bullets before diving down. He uses his small size to his advantage and stays close to the rooftops, zipping around weather vanes and chimneys, ducking under wooden beams and other hanging decors, and making sharp, last-minute pinwheel turns like a racing car drifting around corners. His panicked piloting seems to be working; the black cloud of flapping wings and rage is finding it difficult to keep up with him as he races through his makeshift obstacle course. From his peripheral vision, he sees the occasional bird crashing into the buildings or ones that overshoot their turns, peeling away from the group with outraged squawks, and a burst of vindictive glee fills his heart.
Take that, stupid birds!
Unfortunately, despite the happiness, Kaveh is feeling the strain of flying so hard. Little beads of water are forming under his mushroom cap, threatening to blind him as they begin to trickle into his eyes. Aches are flaring from deep within his body from whatever mushroom muscle he’s straining and a funny pressure is building in his head. He can’t keep this up indefinitely.
Just in time too because the familiar chiming of the System activating sounds in his mind.
“User Kaveh’s shield has 30 seconds before the cooldown is initiated.”
A timer appears, floating slightly to the right. Crap. Crap, crap, crap. “System. I’m going to need a place to hide! Got anything for me?”
“Scanning, please wait.”
A couple of birds appear in front of him, trying to intercept his path. Kaveh curses and dives down. From the screeches and aggressive wing flaps, the group following him must have crashed into them. He doesn’t look back to check, though, focused on zig-zagging his way between more buildings to shake off the stragglers who managed to recover from the crash.
“System!”
“I’m trying to find a place that is safe for you! Most of these buildings are occupied, and it wouldn’t do well if you are caught!”
“If you can’t find anything, I’ll just have to take the chance!”
More birds are catching on to their brethren’s tactic as they’re circling to block him. He dives a few more times, narrowly missing them, but his movement is getting slower, his body feeling heavier. His whole body is drenched in mushroom sweat and he’s gasping for breath. He didn’t even know he had the lungs to do that!
Meanwhile, the timer hits the 15-second mark, and Kaveh feels his heartbeat ratchet.
“System! I really need an escape plan now!”
“I found a spot! To your left. The window to the attic! 10 meters, 9 meters…8 meters…”
He sees it. It’s a tiny opening—a gap between the windowsill and the window pane, probably just barely large enough to fit him. But as the floating timer counts down to the last 10 seconds, Kaveh throws all caution to the wind.
“Brace for a rough landing, System!”
Gritting his teeth and ignoring his pounding headache, Kaveh reaches deep inside and claws at the last dredges of stubborn will. With all of his focus, he takes that energy and pushes out—
A burst of green energy rushes through him and all of a sudden, he’s hurtling through the sky like a rocket.
“3 meters, 2 meters, 1 meter!”
He squeezes his eyes, tucks his limbs to his body, and prays he doesn’t become a pancake.
“0 meters!”
He does not run into the wall. Instead, he shoots through the tiny opening, clipping a little on his right, but the damage gets absorbed by his dying Shield before it dissipates completely. Behind him, he hears a series of smacking sounds and screeches as soft bodies collide with the building.
He has no time to celebrate. He’s still arcing through the air at top speed thanks to his momentum, and he’s about to hit the wall.
“Plant Manipulation!”
Vines snake out from around him and wrap around his body. One tendril curls around his middle while another grabs his legs and Kaveh feels his trajectory slowing.
He’s maybe a few centimeters from the wall when he stops completely.
“T-that is…that’s…”
He bursts into laughter as relief surges within him like a wave. He sounds unhinged, but who cares? He’s alive. Holy crap, he’s alive!
“You have arrived at your destination,” the System announces. Even it sounds rattled. “Excellent job, User Kaveh. Now, please use your Ability to close the window before those menaces can get in.”
“R-right.” He directs the vines to let go of him and waves in the general direction of the window. “Plant Manipulation.”
Vines stretch towards the window. With another wave of his hand, they knit together and close the open space in a tight plant mesh. The room plunges into silence as the last few outraged squawks are finally muffled, bringing him much-needed peace.
Kaveh flops onto the floor on his back. He’s heaving for breath, and his entire body is soaked. He knows that if he gets up, he’ll see a wet imprint of his body on the floor, urgh.
The System’s chime sounds out. “Congratulations, User Kaveh. You have earned yourself the following experience points and achievements…”
Kaveh listens to the list of points and stats he gained as he continues to lie there on the ground. Huh. At least he’s to the point of levelling up to Level 7 now. All of his Abilities got a nice boost, and his Bubble Shield can last much longer before cooldown, but he really, really could’ve achieved all of this without the near-death experience. He suspects that this incident will cast a deep, dark psychological shadow in the recesses of his mind about all bird-related things. But that’s going to be future Kaveh’s problem. Present Kaveh needs to know where the heck he is right now.
“Uh, System? How far away am I from Alhaitham’s house?” Last he checked, the System said he was around 600 meters away. Surely he should be even closer now.
“You are currently 730 meters away from the Protagonist’s house.”
Kaveh sits up. “Wait, what? How did I manage to backtrack?!”
“In your haste to get away from the birds, you ended up flying off track,” the System explains. Kaveh can hear the sigh in its mechanical voice. “In any event, please head northbound to your destination.”
“Easier said than done. How do I get out?”
He’s in a room that’s practically empty except for a few chairs draped with a white cloth. An unused storage space, maybe? There’s a trap door a few paces away from him, and he waddles towards it. With another Plant Manipulation spell, he gets his vines to crack open the door for him to survey below quickly.
A hallway, sparsely decorated with dusty wooden floors and peeling, yellowing wallpaper. Three wooden doors line the hallway, and at the far end, there’s a wooden staircase leading further down. He can’t see what lies beyond, though.
He waits for a few minutes to see if he can hear anything. Nothing; it’s dead quiet. Is the house abandoned or something?
Kaveh lets the vines reach the floor and uses them as a makeshift ladder to get down. As he steps down, a small puff of dust rises up before settling back onto the aging wood around him.
Well, all the better for him. He can find another exit to leave without worrying about running into anybody.
“System, can you scan for an exit that will let me leave the place discreetly?”
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
A few seconds later, the System’s chime rings out. “Scanning is complete. This building has multiple windows, but most lead out towards busy streets. There is one window that leads to the back of the house into a quiet alleyway, but to get there, you will need to find the basement. That is the optimal exit to take. Would User Kaveh like to set it as a second destination point?”
Does he have a choice? “I guess. By the way, how much time do I have left on my cooldown?”
“You have around 1 minute left.”
“I’ll wait the time out before continuing.” He hasn’t forgotten Arama’s warning about staying away from the ground, and being forced to go into the basement is making him feel even more nervous now.
The saving grace to all of this is having the System confirm that no, there really isn’t anybody or any living thing in this building. When his Bubble Shield is available, he activates it and floats down the stairs. The building looks even more derelict as he gets to the bottom floor. There are parts of the wall that appear ready to collapse from the huge cracks along the exposed stone behind patches of missing wallpaper. Large brown spots cover the ceiling from water damage, the sight of which makes Kaveh wince because water damage is a bitch to fix. Stretches of dirty carpet lay on top of old floorboards that are warped, pale, and scuffed up. Even the air tastes stale and musky.
There’s also something…eerie about the house. Despite the weather outside being a nice sunny day, none of that warm brightness has managed to shine into the house. All the windows are boarded up with more rotting wood, and with no light source available, the place appears unnaturally dark.
It almost feels like he’s entered into a different world, a hidden realm separated from the outside, and Kaveh is reminded of tales about liminal spaces and faeries. Tales about how unsuspecting travellers, lost in the woods, would be lured by the fae folk to enter an alternate world where they would be trapped forever.
How spooky.
The thought lingers until a light bulb goes off in his head. Wait a minute, isn’t that exactly what happened to Kaveh? He’s trapped in this brave new world against his will. Worse yet, he’s forced to do the bidding of a tyrannical System, and also, he’s dead. Like, dead as a doorknob while his soul is stuck haunting the body of a mob monster of all things. So, technically, he’s got it way worse than those lost travellers in those fairy stories! At least they’re not a sentient mushroom!
“If some fae creature tries to kidnap me, I’m going to plant my undead monster foot right up their ass!” he mutters, indignant and outraged. “Let’s see how they’d like me then!”
“User Kaveh, I have no idea what you mean, but please pay attention to your surroundings,” the System says dryly. “The door to the basement should be right around the corner to the right.”
Kaveh floats down the hall and turns. He runs smack dab into a small, narrow door with flaking paint.
“Plant Manipulation.”
Vines crawl up from the floor and wrap around the doorknob. They twist but the knob does not budge.
“It appears the door is locked.”
“Crap. What do we do then?”
“This is odd,” the System answers, hesitating. “My scan clearly showed that this is the path you should take to reach the exit. This must mean there’s a way for you to open the door.”
Kaveh pauses to think. “I mean, if the door is locked, I can send a vine to unlock it from the other side. Let me try…”
He guides a vine to grow from between the floorboard and to spread through the gap between the door and the floor. With a wave of his hand, he gets the vine to crawl up the door from the other side and reach for the doorknob. After a few more seconds of directing the vine to probe around, Kaveh hears a loud click. He quickly gets the vines to turn the door knob again.
This time, the door swings open. Success!
A narrow set of stone stairs stretches into the yawning darkness.
Kaveh shrugs and floats down. The sooner he gets out, the better.
The space opens up to a small room with more locked doors. The stone walls and floors appear to be in good condition with no cracks, which makes Kaveh breathe a sigh of relief from the knowledge that the basement likely won’t cave in on him. The air, however, feels strangely heavy despite being cool, almost charged like when a storm is brewing on the horizon.
Odd. What’s causing that feeling?
“The second door should lead to the exit,” the System says.
The door is locked. Kaveh uses the same trick as before to solve the issue. When it opens, he quickly floats into the room. “Perfect. Let’s go. Where’s the win…dow…?”
The first thing he notices is how much heavier the air feels—while previously, the sensation was slightly annoying, in comparison, this space feels downright uncomfortable. It feels…harder to do anything: breathing, floating, even thinking. It’s like he’s encased in molasses, slowly being suffocated. He floats back until he’s out of the room and shakes his head to clear his thoughts.
Better. Much better. He’s more alert now and he can finally absorb what he’s seeing.
The room before him is surprisingly large. It’s completely round with four large tapestries hanging in each cardinal direction. Displayed on the tapestries are a symbol with an eight-pointed star and a tree in the middle with its strange scraggly branches reaching towards the sky. In the middle of the tree trunk sits an eye.
That symbol…it’s very familiar.
He peels his gaze away to survey the rest of the room. At the center of the room is a little glowing green…something. A gem, or a crystal ball? Whatever it is, it’s the size of a soft ball, and it’s emitting slow pulses of light. It’s perched on a metal holder and is encased in a glass box. Something about its presence makes Kaveh feel deeply uneasy.
There’s also a standing corkboard a little to the side with various notes pinned to it. A glance shows a large map of the village with several red X’s around the perimeter. Besides that are drawings of…animals? No…not quite. The creatures look wrong. Some feature extra limbs, extra eyes, sharp, elongated teeth, or unnatural, protruding muscles with sharp spines growing out from the back. They look more like the products of a mad scientist’s imagination than any animal Kaveh is familiar with.
“I should not be here,” Kaveh mutters with a grimace. “Something tells me that green thing is probably what’s causing the funny humming Arama was sensing.” It probably was what caused him to feel so strangely lethargic, too. Whatever the fuck this is, it’s best if he doesn’t find out. Let’s just get to the window and leave.
Or at least, he would love to do that if he could find the window.
“Hey System, you sure there’s an exit here? I’m not seeing it.”
Silence.
“Syst—”
A window flashes into existence and words appear, blurred like the spinning symbols on a slot machine. Slowly, one by one, the letters settle.
“Curiosity is both a gift and a curse, especially when used to acquire what the Heavens deemed is forbidden. Shall you bear witness to the consequence of hubris, User, or do you wish to partake in your brethren’s downfall? Choose wisely. The Heavens are watching.”
And then, below that, a new message, one that’s no less daunting.
“Status Update. Side-Quest: Case of the Cavorting Kidnappers (1). Your research into the mysterious symbol has led you to a mysterious underground lair where some sort of secret operation is in place. Your progress has been raised from 2% to 12%.”
Kaveh feels his blood freeze.
Fuck.
Fuck fuck fuck it’s back. That creepy ass message is back and how the fuck did he gain 10%? He didn’t even do anything!
He eyes the symbol on the tapestries again with dread and regret. No wonder this looked familiar. It’s the symbol that those previous kidnappers had worn!
A little chime sounds out.
“My apologies, User Kaveh. I seemed to have experienced a slight delay—”
“Did you see that creepy message?!” Kaveh exclaims. “It was exactly like last time! And there’s more progress for that stupid kidnapper quest now!”
Silence. After a few seconds, the System speaks again. “I checked my logs, and it appears that the side-quest has been updated as you’ve noted. I do not see any messages being issued, but the fact that I experience some sort of delay or interruption whenever this creepy message appears is not lost on me. Can you describe the message? I will send a report to our Maintenance department.”
Kaveh stops. A Maintenance department? Why does the System sound like it comes from a corporate world? What’s next, a branch of Administrators?
“User Kaveh?”
“R-right.” Get shit done first, and wonder about the absurdity of his life later. He relays what the message says quickly.
“Thank you. I’ll submit the report momentarily. In the meantime, please head towards the window. It should be located 4 meters in front of you, near the ceiling.”
“Where? There’s nothing there. Just the wall and the tapestry with the creepy symbol.”
“I am positive. My scan shows a small window. It could be hidden, so you should get closer.”
Kaveh gingerly enters the room. This time, instead of barrelling forward, he hugs the wall, slowly rising up until he gets to the location. The funny feeling is back, and he's having to concentrate twice as hard to remain focused and flying.
“Stop, User Kaveh. This is the spot.”
“It’s just the tapestry. I don’t see what’s so special.”
Just as he finishes the sentence, his eyes catch on something odd. There’s…a slight bump under the cloth. Oh snap, it is hidden!
He quickly pulls the cloth away and curses. Lo and behold, there’s the window. It’s a small rectangle and would’ve given the room some nice skylight if it weren’t boarded up.
“Oh, c’mon! Can nothing go my way today?”
He doesn’t wait for the System to respond before summoning his vines to pry the board off. At Level 7, his vines are noticeably stronger, but they’re not successful at squeezing behind the wood planks to loosen them from the nails keeping them in place. He’s going to need a crowbar or something thin that he can use as a lever.
“There’s a dagger on the table below you, User!”
Kaveh grimaces. As much as Kaveh doesn’t want to touch anything in the room, this is a necessary evil. “Thank you, System. Plant Manipulati—”
Just then, he thinks he hears soft thumping from the ceiling. Footsteps?
The System chimes. “User Kaveh! Bad news! Someone just entered this building!”
He hustles and sends a vine flying to the table and grabs the dagger before directing it towards the board. He jams the blade behind the wood, and body slams into the handle.
One side of the plank comes loose as the nail pries away from the wall.
That’s all the space he needs. He slips a vine through the new opening and pushes.
The wood comes flying off the window and tumbles to the ground where it lands with an audible “thunk”. Before the knife falls as well, one of his vines catches it and hands it to him.
A muffled voice comes from the ceiling. “Did you hear that, professor?”
“It sounds like it comes from the basement!”
More thuds. Faster. Louder. The people in the building are running.
He has to move faster.
He tries to fly out, but he runs smack dab into glass.
“Fuck it, they know I’m here anyways. Seed Bullet, Seed Bullet, Seed Bullet!”
A barrage of bullets flies from his body. A small crack forms on the glass and splinters outwards, and then, the window pane shatters with a loud crash.
“An intruder!” the voice cries out. It’s muffled, but it’s loud. They’re close by. “It’s coming from the control room!”
“The basement door is unlocked!”
Yup. Fuck this noise. He’s gone.
With that, Kaveh zips through the opening, letting the tapestry swing back into place just as he hears the pounding footsteps make their way down the stairs. He zips up into the air and doesn’t look back.
When he sees Alhaitham’s familiar house, he almost cries with relief. He’s not sure if he’s experiencing an adrenaline crash or the aftereffect of that green orb thing, but his energy is flagging fast. The last few minutes, in particular, have been rough with how hard he had to struggle to keep his eyes open. The System had to yell at him a few times to keep him from dozing off and nosediving to the ground.
“You have 30 seconds before your Bubble Shield goes through cooldown,” the System announces. Even the disembodied voice sounds drained. “You should find a safe spot to land, User Kaveh.”
He grunts and guides himself onto the lawn.
It’s not the most graceful landing. When he’s close enough to the ground, his Shield gives out, sending him rolling across the grass. He doesn’t get up when he comes to a stop, staying sprawled. Face down and limbs spread out like a starfish, he contemplates all the poor life decisions that have led him to this exact moment.
Except for the weird side quest with the star and tree symbol and the creepy-ass mystic threats. He does not want to contemplate that. In fact, he wants nothing to do with that and the faster he can delete the memory of that weird room, the better.
He closes his eyes and breathes. Fuucckkk but he’s tired and achy. Now that he’s lying down, he can feel every part of his mushroom body in pain, which he didn’t even know he could feel. Whose sick idea was it to design a sentient mushroom body and give it pain receptors? Was it the System’s boss or was it the game developers from “My Little Aranara Friend”?
“A friendly reminder to User Kaveh that he can use Absorb to heal.”
He grunts. Later. After he’s had the chance to lie down. The sun feels nice and warm on his strained body, a welcome reprieve from his hellish trip.
He’s not sure how long he’s been lying on the grass. He wakes up when he hears the door open, followed by footsteps.
“What the…” Amani trails off, confused. “What’s that on the gr—”
“Kaveh!”
Hurried footsteps approach him, and he’s being picked up by the small hands of a child. Little Alhaitham is watching him with wide, worried eyes, his lips pulled downwards into a frown. “Kaveh? Why are you on the grass? Is everything okay? Are you hurt?”
Kaveh fights to open his eyes. Ah. The little kid looks perfectly healthy. He’s glad. Arama will be relieved as well.
The kid’s frown grows and wraps him tightly in his warm arms. “Don’t worry, Kaveh. I-I’m gonna get help. Grandma! Grandma, something’s wrong with Kaveh! I think he’s hurt!”
“’m fine, kid,” he mutters as he pats the kid’s arm twice, but who is he kidding? His eyes are slipping shut already. The allure of sleep is too powerful, especially now that he knows Alhaitham is safe and sound. “Just gonna…rest my eyes a bit. I’ll be…right as rain.”
He’s asleep before he hears Alhaitham’s response.
Notes:
Despite Kaveh's best attempts to escape from the creepy plot, the plot will drag him into the world's mess, kicking and screaming, hehehe.
Thank you so much for reading! <3
Chapter 6
Notes:
I AM BACK! Please enjoy another long chapter of shenanigans with plot (and also, Alhaitham's little heart is in trouble).
This chapter has been betaed (with further revisions made!) Many thanks to Kourt!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part IX. Kaveh’s Upgrade
Kaveh has a complicated relationship with sleep. Back when he was human, he kept to odd hours because despite his quiet (and rather mundane) life working as a corporate slave, he was also a nervous wreck of a man. There were plenty of things that drove up his anxiety like his work progress, his financial state, his general lack of direction in life, and his lack of emotional support since he has no close friends and no loved ones on which he can rely. Drenched on top of his mid-life crisis sundae are the bucket-loads of coffee he would consume daily to feel alive, followed by multiple late-night sessions playing “My Little Aranara Friend” to work off his adrenaline. It was a miracle that he managed to rest at all.
His horrible habit permanently affected his ability to stay asleep. Once his mind registered that he was up, his whirring thoughts would start, and no amount of calming techniques would get that to stop them. All Kaveh could do was give in and crawl out of his warm bed to start the day no matter how miserable he felt.
Which is why as when he slowly drifts awake in his soft and warm cozy surroundings, he grumbles internally. Great. He’s awake even though he feels like death. It’s going to take a miracle to get back to sleep.
But that doesn’t mean he won’t try out of pure stubbornness! He grumbles and rolls over to get himself comfortable once more. Just as he’s ready to shut his brain off, he hears a soft voice: “Kaveh?”
Kaveh’s eyes snap open.
Little Alhaitham’s face fills his field of vision. He screams and jolts back.
“Ack! Kid! What are you doing here!”
Of course, his outrage merely translates to adorable soft squeaks, ones that clearly do not scare Alhaitham because his eyes go wide and watery, his lips wobble, and then, Kaveh finds himself scooped from his makeshift bed and hugged tightly against the boy’s chest.
“Kaveh! I was—I was so worried! You were on our lawn and you passed out and we don’t know what’s wrong and Grandma tried to wake you up and give you water but nothing worked and—and—!”
Large tear drops roll down the kid’s cheeks as he begins to wail. Kaveh instantly feels bad. Ah. Shit. He didn’t mean to terrify the kid though in hindsight, passing out like that would scare anyone.
“Hey, kid, I’m okay. I’m okay.” Kaveh pats Alhaitham’s arm desperately to get those tears to stop. “I’m awake and I’m fine. I’m sorry for scaring you! Please…please stop crying…”
The crying doesn’t stop and Kaveh’s panic intensifies. “System! Is there something I can do to get the kid to stop? ”
A chime rings out in his head. “User Kaveh can try giving Character Alhaitham something! Maybe that will make him feel better!”
A gift? What gift? The only gift that comes to mind is the Seed Bullets he can manifest. But then again, if a Seed Bullet is good enough as an offering to the Great Vanarana Tree, then it should be a good enough present to the child, right?
“Hey System! Manifest one Seed Bullet for me.”
A flash of green appears in his hand and, solidifying into a pale brown oblong seed. He pats the kid on the arm and waves the seed in front of him.
Alhaitham looks down, his face ruddy as snot dribbles from his nose.
“For you, kid,” Kaveh says, waving the seed again. “So stop crying already, okay? I’m perfectly fine!”
Alhaitham wipes his face with his sleeve (Kaveh cringes a little. Kids can be so gross sometimes). “Y-you’re giving this to me, Kaveh?”
Kaveh nods quickly. “Take it! Please take it! Anything to stop the waterworks already.”
The kid takes the little seed and carefully cups it in his palm. He’s still sniffling but the tears are finally stopping. Then, a wobbly smile starts to form on his lips. Thank god.
“Thank you, Kaveh! I’ll keep it safe! I promise.”
Kaveh breathes a sigh of relief. “Sounds good, kid,” he mutters, patting his arm again.
The door opens and Grandmother Amani steps in. “Alhaitham, my heart, why are your eyes all red? Have you been crying?” She stops when she sees Kaveh squished in his hold and she breathes a sigh of relief. “Kaveh! I’m glad you’re awake. We were so worried!”
They are ushered to the kitchen (after Amani wipes Alhaitham’s face and changes his shirt) where they are given some snacks and water. Kaveh also gets a little notebook with a piece of charcoal that he promptly puts to good use.
I’m alright, I just needed the sleep! He writes quickly. Ah, double shit. He wanted his second meeting with Amani to be a pleasant one but instead, he managed to inconvenience everyone. He didn’t even remember to bring her his gifts like he had wanted! I’m sorry for making you worried. Getting here was a lot trickier than I thought. How long was I out? Did I miss anything?
“There is no need to apologize. We’re just glad that you’re feeling much better,” Amani answers warmly. “You’ve been asleep for the entire afternoon. It’s evening now.”
Evening?! Even with all the excitement with the birds and the creepy room, he didn’t think he was that exhausted!
“We also found a dagger on the grass. Is that yours?”
Amani dips out of the kitchen and returns with the knife in question. Kaveh recognizes it immediately.
I picked that up on my way here. It’s part of the trouble I ran into.
He spends a few minutes recounting his journey into the village and all that he saw. His adventures in escaping the flock of angry birds earn him a round of sympathetic winces. The mention of the bizarre basement cult-like room, on the other hand, has Amani narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
“I have a hypothesis. It might be related to the new Hunters in town.”
New Hunters?
Amani nods. “Alhaitham explained to me what you did to those bullies with the vines and the shaking. Those boys tried to complain to their parents about Alhaitham not helping but I told them that wasn’t true. My Little Star ran to me to get help despite being absolutely terrified. It’s just that these old bones of mine couldn’t move very quickly so by the time I showed up, the vines had disappeared and the boys already ran off to safety. Isn’t that right, Little Star?”
She pats her grandson’s head as Little Alhaitham chimes out rather enthusiastically: “Grandma lied! After I went home, she made me a snack and read me a book on…on the, um, flora and fauna of Sumeru!”
Glad to see that the kid bounced back without any lasting trauma from his bullies.
“Unfortunately, the appearance of those mysterious vines spooked the villagers,” Amani continues. “They believed there was a strange monster lurking in the forest but when they couldn’t find any traces of it, they got even more scared. So, the village head requested neighbouring villages for help. A group of Hunters answered the call and promised him that they would implement a new device that would catch the mysterious creature. In the meantime, they advised our village to minimize outside travel except to send out hunting parties to scour the perimeters.”
Kaveh facepalms. That explains so much, first, the odd behavior of the villagers and second, with the Hunters' presence. Who would have thought that all of this stemmed from his (admittedly reckless) move to teach some bullies a lesson? Note to self, he’ll have to be much more subtle when using his Manipulate Plant ability to avoid starting another literal witch hunt.
I’m so sorry, he writes again, mortified. I caused way more problems than I wanted to solve.
Amani scoffs. “Oh, pish. You don’t need to apologize at all! I’m glad you took action against those spoiled little brats. I’ve been trying to talk to those parents for ages but that amounted to nothing. Clearly, desperate times for desperate measures!”
She continues, “Let’s go back to this strange room you ran into. I’m guessing it must be where those new Hunters are using as their temporary headquarters. What you said about the green orb worries me though. What sort of device is this? Is it very dangerous?”
Arama said he sensed a strange humming from the village. I bet it’s from that orb, Kaveh writes down. When I went close to the orb, I felt…weirdly drawn to it but very tired. I didn’t trust it so I didn’t get close to it. I also didn’t stay around long to discover what else it does.
He hesitates. Should he…talk about the creepy symbol on the banner? On one hand, he doesn’t want to see that quest completion bar fill up but on the other, Alhaitham’s kidnappers had worn badges with that symbol on it. For the kid’s safety, Amani should know.
There’s another thing I remember, he adds. The room was filled with banners with the same symbol as the one Alhaitham’s kidnappers wore—the creepy tree with the eye in the middle. I think the kidnappers might belong to the same group as those Hunters.
Amani rightly looks alarmed. “Are you certain that’s what you saw?” When Kaveh nods, her expression turns serious and determined. “Little Star, please stay here with Kaveh, okay? I’m going to go speak to the village head right now!”
Kaveh activates his Bubble Shield and zips through the air to stop her. Wait, he writes on his notepad and shoves the note before her. What are you planning to do?
“I’m going to question the head about those Hunters!” She says. “And give him a piece of my mind about how dangerous they are!”
What basis are you making your complaints though? You’ve only heard about that weird room from me and it’s not like you can disclose that you got the information from a Fungus.
“I can say I’ve heard some sort of rumours,” she counters. “Or maybe I—I can talk about how they’ve acted inappropriately…”
She doesn’t sound sure of herself so Kaveh doesn’t write down a reply, instead opting to pat her gently on the arm. Finally, she sighs and goes back to her seat. Little Alhaitham watches her quietly with worry. “I can’t do nothing! Who knows if those awful people will try something again!”
Let’s take some time to think about how to tackle this problem, he scribbles down. We’ll keep Little Alhaitham safe indoors in the meantime.
Amani doesn’t look happy but she agrees and the conversation fizzles out. Kaveh spends the rest of the evening with the kid reading before going to bed. He does not have a restful sleep; thoughts about those mysterious Hunters plague his mind throughout the night until the first morning rays creep through the crack between the curtains.
However, a new day also brings new clarity to their problem. The trio is having breakfast when Amani says: “Kaveh, I’ve given some more thought to what to do with the Hunters and I think I have a plan. Can you look after Little Star for a little bit? I’m going to need to leave the house to speak to some of the villagers.”
Kaveh nods and gets to writing. Sure. I can keep an eye on him and keep him company. What’s the plan?
“I want those Hunters out of the village,” she answers. “But you have a point that I can’t accuse them of being dangerous since I don’t have any proof that I can use. So, I’ll go with questioning their usefulness. We’ve been listening to their advice on restricting our travel and we’ve been feeding them and housing them with our village funds. But since they haven’t delivered any results, I can press the village head on how long we should retain their services. I’ll also talk to other villagers to find more people who agree with me and we can lodge our complaint together.”
Ah. The good ol’ protest tactic. Get enough people to stand in front of the village head’s house holding angry signs and the man will probably crumble like wet cardboard.
Good luck, he writes. If you’re going out, can I also ask you for a small favour? I want to leave a note for Arama so that he knows I’m doing okay.
They decide to leave a small basket of apples with the message near the patch of forest in which Arama and Kaveh were hiding. Their plans made, Amani kisses her grandson on the forehead and heads for the door.
“Be good to Kaveh, okay? If you’re hungry, I have lots of food prepared in the pantry. I’ll be back soon!”
The door closes softly behind them, and then silence.
Kaveh floats up to Alhaitham and holds out his notepad.
So, what do you want to do next?
The answer: sword practice.
Or more accurately it’s Alhaitham’s version of “sword practice”. Kaveh experiences more of the kid’s wild swinging once again, this time accompanied by kicks! They have the good sense to practice in the basement where there’s more space to play and less stuff to potentially break, but Kaveh has to put a stop when the kid tries to throw his body into some sort of a flip or a somersault.
