CHAPTER 2:
“What are you doing at the computer?”
Haru said, while toying around with the things Sylvia had in her room
“Not much. I'm just analyzing some data”
She lifted her head up from her arm, which she was resting her head on
“Didn't you say that we should clean this place up first?”
A sigh came over her, it sounded like a growl more than anything
“It's too much work, to be honest, I'll do it later or something”
“Wow, you sure do love hygiene, don't you? Wait, what data are you analyzing?”
“There have been strange incidents all over the country this past few weeks, essentially a bunch of stolen property like keys, mats, desks etc, they're stealing and reselling them”
While spinning a pen in his hands he still looked thoughtful
“Now that you mention it, yesterday when I was in my school's basement area to take something that I was asked to, the door was already unlocked”
“Now, that's a coincidence”
“Do you really think that that is the case with you?”
“Probably, that's my best bet for now, all clues considered”
Her fingers abruptly stopped twitching, after a short while her palms ended up on her face
“Look I'm sorry for dragging you into this, it's just necessary”
Even though Haru was still skeptical that didn't stop him from feeling pity
“...”
“It's ok go on”
An audible click could be heard in the quiet room, slowly Sylvia looked up at him, her face was serious
“Well, if you're going to drag me into this, can you at least tell me what's going on?”
“...”
“The holy relics do belong to eastern orthodox Church as I said but that's not the only thing”
“They are only 9 and can't be duplicated or be stolen, they are considered to be the most powerful relics in the world”
Spinning around in his chair, with a matter of fact tone, Haru replied
“Peculiar”
In a matter of fact way Sylvia ignored his antics, the urge to tell him to stop was strong but not that strong
“Try and do something then, like a focus beam with the blood, I'm sure it will be easy for you”
Questioningly he tried it, lifting his arm up, but…nothing came off, not even a single blood drop
Naturally, his eyes started shake
“How? You just said that it will be as easy as breathing, so what gives Sylvia?”
“I'm not sure either. This shouldn't be occuring”
Frantically she checked her tablet again
Her fingers flew across the screen
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
This time
A new window popped up on the screen that read “malfunction, access to the full power of the imaginary codex failed”...
“That means you're only limited to its healing powers, I'm sorry, but something went wrong during the process. It's just that for whatever reason, the capabilities of it failed”
“The most logical reason I can give right now is that the synchronization was incomplete”
Disappointment was the primary feeling, nonetheless, he did get something out of this, at least…
“Well, at least you can't die now, no matter what the codex will heal you”
(Shit! My entire plan has collapsed, change of plans it seems)
“So what now? What do I do now?”
“Well the most important thing now we focus on the prophecy about you”
“There's a prophecy about me? What's this, a novel?”
“Trust me, once you've heard it, you will not be enthralled because it's not a pleasant one at all”
“So basically, the prophecy states that the johns revelation is true and that a seemingly useless boy will be the savior”
“But will do anything to save the world, a will brighter than the light of the sun”
That made haru pause for a moment
“What's the catch?”
“Now I know it sounds corny but the prophecy also says that the boy will experience insurmountable pain”
“What we don't know is how accurate that prophecy really is”
While standing around Haru remained unliving, although that last part made his body twitch
“I've got a lot more questions, but how do you know of this prophecy in the first place and secondly, how do you know it's not someone else but me?”
“To answer your first question, the tale of the prophecy has been passed down to my tribe, the elves, for generations, and for your second question we cannot take many bullets about this”
“Really, and how do they know?”
“The elders of my tribe are saying that John's revelation is impending and very soon at that, they can accurately predict disasters, cataclysms and prophecies using a sacred device known as the “moon carver”...”
“Whuch supposedly has the power to tell the stars as accurately as it gets with exact pinpoint precision”
“Well, have you ever seen it before?”
“No, you see I'm a peasant in my tribe, I wasn't allowed to”
A pen kept dancing across Haru's fingers, a question popping up in his mind halted him
“Wait, Elven tribe? You mean, you lived with other elves?”
For a moment, Sylvia's glasses shined again
“...”
“My parents were refugees to this land, I was born here originally, though they consider me a peasant in my own world”
“Oh, I guess I shouldn't be prying….anyways”
“From what you described, it doesn't sound like it's a computer, but more like a mythical calculator, does it run on something special, perhaps?”
