The shock hadn’t come right away. Too many unusual things had occurred after Dallion’s first battle for him to react adequately. Chief among them were the rectangles appearing in the real world. That was absolutely not supposed to happen. To make it even more ominous, to Dallion’s alarm—or relief depending on the point of view—no one else had seen them, not even his echoes or familiars. As far as they were concerned, the only difference was a new stat and achievement appearing within the rooms of his realm. The unusualness didn’t end there.

As Nil had pointed out, getting an achievement while in the real world was unheard of. Even when establishing new domains, one had to enter them to be made aware of their existence, as well as the peculiar set of rules that came with them. Dallion didn’t have the courage to share that this wasn’t the first time he had seen rectangles in the real world, instead moving the conversation on the next abnormal element—the new attribute itself.

The name sounded cheesy, almost comical. What it allowed Dallion to do, though, was far from it. Up to this point, he had often wondered how come he was able to converse with guardians on occasions, while others couldn’t. The reason was the inkling of the empathy stat he had. Even having a fraction was enough for awakened creatures and guardians to treat him differently, especially dryads. That was how the armadil shield had become aware of his presence in the first place, as well as the reason it had reached out to Dallion. This also explained the Green Moon’s interest. Now that the stat was fully developed, the veil had been lifted allowing Dallion to read about it in the ring library scrolls, as well as have proper conversations with Nil and his other echoes about it—as the limitations had been lifted from him, they were lifted from them as well.

All that, however, paled in comparison to the actual effects that the new stat provided. From the moment the rectangle had appeared in front of Dallion in the middle of the arena, he had gained the ability to talk to any item and area guardian, and all of them could talk back.

Don’t sweat it, the guardian of the inn’s room said. Most of us like you, so it won’t be a problem. I’ll make sure no one here gives you any trouble.

“Thanks,” Dalion said, lying on the bed, eyes closed. He was extremely thankful that he had been cleaning his room regularly for the past few weeks. If he had been negligent in that regard, there was no telling what could have occurred. Items getting misplaced was one of the possibilities. In any event, Dallion would have gotten an earful.

I know this might be a bit overwhelming, dear boy, but consider the gift that you have been granted, Nil said. This is the stat that has been truly lost to humanity. Throughout the entire empire, there’s no one who has it. Mages are more popular, and those are one in a million.

Easy for you to say. You don’t get objects talking to you every step you make.

That’s most likely the initial burst. It’ll pass once you get used to the stat, and the world gets used to you.

That didn’t sound too reassuring.

You really don’t know how to look on the positive side even when you win, do you? The old echo sighed. Once you get this under control, you get to talk to any guardian pretty much about anything without even having to enter an awakened realm. That allows you to learn pretty much to learn about every person there is. Other than ancient artifacts, you can have items tell you things about their owners you’d otherwise have to spend months or years learning.

Dallion was just about to comment on how absurd he found the idea, when it suddenly hit him. The way things were, he actually did have the power to get information from items about their owners. As he had seen, people—even awakened—didn’t treat items too well, especially those they weren’t linked with. But even in the cases when there was a strong bond between a person and their item guardians, he also had quite advanced music skills; and from what he had seen, there was no reason music wouldn’t affect guardians the same way it affected people.

Will I be able to do that in the world item? Dallion asked.

I couldn’t say, the echo hesitated.

It was a difficult question. On the one hand, the item’s realm was considered a world. However, it was also clearly a realm, making it less likely that the items within would be treated as actual items. Also, as it turned out, Dallion’s new ability didn’t extend to cracklings. Nox and Lux continued to converse using their standard means, only being understood thanks to the link Dallion had established with them. Normal crackling remained unintelligible.

But the possibility does exist, Nil continued. Otherwise, the real would simply have been described as a giant sphere item. But even if that doesn’t turn out to be the case, you’ll have a clear advantage when dealing with the guardians. There’s every chance that they don’t attack you.

There was a certain logic to that. Of course, it meant that Dallion had to sneak back into the realm on his own. Even if the guardians were willing to let him pass their domains unharmed, they weren’t going to hesitate attacking an expedition, especially if it was set on leveling up the realm.

Everything considered, Dallion decided to visit the guild during the night. As a regular guild member, he had the right to do so. Before that, he had to rest a bit.

Sleep came fast. The morning’s leveling up combined with the arena fight had exhausted him to the extreme. As he dozed off, Dallion wondered how Mord was doing. His self-proclaimed rival didn’t seem particularly happy to have lost. Dallion had sensed enough anger and disappointment to sink a ship, and yet the guy had managed to keep it inside. Dallion pitied the rest of the Flameforger’s opponents.

When Dallion opened his eyes again, he was woken up by a knock on the door.

Who’s that at this time? He wondered.