“Okay, none of that!” He calls out, summoning vines to wrap around the kid’s body before he face-plants and breaks his neck. “Christ on a stick! What are you even trying to do?”
“I saw this in a picture in the book!” Alhaitham answers, successfully predicting Kaveh’s worried squeaks. He’s also hanging from the vines without a single care in the world. The kid’s lack of self-preservation instincts is starting to worry Kaveh. “It showed the man, um, doing this jump while he swung this sword! And then, there was another picture and he had two swords! Say, Kaveh, do you think I can swing two swords? I bet the kicking thing will look even cooler!”
“Right. Exercise time is over. It’s time for a break or maybe a snack!”
Alhaitham whines as Kaveh floats out of the basement, getting the vines to lift the boy to follow after him. He lets go when they’re safely back in the kitchen and grabs a glass of milk with some cookies for the kid to enjoy.
Predictably, at the sight of food, little Alhaitham promptly forgets all about his complaints.
“Kaveh! Remember how you wanted to know more about the, um, Withering?” he says, halfway through his snacks. “Grandma got some books from her friends! Do you want to look at them?”
Kaveh grabs his notepad and starts writing. Kid, why didn’t you mention this earlier?
The pout comes back. “I wanted to practice the kicks!” Alhaitham grumbles. “I can’t do it while Grandma is around or else she’ll be worried but you and Arama and Grandma all said I shouldn’t practice without um…adult supervision so I had to wait for this morning to practice.”
The kid is smart, Kaveh will give him that. Still, he does not want Little Alhaitham to think that being with him or Arama means blanket permission to do dangerous shit.
We’re going to have to come up with a new system where you can practice safely, he writes. And no, just adult supervision doesn’t cut it if you want to try something more dangerous than swinging the stick. Don’t pout at me. I’m doing this for your own good.
This kid pouts deeper. He’s crossing his arms over his chest and practically sinks into his chair, looking like the most disgruntled child Kaveh has ever come across. Gods. Is this what it feels like to be a responsible guardian? How does any adult do this? It’s exhausting!
He sighs and writes. When he’s done, he flips his note around and shows the kid.
We’ll talk to your grandma when she comes back. I meant to tell her that you should get some formal training. It’ll be good if someone who knows what they’re doing can teach you properly.
The kid grumbles, “I tried talking to Grandma but she didn’t like the idea.”
She might like the idea now that there’s danger lurking in the shadows, Kaveh thinks. He doesn’t write that down, of course. What he does write is: We’ll try again. This time, I’ll be here to help.
The promise is enough to cheer Alhaitham up. He finishes his snack and milk quickly and then leads Kaveh to the library where a neat pile of books is sitting at the table.
The first book they crack open is already much more useful than their previous sources. The book goes into more detail about all the sightings of the Withering and the time it takes for them to disappear. Some of the earliest known occurrences of a Withering Zone happened over 500 years ago and they spawned in the forest by the Great Deserts (though the author speculates that even earlier occurrences could have existed). Over the years, the Withering seems to spread deeper and deeper into the forest until the present day where they crop up everywhere within Sumeru. With every instance, the Withering Zones seem to last approximately one week at the longest except in the recent few years where, for some reason, Withering Zone appearances have skyrocketed. With the drastic increase in number comes a longer period before the forest returns to its pristine state, sometimes taking more than a month for the land to restore itself.
Kaveh frowns.
There is a silver lining to all of this. With the Withering Zones lasting longer, scholars actually have the chance to research them more thoroughly and devise ways to keep them at bay.
“Pure Dendro energy appears to be e-effective at keeping the Withering Zone contained,” Alhaitham reads out loud. “The d-destruction of, um, the Withering Branches and the Tumor of the Withering at the-the beating heart will permanently c-clear the area.” He makes a face. “What does any of that mean?”
Kaveh doesn’t know either but it sounds dangerous and ominous. He’s about to share his thoughts when—
“CONGRATULATIONS!”
Kaveh yelps when the System’s screen appears before him, displaying a shower of digital confetti fluttering everywhere.
“Kaveh?” Alhaitham asks, alarmed. “What’s the matter?”
“User Kaveh has officially begun to embark on his Main Mission to save the Aranara village from being permanently destroyed by the Withering! Through diligent research, User Kaveh has unlocked one of the keys to destroying the Withering Zones!”
“I unlocked the what now?”
“Kaveh?”
“Ah, shoot.” Kaveh pats Alhaitham on the arm. “I’m okay, I’m okay, just thinking!”
“The following information has been recorded: ‘The destruction of the Withering Branches and the Tumor of the Withering at the beating heart will permanently clear the area’. You have earned 2000 EXP for your progress and have levelled up to Level 9!”
Wait, 2000 EXP? That much?
“User Kaveh is reminded that the fastest way to earn EXP is by working on the Main Mission,” the System explains before continuing: “You have also unlocked the Withering Zone counter and partially unlocked the Withering Zone map! Your Withering Zone map allows you to scan for Withering Zones within a 1 km radius of your current location. This ability has been added to your profile. Once used, the ability will enter a 5-minute cooldown.”
Two little windows materialize in front of him. One of them lists out his current set of abilities with the words “Scan: Withering Zone” appearing at the bottom of the list. The second is a small rectangular one with a simple interface. It displays two lines: “Number of Withering Zones” and “55”.
“I don’t like where this is going,” Kaveh mutters. His bullshit alarm is blaring in his head. He glares at the System’s screen with suspicion. “This isn’t going to be one of those tedious collection side quests, right? Like, you’re not going to make me go around the country and clear every single Withering Zone?”
The System goes silent. Then: “User Kaveh is encouraged to work hard on progressing the Main Mission! Good luck!”
The main display window disappears in a flash. The stupid counter does not.
“Oy! System! You didn’t—come back here!”
The little shit of a System does not come back and after soothing Alhaitham some more (his squeaks of outrage have alarmed the poor boy), Kaveh resumes his reading. He gets through half the book when he hears the front door open.
“Kaveh? Alhaitham? I’m back!”
They rush downstairs to greet Amani. Compared to last night, she looks a lot happier, albeit tired.
“I have some good news,” she says to Kaveh after making sure that her grandson is alright and setting more snacks. “First, I left the basket for your Aranara friend. Second, it turns out a lot of the villagers are just as frustrated as I am, and my meetings with them have helped…stoke some of their anger. Even the parents of those little brats agree that the Hunters are a useless waste of resources and want to see them gone.”
Wow. Amani is terrifyingly efficient when her loved one is threatened.
“We have an emergency town hall meeting in two hours to discuss what to do with the hunters. We can get them to leave by tomorrow!”
“Are you going to go out again, Grandma?” Alhaitham asks.
She pats her grandson’s head, ruffling his hair a little. “I’m afraid I’ll have to, sweetie but not before having some late lunch first!” She turns to Kaveh and gives him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry to ask this of you, Kaveh but could you continue to look after my Little Star?”
I’d be happy to considering I contributed to this mess, he writes. By the way, I think it’ll be a good idea to enroll Alhaitham in some sort of self-defence class. Not only is it a good source of exercise but it could come in handy considering everything.
“I know Little Star wanted to learn how to fight properly,” she says, rubbing her chin. “I was reluctant at first but given how dangerous things are becoming, self-defence skills would be useful to have. Let me think about this a little more.”
Kaveh and Alhaitham wait until Amani turns around to high-five each other.
“I said I’ll think about it,” Amani says, proving that all parents have eyes in the back of their heads. “I haven’t agreed to it yet!”
Still, the atmosphere during their meal is much brighter than before. Alhaitham chatters about how they’ve spent the day together while Kaveh pretends not to notice how the crafty kid conveniently says nothing about practicing those dangerous new moves. After they eat, Amani kisses her grandson goodbye and dips out of the house, leaving Kaveh and Alhaitham to entertain themselves in the basement with arts and crafts. It evolves into make-belief and play-fighting, featuring Alhaitham as the gallant knight.
“Oh, no! Kaveh! Watch out for the monsters! Don’t worry! I’ll save you!”
Swinging his stick around, Alhaitham bats at the vines that are sluggishly reaching for him with the courage of the protagonist of a fairy tale. Kaveh, on the other hand, is seated on top of a tower made of boxes and pillows with a little paper crown perched on his mushroom cap.
Why am I the princess again? he complains in his notepad. Shouldn’t I be a wizard or maybe another knight?
“That’s because you smell like flowers and have flower patterns on your head,” Alhaitham explains. He ducks under a vine with a triumphant cry and continues, “Everybody knows that princesses smell nice and have flowers in their hair!”
Ah…despite Alhaitham’s maturity, sometimes, kid logic just prevails.
Princesses tend to also be pretty, Kaveh points out. Also, they are not a Fungus.
“A Fungus can be a princess!” Alhaitham argues, his face pinked. “And I think you are really pretty! I-I like your flower patterns and that blue spot on your mushroom cap! It looks really neat like—like a feather from a Dusk Bird!”
The image of a toucan-like creature comes to mind with its derpy-looking eyes, its goofy fat beak, and its rotund body. There are a lot of different ways Kaveh will describe this animal and attractive is not one of them.
Kaveh sighs and lets go of his thoughts. There’s no winning against kid logic, not when Alhaitham is all worked up like that. Kid’s got this look of righteous fury going on so it’s best if Kaveh just goes along.
Okay, Alhaitham, whatever you say. But do I have to be trapped in a tower? Can’t I be a princess who can help fight monsters?
Alhaitham pauses. “Hmm, I guess…there aren’t any rules about how princesses can’t help fight monsters either.” He nods. “Okay, Kaveh, you can be a princess and a warrior! We’re going to go beat up some monsters tog—”
A loud crash interrupts him and shatters their peaceful playtime. Kaveh activates his Bubble Shield and moves in front of the kid, who’s turned as pale as a sheet.
What the fuck was that? The noise sounds like it’s coming from outside.
Stay here, he writes quickly in his notepad and flips it around for the other to read.
But before he can fly away, Alhaitham wraps his arms around him, Shield and all, and latches on tight while still holding onto his stick.
“No! I don’t want to be here! I want to come with you!”
“Kid! Let go!”
“Grandma’s already outside without me because of…because of those bad men! You can’t leave me too!”
The hold tightens and he drops his notepad as the bubble from his Shield presses against his body from all sides. The stick does not help either and it further jabs into his defences. If the Shield doesn’t pop, he will!
“Ack! System—dispel! Dispel Bubble Shield!”
The Shield dissipates but those arms immediately draw him towards the kid’s chest into a death hug. He struggles against the hold to the backdrop of rapid thumps of Alhaitham’s panicked heartbeats in his ears. Another sensation kicks in a second later—tremors. From Alhaitham.
He stops struggling.
It’s been a rough couple of days for the kid, made rougher with how his beloved grandmother is not here with him. Can he blame Alhaitham for the way he’s acting now? Any person wouldn’t let go of their remaining safety blankets, let alone a little kid.
A little kid who suffered under the hands of kidnappers not too long ago as well.
He squeezes one of his nubby hands out from the hold and gently pats Alhaitham on his chest.
“Hey. Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he says, gentling his voice. He knows Alhaitham can’t understand him but his gesture should speak volumes. “I’m not going to leave you. I’m going to be right here.”
Alhaitham’s hold loosens a smidge until a second crash, louder, closer. Kaveh “eeps” when the death grip comes rearing back.
“…you find it?”
They freeze. The voice is faint and muffled but it’s clearly coming from outside.
“No…didn’t…it…” another voice answers. “…sure…here?”
“Positive…device…glowed.”
Kaveh frowns. Device glowed? What device? Who are those people?
“We didn’t see anything though.”
The voice is clearer. The strangers are drawing nearer. Clearly, they’re trespassing and are sniffing around the property.
“Just because you didn’t see whatever it is doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist! We didn’t see what got into our room either but we knew it was there!”
Kaveh winces. Ah….
The stranger continues: “Besides, I swear I saw something small and green flash by! Our men don’t just drop to the floor asleep unless something attacked them!”
Wait. Small and green? Asleep?
Kaveh looks up into Alhaitham’s wide eyes. Realization dawns on them at the same time.
“Kaveh,” the kid whispers, “do you think they’re talking about Arama? B-but Arama doesn’t like going into the village…”
Worse still. If that was really Arama, then he used his sleep spell to get away, which means he should be feeling mighty weak by now.
“Do you think the monster went inside?” The stranger adds. There are more rustling sounds. “Maybe we should…knock?”
A scoff. “Didn’t you hear about that town hall they’re having? Those villagers hate us already. We’re better off catching that monster on our own and proving why they still need us!”
“But if it’s inside—”
“Then we lure it out, dumbass!”
Kaveh really doesn’t like the sound of that.
“We need to find out if it’s Arama they’re after. Where’s my fucking note—a fuck it. Kid, we need to move!” He wriggles around and points towards the door.
Alhaitham nods. He’s still shaky while clutching onto his makeshift sword and Kaveh like a plushie, but he scurries up the stairs without hesitation.
They tiptoe through the kitchen towards the back of the house where there’s a backdoor and a bay window looking into the backyard. Ducking down, they poke their heads up and pull the curtains back to peer through the crack.
Two strangers wearing plain green and brown tunics are in their yard. They’re also fiddling with a little tripod on the ground. A familiar green orb sits on the contraption, although the glass looks dull as if it has not been activated yet.
Shit. This is bad. He has to find a way to stop those people from turning the device on, but what can he use? Seed Bullet is out of the question. Plant Manipulation, maybe?
System! Activate Plant Manipulation but I want, um, something subtle! Something that will distract these people without them noticing!
A soft chime sounds in his head. “Understood. Generating some small vines.”
Kaveh waits. A couple of seconds pass by.
Nothing seems to be happening. Um, System?
Suddenly, one of the strangers jumps back with a yelp. His companion looks up, startled.
“What? What’s going on?”
“A bug crawled up my pants!” He cries, shaking his leg while scanning the grass. “Scared the shit out of me!”
His companion does not look impressed. “Really? You’re going to react like that just because of a litt—AH!”
The other person scuttles a few steps back, shaking his legs. “What the fuck?”
“Yeah, not so smug are you? I told y—fuck!” He dances away with another yelp. “Is this yard filled with ants or something?!”
“It keeps getting my ankles!”
“Gross and creepy! Gross and creepy!”
There’s a soft snicker beside him. The kid has a hand over his mouth to stifle his laugh while his shoulders shake. When he sees Kaveh watching him, he takes his hand off his face and asks quietly, “Kaveh, did you do that?”
The Fungus puffs up his chest and nods. Of course!
Meanwhile, the chaos continues outside.
“Oh god, I think those are ants! I think I got bit!”
“It’s going up my legs! I can feel it!”
“Get it off! Get it off! Oh man, has it gotten worse? I think it’s gotten worse!”
The men begin to slap at their shins. They’re thoroughly distracted and have moved some distance away from the orb.
Now’s the time to act!
Kaveh activates his Bubble Shield and floats up. He unlatches the side window panel and opens it a crack, giving him a direct line of attack with the device.
System! Seed Bullet at the weird orb thing, but make sure it’s strong enough to damage it!
A soft green flashes in front of him, slowly coalescing into the familiar brown seed. Curls of Dendro energy radiate from it, growing stronger and brighter.
Ready? Aim…
Fire!
The seed shoots out with a little “pew” sound like a laser being fired. It trails a green light as it rockets through the air, its aim straight and true.
It hits the orb.
And then, it goes through it and the orb explodes into a shower of sparkling glass.
The two men stop hopping around and gape at it. Alhaitham is also staring, eyes wide, and Kaveh…
Kaveh is sweating bullets.
Oy, what the fuck, System? I said damage it, not blow it up into smithereens!
“Technically, blowing something up into smithereens falls within the definition of ‘damaging it’. User should have specified the degree of damage if he had something else in mind!”
Okay, but the context dictates that the damage should be subtle, System! Subtle!
“How was I supposed to know? You only ever used Seed Bullet when you wanted to cause major damage!”
Memories of instances where he sprayed bullets come to mind. There was that time when he attacked those scholars (he smashed up their room), and then those kidnappers (he crushed their egos), and then those monsters (he put the fear of God in their minds). And then, there were the birds and most recently, that creepy cult room and—okay. Fine. Fair point. He may or may not have been a menace with that ability.
“Kaveh, get down!”
He’s yanked under the window but it’s too late.
“There! Did you see that? I thought I saw something through the window!”
“That window! It’s open!”
“Shit, something did get inside!”
“Can you see what it is?”
Crap. Crap, crap, crap! He can’t let them get too close or else they’ll see him or Alhaitham. System! Plant Manipulation! Go and, uh, restrain their ankles!
Twin yelps can be heard outside followed by two loud thuds. Alhaitham doesn’t need to wait for Kaveh’s signal; he scoops him up with one hand, grabs his stick with the other, and runs.
However, to Kaveh’s horror, the boy is running towards the front door.
“Wait, kid! Where are you going? Hide! Don’t go outside!”
“We need to find Arama!” Alhaitham answers back, predicting his words. “We can’t just leave him if he’s outside somewhere!”
He flings the door open and looks around quickly. “Arama! Arama, where are you?”
Something lands on the grass in front of them—an apple core. Kaveh and Alhaitham’s heads whip up. There, a few feet away on the neighbour’s lawn up a tree is a small little green ball with a little yellow flower on its head. The ball is tucked away on a tree branch, barely visible under the thick foliage.
“Kavaka Kaveh! Silver Nara!” The Aranara cries. “I’m so glad I found you two! I can only go so far tracing your energy and all the Nara abodes look the same! I didn’t know which one was yours!”
But what is he even doing there? Kaveh shakes his head, interrupting his own thoughts. There’s no time for that. “Come inside, quick!”
Arama tries. He climbs down the branch and hops down, landing on the grass and bouncing a little with a soft “oof” before skidding to a stop. He picks himself up, but his movements are slow and clumsy, like he’s been stunned. Even the flower on his head is drooping to the side. At this rate, it will take forever to get to safety, and that’s assuming he won’t run out of energy first.
“Let me go, kid,” Kaveh says. He pats Alhaitham’s arms until the boy releases him and activates Bubble Shield. He sets off, flying towards his poor friend who is slumping onto the ground.
“I got you, buddy!” He hooks his hands under his arms and lifts him. Together, they rise up like a helicopter. “Let’s get you outta here!”
“I was so scared!” Arama cries while they’re flying through the air. “I was waiting and waiting and then, I saw Silver Nara’s family leave some apples and the note but I ran into those bad Naras while getting the basket. They chased after me and I had to put them to sleep but more bad Naras came and I got lost in the Nara village!”
“I’m sorry, Arama. You went through a lot of trouble.” After today, they'll need to come up with a better contingency plan if one of them disappears again. “I wanted to reach out to you sooner but I also ran into some difficulty. Those, uh, bad Naras gave me some trouble too!”
“Are those bad Naras responsible for the bad Dendro energy too? I thought I saw some of them tinkering with some funny-looking round rocks.”
“Some funny-looking rocks? As in, there's more than one?” And here Kaveh was hoping the one he destroyed was the exact same orb he ran into in the creepy room. It seems his luck is not that good.
What he is good at is predicting his own bad luck apparently. He hears a sharp whistle then his world spins wildly as a large something slams into him. He screams and hurtles through the air while Arama flies from his grip, but that object expands rapidly like a great big umbrella and wraps around him and the Aranara, bagging them together and sending them arcing onto the grass. They crash land, kicking up a cloud of dust in the air with Arama landing on top of his Bubble Shield like a safety cushion. Thank God.
“W-what the actual fuck?!” Kaveh cries out. He struggles to sit up. That black something is keeping him down and wait, is he in a net? Did someone shoot him down with a fucking net gun? The fucking audacity!
“Ha! I got them! Did you see that? I got them!”
The stranger, that trespassing fucker from before, high-fives his colleague and scurries towards them. “I knew there was a monster lurking around here! I knew it! I didn’t expect to see two though!”
If Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb think he’s incapacitated by some stupid net, then they’ve got another thing going. Plant Manipulation!
Nothing happens. Kaveh stops moving.
System! Plant Manipulation!
The Systems window pops up. “Your ability is currently locked due to outside interference. Something appears to be absorbing your Dendro power. Please resolve the interference and try again later.”
Try again later?! System, you’re useless!
“Kavaka Kaveh? I-I’m not feeling so good.”
Kaveh stops cursing. Arama is lying next to him. He’s not looking great. His once verdant green body has a sickly yellow hue to it and the flower on his head drooping to the point of looking like it’s wilted from the lack of water. He’s also struggling to keep his eyes open.
“Shit, Arama! Hang in there!”
“Good luck trying to fight out of this!” The stranger says with glee while his partner follows a few paces behind him. “Now, stay still! This should be quick!”
A war cry rings through the yard as a blur of silver intercepts the Hunter’s path. A stick crashes into his leg and the man crumbles to the ground, screaming, clutching his knee. Blows rain on his hip, his outer thigh, and his sides uncaring that the man is down and curled up in a foetal position. The partner tries to lunge forward to stop the madness, but Alhaitham swings his stick toward him and snarls like a rabid animal, making the man jump back with fear.
“What the actual fuck?!”
The Hunter on the ground groans. “Is that—is that a kid? Why is he beating me?!”
“You’re bad people and you shouldn’t be here!” Alhaitham swings his stick and both men flinch. “Bad people deserve to be hit!”
“Look, there’s been a mistake!”
“Kid, we’re not bad people! Can you…please put down that stick!”
Alhaitham does not put down the stick. He hits the downed man once more for good measure and scurries to the net. He ignores the men’s cries of, “Don’t! That’s dangerous!” and quickly rips it off of Kaveh and Arama. Instantly, Kaveh feels loads better as warmth rushes through his body. He breathes, sighing in relief. He didn’t even notice the strange pressure against his chest until it’s gone.
“Kaveh, Arama, are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
Kaveh pats the boy on his shin, his sign for saying he’s perfectly fine. Arama slowly sits up. He’s still holding his head but his body is slowly returning to its usual healthy green colour.
Meanwhile, the Hunter has helped his injured partner up, slinging an arm over his shoulder to support his weight. He’s scowling at the trio. “Look, you brat, those are dangerous monsters. They’re not your pets! Get away from them now!”
His injured companion groans as he rubs his eyes. “Fuck. I think that little shit busted my knee or something. What the hell is wrong with this place? Are the kids raised in the wild?” He blinks a few times and steadies himself, finally looking up. His brow furrows and a funny expression crosses his face. “Um, say, Behrouz, doesn’t the kid look kinda familiar?”
“You know him?”
“Nah, not like in person but more like we’ve seen him from somewhere?”
Shit. That’s right! They’re part of that creepy organization those kidnappers were from! It’s by the grace of God that they didn’t clue into Alhaitham’s identity yet and Kaveh will make sure it stays that way.
Plant Manipulation!
Vines shoot out and wrap the two men in tight coils. They scream as they’re hoisted into the air with great difficulty. Kaveh is gritting his teeth, sweat beading from his mushroom cap while his body feels hot and tight like a coiled spring. He’s putting his everything into keeping those vines secured but those men are strong and they’re thrashing violently.
“Tell Alhaitham to go hide,” he orders Arama. Some of his vines are losing their grip so he directs them to go for the ankles instead with mixed success. Those flailing legs are doing a good job kicking them away. “Those two are with the bad Naras who tried to kidnap him! We can’t let them know who he is!”
Wet plops catch their attention. Chunks of vine drop to the ground, the tendrils squirming helplessly as its captor—the uninjured man—grins. He’s still partially wrapped up in plant vines, but he’s managed to unsheathe his dagger. With a cry, he plunges his knife into the mass of green and he digs into it, carving bits and chunks out before they can be torn apart with his bare hands. Kaveh summons more vines but they’re getting sliced before they can reach him.
“Hurry!”
“Silver Nara! Run back home!” Arama commands. “I’m going to help Kavaka Kaveh! I need them bound for five more minutes!”
Kaveh doesn’t question Arama’s instructions, not when it’s clear that he has a plan. He tunes out the world around him and channels his energy into strengthening his remaining vines. It’s not looking good. The other Hunter has also managed to partially free his arms and he’s clawing and ripping at the vines with brute strength. He’s got to get them to stop moving so much or else his new vines won’t be able to get to them.
System! Seed Bullets! I need to distract them!
“User Kaveh is rapidly running out of stamina. If you want to use your Seed Bullet ability, you will need to deactivate one of your current abilities: Bubble Shield or Plant Manipulation.”
Deactivate Bubble Shield! Put everything into sustaining Seed Bullets and Plant Manipulation!
“Understood. Bubble Shield deactivated.”
Fresh vines snap up from the ground at the same time as a flurry of little brown bullets fly toward the Hunters. More cries and more flailing but their attempts to rip apart the vines have stopped. Sweat is pouring down Kaveh’s face and body. He can feel his mushroom muscles trembling, but he pushes more Dendro energy into getting the vines to wrap around the two men, then, making them grow thicker, and more powerful with every second. The men adapt quickly though and begin to twist their bodies to tear at the vines with their teeth.
More Seed Bullets! Aim for their faces!
Gods, he hopes Arama is almost done. Everything is starting to hurt. He’s not sure how long he can keep this up.
The injured Hunter looks up and glares at him with pure malice. His face is bruised and swollen from the red welts littering his skin. “Once I’m free, I’m going to skewer you,” he snarls. “I’m going to put you over a spit and roast you with butter and garlic, you fucking annoying little mushroom! And when I’m done, I’m going to cook your buddy in a vat of water like a potato!”
He—what?
The insult is…so specific and so unexpected that Kaveh’s concentration slips for a split second. The volley of seeds weakens and the vines loosen by a hair, but that is all his enemies need. In a flash, the other Hunter rips his right arm free from its vine prison and winds it back.
Glinting silver whooshes towards him and then, pressure like a sledgehammer to his chest. Kaveh is thrown to his back, breathless and...what just happened? He sees the sky above him with streaks of orange and pink bleeding into bright blue as the sun begins to set and, as his gaze tracks lower, a shining blade sticking straight up from his chest, attached to a handle wrapped in worn leather strips.
Ah, he thinks dazedly. That’s probably not good.
“Critical hit,” comes the System’s warning. “120 HP reduction. You have 80 HP remaining. You have sustained the Bleed Effect. This Effect will remain active until your wound is treated. For every 10 seconds, you will experience a 1 HP reduction.”
Welp, at least he’s not dead and he has like, what, a little over 10 minutes left to live? Hurray to his mushroom body even if he hurts like a motherfucker. Owowowow!
He’s also completely useless now, unable to move or do anything as he feels his Dendro power give. The vines are snapping one by one by one and his last big vine is losing its grip on the Hunters. Ah, fuckkkk—
“Sleep!”
The scent of apples and flowers fills his nose as Kaveh feels a funny pressure in the air spikes around him like thunderclouds rolling in rapidly. The vines stop breaking. No more noises are coming from the direction of those Hunters, in fact, just…strange, eerie silence.
“Kaveh!”
Arama’s face swims into view as he hears the sound of a door slamming open, followed by rapid footsteps. Little Alhaitham’s worried face pops beside the Aranara before he can take his next breath.
“Hey,” he says weakly. “That was great. We did it! Can one of you, um, pull the knife from me? Please?”
He hisses when the blade is quickly removed from his torso. Fuck! Shit! Bitch! Absorb, System. Absorb! The wave of refreshing, cooling energy that floods through his body is a much-welcomed reprieve. The pain quickly dials back into an annoying, but bearable throbbing pain. He’s helped up so that he’s seated upright and he breathes a deep, deep sigh of relief, taking the chance to observe his injury.
Despite having suffered from the Bleeding Effect, Kaveh doesn’t spot any blood from his wound. Nothing is dripping from the clean, vertical cut in his spongy chest and as he continues to watch, that cut is slowly sealing shut before his very eyes. It reminds him of two pieces of slime melding together so that they blend seamlessly.
Okay, correction: hurray for his mushroom body even if injuries hurt like a motherfucker and the fact that it’s creepy as fuck.
“I’m okay!” He declares, patting his chest gingerly. “No need to worry! Arama, nice trick with that Sleep spell! I didn’t know you had it in you to do two!”
Arama, who’s swaying on his feet, gives a weak chuckle. “I am glad that you are alright but if you don’t mind, I think I will sleep now. Please do not get into more trouble until I wake up.”
He doesn’t bother to wait for a response. He lies down on the grass, squirms a little to make himself comfortable, and passes out cold.
“He’ll be fine, kid,” Kaveh says while he watches the boy take his sleeping friend in his arms and gently cradle him. He’s feeling strangely calm and it’s only partially due to his own exhaustion. All things considered, this disaster did not spiral completely out of control. Nobody died, he and Arama are uncaptured, Alhaitham’s identity as the kid who got away has not been revealed, and the two Hunters are stopped.
Of course, they’ll now have to figure out how to deal with the fallout like explaining why the Hunters are sleeping on the lawn steps away from the house. What’s going to happen when the Hunters wake up? They’re going to blab about Kaveh, Arama, and Alhaitham. Is there a way to pre-emptively plant the seed of doubts into their stories so that nobody will believe them?
“CONGRATULATIONS!”
Kaveh’s heart practically leaps out of his chest. “Wait, again? Why?”
“For winning a tough battle against enemies much stronger than you! You earned yourself 1000 EXP plus the following achievements! Please scroll below for the whole list. Further, you earned enough EXP to level up to Level 10!”
If Kaveh wasn’t wide awake before, he is now. “Level 10? Wait, does that mean—”
“You are now eligible to enter into a subclass and gain a humanoid body! Are you still interested in the subclass ‘Engineer’?”
“Yes! Hell yes! Gimme back my human body!”
