Frostbitten Wayfarer

Zoe laid in her bed and fell asleep. She dreamt of delving deep into the earth, finding magical creatures that whipped cold and wind around with each breath. Large golems of ice smashing through the cavern while she stood strong and pushed them back into the depths.

Then she woke up and laid in bed for a while longer, wishing she could just relax for as long as she wanted. She thought about her plans — diving into the cavern and exploring what it had to offer. Her mind flashed back to her dream but she tossed it aside. It was exciting, but if a massive golem charged towards her she wasn’t going to just stand there and take it.

She’d run away, as quick as she could. But it still excited her, knowing that her weeks of prep were over and it was time to start exploring, discovering new things. What kinds of secrets would the cavern hold? Ruins of civilizations long past, or a nest of some burrowing creature? Dwarves that dug out their home, or mana that wrought its destruction while it tried to form a new dungeon?

Zoe sat up and summoned one of the meals she had packed away in her bracelet. She had earned it by now, she thought. A treat.

A silver platter with a silver dome over top appeared in her hand, and she pulled the dome off with a little more effort than she expected. There was a quiet snap that Zoe heard when the dome separated and the smell flooded Zoe’s cave.

Herbal and floral with intense meaty tones and an acidic undertone. She stored the dome away in her bracelet and looked at the meal. It was a piece of venison loin coated in dark brown seeds and cut in half to reveal the deep red interior. Three slices of a dark mushroom with more fins than her mom’s car radiator rested on top of a white puree with specks of a green hued oil dripped over the top.

A dark burgundy sauce was spread around the plate, and Zoe dragged some of the venison through it and tasted it. The flavours exploded in her mouth. The venison was tender and juicy, with a pleasant earthy crunch from the coating of seeds. The sauce was rich and acidic with just the right viscosity to coat the inside of Zoe’s mouth.

The puree squished from the mushroom’s fins with a smooth sweetness that contrasted the slight heat from one of the spices on the mushrooms. The oil tasted of springtime and childhood as it bounced around her mouth while she ate it.

The meal tasted just as good as the School’s provided meals, and the buff she got reflected that.

*Ding* You have consumed the Blake’s Venison. Stamina regeneration increased for eight hours.

She looked at the notification for a bit. It was just awkward in how it was worded. Many of the system messages she got were. Whenever Zoe got a new resistance, it didn’t say that she ‘Unlocked Poison Resistance’ it would always say she ‘Unlocked the Poison resistance.’

Which was a little strange, but she never paid much attention to it. But according to the system she just ‘consumed the Blake’s Venison?’

It made a lot more sense to remove the ‘the’ from that. She just ‘consumed Blake’s Venison.’ It was just strange, why would it be so awkward? Was it just because there was some magic translating things for Zoe in this world? For that matter, why was it that everybody here spoke fluent English. This is an entire new world but everybody speaks English? How’s that make any sense?

Or was it some bug with the system? But how would the system have bugs if it wasn’t created. So that would mean that it was created? But who would have created it, and why?

Zoe shook her head. It wasn’t important right now. When she saw Eliza, she could pester her with all the questions she could ever think of but pondering it now wasn’t going to get her anywhere, she’d just end up with more questions.

She left her cave and walked back to Flester and then off towards Ash and Lila’s farm. She figured she might as well see if she could leave a message for Eliza and meet up at some point in the near future. The Ryz frolicking in the fields brought a smile to her face as she walked up to the farmhouse she’d sat outside of years ago when she was doing her resistance training. Zoe knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes.

Lila opened the door. She looked different, though Zoe expected that after so many years. Her hair was shorter and grayer, not even reaching her shoulders. She wore a comfortable looking red dress that reached just past her knees and rammed her leg in front of the door to keep a large excited brown dog from jumping out.

“Hello?” She said.

“I’m Zoe, not sure if you remember me?" Zoe said.

“Oh! Yes, of course I remember you! You were getting all those resistances years ago, weren’t you?” Lila smiled.

“Yeah that was me. I was just thinking I’d like to talk to Eliza again someday and was wondering if you knew where she was or how to contact her or something?" Zoe asked.