Your gorgon friend, the door guardian replied.

The response made Dallion almost jump from his bed. He wasn’t used to having objects reply to his rhetorical questions. As Nil had said, Dallion was going to have to relearn now to talk using his new skills. Up to now, it was hardly a problem—only the small number of inhabitants in his realm replied to his thoughts. With the new skill at his disposal, that had changed. From now on, he had to develop two ways of mental thought: one for communication with guardians and one for his own personal thoughts. Either that, or he was going to start relying on blocker rings a lot more.

Straightening his clothes as best he could, Dallion opened the door. Upon seeing Eury, he expected a kiss, or at least a hug, but got neither.

“Hi,” the gorgon walked in.

“Hi,” Dallion said, trying best to hide his disappointment. “Long stroll after work?” he put on a fake smile.

“Nope, I actually came to see you.” Eury made her way through the room. “Especially the remains of your boots.” She picked the right one up. The damage was extensive. Then again, considering what Dallion had pulled off, it was a miracle that the entire boot hadn’t burst to shreds.

“I saw you at the arena,” Dallion approached the topic.

“I know.” The gorgon replied as a third of the snakes on her head examined the boot, the rest focusing on the room and Dallion.

“You were with the overseer.”

“And you were reckless as usual.” While Dallion could hear the note of concern and anger in her voice, his music skills didn’t let him catch any additional emotions. She had to be wearing a blocker. “If you want to use that trick again, I’ll need to make you a new pair. And that won’t happen until after the festival.”

“I won’t be using it again.” Dallion moved closer to her. “It was just this once.”

“Good.” Eury put the boot back on the ground. “I’ll take this and fix it up for tomorrow.”

“That’s it?”

“Pretty much.” There was a long, awkward pause. “Look, I know what you mean, but right now isn’t the best time. I have things I need to focus on. You know how it is.”

Dallion didn’t, but he had seen enough excuses in high school to know where this was going. Part of him could already feel the pain, while another refused to accept it, hoping that he was misinterpreting things.

“That’s not actually why I’m here, though,” she said. “Your new sword. Where did you get it from?”

“An acquaintance gave it to me,” Dallion replied. “It’s on loan until I drop out of the tournament,” he lied. “It took me a few days to get used to it. I passed by your workshop to tell you about it, but you weren’t there.”

“You must have caught me at a moment while I was out.”

If there was a moment at which Dallion had questions for an item guardian, that was now. Unfortunately for him, the blocking item Euryale was using prevented him from doing so.

“Things will be different once the festival is over. So, I’ll fix this for you and have it ready for tomorrow’s fight. Will you be using Lux then?”

“Only if I have to.”

“Try to keep it down. The overseer doesn’t like the flash much.”

There were a dozen things Dallion should have said. Questions about what had happened between them, things he wanted to discuss, even laughs to have. However, he felt that none of that would work if he tried. The thought of splitting and having a conversation with her came to mind. At least that way he’d get the important answer. Possibly it would have worked, but it wasn’t something he wanted to try.

“I’ll do my best. Anything else?” Dallion asked with an icy note.

“No, that’s it.”

“See you before the fight tomorrow, then.” Dallion took a step to the side, leaving a clear path to the door.

There was no doubt in his mind that the gorgon got the hint. The snakes on her head moved about, slightly more agitated than usual, then returned to their standard semi-motionless state. Holding the damaged holster boot, Eury took a step towards the door.

“You’re still keeping it,” she said, a cluster of snakes, turning to the stone orchid. “It looks better than before.”

“I’m doing my best,” Dallion said, unsure how to react.

“I know.” The gorgon smiled, then left the room. For close to a minute Dallion stood there, trying to figure out what just had happened. This was definitely not a conversation he wanted to have, especially now.

Maybe I’m just overreacting, he thought, waiting for any of his echoes to correct him. None did. Well, it was fun while it lasted, he added, mostly for himself.

Even after all the flaws he had dealt with while leveling up, there remained things he still had difficulty coping with. This was one of them, especially since Dallion honestly thought that there was more than chemistry between him and Eury.

No advice from you, shield?

You can try to change her mind, but I doubt you’ll get anywhere before the festival, the dryad guardian replied. And once it’s over, it’ll likely be too late.

I see.. In that case, the best solution for tonight was to continue forward and occupy his mind with other things. We’re heading back into the sword realm.

Maybe now’s not the right time to make rash decisions, Nil said. I’d suggest sleeping it off, or better spend some time downstairs. Hannah will make sure that everyone learns about you passing the first round and—

We’re going to the guildhall, Dallion cut him short as he made his way to the window. There’s still a reason for the Star to want to be added on the expedition so badly, and I don’t think the ring key is it. Whatever’s hiding there, I plan on getting it first!