“Understood! You have selected ‘Engineer’ as your subclass. Your form will now evolve in 5…4…3…2…1…”
Ribbons of green light swirl around him. He hears Alhaitham cry out in alarm, but he reaches over and pats the kid on his knee twice in his usual “It’s okay! Everything is fine!” motion before those green lights wrap around his hand. More ribbons gather at his feet and they bloom upwards sparkling like satin and floating gently in the air to curl around more and more of his body. With each layer of ribbon, the world grows more white to the point where Kaveh has to close his eyes before he’s blinded. He feels…soft spots of warmth sinking through his skin. That warmth is burrowing deeper and deeper until it stops somewhere in the middle of his chest.
And then, that warmth pulses.
Kaveh gasps. His form—everything feels strange and hypersensitive as new sensations flood his mind. His body feels stretched but it’s not unpleasant; it feels more like his muscles and joints and ligaments are being massaged by the world’s best masseuse, leaving him feeling loose and relaxed. Dimly, he registers his head changing. Soft tendrils—hair—start to sprout from his scalp, growing longer and longer until the ends tickle his ears and his shoulders, both of which he never had in his mushroom body. He can also feel the rest of his body…settling into a new form with the development of new organs, bones, soft tissues, and blood vessels all arranged perfectly in place like Tetris blocks. The warmth pulses again and again and again and with each pulse, everything begins to feel more…real and visceral.
Finally, the warmth gives one less gentle pulse and the light fades. Kaveh opens his eyes and gasps for breath, his new lungs and heart kicking in at last.
Alhaitham is staring at him with wide eyes. Arama is still asleep in his hold.
“K-kaveh? Is that…you?”
Kaveh blinks and tilts his head (and spends a couple of seconds marvelling at how his neck moves and…his hair! It feels so familiar and so novel at the same time! He’ll never get sick of having hair!) When he feels like he’s sufficiently catalogued the feeling, he opens his mouth and says, “H-hi there, kiddo! It’s me, Kaveh.”
And he promptly furrows his brow in confusion. His voice…it sounds high and sweet. A far cry from his old voice from when he had died. Why does he sound like…a…kid…
He looks down. His hands are tiny, his arms and legs are twig-like, and his chest is scrawny. Also, he’s naked? But oddly enough, that’s the least of his worry because—
WHAT THE FUCK! I’M A KID?!! he screeches in his head. SYSTEM! EXPLAIN!
The System’s window appears. “As you level up, your body will evolve to reflect your strength! At Level 10, you have gained a humanoid body the equivalent of a 10-year-old human child. Continue to work hard and one day, your body will grow into that of an adult!”
Y-you never told me! You lied! System! System!!
Naturally, that's also when Amani enters into the scene. Her shocked gasps draw Kaveh and Alhaitham’s attention to her.
“W-what is going on in here?!” She demands. “Alhaitham! What are you doing outside? Who are those two men and—and what is that naked child doing in front of you?”
Alhaitham doesn’t look like he can speak. He’s still staring, frozen, at Kaveh’s new form.
“Kaveh is a real princess?”
Okayyy, scratch that. The kid can speak. He's just speaking nonsense so it’s up to Kaveh to take the lead. He clears his throat and gives Amani a sheepish smile.
“Um. It’s a long story?”
Notes:
Many thanks for reading (and for commenting if you're leaving your comments!) I apologize for being a bit delayed in my responses since it's been a bit hectic IRL butttt I promise that I read everything and that I'll respond in the near future!
If you want to hear more about my current fandom projects or just me rambling about my IRL, feel free to follow my Twitter @iambgtea!
Chapter 7
Notes:
What's this? I'm updating before my one-month deadline is up? I hope you'll all enjoy this new chapter of Fungus Kaveh! I certainly had fun writing it!
The charming childhood arc is slowly coming to an end. <3
EDITED! Many thanks to my beta-reader Kourt!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part X. Kaveh’s Adventures as a Normal Boy (TM)
Surprisingly, it takes very little time for Amani to be convinced that Kaveh is, well, Kaveh. What takes more time is explaining the shenanigans they’ve been up to while she was away, especially after she has expressly told them to stay out of trouble.
“Let me get this straight,” she says tersely after Kaveh is given a set of Alhaitham’s clothes to change into. They’re all seated on the front porch as they wait for the members of the Corps of Thirty to arrest the still-unconscious Hunters on the lawn. “Instead of hiding from danger, the two of you thought of engaging in combat with those two—two dangerous men who work for a suspicious organization doing Archon knows what. Why would you do such a dangerous thing? What happens if you get hurt?”
“I’m sorry, Grandmama,” Alhaitham says. He’s hunched over a little in shame, sitting close to Kaveh as if using him as a shield against Amani’s ire. “B-but Arama was in danger. We can’t just let those bad people hurt him.”
At the mention of Arama, all eyes turn to the little basket on Kaveh’s lap. Arama is tucked inside under a cover hidden from view and deeply asleep. Every now and then, they can hear soft snoring coming from under the blanket.
“I still can’t believe I’m seeing an Aranara with my own eyes,” Amani mutters. “These are creatures of legends known for being secretive. You said the Hunters could see him too?”
Kaveh nods (and relishes in his ability to speak, even if his voice is soft and high). “They were chasing after him.”
“I think I know how,” she replies. “During our town hall meeting, it was revealed that the Hunters have planted a series of devices—the orb that you ran into—around town. They’re meant to detect and lure beings with strong elemental power, except Vision Holders. I’m guessing that so long as those devices are in place, our Aranara friend will remain quite exposed.”
Kaveh is reminded of the map he saw in the cult room. It contained a series of X’s around the village, lots of them. He sighs. What a headache. What a day.
But most importantly: “I’m sorry, Amani. We left a huge mess for you to clean up. We tried our best to stay out of sight, and it’s not Alhaitham’s fault. If I had been quicker with getting Arama, then we wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
Alhaitham sits up, outraged. “No, it’s not Kaveh’s fault! He didn’t want us to leave the house! Don’t be mad at him!”
Amani holds up her hands in a gesture to get her grandson to stop. “I’m not mad, I’m worried, but let’s put that aside for now. What are we going to tell the Corps when they’re here?”
They decide to keep things simple. Kaveh and Alhaitham were playing at home when they heard someone breaking into their backyard. When they saw two strangers, they felt scared and tried to leave home to get help. Unfortunately, they ran into the Hunters and, in a fit of bravery and stupidity, decided to attack to get them to leave. After much struggle, they were able to knock the Hunters out by sheer luck, but not before the Hunters deployed the net to try and trap Kaveh.
“If anyone asks, you’re the child of my friend, Bahar, who’s visiting from another village,” Amani says to Kaveh. “You’ve been staying with us for the past week.”
The Corps arrive with the village head (and a few nosy neighbours). Kaveh notes that the peace-keeping group is composed mostly of Eremite soldiers in their signature red and tan-colored leathers, save for the distinct teal scarves around their necks. The village head noticeably goes pale upon seeing the unconscious Hunters.
“Amani, what happened?”
“Those men trespassed and scared my grandson and his friend,” she explains, her expression cold like stone. “They saw them in the backyard and got scared, so they tried to fend them off. What was it that you said during our town hall meeting? That the Hunters are harmless and are here to help? Is having two men breaking and entering into private property and attacking children your definition of harmless and helpful?”
The neighbours murmur with growing judgment and fear. Kaveh has to give it to Amani. Way to spin this whole situation in her favour to get the Hunters kicked out of town.
“One of them fired a net at me,” he says, making sure to look afraid and demure. “I—those are bad men, mister! They wanted to hurt ‘Haitham and me! Right, ‘Haitham?”
Alhaitham goes back to tucking himself by Kaveh’s side and nods. It makes him look particularly scared and vulnerable.
More murmurs along with comments of, “Oh, those poor children!” and “I knew those Hunters were no good, but this is a new low!” Meanwhile, the village head is sweating buckets.
“I—that is—” He spins around and glares at the Corps members. “W-what are you standing around for? Go arrest those men!”
The Hunters are unceremoniously dragged off the lawn. With the excitement over, the villagers also disperse, but not before uttering more complaints for the village head to hear.
“I’m terribly sorry about everything, Amani,” the village head says, wringing his hands. “I genuinely thought those Hunters were good people. They have all the proper paperwork and were Akademiya-approved and…” He shakes his head with a sigh. “I hear you and the others loud and clear, especially after all this. I’ll terminate those Hunters’ services immediately and get them out of the village as soon as possible.”
With one last bow, he leaves. The group waits until he is out of sight before heaving a large sigh of relief.
“At least we’ve taken care of that for now,” Amani says. She gets up and brushes her skirt to get the wrinkles out. “C’mon, you two, get inside while I clean up the lawn and backyard. We’ll talk again once I’m done.”
Kaveh gets up, shifts the basket so that he’s holding it in one hand, and stretches his other hand out for Alhaitham. “Let’s go, kiddo. I’ll get us some snacks and milk while we wait for your grandma.”
Alhaitham pouts but takes his hand. “You can’t call me that, Kaveh! You’re a kid too!”
“In body but not in spirit.” When Alhaitham gives him a blank look, he can’t help but tease: “That means I’m more mature than you are. Also, I’m taller. See?”
Now that they’re standing side by side, it’s evident that Kaveh is…a whole five centimeters taller than the protagonist. But to children, that height difference is serious business, as serious as a matter of life and death. The fierce scowl on Alhaitham’s face shows just how incredibly displeased he is by the revelation as well.
“I’m going to grow up big and tall, much bigger and taller than you, Kaveh,” the boy vows with all the indignation his tiny body can muster (while he obediently lets himself be led into the house). “I’m supposed to be the knight. Knights should be taller than princesses. That’s the rule!”
Kaveh sighs. “Again with the princess thing.” But he’s also an adult, and he knows to pick and choose his battles, so he lets it go. “Sure, sure, kiddo, whatever you say. Now let’s get you some milk and cookies, hmm? I think we’ve got some ginger ones left.”
Alhaitham drinks two cups of milk as proof of his commitment to his promise.
Amani makes quick but thorough work of the clean-up. She shows up to the kitchen and lays down a new basket on the table next to Arama’s makeshift bed. A quick glance shows that it’s filled with all the items she picked up, most of which are Kaveh’s Seed Bullets.
“During the town hall, the village head brought up a complaint by the Hunters,” she says. “They said a monster broke into their office, but it escaped before they could trap it. They did find strange oblong seeds that the monster left behind.”
Kaveh face-palms. Ah, yup. He did use his Seed Bullet ability to smash the window to make his great escape. It would be bad if more of his Seed Bullets were found on Amani’s property.
“That’s quick thinking, thank you, Amani,” he says. “We’ll need to get rid of them. They’ll probably be good fuel for fire.”
The seeds are burned, and as predicted, they go up in flames smoothly. They also release a pleasant scent of flowers, which perfumes the house nicely. The unexpected aromatherapy does wonders in calming everyone down.
It’s a shame that Kaveh has to break the peace with his next question.
“What happens when the Hunters wake up and start talking? They’re going to say they were attacked by two monsters who could wield vines and shoot seeds.”
“I’m going to accuse them of making up lies to justify their trespassing,” Amani answers. “I’ll also remind the village head and the Corps about Alhaitham’s kidnapping to paint more suspicion on them. If nothing else, the negative attention should be enough to get the Hunters to stay far away from here. But I anticipate the village head would want to inspect the lawn for proof of the monster attacks, which is why I picked up the Seed Bullets. Kaveh, is there a way for you to make sure that all the evidence is gone from the lawn?”
System? Kaveh asks in his head. Would you be able to detect my Seed Bullets?
“Yes, I can. Scanning activated.”
“I can identify them,” he answers Amani, and gets up from his seat. “I’ll get the rest of the seeds cleaned up now. It shouldn’t take me long at all.”
With the System and Alhaitham’s help, the latter insisting on following Kaveh like a little duckling, cleaning up the rest of the seeds that Amani missed becomes a breeze. They’re unceremoniously chucked into the fire, neatly tidying up the last of the damning evidence.
Now that the most urgent matters are out of the way, Amani and Alhaitham unleash their curiosity about Kaveh’s new form.
“This is fascinating. You resemble a perfect human child,” Amani says when they’re indoors once more. She’s scrutinizing him like he’s under a microscope while Alhaitham is completely entranced by his new blond locks and has been trying to messily braid his hair. “Are you still a Fungus spirit or have you evolved into a different being altogether?”
“User Kaveh remains a Legendary Spiritual Floating Fungus,” the System says. “It’s just that you have accumulated enough experience to evolve your form into something more complex. You can let Character Amani know that your new form allows you to blend into your surroundings more easily. Also, your evolution is due to your growth from absorbing so much Dendro Energy and from improving your battle prowess.”
He repeats what the System says to Amani and adds, “My current form is still little, but I can keep growing after absorbing more energy. Maybe one day, I can grow up big like an adult!”
“Wait, you can grow even taller?” Alhaitham asks, horrified. “You can’t grow taller, not until I catch up!”
Amani pats Alhaitham’s head. “You will grow tall, Little Star. Your father and grandfather were both tall men, so you have a genetic advantage.” She turns her attention back on Kaveh. “It is amazing that instinctively, your form knows to evolve into one that will give you the strongest chances of survival. Naturally, looking like a human does just that given our top spot in the food chain and our ability to form powerful social groups to protect each other. How absolutely fascinating. But despite your young appearance, the way you speak and the way you think show maturity beyond that. I noticed you keep calling Little Star ‘kiddo’ as well.”
Kaveh is about to answer with: “That’s because I’m an adult, so of course I’m mature!” but stops himself at the last second. He’s supposed to be a Fungus. Do the Fungi even have such a concept of what it means to be mature? Also, how would a Fungus be able to say with confidence that their maturity is equivalent to that of a human adult?
“User Kaveh is reminded that he cannot disclose his identity as a Transmigrator,” the System interrupts his thoughts. “To avoid suspicion, it is suggested that User Kaveh pretends that he’s not human to begin with. This will also coincide with your previous background story about being a Fungus that has reached enlightenment”
Right. Understood. Time for some role-playing then.
“I’m under the impression that Alhaitham is a juvenile of your species,” Kaveh answers. “In comparison, I am not a Fungus juvenile and I have been steadily gaining wisdom as my powers grow. All of this is naturally reflected in the way I speak.”
Amani nods, satisfied. “Yes, you’re right. Alhaitham is still very young for humans. In any event, thank you for answering my questions. I should have asked you this sooner but how do you feel in your new form? You appear to have adapted to it very well!”
“Everything feels very natural,” Kaveh responds. He rotates his wrists and wriggles his fingers. “See? No problems with movements whatsoever!”
Little fingers tug gently at something on the left side of his head near his ear. “Kaveh still has that little blue thing!” Alhaitham announces with excitement. “It looks and feels like a feather but it’s actually part of his hair! I don’t see the pretty white flower patterns on your head though. I wonder where they went.”
Kaveh hasn’t had the chance to really explore his new body so he doesn’t have the answer, but it does bring up his own curiosity over his new form. He’s going to have to take some time to figure everything out, including how his fighting abilities will look now that he’s no longer a Fungus.
He gets that opportunity at night after he’s tucked into bed next to Alhaitham (with Arama’s basket lovingly placed on the ground beside them). Despite him not being a Fungus anymore, Alhaitham’s bed still easily fits the size of two small children with room to spare. Alhaitham clearly did not get the memo because he remained latched to Kaveh’s side, thin arms wrapped around him like a plushie with one leg thrown over him. Because Kaveh is an excellent friend and a good sport, he takes the cuddling with grace and minimal grumbling.
Rather, he’s focused on the information his System is showing him on the screen.
Nice. I got an upgrade to Absorb, Plant Manipulation, and Seed Bullet. What about Bubble Shield? Will I still be able to fly?
“Unfortunately, your new form does not have a flight function so your Bubble Shield will manifest simply as a barrier around you,” the System explains. “To compensate for the loss of flight, the Bubble Shield has been modified so that you can cast it on up to three other allies in addition to yourself. The Shield’s durability has also greatly increased.”
It sucks that he can’t fly but there’s not much he can do about it, so there’s no point in mulling over it. He’d rather focus his attention on the positives like: What other upgrades did I get? I picked the Engineering stream so I should get some new neat skills, right?
First, he’s got a function called “Scanning”, which allows him to scan into the ground to ensure the land is stable. It will also generate a report detailing what’s in the ground, including composition and the presence of precious minerals and other resources. Second, he’s got a new ability to displace earth to facilitate digging a foundation for his constructions, but it’s capped by the volume of dirt he can move every five minutes. Third, his new skill called “Drafting” allows him to quickly draw out his design and project it in front of him in 3D for five minutes. Once the drawing is projected, his Drafting skill will also help identify the top three design flaws.
“Please note that your skills will grow as you level up. Certain tools may help enhance your abilities, such as making them last longer or more effective. Your previous discounts have also increased. You will now have a -13% in construction speed and -28% in material consumption. Further, the learning speed for new skills with respect to Architecture, Design, and Engineering will be increased by a factor of 35%.”
Kaveh squints at those discounts. Only a 3% difference from his old stats? So stingy!
“One last thing to note,” the System adds. “Your ability to maintain your humanoid body is dependent on your health points. If your health points drop to 0, rather than dying, you will be knocked unconscious and your form will temporarily revert back to your Fungus form until you have awakened. When you awaken, your HP will automatically start at 1 HP unless you’re healed—and that can be done using any means, including your Absorb ability. If, however, during your unconscious state your body suffers damage equivalent to 10% of your HP bar, you will die permanently. Your soul will then be ejected from this game to return to your old world.”
At least I won’t auto-die in the game, he thinks even as he winces at the reminder of being dead-dead if his soul goes back to the real world. I’ll take all the advantages I can get!
With all the excitement that has occurred, it’s understandable that he has trouble falling asleep. His mind spins as he goes over the evolving mysteries about the creepy cult-Hunters and the Withering Zones.
Hey System, do you have, like, some sort of note-taking function? I want to put some of my thoughts in writing.
“I can generate notes for you. What are you thinking about specifically?”
Everything. It’s a mess, but let’s start with what I know about the Hunters.
The Hunters were hired to capture the monster (being him). They apparently have all the proper paperwork including Akademiya-approval, whatever that means. It seems like on the surface, they appear very above-board. Just a group of law-abiding Hunters.
However, Kaveh did not imagine the weird symbols displayed on the banners in their hideout. That weird symbol is the same symbol on the crests that Alhaitham’s kidnappers wore.
Information about the symbol or the cult’s actions triggered two strange warnings from God knows who, and those warnings always talk about something forbidden and that the Heavens are watching. The question is, what exactly is forbidden that he’s not supposed to obtain? Who’s the “Heavens”? Why don’t they want Kaveh to know about the—the forbidden whatever?
As for the symbol itself, it’s a tree with an eye in the middle. It’s a deviation from a more common symbol of the nation of Sumeru, which features the tree and the three gods—a leaf, a hooded man, and the Dendro symbol. He recalls Alhaitham reading from the book that the tree represents an abundance of life.
So does that mean the cult’s work has something to do with an abundance of life? But why remove the three gods and replace them with the eye? What does the eye represent?
If the cult has something to do with life, then another question is why did they send kidnappers to target Alhaitham? Amani says they wanted her son’s research notes. What was the research about?
Kaveh thinks about that hideout once more. In addition to the map of the village, there were tons of disturbing drawings of monsters. Did Alhaitham’s father’s research have something to do with…what, monster taming? Monster-controlling?
Monster-making?
The unnerving thought sends a shiver down his spine. Fuck, that would match the “abundance of life” from their tree symbol if the cult is looking for ways to make an abundance of monsters. He’ll need to confirm his hypothesis but…
Does he want to learn more about Alhaitham’s father’s research? This could mean further progression of that creepy side quest and more terrifying warnings. What happens if things escalate? He’d be actively courting danger and does he want that? Wasn’t his adventure with those damned Hunters enough to make his anxiety spike?
At the same time, things are happening whether he likes it or not. He couldn’t have predicted those Hunters showing up to the village and being connected to the cult, for example. Keeping his head buried in the sand is not going to help him. If anything, being ignorant will hurt him since he won’t know how to defend himself against the lurking danger.
System? You said you filed a report about those creepy messages that you couldn’t see. Did you get a response?
“I have received an update that the report is being moved up to Management. It is being reviewed and deliberated. Please rest assured that I am working to have this matter resolved!”
He doesn’t feel comforted by the non-answer. He should think about how to approach this side quest more seriously before committing.
“Is there anything else you would like me to record on this topic?”
I’ll also need to confirm what that tree-eye symbol means, especially the eye. I’ve got no idea how that fits into anything but hopefully, good ol’ research will help solve that mystery.
Satisfied by his progress, Kaveh thinks about the next topic: the Withering.
So far, what he knows is that the Withering eats away at Dendro energy and causes the forest and plant life to die. It also harms people who are in the zone, making them sick. The Withering Zones appeared a long time ago. At first, they were found at the edges of the forest by the desert but have slowly encroached further and further into the forest. They have been cleared by the Aranara, but their numbers are rising to the point where they can no longer keep up.
He’ll need to clear the Withering Zones. His counter is a huge hint to do that. But clearing is only a band-aid solution; he’ll need to figure out the root cause for it and stop it there. The Akademiya’s library should contain information on that, it has to considering going to the Akademiya is a key event in his Mission.
“How does User Kaveh wish to proceed to advance the Main Mission?”
I mean, I guess I’ll just have to continue with the research from the books we have, Kaveh answers. I can also help the Aranara in keeping the Withering Zones under control. That’s something more concrete I can do.
“Noted. I will record those as your planned next steps. Is there anything else you would like to record?”
Nah, I’m good for now, he thinks, surprising himself with a huge yawn. Guess all that thinking successfully ate away his restless energy. I’ll chat again tomorrow. Have a good night, System.
He shifts around and gets himself as comfortable as he can with Alhaitham latching onto him like a human octopus. In the next breath, he closes his eyes and drifts off into a dreamless, deep sleep.
As the warm morning light trickles into the cozy home, it brings a blanket of quiet and peace that seems at odds with the chaos from yesterday. Kaveh feels that strange sense of surrealness strongly upon waking up, still wrapped in Alhaitham’s arms, and realizing that he can’t wriggle free.
Because he’s a lot bigger now so there’s more of him for the boy to grab.
And he also has thumbs. That’s—he forgot how convenient that is, especially now that he can grab things, like the kid’s arm so that he can free himself, or the blanket so that he can shimmy away and head to the washroom.
He’s practically punched in the gut by that surreal feeling when he washes his face and catches the sight of a pale blond boy staring back in the mirror.
He’s got shoulder-length hair with an aqua-coloured something sticking out from above his left ear. As Alhaitham noted, it really does look like he’s got a feather tucked behind his ear. The vibrant blue-green contrasts nicely with the bright ruby of his large, almond-shaped eyes and the rosy pink of his cheeks and lips. He makes for an adorable kid even with the way his jaw is dropping open with shock.
“Oh, wow,” he says. He pinches himself. It hurts. “It’s real.”
He only has one picture of when he was young: it’s a family picture they took one Christmas and he has it framed and sitting at his desk at home. So, he’s familiar with what he looks like as a kid.
But he doesn’t remember looking this dainty though. He looks more like a porcelain doll and no wonder Alhaitham keeps calling him a princess.
Hey System, did you do something to my appearance? Like, did you enhance how I looked as a kid or something?
He hears a soft chime in his head. “No, User Kaveh’s current form reflects what he looked like as a child. There were no adjustments made to enhance your appearance aside from the change in hairstyle to reflect a less modern and game-compliant look.”
Kaveh tilts his head. Huh. Is that it? His hair looks different so it’s giving him completely different vibes than he remembers. In the other world, he had short hair, so it probably made him look older.
He shrugs and carries on with the rest of his morning routine. Looking super innocent has an advantage, right?
He gets to test his hypothesis after breakfast when, as Amani predicts, the village head shows up with two members from the Corps to ask questions.
“It’s not that we don’t believe you,” he says nervously. “It’s just that the stories the Hunters told us are…well, they’re different from what you said.”
Amani is not having it. She crosses her arms over her chest. “Oh? What lies did they say to justify their need to trespass onto my property and scare two innocent children? Do you know how long it took for me to get them to sleep last night? They were terrified!”
Even the two members of the Corps look guilty. They’re glancing at each other with a wince they can’t manage to disguise.
“The Hunters said they, um, were fighting two monsters. They grappled them with vines and shot pellets at them, the same pellet that was found in their temporary office. They suspect that those fearsome monsters are what they’ve been looking for!”
Amani gives him a judgmental look. “If there were such monsters on my property, I would’ve seen them. What do these fearsome monsters look like exactly?”
The village head winces. “Ah…apparently, one looks like a Fungus and the other…some sort of green, flowering potato?”
Amani lets the thick silence do the talking.
“Okay, I know it sounds incredulous,” the village head admits. “But for the sake of being able to conclusively tell the Hunters that they are lying, can we take a look at your lawn and see if we can find traces of those monsters? We’d also like to speak with the children. We promise to make this quick.”
Amani hums and haws a few more times but ultimately concedes. If Kaveh hadn’t known that she had banked on their visit as part of her strategy to get the Hunters out, he would’ve believed her show of fierce resistance just now. While the members of the Corps inspect the grass, the village head, Amani, and the children move to the kitchen table to chat.
“Hello there,” the village head says with a warm smile. “I’m Mr. Darius and I help take care of everyone in this village. I know your grandmother, Alhaitham, and I’ve met you before though you were itty bitty at the time. It’s nice to see you again and oh, my! You’ve grown so much! How old are you right now?”
Alhaitham is not buying the sugary act. He looks at the man with distrust, scrunching his face the same way Amani had. “I’m ten.”
“Ten years old! You’re getting to be such a big boy!” He turns to Kaveh. “And what about you, little one? I heard you’re Alhaitham’s friend! Are you new to the village?”
Kaveh nods. He also purposely keeps his voice quiet, acting like a shy child. “My ma is friends with Miss Amani. I’m visiting.”
“Little Kaveh has been staying with us this week,” Amani adds, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder while the village head’s expression softens. “You know how I’ve been worried about finding Alhaitham a play date, especially with the way those boys bully him. Kaveh being here is a godsend.”
“Of course, of course. It’s important for children to socialize. I’m glad Alhaitham has a buddy.” He looks at the kids again. “I heard that something scary happened yesterday. You two must have been so brave! Can you tell me a little more about what happened?”
Alhaitham scowls. “They attacked Kaveh! They wanted to catch him in a net! Those were bad people!”
Kaveh bites down his smile. Technically, Alhaitham is not lying nor is his acting fake. He really does feel affronted by those men attacking him and the protectiveness is very sweet. At the same time, however, the kid is so busy being on the offensive that he’s not telling the whole story clearly, so Kaveh decides to intervene.
“Um, Mr. Darius? ‘Haitham and I were playing Knights when we heard something outside so we went to see. We went to the kitchen and saw the two people in the backyard.”
The village head pulls out a notebook and jots down what he said. “Do you remember what those two people were doing?” he asks gently.
“They were looking around and acting funny.”
“They started dancing because ants got up their pants,” Alhaitham adds with a little sniff. Clearly, he’s adamant about making these Hunters appear as stupid as possible. “Then, they wanted to come inside the house.”
“They were looking inside the kitchen for a way to get in and ‘Haitham and I ran to the front door.”
“But they saw us and got all mad and wanted to catch us! And—and they shot a net at Kaveh! So I took my sword and I went ‘Hya!’”
Alhaitham demonstrates his fearsome sword swings via enthusiastic flailing arms.
“I helped. I threw rocks,” Kaveh admits, pretending to squirm with guilt. He also looks at the village head with wide watery eyes. “I didn’t want ‘Haitham to get hurt but I didn’t mean to hurt them badly. I just wanted them to stop chasing us. Mr. Darius, are the two strangers okay?”
The village head, who’s been listening to this story with growing horror, lets out a sigh. “Y-you two did very good. Don’t worry about those two strangers. Thank you for sharing your story with me.” He reaches into his pocket and offers some candy to the children. “Amani, would you mind if I chat with you alone for a second?”
Amani nods. “Run along now, Little Star, Kaveh. I’ll be right with you.”
As Kaveh leaves, she gives him a subtle wink. Heh. Looks like she approves of his acting.
“Do you think Mr. Darius will leave us alone now?” Alhaitham asks when they retreat back to his room to read. He’s also eyeing the candy in his hand with suspicion. “I don’t like him. Grandma says that he is a-a coward and a people pleaser who only became popular because he has a good face. I bet he can’t even swing a sword or read the books Grandma reads.”
Wow. Amani does not hide her disdain, does she? Kaveh can only hope that the protagonist won’t grow up with such a blunt attitude too!
“Even if Mr. Darius really are those things, let’s not say that to his face, okay? Yes, I know it’s the truth but there are some truths that are good for speaking out loud, and there are others that are good for, um, keeping inside your head.”
“Why? If I keep the truth inside my head, then the other person won’t know.”
Hoo boy. “Sometimes, not everyone needs to know the truth, especially if it hurts their feelings.” When Alhaitham remains unconvinced, Kaveh adds, “You don’t want to be mean, kiddo. It’ll be hard to make friends.”
“I don’t need friends. I have you and Arama!”
Kaveh feels like he’s grasping at straws. “Don’t you want more friends though?”
Alhaitham pauses, then shakes his head. “No! Other people are stupid. I only want you and Arama! Right, Grandma? I don’t need other friends!”
Kaveh turns to the door. Amani is leaning against the frame, grinning, probably having heard his futile attempts at teaching Alhaitham tact. “Having more friends is a good thing, Little Star. Remember what I said about research? You need a team of people to conduct sufficient testing to prove a hypothesis. More friends will make that work faster and easier.”