“Of course, I could send her a message if you want?" Lila asked.

“That would be great, yeah! If it’s not too much to ask?” Zoe answered.

“Of course not, it doesn’t cost me anything. She’s talked about you a few times too, a little bothered you never reached out to share what you got out of it.” Lila smiled.

Zoe shrunk into herself a little. “Yeah, it slipped my mind, I guess.”

“Don’t worry about it, she’ll forget all about it as soon as you talk to her.” Lila grabbed the dog’s collar and walked back inside. “Come in, come in. I’ll get you some paper and you can write your message.”

Zoe followed her inside to their living room. It was a cute place, lots of fluffy looking furniture and stuffed animals on the shelves. There was a red leather couch in the living room with a glass table on top of a patterned rug, and Lila gestured for her to sit so she did.

Lila ran off to grab some paper and a pen and the dog jumped up on Zoe. It sniffed her a few times and then tried to lick at her face before it settled down and laid down with its head on her lap. Zoe pet it and scratched behind the ears.

A few minutes later, Lila came out and put down a pencil and paper in front of Zoe on the table. The dog leapt off the couch and ran over to lie down next to Lila. “Here you go, write whatever you like and I’ll send it to Eliza for you.”

“Oh, sure. Thanks a bunch for this. I was kinda just expecting to leave a message for next time you see her, to be honest. This is way more than you needed to do.” Zoe said.

“It’s no worry. I’ve little better to do these days and one of my skills makes it quite trivial to send messages to friends.” Lila explained.

“Well thanks, anyway. I really appreciate it.” Zoe said.

—————

Hello, this is Zoe. You helped me get some resistances a few years ago. I’m sorry I never contacted you again I honestly just wasn’t sure who I could trust and then time went on and it slipped my mind to talk to you again. But I really want to talk to you about the system and learn more about how it works so if you have time someday I’d like to meet up. I’m currently living in a big hill just northeast from Flester if you feel like finding me, but maybe Lila could send me a message too? Or I’ll just stop by here every so often to see if you’ve stopped by and we can figure something out if you’re up to it. Thanks.

—————

Zoe handed Lila the letter. “I guess this is good enough then.”

Lila folded up the letter and closed her eyes, then the letter vanished with a pulse of mana. “Well, she has it. I can’t promise she’ll respond though. But she probably will.”

“Thanks again. Well I guess I’ll get out of your hair and you two can get back to whatever you were doing. Where is Ash, anyway?” Zoe asked as she stood up.

Lila’s smile fell away and Zoe felt a lonely sadness wash over her. “They died a few years ago.”

“Oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.” Zoe panicked.

“No, it’s okay. You didn’t know. It’s been a few years, anyway.” Lila sighed.

Eliza smashed through the front door and looked around. She pointed at Zoe when she saw her. “You!”

“Eliza! Knock first!” Lila shouted.

“You just sent me a message saying this unappreciative dip is back for more favours and expected me to not rush here immediately?” Eliza raised an eyebrow.

Lila laughed. “I guess that’s my fault.”

“Yeah! And you!" She looked at Zoe. ”You were supposed to tell me your class options years ago! You promised!“

“I did not!” Zoe said.

“You did so! Just because it was after I flew you through the sky faster than you could handle does not mean it doesn’t count!” Eliza shouted.

“I don’t even remember that.” Zoe said.

“Well duh you were just tortured and then tortured some more. But you promised!” Eliza said.

“I really don’t think I would have done that.” Zoe said.

“Okay you didn’t. But you did kind of agree a little bit.” Eliza laughed. “So, you wanted to talk about the system? It’s definitely man made, y’know?”

Lila rolled her eyes. “I guess I don’t get to be annoyed this time.”

“Nope!” Eliza laughed.

“Uh yeah I do but I wasn’t really expected it to be like, a right now thing. I kinda thought I’d have a few days at least before you responded, and then we’d plan something for another day kinda thing?" Zoe said.

“Well don’t mind me then. I can come along and we can chat while you’re working.” Eliza smiled.