“An astute guess for a human, but yes, it does run on something, specifically elf mana. Mana is different across lifeforms, by the way, so yeah, it needs that specific mana type to run”
An immense urge to brag hit Sylvia that moment, deep inside though she knew she shouldn't
“And how do we stop this prophecy, huh?”
“We don't even know, but our best bet is to unite all the holy beings to stop it which means we have to search for them and befriend them to get them on our side which will be difficult”
“That's the best plan that I could come up with”
“Difficult you say? So they have a god complex, I guess?”
“Right on the money, it'll be a long journey that I promise you”
“But, it is imperative that we gather all the holy beings, as of now we clearly don't have the firepower”
“So, it'll be like a hunt?”
“Precisely, due to your abilities not working properly you have no problem”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You have to befriend them by first defeating them in a battle, here's the deal, since you're a new host no one knows you yet”
“You have to first gain their respect and trust in order to befriend them”
Haru sighed, running a hand through his brown hair
“Certainly no break for me, it seems, isn't that just great”
Slyly Sylvia glanced at him and punched him in the shoulder playfully
“Hey it's not like I chose this either to be stuck with your ass…”
“Well neither did I so do me a favor and shut up”
His response omitted playfulness, despite his smirk
Her eyes rolled so much that it looked painful
“It's good to know that you're as laid back as me”
“.....”
After a while, Haru just started playing with her pointy ears to kill the time
Because of that, Sylvia's cheeks burned a bright red, her throat tightened, letting out an involuntarily shrieked
“Gyah!”
“Hey what are you doing?! Don't touch my ears they're sensitive”
“They're sensitive? Wow, good to know”
Sylvia started squirming again
“You jerk, don't you ever do that again!”
Without thinking she blurted out, it felt ticklish yet odd
“Anyways, you said something about befriending the rest of the holy beings, didn't you, so who's first?”
“That'd be Matthew, the current host of the first shard of the church”
“Sounds niche…”
“And one last question, how do I even get there? Or wherever the hell he is”
Due to the soreness haru stood up, stretching nearby the desk, then he walked towards the table of the room
With a weary sigh Sylvia stood up, with one hand she tossed some cards on the table
“These will enable you to freely transport yourself to anywhere that you want, use them wisely, they should be enough for now”
The cards enticed him, eyes slightly shrinking, like a little kid seeing a magic trick
“Whatever, do these cards have a name or?”
“No, they're just called rune cards. It isn't special. Well, there you go, not everything is cliche here”
“Wait I almost forgot, I wanted you to have this watch”
Her hands moved to wrap around his wrist a state of the art smartwatch, it secured with an audible click
“Is this a gift or something? Because if it is, then by all means I don't need it”
As if disappointed Sylvia swayed her head
“It's not a gift. Think of it like a necessity. With that, we can communicate whenever wherever, and it has great battery, so you don't have to worry about charging it often”
“Again thank you, but this thing must have cost a fortune I can tell”
The wrist could be adjusted on the wrist by shifting the the lock
“Actually my uncle gave it to me as a gift, and now you have it”
Before Sylvia could even manage to finish her sentence, Haru accidentally used one of the rune cards
Instantly ending up landing on a concrete surface inside of the west wall
The architecture gave away what country he was suddenly in
“Hey so this is what you meant by freely. It is but with a lot of pain”
“Oh don't be such a baby. It's just that you haven't learned yet how to properly use them, that's all”
“That's besides the point either way with what's truly going on here”
The roofs of each house was different and modern looking, and the sky was semi dark, it was mostly likely the afternoon in this place
“I'm guessing this is where Matthew is, I don't need confirmation for that. Just info on him would be helpful”
As she opened her laptop, a few dozen different pages of the database popped up
“Says here that he's an arrogant piece of shit who also very condescending, I almost feel sorry for you Haru”
The rune cards fit rather perfectly in his pockets, for security he zipped the pocket
“Well I have time so there is no need for me to rush this, also why can't you just teleport me there yourself? You know using your teleportation magic which you used yesterday in my room?”
“You have to learn to be independent. We aren't always going to be side by side, so it's important for you to be able to operate by yourself”
With that the laptop closed, it's use was short lived
“Fair point, I guess, so what now I just wait or search for him?”
“I suggest that you search, but you don't have to rush it. Just as you said yourself, we have time to read, so let's be resourceful about this”
While she was saying that reassuringly, it didn't help at all when the call ended
“What am I getting him into?”
Though she promised to never show it again
And so the relic hunt began, but could the boy really survive it?…