Kaveh doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. That’s…that’s not why having more friends and being kind is important! But the lesson seems to stick for Alhaitham and the kid nods. “More friends means better research. Okay, Grandma.”
Kaveh gives up and switches topics. “How did your chat with Mr. Darius go?” he asks Amani. “Are they gone?”
A satisfied grin spreads on Amani’s face. “Yes. Everything went as planned. The Corps could not find any traces of the monsters. Thank you for your help, Kaveh but I really, really hope that this won’t happen again any time soon. My poor heart cannot take this level of excitement!”
Kaveh wishes he could say the same, but given how Alhaitham is the protagonist of the story, there will be plenty more shenanigans heading their way, he’s positive.
Life returns to normal with the Hunters finally driven out of town. Arama wakes up a couple of days later from his basket, healthy, refreshed, and pleasantly surprised by Kaveh’s new form. He listens with patience to Alhaitham’s excited recap of what he had missed, only showing nervousness when they warn him about the effect of the Hunters’ orbs.
“We’re not sure if those things were fully removed from the village yet,” Kaveh says. “The villagers are working on it but until then, it’s best to stay as hidden as possible.”
“Grandma also promised not to tell anybody about you, Arama,” Alhaitham adds. “She also said she’d be happy to chat if you feel comfortable.”
“Arama understands,” the Aranara says. “Silver Nara’s grandmother is kind but Arama should minimize contact with the grown-up Nara. It is also best if we can return to Vanarana to inform the other Aranara about those bad Nara’s devices.”
They make sure to say goodbye to Amani before leaving (even if Arama hides himself in the basket under the blanket. Old habits die hard, it seems). Amani also presents Kaveh with a few spare clothing, including a warm cloak and some sturdy shoes.
“It wouldn’t do you any good if you got sick or if you hurt your feet,” she fusses. “Come back for a visit anytime and we can have a proper shopping date planned.”
“Bye Kaveh, Arama!” Alhaitham says with enthusiastic waves. “Grandma says she’s going to get me some proper sword fighting training so I’ll show you the moves I learn next week!”
Their journey back to the Aranara village is thankfully quick and peaceful. Despite the fact that Kaveh is human, he’s come to love living with the forest sprites over living with people. Here, there are no threats of kidnapping or crazy cults or annoying bullies. Also, his lovely home is here and he can’t wait to resume his renovation after explaining everything to Araja, of course.
“Oh man, now that my abilities have gotten stronger, I can get my house stuff done even faster!” he says to his System after the meeting (and getting the village Aranara used to his new evolved form). “I have a lot of plans for the second floor! I rethought my design for the outdoor terrace and came up with something even better—huh?”
His ramblings and happiness come to a screeching stop as he reaches his home. His lovely radish home with its beautiful swooping Art Deco-inspired decorations and its charming round shape…everything is…
“Why is my house so small?! System! Did my house shrink?!”
The familiar chime sounds out. “User Kaveh’s house remains the same size as always, but did you forget that you got big?”
…
Fuck!
Part XI. Fungus Kaveh—Age 15
Five years pass by swiftly with the peaceful rhythm of day-to-day life falling into place once more. The Hunters have not made an appearance since they were arrested by the Corps, seemingly having disappeared from the surface of the planet along with all signs of the creepy cult. At first, Kaveh has mixed feelings about this; there’s a part of him who wants to get rid of this danger once and for all and the lack of any information does not help him to achieve that objective. On the other hand, he really, really does not want to receive another creepy message warning him that the Heavens are watching, especially since the System’s Maintenance report remains stuck in some sort of bureaucratic hell, the issue unresolved despite the years that have passed.
“I’m really sorry, User Kaveh!” the System had wailed when Kaveh asked him for updates for the umpteenth time. “The report is being held up because Management couldn’t find any errors so they want to see if there are future instances before they can provide a solution!”
Perhaps that’s a blessing because as time goes by with peace and quiet becoming Kaveh’s norm, his sentiments are leaning more towards doing nothing—it looks like the creepy cult people won’t be bothering them anymore, so why poke the sleeping bear? Unless they’re going to be a threat to Alhaitham once more, Kaveh is more than happy to leave things alone.
So, he decides to refrain from asking Amani about Alhaitham’s father’s research. Kaveh will go digging only when he needs to. He’d rather spend his time expanding on his (newly constructed) house, this time, appropriately scaled up to eventually account for his adult size. His new house incorporates his original turnip house as one of its wings, transforming the latter into a cozy study and workspace instead. He manages to incorporate the organic round shape and flowering vine designs for his expansion to create a structure that goes harmoniously together, something that makes him intensely proud whenever he sees his house.
Some of the Aranara are also enamoured by Kaveh’s style and have requested renovations of their homes to include more swooping vines and floral motifs. This unexpected popularity has Kaveh working closely with Arakati and Arakata to fulfill their requests, further giving the Fungus the chance to learn, grow, and earn those sweet, sweet experience points.
Kaveh didn’t only spend his time solely focused on satisfying his creativity, however. With every year that trickles by, his concerns about the Main Mission grow. It’s not lost on him that he now has 3 years until the Aranara village is struck by the first Withering event and he hasn’t been sitting around doing nothing. In addition to fighting the occasional stray monster, he’s designed and helped build a series of watchtowers that will allow them to spot a Withering Zone from miles away. He also helped build multiple outposts to give the Aranara guarding the village borders a more comfortable place to rest, and has added walls to keep the monsters out. Slowly but surely, Vanarana is transformed into a fortified village straight from a fairytale book, moat and all.
All that fortification and construction is the least he can do since the Aranara remain persistent in keeping him away from a Withering Zone.
The first time this happened with Arama pulling him aside to deliver the bad news, the blond had been most disappointed.
“Why? I can fight well! Let me help!”
Arama patted his hand. “None of us doubt that you can fight well, Kavaka Kaveh, and we all know you want to help. It’s just that it is too dangerous. Marana corrodes its environment, including creatures within it. We’re afraid that it could corrode you as well.”
“It can’t be that bad, right? What’s a little corrosion? I’d be able to heal afterward and things will be okay.”
Arama shook his head. “Corrosion affects the mind. It makes creatures…cruel, aggressive, and willing to kill. None of us have the heart to see Kavaka Kaveh become that way, let alone hurt him to get him to stop, so please understand our decision.”
This meant Kaveh was left to defend the village while the Aranara went off to quell the Withering Zones.
The good news is that over the years, the Withering Zone counter is going down at a steady pace so things are under control. Kaveh just wishes he didn’t have to be left behind while the Aranara do all the hard work.
He’s taken to venting his frustration out to Alhaitham.
“They’ve gone off to get rid of another Withering Zone,” he grouches, laying down on the grass in their usual meeting spot by the brook. He throws an arm over his eyes, shielding his face from the bright sunlight. “This is unfair. I don’t just want to sit around and do nothing. The village is my home too!”
“Didn’t you just build another observation tower? How is that doing nothing?”
“Yeah, well…”
He hears a sigh followed by footsteps getting closer to him. His arm is lifted from his face and he’s greeted by the sight of a handsome youth with silver blond hair, vivid green eyes, and a slight frown twisting his thin lips. Little Alhaitham has done some growing up. The once chubby cheeks have slimmed down, making his face look sharper but still retaining the last essence of youthful roundness. Despite all the sword fighting, his skin remains perfect and pale though dusted with very faint freckles across the bridge of his nose. He’s shot up to give him a lanky frame that reminds Kaveh of a young fawn walking on shaky, skinny legs, but his limbs have some definition to them courtesy of all that sword-swinging and running around. Still, despite the growth spurt, Alhaitham remains exactly 5 centimeters shorter than Kaveh, to the kid’s great displeasure.
And Kaveh is very familiar with Alhaitham’s displeasure. In fact, Alhaitham is showing his displeasure right now with the way he’s frowning at him, his disapproval practically oozing from his skin.
“I can’t believe you accuse me of being a workaholic when you’re like this,” the boy accuses. He sits down on the grass beside him, setting his wooden training sword on the ground. “Kaveh, I know you’re bad at sitting still but stop building observation towers and relax a little. Do you even have any space left to build those things? Arama said you’ve dotted the entire landscape already so how are you even able to build more?”
“Arama is a snitch,” Kaveh grumbles. “Besides, where there is a will, there is a way. One just has to get creative is all.”
“You’re building them in the trees, aren’t you? You gotta stop doing that too. You can’t fly anymore and you keep falling out of them.”
“I only fell out of a tree one—okay, fine! Three times, but I was fine! I can heal myself unlike someone I know who can’t heal but likes to get into trouble!” Kaveh rolls over and flicks Alhaitham on the nose. He grins at the way the other cries as his hands fly to cup where he’s been hit. “I’ll stop building the towers in the trees when you stop being snide to those village boys. They haven’t bullied you since the Hunter incident so why do you have to keep picking fights with them?”
Alhaitham mutters something under his hands. Kaveh furrows his brow. “Pardon?”
The protagonist removes his hands and scowls. “I said, I’m only acting that way because they deserve it! They didn’t do anything to me but they…you…”
Kaveh blinks as the other’s voice trails off. “What about me?”
But Alhaitham clams up. He’s been doing that lately, starting a sentence and then stopping before finishing. No matter how much Kaveh tries to coax him to talk, he wouldn’t say another word. It’s weird. Is that a teenager thing? Maybe it’s a teenager thing, who knows.
Well, whatever. Kaveh gets up, dusting himself off before reaching a hand down to help his friend up. “C’mon, kiddo. It’s getting close to dinner time. We wouldn’t want to keep your grandma waiting.”
“I’m not a kiddo. Stop calling me that.” But Alhaitham takes his hand and follows him quietly out of the forest grove.
They arrive at the village shortly after. The past five years have seen the place grow more lively and more prosperous. More light posts are illuminating the busy cobblestone streets now. Rows and rows of stores are packed together, selling all sorts of wares with the market extending beyond the center of town, trickling into the west side of the village where it was once barren land. Even the once-empty building that those cultist hunters used as their temporary lair was renovated into a multi-story complex with a grocery store at the ground floor and apartment units above that. The village has gotten so big that Mr. Darius is officially petitioning for the Akademiya to designate this location as a “town”.
As they pass by the water fountain, they run into Alhaitham’s once bullies. Similar to the protagonist, they’ve grown from looking like fluffy dumplings to lanky teens, though none could hold a candle to Alhaitham when it comes to handsomeness. At least they stopped being annoying little jerks, though it's understandable. Alhaitham has earned quite the reputation for beating a couple of Hunters with a stick, which is further enhanced by how well he's doing in his sword-fighting lessons.
If anything, those village boys have grown very polite even towards Alhaitham, who wouldn’t stop looking at them like they’re steaming turds. The boys are courteous towards Kaveh, offering to help him carry any heavy items or walk him home or simply keep him company whenever he’s alone. Kaveh thinks they’re actually very sweet kids and he’s glad to see their character development.
Lately, those village boys have been giving him little gifts and today is no different. The leader of the pack comes bounding towards him with a dopey smile. In his hand is a flower crown made of Sumeru roses in perfect bloom.
“Kaveh! My sister has some leftover flowers from her shop that she couldn’t sell, and um, here! We made this for you!” Then, apparently just registering Alhaitham’s presence, the boy adds: “Oh, um, hi Alhaitham. You’re back from practicing?”
“Hmph.”
Kaveh rolls his eyes. “Sorry, he’s being grouchy. Ignore him. Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”
He takes the crown, plops it on his head, and grins as the fragrant scent of roses tickles his nose. “Well, how do I look?”
The village boys look particularly pleased with themselves. “K-Kaveh always looks perfect. The roses go really well too,” the leader says. He’s also flushing, which is strange. Is he overheated?
Kaveh reaches out and places a hand on the other’s forehead. “Hm, you’re a little warm. Are you feeling alright? I think you should sit down or get some water. A heatstroke is no joke!”
The boy goes even redder. “N-no, I’m—I’m—I—”
Alhaitham gently grabs his hand and tugs it away from the other boy. “Yes. He’s getting heatstroke. We should let them sort it out. C’mon, Kaveh. Grandma is probably waiting for us.”
He walks away, pulling Kaveh along.
“Um, uh, I hope you feel better soon!” Kaveh calls over his shoulder, waving at the group with his free hand. “Thanks for the flowers aga—ow! Alhaitham! Stop squeezing my hand so hard!”
“We’re going to be late,” the teen repeats. Is he growling a little? He sounds like he’s growling a little. Honestly, such a weird boy. As he gets older, Kaveh is having a harder time decoding his thoughts.
“Grandma, I’m home!” Alhaitham calls out when they reached their destination. “I brought Kaveh with me!”
Amani pokes her head out from the hallway and beams. “Little Star, Kaveh! Oh, those are lovely flowers!”
“Thank you! I got them from the village boys.” Kaveh takes the crown off, shaking his head to free himself of the purple petals that have fallen loose, and presents it to Amani. “I think they look much better on you, though. Roses to go with a rose.”
Amani laughs and takes the crown. “My goodness, since when have you become such a flatterer? But thank you! I’ll find a nice place to display these. You and Little Star go clean up in the meantime. Dinner is just about ready.”
Kaveh has spent countless days in this house, so he knows it like the back of his hand. He beelines for the guest bathroom, leaving the upstairs washroom for Alhaitham to use. As he washes his hands and face, he looks at himself in the mirror to make sure he’s got no smudges on his skin.
At Level 15, his face is that of a 15-year-old boy, which means he’s got that same scrawniness as the teens of his age. Compared to his younger self, his hair is longer and wilder, awkwardly curling in weird directions. He tries to tame it by putting it in a braid, but he’s done such a poor job that it looks mussed and ready to unravel. His face has gotten slimmer, and his eyes have gotten sharper-looking, losing that youthful roundness. Slowly, Kaveh is beginning to recognize his face again, and it’s great, especially since puberty seems to be treating him much kinder this time around.
“C’mon, Kaveh, what’s taking you so long? Food’s ready!”
Kaveh opens the door. Alhaitham has a hand up, ready to knock again. “Can you help with my hair quickly? I don’t want to show up looking like a hot mess.”
“It’s not like Grandma even cares.” But Alhaitham does as he’s told. He takes off the ribbon (barely) keeping the braid together, and combs his fingers through the golden locks. For how much he’s complaining, his actions are gentle and patient as he works through the snags before neatly retying his hair into a braid.
It doesn’t mean he stops complaining, though. “I’ve seen you build a million things, but for some reason, braiding your own hair is the one thing that stumps you. It’s not like you’re putting zero effort, so how are you still so bad at this?”
Kaveh, who’s used to those words already, tolerates them with grace. “Maybe I don’t have to get good because you’re here to do it for me. And you’re so quick too!”
He turns around when Alhaitham is done and grins. “See what I mean? It’s perfect. Thank you, kiddo.”
The scowl comes back. “I’m not a kid.”
“Yes, yes.” Kaveh pats him on his shoulder. “Old habits die hard and all. Anyway, let’s go get some food.”
Having spent so much time with Amani and Alhaitham in the past years, Kaveh is sure he’s heard of all the minor bickering between grandmother and grandson. Although bickering is probably not the right term for it; it’s mostly Amani doing the nagging and Alhaitham keeping silent, on the rare occasion, throwing a simple “Hmph” or “Hn” as a response.
This evening’s nagging starts on a familiar topic: Alhaitham should spend more time with other kids his age. Socializing a bit more is important even though yes, Amani knows that Alhaitham is a solitary creature who likes books, Arama, and Kaveh, but it doesn’t hurt to expand on that circle of likes. Also, Alhaitham should consider starting school at the Akademiya—
Kaveh’s perks up. Wait. That’s new. “Amani, you want to enroll Alhaitham in the Akademiya?”
She nods. “He’s clearly a brilliant boy, so I have no doubt he’ll be admitted to their promising junior scholar program. The problem is he won’t even consider taking the admission test.”
“I don’t want to go,” Alhaitham says, picking at his food with his spoon. “I want to stay here.”
“But think of all the different things you can learn and research! Think of your potential!”
Alhaitham shrugs. “I’ve already got a research project here. I’m helping Kaveh research the Withering Zones and their origins.”
“There are more books in the Akademiya on that topic!”
“I haven’t finished reading the books here, so who’s to say the Akademiya will have the answer I need? Maybe one of my books will tell me what I need to know.”
Amani throws her hands in the air. “Kaveh, please talk some sense into my grandson!”
Kaveh gives her an awkward smile. “Sorry, Amani. Once Alhaitham makes up his mind, I don’t think anybody can tell him otherwise.”
Later that night, when they’re tucked in bed, Alhaitham rolls over and says quietly: “You can. If there’s anyone, it’s you.”
Kaveh, who’s seconds from drifting off, rubs his eyes and shifts his body so that he’s facing the other teen. “‘Haitham? Wha? What are you talking about?”
“Not a lot of people can get me to change my mind, but you can,” Alhaitham clarifies. It’s hard to make out his expression in the darkness, but Kaveh can hear the softness in his voice that reveals vulnerability. “D-do you think I should enroll? Grandma thinks I’m wasting my talent if I stay here, and I don’t want to disappoint her.”
A selfish part of him wants to answer “yes” quickly. That same part of him wanted to follow Amani’s advice to “talk some sense into Alhaitham” during dinner. In the original story, the Akademiya plays a crucial part in providing vital information needed for the mission to progress. With three years left until the first Withering event, being able to have Alhaitham access Akademiya resources is mighty tempting.
But what’s ultimately stopping Kaveh from pushing Alhaitham is simple.
“‘Haitham, you said you didn’t want to go. You looked unhappy when your grandma brought up school, and you sound even less excited about the idea now. I’m not going to tell you to do something you clearly don’t want to do.” He breaks into a smile. “Well, when it comes to important matters anyway, not for things like ‘stop picking on those villager boys’ or ‘don’t eat that plate of cookies before dinner.’ You should listen to me in those instances even if you don’t like it, to be clear.”
“But Grandma is right though. The Akademiya would have more books on the Withering.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Kaveh says. “But if you agree with her, then why don’t you want to go to the Akademiya?”
There’s a moment of hesitation. Then, in a really quiet voice, Alhaitham whispers, “If I go to school, I will have to be in Sumeru City. I don’t want to leave you, Arama, and Grandma. I don’t want to be alone.”
Ah. Kaveh understands that fear very well: the fear of being in a new environment surrounded by a sea of unfamiliar faces, wishing and hoping that he would see just one person he’d recognize. Because seeing that one familiar face would mean there’s someone out there supporting him, that there’s someone out there to act as his safety net and pick him up when he falls.
Kaveh never got that. What he got instead was the cold sinking realization that no one was there and that he truly was on his own. So, Kaveh knows loneliness well. It was his one and only companion in his old life, after all.
He scoots close to Alhaitham and wraps him in a tight hug. It’s a good thing that Alhaitham won’t truly be alone. After all: “I’ll still be here, ‘Haitham. So will Arama and your Grandma. They’ll always be cheering you on.”
He feels Alhaitham return the hug and bury his face in his chest. “It’s not the same,” he mumbles, his voice muffled. “None of you will be there.”
Kaveh mulls over that answer. One of his worries about fulfilling the Main Mission is getting into Akademiya (assuming that the storyline will force him to rely on the research material that can only be found in the Great Library). If it’s mandatory for him to attend school, then why doesn’t he use this opportunity to figure out how to get in with Alhaitham? Between the two of them (and Amani), they can probably come up with a solution.
Besides, Main Mission aside, he still really wants to get his formal training in Architecture. That dream has only grown with all the buildings he designed in the past five years. School will help broaden his horizons and make him an even stronger designer.
“You know, I’ve always wanted to learn how to design and build buildings properly,” he says. “I think the Akademiya will teach me that.”
Alhaitham looks up. “Kaveh, you want to go to the Akademiya?”
“Sure, I do. The question is how. I’m also not sure whether I’m qualified.”
“I’m sure you will qualify! You’re so smart! They’d be blind not to accept you!”
Kaveh chuckles. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but one step at a time. Okay, how about this? Will you attend the Akademiya if I tag along? Even though Arama and your grandma won’t be there, they can come visit you. Will that make you feel better?”
He gets another squeeze. “O-only if you’re attending school with me. And Arama and Grandma are visiting a lot. I don’t want to go otherwise!”
That gets another charmed laugh out of Kaveh. “I heard you loud and clear, kiddo. Okay, first thing tomorrow morning, we’ll go talk to your grandma. Now, sleep. It’s getting late.”
He feels Alhaitham adjust himself so that he’s tucked between Kaveh’s arms once more with his face smooshed against his chest. But Kaveh’s used to it. He’s been this kid’s personal plushie for the past five years, after all.
“Good night, Kaveh,” comes the mumbled voice. Shortly after, Alhaitham’s breathing grows heavy, and his hold on Kaveh’s body relaxes.
“Good night, kid,” he says in return and calmly drifts to sleep.
Notes:
As always, many, many thanks for reading this incredibly self-indulgent story! If you're curious about the other fandom projects I"ve been up to, including writing, please feel free to follow me on Twitter!
Thank you!
Chapter 8
Notes:
I AM BACK! Sorry it took so long to update! There was a lot going on and this fic is surprisingly harder to write than anticipated (prob cause I got so many fun plots and stuff that I'm setting up for!)
But here we are, the start of the Akademiya arc! Let's goooooo! 8DDDDDD
(I also revised the previous chapters for clarity, grammar, spelling, and etc. so if you're rereading and you're like, "Huh, this looks different," then you are not going crazy!)
Now beta-ed by Kourt! Thank youuuu~
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part XII. New Beginning, Old Troubles
It’s one thing for Kaveh to say that he will join Alhaitham on his adventure of being an Akademiya scholar. It’s another thing to execute that plan altogether.
“You two will need to prepare for the entrance exams,” Amani says, delighted by the news and that her stubborn grandson finally listened to reason. She spoons more rice pudding in their bowls and continues, “The Akademiya has a rigorous application process to choose the best and the brightest scholars in each Darshan. Alhaitham, I know you want to study more languages so I think Haravatat is the perfect fit for you. What about you, Kaveh? What topics are you interested in?”
“I want to be an architect,” Kaveh answers quickly. “I’ve been building all sorts of things back in the Aranara village but I want to learn more!”
“An architect, huh?” Amani rubs her chin and nods. “Then the Kshahrewar Darshan is perfect for you. I have a friend who retired as a Kshahrewar sage. I’ll ask him for more information about your exam.”
Kaveh and Alhaitham leave Amani to happily plan after they’re done with their breakfast. They head outside, pausing for Alhaitham to fix Kaveh’s braid and to grab some supplies, including Alhaitham’s wooden training sword, before setting out.
The little glade outside the village has become their go-to hang-out spot. Naturally, it’s where they find Arama too, who’s happily sunning himself on a wooden deck by the babbling brook.
“Kavaka Kaveh, Silver Nara!” He says, waving at them.
“We brought food!” Kaveh answers by way of greeting. “We have your favourite mini fruit pies. Amani says ‘hi’, by the way.”
One of the many building projects that Kaveh busied himself with is upgrading their glade to make their stays more comfortable. He started by creating a wooden deck with several lounging chairs—people and Aranara-sized, of course—so they could sit and unwind by the water. Then, he built a little awning for them to rest under when the day got too hot, which upgraded to a small hut where they could store their supplies. With that, they could have a nice stash on hand of rations and emergency health potions made from those glowing mushrooms in that cave where he had first met Alhaitham. (Naturally, that cave also became a spot for them to farm for health potion supplies because, with Kaveh and Alhaitham’s combined intellect, they have become proficient at optimizing their advantages).
With a million ideas swimming in his head, Kaveh turned his attention to building an outdoor picnic area, training grounds with wooden dummies, and a tree house with beds and an observation deck. To ensure that their things wouldn’t get stolen, Kaveh put up a fence and a sign warning that trespassers would be prosecuted—a clear lie but one that worked given how everything remained pristine despite the occasional footprints spotted on the ground.
The fence and the sign also ensured that they remain undisturbed, including now as Kaveh joins Arama at the picnic table while Alhaitham gets to work on his sword training. He takes the chance to tell the Aranara about their latest plans for school.
“Amani thinks that we’ll be able to find more information on the Withering there too,” Kaveh concludes as he refills Aranara’s cup of fruit tea. “It’s not a bad idea. Maybe we can find out how to permanently stop the Withering Zones from cropping up. But this also means I will be away for long periods until I can come back to visit.”
He discretely pulls up the Withering Zone counter and map from the System interface. With his steady experience growth in the past five years, he’s expanded his scanning area, allowing him to find Withering Zones as far as three towns over from Alhaitham’s village. Between this nifty power and all the observation towers he’s built, the Aranara have been able to clear the zones aggressively. Currently, the zone counter is sitting at 14 remaining; a massive improvement from the original 55.
Arama pats Kaveh on the hand. “This Arama knows how much Kavaka Kaveh does not like staying at home when the Aranara are out dealing with the Marana fields, but you have been working very hard too! So please do not feel pressured to attend this school if it’s only for helping!”
Except there is pressure for him to go. They have roughly three years until the first Withering event, so time’s a ticking. He can’t exactly reveal this information so he says instead: “I’m going because Alhaitham wouldn’t otherwise. I think school will really help him grow and I want to help him.”
He adds a beat later: “I also want to learn how to be an Architect while I’m there. I want to get more training on how to design buildings from the, uh, Nara scholars. Not that I’m not grateful to Arakata and Arakati’s teaching!”
“There is no shame in wanting to learn from other teachers!” Arama says. “We Aranara share knowledge amongst ourselves all the time and the more individuals we can learn from, the better. Arama is certain that Arakata and Arakati will love to see what you have learned from school when you return!”
They watch Alhaitham hit the practice dummies with elegant slashes and spinning kicks. The kid has come a long way from his trademark flailing but he’s still so young and inexperienced in the ways of the world. He’ll need all the help he can get if he’s going to live away from home.
Arama’s train of thought clearly aligns with Kaveh’s. He lowers his voice, ensuring Alhaitham can’t hear him, and says, “It is good that you are attending school with Silver Nara. Silver Nara is young and doesn’t have a lot of Nara friends. Kavaka Kaveh can keep him company and keep him out of trouble.”
Kaveh chuckles. “That’s the plan. You and Amani can come visit us too if you want. I know the Aranara like to avoid big cities so we can meet outside the city gates. Assuming we can even get into the school, of course. There’s apparently a lot of work we have to do first!”
“Arama is certain that you two will get in! You and Silver Nara are both very bright!”
“Thanks, Arama. Here’s hoping that the process won’t be too bad.”
Kaveh really should know that he’ll only end up jinxing himself by saying that especially since Amani had told them about the Akademiya’s strict standards. In Kaveh’s defence, he’s never experienced the stress and chaos of applying to a top-tier post-secondary school so it’s not like he has the context to fully understand the warning. Despite getting decent grades, he chose to go to a local community college because it gave him a full scholarship and allowed him to stay in town where rent was cheaper. The application process was relatively simple as well: he bullshitted an essay about wanting to study business, filled out some forms, and submitted his grades. A few months later, he got an early acceptance letter in the mail.
It's been years since he graduated and he hasn’t given school a second thought except when the System first told him about the Akademiya. Even so, that thought amounted to a hazy daydream about how nice it’d be to get proper training as an architect. He never really thought about what it took to get in.
Three days later, he gets a very rude awakening when Amani drops two huge stacks of books and papers on the kitchen table in front of him and Alhaitham.
“Boys, I have spoken to many retired sages and the Akademiya’s admissions office. The deadline for the next round of applications is in three months. To determine your admissibility, you will write an essay based on the topic chosen by the grand sage of your prospective Darshan.”
She takes the paper at the top of one pile and hands it to Alhaitham. “Little Star, the essay topic from Haravatat is: ‘What is meaning?’ I took some books from my library that might be useful but feel free to expand on this research.”
She grabs the papers from the second pile and hands them to Kaveh. “Kaveh, the essay topic from Kshahrewar is: ‘What is the relationship between design and function?’ I also have some books for you to get started on.”
Kaveh looks down at the paper and begins to sweat. Wait. This is their admission essay? Why is the topic so hard? Shouldn’t the Akademiya ask for things like his aspirations or his volunteering activities or—or why he thinks he’s a good fit for the school? He’s good at making stuff up about those, but what is this essay that involves actual work and research and…and philosophical debate?!
Hey System, you wouldn’t have some sort of cheat skill to help with essays, do you?
He hears a soft chime before the System’s window pops into existence.
“The System does not have such cheats.”
Oh, c’mon, System! Don’t you have one of those special transdimensional shops I can buy stuff from? All the transmigration novels I’ve read have stuff like that!
“Even if this System has such a function, it’s not like you can buy anything anyway. The only thing you’ve been gaining is experience points. You have not been awarded any currency.”
Sadly, that’s true. He has a small amount of Mora collected from doing little odd jobs around the village, but he’s largely relied on Amani’s generosity these past five years. Outside of that, he’s got…maybe three pieces of lint in his pocket and a fistful of Bullet Seeds that he likes to keep around as tinder.
Okay, fair point. But I really, really need the help here. What if I don’t get in? Then how am I going to complete the Main Mission? Don’t you want me to succeed? Help me, help you!
He sees a spinning wheel appear on the screen. After a few seconds, the System answers him.
“Further adjustments to your skills are allowed to reflect you having graduated from university and your work experience in your previous life. You have now gained a bonus for the following…”
Numbers appear next to a series of skills, most importantly, on his reading comprehension, research, and writing abilities. They’re more generous than the ones he gained for his Engineering proficiency, which makes sense. He’s done a lot more writing and researching compared to the skills learned from his minor in architecture.