Zoe thought about it for a moment. On the one hand, part of her wanted to keep the cavern a secret. On the other hand, it was just a gaping hole in the top of a hill not far from town so others probably did already know about it. And she’d be a bit safer having somebody else more experienced there anyway.

“Sure, I guess. That works.” Zoe said.

“Great, lets get going then! See you later Lila!” Eliza said and strolled out the front door.

“Bye you two.” Lila smiled.

Zoe followed Eliza out the front door. “So you gonna fly us over there again?”

Eliza smiled smugly. “Nope! I learned something new. You say it’s north east of Flester? Big hill?”

Zoe nodded and watched Eliza’s eyes glaze over for a moment before they came back to normal. “Alright, you ready?" Eliza asked.

Zoe nodded again, and a moment later her surroundings shifted from Lila’s farmhouse to the top of the hill she’d been staying at. “This the right one?” Eliza asked.

Zoe looked around. “My god, wow. That was so cool. Did you teleport us?"

Eliza smiled. “Sure did! Is this the right hill though?"

“Yeah, yeah it is. This is where I’ve been living, for sure. Wow, that’s crazy.” Zoe shook her head.

“Well, what were you planning to get up to then?” Eliza asked.

Zoe looked at her. She was much higher level now, a dark blue marked mage to Zoe’s Identify. She was wearing a vest full of pockets and dark blue jeans. Her arms were covered in scars, and her red hair was tied up in a braid that fell down her back.

“Well there’s a cavern I wanted to explore. It’s really cold, though. Do you have Cold resistance?" Zoe asked.

“Do I have Cold resistance, hah! Yes, any resistances you have, I have higher levelled, guaranteed. I saw the cavern just over there right?" Eliza pointed towards the hole Zoe found initially.

“Yeah, but I dug a tunnel for easier access, we’ll start over there.” Zoe said. “Also, I don’t really want help. I’m fine with you coming along, but I want to explore and discover things on my own. You’re just here to chat, okay? And maybe save me if something goes horribly wrong. I don’t wanna die for my ideals.”

“Sure, sounds fine. I can’t promise your safety though and I’ll save myself first if things get real dicey.” Eliza shrugged.

“That’s fine, I was gonna be alone anyway.” Zoe lead Eliza down towards the tunnel she’d dug.

“So what made you wanna talk about the system anyway? Did it break again?” Eliza pestered.

“I ate a meal and the system told me that I ate ‘the Blake’s venison.’ Wouldn’t it just be ‘Blake’s Venison?’ That just seems so weird. Lots about the system seems weird and off but that one was super weird to me, and I remembered you so I figured I’d see if you were up for chatting a bit.” Zoe said.

“Ahh, yes. That’s one of the best arguments for a man made system, you know? At least, in my opinion. If the system were natural, then it wouldn’t be so awkward. It would be clear and concise, but it isn’t. Because it was made by somebody from another culture to us.

“My theory is that the system was designed in another language fundamentally different to our own, and automatically translates the messages to whatever language you or I speak. And in whatever language it was designed in, things like this were normal and okay. It didn’t sound weird to them, but when it gets translated to our language it becomes a little stilted and off sounding.” Eliza explained.

“I see, so you think that it’s just a translation error?” Zoe asked.

“Mhm, basically. Or it could be that the culture that whoever made it comes from never would have even considered something like ‘Blake’s Venison’ being a meal that somebody would eat. The system is able to adapt to different meals based on the mana that was imbued into it because that’s just information. But the actual message that we get is just a template that gets filled out.” Eliza suggested.

“Okay, that kinda makes sense with resistances too. Those always kind of looked weird to me.” Zoe said.

“Yes! Exactly! You didn’t get Fire resistance, you got the Fire resistance. It’s one template for all of the skills! You have unlocked the Fire skill. You have unlocked the Fire resistance. It’s the same thing!” Eliza said.

The two walked down towards Zoe’s tunnel, and Zoe opened the first earthen door she made then flooded the tunnel with wind. When Zoe opened the earthen door at the other end, Eliza grinned.

“Oh my, you have stumbled onto something quite interesting here.” She said.