The Sixth School Ch. 024

"Can I tell anyone about you?" Greg asked after a while of silence.

"The first question you need to ask yourself is if anyone will believe that you sat across from a being such as myself and had such an amiable chat," She countered. "And if they should happen to believe you, can you handle the danger that being associated with a being such as myself will bring you?" She went on to add. "If the answer to both questions is yes, then feel free to tell whoever you wish to about me," She allowed in a carefree tone. She didn't care one way or the other.

Greg thought on her words for a while, realizing that not only would it be hard to get anyone to believe this encounter, but worse still, it wouldn't necessarily be an entirely safe thing to do. Greg didn't know what kind of being would qualify as an enemy to the entity before him. Nevertheless, one thing was for sure, such a being could kill him ten thousand times over. Heck, they wouldn't even have to be his enemy, they'd just have to think that they could gain some benefit from doing so, and boom, he'd be in a world of trouble. And with the sealed fragment of divinity hidden in his soul, they wouldn't be entirely wrong about benefiting from his death.

"What if I die before reaching the seventh tier? Greg asked his final question.

"Then you probably weren't going to be of any use to me anyway," Came the blunt reply. The two held each others gaze for a long while, but the being made no effort to soften her reply. She'd said it and she definitely meant it.

Silence reigned in the luxuriously furnished room for a long while before Greg let out a sigh. "Fine then, I'll do it!" He conceded. Much as he was being given a choice in the matter, Greg knew that she held all the cards in this negotiation. If he wasn't willing to do as she asked, he'd be replaced faster than one can snap their fingers. And as much as Greg would have liked to pretend like he didn't care about this second chance at life that he'd been given, the simple truth was that he did. Greg just simply couldn't bring himself to give up on a second life in a world full of magic! A life where the roads to power led to heights that were simply unimaginable in his former life. Whatever challenges lay ahead, he would face them head-on, however hard they may be. Giving up, however, just wasn't an option for him.

A smile crossed the expression of the being before him. "Don't look so down, Greg," She said. "The rewards I've given you already should be proof that I can be very generous with those who serve me well," She declared. "I may be demanding, but I am not stingy!" She added. When Greg offered no reply, she simply smiled and waved her hand at him. Greg immediately felt a tug from far away and his soul started fading from this realm. "I wonder why they never take the tea?" the being posed as she looked down at the cup full of a clear liquid that had been set before Greg. "It's positively delightful." She said as she brought her own cup to her lips.

These were the last words Greg heard as his soul was being pulled back into Roka's body...

***

When the clearing came back into view, it was as if barely even a second had passed. Olivia was still smiling as she worked on the carcass of the dark crawler. By all indications, she was blissfully unaware of the monumental events that had taken place just a few meters away from her. His clone was still crouching down with his hand on the staff, trying to pull it into its storage ring. Somehow, despite being used as a conduit to get to Greg, even it didn't seem aware of anything that had just happened. The connection to it that Greg had broken in a bid to protect himself was once again there as if he'd never broken it in the first place. Worst of all, the horrid stench of the dark crawler's innards was still there!!

Greg, however, barely even registered the nasty smell. Still reeling from what had just happened. Greg was uncertain how to feel at this moment. He, however, wasn't given the chance to dwell on it. An urgent message from his clone back in town made Greg grimace. "It's just one thing after the other today," He muttered in part annoyance, part frustration...

***

This Chapter was much longer than others usually are simply because I didn't want to split this conversation with the deity-level being between two chapters. It doesn't represent a new norm for chapter lengths.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please don't forget to vote and comment.