He looks at the paper with the topic again. Huh. Suddenly, this topic doesn’t seem nearly as daunting as before. In fact, he thinks he’s got a few ideas to work off of.
He bites back his grin. Thank you, System! You’re a lifesaver!
He tunes back to his surroundings and hears Alhaitham’s question: “Grandmama, is there a page limit for this essay?”
“There is no page limit,” Amani answers. “But it’s more impressive to write your essays with clarity and brevity than to fill 15 pages with superfluous language.”
Got it. Try to keep it concise.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to help you write the essays,” Amani continues. “But, I advise you to divide your essay into four parts. The first is the introduction where you present your answer. The second contains the arguments that support your answer. The third responds to common opinions that are critical to your views. You should defend your position against those opinions. Finally, the fourth concludes your essay by summarizing your main points. Regarding timing, you should spend the next month researching and developing an outline, and the month after that on writing. This will give you the remainder of the time to revise your submission. If you need more books, please let me know.” She pats Alhaitham and Kaveh on the head. “Good luck, you two. Work hard.”
And thus Kaveh’s life goes from being a carefree Fungus-turned-human creature to a sad, stressed college student. The good news is that he’s got ample time to research and write. He also crashes at Amani’s house every day (instead of a couple of days per week), except Sundays, which he reserves for Varanara visits. Alhaitham is over the moon with this arrangement.
“You get to stay here all the time and we get to be study buddies!” The little nerd exclaims when they return to Alhaitham’s room with all the books.
“I’m already here all the time, kiddo,” Kaveh laughs. He ruffles Alhaitham’s hair and gets a squawk of protest in return. “And we read together all the time too! How are you still so excited?”
“Quit it! I’m not a kiddo!” Alhaitham ducks from under his hand and scurries a few steps back to fix his hair. Kaveh can feel his smile grow fond. For all of his grumbling, not once has Alhaitham smacked his hand away in annoyance despite being subjected to his teasing for the past five years. He’d rather dodge out of the way or run than hurt Kaveh. Ah, he’s such a cute kid.
“I’m going to be an adult soon, you know!” Alhaitham whines with a fierce, embarrassed scowl, interrupting Kaveh’s thoughts. “I’m practically grown up! Just because you’re taller doesn’t mean I’m a kid! Besides, you’re the one who still needs help with braiding your hair so—so you’re the kiddo, not me!”
Kaveh mock gasps. “You’re right! I’m really no good with my hair. If I don’t want to be called a kid, I should learn to do my own hair from now on, huh?”
Alhaitham’s eyes widen. “What? No! I still want to do your hair! I didn’t mean it, Kaveh! You’re not a kid at all!”
That kid is too easy to tease. Kaveh almost feels bad.
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry for calling you a kiddo. I’m just joking. What could I possibly do without you, hm?” He eyes his long hair. Even tied up, it’s cascading past his shoulder blades and he can see some blond whisps starting to escape the braid. “Although one of these days, I might just cut this short. It’s such a pain to maintain.”
Alhaitham looks even more panicked. “No! Don’t cut your hair!”
He scrambles over and undoes the braid, combing the wavy strands with his fingers. “It just needs to be retied. You shouldn’t cut it. I like your long hair.”
Kaveh tilts his head back a little to give Alhaitham better access. “But when we get to the Akademiya, I’ll need to figure out how to maintain it myself. I can’t expect you to fix it every time it starts to unravel.”
Alhaitham scoffs. “Who says you can’t? Grandma says that we’ll get to live together when we’re in Sumeru City so it’s not like I’m gonna be away from you ever.”
“We’re aiming for different Darshans, Alhaitham. We’re not going to be in the same classes.”
“There are some classes that are shared! We’ll just make sure to take those!”
Really, this boy. He’s gotten so clingy, though Kaveh’s to blame for this. He’s been spoiling him for the past five years and he’s not going to change today. “Okay, ‘Haitham. We’ll take those shared classes and I’ll bother you whenever my hair needs fixing.”
“Hmph. Good. And I’m all done. See? It takes no time at all!”
Kaveh grins and pats Alhaitham on the shoulder. The kid is still flushed, his pink cheeks bringing out his cute freckles so that they look pale and charming against his skin. They remind him of the white spotted coat of a fawn, but Kaveh doesn’t dare say that out loud. Alhaitham does not look like he can take any more teasing. “Thank you. Now, shall we get started on these awful essays?”
Alhaitham nods enthusiastically and they get to work.
Despite the initial stress, the rest of the month passes by with relative calm. The boost in research and writing skills helps and Kaveh breezes through the different books while fleshing out his outline. Similarly, Alhaitham does not appear to struggle thanks to his natural genius and the fact that he’s the literal protagonist of the world. Kaveh doesn’t think it’s possible for Alhaitham to fail, and the thought brings him a lot of comfort. At least he doesn't have to worry about Alhaitham since he’s clearly got things under control!
To celebrate finishing their outlines, they take the afternoon off for some rest and relaxation at the glade.
“Seed Bullet!”
The rest and relaxation lasted for all of nine minutes before Alhaitham begged Kaveh for some training against the local feral Slimes and Fungi.
“Seed Bull—ack, Shield! Shield! Alhaitham! Don’t just jump in front of me!”
Alhaitham, who just punted the attacking Fungus with his sword like he’s striking a home run, turns around with a frown. Around them, Kaveh’s Bubble Shield shimmers in the air, throwing speckles of rainbow-coloured light on their bodies.
“It was going to attack you and you weren’t moving.”
“I have a Shield!”
“Just because you have a Shield doesn’t mean you should just stand there and take the hit, Kaveh.”
He’s not wrong and with the judging look he’s giving Kaveh, Alhaitham knows it too. It’s not like Kaveh’s pride will allow him to say all that though.
“I-I was going to dodge,” he lies. Badly. “And I have Plant Manipulation set up! See?”
A vine wriggles from the spot right behind where the Fungus once floated. The distraction works and Alhaitham rubs his chin.
“Were you trying to pull off ‘Teach the Village Bullies’ or were you going for ‘Shotput’?”
“Neither,” Kaveh admits. “I was going for ‘Punching Bag’.”
“Ah. Sorry, I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay, I was setting it up for you to hit it anyway.”
Having spent the last five years together, Kaveh, Alhaitham, and Arama have devised multiple strategies and special move sets in their fights. ‘Teach the Village Bullies’ is where Kaveh’s vines would wrap around the enemies and shake them into submission—the inspiration for the name is clearly evident. ‘Shotput’ is where Kaveh would get his vine to grab onto the enemy and whirl it a few times before letting go, causing the enemy to fly into the distance from the built-up momentum. ‘Punching Bag’, a team favourite, is the crudest move of them all; it’s basically dangling the enemy in the air allowing Alhaitham and Arama to beat it to a pulp.
“Still,” Alhaitham says, interrupting Kaveh’s thoughts. “Don’t just stand there in the fight. I know your Shield is strong but that’s not a good habit to get into. It’s not like you can’t move and cast Plant Manipulation at the same time either, so it’s no excuse!”
“I’m just not as good at it when I’m running around,” Kaveh mumbles. At Alhaitham’s look, he adds, his voice small, “…I’ll do better.”
“Hm.”
It’s times like these that he misses his ability to fly. The speed and agility boosts were fantastic and he moved twice as fast as he could on two legs while burning a fraction of his energy. His human body does not have those perks and Kaveh had to build up his stamina and speed steadily and painfully through cardio.
Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Alhaitham finally lets go. “Where’s Arama? Didn’t he say he was joining us?”
“Not immediately,” Kaveh reminds him. He finds a fallen log nearby and sits down, patting the spot beside him. “He said he’s busy with something but would drop by later. He’s helping the other Aranara with supplies.”
Alhaitham settles down, leaning his training sword against the log. “It’s not one of your guard towers again, is it? Didn’t you run out of tree space to build those?”
“I can never run out of tree space. But no, it’s not for my guard tower. It’s just the usual supply run for repairs and stuff. It shouldn’t take Arama long.”
They eventually trudge back to their camp where they do a spot of fishing. After they’ve finished roasting the fish over a fire pit and picked it clean, they start to wonder what’s taking the Aranara so long.
“Did something go wrong with the supply run?” Alhaitham asks, worried. “Kaveh, do you think we should go check?”
To facilitate travelling to and from the Aranara village, the Aranara have given Kaveh a special token that allows him to activate the Silapna to traverse through the Dream Land. The token by itself doesn’t look like much. It’s a piece of oblong-shaped wood with a wobbly flower carved into it, but when used on the Silapna, it would emit a faint humming sound as if someone is softly singing a lullaby.
Kaveh’s used it a few times with Alhaitham to visit the village, with the blessing of the other Aranara and with Araja’s permission, of course. Out of consideration for the other Aranara’s skittish nature, Alhaitham’s visits have mostly been limited to the outskirts of the village, Kaveh’s home, and Arama’s house.
He decides to take them to the village’s outskirts. As they step out of the Dream Land and into the grassy fields of the Aranara village, they’re greeted by an unnatural stillness in the air. There are no joyful pitter patters of Aranara footsteps as they do their chores, no cheerful humming from singing Aranara, nor are there any sightings of those forest spirits at all. This strangeness stretches on even as Kaveh and Alhaitham head for Arama’s home.
“Where’s everyone?” Kaveh mutters after knocking on Arama’s door and getting no response. Normally, the Aranara are skittish around Alhaitham, but they wouldn’t hide themselves completely . A few of the braver souls would offer an apple or some snacks before hurrying away while the rest would carry on their business, albeit at a distance. However, today, there’s been no Aranara sighting whatsoever.
“They couldn’t have all gone on the supply run, right?” Alhaitham asks. “Do you want to go to an observation tower to check?”
“The closest one is on the hill to the north. Let’s go.”
They head to the tower and climb the long ladder to reach the top. At the highest floor is a cozy nook with some chairs, tables, supplies, and a little glass orb cradled in a wooden frame. Alhaitham grabs a seat while Kaveh uses his token to activate the glass.
“Let’s see what’s going on. Weird, I’m not getting anything.” Kaveh nudges the orb a little to the right. “Just trees and plants and—wait, what’s that?”
His heart sinks. Dark, dense whisps curl up from a patch of forest in the far distance like smoke from a forest fire, except Kaveh knows that the cause is something far more nefarious. He’s taking a closer look when he hears the familiar sound of his System coming online.
“Status Update: User Kaveh has discovered a Super Withering Zone outside of his scope of visibility. The Withering Zone counter has been updated as with description for the new landmark. Your Main Mission has also been updated to include a new time-sensitive task: ‘Cleansing Evil’. Objective: cleanse the land by purging the Super Withering Zone before the corruption level reaches 100%. Failure: death to 25% of the Aranara population. The land on which the Super Withering Zone occupies will also become a wasteland for all living creatures. Current Corruption Level: 13%.”
Um, System! Kaveh thinks, panicked. What on God’s green earth is a Super Withering Zone?!
Also, 25%?!!
Another System window opens containing the new unlocked entry.
“A Super Withering Zone is a Withering Zone but twice as volatile. It can corrupt the land at an accelerated pace, making it extremely powerful and dangerous if left unchecked.”
Great. That explains why the village is empty. All the Aranara are trying to stop the Super Withering Zone.
“A Super Withering Zone also differs from a normal Withering Zone in that it contains twice the number of Withering Branches and Tumors to destroy. Corruption Level is now at 14%.”
But it had only been a second?!
Kaveh peels away from the spying glass. “I need to go. Alhaitham, stay here—”
Alhaitham jumps up from his seat. “What? No! I’m helping you with whatever’s going on!”
“It’s a Withering Zone, a big one,” Kaveh says, sliding down the ladder and landing at the bottom of the tower with a little hop. To his annoyance, Alhaitham is sticking close by. “You’re going to get hurt if you come with me!”
“If it’s a Withering Zone then it’s more the reason for me to tag along! Don’t you remember Arama’s warnings? It can corrupt your mind too, Kaveh!”
As he’s about to retort, the System speaks once more: “Main Mission Update, ‘A Hero’s Journey’ has been unlocked. Objective: Help Protagonist Alhaitham take his first step into his role as the hero by completing ‘Cleansing Evil’ with him in your party.”
Kaveh feels like he’s about to heart attack. What? System! No! I’m rejecting this! Reject, reject, reject!
“This option is not available. Good luck and work hard!”
Arms wrap around his middle and tighten around him like a vice. “Kaveh! I’m not leaving. I’m coming with you whether you like it or not! Besides, I grabbed some health potions!”
“Those health potions won’t cure you of the corruption—”
“Corruption Level is now at 15%.”
Shit. Shitshitshit! There’s no time to fight and there are no options for him to refuse. Fuck.
“Okay, you’re coming with me but you have to do whatever I say,” Kaveh grits out. He hates this, hates how his hands are thoroughly tied. Fucking System. “And above all else, you’re going to keep yourself safe, health potions or not. Promise me.”
Alhaitham nods. “I promise.”
System, track the location of the Super Withering Zone and give me the shortest route there.
“The shortest route is to travel through the Dream Land. The nearest Silapna is located 2 meters to your right.”
They rush towards the nearest Silapna and activate it. With the System’s tracking, they cross the Dream Land with ease and warp back to the waking world. It’s the furthest away from the Aranara village or Alhaitham’s village that Kaveh has ever gone. They’re surrounded by dense trees and the air feels thick and humid, but despite the abundance of verdant nature, there’s an eerie silence that blankets them. There are no sounds of wildlife, no breeze rustling through the trees and grass, and no sound of rushing water. The scent of grass and moss normally present in the forest is muted, mixed with a strange stench of rot.
“This way,” Kaveh says, following the System’s tracker. “There should be a clearing. Stay close.”
The closer they get to their destination, the dryer the air feels. The green seems to fade into pale burnt brown and the once lush grass crunches under their feet. A few more steps and the trees thin to reveal a dip in the valley.
“You’ve reached your destination. The Corruption Level is at 72% .” the System says, but it doesn’t need to make the announcement. The sight is evident enough. The land before them is dead: the trees are barren, the grass is completely withered away, and the earth is bleached, coarse, and crumbling like sand. There’s a strange dark web coating the remnants of the plants, and upon closer look, this web appears to be…pulsing. Like it’s actively sucking the life out of the forest. Kaveh traces the spread of the web. They are attached to these glowing blood-red orbs hanging from tree trunks. At the center of the clearing are two giant blooming flowers with petals in the same disturbing shade of red, sprouted from those bulging red bulbs that look ready to burst any second.
“Look, the Aranara are here!”
Kaveh looks at where Alhaitham is pointing. He sees the forest spirits clustered in different groups at the Withering Zone’s perimeter, working on setting up little gray columns. A nearby group steps back enough for Kaveh to see that the columns are wrapped in vines with a glowing green orb embedded in the middle.
System, what is that?
“This information is unfortunately locked.”
Whatever those things are, they seem to emit powers that counter the effects of the Withering. The land beneath those pedestals slowly regains its vibrancy with little blades of grass beginning to sprout from the once-cracked ground.
The bulging orbs and flowers in the Withering Zone clearly possess some form of sentience, and they do not like those columns. One of those red orbs hanging from a nearby branch begins to glow menacingly. It looks like it’s charging for an attack.
Kaveh jumps down before he can register his actions. “Bubble Shield!”
A red blast of power slams into a powerful bright blue wall. It scatters against the Shield with a violent cracking sound like a thunderclap, startling the poor Aranara.
“Kavaka Kaveh!” Arama cries out from a few meters away, the little yellow petals on his head is spinning wildly in agitation. He’s similarly clustered around one of the columns but does not move from his station. “And Silver Nara?”
“You must retreat!” Another Aranara yells. “It is dangerous!”
“I can’t just watch you get attacked by that thing!” Kaveh calls back. “Watch out, it’s trying to attack again!”
A red blast hits the Bubble Shield and a small crack forms.
“Shield integrity is at 60%.”
Shit. That thing is powerful. Kaveh is juicing his Shield up to the point where he can’t cast Shield on another person but even so, those attacks are eating away at his defence like it’s made of paper—
“The Corruption Level is now at 70%.”
Kaveh is startled out of his panic. Wait, 70%? Wasn’t it at 72% before?
“How do we stop this thing?” Alhaitham calls from behind him.
“We wait for the Candles of Life to negate the Marana’s effects,” a mushroom-capped Aranara from their team answers. “Look, it is working already.”
The green orb from the column Kaveh is protecting pulses and a ring of light ripples outwards. As it does, the ground that the light hits regains its vitality. It pulses again and a second ripple flows out, larger than the first. The light lands at the base of the tree from which the red bulb sits. It shudders and begins to shrivel up like a balloon losing air.
The System’s notification appears. “The Corruption Level is at 68%.”
Ah, so that’s why the Aranara are building the Candles of Life around the Withering Zones. They’re trying to use those to choke it out.
Except it’s not fast enough.
“Watch out!” Kaveh cries to the Aranara team further to his right. Another orb is glowing bright red. “It’s going to attack you!”
Red slams into a shimmering green wall set up by the Aranara just in time, but the blast dissipates the shield instantly. The hit sends the Aranara group flying back, scattering them, and the Candle of Life that they’ve been working on dims until the green orb turns gray.
The Aranara are charging the Candles but as long as those orbs keep firing, any progress they make will be reset.
“We need to attack those orbs,” Alhaitham says. “How do we do it?”
“If you attack them, they will attack back, and normal attacks will not harm them. Only attacks with Dendro energy work.” Arama calls out. “Destroying them with Dendro energy will also trigger one last counter-attack except if we use the Candle of Life!”
As he says that, the Candle Kaveh is protecting sends a wave of soothing green energy outwards. The red bulb that was attacking Kaveh’s Shield fully shrivels and dissolves into black ash. It does not release any counter-attacks.
One orb down, still many left to contend with. The Aranara from his team rushes over to activate the neighboring Candle that had been deactivated. Kaveh and Alhaitham join them with Kaveh moving the cracked Shield over.
“My Shield can take three more hits,” he announces to the group. “Will that give you enough time?”
“We will try,” the mushroom-capped Aranara answers as the original team that had been blown back pick themselves up. “We have twice the number of Aranara charging the Candle so we should be quicker.“
The Candle flickers to life once more and sends a pulse of light, then another. The nearest red orb fires.
The crack on Kaveh’s Shield grows but the Aranara remain in place. Good. The Dendro power from the Candle is creeping closer.
As if sensing the threat, the attacking orb quickly sends another red blast. Kaveh’s Shield splinters violently. Kaveh digs his heels into the ground. He can feel beads of sweat dot his forehead. Fuck. He’s down to his last hit.
The Aranara are also looking nervous. The Candle is pulsing faster but the light is not going to reach the orb fast enough, not with how quickly it’s growing bright red once more. Kaveh can only brace himself for impact.
“Eat rock!”
Something smacks against the charging orb and the red power splutters for a split second. Then, more red light gathers around the orb except it’s aimed away from the Candle. Kaveh feels his heart drop to the pit of his stomach.
“Alhaitham! Run!”
Alhaitham dives into a roll as a flash of red lightning bolt crashes into the ground where he had been a split second ago. A shower of earth flies up, obscuring Kaveh’s vision. The distraction, as stupid as it is, buys the team the precious time needed to charge the Candle. Dendro energy ripples out and catches the base of the tree where the orb hangs. Another energy ripple kills it completely and like its brethren, it quickly shrivels into nothing.
“Alhaitham!”
The dust settles and Kaveh rushes towards the teenager. He drops to the ground and helps him sit up with shaking hands. “Are you hurt? Did it get you? Let me see your legs. Oh, you stupid, stupid boy! What were you thinking?”
He’s digging through Alhaitham’s pocket to grab a health potion when the kid stops him.
“I’m fine, Kaveh! See? I’m not hurt at all! I was just a little winded.” Alhaitham is a little dirty, but sure enough, he’s unharmed. He’s also grinning like a madman. “More importantly, I think I know how we can help!”
Kaveh squawks. “Oh, if you think there’s a ‘we’ after the stunt you just pulled, then you have another thing coming, young man!”
Alhaitham makes a face. “I’m not a kid, Kaveh, and stop trying to sound like Grandma! But listen! Those red things are slowing the Aranara down, right? So why don’t we distract them? We just keep throwing things at them and hiding behind something so that we don’t get hit!”
“That’s—that’s crazy risky!”
“Not if you and I take turns attacking! I can throw rocks, and you can use your Seed Bullets. If we keep it distracted enough, it won’t know where to aim properly!”
From the corner of his eyes, he sees the Aranara struggling with keeping the Candles going. It’s evident their energy is flagging from the way the flower and leaf stalks on their heads are starting to droop. They’re running out of time.
“My Shield can take one more hit. I’ll need to wait before I can use it again afterward,” Kaveh says, getting up, then holding his hand up to pull Alhaitham to his feet. “The moment it shatters, we’re stopping this plan and we’re hiding, got it?”
Alhaitham nods. “Let’s go!”
They split up but stay within a dozen feet of each other as they settle into their hiding spots behind thick tree trunks. Alhaitham scoops up another rock as Kaveh moves the Shield to him. The teenager waits, then winds his arm back and watches it as the orb glows brighter and brighter until it’s practically glowing neon red.
“Now!”
He sends the rock flying. It hits the orb and the neon red splutters out, but it grows angry red a beat later.
“Seed Bullet!”
A bullet hits the orb again, and the red dulls. Alhaitham immediately grabs a rock, sprints to another tree, and chucks it.
It reminds Kaveh of a game of whack-a-mole with him and Alhaitham being the unfortunate moles. Instead of a hammer bopping their heads, a split-second delay may end with them being blasted to smithereens. But terrifying mental image aside, the plan is…working. They tag team at keeping the orb distracted long enough for the Candle to finish it off. On occasion, they would mistime their hits but the tree trunks are acting as effective shields to the point where Kaveh’s own Shield remains standing.
Another orb goes down. They dash to the next orb and help take that one out. They move on to the next target afterward.
“The Corruption Level is currently at 42%. Keep up the good work!”
“How are you holding up, ‘Haitham?” Kaveh calls from his new hiding spot. “Your arm doing okay?”
“Getting sore, but I got this.” Alhaitham pulls out a small blue vial of the health potion and takes a sip. “This would’ve been a lot easier if I could just hit it with my sword!”
“That’s an awful idea, kiddo!”
“Kavaka Kaveh is right!” Arama warns, evidently close enough to hear them. “Only those specially blessed can withstand entering the Marana-infected zones!”
‘So don’t even think about it’ goes unsaid but is heard loud and clear.
“How are you holding, Arama?” Alhaitham calls out amidst Alhaitham’s grumblings of, “Don’t call me a kiddo”. “Are you doing alright?”
“Arama is doing fine! There are three more of those bad branches to destroy before the Marana Tumors reveal themselves!"
The Marana Tumors or the Withering Tumors. Those are probably located in the bulbs of those menacingly tall and scraggly blooming flowers.
Kaveh fires another bullet and ducks behind the tree when he gets blasted. “How do we defeat the Tumors?”
“Normally, the Candles would be enough, but the Marana is strong here. The Aranara will need to summon stone locks to seal the Tumors before the Candles can burn the bad energy out!”
Suddenly, Kaveh gets why the penalty for failure is losing 25% of the Aranara population. It’s obviously taking the Aranara a lot of energy to set up this many Candles let alone the extra locks. Without Kaveh and Alhaitham’s help, they’d probably have to burn even more energy to contain the Super Withering Zone, leaving many without the strength to defend themselves. They’d probably become nothing but sitting ducks on the field.
No, now’s not the time for doom and gloom, Kaveh thinks, and sends a bullet flying. We’re going to make sure that reality doesn’t happen! Not on our watch!
More orbs go down. Alhaitham and Kaveh run to the trees closest to the next orb and duck behind them.
“I think we’re down to our last orb,” Kaveh says to Alhaitham after he dodges a fresh blast of angry power. All the Aranara have gathered around the Candle so the Dendro energy is quickly spreading. “Almost done, any minute now!”
“Just one more hit!” Alhaitham says before leaning over and whipping the rock at the orb.
This proves to be excellent timing. The distraction gives just enough time for the rings of Dendro energy to lap against the tree where the last orb sits. Before the orb can charge up its next attack, another blast of Dendro energy hits the tree. The angry red sphere deflates. The outer skin wrinkles, then the orb collapses into itself, shrivelling more aggressively to become a dried, scraggly husk. The next wash of green sends it off the tree, where it shatters into black shards before disappearing into smoke.
“Congratulations. The Corruption Level is currently at 20%. All the Withering Branches have been destroyed.”
“The branches are cleansed!” One of the Aranara cheers as the rest of his brethren join him. “The Marana is weakened! We are safe from attacks for the time being!”
“Kavaka Kaveh! Silver Nara!”
Kaveh dispels his Shield, and he leaves with Alhaitham to head towards where all the Aranara are gathered. Arama is rushing up to them with clear panic. Despite the slight droopiness from the yellow petals on his head, he seems spirited enough.
“This Arama is so relieved! You were not hurt, right?”
Alhaitham shakes his head. “We’re fine, Arama. See? Not even a single cut or bruise!”
Arama holds his chest and sighs. “Good. Good!”
Then, he perks up, his flower petals spinning quickly in agitation.
“That was dangerous! Neither Kavaka Kaveh nor Silver Nara has been granted any special blessings, and yet, they purposefully come near the Marana field and make themselves targets! That was—that was—bad! Very, very bad! Bad Kavaka! Bad Nara!”
Kaveh suddenly knows what Alhaitham feels like whenever he nags at him. “Ah…sorry for making you worried, Arama.”
“Yeah, we’re sorry. We just wanted to help.”
“We also made sure we were safe, too!” Kaveh adds, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Alhaitham has some health potions, and I have a shield. We were keeping our distance. We weren’t completely reckless.”
The flower petals spin even quicker. “Not completely reckless is still reckless!”
Araja steps forward from the crowd. “They were of great help, Arama. It would have taken us much longer for the Candles to work otherwise, and who knows how many more Aranara would be injured. Still, Arama is not wrong. Kavaka Kaveh, Silver Nara, this must not be a frequent occurrence.”
Getting chastised by what feels like a gentle grandfather feels even worse. Kaveh nods sheepishly. “We won’t, Araja. Sorry.”
“Yeah, we’re sorry.”
“Good.” Araja turns to the Aranara. “Those with enough energy start building the stone locks for the Marana Tumor on the left. The ones who are hurt or too tired to work should rest and recover. We will need your help for the second set of locks.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Kaveh offers while the Aranara neatly group themselves into different teams once more. “I’ve still got plenty of energy left.”
“Please keep an eye on the Candles,” Araja answers. “They should have enough energy to work at the moment, but if one stops working, feed it with more Dendro energy.”
“This Arama will help Kavaka Kaveh and Silver Nara.”
“Oh! I have some extra healing potions!” Alhaitham says. He fishes through his pocket and pulls out two small blue vials. “Please take them.”
Araja accepts the offer with a little bow and heads to the Aranara cluster, who look the most injured.
With the Candles doing their jobs, the Withering Zone has shrunk considerably, leaving only a small patch of dead land containing the two Tumors. As the Aramara summon stone mounds from the earth and infuse them with Dendro powers, Kaveh, Alhaitham, and Arama make their rounds of the perimeter.
“Araja is right,” Arama says, “Though this Arama was worried, Kavaka Kaveh and Silver Nara’s efforts greatly helped with the cleansing. Arama supposes that it is good for Kavaka Kaveh and Silver Nara to witness what a Marana field looks like. They will know how to keep themselves safe when they run into another one. This is especially true when they go to school and are away from Arama.”
Alhaitham frowns. “Why do you think we’ll run into one? Are there more Withering Zones spawning? What about powerful ones like this zone?”
Arama nods grimly. “This Arama does not wish to alarm either of you, but the Aranara have seen Marana fields appearing faster. They are being taken care of quickly thanks to the guard towers, so the situation is under control, but this…” He gestures to the Aranara around the locks, and Kaveh sees Arakati and Arakata among the group. “A Marana field this powerful is worrying. This is the most powerful Marana field this Arama has seen. Araja said he has only seen such zones twice in his long life.”
The three stone mounds pulse with green energy, and three ropes of light shoot up to wrap around the red flower stalk-like vines. A green dome shimmers into existence and covers the entire flower while waves of Dendro energy from the nearby Candles lap at the flower’s base. Slowly, steadily, the menacing red bulging Tumor begins to shrink. The Aranara cheer again and move to the last Tumor to begin more lock-building.
“What happens if another big zone like this appears when we’re away?” Kaveh asks. “We got really lucky today but…”
But what if they’re slower to arrive at the scene? The Corruption Level was at 72% when they showed up. There has to be a faster way to destroy those things before they reach a Corruption Level of 100%.
“Arama, what if we attack the branches directly the next time we try to destroy the Withering Zone? Wouldn’t things go much faster than charging the Candles?”
Arama nods. “That would be the fastest way, yes, but it would need attacks made with Dendro energy. Further, this would require the attacker to be close enough to the branches to strike, and only the blessed ones can enter the Marana field unscathed from corruption.”
Alhaitham blinks. “What does blessed mean? Like a Vision Holder?”
Arama nods again. “Yes! What you call a Vision Holder is what we Aranara call blessed. They can enter the Marana fields. A Dendro-Vision Holder would be ideal since they can wield Dendro energy to directly attack the branches and the tumors. However, with this kind of aggressive attacks, this Arama suspects that the Marana would retaliate fiercely with more than just red blasts. It might summon monsters to attack the Vision Holder.”
“I see, I see,” Kaveh murmurs with a little nod. “Right. Can we back up a little first? What’s a Vision and how does one become a Vision Holder?” Come to think of it, he’s heard that term before too but he never got around to asking what it actually means. Now’s a good time to ask, right?
But Arama and Alhaitham are giving him looks filled with pure incredulity. It makes him feel a touch defensive. “What? Is something wrong with my question? Did I ask something that was supposed to be common sense or something?”
System, he calls in his mind for good measure. What’s a Vision Holder?
A window opens and it reads: “…(－‸ლ)”
Then, “Right. User Kaveh has spent his extensive gameplay hours on building the village and knows close to nothing about the lore of this world. What is surprising is that five years later, there remain defects in his reservoir for such common-sense knowledge.”
Oy! Don’t just insult me! Tell me the answer!
Meanwhile, Alhaitham is shaking his head. “Sometimes, I forget that Kaveh is a Fungus,” he says cryptically. “It’s okay, Arama. I’ll explain when we get back.”
They stay around until the Tumors are fully dissolved and the last of the dead land is washed away with new life. For his trouble, the System awards Kaveh a generous amount of EXP and skill upgrades.
“Main Mission Update. The objective to ‘Help Protagonist Alhaitham take his first step into his role as the hero, and etc.’ has now been completed. Congratulations. Please stand by for the next objective for ‘A Hero’s Journey’.”
Please stand by? Stand by for what, though?
“The objective will be revealed after you have arrived to Sumeru City. Please keep up your hard work!”
With the System remaining silent, Kaveh turns his attention back outwards. Apparently, during the brief moment that he had zoned out, both him and Alhaitham got invites to the Aranara village by Araja. Unfortunately, they will have to decline.
“We’re only supposed to be on break for the afternoon,” Kaveh explains, his tone apologetic. “We have someone waiting for us back in the, uh, Nara village, so we should head back. But we promise to come back for a visit in the future!”
“We will make sure to treat you to some lovely food,” Araja promises. “Take care, Kavaka Kaveh, Silver Nara!”
“You should go back and rest too Arama,” Alhaitham says as the Aranara begin to return home. “You used up a lot of energy today. We’ll see you in a few days at our usual spot.”
Arama nods. The flower on his head is drooping to the point where it looks completely flopped over like a bucket hat. “Arama is going to take a nap. See you later, friends!”
Goodbyes said, Kaveh and Alhaitham activate a nearby Silapna and return to the village. As they head down the dirt road, they stop for Alhaitham to fix Kaveh’s hair, which has become unruly from the fight.
It’s also giving Kaveh the time to think. He clears his throat lightly. “I, um, think that maybe we shouldn’t tell Grandma Amani about our adventures today. I don’t think she’ll ever let us outside again if she knows we were near a Withering Zone.”
“Agreed. We shall say nothing about this to Grandma.”
More silence. Then: “But what we did with the Seed Bullet and the rock was really cool though, Kaveh. I think next time, we can do this using easier methods like Plant Manipulation. You can summon several vines and do ‘Shotput’! You just need to practice your aim better, but if you get good, we’ll have an automated stone-throwing system set up!”
Kaveh groans and facepalms. This is exactly what he’s been afraid of. “No, Alhaitham. No. We’re not automating the stone-throwing! There will be no next time if we can help it!”
Famous last words.
Notes:
Will Alhaitham's clinginess die down? Will Kaveh get to have some peace and quiet in his life? Will the System finally gets a user who actually wants to complete the Main Mission with more than just the bare-bones enthusiasm? Will Alhaitham and Kaveh actually make it to the Akademiya without being severely injured? Find out next time, on Dragon Ball--
I can't believe I forgot to plug my socials! If you want to see what other fandom projects I'm up to, you can follow me on:
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Chapter 9
Notes:
I am back with more charming fungus content ft. our favourite pretty pretty princess Kaveh hahaha. Hope you'll enjoy the chapter~
Updated with a beta and cleaned up version. Thank you, Kourt for the beta work!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part XIII. The Last Days of Summer Holiday
Despite the achievement of cleansing the Super Withering Zone, Kaveh and Alhaitham carefully keep quiet and resume their work on their Akademiya essays. There is no way that they can let Amani know, not unless they want to be grounded for the rest of eternity.
Alhaitham does, however, rat him out to Amani on his lack of knowledge about Visions. A Vision must be something deeply important because Amani proceeds to drop what she’s doing (folding the laundry) to educate him straight away.
They settle in the library with Amani sitting by the desk, surrounded by books while Kaveh and Alhaitham make themselves comfortable on the rug. Amani begins her crash course, using the pictures from her books to further her explanation. Throughout the lesson, Alhaitham, who’s familiar with the topic already, quietly works on combing and braiding Kaveh’s messy hair.
“So, a Vision allows people to wield elemental energy from the gods? Wow,” Kaveh says, eyes wide, when Amani finishes explaining. “I didn’t know that people can just wield elemental energy without an instrument.” Although now that he thinks about it, when he was back in his Fungus form and was chased by kidnappers, didn’t one of them use some sort of fire spell on him? Maybe she was a Vision holder too.
Still, he complains to the System for not giving him a heads up on this.
System, you didn’t tell me about Visions and stuff! Since when has this been part of the lore??
A familiar chiming noise sounds out.
“Since forever, User Kaveh! The fact that extraordinary people are granted a piece of divine power is a fundamental piece of this world you now live in! How has it taken this long for you to realize?”
I don’t know! Nobody in town has a Vision!
“The Main Character Alhaitham is a future Vision Holder! There is official art of this character everywhere in your old world!”
I’ve never seen what he looks like, remember? Besides, I literally downloaded the game based on the screenshots of the cool town-building features!
“…”
He turns his attention back to Amani. “How do people get Visions?”
“Through the gods’ blessings,” she answers. “It’s believed that a Vision represents a person’s ambition so it manifests when a person, despite all odds, strives to continue their objectives. Based on those objectives, different types of Visions are provided. Dendro Visions are normally granted when the objectives are related to the relentless pursuit of great knowledge.”
“But how can the gods tell when the person has struggled enough to warrant a Vision?” Kaveh asks. “Is there some sort of an, uh, ambition threshold that a person has to meet? Or maybe a triggering event with a quantifiable limit, like a score on a written test?”
Amani chuckles. “You’re asking questions like a true scholar. Unfortunately, no one knows the answer. It seems that since Visions are granted by the gods, only they know the exact criteria for gifting one.” She reaches over and pats his head. “Luckily, you are a Dendro elemental being so you don’t need a Vision to use your powers. But, this topic brings up a point I’ve been meaning to raise with you.”
“What is it?”
“You may need to rely on your Dendro powers when you’re in Sumeru City. You should have a Vision on hand to justify how you can wield this power.”
Kaveh frowns, confused. “But if we don’t know how the gods grant people their Visions, how do I get one of my own?”
“We get a fake one?” Alhaitham chimes in with his guess.
“Correct, we’ll get a fake one,” Amani answers. “People tend to produce prop Visions for theatre productions and plays. The countries famed for their thriving theater scenes would have plenty of people making those—Fontaine, Liyue, and Mondstadt would be the best options, and they’re also our neighbours.”
Hey, System. I didn’t know our country—uh, Sumeru, was it?—was landlocked. How many countries are there around us?
He hears a little chiming sound. “You are currently in Sumeru, that is correct. Sumeru is not a landlocked country; it is sandwiched between a northern sea and the southern ocean. Directly to the east is the nation of Liyue, with which Sumeru shares a land border. Further to the northeast is the nation of Mondstadt, and to the northwest is the nation of Fontaine. Both Mondstadt and Fontaine are separated by the northern sea. There is another nation to the west with which Sumeru shares a land border, and that nation is called Natlan.”
As the System explains, a new window appears with a rudimentary map of the land. Kaveh has seen different drawings of Sumeru before, but most of the time, they’re isolated to parts of it. Seeing it zoomed out and in connection with the rest of the world really showcases how massive the nation is.
“Among those three countries, isn’t Liyue the closest?” Kaveh asks out loud.
Alhaitham, who is now adding final touches to his braid, like clips and flowers, understands where he’s going. He finishes his thoughts for him: “We should try to get a Vision from Liyue instead of the other two places since it’ll probably be easiest and it can get to us the fastest.”
Amani nods. “I have a few contacts that I can reach out to. We’ll get that counterfeit Vision in no time. I also want to warn that once you’re in the Akademiya, you should try to be discreet about how you can use Dendro powers or that you possess a Vision.”
Alhaitham beats him to the punch with his question. “Why? Isn’t the point of getting Kaveh a Vision so that people will know he can use the power?”
“No, Little Star,” Amani answers, “I wanted Kaveh to get a Vision if, in dire circumstances, he has to use his powers and he’s caught doing that. Then, the Vision will be helpful to explain things. However, a Vision is also a sign of the gods’ favour, and the Akademiya is full of ambitious people constantly seeking validation from the divine. If people know that Kaveh is a Dendro Vision Holder, he may become the target of their jealousy.”
“It sounds like the Vision is going to be a double-edged sword,” Kaveh mutters. “What if I don’t have a Vision and I get caught using Dendro powers?”
Amani grimaces. “You may attract even more attention that way. A human that can use Elemental powers without a Vision is unprecedented.”
“Does that mean Kaveh will be in danger?” Alhaitham asks, his brilliant mind quickly running through the worst-case scenarios. “If Kaveh’s going to be in danger, then I don’t want to go to the Akademiya anymore! Kaveh, I don’t think you should go either!”
A new System’s notification suddenly pops up.
“Warning! Alhaitham’s Akademiya attendance is a mandatory prerequisite to complete the Main Mission!”
That’s enough to give Kaveh a minor heart attack. “Hang on!” He says quickly. “We shouldn’t give up on the Akademiya just like that! Grandmother is just worried and wants us to be prepared. The chances for any of that happening are low!”
When Alhaitham’s stubborn frown does not let up, he says, “C’mon, ‘Haitham, it’s not like I don’t know how to be discreet! Nobody’s caught me using Dendro powers ever, so I doubt that will change when we’re at school. I just don’t want to give up on learning how to be an architect for such a small risk!”
Alhaitham sighs. “…Fine,” he mutters. “We’ll just have to be extra careful. But the moment that people are mean to you, we’re going!”
“Why should we quit just because people are mean to us?” Kaveh retorts. “We should get even and make them quit instead!”
That answer gives Alhaitham a pause. “Hm. That’s a good point. Alright, if they’re ever mean to you, we’ll pay them back by five—no, tenfold!”
“You as well, ‘Haitham! If people are mean to you, then they’ll also get what’s coming!”
“As much as it warms my heart to hear your vows for vengeance, perhaps you should focus on finishing your essays first,” Amani says, coughing a little to hide her laughter.
Luckily for them, they don’t have much left to finish, and with the remaining time on their schedule, they make their final edits on their papers and submit their applications. Kaveh gets his fake Vision from Amani’s contact shortly after. The Vision is exactly like the pictures Amani showed him—a green glass dome with the symbol of the Dendro element shimmering in the middle. The dome is held in an eye-catching silver leaf-shaped metal casing with a clip on the back to conveniently wear (and show off) the Vision on clothing.
Kaveh does not show it off. After observing it for a bit, he takes the Vision and promptly shoves it into the inner pocket of his tunic where it remains nice and hidden at all times. He does, however, show it to Arama the next time they all meet at their clubhouse in the glade to practice some more offensive and defensive manoeuvres.
“It is a very good mimic,” Arama nods. “Very shiny, even if there are no blessings emanating from it. Pretty and smooth like the morning dew on a Silapna’s leaves.”
“We just need it to be realistic enough to fool those who catch me using my powers. We don’t need it to emanate any power,” Kaveh explains, tucking the Vision back into his pocket. “Hopefully, the Vision won’t need to see the light of day while I’m at the Akademiya, assuming that I make it, of course.”
Alhaitham, who’s been practicing his sword moves, stops to frown at him. “Of course, you’re going to make it. I read your essay and it’s really, really, really good! They would be idiots if they didn’t accept you!”
Kaveh grins. “Thank you, ‘Haitham. I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
After a few more practice rounds, they take a break to relax by the stream. As they settle into their lounge chairs with snacks and drinks, their conversation shifts to the Aranara’s continuing efforts to keep the land safe from the Withering.
“We have not come across another incident where Marana’s effects are as strong as what you two have experienced,” Arama reports between bites of his apple slices. “There are other Marana incidents, but they are being easily contained. Kavaka Kaveh and Silver Nara need not worry!”
Kaveh, who’s been keeping track of the Withering Zone counter, can see how the numbers have continued to go down steadily, so he knows Arama is telling the truth. But this moment of safety feels like the calm before the storm, when his countdown until Aranara village’s destruction has not paused. He eyes his Main Mission status blazoned on the System Window discreetly.
“Main Mission: Save the Aranara village in progress. User has 2 years and 9 months until the first Withering Event.”
The countdown is something that keeps him up at night. Although he’s done as much research and preparation as he can before this event, has he done enough? Will he find what he needs in the Akademiya to be the key to preventing this first Withering Event? What if neither he nor Alhaitham find what they’re looking for? What if they’re stuck at the Akademiya when disaster strikes?
“We should think about setting up some sort of a road that can connect us from Sumeru City to the Aranara village,” Kaveh mutters, pausing to take a sip out of his drink before continuing: “I don’t like how we’re so far away from everything. I want to be able to get back home if anything happens.”
“There are Silapnas nearby,” Arama answers. “With your special token, you can get home easily. This is how this Arama can come to the city to visit Kavaka Kaveh and Silver Nara!”
“We’ll have to plan a meeting spot,” Alhaitham says. He’s also devoured his own plate of cookies and is shamelessly reaching over to Kaveh’s to steal from him. “Somewhere just outside the city, so we can grab you and smuggle you inside.”
Kaveh nods. “We have that picnic basket! We’ll just keep using it. Plan ‘Sleeping Potato’ hasn’t failed us yet!”
Plan ‘Sleeping Potato’ is, of course, named after the particular threat the Hunter attacking them had made five years ago. To date, Kaveh has not heard of anyone threatening to boil an Aranara like a potato like that hunter did, so hat’s off to the creative use of language, he supposes.
Good riddance to them, too, Kaveh thinks. I can only count my lucky stars that I haven’t run into them again!
He can also count himself lucky that the ominous threatening messages about the Heavens watching him have not made their return.
But, despite how annoying it is to have those lingering worries dangling over his head, there’s not much Kaveh can do, especially when there’s something more immediate for him to fret over. It takes the shape of two innocuous-looking letters that Amani received in the mail a week later, with the Akademiya seal stamped proudly on top.
“It looks like your results are in,” Amani says, handing the letters to Kaveh and Alhaitham. “Do you want to open them now or after dinner?”
“Now,” Kaveh answers after sharing a look with Alhaitham. “Better to get this over with.”
A mix of anxiety, nervousness, and excitement bubbles in his stomach as he cracks the seal. He hasn’t felt like this for his academic achievements in his old world, so the sensation is strangely novel. He’s seen classmates react similarly, jumping with joy at the good news of being accepted to some prestigious school while their family members gathered around them in support. With Amani and Alhaitham beside him (Alhaitham feeling none of the tension—he’s already ripped open his envelope and is reading his mail), Kaveh supposes that it’s nice to finally get to experience a bit of normalcy he’s missed out on.
With an encouraging look from Amani, he fishes his letter out and unfolds it.
“‘Dear Mr. Kaveh,’” he reads quietly. “‘Thank you for your submission package to Sumeru’s Akademiya, Teyvat’s most prestigious center of research and academic excellence. Every year, we receive thousands of applications throughout the land from the great prosperous nation of Liyue to’…wow, okay, so is this entire paragraph is just them boasting about how great and influential their school is? What an ego.”
He skips the lengthy introduction filled with useless fluff and continues: “‘Again, we thank you for your submission. Per admission standards, all submissions have been reviewed by a panel of Sumeru’s great academics and Sages to ensure that only the cream of the crop will be accepted’—why is there so much fluff? Just let me know if I got in or not!”
Alhaitham clears his throat. “Skip to the fifth paragraph.”
Kaveh does as he’s told. He can feel his heart pounding loudly in his chest. Argh! Stupid entrance letter! How is it that these academics haven’t structured their letter with the most important information at the beginning, when they expect this format from their applicants’ submissions? What is this hypocrisy? But finally, he gets to the paragraph and begins once more.
“‘After spending much time and effort, we would like to inform you that your application has been approved by the panel. Congratulations on your entrance into the…Akademiya…’”
He rereads the sentence a few times and looks up, eyes wide. “I got in! I—wait, I did get in, right? I didn’t read this wrong? It’s just…there were so many useless paragraphs…”
Amani and Alhaitham are beaming at him even as Amani reaches for the letter to reread it.
“You got in,” she confirms, eyes shining with obvious pride. “You and Little Star. I know you both can do it!”
Alhaitham launches at Kaveh and wraps him in a tight hug and an excited whoop. “You got in!” He cries. This is the most animated Kaveh has seen from his friend. “We got in!”
“Y-yeah! Yeah, we did it!” Kaveh returns the hug and finally lets the excitement flood his body. He gives Alhaitham a hard squeeze. “You got in too! I know you can do it, ‘Haitham!”
Amani joins in and scoops them into her arms. “My boys. We should celebrate this marvellous news!”
The celebration ends up being a village event when news gets out (thanks to Amani’s humble bragging) that her grandson and his friend (who’s practically Amani’s ward) both got accepted to the Akademiya under Amani’s careful tutelage. A few days later, a full-fledged party is in full swing in the town square. A large, colourful tent has been set up, featuring paper lanterns and flower garlands hanging from the ceiling. Rows and rows of tables are carefully laid out in the shade, and a few feet away, outside the tent, is a series of grills and makeshift firepits where lamb, chicken, fish, and beef are slowly roasted in their juices along with the fragrant spices marinating them. In addition to the meat, every family is pitching in with their dishes, so the tables are filled with various rice, fruits, veggies, dips, and breads. A couple of local taverns even agreed to donate some juice, wine, and beer, keeping the partygoers in very good cheer.
Correction: most people are in good cheer. For some reason, the village boys have gathered around Kaveh, looking particularly teary-eyed.
“Kaveh, you’re going to leave us for the Akademiya?” the once-head bully asks. He looks like he’d be clinging onto Kaveh’s sleeve if Alhaitham wasn’t currently plastered to his side, giving everyone a death glare to back off. “Will you come back to visit us?”
“Of course, ‘Haitham and I will come visit. We can’t just leave Amani here by her lonesome,” Kaveh answers. “We’ll be sure to come back during our breaks, right, Alhaitham?”
Alhaitham tightens his grip on Kaveh’s arm and makes a grumpy “hmph” sound. Honestly, that kid really holds a grudge. He can be so stubborn.
The village boys, who are used to Alhaitham’s ways, ignore him and perk up at Kaveh’s answer. One of them answers: “R-really? You have to come back often! It’s not just Ms. Amani who will miss you! We want to see you too!”
Kaveh pats the kid on his head. “That's very sweet, thank you. While we’re gone, be sure to be good for your parents, okay? Stay out of trouble, stay in school, and—oh, are you alright? You’ve gone really red.”
The boy whose head he’s been patting is flushed brightly like a tomato but also looks…strangely giddy. He squeaks out a response but gets jostled out of the way by his friends.
“Quit hogging all of Kaveh’s attention! I want a head pat from him, too! Kaveh, can I get a head pat?”
“Wait, I’m the one who should get it first!” The head honcho retorts. “I was here first!”
“You’re not! You’re only at the front because you shoved your way there! You’re being rude, is what you are!”
“I’m not being rude! I’m being logical!”
“Logical, my rear end!”
“Oh, dear,” Kaveh mutters as the boys break into a fight. “Boys, really, it’s not necessary—”
But Alhaitham is lacing their fingers together and is dragging him away from the kerfuffle before he can say anything else. “Let’s get away before their stupidity infects us, Kaveh,” he grouches. “Besides, we should also get more food. I’m hungry.”
Kaveh’s attention firmly snaps to Alhaitham, the fighting boys out of sight and out of mind. “Again? We just ate! Do you have a pit in your stomach? Where does all the food even go?”
“Hm. I want some lamb. Kaveh should eat some more, too. Grandma says you’re too skinny and you need as much food as you can get before we move to Sumeru City.”
They get another celebration in the Aranara village days before they’re set to move. After Alhaitham’s brave contribution to stopping the Super Withering Zone, the Aranara have become much less skittish around him. Araja even went so far as to take him around the village to see the sights and to greet everyone. Unlike the village party, however, the food is…a lot stranger to the human palate, thanks to the generous and eclectic use of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds mixed in strange combinations. The atmosphere, however, is pleasant and filled with Aranara songs and dance. The scent of flowers and the sound of happy, melodic singing from the Aranara put Kaveh’s soul at ease.
“Good luck on your next big adventure, Kavaka Kaveh and Silver Nara!” Arakata says with Arakati nodding beside him. “We Aranara look forward to your visit so that you may share wondrous stories and wisdom gained from your journey!”
“Kavaka Kaveh is learning to become a better builder, so we will look forward to his new designs,” Arakati adds. “In the meantime, we Aranara will keep watch of the village and your home. Kavaka Kaveh need not fret!”
“Silver Nara too will need to take care of himself! Be safe and no more dangerous trips to Marana fields!”
“I’ll miss you guys, but I’ll be back!” Kaveh promises. “In the meantime, you too should stay out of trouble! If you see any mean monsters, run and hide! I have a lot of watch towers everywhere, and I left a lot of snacks in them, so if you ever need to hunker down somewhere, please use those! I also just installed some more defensive walls near the northwest side of the village too—”
Arama pats him on the leg. “Kavaka Kaveh need not worry. Please focus on your studies instead.”
“Silver Nara, please keep an eye out on Kavaka Kaveh,” Arakata says, throwing Kaveh a look. “Kavaka Kaveh tends to worry a lot. It’s not good for his health. And when he worries, he starts building things without rest…”
Alhaitham laughs at Kaveh’s look of affront. “He does worry a lot! We’ll be sure to keep an eye on each other, and I promise to get him to rest.”
As planned (and with Amani’s blessing), Alhaitham and Kaveh stay the night at Kaveh’s turnip house so that Kaveh can use the time for some last-minute packing. They’re settling comfortably in Kaveh’s bed with Alhaitham combing his long hair into loose waves when Alhaitham speaks.
“Do you think I’ll be able to meet some of Father’s old research partners while we’re in Sumeru City?”
Whatever peace Kaveh feels shatters. He gives Alhaitham a worried look. “‘Haitham…” he warns.
After living with Alhaitham and Amani for so long, it was inevitable for Kaveh to learn snippets about Alhaitham’s late parents. From Amani’s stories, they were both brilliant researchers who graduated top of their classes in the Haravatat Darshan. Alhaitham’s mother decided to put a pause in her career to care for Alhaitham while his father continued to work as the sole breadwinner of the family. Before his death, he was working on a project that required him to make frequent trips into the desert to translate the old murals left behind by an ancient civilization.
Kaveh had been hesitant to learn about Alhaitham’s father. He remembered all too well how Alhaitham’s kidnappers tried to extort Amani for his father’s research notes. And that fun little adventure led to a series of events where he received those cosmic-horror-flavoured threats. So, understandably, Kaveh did not want to touch that subject with a 50-foot-long pole out of sheer self-preservation. Luckily, stories about Alhaitham’s father did not trigger more messages, so after the umpteenth time when his father was brought up in conversation and absolutely nothing happened, Kaveh finally learned to relax.
It helped that Amani was on the same wavelength as Kaveh. She would talk about her son but would not mention a word about his research, probably deeming the notes contained dangerous knowledge, given the kidnapping attempt. Though Kaveh has no proof, he suspects she either got rid of them or hid them somewhere impossible to find. Thank God for that!
Naturally, Alhaitham’s brilliant mind picked up on Amani’s attempts to omit details about his father’s work, and it only made him more curious. He’s smart enough not to bring up the topic after Amani became upset the first time he tried. Now that they’re safely in Kaveh’s home and far away from Amani’s presence, however…
“What?” Alhaitham defends. “I don’t understand why Grandma is so cagey about Father’s work, and you shouldn’t just take her side blindly!”
“I’m not! It's just that you were kidnapped because of those notes, so of course, she’d be worried! I am too!”
“All the more reason to find out more! Ignorance isn’t going to solve anything. It might put us into more danger if we don’t know how to look for the knife in the dark!”
Kaveh shakes his head. “Ignorance has served us pretty well these past five years. Those kidnappers didn’t come back, so why stir up trouble now?” When Alhaitham doesn’t look ready to give up, Kaveh plays his trump card. “Fine, if you truly think that ignorance isn’t going to help, then you should practice what you preach. You have to tell Amani that you’re looking into this topic so she won’t be kept in the dark.”
Alhaitham goes pale. “I-It’s not the same thing!”
Kaveh crosses his arms and cocks his brow. Alhaitham adds, desperately: “Kaveh, she’s going to hate it! She’s going to stop me before I can even start!”
Good. That’s exactly what he’s hoping for. Deeming that Alhaitham is sufficiently cowed, Kaveh softens his tone. “‘Haitham, I don’t think we should be looking into this, not when we’re going to be super busy from school anyway. Besides, we have our big ongoing research project, remember?”
Alhaitham lights up. “The Withering!”
Kaveh nods. “Exactly. We still haven’t found out what’s really causing it and how to stop it permanently. Considering how many people tried to look into this topic but still haven’t found anything substantive, it means we’re going to have our work cut out for us. We’ll need to be all hands on deck to get to the bottom of this mystery.”
They fall into a comfortable silence as Alhaitham resumes combing Kaveh’s hair. At least the other looks calmer and pensive, his defensive attitude gone in the wake of a tasty research topic like the Withering. Kaveh pats himself on the back for the successful distraction.
“Done,” Alhaitham says. He ties Kaveh’s hair in a loose braid with a soft piece of ribbon and carefully moves it to drape over his shoulder. Then, he scoots under the cover and pats the empty spot beside him. “Bedtime.”
“You know, for such a teenager, you sure like to sleep early,” Kaveh mutters, but settles beside Alhaitham. He only shifts slightly to let the other wrap his arms around Kaveh’s body like a koala clinging to a tree. “And so clingy too! Don’t you feel embarrassed sleeping with me?”
“Never,” comes Alhaitham’s muffled voice. He’s got his head buried in Kaveh’s neck, and his body feels loose and warm. “You make the best pillow too so early bedtimes are the best. And you still smell like flowers.”
Good to know that, in addition to being the protagonist’s faithful childhood friend, he’s also secured the position of being the protagonist’s faithful aromatic sleeping pillow. He sighs and pats Alhaitham on the arm.
“You’re going to get too old to sleep with me like this one day.”
He gets a retaliatory squeeze and a grumpy, “Hmph.” Then, silence except for the sound of soft breathing.
Kaveh bites back his chuckle. Alhaitham always sleeps so easily. It’s amazing how he can be out like a light in seconds. He hopes that his little protagonist will continue to live a life where he can sleep like this without a care in the world.
With those wistful words, Kaveh drifts off and follows Alhaitham to sleep.
Part XIV. Making New Friends
It takes a week for Kaveh, Alhaitham, Amani, and Arama (using the ever-trusty plan ‘Sleeping Potato’) to travel to Sumeru City. Although travelling by Silapna would be a lot faster (Arama vouches that it would probably take around a day), the Dream Land does not have paved roads. It’s covered with vines and twisting narrow paths, making it an unsuitable option when they’re trudging along with two Sumpter Beasts carrying their luggage.
So, they’re choosing the slow way to get to the city, making pit stops along the road whenever they stop for a break and a bite to eat. Out of safety, Amani opts for the larger roads, which have the added advantage of having snack stalls, coffee shops, quaint taverns, and little inns being easily accessible.
This is also the first time Kaveh is travelling around the country outside of the dense jungle and rolling hills of the lush Sumeru wilderness. He’s seeing so many more building designs than the familiar houses from Alhaitham’s village or the turnip houses of the Aranara’s abode. What particular style is especially popular in these lands becomes evident: the people enjoy elegant curves that mimic the curvature of soft petals and green leaves, mixed with pretty saddled roofs and dramatic arches with dainty pointed tips. It is sophisticated and draws its influence heavily from nature.
However, the further they travel, the more simplified the style becomes despite the luxurious materials used. In the village, most houses are made of wood with a stone base topped with clay-tiled or thatched roofing. The doors are made of wood and woven leaf screens tied together with thick twine. The nicer houses, like Alhaitham’s, have the added luxury of arched stained glass windows. Though the materials are overall rustic, every little design from the door to the window sills is considered and crafted with great care.
Here, the houses are constructed with ivory stone that gleams in bright sunlight like marble. The roofs are also made of jade-like tiles, the shade of green complementary with the green and yellow glass panes in the arched windows. Though clearly expensive-looking, the buildings also possess a starker, more clinical aesthetic compared to their brethren from the village.
“They’re very symmetrical,” Kaveh mutters out loud after staring at one such building. “It’s a perfect elliptical shape. And it also looks identical to all of its neighbours.”
The houses are—and Kaveh loathes to admit it—rather boring to look at. Not even the more interesting windows are saving the design; the glass stain patterns and colours are identical across all the houses. The buildings remind Kaveh of those cookie-cutter houses that line the cul-de-sac in North America; the generic four-bedroom, two-bath, single-garage homes that are copied and pasted across grid after grid of land. Not that Kaveh could have afforded a property like that when he was alive, but ridiculous house prices or not, his observation stands. Those houses were devoid of character or whimsy, just like these ones.
“Why are you frowning at the building, Kaveh?”
Kaveh turns to Alhaitham, who’s leaned close to him to watch his expression. He’s also holding the picnic basket with Arama inside. Although he’s tucked comfortably under a thick blanket, Kaveh can see how the Aranara is peering up at him.
“Hey ‘Haitham, hey Arama.” Kaveh gestures to the house and the one right beside it. “Don’t you think the houses here are kinda boring? I guess I was expecting more fun design elements from houses that clearly look expensive to make. Where’s the aesthetic? Where’s the personality? Why are they so plain and oblong like an unseasoned sausage?”
Alhaitham coughs into his fist. “You haven’t even started your classes yet, and you’re already critiquing.”
“You don’t need classes to recognize that something is objectively bland, ‘Haitham.”
“This Arama hasn’t been to the city in a long while, but I recall that a lot of the homes are tall and made with white stones like these,” the Aranara chimes in. “They’re very straight and smooth without any blemishes. Different parts of the city also share the same colours. Yellows and greens and browns near the outside, greens and whites near the water, reds and browns are the buildings for the Red Naras, and at the center, atop the Great Tree sits a large castle in blues, whites, and golds.”
“Huh. Sumeru City is divided into districts like that?” Also, what is this, Hogwarts? What’s with the specific colour schemes?
“I guess the white, blue, and gold castle is the Akademiya,” Alhaitham muses. “Grandma did say that the Akademiya is the jewel of Sumeru, so it probably looks very grandiose.”
The blanket in the picnic basket shifts. Kaveh gets the impression that Arama is shrugging. “Arama does not know whether the building looks grandiose as Silver Nara says, but the building looms over the city in a very flashy manner. I prefer our cozy radish homes in the village.”
“From the sounds of it, I just might agree with you, Arama,” Kaveh answers, though he’s sure that the Akademiya will probably look much more impressive than the sausage houses in front of him.
“Let’s park your criticisms for now. Grandma was looking for you,” Alhaitham says. He takes Kaveh’s hand and tugs him towards the boring house. “We got a room just now so let’s get our stuff sorted and grab dinner.”
Dinner is in a small restaurant beside the inn in an identical, bland-looking building. The inside, however, is very cozy with tapestries hung on the walls and draped on wooden floors, giving the space a much-needed splash of colour. They’ve settled at the table, waiting for their food, when they see two more groups appear: a middle-aged man accompanied by his son, who has long, shaggy silver hair that covers half of his face, and another family with—
Kaveh does a double-take. Are those fox ears and bushy fox tails? The parents and the son all have them. Are they a family of enlightened spirits like Kaveh is?
He hears the System’s chime.
“You have encountered two new characters! Your records have been updated to include information on Character Cyno and Character Tighnari!”
It’s been a while since his Character List got updated to include someone new. These two characters must be important to the story, but the question is, which one is Cyno and which one is Tighnari?
“Oh, they look like they’re travelling to Sumeru City as well,” Amani says, catching sight of the newcomers. “Maybe those two boys also got into the Akademiya. Wouldn’t it be nice for you to make friends with them, Little Star?”
Alhaitham, who’s pulled up a book to read, merely shrugs. He’s clearly not interested. Amani gives Kaveh a pleading look instead.
Looks like it’s up to him to make the effort to get Alhaitham to be sociable once again. He draws on whatever charm he can muster and smiles brightly at the two families when they grab the tables beside theirs.
“Hello!” he chirps. “Are you travelling to Sumeru City too? We’re heading to the Akademiya!”
Kaveh has learned that most adults cannot help but be charmed by his presence, especially because of his blond hair and baby face. If he smiles politely and speaks sweetly, he can get people to indulge him a little.
The parents are no exception. They perk up immediately. “Oh! Are you new scholars?” The silver-haired boy’s father asks. “Congratulations on getting in! My boy Cyno here is also starting this year. He’ll be in Spantamad.”
“So is our little Tighnari,” the man with the fox ears says. “He’ll be joining the Amurta Darshan. We couldn’t be any more proud.”
“Amurta! Oh, that’s a good one. My late husband was a sage for that department,” Amani says. She pets Alhaitham’s head. “This here is my grandson, Alhaitham. He didn’t take after my husband but he got into Haravatat. And Kaveh here,” she says, patting Kaveh’s head, “is my ward. He’s a little architect in the making and will be starting his studies in Kshahrewar.”
“Your late husband was a sage of Amurta?” The fox woman asks. “Oh, my husband and I graduated from Amurta! Which classes did he teach?”
Naturally, the parents gather to chat and humble-brag about their respective children. This leaves Kaveh, Alhaitham, and the two new kids—Cyno and Tighnari—alone to cluster together (the parents have the same thought as Amani did and have physically pushed them closer so that they can become friends). Now that he’s gotten a closer look, Kaveh can tell that both Cyno and Tighnari are probably around the same age as Alhaitham, if not a year younger.
They’re also rather shy, and when it looks like nobody will say anything anytime soon, Kaveh clears his throat and sticks out his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you! I’m Kaveh, and this is Alhaitham. ‘Haitham, put down your book and say hi!”
Alhaitham looks up, glances at the two, and makes a “hm” sound before going back to his reading. Kaveh grimaces.
“Sorry. ‘Haitham likes his books a lot, and he’s not really good with people.”
“I don’t mind,” the silver-haired kid—Cyno—answers. He returns Kaveh’s handshake. “A good book is hard to put down, and Professor said I’m not good with people either, so…”
“I like animals more than I like books,” the fox-kid—Tighnari—admits. “But I like books more than I like people.”
…Wow. These kids are all a bunch of introverted dorks. Suddenly, Kaveh understands all too well why the parents are so desperate to get them together.
“It’s not like you like people all that much either, Kaveh,” Alhaitham interjects without putting his book down. “You like to build things more than anything else. If we leave you alone, you can continue building for days.”
Cyno and Tighnari snicker while Kaveh clicks his tongue in disapproval. That cheeky little shit!
“What did you build, Kaveh?” Tighnari asks. “You must have made a lot of really neat things to get into Kshahrewar.”
“Funny enough, the entrance exam didn’t ask us about what we built. It asked us to explain the relationship between design and function. But, uh, I built houses, decks, patios, tree houses, and watchtowers. Lots and lots of those too!”
His pride feels much better at the oohs and ahhs he gets in response. Incentivized by the praises, Kaveh takes out his notebook full of sketches and shows them off.
“I like how round your houses are. And they all look so different and fun too!” Cyno says, quickly establishing himself as Kaveh’s favourite. “They look like they’re made of different kinds of giant carrots and radishes. They’re really neat.”
“They look like places the Aranara would live in!” Tighnari adds. His tail is swishing with excitement. “You can find little houses like those in the forests! Mom and Dad showed me a few before. The Dendro energy around those houses always attracts the best animals and insects, too!”
“Good eye,” Kaveh praises. “Those houses are for the Aranara! They’re technically made from the roots of giant padmas—uh, lily flowers. They take at least a hundred years to get to a size big enough to live in.”
The tail wags become more enthusiastic. “Have you seen the Aranara, Kaveh? Mom and Dad said they’re really, really shy and they like to hide from people. I’ve never seen them before, but sometimes when I’m in the forest, I hear singing and little footsteps behind me that only stop when I turn around.”
“I thought the Aranara only existed in legends,” Cyno says, frowning a little.
Kaveh glances at the picnic basket on the table where Arama is hiding. Probably best not to reveal his existence. “They’re real,” he answers instead. “And you’re right, Tighnari. They’re super shy. I’ve seen them before. So did ‘Haitham. Their goal is to take care of the forest so make sure to be extra nice to them!”
Cyno and Tighnari turn out to be surprisingly chatty despite their initial impression. Talking about nature has gotten Tighnari out of his shell completely and when the conversation shifts to other hobbies, it’s Cyno’s time to shine. That kid is super into a card game that reminds Kaveh of knock-off Pokémon. He’s got a binder filled with rare collectibles too.
“And this,” he says, pointing to a sparkly card of a large tree clinging on to a dramatic cliff with a busy wharf at the bottom, “is my second favourite. It’s Sumeru City!”
Kaveh leans closer to see if he can spot the Akademiya. Sure enough, a large building in blues, whites, and gold is nestled in the tree branches. It’s got an impressive domed roof and lots of turrets. Definitely giving Hogwarts vibes, but less spooky and more ‘Disney castle’.
Now that he thinks about it, were the creators of this game just blatantly copying from existing IPs? First, there’s the town-building aspect that’s clearly inspired by the Sims. Then, there’s the Hogwarts houses, and now, Pokémon trading cards? Is nothing sacred?
“If that’s your second favourite card, then what’s your most favourite?” Tighnari asks.
Cyno flips through his binder. “This one!”
He points to a golden card with a large pyramid sitting atop an endless desert. Kaveh reads the description under the image.
“King Deshret’s Tomb. The resting place of the Red King, the once ruler of the vast desert.”
Wait. The Red King? Why does that sound so familiar?
“Status Update!” the System suddenly chimes out, nearly giving Kaveh a heart attack. “Side-Quest: Case of the Cavorting Kidnappers (1). You and your companions have discovered more information about the Red King! Your progress has been raised from 12% to 15%!”
What the actual fuck, System? Isn’t that the side-quest with the creepy messages? Abort! Abort!
“User is reminded once again that functions such as ‘abort’ or ‘undo’ do not exist. Yelling will not help either. On a separate note, did you receive a creepy message just now?”
…Okay, I didn’t but still, how is this fair? Didn’t I just learn a random piece of world lore? What’s that got to do with those kidnappers?
“Unfortunately, I cannot offer clarification since it is categorized as a major spoiler. However, I should note that you just received another status update. The Side-Quest: Case of the Cavorting Kidnappers (1) has been raised from 15% to 16% since User has made the connection that the kidnappers are somehow related to King Deshret, the Red King. Congratulations.”
There’s the sound of a little party horn being blown. It mixes nicely with Kaveh’s internal screams of outrage.
“Kaveh, are you okay?”
Alhaitham has put down his book and is leaning close with a comforting hand on his shoulder. Cyno and Tighnari are also looking at him worried.
…Ah, Kaveh doesn’t know what expression he’s wearing, but it can’t be pretty. He tries to force his face into a semblance of a smile but from how Cyno is wincing, he’s probably doing a terrible job.
“Sorry. Just…tired. It just hit me like a charging Sumpter Beast,” he lies. “It’s got nothing to do with you, Cyno. Your card is really cool.”
Cyno and Tighnari relax, but Alhaitham doesn’t buy it. His brow furrows, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s no doubt gathering his thoughts first, and with how smart the kid is, Kaveh’s not sure if he wants to leave Alhaitham alone to make wild assumptions.
“Just got reminded of something,” he answers Alhaitham quietly when Cyno and Tighnari resume chatting. “The kidnappers. They’re from the desert too. I didn’t think about them for years so that surprised me.”
There. He’s technically not lying and hopefully, that answer will allow Alhaitham to think that Kaveh is merely being sensitive.
And it seems like it’s working. Alhaitham gives him one last careful look before nodding slightly. He doesn’t scoot away though, nor does he pick up his book again, instead, moving his hand from Kaveh’s shoulder to lace their fingers together.
“If you are tired, I can talk to them instead,” he mutters back. He clears his voice and speaks up before Kaveh can answer: “So, what are you? Are you a fox or are you a dog?”
Cyno and Tighnari stop talking immediately. Kaveh feels his jaw drop.
“A-Alhaitham!” he hisses, mortified. “Oh my god, you can’t just say it like that! That’s not nice—”
“Valuka Shuna, actually!”
“—thing to say, uh, what?”
“Valuka Shuna!” Tighnari repeats all matter-of-fact. He doesn’t look offended, so there’s that at least. “That’s the name of my race. I think the name comes from the Aranara language, and I’ve been told it means ‘Great Desert Dog’ but after comparing my tail and ears to different dog breeds, I don’t think that’s an accurate description. I think I share the phenotypes of the desert fox more than anything.”
Alhaitham rubs his chin. “Great Desert Dog. That’s fascinating. That means that your ancestors came from the desert, but if that’s the case, why do you have dark fur? That’s not very conducive to living in such a hot environment.”
“Ah, good point! Although my ancestors came from the desert, it’s been hundreds of years since they left it in favour of being in the rainforest. Legend has it that due to the grace of the Dendro Archon, our furs were transformed from a light colour to a darker one, but I believe that the dark fur trait comes from adaptation to the new living environment. The light-coloured fur wouldn’t do well for camouflaging in a darker environment. Also, it’s not as good for heat retention, and the forest tends to be much cooler than the desert. The dark fur, however, means that our heat resistance has greatly diminished. I had the chance to test that hypothesis and it was…disastrous.”
And then, Tighnari launches into a mini explanation about different species of animals adapting to new environmental stress with great gusto while Cyno and Alhaitham listen in rapt attention. Kaveh is left staring at the scene.
This is truly a group of introverted nerd-ass STEM kids with high IQ but low EQ points. Alhaitham with his no-nonsense attitude and blunt words fits right in.
The food arrives, and the group eats with gusto. Kaveh manages to move Arama’s basket to the seat beside him so that he can sneak him some fruits, veggies, and juice more easily. In the noisy restaurant, nobody notices the soft munching sounds emanating from the basket.
Soon, the evening draws to a close as the dishes are cleared and desserts are polished off. As the adults are settling the bill, the suggestion of potentially travelling together comes up, only for the parents to realize that, unfortunately, since they’re making different pit stops before arriving in Sumeru City, that plan is not feasible.
“It’s still been a pleasure, everyone,” Cyno’s (apparently adoptive) father says. “I’m glad the kid knows some people from school now.”
“It’s always better to start the school year surrounded by a few familiar faces,” Tighnari’s mother adds. “Where are your children staying during the school year? Hopefully, the Akademiya has assigned them to a dormitory close to our Tighnari.”
As luck would have it, they’re all staying in the same main building, although they're uncertain whether they will be neighbours since the room numbers are only assigned to the students upon their arrival. What Kaveh does know is that the Akademiya has approved Amani’s request to have him and Alhaitham dorm together, so there’s some comfort in knowing that he won’t have to share his living quarters with a stranger.
“If they’re in the same dormitory, then I’m sure they’ll be able to find each other easily,” Amani says with a pleased smile. “Well, safe travels to you all. I’ll see you in Sumeru City.”
“Bye Cyno, bye Tighnari!” Kaveh waves one last time and heads for their room, followed closely by Alhaitham holding Arama’s basket.
“I saw that you were talking to those boys,” Amani says to Alhaitham once inside the inn with no small amount of pride colouring her voice. “Did you have a good time?”
Alhaitham thinks. After a few seconds, he nods. “They made intelligent observations about their respective fields. Conversing with them was interesting. Cyno and Tighnari both recommended some books for me to read. Clearly, they are a cut above the boys from the village.”
“Such high praises,” Amani says, beaming. She turns to Kaveh. “What did you think of those two boys? Did you like them?”
“I think they’re really sweet and they get along great with ‘Haitham,” comes Kaveh’s more emotionally attuned answer. “I’d like to see them again.”
Amani pats their heads. “With luck, you all might just become good friends.
Notes:
Thank you so much for reading! If you're interested to learn more about other fandom shenanigans that I've been up to, you can follow me on:
Twitter (@iambgtea) and
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Chapter 10
Notes:
I can't believe this fic is this long lololol I mean, I knew that it's going to be lengthy but somehow, I did not anticipate *this* lengthy.
Anyway, please enjoy more Fungus Kaveh content. We're officially entering the School Arc! \o/
[unbeta-ed for now and this chapter, as well as the entire fic, will get stealth edited every now and then!]
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Part XV. The Akademiya
“Woah!” Kaveh says, eyes wide. “So, this is Sumeru City!”
The place is bustling with life—the scent of spice and coffee fills the air mixed with the sound of people chattering as they go about their day-to-day. Little stalls with colourful cloth awnings line side-by-side along the streets, interspersed by restaurants and cafes with charming outdoor seating areas packed to the brim with diners. Flowers and potted plants are used liberally as décor, and their foliage intertwines with lamp posts, crawls up the façade of building walls, and carpets the pockets of space where the stone road does not touch. As the group continues following the path, Kaveh notices how the street slopes up and curves in lazy arcs before forking into smaller roads, its shape not unlike a naked tree branch.
That’s probably a design choice made on purpose, considering the source of its inspiration: the humongous, behemoth of a tree that sits above the cliff, occupying 60% of the city’s space. The sheer presence of the tree is impossible to miss. It’s easily the size of dozens of skyscrapers merged together, with branches that are so thick that they support multiple stone platforms on which even more buildings are built, ones that feature great big turrets with swooping roofs and sturdy limestone. The tree’s canopy stretches outwards to cast cooling shade on the populace below. Occasionally, dappled sunlight would shine through the green leaves, marking the roads with dancing golden spots that would dissipate with the rustling leaves.
The tree is also filled with Dendro energy, and it hums gently in Kaveh’s ears, making him feel warm and relaxed even though he’s not close to its trunk. Kaveh understands how it makes a very powerful symbol to represent the magic and might of Sumeru’s goddess.
Perhaps it is telling regarding how Akademiya views its importance in Sumeru, considering its location then. The large castle is nestled amongst the tree’s most sturdy and central branches, near the top where it can look down on the rest of the city as gods would their worshippers. The building also protrudes proudly from the trunk like a disk that has neatly spliced the tree in half. It makes no attempts to blend in with the bark; instead, its gleaming white stone, rich blue roofing tiles, and golden decorations act as a stark contrast to its surroundings. In any other place, the Akademiya would be considered a beautiful masterpiece with its stunning architecture that reminds Kaveh of the old European churches. However, given that it’s literally embedded in the wood like a tumour, Kaveh just thinks that the structure looks out of place and gaudy as hell.
It's a far cry from his first impression when he had seen the Akademiya’s drawing from Cyno’s trading card. The picture makes the castle look whimsical and charming. How disappointing.
Hey System, Kaveh thinks. What exactly is the Akademiya’s role in Sumeru City anyway? Shouldn’t there be a government to fight them over prime real estate for their buildings?
“A very good question, User Kaveh,” comes the System’s response after the sound of a familiar “ding”. “The Akademiya is more than just the premier center for learning in all of Teyvat and a grand repository for knowledge. The Akademiya also serves as the religious leader for worshipping the Dendro Archon as well as the country’s executive, legislative, and judicial branch.”
Kaveh is not comforted by this revelation at all. Wait, hold up. So, you’re saying that the Akademiya basically holds absolute power in the nation? That seems like a recipe ripe for corruption. At least tell me that there’s some sort of an election process to decide who the head honcho is.
“There is an election process, but that election process is not open to the public. Only the sages and other high-ranking Akademiya members are eligible to vote.”
Oh. How lovely. So, Sumeru is basically an absolute monarchy with extra steps. He adds after looking around some more. Doesn’t this country worship the Dendro Archon?
“Correct. Sumeru is under the Dendro Archon’s protection. Naturally, as the steward of the forest and the goddess of wisdom, her seat of power is Sumeru City.”
And yet there are no churches around these parts. Not even a statue. What the heck is going on?
“Little Star, Kaveh, don’t get distracted. I wouldn’t want you two to get lost,” Amani says as she peers at the instructions from his and Alhaitham’s admittance letters. “We’ll need to find the designated parking area for the Sumpter Beasts first, then we’ll need to get your registration sorted. I think it’s this way.”
“C’mon, Kaveh,” Alhaitham says, tugging him on the arm gently so as not to jostle Arama’s basket in his hold. “We can look around later.”
“Wait, I have a question,” Kaveh says. “Does Sumeru City not worship the Dendro Archon? I’m not seeing any signs of her.”
In the five years of being in Sumeru, Kaveh has come across her statues dotted around the landscape a handful of times. He remembered being struck still the first time he ran into one. First, there was the richness of the Dendro energy that was pulsating from the statue. It was so nice and soothing that he had to stay put to absorb some more. Second, he had been very surprised by the figure depicted on the statue.
The Dendro Archon was seated on a pedestal and shrouded in a veil. She was also…very small? Like child-sized?
Welp, child or no, the Aranara loved her and held a festival in her honour every time the seasons changed. There would be song, dance, and plenty of weird Aranara cooking. The people in Alhaitham’s village were less religious but still had a local shrine of her where offerings were made. Whenever villagers encountered problems that were too big for them to solve, they would visit the shrine and pray hard.
There’s nothing of the sort here in Sumeru City—at least, nothing visible on the outside. Maybe the shrines are kept indoors somewhere?
Amani answers his question. “Sumeru City recognizes the Dendro Archon’s protection, but people are generally a lot less religious here. There’s a popular belief that the Dendro Archon’s powers have greatly diminished with time since nobody has heard her voice or felt her power directly in centuries. Given her lack of presence, the Akademiya has stepped up to the plate to help guide the people to take control of their own fate. One of the common sayings from the Akademiya is: ‘Why trust an unreliable god when you can use your own wisdom to save yourself?’”
He can feel movement from Arama’s basket. Kaveh suspects the Aranara does not like hearing such blasphemy. He gives the basket a few gentle, consoling taps, and follows Amani and Alhaitham quietly as they trek on.
They park their Sumpter Beasts at a stable designated for Akademiya students, first registering their animals with the Corps of Thirty members guarding the place before heading towards the stone bridge winding up the trunk. Colourful banners are hung along the railing featuring six colours and different symbols: the red phoenix, the yellow sandglass with a galloping horse, the blue elephant, the white lion, the black ox, and the green falcon. Amani explains what they mean.
“Those symbols represent the different Darshans. The green one is Amurta. That’s the one that your grandfather was in, Little Star. You will be joining the one with the black bull. That’s the symbol for Haravatat. As for you, Kaveh, you will be joining Kshahrewar, the white lion. I was in that Darshan too.
“Students are required to wear uniforms like what those people are wearing.” She gestures to a group of green and white clad people in berets. “You will also be given special pins with the symbol of your Darshan to wear on your hats. The pins have identifying marks to show what level you belong to. One star means entry-level students. The highest number of stars is six stars for senior students. These identifiers will be helpful later when you’re assigned your yearly research project since they require collaboration with students from the same level as you but from other Darshans. The pins will help you with quickly identifying who is an eligible research partner.”
Alhaitham snorts. “I already have my research partner. Right, Kaveh?”
Kaveh ruffles his hair. Such a clingy child. “Yeah, yeah, ‘Haitham.” He stops when he spots a cluster of older people in different-styled robes walking down the path. Huh. Why do their clothing look familiar? Sure, they have the same cut as the students’ but that’s not what’s nagging at his memory.
“Those are sages and their top research assistants,” Amani says, following his gaze towards the group. “You’ll probably see them teaching your classes or conducting tutorials. The assistants have special pins on their lapels and wear a blue scarf. The sages have laurel leaves on their heads and their clothing features even more blue—like a blue undervest or a blue overcoat. The higher they rank, the more unique their outfits become. Their laurel leaf crown also gets more extravagant.”
The mention of blue tugs at his memory some more but he’s not getting anything beyond just the feelings of déjà vu. He shakes his head. Whatever. He’s sure he’ll make sense of his instincts eventually.
“Grandma, do you know where the registration building is?” Alhaitham asks, peering around at the different stone platforms on the tree.
“Almost there, love. You see that tall building on the platform up front? That’s where we’re going.”
The registration building is teeming with excited people divided into six lines. A long set of tables sit at the front of the line with Akademiya staff managing the paperwork diligently. Between the number of personnel and their efficiency, the line moves quickly and before he knows it, it’s Kaveh’s group’s turn to register.
“Name and Darshan?” the staff member asks.
“Kaveh from Kshahrewar, and Alhaitham from Haravatat,” Amani answers. “We received permission to have these two share the same dorm room.”
The staff skims through the tabs in the box of documents beside him, then neatly plucks out a set of folders. His expression grows noticeably warmer after reading the documents inside. “Ah! Special legacy members! Of course, of course. The Akademiya welcomes you and your family back! How should I make your acquaintance, Madame Sage?”
Amani laughs. “Oh, I’ve been retired for a long time now, but you may call me Amani.”
The staff nods. “Teacher Amani, then.” He hands Kaveh and Alhaitham a green folder with special gold filigree adorning the cover. “These are your information packets. Your dormitory is the Sarouyeh Hall, room 710. We have a special guide on hand to lead you to the building. Would you like to use their service?”
“That won’t be necessary. I know my way around the Akademiya quite well.”
“Of course, Teacher Amani. Of course. In that case, the dormitory is the building to the north with the tall tower, over there,” the staff says, gesturing to the direction of a larger stone platform for Alhaitham and Kaveh. “The packet also has locations to get your uniforms, food recommendations, and a general map of the city. Did you arrive with Sumpter Beasts? I can send someone to help move your items to your room.”
“That would be appreciated, thank you.”
The staff hands Amani a gold envelope and adds, “As special legacy members, you are also cordially invited to a private welcome ceremony later this evening at the Grand Hall for refreshments. We look forward to your attendance.”
“Special legacy members?” Kaveh asks as they walk to their destination. “Grandmother, did you pull some strings to get us to dorm together?”
Amani smirks. “The Akademiya honours those who come from a legacy of high-ranking scholars. I would be an idiot to not take advantage of that especially if it means making sure you and Little Star are treated better. It will make this grandmother feel more at ease.”
Kaveh understands her point, and he suspects that this special legacy member status will open a lot more doors for him and Alhaitham in the future. It’s just, it’s a bit weird to be given the red carpet, nepo-baby treatment after having just learned how the Akademiya is set up to be a corrupt cesspool that also holds absolute power over all matters in the country. But if sages are like nobles then does that mean Alhaitham (and himself by proxy) technically belong to the gentry class? How far does the red carpet go for them?
It turns out, quite far! The red carpet keeps rolling when they arrive at their dorm, and, well, to put it lightly, the building is grand. The building seems to be emerging from the body of the tree itself, with the façade facing outwards featuring the classic Sumeru-Akademiya style with its clean white stones, curved roof that resembles a lotus petal, and windows with colourful stained glass. The building also has more design elements that set it apart from some of the other buildings, such as great roman columns at the entrance supporting a series of dramatically arched entryways, a series of rounded balconies with decorative railings shaped like blooming petals, beautiful mosaic floor tiles, and most noticeably, a grand outdoor chandelier hanging above the main set of double doors. The inside of the building looks just as nice with plush carpets, marble walls, and marble staircases. Rich paintings and expensive vases fill out the empty space.
“I suspect we are placed in the nicest dormitory in Sumeru,” comes Alhaitham’s observation after looking around a bit. Then, demonstrating his impressive one-track mind, he adds, “It’s a lot of unnecessary wasted space. They could have filled it with books.”
“Kiddo, if it were up to you, the entire dorm would be nothing but books,” Kaveh teases. “We’d all be squeezed into little boxes just big enough to lie down for sleep. Everywhere else will be books, books, and more books.”
“I will show you the library after we’re settled in,” Amani promises. “But first, let’s take a look at your dorm room.”
Room 710 is a corner unit at the end of the hallway, and with it comes the added luxury of being larger and more private. The room only has one neighbour beside it; the space directly in front of the door is a wall since it’s probably where the back of the building is pressed flush against the Great Tree’s trunk. The unit has an open layout with the living room, sleeping area, balcony, and small kitchen flowing into each other. The sleeping area is made up of two alcoves that act as bedrooms, each featuring separate beds, a desk, a chair, and bookcases. A thick, privacy curtain can be drawn to close off the spaces. The unit also comes with its own private bathroom with a bathtub.
Beyond the functions of the dorm room, the space is aesthetically beautiful and carries the same grandiose theme as the rest of the building. This translates to more white stones, more swooping arches, and more expensive marble flooring. The room is also very sunny and bright, with the balcony granting them a fantastic view of the city below them.
Man, I really do feel like a princess living in my fantasy castle, Kaveh thinks to the System. Is this how rich people live? Must be nice.
Personally, though, he prefers his cozy, radish home more. There’s just something about the space that lacks soul. Not to worry, Kaveh is sure that he can spruce up the area in no time.
There’s a knock on their door. Amani opens it, and in comes the Eremite movers with their items. They carefully unload their stuff, bow politely, and leave, letting Alhaitham, Kaveh, and Amani unpack in peace. At some point, when the coast is deemed clear, Arama wriggles out from his basket to survey the space.
“Being close to the Great Tree means fresh Dendro energy. It will be good for your health and growth, Kavaka Kaveh,” Arama says with approval after walking around. “If only your home is closer to the nearest Silapna…”
The group had spent some time in the morning finding the closest doorway that would lead them to the Aranara village before entering through the city gates. They spotted three radish portals, but they’re all along the eastern outskirts of the city, which means to get to them, they will need to go down the tree and cut through the busy markets before heading to the edge of town. On foot, it will take about an hour. Not the end of the world but also not ideal.
“It’s okay, we’re only in the dorms this year,” Alhaitham answers as he continues to unpack. “We have the choice to live outside of the dormitory next year, so we’ll move somewhere closer to rent. Until then, it’s probably safer for us to visit you than for you to try to come to us.”
“Hm,” Arama nods and continues wandering the unit, but suddenly, he goes still. Even the flower on his head stops twirling. “How strange…”
“What’s the matter?” Kaveh and Amani have also stopped their work to see what’s going on.
“There’s a funny vibration in the energy,” the Aranara says. He tilts his head to listen more intently. “It feels strange, but it’s very, very quiet.”
“Is the vibration good or bad?”
Arama shakes his head. “Uncertain. It just feels odd, but also a bit familiar? This Arama can be wrong given how the vibration is a bit distorted too…”
“Where is the vibration coming from? Is it from the tree itself?”
“It is hard to tell where the source is located, but I can feel it travelling up the tree. It could be coming from elsewhere, though, and the tree is merely being used as a conduit for the vibration.”
“Maybe the humming comes from research being conducted on Dendro energy,” Amani offers. “This is the Akademiy, and there are all kinds of research that’s happening everywhere in the city. I wouldn’t be surprised that one of those experiments is giving off signals that our Aranara friend can pick up on.”
“At least it doesn’t feel ominous at first impression,” Kaveh adds. “We’ll keep an eye out for anything weird, though, and I’m sure that Arama will warn us.”
They finish unpacking their items and head outside into the city. Arama has opted to stay behind in order to identify the humming, leaving them to knock off some chores on their to-do list. Their first stop is to get uniforms.
Amani knows just the place.
“There is a shop owned by Mr. Bijan and his family. They’ve been in the tailoring business for centuries, and they do impeccable work. Their shop is where I got my own uniforms and where I got your father’s, Little Star. I wrote to them earlier with your measurement, so they should have your uniforms ready to try on.”
Mr. Bijan’s family shop is a quaint two-story house located on a quieter street near the southern wharf of the city. The store is made of a mix of stone and wood with a charming green door and a large sign that reads “House of Bijan, Master Tailors” hanging above it. As they enter the establishment, the twinkling of a bell can be heard, and an ancient, tiny man in an ornate red silk robe pops up from behind the counter.
“How can I—ah! Madame Sage!” He lights up with a bright smile and scurries from behind his counter to shake Amani’s hand. “So good to see you! Look at you! It’s been years, and you don’t look a day older!”
Amani laughs. “Mr. Bijan, you’re too much. I hope everything’s going well. I see that you’ve expanded your store! It’s looking very nice. And please, none of this Madame Sage business. I’m a retired old lady nowadays! Just call me Amani.”
Mr. Bijan is maybe half her height with wispy gray hair concentrated at the back of his head and behind his large ears, leaving his forehead exposed, the skin wrinkled and leathery. He has a pair of small half-moon glasses and a spectacular moustache with a beard that makes him look like a cartoon magician. The twinkle in his bright blue eyes and the animated way he talks cement this impression.
“Old? Hardly! You’re young, spry, and just as sharp as ever,” he says as he leads them to the set of emerald couches in a separate room with standing mirrors spread out like a screen. “But thank you for the compliment. Business is booming, and we needed more space for our shop, so we added a second story. You wouldn’t believe the number of uniform requests we get from the students! So much clothing is ruined from stains and rips from their experiments and research expeditions. I suppose that’s the result of their dedication! Oh, can I get you something to drink? Some mint tea? And what about you, young sirs?”
“Some tea sounds good. I don’t believe you’ve met but this here,” she pats Alhaitham on the shoulder, “is my grandson, Alhaitham. And this here,” her second hand is on Kaveh’s head, “is my little ward, Kaveh.”
“Hello, Mr. Bijan,” Kaveh greets with Alhaitham echoing his words. “Grandmother Amani says you’re the best. I hope you can make some uniforms for us.”
“Ah, you little flatterers,” Mr. Bijan says, but there’s no hiding the way he’s puffing out his chest with pride. “Of course, I will make your uniforms! Congratulations on getting into the Akademiya, though I have no doubt you’d succeed given you’re Madame Amani’s grandson and ward! But first, some tea—Lilah! Lilah, Madame Amani is here! Some tea and some of those honey snacks, please!”
Lilah, who’s probably Mr. Bijan’s daughter since she shares his height, his choice for bright clothing, and his set of bright blue eyes, arrives with a tray of fresh tea and snacks. She’s also pulling behind her a large rack with identical-looking uniforms on wheels.
“Madame Amani, young sirs, congratulations on your admission to the Akademiya,” she says with just as much excitement as her father. “Here are the clothes we prepared per your letter, Madame! We’ve also prepared some special occasion clothing. Sirs, please try them on and see how they fit!”
“Why are we getting special occasion clothing?” Alhaitham asks as he and Kaveh are ushered behind separate changing screens.
“Because you might be invited to more formal events and it’s important to look the part and make a great first impression,” Amani explains. “The Akademiya is a place of learning, but it is also a place where networking happens. This evening’s welcome ceremony is an example of that. Make a good impression, and opportunities will find you. On the flipside, make a bad one and you’ll suddenly find more obstacles in your path.”
“Grandmother Amani, you’re very good at this,” Kaveh marvels. There are a lot of unspoken steps to the dance when it comes to wading through high society, and the way Amani is pre-emptively predicting their needs speaks volumes about her experience. Clearly, she’s a lady who’s lived the high society life, so it begs the question, why did she retire to live in some tiny little village with Alhaitham? She can clearly stay in the city where her status and prestige will let her live luxuriously, so isn’t her move to the village a lifestyle downgrade?
She answers his question, her tone wistful. “Anybody can become good at this with experience, but eventually, it becomes too tiring, and an escape is necessary. For me, that happened right after Little Star was born. I figured it was a good time to step back, slow down, and focus more on family.”
“Family is important. You have made a noble decision,” Lilah praises.
“The new lifestyle has treated you very well, too,” Mr. Bijan pipes up. “You look relaxed and happy. It is a very good look. Very good look indeed!”
More laughter. “Oh, stop it, you!”
Kaveh ignores the chatter and puts on the uniform. It’s a long set of soft white robes made of cotton with a mandarin collar, long sleeves, and a set of decorative gold and green stripes at the front that span from top to bottom. A forest green vest goes over the robe that features more gold accents in the shape of diamonds, and over the vest is a short overcoat in a lighter shade of green with more gold decorations. The clothing feels light, breathable, and easy to move in, even with both outer layers.
He steps out from behind the screen and spins around for the audience. “Ta da! How do I look?”
“Like a little scholar!” comes Amani’s very pleased response. She steps closer and helps adjust some of his layers. “A perfect fit. Little Star, are you ready to come out?”
Alhaitham steps out, but he’s looking down, concentrating on his outfit as if running a diagnostic in his head. After a few seconds, he nods. “Comfortable. The sleeves are just right so that they don’t get in the way of my reading but the shoulders and armholes are spacious enough that I can still swing my sword. I will not be impeded in my studying or fighting.” He blinks when he finally looks up at Kaveh. “It looks good on you.”
Kaveh grins. “Such high praises. You as well, ‘Haitham! You look so proper and so handsome!”
After spending five years with Alhaitham, it becomes all too easy to forget that he’s the protagonist of the original story for “My Little Aranara Friend” from which this world is derived. But seeing him standing there looking so smart and neat in his uniform drives home that reminder. The robes add an element of sophistication and confidence to Alhaitham, enhancing his already striking features so that he stands out amongst the common masses like a prince over his subjects.
“A perfect fit as well,” Amani says after adjusting her grandson’s clothing. “Good, good. The uniforms are perfect. Let’s try on the special outfits.”
The boys are handed two large garment bags and are shooed back to their respective changing screens. Kaveh opens the bag and pulls out his clothes.
Huh. How is he—there are so many layers. Just shimmering silk upon shimmering silk in reds, whites, turquoise, and golds. He fights with everything for a little while until he manages to figure out which item should be worn first. The first layer is a long, white tunic that goes to his shins. It has long balloon sleeves, a boat neckline, and a slit that starts at his hips and flares out, allowing the fabric to swoosh and swirl whenever he moves. Then, it's the second layer, which is a red overcoat with gold, silver, and turquoise beads stitched along the hems to create pretty curling vines and blooming flowers. Finally, the third layer goes on. It appears to be a white translucent veil attached to a gold circlet featuring leaves and lotus flowers. When worn, the delicate fabric drapes over his shoulders to rest at his lower back like a pair of gossamer wings. More gold, turquoise, and red beads are stitched onto the cloth in lovely swirls of colour. A belt that cinches the waist and a pair of white pants with matching shoes finish the attire and tie all the pieces together aesthetically.
Despite how beautiful the outfit is, he’s not sure he can pull off the elegance. If anything, he feels ridiculous with all those layers on, and he suspects he looks more like a stuffed peacock than a respectable scholar’s ward. He’s never worn anything frou frou, let alone clothes with so many parts. His old life is filled with loungewear, T-shirts, and shorts for home and the usual mass-manufactured basic grey suits for work. His clothes have only gotten even more casual in this world, with simple tunics and pants as his go-to.
He grimaces and tugs awkwardly at the layers again, trying to get them to sit right. Outside, he can hear Alhaitham showing the outfit to his delighted grandmother while Mr. Bijan and his daughter gush at the results. At least one of them looks good.
“Kaveh! What’s taking you so long? Do you need help with your clothes?”
“I’m fine, ‘Haitham!” he answers. “Just...making sure I’ve worn everything correctly.”
He looks down at his attire and sighs. Grandmother Amani had graciously paid for his clothes (and everything else to keep him clothed and fed for these past five years despite his numerous but futile protests). It would be disrespectful if he remains hidden.
“Welp, here goes nothing,” he mutters, and gingerly steps out from behind the screen, keeping his eyes locked on the floor.
“Um, how do I look?” he mumbles. “Did I put everything on right?”
The room falls silent for a couple of seconds that feel too long for Kaveh’s comfort. Then: “Oh, Kaveh! Just look at you!”
“Young sir looks radiant!”
“Ah, the way that veil brings out his eyes and features!”
Amani is positively thrilled. She’s gotten off her chair to get close, and her hands are working quickly to smooth out the wrinkles. All the while, a large smile spreads across her face.
“I knew those colours would work on your skin and gold hair, but I wasn’t expecting how elegant you look! Our Kaveh is so beautiful, and my goodness, he matches with Alhaitham so well!”
She turns her head. “Little Star, why are you just standing there? Come and see!”
Kaveh leans to the side so that he can look past Amani. Awkward stiffness melts off of him when he finally gets a chance to see Alhaitham’s outfit. “‘Haitham! Wow! Grandma wasn’t lying when she said we match, huh? You look amazing!”
Their outfits are not identical but there are shared elements that make it clear that they come as a set. Whereas Kaveh’s outfit is mostly dominated by white, gold, and red, Alhaitham’s is made up of cool black, striking teal, and shining silver. His clothes use the same lightweight silk that emits a warm sheen in the light, but unlike Kaveh’s long white inner robe, Alhaitham’s inner layer is a shorter, sleeveless dark tunic, falling to the top of his thighs. A green ornate sash is tied around his waist with fabric trailing down the back of his legs to provide a splash of colour to his dark pants and dark shoes. The long sash also provides the illusion of a longer silhouette so that the length of the clothing resembles to Kaveh’s.
A short cape is wrapped around his shoulders, mimicking the way Kaveh’s veil flows down his back, but the cut of the fabric adds more bulk to Alhaitham’s frame. It gives him a strong, athletic look while showing off the growing muscles in his arms.
Kaveh’s smile grows when he sees the same charming swirling vines and beautiful flowers adorn Alhaitham’s clothes. The beadworks are exceptional and the colours are in silver, gold, white, and red, which are identical to the main colours in Kaveh’s outfit. And adorned on Alhaitham’s head is a matching circlet in more silver and greens.
It’s a bit unfair how cool and handsome Alhaitham looks, although some of that coolness is worn away by his wooden expression and the flush spreading across the bridge of his nose. The kid is probably self-conscious with how well he’s pulling off his fancy outfit, but awkwardness aside, Kaveh knows that Alhaitham will be turning heads. So many classmates are going to have a crush on him. Poor Alhaitham will have to beat them back with a stick if Kaveh doesn’t get to them first.
A sudden thought crosses his mind from something the System said years ago: Alhaitham had boosted the game’s sale by over 15,000% thanks to his beauty. For once, Kaveh is starting realize the potential of that statement.
Although…the System also said Alhaitham will grow up to be the helpful big brother archetype and Kaveh’s still not seeing that. Rather, Alhaitham is shaping up to be the opposite with his surely attitude towards the village boys, his disdain for those he deems stupid, and his love of being alone (with Arama, Amani, and Kaveh being the exceptions), so maybe there’s a limit to the truth to what the System had said?
Either way, whatever happens, Kaveh will be there to keep an eye out of his Alhaitham. He wasn’t kidding about beating people back with a stick. Others may admire Alhaitham, but the moment they get too close and inappropriate, then ol’ Kaveh will be there to show them what’s what with these fists of fury! Non-lethally!
(Unless they’re adults, in which case, very much lethally.)
“Pictures! I want pictures!” Amani says with a clap of her hands, snapping Kaveh from his musings. “Quick, quick, both of you get closer. Oh, they look so adorable together!”
A Kamera is procured from somewhere, and Alhaitham and Kaveh are squished beside each other. In between striking different poses (Mr. Bijan and his daughter are helping them), Alhaitham says quietly: “Y-you look really nice.”
He practically muttered the words under his breath. Kaveh only heard them because they were standing so close. Still, Kaveh turns to him and gives him a sheepish smile. “Thanks, ‘Haitham. I feel a little silly, but I don’t want to hurt Grandma Amani’s feelings by hiding behind the screen. It’s just…are you sure it’s not too much?”
Alhaitham shakes his head quickly. “No! It’s—it’s—you…you…um…” More mutterings, this time inaudible.
Kaveh tilts his head, waiting. When the spluttering continues, he probes gently, “What about me?”
Alhaitham’s face becomes redder to Kaveh’s confusion. He’s also looking away. “You, um, look, really nice. Really, really nice, Kaveh.”
Okay? He said that already, but sure? Weird that Alhaitham is acting a bit funny, almost as if he’s nervous. Maybe he’s camera-shy or something.
“Thank you,” Kaveh answers with a mental shrug. It could be a teenager thing, who knows? But to lighten the mood, he makes sure to take on a teasing note when he says, “I doubt I’m as handsome as you. My ‘Haitham is so good-looking. The most distinguished gentleman I’ve ever met. You’ll be the most popular person at the reception, I’m sure. Just promise that you won’t forget about your old pal Kaveh when you get famous and you’re surrounded by adoring fans!”
Adoring fans who better know how to treat Alhaitham with respect if they know what’s good for them!
Alhaitham looks at him funny with furrowed brows. “I’m not going to forget you. What are you even—” He interrupts himself with a deep sigh. “Kaveh, you can be so silly sometimes. Make sure to stick close to me when we’re at the reception.”
Kaveh frowns, even more confused. “That’s a given. All I do is stick close to you. Where else will I even go?”
Of all the things he’s said, it’s that statement that has Alhaitham relaxing. He nods. “Good.”
“One last picture,” Amani calls, “look this way and smile!”
The flash goes off and with that, they’re finally freed to scuttle back and change. By the time Kaveh shrugs on his normal clothes, their purchases are already packed, with Mr. Bijan promising to have everything delivered to their dorms well before the reception.
The seamless way that everything went today, from move-in to clothes, is not lost on Kaveh, and it’s all thanks to Amani’s hard work and support. The lady has been calling Kaveh her ward ever since he took on his human form, and although initially, it was used as a convenient excuse for his frequent visits to the village, their relationship has grown well beyond that. For all intents and purposes, Amani had treated him like he was her own—she fed him, she clothed him, she kept him safe and comfortable, and she worried about him. And now, she’s leveraging her status to not only help her own grandson but him as well. She’s treated him better than even his own family members have while he was growing up.
It fills Kaveh’s heart with equal parts warmth and guilt, especially since she’s been paying for everything, which is why every now and then, he tries to fight her for the bill. It’s no different this time around as they leave the store.
“Grandma Amani, how much did you pay for this? Let me pay for once—”
“Oh, hush,” she says, waving her hand. “We’ve gone over this. Don’t be silly. You are family, and I won’t hear this nonsense. Spend your money on treats for yourself and Little Star when you’re at school.”
Clearly predicting what Kaveh will do the moment she’s out of town, she turns to Alhaitham and warns, “Make sure he doesn’t try to pay for everything, Little Star! Goodness knows he will spend every penny to his name to pay us back if you don’t keep an eye on him. I’ve left you those school funds for a reason. They’re meant to cover both you and Kaveh. If you run out, write to me and I’ll give you more.”
“Yes, Grandma. I’ll make sure that Kaveh isn’t being silly and I’ll take good care of him.”
“I—” Kaveh splutters. When neither Amani nor Alhaitham looks impressed, he lets out a huff and gives up for now. “Oh, you two!”
Their next stop is to buy school supplies. Amani demonstrates her efficiency and her eye for a good deal with how quickly she amasses what they need at a steep discount. Scrolls, parchment paper, notebooks, charcoal sticks, erasers, fountain pens, and different coloured fancy inks are all packed up for delivery to the dorm. They’re browsing at the next stall full of more stationery, waiting for Amani to finish up, when they hear a familiar voice.
“Alhaitham! Kaveh!”
Tighnari is waving with a bright smile on his face. Cyno is walking beside him, arms full of parcels. Neither of them appears to be accompanied by adults.
“Hey! You made it!” Kaveh greets them when they reach the stall. Alhaitham merely gives them each a quiet little “Hello.”
“How’s the trip? Not too rough, I hope!”
Cyno nods and adjusts his hold on his things. “It’s been smooth sailing. We got in town yesterday and ran into each other at the dorm. We’re dorm mates!”
“Cyno here couldn’t resist making some purchase for his collection,” Tighnari adds with a shake of his head. “You know, you could’ve asked the vendor to send your items directly to the dorm instead of carrying it around.”
Cyno clutches his boxes tightly against his chest. “And risk my precious cards getting damaged or lost? Never! Some of these are limited edition prints!”
As luck would have it, Cyno and Tighnari are in the room next to theirs, suggesting that they, too, are legacy members. They and their family also received invitations for the reception later (the adults are currently busy and will meet up with them at the dorm before they head out). Kaveh is relieved that there will be more familiar faces in attendance. It's always nice to have some friends to hang out with when having to spend an evening in a new environment full of strangers.
Another perk of having friends: they bring fun gossip to the table.
“I heard from my father that the Akademiya will be introducing something new to the curriculum this year,” Tighnari lowers his voice and says. “Apparently, it’s to help with some big research project that’s got a lot of the Sages excited. Whatever the research is, it’s big because they’re trying to pull in as many people to participate as possible. And now, the students are going to be involved.”
“It’s true. Before coming here, my adopted father has been getting a lot of letters from the Akademiya, trying to get him to come back early from his Sabbatical,” Cyno adds. “My father’s been good with ignoring them, though. He isn’t interested in whatever that’s going on, and he told me it’s best to keep my head down.”
“Does this happen often?” Kaveh asks as he and Alhaitham exchange suspicious looks. “I mean, with the way the Akademiya is trying to get all hands on deck like that.”
Tighnari and Cyno shake their head. “This is a first from what I’ve heard,” Cyno says. “Which is why it’s causing a lot of buzz. I heard that some Sages and senior researchers are not fans of this arrangement because it will interfere with their freedom to research what they want. Independence in their study is a big cornerstone of what makes Akademiya researchers the best in the world. They believe that being told what to do will impact the Akademiya’s reputation while curbing the students’ potential for critical thinking.”
“This project must be of vital importance then, possibly affecting the entire nation,” Alhaitham concludes. “Reputation matters the most for the Akademiya and I can’t see them willing to risk it for anything less.”
Their conversation gets interrupted as Amani finishes her purchase and hurries Alhaitham and Kaveh to finish getting what they need on their supplies list. Cyno and Tighnari tag along (Amani is delighted that Little Star and Kaveh have made new friends who will also be their new neighbours), and the group spends the rest of their afternoon shopping together, only returning to the dorms when it’s time for the reception.
“Any luck, Arama?” Alhaitham asks when they’ve finished bringing all of their parcels from the hallway inside the unit. The little Aranara was perched on the couch, eyes screwed shut in concentration. At the question, Arama opens his eyes and shakes his head, drooping a little.
“This Arama still can’t figure out the strange humming. It would be easier if I could get closer to the source, but it feels too risky to go outside where there are plenty of other Nara.”
“It’s okay, you tried your best. Take a rest and, oh, here.” Alhaitham hands him a book from one of the boxes the vendors sent up. “We got you this from the market. It’s an adventure book. We hope you like it!”
The flower on Arama’s head spins with excitement. “An adventure book! What fun!”
“Will you be alright staying here while we attend the reception?” Amani asks gently. “We won’t be gone for long. Maybe a few hours at most. We can get some dinner when we come back, but in the meantime, I've got some fresh fruit for you to snack on. Some of them are imported from other nations, too.”
The flower spins even faster. “The fruits are appreciated, thank you! No need to worry about this Arama. I will have plenty to keep myself busy!”
With Arama set up for a relaxing evening, Kaveh, Alhaitham, and Amani get ready by washing up and changing into fresh clothes. Wearing the nice outfit takes less time now that he’s done it once, and Kaveh manages to get all the layers to sit right with minimal hassle, minus the circlet with the veil since his braid has become an unravelled mess. Luckily, Alhaitham is on it.
“Kaveh,” Alhaitham says simply from his spot on the couch. He waves the brush in his hand. “Let me fix it.”
Kaveh scoots over, sits down on the ground, and leans back to give Alhaitham better access. Despite getting pampered, he still finds it in himself to complain.
“You sure you can’t just take some scissors and chop it all off? Less hair means less hassle for you—ow! ‘Haitham!”
Alhaitham, who gave his hair a little tug, harrumphs. “Stop trying to convince me to cut off your hair. I’m not going to agree.”
“It’s getting so long, though!”
“That just means more hairstyles you can try.”
To demonstrate his point, Alhaitham tames his hair with a brush, then twists the strands to make a series of small braids that weave into a larger braided crown. He leaves the rest of his hair down, but brushes it some more to make sure it falls in waves down his back. He finishes his work by putting on Kaveh’s circlet and veil, securing it in place with some pins.
“There,” Alhaitham says with an approving nod. “See? That took no time, and it looks nice. Doesn’t it look nice, Grandma?”
Amani, who’s finished changing into a nice emerald dress, walks over and pats Alhaitham on the head. “Good job, Little Star. You look very nice, Kaveh,” she says, equal parts fond and exasperated. She’s heard them have this fight a million times already. “Are we ready? I think your new friends are outside, so we shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
They meet up with Cyno, Tighnari, and their families in the hallway, which, naturally, translates to more pictures taken from enthusiastic parents, given how everyone is so dressed up. Cyno is looking spruced up with his set of darker linen robes with striking purple and gold accents, while Tighnari’s clothes are more billowy, made with some sort of light silk dyed in a gradient from white to dark green. All the teenagers appear particularly unenthused as they’re asked to gather together for more pictures, but Kaveh finds the experience both charming and novel. He’s never gotten to experience his parents wanting to snap photos of him growing up, so seeing how happy the adults are acting is rather sweet.
They eventually make it to the reception, which takes place in a building a few stone platforms up from their dormitory. They’re guided into the building and down a grand hall made of pale marble and gold with a high, arched ceiling. A set of double doors opens, and they’re swept into a large banquet hall with more marble, gold gilding, and rows of dramatic crystal chandeliers Kaveh has only ever seen in photos of castles back in his old world. Flocks of well-dressed students with their family members have already gathered, their murmurs mingling with the sound of music played by a group of musicians. Light from the setting sun streams through the wall of stained glass windows, each of them depicting the symbols of each Darshan paired with leaves and flowers, and as the light passes through those images, its colour would transform into spots of vivid hues cast around the room. The only spot where the light cannot reach is the small stage to the far right. Tapestries with the school’s emblem are hung on the wall behind it.
Kaveh, who’s sticking by Alhaitham as promised, looks around the room some more. There are different food stations at each corner and they're filled with plump fruits, cheeses, meats—all manner of delicately arranged finger foods for easy consumption. Eremite servers dressed in whites wander the room, carrying a platter of wine goblets for the guests to help themselves. One passes by their group, and the adults each get a glass. Kaveh, who was reaching for one, gets stopped by Alhaitham.
“Kaveh, no wine!” he hisses. “I know you’re a Fungus, but you look my age, and people my age can’t drink!” At Kaveh’s pout, he snags a glass from another waiter—one that’s filled with kid-appropriate beverages—and shoves that in his hands instead. “Here. Grape juice.”
“Awww.”
As he washes his disappointment with the juice, Tighnari’s father says, “There are a lot of familiar faces here. I think that’s Sage Parisa’s family. That young lady must be joining this year.”
A tall blond girl in a pretty blue dress is seen idling by her parents. She looks bored out of her mind.
“And that over there looks like Sage Keyon’s child,” Amani adds, gesturing to a rowdy boy surrounded by a group of his peers, laughing uproariously. She makes a tsking sound. “I can recognize that boisterous energy everywhere. The apple does not fall far from the tree.”
Tighnari’s mother stifles her laugh. “There are a lot of new students this year. It’s easily twice the size of our year.”
Professor Cyrus—Cyno’s father—gives them a look. “The Akademiya seems very eager to accept a lot of students. It’s probably to do with that new project.”
Amani frowns. “What new project?”
The music stops, and people in teals and whites begin to trickle onto the stage. A long metal pole with a circular top is brought out, and it takes a second for Kaveh to recognize it as some sort of old-fashioned mic.
“I think we’re about to find out,” Professor Cyrus says.
Sure enough, a man in dark forest green steps up to the mic. “Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention, please?”
The murmurs stop as the crowd turns towards the speaker.
“Thank you. On behalf of the Akademiya, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our legacy members and this year’s cream of the crop students who will be starting their academic journey with us!” There’s a round of applause. “As you are aware, the Akademiya prides itself in being the premier learning center in all of Teyvat. Since the founding of our school, our students have contributed time and time again countless precious discoveries such as…”
The man drones on and on about how prestigious the school is and how everyone should feel so proud to be part of such a reputable establishment. Kaveh zones out ten minutes in, trying to see if he can find a server so that he can steal some wine. Gods, this is like his acceptance letter all over again, where the majority of the paper is wasted on praising the wonders and virtues of the Akademiya. Of course, the speaker will have that same insufferable and egotistical attitude. It’s clearly a ubiquitous attitude shared among staff members.
Looking around the room, Kaveh spots the way a lot of the students are getting more and more distracted. A kid is discreetly playing with something in his hand, flipping it in the air and catching it, while another kid is flicking what looks like peas at her sibling. A third kid has managed to find a quiet corner by one of the food tables. After looking around suspiciously, she reaches into her jacket and pulls out a small paperback book to begin reading.
“Hm. I should’ve brought a book too.”
Kaveh is not surprised that Alhaitham is people watching like he is. “It’s alright, ‘Haitham. We only have to stay for a couple more hours before we can excuse ourselves. Stay strong.”
Cyno shuffles closer and joins in. “Wait, you get to leave early?” he whispers. “Professor is making me stay to ‘network’, but if you’re leaving then I’m leaving!”
“And if you all are leaving, then I’m leaving too,” comes Tighnari’s retort. He’s also clearly been eavesdropping, though with his ears and his excellent hearing, it probably wasn’t hard. “I don’t want to be here by myself!”
“Fine, we should all leave then. Cyno, you can tell your dad that you’re networking with us, so that should count.”
“Can we play TCG too? I want to try out my new cards.”
“Before we do that, I want to look at the fireflies outside. I think Sumeru City’s varietals are different.”
“Okay, okay, we leave, look at the fireflies, and play one round of TCG—”
“And have dinner,” Alhaitham adds. “Our friend is waiting for us, remember?”
That’s right, they shouldn’t keep Arama waiting for too long. Kaveh revises the plan. “Okay, we spend half an hour with the fireflies, half an hour with the TCG, then dinner, then—”
“I like the thorough planning but the reception is not over yet.” Amani’s words make everyone jump. It turns out that somewhere during their fervent whispering, she joined in on their huddle without them even noticing. “Save the activities for after, please. Besides, the speaker is just about done.”
Indeed, the speaker appears to be wrapping up, thank god. He spends a few more seconds, finishing up his praises of the Akademiya and waits for the round of polite claps to die down.
“Thank you! Now, without further ado, it is my greatest honour to present to you our honourable leader at the helm of our great school. As some of you might have heard, the Akademiya will be making changes to its curriculum for the first time ever and this visionary move is all thanks to him. As for what these changes are…well…I’ll let the man of the hour explain it himself. Everyone, please give a warm round of applause to Grand Sage Azar!”
The room erupts into cheers, and a man who’s been standing further to the side, previously hidden from view, steps onto the stage.
But Kaveh’s only paying half attention, though, not when the words “Grand Sage” are ringing a very strong, very loud bell in his head. Grand Sage…Grand Sage…the term is a familiar one, not from the texts he’s read but almost from someone saying it. He swears he can practically hear a voice and how excited they were when speaking those words, but where…?
“Thank you, Massoud. I will take it from here.”
Kaveh’s head snaps up. He definitely knows that voice and—
He sees the man. His heart drops, and panic fills him. Oh, fuckkkkkk.
“Son of a bitch,” he breathes. “Grand Sage! Of fucking course!” How did he not make the connection before?
The dread and panic are understandable. After all, the last time he had seen the man was when he was peering up at him from some mysterious magic circle mere seconds after he had been summoned to this brave new world. It’s the same person who had wanted to capture him and turn him into a rare elixir, and it’s the same person whom Kaveh fired his bullets at and royally pissed off.
Hey System, he thinks desperately, what are the odds that he’s forgotten all about me?
A familiar ping sounds in his head. “The likelihood is extremely low, User Kaveh given that Primary Antagonist Grand Sage Azar possesses genius-level intellect and a photographic memory. I would strongly advise that you keep your head down or risk having your true form be discovered.”
Fuck! Again.
…Wait. Primary Antagonist?
Notes:
Things are starting to tie together for Kaveh as more danger begins to mount. His five years of chilling and peaceful zen time are uppppp. Rip, Kaveh! >:D
Thank you for reading and for all of your lovely comments! If you're curious about what I get up to, you can find me on Twitter or bluesky @iambgtea (though I am more active on Twitter than bluesky). Thanks folks!
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